《Reborn in Naruto As Madara's Grandson》 Chapter 1: Rebirth Chapter 1: Rebirth ''Ugh!... Aah!'' My head hurts so badly. Rudra clutches his forehead as a sudden pain in his forehead startled him awake. "Where am I?" He looks around only to be greeted by apletely white room. "Am I kidnapped?" These are his first thoughts. Rudra slowly stands up and looks for an exit. After seemingly walking for fifteen minutes, he is unable to figure out the dimensions of the room, much less an exit. The room is white as far as he could see. Ugh!... He groans in pain as his head hurts and some memories flood in. "My name is Rudra Reshamia, a 26 years medical student. This year I graduated with my master''s degree and went out with my friends to celebrate our graduationte at night. After celebrating till midnight, I returned to my hostel dorm to sleep." The hostel dorm room wasn''t the best out there. On the contrary, they were quite old and dpidated. But who is he toin, when most student lives in simr conditions? After he entered the room, he switched on that creepy led room bulb which flickered off and on because of poor voltage supply. "Damn! That led bulb always gave me goosebumps whenever I switched it onte at night. I hadined numerous times to the dorm caretaker to fix the line, but it always fell on deaf ears. I always wondered if someday that bulb will short-circuit and burn me to death in my sleep." Shaking his head, Rudra recalls the events again. After he switched on the bulb, he entered the washroom and washed up to remove his tiredness as then went to sleep. "I remembered switching on the fan as Iid on the bed. Wait a moment! It was that damn fan that fell on my head and crushed my head instead of that creepy bulb. I knew it, someday that hostel room would be the death of me. But never I expected it to be that fan." Rudra takes a deep breath and curses those hostel authorities, "Fuck you all! Damn it! In all years of my college life, you killed me on myst day of college." "Argh! I am so mad." Rudra kicks up a fuss as he madly curses those hostel authorities to vent his frustration. "Never mind! It''s not like I will return to life." He shakes his head in dismay. Meanwhile, A transparent apparition is looking at the antics of Rudra and is amazed by Rudra''s tantrum. He chuckles slightly and approaches Rudra. The sudden chuckle startles Rudra, and he turns around to locate the source of that chuckle. He is stunned to see an apparition walking towards him. "Is that another ghost?" Rudra is scared to see the apparition. "You are?!" The apparition smiles at him and releases a soothing aura to lower his guard. "Don''t worry, child! I am not a ghost or spirit. I am what humans call a GOD." God proims his identity. "Really?!" Rudra is doubtful of the im, but he decides to trust the other party. "Am I dead?" God is startled to hear this question from Rudra. "Yes, child! You are dead." "So, I really died?" Rudra''s expression turns solemn and he sulks in a corner. God stares at Rudra''s solemn expression and sighs to himself. ''The reaper picked up the wrong soul again. Lately, he is making a lot of blunders. Looks like, I have to rece him.'' "Child! Don''t lose hope." God consoles Rudra''s poor soul. "You still have a chance." "What?! Really? Can I return back to life?" Rudra ecstatically stares at God. "No! That''s not possible. After your death, your family members held a funeral for you and incinerated your body. So, you don''t have a body to revive." God shakes his head. "Is that so?" The light in Rudra''s eyes turns dim. "Child! Don''t lose hope yet. Although you can''t return to your previous life, there is still the next life." "So, I can reincarnate." Joy appears in Rudra''s eyes. "Then what kind of world will I reincarnate into?" He curiously stares at the GOD. Hmm... God ponders for a while and turns to Rudra. "Initially, you were going to reincarnate on earth and live a sessful next life with the amount of karma you have amassed in this life. But I will give you a choice of world." Hmm... Rudra ponders for a while as the memories of various animes, novels,ics, and stories cycle through his mind. "Then I will choose the Naruto world." He rys his thoughts without hesitation. "Naruto world?!" God raises an eyebrow, "Are you sure about that?" "Yes, I am." Rudra nods his head. "Hmm... since you chose such a dangerous world, I can''t allow you to go and die there again. I will turn your Karma into boons. These boons will give you an initial advantage but after a while, you will have to depend on yourself." "Boons?!" Rudra''s eyes shine brightly. "Can I pick my boons?" He excitedly asks GOD. "NO!!" God shakes his head. "I will give you three boons. Your first boon will be elemental affinity. Since it is a world with chakra, you need talent to wield elements. So, I grant you an affinity for all elements from birth. Although you have an affinity for every element, you still have to train and master your proficiency on your own." "That''s quite good." Rudra nods his head. ''I won''t shy away from hard work and training. I haven''t spent countless hours in the cadaver room performing surgeries on corpses for nothing. It requires a strong will and patience to do so.'' Noticing Rudra''s resolute expression, GOD nods his head. "Your second boon is arge chakra pool and enhanced regeneration. It will increase your survival. Now for the final boon..." GOD turns to Rudra and asks him. "Which n would you like to be born in?" Hmm... ''Which n? Any n outside the Uzumaki, Senju, Hyuga, and Uchiha is a no-go. These ns are the real powerhouses of the Naruto world.'' Rudra weights his options. ''In theter series, the whole world is based on ocr power. So, I will remove Senju and Uzumaki from the list which leaves me with Hyuga and Uchiha. One has Byakugan and the other has Sharingan. Byakugan can evolve to Tenseigan and Jogan whereas Sharingan can evolve to Mangekyo Sharingan, Rinnegan and Rinne-Sharingan.'' Rudra ponders the ups and downs of both ns. ''If I am born in a branch family of Hyuga, then I will be branded with their cursed seal at birth and will be oppressed by the main family as for the Uchiha n. I will have to worry about survival. Wait?! Survival! Since I survive no matter what? Then might as well pick the Uchiha n. As for the problem rted to the n massacre, I will see it in the future. Also, most of the badass characters of the series are from the Uchiha n. Take Madara, Itachi, Shisui, and Sasuke for example." Rudra makes a decision. "I want to be a part of the Uchiha n." "Then Uchiha n is it then." God nods his head. "Then, I will reincarnate you in the Uchiha n. But do you really want to be born in the Naruto world? You still have a chance to pick a more peaceful world, don''t regret your decisionter." The GOD warns him. These words pour a bucket of cold water on Rudra''s head and think about his options. ''There were too many powerful beings in that universe. Leaving Isshiki Otsutsuki, Kaguya Otsutsuki, Momoshiki, Kinshiki, and Urashiki Otsutsuki aside, there is an entire n of Otsutsuki members. Then there is Madara, Obito, Pain, and all those powerful Ninjas.'' Looking at the name of such figures, mere talent and hard work aren''t enough. He also needs luck to ovee such obstacles. Thankfully, GOD provided him an opportunity. "I lived this life full of regret, but I won''t make the same mistake again. Even if I die early, at least I will die content." Rudra has a resolute expression. "That''s the spirit." God nods his head in satisfaction. "Alright! Since you wish to be born as an Uchiha, then I will remove the bloodline limit imposed on you. Also, the world might be a little different from your knowledge." Rudra gratefully bows his head to GOD. "Farewell then! Also, keep in mind to live your new life to the fullest with no regrets. I would watch over you. Farewell!" A white light engulfs Rudra''s body, and he loses consciousness. God looks at the departing back of Rudra and remembers the blunder caused by the Reaper. It was Rudra''s roommate''s turn to die, but Reaper identally picked up this guy instead. While Rudra was grieving his death, God was checking his profile. ''This boy had a tragic past. His parents passed away when he was a kid. His uncle adopted and raised him. It wasn''t out of kindness, but greed. The greed to inherit Rudra''s fortune, left behind by his father. As he grew up, the attitude of his uncle and aunt turned cold as they forced him to hand over arge portion of his fortune aspensation for raising him. To distract himself from this mess, he enrolled in a medical university to pursue a career in medicine. His parents wished him to be a doctor and Rudra dedicated all of his efforts to their dream. He was apassionate person who will secretly help various poor people through illegal operations. Though it was a severe crime to practice without a degree, the boy had enough belief in himself. After all, those poor people had no options. They had no money to pay for medical expenses and one way or another they will die eventually. So, they chose to believe in Rudra. This act of kindness helped him amass karma. "Your destiny is your own, even if fate has something else in store for you." God shakes his head and summons the Reaper. ----------- A/N:- This is an edited version of chapter. Edited on 7june, 2021. I will continue to edit chapters till chapter 120 to improve the quality of the novel. So, new readers please have some patience since It was my first time when i started writing. As for old readers, I won''t disappoint your expectations. Chapter 2: Madara Is My Grandfather? Chapter 2: Madara Is My Grandfather? Rudra groggily opens his eyes. His body feels weak and there is a stinging pain in his butt. He suddenly feels an urge to cry. Uwaah... Uwaah... Sounds of the wailing of a baby echo in the forest. Akira Uchiha and Aiko Uchiha dotingly gaze at their newborn son. They were worried when the newborn infant remained silent after the birth. "Congrattions! Akira and Aiko!" Another person enters the hideout. "Your newborn son took your looks, Akira. When he will grow, he will surely be ady-killer like you." These words interrupt their thoughts. "Oh! You are here, Yagami. How is it outside?" Akira cautiously mutters these words as he activates his Sharingan to check the chakra signature of Yagami. "Everything is alright for now. There is no need to worry." Yagami replies. Upon confirming the identity of Yagami, Akira heaves a sigh of relief and greets him. "Thank you, Yagami. I would also like to hear good news on your side too. I heard that Fumiko is also pregnant and could give birth anytime. I would like to see my nephew soon if we are able to escape alive from this ambush today." Akira closes his eyes and sorts through the events. ------------- A few months ago, Inside the Hokage Office, "Hiruzen! The situation at the border is constantly deteriorating. Iwa is instigating the war insurgents of Takigakure to attack our borders." Danzo clenches his staff. "I am already aware of it. The leader of the war insurgents has Iwa''s backing. So, it''s hard to track his whereabouts, much less assassinate him. We have lost many shinobis because of this." Hiruzen rubs his forehead. "Why don''t youmission the Uchiha n for this mission?" Danzo raises a question. "No! That won''t do. Uchihas have already contributed their fair share in the previous war and they are currently in process of recuperating. Also, recently there are various reports of their members going missing or being killed during missions." Hiruzen shakes his head. "Then, do you have any other solution for it?" Danzo groans. "The members of the rest of the ns are already holding the fort at borders. Hiruzen! You can''t be lenient with the Uchiha n." Danzo pressures him. "Danzo is right!" Homura and Koharu enter the office. "You guys!! Fine! I will talk with the Uchiha n leader." Hiruzen relents under their constant pressure. ------------ ''It has been almost eight months since the n issued the mission to three of them. They infiltrated Takigakure as rogue shinobis. Unbeknownst to them, Aiko was pregnant at that time. Akira and Yagami slowly rose through ranks in the organization and became the right-hand and left-hand man of the leader, respectively. Finally, after eight-month Akira got an opportunity to assassinate the leader. After the assassination, they sessfully escaped the organization and arrived at the borders. But somehow, Iwa ninjas were waiting for them in ambush. Akira has doubts that someone leaked the information of their mission to Iwa ninjas. It has been a week since the relentless pursuit of Iwa Ninjas. The group has shed multiple times with the Iwa ninjas and killed a lot of them. Their supplies are almost running out and they are exhausted mentally and physically. The enemy ninjas are out for blood and they never left pursuing their trail. The recent team they annihtedprised five Jounins, ten special Jounins, twenty-five chunnins, and multiple genins. It was a very close fight. During their previous confrontation, Aiko received a blow on her womb, which led to premature gestation. It has been almost nine months since her pregnancy and their child was close to being born, but thest battle leads to premature delivery by a week. Akira was worried about his wife and child. But somehow his wife and child made it through. "Our son looks healthy. Look at his small beady eyes curiously searching his surroundings." Aiko''s voice interrupts Akira''s train of thoughts as she happily hugs their son in her embrace. "Yes, he will be a great ninja like my father..." Akira had a sad expression as he says these words. The identity of his father is a secret, a taboo. No one in the vige is aware of it, except his family. His mother raised him alone and never revealed his father''s identity to him until her death. He was only aware of the fact that his mother Kasumi Uchiha was the elder sister of Kagami Uchiha, his uncle who was a close aide to the Second Hokage Tobirama. Yagami was the only son of his maternal uncle, Kagami. Neither Kagami nor Kasumi mentioned anything about his father until their death. It was on her deathbed that his mother mentioned that his father was none other than the famed Co-founder of the Vige Madara Uchiha. He was grief stricken because of the death of his mother and the revtion of his father''s name. His father was a traitor and deserter of the vige. To preserve her son''s life, Kasumi never mentioned Madara''s name to anyone. Only his uncle was aware of this matter and he too never disclosed it to anyone, not even to the Second Hokage. "...after all, he is the Grandson of the Ghost of the Uchiha n, Madara Uchiha." --------- Rudra is stunned when his new father spoke these words. From listening to his parent''s conversation, he came to know about a lot of things. First, his parents'' names are Akira and Aiko Uchiha and Yagami Uchiha is the name of his uncle. But that isn''t the important point. ''I am Reborn as Madara''s Grandson!'' Even he can''t believe his own words. ''Really! There was such a thing in Naruto. Really! of all the people I could have born to, I was born as Madara''s grandson. Wait! Madara had a love interest, and he had a son.'' Rudra is dumbfounded at this revtion. ''Things really are different in this Naruto world. Maybe it is an alternate universe of Naruto.'' "Have you thought of a name for him?" Yagami questions the couple. "It was Mother''s greatest wish for her grandson to be named after my uncle''s name" Akira continues as he gently strokes Rudra''s head, "Father loved his brother very much. So, I will name my son after my uncle''s name in his remembrance. From today onwards my son will be called Izuna Uchiha." ''That''s a good name. Now, I was really curious about the identity of my grandmother.'' Izuna has a smile on his face. Yagami approaches the newborn child and holds him in his arms as he cries joyfully. "I am an uncle now. Fumiko will be thrilled to hear this news." Akira and Aiko have a smile on their face and Akira teases him. "Oye! Yagami, we have already named our child. You too decide a name for your child." "I have already decided long ago. If my newborn is a girl I will name her Kaori if it is a boy his name will be Shisui, Shisui Uchiha." "Shisui" Izuna is stunned when he hears this name. ''Don''t tell me, it''s Shisui Uchiha. So, Kagami Uchiha is my granduncle.'' Izunaughs loudly but only giggles escape from his mouth. Suddenly, Swoosh... Swoosh The sudden sound disturbs the silence of the forest, as kunais are flung from a trap set near their hideout. "Enemy attack!" Yagami has a grim expression on his face. The trio immediately raise their guard. Aiko wraps Izuna in her clothes and ties him to her back. Someone triggered the trap set by them, which means an enemy ambush. Yagami and Akira immediately move out from their hiding to sense their enemies. Ten Jounins, twenty special Jounins, and nearly thirty chunnins level ninja had surrounded them. There are no genins as it is meaningless to bring them. There is no need for cannon fodders. Their ambush is ready. This time they will certainly kill these Konoha ninjas and deal a severe blow to Konoha. ----------- A/N: - I don''t know how pregnancy works for ninjas since they bleed asionally. Just take this part with a pinch of salt. Note:- This chapter is edited on June 8, 2021. Chapter 3: Ambush Chapter 3: Ambush Edited on:- 8th July, 2021 ------------- Iwa ninjas are ready to assault the Konoha shinobis. After the Second Shinobi War, the tension between two hidden viges has grown even further. This time their targets are powerful Uchiha nsmen with Sharingan. They are notable characters in the bingo book. There are orders for ninjas to run when facing them alone. Akira, the Lightning de, had a bounty of 100 million Ryou in the bingo book. His name is Lightning de because of his mastery of the lightning chakra. He could coat his de with lightning chakra and ughter enemies like a reaper. He earned his fame as The Lightning de during the Second Shinobi War. Back then, he ughtered a group of two Jounins and thirty chunnins with numerous genins while surrounded by enemies. His de danced on the battlefield as it reaped many lives. Aiko, The Red Blossom has a bounty of 75 million Ryou in the bingo book. She is a very proficient genjutsu expert which paired with her Sharingan is a deadlybo. She is able to put enemies in a genjutsu in the blink of an eye. Red blossom leaves would rain when she initiates her genjutsu. Her genjutsu would end with red blood flowers blooming in the battles. Yagami, The Shadow Flicker has a bounty of 90 million Ryou in the bingo book. He is proficient with body flicker jutsu which he pairs with shadow clone jutsu to confuse his opponents with his extremely fast speed. The moment you figure out the real Yagami would be the moment your head falls off from your body. Facing these opponents would lead to a terrible end, simr to their previous squad who met their doom. They received intel from their spy in Konoha about the Uchiha trio. The intel was a littlete, and thus they could only intercept them on their return to Konoha. "This time Iwa is ready to pay the necessary price to get rid of these three shinobis." The jouninmander closes the intel scroll as he exins the details of their target. Gulp The nearby chunnins gulp a mouthful of saliva. They are the cannon-fodder in this mission as their task is to distract enemies in this fight. The Iwa team warily draws their weapons and slowly surrounds the hiding spot of the Uchiha group. ''Fire-Style: Great Fireball Jutsu ''Wind -Style: Furious Gale'' A massive fireball enhanced by wind jutsu drops in between the Jounins and chunnins. ARGH AHH Half of the chunnins are immediately engulfed in mes as their screams echoes in the forest. Even some of the nearby Special Jounins are caught in the attack too. This attack was too sudden for them to react. Huff. Huff Akira and Yagami breathe heavily as they confront the remaining Iwa shinobis. Theirbination attack was able to take down lots of chunnins but the primary target was the Tracking unit of the Special Jounins. The attack was a sess as most of the tracking nins were killed. Akira immediately unsheathes his Chakra de and coats it with lightning chakra. ng He blocks an attack from the Jounin Commander of the Iwa nins. Akira easily repels the surprise attack. Tch The Iwa ninmander clicks his tongue. He used the opportunity after the previous fireball jutsu tounch a counter-attack. But he failed to get a hit in. After failing his attack, he retreats as the skirmish begins without any words from either side. ng ng shes of kunais and des echo in the silent forest as sparks erupt after each collision. Aiko, who is hiding nearby, has amassed enough chakra for her genjutsu. Swish swish She quickly makes some hand signs. "Genjutsu: Sharingan: Demonic Flower Blossom" Red blossoms began to rain as many Iwa ninjas are caught in the genjutsu. Aiko retreats, as she had expanded half of her remaining chakra reserve to cast the previous genjutsu. She creates an opportunity for the duo. Akira and Yagami nod towards each other. Whoosh whoosh They immediately began to massacre the Iwa Jounins. Akira stabs two of the jounins with his lightning de and Yagami slits the head of one jounin and remaining tracker nins. "Release" The Iwa ninmander is the first to dispel the genjutsu. He notices the ughter caused by the trio. "Damn you, Konoha scums!" He quickly makes some hand signs and smashes his hands on the ground. "Earth Style: Fissure" The ground split apart and a gigantic rift appears beneath Akira and Yagami. Swoosh Both of them jump in the air and avoid the attack. Whoosh They reunite with Aiko as all three of their back are ced against each other. They warily stare at the remaining shinobis of Iwa. "It''s just like the Second Shinobi War." Akira has a helpless expression. There are 7 jounins, fifteen special jounins, and fifteen chunnins left on Iwa''s side. "We are almost out of chakra!" The real fight is about to begin as many Iwa jounins have yet to expand their chakra. "I will handle the Jouninmander." Akira nods as he shes with the Iwa ninmander. Both Aiko and Yagami confront the remaining Jounins. Swish swish The Iwamander makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. ''Earth Style: Mud Prison'' He istes Akira from Aiko and Yagami as he smirks at Akira. "Akira, the Lightning de! I, the Rock Fiend Daichi of Iwa will send you to the afterlife." Akira ignores his taunt and makes some hand signs. "Lightning Style: Lightning de cutter" He coats his chakra de with lightning and he slices a nearby wall in half. Daichi makes more hand signs. "Earth Style: Mud thorns" Multiple massive spikes erupt from the ground and aim for Akira. Swoosh Akira jumps up and avoids the attack "Earth Style: Mud bullet" Daichi spews out a mud bullet and aims it at Akira. Shiing Akira predicts the trajectory of the mud bullet with his Sharingan and bends his body in mid-air to dodge the attack. While in mid-air, he makes some hand signs. "Fire style: Phoenix flower Jutsu" He spews out arge number of small fireballs at the Iwamander. "Earth Style: Earth wall" Iwamander blocks the fireballs with an earth wall. BOOM BOOM The fireballs explode on top of the mud wall. HAAH Swoosh Akira flickers towards the Mud wall with the lightning de in his hand. sh He slices through the mud wall and aims for the head of the Iwamander. The lightning de slices through the Iwa Jouninmander. Thetter melts in a pool of mud. "A mud Clone?! This is bad!" Akira hurriedly jumps in the air as the clone melts to reveal arge number of paper bombs. ''Release'' BOOOMM A massive explosion urs as the paper bomb explodes on top of Akira. Dust and debris rise in the air. The deafening explosion shakes the nearby ground. Bang Akira is thrown out from the st. He ms into a nearby tree. Bleurgh Akira coughs up some blood. He was able to predict the path of explosion using his Sharingan and thus was able to avoid most of the impact. Even so, the explosion was too powerful, and the shock waves hit him. "I have no time to waste. This is an opportunity!" Akira slowly stands up as he supports his body with his de. Ruthlessness shes through his eyes as he makes some hand signs. "Lightning Style: Lightning spear" He coldly stares at the Iwa Jouninmander who is blinded by the dust and debris of the explosion. Swoosh He throws the lightning de towards the enemymander. Stab The lightning spear stabs themander straight in the heart. AH His eyes widen in surprise as he stares at a badly wounded Akira. His consciousness slowly fades away as hisst words are stuck in his mouth. ''You didn''t die from the explosion!'' Meanwhile, Things aren''t looking good on Aiko and Yagami''s side. They are continuously assaulted by the attacks from the remaining six Iwa jounins, other special jounins, and chunnins. Aiko gathers some of her remaining chakra and casts another genjutsu to distract the Iwa ninjas while Yagami deals with them. ''Genjutsu: Sharingan" The enemy ninjas are caught in her genjutsu as they are temporarily paralyzed by it. Swish She takes out a kunai from her holster and dashes towards the enemies to slit their throat. She takes out kunais and shurikens from her holster and throws them at nearby chunnins to clear their distraction. In the Meantime, Yagami is able to sessfully kill another Iwa jounin before the rest of them dispel the genjutsu. Only five jounins and ten special jounins are left. They have killed all the chunnins. BOOM A huge explosion urs inside the mud prison as it crumbles apart. Smoke and dust block their vision asrge amounts of debris are hurled their way. The shock wave from the explosion flung them away. Whoosh Aiko and Yagami quickly take cover behind the trees. Aiko has a worried expression as she stares at the remains of the mud wall. Dust and debris settle to reveal a haggard Akira kneeling with one foot on the ground. The corpse of the Iwa Jouninmander lies in front of him. --------------------- A/N:- The Uchiha trio has been on a run for a week. They are exhausted and very low on chakra. Plus, multiple enemy teams are in their pursuit. Chapter 4: Desperate Straits Chapter 4: Desperate Straits The Iwa ninmander was dead. All of the remaining Iwa ninjas were stunned to see this. But they soon got their bearings as their enemies were out of chakra and many of them had preserved their Chakra. They began to surround Akira, Aiko, and Yagami. Indeed Akira and Aiko were out of Chakra and were weakened. Akira got serious injuries from the earlier explosion. Most of the flesh from his left hand was torn as it was blown by the explosion. His left hand was barely hanging as it was almost disabled and need immediate attention. Aiko wasn''t in a good state too. She was still weak from her delivery of Izuna. Although she was a ninja and had a stronger body, but prematurely delivering Izuna and then constantly fighting with enemies took a toll on her body. Yagami was in a better conditionpared to both of them. His body flicker didn''t use much chakra and he wasn''t seriously injured either. All three of them faced the Iwa ninjas with their backs touched to each other. Aiko lovingly gazed at Izuna as she muttered, "Don''t worry mother will protect you at all cost. " She wrapped Izuna tightly in bandages and tied him to her back. She made sure to leave some breathing space for the baby. Izuna looked at the fight between his parents and Iwa ninjas as tears began to flow his eyes. He cried silently, as he doesn''t want to distract his mother to tend to him. Izuna thought to himself, ''I was an orphan in my previous life. My parents were doctors and they wanted me to be a doctor too. When I was ten years old they died in a car crash. I was adopted by my uncle''s family. They barely paid any attention to me, all that mattered to them was the money my parents left behind. I was sessfully enrolled in one of the major medical universities in my country as I wanted to fulfill my parents'' wishes. I lost my parents in a previous life, I don''t want to lose them again.'' Arge amount of Chakra began to gather in his eyes. The emotions triggered a change in his chakra as eyes began to change. A one tomoe Sharingan awakened in both of his eyes. His new-born body wasn''t able to bear the stress caused by his violent emotions and the awakening of Sharingan as Izuna fainted. His parents were unaware of the changes in Izuna as they were too focused on the battle ahead and assumed Izuna to be asleep. "We can''t hold for too long, we are almost out of Chakra reserves and I can only perform another C-rank jutsu before I run dry. " Akira told them about his situation. "I am out of Chakra and can only rely on kenjutsu and taijutsu to fight." Aiko reminded. "I have a little bit of Chakra left for another B-rank jutsu and one C-rank jutsu, after which I would have no Chakra to spare." Yagami made them aware of his reserves. Akira and Aiko nodded to each other and they made up their mind. Akira took out a scroll hidden underneath his Jounin Vest and he handed it over to Yagami. Yagami was stunned when Akira gave him the intel scroll. Before Yagami could speak, Akira interrupted, "Yagami, you are the only wind user among us. Also, you are fastest among all three of us and you are the only one with some chakra left. We will distract the enemies, while you retreat and hand this information to Vige. This is very crucial information we can''t dy reporting this to Hokage." "Yes, Yagami you go retreat to the vige and take care of my son in our absence." Aiko spoke as she began to untie Izuna from her back. She handed Izuna to Yagami and told him to take care. Yagami had tears in his eyes as he spoke, "But.but I can''t do this. Look at newborn Izuna, how would I answer to him when he asks me about his parents? Would I say ''Your Uncle was a coward who ran away when your parents put their life on the line to save you''? I can''t do this." "No, buts Yagami promise me you will take care of Izuna. We can escape from this situation this time around. If we continued to fight, all three of us will perish and they will kill Izuna too. But if distract them long enough, one of us can escape and maybe call backup." Akira reprimanded Yagami as he reminded him of their mission. "Also, you are going to be a father too, go and take care of Fumiko and my nephew." Aiko reminded Yagami of his wife and yet to be born son. Yagami hesitated for a while before he nodded, "Alright! I will hurriedly retreat and inform the patrol at Fire Nation''s border to send back up to you guys. But before that let me help you guys even if a little." Yagami kept the scroll in his Vest''s pockets and tied Izuna to his back as he began to weave some hand signs. This conversation only took ce in a matter of seconds as Iwa nins warily stared at them. Though they were in an advantageous position, they were still wary of any potential trump cards from these Uchiha Shinobis. There was a saying in other viges ''Never blink before an Uchiha in a battle otherwise the moment you blinked would be the moment you lose your life.'' ''Wind Style: Vacuum Cleaver'' Yagami kneaded arge amount of wind Chakra and sucked in arge amount of air as he spewed out a huge scythe made out of thepressed wind. The wind scythe traveled diagonally chopping down trees as it traveled towards the Iwa ninjas. Iwa ninjas responded quickly as all of them made hand signs in unison and yelled, ''Earth Style: Rock wall'' Large rock walls were erected from the ground as they blocked the majority of the attack. Still, the rock wall was sliced open and cut down Five of the Special Iwa jounins and one Jounin lost his right hand in the attack. Dust and debris rose as trees fell on the ground. Akira and Aiko threw some more smoke bombs in the dust to create a smokescreen. The Iwa ninjas reacted quickly as one of them made hand signs and shouted, ''Wind Style: Gale wind'' In the meantime, Yagami began to dash towards the fire Nation border as carried Izuna on his back. He looked back once at Akira and Aiko and prayed in his heart. ''Please return safely for your son, Izuna.'' A gale blew away the smoke and dust as Akira and Aiko appeared in Iwa ninja''s vision. They were startled when they were unable to locate the Yagami. Realization dawned on them as one of the Iwa jounin and two special jounin began to run towards the Fire Nation in the direction of Yagami. Akira and Aiko were helpless to stop them, instead, they focused their attention on the remaining Iwa Ninjas. ''Today I will show you, the skills of the son of Ghost of Uchiha.'' Akira muttered as he swallowed some Chakra pill and began to weave hand signs. He was ready to sacrifice himself to save his son. Aiko silently followed along with Akira as she too swallowed Chakra pills to recover some of her lost Chakra and began to weave hand signs. Today the Lightning Blossom Duo will show their terror to the Iwa Ninjas. ------------------- Yagami was hurriedly running towards the Fire Nation borders to ask for re-enforcements. He had tears in his eyes as he knew it was futile. By the time, re-enforcement will reach them everything will be over. But he still clung to the final straw of hope for a miracle. Within ten minutes, the border patrol tower was visible to him as he spotted the patrol team. "Re-enforcement!..... We need re-enforcements." He huffed as he shouted to the patrol ninjas. The ninja team was startled when they heard a shout. They immediately raised their guard as they were ready for an enemy attack. But they dropped their guard when they noticed the Sharingan and Konoha headband on the neers. "We were on an important mission and got ambushed while retuning.. huff. huff.. they are five jounins and five special jounin remainings. The direction is 2 o''clock North-East, hurry up and save them. I need to immediately return to the Vige to inform Hokage-Sama." The patrol guards nodded as one of them hurriedly went to inform the Captain and the rest of them marched in the specified direction. Yagami ran towards the Konoha vige as tears spilled from his eyes. He felt guilty and helpless as he began to reprimand himself on his powerlessness. Large amounts of Chakra began to gather around him as it began to flow towards his eyes. Izuna was startled awake as he sensed the amassing of Chakra. Blood began to trickle from Yagami''s eyes as the three tomoes in his Sharingan began to spin rapidly. After they while they merged and formed a shuriken pattern tilted at forty-five degrees. ''Yagami had awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan and it is simr to Shisui that means my parents are...No!'' Izuna began to wail loudly. Yagami was startled out from his thoughts as he began to tend to Izuna to stop his crying. "Don''t worry Izuna. Everything will be all right. I am sure mama and papa will return safely. So, don''t cry." But he was aware of the dire straits of Akira and Aiko. He was consoling Izuna as well as himself. He marched on as for now, the most important issue was to return to the vige. Chapter 5: The Third Hokage Chapter 5: The Third Hokage Yagami ran towards the vige with his fastest speed. The vige was very far from the border and he had to stop for a while before to rest. He stopped near a stream as he drank some water. Yagami was stunned to see the resilience of Izuna as he muttered, "All along the way, this kid only cried once and has been silent since then. The kid must be hungry but I have no way to feed him. I have to hurry up to the vige and inform Fumiko about this news. Maybe he fell asleep from exhaustion or perhaps new-born infants tend to sleep more." Yagami gently stroked Izuna''s head as he went to the stream. He saw his reflection in the water. Yagami activated his Sharingan and he infused a bit more chakra in his eyes as the tomoes in his eyes changed to a shuriken pattern. "So, this is the forbidden power of the Uchiha n achieved by the loss of loved ones. I would never wish for this power if it is granted in exchange for the life of your loved one." Yagami muttered as he closed his eyes and stopped infusing Chakra in his eyes. After resting for a while, he began to run towards Konoha. He traveled tirelessly for another six hours and finally, Konoha appeared in his vision. He increased up his speed a notch as he was in a hurry to inform Hokage. He approached the Vige but was blocked by two jounin guards. Yagami activated his Sharingan as he forked out a Konoha identity. Upon seeing the Sharingan, the guards nodded and one of them said, "Hurry up! The Hokage is waiting for you to report about the matter." Yagami nodded and hurriedly dashed towards the Hokage monument. He approached the Hokage monument and hurriedly ran towards Hokage''s office. One of the guards at the entrance told him, "Hokage-sama had been expecting you." Yagami knocked on the door of Hokage''s office. "Come in!" A voice came from inside. Yagami twisted the knob of the door as he entered inside the room. A Konoha elder was discussing some matters with the Hokage. Yagami recognized the elder as Danzo Shimura of the root. Root was one of the hidden underground organizations of Konohagakure responsible for gathering intel and Danzo was its head. Danzo was a very known elder of the Vige and was the teammate of the Third Hokage and was considered as one of the candidates for the seat of Hokage but he ultimately lost to Hiruzen Sarutobi who is the current Hokage. The third Hokage nodded to Danzo as Danzo slowly walked away while gazing at Yagami. ---------- Izuna suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as felt like he was being stared by a hungry wolf. I was startled and anxiously looked around. A shaggy ck-haired middle-aged man with his right eye concealed in bandages was staring at me. He had a cane in his left hand and there was a scary X-marked scar on his chin. He wore a ck, hooded trench coat and high- lengthed ck ninja sandals. His right arm was bandaged as it was tied with another bandage and hung from his neck. ''Fuck! I am scared that''s Danzo for fuck''s sake. Why he staring at me as I owe him something. I must maintain my distance from him until I got strong enough.'' Hmm. Danzo felt some movements from the baby in Yagami''s arm and he thought to himself, ''I feel like this child is afraid of me.'' Danzo looked at himself and nodded, ''I indeed look scary in this appearance. Guess I will go with this outfit for a while then.'' Izuna looked at the retreating back of Danzo as gears began to churn in his small brain. ''Wait a sec! Danzo visited Hokage just right before the time uncle Yagami came to report intel and left as soon as possible. Also, I overheard Iwa Ninjas talking about a spy, there is definitely a connection.'' It didn''t take long for Izuna to figure out that his parents had been plotted against by Danzo. Rage consumed Izuna as he began to struggle in Yagami''s arms. Yagami was startled by Izuna''s sudden tantrum as he tried his best to appease Izuna. Izuna calmed after a while as he vowed to himself, ''Danzo the day I get the confidence to kill you will be the day you breathe yourst.'' Izuna knew Danzo wasn''t an easy opponent. Sasuke was able to beat Danzo just out of pure luck as he was holding back to fight against Tobi and was wary of any surprise attack from Tobi. Another factor was that Danzo was old at that time and wasn''t able to utilize hashirama''s cells skilfully. Although the current Danzo didn''t have Shisui''s Mangekyo he still had someone else''s Sharingan in his right eye. And guessing from the look of his right hand the arm of Shin Uchiha is yet to be transnted which means Orochimaru had yet to transnt Hashirama''s cells. Yagami began to report the mission''s details to Hokage as exined by all of the events including the sacrifice of Akira and Aiko and the possibility of a traitor in Konoha. When Yagami was exining to the Third Hokage about the mission, Izuna was staring at him curiously. The Hokage had tan-skin and dark brown, spiky hairs and he had a small goatee to boot. The man was wearing a red full-length kimono which was tied using a white sash. The custom Hokage hat and a smoking pipe was ced on the table and he was attentively listening to Yagami ''So, he is the ipetent Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.'' Izuna had mixed feelings about Hiruzen from his description in anime and manga. Izuna had only one word to describe Third Hokage ''hypocrite''. Yes, a hypocrite. Hiruzen was a hypocrite who appeared to withhold various values, will of fire, and shit! and presented himself as the light to the world but concocted many dark schemes with Danzo and many a time would ignore Danzo''s evil plots and even forgive Orochimaru for his crimes because he was there SENSEI!! ''If this Hiruzen is the same as described in the manga and anime then he wouldn''t hesitate to add another person to his ''need to remove list''. '' Hiruzen sighed when he heard about the possible deaths of Akira and Aiko as he consoled Yagami. "Don''t worry the vige will help to find the bodies of Akira and Aiko. If not then I wouldn''t be able to confront myte friend ''Kagami'' after my death. You are Kagami''s son and uncle of this child, so I will ce this child in your care." Yagami nodded tearfully as he departed from Hokage''s office. Hiruzen looked at the departing back of Yagami as he picked up his smoking pipe and began to smoke as he muttered, ''I hope it was not you Danzo. Teacher Tobirama had already isted the Uchihas and his actions may lead to unrest among Uchihas. After all who would like to get kicked despite their loyalty.'' Hiruzen had a headache as he thought about such matters. He took out a crystal ball from the drawer and began to channel his chakra into the ball. It was his hobby to peek at the new seedlings of the Konoha. He soon spotted a yellow-haired fourteen years old kid in jounin vest training near Hokage. He nodded to himself a fine young seedling indeed. Jiraiya had done a really good job to raise such fine young shinobi. He got a headache as he remembered his disciple Orochimaru. Orochimaru was his candidate in line for the position of next Hokage but Orochimaru somehow was involved with Danzo in various things which made him worry. Shaking his head he continued peeking... Uhun!.... observing the young generation of Konoha. Chapter 6: Emergency Chapter 6: Emergency After an hour of peeking, Hiruzen stowed the crystal ball back in the drawer. He signaled nearby Anbus who were guarding him to leave him alone for a while. After confirming that all of the Anbus had left the room, Hiruzen retrieved the scroll left by Yagami. He began to read through the scroll and began to contemte over the Intel written in it. The activities of Iwagakure had been pretty suspicioustely. It had been two years since the Second Ninja war ended. Konoha faced Sunagakure and Amegakure. The majority of war took ce in Amegakure led by Hanzo which led to the downfall of Amegakure. Onoki that fence-sitter of Iwagakure joined the war when the majority of the damage was done to both sides. His vige reaped the most amount of benefits and managed to consolidate its foundations even more. Although Kumogakure wasn''t involved in the second Ninja war, the Third Raikage had been strengthening his military forces for a while. Konoha didn''t suffer any terrain or economic damage but the war cost the lives of most of its shinobis. So, they are still in the process of recuperating from their losses and this suspicious activity by Iwagakure raised rms for them as they needed to take precautions in advance. Another war in the next five years may lead to a decline in the power of Konoha. His three students performed spectacrly in the previous war and made names for themselves as ''The Legendary Sannins''. Lately, Orochimaru had been involved with Danzo with some shady experiments. He would look into them in the future as his hands were tied to maintain the stability of the Vige for now. Also, ording to intel from his Anbus tailing Danzo, Danzo seemed to have some dealings with the Hanzo of the Smander. Hiruzen contemted over this matter, ''Although there are various shady and unclear parts in the intel about their coboration and I am unclear of Danzo''s motives; but I trust Danzo that he won''t take any actions against the interest of the Vige. Sigh. I am getting old and I need to find a sessor for the Hokage''s position.'' --------------- After Yagami left the Hokage''s office, he hurriedly rushed towards Uchihapounds. After the appointment of the Second Hokage, the Uchiha n was assigned the role of Vige Military Police Force and thus their npounds were pushed to the edge of the vige. Although there was some unrest among the nsmen about this matter the n was still able to flourish. Yagami hurriedly entered the Uchihapounds and dashed towards his house. After he entered the house he was greeted by his wife Fumiko who had a bulge in her stomach. He hurriedly held and her and passed Izuna to her as he spoke, "Fumiko immediately boil some milk and warm it mildly to feed to the baby." Fumiko is shocked by the action of Yagami but she still did what Yagami said to her. After five minutes, Fumiko walked out of the kitchen with milk in a bottle and began to slowly feed Izuna. Izuna was very hungry from previous events, his body automatically moved when milk was ced in his mouth as he began to suck the nipple of the bottle and drank milk. While drinking milk he stared at Fumiko and started thinking, ''So, she is Aunt Fumiko, the mother of Shisui Uchiha. It wasn''t clear in anime or manga about any of the parents of Shisui but if my guess is correct they somehow died in war or were secretly disposed of by the Root. Afterall, Shisui was an important piece of Danzo and Danzo tends to gain full control over his subordinates. In this life, I would try my best to protect my loved ones; I will at least save Uncle and aunt even if it means to confront Danzo earlier than necessary.'' As Izuna was lost in his thoughts and was drinking the milk, Fumiko was having a questionnaire with Yagami, "So, whose child is this? You went out on a mission with your team three weeks ago. If my memory serves me right you have returned at least a week ago." Yagami was overwhelmed by her questionnaire was about to respond to her when Fumiko interrupted, "Don''t tell he is your illegitimate child Yagami Uchiha. So, this was the reason you returnedte from your mission. You cheated on me Yagami, answer me Yagami!" Yagami was about to respond to her but was interrupted again, "When I was tending to your house here in Konoha you went out somewhere to enjoy yourself and even brought a child with you. Yagami you even forgot about over iing child and left me alone. I am not satisfied with your answer then don''t even think about seeing my face again. I will return to my father andin to him about your debauchery. He is n leader, he will surely take actions against you, and also my younger brother Fugaku is about to seed him as Vige chief. Your days in the vige would be numbered." Fumiko threatened Yagami who at this point was sweating buckets of sweat. He hurriedly held Fumiko''s hand with one hand and ced his another hand over her mouth as he stopped her from speaking. "Stop! Let me exin." He began to narrate the incidents of the mission as tears began to stream down from his eyes while exining. Fumiko attentively listened to her as her eyes became moist and she started bawling out her eyes. Fumiko cried for a while before she was interrupted by a tug on her clothes. ------- Izuna was staring at the conversation between Yagami and Fumiko and he was amused by their interactions. The bubbly personality of Fumiko surprised him but what shocked him more was the revtion, ''So, in this universe, Fumiko is the elder sister of Fugaku. What the actual fuck! It was never mentioned in anime or manga but maybe it is one of the arrangements of God. Now, I must save Itachi and his family. I don''t care about other Uchihas as most of them are way over the head, drunk upon their power and bloodline. Maybe this is the side effect of the bloodline curse. ck Zetsu sure has tempered a lot with Uchiha bloodline. If I am unable to find a cure for the curse then I guess a wipeout of the Uchiha would be necessary or I can kill those stubborn old fools of the Uchiha n and preserve its heritage. That ck zombie plotted and wiped out the entire lineage of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, maybe he had a greater grudge against Hagoromopared to Hamura. Hyuga n was able to survive after all.'' Feeling tired Izuna pulled the clothes of Fumiko as he wanted to sleep. ---------- Fumiko looked over at Izuna who was tugging her clothes, her motherly instincts kicked in as she was able to sense what Izuna was conveying. Sheid him on a small crib nearby. Yagami and Fumiko were expecting their first child, so they had made all the necessary preparation for the wee of the child. She gently caressed Izuna before she covered Izuna in a nket. It was the month of September and the cold wind was flowing outside. To prevent the baby from catching a cold she gently wrapped him in the nket before she returned to Yagami to continue their conversation. Fumiko went to one of the nearby cab as she pulled it''s drawers and took out some bandages and medicines. She applied the medicines and wrapped bandages around Yagami''s wounds as she continued to ask. "So, he is their child. Hmm. Now I noticed it he looks simr to Akira. I am sorry Yagami for using you falsely." Yagami gently caressed her bulge as he muttered, "It''s alright. I don''t want Izuna to feel the absence of his parents. We will take care of him like over child and he will be the elder brother of our Shisui." "Shisui?" Fumiko frowned as she questioned. "Yes, Shisui that''s the name I thought for your baby boy." Yagami replied. "How are you so sure that our child will be a boy?" questioned Fumiko. "I have a gut feeling that our new-born child will be a boy. Enough of that list all of the necessary things required to take care of a new-born child, I will immediately buy them. We will pamper Izuna a lot." Fumiko nodded as she began to list out the things necessary for child care. "Tomorrow I will go and consult my father more about this matter. Also, I will meet Fugaku, after all, he will soon turn twenty-two and I need to find a suitable girl for him to marry." Knock knock....knock... "Yagami san!..... Yagami san!" Their conversation was interrupted by as an Uchiha nsman in Police uniform knocked on their door. Yagami frowned as he immediately greeted the Police officer and inquired, "What''s the matter Kazuma San? You seemed to be in a hurry?" "Yagami- san one of the Anbus from Hokage''s office came to inform me at the Police station. There seems to be an emergency as your presence is required at the Vige Hospital." Kazuma replied. A terrible premonition rose in Yagami''s heart as he clutched Kazuma''s hand and furiously shook him, "Please borate more Kazuma san. What''s the matter?" "I am not aware of necessary details too, I was only told to inform you about this matter." Kazuma replied as he pulled back his hand as he stared at Yagami in usation. Ignoring the ugly expression on Kazuma''s face, Yagami dashed towards the Vige hospital as he jumped on the roof and disappeared. Chapter 7: Reaper From HELL Chapter 7: Reaper From HELL A few hours earlier, At the border of Fire Nation, there was an intense fight going in the forest. Akira and Aiko were engaged in a furious fight against Iwa ninjas. Four Jounins and three special jounins surrounded both of them. The right hand of one of the jounin was detached but he still wielded a kunai in the left hand and shed with them. nk nk The sound of metal hitting metal rang as both sides retreated after an attack. Both Akira and Aiko had consumed some Chakra pill and were regenerating their Chakra whilebating Iwa ninjas. ''Earth Style: mud bullet'' One of the jounins made some hand signs and spewed out a bullet of mud. Akira jumped up in the air and dodged the bullet as the bullet hit a nearby tree and broke into half. ng Akira blocked an attack from the rod of another Iwa jounin as used the momentum from the attack to summersault andnd on the branch of a nearby tree. Meanwhile, Aiko also wielded metal wires as she tied many shurikens to it andunched them at the three special jounins. She controlled the directions of the Shurikens with the wire as she continued to assault the special jounins. The Iwa special jounins jumped and dodged as they ran in between the trees. Aiko was tracing their movements with her Sharingan as she continued to attack them without giving any chance for making hand signs. The remaining two jounins of Iwa kneaded chakra in their hands as one of them flung a huge rock towards the Aiko. ''Earth Style: Boulder Crash'' Arge rock was flung toward Aiko. Aiko immediately pulled the metal wire as all the wires tightened as made a trap tied in between the trees. The rock was blocked by arge number of wire strands as few of them snapped. The broken wiresunched shurikens with much greater speed towards the special jounins as the back of one of the special jounin was impaled by many shurikens. The impaled special jounin breathed hisst his body dropped on the ground. The other two special jounins were able to take cover behind the trees and escape from the shurikens. Aiko panted and covered her arms with bandages as her arms were bleeding from the strain from the wire. Although she was able to block the rock jutsu with wires, it created a huge amount of tension in metal wires as they pierced her skin and wounded her hands. Akira noticed this and hurriedly regrouped with Aiko. He wasn''t able to gather enough Chakra, but he gathered all of his restored Chakra in his eyes as they began to change. The tomoes in his Sharingan merged as they formed a pinwheel with four spokes perpendicr to each other tilted at forty-five degrees. Blood leaked from both of his eyes as he muttered, ''Mangekyo Sharingan'' The Iwa ninjas were startled then saw and they hurriedly made hand signs to interrupt Akira, ''Gates of Hell: Reaper Summon'' Akira slumped on the ground as his vision began to blur. Mangekyo Sharingan puts a heavy toll on the user''s body and their vision would deteriorate over time. The awakening of a Mangekyo Sharingan granted the user a powerful unique power at a great cost. The unique power of his Sharingan was able to open the gates of hell to summon a death reaper for 30 seconds which was able to ughter his enemies before vanishing. But there was a catch with this power, whenever he used this power entirety of his Chakra reserves will run dry and a portion of his vitality would be consumed and he would be bed-ridden for months. So, he always used this jutsu as ast resort as he won''t able to use it again for a while with his eye. He casted this jutsu during the Second Shinobi War with his right eye when he was surrounded by lots of Amegakure ninjas. That was his first time using this jutsu, the duration of this jutsu depended on his Chakra reserve Capacity rather than the amount of Chakra he had left. The limit can be over-drafted but then the vitality of the user will begin to drain. Every powerful jutsu had its own weaknesses. He awakened his Sharingan during the Second Shinobi War when one of his close friend died in the war. His newly awakened Sharingan cast this jutsu and ughtered an entire team of jounins. The jutsu drained his chakra and vitality as he fainted. He was saved by Aiko who carried him over to the camp. He had to rest for the entire six months before he was able to do the mission again. Heter married Aiko and after he confessed his love to her. Akira fainted with such thoughts as he was caught by Aiko. Arge tori gate encircled within a circle opened in the Air as an eerie skeletal hand grabbed the edges of the door. Arge scythe dripping with blood slowly emerged from the door. An eerie aura was emitted from the scythe as nearby trees began to wither asrge clouds began to swirl and cover the sky blocking the sun. Darkness surrounded the nearby area as the scent of blood and death permeated in the air. The Iwa ninjas were terrified as their gathered Chakra dispersed from their bodies. The legs became jelly as their face went pale. Arge skeleton covered in purple robes with green eyes emerged in the real world. It''s gloomy eyes gazed at the Iwa ninjas. Screeeeeeeeeeee..... The Reaper screeched loudly as it slowly began to float towards the terrified Iwa Ninjas. It slowly raised it''s massive blood-red scythe and swung it. Arge gale blew away all nearby trees as arge crater was left in a hundred-meter radius. The bodies of the Iwa Ninjas were nowhere to be seen. The Reaper opened its mouth wide opened as its skeletal jaw appeared in Aiko''s vision. The Reaper sucked the souls of the Iwa Ninjas as it dragged them to depths of the hell to be never reincarnated again. Thirty seconds were up as the Reaper entered inside the door as the door closed shut and disappeared. The sky began to clear but the nearby area was devastated beyond recognition. All of the lifeforms in the radius of hundred meters except for Akira and Aiko died. Akira and Aikoid inside the crater for a while as Aiko gathered enough energy to move. Her body was very weak and even moving a step caused pain in her entire body. Akiraid unconscious in herp as she stared at the dripping blood from his eyes. She took out a bandage, wiped the blood from Akira''s eyes, and tied the bandage over Akira''s eyes. She began to wrap Akira''s left hand with bandages too as it was badly mutted and needed immediate attention. She opened a sealing scroll and took out a small bottle of potassium permanganate as he bit the cap off and dripped the bitter red medicine on Akira''s arm. She dressed Akira''s and her wounds as she began to stand up slowly. She lifted Akira''s unconscious body and ced it on her shoulder and began to crawl out of the crater. As she was walking out from the crater a memory of the Second Shinobi War shed by in her mind. It was the same setting as the present. Akiraid unconscious on the ground, it was she who noticed him and carried him over to the camp. With such thoughts, she slowly reached the edge of the crater as she climbed out of it. She was stunned to see the sight out from the crater. Nearly ten Iwa Anbus surrounded her and were ready to assault her. A pained expression rose on her face as she gave up on her misfortune. ''So, their re-enforcements appeared after all.'' Aiko closed her eyes and waited for her imminent death. Chapter 8: Severe Injuries Chapter 8: Severe Injuries ''Kenjutsu Style: Executioner''s sh'' Arge white de made of Chakra appeared from the depths of the forest and gorged out a small fissure in the form of a sh in front of Iwa ninjas, thus preventing their forward march. The Iwa Anbus immediately retreated as they warily stared at the neer. A Konoha ninja with silver hairs and dark eyes that had dark lines underneath them appeared in their vision. The man had spiky, silver-colored hair that reached into the middle of his back tied in a ponytail and bangs that hung over his Konoha forehead protector. He wore a standard Konoha nin-uniform with a pair of gloves, k-jacket bandages on his right arm, and the addition of distinctive short sleeves which had red edges and the standard crest of Uzushiogakure on it. There was a holster hung diagonally upon his right shoulder. The man had a Chakra Sabre in his right which emitted a streak of White Chakra. One of the Iwa Shinobi hurriedly opened up his Bingo book as he checked the details of the Neer. There was a picture of the neer with his details printed on the bingo book. Name: Sakumo Hatake Code Name: White Fang Age: 35 years Affiliation: Konohagakure Shinobi Rank: Jounin Rank Threat Level: S-Rank Bounty: 250 million Ryo. Other information: A very powerful jounin rank ninja of Konoha who made his name in the Second Ninja War. He is also known to have killed Sand Vige Puppeteer Chiyo''s Son and Daughter-inw. His most recognizable trait is a White Light Chakra Sabre which he wields with proficiency. Skilled in Kenjutsu, several A-rank Ninjutsus, and hand to handbat. If faced against him, any shinobi below the Kage level is advised to run to preserve his life. The Iwa Anbu went pale in fear as he hurriedly conveyed the details to other Iwa Anbus, "Retreat we aren''t his opponent. He is the famed ''White Fang of Konoha''. Run!" All of the Iwa Anbus began to retreat as they made a smokescreen with smoke bombs. Sakumo ignored them as went near Aiko and Akira. Aiko who saw Iwa Anbus retreating heaved a sigh of relief as she thanked Sakumo, "Thank you Sakumo San! If it was not for your timely arrival, I and my husband would surely have died." Sakumo nodded to Aiko in response as he helped her take support against a nearby tree. He began to maneuver around the surroundings to detect any possible ambush. After searching for a while, he perched on a nearby tree as he gazed down at the remnants of the battle below. Sakumo was surprised to see the radius and depth of the crater. He re-assessed the Uchiha couple as his opinion of them was raised up by a notch. "So, this is the power of a genius Uchiha. They sure are freak of nature and given enough time they may surpass me in future." After a while, an entire troupe of Konoha ninjas arrived on the scene. They began to scout near the vicinity as one of the Vice-Captain reported to the Sakumo. "Captain! We have scouted out the vicinity for any possible ambush and have cleared the Iwa ninjas which trailed the other Uchiha. Now we are waiting for your further orders." "There are no orders for now. Just escort the Uchiha couple safely to the Vige. Also, tell the medic-nins to tend to their injuries. They have suffered some serious injuries and need immediate medical attention." Half an hour earlier, Sakumo overheard the backup request from the Uchiha shinobi. The Uchiha shinobi turned out to be the only son of histe Sensei Kagami Uchiha who died during theter years of the First Shinobi War. So, his teammates are the son and daughter-inw of the Demoness oneesan who was the elder sister of his sensei Kagami Uchiha. He was the Captain in charge of the Border Patrol team for this month as recently there was some unrest at the border. He immediately ordered his team and Vice-Captain to gather some ninjas and medics to act as re-enforcement as he marched in advance which lead to the current situation. The medic ninjas checked the condition of Akira and Aiko and did some primary treatment. The medic ninja used the Mystic Palm Technique as he healed the external wounds on their body. After performing the basic healing he replied, "This is all I can do for now. There aren''t necessary instruments to treat thempletely. They needed to sent to Konoha''s main hospital immediately." Sakumo nodded as he ordered his men to retreat. Shortly after they arrived at their base camp, a team consisting of two jounins and three special jounins was dispatched to Konoha with Akira and Aiko in tow. ---------------- At present time, back in the Konoha, Yagami hurriedly rushed to the hospital as he pushed aside lots of people and entered the Hospital. Many people were irritated by his carelessness and informed Hospital authorities. He was stopped by a squad of Anbus who lead him to Hokage. The Hokage was waiting for him in one of the wards of the hospital. Yagami hurriedly greeted Hokage as he impatiently asked, "What''s the matter Hokage-Sama? Why you urgently called for in Vige Hospital? Don''t tell me..." Tears began to overflow from Yagami''s eyes as he was unable toplete the sentence. Hiruzen coughed up a little bit as he consoled Yagami, "That''s not the matter. I have a piece of good news for you, both of your rtives survived the chase." Yagami wiped the tears from his eyes as a smile bloomed on his face. "Thank God! They survived the ambush, where are they? I want to meet them as soon as possible." Hokage coughed again as reprimanded Yagami, "Let meplete my exnation. Both of them were saved by Sakumo Hatake who was Captain in charge of the Patrol team whom you informed. Listen to the report of the doctor before celebrating." Hiruzen pointed at the nearby doctor dressed in a medical coat. The doctor nodded at Hokage and spoke, "Both Akira and Aiko Uchiha are in a very serious condition. Although, their external wounds were healed by the primary treatment of the medics; internal and mental injuries are still present." The doctor stopped for a while as he picked up a file from the nearby table. He flipped some pages and continued, "The patient Akira Uchiha had exhausted the entirety of his Chakra and a loss of vitality is also detected in his body. This is the oue of over-exertion from the possible usage of a very powerful forbidden Jutsu by the patient. Severe mental trauma is also detected which would require the help of a Yamanaka n member to recover. Also, over usage of Sharingan had led to temporary vision loss. The patient would be in aa for a while and if my estimates are correct, he would take a minimum of ten months to recover back to his peak condition." The doctor ced the file back on the table and picked up another folder as he began to recount again, "The patient Aiko Uchiha suffered from an internal injury in her wound during pregnancy which leads to premature delivery. Although the delivery was sessful, her womb is damaged permanently and she won''t be able to give birth again in the future. Simr, to the previous patient this patient, also over-drafted her chakra reserves and there is a trace of Chakra pills in her body. She would be hospitalized for at least three months and would be discharged after that." Yagami heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the news of their safe return. A huge burden was lifted from his shoulders as he smiled cheerfully. Although he was worried about the Akira and Aiko''s injuries, the important matter of their safe arrival overshadowed his worries. The doctor stared at Yagami before he spoke, "Yagami-san it would be for the best if you could escort the new-born child to Hospital for his check-up. The baby was born prematurely and we need to check to make sure the baby is healthy." Yagami nodded and thanked the Doctor. The doctor nodded and returned back to his work. Yagami was eager to meet Akira and Aiko but was stopped by a nurse, "The patients are resting and it is rmended to not disturb their rest. Please visit after a while." Yagami could only sigh helplessly as he came out of the hospital. The gloominess in his eyes was reced by worry. He went to a nearby civilian''s store and purchased all the necessities mentioned by his wife. Yagami returned to his house as he exined the entirety of the matter to Fumiko. He was bombarded by another round of questions as he silently exined the details to his wife. After Fumiko was satisfied with the exnation, she went to the nearby crib and picked up Izuna as she held him gently in her arms. "Let''s Go! I will escort you to the hospital and meet with Aiko. I have some serious talking to do with her." Yagami nodded as both of them slowly walked towards the hospital. Chapter 9: Failed Schemes Chapter 9: Failed Schemes Yagami and Fumiko reached the hospital with Izuna. Izuna was still sleeping in Fumiko''s arms. Yagami informed the doctor about Izuna as the doctor agreed to do a checkup of Izuna. The doctor picked up Izuna and ced him on the bed to start his checkup. The doctor took out a stethoscope as he recorded the heartbeat of Izuna. The count was 70 beats per minute which were normal for an infant. Next up, he called his Hyuga assistant to check the Chakra Network or any internal damage to the kid. The Hyuga activated his Byakugan as he began to check the Chakra Network. "This." The Hyuga was startled as he screamed loudly. The doctor and Uchiha couple were surprised by the exaggerated reaction of Hyuga. "What''s the matter, Asahi? What did you see? Was there any problem?" The doctor calmly inquired from the Asahi Hyuga. "What''s the matter? Speak. Is my nephew alright? There is anything wrong with him right?" Fumikounched a barrage of questions at Hyuga medic. The Hyuga medic gulped his saliva. Izuna was startled by the noise and he began to cry. ------------ I was tired and lost in my sleep. Suddenly, I felt like somebody is peeking through me. I was startled awake as I checked my surroundings to look for the pervert who was defiling me with his gaze. What awaited me was the creepy white eyes of Hyuga? The eyes felt like they were checking every nook and cranny of my body. I was startled by those eyes as I shouted in my fear but what came out of my vocal cords was the cry of a baby. ----------- The doctor and the Uchiha couple med the Hyuga for Izuna''s crying. The Hyuga apologized as he deactivated his Byakugan. Fumiko picked up Izuna as she began to gently pat Izuna to stop his crying. Izuna stopped crying after a while. The attention of a doctor and the Uchiha couple turned to Asahi and they questioned him, "So, what was the matter?" Asahi gulped another mouthful of saliva before he answered, "There is no problem with the body of the infant. In fact, the kid might be healthier than any normal infant." "So." Fumiko frowned and was irritated by the round-about manner of this Hyuga. "The anomaly is that the infant has huge amounts of Chakra reserves abnormal for his age. Also, the colour of the Chakra of his chakra is different from other people. His chakra colour transits between the seven colour of Rainbow and would asionally turn ck and sometimes white. I have never seen anyone with such a weird chakra colour." Izuna who heard it began to sweat bucket as he mentally prayed, ''Oh! Shit! These Hyugas with their creepy eyes. Why he had to check my Chakra. Any excuse could be made for therge amounts of Chakra but how to exin the festival lights colour of my Chakra.'' Izuna began to contemte over this matter. Suddenly the light bulb of his thought lit up as an idea popped up in his mind. ''Festival lights! I have an affinity for all elements which means Light element too. Can''t I manipte my Chakra colour to appear monochrome.'' Izuna focused his mind as he began to mutter in mind ''Change my chakra colour to green. Change my chakra colour to green!'' Izuna muttered for a while but he felt no change in his body instead he built up some pressure in his intestines and released a fart through his anus. Brrrr.... Everyone presented in the room was startled by this sound as they looked at Izuna. Izuna embarrassedly closed his eyes as he muttered in his thoughts, ''Damnit!'' The doctor approached Izuna as he ced his hand on Izuna''s stomach as checked it before he asked, "He is alright. There is no trouble with his body, there was just built up of gases in his body which he released. What did you feed him earlier?" "We fed him some packaged milk from the shop. The milk was fresh and was supplied this morning." Fumiko replied to the doctor. The doctor nodded and advised, "I would rmend feeding mother''s milk for at least the next three months." "Yes, I will keep that in mind," Fumiko replied. "Alright! Asahi activate your byakugan and check the Chakra of Izuna again." Asahi nodded and activated his Byakugan as he checked the Chakra of Izuna again. "Strange it is green in colour." Asahi muttered. "Maybe your eyes are faulty, go and get an eye-checkup." Fumiko replied angrily. She was pissed by this Hyuga who made her Izuna cry. "But, I am currently using an eye-drop prescribed by Doctor Yoshio." "What prescription? That Doctor Yoshio of yours is a quack. Giving such a faulty prescription." Fumiko angrily snarled. Cough cough cough The doctor coughed violently before he replied, "That Quack doctor Yoshio would be me. I am sorry if my prescription is faulty but please don''t me my professional skills or I would ask to visit another doctor. Doctor Yoshio was angry as No Doctor liked to be called a quack on their face. He med the entire fault on Asahi and thought of working him to death for the entire next week. Asahi felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the expression of Doctor Yoshio. Doctor Yoshio had an ugly expression on his face as he angrily stared at him. Asahi gulped a mouthful of Saliva as he thought, ''Please, God! Spare me from this demon. I don''t want to overwork again.'' Fumiko apologized and hurriedly left the room with Izuna and Yagami. They asked one of the hospital staff for the room of Aiko Uchiha and Akira Uchiha. The staff member checked the room and directed them to Room no. 23. They thanked the staff member and hurried to the room. After they reached the Hospital room, they knocked the room slightly and waited for a reply, "Come in." Yagami and Fumiko entered the room and saw Akira still lying in Coma with an IV-drip and a cardio meter attached to him. On another near to the window, Aiko sat on the bed with bandages wrapped around her arms as she stared at them. Aiko waved her hand at Fumiko and spoke, "How are you Fumiko? Oh! You brought Izuna with you. Come and give him to me. I want to see his face and soothe my heart." Fumiko handed over Izuna to Yagami before she stomped her way to Aiko and angrily twisted her ear. "Awwaww It hurts Fumiko. Stop twisting my ear." But Fumiko continued and angrily questioned, "Answer me Aiko! What thoughts were in that little almond-sized brain of yours, when you decided to stay in the Land of Waterfalls for too long." "I.I felt very good in that ce. All the waterfalls and the scenic view." Aiko replied. Awwawwaww. Fumiko twisted her ear harder as she questioned the sanity of Aiko. "Aiko, do you know how much I missed you and the first thing I heard about you is such a terrible news. I wasn''t able to sleep the entire night when I heard about the mishap from Yagami. What if?....what if.." Fumiko stopped as she wasn''t able to mutter the next words and she began to cry in Aiko''s arms. Aiko consoled her for a while as she muttered, "Oh! The devil of Uchiha has such a sweet spot in her heart." Fumiko got up and twisted Aiko''s ear again as Aiko grimaced in pain, but she had a grin on her face. "Don''t take such reckless actions again. You are a mother now and you should behave like one. Take care of your Izuna. I heard from the doctor that you won''t be able to be a mother again. Is that true? Fumiko asked with worry. Aiko smiled as she gently stroked Izuna''s head, "I won''t take such reckless actions again as I would retire as a Shinobi. I will take care of Izuna and don''t worry Izuna is enough for me and beside your son would also be my son." Fumiko smiled as she wiped away her tears and hugged Aiko. "Wee back Aiko! I missed you." "I missed you too Fumiko." Yagami watched their interactions silently as he observed Akira and silently prayed, ''Get well soon my friend! Your family is waiting for you.'' Giggle.Giggle The giggling of a baby was heard as Izuna tried to hug his mother. Izuna was startled when he saw his father and mother alive. He felt genuinely happy when his parents were alive, he tried to call his mother but what came out of his mouths were the giggles of a baby when he tried to speak to her. He hugged his mother andid on her chest. Aiko was happy when she saw Izuna giggling. She misunderstood his action of hugging her for his hunger. She removed her ninja vest slightly and began to breastfeed Izuna. Izuna was perplexed when Aiko began to feed him, but he happily went along as he began to drink his mother''s milk and felt bliss. ------------------------ Somewhere in the outskirts of Konoha, in an Underground building A Goat-masked shinobi in an Anbu outfit presented a scroll to a man sitting on a seat simr to Hokage. The man dismissed the Anbu as he opened the scroll and read its contents. "Damnit! My n failed" The man mmed his hand on his seat as he shouted angrily. "My purpose to create unrest among Uchihas failed, I have to think of another way. Chapter 10: Reflection on Past and Plans for Future Chapter 10: Reflection on Past and ns for Future A fair-skinned boy with spiky, ck hair with a tint of a blue tint to them was lyingzily in the grass. He wore a ck-colored t-shirt and ck pants with Uchiha crest imprinted on its back. The boy had ck eyes with a golden pupil. Heidzily on the ground with one leg crossed over another as he was lost in his thoughts. His eyes changed as a Sharingan with two tomoes appeared in both of his eyes. His Sharingan was different from usual, as instead of the usual ck pupil; his Sharingan had a golden pupil. The sclera and cornea of his Sharingan were normal, the only difference was the golden pupil and silver Iris which were simr to his normal eye. The boy began to mutter, "It had been three years, since my rebirth in this world. Lots of things happened in the past three years." "Shisui was born one monthter than me. My father took nine months to recover from hisa. Mother took care of me for me ninths months together with Uncle Yagami and Aunt Fumiko. Fugaku the younger brother of aunt Fumiko became n head a year ago, when grandpa n Leader passed away unexpectedly." Izuna sighed as he recalled all these events. "Uncle Fugaku married Aunt Mikoto six monthster. That wedding was such a hassle." Izuna caressed his cheeks as he remembered those old cronies of the Uchiha n pulling his cheeks non-stop. He shuddered when he felt that sensation as it was one of his worst days ever. He gazed at Shisui who was ying with a toy shuriken and Kunai and sighed. ''I wondered how this little guy was able to handle all those aunties and grandmas. Damn! Even the kid toys of this world are kunai and shurikens. I missed those days when I yed with small remote control cars.'' Izuna shook his head of such thoughts as he recalled more memories of the past three years. ''Recently, I saw some change in the chakra of Aunt Mikoto. When I secretly activated my X-Ray vision to check her womb, I was able to see the formation of an embryo. So, this means Itachi would be born in the next eight months at most. The third Ninja war would begin in the next five years, I would have to train harder in the future.'' Izuna sighed when he recalled his progression in the past three years. ''I was able to awaken my Sharingan at birth, but it took me three years to evolve it to two-tomoe Sharingan. Part of the reason being, I was under constant watch from my parents and was unable to keep it active all the time. I don''t want to freak out my parents by showing them an awakened Sharingan on a new-born baby.'' ''Also, the pupil of Sharingan is golden with silver Iris maybe it is the mutation granted by the boon from God. Also, my Sharingan is a Choku-tomoe just like Madara and Sasuke''s and even dad''s Sharingan is Choku-tomoe. Well, it can be linked to father and me being part of Madara''s lineage and Sasuke being Indra''s Re-incarnation. In my free time when I wasn''t under the observation of any of my parents, I would practice my Sharingan and sessfully evolved it two-tomoe just by keeping it on.'' I had massive amounts of Chakra thus constant usage of Sharingan had no negative impact on me. But the most depressing thing is, I can''t practice Ninjutsu and Chakra control exercises. My body is still that of a three-year-old boy, it won''t be able to handle the stress from my massive reserves of Chakra despite a healing factorparable to Hashirama. I am not a masochist who will suffer unnecessary pain to gain a tiny bit of power while greatly harming my body. The medical knowledge from my previous life is of great help here as I can easily recognize any abnormality in my body through my Sharingan and would be able to act ordingly. There is no particr major difference in the body of a person from the Shinobi world and my homeworld except the Chakrawork. I assume that the Chakrawork is simr to the Cirction system of the body where it circtes Chakra through the body instead of blood and a person can release Chakra through his tenketsu points. To confirm my analysis I secretly checked the body of Civilians with my Sharingan. There was no fundamental difference between their body and a Shinobi''s body. Only the bodies of civilians were unable to utilize Chakra because either their Chakra wasn''t enough or their Chakrawork was blocked. To unlock one''s Chakra a person has to flow his chakra in a particr manner so as not to damage the Chakra meridians. This whole ordeal looked like a cultivation world''s shit to me. Back to the point, I haven''t unlocked my chakra because of fear of bacsh from Chakra meridians. I will try it in the next few months. So, my training was meh! The only exception being Sharingan. But that didn''t stop from reading books. I was able to read and write at the age of one and a half. This greatly shocked my parents as they attested me as a genius, the rumors of which were exaggerated in the vige. Danzo won''t try any tricks again for a while, ever since then, the Uchiha n grew vary of Vige elders when my parents briefed them on the possibility of a traitor during the n meeting. Those old fogies of the n grew wary as recently lots of Uchihas with Sharingan went missing or were found dead with their eyes gouged out. The n demanded an answer from Hokage to which as usual he could only convince them with some shitty reason which I am unaware of. I began to decide my future ns as my journey in the Ninja world will begin soon. Firstly, I will awaken my chakra but at the age of four. Then I will master the FIRE STYLE: GREAT FIREBALL TECHNIQUE which I already knew hand sign of. Courtesy to father and my Sharingan which copied it when father practices in the backyard. This will graduate me from the so-called ceremony of Uchiha. I wasn''t particrly fond of their custom but I had to respect my parent''s wishes. And the most important thing, I won''t even touch taijutsu until I turn seven. My body and all my bones will be grown by the age of seven and practicing after that won''t hinder my growth and negatively impair my body in any way. So, until then I will mostly train in Ninjutsu. As for sage arts that''s something leagues away from for now. If I can see Jiraiya or Minato use the technique then I would be able to see the Nature energy with my eyes and then direct it in my body to attain sage mode. I activated the electromaic spectra mode of my Sharingan and looked into the air. Various colours of different frequencies and wavelengths appeared in my vision and painted it like a canvas. Damnit! I can''t recognize nature energy among all of this nonsense. I have to figure out the colour and type of Nature energy before I master sage mode, so that''s a n faraway in the future. I helplessly shook my head and began to focus on other things. One of the most brilliant hypotheses I made was about the use of Kekkai Genkai. If I have enough proficiency in the required nature release and I can see the ratio of Chakra type in a kekkai Genkai then I would be able to perhaps replicate that kekkai Genkai. That''s my assumption for now and I need to verify it somehow. But till now, I haven''t seen any kekkai Genkai user of Chakra type. The physical users of the kekkai Genkai are all around me. The scary eyes of Hyuga still creep me out. I closed my eyes as Iid in the backyard of my house while keeping an eye on Shisui. "Nii-sannii-san" My thoughts were interrupted as Shisui walked to me and began to pull my t-shirt. I de-activated my Sharingan as asked Shisui, "What''s the matter Shisui?" Shisui tossed the toy kunai towards me and spoke in a cute voice, "Nii-san y ninja-ninja with me. You will be enemy and I will be the brave ninja who defeats you." "Shisui why am I always the bad guy? Sometimes you be the bad guy and I will be the good guy." Shisui shook his head as he spoke, "No, nii-san you look more of a bad guy them me." I looked at my spiky hairs and my cool ck attire as I thought out loud. "Shisui, how do I look like a bad guy to you." Shisui ced his small under the chin as he looked like he was seriously contemting over the profoundness of life. After a while, he spoke, "I have a gut feeling that you will ruin many people in the future." "." Speechless, I was utterly speechless at those words as I continued to get defeated by Shisui. Chapter 11: Unlocking Chakra Chapter 11: Unlocking Chakra Another year passed in the blink of an eye, Izuna and Shisui turned four this year. It is the month of October as four months passed by since the birth of Itachi. Fugaku threw out a n-wide celebration party as every nsman from old to young was involved in the celebration. The majority of my time passed in escaping from the clutches of Aunties and Grandmas who like to pull my cheeks. Last week, Shisui celebrated his fourth birthday and only family members were invited to the celebration. I got to tease Shisui a lot this time. I was very excited today and was unable to hold my excitement as a smile would bloom on my face from time to time. Because today was the day, father promised to take me out to training grounds to awaken my chakra. My training can start now and I will be able to grow stronger and surpass everyone one by one. "Nii-san, that''s creepy. Stop smiling like that." "." "Shisui have you taken a pledge or something to break my sweet dream. Today, both of us will awaken our Chakra which means we will be able to be a real Ninja." A cute smile bloomed on Shisui''s face as he curled up his lips and smiled eagerly, "Yes, I will be the best ninja in the world and would make Uchiha n proud." I sighed and shook my head. In the original story, you were used and disposed off by Danzo, thus that dream of yours was left unfulfilled. But in this timeline, you have me I will help you rise to be one of the top powerhouses of the world. I promise you, Shisui. "So, are both of you ready?" Our thoughts were interrupted by Uncle Yagami who came to pick us up. "Where is my father, Uncle Yagami?" "Oh! Akira went to the Ninja weapons store to pick up some Chakra papers. We will test your Chakra nature too while we are at it, so we can train you more effectively in your Chakra Natures." Yagami replied as he led us out of the Uchiha npounds. I stared curiously around as I asked Uncle Yagami, "Uncle Yagami, why are we moving out of the npounds. Won''t we awaken our chakra in Uchiha training grounds?" "Yes, father why are we moving out from the npounds." We were about to awaken your Chakra in the Uchihapounds but Hokage-Sama requested to watch the Chakra awakening of the genius of Uchiha in his presence as goodwill towards the Uchiha n. So, your uncle Fugaku would also be present. I thought about this matter and snorted in my mind, "This is yet another plot from that Danzo. He wanted to test the potential of the new generation of Uchiha and wanted to detect the threat we possess to him. I am sure it was he who requested the Hokage to watch us while he secretly monitors us from the dark." "Uncle, why the Hokage-sama wanted to watch some kids like us awaken their Chakra to strengthen the bond with our n? This doesn''t make any sense" I probed. "Yes, Father howe a powerful shinobi like Hokage-sama have time for us little kids?" Shisui chimed in. I gave a mental thumbs-up to Shisui, ''Shisui, Good Job!'' Yagami hesitated for a while before he spoke, "Apparently, from what I heard from Fugaku, this was the idea of one of the vige elders during the annual Vige meeting of heads of various ns and after some thoughts, the Hokage and Fugaku agreed to it. So, here we are." I nodded my head as I thought, ''Being recently appointed as a n Head, Fugaku is still a Green-horn but he will learn over time about the intricacies of politics and schemes of the Vige elders.'' Yagami led us to the Training Ground three of the Vige. Whenever I passed by that huge Hokage Mountain carving on the Hill, I would always be reminded of the reality and cruelty of this world and warn myself to prepare myself well. We soon reached the vige where I spotted my father discussing something with Fugaku. Fugaku had short, brown hair that reached to his shoulders and onyx-colored eyes. He had the ever-present stern on his face which made the crevices near his chin more visible. He wore the standard jounin k jacket, along with a ck shirt with the Konoha Military Police Force symbol on the shoulders, shin-guards, and a ck, open front apron with a white diamond pattern on the bottom. He noticed our presence and nodded to Yagami. ''Would he ever smile in his life'' I wondered as I watched his interaction with my father. After around fifteen minutes of wait, the entourage of Hokage arrived with four Anbu Guards who hid as soon as they reached the Training Ground. "Sorry for myte arrival. I had some necessary work to tend so I wasn''t able to make it in time." The Hokage greeted Fugaku and my father as heughed heartily. I was able to feel a chilly gaze of a ravenous wolf upon him. I shivered as I looked around to check for the source. ''So, Danzo is here too. Too bad, I can''t use my Sharingan to locate him. I guess I can sense negative emotions directed towards me, maybe a trait of my mutated Sharingan or these are just my natural instincts. No matter what it is, I would be a lot helpful in future battles as I would be able to sense hostile intention directed towards me.'' In a nearby bush, Danzo was surprised for a second when he intently stared the older Uchiha kid and the kid who began to look around seemingly searching for something. ''The senses of this kid are very sharp. Maybe he is a sensor type ninja. My root iscking sensor type nins, he would be a good collection to my root. But before that I need to see his potential for myself, after all, I don''t want someone useless to enter my root meant only for elites among elites.'' In the training ground, after the pleasantries were exchanged Hiruzen spoke, "Let''s cut the chase and return to the matter. I am sure the kids are excited to awaken their Chakra. So, we shan''t keep them waiting." Akira and Yagami nodded as they urged us to move to the center of the training ground. "Shisui, you go first I want to see your awakening with my eyes first" I spoke to Shisui. "Ok! Nii-san as you wish." Shisui nodded and moved towards the center of the field. Yagami followed Shisui as Shisui sat cross-legged on the ground. Yagami forked out a scroll from his pocket and gave it to Shisui. "Read it carefully Shisui! After you have read and memorized the contents, close your eyes, and began to follow the instructions written on the scroll. Father will help you during the process, so don''t worry about anything." "Yes, father! I will do as you say." Shisui took the scroll and began to memorize its content. Meanwhile, my father took out a scroll from his pocket and handed it over to me. "Izuna, this is for you, memorize it well and I will help youter during the process." I nodded and took the scroll. My memory was pretty sharp as my mental age was higher and my soul was stronger than an average person courtesy of God for reincarnating me with intact memories. It took me only a minute to memorize the contents of the scroll, but just for bluffing Hokage and Danzo I took a whole eight-minute to read the scroll and returned it to my father. Fugaku and Hiruzen were stunned by this as it takes fifteen minutes even for a genius child to memorize the entire Chakra Pathway cycle and other details of the scroll. Approximately, after two minutester than me, Shisui was done too as he handed over the scroll to Yagami. "I am done too, father! I have memorized all of the contents of the scroll." Fugaku and Hiruzen were perplexed again. One kid was fine and could be treated as once a genius in the century but for two to appear at the same time. Hiruzen sighed as he thought, ''Times are changing fast, geniuses are appearing one after another. First Orochimaru, then Minato, then Kakashi, and now these two. Each of them is more monstrous than the other. Guess, I would have to retire from the position of Hokage and pass the will of fire of the First Hokage to future generations. I wonder how things will turn out in the future with the birth of so many geniuses.'' Yagami nodded as he said, "That''s my genius boy. Now start to follow the instruction written on the scroll." Shisui closed his eyes, Yagami ces his hand on Shisui''s back as he released a surge of Chakra inside Shisui''s Chakra pathway. "Shisui, use this surge of Chakra to direct your Chakra from your naval region and follow the pathway written on scroll toplete a cycle." Chapter 12: Bluffing the Hokage Chapter 12: Bluffing the Hokage Shisui followed the instruction of Yagami and began to manipte the Chakra ording to the Chakra pathway. Popping and cracking sounds could be heard from Shisui''s body as the obstruction blocking his Chakra System began to clear. Sweat trickled down from Shisui''s face as he was manipting the Chakra andpleting the Chakra Cycle. Boom... A Small explosion of Chakra urred arge burst of Chakra was released from Shisui''s body. A small dent appeared on the ground near Shisui as some spiderweb-like cracks spread him. Arge amount of Chakra seeped in the earth and some of it escaped to the atmosphere. I was able to see a green clump of Chakra mixing and dispersing in the atmosphere. So, that rainbow mess of the Chakra in the atmosphere is the excessive Chakra released from the body or Justus. That exins why everything appeared like a painting as people with various Chakra Nature releases their Chakra in the atmosphere which umtes over time. The process of eradicating the will of the user and turning it into Nature energy takes up a lot of time perhaps decades or centuries depending on the will of the user. That exins the renewability of Nature Energy and Chakra in the body. The Body produces Chakra from the diet and nutrition intake and adds Chakra Nature to it. The chakra thus produced has the will of the user which allows a ninja to perform Ninjutsu. Whereas nature energy is directly absorbed from nature and has the will of the entire to say if the is considered a living entity. Excessive intake of this energy will overwrite the will of the user''s Chakra with the''s will and change their Chakra Nature. That exins the process of turning into stone when an excessive amount of Nature energy is absorbed. Only people withrge amounts of Chakra can master sage mode as the will in their Chakra overpowers the will of the and thus they can use it as their own. The sage energy contains the potent energy of the entire thus granting extraordinary strength and resilience. Also, sage energy doesn''t have any elemental type so it works against Justus which has Elemental resistance or Immunity. The case of Obito as a ten-tail jinchuruki was a prime example of this. ''I wonder what kind of changes will ur to me when I will use Sage Mode. After all, I have an affinity for every element.'' I dismissed my thoughts and focused on the Chakra Awakening. Shisui was panting as he unlocked his Chakra. He breathed heavily for a while before he replied, "Yay! Father, I unlocked my Chakra. Now, I can learn ninjutsu and be a ninja." "Being a ninja isn''t all about Chakra and Ninjutsus. You have a focus on another aspect too if you want to be a spectacr ninja." Yagami taught Shisui, but there was a smile on his face. "Ok! Nowe here and infuse your chakra in this Chakra paper. We will test out your Chakra nature." Yagami handed over a Chakra paper to Shisui. I was also curious to know the Chakra nature of Shisui as I forgot such minor details from the story. I could tell that Shisui had fire release and wind release, but I curious to know about his other Chakra Nature. Shisui grabbed the Chakra paper and infused his chakra into it. The paper split into three parts, one of the parts caught fire and turned to ashes. The second part wrinkled and the third part remained as it is. ''So, Shisui has four Chakra Natures'' I murmured to myself. Hokage and the rest of the people were stunned to see this development. Shisui was confused about the details as he gawked at Yagami. Yagami coughed and exined, "Shisui, you have an affinity for four nature transformation. Three of them are Elemental Nature transformation and the remaining one is the Non-elemental Nature transformation." Shisui asked again, "Father, what affinities do I have? Can you exin it to me." Yagami nodded and exined, "When you infused your chakra into the Chakra paper is split into three parts which mean you have wind affinity or Wind Release. The wind chakra is very sharp and tends to cut things. Then, one of the split paper caught fire and turned to ashes. This means you have a fire affinity or Fire Release. The Uchiha nsmen are born with a Fire affinity. The second part of the paper was wrinkled by your Chakra, it demonstrates the Lightning Release. The third part of the paper remained as it is which demonstrated the Non-Elemental Nature Transformation of Yin or Yang release. In the case of us Uchiha, the Sharingan is unlocked by our unique chakra which in turn is caused by the unique Yin release of our Uchiha''s spirit and Chakra. So, yourst affinity is Yin release." Fugaku and Hiruzen congratted Yagami. "Congrattions! Yagami. Your son is a genius born with four Chakra Nature Transformations." "Hahanow I am more curious to see the Chakra Nature of the Genius boy of Uchiha known for an excellent memory and his intelligence." Hiruzen stared at me as he spoke those words. In the nearby bushes, Danzo was excited to see the Chakra affinity of Shisui. I must get that boy to join Root at any cost. He would be a valuable tool for my ns. I must recruit him at all costs even if it means going against Hiruzen or Uchiha n. But before that, let''s see the Chakra affinity of the other little guy, the supposedly genius of the Uchiha n after the Ghost of Uchiha. Now, it was my turn to unlock my Chakra. I was excited as after this I could start making use of my second boon for real. I went to the center of the field and sat down. My father ced his hand on my back as he spoke, "Just calm down your nerves and follow the Chakra pathway. I will release a surge of Chakra in your body." I nodded as I closed my eyes and began to feel the changes in my body after my father released his Chakra in my body. The Chakra released by father went inside my body as my body began to resist the external chakra. I calmed down my nerves as I let the Chakra interfere with the Dormant Chakra in my naval region. When father''s Chakra approached my Chakra, the dormant Chakra reacted violently as it roared and began to flow through my Chakra meridians or veins. Akira was pushed back by the sudden violent storm of Chakra. He retreated further looked at Izuna in surprise. The mouth of Hiruzen, Fugaku, and Yagami was wide-opened as they stared at Izuna without blinking their eyes. A huge storm of Chakra visible to naked eyes gathered around Izuna as it ground the ground near him, creating a crater with Izuna as the center. The Anbus were alerted as they came out of their hiding and looked at the massive storm of Chakra. Inside the storm of Chakra, Izuna silently cycled his Chakra along the pathway written in the scroll. Popping and cracking sounds emitted from his body as his Chakra destroyed all the obstruction blocking its flow. The potent Chakra of Izuna cleared all the obstructions as it continued to repeat the cycles. After four and five cycles, the violent storm of the Chakra calmed down as a soothing feeling filled his body. Izuna inspected his own body as he felt strength coursing through his body. ''So, this is what it felt after you unlock your Chakra. It feels like I have endless energy. My chakra capacity is equivalent to one-tail and thus I have lots of Chakra. So, that''s why Naruto was so hyperactive, he had lots of energy to spare for his pranks and mischiefs.'' As I was lost in pleasure after unlocking my Chakra, reality poured cold water upon me as it dawned on me, ''Damn! That Danzo and Hiruzen are inspecting me. What should I do now? How to exin this to me?... Hmm.. maybe I should feign ignorance for now and how a kid is supposed to know about such stuff? But I should be wary from now on and try to never catch the eyes of Danzo. Remaining calm and low-key is the way to go until I gain enough strength. After that, I will pay back to them multifold and willfully demonstrate my strength.'' My sweet bubble of dreams was busted by the crooning of an old goat with a goatee, "Fugaku what was that? Were you able to notice something with your Sharingan." Fugaku was perplexed by the question of Hokage but he dismissively nodded his head, "My vision was blocked by that huge burst of Chakra. So, I wasn''t able to notice any abnormality except that this kid Izuna hadrge amounts of Chakra. If my guess is correct, his chakra reserve is almost equivalent to a high-jounin." "Yes! I think so too. The genius of Uchiha didn''t disappoint us at all. He would be a valuable asset to the vige and will carry the Will of Fire of First Hokage much brighter than anybody else." Hiruzen spoke as he walked towards me, "Kid! What''s your name?" He forked out a sweet-candy from his pocket and passed it to Izuna. ''So, here ites the famous sugar-coated words of Hokage which he used to bluff young children. If it was my previous world, the children there wouldn''t even look at this shady guy and would immediately begin to cry and create a ruckus that could be heard from half the city away. Does, he thinks he can bluff anybody with these outdated lines used by kidnappers to entice children during thete 90s.'' Chapter 13: The Light Element Chapter 13: The Light Element ''I will y along with you old man. After all, I don''t want someone to be head over hills on me for some crappy reason.'' I took the candy from Hokage and opened the packaging and began to eat it. Fuck! It is the cheapest candy avable in Vige. I kept these thoughts to myself as I shed a smile to Hokage. "Thank-you Hokage Sama. Thanks for the candy." "Now! Now don''t be so formal to me. Just call me grandpa Hokage as this is what most of Vige Children call me." Hiruzen smiled gently towards Izuna as he spoke to him. "Ok! I will keep that in mind Hokage Sama.I mean Grandpa Hokage." "Good! Now let''s test your Chakra Nature." I began to fidget when I heard those words. I have an affinity for every element known what kind of reaction will the Chakra papers give out when I infuse it with Chakra. Akira nodded towards Hokage as he fished out a Chakra paper out of his pocket and handed it to me. I looked at my father as I muttered, "Father! I don''t feel well. Can we do the Chakra paper test another day." Akira had a troubled look on his face when he heard my words. He hesitated for a while before he eventually decided. "Ok! I will talk to Fugaku and Hokage-sama about it." I nodded with joy at my father as I acted the part of feeling unwell and slumped on the ground. My father immediately caught me as he spoke to Hiruzen and Fugaku, "Izuna isn''t feeling well, I will take him back home. He will be fine after resting for a while. If you want to know about his Chakra Nature, I will test out and tell youter. Hiruzen waved his hand and said, "It''s fine to go take him home to rest. It is nothing of major importance. You can report it anytime." Akira nodded to Hiruzen and Fugaku as he piggy-backed me and dashed towards the Uchiha n. ''What happened to that kid so suddenly? I only gave him six months old candy to eat which I usually carried in my pocket. Was there anything mixed in the candy or it was stale.'' Hiruzen thought about the matter. Meanwhile in the nearby bushes, ''Damn! That Uchiha brat left without showing his Chakra Nature. I must ce root anbus to keep an eye on both of these kids. Although, I can''t monitor them inside the Uchiha n, being able to track their whereabouts outside the Uchiha npounds is fine by me. If I can control these two Uchiha brats then I will be able to control the entire Uchiha n in the future. The position of Hokage would be in my grasp soon.'' Danzo signaled his root anbus to retreat to Headquarters, as he disappeared from the spot. Yagami together with Shisui in his arms flickered out from the training ground. I and father reached home as Mom weed us back. She was worried to see me lying on father''s shoulders as she asked, "Are you alright Izuna? Come mama will take care of you." Aiko snatched Izuna from Akira as she began to cuddle with him. "My boy is a real ninja now. You must be tired from unlocking your Chakra, now go and rest. Mama will prepare your favorite food at dinner tonight. I slowly wobbled to the bedroom as I pretended to be tired. Once I entered the room, I jumped on the bed and silently shouted in my mind. ''Finally, I can train in ninjutsu. Gone were the days when I had to helplessly wait for ninjutsu training. Now from which element I should start with.'' I began to contemte as there were too many options to start with. Fire and lightning jutsus would be taken care of by my father. I can ask Uncle Yagami to train me in Wind Jutsus. As for Earth and water style jutsus, I will put them on back-burner until I join the academy. Now, this left with me other elements that were uncharted territory for me. I knew of some other elements besides the one mentioned in Naruto like Space element, Time element, Light element, Dark element, Void element, and Chaos element. Other elements are still unknown to me. I can''t practice in space, time, void, and Chaos element as these are tooplex and I need some sort of external aid or assistance to figure them out. That leaves me with Light and Dark elements. I think the light element would be easy to masterpared to the dark element. The number of hours I spent on learning the properties of Light in Physics sure woulde to use here. I would have never thought that such a thing would happen when I mmed my head in those physics books to prepare for the college entrance exam. Light can be used in a variety of ways. I can adjust its wavelength to manipte the effect on the surroundings. There are infrared rays, ultraviolet rays, gamma rays, microwaves, Radio waves, and whatnot, the possibilities are endless. But I need to figure out my necessity for now. I want to evolve my Sharingan as soon as possible while hiding it from the eyes of everyone present out there. Maybe I should try mastering optical illusion first. I can bend light around my eyes using the phenomena of refraction and dispersion to create an illusion to hide my Sharingan. But there is a catch in this technique any Uchiha or Hyuga would be able to see the infused Chakra around my eyes and would be able to figure out the use of ninjutsu. I would have to figure out a way to disrupt their senses. Iid on the bed as I was trying to figure out a feasible way to hide my Sharingan. ''Wait a sec! I am a retard. How could I forget about the genjutsu? It will easily synchronize with the light element and enhance the genjutsu. So, I can cast a small genjutsu around my eyes using the light element which makes people believe that my eyes are normal instead of Sharingan. And the best person to learn Genjutsu is right at my house. Mother would the best teacher to teach me Genjutsu.'' I locked the room from inside and activated my Sharingan as Iid on the bed and began to recall the hand seals required for the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique. I want to surprise my father by performing this Jutsu on my first attempt and thus force him to teach me more jutsus. Learning the Shadow Clone and multi shadow clone jutsu would be a good start as it can exponentially increase my Chakra training and other sorts of training. For now, I should just train in the basic Chakra control technique. I insert my hand in my pocket and took out a bunch of leaves I plucked earlier. I will practice the ''Leaf Concentration Exercise'' till dinner. It is a very good exercise for a beginner like me who knew almost nothing about the Chakra control. I ced the leaf on my forehead as I began to concentrate my chakra and focus on the center of the leaf. It is amon exercise taught in the academy and I don''t want to spend most of my time in the academy learning beginner''s stuff. Kakashi was able to graduate from the academy at the age of 5 and was promoted to chunnin at the age of 6. This news created a shock among vigers as they marveled at the abilities of Kakashi. Kakashi had too much potential and talent, too bad he wasted it on a grave. Kakashi is 9 years old now, five years older than me. Uncle Sakumo is still alive, he is yet to fail on his mission andmit suicide. If possible I want to stop him from dying. In the future, he could be a good alternative for Danzo. I don''t know the necessary details of Uncle Sakumo''s death. But in anime, it was two years before the Third Shinobi War that Kakashi started behaving like my high school principal who continued to bitch about rules. So, I still have two years, maybe I should interact more with him. That reminded me of the Iing Third Shinobi war, maybe I should participate in it from backlines to broaden my horizons about the warfare of the Shinobi world. After all, I am still a green-horn to all this killing. Operating on dead bodies was one thing, but killing actual living people is another. I have to stain my hand with blood, I want to carve out a name for myself in the Shinobi world. And in the future, I would have to face Grandfather too. I don''t want any interactions with the ck Zetsu until the fourth Shinobi war. I may be able to deal with him earlier but that would alert the Kara Organization lead by Isshiki Otsutsuki. He is one scary guy the likes of which Kaguya couldn''tpare to. Chapter 14: My First Jutsu Chapter 14: My First Jutsu I practiced the ''Leaf Concentration Exercise'' until dinner time. "Izuna!...Izuna. Come down to eat dinner. Mother has prepared your favorite dishes today." "Yes, mother! I will be there soon." Izuna stopped his training as he went downstairs. He went to the washroom and quickly washed himself up before he ate his dinner. "Eat more Izuna! Today mother is proud of you. You even stunned the Hokage who praised you in front of the n head. I am very happy for you. Don''t hesitate to tell mother, if you need anything from me." Izuna nodded as he ate his dinner, "Mother! Teach me Genjutsu techniques whenever you are free. I want to learn genjutsu from you." Aiko smiled as she spoke, "Silly child! You need to learn to have basic Chakra control before you can master even the simplest Genjutsu. Mother will help you train in Chakra control whenever you are done training with your father." "Ok!" I replied as I silently ate my food and thought about the Optical Illusion Jutsu. ''So, it all boils down to good Chakra control. Then, I will take one step at a time and master the basic Chakra control first.'' "Don''t be upset Izuna. Father will teach you new cool jutsu tomorrow. Every Uchiha prides themselves on this technique as this marks the start of their Ninja carrier. The jutsu will be a surprise and you must wait until tomorrow to learn it." ''I will see who will surprise whom?'' "Will Shisui join us too?" "Yes! He will be there to learn that jutsu too." Now-now, don''t be impatient and wait for tomorrow. Izuna hurriedly rushed ahead to sleep in the bed-room. He felt really tired after the Chakra awakening in the morning and ''Leaf Concentration Practice'' in the evening. Tomorrow will mark the day of the first disy of his talents to the world. Izuna yawned as heid on the bed. ----------- In the morning at 7''o''clock, I am standing in the backyard of my house. Father is standing in front of me with a Chakra paper in his hand. "Ok! No one is observing you now. You can use the Chakra paper to check your Chakra Nature." I tilted my head as I am surprised by the im of my father. "You can bluff Hokage and others, but you can''t bluff me, your father. You were fine when you pretended to faint in the training ground. I was able to notice it in the first instant, but I yed along." Akira questionably looked at me as he inquired, "So, tell me now what was it that made you pretend to faint. Don''t lie to me as I would be able to detect it." Akira activated his Sharingan as he looked at Izuna. ''Damn it, father! Is this a fucking FBI investigation. Why would you have to activate your Sharingan.'' I made a cute puppy face as I looked at my father with teary eyes. Akira''s face flinched for a second before he retained his serious expression. ''Lies!... All of those were lies. What puppy face, what teary eyes? Even a grandma won''t throw you a bone with such a face. Those novels and animes overrated this puppy face technique. Guess, I will have to figure out another way to convince my father. I will speak the truth with a bunch of lies mixed within.'' "Father! When I was in the training ground yesterday, I felt like someone was observing me very closely. So, I pretended to faint as I was really afraid." I answered as I began to shed crocodile tears. My father took the bait as he consoled me. "Don''t worry Izuna, you weren''t the only one who felt like that. I also felt like someone was spying on us yesterday, but I paid no heed to it yesterday as Hokage-Sama was present there. I assumed that the person was one of his men." ''Wow! Father had sharp senses. I beg to say even Hiruzen wasn''t aware of Danzo''s presence. But father was able to feel the spying eye of Danzo. Guess, he is Madara''s son, he had talent butcked the knowledge of his legacy until the death of Grandmother. So, there was no motivation for him to push forward. Madara was able to grow so powerful because he had a rival in the form of Hashirama Senju and those were Warring periods with constant wars and bloodshed. I will be my father''s motivation and convince him to train harder.'' "Ok!...ok! enough of the chit-chat. Now test your Chakra Nature or we will bete for your jutsu training." Akira took out the Chakra paper and handed it over to Izuna. I grabbed the Chakra paper. To be honest, I was curious to see the reaction of Chakra Paper on contact with my Chakra. I infused a little amount of Chakra in the Chakra paper. The Chakra paper disintegrated into nothingness, as not even a speck of its dust was left. Akira was stunned, I was stunned too as I expected the Chakra paper to go bonkers with all kind of shit like fire, water, earth, lightning, wind, space, and all. But this, what the heck! "Try again!... just try again! The previous Chakra paper might be a defective one." Father took out another Chakra paper and handed it over to me. I tried to infuse Chakra again into the paper, but the result was the same. It disintegrated into nothingness. "This this father what is my Chakra Nature." I joked to hear the response of Father. Father muttered some incoherent words as he nodded to himself. "Don''t mention this event to anyone. When I mean anyone, not even Shisui, and your Uncle Yagami. Just tell others your Chakra affinities are the same as Shisui. Now, let''s go to the Uchihake to practice your first jutsu. ''Ok! Now I am genuinely confused. What the heck! What kind of fantasies did father think of? I am curious to know about them.'' We arrived at the Uchihake, Uncle Yagami and Shisui were waiting for us. "Why are you sote, nii-san? I have been waiting for you for a while now." Shisui puffed up his cheeks as he angrily asked me. I patted Shisui''s head as I answered to him, "I waste because my father was testing my Chakra Affinity." "Hey! Nii-san what are your Chakra affinities? I want to know about them too." "Oh! They are the same as yours. I also have Fire, lightning, wind, and Yin release. Ok, ok aren''t you excited about your first jutsu." "Yes, nii-san let''s learn the Jutsu." Uncle Yagami nodded to us as he approached the bank of Lake. He quickly made a few hand signs, ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'' Uncle Yagami spewed arge fireball that burned for a while and evaporated lots of theke''s water. The fireball released was far smaller than then the one I saw during the confrontation with the Iwa Ninjas. I suppose he infused a lot less Chakra in the fireball. Shisui gaped at the sight of fireball with twinkling eyes. "I will try first. I have memorized the hand signs for the fireball." I spoke after Uncle Yagami was done with the fireball jutsu. I went near the bank of theke and weaved hand signs for jutsu in quick session. Akira and Yagami were stunned by the fluidity of hand signs of Izuna. The movements were almost simr to those who had practiced the Jutsu a lot. ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'' I spewed out arge fireballrger than that of Uncle Yagami''s as I used one-tenth of my Chakra Reserves. The fireball extended till the end of theke as it evaporated almost the entirety of theke leaving only some water patches behind. Akira and Yagami were shocked to see the jutsu seed and they congratted me on sess. "Well done! Izuna you seeded on your first try. Nobody was able to that in the Uchiha n. Many people required at least a week of training before they could cast the fireball jutsu and your fireball was stronger than the average fireball." I was happy for sessfully casting my jutsu but was sad to see only an above-average fireball after exhausting one-tenth of my Chakra reserves. ''Wasteful! Too wasteful! My Chakra control is very poor. If my Chakra control was good, I could save up to 75% of Chakra in the previous jutsu.'' After this, I will ask Mom to train me in Chakra control. I came out of my thoughts as I looked in the direction of Shisui. Shisui went near the bank of theke and slowly performed the hand seals. He gathered some chakra and released it. ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'' A small ball of fire came out of his mouth which dissipated after traveling a little distance. Shisui was sad to see his small fireball as heined, "Why my fireball is so small? Whereas Izuna nii-san''s fireball was many times bigger than mine." Yagami consoled him, "Don''t worry I am sure you would be able to do the same after a little practice." Shisui nodded as he began to practice the fireball technique. ''Guess, geniuses have differences too. Itachi was able to perform the fireball on his first try. As for me, I am a cheat, not a genius.'' I shook my head as I approached my father, "Father! Teach me shadow clone jutsu." I spoke directly without any round-about manner. My father was surprised by my request as he questioned, "Izuna! Shadow clone is a B-rank jutsu that can only be performed by having the Jounin level of Chakras. Although your Chakra Capacity is enough, the shadow clone has no practical battle applications. It is only good for scouting and reconnaissance, as it eliminates the risk of death at the cost of some Chakra. Shadow clone halves the user''s Chakra thus preventing the user from performing any powerful ninjutsu. Are you sure you want to learn it?" ''Why would I not learn it? That''s my ticket to dominating the plebs in the future, how could I not learn it.'' "Father! You know I have lots of Chakra. This jutsu won''t harm me and will help with my Chakra control." Akira thought for a while and nodded. He showed me the hand signs required for Shadow Clone and warned me to practice moderately. "Yes, Father! I will keep that in mind." I nodded to him as I began to practice. This will mark the beginning of my journey towards Great power as I will be op. Chapter 15: Academy Chapter 15: Academy Another year passed in the blink of an eye, I am five years old now. Lots of things happened in the previous year. I mastered the Shadow clone to the point that I only need one hand seal just like Naruto to perform the jutsu. I began training Multiple Shadow Clone after I begged father to teach me the jutsu. I have to show him my perfect Shadow Clone before he reluctantly passed the Scroll containing the jutsu to me. Father wasn''t able to perform the jutsu as it required Uzumaki levels of Chakra to be performed and thus was a Forbidden Jutsu. My greatest gain was Chakra control. Mother trained me non-stop to practice in Chakra-control. I learned walking on walls, trees, and even water. It took me a month to master all these techniques. My control of Chakra was raised to the proficiency of a Chunnin after one year of training with my mother. Father also taught me a few lightning Release Ninjutsus which are quite powerful. I learned the body flicker technique from Uncle Yagami, but he warned me to not use the technique in battles unless I awaken my Sharingan. I also learned quite a few Wind jutsus. I am onlycking the Earth Release and Water Release jutsus. I will get plenty of chances to learn those jutsus in the future. Father trained me in Shurikenjutsu as it is considered as the specialty of Uchihas. It took me a while to get used to the weight of Kunais and Shurikens, but after a year of regr training, I was able to hone my skills to a Chunnin level. If I pair it with Sharingan I can even go hand to hand with a Jounin in Shurikenjutsu. He also taught me some basics of Taijutsu, which I practiced for a while. I had decided to start my physical training only after I turn seven as this is the optimal age to do so. All of the bones of the body would have been formed and it would be the start of the first growth spurt in kids. Mother taught me a few genjutsu techniques and I mastered them perfectly. There was little progress in the development of the Optical Illusion technique. Despite my awareness of thews of light behavior, It was pretty hard to influence others to fall into illusion. My test target was as usual Shisui, whom I bribed to y along with me. I guess it will take me another six months to create the optical Illusion technique. My inability to reveal my Sharingan was hindering my growth. But there was a piece of good news. The new session for the academy would begin soon and I together with Shisui will enroll in the academy. Today was the day for academy enrolment. I and Shisui went to Academy apanied by Uncle Yagami. Father was on a mission and wasn''t able to apany us. We reached the academy which was near the Hokage Office just right at the base of the Hokage Mountain. There was a giant kanji sign for ''fire'' imprinted at the front of the building. There were lots of people gathered at the front of the Academy. I spotted members of Hyuga, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, Uchiha, Inuzuka, and Aburame n members together with their children gathered at the entrance of the Academy for their children to participate in the Academy entrance examination. There were many other minor ns too, but I wasn''t aware of any of their names as there was no detailed information in manga or anime about them. I knew only about Sarutobi n because it was the n of The Third Hokage. By reading books in the Uchiha n I came to know of a few other minor ns like Shimura n, Onikuma n, Hatake n, and the Kurama n. There were a few Civilians with their Children standing nervously on one of the corners of the Academy. The children were nervous as they would face other kids from various influential ns. This got me intrigued as I wondered, how will the academy evaluate the Civilian kids. Every kid from any n would have learned a Jutsu or two of their n and thus would certainly enter the academy. But what about civilian kids with no ess to any jutsus. My doubts were cleared soon a Chunnin came out from the entrance of the Academy and posted a notice. The kids from Ninja families would be assessed in the backyard of the academy whereas Civilian kids would be assessed in the front ground. All of the n kids went to the backyard of the academy including me and Shisui. All of the kids began to whisper among themselves with their respective friends and families. I began to check my surroundings to search for any Chunnin or Jounin who will conduct the test. Suddenly I shivered as I felt a scrutinizing gaze upon me. He frantically began to search around again but wasn''t able to spot anyone. ''Fuck! It is that pervert Hokage again. He is observing the recruits of the academy. But what''s with this gaze on me.'' I grumbled and ignored the gaze as I closed my eyes. In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen was perplexed when he noticed the Uchiha Kid searching for something the moment heid his eyes on him. ''The kid can sense my gaze on him. What a monster? Such Chakra sensitivity at such a gaze, I shall train him as one of the possible candidates for the Hokage. This kid has too much potential, I won''t allow Danzo to recruit this kid. He is mine!.... Uhun.I mean he will be in my care.'' I felt a chill run down my spine. Somebody is having unhealthy thoughts about me. Must be Danzo for sure, it can be that pervert too, I am not sure but it is one of them. I was able to figure out about my ultra-sensitive. It is neither a kekkai-Genkai or instinct, it is because of my strong soul blessed by God. I can somehow feel any negative intentions against me. p.p... Our attention was gathered by a Chunnin who began to announce Academy rules, "Not everyone can enter the Ninja academy. Some of you will be recruited in the Academy but some of you will be failed. Now listen to the Academy Rules, Rule number one, all of you are required to love the Vige and help to preserve Vige''s peace and prosperity. Rule number two, all of you should have a firm and unyielding mindset that can endure the hard training. Rule Number three, all of you should be healthy in both body and mind. Now we will conduct your test to determine your qualification. Follow me whenever your name is announced. The academy entrance exam thus began. Honestly, I wasn''t anticipating too much from this exam. I have suffered more in my previous life where I have topete with a million other students, just to qualify for the College. Compared to that honestly, this is Child''s y. Well, I am a child after all but still, this exam would be a breeze and they can pretty much I can graduate at the same time if I want to. But that would be pretty suspicious, I will at least spend six months in the academy before I request for graduation. Soon, it was my turn as the chunnin called my name and I walked away with him. He took me to one of the closed Training halls as there were three Chunnin instructors seated on a chair and surprisingly on the middle sit sat the Hokage himself. He smiled at me and gestured me to sit on the seat I front of him. He gently questioned me, "Why do you want to be a Ninja?" "I want to be a ninja to grow strong. So, I could protect my loved ones from any harm." I unhesitatingly replied. Hiruzen nodded to himself as he further asked, "What are your thoughts about the vige?" ''Oh! He wants to test my character, so he phrased his question in such away. But old man I have no qualms with the vige. This vige was founded by my Grandfather when he wasn''t manipted by ck Zetsu, so, I will fulfill his wishes and protect the vige. Though I have a different opinion about the people of the vige.'' "I will protect the vige whenever the Vige will face any danger." "What will you do, if you failed the examination today?" ''Is he trying to pull an Ibiki Morino on me?'' "Then I will try in the next examination and will seed." Hiruzen nodded as he was satisfied with my responses. ''A good seedling indeed.'' He then instructed the Chunnin instructor to test my Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, or genjutsu talent. I performed well in taijutsu as I fought with a Chunnin and suppressed him when theter was holding back to the level of a genin. For the Ninjutsu, I performed the signature Uchiha Fireball Jutsu and immediately passed. The chunnin instructor trapped me in a genjutsu which I quickly dispelled and even reversed on the Chunnin who was caught off-guard. Such proficiency would have easily graduated me from the academy. I have to show some talents if I want to graduate early. My only weakness was Taijutsu which I will practice soon. The exam came to an end as I was passed and the Chunnin instructed me to arrive early the next morning for the Opening ceremony. "Hokage-sama, that kid is already as strong as a Genin." Hiruzen nodded as he replied, "The academy isn''t just about battle capability. Kids needs to interact with each other and also learn subjects from academy. This may seem redundant during war time but for now, kids still needs to grow under a stable environment and foster positive feeling for Vige." The Chunnin silently nodded his head as he stared at Izuna''s departing back. I walked out of the Training hall as I anticipated my Academy days in the Ninja world. --------------------------- A/N:- Thanks to Vitezv Sejkora and SuicideBy Taco for their support on pa treon. For advance chapters and teaser for the new novel, check out my pat reon. It is only 2$ a month. https://.pat /ForgottenLife Chapter 16: First Day of Academy Chapter 16: First Day of Academy Next day we arrived early in the morning. There were lots of children gathered in the front training ground of the Academy waiting for thememoration of ceremony. After half an hour, when all of the students were present their the ceremony started. It was a boring event and I felt like sleeping when the Jounin and Chunnin instructors gave their speech. "Now, it''s time to end the ceremony." I opened my eyes as I yawned when the announcer announced this news. "But before that, Our Respected Hokage-Sama will give a speech to the future ninjas of the Konoha." The surrounding pped and cheered when Hiruzen wobbled over to the stage. ''So, it will be his usual will of fire Bullshit! to rile up young children to give their life for the sake of the vige. Like,e on, almost 50% of the poption is Ninja in the vige and the rest are civilians and what he means is to risk the life of half of Konoha''s poption to save the life of the rest 50% of the poption who can''t take care of themselves. From what I saw in these five years an average shopkeeper earns more than a genin per month and some popr shops even earn as much as a Jounin. Where Jounin have to put his life on the line to do a few A-rank missions to get the money and a portion of the money provided by the mission would be taken by Hokage office as maintenance fee and the rest half would be divided equally among team members depending on their Ninja rank.'' The Hokage continued to rant on as I tried to figure out the reality of the situation. ''Also, if the Ninja is from a n he has to pay some of the mission money to his n to fund the n. After all of these cuts what is left is a meager sum of money. If I open a weapon shop and start to sell some ninja tools, I wonder how much money would I earn. Then my story would be ''the birth of a Business Mogul in Ninja World''. Till now, I haven''t heard of any Ninja getting extremely rich by doing missions. To be realistic, any person be it chunnin or jounin can''tplete missions non-stop. I observed my father in previous four years and came to a conclusion.'' Any jounin can only opt for a B-rank or above mission unless he is a genin instructor. The C and D rank missions are reserved for Chunnins and genins. An average B-rank mission usually takes a week toplete and the ninja needs to rx for a minimum of three days to recover from fatigue. The payout of a B-rank mission is 150,000 Ryo to 200,000 Ryo. After all the cuts it amounts to an average of 100,000 Ryo if the person is solo on the mission. For an A-rank mission, the payout is anywhere between 150,000 Ryo to 1,000,000 Ryo. No jounin can go solo on such mission and need the assistant of at least another Jounin to safelyplete the mission. The mission usuallysts for anywhere between a week to a month. Also, the ninja needs a rest of at least two weeks to recover from the mission. It will take even more time if the ninja has serious injuries. The payout for a ninja would be around an average of 400,000 considering the highest payment of 1,000,000. Now let''s talk about the S-rank mission. Need a group of at least three skilled Jounin and the number can go up to seven members. The minimum payout for the mission is 1,000,000 Ryo. And the upper cap would be decided by the Hokage office depending on the severity of the mission. No ninja will willingly take the S-rank mission unless specifically requested by the Hokage office. After my birth father has rejected all of the S-rank missions issued to him. If I estimate then an average payout from S-rank would be 600,000 Ryo considering the sum is divided among other people. Ok! That may sound a lot, but there is a catch. We have yet to cover the expenses of missions. The shurikens and kunais are made out of metal, so they cost a lot to purchase. A set of 6 kunais and shuriken cost 10,000 Ryo and this setst for 3 B-rank missions, one A-rank mission as for S-rank consider carrying another set with you. The shurikens and kunais would usually be lost, nicked, or have to be left behind while escaping from ambush. Other expenses include medicines after all who isn''t injured during a mission and most of the teams don''t have a medic ninja with them. The Chakra pills and recovery medicines are a hell of expensive as rare herbs are used to make them. A bottle of 10 Chakra pills cost 50,000 Ryo and medicinal liquid and gel cost around 10,000 Ryo. Also include the average hospital expenses of 10,000 Ryo for B-rank, 50,000 for an A-Rank, and a minimum of 70,000 from S -rank. I would hardly believe if someone said a persones out unscathed for the S-rank mission. Such a person would easily be near Kage level and could easily steamroll a bunch of Jounin. When I figured out such a thing, I began to question the sanity of peoples andughed at myself as I would soon join the madness. I am pretty sure the higher-ups of Various ns are aware of this thing but they choose to shut their mouth as they need to sustain the n. Also, if everyone just sat at home and opened a shop or two, then they will be degenerates who need babysitting like civilians and thus would lower the power of a n. Only disabled and old person was allowed to open a shop in any npounds, this is the rule enforced by n. The speech of the Hokage ended as we were dismissed to our respective sses. I walked over to the notice board and checked for my ss number. My ss is on 1-B whereas Shisui''s ss is on 1-C. The selection of the ss was random and no ss was filled with geniuses. "Too bad, nii-san! Our sses are different, I won''t be able to stay with you." Shisuiined. "You can always meet me during lunch-time." I consoled Shisui. I searched for my ss and found it after fumbling for a while. I entered the ss and sat at the edge of the ss close to the window. There was a podium in front of the ckboard and the desks were arranged indder steps increasing the height of thest row and thus making the face of every student visible to the Instructor. Students continued to enter the ss and the ss was almost full. There was no sign of an instructor anywhere. My good looks earned me the favor of many girls as they continued to pester me about my name and hobbies. Many of the boys were jealous but I was irritated by this continuous pestering of bothering. I replied to a few girls during the start, but after that, I stopped bothering them as I gazed out of my window. A few civilian kids were jealous of me and thought of teaching me a lesson as they approached me. One of them ced his foot on my desk as he barked, "Hey! You spiked chump! go away from this seat. I and my friends will sit here." Honestly, I am quite stunned by this development as I thought, ''Hey, buddy! I never bothered with you, why you want to make my life miserable?'' I ignored them as I continued to gaze outside the windows. All of the nearby civilian kids were anticipating a fight as they murmured among themselves. "That kid is going to get beaten and taught a lesson. Who told him to impress so many girls.?" ''Nani the fuck! How I offended you all. I don''t have any interest in these small lolis. Honestly, aren''t you all too young to think about such matters? In my previous world due to modernization this could be considered normal, but here it looks weird. But I can guess the sentiment of these sheltered kids. Also, do all of you honestly believe that they will flour me.'' I looked around to see the reaction of kids from ns. Most of them werezing around and muttering among themself. They were honestly not bothered by this show. I guess everybody here is the protagonist and I am the mob who gets picked on. ''Why you do this to me? Now I have to bully you all. I guess I will go full hentai on you all and unleash tentacle monster on you guys. Will it break their mind? Who cares, I am not a soft persimmon. This will serve as a lesson for them.'' ''These civilian kids are too full of themselves. I remembered from the anime they surrounded the clone of Itachi to teach him a lesson, but he kicked their asses. Also, civilian kids used to surround and bash Naruto often. Guess, I will teach them what their parents weren''t able to.'' Chapter 17: Abusing some Civilians Chapter 17: Abusing some Civilians I turned around to face these kids as I covered my eyes with my half-developed ''Light Style: Optical Illusion'' It was sufficient to hide my Sharingan from a bunch of kids and I couldn''t fell the presence of any pervert peeking on me. Light began to refract near my eyes as it created an illusion of normal eyes. I activated my Sharingan as I gazed at these plebs and muttered, "Hentai Style: cough. Cough ''Uchiha Style: Tentacle Touch I cast a genjutsu on them as the kids stopped their movement mid-air. They retreated a few steps and stopped. I ignored them as I continued staring out of the window. The civilian kids began to sweat buckets as they stood there like a statue. The other civilian kids were stunned by the development of events as this shouldn''t be how the script should go. You should get rough with each other. Exchange some hot-blooded punches and finally sprawl on the floor. The n kids had an expression like that''s how it shall be'' but still there was a surprise on their faces. They were aware of my n as the symbol of ''Uchiha n'' which says ''don''t mess with me, I am hot shit!'' is imprinted on the back of my ck T-shirt. A foul stench was released in the ss as the civilian kids peed and pooped in their pants. I made a small windscreen around me to block the foul smell and directed it towards those other civilian kids who mocked me earlier. ''Yes! I am a cheap guy. Whoever insults me, I return it two-fold back to them.'' The civilian kids stood there paralyzed like a statue as fear was apparent in their eyes. I closed my eyes as I began to n out for my evening training. It was at this moment the Chunnin instructor entered the ss. He was about to greet the new students when he was assaulted by a foul odor. He looked around for the source of the odor and spotted four kids rooted on a spot. He pinched his nose and approached them. He called out to them, but there was no response. It dawned on him that the kids were under the effect of a genjutsu, he ced his index finger on their forehead as he released a surge of Chakra to disrupt their Chakra flow and thus dispel the genjutsu. But there was no reaction, he failed to release them from the Genjutsu. The chunnin instructor frowned, ''This is not good! The kids are under the effect of a powerful genjutsu and I don''t specialize in genjutsu.'' He began to search around in ss as he questioned, "What happened before my arrival? Exin it to me in detail now." One of the Civilian kid stood up as he looked in my direction. The Teacher followed his gaze and looked at me. The Civilian kid began to exin all the things in detail without hiding anything. The chunnin instructor noticed the Uchiha n symbol on my T-shirt and thought of handling this matter lightly. After all, he didn''t want the Uchiha Police forced to pay a visit to his house to check his water meter. He walked up to me and asked, "Hey, kid! What''s your name?" "I am Izuna Uchiha." I replied as a matter of fact and turned around and continued observing outside the window. The Chunnin instructor was pissed at my attitude but he still asked, "Listen, kid! Infights between fellow students often ur in the academy but you shouldn''t harm your ssmates. When I was your age, I also got in many fights and beat down many other kids but I never harmed them permanently." I looked at the Chunnin whose body looked like a pickled Cucumber and said'' "I believe you sensei." The Chunnin was angered by my scrutinizing gaze andid back attitude as he harrumphed, "Kid! You should know when to stop in fights. If any of your ssmates are seriously injured because of you then you would be expelled from the academy." I looked at the instructor and sheepishly smiled, "Teacher, if I was able to dispel the genjutsu. I would have dispelled it long ago, but I recently learned this genjutsu and haven''t mastered it. It was only by chance that I identally cast it and it seeded in my first attempt. Often! It will fail in every single attempt." I lied without batting an eye. The Chunnin was perplexed, he nodded after a while "Don''t test your iplete technique on your ssmates as it may harm them. I will call a Jounin instructor to dispel the Genjutsu." I nodded my head in agreement as I sat on my seat and continued gazing out of the window. Soon, a special jounin skilled in Genjutsu arrived in the ssroom. He ced his hand on the civilian kids and began to dispel the genjutsu. He frowned for a second as he infused more Chakra and was finally able to dispel the genjutsu. After a while, he repeated the process with other kids and finally freed them from their nightmare of a genjutsu. After being freed from the genjutsu, the kids slumped down on the ground as theyid weakly on the ground. They looked in my direction. I smiled at them and waved my hand. They were terrified beyond their limits and fainted. The Jounin instructor frowned as he said, "These kids are traumatized by a powerful genjutsu. Take them to the infirmary as soon as possible. As for you Uchiha kid, meet me after the ss." Saying so, the Jounin flickered away from the ssroom. The other kids jeered at my misfortune as I frowned. ''Here goes my evening training. Sigh these kids asked for it, I can''t help but give them what they wanted.'' ''What! They wanted a beating. So, I gave it to them.'' After this farce was over the sses started normally. The first few sses were about the core curriculum of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and geography. I knew everything already and just meditated through the entire ss. I started meditation when I tried mastering Chakra Control. It helped me calm my mind and focus my concentration easily. So, I made it a habit to meditate regrly. I was only expecting some gains from the ss of shinobi rules, tactics, and strategy. But I was disappointed by the ss. The strategies they taught couldn''t hold a candle to various advanced and military tactics of my original world. I have watched lots of historical movies and dramas and read many war novels in my free time. The history there was carved based on wars across nations. The maps will change every once in a while and the world was vast. I got to see a map of the Shinobi world in the Uchiha library. Most of the focus was around the Hidden viges and five nations and some small nations around them. If mapped them ording to the scale from my previous world and it only amounted to the size of Asia area wise with many scattered inds here and there. The rest of the world is covered in water and hardly anybody goes out to explore beyond the sea in Uncharted territories. If I get a chance in the future I would explore this world. If my understanding of this world is correct then the shinobi world is just a small self-sustaining dimension simr to various dimensions essible by Rinnegan. Though I need to test the validity of my hypothesis. For now, let''s focus on the ss. The ''shinobi rule'' ss was followed by the practical ss of handling of ninja tools and weapons. The chunnin instructor directed us to the training ground. There were many thick wooden pirs with an aim that were erected in the training ground. We picked up our ninja gears from the tables ced beside the wooden pirs. I picked up a shuriken and tossed it in my hand to test its weight, it was a standard shuriken and I was used to its weight. I threw the shuriken without even looking at the aim and grabbed two more shurikens and threw them, then I picked three shurikens and threw them too. Bullseye! All of them hit the bullseye, right in the dead center of the aim. Gasp gasp All of the nearby kids gasped and even the Chunnin instructor was stunned by my proficiency in the Shurikenjutsu. He had nothing to teach me. I was on the same level as him or possibly at a greater level than him. The fangirls cheered for me and boys jealously looked at me. All of them picked up their shurikens as they mimicked me and tossed them around, hoping to get a lucky hit. The shurikens flew around in the air as all of them missed their target. "Izuna Kun is an Uchiha. All of the Uchihas are skilled in Shurikenjutsu, so it is normal for him to be good with ninja tools. All of you must work diligently and would be able to perform the same feat as him after a while." Although the Chunnin instructor was able to boost the confidence of the kids, even he didn''t believe his own words when he said about equaling in proficiency to Uchiha. ''This Uchiha kid is a monster. They want me to teach such a kid.'' Chapter 18: Unexpected Meeting Chapter 18: Unexpected Meeting The ninja tools and weapons ss passed without any major incident. Now, it is time for the Chakra and hand seals ss. Nothing major, I wasn''t aware of. The instructor began to teach the twelve basic hand seals. He took out a chart depicting the skills and hung it on the ckboard. The kids began to memorize the hand seals. The instructor performed the hand seals one by one to show them to us. After we memorized the seals, he gave a leaf to all of us present in the ss and taught the ''Leaf Concentration Exercise'' to help us focus better and improve our Chakra control. I was pretty bored in the ss and all my excitement from before died down. I can learn better things at home from mother and father. Guess, I will just send a Shadow Clone from tomorrow onwards. My Chakra reserves are very high, so nobody will be suspicious of me for using clone as a substitute. If ites to worst, I can just ask for early graduation. Afterall, Kakashi graduated from Academy in just 4 months at the age of five and became a Chunnin at the age of 6. After the academy lessons were over, I walked out of the Academy with a bunch of fangirls chasing behind me. This was the perk of being an Uchiha with the cool looks and cold attitude, but I got a headache from their continuous pestering. ''I am thinking of a way to survive here and enjoy myself at the same time. But the bnce is hard, I will have to rx from time to time. When the Ichiraku Ramen will open, I will be the first customer to try that Ramen.'' After getting out of the Academy entrance, I flickered out and disappeared from their vision. The girls continued to search for me for a while. I watched them while hiding behind a tree when all of them dispersed I went back inside the Academy to meet the Jounin Instructor. I went to the front Training ground and sat below a tree as I meditated while waiting for the Jounin instructor to appear. After 15 minutes of wait, the jounin instructor appeared in front of me. There was a girl around 9 years of age with him, apparently his daughter. During the ss, I didn''t particrly pay any particr attention to the Jounin. But now I began to check his appearance. He had ck hair and ringed red eyes. I was surprised when I saw those eyes and for a moment I mistook him for an Uchiha. I intently stared at his eyes and noticed theck of tomoes in his eyes. ''So, he is not an Uchiha.'' As I continued to inspect him. He had a distinctive jawline and his standard jounin outfit had longer sleeves than usual. He wore blue Shinobi sandals and tied his forehead protector like a bandanna to his head. I ignored the girl as I continued inspecting the Jounin. The girl got irritated by my attitude as she angrily snapped, "Father, why you brought me here to the academy? I am a genin already, why I have toe to the academy?" She pointed at me and asked, "And who is this rude guy?" I was perplexed by her behavior. ''Howe am I rude? Aren''t you the rude one? You called me here without any reason, I have training to do. Stop wasting my time if there isn''t any matter.'' "My name is Izuna Uchiha. I just joined the academy today." I introduced my self to the girl as I start to inspect her. She has long ck untamed hair reaching all the way to her upper back. Her eyes were simr to her father, red eyes with a ring in them. She wore the standard kunoichi genin outfit with her forehead protector tied on her forehead. Her appearance seemed familiar to me as it clicked my mind. ''Damn! Isn''t she Kurenai as a child? That''s pretty wild, I didn''t expect to meet her. I tried to recall Kurenai''s father''s name but wasn''t able to recall it. Maybe he was never mentioned in the anime or was a minor side character.'' As if right on cue, Kurenai began to introduce herself, "I am Kurenai Yuhi. I graduated this year from the academy and I am genin now." She shed her forehead protector to me. I looked at her like I was looking at an idiot. Though I won''t mind hooking up with her but for now I have priorities. I looked at Kurenai''s father and asked, "May I ask why you called me here today? I think I didn''t do anything in particr to warrant your interest except the genjutsu in the morning." He nodded at me as he began to introduce himself, "I am Shinku Yuhi. One of the jounin instructors of the academy. Though you harmed your ssmates, it wasn''t an intentional act. I haven''t called you here for that. What I am interested in is your genjutsu? I specialize in genjutsu and kenjutsu, but I am busy with the work from the academy." He pointed at Kurenai as he spoke, "Your genjutsu skills are pretty good. So, I would like you to practice with my daughter Kurenai and help her train in genjutsu." I shook my head in denial as I said, "I am sorry Sensei! I am just a kid. What can I teach a genin and also I have to do some training after the academy and I won''t be able to help her." Shinku was disappointed by my response but he tried to persuade me as he pointed out. "Besides Genjutsu, I am also skilled in Kenjutsu, if you want I can train you in Kenjutsu while you help my daughter with her genjutsu training." I pondered for a while, ''This doesn''t seem to be a bad idea, I can learn kenjutsu while also practicing genjutsu. Also, I can skip sses with the help of a Shadow clone and in that time train in Ninjutsu and Shurikenjutsu. I made my n as I nodded to him, "Ok sensei! I am ready. Tell me when and where to start the training." Shinku replied, "We will start from tomorrow after your sses are over. The location would be training ground 5 of the vige if it''s fine with you." "Ok! I will be there after the academy every day. Thank you Sensei!, I will be taking my leave now." After Izuna left, Kurenai questioned Shinku, "Father, why you want this kid who just joined the Academy to teach me genjutsu. Aren''t you a better substitute for teaching me? What can that kid teach me?" Shinku shook his head and replied, "That kid has a very high talent in Genjutsu. It took me some effort to dispel the genjutsu cast by him. He is only 5 years old and is still growing. Imagine if he was at your age, how powerful would his genjutsu be? So, that''s the reason I choose him to help you with your genjutsu training. Other than him, I can only think of Kurama n members, but they are hard to deal with." "I will believe you if you say so, father." Kurenai nodded to her father but she wasn''t convinced by her father''s words and wanted to test it for herself. -------------- I strolled out of the academy as I decided to neglect the training for today and just tour the vige. It was my first time strolling in the vige on my own. I had some pocket change given to me by my mother. So, I decided to spend it to taste the street food of Konoha. After roaming for a while, I spotted a food stall selling some Takoyaki. My stomach growled as I felt hungry. I went to the stall and bought a serving with six Takoyakis. I began to drool as I looked at the golden balls of fried batter filled with pieces of octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and onion. The fragrance was enchanting as I began to look around to find a nice spot to eat these Takoyakis. Looking around for a while, I found a bench at the corner of the street. A person was sitting on the bench with his head hung down. I approached the bench and was about to sit on the bench when the person noticed my presence and looked at me. Both of our eyes met and I was surprised to see this person here. ------------------------------------------ A/N:- Thanks to Alexander Davies and Cesar for supporting me on pat reon. Check out my Pat reon for more advance chapters. https://.pat /ForgottenLife Chapter 19: Sakumo Hatake Chapter 19: Sakumo Hatake Just after Akira and Aiko were escorted to Konoha, Sakumo was worried about them. So, he decided to secretly trail and protect them. He left the responsibility for Patrol to the Vice-captain and left the borders for Konoha. He wasn''t worried about the border Patrol team as he had just warned the Iwa Anbus when he went to save Akira and Aiko. Iwa Ninjas were aware of his prowess, so they won''t pull out any surprise attack on borders. He safely escorted Akira and Aiko to the Vige. After confirming their safety, he went to Hokage''s Office to report about the matter. Hiruzen was stunned to see Sakumo in the vige as he questioned him, "Sakumo! ording to my knowledge, you were supposed to guard the Fire Nation''s Borders. What are you doing here, neglecting your duties?" "I was indeed on the Guard duty at the border. Yesterday, I saw Kagami Sensei''s son who informed my team about his mission and asked for re-enforcement. I went as their backup and saved them from Iwa Anbus. I confronted them and sessfully drove them away. The situation at the border is stable for the next few weeks as the Iwa nin would be preparing for counter-measures against me. Also, their Jouninmander is dead and their assault team is wiped out. It will take a minimum of a week for them to gather and assign a new team at the border. They have suffered considerable losses after all." Hiruzen nodded at this as he spoke, "It seems like Iwa was hell-bent on killing the Uchiha trio. I am surprised they were able to make it out alive, well I suppose it is because of you. I will visit themter in the hospital. So, what is your n now Sakumo? Will you return to Border or stay in the vige. Your son is quite a genius and his performance in the academy is outstanding." "I will stay in the vige for a week and then return to the Border toplete the remaining days of my duties. For now, I will go and visit Kakashi. I am sure he would be surprised to see me." Sakumo smiled as he informed Hiruzen. "Ok! You can continue your patrol dutyter." Hiruzen dismissed Sakumo as he prepared to visit the Uchiha couple in the hospital. Sakumo went to his house to change his Ninja outfit and get washed as he was exhausted from the long journey. He was alone in the house as he was weed by the picture of histe wife smiling gently at him. "Our Kakashi is five years old now Tsumi. He misses you a lot, I miss you too." A drop of tear trickled down his face. He wiped it away as he went to take a bath. His wife died two years ago in the Second Shinobi War. Her jounin team was lured into a trap by Amegakure and all of them were killed. Kakashi was only three at that time. Since then, he has to fulfill the role of a parent to Kakashi. But my ninja duties won''t allow me to always be with Kakashi. Sakumo sighed in mncholy as he took a bath. ---------------- Later outside the academy, Sakumo was impatiently waiting for Kakashi toplete his sses. "Youth!...this is youth." He was startled by this voice as he turned around to look at the source of this voice. A tall and well-built man with high cheek-bones, a bulbous nose, dark hair, thick eyebrows, and body hairs on wrists and forearms was walking upside down on his hands as he shouted. He had a haircut in Bowl style that wasbed to his right and had a slight lift. There was a bristling mustache and a small goatee and stubble on his face. The man wore a green jumpsuit, orange striped leg warmers, and a yellow scarf around his neck. Sakumo immediately recognized the iing person as Might Duy who was infamous in the vige as ''the Eternal Genin.'' Sakumo greeted Might Duy as he asked, "Might Duy san! Howe you are at the academy?" Might Duy stood up straight as he wiped away the dust from his clothes and replied, "Guy was epted in the academy as an alternate in the Academy''s ss course. It is time for the sses in the academy to end and I thought of training Guy a little more after his sses. After all, he is still in his .Youth." Sakumo nodded at Might Duy who was doing push-ups while waiting for his son. Soon the bell of Academy rang as children began to run out of the Academy. "I will defeat you one day Kakashi! My eternal rival." A six-year child with a shiny bowl-style haircut with his hairs reaching his chin shouted at Kakashi. He had thick eyebrows and wore a sleeveless green jumpsuit with a red scarf tied around his neck. "Do whatever seems fit to you." Kakashi replied nonchntly as he prepared to go home." "Kakashi!" Kakashi was stunned to hear this familiar voice as he lifted his head to see the person. He was greeted by his father smiling at him. He walked to his father as he asked, "You were supposed to be on a mission. Howe you are here?" Sakumo sighed as he reprimanded Kakashi, "You saw your father after three weeks and this is how you greet him. I returned early due to some urgent work and Hokage-sama agreed to give me a break for a few days before I return to my work." Kakashi began to walk expressionlessly towards their house but deep down he had a smile on his face below his mask. He turned around and spoke, "Train me during your stay at home. I will surpass you soon." ''This kid he only thinks about training.'' Sakumo shook his head as he followed Kakashi. ------------ Two weekster, Sakumo was at the entrance of the Vige, he had to return to the borders to continue his patrol duty for two more weeks. Kakashi waved his hand to him to say goodbye. Sakumo waved back then he flickered and disappeared in the forest. A few hourster, at the Hokage''s office, Hiruzen sighed as he looked at the mission request posted to them. It is an S-Rank mission posted by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. A scroll containing the various shady businesses of the Daimyo was stolen from his house by some ninjas. From the likes of it, they appeared to be mist ninja. The Daimyo is afraid of them releasing the info to peoples of the Fire Nation. This can cause huge unrest among the masses and could lead to instability in the Land of Fire. Hiruzen clutched his head as the Daimyo had offered a huge sum of reward to handle this matter. But also warned that if they failed the mission then the funding provided by Daimyo would be reduced by 20%. That is a massive number and they couldn''t afford to fail the mission. Hiruzen began to look through the list of the candidates suitable for the mission. ''Tsunade, she isn''t in the vige. He crossed her name over. Jiraiya had left the vige to roam around the world, thatzy disciple of mine. I can''t me him though, his informationwork is very useful to the vige. Orochimaru is out on a mission, he will take a while toe back. Fugaku Uchiha is still wary of us because of the death of so-many Uchiha nsmen during the past few years. Sakumo, Oh! Sakumo would be the best choice.'' Hiruzen waved his hand as he summoned an Anbu. "Go! and summon Sakumo to my office. It is an emergency." The Anbu jumped out of the window and disappeared on the roofs. Hiruzen began to contemte over the list of other people for the mission. After a while, the Anbu member reappeared in the Hokage''s office as he informed him about the departure of Sakumo for the borders. "So, he left for the borders earlier this morning. Considering his prowess it would be hard to meet and inform him about the mission before tomorrow." Hiruzen had a headache as he thought of this matter. For now, gather these people in my office. He gave a list of names to the Anbu. Outside his office, in the lounge, the fat Daimyo was sitting on the sofa as he covered his face with a fan and sipped some tea prepared for him. He anxiously looked towards Hokage''s office as he shouted, "I want to meet Hiruzen now. Inform him, we can''t dy this matter anymore or my reputation will be besmirched which won''t fare well for Konoha. Deploy as many ninjas as you can, I want the mission to be a sess." The receptionist had cold-sweat trickling down her head as she tried to appease the Daimyo. "Daimyo-Sama Hokage Sama had sent someone to call some Jounin to work on the mission. They will be here soon, Please wait a little bit more. Humph The Daimyo harrumphed angrily and continued to sip his tea. Inside the Hokage office, ten jounins were saluting the Hokage with their one knee on the floor and head bent down. Hiruzen nodded to them as he began to exin the details of the missions. The Jounins epted the mission as they were ready to depart for the mission. Later on, during the mission, the ninjas were faced with a difficult situation of saving theirrade or continuing the mission. They chose the mission over theirrades. Although the mission was aplished, Konoha lost Two Jounin Commanders and five other jounins and ten special jounins in the mission. This was a huge loss for Konoha as many of its capable ninjas died in the mission. The heavy involvement of Seven Swordsmen of the Mist was found in the Mission. ---------------------------- This is a side story chapter. I wanted to save Sakumo, as he was supposed to die during this period when Kakashi was still in the academy. So, I used the butterfly effect caused by the birth of Izuna to save Sakumo for a while. But I will only dy the inevitable for a while as I want Izuna to stop Sakumo from dying. Continue reading to figure out what will happen next. Chapter 20: A Difficult Choice Part-1 Chapter 20: A Difficult Choice Part-1 Four years passed since that mission, Kakashi showed outstanding talents in the academy. So, he graduated from the academy in just four months of his entrance. An yearter, Kakashi took the Chunnin exam and was promoted to a Chunnin. It was a record in the history of Academy and Sakumo was proud of his son. Today an important meeting was held in Konoha with the council of Elders. The issue of the meeting was the increasing invasion by the Kumogakure. The Kumo had been strengthening its military forces despite the peace treaty signed during the previous war. At the start of this year, many Kumo ninjas were spotted infiltrating thend of Fire with their motives unclear. This meeting between elders was held to address this issue. The meetingsts for an hour before it concluded. It was decided that they will deploy a specialized team to track the Kumo ninjas and figure out their motives. The objective of the team was to retrieve any information stolen by Kumo ninjas and if possible, get rid of them. It was an S-rank mission. Hiruzen agreed with the rest of the elders and proposed Sakumo as the Team Leader. All of them agreed with his proposal and an Anbu was sent to summon Sakumo. Shortly, Sakumo arrived at the meeting room. Hiruzen began to exin the details of the mission as arge map of borders was ced on top of the table. "The Kumo ninjas have infiltrated the border of Land of Hot Water and the Land of Fire." He marked a spot on the map as he continued, "Their recent hideout had been spotted around this ce. We aren''t currently sure of their motives, but we want you to stop them at any cost. Sakumo you will be the team leader for this mission." Hiruzen rolled the map and passed it to Sakumo. Sakumo nodded and went back to his house to prepare for the mission. Kakashi had gone on a mission earlier with his team. Sakumo wrote a note addressed to Kakashi to inform about the S-Rank mission as he prepared his ninja gear, scrolls, and medicine. After three hours, the team was ready as all of them were gathered at the Konoha''s entrance. Sakumo nodded to all of his team members as he spoke, "This is an important S-Rank mission and I will be your Team Leader for the mission. I will fill you on the details of the mission as we move towards our destination." None of the Ninjas had any problems with the arrangement. All of them simultaneously left for the Land of Hot Water as Sakumo began to fill them on the details of the mission. the journey to the Land of Hot Water took them two days as they arrived at the Border. They were filled up on the recent development by the Captain of the Squad deployed at the border for patrolling. All of them were pretty tired and they decided to rest in the Patrol Camps. Their team consisted of Sakumo as the Jounin Commander and team leader, four jounins, and five special Jounin specialized in tracking and medical Ninjutsu. One of the Jounin is a sensor-type ninja. Early in the next morning, Team Sakumo left the camp as they began to move towards the hideout of the Kumo nins. The marked area was a waterfall of hot water with a small hot-spring at its base. There was a cave carved out behind the waterfall. Team Sakumo immediately got into the action as three special jounins began to open scrolls as they prepared to make a barrier to block the exit of the cave. The special jounins weaved some hand signs and mmed their hand on the scroll. Various fuinjutsu markings began to spread out from the scrolls as they continued to crawl towards the waterfall. The markings were unaffected by water as they weaved together to form a kanji word for ''seal''. ''Fuinjutsu Scroll: Naka Sealing Barrier'' They sealed the entrance of the cave with a barrier. The three special jounins continued to supply their chakra to the barrier as one of them forked out a small scroll with a kanji word ''gate'' imprinted on it. He passed the scroll to Sakumo. Sakumo took the scroll and together with other jounins begin to move towards the waterfall. He ced the small scroll on the seal as a small gate opened in the seal. All of the jounins including the Sakumo went inside the cave to inspect the cave. It was very dark inside the cave as there was no lighting in the cave. One of the jounin took out a glow stick from his pocket as he twisted it to generate light. It is dangerous to use fire type jutsu as enemies may nt various explosive tags in the caves which can trigger from the heat of fire jutsu and explode causing the entire cave to copse on their enemies. The other jounins took out their kunais as they were ready for an ambush. The continued to march forward until the end of the cave but weren''t any signs of enemies. In front of them lied a rock table surrounded by many rock seats. The smell of charcoal was still apparent in the cave. Sakumo bent down to check the nearby ashes. The ashes were still warm which mean that it hadn''t been too long since the enemy left this ce. Most of their signs were destroyed as the enemy team seemed to be in a hurry. Sakumo shook his head as he shouted to other jounins, "There is nothing useful here. The enemy nins deserted this ce just a while ago. It seems like somehow they came to know of our arrival. Let''s get out of here and search somewhere else. I am sure we can track their trail." All of the jounins nodded as they prepared to move out. The light from the glowstick faded creating darkness in the cave. As they moved forward the jounin prepared to take out another glowstick. One of the jounin stepped on a stone. Click... KachaKacha The jounin identally triggered a trap mechanism as the gears wheered and initiated some mechanism. A rock cab from the side of the cave opened as a mechanismunched some kunai. the shinobis easily dodged the kunais as the kunai lodged into the wall. Srrr The sound of the burning of a paper echoed in the cave. The kunais had paper bombs attached to them as they began to burn. ''Earth Style: Rock Dome'' ''Earth style: Mud wall'' Sakumo and one of the other experienced shinobi immediately made hand signs as they erected a double barrier of mud and rocks. All of them ducked inside the rock dome as the explosion was triggered. Boom... A loud explosion urred inside the cave, the barrier at the entrance of the cave began to shake as the special jounins were unable to hold back the explosion. They immediately stopped supplying Chakra to the scrolls and collected the scroll and jumped back. The cave shook violently as it copsed. Rocks, debris, and hot water began to pour inside the cave as it was blockedpletely. The special jounins looked worriedly at the remains of the cave as they couldn''t hear any noise from the remains. The rocks and debris began to shake violently as they saw a jet of water breaking the rocks and opening a passage. ''Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet'' A huge water dragon was spurted out by Sakumo as the dragonunched a jet of water and began to break the rubbles. After clearing out the rubble, Sakumo and the rest of the Jounins broke free from the cave. The special Jounins heaved a sigh of relief as they approached the group. Sakumo immediately stopped them as he signaled the sensor ninja to check their surroundings. The jounin immediately made hand signs as he ced one of his hand on the ground and created a seal, ''Sensing Hexagram Seal'' He began to detect the nearby area for any Chakra signatures. He spotted a Chakra signature getting further away from them. "Two o''clock in the east around four hundred meters away. The rest of the jounins immediately went on alert as they began to dash in the direction of the Chakra Signature." As they ran in the direction of the Chakra signature, Sakumo began to contemte over the events. ''Enemies lured them in a trap to deal with them in one go. Now the question is, had they prepared the trap to intentionally lure us, or is there a spy among us?'' Sakumo began to analyze all of the information he gathered during this time. The ashes inside the cave were still warm which meant they left the cave a few hours ago. All of the shreds of evidence and trails were haphazardly cleared inside the cave which means enemies were in a hurry. ''My team arrived at the campte in the evening and spent the night with patrol guards. This means, there is only one possibility, there is a spy among the Patrol Guards who informed the Kumo ninjas during the night time.'' Chapter 21: A Difficult Choice Part-2 Chapter 21: A Difficult Choice Part-2 Team Sakumo continue to chase the enemy Ninja sensed earlier by the sensor Jounin. Seeing that they were going nowhere, Sakumo applied some wind Chakra to his feet and flickered in the direction of the escaping enemy. His speed increased drastically as Sakumo spotted the back of the ninja. The ninja sensed the arrival of Sakumo as he turned around and spotted Sakumo. The enemy ninja panicked and raised his speed up a notch. Sakumo also increased his speed to his limit and closed the gap between the two. Sakumo throws Shurikens towards the enemy ninja which lodges itself into the ninja''s back. With a puff of smoke, the enemy ninja is reced by a log of wood. Sakumo takes out his White Chakra de as he gets ready to engage the enemy. ''Water Release: Water Bullet'' A bullet of water isunched towards Sakumo. Sakumo infuses Chakra into his Chakra de and shes the Jutsu. He is able to locate the location of the enemy from the previous attack as he immediately makes hand signs. ''Earth Style: Avnche'' Sakumo ms his hand on the ground, a tremor runs through the earth as the earth near the enemy ninja shook and he loses bnce and gets trapped in the jutsu. Sakumo approaches the enemy ninja as he gets ready to prepare for any surprise attack. A kunai is hurled in the direction of Sakumo as Sakumo blocks it with his Chakra de and made some more hand signs. ''Earth Style: Mud prison'' A cage made up of mud encloses the area and traps the enemy ninja. In the meantime, the rest of the members of Team Sakumo also arrives at the location. All of them surround the prison as Sakumo moves toward the prison to interrogate the enemy. All of them were surprised when the enemy turns out to be a member of the Border Patrol Squad. They have found their spy, Sakumo prepared to interrogate the spy but the spy pulls out a scroll from his k jacket. The scroll was full of paper bombs. The spy makes a hand sign and infuses his chakra in the scroll. The scroll and chakra bombs are ignited as a blinding light engulfs them. ''Earth Style: Mud wall'' Boom A devasting explosion urs which blows the nearby area and makes a crater at the location of the spy. The spy self-detonated together with the clue to the enemies. "It seems like he was the one who set up the explosive trap in the cave. He followed us to ensure our death in the explosion." One of the Jounin spected the possibility of spy''s action. Sakumo agreed with the jounin as he spoke, "Let''s head back to the camp. We have lost our lead, we have to scout nearby area again for another lead." All of them returned to the camp and Sakumo informed the Patrol Squad Captain about the spy. The captain was surprised to hear about the spy. He immediately summoned the rest of his people and began to inspect them. Leaving Captain to his work, Sakumo took out the map and ced it on the table. He marked the area of the cave with a cross and began to inspect the map for any other details. The border of Land of Hot Water and Land of Fire had nothing unusual to them except a range of mountains with barren rocks. He marked the mountain range in a circle and began to inspect the area. There wasn''t much distance between the mountain range and the cave. Sakumo contemted for a while but was unable to figure out anything. He closed the map and sighed, he has to continue the search in the afternoon. During the afternoon, the team gathered again. Sakumo address the team, "Let us check the forest around the mountain range. We will split into a team of three." Sakumo divided the teams in three, each team consisting of 3 members. He decides to move alone to scout the mountain area. The three-team disperses as they decide a spot to meet after two hours. Sakumo runs towards the mountain range as he began to search the surrounding for any trails of enemies. After around an hour of search, he senses some disturbance in Chakra near one of the farthest mountain range. Sakumo approaches the mountain range and stops a few meters away from the position of Chakra distribution. He inspects the surrounding but there wasn''t any abnormality. He decides to return to this ce with his team as he dashed toward the meeting spot. After two hours, Team Sakumo gathered near the mountain found suspicious by Sakumo. The sensor Jounines out forward and he makes some hand signs and ces his hand on the ground, ''Sensing Hexagon Seal'' He senses the Chakra for a while before a frown appears on his face. Sakumo asks him, "What''s the matter? Found something." The sensor Jounins nods to Sakuma as he exins, "There seems to a wide-scale Sensing Barrier surrounding this area. I can also sense a genjutsu barrier and some silencing seals ce near the barrier. I am not sure but I also sensed a very powerful Chakra inside the barrier. Also" The Sensor-Jounins gulps his saliva as he continued, "it seems like the person with the powerful Chakra sensed our presence." "What are we waiting for? Hurry and enter the barrier to scout the area. The enemy is already aware of our presence and we shouldn''t give them a chance to prepare. " The experienced Jounin rebuked others as they hurriedly trespassed in the barrier. They were startled the moment they entered the area. Team Sakumo was caught in a genjutsu as they entered the barrier, being aware of the situation beforehand, they dispelled the genjutsu as they marched forward. The team was surprised to see various mining carts lined up with Chakra ore and various workers busy mining the area. ''Lightning Style: Lightning Bullet Bomb'' They were greeted by a big ball of blue lightning heading their way. All of them jumped back and dodged the jutsu. The lightning jutsu hit the ground and created a small crater as small sparks of lightning flickered in the area. All of the Konoha ninjas wield their Kunai as they get ready for the Combat. The dust from the previous attack was settled as they saw a man facing them. The man had a long bicolor hair color of green and white with matching eyebrows. He had a purple mark in the shape of a diamond down the right side of his face. The man wore the standard attire of the Kumogakure shinobi including a k jacket, over a long-sleeved V-neck outfit with bandages underneath, and carried a fairly long sword strapped to his back. Sakumo immediately recognized the man as the ''Blue B of the Eight-Tails''. He immediately went on high alert as he informed his team of the situation. More and more of the Kumo Ninjas surrounded them as another man appeared alongside Blue B. The man had dark skin and a muscr build, blond hair which werebed back and a small goatee on his chin. His face had pronounced cheekbones and tear troughs under his eyes and a prominent crease across his forehead. He has pointed canines and his top lips have a darker hue than the bottom one. This man is A, the son of Third Raikage A, and another powerful jounin near the level of a Kage. "Fool! Ya Fool! I am Killer B of Kumo who is Very Cool! Ya!" An adolescent boy with dark skin, muscr build, and long white hairs styled in abed back manner and tied by his forehead protector arrived beside A. He wore oval-shaped sses and one strap over another k jacket of Kumogakure with a white scarf tied around his neck. "Brother Ya! These Konoha fools will fall before my cool! Fool! Ya Fool!" Killer B, the adoptive brother and tag team partner of A. Sakumo had a grim expression on his face. The difficulty of the mission had increased by a notch. "Our mission had changed from gathering information to retrieving the stolen Chakra ore from the Kumo Shinobi." The experienced Jounin muttered to his teammates. "We won''t be able toplete the mission. We need to retreat." Sakumo immediately announced to his teammates. "The mission is more important than our lives. We can''t afford to allow Kumo to carry suchrge amounts of Chakra ores back to their vige." Another jounin chimed in and all of the other members agreed with him on this matter. "We will hold them back Sakumo, you retrieve the scroll and run back to the vige. With your capabilities, it won''t be easy for them to chase and retrieve the scroll from you. We will sacrifice ourselves for this mission." the experienced Jounin advised Sakumo. "No, this won''t do. I am your team leader listen to me. Retreat to the vige, while I hold them back. Your lives are more important." Without waiting for their reply, Sakumo engaged the three of Kumo Shinobis. The rest of Team Sakumo members looked helplessly at Sakumo and retreated. Sakumo iss their leader and thus is their superior. Disobeying his orders will lead to insubordination. They weren''t happy over their leader''s decision. It would be a great loss for the vige to lose suchrge amounts of Chakra ores. Chapter 22: You Are My Hero Chapter 22: You Are My Hero ''Lightning Release: Lariat'' A clocked his body in lightning Chakra as he charged towards Sakumo. His speed was fast as he was almost about to m in Sakumo. Sakumo infused chakra in his White Chakra de as it shined brighter, ''Kenjutsu Style: Reaper''s sh'' He swung the sword horizontally right in front of the A''s neck. A dodged the attack as he ducked down, but he also lost the momentum of the attack. Sakumo immediately made some hand signs, ''Wind Release: Compression Bomb'' Sakumounchedpressed air from his mouth which hit A square in his chest and threw him back countering his lightning cloak and nullifying it. A was thrown back as he spun in the air, he immediately bnced his body as he stopped drifting. "As expected from the Konoha''s White Fang. You are really on a different level." Blue B praised Sakumo, as he began to weave hand signs, ''Lightning Release: Violent Thunderp'' Blue B released a bolt of lightning from both of his hands which traveled towards Sakumo. Sakumo made some hand signs as he infused Chakra, ''Wind Release: Violent Wind Breakthrough'' A gale of sharp wind collided with the lightning jutsu and both of them canceled each other out. ''Lightning Release: Double Lariat'' A and Killer B attacked with their tag team jutsu as both of them mmed in Sakumo, crushing him between their jutsu. Poof With a poof of white smoke, Sakumo disappeared from their attack. ''It turned out to be a Shadow clone.'' ''Kenjutsu Style: Executioner''s sh'' Arge de made of white Chakra horizontally shed towards A and Killer B. Both of them were hit by the attack, A blocked the attack for Killer B as shielding him with his body as most of the damage was soaked by his lightning cloak. A coughed out lots of blood as he fainted. A got wounded internally, Killer B carried him onto his shoulders. Blue B got a serious expression as he said, "I have no choice but to use it or we may die here today." A dark red, nearly ckyer of Chakra began to envelop Blue B. his muscle mass began to increase as two horns began to sprout from his head. The blue shape diamond could be seen around his eye as Chakra bones began to form on his left shoulder. He entered the Version 2 form of the Tailed beast mode as Eight tails appeared on his back. ''Lightning Release: Lariat'' Sakumo sensed the danger he was in as he quickly made some hand signs and mmed them on the ground. ''Summoning Jutsu'' A big, fat bulldog with a big bone in its mouth was summoned on the battlefield. The bulldog sensed the presence of charging Blue B as he spits his bone which plunged in the ground and expanded. Both of them took cover behind the bone as Blue B mmed in the bone. Boom Dust and debris rose as Blue B collided with the bone. Blue B was thrown back from the recoil as he felt dizzy and dropped on the ground. There was no damage on the bone, not even a dent. "This is the thigh bone of Our Old sage Ancestor, who passed away recently. He left this bone as the parting gift to me. It can''t be harmed by you Eight-tails." The big bulldog taunted Blue B. Blue B opened his mouth wide as ck and blue bubbles of Chakra were released from his body. The chakra bubbles began to coalesce together as they formed a highly vtile ball ofpressed Chakra. ''Shit! This is bad. We need to get away as far as possible from this.'' Both the bulldog and Sakumo thought the same thing. Whoosh .Swish The tailed beast bomb traveled at a very fast speed as it whizzed in the air and collided with the bone. Boom A very powerful explosion urred as both Sakumo and his ninja dog were thrown away by the force of the impact. Sakumo fainted from the shockwave released by the explosion. The bone blocked the explosion without any dent on it. It shrank and returned to the bulldog who carried over an unconscious Sakumo in the direction of Konoha. On the other side of the explosion, the version 2 chakra mode from Blue B began to fade as Blue B returned to his human form. The use of Tailed beast mode has exhausted and damaged his body, Blue B felt dizzy as his vision blurred. He staggered back and fell unconscious on the ground. Shortlyter, Killer B arrived on the scene and was surprised to see a big gully carved in the forest which at a point split into two separate narrower gorges. He walked towards the Blue B and checks his body. Ensuring the safety of Blue B, Killer B heaves a sigh of relief. "Fool! Ya Fool! That explosion was very cool. Now I am stuck here with these two fools who lost their cool." He carried both A and Blue B in the direction of Kumogakure. Their mission was almostplete as they were able to sessfully mine lots of Chakra ore. Now their vige can start on their secret Project: Chakra cannon. -------------- After a week, back in the vige in the Hokage''s office, Hiruzen was skimming through the report of the mission as he looked at Sakumo Hatake. Sakumo I never expected you to fail the mission. The Land of fire suffered a huge loss as the value of that Chakra ore was very high and most importantly it fell in the hands of Kumogakure. This will spell trouble for us as Kumo had been strengthening their military forces and that amount of Chakra ore can arm them from head to toe. The rest of his team members stood silently there without responding. All of them med the failure of the mission on Sakumo as they were ready to sacrifice their life but were ordered to retreat by their Team Leader Sakumo. Sakumo sighed as he gloomily left the Hokage office. Various rumors began to spread in the Vige further defaming his name. Sakumo stopped taking any missions for a while as he just lifelessly roamed around in the vige. Kakashi was worried about his father but was helpless to do anything. --------- One year passed in the blink of an eye. Sakumo had stopped training and as a result, his skills began to decline. This morning, Sakumo came to the street market as thoughts ofmitting suicide haunted his mind. The murmuring of vigers echoed in his ears as he med himself for the failure of the mission. He failed the mission, he failed the vige, he failed as a shinobi and also he failed as a father as he wasn''t able to fulfill the expectation of Kakashi. He wasn''t an Ideal father for his son as people start to call Kakashi the son of a failure. His train of thoughts was interrupted when an Uchiha boy approached the bench. The boy had hot Takoyaki in his hands and was searching for a ce to sit. I raised my head to look at the boy. The boy also looked at me and he looked surprised to see me. ------------ Izuna was startled when he saw Sakumo in front of him. ''Wait, Isn''t he Sakumo Hatake, father of Kakashi. I don''t get it, how he is still alive? Maybe it is the butterfly effect caused by my presence. But looking at him now, it looks like somethings still hadn''t changed. Well, I was cooped up the entire time in Uchiha n and wasn''t aware of the news. He seems to be at his breaking point, I have to cheer him and stop him frommitting suicide.'' "Hello, Uncle Sakumo!" I politely bowed to him as I greeted him. Sakumo was perplexed to hear me greet him. In confusion, he asked, "Do I know you boy?" Izuna was expecting such a question as he replied, "You may not know about me, but I know you very well. You are my hero Uncle Sakumo. You are my idol and when I grow up I want to be a great Ninja-like you." "Eh!" Sakumo was surprised when the boy called him a hero and an Idol. He questioned the boy, "I am a failure of the vige. I failed the mission given to me by the vige and the vige suffered huge losses. How I am still your ideal?" "No! I don''t know about those matters. But for me, you are the hero who saved my parent''s life five years ago. If it wasn''t for your timely help, I would be an orphan now as I would''ve.I would''ve .." I began to sob as I feigned weeping. Sakumo immediately consoled the me, "Don''t worry boy, your parents are fine. They would feel worried if you cried." Sakumo stopped as it dawned on him, ''If I die wouldn''t Kakashi will be like this boy. Wouldn''t he worry about me? Wouldn''t he also cry in sadness over the loss of his parents? No, I can''t take this step. I have to stop for the sake of Kakashi.'' I saw the change is Sakumo''s expression. His depressed expression was gone as he was recovering from his self-reproach. He just needs a final push. So, I spoke with the most sincere smile I can produce, "I don''t want you to stop Uncle Sakumo. I am sure you will save many kids from being an orphan. People may not understand your actions, but when they will return home and see their kids smiling at them they will realize it." Sakumo was stunned when he heard such profound words from this kid. ''This kid is very intelligent and sharp. His knowledge and IQ far surpasses his age. I am sure he will be a great man in the future far surpassing the likes of me. I should train this boy.'' "What''s your name boy?" Sakumo asked Izuna. "My name is Izuna Uchiha." Izuna sat on the bench as he began to munch on the Takoyaki. He offered them to Sakumo but Sakumo shook his head as he said, "Eat and grow well kid. For now, I have somewhere to go, if you want to train and grow stronger like me, then meet me after a month." I was surprised when I heard this. Being trained by a ninja far stronger than Sannins would shorten my training time as he will train me more efficiently." "Uncle, why it is one month from now?" Sakumoughed as he replied, "Because for the next month, I would have to train myself as I am feeling rusty." Sakumo disappeared from Izuna''s vision as he flickered away with a new spirit. ----------------- A/N:- I could see most of the people hated such a side story. So, this will be the first andst side story of a character. Chapter 23: Team Minato Chapter 23: Team Minato I smiled at the distant back of Sakumo as I muttered to myself, "Looks like things are going to change drastically in the future. I have to prepare myself too." One month passed in the blink of an eye, From my second day onwards of the academy, my shadow clone substituted me in the academy. I will go to the forest near the training ground 3 and practice my Shurikenjutsu and Ninjutsu skills. In the evening, I would train with Kurenai in Genjutsu. She is my perfect test subject for practicing Genjutsu. On our first training day, she tried to prank me with a genjutsu but I reversed it on her with my Sharingan. From that day onwards, she had turned docile and would willingly practice with me in Genjutsu. My skills with genjutsu improved very quickly as I could cast genjutsu on Kurenai again and again. Kurenai is a fast-learner when ites to genjutsu and I was surprised by her progress. Before it took her thirty minutes to dispel my genjutsu, now she could dispel it in just twenty minutes. Her genjutsu are getting stronger too. Uncle Shinku Yuhi was somehow able to get a few genjutsu scrolls from Kurama n. I got the benefit of learning them with her. The Genjutsu of the Kurama n was different from Uchihas. Our genjutsu techniques affect the five senses of the victim but the genjutsu of the Kurama n was because of their bloodline and it affects the brain of the user. He also trained me in Kenjutsu twice every week. ''What he just did was hand over a wooden sword and a scroll with few moves like Swing, sh, and chop and asked me to get proficient in them while he corrects my posture.'' I didn''t feel tardiness with the training but the continuous practice of these three moves for two weeks did tire my mind out. Again after two weeks he gave me another scroll with three other moves and asked to practice like usual. Today, I was practicing in the forest while skipping the sses as usual. There were five targets marked at different angles in the forest. I closed my eyes as I began to focus my concentration. I took five kunais in one hand and five shurikens in another. I threw up kunais in the air with my left hand, as they began to fall, I aimed my shurikens at them and began to throw them towards the kunais to direct them at the target. nk nk... Sounds of metal colliding with metal echoed as four of my kunais hit the target but I missed the final kunais from bullseye as it was hidden behind a stone. I could have used my Sharingan to predict and aim properly, but I refrained to do so. What would be the point of Shurikenjutsu training, if I used my Sharingan to train in it? I wanted to hone my other senses and improve my cognitive abilities. In future battles, a moment of hesitation or bad decision could cost me my life. Training other senses allow me to maintain the bnce in my body and I won''t be too reliant on my Sharingan. If I would ever go to a mission, I wouldn''t hesitate to decisivelynd the killing blow by using the Sharingan. Training and real battles are after all different things. pp The sudden sounds of pping startled me as I turned around to see the newer. The neer had blue eyes and spiky blonde hair. Two jaw-length bangs of hair hang from both sides of his face. He wore a standard Konoha uniform with two bands on both of his sleeves, a green k jacket, a blue forehead protector, and blue shinobi sandals. He pped his hands as he praised me, "You are pretty good kid. Your skill with Shurikenjutsu is the best I have ever seen on someone of your age." ''Fuck! Isn''t he Minato? What is he doing here? He would report my absence in the academy to Hokage. I must run.'' I ignored Minato as I began to run in the direction of Uchihapounds. But could I outrun the fastest Shinobi ever alive, obviously not? I was caught in the blink of an eye, as my face got buried into something. I felt something soft pressed on my face as I struggled to get free. I began to suffocate as my struggle intensified. "You are suffocating him, Kushina! Leave him from your embrace." I felt the grip around my body loosen as I started to breathe heavily as I looked in bewilderment at the neer Kushina, A fair-skinned woman with a slender build, violet eyes and red hairs appeared in my vision. Her hairs were straight as they reached her thighs with shoulder-length strands framed on both sides of her face and ck clip parts her hair to the left. She wore a high-cored sleeveless blouse under a long, loose-fitting dress with a wristband on her left wrist and standard shinobi sandals. "Come on! Minato. He is so cute, I couldn''t hold back myself to hug him." Kushina pouted as sheined to Minato. Minato wryly scratched his forehead at theints of Kushina. I am aware of their identities, but I still have to act the part of the stranger. This is my first meeting with them after all. I acted wryly as I asked, "Who are you and why you strangled me?" Minato was surprised at my question as he replied my question with his question, "You seem to be an academy student. What are you doing here in the forest, while skipping your sses? Shall I report this matter to your Academy Instructor." ''Fuck! Will he report me to the academy instructor.'' I stuttered as I replied, "Academy is very boring! I have already learned everything they could teach me. So, I substituted myself with my Shadow Clone as Ie here to practice my skills. Earlier, when I saw youing towards me, I mistook you for one of the Academy Instructor. So, I thought of running away when I noticed you. But you caught me." I looked at Kushina with a ming gaze. Kushina chuckled as she whistled and avoided eye-contact with me. But her hands were itching to bear hug me again. CoughCough Minato coughed to get my attention as he spoke, "I am Minato Namikaze, one of the Jounins of the Vige." He pointed at Kushina as he continued, "She is Kushina Uzumaki, my wife. Earlier, I was training my ninja team when I heard some sounds from the forest. So, I came to inspect but I am surprised by your skills in Shurikenjutsu." Minato praised me but he got a stern expression as he replied, "Still, you shouldn''t skip sses like that. If you can do the Shadow clone technique, then you can always ask for early graduation." I shook my head as I replied, "My younger brother Shisui is still in the academy. I promised him that we will graduate at the same time. I can''t break my promise with Shisui." ''Can''t tell them the real reason. Now, can I? After all, I wanted to get stronger and at the same time avoid Danzo for a while.'' "Minato-Sensei, Big-sister Kushina.." Three voices called to Minato and Kushina in conjugation. I turned around and noticed Obito, Rin, and Kakashi shouting as they approached us. They reached us and Obito curiously looked at me and noticed the Uchiha Crest on my back as he asked, "Hey! You are also an Uchiha." He turned around and shed the Uchiha symbol to me as spoke, "I am also an Uchiha. My name is Obito Uchiha" I ignored the antics of Obito as I questionably looked at Minato. Minato noticed my stare as he began to introduce his team, "This cheerful and active guy is Obito" He pointed at Rina and Kakashi as continued, "They are Rin Nohara and Kakashi Hatake." All of them greeted as I returned their greetings and introduced myself, "I am Izuna Uchiha. I am still studying in the academy." "You are Izuna Uchiha!" Kakashi perplexedly looked at me. "Yes, I am indeed Izuna Uchiha. Is there any problem?" "You are the person whom father talks about a lot nowadays. He always seems to praise you a lot." Kakashi replied. "Oh! You mean Uncle Sakumo. I met him a month ago, he seemed very depressed, so I cheered him a little. Nothing extraordinary to praise me for." "Thank you very much for cheering my father!" Kakashi bowed to me as his upper body was almost parallel to the ground. "Oh!" Everybody present there was stunned by this development. "The cold and rigid Kakashi can act like this." Obito teased Kakashi as he gave me a thumbs up. "Ok!... Ok! Enough everybody. Now let us continue our training. Also, If you don''t mind you can join us too with our training." I got excited when Minato offered to train me. Likee on, he is a Kage level Ninja and he would personally train me. What better could I ask for in my academy days? I immediately epted and thus started to train with Team Minato. Kushina cheered us from sides as we trained. Chapter 24: Bell Test Chapter 24: Bell Test As we were practicing in the ninjutsu, Kushina suggested, "Hey! You guys why don''t all of you join hands together and fight with Minato. Minato! What about another bell test for them, this time with Izuna included in the team." "Hmm! That''s not a bad idea. What do all of you think about it?" Minato asked his team. "I am fine with it sensei," Rin replied. "Can he keep up with us, Sensei?" Obito asked Minato. "Yes, Sensei I hate to agree with Obito on this matter," Kakashi replied. "Hey! What do you mean you hate to agree with me?" Obito asked angrily. Ignoring them I answered to Minato, "Minato-san, I don''t have experience in ninja fights, I have only practiced Ninjutsu, some genjutsu, and Shurikenjutsu. I don''t even know taijutsu that well. Will it be alright?" "You don''t have to worry about such things, you will learn all these things as you grow. No one can be a powerful ninja in just a day. Just watch, learn, and practice." Kushina replied to me as she cheered me. "Ok! Minato-san, please take care of me." Minato nodded and ced two bells on his belt as he waited for our response. "Kakashi Senpai, Obito Senpai, Rin Senpai, do any of you have some paper bombs." Rin and Obito nodded as they handed me over a few paper bombs. "Ok! then. On the count of three let''s start." Team Minato was quick with their response as Obito threw a smoke Bomb and all of them disappeared in the forest. I have seen their fight from the Anime and was aware of basic Ninja fight rules. I quickly hid in the forest and for the extra assurance, I even coated my body with my new jutsu which I created using Light element. ''Light Style: Optical Camouge'' I disappeared from the vision as I hid between the bushes and waited for the perfect opportunity to attack. I also created a Shadow clone who hid himself a few meters away from and also coated himself with Optical Camouge. My clone began to prepare a trap as heid the paper bombs on the ground and covered them with soil. The clone made some hand signs as he muttered, ''Light Style: Optical Illusion'' An illusion covered the trap as it appeared like a bush. My clone hid as I silently observed from the bushes with my camouge on. Soon, Minato appeared in the forest. From one of the nearby bushes, ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu'' Arge fireball wasunched towards Minato who did a somersault andnded on a nearby tree avoiding the fireball. A few shurikens and Kunai wereunched at Minato who flickered and dodged the Kunais. ''Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu'' Arge number of smaller fireballs wereunched at Minato who dodged them by kiting through them. Minato took out many shurikens and threw in the direction of Obito who was trapped between them as he fell from the tree. Rin takes out her Kunai and cut a rope tounch a log tied to some ropes towards Minato as Obito uses the chance to throw a smoke bomb and hide again. Minato dodges the log as he jumps behind another tree to take cover. "Obito, in the direction of 2 o''clock" Rin informs Obito as he immediately makes some hand signs andunches another ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'' Obito panted as he cheered, "Yay, we got him." Minato suddenly appears behind them as he removes a kunai from a nearby tree and ces it on Obito''s and Rin''s neck. ''Both of you have grown strong Obito and Rin. Now, where are Kakashi and Izuna?'' Minato wasn''t surprised much by Kakashi, as Kakashi was a genius and a full-fledged Chunnin. But what amazed him was Izuna, an academy student. He sure is patient, Minato looks around but wasn''t able to spot Izuna. ''He has hidden very well.'' As he was distracted in such thoughts, a shuriken wasunched towards him. Minato blocks the shuriken with his Kunai as Kakashi began to engage with him. Both of them traded blows with each other as Kakashi fought with a Chakra de and Minato blocked with a Kunai. Kakashi threw a kunai with a paper bomb attached to it at Minato who jumps down to dodge it. As Minato was falling, Kakashi makes a hand seal as many paper bombs were ignited on the ground. Minato somersault mid-air as hends near the illusory bush set by my clone to avoid the explosion. "Got You. Katsu!" The illusion disappears as the Paper Bombs explode. "What the" Minato was shocked when he saw the bush disappear and many paper bombs appear. Boom The paper bombs exploded as Minato appears on a nearby tree with a kunai embedded in it. As soon as hended, a huge fireball weed him thatnded on the tree. Minato was surprised as he barely dodges the fireball. He looks around but was unable to spot me anywhere. Kakashi uses this chance as he attacked Minato and was able to barely touch the bells. Minato attacks Kakashi who turned out to be a Shadow clone. Kakashi who was hidden behind a tree was about to make some hand signs as Minato appears behind him and ces a Kunai around his neck. "Not so fast! Kakashi." "Yes! Not so fast Minato-san." I appear behind Minato as I ced my Kunai on his neck. Minato was surprised with this development but he smiled as he vanished in a puff of smoke. "Damnit! A shadow clone." I shouted as Minato appeared behind me and ces a Kunai around me. "Yes! That''s what I would like to say, Izuna." "Are you sure, Minato-san!" I smiled as I disappeared in a puff of smoke. "What?" Minato, Rin, Obito, and Kakashi eximed in unison as I came out of my camouge from the bush as two bells were dangling in my hands as my Kunai was pointed at Minato''s back. "You got me, Izuna." Team Minato was stunned to see such an oue. They never expected me to so smart. Minato praised me, "That was a very good move Izuna. But I have a question? How you appeared behind me, so suddenly without even alerting me?" "Yeah! We are also curious to know about it." Rin, Kakashi, and Obito asked me. I scratched the back of my head as I answered, "I don''t deserve such high praise, Minato-san. I just reaped the benefit from the efforts of Rin, Obito and Kakashi Senpai. They are the ones you should praise for." "No! it was your strategy that leads to victory. It had nothing to do with us." Rin and Obito refuted my words. "But still what was that technique you used earlier." Kakashi was curious about my Jutsu. I felt no harm in telling them about it as they won''t be able to understand the intricacies of the Jutsu, even though it was a Utility type Jutsu. "That''s a unique Jutsu I created on my own." I made some hand signs as my body began to fade away from their vision. They could hear my voice but were unable to see at all. The Light passed from my body. I continued to exin, "I havebined this jutsu with Genjutsu to fool the enemies of my presence. I haven''t perfected it yet as people with Byakugan or Sharingan would be able to see my infused Chakra and the sensor type ninjas would be able to feel my Chakra. It is still a work in progress." "Wow! That''s a cool jutsu, you created." Obito and Rin pped as they praised me. Minato also nodded in approval. I just scratched my head as they praised me. "Damnit! I lost to Kakashi and now even Izuna." Obitoined as he made a long face. Bonk Kushina ced a heavy basket on Obito''s head as she cheered us, "Good Job, everyone! You will seed next time. But for now, let''s have ''Kushina Special''" She was interrupted by Minato as he pointed at me. Kushina turned in my direction and saw two bells dangling in my hands. She dropped the basket as Rin hurriedly caught it. Kushina ran towards me, she grabbed me and gave me a bear hug. Her soft mounds pressed on my face as I began to suffocate. I struggled for a while until she left me from her panda embrace. I breathed heavily for a while as I looked usingly at her, "You are so cool Izuna. Wow! You are amazing and also cute." I felt a little hurt as she called me cute instead of handsome. "Thank you, big sister, Kushina." Rin thanked Kushina for the lunch. "My Rin is cute too!" Kushina spoke as she began to snuggle with Rin. Tch... Obito grumbled as he turned his back to Kushina and hmphed. Kushina became angry as their usual routine started with Obito being bashed on the head by Kushina as a small bump rose on his head. All of usughed and cheered happily as we ate lunch. --------------- A/N:- Minato isn''t nerfed. Izuna just caught him off-guard with a new jutsu. That''s all. Chapter 25: Creation of Rasengan Chapter 25: Creation of Rasengan Two more months passed like this. My daily routine includes some early training with mother or father. Later during academy time, my shadow clone will substitute me. I will train with Team Minato sometimes as I grew stronger day by day. When team Minato is on a mission, I will search for Uncle Sakumo who will train me in kenjutsu and ninjutsu techniques. In the evening, I will train with Kurenai in Genjutsu techniques. My training with Team Minato yielded the most result. I was able to take Minato by surprise during our first bell test. But after he came to know of my jutsus and tricks, it got harder to take bells from him. He even further improved his Flying Thunder God technique as he added new jutsus to the technique. His new technique is called, ''Flying Thunder God - Second Step'' I thought the name wasme for such a cool technique, but then it reminded me of the technique used by Minato in the Third Shinobi War and thought it is at least better than that. Minato taught me more jutsus of Fire, Lightning, and Wind Release, and I am grateful for that. My battle senses have improved a lot but all of this training was still under a safe environment. Minato won''t deal a killing blow to us and we were aware of it which lowered our guard a little bit. In these two months, I have pretty much mastered all of the elemental techniques taught by Minato and now it is time to aim for the Space Techniques. As usual, today I start to train in the forest near the Training Ground 3. Soon, Minato and his team appear with Kushina as we start our usual routine with another bell test. We fought with Minato for almost an hour. My teamwork with Team Minato had improved a lot, the only department Ick is Taijutsu and Senjutsu both of which require a strong body. Minato whopped our ass as we were unable to grab any bell. Minato breathed heavily as he remarked, "It is getting harder and harder to beat thebination of you four now. Ha ha all of you improved way too fast and I can''t keep up. I will have to speed up the creation of my new jutsu." ''Oh! He has already started the creation of Rasengan. I can help him and in exchange ask him to teach me more about the space element. Minato was the only Shinobi before Otsutsuki''s who had a profound knowledge of Space. Well, Tobirama Senju had enough knowledge to create the Flying Thunder God Technique. But it reached new heights under Minato''s hand and Tobirama himself confirmed it.'' "Minato-san, Can you show me your new jutsu?" I inquired Minato. Minato nodded as he replied, "It is still in development and isn''t even a C-rank technique for now." Minato stretches his right hand as he began to knead Chakra in his palm and began to gather it in one spot. The Chakra began to gather in his hand as it starts to form a sphere the size of a marble, but before it could expand further the Chakra explodes due to instability as Minato''s hand got jerked back due to the recoil force of the Chakra and smoke rose from his palm guard. Minato sighs as he begins to exin, "The principle behind this jutsu is topress Chakra in a small sphere and thenunch it towards the enemies as thepressed Chakra expands on contact with an enemy and explodes violently like a bomb. As you saw the recoil from the ball the size of marble was enough to almost break my hand. Now, imagine if it is the size of say a throwing ball; the impact caused by the explosion of such a ball would be ten to twenty times more powerful." I pondered for a while as I thought about it, ''Should I tell him theplete training method of Rasengan or shall I just guide him in the correct direction.'' After contemting for a while I decided to guide him, ''Minato is a genius, he will be able to figure the jutsu much earlier if I just guide him to correct direction. Also, I can''t raise his suspicion by pulling out an A-rank technique without proper training out of nowhere.'' Minato looks at me as I am contemting, "I decided to create this jutsu when I saw a Tailed beast creating a massive orb of Chakra called Tailed Beast Bomb. The tailed beast Bomb had very high destructive power as it is able to obliterate a massive mountain to dust. I thought of mimicking that technique to create something simr that can be used by a Ninja to produce a simr effect albeit on a smaller scale." I acted like I was thinking seriously over this matter but in reality, I am just thinking, ''The time hase to ask Minato for the Space element training.'' "Minato-san, I think your idea is great but you are moving in apletely wrong direction. You won''t get anywhere if you continued like this." Minato was perplexed by my im. He had a pensive expression as he questions me, "How so? Do you have a better idea Izuna-Kun?" I nod to Minato as I start to exin, "Minato-san! There is a fundamental difference between the physique of the Tailed beast and the human body. I have read that Tailed Beasts are beings made up entirely of Chakra whereas we are made of flesh and bones. The tailed beast can collect and Chakra easily because their entire body is Chakra whereas in our body Chakra rotates in a pathway as it circtes inside the body. So, you can''t do the same thing as the Tailed beast. If my hypothesis is correct then you should try to add rotation to the Chakra when youpress it." Minato was shocked by this revtion as he immediately tried topress the Chakra while adding rotation. A small chakra ball began topress in his hand as the chakra rotated and stabilized the ball. The ball continued to expand till it reached the size of a tennis ball. Minato mmed the Chakra ball into a nearby tree as it created a small whirling hole the size of the ball before the Chakra faded away. Minato became excited to see this as he begins to mumble, "The stability of the Chakra is great but itcks the power to do any lethal damage. I will continue improving it further." He turns to me as he praises me, "Izuna-Kun, you are very sharp and intelligent. You were able to improve the jutsu I struggled to create in past three months just by one observation. Tell me, which jutsu you want to learn next?" "Minato-san. Can you teach me your space-time Ninjutsu ''Flying Thunder God''? I will also help you with your new jutsu." Minato contemted for a while before he replies, "Izuna-kun! It is not that I can''t teach you the jutsu. It is that learning this jutsu is very hard and not everyone is suitable for learning it. First and foremost, you must have some affinity for space elements to be able to read this jutsu. Second, you need to be a master in Fuinjutsu to be able to create your own seal to imprint space coordinates in it. Third, your body must be able strong enough to bear the stress caused by the sudden spatial shift. Fourth, there will be split second of vulnerability after the sudden shift." He looks at me then continues, "Although in your case we can ignore the fourth condition as you will eventually awaken Sharingan which will grant you incredible perception power. But still, with so many hurdles it is very difficult to learn this jutsu." I begin to think of ways to convince Minato in teaching me the ''Flying Thunder God'' Jutsu. "Minato-san, how will you test my affinity with the space-element." I wondered how the affinity for the space element can be tested. The Chakra paper has a limit and could only test the elemental and non-elemental type affinities. "Oh! If you want to learn my ''Flying Thunder God'' jutsu then I will test your space affinity." Minato takes out a small scroll with a special seal with kanji word ''Space'' on it. He hands over the scroll to me as he exins, "This is a special Uzumaki n scroll. It is given to me by Kushina. When you infuse your Chakra in the scroll, the markings on the scroll will disappear and will reappear on a simr scroll to this one if you have the space affinity. Otherwise, you don''t have space affinity." Minato fishes out another simr scroll from his pocket and opens it. It is simr to the scroll in my hand but with no kanji word. I begin to infuse Chakra in the scroll handed to me by Minato as I curiously wait for a response. ''Well, I have space element affinity so it wouldn''t be hard for me to pass this test. Right!'' -------------- A/N:- Not much info is avable regarding Space element in Naruto. So, I begin to write something with my own imagination. It is my own imagination and more creative ideas are always weed. Chapter 26: Fuinjutsu Training Chapter 26: Fuinjutsu Training Just after the infusion of Chakra, the kanji seal begins to fade as it disappearedpletely in the next few seconds. Minato hurriedly checked the scroll in his hand. There is a kanji seal on the previously empty paper. Minato''s jaw-dropped at this as he seemed shocked to see the seal on the paper. ''Uh! Is there something wrong with the seal? Why Minato seems so surprised? I have Space affinity, so why his reaction is so exaggerated?'' I begin to sh the scroll in front of a stunned Minato as I spoke, "Minato-san, see I have an affinity for space element. You have to train me in Space element now." Minato gathers his wits as he replies, "Yes, you have an affinity for Space. But what surprised me is how high your affinity for space is. It took me five minutes of continuous Chakra Supply to transfer the sealpletely from one scroll to another. Five minutes is considered very good for Space affinity, but you just did it in a matter of a few seconds. It implies that your affinity for space is way too high. I am shocked because we of the Namikaze bloodline specializes in Space element but you are Uchiha and still possess such a powerful Space affinity. I wonder what other secrets do you hold?" Minato looked curiously over to me as he joked. I begin to sweat buckets as I am not sure how to reply to this. "Ok! I will train you in space element but for Fuinjutsu you will have to ask Kushina. Kushina is an Uzumaki and she specializes in Fuinjutsu. Her fuinjutsu skills are better than mine." I nod my head to Minato as I walk towards Kushina hoping to convince her to teach me Fuinjutsu. I am not sure how powerful the Fuinjutsu techniques are, as there was no Uzumaki specialized in Fuinjutsu present in the Anime. But Uzumakis were feared for their sealing techniques to the point that many other nations joined hands with each other to deal with Uzumaki n speaks for itself. Guess, I will get to know more about the potential of sealing techniques when I learn them myself. Kushina is chatting with Rin as I approach her. She senses my arrival as she inquiries from me, "Izuna-kun, do you need something from Big-Sister?" I hesitate for a while before I begin to speak, "Big Sister Kushina! I I have a very high affinity for Space Element. Minato-san just checked it with the Uzumaki scroll. So, I want to learn the ''Flying Thunder God'' technique from Minato-san. He agreed to train me in the Space element but asked me to convince you for my training in Fuinjutsu. So, I would like to ask you to train me in Fuinjutsu, Big-Sister Kushina." "Nope! I won''t teach Fuinjutsu to you Izuna-kun." Kushina replied directly. "Ehh! Why you won''t teach me big-sister Kushina?" I asked while fidgeting my fingers. Kushina looked at Izuna as she thought, ''Cute! But I won''t teach you just because of that.'' "Because Izuna-kun is a bad boy. He won''t allow Big- Sister Kushina to even hug him." "What? Big-sister Kushina you will teach me Fuinjutsu if I allowed you to hug me right?" I hesitated for a while before I continued, "Uhun Then Big-sister Kushinayou can hug me all you want?" I bit my lower lip as I finished these words. "Yay! Now that''s my Cute Izuna-kun for you." She bear-hugged me in her embrace as I struggled to breathe. Her big mounds were pressed against my face as I have a conflicted expression on my face, ''Somehow, this is blissful but at the same time torturous. I am still in my childhood and my little brother is still low-profile.'' I can''t seem to put my hands on it. I shake my head to discard such thought, as I begin to struggle in her embrace as I am suffocating. Kushina frees me from her embrace as she speaks, "Ok! Izuna-kun I will teach you Fuinjutsu. But I will hug you every day as my payment." I hang my head down when I hear her speak these words but I still weakly nods to her. "Ok! Izuna-kun lets go shopping first for starters." I tilt my head in confusion as I ask her, "Big-sister Kushina, why we have to go shopping to learn Fuinjutsu?" Kushina chuckles as she stretches her hands and starts to pull my cheeks as she replies, "Izuna-kun to learn Fuinjutsu we need fuinjutsu ink and paper. You can''t learn Fuinjutsu without practicing it first. I don''t have any ink with me because when you reach the Master level in Fuinjutsu you can substitute ink for Chakra. Chakra is a better material for Fuinjutsu seals." She puffs her cheeks as she shows her biceps, "Your Big-sister Kushina is about to reach Grandmaster in Fuinjutsu soon. See ain''t I amazing, praise me." Rin begins to p as I join her to please Kushina. Kushina nods to us as she speaks, "Ok! Rin and Izuna let''s go to Ninja weapon shop to get some empty scrolls and Fuinjutsu ink. Later we can also buy some other stuff while we are at it." She turns in Minato''s direction as she shouts loudly, "Minato!... Minato, I will borrow Rin and Izuna for a while." Minato nods to her as she carries both me and Rin in her arms and flickers away to Vige. After five minutes, we arrive inside the Vige. I begin to infuse some Chakra as I make some hand sign, ''Light Style: Optical Camouge'' My body faded away as I turn invisible. Kushina is surprised when she sees me turning invisible as she asks, "Why you turned yourself Invisible Izuna Kun?" I reply to her, "Big-sister Kushina, I am skipping sses from the academy. I don''t want any instructor from the academy to notice me here in the market and report to Hokage-sama about it." "Oh! I almost forgot about it. You are still an Academy student. Now that I notice it, you are quite amazing Izuna-kun for your age. Even Kakashi wasn''t this amazing at your age." Rin is surprised by this remark as she asks, "Really big-sister Kushina, Izuna is this amazing." Kushina nods to Rin in approval. Rin murmur something, ''For me, Kakashi is still the coolest ninja with that mask.'' I was able to hear her as I sweat-drop at her imagination, ''Why do girls like Bad-boy style more?'' Kushina goes to the Ninja weapon store as she buys some Fuinjutsu ink stick and an inkstone to grind the ink stick. She also buys lots of empty scrolls for practice. After Kushina was done with the Ninja weapon store, she together with Rin went to nearby Cloth store as Kushina bought lots of new clothes for the next hour. I spent the entire next hour meditating. Luckily, I was spared from the torture every man with a sister, girlfriend, or wife has to suffer. The torture of carrying lots of shopping bags. Kushina takes out a scroll from her pocket and makes some hand signs. Puff All of the clothes and bags disappear and are stored inside the scroll. I wondere if she had such a thing with her, why in the anime she tortures Minato by asking him to carry all of those shopping bags? ''I also want one of these scrolls, they are way too convenient to use. Guess, I will ask big-sister Kushinater for one of these scrolls. In the future, I will be able to design one on my own.'' After we returned back to the training ground, Kushina takes out the Ink Stick and Inkstone and hands then over to me. "Izuna-kun you have to prepare your own ink while infusing it with your Chakra to smoothly control the Fuinjutsu sealter. I will tell you the correct proportion of ink and chakra to be used in the preparation of ink. Now, watch and learn. Kushina begins to grind the ink stick on inkstone while infusing her Chakra as she prepares Fuinjutsu ink. ''Now, I want to graduate from the academy as soon as possible. I have to keep hiding my Sharingan from others. Once, I graduate from the academy and be a genin. I can freely use the Sharingan as I can make a bullshit reason for my Sharingan awakening. But, it would have been so damn easy to just observe the Chakra with Sharingan when Kushina is preparing the ink.'' Kushina is finished preparing the ink. She takes out an empty scroll and begins to do calligraphy on the scroll. "Izuna kun! Other than the preparation of ink, your calligraphy skills should be excellent too. When your calligraphy skills are good enough, then only will you be able to smoothly write aplete Fuinjutsu seal. Now, for next week you have to focus on preparing the ink and improving your calligraphy." To be honest, I had never done any Calligraphy in the past, and being a medical student made my writing even worst. My writing looks like Stampede of some insects and it has improved to barely readable level in this life. Hard days areing for me, I really shouldn''t have skipped the hand-writing improvement sses in my past life. Chapter 27: A Day off from the Training Chapter 27: A Day off from the Training It has been six months since Ist went to the academy. Today, I decide to visit the academy with my real body. The reason is pretty simple, Minato and his team are on a mission and coincidentally Uncle Sakumo is on a mission too. Now the entirety of this week would be free for me. So, I just decide to take a break from my harsh training and pay a visit to the academy. I have improved a lot in these six months with the help of Uncle Sakumo and Minato. Uncle Sakumo taught me Earth Release and Water Release jutsus which I mastered in three months of time. I spent thest two months honing my skills in kenjutsu under his guidance. I have got the basics down thanks to Shinku Yuhi. Now, I train in sword arts which are imparted to me by Uncle Sakumo. But my small body holds me back from performing some of the sword arts. I have made no further improvements in Genjutsu. I guess I need to evolve my Sharingan to three tomoes to further boost my skill. But I need some intense battles to further evolve my Sharingan. Kurenai also stopped training with me as none of us were improving further. I am most satisfied with my progress in Fuinjutsu seals and space element training. I visited the Weapon store to buy lots of Fuinjutsu Inksticks and empty scrolls. I trained using my shadow clones in the Calligraphy and Chakra ink creation. Unexpectedly, the creation of Chakra ink improved my Chakra Control by a lot. My calligraphy now looks simr to a professional Calligrapher of my previous life. But I still get rebuked by Kushina as she points out certain mistakes I am not even aware of. When I look at them closely with Sharingan, I curse myself for my blunder and improve in them. Space Element training is a bit different from what I expected. I expected Minato to train me in a ce with many spatial disturbances or such. But he just handed me another Uzumaki scroll and a Namikaze scroll to practice. I guess I have read too many fantasy Wuxia novels which corrupted my thoughts a little. The Uzumaki scroll has a seal with kanji letter ''Lock''. When I insert my Chakra in this scroll, it forms lots of Fuinjutsu seals which seals the space around me. Minato just asked me to sit in the sealed space and meditate while trying to understand the space inside. I was confused as I asked how this works, he just shrugged off his shoulders as he replied, "This is how I practiced in Space element." The Namikaze scroll though was more interesting and wondrous than the Uzumaki Scroll. I channeled my Chakra in it and a piece of weird metal pops out from the scroll. As I touched the metal I felt a kind of strange feeling running through my body as some subtle information about space began to appear in my mind. My understanding of the space element rose for a while as I continued infusing my chakra in it. When I stopped infusing the Chakra, the information flow stopped. I asked Minato-san about the origin of this metal. He mentioned that it is a relic that was passed down in his n as an heirloom. Some time in past his n ancestors excavated the relic from some ruins. The relic was already broken when they found it. It was further ruined by various infights and attacks from external enemies. His n was also wiped because of this relic. He was the only remaining survivor and he was able to escape to Konoha with the scroll given by his father who was the n head of the now-extinct Namikaze n. I wonder if it is simr to the Time Artifact Karasuki, scavenged by Konoha in the future. Well, that artifact was used by Urashiki to time travel maybe this artifact has a simr history. I entered the ss and went to my usual seat. I start to gaze outside the academy as I am happy for the sessfulpletion of my Optical Illusion Jutsu. Now, I have covered my Sharingan with the illusion as I keep it activated almost every moment. There is almost no Chakra usage in keeping this jutsu active. I start to observe my ssmates with my Sharingan. My gaze fell on an Aburame n member and it freaked me out. Insects too many insects, that guy had too many insects crawling inside his body. I slowly inspect every member of the ss as my eyes stop on a particr girl. The girl as if sensing someone''s stare on her turns around and looks at me. Both of us stare for a while as I am in shock to see this girl here, ''The girl has straight, purple hair reaching to her waist. Her brown eyes stared curiously at me.'' The girl tilts her head in confusion for being stared by me. I nod my head to her in greeting. She is perplexed at my nod as she points at herself with a finger. I just chuckle at her and then continue to look around. The girl is none other than Yugao Uzuki. In the original story, she joined Anbu shortly after graduating from the academy. She is a sensor-type ninja and I was really surprised when I first noticed her in the same ss as me. Well, she is really cute and I will certainly date her if I get the opportunity. Well in the original story she fell in love with Hayate Gekko because thetter taught her Kenjutsu. Well, I can do the same and teach her Kenjutsu. She will also serve as a good training partner for me. The ss starts as usual with nothing new to learn. Honestly, I am disappointed by the current education system of the academy as they only push the propaganda of Will of Fire to students. The Will of Fire is a great idea but it had long been twisted by the whims of elders and other senile geezers for their benefits which they whitewash with Konoha''s safety motto and casually wipes out a n because of their fear. Well, I have decided to take a day off, so I will just enjoy touring around the vige. I walk out of the academy andzily stroll toward the market. I pass by a park as I see some children of my age ying with each other. Most of the kids are civilians with a few n members. I walk to one of the swings and apply some wind chakra to the swing and I close my eyes as the swing move to and fro on its own. I am enjoying the breeze from the swing as I recall my childhood in my previous life. My parents would usually take me for a walk in the park as my father would give me a ride on the swing. I lost my parents in my previous life and almost lost them in this life. I will be strong and protect them. The To and Fro motion of my swing halts as I open my eyes to know the reason. A ten-year-old kid with a genin headband holds the chain of swing in his hand as he stops the swing. I frown on seeing this as my thoughts began to race, ''If I am not wrong, then this guy is the big brother of one of the academy students who pissed their pants in the fear.'' As if right on cue, the four civilian kid starts to surround me as their leader mocks me, "What will you do now? We have surrounded you. My big brother is a ninja, a genuine ninja with genin rank." The big guy shes his forehead protector to me as he looks at me with a grin. "You have some guts to bully my younger brother in the academy. Now I will see how you will be able to do so in the future." I shake my head at their idiocy as I simply mutter, ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' I start to walk away from the civilian kids as I decide to try some more street food. The civilian kids perplexedly look at my departing back as the leader start to shake his elder brother, "Big brother that guy is running away. Catch him and beat him to take our revenge." Other kids also join the leader as they continue to shake the genin. "ArghYou bastard. I will beat you like a bitch!" The genin yells loudly as he starts to assault the younger kids. The younger kids be terrified when their elder brother starts to beat them. They frantically run around the vige as the Genin guy chases them and smack them every time one of them is caught by him. This continues for a while as yelling and crying of kids echoed in Konoha''s streets. -------------------------- Check out my pat reon for some advance chapters and original works: https://.pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 28: Early Graduation Chapter 28: Early Graduation I spent another two months training with Minato in Space element and the basics of ''Flying Thunder God'' Technique. Minato also progressed well in the creation of Rasengan with my help. I just guided him in the right direction and he figured everything by himself. Minato haspleted the initial and middle phase of Rasengan Creation and he is currently stuck at the Final Phase of the Rasengan. The Jutsu is still unstable and he needs to contain it in a sphere to stabilize it. He is still figuring out the way and I think he will sessfully create the Rasengan in another two months. My Fuinjutsu training with Kushina is going very well. In these two months, I have reached Expert level in Fuinjutsu thanks to my shadow clones who painted my room ck with so many seals. I can now easily create some basic seals like silencing seals, storage seals, and even Paper Bombs. Well, I guess that saves me some expenses. My Kenjutsu training is alsoing along well, I have learned all the Techniques taught by Sakumo. He was surprised to see me progressing at such a rapid pace. Now, I have decided to graduate from the Academy as I want to explore the world outside Konoha while on missions. I will be six years old in another month. I have to just inform my parents about my decision. After academy sses were over, I went to my parents who were at home. I directly went to the living room where father was cleaning his ninja gear as I spoke, "Father, I want to apply for early graduation from the academy." Akira nods to Izuna as he replies, "So, you think you are ready for the outside world." I nod my head to him as he continues, "Ok, then let me test your skills. Let us move to the Uchiha Training Ground." The motheres out from the kitchen as she wipes her hand with a towel. She speaks to us, "Oh! My Izuna has grown so big now. Mama wille with you to watch you defeat your father. After all, my Izuna is a genius." Aiko affectionately hugs Izuna as she caresses his back. "Ok! Let''s go, mother. I want to show you how much I have grown." Aiko chuckles as he replies, "Ara! Then let us hurry to the Training Ground." All of us arrive at Uchiha Training Ground as the mother stands in a corner, while me and father face each other. I have fought with Minato-san multiple times in the previous seven months and now I have plenty of battle experience. What Ick is the real life and deathbat experience. "Izuna, I will fight with you without using my Sharingan. If during the spar you forced me to activate Sharingan or able to defeat me with a lethal blow, then I will admit defeat and you will win. Also, I will suppress my strength to a genin level as we fight I will progressively raise my strength to test your limits." "Yes, father I will defeat you," Izuna replies. "Now let''s start the fight." I immediately make some hand signs as I spew a giant ball of fire at father, ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu'' Father jumps and dodges my fireball technique, without giving him any time to breathe I throw some kunais with explosive tags attached to them at father. Before the tags could explode a lightning bolt incinerated the tag as a lightning whip appears in father''s hand. ''Lightning Style: Lightning Whip Jutsu'' Father swing the lightning whip toward me as I summersault and dodge the whip. Father throws shurikens at me while I was in mid-air. I quickly make some hand signs as I inhalerge volumes of air and then quickly exhale it. ''Wind Style: Wind Pump'' I dodge the shurikens but they continue to chase me as they were attached with a string controlled by Father. By now the father is using Chunnin level of Strength as he is fighting against me. I take out the Chakra de from my back as I infuse it with Lightning Chakra as it shines with a blinding blue light. I swing the Chakra de at the iing Kunai. ''Kenjutsu Style: Lightning Cleaver'' A blue sh of lightning isunched from the de as it collides with the shurikens and snaps the strings. Izuna dashes toward Akira as he mutters, ''Kenjutsu style: Howling Moon de dance'' Multiple images of the chakra de appeared as they formed a full moon. The de shed Akira as a small fissure appeared on the ground. Puff With a puff, Akira disappeared from the spot as a wooden log appeared in his ce. ''Crap! Substitution'' Izuna immediately turned as he infuses Chakra on a seal at the hilt of his Chakra de. ''Kenjutsu Style: Weighted Assault'' The chakra de ms on Akira who appear out of nowhere. The weight of the strike pushes Akira back as Akira blocks the strike with a Kunai. Akira jumps back to disengage and immediately make hand signs. ''Wind Style: Reaper''s Scythe'' Akira spews out arge scythe ofpressed wind as it charges toward Izuna while shing nearby trees. Izuna ducks to dodge the scythe but another scythe crisscrossing with the previous one appears in his vision. ''Fuck! Father is serious.'' Izuna makes two shadow clones thatunch the main body above the scythes like a catapult. Izuna is flung in the air as he searches for his father''s whereabouts. Akira appears behind Izuna as he attacks Izuna with a kunai coated in Wind Chakra. Izuna is able to block the attack by using the Chakra de but the force ms him in the ground. Izuna gets out of the ground in a haggard state as he curses in mind, ''Damnit! Father, it is just an academy graduation test, not a Chunnin Exam.'' "I lose!" Izuna puts back the Chakra de in the sheath as he walks towards his mother. Aiko is worried to see Izuna in such a state as she reprimands Akira, "Akira, he is only aiming for graduation from Academy. Is there any need for you to be so harsh on him? Look at my poor child, how much you have hurt him? No dinner for you today." Akira sweat-drops at this as he starts to exin, "It is for his own good. I just wanted to test his growth as a Ninja and he surprised me. He forced me to use the strength of a Jounin. I guess he has grown too fast and I wanted to warn him to not growcent and ignore training." Hmph! Aiko ignores him as she carries Izuna on her back despite his protest. "So, Father can I graduate early from the academy?" "Yes, yes! You can graduate early. But.." Akira is shot down by the scrutinizing gaze of Aiko as he gulps his saliva and the words stop in his mouth. --------------- Next day in the academy, Akira and Izuna walk towards the academy as Izuna will apply for early graduation in the presence of his father. Akira and Izuna enter the academy as Akira leads Izuna towards the principal''s office. The principal is a fat man with blue eyes and curly brown hair. He wore the standard Konoha jounin uniform with a red scarf around his neck. He wore arge red sash on his uniform with the kanji ''Fire'' on it, determining his position as the academy principal. He ces down the paperwork he held in his hand on the table and asks us, "How can I help you, Mr. Akira Uchiha?" Akira points toward Izuna as he exins, "It is not me who needs your help rather Izuna. Izuna wants to graduate early from the academy and I think his skills are enough to pass him as a genin and thus graduate from the academy." The principle nods at both of us before he replies, "Well, I can''t take such an important decision alone. I would have to inform the Hokage-sama about it. If the Hokage-sama agrees with your request then we can proceed with the exam. But bear in mind, since you are graduating early the exam would be much tougher than the real graduation exam." "I am ready for the exam. I think I can pass the examination." Izuna speaks with confidence brimming on his face. "Hum! If you think you are confident enough then I will immediately write a requesttter to Hokage-sama and we can decide the exam date after the approval." The principal start to write a letter with a brush. After the letter ispleted, he takes out a seal from his drawer. He applies the seal to the paper and rings the office bell. A chunnin instructor enters the principal''s office. The principal hands over the letter to him and instruct him, "Pass this letter to Hokage-sama. Inform him that it is an urgent case and he should check the letter as soon as possible." The chunnin nods to the principal and flickers out from the office. Father nods to me and both of us walk out of the office as I wait for the approval. -------------------------- Check out my pat reon for some advance chapters and original works: https://.pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 29: The Academy Graduation Exam Chapter 29: The Academy Graduation Exam Next day Hiruzen personally paid a visit to the academy. "It has been five years since someone applied for early graduation. Previously, Kakashi Hatake graduated from the academy only after four months of his time in the academy. Now, Izuna-kun you want to graduate eight months from your admission to the academy. Do you think you are ready for graduation?" "Yes, Hokage-sama! I think I am ready for graduation. I have full confidence in clearing the Academy Graduation Exam." "Good! Having confidence is one thing but overconfidence can lead to failure. Now we will start your graduation exam." Hiruzen nods as he turns to Principal and speaks, "Satsuki-san! Is the preparation for the exam ready? If they are ready then let''s proceed with the exam." "Yes, Hokage Sama! Everything is ready. We can proceed with the exam." Principal Satsuki turn towards Izuna as he continues, "The exam will be conducted in two stages, the written test and the practical test. For the written test, you will be assessed in theplete sybus taught throughout the entire academy course. Usually, the passing marks are around fifty-percent of the overall score. But for you, it is set at eighty-percent of the overall score. The second phase of the graduation exam consists of performing the E-Rank Clone Technique. But in your case, it has been changed to any C-rank technique which you have mastered except the Fireball Technique of the Uchiha n. Now your written test will start in the next five minutes and willst for an hour." A Chunnin instructor leads me to the examination hall. After I am seated, the Chunnin takes out a question paper as he points toward the wall clock. "Your time starts now and exactly after one hour, the answer sheet will be confiscated irrespective of any matter. Now start!" I begin to read the question paper. It was easy, way too easy. All its consist of is some elementary mathematics, Ninja world geography, hand-seals, and some question rted to Ninja Tactics. I pick up my pen and start to write in a flurry. The instructor is surprised to see my speed. Meanwhile, In a nearby room, Hiruzen takes out his crystal ball and starts to infuse chakra in it as he sways his hands over the ball. The crystal ball lights up and the scene of Izuna writing his test paper appears on the crystal ball. I sense a gaze over me. But I ignore it without even flinching. ''I guess that pervert is spying on me again.'' Hiruzen checks the answer sheet of Izuna and is surprised to see one-third of the answer-sheet filled within just five minutes. "The kid hadpleted the hardest part of the examination in just five minutes. Unbelievable!" Hiruzen stares at Izuna with wide-eyes as he can''t believe the kid solved so many difficult mathematics problems in a few minutes. Afterpleting the Mathematics part, I move on to geography problems. There is a map of the shinobi world and some important ces names were written on the paper. I have to mark all of the ces on the map urately. I check the names of the ces once again as I start to ponder about these ces. I have read many geography books with many importantndmarks in Uchiha Library. I start to mark all of the ces slowly as I take my time to recall and mark them. After ten minutes I proceed to the next section with hand signs and Ninja tactics. I slowly wrote the answers in the next fifteen minutes. I stand up from my ce as I call the Chunnin instructor. The chunnin instructor frowns as he questions, "What''s the matter? Do you need a bathroom break or something?" "I havepleted the test paper and I want to submit it." "You what?" the chunnin is perplexed as he looks at the Wall clock. "Only half an hour of the time has passed. Are you sure, you havepleted the test paper? You still have another half hour to write the paper." "No! that would be too long. I have already finished answering all the questions. There is no point in stalling for more time." Izuna replies as he hands over the answer sheet to Chunnin. The chunnin takes the answer sheet with a stunned expression as he points in the direction of Training Ground. "After you exit this hall, turn left and walk forward leaving two rooms in between, the third hall is the training hall where your next exam will be conducted." I start to whistle as I slowly walk toward the training hall. The chunnin looks at my departing back as he mutters, "Even though, this Uchiha kids is so arrogant. But damn! he looks cool." The chunnin admits that Izuna looks cool. He just flips the answer sheet to check what that Uchiha kid has done. The Chunnin is stunned to see the answer sheet as he frantically skims through the answer sheet, "Correct!... this is also correct this is correct too. Damn! What a monster?" All of the answers in the sheet are correct. The Chunnin picks up the sheet as he starts to run toward Hokage''s room. Izuna reaches the training hall as he is weed by a Chunnin. "Are you Izuna Uchiha? The kid who wants to take the practical exam." I nod my head to him as I reply, "Yes, I am Izuna Uchiha." "Come inside the training hall, the next phase of the exam wills starts now." I stand in front of the Chunnin as he continues, "For this phase, you need to perform a C-rank jutsu to clear the exam. Tell us when you are ready." Without speaking anything I immediately make some hand signs, "Shadow Clone Jutsu" A clone with simr in appearance to me appears in front of the examiner. The chunnin jaw-drops at this development as he stares at me with wide-eyes. "Have I passed?" There is no response from the Chunnin. I put some emphasis on my words as I shout, "HAVE I PASSED?" "Yesyes, you have passedyou have passed the exam. The goal was to perform a C-rank jutsu but you performed the B-rank Shadow Clone Jutsu. So, you have passed the exam. Now go to Hokage-sama office to get your Academy Graduation Certificate together with your forehead protector." I nod to him as I start to walk toward the Hokage''s office. The Hokage office is right beside the academy and it didn''t take me too long to arrive at Hokage''s office. I knocked at the Hokage''s Office door and waited for the response. "Come in." An old grumpy voice came from inside as I turned the knob and entered inside. "Name: Izuna Uchiha Age: 5 years and 10 month Congrattions!, you have passed your Academy Graduation exam. You are a Ninja now." Hiruzen closes the document and hands over a brand new leaf forehead protector with the blue cloth to me. "This is your Forehead protector, a symbol of Will of Fire and prestige of Konoha. Handle it carefully and don''t lose it. Now go to the room beside this room for a photo for your Graduation Certificate and Ninja Id. You will be assigned to a team tomorrow. The specific details could be found on the notice board. Now good luck towards your Ninja Journey." "Thank you, Grandpa Hokage" I smile at Hiruzen as I walk out of the Office. After the photo session was over. I take out my ninja certificate and decides to wait for Shisui to tease him with my Ninja certificate. My Ninja Registration number is ''011223''. After waiting for a while, the entrance of the academy bustled with kids running from the academy as the sses were over. Shisui walks out of the academy as he moves towards over usual meeting ce. He notices me and starts to walk towards me, but his footsteps stop as he stares at my forehead or to be precise at my forehead protector. He points at me as he stutters, "Niinii-san! What is this?" "Oh! It is nothing but a fancy headwear. I just cleared the academy Graduation exam and now I am a true ninja." I reply with a straight face as a small noticeable grin appears on my face. Shisui''s eyes watered as he starts to hit me with his tiny fists. "Uwah! You are a cheater nii-san. You promised me that both of us will be a ninja at the same time. Butbut you broke your promise and graduated early. This is not fairUwah!" "Therethere!" I gently rubbed Shisui''s forehead as I start to console him. "Don''t worry Shisui, work hard and you will be able to graduate early too. Now Aren''t I amazingI am amazing right, Shisui Haha" Shisui tears up again and he almost burst up. "Shisui let''s go to your favorite restaurant today. I am sure father and mother will throw a big party tonight." And as I expected both mother and father were very happy to see me pass the exam and be a Ninja. Both of them threw arge party at Akimichi''s restaurant as I like their meat dishes. -------------- Check out my pat reon for some advance chapters and original works: https://.pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 30: My New Team and First Mission Chapter 30: My New Team and First Mission Early in the next morning, I start to prepare all my ninja tools and equipment as I will be assigned to a Team today. I wore my leaf protector around my forehead. A seal with kanji symbol ''Storage'' is imprinted on a metal bracer as I wore it on my left hand. The pair of bracers is a gift from Kushina when I asked her to make me a storage space. This pair of metal bracer is one of the items from the Uzumaki n heritage and Kushina gave it to me as she said, "This pair of metal bracer was eating dust in our Uzumakipound. I thought that you will like them, so big-sister brought them for you. Now give me a hug for this gift." I happily epted this generous gift with a begrudging expression as I was squeezed in her embrace. These bracers are very handy as I can use them to store my Ninja tools. The left hand''s bracer stores my shurikens whereas I store my kunais in right hands bracer as it would be easy to summon them in a fight. I wear fingerless gloves with metal ting on backhand simr to Kakashi. This ninja gear seemed practical to me. I arrived at the entrance of the academy. I am supposed to meet my new team here today. I have graduated during the ongoing session of the academy so there were no new graduates to be paired with. I will join an existing team that has a vacancy for now. I waits for an hour near the academy. Two genins arrived to meet me as one of them spoke, "Follow us we will meet with Sensei." I nod to them and start to follow them. There is no interaction between us. None of them introduced themselves and I also never bothered with them. I can feel some repulsion from their behavior. I can pretty much guess their reason but I paid no heed to it. The genins lead me to the bridge on the Naka River. The Jounin sensed our presence and looked towards us. He smiled at us as he waved, "So, You two have already met your new teammate. Guess I will introduce myself first. I am Tendo Onikuma from the Onikuma n and I will be your Jounin Team Leader. Now all three of you introduce yourselves to each other." "I am Izuna Uchiha. I just graduated from the academy. Nice to meet you all. Please take care of me in the future." I introduced myself to the team, whether they like it or not I am a part of their team. After all, they will be ones who will have my back during a mission. Both of them snorted but still replied, "I am Ryo Aoki. I am not from any n. My father is a small shopkeeper and he sells clothes." "I am Takeru Hoga. I am an orphan and I am not from any n." There is no further greeting or cheering. The atmosphere bes awkward. To ease some tension, Tendo ps his hands as he speaks, "Now, now don''t be so tense. Izuna-kun will have toplete his first mission and it is a tradition in Vige that the first mission will be assigned by Hokage-sama himself for any new ninja. Izuna-kun you go and visit Hokage-Sama''s office. We will catch up with you, I have somethings to talk with the two of them. "Ok! Tendo Sensei! I will be right at Hokage-Sama''s office.'' I start to dash towards the Hokage''s office as I jump over roofs and vanish from their vision. "We can''t ept him Tendo Sensei. It has been two weeks since Haru passed away in the mission. How can the Hokage office be so cruel to rece him just like that without even our consent? And that too with a kid who barely left even the borders of his n. I am sorry sensei, we can''t take care of a pampered n Kid." Both of genins start toin to Tendo. Tendo holds his head in frustration as he rebukes them, "Listen! Ryo and Takeru, both of are you a ninja now? Both of you should have known that casualties will ur during a mission before you be a ninja. The job of a ninja is dangerous and full of blood and murder and also the world won''t wait for you to get over your grief. You have to continue taking missions and fulfill your duty as a ninja. The Hokage-sama had already given you two weeks to ovee your grief and now after two weeks, you should be ready for more missions. As for your third teammate Izuna Uchiha, he is a member of powerful Uchiha n and his abilities are personally approved by Hokage-sama. So, you don''t have to worry about him holding you back." "Tendo Sensei! You are a jounin right. You could have saved Haru if you tried. You are also at fault for Haru''s death." This time Tendo is pissed at their remark as he snaps at them, "I am your Jounin Instructor and Team Leader, not your nanny who will tend to your every need and will always protect you. It was Haru''s fault for ignoring my orders and triggering a trap and blowing himself up. Now quit bitching around and prepare for your new mission. I don''t want to hear any moreints from both of you. If youined even once then both of you will be retired as a Ninja. Now move on towards the Hokage office." Tendo is angry at these kids, ''Do you think being a ninja is like ying house? You want to get all the praise you want for a sessful mission and me others for your failure.'' I entered the Hokage''s office as I knocked on the door. The usual grumpy face of Hokage appeared in my vision as he spoke, "Oh! It is your Izuna-kun. So, you have already met your team and are ready for your first mission. Come with me to the Mission room, I will personally choose a mission for you. Since it is your first mission after graduation, it won''t be too hard. I will give you the simplest D-Rank mission for you to experience." We entered inside the mission room and I see a receptionist frantically trying to appease a woman. A corpulent woman with dark brown hairs separated in three poofs is jumping around in the room. She wore pink-lipstick, pink-nail polish, and purple eyeshadow. There are many gold rings with various gemstones in her fingers. The woman is crying buckets of tears as she blows her nose in a white handkerchief with gold lining. She notices Hiruzen as she jumps towards him, "Hokage-sama, Hokage-sama. My poor Tora is lost again. Poor kitty, how will she survive in this world without my love and affection. Hokage-sama you should hurry up and send some ninjas to find my poor Tora." Hiruzen sweatdrops at the woman enthusiasm, as he convinces her, "Don''t worry Madam Shijimi, we will find your cat soon." "Yes, Hokage-sama! If it is your promise then I can breathe in relief." I recognize the woman from the anime. I forgot her name from the anime but I remembered that this woman has a literal immortal cat that likes to run away from home. ''Likee on! Her cat lived longer than poor Asuma in the anime. Also, this cat is the source of ie for all of the genins of the vige. So, I won''tin but seriously this will be my first mission.'' As if right on Cue, Hiruzen pulled a picture from his pocket and handed it to me. "This is the portrait of Madam Shijimi''s cat Tora. I always keep this picture with me as her cat usually runs away almost every day. Madam Shijimi is the wife of Fire Daimyo." I grab the picture of the cat and begin to memorize its features. The cat has brown fur with a ck line running down its forehead with three lines going across it. It has amber color eyes and a red ribbon is tied on her right ear. The receptionist jots down my name on a sheet of paper together with my Ninja registration Id as she issues the D-rank mission ''Search For Tora the Cat'' to me. In the meantime, Tendo Sensei and my two other teammates arrive in the room. Tendo Sensei takes the paper with mission details on it as he orders us to move out. This mission is one hell of a pain in the ass. That cat is agile like a leopard and quick-witted like a fox. ''Fuck! This fucking cat is more useful than my two useless teammates if I train it like a ninja.'' I curse in my mind to my two useless teammates who contributed almost nothing in the capture of this Cat. The Fatdy grabs the cat and nearly squeezes the life out of the cat as she strangles the cat in a hug. "Don''t leave me again, my dear Tora-chan." ''Serves you right! You darn cat!'' I murmured to myself as I can''t bring myself to pity that cat. Chapter 31: Escort Mission and First Blood Chapter 31: Escort Mission and First Blood A/N:- An extra chapter for you on weekend for reaching a million views. ----------- It has been three months since my first mission. I turned six a few weeks ago. My training and missions were going hand by hand. I have hit a teau in my progress and I can''t seem to improve further. I can currently fight against a normal jounin without breaking a sweat. My advantage is my high chakra reserves and tons of jutsus of each element I have mastered. My disadvantages lie in my small body and no real battle experience. I havepleted my space element training with Minato and I am currently progressing slowly in Fuinjutsu. There is arge difference in the Expert level and the Master level. Being able to use Chakra as a material to create Fuinjutsu seals is a big advantage. I am just waiting for my growth spurt to induce new changes to my body and I think after my first growth spurt I will grow rtively fast with the increase in Chakra capacity and increment in body strength. After doing a ton of D-rank missions, the Hokage decides to give us a C-Rank mission. Honestly, I am going insane with so many D-rank missions. I haven''t stepped out of the vige yet. This mission came right on time. The mission seemed to be not too difficult. The son of the Daimyo of the Land of Tea came to vacation in Land of fire. Now for his return trip, he needs the help of some escorts for his safe travel. The mission is issued as a C-Rank mission in the Hokage office. Hiruzen just issues this mission to our team. I am excited to venture out of Konoha. The journey to Land of Tea from Konoha would be seven days long, so Tendo-Sensei asked us to prepare our supplies in advance. I return home and inform my parents about the mission. "It''s time for you to adventure out of Konoha. Beware of everything when you are out on a mission. Many times, any unsuspecting passerby can turn out to be an enemy. Since this is a C-Rank mission, take some poison antidotes with you. The bandits and thugs you will confront during the mission usually coat their weapons with lethal poison to fight against Ninjas. Also, prepare your ration and all other necessities with you." Father lectured me for an entire two hours about what to do and what not to do during the mission. I jotted down everything in my brain as I am aplete noob when ites to experience. Father just passed down his experience to me. Mother prepared some dry food for me which will be useful during the mission. I ced everything in a storage scroll and I am ready for my first mission. Next day in the morning, All of us meet at that entrance of the vige as the convoy of the Tea Daimyo''s son departs. The son of Daimyo sits in a carriage prepared for him as we travel. The carriage was surrounded by twelve guards who protected the carriage. Another two carriages containing food and other necessities together with various other items followed closely. The daimyo''s son''s carriage was in middle. The son of Daimyo remove the curtain of his carriage as he notices me and question, "What''s with this kid here? Is he lost or something? Do we need to call his mama? How can he even protect anyone, he is still at the age when he should just hide in his mother''s embrace. I asked Konoha forpetent Ninjas and they sent me a kid who requires a nanny." A tick appears on my forehead as I am pissed by his behavior. Tendo assures him as he replies, "There is no need for you to worry about anything. Izuna here is a certified Ninja of our vige and he is a young genius who graduated early. This speaks for hispetency and skills. So, rest assured he can handle this mission." Daimyo''s son scoffs at this as he covers the carriage with the curtain and continues to travel. The carriages were moving slowly, we simply walk as we follow the carriage. I am enjoying the sceneries as this was my first time out of Konoha. My Sharingan is active all the time as I searched for any suspicious activity. Nothing suspecting happened until we reached the border of The Land of Tea. On the fourth day, since our departure, we finally entered the Land of Tea. The convoy is moving through a steep valley as we went on full alert. This valley is the perfect spot for an ambush if the enemy wants to stop us. Our hypothesis was right asrge wooden logs began to drop from atop the hill. I immediately kneaded some Chakra and made hand signs, ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'' I spewed out arge ball of fire as it burnt down the logs. Only ashes remained of the logs as they fell. The enemies were surprised to see this but they immediately reacted by throwing downrge stones. I turned to my teammates waiting for their response. But they seemed to be clueless as they have no way to respond to the situation. I sighed at this and turned to Tendo, Tendo immediately made some hand signs as he spewed out some water from his mouth, ''Water Style: Pressure Jet'' The pressure water in the form of a jet collided with the rocks and smashed them into dust. The descent of the rocks stopped as only small rock pieces and debris fell toward the carriage. These rock pieces were deflected by Ryo and Takeru as they jumped to protect the carriage. Me and Tendo start to ascend the hill as we faced against the Bandits. Ryo and Takeru stayed behind to protect the carriage together with guards. I checked around for any Ninja as I activated my Heat vision together with Chakra''s vision. I couldn''t spot any signs of involvement of any ninja. The confrontation between us and Bandits begin. The bandits pose no threat to us. I checked their des for poison and father was correct their weapons were coated in a purple liquid which I assumed is poison. They were too slow to fight me while I was using my Sharingan. I summoned a kunai in the right hand as I start to fight them. I shed the neck of one of the bandits as blood start to spew out from his neck. I felt disgusted at this as this was too much blood even for a medical student like me. My stomach starts to churn as the contents of my breakfast were about to spew out. I held them in for a while as I finished off other bandits. Tendo was done on his side too as he approached me. I nod to him as I run towards a nearby bush and start to puke out my breakfast. This is my first kill in this world and I felt very conflicted about this. In my previous world, I was a doctor whose job was to save lives and now in this current life, my job is to kill anyone who stops me frompleting my mission. I once again faced the reality of the situation as I muttered to myself, "So, I have taken my first step to be embroiled in the chaos of this world. I breathed deeply to calm down my nerves as I walked out of the bush." "Are you ok?" Tendo questioned me. I nodded to him, "I am fine now. Let''s regroup with Ryo and Takeru." We descended the hill only to see dead bodies of a few bandits lying around. Takeru noticed us as he shouted, "Sensei! We have a situation here." He pointed to the nearby Ryo who clutched one of his hands tightly. "The leader of the Bandits was mixed within the few bandits who attacked us. We were able to deal with all of them as Ryo faced against the Bandit leader. During the battle, the bandit leader managed tond a cut on Ryo''s leftnd. It was only a flesh wound so Ryo ignored it and fought the leader and finally killed him." "Let me take a look at it." Tendo looked at his wound and frowned. "He is poisoned by the weapon of the Bandit leader and the poison seems to be more potent than the rest." I fished out an antidote and handed it to Ryo. "Here have it, it is an antidote for the poison. I prepared some in case of emergency." Ryo took the antidote and waited for the poison to neutralize. After a while, the poison stopped spreading but it wasn''t neutralized. The entire left arm of Ryo turned purple as it starts to leak puss and rot. I activated the X-ray and microscopic vision of my Sharingan as I checked his hand. The cells of his left hand were dying at a rapid rate as the poison corroded them. The muscles and veins start to shrivel as they leaked puss and start to rot. The nerves were badly damaged as they were affected by the poison. Overall it is a hopeless situation. After checking the hand for a while, Tendo came to the same conclusion. "Ryo you have to amputate the arm from the shoulder if you don''t want the poison to spread further. It is toote for treatment, the poison is too potent." "No, sensei! How can this be? My carrier as a ninja will be over and my arm, my armNooo" Ryo cried. Tendo helped Ryo in amputating his arm as he cauterized the wound to ward off any remains of poison and tied the stump with bandages. I inhaled a deep breath as I looked at them, ''Thankfully, I wished for a healing factorparable to Hashirama.'' -------------- Check out my pat reon for some advance chapters and original works: https://.pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 32: Taijutsu Training Chapter 32: Taijutsu Training After the mission was over, Ryo and Takeru decided to retire as a Ninja. They were too afraid to continue. Both of them lost their best friend in a previous C-Rank mission and in the next C-Rank mission one of them lost his arm. Ryo decided to help his father with his shop and Takeru joined him in the shop as a helper. Tendo and I had no opinion about their decision. Thus, like this within four months my team disbanded. Hiruzen didn''t pair me with any team again for a while. I stopped doing missions frequently as I focused solely on my Fuinjutsu training. Once in a while, I will go on some C-rank missions with other teams and even chunnins to gather some experience. One year passed in the blink of any eye as I turned seven. I have finally reached the Master level in Fuinjutsu and Minato and Kushina were shocked to see this. Minato had progressed a lot too. He had sessfully created the Rasengan ahead of time. Both Minato and Kushina have reached the Grandmaster level In Fuinjutsu. My Sharingan evolved into three tomoe-Sharingan. I was really happy about this development. I exposed my Sharingan to my family and they were shocked to see my fully developed Sharingan. I just made an excuse that I have seen too many lives and deaths in my missions which acted as a trigger to awaken my Sharingan. What shocked them more was my unusual Sharingan and father just called it off as a mutation. Such cases were rare in ns as hardly any mutation urs and the person with mutated Sharingan usually goes blind shortly and in some worst-case scenarios, death may ur. I convinced them that I am fine and there is no harm to my body but they still insisted me on not using Sharingan regrly. I could only agree to their request but I don''t need toply with them. Now I can start to train my other skills. I started practicing in Taijutsu under Uncle Sakumo. He isn''t a very skilled Taijutsu user but his training still benefits me a lot. ''Maybe, I should find Might Duy now. He is the best Taijutsu user of the Shinobi world. Training with him will help me a lot as my body will be able to keep up with his training because of Hashirama''s healing factor. I hope'' To find Might Duy, I sneakily followed Might Guy. Might Guy went to his house which looked more like a hut than a proper house. I guess being a genin didn''t earn Might Duy enough money to afford a proper house and also Might Duy practices in Eight Gates which burns him too much that he rests the entire next day. I saw Might Duy practicing some kicking and punching techniques as Might Guy cheered him from sidelines. Might Duy turns in my direction as he immediately noticed me and instantly appeared in front of me. ''Fast! So, fast! He moved so fast without using any Chakra. I could only see his movements with my Sharingan. Without it, I doubt I could have tracked his movements.'' "Who are you, boy? I can see a vigorous youth in you. But it isn''t good to peek on someone." I scratched my head as I walk out of my hiding ce. I have already thought of an excuse to convince him in case I got caught. "Hello, I am Izuna Uchiha. I am a friend of Kakashi as I train with him. I want to learn Taijutsu and Kakashi told me that someone called Might Guy is the best Taijutsu user he ever met. So, I asked him more about you. I just followed Might Guy to see him train." I lie with a straight-face as I point in Might Guy''s direction. "So, my eternal rival finally acknowledged him. I am so happy and fired up. I will train ten times more than my usual training." Might guy start to shed a stream of tear as he hugs Might Duy. "Youth! This is youth! I will cheer for you Guy. You are still in your youth!" "Yes, father!" Both father and son hug each other as they start to shed buckets of tears. I feel embarrassed by seeing their interaction as the atmosphere turned weird. Coughcough I cough slightly to gather their attention as they look in my direction. "Izuna boy, your youth is blooming. You have entered the spring of your youth. Seeing Guy fired up by your words, you can train in taijutsu with us. Your passion, determination, hard work, and youth will shine brighter in the entire Vige. This is youth. But before that, I have to see that you are youthful enough." I sweat-drop at his remark as weird thoughts enter my brain. I hug my body tightly as I retreat a step back. "Let me see your youthfulness." Might Duy walks towards me. I close my eyes to bear the assault, but nothing happened. Might Duy just walks in front of me as he starts to inspect my body. "Hum! Good body-fat ratio. Your muscles arepact enough and your body is in your first growth spurt." He gives me a thumbs up and shes a wide smile as his teeth gleam. "Your youth is ready to shine but before that, you need to wear something better to train yourself." He pulls green spandex from his belt as he thrusts it in my hand. I look at him awkwardly and I instantly reply, "No, I won''t wear this. I already have my training outfit, there is no need to wear anything else." Might Duy slumps on his shoulder as he depressingly starts to mutter the benefits of this optimal Taijutsu training garment. I ignore him as I approach Might Guy. "Guy, You are so cool to be able to enter and graduate from academy just by using Taijutsu." Guy sheepishly scratches his head as he shes a bright smile, "It is all because of my youth. I train with my father and he motivated me to move further." "Ok! Izuna boy, if you want to train with us. Come early tomorrow morning as we will start with aplete round around Konoha on our hands and then we will do the muscle training exercise. I will also make a diet and nutrition n for you, follow that n strictly. Now we will meet tomorrow morning." With this, my hellish training with Might Duo started. When I got used to the normal training without sweating, Duy added weights to my legs and I start to pant again as I started the training in difficult mode. Looking at the hell mode training of Might Duo, I could only shake my head as I started again. Three more months passed by as I rapidly improved in Taijutsu. Duy taught me all of his techniques without holding back. Although he never mentioned anything about the Eight Gates. I can understand his sentiment but I am curious to see the technique and if I possible I would like to master it as my healing factor canpensate for the loss of vitality and other harms to the body. But I doubt that Might Duy will teach me this technique. Well, he spent twenty years of his life creating, mastering and perfecting the technique. How can he pass such a powerful technique to an unknown person? For now, even Might Guy isn''t aware of this Technique. Guess, I have to see the technique for myself and perhaps try to copy it with Sharingan. Normal Sharingan can''t copy the technique as Kakashi was able to learn only one gate release. Maybe, it was his body unable to bear the pressure of further gates or his inability to further copy the technique. Duy practices this techniquete at night. I can sneak out from my house and spy on Duy when he uses the Technique and records it with Sharingan. This idea came to my mind and I unanimously thought of putting it in the act. Later at night, In Uchiha npounds, Inside his room, Izuna dressedpletely in ck clothes as he sneaks out from his room, "Light Style: Camouge Cloak" Izuna''s clothes start to cover in Light Chakra as his body starts to fade away and he turns invisible. ''I have further perfected my Light Style Techniques and created a few new ones in these past years. Now not even Byakugan and Sharingan can detect me as I am a part of light itself.'' I sneaked out of the Uchiha n under the watchful eyes of Police Guards as I exited the n. I walked along the streets as they were empty and jumping on rooftops may create unnecessary noise. I reach the hut of Might Duy as I see him sneak out. Duy cautiously looks around as his gaze passed by me without any reaction. When he made sure no one is around, he starts to travel deeper into the forest. I closely followed him without making any noise. Soon he reaches near a small waterfall on the Naka River. Duy stops for a while and starts to look around again. After awhile Duy starts to do some warm-up exercise to condition his body. Duy clenches his fist as he crosses his hands in front of his chest. "Haaah.Gate of Opening..Gate of Healing.. Gate of Life.Gate of PainGate of LimitOpen!" Might Duy immediately opened five gates out of Eight as he starts to jump and kick for a while. After a few seconds, he concentrated again as his skin turned red and veins appeared on his entire body. His body was releasing a dense blue Chakra as his eyes and body glowed green. "Haaah.Gate of View.Open!" A shockwave is released from his body as nearby water starts to disce. "AaaahGate of WonderOpen!" His body starts to secrete blue sweat which evaporates immediately creating a blue Aura that blew nearby trees. I am blown back by the shockwave and almost exposed myself. Might Duy clenched his fist as he punched slightly in the air. Arge crater formed beneath his feet as thepressed air start to take shape of a White Tiger. Before it could formpletely Duy ran out of gas as he slumped on the ground and start to pant heavily. "Not yet, this technique has almost reachedpletion. I still need a little bit of time toplete the technique." Duyid on the ground motionlessly. After a while, snoring sounds could be heard as Duy fell asleep. I return to npounds as I start to contemte, "The technique is too fast, he opened the first five gates simultaneously. I could only record the opening of three gates. I need to pay him continuous visits for a while topletely understand the technique." I made this n as I continued to peek on Duy for the next few weeks. ------------ Like my story, support me on pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 33: Ichiraku Ramen Grand Opening Chapter 33: Ichiraku Ramen Grand Opening I am very excited today. Very early in the morning, I held a flyer in my hand as I walk towards the market. Today is the Grand Opening Ceremony of the Ichiraku Ramen and I want to be the first Customer to eat the Ramen. It is 4 a.m. now as I walk toward the Ramen Stand. There is no Naruto fan out there who won''t like to eat a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen. I got the opportunity to be the first person to try this heavenly Ramen and I won''t miss it. A week ago, Teuchi was distributing flyers across the streets and I immediately snatched one. I look at the flyers which say 50% off for the first 100 customers and my saliva began to drip as I imagined the taste of Ramen. I reach near the stall which was still closed but some lights could be seen from the house. ''I assume Teuchi is busy preparing ingredients for the ramen.'' I sat in front of the Ramen stall as I close my eyes and start to meditate. More and more people start to join the queue behind me as I patiently waited for the Ramen. ''It is all about patience. The more patient I am the better the taste of Ramen will be.'' These were my thoughts but my stomach was in disagreement with them as it continued to growl. ''Damnit! How long do I have to wait?'' After a wait of four hours, Teuchi opens the shop and is surprised to see me first in the queue. He smiles at me and asks, "What is your order, Customer?" "An extrarge bowl of Miso Ramen with seaweed and also prepare another two bowls of Tonkotsu ramen with Char Siu as a takeaway." "Aye! Coming right up." I excitedly rub my hand as Teuchi start to prepare my Ramen. Until now a long line has already been formed as many people queued together either with their kids or grandkids. "Here right up! Your extrarge bowl of miso ramen with seaweed and another two bowls of Tonkotsu ramen with Char Siu toppings." The artistic quality of Ramen almost blinds me as I activate my Sharingan just to record this scene. I collect my ramen as I began to slurp the silky noodles which slip down my throat as the rich soup soothes my tongue and a feeling of enlightenment and bliss engulfs me. I walk out of the queue as I start to eat the delicious ramen. I pay the money for ramen as I indulge in the delicacy again. I notice Minato anxiously searching for someone. "Oh! Minato-san, Are you also here for Ramen?" "Oh! Izuna. I am searching for Kakashi for a mission." Our conversation is interrupted as a man taps on Minato''s shoulder. The man had waist-length, spiky white hair tied in a ponytail with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There were red lines under his eyes which extended further down his face. He wore a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore a mesh armor visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wore handguards, a ck belt, traditional wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. I immediately recognized him as Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannins. "Hey there Minato." "Jiraiya Sensei" Minato greets him "Come with me for a moment. Will you?" Jiraiya pulls Minato away. I just follow them. Jiraiya takes us to a nearby alley as heughs and speaks, "Now watch carefully and be amazed." Jiraiya clutches his right hand with his left hand and forms a Rasengan. "What do you think? This is the hidden jutsu that took you one and a half years to perfect and I have mastered this already. Isn''t this incredible?" Hmph... I scoff at him as I ce my ramen bowl on the nearby wall. "Kid! You aren''t impressed by me." Jiraiya makes a long face as he questions me. I smirk at him as I stretch my hand out. Chakra began to gather in my palm as I form a Rasengan twice as big as him. Minato and Jiraiya went wide-eyed as they look at Rasengan which is almost the size of a basketball. "ThisThis is amazing." Both of them exims in unison. "Keep watching." The Rasengan stops growing bigger as some sparks of lightning start to flicker around it. The Rasengan is covered in lightning as I aim it and throws it towards a tree. The Rasengan travels for a while before it vanishes. "Hah! Big words kids. Your Rasengan dissipated already, but still, your Rasengan is bigger than mine." Jiraiyaughs at me but sulks at the size. I snort at him as I reply, "Have some patience, you geezer." "Kid you!... Don''t test my patience. I will beat you up" Boombang Jiraiya''s words are interrupted by arge explosion as one of the trees is blown into pieces as its bits and pieces fall on the ground. Arge crater is formed at its ce as lightning flickers through the crater. "Damn boy! That''s too powerful. It is equal to an S-Rank jutsu in power." Jiraiyains. "Izuna-kun! You are one step ahead of me after all." Minato sighs after seeing the destruction caused by Rasengan. "What do you mean, Minato?" Jiraiya questions. "Hah, Sensei! It is Izuna-kun who helped me in the development of Rasengan. Without his help, I might have taken much longer to create the Rasengan. He even went as far as adding Nature Transformation to the Rasengan, a feat which I am still trying to figure out." "Don''t worry Minato-san I will teach you my vanishing Rasenganter." "So that''s the name youe up with." "Yeah! After adding the Lightning Release Chakra the Rasengan vanishes when I try to throw it. So, I named it so." I pick up my ramen as I return back to the Ichiraku Ramen. "What a monster? This Uchiha kid is such a monster." Jiraiya murmurs to himself. Minato follows me as I continue to eat my Ramen. "Hey, Izuna! You are quite early to eat ramen, so fast." I am interrupted from my bliss by these words as I recognize the voice. Guy, Shizune, and Asuma are queued in the line as Guy speaks to me. I greet him as I reply, "I can''t miss this heavenly ramen. Can I? I queued early at 4 am and became the first person to eat this ramen. Aah! So good." I slurp down another strand of noodle as I look at them. "Oh boy! I just can''t wait to eat some of that awesome ramen." Shizune jumps in excitement. "Mister Teuchi''s gutsy noodle and soup for the soul. I will enjoy every drop of that with every fiber of my being." Guy speaks eagerly. "Hm! To create delicious vors that''s also the real fire." Asuma speaks in tion. "Hmph! All this excitement just for some Ramen noodles. It''s absolutely ridiculous." Kakashi interrupts as he speaks rudely. "You are one to talk, Kakashi-senpai when you are also queued up in the line." I rebuke him by pointing this out. "Minato-sensei! Is it a mission?" Kakashi ignores us as he runs toward Minato. "That''s right. We are assembling now." Minato replies to Kakashi as he starts to move towards the Hokage''s office. "You won''t mind if I join you Minato-san." I immediately gulp down the remaining soup as I pick up my remaining bowls and put them in a storage scroll. "WellI have no problem with your presence. But you have to ask Hokage-sama about it?" Minato replies to me. "Ok! Then it is decided, then I will follow you guys. I am pretty bored these days after all." All of us assemble at Hokage''s office as Hiruzen is stunned to see me there. He points at me and asks, "What are you doing here, Izuna?" "I am pretty bored these days, Grandpa Hokage. I want to do some missions and Minato-san''s mission seemed interesting. So, I thought of tagging along. You don''t have a problem right." Hiruzen contemtes for a while before he replies, "Ok! You can follow them. There is no problem with your inclusion in the mission." Hiruzen starts to exin the details of the mission for a while as he spoke, "..and that is the overview of your assignment. Minato Namikaze, Choza Akimichi, Shibi Aburame, and Izuna Uchiha depart for Roran right away." "Understood!" all of us answer in unison. "But Lord Third Hokage, I would like to get your permission to include this shinobi Kakashi Hatake in the mission." Minato presents the details of Kakashi to Hiruzen. "You have something in mind for this young man?" he questions as he skims through the details of Kakashi. "I do. He may still be young but he is extremely talented like Izuna here." Minato points towards me. Hiruzen contemtes for a while as he speaks, "Kakashi is a rare genius who graduated early from the academy and Izuna is a genius too. Too bad, we can''t seem to find a suitable team for Izuna to pair with. Very well, both Izuna and Kakashi can participate in this mission." ----------------------- Comment if you can guess the arc already. Support me on Pa treon and read some advance chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 34: The Lost Tower Part-1 Chapter 34: The Lost Tower Part-1 The destination of our mission is Roran, the City of Towers. It is a city surrounded by deserts and lies in the Land of Wind. Hiruzen received a report from one of his spies in the Land of Wind. Anrokuzan the evil minister of Roran is concocting an evil scheme to utilize the Chakra ley line below the city of Roran to amass power and eventually wage war on five nations. Our mission is to investigate and eliminate Anrokuzan, thus overthrowing his evil schemes. After an hour all of us gather near Konoha''s entrance gate as we are ready to depart. "Izuna, Kakashi! Both of you will scout the city and search for clues regarding the ns of Anrokuzan. Me, Choza, and Shibi will confront the enemy while we guard the Queen Sara of the Roran from shadows." Minato takes out his special kunais and hands one to both of us. "Keep this kunai with you. In case of an emergency, I will be able to teleport to you in an instant and help you deal with the problem." Both of us nods to him and keep the kunai in our kunai holster. Roran is very far from Konoha. To reach Roran we have to travel through Land of Rivers then enter Land of Winds and further travel in the hot scorching desert to finally reach the destination. Although Roran is surrounded by desert, there is an oasis near it which helps the city with many issues. Our team of five moves out for the destination. We travel non-stop for seven hours. Choza and Shibi are surprised to see me and Kakashi being able to keep up with them. Unable to hold his curiosity back, Choza asks Minato, "Minato, these kids can keep up with our speed and stamina especially that younger Uchiha kid. You have done a really job training Kakashi as he is your team member, so you are aware of his capabilities. But what about the Uchiha kid, how do you know him so well?" Minato chuckles as he replies, "Choza-san, in the past two years, Izuna had been training with my team regrly. He even skipped academy using a Shadow clone to train with us. I can only say one thing, if Kakashi is a genius then Izuna is a genius among genius. He helped me create my A-Rank Jutsu Rasengan and before I could improve it further Izuna already perfected the Jutsu to an S-rank all on his own. The most surprising thing is he has enough Chakra to use the S-rank jutsu in an attack and still preserve his Chakra. I can easily say, he can defeat most of the Jounins of our vige quite easily. And if caught by surprise, his S-rank jutsu can even take down a Kage-level Shinobi. What hecks is only experience and I thought that this mission would help him gain some of it." Choza and Shibi are shocked by this revtion as both of them mutter at the same time, "What a Monster?" "Anyway we have traveled for quite a while, let''s take some rest to preserve our stamina and we will continue after an hour of rest." Both of them agree with the decision as we stop and start to recover our stamina. "Hey, Kakashi! You really missed out on that delicious heavenly ramen. But worry not I have got you covered." I take out the bowl of hot Ramen from my storage scroll and present it to Kakashi. Kakashi strangely looks at me before he starts to dig in. I wanted to see the face of Kakashi with my own eyes. In our two years of friendship, I have never ever, even once seen Kakashi without his mask. Well, I have seen his face from the anime but that was when Kakashi is an adult. I want to see how the chibi Kakashi looks like. I intently stare at Kakashi as I activate my Sharingan and stare at him. I want to record his face in my memories and make a poster of it and distribute it among all of his teammates and friend. Kakashi takes out the chopstick as he breaks it and gets ready to eat the ramen. My stare intensifies as I wait for the moment. As Kakashi is about to remove his mask and start eating his ramen, I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder. Startled I turn around as my Sharingan shes and creeps out the intruder. Choza is startled by my Sharingan as he retreats. I deactivate my Sharingan as I ask him, "Sorry to startle you Choza-san. Is there anything that I can help you with?" Choza scratches the back of his head as he inquires me, "Earlier I saw you giving the hot ramen bowl to Kakashi. So, if you have any extra bowl remaining, can you share it with me?" "Oh! Only this. I do have ast bowl remaining which I was saving for the future, but there is no point in it. You can have the bowl." I take out the other bowl of Ramen and hands it over to Choza. He greedily slurps down the ramen as he remark, "What heavenly ramen? Aahh.So, good. " I agree with him as Iment, "Yes, this is the best ramen I have ever eaten. These silky noodles and that shiny broth which slides down your throat and soothes your soul. This is true bliss." Choza nods as he agrees with me as asks, "If you don''t have any problem, can I ask you a question Izuna-kun?" I nod to him as I reply, "As long as it is not something pertaining to our n secret or any of such sort, I won''t mind answering your question." "It is nothing of that sort. I just wanted to ask you about your Sharingan, if you are fine with answering me. It is pretty unusual to see a weirunusual Sharingan, that too at such a young age." "Oh, it is nothing secretive. I awakened my Sharingan previous years as I did many life and death mission with many teams and faced the death of many of myrades which awakened my Sharingan. Father said that my Sharingan is a mutated one and depending on the mutations, they can either mature slowly or mature fast. My Sharingan is thetter one as it matured really fast." I replied to him. "Oh! That''s how it is. Thanks for the ramen, Izuna-kun ." Minato and Shibi silently hears our conversation, but the shock on their faces is apparent when they saw my Sharingan. They are aware of the fact that many mutations of Kekkai Genkai tend to be harmful to the user and it can even cause death. They looked at me with a strange expression but I ignored it. ''Damn! Kakashi is still eating the ramen. I have to record his face.'' "Thank you for the food." As I turn around to face Kakashi, thetter had already finished his Ramen as he covered his face with mask again and ce the chopsticks and bowl in a scroll. ''F***! Kishimoto and his setting. One day I will unmask Kakashi before everyone.'' I grudgingly look at Kakashi who was confused by my expression. After an hour is over, we start to run toward the Land of Winds again as the journey is too long. With our almost non-stop travel, we finally reached Roran, the City of Towers after four days. All of us were exhausted either mentally or physically and we needed a break to recuperate from the fatigue. So, we decided to stay in the oasis outside the Roran as we rxed. From a distance, Roran looked like an Obelisk with a broad tform and many spikey structures jutted out of it. The city had a strange design. I activated my Sharingan to start the telescopic vision paired with X-Ray vision as I peek inside the city. The tform like structure is the walls of the city which blocks the ever-present hot sandy winds from entering the city and the spikey structures are various towers where the people of Roran reside. The highest town in the middle of the city is the Queen''s Pce where the Queen Sara of Roran resides. The entire city had a gothic feel to it with many sky-scraping narrow towers pointed in the sky. I didn''t reveal my discovery to them as it is pointless to do so and they will figure it out on their own once we reach near the city. All of us start to prepare our tents to sleep in the forest. Setting tents would help us sleep in a more rxed manner. There is no fear of any insects biting us, Shibi is able to contact the insects and ask them to stay away from us. Minato and I start to set up some detection seals and other seals around our camps to warn us of any threat. Kakashi also helped by cing some traps, in case of an ambush. Shibi just sent his insects out to scout the area, meanwhile, Choza just sat in the tent as he munched down on dry rations like snacks. We were pretty much set as all of us went to sleep in our tents. ------------ Support me on pat reon and read some extra chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 35: The Lost Tower Part-2 Chapter 35: The Lost Tower Part-2 "It''s time. Let''s move out. Kakashi and Izuna, both of you start scouting the area as soon as we reach Roran. The three of us will keep an eye on Anrokuzan and Queen Sara." We reached the outer walls of Roran and all of us start to climb the walls to infiltrate the city. Minato gave us a few strange tribal masks to hide our identities. We separate from each other at the wall as I start to scout the area with my Sharingan. Therge towers of Roran blocked most of the sunlight, the lighting of the city is mostly artificial light powered by Chakra from the ley line. I start to fumble around the city to search for the Ryumyaku or the Chakra ley line. From the movie, I am aware of the general location. The location is near fiverge pipes that run underground and are connected to a secret Chamber where the seal for Ryumyaku is hidden. As I was searching around the city, a brilliant sh of light appeared for a second in a ce not too far from me. I immediately start to run towards the ce. A man with short brown hair and ck, almond-shaped eyesy unconscious on the ground. He wore the standard Jounin uniform but without the Uzumaki crest on the shoulders. He also wore a form-fitting navy-blue t-shirt that goes up to his chin. Two pouches with ninja tools were strapped to his lower back. But his most distinctive feature was his Happuri-Style Forehead Protector that frames his face simr to Second Hokage Tobirama Senju. ''Oh! Look who is this Pokmon?.... Cough cough I mean who is this person, it is future Yamato. He is not aware of my identity and neither do I so I have to act the part of a stranger. Hmm he is a test subject of Orochimaru with Hashirama Cells that in turn gives him Asura''s cells. Maybe I can take out some of his blood to examine.'' I slowly walk to Yamato and make some hand signs ''Earth Style: Rock Binding'' I bind Yamato in case, he attacks me. Well, the moment he wakes up, he will be on guard against enemy attack. I take out a kunai and a sample bottle from my storage scroll. Ninjas usually carry sample tubes as during any mission if we face against any Kekkai Genkai user and bleed them, the vige can experiment on their blood to find the weakness of the Kekkai Genkai. I lightly stab Yamato with my Kunai as I collect his blood sample. The pain from the stab causes the unconscious Yamato to gain consciousness. He slowly opens his eyes as he looks around in confusion before he puts up guard, "Stop, Right there! You are surrounded by the FBI. Throw your weapons, kneel on the ground, and put your hands behind your head." Yamato is startled to hear this monologue as it reminded him of a certain powerful Shinobi who likes to say weird things that are unheard of. "Izuna-San!...is it you Izuna-San?" "Hold, it right there! Who are you, introduce yourself? Otherwise, I have to consider you as an enemy and deal with you." I just start to say random things to Yamato following the protocol as this is my first meeting with him. "You are wearing the Konoha forehead protector, which means you are a leaf shinobi. But Hokage-sama only sent our team on this secret mission. This can only mean one thing, either you are a spy or you are in disguise. I will bring you back to Konoha for interrogation." "Sorry, Izuna-san. I don''t know what happened here, but the ruins of Roran have changed into a city and you somehow turned into a kid." I take off my mask as I activate my Sharingan. I am ready to assault Yamato. ''Well, I wanted to fight Yamato and see the wood release for myself. I can use wood Release but I don''t know the exact jutsus and Chakra ratio and even Chakra pathways to circte wood chakra. While fighting with Yamato, I can learn the jutsus and I can practice and improve themter. So, I definitely have to fight him.'' "Enough with your chit-chat and excuses. You areing with me to interrogation." I start to infuse chakra as I make hand signs. "Then sorry Izuna-san. I need to find Naruto, Sakura, and Sai. We have to stop Mukade at all costs." ''Fire style: Great Fireball Technique'' I spew out arge fireball at Yamato who is held in my Rock Binding. Yamato breaks the rock binding by converting his hands in wood as he immediately makes hand signs and ms his hands on the ground. ''Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall'' Pirs of wood sprouts from the ground from both the left and right side of Yamato as they join together to form a wooden dome. The fireball collides with the wooden dome as it explodes but wooden dome protects Yamato. "Oh! A wood style user simr to First Hokage, now you definitely need to follow me back to the vige." I make some more hand signs as I knead arge amount of Chakra and release it, ''Fire Style: Searing Fire Bullet'' I spew out apressed fireball that travels at a very fast speed and collides with the wooden dome instantly incinerating it and covering it in mes. ''Water Style: Tearing Torrent'' Yamato throws out arge amount of water from his hands and extinguishes the me. ''Wood Style: Four-Pir Prison Technique'' Large numbers of wooden pirs rise from the ground around me trapping me in a wooden prison. I infuse Chakra in my hands as I punch them, but they were able to block my punch. "It is futile Izuna-san. This wood is coated with a thickyer of Chakra and it can''t be destroyed so easily." Yamato remarks. "Oh! Is that so." I smirk at Yamato as my hand reaches to my back as I pull out Chakra de and I start to infuse Light Chakra in it. My de starts to glow red, then it turns blue. ''Light Style: Light Sabre'' This technique is inspired from one of my favorite series in my past life. The de produces a humming sound from the vibrations caused by the intense electromaic radiations and heat. I swing the de as it slices through the wooden pirs like a hot knife slices through butter. Yamato has his mouth wide-opened as he gawks at me. "Now, it''s your turn." I look at Yamato as I start to swing my de and dash towards him. "Ah! Shit. Even in his childhood, Izuna-san is a monster." Yamato immediately makes some hand signs as he stretches out his hand towards me, ''Wood Style: Great Forest Technique'' His left arm transforms into arge tree that lengthens at high speed and forks into many branches as ites towards me. The ends of the tree change into many sharp stakes. I swing my Chakra de easily slicing and dicing all of the trees as I march towards him. Yamato is terrified by this as he immediately makes hand signs and ms his hands on the ground, ''Wood Style: Nativity of a Sea of Trees'' Arge amount of tress and grass start to grow from the ground as they covered the surrounding terrain. I put back my Chakra de as I stretch out my right hand and start to form a Rasengan. ''Big Ball Rasengan'' A big ball Rasengan the size of a basketball is formed in my hand as I open my mouth and spew out some mes on top it. ''me Release: Big Ball Burning Rasengan'' I m the ming Rasengan into the trees as they are destroyed and burnt with my Rasengan. I notice the presence of Minato who is running towards me to stop me but I continue to run toward Yamato. As I am about to touch Yamato, Minato suddenly teleports beside me and grabs my hand to stop my assault. "Stop, Izuna. He is not an enemy." Minato orders me. Yamato slumps down on the ground as he starts to pant heavily. He had run out of Chakra. "Oh! I am aware of it. I was just teasing the guy and wanted to let some of my stress from past years loose and this guy happens to be a suitable practice target." Both Minato and Yamato sweat-drop at myment as Yamato asks me since when, "Oh! That, when this guy popped from, out of nowhere. He was engulfed in a strange light, I was able to sense the fluctuation of a Space-time Ninjutsu from the light and Minato-San even your Chakra and sealing form was mixed within. So, I deduced that this guy is a time-traveler. Either he is from the past or from the future. When he called me Izuna-san despite my young age, I concluded that he is from the future. Since he is older than me by around twenty years and still calls me Izuna-san which means he is my equal." Minato is shocked by my deduction as he praises me, "Amazing, Izuna-kun. Your deduction is urate, this guy is from the future and we just met up with this guy''spanion called Naruto. I sent that guy to protect Princess Sara. I have located the Anrokuzan whose original name is Mukade. Let us defeat him and foil his evil n." ----------- Like my story, support me on pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 36: Grimoire of Sin Chapter 36: Grimoire of Sin Boomboom Our conversation is interrupted by the sound of a huge explosion that blew one of the nearby Tower. I felt arge amount of Chakra filled with animosity and hatred from the tower. So, this is the Chakra of Nine-Tails. I couldn''t really feel the Chakra of Nine-Tails when I am with Big-sister Kushina as her seal is way too powerfulpared to the Naruto''s seal. The seal is personally crafted by Mito Uzumaki who is one of the most powerful Fuinjutsu users ever ording to records. We leave an exhausted Yamato behind as all of us run towards the explosion. I finally saw Naruto for the first time. He wore an orange and ck jacket with a red Uzumaki crest on the back. He also wore orange pants with a shuriken holster on his right knee, ck sandals, and a ck forehead protector. His yellow blond hair, paired with blue eyes greatly resembled Minato. The trademark three whiskers markings were ever-present on his cheeks. Naruto confronted arge spider-like puppet with eight arms as it attacks him. He makes a ''Big Ball Rasengan'' and ms the puppet in the ground. The nearby parts of the broken puppets start to rise in the air as they are being controlled by Chakra threads. All of the parts start to assemble and fuse with the spider puppet as the puppet starts to recover. Kakashi who had been nting explosive tags all around start to detonate them. Choza uses his ''Partial Expansion Jutsu'' as he punches the puppet into a wall. Shibi covers the puppet with his insects to suck the Chakra out of it and thus cut-off the Chakra supply of the puppet. The ground begins to tremble as the remaining parts of the puppets assemble together to form arge humanoid scorpion puppet. The puppet body of Mukade fuses with therge puppet as he starts to rampage around. Naruto uses some Shadow Clones to pin the puppet but the puppet just shakes them off. The puppet breaks free from the confines of the Tower as it breaks a wall and runs rampant on streets. As for me, I just create arge Rasengan and m it into the puppet. The lower body of the puppet is blown away but it starts to absorb Chakra from Ryumyaku and regenerates itself in seconds. "We won''t be able to destroy the puppet unless we cuts-off its power source." Minato remarks. The Anrokuzan puppet creates Chakra thread as it ties Princess Sara and starts to pull her towards itself. Naruto uses his Chakra de to sever the Chakra thread and save the princess. The princess decides to seal the source of Ryumyaku as she grabs hold of Naruto''s Chakra de. Minato, Naruto, and I decide to break in the main tower to cut off the power source. Meanwhile, Choza and Shibi hold the puppet back. Shibi infuses chakra in his insects as they quickly multiply and create a swamp below the giant puppet. ''Ninja Art: Insect Deception Jutsu'' The insects cover the puppet and start to devour its Chakra. Choza eats a Chakra pill and expands into a giant as he throws the puppet into a nearby tower. Anrokuzan puppet absorbs more Chakra from Ryumyaku as it destroys Shibi''s insects. The puppets run off to prevent Princess and Naruto from cutting off the Chakra. Naruto creates a Big Ball Rasengan greatly surprising Minato. He throws the Rasengan to the puppet but it gets blocked by its tail. "If we want to take it down, we have to find its weak spot." ''Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu'' Minato throws multiple shurikens to find the weak spot of the puppet. The puppet starts to regenerate again. Anrokuzan is annoyed by Naruto''s continuous assault as he opens his mouth wide, ''Ley-Line Great Dragon Fire'' A huge amount of purple mes erupts from its mouth as it fires towards Naruto. ''Earth Style: Mud Wall'' Naruto makes a mud wall to block the fire attack. ''Wind Style: Rasenshuriken'' Naruto creates arge Rasenshuriken and throws it towards the Puppet, but the puppet opens its mouth and sucks the Chakra from jutsu inside itself. Anrokuzan swats Naruto away like a fly as it continues to run towards the sealed gate. ''Earth Style: Mud Swap'' I immediately make some hand signs as I m my hands on the ground and create a mud swamp to stop the puppet. Anrokuzan struggles for a while before it draws more Chakra from the Ryumyaku and breaks free from the swamp. Naruto and Minato merges their Rasengan through Chakra Resonance to create the Legendary, ''Supreme Ultimate Rasengan'' "Now, I can''t stay behind in the fun can I?" ''Lightning Style: Vanishing Rasengan'' I create a Big lightning Rasengan and throw it towards Anrokuzan. Anrokuzanugh hysterically as he shouts, "Whatever that jutsu is, it can''t stop me. Now, I shall you one of my most powerful Jutsu." ''Ley-Line Ultimate Great Dragon Fire Jutsu'' The puppet spews out arge beam of purple fire from its stomach. Naruto dodges the beam as Minato opens a hole in the puppet with his ''Shuriken Shadow clone jutsu''. Thebination of mine and Naruto''s Rasengan destroy the puppet. The puppet falls in Ryumyaku as it starts to destabilize the ley-line. The seal preventing the destabilization has been destroyed. Both Yamato and Naruto glow as Minato speaks, "The perpetrator of the Jutsu Mukade just died, so the pendulum of time will reset itself and both of you will return to your era." Naruto finally notices my presence and I am really curious to see his expression. He points towards me, "Areare you Big brother Izuna?" He is surprised to see me as he starts to speak, "Big Brother Izuna, it really is you? Where you went off to in.." "Ok!...ok! stop from further revealing the future as it may change the timeline." Minato stops Naruto from speaking further as he continues, "To prevent the Change in the timeline, I will seal all of our memories." He makes some hand signs as he presses his hand on the ground, arge Fuinjutsu seal appears on ground as it covers all of us. ''Memory Erasing Seal'' ''Sorry, Minato-san but I already know about the future. So, I won''tply with your request.'' I activate my Sharingan as I quickly start to analyze the weakness of the seal. After I find the weakness, I prepare a hand seal of my own which covers my body. ''Suppress'' The seal covers all of us including Minato but I shook off the seal with my counter-seal. A white light engulfs us all as Naruto and Yamato disappear in it. After the light fades away, all four of them forget about the event as they start to recall the details. "We were on a mission to stop Anrokuzan evil n. Have we seeded?" Choza questions. "I suppose." I point toward the broken puppet as I remark. "Then why can''t I remember anything?" Shibi frowns as he mutter. "What''s important is thepletion of the mission and since we have alreadypleted the mission, there is no need for us to dabble further into it. Let us return back to Konoha." Minato cuts our conversation as he orders us to return. "Yes, we will return to the Konoha soon." Choza and Shibi agree. "Kakashi, you did a good job with the mission." Minato praises Kakashi. As we are about to return I sensed something below the sealing pir, something attracting me towards itself. "Minato-san, I want to check the sealing form once again, maybe it will help me learn more about Fuinjutsu." "Alright then, but you should hurry up as we have to depart and report about the mission to Hokage-sama." "Ok! Minato-san. I will only just take a few seconds." Minato and the rest of the team start to move out as I move toward the column. After ensuring that nobody is present, I jump down from the tform as I move towards the bottom of the seal. As I moved down, the attraction became stronger. Soon, I reached the base of the sealing pir just above the Chakra of the Ley-Line. The Chakra of the ley-line is too vtile and hot as sweat begins to drip from my head. A metallic edge of something is protruding out from the rock wall. As soon as I touch the metallic edge, my Chakra starts to drain as the metallic edge start to shine in purple light. The nearby rocks and debris start to crumble to reveal a metallic box. I curiously pick up the metallic box to check it out. There is a weird star-like symbol with eight pointy spikes and an eye in the middle of the box. There are six holes around the eye as they resemble a missing part of the box. As I touched the middle-eye, the book suddenly starts to glow in purple color. The eye shines brightly as the box starts to float in front of me. One of the spikes of the eyes shoots in my direction as it pierces my hand. I almost screamed in pain but I clutched my mouth with my other hand. The metal box starts to suck my Blood and Chakra inside itself. I start to frantically shake the box in an attempt to free myself from it. I immediately activate my Sharingan to search for any details. As soon as I activated my Sharingan, the box start to heat up again as the eye in the middle of the book opens and a purple beam of light is ejected from it. The beam is too fast for me as I am unable to avoid it. The beam starts to scan my Sharingan as the box start to spin rapidly. The box closes on me and before I could react, the eight spikes of the book pierce my hand as the box vanishes. A weird fuinjutsu seal appears on my hand. I try to rub the seal but I am unable to clear the mark. I start to use fuinjutsu to suppress the weird seal but my fuinjutsu seals shatter on contact with the seal. I frantically start to think of a way to get rid of this trouble and start to curse myself, ''Fuck! Mainly in many novels and animes in such a situation the main character is supposed to get a powerful item. But why do I have to get a cursed seal instead? Fuck! I shouldn''t have paid any heed to this strange attraction and now I seem to be in great trouble.'' "SinGrimoire of Sin" These words echoed in my mind. -------------- Support me on pat reon and read some advance chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 37: B-Rank Mission Chapter 37: B-Rank Mission After the incident of the Roran is over, all of us returned to Konoha. I looked at my right hand which had that strange Fuinjutsu seal. For some odd reasons, the seal is visible only to me. I can only see the seal with my Sharingan. I feel uneasy with this unknown seal on my body as it continues to absorb my Chakra passively. I can''t suppress this seal with Fuinjutsu and even if I seal my Chakra the ''Seal'' will break the seal on my Chakra and start absorbing it again. My Chakra reserves are almost at the level of Two-tails and this continuous absorbing of my Chakra doesn''t affect me much. The only drawback being when I start to infuse more Chakra for a Jutsu, the Chakra absorption rate also increases leading to a rapid drain in my Chakra. I am helpless against this seal. This unknown ''Seal'' is still a cause of potential future danger and I can''t afford such a risk. Even my Sharingan is useless against it. It is tooplex to be deciphered by just my Three-Tomoe Sharingan and maybe I need Mangekyo Sharingan to figure out its secret. As I am unable to do anything with it, I just left it to its own. Also just six months after me, Shisui graduated and joined a team. He also awakened his Sharingan on one of his mission. Most of the time Hiruzen will pair me with Shisui''s Team for a mission and I began to like its members. Shisui''s team consisted of Shisui, Kazuko an orphan, and a civilian girl called Mami. Kazuko is a very cheerful guy who is also a genius in Ninjutsu. His parents died while on a mission and he grew up in an orphanage. Mami is a shy girl and she seems to have a crush on Shisui which he is unaware of. I tease Shisui as usual for how dense he is. After the Roran mission, Minato-san requested for a rank promotion for both me and Kakashi to Jounin. But Hiruzen just promoted me to Chunnin and denied the promotion to Jounin by specifying various implications and such. He even made it clear that promoting Kakashi to a Jounin is an exception and Kakashi isn''t ready for it. Recently, the Iwa ninjas had a rise in suspicious activity at Land of Grass. Most of the Jounin are deployed there and this leaves Chunnins and Genins with many high-level missions. Many times, the difficulty of a mission for a genin team lead by a Chunnin even rises to B-Rank. I am assigned as the temporary Chunnin leader of the Shisui''s team and our previous mission happened to be a B-Rank. It was also during this mission that Shisui awakened his Sharingan directly with Two-tomoes. To be honest I was quite jealous of Shisui to directly awaken a two-tomoe Sharingan but the trauma that caused it conflicted my emotions. Today, I am practicing with Shisui''s team on their teamwork and co-operation during a mission. I have learned a lot of things from Minato-san about teamwork and I am trying to teach that to them. Recently, Minato-san and his team are too upied at borders and even the Jounin Leader of Team Shisui is out on a mission. I don''t know why but I never got to pair with any team after my first team retired. As we were practicing, a summoning eagle starts to hover above us. Shisui and I quickly noticed the eagle as we hurriedly departed to Hokage''s office. As usual, when we enter the office, Hiruzen is smoking from pipe as he inhales a deep puff of smoke before he exhales it and ces the pipe on the table. "Izuna Uchiha and Team 4, today I have called you here for an urgent B-rank mission. Usually, the mission would have been handled in care of a Jounin but the unrest at borders had left us short-handed. So, this mission will be handled by your team and Izuna will be your team leader. Now, here are the details of the mission. In recent years, various cases of illegal smuggling of weapons, minerals, and even jutsu scrolls have been spotted. Your mission this time is to locate and assassinate the leader of the organization and retrieve everything back. Keep in mind the involvement of Kumogakure Ninjas during the mission. Now, are there any questions?" "Hokage-sama, there would likely be involvement of Jounin Level ninjas in such a mission. Isn''t the rating of this mission too low." I questioned the specifics of the mission. "You don''t have to worry about that. The gathered information is urate and had been verified by a reliable source. So, the assessment for this mission is indeed B- rank." "It would be too presumptuous of me but may I ask the source of the information. After all, I need to make sure about the safety of my team during the mission." "Well. You don''t need to worry too much. The information ispletely reliable as it is provided by one of the elders of the vige who is also a close friend of mine." ''Fuck Danzo! Everywhere that pineapple head is involved, it reeks of trouble. I can safely assume that this mission will be A-rank or possibly S-rank. It is a suicide mission with no chance to return alive. Should I refuse the mission, but the vige has a shortage of Ninjas courtesy of Danzo. Anyway, let''s take this mission. I can easily face a Jounin on my own.'' "Ok! Hokage-sama we will ept this mission." "Very well, here are the rest of the details of the mission and this is the information of our spy whom you can contact for further information. Keep this file a secret and don''t leak any information about the spy to anyone." "Yes, Hokage-sama." All four of us reply in unison as we flicker out of his office. "Meet me at the vige entrance in an hour. Prepare your stuff, tools and we will depart for the mission." After an hour all of us departed for the Land of Hot Water as I start to further brief them up on the details of the mission. "Our target this time is the leader of an underground organization called ''w''. His name is Wakano and he is a middle-aged man with a scar over his right cheek right up to his neck. He is a fat-bellied man." I show them the picture of Wakano as I continue, "His base of operation is in Takeshi Vige which borders Land of Frost. His right hand and left-hand man names are Kobe and Benjiro respectively. They are your general hoodlums and nothing to be wary of. But the real trouble is the ninjas from Kumogakure. I suspect that many jounins are involved in this mission. So, this mission is likely an A-rank mission at the least." "Yes, I have a simr gut feeling. Izuna nii-san." Shisui chimes in. "We should take every step cautiously during the mission as any small mishap can cost you your life. I assume all of you have brought the antidote of poisons with you, just in case the enemy uses them." "Yes, we are all ready Izuna nii-san." All of them speak in unison. We continued our journey towards the Takeshi vige. It took us three days to arrive at the vige. At the entrance of the vige, all of us changed our appearance to match that of merchants with a simple transformation jutsu. We don''t want anyone to get suspicious of us and warn Kumo Ninjas and Wakano''s man. I even cloaked us in an illusion technique to appear more realistic. "Now, it is time for us to gather information about the underground gang. After we confirm the information, we will meet with the spy to ask for further information. Shisui and Mami, both of you will move together on one side of the vige. Me and Kazuko will move towards the other side of the Vige. Right after three hours, gather at the same spot." We enter the streets of Takeshi vige to gather information. "Izuna nii-san, where do you want to go first to gather information?" Kazuko questioned me. "Let''s go to a tavern or bar for information. These hoodlums are typically fond of alcohols and they will asionally visit such a ce to drown themselves in alcohol. We can also hear most of the rumors circting the vige. Maybe, some of the news might provide us some clues about the whereabouts of the ''w''." Kazuko nods to me as we move towards a nearby tavern. I activate my Sharingan and cover it with another illusion as we walk towards the tavern. We enter the tavern, as I order some food for both of us to eat. The owner of the tavern is a fat guy with arge mustache and a thug look. He has a centipede-like across running horizontal across his head. I scan his body with my Sharingan to check for any transformation or other clues. -------------------- Support me on pa treon and read some advance chapter .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 38: Investigation Chapter 38: Investigation I couldn''t spot any problem with the owner of tavern. Both of us sat in one of the corner seats of the tavern, as we listened to the rumors. ''Have you heard that the daughter of Vige Chief had an affair with that son of Fisherman? I wonder how Vige Chief would react?'' ''I heard that Maken-san brought some new wares from his trip to Land of Fire. We should check them out.'' ... ..... People are talking about many rumors and hot topics in the vige. None of which seemed to be relevant for us except the Merchant who recently visited Land of Fire. ''Oh! Have you heard Zach-san got rich over a fortnight?'' ''Yes! I heard about that news. Recently, he got a big order to forge some things and after that order, his business is on a rise. Money is flowing like water to him.'' ''Yeah! He had struck gold this time.'' ''Shhh I have a piece of insider news on Zach''s business. I recently went to his shop to get my axe fixed and you know what I saw. ''What?'' ''I saw some scary bald guys with many scars on their faces. Those guys looked like hoodlums, so I immediately avoided them. They carried a very heavy crate with them.'' ''What is surprising about this? There are all kinds of people who visit his shop.'' ''No, no the surprising part is I saw a tattoo of an eagle''s talon under their neck. The mark was well-hidden but I was able to get a glimpse of it. Hey! Do you think that guy was part of that organization?'' ''ShhhDon''t talk such a thing in a public ce. We may get marked by those devious guys.'' Kazuko and I have been waiting for such news. So, this confirms the existence of w. "Let''s return to our meeting spot. We will meet up with Shisui and Mami to share our side of Intel." I silently inform Kazuko about our next step. We reach our destination and wait for a while. After an hour of wait, Shisui and Mami shows up. I inform them about my finding and they share their information. Shisui and Mami found nothing unusual on their side. "Shisui and Mami, both of you will search the shop of Maken the merchant for any clues whereas I and Kazuko will investigate the shop of cksmith Zach. It is almost evening now. Let''s find an inn for our lodgings and we shall start the investigation during the night." We found an inn near the merchant''s shop. We reserved three rooms. Kazuko and Shisui are sharing a room. Later at night, all of us are ready to investigate as we sneak out. Kazuko and I sneak to the cksmith''s shop which is at the other end of the vige. nknk Sounds of metal hitting metal echoed on the shop as the cksmiths are forging something. We sneak in through one of the window as I cover Kazuko and myself in my Camouge technique. After fumbling around for a while, I find out the location of the storeroom. There are many wooden crates inside the storeroom. We start to inspect them. The crates had lots of freshly forged Kunais, Shurikens, and various Ninja tools and weapons. ''So, this is what is going on? Kumogakure is preparing for the iing war. Looks like the tension at borders had reached a breaking point and war may break out any instant.'' I nod to Kazuko as we sneak out of the shop back to the inn. Shisui and Mami were already present there. All of us gather in my room, as we start to discuss our findings. Shisui states his report, "Nii-san, we searched the shop of the Maken guy. There is nothing suspicious in his shop. So, we went to his house to search for clues and look at what we found?" Shisui takes out a scroll from his pocket and puts the scroll on the Table. A kanji letter for ''Confidential'' is written on the scroll. He was about to open the scroll as I hurriedly grabbed his hand. "Wait! Don''t be hasty." I start to make some hand signs as I infuse Chakra in my hands. A fuinjutsu seal appears in my hand as it starts to crawl over the scroll. Another seal appears on the scroll as my seal starts to destroy the seal. After the seal is destroyed I pickup the scroll as we investigate. "There was an explosive seal on the scroll. Thank god Shisui, you didn''t open it earlier." Cold sweat ran down the spine of Shisui and Mami as they heaved a Sigh of Relief. "But nii-san, I checked the scroll earlier with my Sharingan to detect the presence of any trap. But there was no sign of a trap on it." Shisui asks in curiosity. "Indeed there is no sign of a trap on the paper. The explosive seal is hidden so well with other seals that even Byakugan and Sharingan can''t tell the difference. But it is an entire case for me altogether since I am a Fuinjutsu Master. I am able to spot the hidden explosive seal as I usually wrote a lot of them. All of my explosive tags are written by me." ''But who could have prepared such a well-hidden trap for us?'' All of us start to specte over the creator of this trap. ''Hmm! If my suspicion is right, then it is most likely Danzo. In the anime, after the second Ninja war, Kumogakure starts to gather all kinds of Ninjutsus from various viges and ns. Probably, Danzo has set up this trap to blow some of those Ninjas. What a devious n, if Deidra is aware of this n he would give a thumbs up to Danzo.'' I shook my head to discard such funny thoughts as I opened the scroll. Inside the scroll is the list of some C and D-rank jutsus which aremonly used by Genins in Konoha. Such Jutsus could be found anywhere. "This Maken Guy is just the middle-man of the chain. I bet he isn''t aware of the contents of the scroll otherwise by now probably he would have blown himself. Let us head out to meet with our informant next morning." I stop the meeting as all of us go to sleep. Next day in the morning, All of us gather again after our breakfast as we move towards the designated location to meet our spy. We reach the meeting spot as we hid over selves and wait for the spy to appear. After around fifteen minutes, a fat guy with arge mustache and the appearance of a merchant appears at the spot. The fat guy starts to look around as he marks the nearby wall with a weird symbol. "This is our spy, that is the symbol Hokage-sama told us about. Let us meet with the spy, but make sure to have your guard up. He could be an enemy in disguise too." I warned all of them as we move out from our hiding spot. We walk up to the spy in our disguise as I move towards the wall and draw another sign. The spy nods towards us we follow him to a remote location before clearing the marks. After reaching to a quiet ce, "You are the shinobis sent by the vige, right? You sure took your time, we were supposed to meet yesterday" "Yes, we are leaf shinobi, and some matters dyed us. Anyway, now guide us to the hideout so that we can do our mission." I reply to the spy. "Follow me, Wakano is the leader of the underground organization ''w''. I am sure you know about it. But, recently I have spotted a lot of Kumo ninjas around his hideout. Here are the details of the underground hideout which I acquired from bribing a member of the ''w''." The spy handouts a scroll with a map on it as he continues, "Wakano usually spends most of his time underground and his dirty work is carried by his right-hand man. The right time to assassinate him would be during the night when he is busy in his pleasure. Also, if you sessfully assassinate him then make sure to meet me once. I also have toplete my mission after all." "Very well! That''s fine. What''s your mission is about, and what will you do in case of failure?" I ask the spy as I look in his eyes for his response. "I will just go in hiding for a while if you failed your mission. As for my mission, I am sorry but I can''t reveal its content." I check his facial expression with my Sharingan as I see no changes in them. ''So, he is speaking the truth. Maybe, Hiruzen has some other ns.'' "Alright! We have reached the ce. Now all you have to do is wait for the night to increase your chances of sess. My job is done here and I will retreat now." The spy retreats as we hid nearby and wait for the night to arrive. --------- Support me on pat reon and read some advance chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 39: The Assassination Chapter 39: The Assassination Soon, it''s night time and we put our n in motion. We have already memorized the map as it is pretty easy to infiltrate the hideout with my ''Camouge Technique''. The jutsu works on others as long as the person is within five-meter of me. The mission is to assassinate the leader but it is wise to kill the guards too as they may hinder our escape. All of the ninjas are also trained in the art of silent assassination, being a Ninja isn''t just performing fancy jutsus. We silently murdered all the guards with minimum bloodshed. We haven''t encountered any Kumo ninja yet and this made me frown. I want to finish the mission and retreat as soon as possible. I am feeling a bad premonition but I can''t seem to put my fingers around this. The room of Wakano is in our sight as we silently approach it. I signal to others with some hand signs as Shisui and Kazuko kill the two guards at the door. I put my hand on the ground as I try to sense any Chakra disturbance. There is no Chakra disturbance at the entrance as we enter the room. Shisui and I immediately activate our Sharingan as we approach the bed. The fat Wakanoid on the bed with a naked woman in his arms. I immediately take out my Kunai as I plunge it in Wakano''s neck. No blood is spilled as Wakano turns into a Lightning clone and the lightning made my hand numb. "Fuck! It''s a trap. The target is a lightning clone. Retreat as soon as possible." Before I could speak any further, a giant bear appears out of nowhere as it opens its mouth. Many Kumo Ninjas start to pour out from its mouth and they surround us, blocking any path of retreat for us. Without wasting my time, I immediately make some hand signs as I m my hand on the ground ''Earth style: Abyssal Swamp'' The ground starts to turn in a swamp as all of the Kumo Ninjas get caught in it. ''Earth Style: Rock Pedestal'' Arge block of rocks rises from the ground as all of the Kumo Ninjas jump on it. At this point, the room of the w head is blown away and many enemies start to surround us. ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu'' Shisui quickly some hand signs as he spews out arge ball of fire at Kumo Ninjas. One of the Kumo Ninja who wore the outfit of a Jouninmander immediately make some hand signs, ''Water Style: Water bullet jutsu'' The water bullet collides with the fireball and both of them cancel each other. Arge amount of steam covers the area as Shisui starts to flicker around. ''Body Flicker Technique'' Multiple Shisui''s appear in the area as they attack Kumo Ninjas. In the meantime, Kazuko and Mami escape the area to locate the real Wakano as Me and Shisui confront the enemy Ninjas. I threw a shuriken at enemy ninjas and make some hand signs, ''Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu'' The Shuriken multiplies into various shurikens as it hit Kumo ninjas. A giant hand ms on my position. I dodge the attack and look towards the attacker. The jouninmander stands atop the Giant bear as the bear attacks me. After the initial ruckus, the situation hade to a standstill. I start to scan the Kumo ninjas as they do the same. There are two jounins, fifteen chunnins, and one jouninmander. I regroup with Shisui as we face against them. "Two of them are missing. Hurry up and search for them." The jouninmander shouts to his subordinates as three Chunnin dashes out. "Not so fast!" I shout as I infuse chakra in my hand as metal wires appear in them, ''Lightning Style: Tension Wire'' The metal wires bind the Chunnins and zap them to death. "Shisui, I will handle Jounins. You take care of Chunnins." "Yes, nii-san." I start to gather Chakra in my right hand as I prepare tounch a ''Lightning Style: Vanishing Rasengan'' The dormant ''Sin seal'' awakens and it starts to rapidly absorb my Chakra. My Chakra reserves almost halves by the rapid absorption. "Damn! Not this shit again! I curse the seal as I throw the Rasengan at the giant bear. The Rasengan vanishes after Iunch it and the Jounin Commander smirks at me. Boom The Rasengan collides with the bear. The bear is blown away by the impact as its body is covered in lightning. Poof The bear summons disappears as the Jounin Commander looks warily at me. "All of you, stop dilly-dallying and deal with him. He had used up arge amount of Chakra in the previous jutsu." He rebukes his subordinates as they start to surround me. ''Lightning Style: Co-operation Thunder Bomb'' The Kumomander performs a joint jutsu with the two jounins as a huge lightning orb closes on me. There is no space for my escape. ''Damn!'' I start to make some hand signs as I clutch my hand together. ''Wood Style: Wood Locking wall'' I use the recently learned Wood Style technique which I acquired from Yamato. Wooden pirs rise from the ground as they form a Dome to protect me. The dome is able to hold withstand the co-operation jutsu of the Kumo Shinobis as the outer part of it gets chipped away. "Damn! A wood style user. Kill or capture him quickly. We need to report this to Raikage-sama." ''Damn! I have to get rid of them, otherwise, my peaceful days will be over. It''s time to get serious.'' I prick my thumb with my teeth as a drop of blood leaks from it, the wound closes immediately. ''Fuinjutsu : Explosive Blood Carnate'' Lots of fuinjutsu seals start to coalesce as half of my remaining Chakra gets sucked into the blood drop. A vicious-looking creature forms from the seal as it bares it fang at the Kumo Ninjas. Screee... "We have to stop him from whatever he is doing." Before the Kumo Ninjas could react the blood Carnate vanishes from their sight as it appears in their midst. ''Katsu'' Boom Arge explosion covered the area as arge amount of dust and debris rose in the air. Arge column of energy appeared as violent energy dispersed in the sky. A massive crater formed in the ce of Jounins as there is no sign of them. I created this jutsu by deciphering the seal of Ryumyaku andbining it with Fuinjutsu techniques. The jutsu requires a medium to detonate such arge amounts of Chakra. After testing for a while, I could only use my blood as the medium to store arge amount of Chakra. The immense vitality in my blood helps in stabilization of the Chakra and the entire energy is released in the form of a controlled explosion on my signal. But there is a drawback to this jutsu, the consumption of Chakra is veryrge and it seems to be the only jutsu capable of escaping from the ''Sin seal'' on my hand. My guess is the blood is part of me and thus the Chakra is technically still in my body. But I have yet to test my hypothesis. I grudgingly looked at the ''Seal'' on my hand as I walked towards Shisui. Almost the entire reserve of my Chakra is empty, most of which is sucked by this seal. "What a powerful Jutsu nii-san. Can you teach me this jutsu?" Shisui is amazed by my jutsu as he looks at me with shining eyes. Coughcough I coughed to get this attention as I questioned, "Shisui, have you dealt with those Chunnins, and what about Kazuko and Mami?" "I have dealt with the Chunnins. It was a piece of cake to deal with them." "We have killed Wakano too, nii-san. This is the scroll I got form him." Kazuko reply to me as he pops out from a corner. "Izuna nii-san, yourst jutsu is very powerful. Can you teach me?" Mami chimes in as she looks at me with puppy eyes. "I haven''t perfected the jutsu yet and this jutsu requires arge amount of Chakra to use." I shrug them off by revealing the nature of Jutsu. "Now, let us meet with our spy and inform him of thepletion of our mission. Kazuko keep the scroll for a while, I will take it backter." We walk out of the organization towards the designated spot to meet the spy. My chakra reserves are almost empty, I de-activate my Sharingan to preserve Chakra. The spy is standing on the spot as he waits for us. He notices our arrival and asks, "So, you have sessfullypleted the mission, Huh! You created quite a bigmotion for such a mission." "Your information was incorrect. The enemyid an ambush with many Chunnins and three jounins. Your misinformation almost cost us our lives. How will you take responsibility for that?" I question him as I raised my voice. "I said it before I got the information from one of the hoodlums of the ''w''. Only their leader was aware of the exact situation. I am sorry for my misinformation. Now, will you be kind enough to show me the scroll you got from their base as it pertains to my mission." -------- Check out my pat reon and read some advance chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 40: Betrayal Chapter 40: Betrayal Thanks to you guys, we have reached amunity goal on pat reon. As my appreciation towards your support enjoy daily double chapters for two weeks. --------------------- Kazuko looks towards me for confirmation as I nod to him. After my approval, Kazuko walks to the spy and hands over the scroll to him. The spy examines the scroll for a while confirming its contents. After examining the scroll for a while he returns the scroll to Kazuko. As Kazuko is about to return, a sharp glint sh in Spy''s eyes as he stabs Kazuko with a sword hidden underneath his undergarment. We are shocked to see this as blood trickles down from Kazuko''s chest. Kazuko spurts out a mouthful of blood as he looks at spy in disbelief. "Kill them and get rid of their body. I have secured the scroll." The spy takes the scroll from Kazuko''s body as he proceeds to run away. Around twenty ninjas in Kumo outfit surround us start to attack. All of them wields Tanto or short des as they start to attack us. ''Lightning Style: Thunderstorm'' They all perform a co-operation jutsu as bolts of thunderbolts start to strike toward us. Both Shisui and I make some hand signs, ''Wind Style: Violent Wind Breakthrough'' ''Wind Style: Compression Bomb'' The jutsus from both sides collide as they cancel each other out. After the first failed attempt, the Kumo Ninjas start to run around us as they encircle us. I have already exhausted most of my Chakra and I can only use Taijutsu now. I fork out a Chakra pill from my pocket as I gulp it down. I have to use Taijutsu to fight them. I have only mastered one gate out of Eight Gates formation and I still haven''tpletely mastered the second gate of the Eight Gate. It is quite risky to open the gate without mastering it, but I try to open it anyway as I am left with no choice. I hope my healing can cope with the damage caused by the stress of Eight gates. "Gate of OpeningOpen.Gate of HealingOpen After opening two gates my speed increases drastically. I draw my Chakra de and start to attack the enemy ninjas. "Shisui I will try to handle twelve enemy ninjas, you take on seven and Mami try tobat one of the remaining ninjas." I try to formte abat strategy to buy some time to recover my Chakra. Mami is a medical ninja, so herbat capabilities are the lowest of us all. ''Lightning style: Lightning Dragon'' A giant lightning dragon attacks me as I coat my Chakra de in wind Chakra and attack the dragon to disperse it. All of the ninjas throw many kunais with paper bombs attached to them as they attack me. ''Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu'' I am able to deflect most of them but some are still able to bypass and stab me as they explode. I dodged a part of the explosion with my speed but the shockwaves hurl me to a nearby tree as I collide with it. The bone of my right arm broke as I used it to cushion my impact. I lie helplessly on the ground as enemy ninja closes on me. Shisui is also pushing himself hard as he continues to flicker around creating multiple afterimages andbat enemies. ''Mami. Where is Mami?'' I look around to search for Mami, one of the Kumo Ninja is attacking Mami as she is barely holding against him. sh The enemy ninja uses a decoy and Mami fells for it. He uses this chance to sh her stomach with his sword. Blood started to leak from her wound as she mumbles, "Save.. me, Izuna.. nii-san." She fell on the ground as a pool of blood gathers around her. Her eyes were wide-opened as she breathes herst. Izuna''s thoughts were a mess and he starts to lose his sanity, ''The spy betrayed us, I still couldn''t believe the oue of the mission. We put our lives on the line to obtain the scroll just to get betrayed. My team member, my friend died because of this betrayal. Mami and Kazuko lost their life in this mission. Am I about to die as well? Why it has to be in such a way? I still haven''t lived enough in this world to die so early. No, I can''t die. I won''t die. Nooo..'' Rage clouded Izuna''s mind as his heartbeat start to increase. His nerves start to pop out as massive amount of Chakra start to gather around his eyes, his Sharingan activates on its own. The Tomoe''s in his Sharingan starts to spin rapidly as they began to merge. The tomoes merged together as they formed a five cornered star shape with ovepping sides simr to three triangles crisscrossing each other. The pattern oveid upon the silver sclera as the star patterns start to rotate. The disturbance in the Chakra activated the ''Sin Seal'' as strange totems marks start to crawl out from the seal. The totems crawled all the way to his eye as they start to enter in his Mangekyo Sharingan. The right side of his body gets covered in totems as his clothes are ripped apart. Aaah Intense pain assaulted Izuna as he clutched his head and start to yell in pain. Arge amount of information starts to enter his mind as blood starts to trickle from his right eye. ''Mangekyo Sharingan: Limbo Hengoku'' A shadow of Izuna starts to form from nearby space as it ripped Reality and materialized in front of him. The shadow has simr clothing to Izuna with the only difference being the shadow devoid of any color. The Shadow floats in front of Izuna as it looked at him. Aaah The ''Sin seal'' activates as the Grimoire appeared once again. The metallic Grimoire floats in front of him as the middle eye on the Grimoire opens. The eight pointy edges around the eye stab in the Limbo and the eye separates from Grimoire. The ''Sin eye'' attaches itself to Limbo Shadow and appears on Limbo''s chest. Simr strange markings appear from the eye as totem marks appear on Limbo''s entire body. The ck totems markings start to merge together, arge ck Scythe appear in Limbo''s hands. The Limbo clutches the scythe as it turns towards the approaching Kumo Ninjas. Without uttering a single word, Limbo starts a ughter as it massacres the Kumo Ninjas. Panic ensued among Kumo Ninjas as they are unable to locate their assant. One after another Kumo ninjas starts to die as they tried to dodge the unknown enemy in vain. Limbo butchers them one by one as Izuna stood lifelessly on one spot. Izuna loses consciousness from the chakra drain, the ''Sin Seal'' continues to cover his body in totems. A demonic ck horn condenses on the right side of Izuna''s head as the totems fuse together. ck fumes start to rise from his body as the totems continue to take over his body. The possessed Izuna draws out his Chakra de. The dark energy starts to cover the de as the de elongates and forms a dark longsword. ck fumes and purple mes cover the de as Izuna swings it around. ''Darkness Style: Violent Hell me'' Izuna stabs the longsword in-ground as purple mes erupt from the sword. Ground cracks as the mes continue to travel beneath the ground. They erupt beneath enemy ninjas as ''Kumo ninjas'' are turned to ashes. "Demonit''s a Demon." The Kumo ninjas look at Izuna as their blood freezes from fear and their face turns ashen white. "Mission failureI repeat mission failure. We need to retreat as soon as possible." One of the ninjas shouts as they start to retreat. ''Darkness Style: Corrosion Chains'' Purple corrosive chainse out from Limbo''s chest and Izuna''s hand as they wrap around the limbs of the ninjas. ''Darkness style: Shadow Step'' Izuna disappears as he re-appears near enemy ninjas. The heads of remaining ninjas rolled on the floor as their body corrodes to dust. Izuna stabs the Longsword in-ground as he roared, Roarrrr.... Limbo Shadow hunts down the escaped spy as it executes him. The Shadow picks up the scroll as it returns to Izuna. The Sin eye returns to Grimoire as the Shadow merges back with Izuna. The dark totems on his body return to ''Sin Seal'' and Izuna turns normal. A faint scent of blood and death permeates in the air, Izunays unconscious on the ground. Shortly after, Shisui arrives near Izuna and picks Izuna on his shoulders and starts to dash towards the Vige. The tomoes in Shisui''s Sharingan start to spin rapidly as they merge together to form a four-point pinwheel pattern Mangekyo Sharingan. Tears and blood start to trickle down from his eyes as he dashes towards the vige. ------- Support me on patr eon and read some advance chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 41: Mindscape Chapter 41: Mindscape A/N:- Folksining about previous chapter, listen Izuna was only suspicious of the rank of the mission. His suspicion turned true. After reading this chapetr, you will be able to figure out the reason of betrayal. ----------- Aahh My head hurts as I groggily opened my eyes and looked around. I am in a very dark ce as I could hardly spot any light. I stand up and start to wander around to scout this ce. I walk aimlessly for a while, but I couldn''t spot any exit or entrance to this ce. "Where am I?" I yell loudly but there is no response. "Is anyone here? Shisui, can you hear me? If someone can hear me then answer me. Hello, anybody here?" I start to move around the ce as I continued to yell to find someone to answer to me. I start to recall the incidents before passing out as I strained my memories. ''We were on a mission to assassinate a local organization leader. We sessfullypleted the mission..'' Memory starts to flow in my mind as I recalled the events. ''Kazuko was killed by the spy and Mami also died in the hands of Kumo ninjas.'' Tears trickled down my face as I recalled these memories. ''After that I.'' I strained my memories but I can''t seem to recall any events after Mami died. Aah... My head hurts. I clutched my forehead as I felt a stabbing pain in my head. ''Huh!'' My gaze went to my hand as I activated my Sharingan. There is no trace of ''Sin Seal''. I checked again but I couldn''t spot the seal. ''Did the seal vanish on its own?'' I felt happy when I thought about such a thing. That strange seal is sucking up the majority of my Chakra leaving me with the bare minimum. I can''t even perform any powerful jutsu after I got that seal. The moment I try to infuse Chakra to perform a jutsu, the seal will trigger and start to absorb my Chakra. ''Thank God! I got rid of that weird seal. Now the real question is: Where am I?'' There is no trace of any living thing here and all I can see isplete darkness. ''Wait! darkness and no sign of anybody. I start to recall the scene when Naruto first met with Kurama. He was also in a simr ce, though his mindscape looked simr to a sewage system. So, am I inside my Mindscape?'' As soon as I thought of this, the darkness starts to fade and I appear in apletely white room. ''This room seemed simr to the room where I first met with God when I died. Have I died again?'' I immediately start to look around to search for god. But there is no sign of God. My attention is drawn by some shining orbs in the center of the room and I walk toward them. Nine orbs with different colors are floating in the center of the room. I start to inspect them as I got closer. The colors of the orbs are red, cyan, yellow, brown, blue, grey, translucent white, pitch ck, and white. After close inspection, I concluded that they represent different elements I have unlocked. I urged for the pitch-ck orb to move towards me. The orb floated in front of me as I touched it. Vast knowledge of Darkness element appeared in my mind. I start to digest the information as I rapidly mastered the element. After an unknown amount of time, ''So, this is the darkness element. I have learned the basics of the darkness element. I just need to practice them to learn more.'' I closely inspected the orb and I spotted the Sin seal symbol on it. ''Huh! Sin seal is on darkness orb. Don''t tell me it is the reason for me to master the darkness element. I wonder what this thing is.'' I inspected all of the other orbs as well. The knowledge I have collected on various elements so far refreshed in my mind. ''That''s very useful. These orbs can be seen as data banks for various elements. The knowledge I gather or learn is stored in these orbs and I can recall the entire knowledge whenever I want.'' I spotted another spiral orb between other orbs. After inspecting it, the orb turns out to be the space element. ''So, this is my mindscape. Quite a convenient ce to be.'' I closed my eyes as I thought of exiting this ce. I got sucked into a gateway as I opened my eyes. Shisui is carrying me on his shoulders as he runs in the direction of Konoha. There is a trace of blood around his eyes. I guessed he has awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan too. "Shisui, I am fine now. You can stop carrying me." I jumped from Shisui''s back as I examined my right hand. The broken bone is already fixed and all of the wounds and muscle tears healed. I clutched my fist tightly to ensure it. "Nii-san! Are you ok?" "Yes, I am fine. Let us return to the vige and report this matter to Hokage." "We lost both Kazuko and Mami in this mission. Your instinct was right nii-san, this mission was at least A-rank or even S-rank. Also, that betrayal" Shisui clutched his fists. "Nii-san, what was that jutsu you used earlier? It was very powerful." Shisui starts to narrate the incident. ''Such a thing happened after I lost consciousness.'' I looked at my right hand as I activated my Sharingan. ''Sin seal'' is still present there. I activated my Mangekyo Sharingan to understand the seal deeper. What I saw baffled me? There are strange ck chains around my hand as they held the seal in ce. I tried to touch them but my hands passed through them. I inspected closely and I could spot some space fluctuations around the chains. The chains are from a separate dimension. I infuse Space element Chakra in my hands as I touched the nodes of the chain. Sparks ignited from chains as the nodes repulsed my hand. Seems like my understanding of space is still too shallow to interact with a separate dimension. "Nii-sannii-san, are you listening to me?" Shisui starts to shake me. "Ahyes yes, I am listening." I show him my Mangekyo Sharingan as I speak, "That was the power of my Mangekyo Sharingan. I awakened them when I saw Kazuko and Mami die." I lied to Shisui as it is too much of a hassle to exin in detail to him. "I have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan too." Shisui activates his Mangekyo as he shows them to me. "Shisui, listen! No matter whatever the case; don''t show or use your Mangekyo Sharingan in front of anyone. Only use them in case of an emergency. These eyes are cursed, you will go blind if you use them excessively. You are smart enough to figure the rest." I warned Shisui. "Yes, Nii-san. I will keep that in mind." We reached the vige and I ordered Shisui to visit the infirmary while I report the matter to Hokage. ----------- Inside the Hokage office, "So, that''s the entire series of events that happened during our mission. Hokage-sama, I want some answers from you." Hiruzen contemted for a while as he sighed, "Go ahead! Ask your questions?" "I would like to know which elder provided you with the information." "It is one of my old teammates and trusted partner Danzo Shimura. I have no doubts about his loyalty to the vige. I can vouch for that." Hiruzen replied in a serious tone. "Thank you! Hokage-sama, I trust your words. I will take my leave now." I replied to him with my head lowered as rage is burning in my eyes. "Izuna, you are a ninja. And it is regr for deaths to ur during a mission. This is the norm of the world, I am sure you will be able to move on from this event. We ninjas hardly live past our thirties as lives are lost daily." Hiruzen tries to exin some sense to Izuna. "Yes, Hokage-sama. I will keep that in mind." I reply to him in a nd voice. "Also, a war is about to start soon. Your services will be required at the border. I expect great things from you during the war." ------------------- Inside an underground building, in the headquarter of the Root, Danzo sat on his seat as a boar-masked Anbu present a scroll to him. After reading the report, Danzo smashes the armrest of the newly reced Chair as he shouts in anger, "Damnit! Twenty elite anbus. Twenty of the elite anbus of my root died in that mission. Not even their body is found. Do any of you have any exnation for this?" "Danzo-sama! Out of four people, two genins died in the mission. The Two Uchihas involved in the mission survived. Maybe, we can capture them to interrogate about the details." One of the Anbu suggested. "No, we don''t have time for that. It is fine as long as some people died." Danzo waved his hand and dismissed all Anbus. "My aim to inflict conflict between Konoha and Kumo is sessful. Now it is time for Iwa. Konoha shall be the only ruler of this world and I will be it''s only Hokage. Looks like I need to speed up things a little." -------- A/N:- If you still can''t figure out then let me exin. Izuna''s entire team was meant to die in this mission to trigger war against Kumo. But they survived, this part lead to betrayal. Izuna only figured out the rank of mission. He even checked around to make sure the info was right in chapter Investigation. He isn''t a perfect human, he is still learning in the shinobi world. Uing chapters will shed more light on it. Chapter 42: Start of The Third Shinobi War Chapter 42: Start of The Third Shinobi War At Kusagakure''s borders, Several root Anbus are discussing something while hiding in a cave. "Danzo-sama had ordered us to attack the patrol team of Konoha. We have to disguise as Iwa Ninjas while attacking them. The order must be fulfilled at all costs and after killing one patrol team, attack another. Make sure to leave no trace of yourself, even if you die. Also, allow at least one witness to escape from your grasp to inform the vige about the attack of ''Iwa Ninjas''. Now scatter!" "Yes!" All Root Anbus shouts in unison as they use transformation jutsu to turn into Iwa Ninjas. The Land of Grass is a big conflict zone between Konohagakure and Iwagakure. The previous war left both sides with a severeck of resources. Several powerful Shinobis died in the previous war which further dwindled the powers ofrge nations. The power of smaller nations starts to increase as their powers start to pose a threat to Larger nations. In an attempt to gain stability and resources, therger nations turned towards smaller nations as the conflict between them spread all over the continent. Smaller nations became the battlefield ofrger nations and arge number of skirmishes urred between their Shinobis. Iwagakure was left devastated by the Second Shinobi War, its power dwindled by arge margin as the Land of Stone became one of the poorest nation second only to the Land of Wind. This made Iwagakure desperate to control the Land of Grass and get hold of its resources and possibly invade the Land of Fire. Danzo saw this as an opportunity to thoroughly eradicate the threat of Iwagakure and thus he orchestrated such a n to initiate a war between the two Nations. The ughter starts when Root Anbus disguised as Iwa Ninjas start to kill the Patrol Border Team. Soon, this news reached the Captain as multiple teams were wiped out. The Captain immediately sent the message back to Konoha. Hiruzen opened the scroll passed to by him by a messenger bird. "Hokage-sama! We have suffered many casualties at the border. Iwa nins are continuously ambushing and killing our men. We need to counterattack. Please send reinforcements to border or Iwa will sessfully invade Land of fire." Hiruzen took a deep whiff of his smoking pipe as he signaled a nearby Anbu. "Summon all Jounins present in the vige. The war is inevitable." After an hour, all of Jounins of Vige assembled at the rooftop of Hokage''s office. All of them bowed on their knee as they awaited further orders from Hokage. Hiruzen starts to assign different jounins with their teams at various strategic ces to increase efficiency. "Disperse." All of Jounins flickered away. "Minato, wait here." Minato stops and stands in front of Hiruzen. "Minato, you and your team will go to one of the most important strategic ces of the Kusagakure." Hiruzen forks out a scroll from his pocket and marks a ce on it. "This is the Kannabi bridge of Kusagakure. If Iwa wants to invade Land of Fire, then they will definitely pass through this bridge. Your job is to guard this bridge and if the situation asks for it, then you are free to destroy the bridge." Minato nods to Hiruzen and disappears from the spot. ''Minato, I have high expectations for you. Don''t disappoint me.'' The war started in full bloom as Ninjas from both sides shed. Several shinobis from both sides died as bloodshed continued. ------------------- Somewhere in a mountainous region located at the north-most region ofnd between Takigakure and Land of Sound, Dense forest and bones of many giant creatures could be seen jutting out from earth. In an underground mine connected to some ruins, a secret hideout is located. Inside the hideout, An extremely worn and emaciated old man sat on arge tree stump. The man had thin white hair that hung loosely on his shoulders with arge bang of hair covering his right eye. He wore a simple ck outfit and used the Kama as a makeshift cane. His eyes were closed. "It''s about time." The old man stands from the tree stumps as he speaks. Many white parasitic beings with half-deformed body and a mid-section with a zig-zag pattern simr to a flower of Venus flytrap starts to appear from closed walls of the hideout. All of them nod to him as they start to move out of the underground cave. The old man walks to arge tree with a single lotus-like flower. A humanoid protrusion grew from the trunk of the tree. The old man looked at the humanoid protrusion as he speaks, "Hashirama, I will seed where you failed. Once my ''Eye of the Moon n'' seeds, true peace will fall upon this world." The man walks back to therge tree stumps as he sat back on it. ''Izuna, Kasumi, I will create true peace in this cruel world which imed your lives.'' ---------------------- At Kusagakure borders, the fight between Konoha and Iwa ninjas intensified as more and more shinobi died. Inside Hokage''s office, Hiruzen looked at the reports of the war. A frown appeared on his face. "Call Sakumo Hatake, right now." One of the Anbu guarding him disappeared, Hiruzen starts to contemte over the new report. Kumogakure had finally bared its fangs at Konoha. In the middle of the night, various Kumo ninjas sneaked near the borders of Land of Hot Water as theyunched an attack on the Land of Fire borders. The recent attack and the Chakra ore mining incident previously, armed Kumo ninjas from head to toe. During troubled times, Kumo also wants a share of the pie from Iwa and Konoha. "Hokage-sama! You called me." Sakumo appears in front of Hiruzen as he kneels on the ground to pay his respect to Hokage. Hiruzen passes the report to Sakumo who starts to read the information. "Sakumo, as you can see, Kumo hadunched an assault on thend of Fire. I want you to lead some jounins, chunnins, and genins to lead the war against Kumo on Land of Hot Water''s battlefield." Hiruzen orders Sakumo. "Hokage-sama! Chunnins is fine, but even genins. Genins will only serve as cannon fodders as this will only increase casualties in the war. Are you sure about it?" Sakumo questions the order. "Sakumo, I understand your sentiment. But there is a severeck of manpower in Konoha right now. Most of our forces are upied at Kusagakure by Iwagakure ninjas. That battlefront is too important to be lost. Iwa is desperate to upy Kusagakure as well as invade our Land of Fire. As for Kumogakure, they are fishing in troubled waters and aren''t that desperate. But we can''t take them lightly. They have amassedrge amounts of weapons and are ready for war. One moment of carelessness from us can cause our defeat." Hiruzen exins the situation to Sakumo in all battlefronts on a map. "I understand Hokage-sama. I will immediately gather everyone and march towards the borders." Sakumo nods as he agrees with Hiruzen. "Oh! Sakumo, take that Uchiha kid Izuna with you. I am sure you are aware of him. It was his team that gathered some intel while on a mission to Land of Hot Water recently." "Yes, Hokage-sama. I will tag him along." Sakumo flickers away from Hokage''s office and disappears from Hiruzen''s vision. Hiruzen contemtes for a while before he starts to write a message on a scroll. "Pass this scroll to Minato Namikaze. He has learned Tobirama Sensei''s ''Flying Thunder God'' Jutsu. His mobility will be very helpful in the battle. Inform him to switch battlefronts any instants when required. I am not sure what Kumogakure is up to, but whatever it is, it will only spell trouble for Konoha." The Anbu nods as he ties the scroll to the feet of the messenger bird who arrived earlier. The bird flew away and carried the scroll. Hiruzen sighed as he starts toin about his old age. "Immediately summon all n heads to an emergency meeting. We need to mobilize their full force to gain a chance of victory in this war." Another anbu flickered away and went to summon all n leaders for the meeting. "Summon Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzo Shimura for the meeting too. I am sure the wisdom of my old friends will help us a lot in this war." Another anbu flickered away to summon the elders of the vige for the meeting. In a meeting room near Hokage''s office, all of the n head and Vige Elders gathered as the meeting to decide a strategy to win the war started. -------- Enjoy the double release, Thanks for you support. Check out my pa treon and read some Advance Chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 43: First Step on Battleground Chapter 43: First Step on Battleground Various n leaders and n elders gather in the meeting room as the meeting starts. Heated discussions start to ur as various issues arose. "I will deploy my Root Anbus on Iwa battlefront. But my Root anbus will remain independent from themand of Shinobimanders of the Shinobi unit. They will only take orders from me and me alone. I have trained them with years of hard work and dedication, at least I should be able tomand them." Danzo presses this matter as he refuses to oblige to any request pertaining to themand of Root anbus. "If only your disciple Tsunade was here, then we could prevent many casualties during this war. Her contributions during the Second Shinobi War are a testament to her prowess. But she is still stubborn as ever and refuses to get over the grief of the death of her lover and younger brother. What a waste of talent and time?" Koharu rebukes Tsunade for her ipetency as she looks at Hiruzen. "Also, one of the Sannins Jiraiya is now out of Vige. His whereabouts are unknown to us. He could have been a huge help for the vige. At least, we have Orochimaru to assist us in this war." Homura raises another issue. "We aren''t here to discuss the whereabouts of my disciples but to think of a strategy to win the war. Also, I have summoned them back to the Vige. I have sent Jiraiya to scout some intel and Tsunade will arrive shortly," Hiruzen stresses on the graveness of matter. Koharu and Homura snorts but nods quietly. "Since, all of the n leaders have gathered here. Let''s start the meeting." Various n leaders and elders present their views and support in one way or another, "My Akimichi n will provide Chakra pills and medicines during the war." Choza Akimichi shows his support. "My Hyuga n will take part in scouting, sensing, and reconnaissance teams. We will be a part of the intelligence-gathering team." Hiashi Hyuga present his opinion. "My Nara n will take care of logistics." "Then our Inuzuka n will from a tracking team." "Our Yamanaka n will handle the Communication and intel transfer." The meetingsts for a while with many disputes and conflicts in between. In the end, a deployment strategy made by Shikaku Nara was unanimously approved by all council members. None of them have the capabilities of outsmarting a Nara in terms of Intelligence and wisdom. Various ns deployed their reserve forces to partake in war. Many retired Shinobis were requested to assist in the war. As for the Uchiha n, the majority of the Police Force is deployed to the battlefront with only a remaining few left in the Vige to guard and maintain the order in the Vige. After the meeting is over. Hiruzen sighs in relief. He picks up thetest intel regarding the war as he skims through it. ''Looks like this war will bring many great changes to the Shinobi world. Peace is nothing but a pipe-dream in this world.'' --------------------- Meanwhile in the Uchihapound, Shisui and Izuna are training in Shurikenjutsu and Taijutsu as they spar with each other. They continuously attack each other with Kunai''s and Shurikens and sometimes hand-tobat. Izuna is honing Shisui''s skills in closebat as that is one of the weaknesses of Shisui. Both of them switch to tantos as they sh with each other. Shisui is a quick learner as he is soaking all the knowledge in Taijutsu and Kenjutsu like a sponge. Izuna is training Shisui in some basic tactics that will help him during the war. It has been seven days since their previous mission. The sorrow and grief over the loss of his teammate is too big of a burden for Shisui. Shisui recuperated his wounds and mental trauma in this week as he starts to understand the cruelty of this world. Akira, Aiko, Yagami, and Fumiko are on the battlefield as they are requested by the vige to fight in the war due to the shortage of manpower. Hiruzen gave them a week to recuperate from their wounds and traumas as they are required to fight on the battlefield too. After training for a while, Shisui starts to breathe heavily and ask for a break, "Time-out Nii-san. I amhuffhuffexhausted. Let''s take a break for a while." I stop our spar as I pick up a towel from the nearby tree and give it to Shisui. Shisui wipes his sweat and looks at me. "Nii-san, you aren''t even breathing heavily much less sweating. Your endurance and stamina are on a different level than me." Shisuiins. "Shisui, with enough practice you will reach the same level as me. For now, let''s return home and have some food." Shisui nods as we walk in the streets of the Uchiha n. The usual hustle-bustle of n is nowhere to be seen. asionally a few kids and old grandmas could be seen on the streets. The war has heavily affected the business of many shops. The entire business district of the Uchiha n is deserted. Even my favorite sweet shops where I buy Dango and other sweets are closed. Shisui sulks as he looks at the closed shop. "Hey, Nii-san. Do you think we will also participate in war?" I look at Shisui who has a very pensive expression. "Yes, sooner orter we will be deployed on frontlines to fight for Vige. Not only us, even freshly graduated genins with no experience will be sent to the battlefield if the situation demands it. I heard from the father that Konoha is nked from sides by Iwa and Kumo shinobis. Shisui I have a serious question for you? Would you mind if I ask from you?" Shisui shakes his head as he replies, "Nii-san, just ask the question. There is no need for my approval." "Then, Shisui what do you think of the current Shinobi system? I mean even small kids like us are sent to war to fight for Vige. What do you think about it?" I question him in a serious tone. "Nii-san, ain''t it clear? We all are shinobis and it is our duty to protect our n and vige. Our n is a part of the vige and to protect the n, I have to protect the vige from invaders." Shisui has ''it''s obvious'' expression on his face as he replies to me. ''Guess, I am the weird one who still has some of the values and mindset from the previous world. This world has the supernatural element Chakra which made being of this world a lot stronger. I also don''t know in what way will this world change me? After all, I turned from a powerless person to an overpowered cheat. Will too much power consume me or will I able to ovee the demons of my heart?'' I look at the ''Sin seal'' on my hand as I shook my head. ''Guess, only time will tell. For now, I have to focus my attention on other matters. As we walk towards our home, a shadow flickers and appears in front of us. ''Looks like we have to join the war earlier than I thought.'' I am surprised by the person who appeared in front of me. "I finally found you, Izuna." Uncle Sakumo appears in front of me as he starts to exin to me, "Hokage-sama has ordered me to include both of you in my team. We will be moving towards the Kumo battlefront in just about an hour. Gather all of your stuff and necessities, we will meet at the entrance of the vige." Poof Sakumo-san dissipates in a puff of smoke as he turned out to be a Shadow Clone. "Shisui, this answers your earlier question. Now let''s hurry and prepare our supplies for the war. We only have an hour to do so." Both Shisui and I flicker away as we prepare our supplies. --------------- After an hourter, at Konoha''s entrance gate Nearly, fifty Jounins, ny chunnins, andrge numbers of genins were gathered. Sakumo stands in front of them as he lectures them. "This is battalion one of our Shinobi unit number four. I am Sakumo Hatake, your Unitmander. Other battalions will gather soon. As for now, all of you march towards the battlefront. I will meet you all shortly with other battalions. For now, the Captain of your battalion will lead you. Do any of you have any queries?" "No, Sir Commander." All of us shouts in unison. The battalion marches towards Kumo battlefront as Shisui and I join them. We arrive at the battlefront in seven hours as we join the camp. The Captain of the Patrol Guards had a meeting with our Captain as both of them devise a strategy to deploy us for the meantime. Our reinforcements will arrive soon and then we can choose an offensive stance. The tired battalion rxes for an hour. After an hour we finally step on the battleground. ------- Support me on pa treon and read some advance chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 44: Kumo Battlefront Chapter 44: Kumo Battlefront The war is entirely different from what I expected. There is no direct confrontation between two sides unless one side has an absolute advantage over others. Both sides are using gueri warfare tactics to test each other''s strength. The forest near the mountains has be the battle zone for the war. The captain further divided the battalion in squads with each squad having thirty members. Shisui and I are in squad number Nine. We are deployed with a scouting unit together with some Hyugas and Inuzukas. The Captain assigned us to this squad as he doubts ourbat capabilities. I had no problem with the squad as I want to slowly experience the intricacies of the war. The war will help me cultivate my skills in tracking and intel gathering. This war is an opportunity for me. There will be tons of Kekkai Genkai users during this war and I can use this as a chance to increase Jutsus in my arsenal and learn more Kekkai Genkais. I am capable ofbining elements but watching a user performing the Kekkai Genkai or figuring it out yourself, the choice is obvious. The ability to track down enemies and differentiate between decoys and the real clue is quite hard than I thought it out to be. I activated my Sharingan and asked Shisui to do the same as we learned from the Tracker-nins. I am amazed by their deductions and perception as I start to absorb knowledge like a sponge. Our team is doing pretty well on the scouting missions. The Hyuga''s Byakugan helped a lot in avoiding the enemies who lied in ambush ahead. My Sharingan helped me see even further than Hyuga as I can even see infrared and other EM waves. When the Hyugas ran out of Chakra, we decide to return to camp. On our way, a confrontation finally happened. I have already warned my team about their presence. We met with abat-oriented team of Kumo. There are around twenty-five ninjas in the enemy team. ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'' I made a few hand signs and spewed out arge fireball. I have to gain the advantage of a pre-emptive strike. The ''Sin seal'' on my hand starts to absorb my Chakra rapidly. After the previous use of ''Sin seal'', its rate of Chakra absorption increased by two-fold. But I have found a way to counter that. ''Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu'' I form four shadow clones as I continue to fight them. Yes, Shadow clone distributes my Chakra through clones and the Clone''s Chakra is still a part of my body. ''Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu'' One of the enemy ninjas uses water style to counter my fireball. ''Swishswish'' I appear behind an enemy ninja as I slit his throat. ''Poof'' The user of the Fireball technique turns out to be my Shadow clone. We were surrounded by multiple enemy teams ahead and I could only choose this team to fight as they had the least number of ninjas. Blood dripped from Kumo ninjas neck as heid dead on the ground. I have targeted one of their tracking-nin. The confrontation finally began. A confrontation usually starts with multiple jutsus from both sides followed by hand to handbat or taijutsu when they ran out of Chakra. ''Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm'' One of the Hyuga uses his gentle fist art in conjugation with Byakugan to attack the enemies. ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' Both Shisui and I activate our Sharingan as we cast a genjutsu on them. This presents a huge opportunity for our team as we are able to y five more enemies before the Genjutsu is dispelled. This genjutsu was used against the entire enemy squad rather than a person, so it was less effective. ''My Genjutsu Techniques are falling behind. I have to train them during the war with enemies as my prey.'' Shisui draws out his Tanto as he starts to dash around the enemies, ''Body Flicker Technique: Afterimage Clone'' Multiple copies of Shisui appears as they surround enemies. With his fast speed, Shisui can move between his afterimages and deliver attacks from each of them, thus each of them having mass behind them. He moves to another afterimage if any enemy attacks him allowing his opponent to phase through his afterimage. ''Kenjutsu Style: Moonlight sh'' Shisui starts to attack them one after another. There is no hesitation in his moves as he fluidly executes one move after another. Now, it is my turn to attack them. All of my shadow clones start to make hand seals, ''Fire Style: Water Style: Lightning Style: Wind Style: Massive Combo Jutsu'' All of my clones spew out respective elements as they sh together to create arge explosion engulfing most of the enemies. The surviving enemies are executed by my team as we finished them. "Let''s retreat to camp. This fight has caused quite themotion, we can''t risk being surrounded by the enemies." The Hyuga advices as we follow him. ----------------- A day passed since that incident. After that fight, Izuna gets promoted tobat squad One. Shisui is transferred to Squad three. The next day, Scouts gathered thetest intel as they presented a scroll to Captain. The Captain quickly skimmed through the intel as he frowned. He quickly ordered one of Jounins, "Quickly send this information to Hokage-sama and ask for aid from him. We can''t dy this news." The Jounin immediately went to the logistics and information squad as he ryed the message. A Yamanaka member with a strange device on his head sat near one of the Sensing Technique Sphere''. The Jounin approaches the Yamanaka n member as he speaks, "Inobu-san, please pass this important message to Hokage-sama immediately. We need assistance to deal with the new enemy. Sakumo-san is upied in a battle against Third Raikage and is unable to help us deal with the intruders." Inobu Yamanaka nods his head as he transfers the intel to headquarters in Konoha. The Yamanakas uses a ''Hijutsu'' of their n to perform a secret jutsu, ''Mind Body Transmission Technique'' This technique allows them to telepathically connect with another person to send their memories to another person located far away. This technique allows Konoha to have thetest intel on the battlefield every moment. Yamanaka n is respected throughout the Vige just because of this technique. In Konoha, inside a building near Hokage''s office, a bunch of people monitors the situation of the battlefield through intel sent by various logistics units present near the battlefield. Shikaku roams around the room as he contemtes and rys orders to various units through the help of Inoichi Yamanaka. Suddenly, Inoichi receives an important message as calls Shikaku. "Shikaku, this is a very important message from Battalion one of Shinobi Unit Four deployed on Kumo Front." Shikaku immediately approaches Inoichi as Inoichi ces his hand on Shikaku''s head to ry the information. Shikaku has a grave expression after he heard the intel. "Try to hold them back for a few hours, I will immediately ry this information to Hokage-sama. Help will soon be on its way." Shikaku hurriedly left the room as he had a pensive expression on his face. He knocks on Hokage''s office and Hiruzen allows him in. "Hokage-sama, this is an emergency. We need quick aid at Kumo battlefront." Shikaku ryed the entire intel to Hiruzen. Hiruzen frowned as he starts to contemte, "Shikaku, inform him about this matter. I am sure he will be able to turn the situation around. But before that report the current situation at Iwa borders to me." Shikaku reports the intel as he returns to headquarters with Hokage''s message. ----------------------- In the meantime, at Kumo battlefront, The Captain hears the n ryed by Shikaku as he sighs in relief. Seems like we just have to hold them for a while. "Gather Squad One and Two, I have important orders for them." ''The situation is not looking good. Help will arrive in a few hours, we have to just hold them back for a while. Some sacrifices have to be made if we want to prevent a disaster to befall on Land of Fire.'' Soon Squad One and Squad Two gathers near Captain''s camp as he starts to address them. "A team of Kumo ninjas sessfully infiltrated the Land of Fire borders and are approaching the camp. The number of Shinobis is still unknown but the enemy is quite strong as they have annihted one of our squad in a matter of minutes." The Captain read the intel aloud in front of the Squads as he orders, "We can''t allow the enemy team to infiltrate in Land of Fire and possibly assassinate the Daimyo. To cope with them, two of our strongest squads will join hands and confront them. You just have to hold them back for a while as help is on its way." Both squads quickly dash in direction of enemies. While running Izuna wonders about the identity of enemies who infiltrated the borders. ------------ Support me on pat reon an read some advance chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 45: Yellow Flash Chapter 45: Yellow sh Our squad reaches the destination to intercept the enemies. All of us hid over selves and get ready to ambush the enemies. I activate my Sharingan to increase my perception. Suddenly, a blue blur passes by. It is about to strike one of ourrades. "Watch out!" I immediately shout to inform the team. ''Lightning Release: Lariat'' ''Expansion Jutsu'' Boom The blur ms in the ninja and sends him flying away. The Akimichi n member is able to survive the impact through the use of Expansion Jutsu. I clearly saw the appearance of Blur. It is a ninja cloaked in a lightning cloak with Kumo headband. The only possible person with such an appearance is the unruly A of the Kumogakure. All of us stops as we start to inspect the enemies. "Fool! Ya Fool! Let''s deal with these fools,ter I wanna soak in a pool." I immediately recognized this speaking pattern. There is only one person in the entire Naruto series who raps while speaking, Killer B the Jinchuruki of Eight-Tails. ''Damn! The situation has turned from bad to worse. Our team is meant to be sacrificed to stop Kumo in their tracks. I ain''t going down without a fight.'' ''Wind Style: Compression Bomb'' I spew outpressed air from my mouth as it strikes towards A. A dodges the attack with his lightning cloak. ''Man-Beast Ultimate Taijutsu: Fang Over Fang'' One of the Inuzuka n members in our team attacks Killer B with his ninken. "Stop! He isn''t someone you can handle on your own." One of the Hyuga members shouts towards the Inuzuka member. Arge Octopus tentacle appears out of nowhere and ps away Inuzuka and his ninken. The Inuzuka ms into a tree a coughs some blood. He weakly stands up and feeds a pill to his ninken and eats one himself. Both of the squads have a wry expression as the Hyuga informs them, "That''s the jinchuruki of Eight-Tails. From the look of it, it seems like he can control eight-tails perfectly. We are in trouble now, I hope that reinforcement arrives soon." "We have to buy some time for reinforcement to arrive. I hope that we canst long enough to stop their charge." Another ninja reminds us of our mission. I ignore their ranting as I throw shurikens and make some hand signs ''Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu'' Arge number of Shuriken strikes towards the Kumo ninjas. As the shurikens are about to hit them, a giant octopus tentacle appears as it rotates and deflects them. Tch ''Killer bee is a problem and I don''t want him to transform in Eight-tails and drop a Bijuu bomb on me. I have to seal his Chakra and at least buy enough time for Minato to arrive.'' I have already figured out who our reinforcement is. This scene reminds me of a fight between A and Minato. But I can''t take the risk, I have to fight them. ''Taijutsu: Drop Kick'' A cloaked in lightning Chakra arrives before me as he drops kick me. Poof The Shadow clone dissipates as I shout, "Fuinjutsu: Shadow Binding Seal'' A sealing form appears from my clone as it starts to crawl over A''s body. The Fuinjutsu seal starts to seal his chakra as his body is covered in the sealing form. A''s lightning cloak starts to diminish and he stands rooted on the spot. ''Rasengan'' A looks wide-eyed at me as I make a Rasengan and prepare to m it in him. The ''Sin seal'' activates as it starts to suck my Chakra, but I pay no heed to it. As Rasengan is about to m in A, arge tentacle covers A and blocks my strike. I smirk at this. I have been waiting for this moment. I have infused enough Chakra for my next seal. ''Fuinjutsu Style: Five Elements Seal'' I m my fingers which are covered in different elemental Chakras in the Tentacle. Arge sealing form spreads over the tentacle as it starts to cover Killer B''s body. The eight Tails inside Killer B shouts to him, "B, this seal is preventing me from supplying Chakra to you. It will take me fifteen minutes to break this seal, so you wont be able to transform for the next fifteen minutes. You can only use partial transformation. Also, B that earlier jutsu used by this Uchiha kid resembles a Tailed-beast bomb. I really dread these Uchihas. A shiver ran down Eight tails spine as the figure of Madara Uchiha appears in its mind." Killer B is able to save A from my Rasengan as he grabs A away. A rile up Chakra inside his body as he undoes the seal. I cast the previous seal in a hurry, so it wasn''t that effective. It only restrains the target for a few seconds, enough to create an opening in the fight. ''Fuck! This Sin seal has forced me to use Taijutsu and Fuinjutsu. Every time I try to perform a Chakra-taxing technique, the seal starts to suck my Chakra reserves dry. I need to visit the Land of Whirlpools after this war. I have to figure out the nature of this seal and I hope Uzumaki n has detailed information about this seal.'' "Who are you, kid? Despite being an Uchiha, how are you able to use the Fuinjutsu of Uzumaki n?" A looks at me as he questions. "I am Izuna Uchiha," I reply to him with a calm expression but my back is drenched in cold Sweat. I have already used all of my tricks and they all seeded because of the element of Surprise. But now the surprise element is gone and B despite being unable to useplete transformation is still a very powerful Shinobi and let us not forget about A. Also, if necessary I don''t want to reveal my Mangekyo Sharingan. As A is about to attack us, a light shes in front of us. WhooshWhoosh Minato appears in front of us as he picks up a Kunai from a nearby tree. The Akimichi sighs in relief as he looks at Minato. The kunai was given to him by his Captain and he stabbed it in the tree. One of the Kumo ninjas recognizes Minato as he reminds, "The blond hair and the Teleportation Jutsu. That''s gotta be the Leaf''s Yellow sh. We got to retreat right now. Don''t you think!" "So, that''s him. The One who single-handedly stopped the recovery of the Nine-Tails." A recognizes Minato as he remarks. "And I know you, you are the son of Hidden Cloud''s Third Raikage, you are called Unruly A. I have heard that you are quite fast yourself." Minato also recognizes A as he praises A. "HumWe can take it, the two of us bro. Fool! Ya Fool!" B speaks confidently to A as he gets ready to fight Minato. "Everybody stay out of this. I will fight them." Minato puts his left-hand on a holster tied to his back and throws many of his signature Tri-fork Kunai all over the ce. "Minato-san, I have used Five elemental seals to restrain the Chakra of the Eight-tails. He won''t be able to transform into Eight-tails for the next fifteen minutes. Finish it quickly in the next few minutes." I exin the situation to Minato as I retreat. I don''t want to miss a chance to watch the Yellow sh in action. A cloaks his body in lightning as he shoots towards Minato like a lightning bolt. I can follow his speed with my Sharingan but my reflexes and speed aren''t fast enough to react to his speed. As A is about to punch Minato, Minato flings a kunai in the air and teleports from the spot. Minato appears on a branch with a kunai. A has a look of disbelief as he mutters, "I can''t believe he counters me at my top speed." Minato re-appears behind A, as he is about to stab A, a tentacle pushes A out of the way as Minato stabs in the tentacle. ''I guess Killer B never got a girlfriend with all those tentacles. He can easily go for a tentacle y. CoughCough, my thoughts.'' A jumps back to Killer B as he speaks, "Forgive me B! you doing alright." B breaths heavily as he struggles to prevent the seal from further sealing his Chakra. "That''s nothing. It is a child''s y for me, the cool Eight-tails Killer be. Fool! Ya Fool!" Killer B raps as he convinces A. "A, you have a fine family and as do I. I suspect the next time we meet, we will be fighting as one Kage against another Kage. If you dont figure out what your little brother considers most precious to him, he will neither be a jinchuruki nor a human" A starts to look around to spot all kunais as tries to predict the next teleportation spot of Minato. He cloaks his body in lightning and charges again at Minato. Minato teleports and re-appear behind B while pointing a kunai at his neck. A teleportation seal appears on the tentacle. "You are my foe, but I like you. But I will advise you to return to your vige. Killing you will create too manyplications for this war, which aren''t good for both Kumo as well as Konoha." Minato retreats as he spares B. Our team starts to return to camp with no casualties, only the Akimichi and Inuzuka have some injuries. Chapter 46: Sharingan Vs Storm Release Chapter 46: Sharingan Vs Storm Release On our way back to camp, I ask Minato a question, "Minato-san, you could have easily killed those two people. Why you spared them? They are our enemy and we are at a war with them. They killed one of our team, it is our turn to pay back them." Minato shakes his head at my question as he exins, "No, that wouldn''t be a wise thing to do. There are variousplications involved in their death. Firstly, B is a jinchuruki and a perfect one at that. He is a very important asset to Kumogakure. A perfect Jinchuruki is one of the major fighting power of the vige. Kumogakure won''t sit still if we killed B and captured the eight-tails. Secondly, A is the son of the Third Raikage and the candidate for the next Raikage. So, his early death can also lead to Kumo waging a full-scale war on Konoha. Kumo is just fishing in troubled waters for now. But if a full-blown war urs, Konoha will be nked from both sides and Iwa and Kumo may join hands together to form an Alliance. Also, I don''t want this endless cycle of Hatred to continue. My dream is to achieve true peace for the world where children don''t have to go to war." I nod to Minato as I am pondering over his words, ''True peace huh! Even if you achieve true peace in this world. There are many powerful beings out there who can wipe the entire Shinobi world just on a whim. You need absolute strength to achieve true peace. Kaguya failed to achieve true peace as she got corrupted by her immense power and thus thought of an escape method through Infinite Tsukuyomi. Also, there are various beings out there who just want to consume the entire world like a parasite just to satiate their hunger for power. Peace is nothing but a pipe dream. You can''t satiate everyone''s interest and if a person is provided an opportunity in favor of their interest, they won''t even hesitate for even a second to choose ''DA WAE''.'' We return to the camp and start to recover our Chakra and Stamina. Minato teleports back to the Iwa front. --------------- In the afternoon, I rejoin the battle as I move to frontlines where a direct confrontation is happening between the forces of Konoha and Kumo. Jutsus are flying left and right as shinobis are killing each other. Slowly, but surely Konoha is gaining an advantage in the battle. ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'' I release a giant fireball as I incinerate many enemies. I draw out my tanto as I start to attack one enemy after another. ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' ''Kenjutsu: Secret Sword Moonlight'' I ughter one enemy after another as I use genjutsu in conjugation with kenjutsu. Just like a reaper from the underworld, I start to reap lives one after another. My Genjutsu starts to improve again as enemies fell after another. ''Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu'' I cast low-cost chakra Ninjutsus one after another. ''Storm Release: Laser Circus'' Several beams of energy beams charge my way as I jump to avoid them but they continue to aim towards me. I immediately some hand signs, ''Wind Release: Vacuum great sphere'' I inhale arge amount of air as Ipress it into a sphere and aims it at the energy beams as I expel it out. Both jutsu collides with each other and cancel each other out. "I will be your opponent." A dark-skinned boy with a slightly bulbous nose and ck eyes challenged me. He had slightly long white hairs that cover his left eye. He has a ck tattoo on his left arm which reads as ''lightning'' in kanji. There is another tattoo on his right arm in kanji for ''water''. He carries a broad, foldable, cleaver-like-de on his back. ''ck lightning'' He makes some hand-signs as he releases ck lightning from his hands. The ck lightning crawls towards me at a rapid pace. ''Wind Style: Vacuum Serial waves'' Iunch manypressed des of wind at the approaching ck lightning. The des dissipate the ck lightning as they travel towards the enemy. Tch ''Water style: Water Formation Wall'' He spits out a stream of water at the ground which rises to form a water wall around him. The wind des collide with the water wall as they deal no major damage to the water wall. After the wall dissipates, the enemy boy jumps out from the water as he draws out his sword and charges towards me. "Looks like you are out of Chakra." I mock him as I throw a shuriken at him and make some rapid hand signs. ''Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu'' Many shurikens areunched towards the enemy boy as he starts to spin his de to block the shurikens. He closes the distance between us as he attacks me with his sword. ng I block his strike with my tanto as both of us engage in a sword fight. ngng We trade many blows as we continue to sh. I parry one of his attacks as I infuse some chakra in my left hand as smash my palm in his gut. He spews out a mouthful of blood as he flies some distance away and passes out. I approach him as I make some hand signs and taps on his be. ''Fuinjutsu: Chakra sealing seal'' I seal his chakra and throws him at one of Kumo jounin. The jounin catches the boy as he looks at me in vexation. I continue to attack other Kumo ninjas as I train my genjutsu, taijutsu and kenjutsu skills. ''I hope you won''t interfere in my fights again, Darui. I spared you once for the sake of future problems, but I won''t do it again if you continue to pester me.'' That boy was Darui. I immediately recognized him by his appearance and jutsus. I summon a Chakra de from one of my storage bracers as I infuse it with Light Chakra. ''Light Style: Light Sabre'' The de starts to hum as it vibrates and release intense heat. ''Time to polish my light jutsu.'' ''Light Style: Camouge Cloak'' I cloak my body in light chakra as I turn invisible. The massacre starts again as I ughter one ninja after another. Kumo ninjas start to panic as they couldn''t find their assant. Many sensor ninjas start to focus their senses as they try to locate me. They can sense my presence but are unable to see my figure. "The enemy is invisible, we can''t fight him directly." Many Kumo shinobis join hands as they perform a co-operation jutsu. ''Storm Release: Thunder Cloud Inner Wave'' A thick ring of thunderclouds and electricity starts to gather around me as powerful bolts of lightning strikes at me. My Chakra de acts as a lightning rod as it draws electricity towards me. ''Fuck! What kind of shit is this?'' I curse them as I stow back my Chakra de. My escape route is blocked as the lightning clouds act as an electrified perimeter, creating an offensive as well as the defensive ward. I need to escape from this, I have yed enough. It''s time to stop and get serious. I start to infuse arge amount of Chakra in my hands as I start to rapidly make some hand signs, ''Typhoon Release: Gust of Despair'' The air around Izuna starts to cool and heat rapidly as it blows in a circr motion, stirring the wind movement and forming strong winds which start to condense in a typhoon. The typhoon starts to suck the nearby thunderclouds as it dissipates them. I stood within the eye of the typhoon as I direct it at Kumo ninjas. The Kumo ninjas get blown away by the typhoon as I free myself from their containment. ''So, this is the power of Typhoon release.'' I wonder at the power of my newly acquired Kekkai Genkai. Yes, in this war till now I have acquired three Kekkai Genkais. I acquired ''Typhoon Release from an opponent earlier and Storm Release and ck Lightning from Darui. ''Typhoon release is abination of Wind Release and Yang Release. Storm release is abination of Lightning Release and Water Release whereas ck Lightning is abination of Lightning Release and Yang Release.'' The sin seal activates from my previous jutsu as it starts to suck me dry. I hid behind a rock as I cloak myself in ''Camouge Cloak'' again. I start to recuperate my Chakra as I watch the situation on the battlefield. Boom Arge explosion urs at a ce as my attention is withdrawn by it. The dust and debris clear to show two powerful shinobis confronting each other. Nearby Konoha ninjas start to cheer as they shout, "Go, goWhite Fang. You can do it. Pierce the strongest shield." The Kumo ninjas also cheer in enthusiasm as they shout, "You can beat him Raikage-sama. We have your back. Go and trim his fangs." So, it finally started, the most awaited battle between twomanders of the army. The battle between two powerful Shinobis at the peak of their power. I rub my hands in excitement as I look at them in anticipation because this is a fight that was never mentioned in anime as it never happened. ---------- This is my answer to the nerf hype. Fck Nerf. Time to learn many Kekkai Genkais. Chapter 47: White Fang Vs Third Raikage Part-1 Chapter 47: White Fang Vs Third Raikage Part-1 There is immense tension in the atmosphere. A gust of wind blew as hairs of Sakumo Hatake and A flutter. Both of them stares at each other as the ultimate confrontation between them is about to start. Both sides have already fought for two days and have suffered a serious loss of manpower and resources. The time to end this fight hase as a face-off between the Commanders of both sides will start. If any of the sides are able to gain the absolute advantage over the other or receive reinforcement, then the scales will turn in their favor. Both Sakumo and A immediately makes hand signs as they face against each other. ''Wind Style: Vacuum Serial waves'' ''Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon Jutsu'' Boom Both jutsus collide and cancels each other. ''Lightning Release Chakra Mode'' The Third Raikage wraps his body in ayer of lightning Chakra. His hairs stick up as lightning crackles from his body. His muscles expand as the lightning stimtes his nervous system, thus increasing his speed and reflexes. ''Lightning Release: Body Flicker'' Zoomwhizz ''Fast, so fast.'' I am amazed by his speed as my Sharingan can barely track Third Raikage''s movements. The third Raikage creates a gust of strong wind as he mows through many Konoha Ninjas, sending them to the afterlife. ''Wind Style: Pressure point Bullet'' Sakumo inhales arge amount of air as hepresses it into a bullet and fires it toward the Third Raikage. The density of the Chakra in the bullet is visible to the naked eye as thepressed air travels at supersonic speed, creating ripples around it. Bam The bullets m into Raikage, halting his charge. Some smoke rises from Raikage''s body. The smoke clears out to show the perfectly fine body of Raikage. There is no damage to his body, not even a single scratch. The Raikage cracks his neck as he makes some hand signs as ck lightning crackles in his hand. ''ck Lightning: ck Panther'' The ck lightning in his hands condenses into a panther. The panther growls as it charges towards Sakumo. Growrrr Sakumo had a serious expression as he makes various hand signs, ''Wind style: Vacuum Great Sphere'' The giant wind sphere entangles the ck lightning panther as the panther struggles to free itself from the sphere. The sphere and the panther dissipate altogether. Sakumo pants lightly as he used lots of chakras in his previous jutsu. He takes a deep breath as he gets ready for the next move of the Raikage. The Third Raikage, on the other hand, doesn''t even break as much as a single drop of sweat as he easily ys enemies left and right. It bes clear to Shinobis that the third Raikage is stronger than the White Fang. Sakumo draws out his White Chakra de a infuses chakra in it. ''Kenjutsu style: Executioner''s sh'' Arge white de made of Chakra attacks the Kumo ninjas as it continues to travel towards the Third Raikage. The Third Raikage tanks the hit with his body as smoke rises from his body. There is no injury on his body but the impact of the de pushes him back. The Third Raikage riles up his Chakra as his lightning cloak thickens. His muscles and veins pop out as he charges toward Sakumo, ''Lightning Style: Lightning Straight'' He runs towards Sakumo and punches at him with his maximum speed. Sakumo infusesrge amounts of Chakra in his white chakra de as the de turns white and starts to hum. A very thick but fine line of wind chakra coating appears on Sakumo''s de as it collides with Raikage''s punch. Sakumo is able to parry the punch as he directs it sideways, thus avoiding the lethal blow. Raikage''s punch ms in the nearby ground. An intense Shockwave travels through the ground, arge crater is formed at the ce of impact. Sakumo jumps in the air to avoid the shockwave as he immediately makes some hand signs, ''Wind Style: Compression Bomb'' He fires apressed air bomb towards Raikage. The momentum of the jutsu pushes back Sakumo even further as he summersaults andnds on the ground. Raikage just brushes off the jutsu as he makes some hand signs, ''Earth Style: Rock Spikes'' Many rock pikes fire off in Sakumo''s direction who flickers and dodges them. Raikage raises his right hand near his chest as he concentrates an enormous amount of lightning chakra into the finger-tips of his hand. "That''s the ultimate technique of Raikage-sama. The ultimate spear, Hell stab. Only a few people are aware of the fact that Raikage-sama not only possesses the ''Strongest Shield'' but also the ''Strongest Spear''." "So, Raikage-sama finally decided to use this technique to finish the fight." "Raikage-Sama''s spear is even stronger than his shield. You can see that scar on his chest. It is the result of his fight against Eight-Tails where he fell upon his own hand and stabbed himself in the chest." "Yes, this proves that Raikage-Sama''s spear is even stronger than his shield. I wonder how White Fang will deal with this move of Raikage-sama." "White-Fang will fall today. No ninja is alive to tell the tale of sharpness of Raikage-Sama''s spear." The morale of Kumo shinobis rose as they saw Raikage preparing his ultimate techniques whereas the morale of Konoha''s shinobis takes a hit as they murmur among themselves. "Will Sakumo-san will be fine against the ultimate technique of Raikage." "I hope he will be." Izuna has a frown on his face as he sees Raikage''s hand. ''Shall I use my Mangekyo Sharingan to attack him? But I don''t have any powerful jutsu capable of harming him? This guy even tanked the Sage mode Rasenshuriken of Naruto and even a tailed-best bomb from Eight-tails. Naruto has to trick him in stabbing himself. I can''t take that risk and get close to him.'' -------------------- Meanwhile at Iwa Battlefront, Minato sessfully destroyed the Kannabi Bridge thus preventing the invasion of the Iwagakure. Kakashi and Rin stand beside him as he sighs in grief. Kakashi and Rin have tears in their eyes as their teammate Obito died in a confrontation with Iwa ninjas. Kakashi has a fresh vertical scar across his left eye and his left eye is reced by a Two-tomoe Sharingan. This Sharingan is a parting gift from histe teammate Obito. Minato tries to convince Rin and Kakashi as he speaks, "We must honor Obito''sst wish and prevent Iwa ninja from invading Land of Fire. Obito was a brave ninja who sacrificed himself for the sake of his friends. I am sure he wants both of you to fulfill his dream." As Minato is conversing with his team, a Special Jounin runs in his direction as he shouts, "Minato-san, Minato-sanWe have an emergency Minato-san. Near a thousand Iwa shinobis are marching towards the border at 2 o''clock. We need to stop them, Minato-san." The special jounins breathes heavily as he rys the news to Minato and asks for his help. "I will be right there. You just carry my Kunai to the battlefront. I will teleport there, after I have finished my matters here." Minato gives one of his signature tri-fork Kunai to the Special Jounin. After receiving the Kunai, the shinobi dash back to borders. "Kakashi and Rin, we are in the middle of a war. For now, hold your grief for a while and focus on the battle. I am sure Obito doesn''t want both of you to follow in his footsteps and meet him in the afterlife. Kakashi, I have a mission for you. Head to the Kikoyo pass and assist the squad deployed there in the battle against enemies. The identities of the enemy Ninjas are unknown to us. Be careful on your way. Rin assist Medical-nins in the camp to nurse wounded shinobis." "Yes, sensei!" Both Rin and Kakashi wipe their tears as they follow Minato''s orders. Minato stares at their back as he mutters, ''I hope you are doing fine, Izuna. I don''t want another of my students to lose their lives in this battle. I don''t know how I will answer to Kushina after this battle. She would be sad to hear about the death of Obito.'' Minato sighs again as he disappears from his spot only to appear on front lines against Iwa. Around, a thousand Iwa shinobis are lined up as they push back the Konoha''s shinobis. The Konoha shinobis are in a defensive position as they are somehow holding against the continuous assault of the Iwa Ninja. But their defense seems to be crumbling as Iwa ninjas are growing more and more frantic. "Minato-san! You are finally here. We need your help in dealing with the Iwa ninjas. At this rate, our defenses will be breached shortly." The Captain of the division fills up Minato on the situation of the battlefront. "Don''t worry, I have arrived just on time. I will deal with them." Minato takes out a storage scroll from his pocket and infuses Chakra in the scroll. --------- It was a hectic day. I am exhausted, my house is under renovation and I have to shift ces. Chapter 48: White Fang Vs Third Raikage Part-2 Chapter 48: White Fang Vs Third Raikage Part-2 In the Kumo Battlefront, The Third Raikage stretches out his right hand as he aims it in Sakumo''s direction. The lightning Chakra in his hand concentrates at his fingertip as it takes the shape of a sharp spear. ''Lightning Release: Body Flicker'' The Raikage disappears from his spot as he charges towards Sakumo. Sakumo has a pensive expression as he immediately makes many hand signs and ms his hand on the ground, ''Earth Style: Multiple Mud Walls'' ''Earth Style: Abyssal Swamp'' Sakumo turns the ground beneath him in a swamp to kill the momentum of Third Raikage. The Third Raikage dashes through the swamp as his speed is reduced a bit, but he still has his momentum. ''Hell Stab: Four Finger Nukite'' He continues to run across the swamp as his fingers stab and break one wall after the other. His momentum is finally prevented after breaking all the walls. The Third Raikage elerates again as he curls his little finger and stabs towards Sakumo. ''Hell Stab: Three Finger Nukite'' The Lightning Chakra is now concentered on three of his fingers and the sharpness and piercing power of the stab is raised by a notch. A swings his hand as he creates a powerful shock-wave which sends the nearby Shinobi flying. Sakumo immediately starts to make hand signs as he ms his hand on the ground. ''Summoning Jutsu'' A summoning seal appears on the ground and with a puff of smoke, a giant bulldog with arge bone in its mouth appears on the battlefield. "You always summons me in a pinch Sakumo." the dog growls. "Quick, form a shield with the bone, we don''t have enough time to chit-chat." Sakumo reminds the bulldog. The bulldog snorts at Sakumo as he throws the bone from his mouth on the ground. Thud The bonends on the ground as it expands to form a wall. Boom The third Raikage stabs his fingers in the bone as the bone starts to tremble, but it held on. The recoil from the bone pushes the Raikage back as he summersaults to shrug it off. The third Raikage starts to concentrate Chakra in his fingers as he curls three of his fingers as he points his Index finger towards Sakumo and bends his body back to rile up his Chakra clock. He prepares to charge again. "We need to stop him Butch or it won''t fare well for us." The bulldog opens itsrge mouth as he starts to inhale arge amount of air. Sakumo also starts to make hand signs, ''Fire Release: Dragon me Jutsu'' ''Wind Release: Vacuum st Barrage'' ''Co-operation Jutsu: Fire Dragon God me'' The intensity of the heat rose on the battlefield as heat rises to an unbelievable level. Nearby ninjas start to sweat profusely from the heat as their sweat evaporated instantly. The third Raikage charges at Sakumo as he ignored the intense heat from the jutsu. ''Lightning Release: Lightning Straight'' The skin of the Third Raikage turns brown from the heat as his hairs start to burn. Despite the intense heat, Raikage continues to close the gap between them. ''Hell Stab: One Finger Nukite'' The concentration of Chakra on his finger is so great that it extends well beyond the finger in a lone point. Crack His finger finally stabs in the bone as cracks start to appear on the bone. The bone is barely able to hold against the stab, but a spider-like crack appears on its frame. "What a monster! The thigh bone of the sage ancestor." The giant bulldog cries in surprise at the crack. The third Raikage is jerked back by the recoil as he pants heavily while lying on the ground. Sakumo is also thrown back by the momentum of the attack. Except for a few burns here and there, no scratch or wound is present on his body. Sakumo also starts to pant as he too has exhausted all of his Chakra in the previous exchange. The third Raikage starts to stand up as he cloaks his body in Lightning Chakra Cloak. The Third Raikage has recovered from thest attack and he still has enough chakra to spare. ''Lightning Release Chakra Mode'' He flickers in front of Sakumo as he attacks him, ''Lightning Release: Lariat'' "You were a worthy opponent White Fang. You pushed me to my limits. But for the future of my vige, I have to cull you here." ''Big Ball Rasengan'' Boom -------------------------- At the Iwa battlefront, Boom Arge boulder smash in the ground. Rocks and dust are flung away as Konoha''s shinobi takes cover in a ditch. Minato looks at the situation as he infuses Chakra into the Chakra scroll. Various tri-fork Kunais appears on the ground. "Everyone, please pick a Kunai from the ground," Minato orders them. "Just a little more now and we can end this." One of the jounins cheers his teammates. "Let''s do this in one sweep." Another jounin shout. "Everyone, please throw these kunais at the enemy''s side concurrently. Afterward, I will take care of the rest by myself." Minato reminds the remaining ninjas as he turns to face the army of Iwa ninjas. One of the jounin gulps as he asks in trepidation, "Will it work? If it won''t work, then we are a goner." The jouninmander of the team interrupts him as he speaks, "We will be able to see Konoha''s Yellow sh in action now. Don''t blink, even for a second." "Yes, sir." All of them shouts in unison. Minato crosses his index fingers together as he shouts at his team, "Throw, the kunai''s now." All the Konoha''s shinobis throw the kunais towards the Iwa ninjas as Minato murmurs, "Spiralling sh Super Round Dance Howl Style Three" Various shadow clone of Minato appears and disappears instantly as a yellow lightning sh is produced from the jutsu. ngngng Various metals sound echoed in the surroundings as various bolts of yellow lightning shes one after another. One of the Konoha ninjas gulps his saliva as heins, "I can''t see a thing except for the yellow shes of lightning. What''s going on?" The Jounin Commander nods his head as he exins, "Me neither. This is the reason why Minato is called the Yellow sh. While using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu created by the Second Hokage-sama, Minato''s speed is so fast that he only appears as a yellow sh in enemies'' eyes." "So, this is the power of Yellow sh. Fearsome, truly fearsome." Another jounin praises Minato. "Looks like the real action has just started now." The jouninmander looks at the battlefield as he exims. Multiple Rasengan appears on the battlefield as Shadow clones start to bombards the enemy ninjas. BoomBoomBoom Dust and debris rise in the air as one explosion after another explosion after another urs on the field. After five minutes of continuous bombarding, silence returns to the surroundings. Minato walks out of the dust while breathing heavily. He is drenched in sweat as he takes support against a boulder. "Huffhuffthis technique is too much Chakra Taxing. I have to think of ways to improve the Chakra usage in this technique." "I have dealt with the situation here. Go and support the second division, they seem to be in a pinch. It will take me some time to recover my Chakra. I will join you guys shortly." Minato orders them as he slowly recovers his Chakra. Minato rests against the boulder as he starts to contemte on the battle. In the past two days, the tides of battle have turned in Konoha''s favor. His team has sessfully destroyed the Kannabi bridge, thus foiling the invasion n of Iwagakure. Fugaku-san with his n members has sessfully annihted one of the divisions of the enemy all by themselves. The Uchiha n is feared in the entire Shinobi world for its highbat prowess. And today, he sessfully repelled the attack of a thousand Shinobis. Now, they have to await the situation to turn around on the Kumo battlefront. ---------------------- In the Land of Stone, beside a rocky mountain range, In one of the tallest structure with a cone-shaped roof and a giant symbol in kanji for ''earth'', A short, old man with a triangr beard and mustache with angr corners sat on Tsuchikage''s seat. The man had a big red nose and thick eyebrows with a bald head. He wore a green and yellow coat with a red cor. The Tsuchikage ms his hand on the armrest of the seat after reading thetest intel from the field. He yells loudly as he curses, "Damn! Konoha. Looks like I have to personally participate in the war. My Iwa has suffered major losses in this war. This won''t do, I have to get back at Konoha for this. Prepare for my departure, I will annihte those Konoha bastards." "Tsuchikage-sama, the elder council demands a meeting with you. They want an answer from you regarding the loss of manpower on the battlefield." One of his assistants hurriedly reports to him. The Tsuchikage starts to float in the air as he flies in the direction of the battlefield. "Tell to those senile geezers, I will personally handle the situation." ---------------------- A/N:- Expect a few things to change here and there. Also, it would be appreciated if someone can tell about the identity of 10,000 ninjas who killed the Third Raikage (with reliable source). There are conflicting opinion on this matter even on reddit. Some people ims it to be Iwa whereas some Konoha. Chapter 49: Professor Vs Fence-Sitter Part-1 Chapter 49: Professor Vs Fence-Sitter Part-1 "Hokage-samaHokage-sama. It is an emergency Hokage-sama." One of the jounin from the logistics department quickly enters the Hokage Office as he frantically speaks to Hiruzen. "Calm down and slowly report me thetest intel." Hiruzen tries to calm the shinobi. "There is an emergency Hokage-sama. Our sensor unit has detected the Chakra of Third Tsuchikage quickly approaching in the proximity of the battlefield." The jounin reports to Hiruzen. "Looks like that Fence-sitter Onoki has finally decided to make a move. The pressure created by Minato must have forced his hand. I need to move to the battlefield to intercept him. If he goes on a rampage with his ''Dust Release'', I am afraid we will suffer many casualties. Inform the logistics department about my absence and allow Shikaku to handle themand of our forces." Hiruzen jumps out of the window and disappears from Jounin''s vision. ------------ At the Iwa Battlefront, A short old man floats in the air as he looks at the battlefield with many Konoha shinobi fighting against Iwa shinobis. He pped his hands as he infused arge amount of Chakra in between his palms. A small transparent cube made of Chakra appears in between his palm. He aims the cube at Konoha''s forces and releases it towards them. ''Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique'' The cube engulfs the entire Konoha''s force as many ninjas start to dissipate. Boom The cubes explode within, containing the explosion of the st within the confines of the cube. After the jutsu ends arge cuboidal crater forms on the ground. There are no remains of the Konoha ninjas as they are pulverized into minute particles of dust. "It''s the Tsuchikage-sama. He has finally arrived on the battlefield." "We can reverse the situation around now. With Tsuchikage sama leading the fight, we can easily obliterate the Konoha forces and secure victory in the war." "Yes, Tsuchikage-sama is the strongest Kage among all of current Kage. With his Dust Release, he can easily pulverize any enemy to dust." Fervent discussions rose among Iwa ninjas as they excitedly cheer for Tsuchikage. Their previous bottom-rock morale gained arge boost. Onoki leads Iwa Ninja forward as they continue to ughter Konoha Ninjas. "This situation is looking pretty bad. At this rate, we will lose most of our people. Contact the headquarters, I want to know the status of our backup." Themander of the division ordered the logistics unit. "We have received thetest Intel from headquarters just now. Shikaku Nara is the new actingmander of the entire Shinobi Force of Konoha. Hokage-sama is on his way to the battlefield. He will intercept the Tsuchikage soon." One of the Yamanaka n members informed him. "Themander of the division heaved a sigh in relief as he mutters, "I hope Hokage-sama will make it on time, otherwise we will lose a lot of people." "Giichi Sama, it is an emergency Giichi-sama. The Iwa forces are almost near our camp. The Tsuchikage is leading them and he is about to unleash Dust Release on us." One of the jounin frantically informed him. Giichi rushed out of the camp and reaches the frontlines. A short bald old man is floating in the air. The old man cups his hands as he starts to mold Chakra between his palms. A cone-shaped transparent white Chakra construct appears in his hand as he directs it towards the Konoha''s Camp. The Chakra construct starts to expand with a small white sphere in between it. As he is about to fire it at Konoha''s camp, arge shurikenes spinning his way. ''Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu'' Various clones of the ''Fuma Shuriken'' areunched in Onoki''s direction. Onoki stops his channeling as he floats sideways to avoid the Shurikens. Dust Release is a very powerful Ninjutsu but it has only one weakness. The technique takes too much time to channel and release. But once the technique is fired, it will obliterate everything in its way. The best way to fight against Dust Release is to use another Dust Release Technique. Else you can only interrupt the casting of the Jutsu as it requires a certain amount of Preparation time. Onoki floats above the Shurikens as he looks at the neer. "So, you decided to join the battle too, Hiruzen. You want to stop me! Then let''s see the strength of the shinobi hailed as ''God of Shinobi''." "I can''t allow you to rampage freely on the battlefield now, Can I?" Hiruzen answer to Onoki as he stood in between Onoki and Konoha''s camp. "Very well, then let''s fight." ''Earth Style: Earth Golem Jutsu'' Onoki spews out arge number of rocks from his mouth. The rocks start to condense together to form arge, humanoid creature. Onoki jumps on top of the Golem as he ps his hands together. Hiruzen bits his thumb as he makes some hand signs and ms his hand on the ground. ''Summoning Jutsu: Monkey King Enma'' A tall monkey with white fur appears on the battlefield. The monkey has white hair and goatee. He wore a ck-suit with mesh armor underneath it. "So, your time to battle hase. Let''s do it." "Enma, handle that golem, while I fight with Onoki." Hiruzen makes some hand signs and ms his hands on the ground, ''Earth Style: Mud Flow River'' Arge muddy river appears beneath the golem as it starts to sweep the golem away. Enma jumps towards the golem and punches the golem. ''Earth Style: Moving Earth Core'' Onoki moves arge chunk of earth from the ground which rises to form arge pedestal. This disrupts the flow of the muddy river. Hiruzen makes some hand signs, ''Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet'' A giant dragon of mud rises from the muddy river and starts to fire mud bullets at the golem. ''Fire Release: Fire Dragon me Bullet'' Hiruzen coats the mud bullets in the fire to increase their damage. The mud golem is pushed back and various holes appear on its surface. The dragon continues to fire bullets at the golem, ''Earth Style: Rumbling Mount Fuji'' A massive boulder drops from the sky as it crushes the mud dragon and starts to violently shake the ground. The mud river is filled up with rocks as the boulder continues to crumble. Themotion draws the attention of nearby shinobi as they look at this with gaping eyes. Before the dust and debris could settle, Onoki ps his hands together and forms a white transparent Chakra Cube with a sphere in its center. He immediately fires the construct in the direction of the boulder as the cube engulfs everything and pulverize them to dust. "What a powerful Technique? Our Tsuchikage-sama is the most powerful Ninja." One of the Iwa ninja cheers. "I hope Hokage-sama is fine. That was a very powerful Jutsu." Konoha ninjas mutter in worry. ''Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique'' Large arms made of earth erupt from the ground as they grab golems legs and drag into the earth. The golems struggle to remain on the ground, but the arms eventually pull it into the ground. ''Water Release: Drowning Murder'' Large amounts of water engulf the golem, the golem starts to turn into the mud, it eventually turns into y and dissipates. Onoki jumps from golem as he floats in the air and starts to search for Hiruzen. Hiruzen pops out from earth at a different ce and faces against Onoki. Onoki immediately makes some hand signs, ''Lava Release: Ash stone seal Technique'' Onoki spews out a thick cloud of ash from his mouth which wraps around Hiruzen sealing him in the ce. ''Lava Release: Quicklime congealing Technique'' Onoki spews out arge amount of quicklime from his mouth. Quicklime travels towards Hiruzen as it starts to surround him and fuse with the ash stone to further harden the rock and trap Hiruzen firmly in the seal. Onoki ps his hands together as he starts to construct a Chakra Cube in his hands and aim it towards Hiruzen. ''Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique'' The Chakra cube starts to expand as it is fired in Hiruzen''s direction. "Goodbye, God of Shinobi. Your days ends here. My Iwa will forever rule the shinobi world." "Enma" Hiruzen yells loudly. The monkey summon of Hiruzen turns into a long ck rod with golden rims at the edges as it starts to spin andunch in Hiruzen''s direction. The rod form of Monkey King Enma crashes into the ground as dust and debris rise. Shortly, the dust release jutsu arrives at the ce as it explodes and starts to pulverize everything into dust. The explosionsts for a while as arge Cube shape crater appears on the ground at the previous position of Hiruzen. No trace of Hiruzen is found anywhere. Onoki looks at the crater and smirks. "My Iwa has finally achieved victory in this war. Now, it is time to invade the Land of Fire." Chapter 50: Professor Vs Fence-Sitter Part-2 Chapter 50: Professor Vs Fence-Sitter Part-2 Arge adamantine staff extends from the clouds of dust and debris and stabs Onoki in the gut. Onoki is thrown back by the force of the staff and smash into a nearby hill. ''Transformation: Adamantine Staff'' "Hiruzen don''t ask me to do that again. I almost vaporized from that jutsu." Enma rebukes as he recalls the previous encounter. He almost lost his life. ----shback----- Hiruzen who was sealed in the Ash stone jutsu shouts to Enma. Enma uses the ''Transformation: Adamantine Staff'' to turn into a long adamantine staff and smash open the seal. Hiruzen immediately used the ''Earth Style: Underground Voyage'' to quickly travel beneath the ground and travel out of the reach of the Dust Release Jutsu. -------- Hiruzen and Enma heave a sigh of relief as they recall the previous encounter. Onoki is pinned on the hill as he pukes out a mouthful of blood. Onoki grits his teeth and digs his fingers in the hill. ''Earth Release: Ultralight weight Rock Technique'' He starts to uproot the hill and aims it towards Hiruzen and throws the hills. ''Earth Release: Ultra-Added Weight Rock Technique'' The jaws of every ninja drop at this scene as the hillunch off to Hiruzen. Hiruzen makes a hand sign as he mutters, ''Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu'' Four clones of Hiruzen appear on the battlefield. All clones simultaneously start to make hand signs, ''Five Release Great Combo Technique'' The clones together with Hiruzen fire five different elemental based attacks on the boulder. The powerful impact from five elemental attacks immediately annihtes the boulder. The Shadow clones turn intorge ''Fuma Shurikens'' as they spin andunch off in Onoki''s direction. Hiruzen makes some more hand signs, ''Shuriken Shadow clone technique'' The four shuriken turns into multiple shurikens as they st towards Onoki. Onoki makes some hand signs as he ms his hand on the ground, ''Earth Release: Rock Wall'' A giant rock wall blocks all of the shurikens as the wall crumbles from the impact. Onoki suddenly appears above Hiruzen as he coats his hand with rocks, ''Earth Release: Fist Rock Technique'' ''Earth Release: Added Weight-Rock Technique'' He smashes his fist which is covered in rocks towards Hiruzen. "Enma" The Adamantine Staff returns to Hiruzen as he blocks the attack from Onoki. Onoki increases the weight as he shouts ''Earth Release: Ultra-Added Weight Rock Technique'' The force from the attack pushes Hiruzen back as his legs bend. But Hiruzen is able to hold himself up against the relentless strike of Onoki. CrackCrack Cracks start to appear on the rocks coated on Onoki''s fist as the rocks start to crumble. Hiruzen makes use of this opportunity and swings a kick towards Onoki. Onoki raises his left hand and coats it in rocks to block the kick but the impulse from the kick sends him flying away. Onoki summersaults in the air for a while, he gains a stable bnce after a while as he floats in the air. "Your title as the ''God of Shinobi'' is true to your power. But I can''t turn back now, there is too much on stake." Onoki sps his hands together as he forms a Chakra Cube with a white sphere in his hands. Before Hiruzen could interrupt the jutsu, two rock clones of Onoki attacks him with a rock fist technique. Hiruzen swings the Adamantine Staff and breaks them in half. Meanwhile, Onokipletes the Jutsu as he fires off two different smaller cubes from his hands. The Cubes surround Hiruzen as they began to enclose him from both sides. Hiruzen starts to make multiple hands signs his two shadow clones join him ''Sealing Technique: Three directions seal'' Arge triangle seal appears on the ground which surrounds Hiruzen to from arge triangr barrier. The dust release jutsu collides with the barrier as the barrier starts to absorb the jutsu. Dust release, in turn, starts to dissipate the barrier. Arge dust cloud rises in the air from the collision of two jutsus as arge gust of wind blow. After the dust settles, the barrier around Hiruzen is barely present. However, the barrier is able to prevent the dust release from harming Hiruzen. Hiruzen heaves a sigh of breath and dissipates the barrier. "Give up, Tsuchikage. There is no further point in our fight. We will only further exhaust each other''s strength and allow someone else to strike us down." Hiruzen remarks as he looks at an exhausted Onoki. "Humph" Onoki snorts and flies in the direction of Iwagakure. Hiruzen also starts to return to Konoha as he takes ast nce at the battlefield. "If this continues, Konoha won''t be able to hold its own anymore. I have to write a letter to the Kazekage for assistance. I am sure the newly appointed fourth Kazekage will favor peace over war. Also, I have to talk with council members to sign a peace treaty with Iwagakure. Sigh, so much work to do. I just want to retire and rx in my old age." Hiruzen runs in Konoha''s direction as he contemtes over his ns. ---------------- At the Kumo Battlefront, ''Big Ball Rasengan'' Arge Rasengan ms into the gut of Third Raikage, third Raikage is sent flying by the impact as he crashes into a nearby boulder. He coughs a mouthful of blood as he looks at his assant. There is no external injury on his body, but the previous attacks did some internal damage to his organs. Third Raikage spots a kid with Sharingan staring at him. There is smoke rising from the kid''s palm as it is stretched outwards. "Who are you, kid?.... From those eyes you are a part of the Uchiha n. It isn''t wise for you to interfere in the battle between adults." Third Raikage slowly stands up as he ces one of his hands on his stomach. The third Raikage looks curiously at Izuna as he inspects him. ''Strange, I wasn''t able to see the kid arrive in front of White Fang. The kid just popped out of thin air. What kind of Technique this kid used?'' ---- shback, When Izuna saw Sakumo being tossed by Raikage. He immediately uses his ''Light Style: Camouge Cloak'' to hide his presence as he starts to make a big ball Rasengan. He slowly creeps up to Sakumo. When Raikage reaches near to finish him off, he uses this opportunity to smash the Rasengan in Raikage''s gut. The Raikage just spins and crashes into a boulder. There is no sign of any injury on his body. ''Damn! This monster. What is his hide made of? Not even a scratch from Big Ball Rasengan. That''s a big ball Rasengan for fuck sake!'' ---- "I am Izuna Uchiha. Uncle Sakumo is my benefactor and teacher. I won''t allow any harm toe upon him." Izuna takes out a kunai as he is ready to engage the Third Raikage. If the situation turns from bad to worse, then he can just use his Mangekyo Sharingan and release Limbo on Third Raikage together with the Sin seal. He still doesn''t know what are the risks involved with the ''Sin Seal''. But he is ready to take the risk. He has family and friends in this life and he wants to protect them. Izuna is ready to activate his Mangekyo Sharingan to fight Third Raikage. But the Third Raikage stands up and starts to walk away from them. He turns around and speaks to Izuna, "Kid, I can see the determination in your eyes. Standing against an opponent with no chance to win. You can either be a fool or a strong-willed person. I hope you aren''t the former one." Third Raikage retreats to his camp as he enters his tent. The medic starts to tend his charred skin as he applies an ointment on it. After the medic left his tent, Third Raikage unclenches his fist and puke out a mouthful of blood. ''I have underestimated the damage dealt by that kid''s jutsu. I have to take rest for a while. I never expected to see such a powerful jutsu being used by a kid. This reminds me of Darui. I have to check up on that kid too.'' The third Raikage wipes blood from his mouth and stands up and walks out of his tent to meet with Darui. Meanwhile, in Konoha''s camp, A medic is tending to Sakumo''s wounds as Sakumoys on a bed. There are some bandages wrapped around Sakumo''s body. Ignoring his injuries Sakumo stares in front of him. Izuna stands in front of Sakumo with a tense expression as Sakumo scolds him, "Kid, do you know who your opponent was? I am sure you knew about him when you confronted him. But let me reinstate your memory, he is dubbed as the ''Strongest Shield'' of the Shinobi World, The strongest Raikage of all times. What would have happened if he decides to attack you? Let me tell you, you would have been dead before you could blink. I am honestly surprised by your guts." "Thanks, Uncle Sakumo." Izuna smiles sheepishly as he looks at Sakumo. "That wasn''t apliment. But from now onwards, don''t repeat such an action. Also, I am the Commander of Division here, so call me as such. I don''t want anyone to think of it as favoritism. Now go back to your camp. You did well today." Izuna starts to walks towards the exit of the tent. He stops and turns towards Sakumo as he smiles at him and dashes out of the tent. "This kid!" Sakumo sighs as he rests on the bed. Chapter 51: Intercepting the Supplies Chapter 51: Intercepting the Supplies The war continues for the next few days. Sunagakure joined the war after the letter from Konohagakure. The war turns in Konoha''s favor as Iwagakure is pushed back even further. Konoha gains control over the majority of the Kusagakure. Only a final push is required to score the victory. However, things change with the interference of Kirigakure. Konoha is now nked from three sides and one of the divisions from the Iwagakure battlefront is sent to the Kirigakure battlefront to intercept them. Meanwhile, at Kumo Battlefront with bothmanders sent out of the equation, the situation calmed down a little. The fervor of both sides cooled down a little. I got the opportunity to battle again. With the use of Light Style Jutsu, I nearly be unstoppable. Apparently, Kumogakure prepared a separate Sensor Unit to track me and another Kekkai Genkai team to deal with them. But I am too slippery to be caught by them. This Cat and mouse came with a great harvest for me. I sessfully learned two more Kekkai Genkai Nature Transformations. I got to learn Shock release and Swift Release Kekkai Genkais. They are two of the rarest Nature Transformations. Shock Release is abination of Lightning Release and Earth Release. It is a very powerful nature transformation as the user can create Shockwaves and tremors through the earth. The user can create Earthquakes and avnches by utilizing more Lightning Chakra in the jutsu and electrocuting the ground and generate seismic waves. A very handy jutsu when fighting on the ground or against earth style users who like to hide underground. Swift Release is more practical and is essentially the Nature Transformation I needed the most. It is abination of Lightnings Release and Wind Release. By just coating my body in Swift Release Chakra, the speed of my body reaches beyond the speed any single element could produce on its own. My body and senses are still not used to this speed. The very first time I used this Nature Transformation, I was overwhelmed by the speed and crashed into a boulder. Sharingan proves to be a huge boon here. I can keep track of my surroundings with it, but my reflexes can''t keep up. I need to train my body a bit more. I believe I will easily be one of the fastest Ninja alive after I gained a hundred percent proficiency in the Swift Release. The third Ninja war isn''t a war of Ninja Tactics or strategies. It is a war of Kekkai Genkais. Most of the ninja involved in the war has at least one Kekkai Genkai. This provides them a massive advantage against non-kekkai Genkai users. It is part of the reason why many Kekkai Genkai ns and individuals were hunted by other Ninjas after the war ended in the original story. Kekkai Genkai users are feared by others and out of jealousy, theymitted arge scale genocide after the war. ''Time to test these new Kekkai Genkais I obtained from the Kumogakure Ninjas. The battlefield is still the best training ground for me. After the continuous killing spree in the previous few days, the meaning of life has twisted in my mind. I look at my blood-soaked hands and sigh as once these hands saved many lives in my previous world. I was a doctor there and now a killer here. What is the meaning of Life? What is the meaning of Death? Such questions start to pop out in my mind. I have lived once and even died once. Maybe after this war, I will able to figure out the true meaning of Life.'' I shake my hand to remove distracting thoughts as I focus on the enemy team. A squad of twenty Kumo ninjas is traveling through the forest as they carry supplies to the enemy camp. My task is to intercept them and steal their supplies, afterall both sidesck resources and any extra supply will greatly preserve the fighting prowess of our Vige. ''Sharingan'' I activate my Sharingan and draw out my Chakra de. ''Light Release: Light Sabre'' My Chakra de turns blue from the heat as it hums and produce high-intensity heat. I bend my body as I get ready to attack the Kumo group. ''Swift Release: God Speed'' Whizzswish I disappear from my ce as my body bes a blur and even my afterimages are blurred by my speed. This incredible speed paired with my perception turns me into an almost Invisible killer. There is only one downside of this jutsu, I can''t turn around at such speed. Though there is no tunnel vision for me, still I have to improve my technique to the next level. SwishSwish My Chakra de sliced one enemy after another. By the time any of them could respond, I have already sent half of them to the afterlife. My momentum died after a while as I appeared in front of them. "Swift Release, That''s a swift Release user. Who is this guy? We have no intel on him." One of the enemy ninjas cries in exasperation. "Wait, those eyes, Sharingan. He is an Uchiha n member of Konoha. But there is no record of any Uchiha with Swift Release." Another ninja shouts incredulously. "Wait, that''s not important now. For now, we have to stop him from stealing our supplies." Another ninja reminds them. While they were yelling their monologue. I have infused enough Chakra in my hands as I m them on the ground. ''Shock Release: Ground splitter'' I m my hand on the ground as the earth splits apart and engulf five more ninjas. The ground closely shortly leaving no sign of the buried ninja. Using the Kekkai Genkai nature transformation is much efficient than Base Elemental attacks. The Chakra taxation is a little high, but nothing major I can''t handle without triggering the sin seal. Only five ninjas remained on the enemy side. At this point, they are terrified of him. I spot a girl among them which seems familiar to me. ''The girl has dark-skin and green eyes. She has light grey hair tied into a bun with two bangs that fall on either side of her face. She wore the standard Kunoichi outfit of Kumogakure with ck sandals. One of the remaining Ninja shouts to the girl, "Mabui, use your technique to transfer the supply to the camp. We can''t allow it to fall in enemies'' hands." "Yes, leader. I won''t allow our enemies to benefit from our supplies." Mabui makes a Ram hand seal as a blinding light engulfs the supplies and the supplies turn into a bolt of lightning as it travels through the sky. ''Heavenly Transfer Technique'' "No, you don''t." Izuna shouts as he uses ''Swift Release'' to appear before them. Before he could strike them, the supplies vanish from the field as they shoot off towards Kumo camp. Mabui slumps on the ground as she ran out of Chakra. The Kumo ninja cheers in tion as they sessfully transferred the supplies. However, their tion soon turns in horror as they look at an angry Izuna. Izuna has an angry expression as he looks at Kumo ninjas. He has failed his mission as the Kumo ninjas were sessful in transporting the supplies. Izuna points his de at Kumo ninjas as his de coats in lightning Chakra. A high concentration of lightning Chakra gathers on the Chakra de as the sound of many chirping birds echoes in the air. ''I will be borrowing your technique for a while, Kakashi-senpai.'' ''Lightning Release: Chidori Lightning Cutter'' ''Gate of Opening open''Izuna even opens the first gate to increase his speed. He is pretty pissed on the failure of his mission and needs to vent his anger and frustration. These Kumo shinobis happen to be his enemies. Whizz Swoosh Izuna disappears in Kumo shinobi''s vision. He reappears before them for a brief second before he disappears again. One after another he kills the remaining four Kumo ninjas. His rage has calmed down a bit as he looks at Mabui who defenselesslyid on the ground. "I will spare your life for now. Don''t cross my path again in this war. Your Raikage spared my life once and I will return the favor. But if you thought of facing me again, then I won''t be merciful next time." Izuna leaves Mabui as he flickers back to Konoha''s camp. ----------- Inside the Kumo camp, One of the Jounin Commander shouts in anger as heins, "What happened to our supplies? Why are they sote? Mabui is supposed to arrive with them. She will use her transportation technique to send Raikage-sama back to Kumogakure to meet with elders" Before he could speak further, a bolt of lightning shots towards his camp as it smashes into his tent and destroys it. "Enemy attack! Prepare forbat." Nearby Kumo shinobi goes on alert as they warily look at theirmander''s camp. "Calm down, everyone! It is just our supplies." The jouninmander walks out from the camp as he held onto their supplies. "We have an emergency. Our Supply team is intercepted by enemies. Go and search for them." The jouninmander orders his subordinates as he looks towards the forest. "I hope you are fine, my daughter." Chapter 52: Peace Treaty Chapter 52: Peace Treaty In the meeting room in Konoha, Various elders and advisers fervently discuss together regarding the next move in battle. The involvement of Kirigakure has greatly pressured Konoha. Involvement of Sunagakure on behalf of Konoha has greatly alleviated pressure from Iwagakure side. So, the vige could deploy one of their units to Kirigakure battlefront. The discussionsts for a while as Hiruzen taps on the table to gather their attention. "I have decided to sign a peace treaty with Iwagakure." He announces to all the council members. "Hiruzen, you can''t decide on such an important decision on your own. We must fork out some benefits from Iwa in this war before we negotiate for peace. We have suffered way too much lost in this war to handle the peace so lightly." One of the Council members rebukes Hiruzen. "Hiruzen, if we co-operate with Sunagakure, then we can eliminate most of the power of Iwagakure and even gain control of Kusagakure. With so many resources, our Konoha will surely prosper in the future." Another Council member suggested. "Hiruzen, your foolish decision will end with Konoha''s loss for no reason. You are nave! Hiruzen. Did you really believe in the so-called peace treaty of yours? It is nothing but a pipe dream of yours. Only absolute strength can bring true peace. You are too soft, Hiruzen." Danzo rebukes Hiruzen as he disagrees with the notion of peace. Fervour discussions start once again as council members present their opinions to Hiruzen. Hiruzen ms his hand on the table to seek their attention as he yells, "Enough! I have already sent Ino-Shiko-Cho trio with my peace letter to Iwagakure battlefront. I am sure by now they would have delivered the letter. I won''t hear any further discussions about this matter anymore. If you don''t have any other issues then I dismiss this meeting." Hiruzen walks out of the meeting room despite the protest of Council members. --------------- At Iwa battlefront, Inoichi, Choza and Shikaku arrive at a small gulf between Land of Fire, Land of Stone, and Land of Wind. Shikaku takes out a scroll from his pocket and throws it towards the Jouninmander of Iwagakure. "ept this from the Hokage-sama! Deliver it to Tsuchikage-sama and ry to him, we desire an immediate response." The Jouninmander pockets the scroll as he smirks at the Trio and shouts, "We will give you your answer right here." It is a great opportunity for them to kill the famous trio of Konoha and secure an advantage against Konoha. All of the Iwa Shinobis raise their kunais as they prepare to attack the trio. "Sometimes it''s best not to be so hasty." A voice interrupts their attack as all of them turns towards the source of the voice. A man with auburn hairs and dark eyes stood on a dune near the Land of Wind border. He wore a simple ck jacket with mesh armour underneath. A small canister is strapped to his hip. He crossed his hands in front of his chest as he leads lots of Suna shinobis with him. The Iwa Jouninmander trembles in fear as he speaks, "The Fourth Kazekage?" "Why is the hidden sand here?" Another ninja questions as he looks at Kazekage in fear. "This is the hidden Sand Territory. It would be unwise to have an incident ur here. The Sand will move ordingly as the Sand. Remember that, whatever you decide to do." The Fourth Kazekage orders his man as all of them gets ready to intercept Iwagakure forces. "Scatter!" The Iwagakure Jouninmander orders his men as all of them flickers and retreats from the battlefront. "You have our thanks, Kazekage-sama." Shikaku thanks the Fourth Kazekage as he bows in gratitude to him. "That''s what we agreed upon. I, together with my forces will oversee the sessful fulfilment of the Peace treaty and if any incidents were to happen, I would take action in the circumstances." The Fourth Kazekage reassures Shikaku as he retreats with his forces. ---------- Inside the Iwagakure meeting room, Many council members of Iwa gathered around a round table as they discuss the prospect of entering in a peace treaty with Konoha, "What about the request to enter the peace treaty with Konoha?" One of the council members asks. "Naturally it will be turned down." Another council member strongly refutes the prospect. "Silence!" Third Tsuchikage Onoki bellows as he silences all of the Council members. "I am proud of the Unity of the stone. With the pride on our line, we sent a thousand of our shinobi to invade the Land of Fire. And I hear that it took just one of them, the Yellow sh, to stop the invasion. I engaged with their Hokage in a one-on-one duel and could only end with a tie in battle. With suchbat prowess in Konoha''s arsenal, our chances of a sessful invasion are almost negligible. And that''s the reality of it. Our best choice would be to ept the peace treaty and recuperate from our losses. This war has further pushed our Land of Stone into poverty. It will take long before Iwagakure would be able to return to its former glory." Onoki folds his arms as he agrees with the peace treaty. "Write a peace agreement now and deliver it to Konoha. Also, order all of our forces to retreat from the border. The war is over, at least for us." Onoki floats out of the meeting room as he ignores the ugly expression of council members. -------------- At Kirigakure Battlefront, Minato arrives with a squad to save Kakashi and Rin from Kirigakure ninjas. He arrives on the scene only to see a fainted Kakashi with the dead body of Rin. Minato closes his eyes in grief as a drop of tear drips from his eyes. He quickly hides his tears as he starts to scout the nearby area. After a while, Minato starts to check the body of Rin to find the cause of her death. He notices a gaping hole near Rin''s heart and traces of Lightning Chakra. The hand of Kakashi is covered in lots of blood and it didn''t take too long for Minato to conclude the cause of Rin''s death. He starts to inspect Rin''s body and notices a sealing form on her body. Faint traces of Tailed beast Chakra emits from Rin''s body as they dissipate into the surroundings. Minato clenches his fist as he figures out the n of Kirigakure from his observation. Kirigakure kidnapped Rin and sealed the Three-Tails inside her. They nned to unleash the Three-Tails on Konoha through Rin. To save her vige, Rin jumped in front of Kakashi''s lightning cutter and died by his hands rather than betraying the vige. He looks around at the corpses of many Kirigakure. After looking for a while, he still cannot figure out the reason for their deaths. Minato lifts Kakashi and carries him on his shoulders as he moves towards the camp. The invasion n of Kirigakure has failed and all of their forces start to retreat to their Vige. Minato wraps up everything and prepares to depart back to the vige and report to Hokage about the incidents regarding three tails. This incident is too big of an issue to be ignored. The involvement of Three-Tails in the fray adds way too manyplications to the matter. Heys Kakashi inside the camp as he teleports to Konoha. Outside the camp, various rumours regarding Kakashi spreads. Many shinobi calls Kakashi as the ''Friend-killer Kakashi'' who killed his teammate for the sake of a mission. The rumours eventually reach the ears of other units as it bes a nick-name for Kakashi. -------- At Kumo Battlefront, Izuna has be a God of Death as he continues to ughter various Kumo shinobis relentlessly. The Kumo ninjas have given him the nickname of ''Silent Shinigami'', as Izuna silently appears on the battlefield without alerting any Ninja and reaps the lives of his enemies. Another Uchiha n has be famous on the Battlefield together with the ''Unseen Shinigami''. He is dubbed as ''The Teleporter'' by the Kumo ninjas. His speed and proficiency with the ''Body Flicker Technique'' is to such an extent that he appears teleporting on the battlefield rather than flickering. This duo has wreaked havoc among Kumo forces. Third Raikage and White Fang has returned to the front lines, and they have shed many times during this period. None of the forces can get an advantage over the other. Kumo has the advantage of the quality of the ninjas with lots of Kekkai Genkai users. Konoha has the advantage in numbers and their almost wless tactics, which turn the situation around during dire straits. Kumo had a headache dealing with this situation. They aimed to fish in the troubled water but somehow they have turned into the bait for the very same fish they are supposed to catch. Chapter 53: End of the Third Shinobi War Chapter 53: End of the Third Shinobi War Inside a private room beside Hokage''s office, Hiruzen sits with his former team members, Danzo, Homura, and Koharu. A scroll lies on a table in front of them as Hiruzen opens the scroll and read its contents aloud. "Iwagakure has agreed to our request of the Peace treaty. The war has officially ended on the Iwagakure battlefront." "Well done!" Homura praises Hiruzen. "We can breathe a sigh of relief for a while." Koharu also agrees with the prospect. Danzo interrupts the conversation as he addresses them, "Are you satisfied with an agreement like this? We have lost most of our forces in the war to achieve nothing." "Continuing the war any further would be disastrous for the already exhausted Hidden Leaf. It''s a step towards findingmon ground. Also, we have yet to deal with Kumogakure and this ceasefire by Iwagakure will spare our forces to engage against Hidden Cloud." Hiruzen presents his opinion as he debates with Danzo. Danzo ms his hand on the table as he questions Hiruzen, "How will you take responsibility for this? Your ipetency made Konoha suffer from heavy losses. You need to give a suitable answer to the masses." "I intend to step down as the Third Hokage and have the Fourth Hokage installed," Hiruzen answers to Danzo''s question as he looks out of the window at the sculpted faces of Hashirama and Tobirama. ''Sensei, it''s time for me to pass the Will of Fire to the next generation. I hope Konoha will continue to prosper under the rule of the next Hokage. It''s time for me to retire.'' Hiruzen sighs as he walks out of the guest room. He enters the Hokage''s office as he signals one of the Anbu, "Pass this message to Shikaku, ''Iwagakure has agreed with the peace treaty. Ask our forces to retreat from Iwa Battlefront and provide backup at Kumo Battlefront. It is time for us to end this battle.'' Also, inform Minato Namikaze to meet me as soon as possible." Anbu member flickers away to inform Shikaku. --------- Inside an underground building, Danzo sat on his seat as he speaks, "My time hase. I can finally rule the Vige. That Hiruzen has degraded the Vige after assuming the position of Hokage. Tobirama-sensei should have nominated me as Hokage instead. I will upvote Orochimaru for the position and through Orochimaru, I can control the leaf from Shadows and lead Konoha to a better future where Konoha is the only powerful force of the Shinobi World. I have control over Orochimaru as I know about all of his secrets. KinoeKinoe" An anbu with a cat mask covered in green, and red intricate marking appeared before Danzo. The Anbu bowed before Danzo as he awaits his order. "Kinoe, monitor Orochimaru''s whereabouts. I have taught you personally, don''t disappoint me." "Yes, Danzo-sama." Kinoe respectfully replies and flickers away. "Orochimaru you made a fine clone of First Hokage Hashirama Senju. Too bad, his powers areck lusterpared to the real deal. Now, all I need is a Mangekyo Sharingan and nine-tails will be under my control. Our Vige will be unstoppable after that." Danzo clenches his fist as he thinks about his next n. ---------- At Kumo Battlefront, The situation turns in Konoha''s favor once again as reinforcement arrives from the Iwa Battlefront. Konoha''s shinobis start to aim for a direct confrontation as they want to eradicate Kumo forces once and for all. Kumo gets nked from three sides as they are surrounded and have no chance to retreat. "I will keep them upied. All of you retreat." The third Raikage orders his forces as he gets ready to engage Konoha''s forces. "No, Raikage-sama! We can fight together and push back the enemy. You don''t have to stall time for our retreat." One of the Jouninmanders advised Third Raikage. ''''Raikage-sama, I am sure we will be able to think of a solution. We still have the power of Two-Tails and Eight-Tails with us. With two perfect Jinchuriki on our side, I am sure we will turn the tables against Konoha." Another Jouninmander suggested. "No! all of you must retreat. I don''t want the forces of Kumogakure to die meaninglessly anymore. We still had a chance when Iwagakure kept Konoha upied on one front. But with all of Konoha''s forces shing against each other, we no longer have any chance for victory. Konoha has many great shinobis with great powers. There is Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, the White Fang, and the Three Sannins. Also the recently famous Yellow sh. We have faint hope for victory. Let me act as the deterrent force to keep them upied while all of you retreat safely. A will seed me as the New Raikage. All of you must support him to your fullest to let Kumogakure flourish." Third Raikage lectured his subordinates as he riled up his Chakra and coated his body in lightning. ''Lightning Release Chakra Mode'' The third Raikage jumps amid Konoha forces as he keeps them upied. The jouninmanders have tears in his eyes as he looks at the broad back of Third Raikage fighting against enemies. He wipes away his tears as he orders his forces, "Retreat! It is Raikage-Sama''s order. We have to retreat safely to our vige without any casualties. I don''t want Raikage-Sama to meaninglessly die for our sake." ''Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Jutsu'' Arge lightning Dragon appears on the battlefield and annihtes numerous Shinobis. The rest of the Shinobis aims their kunai at Raikage as they threw them at him. Thousands of kunaiunches in A''s direction as he flickers away. ''Lightning Release: Body Flicker'' The third Raikage disappears from their vision as he dodges the kunais. "Fast! He is too fast for our attacks. We can''t evennd a single blow on him." Many Shinobisins as they continue attacking The Third Raikage. ''Lightning Style: Lightning Straight'' Third Raikage charges towards one of the unit as he smashes in them. Dust and debris rise as he starts to ughter shinobis one after another. ''Wind Style Formation Jutsu: Great Wind Breakthrough'' ''Wind Style: Wind Storm'' Many wind style usersunch a wide range of co-operation jutsu to counter the lightning style of the Third Raikage. A is pushed back as he maintains his bnce. There is no scratch or wound on his body as he shrugs off the jutsu. "We are doing no damage to him, we need tounch more powerful attacks." One of the Jounin Commander orders his subordinates. ''ck Lightning: ck Panther'' A attacks the shinobis with ck Lightning as he annihtes another Squad of Ninjas. "Not good, we can''t fight him like this. He is desperate to struggle and die here." Another Jouninmander voices his opinion. The fight with the Third Raikage continues for another two days as he uses himself as a decoy and faced against the Ten thousand shinobis of Konoha. He eventually falls and dies from overtaxing his body and Chakra. The exhaustion from the continuous fight for three days imed his life. ------------ In the Konoha, At the rooftop of Hokage''s office, Minato flickers in front of Hiruzen as he bows down to wait for Hokage''s orders. "I believe that you will carry on the will of fire, Minato. So, I want to entrust you with the future of the Konoha and the Shinobi World. Minato, do you agree to seed me as the Next Hokage." Minato contemtes for a while before he asks, "Hokage-Sama, do you believe I will be able to shoulder such a heavy responsibility." "I know you can do it. The Will of Fire burns brighter than anyone within you. There will be a council meetingter with various elders and the Fire Daimyo. I will nominate you for the position of the next Hokage during the meeting." "Yes, Hokage-sama. I will do my best to live up to your expectations." Hiruzen nods as he dismisses Minato. ''Now, I have to wait for the news from the Kumo Battlefront. I hope Konoha can score a victory. The third Raikage together with Two-Tails and Eight tails would be a very tough opponent. We would have to sacrifice an arm or leg to take them down.'' Hiruzen sighs as he takes out his pipe and smokes as he gazes at the vige. Chapter 54: The Aftermath of the War Chapter 54: The Aftermath of the War The war on Kumo battlefront ends with Konoha''s victory. All of the forces of Konoha retreats as they prepare for the aftermath of the war. Inside the Meeting Room, All the members of the council together with Vige elders gather in a conference in presence of Fire Daimyo. "I will be stepping down from the position of Hokage. I have guided the vige for long and want to retire now." Hiruzen states the issue of the meeting. All elders and council members are surprised by this sudden announcement and they discuss fervently among themselves. Fire Daimyo waves his fan in front of his face as he speaks, "The Third Hokage was doing a fine job leading the vige. I don''t see any problem with his rule, then why the sudden request to step down from the Hokage''s position?" Before anybody could continue the further discussion, Danzo chimes in between as he speaks, "Truth be told, the Third Hokage was too soft and he allowed the vige to be pushed in a corner. This Third Great Ninja War only led to casualties and ack of manpower and resources for Land of Fire. We obtained absolutely no benefit from the war as Hiruzen pushed the agenda of peace." "I disagree with you Danzo-sama. While Third Hokage-sama may have his shorings, his decision of peace prevented further casualties in the war. If not for peace with Iwagakure, Konoha wouldn''tst long against thebined attack of Three Hidden Viges." Shikaku interrupts Danzo as he exins Hiruzen''s decision. "But haven''t we suffered already. If we would have pushed a little bit harder, we would have secured victory on all three fronts and Land of Fire would have dominated the Shinobi world for years toe." Danzo refutes Shikaku''s im as he answers with his opinion. "Today, we aren''t here to debate on my ipetency, rather we are here to decide the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Vige." Hiruzen taps his fingers on the table as he gathers everyone''s attention. "Ohoho!I agree with Third Hokage''s words. We are here to decide the Fourth Hokage. I would like to ask if anyone of you have any candidates for the position." The Fire Daimyo waves his fan as heughs. "I rmend Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin for the position of Hokage.'' Danzo nominates Orochimaru. "Orochimaru is truly a genius in this age of war. But he isn''t a suitable candidate to lead the vige as Hokage. A sinister will and greed lurk deep behind those eyes. That''s why I am not in favor of Orochimaru as Hokage." Hiruzen refutes Danzo''s nomination as he stares at Danzo with a pensive expression. "Do any of you have any other candidate for Hokage''s position?" Fire Daimyo waves his fan as he looks towards the rest of the Council members. "I would like to nominate Sakumo Hatake for the position of Hokage." Shikaku presents his opinion. Fervor discussion starts among council members as they discuss the prospect of Sakumo as Hokage. "He will be a great Hokage. His strength isparable to a Kage and his achievements in a war far surpass anyone else. I support Shikaku''s opinion." One of the council members supports the notion. "Yes, Sakumo Hatake will be a fine Hokage. His achievements, his skill, and strength, all of them are Kage ss and his character is great." Another council member agrees with the notion. "Have all of you forgotten about the event which happened three years ago. Due to his ipetency, Land of Fire suffered a huge loss, that event even further strengthened over enemies. It was because of that event, Kumo dared to bare its fangs at Konoha." Danzo reminded them of the incident which happened three years ago. "Third Hokage, you have served the vige for many years. So, do you have any particr person in your mind, who is suitable for the position of Hokage?" The Fire Daimyo folds his fan as he looks at Hiruzen. "I rmend Minato Namikaze for the position of Hokage. He has enough strength and contribution during the war to be a Hokage." Hiruzen states his opinion. "A pupil of Jiraiya, one of the Three Legendary Sannins. That is a good choice indeed." Koharu agrees with Hiruzen. Danzo stands from his seat as he faces off against Hiruzen, "Minato is still too young for Hokage''s position. He is still inexperienced when ites to leading a Vige." "Danzo-san seems like you are nit-picking against every candidate others nominate for the position. I wonder if you want Hokage''s position for yourself." Fire Daimyo waves his fan in front of his face as he curiously looks for Danzo''s response. "That''s.that''s not like it. What I meant to say is we need to consider age and experience when ites to such an important matter." Danzo answers while flustering. "If you don''t have any otherints, then let us hear Third Hokage''s reasoning for his choice." Fire Daimyo continues. "He emerged victorious at the Battle of Kannabi Bridge and distinguished himself by leading the way to end of the Third Great Shinobi War. He faced off against a thousand enemy shinobis all by himself and repelled their invasion. That''s enough contribution to assign him the position of Hokage." Hiruzen exins his choice. "I am opposed to this notion!" Danzo strongly refutes the notion. "What about the rest of you?" Fire Daimyo unfold the fan in front of his face as he stares at everyone. "We don''t have any problem with Third Hokage''s nomination." All of the present council members agreed with Hiruzen. "It is decided then, Minato Namikaze will be the Fourth Hokage of the Leaf." Fire Daimyo folds his fan as he concludes the meeting. --------------- At Konoha''s mourning ceremony, All the ninjas gathered with their respective ns as they mourn for their loved ones. I stood together with my parents and family as we mourn. We stood near Fugaku as we closed our eyes for silent prayer. "We managed an armistice, but the sacrifice was just too great. Lord Third intends to take full responsibility and retire. There are voices in support of installing you, Leader as the Fourth Hokage. Please" One of the Uchiha n members raised the issue. "Enough talk" Fugaku silences the member as he continues to close his eyes. "What should we do about Kakashi Hatake? He doesn''t belong to our n but possesses the Sharingan" Another member raises the issue of Kakashi. I clenched my fists when I heard about this. ''How can they think of such a thing during such kind of event?'' "I understand Obito Uchiha fought bravely. Let''s respect his wishes. "We should bring the Sharingan back to the Uchiha." The n member continues. "The war just ended. Do not sow seeds of discord." Fugaku rebukes the Uchiha member. "Yes, sir." "We finally have peace. We will persevere to maintain it. That is the duty of the Uchiha n" Fugaku ends the conversation. I spot Itachi moving towards Orochimaru. I follow Itachi as I am curious to see Orochimaru. "Grieving over the dead is meaningless. If there'' any meaning in death, it''s to take advantage of it." Orochimaru mutters as he stares at many graves. "What is the meaning of life?" Itachi questions Orochimaru. "There is none. There''s meaning in life if it''s eternal." Orochimaru replies to Itachi. "Then wouldn''t that make life meaningless, if there is no one left alive except you. If you have eternal life then wouldn''t that be like a cursed life where you see your loved ones pass one by one." I interrupt Orochimaru as I look at him. Orochimaru has pale skin, golden eyes with slitted pupils, purple markings around his eyes, and fang-like teeth. He also has pronounced cheekbones and straight waist-length ck hair with some lock covering and framing his face over to his shoulders. As I am inspecting Orochimaru, he is also inspecting me with a curious expression. After staring at me for a while, Orochimaru starts to retreat as I hear him muttering, "What a fine Specimen!" A shiver ran through my back as I heard those creepy lines. ------------- Inside an underground Building, Orochimaru is performing some experiments as he pours a transparent liquid from a test tube in a conical sk. The liquid turns blue as Orochimaru jots down something in a logbook. Danzo walks beside Orochimaru as he speaks, "Everything in this situation is going the way the Hiruzen wants." "The Third Hokage just intends to use Minato as a puppet and intend to keep ruling the Hidden Leaf Vige." Orochimaru continues experimenting as he converses with Danzo. "At this rate, the leaf will have no future, whatsoever." Danzo angrily uses Hiruzen. "It''s not over yet. So don''t give up. If my research is sessful, then I think it will be quite easy to cease power within the Hidden Leaf." Orochimaru consoles Danzo "Humm" Danzo frowns and stares at Orochimaru. "But to grasp such power, much stronger measures are going to have to be prepared." Orochimaru entices Danzo. "When the timees, those measures will be ready. However, it still isn''t time yet. Danzo walks out of Orochimaru''s hiddenb as he mutters to himself, "Frankly, if he was popr at all. This would be much easier." Danzo walks to his Root Subordinates as he orders, "Let''s go, Kinoe, Kinoto, and Hinoe." "Sir, yes sir." Danzo and his subordinates dash off towards Leaf vige as Orochimaru stares at Danzo''s back and smiles to himself. Chapter 55: The Fourth Hokage Chapter 55: The Fourth Hokage A/N:- Some people mayn''t like my exnation about Susanoo. I am open for critics. Madara used his Susanoo with no eyes, Shisui used his Susanoo with only one eye. ----------- Early in the next morning, a Chunnin ces a board in front of the Hokage office. The board reads, "I Hiruzen Sarutobi, hereby announce my resignation as Hokage and appoint Minato Namikaze as the Fourth Hokage." mour rang among citizens of the leaf as they read this notice. "Third Hokage-sama is retiring from Hokage''s position and had elected the Fourth Hokage." Someone among the crowd shouts. "Minato Namikaze isn''t he the Yellow sh of Leaf. He would be a fine Hokage." Another person yells. "I don''t think he is a suitable candidate for the position. Isn''t he still too young to take the mantle of Hokage? I mean he would have to bear huge responsibilities." An old man disagrees with the decision. I secretly activate my Sharingan to check the man. I suspect he is Danzo in disguise. After careful inspection, I conclude that he is just another conservative senile geezer. "Minato-Sensei will be a fine Hokage. If you think he is too young, then remember the Third Hokage-sama was only twenty years old when he became Hokage. Facts speak louder Old man." I scoffed at that old man as I moved on to my training. "Thisthat kid has a point. The third Hokage was also young when he became Hokage. I think Minato Namikaze will be a fine Hokage." Another person agrees with me. "Yeah, just look at the contribution of Yellow sh in the Third War. He single-handedly stopped the invasion by a thousand Shinobi of Iwa." Another person speaks in favor. Slowly, the public opinion sways in Minato''s favor as people split in a group of two. One group favors Minato whereas another group is in disagreement. Later in the noon, on the rooftop of Hokage''s Office, In presence of all n leaders and vige shinobis, Hiruzen passes the Hokage''s hat to Minato as he resigns from the position. "From this day onwards, Minato Namikaze will be appointed as the Fourth Hokage. I will be counting on you, Fourth Hokage." "I pledge my life to it," Minato responds to Hiruzen as he walks towards vigers. Minato addresses the vigers as he gives the usual Hokage speech and pledges about responsibility. After the speech, everyone returns to their work as many n leaders start to n out their future courses of action and political stance. ----------- A week has passed by since Minato donned the mantle of Hokage. I haven''t been able to meet him for the entire week. I will meet with Kushina whenever I pay a visit to their house. "Big-sister Kushina. Minato-san is way too busy after he became Hokage. Aren''t you sad that he doesn''t have enough time for his family?" I ask Kushina. Kushina smiles as she replies, "It was Minato''s dream to be Hokage. He is finally able to fulfill his dream, I am happy for him. After a month, when he has gained control over the majority of the forces and anbu, he will have more time to spare." I nod to her as I return, "See youter, Big-sister Kushina!" "Bye, Izuna-kun." I walk towards the training ground as I think about the future. It will be a while before the Nine-tails attack and Obito''s scheme. I have to train my Susanoo in this time. I canbat against Nine-tails only with my Susanoo. Maybe, I should join Anbu to better protect Minato and Kushina during the attack. I will ask Minato-san to appoint me as his security. With such thoughts, I moved to the Training ground and start to train in my Susanoo. To prevent any outside intrusion and interrupt my training, I set up a barrier with Fuinjutsu and an Optical illusion with my light style as I train. After the war ended, all of the Nations and Hidden Viges are in the process of recuperating. It will be at least a month before missions will start to appear again. Till then, I can just train myself a little more. I have to digest all of the harvests from the War. I activate my Mangekyo Sharingan as I start to infuse chakra around myself and shape it in the form of Susanoo from my memory. When I first unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan, the information about Susanoo just popped into my brain. Susanoo is more of a technique rted to Uchiha Bloodline then Mangekyo Sharingan. The only way to gain ess to Susanoo is through unlocking Mangekyo Sharingan. Even if your lose your Mangekyo Sharingan, you can still use the technique as it is rted to Uchiha Bloodline. Also, I noted that only people with pure Uchiha bloodline are capable of using Susanoo. You need the Uchiha chakra to use Susanoo. I start to form the Chakra construct from my memory. The process is very hard as it requires great Chakra control to shape the Susanoo. The process starts to strain nerves around my eyes as arge amount of Chakra is directed through them. Arge ribcage with a mix of gold and silver color starts to encase me. A skeletal arm sprouts from the right side of my Susanoo as I try to control it. After practicing for a while, I get a hang of it. The arm feels like an extension of me. I move around with my basic skeletal Susanoo, I grab a tree and easily tear it into the half with the arm. The arm clenches into a fist as I smash it into arge boulder. Arge hole, the size of Susanoo''s fist appears in the boulder. Cracks appear on the boulder and it breaks apart. Now for the defense, I make a shadow clone and the clone starts to make a Rasengan. Boom The Rasengan smashes into my Susanoo. Some small cracks appear at the point of impact, no major damage. My Susanoo can tank an A-rank jutsu for a while. I dissipate my Susanoo and start to practice other nature transformations Kekkai Genkai. ----------- A month slowly passes and missions start to appear one after another. I grabbed a B-rank mission and decide to go solo on it. The mission was nothing difficult, a bunch of chunnin levels ninjas are assaulting people in thend of waves. I finished it quickly and returned to Hokage''s office to report thepletion. "Oh, I see!" "Yes, sirI have never seen Kakashi like that before sir." "Good thing that, I secretly sent you along as backup." "You got that right. I wanna be able to help him in a time like this. That''s what it truly means to be an eternal rival." "You have already done a lot to help. Please leave the rest to me now, Guy." I overhear Minato and Guy''s conversation about Kakashi. I open the Hokage''s office door as I barge in. "Let me help too, Kakashi is my friend and I want to help him too." "Izuna!...weren''t you on a mission?" Minato is surprised to see me. "I have alreadypleted my mission and I am here to report about it." I take out a scroll from my pocket and present it to Minato. "Ok! Then follow me along to meet Kakashi. He is in leaf vige hospital right now." Minato flickers towards the hospital as I follow him. Minato and I reach the hospital as I spot Kakashi reading a book while lying on the bed. I read the title of the book, ''How a Shinobi should die''. Kakashi is startled to see us as he quickly hid the book. "Minato-sensei, I mean Lord Fourth. Izuna, what are you doing here?" "You may address me as you always have Kakashi. You know, there are some people within the vige, who think I am not qualified for this position and oppose me. I came here because I want to assign you to the Anbu under my direct control." Minato''s words surprise Kakashi as he asks, "But why me?" "Because I want you to be my right-hand man Kakashi," Minato replies to Kakashi. "Minato-san, I would also like to join the anbu and be in your personal security unit." I also request to Minato. "Huh" Minato is surprised by my request as he asks, "Izuna, you are still too young for the Anbu. Tell me, why you want to join the anbu?" "I heard that the pay-out of Hokage''s personal guard is quite high. So, I also want to join the anbu and be your guard." I chuckle slightly as I reply to him. Minato sighs at my response and replies, "Ok! It''s fine if you don''t want to tell me the real reason. I trust you Izuna. But are you sure, you are ready for the darkness of Anbu." "Minato-san, I have painted the battlefield red with my enemy''s blood during the Third Shinobi War. I have killed countless people in the war to the point that I got the nickname, ''Silent Shinigami'' during the war. I think I am ready for the Anbu." I speak with a firm expression on my face. "Alright then, I will write a rmendation letter for both of you," Minato answers as he teleports from the hospital. "What''Cha doing, Kakashi? Reading such a depressing book." I pull out the book from Kakashi''s bed as I read it''s title aloud. "How a shinobi should die! Uncle Sakumo won''t be happy to see you like this. I am sure he is worried about you. Come out of your depression, will you? Look at all your friends who are worried about you." I burn the book with my Fire Chakra as the door to the room is flung open. Guy, Asuma, Shizune, Kurenai, Anko enters the room as they bombard Kakashi with many questions. I smile at their interaction as I join them in the fray. Chapter 56: The Anbu Black Ops Chapter 56: The Anbu ck Ops In a hidden passageway inside a hidden cavern, Kakashi and Izuna walk to an underground building with a huge sign for ''Anbu ck Ops'' in kanji. They are inside the headquarters of Anbu. Both of us walks to a counter near a heavy metal gate. Kakashi puts down a scroll on the counter and we wait for a response. A masked Anbu grabs the scroll from the counter and retreats. We wait for a while for the Anbu. After a few more minutes, the Anbu returns with two sets of equipment as he speaks, "Here is a set of equipment for both of you." "Thank you!" both of us thanks to him as he continues, "Change in your equipment and meet with the Captain within the next ten minutes." We pick our set and moves to a remote corner of the building to equip our Anbu gear. The gear consists of an Anbu vest, a pair of arm guards, a porcin mask, and a top-quality de. After we change into our gear, Kakashi knocks slightly on the metal door. After a while, the door opens and an anbu leads our way. "This way, Captain is waiting for you." We walk for a while inside various passages in the Anbu Headquarters before we enter a room. "Captain, the recruits are here." The Anbu informs the Captain as he returns to his work. A masked Anbu walks up to us as he speaks, "So, you both are the recruits rmended by Hokage-sama, Kakashi Hatake, and Izuna Uchiha. Both of you possess the Sharingan and one of you even a moniker of ''Silent Shinigami''. Our Anbu isn''t a ce for a soft-hearted person. It is a ce where darkness resides and many top secrets missions of the vige are carried. We are an elite division that demands only the best among the best. Both of you will be trained for a month in various fields and at the end of the training, you will be assigned a division based on your specialty. Further information will be provided to you by your trainer. After your training, you will be branded with the mark of Anbu to inaugurate you as an official Anbu member. Now, go an meet your trainer." The Captain just directed us towards the training hall and left. After a while, an anbu member with a tall and bulky body appears before us as he introduces himself, "I am your trainer for the next month. Before we start, I would like to inform you about the various divisions of the Anbu. There are no ranks within the Anbu and only your merit and experience determine your hierarchy. Now, let''s start with the introduction of various divisions of Anbu. There are seven divisions within the Anbu which are, the Falcon Division responsible for hunting missing-nins, the owl division responsible for Stealth and Information retrieval, the Bear division responsible for Protection and Investigation. The Cat division is responsible for Stealth and Assassination. The Frog division responsible for Medical and crisis, they are Combat Medics. The Wolf division is responsible for Torture and Interrogation and the Dragon Division responsible for Organization and Gathering of the rest of the Anbus. There is another hidden division known as Root which isn''t part of the normal Anbu. It is a separate division under Danzo-sama, one of the elders of the Vige. Now before we start your training, I would like to ask the Anbu unit, both of you would like to join. It is necessary as both of you will be trained ordingly." "I would join the Cat division." I immediately reply to him. "I would also join the Cat division," Kakashi replies to the Trainer. The Trainer looks at Kakashi''s mask and hesitates for a while before he speaks, "Looks like you need to change your mask." Kakashi wore a Dog mash whereas I had a tiger mask. "It''s fine, I will continue with this mask," Kakashi replies to Trainer. "Very well, then we will start your training. But first, let me tell you more about the Cat division. The Anbus of Cat division can be coined as Assassins. They show their power through their stealth and Quick-killing. These are the heavy-duty anbu members as they are required to assassinate any powerful person. As a cat division member, you must move in and out without ever being caught, without ever being noticed and no sign of your work shall be traced back to Vige in case of an investigation. For the next month, I will train you in stealth and Silent killing. Before we start, show me your hiding skills." I make a Ram seal as my body starts to fade away, ''Light Style: Camouge Cloak'' I disappear from the Trainer''s vision as his mouth is gaped open. He frantically tries to search for me, but after searching for a while, he is unable to find me. "Good kid! Your stealth skills are top-notch. But I want you to hide your presence without the use of Ninjutsu. Only when you be one with the shadows without using any Ninjutsu would your stealth training be counted asplete. Anbus face various situation where they are unable to use Chakra or lest they may warn the enemy sensor." I re-appear before he asks me again to hide from senses. This way both of our Anbu training starts. Kakashi and I are quick-learners. Within a month, both of us mastered all the Techniques and skills of Anbu. ------------------ After a month, the Trainer nods at us in satisfaction as he speaks, "Call me Tatsu. I am a part of the Dragon division. Both of you are officially a part of Anbu now. You will receive your first mission from the Hokage-sama shortly." Tatsu summons another Anbu member who carves an Anbu tattoo on our left shoulder. "Wee to the Anbu corps. Both of you will be assigned to a Team soon. Follow him to meet your new team." We follow the guy who branded us. This guy wore a bear mask as he speaks, "These people from Dragon division are quite a handful. They are dubbed as ''Worded Bards'' among the rest of the Anbu. I am Kuma and from today onwards you will be Inu and Tora based on your masks." He leads us to a room with other Anbu members and speaks, "Wee to Team Ro, rookies. Now let us depart for Hokage''s Office. We will be receiving our mission shortly." All of us flicker out as we move towards Hokage-Office. We gather in Minato''s office as he starts to exin, "Recently, various reports of Shinobi attacks have been reported at the borders. Many shinobi from small viges survived by taking advantage of the turbulent situation. They have no wish to be controlled by the nations of fire, wind, and earth. So, I have no doubt that they will continue to cause disruptions. However, this peace was won through the sacrifice of many. So, we must maintain it. And for that, I am going to count on all of you." "Yes sir, sir." All of us shout in unison as we start to move towards borders. ---------------- At Land of fire borders, In a watchtower of the Border Patrol team, three Konoha shinobis are engaged inbat against Five Shinobis dressed in Iwagakure''s shinobi outfit. They are about to finish them off when our team interrupts them. "Reinforcements, retreat!" the enemy ninjas dashes off in the forest as we approach the tower. "Thanks for that, looks like the Hidden Stone has betrayed us." One of the Jounin thanks us. One of the anbu members of Owl division picks up the shuriken and check it. "This isn''t a Hidden Stone Shuriken." The anbu concludes. "You mean they were fakes. Why would" "Because of the rift between Stone and Leaf." The anbu interrupts the Jounin. Kakashi jumps off from the tower as he chases the imposters. "Hey, don''t chase them too far." The anbu members try to stop Kakashi. Kakashi makes some hand signs, ''Lightning Release: Chidori Lightning Cutter'' "I will look after him." I jump from the tower as I assure my team. ''Swift Release: God Speed'' I disappear from their vision as I follow Kakashi. Kakashi starts to attack the imposters as he finishes them off one by one. Kakashi removes his mask as he gets ready to kill the final Ninja. "The Sharingan, You are the infamous cold-blooded Kakashi." the imposter trembles in fear upon seeing Kakashi. When Kakashi is about tond a blow on the final imposter, I catch his hand as I stop him from attacking. "Stop Kakashi! We need to get intel from him." I remove my mask as I calm down Kakashi. At this point, the Imposter had a breakdown as he identifies me, "The mutated Sharingan, you are the ''Silent Shinigami'' of the leaf." "Oh! You know about me." I walk towards the imposter as I smile at him. ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' The enemy ninja starts to tremble violently as he wets his clothing in terror. "I don''t even want to know, what kind of weird Genjutsu, you put him into." Kakashi remarks. "Oh! He has be a Goblin yer or not." I answer to Kakashi. "Whatever!" Kakashi puts back his mask as our mission is over. ------------- A/N:- Here we are in a new Anbu Arc. Enjoy some Anbu action andment your thoughts like a civil person. Chapter 57: First Encounter with Sannins Chapter 57: First Encounter with Sannins Inside the Anbu Headquarters, Izuna is holding a summon scroll from Hokage''s Office as he stocks up on his supply. The Captain of Team Ro just passed this scroll to him, since he is the only avable Anbu at present in the Vige. Kakashi and others are out at borders to settle the unrest caused by rogue Shinobis. It has been three months since he joined the Anbu and he hadpleted a bunch of missions from assassination to Information Retrieval. Izuna departs for the Hokage''s office as he pockets the scroll. -------- Inside the Hokage''s office, Minato is discussing some matters with Hiruzen as thetter guides him on some matters. "Lord Third! Is it alright to send his formerrades to assassinate him?" Minato questions Hiruzen "I also don''t want to do this, But we have no choice. Most of our capable shinobis are upied at the borders to prevent skirmishes orchestrated by small Viges. Also, I think they would be the perfect Candidates for the mission." Hiruzen replies to Minato. Soon, the door to Hokage''s office opens as three-person enters the office. "Oh! You are finally here, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru." Hiruzen address the newers. "Why you have called us here, Sensei? I returned to the Vige to join the war on your summon. I will return after this mission. I won''t stay in the Vige for too long." Tsunade grumbles as she folds her hands in front of her chest. "Oh! Minato. How are you spending your days as Hokage? Huh! You seem pretty exhausted. Sensei, want to have some fun with meter? We will do our research together after the mission." Jiraiyaughs as he speaks to Hiruzen and Minato. "Also! Tsunade, you should cheer up a little or you will be a granny in few more years with that constant frown on your face." Jiraiya pokes fun of Tsunade. Tsunade has a tick mark on her forehead as she snaps and punches Jiraiya on the head. She angrily stares at Hiruzen who is sweating profusely at the moment. "Sensei! Why have you called all three of us after the war? I am sure there must be a reason for this emergency summon." Orochimaru calmly questions Hiruzen. "Wait, for a few minutes. The fourth member for the mission will arrive soon. After that, I will start briefing you on the details of the mission." Hiruzen replies to Orochimaru as he avoids the angry gaze of Tsunade. KnockKnock There is a knock on the door. "Oh! He has arrived. Come in." Minato informs them. I knock on the door as I wait for the response. Soon, Minato orders me to enter. "You have a mission for me Hokage-sama." I walk straight to Minato as I ce the scroll on his table. "Hmmit''s not me who has a mission for you, rather it is Lord Third who issued the mission. I just passed the mission to anbu and you happened to be the person who received it." Minato is surprised to see me appear for the mission. "You called for me Lord Third." I bow before Hiruzen as I wait for his orders. "Hmm I have an S-rank mission for you. Before I brief you on the mission, let me introduce you to your teammates." Hiruzen points in Sannins direction as he starts the introduction. "These are the Three Legendary Sannins of the Leaf Vige. You must be aware of them. They will be your teammates for the mission." I remove my mask as I start to introduce myself to them, "I am Izuna Uchiha. A member of the anbu and I would request you to call me Tora for this mission." I wear my mask again. "Oh! He is that same kid, Minato. So, you have joined Anbu. You must have some extraordinary skills to be able to join the Anbu at such a young age." Jiraiya points at me as he immediately recognizes me. "Oh! You knew him, Jiraiya." Hiruzen asks Jiraiya in surprise. "Yes! I meet him before the war when you summoned us back to the vige. This kid created an S-Rank Jutsu on his own." Jiraiya talks about me. "What?" Hiruzen is surprised to hear this. He stares at me for a while before he nods to himself. "Still, he is a kid. I don''t want a kid to join us on an S-rank mission and lose his life for no reason." Tsunade interrupts the conversation as she points at me. "I don''t agree with your decision to include him in our mission. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and I are enough for this mission." Tsunade continues. Orochimaru stays silent during the entire conversation. "He is an Anbu Tsunade. Also, he has earned the moniker of ''Silent Shinigami'' during the war. That speaks for his prowess." Hiruzen exins to Tsunade. "But, sensei." "No, buts this is an order, Tsunade. Also, you will need his assistance during the mission. He is a part of Anbu and is skilled in tracking and assassination." Hiruzen rebukes Tsunade as he exins the mission. "Recently, various reports of missing shinobis appeared in the vige. To investigate the issue, Minato and I deployed a unit of Anbu. One of our Anbu units uncovered an underground Laboratory where some hical and forbidden experiments are carried out without the consent of the Vige. Upon further investigation, the perpetrator is found to be one of yourrade and childhood friend Hiruko. Your mission is to uncover his motives if he doesn''tply then assassinate him. Keep in mind he is practicing a Kinjutsu, so you should be on alert when you face him. Here is the location of hisb. Orochimaru will be your leader for the mission. Good luck with your mission." Hiruzen passes a scroll to Orochimaru as he dismisses us. All of us flickers away from the office as we move towards the entrance of the vige. Orochimaru leads us towards theboratory as we follow him. "Kid, you better stay out of this mission. Such dangerous missions aren''t for kids like you. You may lose your life unnecessarily." Tsunade warns me. I am pissed off by her attitude. I know that she cares about me, but we are in the middle of a mission and the Hokage has approved my skills. Honestly, what''s her problem? ''Swift Release: God Speed'' I disappear from my position as I reappear behind Tsunade with a kunai on her neck. Orochimaru and Jiraiya are stunned to see my speed. Tsunade is perplexed, but she calms down as she remarks, "Although, your speed is impressive for your age. But it is still not enough to beat me." She turns around and clenches her fist as she tries to punch me. I dodge her punch as she shatters a tree from her punch. ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' I cast a genjutsu on her to prevent her from attacking me. She easily dispels my genjutsu after a few seconds. ''Her Chakra control is perfect. I have yet to reach the perfect level, but I am close. Guess genjutsu from normal Sharingan can''t affect her and I don''t want to use my Mangekyo Sharingan unnecessarily just over a small dispute. I just have to convince her of my skills.'' I start to knead Chakra in my palms as I form a seal, I appear in front of Tsunade as I dodge one of her punch and hit her arm with my palm. ''Fuinjutsu: Chakra Suppression Seal'' A seal starts to spread over her arms as it suppressed her chakra. Ignoring the seal, she continued to punch me. Her punch still packed power despite no chakra. I redirected the shock from her punch to ground through Shock Release as I ate her punch without flinching. Tsunade is surprised to see this. I create Rasengan and adds a little Lightning Chakra to it and throws it towards Tsunade. My Rasengan disappears as Tsunade snorts at me. "Watch out Tsunade, his jutsu is invisible to eyes," Jiraiya warns Tsunade. Tsunade ducks down and avoids my Rasengan. I purposely aimed it above Tsunade to avoid her. I don''t want to exhaust her before the mission. Boom The Rasengan collides with a nearby tree and it shatters it. It continues and creates arge crater on impact. Tsunade is shocked to see the damage caused by my jutsu. "Tsunade, that''s the S-Rank jutsu, he created on his own. And from the looks of things, it seems like he didn''t infuse enough Chakra in the jutsu. He held back a lot." Jiraiya informs Tsunade, and he turns to me. "Kid, you can use Fuinjutsu. I thought you Uchiha avoided any Non-Uchiha techniques. Most of the Uchihas I know about pride in their techniques and refuse to use any other techniques." "I am close to Grandmaster level in Fuinjutsu and I don''t discriminate between techniques as long as they aren''t against my morals," I reply to Jiraiya as I walk towards theb. "Hold up, kid! You are close to the Grandmaster level! Even I am only a master. What kind of monster has that Minato raised?" Jiraiyains as he follows me. "Interesting, very interesting." Orochimaru licks his lips as he stares at Izuna with a hungry gaze. A chill ran through my spine as I turn around to see a creepy expression on Orochimaru''s face. Chapter 58: Missing Nin Hiruko Part-1 Chapter 58: Missing Nin Hiruko Part-1 Outside an underground Cavern, Izuna and the Sannins stare at a hidden entrance beneath arge tree. "This is the ce, ording to the map," Orochimaru informs us as we stare at the entrance. "I still can''t believe, Hiruko would do such a thing." Tsunade has a conflicted expression. "We grow up together with him, faced many life and death battles during the Second Shinobi War. Now, we are ordered by Sensei to assassinate him." Jiraiya sighs as he reminisces. "He is consumed by the darkness and followed the wrong path. We should try to guide him towards the light." Tsunade remarks. "Let''s meet with him first and see whether he thinks the same way as you." I interrupt their thoughts as I draw my Chakra de. "Be careful, we have no information about his Kinjutsu. It can be pretty dangerous to engage him in hisir." Orochimaru warns us as he folds the map and takes out a kunai from his holster. "Let me ce some barrier seals to block his exit, in case he tries to run away," I suggest to them. They nod to my suggestion as I start to ce seals around the entrance. After five minutes, I stand in front of the cave as I m my hand on the ground. Various seals crawl from my position as they fuse with other seals. ''Fuinjutsu: Three Yang Formation'' A crimson pyramidal barrier surrounds the cave. I walk up to the barrier and create an entrance for us to enter. The Sannins enters one by one as I follow them inside. We enter arge passageway engulfed in darkness. Orochimaru takes out a glow stick from his pocket. He twists it to produce some light and we continue to move forward. I activate my Sharingan in case of danger. I have no problem in darkness as I have an infrared vision because of my Mutated Sharingan. The cave is very damp and many mosses and fungi are growing on the walls. I activate my X-ray vision as I start to look around. We reached the end of theboratory, but there is no sign of Hiruko. "He must have abandoned hisb." Jiraiya remarks. "From the look of it, seems like he left in a hurry." Orochimaru investigates for any trail. "Let''s search for any information pertaining to his Kinjutsu." Tsunade searches around. I spot a hidden passage beyond a fake wall as I inform them. "There is a passage beyond that wall. I think it is an emergency exit. There must be a mechanism to open it somewhere" Bang Before I could finish my sentence, Tsunade bust opens the wall with a punch. "It would be too much of a hassle to search for the switch." Jiraiya shrugs off his shoulder as he enters the passage. I wait for Orochimaru''s orders for our next course of action. "You guys, move on ahead. I will catch up with you, once I find any information regarding the Kinjutsu." Orochimaru instructs us. "Well, that''s what he said. Let''s search for Hiruko''s trail. Hey, you Uchiha boy, you seem to be an expert in tracking and stealth, ording to Hiruzen sensei. Why don''t you show your skills?" Tsunadements as she approaches near me and bends her back to face against me. I could clearly see those massive mounds of her and the valley between them. I take a deep breath to calm myself down as I answer, "Leave it to me. I will track him soon. I have some sensory abilities." I activate my infrared vision and pair it with ''Eye of Insight'' of Sharingan as I look for trails. Together with the training from Anbu, I can figure out the tracks left behind. Soon, I found the direction of the escape of Hiruko as I start to follow it. Jiraiya and Tsunade followed closely as I increased my speed. The incredible perceptive power from Sharingan helped me differentiate between a decoy and the real thing. "I would have to say, you have some good skills boy. Do you want to follow me and be a part of my adventures?" Jiraiya questions me. "Rather than following a pervert like you, I would prefer that bad-tempered olddy over there," I remark at Jiraiya''s offer. Tsunade has a tick mark on her forehead as she tries to punch me, but I dodge her attack. "See, how bad her temper is. Besides, what can you teach me, if I follow you." I ask Jiraiya as I avoid another punch from Tsunade. Jiraiya contemtes as he mutters, "Ninjutsu, no he can already create his own S-Rank jutsu. Genjutsu, what I am even thinking? He is an Uchiha, so he is an expert in Genjutsu. Besides, Genjutsu isn''t my forte. Taijutsu, I don''t think I am good enough in Taijutsu to teach him anything. Kenjutsu, I never trained in the sword. Huh! I can''t really teach him anything." Jiraiya sighs as he hung down his head. "Wait a sec! Senjutsu. Maybe I can teach him Senjutsu. But for that, he needs a summoning contract with toads. Maybe, I can talk to Fukasaku about it. I don''t want to miss an opportunity to get such a powerful underling, can I? He can take care of all of my errands and I can get to enjoy more." Jiraiya is lost in his fantasies as he makes a pervert expression and drools leaks from his mouth. I ignore Jiraiya as I start a conversation with Tsunade. "Hey, Tsunade. I heard that you are an unparalleled Medic Ninja. I would like to learn Medical Ninjutsu from you, if possible." "Call me Tsunade-sama. And yes, I am a very good Medic Ninja. But I want to retire as a Ninja after this mission. I want to roam around the world and find meaning in my life." Tsunade reminisces about her past as tears flow from her eyes. "I don''t know about your past. But if you are hung up on your past, then you won''t be able to make much progress in the future." I interrupt her thoughts as I thought of reducing some of her trauma. Tsunade snaps at me and starts to yell, "What do you know about me? I lost my only family member and the person I loved the most. Do you think it is easy to forget about that?" She clutches her ne as she stares angrily at me. "Sorry, if I offended you somehow. That wasn''t my intention. What I want to say is, you can''t change the past, but you can always n for a better future. Your loved ones would be sad in the afterlife to see you grieve over their death. I am sure they also want you to move forward in your life and be happy and cheerful." I use the famous Talk-no-Jutsu on Tsunade to console her. Tsunade ponders over my words as she wipes away her tears. "If your emotional drama is over, then can we focus on our mission?" A creepy voice interrupts us as Orochimaru pops out from a nearby bush. "Oh! You caught up Orochimaru. Did you find anything about the Kinjutsu of Hiruko? It must be a non-human technique if Hiruzen-Sensei ordered for assassination." Orochimaru throws a scroll to Jiraiya as he exins, "I examined his equipment and iplete research notes he left behind. His Kinjutsu is called the ''Chimera Technique''. It is a forbidden technique in the sense that it allows the user tobine separate living bodies of organisms into onebined organism bearing the original characteristics of the organism and therefore create a synthetic body. I am not sure of his intents, but he seemingly wants to create a perfect being bybining the abilities of other beings. His idea is unique, and I found many research notes which can improve the abilities of a ninja." "Orochimaru, it is a Kinjutsu. He is using humans as guinea pigs for his experiments and sacrificed the lives of many shinobis from the leaf. The vige can''t approve of such an inhumane technique as it is against Shinobi morals and code of conduct." Tsunade calms down as she disagrees with Orochimaru. "Tsunade, the world isn''t a perfect ce. Humans are just mortal beings who die very easily. There is so much to learn in this world, but we have only a limited lifespan. What if we can control our life and death? Imagine a world where your loved one''s won''t leave you anymore. Some sacrifices are required to make that possible." Orochimaru entices Tsunade. "Orochimaru, your beliefs are a little twisted. You want to sacrifice lives to save lives. That''s too much of a contradiction. Also, I don''t think Life and Death are such matters which we can take so lightly. Every life has a meaning, you just have to figure out the meaning of your life on your own." Jiraiya rebukes Orochimaru. The atmosphere turns tense as we continue to follow the trails. Chapter 59: Missing Nin Hiruko Part-2 Chapter 59: Missing Nin Hiruko Part-2 "I have spotted a shinobi''s Chakra 400 meters ahead. There are lots of turbulence in his Chakra and it seems to be a mix of Chakras." I warned the Sannins. The Sannins immediately raised their guards as we increased our speed by a notch. Soon, we spotted a shinobi in the beige robe with red undergarments and white hairs. ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'' I made some hand signs as Iunched a fireball at the shinobi. The shinobi jumped and avoided the fireball as he turns around to face us. He has red eyes and white hairs that reach to his hips. "It really is you, Hiruko." Tsunade and Jiraiya are surprised to see the person. "So, it''s true that you are experimenting on a Kinjutsu Technique to gain more power. I never expected you to follow darkness." Jiraiya sighs as he looks at Hiruko. "Since, when Hirukosince when. We all were good friends who knew each other since the academy. You really changed a lot, stooping so low as to use humans as guinea pigs in your experiment to gain more power." Tsunade rebukes Hiruko. Orochimaru stays silent and looks at their interaction. He has a contemtive look, seemingly thinking on something. I draw out my de as I get ready to fight Hiruko. "I have always been like this, Tsunade, Jiraiya. Unlike you, I had no special abilities, talents, or an excellent teacher. I was an average talentless shinobi who can only act as fodder in the war between nations. I was powerless to decide even my own life and death and would have to rely on the mercy of the enemy during the Second Shinobi War. You earned fame and name in the Second Shinobi War, but what I earned is shame and humiliation when even an enemy with a Kekkai Genkaiughed at me and refused to kill me to humiliate me. He left me on the verge of death, that shame and powerlessness. What do you know about it?" Hiruko starts to whine about his miserable past and his powerlessness. This made me think about myself, ''What if I was born as a normal person in a civilian family with no special abilities in the Shinobi world. Would I be able to grow as strong as I am now by relying on luck and hard work? Probably not, I would have to follow the Dark path to gain power.'' I really couldn''t understand the sentiments of Hiruko, but somehow I could rte to him as I was a powerless average person in my previous life. "Hiruko, I am sure you would have turned into a powerful shinobi if you trained on your own. Look at me, I was simr to you when we were younger. I had no special talents and skills and could only look up to Tsunade and Orochimaru. Now, my strength is equal to them." Jiraiya tries to convince Hiruko by facts. I shout in my mind, ''Jiraiya, you had plot armor till Naruto Shippuden. How could you be weaker?'' Hiruko makes some hand signs as he yells at us, "You will never understand my sentiments. You are stronger than me, and that''s a fact. I have finally found my way to be strong and I will follow that path. Now, no one can stop me. Not even the Third Hokage, who sent you to capture me." ''Summoning Jutsu'' Hiruko summons a giant creature to attack us. A bird-like creature withrge wings appears inside the forest. There are distinctive markings on its wingspans thatbine near the middle. It has an orange face, a green face, and white skin. Screech.... The bird screeches loudly as it curls its body and shoots itsrge feathers towards us. Boomboom The feathers explode as they hit the ground. ''Earth style: Rock Dome'' I make some hand signs to cover myself in a rock dome. I just want the Sannins to handle the mission. Well, the enemy is their friend and they have sentiments attached to the target. The bird flies over us as it tries to smash us with its wings. ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'' I fire a fireball at the bird to shoot it down. With a sudden burst of speed, the bird dodges the fireball as it throws its explosive feathers again. Jiraiya bit his thumb as he starts to make some rapid hand signs, ''Summoning Jutsu: Food Cart Destroyer Technique'' A giant toad drops from the sky as itnds on top of the bird, crashing the bird to the ground. The toad is dull rusty red with some bright red markings on his chest, eyes, and lips. The toad wears arge blue happi vest that has kanji ''Ebi'' on the back. There is a massive ''Dosu de'' on his hip strapped to arge belt. The toad draws out its de as it tries to stab the head of the bird underneath him. The bird struggles as its feathers glow. "Watch out! They are about to explode." Jiraiya shouts to warn the toad. Boom "What the" Before the toad could react, the feathers explode beneath the toad, hurling him up in the air. A part of the Toad''s skin is charred as it lies on the ground. "Jiraiya, you bastard! What kind of trouble you are in this time?" The toad stabs his de on the ground for support. Most of the feathers of the bird are plucked out. One of its wings is slightly damaged and smokes rises from the bird. The bird struggles for a while before it flies again. "I am sorry, Gamabunta. I will make it up to you some other day." Jiraiya apologizes to the toad. "Hiruko is just stalling for time to escape. We have to catch him before he leaves the border of Land of Fire." Orochimaru, Tsunade, and I chase Hiruko as Jiraiya is engaged with the bird. We catch up to Hiruko again. He turns around and makes some hand signs, ''Summoning Jutsu'' Two dog-like giant creatures appear in front of us. Both of them possess two spear-like weapons, which they aim at us. Hiruko ignores us and continues to move towards the border. One of the dogs fires the spear at an extremely fast speed towards us. We avoid the spear as it smashes in the ground, making an enormous crater. "Be careful, these are the products of his experiments. These chimeras beast are very powerful. That spear-like projectile on its back is made from a very hard substance." Orochimaru warns us about the nature of beasts. "Leave it to me," Tsunade assures Orochimaru as she deflects a spear with a punch. Tsunade bits her thumb and made some hand, ''Summoning Jutsu'' She summons a giant slug to fight alongside her. The slug is white with three blue streaks that run vertically down the middle and side of its body from its head and tapering at its tail. Its optical tentacles have a slight tint of grey to them, and it also has two sensory tentacles on either side of its mouth. "Katsuyu, help me deal with one of the dog chimeras while I fight with this one. Also, send one of your clones with Izuna and Orochimaru and send one back to Jiraiya." Tsunade punches another spear as she engages against the dog. "Yes, Tsunade-Sama." Three smaller versions of Katsuyu separate from her and one of them cling to my shoulder as we follow Hiruko. ''Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid Technique'' The bigger version of Katsuyu spits outrge amounts of acid at the Chimera dog. The dog dodges the spit, the acid from the spit melts down arge boulder. Orochimaru and I follow Hiruko as I question Chibi Katsuyu. "Lady Katsuyu, what is the size of your actual body? Is the one Tsunade-san summoned yourplete body, or is it one of the many fragments of your body just like this one?" I grab the Chibi Katsuyu and pulls it in front of my face as I curiously look at it. They never mentioned the real size of Katsuyu in anime, and I am really curious to find out the actual size of Katsuyu. "Izuna-kun, you should never ask ady about her age and size. It is considered rude to ask such a thing." The Chibi Katsuyu reprimands me and dodges my question. I could only helplessly shake my head and consider the idea of exploring the Shikkotsu forest one day. I will eventually figure out her secret. Katsuyu jumps back on my shoulder as we continue to follow the trail. We finally spotted Hiruko and Orochimaru throws a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it towards Hiruko. The kunai hits Hiruko and explodes. Poof Hiruko disappears in a puff of smoke, and a log appears in his ce. ''Substitution Jutsu'' Orochimaru and I search for Hiruko, and I finally find him behind a tree. Hiruko makes some hand signs as I shout in my mind. ''Not again!'' Chapter 60: Tsunade’s Decision Chapter 60: Tsunades Decision ''Summoning Jutsu: Dual-Headed Snakes'' A giant double-headed snake-like creature appeared in front of us. The snake has blue color scales andrge fangs. It had arge white bone carapace on its head. Hisss. The snake hissed at us as it attacked with its fangs. "Eat this." I made some hand signs and shoot a fireball at the snake. The snake opened its maw wide and gulped down my fireball. "It really ate it." I am surprised by this development as I engage in a fight with the snake. Hiruko escapes again, "Orochimaru-san! You are the leader of the team. You should go ahead and chase down Hiruko. I will keep this snake upied. I take out my Chakra de as I shrug off another attack from the snake." "It''s decided then." Orochimaru nods to me and chases Hiruko. The snake opens its mouth wide and two more snakes emerge from its mouth. This continues for a while as the snake continues to multiply as they be smaller and smaller until they form arge to capture me. I infuse Light Chakra in my de, ''Light Style: Light Sabre'' The de turns blue from heat and vibrates. One by one, I sh one snake after another as I dodge its attacks. I continue to whittle down the headcounts of the snake. Katsuyu praises me for my strength. "You are strong, Izuna-kun. I think you can fight Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sama, and Orochimaru-sama in a few more years." ''Well, I can still fight and win against them, but the victory wille at a cost. Jiraiya has the Sage mode with toads, Orochimaru is an unkible Cockroach, and Tsunade has her healing Jutsu. Among them, Tsunade is the weakest if I have to state the facts. The bloodline of Senju and Uzumaki runs through her. She has the bloodline of Asura Otsutsuki. Maybe, she has high growth potential which she wasted in alcohol and sorrow. I hope she can ovee her grief soon. She will be a major help in our fight against Otsutsukis if she can reach her full potential.'' ---------- Orochimaru continues to chase Hiruko as he catches up with him. Orochimaru appears in front of Hiruko as he pulls a kunai from his holster. "You have done quite the research, Hiruko. I am amazed by your research notes. Your way of thinking aligns with me." Orochimaru licks his kunai as he stares at Hiruko. "Orochimaru, you were sent by the Third Hokage to kill me. You have the chance now when I am weakened by my experiments. I don''t have any summons anymore. You could kill me easily. Why are you stalling time now?" Hiruko questions Orochimaru''s intentions. "Hiruko, we have grown together, and I could notice the helplessness in your eyes. Your weakness pushed you to search for an alternative to search for power. I have a simr goal to you. There are some many jutsus, so much knowledge to learn in this short life. Why our lifespan is so small? Why we can''t reach immortality and live forever. I am quite interested in your Research on Chimera Technique. Why don''t we make a deal? I will pass my research information to you and you pass your research information to me." Orochimaru entices Hiruko. "What are your intentions, Orochimaru? I have already abandoned the vige as the vige can''t handle my research anymore. As for you, you are a student of Third Hokage and I am sure he won''t be happy to hear about your thoughts." Hiruko raises his guard as he looks warily at Orochimaru. "Don''t be so wary of me. I meant no harm to you, I will even help you escape from the Land of Fire. What I want is just your research knowledge? I am sure you are carrying a copy of your research with you. Here, you can see my research first to think seriously about my offer." Orochimaru throws a scroll to Hiruko, who catches the scroll warily. After inspecting the scroll for a while for any traps, Hiruko opens the scroll and reads the research notes of Orochimaru. Hiruko is shocked to see the contents of the paper as he starts to frantically mutter to himself. "Wonderful! Absolutely Wonderful! Your research aligns a lot with mine. If your offer is honest, I willply with you. But you have to help me cross the borders of Land of Fire first, I will pass my research to you after that." Hiruko agrees with Orochimaru''s deal. Orochimaru leads Hiruko to the borders of Land of Fire and Land of Grass. After crossing the border, Hiruko throws a scroll towards Orochimaru and disappears from his vision. Orochimaru grabs the scroll as he skims through it. Heughs maniacally and turns around to return to his teammates. "It is easier to put this smaller clone of Katsuyu in genjutsupared to the real body." Orochimaru strokes the slug. --------- Later inside the Hokage''s office, Orochimaru presents a scroll to Hiruzen as he starts to exin his findings regarding the research of Hiruko. "He was able to sessfully slip from our grasp and escape the borders of Land of Fire. We have a peace treaty with Iwagakure, so I stopped at borders." Orochimaru reports to Hiruzen as he continues. "Using his Kinjutsu, he created various Chimera Summoning beasts which he used in the battle against us." Orochimaru starts to exin the appearance and natures of Chimera beasts. "So, Hiruko escaped from your hold. Label him as a missing-nin and put a bounty on his head. He is an S-Rank criminal, update his info on Bingo Book." Hiruzen orders as he smokes from his pipe. "Thanks for your hard work, Lord Third. You still can''t rx after your retirement." Minato assures Hiruzen. "You don''t have to thank me, Minato. I am just tying some loose ends. And also, I want to make sure that the transition between our tenure is smooth. You still have lots of things to learn, I am just ying my part in it." Hiruzen humbly responds to Minato''s praise. ----------- I stood together with the Sannins as I listened to the report. ''I am pretty sure Orochimaru could have stopped Hiruko from escaping.'' Earlier I examined Hiruko''s body with my Sharingan and I could notice many stitches all over his body. His body was weakened from the use of Kinjutsu. Part of the reason he never engaged inbat with us. He just used his Chimers summons to stall us. ''So, it seems Orochimaru allowed Hiruko to escape. They must have made some sort of deal. I am not interested in anything rted to Orochimaru as long as he stays out of my way. If he tries to mess with me, I will give him a taste of my real power.'' Tsunade is lost in her thoughts as Izuna''s earlier words cycle through her mind. ''He is much more realistic and intelligentpared to Nawaki.'' Tsunade walks up to me as she asks me, "What''s your dream, Izuna?" I am surprised by her question, but I still answer to her nheless. "My dream is to grow stronger than anyone else." Tsunade''s expression dwindles as she seems to be disappointed by my answer. I continue with my answer. ".so I could protect my family and loved ones from any sort of Danger. And to that, I will help them grow stronger with me." Tsunade is surprised to hear my answer and a little happy too. She contemtes for a while before she seems toe to a decision. Tsunade removes the ne from her neck and approaches in front of me. Tsunade ties the ne around my neck as she smiles at me. Everyone including Hiruzen and Minato is surprised by this development as they look at us with wide-eyes. My thoughts go haywire at this development. Various rms start to go off in my brain as my thought process bes a mess. ''Wtf! Is she raising a g on me? I just wanted to help her ovee her grief and grown stronger in the time she spent sulking in grief. Has my Talk-no-Jutsu backfired on me? Or perhaps I have overdone with the Jutsu. Powerful, this Talk-no-Jutsu is way too overpowered. It carried the entire Naruto series all by itself. Have I also earned the legendary fame of ''Plot Armor''? Well, I do have plot Armor from my wishes, but isn''t this too much? She kisses my forehead as she smiles at me. "Thanks for making me realize my mistakes. I think I will be able to ovee my grief. Your words helped me a lot." "It would be better if you kissed me on lips." I smile back at Tsunade. Bonk "You kid! Stop falling prey to Jiraiya''s pervy nature." Tsunade bash my head as sheughs at me. "Hey, don''t use me of his misdeeds. It is his thoughts, I have no hand in them." Jiraiya tries to exin. "It is your pervy nature that is corrupting Izuna." Tsunade hugs me in her embrace. I am pressed in between her massive mounds. I enjoy this feeling of bliss. ''One can die for such a heavenly feeling. It is pure bliss.'' Jiraiya starts to grumble at me as he mutters, "Damn! This lucky brat. He even managed to charm Tsunade with his sweet tongue." Jiraiya looks at my handsome appearance and curse again. Chapter 61: Medical Ninjutsu Training Part-1 Chapter 61: Medical Ninjutsu Training Part-1 Coughcough Hiruzen coughs to get our attention. "Jiraiya, Tsunade, what are your ns after this mission?" "I will spend my days journeying around the world to visit many ces. Oh! Minato, I have written a new novel ''The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi''. You should check it out when you have free time. I will leave a copy with you. I will soon hold a book-signing event for it." Jiraiya exims in excitation as he thinks about his new book. "What about you Tsunade? What are you going to do?" Hiruzen asks Tsunade. "Initially, I nned to leave Konoha and roam around the world. But I have changed my mind now. Izuna asked me to teach him medical ninjutsu and I will stay in Konoha till he learns enough. I will still roam around the world and would probably visit the Land of Medicine." Tsunade exins her ns to Hiruzen. "Very well, it''s good that you are prolonging your stay in Konoha. Although we have achieved peace after the war, there is still unrest at borders. We might need your medical expertise to treat our shinobis." Hiruzen remarks. "Tomorrow, early in the morning, meet me at Konoha''s Hospital if you want to learn Medical Ninjutsu. I want you to be present at the exact time. My training will be hard, bear this in mind. Once you start, I won''t allow you to live halfway through." Tsunade warns me about medical ninjutsu training. "I will be there, right on time. There is no fun in training if it isn''t hard." I reply to her as move out of the Office. ------------ Next day, Early morning, I prepare to depart for the hospital as the prospect of learning medical ninjutsu is riling me up. I was a medical student in my previous life; I want to see the difference between the knowledge of the two worlds. There isn''t much difference between the anatomy of humans from this world and my previous world, except for the additional Chakra Network in humans. I hope my previous knowledge will be helpful here. After a few minutes, I stand at the entrance of Konoha Hospital waiting for Tsunade to show up. After waiting for another fifteen minutes, Tsunade shows up with Shizune. I look at her with a questioning gaze as I ask her, "You arete Tsunade-san. I was on time, it was you who arrivedte." Tsunade shrugs off my question as she points to Shizune and speaks, "You two must know each other, right? Still, let me introduce, she is Shizune." Tsunade points at me and continues, "And Shizune, he is Izuna. Both of you will train in medical Ninjutsu under me." "Tsunade-san! I have missions too. So, I will only practice when I don''t have missions." I remind Tsunade of my other identity. "It''s fine. When you are out on missions, I will focus on Shizune. I want to train her as my sessor in medical Ninjutsu. But that won''t mean I will go easy on you. Now let''s hurry and start your training." Tsunade assures me. Tsunade leads us to the library of Konoha''s Hospital. She picks out lots of heavy books from various bookshelves and ms them on the table in front of us. The table creaks from the weight of the books. Shizune and I gulp at the thickness of books. Tsunade notices our expression as she questions, "What are you thinking? You thought we will directly start with looking after patients and healing people around. We need to learn to walk before we can run. These books will help you gain a basic understanding of Medical Ninjutsu." Tsunade picks up a thick book as she ms it in front of us. "You will start with this book, ''History of Medical Ninjutsu''. This book will help you understand the history of medical ninjutsu, it''s origin, need, and importance in the shinobi world." Tsunade lifts another book and ms it on the table. The table creaked even more and bend beneath the book''s weight. "This is ''Encyclopedia of Herbs and Medicines''. Memorize the details of every herb and medicine written in this book." Tsunade picks yet another thick book and ps it on the table. The legs of the table spread out as it is almost about to copse from the weight. "This is ''Compendium of Deadly Herbs and Poison. They are categorized separately from other herbs because poisons are biological weapons that can take lives. Just by utilizing poison, the puppet master Chiyo of Sand became formidable during the ''Second Shinobi War''. This book contains information on somemon poisons and their antidotes." She picks up yet another book and ms it on the table. The top of the table is almost touching the floor as the table moans. "This is ''Essentials of Shinobi Anatomy and Physiology''. It contains detailed information about the anatomy of a shinobi. The various organs, meridians, and pathways of the human body. Hammer all the information in your brain." Tsunade picks yet another book. At this moment, the expression of Shizune and me had turned from ugly to pale as we look in horror at all the books present in Tsunade''s hands. "This is ''Compendium of Diseases and Deformities''. This book records all the diseases discovered in Shinobi to this date. Make sure to read this thoroughly. You can''t treat your patient if you aren''t aware of their ailments." The table copses and snaps from the weight of heavy books. "You have to finish this batch of books in a week. After a week, I will put your knowledge to the test and will grade your abilities ordingly. After this batch ispleted, you have to memorize another batch of books to further increase your knowledge." Tsunade points at another stack of books present beside her. Despair rose in our eyes as we look at the tall stacks of the book in horror. Shizune and I gulp a mouthful of saliva as Shizune questions, "Tsunade-sama, after reading through these books, will we able to practice the Medical Ninjutsu?" Tsunade looks at Shizune and hesitates for a while before she answers, "For now, just focus on memorizing these books. I will tell you about your next step after you have finished these books." I could feel that there is more to her words. In the original series too, Tsunade wanted to train Shizune as her sessor but ultimately chose Sakura over Shizune. Shizune had an above-average aptitude for medical Ninjutsu. She wasn''t a top-tier talent, but fairly close to it. ''So, she doesn''t want to demoralize Shizune at the first step. I could understand her sentiment as I recall my previous hours of training of Surgeries on dead bodies. That was a frustrating task to say, but that hard work ultimately led me to get my degree.'' "Yes, Tsunade-san! Tsunade-sama!" Both of us reply to Tsunade as we start to read the books. I picked up ''Essentials of Shinobi Anatomy and Physiology'' to read first. I wanted to know about the difference between Shinobi''s and Normal Human''s body. After reading for a while, I can''t figure out much of a difference between the two except the Chakra system. The body of a Shinobi is more durable than Normal Human. Due to the presence of the Chakra System, all of the inner organs of a Shinobi are coated in a thinyer of Chakra which prevents them from discing from their position due to the shock caused by various Supernatural feats of Shinobi. I always wondered how Shinobis prevents their mouth from being burned by fire when they use the fire jutsu. Today, I got my answer. I read the book on anatomy for four hours straight as I used my Sharingan to record the information as I flip through the pages. Whenever I notice something new and different, I would stop and analyze that information for a while. Tsunade would check on us from time to time. After another hour, I finished the entire book as I stood up and stretched my body. Tsunade and Shizune were shocked to see me finish a book so quickly. "Kid, have you read and memorized the entire book," Tsunade questions me. I nod to her as I point at my Sharingan. "It was easy to memorize the details through the use of my Sharingan. You are free to ask me any question from the book." Tsunade questions me a few times and I answer them perfectly. "Damn! These Uchihas and their Sharingan." Tsunade curses Uchihas on how unfair it is. "Hey! That''s rude. You can''t curse us for our abilities." I angrily looked at Tsunade. "Ok! Ok! Memorizing them is fine, but you must also know the meaning of knowledge you learned. Before you start the next book, make sure to digest the entire information from this book. Go and rx for a while. You can read the next book from tomorrow onwards." Growlgrowl Izuna''s stomach growls in hunger. ''I can''t wait to eat some Ramen.'' Izuna walks out of the hospital, jumps on a nearby roof, and disappears. ----------- A/N:- Leave yourments about this chapter. I tried to exin the difference between a shinobi and normal human. I don''t know if it is correct or not, but I tried to exin it ordingly. Chapter 62: Medical Ninjutsu Training Part-2 Chapter 62: Medical Ninjutsu Training Part-2 The torture continues for the next two weeks as I have to memorize a plethora of knowledge. The herbs and medicines are entirely different from my previous world because of the involvement of Chakra. Though some of their effect are almost the same, but more potent. For various diseases, there is not much knowledge recorded. Shinobi continues to wage war and during warring periods, hardly anyone lived past Thirty. This reminded me of Itachi''s disease. Kishimoto has a knack for killing overpowered characters in a very unconventional way. Sakumo dies by suicide, Shisui dies by suicide, Itachi dies from an unknown disease. Nagato sacrifices his life, Grandpa Madara is backstabed by ck Zetsu. Moving on to poisons, simr to medicinal herbs, poisons are also enhanced by Chakra. As for medical Ninjutsu''s history, there are lots of iplete text and record. Only after the formation of Hidden Viges did the shinobis start topile them. There is still a lot of knowledge buried within the depths of various ns record which they refuse to pass to others. I found no records of anything rted to ''Sage of Six Paths''. He is considered more of a fable than an actual person. Guess ck Zetsu did a good job of eliminating any trace of him. ''After this boring session of book reading, today we are finally about to start on our first lesson on Medical Ninjutsu, I suppose.'' I had doubts about the authenticity of Tsunade''s words when she convinced Shizune and as expected Tsunade appears before us as she speaks, "Before we start our lessons in Medical Ninjutsu, I would like to see your Chakra control. Tsunade ce jars in front of us. The jar has milk and coffee mixed within it. "To test your Chakra Control, I would like you to separate milk and coffee in differentyers. This is a simple test I came up with after pondering for a while. The faster and smoother you can do it, the better your Chakra control is." She shakes the jars to further mix the milk and coffee. "Now start! You have half an hour to separate the mixture." I have good Chakra control. Beside my ninjutsu training, I practiced Chakra Control a lot. The situation turned even worse after the ''Sin Seal''. I have to micro-manage my Chakra consumption in order not to trigger the seal. I infused Chakra more than the necessary amount, the seal would start to suck me dry. So, my Chakra control improved further from this handicap. I still miss those days when I could spam Jutsus non-stop and dominate anyone with my power. Now, even throwing a Lightning Release Rasengan will trigger the seal and leave me dry. I should pay a visit to Uzumaki Vige sometime soon. Anyway, this test will be a breeze for me. I concentrate Chakra in my hands as I redirect it inside the mixture. I start to fine control my Chakra as it interacted with Coffee and Milk particles. Slowly, step by step, I separate them based on their densities as smallyers of milk and coffee form. Tsunade looks at my mixture and nods. "You are doing great, Izuna. Looks like your chakra control is quite good. Shizune, milk, and coffee have differentpositions. Try to separate them ording to that. We can also apply this lesson to extract poison from the body." I separate milk and coffee in a few more seconds and after a while, Shizune alsopletes the process. "Izuna your Chakra Control is up to the standard of a Medical-Nin. As for you, Shizune, you need to train hard in your Chakra control. You can still improve further." Tsunade remarks on our abilities. "Next step is the ''Healing Technique''. You have to gather chakra in your palms in the shape of an orb and move it over injured areas to elerate healing. There is also an advanced form of this technique called ''Mystical Palm Technique''. Only a few medical-nin can use this technique." Tsunade presents a dummy doll to both of us. "This doll is made up of special materials. Whenever you apply healing jutsu on this doll, the material of the doll starts to expand. There is a small cut on this doll. Your task is to use the ''Healing Technique'' to close the split wound. Keep in mind, if you applied too much of the healing Chakra; the doll will inte and blow from over-expanding due to excessive Chakra." Both Shizune and I start to use the ''Healing Technique'' taught by Tsunade. It is quite easy for me as I copied the entire process with my Sharingan when Tsunade demonstrated the technique. I have also copied the advance version ''Mystic Palm Technique'' during the war, but I will improve step by step ording to Tsunade''s instructions. In a few minutes, I easily closed the tear and handed the doll to Tsunade. Tsunade checked the doll and nodded, "You have a good aptitude for Medical Ninjutsu, too bad you are more of abat-oriented Shinobi. Your fighting skills are more useful than Medical skills." After Shizunepletes the process, Tsunade moves to the next step. She hands over Sakura buds to both of us as he demonstrates the next step, "During an emergency, you can save a wounded partner or friend, if you can skilfully apply Chakra to their injuries. For this step, you need to bloom this Sakura bud with your Chakra." ''So, I have to provide enough nutrition to the buds to make them bloom. Chakra is versatile as we can use it in several ways.'' I ponder over the nature of Chakra energy as I start to apply Chakra over Sakura buds. After a short while, the Sakura buds bloom with pink flowers as I present them to Tsunade. Tsunade is surprised to see my progress. She praises me, "Your medical skills are quite good, Izuna-kun. It would be a waste to let them rot inbat. Why don''t you be a Combat medic?" I shook my head and reply to her, "Tsunade-san! I want to grow strong enough to not even allow my friends and family to get injured. I am learning medical ninjutsu to improve my Chakra control and as a precautionary measure for emergencies." Tsunade sighs as she looks at Shizune. Shizune is struggling to bloom the bud as her expression is quite strained due to concentration. Shizune ultimately fails as Sakura buds fail to bloom in the time limit. Tsunade consoles Shizune, "It''s alright. You need a little more practice and you will seed. After this basic course, the next part will be the handling of Chakra tools. You should be able to infuse healing Chakra in scalpels and other tools while operating on a person. Healing Techniques can only heal the external wounds, for internal injuries you need to operate on the patient to effectively treat him. We will start on that only after youpletely master the basic course and effectively heal people in hospitals. Izuna, you are ready for treating external injuries of patients. From tomorrow onwards, you can start to practice on patients in infirmary." "Yes! Tsunade-san." --------- I spent the next month practicing medical ninjutsu under Tsunade''s guidance. Tsunade was surprised to see my proficiency with medical equipment as I handled them like an expert. After just a week, I evenpleted a minor surgery which greatly shocked Tsunade. "Kid! I really hope for you to practice Medical Ninjutsu. You can save countless lives during a battle." Tsunade tries to convince me again. ''If I have enough strength, then there would not be any need for battle. I can suppress my enemies with my strength alone, there will be no injuries or casualties.'' Such thoughts ran through the mind as I once again rejected her idea. ''Maybe I wasn''t fated to be a doctor. The day I graduated from my masters and was free to practice; I lost my life on that very day. But still in my days as an intern, I saved plenty of people to earn enough Karma to reincarnate in this world with some cheats. I suppose!'' I even demonstrated the ''Mystic Palm Technique'' to Tsunade, much to her surprise. In just two months, I have mastered nearly all the Medical Ninjutsu courtesy of Shadow clones. I have no interest in Tsunade''s ''Creation Rebirth Seal'' since I have a healing factor. Her technique is wed. Creation Technique doesn''t repair the old cells instead it hastens the creation of new cells through the ''Cell Division''. A body''s cells can only split and divide only a certain number of times; after it reaches the limit, the body doesn''t create new cells anymore. This is the reason why Tsunade''s actual appearance was much older than her age. This technique also shortens the lifespan of the user, Tsunade could live so long because of her Uzumaki heritage. Maybe in the future, I can perfect this technique and help Tsunade preserve her beauty. It is such a waste to let her turn into an old hag. ----------- A/N:- Behold Shadow clone Jutsu. The most broken ability of Naruto. Chapter 63: Top Secret Mission Part-1 Chapter 63: Top Secret Mission Part-1 Inside the Hokage Office, Izuna and his team listen to the details of theirtest mission as Minato and Hiruzen exins to them, "Konoha has received a backup request from Takigakure. ording to the intel, The Hidden Waterfall Vige is under attack from a group of unknown shinobis. In this crisis, the Vige Head Hisen of Takigakure sent a request mission to Konoha. Since this mission involves conflict between nations after the Third Shinobi War, we can''t deploy normal shinobi teams to handle the situation. It may cause unrest if they discover the involvement of Konoha. So, I am assigning this task to your team. Help Hidden Waterfall deal with the crisis." Hiruzen passes an intel scroll to our Team Leader. All of us flicker out of the Hokage Office, but Hiruzen stops the Captain. "I have a task for you. Hidden Waterfall Vige has a specialized liquid called ''Hero Water''. It is produced once every Hundred years and has some special properties. Try to negotiate with the Vige Head for this water when you ask forpensation." ------- All of us gather at the outskirts of Konoha as we march towards Takigakure. Takigakure is a hidden vige in the Land of Waterfalls. It borders with the Land of Stone and Land of Fire as major Nations. Takigakure isn''t a major hidden vige, since it doesn''t have an official Kage. But it survived previous wars and is still standing after three wars. The most notable shinobi of Takigakure is Kakuzu, a missing-nin who was ordered by the higher-ups of the Vige to assassinate First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. He failed toplete his mission and returned to the Vige only to face the harsh stigma and punishment on the failure of his insurmountable mission. Kakuzu came to hold a violent hatred Takigakure and escaped from his imprisonment. Before he escaped, he violently massacred the Elders of the Vige and plucked out their hearts. He fled the vige, not before stealing one of the most prized ''Kinjutsu'' of the vige. After the first war, Takigakure signed a peace treaty with Konoha, and since then it has been in a non-aggression pact with Konoha. I skimmed through the intel provided by our captain on Takigakure. Not much detailed information is avable regarding Takigakure, as my clearance level is not enough. The flourishment of Takigakure is credited to its high number of Jounins. It has never been sessfully invaded despite being surrounded by four other countries, a feat they are very proud of. I can''t seem to recall much of the information of Takigakure from anime. I only know about Kakuzu, since that guy was popr. Our journeysts for an entire day as we reach the borders of Takigakure. We reached near a veryrge tree, which easily dwarfs nearby trees. Arge waterfall flows near the tree. We have reached the meeting spot assigned by Takigakure as we wait for our guide. I sense a gaze on our team. ''Probably, they are monitoring us to confirm our hostility.'' The Captain walks up to the tree; he takes out a whistle from his pocket and blows it. The whistle produces some inaudible sound. This is the signal given by Takigakure to prove us as a friendly force. After waiting for a while, a team of Takigakure Jounins walks out from behind the tree. ''They have probably used a secret passageway to reach here.'' One of the Jounin walks to over Captain and stretches his hand. The captain passes a scroll to the Takigakure Jounin and waits for his response. The Takigakure jounins read through the scroll and used some sort of seal to check its authenticity. After a while, he nods to us and leads us to the waterfall. The Jounin makes some hand signs and touches the waterfall. The water screen shifts a little, and arge stone with some seals appears in front of us. The jounin makes some more hand signs and ps his hand in the center of the seal. The boulder shakes as it moves from its position to reveal a passageway. One of the Jounin walks inside the passage and the other signals us to move inside. Our team follows them inside, but all of us were on high alert for any suspicious activity. Some Jounins stay behind as they make some hand signs and the boulder covers the entrance once again. "It is for safety measures. We don''t want any invaders to infiltrate our vige." The Jounin reassures us as we closely follow him. The entire passage is an underground cave system with many passages and dead ends just like a maze. If not for the Takigakure Jounin leading us, our team might get lost in the maze. Using Ninjutsu to blow this ce won''t be a good idea, as the entire passage will copse on top of us. After walking for a while, we reached near arge water reservoir which has a barrier to iste the water. We entered inside the barrier and swam toward the surface. After swimming for a while, we reached in the middle of argeke. We stood atop the water and followed the Jounin. Theke is in the center of the Vige. There is a gazebo in the center of theke. The jounin leads us to it. We could spot a man sitting in the center of the gazebo. "Wee friends from Konoha. I am pleased to see you here, I hope Hokage-sama is doing fine." "There is no need for such pleasantries, Vige Head Hisen-sama. Hokage-sama received your message, and he immediately deployed us to help you. Since it is a secret mission, we can''t reveal our identities. Here is a message from Hokage-sama." The Captain passes a scroll to the Vige Chief. I scrutinize the Vige Chief of Takigakure. He had short smooth brown hair that greys on outside with only top maintain the brown color. He wore a ck Takigakure forehead protector around his forehead and his hairs hang over the left and right side of it and he also had brown sideburns. He had small ck-colored eyes and a small brown-colored goatee. I could sense an enormous amount of Chakra from him, but if I were to rate him in strength, then he can be considered slightly weaker to Sannins. ''I think that''s part of the reason why Takigakure doesn''t have a Kage yet. Their strongest shinobi is quite weakerpared to other Kages.'' I assumed him to be the strongest shinobi of Takigakure. Well, you need strength to be epted as Vige Head by all shinobis of the Vige. After exchanging pleasantries with Captain, he directs the conversation to the main issue, "Recently, just after the end of the Third Ninja War; a group of unknown shinobis starts to attack Shinobis from our vige. Whenever they spot a team of Shinobis on a mission, they would attack and ughter them. We sent a team to deal with them, but they were strong enough to repel our efforts. The situation escted when they forced one of our genins to reveal the location of the vige. Since then, they would frequently assault our vige in the wake of night and would kill lots of innocent civilians. We haven''t been able to figure out their motive. Our vige stayed away from the previous two Ninja wars and we have maintained a friendly rtion with other Nation after the First Hokage Incident." The Vige Chief Hisen sighs as he exins the details of attacks to us. "I have requested Iwagakure and Konohagakure for the aid, but Iwagakure denied our request because ofck of personnel on their sides because of the war. Thankfully, your people from Konoha arrived to help us." He points to a nearby jounin as he continues, "Suien will help you with your lodgings, we will need your help during our night patrol. From the recent attack pattern of enemies, they are most likely to strike us today." Suien had long spiky hair, small dark eyes, and a goatee. He wore a dark blue jacket, grey pants, ck shinobi sandals. He wore his forehead protector like a bandanna on his forehead. ''This guy has the aura of a viin.'' Somehow, this Suien guy gives me the vibes of a viin of some small arc. I ignore this feeling as I follow him to our lodgings. The Vige Head has reserved quite a luxurious inn for us near arge waterfall. After we are settled in the inn, I explored the Hidden Waterfall Vige and I ask Captain for permission. "As long as you don''t break the protocol, you are free to do anything. However, keep your guard up in the vige." I change my appearance using Transformation Jutsu and walks out of the inn to tour the vige. The vige had Southeast Asian Aesthetics to it. I sightsee various ces in the vige as I enjoyed the local cuisines. ''It seems more like a holiday, then a top-secret mission to me.'' Chapter 64: Top Secret Mission Part-2 Chapter 64: Top Secret Mission Part-2 Later at night, All of us gather at the outskirts of Hidden Waterfall Vige as we hid over selves. Vige Chief Hisen also hid nearby with his Jounin teams. We wait for enemies to attack the vige. In the direction of 1 o''clock I sense some movement inside theke as I warn my team with gestures. I am the only sensor in my team, so I am assigned to locate the enemies. I raise my guard as I patiently wait for enemies to appear. One by one, many shinobis cloaked in ck clothes appears on the top of theke. I count their numbers. There are nearly a hundred shinobis on theke''s surface. ''That''s arge group of people. They can almost form a small hidden vige with these many shinobis.'' I try to specte on their origin. One person who seems to be their leader makes some hand gestures to them. The shinobis disperse after their leader''s orders. "This is our chance." The Vige head Hisen orders his men as he jumps out from his hiding ce to engage inbat with foreign shinobis. Soon, a heated battle starts between both sides as one jutsu after another flies around. Izily fight with a jounin as I am interested in their origin. Hisen is engaged with the leader of the foreign shinobi group. He makes some rapid hand signs, ''Water Style: Lotus Light Rupture'' Drops of water start to rise from theke. The water droplets fuse as they formed Razor-sharp ''Lotus Petals''. The petals expand in size and spin rapidly. Hisen points them at enemy shinobis as the petals emit explosive energy. The lotus petals made the atmosphere simr to a scene within a Zen garden as the melody of death ys. The enemymander sensed the danger from the technique as he immediately made some hand signs, ''Radiation Release: Radioactive Decay'' His body generates a deadly amount of radiation. The surrounding air heats as it ionizes, the nearbyke water boils from the extreme heat. All the ''Lotus Petals'' evaporates from the heat, nullifying the jutsu. I jump back to avoid the deadly radiation. I immediately activate my Sharingan as I record the new Nature Transformation. Hisen also dodges the radiation directed at him as he makes some more hand signs, ''Water Release: Water Prison Dome'' He makes a water prison around the enemymander to iste the radiation. But his efforts seem to be futile as the water evaporates from the heat. I quickly make some hand signs, ''Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu'' I shoot a water bullet at an enemymander who dodges the first bullet but is hit by the second one. He is flung out of theke and crashes on to the shore. "Vige Chief and I will take care of the enemymander, rest of you stop other enemies." Our Team Captain orders us. I engage with other enemy shinobis, but most of my attention is on the enemymander. I have never seen such a weird Nature Transformation. I quickly checked the body of the enemymander, and I got my answer. The Nature Transformation Radiation Release is a mix of Fire Release and Yang Release. He is using fire release to produce fire and empowering it with the Yang Release, which results in this deadly radiation. ''This seems pretty suicidal. He ispensating some Yang Chakra with his life energy. How desperate is this dude to blow Takigakure? Does he have a backstory like every Naruto Viin?'' I question myself. The area around Enemymander turned into a dead zone of Radiation. The enemymander makes some more hand signs, ''Radiation Release: Matter Decay Bomb'' He spews out an enormous amount of green fire. The fire starts to condense into a dense ball as it pulsates. Heunches the ball towards the vige. "Damn! He is targeting the vige. If it hit the vige, everyone inside will be toast." I curse him as I start to think of counter-measures. Vige Chief Hisen makes some hand signs as he ms his hand on water, ''Summoning Jutsu: Ryurimaru'' A giant crimson, white catfish six times the size of a human appears in the water. "Ryurimaru transform to protect the vige," Hisenmands the summon. ''Dragon God Transformation'' The fish turns into a giant golden dragon. The dragon swiftly moves in front of the Radiation bomb, The dragon opens its mouth and fires an energy beam at the ball. Boom This results in an explosion as the dragon is able to redirect the bomb towards a nearby hill. Boom The Radiation Bomb collides with the hill and explodes. Arge mushroom cloud rises in the air as all the life-forms die on the hill. Green Radiation envelops the hill, the hill has be inhabitable for years toe. ''Damn! That''s a pocket atom bomb.'' I gaped at the scenario of the hill. Tailed beast bombs will only detonate and explode, but this jutsu leaves behind deadly radiation as it aftereffect. The enemymander is drained of his Chakra at this point. We have also dealt with pretty much all the enemies. The skills of Anbu are a notch higher than regr Jounins and our team is one of the elite. This oue breaks the mind of the enemymander. He frantically starts to shout, "Why why, this oue must happen? Twenty yearsI spent twenty years to n for my revenge. Twenty years ago, my vige was wiped by a shinobi from Takigakure. At that time, we were engaged in a war against Konoha. The Third Hokageunched a surprise attack and our vige lost the war. When we returned to the vige, death and devastation of our Torigakure vige weed us. We were a small vige located in The Land of Birds who had a conflict with Konoha on some interests; what had those innocent vigers done to anybody to face such a grueling death where their hearts were ripped apart from their body? My wife, my daughter, and even my newborn son were ughtered in that massacre. After investigating the perpetrator, the trails lead us to Takigakure. Kakuzu of the Takigakure ughtered our entire vige. From that day onwards, I decided to take revenge from Takigakure. I spent the past twenty years of my life practicing the ''Kinjutsu'' of my vige, hoping to avenge my family. I can''t fail now, No! I won''t fail now. Haha. Haha All of you must die with me. I will join my family in the afterlife together with the entire Takigakure." The enemymanderughs hysterically as he made some hand signs. I could see his life force draining at an extreme rate. His body intes as deformation rose on his body. His body condensed into a small green sphere as it shines. "Stop him! He is about to detonate himself with that Radiation Release. If he is sessful in his jutsu, then the entire Takigakure Vige will turn into a dead zone filled with Radiation." I warn all the shinobis who are staring with wide-eyes at the enemy Ninja. ''Radiation Release: Nuclear Detonation'' The vige Head Hisen fished out a small gourd from his pocket as he immediately uncorked it. He gulps down the crystal clear water. ''So, that''s the legendary ''Hero Water'' of Takigakure, which made it known throughout the world. Most of the invaders attack the vige for this water, but the vige sessfully repelled them. How ironic, they are facing an existential crisis because of revenge, not because of this water. I guess this dude is more desperate than others, part of the reason he seeded in his invasion.'' I look at the vige Chief, then I direct gaze towards the enemy shinobi who has turned into a green ball at this point. ''I am not a part of this shit! Don''t blow me up, you motherfucker!'' I silently curse that enemy shinobi in my mind. Arge amount of Chakra starts to rile up from the Vige Head as the blue Chakra is visible to our eyes. I check his body with my Sharingan and I can see a sharp spike in his chakra reserves. There is a tenfold increase of Chakra in Hisen''s Chakra reserves. The Chakra is so potent that it pushed away nearby water and forms partial Chakra arms. The Chakra Network of Hisen is frantically pumping this extra Chakra through his body as some of his Chakra meridians start to snap. His life force is draining quickly as his remaining brown hairs start to turn grey. Wrinkles appear on his skin and his body starts to hunch a little. ''So, this is the side-effect of ''Hero Water''. It makes you a hero for a few instances, then zero for life. This name is appropriate for this water.'' The vige chief gets ready for his Hero Moment. ''Should I pop some popcorns for this moment.'' I joke in my mind as I turn serious to face the explosion as I really might die here. Chapter 65: Top Secret Mission Part-3 Chapter 65: Top Secret Mission Part-3 Boom An enormous explosion covered the area as Vige Chief Hisen used his enhanced chakra prowess to carry the enemy shinobi further away from the vige. Arge pir of light engulfs us as I create some earth walls together with my skeletal Susanoo to protect myself. I can see an extensive amount of high energy radiation particles shooting towards us. The earth walls blocked most of the radiation, but still, a fair amount of radiation escaped and bombarded my Susanoo. The pration of these things is too high, and only pure chakra constructs could stop them. The explosionsts for a while as the tall pir of green light finally disappeared, leaving lots of deadly radiation behind. A major outer area of Takigakure got annihted in the process, though the vige is unharmed from the explosion. I checked all of my teammates and I could seerge amounts of radiation in their body. If they aren''t treated quickly, then they might die real soon. I hope Tsunade can figure out a way to save them. For now, I will give them basic treatment to prevent further damage to their cells. I heal my teammates using Medical Ninjutsu. Takigakure jounins also lined up in front of me for treatment. I checked the body of Vige Chief Hisen and shook my head. "He is a lost cause. The Hero Water and Radiation have done extensive damage to his meridians and vitality. He won''t live for long. I would advise you to groom a sessor for your position." Hisen sighs after hearing my words, "I knew such a day woulde eventually. I have protected the vige in past years from lots of invaders, and continuous use of Hero Water took a toll on my body. I have finally reached my limit. Could you tell me how much longer would I live?" "You have a year at most. If you use Hero water in this interval, then you will die immediately." I warn him. "Also, this radiation has done extensive damage to bodies of involved jounins. I would rmend getting treated immediately, otherwise all of you will follow Hisen''s footsteps." My warning scared them as they frantically begin to question me. I answered their questions one by one. Now it is time for our remuneration. "Hokage-sama demands a gourd of ''Hero Water'' as ourpensation for this mission." Our team captain informs Hisen. "It''s fine with me. I will provide you with a gourd of ''Hero Water'' tomorrow. I hope it will improve our rtionship with Konoha in the long run." "Of course, Konoha will be ready to help Takigakure anytime, if the situation demands it." The Captain answered. All of us returned to our lodgings to rx. We will depart for Konoha tomorrow. "Vige Head Hisen-sama, I oppose using ''Hero water'' as a reward for the mission. The ''Hero Water'' is limited and is a source of strength for our vige. It is isn''t wise to give it away just like that." Suien disagrees with Hisen''s decision. "We will be able to forge a good rtion with Konoha with ''Hero Water''. It is such a small cost to pay to get their support." Hisen assures Suien. "But they are part of a Large Nation and you can never trust them" "I have made my decision and I don''t want to hear any further argument on this subject." Hisen cuts off Suien. In the next morning, They invite captain and me to the vige head''s house by a jounin. We follow the jounin to visit Hisen. Vige Chief''s residence is a wooden cottage built near some trees with a sign ''Taki'' in kanji engraved on the entrance. The interior of the cottage seems to be rather spartan. It doesn''t contain much space or unnecessary furniture, like a table or chair. Hisen sat on a raised Dai on the floor as he wees us. "It was nice to have you here. Once again, we thank Konoha for their support. I hope our rtion with Konoha will prosper in the future." Hisen passes a gourd with crystal clear ''Hero Water'' to us together with a scroll. While returning a kid collides with me and fells down on the floor. "I am sorry." The kid immediately bows and apologizes to me. "It''s fine." I inspect the kid. He has ink-ck eyes and long, dark brown hair simr to Hisen. He is around my age, albeit a bit older. "He is my son, Shibuki. He will be my sessor in the future." Hisen introduces the kid. The kid hides behind his father as he stares at us. ''He has a cowardly nature.'' This is my impression of the kid. ''Well, I ain''t have anything to do with this kid.'' I walk out of Vige Chief''s residence. Takigakure''s shinobis escorted us out of the vige through another passage. We start our return journey to Konoha. On our way back, Captain coughs up some blood. He rests against a tree as another Anbu questions him, "Are you alright, Captain? You don''t seem to be in excellent condition." After coughing for a while, the Captain takes a deep breath and assures us, "I am fine. The earlier injuries red up. I will visit Vige Hospital for treatment." I secretly investigate his body. I am shocked to see his condition. Large amounts of Radioactive particles are deposited in his lungs. They are corroding the alveoli of his lungs. ''Captain was closest to explosion after Vige Head Hisen. Looks like he suffered a lot of damage from the radiation. If he isn''t treated on time, he will lose his life in the next few years.'' --------- Inside Hokage''s office, I start to report the details of the mission to Minato and Hiruzen. The captain and the rest of my team are admitted to emergency wards inside the Konoha Hospitals. Tsunade is trying to figure out a cure for them. ''Maybe I shall help herter.'' After hearing my report, Hiruzen mumbles. "I remember that vige. Twenty years ago, our vige was engaged in a war against them. They possessed a powerful Kinjutsu capable of blowing an entire vige. It is the same ''Radiation Release'' you mentioned earlier. Many small viges were struggling with the possession of remaining tailed beasts. They used this forbidden Kinjutsu to annihte another small vige in the Land of Forests. Our vige had to step in to prevent them from further devastating other small viges. We sessfully repelled them, but the vige suddenly disappeared in thin air. I never expected there to be survivors and the cause of their destruction to be a rogue ninja Kakuzu from Takigakure. Anyway, I am quite surprised by your performance Izuna. I would promote you to the rank of Vice-Captain of Team Ro. I hope you continue to do well in the future." Honestly, I am surprised by this promotion. Now, I have a higher level of clearance and I can have ess to more forbidden Jutsu. ''I hope I can find something useful among them.'' I return to Uchihapounds as it has been a while since I got some free time. The rest of my team excluding Kakashi are hospitalized. I can take a break and check Shisui''s progress. After Izuna''s departure, Hiruzen passes a scroll to Minato as he informs him, "Recently a group of Ame shinobi''s formed a group called Akatsuki. This group was active during the Third Shinobi War, and they recruited lots of Ame shinobi during this time. We aren''t sure about their motives, but I don''t think Hanzo of the Smander would like the idea of a separate organization residing within Amegakure. I have left Root to take care of this matter. I hope Danzo won''t disappoint me in this matter." "I agree with your arrangements, Lord Third. But I would also like to receive intel regarding Akatsuki. I heard Jiraiya-sensei trained some orphans in Amegakure during his stay. So, I am a little curious about the motives of this organization." "Very well, I will talk with Danzo regarding this matter. How is the situation at borders?" "There isn''t much improvement in the situation. Many shinobis from small nations are still invading our borders. My hands are full dealing with this situation. Minato looks at therge stack of Paperwork and sighs. "Lately, I have spent no time with Kushina." "These are the duties of a Hokage. Paperwork is one of the major trouble, you will soon get used to it." Hiruzen advises Minato. "Well, let me finish this stack of paperwork and I will return home." ------------ Inside Uchihapounds, I visit Shisui''s house, but he isn''t present there. Aunt Fumiko informs me of Shisui''s location. "Shisui is training Itachi in training ground three. You should meet with them. Recently, Shisui has beenining a lot about you. Spend some time with them, your Uncle Yagami is out on a mission." I enter training ground three and hide myself to monitor Shisui and Itachi. ''Thankfully, a certain pervert has stopped his peeking.'' Chapter 66: Training with Shisui and Itachi Chapter 66: Training with Shisui and Itachi I hid on a nearby tree as I eavesdropped on Shisui and Itachi. "Big Brother Shisui, Can you teach me a jutsu? I have already unlocked my Chakra and I am ready to train in Ninjutsu. Father promised to teach me a jutsu, but soon after he went on a mission. Mother seems to be sick. She told me that she is pregnant, and I will be a big brother soon. So, she can''t teach me jutsu." Itachi requested Shisui. "Shisui scratched his back and smiled. "I think you should probably learn your first jutsu from Uncle Fugaku. I will train you in Shurikenjutsu if you want to learn it." "That seems fair too, then Big Brother Shisui teach me Shurikenjutsu." Itachi cheered up a little bit. ''Oh! Shisui is about to flex in front of Itachi. I am interested, it has been a while since Ist saw Shisui''s skills. I wonder how much he has improved with Shurikenjutsu.'' Shisui puts many targets on nearby trees and rocks. He draws out arge number of Kunais from his holster as he held them in his hand. He grips the tip of the kunais between his fingers and flicked his hand. The kunais vanishes as Shisui turns his palm over and shows them to Itachi. He flicks his hand again and kunais re-appear in between his fingers. ''Oh! He learned some party tricks.'' Shisui throws all the kunais at target. All the kunais hits the bullseye, and Itachi is surprised to see it. Shisui grabs more kunais from his pocket and throws them randomly in the air. He draws out more kunais and hit the previous kunais to redirect their trajectory. All the kunais hits the bullseye. Itachi''s eyes are shining at this point. "After some practice, you will be able to do the same. Izuna Nii-san is even better than me. I learned this trick from him." "Oh! I would also like to get trained by Izuna nii-san, but he is always on his missions." Itachiins. ''Oh! I guess I should give them a surprise then. It is time to test my new cool jutsu.'' Winds start to blow in the training ground as many particles start to gather in front of Shisui and Itachi. They are surprised to see this, and both of them raise their guards. All the particles start tobine as they form a humanoid apparition. A figure starts to form within the particles and they finally shatter like ss to reveal my figure. Tadaah I appear in front of Shisui and Itachi as I wave my hands at them. They are shocked to see me as they stare with wide-eyes at me for an entire minute. Their jaw is wide open as they gawk at me. "Are you guys surprised at me? You guys missed me, right? So, here am I." I speak to them to hear their response, but they point at me with shaky hands. ''Did my new jutsu surprised them to this extent? Well, I got the idea of this jutsu from one of my favorite games from my previous life. So, I thought of putting it to use and created this new jutsu.'' ''Light Style: Transmat'' "Hey! Are you two listening? Answer me, boys." I try to calm them down. "Are you really Izuna Nii-san? You aren''t a ghost right?" Shisui steps back and looks at me with wariness. Bonk I bump my fist on Shisui''s head as I angrily shout at him, "I am your real Izuna Nii-san. That was my new jutsu. It is rude of you Shisui tobel me a ghost." "So, you really are Izuna nii-san. It has been a while since Ist saw you." Shisui smiles sheepishly. "Izuna nii-san, what was that jutsu you used now? It is so cool, can you tell me about it?" Itachi asks me in enthusiasm. "That''s a new jutsu, I created Itachi. You know, the normal Substitution jutsu with a log appears dull to me. There is no creativity in that jutsu, so I reced it with my brand new creation." "Can you teach this jutsu to us?" Shisui and Itachi ask me in unison. "Hmmhow to say it to you? But this jutsu is unique to me, I can''t teach this jutsu to you." I burst their bubble of excitement. Shisui and Itachi dejectedly hang their neck. I try to appease them, "Although, I can''t teach it to you. You can create your own Substitution jutsu. For example, you can use summons to create such an effect. Shisui, if I heard it right; you recently signed a summoning contract with Crows. Uncle Yagami helped you with the summoning contract. Why don''t you partner with crows to create your own substitution jutsu and arrival? You can teach that to Itachi. Also, if you sessfullypleted this jutsu, then I can promise to do one thing for you. How is it, do you like my idea?" Shisui contemtes for a while before he nods to me, "Ok! Nii-san, you must promise me. I will create this jutsu very quickly." "Ok! I promise to you. Now, what are you guys doing here?" I ask Shisui. "Oh! I am just teaching some Shurikenjutsu to Itachi. Nii-san, why don''t you show your new Shurikenjutsu technique for us? I have already mastered all the previous techniques and I even created a trick of my own." Shisui demonstrates his party trick technique as he flexes again. ''Now, it''s time for me to flex.'' "Ok! Watch carefully." I throw out many kunais randomly in the air. The kunais starts to fall down after reaching a certain height. I take out a shuriken from my holster and throws it towards a kunai. The Shuriken collides with the kunai and deflects its trajectory. It then collides with another kunai and deflects its trajectory too. This continues for a while as Shuriken continues to deflect all kunais. Finally, it hits the bullseye on one of the targets together with all other kunais. Shisui and Itachi are shocked by this development. Both of them start to p as they praise me. "That''s too awesome, Izuna nii-san. Please teach this to us." "I will teach this to both of you. But Itachi you have to master basic techniques first, then only you can move to advance stuff. Also, you need to unlock your Sharingan to predict their trajectory and aim ordingly. Once you get the hang of your Sharingan, you can repeat my feat without Sharingan just like me. It will be muscle memory for your body, and your normal perception will also increase. Shisui, I will teach this technique to you. Itachi you can watch me and learn something from observation." I start to teach them the advanced techniques of Shurikenjutsu. The trainingsts for a while as the sun sets on the horizon. We decide to return to npounds as all of us walk together. "Itachi, you are going to join the academy soon?" I ask Itachi. "Yes, nii-san, I will apply for the academy after father return from his mission. It is going to be a new session by then." Itachi replies. "Ok! Once you join the academy, I will teach you Shadow Clone Jutsu. You can send your clone to academy and train with Shisui using your real body." Itachi nods to me. Shisui starts to grumble, "Nii-san, you used Shadow clone to skip academy too. Now, you are teaching this bad habit to Itachi." "Shisui, think about it. Academy is a waste of time for talents like Itachi. Academy is only meant for civilian kids to learn some jutsu and know more about Ninja''s life. We are from the Uchiha n, and we have already learned this stuff in our n. Besides, Itachi will send a Shadow Clone to the academy. Whenever he will dispel the Shadow clone, all the information gathered by the clone will appear in his mind. So, technically, he is still attending the academy." I try to convince Shisui. "Well, you have a point there, Izuna nii-san. I will keep this a secret from Uncle and Aunt then. We reached Uchiha npounds as we conversed. Soon, we reached the n head''s residence. "Oh! If it isn''t Izuna-kun and Shisui-kun. So, all three of you were training together." Aunt Mikoto looks at the dirty clothes of Itachi and Shisui. She had a big bulge in her stomach, and she took support against a wall. ''Oh! Sasuke is about to be born. So, I have one year''s worth of time to prepare for that incident. I won''t allow anything to happen to you Minato and Kushina nee-san.'' I remind myself. "Mom, you should rest inside the house. The doctor advised resting to you." Itachi supports Mikoto and leads her inside. "Itachi-dear, I was waiting for you. Izuna and Shisui, both of youe and join us. It has been a while since you visited us." Aunt Mikoto invites us inside the house, and we follow her. Chapter 67: Journey to Land of Whirlpool Part-1 Chapter 67: Journey to Land of Whirlpool Part-1 A/N:- Ok, stopining. We will deal with Sin Seal now, It won''t hinder Izuna in anyway. But some of you might not like the way I dealt with it. I am writing this story with Boruto in my mind. Isshiki Otsutsuki cream-pied Full power Naruto and Sasuke with only a kick while only using around a tiny bit of his power. I need to add some other elements to make Izuna more Op. --------------------- A month passed by, Sasuke is finally born. Fugaku threw arge party to celebrate the asion. They invited nearly all nsmen and other n heads to the party. I attended the party together with my family. Even Minato and Kushina got an invitation. Well, Minato is Hokage and Kushina seemed to be a close friend of Mikoto. Baby Sasuke looked way too cute. Itachi carried Sasuke in his arms and Sasuke giggles. ''Bro-con! Itachi is a bro-con.'' I remarked at their interactions. I have grown up from the stage of molestation by the frantic group of aunties and Grandmas. Itachi can avoid this because of Sasuke. ''I won''t allow Sasuke to turn into an Emo again. Look at this cute child, some schemes of Danzo or Obito can ''t ruin him.'' I tickle Sasuke slightly on his cheeks. Sasuke grabbed my finger and giggle. "Nii-san, he likes you." Itachi and Shisui remarks. Itachi seems to hesitate on something as he silently mutters to himself, ''But I am his real brother!'' I sweat-drop at Itachi. ''I can hear you, Itachi.'' We are interrupted by some disturbances; I turn around and get freaked out by creepy Hyugas. Hiashi and Hizashi appeared with a bunch of Hyuga elders. I spot two pretty Hyuga women with them. One of them is holding a small kid in her arms. ''If my guess is correct, then they are the wives of Hiashi and Hizashi and that small kid is Neji. He is about to turn a year old.'' Mother, Aunt Mikoto, Aunt Fumiko, and Big Sister Kushina wees them as they form ady union of their own. ''There are only two creepy things in the vige which can freak me out. First is Hyuga with their Byakugan and second is Aburame''s with their insect littered bodies. I still can''t get used to them.'' Anothermotion urs and speaks of the Devil. Aburame n members have arrived. Shibi walks near me and asks, "How are you doing, kid?" "You remembered me, Shibi-san," I question him. "You were too outstanding to be forgotten. Also, everyone in the vige is aware of ''Silent Shinigami''. You are quite famous kid." Shibi answers me as he moves on to greet Fugaku. Simrly, Choza arrived with Akimichis and greeted me. With the arrival of Hiruzen, the party starts as it turns quite noisy. Sasuke cries in agitation. I tickle his cheeks to cheer him. Itachi grudgingly looks at me. I ignore him as we walk to a quiet corner. The party continues as the celebrationsts until midnight. ------------- The next day, I pay a visit to Big Sister Kushina. Kushina is surprised by my visit and she pretends to be upset at me. "Big Sister Kushina, how are you? I really missed you." Hmph Kushina snorted as she ignored me. She starts to mumble to herself. "Izuna has been a bad boy recently. He has already forgotten about his Big Sister Kushina, if not he would visit her often. SobsobI missed him so much." I try to appease her, "It wasn''t my fault, Big Sister Kushina. It is all Minato-san''s fault. He has given me lots of missions recently. I hardly have any vacation in between them." I sigh and puts all me on Minato. ''I am sorry, Minato-san. Bite the bullet this time.'' "That Minato. Wait for him to return home. I will give him a piece of my mind. There is no dinner for him today." Kushina angrily gnashes her teeth. ''A moment of silence for Minato-san.'' I close my eyes to pay my respects to Minato''s poor soul. "Anyway, Izuna-kun, what brought you here? You aren''t here to just meet me, right?" Kushina res at me as she questions me threateningly. Have she figured out my lie? I have to act natural.'' "What are you talking about, Kushina Nee-san? I just came here to pay a visit to you, since I was free." I try to convince her. She smiles at me and walks up to me. She grabs and twists my ear. "Awwawwit hurts Kushina nee-san." "Give me a hug and I will consider it even." I grudginglyply with her. She hugs me tightly and snuggles with me. "You are the only person left after Obito and Rin''s departure. Don''t die too early." Kushina hugs me, a drop of tear falls from her eye. I just allow her to embrace me for a while to calm her down. I console her for a while. "Ok! Izuna-kun, now tell me the real issue." "Big Sister Kushina, I want to investigate the remains of Hidden Eddy Vige or Uzushiogakure. I have a hunch that it involves many suspicious things with the Uzumaki ns'' extinction. Also, I want to know more about Fuinjutsu as I have already reached the Grandmaster level in Fuinjutsu. I think there is much more to Fuinjutsu and I can still progress further." Kushina immediately congrattes me, "Congrattion! Izuna-kun. It seems that your talent in Fuinjutsu is even higher than many direct descendants of our Uzumaki Ancestor. It can be consideredparable to the Great Ancestor. It took me around five years to reach the Master level and another seven years to reach the Grandmaster level. Minato surprised me a lot when he took the same amount of time as me. But you Izuna-kun, you reached Grandmaster level just in four years. That is a monstrous rate of progress, even ording to Uzumaki standards. You are such a little monster, Izuna-kun." Kushina hugs me again as she snuggles with me. After snuggling for a while, she leaves me from her embrace as she continues, "I had my own doubts, too. My Uzumaki n got annihted despite the protection of Konoha and Grandma Mito. I investigated this matter for many years, but I still couldn''t figure out the identity of the Culprit. If you can find something from your investigation, then sure I will help you." I question many things regarding the Uzumaki n from Kushina, and she answered all of them. "I have onest question, Kushina nee-san. I would like to ask about the origin of the Uzumaki n. From Uchiha''s records, I came to know that Senju and Uzumaki were blood-rted. At some point, they separated into these two ns. I would like to know the exact details of the origin of the Uzumaki n. If you are fine with it, then please answer my question." I am really curious about the origin of the Uzumaki n. There is no clear cut mention of their origin in the original story. I wonder what there origin story in this world. Kushina nods and answers me, "This is not much of a secret, as my n is almost extinct now. There is no harm in telling you. Also, even I am not sure about the origin of my n, but from various rumors which I heard as a child, I have some idea about our origin. A few centuries ago, one of the direct descendants of the Senju n left the n as he had no talents for Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. The ancestor journeyed through the entire world and finally found his talent in Fuinjutsu. There are various stories about his fortuitous encounter, one of the states that he found a certain artifact which granted him the knowledge of Fuinjutsu and was the reason for the long-lives and an extensive amount of Chakra of Uzumaki''s. Another story states that at some point during his journey, the ancestor made a summoning contract with Reaper which blessed him withrge amounts of Chakra, a long-life span, and the knowledge of Fuinjutsu. I am not entirely sure of the details, but these are the various stories and myths I heard during my short stay in the n. If you want, I can give you the sealing form to ess the Uzumaki npounds present in Konoha. They were previously maintained by Grandma Mito, and I stayed there for a while before moving with Minato after our marriage. There is also an Uzumaki shrine located on the outskirts of Konoha, which was built by Grandma Mito to honor our ancestors. You can also pay a visit to it. I will also give you a map to the location of Uzushiogakure as it is hidden in the Land of Whirlpools. Without a proper map, you will get trapped in the whirling death pools of the Vige. There is only one correct way to ess the vige." After searching for a while, Big Sister Kushina hand over a scroll and a map to me. "Use this scroll to ess the Uzumakipounds and the Shrine. Also, stay safe during your journey and inform Minato about your departure." I walk out of her house as I start to inspect the key to the barrier form of Uzumakipounds. ''This is quite aplex form, even moreplex than the barrier of Vige. It will take me a lot of time to decipher this form. I guess Mito Uzumaki was at the pinnacle of Grandmaster level in Fuinjutsu.'' I stow away the seal and map as I return home. Tomorrow, I will start my journey to Land of Whirlpool and hopefully, I can find a solution to the ''Sin Seal''. Chapter 68: Journey to Land of Whirlpool Part-2 Chapter 68: Journey to Land of Whirlpool Part-2 I start my search from Uzumakipounds. Using the seal given by Kushina, I easily bypass the barrier and start to fumble around thepounds to search for any clues. My search is futile, even after two hours of a thorough search. I was about to give up and return when my gaze fell on a small shrine simr to the outer shrine. I ransacked the shrine and found an Oni mask inside it. I inspect the mask to find any seals or as such. Soon, I spot aplex sealing form near the forehead. It is very intricately designed and is hard to notice. ''This is a summoning form.'' After careful examination, I conclude that this is the summoning mask for ''Dead Demon Consuming Seal''. ''Strange, very strange. So, there were two such masks, the other being located in the outer shrine. Perhaps this one got destroyed during the pain invasion and Orochimaru wasn''t aware of it. Also, Uzumaki would have kept some kind of replica with themselves. Only after inspecting both of them could I figure out the Original Mask.'' I pocket the mask and move out of the Uzumakipounds to the outside of Konoha. Soon, I reach on the outskirts of Konoha in front of Uzumaki n''s Shrine or Uzumaki ns Noh Mask Hall. There is a giant replica of the n''s symbol at the entrance of the Shrine. There is another powerful barrier protecting the Shrine. ''Hmm, Strange, there shouldn''t be a barrier here. Orochimaru and the rest of the Taka team easily trespassed the Shrine. Maybe, over time, the barrier got destroyed.'' The seal given by Kushina allowed me to enter inside the Shrine. Within the temple at the center is a podium of sorts where several Oni-masks hung beneath three connected symbols of the n, under all of which are ornate, ck mes. I start to inspect these masks one by one to check for any secret. But all of them were just porcin masks, and only one was real. I pick up the real one andpare it with the previous mask. ''Hmmthere is no difference between them. Both of them are made from the same material and at the same time. I wonder why the Uzumaki n ced a dangerous object as this mask on the outskirts of Konoha. Then again, not many people are insane to allow Shinigami to possess them and then slice themselves to release sealed souls.'' I pocket this mask as well. ''I will return you to your position after my journey is over.'' I flicker towards Hokage Office to inform Minato about my departure. "Minato-san, I will be out of Konoha for a while. I have nned to visit Uzushiogakure to investigate the remains of the Uzumaki n for clues regarding their extinction. Also, I would like to further improve my Fuinjutsu skills. Maybe the abode of the Uzumaki n could provide me with some inspirations." Minato nods to me and replies, "Kushina informed me about this. I am surprised you reached the Grandmaster level in Fuinjutsu so quickly. Your talent in Space-time Ninjutsu is higher than mine and even your Nature Transformation Skills. Sigh Really, Izuna-kun. Your team is still undergoing treatment from the previous mission. Tsunade-san has figured out a way to treat them. But the damage has already been done, she can only prevent further harm to their body." I leave the Hokage-Office as I inform my parents about my departure. Mother packed lots of food for me and reminded me to stay safe. Father encouraged me to go and explore the world. My journey towards the Land of Whirlpool starts. The Land of Whirlpool is a small ind nation located in the Mist Sea. The journey to Uzushiogakure will take two days at my normal pace. I moved at a steady pace as I looked at the ''Sin Seal''. ''Your secrets will be revealed soon. I will figure out your purpose from the remains of the Uzumaki n. Hopefully'' My thoughts were conflicted regarding ''Sin Seal''. This seal allowed me to learn Darkness Release. Also, I was stuck at the Master level in Fuinjutsu for the entire two years with little progress. After I got branded by this seal, somehow my understanding of Fuinjutsu increased by a lot. The previousplex sealing forms became easier, everything came naturally to me, and within just seven months of this seal, I reached the Grandmaster level in Fuinjutsu. To be honest, I am really curious about the nature of this seal. From the Grimoire and the name ''Sin'' and other hints, I could only rte it to ''Seven Deadly Sins''- a concept I read about in my previous life. ''This kind of power is rted to Demonic beings or Demons. I wonder if there were Demons in Naruto World. I think there were Demons in Naruto World, there is a demon sealed somewhere in the Land of Demons. Naruto defeated a demon in the movie. I should check out that ce too for further clues. All kinds of strange powers exist in this world.'' The Journeysts for two days and I finally arrive at the shore of Land of Whirlpools. The map given by Kushina came in handy. I start to walk inside Hidden Eddy Vige while looking around. The Vige seemed to have beenposed of several high-rise buildings. A wide river ran through the vige and it is gapped byrge bridges. The surrounding countryside is dominated by steep hills. Now only ruins remain of the once exalted vige. The buildings are torn apart, the bridges are dpidated, and not even a single building is intact. ''How ironic it is, the ''Vige of Longevity'' couldn''tst long enough and became history.'' I start to walk among the ruins of the Vige and investigate for any clues for a secret chamber or something like that. To my disappointment, even after two hours of thorough investigation through the vige, I can''t find anything. ''I should have expected this much. When the vige was annihted, the invaders must have even dug out the graves of the ancestor of Uzumaki''s to find any secrets or valuable. How could they allow the treasure trove of such a powerful n to get away scot-free? As for the rest, the vige head and elders must have destroyed the important secrets to not allow them to fall in the hands of their enemies and benefit them. But still, there has to be something which can help me progress further.'' I investigate once again but couldn''t find anything. ''There has to be some sort of hidden underground passage, cave or something. It usually is there in such kind of settings.'' I sat inside the remains of one of thergest buildings of the Vige as I flipped the masks in my hand while contemting. I thought of these masks as some sort of keys which will automatically direct me towards my destiny. But reality hit me hard. There were no reactions from these masks. They didn''t even budge a little, much less point out a direction. As I was ying with the masks, one of the masks identally slipped from my hand and fell on the ground. I bent down to pick the mask. Suddenly, I noticed something from the cutouts of the masks. There are various tiny Fuinjutsu seals ced all around the floor. The eye gaps of the mask magnified them in my vision. I picked up the mask and pocketed it and activated my Sharingan. After using the magnifying powers of Sharingan, I noticed arge numbers of Fuinjutsu seals engraved all over the floor of the building. The Fuinjutsu seals formed one massive seal which covered arge area. To get a better view, I jumped high up in the air. Arge seal appeared in my vision. This Fuinjutsu seal is shaped in the form of the Uzumaki n symbol. ''This is the mostplex seal I have seen so far. I wonder what level the creator of this seal was at. If I try to decipher it now, it will take me months to just study this seal and then I would have to figure out a key for this seal, which is even harder. What kind of secrets are buried within this seal? Can''t I just smash everything apart and forcefully enter my way in. But what if this seal triggered and destroyed whatever is hidden beneath it?'' My thoughts are conflicted as I look at the seal. ''This won''t go anywhere. Let me try to brute force my way in.'' I start to create a ''Big Ball Rasengan'' in my hand. Afterpleting the jutsu, I smashed it on the seal as I wait for the ground to tear apart. Silence Utter Silence Aftering in contact with the seal, the Rasengan just vanished without any trace. The seal absorbed the entire Chakra of the Jutsu. ''If Ninjutsu won''t work, what about Taijutsu?'' ''Eight Inner Gates: First Gate, Second Gate, Third Gate: Gate of Life Open'' I activated three out of Eight gates. This is my limit for now. I have only mastered three gates in a year. My body can''t handle the burden of the rest of the gates even with Hashirama cells, and I don''t like the masochistic feeling of continuous pain and healing. I jump in the air to build some momentum for my attack as I rotate in mid-air. ''Leaf Hurricane'' I smash my feet on the floor. Crack ---------- A/N:- My wifi router suck balls. Suddenly, It won''t allow me to ess certain websites which include webnovel and even my bank website. It was working fine a few hours ago. I have to plug in my old router to get some connectivity. Do any tech geek have any solution for my router or I have to rece it? Chapter 69: A Strange Seal Part-1 Chapter 69: A Strange Seal Part-1 Crack Sound of something cracking echoed in the surrounding. ''Did I sessfully break the floor?'' An instantter, a sharp pain ran across my leg all the way to my brain. ''Fuck! I broke my leg.'' I immediately sat on the ground and inspect my leg with X-Ray. I broke the bone near my ankle from the impact. The bone connects as my healing factor kicked in. After a few seconds, it returned to normal. I stood up and checked the point of impact on the floor. There is no trace of any damage to the floor. It is still intact and appears brand new. ''Fuck! What kind of material is this? It is so hard. Let me try again, this time with my Susanoo.'' I created my Susanoo. Arge humanoid skeletal construct of Chakra surrounded me. I clenched my fists tightly, and the Susanoo followed my lead. Bang I smashed the fist of Susanoo on the seal. Arge amount of dust and debris rose from the impact. The dust settles to reveal the seal. There is a slight dent on the floor. Some strange Chakra leaks from the ground and starts to fix the dent. Within a few seconds, the floor returns to normal with no sign of any prior damage. ''It even has a restoring seal within the mix. How will I decipher this seal?'' Something clicked in my mind. I ransacked my storage scroll and fished out a vial with some blood inside it. This vial contains the blood of Sister Kushina. She gave it to me while teaching some blood-rted Fuinjutsu seals. I carefully took out a drop of her blood and ced it on top of the seal. ''Now, I have to wait for some sort of mechanism to trigger which can detect the blood of Uzumaki''s and open the passage for me.'' Fifteen minutes passed by and there is no reaction from the seal. ''Seriously, How the fuck. I decipher this fucking seal. Shouldn''t the seal open with the blood of an Uzumaki descendant. Kushina Nee-san is an Uzumaki princess at that, but there is no response from the seal.'' I have tried every possible way to decipher this seal, but I failed constantly. My hopes start to crumble and I almost gave up on this seal. I take out those Oni-mask once again to see any reaction from them. I even peeked through the eyeholes of the masks to examine the seal. But it only ends in failure. ''Damn! I have wasted my time on this trip to the Land of Whirlpool. After I grow stronger, I will return to break this damn seal.'' The mask identally slips from my hand and fell towards the floor. ''This mask is quite sturdy, it won''t break from these minor falls.'' The mask fell on the floor and shatter into many small pieces after the impact with the hard floor. "What? How is this possible? That''s a Shinigami summon mask. How it turned so fragile suddenly" The remaining words left stuck in my throat as I stare at the remains of the mask with wide-eyes. The strange Chakra from the ground seeps out again and coats all pieces of mask in it. The Chakra pulls the pieces and arranges them in a certain pattern. After a while, the strange chakra settles down. ''So, that''s the real purpose of this mask. This is the reason these masks were ced inside Konoha. Uzumaki n preserved their heritage by hiding the keys inside the Konoha in form of Noh Masks. How smart of them? Let me take a look at their heritage. In the future, I will bring Kushina and Naruto to take a look at this. Naruto never inherited his Uzumaki heritage. There is so much potential in Fuinjutsu. Naruto had Uzumaki bloodline, he should have a decent talent for sealing.'' I take out the other Oni-Mask and throw it on the ground. The Oni-Mask shatter andplete the key. The seal lights up and activates. The ground rumbled as the seal opens in a spiraling matter simr to the seal to reveal staircases. I activate my Sharingan and carefully walk inside the passage using stairs. There can be many Fuinjutsu traps within the passage, and I don''t want to identally trigger them and blow up myself. After descending the stairs, I face four different passages leading to different locations. ''Such tricks are old game.'' ''Shadow Clone Jutsu'' I make four shadow clones and send them to respective passages. After a few minutes, some information enters my brain as three of my clones are dissipated. They are destroyed by some trapsid withing the tunnel. I continue along the safe path and reach yet another hallway with four different passages. "Ah, shit! Here we go again." I make another four shadow clones and continue along the next safe passage. Finally, I reach the end of the passage and enter a hall. There are various shelves with many scrolls, weapons, and other strange itemsid on these shelves. Without hesitation, I move towards scrolls. I activate my Sharingan to scan for traps. After ensuring the absence of traps, I start to read these scrolls. "Holy Shit! So many powerful A-Rank and S-Rank seals. This is a treasure trove, the real inheritance of Uzumaki n." I frantically start to copy these jutsus in my memory using my Sharingan. After five hours of study, I sit in the center of the room as I start to digest arge amount of information. Arge grin appears on my face as I can feel a rapid improvement in my expertise in Fuinjutsu. Theseplex seals appear simplified in my mind as I decipher and learn them one by one. Another ten hours pass and I have finally digested and learned the entire list of seals. "Now, I only need to practice them. I will make a copy of them and give them to Minato and Kushina. It will increase their chance of survival in case something happens to me." I notice another scroll encased within a ss. ''That must be another powerful Fuinjutsu technique. Maybe the most powerful among them.'' I try to touch the ss, but my senses warn me of danger. I inspect the ss carefully and I find a Bloodline seal on the ss. I drop another drop of Kushina''s blood on the seal. The seal starts to glow brightly, and the ss panel separates in half to reveal the scroll. I carefully pick the scroll while on guard against any trap. I open the scroll and start to read it. I am surprised by the contents of this scroll. ''This is the hidden technique of Uzumaki n passed through their bloodlines. ''Adamantine Sealing Chains'' One of the most powerful sealing techniques of the Uzumaki n capable of sealing even a tailed beast with its power. This is a good grab, I should memorize this technique and practice it.'' It read the scroll, and the technique seems very familiar to me. ''Hmm isn''t it simr to my ''Corrosion Chains'' technique? I got that technique when I unlocked the Darkness Style due to ''Sin Seal''. ''Adamantine Chains'' appears to be a variation of ''Corrosion Chain''. Are they somehow rted?'' I carefully inspect the jutsu form of ''Adamantine Chains'' and it appears more and more simr to ''Corrosion Chains''. ''Is this a coincidence?'' After memorizing this hidden technique, I ce the seal back in the ss panel. The panel closes on its own and seals the scroll again. ''So far, I haven''t managed to find any clue regarding ''Sin Seal'', but I had harvested plenty of powerful sealing Techniques topensate for that. Now, let''s choose a suitable weapon. My previous weapons keep on degrading due to my potent chakra. I search among various weird weapons and finally select a de and a scythe.'' I search around to look for any other useful things. I identally press a lever and trigger a mechanism. I infuse lightning chakra in my new de and get ready to face the enemy. In the center of the room, the spiral Uzumaki symbol opens up and a pedestal start to rise from the ground. There are various Adamantine chains wrapped around the pedestal. The ''Sin Seal'' on my hand starts to heat up. I feel a strong attraction towards the pedestal. The ''Grimoire of Sin'' appears on its own. I catch the grimoire to inspect the abnormality. The Grimoire struggles in my hand and shoots towards the pedestal. The pedestal starts to shake violently as if an uncaged monster is about to be unleashed in the world. The Grimoire opens up and starts to suck the ''Adamantine Chains'' wrapped around the pedestal. I try to pull the Grimoire to prevent it from eating the chains to no avail. ''What kind of thing is sealed beneath this pedestal? It must be something terrifying to be sealed in these many ''Adamantine Chains''. What kind of trouble have I invoked again?'' Help!...Someone. God help. One ''Sin seal'' is enough to make my life miserable.'' Chapter 70: A Strange Seal Part-2 Chapter 70: A Strange Seal Part-2 A/N:- Since, I have added the ''Sin Seal'', I will write it''s Origin story. Some people liked the Idea and some don''t. But anyway I will write a full origin story of the Seal. Expect More OC character to pop out and add vor to the story. Whether it is salty or sweet is for you to decide. Comment your thought down below, but I won''t change the idea. Though I will appreciate some wonderful suggestions. Enjoy your read. ------------- The Grimoire eats up all the ''Adamantine Chains'' to reveal a ck color box with many symbols and seals on it. The ''Sin Seal'' on my hand starts to pull me towards the Box. The hidden chains of the Grimoire appears. These chains start to bind the box and pull it towards the grimoire. The chains stretch the box and start to reshape it. The box is reshaped in the form of an hourss. An eye opens in the middle of the hourss as it stares deeply into my soul. The chains start to pull the hourss seal towards the grimoire and fuses with it. Various strange runes crawl out from the grimoire and creeps in Izuna''s left eye. His left eye turns into Mangekyo Sharingan and absorbs these runes. Aah Izuna''s vision blurs as intense pain assaulted him. Lots of unknown information is forcefully injected in Izuna''s mind. The strain from information over-load causes his vision to turn blurry and his head spins. His consciousness fades as he slumps down on the ground. The chains connected to Grimoire rattle and blue energy channels through them. ''Freedom'' Freedom from constraints of time. These words echoed in Izuna''s ears before he lost consciousness. His body rises from the ground and passes through the roof as he floats on top of therge Uzumaki seal. Arge pir of blue energy rises from the Grimoire. Therge pir of light shoots in the sky and pierces through it. It passes through a spatial opening in the sky and disappears. The Grimoire closes and the new seal attaches itself into one of the left slots on the Grimoire. Another five slots are still empty. The Grimoire disappears and various totems and runes on Izuna''s body retract. ------------ In the vast void, A blue beam of energy travels through the ne while drilling a hole through some sort of barrier as it enters inside a dimension. The beam enters inside the dimension and travels towards a massive pir of unknown size and strikes it. The pir lights up in blue light and various chains appear around the pir. Inside a castle somewhere in the dimension, a cloaked figure sits on arge throne with his hands cupped under his chin. He seems to contemte some issues while looking in a certain direction. "The war has been waged for almost a century. We have lost a lot in this war, our power has declined a lot during this time. We can''t allow those damn parasites to win and take hold of our homeworld. We will struggle to the bitter end and will drag them down with us." The cloaked man smashes his hand on the armrest of the throne. The throne is crushed from the impact of his attack. The entire castle shakes and copse. Ignoring all of thismotion, the cloaked man looks intently at a ring in his hand. The ring in his hand is shining brightly with blue light. "It has appeared. It has finally appeared. Summon -x-x-x-x-." The cloaked figure bellows loudly. A short whileter another purple-cloaked man appears in front of the person sitting on the throne. "It has finally reappeared. The ''Grimoire of Sin'' has finally appeared once again. I can feel its presence. You are the most suitable candidate to retrieve it back. Eighty years ago, in that deadly fight, we lost our most powerful warrior, and we lost the most prized possession of our race in spatial fractures. We could not sense the presence of the Grimoire until now." The cloaked man clutches the ring in his right finger tightly. "I have detected the presence of ''Grimoire of Sin'' in one of the lower dimensions. Your task is to retrieve the ''Grimoire'' back to our n at any cost. With the help of the Grimoire, we can easily turn the tides of war and score a victory against those parasites. Now, return to n only when you have sessfullypleted the mission. Failure isn''t an option in this mission." "Yes, my lord. I won''t disappoint you." The purple cloaked man bows and salute in one of his knees as he reassures the cloaked man. He stands up and disappears from the ruined castle. The cloaked man returns to contemtion as the castle returns to its previous form. ''We have a chance now. By utilizing the power of this artifact, we can repel the enemy forces once again. We weren''t the only ones who lost their powerful warrior in the previous battle. It was an equal exchange and with the ''Grimoire'' back in our hand, we will have an edge against those parasites. I despise their existence from the very core of my existence.'' ------------- The purple cloaked man leaves the castle and arrives before therge pir present in the middle of the dimension. There is arge spatial rift above the pir. Violent space turbulences ur inside the spatial rift. The Purple cloaked man touches therge pir and tries to sense the remains of energy from therge pir. "Found you." The purple cloaked man floats in the air and reaches the entrance of the spatial rift. He touches the rift with his bare hand but gets repelled by the space turbulences inside the rift. "Those damn traitors, using the sealing form of n against the n. If I get my hands on them, I will tear them apart in a million pieces. Thankfully, this sealing form can''t restrain me." The purple cloaked man stretches out his hand. A strange seal appears on his left hand. The seal glows and coat the body of the cloaked man in cyan-colored energy cloak. The cloaked man reaches near the barrier and touches it. His hand passes through the barrier, following which he easily crosses across the barrier. "Now, time to retrieve the Grimoire. I can''t dy any further for the sake of the n." The cloaked man travels through the void. His destination ''The Shinobi World''. --------- Argh ''My head hurts like hell.'' Izuna wakes up and clutches his head tightly. Slowly, as the pain subsides, he looks around. He is present inside apletely white space. ''So, I am inside my mindscape.'' Izuna stands up and walks towards the center of his mindscape. He notices many new floating orbs beside the ten original Orbs. A cyan orb, a light grey orb, a dark grey orb, a dark yellow orb, a dark green orb, and a pale yellow orb floats in the air. One by one, Izuna inspects them and concludes about their nature. ''So they are Radiation release, Shock Release, Storm Release, Swift Release, Wood Release, and ck Lightning respectively. Then what new powers have I gained again to abruptly enter my mindscape after that second seal. Izuna inspects the room closely to search for any changes. After a while of inspection, he notices arge blue ckhole hovering near the Space ckhole. He tries to urge the ck hole to move towards him. But the ckhole doesn''t budge from its position. Giving up on his futile attempts, Izuna walks towards the blue ckhole to inspect it closely. He tries to touch the ckhole but is violently repelled by the ckhole. His Mangekyo Sharingan activates on it''s own, and the ability of his left eye activates. Everything slows down for him. His body is suspended in mid-air as he stares at the blue ckhole. ''I see. This makes sense.'' Izuna deactivates his Mangekyo Sharingan and sits down in his mindscape andpiles the recent information which popped up in his brain. An unknown amount of time passed. Izuna opens his eyes, his Mangekyo Sharingan activates on its own. "I have gained a lot from this trip. It''s time to return to Konoha. Thankfully, I can just teleport to the vige by using ''The Flying Thunder God Jutsu''. My understanding of space-time increased a lot during this trip and I can reach the next level of Fuinjutsu at any time. I have to test my new abilities. The Nine-tails attack will happen soon in the future. That will be the perfect opportunity to test my powers." Izuna teleports to the outskirts of Konoha, near the Uzumaki Shrine. He had already collected the ''Oni-Masks'' from the Uzumaki seal. ''Let me return one of the masks to the Shrine.'' Izuna appears on the outskirts of Konoha. He is weed by arge Tailed beast bomb right in front of him. "Nani?" Wasting no moment, Izuna immediately activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. Chapter 71: Nine-Tails Attack Part-1 Chapter 71: Nine-Tails Attack Part-1 ''Nani?'' Arge tailed beast bomb appears directly in front of Izuna after his teleportation to the vige. Wasting no moment, Izuna immediately activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and uses the new ability of his Mangekyo Sharingan. ''Swift Release: God Speed'' He gets out of the way of the Tailed beast bomb. ''Susanoo'' Izuna covers his body with his Susanoo. The Tailed beast bomb collides with the nearby hill and explodes. The Susanoo protects him from the shockwaves of the explosion. He dissipates his Susanoo as various questions flooded his brain. ''How? Why? What happened? I only left the vige for a few days. It is too soon for the Nine-Tails attack. How is all of this happening?'' ------shback-No-Jutsu------ A few moments earlier in Konoha, in a secret underground room, Kushina lies on arge operation table as she moans in pain. Minato walks to and from outside the room with a tense expression. UwaahUwaah Cries of a newborn baby echoed in the room. Minato hurriedly pushes opens the door and enters the room. He is perplexed and stares at Kushina. "You did it." Tears trickle from his eyes as he wipes them andughs in happiness. "I am a father now." Biwako picks up the baby and carries him for a checkup. "It''s a healthy baby boy!" Biwako carries the baby to Kushina. Minato interrupts Biwako and tries to snatch him from Biwako''s arms. "Naruto!" "No touching! The first face he should see is his mother''s!" Biwako ignores Minato and carries baby Naruto to Kushina andys him beside her. Kushina opens her eyes and lovingly stares at the baby. "Naruto It is nice to meet you." "You need some rest now." Biwako lefts the room. She takes Naruto in her arms and lovingly strokes Naruto''s head. "There there Mamma is with you. Don''t cry, baby." Minato walks up to Kushina and held her hand. "Kushina, are you feeling okay?" "Yeah." Minato tears up a little. "Thank you" He helps Kushina to sit and embraces her back. Minato tickles Naruto''s cheeks. "Look at our Naruto, he has yellow hairs and blue eyes just like me." "He will be a great Shinobi just like you, Minato. I really hope for Izuna to be present on this asion. He wanted to be present at the birth of Naruto. I don''t know where he is at the moment." Kushina remarks and feeds milk to Naruto. "I am sure he will be safe wherever he is. He has grown fairly strong in the past few years. Both of us have seen his growth personally. I believe he will return soon to the vige." Minato convinces Kushina. Minato held the baby Naruto in his arms and passes him to Biwako. "Biwako-san, please take care of Naruto for a while. I have to suppress the seal and reinforce it to prevent Nine-tails from overpowering the seal." He turns to Kushina and bumps his fists together. "Alright! It''ll be hard since you just gave birth. But I will do my best topletely suppress the Nine-tails." Minato ces his hand over Kushina''s seal and enforces it. A swirling portal opens inside the hidden room. A masked man in a ck cloak appears in the room. He immediately stabs Biwako and the nearby doctor and snatches Naruto from Biwako. Aaaah A scream startles Minato. He turns around and spots the masked man. The masked man ces his hand over Naruto and threatens Minato. "Fourth Hokage, Minato. Step away from the jinchuruki. Otherwise, this boy''s life willst not more than a minute." Minato steps back and cautiously stare at the intruder. ''How did he get past the barrier? Who the hell is he?'' Arghaah Kushina screams in pain as the Nine-tails seals weaken even further and crawl all over her body. A blob of Chakra tries to escape from the seal. "Kushina!" ''The Nine-tails seal is still weak?'' "I told you to step away from the Jinchuruki." The masked man forks out a kunai from his sleeves and held it against Naruto''s neck. "Don''t you care about the life of your child?" "Wait! Just calm down a little." Minato shouts frantically. "Heed your own words, Minato. I am as calm as can be." The masked man throws the baby in the air and tries to stab the baby. "Naruto!" Kushina yells in panic. Swoosh Minato disappears from his ce and reappears on the nearby wall with Naruto in his arms. "You really are the Yellow sh. But what about this?" The masked man made a hand seal. Srrrrr The paper bombs attached to Naruto''s nket triggers. "Naruto!" Kushina yells. Minato hurriedly jumps from the wall and removes the nket and jumps out of the room. Boom An enormous explosion destroys the entire room. Minato skids out of the explosion and protects Naruto. Inside the remains of the room, the masked man ces a hand on Kushina and sucks her in a swirling portal. He disappears from the ce with another swirling portal. "Good! Naruto isn''t hurt." Argh Minato pulls out a wooden splinter from his leg. "I have to resort to ''Flying Thunder God Jutsu'' already. He is after Kushina. He seeded in separating us. I have to hurry." Minato flicks away the splinter and teleports away from the site. He reappears inside a room. In a ce on the outskirts of Konoha, The masked man ces Kushina on a stone pedestal. He makes some hand signs and ms his hand on Kushina''s seal. Aplex Fuinjutsu seal binds Kushina to nearby stone pirs and holds her in one ce. Kushina pants heavily and questions the masked man. "Why are you doing this?" "I am going to extract the nine-tails from you and destroy the Konoha." The masked man replies to her. "What?" Kushina stares at the masked man with wide-eyes. "Minato''s body flicker technique allows him to teleport between locations where he had ced technique markers. It appears that he also ce one of that marking on your seal. He is constantly protecting you, but I have separated you two now. Moreover, the Kyubi''s seal has weakened after you gave birth. I have long awaited this moment." The masked man activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. ----- Inside a room, Minato gently ces the baby in a cradle and covers the baby in a nket. "You will be safe here. I''ll be back soon, Naruto. I have to go save your mother now." ----- The masked man enters inside Kushina''s mindscape and faces the Nine-tails. Growrrr The Nine-tails growl at the intruder. "You are" Before Nine-tails could continue, the masked man put the Nine-tails inside a genjutsu. The eyes of Nine-tails turns into Sharingan and it sessfully fell in a Genjutsu. The vtile chakra of Nine-tails leaks around the seal. The sealing chains around Nine-tails shatters. Growrrr Nine tails growl again and pull off the remaining chains. The vtile chakra of nine-tails leaks outside of the seal and cloaks Kushina in the Version 1 Tail beast Chakra mode. The masked man makes a one-handed Ram seal. "Nowe out, Nine-tails." The seal around Kushina disperses and a massive blob of dense chakra leaks from it. The chakra blob turns into Nine-tails, who jumps out in the air, growls furiously. The seal breakspletely and the Chakra Cloak around Kushina disperse. Kushina fells on the pedestal and weakly stares at the massive figure of Nine-tails. "Excellent. Now it is time to face Konohagakure." The masked man walks towards Konoha. "Wait!" "The Uzumaki n really is something. You are still alive, even after having the tailed beast extracted. You were the Nine-tails jinchuruki. So, it is more fitting that I will kill you with it." The Nine-tails lifts one of its paws and smashes it towards Kushina. Boom Large amounts of dust and debris rise from the attack. Swoosh Minato appears on a nearby tree with Kushina in her arms. "You really do move like a sh, but this time, you''re toote." "Minato Naruto Is Naruto safe?" Kushina pants as she questions Minato. "Yeah, he''s fine. I left him in a safe ce." "Thank goodnessMinato, you must stop that man and the Nine tails right now. They''re heading for Konoha. "There he goes again. No matter. Our destination is Konoha." The masked man disappears in a swirl. Minato appears in the same room as Naruto. "Why?" Kushina questions. "Don''t worry about that, just stay by Naruto''s side." Minato ces Kushina beside Naruto. Minato clenches his fists and opens up his wardrobe. Minato dons the Hokage''s cloak and teleports from the ce. "Thank you, Minato. Go after them." "I''ll be back soon." Near Uchihapounds, a swirling portal opens up and a masked man jumps out from the portal. He quickly makes some hands and ms his hand on the ground. ''Summoning Jutsu'' Nine tails appear inside the vige in arge puff of smoke. Growrrr The nine-tails growls violently and attacks nearby vigers and shinobis. ---------- A/N:- This part is standard Naruto. Theter part of the attack is changed. I will release another chapterter. Chapter 72: Nine-Tails attack Part-2 Chapter 72: Nine-Tails attack Part-2 ''Kyubiit''s Kyubi'' ''Helpsomebody help.'' ''Don''t kill medon''t kill meAah..'' Yells and screams echo in the vige. The Nine-tails start a rampage inside the vige and massacre people. "Lord Third! It''s an emergency. The Kyubi! It''s in the vige." One of the Anbu inform Hiruzen. "I know already, I''ll deal with it. You and the others go and help civilians to evacuate to shelters." Hiruzen orders the Anbu. ''Did Kushina''s seal break? Did we fail, even after taking all of these precautions? Biwako'' Hiruzen murmurs to himself. "Summon all the Jouninmanders of the vige. We have an emergency to deal with." Hiruzen orders another Anbu member. Many shinobis engage against Nine-tails, but their attacks have no effect on Nine-tails. Guy, Kakashi, Asuma, and others turn towards Nine-tail and get ready to face it. "Stop!" Danzo appears out of nowhere and stops them from engaging with Nine-tails. "It''s Hiruzen orders to prevent young shinobis of the vige from engaging against Nine-tails." "But! Sensei" "It''s an order." Danzo interrupts them and flickers away with his root. Many shinobis surround them, form some hand seals, and ms their hand on the ground. A barrier appears around the ce and seals all of them inside it. Guy tries to punch and kick the barrier. But the barrier doesn''t budge at all. "It''s futile. Just wait inside for a while." One of the barrier team shinobi remarks. Minato teleports and appears in front of the Hokage Mountain. The Nine-tails notices Minato and starts to charge up a ''Tailed Beast Bomb''. "So you noticed me. Huh" The tailed beast bomb travels quickly towards Minato. "Not on my watch." Minato clutches his kunai in both hands form a space-time barrier seal. The tailed beast gets sucked into the seal and teleports outside the periphery of the vige. Boom An enormous explosion urs outside the vige. -----At present----- Izuna spot the nine-tails rampaging around the vige. Hiruzen, Sakumo, and various other shinobi are attacking the nine-tails to prevent it from further destroying the vige. ''I need answers.'' He teleport to Shisui''s location to ask from him. Shisui is evacuating the n members as Izuna appear in front of him. "Shisui, what''s going on? Howe the nine-tails is attacking the vige? Isn''t it sealed in a jinchuruki?" Shisui is surprised to see me and immediately starts to question me, "Nii-san, where were you? Two months passed since west heard from you." Izuna immediately stop him from bantering further. "Shisui, go and helps nsmen and civilians to evacuate to shelter. I will deal with other matters. I will answer all of your questions after this situation is over." Without waiting for any confirmation from Shisui, I sense the location of Minato and teleport to him. Minato is engaged in a fight against a masked shinobi. Minato creates the enhanced version of Rasengan which I taught to him against the masked shinobi. He throws a kunai towards the masked man. The kunai phases through the masked man. ''So, he is Obito.'' My Mangekyo Sharingan activates on its own and records the jutsu. The information about Kamui appears in my mind. ''Wait, I can copy the abilities of Mangekyo Sharingan too. Isn''t that a bit of overpowered?.'' Minato teleports on top of the masked man and ms the ''Lightning Style: Vanishing Rasengan'' on the back of the masked man. Boom Arge explosion urs and forms arge crater. Dust and debris block our vision. The masked man jumps out from the crater. His right hand is limping from his shoulder as blood trickles from it. His right hand is disabled for this fight. ''Swift Release: God Speed'' I disappear from my ce and appear in front of the Masked Man. ''Fuinjutsu: Summon Suppression seal'' I suppress his summoning contract with Nine-tails. The masked man loses control over the nine-tails. The genjutsu cast on Nine-tails is dispelled. The Nine-tails continue to attack Konoha despite gaining control over its body. Obito tries to shift space using the Space-time Ninjutsu ''Kamui'' of his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Not so fast. You aren''t going anywhere." I immediately make some hand sign and m both of my hands on the ground. ''Fuinjutsu: Space Locking Seal'' Various sealing forms start to spread quickly from my hands. The sealing forms crawled in the air as they start to firmly bind the space. I lock the space coordinates of the surrounding area. I seal the surrounding space, thus preventing the use of any space ninjutsu in this isted area. "Stay here. We need to figure out your identity and motive behind this attack. I won''t allow you to escape so easily." I start to walk towards Obito as I infuse some chakra in my palms and prepare to seal the Chakra of Obito. I have already sensed the presence of ck Zetsu hiding nearby. ''After I am done with Obito, you will be next. You manipted my grandfather for the sake of your ns. I am sure my Grandfather isn''t even aware of my existence. I don''t even know my own backstory, I will get my answers from you. But first, let''s settle the business here.'' "Izuna Uchiha, one of the elite shinobi of the Uchiha n. I am Madara Uchiha, your ancestor. Why don''t you join me in my cause and create true peace in this world?" Obito tries to bluff me with his usual crap. ''Others may fall for your bullshit. But I am aware of the entire story of Naruto. I ain''t buying that crap. But I willply with you.'' "So, this is how you want to bring peace to the world. By releasing and controlling the Nine-tails on the Konoha Vige. You found this vige together with the Hashirama Senju and now you want to destroy the same vige you developed from scratch." "Konoha was a mistake. Hashirama was a fool, his idealistic way of thinking only lead to more wars. True Peace can never be achieved through such tender ways. Only absolute power will bring true peace to the world. And gathering the tailed beasts is one of the ways to achieve power. Starting with Nine-tails, I will collect all the remaining tailed beasts and use them to bring salvation to this cruel world. Now,e and join hands with me. We will bring salvation together. Your powers will be a great help for our noble cause." Obito tries to entice me. "Don''t listen to him, Izuna. He is trying to buy time to allow nine-tails to rampage more in the vige and destroy it." Minato warns me. "It''s over, Faker. I will unmask your actual identity now." I stretched out my hand to shatter the mask of Obito. "Found You." A raspy voice interrupted us. A figure d in a purple cloak tore a spatial rift and appeared on top of us. He is floating in the air without using any tool or Ninjutsu. A chill ran through my spine as rms start to ring in mind. My body froze on the spot and I couldn''t even lift a finger. An invisible pressure starts to bore on us as my limbs start to bend from the pressure. ''Is he the backup of Obito? Was Obito stalling time for this guy to appear and interrupt us? Who is this guy? This level of power. I can''t even fathom his power. Who is this monster? Howe Obito knows him? If he is my enemy, then I am fucked!'' "He is very powerful, Izuna-kun. I can''t even sense the depth of his power." Minato warns me as he is also pinned to the ground. I look toward Obito to see his reaction. Obito is also pinned to the ground, simr to me. His expression is quite ugly behind that mask. Obito pukes out a mouthful of blood as he struggles to even breathe under this pressure. ''I guess Minato-san''s previous attack had done a number on Obito. He is barely hanging to his dear life.'' I turn in the direction of ck Zetsu to see his reaction. ''Perhaps ck Zetsu might be aware of the identity of this neer.'' ck Zetsu is also stunned to see this neer. He is as clueless as me as he nces warily at the neer. ''Time Out! Will, anybody answers our doubts.'' The purple cloaked man floats towards us. He reaches near my ''Space Locking Seal'' and touches it. "A low-level Space sealing barrier. I never expected such a thing to appear in this backward low-level dimension." He grasps my sealing form with his hands and crushes it in dust easily. "No way! That''s the highest level Space Sealing Seal which I recently learned from the Uzumaki Heritage." He stares at us for a second. I can''t sense anything from this guy. I can only feel danger, a life-threatening Danger. "Oh! Seems like it found a new host for itself in this low-level dimension. I never expected such a thing. Thisplicates things a little, and I don''t likeplicated things. I will just kill this guy and drag his soul with the Grimoire." The neer mumbles to himself as he decides. He stretches out his right hand towards me. I felt a very strong, attractive force acting on me. I tried to resist the attractive pull. I riled up my Chakra without any care for the ''Sin Seal''. ''Mangekyo Sharingan: Susanoo'' I create my Susanoo, whose upper frame is properly built and has four hands. The attractive force weakens a little bit. I form arge pair of Katanas in Susanoo''s hands and sh them at the cloaked man. A purple barrier blocks my attack and my katanas snap in half. "Interesting quite interesting" The purple cloaked figure is amused to see the technique utilized by these low-level beings of a backward world. He increases the attraction force. My Susanoo starts to dissipate from therge attraction force and my body is pulled towards the cloaked man. The cloaked man grabs my throat and starts to fly higher in the sky. I try to struggle from his grasp, but resistance is futile. Minato and others look at me with wide-eyes. Chapter 73: The Unknown Assailant Chapter 73: The Unknown Assant A/N:- It is just the ground work for future. I am writing the story with Boruto in mind as this part will fill the void between Naruto and Boruto. So, our new viin won''t mess much. Most of you who disliked this part, hear me out. Izuna will reach God-tier in future and he need a catalyst to do that. It''s not like I can pull ''Six Paths Power'' out of thin air and you guys will ept it happily. I will write everything step by step, his struggle to gain God-tier power and new enemies he will face during this journey. So, be patient with the story. Also, thanks for your support. (No more ''Nerfs'' from here on.) --------------------- Obito and ck Zetsu immediately escape from the situation. Minato engages in a fight against the Nine-Tails. His chakra reserves are low from the previous fight. Nine Tails prepare another tailed beast ball to shoot at the vige. ''Summoning Jutsu: Food Cart Destroyer Technique,'' Minato summons a giant toad on top of Nine tails and crushes it on the ground. Minato teleports to Kushina and newly born Naruto to check on them. Kushina clutches his hand and nods to him. "Are you sure, Kushina? You have just given birth to Naruto. You are very weak now. Also, a powerful enemy kidnapped Izuna. The vige is on the brink of destruction." Minato questions her. "That''s the more of a reason for me to seal Nine-tails. We have to save Izuna after that." Kushina walks out of the secret room with baby Naruto in her arms. ''Adamantine Sealing Chains Barrier,'' Kushina incorporates the Adamantine Sealing chains in a barrier to restrain the Nine-tails. "Minato, I will use the ''Four Symbols Seal'' to reseal Nine-tails inside me." Kushina had tears in her eyes as she tried to convince Minato. ------------ Meanwhile, in the sky of Konoha, The cloaked man holds Izuna in his hands. He grabs the right hand of Izuna, the ''Sin Seal'' turns visible to naked eyes. A simr seal appears on the cloaked man''s left hand. Small chainse out from his seal and enter inside the Izuna''s seal. Aah Izuna yells in agony, his soul start to get ripped apart from his body. The cloaked man draws a transparent apparition out of Izuna''s body. "You will get out of your misery soon. Such dominant power is not meant for an insect-like you. Let this power return to its rightful master." The chains around the Grimoire rattles. The cloaked man pulls Grimoire out from the separate space and inspects it. "Hmm It is still iplete. Only two eyes are present around the seal, the rest of them are still missing. It makes things moreplicated. Guess I will collect the rest of themter. For now, these two are enough." The cloaked man pulls the Grimoire as the chains around it snap. ArghAah Izuna wreaths in pain and struggle desperately. The Sin seal on Izuna''s hand activates and tries to counter the chains of the cloaked man. "Futile attempt!" The cloaked figure suppresses the seal and gives thest push to rip apart the Grimoire. Izuna''s consciousness fades away. ''No! I can''t die like this. I haven''t lived long enough.'' His desperate attempts for survival initiate a change in his Mangekyo Sharingan and evolve it further. The Silver sclera forms three inner rings around the star shape pattern of his Mangekyo. Aah Large amounts of chakra rile up in his body. The force from the sudden burst of Chakra pushes away the cloaked figure and forms aplete body Susanoo. Many dark markings and totems erupt from the seal and cover the Susanoo. The katanas of Susanoo fumes with the dark chakra. sh The Susanoo shes the pair of katanas diagonally at the cloaked man. The cloaked man creates another barrier around himself to block the katanas, but the katanas slice through the barrier like a hot knife cutting through butter. Arge criss-cross sh mark appears on the cloaked man''s chest. No blood spills from the wound, the darkness corrodes the wound. The impact of the attack pushes the cloaked man towards a nearby hill. Izuna''s Susanoo chase after the cloaked man. The cloaked man stands up slowly and cracks his neck. "I never expected such a situation. This insect can use the powers of Grimoire subconsciously. Still, if that''s his best bet, then I will end this soon." The seal on the leftnd of the cloaked man shines brightly and covers his body in a warm yellow light. This light removes the corrosion from wounds and repels the dark chakra. A floating Grimoire appears beside him and heals his injuries. Roar The corruption on Izuna''s Susanoo spread even further and encase it in ck color mes. Dark mes coats katanas and the Susanoo swing them at the cloaked man. Arge pale white barrier blocks the swing and repels the mes. Boom The shock waves from the impact of katanas blow away the nearby hill. Arge narrow gorge appears in its ce. The cloaked man shrugs off the attack and floats higher in the sky. Wings sprout out behind Izuna''s Susanoo, and he chases the cloaked man to clouds. "It''s over." The cloaked man creates arge spear out of the pale light and aims it at Susanoo. The spears shoot at Izuna at a rapid speed. The Susanoo attempts to block the spear with the pair of katanas, but they snap in half because of the power of the spear. The spear travels further and prates the Susanoo and stabs Izuna. Izuna pukes out a mouthful of blood. The ''Sin seal'' absorbs the blood and shines brightly. The two Sin eyes detach from the Grimoire and float in front of Izuna. ''Limbo Hengoku,'' Two Limbo shadows rip apart the dimensional barrier and float in front of Izuna. The Sin eyes shine brightly and attach to their chests. Dark markings simr to Izuna appear on their body and cloak them in darkness. RoarRoar Both shadows roar violently and form Susanoo of their own. Their Susanoo is smaller than Izuna. One of the Limbo shadows forms a Scythe from the Chakra and the other Limbo form arge greatsword. Both of them disappear and appear in front of the cloaked figure and attack him relentlessly. "Oh! You can even summon Limbo Shadows from ''Border Prison Dimension''. But your power is still too weak." The cloaked figure stretches out his right hand. ''Shinra Tensei,'' Arge repulsive force pushes back the Limbo Shadows together with the Susanoo. "You may be invulnerable to physical attacks and sealing because of the ''Sin eyes'' but that doesn''t mean you can change your nature." Two clones of the cloaked figure appear beside him and engage inbat with ''Limbo Shadows''. "In the end, they are still shadows and fears the light. Now let me take back, what I came for?" The cloaked figure vanishes and appears in front of Izuna. "Enough prancing around, it''s time to sleep." The cloaked figure coats his hand in strange white energy and grabs thest chain of Grimoire connected to Izuna''s soul. Aah The intense pain wakes Izuna from his slumber. In a desperate attempt to preserve his life, Izuna ws his left hand on the seal of the cloaked figure. Aah The light burns Izuna''s hands and the surrounding darkness disperses. Hahahaha "Your Grimoire of Sin is of Dark Nature, and my Grimoire of Virtue is of Light nature. They are pr opposite to each other. What are you trying to achieve other than bringing harm to yourself?" Izuna continues to clutch tightly around the seal. The ''Virtue Seal'' on the cloaked figure''s hand activates and releases an enormous amount of Light Chakra. Izuna frantically absorbs this Chakra and his Susanoo changes again. The right side of Susanoo turns ck from the dark Chakra, and the left side turns white from the Light Chakra. ''Light-Darkness fusion: Cosmic Obliteration,'' The Susanoopresses the stolen Light Chakra and Dark Chakra in arge vtile ball and throws it at the cloaked figure. The cloaked figure is stunned at this drastic change. "This, How is this possible? Impossible, How can youbine the light and darkness?" Boom The attackunches the cloaked figure towards space and explodes violently. The brightness from the explosion lights up the sky momentarily. The Grimoire retracts back to the ''Sin seal''. The chains of the Grimoire have extensive damage to them. The Susanoo dissipates and Izuna''s chakra reserves hit rock bottom. Having drained thest bit of his Chakra, Izuna falls from the sky. His consciousness starts to fade. Izuna forces himself to stay awake and concentrate his mind on a space co-ordinate near Minato''s location. ''Flying Thunder God,'' Izuna senses Minato''s co-ordinates and teleports to him. They still have to deal with the rampaging Nine-tails. ''I don''t want Minato and Kushina to needlessly sacrifice their life. I will protect them.'' Fwoosh Izuna teleports from the sky and falls on the ground. Therge nine-tails wrapped in ''Adamantine Chains'' appears in his vision. Chapter 74: A New Jinchuruki Chapter 74: A New Jinchuruki ''I made it on time. I have to stop the Nine-Tails.'' Before Izuna could react the nine-tails stabbed its w through Minato and Kushina. "Nooo!" Izuna yells and wobbles over to Minato and Kushina. "Minato nii-san, Kushina nee-san. I won''t allow you to die here. Naruto needs your love, he can''t an orphan." He stumbles and fell on the ground. The earlier fight has weakened him a lot. There is still arge gaping hole in his stomach which is healing slowly. His chakra reserves are almost dry. "Izuna! Thankfully you are alive. That enemy is very powerful, he is way too strong beyond any of our league. I am d you can somehow escape from him. I don''t have enough time remaining. Take care of Naruto for me. I am sure you will be a good brother to our little Naruto. I will seal the remaining half of Kyubi in Naruto and make him the new Jinchuruki of Nine Tails. I want him to grow stronger and face against that masked enemy. I will leave that cloaked figure to you." Minato leaves hisst message to Izuna. "Izuna-kun, you are my favorite kid. I want you to act as a role-model for our Naruto and I don''t want Naruto to live a life full of loneliness. You must act as a big brother and parent for Naruto. Don''t pamper and spoil him too much. Don''t allow him to stray from the path of shinobi and make sure to follow the taboos of a shinobi. You are the only person beside Minato whom I trust in this vige." Kushina leaves her message to Izuna and whispers her blessings to Naruto. "Why, this must happen? I won''t allow you to die here." ''Yes, I will use the ability of my left eye.'' Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and activates the ability of his left eye. "Mangekyo Sharingan: Amenominakanushi" Blood trickles from Izuna''s left eye. The time stops in a radius around him. The ''Sin eye'' awakens from the Grimoire and hovers above him. (A/N:- Izuna unleashes ''THE WORLD''. I don''t want to do this, but my inner Jojo fan took over me.) The Sin eye opens with the new pattern of Izuna''s Mangekyo Sharingan. A bright blue light shines from the eye and falls on Minato and Kushina. "This is what is this, Izuna? I can feel that the surrounding space time is caught in an infinite loop. What kind of ability is this?" Minato questions me. "This is the ability of my Mangekyo Sharingan. I can use it to gain absolute control over the space-time in a certain area for a period. I have set this space in a time loop. I won''t allow both of you to die here." Minato sighs and looks at me. "Izuna, you can''t maintain this time loop for eternity. There is a time limit to this power. I can sense it, the surrounding space is struggling to gain back the control over spatial and temporalws. The world will set everything back to normal. Besides, I have already made a death contract with the Shinigami of ''Dead Demon Consuming Seal''. My soul will be sealed inside the stomach of reaper soon." "No, I have a way to stop that." Izuna activate the ability of the Right eye and summon a Limbo shadow. He passes the ''Oni mask'' to the Limbo. The limbo wears the mask and the other sin eye fuses with Limbo. The Limbo creates a scythe of darkness, and slices open its stomach. The Shinigami behind Minato is stunned and its stomach is pried open. My Limbo swings the Scythe again and cuts off the connection of Minato with the Shinigami. The soul of Minato is released from Shinigami''s grasp together with the remaining half of Nine-tails. Izuna capture the Yin half of Nine-tails and seal it inside the Grimoire. Various chains erupt from the ''Sin Seal'' and pins down the yin half of Nine tails. They start to suck Chakra from Nine-tails, and the damaged dimensional chains linked to my soul start to repair themselves using Nine-tails chakra. It bbergasts Minato and Kushina. Kushina weakly points at me and questions, "How how are you able to do that?" "It is another ability of My Mangekyo Sharingan," I reply to her. "It is futile, Izuna-kun. Most of the vitality of Kushina''s and mine body is lost. We won''t live for long. The w of nine-tails has pierced our body. The vtile chakra of Nine-tails is corroding our body." Minato remarks. "I won''t allow that to happen. I will heal your bodies and souls. I need time to do that. Give me some time, Minato-san. Until that moment, I will ce you inside the isted space of my weapon. I show the ''Grimoire of Sin'' to them. I have enough trust in them to reveal the existence of Grimoire. Two more chainse out from the Grimoire. They tightly bind around Minato and Kushina to hold their body and soul together and prevent their soul from dissipating. "We will leave the rest to you, Izuna-kun. You have done a lot for us. I want my Naruto to turn into a fine shinobi like you." Kushina smiles at me. Both of them are pulled inside the Grimoire and are sealed inside together with their consciousness. Two pages appear inside the Grimoire with the picture of Minato and Kushina. "What I have done is just my way of repaying some of your gratitude. Both of you taught me everything without holding back, I will pass all of your and my knowledge to Naruto. He won''t be a loser like his original self. I won''t allow the vigers to discriminate against Naruto. If anyone stands in my way, then he should get ready to face King Yama in hell." The tardiness from before kicks in and Izuna''s head spins. "I still have a task to do before I lose consciousness." Izuna picks up the blood of Minato and Kushina from the ground. ''Fuinjutsu: Shadow body Blood clone'' Two lifeless clones of Minato and Kushina appear near Naruto. ''This will allow the vigers to know about the sacrifice of Minato and Kushina.'' Izuna''s vision turns blurry and his consciousness fades away. A few momentster, Hiruzen together with some anbus and Sakumo arrives on the scene. "This is" Hiruzen stares at baby Naruto, then at the lifeless body of Minato, Kushina, and Izuna. He immediately rushes to them and inspects their body. Minato and Kushina are dead. Hiruzen takes a deep breath and sighs in grief. He walks up to Izuna and examines him. "He is still breathing. Come and immediately take him to the Leaf Vige Hospital. He is a student of Tsunade, take him to her." Hiruzen shouts and orders one of the Anbu guards. The Anbu quickly picks up Izuna and dashes towards Leaf Hospital. Uwaah uwaah The cries of a baby echoed. Hiruzen directs his attention towards the newborn baby and picks him in his arms. "He looks very simr to Minato. So, he is Minato''s and Kushina''s newborn son." Hiruzen remarks at Naruto''s appearance. Looking further below on kid''s navel, he spots the ''Eight Trigram Sealing Seal''. ''Minato sealed the Nine-tails inside his newborn son, despite knowing the intricacies of the matter. It seems there is much more to the matter, then it appears on the surface. Only one person can provide answers to me. I have to wait for him to regain consciousness. I don''t believe Minato is rash to take such an action.'' "Lord Third, what should we do at this moment?" Sakumo bows before Hiruzen and waits for his further order. "Go and help the remaining vigers. Make a tally of deaths and arrange for a funeral for them. We will have to conduct an emergency meeting due to this incident. The vige can''t stand without a leader. Konoha had suffered huge losses in this incident. The death of the Fourth Hokage and the loss of many lives. We haven''t even recovered from the losses of The Third Great Shinobi War and yet we faced such a catastrophe." Sakumo nods to Hiruzen and instructs the nearby Jounins and Chunnins. Hiruzen flickers away from the ce together with baby Naruto in his arms. Two Anbus stayed there to guard the bodies of Minato and Kushina. ''I have to meet with Biwako and inquire about the details of the attack from her.'' ---------- Inside one of the Underground Shelter, Shisui frantically moves back and forth with a tense expression. "Itachi, I met with Izuna nii-san earlier. He teleported to fight with Nine-tails right after I met him. I am worried about him. I hope he is doing well. I don''t want to lose Izuna nii-san." "Izuna nii-san will be fine. He is much stronger than both of us. He will be able to escape easily with the teleportation jutsu if the situation turns unfavorable. You have to believe in Izuna nii-san''s prowess." Itachi assured Shisui. But he too had a tense expression on his face. "I hope you are right. I believe in Izuna nii-san. It is just that I have a bad feeling about this whole ordeal." Shisui silently stares at the Moon in the night sky. ------------ A/N:- Well technically I saved Minato and Kushina while also killing them. Well the opinion ofmunity is divided on this matter. I prefer their temporary death to allow Naruto''s character to grow. Chapter 75: Emergency Meeting Chapter 75: Emergency Meeting Hiruzen hands over Naruto to Sakumo. "Take care of him. He is the hero of the vige. His parents sacrificed their lives to protect the vige. I don''t want their legacy to suffer any harm." "Don''t worry, Hokage-Sama. He is the son of Fourth Hokage. Also, Minato was Kakashi''s Sensei. I will protect him." Sakumo carries a sleeping Naruto in his arms. Hiruzen nods to Sakumo and flickers away. A few momentster, Hiruzen arrives at the destroyed, hidden room. He is stunned to see the present condition of the room. "Howe?...the barrier is still present. How did the enemy breach the barrier? Biwako Biwako" Hiruzen had a bad feeling as he frantically shouts the name of his wife. There is no response. Hiruzen rushes inside the remains of the room and searches. Soon, he spots the body of an old woman. He hugs the woman in his arms as tears trickled down from his eyes. "My awful premonition came true. Biwako" Hiruzen stayed still for a while and mourned in grief over the death of his wife. "I have to look for that Uchiha kids for answers. He is the only alive witness of the entire incident." Hiruzen carries away the dead body of Biwako. --------- Inside the Hidden leaf hospital, Tsunade clicked her tongue as she looked at Izuna. "His Chakra reserves are dry. He has suffered a tremendous loss in vitality, and there is a fist-size hole in his guts. I wonder how this kid survived this incident. It is a miracle he made it up to here." Tsunade inspects the unconscious Izuna. ''Don''t die, kid. I believe in you, your words gave me a new hope in my life. I don''t want your me to extinguish before it could shine brightly.'' Tsunade frantically uses her Healing Jutsu to heal Izuna. The wound around Izuna''s stomach is healing at a very slow pace. Despite all of Tsunade''s efforts, Izuna failed to gain consciousness. ''What things transpired for him to suffer such a wound? Earlier, nine tails appeared and attacked the vige. This kid isn''t reckless enough to engage in a fight with Nine-tails despite knowing the odds of the victory.'' Hiruzen arrives at Konoha''s hospital and directly meets with Tsunade. "Tsunade, how''s that kid doing? Has he gained conscious?" Tsunade shakes her head in denial and replies to Hiruzen, "Sensei! He is still in aa. His injury is very fatal. I don''t know when he will retain his consciousness. Sensei, fill me on the details of the events which transpired in the vige." Sensing no harm in describing the situation to Tsunade, Hiruzen exins everything to Tsunade. Tsunade sighs in grief and looks towards Izuna. "I still can''t believe both Minato and Kushina lost their lives in this incident. Even Izuna is in such terrible shape. The enemy must be insanely powerful for such a thing." "Yes, earlier I sensed an enormous amount of Chakra on the periphery of Konoha. That Chakra outburst was on a different scale, even the chakra of Nine-tails couldn''tpare to it. What kind of enemy is after Konoha?" Hiruzen reveals this matter to Tsunade. Both of them contemte on this matter. An Anbu arrives in the room and bows down to Hiruzen. "Lord Third! The vige elders wish to start an emergency meeting. They request your presence in this meeting." "I will be there shortly." Hiruzen nods to Anbu. The Anbu member flickers out. "Sensei! Looks like your retirement days are over. You have to re-handle the affairs of the vige." Tsunade remarks. Hiruzen sighs again and leaves the hospital. ''The vigees before the family, I can''t allow this incident to ruin the efforts of Hashirama and Tobirama Sensei.'' ------- In a meeting hall, Various vige elders and n leaders gathered to discuss the course of action required. Hiruzen arrives at the meeting hall and the discussion starts. "Our vige has lost its leader. We need to reinstate a newpetent Hokage to look after the vige. Otherwise, the power of Vige will weaken and the enemy will use this opportunity to strike us down." Danzo raised this matter. "I agree with Danzo, we have to reinstate a new Hokage to maintain stability in Vige." Homura agrees with Danzo. "It would be difficult to search for an ideal candidate for Hokage''s position. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Sakumo had already refused the position and there aren''t any other capable shinobi present in the vige." Koharu speaks the matter. "I think I will" "Why not allow Lord Third to retain the position of Hokage? He had done a fine job leading the vige in the past, and all of us are aware of his abilities. He can continue his reign until we groom a sessor for the position." Shikaku cuts off Danzo and presents his opinion. "Hmm that''s a wonderful idea." Many other elders and n leaders chimes in. "It''s decided then, Lord Third will retain the position of Hokage until we find a new sessor." Koharu and Homura pass the final verdict. "I don''t agree with your decision. Hiruzen isn''tpetent enough, all of us have seen this during the Third Ninja War." Danzo stands up in disagreement. "I don''t quite agree with your opinion, Danzo-Sama. Lord third did a good job of handling the peace treaty. Konoha would have suffered more losses if the war continued. So, I support Lord Third." Shikaku interrupts Danzo again. "Shikaku has a point. The wits of Lord Third prevented heavy losses to the vige." Many other elders chimed in. "Very well, the meeting is officially over with Hiruzen Sarutobi reinstated as the Hokage. He will still be the Third Hokage of Leaf Vige." Koharu and Homura end the meeting. -------------- A few momentster, Hiruzen, Homura, Koharu, and Danzo sit around a table in a private room near Hokage''s Office. "I still don''t agree with your decision." Danzo ms his hand on the table. "Danzo, Hiruzen is the most powerful shinobi in the vige. Also, all other potential candidates are not interested in the position or they aren''t fit for it." Koharu tone down Danzo. "Anyway, we have gathered here to discuss the cause of the Nine-tails attack. Hiruzen, you were in charge of the matters of Jinchuruki. How things escted to this extent?" Homura questions Hiruzen. "The enemy could breach the barrier, and he even killed Biwako and rest of the anbus guarding the Jinchuruki. Minato had sealed the nine-tails in his newborn son, Naruto Namikaze. Also, an Uchiha kid close to Minato and Kushina fought with them. The kid is in serious condition. I hospitalize him in the leaf Hospital. He has the answers to all of our questions." Hiruzen exins things to his friends. "Hiruzen hand over the nine-tails and that Uchiha kid to Root. Nine-tails will turn into a weapon that will protect the Konoha. Our Konoha has weakened in these past few years. If we can control Nine-tails, then our power will increase drastically. Also, I will interrogate that Uchiha kid and gather all intel of the incident." Danzo demands. "No, that won''t do. Naruto is the son of Minato Namikaze. His father sacrificed his life to save the vige. Naruto is a hero of the Vige. I won''t allow you to turn Minato''s legacy in a mindless weapon. As for the Uchiha kid, I don''t have any say in that matter. He is the disciple of Tsunade, Sakumo, Minato, and Kushina. I don''t think Sakumo and Tsunade will allow you to interrogate him in Root. I will question the kid and get answers from him. Now, if you have any other intel on this matter, then present it." Hiruzen denies all the requests of Danzo. Tch Danzo clicks his tongue and scoffs. "I do have information regarding the Nine-Tails. Someone summoned the Nine-tails inside the vige. It appeared in a puff of smoke simr to a summoning. Also, it appeared near Uchihapounds. While fighting against Nine-tails, I noticed it was under a strong Genjutsu. This only leads to one conclusion. Uchihas controlled the Nine-tails. They released the Nine-tails on Vige and caused this massacre." "Danzo, the Uchiha police force helped a lot during the Nine-tails attack. They were the ones who were the first to take action and evacuate civilians. Also, Fugaku with many other Uchiha n elders fought against Nine-tails. I don''t think your im makes any sense. It can be a coincidence or a setup against Uchihas." Hiruzen disagrees with Danzo. "Nave, you are too nave, Hiruzen. A normal Sharingan can''t control the Nine-tails, but what about the Mangekyo Sharingan? I am sure you are aware of the prowess of Mangekyo Sharingan. Madara Uchiha was a prime example of this. He attacked the vige with Nine-tails." Danzo states the fact. "This makes sense. But we still can''t me the Uchihas with no solid proof. Their contribution and merits are undeniable. Let us leave it for now and focus on the stability of Vige." Hiruzen ends the discussion as he walks out of the room. Koharu and Homura follow him along. Danzo looks at their departing back and clutches his fist. ''I am still weakpared to Hiruzen. Orochimaru, I hope your research is fruitful otherwise I would have to get rid of you.'' Danzo looks at his right hand. Chapter 76: Relocation of Uchiha Clan Chapter 76: Relocation of Uchiha n Inside the leaf Vige Hospital, Izuna''s Chakra recovers enough to trigger his healing factor. The wound around his stomach heals at a rapid pace. In a few moments, his wound closes and Izuna gains consciousness. Tsunade who is examining a medical report nearby notices the change in Izuna''s body. "This is Incredible!" Izuna opens his eyes groggily and inspects his surroundings. He lies on a bed with an IV-drip attached to him. Izuna slowly stands up and removes the IV drip. "Kid, you finally gained consciousness. How are you feeling right now? As a medic, you must know your condition better than anyone else." Izuna flexes his hands and muscles. The soreness he felt earlier fades away. He takes a few steps and stands in front of Tsunade and bows to her. "Thank you, Tsunade-San. I have recovered from my injuries and I am good to go." "You should thank Hiruzen-Sensei. He was the one who sent you here. You were in terrible shape when you arrived here? Also, what was that just now, kid? Your healing was almost on the same level as my Creation Rebirth, if not higher." Tsunade curiously looked at Izuna. ''Ugh! How to exin this to her?'' Izuna stays silent. Tsunade sighs and remarks, "I know every Ninja has their own secrets and techniques. If you don''t want to reveal it, then it is fine with me. But you can always trust me." "Thank-you, Tsunade san. I hope you won''t mention this to anyone. I will reveal everything to you in the future." Suddenly something clicks in Izuna''s head and he anxiously questions Tsunade. "Tsunade-san, where is Naruto? The son of Minato and Kushina. He was with me before I lost consciousness." "Calm down! Izuna. Naruto is fine. Hiruzen-sensei is taking care of him for now. He will eventually assign a caretaker for Naruto." Tsunade calms down Izuna. "Tsunade-san! I have a request for you if you are fine with it." Izuna requests Tsunade. "Well, make your request. I will fulfill it if it''s within my capabilities." Tsunade assures Izuna. "Tsunade-san, the vige won''t allow me to take care of Naruto. I am an Uchiha and many elders will be against the decision. So, I would like to request you to take care of Naruto for at least five years. You can leave him when he enters the academy. At that time, I will personally train Naruto. This was thest wish of Minato and Kushina. I hope you agree with me." Tsunade ponders for a while before sighing, "Fine, I will take care of Naruto. Initially, I nned to leave the vige with Shizune. But your request has dyed my departure. I will talk to sensei about this matter. Also, Naruto is a part Uzumaki like me. So, it makes us a family. I will be his Godmother and take care of him." Tsunade agrees with Izuna''s request. "Also, Hiruzen sensei wants to know the details of the entire incident from you. Apparently, you are the only survivor who knows about the details." "I will answer all of his questions after the funeral." Izuna changes his clothes and teleports from the spot. ---------------------- Later during the funeral ceremony, Izuna joins other Uchihas in mourning. He silently stares at the crying baby Naruto ced in a basket in front of the Symbol of Will of Fire. Hiruzen walks forward and addresses the ceremony, "We lost many lives, including the Fourth Hokage Minato and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki. The facts behind the incident are still unknown. But for now, let us mourn ourrades." All the shinobis silently pay their respect to their deadrades. Tsunade walks to the basket and picks Naruto in her arms. Tch Danzo clicks his tongue and stares at Hiruzen. Hiruzen ignores Danzo and continues with the ceremony. ''At least, Naruto won''t have a miserable childhood this way. Minato and Kushina, this is the best I can do for the current Naruto. He needs motherly love and Tsunade will be an excellent mother.'' Izuna stares at the departing back of Tsunade and other vigers. --------------- Inside the private room, Danzo ms his hands on the table and questions Hiruzen. "Hiruzen, what''s the meaning of this? Why would you allow Tsunade to take care of that jinchuruki? You also know how irresponsible she is?" "Danzo, I won''t hear any question on this matter. Tsunade volunteered to take care of Naruto. Also, both of them are part Uzumaki. I will change Naruto''sst name to Uzumaki to prevent Minato''s enemy from hunting down his son. Staying with Tsunade will also grant him additional protection." Hiruzen rebukes Danzo. "We agree with Hiruzen''s decision. We have other important matters to handle. Almost one-third of Central Konoha was destroyed. We have to conduct a meeting with various n heads to discuss reconstruction and relocation." Koharu and Homura discuss serious matters. "Let us summon them and start the meeting." ------------ Inside therge meeting room, Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura sit on elders'' seats with various n leaders seated around a table. Arge map of Konoha is ced on the table, and Danzo exins the ns to n leaders. With a long stick in his hands, Danzo moves back and forth around the table as he exins, "The Nine-tails caused major devastation throughout the vige. Almost one-third of the vige is destroyed. For the reconstruction, we have decided to revise a number of the Vige''s boundaries." He points the stick at a certain part of the map and exins, "We''d like the Aburame n to move into this district. The n previously submitted a request to upy the forest, so we took that into consideration." Shibi Aburame nods to Danzo, and Danzo continues. "The Nara n''s territory was not part of the stricken area, so they will remain where they are. The Leaf Police Force headquarters which sustained damage will be rebuilt here." Danzo points at the furthest end of the vige, almost near the outer periphery of the Vige. Fugaku frowns at this decision. "And the Uchiha n will move along with the headquarters" Fugaku stands up and ms his hands on the table. "Lord Danzo! The Uchiha n makes up the Leaf Police Force that protects the Hidden Leaf. As such, that location is too far from the vige center. We wouldn''t be able to act swiftly in an emergency." Other n leaders nod in agreement. Danzo cuts off Fugaku and argues, "We have the ANBU ck Ops for such emergencies." "The Leaf Police has tomute to the training ground, does it not? This location is near an area that''s ideal for training. You can use that area exclusively for the Uchiha''s training grounds." Hiruzen points out the facts. "Continuing on In conjunction with the reconstruction of the Leaf Police Headquarters, the Uchiha n will also relocate. Home and buildings that were spared will be" Danzo continues to exin the construction ns. ---------- Inside the Naka Shrine, Many Leaf Police force members gathered for a secret meeting. Fugaku and an elder led the meeting. Izuna walks to the Naka Shrine and notices Itachi at the Tori Gate of Shrine. "How are you doing, Itachi?" Izuna questions him. "I am doing fine, Izuna nii-san. Father has summoned you for the meeting." Itachi replies to Izuna. Izuna walks inside the Naka Shrine and meets with Fugaku, "So, the dog of Anbu has appeared for the meeting." One of the police force members taunts Izuna. "What are you doing at this secret meeting?" Another police member questions him. "What I am doing here is none of your business?" Izuna activates his Sharingan and stares at the police member. The police force members activate his Sharingan and stare back at Izuna. Izuna murmurs, ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' The police force member sweats profusely and pants heavily. Another member tries to dispel the genjutsu but fails. "Enough stop this unnecessary quarrel right now." Fugaku bellows. Izuna dispels the genjutsu and walks in front of Fugaku. "You have summoned me, n leader." "Yes, today we are conducting a secret n meeting and you are also one of the elites of the n. We will start the meeting now." Fugaku signals to start the discussion. "During the nine-tails incident, we Uchiha were not credited because they feared that we used our Sharingan to manipte the Nine-Tails." One of the Uchiha member remarks. "Even worse, there are some who say that the Uchiha caused the Nine-tails incident!" Another member yells. "They are sending us to the outskirts of the vige to keep an eye on us!" Another member states his opinion. "This is just like during the second Hokage''s era when the Uchiha were rounded up and isted in one part of the Vige!" Another memberins. "This time, it is even further away! The vige suspects us!" Another member chimes in. "Captain, we can''t ept this decision! We should reject this outright!" One of the members riles up the crowd. "Captain! Captain! Captain!" all of them shout in unison. "You are absolutely right. But the other ns have epted their respective relocations as well. The Uchiha cannot be the lone voice of dissent." Fugaku interrupts them. "But Captain!..." "I''ll do what I can to negotiate the conditions. But we must ept the move. Pass the word around. That is all. Dismissed." Fugaku dismisses them. Izuna stands and starts to walk away but is interrupted by Fugaku, "Izuna, stay behind. I have some matters to discuss with you." Izuna stops in his tracks and waits for Fugaku to speak. After a while, when all members dispersed, Fugaku speaks, "Izuna, you have been part of Anbu since the tenure of the Last Hokage. So, this makes you a trustworthy person in the eyes of Hokage. I would like you to monitor Vige elders, especially Danzo Shimura and the Hokage, and report their matters to me. The welfare of the n should be prioritized. I don''t want our Uchiha n to fade in the annals of history simr to the Senju n. You will be our spy in the Anbu." ''What? He wants me to spy in Anbu. I don''t want the Uchiha n to go extinct. I will act ordingly for the betterment of my family.'' "Yes, n leader. I will take care of that." Fugaku nods and dismisses Izuna. ''I am strong enough to deal with Danzo. But first, I have to collect proofs against him. Orochimaru is still in the vige. After Orochimaru leaves the vige. I will put my n into action.'' Izuna is lost in his thoughts as he flickers towards his house. Chapter 77: Interrogation Chapter 77: Interrogation Izuna is packing the luggage with his family. Their house survived the Nine-tails attack, but they had to shift to a new location. Izuna picks up lots of his luggage and makes some hand signs and store it in a scroll. ''Enclosing Technique'' "My, my! That''s too convenient Izuna-chan." Fumiko looks at Izuna in amazement. Izuna scratches his head and replies, "I learned Fuinjutsu Techniques from Fourth Hokage and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki," Izuna replies with a sad expression. The atmosphere turns gloomy. Akira, Yagami, Aiko, Fumiko, and Shisui silently stare at Izuna. An Anbu flickers and appears in front of Izuna. "Vice-Captain! Hokage-sama has summoned you. Please follow me to the Hokage-Office." The Anbu whispers to Izuna. Izuna flickers towards Hokage''s Office and the Anbu member follow him. ----------- Inside the Hokage office, Hiruzen sat on a table with eyes closed. Danzo, Koharu, and Homura stand in front of him. "Hiruzen, I would like to watch the interrogation. I just want to hear the details of the incident." Danzo demands. "We would also watch the interrogation." Koharu and Homura states. "Danzo, the kid has done no crime. He is a trusted member of Anbu who has progressed in Ranks with his merits. Reaching Vice-Captain Rank in a year speaks for his talents and skills. You don''t have to be skeptical about him. He was very close to Minato and Kushina from his childhood. I don''t doubt the credibility of his words." Hiruzen defends Izuna. "Hiruzen, the Nine-tails attack has heavy involvement of the Uchiha n. You want me to believe this incident does not involve the kid. I had checked the records of his presence in Vige. For the past three months, he was away from the vige. Just before the Nine-tails attack he miraculously appeared out of nowhere. He even survived the attack against Nine-tails, which killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife. Do you want me to believe his story?" Danzo persists. "Fine! I will call the Inoichi of the Yamanaka n to monitor the kid. He will be easily able to spot any lies mixed within the truth." Hiruzen agrees to Danzo. "No, that won''t do. He is an Anbu Captain. He specializes in information gathering and disposal. Tell Inoichi to use the ''Psycho Mind Transmission'' technique of their n to enter inside the kid''s subconsciousness and search his memories. I will send one of my Root members to extract information from the kid." Danzo adds another condition. "Danzo, your action might earn us his distrust. Are you sure you want to do such a thing?" Hiruzen questions. "I will go to any extent for the sake of Vige. This is a grave matter. Many vigers lost their lives. I won''t sit quietly in this situation." Danzo continues. "Yes, Hiruzen! Danzo is right in this matter. We agree with him, it is better to take some necessary precautions then betting on circumstances. Also, we hope that as an Anbu Vice-Captain, he will understand the graveness of matter." Koharu and Homura agree with Danzo. Hiruzen rubs his forehead and sighs, "Fine, I agree with your terms. I just hope that it won''t earn us the distrust of Uchiha n." --------------- In a separate room, Izuna arrives with the Anbu member. The Anbu member exins things to Izuna. "Vice-Captain! You are aware of the recent development of events. You are the sole survivor of the attack who knows the information of the Culprit. Hokage-sama! Just want to ask some questions from you regarding the incident? We hope for your co-operation." Izuna looks at the surrounding Anbu members and nods to them. "It''s fine. I willply. There is nothing to hide in this situation." "Please, Vice-Captain!" The Anbu member leads Izuna inside a closed room with a chair in the center. Izuna sits on the chair and closes his eyes and patiently waits for Hiruzen''s arrival. A few minutester, Hiruzen together with other elders and Inoichi Yamanaka arrives inside the room. Other members of Konoha''s Torture and Interrogation Force follow them closely. "Izuna Uchiha, I don''t doubt your credibility and merits. It is just that the recent events had a tremendous impact on the Vige. I hope for your co-operation." Hiruzen walks in front of Izuna and speaks to him. Izuna nods his head and replies, "I will follow your instructions. As long as the questions aren''t rted to my secrets and powers, I will answer them." "Very well! Let us start with the details of the Nine-Tails attack." Hiruzen questions Izuna. "Narrate the entire series of events for us." Izuna narrates the entire incident involving the Nine-tails. How Minato used ''Reaper Death Seal'' to seal Nine-tails. How he used the ''Eight Trigrams Seals'' to make Naruto the new-jinchuruki. How Nine-tails in a struggle to save itself mortally wounded Minato and Kushina. Hiruzen looks toward Inoichi, who nods his head. Hiruzen continues, "Can you describe the characteristics of the assant? You must have faced against them?" "The assant used space-time ninjutsu to breach the barrier. He wore a one-eyed mask white mask with some markings. He extracted Kyubi from Kushina and attacked the vige." Izuna exins. "That''s not all the details, I am sure you know much more." Danzo interrupts the interrogation. "Yes, there are other details, but they aren''t relevant to the Nine-tails attack." Izuna calmly replies to Danzo. "Then can you exin those extra details? We are interested to hear the entire details," Danzo presses the matter. "If you want to hear them so badly, then listen. A powerful entity attacked us while we were fighting against the Nine-tails. He easily destroyed our barrier with a snap of his fingers and pushed back thebined might of Minato, Kushina, and me. His target was me for some unknown reasons. He captured me and flew away from the vige. I could somehow escape from his grasp thanks to my abilities. And you know theter series of events. Also, I am sure some of you must have sensed the massive influx of Chakra. That was the chakra of that entity. I would rather advise all of you to get ready to face against him rather than ying some politics and power game." Izuna looks towards Danzo and scoffs. "Izuna, if it is fine with you then can you allow Inoichi Yamanaka to enter your subconscious and allow him to ry the series of events to us." Hiruzen inquires. "I will only ry important information about the attack. I will hide all of my secrets and jutsus. If you agree with my conditions, then you can continue." Izuna states his condition. "Very well! I have no problem with your condition." Hiruzen nods his head. Inoichi slowly enters Izuna''s subconscious mind. Izuna sorts all of his memories of the Nine-Tails attack and presents them to Inoichi, who rys them to others using a special device. "So, that''s how it is. Now, we have an important clue regarding this matter. Konoha won''t sit idle and find the perpetrator of the attack." Hiruzen clenches his fist in anger. "I am not satisfied yet." Danzo interrupts Hiruzen and signals his Root member. The Root member walks up to Izuna and ces his hand on top of Izuna''s head and enters his mind together with Inoichi. "Danzo, stop it. It will put a mental burden on that kid''s consciousness." Hiruzen tries to stop Danzo. Inside the Izuna''s sub-consciousness, the Root member forcibly tries to break all the mental barriers and blocks. ''I have to get the information required by Danzo-Sama. Danzo-sama wants me to unveil all the secrets of this kid. I have got this chance, I won''t spare even a small piece of information. I have to scavenge all of his secrets.'' Before the Root member could intrude further, a pair ofrge Sharingans appears in Izuna''s subconscious mind. Another purple and blue eyes appear with Sharingan. ''Genjutsu: Five Senses Breakdown'' The Sharingan casts a powerful genjutsu on the Root member. The Root member suffers a bacsh. His body slowly limps on the ground. Foam froths from his mouth and blood leaks from his eyes, ears, and nose. He lies on the ground and his body twitches uncontrobly. Even Inoichi suffers from bacsh, but his condition is much better. Inoichi''s entire body is covered in sweat and pants heavily. ''What was that? Thankfully, it wasn''t directed at me or I would have suffered the same fate as this guy.'' Inoichi sighs in relief and looks at the twitching Root member. Immediately, two Root members beside Danzo flickers in front of the Root Anbu and carries him with them. One of them walks towards Danzo and silently conveys some information. Tch Danzo silently clicks his tongue. Anger is apparent on his face. "What''s the meaning of this?" Danzo bellows at Izuna. "You have permanently injured the mind of one of my elite of Root. What excuse do you have for your crimes?" He continues. "This Root member tried to infringe on my secrets and techniques despite my warnings. He suffered a bacsh from my mental barriers in his attempts. If you want to me someone, then me him. I did not fault in this matter." Izuna replies without even looking at Danzo. "I hope you have got your answers. I have matters to attend to. I will take my leave." Izuna continues. Hiruzen nods at him. Izuna stands up and flickers away from the Interrogation Room. Danzo clenches his fist and walks out of the room. His Rootckeys follow him. Chapter 78: The Last Mission Chapter 78: The Last Mission Three years passed in the blink of an eye. Izuna has been regrly doing missions in Anbu. He has be the Captain of Team Ro because of his contributions. During this time, he will sometimes train with Itachi and Shisui. Itachi has graduated from the academy and recently became a Genin. Orochimaru had escaped the vige when Hiruzen found out about his experiments. Kakashi was able to get over his grief from the death of all his team members thanks to Izuna and Sakumo. Sakumo personally trained Kakashi and Kakashi grew a lot stronger. Initially, Kakashi faced a lot of problems with the management of Chakra. Izuna solved the problem of the Chakra drain caused by Sharingan. He created a Fuinjutsu seal to deactivate Kakashi''s Sharingan. Kakashi had to form a Ram seal to activate the Sharingan. Kakashi still adopted his usual style of covering his left eye with the headband. ---------- Izuna lies on the training ground while monitoring the progress of Shisui and Itachi. Both of them have grown stronger than their Original counterpart thanks to Izuna''s training. Izuna will secretly train Shisui in the construction of Susanoo. Shisui quickly grasped the technique and improve at a rapid rate. Now, he can make an upper Body Humanoid Susanoo. ''I have sessfully mastered many other Kekkai Genkai nature Transformations. I have to figure out a way to learn Sage Mode. If I can learn the ''Six Paths Sage Mode'' then I can easily heal Minato and Kushina. The ''Sin Seal'' has stopped bothering me. The Yin half of Nine-tails provides ample amounts of Chakra for the seal to suck dry. In my current state, I can easily defeat Grandpa Madara with his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. As for Rinnegan let''s not talk about that. I am currently the strongest shinobi of the Shinobi World, excluding the Otsutsukis and that unknown cloaked person.'' A shiver ran down Izuna''s spine when he thought about that fight. ''Who was he? He is aware of this ''Sin Seal'' and its''s powers. I refuse to believe I killed him with that attack. I don''t know the extent of his powers. But if I have to make a guess, then he is at least as strong as Momoshiki Otsutsuki. I wonder what happened to him after my attack.'' Izuna shakes his head and quietly stares at the interactions of Shisui and Itachi. A young Sasuke walks up to him and lies beside him. "Izuna Nii-san, teach me a jutsu. Father won''t teach me any jutsu, and Itachi Nii-san is busy training with Shisui Nii-san. Only you can teach me a jutsu now." Sasuke stares at Izuna with his puppy eyes as he puffs up his cheeks. Izuna pokes Sasuke''s cheeks and reply, "Sasuke, you are only four this year, why do you want to learn ninjutsu this quickly?" "Nii-san, I want Father to praise me just like Itachi nii-san. So, Nii-san, please teach me a jutsu." Sasuke stares at Izuna with puppy eyes. ''Aw so, cute. I can''t say no to such a cute expression.'' Izuna pulls Sasuke''s cheeks. "Ok! I will teach you ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu''. You canter impress Uncle Fugaku with the jutsu. Now, follow me to the Nearbyke. I will show you the hand signs for the jutsu. Memorize them and practice slowly." Izuna walks to the Uchihake and slowly makes the hand signs for the technique. ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique'' He spews out arge fireball above theke. Lots ofke water evaporates from the jutsu. "Now, it''s your turn." Sasuke haphazardly makes the hand signs and spew out a small orb of fire that flickers for a while before extinguishing. Sasuke drops his head depressingly. Izuna rubs Sasuke''s forehead. "Don''t be sad, Sasuke. You did well for your first attempt. If you practice diligently, you will eventually reach the same level as me." Izuna cheers up Sasuke. "Come, I will treat you to your favorite popsicle." "Yay! You are the best Nii-san." Sasuke hugs Izuna. Izuna and Sasuke walk through new Uchihapounds while licking a popsicle. Izuna receives a signal from a nearby hidden Anbu member. He stops in his footsteps and urges Sasuke to continue, "Sasuke! Big-Brother has some urgent work to handle. Go and y with your friends. Also, don''t be mean to Naruto. Don''t allow others to bully him. He is also my younger brother, just like you. So, that makes you an elder brother to him. Protect your younger brother from bullies." Sasuke puffs his cheeks in annoyance. "Nii-san, why I have to take care of that baka Naruto?" Izuna gently strokes Sasuke''s head. "He is the son of myte teacher. So, it is my responsibility to take care of him. If you take care of Naruto and protect him from bullies, I will teach you many cool new jutsus." Izuna tries to entice Sasuke. "If you say so, I will y with Naruto and protect him from other bullies." Sasuke nods his head. "You can also call him during your training, I will teach both of you. Now, big-brother has to go." Izuna vanishes from the spot in a burst of particles. "Wow! So cool. I want to learn this jutsu." Sasuke looks with shining eyes. ----------- Inside the Hokage''s office, Izuna appears in front of Hiruzen in his Anbu costume. "You summoned me Hokage-sama." Izuna bows in front of Hiruzen and waits for his orders. "It has been four years since you joined the Anbu. From a normal member to a Captain, you have risen in ranks quickly. I have received your request for retirement from Anbu. I would like to know the reason behind the request. Your career as a shinobi is at its peak, and Anbucks geniuses like you. It would be a waste to let go of such talent from Anbu." Hiruzen stares at Izuna. Izuna removes his Anbu mask and replies to Hiruzen, "I had my fair share of bloody battles and missions throughout my career as an Anbu. I am tired of all this bloodshed and I would like to explore the world outside Konoha. So, after my retirement, I will journey across the ''Shinobi World''." ''Also, I have hit a teau in my growth recently. I have mastered and honed my skills in these three years. I am not a rookie with ack of experience anymore. I have to figure out a way to master Senjutsu or Sage Mode. I will start with Shikkotsu Forest. Then there is ack of proper summoning creatures for me. I haven''t been able to form a proper contract yet. The ''Sin Seal'' won''t allow me to form a contract.'' Hiruzen contemtes for a while before he replies, "I will process your request as soon as possible. But before you retire from Anbu, I have a Last mission for you as an Anbu Captain." "Please, Hokage-sama! I willplete the mission." Izuna nods to Hiruzen. "Humm Amegakure has been suffering from a civil war since the Third Shinobi War. Hanzo''s rule in Ame lead to many bloody ughters andrge-scale genocides. Recently, a new organization called Akatsuki has appeared. You are aware of the fact that Orochimaru escaped from the vige this year. I have my suspicion of him joining this organization." Hiruzen picks up a file from the table and passes it to Izuna. Izuna skims through the file while listening to details from Hiruzen. "We don''t have any detailed information on this organization. But from our sources, we have tracked the origin of this organization to Amegakure. Our previous attempts to gather any intelligence failed miserably. All of our previous spies are MIA or murdered in cold blood." Hiruzen passes another list with the name of spies and their duration of mission in Amegakure. Hiruzen continues. "Danzo previously lead his Root team to investigate the matter. But I had lost trust in him after his recent attempt to assassinate me. He has grown quite power hungry in all these years. But I can''t remove him, his Root is too crucial for the survival of Vige." Hiruzen sighs and reminisces about his past. ''Sensei! I have failed thest mission you gave me. Danzo became the darkness of the Vige, but he is slowly getting consumed by this Darkness. I can''t bring myself to kill my disciple and now my lifelong friend. I am too soft-hearted.'' Hiruzen takes a deep breath and continues. "I have issued this top-secret mission to you. It will be an infiltration mission. Infiltrate the Amegakure and gather intelligence on the current situation of Ame. Also, remember. If the situation turns too dangerous to continue the mission, immediately abandon the mission and retreat to Konoha. You are the third person to master the ''Flying Thunder God Jutsu'', your life is far more valuable than any intel. It won''t be an issue for you to escape from enemies'' encirclement. Now dismiss." Hiruzen dismisses Izuna. Izuna disappears from the spot in a burst of particles. "I still can''t get used to this kid''s technique." Hiruzen slumps down on Hokage''s chair and smokes from his pipe. ''Orochimaru! I hope I haven''t made a mistake to allow you to live.'' Hiruzen contemtes while smoking from his pipe. He pulls out the drawer and picks up arge Crystal sphere. "It''s time to watch the progress of Konoha''s new seedlings." Chapter 79: Infiltrating Amegakure Chapter 79: Infiltrating Amegakure Izuna walks out of Hokage Office to prepare for his departure. ''This infiltration mission is going to take some time. I will depart after meeting with Naruto.'' Izuna flickers towards Senjupounds. He enters Senjupounds and enters Tsunade''s house. "Naruto Naruto" "Naruto had just left the house. He is out in the yground to y with his friends." Shizune walks out of the house and answers to Izuna. "Thanks, Shizune-san!" Izuna thanks Shizune. "Kid! Come here. I need your help." Tsunade shouts from inside. Izuna and Shizune shake their head, and Izuna enters inside the house. "Kid! you are quite rich. You have done plenty of S-Rank missions. Loan me a few million Ryos for a while, I will repay you in the future." Tsunade gestures Izuna. "Tsunade San! You have yet to return the previous ten million Ryo. I won''t lend any more money to you. Why don''t you stop gambling and choose something else as your hobby?" Izuna questions her. "You are no fun, kid. You don''t know the thrill of gambling. Betting money on an uncertain oue and then excitingly wait for the result." Tsunade hypes up. "There is no thrill when you know the oue already. No matter what, you will lose every single gambling match. Why don''t you gamble with your money?" Izuna rebukes Tsunade. "I have to take care of Naruto with my money. My expenses are too high and Naruto is a growing kid. Poor me!" Tsunade sulks. "You and poor! Not in a billion years. You received the Senju n''s inheritance. That''s a lot of money and you get a hefty sry from Konoha''s hospital. I will take custody of all of your expensive ''Sake''." Izuna stands up and kicks the nearby floor. A wine cer popped up. There are many expensive Sakes and Wines lined together in the cer. Izuna sucked all of them in a storage scroll. Tsunade looked at him with teary eyes. "This is my installment for the Ten million Ryo. Tell me if you have more money to repay me. I will take my leave then, I have a mission to do." Izuna walks out of Tsunade''s residence. Tsunade sits in a corner of the room and draws circles on the floor with her finger. "Tsunade-sama! Don''t sulk over this matter. You should save some money." Shizune tries tofort Tsunade. Sob sob "My premium Sake. I just imported it from Land of Honey. I haven''t even taken a sip of this sake. I even hid it underground to prevent Izuna from noticing it." Tsunade continues to sulk. Shizune continues to persuade Tsunade. ------------- In the yground, Naruto is taking a ride on the swing. Nearby, Sasuke is surrounded by lots of girls who pester him to y with them. I hid my presence with ''Light Cloak'' and silently watch their interaction. One of the civilian kids throws a stone at Naruto. Naruto avoids the stone by somersaulting from the swing. "Hey! What''s your problem? Why are you throwing a stone at me?" Naruto frowns and questions the kid. "Give my father back to me? You killed my father Nine-tails. I won''t forgive you." Another civilian kid joins him and throws pebbles and stones at Naruto. Naruto avoids most of them but is still hit by a few stones. Sasuke pushes back the girls and walks up to the civilian kids. "Stop! If you darey even a finger on Naruto, then I will beat you up." Sasuke threatens them. One of the civilian kids ignores Sasuke and throws a pebble at Naruto. Sasuke gets angry upon seeing this. He balls his small hands into a fist and punches the civilian kid in the gut. The civilian kid faints from this punch. The nearby kids start to attack Sasuke, but he man-handles them. ''That''s Sasuke for you. So, there are still rumors about Naruto. I have to talk to Hiruzen about this matter.'' Izuna silently walks behind Naruto and heals him. ''Guess Sasuke will take care of Naruto and it will form a bond of brotherhood in between them.'' Izuna flickers away from the yground towards Konoha''s exit. ------------ Two days passed by, Izuna has sessfully infiltrated the Land of Rain, and he is on his way to Amegakure. Izuna stares at the distant Amegakure with his Sharingan. Various sky-high metal towers are pointing towards the sky. The whole of Amegakure appears to be more industrialized and developed than the rest of Hidden Vige. It is continuously raining inside the vige. He activates his ''Eye of Insight'' to look at the rain. Small droplets of Chakra appear in his vision. ''So, that''s how it is. ''Rain Tiger at Will Technique''- the technique that allows Nagato to monitor the entire Hidden Rain Vige. By infusing his own chakra in rain, he allows it to fall on the vige. If any outsider enters the vige, it will warn the Pain of the arrival of the intruder. Quite a handy technique to use on the unsuspecting intruders. I don''t have to be afraid of pain. I am capable enough to fight him.'' Izuna slowly walks towards the vige and enters the vige. The rain droplets fell upon his body and detect his Chakra signature. ----------- Inside one of the metal-pipe tower, A man with short spiky Orange hairs with many ck-piercings through his body opens his eyes. His eyes are purple with many concentric circles covering the entire eyeball. He wore arge ck cloak with red clouds. "Konan! A very powerful Chakra Signature just entered the vige. I just detected his presence with my Rain Tiger Technique. Locate him and ry his features to me." Many paper butterfliesbine to shape into a woman. The neer had short, straight blue hair with a bun, amber eyes withvender eye-shadow, and abret piercing. "Pain, I will ry the feature of intruder immediately." Konan closes her eyes and sends some butterfly-shaped papers in the direction pointed by Pain. She soon spots Izuna walking along the streets of Amegakure. Izuna notices the paper butterfly but ignores them. ''So, they are scouting for my identity. I have to see how high of a threat I am to them?'' He continues to walk along the streets. Konan opens her eyes and rys the feature of the newer to Pain. "Pain, it is a problem. The neer is Izuna Uchiha, ''The Silent Shinigami''. He has infiltrated our vige. In Madara''s list of people to stay from, hees at the top. We can''t fight and win against him. We have to find a way to drive him away from Amegakure." Konan warns pain. "Shinigami or not, he has intruded into the territory of God. He will suffer God''s retribution for that. Konan, intercept him, I will activate other Paths of Pain shortly and send them to help you." Pain orders Konan. "Pain, are you sure about engaging him in a fight? Madara has warned us against it?" Konan tries to convince Pain. "He isn''t aware of my abilities, which gives me a huge advantage in a fight against him. Today, the Shinigami shall know pain." Pain interrupts Konan and walks away inside the tower. Konan''s entire body and clothing turned into multiple paper sheets, which folded into many butterflies and flew towards Izuna''s location. Meanwhile, Izuna is inspecting the buildings of Amegakure. ''They sure like to use lots of metal. Even their houses are made of metal. I can''t find a single building made up of wood. This rain will dpose wood easily. I guess that''s why they are using stainless metal to construct their houses. But why is everything in the shape of huge metal pipes? What''s with this design aesthetic?'' Izuna walks up to a nearby food stall and picks up the freshly fried Takoyaki. "Obasan! How much for this Takoyaki." He picks up a tray with six golden Takoyaki in them. Drool leaks from his mouth as he gulps his saliva. Izuna is in his original appearance but has removed the Konoha forehead protector to adopt the style of a traveler. "That will be a hundred Ryo." The olddy replies. Izuna takes out a hundred Ryo coin and hands it to the Olddy. "You aren''t from around here?" the Olddy inquires. "Well, I am an Orphan who is traveling across the world. During my travels, I will sell my wares, which I bought in another nation. It is my first time in Hidden Rain Vige, and I am excited to try its specialties. It sure is peaceful here. Any rmendation Obasan." Izuna warms up to the Old Lady. The olddy invites him in and gives the freshly fried Takoyaki to him. "We have been living a hard life. The civil war among the top powers of Ame had affected our livelihood. If you want to try local specialties, then my Takoyaki is one of them. Then there is the special day-to-day appliances built here in Ame. Our Ame is one of the most industrialized nations. You will find all kinds of machinery here." The Olddy exined everything to him. "Hanzo-sama has taken good care of Amegakure to develop to this extent." Izuna tests the Olddy. The olddy snaps at Izuna and throws things at him. "Get out!...get out right now. I don''t want to hear that name again. He executed my husband and family. Get out" The olddy throws random things at Izuna. Izuna quickly runs out of the shop. Many passersby stare at Izuna with an unfriendly expression. Izuna scratches his head and walks into a nearby alley. Chapter 80: First Encounter with Pain Chapter 80: First Encounter with Pain Izuna slowly walks through the pipes of the Ame sewage system. He notices some Ame jounins on his trail, but he ignores them and continues to walk further along the pipes. The Ame jounins continues to follow Izuna in the pipes. They soon reach a dead end, but the intruder is nowhere to be seen. Before they could turn around,rge rock hands bind them to the ground as Izuna appears out of nowhere. The Ame ninja struggles to get free, but he seals their Chakra. "Searching for someone? Perhaps me!" Izuna slowly walks in front of them and interrogates them. "I will ask questions and you will answer them. Now my first question, Where is Hanzo? If you dare lie to me, then the consequences won''t be to your liking." Izuna threatens them. "You can try anything you want, even our ghosts won''t answer your questions. We... We have a God behind us. Go... God is constantly watching over us. He won''t allow his subordinates to suffer." One of the Ame ninja gulps his saliva. "If you want salvation, then submit to our God and follow us. Or else God''s retribution will fall upon you." Another Ame ninja haughtily reply. "I will deal with your Godter. But first, you will suffer my retribution." ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' "Say hello to Mil-tan." Izuna has an evil grin on his face. "No!...Somebody help! Help me. Save me from this monstrosity. Nooo.. let me go! No Not there. No" The Ame ninja struggles desperately. Izuna turns to another ninja and smiles at him, "If you won''t answer my questions. Then it will be your turn next. Trust me, you don''t want to know what kind of suffering your friend is facing right now." The Ame ninja continues to scream for help. The other ninja gulps his saliva, his back drenches in a cold sweat. "I know nothing. Angel-sama ordered us to intercept the intruder. That''s that''s all." The Ame ninja stutters. "I don''t want to know about your God or Angel. Tell me about Hanzo. Where is Hanzo? Give me the location of Hanzo''s residence." Izuna questions him. "I I know nothing about it. Please spare me. I won''t bother you again. I won''t even report this to Angel-sama." The Ame ninja pleads. Many Origami butterflies surround Izuna. The paper butterflies open up to reveal many paper bombs. Boom The paper bombs explode before the Ame ninja could react. The smoke clears to reveal Izuna, who ispletely fine. Izuna cracks his neck and looks at the neer. The Origami papers surround him again and bind his body. The remaining papers turn into the upper body of a woman who held a paper spear in her hand and stab it toward Izuna. "You know! You are underestimating me." A streak of purple lightning shes and crumbles all the papers. ''Lightning Release: Purple Lightning'' The Origami papers float and shape into a woman. "Angel-sama! Angel-sama! Save me, Angel-sama. He held me hostage and interrogated me. But Angel-sama, I have revealed nothing to him." The Ame ninja pleads to Konan. "Get out of the way. You are being a nuisance. I will personally deal with him." Konan replies in a cold tone. The Origami papers turn into many shurikens and kunais and shoot towards Izuna. ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu'' Izuna spews out a giant fireball without making any hand signs. The fireball burns the paper kunais and shurikens. ''Dance of the Shikigami: Paper Chakram'' Konan raises her hands and shapes many Origami papers into arge paper Chakram which spins rapidly. Sheunches the Paper Chakram towards Izuna. The paper Chakram turns into multiple Chakram mid-air, Konan maniptes them. ''Lightning Release: Raikiri de'' Izuna stretches his right hand and forms arge lightning de. He shes the paper Chakram into halves and cuts Konan''s chakra from them. Konan infuses more chakra and turns it into multiple Origami papers. The Origami paper shapes intorge wings behind her, which she directs towards Izuna. "So, you are the Angel. The Messenger of God. That''s a fancy appearance right there. Impersonating or I would say cosying as an Angel." Izuna taunts Konan. Konan ignores Izuna''s taunts and points a finger towards him. ''Dance of the Shikigami: Paper Rain'' The paper wings shoot the paper''s projectiles at a very high velocity. ''Inferno Release: zing Destruction'' Izuna spews out a concentrated red fire beam from his mouth, which collides with the paper. The highly concentrated mes incinerate the papers and travel towards Konan. The mes incinerate her paper body into ashes. "Paper Clone." Izuna frowns. The ground turns into many papers which engulf Izuna. Many paper bombs appear amidst the papers and detonate. Boom The explosion engulfs Izuna. After a few seconds, the smoke clears out to reveal Izuna shrouded in a silver Chakra skeletal ribs. He is perfectly fine with no damage to his body. Even the skeletal construct is unharmed. That was a pretty nice trick. But ytime is over, I will have to capture you to get my answers." Arge skeletal hand grabs the paper body of Konan. "You are my hostage now. Now answer my questions, where is Hanzo of the Smander? What happened to him? " Izuna questions Konan. ''It was during this time when Pain killed Hanzo. But I want to confirm it from her.'' "Answer my questions within the next ten seconds or else I won''t mind turning you into a corpse." Izuna threatened Konan. "You are overestimating yourself, ''Silent Shinigami''. You are in the territory of God if this is the extent of your power, then forget about getting alive out of here." Konan remarks confidently, with no change in her expression. "Then summon your God here. I will also like to taste the true power of your so-called God." The Susanoo arm squeezes paper Konan tightly. ''Shinra Tensei'' A powerful repulsive force acts upon Izuna and throws him out of the pipe. The powerful force flung Izuna out of Amegakure through many metal buildings and towers. ''Metal Release: Adamantine Skin'' Izuna coats his body in Metal Chakra and prevents damage from the collision. Konan turns her body into various paper butterflies and avoids harm. At the outskirts of Amegakure, Izuna stands up from the rocks and debris. He dusts up his clothes and cracks his knuckles. "I am fired off for this fight. It has been a while since I had time to go all out. I hope Pain will give me a decent fight." ''I can feel my blood boiling when thinking of a fight against Pain. Is this the side-effect of being Madara''s descendant? I knew grandpa Madara was famous for his lust for battle. Maybe I have inherited some of his characters?'' Izuna stands up and floats out of the crater on an Iron pipe. "So, you are the leader of Akatsuki? The so-called God. Have you dealt with Hanzo already? Or are you manipting him and ruling Amegakure from shadows?" Izuna questions the neer. The neer hasrge orange hairs tied into a ponytail. He had many ck rods as piercing all over his body. The neer wore a ck robe with red clouds pattern. ''Summoning Jutsu'' The neer summons arge red and white crab summon. The crab spits out a white corrosive foam from his mouth. The foam surrounds Izuna and corrodes everything in its way. ''Scorch Release: Extreme Steaming Murder'' Izuna makes some hand signs and throws out arge yellow orb towards the crab. The yellow orb evaporates the white corrosive foam and collides with the Crab summons. Steam rises from the crab''s body as the crab gets cooked. The body of the crab shrivels and all the water in its body evaporates. A meaty aroma rises in the surrounding and the crab summons disappears in a puff of smoke. "That was a well-done crab. Too bad, I don''t have any salt, pepper, and sauce to enjoy the dish." Izuna jokes at Pain. Pain looks at Izuna with a nk expression, "Shinigami or not, you are still a man. But through infinite pain and suffering, I have transcended humanity. Yes, from a man to God; I have attained Godhood. Now watch the power of a God with your eyes." Pain opens his arms widely. Arge summoning seal appears beside him. ''Summoning Jutsu'' ---------------- Inside an underground hideout, ck Zetsu opens his eyes and walks up to a masked Obito. "Obito! An unexpected situation had arisen. The Uchiha boy with the moniker of ''Silent Shinigami'' is facing against Pain. The boy infiltrated the Amegakure earlier and now he is engaged in a fight against Pain. He easily defeated the Konan, which forced Pain to show his hands. It is hard to decide a winner between the Boy and Pain. We can''t allow our chess piece to fall so easily. We have to intercept their fight. We can''t allow things to fall apart so easily even before we put our ''Eye of the Moon'' n in motion. Help Pain deal with the nuisance. You don''t have to defeat the kid, just separate both of them from each other. Also, summon rest of our members." Obito stands up and disappears into a swirling portal while remarking. "The n won''t fall apart. I will handle the situation." ck Zetsu enters the grounds and disappears from the hideout. Chapter 81: Shinigami Vs God Chapter 81: Shinigami Vs God ''Summoning Jutsu'' The Animal Path Pain makes many hand signs and summons a variety of Animal summons. A Giant Drill-beaked bird, a Giant Multi- headed Dog, a giant Snake-tailed Chameleon, a Giant Panda, a Giant Centipede, a Giant Rhino, and a Giant Ox. "Show him what true pain is." The Animal Path directs all of his summons at Izuna. "That''s a very nice zoo, you have opened there. Let me pet these animals for you." Izuna makes arge ''Lightning Release: Vanishing Rasengan'' and throws it towards the summoned creatures. The Giant Panda jumps in front of the Rasengan and tanks the hit for other summoned creatures. Puff The Panda disappears in a puff of white smoke. Scree The giant drill beaked bird shoots out from the white smoke at a quick speed. ''Swift Release: Sonic Steps'' Izuna disappears from his position leaving a blurry shadow behind. The bird pierces the blurry shadow with the drill shaped beak. The shadow turns into arge lightning and traps the bird; the bird struggles inside the as lightning continue to zap it. ''Storm Release: Laser Circus'' Izuna appears above the giant dog and chops into pieces. The chopped pieces of the dog regenerate into new dogs and multiple dogs line up. Woof woof The dogs bark madly and chase Izuna. "Bad Doggo! Bad doggo Let me chain you up." ''Metal release: Iron Maiden'' Arge Iron maiden with multiple chains erupts from the ground. The chains bind up the dogs and pull them inside the Iron Maiden. The spiky interior of Iron Maiden closes up and turns the dogs into a beehive. Boom Many explosive eggs fell upon Izuna''s position. ''Earth Style: Mud Dome'' Izuna blocks the explosive eggs. He makes some hand signs ''Ice Release: Ice Prison'' Izuna freezes the bird in mid-air. The bird fell on the ground and shatter into countless ice splinters. "Bad bird! You should not kill just bomb your eggs." Bam The giant ox ms into Izuna, throwing him far away. Izuna stands up and dusts off his clothes. The metal coating on his body disappears and Izuna slowly walks towards the ox. The ox charges again to m in Izuna. Izuna clenches his fist and coats them with metal chakra. His fists turn into steel and Izuna punches the ox. The horns of the ox snap in half, and it is sent flying by the blow. A forked tongue appears out of nowhere and stabs into Izuna''s body. Shatter Izuna''s body shatters into various particles, and he appears behind the camouged chameleon. "I have been waiting for you to attack." ''Water Style: High-Pressure Jet'' Izuna chops down the Chameleon summon in half with a high-pressure water jet. Poof The chameleon disappears in arge puff of smoke. "I am getting tired of your summons. It is time to end this." Izuna ps his hand and yells, ''Radiation Release: Nuclear Devastation'' He throws out a small green orb from his hands. The orb travels in the midst of the summons and expands rapidly. Boom The green orb explodes in arge column of light and engulfs all the summons. Bang Izuna suddenly appears in front of Animal Path and punches him in the gut. The Pain path zooms past the light pir and collides with arge boulder and shatters it. It continues to get pushed back by the momentum and breaks multiple towers as it enters inside the Ame. Bang The pain crashes into the ground and creates arge crater. The body of the Pain path is badly damaged and there is an enormous gaping hole in its stomach. All the ck chakra rod piercings have been ejected out from its body. "So, this is the puny power of a self-proimed God. Pretty unremarkable, if I would have to say. Your weakness disgust me." Izuna taunts Pain. ''Come on, send all Paths of Pain. I am tired of fighting against the Animal Path.'' "I am God. My words and thoughts be the Law of Nature. I can defy the very existence of death since I have long ago shed my humanity and transcended Godhood. I am a God of Peace, and you have disrupted the order and peace. Now get ready for your punishment." Multiple pain paths appear beside the damaged body of the Animal Path. The Naraka path makes some hand signs and ms his hand on the ground. Arge head of ''King of Hell'' sprouts out from the ground. It has Rinnegan simr to other Pain Paths and is surrounded by purple mes of hell. The King of Hell opens its mouth wide and tendrils like arms appears its mouth and pull the damaged body of Animal Path inside it. The King of hell ingests the body of Animal Path and channels the restorative powers of Naraka Path. After a while, the Animal Path walks out of King of Hell''s mouth fully rejuvenated. "So, that''s the power of fabled Rinnegan. I never expected the leader of Akatsuki to possess such a powerful Dojutsu." Izuna remarks to Pain. ''So, the ck Zetsu has been monitoring me for a while. I bet he is enjoying my fight against the Pain. I can''t kill Pain now, I don''t fear any plot change but I want a motive for Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto to grow stronger. Pain shall serve that purpose. But that doesn''t mean I can''t rough him up. I can''t wait to fight against Grandpa Madara and it seems like Nagato has yet to figure out theplete power of Rinnegan.'' "Those who seek power will find only ruination. Men are not gods; no matter what they try, they can never escape the fact that they are human, and are susceptible to the same ws. But to those who dare to avert the truth with self-conjured lies... they shall ultimately pay the price of forsaking their very identity, for an ephemeral illusion." Izuna responds to Pain. "My pain and suffering have gone beyond any known parameter. I have awakened as a God. These eyes granted me the ability to see the truth of the world. This world is corrupted by the selfishness and desires of humanity. My quest for peace is nothing but a way to seek salvation for this doomed world. My desire for power is only a tiny fragment of my desire for peace. The world needs a God to direct it, and now I have been born with that power. Submit to my cause ''Shinigami'' and the world shall see true peace." Deva Path Pain answers. "Kami-sama, I am not interested in any of your bull crap. I am here on a mission and you are preventing me frompleting my mission. God or not, I will butcher you if you dare interfere with my mission." "You need to know pain before you understand the sentiments of God." Deva path gets into a formation with other paths. "I don''t care about your Godplex. I just want some answers and that''s all. You can continue to be the so-called God all you want." Izuna taunts Pain. Pain ignores Izuna and attacks him with all of his paths. The Asura path opens its palms and various heat-seeking missiles lock on Izuna. The missiles track Izuna and explode. Izuna dodges the explosion and makes some hand signs, ''Inferno Style: Heat Ray'' He fires a concentrated beam of fire towards the Asura Path. The Preta Path jumps in front of the Asura path and absorbs the chakra from the jutsu. The Asura Path detaches its arm to reveal a cluster of the segmented missile. All the missile locks on Izuna and follows his trail. The Asura Path bends down and fires a massive metal de from its back. This double attack blocks all paths of the escape of Izuna. Izuna channels chakra in his hands, and his hand gets coated in Dark chakra. The hand turns into an enormous wposed of darkness. ''Darkness Style: Shadow w'' The w grabs hold of therge metal de and block the explosion of missiles. ''They are avoiding direct eye contact with me. Are they afraid of my Sharingan Genjutsu? The biggest weakness of Pain was genjutsu. If you think you can avoid my genjutsu by avoiding eye contact, then you are sorely mistaken.'' Izuna ps his hands and makes some hand signs, ''Sound Release: Death song'' Izuna cast a sound-based genjutsu on Pain. Many sound waves ripple through the air and enter the ears of Pain. The Pain trembles and his chakra gets disrupted. "Impossible, Genjutsu. How can this be? I made sure to avoid contact with your Sharingan." The Pain is paralyzed and looks at Izuna with disbelief. Izuna vanishes and appears before the Asura Path. He smashes the Asura Path to rubbles. ''I will take this for research. These things are a good transmitter of Chakra.'' Izuna pulls out the ck Chakra rod and stores it inside a scroll. ''Time to tone down his God Complex.'' Izuna breaks apart all the remaining paths except for Deva Path. Chapter 82: Itachi In Danger Chapter 82: Itachi In Danger "Oye! Oye! Itachi! You better not think that you saved my ass there. I could have taken care of myself out there." Tenma Izumo, one of Itachi''s teammate bickers in front of Itachi. "The thought hasn''t crossed my mind." Itachi nonchntly replies to Tenma. "Even if you didn''t end up helping me" Bonk Tenma is interrupted by a punch from Itachi''s other teammate, Shinko Inari. Tenma clutches his head and questions Shinko. "Aw.... that hurts! What are you doing?" "Why are you still saying stuff like that? He''s your friend. Of course! He is going to help you." Shinko reprimands Tenma. "Heh! Me! His friend. Are you daydreaming?" Tenma points at himself and Itachi. "I was just fulfilling my mission." Itachi calmly reply to Shinko. Bam bam Shinko punches both Itachi and Tenma. "Both of you stop bickering like this. We havepleted our escort mission of Land of Fire''s Daimyo. Yuki Sensei has to move ahead of us due to the mission." Shinko presses her hands against her non-existent chest. "You too, Itachi. Stop being so difficult to Tenma." Shinko reprimand Itachi. "All right! Isn''t there something you want to say to Itachi?" Shinko folds her arms and stares at Tenma. Tenma gulps a mouthful of saliva and avoids Shinko''s gaze. He points a finger towards Itachi and speaks to him. "I swear I''ll make up to you for this!" Shinko elbows Tenma in the gut, "Why can''t you just say, THANK YOU?" Tenma gets up and they continue to travel towards Konoha. After a while, a swirling portal opens up in front of them. Obito walks out of the portal and looks at Itachi. "Found you. Since you are the only one out of the protection of Leaf Vige. I have to go with you. I am sure if I take you as a hostage, it will force him to stop his action." The masked Obito attacks Team 2. "Enemy, get in formation." Itachi warns his teammates. He immediately makes some hand signs, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu" Itachiunches a giant fireball at the masked man. The giant fireball phases through the masked man. "How... how is this possible?" Itachi''s eyes widen. ''My fireball phased through his body. How?'' He quickly makes more hand signs andunches many shurikens towards the masked man. ''Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu'' Itachi takes out another shuriken and throws it towards the rest of Shurikens. The shurikens change their trajectory and bombard the masked man at tricky angles. ''Looks like he is aiming for me. I have to buy some time for Tenma and Shinko to escape.'' The masked man avoids the shuriken and continues to move towards Itachi. ''Wind Release: Pressure Breakthrough'' Itachi fires a high pressurepressed air towards the masked man. Thepressed air phases through the masked man. Itachi had a serious expression. He forks out a scroll from his pocket and bit his thumb. Itachi wipes away the blood on the scroll and a seal appears on the scroll. ''I hope Nii-san''s jutsu work on him.'' Itachi points the scroll towards the masked man. Swish A very fast ck lightning arrow escapes from the scroll and prates the hand of the masked man. The ck lightning arrow zaps the masked man and paralyzes him. Many Fuinjutsu seals binds him in one ce. "This is" The masked man''s eyes widen, and he looks at Itachi with disbelief. "So, this is the gift given to you by him. Not bad, if I have to say. But it won''t be able to hold me for long." The masked man smirks. Obito activates the Hashirama cell inside his body and resists the paralysis caused by the ck lightning Arrow. "Tenma, Shinko, we have to run as far as possible. We are no match for him, and I don''t think even Sensei can do anything against him. We have to escape, my jutsu can only hold him for a few more moments." Itachi warns his teammates. "But" "Ask your questionster. For now, just run for your life." Itachi interrupts Tenma and runs towards the vige. Tenma and Shinko follows Itachi. "Itachi, who is he? He seems to be after you for some reason." Shinko questions Itachi while running. "I don''t know who he is. But he seems to be an enemy of big brother Izuna, and he wants to kidnap me to force Izuna nii-san to do something for him." Itachi deducts. They run for five minutes and couldn''t spot any trace of the masked man. Tenma and Shinko heaves a sigh of relief and Tenma speaks, "That was a close call. We have escaped from him, I don''t think he can trail us anymore." "Oh! Do you honestly think you have shaken me off?" The masked man walks out of a swirling portal. Tenma clenches a kunai in his right hand and shouts to Itachi, "Itachi! My time to repay you havee." Tenma dashes towards the masked man. "No, stop Tenma. You are no match for him." Itachi shouts to Tenma. sh The masked man shes Tenma along his chest. Arge fountain of blood spill from Tenma''s chest and he desperately tries to attack the masked man. sh The masked man shes again and Tenma''s right-hand separates from his body. Tenma falls on the ground and sorrowfully looks at Itachi. "I am sorry, Itachi. I wasn''t able to fulfill my promise." Tenma closes his eyes and silently lies on the ground. "No Tenma! No" Itachi shouts in desperation. Chakra gathers in his eyes, and Itachi awakens his Sharingan. Two-tomoe Sharingan appears in each of his eyes. "Nowe with me like an obedient child." The masked man approaches Itachi and tries to grab him. Crack One of the bandages on Itachi''s arms breaks and arge Fuinjutsu seal appears on the ground. Arge tri-corner red barrier encloses Itachi and pushes back the masked man. "Your big brother is quite doting of his younger brother. He even ces a Three Yang barrier formation to protect you in case of danger. Too bad it won''t be able tost long against me. The masked man pulls out arge ck rod from his sleeves. He stabs the ck rod in the barrier. The ck rod sucks out the chakra from the barrier. Crack Cracks start to appear on the barrier and the masked man gets ready to attack Itachi. ------------------ At Amegakure, Izuna faces against Pain. Nagato has summoned all Six paths of Pain to confront Izuna. Izuna destroyed all of them except for the Deva Path. "I will show you the true power of God." The Deva Path ps his hands and infusesrge amounts of Chakra in his palms. Crack One of the rings in Izuna''s finger snaps in half. Izuna looks at the ring and a frown appears on his face, ''Itachi is in danger. He is facing a life and death situation. The safety of Itachies first. Looks like I have to postpone my fight against Deva Path.'' "Goodbye! Kami-sama. I have some urgent matters to handle. I will see youter." Izuna looks at the Deva Path and disappears in a sh. Izuna''s figure shatters into countless fragments and disappears from the scene. "He left." Konan flies from a nearby boulder. "He used the Space-time Ninjutsu of the Fourth Hokage. I don''t know what his intentions were, but thankfully he left us alone. I still don''t have enough control over the movements of Six Paths. If we had continued, then I would have lost to him. He will be a great hindrance to us in the future. I would have to ask Madara to deal with him. I am sure only Madara can deal with him." The Deva Path remarks at Izuna''s prowess. Together with Konan, he returns to Amegakure. -------------- Obito stabs another ck rod in the ''Three Yang Formation''. ''It''s almost time for it to break. I have to take him as a hostage and force the Shinigami to withdraw.'' Shatter The Three Yang Formation shatters and the masked man continues forward to stab the ck rod towards Itachi. nk Izuna teleports in front of Itachi and blocks the strike. "I hope I have made it on time." Izuna looks towards a stunned Itachi and smiles at him. "Let me deal with the enemy first and I will talk with youter." Izuna looks at the masked man. "It''s you again. You want to kill Itachi because you can''t deal with me. Huh! I have to make sure you return with a few limbs less for your courage to pull such a stunt against me." Chirp Chi Izuna coats his de in Lightning Chakra. The de produces sounds simr to the chirping of a thousand birds. "No not this technique. I don''t want to see it again." Obito clutches his head as memories of Rin''s death shed through his mind. "Captain!... Captain!" A subtle voice breaks their momentum. "Captain! What are you doing here? You were out on a mission right. Howe you are here?" Izuna spots Kakashi dashing toward him from a distance. ''Kakashi!... I have to go, I can''t face him.'' Obito clutches his head and uses Kamui to teleport away. Izuna allows Obito to escape. "Kakashi! What are you doing here?" Izuna questions Kakashi. "That''s my question, Captain Izuna," Kakashiins. "I am you Captain right! So answer me first." Izuna ignores Kakashi''s question. "It is like this." Kakashi exins the details of his mission. ------------ A/N:- Well, it is my way to postpone one of the most awaited fight. Messing with Obito and Nagato will change much of the canon stuff and apparently most of you don''t want that. So, here it is. Also, you can rte Itachi part to canon but for different mission. P.S. Don''t hate me for it and just wait for next chapters. Everything will slowly be put into pieces. Chapter 83: A Day Off Part-1 Chapter 83: A Day Off Part-1 "Captain! Hokage-sama secretly tasked me to protect the Fire Daimyo. What about you, I thought you were out on another mission?" Kakashi question Izuna. "I had another mission, but the seal I ced on Itachi activated, so I had to teleport to him to protect him," Izuna reply to Itachi. Waah Awah Their attention is drawn by the wailing of Shinko. Shinko hugged Tenma''s body and wail loudly. Izuna immediately uses Medical Ninjutsu on Tenma to heal him. Tenma''s wounds close, but his heartbeat has stopped. Izuna coats his hand in lightning Chakra and defibrite Tenma. The lightning chakra jerks Tenma''s body, but he stays still. Izuna defibrite him again, Tenma''s body jerks again. After defibriting for a while, a faint heartbeat starts in Tenma''s body. Tenma slowly opens his eyes and coughs up blood. He looks around and spots others. Shinko supports him. He slowly stands up and feels the absence of his right hand. "It is toote to heal your arm. The nerves near your arm stump have died already. I have already healed your injuries. Visit Konoha''s hospital for further checkup." Izuna remind Tenma. "Also, your career as a shinobi is over with that arm." "No! My n! My father! How will I secure them if I can''t continue as a Ninja?" Tenma sobs. "Face the reality of the situation. It is thanks to the expertise of Captain, you could preserve your life, or else you would have died here. I am sure you will find a solution to your problem. For now, cherish your new life and find a new meaning to it." Kakashi advises Tenma. ''Life! Some people live for others. Some people live for their n. What am I living for?'' Itachi contemtes. The figure of Sasuke''s smile shes in Itachi''s mind. ''I am not sure, but I want to protect that smile of Sasuke.'' Itachi clenches his fist in a new resolve. "All right, everyone! Grab hold of me. I will teleport all of you to Konoha." Izuna ps his hand to get their attention. Swoosh Swoosh All of them teleport to the gates of Konoha. Shinko and Itachi carry Tenma to the hospital. Kakashi and Izuna walk towards Hokage''s Office. Kakashi reports to Hiruzen and walks out of the Office. Izuna stay behind to report to Hiruzen. "Hum you can report now." "Hokage-sama! I sessfully infiltrated Amegakure to gather the intel. There is a civil war ongoing in Ame. Hanzo of the Smander and the Leader of Akatsuki Pain are engaged in a power struggle. Pain the leader of Akatsuki possess the fabled Rinnegan Dojutsu. He is very powerful and we should avoid such a foe. He holds enough power to destroy the leaf Vige in seconds. I fought with him, but I have to teleport out from Amegakure amid our fight. I could not meet or contact Hanzo. So, Hanzo''s status is unknown. Hanzo is known for his cautious nature, so I am not sure of his status. But if I have to guess then, Pain will be able to deal with Hanzo." Izuna reports to Hiruzen. "What? The leader of Akatsuki possesses the Rinnegan. That is grave news for Five Great Nation. If he possesses those eyes, then he holds enough power to rule over the world. That''s a serious matter. We must not provoke Ame unnecessarily for a while." Hiruzen contemtes. ".Hokage-sama, Akatsuki is recruiting many S-Rank criminals or missing-nins. I didn''t spot Orochimaru with them, but I am sure he will join them in the future." Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket and presents it to Hiruzen. "This is the intel on abilities of the Leader of Akatsuki, Pain. I have noted down all of his powers and capabilities. Hokage-sama, I suggest not to send any more spies in Amegakure. Pain considers himself a God, and he possesses such power. His motto is world peace, but I doubt it to be true. I am unsure of their aim. But I would suggest monitoring Akatsuki." Izuna warns Hiruzen. "Very well! I will keep that in mind. I approve your request for retirement. Before you retire from Anbu, I would like to know the name of a suitable candidate for the Captain''s position of Team Ro. You know about your team much better than me, so I leave this choice to you." "Then I will rmend Vice-Captain Kakashi Hatake for this position. He has enough experience and strength to lead the Team Ro. Hokage-sama! I will leave the vige for a while. I want to wander around the world and satiate my curiosity." Izuna presents his opinion. "It will truly be unfortunate for Anbu to lose a member like you. Very well, I will ept your request. I will send you on a long-term mission outside Konoha." Hiruzen takes out a scroll from his drawer and writes something on it. He gives the scroll to Izuna and continues, "From onwards, Izuna Uchiha, I relieve you from your duties as Anbu Captain. I will assign you a long-term S-rank mission to gather information about Akatsuki. You can use any means avable to you. You should contact Jiraiya, His informationwork is widespread across many Nations. Dismiss." "Yes, Hokage-sama!" Izuna stands up and disappears from the spot. His figure shatters in countless fragments of light. ''That''s a wonderful trick.'' Hiruzen stares at the fragments with wide-eyes. ''It''s time for some peeking.Uhun! I mean some research.'' Hiruzen takes out his crystal ball from the drawer and starts his research. ------------- ''There is something which I need to take care of before I leave the vige. I will take care of them in these few days.'' Izuna walks up to Senjupounds while lost in his thoughts. He enters inside thepound. Shizune walks out of the house and greets him. "It has been a while, Izuna-kun. Tsunade-sama is in leaf Hospital. If you want to meet with her, then you have to visit her office." "Yes, it has been a while. I am here to meet with Naruto. I want to spend some time together with him. Where is he?" "Nii-san! Nii-san! I am here, Nii-san. Dattebyo!" Naruto runs out of the house. Naruto wore a white T-shirt with an Uzumaki symbol on his back. His yellow hairs are as messy as ever. Izuna ruffles his hair, "Naruto,e big brother will take you on an outing. Where do you want to go?" "Ramen! I want to eat Ramen, big brother Izuna. Take me to Ichiraku Ramen. I want to eat their ramen." Naruto jumps in excitement. "Ok! Ok! Calm down. We will go together with Sasuke. Let us fetch him." "No, I don''t want to go with him. Dattebyo!" Naruto puffs his cheeks. "Come on! Naruto. He is like your big brother. Why you don''t want to go with him?" "But! But Nii-san. He gets all the attention, and others ignore me and even avoid me. That''s not cool at all. Also, Sasuke is very strong. I also want to grow strong. Big brother, teach me some cool jutsu. I also want to be a very cool Ninja and throw some powerful jutsu at my enemies." Narutoins. "Ok! Ok! I will teach you some jutsuter. For now, let us eat some ramen." "Yay! Ramen. Let us eat ramen. I will eat lots of ramens. I love ramen. Dattebyo!" Naruto cheers upon the mention of Ramen. Both of us walk towards Uchihapounds. We pick up Sasuke from his house and continue to roam around the market. I buy lots of things for Naruto and Sasuke. "Naruto, let us buy new clothes for you. After buying clothes we will eat some ramen." Izuna drags a drooling Naruto towards a cloth shop. "Sasuke! You also pick something you like. I will buy it for you." Sasuke cheers up and looks towards the weapon shop with sparkling eyes. I select various clothes for Naruto. He tries them all but picks up Orange colored clothes. ''He still likes Orange color. Some things will never change.'' "Nii-san Nii-san " Sasuke tugs my clothes and points towards the weapon shop. "I want to buy a de, nii-san. Both you and Shisui nii-san looks way too cool with the tanto. I also want to swing around a tanto and fight my enemies. Nii-san! Can you buy me one, please!" Sasuke makes puppy eyes at Izuna. "Ok! Ok! I will buy the tanto. You can ask Shisui to train you in Kenjutsu. Once you master all of his moves, I will train you further." "Yay! You are the best nii-san." Sasuke jumps happily. ----------- Inside the leaf hospital, Achoo... Itachi sneezes and looks around. ''Somehow, I feel like someone is stealing Sasuke away from me. I won''t allow such a thing. I will buy a gift for Sasuketer.'' -------------------------------- A/N:- I will bring back Side stories for more character development. They will be released alongside regr chapters as extra chapters. Comment your thoughts on it. Chapter 84: Side Story# Hyuga Affair Part-1 Chapter 84: Side Story# Hyuga Affair Part-1 A/N:- I forgot to write about this part. To make up for that, I will write it as a side story. So, enjoy and remind me if I forget something. Naruto world is too huge. Enjoy the double release. Whenever the plot is chilling like now, I will add side stories as bonus to spice things up. Also, Happy Durga Puja. ---------------------------- Chirp chirp A bird flies across the sky, casting a shadow above Izuna''s head. Yawn Izuna stands up and stretches his arms. "Oye! Shisui, Itachi get up. Enough rest already, let''s continue with the training." Izuna wakes up an exhausted Shisui and Itachi rxing beside him. Itachi and Shisui groggily open their eyes andin, "Let us rest a little more. We have trained non-stop for almost seven hours already. You only allowed us an hour break." "Don''t bezy bums and get your asses on the training field or I will double your training from tomorrow." Izuna rebukes them. "Hai hai we understand." Itachi and Shisuizily stand up and stretch their muscles. "" Izuna speechlessly looks at their reaction. ''Am I too soft on them?'' He ponders. Itachi and Shisui look at Izuna''s expression. "It is because you always double our training. We don''t even have the count of the number of instances?" Ah!... ''Looks like I have been too strict with their training. I will give them a break for today.'' Shisui and Itachi eagerly wait for his response. "Is that so? Then, I guess it can''t be helped. Just deal with it. You will get used to it someday." Izuna grins and replies to them. Noooo. Shisui and Itachi depressingly drop down their head. "Big Brother Izuna is a ve driver" Both of them look at the smiling face of Izuna. "No, he is a devil." Both of them mutter silently. "Just kidding! I will give you a break for a day or two Izuna looks at their gloomy expression. Phew... Shisui and Itachi sigh in relief. Oh! Did I hear something offending earlier? Or is it my ears that were ringing because of the breeze?" Izuna has a wicked smile on his face as he looks at Shisui and Itachi. "No No... Izuna nii-san. It must be the air. We spoke nothing earlier." Shisui and Itachi sweat buckets. ''We don''t want to increase our training because of our stupid remark.'' They silently pray in their heart. "Ok! It''s fine. Both of you can have a break. How about a hot spring bath? We can even bring Naruto and Sasuke too." Izuna suggests to them. "Yes yes it is a nice idea. We will meet youter in the evening." Shisui hurriedly remarks and escapes with Itachi. "Looks like I have to give them break more often. I don''t want to hamper their growth and potential, especially Itachi." Izuna continues to swing his de. There are various Gravity seals on the de and it almost weighs around 200 kg. ''I have progressed quite a lot in Eight Gates. For now, six gates are my limit. I can''t push for the Seventh Gate. There are too many things to learn.'' Kwit kwit kwit kee kee Izuna raises his head and spots an eagle flying through the skies. ''That''s a summon from Hokage. Looks like this is the end of my training session.'' Izuna puts back the de in his bracer and wipes his sweat and uses a simple water jutsu to clean his body. He flickers towards Hokage Office. ----------------- Inside Hokage Office, Hiruzen is looking at a pile of documents in front of him. Sigh ''This paperwork. Guess I will not get my research time today.'' Knock knock Someone knocks on the door. ''Come in.'' Izuna enters the office and bows in front of Hiruzen and waits for his orders. Hiruzen ces the paperwork aside and takes out a scroll from the pile. "Captain Izuna Uchiha of Anbu Team Ro, I have an S-rank mission for you." "Yes, Hokage-sama." "You are aware of the recent tension between Kumogakure and Konohagakure. In the previous war, our Konoha won the war against Kumo and Kumo lost their Raikage. Naturally, they weren''t satisfied with the result of the war. Strife and conflicts aremon at the border, but Kumo has been aggressively recently and may recklessly start another war." Hiruzen pauses and tosses the scroll towards Izuna. Izuna takes the scroll and skims through its contents. "To avoid the conflict, the elder council has decided to sign a Peace-Treaty with Kumogakure. So, the entourage of Kumogakure will arrive in a few days." Hiruzen turns towards Izuna and continues, "Izuna Uchiha, I want you to monitor their activities and prevent any suspicious activity. I don''t want to give Kumo a reason to start another war and disrupt the peace." "Yes, Hokage-sama. I will deploy my team around the borders and the vige and monitor them." "Good!" Hiruzen nods his head and dismisses Izuna. Izuna walks towards the door. "Wait a sec!" Hiruzen stops Izuna. "In a few more days, the Princess of Hyuga n will turn three, which coincides with the arrival of the Kumo entourage. I want you to personally monitor the security of Hyuga Princess if in any case, the Kumo entourage joins the celebration." "Yes, Hokage-sama. I will keep that in mind." Izuna nods to Hiruzen and flickers out from the office. ''I hope no major incident will happen this time. Konoha is at its weakest right now. If Kumo ignites the spark of war, then Konoha will suffer and that fence sitter may back-stab us. Hah being a Hokage is a tiring task. Looks like my age has caught up to me. I am not that energetic anymore.'' Hiruzen depressingly looks at the huge pile of paperwork. ----------------- Outside Hokage Office, Izuna is walking towards Uchihapounds while lost in his thoughts. ''So, it''s time for that event. Almost three years passed in the blink of an eye. I have no bad blood with Hyugas. I will help them out this time and maybe they will ept Naruto more openly in the future.'' "Izuna nii-san Izuna nii-san" A childish voice breaks Izuna''s train of thoughts. Izuna turns in the source''s direction. Sasuke runs towards him and hugs his legs. "Izuna nii-san. Let''s go to the hot spring. You promise me right. You haven''t forgotten about it, right?" Sasuke stares at Izuna with cute puppy eyes. "Aww How can I forget about my promise to you? Come, let''s go to hot-springs." Izuna lifts Sasuke and ces him on his shoulders. Sasuke piggyback rides Izuna as they walk towards the Hot Springs. "Sasuke, let''s pick up Naruto. We will go together." "Ok!" Izuna walks towards Senjupounds and picks up Naruto. "Izuna nii-san. I also want piggybawk-ride. It''s nawt fare four oly Sasuke to get the piggybawk ride." Naruto hugs Izuna''s right leg. "Ok! Ok! Calm down, Naruto. I will give a piggyback-ride to you too." Izuna ces Sasuke on his left shoulder and picks up Naruto and ces him on his right shoulder. "Yay!" Naruto ps his little hands and cheers. They continue to walk among the streets of Konoha. "That''s the demon fox brat. Who is carrying him?" One of the civilian murmurs to another civilian as they spot Naruto. "Shh that''s an Uchiha. Can''t you see the Uchiha n symbol on his back?" "Uchiha or not he is carrying that Demon fox. That demon fox killed my father, I can''t stand his sight." Another person whispers to them. Izuna notices them and hears their conversation. "That bastard Danzo is spreading rumors about Naruto or how else these civilians wille to know the top-secret information of Vige." Tch "I won''t allow them to nder Naruto." Izuna looks towards the civilians. "Genjutsu: Sharingan" He cast a small genjutsu on them. The three civilians mindlessly walk towards a sewer opening and dives in it. Plop plop plop The genjutsu dispels, and they look around. Argh "This smell. Where am I?" The civilians look around. "This is this is sewer of Konoha. How did Ie here? Why can''t I recall anything? Have I drunk too much alcohol?" All three civilians questions themselves. Izuna reaches the Hot Springs together with Naruto and Sasuke. He spots Shisui and Itachi at the entrance and greets them. All of them enter the hot spring to enjoy a warm bath. Chapter 85: A Day Off Part-2 Chapter 85: A Day Off Part-2 Slurp Slurp Izuna, Sasuke, and Naruto are slurping their ramen. "So, good! Ichiraku Ramen is the best out there. Dattebyo!" Naruto praises the ramen. "Not bad. I like this ramen." Sasukepliments the ramen. "Yes, it is very good, and Teuchi-san takes care of every fine detail when preparing the ramen. The correct amount of broth, the vor, the nutrition. He has got you covered in all aspects." Izuna remarks while slurping his ramen. Hun hun Teuchi nods in satisfaction. His nine-year-old daughter walks out of the house. "Oh! Ayame my daughter. Sit near the counter. I will teach you how to make ramenter." Ayame sits near the counter and watches us. "Teuchi-san! She is your daughter!" I question Teuchi despite knowing the fact. "Yes, she is my little daughter. Her mother passed away shortly after her birth." Teuchi reminisces his past and sighs in grief. "Teuchi-san! Why don''t you enroll Ayame in Ninja academy?" I question him. I am curious to know the reason why Ayame never entered the academy. Sigh... "She is not cut to be a ninja. My wife''sst wish was to ensure a secure future for our daughter. Ayame is just like her mother. She is kind-hearted, quiet, and cheerful. I want her to stay that way and besides, after my retirement, she will take care of my Ramen shop." Teuchi replies. "So, that''s how it is." I nod to him and continue eating my ramen. ''Guess everyone wants to live a peaceful life.'' "Seconds give me a second bowl. Dattebyo!" Naruto raises the empty bowl. "Eat slowly Naruto, you can eat all you want. But eat slowly." Izuna reprimands Naruto. "But it is so delicious. I can''t stop eating, Dattebyo!" Naruto continues to inhale his ramen. "This boy!" Izuna shakes his head. "Do you know your big brother Izuna is the first person to eat this heavenly Ramen?" Izuna points out to Naruto. "Wow! Really. That''s so cool, Izuna nii-san. Tell me more about it." Naruto''s interest piques. He slows down his eating and curiously looks at Izuna to listen to his story. "It was around six years ago when Ichiraku Ramen celebrated its Grand Opening Ceremony. I was the first customer in the shop. I lined up early in the morning to eat the ramen before anyone else. It was also during this moment that Minato-san, your fath" Izuna pauses for a while before he continues. "The Fourth Hokage invited me on a mission." "Wow! Big brother, you went on a mission with Fourth Hokage. But what is a Hokage? It sounds so cool. Dattebyo!" Naruto looks at Izuna with sparkling eyes. "The Hokage is the strongest and the most respected Ninja of the vige. All loves him and everyone respects him and follows his orders." Izuna exins to Naruto. "Wow! That sounds so cool. I will also be a hot shit!... Whatever it is. Then everyone in the vige will respect me and won''t shun me away." Naruto raises his fist in the air. "Ok! Ok! Hokage-sama. Now eat your ramen before it gets cold. If you want to be a Hokage, then you will have to train hard to get stronger than everyone else. I will train you in the future. For now, eat your Ramen." "Yay! Izuna nii-san will teach me jutsu. Dattebyo!" Naruto eats his ramen. I feel a sharp stare at my back. I turn around and notice Sasuke staring at me. He pouts and questions, "Izuna nii-san, you will teach jutsu to this dumb Naruto, but you won''t teach me anything. I also want to learn jutsu." Sasukeins. "Sasuke! I already taught you Fireball Jutsu. Have you mastered it yet? I will teach you your next jutsu only after you have mastered the previous one." "I have already mastered Fireball Jutsu. I impressed father by my jutsu. Now teach me more jutsu." Sasuke demands. "Ok! Ok! I will teach youter. You can ask Shisui to teach you more jutsu. He will teach you more. Once you have mastered all of his jutsus, I will train you further." "Yay! You are the best Izuna Nii-san." Sasuke cheers up. Achoo Itachi sneezes while returning home. ''Why I have a feeling that my cute little brother is getting away from me? I must buy a gift for him. The other day Sasuke asked me to buy him a tanto. I will buy a small de for him as a gift.'' Itachi flickers towards the weapon shop. --------------- Later in the evening, Izuna drops Sasuke at his house and visits Senjupounds with Naruto. Tsunade greets him at doorsteps. "It has been a while kid, you finally got some time to visit me." "I am home, Granny Tsunade," Naruto shouts to Tsunade. Tsunade flicks Naruto''s forehead in response. "Who are you calling granny, you brat? I am still too young to be a granny." Naruto rubs his forehead and runs inside the house. "Kid, we need to talk. Let''s visit the newly opened Yakiniku Q Restaurant. I heard that their salted beef tongue with welsh onion is quite popr among the vigers. I wanted to try some with Sake." Tsunade drags Izuna without asking for his consent. Izuna could only helplessly get dragged by Tsunade. They enter Yakiniku Q and grab a table. Yakiniku Q is a Korean, Gy-Kaku style Yakiniku restaurant. Soon, we ced our order, and they brought the meat to us. I cook the meat on the charcoal brazier ced at the center of the table. The aromatic smell of cooked meat caused me to drool. I applied some sauce on the meat and grilled it for a while. I cook the meat to perfection. I picked up my chopsticks to grab the meat. Swish Tsunade grabbed the meat before me and put it in her mouth. Munch munch "Delicious. This is too delicious. Your cooking skills are quite good, kid." Tsunade continued to eat. Humph I angrily harrumphed at her. "If you like meat this much, then cook your own." Izuna ce another piece of meat on the grill. Tsunade chugs down one cup of sake after another. Haa She gulped down another cup of sake and looked at Izuna, who is silently munching on a piece of meat. "Say it, kid. Earlier you were searching for me. Shizune told me about it. What do you want to say to me?" Izuna ce down his chopstick and thought of pranking Tsunade. He wants payback for the earlier piece of meat. Izuna grabs Tsunade''s hand and looks in her eyes with a serious expression. Tsunade is startled by this sudden move and turns red from embarrassment. "What what are you doing?" She stutters. "Tsunade-san! It has been a while since we have known each other. The time we spent together has made me think differently about you. I have called you today to express my feelings for you." Tsunade gulps down her saliva and embarrassedly looks at Izuna while fidgeting, "No this is not possible. Our rtionship can''t exist, you you are a lot younger than me and I...I had already given my heart to someone else. But but" "Thank you, Tsunade-san, for taking care of Naruto. He is like a younger brother to me and I am grateful to you for looking after him. Huh! Tsunade-san, what were you saying again" Izuna smirks at Tsunade. "I heard something about love. Tsunade-san, do you love me? But aren''t you too old for me?" Tsunade''s expression turns ugly. ''I have been yed by this kid.'' A tick mark appears on her forehead and she punches Izuna. Izuna takes the punch like a man and gets sted out from Restaurant much further than Team Rocket. "Damn! This kid. He yed me again. Now, I have to pay the bill for the window, roof and there is also the bill." Tsunade pulls out her purse and opens it. Buzzz A fly buzzes out from the purse. Tsunade takes out a note from the purse and ces it on the table. ''Damn! I don''t have money anymore. I have spent all of it on booze and gambling. Why there is so much less money for me? I have to borrow some from Sensei. He is Hokage and would have plenty of money to spare.'' "Here! Keep this money as the expense for the roof, window, and the bill. Keep the change." The waiter picks up the old tattered note and looks at Tsunade. "I hate to break it you, but you need to pay more. This amount won''t cut it out. Your dinner was way more expensive. The meat was of premium quality and we used various expensive ingredients to prepare the sauce." "Damn! You Izuna." Tsunade curse again. "Here! Send this bill to Konoha''s leaf Hospital. They will take care of it." Tsunade hurriedly runs out of the restaurant. "Huh! Can''t afford the expensive food and boast around like they freaking own everything." The server angrily curses at Tsunade. Achoo Izuna sneezes and looks towards Yakiniku Q. He spots an angry Tsunade stomping out of the restaurant. "Hello! Tsunade-san. How was the food? Did you enjoy it?" He smirks at Tsunade. "You kid." Tsunade tries to punch him again, but this time he dodges her attacks. "Fine! I give up. You are so mean, Izuna-kun. You won''t get a girlfriend like this." Tsunadeins and puffs her cheeks. Izuna pokes her cheeks and apologizes. "I am sorry! Tsunade-san. As an apology, here take these million Ryo. That''s all that I have at the moment." Swish Before Izuna could finish his statement, Tsunade grabs the bundle of money and starts to count it. "-....-" Izuna speechlessly looks at Tsunade. Tsunade stows the money in her purse and stares back at Izuna. "Apology epted. Now tell me the real reason, why you were looking for me?" Izuna stares at her for a while before he continues. --------------------------------- A/N:- As you can see, I tried to write something different. Tell me your thoughts about this chapter inments. Did you like it and want more of such chapters in the future or you want to continue with the plot? Chapter 86: Loose Ends Part-1 Chapter 86: Loose Ends Part-1 "Tsunade-san, I will be leaving the vige for a while. I have been assigned a top-secret mission by Hokage-sama. So, I won''t be present in the vige for a while." Izuna tells half-truth and half-lie to her. ''It would be too much of a hassle to exin to her. I hope she understands.'' Tsunade sobers up and looks at Izuna with a pensive gaze. "Are you serious, kid? You are going on a long-term mission, that too out of the vige." Tsunade scrunches her brow. " Then what about me? I wanted to wander the world in search of new medicinal knowledge, and now you are leaving before me. Who will take care of Naruto during this time?" Tsunade questions him. "Tsunade-san! It won''t take me too long. I will move out of the vige only for one or two years. After which I will return. You can manage Naruto during this time." Tsunade ponders for a while before she nods. "Very well, then you should hurry andplete whatever you are trying to do? I will only wait for two years." "Thank you, Tsunade-san." Izuna returns to his house. During dinner time, he informs Akira and Aiko. "Mom, Dad! I will be away from home for a year or two. I have an urgent long-term mission toplete." "Son! Why don''t you reject this mission? I don''t want to separate from you for this long." Aiko hugs Izuna. "Last time! You went for almost two months. I don''t want to spend another year or two in your absence." Aiko hugs him tightly and sighs in mncholy. "Mom! I can return whenever I want. I have mastered the Fourth Hokage''s Jutsu. I can just teleport back when my mission ispleted. It is just a year or two. They will pass soon." "What? You will stay away on a mission for two years. That''s too long, I won''t ept it. Just refuse to Hokage-sama. I won''t hear any of your thoughts on this matter." Aiko speaks stubbornly. "But mom!..." "No, buts" "Aiko, it must be an important mission if it is issued directly by Hokage-sama. Our Izuna is strong enough to ovee any kind of difficulty. It is just a matter of two years. He even fought in the Third Ninja War and earned a name for himself." Akira tries to reason with Aiko. "Fine! But you must visit us regrly. If you promise me this, then I will allow it." Aiko folds her hands and looks at Izuna. "Ok! I promise. I will visit you regrly. Besides, I also want a cute little sister or brother during this time." Izuna jokes. "You brat! It seems like you have learned a lot of things." Aiko pulls Izuna''s ears. Aww aww Izuna whines in pain. After a minute, Aiko releases him, and he returns to his room to prepare for his departure. "Aiko!... About what Izuna said. He is quite lonely by himself, why don''t we" Aww aww Aiko stomps on Akira''s leg. "Try to give birth once and you will understand my pain." "So,... is it a no?" Akira depressingly looks at Aiko. "We we can consider it. Don''t get me wrong, it is for Izuna''s sake" Aiko blushes in embarrassment. Akira gulps his saliva, and a wide grin appears on his face. Aiko had no hope to be a mother again. But Tsunade Senju, one of the legendary Sannin and the greatest Medical Ninja found a cure for her. Tsunade researched this matter after Izuna''s request and after four years of research, Tsunade figured out the method of Surrogacy. It stunned Izuna when he heard that Tsunade figured out a way to use ''In-Vitro Fertilization'' and deliver birth through assisted Gestational Surrogate. ''She is a one of kind medical genius. I wonder what wonders she could have created in my previous world.'' These were Izuna''s thoughts when Tsunade exined the feasible solution for Aiko''s condition. ''Unfortunately, her womb is permanently damaged and I don''t have a solution for it.'' ------------- Later at night, Izuna walks out of his house. He wants to pay ast visit to Anbu Headquarters and meet with his team and say goodbye. He exits the vige and enters the forest. The Anbu headquarters are located on the outskirts of Vige. Izuna enters the headquarters, and many Anbus identifies him and greets him. After walking for a while, he enters the room assigned to Team Ro and meets with his team. "Hello there! How are all of you doing?" Izuna waves his hand at them. "Captain! Where is your Anbu outfit?" Yugao questions him. She recently joined the Anbu on the rmendation of Hokage for her special ability. Yugao can seal living as well as non-living things inside a scroll. She is also a Sensor-type ninja. So, at the age of eleven, she joined Anbu. "You have quite sharp eyes, Yugao. Yes, I am not in my Anbu outfit because I have resigned from Anbu. I am a normal Jounin now. Kakashi Hatake will be your new Captain." Izuna informs them. "What?... you are leaving the Anbu Captain... and... I... I am promoted to Captain." Kakashi asks in surprise. "Kakashi! You are a capable Anbu with many S-rank missions and important taskspletion. With these many achievements under your belt, it won''t be long before you officially be a Captain. My resignation just hastened the progress." Izuna exins to them. "But still" Kakashi murmurs. "Congrattions! Vice-Captain. No, you are Captain now." The Team members congratte Kakashi. "Thank you! I guess." Kakashi epts their congrattions. "Captain! What are your ns for the future? Will you babysit new genins or will casually take some missions?" One of the team member questions. "No, I don''t have any n for babysitting anyone. Hokage-sama has assigned a special mission to me, and I will depart for it. It is a long-term mission, so don''t expect to see me soon." Izuna chats with them. "Now let us celebrate Kakashi''s promotion." Izuna cheers them. All of us celebrate Kakashi''s promotion and cheers him up. "You will be a fine Captain, Kakashi!" I silently whisper to him and get out of the Anbu headquarters. ''It''s time to move out of the vige and explore this vast Shinobi world.'' Izuna walks out of the Anbu Headquarters and enters the forest. ''I would like to wish farewell to everyone but seems like I have to tie some loose ends.'' Izuna notices the presence of many shinobis hidden inside the forest. ''Sharingan'' He activates his Sharingan and inspects his assants. ''Hmm. Root members. Danzo I almost forgot about you and here you are! You came knocking on my doorsteps. Looks like you are fed up with your life and want to have a meeting with the King of Hell.'' "What''s the meaning of this? Why are so many Root members hot on my trail? I don''t think I have done anything to garner this much attention from Root. I am not even a part of Anbu anymore, so what''s the meaning of this?" Izuna questions them. He is really curious to know their reasoning. The Root members take out their shurikens and throw them towards Izuna. "So, you have no intention of speaking. Fine with me, I will figure out everything from your cold corpses. Now, let''s dance." Izuna takes out his tanto and skillfully deflects all the iing Shurikens. He summons a shuriken from his bracers and makes some hand signs, ''Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu'' The shuriken replicates into many copies and shoots towards the Root members. The Root members take out their des and skillfully deflects all the shurikens. ''Oh! All of them are quite skillful and there are about fifty elite Root members. Well, their numbers don''t matter to me. Be it fifty or hundred, all of them are the same cold corpse in my eyes.'' Izuna stretches his hand and infuses Chakra in his hand. The Chakra shapes into a longbow with a taut string. Izuna plucks the string to full tension. ''Light Style: Rapid Fire Stream'' Twang He releases the tension from the bowstring. Swish swish Various homing arrows projectiles chases down the Root members. "It is a wide-range jutsu. Defense unit erects a barrier. Sensor unit lock on his Chakra. Sealing unit gets ready to seal his movements." One of the Root member orders other members. Many Root shinobis walk in front and make some hand signs. "Co-operation Ninjutsu: Rashomon Barrier" They erect a multiyered barrier to block the arrows. All the Root members take cover behind the barrier. ''Water Style: High-Pressure Jet'' Izuna fires a high-pressure jet of water to cut through the barrier. "Defense unit! Change the type of barrier to match his jutsu." The barrier unit immediately makes hand signs and erects an additional barrier in seconds. "You guys are quite prepared. Have you studied all of my details and formted a n to counter me? If that''s the case, let me see the extent of your preparation. It has been a while since I used Taijutsu in a fight." Izuna cracks his neck and stretches his muscles. Chapter 87: Loose Ends part-2 Chapter 87: Loose Ends part-2 Izuna prepares to Open Eights gates. "Stop him we can''t allow him toplete his technique." The Leader of the team shouts. All the Root Anbus throws multiple kunais and shuriken towards Izuna. "Haaah Gate of Opening Gate of Healing Gate of Life Gate of Pain Gate of Limit Gate of View Open!" Izuna crosses his hands in front of his hand and opens six gates simultaneously. A green aura surrounds Izuna, and it res his chakra up to very high intensity. The opening of the sixth gate releases a shock wave and repels all the iing kunais and shurikens. Haaah Izuna disappears from his spot and reappears in front of a Root member. He clenches his fist and uses the Chakra strengthening technique and punches the chest of the Root shinobi. Crack The ribs of the Anbu shatter and his body is flung across the forest by the impulse of the punch. Boom One of the root ninjas throws a paper bomb towards Izuna. Izuna disappears again and reappears in front of the ninja. He grabs the neck of the ninja and ms him on the ground. A small crater at the point of impact, the fate of the root ninja unknown. "Guess I will add more power output." Izuna crosses his hands and yells, ''Power Release: Chakra cloak'' A dark red cloak made of lightning and fire cloaks Izuna. His muscles expand from the stimulus of lightning. Lightning flickers around his eyes and Izuna disappear once again. Swish boom His speed releases a sonic boom, and the ground explodes under his foot. Only a dark red sh could be seen as it wreaks havoc where ever it passes by. Boom Izuna punches one of the Root ninjas. The poor Root ninja explodes into a shower of blood and flesh from the punch. Izuna disappears again and punches another root ninja to a pulp. Multiple Root anbus makes many hand signs and ps their hands, ''Co-operation Jutsu: Tormenting Thunderstorm'' All the releases lightning chakra towards the sky. The lightning chakra condenses into a thick bolt of lightning and attacks Izuna. The bolt of lightning engulfs Izuna. "Did we get him?" ''Dark Release: Chakra Absorption'' Two dark red ovepping Diamond marks appear on Izuna''s right palm. Izuna absorbs the entire lightning co-operation jutsu through the mark. "You can have it back." He directs his palm towards the Root ninjas, ''Dark Release: Chakra expulsion'' The thick bolt of lightning expels from the diamond markings and zaps many Root members to death. "The target has a technique to absorb over jutsu. Switch to kenjutsu and Taijutsu." The Leader orders his subordinates. Unfazed by the death of theirrades, the rest of the Root shinobis surround Izuna and throws multiple kunais tied with the Paper bomb at him. ''Ma Release: Reverse Prity'' Izuna repels the kunais and shurikens back to the Root shinobis. Boom. The paper bombs explode on the Root shinobis, killing them in process. "The target can use multiple Kekkai Genkai Nature Transformations. His threat level has increased to S-Rank. We need to warn Danzo-sama about this matter. One of you retreat quickly." The Leader orders the Root members. ''Power Release: Judgement Spear'' Izuna condenses the power release chakra into his hand and shapes it in the form of a spear. He aims it towards the running Root ninjas and locks on his Chakra signature. ''Release'' Boom The spear travels at supersonic speed, devastating nearby trees. It pierces through the running Root ninja. "Mission Failure I report mission failure. The target is stronger than expected. We have to retreat and report to Danzo-sama." The Leader orders his troops and turns around and dashes off toward Root. "What''s the hurry? Since you havee already don''t leave without epting my services." ''Swift Release: God Speed'' Izuna appears in front of the Leader and grabs him by the neck. "No matter what you do, I won''t reveal any information regarding my mission to you." The leader struggles in Izuna''s grip. "There is no need for you to reveal anything, I will extract the information on my own." Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan to extract information from the Leader. Click The leader clicks his tongue and pulls out his chest garment and triggers a sealing form. ''Reverse Four Symbol Sealing Seal'' Four sealing symbols are released from his chest and form arge, ck sphere around him. The seal starts to suck nearby objects inside him and seal them inside. Izuna pushes back the Anbu and escapes from the sealing form with his speed. "Guess I have to figure out everything from Danzo himself." Izuna picks up the corpse of the leader and runs towards the Anbu headquarter. "It is time to cut some loose ends. He is the main perpetrator behind the Uchiha Massacre and various other events. I don''t want such tragedies to happen again. I will deal with him before I set out on my journey." --------------- Inside the Root Headquarters, Danzo moves back and forth while contemting over some matters. "The vision in my right eye is fading away. I need a substitute for my right eye. My initial n was to retrieve Sharingan from Kakashi Hatake, but Sakumo is too much for me to handle." Danzo touches his right eye and removes the bandages around it. His vision is a little blurry in the right eye. "That Uchiha kid with the moniker of ''Silent Shinigami'' perfectly fits my criteria. His Sharingan is mutated one and as far as I can see through his achievements, the Sharingan has no side-effects." Danzo picks up a file with the picture and information of Izuna on it. ''Name: Izuna Uchiha Age: 13 years Rank: A-rank threat level Special traits: Possess a special Mutated Sharingan Achievements:- Graduated from the academy at the age of 6. Promoted to chunnin at the age of 8. Had extraordinary achievements in the Third Shinobi War and got a moniker of ''Silent Shinigami''. Joined Anbu at the age of 9. Got promoted to Vice-Captain in a year and another promotion to Captain in another two years. Missions: 30 S-Rank missions with a team, 68 A-rank missions, 79 B-Rank missions, 23 C-Rank missions, and 36 D-Rank missions.'' Danzo throws the file back on the table and ponders. "The kid just left the vige on a long-term mission, and it is a perfect time to strike and take his Sharingan. I canter manipte the news to dere him as an MIA. My n to cause unrest between Uchiha and the vige is bearing some fruits. Hiruzen''s ipetency is harming the vige. I almost seeding in assassinating him. That damn traitor Kinoe revealed the information to Hiruzen. I saved him from Orochimaru''s experiment. Gave him the freedom and personally trained him. This is how he repays me. A counterfeit will always be a counterfeit." Danzo looks at his left shoulder and sighs. ''Luckily, I could make some use of Orochimaru. His ambitions and intentions had grown way too much. I wasn''t able to control him anymore. He has be a threat to me. So, I have to deal with him. And what better way than to reveal the wrongdoings of his student to Hiruzen. But that Hiruzen is too soft. He let go of an S-Rank criminal and a potential threat to the vige. '' Danzo clenches his fist and scoffs at the ipetency of Hiruzen. ''Orochimaru hasplete intel on the power structure of the vige, including Anbu and Root. I have to hunt him down. That recruit Kabuto Yakushi will be the perfect candidate. He just needs some training and he will be up for the job.'' Danzo sits on his Hokage chair and ns his next step. ''After I acquire the Sharingan, my next would be the maniption of Nine-tails. With the power of nine-tails under my control, I can easily gain the position of Hokage. Then my quest to make Konoha the most powerful Vige will start. It won''t be long before I be the sole ruler of all nations.'' Kuku Haha Danzoughs hysterically as he lost in his fantasies. Boom boom Multiple explosion urs near the gate of Root headquarters. The sound of the explosion breaks Danzo''s daydream. He snaps at one of his subordinate and orders him, "Check the reason of thismotion Who dare to cause such a ruckus at Root''s headquarters Immediately capture and neutralize the source of trouble, no matter who it is." "Yes, Danzo-sama." The Anbu member bows to Danzo and rush to order other Root members. "Such tant disrespect. Looks like the intruder takes me as a soft persimmon to dare cause trouble at my turf. I don''t fear any consequences, with such power in my grasp, how can I allow anyone to squash my prestige. I will personally head out to face the intruder." Danzo wears hisbat outfit and gets ready to engage the intruder. Chapter 88: Side Story# Hyuga Affair Part-2 Chapter 88: Side Story# Hyuga Affair Part-2 Inside Anbu Headquarters Tap tap tap Izuna slowly taps his fingers on a table as he waits for his team members. "Hmm Captain is lost in some serious thoughts. He hasn''t moved from that position for a while." Yugao whispers to a nearby Anbu member. "What do you think he is thinking about Kakashi Senpai?" Yugao turns to Kakashi. "Looks like we have received a new task from Hokage-sama. I heard about the peace treaty with Kumogakure. Maybe our mission is rted to it." Kakashi calmly replies to her. Izuna stands up from his seat and turns towards Anbu members. ''Why didn''t I think of this before? I can simply use it to capture the criminal red-handed.'' "Yugao" Izuna turns towards Yugao and orders. "Yugao, buy me a high-quality Video camera currently avable in the market." "Ehh" "What?..." The sudden order startles everyone and one of the Anbu member''s questions. "I am sorry if it sounds rude Captain, but I want to know why you want to buy a video camera. I mean I thought you called us for a mission!" Hum hum The rest of the team members nods their head. "Oh! It''s nothing. I just want a camera to record a movie. As for the mission, I indeed have a mission for you. I will exin once Yugao brings me the camera." Izuna forks out a handful of Ryo notes from his pocket and hands them to Yugao. "Yugao, go buy the camera." Yugao takes the money and flickers out to buy the camera. Izuna sits again on the table and continues to tap his fingers. ''Why I never thought of this before? I can just record the entire incident on the camera as proof and present it during the meeting with Raikage. If Kumogakure still doesn''t oblige by the peace treaty, then all I have to do is just infiltrate their vige and kidnap the Two-tails or Eight-Tails out from the vige.'' Yo!... Yo!... Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh.. The image of Killer B rapping appears in his mind. "..." ''Nah! I think I will skip Eight-Tails. It is better to kidnap the Two-tails. I can''t handle that guy''s ear-rape all by myself. But still why I didn''t think of recording it earlier. The technology of Shinobi World is weird. There is a fcking Laptop in this world but apparently, they still haven''t figured out the wirelessmunication over a long distance.'' "Captain Captain" Izuna''s train of thoughts is broken when Yugao appears before him. She is holding a camcorder in her hands. "I have fulfilled the task you gave me." Yugao looks at Izuna with expectation. ''Sigh This girl is quite eager to do every job. I just trained her for a few days in Anbu and now I have turned into her idol. Maybe it is not a bad thing.'' Izuna takes the camcorder and checks it''s working. ''Hmm it is simr to the camera I know. So, it won''t be hard to operate it.'' Izuna turns towards his Anbu team and yells. "All of you, ''Say cheese''!" An awkward expression appears on their face as they weirdly look at their captain. "What do we do?" "I don''t know." ''What is Captain''s order?" All of them start to murmur among themselves. "Has Captain gone insane? His behavior is quite odd today." Someone silently remarks in the crowd. "No, I think he is behaving normally. He always uses strange verbal tics in his speech." Another Anbu remarks. "..." A tick mark appears on Izuna''s forehead as he stares at his Anbu team. "All of you give a Goddamn pose for a photo. I want to test the new camera." He roars at them. "Yes, Sir!" All of them line up and make funny faces while trying to smile. One of them has arge scar down his cheek and he looks more intimidating while smiling with that huge body of his. "Bunko! You look menacing with that smile of yours. You should better stop smiling." Izuna remarks at the huge guy. "But Captain!... I was I was born this way." The huge guy drops his head in depression. Izuna makes a shadow clone and takes a photo with them. ''I will miss this band of scoundrels. I will apply for retirement afterpleting this mission. I want to explore the outside world freely and staying in Anbu will hinder me.'' The photo session causes a cheerful expression in the meeting room of Team Ro. Cough cough Izuna coughs loudly to draw their attention. "ytime is over. It''s time to get serious." The expression of all Anbu members changes as they adopt a serious expression. After gathering everyone''s attention, Izuna continues. "I am sure most of you are aware of the recent peace treaty between Kumogakure and Konohagakure. An entourage of Kumo will arrive tomorrow to sign the peace treaty. So, to make sure Kumogakure doesn''t y any dirty tricks; Hokage-sama has ordered our team to ensure the safety of the vige." All of them nods their head. Izuna stops and looks at his Team members. "Now, I will assign various tasks and make a strategy for efficiency." Izuna assigns various tasks ording to their abilities. Finally, he turns towards Yugao and Kakashi. "Kakashi! I want you to monitor the residence of Kumogakure during this entire mission. If you receive my signal, then immediately capture all of them." "Yes, Captain!" Kakashi nods his head. "As for you, Yugao, how about going out to a birthday party with me?" "Ehh" Yugao freaks out at this sudden proposal. ''Is Captain asking me on a date? But but isn''t it too early?'' Yugao starts to fantasize about various things in her mind. A blush appears on her face. "What''s up this girl?" Izuna cluelessly stares at her. ''I just invited her because nobody will suspect her as an Anbu. She doesn''t have any particr achievement under her belt, and hardly anyone knows about her. For me, I am part of the Uchiha n and thus I received an invitation from one of the main family members I saved during the Third Shinobi War.'' He turns towards her and questions. "Yugao, do you hear me?" "Yes yes, Captain." "I have a hunch that the Kumogakure will join the birthday celebration of Hyuga princess. So, both of us will disguise over self and join the birthday party. I have an invitation to the party. You can tag along." He exins to her. "Yes captain." Yugao nods her head with a blush. ''What should I wear for the party? I have to shop for some clothes for this asion.'' Izuna ignores her and continues to assign guard duties to other team members. ''I have to choose the possible routes around the Hyuga n and the Kumo ninja''s residence for the guard duty. It would be easy to capture them once they move.'' --------------------- Next day, The entourage of the Kumogakure arrived in Konoha. Hiruzen personally escorted them to the meeting room, and both sides signed the peace treaty. Hiruzen shook hands with the Head Ninja of Kumogakure. "Konoha wish for a long peaceful corporation." "Kumogakure, too wish for a peaceful corporation." Koharu, Homura, and Danzo nods their head and escort the Head Ninja. The Head Ninja turns towards Hiruzen and requests. "I heard the Hyuga n is celebrating the third birthday of their Princess. It would be an honor to partake in such an event, if possible. I think such an asion will allow both viges to further improve their rtionship down the road." The Head Ninja has a sly smile on his face when he proposes the suggestion. ''Raikage-sama is waiting at Land of Hot Water''s borders, together with Anbu members. If I can sessfully capture the Byakugan, then our Kumo will be able to research the secrets of this Kekkai Genkai. Our Kumogakure suffered a huge loss in the Third war due to the Hyuga n.'' "This" Hiruzen hesitates for a while before signaling a nearby Anbu member. The Anbu members flicker towards the Hyuga n. "I would have to request permission from the Hyuga n head for this matter. If he allows, then you can certainly participate in the meeting." Hiruzen tries to appease the ''Head Ninja''. Sigh The Head Ninja sighs and turns around while replying. "I thought that such an interaction will further strengthen our rtionship. But I guess Konoha doesn''t share the same sentiments. Anyway, my work is done here. So, I will return to Kumo." "Wait wait Konoha is eager to strengthen our rtionship." "I will personally talk with the Hyuga n head." Hiruzen turns towards Homura and Koharu. "Homura, Koharu! Please escort our guest around the various scenic spots of the vige while I meet with the Hyuga n head." "Very well!" Both of them nod their head and escort the ''Head Ninja''. An unnoticeable grin appears on Head Ninja''s face. "Where would you like to start, Respected guest?" Koharu questions him. He quickly hides his grin and replies. "Let''s start with the ce with most people." "Oh! So our guest would like to visit a public bathhouse. I will escort you there." Homura leads the ''Head Ninja'' towards the bathhouse. "So, it looks like our respected guest is such kind of person." Homura has a knowing smile on his face. "Ah.. yes yes" The Head Ninja scratches his head. ''Wtf? I just want to see their training ground. I think it is the busiest ce, but a bathhouse. Well, never mind I deserve a break after breaking all that sweat in the meeting.'' --------------------- A/N:- The romance may seem forced in this chapter but I wrote it as a one-side crush on Yugao''s part. I am no that adept at writing romance, so I am trying to learn it through side stories. Regr chaptering in few more hours. Chapter 89: Farewell Danzo Part-1 Chapter 89: Farewell Danzo Part-1 Boomboom... Another explosion urs, and it blows away the gate of the hall. The dust and debris clear to reveal Izuna. It surprises Danzo to see Izuna and he questions, "You? Howe you are here? Where are my Root Anbus?" Izuna throws the body of the team Captain towards Danzo and replies, "Did you expect your dogs to maul me? You have quite high expectations for your subordinates. Danzo Shimura, you have made a huge mistake byying your hands on me. If my guess is correct, you are after my Sharingan. Am I right?" Danzo''s mouth gapes open wide as he looks at Izuna, "Let me guess! Your previous Sharingan is failing you and you want a recement for it." Izuna nonchntly looks at Danzo. Danzo gather his wits and smirk at Izuna, "Kid, you are smart for your age. But you are foolish enough for walking straight into my turf and deliver the Sharingan to me. Haha" Danzoughs at Izuna''s foolishness. "Heh! Those are quite bold words for a soon-to-be-dead man." Izuna remarks as he slowly walks towards Danzo. Danzo''s expression turns sour and he orders his Anbu, "Men, kill him. He may escape from the encirclement of previous teams, but this time he is in our headquarters. You shall leave no trace of him. Don''t harm his Sharingan, they will be the recement for my right eye." Nearby Root members surround Izuna as they prepare to cast their jutsu. "Danzo, do you think these bunch of people can stop me? I don''t even need to blink to deal with them." Izuna''s eyes turn into Mangekyo Sharingan. "Don''t look in his eyes," Danzo yells loudly to his subordinates, but it is toote. "Genjutsu: Uchiha Style: Hell''s Purgatory," Izuna cast a powerful genjutsu on Root members. He slowly walks towards Danzo and stands in front of him. "Now, it is only you and me, Danzo. Show me your skills and power which you boast off." Izuna looks at Danzo. Danzo removes the bandage around his eye to reveal a fully mature Sharingan. "So, you want to fight me with a borrowed Sharingan. Do you honestly think you can beat the real deal with your borrowed power?" Izuna makes some hand signs and starts the battle with his ssic move, ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu'' Izuna lunches a giant fireball towards Danzo. Danzo makes some hand signs, ''Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu'' He fires off arge water bullet to cancel the fireball jutsu. Danzo makes some more hand signs and coats his legs in Wind Chakra. ''Wind style: Gale steps'' He quickly dashes towards Izuna and pulls out a sword from his back to stab Izuna. ''Metal Release: Iron w'' Izuna''s palm turns in metal and collides with the sword. nk The sword snaps into half from the impact. "This is" Danzo''s eyes widens as he looks at Izuna''s arm. ''How this kid can use Metal Release?'' ''Swift Release: God Speed'' Izuna vanishes and appears in front of Danzo. He punches Danzo in guts and sends him flying through the roof. Barf Danzo''s pukes out a mouthful of blood. There is a fist-size hole in his stomach. "Don''t worry, Danzo. No one will disturb us. I have erected a barrier around this ce. Paired with silencing seals and illusion techniques, no one will be aware of our fight here. I will silently deal with you and leave the vige. At least, I will spare some of your dignity. You have taken no particr step to harm my family, so a quick death will do." Izuna slowly walks towards Danzo. Danzo''s body disappears and reappears behind Izuna with a kunai in his hand and tries to stab him. nk The kunai snaps in half in contact with Izuna''s back. "Izanagi! Do you honestly believe I am not aware of this forbidden Technique of the Uchiha n associated with their Sharingan? Tell me how many Uchiha n members you killed to gain those eyes?" Izuna stares at Danzo with a cold expression. ''Damn! this Uchiha kid is much greater of a threat than I expected. I have to quickly deal with him.'' Danzo jumps back and removes the bandages from his right arm to reveal arge golden bracer. He slowly unseals the bracer to reveal a decrepit brown prosthetic arm with many Sharingans on it. Danzo throws the bracer aside and makes some hand signs, ''Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Wave'' He fires several wind des in Izuna''s direction. Izuna dodges all the wind des with his speed. ''Wind Release: Vacuum de'' Danzo spews out a wind chakra on his kunai to increase its sharpness, range, and lethality. The kunai forms a makeshift scimitar. He swings the de towards Izuna. ''Wind Release: Wind Wave'' A powerful wind current rushes towards Izuna. Izuna coats his chakra de with wind chakra and shes it down, ''Wind Release: Wave splitter'' Izuna shes Danzo''s jutsu in half and engages with Danzo. Both of them fight with their des. Izuna infuses more chakra in his de and slices Danzo''s de in half together with his body. Danzo''s body splits in half, and it falls on the ground. Whoosh Danzo''s body disappears, and he reappears behind Izuna as he makes some hand signs, ''Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere'' Danzo inhales an enormous amount of air and expels it in the form of apressed, crushing wind sphere behind Izuna''s back. A Golden ribcage forms behind Izuna and blocks the attack. Out of nowhere, a silver arm grabs Danzo and squeezes him into pulp. Whoosh Danzo''s body disappears again, and he reappears in front of Izuna. Huff huff Danzo breathes heavily as he looks at the Chakra construct. "So, that''s the legendary Susanoo avable to Uchiha nsmen who have unlocked and mastered his Mangekyo Sharingan. Impressive!" ''He has the power of Mangekyo. I can''t win this fight alone. I need some help.'' Danzo makes some hand signs and ms his hand on the ground, ''Summoning Jutsu'' Arge elephantine chimera with orange fur appears. The creature has stripped legs simr to a tiger and huge tusks protrude from its mouth. The ginormous size of the creature isparable to a full-body Nine-tails. "Baku devour him," Danzomands the creature. The creature opens its mouth and sucks everything around it. The powerful suction force pulls Izuna towards it. ''Oh! So Danzo is using his summon. I think he is going to pull the same strategy he pulled against Sasuke.'' Danzo appears behind Izuna''s back and makes some hand sign, ''Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Wave'' Danzo bombards various wind des at the back of Susanoo. The wind des are further empowered by the suction force of his summon. The Susanoo rib cage easily blocks all of Danzo''s attack with no scratch on it. "Impossible! How is this possible?" Danzo shouts in disbelief. "You like to eat things, then eat this." Izuna stretches out his right hand. Green chakra gathers in his palm. ''Radiation Release: Nuclear Rasengan'' Izuna forms a Radiation release Rasengan and throws it towards the summon. The Rasengan is green with many unstable particles continuously emitting from it. Boom The Rasengan explodes near the chimera and covers its entire body. The summons outer skin melts from the radiation, its skeleton appears beneath the skin. Poof The chimera summons disappears in a puff of smoke. Izuna dispels his Susanoo. Danzo tries to take advantage of the situation and appears behind Izuna to stab him. ''Inferno Release: me Control'' White mes appear around Izuna. The mes shape into a spear and stab through Danzo''s heart. Barf Danzo pukes out another mouthful of blood, and his body disappears again. He reappears at another ce some distance away. Danzo looks at his right arm and notices theck of Sharingan. "Damn! That was myst Sharingan." He ps his hands and yells, ''Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees'' A small forest sprouts from the ground and blocks Izuna''s vision. Danzo escapes from the spot as he murmurs, "I never expected this. He possesses a Mangekyo Sharingan and many other Kekkai Genkai. The information I collected regarding him didn''t state any of this. I have underestimated his power. I have to escape and find another way to deal with him. He is too dangerous to be left alone for my ns. I will ask help from Orochimaru, the body of an Uchiha will interest him while I get to keep his eyes." Danzo runs towards a secret exit to escape. He triggers a mechanism and blows the entrance of the secret exit. "Oh! Trying to escape when the situation turned unfavorable. Do you think I will allow it so easily?" "Fire Release: Majestic me Destroyer" He burns the entire forest to cinders. He closes his eyes to sense the Chakra signature of Danzo. He spots Danzo running through an Underground secret passage. "Found you." Izuna spots a frantic Danzo. ''Swift Release: Sonic Steps'' He immediately chases after Danzo. He appears in front of the blocked entrance. ''Kamui'' Izuna walks through the blocked entrance and enters the secret passage. "This ability of Obito is very handy." He dashes in front of Danzo and blocks his way. "Do you honestly believe I will allow you to escape so easily? It is time to pay for your evil deeds, Danzo. I have a perfect technique for traitors like you." ''Purple Lightning: Chidori Raikiri'' Chirp chii Purple electricity gathers in Izuna''s palm and shapes in a de. Izuna dashes towards Danzo to stab him. "Farewell! Danzo" Chapter 90: Farewell Danzo Part-2 Chapter 90: Farewell Danzo Part-2 ''Purple Lightning: Chidori Raikiri'' Chirpchi Purple electricity gathers in Izuna''s palm and shapes in a de. Izuna dashes towards Danzo to stab him. Danzo has an ugly expression as he looks at Izuna. "You have forced my hand, kid. I wanted to preserve this technique, but you forced me to use it. ''Mangekyo Sharingan'' Danzo''s right eye turns into a Mangekyo Sharingan. His Mangekyo Sharingan has a two-point pinwheel pattern. "This pattern. Howe you have his Mangekyo Sharingan?" Danzo makes a Ram seal near his right eye and yells, ''Kamiyonanayo'' Blood leaks from his right eyes and an enormous amount of chakra drain from his body. Izuna continues to dash towards Danzo and impales his heart with the Chidori. Danzo pukes out a mouthful of blood and fell on the ground. Izuna grabs Danzo''s right eye and pulls it out. "You have no right to possess this eye, even as a corpse." Izuna stores the eye in a container and turns around to leave. Stab A wooden pike stabs through Izuna''s gut. ArghBarf... Izuna pukes out a mouthful of blood and turns around. He ignores the wound and looks at the attacker. ''Wood Style: Wood Pike'' Danzo stabs Izuna''s back with a wooden stake. He smiles at Izuna and tries to stab further. Izuna swings his hand and breaks the wooden stake. He pulls the stake out of his body and burns it into ashes. Danzo jumps back and makes some unknown hand signs. The hole near his heart fills up and Danzo''s right eye returns to him. Izuna''s eyes widen as he looks at Danzo. "What? This is" Hahahaha Danzoughs hysterically and looks at Izuna. Izuna checks his storage scroll to examine the eye. The eye in his possession fades and vanishpletely. "Izanagi, is it Izanagi? But I destroyed all of his Sharingans. Then, it must be a Genjutsu! Howe it is a genjutsu? I should be immune to genjutsu, even powerful ones unless it is his Mangekyo Ability. Let me try to dispel this genjutsu." Izuna makes multiple hand signs and tries to dispel the genjutsu. Danzo closes the distance again and tries to stab Izuna with a kunai. Izuna infuses chakra in his right hand. His right chakra turns metallic, and he clenches it into a fist and punches Danzo heavily. WhooshBam Danzo ms into a nearby wall and pukes another mouthful of blood. There is a fist-size hole in his guts. Danzo slowly stands up and wipes away the blood from his face. He makes those unusual hand signs again, and his wound closes again. Danzo''s body returns to normal. "ThisWhat''s this? What kind of ability is this? Is this affecting my senses or is this affecting Danzo too? This ability seems simr to Izanami and Izanagi, but then again I took a hit and felt pain." Izuna analyzes the Mangekyo ability of Danzo. His wound healspletely and Izuna prepares tounch another jutsu at Danzo while contemting over the weird ability. Danzo notices Izuna''s regeneration and remarks, "Oh! You heal pretty quickly, simr to Lord Hashirama. Is this Tsunade''s teaching? She developed powerful medical ninjutsu and your technique resembles that. So, you have modified her technique." He concludes. ''He makes those unusual hand signs after taking a hit from me. If Ipletely decapitate him and prevent from forming those hand signs, will he revive?'' "Let me see if you can recover from this technique." Izuna grasps his right wrist and infuses chakra in it. His right-hand gets covered in strange markings and totems. ''Darkness Release: ckout Rasengan'' Izuna forms a pitch-ck Rasengan with sinister dark chakra. ''Release'' He throws the Rasengan towards Danzo. The Rasengan engulfs the entire body of Danzo. Danzo''s entire body gets consumed by the darkness, and it leaves not even a trace of him. "It is finally over. He won''t return, right?" Izuna calms down and searches around. HahaHaha Danzo''s hystericalugh rang in Izuna''s ears. He turns around to see various particles condensing together to shape into Danzo. "You can''t kill me as long as this jutsu is active. I won''t die by any means. Haha" Izuna expression turns cold, and he shouts, "Then I will kill you as many times as you respawn. Let''s see what willst longer, your technique, or my chakra." Izuna makes some hand signs and disappears from his position. ''Swift Release: Sonic Steps'' ''Light Release: Light Sabre'' He pierces Danzo''s body again. Danzo smirks and punches Izuna. Izuna jumps back and avoids the punch. Danzo''s body recovers again. Danzo makes those unusual hand signs again. "These hand signs, what''s their purpose. It seems like he is resetting something. Resetting resettingwait a sec, it looks like a time loop. Could it be he is manipting his own time and set it in a loop? Izanagi allows a user to turn reality into illusion and change their destiny whereas Izanami allows the user to form a loop of thoughts and trap the target in constant turns of events. It sets a predetermined destiny for them, and it forces the target to ept the predestined oue to dispel the jutsu. Danzo''s jutsu seems to be a mix of both Izanami and Izanagi. But who is the target? Is it Danzo or is it only me or both of us are the targets?" Izuna tries to figure out Danzo''s jutsu. He continues to fend off Danzo''s attack as he spectes the nature of jutsu. Danzo continues to die and resurrect again and again. ''It''s not looking good. This kid has massive reserves of chakra. He can continue to fight me as long as he wishes. I used ''Kamiyonanayo'' as ast resort to deal with him, but he is more powerful than my expectations. I have no choice but to flee. The vision in my right eye is lost permanently. Kagami, your Mangekyosted me long enough. It was wise of me to rob your grave and extract your Sharingan. Too bad I can''t use this power anymore. I have to pay a price, every time I use this jutsu. Thanks to First Hokage''s cells, I could survive.'' Danzo sighs in loss. "Found it. I have found a loophole in this technique. Since it is a time-rted technique, then I can override this loop with my time maniption." Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and yells, ''Amenominakanushi'' Blood trickles from Izuna''s left eye. The space-time in the area warps in. Haah Izuna riles up his Chakra and forces the time loop to copse. CrackCrack Various cracks appear in the surrounding space as Izuna continues to rile chakra. The cracks magnify as the surrounding space continues to crumble. Shatter. With a loud noise, the surrounding space shatters, and the time loop breaks. Arghugh Danzo pukes out arge mouthful of blood and copses on the ground. All of his hairs turn white and his body shrivels and many wrinkles appear on his body. Heys helplessly on the ground. The bacsh took a huge toll on his body. Coughcough Danzo coughs and looks towards Izuna. Fear and despair is evident in his eyes. "Huh! I never imagined you could make such an expression. The respected and wise elder of Konoha is afraid. You possess the eyes of Kagami Uchiha, tell me how you got them?" Izuna riles up his chakra and pressures Danzo. Danzo doesn''t respond. "You have soiled the honor of one of my ancestors. Those eyes, you aren''t worthy of them." Izuna slowly walks up to Danzo and rips off the right eye. "I will take them back. I don''t want to even see your face again. You don''t even deserve an afterlife, I will seal you for eternity." ''Limbo Hengoku'' Izuna activates his Mangekyo ability and summons a Limbo. The Limbo makes some hand signs and sps its hand, ''Dead Demon Consuming Seal'' Arge Shinigami appears behind Limbo. The Shinigami extends its hand and stabs through the chest of Limbo. The hand continues towards Danzo and grabs his body and pulls out his soul. "Nostop it. You can''t do it. Don''t!" Danzo struggles to get free. But all of his efforts seems futile. The Shinigami pulls Danzo''s soul out of his body and seals it. Danzo''s body lifelessly drops on the ground. "Now suffer in endless darkness for all eternity." Izuna sps his hand again. The Shinigami vanishes and the Limbo fades away. ''I won''t be able to use him for a while, but I have dealt with one of my troubles and even harvested a reward. Kamiyonanayo! Grandpa Kagami possessed quite a powerful technique, but it''s requirement and aftereffects are way too severe. Well, it justifies the tradeoff. I have to awaken Rinnegan together with ''Six Paths Sage Mode'' to use it freely.'' Izuna looks at Danzo''s corpse. He pulls out the right arm and makes some hand signs, ''Inferno Release: Searing mes'' White mes cover Danzo''s body and turn it into ashes. Izuna walks towards the Root Anbus and maniptes their memories. ''I can only do this much for you. Find your ce in society on your own. It''s time for me to start my journey.'' Izuna walks out of the Root Headquarters and disappears into the forest. ------------------ "InterestingVery Interesting." After a while, A crack opens in Space, and a cloaked figure walks out of it. He appears at the ce of the battle and looks at the destruction. "Did he honestly think true death exists for us Soul n members?" Chapter 91: Shikkotsu Forest Part-1 Chapter 91: Shikkotsu Forest Part-1 A/N:- Welp, I screwed up again. I don''t mind the hate, since it is the norm. But please maintain some patience. I am still learning how to transit from one plot to another. Thatst foreshadowing part screwed me over. I will avoid that in future. But hey! we all are human and it is our habit to repeat mistakes, but I am improving. Justment down your thoughts, if you can see some improvement from a month ago. If there is no improvement, then I have to do some self-contemtion. Bear in mind it is fan-fiction so, I won''t stick to the canon. Full blown changes will start NOW. Don''t forget to post your take on the chapter. Also, post your ideas. I am eagerly waiting for them. When I have enough time, I will rewrite some previous chapters (probably). --------------------------- After dealing with Danzo, Izuna moves out of the vige. ''I have dealt with Danzo. He won''t be a nuisance anymore. Now it''s time for training.'' "My first destination is Shikkotsu Forest. It is one of the sage regions of the Shinobi world. One could quickly learn Sage mode if they practice here. I have to learn the ''Six Paths Sage Mode'' if I want to heal Minato and Kushina. Obito and Grandpa Madara acquired it after bing the jinchuruki of Ten-tails, and Naruto received it directly from Hagoromo Otsutsuki. Most of them lost ''Six Paths Sage Mode''ter on. Naruto can''t use Truth Seeking Balls anymore. I want to figure out the secret behind it, and I want to learn it permanently. There is no use of this power if it can''t be utilized again. So, I have to learn the secrets of Sage Art. This journey to Sage regions will help me learn the secrets and the origin of Sage Arts. I don''t believe a bunch of Toads, snakes, and slugs figured Sage Art on their own." Izuna closes his eyes and concentrates on the marking he ced on Katsuyu. After concentrating for a while, Izuna figured out the space co-ordinates of his markings. He teleported and appeared inside a forest. Izuna looks around to figure out his location. There are massive trees in the forest, the size of which could easily dwarf any of the tailed-beast. "Huge! Such gigantic trees." Izuna raises his neck to figure out the height of the trees. The trees are almost touching the clouds and still, there is no sign of their top. "Let me test their sturdiness." Izuna clenches his fist and infuses a small amount of chakra. He dashes towards a nearby tree and punches its trunk. Bang His punch leaves a small dent in the trunk of the tree. There is norge hole or anything. "Such a sturdy tree. It felt like I just punched a metal wall. No, even steel isn''t as sturdy as this. Is this the effect of Senjutsu chakra? These trees basked in Senjutsu Chakra for eons and now they have evolved to the such extent." The tree regenerates from the impact. "I wonder how strong the original Shinju tree was. Well, Naruto chopped it down with his Lava Release: Rasenshuriken. But that Rasenshuriken has Six Paths Sage Chakra in it. So, I don''t know the exact extent of its power. Now, let''s roam around the forest and scout it. I hope to see Katsuyu soon. I still don''t know why I teleported to this ce instead of Katsuyu." Izuna climbs on the huge tree and inspects around. "I can''t see anything. These damn trees block my vision." He jumps down and saunters inside the forest. He walks for a while inside the forest. "I have yet to encounter any native animal of this ce. I think only ''Summons'' live in this ce. I wonder how summons makes a summoning contract with a ninja. Well, some kind of Space-time Ninjutsu is involved to let them teleport directly to their summoner. But howe the summoner can summon any kind of summon of same species when he just makes a contract with them." The figure of Jiraiya with many toads pops up in his memory. Jiraiya gives a thumb up to Izuna with a perverted smile. Izuna shakes his head and continues to contemte this matter while walking inside the forest. ''I hope to meet someone soon.'' Rawr His line of thoughts is broken by the roar of a creature. Izuna gets ready to engage the creature. ''Well, that was fast!'' A giant tiger with forked-tail pounce over Izuna. Izuna ducks down and rolls to avoid the pounce. The tiger failed to hunt his prey on the first attempt. It turns around and stares at Izuna. The massive ws of the tiger glisten in the dim sunlight. Rawr The tiger tries to smash Izuna with its paws. "These trees are sturdy due to Senjutsu Chakra, but what about you?" Izuna clenches his fist and infuses chakra in it. His fist turns metallic, and he punches the tiger at its jaw. Bang The tiger is sent flying from the punch. One of its canine breaks. The tiger slowly stands up and angrily looks at Izuna. Rawr It opens its mouth and spews out a jet of mes at Izuna. Izuna makes a one hand sign. ''Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu'' He spews out a water bullet at the iing fire. The water bullet cancels out the fireball and continues to move towards the tiger. Bam... It hits the tiger squarely in its face and sends him flying again. The tiger crashes into another tree. Rawr The tiger slowly stands up and roars again. Its skin turns red, and its strips forms a strange pattern over its body. "Senjutsu Chakra! That''s Senjutsu Chakra. This wild cat can use Senjutsu Chakra." Izuna activates his Sharingan and scrutinize the process. Rawr The tiger roars again and pounces on Izuna. Izuna infuses a little more chakra and punches the tiger again. The tiger crashes into another boulder. "Do you think that will make any difference? You are still a weak little cat." ''This forest can help me train in Taijutsu skills. I should master the Opening of the Seventh gate here. These huge animals with strange Sage Chakra will be the perfect target for practice. Their body can take a beating and still survive. Then, I will beat them to my heart''s content.'' Izuna stops using Ninjutsu and opens up Six Gates and engages inbat with the Sage-powered Tiger. After beating the tiger for a while, he feels hungry. He looks at the giant tiger and murmur, "I wonder how this giant Cat will taste like." The giant tiger shivers upon hearing these words. It turns tame and makes a cute posture. Meow Meow The tiger meows in front of Izuna and rolls around on its belly. "..." Izuna speechlessly looks at the tiger. "He understood me. So, thisrge cat has some level of intellect. Nah! I will hunt for something else to eat. I don''t really like the taste of a tiger. You bettere tomorrow for the beating...I mean training or I may change my mind any instant. The tiger turns around and dashes inside the forest like a cheetah. "_" "This giant cat. Sigh!" Izuna sighs and hunts for prey. He soon spots a giant wild boar. The wild boar notices Izuna and charges towards him. ---------- After a few minutester, Izuna is roasting the giant boar on arge skewer. The aroma from the roasted meat enters his nose, and he starts to hum. "I should add some seasoning to it. Izuna takes out a scroll and adds salt, pepper, and other spices to the roast meat." The fragrance enchants him and drool leaks from his mouth. He gulps his saliva and breaks arge chunk of meat. "Itadakimasu!" Izuna takes a huge bite from the meat and eats it. "Good! So good! This roasted boar meat is so good. I can even feel my chakra reserve grow a little. Only a little bit. But this is still a huge discovery." Izuna continues to eat the roast meat as hepletely ignores the pack of giant wolves and many other carnivore creatures around him. After taking another bite, Izuna ces down the huge chunk of meat. "It''s time to exercise again." He cracks his knuckles and engages in another fight with these giant animals. Bang bang boom After an hour of an intense fight, Izuna returns to the spot to continue his meal. But there is no sign of his meat anywhere. "Who the fuck stole my food?" Izuna yells angrily. He gets his answer shortly. There is a giant hole just beneath the skewer. "It''s one of the underground worms. Next time I spot you, I will eradicate your whole colony. Thankfully, I stored some of it separately." He takes out a piece of roasted meat and eats it while grumbling over the loss of such fine food. ----------- A few dayster, Izuna continues to explore therge Shikkotsu Forest. He honed his Taijutsu skills inbat against the wild animals of the forest. "I am not gaining anybat experience. The moves of these animals follow a certain pattern. They hardly do something unexpected whereas, in a fight against a Ninja, the ninja may unexpectedly pull out a new trick. But I have nothing toin about. My mastery of Taijutsu has increased drastically. I can open gates faster and the gates canst for much longer. I think I will be able to open the seventh gate in few more days." Izuna clenches his fist and walks around the forest. Burble burble "This sound it is the sound of falling water. There is a waterfall nearby. Let me check it out, maybe I can spot more animals there." Izuna dashes in the direction of the sound. Chapter 92: Shikkotsu Forest Part-2 Chapter 92: Shikkotsu Forest Part-2 Burble burble Izuna dashes towards the sound of falling water. Soon, he reaches near the source of the sound and spots a gigantic waterfall. Izuna gapes at the scenery and immerses in its beauty for a while. The reflection from the sun creates arge rainbow at the top of the waterfall. The fresh breeze flows near the waterfall and he could feel his body getting revitalized near the waterfall. "This is Nature Energy. My body is passively absorbing a little amount of Senjutsu energy and is rejuvenating itself." Izuna inhales deeply and walks toward the waterfall. He cups his hand and collect water from the stream and taste it. "Such clear water and the taste is so good. This scenery is so enchanting. It is it is so" "Beautiful, right?" Izuna is interrupted by a sudden feminine voice. He turns around to spot the neer. He spots a giant two-tail fox. Izuna raises his guard and warily looks at the fox and gets ready to engage in a fight. "Rx. Calm down, I am not looking for a fight." The fox tries to rx Izuna. Izuna rxes his guard a little and questions the fox, "Who are you? Do you have any issues with me?" "I am Kurumi. One of the natives of the Shikkotsu forest. I am a part of the Fox n." The Fox introduces herself. "Sorry for interrupting you earlier. It wasn''t my intention." The fox apologies. "I am ordered by Lady Katsuyu to summon you. Lady Katsuyu wants to have a chat with you." The fox informs Izuna. "Oh! So, Katsuyu finally remembered me. I have some questions to ask from her. Lead the way." Izuna responds to the fox. The fox walks towards one of the cavern passage. Izuna follows the fox while still on guard. The fox continues to lead him inside the cavern. After a while, they exit out of the cavern in a vast open area. There are norge trees out there, only some vines and shrubs. The size of shrubs and vines easily scaling a two-story or three-story building. Izuna continues to follow the fox. He spots many slugs slithering around. One of the smaller slugs raises its head and greets Izuna. "Hello. Izuna-kun. It has been a while since west met." Izuna skeptically looks at the slug which greatly resembles Katsuyu. He activates his Sharingan and checks its chakra Signature. "Katsuyu, you are Katsuyu." "Hello! Izuna-kun. How are you doing?" Another giant slug greets him. Izuna turns his head and looks at the new slug. "You are also Katsuyu. Are both of you her clones or fissions?" Izuna questions them. "No, both of us are Katsuyu." Both the slug reply to Izuna. "Then which of you is the real one, or are you suffering from an identity crisis?" Izuna remembers a filler episode of Naruto where Naruto''s shadow clones held the real Naruto as a hostage. "Both of us are real." Both of them reply simultaneously again. "Hey! Can you take me to the real Katsuyu? I can''t quite understand the situation here." Izuna stares around and spots various gigantic versions of Katsuyu. The two-tailed fox nods to him and continues to lead him towards the Katsuyu. They walk for a while and soon reaches near the roots of a gigantic tree. The fox points towards a cave and exins, "Lady Katsuyu is inside that cave. My task is over if you want to meet me again, then visit me at Fox n." The fox turns around and dashes in a particr direction. Izuna enters the cave and soon spots a massive slug slithering back and forth inside the cave. "Katsuyu! You are the real Katsuyu, who was looking for me, right?" Izuna question the slug. "Yes, I am indeed the Katsuyu who was looking for you." The giant slug turns its head and looks at Izuna. "It is quitete to say it, but still ''Wee to Shikkotsu Forest Izuna-kun''." The slug wees him. "Hey! Before we start our conversation, I have a question for you. Do you mind answering it?" Izuna question the slug. "Go on! I will try to answer your question." The slug assures him. "What''s the deal with all these Katsuyu out there? Are they your fission clones or something? All of them are Katsuyu right?" Izuna questions Katsuyu. "Oh! That. It is not a secret for the natives of the Shikkotsu Forest. Actually, all of them are Katsuyu. We share every information with each other, and all of us are linked telepathically to each other. After a certain period, the Katsuyu will undergo binary fission and split into two new Katsuyu. The new Katsuyu will inherit the memories of the Old Katsuyu. This way we have survived for a very long time." Katsuyu answers to Izuna. Izuna looks at Katsuyu with a surreal gaze. ''That''s it. That''s the secret of Katsuyu. I thought it would be something mind-blowing. But this, I can''t put my head around it. It is amazing actually but still, itcks inpared to my fantasies.'' Izuna sighs to himself. He questions her again, "I ced my teleportation seal on one of your smaller body. When I teleported here, why I appeared so far from your location?" Izuna looks at Katsuyu. "Izuna-kun, Shikkotsu Forest is isted from the rest of the world by a space-time barrier. The founder of the Uzumaki n constructed this barrier. I help to maintain the barrier around the forest. It is because of this reason that your teleportation form wasn''t able to pick up my co-ordinates closely. Thus, you were teleported at the outer edge of the forest. Various low-intelligence creatures reside at the outer edge of the forest." Katsuyu continues to exin, "Izuna-kun. We Katsuyu are the protector of the Shikkotsu Forest. It is us who take care of the Forest and maintains its eco-system despite it being isted from the rest of the world. Shikkotsu forest existed way before the era of Rikkudou Sennin, and I have been maintaining it for such a long period. Over the passage of years, due to continuous fission, I have turned into multiple Katsuyu who help me maintain the forest more efficiently. Many of Katsuyu died through idents, death in battle, or through various other reasons." Katsuyu exins about her herself. "Katsuyu, who was your former summoner? I mean before Tsunade who contracted with you." Izuna asks in curiosity. "I was a former summon of Mito Uzumaki and before that, I had summoning contracts with Uzumaki n members. One Uzumaki n member helped me once by sealing a berserk creature present in the Shikkotsu Forest. That battle caused the death of many Katsuyu. Thankfully, the Uzumaki n member sealed the creature before any major harm was done. It was during that moment when I formed a summoning contract with the Uzumaki n members." Katsuyuid a summoning contract in front of Izuna. Izuna opens the scroll and starts to filter through the names of her contractor. "Tsunade Senju, Mito Uzumaki, Ashina Uzumaki...." He continues to skim through the name of her previous contractor. After skimming for a while, Izuna stops at the first name on the list. "Kenshiro Senju" Izuna looks at the scroll once again. Kenshiro Senju He looks at Katsuyu and questions her. "Lady Katsuyu! Who is this Kenshiro Senju? You made a contract with the Uzumaki n members, right? Then why is a Senju n member first on your contractor list?" Izuna question Katsuyu. "Oh, that! I guess you are aware of the fact that the Uzumaki n and Senju ns were rtives, right?" Izuna nods to Katsuyu. "Kenshiro is the first Uzumaki n member. You can also call him the founder of the Uzumaki n. He is the person who sealed the vicious creature and protected the Shikkotsu forest a few centuries ago. After he made a summoning contract with me, he founded the Uzumaki n and separated from the Senju n. If you are interested in his story, then I will narrate it to you." Izuna nods to her as he gets ready to listen to her tale. ''I am pretty interested in the story of this Kenshiro Senju. He is the founder of the Uzumaki n and had a ''Sin eye'' in his possession. I wonder how he got hold of the ''Sin eye''.'' "Then listen attentively!" Katsuyu starts to narrate the story of the First Uzumaki to Izuna. --------------------------- A/N:- Hello everyone, your shameless author here. I am adding another of my Original Origin story here. I want to immerse in the Naruto world and I want to exin many unexined parts of the plot. So, this is one of my attempt to do so. Leave your thoughts in thement. When I mentioned Slow-paced, I really meant it. I hope you continue to read my story despite my shorings. Chapter 93: Sage Training Part-1 Chapter 93: Sage Training Part-1 A/N:- Sorry for the dy guys. I had an exam to attend, so I was quite busy with the preparation. I did well for the exam and hopefully I will get a good score. I have another exam in a week. I will post two chapters before it and I will skip on exam day. ----------------------------- "A few centuries ago, The shinobi world was engulfed in wars and chaos. There were no proper boundaries of the nation. Various ns waged war against each other, either for territory or for resources. The Senju n was one of the most powerful ns. Senju n enrolled in a battle against the Uchiha n, another powerful n. During those Warring periods, the leader of the Senju n had five offspring. His elder son was talented inbat. The youngest son Kenshiro was quite a dunce. He could not master even any basic ninjutsu. In a battle against Uchiha, three of the brothers fell to the Uchiha n''s genius Tenma Uchiha. Unable to bear the loss of his siblings and to ovee his helplessness, Kenshiro left the Senju n on a journey to achieve power. It was during this journey, Kenshiro learned Fuinjutsu. It was during this time, he helped me seal the creature and helped the Shikkotsu Forest." Katsuyu walks out of the cave and leads Izuna. After walking for a while, they reached in front of arge temple. Katsuyu and Izuna entered the temple. In the center of the temple, Izuna spot a gigantic statue of a man. The man had long-spiky hairs and a giant scroll is tied to his back. He had two shoulder guards with a Vajra symbol on one of them and a spiral symbol on others. His hands are sped together, and he is in a battle stance. "He is Kenshiro Uzumaki! Kenshiro Senju, to be exact. To pay tribute to him, the summons of Shikkotsu forest constructed a temple and erected his statue." Izuna looks closely at the statue and notices strange marking all over the Statue''s body. The markings closely resemble Strength of a Hundred Seal. He turns towards Katsuyu and questions her, "Isn''t that the Strength of a Hundred Seal? That''s Tsunade technique right?" Katsuyu nods to him and reply, "It is indeed simr to Strength of a Hundred Seal because Tsunade derived her technique from this jutsu. Tsunade''s Creation Rebirth Technique is iplete. Kenshiro-sama created this technique to use in conjunction with Sage Mode. Mito-sama modified the technique to use Normal Chakra instead of the Sage chakra and Tsunade-sama further improved the technique. But now her technique has a side-effect. The Original technique created by Kenshiro-sama had strict requirements but it had no side-effects." "Oh! There was such a thing. Then why don''t you help Tsunade-san to learn this original technique." Izuna questions Katsuyu. "I tried to convince Tsunade-san to learn this technique. But it requires lots of time to learn, and Tsunade-san took part in the Second Shinobi War during her youth, and then the loss of her loved ones caused trauma to her. So, she neglected this technique." Katsuyu sighs. "I will convince Tsunade to learn this technique. She will heed to my request. You can train Tsunade in this technique." Izuna assures Katsuyu and inspects the temple. There are various sealing scrolls ced inside the temple. Izuna picks up one of the scrolls and reads it. "Oh! These scrolls have many sealing techniques written on them. These seals are way beyond the Grandmaster level." "Izuna-kun! Kenshiro-sama created these seals. He was famous as the ''Sage of Sealing'' throughout the Shinobi World. He was a very powerful Shinobi, but sadly he lived a brief life." Katsuyu sighs and reminisces about her past. Izuna''s interest piques and he questions Katsuyu. "Lady Katsuyu, how did he die? He was a powerful Shinobi, right? Who was capable of killing him?" Katsuyu looks at Izuna and hesitates for a while before she revealed the fact, "It was your ancestor, Tenma Uchiha. Tenma Uchiha awakened the power of Mangekyo Sharingan and fought in a battle against Kenshiro-sama. Their battle was intense, Tenma Uchiha had the power of Susanoo whereas Kenshiro-sama had Sage Mode and his various sealing techniques. Their battlested for two days and night. Kenshiro-sama ended the life of Tenma Uchiha. Sadly, Kenshiro-sama sumbed to his injuries from the battle." ''It seems like Kenshiro Senju and Tenma Uchiha were the past incarnations of Asura and Indra Otsutsuki. It is their fate to sh in every incarnation. With ck Zetsu behind the scenes, it is impossible to avoid the battle.'' Izuna inspect the remaining scrolls and remarks, "Kenshiro Uzumaki had a very high aptitude for Sealing. To gain fame as ''Sage of Sealing'' and sh against a Susanoo with Fuinjutsu and Sage Mode alone. So, after Grandmasteres the Sage. I hope these scrolls will give me a direction to achieve Sage rank in Fuinjutsu." He turns towards Katsuyu and asks her, "Lady Katsuyu, can you help me in training Sage Mode? I want to master Senjutsu and be a Sage." "Well! I will help you learn Sage Mode, but you have to bepatible with Sage energy to master it. Otherwise, you will turn into stone because of the potent Nature energy." ''Compatibility! I was born with it. I just have to hop in and learn Sage Mode. Later, I will figure out a way to gain ''Six Paths Sage Mode.'' Maybe I should contact with toads and ask that old toad about Hagoromo Otsutsuki. He must have some knowledge about the ''Six Paths Sage Mode''.'' Izuna makes his n. "Lady Katsuyu, do you have some sort of aid that helps in the eleration of the learning process?" He remembers about the Toad oil of the Mount Myoboku. "We do! It is a slug secretion oil. If you apply it on your body, you can absorb Nature energy faster." Katsuyu leads him to a pool filled with white sticky liquid. "Ugh! This " Izuna looks at the slimy liquid andins. "I won''t apply it to my body. I will learn the Sage Mode through Normal ways." Izunains. "It is your choice, Izuna-kun." Katsuyu slithers towards the giant tree in the center of the forest. "Izuna-kun. The first and the most important thing required to master Sage Mode is a calm mind. If your mind is calm, then only will you able to concentrate on Nature''s energy. Nature energy is present everywhere. Our every breath contains Nature energy. The Chakra system of the body absorbs Nature energy and converts it to Chakra to replenish the Chakra. This way the Chakra System acts as a converter. But in this, we lose the potency of Nature energy. The Chakra gains an elemental Nature and thus losses its versatility. Nature energy has no elemental Nature which makes it more versatile and potent. However, there is a catch here. Since it has no elemental nature, it is very hard to sense. And the excessive intake of Nature energy will convert a person to stone, since Nature energy has the will of the. Now, do you have any more questions? If not, then we will start with meditation. Remove all excessive thoughts from your mind and focus on sensing Nature energy." Katsuyu instructs Izuna and helps him in concentrating. "Uh! Lady Katsuyu. I used to meditate a lot to calm my nerves. I can easily enter the ''Mind Zero'' state. Can we move on to the next stage of the training?" " If it is so let''s move on to the sensing of Nature energy." Katsuyu looks at Izuna with disbelief. Her Optical tentacles shake frantically. "Izuna-kun, you have to enter in the meditation state and try to sense the Nature energy around you. You are a sensor type ninja, right? It will be easier for you to sense Nature energy. Just concentrate and feel the Nature energy. This giant tree releases an enormous amount of Nature energy. It is part of the reason I brought you under this tree. You will be able to sense Nature energy easily here. But if you are having difficulty in sensing the Nature energy, then you can always apply the slug oil and passively absorb the Nature energy and get a feel of the Nature energy." Katsuyu points towards the slug oil pool. "Anything! But that. I will figure out a way to sense Nature energy on my own." Izuna crosses his hand in denial. "Well! If you say so. I will stay here and monitor your progress. I will prevent you from turning into stone in case you absorb excessive Nature energy." Katsuyu slithers to a nearby boulder and rests against it. Izuna closes his eyes and enters the mediation state. ''Let me try to feel Nature energy with my body first.'' ---------------------- Chapter 94: Sage Training Part-2 Chapter 94: Sage Training Part-2 A/N:- Happy Halloween Guys ------------------ Izuna closes his eyes and feels the Nature energy. After meditating for a while, he feels a tingling sensation over his skin. His body absorbs nature energy at a slow pace. ''I can sense the Nature energy but the rate of absorption is quite slow. It will take me a while to absorb it at a rapid pace. I have to practice a lot in order to absorb Nature energy. Now let''s try the unusual method.'' Izuna activates his Sharingan and observes the entire process. He can see Nature energy entering his body through his tenketsu points. ''So, this is Nature energy.'' Izuna looks around and spots an enormous amount of Nature energy being released by the gigantic tree. Let me try to absorb this energy directly. He calms his mind and focuses his concentration on Nature energy. He releases his chakra from his tenketsu points. The released chakra wraps around Nature energy and tries to pull it inside his body. ''Heavy! It feels so heavy. I can feel the will of the inside this Nature energy. I have to contest with the for this energy.'' Izuna clenches his teeth and releases more of his chakra to drag the natural energy. He drags the Natural energy inside his body. He gains a Cyan color Chakra cloak around his body. ''So, this is Nature energy. I can feel my body rejuvenating from this energy. My physical strength had grown quite a lot. It feels like I can easily punch arge hole through that earlier tree quite easily now.'' Izuna clenches his fist and punches the air with full force. BOOOM His punch produces shock waves. The ''Sin Seal'' activates and absorbs the Nature Energy, leaving Izuna out of the Sage Mode. "Wow, Izuna-kun, that was amazing." The Optical tentacles of Katsuyu shake in excitement. "You could enter the Sage Mode for a while. Though only for a brief moment. But that was the genuine Sage Mode. You are a genius, Izuna-kun. At this rate, you will perfectly master the Sage Mode in a few weeks." Katsuyu praises Izuna. The cloak around him disperses and Izuna returns to normal. ''And it''s gone! This fucking seal. It has to eat everything like a snack. It ate my Chakra for three years, I finally got rid of that problem with Yin Kurama. But now it is sucking my Natural energy. Just you wait, I will see how you will drain me again.'' Izuna infuses Light Chakra and mixes it with Natural Energy. The Sin Seal stops on contact with Light Chakra and lies down silently. In these three years, he had figured out more about the ''Sin Seal''. This is quite a gluttonous seal, it will continuously suck chakra from Yin Kurama and will asionally stop when it is full. He can still use that stored chakra, but only in the form of Darkness Chakra, Fuinjutsu seal, and for a dark Susanoo. So, this seal embodies darkness. It will repel anything rted to Light. Part of the reason, it stops its mischief when given a dose of Light Chakra. ''I still can''t recreate that jutsu.'' Izuna remembers the jutsu he used against that cloaked figure. ''I can''t bnce the Light and Dark Chakra to replicate that feat. Both of them repel each other, and I haven''t figured out a way to bnce them. I am missing something crucial in the process.'' Izuna sighs and closes his eyes to concentrate again. ''Still, there is one benefit of this seal. It won''t allow me to turn into a stone while absorbing excessive Nature energy. It will suck that extra Nature energy and keep me safe. I want to get rid of this love and hate rtionship with this seal. Now let''s practice in the usual way. I will use the other method only during emergencies to immediately get into Sage Mode. I have to still learn the normal process, then only will I able to learn the secrets of the ''Six Paths Sage Mode''.'' "Time to use the most broken jutsu to speed up the process." ''Shadow Clone Jutsu'' Izuna creates three shadow clones. The clones sit around the tree and enter into meditation. "What are you doing, Izuna-kun? Why are you making Shadow clones?" Katsuyu looks at Izuna in surprise. ''There is no harm in telling her. She can''t exploit the Shadow clone herself.'' "Lady Katsuyu, I am using Shadow clones to hasten up the process of learning the Sage Mode. Whenever a shadow clone disperses, it transfers all of its memories and experience to the Original body. This way, I can cut short on time and learn many things simultaneously. But there is a drawback to this trick, many clones when dispelled will cause an information overload in the user''s brain. This is the reason why I am only using three Shadow clones to speed up the process by three times. Any more than that will break my concentration. So, I have to be careful while using this technique." Izuna exins to Katsuyu. "That''s quite convenient, Izuna-kun. You can continue your practice, I will continue to monitor your progress." Katsuyu rests against the boulder while shaking its optical antlers. Izuna continues to practice the Sage Mode. He practices the Sage Mode for a few days. ''I guess I have got a hang of it, but I am yet topletely master the sage Mode. Guess I have to raise the difficulty by a notch.'' Izuna climbs up on therge tree. After reaching a spot where the wind current is quick, Izuna stops and concentrates again. ''There is quite the pressure here. These wind currents will harass me and will disrupt my concentration. If I can enter and maintain ''Sage Mode'' under such conditions then I would have perfectly mastered the Sage Mode. The next step would be to enter the Sage Mode while running. Naruto wasn''t able to figure that out, but I will give it a shot. If I can enter the Sage Mode while running, then I will able to enter Sage Mode duringbat. The next step is to just create the Sage Arts Jutsu. I will think about thatter.'' He closes his eyes to sense the Nature energy while sitting on one branch of the tree. ''Hard, it is quite hard. But I have to hold on.'' Soon, Izuna enters in a meditative state, and his body absorbs the Natural energy. A whileter, a cyan-colored cloak appears on his body. The cloak flickers as Izuna struggle to maintain his concentration. Haah HuffHuff The cloak disperses, and he pants. ''I have to practice again.'' He clears his mind and enters in concentration again. Katsuyu looks at his figure and murmurs to herself, "He is progressing much faster than anyone else. Even Hashirama Senju-sama could not progress this much in such a short period. His Sage Mode is quite differentpared to others. He has a Chakra cloak around his body. Hashirama Senju-sama had markings reminiscent of Kenshiro Senju-sama, but his Sage Mode is quite different." --------- Days passed by, Izuna had perfectly mastered the Sage Mode. While in Sage Mode, he has a cyan color Nature energy Chakra Cloak around his body. His eyes had golden and silver markings around them, and his Sharingan keeps its color. ''I can sense this tremendous boost in power. Somehow, my sage mode is quite simr to Mitsuki. But I don''t have a horn on my head and I retain my form. I do have a perfect affinity for all kinds of energy.'' "Time to test my powers. Let''s start with my speed while using Nature energy." ''Swift Release: Sonic Steps'' Zoom Izuna crashes into a boulder. He stands up and dusts himself. "That was quite fast. I never expected it to be so fast. I didn''t even felt a thing in that collision. My durability and natural defense have increased by a lot. Then what about my strength? How strong am I?" Izuna lifts arge boulder easily and throws it far away. The boulder smash into a hill and lodges into it. "Impressive. Your strength is impressive, Izuna-kun." Katsuyu praises Izuna. "Now it is time to enter Sage Mode while running. If I can ovee this challenge, then I don''t have to worry about anything. I can fight tirelessly for many days without exhaustion. Nature energy will rejuvenate my body with vitality." Izuna runs around while trying to concentrate. His clones follow his movements and try to enter Sage Mode. "It is quite difficult and borderline impossible. I have to think of a solution for this to work." Izuna stops and ponders on this problem. Chapter 95: Mount Myoboku Chapter 95: Mount Myoboku Huff huff "Guess I will leave it as a work in progress." Izuna huffs and wipes his sweat. "I have spent an entire month to figure out a way to enter Sage Mode while engaged inbat. But it is very difficult and I am going insane with this slow progress." Izuna sits near the root of the Giant tree and contemtes his progress. ''I have spent the past six months of training in the Shikkotsu Forest. My strength has grown considerably. I can open and sustain the Seventh Gate for a while, and the biggest progress is Sage Mode. I can enter Sage Mode in just under two minutes and itsts for fifteen minutes. But I still can''t enter Sage Mode while battling.'' "Looks like I have to visit toads for more information. Maybe they could help me with this problem." Izuna stands up and walks towards Katsuyu. He bows to her in gratitude. "Thanks for your help, Lady Katsuyu. You helped me a lot in my Sage Mode Training. Thanks to your pointers, I could learn and perfect my Sage Mode so quickly." "There is no need to thank me, Izuna-kun. It was all your hard work and talent which lead to your sess." Katsuyu shakes her optical tentacles. "What are your ns, Izuna-kun?" She asks him curiously. "I would like to pay a visit to Mount Myoboku. Those toads are also the master of Sage Mode, I want to enter Sage Mode while engaged inbat. Maybe their pointers could help me improve further." Izuna replies to her. "Then, Izuna-kun! I would like to ask a favor from you. Can you convince Tsunade to visit Shikkotsu Forest? It would be great if she could learn the Sage Mode. Her strength is declining with her age, I have a feeling the future is embroiled in Chaos and I don''t want Tsunade tock strength." Katsuyu requests to Izuna. "I will convince her and send her here. She is taking care of Naruto for now. I will send her immediately in a few more months when she leaves Konoha on a journey. Until then, Farewell Lady Katsuyu." That''s a relief to hear. I hope Tsunade will master Sage Mode too. On behalf of Tsunade, I thank you for taking care of her." Katsuyu bows and her optical tentacles shake. "Farewell Izuna-kun!" Izuna closes his eyes and senses the space co-ordinates of his markings on the toad summons of Jiraiya. "Found it. Time to leave." Izuna teleports from Shikkotsu Forest and reappears inside the Mount Myoboku. He is weed by the sight of various small waterfalls and streams flowing around. The air is fresh and there is a lot of sunlight in the area. This beautiful and exquisite site enchants him, and he stores it deep into his memories. "Mount Myoboku has a fresh airpared to Shikkotsu Forest. Shikkotsu Forest was dark and humid whereas this ce has lots of sunlight and has a freshness to it. Both ces have their own merits." Izuna takes a deep breath and continues to frame the vast expanse of small hills and various strange trees and shrubs in his memory. Croak... "Oye Kid!..." The sound of the croaking of a frog disturbs this peaceful scenery. Izuna ignores the croaking and continues to gaze at the scenic beauty of Mount Myoboku. Croak... Croak... "Oye Kid! Don''t test my patience. Answer to me." The frog croaks again. ''Damn! This frog is ruining the beauty of Nature for me.'' Izuna turns around and angrily stares at Gamabunta. "Can''t you see, I am busy, you rusty frog." He yells at Gamabunta. "Kid! I should be the one to get angry. You entered our territory without my permission, and now you are bossing me around. Don''t you know who I am? I am the chief toad of Mount Myoboku, the Land of Toads. That Kid Minato never taught you any manners." Gamabunta angrily stares at Izuna. "I will teach humbleness to you." Gamabunta withdraws his Dai de and gets ready to sh Izuna. "Stop it! You moron. He is a guest of our Mount Myoboku. Few people can reach here, and it has been a while since we had a visitor." A small green frog with white hairs styled in mohawk, thick eyebrows and a small goatee jumps in front of us. He held a stick in his hand. The frog jumps up and ms the stick on the giant frog''s head. The stick looks like a toothpick in front of the massive size of Gamabunta. Bang The impact from the stick smashes Gamabunta on the ground and creates a crater around him. "Go back to your training. Don''t dillydally around." Gamabunta rubs his forehead andins, "But Paa! He is an intruder, and he talked rudely to me. I must teach this sharp-tongued kid a lesson." The green frog res at Gamabunta with a scrutinizing gaze. Gamabunta picks up his de and hops away from the ce. The green frog turns towards Izuna and greets him. "Wee Izuna-boy! I have been expecting you for a while. The ''Great Toad Sage'' had already prophesied about your arrival. I am Fukasaku, one of the ''Two Great Toad Sage'' of Mount Myoboku. Me and my wife Shima are the heirs of the ''Great Toad Sage''. The ''Great Toad Sage'' wants to meet you. He has a prophecy for you." Fukasaku informs Izuna. ''There is no harm in meeting with ''Great Toad Sage'' this early. My goal was to ask a few questions from him. But he wants to meet me, this makes things a lot easier.'' "I am Izuna Uchiha. It is nice to meet you." Izuna bows before Fukasaku. "I know about you, kid. Jiraiya-boy informed me about you. You were one of the student of Minato-boy. Sadly, Minato-boy passed away too early." Fukasaku sighs in grief. "Let me take you to meet with ''Great Toad Sage''." Fukasaku leads Izuna towards a temple. Many toad statues line up in front of the temple. They reach near the entrance and Fukasaku stops. "Let me inform ''Great Toad Sage'' about your arrival." Fukasaku enters inside the temple. Izuna observes the surrounding area. He can see many gigantic toad statues lines around. A few meters away, he notices a small pool of oil with many gigantic stone statues of toads encircling the area. ''So, this is the legendary Toad Oil of Mount Myoboku. It helps in the absorption of Nature Energy.'' The image of slimy white liquid appears in his mind, and he almost pukes out his breakfast. ''Thankfully, I don''t have to use that slug oil to master Sage Mode.'' After a while, Fukasaku returns with a disappointed expression. He sighs and informs Izuna. "Great Toad Sage is deep in his meditation. It will be awhile before he wakes up from his meditation. Why don''t you spend these days in Mount Myoboku? I will teach the ''Sage Mode'' to you. It will help you a lot in your Shinobi Journey." Izuna closes his eyes and absorbs Nature energy. Fukasaku stares at Izuna with wide-eyes. A Cyan color Cloak appears around Izuna, and golden and silver markings appear around his eyes. He turns towards Fukasaku and replies, "I have already mastered the Sage Mode." Fukasaku inspects Izuna''s Chakra cloak and murmurs to himself, "This is a strange variation of Sage Mode. I have never heard or seen anything like this. Thisrge density of Nature energy and those markings around his eyes. It is a perfect Sage Mode. Not even Jiraiya-boy can enter the perfect Sage Mode. This kid is talented in Senjutsu." Fukasaku muses for a while before he responds, "I am surprised to see your talent in Senjutsu, Izuna-boy. I will teach ''Frog Kata'' to you. Only those who have mastered the ''Sage Mode'' can learn the ''Frog Kata''. It is an exclusive technique avable only to Senjutsu users. The Great Toad Sage created this technique and passed it to us. Are you interested in learning this technique?" ''Frog Kata is an excellent technique. I must learn it.'' Izuna nods his head. "Yes, teach me ''Frog Kata'', Fukasaku-san." "Don''t be so formal, Izuna-boy. Call me Paa like the rest of the people. It is decided then, I will teach you Frog Kata until Great Toad Sage wakes up from his meditation." Fukasaku sps his hand and enters Sage Mode. He exins about ''Frog Kata'' to Izuna. "Izuna-boy! Frog Kata is a taijutsu technique exclusive to Sages. The Senjutsu Chakra activates the body in various ways, enhancing the speed, reflexes, strength, stamina, and durability of the user. This allows the user to perform incredible feats like leaping great distances, shattering sharp materials with bare hands, and lift objects several times their size and weight." Fukasaku jumps around and showcases the enhanced strength of Sage Mode. "To properly use this enhanced strength inbat, we require frog Kata. The user can create an aura of Natural energy around their body and use it to attack their enemies. The Aura acts as the extension of one''s body and only other Sage Mode Users can see it. This makes the attack caused by ''Frog Kata'' to appear invisible to others." Fukasaku clenches his fist and punches a boulder. He held his fist a few centimeters away from the boulder. Crack A crack appears on the boulder and it shatters from the attack. Chapter 96: Prophecy of Great Toad Sage Chapter 96: Prophecy of Great Toad Sage "That''s how you do it, Izuna-boy." Fukasaku demonstrates Frog Kata to Izuna. Izuna clenches his fist and stands in front of a boulder. He punches the boulder and stops a few centimeters away from the boulder. Some slight cracks appear on the boulder, but it holds itself. "I need some practice to master itpletely." "This Izuna-boy. How did you do this? You could utilize Frog Kata to such an extent on your first observation." It bbergasts Fukasaku. Izuna turns around and shows his Sharingan to Fukasaku. "Remember! I am an Uchiha. My Sharingan can see through all kinds of jutsus, no matter what it is. I used the ''Eye of Insight'' of Sharingan to copy the jutsu. But it seems like I have to practice a little to master Frog Kata." "That''s convenient, Izuna boy. Jiraiya boy took so long to learn Frog Kata, and even his Sage Mode is imperfect. Minato-boy was able to learn the perfect Sage Mode, but his fighting style didn''t match with the Sage Mode. So, Minato-boy neglected the Sage Mode. You are impressive Izuna-boy. You mastered the Sage Mode and its taijutsu technique at such a young age. There hasn''t been a genius like you to visit Mount Myoboku in a while." Fukasaku points at various stone statues and remarks, "All of these statues were human once. Most of them were one of a kind genius. They were able to sessfully able to travel through the secret path and visit Mount Myoboku. But Sadly, none of them achieved the Perfect Sage Mode, and in their desperate attempts, they turned into a stone statue." Fukasaku sighs and continues, "I will give pointers to you. Follow my instructions and you will master Frog Kata in a few days." Thus, another intense session of Sage Taijutsu starts for Izuna. ----------- After a week, Izuna punches a boulder from a few inches away and the boulder blows into smithereens. "Looks like you havepletely mastered the Frog Kata. Your rate of progress is amazing, Izuna-boy. It''s time to meet Great Toad Sage. He has summoned us." Fukasaku leads the way to Great Toad Sage''s residence. Izuna follows Fukasaku and enters inside the temple. A giant brown toad with a white belly appears in his vision. The toad''s skin is wrinkled, and the toad is squinting to gains vision. The toad wore a professor''s hat with tassels and an orb on top of it. He also wears a ne around his neck with a giant bead with ''oil'' in kanji written on it. There are giant scrolls lined behind him and the toad sits in a shallow pool of water with the kanji ''Sage'' inscribed on it. ''So, he is the Great Toad Sage Gamamaru. He has lived for a thousand years and was born way before the arrival of Kaguya. I am already aware of this fact, but the actual thing is more like a living fossil.'' Izuna examines the Great Toad Sage Gamamaru. Fukasaku bows before Gamamaru and informs him, "Ojiji-Sama, the one you summoned has arrived as you predicted." The Great Toad Sage gestures for Izuna to get near him. "I was expecting your arrival, Izuna Uchiha. I have divined the future, and it involves you in lots of events. So, I divined about your future and got some information. I have a prophecy for you. Hear me out." Izuna perks up his ear to listen to the prophecy. ''This Old frog''s prophecies are quite urate. Maybe he can give me a clue or two about the ''Sin Seal''.'' "Boy, I can see danger looming over your family in near future. You will fight against lots of powerful enemies in the future, and I can see a giant pir linked with chains." The Great Toad Sage turns silent for a while and meditate. "That''s it. I can only see this much. For some odd reasons, your future is hazy and I can''t peek much into your future. Now, if you have any questions, I will listen to them." Izuna contemtes for a while, ''I could ask about ''Six Paths Sage Mode'' from him. Maybe he can lead me in a certain direction. It is decided then. "Uh I would like to have a private conversation with Ojiji-sama; if it is fine with him." The Great Toad Sage gestures to Fukasaku and nearby toads to leave the temple. After all of them exits the temple. He turns towards Izuna and replies, "I am aware of your problems. I have already divined about them. I will answer them for you." Izuna is surprised to hear this, his surprise turns to excitement, and he anxiously looks at Gamamaru. "Don''t be too hasty, boy. Everything moves at its own pace. Now for your questions, I will first narrate the details of Rikudou Sennin to you." The Great toad Sage closes his eyes and narrates the event. "You must be aware of the details of the fight between Rikudou Sennin and The Ten-tails. He fought against the ten-tails and sealed it inside himself. Thus bing the First Jinchuruki to exist ever. After bing the Jinchuruki of Ten-tails, he gained God-like powers. He manifested Truth Seeking Orbs the ultimate manifestation of all Nature transformations through the use of Yin-Yang Release. As the jinchuruki of Ten-tails, his Senjutsu was enhanced to its peak, and he named it ''Six Paths Senjutsu''. However, sometime before the end of his lifespan, Hagoromo separated the Ten-tails from his body and sealed its body inside the moon. He extracted its chakra and formed the Nine-tailed beasts you know today. As a result, Hagoromo lots all of his powers and the ''Six Paths Sage Mode''. However, Hagoromo wielded Rinnegan in his eyes. His ocr power allowed him to re-master and re-invent the ''Six Paths Sage Mode''. He mastered all Nature Transformations from scratch and finally gained ess to Truth-Seeking Orbs. Thus, by mastering all the Nature transformations and finally shaping them into Truth Seeking Orbs Hagoromo gained ''Six Paths Sage Mode'' again. Hagoromo was the jinchuruki of Ten-tails and he had Rinnegan to help him with Nature Transformations. With his prior experience, it wasn''t a difficult feat for him. But, Izuna-boy! You on other hand don''t possess any of those things. The journey to gain ''Six Paths Sage Mode'' will be extremely hard for you." The Great Toad Sage exined everything to Izuna. Izuna exits from the table and muses over Gamamaru''s words. ''So, to gain Six Paths Sage Mode; I have to master all Nature Transformation and create a Kekkai Mora. Only then will I able to create my Truth Seeking balls and enter in Sage Mode.'' Izuna starts to ponder over ''Six Paths Sage Mode''. ''Naruto exhausted everyst bit of chakra in his fight against Sasuke. Thus effectively losing all of Hagoromo''s chakra, but heter regained the ''Six Paths Sage Mode'' though he permanently lost the Truth-Seeking Balls. Maybe it has something to do with the chakra of all tailed beast. Hagoromo was a jinchuruki of Ten-tails and Naruto was a pseudo-jinchuruki. Do I have to steal chakra from every tailed-beast to enter ''Six Paths Sage Mode''? That''s a lot of work. I will try to figure out another way to enter the Sage Mode.'' Izuna stares at the ''Sin Seal'' and contemtes a little. ''Maybe who knows this nasty seal can help me. Though it is unreliable, it has saved my ass in some thorny situations. But I won''t leave everything to it, I will start the Nature Transformation training first.'' A whileter, Fukasaku enters the temple and bows in front of ''Great Toad Sage''. "Ojiji-sama! Is he the ''Child of Prophecy''? The ''Saviour of Mankind''." Fukasaku questions the Great Toad Sage. The Great Toad Sage shakes his head and replies, "No, he is not. He is more like the ''Guardian of the World'' then its protector." Fukasaku tilts his head in confusion and questions, "What''s the difference between them? Aren''t they the same?" Great Toad Sage shakes his head and replies, "No, there is a difference. The ''Saviour'' will protect the world from its dangers, whereas the ''Guardian'' will defend the world from otherworldly threats. It is no use talking about it now. You will understand in the future. Just keep in mind, maintain a friendly rtionship with the boy. Guide him to the correct path. You can leave now. I need to enter my meditation." Great Toad Sage dismisses Fukasaku. ''This grumpy old senile geezer. All he does is sleep. At least, give me a proper exnation'' Fukasakuins to himself and exits from the temple. He spots Izuna sitting on a boulder. Fukasaku hops towards Izuna. "Izuna-boy! I will help with your Nature transformation training. We toads have some ancient scrolls passed down as heritage. These scrolls existed way before the Rikudou Sennin." ''Oh! That seems intriguing.'' Izuna''s interest is piqued after listening about the origin of the Scrolls. Chapter 97: Origin Of Senjutsu Chapter 97: Origin Of Senjutsu ''This seems pretty intriguing.'' Izuna curiously looks at the stack of scrollsid in front of him. ''I always wondered how these bunch of toads gained wisdom and the power to wield Senjutsu. Chakra is a power exclusive to Otsutsukis. Hagoromo was born with Chakra because of Kaguya. Later he shared his chakra with the rest of beings through the use of Ninshu. Chakra became a privilege essible to all living beings on Shinobi World. But Senjutsu was present way before Chakra, since Gamamaru trained Hagoromo in Senjutsu. Now, here is the question. Howe these toads came to know about Senjutsu? Maybe these scrolls might answer my doubts.'' Izuna grabbed a scroll to read it. "This is" The writing of the Scroll surprises him. "These markings! They are simr to the one present in ''Grimoire of Sin''. Is it a coincidence of some kind?" Izuna turns towards Fukasaku and questions him, "Fukasaku-san, where did you get these scrolls? I have never seen this writing anywhere? They look so ancient and I can sense a vast amount of Nature energy in them." Fukasaku contemtes for a while before he replies, "Izuna-boy, these scrolls are a heritage of us Frogs. Many millennia ago, one of our ancestors saved the life of a certain ''Person''. The ''Person'' was seriously injured and was on the verge of death. At that time, there was no concept of Chakra or Senjutsu. The ancestor together with other animals nursed him back to health. It was that ''Person'' who taught us the concept of Senjutsu and trained our ancestors in Senjutsu together with other animals. He created Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and The Ryuuchi Cave. These cester turned into the ''Sage Regions'' of the Shinobi World. These scrolls were written by him to pass to his inheritor. Though I am still unaware of his possession which he passed down. Even Great Toad Sage doesn''t know much about this. There is no record of that person''s information in the remains of history. As far as I know, he fought against some otherworldly invaders and died in the battle. There are still some ruins of their battle spread throughout the Shinobi world, though the exact location of these ruins is unknown. This is the information passed down by our ancestors." Fukasaku exins to Izuna. ''Really, there was such a backstory. If I remember correctly, none of the Otsutsuki demonstrated ''Senjutsu'' in any battle. Well, their chakra is potent enough on its own. Like literally, they can reincarnate themselves through the use of ''Kma Seals''. Also, they convert the entire life energy and Nature energy of the into fruit and harvest it. So why do they even need Senjutsu? This can only mean one thing, Senjutsu is a power not inherited from the Otsutsuki n but its source is the same as this ''Sin Seal''. The person whom I fought against wasn''t an Otsutsuki, He utilized a power simr to this ''Sin Seal'' and he didn''t have any sort of Dojutsu. Now, if he is like Otsutsukis, then I highly doubt I killed him during our previous encounter. So who is he? Why was he after the ''Sin Seal''? And most of all, what is the origin of Senjutsu and Fuinjutsu?'' The gears in Izuna''s brain churned and various questions popped up in his mind. ''Let me see the content of this scroll first. Maybe they could answer some of my questions.'' Izuna opens the scroll and activates his Sharingan to decipher it. He looks at the scroll''s content again but couldn''t decipher it. ''I have to use my Mangekyo Sharingan to decipher it.'' He turns towards Fukasaku and informs him, "I will borrow these scrolls for a while. I think I will be able to decipher them." "You can do as you please, Izuna-boy. I will return. Maa would be waiting for me." Fukasaku hops away from the spot. Izuna teleports from his spot. He reappears at the top of the giant tree in Shikkotsu Forest. ''Let me try to decipher it now.'' He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and inspects the scroll again. ''WELP! I still can''t read it.'' The ''Sin Seal'' reacts again and forms strange markings around his right eye. The contents of the scroll reveal itself to him as some information pops out in his brain. ---------- Day 27, It has been a while since I got stranded in this dimension. There are various inferior creatures in this dimension. They can''t utilize any sort of energy, and their mortality rate is very high. A bunch of low-level animals saved me, and I feel thankful to them. Well, not really! But still, they saved my life. The fight with the Otsutsuki n members left me with many serious injuries. I have to open a Yomotsu Hirasaka to escape from the chase of Otsutsuki n members. But they were prepared. They even brought Karasuki and Hirasuki to chase me down. The Time and Space artifacts helped them chase me down to this dimension. It requires lots of energy to travel freely through dimensions, but thankfully our n techniques are oriented towards space-time and sealing. These Otsutsuki spent lots of their Chakra to travel through space and time. It will be awhile before they recover and search for me. I have to get help from natives of this dimension. Sigh again, these animals have very low intelligence. I should teach them one of my n''s techniques. Maybe these animals could gather their surrounding energy and attain some spiritual wisdom. I need help while dealing with those Otsutsukis, and even if it is a little, it will suffice. So, I trained them in Senjutsu Arts; the energy utilizing technique of our n. Otsutsukis are born with Chakra and thus they have a natural advantage against us, but their nefarious ways of gaining power didn''t sit well with us. Sigh I am caught in such a difficult situation." The writing on the scroll ends. Izuna rolls the scroll and contemtes. ''This scroll is nothing more than a diary. But it seems like I will get all of my answers in them. So, my hunch was correct. Somebody taught these toads, slugs, and other summons. And from the looks of it, he was chased down by Otsutsuki n members. Man! These Otsutsukis are present everywhere. I always wondered how Kaguya had enough time to create some ruins in the Shinobi world when she was busy with her ''Peaceful World Quest''. Looks like Otsutsuki visited Shinobi World earlier on an expedition to hunt this guy down. They even took the Time Artifact Karasuki with them.'' Izuna takes out a piece of strange metal in his hand. ''If my guess is correct, then this broken artifact of the Namikaze n is Hirasuki, as mentioned in this diary scroll. Maybe it broke during their final confrontation and duringter years Namikaze n chanced upon it. But to think, there are other races out there who are as equally powerful as Otsutsukis. Looks like I am born in an alternate or parallel Naruto World. I have to make preparations for this new danger too. There are other powerful beings out there with their sight on ''Shinobi World''. I need as many helping hands as possible. I have to talk with Tsunade regarding her Sage Mode training. She will be a great asset in the future. I have to pay a visit to the vige and check on Shisui and Itachi too. It has been a year since I left the vige. I only briefly return to the vige just to show my face to Mom. All this training had exhausted me mentally, I have to take a break and in the meantime convince Tsunade too.'' Izuna stows away the scroll and jumps down from the tree. He senses the chakra of Katsuyu and moves towards her. "Lady Katsuyu, I will fulfill my promise now. In a few more days, I will bring Tsunade to Shikkotsu Forest for Sage Mode Training." "Thank you so much, Izuna-kun. I will be able to keep the legacy of Kenshiro-sama alive this way. His n got annihted a few years ago, but thankfully I will be able to pass his legacy to Tsunade. Only if that girl Tsunade found a mate and birthed a child. Sigh" Katsuyu sighs and her optical tentacles twirls around. "Farewell, Lady Katsuyu." Izuna teleports away from Shikkotsu Forest. "If only you were a bit older, Izuna-kun. Then it would have worked out" Katsuyu sighs again and looks towards the temple. ------------------------ A/N:- Here is my take on this part. I won''t write the entire entry of diary scrolls in one chapter because I don''t want to collect enough hate in one chapter. We will build it up gradually and so I will write these diary entries throughout the story to make it more natural. Also,ment if you like this idea and want more of such Origin story. Chapter 98: Back to Konoha Chapter 98: Back to Konoha Izuna appears on top of the Hokage Monument. He looks around and inspects the vige. "The air is a bit chilly here. I can see the tension in the vige. I guess Uchihas'' dissatisfaction is apparent to the vigers. I will pay a visit to Mom and Dad and then I will talk with Tsunade. I will look upon Itachi and Shisui too, they would have progressed a lot this year." Izuna disappears from the Hokage''s monument and re-appear outside the Uchiha n. ------------- Inside the Hokage''s Office, Hiruzen stares at Hokage Monuments and murmurs, "Tobirama-sensei, it has been a while since Danzo disappeared from the vige. My suspicion is, he died in a battle; but I am not aware of the culprit. There are no clues or traces of Danzo anywhere. Even the Root Shinobis have no information on this matter. All of them were trapped in a powerful genjutsu. I suspect the culprit is the same person who attacked the vige during the Nine-tails incident. But Danzo had done plenty of dirty deeds and schemes, and I unknowingly supported him. I am not apetent leader. If only I could notice it earlier." Hiruzen sighs and looks at the report. "Recently, there have been increased reports andints from civilians regarding the mistreatment by Uchiha Police Force. The Uchiha Police Officers continue to harass civilians and shopkeepers. They even had some skirmishes with Anbu and caused some mutual damage." Hiruzen sighs and ces down the scroll. ----------------- In an underground hideout, Achoo Obito sneezes and looks around. ''It''s a bit chilly here.'' He stands up and walks towards ck Zetsu. "It''s time to start the next phase of our n. We failed to capture the Nine-tails in the previous attempt. Our strength is not enough to collect all the Nine-tailed beasts together. Konoha has various powerful shinobi. Obito looks at the pinned pictures of Hiruzen, Sakumo, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru, Fugaku, Minato, Kushina, Hiashi, and Izuna. There is a cross on Minato, Kushina, and Orochimaru''s pictures. "We can deal with the rest of them. Nagato''s Six Paths of Pain are sufficient for them, but our major concern lies with Izuna Uchiha." Obito stabs a Kunai in Izuna''s picture. "He is way too strong for us to handle. Even Nagato with his Rinnegan was struggling against this monster. He is a Genjutsu, Kenjutsu, Ninjutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and even Fuinjutsu Master. He doesn''t have any weakness. Maybe except for his family members." Obito contemtes on the matter. He turns towards ck Zetsu and speaks, "It is time for you to officially join the Akatsuki. We need to recruit more members for our n to seed. I will discuss our ns with Pain. I will infiltrate Hidden Mist Vige and will seek a way to gain control of the Fourth Mizukage. Their Mizukage is quite young, and he is a jinchuruki as well. We need resources to support Akatsuki and initiate the next step of our n. I will control Hidden Mist and gain funds for our operations." Obito swirls out of the hideout. ck Zetsu looks at the disappearing figure of Obito and thinks, ''Mother! I am one more step closer to your revival. All Chakra shall be reunited again and form the Chakra tree. That foolish Hagoromo distributed the Chakra to mankind and wasted it. But I will soon reunite it. Mother shall see this world once again. All Chakra shall return to its Original Owner.'' ck Zetsu enters the ground and moves out from the hideout. -------------- Izuna enters inside the Uchihapound and strolls in the market. He observes the passer-by and notices ack of Non-Uchiha citizens. ''The Uchihas are isting themselves. Even the Uchiha Police Force appears to be cold and distant. I suppose Fugaku is pressured by those Old geezers of the n. After Grand-uncle passed away, there is no one to keep them under tabs. It was their ambition paired with Danzo''s maniption, which leads to the downfall of the Uchiha n. I have dealt with Danzo, but these old senile geezers are still persistent. I don''t want to step in early to involve in the conflict as it is too much of a pain in the ass and the ambitions of these old geezers will only increase. But I won''t allow the mindless ughter of the n. If Obito touches my family, I will end him. I don''t care about the future. I am a selfish person and I don''t have any thoughts regarding other Uchiha n members, but my parents are my bottom line.'' He enters his house, and his mother greets him. "Izuna dear! It has been a while since youst showed up. Mother missed you a lot. You will be a big brother soon. Are you happy about it?" Izuna tilts his head and questioningly looked at Aiko, "Mother! But your womb?" He points towards Aiko''s stomach. "Oh! That! We followed Tsunade-san''s procedure, and your Aunt Fumiko agreed to be the adoptive mother of our child. She is two months pregnant now and soon you and Shisui will be a big brother." "Wow! That''s great. I can''t wait for my sibling to be born. I want a cute little sister." Izuna smiles in happiness. ''So, Tsunade seeded in the procedure. That''s a genius for you. I have to thank her for her hard work. I will gift the expensive honey wine from the Land of Honey to her. I got it during one of my Anbu missions and I preserved it in one of my scrolls.'' "Where is father?" Izuna looks around and notices the absence of Akira. "There is an important n meeting held in the Naka Shrine. Your father is attending the meeting. I am not sure of the issue, but it is regarding the attitude of higher-ups of the vige against the Uchiha n. This politics and all, I don''t want to be a part of it. I will cook your favorite dish tonight." Aiko enters the kitchen. "Guess I will check up on Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto. I haven''t seen their progress in a while." Izuna closes his eyes and enters Semi-Sage Mode. He senses the Chakra of Shisui and the rest of them. "There you are, Uchiha training ground 5. Big Brother will like to see your progress." Izuna walks out of his house and flickers towards the training ground. He reaches inside the training ground within seconds. Izuna hides his presence and eavesdrops on them. Shisui is training Naruto whereas Itachi is training Sasuke. "Naruto-kun! You haverge amounts of Chakra. I haven''t seen such amounts of chakra in any shinobi except for Big-brother Izuna. His chakra reserves are vast, but for some unknown reasons, big-brother was always low on chakra. Maybe he was working on another of his new techniques, which consumed an enormous amount of Chakra. Anyway, my point is you have terrible Chakra control because of yourrge reserves. I have taught you Shurikenjutsu, some simple wind jutsus, and basic taijutsu in this past year. Now, it is time to train your chakra control. If you have a good chakra control, you will be able to use several jutsu using the same amount of Chakra." Naruto tilts his head in confusion and questions Shisui, "Big-Brother Shisui, That''s quiteplicated. I don''t quite get it. I hateplicated stuff. Can you exin it in simple terms? Dattebyo!.." Shisui thinks for a while before he replies, "Naruto, consider your body as a bowl of ramen. Your Chakra is the broth of Ramen. Now your body has lots of broth I mean chakra in it, which means your bowl is bigger than the rest of people." "But isn''t it a good thing? I have arger bowl, then I will get to eat more Ramen. Dattebyo!" Naruto licks his tongue. "It is a good thing, but there is a catch to it. Naruto imagines if your ramen has lots of broth, but there are fewer noodles in your bowl. Will you like your ramen?" Shisui questions Naruto. "No I want more noodles in my ramen. Dattebyo!" Narutoins. "Exactly, that extra broth in your body I mean chakra is wasted. To fully enjoy the extra broth, you need extra noodles and toppings. Such is the case with you, to make use of that extra chakra and to not waste it, you need more noodles I mean more chakra control. Then, only will you be able to enjoy your ramen I mean you will efficiently use your chakra." Shisui holds his breath and stares at Naruto. "Do you understand, Naruto?" "Yes, I understand a little. Next time, I will ask Old Man Teuchi to add more noodles in my ramen." Naruto nods to Shisui. "Damn!" Shisui clutches his head. Haha Izuna chuckles and shakes his head, "This Naruto! He only cares about ramen. I have to step in. Shisui must be going insane in this past year. Standard training can''t teach Naruto, he requires specialized training. Let me take a look at Sasuke''s progress. He is smarter among the duo. I don''t think he would face any difficulty with the training." Izuna turns towards Sasuke and Itachi. Chapter 99: Spar Chapter 99: Spar Itachi is training Sasuke in Shurikenjutsu. There are a bunch of target ces around them. Itachi picks up a bunch of kunais and tosses them up in the air. He draws more kunais from his holster and throws them at the previous kunais. The kunais change their trajectory and hit the target. "Look at the movement of my hand and the trajectory of kunais. Once your observation skills are good enough, you can perform the same feat as me." Itachi reminds Sasuke. Sasuke looks at Itachi with disinterest. "Big-brother Itachi, can you perform the Shurikenjutsu technique used by Big Brother Izuna....you know what I mean, by just using one shuriken he directed the trajectory of all kunais. Can you do that Itachi nii-san?" Sasuke questions Itachi. Itachi hangs his head low in embarrassment and replies, "I still can''t do that. It requires very precise calctions, but I will be able to do it in a few more days." "Then you are no fun, Itachi nii-san. Teach me something else, which I don''t know." Sasuke turns his head away and walks towards Naruto. Itachi sighs and looks at Sasuke''s back. "I am not a good big brother. I can''t even train my little brother. What would big brother Izuna do in this case?" Izunaughs again as he clutches his stomach. ''This is way too hrious. The genius Itachi is struggling to teach his younger brother. At least, there is something out there which Itachi is not good at.'' He jumps from the tree and walks towards the group. Shisui and Itachi notice him. "Big brother Izuna, you are back? It has been a while since Ist saw you." Shisui walks in front of Izuna and curiously looks at him. "You must have trained away from the vige for a year while doing your mission. I want to see how strong I am in yourparison. Let''s have a spar Izuna nii-san." Shisui proposes a spar between them. "It''s a good idea, Shisui. I also want to see the progress of both you and Itachi." Izuna jumps back and takes a fighting stance. "Come at me, both of you. Shisui and Itachi, both of you join fight with me together." Naruto and Sasuke near a corner of the training ground and excitedly look at their fight. "Sasuke, who do you think will among them? Dattebyo!" Naruto questions Sasuke. "Is there even a need to ask? Even a retard could guess the result. Obviously, Izuna nii-san will win the spar. Even if he is fighting against Shisui and Itachi nii-san, Izuna nii-san is a lot stronger than both of them." Sasuke smugly folds his hands in front of his chest. "Oh! Is that so?... Hey! What do you mean by this? Do you want to say that I am a retard?" Naruto grabs the cor of Sasuke. "Do you want a beating, you knucklehead?" Sasuke clutches Naruto''s hand. "Oh! Yeah, you smartass. I will beat your ass." Naruto and Sasuke engage in a fight. Boom Their fight is interrupted by arge explosion. Both of them leave each other''s cors and look at the spar. Itachi made some hand signs and fired a ''Great Fireball Technique'' at Izuna. Izuna jumps and avoids the jutsu. Shisui makes some hand signs and shouts, "Wind Style: Vacuum bullet" The wind amplifies the fireball jutsu and creates a much bigger Fireball. Boom The fireball rams in Izuna. Dust and debris cover their vision. Shisui and Itachi take out their kunai and raises their guard. Various kunais and shurikens attack them. Both of them skilfully deflect all kunais and shurikens. "Behind you." Shisui warns Itachi. Itachi turns around and folds his hand to block a kick from Izuna. The impulse from the kick sends him flying away. ''Shadow body Flicker'' Shisui disappears, and multiple shadow clones surround Izuna. They start to constantly attack Izuna as Shisui shifts his position within the real clones and the afterimage clones. ''So, Shisui has mastered this technique. He has officially be ''Shisui of the Body Flicker.'' Izuna continue to block Shisui''s attack and praises him, "You havee a long way, Shisui. You have sessfully mastered this technique and even improved it to pair with shadow clones. Well done!" "Thank you, Izuna nii-san. Victory will be ours." "Oh! Don''t get too ahead of yourself. This is just warm-up for three of us." Izuna throws a shuriken at the various afterimages and clones and makes some hand signs. ''Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu'' Several shurikens appear in front of him and attack Shisui. All of his afterimages and clones disappear. The real Shisui blocks the shurikens with a kunai and appears in front of Izuna. Itachi also joins him, and both of them look at each other and nod. "Wow, so awesome. Izuna nii-san, Shisui nii-san, and Itachi nii-san are so awesome. Dattebyo!" Naruto ps his hand in astonishment. "They were just doing some warm-up. The actual fight hasn''t even started. None of them have even activated their Sharingan yet." Sasuke chides Naruto. "Oh! Is that so? I thought they were seriously fighting against each other." Naruto scratches his head in embarrassment. "That''s why you are a knucklehead." "What did you say? Mind repeating." Naruto angrily res at Sasuke. Sasuke turns towards Naruto and looks him in eyes, "Naruto, you are a big idiot!" "You have done it, Sasuke." Naruto punches towards Sasuke. Sasuke easily avoids the punch. Both of them engage in another round of their catfight. Itachi and Shisui seriously look at each other and nod. "It''s time to show our year''s worth of extensive training to Izuna nii-san." "Yes, Big brother Shisui. We have worked hard, it is time to test the results." ''Sharingan'' Both of them activate their Sharingan and close the gap between them. ''Oh! Itachi has a three tomoe Sharingan. He must have worked hard to master his Sharingan.'' Itachi and Shisui engage in a Taijutsu fight with Izuna. He blocks their kicks with his hands and returns the favor by kicking them away. Shisui and Itachi somersaults in the air and prevents their descent. Itachi makes some hand signs, ''Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu'' He fires off many small fireballs at Izuna. ''Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu'' Izuna creates a water dragon. The water dragon fires many water bullets at the fireballs and cancels them. Itachi jumps and avoids the water bullets. ''Oh! It''s a distraction. So, where is Shisui?'' Shisui pops out of Izuna''s shadow and tries to stab him. ''Shadow Assassination'' "Nice try! But I was a former Anbu Captain. So, I am still your senior." Izuna kicks Shisui away. "You can''t use Anbu techniques against an Anbu." "Got you," Shisui smirks and disappears in a puff of smoke. Boom Arge explosion engulfs Izuna. Shisui appears beside Itachi and stares at the explosion. "Get ready to engage. It can''t be over this easily." Izuna appears unscathed from the explosion. Earth wall crumbles around him while he is holding a stack of paper bombs in his hand. Izuna''s left hand is coated in lightning chakra which nullifies the explosive chakra of paper bombs. He throws away the paper bomb and looks at them. "Come on! Is this the best you can do? I have trained both of you in many jutsu and techniques, use them against me. If it is the extent of your growth, then I am disappointed." Izuna disappears from their vision and reappears in front of them. He punches both of them in the gut. "Finally, we caught you in our trap." Two of them smirks at Izuna. Shisui''s body turns into lightning and binds Izuna. Itachi turns into many crows and flies away. The real Itachi and Shisui appear from the ground and cautiously look at Izuna. There is a sealing form below Izuna that roots him to the spot. The lightning binds him with the sealing form. "We haveid this trap while fighting you. It was very difficult to pull off. But we sessfully pulled it off How is it? That''s our co-operation, Ninjutsu. It is still a work in progress." Shisui looks at Izuna in anticipation. "Not bad! You got me. It is indeed an excellent technique. But there are many ws to it. And I think you have forgotten one crucial factor. Let me remind you, I am a Sealing Grandmaster. Such messy sealing form won''t be able to hold me." Izuna riles up his chakra and the sealing form crumbles. ------ A figure appears behind Naruto and Sasuke and pulls their ear. Aww Aww Both of them shriek in pain and look at the intruder. They are stunned to see the intruder and stutter. After stuttering for a while, only a single phrase escape from their mouth. "How?" Chapter 100: A Chat with Tsunade Chapter 100: A Chat with Tsunade Izuna pulled their ear. Both of them yell loudly. Aww Aww. "It hurts, Izuna nii-san." Naruto rubbed his ear and excitedly looked at Izuna. "How are you here, nii-san? He points at another Izuna sparring with Shisui and Itachi. "He is?" Sasuke tilts his head in confusion. "He is a shadow clone. All this time, they were fighting against my shadow clone all along." Sasuke looks at Izuna with wide eyes. "Wow, Izuna nii-san. You are so strong." Izuna sits with them and watches the one-sided beating of Shisui and Itachi. After a while, both of them give up. The Shadow clone dispels itself which shocks Shisui and Itachi. They stare at the empty space for a while. Izuna appears in front of them. "Both of you require a lot of training. I will stay here for a while, I will re-train you guys." Shisui and Itachi shakes their head and gets up. Izuna uses medical Ninjutsu to heal their wounds and bruises. He uses Nature energy to rejuvenate their body. "Let''s go to Yakiniku Barbeque Restaurant. It''s my treat." Izuna leads them to Yakiniku Restaurant. "Yay! I will eat lots of meat. Dattebyo!" Naruto jumps in excitement. ----- Inside the restaurant, Izuna, Shisui, Itachi, Naruto, and Sasuke grabs a corner and seat there. All of them orders lots of meat. Izuna grills his meat as he stares at Shisui and Itachi. "That earlier technique, have both of you joined the Anbu?" Izuna puts many silencing seals around the ce as he converses with them. Both of nods and Itachi replies, "Yes, Izuna nii-san. After bing a chunnin, Hokage-sama suggested me to join the Anbu. He wanted to fulfill the gap left by you with a talented individual. So, he chose me and Shisui-nii san. We are a part of your former Team Ro." "So, Hokage-sama told you about my retirement from Anbu. I have no qualms with that. Listen well, Anbu is a ce of Darkness. Don''t get lost in the darkness and stray away from the light. Izuna advises them. They continue to eat their food. Naruto and Sasuke start another fight. Naruto ate the best piece of meat from Sasuke''s grill. "I was saving the best for thest, you knucklehead." Sasuke angrily res at Naruto. "Oh! I thought you were full. So, I ate it. It''s not a big issue. Here, you can have mine." Naruto offers half-grilled meat to Sasuke. "Damn it, Naruto! Don''t test my patience." Sasuke''s angrily snaps at Naruto. Izuna pulls their ear and silences them. Aww Aww... "Both of you stop fighting with each other. I have seen your training. You have done quite a good job" Naruto and Sasuke smile at these words. " to make Shisui and Itachi''s life miserable. Starting tomorrow onwards, I will personally train both of you for a while." Naruto and Sasuke hang down their head but after a while, they cheer in excitation. "Don''t be happy so early. You will beg me to stop tomorrow." Izuna smiles wickedly. "Sasuke! I have a bad feeling about this." Naruto pulls Sasuke''s sleeve. "Me too, Naruto." Sasuke gulps his saliva. Izuna talks with Itachi and Shisui for a while. He advises them on some matters rted to Anbu missions. Izuna pays the bill and drags a sleeping Naruto on his shoulders. "You three-move ahead without me. I will drop Naruto at his ce. Also, I have some other matters to handle." "Ok, Izuna nii-san." Shisui nods to him. "See you tomorrow, Izuna nii-san." Sasuke waves his hand. Izuna carries Naruto towards the Senjupounds. He enters and knocks on the door. Shizune walks out of the house and greets him. "It has been a while, Izuna." "Yes, it has been a while." Izuna hands over Naruto to Shizune. "He is fast asleep right now. Lay him on the bed." Shizune ces Naruto on the bed and return to Izuna. "Where is Tsunade-san?" "Tsunade-sama is attending to patients in the Konoha hospital. You will find her in her office." Shizune replies to him. "Thank you, Shizune." Izuna teleports inside Tsunade''s office. ----------- Inside the Konoha Hospital, Tsunade held a report in her hand while inspecting it. "The procedure was sessful. I have collected lots of data from it. I think I can further improve this technique. But before that, I have to gather more data and it will onlyplete after the birth of the child." Suddenly wind flutters her cloth, and Izuna appears out of nowhere. All the papers on the table flies around and Tsunade''s anger rises. "Yo! Did you miss me?" "You bastard!" Instead of a hug, a punch greets him. Tsunade punches him and Izuna takes it like a man. He is sent flying out of the ceiling. Izuna stands up and walks towards Tsunade. "You are a brute, Tsunade. This is part of the reason you will turn into an old hag in few more years." "What did you say? Mind repeating it." Tsunade has a tick mark on her forehead and she clenches her fist tightly. "Ok! Ok! My bad. I shouldn''t have startled you." Izuna raises his hands and gives up. Tsunade points at the mess of paper all around. She angrily res at Izuna. "Put them all back together on the table." "Yes! Mam." Izuna picks up the papers and arranges them on the table. He sits in front of Tsunade and stares at her. "It has been a while since west met and this is how you greet me. It is quite rude of you, Tsunade." Haah. Tsunade sighs and hands over the paper in her hand to Izuna. "I have been working on this technique. It is for your family, kid. You requested me to find a solution." Izuna grabs the paper and reads its content. There is detailed information on Surrogacy and In-Vitro Fertilization. "You did a superb job, Tsunade. I am thankful for your help. It brought happiness to my parents." Izuna bows his head to Tsunade. "It will be quite good kid if you can buy me a drink or two. I am broke again." Tsunade sighs again. "Oh! I have a present for you, Tsunade." Izuna pulls out the honey wine. "It is the limited Honey Wine from Land of Honey. It is quite expensive and you need a fortune to afford it." He ces the wine on the table. Tsunade hungrily looks at the wine and gulps her saliva. "You are aware of my tastes. I might marry you if you take such good care of me." Tsunade jokes. "Then let''s go on a date. We will have a taste of this delicacy while enjoying our date." Izuna bows in a gentleman and proposes to Tsunade. Tsunade chuckles and grabs his hand. "Hold tightly. We are about to teleport." Izuna pulls Tsunade in her embrace and teleports from the ce. ----------- Whoosh whizz They appear inside a wooden cottage. Tsunade leaves his embrace and inspects the cottage. "This feeling, this refreshing chakra. I have felt it somewhere before." Tsunade dashes towards the door and looks around. A vast expanse of trees appears in her vision. We are inside the Shikkotsu Forest. I knew this feeling." Tsunade turns around and stares at Izuna, "Mind exining!" "It is nothingplicated. It is like this." Izuna exins his journey to Tsunade. "So, you are already a Sage. You have quite a talent, kid! Also, don''t tell me we are on the top of the Giant tree of Shikkotsu Forest." Izuna nods his head. "I trained here and slept in this cottage. It has a scenic view of it." Izuna pulls out a table and chairs from the cottage and ces them on the branch. "Let''s continue our date. I have something important to talk about. I hope you will listen to my request." Both of them sit on the table. Izuna pulls out two wine sses from his storage space and fills them with wine. "Let''s enjoy this wine while basking in this beautiful moonlight. Cheers!" Izuna sips his wine slowly as he talks with Tsunade. After talking about some pointless things for a while, hees to the real matter. "Tsunade, I want you to learn Sage Mode. You have the title of Sannin. It''s time for you to be a real sage." Tsunade puts down her ss and stares at the moon. "I don''t want to. You are already a Sage, with you and Jiraiya around; I doubt anybody will be able to harm our vige. There is no need for me to learn Sage Mode." Haah Izuna sighs. He stares at Tsunade. ''Why is she so stubborn?'' "Tsunade, I have some matters to disclose to you. I fought against an enemy with the eyes of Sage of Six Paths. He is very powerful and can easily destroy our vige. I want to make sure our vige remains safe, in case I am out of the vige." Izuna tries to convince Tsunade. Tsunade refuses to budge as she calmly drinks her wine. ''I am left with no choice. I have to mix some lies with the truth.'' Izuna grabs Tsunade''s hand, which startles her. "Izuna, no matter what? I won''t train in Sage Mode. It was only because of you that I persisted this long in a vige otherwise I would have already left the vige." Izuna ces his hand on Tsunade''s mouth and ces a silencing seal. Tsunade angrily res at him. "You can get angry all you want. But first, listen to me. Our world is in danger Yes, not just Konoha but the entire Shinobi World." --------------- A/N:- I installed a new Ssd in myptop and cloned my hdd to it. Now the windows keeps crashing. It won''t boot normally, so I might not be able to post a chapter tomorrow. This chapter is from drafts. If I won''t post tomorrow expect two or even three chapters on Sunday. Chapter 101: Set in Motion Chapter 101: Set in Motion Tsunade calms down and stares at Izuna. "Exin!" "Then, Listen. Tsuande, you must be aware of the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku" Tsunade nods her head. "He divined a prophecy for Jiraiya, a few years ago." "Exactly, he summoned me to his abode and divined a prophecy for me. Many powerful otherworldly invaders will attack the Shinobi world. He also prophesied about the Fourth Shinobi War. I am not sure of the exact time, but there will be a brutal war in the future. So, in order to prepare for the future, I want you to grow stronger. I don''t want any friends and family to lose their lives in the war. Tsunade you are one of the few people close to me, I don''t want you to get hurt. That''s why Tsunade you should train in Sage Mode. Your Creation Rebirth Seal is imperfect. With the help of Sage Mode, you will be able to perfect it and avoid the side-effect." Tsunade closes her eyes as memories of previous wars shed in her mind. The image of Dan and Nawaki appeared in her mind, which ovepped with that of Izuna. Tsunade clenched her fist and resolutely stood up. "Fine, I will start my training in Sage Mode." Izuna wraps his hand around Tsunade and teleports from the treetop. He appears in front of Katsuyu. "Lady Katsuyu, I have convinced Tsunade. She will start her training from tomorrow onwards." Katsuyu nods her optical tentacles. "Thank you, Izuna-kun." "Ok! Then Farewell." Izuna ces his hand on Tsunade''s shoulder and prepares to teleport to Konoha. "I will reverse summon myself tomorrow," Tsunade informs Katsuyu before teleporting away. Katsuyu looks at Izuna and Tsunade''s pair. "They would make a perfect couple if only Tsunade was a little younger." Katsuyu sighs and enters inside her cave. ---------- For the next few days, Izuna trains both Sasuke and Naruto. Shisui and Itachi are out on an Anbu mission in Land of Woods. Hiruzen orders them to seek an alliance with the ''Prajna Group'' an Anbu group of Land of Woods. Izuna stares at Sasuke and Naruto, who are hanging upside down on a tree. He is training their chakra control. Izuna has tied their hands and legs. They have to maintain their position without falling. ''Things are progressing way too faster. Since I have dealt with Danzo, there won''t be any violent massacre but the ambition of those old geezers of n. Sigh.'' Izuna remembers his previous n meeting where he tried to talk the elders of Uchiha n down. ''If they don''t want to co-operate, then I can only let Shisui put them into a genjutsu and manipte them.'' Izuna sighs and continues to provide tips to Naruto and Sasuke. Both of them continue to fall and climb back again. ----------- Inside the private room besides Hokage''s office, Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura sat around a table and discuss important matters. "It has been a year since Danzo went missing. We assume that he is dead. Whoever did it, he did a clean job." Homura sighs andments at Danzo''s loss. "But to think, Danzo had such dealings. He was involved in most of the schemes and plots against the vige. We have been raising a serpent all along. His hunger for power was too intense." Koharu sighs and rests against the chair. "Our era is over. It is time to pass our responsibilities to the next generation. What do you think about it?..." Hiruzen picks up his pipe and smokes. "There is no suitable candidate for Hokage''s position. However, I would like to make Sakumo Hatake as the new vige elder. He will rece Danzo''s position in the elder council. What are your thoughts on this matter?" Hiruzen continues. Koharu and Homura contemte before nodding in affirmation. "We agree with your decision. Let us hold a council meeting tomorrow and dere it." Hiruzen takes a deep puff from his pipe and ces it on the table. He takes out a report and presents it to them. "Now, let''s talk about serious matter. The elders of the Uchiha n are nning something. Whatever it is, it is not favorable for the vige" Homura picks up the report and reads it. "We have no valid proof against them. We can''t take any action recklessly. We need to increase surveince of the Uchiha n." He suggests. "Yes, I will deploy another Anbu team to monitor them. Danzo''s schemes have caused quite a problem for us. If we fail to deal with the situation effectively, then it may spell another Ninja war. Konoha isn''t ready for another war. The previous war and the nine-tails incident had exhausted our vige." Hiruzen sighs again. "I will think of a solution to this matter and inform youter. We can''t allow another major incident in the vige." Hiruzen stands up and walks towards his office. Koharu and Homura depart shortly. ---------- A month passed in the blink of an eye. Izuna regrly visits Aunt Fumiko to check on her. Aunt Fumiko is in the fourth month of her pregnancy. It will be awhile before the baby will be born. Izuna regrly reports to Tsunade, who is training Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest. Her progress is rtively slowpared to Izuna. She has to use the ''Slug oil'' to aid in the absorption of Nature energy. Despite her efforts, she is still stuck at the first step of Sage Mode. It will take her a while to sense Nature energy effortlessly. Izuna teleports back to the vige. He stands on top of the Hokage Monument and stares at the vige. "Time to bid farewell. I will train for another four months and I will return before the birth of my sibling. Mount Myoboku is still the ideal ce to train in Nature transformations. I have progressed a lot in the Kekkai Tota release. Beside Dust Release and Power release, I will be able to use another kekkai Tota soon. An icy blue me appears in his hand. The me flickers for a while before it extinguishespletely. "Thisbination of Fire Release and Ice Release is still unstable. I have to figure out the correct chakra ratio and conditions to stabilize it. For now, I will name it as Arctic release. Yes, Arctic release seems suitable." Izuna clenches his fist and teleports from the vige. He reappears inside Mount Myoboku. Fukasaku hops towards him and greets him. "You are back, Izuna-boy. Will you continue your Nature transformation training? You are quite close to attaining another Kekkai Tota. I will help with your training." Fukasaku ps his hands and enters Sage Mode. "Izuna-boy! I will able to sense changes in your chakra more easily this way. Now start your training." Izuna activates his Sharingan to observe the ratio of chakra. He infused Fire release from one hand and Ice release from another. Blue mes forms in between his hands. Izuna infuses more chakra into the jutsu to make it bigger. This surge of chakra destabilized the jutsu, and it exploded on him. Boom... One of his hand froze, and another got charred. He quickly healed his hand and started again. Boom "Again" Boom "Again" The training continues for another month. Izuna continues to practice the Arctic Release. Many people spent their entire life to figure out a Nature transformation. The Second Tsuchikage developed the ''Dust Release'' and passed it on to ''Third Tsuchikage''. It was his greatest achievement. ---------- Inside the Anbu headquarters, Hiruzen summons Shisui and Itachi. Both of them flickers before him and bow to him. They await further orders from Hiruzen. Hiruzen turns towards them and speaks, "Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha. Both of you are an excellent member of Anbu. Your achievements in this past year marveled me. Your capabilities only lie short to Izuna Uchiha." Hiruzen looks towards Shisui and nods. "Your grandfather Kagami Uchiha was a close-aide of Second Hokage Tobirama Senju. He was my senior and a close friend. You have grown quite well, and I hope you follow Kagami''s example. The Will of Fire burns brighter within both of you. I don''t want the vige to engulf in chaos and mes of hatred." Itachi hesitates for a while before he speaks, "Hokage-sama! I have something to report to you." Hiruzen stares at Itachi and nods his head. "Proceed." "Hokage-sama! Fugaku Uchiha, the current leader of the Uchiha n, and my father ordered me to join Anbu to seek information on the elder council. This way, I am acting as a spy for the n." Hiruzen sighs and rubs his forehead. "I can understand your sentiments. You are part of a n, after all. But remember this, you are also a Konoha citizen. This entire vige is your family. You can''t harm them for the sake of your close rtives. However, I am d that you informed me about this. I will issue a mission to you now. From today onwards, you will act as a spy for me and monitor the Uchiha n. You will be a double agent this way." "Yes, Hokage-sama. I understand. I won''t disappoint you." Itachi bows his head. "Hokage-sama! Shall I consult with Izuna nii-san? He was the former anbu captain. Maybe, he could find a peaceful solution." Hiruzen sighs and reminds Shisui. "Izuna Uchiha is the genius of the Uchiha n, but he isn''t the son of n Leader. He is a disposable piece to elders. Izuna also understands this. Sometimes, power isn''t the only way to govern people. Power and politics go hand by hand. Izuna Uchiha has power, but he has no political say. Or to be precise, he isn''t interested in anything except training. This S-rank mission is just a disguise for him to train. It would be better if he isn''t involved in this. If he turned against the vige, then Konoha will suffer quite a loss. I want to settle the matter peacefully. You two, keep updating me on thetest intel." "Yes, Hokage-sama!" Both of them nods and flickers out from the headquarter. Hiruzen sighs and stares at the moon. ''Things have turned quiteplicated. I hope it will end peacefully.'' ---------------------- A/N:- I randomly came up with Artic Release. If anyone has a better suggestion,ment it down below. I will change the name if I liked it. Chapter 102: Coup d’état Chapter 102: Coup dtat A/N:- We finally did it. Here is the 100th chapter. Sadly, I have an exam tomorrow. So, I won''t be able to post tomorrow. I have to prepare for the exam ;( ------------------ Inside a secret chamber of Naka Shrine, Many Uchiha n elders sit on around a table discussing their ns. "Asahi, everything is ready, right?" One of the n elders questions a nearby Uchiha n member. The n member bows before the elder and reports, "Yes, Eijiro-sama. We have secretly secured lots of kunais and shurikens from the Land of Hot Water. The preparations are ready, we just need orders from you." Eijiro nods to him and turns towards Fugaku. "Fugaku, how are the preparations on your end? If we want to gain control of the vige, then we need to deal with Hokage and his Anbu guards. Have you gathered the necessary intel regarding this matter? We have to finish him in a single blow or else things will blow out of proportion. If it alerts other ns, then we would have to face against abined assault of many other ns?" Fugaku looks at the group of n elders. ''So, things have turned out this way. Father died because of his sickness, and I became the next n head. But these n elders manipted various members of the n to gain power and control. I don''t even have a say in this matter. It took me a while to realize their ambition. It''s toote now, I can only y along with them. I hope Uchiha n won''t suffer much in this conflict.'' Fugaku nods towards the group of n elders and informs them, "My elder son, Itachi Uchiha, joined Anbu a year ago. He had collected the necessary intel during this time. All the Anbu''s patrol duty, team formations, members, and all such. I will call him to provide the information." Fugaku whispers something to a nearby jounin. The jounin walks out of the meeting room andes with Itachi in tow. "Itachi, present the intel to n elders." Itachi bows and greets the n elders. He forks out a scroll from his pocket and passes it to Eijiro. "This is the intel I have collected this past year. There is detailed information about Anbu members, their patrol duties, and even their jutsus. I have inspected everyst detail." Eijiro skims through the scroll and rolls it and passes it to another elder. "You have quite a talented son, Fugaku. He had grown in an excellent young man. His wits and intelligence remind me of your father, Fukashi Uchiha. He was such a great man, but hecked ambition. Otherwise, we wouldn''t have fallen in such a state. Let''s show the power of the Uchiha n to these old fools of Konoha." Eijiro clenches his fist. "For the n." "Yes, for the n." The rest of the n elders follow his lead. ''So, he is the perpetrator of this incident.'' Itachi silently stares at Eijiro. ''I have to report this to Hokage-sama. The n is on the verge of Coup d''tat. If this continues then civil war will erupt in Konoha. I can''t allow Sasuke to suffer in the misery of civil war. I have to stop them.'' Itachi silently retreats. The discussion continues. Eijiro gathers all the members of the Uchiha police force and addresses them. "My Uchiha n members, the vige, had discriminated against us. The Second Hokage Tobirama Senju hated us. He isted us to the boundaries of the vige. We bear with it. We whole-heartedly served the vige, kept the prisoners of Konoha in check. We secured the vige as Police Force, but what did we get in return?" Eijiro clenches his fist and ms it on the table. "HATRED AND SUSPICION. The vigers fear us for our prowess. They med the Nine-tails incident on our n. Forced us to move to the outer boundaries of the vige. Not only this, they even left their loyal dog on our tail. Many of you must have noticed the dogs of the vige sniffing around our n. They forced us in a corner, we must retaliate and restore the former glory of Uchiha n." Eijiro raises his hand passionately. "Yes, for the n." All the Uchiha Police force members yell in unison. "For the n" "For the n" Fugaku looks at the members of the Uchiha Police Force with a conflicted gaze. ''They are a herd of sheep and Eijiro is their Shepherd. It is toote to knock sense into them. Before I could gain the support of the n members after assuming the position of n head, Ejiro had already swayed their opinion. I am a n head only in name. Father, only if you were alive; then things wouldn''t have yed out like this.'' Fugaku sighs and turns towards Eijiro. "n elder Eijiro, how long would it take to prepare for thest confrontation." "Soon, it will happen soon. We will set in a week or two. I will inform youter. For now, we will discuss the intel and devise a strategy to effectively deal with Hokage." The discussion continues as the n elders plots a n. ------------ Inside the Hokage office, Itachi bows before Hiruzen as he reports. "I have thetest intel of my spy mission. I would like to inform you of this matter." Hiruzen nods and waves his hand to dismiss the Anbu guards. ----------- Later, inside the private room beside Hokage''s office. Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura sit around a table as they listen to the report of Itachi. "If they are going to start a revolution and usurp our power, we have no choice but to judge the Uchiha as traitors of the leaf!..." Koharu concludes. "Don''t rush to such a decision." Hiruzen interrupts her. "We must take measures to avoid the mayhem." Homura agrees with Koharu. "Even if we want to stop the revolution of Uchiha, taking on the Uchiha will be no simple task. There''s got to be some sort of strategy we can use!" "We should join forces with other ns andunch a surprise attack on Uchiha from behind. It will be over in no time." Koharu presents her opinion. "I want to settle it with words before force." Hiruzen towards Itachi and orders. "Itachi, buy me some time, however little it maybe." "Yes, Hokage-sama." Itachi nods and disappears from his spot. ----------- Later inside Anbu Headquarters, Shisui and Itachi bows before Hiruzen as Itachi reports to Hiruzen. "Hokage-sama! The Uchiha will start their revolution from next week. We have six days to stop this coup." Hiruzen sighs and rubs his forehead. "I can''t allow the vige to fall this easily. It''s a failure on my part. If the coup starts, it will embroil the vige in a civil war. Our forces will weaken considerably, and other nations won''t sit idly. They will use this opportunity to wage war on Konoha. Konoha is the strongest Hidden vige with the most resources. If the coup happens, the Fourth Shinobi War will be around the corner. But this time, it will be all Nations against the Land of Fire. I don''t want such an ending." Itachi continues his report. Hokage-sama, the Uchiha n elder Eijiro, is the perpetrator behind the coup. If we can deal with him, then we can stop the coup." "Hmm that might be a possibility. But I am sure you are aware of the consequences of this decision." Itachi nods and continues. "It won''t be enough to quell the hatred build up among the Uchiha n members. It will only fan the mes and will inevitably lead to a coup. Thus, we are only postponing the inevitable." Shisui quietly listens to their conversation as he is stuck in a dilemma. ''Should I tell them about the abilities of my Mangekyo Sharingan?... Izuna nii-san warned me to not disclose them. He said, "The power of your Sharingan is way too great. It can lead to the greed of power-hungry people who will try to hunt you down to gain your eyes. So, don''t disclose your eyes to anyone under any circumstances." But I have to think of a solution to prevent the downfall of Uchiha n.'' Shisui continues to ponder over the matter. After pondering for a while, he concludes. ''For the sake of my family, my friends, and my n. I have to do it.'' He turns towards Hiruzen and speaks, "Hokage-sama! I have a solution to our problem." "Huh!" Hiruzen is startled by Shisui''s words. He questionably stares at Shisui. "Exin!" Shisui activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and reveals them to Hiruzen and Itachi. Hiruzen is surprised to see the Mangekyo Sharingan. "Mangekyo Sharingan, the forbidden power of the Uchiha n." Image of Madara Uchiha pops in Hiruzen''s mind and his spine shivers. "The ability of my Mangekyo Sharingan allows me to control a person without their discretion. I will use this ability on Eijiro and manipte him to quell the revolution. This way, the Uchiha''s coup will be repelled. Then slowly, by manipting Eijiro the hatred of Uchiha n members will be quenched." "Hmm" Hiruzen ponders for a while. "It seems to be a quite feasible option. Then, Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha. I will issue this SS-Rank mission to both of you. Infiltrate the residence of Eijiro Uchiha and manipte him to repel the rebellion of the Uchiha n. The survival of the vige depends on this mission. Failure isn''t an option." "Yes, Hokage-sama." Shisui and Itachi bows to Hiruzen and flickers out. ''I hope things will y out as nned. I don''t want a repeat of the First Hokage''s incident.'' Hiruzen sighs and looks towards the blood-red moon. Chapter 103: Attack on Uchiha Part-1 Chapter 103: Attack on Uchiha Part-1 Outside Konoha, A cloaked figure stares at the Sensing Barrier around Konoha. ''It''s time to get back everything.'' The cloaked figure turns around and stares at a group of cloaked figures. The group wear long, ck cloaks with red clouds, a red interior and a chin-high cor. They wore various shades of nail polish on their finger and toe-nails. There are a total of four members in the group. Each with a distinctive feature on their robe. All of them wear a wear conical straw hat with small ornamental torques and tassels hanging down their faces. One member of Akatsuki walks towards the cloaked figure. "We will help you with your chore but in return we want Nine-tails. That''s the order from our leader. Then we will walk separate ways." The Akatsuki member tilts his hat and stares at the cloaked figure. "I will keep my end of the bargain, but first you need to fulfil your part." The cloaked figure speaks in a hoarse voice. "Very well then, keep this in mind. We can easily track you down and obliterate you from existence if you failed on your end of the deal." The Akatsuki member warns the cloaked figure. "Hmph you are a band of mercenaries. I will keep my promise. There is no need to banter about it." The cloaked figure snorts. "Good. Then let''s move to our task." The group walks towards the Konoha. The cloaked figure stops the Akatsuki members from entering the vige. "There is a ''Sensing Barrier'' around the vige. It will easily detect the presence of the intruder. But don''t worry, I know the key form, it will be a simple task to bypass the barrier." The cloaked figure approaches the barrier and makes some hand signs. He ms his hand on the barrier. A fuinjutsu form appears below his hand and covers a small part of the barrier. A door-sized opening forms in the barrier. The cloaked figure enters inside the vige together with the members of Akatsuki. The cloaked figure points in the direction of the Uchiha n. "Our aim is to ughter the members of the Uchiha n. Don''t destroy their eyes, the eyes are valuable." The cloaked figure reminds them. "Now then, let the massacre begin." Heughs maniacally and dashes in a certain direction. -------------- Itachi and Shisui infiltrate the residence of Eijiro Uchiha. They sneakily enter inside his room and wait for him to appear. "Do you think this n will work?" Itachi questions Shisui. "It should. My Mangekyo Sharingan cast a very powerful genjutsu Kotoamatsukami, which allows me to manipte the thoughts of a person without his awareness. Big brother Izuna helped me train my Mangekyo Sharingan and I can even use the Susanoo, the most prized technique of our Uchiha n." Itachi nods to Shisui and mutters to himself, ''Sasuke, I won''t allow anybody to ruin your childhood.'' Both of them hid inside the room and wait for the elder to appear. --------------- Eijiro Uchiha leisurely enters inside the bathhouse of his mansion. He pours a cup of Sake and smells the fragrance of sake before gulping in in one go. "My useless, idiotic son, I am doing it for his sake. That Fukashi, he snatched the position of n head from me and got promoted as the n Head. He smashed my dream to be the n head into a pulp. I could only leave my ambition to my son. But this idiot wastrel, he wasted his life on alcohol and gambling. Fukashi used this opportunity to instate his son Fugaku as the new n head." Eijiro smashes the cup into a nearby stone. He fills up another cup and gulps it down. Haha "I have to celebrate on this asion. That Fukashi, he would have never thought, his old illness would re up and im his life. How could I miss this golden opportunity? I swayed the opinion of other n elders in my favour with some profits. Now, Fugaku is a n head only in name. The actual power lies in my hand. But what I want the official position of n head and gain control of the entire n." Eijiroughs hysterically. "No! soon it will be the entire vige. I will be the new Hokage of the vige." Haha. "If only my wastrel son was a littlepetent. Thankfully, my grandson is smart like me. He is a genin now and will soon be a genin." A smile blooms on his face as the picture of a twelve-year-old kid appears in his mind. "But that son of Fugaku, I never expected him to be this talented. To be able to join Anbu at the age of eleven, that kid is a genius among genius. Sigh There is also the matter of Izuna Uchiha, the most talented genius of the Uchiha n." Eijiro smirks. "He is nothing but a dog of the Uchiha n. He has no political backing or background. He only has a distant rtion with Fugaku''s family. I will use him to fight against the vige, and the other ns will dispose of him. This way, I will kill two birds with one stone. The position of Hokage will soon be in my grasp." Eijiro fantasizes his future days as Hokage. ------------------ At the Uchiha n square, the members of Akatsuki discuss among themselves. "Who shall we start with?" A hunchbacked man questions his group members. "Kakuzu, you are the leader of this mission. You shall decide on this matter." Another memberments. "There is no money involved in this mission. I hate such kind of missions. But it is the order from our leader, so we have to fulfil it." Kakuzu removes his hat and the Akatsuki cloak. He removes his cloak to reveal a rag-doll body. There are multiple stitches everywhere in his body. Hundreds of thick, grey-tendrils hold his body together. There are four masks sewed on his back. "Let''s start with the older fellows. They are more troublesome to deal with. The youngster these days are ipetent and can''t hold a candle against the old fellows." Kakuzu jumps towards the biggest house and vanishes. "This old bastard Kakuzu. There is always money on his mind. He is even attacking the biggest house to rob the money." Sasori snorts at Kakuzu. "Sasori, who do you will start with?" His partner licks his de as he curiously looks at Sasori. "I will also start with the old fellows. I don''t want additional trouble during the mission." Sasori crawls towards another house. "Hehe I will start with young children. I like their cute little screams." The Akatsuki member licks his de and rushes towards another house. The remaining Akatsuki members shake his head and barge in a nearby house. "This bunch of maniacs. Looks like I am the only sane person in this band." Thus, the ughter starts. ---------- Inside Eijiro''s mansion, Itachi and Shisui patiently wait for the elder to appear. Kyaah They hear a scream from the bathhouse. Itachi and Shisui immediately dash in the scream''s direction. They enter inside the bathhouse and notice the dead body of Eijiro and a servant girl. Shisui and Itachi activate their Sharingan and inspect the body. "Both of them are killed in a single blow." Itachi approaches the dead body. "Their hearts their hearts and eyes are missing." He flips their body and inspects them. "Someone has attacked and killed the n elder. The killer hasn''t gone far enough. Itachi, go and investigate the mansion. I will chase after the killer. The killer is quite vicious, I will stop him." Shisui follows the traces of the killer and dashes out of the bathhouse. Itachiys the body of the dead and investigates the house. Hees across a broken safe in one of the room. Itachi inspects the safe. "All the money and valuables are gone. What is the motive of the killer? Was he after the money, then did the killer steal their eyes and hearts?" Shisui follows the trail and enters inside another mansion. He notices a simr scene in this mansion, too. The eyes and hearts of all the inhabitants of the house are ripped apart from their body and the safe of the house is looted. "Damn! I am slower by a step. This killer is quite skilled. He must be an S-ranked shinobi. But this brutal way of killing, there is a record of such case in Anbu records." Shisui continues to chase after the killer as he recalls the records of the Anbu. He enters another house to see a simr carnage. "I remembered it now. This method of inhumane killing, it is Kakuzu of Hidden Waterfall Vige. The rogue shinobi who fought and survived against the First Hokage." Shisui recalls detailed information regarding Kakuzu. "What is he doing here in the Hidden leaf? ughtering the Uchiha n nheless. I must stop him." Shisui jumps on top of a house and activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. He makes some hand signs, ''Lightning Style: Flicker sh'' Shisui coats his legs in lightning chakra and dashes towards a house. Chapter 104: Attack on Uchiha Part-2 Chapter 104: Attack on Uchiha Part-2 A/N:- Sorry for missing yesterday. Destiny 2 released beyond light yesterday, I was hooked up with it. So, I couldn''t post the chapter. Will post another chapter in few more hours. ----------------------- The cloaked figure approaches in front of Izuna''s house. He looks towards the house. "Izuna Uchiha, you made me suffer hellish pain, now I will return the favor. All your family members and friends will be the sacrifice to soothe my eternal agony." The cloaked figure walks towards the gates of the house. He takes a step inside the house, a dome shape barrier stops his march. The cloaked man retreats and stares at the crimson barrier. "A defensive barrier! You sure are cautious, Izuna Uchiha. Let me see how long will this barrierst. You won''t be able to stop me from having my revenge. It''s payback time." The cloaked man clenches his fist and smashes it in the barrier. The barrier shakes violently but is able to hold against the attack. The cloaked man flips his hand. A kunai appear in his hand, he coats the kunai in wind chakra and stabs it in the barrier. Some cracks appear in the barrier. The cloaked figure continues to stab at the same spot. The crack widens, and the barrier weakens. Haaah The cloaked figures give a final push, and the barrier disperses. ''It''s time to return the agony.'' The cloaked figure enters the house. ----------------- At Mount Myoboku, Izuna is sitting on the top of a tall tree while staring at the moon. ''The air is a bit chilly tonight. The Blood Moon! It signifies death and ughter. It signifies the beginning of the end.'' Izuna takes support against a branch and stares at the stars. "I have mastered the Artic Release during this time. My sibling will be born in almost a month. I will return early to take care of Aunt Fumiko. I want a cute little sister. I was a single child in my previous life and my parents left me early. Haah Now I have a family and friends that cherish me. I won''t allow any harm to befall on them." Crack A bracelet on Izuna''s wrist shatters into pieces. This startles Izuna. He immediately looks at the broken bracelet. "This bracelet is the sealing form of the barrier around my house. It shattered, which means the barrier is destroyed. My parents are in danger. I have to return to the vige immediately." Izuna immediately teleports to his house. ---------------- Kakuzu continues to rob one house after another. He killed the members of the Uchiha n effortlessly and stole their hearts and eyes. "These Uchihas are quite rich. I have made a fortune. It was wise of me to ept this mission from the Leader. I can live leisurely for my entire life without worrying about money." Kakuzu counts a stack of money and tosses them in a scroll in his hand and dashes towards another house. Swoosh ''Lightning Release: Cheimei-Teki Senbon'' A concentrated senbon of lightning chakra shoots towards Kakuzu. "Ah!" ''Earth Release: Earth Spear'' Kakuzu immediately passes chakra through his body. His body turns darker and hardens. Kakuzu jumps to avoid the Senbon, but it manages to pierce through his hardened body. The senbon pierces Kakazu''s heart and strikes the ground. It creates a deep crater in the ground and lightning flickers inside the crater. "That''s one life down." Shisui appears a distance away from Kakuzu and warily looks at him. ''This guy is a monster with five lives. Big Brother Izuna warned me to not engage against this guy in closebat.'' "Haah Aaah Earth Grudge Fear" Kakuzu bends down. The various animal masks on his back wreathe alive and their heartbeats furiously. The four animal mask struggles and escapes from Kakuzu''s body. Many thread-like structures escape together with the mask and form strange creatures from them. One of the masks took on the shape of a demonic tiger. Another mask takes the form of a deformed bipedal. The third mask shapes into a demonic beaked bipedal. The fourth mask takes the form of a strange four-legged body with thin wings. The wound near Kakuzu''s heart closes. The demonic beaked bipedal mask shatters and crumbles into the dust. The creature turns into a pool of ck threads. Kakuzu stands up and dusts his clothes. He stares at Shisui and remarks, "Not bad, you killed me once. But will you be able to do it four more times? I don''t know how you got intel on me, but it doesn''t matter. I will rece my lost heart with yours. You will be a fine collection to my heart. All your power and vitality will be mine." Kakuzu takes out a kunai from his holster and dashes towards Shisui. Shisui draws his de and engages inbat with Kakuzu. He continues to monitor the remaining three animal masks with his Sharingan. The deformed bipedal mask appears behind him and opens its mouth. "Lightning Release: False Darkness" The animal mask emits the lightning chakra in the shape of a spear. Multiple lightning bolts join together and form many lightning spears. The jutsu travels at an astonishing speed, making it hard to evade. ''Shadow Flicker'' Shisui''s body turns blurry and disappears from the spot. The lightning pierces the blurry shadow and strikes a wall and shatters it into dust. ''Afterimage Clone'' Multiple copies of Shisui appear around Kakuzu. All of them attack Kakuzu at simultaneously. Kakuzu struggles against the various images of Shisui. "Wind Release: Pressure Damage" "Earth Release: Earth Spear" The strange four-legged animal mask creature appears beside Kakuzu. The mask opens its mouth wide and releases a powerful gust of windpressed into a tornado-like mass. This jutsu covers arge area and the st inflict extensive damage to the surroundings. Kakuzu hardens his body andes out unscathed from the st. The multiple afterimages and clones of Shisui disperse. Shisui jumps back to avoid contact with the st radius. "Fire Style: Intelligent Hard Work" The demonic tiger mask appears behind Shisui and opens its mouth wide. It fires a small fireball that erupts into a giant firestorm and covers arge area. Shisui immediately makes a few hand signs and faces the firestorm. "Water Release: Searing Torrent" Shisui release a massive vortex of water. The vortex collides with the firestorm and both of them cancel each other out. The evaporation of water releases lots of mist and forms a mist barrier. Bang Kakuzu''s leg burrows out from the ground and kicks Shisui. It hurls Shisui back, and he rams into a nearby wall. --------------- Inside the n Leader''s Residence, Fugaku opens his eyes and stands up from the bed. Themotion from the earlier fight has reached his ears. Mikoto opens her eyes and grabs the sleeve of Fugaku. Fugaku strokes Mikoto''s face and speaks, "The n is under attack. I have to face the intruder. Stay back and take care of Sasuke. Don''t let him get hurt in themotion." Mikoto nods and warily replies, "Take care." Hum Fugaku nods his head and flickers out from the room. Mikoto stares at his departing back and murmurs to herself, "Itachi, take care of yourself." She stands up and walks towards Sasuke''s room. Mikoto gently opens the door of Sasuke''s room and enters inside. Sasuke is sleeping soundly on the bed. "Big brother! Teach me a new jutsu." Sasuke murmurs in his sleep. Haha huhu Mikoto chuckles softly and covers Sasuke in the nket. "This naughty boy, he always thinks about training." Mikoto lies beside Sasuke and gently caresses his face. Awah wah Sasuke turns in his sleep and hugs the nket. -------------- Fugaku appears outside his house. He jumps on the rooftop of a nearby house and climbs on top of a long pole. He activates his Sharingan and inspects the surroundings. Soon He notices a hunchbacked man draped in a ck cloak with a red cloud pattern on his robe. A giant metallic tail dangles behind the man. The metallic tail is soaked in the blood, and the hunchbacked man crawls out of the house. A frown appears on Fugaku''s face. Boom Fugaku hears arge explosion in another corner of the n district. ''Looks like an intense fight is happening there. It seems that someone is engaged with another intruder. Let me quickly finish this one and I will help the other person.'' Fugaku jumps down from the pole and flickers towards the hunchbacked man. He quickly makes some hand signs, ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu'' Fugaku fires a giant fireball at the hunchbacked man. Humph The hunchbacked man turns around and faces the fireball. He opens his mouth wide and a small pipe-like structure juts out from it. The pipe fires a pressured stream of water and cancels the fireball. "A puppet user." Fugaku approaches the puppet and warily stares at the intruder. Chapter 105: Attack on Uchiha Part-3 Chapter 105: Attack on Uchiha Part-3 nk Fugaku draws out a kunai from his holster and blocks the attack from the scorpion-like long iron-tail. The tails rotate again and stab towards Fugaku. nk Fugaku blocks another attack from the tail. He notices a purple glint on the tip of the tail. "Poison" Fugaku frowns and jumps back. He throws many kunais at the puppet. nk nk nk The tails blocks all the kunais. The puppet opens its mouth andunch a barrage of senbon at Fugaku. Fugaku easily evades the barrage of senbon. "The weakness of a puppet user lies in closebat. No matter how hard you try, you can''t ovee this weakness with that weak shell of yours." Fugaku runs towards the puppet. He coats his kunai in the lightning chakra and attacks the puppet. ''Lightning Release: Kamaitachi w'' He forms a sickle with the lightning chakra and shes it at the puppet. nk The Hiruko (name of the puppet) raises its tail to block the attack. Kacha... Fugaku sh apart the tail, and he continues to attack the top of the puppet. ng The cloak of the puppet rips and reveals a heavy defensive shell. Hiruko retracts the broken tail and stretches its left arm to reveal a torpedo-like artillery shell. Swoosh fwoosh The artillery chases Fugaku. He jumps back to avoid a direct hit. The mechanism of torpedo triggers tounch a shrapnel barrage of senbon. Fugaku dodges the senbon and approaches Hiruko. He quickly makes some hand signs. ''Lightning Release: Raijin''s Wrath'' Fugaku fires a concentrated bolt of lightning. The lightning bolt takes the form of an arrow and pierces the hard shell of the puppet. Boom The puppet explodes into pieces. A cloaked figure jumps out from the remains of the puppet. "So, the puppeteer has finally shown himself. What''s your motive behind attacking my Uchiha n?" Fugaku intensely res at the cloaked figure. The puppeteer removes the remains of the puppet from his body and reveals his face. Fugaku immediately identifies the culprit. "Wait, you are Sasori of the Sand. What are you doing in the leaf? Attacking my n no less." Fugaku gets serious since Sasori has quite a reputation in Hidden Viges. Sasori nonchntly looks at the remains of his puppet, "What a waste of such fine art and craftsmanship?" Sasori flicks his right hand. Various chakra thread appears among them. He quickly pulls the remains of his puppet and stores them into a scroll. He faces Fugaku and remarks, "You are strong, wicked-eye Fugaku, the leader of the Uchiha n. You are worthy to face against one of my most prized possession." Sasori rolls out a scroll from his sleeve. "A collection that gave me a hard time when trying to kill it, but the effort was worth it." Poof Arge amount of smoke covers Fugaku''s vision. The smoke disperses to reveal another puppet. Fugaku''s eyes widen as he stares at the new puppet. "That''s that''s the Third Kazekage who went missing a few years ago." Fugaku warily stares at Sasori. "I never expected, you killed the Third Kazekage and turned his body into a puppet." Fugaku clenches his kunai tightly and enters in abat stance. The Kazekage puppet immediately dashes towards Fugaku. Sasori waves his hands and skillfully controls the movements of the puppet. The right arm of the puppet turns into multiple des coated in poison. nk Fugaku blocks the des with his kunai. Srrrr He channels lightning chakra through his kunai and shes apart the des. The puppet attacks him with its left hand. Fugaku jumps back and avoids the attack. The left-arm opens up and reveals several summoning seals. The seals glow and summons thousands of simr arms. All the arms turn towards Fugaku and attack him. Fugaku slices them apart with his lightning de. The openings on the arms fire a barrage of kunais, shurikens, and senbons at Fugaku. Fugaku calmly stares at the iing barrage of projectiles. ''Sharingan: Eye of Insight'' The tomoe in his eyes spins rapidly. Everything slows down for him, his perception reaches incredible heights. nk nk nk nk Fugaku deflects one projectile after another. After a minute, he stands perfectly with no scratches or injuries on him. Suddenly, one of the openings of arms throws a small canister towards Fugaku. Fugaku shes the canister in half. Purple color gas leaks from the poison. It quickly spread and covers Fugaku. Fugaku immediately make some hand signs, ''Wind Style: Great Breakthrough'' Fugaku blows away the poison mist. Cough cough ''I identally inhaled a small quantity of this poison. I have to quickly end the fight before the poison takes effect.'' Swish swish Multiple kunais with explosive tags tied to them surround Fugaku. Bang The paper bombs explode and cover the ce in smoke and debris. "You will be a fine collection to my art, Fugaku Uchiha." ----------------- Cough cough Shisui coughs a little and slowly stands up. He has a smirk on his face as he looks at Kakuzu. Chirp chii Stab A shadow appears behind the Lightning mask and stabs it from behind. ''Lightning Release: Chidori Raikiri'' The shadow pierces through the lightning mask. Throb throb The heartbeat of Lightning mask throbs for a while before the mask shatters into countless pieces. The lightning mask creature falls lifelessly on the ground. ''Kakashi Senpai''s technique is quite handy. I wonder why Izuna nii-san never uses it. Well, he has plenty of jutsus in his arsenal.'' The shadow disperses as Kakuzu stares at Shisui with wide-eyes. "You kid! You made me lose two of my hearts. Now, I need to kill another powerful shinobi and rip apart his heart beside you." Kakuzu inspects the features of Shisui. "I remember you now. Shisui the teleporter. There is a bounty of 50 million Ryo on your head. How can I miss such a cash grab? It will be a double paycheck, your heart and bounty money will be mine. It''s time to get serious or I will miss this bag of money." Kakuzu stretches out his hand. Various ck threads flicker from his hand. The remaining two Wind Mask and Fire mask appear beside him. Kakuzu ps his hands together. "Earth Grudge Fear: Fusion" Various tendrils extend from the two creatures. The tendrils connect and the Fire Mask and the Wind Mask fuses. Kakuzu makes more hand signs, "Wind Release: Pressure damage" The wind mask fires a barrage of wind sts at Shisui. Shisui jumps around and dodges all the attacks. "Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work" The Fire Mask spews out a wide area firestorm at Shisui to prevent his escape. "Water Style: Searing Torrent" Shisui cancels the firestorm with his jutsu. ''I need to get closer to him to finish him off. He still has three lives remaining. But this continuous barrage of jutsus and his almost endless chakra is making it difficult for me to approach him.'' Thebo of wind and fire mask chases after Shisui. Shisui closes the gap between Kakuzu and him and engages in closebat with him. nk nk He trades a few blows with Kakuzu and jumps up to avoid the attack of the wind mask. Kakuzu hardens his body and sustains the attack with no damage. Kakuzu stretches his hardened right hand and attacks Shisui from a distance. ''Lightning Release techniques are his weakness. I have to take advantage of it.'' Chii. Shisui throws a kunai in the air and blocks the right hand of Kakuzu with his de. Shisui does a summersault and grabs the kunai. He infuses lightning chakra in the kunai and shes the arm of Kakuzu apart. The arm fell on the ground and the thread-like structure wriggles from the arm. Boom Shisui avoids another attack from the wind mask creature. Kakuzu retrieves his right hand and joins it back. ''That''s almost cheating. This guy can reconnect his limbs.'' Shisui jumps back and avoids another attack from the Fire Mask. The masked creature appears behind Shisui. Both the masks open their mouths simultaneously and release a dual attack. "Fire-Wind Combo Strike: Strange Mask exploding me" Boom The intense pressure from the attack createsrge gusts of winds as a massive firestorm covers arge area. The attack quickly approaches Shisui. ''I won''t be able to counter this attack with Water release alone.'' Boom. The jutsu explodes on contact with Shisui and wreaks havoc on surrounding buildings. A massive crater appears at Shisui''s position. Dust and debris fog the vision. The dust and debris settle down to reveal Chapter 106: Attack On Uchiha Part-4 Chapter 106: Attack On Uchiha Part-4 "Aah Help me. Somebody help. No" Aah... Itachi hears a scream from a nearby house. He frowns and immediately runs in the scream''s direction. Itachi reaches the destination and enters inside a house. He notices blood painted everywhere on the walls of the house. The bodies of the residents are dismembered and their body parts are spread everywhere. Itachi feels the insides of his stomach churning as he feels an urge to vomit. He had done many dirt deeds in Anbu and assassinated lots of people during this time. But never in his life has he seen such a gruesome way of killing. Itachi calms down his nerves and holds himself steady to not throw up. He continues to inspect the house and reaches upstairs. Barf Itachi couldn''t help but barf when he saw the gruesome state of the girl. Itachi clutches his kunai tightly and thinks about Izumi. "Her house is nearby. I can''t allow the criminal to attack her." He immediately jumps out of the window and runs towards Izumi''s house. ----------- Inside Izumi''s house, Izumi is shivering while staring at the killer. The ck-cloaked man licks his kunai, which is soaked in blood, and stares at Izumi. "It''s your turn now. I like the carbon content of children more. It is so fresh and pure. That old granny tasted gross." Dina looks at the dismembered body of an old woman. Ptui He spits out his saliva. "The appetizer ruined my mood. But the main-course looks more appetizing." Izumi lifelessly looks at the dead body of her grandma. His mother is out on a mission and she had lost her father during the nine-tails incident. Izumi was alone in her house together with her grandma. "No, grandma" Sob sob Izumi sobs as she stares at her grandma. "Why?... why did you kill my grandma?" Izumi furiously looks at Dina. "I will kill you. My grandma" She draws a kunai and dashes towards Dina. Izumi activates her Sharingan and attacks him. She shes her kunai at the killer. Dina licks his tongue. "Another food on my table. Today is a feast." He easily parries Izumi''s kunai and grabs her arms. He lifts Izumi in the air with one hand and makes a de of Carbon in another. "Let me enjoy my food." He shes the carbon de towards Izumi. nk Another kunai blocks his attack. "Oh!" Dina is surprised and turns towards the newer. Itachi blocks the attack and saves Izumi. "Everything would be fine. I am here. Don''t worry." Izumi weakly stares at Itachi''s back and nods. Her vision turns blurry. Arge amount of chakra riles up in her body and enters into her eyes. The strain from the chakra causes Izumi to faint. Itachi looks at the dismembered body of the Grandma. Anger clouds his mind, but he doesn''t allow it to overpower his senses. ''He is one of the members of Akatsuki. So, that means he is an S-Rank criminal at the least.'' Itachi stares at the red cloud pattern on Dina''s cloak. Izuna has already informed about Akatsuki''s members. ''His name is not on big brother''s list. That means he joined Akatsuki recently. I have to fight cautiously or else I may lose my life. Then there is Izumi, I have to protect her too. He killed grandma and lots of other nsmen; I have to stop him from ughtering any more persons. I have sent a signal to Anbu headquarters. It will take a while for the backup to arrive.'' Arge amount of chakra riles up in his body, and it channels towards his eye. Itachi clutches his kunai and makes some hand signs. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu" Itachi spews out a giant fireball at Dina. Boom The house turns into rubbles from the st. He grabs Izumi and jumps out from the house. Kuku. Dina walks unscathed from the fireball. There is arge ck-colored shield in front of him. "Carbon Control: ck Diamond Shield" Some smoke is rising from the shield, but there is no scratch on it. He molds the shield into a ck solid construct. The solid enters inside his body. "Human body is made of about 18% carbon. My ability allows me to manipte the carbon and use it in battle. I can also steal carbon from other people''s body. Now, give your carbon to me." Dina shapes the ck solid into a de and dash towards Itachi. nk Itachi blocks the attack with his kunai. "Is your kunai stronger than a diamond?" The de glistens and the kunai snaps in half. Itachi jumps back and avoids the sh. ''He can freely manipte the carbon in his body. He can shape the carbon within his body into a shield to block any attack or turn it into a weapon for attack. I haven''t seen him using the carbon as a projectile. Maybe he isn''t capable of that feat.'' Itachi calmly analyses the technique of Dina. ''Normal metal weapons won''t have any effect on his weapon. But what about chakra?'' Itachi makes a shadow clone and nods to it. The shadow clone grabs Izumi and runs away from the location. "Where are you running, my food? Stay here!" Dina dashes towards the shadow clone. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower jutsu" Itachi fires numerous fireballs rapidly at Dina. Tch Dina clicks his tongue and makes a giant shield to block the attack. ''I will let you get away for now. First, let me deal with the nuisance." Chirp chii stab Itachi appears behind Dina and stabs his body. Dina''s eyes widen as he looks at an exhausted Itachi in front of him. Poof Itachi disappears in a puff of smoke. "Shadow clone! Since when!" Dina turns towards Itachi, who is behind him. "That earlier shadow clone was a distraction. I created two shadow clones and used ''Earth Style: Hiding like a Mole'' jutsu to sneak around. You fell for my trap and gave me an opportunity. I took advantage of this." Blurgh Dina throws up a mouthful of blood. "You got me Just kidding" Dina smirks and turns around. He coats his leg with carbon and kicks Itachi in the guts. Blurgh Itachi throws a mouthful of blood and shoots through multiple buildings. The ck shine on Dina''s leg fades and he cracks his neck. "Haha I like this feeling of despair. When they think they have won, but in the end, they just fell for my trap." Blurgh Some blood leaks from his wound. Dina looks at the wound, "But first, let me deal with this injury. The skin around the wound turns a shade of dark ck and covers the wound entirely. I was sure I coated my skin with hardened carbon to block the attack, but this kid''s jutsu was able to prate my hardened carbon shell. He made me bleed and puke a mouthful of blood. I have to dismember him bit by bit and return the favor." Dina wipes the blood from his mouth and stares at Itachi. "You won''t go down this easily, right? I want to torture you more." Dina makes a de using ''Carbon Control''. He licks the de and slowly walked towards Itachi. "Let me pry open your body and take out all of your carbon." Swish Dina disappears in a blur. Bam He smashes the carbon de near Itachi''s head. Swish Itachi quickly evades the attack and immediately makes some hand signs. -------------------- Inside Izuna''s house. The cloaked figure enters inside a room and notices a sleeping Aiko. He sneakily walks towards her. The cloaked man raises a kunai and stabs towards her. nk Another kunai blocks the attack. The cloaked figure turns around to spot the defender. "Not so fast." Akira blocks the kunai of the cloaked figure with his own. Aiko jumps back and makes some hand signs. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu" (A/N:- what can I do? I like this jutsu. :) Boom The jutsu blows the roof, and it throws the cloaked man out of the house. "My roof. I recently paid the remuneration fee for it. Now I have to repair it again." Aikoins. "Aiko, it isn''t time for that. There is an enemy at our doorstep. We have to deal with him." Akira reminds Aiko. "Yes, Izuna''s barrier warned us of the intruder. My Izuna is such a genius." Aiko praises Izuna. Both of them jump out of the house and face the cloaked man. "Who are you? What''s your motive behind this assassination attempt?" Akira frowns and looks at the assassin. Boom They hear arge explosion at one corner of the n district. Boom Another explosion startles them. "Looks like our Uchiha n is under attack. Whoever you are, you won''t remain alive after this attempt." Akira infuses chakra in his bracelet. A long de appears in his hand. He infuses chakra in the de and engages the assassin. Aiko makes some hand signs, and her body vanishes in Sakura petals. ''Genjutsu Sharingan: Hundred blooming Sakura'' Chapter 107: Attack On Uchiha Part-5 Chapter 107: Attack On Uchiha Part-5 A/N:- A double chapter as I promised. I want to showcase the abilities of other people besides Izuna. That''s the reason for his dy. --------------------------- "Fire-Wind Combo Strike: Strange Mask exploding me" Boom The jutsu explodes on Shisui and engulf him. The attack creates a giant crater at the point of impact. Kakuzu slowly walks towards the crater. "I hope I haven''t destroyed his body. I still need his head and heart to be intact, otherwise I won''t get any bounty money from this hunt. Swoosh A gigantic green handes out from the dust and punches Kakuzu. Kakuzu immediately crosses his hands to block his chest. ''Earth Release: Earth Spear'' Kakuzu hardens his body to block the force of the attack. Bam He is punched far by the attack. He breaks through multiple walls before being mmed into a wall. Bleurgh Kakuzu coughs up a mouthful of blood and slowly stands up. His hands are smashed into a pulp and there is a giant dent on his chest. The threads inside his body slowly close the wounds and sew his hands to heal them to some extent. A giant green humanoid fiendish chakra construct with a giant red tomoe on its chest appears in Kakuzu''s vision. Kakuzu''s eyes widen as he stutters, "What What is this?" The Susanoo stretches its arms. The giant tomoe in the center of the chest glows. "Cheimei-Teki Senbon" The Susanoounches a barrage of senbons at Kakuzu. "Earth Style: Earth wall" Kakuzu makes some hand signs and creates a wall to block the attack. Boom boom The senbon easily destroys the Earth wall and continues to target Kakuzu. "Looks like, I have no choice." Kakuzu extends his hand and pulls his mask creature to block the attack. "Fire-Wind Combo Strike: Strange Mask exploding me" The creatureunches its most powerful attack to block the attack. The senbons and the jutsu cancels each other out. The barrage of senbons continues and pierces the two creatures. Both of their hearts burst from the attack and the creaturesy dead on the ground. Huff Shisui breathes heavily as he stares at Kakuzu. Blood trickles from his eyes. "I have to end it soon. The chakra drain is quite huge. I need to train more." The Susanoo extends its hand. A giant magatama appears in Susanoo''s hand. He aims magatama at Kakuzu and yells. "Yasaka Magatama." The green-colored magatama spins rapidly and fires towards Kakuzu. "Is this the end? I have fought against the First Hokage and escaped with my life. How could I lose to a young brat like him?" The magatama closes on Kakuzu and is about to slice him in half. Kakuzu closes his eyes in his final moments as the memories of his fight against First Hokage shed in his mind. "Typhoon Release: Consecutive Bursting Extreme Winds" A giant storming vortex envelops Kakuzu. The giant vortex blocks the Yasaka Magatama. It deflects the trajectory of Magatama and directs it towards Sky. The Magatama reaches a height and burst into an explosion. "A helper!" Shisui frowns and looks at the newer. Another person in Akatsuki robe appears beside Kakuzu. The person helps Kakuzu to stand up. "Fushin, what are you doing here? You were supposed toplete the mission." Kakuzu questions Fushin. "I was nearby when I heard arge explosion followed by arge firestorm. Unable to hold my curiosity, I decided to check the sh But man, I never expected to see you almost die on this mission. I saved your ass, just on time." Fushin exins to Kakuzu. "You are hundred years too early to save me" Kakuzu ps away Fushin''s hand and saunters away. "" "If you have enough time to banter, then focus on the enemy in front of you. He is quite powerful, his Bingo book bounty didn''t do justice to him. He must be at least 200 million Ryo instead of a measly 50 million. I have to negotiate with those dealers. They are a bunch of misers." Kakuzuins. "" Fushin silently stares at Kakuzu. "You just escaped from a life-threatening situation and you are still talking about money. Tell me, how you n to use all that money? You have no friends or family in this world." He questions Kakuzu. "I just want to live my life luxuriously and die with lots of money in my hand," Kakuzu replies to Fushin. "Luxuriously. Huh!" The image of a young child appears in his mind. ''I also want Nowaki to live happily.'' He stares at the giant humanoid chakra construct. Shisui looks at the pair of Akatsuki members chatting with each other. ''This is my chance. I have to end the fight when they are distracted.'' He creates a pair of katanas for his Susanoo. The Susanoo attacks the Akatsuki pair. "Typhoon Release: Great Consecutive Bursting Extreme Winds" Swoosh A gigantic tornado appears at Fushin''s position. The size of the tornado easily dwarfs the Susanoo. Shisui crosses his katanas to block the tornado. The intense pressure from the wind pushes him back. He had to hold a defensive stance tobat the tornado. Haah Shisui infuses more chakra in his des and dispels the tornado. The pair of Akatsuki members disappear from their position. Shisui dispels his Susanoo and pants. "I have used up lots of chakras in the previous fight. I won''t be able to use any Ninjutsu before I recover my chakra." Shisui pops a chakra pill in his mouth. The pill hastens his chakra recovery process. "It will take a while for me to recover my Chakra. I have to search for the invaders. They wouldn''t have moved that far away. One of them is critically wounded, and the other one is low on chakra. I have to finish them off, they must pay for their deeds." Shisui uses his experience in Anbu to track the trails of Kakuzu and Fushin. -------------------- Boom. The explosion engulfs Fugaku. The dust and debris clear out to reveal a perfectly fine Fugaku. A Dark-red ribcage made of chakra blocks the explosion. Fugaku slowly walks towards Sasori. The tomoes in his Sharingan revolves and takes the form of three dots, followed by three curves spiraling counter-clockwise around the pupil. "I didn''t want to reveal it, but the situation forced my hand. I have to end it quickly. I don''t want any elder to notice my Mangekyo Sharingan. It will further fuel their ambition." Fugaku looks towards Sasori and mutter. "Amaterasu" Blood trickles down from Fugaku''s right eye. ck mes start to form at the focal point of his vision. Sasori immediately senses the danger. He immediately weaves his chakra threads and maniptes the Kazekage puppet. The puppet opens its mouth and releases an extensive amount of Iron Sand. The sand floats in front of Sasori and blocks the Amaterasu. The iron sand burns from the mes. "What kind of mes are these? I have to avoid contact with them at all costs." Sasori cautiously stares at the burning Iron Sand. He maniptes the Kazekage puppet. The burning Iron sand separates from the rest of the Iron sand and falls on the ground. Immediately after, the ground catches fire and burns. "These mes are so dangerous. I have to shield myself with the iron sand." The iron sand forms a dome around Sasori. His chakra threads continue to manipte the puppet. "Ma Release: Iron Sand Drizzle" The iron sand around the puppet turns into many minuscule bullets. The puppet raises its arm and points towards Fugaku. Swish swish swish The bullets move at an extremely fast speed towards Fugaku. They bombard the chakra ribs. Crack crack Some cracks appear on the ribcages. Parts of the ribcage start to shatter as it gets chipped away. ''So, it is not an absolute defense after all. If I can chip away this jutsu, then he will be vulnerable.'' The puppet raises it''s another hand. The bullets turn into sharp needles and bombard the Susanoo. Fugaku frowns as his Susanoo ribs get chipped away. ''I have underestimated his puppet. Looks like I have to raise my defense.'' Fugaku infuses more Chakra into the Susanoo. Susanoo evolves to the next stage. Two chakra arm grows out from the ribs and the ribs increases in size. It restores the ribs to normal. The continuous barrage of Iron bullets and needles does not affect them. "Interesting! This is quite a wonderful ability. Now, I want to turn you into a puppet even more. With you and the Third Kazekage in my collection, I will get the ultimate defense and the ultimate offense." The Kazekage puppet sps its hands. "Ma Release: Iron Sand Gathering Assault" A great volume of iron sand gathers in front of the puppet. The Iron Sandpresses into high density and increases the hardness of the sand. The Iron sand shapes into a giant axe and scythe. The puppet directs the axe and the scythe. Swoosh The giant axe spins rapidly and cleaves towards Fugaku. The Susanoo raises its arms and catches the axe between its palm. The scythe moves horizontally and shes the ribs of Susanoo. nk The Susanoo blocks the first hit of the scythe. "Let me see how long can your defensest under my relentless strikes." Sasori waves his hand. The axe and the scythe float back and attack again. Chapter 108: Attack On Uchiha Part-6 Chapter 108: Attack On Uchiha Part-6 A/N:- If you don''t like the story don''t read it. But please stop sending annoying Dms on discord. I will write it the way I want it. As I mentioned earlier, the story is slow-paced and whenever any chapter has only information I will post an extra chapter at that time. As for the duration of the teleportation, there are various fights happening in background. We have Itachi vs Dino, Shisui vs Kakuzu and Fushin, Fugaku vs Sasori. Uchiha n is an elite n. Do you really want to see the entire story get carried by MC where other characters are mere fodders for plot? If yes, then I can only tell you to drop it. The story has character development for relevant characters exining their power-ups. It''s not like I will just suddenly make them stronger. Also, current Itachi is weaker than cannon because he don''t have the huge power boost from MS. Sorry for the rant but I wanted to get it off my chest. Those annoying Dms are making me salty. ------------------------ Inside Anbu Headquarters, One of the Anbu members notices the signal and he immediately alerts other members. "There is an emergency. We have received a signal for backup near Uchiha quarters." "But Uchiha Police Force is in charge of that area" Another Anbu member remarks. "There is no time to lose, we can sort the situationter; for now let''s head to Uchiha quarters." One of the higher-ups of Dragon unit orders. "Yes, sir!" The Anbu immediately prepares their equipment and flicker towards Uchiha district. They arrive outside Uchiha quarters and notices the condition of Uchiha n. "Seems like, Uchiha n is under attack. We have to deal with the attacker. Let''s go!" The leader signals the rest of the members. They dash towards the Uchiha n entrance. Swirl. Suddenly, a swirling portal opens in front of Uchiha district entrance. The Anbu members stop their charge and cautiously look at the intruder. The intruder wears an orange mask with ck me patterns over it. "Who are you? What''s your motive for trespassing the vige? If you don''t answer within the next three seconds, then we will consider you hostile." The masked man silently stares at the Anbu members. "None of you are allowed to interfere or else get ready to lose your life here." He remarks. "Time''s up." The Anbu member dashes towards the masked man. He throws a kunai towards the masked man and appears beside him. The kunai phases through the masked man''s body. The masked man wields a Kusari with Gunbai attached to its end. The other end of the Kusari is connected to the Kama. He swings the Kama and beheads the Anbu member. "When I said; ''No interference is allowed in this massacre'', then I meant it." "Attack him. He is a hostile intruder. Capture him or just kill him." The Anbu members immediately attack the masked man. All of them throw multiple kunais towards the masked man. The kunais phases through the masked man. "Looks like all of you will learn this hard way." The masked man blocks an attack with his Kusari. He twists the Kusari and kicks the anbu and sent him flying away. ''Lightning Release: Spinning Lightning Shot'' One of the Anbu fires a spinningpressed lightning ball at the masked man. The ball moves like a drill while spinning continuously. The masked man blocks the attack with his Gunbai. He points the Gunbai towards a nearby Anbu member. ''Uchiha Return'' Fwoosh The Gunbai turns the lightning chakra in wind chakra and reflects it instantaneously. Bang The reflected wind chakra blows the head of a nearby Anbu member. "Don''t attack him directly. He can somehow nullify our attack and use them against us. Bind him in a ce and attack him. Capture him alive if possible, we need to interrogate him. If not, just finish him off." The leadermands the rest of Anbu members. Four Anbus surround the masked man. All of them make some hand signs and m their hand on the ground. "Lightning Release: Four Pir Bind" They summon four giant rock pirs around the masked man. ''Release'' The Anbus sps their hand. The rock pir releases a discharge of lightning and surrounds Obito with a bolt of lightning. Crackle crackle The lightning crackles from the rock pirs and shoots a bolt of lightning towards the masked man. The masked man raises his right hand. Small chakra mes erupt on tip of his fingers. He then ms his palm on the ground. ''Secret Technique: Uchiha me Formation'' A cylindrical me barrier erupts from his position. The me barrier pushes away the lightning bind and incinerates the four Anbu members to ashes. Swoosh The masked man enters inside the ground and appears behind the leader of the Anbu team. Swish The leader turns his head around to face the masked man with a surprised expression. "Who are " Blood trickles from his throat and the leader''s head fall on the ground. "Enough fooling around. Time to finish it up." Swish swish The masked man disappears and reappears in front of the Uchiha n''s entrance. The head of the remaining Anbu members rolls down and all of them lifelessly fall on the ground. The masked man looks towards the Uchiha n. "I was never acknowledged by anyone in this n." ------------------- Swoosh Izuna appears on top of his house. He looks at the broken roof and then turns towards the fight. Akira and Aiko are fighting against a cloaked man. Izuna tries to sense the chakra of the masked man, but his senses get blocked. "Hmm There seems to be some strange seal on this guy''s mask. This seal is blocking my senses." Izuna frowns. He carefully inspects the cloaked man. His parents are equally matched with the cloaked man. "They will be fine for now. But who could be this masked man?" ''He doesn''t look like Obito. Obito won''t dare to directly attack my family.'' Boom Izuna''s attention is drawn by an explosion. He turns towards the explosion and notices Itachi flying out from the explosion. Swoosh Izuna flickers and appears beside Itachi. He kills the momentum of Itachi and prevents him from mming into a wall. Itachi turns around and notices Izuna. Izuna''s body is covered in a cyan coloured cloak with many strange markings on the cloak. Chakra flickers from his cloak. There is arge tomoe on his back and front. Itachi''s eyes widen and he questions Izuna. "This what is this technique, Izuna nii-san?" He points at the Cyan cloak. "I will exin itter, for now, let me deal with the intruder." Izuna looks towards Dina. He notices the Akatsuki cloak on Dina'' body. "Akatsuki!... what are the members of Akatsuki doing here?" He turns towards Itachi for answers. "Izuna nii-san! The Akatsuki members infiltrated the vige without alerting the barrier corp. Then they started a massacre of our n members. Grandma Hatsumi" Itachi clenches his fist. "This Akatsuki member brutally killed her. I am still too weak, big brother Izuna." Tears drip from Itachi''s eyes. The tomoes in his eyes spin rapidly. The tomoes fuses to create three spiralling curves around the pupil. Blood trickles from his eyes. "Oh! That''s quite a heart touching reunion here." A raspy voice mocks them. Dina slowly walks in front of Itachi and Izuna. "That old hag had no vour. Her carbon-dating was too old, I guess. Haha." Dina starts tough maniacally. "That was too hrious. I can''t control myself fromughing. Haha" Anger boils within Izuna''s heart. ''So... it still came down to this. I eliminated the tumor Danzo but they still came after my n.'' "You...you were the one who trespassed our n territory and killed Grandma Hatsumi." Izuna looks at Dino with rage. Dino grins and looks at Izuna with a confident smile. "Yes, it was me. I was the one who slowly tortured and killed that old hag." Swoosh Bang Izuna disappears and reappears in front of Dina. He punches Dina in guts. The force from the attack creates arge crater on the ground. Dina breaks through multiple walls and ms into the outer walls of n district. Bleurgh He pukes out a mouthful of blood. "Careful, Nii-san. This guy can manipte Carbon and shape into various weapons and even a shield to block any attacks. He can also harden his body to block physical attacks." Itachi warns Izuna. "Thanks for your warning, Itachi. But there is no need to worry. Check on Izumi, she must be traumatised from the incident. I will deal with this guy." Itachi nods his head and flickers in the direction of his house. Earlier, his shadow clone brought Izumi to his house. Izuna looks towards Dino and murmurs, "Carbon Control, huh! If I remembered correctly, there was such a guy in Boruto. But his abilities to control Carbon were way beyond this man. I wonder if there is a connection between them. Since he dared to harm my family and friends. He better be ready to pay the price." Swoosh Izuna appears in front of Dino. Dino slowly falls from the wall. The entire chest area of Dino is coated in a ckyer. Ptui Dino slowly stands up and spits blood. "That was a nice punch. It even managed to harm my hardened body. You took me by surprise, but it won''t happen again." --------------- Outside the Uchiha n, ck Zetsu pops out from the ground in front of Obito "He is back. Izuna Uchiha has returned to the n." Obito nods to ck Zetsu. "It''s time to retreat. We can''t fight against that monster without other members of Akatsuki. Let''s retreat for now. Signal other members to retreat immediately . I don''t want any causalities among them, it will dy our ''Eye of the Moon n''." "Very well, I will inform them quickly. I have marked them with my ''Spore Technique''. I can sense their presence." White Zetsu chimes in. Swirl Obito disappears in a swirling portal. Zetsu enters the ground and move towards the Akatsuki members. Chapter 109: Crisis in Uchiha Clan Chapter 109: Crisis in Uchiha n A/N:- I never had any n to write a short novel. Part of the reason there are so many details and extra chapters in the novel. By the end of this novel, there will be around 200-300 of my original jutsu and around 25-30 new Kekkei Genkai. So, yeah the progress will be slow. ---------------------- Bam bam The axe and scythe relentlessly strike on Susanoo. Crack crack Some crack appears on Fugaku''s Susanoo. "Enough with the ytime. It''s time to end it." Fugaku infuses more chakra in his Susanoo. The Susanoo takes the form of a humanoid with four arms. Two of the arms grab hold of the axe and the remaining two grabs the scythe. Fugaku focuses his vision on a gap in Sasori''s defense. "Amaterasu" ck mes engulf Sasori''s cloak. "He got me." Sasori immediately throws away his robe and jumps back. Wham Fugaku appears on top of Sasori with his Susanoo. The Susanoo punches Sasori. Sasori flicks his fingers and the Kazekage puppet creates an Iron shield to block the punch. The force of the punch sent him flying. Fugaku immediately makes some hand signs, "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique" By using the Susanoo as a medium, Fugaku unleashes a barrage of giant Fireballs from the construct''s mouth. "Ma Release: Iron Sand Repulsion" The Kazekage puppet creates two spheres of Iron sand and charges them with a simr Maic Charge. This results in arge repulsive maic field. The repulsive force pushes back the fireball and scatters Iron sand. Sasori escapes from the assault of Fugaku and warily looks at the Susanoo. Swoosh Zetsu pops out from the ground. Swish Sasori immediately ces a kunai on Zetsu''s neck. "Hold on!" White Zetsu shouts frantically. Sasori removes the kunai and questions Zetsu. "What''s the matter? Why are you interrupting my fight?" ck Zetsu stares at Fugaku''s Susanoo for a while before he replies to Sasori. "It''s time to return. This mission is a failure, the Shinigami has returned to the vige. We can''t fight against thebined forces of so many powerful ninjas. The rest of the vigers have been alerted by this attack. Soon, the enemies will surround us." Sasori nods to Zetsu and retreats. Zetsu enters the ground again to inform Kakuzu and Fushin. Fugaku watches Sasori run away from the vige. Fugaku dispels his Susanoo. He coughs up blood and falls on the ground. "Fugaku!" Yagami appears beside Fugaku and helps him get up. Yagami notices a purple tint on Fugaku''s body. "You have been poisoned, Fugaku. You need immediate medical attention; I will take you to the Leaf Vige Hospital." Yagami carries Fugaku on his shoulder. Zetsu informs Kakuzu and Fushin to retreat. Both of themply and retreat to the edge of the vige. Kakuzu searches his holster. Fushin looks at him with a frown. "What''s the matter, Kakuzu? What are you searching for?" Kakuzu ignores Fushin and continues to search. After a while, he fishes out a scroll from his pocket. "Finally! Found it." Kakuzu infuses some of his chakras in the scroll. A stack of notes appears in his hand. "" Fushin silently stares at Kakuzu with a loss for words. "You just escaped from the enemy with your dear life and the first thing that matters to you is money. I don''t get how your brain functions." "Shut the fuck up! Even though you are Sasori''s partner, that doesn''t mean I won''t kill you. Don''t bad-mouth my money." Kakuzu threatens Fushin. "Ok! Ok man, I got it." Fushin tries to calm Kakuzu. Kakuzu continues to count the stack of money. "Not even a penny less. I have made a profit in this haul. But sadly, I lost four of my hearts. That bastard, someday I will make him pay with his life." Kakuzu stows away the money. -------------- Zetsu pops out from the ground outside Konoha. "Why we are at our meeting point? Dino is still inside the vige." White Zetsu questions ck Zetsu''s intention. "He won''t live long. He had provoked the Shinigami. He is dead, forget about him." ck Zetsu replies calmly. ''This Shinigami could have been a better pawn than Obito. s! He was born toote and it would be quite hard to coax him. ck Zetsu sighs silently. -------------- Ptui Dino spits blood and slowly stands up. Haha "It has been a while since I felt this pain. You will pay for your insolence. Kuku" Dino forms a de and a shield from carbon. He licks the blood from his de and dashes towards Izuna. "You talk too much." Swoosh Izuna disappears and reappears in front of Dino. Bam He punches the ck diamond shield of Dino. Dino has a smile on his face as he expects the look of disbelief on Izuna''s face. Crack crack The ck diamond shield shatters into fragments. Wham Izuna punches Dino into the face. He ms into another wall. "Aaaah" "It hurts, you bastard." A frantic scream escapes from Dino. Izuna slowly walks in front of Dino. "You have signed a death contract with Reaper, the instance you attacked my family and n. I will slowly torture and kill you to make you feel their pain." Blue mes appear in Izuna''s hand. "Artic Release: Annihtion Zero" The blue mes engulf Dino and slowly consume his body. Aaaah Aaaah Dino screams in pain as the icy mes crawls through his body... slowly freezing his blood and organs and rupturing and shattering them one by one. AAAAAH... AAAAH... Dino''s screams of agaony resounds through the entire Uchiha n. ''I hope these screams will calm the vengeful souls of people brutally murdered by him.'' "AAAH... What are these mes?" Dino''s body is slowly frozen at ces where the fire touches his body. He feels a mixed sensation of burning and freezing. Dino frantically releases carbon from his body to prevent the fire. The carbon freezes and shatters into dust. "Noooo. this can''t be." The mes freeze Dino''s entire body. Crack crack Various cracks appear on his Dino''s frozen statue. tter Dino shatters into countless pieces. The mes fall on the ground and freeze the nearby area. The area around them turns into an Ice hell. "It''s time to end that masked guy." Izuna speaks in a icy cold tone. He flickers towards his parents. The masked man notices him. "Kuku so, the ytime is over. Those Akatsuki fellows were useless. I have to do it myself." The masked man jumps back and makes some hand signs and ms his palms on the ground. "Secret Technique: Summoning Demonic Quintuple Rashomon" Five giant gates erupt from the ground. The gates have a frightening demonic face upon them. The gate''s doors shuts tightly, acting as a solid wall. "Seal" He sps his hand. The gates tightly shut and more solid walls appear in the gaps. The eyes of the demonic faces glow with green color. A giant pentagonal green barrier forms at the position of gates. "Now, none of you will be able to escape. Haha." The masked manughs. "It''s time for my revenge." -------------- Hiruzen, Sakumo, and various other elders and anbu unit arrive outside the Uchiha district. They notice the giant barrier erected in the center of the Uchiha district. Hiruzen frowns, "Looks like the Uchiha district is under attack." "Or it can be an act by Uchiha n, they are preparing for a Coup d''tat against the vige after all." Homura remarks. "Let''s check it out." Hiruzen signals an Anbu unit. The Anbu quickly reaches near the barrier. One of the Anbu members coats his de in wind chakra and shes at the barrier. sh There is no damage to the barrier. The de catches fire, the anbu member immediately throws away the de. "Huh! There is a strong sealing technique on this barrier. It can''t be destroyed from the outside. We can only destroy it from inside." Hiruzen analyzes the barrier. He frowns and thinks of a solution. "Sensor Unit sensor unit!" Hiruzen shouts. A group of special jounins arrives and bows before him. "Yes, Hokage-sama!" "Form a sensing technique barrier around this ce and report the situation of the barrier to me. I want to know what''s happening inside this barrier." Hiruzen orders them. "Yes, Hokage-sama!" The sensor Corp forms some hand signs and sits in a formation. They stretch out their hand in front of them. "Sensing Water Sphere" A spherical mass of water takes shape in front of them. Some bubbles rise from the barrier and there are ripples here and there on the surface of the sphere. The sensor Corp reports to Hiruzen. "Hokage-sama, these bubbles are the chakra signature of the people inside the barrier. The ripples indicate the usage of various jutsu inside the barrier." The leader of the Corp exins. "Then what about these tworge bubbles?" Hiruzen points at tworge water bubbles. The Leader looks closely at the bubbles before he replies, "Hokage-sama, these two are also chakra signature of people inside the barrier, and from the look of it; their chakra reserves are far greater than average." Hiruzen scrutinizes the ''Sensing Sphere'' before he inquires. "How high are their chakra reservespared to a Kage?" The leader hesitates for a while before he replies, "If Ipare their chakra reserves to yours Hokage-sama, then they have at least 50 times more chakra than you. And that''s an estimate on my part." The eyes of nearby elders widen as they stare at the ''Sensing Sphere''. "What''s going inside the barrier? Are there jinchurukis fighting inside the barrier?" Koharu remarks. Hiruzen immediately summons Kakashi. "Inu, check on Naruto Uzumaki. You will find him in Senjupounds." "Yes, Hokage-sama!" Kakashi flickers away. Hiruzen makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Monkey King Enma" Enma appears beside Hiruzen and questions him. "What''s the matter, Hiruzen?" Hiruzen points towards the barrier "Enma, can you try to break this barrier in your Adamantine form?" "Let me give it a try." Enma transforms into an Adamantine Staff. Hiruzen wields the staff and dash towards the barrier. Chapter 110: The Indestructible Barrier Chapter 110: The Indestructible Barrier Bam Hiruzen ms the Adamantine Staff on the barrier. The barrier shakes a little from the force of the attack. Swoosh The recoil force of the barrier pushes him back. Argh The Adamantine Staff transform back into Monkey King Enma. He grimaces in pain and rubs his fur. "This barrier is very powerful. It is almost impossible to break it from outside unless you apply enough force to ovee the repulsive force of the sealing form." Enma remarks. It is an advanced version of ''Summoning: Quintuple Rashomon'' used by First Hokage Hashirama Senju. Hiruzen the enemy is quite powerful this time around. Hiruzen nods to Enma and remarks. "That Uchiha boy, I told you about is inside the barrier. I hope he will be able to search for a way to deal with this barrier." "So, that''s how it is. Then I will be going, Hiruzen. You should also take care of your old bones." Enma disappears in a poof of white smoke. "Humm" Hiruzen nods and stares at the barrier. "I hope everything will turn fine. Konoha has already weakened a lot in this past decade." ------------------- Inside the barrier, Izuna stares at the barrier. He raises his eyebrows as he inspects the barrier. "This is quite a high level, Fuinjutsu Barrier. If I remember correctly, it is the advanced version of ''Summoning: Quintuple Rashomon''. It requires arge amount of chakra to cast this barrier. It has a formidable defense that can equally distribute the force of an attack around the entire barrier." Izuna activates his Sharingan and studies the barrier. He scans multiple Fuinjutsu seals on the Rashomon Gates. "The barrier has two defenseyers. The first defenseyer is the Green energy barrier and the secondyer is the Dark Iron Demonic Rashomon Gates. Unless you destroy the inner Rashomon gates, the barrier will continuously regenerate the outer energyyer by sucking the chakra and the life force of the trapped people. This makes this barrier self-sustaining. That means, there is no need for the caster to maintain the barrier, quite a sinister barrier indeed. But it has a fatal weakness, if it concentrates the force of the attack at a point, then I can destroy the Rashomon Gates before they regenerate." Izuna concludes the weakness of the barrier. ''I can destroy this barrier in two hits if I go full power. Otherwise, it will take 5 or 6 hits to destroy this barrier.'' Izuna turns towards the masked man. ''But I guess he won''t give me the time. Let''s deal with him first.'' Swoosh Izuna appears besides Akira and Aiko. He confronts the masked man. "Mom and Dad, leave him to me. I will deal with him." Akira retreats. Aiko hesitates for a while, but she retreats nheless. "Izuna dear! He is very strong. Take care while fighting him." She warns him. "I will keep that in mind." Izuna nods to Aiko and turns towards the masked man. The masked man releases his hands and makes some more hand signs. "Who are you?" Izuna questions him. "Wind Release: Extreme Wind Bullet Barrage" The masked man sucks an extensive amount of air and fires multiple wind bullets at Izuna. Izuna twists his body in the air and easily dodges the bullets. The wind bullets punch multiple holes through nearby houses and blow them away. ''The power of this B-rank jutsu is enhanced to an A-rank jutsu. I have never met with such a strong wind user before. Who is he exactly?'' Izuna frowns. "Lightning Release: Kaminari''s wraith" The masked man fires multiple concentrated bolts of lightning at Izuna. The bolts travel extremely fast towards Izuna and surround him. Crackle crackle The ground cracks from the lightning st. Izuna raises his right hand and coats it in the wind chakra. "Dark Release: Chakra Absorption" Two dark red ovepping Diamond marks appear on his right palm. Izuna absorbs the lightning jutsu through the mark. He directs the palm towards the masked-man. "Dark Release: Judgement" He fires the lightning jutsu back towards the masked man. Tch The masked man clicks his tongue and makes some more hand signs. "Fuinjutsu: Kama Barrier" A green barrier appears in front of him and blocks the lightning bolt. He immediately jumps back and avoids the attack from Izuna. Boom An enormous crater appears at the previous position of the masked man. A spiraling thunderstorm engulfs the entire crater. The thunderstorm calms down after a while, and purple lightning flickers through the crater. ''He dodged my Vanishing Purple Lightning Rasengan.'' Izuna warily nces at the masked man. "Izuna Uchiha! Today will be yourst day. After I kill you, I will kill your entire family and send them to the afterlife with you." A raspy voice greets Izuna. "Let''s see, if you have the power to make that possible." ''Swift Release: Sonic Steps'' Izuna disappears and immediately appears in front of the masked man. He clenches his fist and infuses arge amount of chakra in them. "Power Release: Destruction Fist" His fist glows with an orange color and smashes into the masked man. Bam The punch pushes the masked man a little. The masked man regains his bnce and delivers a punch of his own. The masked man''s fist glows with white light. Bam Izuna crosses his arms in front of his chest. ''Metal Release: Adamantine Skin'' He blocks the punch, but the force flung him away. Izuna somersaults in the air and regains his bnce. He quickly makes some hand signs and concentrates arge amount of chakra in his palms. "Radiation Release: Nuclear Devastation" He fires a condensed green orb of chakra towards the masked man. The orb quickly closes on the masked man. "Release" Izuna ps his hand. The orb expands immediately and detonates on top of the masked man. "This can be a little bad." The masked man forms a multiyered green barrier to protect himself. Boom An enormous explosion engulfs him. The explosion rises into arge pir of green light and slowly vanishes into the air. A massive gap appears on top of the barrier. --------------- Outside the barrier, Hiruzen and the rest of the elders stare at the explosion with wide-eyes. A gigantic ripple travels across the ''Sensing Sphere'' and the water of the sphere boils. Sweat glides down the forehead of the ''Senser Corp'' members. They immediately infuse chakra in the sphere to stabilize the barrier. The barrier stabilizes and stops boiling, but the ripples continue to fluctuate on the barrier. The Leader of the Corp wipe his forehead and report to Hiruzen. "Hokage-sama, this explosion is very potent. It has enough power to obliterate one-third of Konoha." The Leader gulps his saliva as he imagines the effect of jutsu on the vige. Hiruzen continues to stare at the explosion as he mutters, "What kind of fight is happening inside the barrier? Such powerful ninjutsu. It is at the level of a ''Forbidden Technique''." "Quickly the earlier explosion opened a hole in the barrier. We have to immediately breach the barrier and inspect the situation inside the barrier." One of the Dragon Unit members notices therge hole in the green barrier. Multiple Anbus jumps towards the hole and tries to enter inside the barrier. Swoo The demonic eyes on the gates lit up. They immediately fire a green beam at the breach. The barrier starts to repair itself. "Quick! Enter inside before it repairs." The Anbu members increase their speed. Fwoosh The barrier closes and many Anbu members ms into the barrier. Aaah Their body catches fire and turns into ashes. The rest of the Anbu member stops their track and jumps back. "The regeneration rate of this barrier is ridiculous. It requires arge amount of chakra to sustain this barrier?" The Leader of the ''Barrier Corp'' scrutinizes the barrier. "Oh! You are finally here, Kakoi. Can you find a weakness of this barrier?" Hiruzen greets the neer. The neer wears a ''Shinto'' priest robe. He has shoulder-length brown hair and unique marking under his eyes. He wears a pointed hat with the ''Barrier Team'' symbol above his forehead protector. Kakoi bows before Hiruzen. "I will try my best, Hokage-sama." "Good!" Hiruzen nods to Kakoi and turns towards the barrier. Kakoi instructs other members of the ''Barrier Team'' to aid the ''Sensor Corp''. --------------- Inside the Barrier, The dust and debris from the explosion settle down. The masked man walks out of the crater. His body has scorch marks and there are multiple third-degree burns on his body. The st destroys the green barriers around his body. Parts of the barrier flickers for a while before they dissipate. There is a strange purple symbol on the masked man''s chest. The masked man makes some strange hand signs and taps the symbol on his chest. A white glow coats the masked man''s body. His wounds and burns regenerate quickly. The white glow heals the wounds at a rapid rate. Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and closely inspect the white glow. "This is this is Light Chakra. But how?" Izuna''s eye widens in surprise. Chapter 111: The Entry of the Sannin Chapter 111: The Entry of the Sannin Bzzzt whish The masked man''s wounds heal rapidly. He cracks his neck and clenches his fist. "Aah! This sensation. I really like this new body. Now now it''s time to have my revenge." Izuna inspects the entire process through his evolved Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. "That''s that''s the Light chakra. How? How could he use this chakra?" Lots of questions and doubts appear in Izuna''s mind. ''Guess I have to beat him up to know my answers.'' ''Swift Release: Sonic Steps'' He swiftly appears in front of the masked man and draws out his de and infuses dark chakra. Silver-ck mes cover the de and sh it towards the masked man. "Kenjutsu: Uchiha Style: Dance of the Sun Halo" With a quick gesture of his hand, Izuna shes his sword multiple times. He unleashes a multitude of sword strikes together with waves of silver-ck mes at the masked man. "Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique" Ssh The masked man makes some hands and expels arge volume of water in the shape of a vortex. The vortex devastates everything in its way and collides with the me waves. The mes die down as Izuna shes at the masked man. nk The masked man blocks the sword with a kunai. Izuna jumps back and avoids a sh from the masked man. Swish He deflects multiple kunais with his sword. Izuna frowns as he stares at the masked man. ''Who is he? I have never met anyone this strong before. He can go toe-to-toe with me at my one-third power, and I feel like he is still holding back a little. Also, what''s the deal with that strange Fuinjutsu seal? It reminds me of the seal I saw on one of those old scrolls in Mount Myoboku.'' Whoosh whoosh Izuna dodges tworge Fuma shurikens and turns his attention to the masked man. Izuna makes some hand signs and stomps his feet on the ground. "Shock Release: Seismic Seizure" A mini-earthquake shakes the ground and the Rashomon barrier tremble from the shock. The ground beneath the masked man tore apart. The masked man jumps in the air and takes a foothold on one of the Rashomon Gate. "Wind Style: Vacuum Wave st" The masked man takes a deep breath and fires a wide-area wind jutsu. The wind current rotates horizontally and crushes everything in its way. "I have yed enough. Time to end this farce." Izuna ps his hand. He absorbs arge amount of Nature energy and enters Sage Mode. A cyan chakra cloaks his body. The cloak has a giant tomoe on its front and back. "Sage Art: Storm Release: Fang of light" Izuna fires a sharp, thin stream of light from his mouth. sh The beam travels at almost light speed. It easily cleaves through the wind vortex and splits the masked man in half. Crack crack The mask splits in half and falls apart to reveal the face of the masked man. "This this can''t be. How How is this possible?" Izuna''s eye widens in surprise. He points his finger and question. "How can it be you? Impossible!" Kuku "It is indeed me. Are you surprised? Haha." -------------------- Inside Shikkotsu Forest, Tsunade slowly opens her eyes. There are ck markings around and under her eyes. The Strength of a Hundred Seal oveps with the markings and forms a Diamond marking on her forehead. Tsunade jumps from the giant tree and crashes to the ground. She brushes off the dust and jumps in the air. Tsunade clenches her fist and infusesrge amounts of Nature energy in her fist. Haah Her fist glows with cyan chakra as she smashes it in a nearby hill. Bam.. Rumble rumble. The hill quakes and split apart. Almost half of the hill crumble from the attack and the nearby terrain changes. Dust and debris settle to reveal a narrow valley between the two sides of the hill. Tsunade looks at the valley with wide-eyes. "Amazing, Tsunade-Sama." Katsuyu slithers over to Tsunade. "Congrattions, Tsunade-sama, you have finally mastered the Sage-mode. It took you close to nine-months to learn the Sage Mode. But you have mastered the perfect Sage Mode." Katsuyu apuds Tsunade. "Katsuyu, I never thought ''Sage Mode'' would be this powerful. It has almost increased my physical strength by tenfold or even more. I can even feel the dead cells of my body getting rejuvenating from the Nature energy." Tsunade points to her skin as it turns glossy. "Now, I can maintain my beauty for as long as I want." Tsunade inspects her body closely. "Uh uhum Tsunade-sama, it would be better if you focus more on your Nature energy control. You will be able to enter Sage Mode for much longer." Tsunade stops andins, "You are such a grouch Katsuyu. I am only looking at the effects of Sage Mode on my body. I have to be aware of all side-effects of Sage Mode topletely master it." Katsuyu sweat drops and her tentacles shake in frenzy. Ehh Suddenly, Katsuya''s optical tentacles rise sharply as she freaks out. Her expression turns grim, and she turns towards Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama there is an emergency Tsunade-sama. The vige is under attack, Tsunade-sama. The Uchiha n the Uchiha n is" "What?" Tsunade immediately turns to Katsuyu and question her. "What happened? Tell everything in detail. I want every piece of information." "Yes, Tsunade-sama. Shizune just summoned a smaller clone of mine and reported the condition of the vige. Through my clone, I saw the entire Uchiha n shrouded in a giant barrier. The vige is troubled and is unable to breach the barrier. Even Hokage-sama failed in his attempt." Katsuyu exins everything to Tsunade. "What?...such a thing happened in the vige. I have to return to the vige immediately. Katsuyu let''s go." Tsunade''s expression turns serious. "Yes, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade jumps on top of Katsuyu and makes some hand signs and ms her hands. Fwoosh Both of them disappear in a puff of smoke and appear inside Konoha. The summoning smoke clear out and Tsunade looks around. She spots the Giant green barrier and notices the squad of Anbu and other ninja surrounding it. Hiruzen raises his head and turns towards Tsunade. Tsunade walks towards Hiruzen and questions him. "Sensei, what''s the matter? What is this all about? Can you exin everything in detail?" "Very well," Hiruzen sighs and exins everything to Tsunade. "This barrier is almost unbreachable. All of our attempts to destroy this barrier went vain." Hiruzen rubs his forehead. "Hokage-sama!" Shikaku flickers in front of Hiruzen and greets him. "Oh! Shikaku. Finally, you are here. I need you to take a look at the situation and figure out a feasible solution." Hiruzen requests Shikaku. "Hmm" Shikaku surveys the barrier. "Inoichi, can you tell me the exact number of people trapped inside this barrier? I want a rough estimate." He turns towards Inoichi. "Let me give it a shot." Inoichi walks towards the ''Sensor Corp''. He ces one of his hands near the ''Sensing Sphere'' and the other hand on his forehead. Inoichi closes his eyes to sense the chakra fluctuation. "Mind-Body Sense Extension Jutsu" Inoichi extends his senses inside the barrier and surveys inside for a while. After a few minutes, he opens his eyes and turns towards Hiruzen. Inoichi gulps his saliva and report. "There is bad news, Hokage-sama." Hiruzen''s expression turns grave, but he still nods to Inoichi to continue. "The Uchiha n the Uchiha n. Almost half of the members of the Uchiha n have lost their life. I can''t sense their chakra anymore and also" Inoichi takes a deep breath before he continues. "Also, this barrier is draining the chakra of the rest of the members. If we don''t destroy it immediately, then we will lose the Uchiha n." Inoichi drops a bombshell. "WHAT?" Tsunade shouts in disbelief. "Yes, Tsunade-sama." Inoichi nods in affirmation. "No, we have to break this barrier. I can''t allow this." Memories of the past few years spent with Izuna and his family shes in her mind. In these past few years, she had considered Izuna as a family, and the love she received from his family has slowly closed the gap in her heart. Tsunade jumps on top of Katsuyu and ps her hand. She closes her eye and meditates. Hiruzen questions Katsuyu. "Katsuyu, what''s going on? What is Tsunade trying to do?" "Hokage-sama, Tsunade-sama is a Sage now. She will be able to do something about this barrier." Katsuyu replies to Hiruzen. "What?" It is Hiruzen''s turn to get surprised. "You mean, she had mastered the same Sage Mode as Hashirama Sensei. But that that''s impossible, right? Even Tsunade''s father wasn''t able to master the Sage Mode, then how could Tsunade learn it." Hiruzen has disbelief written over his face. "Tsunade-sama is such a genius. She modified the technique of Mito-sama and now she learned the same Sage Mode as Hashirama-sama." Katsuyu praises Tsunade. After a while, Tsunade opens her eyes and jumps in front of the barrier. "Yoshaa" Tsunade bumps her fists and infuses chakra into them. Hiruzen stares at Tsunade with wide-eyes as the figure of the first Hokage shes in his mind. "Are you looking at her, sensei? Your Tsuna has already surpassed me." Tear drip from his eyes. Hiruzen quickly wipes his tear and looks towards the Hokage monument. Chapter 112: The Mastermind behind the Attack Chapter 112: The Mastermind behind the Attack "Da Da Danzo! It''s you. How could it be you? How are you still alive?" Izuna questions in frenzy. Izuna recalls his memories of when he killed Danzo. ''I sealed him inside the Shinigami''s stomach and I destroyed his body. How he is still alive? I am sure he even used hisst Izanagi in the fight.'' Izuna calms down his emotions and scrutinize Danzo''s body with his Mangekyo Sharingan. He activates his "Eye of Insight" and checks the changes in Danzo''s body. Throb Throb The strange Fuinjutsu seal located in Danzo''s chest is pumping out an enormous amount of chakra in his body. Izuna can see the ''Nature energy'' rapidly getting converted into chakra. ''Is it because of this seal? Is this the reason Danzo is still alive? No, there seems to be more to it.'' The Sin seal on his hand heats up. The Grimoire pops out from its separate space and shows its hostility to the seal. Izuna frowns from the strange reaction of ''Sin Seal'' "I have an iota of the idea, who did it? But to be on the safe side, I will kill Danzo again and will investigate this matterter." Danzo''s body regenerates and joins again. Haha "Surprised? Aren''t you? Seeing me alive and stronger than ever. Huh! You killed me and sealed my soul inside the Reaper. I suffered inside that dark ce for who knows how much time? My soul was suffering from endless pain and agony. There wasn''t a single moment when I wasn''t tormented. In that darkness, a hand stretched out to me; the hand of a demon. I sold my soul to the demon and made a contract with him. He gave me this new body and this power. I am stronger than ever. Even First Hokage Hashirama Senju isn''t a match for me now. You are nothing but a measly worm whom I will kill easily with a snap of my finger. I am immortal at this point. As long as my soul is fine, I won''t die no matter how many times you kill this body." Haha Danzoughs maniacally and makes some hand signs, "Fuinjutsu: Devouring Demon Chains" He ms his hands on the ground and various dark ck chains erupt from the ground from a purple-colored portal and chase Izuna. nk nk Izuna deflects the chain, but they continue to chase after him like a homing missile. Tch ''These chains are so annoying. Every time I contact them; they suck my chakra and vitality.'' Izuna clicks his tongue and looks at the chains in annoyance. ''Let me try to freeze these chains.'' He jumps back and makes some hand signs. "Ice Release: Snow Dragon Blizzard" Izunaunches a giant dragon of ice towards the chains. The dragon attacks the chains and freezes them. Danzo sps his hand and infuses more chakra. Rattle Rattle The chains rattle and break free from the constraints of ice. ''Looks like Ice will work... but I have to use a stronger jutsu. Let me put that new Kekkai Tota to test.'' Izuna stops in his chase and confronts the chains. He ps his hands and infuses Ice Release and Fire Release chakra in his left and right hand. "Artic Release: Freezing mes of Nothingness" He releasesrge amounts of blue mes from his hands. Sizzle sizzle Shoom The mes immediately cover the chains. The chains burn with blue mes for a while before freezing right in front of Izuna''s face. ''Whew it worked.'' Snap Izuna snapped his finger. Crack crack The chains trembled before shattering into countless pieces of Ice kes. The chains turned into nothingness and it leaves not even a fragment of them behind. The snowkes cover the ground and the temperature drops below the freezing point. ''This jutsu is quite potent, but I am still not proficient in its uses. I want to use only one hand to manipte all the Nature Transformations in the jutsu. Well, that is quite difficult for current me. Theplexity involved is way behind my reach, at least for now.'' Danzo''s jutsu shatters and the Fuinjutsu seal form breaks. His eyes widen and a hint of surprise appears on his face. "This this jutsu! What kind of jutsu did you use? How are you able to use such a powerful Ice Release technique? As far as I know, you shouldn''t be able to use any Kekkai Genkai except your Sharingan and Swift Release? How how can you use so many nature transformations?" Danzo questions him in a frenzy. "Yes this will do. Once I kill you, I will ask Orochimaru to study your body. All of your secrets will be mine. Haha Besides, my only task is to kill you, and I will be free from my restraints. The Demon only wants your soul, he has no use for your body." Danzo chuckles in madness. ---------------- Somewhere in Land of Sound, Inside an underground experiment facility, There are multiple humans sealed inside many giant experiment tubes filled with nutritional liquid. Orochimaru walks in front of one of the tube and presses some buttons. It drains the nutritional liquid from the tubes and the tube opens. A white snake grabs the man by the waist andy him on a table. Hmm ''This test subject is in optimal condition. Now, let''s start the experiment.'' Orochimaru ponders to himself. He injects many strange serums inside the man''s body. The test subject''s body trembles for a while before it explodes into a mess of flesh and blood. Orochimaru wipes the blood from his face. A wide grin appears on his face. Kuku "Hiruko, you fool. Did you think that by modifying the crucial step into your experiment log, you will be able to fool me? I have seeded, I have finally found a method to gain immortality." Orochimaru looks at the puddle of flesh and blood. "Looks like I need a potent body to sustain my chakra and life force." Image of Izuna appears in Orochimaru''s mind. "No, he is too powerful. I can''t take the risk." Then the image of Itachi appears in Orochimaru''s mind. "He is quite young, with lots of potentials. If I can get his body, then I will be able to grow even more powerful." Orochimaru licks the blood on his face and walks towards another test subject. Slither slither A small white snake coils around Orochimaru''s leg and reaches to his ear. Flicker flicker The snake flickers its forked tongue near Orochimaru''s ear while Orochimaru is pouring some liquid in one of his test tubes. "Oh! Looks like that little toy of mine has information for me. What was his name hmm Kabuto, was it? Let''s meet with him." Orochimaru prepares to walk out of his hideout. Achoo He sneezes violently. ''Looks like someone is talking about me behind my back.'' --------------- ''So, I was right. That purple cloaked guy is still alive. But a demon, I never expected him to be a demon. Well, Danzo could be wrong since they termed all the horned beings as Demons and even Otsutsukis have horns. If he is after me, then why would he help Danzo and send him after me? He is powerful enough to bitch p me and take away the ''Grimoire''. Well, I can think about thatter. For now, let me kill Danzo again. This time, I will erase him from existence. Time to go full power.'' Izuna ps his hands together. ''Limbo Hengoku'' ''Power Release: Chakra cloak'' Some orange chakra mes rise from Izuna''s body and empower his Senjutsu cloak further. Haa "It''s a futile attempt. Give up, Izuna Uchiha. ept your fate." Danzo stretches his hands in front of his chest. The strange marking extends to his hands and forms two Diamond Shape marks in the middle of his palm. Light chakra gathers in his palms and forms a blinding sphere of light. Danzo directs it towards Izuna and shouts, ''Light Style: Salvation Bomb'' Shoom The light bomb travels extremely fast towards Izuna. Izuna looks at the light bomb aiming for him. ''Looks like my conjecture is correct. Danzo received quite a help from that figure. But if he thinks I will go down this easily, then he is sorely mistaken.'' Izuna infuses darkness chakra in his palms. The ck chakra rotates in his hand form apressed spiral of chakra. ''Darkness Style: ckout Rasengan'' Izuna throws the Rasengan at the light bomb. Boom Both jutsus collide with each other and their respective elements sh with each other. The pr opposite elements create a violent reaction where one side turns dark and the other side shines brightly. Bzzzt ck and white lightning crackles around their center and the jutsu copse in itself. The st releases a violent shock wave, which pushes them back. ''Earth Style: Rock Dome'' Izuna creates a dome to block the shock waves of the attack. Danzo is blown away by the st. He grabs holds of the Rashomon gate and takes a foothold on it. -------------- Outside the barrier, The Sensing Sphere distorts from the massive amount of chakra. Its shape distorts to that of a funnel before the sphere copses. The Sensor Corp'' tries their best to prevent it, but the bacsh from a sudden Chakra outburst pushes them back. Some ''Sensor Corp'' members even bleed from their nose. Their vision is blinded by a radiant disy of light. Rumble Rumble The brilliant disy of blinding light is followed by a massive earthquake. Hiruzen and others manage to stabilize their footing during the shock waves. Sigh "At this point, I really want to know what''s actually happening inside this damn barrier." Hiruzen curses in frustration. Chapter 113: Erased From Existence Chapter 113: Erased From Existence Swoosh Fwoosh Stab A dark de coated in Darkness chakra stabs through Danzo''s heart. Barf Danzo pukes out a mouthful of blood. The darkness chakra corrodes his body and eats away his organs. Argh Puss leaks from Danzo''s body as he winces in pain. "What? How how is this possible?" Danzo stares at the de pierced through his chest. ck fumes rise from the de. "That previous jutsu didn''t finish you off. How how did you survive?" Danzo questions Izuna in a frenzy. Rubble rubble Izuna pushes away the nearby rubble and walks out from the Rock dome. Danzo''s eyes widen as he points at a finger at Izuna. "If you are here, then who attacked me?" Izuna slowly walks towards Danzo. "Death! Huh! You miraculously defied death once. But will you be able to defy it again?" Izuna smiles at Danzo and draws another de and pierces it through Danzo''s guts. "Don''t worry! You won''t be returning this time. I will obliterate your soul for once and all." Stab stab Izuna ignores Danzo and continues to stab the darkness coated de through various parts of Danzo''s body. ''I hope this darkness infused de will be able to keep his regeneration factor at bay. If I remember correctly, his regeneration is simr to that cloaked guy. So, it uses Light-based chakra to heal from fatal wounds. But Darkness Chakra can interrupt this healing. I have to separate his soul from his body and to do that I have to first destroy his body.'' Aaah Danzo riles up his chakra. Throb throb The Fuinjutsu seal on his chest beats violently. It jumps out of Danzo''s chest and targets Izuna. "What the fuck?" Izuna jumps back in surprise. He manages to avoid the assault of the seal. An eye opens up on the seal and shes a yellow light on Izuna. Strange curse marks appear on his body. "What is this? I am sure I avoided that freaking thing." The seal extends all over his body and paralyzes him. nk nk The ''Sin Grimoire'' shakes furiously. Strange markings appear from the ''Sin Seal'' and they start to neutralize the paralyzing seal. Haah Danzo frees himself from the bindings of Limbo and quickly arrives in front of Izuna. "This seal will be able to hold you for a few moments. It is enough time to end you for once and all." Haha "Finally, I will have my revenge." Danzo grabs the strange seal eye and ms it towards Izuna''s chest. ''I will be a goner if that hit me. Think Izuna... think. I have to think of a solution to escape this predicament.'' Izuna churns the gears of his brain. ''Got it. I am an idiot. Why I never thought of this before?'' Izuna clicks his right mr. ''Substitution Jutsu'' Swoosh Shoom m Danzo ms his palm on Izuna''s chest. Various sealing form erupts from the seal and binds Izuna''s body. "Farewell, Izuna Uchiha. This is what you said to me right. I will throw them back at you." ''Haha! Now I will be the sole leader of Konoha. No! the entire shinobi world. All five nations will bow before my might. I will deal with Hiruzen after this, and I will force other n leaders to submit to me. Haha'' Danzo fantasizes about his sunny days. "Darkness Release: Big ckout Rasengan" m Bam A giant fuming ck Rasengan smashes into Danzo. Shoom The Rasengan hurls Danzo in the air and explodes. An enormous amount of Darkness chakra invades Danzo''s body and corrodes it inside out. Gwaah Danzo pukes out ck blood and weakly stares at Izuna. "How?" A weak shriekes out from Danzo''s throat. Izuna slowly walks in front of Danzo. The light chakra continues to heal Danzo''s body whereas the Darkness chakra erodes it. Stuck in an endless loop of agony and torment, Danzo weakly questions Izuna. "I have already fought with your so-called... Demon before." Izuna slowly reaches near Danzo''s body. He makes some strange hand signs and hovers his hand above Danzo''s head. ''I hope it works. If not, I will haunt Fukasaku for providing me with ''Fake Scrolls.'' "Soul Art: Soul-body separation" Izuna draws out a transparent apparition from Danzo''s body. The apparition takes the form of Danzo. He surveys the apparition. ''Hmm so this is how a soul looks like on closeup. This jutsu is simr to the Naraka Path power of Rinnegan. Naraka Path is more efficient, I have to say. Well, I have to do it with this make-shift jutsu. If it works... it works.'' "No Argh no don''t kill me. No don''t." Danzo''s soul pleads hysterically. "Did you spare the people you killed just now? You partnered with Akatsuki and ughtered almost the entire n, and now you expect me to spare you. Dream on!" Izuna makes some more hand signs and ps his hands together. ---------------- Outside the barrier, Tsunade clenches her fist and infuses arge amount of Senjutsu chakra in her hands. "Sage Art: Heavenly Spear Punch" Tsunade focuses almost all of her sage chakra on tip of her fist. The concentrated takes shape of a cyan spear. Bam Tsunade punches the barrier with all her strength. Crack crack Various spiderweb-like cracks appear on the Green barrier. Snap The green barrier shatters into countless shards. Tsunade continues to punch through the barrier. Her fist collides with the ''Demonic Rashomon'' Gate. Bam A giant dent appears on the gate as it protrudes out from the back. Swoo The demonic eyes shine brightly and start to repair the gate. "Not so fast!" Haah. Tsunade pushes forwards as she applies more force in her attack. Bang fwoosh She sessfully blows away a giant hole through the Rashomon Gate. Swee The light in ''Demonic Eyes'' dims down. Poof The gate disappears in a giant puff of smoke, and the barrier disperses. Tsunade senses Izuna''s chakra and quickly runs in his direction. Hiruzen and other Anbu members and n leaders follow her. All of them arrive before Izuna. His back is turned towards them as he held Danzo''s souls. "Are you alright, Izuna? You aren''t injured, right?" Tsunade quickly questions him. Izuna turns around and faces them. It surprises him to see the entire vige gathered here. "I am fine, Tsunade. Please quickly check on my nsmen. They need your medical expertise, Tsunade." Tsunade nods her head and ps her hand. "Katsuyu!" "Yes, Tsunade-sama!" ''Immense Network Healing'' Tsunade infuses arge amount of chakra and sync with Katsuyu. Katsuyu splits into multiple smaller clones and spread throughout Konoha. Tsunade heals the injured Uchiha n members. Hiruzen sighs and looks at the death and destruction around him. ''Uchiha n is almost on the brink of extinction. I never thought such a thing will happen to one of the most powerful ns of Konoha. Hiruzen turns towards Izuna and questions him. "Izuna-kun, do you know the culprit behind this massacre?" "I do!" Izuna kicks the corpse of Danzo in front of Hiruzen. "Your old and most trusted friend Danzo is the culprit. He joined hands with Akatsuki and ughtered my n." "What what are you talking about? Don''t spout such nonsense and defame one of Konoha''s elders." Koharu and Homura defend Danzo. Izuna reveals his Mangekyo Sharingan to them and replies, "You won''t believe me, even if you see it with your eyes. Your blind trust in Danzo encouraged him tomit such treacherous crimes. You may have spared him, but I won''t spare him." ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' "Watch his filthy deeds with your own eyes. Look at how atrociously he orchestrated a genocide in my n." Izuna grabs the soul of Danzo and shouts, "Soul Art: Yin-Yang Release: Death to All Creation" A formless power grabs hold of Danzo''s soul. The pressure from the technique epasses nearby onlookers. It forces all of them to bow on the ground. The elders caught off-guard face nts on the ground. The technique slowly erases Danzo''s soul from existence. The frantic shouts of Danzo deafen their ears. Hiruzen weakly looks at this scene and sighs. "You reap what you sow, my friend. Perhaps I am a failure as a friend too. I wasn''t able to pull you from Darkness and instead I pushed you into it." Danzo''s soul vanishes from existence. Huff huff Izuna pants from exhaustion. The previous fight has taken a toll on his body, especially the Yin-Yang technique. ''I am still far from ''Six Paths Power''. Only a single ''Yin-Yang'' technique is my limit for now. Yin-Yang technique requires bnce in all things, and so it is fundamentally different from elemental techniques. My affinity for Yin-Yang allowed me to push this technique. But this is how far I can go without proper training.'' Izuna slumps on the ground. Tsunade immediately catches him and hugs him tightly. ''Aah! This is a blissful end at least for now.'' Izuna passes out in Tsunade''s embrace. ------------------------- A/N:- So, we have officially wrapped up the Uchiha Massacre arc. Comment down your thoughts on this arc. Chapter 114: Itachi Shinden: A Sleepless Night Chapter 114: Itachi Shinden: A Sleepless Night Itachi silently lies on a bed as he stares at the fitful silvery crimson moonlight. Many dense, turbulent clouds will asionally float by and block the moonlight. Itachi stretches his bandaged arm towards the sky as he gazes out of the window. "Life is meaningless." Itachi clenches his fingers into a fist and contemtes. "Every life dies... one day. There is no eternal life." Itachi sits up and removes the IV drip from his arm and continues to stare at the starless sky. "What am I living for? Is it for my friends" Happy memories of Izumi, Tenma, and Shinko shes through his mind. "Is it for my family" Happy memories of Izuna, Shisui, and Naruto shes through his mind. Itachi further clenches his fist tightly. "Is it for my loved ones" Happy memories of his time with Father, Mother, and Little brother Sasuke shes through his mind. Itachi further clenches his fist. Blood leaks from his fist. Itachi ignores the blood and continues to question himself, "If I am living for them, then I want to protect them. But why?... why am I so weak? I saw my entire n getting ughtered in front of me and and I was powerless to do anything." Bang Itachi ms his palm on a nearby table as tears flow from his eyes. Sob sob Itachi silently sobs to himself as he continues to cry. "Let it all out." Itachi raises his head and notices Shisui resting against the window wall. "Let all of your emotions, hatred, grief, sorrow out. Let out everything. You will feel much better." Shisui walks up to Itachi. He pulls out a bandage from a nearby drawer and wraps it around Itachi''s palm. Shisui nods to Itachi and jumps out of the window. Hah Itachi wipes his tears and slowly gets up. He slowly walks towards the window and looks at the night sky. Swoosh Itachi jumps out from the window and flickers away. "Mmm the air is listless and dreary today, just like that day." Shisui takes out a pale green scarf from his pocket. There are some blood-stains on the scarf. He silently caresses the scarf and looks at the distant horizon. Tip-toe Itachi noiselessly walks up to Shisui and lies beside him. Shisui notices Itachi but ignores his presence for a while. "Itachi!" The sudden address from Shisui startles Itachi. "Ye yes, Shisui nii-san." He replies erratically. "So, have you calmed down a little?" Shisui asks Itachi. "Yes, I have calmed down a lot. But but I am lost now. I can''t see a path forward. What should I do now? I want to protect my family, but I feel that I am not strong enough to protect them." Itachi tells his dilemma to Shisui. Shisui raises his eyebrow when Itachi mentions this. He sighs and replies to Itachi. "I also went through the same phase as you." Shisui shows the torn and tattered scarf with blood stains to Itachi. "This is a gift from my friend. Seven years it has been seven years since I parted with her. We were on a mission with Izuna nii-san. The mission was a trapid for us and we feel for it. In that mission, I lost two of my teammates, Kazuko and Mami. It was her who made this scarf for me with her clumsy hands." Shisui tucks away the scarf and turns towards Itachi. He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and shows them to Itachi. "These eyes Itachi. These eyes are a symbol of our failure. Whenever an Uchiha loses something very precious to him, his body triggers a change. The greater the feelings, the greater the change." Shisui looks towards Itachi and notices his expression. Itachi is listening attentively to Shisui. Shisui nods his head and continues. "These emotions release a strange chakra in our Optic nerves and change our Sharingan. It is at this moment, we awaken the greatest cursed power of the Uchiha n, the Mangekyo Sharingan." Itachi''s eyes widen in surprise as hees to know the truth behind Mangekyo Sharingan. "These eyes grant their user enormous power in exchange for their vision. The more you use this power, the greater the loss of vision. So, you have to pay a price to use such great power." Shisui sighs and turns towards the sky. "This is what big brother Izuna told me? Sigh I always wonder how he figured out such secrets that are unknown to most of the members of our n." "Itachi! Find your own Ninja way. Your family doesn''t need your protection, what they need is your attention and love. Mangekyo Sharingan is a power that relies on our emotions. If you fail to control your negative emotions, this power will consume you. I am sure Izuna nii-san will agree with me." Shisui closes his eyes and gets back to his contemtion. Itachi stands with firm resolve. "I think I have figured out the direction. What is a Ninja? Why do we fight? I may not have reached the depth of these questions, but one day I will find my Ninja way?" Itachi mutter to himself. He turns towards Shisui and bows to him. "Thank you, Shisui nii-san." Shisui pats Itachi''s back andughs. "We are family, right? Why do you need to thank me? It is my duty to take care of my family." Itachi shes a smile at Shisui and flickers away. Shisui smiles at the retreating back of Itachi. Sigh "Looks like it will be another sleepless night. I have to get stronger too. I can''t allow Itachi to leave me in the dust." Shisui stands up and looks at the vast expanse of the vige. ------------------ In Mount Myoboku, The Great Toad Sage opens his eyes from his long meditation. "Substantial changes areing in the future. I can see multiple children of prophecy in my divination. Looks like one child of prophecy isn''t enough for the chaotic future." Great Toad Sage looks at the stars in his skies and spot a star shining brighter in the center of many bright stars. "Looks like fate has gathered all children of prophecy around him." Great Toad Sage closes his eyes again and return to his meditation. Chapter 115: Aftermath Part-1 Chapter 115: Aftermath Part-1 Aah "It feels so good. I haven''t had such a pleasant sleep in the past two years." Izunazily stretches out his hands and yawns. Before he could open his eyes properly, he is bear-hugged by somebody. "My Izuna, you are alright. Thank god, nothing happened to you." "I am alright, mom. I was just exhausted from the fight. Nothing happened to me." Izuna hugs his mother. "Ok! Ok!... Mother was worried about you." Aiko leaves Izuna from her embrace. She picks up an apple from the nearby basket and peels it for him. "Izuna Nii-san Izuna nii-san IZUNA NII-san Captain Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi barge inside the room. He slowly sits up and greets everyone. "Yo!.. you all seem quite energetic as usual." Naruto jumps on Izuna and hugs him. Shisui, Itachi, and Sasuke walk near him. "Thank God, Nii-san! You are fine. We were worried about you." "Your Nii-san won''t go down this easily. It will take more than that to take me down." Izuna shes a smile to them. "I will be a strong Ninja-like you, Izuna Nii-san. Dattebyo!" Naruto raises his fist. "Yes, of course. Our Naruto will be the strongest Hokage right." Izuna cheers Naruto. "Yes, Dattebyo!" Izuna notices the gloomy expression of Sasuke and Itachi. "What''s the matter, Sasuke? Why are you so upset?" Sasuke hugs Izuna and tears up. "Nii-san I was sleeping with Mother. Then then Sasuke continues to sob. Izuna pats his head to calm him down. I heard arge explosion. The explosion woke me up. Mother tried to make me fall asleep, but I pretended to fall asleep. Later I saw Uncle Yagami carrying father on his shoulders to our house through the window. Sob sob Father''s entire body was purple. I think he was poisoned, I read the symptoms of poison in a book. Mother left me to tend to father." Sasuke pulls Izuna''s sleeves. "Father will be alright, Nii-san!... He will, right? Sasuke questions Izuna with teary eyes. "Yes, yes he will be alright. Tsunade-san is the best doctor in our vige. She will nurse Uncle Fugaku to full health. Everything will be alright." Sasuke continues... "Then.. then I saw a man wearing a cloak with a red cloud pattern enter inside Grandma Furi''s house. I heard Grandma Furi''s scream and and I saw the cloaked man stabbing a kunai in Grandma Furi''s neck. Waah" Sasuke starts to wail. Izuna pats Sasuke''s head while consoling him, "Everything will be alright, Sasuke. We will find the culprit and will make him pay for his crimes." Sasuke cries for a while. Tears flow from Sasuke''s eyes as he hugs Izuna and passes out. Izuna senses a small flux of chakra in Sasuke''s body directed towards his eyes. ''Looks like Sasuke awakened his Sharingan. It must have put a burden on Sasuke''s body since Sasuke is such an emotional kid.'' Izuna closes his eyes and gathers some Nature energy. He directs the Nature energy in Sasuke''s body and rejuvenates his body. Sasuke soundly sleeps in his arms. Izuna picks him andys him on the bed beside him. Aiko walks towards Sasuke and caresses him. "Poor kid!... He suffered such trauma at such an age." Aiko continues to caress Sasuke. She turns towards Kakashi. "How are you doing, Kakashi-kun?" Aiko asks Kakashi. "I am doing fine, Aiko-san. Father is also fine, he is mostly busy with the elder council and stuff." Kakashi takes an apple from Aiko. "So, what are you doing here, Naruto? Shouldn''t you be at home?" Izuna question Naruto. "Nii-san Tsunade Baa-san and Shizune Nee-san are busy in the hospital. There are lots of sick people today for some reason. So, Tsunade Baa-san brought me to the hospital. I saw Shisui nii-san and others. So, I followed them." Izuna pats Naruto''s head. "Ok! Naruto, I have to talk some serious matter with Itachi and Shisui. You should go and y over there." "Ok! Nii-san." Naruto dashes away. Izuna looks towards Itachi for a while. Shisui walks up to him and mutters something in his ear. Izuna nods and addresses Itachi. "Itachi, you are strong. Both in mind and body. Don''t allow this incident to break your strong will and resolve. It is fine to feel hatred. Channel that hatred towards your enemies and burn them with it Itachi clenches his fist and closes his eyes as the memory of that incident appears in his mind. The sense of helplessness and despair tries to overwhelm him. " don''t get consumed by your hatred. Hatred is born in order to protect the love. You have a family behind you. All of us worry and care for you. Channel that love and make it your strength. I am sure you will be able to ovee this incident and will be able to lead the Uchiha n in the future. You will be the future leader of the Uchiha n." Itachi opens his eyes to reveal Mangekyo Sharingan. "Yes, Izuna nii-san. I will try my best." Itachi nods his head with firm resolve. "Yes, I believe in you." Izuna nods his head. Knock knock A medical-nin knocks on the door. "Come in, please." The medical-nin enters the room and informs them. "Fugaku Uchiha has gained consciousness. I am sure all of you are eager to meet him." Itachi quickly dashes out of the room. Shisui and Aiko follow him. The Medical-nin nods to Izuna. "It has been a while, Izuna-kun." "Yes, it has been a while, Sayori-san. I am fine. Please look after other people." Sayori walks out of the room. Only Kakashi and Izuna remain in the room. Kakashi walks near Izuna and speaks, "How are you doing, Captain?... "Kakashi, I am not your Captain anymore. Just call me Izuna like you did before." Izuna interrupts Kakashi. Kakashi ignores Izuna''s remark and continues. ...this incident... I never expected Danzo was involved in this matter. He tried to win me over multiple times in his Root... but I refused him every time. I never expected him to possess such sinister means." Kakashi takes support against the wall while eating the apple. Izuna silently stares outside of the window while pondering on something. ''Should I reveal the identity of the masked man to Kakashi?'' Izuna ponders for a while before shaking his head. ''Kakashi is not ready yet. He may have ovee the grief... but deep down I can still feel a guilty conscience from him. If I reveal Obito''s identity to him, then I am sure just like canon Naruto... Kakashi will chase after Obito. Things are different for Obito. He is being manipted by Zetsu, but Sasuke was different. I think it is not viable to reveal the truth yet.'' Sigh Izuna sighs and looks towards Kakashi. "Kakashi!... Danzo hired Akatsuki for the job. Akatsuki is full of S-rank criminals and above. In the future, we will have to face them again. I want you to grow stronger. So, if you meet them in the future, you will be able to fight evenly against them." "This Captain are Akatsuki members really so strong? The vige doesn''t have much intel on their members." Kakashi asks him. "Yes, they are very strong. You can not fight them alone." Izuna throws a scroll towards Kakashi. Kakashi catches the scroll and reads it. His expression turns ugly as he reads the scroll. Kakashi returns the scroll to Izuna. Sigh "All of them are monsters. The Akatsuki members are powerful. I never expected this. They have a god, zombie, and undead on their side. What a drag!" Kakashi sighs and finishes the apple. "" Izuna speechlessly looks at Kakashi. ''Looks like he has picked my habit of using words from my former world. But what''s with this Nara n''s verbal tic.'' "Kakashi! Youzy bum. You should train, otherwise I will inform Uncle Sakumo about your new hobby." Izuna pulls out a book from Kakashi''s rear pocket. "Icha Icha Paradise! Quite a weird hobby you have picked Kakashi." Kakashi immediately snatches the book and caress it. "I am a man of culture, and this book is the holy grail for every man of culture. It is such a great book by the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya" "..." " it is aplex book involving the adventures of a brave hero. How the hero falls in love with his heroine? How both of them confess their first love to each other and how their adventures entail with many ups and down?" Kakashi exins the plot of the book as he has a perverted expression on his face. "Really" Izuna remarks with disinterest and disapproval. "That pervert Jiraiya hase up this. Should I inform Tsunade about it?" "No don''t do it or I will expose your dark secrets to the entire vige." Kakashi immediately shouts at Izuna. "My dark secrets! What dark secrets?" Kakashi reaches near Izuna''s ear and mutters something. Izuna''s expression turn ugly. "No! you don''t Kakashi. Don''t you dare reveal it to anybody?" Izuna screams in fluster. "Ok! Ok! I won''t. This is a promise between man. You won''t do anything to my holy grail, I won''t reveal your secrets." Kakashi smirks. "You got me, Kakashi Hatake. Fine, it''s a deal, but keep your end of the promise. Also, let''s meet up in Training ground 7 for more training at ater date." Whistle whistle Kakashi walks out of the room while whistling. ''Damn! How did this jerk found about that?'' Izuna chomps down an entire apple to release some of his frustration. Chapter 116: Aftermath Part-2 Chapter 116: Aftermath Part-2 A/N:- So, I will be releasing atleast 9-10 chapters a week from now on. I don''t have any exam for atleast next three weeks. -------------------------- At the Leaf Vige Cemetery, The remaining members of the Uchiha n are silently mourning the death of their loved ones. Fugaku Uchiha silently stands at the front of the n as his eyes are closed. ''My n has met with such an unfortunate incident and I was powerless to do anything.'' Fugaku clenches his fist as he stares at the gravestone of his friends and n members. "Almost sixty percent almost sixty percent of Uchiha n members died in this incident." Fugaku remembers the tally of dead nsmen. "Seventy people were ughtered in this attack. They were assassinated silently and most of them were killed in gruesome ways." Nerves popped out in Fugaku''s hand as he clenched his fist harder. Blood leaks from his palm. "Our once noble n of elites has fallen to such a down crest position. Most of the remaining members are non-shinobis and only a handful of them are ninjas." Mikoto pulls Fugaku''s hand and shakes her head. Fugaku sighs and closes his eyes. The remaining Uchiha n silently prays for the rest of the dead as tears flow from their eyes. Izuna silently mourns the death of his n members as he remembers the faces of some n members. ''Many of them were so kind and friendly to me. But I allowed them to die such an unfortunate death. Some things still happened despite my presence. But I never expected Danzo to be alive and hire Akatsuki to start a ughter. Next time, if I see any Akatsuki member; I will kill them with no hesitation. There will be no mercy for them.'' Tears flow through his eyes as he recalls the state of many corpses. Most of their eyes were missing. Some corpses have even their heart stolen and some of them were dismembered beyond recognition. ----------------- Crunch crunch Izuna lifts his head as he hears the sound of footsteps crushing the gravel in the cemetery. "It was an unfortunate turn of series; all of you have my condolences." Hiruzen and the rest of the elder council members slowly approach the Uchiha n and stand beside them. They close their eyes to pay homage to the dead. "Uchiha n has fallen out of grace. With their downfall, they are no longer a part of the noble ns of Konoha." Koharu closes her eyes as she mutters these words. "Looks like some subtle changes are going to happen in the power scale of the vige." Homura remarks as he closes his eyes. Izuna raises his eyebrows as he hears the content of the conversation. ''These pairs of old bones are ying politics at such an asion. I have to somehow kick them out of the elder council. They have corroded the vige together with Danzo. It''s time for some new people to join the council. I have to think of a way to instate Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage. Sigh But she won''t abide by my request. I have already asked too much from her.'' Izuna looks at the carving of Minato on the Hokage Monument. ''Minato, Kushina, I will revive you soon. Just wait a bit longer.'' "Koharu, Homura!... let''s leave the political matter for theter meeting. We are in the middle of a funeral." Hiruzen reminds them. Koharu and Homura stop their conversation and closes their eyes. ----------------- After the funeral ceremony, The Uchiha n members slowly disperse as they tend to the graves of their loved ones. Fugaku slowly walks in front of his family. Sasuke is holding Mikoto''s hand as he silently stares at the grave of an old woman. "Sasuke! Let''s give somepany to Grandma Furi." Mikoto carries Sasuke towards one of the grave. Fugaku stares at Izuna, Shisui, and Itachi for a while before a sigh escapes from his mouth. Sigh "You three are the hope of the Uchiha n. With so many capable ninjas gone, the Uchiha n will suffer from further prejudice and scorn. The nine-tails incident had already soiled our reputation with false rumors and then the Coup d''tat." Fugaku stares at Shisui and Itachi. "You were aware, father!" Itachi gulps his saliva. "Who do you think am I? I already suspected you as a double agent when I saw you snooping around near various elder''s house." Fugaku activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and shows it to Itachi. Shisui and Itachi are surprised to see his Mangekyo.. "During the third Shinobi war, I lost a close friend of mine and gained the power of Mangekyo." Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and shows Fugaku. "You aren''t the only one who lost a friend in the third war, Fugaku-san." Shisui and Itachi also activate their Mangekyo Sharingan. "What?" Fugaku''s eyes widen as he stares at the group. "I expected Izuna-kun to have the power of Mangekyo. But Shisui and even you Itachi?" "Father! I awakened my Mangekyo in this massacre." Itachi replies sadly. Sigh Fugaku sighs and pats Itachi''s shoulder. "You have gone through a lot recently. I don''t want Sasuke to go through simr things. So, let''s try to protect that smile of his." Itachi looks at the sad expression of Sasuke, who is praying in front of the grave. "Yes, father! I will protect that smile of his." Itachi turns to Shisui and speaks, "Shisui nii-san, I think I have found my Ninja way. I don''t have any big ambition or goals. I just want to protect the smile of my family. I don''t want to feel the same sense of despair and helplessness again. So, I will grow stronger to protect that smile." Shisui smiles at Itachi and pats his head. "Yes, you will. I will always have your back." Shisui ces his arm on Itachi''s shoulder." "And I will have yours." Izuna hugs both of them. Fugaku looks at their interaction and a smile reces his ever-present frown. ''Looks like there is still hope for my Uchiha n. But first, I have to deal with the dirty politics of the vige.'' Fugaku frowns as he spots an Anbu member walking towards him. Izuna and the rest notice him too. Izuna nods to Shisui and Itachi. Both of them flicker away. After rying the message to Fugaku, the Anbu member flickers away. "I will apany you Fugaku-san." Izuna walks towards and stands in front of Fugaku. Fugaku ponders for a while before he nods his head. "That would be great. Let''s go to the meeting." ------------------- Inside the meeting room, Various elders of the vige sit around arge round table. Hiruzen sits in the middle of the table with Koharu and Homura on his sides. Many other n leaders are also taking part in the meeting. Fugaku and Izuna enter inside the meeting room. Koharu and Homura frown when they notice Izuna in this meeting. "What''s the meaning of this, Fugaku Uchiha? It is a meeting of council elders and n leaders. Why have you brought a n member in this meeting?" Koharu questions Fugaku. Izuna stares at Koharu. "It''s fine, Koharu. Izuna Uchiha is an elite jounin of our vige. His achievements are more than enough to grant him an elder position in the vige council. If it wasn''t for his age, I would have upvoted him for Hokage''s position." Hiruzen interrupts Koharu. ''What?... This pervert old geezer has such a high opinion of me.'' Hmph Koharu snorts and ignores Hiruzen''s remark. ''This granny wants an early retirement. She fricking lived till Naruto''s reign as a Hokage and interferes in his rule. Soon, I will give her a long vacation.'' Izuna takes a seat beside Sakumo and calmly looks at the rest of the n leaders. ''Hmm From their expression, I can see that Hyuga n, Aburame n, Nara n, Yamanaka n, and Akimichi n have no feud with Uchiha n'' He continues to stare at the rest of the middle-sized n members. ''Huh!... Kurama n leader seems to be excited a little. From his heartbeat, his erratic breathing, I can feel his excitement. Hmm let''s see what he has to say during this meeting.'' Soon, all n leaders arrive for the meeting. Hiruzen raises his hand and signals the start of the meeting. "Let''s start the meeting." Hiruzen stands up and walks to the center of the round table to address the n leaders. "As all of you know, the Uchiha n was attacked two days ago. In the night''s silence, Akatsuki members attacked the Uchiha n and killed most of their members." Hiruzen pauses and stares at the rest of the people. The n leader nods their head. "This attack ced a heavy burden on the power structure of the vige. We have lost almost all of the Police Force members and the security of the vige is in jeopardy. So, I would like to" "I have something to say, Hokage-sama." Izuna interrupts Hiruzen. Homura frowns and rebukes Izuna. "Brat! We are still in the middle of our discussion. Don''t interrupt the meeting and waste our time." Hiruzen silently stares at their interaction as he awaits Izuna''s response. Bam Izuna smashes the table and stands up. "The matters of vige politics has got nothing to do with me. I want to ask the elder council, especially you two Izuna points fingers at Koharu and Homura. "Why haven''t you announced the name of the instigator of the Uchiha Massacre event yet?" Bam The table breaks from the force exerted by Izuna. Fugaku looks at Izuna and wonders. ''It was worth it to bring him here. He can voice his opinion and thoughts much more openly than me.'' ----------------------------- A/N:- Uchiha n is in a weird spot right now. They are suspected of the Nine-tails incident and the Coup d''tat. This massacre has declined their power. I want Uchiha n to assert their dominance. So, the next two chapters will have some politics stuff involved. This is required for the plot and for the Uchiha n to grow as a powerhouse. PS: Hyuga Affair Part-3 will be released tomorrow alongside regr chapter. Chapter 117: Politics of the Village Part-1 Chapter 117: Politics of the Vige Part-1 Bam The table breaks from the force of the strike. Hiruzen frowns and pensively looks at Izuna. Koharu and Homura''s expression turns ugly. "Brat! What is the meaning of this disrespect? You are in front of the elders of the vige. You can''t demean the prestige of the vige elders with such tant usation." Koharu remarks angrily. Izuna ignores her and turns towards Hiruzen. "Hokage-sama, I am sure you know what I am getting at. It is pointless to act as a bystander in this situation." Sigh Hiruzen sighs and rubs his forehead. "Izuna!... I am aware of the entire matter. But revealing this matter to other vigers could have serious repercussions on the stability of the vige. I don''t want this news to create distrust among various vigers and lose their faith in the vige and its elders. So, we have to suppress the information of the instigator." Izuna frowns and raises his eyebrow. "Hokage-sama, this won''t do. You want the vige elders to get away scot-free from the Uchiha''s n massacre. Who should we hold responsible for the downfall of my Uchiha n? If you want to suppress the news of the instigator, then our Uchiha n won''t be part of such a vige. Together with the remaining members of the Uchiha n, we will leave the vige and will settle somewhere else." Izuna stares at Hiruzen''s eyes. His body releases an invisible pressure as the temperature of the room drops. Izuna secretly uses his ''Artic Release'' to lower the temperature of the room. Some old council members shiver from the cold and tightly hugs their body. "Audacious!..." Homura stands up from his seat and yells at Izuna. " You have guts to me the vige." Homura cleverly ys a word game by manipting Izuna''s words. "Your Uchiha n nes a Coup d''tat against the vige. The ambition of the Uchiha n had grown to such an extreme that they even thought of overthrowing the Hokage." Homura continues as he shifts the me on the Uchiha n. "What?..." Many n leaders looked at Fugaku with shock. Fugaku ignores their gaze as he continues to look at Izuna. "Enough! Homura." Hiruzen tries to interrupt Homura, but he ignores Hiruzen''s warning and continues. "If not for this Uchiha massacre, the Uchiha n would have started the Fourth Ninja war greatly harming the interest of vige and other ns." Koharu notices the ugly expression on the various n leader''s faces. " Not only that, many smaller ns of Konoha would have suffered extinction from thebined attack of other nations and therge ns probably would have been severely weakened." She continues Homura''s words. "Even you too, Koharu." Hiruzen stares at Koharu with a nk gaze. Koharu and Homura calmly stare at Hiruzen and speaks. "What Danzo has done might be wrong, but his opinion regarding you was correct. We have contributed our entire life to the welfare of the vige. We stood firm among all those ups and downs and now a brat who barely lived past 15 years is questioning our loyalty to the vige?..." Homura and Koharu walk up to Hiruzen and confront him. "Tell us, Hiruzen. Is this how we get repaid for our years of service to the vige? We are the elders of the vige council. We have earned this position through blood and sweat. We went through so much toil and trouble only to get rebuked." Both of them emotionally overwhelm Hiruzen, who backs down from their rapid assault of emotional speech. Sigh Hiruzen sighs and stops. ''I am too soft. I was never suitable for the Hokage''s position.'' Hiruzen backs down in guilt. Homura and Koharu look at each other and smirks. ''We have been ruling this vige for so many years from the shadow. How can we allow such a brat to out do so in politics?'' p p Izuna ps at the heart touching speech of the elders and slowly walks in front of them. He faces against them and remarks, "Looks like you two old senile geezers aren''t aware of your misdeeds. Or rather, you deny them. You are just epting your act of misdeed as the rightful benefit provided to you with your position." Homura and Koharu''s expression turns unsightly. "Oh! That hit right on the sore spot. Both of your faces look like you have eaten a pile of shit just now." "What what are you trying to say, kid? Don''t don''t falsely use us of such crimes. We can forgive your earlier offense, but don''t go overboard with your words." Homura flusters as his voice breaks. "Still living in denial. It''s fine then, I also won''t mind unearthing some dirty deeds of the so-called elders of the vige." Izuna turns towards the entrance of the meeting room and shouts. "Kakashi Shisui Itachi!" Three of them enter the meeting room and bows before Izuna. "Yes, Captain!" "Have you brought the things I asked you?" Izuna questions them. "Yes, we have brought the proof." Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi takes out some scrolls from their pocket and hands them to Izuna. "Good! Now stand aside and enjoy the show." The three of them stand beside Izuna and stare at the elders. Sakumo eyes widen as he looks at Kakashi. ''I never saw Kakashi with such a spirit. His easy-going nature is nowhere to be seen. I must ask himter about this matter. For now, I must focus my attention on this matter.'' Sakumo turns towards Izuna and ponders, ''Back then, this kid helped me recover from my sorrow and guilt. I felt something drawing me towards this kid. In just a few years, he has grown to such an extent. It is almost dreamlike.'' Izuna opens the first scroll and reveals the scandal of the two elders. "This scroll in my hands contains the detailed information of the money received by two of them as a bribe from many civilians of the vige." Izuna throws the list of all civilians and the amount towards Hiruzen. "They have received almost 100 billion Ryo as a bribe in these past fifty years during their time in the elder council." "What?..." The various n elders are bbergasted by this figure of number. Hiruzen immediately skims through the scroll and his expression turn grave. ---------------- Achoo. Outside the borders of Tanigakure, Kakuzu sneezes as he rubs his nose. "I feel like I missed a hell lot of money." He takes out a scroll from his pocket and tosses it in his hand. "Anyway, I have made a haul on this trip." "Your haul would have cost us our life, if not for the timely arrival of Zetsu." Fushin remarks. "Shut the fuck up, bastard! Or I won''t mind slicing you open." Kakuzu growls. "Kakuzu is still as energetic as ever." White Zetsu remarks as he moves alongside them. Sasori silently follows behind as he mutters to himself. ''There will be more opportunities in the future. Fugaku Uchiha, one day I will certainly add you to my collection." All of them reach outside a cave. Kakuzu and Sasori make some hand signs, and the giant boulder at the entrance moves aside. All of them enter inside the cave and the entrance closes. Zetsu hands over rings to Akatsuki members and exins, "These are the symbol of Akatsuki. You can lose your limbs, but you can''t lose them." Kakuzu inspects the ring and flips it in his hand. "I will consider it worthy only if it has some value in money." "Every ring is made of special chakra alloy cast from a star meteorite, and it would cost a fortune to get your hands on this alloy. There are only twelve of such rings in this world, so you can guess the value of this ring." ck Zetsu exins to them. "What?" Kakuzu''s mouth opens wide as he shows his creepy stitches. "Then I will never separate it from my body." He immediately wears the ring on the assigned finger. "These rings are not just for show, they have a special use to them ck Zetsu exins to them. " Try to infuse your chakra in them." Kakuzu, Sasori, and Fushin immediately infuse their chakra in the rings. A hologram-like construct of chakra releases from their body. "This ring acts as amunication device. You can contact other Akatsuki members through this ring. I will exinter the other uses of this ring." ck Zetsu remarks. "Oh! This is quite handy." Fushin closely inspects the ring. Bzzz bzzt The ring produces some static noises. All of them infuse their chakra inside the ring. A hologram projection of Pain appears before them. The image looks at them for a while before it opens its mouth. "Looks like all of you have received the gift." He looks around and a frown appears on his face. "Where is Dino? I can''t see him around." Pain questions them. "Dino is dead. The ''Shinigami'' of Konoha returned to the vige and killed him." Zetsu calmly replies. "Hmm that was unexpected. We made our preparations with ''Shinigami'' in the ount. So, how could such a miscalction happen?" "Dino, that maniac blindly engaged in a fight with the ''Shinigami'' and got ughtered by him." Sasori calmly replies to Pain. "So, you are left without any partner, Sasori." Pain ponders for a while. "I have a certain person in mind. Let''s meet with himter." Sasori nods his head, and the projection of Pain disappears. Chapter 118: Politics of the Village Part-2 Chapter 118: Politics of the Vige Part-2 A/N:- I will post the Hyuga part 3 at ater date. There will be a plot in future where it will fit in perfectly. So, wait for few more days. --------------------------- Bam Hiruzen ms his palm on the table and snaps at Koharu and Homura. "Is it true, Koharu! Homura?" "Wewe it''s not like what you think, Hiruzen. It is Bam Hiruzen ps his palm on the table. "Just answer my question. Is it true or not?" Homura sighs and replies. "Yes, it is true. But Hiruzen we dedicated 50 years of our lives to the vige, we can''t just" Bam "No buts. I don''t want to hear any excuse from you two. I was a fool to trust both of you. I never expected in all these years... both of you and Danzo yed me like a fiddle. What expression would Sensei show when he learns about this matter? Both of you are a disgrace to Sensei''s legacy. His students crushed his dream for a perfect vige." Sigh Hiruzen slumps down in his chair. "Hiruzen, we can exin. It is not like how you think. Give us a chance to exin ourselves." Koharu tries to protest. "There is nothing left to exin. You two get out of my sight. I don''t want to see your face anymore." Hiruzen waves his hand. A few Anbu surrounds Koharu and Homura. One of them escort them out of the room, "Please!" Koharu and Homura silently walk towards the exit. "Wait, a sec!" A loud voice interrupts them. "Since you have already learned of this matter, there is no harm in knowing more." Izuna passes another scroll to Hiruzen. "Hokage-sama, this scroll contains the information of all plots orchestrated by Danzo outside the vige. Please have a look at it and decide yourself." Hiruzen picks up the scroll with shaking hands while Izuna starts to narrate the incident. "Let me start with the Second Shinobi War. Danzo coborated with Hanzo of the Amegakure. He started a ughter in Amegakure and killed many innocent civilians. He disguised his Root members as the shinobi of other viges and fanned the mes of war. It was him who was responsible for the death of many elite shinobis of Konoha." Izuna throws another scroll towards Hiruzen. "This is a proof of coboration with Hanzo. I dug it out from his Root." Izuna stares at various other n leaders as he continues. "I have an interesting piece of news for all of you. I don''t know if you will like it or not." "What is it... Izuna-kun?" Shikaku calmly asks him. "I would also like to hear it." Shibi Aburame slowly opens his mouth. Hmm Hmm Choza Akimichi nods his head in agreement. "Just spit it out, brat! Don''t test our patience." Kurama n leader gnashes his teeth. Izuna frowns and stares at Kurama n elder before turning away. Kurama n elder feels a chill running down his spine. The temperature around him drops and his blood starts to freeze. He anxiously rubs his hands to warm himself up. ''What''s going on? Why am I the only one who is feeling so cold?'' "I won''t waste your time. All of you must be aware of the fact that many talented ninjas of your n either died in war or mysteriously disappeared." Hmm They nod their head in agreement. "So, what you mean to say is, all of it is rted to Danzo, one way or another," Shikaku concludes. "It''s not rted. It''s him to be exact. Almost eighty percent of the time, he will either deploy his Root Anbus to get rid of them or will recruit them in his Root and will brainwash them to only serve himself." Izuna throws a scroll containing the list of missing Ninjas towards Shikaku. Shikaku catches the scroll and skims through it. A frown appears on his face. He passes the scroll to Yamanaka n leader. One by one all of them read the content of the scroll and their expression turns ugly. "What''s the meaning of this, Hokage-sama?" Various n leaders m their hands on the table. The table crumbles under their strike. "Wait wait! It''s not over yet. Let me finish my statement." Izuna calms them down. "So where was I? Ah! Yes yes after the Second Ninja war, Danzo wasn''t satisfied with the result of the war. So, he cooked another scheme." "What scheme?" all of them question him. "Danzo would reveal the information of many important missions of the vige to enemy viges through his spies deployed all over other nations. He wanted to weaken the power of ns through this while strengthening his Root. He schemed against my parents and almost got them killed. I even suspect he ryed information rted to your mission to Kumogakure, Sakumo-san." "What? It was Danzo who did it." Sakumo gnashes his teeth. "Not only this, he even spread rumours about your failure in the vige which almost lead you tomit suicide." Izuna continues. Sigh Sakumo sighs and looks gratefully at Izuna. "Now moving on, seeing all of his tricks and schemes fail; Danzo decided to use extreme methods. He joined hands with Orochimaru and conducted various experiments on human test subjects. All of you must be aware of the information regarding missing persons spread in Konoha. Danzo quickly suppressed the rumours with his Root." Izuna throws another scroll at them. "What? You mean to say that Danzo was behind all of that. How evil could a person be tomit such heinous crimes? He conducted experiments on the very vigers he swore to protect. Danzo is not a human, he is a demon in disguise. I have started to lose trust in the vige. Our n joined the vige in hopes of finding a safe haven, but we never expected it to be the den of the devil. Now, I have second thoughts about staying in this ce." Many n leaders start to openly show their distrust and scorn for the deeds of the vige elders. Sigh Hiruzen took a deep breath. All of his hairs turns grey in an instant. He instantly aged ten of years as he weakly stares at the expression of various n leaders. ''I have failed you, Sensei. I have failed you. Your dream to create a safe haven for young children is shattering right before my eyes. I can''t see this happen before my eyes. All of your hard work, blood and sweat are tainted in my hands.'' Izuna looks at their reaction and nods his head. ''I have sessfully created a turmoil in their state of mind. Now it is time to raise the position of Uchiha n in their heart and gain sympathy from all of them.'' "CALM DOWN EVERYONE!... Calm down" Izuna raises his voice to get their attention. "The worst is yet toe. All of you must have wondered what was beneath the bandaged arm of Danzo at one point or another?" "Yes!" All of them nod their head in agreement. Swish Izuna takes out a shrivelled white arm from a scroll. There are many closed eyes on the arm. "This is" All of them frown as they scrutinize the arm. "It is the right arm of Danzo. And for your information, this arm is made from Hashirama cells synthesized by Orochimaru." Izuna drops another bomb on them. "WHAT? Hashirama cells you mean the cells of the first Hokage." "Yes, the cells of First Hokage. Danzo pilfered the grave of the First Hokage and synthesized his cells in theboratory. Now you might be wondering, what''s the deal with all those closed eyes." Izuna slowly opens one of the eyes to show the white sclera of the eye. Fugaku frown as he notices the eye. He activates his Sharingan and closely stares at them. ''These are these are Sharingans. But all of them are blind with no vision, it seems to be the effect of forbidden jutsu Izanagi. Danzo that bastard! How many Uchiha nsmen did he murder to acquire so many Sharingans?'' Hiashi Hyuga activates his Byakugan to observe them. "All of these eyes, they have different chakra colours. And from the look of it, this chakra colour matches with Uchihas. I have observed their chakra various times and I can''t forget it this easily." He reveals the fact. "What? You mean to say that all of these eyes were stolen from the Uchiha n." Inoichi exims in surprise. "Yes, Danzo head hunted our Uchiha n members, and he murdered many Uchiha n members to construct this arm. Paired with Hashirama cells, he was almost unstoppable." Izuna takes out a small sk from his pocket. There is an eye inside the sk as it is floating in a solution. "These eyes" Fugaku looks at Izuna. "These are the eyes of my ancestor Kagami Uchiha. Danzo pilfered them from his grave and reced his right eye with them. Not only this, he even manipted the vige using the power of these eyes. He even disgraced my ancestor through the sinister use of his power." Hiruzen falls from his chair as he listens to this. "Oh! My friend Kagami. I have even sinned against you and your descendants. I don''t know how will I ever be able to make for it. You sacrificed your life to preserve mine and yet here am I soiling your legacy." "This is not the end yet." Chapter 119: Politics of the Village Part-3 Chapter 119: Politics of the Vige Part-3 "This is not the end yet." "Hum... you mean to say there is more." The n leaders turn towards Izuna. Izuna throws another scroll towards them. "All of you must be aware of the dispute at borders before the Third Ninja War." Shikaku nods his head. "Yes, Iwa and Kumo started the war when their shinobis infiltrated our borders and killed most of our Patrol teams. In response to that attack, Hokage-sama and Danzo sent a team of Anbus to intercept the invaders. We were sessful in repelling the invasion but lost many Shinobis in the confrontation." He slowly exins the turn of events. "Exactly!" Izuna exims. Shikaku frown as a pensive expression appears on his face. "Isn''t that normal, Izuna-kun? The enemy invaded ournd, so we have to intercept them. Danzo was power hungry, but he was not a fool. He won''t allow Konoha to get invaded by enemy nations. So what are you trying to say, Izuna-kun?" "Shikaku-san, you are already aware of the ambitions of Danzo, right?" Shikaku nods his head and replies, "Hokage-sama mentioned the possibility of involvement of Danzo in his assassination attempt. But we were busy with the peace treaty with Kumogakure. So, at that time, we have to put the matter at the back of our mind.... Izuna-kun, you mean to say that Danzo has higher ambitions." Izuna nods his head and exins, "Danzo not only coveted the position of Hokage, he even coveted the power of Hidden Vige. Danzo started this war to deal with all Hidden Viges in one fell swoop." Izuna stops and looks at them. Shikaku frowns and question him. "Why would he start a war and disrupt the peace in the vige? I highly doubt Danzo would do such a reckless move unless he is sure of the oue." "There is no benifit in war, only needless causalitites and waste of resources. I don''t think it is valid of a reason, there must be more to the matter then it seems." Shikaku and the rest start to contemte. Hmm The n leaders ponder over the matter. After contemting for a while, they shook their head and turn towards Shikaku. "Shikaku! You are the only person with the most gifted mind among all of us. You must have a clue regarding the situation." (A/N:-Big Brain Imposter Among us. Recently started ying among us. Hook me on discord if you are interested.) "What a drag!..." Shikaku silently mutters. Izuna hears the remark and muses. ''These Nara n fellows are aszy as usual. If not for the harsh life of the shinobi world, they would have turned into NEET or Geek by now. Come to think of it, I haven''t gotten a chance to visit them in all these years. I will visit them when I have spare time.'' "To think, he started a war to gain more power and control. I wonder how he nned to gain control over all Hidden Nations. I doubt he is strong enough to take on all Nations alone." Inoichi raises a question. "Yes, Konoha is strong but we aren''t strong enough to engage all hidden vige at the same time. Unless Danzo has developed some sort of Kinjutsu, I doubt he had any chance." Hiashi spectes. "He did joined hands with Orochimaru, so it is quite possible. But I am still skeptical of the possibility." Shibi states his opinion. Shikaku puts his hand on his forehead and enters in deep contemtion. He ponders for a while before replying, "I think I have figured out the answer." "As expected of a Nara, Shikaku must have figured out something." The n leaders perks up their ear. Shikaku turns towards Izuna and exins his spection. "To gain control over all the nations, Danzo needed a power far greater than them." Hu hu The various n leaders nod their heads in agreement. "Now there aren''t many powerful things which surpass the might of the Hidden Viges. But" "But" " the tailed-beast can surpass the power of a vige." "Hum that makes sense." Choza nods his head. "Yes, only tailed beast possesses enough power to single-handily annihte a hidden vige." The Nine-tails incident freshens up in their memory. "Now, what if someone is able to control all the tailed beasts" Shikaku continues. The n leaders frown as the Kurama n leader remarks. "Then won''t he gain enough power to rule all Shinobi Nations? But such a thing is impossible right. Up till now, except First Hokage Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha; no even came close to wield that amount of power." "Yes, that''s true. First Hokage was the ''God of Shinobi''. He single handily overpowered Eight out of Nine-tailed Beasts." The rest of the leaders agree with him. "That''s it. This is my point. What if someone possesses the power of the ''Wood Release'' of the First Hokage and the Sharingan of Madara Uchiha? Wouldn''t he be capable of achieving the same feat?" Shikaku drops a revtion on them. "Wait!... you mean to say that Danzo was aiming for such a thing." All of their expression turn unsightly. Shikaku points towards the shriveled hand made of Hashirama cells with many Sharingan in it. The n leader notices the hand, and it dawns on them. Cough... cough... "Let me exin" Izuna gathers their attention. "Danzo wanted to gain control of the Nine-tails and slowly take over the Vige. He got this idea from the fight of First Hokage and Madara Uchiha So, when Mito Uzumaki sealed the nine-tails inside the Kushina Uzumaki, Danzo viewed this as an opportunity. He secretly informed Kumogakure of her and then hatched a n to kidnap her from the vige. The Root Anbus secretly waited at the borders, ready to ambush Kumo ninjas and capture Kushina. But thanks to Minato-san''s interference, this n never seeded" "Come to think of it, everything adds up. But he failed in his attempt." Sakumo nods his head. "... Danzo attempted to capture Nine-tails several times in the future, but Minato was always present with Kushina. So, he could only give up helplessly and turn to the Uchiha n. So, he kidnapped many Uchiha n members during and after the war. He plucked out their Sharingan and created this synthetic prosthetic to strengthen himself." Izuna continues his exnation. Humm All of them nod their head in agreement as they listen to the exnation. "But hecked a certain thing" "What?" ".. hecked hecked a fully Mature Mangekyo Sharingan to control the Nine-tails. The previously stolen eye of Kagami Uchiha was failing. It had lost the vision and most of its visual prowess. So, Danzo needed a recement for his right eye and so he targeted me. He lost against me and escaped the vige only to returnter and ughter the Uchiha n." Izuna calmy replies to them while his eyes are seething in rage. Sigh... The n leaders sighs in relief. "If Danzo would have seeded in his ploy, then most of our ns would have to bow before him in servitude." They turn towards Izuna in gratitude. "You have our gratitude, Izuna Uchiha. The Uchihas suffered the conspiracy of Danzo and suffered such a tragic fate... It may not amount to muchpared to the loss, but we will help Uchiha n to ovee some of it''s loss." The n leaders strecthes a helping hand towards the Uchiha n. Fugaku ces a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. Izuna takes a deep breath and turns towards Hiruzen. "So, Hokage-sama! What''s your stance on this matter?" The rest of the n leaders stares at Hiruzen, waiting for his response. Hiruzen weakly stands up from his chair. One of the Anbu members supports him to stand up. ''He must be Konohamaru''s father. I can sense a simrity in his and Hiruzen''s chakra.'' Hiruzen takes support against the wall and replies in a weak tone. "I will I will take responsibility for all the misdeeds of Danzo and the rest of the elders. It was my ipetency that leads to such a situation, so I will resign as a Hokage. Also, all the information regarding the evil deeds of Danzo excluding the involvement with other viges will be revealed to the public." ''So, he is still prioritizing vige over anything else. I don''t mind though as long as my Uchiha n does not suffer injustice.'' Hiruzen turns towards Izuna and remarks. "You have opened my eyes, Izuna Uchiha. From today onwards you will be excluded from the jurisdiction of the elder council and Hokage. You are free to take any sort of mission and no one will be able to order you around. It is my way of expressing gratitude on behalf of the vige. As for the Uchiha n, I will listen to all of their requests as long as they don''t interfere with the collective interest of the vige. This injustice was caused because of ack of insight on my part. At least, I would be able to repent for some of my sins." The rest of the n leaders agree with the notion. Kurama n leader hesitates for a while before eventually agreeing with the decision. Izuna turns towards Fugaku. "It is your turn to speak, Fugaku-san. My task is over, I will take my leave." He signals Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi. They follow him out. "You have a fine seedling in your n, Fugaku. I can''t even imagine the extent to which the Uchiha n will prosper in the future. With so many geniuses in your n, it will be able to surpass its previous prestige in few more years." Hiashi sighs and enviously look at Fugaku. ''If only my n wasn''t restricted by the conservative thoughts of old elders.'' Hiashi sighs and turns his attention to the meeting. The Anbu members rece the chair and tables. The real meeting starts now. Chapter 120: Big Brother Izuna Chapter 120: Big Brother Izuna A month passed in the blink of an eye. The Hokage Office spreads the news of the Uchiha Massacre and the involvement of Danzo among the vigers. All of Danzo''s misdeeds were revealed to the public. The reputation of the Viger elders plummeted, and the people raised many questions. It took the Hokage Office a month to calm down the vigers. Uchiha n restored some of its lost prestige, but their power and prestige plummeted in the eyes of the civilians. The Uchiha n moved to their oldpounds inside the vige. ---------------- Inside the Konoha Hospital, Akira, Yagami, Izuna and Shisui are anxiously moving outside of the operation room. Fumiko has been pregnant for nine months and it is time for her delivery. Tsunade is taking care of the delivery together with Aiko and Shizune. "Everything will be alright. Aunt Fumiko and the baby will be fine." Izuna tries to assure them, but anxiety could be seen on his face. "I trust in Tsunade-san''s medical proficiency. She is the best Medical Ninja in all viges. I am sure everything will be ok." Akira and Yagami nod their head but there is still nervousness on their face. ''I want a small little sister.'' Izuna closes his eyes and prays silently. Creak The door of the Operating room opens up. Tsunade walks out of the room with sweat on her head. She wipes away the sweat and turns towards them. "Congrattions, it was a sess. Both the mother and the baby are fine. A little princess has arrived in your family." "A baby girl!..." Akira wipes away his tear and rushes towards the room. ''Am I a father or an Uncle now?'' Yagami question himself. ''It doesn''t matter there is a cute little daughter in our family.'' Yagami follows Akira. Shisui and Izuna also rush towards the room. "Please be careful. The mother is weak from the delivery, she needs plenty of rest to recover." Tsunade warns them. Shisui enters inside the room. Izuna stops before Tsunade and bows his head. "Thank you... Tsunade... for your help. I can''t express my gratitude in words." Tears flow through his eyes. Tsunade shakes her head and replies. "It is the least of the things I could do for you. You have helped me during thorny times and opened my eyes." Izuna wipes his tears and enters in the room. The baby girl is wrapped in a nket as it peacefully sleeps near Fumiko. Izuna walks up to the baby and tickles her with his finger. Giggle giggle The baby giggles and grabs his finger with her small hands. Izuna gently takes her in his arms while Akira and Yagami are conversing with Aiko and Fumiko. Shisui walks up to Izuna and anxiously looks at the baby. "Izuna Izuna nii-san, can I hold her in my arms? I am already a big brother now, but but she is my first little sister... I will pamper her every day." Shisui gently takes her in his arms. Izuna walks towards Fumiko and infuses some Sage chakra to rejuvenate her body. Fumiko slowly opens her eye. Izuna turns towards his parents and asks. "Mom, Dad have you thought of a name for the baby?" Aiko nods her head. "I have already thought of a name for her. She is like a colourful flower which bloomed in our life during this summer. So, I will name her Ayaka." "Ayaka, the colourful flower which bloomed in summer." Akira nods his head. "It is the most suitable name for our little princess. Her smile will bloom happiness in our life." He wipes his tears. "Yes, she is our little princess. I won''t allow anyone to treat her rudely." Fumiko slowly sits up and signals to Shisui. Shisui hands over Ayaka to Fumiko. Fumiko gently caresses Ayaka. "Ok, all of you shoo shoo get out of here. It''s time to feed the baby." Aiko pushes them out from the room. All the males helplessly walk out from the room. "Let''s celebrate the birth of our little princess." Akira ns the celebration. Hu hu Yagami frantically nods his head. "So, our Uchiha n is finally blessed with a princess." Fugaku, Mikoto, Itachi and Sasuke walks up to them. "Yay! I am big-brother now." Sasuke cheers in happiness. "I will check on her." Mikoto enters in the room. Sasuke follows her. Itachi walks up to Shisui and Izuna, whereas Fugaku talks with Yagami and Akira. "Let''s protect Ayaka together." Shisui and Itachi nod their head. They walk towards the roof. Izuna jumps on the roof and lies down. Itachi and Shisui follow him and imitate him. "What are your ns, Izuna nii-san?" Itachi asks Izuna. "The Akatsuki got scot-free after this attack. We can''t allow them to live in happiness when they killed so many of our n members." Shisui remarks. "Do you have any n, Shisui nii-san?" Itachi questions him. "I don''t but Izuna nii-san might have one." They turn towards Izuna and waits for his response. Izuna closes his eyes while pondering. ''Akatsuki is not a big problem. After mastering Sage Mode, I can easily solo fight against them all. The real problem is Kara. I don''t know who and where are Kara members. Some of them aren''t even born yet or way too unknown or hidden. I can''t take a risk and engage with Isshiki without any preparation. I need powerful allies on my side whose sole purpose is to hunt Kara members. I can count on Shisui and Itachi and maybe Kakashi. But Kakashi needs to grow stronger... then only he would have a shot against them. Hmm Maybe I will create a team of my own. I can recruit some figures who died in Original Naruto and train them. This might work... I just have to figure out the people who will easily work for me. I don''t want any wild card on my team. Any unstable factor can create a crack in the team and I might lose a chance against Kara.'' Izuna stands up and stretches his arms. "I have a n and both of you are part of it." Izuna turns towards Itachi and Shisui. ------------------------ Somewhere in Land of River, Inside a small restaurant. A group of shinobis with a headband of Land of River enters the restaurant. They rudely push a cloaked figure sitting near the entrance of the restaurant. Another smaller cloaked figure sits near the other end of the restaurant. "Hey you, waiter! Bring your special dish." One of them orders. The waiter hurriedly ran towards the kitchen and bring the special dish of the restaurant. One of the jounin bites a huge chunk of meat and gulp it down in one mouthful. They start to discuss various news flying around in the Shinobi world. "Hey, have you heard of the recent news from Konohagakure?" the Jounin gulps down another mouthful of meat and question his friends. "What''s so special about it? Is there another rumour from the so-called Hidden Viges? They are always trying to spread their propaganda of peace and exploit us small nations." Another jounin shakes his head. "No, it''s not about that." The first jounin shakes his head in denial. "Then what it is?" One of the jounin asks him curiously while gulping a mouthful of sake. "Waiter! Bring me another bottle of sake!" He yells at the waiter. The First Jounin signals them toe closer as he whispers. "Apparently, one of the most powerful ns of Konoha, the Uchiha n, was massacred by one of the elders of Konoha." "What?..." They exim in surprise. Shh The jounin silences them. "Such a thing happened in one of the Hidden Vige. We won''t believe it if someone else mentioned it to me." Other jounins replies. The jounin nods his head and continues. "Not only that, he even seeded in the massacre, but Izuna Uchiha also is known as ''the Silent Shinigami'' arrived in the vige. He quickly dealt with the elder and killed him." "Wow! ''Silent Shinigami''. Isn''t that the person with one of the highest bounty on his head in the Bingo Book?" Another jounin remark. "Yes, he is the one. Not only he killed the elder, he even killed another mercenary of the criminal organization ''Akatsuki''. What was his name again?" The jounin tries to recall the incident. He strains his memory to recall the name of the ''Akatsuki'' fellow. The smaller cloaked figure attentively listens to their conversation as he mutters to himself. ''I have yet to find any trace of that bastard father of mine. He ra*ed my mother and left her to die. But she survived and gave birth to me, only to die shortly after. From then onwards, I decided to hunt down that bastard father of mine. Mother only gave me one name for father the Bloody Dino.'' "I recalled it" The jounin yells in exmation. "He is quite a famous killer who murdered various small viges and is quite a psychopath. He is ''the bloody Dino''. The ''Silent Shinigami'' executed him." The Jounin describes identity. "What?..." The small cloaked figure stands up. He turns towards the group of Shinobis and questions them. "What did you say? Who was it again?" The small cloaked figure yells at them in anxiety. The group frowns and turns towards the small cloaked figure. "Hey, kid! You better watch your mouth. Don''t try to test our patience, or we will" The jounin makes a throat-slitting action. "I said, ''Who is the killer?'' Answer me." The small cloaked figure yells at them. "I don''t care. Just get rid of him. He is being a nuisance to my meal." One of the jouninzily signals his teammates. Tlick tlick One of the ninjas licks his kunai and dash towards the small cloaked figure. "Just die, you bastard!" he yells at the figure. Stab A sharp ck metallic rod pierces through the ninja. Guffaw The shinobi pukes out a mouthful of blood and drops in his own pool of blood. "This bastard! Kill him he murdered Kyosuke." The ninjas attack the cloaked figure. nk nk They engage in heatedbat with the small cloaked figure. The waiter and the restaurant owner immediately runs out of the restaurant. -------------- Plop plop plop One by one, the dead bodies of the ninjas fell on ground-stacked on top of each other. Huff Huff The small cloaked figure breathes heavily, but there is a creepy smile on his face. He slowly walks towards therge cloaked figure who hasn''t moved an inch from his spot and is still drinking juice. ng The small cloaked figure attacks therge cloak figure, but he blocks the attack. "Quite an interesting power, you have here?" Therge cloaked figure muses. "It is none of your damn business. I will kill you." The small cloaked figure attacks again, but therge cloaked figure easily overpowers him. "I can see the potential in you, kid. Want to work for me?" The cloaked figure questions him. "Will you help me get my revenge?" The small cloaked figure questions. "No! I won''t." The small cloaked figure turns around and walks away. "Then I don''t see any benefit in working for you." " I won''t help you directly, but I will make you strong enough to do it with your own hands." Therge cloaked figure finishes his sentence. "Deepa!..." "Huh?" Therge cloaked figure frowns. "My name is Deepa and I will work for you." The small cloaked figure removes the cloak to reveal his clock. "Oh! A kid. That''s unexpected." Therge cloaked figure removes his cloak and shakes hand with the kid. "Nice to meet you, kid. My name is Amado." ------------------------- A/N:- Here we are in a new arc. Comment down your thoughts below on this chapter. Should we create a team with some legendary shinobis banded together or you want Izuna to be the lone wolf? Chapter 121: Beatdown Chapter 121: Beatdown Huff Huff ''Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu'' Itachi makes some hand signs and spews out arge fireball. He takes out a kunai from his holster and throws it together with the fireball. ''Wind Style: Great Wind Breakthrough'' Shisui makes some hand signs and enhances the fireball with his wind jutsu. "It is still not enough." ''Shurikenjutsu: Lightning Style: Phoenix Sage Purple Lightning Assault'' Shisui infuses purple lightning through three shurikens and forms a lightning bolt. The purple lightning bolt shoots forward and circles around the fireball. "Co-operation Ninjutsu: Lightning Overload" The cooperation jutsu of Shisui and Itachi smashes into Izuna. Izuna coats his hand with darkness chakra and blocks the attack. Skid... The attack pushes him back. Sizzle. Smoke rises from Izuna''s hand and he gets some burn-marks on his hand. ''They have improved a lot in this period. But where is Kakashi? He must have hidden somewhere nearby. In terms of firepower, talent, and chakra reserves; Shisui and Itachi surpass Kakashi. But Kakashi outshines them in terms of patience, wits, and ninja-tactics. He always looks for the ideal window to deal a deadly strike and end the enemy in one fatal blow.'' Rumble rumble The ground beneath Izuna trembles and copses. Arge pit with many earth spikes appears beneath the ground. ''He would have to do something better tond a hit on me.'' Izuna jumps in the air and avoids the trap. Swish swish Many sharp wires wrap around him. ''Fire Style: Phoenix Fire mes'' Itachi channels fire chakra through the wires. The me engulfs Izuna. Crunch Crunch Izuna''s figure shatters into many fragments of light and appears in front of Itachi. Bam Hends a kick on Itachi. Itachi blocks the kick with his arms, but the kick is followed by a punch to the gut. Augh The punchnds squarely in his gut and sends him flying. "Finally, I can join the fight." "Dynamic Entry" Might Guy jumps in the air and performs a somersault to build the momentum. He performs a jump kick and directs it at Izuna''s face. Bam Izuna blocks the kick with his arm. Might Guy performs a back-flip and dash towards Izuna. "First Gate Second Gate Third Gate Fourth Gate Fifth Gate OPEN!" Might Guy''s skin turns red and a green aura forms around him. Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh Guy runs around Izuna in a circle to search for an opening. "Oye! Oye! Guy it is a spar, not a fight. Why are you using Eight Gates in the spar?" Izuna takes a taijutsu stance and follows Guy''s movements. "Be it a fight or a spar, I will always give my one hundred percent because that''s the spirit of YOUTH!" "Then don''t mind me doing the same." Izuna chuckles and crosses his arms. "First Gate Second Gate Third Gate OPEN!" Izuna opens three gates and engages in a taijutsu battle with Might Guy. Bang bang bang Multiple shock waves spread through the air as both of them trade blows Bam bam bam The ground beneath them breaks apart as multiple crater forms. "Sorry, Guy! But I have a natural advantage against you. My natural perception is higher than you." Bam Izuna punches Might Guy in the gut. "Violent- Leaf Adamantine-Strength Whirlwind" Izuna performs a severe roundhouse kick and sends Might Guy flying Boom Might Guy crashes into arge boulder and blows it into smithereens. "I am not done yet!" Might Guy jumps out from the dust and dashes towards Izuna. "This is the chance. We have to create an opening for Guy. Ninjutsu techniques are quite slow, and Izuna can dodge them easily. But Guy''s taijutsu is different. If we can distract Izuna for a while then Guy will be able to finish him off." Kakashi signals Itachi and Shisui. "Yes, Captain!" Three of them dash towards Izuna. All three of them activate their Sharingan. "Fire Style: Crimson Phoenix Fire Bullet" Itachi infuses arge amount of chakra and fires a gigantic crimson phoenix at Izuna. "Wind Style: Spiralling Vacuum Gale" Shisuiunches a wind jutsu inbination with the fire jutsu. ''Shadow Body Flicker: Quadruple Body Clone'' Swish swish He flickers and disappears as multiple afterimages follow him. "Don''t leave me out of the fray." Kakashi follows them and draws out a kunai and gathers lightning chakra in his hand. "Lightning Release: Purple Lightning re" Bam bam bam The three jutsu ms in Izuna who barely dodges them. "Oye Oye!... Cut me some ck alright. I have a handicap in this fight. Do all of you want to beat me this badly?" Izuna frantically escapes their attack. "Yes, we won''t rx until we beat you to the pulp." All of them speak in unison. "" Izuna sweat drops at their remark. "Leaf Vige Secret Technique: Turbulent Trinity Heavenly sh" The three of thembine hands andunch a volley of attacks at Izuna. ''Damn! These three are eager to beat me to death.'' "Come on, guys! It is just a spar, don''t be so mean to me." Izuna dodges their attack while keeping an eye for any surprise attacks. Fwoosh Fwoosh Fwoosh Shisui, Itachi, and Kakashi grab his arms and legs. "Do it, Guy. We won''t be able to hold him for too long." Kakashi yells at Guy. Sniff sniff Guy sniffs as tears and snot flow through his eyes and nose. "Everyone, I won''t disappoint your trust and belief in me. I will give my all and ovee this difficult situation. This hurdle! I will st it away with my YOUTH!" Guy clenches his fist and crosses his arms. "Huh! Kakashi-senpai, what''s he talking about? We have to just beat Izuna nii-san." Shisui question Kakashi in confusion. Sigh "This guy, he is always like that. He is too passionate for his own good." BOOOM. A burst of shockwaves travels across them. A dense green aura surrounds Guy as debris and dust rise in the air. "Sixth Gate Gate of View OPEN!" Haah.. Guy yells loudly and dashes towards them. "My passion and youth will fuel my will for victory." Haah "Morning Peacock" Guy rapidly punches the air and releases a barrage of punches at them. The sheer speed and friction set his fists on fire and release a ze of fireballs. "Oye!... Guy! We are also in the range of this attack." Guy copses on the ground and raises his hand and gives thumbs up to them. "I did it, guys." Pooh He faints and facepalms on the ground. "Sorry guys, not today. I don''t want to get torched. Maybe next time." Izuna grins at them. "Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain OPEN" Izuna opens the fourth gate and spins. Kakashi, Guy, and Itachi tightly held on to him. "Dammit! Just this time, we almost got him." Shisui yells in frustration. ''Leaf Whirlwind'' Izuna performs a roundhouse spin and throws them towards the Morning Peacock. BOOOM. BOOOM The fireballsnd on them and all of them fall on the ground. Smoke rises from their body and they angrily stare at Guy. "Dammit Guy! Just you wait." Augh Augh Augh Three of them copse on the ground and faints. Sigh ''They almost got me. It wasn''t a wise choice to give them a handicap.'' Izuna heals them with his Medical Ninjutsu and rejuvenates with Nature energy. ''They have improved tremendously in these past six months. At this rate, they will overpower me in few more days with the handicap.'' Sigh ''Tsunade left the vige with Shizune. It has been six months since Ayaka came to this world. Tsunade left for ''the Land of Medicine'' half a year ago. I have nothing left to do in this period.'' Zzzzz Youth Zzzz Youth Snoring sounds interrupts his thoughts. Guy is snoring while sleeping. "" Does he always sleep like that?" ''Shadow Clone Jutsu'' Izuna makes four Shadow clones and picks them up. "Carry them to Konoha Hospital. They just need some rest." The clones flicker towards the Konoha Hospital. He lies down on the ground and recalls the terms of their fight. ***shback-no-Jutsu*** Izuna, Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi are walking towards the training ground. Shisui turns towards Izuna and folds his arms in annoyance. "It''s not fair... Nii-san. You always beat us like a rag doll and then train us to death." "But, Shisui, I always heal you using Medical Ninjutsu; so you can continue your training without any problem," Izuna replies to him. "But but Nii-san, this is torturous too much for us. Nowadays, the Anbu missions feel more like a break than an actual mission. But sadly, they aren''t requested that often." Shisui sighs in annoyance. "So, what''s the solution? Do you have any idea?" Izuna questions him. Humm... The gang ponders for a solution. "I have an idea." Kakashi snaps his finger. "What it is? Captain Kakashi!" Shisui asks Kakashi. Itachi silently listens to them. Kakashi turns towards Izuna and suggests. "Let the three of us spar with you, while you have a handicap. In our spar, you won''t use any Ninjutsu, Fuinjutsu, Senjutsu to attack us, not even your Sharingan. You can only use Taijutsu to fight back though you can use ninjutsu to defend yourself." Shisui and Itachi immediately agrees. "This is a good suggestion. We agree with you, Captain Kakashi." "At least, this way I will be able to beat up Nii-san and soothe my sore heart." Shisui silently murmurs to himself. "" ''I can hear your inner thoughts, Shisui!'' Izuna sweat drops at Shisui''s thoughts. "Did I hear Taijutsu and training?" A raspy voice interrupts them. Might Guy walk towards them on his hands. "Guy, what are you doing?" Kakashi question Guy. "OH! It''s nothing but the passionate training of YOUTH. My young heart is brimming with lots of energy, ready to explode. YOUTH!" Guy does some push-ups. Guy shes a smile with his sparkling teeth, which almost blinds the entire gang. "I heard all of you are training. Can I join your passionate session of training and YOUTH?" "You are wee to join our training. I will spar with Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi using only Taijutsu." "Oh! Is that so? Then the green beast of Konoha shall join your training. It has been a while since Ist spar with you... Izuna." ***sh Back Ends*** Izuna carries all of them to the hospital and admits them. "Naruto and Sasuke joined the academy. Ayako is too small to y with. Maybe, I should check on Tsunade during this time." Chapter 122: Nokizaru Group Chapter 122: Nokizaru Group Izuna walks up to the Hokage Monument and sat on top of Third Hokage''s head. "I am pretty bored these days." Izuna flips open a soda can and drink it. Gulp gulp "This taste is nd and so-so. At this point, I can''t even remember the taste of Coca-C. Maybe I should pay a visit to the Land Of Honey in my spare time. I heard their beverages are pretty good." Izuna crushes the can and throws it in the air. The Can levitate around him. "Ma Release is pretty dope. But itcks the power to do any decent damage. I have to learn its advanced version if I want to use it super effectively rather than manipting some dust or metal chunk as a medium." The image of Mao controlling the entire electromaic field pops up in his mind. ''I wonder if I can develop it to such a stage. Kekkei Tota is abination of three nature transformations, and Kekkei Mora is a technique that involves five or more Nature Transformations. Kekkei Mora is out of the question for now. I need to have Rinnegan or ''Six Paths Sage Mode'' to tap into its power. But whates before Kekkai Mora and after Kekkai Tota? I have no clue about it. If I see it as a Nature transformation then it should involve Four different Nature transformations. That shit is quite hard and almost impossible to pull off if you don''t have any cheat. But lucky for me, I am a cheat. I have to just figure out a way to use it and master it. Sigh I may have grown strong, but any Otsutsuki can use a Kekkei Mora and just erase from my existence with a simple touch. Damn, those Truth-Seeking Balls are too much of a cheat.'' Izuna closes his eyes while nning for his future power up. ''If only I had Rinnegan.'' ''Should I steal it from Nagato?'' ''No!'' Izuna immediately denies this option. ''There is so much hate to build upon those eyes.'' Yawn Izuna stands up and stretches his arms. "Guess I will check on Tsunade then. It has been a while since Ist saw her. The boys will take at least three more days to recover from the previous fight. I should drop by Tsunade and say hello." Izuna closes his eyes and senses the Space coordinates of his ''Flying Thunder God Seal''. "Found her. I want to give her a surprise. So, I will teleport some distance away from her location." Whoosh Izuna disappears from his position and reappears inside a forest. "This ''Flying Thunder God'' feels like a watered-down version of Instant Transmission of Dragon Ball. I have improved it over the years, allowing me to teleport a distance away from the target, but I still need my Chakra infused seal to sense the location. I have to improve my understanding of Space to further remove the conditions of this jutsu." Izuna slowly walks towards Tsunade''s location. He takes out a Premium wine from his storage scroll. "She will like this wine. I will give it as a gift to her." He pockets the scroll and continues to move towards the inn. Rustle Rustle A nearby bush rustles a little as a silent breeze passes by. Izuna ignores the rustle and continues to move forward. Rustle Rustle Another shrub rustles, but Izuna continues to walk towards the inn, ignoring them. ---------------- A few minutes earlier, Swish Swish A group of Five Ninjas rushes toward the nearby tiny vige. "They haven''t gone too far. We can still catch them." One ninja reminds others. "This time we will be able to hunt him down and earn quite a bounty. The Raikage''s head ain''t cheap, at least we can sell him to other nations and reap around a billion Ryo." Another ninja rubs his hand in excitement. Humph Another ninja scoffs at the previous ninja. "Your brain is small, just like your little brother, Rimushi." "Hey, that''s rude. Don''t make fun of my size. You aren''t packing a Bazooka yourself, so stop bitching around." Rimushi counterattacks. "Shut up, you both. We have an urgent mission toplete. The target is Raikage. He won''t go down that easily besides other ninja are guarding him. Lucky for us, he will slowly die on his own. We have to just wait and retrieve his corpse." Himushi, the leader of the group, chides them. "Yes, our Nokizaru group lost its base of operation after our vige was annihted by Kumogakure. We have to act as a ''Mercenary Organization'' and takemissions from other viges. Lucky for us, this mission leads us to Raikage of Kumogakure. We canplete themission and take revenge for our vige. Thus, killing two birds with one stone." Another ninjaughs in excitement. Shhh. Himushi gestures to them to maintain silence. "If we do it correctly, we can kill three birds in a stone." He whispers to his team and points towards Izuna, who just walked from the deeper part of the forest. "Do you recognize him?" Himushi question his team. "Isn''t he ''Silent Shinigami'' of the leaf? What''s he doing here?" Rimushi tilts his head in confusion. "Rimushi, you idiot! It doesn''t matter what he is doing here? If we can take him down before fetching Raikage''s corpse we will earn double the amount of money. The bounty on ''Silent Shinigami''s head is worth 400 million Ryo." The first ninja rebukes Rimushi. "But would we able to take him down?" Another Shinobi questions. "We should be able to. Look at the situation, even Raikage is running away from us. This ''Silent Shinigami'' is just a jounin of Konohagakure. We can take him down." The Third Ninja exins the situation. "I know little, but if you think so. Then let''s head hunt him." Rimushi tilts his head in confusion. "Rimushi, release the ''Exploding Insect Larvae''. Let him inhale death. Later we will engage in a fight against him and force him to infuse chakra to speed up the growth of explosion." Himushi formtes a n. "As you wish, Captain." Rimushi makes some hand signs and releases micro-sized particles towards Izuna. ---------------------- Izuna senses the presence of stalkers, but he ignores them. ''There are a total of five of them. I don''t why they are stalking me, but their intentions are far from friendly. I will allow them to make their move first, this way I can learn more Kekkai Genkai techniques, albeit if they have any. It would be too boring to end them this early.'' Whoosh A gentle breeze passes by and Izuna''s long hairs flutter in the wind. ''Have they made their move? But I felt nothing.'' Izuna carefully inspects his body. He feels an itching sensation in the nose. ''What''s this? Did I inhale something? My body has grown sensitive to any change urring inside it due to my Senjutsu training. Did I inhale a poison? But I can''t feel anything. Let me activate my Sharingan to inspect it.'' Izuna activates his Sharingan and uses the ''Eye of Insight'' to look around. "This" He spots various small microscopic particles hovering around him. Izuna magnifies the particles and spots various Microscopic Insectrvae trying to invade his body. ''Damn! They have to choose the insect, of all things. I really hate these insects. One Aburame n is enough.'' ''Lightning Release: Purple Lightning re'' Izuna infuses lightning chakra in his palm to generate purple lightning. The purple lightning incinerates all microscopicrvae. Throb throb Izuna feels a throbbing sensation in his chest. He checks his body and notices a lump ofrvae insects clumped up in his lungs. ''Fuck! I inhaled them and now they are sucking my chakra.'' He turns towards ''Sin Seal'' and mocks it. "One sucker is enough. Now you won''t allow them to take your position right?" Bzzzt. Dark ck lightning sparks from the ''Sin seal'' as it angrily responds to Izuna''s mockery. The Dark ck lightning crawls through Izuna''s nerves and enters inside his lungs. Bzzz... The dark lightning incinerates all intruderrvae and Izuna exhales a turbid ck smoke from his mouth. ''Now I need to brush my teeth. This smell of fried worms is choking me.'' --------------- The Nokizaru Group notices Izuna using a lightning jutsu. Rimushi frowns and turns towards Himushi. "Leader, I have lost contact with all myrvae. I think I think he discovered them and and killed them with his lightning jutsu." "What?... He detected them and even got rid of them. Damn! We have to kill him faster or else it will reveal our Secret technique to the rest of the world." Himushi immediately signals his team. Fwoosh Fwoosh The Nokizaru group turns into smoke and surrounds Izuna. "Silent Shinigami! Today we will im your head as a bonus with Raikage." Swoosh Swoosh All of them reappear before Izuna. One of the ninjas makes some hand sign and release a blinding sh of light to disrupt Izuna''s vision. The rest of the members turn into smoke and disperse in the surrounding area. Chapter 123: This is Heaven Chapter 123: This is Heaven "Huh! Who are you guys?" Izuna tilts his head in confusion and looks at them. "We have no homnd nor a master." "People seek us out, and we fulfill their wishes." The group starts their monologue. "So, you bunch are mercenary ninjas." Izuna looks at them prancing around. ''I can see you alright. There is no need to jump around here and there. Your technique can''t hide you from my Sharingan.'' Izuna spots five Mercenary Ninjas wearing sashes that resembled the tails of monkeys. They had painted faces and wore outfits that stripes on one side, while the other stripe had a solid color. ''Is this a Dragon ball Reference? Why all of them look like a bunch of Saiyan with all that tail and color strips?'' "We are the wandering phantoms of the forest." The bunch of mercenary ninjas continues their introduction. "I had enough of your bullshit." ''Lightning Release: Chidori Senbon'' Izuna fires multiple Chidori senbons at them. Whoosh whoosh whoosh Multiple senbons pierces through the smoke, dispersing it in the process. "Hiding in Water" One of the ninjas appears from a puddle of water near Izuna. "Hiding in Shadow" Another member pops out from the shadow of Water member. "Hiding in Fire" Another ninja appears in a swathe of mes. "Don''t leave me behind." Rimushi jumps down from a tree. "Silent Shinigami, this is the end?" Himushi tunnels out from Earth. ''Are they pretending or something?'' Izuna tilts his head in confusion. "Now explode." Rimushi makes some hand signs to blow Izuna. Nothing happens. Rimushi makes more hand signs. "Explode." Still, nothing happens. "" Izuna silently stares at them. ''They are depleting my brain cells. If I wasted even a second with them, I will turn into a retard because of these clowns.'' "Genjutsu: Sharingan" Izuna casts a powerful genjutsu on them and restrains them. He reads their memories. "Interesting, these bunch of clown made the unruly A of Kumogakure run for his money. They have stolen some kind of secret jutsu from Kumogakure." Izuna searches their body and finds a sealed scroll. ''Release'' He removes the seal from the scroll and checks its contents. "Hmm secrets of ck Lightning. No wonder Kumogakure is so desperate to retrieve this scroll." Izuna rolls the scroll and pocket it. "I don''t have any need for this scroll since I already mastered ck Lightning. But I can use this scroll to make him fork out some resources. I am nning on forming an organization after all. I need lots of resources in the process. Kumo is quite rich with that haul they made after the Second Shinobi War." Argh Izuna hears a groan and notices the members of the Nokizaru group. ''They are not pleasing to the eye, but I can trade them with Kumo.'' Izuna walks up to them and ces his hand in front of them. ''Kamui'' He seals their chakra and sucks them in his alternate dimension. Fufu fufu Izuna whistles and walks towards Tsunade''s direction. ------------------ Inside a gambling den, "Alright! ce your bets!" The dealer hypes up the crowd. "Even!" "Even!" "Even!" Three people bets on even. "Odd!" Tsunade forks out a Million Ryo from her purse and ps them on the table. "But but Tsunade-sama, that''s ourst sum of money. We won''t be able to afford the inn and food expenditure after you lose it in gambling." Shizune tries to convince Tsunade nervously. "It''s fine it''s fine" Tsunade waves her palm and continues the bet. The dealer ces two dices in a cup and shakes it vigorously before rolling. "It''s evendies and gentlemen." The dealer shouts in excitement. "I lost." Tsunade hangs down her head and depressingly forks out the money. "But but Tsunade-sama, they are obviously cheating. The dealer is in cahoots with these people." Shizune flusters while pointing at the people. "What are you talking about, Ojou-sama! Honesty is our policy. We won''t rip-off our customers." The dealer turns serious. "But earlier I saw you rigging with the dice" Shizune retorts. "It''s fine, Shizune. Let''s get back to the inn." Tsunade walks out of the gambling den. "Hai! Tsunade-sama." Shizune picks up a pink piglet and hurriedly follows Tsunade. "Wait for me, Tsunade-sama." "-Thanks for your patronage." "-Thanks for your patronage." --------------------- Later, inside the inn, "That was a refreshing bath." Tsunade fills a cup with sake and chugs it down. Gulp gulp Haah "The taste of Sake never turns old. But I would prefer Izuna''s special wine imported from the Land of Honey." "Tsunade-sama, what on earth are you doing? You can''t go into debt to make more money anymore!" Shizune yells at Tsunade. Oink oink The pink piglet squeals with her. "It''s fine it''s fine. I can always borrow some money from Izuna. He won''t say no to me." Tsunade waves her hand. "Well, that is true." Shizune drops down her head. "Yo! Did someone mention me?" Izuna hangs upside down from the window right in front of Tsunade. "" m Tsunade immediately closes the window. "What was that? I think I saw a ghost for a while." Tsunade mutters to herself. "Tsunade, I won''t lend you any more money." Swish m Tsunade immediately opens up the window. "I was I was just joking, Izuna. Don''t take it to heart. Come inside." Tsunade gestures to Izuna. Izuna enters the room and looks at Tsunade. "You reek of alcohol." Izuna pinches his nose. "Yes, Izuna. Tsunade-sama has been chugging down sake for a while now." H... "It''s fine. Let''s celebrate Izuna-kun. Where is my gift? I want to see it." Tsunade stretches out her hand. Sigh Izuna sighs and forks out the premium wine bottle. "It is thest one in my collection. I have to visit the Land of Honey to restock. So, don''t drink too much." "Alright Alright I heard you." Tsunade pours out a cup from the bottle and chugs it down. Gulp gulp Haaah "Nothing beats the taste of this wine." Izuna ignores Tsunade and looks at Shizune. "Shizune, how is your training going on?" "I have learned and progressed a lot in these few months. It''s a hard task to be the sessor of one of the Legendary Sannin after all." Shizune sighs. Oink Oink The pink piglet jumps out from herp. "Oh! Is this our dinner, Shizune? It looks quite juicy." Izuna looks at the pink piglet and takes out a fork and knife from his storage scroll. "It will take me a few minutes to make a delicious dish out of it. I have all the ingredients ready with me." Izuna takes out all the ingredients with pepper, salt, and cumin. OINK OINK The pink piglet squeals in fear and hide behind Shizune. Gulp Tsunade wipes drool from her mouth and gulps. "It will be a fine dish if you are the one making it Izuna-kun. I really like your boar dish." Tsunade looks at the pork. OINK OINK OINK The pink piglet squeals even more and hides in a closet. "Stop joking around you two. Tonton is not food." Shizune rebukes them. "Oh! Such a waste of a fine ingredient." Izuna ces all the ingredients back into his storage scroll. He turns towards Shizune and questions her, "Where did you find this pink piglet?" "Tonton is a gift from thedy of Land of Medicine''s Daimyo. Tsunade-san cured her severe illness and as gratitude, she rewarded us with 50 million Ryo and Tonton." Shizune picks up the still cowering pig in her arms. Sigh "Tsunade-sama lost all that money in gambling. We are almost broke again." Shizune narrates her experience with Izuna. "It''s fine, Shizune. You had it hard." Izuna pats Shizune''s back. "Let me book another room in this inn. We will travel together for the next couple of days." Izuna informs Shizune and starts to walk out of the room. Thunk Thunk Izuna feels a pull on his clothes. He turns around and notices Tsunade pulling his clothes. H "Don''t go, Izuna. Stay with me." Swish Tsunade applies some force and pulls Izuna in her embrace. Boing boing Her massive jugs jiggle. She hugs him tightly and presses his head in her chest. Squish Squish Izuna is pressed in between her massive jugs. "Don''t don''t leave me alone." Tsunade murmur before hugging him tightly. ''Hah!... I can''t evenin, Can I? I guess I will enjoy this feeling.'' Izuna stops resisting, and Tsunade falls asleep while hugging him tightly. Izuna slowly turns to Shizune and asks her. "Did something happen recently? Tsunade looks a tad bit sad." Shizune nods her slowly before replying. "The Lady of Land of Medicine''s Daimyo had a simr past to Tsunade-sama. She too lost her brother and lover in the past. Due to political circumstances, her family forced her to marry the Daimyo. This reminded Tsunade-sama of her past and her mood was a little off in these past few days." Shizune narrates the story of Lady Daimyo. "So, that''s the reason behind her gloomy mood. Thank god, I met her on time." "Mmm don''t leave me alone, Izuna." Tsunade mumbles in her sleep. Sigh Izuna sighs and helplessly looks at Shizune. "It can''t be helped. Izuna you sleep in this corner with Tsunade-sama, I will sleep in the other corner." Shizune prepares the bed. Knock Knock Someone knocks on the door of their room. Izuna raises his head and activates his X-Ray vision. ''It''s the Raikage A. Damn! he is disturbing my pleasant time.'' Izuna makes some hand signs and ces a silencing seal in the room. The noise of the knocking dies down. ''Let me throw some reinforcement seals in the mix. That A is hot-blooded, he won''t hesitate to barge in through the wall.'' Izuna ces a bunch of reinforcement seals around the room and makes it as strong as a castle wall. ''Now, no one will disturb us.'' Shizune raises her head and question Izuna. "What was that Izuna-kun? Someone is knocking on the door." "It''s nothing Shizune. The debt collectors are chasing after Tsunade. I have ced some seals to keep them at bay. They won''t disturb us anymore." Izuna replies to her. "Thank you, Izuna. That''s a relief to hear." Shizune rolls over her nket and falls asleep. Izuna also falls asleep while pressed in between two giant mounds. ''This is heaven.'' Chapter 124: A Bet Chapter 124: A Bet Next Morning, Izuna wakes up. He groggily opens his eyes and looks around. He recalls yesterday''s event and turns towards Tsunade. Tsunade is hugging his left arm while sleeping soundly. Zzz "I need some booze. Shizune! GIVE ME SOME BOOZE." Tsunade sleep talks. "Yes yes Tsunade-sama." Shizune opens her eyes and stretches her arms. "" Izuna speechlessly looks at them. ''Is this their usual sleep routine?'' Shizune hurriedly stands up and runs towards the door. "I need to order breakfast for Tsunade-sama." As if recalling something, she pauses and turns towards Izuna. "Iz Izuna! Can can you lend me some money for breakfast? Tsunade-sama spent all of her money yesterday and we don''t have money for breakfast." Sigh Izuna rubs his forehead and looks at Tsunade. "This woman." He forks out some Ryo notes and hands them to Shizune. "Shizune, go and get our breakfast. I will wake her up." Shizune nods her head and approaches the door. Oink Oink Tonton follows her. She is still traumatized by Izuna''s joke. Shizune opens up the door and slowly exits the room. Izuna shakes Tsunade. "Wake up, Tsunade! Wake up!" He shakes Tsunade. Tsunade refuses to budge from her ce. "Tsunade wakes up or you won''t get any booze." Izuna ys his trump card. "No No! I am awake." Tsunade immediately sits up. "Where is my booze?" She demands Izuna. "That is" Kyaah OINK A scream and squeal interrupt them. Izuna immediately stands up and dashes towards the scream. "That''s Shizune''s scream." Tsunade also stands up and follows him. Outside the entrance, They notice a trembling Shizune and Tonton who are staring at A. A has dead fish eyes with big dark bags under his eyes. His brows are twitching and his hairs are a mess. "You finally opened the door." A yell in his hoarse voice. There are various fist-sized holes on the wall and door of the room. A''s hands are trembling and he is staggering. Bam A face nts on the ground and faints. "Raikage-sama Raikage-sama are you okay, Raikage-sama?" One of Raikage''s bodyguard shakes him. "He ispletely fine. He is just exhausted because of sleep deprivation. Just allow him to rest for an hour or two." Izuna walks away from Raikage''s unconscious body. Raikage''s bodyguard raises his head and notices Izuna. He immediately puts guard against him. "You don''t have to worry. If I wanted to kill him, then him being awake or unconscious won''t make any difference. Regardless of the situation, he would get a certain death." Izuna ignores the bodyguard and walks away. Tsunade and Shizune follow him. "I am hungry. Let''s eat some breakfast." "You bastard! Don''t underestimate us, Kumo ninjas. Silent Shinigami or not." The Kumo ninja takes out a kunai and runs towards Izuna. Huh! Izuna turns around and activates his Sharingan. "Genjutsu: Sharingan" The Kumo ninja''s body paralyzes, and he stops mid-air. Bam He feels on the floor and angrily stares at Izuna. "Please forgive him for his rudeness." Another ninja immediately bows his head to Izuna and begs him. "You better tell your subordinate, there are some people he can''t mess with." Izuna deactivates his Sharingan and turns to Tsunade. "Let''s go." The Kumo ninja wipes the cold sweat from his forehead and turns towards his partner. He makes some hand signs and dispels the genjutsu. "Amai, why you apologized to that Konoha bastard. As an elite Kumo ninja, how can you neglect your pride so easily?" He questions Amai. Smack Amai ps him and answers. "Wake up! Togai. You don''t know the full extent of his prowess." "What''s so special about him? He just made a name for himself during the Third Ninja War." Togai sobers up. "Togai! Three years ago during our peace treaty with Konoha, Raikage-sama nned to capture the Byakugan during this opportunity." Amai exins to him. "Uhu... I know about that. But sadly, we failed to get our hands on it." Togai shakes his head in frustration. "No Togai! You don''t know the entire event because Raikage-sama suppressed the news. Let me tell you, since you are one of his bodyguards. We had to pay a price to get away from the situation. It was during that time, the ''Silent Shinigami'' of the leaf engaged inbat against our forces. He single-handedly faced against fifty of our elite ninja. It wasn''t a fight; it was a ughter. He killed all of them in just under a minute" Togai gulps his saliva as he looks at Amai in disbelief. "It can''t be true, right? There is no way such a terrifying ninja exists in the Leaf Vige." Amai shakes his head and continues. " It is the truth, that''s the terrifying power of ''Shinigami''. Not even our Third Raikage-sama was capable of such a feat. I was a part of that mission. He spared me and Raikage-sama because he did not want to start a war with Kumogakure by assassinating Raikage-sama." Amai turns towards Togai and rebukes him. "Don''t be too rash next time. Tsunade of the leaf is our only hope if we want to save Karai. Take Raikage-sama to our inn. Meanwhile, I will search for Tsunade and beg for help." Amai flickers out of the inn. Togai picks up A and enters another room. He slowly ces A on the bed and wipes his sweat. ''Thankfully, he didn''t kill me. I thought I was about to die there. But what was the deal with all those green creatures? What sort of Genjutsu was that?'' ----------------------- Izuna, Tsunade, Shizune, and Tonton ate their breakfast. "I want to gamble," Tsunade yells in frustration. "Do you have the money?" Izuna questions Tsunade. "I don''t. But you will pay for me right?" Tsunade smirks at Izuna. "And why would I do that?" Izuna tilts his head. "Because as my favorite apprentice and as a man, it is your responsibility to pay for a woman''s needs." Tsunade smiles at Izuna. "" "What''s gambling had to do with your needs? I can pay for your booze but not gambling." Izuna rubs his forehead. "Ok! Let''s drink booze. You said you will pay for it, right?" Tsunadeughs at him. "I fell for your trap." Izuna sighs and follows her. ----------------- H "Booze is the best thing in the morning." Tsunade chugs down another cup of sake. "It is noon already," Shizune replies to her. "Now now just ignore such minor details." Tsunade waves her hand and gulps down another mouthful of sake. Izunazily lies against a wall and drinks a can of c. Creak One of the Kumo ninjas opens up the door and enters the inn. "You are one of the Legendary Sannin of the Vige Hidden in the Leaves Lady Tsunade, I have sought you out to make a request!" He bows before Tsunade. H "Who are you?" Tsunade questions him. "Yes! I am Amai, a shinobi of the Hidden Cloud Vige!" Amai bows before Tsunade. Shu Shu Tsunade waves her hand at him. "If yourrade is hurt, then you heal him." "The situation is behind my skills please save ourrade." Amai pleads to Tsunade. "You tried to steal the Hyuga''s Byakugan. Now you want to seek help from me." Tsunade rebukes him. "That was settled between the two viges. Our Kumogakure suffered huge losses in that incident." Amai replies to her. "I NEVER EXPECTED HER TO LISTEN WILLINGLY! LOOKS LIKE I HAVE TO" A barge in the room. "YOU HAVE TO WHAT?..." Izuna raises his voice and stares at A. Gulp A swallows his next words and turns to Tsunade. "Heal Karai and we will pay suitablepensation to you once our backup arrives." A tones down his voice and request Tsunade. "Well, now So the big shots waltzed in. Do you think I need yourpensation?" Tsunade raises her eyebrow and smirks at A. "You don''t" A reply in a nd voice. ''I have to somehow convince her to treat Karai. I can''t use force here, Shinigami is with her. I have to think of a way.'' A churns the gears of his brain. ''Found it. Tsunade likes to gamble, but she always loses the bet. If I can make a bet with her and win it; then I will be able to save Karai without suffering any loss. That''s it!'' He turns towards Tsunade. "How about we make a bet? If you lose the bet, then you will have to heal Karai. If you win, you are free to leave." A try to entice Tsunade in epting the bet. H "Humm it sounds interesting. There is no harm in giving it a shot." Tsunade ponders for a while. "Let me do it, Tsunade. I will take part in bet instead of you." Izuna walks in front of A. "Do you have any problem, unruly A?" Izuna raises one of his eyebrows. ''Damit! He has to interfere with this. I almost got her.'' "No no I don''t." A shakes his head. ''I do. I am sorry, Karai, I can''t win against this monster.'' A close his eyes. Chapter 125: Side Story: Hyuga Affair Part-3 Chapter 125: Side Story: Hyuga Affair Part-3 Inside the Hyuga Compound, Hiruzen is sitting in front of Hiashi, Hizashi, and their father Hirashi as he discusses the proposal of Kumo Head Ninja joining the birthday party of Hinata. "Hokage-sama are you sure this is a good idea?" Hiashi questions him. "Hiashi Konoha had signed a peace treaty with the Kumo. We have to show hospitality to their Head Ninja to strengthen the peace treaty" Hiruzen rubs his forehead. " Konoha suffered major losses during the war. We can''t afford to start another war." "Well if you say so Hokage-sama then I trust your wisdom. Our Hyuga n will entertain the Head Ninja of Kumogakure." Hiashi agrees with Hiruzen. Sigh Hiruzen sighs and departs from the Hyuga n. Hiashi turns to Hirashi and asks him. "Father what do you think about this proposal?" Hirashi rubs his chin as he ponders. "There is something fishy about this proposal. During the previous war Kumogakure tried to obtain our Byakugan multiple times. The incident of the Second Shinobi War is a stain on our reputation. The Byakugan of one of the main family members fell in the hands of our enemy. So Keep your guard against the Kumo ninjas. I don''t trust them at all." Hirashi suggests to Hiashi. "Very well Father I will keep a lookout for any suspicious activity from Kumo ninjas." ---------------- Later in the evening, Hiashi and Hirashi stand near the entrance of the Hyugapound as they wee important guests. Shibi Aburame carries a bouquet as he greets them. "Aburame n is pleased to get the opportunity to attend the birthday party of Hyuga Princess." "No the pleasure is all ours." Hiashi politely epts the bouquet and greets him back. The leaders of the Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Nara n enter together and present their gifts to the Hyuga group as they enter inside the Hyugapounds. "What a drag!" Shikaku scratches his head as he looks at the tedious task of greeting guests. "Oh! Is this the reason Nara n barely holds any celebration?" Izuna walks beside him and greets the group. "Oh!... It''s you Izuna-kun." Choza nods his head and introduces Izuna to Inoichi and Shikaku. "He needs no introduction we all are aware of his talent." The group chats for a while as Izuna notices the Kumo group at the entrance. "I will excuse myself I just remembered some urgent work." Izuna politely walks away from the group. Shikaku stares at Izuna''s back and mutters. "Many elders in the council have termed him as ''The Second Coming of Madara Uchiha''." "I think they are being paranoid chomp chomp" Choza chomps arge piece of meat as he replies. Izuna meets with Yugao and signals her. "The target has arrived. Monitor his every activity and ry them to me." He passes a smallmunication device to her. "I hope these new toys of the R&D department work as they are intended to." Yugao takes the earpiece and hides it underneath her long hair. She makes some hand signs and disappears from her ce. ''Hiding in the Shadow Technique'' At the Hyuga entrance, Hiashi and Hirashi greet the Kumo Head Ninja with a polite smile. "Our Hyuga n is pleased to have the Head Ninja of Kumogakure celebrate this auspicious asion with us." Hiashi signals to one of the guards. The guard walks towards them and politely asks them. "Sorry for my rude behavior but we would have to do a thorough search of your garments to ensure the safety of the guests." "Well that''s fair." The Head Ninja raises his head and allows the guard to search for his clothes. The guard then proceeds to search the clothes of the escort guards of the Head Ninja. "Well if everything is fine then we would like to see the princess of Hyuga n with our own eyes." He asks Hiashi. "Very well the celebration is about to start soon. Please take a seat inside." Hiashi signals to a Hyuga Elder. The Elder escorts the group to the VIP seating area. "Uchiha n congrattes the Hyuga n on this auspicious asion." Fugaku and the elders of the Uchiha n arrive at the Hyuga n. Fugaku passes arge bouquet to Hiashi. "The pleasure is all ours." Hiashi epts the present. Soon, all the guests arrive in the celebration with the entourage of the Konoha elders and Hokage being thest. Inside the celebration hall, A beautifuldy carries a cute little girl in a purple Kimono. The little girl is holding the finger of her mother as she looks around. The gaze of many strangers frightens her, and she hides behind her mother. "Haha haha" Indeed, the princess of the Hyuga n is as beautiful as described by the vigers. The Head Ninjaughs as he converses with the Hokage. Hiruzen nods his head in agreement. ''So she is the Hyuga Princess. There is no cursed seal on her forehead.. which means it is an opportunity for Kumo.'' The Head Ninja cooks a devious scheme in his mind. Izuna looks at the frightened expression of Hinata and thinks to himself. "Hinatacks confidence even as a child." After introducing Hinata, her mother carries her away from the crowd. "I forgot to give her my present." Izuna takes a small ice doll from his storage scroll. He walks towards Hinata and smiles at her. "Happy Birthday Little Hinata!" He presents the doll to Hinata. "Oh! It''s you Izuna-kun." Thedy recognizes him. "Will Tsunade-sama attend the celebration?" She asks him. "I think she will" Izuna nods her head. He had met with Hinata''s mother multiple times in the Leaf Hospital, and Tsunade was the one who delivered Hinata. Hinata epts the doll and curiously stares at it. "It it is made of popsicle I will have to freeze it or it will melt." Izuna pats her head. "No it is a special doll. It won''t melt so there is no need to freeze it." Hinata cutely nods her head and runs towards Neji. "Nii-san Neji Nii-san look at my new doll." "Be careful Lady Hinata, or you will hurt yourself." Neji chases after her. ''I hope Tsunade will bring Naruto with her.'' Izuna stares at the interaction of Neji and Hinata. He notices the cursed seal on Neji''s head. ''Looks like Some changes are needed.'' ***Bzzzt static noises.**** His earpiece crackles. Izuna receives the message as he creates a small illusion around himself. "Captain! The escort guards of the Head Ninja just left his side. After separating from him they used a secret technique to hide their presence. But I can still sense their chakra." "For now monitor their every activity and inform me. I will keep an eye on the Head Ninja. Over and out!" ***Bzzt*** Izuna silently flickers towards the Head Ninja. ''So he has sent his goons to map the Hyugapound. Thus making it easy for the kidnapping.'' Izuna hides his presence and continues to monitor the Head Ninja. -------------- Later at Night, The party is finally over and one by one all the guests depart from the Hyugapound. Hiashi and Hirashi bade farewell to them. Outside the Hyugapounds, The Head Ninja listens to the report of his guards and nods. "Good we have mapped the entire Hyuga n it is time to put our n in action. You two depart for the Land of Hot Water and inform Raikage-sama. I will kidnap the Hyuga princess." "Yes Sir." The escort Ninjas bows their heads and flickers out. The Head Ninja recalls the map of the Hyugapound and scales the wall. He infiltrates thepound and lurks behind a tree as he eavesdrops on the conversation of servants. "Haah it was such an exhausting event. There was so much work to be done for this celebration. My back is hurting from so much work." One of the servants rubs his back. "Yes I am also exhausted. Even Lady Hinata fall asleep such a poor child she has to face so many strange people for the first time." The servant continues to do their chore. ''This is my chance the elders of the Hyuga n are busy with the guests. I won''t get such an opportunity again." The Head Ninja makes some hand signs. ''Hiding in the Water Jutsu'' His body turns into a puddle of water and disappears from the ce. The Head Ninja arrives in front of Hinata''s room. "So this is the location." He enters the room and notices a sleeping Hinata. There is a peculiar doll in her hand. He makes some hand signs and taps on Hinata''s forehead. Fwoosh He hears a strange noise and a sh. ''What was that?'' The Head ninja looks around. ''It must be my imagination.'' He shakes his head and picks up Hinata. "Now she won''t wake up for a while. I can''t allow her to wake up and make any noise and ruin my n." Whoosh He jumps out of the window and flickers out from the Hyugapound. Hmm An uneasy feeling wells up in Hiashi''s heart. "Byakugan" Hiashi activates his Byakugan and surveys his surroundings. He notices the Head Ninja of Kumo running away from the Hyugapound with Hinata on her shoulders. "This bastard!... How dare he? I knew it his intentions were not good." Hiashi dashes after the Head Ninja of Kumogakure. Chapter 126: Side Story: Dance of the Shinigami Chapter 126: Side Story: Dance of the Shinigami Hiashi immediately dashes after the Head Ninja. Swoosh Swoosh Izuna and Yugao appear in front of him. "There is no need to worry about Hinata." Izuna waves his hand and stops Hiashi. Hiashi frowns and angrily question him. "What do you mean? That Kumo bastard kidnapped my daughter and you are preventing me from saving her. What''s the meaning of this?" Hiashi takes a Taijutsu stance as he gets ready to fight Izuna and Yugao. "Calm down n Leader check your daughter''s room again she is fine." Izuna removes his Anbu mask and reveals his identity. "Izuna-kun It''s you." Hiashi trusts Izuna and dashes towards Izuna''s room. He notices Hinata soundly sleeping on the bed. "What?" Many questions pop up in his mind as he turns to Izuna for answers. "Don''t be surprised Hiashi-san. She is indeed the Real Hinata the one the Kumo ninja kidnapped is a doll which I made using Fuinjutsu. I suspected the Kumo group from the very start so I silently monitored their activity and found their intention of kidnapping Hinata. So I acted in advance and made the necessary arrangements. You just need to y along." Izuna reveals the truth to Hiashi. "Thank you Izuna-kun. I will be forever grateful to you as for the n I will follow your arrangements." Hiashi nods his head in agreement. Izuna and Yugao chase after the Head Ninja. ------------ Inside the forest near the border of Land of Fire and Land of Hot Water, The Head Ninja''s subordinates meet up with the Raikage''s group. The two ninjas bows in front of A and reports to him. "Raikage-sama Captain has infiltrated the Hyugapound. Soon, he will kidnap the Hyuga princess and the Byakugan will fall in our possession." Crackle A clench his fist as he stares towards Konoha. "We paid a heavy price during the Third Shinobi War it is time for payback of the debt." At some distance away from their camp, Whistle whistle Kakashi is resting against a tree as he monitors the troops of Kumo. "Vice-Captain! When should we make our move?" One of the masked figures asks him. "It''s still too soon Tenzo. Just wait for Captain''s signal he must be on his way by now." Kakashi replies to him. "Captain ordered us to maintain a distance from the sensory range of their sensors we will act once Captain arrives till then just monitor their every activity." "Yes Vice-Captain!" Tenzo nods his head. ---------------- Inside the forest of Land of Fire, The Head Ninja continues to carry the unconscious ''Hinata'' on her back. "I am almost there. Afterpletion of this mission the position of elder in the vige council will be mine." He grins to himself. "" Izuna stares at the back of Head Ninja and thinks to himself. ''Looks like after Third Raikage''s death the level of Shinobis in Kumo has degraded. If only the Fourth Raikage has some brain cells.'' Izuna is silently following the Head Ninja while cloaked in light style jutsu. They soon reach near the border of the Land of Fire. Izuna makes some hand signs and makes a fuinjutsu seal. Hmm Kakashi who is resting against the tree frowns. He immediately takes out a scroll from his pocket and notices the glowing sealing form. "Prepare yourself for the iing fight" He orders his team. Tenzo and the rest of the group raise their guard. Fwoosh Fwoosh The Head Ninja crosses the borders and notices the Raikage''s camp. "Finally" He quickly enters Raikage''s camp andys Hinata in front of the Raikage. "Raikage-sama I havepleted my mission. Now Byakugan is in our possession." "Well done" A nod his head. He turns towards Amai and signals him. "Amai go and inspect the Byakugan." Amai approaches ''Hinata'' body and stretches his hand near her eyes. sh A sh blinds their vision. "Haha with this the movie isplete." Fwoosh Izuna appears inside the Raikage''s camp. There is a camera in his hand as he smiles at the group. "What the" The eyes of the Kumo ninjas widen as they stare at Izuna. sh Izuna takes another picture of the group. "Now this is the icing on the cake." "Quick Kill him he has recorded our entire conversation." A yell to his men. "Lightning Release: Lariat" He quickly coats his entire body in Lightning chakra and dashes towards Izuna to smash him into a pulp. BOOM An enormous explosion urs inside the camp as everything gets blown away. "Now is our time." Kakashi jumps from the tree and dashes towards Kumo camps. The rest of the group follows him as they surround the Kumo camps. BOOM Dust and debris settle down to reveal a giant crater in ce of Raikage''s camp. Izuna is standing in the middle of the camp with a serious expression. Cough cough At a distance away A pushes a boulder as he stands from the rubble. He coughs out a mouthful of blood as he stares at Izuna with wide-eyes. "You are you are the same kid who was with Minato during the Third Shinobi War I remember you I fought against you during the war six years ago. How how are you so strong now?" A question. "Oh! It''s just that I was nerfed back then. Anyway on to the main point, I have collected enough proof against Kumo for viting the peace treaty." Izuna waves the camera in his hand. "I will make a movie on it. I will name it ''The Journey of a Lone Hero''" Izuna stares at the Head Ninja and smirks. "No no, perhaps this name is too good for the likes of you. Haha" Izuna jokes with them. "Quick kill him before he reveals the proof to the rest of the world. Cough" A coughs a little as he orders his troops. Amai walks towards A and treats his injuries. "We are here, Captain!" Kakashi and the rest of the Team Ro stand beside Izuna. "Kill them don''t leave any trace of them." Bam A punch the doll into smithereens. "Konoha yed us like a fiddle. But they will pay for it. We heavily outnumber them kill them and wash away this humiliation." A roar in anger. "The enemy outnumber us but we are no weaklings. Let''s give Kumo a taste of their own medicine." Kakashimands Team Ro. "No need I alone am enough." Izuna stretches his arm and blocks Kakashi. "Just watch and learn" Crack Crack Izuna cracks his neck and walks towards the Kumo group. "They are almost fifty fifty elite ninjas it has been a while since I let myself loose in a battle it''s time to go all out." Izuna confronts the Kumo group and taunts them. "Come on, then Let''s dance." "Kill kill this bastard" "He dares underestimate the strength of Kumo." The group of elite Kumo shinobi yells in a frenzy as they throw multiple shurikens and kunais towards Izuna. Haah Izuna crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate: Gate of View Open" Whoosh A shock wave release of chakra releases from his body and pushes the group of Kumo ninja backward repelling their attacks "Power Release: Asura''s robe" Dark Red mes engulf Izuna. Lightning flickers through his eyes as it crackles and snaps. A red aura rises from his body and solidifies into a dark red chakra cloak behind him. Haah Izuna punches the ground. BOOM Arge explosion with Izuna as epicenter engulfs the entire Kumo group. All the fifty elite shinobis of Kumo are thrown in the air. The shinobi summersault and make multiple hand signs. "Co-operation Ninjutsu: Cmity Lightning Discharge Jutsu" The water users and lightning users summons a giant pool of water and lightning. The lightning flickers in the pool and creates a gigantic storm. Haah Izuna stretches his hand and takes a Taijutsu stance. "Asakujaku lightning stream" He rapidly punches the air multiple times in quick session. The friction and the air resistance set his fists on fire and his cloak adds lightning chakra to the swathes of mes released from his hand. BOOM BOOM Both techniques collide together and Izuna''s technique overwhelms the co-operation jutsu. "Swift Release: sh Step" He disappears and reappears in front of the Kumo ninja. Bang His punch shatters the entire skeletal system of the shinobi and turns his body into mush. Bang Bang Izuna continues to punch one enemy after another. Amai looks at the entire ughter with terror in his eyes. "This is this is the dance of the Shinigami- a dance of death and despair." Chapter 127: You Hit Like a Truck Chapter 127: You Hit Like a Truck A/N:- Enjoy the weekend with this small mass release. ---------------------- Fwoosh A gust of wind blows Izuna''s hair and A''s robe. Both of them confront each other in an open field. A has a tense expression on his face. He is seriously contemting a way to beat Izuna. ''Since it is a bet, I have to propose something which will give me an advantage. But he has to agree with my condition and allow me to state the terms of the bet.'' A''s head is drenched in sweat as he res at Izuna. ''I have to save Karai at all costs. Even if I have to lower my head and abandon my pride.'' Izuna nonchntly stares at A. ''I know he wants to save hisrade, but we aren''t allies. Konoha and Kumo only signed a peace treaty. I don''t care about hisrade. But if we want to save his friend, then he better get ready to pay a hefty price. I will give him a chance to fight.'' "Since you proposed a bet, then it is only fair for me to pick up the terms of the bet. But I am a generous guy, I won''t bully you. Just pick up and condition and I will y along." Izuna calmy looks at A. "Your conditions aren''t wait, what? You are allowing me to pick up the conditions." A look at Izuna with wide eyes. Izuna nods his head in affirmation. ''I can''t ask for anything better. Now, I have to just think of something in which I can defeat him.'' A ponders on his strengths and weaknesses. ''Ninjutsu! No, Izuna Uchiha is a genius if ites to ninjutsu, he has the fabled Sharingan. He can easily overpower anyone. In terms of speed, I am no match for him. He has learned the ''Flying Thunder God'' Jutsu of Fourth Hokage. Wait Physical strength and endurance.'' A look at the lean andpact body of Izuna. ''He doesn''t have much of a muscle mass. I doubt his endurance is higher than me. I should propose a test of endurance.'' He stares Izuna in the eyes and speaks in his hoarse voice. "Very well then, it will be a contest of Endurance. Both of us will punch each other. The one who could stand after taking a hit would be the winner." A smirk at Izuna while flexing hisrge muscles. "" ''He is too desperate to dig his own grave.'' Tsunade and Shizune silently stare at A and closes their eyes to pay their respect. ''I have punched this guy multiple times with my full strength. But he just stands up and swaggers away with no hint of any pain or injury.'' "Good, I have no qualms with your condition. Why don''t you punch me first? I will just stand at a spot and take a hit from you." Izuna curls his fingers and taunts A. A''s blood pressure shots up. "Don''t underestimate me, you bastard!" A remove his garb and clenches his fists tightly. Haah A''s entire body is covered in a lightning cloak. His hairs stand up from electricity and he continues to pump more chakra in his lightning cloak. "I will make you regret your decision." He bends a little to gather momentum in his attack. ''This lightning cloak provides enhanced strength and speed. The absolute defense is a bonus. With this, I would be able to easily win against him. Even if I am not as strong as him, I will show him not to underestimate the strength of a Raikage.'' Haah A riles up his chakra. Dust and debris rise in the air. Whoosh A disappear from his position and appear right in front of Izuna. "Lightning Straight" ''Let me see how long you will be able to maintain that uncouth smirk on your face?'' BAMM A punch Izuna right into the gut. BOOM. The ground beneath Izuna crumbles and creates a small crater. ''Metal Release: Adamantine Skin'' ''Shock Release: Force Transfer'' Izuna''s skin turns ck at the point of impact. He transfers the shock from the punch to the earth. The ground beneath him crumbles from the attack. ''Damn! He hit like a car, though I don''t know how hard does a car hit. If he hit like a truck, then I would have reincarnated.'' Haah A continue to apply more force to his punch. ''I will see how long you wouldst. My speed and physical strength far surpass anyone else.'' He riles up more chakra and his muscles inte. ''What what''s going on? He should be sent flying from my attack, but he isn''t even budging from his position.'' A notice the peculiarity as his momentum slowly dies down. "I think you had enough." Izuna cracks his neck and stretches his muscles. Izuna wipes his clothes. "No way" The rest of the Kumo ninja look at Izuna with wide- eyes. ''That didn''t even make him flinch, much less sent him flying.'' A look at Izuna with disbelief. As if sensing A''s dilemma. Izuna slowly walks up to him and pats him on the shoulder. "That was quite a punch. I felt it, it was able to loosen up some of my stomach muscles. Maybe next time, I should book a special message from you. Now prepare yourself, it''s my turn next." Izuna cracks his knuckles and flexes his arm. ''I don''t know how he managed to take that hit, but I won''t allow him to win in terms of endurance.'' A coat his body in Lightning Cloak and increases the density of the cloak near his stomach. ''A is giving his all, I won''t disappoint this guy. I will also enhance my physical strength to the maximum. His body is tough, right? he should be able to handle the punch.'' Izuna clenches his fist. Haah "Eight Inner Gates Seventh Gate of Wonder OPEN!" A blue aura surrounds Izuna''s body. The opening of the gate releases a shock wave that pushes the nearby Kumo ninjas. "This what kind of technique is this? I can feel arge amount of pressure from him." One of the Kumo ninjas gulps his saliva. "Raikage-sama will be fine, right?" Another Kumo ninja question. "Raikage-sama has the strongest defense in the Shinobi World. Nothing will happen to him. That Shinigami may be proficient in Ninjutsu but he is not a match for Raikage-sama in physical strength." Togai assures his fellow Kumo shinobis. Haah "Power Release: Asura''s Robe" Dark red mes surround Izuna''s body. Red lightning flickers from his eyes and zooms around him. "This is it is the same it is that technique" Amai panics. "It is the same technique he used against us. This devilish cloak, there is no mistake in it." "Raikage-sama, please back down. You can''t fight against him." Amai yells in fear. ''I won''t use Senjutsu. It will be an overkill. I just want to rough him up a little, I have no intention of killing this guy.'' "Are you ready, Unruly A of the cloud?" Izuna taunts A. "I was born ready. Let''s get it down. Karai can''t wait for long." Swoosh whoosh. Bam Izuna flickers towards A. His speed creates a supersonic wave that split apart the ground and sends Kumo ninja flying. Shizune takes cover behind Tsunade. "This kid has improved a lot. He has long surpassed me. I had some confidence with Sage Mode but now when I look at him like this sigh.." Tsunade shakes her head and sighs. ''Guess he won''t leave my side until my death. I don''t want to see another important person pass away.'' Izuna appears in front of A and gets ready to punch him. "Fast, he is so fast. I can''t catch up with his speed. He is faster than me." A''s eye widens. He folds his arms to brace himself. BAAMM Izuna punches him right in the gut. A feels dizzy and the inside of stomach churns. Puchi He throws out a mouthful of blood and passes out. ''Even Pops punch did not hurt this much.'' These were A''sst thoughts before he passes out. BANG A is sent flying by the punch. He rams through multiple walls and ms into arge boulder. His body lodges itself deeply into the boulder. "Raikage-sama" Kumo ninjas hurriedly run towards A. "So, I guess it''s my win." Izuna whistles and walks towards Karai. "So, you are the patient who needs help." Izuna notices arge spider-shaped bug lodged in Karai''s chest. "I will relieve your condition now. We will proceed with matters after your Raikage wakes up." "I don''t need your help Augh" Karai grimaces in pain as he struggles to even breathe. "Let him help Karai." Amai convinces him. Chirp chii Izuna gathers lightning chakra in his palm. "What what are you trying to do?" Togai asks fearfully. "I am treating him. If you make as much as a squeak then I will first chop off your tongue." Izuna is annoyed with the constant bber of this guy. He makes an ultra-thin senbon using the lightning chakra and stabs it in Karai''s chest. Bzzzt The lightning zaps therge insect. Wriggle. Wriggle The insects wriggle in pain before it stopspletely. "I have neutralized the ''Exploding Insect''. It won''t suck your chakra anymore, you need surgery to remove the insect. But keep in mind, one slight error in operation and you will blow up." Karai gulps his saliva andys down on the bed. Chapter 128: Squeezing A Dry Chapter 128: Squeezing A Dry Huff Huff A retains his consciousness after a while. He takes a deep breath and feels dizzy. Cough cough A coughs up some blood and the dizziness in his head slowly fades away. He suddenly recalls the memories of the previous bet. "Karai where is Karai?" A grab the cor of one of the medic-nin of Kumo and question him. Gulp The medic-nin gulps his saliva and points beside him. A calms down and looks around. He is sitting on a bed and Karai is lying on another bed beside him. "We are in the inn, Raikage-sama. You passed out after taking a hit from Izuna Uchiha." Amai informs him. "So I lost after all. I am sorry, Karai! I wasn''t able to fulfill my promise." A clench his fist. A''s eyes tear up. He wipes them and solemnly looks out of the window. "Uhh! Raikage-sama, Karai is fine. He isn''t dead yet." Amai tries to calm A. "Yes Karai isn''t dead yet. He will forever remain in our heart." A closes his eyes. "Raikage-sama I am still alive." Karai opens his eyes and groans in pain. "Don''t push yourself too much, Karai." Amai supports Karai. "Karai you are fine." A turns towards Togai for an exnation. Togai exins everything to A. "So, this is what happened Raikage-sama." Humph "Those Konoha ninjas are still as soft as ever. Let''s take Karai to them. We have to deal with Nokizaru Group too. Those bastards dared toy a hand on Kumo." A scoffs and walks out of the room. The rest of the Kumo ninjas follows him. Knock knock A knock at the door of Tsunade''s room. "Oh! It is the unruly brat of Kumo." Tsunade sneaks a nce at A and ignores him. Humph A tick mark appears on A''s forehead. Cough cough Izuna coughs to gain his attention. "Let''s talk about the business before we move on. I don''t want to do a favor to Kumo. We aren''t allies and if Konoha shows any weakness, Kumo will be the first to strike." "What do you want to talk about? Let get it over, Karai is still in pain." A snort. "Ok then! Here is my first condition. I need 10 tons of chakra ore you mined from the Land of Hot Water. It should be of first-grade." Izuna raises his index finger. ''This amount should be enough to forge first-grade weapons for members of the Uchiha n and my future team. I would store the remaining amount in the n''s stock.'' "Go and rob a bank instead. Do you think a single shinobi''s life has this much worth?" A scoffs at Izuna. "No No No! I am not talking about your subordinate. I am talking about them." A swirling portal opens in front of them and five people drop out from it. A''s eye widens as he notices the Nokizaru group members. "What?... Nokizaru group. How did you capture them? They are a group of S-rank ninjas with quite a bounty on their heads. As a squad, these are almost unstoppable?" A point at the Nokizaru members. "You don''t have to ponder on such minor details. I am talking about their value. This bunch has done quite the damage to your Kumo. Also, I sell them to Bingo Book bounty hunters then I would get 500 million Ryo for the entire group." Izuna states their value. "What 500 million Ryo?" Tsunade sobers up and stares at the Nokizaru group with a fervent gaze. The Nokizaru group members turn into a stack of cash in Tsunade''s eyes and she drools while looking at them. Gulp Tsunade gulps a mouthful of saliva and starts to imagine what she could do with such great wealth. ''I can drink premium booze every day. I don''t have to worry about money while gambling for a while.'' She turns towards Izuna. "Izuna! Instead of handing them over to this ungrateful A, why don''t you give them to me?" Tsunade waves her hand. Izuna senses Tsunade''s intention and ignores her. Stab An imaginary arrow pierces Tsunade''s heart, and she sulks in a corner. "So.. where were we? Ah! Yes, these Nokizaru ninjas. What do you think should I do with them?" Izuna grins at A and questions him. ''This bastard. He will rob Kumo at this rate. But I have to capture this bunch. They have stolen the secret technique of Kumo, and I can''t allow them to sell it to other nations. If other nations found out that technique then another weakness of Kumo will be pried open to the world.'' "Fine! I will take them from you. 10 ton of chakra ore it is. It''s a deal, I will ask someone from the cloud to fetch it over. But I will take all the belongings of this group with me." A demand. "It''s fine with me." Izuna shrugs his shoulders. A signals one of his subordinates and whisper in his ears. The Shinobi nods his head and searches through the clothes of the Nokizaru group. ''Damn! This Konoha bastard. We were supposed to kill the Raikage and enjoy the rest of our life in leisure. But now we have be a piece of tradeable goods in their hand.'' Himushi curses in his mind and struggles to get free. p "Don''t move around too much." The Kumo ninja ps Himushi and inspects his clothes. ''Damn! I can''t handle it.'' Himushi tries to yell in anger, but no soundes out of his mouth. The Kumo shinobi searches for a while but finds nothing. He reports it to A. A frowns and angrily res at Izuna. "Oh! You might be looking for this." Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket. "Ah! The secret technique of Kumogakure. I wonder how much money I would get if I sell it to the right buyer. I am sure that fence-sitter Onoki of Iwa will pay a hefty price to get his hands on this technique." Izuna twirls the scroll in his hands. "That geezer Onoki was never a match for Third Raikage because of this technique. I am sure he would go to any lengths just to get his hands on the weakness of this technique." Izuna smirks at A. "State your price!..." A slowly mutters to Izuna. "Ah!... I can''t hear you. Can you speak a little louder?" Izuna perks up his ears. I said, STATE YOUR PRICE!..." A yell in fury. Lightning starts to crackle from his arms. "That''s more like it." Izuna nods his head. "I don''t want anything extravagant. Just give me the blueprints of Chakra Cannon." Izuna calmly states his condition. "What?" A yells in surprise. His lightning cloak fades away, and he warily stares at Izuna. ''Chakra Cannon is supposed to be a secret weapon of Kumo. No one No one besides father, me, and some of father''s trusted subordinates knew about it. Even B isn''t aware of its existence. Then then howe howe does he know about it?'' A gulps a mouthful of saliva and looks towards Izuna in dread. ''He he even infiltrated and stole such top-secret information right under our nose. I still don''t know how much intel he has on Kumo. I have to tread carefully around him in the future.'' A closes his eyes and ponders for a while. ''The chakra cannon is still in its elementary stage, it will be awhile before it will take its final form. During this time, I am sure Kumo will be able to modify it further. Thus, there is no harm in handing over the blueprint of elementary chakra cannon. That''s it, I will hand over the elementary blueprint.'' A makes up his mind. "Fine, I agree with your condition. You will get your blueprint. Now can you hand over the technique?" A demands Izuna. His expression is bitter at this moment. "Here, you can have it? It is not much of a use to me." Izuna throws the scroll towards A. He didn''t care much about A. ''If he goes back on his word, then I will just barge in Kumo and kidnap both of their tailed-beast. Besides, I doubt A will pull back from the agreement.'' Humph A harrumph at Izuna and points towards Karai. "Now would you mind treating him?" "Oh! I totally forgot about that." Izuna scratches his head. He turns towards Shizune and prompts her. "Shizune! Go ahead and operate on him." "Yes, Izuna. Shizune nods her head and lifts her right leg to draw out some vials and syringes from her holster. A frowns at this and looks towards Izuna. "Shinigami! This wasn''t the part of the deal. Why is this little girl operating on Karai? I want Tsunade to do the operation." Swish swish swish stab splurge Shizune manoeuvres her hand and cuts open the skin around the insect. She stabs in the dead body of the insect and throws it away. Swish swish swish She skilfully sews the wound and patched Karai. Haah Shizune wipes the sweat from her forehead and walks in front of A. "For your kind information, I am the sessor of Tsunade-sama. She had taught me all of her skills and has passed her legacy to me. Humph!" Shizune harrumphs and walks away. Oink oink She picks up Tonton and sits beside Tsunade. "Hu!... Hu! Well done, Shizune. You did quite well for your first real on-field surgery." Tsunade praises Shizune. Upon hearing these words, the skin of A and Karai turns pale. Karai faints from shock and A staggers back while pointing a finger at Tsunade. "" He is at a loss for words. Chapter 129: A New Mission Chapter 129: A New Mission Gulp gulp gulp Haah Tsunade chugs down another bottle of sake. H "I like this journey. I get to drink lots of booze and gamble. I hope such days willst forever." Tsunade turns to Izuna. "You made quite the haul. I bet that A would be cursing you right now." Haha haha "It was worth the effort. Kumo''s ego has inted a lot in these past few years, I have to tone them down a little. Besides, I didn''t really like his rude behavior. So, I have to bleed him a little." Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket and flips it up. He opens the scroll and skims through it. There is a blueprint of chakra cannon drawn on it. ''Humm this design is quite basic. Well, to be honest, I didn''t expect much from Kumo. But it is enough, I can use some civilian engineers and build it secretly for our organization. There will be arge scale war in the future. I have to prepare every countermeasure for it. These things can easily obliterate the moon when fired at full power.'' Izuna tucks away the scroll and turns to Tsunade. "Tsunade! What is your n for this journey? When will you return to Konoha?" H Tsunade drinks another mouthful of sake and throws the cup away. "Returning to Konoha is such a pain. I want to wander the world a little more. So, I won''t return to Konoha anytime soon." Tsunade uses the Mystic Palm technique on herself and sobers up. "I know you and the Uchiha n aren''t satisfied by Third Hokage and want to rece him. I have no interest in that position. Only fools and nave people chase after that position. I won''t hear any request from you." Tsunade senses Izuna''s intention and denies him before he could ask her. ''Guess only Naruto can use the Talk-no-jutsu to convince her. But at least she is not weak like before. Sigh'' Izuna shakes his head and sighs. "Since you don''t want to be Hokage, then I have another request for you." "Speak!" Tsunade stares him in the eyes. "I want you to find a cure for Itachi. He is fine for now, but his condition will escte quickly." Izuna replies to her. "I have done a diagnose of his body with my Sharingan and here is the report." He passes a scroll to Tsunade. "As far as I know, it seems to be a lung disease which feeds on the user''s chakra and grows with time. I will transfer memories of what I saw with my Sharingan to you." "Ok! Let me see them." Tsunade nods her head. Izuna ces his right hand on Tsunade''s forehead and uses his Sharingan to cast a genjutsu and simte his memories. "Tsunade, as you can see the diseases, is in the preliminary stage." Tsunade points at a lump of strange cells. "We have to find a cure before it reaches the next stage. It will be harder to cure it in the future." Hum Tsunade ponders for a while and shakes her head. "I have never heard or seen such a disease before. But from the inspection, I can see that it is a new type of Chakra disease which is blocking the chakrawork from passing through the lungs. It is indeed lethal, and if it covers the entire chakrawork in the lungs, then the patient will certainly die. I will try my best to search for a cure for this." Tsunade assures Izuna. "You have my gratitude, Tsunade." "Of course, I will do this for your sake. You are my apprentice after all." Tsunade smiles at Izuna. "Then I will have to return to the vige. I have left the vige for a week or so. It is time to return, but I will keep visiting you. Till then, Farewell!" Izuna waves his hand and walks out of the inn. Oink Oink Tonton jumps from Shizune''s embrace and waves her legs. "Seems like Tonton is saying goodbye to Izuna." Shizune chuckles and picks her up. Swoosh Izuna teleports from the spot. "Shizune! Let''s go and visit a gambling den. I have been craving to gamble in this past week. Izuna won''t allow me to gamble." Tsunade withdraws a stack of cash from her purse. "That unruly A sure had lots of money. He couldn''t swallow his pride, so he repaid the favor with money." Tsunade counts the stack of Ryo andughs hysterically. "It''s not like I amining though." "Tsunade-sama!!....." Shizune clutches her forehead and sighs. ''I am sorry, Izuna. I can''t stop Tsunade-sama.'' "OYE! Is there a woman called Tsunade staying here?" "The one with the huge jugs!" Tsunade and Shizune hear someone yelling while talking to thendlord. "Crap! These are the debt collectors. They have found me out." Tsunade shouts in panic. "Shizune quick hide yourself. I will somehow deal with them. Just hide." "Hai! Tsunade-sama!" Shizune uses transformation jutsu and hides. "Time for me to do the same." Tsunade transforms into her child version." ''I hope they will fall for the bait. I don''t want to return the money which I got just now.'' ------------------------------ Swoosh. Izuna teleports inside the vige. "Let me check on Shisui, Kakashi, Guy, and Itachi. They must have recovered by now." Izuna flickers towards the Konoha hospital. He meets up with Sayori and asks her about the gang. "I have discharged them yesterday. Most of their injuries were already treated because of the preliminary treatment." Sayori informs him. "Thanks, Sayori-san." Izuna thanks Sayori and flickers out. ''I guess they must be in training ground or else in the Anbu Headquarters.'' Izuna flickers towards the training ground and notices the bunch training with each other. Kakashi and Guy are sparring in Taijutsu with each other while Shisui and Itachi are engaged in a Ninjutsu fight. ''I will let them train for a bit. Since I n to form a team, the members need some teamwork. Kakashi and Guy had great synergy. Shisui and Itachi enhance each other''s abilities to another level, too. Now, I have to just search for other members. I will operate solo. Fighting in a team isn''t my style, and I don''t want my partner to get caught in cross-fire.'' Screech screech Izuna raises his head and notices a hawk flying over the training ground. He frowns and mutter, "A summon from Hokage-office. Since I have nothing better to do, I will check it out." Izuna flickers towards the Hokage''s office. Knock Knock Hiruzen raises his head and quickly hides the crystal ball inside his drawer. ''That''s enough research for today.'' He clears his throat and speaks in a hoarse voice. "Come in!" Izuna enters the office and stands in front of Hiruzen. "It has been a while, Izuna Uchiha. I have a suitable mission for you. You can ept it if you feel like it." Hiruzen takes out a scroll from the drawer and ces it on the table. "Can I hear the details first? I don''t want to needlessly take a mission and waste my training time." Izuna calmly replies to him and grabs the scroll. "I wonder why this kid is training so hard? I am unsure of his exact prowess but from what I saw during the Uchiha incident; he is probably closer to Madara Uchiha''s level. What a scary kid!'' Ahem Hiruzen clears his throat and exins. "You must have heard about the recent unrest in the Land of Mist. Third Mizukage was assassinated after the Third Ninja War, leading to a power struggle in Kirigakure. Kirigakure has a barbaric academy graduation ritual where academy students are forced to kill each other. So, the new Fourth Mizukage also graduated this way. His name is Yagura Karatachi." Hiruzen shows a profile picture of Yagura enlisted in Bingo book. "250 million Ryo! He has quite the high bounty on his head." Izuna whistles, looking at the bingo book bounty. "It is nowhere close to your bounty though." Hiruzen remarks. "Is that so? I never checked my bounty. Well, if somebody tries to im my bounty, I will just kill that guy instead." Izuna nonchntly replies. "" Hiruzen slowly rubs his forehead and sighs. "You have a bounty of 400 million Ryo on your head." "That''s a lot of money. It is almost equivalent to 40 top S-rank missions. Probably, I should kill myself to get that much money." Izuna chuckles and grabs the scroll. "I will take this mission." He flickers out from the Hokage''s office. ''Obito is manipting Yagura in the Kirigakure. Yagura is massacring various Kekkei-Genkai users in mist. It would be a waste if I couldn''t copy them before they die.'' "Wait your mission is to" Hiruzen shouts to inform Izuna, but Izuna had already flickered away. " is to infiltrate Kirigakure and spy on Fourth Mizukage." Hiruzen finishes his sentence. ''Well! I think he is smart enough to understand the intricacies of the mission. But I never expected him to ept this mission.'' Hiruzen takes out his crystal ball and starts his research again. ''Fufu those are quite good indeed.'' ---------------------- A/N:- So here we are. In a new arc. Also, next few chapters you won''t see MC because we have to develop the plot and it is always not necessarily around the MC. Chapter 130: Attack On Kiri Part-1 Chapter 130: Attack On Kiri Part-1 Huff Huff ''Kill'' Huff Huff ''KILL'' Huff Huff ''KILL KILL'' ''KILL KILL KILL'' A pale-skin kid in purple yukata is running away from his pursuer. "He is thest one. Hurry and capture him. We have suffered many casualties in this fight, we can''t allow our enemy to escape. Even if it is a kid!" "Kill him." The kid continues to run as he avoids one attack after another from his pursuer. ''KILL KILL KILL KILL'' Various voices continue to haunt him as he continues to run away. One of the pursuing ninjas throws a chained metal b towards the kid. Whoosh whoosh The metal b spins in the air and hits the legs of the kid and ties around them. Bang Slid Bam The kid loses his bnce and topple. The momentum of the dash causes him to slide. Skid. He skids over and stops in front of a red flower. "Aah!.." He weakly stretches his hand and grabs the flower. "You are just like me a stray flower with no home. Blooming in the middle of this winter with no ce to belong. The darkness was where I was brought up" He weakly mutters to himself as the enemy ninja closes on him. "Is there really a God? God, if you are real then save me! Save me from this darkness and relieve me from my sufferings." The kid closes his eyes. "You have quite the legs, kid. You made us run quite a distance just to chase you down." One of the enemy ninjas takes out a kunai from his holster. "It''s time to end this farce. He had given us enough trouble during this time. Let''s kill and bring his body to the vige." "Be careful! We don''t know what kind of abilities this kid is hiding. He could survive all on his own during this war, he must have aces up his sleeves." Another ninja reminds his teammate. The ninja carefully treads towards the kid, taking one step at a time. ''Hurry up! Reveal your final trump card. So, I can kill you quickly. I have to return to the vige.'' ''KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL'' Various loud yells erupt in the kid''s mind as he clutches his forehead. A tendency to ughter and murder starts to slowly take him over. ''I must kill. I must survive. I don''t want to die here.'' The urge to survive takes over him. The kid raises his head and looks at his pursuers. He raises his fingers and points them towards the enemies. "Finger Drilling Bullet" The skin from his fingertips parts away to reveal an opening. The exposed holes reveal hardened finger bones that start to spin rapidly. ''I won''t die here. I will find meaning in my life. Even I die I will die fighting.'' Whoosh Whoosh A spatial disturbance urs in between them and a figure pops out of nowhere. "Damn! It seems like I still can''t control the direct teleportation. My understanding of ''Space'' is stillcking.'' A figure d in ck clothes, spiky ck hairs with a blue tint to them appears in between them and are tied in a ponytail. His bangs parted down the center of his face to frame both sides to it. He wore a high cored ck shirt with a fan shape crest on his upper back and ck pants. Some bandages are wrapped around his arms and a belt is tied around his waist holding a sheathed sword in ce. The figure looks around and notices the Ninjas with their guard up. "It seems like I am in the right ce." He notices the Kiri headband on their head. "He is" The Kumo Ninja warily looks at the neer. "RUN! We are no match for him. He is the ''Shinigami''." One of the Kiri ninjas recognizes Izuna. "What?... He is ''Shinigami''. RUN!!" The Kiri Ninjas panics and retreats. "Now! Now! It won''t be much of infiltration if I revealed myself." ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' Izuna cast a genjutsu on the Kiri ninjas to erase their memory. He turns towards the kid and inspects him. The kid stares at Izuna and passes out. ''I am saved.'' --------shback- No- Jutsu---------- Inside a dark prison room, Scratch Scratch A kid is carving something on the wall with a bone. "Why? Why am I in a ce like this?" Scratch Scratch "Why I have to suffer in this hell?" Scratch Scratch "Why?... Why no one cares about me? Why?" KILL KILL KILL... "This darkness haunts me. These noises they are they are Aaaah!" He clutches his ears to block the noises. KILL KILL KILL The noises continue to haunt him. "God! If there is a God, then save me!" Knock Knock Creak The door creak opens, and a figure enters the prison room. "The time hase to put you to some use" "Huh?" "Yes, you have to fight. For our sake, for the sake of our n. Fight!" The man drags out the kid from the prison. "Fight!... Fight!... Fight!" A group of people is gathered in front of a cavern as they yell in delight. "Let us make them realize the ferocity of our Kaguya n." The n leader raises his hand in the air. "Fight!" "Fight!" "Fight!" The Kaguya n members continue to shout as they yell frantically. "We will show Kirigakure how powerful our Kaguya n is." "Let''s go!" "KILL!... KILL!..." The Kaguya n members dashes in direction of Kirigakure. The n leader turns towards the kid and speaks. "Show them your power, Kimimaro!" He taps Kimimaro''s shoulder. "Show them your worth as a weapon. Show them how ferocious our Kaguya n is. We are the most powerful n of the entire Shinobi World. Haha!!..." The n leader yells and follows the rest of the group. Kimimaro silently stares at the back of the n leader and follows him. "So, I am just a tool, a weapon born for fighting." He chases after his nsmen and disappears into the forest. ------------- At the borders of Kirigakure, A bunch of Shinobis is guarding the border while talking among themselves. "I heard the elder of one of the noble n is opposing the Mizukage-sama. Apparently, he isn''t satisfied with the current ruling of Tsuchikage-sama." One of the ninja mutter to another. "Those nobles and their power struggle. Middle caste people like us are dumped at borders and are forced to guard the asses of those nobles." Another ninja shakes his head. "No matter, who bes the leader; we will be forced to serve them. We have to pass the brutal training of the academy and serve those nobles." Another ninja joins their conversation. "You bunch! Be grateful for what you have? Can''t you see the miserable state the Low Caste people are in? They are forced to ughter each other during the academy to lower their number. And if somehow they miraculously survive, then they are cast out of the vige to deal with the most dangerous mission where the mortality rate is as high as ny percent." Arge bearded man rebukes them. "Captain!" The bunch of shinobis stands up and salutes to captain. "Now get back to your patrol duty. I don''t want those nobles to grab my neck again." "Hai! Captain!" They quickly disperse and returns to their duty. "This bunch" The Captain shakes his head and returns to camp. "FIGHT!... FIGHT!... FIGHT!" "KILL!... KILL!... KILL!" The patrol guard shinobis are startled by a loud yell. "What''s going on?" One of the patrol guard questions his partner. "Let me check." The ninja makes some hand signs. "Water Release: Water Mirror Magnification" The shinobis generate a small water mirror in his hand and use various puddles of water to generate an image in the mirror. "These are wait a sec! They are Kaguya n members. What are they doing there?" The sensor ninja frowns. "What, those bunch of maniacs? What are they doing at Kiri borders?" His partner frowns. "Quick! Inform the Captain. We can''t allow them to approach the vige." The ninja makes some hand signs and his body turns into a puddle of water. Swoosh The sensor ninja continues to monitor the Kaguya n. "I don''t have a good feeling about this. The Kaguya n seems a bit more aggressive than usual." He gulps his saliva and takes out a picture from his pocket. "Yui! If I survived this, then we will move away from Kirigakure. I can''t stay in this bloody vige any longer." He gently caresses the picture of a girl and puts it back in his pocket. "KILL!... KILL!... KILL!" The Kaguya n members arrive near the border of Kirigakure. "Show them the power of our Kaguya n." "FIGHT!... FIGHT!... FIGHT!" Crack crack snap The Kaguya n members snap their legs and draw therge thigh bone from their legs. They form a spear from the bone and throws it towards the Kirigakure ninjas. "Let the ughter begin." Chapter 131: Attack On Kiri Part-2 Chapter 131: Attack On Kiri Part-2 KILL KILL The Kaguya n members throw their bone spear one after another. "It''s an enemy attack. Quick defend." The Kiri Patrol Guards quickly informs theirrades. "We can''t allow these maniacs to enter inside the vige." One of the Kiri ninjas makes some hand signs. "Water Release: Hiding in the Mist" The Kiri ninja opens his mouth and releases a pearly white mist that covers the entire area. He turns towards his teammates and makes some hand signals. His team members nod and enter inside the Mist. "Let''s stall them until our reinforcement arrives. We won''t be able to hold back against their number." The Captain directs his subordinates and all of them enter inside the mist. He makes some hand signs "Water Release: Rising Water Slicer" He ms his palm on the ground and releases a linear wave of water. The water wave slices through the rocks and collides with Kaguya n members, sending them flying away. The rest of the Kiri ninja follows his lead and throws various kunais, shurikens, and jutsus at Kaguya n members. "KILL KILL THEM. Show them the power of the Kaguya n." The n leader shouts at his n members. The Kaguya n members fold their arms in front of their chest. "Dance of the Larch" Various sharp bones sprouts from their body. ng ng ng. The bones easily block the projectiles. Kaguya n members point their fingers towards the Kiri shinobis. "Finger Drilling Bone Bullets" They fire multiple bone bullets from their fingers. "Block them. These bone bullets are lethal." The Captain shouts at his subordinates. The Kiri ninjas make multiple hand signs and m their palm on the ground. "Water Release: Water Wall" Multiple water walls block the bones and slow down their momentum. Phew ''We blocked them.'' The Kiri Ninjas sighs in relief. "Watch out!" The sensor ninja yells to his teammates. "Too Late! Kuku" The Kaguya n leader ms his hand on the ground and yells. "Dance of the Seedling Fern" Multiple bone spear erupts from the ground and quickly engulfs the Kiri ninjas, forming a sea of bones. Stab Stab Stab The spear pierces through various Kiri ninjas, killing them in the process. Whoosh The leader jumps up and avoids bone spears. "Water Release: Scattering Water Bullets" He fires a volley of high-speed water bullets at Kaguya n members. Pew Pew Pew The bullets pierce through some Kaguya n members, killing them in the process. Haha Kaguya n leaderughs hysterically. "Entertain them more. Kill! ughter! Let Kiri bath in blood. Haha" "KILL KILL KILL" The Kaguya n members continue to march forward, ughtering Kiri Shinobis one after another. ''Shit! At this rate, we won''t be able tost long. The reinforcement hasn''t arrived yet.'' Kiri Captain frowns and looks at his fallen subordinates. "Damn! I have no choice." The leader bites his thumb and makes some hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu: Conch King" He summons a giant conch with manyrge protruding out from its spikes. "Conch King, Go!" He makes some more hand signs and infuses chakra in Conch King''s giant shell. "Water Release Genjutsu: Demonic Phantom Fog Prison" The Conch king opens its giant shell and releases a pearl white mist. The mist covers the entire Kaguya n members, putting them in a genjutsu. Guffaw He pukes out a mouthful of blood and keels down. "This jutsu takes a toll on my chakra and vitality." "Haha Kill" Kaguya n members continue to swing their bones inside the genjutsu. "This genjutsu won''t be able to hold them for long. These maniacs are mentally unstable. So this genjutsu won''t have much of an effect on them." "Captain! We can''t hold them for long. When will our reinforcement arrive?" One of the Kiri shinobi questions him. "They must be on their way." Captain weakly replies to his subordinate before closing his eyes. Crack Crack Some cracks start to appear on Conch King''s shell. "They are about to dispel the genjutsu. Get ready to fight again." Captain warily stands up and holds a kunai in his hand. Crack BOOM The shell of the Conch King explodes, clearing away the mist. Poof The Conch King disappears in arge puff of white smoke. Another round of fight starts between them. ---------------------- Inside a small Mansion In Kirigakure, A middle-aged man with auburn hairs and green eyes is sitting on the floor in Seiza position with his eyes closed. A ninja flickers in front of him and ces a scroll in front of him. "Fuji-sama! This is a message from Mizukage-sama. The Kaguya n members have attacked Kiri at borders. Our Patrol team won''t be able to hold them for long." Huh!... Fuji opens his eyes and looks at the shinobi. "So, the Mizukage wants my faction to handle this matter." He picks up the scroll and reads it. "One hundred Kaguya n members. Things aren''t looking good." He frowns and folds the scroll. "Tell to Mizukage Yagura, we won''t participate in this war. We don''t have enough people on our side to participate in this war." The elder closes his eyes. "Fuji-sama! You don''t have a choice. This is the decision made by the rest of the elders of the vige council and the Mizukage-sama. If you don''t participate in this war, then Terumi n together with its subsidiary n will be kicked out of the Kirigakure." "WHAT!! Are you threatening me?" The elder opens his eyes and riles up his chakra, pressuring the shinobi. "Tell them, their tricks won''t work on Fuji Terumi. We will participate in this war if the elder council reserves another seat for my faction or else we are ready to leave Kirigakure for another vige." Fuji Terumi threatens the shinobi. "Yes, Fuji-sama!" The Kiri shinobi bows before Fuji before retreating. ''Damn! Those crafty noble foxes. All they do is sit in their luxurious mansion and scheme.'' Cough Cough Fuji coughs out a mouthful of blood. He quickly wipes the blood. ''My old injuries red up again, and this disease is silently killing me. Sigh'' He sighs and looks out of the window. ''I can''t allow Mei to see me in such a condition. She will unnecessarily worry about me. I don''t even know how long will I live? I have to at least make things easier for Mei. Her mother died when she was still a child. Paired with all the struggles and brutal training she went through as a child, I don''t want to live in constant suffering. Sigh'' Fuji sighs and affectionately looks at the picture of a woman. ''Miko, our Mei has grown into quite a beauty. She has taken your looks. Hopefully, I will be able to see our grandchildren before I die.'' A teardrop drips from his eyes. "Father!... Father! You called for me... Father?" A sweet voice enters Fuji''s ears. He quickly wipes his tears and puts on a stern expression. "You are here, Mei. I have a mission for you." A tall, slender girl with fair skin enters the room. She has green eyes, ankle-length, auburn hair styled into a herringbone pattern at the back, a top-knot tied with a dark blue band with four bangs at the front. Two bangs are short, with one covering her right eye, and the other two long crosses each other on her chest, just below her chin. Flutter A breeze of wind enters through the window, fluttering her long hairs. Mei has a smile on her face as she approaches Fuji. She bows in front of Fuji and shes a smile. "You looking for me... Father!" Fuji nods his head. A gentle expression recing his frown. "Yes, Mei. I have a mission for you. The Kiri is under attack from the Kaguya n. The vige has asked our Terumi n to handle the situation. I want you to take care of this situation as an experience for the iing power struggle. After I pass away, you will be the next leader of the Terumi n and thus our faction. I don''t want the prestige of Terumi n to fade away after my death." Shh Mei ces a finger on Fuji''s lips. "Don''t speak such words, Father. Nothing will happen to you. You will continue to lead the Terumi n in the future." Hah Sniff Fuji''s eyes tear up. He gently hugs Mei and pats her back. "Yes, don''t worry. Nothing will happen to Father. after all, I have such a loving daughter taking care of me. Now, all I want is to find a suitable candidate for you and marry you off. I just want to y with my grandkids in my old age." "Ma Ma... Marriage It is still soon for that." Mei flusters and her face turns red in embarrassment. "No no, I won''t leave you, alone. I will take care of your father." She tightly hugs Fuji. Sigh Fuji hugs Mei and pats her back. ''Can you see Miko? Our Mei has grown up.'' Chapter 132: Attack On Kiri Part-3 Chapter 132: Attack On Kiri Part-3 At Kiri borders, The Kaguya n members continue to ughter the Kiri shinobis. "KILL them!... Haha We Kaguya n members are the most powerful n of the shinobi world. Haha" They relentlessly kill one Kiri shinobi after the other. "Captain! We are sorry... We can''t hold for long. These Kaguya n members are way too powerful." Kiri members desperately block one attack after another while maintaining their formation. The remaining Kiri shinobis gather around the Captain. "BLOOD Let us see some blood. Haha" Kaguya n members surround them while Kiri members are barely holding to their life. The Kaguya n leader walks towards them. Crack crack snap He dislocates his shoulder and pulls out the arm bone from his shoulder. The arm bone turns into a bone sword and he swings the sword at them. The rest of the Kaguya n members raise their arms andunch multiple bone spear at Kiri Ninjas. "Time to die! Kiri Weaklings!" sh He shes the bone sword at the Kiri Captain. ''Looks like this is the end for me.'' The Kiri Captain closes his eyes, waiting for the death. ''Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique'' A corrosive cloud of mist appears in front of the Kiri Ninjas and blocks the bone spears. The acidic Mist melts the bones. Swoosh Swoosh Multiple ninjas d in Kiri outfits surround Kaguya n members. Sigh ''Looks like we are saved.'' The Kiri Captain heaves a sigh of relief. Multiple medic-nin starts to assist the injured and provide first-aid treatment. Phew... "We made it on time." Mei heaves a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?" She walks towards the Kiri Captain. Kiri Captain notices her and nods his head. "It was thanks to you... Miss Mei. If not for your timely arrival... we would have died by now." One of the medic ninja tends to him. "All units in formation. The enemy is quite troublesome. Avoid engaging in close range with them. Use ninjutsu to push them back." Mei orders her team as she surveys the situation. ''These Kaguya n members are skilled in Taijutsu. Paired with their Kekkei Genkai... they are almost unstoppable.'' Mei looks at therge number of Kaguya n members and frowns. ''The intel from the vige is incorrect. With our numbers... we will be barely able to hold against these many Kaguya n members.'' Kaguya n members silently look at the Kiri Ninjas. There is excitement on their face as they look at the reinforcement of Kiri. Slick The Kaguya n leader licks his lips in excitement. "More Kiri fodder has arrived. I can''t wait to bathe in their blood." There is no sign of fear on Kaguya n member''s faces despite surrounded by multiple enemies. "Show them the true ferocity of the Kaguya n members. Haha" ------------------------------- In a meeting room in Kirigakure, Multiple elders d in luxurious clothes are seated around a round table. One of the elders ces a scroll in the middle of the table as he addresses other elders. "All of you must be already aware of the attack on borders by the Kaguya n." All of them nods to him. "We are aware of this attack. It is nothing but a futile attempt by those mentally unstable maniacs of the Kaguya n. It was because of the blood-shedding tendencies that we have to station them away from the vige." One of the elder remarks. "But to think that they will attack the vige directly. They havepletely lost their sanity this time." Another elder frowns and looks at the report. "Don''t you think it is an opportunity for our High-ss Noble Faction" The elder in the middle cunningly looks at the rest of the elder. "What do you mean, Akifumi? State it clearly." One of the older council members frowns. Haha haha Akifumi slowly stands from his seat and calmly looks at the rest of the elders. " All of you must be aware of the power of the Terumi and its ally n." Akifumi smirks. Other elders frown and enter in deep contemtion. "Terumi n might be part of the Middle ss in the Kiri vige... but their strength can''t be denied. Most of them possess powerful Kekkei Genkais." One of the elder remarks. "During the Second Shinobi War, Kiri came on top of the other viges mostly due to the power of these Kekkei Genkais." Another elder agrees with him. "But haven''t their ambition on the risetely." An older elder frowns. "Terumi n is vying for more power in the elder council. We might not be a match if Terumi n attacked us with all of its ally ns." The older elder continues. "Wasn''t this the very reason we orchestrated a scheme and annihted the Yuki n? That move dealt a deadly blow to Middle-ss Faction, greatly decreasing their power and influence." Akifumi has a sly smile on his face. "So so you mean to say that, we can use this as an opportunity and further weaken them." The older elder smile and strokes his beard. "But what about Mizukage-sama? Will he agree with our decision?" Another elder frowns and questions them. "That Mizukage brat is still too young. He doesn''t have much influence on the politics of the vige. It was us who made him the Mizukage, so he won''t interfere with this matter." Akifumi chuckles and returns to his seat. "Then, let us proceed with our n. Prepare a team of skilled ninjas. When the Terumi n members return from the fight with the Kaguya n; ambush them and finish them off. With this, we will be able to deal a heavy blow to the Terumi n." The old elder suggests. "Then, we will send some of our elite shinobis for the mission." All the elders agree with him. The meeting continues as they discuss various matters. --------------------- Later, after the meeting, Akifumi walks out of the building and warily looks around. After making sure nobody was following him, he flickers towards the forest. After reaching near a waterfall, he makes some hand signs and taps on the water-screen. Whizz A sealing form appears on the waterfall and the water screen parts away, revealing a secret cavern. Akifumi surveys his surroundings and enters inside the cavern. The water screen closes behind him. He reaches the center of the cavern. There is a pedestal with some seals at the center. Akifumi bites his thumb and makes some hand signs. A small summoning form appears on the ground. A greenish-blue apparition with a one-eyed orange mask appears in front of him. Akifumi bows his head and greets the figure. "Madara-sama! I have fulfilled your order." Akifumi eyes have a Mangekyo pattern inside them. "Well done!" A raspy, hoarse voice greets him. "Thank you for your praise, Madara-sama." Akifumi bows his head and waits for further order. "For your next task, I want you to manipte the elders of the Vige Council and spark a revolt in Kirigakure." The voice continues. "Yes, Madara-sama." Akifumi nods his head and walks out of the cavern. Kuku The masked figureughs wickedly. "Why do I only need to control the Mizukage when I can make the entire Kiri dance on my whims? I won''t spare any elder of Kiri council." Crack The figure tightly clenches his fist. "Ten years!... It has been ten years since Rin was captured by these Kiri shinobis. The Kiri vige elders ordered her capture and turned her into a jinchuruki to rampage in Konoha." The memories of the incident shes in his mind as his right eye turns into a Mangekyo Sharingan. "They will pay for their crimes. I don''t want them to be a part of my Ideal World." Swish Fwish The projection fades away, leaving the empty cavern. --------------- Inside an underground hideout, Tobi turns towards Zetsu and orders. "It''s time for the next phase of the Eye of the Moon n. Akatsuki has already recruited ten members. I will monitor the progress from shadows and look over other members." "Then what you want us to do next?" White Zetsu questions him. "For now, keep an eye on Orochimaru. He is a snake in disguise, I don''t want any unstable factor to interfere with our ns." Swirl. Tobi disappears in a swirling portal. "I wonder what will be his reaction when he learns about the truth of that incident." White Zetsu mutters to himself. "Remember, we are the product of Madara-Sama''s experiment. Hismand is our will. Don''t even think about uttering these words again." ck Zetsu warns White Zetsu. Swoosh Zetsu enters into the ground. -------------------- In a small mansion in Kiri, An elderly man with a bald head walks inside a room. The elder wears a brown Kimono with a yellow scarf draped over his shoulders. There is a wooden staff in his hand. The pommel of the staff has a carving resembling a demon-like creature with red-eyes and a mouth with sharp teeth. The elder slowly crawls into the room. Fuji opens his eyes and wees him. "Elder Genji! How is the situation? Have you investigated it?" Fuji politely bows to Genji. "Hmm... I secretly ordered some of my trusted personal anbus to follow the Mei girl. They would report soon." Genji slowly crawls to mat and sits on it. Chapter 133: Attack on Kiri Part-4 Chapter 133: Attack on Kiri Part-4 Knock Knock Someone knocks on the door. "Come in." Elder Genji replies in his frail voice. A ninjapletely draped in blue garbs enters the room. He bows in front of Genji, awaiting his orders. "You may report." Elder Genji nods to him. "Genji-sama, after the Terumi n princess left the vige with her subordinates, a group of shinobis from various other noble ns followed her. I am unsure of their intention but I doubt it to be friendly." Fuji frowns and turns towards the ninja. "Tell me everything in detail." His expression turns gloomy. Gulp The ninja gulps his saliva and fills Fuji in detail. "Damn! Those High noble ns." Fuji quickly walks out of the room and gathers a squad of ninjas and sends them to the borders. Sigh Genji sighs to himself as he remembers his past days. "Byakuren-sama founded the Kirigakure. I got the fortune to be one of his aides and stand alongside him. Byakuren-sama worked tirelessly to establish the vige as one of the Five Great Shinobi Nations." Sigh "Since then, Kiri has continued to degrade, and it has reached this state of infamy as the ''Bloody Mist''. Sigh If only Third Mizukage-sama was still alive, then he would have sorted out this situation." Genji continues to contemte the future of Kirigakure. Cough Cough Fuji coughs slightly to get Genji''s attention. His emotions have calmed down a little. "Elder Genji, what are your thoughts on this move by the Noble ns? I can see they want to weaken our power and influence in the vige. But if they do so and create unrest in the vige, then Kirigakure will be open to other viges. Kirigakure will be engulfed in the mes of the war." Fuji ponders over the intention of the Noble ns. "Those power-hungry people are only seeking their benefit. The citizens of the vige worship them because they are the descendants of the First Mizukage. I can''t see the legacy of First Mizukage-sama degrading in their hands. It was the part of the reason I joined your faction." Genji calmly exins to Fuji. "As for your daughter, don''t worry about her. I will summon one of my most trusted and skilled ninja and make him her bodyguard." Fuji skeptically looks at Elder Genji. Elder Genji makes some hand signs and taps his staff on the ground. A strange sealing form appears on the ground. The eyes on the staff lit up. Shortlyter, a middle-aged man enters the room. "You summoned me, Genji-sama." The neer bowed to him. The neer has blue hair styled in a moused-up manner. His left eye is blue and the right-eye is covered with a ck eye-patch. He worerge Talismans with the word ''To Hear'' in kanji on both of his ears. The rest of his outfit includes a standard striped grey suit with a green haori that had white trimmings till halfway down. He wears the standard shinobi sandal with a Kiri forehead protector tied on his forehead. "You came right on time, Ao. I have a mission for you. But first, let me introduce you to the Terumi n leader." Elder Genji introduces Ao. "He is Ao. One of the orphans I picked up during the Second Shinobi War. His skills speak for themselves. During the Third Shinobi War, he defeated the main branch Hyuga n member of Konoha and stole his Byakugan as a spoil of war. Later, I imnted this eye in his right eye-socket." Elder Genji points at the eye-patch. Ao removes the eye patch to show his byakugan. "What if Konoha tried to retrieve the Byakugan? Many powerful shinobis in Konoha are capable enough to overpower Ao and steal his Byakugan." Fuji points out. "Haha you don''t have to worry about that." Elder Genji chuckles and points at the Talisman on Ao''s ears. "You can see thoserge talismans hung around his ear." "Yes, what''s so special about them? I can see some sealing forms on them. Though I am not a sealing expert, but I have never seen such strange seals before." Fuji curiously looks at the seals. "Those seals aren''t the ordinary sealing seals. They are special talisman seals created by me. Even the most famed Uzumaki n known for their Fuinjutsu capabilities won''t be able to decipher these seals." Elder Genji proudly stares at the seals. "These seals are my masterpiece, and I am very proud of them." Elder Genji chuckles. "Now, as for their abilities. When Ao''s Byakugan is under any kind of threat, the seals will cover his right eye and destroy the Byakugan. No one no one beside me is capable of removing these seals." Elder Genji strokes the pommel of his staff. The eyes on the staff lit up. "So, that''s how it is." Fuji nods his head. "I am always surprised by your capabilities, Elder Genji." He praises Elder Genji. "Enough chit-chat Ao quickly departs for the Kiri borders. Your sole task is to protect the Lady Mei of the Terumi n. She will be the future leader of the Terumi n and would y an important role in the future." Elder Genji orders Ao. "Yes, Genji-sama." Ao bows his head and flickers out of the room. --------------------- At Kiri borders, Huff Huff Mei is breathing heavily as she confronts the Kaguya n leader. Most of her subordinates and teammates are either dead or are not in a condition to continue the fight. ''I severely underestimated their abilities. Their Bone Maniption ability is very hard to fight against.'' Swish Swish Mei jumps back and avoids various bone bulletsunched at her. Huff Huff ''I can''t get hit by those. These bones can easily prate my defenses and decalcify my bones.'' Mei warily stares at the Kaguya n leader. ''We have whittled down their number, but the loses are unbearable.'' The Kaguya n members turn to his remaining n members. "Are we the only survivors?" He notices around twenty to thirty of his n members standing behind him. "We have no choice make them pay with their blood. Haha" The Kaguya n leaderughs maniacally. "Hanh KILL KILL KILL" Kaguya n members raise their hands and shout in excitement. "We will have them entertain us as long as possible! Hanh!" Another round of ughter starts as Kaguya n members go into a frenzy. KILL KILL KILL Huff Huff Kimimaro weakly stares at the back of his n members. ''Is this my worth? I am a weapon meant to be used on the battlefield to ughter my enemies Is this how my life wille to an end?... if so, then I won''t go down without a fight.'' Haah Kimimaro yells and dashes towards the Kiri ninjas. sh sh sh He continues to attack one Kiri ninja after another. "Look out for that kid. That kid has killed many of ourrades, we can''t allow him to rampage on the battlefield. Surround him and kill him." A small group of Kiri shinobis surrounds Kimimaro. Kimimaro emotionlessly looks at the group of Kiri shinobis. ''Dance of the Willow'' Various long hardened bones sprout out from his entire body. ''Carmi Dance of Death'' Kimimaro sways his body like the branch of a willow and easily parries and evades the attack of the Kiri shinobis. He counters their attacks with bones sprouting from his palms. One of the Kiri shinobis tries to sneak attack him from his blind spot. ''Got you!'' The Kiri shinobi smirks in delight. ''You have killed my friend. Now join him in the afterlife.'' Stab Puchi The Kiri shinobis throw out a mouthful of blood. He looks at Kimimaro with wide eyes. A long hardened bone is protruding from Kimimaro''s neck. The bone punctures Kiri shinobis heart instantly killing him. Plop His body falls lifelessly on the ground. Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh The rest of the Kiri shinobis jumps back to avoid the attacks. "This kid is even more dangerous than the rest of the Kaguya n members. Quickly deal with him." sh sh sh The fight continues as more and more people fall in the battle. ''Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique'' Mei makes some hand signs and spews outva from her mouth. Sizzle Sizzle Theva melts the bones shielding the Kaguya n leader. Huff Huff ''I am running out of chakra. They already outnumber us, and with their tenacity, it is getting even harder to get rid of them. I don''t want to disappoint father and shoulder some of his burdens.'' Mei resolutely looks at the Kaguya n leader. Gulp She swallows a chakra pill and takes out a kunai from her holster. ''I have no choice but to fight in close range until my chakra recovers.'' ------------------- A/N:- WN bugged out yesterday. I wasn''t able to sign in to my ount and read any book. Thankfully, it was resolved. Chapter 134: The Fall of Kaguya Clan Chapter 134: The Fall of Kaguya n Slick The Kaguya n leader licks his tongue and looked at Mei like a predatory wolf. Snap snap crack He twisted his left arm at a weird angle. The bones of the arm snapped and cracked detaching from the shoulder. Pop snap He pulls the bone from the hinge of his shoulder and waves it to straighten the bone. nk nk He blocked all of Mei''s kunai and shurikens. nk Mei engages the Kaguya n leader in closebat. "Let me see how long will you be able to handle my attacks. Kuku" Heunches one heavy attack after another. Chip chip... Mei''s kunai continues to chip away from the attacks. ''My kunai isn''t as durable as his bone... and the force of his attack is pushing me back. In terms of Taijutsu, I am not his match.'' Mei continues to stall time to recover chakra. She monitors the remaining members of the Kaguya n. ''They have twenty people remaining on their side and we have seven. Things aren''t looking good for us. I have enough chakra for one or two jutsu.'' Mei looks at the Kaguya n leader. ''I guess, he doesn''t have enough chakra either. I have to kill him to lower their morale and make them lose their will to fight.'' Swish swish Mei throws two more shurikens at the leader and jumps back. She makes some hand signs and opens her mouth. "Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu" Mei releases a pearly dense mist around her and the Kaguya n leader. The mist fogs the leader''s vision, who continues to swing the bone sword around. "Using this technique again,... you Kiri weaklings won''t be able to escape death by such means. Haha" The Kaguya n leader makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Dance of the Seedling Fern" He summons multiple bone swords from the ground. Stab The bones pierce through Mei''s body. "Huff huff Kiri shinobis are mere weaklings. They feared our abilities and isted us from the vige. Now we will have our revenge." The leader falls on knees. He has a smirk on his face as he looks at Mei''s body. Burble burble The body turns into water and disappears. Swish Stab A kunai pierces the Kaguya n leader''s throat as Mei appears behind him. Keuk The leader looks at Mei with wide-eyes before dropping on the ground. His body lifelessly falls on the ground as blood stters on Mei''s clothes. Whoosh whoosh The mist clears away to reveal the scene of the Kaguya n leader''s death. "LEADER LEADER DIED" The excitement of the Kaguya n leader dies down as fear encroaches their heart. "How how can the invincible n leader fall in battle?..." The Kaguya n members drop their bone weapons as they silently look at their leader''s corpse. "We we lost. Our LEADER he just died in battle No no I don''t want to die too. No don''t kill me." One of the Kaguya n memberses to his senses. "No no... I don''t want to die here." He immediately turns around and dashs away from the battlefield. The rest of the Kaguya n members sobers up and follows his lead. All of them flee from the battle. --------------------- At a nearby cliff, Slick Orochimaru licks his lips as he stares at the ughter happening below him. "Kaguya n A bunch of fools who can only find their path of life by fighting" Flick flick Orochimaru tosses a test tube in his hand as he continues to monitor the Kaguya n. "They live through their instinct of fighting. Blood craving is infused deep down in their genes with a body like that" Flick Flick "They make the perfect test subject for my new research. With such an unstable mind... it is quite easy to manipte them through a simple genjutsu." Hissss. A small white snake wraps around his arm and slithers near his right ear. Hisss. The snake hisses near his ear, rying a message. "So, it seems like the rat has fallen into the trap. Then I need to quickly finish this matter off." Hiss The snake slithers and wraps around his arms. Orochimaru gently strokes the snake''s head, as he watches the massacre. "Oh! Interesting." He stares curiously at Mei, who uses Lava Release and Boil Release to repel the Kaguya n members. "She is almost a perfect candidate for my new body with two Kekkei Genkai. But unfortunately, I can''ty a hand on her." He notices the ''Terumi n'' insignia on Mei''s clothes. sh sh One by one all the Kaguya n members fall in battle as Orochimaru rests against a tree. The fire of ughter and massacre burning in his eyes. sh "Oh! It seems like the death of their n leader affected them to a great extent. It dispelled my genjutsu and now they are fleeing away from the fight. Kuku" Orochimaru chuckles and makes a hand seal. "I can''t allow my preciousb rats to flee from their experiments, can I?" "Release" A small curse marking appears in Orochimaru''s palm. Ba-dump ba-dump The curse marks infuse some chakra and turn orange and spread over his hand before turning into ck markings. Simr marking appears around Kaguya n member''s necks who are fleeing from the battlefield. Kimimaro who is running with his n members feels a suffocating sensation at his neck as something tries to choke him. Cough Cough He coughs violently and infuses chakra in the bones around his neck. Snap snap crack fwoosh The bones around his neck absorb the orange chakra and turn ck. Cough Cough Kimimaro coughs again and continues to run away from the battlefield. "Oh! Interesting. This kid has an affinity for Nature energy. He could be a candidate for my new body. Slick" Orochimaru licks his lips as his eyes follow Kimimaro''s trails. ---------------------- At Kiri borders, Mei and the remaining Kiri shinobi look at Kaguya n members in surprise. "This... they are fleeing from the battlefield. Their n leader is dead and now there is no one tomand them." One of the Kiri ninjas looks towards Kaguya members as he speaks. "What should we do... Captain Mei?" He turns towards Mei for her orders. "I won''t spare them. They killed my brother. Aahh" One of the remaining Kiri ninjas chases after the fleeing Kaguya n members. "Stop it, Taro! It''s dangerous to leave the formation and chase after them." One of the older shinobi tries to talk sense to Taro. Taro ignores him and continues to chase after them. Sigh The older shinobi sighs and turns towards Mei. "Captain Taro grew up with his brother. His parents died early in the Third Shinobi war, orphaning him. His elder brother fostered and raised him. He was a father figure to Taro. Taro is unable to handle the loss of his big brother. I will bring him back." Mei nods her head in understanding. "It''s ok. All of you bring him back. I am fine by myself." Mei rests against a tree. "Yes, Captain" They yell and chases after Kaguya n members. Mei looks at their back. Sigh She looks at her hands drenched in blood. "I have shed more blood than tears in my life. Sometimes the blood is of my enemies and sometimes my own." Keuk Mei spits out some blood. She wipes her lips and stares at the moon. Flutter A gentle breeze flutters her hair. ''I wonder if someday true peace will exist in this world. A time when there is no bloodshed, no cruel training, a world where children could live and grow peacefully.'' Clench Mei clenches her fist tightly. ''I might not have the power to change the world. But I will definitely wash the infamy of ''Bloody Mist'' from Kirigakure. ---------------------- The squad of four Kiri shinobi chases after Taro to bring him back. One of them clenches his fist in anger. "No matter what! I can''t forgive these bastards. If I get the opportunity, I will kill them." "Yes, they killed our friends and family. I can''t forgive them." Another ninja agrees with him. Sigh The older ninja sighs at them. ''Ah! Youth. Reckless as always.'' They spot the back of Taro who is standing motionlessly at a ce. Swoosh swoosh swoosh They quickly flicker towards him and one of them pats Taro''s back. Taro turns around and notices them. "What''s the matter, Taro? Why are you spacing out like that?" The ninja frowns and questions him. Taro silently points at a direction. All of them towards the pointed direction and notices Kaguya n members falling one after another. "This is what''s happening?" The ninja frowns and turns towards the older shinobi. "Do you have any idea, Ji-san?" "No I have never seen such a thing. Maybe it is an aftereffect of their jutsu or some sort of Forbidden Technique." Ji-san frowns and inspects the body of Kaguya n members. "Look! Over there. Someone survived this jutsu." The ninja points at the back of Kimimaro. "He is wait he is that kid who killed my brother. I won''t spare him. I will kill him. Argh" Taro chases after Kimimaro. The rest of the Kiri ninja follows after him. -------------shback Ends-------------- Chapter 135: Damsel In Distress Part-1 Chapter 135: Damsel In Distress Part-1 Ssh Ssh Uhum Kimimaro slowly opens his eyes and looks around. Snap He immediately takes out a bone from his arm and turns it into a knife. Kimimaro warily searches for the intruder. Bonk Izuna ps Kimimaro''s head. "Aww That hurts." Kimimaro yells in pain. "Yo! Kid. You fine?" Izuna lowers his head to look at Kimimaro. "So kid, you fainted from physical and chakra exhaustion? How are you feeling now?" Kimimaro stretches his hands and legs and checks his body. He doesn''t feel any exhaustion and fatigue anymore. "Kid, you were out for half an hour. I healed you. Also, what''s your name, kid?" Izuna curiously looks at Kimimaro''s reaction. ''I never expected to meet Kimimaro here. Kimimaro has quite the potential, but sadly he dies because of an unknown disease. Like,e on what kind of deadly disease are spreading throughout this world?'' Izuna activates his Sharingan and inspects Kimimaro''s body. ''Hmm I can''t see any signs of disease for now. Maybe, he will get itter.'' Kimimaro silently stares at Izuna, who is inspecting him from top to bottom. He resolutely clenches his fist and bows before Izuna. "My name is Kimimaro. I am a member of the Kaguya n. Than thank you for saving my life for me for me you are a God who saved me from the darkness." Izuna is startled by Kimimaro''s sudden reaction. "Wait! Hold on! I am not any God, I am a human just like you." He picks up Kimimaro. Sob sob Tears flow from Kimimaro''s eyes as he wipes them and continues. "I was trapped in endless darkness slowly waiting for death when I was close to death I prayed to God to save me and then and then you came and saved me so so you are God in my eyes." Kimimaro tears up and hugs Izuna''s legs. "Don''t abandon me. Please, I will do anything you will ask me to do. I will be your weapon tool whatever you ask of me." Kimimaro sobs silently as he pleads. "This" Izuna scratches his head as he thinks about what to do with Kimimaro. ''To be honest, Kimimaro''s life in Naruto wasn''t that great. His n locked him up in a dark cell. Orochimaru used him as a test subject and then as a vessel. Finally, he died because of his disease.'' He stares at the pleading eyes of Kimimaro. ''Humm I am looking for some members to recruit in my organization. If I train Kimimaro, then he can turn out to be a perfect member of my organization. His Kekkei Genkai Shikotsumyaku is a watered-down version of Kaguya''s Kekkei Mora ''All-killing Ash Bone'' simr to Byakugan and Sharingan. If I train him properly, then his Kekkei Genkai has too much potential that''s it it''s decided then.'' Izuna turns to Kimimaro. "Good you are free to follow me. I will personally train but remember my training is quite hard so make up your mind." Kimimaro clenches his fist in resolve and nods his head. "I am ready for any kind of training. I will put my heart and soul in the training." Izuna nods his head. He stares towards a cliff and smiles. ''I see this snake was involved in this matter. But now that I have my sights on this kid; he can only return empty-handed.'' At the top of the cliff, Orochimaru clenches his fist as he angrily stares at Izuna. "Damn you! Izuna Uchiha. Why are you interfering in my matters?... I can''t fight against him, I am not his match for now." Orochimaru takes ast nce at Izuna before retreating. Izuna turns to Kimimaro and nods his head in approval. "Good I like your resolve. I am Izuna Uchiha from the Uchiha n." Izuna makes some hand signs and taps on Kimimaro''s forehead. A small Fuinjutsu seal appears on top of Kimimaro''s forehead. Kimimaro epts the seal without any resistance. Izuna raises his eyebrow as he questions Kimimaro. "Aren''t you curious to know what kind of seal I ced on you?" Kimimaro shakes his head and replies. "No! I will never doubt my God." "" Sigh Izuna sighs and answers him. "This seal will change your chakra signature. I am on a mission in Kiri, so we will have to infiltrate Kiri. It will help you hide your presence from Kiri sensors." Izuna makes some more hand signs and taps on Kimimaro''s forehead. ''Transformation Jutsu'' Poof Kimimaro''s appearance changes entirely. Izuna takes out some clothes from a scroll and gives them to Kimimaro. "You can use them to change your appearance. They are my clothes when I was your age. For now, wear them. I will buy you new clothester." ''Transformation Jutsu'' Izuna changes his appearance to that of a merchant. ''I will infiltrate Kirigakure as a traveling merchant and probably open a temporary shop.'' "Let''s go." Izuna signals Kimimaro and both of them walk towards Kirigakure. ------------------------- At Kiri borders, The Kiri squad under Mei returns and report to her. "Captain! We found the Kaguya n members fleeing away from the vige. When we approached them, a strange seal appeared near their neck and all of them died instantly." The Older Ninja reports the entire detail to Mei. Mei frowns and ponders. ''Who could have done it? I can''t make any sense out of this situation. Kaguya n attacked Kirigakure and almost all of them died.'' "We will leave this matter to Anbu. Line all of their body near the camp. Later, the Anbu members will take care of them." Mei orders them. The Kiri members lines up the corpses of the Kaguya n and their fallenrades near the patrol camp. "It''s time to return and report the matters to the vige." Mei and the rest of the squad prepare for their return journey. While traveling through the forest, Mei inspects her squad as she ponders. ''We lost forty-five shinobis in this fight. The losses are quite huge. Father is politically suppressed by the higher-ups of the vige, and now they provided us with false intel. Looks like, the noble ns want to deal with us. We have be a threat to their rule.'' Mei raises her guard as they move on. ''I won''t be surprised if someone tries to assassinate me now.'' Swish swish Many kunai and shuriken target Mei. ng ng Mei skillfully deflects all of them and stare at her attacker. The rest of her squad immediately gets into formation tobat the attackers. There are around 10 ninjas draped inplete ck and blue outfits surrounding them. All of them wear a mask with thin slitted eye-hole and a wavy design in ce of mouth with the Kiri symbol engraved on top. The group frowns, and one of the ninja questions. "What''s the meaning of this? We are returning from war. The vige lost forty-five shinobis in the war. This matter needed to be reported urgently." "Why is the hunter-nin squad of Anbu after us? We just fulfilled our mission." Another ninja questions them. "Don''t bother with them. They aren''t after us they are after Captain." The older ninja rifies the situation to them. "The vige and its politics are quiteplicated. Sigh" He sighs. "But but we can''t allow them to kill Captain. Captain should be rewarded for her meritorious efforts, but instead, the vige has given the death penalty to her. No we won''t allow this. We will fight alongside her and protect her." All of them take out their kunais and shurikens from the holster and get ready to fight against the squad of Mei. Mei looks at her and a mixed feeling of grief, sorrow, remorse, and tion overwhelmed her. ''These people are ready to put their life on the line for me. They are my team. I won''t allow them to die a meaningless death. I will stall their attention to make a window of opportunity for them to escape and inform the matters to Father.'' Mei turns towards her team and whispers to them using hand signs and codes. "I will stall them while you escape. Report the situation to Fuji Terumi." Mei turns around and blocks another kunai from the missing-nin anbu squad. "No, captain! We can''t allow this. You must escape first while we stall for time." The older ninja denies her request. The Missing-nin anbu squad leader stares at them and smirks. "None of you will leave alive from here. This forest will be your graveyard and the entire me will fall on the Kaguya n." He signals other missing-nin anbus. The anbus make some hand signs and m their hands on the ground. ''Co-operation Ninjutsu: Water Release: Great Water Prison'' They create arge dome of water around the area. The water dome covers most of the surrounding forest and blocks their route of escape. "Now attack and finish them off. Don''t leave any trace of Anbu." The Anbu members float inside the water prison as they surround Mei and her squad. Chapter 136: Damsel In Distress Part-2 Chapter 136: Damsel In Distress Part-2 A/N:- There is this one guy who daily give a one star review to my book and farm his exp points. I won''t stop him since I don''t care anymore about rating but I am amused by his dedication. --------------------------- "Water Release: Air Water Bubble" Mei makes some hand signs and creates a bubble of air around her. Haah She takes a deep breath to inhale the air. ''This is not good. They have 10 people on their side and we are six people also they are expert Anbus specializing in team fight and assassin we are no match for them I may have recovered my chakra but the mental exhaustion is still there.'' All of her subordinates make a formation around her to protect her. "We will protect you with our life, Captain." ng ng They block all the projectiles thrown at them. The Anbu leader signals his team. Anbu members start to make simr hand signs. ''Water Style: Marine Water Battle Formation Jutsu'' They gather arge amount of water and forms a spiraling stream to attack the group from various angles. Boom boom The water stream assault Mei''s team from various angles. ''Water Style: Water Protection Screen'' Mei spits out arge amount of water from her mouth and forms a water screen to block the attack. A few anbu members make some hand signs and their body turns into water. ''Water Style: Hidden in Water jutsu'' Mei warily looks around to avoid a sneak attack from the anbus as she analyzes their battle strategy. ''This group of Hunter-nins specialize in water battle formations they start the fight by creating arge water prison to trap the enemy then they attack their prey by using the chakra and water in the prison. This way they can conserve their chakra and effectively hunt down their prey if brute force fails then they opt for assassination by using the ''Hidden in the Water Jutsu'' even an experienced sensor won''t be able to sense their location since the entire water prison is infused with their chakra unless one possesses ocr powers to see the chakra. Sigh looks like they came prepared.'' Mei sighs as shepletes her analysis. ''I can''t use Boil Release to evaporate the water. It will take me quite the time to evaporate the water and also it consumes the remaining oxygen in water then there is my team who can''t bear the high temperature of the boil release. Lava Release is also a no It will burn the oxygen much faster and I don''t think I have enough chakra to fight against ten anbu level shinobis single handedly. If only if only there was an Ice user in my team he could freeze the water and create an opening in the ice to lead us out.'' Mei closes her eyes and opens them with resolve. "We won''t go down without a fight." YEAH!!! The rest of the group shouts as they engage in a losing fight. -------------------- In a forest near the border, Ao catches up with the rest of the Anbu squads deployed by Elder Genji. He turns to one of the Anbu and questions him. "What''s the situation, Taki? Fill me in." "After receiving the intel from Genji-sama, we quickly departed for the Border. If our intel is correct, then a squad of ten hunter-nins is on Miss Mei''s trail. This squad hid in the forest before Miss Mei even arrived at borders. They provided the information on the Kaguya n members'' attack I won''t jump to any conclusion... but it seems like a pre-nned trap." Taki informs Ao. Clench Ao clenches his fist and increases his speed. The rest of the Anbu follows after him. ''Genji-sama took care of me as a child when my parents died before the Second Shinobi War. He trained me and provided me with everything. I can''t fail his expectations I will protect Miss Mei at all cost.'' ------------------- sh One of the hidden Anbu members reappears behind one of Mei''s subordinate and shes his back. Stter Blood stters from the ninja''s back as the surrounding water turns red from the blood. Aah The ninja screams in pain as he clutches his back. The Anbu member hides again. sh Another Anbu member appears behind the ninja and shes his neck to finish him off. bloop The body of the ninja limply falls off as it floats lifelessly in the water. "We can''t be in such a passive situation for long. We have to counterattack." The elder ninja yells and makes some hand signs. ''Water Style: Furious Current Jutsu'' He creates a giant torrent of water in the water prison. The torrent spirals in and pulls the Anbu members inside it. Fwoosh The hidden Anbu members reappear as the Spiralling torrent cancels their jutsu. ''This is the chance'' Mei makes some hand signs and spits out arge amount of water from her mouth. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique" She maniptes the water into the shape of a dragon and directs it at Anbu members. The dragon rages along the furious torrent and opens its maw wide to bite down on the now visible Anbu members. Stter Blood spatters in the torrent as it slowly dies down, leaving behind two floating dead bodies of the Anbu. ''Water Style: Spiked Water Whip Jutsu'' Swish sh A water whip appears behind one of Mei''s teammate and grabs his neck, leaving a deep gash. Aah The ninja wreathes in pain as he holds his neck. Blood leaks from his neck as his body twitches violently. Stter A fountain of blood stter from his neck. Fwoosh The Anbu Captain''s water body turns visible as he held a spiked water whip stained with blood in his hand. "Four more to go!" He emotionlessly remarks as he stares at Mei''s team with a predatory gaze. Tick Mei bites her tongue as she looks at the situation. ''I can''t hold back anymore. I have to use boil release to create an opening in this water prison '' She turns towards her team and signals them to retreat to the edge of the water prison. The remaining three members follow her order. ''Boil Release: Acidic Annihtion Stream'' Mei opens her mouth, releasing an acidic corrosive vapor. The water around starts to boil rapidly as steam rises from it. Mei creates a water bubble to prevent from harming her teammates, but the highly acidic vapors start to blister their skin. Sizzle fizzle The rest of the Anbu members try to protect themselves by creating water shields around them. Burble burble The water boils and reaches an extremely high temperature as the amount of Oxygen diminishes in water. The water bubble around her team destabilizes as its shapes start to change. The Anbu leader makes some more hand signs and creates multiple water bubble barrier around himself. He frowns and looks at Mei. ''What''s her n? At this rate, she will end up killing her subordinates before escaping from us.'' Burble burble The air inside water heats and rises to the top. Pop With a loud noise, it creates an opening at the top and escapes from it. "This is our chance," Mei yells at her teammates. "Oh... no!... you don''t." The Anbu leader senses their intention. He quickly makes some hand signs. ''I can''t care about some minor burns at this moment. If they sessfully escape to the vige... then I won''t be able to see tomorrow''s morning sun.'' Pop pop pop He quickly dispels the water bubble shields. Sizzle The corrosive vapors sizzle his skin. He ignores the burn and makes some hand signs. "Water Release: Five Hungry Sharks" He ces his palm together and releases five water sharks towards them. ''It''s not enough.'' He sps his palms together and thrusts them forward, sending a giant water shark towards them. ''Water Release: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu'' He jumps in the stomach of the water shark to protect himself while swimming towards Mei''s group. "We have to hurry. He is catching up to us." The Anbu leader quickly closes on Mei. The sharks open their mouth wide to bite down on them. "This is the end." Fwish whish A cold breeze blows towards them. The surrounding temperature instantly falls below the freezing point. Snap Crackle The entire water prison freezes up together with the Anbu leader and his subordinates. Brrr. shatter The Anbu captain shivers in cold as his body is frozen on the spot. The ice shark around him shatters, exposing him to more freezing cold. It traps Mei and her group inside arge ice bubble, but they only feel a little cold. Step Step A young man walks towards them. There is a child following him closely. The young man has blue lines from the bottom of his eyes to the jawline. His hairs have a slight blue tint to them. He slowly walks towards them and raises his head to look at Mei and her group. He shakes his head and closes his eyes. "Yare Yare Daze" Chapter 137: First Encounter Chapter 137: First Encounter A few moments earlier, Izuna changes Kimimaro''s appearance by using the art of disguise he learned in Anbu. ''This disguise art is still handy, but Kiri anbus will be able to identify it quite easily. So, I need to tweak it a little to make it more natural. If my memory serves me right then there must be something in my storage scroll which could help me.'' Izuna starts to search through his storage scroll and finally fish out a beautiful small box. ''Found it!'' He takes the small box and opens it to reveal a make-up kit. ''This make-up kit was my present for Kushina Nee-san sigh I was unable to give it to her.'' Izuna sighs and reminisces about his memories with Kushina and Minato. ''Soon I will heal both of you, soon. Once I master the Six Paths Sage Art I will heal both of you with the Yang Sage energy.'' He clenches his fist tightly. Kimimaro silently stares at Izuna''s face. ''Messenger-san seems to be worried about something. I hope all of his problems are solved.'' Izuna shakes his head and pats Kimimaro''s head. "Ok! Let me apply this make-up on your face to hide your markings. I will use some seals to change your chakra signature, and this make-up will hide your brows. Transformation techniques aren''t suitable for the infiltration task, as in some situations when you lose concentration they might dispel." Izuna applies make-up to Kimimaro and himself. "Good we are ready to go!" Both of them walk towards the Kiri borders. They easily cross the border and enter the forest. ''I will infiltrate the Kiri vige as a traveling merchant. I just want to learn some new Kekkei Genkai and hone my nature transformations skills. I don''t care about the politics and power struggle of Kiri. On the off-hand, it will be my source of entertainment.'' Izuna makes ns for his Kiri infiltration as he trod in the forest. ''I will visit Land of Demons after Kiri. Just what kind of demons are present in it to get such a name?'' BOOM BOOM Multiple sounds of explosion interrupt his thoughts. ''The war with the Kaguya n members is over with all the Kaguya n members dying in the process. Kimimaro narrated the entire incident to me So what''s going on now?'' The sound of battle piques Izuna''s interest. ''I will take a sneak peek at the battle.'' Izuna makes some hand signs. ''Light Style: Camouge Cloak'' He cloaks Kimimaro and himself into a light illusion as they walk in the direction of the battle. Boom boom Izuna notices a giant dome of water covering arge part of the forest. Huh He senses multiple chakra signatures in the water dome. ''It looks like the ''Giant Water prison jutsu of Kiri and from the chakra mixed in the jutsu It is a co-operation jutsu. Well, not many people have the same amount of chakra as me and Naruto Let''s get a closer look.'' He walks near the Water prison and spots multiple people in Anbu robes engaged in a fight against some shinobis. ''These Anbus with that mask and getup they seem to be the Hunter-Nins of Kiri They are usually deployed to hunt down powerful missing-nins who have sensitive intel about the vige.'' Izuna notices Mei and her squad. He raises his eyebrow and ponders. ''They are attacking Mei Terumi. Well, Yagura is still the Mizukage so Mei is just a normal jounin. Looks like things are more interesting than my expectation.'' Pluck Pluck Izuna feels a tug on his clothes. He turns towards Kimimaro with a questioning gaze. Kimimaro points towards Mei and her subordinates and speaks. "She was the leader of the group who attacked and killed my n members. She fought against our n leader and killed him in the battle. Later, after his death, all of us escaped from them but I was the only survivor." Kimimaro narrates the entire incident of Mei''s battle with Izuna. ''Oh! I haven''t mastered Lava Release and Boil Release yet. I have to learn from her.'' Izuna silently stares at the battle as one by one Mei''s teammates get picked off by Anbus and are killed in the battle. ''Somehow this seems quite ironic if I remember the original Naruto plot. Anbus were the elite shinobis of the vige who are a cut above jounin, but somehow a genin like Naruto and Konohamaru can deceive and beat them heck, they serve as cannon fodder in multiple incidents.'' Izuna ponders over the capabilities of Kiri Anbus. ''They aren''t as skilled as my Anbu team. My team will ughter them in seconds. Guess, my harsh training regimen paid off for them.'' Another member of Mei''s team dies in battle. ''Should I help her or should I let things y out as usual? Well, Mei did be the Fifth Mizukage so she should be able to survive this'' "Water Release: Five Hungry Sharks" The Anbu leaderunches five water sharks towards Mei, who desperately struggles to get out of the water prison. ''Nah!... I can''t wait for any miracle to save her. Guess, I have to save her. As for infiltration I will think of some other ns. I just want to do things casually.'' Izuna makes a hand sign and takes a deep breath. "Ice Release: Frost Breath" He releases arge volume of cold air from his mouth. The surrounding temperature lowers as the water starts to freeze. Snap Crackle The entire water prison forms an ice dome, and all the Anbu members freeze in the ice. "Yare Yare Daze" Izuna reveals himself as he walks towards them. "Seems like, I made it on time." Snap Izuna snaps his finger and the ice around Mei and her group shatters. The group falls to the ground. Izuna stretches his hands and catches Mei. He shes a friendly smile at Mei and questions her. "Are you alright, Miss?" He gently ces her down. Mei and her group frown as they warily stare at Izuna. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Mei questions him. "Earlier during the fight, I never saw your figure while fighting with these Anbus. Tell me, where were you hidden all this time?" Mei takes out a kunai from her holster and points it at Izuna. "Hold it right there." Izuna raises his hands in surrender. "I am just a passerby. I was on my way to Kiri vige with my younger brother when I saw you in a pinch." Izuna pulls Kimimaro in front of him. Kimimaro emotionlessly looks at them. Mei frowns as she looks at Kimimaro. ''Did she figure out the disguise? My make-up skills aren''t that bad, right?'' "Indeed he is as pale as you. So, I believe he is your younger brother." Mei nods her head. "" ''Have I applied an extra coat of foundation on my face?'' Izuna touches his face. Haha... Mei chuckles at Izuna''s antiques. Izuna scratches the back of his head and a weird smile appears on his face. Mei''s expression turns serious as she holds up the Kunai against Izuna''s throat. "You may have saved my life earlier but this doesn''t warrant you suspicion free. If I sense any lie in your words then I won''t hesitate to kill you right here." Gulp Izuna gulps his saliva. ''Well, she is a kunoichi after all so I must have expected this. I can''t use my identity as a traveling merchant anymore with that Ice Release. But I recently heard rumors about the extinction of the Yuki n. I can use that identity also with the Ice Release it will make more sense.'' Izuna churns the gear of his mind as he replies to Mei. "Wait wait listen to me first. Let me exin. But first can you remove this kunai from my neck." "Ok! Go ahead." Mei nods her head and pulls her kunai back. She still has her guard. "It is like this we both are members of the Yuki n. My mother fled the vige with me and my brother when our n was hunted down seven years ago We lived in a remote vige far away from Kiri. A few days ago my mother died because of her illness." Izuna''s expression turns sad as he shed fake tears from his eyes. ''Water release has this use too.'' Izuna thinks in his head. Mei''s expression softens a little as she lowers her kunai. ''Mother also died when I was young.'' Mei remembers her mother. "At her death bed mother''sst wish was to bury her ashes in Kiri. So, to fulfill her final wish I returned to Kiri and on my way, I saw your group in a pinch you know the rest." Izuna finishes his exnation. ''I just pulled that from my ass. I hope she falls for it.'' Mei nods her head in affirmation. "I still do not trust you. But I will spare you for now." Mei lowers her guard and turns towards the Hunter-nin corp. "As for you bunch don''t expect any mercy from me. You came here to kill me so don''t mind if I do the same." Mei turns towards Izuna and asks him. "Can you only freeze their body while removing the extra ice?" "I can do that." Izuna nods his head. He makes some hand signs and separates the frozen Anbus from the enormous chunk of ice. Mei makes some hand signs while looking at the group of Anbus. "Lava Release: Molten Catastrophe" Chapter 138: Infiltrating Kiri Chapter 138: Infiltrating Kiri "Hold on a sec don''t you need to interrogate them or something?" Izuna stops Mei from finishing them off. Mei shakes her head in denial. "It doesn''t matter I already had an idea of the perpetrator besides the moment you free them they willmit suicide. So, it is better for me to kill them." Mei finishes her hand signs and ms her hand on the ground. Izuna secretly activates his Sharingan to copy the jutsu. ''I have got a gist of Lava Release I just need some practice to learn it.'' "Lava Release: Molten Catastrophe" Boom The ground beneath the Anbu group trembles, creating a small rift. The rift erupts and releases arge amount ofva. Theva engulfs the Anbu groups and turns them into ashes. The rift on the ground closes and everything returns to normal. ''Hmm It is a quite powerful jutsu but it is not feasible for quick fights. The time required to cast this jutsu is quiterge.'' Izuna shakes his head as he analyses the weakness of jutsu. Sigh Mei sighs in relief and turns to Izuna. "I still have my doubts regarding you... but you have my gratitude for saving our lives." "Miss Mei Miss Mei." A frantic voice fells in their ears. The group turns around and notices a group of Anbus rushing towards them. Mei and the group raise their guard for an unexpected enemy. "It''s us, Miss Mei" One of the Anbu members in front removes his mask to reveal his face. "Uncle Wakan" Mei lowers her guard as she greets the neer. Izuna nonchntly looks at the group. His attention is drawn by Ao, who is standing in the middle of the group. He curiously stares at Ao or to be more urate at the sealing talisman tied around his ears. ''Strange very strange I have never seen such strange Fuinjutsu seals. I generally use seals on a scroll but I have never seen such sealing Talisman.'' Izuna secretly activates his Sharingan and closely inspect the talismans. Shiver A chill runs down Ao''s spine as he warily surveys his surroundings. Humm Ao senses a gaze focused on him. He looks around to search for the intruder. Ao notices Izuna staring at him. He frowns and scrutinizes Izuna. Ao brings his right hand in front of his right eye and makes a hand seal. ''Byakugan'' Ao activates his Byakugan and inspects Izuna''s chakra signature. Blue chakra flows through Izuna''s chakra system. ''There is no problem with his chakra system. His reserves are on par with a high-level jounin which is quite normal for many n members. But why I feel a threat from this guy?'' Ao turns to Mei and speaks. "Sorry, Miss Mei... for interrupting your discussion." He points towards Izuna and Kimimaro and questions. "Who is this person? There is no report of him being a part of the squad." "Oh! He is he is" Mei frowns as she couldn''t remember his name. "What''s your name again?... Earlier I forgot to ask your name." "" Izuna speechlessly looks at Mei. ''I saved your life, and you didn''t even bother to ask the name of your savior.'' Ahem Izuna clears his throat and introduces himself. "I am Yuito Yuki, a member of Yuki n." He points at Kimimaro. "This little guy over here is Yuto Yuki my little brother." Mei nods head in approval as she narrates the entire event to Ao and Uncle Wakan. Uncle Wakan turns to Izuna and bows his head in gratitude. "Mei is like my daughter. You have my gratitude for saving her life." Izuna shakes his head. "It''s fine. I was just passing by when I heard the sound of battle. So, I hid nearby to see the situation. After I figured out the situation, I helped her." Kimimaro silently stares at Izuna and the group. ''So If I want to be like Messenger-san I have to learn how to fool people.'' Kimimaro jots this down in his memory. "If you don''t mind I will continue my journey to Kiri." Izuna holds Kimimaro''s hand and walks away from the group. ''I don''t want any more trouble. Staying near them will spell more trouble for me in the future. I better stay away from them.'' He hastily walks towards Kiri. "Wait wait a sec!" A sweet voice fells in his ears. ''Herees the trouble.'' Izuna turns around and feigns confusion. "Do you need something from me Miss?" Mei shakes her head and points out. "Since both of you are moving towards Kiri and we are also returning to Kiri so so why don''t we move together?" ''Sigh I can''t refuse this can I? If I refuse... they might turn suspicious of me. Why did I even bother to stop by and interfere in the fight when Ao and his group were on their way?'' "Very well we will tag along." Izuna and Kimimaro join the group as they walk towards Kirigakure. Ao walks near them and starts to question Izuna. "Yuito right?" Izuna nods his head in affirmation. "So you are a member of now almost extinct Yuki n. What made you return to Kiri that also of all times?" Ao stops and looks at Izuna''s expression before he continues. "Kiri is at its most chaotic time the infamy of the vige as ''Bloody Mist'' is spread throughout other nations. Many Shinobis are abandoning the vige to leave a rtively peaceful life. It was the reason Kiri created the Hunter-Nin Corp of Anbu to hunt down these deserters. So, why of all times are you returning to the vige?" Ao continues to observe Izuna for any change in his expression. ''Is he doubting my credibility? But I haven''t done anything suspicious to warrant his doubt. I never knew Ao was such a meticulous person.'' "He is here to bury his mother''s ashes," Mei exins to Ao before Izuna could open his mouth. Ao nods his head and maintains his distance from them. He is still monitoring Izuna for any suspicious activity. "Yuito so that''s your name. It... itcks manliness." "" ''Did I choose the wrong name? I thought it would go quite well with my Yuki n identity. Haku looked like a trap with his voice, name, and appearance.'' "My mother wanted a baby girl but I was born instead. So she gave me such a name." Izuna exins to Mei. Mei nods her head. "With that appearance I think it quite suits you." "" Izuna speechlessly looks at Mei. They continue their journey towards Kiri as Ao constantly monitors Izuna''s every move. ''Damn this half-ass pirate is staring at me like a hawk. Should I gauge out that Byakugan of his? If he stares at me for again then I will surely pluck out that Byakugan in the future.'' Izuna is pissed off by the continuous hawk-like gaze of Ao. Shiver Ao feels a chill run down his spine. He immediately turns away from Izuna. ''Strange''. He mutters to himself. Finally, they reach the entrance of the Kirigakure. A giant arc of rock appears in their vision. There is a giant blue circr engraving with a symbol for ''Water'' in Kanji carved on the arc. The entrance is covered in mist as any Ninja patrols the walls of the vige. ''So.. this is Kiri. It is my first time here in Kiri.'' Izuna inspects Kiri. He notices several cylindrical buildings erected all over in Kiri. At the entrance of the Kiri, a middle-aged man and an old man waits for the group. The middle-aged man notices the group and hurriedly approaches them. He hugs Mei and immediately questions her. "Mei are you alright?" "I am alright Father." Mei nods her head and exins the entire incident in detail. Fuji turns to Izuna and thanks him. "Thanks for saving my daughter." Fuji curiously inspects Izuna but couldn''t find any extraordinary feature except his handsome face. ''His face is way too girly. Well all Yuki n males have such features.'' Fuji shakes his head and continues the conversation. "Since you are the savior of my daughter I will allow you to enter the vige without any exception. Kiri is in a pretty chaotic situation nowadays so always be on alert. Also as my gratitude, I will provide you with lodging." Fuji signals a nearby shinobi. The shinobi leads Izuna and Kimimaro inside the vige. After their departure, Genji slowly walks up to Fuji and addresses him. "You should keep an eye on him. Ao is suspicious of him. I have never seen Ao so guarded against somebody." Fuji nods his head. "Yes I can''t be lenient anymore. They have attempted assassination on my daughter." Fuji turs towards Wakan and orders him. "Wakan you are one of my most trusted partners. I would like you to send someone to keep an eye on that Yuito. Also send someone to the vige he mentioned to investigate his background. I want to know if he is telling the truth or not. If he is telling truth then we can rope him in. There are no powerful Ice release users among our ranks. He can prove to be a worthy asset in our cause." "Yes, Fuji-san." Wakan bows his head and turns towards his Anbu team. He sends one of his Anbu members to keep an eye on Izuna and sends another to validate the background of Izuna. On a nearby tree, ''So that''s what they are nning. I can never lower my guard... can I?'' Izuna is eavesdropping on the conversation of the group by using his invisibility. Chapter 139: The Assassination Plan Chapter 139: The Assassination n "Well, I need to take care of this chore." The shadow clone follows after the anbu. Inside Kiri, The subordinate of Fuji Terumi leads Izuna towards a small house. He gives keys to Izuna. "This would be your temporary residence. If you need something... you can always find me." "Ok!" Izuna nods his head and grabs the keys. Click He opens the lock and enters inside. Cough cough Kimimaro coughs from the excessive dust inside the house. "Looks like the house needs some cleaning. Rest is fine!" He turns towards the shinobi and thanks him. The shinobi looks around to make sure no one is listening to their conversation before he advises Izuna. "I would advise you to not reveal your identity as an outsider. Kiri is going through chaotic times and if anyone gets suspicious of you. They will send assassins after you. Also, my name is Akasuki." "I will keep that in mind." Izuna nods his head in gratitude. ''Well I won''t mind if someone tries to assassinate me.'' He enters the house and notices Kimimaro who is cleaning the floor. "There is no need to waste your time with such chores. You should instead focus on your training." Izuna makes some hand signs and blows away the dust out of the house. Kimimaro silently stares at Izuna and takes out a small diary from his pocket and writes something on it. Izuna frowns as he notices the diary. "What are you doing?" He curiously questions Kimimaro. "I found this diary inside one of the closets in the house. I want to write down all the instructions and guidance in the diary." Izuna nods his head. He makes some hand signs and ces various silencing seal around the house. He turns to Kimimaro and continues his exnation. "I have heard about the abilities of the Kaguya n and it seems like your Kekkei Genkai is strongest among them all. Your body and chakra are centered around your Kekkei Genkai so it would be a waste to train you in other ninjutsu." Kimimaro silently nods his head as he listens to the exnation. ". So we will focus on Taijutsu. You will be able to push your Kekkei Genkai to limits if your body is stronger." Izuna takes out some Fuinjutsu tags from his pocket. He makes some hand signs and ces them on Kimimaro''s legs and arms. Puchi Kimimaro falls on the ground as he struggles to stand up. He continues to struggle for a while before he regains his bnce and stands up. Huff Huff He breathes heavily and takes support against the wall. "These tags are Fuinjutsu tags with gravity seals on them." Izuna removes his bandages to reveal three tags around his right arm. Kimimaro''s eyes widen as he stares at Izuna''s hand with shock. " these tags will constantly apply two times the normal gravity on your body and will effectively act as weights. Once you can walk normally with them on we will start the next step of your training. Till then, get used to these weights because this is just the beginning." Kimimaro wobbles as he struggles to walk. Izuna looks outside the house and notices an Anbu member monitoring his house. "Looks like they still don''t trust me. I don''t care either way I am here as a spectator but I hate stalkers. So I will mess with him a little." Swoosh blink Izuna disappears from his position and reappears in front of the Anbu member. "What the" The Anbu member''s eyes widen. "Genjutsu: Sharingan" Izuna cast a genjutsu on him before he could utter any more words. He ces his hand on Anbu member''s head and reads his memory. "So this is the gist of Kiri''s situation. I still have to reach the root of the matter to know more." Izuna shakes his head and maniptes Anbu memory. "Now he won''t trouble me anymore." Swoosh blink Izuna disappears again and reappears inside the house. ''I will stay here for another month or two. I want to pamper my cute little sister.'' Izuna smiles as he thinks about his sister. ''She is still a baby but it won''t be long before she grows up.'' Hah ''Now I have to think of a way to prolong my stay in Kirigakure But the excuse which I made up won''tst that long. They will turn suspicious of me.'' Kimimaro stares at Izuna and notes down something in his diary. "" Izuna looks at Kimimaro scribbling something in his diary and shakes his head. He rests on a cot as he looks out of the window. ''I have turned 17 this year. It has been 17 years since my rebirth in this world. I have a family and made many new friends.'' Izuna closes his eyes and falls asleep. Kimimaro slowly stands up and covers him with a nket. Izuna raises his eyebrow as he notices Kimimaro. ''What''s with this situation? Kimimaro is turning into a nanny. Never mind I need to sleep.'' ------------------ Bang bang A faint vibration disturbs his sleep as the entire house is shaking. Izuna opens his eyes and stares at the door. ''Who is bothering me this early in the morning?'' He activates his X-Ray vision and looks through the door. Mei is mming his door with anger. ''Ops! I forgot to remove the silencing seal.'' He immediately gets up and opens the door. "What took you so long? I have been knocking on your door for the past 15 minutes." Mei angrily questions him. Izuna scratches his head as he replies. "I was pretty tired from the journey yesterday so I overslept." "" "Ok never mind that father wants to meet you. He sent me here to fetch you." Mei turns around and walks away. ''Oh! Looks like they are quite satisfied by my backstory.'' He silently follows after Mei. --------------------- Inside a small mansion, Fuji inspects a scroll as the Anbu reports to him. Elder Genji is seated beside him and Wakan is standing behind him. "Fuji-sama as per your orders I went to the nearest vige to investigate his background. His story seems to be correct. His family did live in the vige and his mother died recently because of an unknown illness." Fuji reads the content of the scroll about Yuito''s past. He turns to Elder Genji for the suggestion. Elder Genji nods his head and advises. "Try to recruit him. He is a member of the Yuki n with its powerful Ice Release. With him in our ranks we will get an advantage against the forces of the noble ns." Elder Genji pauses for a while. "Send your daughter to call him here." Fuji frowns as he questions Genji. "Elder Genji are you trying to rope him through my daughter." Elder Genji nods his head. "Your daughter is of marriageable age. If we could recruit a powerful shinobi by engaging with her then we should try it." Fuji''s frowns deepen as he raises his voice. "I won''t turn my daughter into a pawn. And besides we had yet to test his capabilities. What if he is just talk with no actual strength. I don''t want to marry my beloved daughter to a random weakling." Sigh Elder Genji sighs and continues. "Political warfare isn''t won through emotions. It is won through wits. The noble ns are clearly making a move against you. They are already aware of their failed attempt and I am sure this won''t be their first attempt" Fuji calms down as he listens to Elder Genji and ponders. " your daughter is your sessor. If anything happens to her... then our faction will lose its future. So, I want to make sure there is a strong bodyguard beside her." "That seems usible." Fuji nods his head in agreement. " as for his capabilities. We will let that matter to Noble ns to handle." Fuji frowns as he thinks for a while. "Elder Genji you mean to say that the noble ns will be pissed by this new variable and they will try to eliminate him." Elder Genji nods his head. "Correct I am sure they don''t want any powerful ally to join you. Also the next vige meeting for new elders is around the corner. I am sure they will try every means to usurp your seat." Fuji thinks for a while before he nods his head. He summons Mei over and sends her to Izuna''s ce. ---------------------- Inside arge mansion. Bam Akifumi ms his hand on a table as he listens to the report. He quickly dismisses the Anbu and made sure he was alone in the room. "Madara-sama must be disappointed by me. I failed to fulfill his objective." Akifumi clenches his fists as veins pop out from his head. "Ten elite Anbu members. I lost ten of my most elite Anbus in that fight with no sess." Bam He ms his fist on the table and destroys it. "The perpetrator must pay for his insolence. He dared to interfere with Madara-Sama''s order." Akifumi angrily stares at a drawing of Izuna as Yuito. He picks up the drawing and turns it into ashes. "Men!" Akifumi yells in anger. A few anbus immediately enters the room. Chapter 140: A Game of Pawns Chapter 140: A Game of Pawns Izuna quickly follows after Mei. Mei ignores him for the entire duration. They reach the foothill of a small hill surrounding by many shinobis. There is a middle-sized mansion on top of the small hill. The shinobi guard recognizes Mei and allows her to enter. Mei turns towards Izuna and questions him. "You must have heard of the Terumi n right. We were former allies." Izuna nods his head. "Yes, our Yuki n was a close aide of Terumi n. One thing led to another and my n is on the verge of extinction. Sigh" Izuna sighs depressingly. Mei looks at Izuna with conflict and chooses to remain silent. Izuna turns towards Mei and speaks. "But I was surprised when I came to know about your identity. You are that famous princess of the Terumi n. Then that makes me the knight on the white horse who saved the princess. Haha.." Izuna chuckles at Mei. Humph Mei snorts and turns around. "Don''t get too cocky. If I wasn''t exhausted from my previous fight... then I would have dealt with them. Also, with that scrawny body and girly face I can''t imagine you as a knight on a white horse. So stop with your fantasies." "" She harshly rebukes Izuna. Izuna raises his hand and silently follows after her. Soon, a ninja walks in front of them. "Miss Mei I will take it from here. You must be exhausted from your previous mission." Mei nods her head and walks in another direction. ''I am both mentally and physically tired from that fight. I will take a break in hot springs.'' After Mei''s departure, the shinobi turns towards Izuna and snorts. "Don''t foster any fancy ideas for our princess. She is destined to be the next leader of the Terumi n. A homeless and reputation less person like you is nothing in front of her." The Shinobi has a pervert expression on his face as he is lost in his fantasies. "" Izuna looks at the buffoon shinobi and wonder. ''They even have such kind of people in their security.'' Cough cough Izuna coughs to gets his attention. "Can you lead the way?" Ahem The shinobi clears his throat and takes him inside the manor. Izuna curiously inspects the mansion. ''Although the mansion doesn''t look special from outside it is quite fortified inside. There are various traps and seals in ces. I guess Kiri has an entirely different power system from Konoha.'' He curiously turns towards the shinobi and questions him. "Then who do you think is most suitable for Miss Mei? It certainly isn''t you... right." Izuna smiles at the shinobi. "No I am nowhere close to her status." The shinobi shakes his head in depression. "But but If would have to say a suitable candidate.... then there are quite a few people." The shinobi ponders over the name of suitable candidates for Mei. "There is no suitable candidate for her in Kiri if it was before then maybe Fourth Mizukage... but he is a little old for Miss Mei despite his young appearance." The Ninja shakes his head in denial. "Then what about other viges?" Izuna curiously questions him. "Humm another vige that''s not possible. Kiri will never rely on outsiders to grow stronger..." The shinobi immediately refutes Izuna''s question. "But if I had to pick... then there are only a handful of powerful shinobis from other viges suitable for Miss Mei" He ponders for a while before replying. " then it must be Izuna Uchiha ''The Shinigami''. He is just way too powerful with such a huge bounty on his head. As for his strength.... that is undeniable. But many higher-ups of Kiri hate him. They have suffered quite a few losses under his hand. Izuna Uchiha has assassinated many shinobis from our vige. So this hatred is unreconciled." The shinobi has a fervent expression on his face. "If only it had a percentage of Izuna Uchiha''s ability... then I am sure I would be able to impress Hana." "" Izuna speechlessly stares at him. ''I wonder what his expression would be if I reveal my identity.'' Izuna shakes his head to discard such useless thoughts. They arrive in front of a room. The shinobi bows in front of the door and speaks. "I have brought him here Fuji-sama." "Hu you may return now." The shinobi bows his head and retreats. "Yuito Yuki I summoned you here to have a little discussion with you." The door opens up, and Fuji Terumi greets Izuna. "It''s my honor to have a conversation with you... Fuji-san. I would like to know the reason for our meeting. I am sure you haven''t called me here for an ideal chatter... right?" Izuna calmly speaks to him. Humph Wakan frowns at Izuna''s nonchnce. ''Such disrespect and to address Fuji-sama in such a casual manner.'' Wakan is about tosh out my Elder Genji stops him and shakes his head. Wakan returns to his position as he angrily stares at Izuna. "Quite the blunt person are you?" Fuji chuckles as he stares at Izuna in the eyes. "Then I will be straightforward with you. I investigated your background and found your story to be true. Now... since you have lost your family and friend and have nowhere to go then why don''t you join us?" Fuji raises a proposal to Izuna. "I am sure with your Ice Release you will be an asset for our faction and also you will be able to rise in ranks and get a stable position in future safeguarding your brother." ''Hmm so he is sweet-talking me to join his faction... but at the same time he is also threatening me using Kimimaro well... this is how power struggle works. They don''t want any spy or traitor among their ranks. Since I am here on infiltration or to say vacation I will ept the deal. Also I am restricted to Ice Release it will help me further improve my control over Arctic Release.'' Izuna ponders for a while. Fuji and Elder Genji calmly stare at Izuna''s expression. ''Has he figured out the meaning behind my words? If yes then he can be a valuable ally if not then he can only be a second rate disposable pawn in this battle.'' Fuji thinks to himself. "Fine I will join your faction as for my brother''s safety you don''t have to bother with it." Izuna stares in Fuji''s eyes. The temperature of the room falls. tter tter. Some Anbus tters their teeth as they shiver from the cold. "Very well it''s fine with us. You can return for now I will summon you when I need you to do a task." Fuji nods his head as Izuna walks out of the room. After making sure no one was around, Fuji turns to Elder Genji and speaks. "Seems like he is not a fool. If his abilities are as described by Mei then we have got our hands on a powerful ally. It is our chance to seize the position of another elder in this meeting." Fuji clenches his hands. Swoosh swoosh An anbu member silently flickers near Elder Genji. He passes a scroll to him before disappearing. Elder Genji opens the scroll and reads its content. He tosses the scroll towards Fuji. "You don''t have to wait long to test his abilities. You will know it tomorrow." Fuji frowns and catches the scroll and reads its content. "So the Noble n has made their move. To think that they will send the ''Night Reaper'' to assassinate him." Elder Genji nods his head as he exins. "It may seem unnecessary but the Noble n wants to assert their dominance over us they wanted to show their power. If the ''Night Reaper'' is sessful then it will serve as a warning for us. But if he fails then the Noble n will be forced to take more drastic measures." Elder Genji burns the scroll to ashes. ''Either way it is an opportunity for us to test the capabilities of our new ally. If he fails and dies... then we can onlyment the loss of a pawn... but if he lives then we would have much more to see in the future. In any case it is a win-win situation for us.'' "Very well" Fuji turns to Wakan. "Wakan go and personally monitor the situation tonight. I want you to assess the ability of our new member. You will only spectate the assassin you will not interfere with it." "Yes Fuji-sama." Wakan nods his head and flickers out from the room. "Wakan maybe a little hot-headed but he is one of my most trustedpanions. We lived through the Second Shinobi war and I saved his life on one asion. He is still grateful to me for that." Fuji chuckles as he ces a Shogi board on the table. "How about a round of Shogi elder Genji?" Chapter 141: Night Reaper Part-1 Chapter 141: Night Reaper Part-1 A/N:- So folks my Finals have started. They willst till 23rd Dec. So, I won''t be able to post often since I have to prepare for my Finals. But I will release double chapters for a week during Christmas Week since no online sses and it will be a while before new sem starts. Wish me luck. :) ---------------------- Izuna walks out of the mansion as he gazes at the Kiri. ''No matter which world, you can''t escape from politics. People always try to use others for their gain. It is the same in Konoha and it is the same here Never mind that I will look around in Kiri for a bit and maybe buy some essentials.'' He slowly wanders through the streets of Kiri. Most of Kiri''s architecture isposed of several cylindrical buildings and many buildings have vegetation growing on their roofs. ''Well they sure are efficiently using their space. The society of Kiri is divided into three sses, the Higher ss, the Middle ss, and the lower ss.'' Izuna skims through the memories of Anbus. ''The higher ss also called the Noble ns are the descendants and nsmen of the First Mizukage who founded the Vige. They have the most political power in the vige and the civilians worship them like gods.'' Izuna has a conflicted expression on his face as he remembers various kingdoms from his past life. ''It is simr to the aristocratic system. So, what''s the role of Daimyo in all of this?'' Izuna shakes his head as he continues to read the memories. ''The allied n of the First Mizukage constitutes of the Middle ss. They have fewer privileges in the vige hmm makes sense no king will allow his soldiers to gain more power. So the Terumi n is one of the allied n of First Mizukage... but due to some conflicts, there is friction between them. And as for the lower ss they are the war prisoners or enemy ns which are being monitored by the vige. The lower ns are assigned the most difficult of the difficult mission. There is a brutal graduation ceremony for them to graduate from the academy and the mortality rate of the lower ns is as high as 70-80%.'' Izuna rubs his forehead as hepiles the information. ''Well this is Kiri''s way of cutting loose ends. So which family of Noble ns sent this guy to stalk me?'' Izuna looks at a cloaked figure from the corner of his eyes. ''This guy started stalking me right after I left the Terumi mansion. Maybe he is the assassin. I won''t mind entertaining him if he wants to dance.'' Izuna buys some essentials from one of the shops in Kiri. ''Things are quite expensive here. Well Konoha is the only vige with so many resources as it is located in the center of the shinobi world.'' He returns to the small house afterpleting his purchase. Kimimaro wees him with an emotionless face. "You should smile more often." Izuna smiles at Kimimaro. Kimimaro opens his diary and scribbles down something. "" Izuna rubs his head in frustration and enters inside the kitchen. He ties an apron and prepares lunch. ''I have learned to cook from mother and Kushina nee-san. I have often spent my night in the wild while performing anbu missions. So cooking helped me a lot. Well I can only cook meat dishes at least it is better than nothing.'' Sniff Sniff The fragrance of the aroma of the meat spreads through the entire house. Kimimaro inhales the aroma and salivates. Gulp On top of the roof of Izuna''s house, the assassin gulps his saliva as the fragrance of the delicious meat enters his nose. ''Damnit! This is torture. I haven''t eaten anything from the morning. I have been chasing this guy since morning. And here he is having a feast. Once I kill him I will enjoy a feast in my favorite restaurant.'' The assassin pulls out a special transparent kunai from his pocket as it glistens with sharpness. --------------- Later at Night, The Assassin finally makes his move. ''It''s time to finish him off. I have to perform the assassin without making my noise. I am not called ''Night Reaper'' for nothing. The Assassin makes some hand signs and calmly sps his hand. "Night Release: Endless Night Jutsu" He releases some ck mist from his body. The mist fuses with the surrounding as darkness intensifies. The moon slowly fades away from the vision and the house ispletely covered in darkness. ''It''s about time to finish it off.'' The assassin pulls out the glistening Kunai from his holster and enters inside the house. ''Night Release: Hiding in Night Jutsu'' His figure turns into ck particles and fuses with the darkness. The assassin slowly crawls through the house. He spots Izuna and slowly creeps his way to him. ----------- A few minutes earlier, Kimimaro is silently sleeping on the bed. Izuna looks at Kimimaro and sighs. ''This kid has quite an endurance. He has been struggling non stop for almost the entire day to get used to those heavy gravity weights. At this rate, he will able to walk normally by next week or so. I will relieve some stress from his body. Izuna closes his eyes and absorbs Nature energy. He transfers the Nature energy to Kimimaro to rejuvenate him. Umm mmm Kimimaro moans in his sleep as the Nature energy slowly rejuvenates his body. The bones in his body absorb the Nature energy and turn into a shade of Grey before returning to normal. Izuna notices the anomaly. ''Interesting his body or to be more precise his bones have some affinity with Nature energy. I wonder if he will be able to learn Sage Mode.'' Izuna curiously inspects Kimimaro''s bones and shakes his head in frustration. ''His Kekkei Genkai is an inherent ability. I can''t learn it.'' Hmm Izuna raises his head and feels some vibrations through the roof. He has gained the ability to sense vibration and waves by utilizing shock release. ''Oh! Looks like Mr. Assassin is about to make his move. I suppose he has found an apt opportunity.'' Izuna lies down on his bed as he patiently waits for the assassin. ''I can kill this guy instantly... but then I won''t be able to see his abilities. I have to learn some new abilities to further my understanding of Kekkei Shi.'' Yes Kekkei Shi. That''s the name Izuna came up with a nature transformation involving four Nature elements. Kekkei Mora involves Five or more nature transformation whereas Kekkei Tota involves three nature transformations. There is a gap between both of them and Izuna never found any record involving Nature transformations. It is considered impossible tobine Four elements in a unique proportion to create an entirely different transformation. Even the Kekkei Tota ''Dust Release'' is the pinnacle of Nature transformation mastered by any human. The First Tsuchikage Ishikawa started his research on three Nature transformations during his adulthood and failed to achieve sess during his life. His research was then picked by his student Mu... who became the Second Tsuchikage. Mu finally finished the research and created the first-ever Kekkei Tota. He then passed the secrets of his research to the grandson of First Tsuchikage Onoki. ''Now I want to go beyond the limit of humanity. It is uncharted territory for me... and I am ready to learn everything. Well I guess this makes me simr to Orochimaru... who is also after the entire knowledge of Shinobi World. Nah he is a pedophile and I am not. Izuna shakes his head and immediately denies it. "Night Release: Endless Night Jutsu" He hears a feeble whisper. Suddenly, darkness starts to encroach the house and the moon fades away in the darkness. "Interesting!..." Izuna has a smile on his face as he is fascinated by this new technique. ''I never expected toe across another peculiar Nature Transformation on my second day of stay in Kirigakure. I have to do more research on this.'' Chii Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and starts to inspect the darkness covered around his house. "This is not Darkness Release as I expected. But it is quite close." Izuna scrutinizes the darkness as he notices the microscopic ck particles covering his house. "By utilizing the aspect of genjutsu, Yin Release and Water Release he has created a unique technique. Humm the microscopic water molecules act as a prism and by using a genjutsu the user creates an image of Night he then imbues the water molecules with Yin Release chakra and cuts off any kind of light from the covered space thus effectively isting it from surroundings. The result being the unique simtion of absolute Night." Izuna curiously breaks down theplexity of the technique as he analyses it with his Mangekyo Sharingan. Hmm ''This jutsu has a weakness. The chakra cost is quite high so an average jounin can only cast it once before running out of chakra... and the absolute Night won''t give the caster any advantages either, unless the person has an ocr power to see through Darkness itself. As far as I know, only my Mangekyo Sharingan and perhaps the Rinnegan can see through this absolute night. No perhaps I can use sound and vibrations to keep track of my surroundings but it won''t be that reliablepared to my Mangekyo Sharingan.'' Izuna deactivates his Mangekyo Sharingan and focuses his concentration on sounds and vibrations. ''Now my question is how the assassin will see me?'' Chapter 142: Night Reaper Part-2 Chapter 142: Night Reaper Part-2 A/N:- Merry Xmas Everyone. My finals are finally over. Now we are back to schedule. ------------------------- Izuna calmly lies down on the bed with his eyes half-open. Huh He notices a ck apparition slowly crawling towards him. ''So that''s the assassin. I wonder how is he able to see me.'' The Assassin takes out the special transparent kunai and peeks through the de of the kunai. ''This kunai is made from a special mineral found deep in the veins of the earth. It allows us to locate see in this absolute darkness and locate our target. My Kamishiro n utilizes this special technique passed down through generations to fight in battle. We had a very high aptitude for Genjutsu and Yin release. Thus we created the Night Release technique. Kamishiro n was famed for their skillful use of Genjutsu. We were feared for our secret assassination techniques, and many other ns and viges hired us. Our fame spread throughout the entire shinobi world when a few of our members sessfully assassinated the First Kazekage... followed by the Second Kazekage during the Second Shinobi War. Soon, the entire shinobi world saw us as a threat and the hidden viges sent their powerful forces to annihte our vige hidden deep in the Land of Silence. They annihted and killed almost the entirety of my n. Only a handful of people escaped from the vige. I was a young teenager at that time. I ran away from the vige starved in hunger for God knows how many days. Finally, Akifumi-sama found me. He fed me sheltered me and to pay my gratitude. I became his hidden de. A de that will terrorize his enemies in the wake of night. I became the ''Night Reaper''.'' ''Time to die.'' The Assassin raises his kunai and stabs it towards Izuna''s heart. ''No one has ever escaped from the deadly Night Release of our n. Even if the ''Silent Shinigami'' of Konoha appears before me he will also fall under my de like the rest of the world.'' Stab nk A shard of ice blocks the kunai and deflects it. The assassin panics for a second before he calms down. ''I don''t believe he can see me in this darkness. We have assassinated many sensor ninjas and even the possessor of many powerful Kekkei Genkai using this technique. Unless the user has a powerful defense like the Third Raikage or a simr shield then we are helpless against him.'' The ''Night Reaper'' remembers his failed assassination of Third Raikage, where his kunai wasn''t able to pierce through the absolute defense. ''That was the biggest humiliation of my life. As a Kamishiro n member I failed toplete an assassination. It won''t happen again it must be a fluke. I will try again.'' Izuna calmly looks at the assassination whose entire body is draped in ck clothes and his face is covered with a ck mask. ''Are we ying some sort of Assassin Creed here? Why does he look like a brotherhood member?'' Swish Swish swish The assassin ils his hands around to perform some unusual hand signs. "" ''What kind of ritual is he performing?'' Swish The special kunai flies towards the assassin and falls into his hand. The assassin infuses some chakra into the de. ''Night Release: Stab of Umbrage'' Swish He swiftly moves in Izuna''s direction to stab him again. "" "I can see you alright." nk Izuna blocks another attack with an ice shard as he remarks to the assassin. "Impossible impossible! How can this be possible?" The Assassin yells hysterically. ''No this can''t be true. You are lying.'' Stab nk He tries to stab Izuna again, only to get parried by him. "Your technique is quite interesting. I have learned a lot from you... I can even see hope for my new technique. But regretfully you are my enemy." Izuna sighs and makes some hand signs. "Wait wait tell me how can you see me in my Night Release?" The Assassin aware of his imminent death questions Izuna. "That''s a secret." Izuna smiles at the assassin and makes some hand signs. "Ice Release: Chilling Touch" He grasps the head of the assassin. The assassin''s body freezes from head to toe with his eyes wide open. "Let me real quick check his memories to learn more about his technique. If not for my Mangekyo Sharingan and Shock Release this guy could have done a number on me." Izuna searches through his memories. "Kamishiro n huh! They are various powerful ns hidden throughout the Shinobi World. Chinoe n is one such example... and this Kamishiro is another. Guess I can never lower my guard not even against a small-fry. Who knows if they might pull out a surprising ability andnd a killing blow on me." Crack Crack Various cracks appear on the ''Night Reaper''s body before it shatters into countless ice particles. The special transparent kunai of the assassin remains intact. Izuna picks it up and examines it closely. "This kunai is made of chakra. I have never seen such pure chakra anywhere else. And there is a mine of this material hidden in the ''Land of Silence''. Maybe I should make a trip to the Land of Silence in the future." Bzzz The Sin Seal on Izuna''s hand wakes up. Izuna frowns and looks at the seal. "What''s the matter with this guy? It has been pretty obedient in the past few years. Is it revolting or something?" The Sin Seal activates, and the Grimoire appears in front of him. The Grimoire opens its page and forms a mouth. Chomp It chomps down on the special Kunai in Izuna''s hand. Crunch crunch The sound of munching of kunai echoes in his ears. "" "Give it back Give the kunai back to me I needed that for my research." Izuna frantically grabs the Grimoire and shakes it violently to make it spit out the kunai. "Oye!... stop with your nonsense. It is making me dizzy." The Yin Kurama growls at Izuna. "" Haha "Izuna is still as childish as ever." An apparition of Kushina chuckles. "What?... Ku Kushina nee-san you can hear me?" Izuna points a finger at the apparition. "Yes we can see and hear you, Izuna," Minato replies to him. "Even you Minato-san." Izuna looks at the apparition of Kushina and Minato with wide eyes. "Oye don''t ignore me." The Yin Kurama growls at Izuna. "Shut up... you pesky fox or I will feed you to this book like that kunai." Izuna scowls at Kurama. Brrrr A shiver ran through Yin Kurama''s body as it stares at the Sin Grimoire with dread. It quietlyys down and closes his eyes. Izuna turns towards Minato and Kushina and questions him. "Since when" Minato and Kushina smile at him. "We have looked at you all this time. The moment we were sealed by you in this book. This book started to drain chakra from the Yin half of Kurama and used it to heal our damaged souls and with thatst addition of pure chakra from that kunai our souls werepletely healed." Kurama opens one eye and remarks. "They fed on my body or to say chakra. I never had any chakra in this past few years... and this book is still constantly draining all of my chakras as we converse." Kurama closes its eyes again. Haha Minato chuckles at Kurama and introduces him. "The real name of the Nine-tails fox is "Kurama right?" Izuna replies to him. Kurama''s eyes-widens as it stares at Izuna. Sigh "Yes I am not even surprised anymore." Minato sighs as he continues. "Since our chakra and soul were linked together we were able to converse and reconcile with him. I don''t me him anymore." Kurama opens his eyes and grins at Minato. "Give a hug to big sister Kushina." Kushina rushes towards Izuna and hugs him. "You have turned into a big boy in these past few years. I am sure plenty of girls have fallen for you." Kushina chuckles as she teases Izuna. "It it is not like that." Izuna hurriedly denies her. Haha Kushinaughs at Izuna''s reaction. "Soon Kushina nee-san I will heal both of you soon." Izuna clenches his fist as he promises to Kushina. "You don''t have to push yourself Izuna-kun." Kushina pats his head. "Naruto is truly blessed to have a caring big-brother like you. Also I am waiting for the day when I will be able to hug him in my embrace and shower him with all of my love." "Yes that day wille soon." Izuna assures Minato and Kushina. He turns towards the Grimoire and questions. "What kind of thing are you? How are you able to do almost anything?" Ptui The Grimoire spits out the handle of the kunai, which hits Izuna straight into the face. Haha Kurama burst out inughter. "That''s what you get for calling her a thing?" Izuna turns towards Kurama and tilts his head in confusion. What do you mean by her?" Rattle Rattle The chains around the sin grimoire rattles. Kurama immediately shuts its mouth and starts to behave like a cute dog. "" Izuna silently stares at Kurama and questions. "Where is the dignity of the most powerful tailed beast which you boast of so proudly?" Humph Kurama snorts and replies. "I don''t give jack shit about dignity. Besides, it won''t help me in this situation." "" ''Is he influenced by me? I have been using such kind of cusses a lot.'' ----------------------------- A/N:- From the end of the chapter... you know what''sing in the future. Comment down your thoughts on this chapter. Chapter 143: Meeting Utakata Chapter 143: Meeting Utakata Later in the next morning, Izuna gives some instructions to Kimimaro before departing for the Terumi n. He enters inside the Terumi n mansion. Three people are bowing in front of Fuji Terumi. Izuna inspects them and recognizes one of them. ''Wait He looks like Utakata. If I remembered correctly he is the Jinchuruki of Six-tails.'' Izuna inspects Utakata. He secretly activates his Sharingan to gauge Utakata''s chakra. Hmm ''He is not a jinchuruki yet. Maybe he will be one in the future.'' Izuna walks over to Fuji Terumi. Fuji notices him and nods his head. He introduces Izuna to the three shinobis beside him. "So the fourth member I mentioned has arrived." Fuji points towards Izuna and introduces him. "He is Yuito Yuki a member of Yuki n and ice release user. He was the one who saved Mei." The three members scrutinize him for a second. They notice his girly appearance and lose their interest. Izuna tilts his head in confusion at Fuji. Fuji introduces the three of them to Izuna. He points at a spectacled middle-aged man. "He is Harusame one of my trustedrades from the Second Ninja war." Fuji points at another person with a bamboo hat. "He is Zengetsu another trusted subordinate of mine. Last but not the least" Fuji points at Utakata and introduces him. "He is Utakata a student of Harasume and a powerful shinobi himself. All of you will be the personal guard of Mei and secretly protect her during every mission whilepleting the mission. Her safety will be your priority." All of them nod their head and bow in front of Fuji. "You all should familiarize yourself to know more about each other''s abilities." Fuji dismisses them before returning inside the mansion. Sigh ''That girl is so reckless. As a father I can''t help but worry about her future. If only there was no political power struggle then I would have found a worthy man for her and married her off I want to see my grandchildren before my death.'' Cough cough Fuji violently coughs for a minute. He wipes the blood from his mouth and enters a room. Elder Genji is patiently waiting for him. Elder Genji raises his head and notices the taint of blood. "Your condition is getting worse I will call one of my medic-ninja now." Elder Genji knocks his stick on the floor. Swoosh An Anbu member immediately flickers in front of him. "Summon Hira. n leader Fuji needs medical attention." Swoosh The anbu member immediately flickers out from the room. Fuji turns to Elder Genji and reports. "Elder Fuji he surely has some skills to survive an assassin attempt from ''Night Reaper'' but I don''t think the Noble n will give in that easily." Hmm Elder Genji nods his head. "Now he is one of our men. We can''t allow the noble ns to do as they please. Lady Mei''s safety is our priority" Elder Genji looks at Fuji''s conditions for a second before he continues. "You should slowly train her to handle the responsibilities of the n and the vige." Sigh Fuji rubs his forehead as he ponders. -------------------------- Izuna scrutinizes the three people in front of him while they do also inspect him. "I am Yuito Yuki." Izuna smiles at them while secretly inspecting their chakra. Hmm ''Utakata and Harasume have normal amounts of chakra. But this bamboo hat guy has way more chakra than a normal shinobi. Also what''s with that water bottle ties to his belt.'' The bamboo hat guy removes his hat and re-introduces himself. "I am Zengetsu Hozuki of the Hozuki n." Zengetsu has a tall and slender stature. He has blonde hairs styled into a pompadour. He has no eyebrows, a very thin mustache, and a triangr goatee. Izuna notices the pompadour on Zengetsu''s head and barely holds himself fromughing. ''He looks hrious with that pompadour. Is that the reason why he is wearing a bamboo hat?'' Zengetsu wears his hat again. ''Hmm but to be from Hozuki n. He must have some sort of rtionship with the Second Mizukage.'' Out of his curiosity, he questions Zengetsu. "Hozuki n one of the most powerful ns of Kirigakure. Even the Second Mizukage was one of the most powerful shinobi of Kirigakure." Zengetsu nods his head as he reminisces. "Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki was my Uncle and mentor. He was my idol, and it is my dream to be as powerful as him." Zengetsu clenches his fists in resolution. "So do you want to be the next Mizukage?" "No I have no interest in Mizukage''s position. I am not qualified enough to be a Mizukage." Zengetsu shakes his head and denies it. Izuna turns to the master-disciple pair. Utakata is staring at Harusame''s every action like a devotee. ''This guy is fangirling his sensei.'' Harusame adjusts his spectacle with his index finger as he closely looks at Izuna''s appearance. He then turns towards Utakata and assesses them with his eyes. Shiver Izuna feels a shiver run down his spine. ''This pair of Master-student seems to have a quiteplicated rtionship.'' "So you are an Ice Release user? It has been a while since Ist saw someone with that cursed bloodline." Harusame remarks. "Cursed Bloodline?" Izuna frowns as questions Harusame. "What do you mean cursed bloodline?" Haha Harusame chuckles before he replies. "I don''t want to scare you, kid but there is a rumor spread across the vige" Harusame pauses as he looks at Izuna''s appearance. "The male members of the Yuki n are born with a womanly appearance because of their Ice Release Kekkei Genkai and none of the male members survives till the age of thirty. Yes thirty no known male member of Yuki n survived past that age it was also the part of the reason why Yuki n is on the verge of extinction." Harusame turns towards Utakata and orders. "Utakata I have a task for you." "Yes sensei!" Utakata silently follows Harusame. Zengetsu pats his head and walks away. "See youter, boy." Izuna stares at the back of the bunch and muses. ''I guess I have some interesting days waiting ahead of me.'' He turns around the corner of the room to leave the mansion. Bump He collides with someone and falls on them. Squish squish He feels a soft sensation in his hand. ''This feels good. It''s a perfect size it perfectly fits into my palms.'' Squish Unnghh Mei moans as she stares at Izuna in anger. "If you had enough.. then would you mind standing up." "I am sorry" Izuna immediately leaves his grasp and stands up. "You have a perfect size." Izunapliments her. "Shut up you pervert!" Mei blushes and immediately runs away from there. Just now she eavesdropped on the conversation between Elder Genji and her father. They were talking about her marriage. She bumped into Izuna while running away from the room. ''Marriage it''s still too soon for me. I have to ease some burdens of the father, then only I could think about marriage.'' The girly face of Yuito appears in her eyes. ''No he is a pervert and also a member of the Yuki n. I don''t about the truth of the Yuki n''s curse, but I don''t want to see my loved one die. Also there is no redeeming feature in him well besides his face.'' Mei shakes her head and enters her room. She takes out a picture of a woman from the closet. The woman has a simr appearance to her. "Mother father is trying his best to keep me happy but I am already aware of his disease. He is trying very hard to hide it from me." Drip drip Tears fell from her eyes as she clutches the photo. "I just want the father to live a bit longer." Knock knock "Mei Mei" Fuji calls her name. Mei immediately wipes her eyes and cleans her face. "Come in Dad." Fuji enters the room and notices the picture of his wife in Mei''s hand. "So you were spending some time with your mother. Uh" Mei nods her head. "Hah Sometimes I also miss her. Her anniversary ising soon both of us will pay a visit to her grave together." Sigh Fuji sighs as he continues. "Mei you need to take some of my responsibilities. Your father is growing old and may die someday. I need you to be capable to handle the matters of the n and the vige on your own." "You are fine, dad nothing will happen to you. Also I am ready for the mission." Mei hugs Fuji. "Ok ok now listen. The jinchuruki of the six-tails died mysteriously during the Third Great Ninja War. He was a close aide of Third Mizukage-sama and one member of our faction." Mei nods her head as she listens to the exnation. "Now some of our men have spotted arge influx of chakra gathering at thiske." Fuji marks a location on a map. "We believe it to be the revival of the Six-tails. As you know, the greater the number of tails a tailed-beast has the more chakra it possesses. Six tails has a tremendous amount of chakrapared to the Three tails so it took it so long to resurrect." Fuji rolls the map and passes it to Mei. "We believe in another month or so the Six-tails will be fully resurrected. So, we want to capture it and reseal it as soon as possible. I have some qualms regarding the Noble n on this matter. They are already in the possession of Three-tails and they will try toy their hands on Six-Tails too. I want you to oversee the process of the capture of Six-Tails with your team." Fuji exins the entire situation to her and passes a scroll of all of her team members "Yes dad." Mei nods her head and flips open the scroll to see the individuals in her team. "Yuito Yuki." Mei frowns as she notices the name of her team members. ''This pervert is also on this mission. Did he earned father''s trust?'' Chapter 144: Electromagnet Release Chapter 144: Electroma Release A month passes in the blink of an eye. Izuna will asionally give some instructions to Kimimaro to improve his physical strength. He would spend the rest of his timepleting some missions with Mei and his group of three oddballs. He met with Ao in a few missions and Ao was still skeptical of him for the reasons unknown to both Izuna and Ao. His missions usually included escorting missions, guard missions and dealing with some skirmishes nothing major which he couldn''t handle with his current level of power. Izuna is resting on top of a tree in Terumipound as he silently ponders. ''I can see some clues on the development of Kekkei Shi. The ''Night Release'' which I learnt from the assassin guy is my key to ess it. Combining two Nature transformations... Kekkei Genkai is currently way beyond my league.'' Izuna closes his eyes as he remembers his attempt of creating a Kekkei Shi. ---------shback-No-Jutsu---------- At the outer edge of Shikkotsu forest, Izuna takes a deep breath and calms his nerves. "I have simted this process several times through genjutsu while considering all variables. I am all set." Izuna turns to Katsuyu and questions her. "Lady Katsuyu is it alright for me to test my new jutsu here? The power of my jutsu is way beyond anything I have done before." Katsuyu nods her head. "It''s alright. This ce is located on the outer edge of the Shikkotsu forest and is barren. No creatures are residing in this part of the forest. It used to be their of the ''Forest Beast'' who went on a rampage a few centuries ago. Thanks to the efforts of Kenshiro-sama he was sealed in another space. So it''s fine to use it for your new jutsu training." Izuna nods his head. "Alright then" Katsuyu retreats to a considerable safe distance from Izuna. Izuna sps his hand together and enters into Sage Mode. A cyan colour cloak appears him. There is a single tomoe on cloak''s front and back. Haah Izuna ps his hands as he focuses Ma Release chakra in his left hand and Storm Release chakra in his right hand. ''Ma Release is abination of Wind Release and Earth Release... whereas Storm Release is abination of Lightning Release and Water Release. If I canbine them perfectly then I will be able to create the ''Electroma Release'' my first Kekkei Shi. I can''t lose focus here.'' He slowly infuses the ma release chakra and the storm release chakra near each other. ''Now I have tobine them in correct proportion. I can''t make any mistakes here.'' He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and slowly analyses the process. The ma release chakra and the storm release chakra slowly start to meld together. Izuna feels arge amount of resistance in his hands as the two chakra natures start to push each other. ''I have to hold on'' Both chakra natures start tobine as they form a purple orb in his hand. "Is this Electroma Release?" Izuna inspects the purple orb as he tries to stabilize it. ''I just have to memorize the right chakra proportion and I will create my first Kekkei Shi.'' He adds a little more chakra to the orb. The orb starts to shake violently. "Shit I messed up at thest step. I can''t stabilize it anymore." Bzzzt Lighting and all other elements flicker through the purple orb as it slowly starts to expand. ''Fuck I have destroyed the integrity of the elements. Now it has destabilized into these fundamental elements. Sizzle The purple orb scorches his hand. His healing factor kicks in to heal the injuries. The burns heal at a very slow rate. "What these burn marks aren''t healing rapidly?" Izuna immediately tosses the purple orb to the nearby mountain. Without Izuna''s stabilization the purple orb immediately expands to the size of arge water tank and it continues to expand. BOOOOMMMM The purple orb expands and copses violently, creating a vacuum in the area. Bzzzzttt It releases a powerful EMP st, which ms into Izuna and knocks him away. Boom Izuna collides into a nearby mountain and passes out. Wooh The vacuum created by the purple orb sucks nearby minerals and metals from the ground inside itself. Various rocks and minerals float around the vacuum. Fwoosh The vacuum loses its energy source and copses into a single point before fading out of existence. Bzzztttt It releases another EMP st, which knocks the floating rocks and minerals. Wham wham wham The floating rocks crash into the ground one after another. Boom. Dust and debris rise in the area. Katsuyu''s optical tentacles shake in a frenzy as she stares at the devastation caused by Izuna''s jutsu with disbelief. "This this jutsu is so powerful even even Hashirama-Sama''s wood release pales inparison to it. No even Kenshiro-Sama''s power pales inparison to this jutsu. What what kind of jutsu was it? The dust and debris settle Katsuyu immediately slithers at Izuna''s location. She notices Izuna, who is buried beneath arge boulder. Thwack She ps away the giant boulder with her tail and immediately crawls towards Izuna. Boop She splits a fragment of her body into another Katsuyu. The mini Katsuyu slither over to Izuna and checks his condition. "He has lost his consciousness. That earlier st of energy attacked his nervous system. He will take some time to recover." Slither slither The mini Katsuyu carries him to the deeper parts of the Shikkotsu forest. The Large Katsuyu looks around the area to estimate the damage caused by Izuna''s jutsu. Bzzz Deep purple lighting flickers through therge crater created by Izuna''s jutsu. Katsuyu feels dizzy as she walks towards the crater. She turns around and retreats to the forest. Swoosh swoosh Manyrge foxes appear beside her. "Greetings Lady Katsuyu!" One of therger fox bows in front of Katsuyu. Hmm Katsuyu nods her head as she instructs them. "Barricade this area. It is an inhabitable zone from now on. None of the creatures residing in the forest are allowed to enter this area. There is strange energy fluctuating through the rocks present here. You will lose your mind if you came in contact with that." "Yes Lady Katsuyu." Therge Fox nods his head and instructs other members of his n. Kurumi pauses before she walks towards Katsuyu. "Lady Katsuyu about Izuna-sama is he alright? Earlier I saw him attempting something near that mountain. Is he the reason behind this incident?" "You don''t have to worry about him. He will be alright. You should focus on erecting a barrier around this ce." Katsuyu avoids her question and orders her. "Yes Katsuyu Sama." Kurumi bows her head and retreats with her n. Hmmm "What kind of power did he use to create such destruction?" Katsuyu looks at the remains of the mountain. There is a bottomless pit at the former position of their of the ''Forest Beast''. "For now healing him is my priority." Katsuyu slowly slithers inside the forest. Inside one of the caves near the giant tree of Shikkotsu Forest... Mini Katsuyuys Izuna on a bed as she inspects his condition. Wiggle wiggle She shakes her optical tentacles to signal other Katsuyu. Many chibi Katsuyu appears inside the room. "Use Nature Energy to heal his wounds. His condition is quite serious." "Yes" The chibi Katsuyu clings on Izuna''s body. Their body starts to glow cyan as they absorb Nature energy from the surroundings and transfer it to Izuna. Swirl The Sin seal activates, and it starts to absorb the Nature energy at a rapid rate. Many dark markings appear all over Izuna''s body. Swirl The apparition of Kushina and Minato swirls out of the grimoire. Both of them stare at Izuna and frown. "I have never seen such strange sealing forms." Kushinaments as she looks at the strange markings on Izuna''s body. "It''s probably caused by this book." Minato points to the ''Sin Grimoire''. Both of them turn to Kurama to question him. Kurama turns his head away from them and whistlespletely ignoring their presence. "This bastard" Kushina''s hairs start to rise as she angrily res at Kurama. "Neh Neh It''s alright Kushina. I am sure Izuna-kun is fine." Minato tries to calm her down. "He is right He is just in a sma. He will recover soon and perhaps even grow stronger than before." Kurama raises its head and remarks before closing his eye. Phew Kushina calms down and heaves a sigh of relief. "I hope he is alright." She then turns to Minato and questions him. "Minato do you know what was he trying to do earlier?" Hmm Minato ponders for a while before he replies. "Earlier I saw him using Ma Release and Storm Release. If my spection is correct he was trying tobine them to create a new jutsu." Kushina nods her head in understanding. "I have seen the Third Kazekage using the Ma Release before and the Third Raikage using the Storm Release I am not sure how Izuna-kun learnt them but whatever he was trying has never been tried before." Minato continues to specte. "Izuna has a Mangekyo Sharingan and every Mangekyo Sharingan has unique abilities. Maybe it is the ability of his Mangekyo Sharingan." Kushina points out to Minato. "Hmm it''s quite possible. He must have somehow learnt them using his Mangekyo ability. Anyway when Izuna tried tobine the two Kekkei Genkais the elemental forces came into y and repelled his attempt. Free energy always pursues chaos... and it is the reason that his jutsu failed. I don''t have any other exnation." Minato shakes his head. Chapter 145: The Spy Chapter 145: The Spy Argh Izuna slowly opens his eyes as he wakes up. His vision blurs for a while as he opens his eyes. He feels something heavy pressing on his chest. He notices various chibi Katsuyu healing his body. He gently removes them one by one. Slither Slither The chibi Katsuyu slithers around and one of them raises her head and asks him. "You are finally awake... Izuna-kun how are you feeling now?" Izuna checks his body and notices the scorch marks on his hands. The scorch marks are healing slowly, even with his regeneration. "I am feeling fine only these scorch marks are a little itchy. Nothing major." Chibi Katsuyu nods her head and shakes her optical tentacles to send a signal to the Giant Katsuyu. A momentter the giant Katsuyu enters inside the cave. She frantically looks at Izuna and her tentacles shakes in frenzy. "How are you feeling now? I treated your injuries with the help of Katsuyu... but those scorch marks will take a while to healpletely. Even the Senjutsu enhanced Mystic Palm Technique isn''t much effective on them. Tsunade walks inside the cave and angrily stares at Izuna. "What kind of new forbidden jutsu were you trying to perform?... Katsuyu told me about it you almost lost your life in that attempt. You you bastard" Tsunade grabs his cor and shakes him. Izuna helplessly turns towards Katsuyu for rescue. Katsuyu turns away her head and ignores Izuna''s plea for help. Sigh Izuna sighs and tries to convince Tsunade. "Tsunade I just thought of a new technique which would improve my fighting prowess by a lot and I was trying to test it. I never expected it to go out of control despite my precise control." Tsunade hugs him tightly as tears flow from her eyes. "Why why are you so reckless? I have already lost my friend and family and I don''t want to lose you too." Sigh Izuna sighs and calmly holds her shoulders and exins. "Tsunade do you remember the Danzo incident during the Uchiha n Massacre." Tsunade nods her head. "Yes I heard about it. I never expected Danzo to grow stronger to such an extent and he even transnted Uchiha member''s eyes and Grandpa''s cells that bastard." She clenches her fist in anger. "Yes Tsunade but do you remember how strong was Danzo he erected a above Kage level barrier on his own and almost brought the entire vige on his heels." Tsunade nods her head. "Yes he was very powerful I was able to sense his chakra while in Sage Mode and it was almost at the level of a tailed beast but how?" Tsunade looks at Izuna in confusion. "Yes Tsunade I investigated into it and I found the involvement of a very powerful foe our enemy is almost as strong as the ''Sage of Six Paths'' from legend and I can attest to it" Izuna exins to her with a serious expression. Tsunade''s expression turns ugly as she learns about the truth. "But why why are you bearing this burden all on your own? You have your family and friend to depend on." Tsunade assures him. "" Izuna silently stares at her. "What why are you staring at me like that?" Tsunade tilts her head in confusion. "Remember when I met you I said the same words to you." Izuna looks at her with a deadpan expression. "Did you but I can''t remember them?" Izuna shakes his head. "This is the part of the reason I pushed you to train in Senjutsu. Also I need to do my part too." Izuna assures her. Sigh Tsunade sighs and checks Izuna''s body. "Thankfully Katsuyu summoned me or else you would be spending a week ina." "What?..." Izuna yells in surprise and turns to Katsuyu. "Lady Katsuyu how much time I spent ina?" "Izuna-kun today was your second day ina. I spent an entire day to heal you but it wasn''t enough So I reverse summoned Tsunade-sama and informed her. She treated you and you regained your consciousness." Katsuyu exins to him. "Oh shit! I have to return to Kirigakure." Izuna immediately stands up from the bed. He quickly wears his clothes and dashes out of the cave. "I have to go now Tsunade and Lady Katsuyu. I will catch up to you on ater date." Swoosh He immediately teleports out of the Shikkotsu Forest. Katsuyu shakes her head and remarks. "He is always in such a hurry." "Yes he is such a fool." Tsunade chuckles. "But I think he will able to change the world and lead it to peace." Tsunade closes her eyes as a smiling Dan and Nawaki appears in her thoughts. "Yes I believe in your words Tsunade-sama." Katsuyu shakes her optical tentacles in affirmation. ----------shback Ends---------------- "Hurry up we have an important mission toplete." An angry voice fells in Izuna''s ears breaking him out of his thoughts. Izuna jumps down from the tree right in front of Mei. "Well Hello Lady Mei what''s the mission this time?" He smiles at her. Tick Mei has a tick on her forehead as she clenches her fingers into a fist. "Don''t call me that I hate it when you call me that." "Ok Lady Mei" Izuna teases her. "Why you" Mei yells at Izuna and tries to punch him. Izuna dodges her punch and continues to tease her. Cough cough Harusame enters in the backyard together with Utakata. Zengetsu is also leaning against the tree. He coughs slightly to gather their attention. "Ok ok calm down now tell me more about the mission." Izuna tries to calm her down. Ahem Mei clears her throat as she narrates the details. "This is a top secret mission assigned to our team. Our Anbu members have found traces of Six Tails in the Mist Lake. So our mission is to recapture the six-tails and prevent any interruption in its sealing." Izuna and the group nod their head. "We will apany the sealing team of Elder Genji... who will look over the entire process of Tailed-beast sealing. So we have to ensure his safety." "Yes Lady Mei" All of them nod to her. Tick Mei has another tick on her forehead as she notices the teasing smile of Izuna. ''Damn I just can''t stand this guy.'' Mei clenches her fist as memories of the past month shes through her mind. ''He is a strong shinobi with powerful capabilities... and he had saved the entire team whenever we were caught in a pinch. But but that goofy personality of his where he takes every mission lightly is getting on my nerves. Also also his teasing bothers me for some reason. I I don''t like to get called Lady Mei by him." Mei blushes as a little as she stares at Izuna''s teasing smile. "No I have to look after father'' Mei shakes her head and discards unnecessary thoughts. "I can''t marry anyone until I fulfil my promise to father. I will erase the infamy of Kiri as ''The Bloody Mist''." Mei calms herself andys a map in front of them. There is a red circle marked on the area. She points to the map and exins. "This is the area. We will meet up with the sealing team there. We have to overpower Six-tails before sealing it. So prepare yourself well and meet inside the n mansion during midnight." "Yes Lady Mei." All of them nod their head. Swoosh Swoosh They flicker out of the backyard and moves out of the n mansion. Mei enters inside the mansion. Hmm Izuna turns around and notices one of the maids of the mansion hiding inside the earth. ''Oh! Hiding like a mole jutsu. You might be able to fool others but you can''t fool me.'' Swoosh Swoosh He flickers near her location and taps on ground. Ice encases around her. "Ice Release: Ice Prison" Eek The maid yells in surprise as she notices Izuna. She immediately pulls out a kunai from her stockings and tries to stab him. Whoosh Izuna pinches the kunai between his fingers, and it starts to freeze. "It was a nice attempt. But you are not my opponent." ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' Izuna casts a genjutsu on her. He invades her mind and reads her memories. Hmm ''So this maid is one of the spy of the Noble ns. She was the one who leaked the information regarding Mei to them. Akifumi so this is the name of her master. If I remember correctly he was the same person who sent the assassin after me. Hmm I need to check up on him.'' Izuna erases the memories of her encounter with him and disappears from the ce. ''I will allow her to inform her master. I want to see how many cards does he have in his hands?'' Izuna stares at the back of the maid who is secretly leaving the boundaries of the Terumi Mansion. Her body turns invisible as she hides her smell, her chakra signature and even sound. "It''s an interesting technique. She is using Water Release and Earth Release in a quite unique manner. Though any person with a Dojutsu would be able to see her." Izuna analyses her technique with his Sharingan. Chapter 146: Capturing Six Tails Part-1 Chapter 146: Capturing Six Tails Part-1 Later at Midnight, Izuna and the rest of the members gathers inside the Terumi n backyard in anbu outfits. Mei walks out of the backyard and signals them. "It''s time to move." All of them take out an anbu mask from their pockets and wear it. They have been using these masks during their previous missions to hide their identity. Swoosh swoosh All of them flicker out of the mansion in the wake of night. They travel along one of the secret path near the small hill to move out of the vige. Hmm Izuna raises his head and notices someone following them. ''Hmm It must be the noble n.'' Swoosh Izuna disappears from his position and appears beside the hidden anbu. "What the" Swish Izuna slices his neck with a sharp ice shard as a line of trails down the anbu''s neck. The rest of the group is startled when they see Izuna taking out the anbu so easily. Zengetsu shakes his head as he speaks. "Appearance are always deceiving. You look so harmless and frail with that face but there is dangerous killer hidden beneath that face." Mei and the rest of the people nods their head in agreement. "We were also initially fooled by his appearance." Cough cough Izuna coughs slightly to gather their attention. He points at the anbu and replies. "This guy was waiting in ambush for us." He throws the body of the anbu in front of them. Harusame searches the body of anbu and shakes his head. "There is nothing on him as usual." "We need to hurry up looks like the noble faction is aware of our n." Mei immediately dashes towards the Mist Lake. Izuna and the rest of the group follow her. Izuna notices the slightly tense expression on Mei''s face. He catches up to Mei and speaks to her. "You seem to be under lots of pressure. I can see it from your expression." Mei turns her head away and tries to calm herself. ''I can''t reveal the condition of father to any outsider. I can''t misce my trust.'' "It''s nothing. I am just a little worried about the sealing team. They are an important part of our n." Izuna nods his head and overtakes her. Mei stares at his back and thinks to herself. ''I don''t know if I can trust you or not. Father trusted one of his best friend and was betrayed by him. Maybe maybe I am too skeptical here.'' Swoosh swoosh The group continues to flicker through the forest. ------------------------ At the border of Land of Water near argeke A group of shinobis dressed in priest robe are staring at the center of theke. All of them wore blue priest robes with Kiri sealing corps symbol imprinted on their shoulders. They wear porcin masks with many seals and Kiri symbol on it. Elder Genji is standing at the forefront of the group as he stares at the red amalgamation of chakra in the center of theke. "It will be an hour before the beast revives in its original form." He turns towards Ao, who is standing beside him. "Ao take charge of the barrier team and erect a barrier around theke. We can''t allow any disturbance while sealing the beast." "Yes Genji-sama." Ao bows his head. He turns towards the barrier corps and signals them. A group of ten shinobis follows him and stands in a formation around theke. The barrier corps members have gigantic sealing scrolls tied on their back. After reaching their respective positions the barrier corps members puts down the scroll and opens it. There is arge sealing form engraved on the scroll. The barrier corps members make some hand signs and ms their palms on the seal while infusing their chakra in the seal. "Release" All of them shouts in unison. Many broad beams of purple light rises from the scrolls and joins together to form a gigantic purple barrier around theke. Ao looks at the giant barrier and nods his head. He looks at Elder Genji with reverence. "Elder Genji personally created this barrier. It is strong enough to block at least two small tailed beast bombs from the Six tails. It was thanks to this barrier we were able to capture the Six-tails previously." Elder Genji inspects the barrier and nods his head in satisfaction. He turns towards the sealing team and orders them. "Prepare the seals we will capture the beast and seal it inside this vessel until we find a suitable jinchuruki." Elder Genji produces a giant vase with a red cloth covering its top. There is a giant ck kanji letter for ''Demon'' carved on it. The sealing group surrounds the giant amalgamation of chakra and makes some hand signs. They m their palms on the top of theke. Fwoosh Many ck sealing forms forms over the surface of water and creates multiple chains of fuinjutsu. The chains surround the chakra amalgamation and forms multiple chains around it. Elder Genji ces the sealing vase on the surface of water and patiently waits for the Six tails to revive. --------------------- Izuna and the rest of the group approaches near theke. They notice the giant purple barrier around theke. The group frowns and raises their guard. "It''s the sealing barrier created by Elder Genji. He must be inside the barrier." Mei assures them. The group approaches the barrier. Ao notices them. He makes some hand signs and creates a small opening in the barrier. The group enters inside the barrier and Ao reseals it. Hmm Izuna curiously inspects the barrier. ''It is quite a powerful barrier. It is capable of dispersing the force of a st all over the barrier. I would have to use thirty percent of my power at one point to break it in a single strike. I am honestly amazed by the Fuinjutsu capabilities of Kirigakure.'' The group notices the Elder Genji standing in the middle of theke. Izuna notices the red amalgamation of chakra in the center of theke. He secretly activates his Sharingan and inspects the chakra amalgamation. ''Interesting'' His curiosity is piqued as he inspects the process of revival of a tailed beast. ''Normally when a person dies all of his chakra returns to nature and slowly loses its will over the course of time before converting into Nature energy.'' Hmm. ''But this lump of chakra has its own will and its is preserved by a very powerful technique.'' He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan to notice the details. ''Incredible'' He almost screams in amazement. His eyes widen as he notices something amazing. -------------------- Hmm Inside the Sin Grimoire, Yin Kurama raises its head and notices the lump of chakra in the center of theck. ''So Saiken died and is about to revive.'' His eyes turn red in anger as he stares at the group of Kiri shinobi around the chakra amalgamation. ''These human bastards!... they will capture and seal the moment he revives. I don''t know why father entrusted the safety of mankind in our hands when these bastards seals us out of their selfish desires.'' Bam Bam Kurama attacks the chains binding him. Rattle Rattle Fwoosh More chains appear out of nowhere, and ties him down. ''Let me out of here. I will rip them apart into pieces.'' Kurama growls in anger. Minato and Kushina notices the disturbance. They try to calm him down. "Calm down, Kurama I am sure Six tails will also be able to find the peace it has been seeking for." Kurama calms down and stares at the chakra amalgamation. ----------------- Mei walks over to Elder Genji and speaks to him. "Elder Genji how long before the six tails revives." "It will revive in approximately next thirty minutes. Prepare your squad for the fight. Six Tails will go on a rampage once it revives. Your group has to hold it at bay as the sealing squads seals it." "Yes.. Elder Genji." Mei returns to her squad as she instructs them. Chapter 147: Capturing Six Tails Part-2 Chapter 147: Capturing Six Tails Part-2 ''Amazing this is a Yin-Yang Release technique.'' Izuna observes the process of Six-tails revival with full concentration. ''This is the ''Creation of All things'', by utilizing this technique the user creates a spiritual form out of nothingness by administrating the imagination and then through the use of Yang chakra breathes vitality in the physical form.'' Izuna curiously records the process. ''This technique has given a spiritual consciousness to a mass of chakra thus creating tailed beasts so it holds the consciousness of the creature by utilizing the Yin chakra and then reconstructs the breath and body through Yang chakra.'' Izuna tries to analyze the process. ''Incredible simply incredible If I can decipher this process even by a little amount then I would be able to perfectly sync the spirit and body of Kushina and Minato.'' He continues to stare at the red mass of chakra. "Your first time seeing a tailed-beast." A voice interrupts him. "Hmm" Izuna subconsciously nods his head. Huhu Zengetsu chuckles as he stares at Izuna. "It is also the first time for me to see a tailed beast revival this up close. I have seen three-tails but only from a distance." Ahem Mei clears her throat as she interrupts them. "The Six-tails is about to revive soon. We have to prevent it from rampaging and escaping from the barrier." "Yes Lady Mei." Harusame and Utakata nods their head. She turns to Izuna and asks him. "Yuito Yuki can you freeze the water and encase the six-tails in ice to prevent it from escaping." "Yes I will try it." Izuna nods his head in approval. "Very well"She then continues to instruct the rest of the team. Fwoosh The entire amalgamation of chakra swirls into a ce as it starts to shape together. "Get ready. Six-tails is about to revive." Elder Genji warns the sealing corp. Their expression turn tense and all of them get in position. Izuna jumps back and looks at the mass of chakra. Swirl The red chakra swirls continuously as the concentration of chakra continues to rise and forms a dense sphere of chakra. Swoosh swoosh Elder Genji throws many talismans around the red sphere of chakra. Awaah A roar escapes from the red sphere of chakra. The shockwaves from the roar push back the water and the sealing corps. "Hold your position. Six-tails has almost revived itself." Elder Genji yells at the sealing squad. Shoom A giant red pir of chakra rises from the sphere and collies with the top of the barrier. Rumble rumble The barrier trembles from the forces of the chakra but is able to hold itself together. Shoom The red sphere of chakra cracks open and releases a powerful shock wave of the red chakra. "Ice Release: Crystal Wall" Izuna makes some hand signs and erects an ice wall to block the shockwave. Crack crack Some cracks appear on the walls but it holds on. ''Eight Trigrams Demon Suppression Seal'' Elder Genji creates a ram seal with his right hand and directs the other hand towards the floating talismans to control them. Swoosh swoosh Multiple ck chains of fuinjutsu seals crawl out of the talismans and wraps around the six-tails. Rattle Rattle The chains rattle as Six-tails struggles to get free. Izuna dispels the ice wall to take a clear look at the Six-tails. Six-tails is an enormous white bipedal slug. It has a blueish tint across its white skin. The slug has two small stubby arms, feet, and six long tails iling behind it. It has two prominent optical tentacles and hole-like openings in ce of a mouth. The entire body of six-tails is covered in a thick, slimy substance. The Six-tails opens its mouth holes and exhales arge amount of dense white corrosive gas from its mouth. It instantly covers arge area. Mei jumps in front of the gas and makes some hand signs. "Boil Release: Skilled Mist technique" Mei expels an acidic breath from her mouth which counters the alkaline breath of six-tails. Izuna makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the surface of theke. "Ice Release: Frozen Capturing Field" The water freezes under the six tails, immobilizing it in one ce. Six-tails opens its moth holes and expels a white viscous sticky liquid to gain mobility. The corrosive liquid melts the ice and six-tails move over the liquid. It opens its mouth again and releases manyrge bubbles from its mouth. The bubbles travel rapidly near the sealing squad and burst on them releasing the corrosive fluid on top of them. Aaah The sealing corps members shrieks in pain. "No you don''t you beast." Harusame yells at Six-tails and takes out a blow-pipe from his holster. He inhales deeply and exhales in the blow-pipe. The blowpipe releases manyrge bubbles from its other end. The bubbles rapidly surround the six-tails and burst near it. The bubbles release an acidic fluid on the six-tails body. White fumes rise from the six-tails body as it whines in pain. "Have a taste of your own medicine you beast? I developed this technique after watching you. I call it ''Soap bubble Ninjutsu''." Harusame blows the pipe again and releases more water bubbles. "Water Release: Ink bubble explosion" The bubbles turn ck and explode on top of Six tails drowning it in ck ink. The acidic ink starts to melt its skin. Awaah Six-tails yells in agony and releases another burst of chakra from its body. Blue and red chakra seep out of its body removing the ck ink from its skin. The blue and red chakra bubbles gather in front of its mouth and condense into a small sphere. "Take cover It is going to fire a tailed beast bomb soon." Elder Genji warns the sealing corps. He turns towards Mei''s squad. "It''s time for you to take action." "Guess it''s my cue." Zengetsu walks in front of the group. He makes many hand signs and ps his hand together. "Water Release: Giant Water prison Dome" Zengetsu creates arge water dome around the group. Harusame and Utakata nod to each other and both of them blow into the blowpipe. "Water Release: Soap Bubble Technique: Bubble Dome" They create a doubleyer of soap bubble at the edges of the water dome. "Nownow I can''t stay behind can I?" Izuna gets serious and makes some hand signs and ps his hands together. "Ice Release: Ice Rock Dome of Magnificent Nothingness" He erects an icy, transparent igloo-like dome around the water prison. Elder Genji throws a talisman towards the water dome and creates a defensive seal on top of it. ''It should be enough to hold it right?'' Zengetsu looks at Elder Genji. Awaah Six-tails roars again and fires the tailed beast bomb at the group. Whoosh. The tailed beast bomb quickly travels towards the group. Bam It collides with the water dome and cracks it instantly. Zengetsu''s expression turn ugly as he looks at his shattered dome. Pop Pop The soap bubble dome also cracks instantly. BOOM The tailed beast bomb collides with the ice dome. Crack crack Cracks appear on the ice dome as it struggles to hold against the tailed beast bomb. BOOM It holds on for a few seconds before shattering into various shards. The tailed beast bomb shatters the defensive seal of Elder Genji. BOOOOMM It explodes into a violent explosion and covers the entire area. The purple barrier trembles from the explosion and hold against the tailed beast bomb. Dust and debris settle slowly. A major part of theke has turned into mist as it gets evaporated by the tailed beast bomb. A few members of the sealing corps lost their life in the explosion. Elder Genji emotionlessly looks at the members of sealing corps as he orders. "Prepare to seal the beast. It won''t be able to use the tailed beast bomb for a short while now." "YesGenji-sama" The members of the sealing corps make some hand signs and m their palms on multiple sealing nodesid around the six-tails. Swoosh. Swoosh Multiple ck fuinjutsu sealing chains rises from the nodes and wraps around the Six-tails. Elder Genji ces his right hand on the sealing vase and speaks some incoherent words as he makes some strange hand signs with another hand. Fwoosh The top of the container glows with purple light as multiple chains of chakra crawls out of it. Whoosh whoosh The chains wrap around the six-tails and drag it towards the vase. Awaah Six-tails yells in agony as it resists to get free from the chains. Whoosh The chains pull it inside the vase and the purple light fades. Elder Genji ces a sealing talisman on top of the case and seals it. "We have sessfully captured the six-tails. It''s time to return to the vige." He walks towards the barrier corps. The rest of the sealing corps members tends to their injured members. One of them takes a storage scroll and ces it on the ground. He puts down the corpses of the dead members and makes some hand signs. "Enclose" Elder Genji signals the barrier corps members. The barrier team lifts its hand from the giant scroll. Swish.fwoosh The barrier slowly fades away and dispels. They pick up the giant scroll and ties it on their back. Elder Genji turns towards Mei. "Nowes the real danger. You have to sessfully escort the six-tails to the vige. We have to look out for any traps and ambushid out by the Noble n." "Yes Elder Genji." Mei nods her head. The squad lines up in a formation around the group as they depart for Kiri. Chapter 148: The Civil War of Kiri Part-1 Chapter 148: The Civil War of Kiri Part-1 Izuna follows the back of the group. He stares at the sealing artifact in the hands of the Elder Genji and mutters to himself. ''That''s an interesting artifact. It seems pretty old maybe it is one of those artifacts from the era before Rikudou Sannin excavated from some old ruins.'' Izuna scrutinizes the artifact and recognizes the seal on the talisman. ''Hmm those seals on the talisman are simr to the one I found in the book in possession of the toads of Mount Myoboku Perhaps there might be some connection between them. I must pay a secret visit to Elder Genji. There is much to them than it meets the eyes.'' The group continues through the forest as they approach Kiri. ''This is the perfect ce for an ambush.'' Izuna ponders as he looks around with his Sharingan. Hmm ''There they are I was waiting for them.'' He notices a group of fifty people dressed in Anbu clothes about a mile away from them. ''Oh!... they haveid quite the number of traps here.'' Izuna and the group continue to move towards the trap. Hmm The eyes on Elder Genji''s walking stick shines with a red hue. Elder Genji frowns and warns others. "There is an enemy ambush ahead. Prepare to engage them in a fight." Mei and the rest of the group nod their head. Ao walks near Elder Genji and acts as a shield to deter the enemies. ''Interesting that stick of his is quite unusual.'' Izuna''s interest is piqued by the walking stick of Elder Genji. The rest of the group takes out their kunais, and weapons as they get ready for the fight. Swish swish Multiple kunais areunched at them. nk nk The group quickly deflects all of them and engages inbat with the anbu members. The leader of the anbu signals to his teammates. Around thirty members of the enemy group make some hand signs and m their palms on the ground. "Co-operation Ninjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Steaming Multyered Sealing Technique" They use a wide area genjutsu to sever the senses of the group. A thickyer of mist surrounds the entire area and encloses arge area around it. Fwoosh The mist slowly vanishes and casts a genjutsu on the group. Izuna looks at the group of enemy anbus with a deadpan expression. ''Seriously, a genjutsu? You all disappoint me.'' Stab stab The remaining members of the group stab the members of the barrier corps and the sealing corps. The leader of the anbu group makes some hand signs and vanishes from the vision. ''Water Release: Hiding in the Mist Technique'' The eyes of the staff of elder Genji glows and dispels the genjutsu on him. ''Byakugan!'' Ao activates his Byakugan and dispels the genjutsu. He quickly looks around for an enemy attack as he protects Elder Genji. ''Release'' Izuna infuses some chakra and disrupts the flow of chakra of Mei to dispel the genjutsu. "Thank you." Mei thanks him. She turns towards the group of enemy anbu members and makes some hand signs. "Lava Release: Exploding Rings" She fires multiple rings ofva from her mouth towards the enemy. Theva rings explode and create a pool ofva beneath them. ng ng Zengetsu, Harusame, and Utakata also dispel the genjutsu and fight against the enemy. "Water Release: Raging Water Dragon Jutsu" Zengetsu makes some hand signs and spews out a water dragon from his mouth. Roar The water dragon roars and sweeps out several enemies. Stab One of the hidden enemies appears behind him and stabs through his back. Splish Zengetsu''s body turns into a puddle of water and sshes on the ground. Large hands made of water appear from the ground and strangles the enemy. ''Water Release: Hiding in the Water Technique'' Izuna gives thumbs up to Zengetsu, who shes a smile and fights with another enemy. Izuna turns towards the group of enemies and smiles. "Let''s dance." He makes some hand signs and ms his palms on the ground. "Ice Release: Certain Kill spear'' Many pointed ice spears emerge from the ground and pierce the body of many enemies. Their blood dyes the ice spears in red. The group continues to whittle down the number of enemies. The Leader of the enemy who is hiding in the mist warily stares at them as his subordinates die one after another. ''I have to just retrieve the six-tails and ording to the intel it is inside that sealing vase.'' He sneakily walks up to Elder Genji and takes out a kunai from his holster and aims for Elder Genji''s throat. Hmm Elder Genji frowns as he senses an icy stare at his back. The eyes of the staff turn red. He immediately rotates the staff and stabs it backward. Puchi The staff pierces through the throat of the hidden leader of the group. The eyes of the leader widen as his body slowly turns into a puddle of blood. Elder Genji wipes his staff and focuses on the remaining enemies in front of him. "Ao quickly take care of the rest of them. We have to seal the Six-tails inside a jinchuruki. This vessel can only hold it temporarily." "Yes Genji-sama." Ao quickly locates the hidden enemies with his Byakugan and attacks them one after another. Mei and the group also finish off enemies on their end. Elder Genji stares at the group as he scrutinizes them. ''There are not that many trustworthy people present in the Terumi n. I can''t blindly entrust the power of a jinchuruki to anyone.'' He looks towards Zengetsu and shakes his head. ''The body of the Hozuki n members isn''t suitable for hosting tailed beast inside them.'' He then turns towards Izuna. ''Hmm this Yuki n member joined our faction just a month ago and he has proved to be a valuable asset for us. I am not fostering some skill-less shinobis on my side they are countless of them present in the vige. What I am looking for is an individual with an indomitable will a person who can control his inner demons.'' He scrutinizes Izuna for a while. ''He fits the criteria but he isn''t trustworthy enough. We can''t control him as freely as we thought. We have to turn towards someone else.'' He turns towards Utakata and ponders for a while. "This kid he isn''t that smart, powerful or skilled. But his loyalty to the vige is undeniable. I will consult with Fuji and allow him to decide." Elder Genjipletely ignores the dead bodies of his allies and foes around him. He continues to move towards the vige. "Weakness is a sin. Those who are born weak can only act as fodder for the stronger people. I have learned this harsh reality through three Shinobi Wars. To make Kiri rise to greatness some sacrifices are necessary." He moves on as the group follows him. Some members of the group stay behind the collect the bodies of their friends and allies. -------------------- Inside Terumi Mansion Fuji nervously walks back and forth as he stares toward Mist Lake. ''I hope Mei is doing well. I can''t allow anything to happen to her. Also I want to sessfully capture Six-tails and create a new jinchuruki.'' Sigh Fuji rubs his forehead and tries to ease some tension. "With a jinchuruki on our side the power bnce between the noble ns and the middle faction will be bnced. They won''t be able to suppress us as easily as they did before." Swoosh swoosh One Anbu members flicker in front of him and reports. "Fuji-sama Elder Genji has arrived with his group. They are near the south gate of the vige." "Good we have to prepare some precautionary measures." Fuji immediatelymands his personal Anbu squad. Uncle Wakan and the rest of the anbu squad follow him as they flicker towards the South Gate. ----------------------- Inside arge Mansion, Bam One of the members of the Noble n ms his hands on the table as heshes out. "Damn!... they were sessful in their attempt. They now have Six-tail on their side. With this the scales are bnced we can''t pressure them anymore." The elder barks in anger. The expression of the rest of the Noble n elders turns ugly as they hear this news. "What should we do next?... At this rate their power will grow day by day and one day they will grow equal to us." Another member of the council clutches his fist in anger. They frantically discuss possible countermeasures among themselves. Akifumi silently stares at the group as he thinks to himself. "What should I do? How should I handle this situation? Lord Madara help me." Akifumi infuses some chakra in a ring on his index finger. Some incoherent whispers resound in his ears. A smile appears on Akifumi''s face as his eyes lit up. He turns towards the elder council. Ahem Akifumi clears his throat to garner their attention. "I have a n. If we follow it then Kiri will forever be under our control." Chapter 149: The Civil War of Kiri Part-2 Chapter 149: The Civil War of Kiri Part-2 A/N:- Happy New Year Everyone. This year was full of ups and downs. I hope the next year will bring a bright future to everyone. --------------------------- Inside the meeting room, Fuji stares at the group of people as Ao recounts the entire incident to him. Sigh Fuji sighs and rubs his forehead. "The losses were great... but it was worth it." He signals to one of his subordinates as he orders him. "Make necessary arrangements andpensation for their family." Fuji turns towards Elder Genji as he continues. "Now six tails is under our control." Fuji stares at the sealing artifact for a while before nodding to Elder Genji. "Ahem I need to have some private discussion with n leader Fuji." The remaining people leaves the room as only Elder Genji and Fuji stays in the room. Izuna bade farewell to the rest of his team and walks out of the Terumi n. "Oye Yuito Yuito" Zengetsu yells his name and shakes his hand. Izuna turns around and looks at Zengetsu with a questioning gaze. "Hey Yuito if you are free tonight then what about a drink? It is on me." He hurriedly convinces Izuna to join him. "Very well We will meet tonight at the Thirsty Man bar." Izuna nods his head and flickers towards his residence. Sigh Zengetsu sighs and removes his hat. He restyles his hairs to allow them to hang freely. His expression turns serious as he looks towards the center of the vige. "Mangetsu we will have our rematch soon and this time I won''t be the loser." Zengetsu removes the de strapped on his back and caresses it gently. Inside the Terumi Mansion. In a private room, Elder Genji looks towards Fuji for a while before he tells about his decision. "n Leader Fuji I initially decided to make Utakata the jinchuruki of the Six-tails and after observing him for a month I hold on to it." Fuji frowns and questions him. "But wouldn''t Yuito Yuki. be a better option. He is a capable shinobi with Ice Release. He has shown his worth during this past month. He would be a perfect jinchuruki for the Six-tails." Elder Genji shakes his head and continues. "Somehow I don''t have confidence in him. Even Ao thinks the same. I have survived this far because of my instincts and experience." Elder Genji taps his staff on the ground. "Very well I trust you Elder Genji. Then we will go with Utakata." Fuji decides. --------------------------- Inside Noble n mansion, The rest of the elder raises their head as they curiously look towards Akifumi. "What n? Care to enlighten us Akifumi!" One of the old elders questions him. Ahem Akifumi clears his throat as he exins. "Kirigakure came into existence when First Mizukage Byakuren-sama my grandfather founded the vige. He fought a bloody battle against various other ns during the warring state to lead us to where we are." Hmm The rest of the elders nods their head in agreement. "He achieved this with the help of other ns who allied with us and fought that bloody war." Akifumi continues. "We are well-aware of this matter. These same ally ns are now opposing our rule and threatening to take our position." The old elder clenches his fists in anger. Akifumi smirks as he looks at them and continues. "It was indeed hard for grandfather to convince so many ns. But during the warring state a band of seven swordsmen acted as his bodyguards. These seven swordsmen wielded seven powerful swords and single-handedly overpowered most of the ns and forced them to agree to our terms. Haha" Akifumiughs as he mentions this. There is a reverent expression on his face as he speaks of this matter. "Every person in Kiri and even other viges are aware of this fact. Those seven people are the ''Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist'' who ughtered their way through every war and made other viges wary of us. But after the Third Shinobi War most of them died at the hands of a powerful Konoha ninja who single-handedly killed four out of the seven swordsmen. Juzo and Raiga deserted the vige and Fugukiter died on a mission." Another elder states the facts and sighs. "If only the Seven Mist Swordsmen were alive then we would have a better chance against the middle faction since they captured the Six tails." Haha ahaha Akifumiughs as he stares at them. "Who said there are no Mist Swordsmen alive anymore?" He signals to one of the shinobi. Whoosh whoosh whoosh Three people appear behind him. Akifumi introduces them to the elders. "These are the current members of the Seven Mist Swordsman fostered by me. Don''t look down on their number." Akifumi points towards one of them and introduces. "He is Mangetsu Hozuki the current leader of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. At the mere age of eighteen he had already mastered all the seven swords and can wield them in battle. Don''t look down on him because of his young age." Akifumi points towards the second member and introduces him. "He is Kisame Hoshigaki one of the members of the Fuguki''s squad. He was the one who unmasked the traitorous deeds of Fuguki andter killed that traitorous swine. He is the current wielder of Samehada." Akifumi points towards the third and thest member. "He is Renjouro the current wielder of Hiramkarei. He is a capable swordsman with multiple S-rank missions under his belt." Akifumi waves his hands and the three swordsmen disappear from their vision. "Sadly the fourth member Zabuza Momochi betrayed us and left the vige. I will kill that traitor with my own hands if he appeared before me." Akifumi clenches his fists in anger. "Ahem anyway with ''Seven Mist Swordsman'' on our side we can make a pre-emptive strike and attack the middle-ss faction. If we assassinate their leader then the rest of the faction will fall apart." Akifumi smirks as he looks at the rest of the elders. Hmm The elders ponder for a while before they nod their heads. "That''s a good n. But are you sure your ''Mist Swordsman'' will be able to pull it?" One of the elders raises his suspicion. Hmph Akifumi scowls as he chides the elder. "You can test their strength with your most elite anbu unit if you doubt their abilities." "No no" the elder shakes his hands in denial. "It''s decided then let the war begin. Haha" Akifumiughs maniacally. ------------------------- Later inside Thirsty Man bar, Gulp gulp Zengetsu chugs down one jar of alcohol after another. Haah bam He ms the empty jar on the table and yells. "Refill GIVE ME A REFILL." The server hurriedly refills his jar. Gulp gulp Zengetsu chugs down the jar and looks towards Izuna who is sipping lemonade right beside him. "H I thought you would drink with me." Zengetsuins. "I like soda more." Izuna calmly replies to him and continues to drink his lemonade. "" "Aw.. man that hurt my feelings. I thought you will be a fellow brother-in-arms who will drink together and drown all their sorrows. H" "" Izuna silently stares at Zengetsu. "Are we that close?" Zengetsu thinks for a while before he shakes his head. "I guess not. H bute on just listen to me. I want to get this off my chest." "Well if you want to tell me your story then I am interested." Izuna puts down his ss and turns towards Zengetsu. Bam Zengetsu smacks the empty jar on the table. He takes out the de from his back and caresses it. "You must be aware of the Seven Mist Swordsman" Izuna nods his head and replies. "Yes who doesn''t know about them? But sadly, almost all of them died a few years ago. I heard it was a Konoha shinobi who killed them." Zengetsu shakes his head and continues. "I am not talking about them but the previous generation the first generation of Seven Mist Swordsman." Izuna shakes his head. "I don''t know about them. For me they are part of a legend." ''Sadly I wasn''t able to stop Might Duy''s untimely death. I was on my journey to Land of Whirlpool and lost my sense of time.'' H Zengetsu hups and continues. "Around fifty years ago during the warring states. The First Mizukage excavated an ancient ruin together with Elder Genji." "Oh! Now I am interested." Izuna raises his eyebrows as he is curious to know the origin of those seven des. ''There is no way the current cksmiths can forge such des. Like,e on Samehada is a living creature.'' " it was inside those ruins the First Mizukage-sama found those seven des and many other wonderful artifacts. Even Elder Genji''s staff is from that ruin." Zengetsu raises his head and looks towards Izuna. Mmm Izuna nods his head. " it was during this time the First Mizukage founded the ''Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist''. He trained young shinobis while wielding those swords. My father was one of those young shinobi. Yes he was a member of first-generation." Zengetsu proudly puffs his chest as he continues. " my father has two younger brothers. The middle brother was skilled in genjutsu and ninjutsu heter became the Second Mizukage and the youngest brother" Zengetsu''s expression turns ugly. " he was also skilled in swords. He also became a member of the Mist swordsman. " Sigh Zengetsu sighs and chugs down the refilled jar in a single gulp. ". Father and younger uncle had a dispute over the position of the leader of the seven swordsmen. Both of them fought a heated battle and in the end father won the battle" Haah Bam Zengetsu ms the empty jar on the table. " he spared the life of his younger brother but uncle felt it as a humiliation to his skills so he backstabed father father in hisst moments stabbed through the heart of uncle and and both of them died in the battle." Haah "It sounds ironic isn''t it" Zengetsu chuckles and looks at Izuna. Izuna silently listens to him. "Now uncle''s elder son Mangetsu he has joined the noble faction to train in swordsmanship his target is me he wants to kill me and honor his father." Sckinck Zengetsu unsheathes the de on his back and brandishes it. " And I am ready for his challenge." Chapter 150: #Side Story Itachi Shinden: Culling the Snake Chapter 150: #Side Story Itachi Shinden: Culling the Snake Inside the Hokage Office, Hiruzen reads a report as a frown appears on his face. He raises his head and stares at Itachi. "Itachi Uchiha you are the only skilled member of Anbu currently avable in the vige. Kakashi and Shisui are out on another mission. So you have to carry out this mission with other Anbu team." Itachi nods his head. "Yes Hokage-sama" Hmm Hiruzen unfolds a scroll and exins the mission. "Jiraiya has been monitoring the tracks of Orochimaru after thetter left the vige. ording to histest intel, Orochimaru seems to have joined hands with Akatsuki. Akatsuki is a criminal organization with multiple S-Rank rogue ninjas of different viges." Itachi nods his head in agreement. ''Izuna nii-san has already informed me about the key members and their abilities.'' Hiruzen continues the exnation. " Jiraiya found the location of one of the recent hideouts of Orochimaru. I want you to investigate theb and search for some clues on Orochimaru''s research." Hiruzen hands over the scroll to Itachi. Itachi opens the scroll and notices the location of Orochimaru''sb. ''Hmm it is in Land of Sound.'' He pockets the scroll and flickers out of the Hokage''s office. Hiruzen takes out his pipe from the drawer. He takes a deep puff of smoke and stares at the departing back of Itachi. "Sigh it has been a year since Asuma left the vige Nothing has been going in Konoha''s favor recently. The Daimyo has reduced the funding and missions to the vige, and he has trust issues with the higher-ups of the vige." Sigh Hiruzen takes another puff from his pipe and takes out the crystal ball from his drawer. --------------------------- At Land of Sound borders, Itachi and the rest of his anbu team gather around a waterfall. Itachi opens the map and reads it. "This is the marked ce on the map the hideout is behind that waterfall." He signals to an anbu member. The anbu member takes out a fuinjutsu scroll from his pocket and makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the scroll. A fuinjutsu seal crawls out from the scroll and covers the entire waterfall. Whoosh The seal removes the water curtain to reveal a cave opening. Itachi activates his Sharingan and inspects the opening. "There is a trap here" He signals to another anbu member. The anbu member takes half an hour to disarm the trap. The group enters inside the cave. They are greeted by three different passages leading to three different ces. One of the anbu members walks in front of the group. He ces his hands on the ground and infuses some chakra in it. Some ants crawl towards the anbu member. He picks up an ant on his finger and brings it near his ear. "That way the hideout is inside that passage" He points towards the leftmost passage. The team follows his lead and enters inside the passage. The Anbu members warily inspect every nook and cranny of the tunnel. ''Orochimaru is a sly snake we have to careful at every corner.'' The group finally enters inside the abandonedboratory. There are various ss containers with nutritional fluid-filled inside them. A few ss containers have human test subjects inside them. Itachi inspects them. "They seem to be civilians of Land of Sound." He signaled to the rest of the team. Itachi walks deeper into theb. More and more ss containers inside his vision. Some of them are cracked, and the remaining contains various chimera inside them. There is a giant ss container in the center of theb. Itachi walks towards it and inspects the creature inside it. "White snake" Itachi frowns. He approaches the ss and notices a logbook near the table. He opens the logbook and reads the log. ----Day 765---- Experiment No: 324 Test Subject: 126 The test subject is a civilian with no special trait or Kekkei Genkai. Test 1:-First dose of the drug had no major effect on the target. Test 2:- Increasing the concentration of the drug. The test subject''s body has a mild tolerance to the concentration. Some snake scales start to grow on various parts of the body most notably eyes. Test 3:- Injecting full concentration drug. Major changes start to appear on the subject. ------------------- Itachi closes the book and pockets it. He lifts his head to stare at the gigantic snake... ''So that''s how it is.'' Swoosh swoosh Multiple white snakes crawl out from various corners and tightly binds Itachi. "Finally your body is mine" The gigantic snake breaks the ss container and lunges at Itachi. Itachi emotionlessly stares at the snake and calmy mutters. "So you finally decided to show yourself Orochimaru." Hisss The giant snake hisses at Itachi and opens its mouth wide open. Swoosh swoosh He swiftly approaches Itachi and tries to bite him. Ugh The snake freezes in the air. Various iron stakes stab in its body. The snake''s bind on Itachi loosens, and he calmly stares at the giant snake. Ssshinngg Itachi''s eyes change into Mangekyo Sharingan. Orochimaru''s eyes widen as he questions. "Since when" "The moment our eyes meet." Itachi calmly replies to him. The surrounding atmosphere changes, and the sky turns red. Everything turns into a dichromate of red and ck. Stab stab Itachi stabs multiple stakes through the snake''s body. Orochimaru whines in pain. Itachi continues to stab him. "Orochimaru you will slowly pay for every dirty deed you did You coborated with Danzo and experimented on my n members You will pay for everything by a hundredfold." Stab stab Itachi continues to stab Orochimaru''s snake body. ''What what kind of technique is this? What a powerful genjutsu? If I if I possess his body then this ability will be mine.'' Orochimaru licks his tongue as hepletely ignores the pain. The torture continues for seventy-two hours as only a sec passes in the actual world. Ugh The stakes around Orochimaru vanish as he weakly drops to the ground. Huff huff The giant snake pants as it viciously stares at Itachi. Chirp chii ''Chidori: Lightning cutter'' Itachi creates Chidori in his right hand as he closes on Orochimaru to finish him off. sh He slices Orochimaru''s lower snake body in half. Chii The lightning de dissipates and Itachi slowly walks towards Orochimaru. "Pay for your filthy crimes in the afterlife Orochimaru." Itachi infuses lightning in his de and stabs towards Orochimaru''s snake brain. Haah Orochimaru opens his mouth wide, and another snake crawls out of it. The snake agilely moves around and approaches Itachi. ''Amaterasu'' Some blood leaks from Itachi''s right eye. ck fire appears in his focal point and shrouds the snake. Aaahhh. Orochimaru wreathes in pain as ck mes continue to burn his body. "Farewell Orochimaru" The giant snake turns into ashes. Itachi picks up some more scrolls from the research room and walks out of the hideout. He regroups with the rest of the anbu group. "All of you move without me I have some things to take care of." He orders the group. "Yes Captain." The group moves towards Konoha. ''This information shouldn''t fall in hands of our enemy.'' Orange chakra mes appear around Itachi''s body and form a chakra rib cage and a gigantic chakra arm. "Yasaka Magatama" Itachi forms a giant Orange Magatama and throws it towards the hideout. BOOM The Yasaka Magatama explodes and covers the entire hideout. ''Time to return to Konoha.'' Itachi turns around and walks towards Konoha. BOOM. BOOM One after another explosion happens behind him as the explosion covers the entire hideout. The explosion demolishes the hideout and buries it underground. --------------- Inside another hideout, Bang A small snake figure explodes into dust. A round spectacled boy raises his head and looks at the remains of the figure. "Seems like Orochimaru Sama''s n failed." He walks up to a ss container with a test subject inside it. There is a curse seal on the test subject''s body. sh. sh He rips out some flesh from a snake in another ss container and ces it on top of the seal. He summons a giant scroll. The scroll has a snake figure drawn on it and a kanji symbol for ''Sage'' is carved on it. He makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the scroll. Cyan color nature energy leaks from the scroll and infuses with the flesh and the seal. The body of the test subjects dries up as the flesh absorbs all of his vitality. The flesh turns into a giant snake figure and continues to expand. A boy with orange hairs and various strange marks on his body silently stares at this scene from one of the prison cells. Kuku An evilugh resounds through the hideout. Chapter 151: The Civil War of Kiri Part-3 Chapter 151: The Civil War of Kiri Part-3 In the ghastly pale and wan moonlight, The newly recruited members of Seven Mist Swordsmen stands at the outer edge of the Kiri vige. The group stares at the premises of a n building from a cliff as they discuss among themselves. "Akifumi-sama.... passed his orders to ughter the subsidiary ns of Terumi n. Since we aim to weaken their power and influence let''s start with the Doku n this n would prove quite troublesome if not dealt early." Mangetsu stares at the buildings of the Doku n as he orders the rest of the group. Slick Kisame licks his lips as he stares at the n. "Samehada is quite hungry these past few days I haven''t gotten an opportunity to feed it. Looks like the time for the feast hase slick" Renjouro frowns as he remarks. "Kisame I am sure you are aware of the abilities of the Doku n if not... let me remind you Doku n does not possess frightening fighting capability as a shinobi n but their Kekkei Genkai ''Poison Release'' is a quite fearsome ability. Doku n members can manipte their chakra and surrounding water to create a deadly poison Even their chakra contains poison Once ites in contact with water or mist the poison will quickly spread in the surroundings Their poison mist was feared among all other nations during previous Shinobi wars. One slight mistake and you will be poisoned to death." Renjouro warns Kisame. "Don''t be too reckless Kisame." Kisame pats Samehada as he draws it from his shoulder. "Nah Samehada is way too gluttonous it won''t be affected by the poison. Poison will only numb its senses for a bit of time and will make it drunk." "Samehada may be immune to poison but the same can''t be said about you." Renjouro remarks. "Who knows" Kisame has a mysterious smile on his face. "Focus on the mission we have to do a clean job we three will take care of the main fighting members of the Doku n. The rest of the Anbus will take care of the remaining members." Mangetsu silences them as he ns out their attack. "You are the leader" Kisame raises his hands in agreement. "Very well" Mangetsu signals to the rest of the Anbu members as he leaps from the cliff. Kisame and Renjouro follows him. ----------------- The Moonlight slowly fades away as dawn appears on the horizon. "Huff huff Bad news Fuji-sama bad news" Wakan breathes heavily as he rushes through the corridors of the Terumi mansion. Fuji is sipping his morning tea with Elder Genji as they discuss various political matters. "Bad news Fuji-sama" Wakan hurriedly pushes away the door and enters the room. Fuji and Elder Genji frown as both of them stare at Wakan. "Calm down... Wakan" Fuji calms him down. "Now exin" Wakan takes a deep breath as he reports. "Doku n Doku n is gone Fuji-sama" "WHAT?..." Fuji exims as he stands from his seat. "What''s the matter tell me every single detail of this matter." He grabs Wakan''s shoulder and questions him. Wakan narrates the entire series of events to Fuji. Bam Fuji stomps his foot on the floor as various cracks appear from the ground. Steam rises from Fuji''s legs. "Those noble ns bastards they have done it now we can''t maintain our neutral stance any longer those bunch of lunatics murdered an entire n of shinobis because they feared their prowess Damnit I can''t stand them any longer. Now only a war will calm my mes of fury." "They have crossed the boundary with this move" Elder Genji clutches his staff in anger. " First Yuki n now Doku n they are destroying the very foundation of the vige. Doku n with their ''Poison Release'' Kekkei Genkai was one of the major factors which lead to our victory in the Second Shinobi War." Bam Elder Genji ms his stick on the floor. "Immediately summon all of our forces and the leaders of our ally ns we have to counterattack against the tyranny of Noble faction." Elder Genji orders his subordinates. --------------------- Later in the afternoon Izuna is sitting beside Mei as he listens to the conversation of various n leaders happening in the emergency meeting. Hmm He looks around and is unable to locate Utakata. ''So they sealed the Six-tails inside him. I guess it will take some time for the seal to stabilize the sealing forms of Kirigakure aren''t as efficient as the Uzumaki n.'' Izuna muses over the conversation of various n leaders. ''So the noble faction made their move and directly massacred the Doku n.'' Izuna folds his hands below his chin as he ponders. ''Doku n members possess the ''Poison Release'' Kekkei Genkai I have met and done some missions with their members during these few previous months Last night just happened to be the night where I returned to Konohagakure But I never expected such a thing from Noble faction.'' Mei listens to the conversation as anger seethe in her eyes. "Unforgivable this act is unforgivable. Those noble faction members are a bunch of animals they even massacred the innocent children and even civilians residing near the Doku n." Izuna tries to calm her down. "Lady Mei we won''t let them get away scot-free from this incident. All of them will pay for their crimes." Mei calms down a little as anger is still zing in her eyes. "We will hunt down their anbu members one by one I will make them repay this debt of blood." She turns to Izuna and the group and discusses a n with them. "Let''s go and investigate the n district of the Doku n." The group departs for the Doku n district. ------------------------ Inside the Kiri vige. The information of the wipeout of the Doku n spreads like a wildfire across the vige. Various rumors and hoaxes spread among various civilians. Many civilian shinobi starts to have second thoughts about the vige. "We don''t want to get embroiled in this power struggle of shinobi ns. It is better to leave this bloody vige as soon as possible." One of the civilian shinobi talks with his friend. "Yes I have simr thoughts I don''t want to die an untimely death. We civilians have no backing, and the higher-ups will order us to do their bidding during this war. I became a shinobi to feed my family not to get tossed around by the whims of those higher-ups. Who knows when will they send me on a suicide mission?" His friend nods to him. Simr conversation urs throughout the vige as many shinobi ns to desert the vige. Mei and the group walk through the vige as she listens to one such conversation. Mei frowns, and an ugly expression appears on her face. "If only the Fourth Mizukage could handle this matter more efficiently then such a situation wouldn''t have happened in the vige. He is still yet to address the massacre of the Doku n when apparent involvement of Noble n is visible." ''Hmm Yagura is under Obito''s control and I have some doubts regarding this Akifumi of the Noble faction. I must check on him.'' Zengetsu tightly clutches his sword. "Looks like I will soon get the opportunity to fight him. That sword style it was his there is no mistake in it." Izuna raises his head and looks at Harusame. ''He hasn''t talked a single word since the meeting. I am sure he is upset about Utakata bing a jinchuruki. I am not sure of his backstory... and I have no interest either.'' "Time to put our n in action." Mei signals them. The group walks towards the outskirts of Kiri and arrives in a dpidated slum area. The area reeks of blood, piss, and poverty. Izuna frowns and turns towards Mei. "Do you think it will work?... your idea to negotiate with the lower caste of Kiri. Most of them hate Kiri to their core and if they are provided with an opportunity to ughter then they won''t hesitate to do so." Shh Mei ces a finger on his mouth as she lowers her voice and whispers to him. "Exactly these groups of people are enemies of Kirigakure or to be exact they are enemies of the higher caste. The Noble faction has abused them since the era of the First Mizukage and over time their hatred turned into a deep-seated grudge." Mei smiles at him as she remarks. "You mean to say that you will use the people of lower caste to fight against the Noble faction." Izuna raises his eyebrow. Mei nods her head. "Yes these people have enough hate inside them to annihte the Noble faction. If I negotiate with them then they will be able to help us deal with the Noble faction." "Will this idea of your work? What if these people backstab you and follow the Noble n won''t our middle-ss faction fall in trouble?" Izuna questions her intention. "No they won''t." Mei shakes her head. "I have seen the harassment and abuse of Noble faction on these people. Never in their sane mind will they betray us. Alright let''s talk with them." Mei walks up to a nearby lower caste shinobi who has been scrutinizing them with a vicious gaze for a while. "We have a deal for you. Take us to our leader." Mei cuts the chit-chat and jumps directly on point. "Who are you?... We have nothing to talk with higher ss people get out of here you are not wee here." The shinobi waves his head in annoyance. ''Come on I don''t have time for this. I will do it my way.'' Izuna activates his Sharingan. ''Genjutsu: Sharingan'' He casts a genjutsu on the shinobi. The shinobi walks deeper into the slums. "Follow him. I think he is leading the way." Izuna follows him. Mei tilts her head in confusion but follows him nheless. ''How did he change his mind so suddenly?'' Chapter 152: The Civil War of Kiri Part-4 Chapter 152: The Civil War of Kiri Part-4 Inside the Terumi Mansion, Fuji listens to Terumi''s n as he frowns. "Mei are you sure you can trust the people of the lower caste. Most of them are banished criminals, war prisoners, and even some ninjas who have fallen out of the grace I don''t think it is a good idea to employ them." Fuji rebukes her. "Father trust me on this matter." Mei had a resolute expression on her face. Sigh Fuji sighs as he sees her resolve. "Very well I will trust you. But what did you promise them in return? Also I still don''t trust them they might backstab us at any moment." Fuji warns her. "Father I promised them Freedom. After the power struggle of Kiri is over there won''t be any caste system in Kiri. I want the division to be based on merit rather than the birth of a person" Mei states her opinion. " I know it is easier said than done but I will give it a shot." She continues. "I believe in you Mei." Fuji nods his head and discusses ns with Elder Genji. "Elder Genji now since we have the support of the lower caste it would be easier to take on the Noble ns." Elder Genji and Fuji strategize about the uing war for a power struggle. "How was it?... did he agree?" Izuna is resting against a wall as he questions Mei. "Yes father agreed to my n." Mei nods her head in affirmation. "I don''t know how you did it you were able to convince the leader of lower caste with a few words." Mei looks at Izuna in incredibility. "It''s my little secret." Izuna chuckles and walks out of the mansion. ''Now how could I tell her that I just used Kotoamatsukami on that poor guy. I just gave him a simple suggestion that''s all.'' "Hey tell me about it." Mei follows him. Both of them walk out of the Terumi Mansion and disappear into the streets of Kiri. Elder Genji and Fuji look at their back as Fuji thinks to himself. "Elder Genji what are your thoughts on Yuito Yuki? Do you find him trustworthy?... or is he a spy?" Fuji questions Elder Genji. "It''s hard to say a nameless shinobi of his caliber just appeared out of nowhere. It seems too good to be true but then there are various other shinobis hidden everywhere." Elder Genji shakes his head. " Up till now he had helped us a lot be it saving Mei''s life multiple timespleting various suicide missions or some other life-threatening tasks we have tested his capabilities and loyalty multiple times. If he was an assassin he had multiple opportunities to get rid of Mei but he didn''t do so. And a spy will remain hidden he won''t appear in open." Fuji remembers the various missions he had assigned to Izuna in these past few months. " But I am willing to put my trust in him. Besides I have yet to search for a suitable candidate for Mei to marry. I don''t know how long will I able to live with this condition but I want to see my Mei live a happy and cheerful life. This is thest of things I could do for her as her father. Sigh" Fuji sighs and turns around. "Let''s go meet with the leader of lower caste we are allies now so we would need to show some respect to him to win their trust." Ao and Wakan follow after them. ------------------------------- In a secret hideout Obito stares at the map of Kiriid on a table. "The preparations areplete. It''s time to execute the n." He folds the map and swirls out of the hideout. ck Zetsu stares at his back and muses to himself. "Mother it won''t be long before I free you out of your prison You were right mother these humans are such foolish creatures they are delusional to their very core." Swoosh He enters inside the ground and follows after Obito. "I have recorded every incident of the Shinobi world into my memory I will silently watch and record this moment too." ------------------------ Inside arge Mansion in Noble estate Akifumi stares at the group of the Mist Swordsman. "All of you did pretty well I am ted by your magnificent performance. Now we have to eliminate one more ally n of the Terumi n... and the victory will be ours. We will crush their rebellion and make an example out of them" Akifumi clenches his fist. " the position of leader of Kiri belongs to us. Mizukage is just for namesake he is nothing but a puppet of our elder council." Akifumi turns towards the Mist Swordsman group. "I have another mission for you." He takes out a scroll from his pocket and passes it to Mangetsu. Mangetsu opens the scroll and notices the picture of a woman. " She is Mei Terumi The daughter of Fuji Terumi and is the future sessor of the Terumi n. I sent multiple ninjas in various previous attempts to assassinate her but s she survived every one of them Those bunches of ipetent shinobis of anbu. They are useless" Akifumi gnashes his teeth. " anyway I want you three to assassinate her when you have an opportunity killing her will deal a fatal blow to Fuji Terumi''s spirit and we will be able to easily wipe them clean. Haha." Akifumi orchestrates a scheme to assassinate Mei. ''It won''t be long before the entire Kirigakure will fall under my control. Grandfather you founded this vige and I will rule it.'' Akifumi is lost in his delusions. The Mist Swordsman walks out of the noble estate. All of them depart their way. Kisame looks at their departing back and sighs. "Day after day I spent my entire life searching for meaning in my life." He slowly walks towards the outer edge of the vige. "What am I living for? Friend" Images of his previous team with whom hepleted various missions pop into his mind. "No" He shakes his head. "The world is full of lies. They betrayed the vige so I had to kill them." Kisame stares at his hands. "These hands were once soaked in the blood of myrades. I don''t have any friends anymore I killed them with these very hands." Kisame clutches his hands into a fist. " then what am I living for?... Family?" Memories of the orphanage appear in his mind where he spent his entire childhood. "No I never had a family to begin with I was an orphan from birth" Crack Kisame clutches his hands tightly as bones crackle within them. " then where do I belong to?... who needs me in this world? Will I die a nameless death in one of the remote corners of this world" He closes his eyes as he imagines the scenario of his death. "Arade-killer like me never had any ce to begin with. This world is built on lies and in this deceitful world I am just a worthless fool with no meaning whatsoever." Kisame slowly walks deeper inside the slums. "That might not be true" A deep voice interrupts his thoughts. "Who??..." Kisame immediately draws Samehada and points towards the neer. A masked figure walks out from the shadows and looks at him. "You have your worth you have your own role to y in this world?" The masked figure slowly approaches him. "Who are you?... Reveal your face this instant or I will have to consider you as an enemy." Kisame warily points Samehada at the masked figure. "I am Madara Uchiha" The masked figure slowly removes the right part of his mask to reveal his Sharingan. Kisame frowns as he stares at the Sharingan. "Impossible Madara Uchiha was killed by the First Hokage Hashirama Senju don''t try to impersonate as him and try to fool me." Kisame attacks Obito with his sword. Swish The Sword passes through Obito''s body without dealing any damage to him. "What?..." Kisame''s eyes widens as he stares at Obito. "This is how is this possible?" He gapes at Obito''s invulnerability. "Now do you trust my identity as Madara Uchiha?... No one beside Hashirama Senju was worthy enough to fight against me but sadly in our fight due to a moment of letting down my guard I lost the battle and was almost killed by him. But I survived and now I want to form an ideal world" Kisame silently listens to Obito''s exnation. "A world where no one will be forced to betray their friends and forced to kill them. A world where there are no lies or deception A ''World of Truth''." Obito stretches as a hand towards him. "Will you join me for my noble cause and help in the salvation of this deceitful world?" Kisame stares at the masked figure for a while before he replies. "Let me think about it. I need some time to digest this information." "Very well tomorrow we will meet at the same spot and I will reveal more information to you. Till then, farewell." Swirl Obito swirls out of the ce. Kisame looks at the empty space in front of him. "A ''World of Truth'' Huh!" Chapter 153: An Emergency Chapter 153: An Emergency In a small house in the middle of Kiri, Izuna is resting against a tree in the backyard as he watches Kimimaro training. Hmm Izuna activates his Sharingan and inspects Kimimaro''s body. "In the Original timeline he passed away from an unknown disease. I wonder if he still has that disease." Izuna uses his microscopic vision to check Kimimaro''s bones. "This is" He notices some tiny abnormal clumps of cells in Kimimaro''s bone marrow. " this seems like cancer cells." Izuna frowns as he notices the cancer cells in Kimimaro''s bone marrow. ''Kimimaro''s Kekkei Genkai allows him to manipte his bones. He can produce multiple bones from his body this process is carried by the rapid replication of cells in his body. Most of the bone marrow cells are found in the spine and I have seen him replicating his spine and using it is a spear. Seems like the rapid multiplication has led to the development of cancer cells in his bone marrow. I would have to treat him soon before cancer reaches the next stage.'' Cough cough Kimimaro coughs a little as he is training. ''Seems like he has developed symptoms.'' "Ok it''s enough for now you can stop your training." Izuna stops him. He infuses some Nature energy in Kimimaro''s body to rejuvenate him. Kimimaro''s bones absorb the chakra and turn in a shade of grey for a while before turning to normal. Hmm ''This is'' Izuna notices the peculiarity. He infuses more chakra in Kimimaro''s bones. The bones absorb more chakra and redirect it towards his bone marrow. The cancerous cells in Kimimaro''s bone marrows decline a little. ''This is interesting I wonder if it was the reason Kimimaro has such a high affinity for the cursed seal of Earth of Orochimaru well... he does possess Otsutsuki bloodline and thus a connection to the Sage of Six Paths. Maybe it is the reason Orochimaru was able to prolong Kimimaro''s life for such a long period by using the cursed mark.'' Izuna stops infusing Nature energy in Kimimaro''s body. The cancer cells in the bone marrow start to slowly replicate again. ''Looks like he needs a constant supply of Nature energy to prevent the multiplication of cancer cells.'' Izuna starts to make some hand signs. ''I have researched Orochimaru''s seal present on Anko and I have a gist of it. Orochimaru stored a fragment of his soul and will inside the cursed seal to revive himself if he dies somehow. Otherwise he can also use it as a medium to take over the body of the inflicted person. In a sense... it is simr to Karma Seals of the Otsutsuki n but it is a watered-down version of Karma Seals. I wonder where did Orochimaru get his hands on such a powerful sealing technique.'' Izuna continues to make multiple hand signs. A ck sealing form appears in his hands. He ces his hand near Kimimaro''s spine. ''Orochimaru''s seal was meant for his revival but my seal will function as a Nature energy battery it will passively absorb a little amount of Nature energy from the surroundings and infuse it in his spine to prevent the production of more cancer cells.'' Sizzle Sizzle Ugh Kimimaro grimaces in pain. "Hold on for a minute. I am treating you." The Sin seal on Izuna''s hand activates and infuses some energy with the seal on Kimimaro''s hand. ''Hmm what''s this Sin seal trying to do?'' Orange ck marks appear on Kimimaro''s spine. The sealing formpletes and forms three tomoe arranged in a circle around a ck dot in the center. Izuna frowns as he stares at the seal. "It turned out to be different than I expected." He turns to Kimimaro and questions him. "Kimimaro how are you feeling now?" Kimimaro wears his Kimono and stretches his arms and muscles. "Angel-san! For some reasons I feel great and full of energy right now. All of my fatigue and exhaustion are gone. I can continue my training" "Well don''t push yourself too hard." Izuna shakes his head and closes his eyes. Kimimaro continues his training. "There seems to be no problem with the seal. I wonder what changes the Sin Seal made to it well I figure that out in the future?" Izuna stretches his hands and yawnszily. "Sadly I have made no progress with the Kekkei Shi. It is some hard to bnce four elements together I don''t want to repeat the same mistake and blow myself again. Maybe I will take a break from the training." He takes out a picture from his pocket and lovingly stares at it. "Ayaka is already two years old now. I am such a terrible brother for not spending enough time with her. After the civil war in Kiri ends I will spend more time with her and teach her. I don''t want to spoil her too much Shinobi world is a cruel world Weakness is a sin here I will give her my share of love but I won''t hold back on her training." He continues to stare at the picture. "Yuito Yuito are you there Yuito?" A sweet female voice interrupts his thoughts. Izuna immediately pockets the picture and walks to the front yard. "I am here Mei did something happened?" He notices a grim expression on Mei''s face. "Yes Something terrible happened quick I will exin it during our journey. For now we need to move out." "Yo!..." Zengetsu waves his hand at him. "Let''s go" Izuna nods his head and follows after them. Swoosh Swoosh The group quickly flickers out of the Kiri. While traversing through the forest, Izuna turns to Mei and asks her. "Ok! What''s the matter? Can you inform me now?" Mei nods her head. "It''s like this the civil war in the Kiri has drawn the attention of the Daimyo. It has been two months since we coborated with the lower caste the murder and massacre have be amon thing on the streets. The economy of the vige has plummeted to rock bottom. The already unstable Land of Water has further descended in chaos" Mei takes a deep breath before she continues her exnation. " The Daimyo of Land of Water grew frustrated by the situation since the flow of money stopped in thend. He suffered a massive loss in his business so he scheduled a meeting between various factions for peaceful negotiation." Izuna nods his head. "Yes I heard about it. What''s the big deal?" " this is a big matter. Earlier this morning father and the Elder Genji secretly departed towards the center of the Land of Water for the meeting. He only brought some of his trusted people with him" "Well... that''s normal after all too many people will leak the information of his whereabouts and the route he takes to reach Land of Water." Izuna nods his head. " No the thing is the information of his departure was somehow leaked to his enemies. They are already on their way to assassinate him." Mei informs with a panicked expression. "What? How?... how did the information got leaked.and how did you came to know of this?" Izuna questions her. "Someone informed me to be exact one of the members of the Seven Mist Swordsman his name is Renjouro and he is the wielder of Hiramekarei. He didn''t know about the name of the spy but he informed of this matter before vanishing from my sight I don''t know if I can trust this information but I want nothing to happen to my father." Mei answers him. "This could be a trap maybe they are trying to lure you out and assassinate you." Izuna spectes. "It could be that''s the reason I came to you for help and I came across Zengetsu along the way." "Fine let''s go. We have to hurry up." Izuna increases his speed. Mei and Zengetsu follows his pace. ''Hmm Renjouro and Hiramekarei I wonder if there is some connection with Chojouro. Looks like the civil war is about to end soon'' --------------------------- Inside the forest A group of three people hides on top of a tree, as they silently wait for their prey to arrive. "We never got a chance to assassinate Mei Terumi during these past two months but Fuji Terumi is fine too. It is a pleasant opportunity to get rid of him." Mangetsu stares at the deeper parts of the forest. "Samehada is thriving for more chakra I hope they have strong people with them." Kisame caresses his de. "We are in the middle of an assassination a powerful foe is the least we would like to ask for." Renjouro rebukes him. "But Samehada doesn''t like the taste of chakra of a weakling." Kisame retorts. Hmph Rejouro snorts and stops talking. He has a slightly worried expression on his face. ''Chojouro I am doing this for your sake. I have seen the ways of the Noble n and I don''t think they have a chance in this war. I hope you will be able to find a better life ahead of you.'' Cough Cough He coughs out some blood from his mouth. Renjouro quickly wipes away the blood. Chapter 154: Battle With Mist Swordsmen Chapter 154: Battle With Mist Swordsmen Hmm Mangetsu raises his head. He notices a giantva ball moving towards them. "Get on your guard it is an enemy attack." Mangetsu cups his hands together and stretches them towards theva ball. "Water Release: Water Hail" He fires a barrage of small water bullets from his hands. The bullets nullify theva ball. "Ice Release: Shard Hailstorm" Multiple ice shards attack them from all directions. Kisame jumps in front of the attack and makes multiple hand signs. "Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave" He spits out a great volume of water from his mouth. The water surges towards the ice shards and blocks the attack. The ice hail freezes the entire water, leaving behind arge trail of ice. Renjouro swings his de Hiramekarei, releasing multiple light blue senbons towards the ice. The senbons pierces through the ice, shattering in the process. " the surprise attack was a failure. I never expected the enemy to be this skilled. Mei frowns as she warily inspects the group of Mist Swordsman in front of her. --------shback-No-jutsu----------- Mei and the group dashes through the forest to intercept the enemies. "It will take too long for us to catch up with the group." Izunaments. " then do you have a faster way to reach there?" Mei anxiously asks him. '' well If I use my normal speed then it won''t take me long to catch up with the group but I am hiding my identity here Oh! I almost forgot about it.'' Izuna makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu" Arge summoning seal appears on the ground." Poof A giant brown eagle appears inside the smoke. Izuna jumps on its back and signals Mei and Zengetsu. " Hop on It will be much faster through the air." "" "You should have done it earlier," Meiins. "I almost forgot about it." Izuna scratches the back of his head. " well it''s not toote. Hold tightly we are going full speed." Izuna instructs them. He gently pats the eagle''s head. Scree The eagle screeches and instantly speeds up. " fast that''s too fast." Mei grabs his waist to take support. Zengetsu grabs his leg to support himself. "" ''What''s with this situation?... Anyway it was a nice idea to form a summoning contract in Shikkotsu forest. Well I formed a summoning contract with all the summons of the Shikkotsu forest.'' Whoosh The eagle increases its speed by another notch and whizzes through the air. It reaches supersonic speeds and breaks past the sound barrier. Mei tightly hugs his waist as she looks around. "At this rate we will be able to overtake the father''s group in a few more moments. But at this speed I can''t spot a thing." Mei sighs in relief. Whoosh. The eagle continues to soar for half an hour. "Found them" Izuna stops his eagle above the clouds as he observes Fuji and his group moving towards the center of the Land of Waves. "They are right below us" Izuna points out the location of Fuji to Mei and Zengetsu. "Man you have quite the sharp eyes." Zengetsu stares at the escort group as they appear as small as ants in his vision. "I just have good eyes." Izuna chuckles and turns towards Mei. "So do you want to group up with your father?" "No" Mei shakes her head in denial. "He won''t allow me to he is worried about my safety and would probably send me back. We should move forward and ambush the enemy." She suggests to them. "Are you sure it is a good idea? What if the enemies outnumber us?" He questions her decision. "It is fine we have your eagle with us. We will survey the situation from above and if there are too many enemies we will retreat and regroup with Father''s group to support them." Mei forms a n. "Well you call shots here so it''s fine with me." Izuna pats Eagles'' head. The eagle speeds and disappears on the horizon. The group moves for another hour before they spot the Mist Swordsman. "Enemy!... up head" Izuna warns them. Mei frowns and questions him. "How many?" "I can see three people with peculiar swords in their hand." Izuna describes their appearance to them. "It is them the newly formed Mist swordsman." Mei recognizes the features of one of them. Zengetsu clutches his de. "The time for our showdown has finally arrived." "Let''s engage them I think we have a chance against them." Mei signals Izuna. Izuna lowers the altitude. Mei jumps from the top of the eagle and makes some hand signs. "Lava Release: Lava Meteor Shower" She fires a giantva meteor ball towards the enemy group. ---------------- At present, Izuna and Zengetsu jump behind Mei and groups with her. The eagle nods its head and disappears in a poof of smoke. Kaching Zengetsu draws out his de from the sheath and points towards Mangetsu. "He is mine don''t interfere in our battle." Zengetsu dashes towards Mangetsu with a de in his hand. Mangetsu frowns as he notices Zengetsu. "I will handle this bastard." He makes some hand signs. "Water Release: Water Gun" Bang He shoots a small water bullet from his finger. Kachin Zengetsu slices the water bullet with his sword. He makes some hand signs in retaliation. "Water Release: Water jet pistol" Zengetsu points his sword towards Mangetsu and fires a jet of high-pressure water. Bang Mangetsu blocks the attack with his sword and engages Zengetsu in a sword fight. "I have some questions to ask from him." Mei points towards Renjouro. "Boil Release: Corrosive Mist Breath" She releases a highly acidic mist from her mouths. "Hiramekarei: Release" Renjouro swings his sword and disperses the mist. He dashes towards a hill and Mei follows after him. "So I guess you will be my opponent then." Kisame stars at Izuna. "Well I don''t know how to feel about it" Izuna cracks his neck and stares towards a tree. Hmm ''So both Obito and ck Zetsu are monitoring the situation. As much as I would like to kill them now if I did so I might spark the attention of Isshiki Otsutsuki ck Zetsu is Kaguya''s will and Isshiki was her partner I don''t know if he is aware of ck Zetsu and is monitoring him through some secret techniques.'' Kisame ces his de beside him and quickly makes multiple hand signs. "Water Release: Four Shark Shower" He ms his palm on the ground. Rumble Rumble Arge surge of water erupts from the ground. The water forms a group of four water sharks which rushes towards Izuna. Izuna makes some hand signs and stretches his hands towards the sharks. "Ice Release: One-horned White whale" He creates a humongous ice whale. The whale ms into the water sharks and freezes them. Shatter The ice whale and the water sharks shatter into multiple ice shrapnel whichunches towards Kisame. ng ng ng Kisame blocks the ice shrapnel with his de. Haha Kisame grins as he looks towards Izuna. "It has been a while since I came across such an opponent. Even Samehada is happy to fight against you. Entertain me while you can" He grabs the giant shark de and swings it towards Izuna. nk Izuna blocks the attack with a kunai. nk nk Both of them exchanges a few blows. Skkiirr The shark''s skin rips apart the bandage tied on the de and attacks Izuna. nk Izuna makes an ice kunai and blocks the attack. "Oh no one has ever been able to escape unscathed from this surprise attack. You are the first person to do so." Kisame is surprised to see Izuna block his attack. Fwoosh Kisame performs a backflip and creates some distance between them. He makes multiple hand signs and directs his palm towards Izuna. "Water Release: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu" He maniptes arge amount of water and directs it towards Izuna. The water shapes into a giant water shark and opens its enormous mouth to bite Izuna. "Let me see how are you able to dodge this?" "You talk too much." Izuna makes some hand signs and thrusts his hand forward. "Ice Release: Ice Dragon Blizzard" He sends a gigantic dragon of ice to intercept the shark. BOOM The shark and the ice collide with each other and explodes. Haah Kisame smirks and makes a ram hand seal. The water droplets in the surroundings turn into multiple small sharks and attack Izuna. "Water Release: Thousand Shark Shower" In response, Izuna sps his hands together. "Ice Release: Swallow snowstorm" Many surrounding ice splinters turn into small ice swallows and collides with the small water sharks freezing and shattering them in the process. "No one except Mangetsu has been able to make me sweat this much in a while. What''s your name?... I will remember you as a worthy opponent before I kill you." Kisame question him. "You seem pretty confident about killing me." Chapter 155: Battle of Swordsman Chapter 155: Battle of Swordsman BOOM BOOM Various explosion urs in a distance as Zengetsu fights against Mangetsu. ''Water Release: Hydrification Technique: Great Water Arm Technique'' Zengetsu raises his right arm. The arm absorbs the moisture from the body andpresses it into the arm. The muscles of the arm erge and gets strengthened. Zengetsu clutches his sword with the right hand and performs a spin in air before mming the sword towards Mangetsu. "Kenjutsu: Decapitation Strike" Bam Mangetsu blocks the attack with this de. Swoosh The force from the attack sends him flying. Fwoosh He performs a summersault in air and steadilynds on the ground. Whoosh Zengetsu strengthens his leg muscles using the Hydrification technique and increases his speed. He instantly appears in front of Mangetsu and shes his sword at him. ng Mangetsu blocks the strike. Crumble The ground beneath him caves in. He struggles to push the de away from his throat. Crack crack Some cracks appear on his de. Tch Mangetsu clicks his tongue. "Water Release: Hydrification Technique: Jet Pump Kick" He erges his right leg and kicks Zengetsu away. "In all those years your skills have improved Zengetsu. You forced me to use one of the Seven Swords." Mangetsu makes some hand signs and summons a scroll in front of him. He ms his palm on one of the seals on the scroll and summons a de. "Behold Kabutowari!!" Mangetsu wields a peculiar sword with a giant axe on one end tied to a hammer on the other end with a thin, leather-like rope. Zengetsu makes some hand signs and ms his palms on the ground. "Water Release: Tate Eboshi" A giant gust of water erupts from the ground. The water turns into a giant pufferfish and moves towards Mangetsu. Mangetsu raises his hand in the air with the axe part of the de in his right hand and the hammer part in the left hand. "Kenjutsu: Kabutowari: Deep Earth sh" He infuses some chakra into the de and ms it on the ground. Rumble rumble Ground tremble underneath his strike as the de releases a vertical de of energy towards the pufferfish. "Kenjutsu: Kabutowari: Endless Heaven Smash" Bang He ms the blunt part of the axe with the hammer. BOOM The axe and the hammer releases a shockwave which tears through the ground and smashes into the pufferfish. BOOM The pufferfish disperses into countless raindrops, and the shock wave pushes Zengetsu. Zengetsu holds his de horizontally in his hands and infuses chakra into the de. "Kenjutsu: Surudoiken: Halo dance of Waning Moon" The de glows with a cyan hue. Zengetsu shes it horizontally towards Mangetsu. The de releases a cyan de of water. The cyan de shes through the shockwave and travels towards Mangetsu. Mangetsu frowns as he looks at the cyan de. "Water Release: Hydrification Technique" His body turns into the water as he receives the attack. Bam... The cyan de ms into his liquified body and throws Mangetsu in the air. Cough Cough Mangetsu holds his chest as slowly stands up from the rubble. "Now die it''s time to end our long rivalry." Zengetsu swings the de towards Mangetsu''s neck. sh He shes Mangetsu''s body in half. Plop Mangetsu turns into a puddle of water and falls on the ground. "A water clone." Zengetsu frowns. He immediately turns around and blocks an attack from the real Mangetsu. "Kenjutsu: Shibuki: Bakuto Ren" Mangetsu swings a giant sword. The sword has two distinct sides with a narrow cutting edge on one side and a broad tform with a scroll attached to the other side. The scroll unfolds and releases multiple explosive tags from it. "Explode" Mangetsu makes a hand sign. The explosive tags on the de glow brilliantly. BOOM BOOM Zengetsu is blown away by the explosion. Bang He smashes through multiple trees and finally collides in a giant tree. Cough cough He coughs out a mouthful of blood. Mangetsu slowly walks towards him. "You are too soft just like your father." He lifts the de and shes Zengetsu. --------------------------- Near a cliff on top of a hill, Mei is fighting against Renjouro as she questions him. "What are you trying to achieve through this?... you are the one who informed me of this ambush and now you are fighting against me." Renjouro silently makes some hand signs. "Water Release" Great Waterfall Technique" He spits a huge amount of water from his mouth. The water cascades into a spinning vortex destroyingnd and trees along its way as it travels towards Mei. Mei frowns as she looks at this jutsu. ''He is not pulling back his punches in that case'' Mei makes multiple hand signs. "Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique" She spits out arge amount ofva from her mouth. Theva razes everything to ashes as it collides with the giant vortex of water. BOOM The sh between two jutsus produces arge amount of Mist which hinders their vision. Renjouro grabs his de as he makes some hand signs. "Water Release: Hiding in the Mist Technique" He slowly vanishes in the mist and moves towards Mei. "This is looking bad for me." Mei makes some hand signs. "Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique" She exhales a small amount of mist which epasses a small area around her. Sizzle Sizzle She senses some disturbance in her mist. ng Mei immediately draws out a kunai from her holster and blocks an attack from Renjouro. "Hey!... what are you trying to achieve through this? You first informed me about the ambush and now you are attacking me was it a part of your n?" ng She questions him as she blocks another strike from him. "No it''s not a trap. I called you here for a purpose" Renjouro replies to her as he disappears in the mist. ''Silent Killing he is utilizing the art of Silent Killing one of the sword art of Mist Swordsman.'' " I have a younger brother called Chojuro both of us were orphans. Akifumi-sama adopted us from the orphanage. He raised us and trained us to wield a sword" ng Mei blocks another attack from Renjouro. " Chojuro is such a clumsy child he can''t properly handle a sword so I was chosen to be a member of the Mist Swordsman Cough cough." Renjouro coughs a little blood from his mouth. He stops his attack and appears in front of Mei. " during all these years I saw all the horrendous deedsmitted by Akifumi-sama I even did many dirty jobs for him all these years I came to know about the dark side of the Shinobi World. I have always thought to myself what if something simr happened to me and Chojuro" Renjouro draws hi de again and attacks Mei. ng Mei blocks the attack. " so I thought of repenting my crimes I thought of abandoning my position as a Mist Swordsman and thought of defecting from the vige together with Zabuza but Chojuro is still under their control. I can''t leave him alone in all these years I cough cough gained nothing but this disease." Renjouro coughs another mouthful of blood. "I don''t have long enough time to live and watch Chojuro grow so when I heard about the tension between the factions I thought of defecting for Chojuro''s sake." Renjouro throws a scroll towards Mei. Mei catches the scroll and notices a location marked on the map. " this is the location of ambush plotted by Akifumi he is personally involved in this ambush. As for the fight I wanted to test your strength and see for myself now" Renjouro stops all of his movements. He wields the Hiramekarei de in his hands. Snip... The de separated in two separate dual des. " here is my final attack if you can block this attack then I will at least die happily as Chojuro would be in safe hands if not then you will die together with me." Renjouro takes a sword stance. "Kenjutsu: Hiramekarei: Bloody Mist Sword Art: Bone Muttion" Both des glow with a pale blue light. Renjouro shes them towards Mei. "Now watch out for my attack." Swish swish Multiplerge pale-blue chakra des shoot towards Mei. Mei''s expression turns serious. "I have to give my all to counter this attack." Mei sps her hand together as she riles up her chakra. "Lava Release: Bone Ash Annihtion Meteor" She directs her hands towards the multiple chakra des. Boom Argeva meteor appears behind her. The meteor smashes into the multiple chakra des. BOOM BOOM The chakra swords bombard the meteor. BOOM The meteor explodes annihting the swords. A giant pool ofva forms on the ground. Mei faints from Chakra exhaustion. Renjouro stands at the edge of the cliff as he stares at theva pool. "Guess I made the right choice." He closes his eyes and silently falls from the cliff into the bottomless abyss of the Mist Sea. --------------- "Oh! Those are some big wordsing from your mouth." Izuna stares at Kisame. He makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Let me see if you can handle this" "Ice Release: Frost Apocalypse of End" Rumble Rumble The ground beneath them shakes as the surrounding temperature falls below the freezing point. A chill runs through Kisame''s spine. ''I have to stop him before hepletes his jutsu.'' He grabs Samehada''s handle and yells. "Samehada transfer me some chakra." Samehada follows his order and transfers an enormous amount of chakra to Kisame. His skin turns blue as shark gills and fins appear on his body. He sps his hand together and stretches them towards Izuna while infusing a massive amount of chakra in his attack. "Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique" Kisame creates a gigantic water shark from his chakra andunches it towards Izuna. The shark opens its enormous mouth as it bites everything along its way and grows stronger by each second. The shark arrives before Izuna in just an instant as it tries to swallow him. "Toote." Izuna finishes his hand signs and ps his hands together. "Release" Fwoosh. A chilling wind blows through the entire area, covering the entire forest in ice. The water Shark instantly freezes into ice. tter tter It shatters into countless fragments of ice and falls on the ground. The entirend is covered in snow as it continues to rain down snow. Kisame''s body gets frozen into an ice sculpture. tter tter Obito tters his teeth as his body starts to freeze. "Wha wha what kind of Ju jutsu is this? Such powerful forbidden Ju jutsu. If not for Hashirama cells my body would have been frozen by now." BOOM Izuna hears an explosion in a distance. "That''s from Mei''s location." He quickly dashes in Mei''s direction. "Qui quick grab him. Even my body is starting to freeze now." ck Zetsu reminds Obito. Obito immediately approaches the Kisame Ice Sculpture and stores him in his Kamui. "We we have to thaw him out of ice. But for now let''s get out of here." Swirl Obito and ck Zetsu teleport from the ice hell. Chapter 156: The Eternal Conflict Chapter 156: The Eternal Conflict sh Mangetsu shes his de at Zengetsu. Haah Zengetsu smirks as he stabs his de in ground. "You lowered your guard." "Kenjutsu: Surudoiken: de Crucifixion: Death by Thousand Cuts" sh sh. Almost a thousand glowing chakra des erupt from the ground. "Hydrification Technique" Mangetsu yells immediately. His body turns into the water to avoid the physical attack. "It''s useless These des are infused with chakra." Stab stab The des stab through Mangetsu''s body. His body turns into a jelly-like state as it slowly converts into a puddle of water. Cough cough "I did it I brought honor to you father." Zengetsu slowly closes his eyes as blood continues to spill from his wounds. "No not like this I won''t die alone I will take you with me." A handes out from the puddle of water. There is a long needle sword held in the hand. "Kenjutsu: Nuibari: Wire Crucifixion" The hands stab the needle through Zengetsu''s throat. Guffaw Zengetsu coughs out a mouthful of blood as he struggles to breathe. Zengetsu infuses more chakra in his sword as the de pierces through the puddle of water, silencing itpletely. "Guess in the end like father I will also die a meaningless death because of a foolish rivalry. I only came to know of this fact at my deathbed." Zengetsu''s vision blurs as his eyes shut down. ---------------- Izuna immediately approaches the direction of the explosion. He notices a giant pool ofva at the center of the pool. A frown appears on his face as he notices Mei lifelessly lying on the ground. He quickly approaches her and checks her pulse. Phew "She is alive she just ran out of chakra." Izuna makes some hand signs and grabs her hand. "Chakra transfer" He transfers some of his chakras to Mei while rejuvenating her with Nature energy. "Ugh!" Mei slowly opens her eyes as she looks around. A handsome face appears in her vision as she is lying in Izuna''sp. "What what? What happened?" She quickly distances herself from Izuna as a slight blush appears on her face. Cough cough Izuna coughs a little to remove the awkwardness. "So what happened here? Where is the enemy?" He asks her. "He he is gone forever." Mei points towards the cliff. Izuna understands her gesture and nods his head. "So did he give you any information?" Mei immediately passes the scroll to Izuna. Izuna opens the map and notices the marked location. "It is situated on the alternate route of the escort group. We have to hurry up." Mei slowly stands up and tries to walk. She staggers and falls to the ground. "I am still weak from the chakra exhaustion." She takes out a chakra pill from her storage scroll and consumes it. "We don''t have time to wait for your recovery." Izuna grabs her by the waist and Princess carries her. "Wha what are you doing? Put me down" Mei protests. "Listen we don''t have time for this banter your father needs your help." Mei hesitatingly nods her head and stops struggling. "Let''s pick Zengetsu too that guy is like a cockroach he won''t die easily with his water body." Izuna closes his eyes and senses Zengetsu''s chakra. A frown appears on his face. ''His chakra signature is too weak.'' He immediately dashes in Zengetsu''s direction. He arrives at the location to see a needle sword stabbed through Zengetsu''s throat. He ces Mei against a tree as he approaches Zengetsu. "Zengetsu!..." Izuna immediately pulls out the sword while he treats him with ''Mystic Palm Technique''." "Oye! Zengetsu!... open your eyes you can''t die like this. You are an unkible cockroach just open your eyes you can''t die like this." Izuna infuses Nature Chakra in Zengetsu''s body while treating his wound with ''Mystic Palm''. "Ugh!" Zengetsu slowly opens his eyes as he stares at Izuna. "It''s futile I won''t live longer my end hase." Zengetsu ces a hand on Izuna''s shoulder. "It was fun to know you I hope I will be able to have a friend like you in my next life." Zengetsu closes his eyes. "Name?... tell me your real name?" Zengetsu asks him. " no Yuki n member can use such a high level ''Medical Technique''. You are not a Yuki n member so at myst moments at least tell me your real name." Izuna opens his eyes and activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Amenominakanushi" Izuna activates his Mangekyo ability as he stops time. He holds Zengetsu''s hand to remove the effect. Zengetsu slowly looks around and notices everything frozen in a ce. "This is" His eyes widen as he notices everything frozen around him. Zengetsu turns towards Izuna and notices his Sharingan and real face. "Haha as I expected who could it be except the ''Silent Shinigami'' of the Shinobi World. There is no ninja as talented as you." Zengetsu chuckles as he struggles to utter more words. Izuna clutches his right hand as he tries tomunicate with the ''Sin Seal''. "Sin Seal damnit listen to me save him like Minato and Kushina I made a friend in this shinobi world and he is on the verge of death save him" The Sin seal remains dormant without any activity. "Damnit!... Damnit!" Izuna smashes his fist on the ground. Crack A crack appears on the ground. "Just give up on me..." Zengetsu holds his hand. "I don''t have much time here take this sword as my present for you" Zengetsu passes his sword to Izuna and slowly closes his eyes. "Remember what I said about the origin of ''Seven Swords of the Mist''. It is the Eighth sword out of the Seven. No one no one was able to use it Even now I don''t know what else is it capable of just take this sword as a memento from me." Zengetsu slowly passes the sword to Izuna as he breathes hisst. "Damnit!... Damnit!... Even if we knew each other for a few days but I came to consider you as a friend." Izuna holds the sword in his hand. A strange feeling wells up within him as he feels a strange connection to the sword. He ignores this feeling and stows the sword into his storage scroll. Bam Bam Izuna digs a grave near Zengetsu''s body and ce him inside it. "I won''t allow anybody to pilfer your remains and disrupt your rest." He makes multiple hand signs and ces various fuinjutsu seals around Zengetsu''s grave. "Release" Izuna releases his space-time ability and walks towards Mei. "Zengetsu has left this world." He emotionlessly informs her. Mei silently nods her head. He makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu" Izuna summons his eagle and moves towards the Escort Group. "We will unite with the escort group and face the attack of the enemy together with them." Mei silently stares at Izuna''s solemn face while sitting on top of the eagle. ''Is this the face of a man who lost his friend? Is this how father felt all those years when he lost his friends and family?... No I don''t want to lose my father.'' She clutches her fists tightly. They travel for another hour before they spot Fuji and his escort group. Ao frowns as he notices some chakra signatures. He activates his Byakugan and notices Izuna and Mei flying towards them. Ao turns towards Fuji and informs him. A frown appears on Fuji''s face. "This girl why did shee all the way here?" The eaglends in front of the group and Mei jumps down and rushes towards Fuji. Fuji stops her and questions her. "What''s the meaning of this, Mei? You were supposed to stay in the vige under Terumi n''s security." Fuji notices the worn-out condition of Mei as his frown deepens. "Father!... you can use meter but listen to me first." She thrust the scroll into Fuji''s hands and narrates the entire series of events to the group. Sigh Fuji sighs to himself as hements Zengetsu''s death. "His father was my savior. He saved my life during the Second Shinobi War. I can''t even take care of his only son what kind of friend am I?" "It''s not the time for the mourning we have to move forward or else his sacrifice will go in vain." Elder Genji reminds him. Sigh Fuji sighs again and continues his journey. Izuna moves alongside them as he recalls his journey in the shinobi world. ''As an Otaku I thought the Naruto world would be an interesting ce from the anime and manga I read I always find it fascinating when a bunch of shinobis throw around there cool jutsu but I guess I was nave back then my powers might have made my life a bit easier but there is still pain, suffering, and death in this world. There is no true peace in this world. Only endless conflict and war if there is no conflict then the human will create a new one ahh it is the nature of man.'' --------------- Inside the Storage scroll The sword continues to glow with a cyan hue as many strange seals appear on its entire de. Chapter 157: Sleeper Agent Chapter 157: Sleeper Agent "Father we can''t move along this route. There is an ambush up ahead." Terumi warns Fuji. "I know" Fuji nods his head. "Fatherwe can''t follow waitwait, you know about it." Mei''s eyes widen as she stares at her father. "Yes I know about the ambush and I even know about the identity of the spy or to say traitor." Fuji folds his hands in front of his chest as he stares at the people in his group. Tap tap Elder Genji taps his staff on the ground. Whoosh He erects a barrier around the group. "No one will get away from here." He clutches the head of his staff. The expression of the escort group turns ugly as they stare at Elder Genji. "What''s the meaning of this Elder Genji? Do you question our loyalty?" One of the shinobi angrily stares at Elder Genji. "Yes yes what''s the meaning of this?" Many voices of discontent rings in their ears. Wakan silently stares at the group of people as clenches his fist. ''What''s going on? did Fuji found the traitor?'' Wakan clenches his fists and looks towards the group of shinobis. "Calm.. down everyone no one here doubts your loyalty. But some precautions are always needed in case things may go south." Fuji calms then down as his gaze falls on Wakan. "Am I right? Wakan" "Of course we can''t allow the traitor to get scot-free from this such treacherous deed." Wakan nods his head in agreement. ''Oh! that''s unexpected. Did they figure out the identity of the traitor?'' Izuna gets out from his thoughts as his gazends on Wakan. "What father? you know about the traitor," Mei questions Fuji. "Yes it has been a while since I came to know of this matter." Fuji turns towards Ao. "It was thanks to Ao''s keen observation we could figure out the identity of the traitor and this Escort trip was a trap to lure out the enemy and deal with them in one fell swoop." Fuji chuckles as he waves his hands. Whoosh whoosh Multiple figures wearing Anbu costumes surround the area. "Then who is the traitor?" Mei asks him. Fuji turns towards Wakan. "Why don''t you turn yourself in Wakan. Isn''t it about time to put an end to that act of yours?" Fuji walks in front of Wakan and stares him in the eyes. "WHAT!!" The eyes of the rest of the people in the group widen as they stare at Wakan in bewilderment. "WHAT!! Uncle Wakan was the spy he was the traitor who revealed the information of our every move to the enemies." Mei looks towards Wakan with disbelief in her eyes. Izuna silently rolls his eyes. ''Took them long enough to figure this out.'' He activates his Sharingan and stares at Wakan''s chakrawork. The flow of Wakan''s chakra is turbulent and in disarray. ''That Obito I wonder how many people is he manipting this very instance.'' "Wha what? It''s not me. What are you talking about?" Wakan incredulously looks at the group. "It must be some sort of misunderstanding" He frantically shakes his hand in denial. "Fuji I have followed you since the Second Shinobi War I had your back multiple times during the Third Shinobi War and even before that how am I a traitor? If I was a traitor then I had multiple opportunities to end your life." Wakan argues with Fuji. "True Uncle Wakan had the opportunity to kill me or Father during multiple missions." Mei states the facts. "Well Ao, why don''t you narrate what you saw a few months ago." Fuji nods to Ao. "Yes Fuji-sama" Ao nods his head and exins. "I had my suspicion of someone being a spy" Ao turns towards Izuna. Izuna grins at Ao. " so I raised the security of the Terumi Mansion and often I would personally oversee the patrol duty." Elder Genji nods his head in praise. Ao exins the entire series of events to them. "So you saw Uncle Wakan sneak out of the Terumi Mansion andmunicate with a masked person outside Kiri." Ao nods his head. "Yes I happened to be on patrol duty that night. I would usually survey the entire Terumipound with my Byakugan before calling it a day. So I chanced upon Wakan-san secretly moving out of the Terumipounds one such night. Out of curiosity and suspicion I followed after him." "No he is lying. It wasn''t me my loyalty lies with the Fuji-san I will never betray him." Wakan shakes his head in a frenzy. Crack Hmm Izuna raises his head and looks towards Wakan. ''Was it my imagination or did I hear the sound of something shattering in pieces?'' Izuna looks around to spot the faint sound. Aah Wakan clutches his head and shouts in agony. "Aah No" He draws a kunai from his holster and dashes towards Fuji. "Stop him he has gone mad." Elder Genji orders the Anbu units. "Lava Release: Sealing Ash Technique " Fuji makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. Whoosh Molten Ash erupts from the ground and seals Wakan in his ce. Hmm Izuna frowns as he activates his Mangekyo Sharingan to inspect Wakan''s mind. ''There is a tiny sealing form around his brain. This sealing pattern it was sealing his memories. So this Wakan guy was a sleeper agent hidden in the Kiri. But how could that be he was present in Kiri during the Second Shinobi War? Obito was a newborn child at that time.. so it couldn''t be him unless" Izuna''s eyes widen as he spectes. '' it must be grandfather'' Izuna inspects Wakan''s mind again. He notices a tiny ck rod inserted in Wakan''s brain. ''ck rod so it is a Rinnegan technique no wonder I couldn''t figure out the nature of the jutsu. I just noticed the disturbance in his chakra and spected it to be the work of genjutsu but it was beyond my imagination. I wonder how strong was grandfather in his prime.'' A grin appears on Izuna''s face as he thinks of a showdown with his grandfather. "What''s going on?" Fuji question Elder Genji. Ao frowns and activates his Byakugan. "He he seems to be under the effect of a powerful genjutsu." Ao notices the disruption in Wakan''s chakra flow. "Can you dispel it? I don''t want one of my close subordinates and friend to fall under someone''s scheme." Fuji asks Ao. "I will give it a try" Ao approaches Wakan and ces his hand on Wakan''s forehead. He infuses a little chakra in Wakan''s chakra system to disrupt his chakra flow. "Aaah" Wakan clutches his forehead as it bloats out. "Get back he is about to explode." Elder Genji warns Ao. Boom Wakan''s body explodes violently. The explosion covers arge area and blows away the barrier. Ao barely manages to avoid the explosion as he stares at the explosion with wide-eyes. "What kind of jutsu was this?" Fuji turns towards Elder Genji in bewilderment. "I have never seen or heard of such a technique before." Elder Genji shakes his head in denial. Crack crack Fuji clenches his fists tightly as he stares at the remains of Wakan. "He was under a very powerful genjutsu and when Ao tried to dispel the genjutsu it triggered the explosion." Elder Genji mutters. Sigh Fuji closes his eyes as he mourns the death of his friend. "Yet I lost another friend during such cruel times." His back hunches a little as he takes supports against a tree while staring at the remains of his friend. Meiforts Fuji as she hugs him tightly. Izuna stares at the crater as he thinks to himself. ''That sealing form was a Fuinjutsu technique if I remember correctly it was based on ''Memory Concealing Maniptive Mind Technique'' but it seems like grandfather modified the jutsu with his Rinnegan.'' Wheeze Izuna takes a deep breath. ''I wonder how my Grandfather learned ''Fuinjutsu''. Now I curious to know the extent of powers of Rinnegan. The original Naruto never truly revealed the full potential of Rinnegan except the Seven Paths and some unique jutsu. All Otsutsuki''s had their version of Rinnegan with unique powers. I wonder when would I awaken my Rinnegan.'' Izuna touches his eyes. ''It has been ten years since I injected Hashirama cells in my body.'' ------------------ Inside a secret hideout, Hmm ck Zetsu raises his head as he gazes in a direction. "Looks like the sleeper did its job" He enters underground and a giant tree with a figure protruding out from its trunk appears in his vision. "The body of this incarnation of Asura was truly unique." ck Zetsu stares at the figure of Hashirama protruding out from the Chakra tree. "''Sage Body'' so that''s what it is called. The memories passed by the mother have some information about it." Chapter 158: End of the Civil War Chapter 158: End of the Civil War The group continues the journey. Hmm Izuna spots the enemy ninjas hiding in ambush. "We are there. I can see them in a distance." Ao informs Fuji and the group as he monitors his surroundings with the Byakugan. "It''s time for payback. We will eradicate the tumour of Kiri once and for all." Fuji signals the hidden anbu members. Whoosh whoosh The Anbu Members make some hand signs. ''Co-operation Ninjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Steaming Mirage Mirror Genjutsu'' The group of shinobi ms their hands on the ground. Multiple water vapours in the atmosphere coalesce in front of them. The water mirrors reflect light and create a wide area of Genjutsu in the area. The group slowly approaches the ambush spot. Hehe "They are here. It''s time to finish off what we started earlier." Akifumi notices Fuji''s group and signals his subordinates to finish them off with a cutthroat gesture. Swish Swish The shinobis on Akifumi''s side throws multiple kunai with paper bombs towards Fuji''s group. BOOM The paper bombs explode on top of Fuji''s group in an enormous explosion. Haha Haha Akifumi grins inughter. "Now add the finishing touches in case someone survived." "Yes Akifumi-sama." Anbu members make multiple hand signs. "Water Style: Water Bullet Barrage" They shoot multiple water bullets in rapid session inside the dust cloud. The barrage continues for a few minutes before they finish their assault. Whoosh Whoosh One of the Anbu members who appears to be the leader of the group jumps inside the dust cloud. ''Watch out for any survivors and finish them off.'' He makes some hand gestures towards the rest of the group. Multiple anbu members take out their kunai and des and enter inside the Mist cloud created by their earlier technique. "They fell for our trap." Ao reports to Fuji. Elder Genji nods his head. "This technique was created by the Second Mizukage and it was one of his signature technique. Lord Gengetsu would summon his m and create a mist field in the area to create a mirage of himself. Later he passed this technique to his aides while modifying it ording to the group." Elder Genji exins the origin of the technique. "This technique works simr to a mirage in a desert. The oasis in the desert appears closer than its actual distance. So using the countless water droplets in the atmosphere as a medium the technique projects an illusion of us at a faraway distance while we are away from that ce. Lord Second was invincible with this technique. Even the Second Tsuchikage was helpless against this technique. Sadly these shinobis aren''t on his level yet and it requires arge amount of chakra to constantly maintain this illusion." Fuji signals to his Anbu group. "Clean them up also capture their leader." Whoosh whoosh The Anbu members of Fuji''s group enter into the illusion. sh sh One by one they start to ughter the enemy anbu group who are trapped inside the genjutsu. ''The war is pretty much over at this point. What I am most interested in is the aftermath of this civil war I wonder if there are some surprises hidden somewhere in Kiri.'' Izuna raises his eyebrow as he looks at the ughter of the enemy anbu group. ''No matter which nation blood is shed everywhere. Peace is a pipeline dream in this world. You need great power to achieve true peace but again that will make it the rule of a tyrant who orders the rest of the world from the top of the world. Kaguya failed to achieve peace using such way.'' Izuna shakes his head while thinking of such a notion. ''There is no such things as eternal conflicts only eternal benefits.'' Hees to an understanding of the true nature of this world as something clicks in his mind. ''Thinking of which what was the real reason behind the betrayal of Kaguya why she backstabed Isshiki?... Guess there is only one way to find it out.'' ------- Hmm Akifumi frowns as he watches the group of his anbu enter inside the fog but not exiting it out. "What''s going on?... what is taking them so long I wanted to see the dead bodies of the Fuji Terumi and that traitor Genji who betrayed us and joined hands with the Middle Faction." He waves his hand and sends another group of anbu members inside the fog. After waiting for a while there is no sign of his anbu group anywhere. A frown appears on his face. "These damn idiots. I have to take themand in my own hands." Akifumi walks in front of the Mist. He makes multiple hand signs. "Water Release: "Raging Torrent wave" He ms his palms on the ground and releases arge torrent of water. The torrent sweeps through the battlefield, clearing away the mist. Some subordinates get caught in the jutsu while others manage to avoid it. Hmm A frown appears on Akifumi''s face as he notices the dead bodies of his anbus. "It was a trap" Akifumi jumps back and avoids a kunai thrown his way. He notices Fuji standing at a distance. "Unforgivable your sins are unforgivable you ordered your man to kill so many of the elite shinobis of the Noble Faction." Akifumi gnashes his teeth in rage. "I have heard enough of your crap it was your group who attacked us first we only counterattacked." Fuji clenches his fists in anger. "What are you waiting for? Capture and tie him up." He signals the Anbu group. Crack Crack Akifumi cracks his neck. "You are underestimating the power of my Mizu n. My Grandfather Byakuren Mizu was the first Mizukage. He attained that position solely based on his strength, and I am not a pushover either." Whoosh whoosh Akifumi makes multiple hand signs and ms his palms on the ground. "Water Release: A Thousand Feeding Sharks" A giant fountain of water erupts from the ground. The water morphs into multiple water sharks which swarm towards the Anbu group. The sharks swarm the already exhausted anbu members. Hmph Fuji snorts and makes some hand signs. "Fire Release: Searing Pulse Wave" Fuji infusesrge amounts of chakra and spits out a wave of me the waves pulses and explodes into more mes covering arge area. Both the Water jutsu and the Fire jutsu cancel each other, creating an enormous amount of mist. "Let me assist you... father" Mei dashes towards the battlefield. "There is no need for that." Izuna stops her. "Why?..." A confused expression appears on her face. Izuna points towards the anbu group as he whispers to her. "These people obey your father because of his strength but recently they doubted his capabilities when rumors of his health were spread through the Kirigakure. To gain their respect and trust again Fuji-san needs to showcase his strength to them." "Indeed" Elder Genji agrees with Izuna. ng ng Multiple shes ur inside the fog as Izuna calmly observes their fight. ''Fuji Terumi has an advantage in this fight this Akifumi Mizu has greater reserves of chakra but Fuji has more battle experience unless Akifumi pulls out a hidden Technique from his ass there is no way Fuji will lose this fight. But it is still a miracle Fuji Terumi can fight in such a serious condition I wonder how he survived this long.'' He notices arge lump of flesh clumped in Fuji''s lungs. ''This is a strange disease I have never seen before. Itachi''s illness blocks his chakra pathway in the lungs but in Fuji''s case, it has be a part of his flesh. Maybe I can study it to find a cure for Itachi''s illness.'' ng ng Fuji and Akifumi engage each other for a while. Whoosh Akifumi jumps back and makes multiple hand signs. "Mizu n Secret Technique: Water Release: Endless Drizzle of Death" He sps his hands together. Pitter Patter Multiple water droplets coalesce behind Akifumi. Akifumi stretches out his palms and directs them towards Fuji. Whoosh whoosh The water droplets shoot towards Fuji at near-supersonic speeds. Fuji makes multiple hand signs in a matter of seconds as he ms his palms on the ground. "Lava Release: Smouldering Geyser of mes" Burble Burble Multipleva pits appear on the ground as various columns ofva erupt from them. Theva columns block the water bullet rain. BOOM Arge column of Lava erupts beneath Akifumi and scorches him. Aah Akifumi yells in agony and passes out. Cough Cough Fuji coughs a little and falls to the ground. Mei hurriedly supports him. "It has been a while since I pushed myself this much." Fuji turns towards the anbu group and signals them. "Tie him up we need to interrogate him." The Anbu group captures Akifumi and Elder Genji ces a sealing talisman to seal his chakra. "Ao search through his memories we may find some clues about Wakan''s death from him." Ao nods his head and approaches Akifumi. He makes a hand seal and ces his hand on Akifumi''s head. Chapter 159: True Art Chapter 159: True Art "Be careful Ao there might be a simr seal ced on his mind." Elder Genji warns him. Ao activates his Byakugan and inspects the chakra system of Akifumi. "Looks like he is also under the effect of a very powerful genjutsu." Ao notices the irregr flow of chakra in Akifumi''s brain. He hesitates for a while before he turns to Elder Genji. "I am sorry Genji-sama this genjutsu is beyond my capabilities. I might be able to dispel it but it may result in an explosion simr to Wakan''s case." Elder Genji frowns before he shakes his head. "Then there is no need to dispel it we will eventually find out the truth once we reach the vige." "But Elder Genji who could be the person manipting him. If he has an ulterior motive against Kirigakure then it won''t bid well for us." Mei interrupts Elder Genji''s thoughts. "Hmm indeed I have never seen such powerful genjutsu techniques. Well, then we have to continue the journey to the center of the Land of Water and talk with Daimyo." Elder Genji signals an anbu to carry Akifumi. -------------------- In a faraway hideout, Hmm ck Zetsu frowns as he looks in Kiri''s direction. "That pawn has fulfilled his purpose I don''t need him anymore." ck Zetsu walks near the giant chakra tree in the center of the hideout. He draws out a ck rod inserted inside the tree. ''Yin-Yang: Mind-Body Destruction Release'' Zetsu infuses some chakra in the ck rod and stabs it into the ground. The rod release some chakra which seeps through the ground and vanishes from vision. ----------- Izuna walks alongside the group while monitoring the changes in Fuji''s body. ''Hmm that lump of flesh survives on the user''s chakra by continuously draining it from their chakra system. In a sense it is simr to the ''Exploding Insect Technique'' of that bunch. I wonder if lightning chakra can be used to extract or destroy this lump of flesh. If it works then I will be able to cure Itachi too.'' "Father don''t push yourself this much again." Mei supports Fuji as they walk along the forest. Ao continues to inspect their surroundings. Hmm ''What''s with this uneasy feeling?'' Izuna feels a tingling sensation in his back. He immediately looks around for the source. Fwoosh He senses a strange chakra traversing beneath the ground. ''What''s with this chakra?'' Before he could specte about the nature of the chakra, the chakra seeps into Akifumi''s body. Aaah Akifumi squeals in pain and clutches his head. "Oh No!..." ''This surge of chakra is even greater than before. The resulting explosion will annihte everything in the surrounding vicinity.... I can easily evade the perimeter of the explosion but the same can''t be said about them.'' "This is" The eyes of the rest of the group widen as the body of Akifumi bloats into a sphere beforepressing into a small glowing red mass of chakra. Ao inspects the blob with his Byakugan and warns the rest of them. "Genji-sama this lump of chakra is about to explode and" Gulp Ao gulps his saliva as he informs the group. " the resultant explosion will annihte everything in the circumference of one kilometer." "What!..." Fuji and Mei''s eyes widen. Elder Genji throws multiple sealing talismans from his storage scroll. "Barrier Talisman: Armoured Six Trigram" The sealing talismans float in the air and forms multiple Fuinjutsu seals. The seals erect a purple hexagonal barrier around them. Fuji and the group look at the barrier with relief. "It won''t be able to hold that explosion" Izuna shakes his head. "What do you mean by that?" One of the Anbu members angrily questions him. "Our life depends on this barrier. We can''t outrun the explosion this barrier is ourst resort to survive." Another Anbu snaps at him. "Stop your bullshit If you want to die then go ahead and leave the protection of this barrier." Many Anbu members rebuke Izuna. Elder Genji has an ugly expression on his face as he states the truth. "He is right the barrier the barrier won''t be able to hold against that explosion" Elder Genji drops a bombshell of news on them. "Then this means all of us will die for nothing. Noo" Some younger ninja clutches their head in reluctance. Sigh Some middle-aged ninjas sigh in helplessness as they surrender to their fate. Mei clutches her fist tightly as she stares at the lump of chakra. "I won''t give up this easily." She makes multiple hand signs and ms her palms on the ground. "Earth Release: Multiyered Rock Dome" Mei erects multiple rock domes around the group. "It''s no use" Ao shakes his head. " this rock dome can''t prevent this explosion." Mei bit on her lower lip and holds her father''s hand. "Father at least I will die alongside you." Sigh Fuji sighs and caresses her head. "I never expected my final moments would end up like this." Izuna silently stares at the interaction of various Kiri shinobis. ''I can only teleport a maximum of Four people at a time with the Flying Thunder God Technique. But that won''t be the ideal case scenario. I don''t have any attachment to this group of people maybe besides Mei since she was my teammate but if I only save her then Kiri will be weakened after this civil war with no one lead to their forces. Fuck it! Why do I care about hiding my identity in the first ce'' BOOM The Akifumi bomb blows up creating a tall pir of red chakra from its center. The explosion travels at an extremely fast speed and engulfs the barrier. Crumble Crumble The barrier instantly crumbles under the power of the explosion. The rock dome shatters into countless dust fragments in an instant. Mei closes her eyes as the red pir of light engulfs her. "SUSANOO: Yata No Kagami" BOOM The explosion engulfs the group. A giant pir of red light rises into the atmosphere as it engulfs the surrounding forest. Therge pir of light sustains for a few seconds before it vanishes, leaving behind pure destruction in its wake. --------------- Inside Kiri, In a small house Kimimaro isying on the ground while his body is covered in sweat. He feels a tingling sensation on his back as the seal on his spine glows with a cyan hue. Whoosh He notices a giant pir of Red light rising in the atmosphere at a very faraway distance. BOOM The red pir of light is followed by a very loud noise as the sound of the explosion almost deafens the ears of the nearby vigers. "What''s going on?" Kimimaro jumps on top of the roof and looks at the explosion. "Somehow I feel like the messenger-san is inside that explosion." Kimimaro clutches his fists. "I believe in Messenger-san." Kimimaro takes out a small diary and writes in it. "Explosions are cool." He closes the diary and pockets it. ----------- Inside arge Manor in the center of the Kiri Vige, A group of elders stares at the sight of therge pir as they discuss among themselves. "What kind of technique is this?" One of the elder questions the rest of the group. "I have no idea about it probably some sort of Forbidden Ninjutsu." "Hmm I have heard of a simr technique." The Old elders tap his fingers on the table. "During the Third Shinobi War, the leader of a small hidden n called Tsuchigumo n developed a very powerful Kinjutsu. The Kinjutsu was powerful enough to easily annihte a hidden vige into dust in a matter of seconds. The Leader of the n ''En no Gyoja'' used this powerful jutsu to annihte an entire ind during the third Shinobi war. After witnessing the potency of this Kinjutsu the Third Hokage of the leaf vige signed a pact with the Tsuchigumo n to prevent the misuse of the technique." The Old elder takes out a scroll from his pocket and ces it on the table. "Hmm you mean to say that Akifumi managed to get his hands on such a powerful technique." The rest of the elders frowns at the possibility. "I am not sure about the nature of the technique but it seems to be the case." The Old elder nods his head. "No wonder. he had such confidence when he led the ambush." Other elders nod their heads. -------------- Inside a small restaurant, Hmm A cloaked figure raises his head as he stares at the gigantic explosion. "Art this is art." The eyes of the figure shine in amazement while staring at the explosion. "We had a contract you bomb the Hashigano Vige and we pay." A hoarse voice interrupts him. Hmph "Look at these fools they have no appreciation for art." The cloaked figure turns towards the source of the voice. He grabs a stack of cash from a brawny guy and counts it. The cloaked figure walks out of the restaurant. "You have to feel art. And true art... is an Explosion" "Katsu" Boom Chapter 160: Identity Revealed Chapter 160: Identity Revealed "SUSANOO: Yata No Kagami" A giant silver construct of chakra appears in front of the group. It has golden armguards and bracers. The giant construct ces down a colossal dark ck shield of chakra in front of the group. BOOM... The explosion detonates on the shield. Swirl... The shield absorbs the entire force of the explosion, guarding the Kiri shinobis. Mei slowly opens her eyes. Her eyes widen in trepidation as she stares at the giant chakra construct with fear. Fuji, Elder Genji, and Ao stare at the colossal humanoid construct of chakra rivaling the height of a small hill with fear. Gulp... Ao gulps his saliva and speaks. "It is... it is... Yuito Yuki..." He points towards Izuna with shaky hands. Fuji and Elder Genji turns towards the lower part of the Susanoo and notices Izuna standing in the center of the humanoid construct with a serious expression. BOOM... The explosionsts for a while as the shield absorbs the major force of the explosion. "Release" The Susanoo lifts the shield and points it towards the sky. BOOM... The shield releases a red column of energy as it deflects the entire force of the explosion towards the sky. Phew... Izuna heaves a sigh of relief and dispels his Susanoo. "We are saved... we are saved..." The Kiri shinobis celebrate in joy as they merrily hug each other. ''And here goes my cover...'' Izuna sighs to himself and walks towards Mei and the group. "Well... we somehow survived." He smiles at the group as he tries to ease some tension. "Who are you?" Fuji raises his guard with a kunai in his hand, ready to fight. "Hey!... Hey!... Why don''t you calm down for a while... Old Man? If I wanted to kill you... then I wouldn''t have saved you, to begin with." Izuna raises his hands. Humph... Fuji snorts and lowers his guard. "Why don''t you reveal your actual identity... I am sure you are not a member of the Yuki n. I have never heard or seen Yuki n members using such a powerful defensive technique." He questions Izuna. "Very well... it''s not like you can do anything to me either way." Izuna dispels his disguise and reveals his identity. "You are..." The eyes of Kiri shinobis widen in surprise. They immediately raise their guard and draw out their kunai and shurikens, ready to fight him. "Izuna Uchiha... one of the most feared adversaries in the Shinobi World. An S-rank ninja... the sighting of whom means certain death for the enemies. When faced with him... the only choice is to surrender. As for fleeing... has someone escaped from the scythe of reaper before?" Ao has a grim expression on his face as he learns about Izuna''s identity. "What... what are you going to do with us?" Mei draws out a kunai from her holster and takes a fighting stance. "The people of Kirigakure are no cowards. We won''t go down without a fight." Whoosh... Izuna vanishes from his position and reappears in front of Mei. BOO... He silently whispers in her ear. "Wha... what are you doing?" Mei is flustered by this surprise attack. ''Fast... he is too fast. He is leagues ahead of Third Raikage in terms of speed.'' Fuji clenches his fist as the memories of the Second Shinobi War shes through his mind. ''Third Raikage was such a monster during the War... but he seems nothingpared to this man in front of us. Haha... Izunaughs at Mei while holding his stomach. "Sorry to surprise you like that... Lady Mei. But your reaction was very cute." "Wha... what?" Mei blushes a little from thepliment. Ahem... Fuji clears his throat. Mei regains her calm and turns to Izuna. "Don''t call me Lady Mei again." "" Fuji, Elder Genji, and Ao silently stare at her. Cough... Cough... Fuji coughs a little as he questions Izuna. "What''s the motive of Konoha for sending such an elite ninja of their vige to infiltrate Kirigakure. Should we assume that Konoha has ulterior motives against Kirigakure and sent you to gather intel in Kiri?" The expression of nearby Shinobis turns serious as they stare at Izuna with a predatory gaze. "No... No... it''s not like that. I am not representing Konoha in this matter. This is my personal matter." Izuna waves his hands in denial. "Then what are your intentions for infiltrating our Terumi n?" Fuji has a frown on his face. "Ah... that!" Izuna points towards Mei and exins. "Well... I was minding my own business and was traveling. Miss Mei happens to be in a little trouble and I helped her... but she won''t just let go of me that easily. She forged my identity as a Yuki n member on her own, and I required a suitable identity... so I yed along. Haha..." Izuna chuckles as he teases Mei. "Am I correct?... Lady Mei..." "You bastard... stop with that nonsense." Mei has a tick mark on her forehead as she grabs Ao''s cor in anger. "" ''Why I am the one suffering her wrath?'' Ao questions himself. "Well... that was indeed her fault... but you helped us a lot in this civil war, and the Terumi n is grateful for that. Also... thanks for saving the life of my people." Fuji bows his head in gratitude. "Well... I was just doing my investigation... there is no need to thank me." Izuna shakes his head. Hmm... "Would you like to enlighten us... what were you investigating in Kiri?" Elder Genji question Izuna. "Well... you can choose not to tell us... for either way... we can''t force you. But it is a matter of Kiri''s safety and I won''ty down idly knowing that Kiri is in danger." Elder Genji clutches his staff. "Since... you want to know the details... then I would be honest with you. All of you must have heard about the attack on the Uchiha n almost two years ago." Izuna asks them. The Kiri group nods their head in approval. "I am tracking down the tracks of the killer and it led me to Kiri," Izuna exins to them. Huh! Ao frowns as he questions Izuna. "Wasn''t the attack orchestrated by one of the Elder of Konoha together with the Akatsuki?" "Yes... but it is not the entire truth. I investigated the matter in detail and got to know more about it..." Izuna turns towards Elder Genji and questions him. "I am pretty sure... you haven''t seen or heard of such a powerful technique before." Izuna points towards the remains of the forest. "Mmm... that''s true." Elder Genji nods his head. "Yes... if my suspicion is correct... then it is the same person who attacked my Uchiha n. He is also the one manipting the leaders of Kirigakure and if my assumption is correct... then the current Mizukage is also under his control." Izuna calmly reveals the ''facts'' to them. ''Anyway... I have to make some excuse for my stay in Kiri... I will throw Obito under the bus for this one. Technically, it is the truth.'' "WHAT?" The eyes of Kiri shinobis widen after hearing this revtion. "So... our Mizukage-sama is being manipted by someone." The group frantically discusses among themselves. "Enough!" Fuji roars at them. "It is still a spection. We can''t be sure of the situation unless we confirm it by ourselves." "True!" Elder Genji agrees with Fuji. "Hey... hey... Yuito... Ahem... I mean Izuna Uchiha... can you check the condition of my father once? I have heard that you are a student of Tsunade Senju... the best medic-nin of the shinobi world." Mei requests him. Hmm... ''It is an excellent opportunity to develop some friendly rtionship with Kirigakure. I want Itachi to be the Next Hokage... it will help him a lot.'' "Sure... but I have a condition?" Izuna agrees to her request. Mei''s expression turns ugly as a frown appears on her face. Her voice turns cold as she questions him. "What condition?... if it under our capabilities... then we will agree to it... otherwise forget about this conversation." "Wait... wait a minute... here me out first." Izuna appeases her. "I want to develop a friendly rtionship between Konoha and Kirigakure. Regardless of the rtionship... I will try my best to cure your father." Izuna rys his intention to them. "Well... we can have such a discussion after we deal with this matter at hand first. Lord Daimyo is still waiting for us." Fuji interrupts them. "Alright..." Mei nods his head. Phew... Fuji heaves a sigh in relief. ''This girl is just like her mother. She would remain calm most of the time... but for her loved ones... she will re up... well... it is part of the reason... I loved Miko.'' "Why don''t you folks wait here... while I lead n Leader Fuji to meet Daimyo." Izuna proposes to the group. "That''s a good idea." Mei nods her head. "With your summon... it won''t take us long to arrive there." Hmm... Elder Genji nods his head in approval and signals to the rest of the shinobis. "All of you wait for us here. We will unite with you after the meeting." "Summoning Jutsu" Izuna summons his giant eagle. Mei hops on it. ''I don''t want an old geezer to hug my thighs while flying.'' Izuna makes some hand signs and creates some seats made out of ice for them to sit. Woosh... The eagle leaps into the air and soars into the sky. Mei turns to Izuna as she bites her lower lip. Izuna notices her expression and asks her. "What''s the matter? Do you want to say something?" "Well..." Mei hesitates for a while before asking him. "I know it is rude to ask a ninja about his techniques... but I am curious to know... how are you able to use Ice Release techniques? As far as I know... it was never stated in your information in the Bingo Book." "Oh! That... you won''t ever see it in a bingo book. After I heard about my bounty... I paid a visit to the people maintaining the bingo book. I just beat all of them... and edited my information." "..." "You are joking... right?" "No... I am serious." "" Chapter 161: Itachi Shinden: An Explosive Problem Chapter 161: Itachi Shinden: An Explosive Problem Inside the Hokage Office, "Itachi Uchiha I have a mission for you." Hiruzen takes out a scroll from the drawer and ces it on the table. Itachi nods his head. "Yes Hokage-sama" Hmm Hiruzen unfolds the scroll and exins the mission. "Recently we have encountered reports of various explosions at our borders. Some war insurgents of smaller nations are revolting at our borders. Recently they hired some rogue shinobi who are proficient in the bombing. From the intel I can see some familiarities with the explosive corps of Iwagakure. This is a political matter between two nations so handle it with care. I don''t want the hard-achieved peace to be disrupted in this fashion." Hiruzen passes the scroll to Itachi. "I have assigned another person to the same mission. Meet them near the vige entrance." Swoosh Itachi vanishes as his figure disperses in multiple crow summons. "" Hiruzen silently stares at the crows. "Looks like I have grown too old to know about the new trend of Shinobi. Sigh I will just continue my research." Hiruzen takes out his crystal ball from the drawer. ----------------- Swoosh swoosh Itachi flickers inside the Uchiha n estate as he enters his house. "Nii-san you are back." Sasuke walks out of his room. "Nii-san train me in Ninjutsu. I have already mastered the ninjutsu Nii-san taught me earlier." Tap Itachi taps Sasuke''s forehead with his finger as he shakes his head. "Sasuke maybe some other day for now I have a mission toplete." Aww Sasuke clutches his forehead and stares at Itachi. "You are so mean, Itachi Nii-san I willin to Izuna Nii-san when he visits next time." Sasuke runs towards the Uchiha training ground. "Ara! Itachi dear you shouldn''t be so mean to your younger brother." Mikoto walks out of the kitchen with adle in her hand. "If you say so, Mother" Itachi sighs and walks towards the Uchiha training ground. Bam Bam Sasuke is kicking the trunk of a tree as he murmurs to himself. "Itachi Nii-san is so mean. I willin to Izuna Nii-san and ask him to prepare a Nightmare training regimen for Itachi Nii-san." "" Gulp Cold sweat appears on Itachi''s back as he hears these words. ''Izuna Nii-san''s Hell mode training was already so I can''t even imagine about the Nightmare training regimen'' "Sasuke Sasuke don''t talk about it to Izuna Nii-san I will see your training progress." Itachi tries to appease Sasuke. "That''s more like it Now watch me." Sasuke smiles at Itachi. ''I fell for his trick again sigh'' Itachi drops his head as he stares at Sasuke. "Sharingan" Sasuke activates his Sharingan. He makes multiple hand signs and clutches his left hand. "Chidori" Chirp Chii Sasuke creates a small orb of lightning in his left hand. Some sparks fly out of the jutsu. ''Hmm'' Itachi''s eyes widen in surprise. ''Sasuke can already add Nature transformation to his chakra. Though the size of this jutsu is smallerpared to the Original but it is still wonderful.'' Huff Huff Sasuke breathes heavily for a while and plops on the ground. "I did it Nii-san." "Wonderful! Sasuke you learned it quite quickly. Though it will be awhile before you could master it but still I am amazed by your progress." Itachi praises Sasuke. Sasuke closes his eyes and falls asleep. Itachi carries him on his back. ''It is still too early for Sasuke to learn such a powerful technique also the Sharingan takes a toll on his small body. But Izuna Nii-san insisted on it. I wonder what Nii-san is doing now?'' Itachi walks through the Uchihapound with Sasuke on his back. "Itachi! Itachi" A sweet voice interrupts his train of thoughts. Itachi turns around and notices Izumi waving his hand at him. "Oh! it is you, Izumi. What''s the matter?" Itachi stops in his tracks. Izumi runs towards him and stands in front of him. "Itachi! why are you sote? You kept me waiting for almost two hours and there was no sign of you anywhere. So I have to inquire Hokage-sama about your whereabouts." Izumi ces her hands on her waist as she res at him. Shh Itachi points towards a sleeping Sasuke. Swoosh swoosh Itachi flickers towards his house. Izumi stares at his back and murmurs. " Itachi is a bro-con. Izuna nii-san used to call him that." ------------------------ Whoosh whoosh Itachi and Izumi flicker through the forest as Izumi starts a conversation. "Itachi I never expected you would be my partner for this mission." Izumi smiles as she holds Itachi''s hand. "I will protect you, Izumi." Itachi stares into her eyes as he speaks to her. Blush "It is not like I need your protection." Izumi turns away to hide her blush. Humph "I have also grown strong, you know you aren''t the only one who did the hellish training of Izuna Nii-san Itachi!" Izumi snorts and increases her pace. "Wait Izumi" Itachi follows her. Whoosh whoosh Both of them increase their pace as they approach the border of the Land of Fire. Hmm Itachi takes out the scroll from his pocket as he looks at the marked ce on the map. "The Sakanagakure is a small ind vige in Mist Sea. It is in the Land of Fish and acts as a major source of fish products for the rest of the world. The vige signed a pact with Konoha during the Third Shinobi war for protection. Recently the vige was bombed by a group of unknown shinobis they have requested help from Konoha." Both Itachi and Izumi reach the shore. The Mist sea is covered by a very thick mist which blocks their vision. "The Mist sea got its name because of the constant mist shrouding the water body. ording to some old legends, the Sage of Six Path fought a legendary battle here, which resulted in the creation of this sea." Itachi remarks as he stares at the thick mist. "Our Sharingans are useless in this mist. Let''s look for someone for directions." They spot an old sailor near the coast. "Let''s ask him for the directions." They approach the sailor and ask him for directions. The sailor signals them and both of them board his boat. --------------------- In a small cave near Sakanagakure, A group of shinobis is gathered around a rock table as they stare at a map ced on the center of the table. One of them marks a circle around Sakanagakure Vige. "During the Third Shinobi war Sakanagakure allied with arge nation to protect itself from the mes of the war. They betrayed our vige and joined hands with those Konoha scums." Bam He ms his hands on the table. "Unforgivable it''s unforgivable Sakanagakure vige survived, but our Onikugakure vige was burned in the mes of the war." Another shinobi clutches his fists tightly. "Yes Sakanagakure will pay for their betrayal of the alliance." The Leader of the group folds the map and clutches it tightly. "But How? we have attacked the vige multiple times but all of our attempts failed." Another shinobi questions the leader. "You don''t have to worry about that anymore. I hired someone for this task. He is quite a powerful person I am sure he will annihte the Sakanagakure vige." The Leader grins as he stares at the entrance of the cave. "Pleasee in Deidara-san." A person with blue nted eyes and long golden blond hair enters. His hairs are tied into a ponytail. One bang covers his left eye. Humph The group frowns as they stare at Deidara. "A kid what could a kid like him do in such a situation?" "Wait he is" One of the shinobi walks in front of Deidara and pats his shoulder. "Kid you better go back to your mama and beg her for more milk. This ce ain''t for you." "Katsu" Boom Deidra blows away the hand of the shinobi in a minor explosion. Aah The shinobi yells in pain as he clutches his hand. " he is the person I hired for the job." The Leader finishes his sentence as he stares at his man. "It''s toote" Sigh He sighs and signals another person to attend to the fellow. "Payment first jobter." Deidara walks in front of the Leader. "Here" The Leader passes arge bag of Ryo to Deidara. "It is 50 percent of the agreed price." Deidara frowns as he counts the bills. "I would pay the rest after the job is done." The Leader smiles at Deidara. Humph Deidara snorts and snatches the map from Leader''s hand. "Just sit back and wait for the news. Also don''t even think about running away with my money." Crunch Crunch Deidara walks out of the cave as he crushes gravels and stones under his feet. "This bastard" The now-one handed shinobi yells after Deidara left the cave. "Hold it right there! I paid a hefty price to hire him. Don''t ruin our chance for revenge because of your foul mouth." The Leader chides him. Humph The shinobi snorts and grabs his bandaged arm. Chapter 162: Itachi Shinden: An Explosive Problem Part-2 Chapter 162: Itachi Shinden: An Explosive Problem Part-2 "Oh brat, you have learnt how to negotiate?" A man with spiky, light brown hairs and prominent jawline is resting against a boulder as he stares at Deidara. "Shut up bastard I will blow that grin from your face." Deidara snorts at the person. "Oh! then care to try. I am curious to see you try." Crackle crackle He cracks his knuckles and walks towards Deidara. "Forget it I have no interest in your explosions." Deidara ignores him and walks away. Bonk The person grabs Deidara''s head and question. "So this is how you treat your Captain." Humph Deidara snorts and escapes from his grasp. "Gari you were a former member of the Explosive Corps. Now both of us are Rogue shinobi so you are no longer the Captain." Deidara opens the map and looks at the location. He tosses the scroll to Gari. "This is our target. My art shall shine once again." Gari grabs the scroll and looks at the map. "Sakanagakure so this is our new target. This vige is close to our current location." Gari rolls up the scroll and follows Deidara. ------------------------- "We are here." Itachi and Izumi reach the ind. "Let''s meet up with the vige chief he was the one who asked for help." "Let''s go" Both of them flicker towards the Sakanagakure vige. A few momentster, the vige appears in their vision. "Halt outsiders aren''t allowed in the vige. State your purpose." A group of Ninja guards with a fish symbol on their headband stops them. "We are from Konoha your vige leader asked for our help." Itachi passes the scroll to the guards. Hmm The guards recognize the scroll and allow them entry in the vige. Itachi and Izumi walk through the streets of the Sakanagakure as Itachi scrutinizes the vigers. ''Hmm seems like there is not much liveliness within the vige. The imminent threat of an attack has almost halted their lives. In terms of security the five hidden viges are a haven for civilians.'' Itachi shakes his head as memories of the Uchiha Incident floods in his mind. ''The hidden viges have their problems and power struggles.'' "Neh Neh Itachi, what do you think of this ne? Does this suit me?" Izumi tugs Itachi''s sleeve as she showcases a beautiful ne to him. "It is very good I think it suits you." Itachi nods his head. "You think so too" Izumi hugs his arm as sheughs in happiness. "Ojou-san this ne is one of a kind. It suits you very well and even your boyfriend likes it." The merchant rubs his hand as he praises Izumi. "Right then I will buy this ne. How much does it cost?" Izumi asks for the price. "Since it is you Ojou-san I won''t charge too much it would be 10,000 Ryo." The merchant proposes the price. "So expensive." Itachi silently whispers to himself. He turns to Izumi to convince her to buy something else but the puppy eyes of Izumi hold him back. "Fine I will pay for it." "Yay! Itachi you are the best." Izumi hugs him tightly. "Well I am happy as long as you are happy." Itachi smiles at her as they walk towards the centre of the vige. A middle-size house with a giant red symbol with Kanji for ''Vige Head'' appears in their vision. "That''s the house of the vige chief. Let''s discuss the details of the mission with him. He would fill us up on thetest intel." Itachi walks towards the house and Izumi follows him. Itachi passes the request letter to one of the guards who allow them to enter inside the house. Inside the house, A middle-aged man is sitting on a tatami floor in a seiza position. "I was waiting for you guests from Konoha." The middle-aged man greets them. "The Sakanagakure vige is in great danger, as many criminals from the previous war still haunt ournd. They tainted thend of Sakanagakure with the blood of its people. So we would like to request your assistance in our struggle against those criminals." The vige head requests Itachi and Izumi. "That''s what we are here for?" Izumi nods her head in affirmation. The Vige Chief stares at them with a surreal gaze before he questions them. "Where is your backup? I don''t think the two of you are enough to handle this situation." The Vige chief is sceptical of their abilities. Itachi senses the scepticism as he assures the Vige Chief. "It would be alright. Hokage-sama entrusted us with this mission because he trusts our abilities." "Well if you say" The Vige chief still has some doubts regarding Itachi''s and Izumi''s abilities. BOOM The group hears the violent sound of an explosion at the outer periphery of the vige. The Vige Chief frowns and stands from his seat. "Looks like the enemy has made their move." The Vige head turns to his subordinates as he instructs them to form a team. BOOM Another explosion urs at the other end of the vige. "They even brought reinforcements with them." The Vige chief has a grim expression on his face. "Izumi I will handle intruders at the southern part of the vige go and take care of the attacker at the northern part." Itachi instructs Izumi. "Yes Itachi." Whoosh Itachi and Izumi flicker out of the house. The Vige Headmands his forces as he leads them towards the direction of the bombing. ---------------- In the skies of Sakanagakure, Haha Haha "This is it. This is Art." Deidara is flying on top of a y bird as he infuses some chakra in palms. "Art is an explosion." Boom He rains down multiple explosive ys on the vige. A mouth opens on his left palm and chews the y and shapes into multiple explosive birds and insects. "C1" The y insects and birds stick to the surface of various houses in the vige. "Katsu" Deidara makes a one-hand Ram seal as he detonates the explosive y. Boom Another explosion destroys a major part of the vige. "Haha Fine art is the beauty of that single fleeting moment of the explosion." Deidaraughs to himself as he appreciates his new piece of art. "Those old senile geezers of Iwa had no appreciation for artistic values." He scoffs at Iwa elders as he continues to wreak havoc in the vige. Whoosh swish A lightning senbon pierces through the wings of the y bird Deidara is riding on. Chirp chii chii The lightning diffuses the y as the bird starts to lose its shape. "Who is it?" Deidara jumps from the top of the bird. While in mid-air, he makes some hand signs and infuses some chakra in his palm as he spits out another bird from his left palm. Deidarands on top of the bird. Whoosh Another lighting senbon pierces through the bird and destroys it. "Fuck who is this bastard? Show your face you will pay for destroying my art." Deidara performs a backflip andnds on the ground. Whoosh whoosh Multiple kunais aims at his blind spots from all different angles. "Damn you" Deidara curses as he throws multiple smaller C1 insects at the kunais and explodes them. Swoosh swoosh More shurikens aims at Deidara from the shadows of the previous shuriken. ''Shadow Shuriken Jutsu'' Deidara takes out a kunai from his holster and deflects all of the kunais. Whoosh An agile figure appears behind Deidara. "Lightning Release: Rain Cutter" The figure shes a lightning de at Deidara. Swish The de pierces through Deidara''s body. Blob blob Deidara''s body intes as more and more chakra is infused into it. "Oh No an explosive y clone" Swoosh The figure jumps back to avoid the explosion. Boom The clone explodes and covers arge area. Dust and smoke cover the entire area. Whoosh A figure jumps out from the smoke and performs some somersaults to stabilize itself. ''Hiding like a Mole Jutsu'' The real Deidara appears from the ground as he takes a closer look at his attacker. "Hmm a girl" Deidara frowns as he notices a girl with long brown hair tied into a ponytail. Two bangs of hairs are framing her face. She has onyx eyes and a mole under her right eye. "So you are the one who ruined my art? I don''t care who you are I won''t let it slide." Deidara crosses his arms as both of the mouths in his palms opens and ejects out arge amount of y from them. "C2" The y shapes into arge dragon. Deidara jumps on its back and rides it in the air. "You have no appreciation for art. Now feel my art because true art is an ''Explosion''." Chapter 163: Itachi Shinden: An Explosive Problem Part-3 Chapter 163: Itachi Shinden: An Explosive Problem Part-3 Boom A gigantic explosion urs at the outer periphery of the vige as dust and debris rise in the air. Whoosh whoosh Two figures jump out of the dust and confront each other. "No wonder you could dodge my surprise attack." Gari notices Itachi as he recognizes thetter. He cracks his neck and fists. "Itachi Uchiha of the Sharingan. One of the most feared adversaries of the shinobi world. A genius ninja who wields the power of Sharingan and is unrivaled in the genjutsu, ninjutsu, and taijutsu." Crack crack "This is the kind of fight I am looking for. Entertain me more." Itachi calmly stares at Gari. "Gari of the Explosion. A user of the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai. A former member of the Explosive Corp who deserted the Iwagakure to further meet his goals. Once a respected shinobi, now a rogue mercenary who hunts innocents." "Haah eat this." Gari clenches his fists and attacks Itachi. "Explosion Release: Exploding Palm" He creates a small explosion in his palm and directs it towards Itachi. Boom The explosion creates a shock wave as it travels horizontally. Whoosh Itachi jumps in the air and avoids the explosion. Swish swish He takes out multiple kunais from his pocket and throws them at Gari from all angles. Huh The kunais closes on Gari as he crosses both of his palms together. "Explosion Release: Exploding Palm Hurricane" He creates multiple small explosions at his palms and propels himself into a rotation as he deflects all the kunais with the explosion. "Impressive using the explosive release at the perfect timing and angle you can deflect all the kunais sent your way. But what about this?" Gari''s momentum dies down as hees to a halt. "Now" Itachi takes out another kunai and throws it towards the rest of the kunai. ng ng ng ng ng The kunai hits multiple other kunais and redirects them towards Gari. "What the" Gari''s eyes widen in surprise. "Damnit" He ms his fist on the ground. "Explosion Release: Landmine Fist" Boom He releases powerful explosive energy from his fist, which turns the ground upside down and blocks all the kunais. Huff huff Gari breathes heavily as he stares at Itachi. "Looks like I have underestimated you. But it would be over with this." ck He bites his thumb and makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu" Poof A giant ant appears in front of him. Whoosh Gari jumps on top of the ant as he directs it towards Itachi. Swish The ant swipes its ws at Itachi. Whoosh Itachi performs a backflip and avoids the attack. Boom The ant releases a white fluid from its ws, which explode in contact with air. Hmm Itachi frowns as he stares at the secretion of the ant. ''The substance this ant releases is highly mmable and explodes on contact with air.'' Whoosh whoosh He avoids multiple strikes from the ant and Gari. ''Explosion Releases is a Kekkei Genkaiposed of Earth and Lightning Release. If I disrupt the bnce of Earth and lightning, maybe it would nullify the explosions.'' Itachi makes some hand signs. "Lightning Releases: Lightning de" sh He shes the ws of the ant with his lightning de. Drip drip The white fluid drips from the incision as it flickers with lightning. ''So my spection was correct. Lightning Releases can disrupt the bnce.'' Tch Gari clicks his tongue as he makes some hand signs. "Explosion Release: Exploding Earth Wave" He ms his leg on the ground. Boom Boom Multiple explosion travels beneath the ground as they continue to release geysers of dust and debris. WhooshItachi makes some hand signs and infuses arge amount of purple lightning in his palm. "Lightning Releases: Lightning Quake sh" The purple lightning travels horizontally through the ground. It nullifies the explosion in its way and zaps Gari. Aah The lightning zaps Gari and his body turns into ashes. "An exploding clone." Itachi frowns. "Haha I got you." Gari breaks free from the ground and creates an explosion in his palms and appears behind Itachi. "Eat this. Explosion Release: Exploding Vacuum Palm." Itachi calmly turns around and faces Gari. "Are you sure about that?" BOOM Gari''s fistnds on Itachi as a gigantic explosion covers the area. The explosion dies down as dust and debris settle down. Whoosh Gari jumps out from the dust and smirks. "Not too much of a genius, I guess." "Are you sure about that?" A deep voice falls in his ears as Itachi appears behind him and ces a kunai on his neck. "Wha what? How?" Gari''s eyes widen as he stares at Itachi. Itachi calmly points towards the explosion. The dust and debris settle to reveal a badly mangled ant. "Genjutsu." Gari silently mutters to himself. "Since when" He questions Itachi. "The moment our eyes met, you were already in my genjutsu." Itachi calmly replies to him. "Now surrender ande with me" "Haha" Gariughs hysterically as he points towards the air. "Do you think it is this easy?" "What the" Itachi raises his head and notices a giant y dragon homing on him. The giant y dragon opens its mouth and releases multiple y birds at him. Boom Boom Whoosh The y birds explode on contact with the ground and create arge explosion. Itachi jumps out of the dust and stares at the gigantic dragon. Gari jumps on top of the dragon. "Humph I saved your ass. I will take your share of the money." Deidara snorts at Gari. "Brat don''t get too full of yourself. I have yet to use my trump card." Both of them stare at Itachi with a worried expression. "Itachi" Izumi runs towards him and groups with him. "Sorry, Itachi this guy was too quick to escape." Itachi shakes his head. "You don''t have to worry. We will take care of them together." "Hai" Izumi nods her head and clutches her kunai as she stares at the y dragon. Gari and Deidara make some hand signs. "Explosion Release: Explosive Land mines" Gari creates multiple explosive white orbs as the orbs fly towards the ground and enter it. "C2: Explosive y dolls" Deidara ms his palm on the y dragon. Boop boop The y dragon releases multiple y constructs that fall on the ground and takes the shape of y dolls. "Sharingan" Itachi and Izumi activate their Sharingan and inspect their surroundings. "Izumi take care of these y dolls. I will deal with them. Also, beware of the explosive field. There are multiplendmines on the ground." "Leave it to me" Izumi nods her head and draws her tanto. Chirp chirp She infuses lightning chakra in her tanto and engages with the y dolls. "Lightning Release: Senbon Zakura" Itachi makes some hand signs and releases multiple purple lightning senbon at the y dragon. Boom boom The senbon pierces through the dragon and creates multiple holes in its body. Tch "You ruined my art." Deidara clicks his tongue as he stares at Itachi''s eyes. "Those eyes they piss me off. Judging my art." Gari dashes towards Itachi and engages in closebat with Itachi. Boom boom He releases multiple explosions from his every strike. Itachi evades the attacks as he looks at Izumi from a corner of his eye. "Looks like Izumi is almost done with her fight. It''s time for me to end it too." Whoosh whoosh Itachi rotates his lower body and delivers a roundhouse kick to Gari. "Leaf Hurricane" Gari is pushed back by the kick. "Oh looks like you are getting old, you geezer." Deidara taunts Gari. "Don''t underestimate him." Gari warns Deidara. "Toote" Itachi disappears and reappears in front of Gari as he stabs thetter with a kunai. Bleurgh Gari pukes out a mouthful of blood as he clutches Itachi. "Do it brat." Deidara makes a Ram seal as he yells. "C2: Centipede" A giant centipede erupts from the ground and envelops Itachi. "KAT" "Are you sure you want to blow your friend?" Itachi emotionlessly questions him as his eyes change into Mangekyo Sharingan. Whoosh A strange sensation wells up in Deidara''s heart as he clutches his head. He stares at Gari and notices thetter''s body enveloped in the y centipede. "Damnit" Gari yells to himself. "It''s those eyes." Deidara points towards Itachi with shaky hands. ck Gari bites his tongue as blood drips from it. "I am an elite shinobi. I won''t allow you to trample my pride like this Itachi Uchiha. I will die here but I will bring you to hell together with me." Blob blob Gari''s body expands as massive amounts of chakra gathers in his body. "Die" Boom Gari''s body explodes violently as a giant pir of chakra engulfs the group. "Izumi" Itachi grabs Izumi as orange mes cover his body. BOOM BOOM The explosionsts for a while as the giant pir of light dies down. Whoosh Itachi dispels his Susanoo as he and Izumi stare at the aftermath of the explosion. They are standing in the middle of a giant crater. "The vige" Izumi hurriedly jumps out of the crater. "It''s fine. I redirected the explosion towards the air with my Yata Mirror." Izumi nods her head as she turns to Itachi. "I am sorry Itachi. I held you back" Itachi gently pokes her head as he answers her. "No you did a great job. You didn''t hold me back at all. I am sure you will grow stronger in the future." Both walk out of the crater as Itachi senses a few chakra signatures. "Looks like we have to do some cleanup." -------------------- At the edge of the shore, Poof Deidara jumps out from the ground. He dusts his clothes and stands up. "Gari is dead. He blew himself up what a fine ending to a spectacr art." Ugh Deidara clutches his chest and pukes out a mouthful of blood as the memories before the explosion floods his mind. "Those eyes I despise them. They look down on my art." Chapter 164: Ruin Exploration Chapter 164: Ruin Exploration Inside Terumi Mansion, Elder Genji holds a report in his hand as he skims through it. Sigh "Finally the civil war is over. The era of blood Mist is over." He throws the scroll on the table. "What about the Fourth Mizukage? How should we deal with him?" Fuji questions him. "About that" Elder Genji rubs his forehead in contemtion. "Maybe we should ask for Izuna Uchiha''s help after he returns from his trip." Sigh He sighs and signals to Ao. "Ao the remaining elders of the High-ss faction may cause some trouble for us. You know what to do right?" "Yes Genji-sama." Ao bows his head and flickers out from the room. "Is it a good idea to deal with them in such a way?" Fuji questions Elder Genji. "The times have changed. Kiri is not the same as it used to be the power of Kiri has deteriorated drastically after losing so many powerful ns. Those fools must pay for their crimes it needs drastic actions to make Kiri great again." Elder Genji clutches his staff tightly. Sigh Fuji sighs and closes his eyes in contemtion. "Elder Genji! what are your thoughts on the proposal of Izuna Uchiha? Should we ally with the Konohagakure?" Hmm Elder Genji ponders for a while. "Kiri still require time to wash its infamy as the ''Bloody Mist''. The actions of the Fourth Mizukage has stained the reputation of Kiri. The economy of the vige is in shambles. There aren''t many missions avable in the vige." Elder Genji slowly stands up and walks towards the window as he gazes down on the vige. "I think it would be great for Kiri if we ally with Konoha but the terms must be beneficial for Kiri." Sigh Fuji sighs and walks beside Elder Genji. "Elder Genji I can''t lead the Terumi n any longer. I would like to pass this position to Mei. I want her to lead the vige." Fuji shakes his head. "That girl she just ran off with that Izuna Uchiha. I wonder what guy is up to?" He turns towards Elder Genji for answers. "Izuna Uchiha was interested in the origins of the Seven Swords of the Mist. I saw no harm in telling him the origin of those swords, as we have already excavated the ruins. If it helps in improving our rtionship with a powerful Ninja like him then why not?" Elder Genji chuckles slightly as he assures Fuji. -------------------- Somewhere in the middle of the Mist Sea, Scree A giant eagle is soaring through the sky as the sea is covered in mist. Izuna and Mei are seated on the back of the eagle as they look towards the sea. "So why did you follow me?" Izuna turns towards Mei and questions her. "The ruins of the Land of Water are a heritage of Kirigakure. I am here to monitor you so you won''t plunder the wealth of Kiri." Mei shes an enchanting smile. "" "So you don''t trust me." "No I don''t." Mei nods her head. "That hurts my feelings Lady Mei I acted as your bodyguard for almost a year and saved your life multiple times." Humph "I I would have been fine on my own." Mei snorts and turns away her head to hide her embarrassment. "Anyway what rouse your interest in those old ruins?" "This" Izuna takes out the glowing sword of Zengetsu from his storage scroll. "Zengetsu passed this sword to me during hisst moments. He wanted me to uncover the secrets of this sword. So maybe I could get some answers from those ruins." Mei nods her head in understanding. ''I never got the chance to inspect this de properly.'' Izuna weights the de in his hand. "It''s quite heavy for its size." He unwraps the cloth covering the de. The greatsword has a broken de. He swings the de a few times. ''What would I expect? It is a greatsword after all.'' He holds the great sword in one hand and inspects its de. There are some strange sealing forms on the de. "I can''t recognize these markings at all. I saw Zengetsu unleash a barrage of chakra des with it.'' Izuna infuses his chakra in the de. Shiing The de lits up with a cyan glow. Swing swing Izuna swings the de multiple times and releases cyan des made out of chakra. Hmm "It''s interesting but not that powerful." He stows away the de. "I can''t see a thing with this mist can you see anything?" Mei asks him. "Yes I can everything. You don''t have to worry about getting lost in the Mist Sea." He assures Mei. ''So this sea was created during the era of the Rikudou Sannin. Hagoromo Otsutsuki fought against the Ten-tails and sealed it inside the Moon. So the current Mist Sea is situated in the missing mass of the Earth which created the moon. I wonder when I would be able to reach such scale of power able to create a on whims.'' Nah Izuna shakes his head to remove such thoughts. He notices a lone ind located in the Mist Sea. The ind is located in between the Land of Water and the Land of Silence. "We are there." Huh! Mei looks around but can''t spot any traces of the ind. "Be careful the First Mizukage-sama ced many sealing forms and barrier around this ce to prevent any outsider from intruding this heritage site." She warns him. "You don''t have to worry about me." He jumps down from his eagle summons. Mei follows him. Ssh ssh Both of themnd on top of the sea and walks towards the ind. Hmm Izuna notices a small rock formation at a distance from the ind. "Lightning Release: Chidori Senbon" He throws multiple lightning senbons at the rock formation and destroys it. "That rock formation was absorbing chakra from the surroundings, thus creating a genjutsu to hide the ind from our sights. My Sharingan allows me to see through genjutsu so it is useless against me." Hmm Mei nods her head and walks towards the ind. Swoosh Izuna quickly pulls her back. Chomp A giant fish jumps out from the water and bites at her previous position. "Be careful multiple giant sea creatures are lurking around this ce." sh Izuna shes the giant fish in half. "We don''t have to worry about our dinner anymore." Izuna drags the giant fish towards the shore. The rest of the sea creatures disperses after witnessing the death of one of their kind. "" Mei silently stares at his back. "What are you waiting for? Let''s explore this ind." Izuna turns around and signals her. "Ah yes yes" Mei hurriedly follows him. Both of them reach the ind, and Izuna closes his eyes and enters Sage Mode. He surveys his surroundings for any hostile creatures. Hmm His senses get blocked by an illusory barrier as he tries to sense the middle of the ind. ''Looks like this area is simr to Shikkotsu forest. The center of this ind is blocked by a separate space barrier.'' "The surroundings are clear for now why don''t we have our dinner?" BAM Izuna ces the giant fish on the ground. Whoop He creates a giant wind de and slices the fish. "Do you know how to cook?" Mei walks towards him. "Well not really but at least it won''t taste awful." Mei gathers some dry wood and creates fire. Izuna grills the fish as he takes out some spices from his storage scroll. An enchanting fragrance wafts out from the cooked fish as it enchants them. Gulp Mei gulps her saliva as she impatiently stares at the fish. "Hurry up! I am quite hungry after that journey." "Hai Hai Lady Mei your dinner will be ready soon." Izuna flips the fish as he prepares ''Grilled Fish Steaks''." Humph "Don''t call me Lady Mei. Just Mei is fine. I had my fair share of blood during and after the Third Shinobi War. I am not some pampered princess who needs others to take care of her." Mei takes a bite from the steak and eats it. "Hmm it tastes very good. I have never eaten a dish as delicious as this before." Izuna takes a bite of the steak and his eyes widen in his surprise. ''This fish meat is infused with Nature energy Maybe I should fish here more often to get these fishes. It won''t be much beneficial for me because of myrge reserves of chakra but it would benefit Shisui and the rest of the folks.'' He continues to enjoy the delicious fish steak. Burp A loud burp interrupts his thoughts. "You didn''t hear that," Mei yells at him in embarrassment. "" "Yes" Izuna nods his head. "We will explore the ind tomorrow let''s make a shelter for tonight." Izuna proposes. He makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. Rustle Rustle Many wooden logs appear from the ground and form a small house. "WHAT!" Mei''s eyes widen in surprise as she stares at the house. "Wood Release it is the legendary wood release. How are you able to use it?" "Well I can use every Nature transformation Kekkei Genkai." Izuna spits out someva from his mouth. "WHAT!" Mei stares at Izuna for a while before shaking her head. "I don''t know what to say at this point." She enters the house and stares at the Mist Sea from the window. Whizz A gentle breeze blows by as it flutters Mei''s auburn hair. A silver beam of moonlight enters through the window, illuminating Mei''s face. Her smile enchants the night. "Beautiful" Izuna silently stares at her as he records this moment in his memories. Chapter 165: (Title at the End) Chapter 165: (Title at the End) Next day, Izuna and Mei walk towards the center of the ind. "You still have to time reconsider if you want to follow me or not. If you want to return, then I can teleport you to Kirigakure once we reach the center of the ind I won''t be able to teleport you the space in the center of the ind is isted from the rest of the world." Izuna warns Mei. "No need I will follow you I can''t leave you alone." Mei hurriedly chases after him. Whoosh Whoosh Both of them flicker deeper into the forest. Hisss Izuna hears the hissing of a snake. "Stop!" He ces a hand in front of Mei and stops her from moving forward. "What''s the matter?" Mei frowns and questions him. "Look there." Izuna points towards a giant white snake slithering through the forest. "What what are you pointing at?" Mei tilts her head in confusion. "All I see is an olddy slowly crawling through this forest wait what is an olddy doing in this forest?" Mei raises her guard as she takes a kunai from her holster. "Huh! Old Lady all I see is a giant ass white snake slithering through the forest." Izuna turns towards the giant white snake and watches it slithering through the forest. "Wait it is clearly an olddy," Mei argues with him. "I am one hundred percent sure about it." She argues with Izuna. Hmm Izuna frowns as he inspects Mei''s chakra for signs of any genjutsu. "Strange There is no problem with her chakra, which means she isn''t under any genjutsu." Izuna ces his hand on Mei''s forehead and tries to insert some chakra. "Hiss it''s futile My genjutsu can''t be broken this easily." The snakes notice the racket caused by them. It turns its giant head towards Izuna and flickers its fork-like tongue in front of him. Izuna surveys the appearance of the snake. The snake is a giant albino Japanese rat snake. Many yellow circr coils with the yellow band are tied around its body. The snake has a turban with two pointed edges and a red orb on top, along with an orange headdress. There is arge chain with a green orb around her neck. Hiss The snake hisses at him. "Boy what are you staring at? This ce is not meant for strangers like you. You better depart from here." The giant white snake warns him. "What if I don''t want to?" Izuna ces his hands in front of his chest. "I already warned you once boy if you take one more step you will face consequences for your actions. Hiss" The giant snake hisses at him. "One thing I don''t want in my life are regrets. As for consequences I am never afraid of them." Step Step Izuna steadily walks deeper into the forest. "Boy my patience has a limit and you already cross it. Now pay for your recklessness. Hisss" The giant snake swings its tails towards Izuna. "Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate: Gate of View open" Izuna immediately opens the sixth gate and blocks the attack with his hand. Skid The force of the tail swings pushes him back. ''Heavy that tail-swing was so heavy'' Izuna sessfully blocks the attack and smirks at the giant snake. "If this is the best you can do then don''t even bother stopping me in my tracks." He taunts the giant snake. Humph "Some courageous words for a toddler." The snake swings its tail again. Swoosh ''Swift Release: Sonic Steps'' Izuna dodges the attack. BAM The tails collide with a nearby hill and shatter it into dust. "Wooh That''s some dangerous blow there." Izuna''s eyes widen as he stares at the remains of the hill. ''This snake is dangerous I have to get serious if I want to fight with him. I don''t want to bully him with my Mangekyo or Ninjutsu abilities I don''t want to rely much on my Sharingan. I haven''t polished my other abilities in a while.'' Whoosh Izuna dashes towards the giant snake and clenches his fist. "Metal Release: ck Diamond w" Izuna''s hands harden and turn into a ck shining w. Whoosh Bang He punches the scales of the snake. Ouch ''That''s fucking hard what are those scales made of?'' Izuna grabs his right hand in pain as he stares at the scales of the snake. ''They are fucking harder than a ck diamond which is supposed to be the hardest natural existing substance.'' Aah The giant snake grunts a little as it angrily stares at Izuna. "You pesky insect how dare you to attack me? You have made me mad now I will chew you alive." The giant snake closes its eyes. Its body glows with a cyan hue as it swings its tails towards Izuna. ''Shit this is Nature energy. This snake can use Senjutsu.'' Izuna''s expression turns ugly. He quickly absorbs an enormous amount of Nature energy from his surroundings. A cyan color cloak with a giant tomoe on back and front appears around him. "Power Release: Asura''s Robe" Another dark red cloak coats his body as red-lightning flickers through his eyes. "Eight Inner Gates: Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder Open" He stretches out his hand and punches the tail. "Hirudora" Roar A giant white tiger made out of pure aura leaps out from his punch. The body of the tiger zes with fire as red wings made of fire appear on his back. Roar The tiger roars again and ms into the iing tail. Hmm The giant white snake senses danger as various rms go off in its head. ''Looks like I have underestimated this kid.'' Whoosh The coils around its body untie themselves and ties near the end of the tail, turning the tail into a gigantic drill. BOOM The tail and the white tiger collide with each other. Boom A gigantic explosion urs in the middle of the ind as white light blinds their vision. Rumble Rumble The entire ind trembles from the attack as the force of the attack throws Izuna backward. ''Fuck I almost forgot about Mei.'' Whoosh He teleports mid-air and teleports beside Mei. He grabs her hand. "Susanoo: Yata no Kagami" He ces down his gigantic dark shield of chakra to block the shock waves. BOOM The force of the collision pushes back the gigantic snake as it rolls a few times beforeing to stop. A gigantic dome of air pressure and chakra covers the entire ind as it blows away the leaf of multiple trees. Silence deathly silence haunts the entire ind as the sound of the explosion buries down every other noise. The dust and debris settle down to reveal an almost bottomless crater in the middle of the ind. "So this is the strength of my most powerful taijutsu technique while I am not holding back." Izuna stares at the giant crater and nods his head. "" Mei silently stares at Izuna and questions him. "Was it really necessary to beat a frail olddy to death using such a powerful technique?" "" Izuna rubs his forehead in frustration as he reveals the truth to her. "There is no olddy. It is a giant white snake that has disguised itself as an olddy. I am immune to most of the genjutsu so it didn''t affect me." "Ok!" Mei nods her head as she recounts her story. "What I saw was an olddy crawling through the forest? I saw you having some dispute with the olddy. The olddy raised her stick to smack you and you punched her instead." Sigh Mei sighs and shakes her head. "I never thought you won''t even hold back against an olddy." "" "Wait she is a giant ass snake I told you the truth already." Izuna argues with her. Haha Mei chuckles as she points towards Izuna. "I just wanted to see your flustered expression. You always teased me during this period it''s time for some payback." Ahem A creepy hiss interrupts them. "If your lover''s quarrel is over then can we talk about the matter at hand?" The giant snake slithers in front of them. Huh! Mei turns her head and notices the giant snake. "So this is the giant snake you were talking about. It''s pretty unique." Mei curiously inspects the giant white snake. Ahem The giant snake clears its throat as it hisses at them. "Congrattions! You have cleared the first stage of the trial. You can proceed to the second stage." "Huh!" Mei and Izuna stare at each other before staring at the Giant white snake. "What''s this all about? I don''t want to partake in any trial of yours. It is too bothersome. Just get out of my way I only wanted to visit some ruins." Izuna waves his hands nonchntly. "No it won''t do. This is the rule of the Ryuchi cave and every visiter must follow this rule." The giant snake hisses at them. "Huh! Ryu what? Wait, a sec Ryu Ryuchi cave?" Izuna''s eyes widen in surprise as he questions the giant snake for confirmation. "Yes Ryuchi cave." The giant snake nods his head in affirmation. 158. Ryuchi Cave Chapter 166: Secret of the Ryuchi Cave Chapter 166: Secret of the Ryuchi Cave "Hold on a sec we are in the Ryuchi cave." Izuna questions the giant snake again. "Yes you are." The giant snake answers in annoyance. "Wait Ryuchi cave Ryuchi cave isn''t it one of the legendary ces alongside Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu Forest. Together these three ces are called the unexplored sage regions. One can seek forever for these ces but could never find them. I am surprised we coulde across this legendary ce." Mei excitedly stares at her surroundings. "How do you know about it?" Izuna questions her. "Books haven''t you read any books? I found the information about Ryuchi cave and the other sage region in one of the older books of our n library." Hmm Izuna nods his head in understanding. He turns towards the giant snake and smirks. "I wonder what do the ''White Snake Sage'' of the Ryuchi cave seeks with us. There is no way the Snake sage would personally pay a visit to the intruder of the Ryuchi cave." "Wha what? Snake Sage" Mei''s eyes widen as she stares at the giant snake. " she is the legendary Snake Sage The legendary leader of the snakes of the Ryuchi cave." "Yes I am the Snake Sage of the Ryuchi cave." The white snake nods her head. She turns towards Izuna and questions him. "How do youe to know of this fact?" "Well as you saw earlier I am a Sage myself so with my heightened senses I can sense the presence of another sage." Izuna states as it a matter of fact. "Figures but I have never seen such a unique sage Mode. If my guess is correct then you didn''t learn it in Mount Myoboku and Shikkotsu forest." The White Snake Sage asks him. "No I leaned my Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest but I figured out the secrets of my Sage Mode on my own. Thenter, I learned the necessary Taijutsu techniques from Mount Myoboku." Izuna reveals to her. Hmm The giant snake lowers her head and flickers out its tongue near Izuna. "This stench it is the stench of those stinky toads and slugs. Hiss I can''t stand their presence." The Snake Sage lifts her head and shakes it furiously. "So what''s the meaning of this surprise attack and what''s with that trial?" Izuna crosses his hands around his chest as he questions the Snake Sage. "Very well follow me" The snake sage slithers deeper into the forest. Izuna follows after her. Mei hurriedly chases them. While walking through the forest, the Snake Sage lifts her head and exins. "It was almost millennia ago when Ryuchi cave came into existence. It was an era before the era of Rikudou Sannin. Together with the Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryuchi cave the ''Great Traveller found three Sage regions''. He gave spiritual wisdom to our ancestors and revealed the secrets of the Senjutsu to them. With his downfall, his possessions were distributed among the three Sage Regions as he spilt them ordingly." The Snake Sage slithers as it lifts her head and looks at Izuna and Mei. "I am aware of that." Izuna nods his head. "I came to know of this from the toads of Mount Myoboku." He reveals to her. "Huh!... the Sage of Six Paths was real. He wasn''t a myth." Mei''s eyes widen from this revtion. "Girl!... he was very much a living person like you and me? It is just that with time most of the knowledge regarding him disappeared from the face of the Shinobi World. It is almost like someone rewrote the entire history and made him a myth instead of a real person. We Sages aren''t allowed to interfere with the mortal world of shinobi ording to the contract. Only chosen few could spark our interest." The Snake Sage turns towards Izuna. "Oh! Is that so then what''s the contract?" Mei asks her. "That''s a secret. It can''t be revealed to anyone" The Snake Sage slithers away. " So where were we ah yes about the ''Great Traveller''s possession? He sealed away his Fuinjutsu knowledge in Shikkotsu Forest his techniques into the Mount Myoboku andst but not the least his weapons inside the Ryuchi cave." The Snake sage reveals the truth to them. " when the chosen person steps into the Ryuchi cave a trial to im his weapon will start and it can''t interfere unless either the chosen person dies or hepletes the trial." The Sage Snake points towards the sky. Izuna and Mei raise their head. A thin red barrier appears in their vision. Hmm A frown appears on Izuna''s face. He stretches his hand and infuses chakra into his palm. "Wind Release: Rasenshuriken" Izuna creates a giant Rasenshuriken and throws it towards the barrier. Bam The Rasenshuriken ms into the barrier and disperses. "Humph I am not done yet." Izuna creates a shadow clone. The shadow clone and Izuna stretch out their hand as he forms another Rasengan. "Dust Release: Molecr Disintegration Rasengan" A small white orb appears in his hand. The orb swirls inwardly as it disintegrates everything around itself. Haah Izuna throws the Rasengan at the barrier. Boom The Rasengan collides with the barrier and creates a tiny hole the size of a pea in the barrier. "What?" The eyes of the Snake Sage widen in surprise. Whoosh The barrier repairs itself. Izuna raises his hands in surrender. "That was my strongest Ninjutsu. I guess this barrier is unbreakable. Let''s go andplete the trial." Ahem The Snake Sage clears her throat to hide her surprise. "Very well let''s go deeper into the Ryuchi cave. What you just saw was only the surface of the Ryuchi cave. The real Ryuchi cave is underground." The group reaches deeper inside the forest. A giant tree withrge roots spread out through the ind appears in front of them m The Snake Sage ms her tail on one root. Whoosh whoosh The trunk of the tree opens to reveal a cave. The Snake Sage crawls into the opening. Izuna and Mei follow after her. They continue deeper underground as various pathways and cave openings appear underground. "Ryuchi cave is like a giant maze if you aren''t a resident of the Ryuchi cave then you would be forever trapped inside this maze." The Snake Sage warns them. Anotherrge opening appears in front of them. There is a giant pool of water in front of them. Ssh The Snake Sage dives into the water. "Shall we dive in?" Mei hesitates for a while. "Let''s go. I will protect you if any danger befalls us." Izuna reassures her. "I can take care of myself. Humph" Mei snorts as a blush appears on her face. Ssh She immediately jumps into the water to hide her embarrassment. Izuna follows after her. Huh! Various water bubbles appear in his vision. Izuna inspects the bubbles with his Sharingan. "They are not bubbles but portals to be exact space tunnels. They are linked to multiple ces throughout the Shinobi world." Izuna curiously inspects them. "So this is how these summon quickly travel through space and arrive to assist their summoner." Izuna follows after the Snake Sage and catches up with Mei. Humph Mei snorts and turns away. "" ''What did I do?'' Izuna cluelessly stares at her. "Anyway there are other things to prioritize now." Ssh The Sage Snake dives out of the water. The group appears in a cavern with a pedestal in its center. The Snake Sage turns towards Izuna and Mei. "Your first trial was to fight against me. The second trial would be much harder so get ready to face it." Izuna nods his head. "I am ready. Just throw it my way." "Very well" The Snake Sage takes out a coil from her body and ces it on the pedestal. Many sealing forms appear around the pedestal and creates a portal on top of the pedestal. "Space sealing technique" Izuna curiously inspects the giant portal. He turns towards Mei. "This is my journey. Wait for me." Swoosh He jumps into the portal and disappears from their sight. Humph "Who cares about you?" Mei mumbles to herself as a slight blush appears on her face. ''Father wants me to marry a suitable person'' Izuna''s face appears in her vision. ''He doesn''t look much different from his disguise. He looks cooler and manly in his original appearance. If it''s him then No no what am I thinking about? I have to ask him to heal Father after his return.'' Mei shakes her head and stares at the portal. Ahem "You know I am still here." The Snake Sage teases her. "You are just an old hag what do you know Humph" Mei snorts at the Snake Sage. "" Chapter 167: Sin of Lust Chapter 167: Sin of Lust Whoosh Izuna disappears in the portal. Hmm He appears in a separate, isted space. ''This space is simr to Kamui''s dimension.'' There are multiple rectangr prisms pedestal scattered throughout the space. Izuna walks towards the center of the room. ''What kind of trial was that Snake Sage talking about?'' He presses his hand on the pedestal and waits for the trial to start. After waiting for a while, nothing particr happens. "I guess there must be some another way to start this trial." Izuna fumbles around the various prisms to look for any clues. "Hmm these prisms are arranged ording to a Fuinjutsu formation." Izuna rubs his chin in contemtion as he tries to remember the sealing formation. "I got it it is a sealing formation from one of those scrolls in Shikkotsu Forest." Izuna ces his hands on the prism rectangles and arranges them ording to the sealing formation from his memories. Rumble Rumble Therge rectangr tform trembles, and the center pedestal rises in the air. Hmm Izuna walks towards the pedestal and inspects it for a while. There are some Fuinjutsu seals carved all around the pedestal. "So what''s next what am I supposed to do next." Izuna curiously studies the seal as he tries to decipher them. He notices a giant tomoe on the center of the Fuinjutsu seal. ''Huh! this looks familiar.'' He ces his hand on the giant tomoe. "Wait it looks familiar to my Senjutsu cloak. Maybe I should try using Sage Mode after all, this person was the one who introduced the Sage Mode." Izuna closes his eyes and enters Sage Mode. He infuses Nature energy into the tomoe. Woosh The Fuinjutsu seal lit up and rearranges itself into recognizable words. [Only the worthy capable of harnessing the power of Nature and elements to their truest form shall im this legacy.] "Well I can use all the known elements, so just give it to me. Don''t bother wasting my time." He infuses his chakra into the seal. The seal absorbs his chakra, and the glowing words fade away, opening apartment in the pedestal. Swoosh The Sin seal heats up, and the Grimoire appears in front of him. Huh "What''s going on? Don''t tell there is another Sin eye here." Izuna notices many Fuinjutsu chains binding a box. Swish swish The chains shatter, and the box floats in front of him. [Every being has a sin bound to their soul. It takes a lot of self-knowledge to find the sin that is bounded to you because we all carry every sin deep within us. No being can remain untainted by Sin. But you are also not a sinner when you prolong these. It is only a sin if you take it too far, and it defiles the soul. If youe to be corrupted by your sin, your soul will be drenched and marked as a sinner.] These words echo through the isted space as Izuna holds the box in his hand. "Sins huh if I have to sin against humanity to protect my loved one''s then I am ready to be the very epitome of a Sinner." He grabs the box and rips apart theyer of seals on top of the box. Whoosh. Pink light glows from the box as a Sin eye floats out of the box. The Sin eye is shaped into a heart with two pointed spikes jutting out from the corners. Whoosh whoosh The pages of the Grimoire flips open as the previous two eyes float out from it. Bzzzt Pink lightning crackles from the Sin eye as it attaches to the Grimoire. ''Sin of Lust. The feeble bonds of the heart shatter into mere fragments. Lust is an eternal part of humanity be it lust for power lust for knowledge or lust for other beings. No being remains untainted by lust.'' Whoosh The Sin eyes fuse with the Grimoire, and another eye appears on the Grimoire. Swoosh Dark Orange ck markings crawl from the Sin seals as various totems spread all over Izuna''s body. The markings travel towards Izuna''s right eye and fuse with it, activating his Mangekyo Sharingan. Whoosh whoosh Three Limbo Shadow of Izuna crawls out from the Border Prison world as they rip apart the shadows and treads into reality. Shoom Shoom Shoom The Sin eyes fuse with the Limbos, and an eye opens up on their chest. The Limbo Shadow with the Sin eye of Lust opens its eyes and mumbles some incoherent words. "What? Limbo Shadows can talk." Izuna is flustered by this incoherent mumbling as he listens to the shadow. "Don''t fail again" These words fell in his ears as the Limbo Shadow disappears from reality. "What what was that? Howe a Limbo Shadow can talk?" Izuna stares at the shadows for a while. "And what does it mean by don''t fail again" Izuna mumbles to himself as a deep frown appears on his face. Izuna shakes his head and looks around for an exit. "I have to get stronger stronger than anybody. Then only would I be able to live my life ording to my rules?" He notices a space-teleportation form near the pedestal. Whoosh He activates the teleportation form and disappears from the small dimension. Whoosh He reappears in front of Mei and the Snake Sage. "How was it? Did you find anything?" Mei questions him. "Yes, and No." Izuna shakes his head and turns towards the Snake Sage. "I have a few questions to ask from you." "Very well go ahead since you havepleted the trial you are a member of the Ryuchi Cave now." The Snake Sage nods his head. "Then can you tell me more about the Ryuchi cave? I wanted to hear the incident during the Rikudou Sannin era." Izuna asks her. "Hmm during that era the Ryuchi cave isted itself from the rest of the world. We had a small dispute with Mount Myoboku the Ryuchi cave followed the orders of the ''Great Traveller'' to not interfere with the human world but the Toad Sage interacted with a human and taught him the art of the Senjutsu thus breaking the rules of the contract." Hmm Izuna nods his head in approval. " Rikudou Sannin and Ten-tails fought against each other. Their battle devastated the earth changing the terrain of the. Rikudou Sannin sealed the ten-tails inside the moon. The Ryuchi cave remained unharmed thanks to the barrier created by the ''Great Traveller''." The Snake Sage points towards the Red barrier enveloping the entire ind. "Hey! I have a question too." Mei interrupts them. "Go ahead" The Snake Sage waves her tail. "What happened to the ruins of the Kiri? Where are they? They are supposed to be the secret heritage of the Kirigakure." Mei questions the Snake Sage. "Oh! That there is no heritage. About a few decades ago some humans chanced on the location of Ryuchi cave and entered into the weapon storage of the Ryuchi cave. They just took some failed products with them and left the Ryuchi cave." Snake Sage waves her tail. "Great Traveller crafted many weapons, and the one stolen by your Kiri people were failed products. They are iplete ording to the ''Great Traveller''." "" Mei silently stares at the Snake Sage. ''Failed products so the famous Seven Mist Swords of Kirigakure are defective products. No I won''t reveal this to anyone.'' She shakes her head. The Snake Sage turns towards Izuna. "You have already mastered the Senjutsu so there is nothing that I could teach you If you are interested, I would teach you the secret art of Genjutsu passed through the Ryuchi cave. It was one of the techniques created by the ''Great Traveller''." Hmm Izuna ponders for a while before nodding his head. ''I have some strong genjutsu techniques like Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami. But genjutsu only serves as deference during a battle it doesn''t have any killing potential. Maybe I could learn something interesting from them their genjutsu technique seems unique.'' "I will take you on that offer. But for now I have some urgent matters to take care of." He turns towards Mei. "Are you ready?" "Yes" Mei clutches her fist. Whoosh He ces a hand on Mei''s shoulder and teleports from the Ryuchi cave. The Snake sage looks at the space and then towards the barrier. "I wonder what miracles would this kid create? I can see countless intangible threads of destiny tied around him. The destiny of many people is centered around him." Whoosh Both of them appear inside the Terumi n. Mei hurriedly runs towards her father. "Father You would be cured soon." Chapter 168: Return to Konoha Chapter 168: Return to Konoha A Year passed in the blink of an eye. Inside a hidden cave in Ryuchi cave, Izuna is sitting on a pedestal with his eyes closed. He makes some hand signs. "Nightmare Release" Izuna ps his hands together. Whoosh. He releases a ck mist from his hand. The ck mist slowly travels through the entire cave and engulfs the area. "Now I have to search for a test subject. That snobbish snake would do." Izuna directs the ck Mist towards the biggest cave in Ryuchi caves. The ck Mist seeps into the ground and travel beneath it. Woosh A giant purple snake with ck rings running down its body lies inside the cave with its eyes closed. Hisss The snake is flickering its tongue in and out as it is deep in sleep. Izuna monitors the giant snake from a distance as he controls the ck mist. "Inhale inhale it it is the fear of death which you are inhaling." Sniff The nostrils of the snake twitch as it inhales the ck mist. "Now let me see what kind of Nightmares are you facing?" Izuna activates his Sharingan and makes some more hand signs. Whoosh He appears inside the mindscape of the giant snake. Hmm ''So this is the mindscape of this snobbish bastard.'' The giant snake iszily resting on a giant floating ind in its mindscape with its eyes closed. Many other little snakes of the Ryuchi cave are bowing down in front of it as itzily stretches its body. Izuna notices the Great Snake Sage serving the giant purple snake in submission. "Oh! he has quite the ambition." The snake turns its body around as the rest of the small snake polishes its body. Aah "This is quite good. This is the kind of life I should live as the boss summons of the Ryuchi cave." The snake raises his head and looks sideways. "Hey, you servant scratch the itch on my back?" Whoosh A figure of Izuna appears besides Manda. "Yes boss." The Izuna in the snake''s dream nods his head and climbs on top of the snake and scratches his back. "" "This bastard looks like he requires a beating rather than a massage." Crackle crackle Izuna cracks his knuckles. ''Time to test the genuine power of this Kekkei Tota.'' Whoosh Izuna makes some hand signs. Whoosh He disappears and reappears in ce of his double. Bam bam He punches the back of the giant purple snake. "You want me to scratch the itch on your back don''t you" Bam He continues to punch the back of the snake. Argh The snake screeches in pain before it passes out. Whoosh Izuna disappears from the mindscape as he opens his eyes in the real world. He stares at the giant cave in front of him. "It''s a sess." He nods his head in satisfaction. An extremely battered and bruised snake is lying in front of him. There are various punch marks on its back as the snake squeals in pain. "So this is the power of Nightmare Release. It is quite useless in a proper battle, but it would be useful in various other circumstances. It is an extreme form of Genjutsu capable of manipting the dreams of any person you would like to. It would reflect any sort of damage dealt by the person in the real world. Though it seems to be weakerpared to the Ultimate Genjutsu of the Kurama n but unlike the Kurama n''s Genjutsu it doesn''t have a limitation. Nightmare Release is a maniption of Wind Release, Yin Release, and Yang release paired with the genjutsu techniques of the Ryuchi cave. This genjutsu can travel through the wind so it has no limitation on its range and the number of people it can affect." He stares at the battered body of the giant purple snake and walks towards him. "Oh! Manda how you have been doing?" Manda weakly lifts his massive head and stares at Izuna with a vicious expression. "Bastard! Was it you who did this to me? I will eat you alive." Manda opens its mouth and bites at Izuna. Whoosh Izuna avoids the bite and pats Manda''s head. "You know what not even your master Orochimaru can do anything to me much less you. So stop dreaming of the impossible." Izuna walks away from the cave. ''Well in my first few months here. This snobbish snake pestered me with human sacrifices as payment for learning in the Ryuchi cave. I am not Orochimaru who will listen to his every demand.'' Izuna shakes his head and approaches the center of the Ryuchi cave. "It has been a while since Ist saw the progress of Kimimaro. When I brought him a year ago the Snake Sage immediately grabbed him and walked away. Since then he has been learning Senjutsu under her. I must check his progress. It is difficult to master Senjutsu." Knock Knock Izuna knocks at the entrance of the cave. "Come in." Izuna enters the cave and notices the White Snake Sage. The White Snake Sage is coiled around a giant seat with some Fuinjutsu scrolls dangling behind her. "So how is he?" Izuna questions her. "There" She points her tails towards a pool filled with green liquid in the center of the cave. Hmm Izuna frowns as he notices the green liquid. "Poison!" He turns towards the White Snake Sage and questions her. "What''s the meaning of this? This amount of poison is enough to kill a hundred shinobis." The White Snake Sage nods her head. "Indeed if it is an ordinary shinobi, then he would have died long ago but this boy has a special body. He has inherited the genes of the Sage of Six Paths, just like you. Now look closely at the poison." Izuna turns towards the pool and scrutinizes the poison. Hmm He notices a stream of Nature energy coursing through the poison. Nature energy is then slowly transferred to Kimimaro''s body. The White Snake Sage reveals her fangs to Izuna. "Nature energy has no elemental nature it changes itself ording to the user''s will. I store Nature energy as a potent poison in my fangs. I inject the people who seek me out to learn the Secrets of Senjutsu with my poison. If they have a strong will and affinity for Senjutsu then their body will absorb the Nature energy and will secrete out the poison. But if the afflicted person has no affinity then he will transform into a snake as the Nature energy has some of my will stored within it." Slick The White Snake Sage flickers out her tongue. "Then they can only act as a nutrition for my old bones." "Very Well." Izuna nods his head. "This boy will take a while to learn the Snake Senjutsu. He might have a high affinity for the Senjutsu, but it is only a fraction of your talent in Senjutsu. He doesn''t even have enough talent topete with that Tsunade Girl from the Shikkotsu Forest." The Snake Sage swings her tail. "Since this is the case I will leave him in your care. I have some matters to attend in Konoha." Izuna walks out of the cave. Whoosh He teleports from the Ryuchi Cave and reappears in Konoha above the Hokage Monument. He stares down at the vige as he gazes towards the academy. "Naruto-kun Sasuke-kun both of you are so strong?" A bunch of kids surround Naruto and Sasuke and cheers them. Humm "I am not that good. Dattebyo" Naruto scratches the back of his head as heughs awkwardly "It is nothing special" Sasuke ces his hands in his pocket and walks away. "Cool so cool Sasuke-kun is so cool." Many fangirls chase after him. Humph Naruto snorts and kicks a pebble. "Naruto-kun you were wonderful." A purple-haired girl with white eyes passes a bottle of transparent liquid to Naruto. Naruto grabs the bottle and chugs it down. Gulp gulp "Thank you Hinata. I was feeling thirsty just now." "Na Naruto-kun that wasn''t meant for drinking. It was a medicine for applying to your body. You had a spar earlier so I thought you need some medicine." Hinata flusters as she speaks. Growl Naruto''s stomach growls as he catches his stomach and runs towards the bathroom. "Out of my way out of my way it is an emergency." Haha Izuna chuckles as he stares at Naruto, searching for a bathroom. Swoosh He flickers in front of Hinata. Hinata notices him. "Izuna Nii-san Naruto-kun would be fine, right? He drank the medicine meant for external wounds." Hinata has a worried expression on his face. "Don''t worry he would be fine." Izuna shakes his head and pats her head. "Hinata you have to train harder if you want to catch up with Naruto." "Yes I will do my best." Hinata resolutely clenches her fist. "Well see youter." Izuna flickers towards the Uchiha n. He enters the Uchihapound and walks towards his house. He reaches the entrance of his house and opens the front door. Whoosh A small agile figure jumps on him and hugs him. "Onii-san I missed you a lot." Izuna catches the little figure and pats her head. "I missed you too Ayaka." -------------------- A/N:- No we haven''t missed anything. The One year time skip will be exinedter. Chapter 169: Light and the Shadow Chapter 169: Light and the Shadow "I missed you too, Ayaka." Izuna hugs her and pats her head. "Ara Izuna-kun you are back?" Aiko walks from the kitchen. "I am back Mother." He walks inside the house with Ayaka clinging to him. "Onii-san y with me." Ayaka drags him to the backyard. Izuna helplessly shakes his head and follows her. "Look look Onii-san." Ayaka takes out a toy shuriken from her pocket and throws it towards a target. Swoosh The Shuriken hits the target right in the center. Wow Izuna ps his hands in praise. "Hehe I am awesome right Onii-san." Ayaka folds her small hands and raises her head high in pride. "Yes, my Ayaka is awesome." Izuna cheers her. "Hehe it is nothing nothing. I can do much more." Izuna pats her head. "Yes yes. Ayaka is the strongest." Izuna tosses her up in the air and catches her. Hehe "It''s so fun Onii-san." Ayaka giggles in happiness. "Ne Ne Nii-san Shisui and Itachi Nii-san told me you are the strongest Ninja of the vige. Ayaka also wants to be strong like Onii-san. So teach Ayaka some jutsu." "Ayaka, you are only three years old now. You haven''t unlocked your chakra yet. So, I can''t teach any ninjutsu to you. Wait for a year and I will teach you many cool new jutsus." "No no I want to learn them now" Ayaka pleads with her puppy eyes. "Aww so cute." Izuna''s heart melts from her expression. Sigh "Ok then I will help you unlock your chakra and I will teach you the signature jutsu of the Uchiha n." "Yay Onii-san is so awesome." Ayaka jumps on the ground and dances in happiness. Sigh Izuna shakes his head and stops her. "Ok ok sit still. I will unlock your chakra." Ayaka silently sits on the ground and closes her eyes. After a few minutes, Izuna takes out a chakra paper from his pocket and passes it to Ayaka. "Ok now let''s see your chakra nature. Try to infuse your chakra in this chakra paper." "Ok!" Ayaka nods her head and infuses some chakra in the paper. Whoosh The paper slits into four parts. One part of the paper catches fire and turns into ashes the second part gets soaked with water the third part crumbles with many creases and thest part crumbles into dust. "Woah that''s so amazing." Ayaka ps her hand. Shock appears on Izuna''s face as he stares at the paper with wide-eyes. Ayaka notices his expression and asks him. "What''s the matter Onii-san? What happened? Did Ayaka did something wrong?" Ayaka''s eyes turn teary. "No no nothing is wrong. Instead Ayaka did very well." Izuna calms her down. ''Incredible! I never expected Ayaka to be born with all elemental chakra affinities and her chakra reserves are quite high for an Uchiha almost rivaling that of an Uzumaki. Looks like another genius is born in the Uchiha n.'' A smile appears on Izuna''s face as he pats Ayaka''s head. "Ayaka you are a genius." "Huhu yes, I am." Ayaka puts her tiny hands around her head and proudly raises her head. "One day I will be as strong as Onii-san." "Hai hai now let me teach you your first jutsu." Izuna lifts her and ces her on his back as he flickers towards the Uchihake. He ces her down and walks towards theke. "I will teach you the signature technique of the Uchiha n." "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu" Izuna slowly makes some hand signs and spews out a giant fireball from his mouth to demonstrate the technique. "Did you get it?" He turns towards Ayaka and asks her. "Yes now it''s my turn." Ayaka walks in front of theke. She makes some hand signs ording to her memory. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu" She spews out a gigantic fireball which vaporizes the entireke. "I did it." Ayaka clenches her fist as she raises them in the air. Woosh Her vision turns blurry as her head spins. Izuna instantly catches her and creates a bed for her from Wood Style. "This silly girl. She used up all of her chakras in thatst jutsu. Looks like I have to teach chakra control to her first." Izuna gently caresses Ayaka''s face as he infuses some Nature energy to rejuvenate her. "She did it on her first try. Her talent and potential are on par with Itachi perhaps even greater I bet she will be as strong as Grandfather in the future." Izuna shakes his head and carries her over to their house. --------------------- Inside the Hokage Office, Izuna stands in front of the Hiruzen as he passes a scroll to him. "The Fourth Mizukage of the Kiri was being manipted by the very same person who caused the Nine-tails Incident in Konoha. He is a hidden member of Akatsuki and their aim is world dominance. The group wants to create true peace in the shinobi world by destroying all the Hidden viges." Izuna reveals the facts to Hiruzen. Sigh. Hiruzen rubs his forehead in contemtion as he reads the report. "Konoha signed a peace treaty with the Kirigakure, as the rest of Hidden viges didn''t like the idea of an alliance. But it is fine this way too at least there won''t be an unnecessary war in the future." Hiruzen rolls up the scroll and ces it on his table. "As for the Masked Man whom you talked about I can only ask you to monitor them. Jiraiya is keeping tabs on Orochimaru so he doesn''t have a chance to look after other affairs." Sigh Hiruzen sighs again. "Old man today I will beat you up for sure." A short spiky brown hair kid with blue eyes and blush marks on his cheeks opens the door and jumps towards Hiruzen. Hmm Izuna stares at the kid for a sec before ignoring himpletely. Haah The Kid runs towards Hiruzen before tripping on the floor and hitting his head on the floor. Waah The Kid cries as he held his head. Sigh "Konohamaru I am busy with work right now. I will y with youter." Hiruzen rubs his forehead. "No I want to y now." The Kid throws a tantrum. Creak The door of the Office opens and a female anbu enters the room. She grabs Konohamaru and apologizes to Hiruzen. "I am sorry for bothering you Hokage-sama." "It''s fine." Hiruzen waves his hand in dismissal. The Anbu drags Konohamaru out of the room by his ear. Ouch ouch "That hurts Mom!" Konohamaru yells in pain. Izuna silently stares at their interaction as he remarks. "It''s time for you to step down from your position as the Hokage. Four years have passed since that incident the vige has stabilized by now and I am sure you are also tired of the position." Sigh Hiruzen sighs again. "Were you able to convince Tsunade?" "Yes she is ready to be the Fifth Hokage. I have talked with her. I will fetch her soon." Hmm Hiruzen nods his head. "The old age has caught up to me. I am not as capable as I was in my younger days. It''s time to pass the ''Will of Fire'' to the new generation. Why don''t you be the Next Hokage instead of Tsunade?" Hiruzen questions Izuna. "That won''t do." Izuna shakes his head. "The Hokage position is such a drag. I won''t get enough time for my training." Hmm "You sound like Shikaku Nara. Fair enough then fetch Tsunade and I will hold a meeting with the Daimyo and the Elder council and will retire from the position." Hiruzen removes the Hokage''s hat from his head and ces it on the table. "Very well, I will fetch Tsunade." Shoom Izuna''s body disperses into countless particles of light as he disappears from his ce. Hiruzen takes out the crystal ball from his drawer as he stares at it with a conflicted gaze. "Looks like this is the end of our long rtionship. Sigh" He stows away the crystal ball and walks out of the Hokage Office. --------------- In an Underground hideout just outside the Konoha, Izuna calmly stands in the center as a figure bows in front of him. "What should I do next leader?" The figure asks him. "Pride you are the first member of the Shadow group. Other members will soon join us in the future. But for now, you have only one task search for the traces of an organization called Kara. Don''t reveal yourself to them under any circumstance. No matter what it is. You just have to search for their traces. Don''t engage with any of the members of this organization." "Yes Leader." The Pride nods his head as he flickers out from the hideout. "Yagura Karatachi now called Pride is the first member of the Shadow group." Izuna stares at Pride''s back and makes amendments to his n. "My Organization would have two branches the Light and the Shadow or the Virtue and the Sin. The members of the Light group will work in the light of the shinobi world whereas the Shadow group will stay hidden from sights like a shadow as they will lurk in the darkness of this world." Snap Izuna snaps his finger as the Sin Grimoire floats in front of him. "I can trust the members of the Light Group since they are a part of my family and friends, but the same can''t be said about the Shadow group." Whoosh. The pages of the Grimoire flips open as a seal appears on one of the pages. -------------------- A/N:- People who are wondering if we missed some chapters in the Land of water arcs. Then yes, I haven''t exined some part about the fate of the Fourth Mizukage, but I will do itter in a side chapter dedicated to Yagura and his new identity. TBH... the Land of Water arc turned out to be longer than I expected it to be. Also, the cannon has almost officially started. Timeline wise we are two years from the Naruto cannon start. There are a few major events which we will cover and move on to Naruto. Chapter 170: Yang Kurama Chapter 170: Yang Kurama "Yo Naruto!" Izuna pats Naruto''s shoulder as he appears in front of the academy. "Who who is there?" Naruto jumps back as Izuna suddenly appears in front of him. "Oh! it is Izuna Nii-san. Dattebyo." Naruto scratches his head. "Naruto Come with me. We will meet with Tsunade." "Yeah Tsunade baa-san I want to meet with her. I haven''t seen her in a while." Naruto jumps excitedly. "Ok then let''s go. I will train you in a new jutsu while we are at it." "New Jutsu. Dattebyo!" Izuna grabs Naruto and flickers towards his house. "Get your things ready. We will depart shortly." Naruto enters his house and prepares his luggage. Izuna stares at the house as he watches the lonely figure of Naruto. "Just wait a little longer Naruto. You will meet your parents soon." After waiting for around fifteen minutes, Naruto walks out of the house with a small bag tied around his back. Izuna shakes his head and gives a scroll to Naruto. "Naruto use this instead. Try to put your stuff in this storage scroll." "But but Nii-san I have never done it before." Naruto takes the scroll and looks at it curiously. "Hmm ok then watch me perform the hand signs." Izuna makes some hand signs. "Enclosing technique" He seals the luggage into the scroll. "Ok try it now." "Yes Nii-san." Naruto takes the scroll and slowly makes the hand signs. ''Hmm Naruto is technically the prince of the Uzumaki n. So he must have a high affinity for Fuinjutsu but no one taught him any sealing technique in the Original, not even Jiraiya bothered to teach him any Fuinjutsu techniques. Let me see, if Naruto has any talent for Fuinjutsu." Haah Narutopletes the hand signs and ms his palm on the scroll. Whoosh He releases some chakra from his palm, but nothing happens. ''As expected his chakra control is terrible because of the interference of the Nine-tails. Maybe it is time for him to meet with the Nine-tails. Nine-tails will give him a huge power boost and he could catch up with Sasuke. Sasuke has already mastered his Sharingan to three tomoes with the training of Itachi and Sasuke.'' "I failed Nii-san." Naruto dejectedly hangs his head. "Don''t worry Naruto. I will teach you" Izuna signals him toe closer. Izuna activates his Sharingan and ces his hand on Naruto''s forehead. Whoosh Izuna and Naruto appear inside an undergroundplex with many pipes running along with the ceiling and hallways. The area is flooded with a shallowyer of water. "Wow" Naruto opens his eyes and curiously looks around. "Wow where are we Nii-san. This ce is so weird?" Naruto walks towards a pipe and kicks it. Ouch He clutches his stomach and winces in pain. "Why is it hurting my stomach?" Izuna chuckles and points towards Naruto''s stomach. "Check for yourself." Naruto slowly stares at his stomach and notices a hole in it. "Wha what is this? Nii-san I am dying, Nii-san there is a hole in my stomach. I haven''t even be the Hokage Nii-san." Naruto freaks out and hugs Izuna''s arm. Haha Izunaughs for a while before he pats Naruto''s head. "Calm down, Naruto. Nothing is going to happen to you." Izuna calms him down. Roarr A roar interrupts them. "Hmm Naruto let''s go and check that out." Both of them walk deeper into theplex. ''I will let Naruto face off against Nine-tails. I just can''t miss that first encounter.'' Whoosh Izuna turns invisible as he follows Naruto. "Hey, Nii-san what do you think is inside this ce?" Naruto questions Izuna as he walks deeper. Roarr Another roar interrupts his thoughts. Naruto dashes in the roar''s direction, and an enormous cage appears in his vision. Roar He notices the huge fox prisoned inside the cage. "It''s huge." Naruto''s eyes widen as he notices the size of the Nine-tails. "Kide closer." The Nine-tails growls at him. "Huh!" He walks towards the giant cage. Swish Nine-tails swipes his w at Naruto. Whoosh Naruto performs a backflip and avoids the attack. "Hey what was that? Do you want to fight> Then I will beat you up?" Naruto makes a shadow clone. "Rasengan." He makes a Rasengan and throws it towards the Nine-tails. Swish Nine-tails flicks the Rasengan with his w. "Kid you have guts to attack me like that." Whoosh Red chakra seeps out from the prison and engulfs Naruto. Aah The chakra chokes Naruto. Argh "Nii-san help me." Naruto struggles to breathe as he asks for help. Swish Izuna swipes his hand and disperses the chakra. "Wha what?" Nine-tails eyes widen in surprise as it stares at Izuna with disbelief. Inside the Sin Grimoire The Yin half of Kurama slowly opens his eyes and stares at his Yang Half. "Well he can''t sense my presence. But I want to see him getting his ass kicked by Izuna." "" Minato and Kushina silently stare at the Yin Half of Kurama. "He is a part of you you know." Kushina asks him. "He is but I suffered a beating from Izuna and I want him to feel my suffering." "" Minato shakes his head and curiously looks at their interaction. "Kushina both of us sealed our chakra inside the seal. But I guess our worries were unfounded with Izuna around." "Yes, Izuna-kun is such a good brother." Kushina nods her head. "You are howe you are here?" Nine-tails growls at Izuna as he questions him. Izuna reveals his Sharingan to Nine-tails as he walks inside the cage. "Those eyes they are the same as Madara Uchiha." Nine-tails recognize the Choku tomoe pattern of Izuna''s Sharingan. "Nine-tails or should I say Kurama. You have some guts for trying to lure Naruto near the cage and attack him in front of me." Bam Izuna clutches his fist and punches the Nine-tails. Woosh Nine-tails fly through the cage and hits the other end. "Behave" Bam He punches the Nine-tails again. Growl Nine-tails growls again and charges up a tailed beast bomb. Bam Izuna teleports on top of Nine-tails and punches it again. Bam Growl. "You bastard." Nine-tails growls at him as Izuna presses him down. "How do you know my name?" Kurama questions him as it is pressed against the floor. Whoosh Izuna flickers out of the prison as he talks with Naruto. "Nii-san is that the Nine-tails? What is it doing here? Where are we exactly?" He bombards Izuna with a flurry of questions. "Calm down, Naruto. I will answer all of your questions." Izuna calms him down. "First of all, we are inside your Mindscape." "Eh! Mindscape what what is that?" Naruto scratches his head in confusion. Sigh Izuna sighs and exins to him. "Naruto A mindscape is a subconscious ne that can be essed by a person if the person is a jinchuruki or if he is a sage. In your case Naruto you are a jinchuruki or to be exact the Nine-tails is sealed inside your body." Izuna reveals the information to him. ''I think it is about time to tell Naruto about some facts, so it will prepare him in the future.'' "Nine-tails? So that''s why the vigers called me the Demon Fox." It dawns on Naruto as he stares at the prison. "So the Nine-tails is living inside my body?" Naruto turns to Izuna. "Well kind of," Izuna nods his head. Naruto walks towards the prison and kicks the gate. "Hey you I am letting you live inside my body. You owe me some rent." Naruto points at Nine-tails. "" Izuna and Nine-tails silently stare at Naruto''s stupid remark. "Well he is kind of correct. So, nine-tails, why don''t you pay him some rent." Humph Nine-tails snorts at Izuna and passes some of its chakras to Naruto. "Brat take this and get away from my sight." Whoosh The chakra cloaks Naruto''s body as he closes his eyes. Huh Naruto opens his eyes and looks at himself in the real world. There is an orange chakra cloak around his body with one-tail. "Somehow I feel quite strong." Whoosh Naruto flickers towards a boulder and punches it. Bam The boulder shatters into countless fragments. "Strong I am feeling powerful." He turns to Izuna and yells. "Hey Nii-san fight me. I think I can beat you now." "" Izuna silently nods his head. "Go on and try it." Whoosh Naruto disappears and reappears in front of Izuna. ''Slow he is very slow.'' Izuna yawnszily. Bam He karate chops Naruto on the ground. Whoosh The chakra cloak disperses and Naruto clutches his head. "Aww that hurts Nii-san." "Naruto remember this. This power is not your own it is a power you borrowed from the Nine-tails. If you want to use it properly, then you would have to train your body first. Your body can only bear the burden of One-tails anymore, and you will suffer serious injuries. Also, don''t use this power recklessly. Use it only when you are in a life and death situation." Izuna warns him. "Yes, Nii-san I will keep that in mind." "Good." Izuna nods his head. ''I want Naruto to figure out his Ninja way on his own. If I interfered too much with his growth, then he won''t be the same Naruto he would be in the future. He would have to settle things with the Nine-tails on his own.'' "Ok, Naruto let''s get going." Izuna ps his hands to get Naruto''s attention. "Time to go." Both of them walk outside the vige. Chapter 171: After Meal Exercise Chapter 171: After Meal Exercise A/N:- So... the Naruto canon has started. It is 3 years earlier than the Original. ------------------------- "Naruto let''s go." Izuna and Naruto flickers out from Konoha. "Naruto we will start with your taijutsu training." Izuna throws a seal towards Naruto. Swish swish The seal attaches to Naruto''s leg and hands. Izuna makes a one-hand sign to activate the seal. Whoosh The seal glows for a while before disappearing. "Huh what''s this?" Naruto''s speed decreases instantly as he trips on his foot. "What did you do Nii-san? It is so hard to move now I feel like I feel like something heavy is pressing me down on the ground." Naruto ces his palms on the ground and stands slowly. He walks for a while before staggering again. "Naruto I have ced a gravity seal on your body. This way you could train your body more efficiently." Izuna removes his bracers and sandals and shows his seals to Naruto. "Look Naruto even I have been using those seals." "No this is so hard." Narutoins. Sigh Izuna sighs at Naruto. "Naruto if you can use One-tail cloak of Nine-tails without tiring yourself out then I will teach this new jutsu to you." Izuna closes his eyes and enters Partial Sage Mode. A cyan cloak appears behind Izuna. Whoosh. Izuna disappears from his position and reappears in front of an enormous boulder. He balls his fingers into a fist and punches towards the boulder. Whoosh He stops the punch an inch away from the boulder. Crack crack Many cracks spread throughout the boulder and it shatters into many tiny fragments. "Wow so powerful." Naruto''s eyes widen in surprise as he looks at Izuna with reverence. Izuna dissipated the cloak and turns to Naruto. "Naruto unlike you I am not a Jinchuruki so I don''t have ess to the special red chakra of Nine-tails but this new form of mine is multiple times stronger than your Nine-tails form." "Amazing it is so amazing. Dattebyo!" Naruto ps his hands. "Nii-san please teach me that technique I can''t allow Sasuke to leave me in the dust." Naruto resolutely clenches his fist. "Ok ok Naruto I will teach. But first, improve your chakra control. I will train you in this journey." Izuna makes some hand signs and taps on Naruto''s forehead. A sealing form appears on Naruto''s forehead and seals his chakra. "Huh what I can''t feel my chakra." Naruto inspects his body. "What did you do Nii-san?" Naruto fervently questions him. "Calm down, Naruto. I just sealed your chakra you won''t be able to use any Ninjutsu during this time. You could only infuse limited amounts of Chakra while this seal is active." Izuna replies to him. "But but Nii-san we are away from the vige how would I fight if enemies attack me." Naruto asks him. "Simple use your body to fight them. I have taught multiple Taijutsu techniques to you during these past few years. It is time to brush off on them." "Yes." Naruto dejectedly drops his head. ''Naruto this is for your own good. There is no variety in yourbat style in the future you are too reliant on Nine-tails chakra I want to remove that weakness. By sealing your chakra, you would be forced to use Taijutsu techniques. This way you could handle the burden ced on your body by the dense chakra of Nine-tails.'' Both of them move towards the borders of the Land of Fire. "Naruto Tsunade is currently in the Land of Medicine. We would have to cross multiple nations before we reach there. So, always keep your guard up. The journey would be long." Izuna warns Naruto. "Yes Nii-san" Naruto nods his head. ''It would be great if Naruto can learn some anbu techniques of search and reconnaissance during this time. I could teleport to Tsunade''s location with the Flying Thunder God, but I have some matters to handle in some nations.'' Both of them reach near the border of Land of Fire and Land of Waterfall as the sun sets on the horizon. "Naruto, there is a small vige up ahead. Remember, since we are in foreignnds... we have to hide our identities as ninja. You haven''t graduated from the academy yet, so you don''t have a headband. But you should hide your weapon holster." Izuna advises Naruto. "Yes, Nii-san. Naruto nods his head. He removes his weapon holster and hides it inside his clothes. "Good." Both of them enter a nearby vige at the border of Land of Waterfall. Hmm Izuna raises his head and inspects his surroundings. ''Seems like the small viges are still suffering from the aftermath of war. Many Shinobis either deserted their vige and went Rogue or their n and countries got destroyed.'' Izuna spots the hawk-like gaze of multiple shinobis as soon as he steps into the vige. ''Well, they could act as a training partner for Naruto.'' Naruto and Izuna walk towards an Inn as Izuna throws a stack of Ryo towards the innkeeper. "Irasshaimase! dear customer the inndy hurriedly grabs the stack of cash and stows it into the counter. "One room with two beds and dinner." Izuna calmly reserves a room. The innkeeper gives a key to Izuna with a number on it. "Room No. 103" Izuna nods his head. He takes out another stack of cash from his pocket and passes it to Naruto. ''Here, this is your pocket money. Spend it however you like, if you need more just ask me.'' Naruto hurriedly grabs the bills and counts them. "Thank you, Nii-san. You are the best." Naruto takes out a frog-shaped purse from his pocket and puts the money in it. The purse bulges with the stack of cash. "Gama-chan is happy when he is full." Naruto hugs his purse. "" Izuna silently stares at Naruto. ''Looks like he has caught the money-loving tendency of Tsunade.'' He shakes his head and turns towards Naruto. "Naruto, I have some urgent work to handle. So take care of yourself. I will be right back." Izuna walks out of the inn. "Yay I have pocket-money. Time to spend it." Narutoughs in delight as he rushes out of the inn. -------------- Outside the inn, A bunch of people stare at Izuna and Naruto as they murmur to themselves. "Looks like a big fish has finally arrived in the vige. This is an opportunity for us." One of the persons rubs his hands in excitement. "Yes if we can rob their money, then we don''t have to worry about money for a while." The person turns towards his group. "You two chase after that kid and steal his money. As for the rest of us, we will take care of that man. He has more money than the kid." He signals to his group. "Yes, boss." The group nods their head and follows Izuna and Naruto. Izuna lifts his eyebrow as he notices the group chasing after him. ''These goons aren''t much of a threat. The real threat is hiding in the shadows.'' Izuna lifts his gaze towards a dark corner. A smile appears on his face as he continues to walk towards the red-light district of the vige. ''Damn! That pervert. he has to meet with me in such a ce.'' Izuna walks through the streets of the red-light district as the fragrance of cheap perfume and makeup drowns him. Hmm ''Looks like the red-light business of this world is advanced. They are using an incense made from a special nt to spread a genjutsu inducing fragrance through this district. Any normal shinobi with some chakra is immune to its effect, but any normal civilian will quickly fall for this trap.'' Izuna shakes his head and continues to move towards the meeting point. "Ara won''t you entertain this beautiful Nee-san for tonight?" One of the scantily ddies pulls his arm and presses herrge breasts against him. Hmm Izuna frowns as the scent of perfume tries to overload his senses. "Not today,dy." He casts a mild genjutsu on thedy and pushes her away. ''What a genius way to rob money? They offer you their service for an empty wallet.'' "Damn that pervert. Why would he have to meet me here, of all ces?" Izuna clenches his fist in anger. "I will kick his ass, the moment I spot him." ------------- Inside a bar Brrr A shiver runs through a white-haired man as he is embraced by two beautiful scantily ddies in his arms. "What was that? Why do I feel like, I am going to get my ass kicked?" "What''s the matter? Honey!" One of thedies questions him. "Here have some more wine." The otherdy winks at him as she pours wine in his cup." Aha aha The white-haired man chuckles lightly as he scratches his forehead. "It''s nothing nothing why don''t we enjoy over selves a little more." The white-haired man raises his cup and gulps it down. "Bosu it''s my treat. Let them drink how much they want." He raises his cup and cheers to the rest of the people in the bar. Ayo The rest of the people in the bar raise their cup and praises him for his generosity. Gulp The white-haired man gulps down another cup of wine. Ahem "So you are here. Mind for some after-meal exercise." Crackle crackle A person dressed in ck clothes enters the bar as he cracks his knuckles. Gulp The white-haired man gulps his saliva as his expression turns horrified. Chapter 172: Would you be my Friend? Part-1 Chapter 172: Would you be my Friend? Part-1 "Jii-san how much for this Yakitori?" "Hai fifty Ryo for one serving." "Give me two servings." "Coming right up" Naruto forks out Hundred Ryo from Gama-chan and hands it over to the food vendor. "Thank you for your patronage." Chomp Chomp Naruto takes big bites from the Yakitori as he eats the grilled meat. "Mmm it is good but nothing can beat the Ichiraku Ramen in terms of taste and vor." Naruto slowly walks through the streets of the vige as he enjoys his Yakitori. ''Hmm these people have been chasing me for a while. From the looks of it their intentions are not good. Let me see what they want.'' Ffwwhheuu. Naruto walks towards a deserted alley as he whistles and enters the alley. "Now is our chance. This kid has lost his way and entered an isted ce. We can rob him easily and nobody would notice it." One of the thug signals to his partners. "Let''s go. We are going to hit big today. There would be enough money for alcohol and women for next month." The other thug rubs his hands and follows Naruto. Inside the alley, Naruto kicks away an empty metal can as he walks deeper. "Why Nii-san has to seal my chakra? I want to do some cool jutsu and beat that Sasuke to a pulp." He walks towards the corner and takes support against the wall as he waits for the thugs. A momentter, The two thugs enter the alley as they surround Naruto. "Oye Kid My friend over here doesn''t like small kids. He would pummel them the moment he notices any kid. The people of the vige call him the boogeyman of the vige." One of the thugs threatens Naruto. "Huh What? When did I have such a name in the vige?" The other thug points towards himself as he questions the other thug. "And what''s with this boogeyman? I have never heard of such a term." "Shh" The other thug signals his friend to shut up. " anyway kid if you want to protect yourself from my friend over there then hand over your wallet to us. Otherwise he will beat you up." The thug advises Naruto. "Yes If you don''t listen to him then I will beat you up." The other thug clenches his fist and makes a fierce expression. "" Naruto silently stares at their little skit. He takes out Gama-chan from his pocket and jiggles it in front of the thugs. "Oh you two want to be Gama-chan''s friend." Jiggle Jiggle He jiggles Gama-chan again. ''Money lots of money'' The expression of two thugs changes as greed overwhelms them. Swish Naruto tosses Gama-chan in the air as he signals to the thug. "Then you can be his friends." "Yes yes" The thug dashes towards Gama-chan to grab him. Swoosh Bam Naruto spins and delivers a round-house kick to the thug. Bam The thug is sent flying from the kick as he lodges into the wall and passes out. "WHAT?" The eyes of the other thugs widen in surprise as he stares at his friend and Naruto. "You you" He weakly points a finger towards Naruto as he dashes out of the alley. "Damnit this kid is a ninja. We picked up on the wrong target." "Oh crap! he figured out my identity. Izuna nii-san would be angry." Naruto scratches the back of his head as he stares at the fleeing thug. "Oh I got it. What if I beat this guy too and tie them up?" A ''brilliant'' idea pops out in Naruto''s mind. Whoosh He dashes towards the thug and reappears in front of him. The thug is startled to see Naruto. "Wait wait we can talk about it. How about you let go of me?" The thug tries to negotiate with Naruto. "No No Not happening." Bam Naruto punches the thug in the guts. Bleurgh The thug vomits out lots of saliva and passes out. Naruto drags the thug and ties him together with his partner. Naruto rubs his palms together and walks out of the alley. "Yoshaa That was easy." Swish swish. Multiple kunais target Naruto from all angles. Hmm Naruto notices the kunais thrown towards him. Whoosh He performs a backflip and dodges the kunai. "Who is there?" He takes out a kunai from his pocket and warily stares at his attackers. He spots two shinobis dressed in ck clothes perched upon an electricity pole. He notices the crossed-out mark on their headband. ''Rogue Ninjas'' Hmm Naruto frowns as he raises his guard. "What do you want? Answer me." nk Naruto deflects another shuriken with his kunai as he backs down a little. The Rogue Ninjasunch another volley of shurikens at Naruto without responding. nk nk Naruto barely deflects the kunais as he predicts their next attack. ''I can''t use Ninjutsu because of Nii-san''s seal. Nii-san where are you? I need your help." nk He shes with one of the rogue Ninjas in closebat. nk nk Bam After multiple shes with the rogue ninja, Naruto is able tond a punch on him. Bam The rogue Ninja is pushed back from the attack. "Enough fooling around Capture him immediately we can trade him for the intel." The partner of the Rogue Ninja rebukes him. Slick The rogue Ninja licks his kunai as he stares at his partner. "Don''t ruin my fun. I like this feeling when I go easy on prey and give him a chance to struggle. They will struggle till theirst moment as they foolishly think they have a chance to resist; only to shatter it in the blink of an eye. Kuhaha" The Rogue Ninjaughs sadistically as he infuses lightning chakra in his kunai and attacks Naruto. "This is bad." Naruto barely avoids the kunai. Sweat drips from his face as he struggles to dodge the attacks. "Haha haha" The rogue Ninja continues to throw one lightning infused kunai after another. "Haha look at this poor kid. I bet he hasn''t even graduated from the academy yet. Haha" The Rogue Ninjaughs hysterically. ''Oye Nine-tail fox lend me some chakra. I can''t use my chakra give me yours.'' Naruto enters his mindscape as he begs the Nine-tails for Chakra. "Hmph brat why would I give my chakra to you? Ask your big brother for help? If it wasn''t for him then you won''t have fallen in such a situation." The Nine-tails harrumphs and shuts his eyes and turns away from Naruto. "Damn it you freeloader." Naruto angrily kicks the cage and walks out of his mindscape. "This brat" Nine-tails opens one of his eyes and stares at Naruto''s back. "Looks like Chomei is nearby which means this brat is out of danger. Also, with him around nothing would happen to this brat." Yawn Nine-tails yawnszily and closes his eyes. Outside in the real world, Naruto continues to back down as his back hits the wall. "Now now where would you dodge? I guess all they taught you in the academy is just how to dodge enemy attacks. Haha" The Rogue Ninja infuses chakra in his kunai and attacks Naruto. "I guess one or two scratches won''t matter during the trade if he is still in one piece." "Aree what''s going on here?" A petite, mint-haired girl with tan-skin enters the alley. The girl has short hair and orange eyes as she curiously stares at the group. There is a Yakitori in both of her hands and some grease is smudged around her chin. The rogue ninja stops in his tracks as he stares at the girl. The girl flops towards them as she looks at them. "Uncle are you a bad guy?" The girl questions the rogue Ninja. She hands over one of her Yakitori to Naruto. "Hold it for me." She ces her hand on her waist. "Uncle you shouldn''t bully others. Big Brother Shibuki tells me it is a bad thing." "" Naruto and the rogue Ninjas silently stare at the girl. ''What''s with this girl? Why do I feel like she is simr to me?'' Naruto closely inspects the neer girl. "Don''t be a bad guy. You should make friends with others. Would you be Fu''s friend?" Fu passes another Yakitori to the Rogue Ninja. "Haha Me? Friend?" The Rogue Ninjaughs at her as he swats away the Yakitori. "Listen girl I am a rogue Ninja a criminal we don''t have friends only enemies." "Stop bantering'' with the girl. Just capture her too we are already running out of time." The other rogue ninja reminds his partner. Whoosh whoosh The Rogue Ninja makes some hand signs as he releases toxic gas from his mouth. Ahh "Fu feels so dizzy." Fu clutches her head as she passes out. "Nii-san save me," Naruto yells loudly before passing out. The Rogue Ninja grabs them and flickers out of the alley. Outside the alley, A man dressed in a yellow kimono jacket, light gray pants, and a turquoise haori is worriedly searching around. "Fu Fu where are you, Fu? This girl I told her to not leave my side. Now where this girl ran off to. I have to meet with the informer and get the intel from him." The man clutches his fist as he searches around. "Fu''s safetyes first I have to search for her at all cost." Whoosh The man jumps on top of a house and disappears. Chapter 173: Would you be my Friend? Part-2 Chapter 173: Would you be my Friend? Part-2 Hmm Izuna senses some changes in Naruto''s chakra signature from his Fuinjutsu seal. ''Looks like those ninjas captured Naruto. This will be a trial for Naruto. I want to see how far he can go without my help?'' Izuna shakes his head and turns his attention to the white-haired man. Snap "Yo Jiraiya-san nice to meet you here after such a long time." Jiraiya is hugging two beautiful young girls in his arms. "What a beautiful sight? I guess Tsunade would be pleased to see this picture?" Izuna swings the camera and grins at Jiraiya. "No don''t. Don''t show that picture to Tsunade. Give it to me." Jiraiya jumps from his ce and appears in front of Izuna as he tries to snatch the camera. "Now now Jiraiya-san let Tsunade see your research. I am sure she won''t be mad." Izuna has a devilish smile on his face. ''Fuck this kid he is a devil spawn.'' Jiraiya curses Izuna as he clears his throat. "Research yes yes it is for research. You see I am searching for new ideas for the new Icha Icha series. I have named it Icha Icha Violence. It would be one of my legendary book that depicts the bond between a man and a woman in a stirring manner." Jiraiya adopts the expression of a sage as he ys his hands around to assume a cool pose. "Hai hai" Izuna ps his hands with a bored expression. "Stop T-posing and listen to me." Humph Jiraiya scowls at him. "Icha Icha series is for every man of culture out there. Your average joe can''t understand the deep intricacies depicted in the immersive plot of the story." Jiraiya starts to brag about his Icha Icha series. How it is the most sold book out in the market? How he sold all of its copies on day one? "Stop someone kidnapped Naruto and we need to save him." Izuna reveals the news of Naruto''s kidnapping to Jiraiya. "Icha Icha is wait what? Naruto is kidnapped. Who kidnapped him where is he?" Jiraiya ends his monologue as his expression turns serious. "How could Naruto get kidnapped under your watchful eyes? If it was someone else, I could have believed it but you I don''t believe it to be true." Anxiety appears on Jiraiya''s face. ''Hoh! So he cares about Naruto despite not even once showing his face in the vige after so many goddamn years of Minato and Kushina''s ''death''. If only he could stop pursuing Orochimaru for all these years.'' Izuna clears his thoughts. ''Though him being out there has its own merits. If not for his spywork Konoha would have suffered multiple losses.'' "Ahem Naruto is alright. Yes, he got kidnapped but I allowed it to happen. It would serve as training for him. Also, I think it might have some rtion to the group of people you are pursuing this time around." Hmm Jiraiya nods his head. "I won''t forgive you, if anything happens to Naruto." Jiraiya calms down as he walks back to his seat and chugs down a cup of sake. "So, what''s this about? What''s the rtion between Naruto''s kidnapping and my investigation?" Izuna walks up to the bartender. "Give me a ss of Orange juice." He ces his order and turns to Jiraiya. "You have been pursuing Orochimaru for a while now. It has been six years since that snake deserted the vige. You are still hung up on this hope." Izuna chides Jiraiya. "You won''t understand. Orochimaru is my teammate. We grew up together had much life and death encounters survived two shinobi wars such bond can''t be broken so easily." Jiraiya shakes his head as he reminisces his past. "Anyway I would like to hear the details on your end." He turns to Izuna. "I suppose you must have heard the recent rumor of a new hidden vige appearing in the Land of Sound. This new hidden vige called Otogakure has been formed recently and is continuously recruiting various rogue shinobis from everywhere." Izuna stops as he looks at Jiraiya''s expression. Jiraiya frowns as he murmurs. "Orochimaru I lost his tracks near the Land of Sound. I don''t know what he is up to but it is my duty to stop him." Tap Tap Izuna raps his fingers on the table to get Jiraiya''s attention. "So, there is a sudden influx of rogue shinobis towards the Land of Sound. Various rogue ninjas from surrounding viges are trying to join Otogakure for benefits. The Land of Waterfall being one such ce." Izuna exins the details to Jiraiya. "You mean this is the reason for your presence in Land of Waterfall." "Yes" Izuna nods his head. "Konoha received a request from the vige head of Takigakure to investigate the recent scuffles at the border. There has been arge influx in the kidnapping of children and civilians at the border." Hmm "Looks like my findings coincide with your mission. This may very well lead me to some fresh trails of Orochimaru. Needless to say, you Uchiha fellows are a bunch of monsters. First, it was you and now even Itachi Uchiha is capable of such feats. He forced the Orochimaru to flee with his tail tucked between his legs." Jiraiya heaves a deep sigh. "So what''s the next step of your n?" "We do nothing I believe Naruto would be able to get out of there on his own." Izuna calmly picks up his Orange juice and takes a sip from it. "The oranges of Land of Waterfall are really up to my liking." "" Jiraiya silently stares at Izuna. ''I wonder how the brain of this kid functions. I bet he has more than one screw loose right there.'' ----------------- Augh Naruto slowly opens his eyes as he struggles to take a breath. Ptui He spits the rag gagged in his mouth and cautiously looks around. "Where am I? those ninjas, where are they? Did I got kidnapped?" Naruto warily inspects his surroundings. "Oh, you are awake." A cheerful voice falls in his ears. Huh Naruto turns around and notices Fu tied up in a simr manner to him. "It''s you. They kidnapped you too." Naruto questions her. Rattle Rattle Naruto struggles to remove the chains tied around his arms and legs. "Why those people are so mean to Fu? Fu wants to be their friend but they drugged Fu and tied her." Fuins as she tried to break free from her bindings. "" Naruto stares at the girl. ''What''s up with this girl? Why do I feel like it would be a pain to stick around here?'' Naruto shakes his head to clear such thoughts. ''I have to somehow get out of here and inform Izuna Nii-san.'' Naruto futilely struggles to break free from the chains. After a few attempts, he gives up and turns to Fu. "Hey, you how were you able to stay awake despite that poison?" Naruto questions her. "Fu will tell you everything if you promise to be Fu''s friend. Fu has no friend in the vige." Fu stares at Naruto with shining eyes. "Ugh! Fine" Naruto hesitates for a while before giving up. "Yay! Fu has finally made a friend. So, Fu will tell you everything. You know Fu is a special child. Fu has a special chakra sealed inside her. It was because of this chakra that Fu is immune to most poisons." Fu has a smug smile on her face as she boasts of her abilities. "" ''Man now I really want to get out of here.'' Naruto wiggles his body as he tries to reach his ankles. ''Those people took all of my stuff away. They didn''t even spare poor Gama-chan. Luckily, they didn''t take away my slippers.'' Naruto grasps his slippers with his mouth as he pulls out a small hidden wire from the slipper. "Izuna nii-san''s lessons areing in handy." Naruto clenches the wire between his teeth and infuses some chakra into the wire. "What a pain? I can barely scrape up a little amount of chakra. Izuna Nii-san''s seals are really strong when I would be able to be like him." For the entire next hour, Naruto struggles with the chakra wire as he lock picks his chains. "Fwaah Finally I am free from my restraints." Naruto stretches his arms and legs open. "Can you free Fu too? You are Fu''s friend, right?" Fu weakly asks Naruto for help. --------------- "Oh! Here he is." Izuna notices a man dressed in a yellow kimono jacket and light gray pants jumping from one rooftop to another. "He is" Jiraiya frowns as he notices the Land of Waterfall headband tied around the man''s arm. "Well he is our client for this mission." Izuna walks out of the bar as Jiraiya follows him. Chapter 174: Uzumaki Hundred Combo Smash Chapter 174: Uzumaki Hundred Combo Smash "Fine" Naruto frees Fu from her bindings and searches the ce he is imprisoned in. "Looks like those shinobis aren''t hanging around here. I must grab my stuff and run away from here." Naruto fumbles through the ce and finds his wallet and weapon holster on a nearby table. "Whew Gama-chan is fine." He picks up the Gama-chan and shakes it. "Gama-chan is so thin." Naruto pockets his belongings and turns to Fu. "We have to hurry and get out of here before those bad people tie us again." ''If only my chakra wasn''t sealed. It is so annoying Dattebyo!'' Naruto bites his lips. "Fu will follow you because you are Fu''s friend." Fu follows Naruto as both of them search for a way out. ----------------- "So Mr. Shibuki or should I say vige head Shibuki? You seem to be in a hurry." Izuna stops the man wearing the yellow kimono jacket man. Shibuki stops in his tracks and turns around and notices Izuna. "You are you are Izuna Uchiha." He immediately recognizes the former as the memories of the past incident shes through his mind. "Ten years it has been ten years since that incident. Sigh" Shibuki sighs as he reminisces his past. "I am sorry for your loss." Izuna consoles him. "It''s fine. Father died from the side-effects of the Hero Water and the poisoning of the Radiation Release Jutsu. He did his best to save everyone." Shibuki closes his eyes as a small teardrop trail from one corner of his eye. "Ahem Anyway, I guess you are the person Konoha sent for this mission." Shibuki asks him. "Yes, and I have a lead on the mission. I was about to meet with you, but I noticed you searching for someone." "Ah yes Fu, I have to search for Fu. I don''t know where that girl ran off to." Shibuki frantically searches around. "Fu?" Izuna question Shibuki. "Yes yes, Fu is my disciple. She was cooped in the vige and when she heard about my departure; she insisted on following me. So, I brought her with me. But I never expected her to get lost in this small vige. My people are also searching around here for her." Shibuki exins to Izuna. ''Fu Fu so the jinchuruki of the seven-tails is also here. I never expected to meet her so soon. This solves most of my troubles.'' "Very well, I will help you with your search." Izuna proposes to help Shibuki. "I would appreciate that." Shibuki describes the appearance of Fu to Izuna and Jiraiya. ''Hmm looks like I was correct. It is indeed the jinchuruki of Seven-Tails. I wonder how Takigakure even managed to captured the Seven-tails in first ce.'' Shibuki nods to both of them and flickers away. "He seems to be very cowardly by nature. I wonder what made him so eager to risk his safety?" Jiraiya urately guesses the cowardly nature of Shibuki. "He is indeed cowardly ten years ago. during a mission, I met with his father his father protected the Takigakure vige with his life on the line and died shortly after. I guess the trauma from that incident shaped him into a coward." Izuna exins the circumstances of Shibuki to Jiraiya. "I wonder how he became the head of a vige with such a feeble personality." Jiraiya shakes his head and turns to Izuna. "Kid now give me the intel on Orochimaru. I am sure you know something." "Fine fine" Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket and tosses it over to Jiraiya. Jiraiya opens the scroll and reads through its content. "So after his defeat at the hands of the Itachi; Orochimaru left the Akatsuki, and he has perfected his Forbidden Technique." Jiraiya''s expression turns grim as he reads the description of the Forbidden Technique. ''Living Corpse Reincarnation it allows Orochimaru to transfer his soul to someone''s else body while retaining their abilities.'' "Such a sinister technique. That Orochimaru hepleted it." Jiraiya clutches the scroll tightly. "Well well ain''t this description reminds of you something." Izuna interrupts Jiraiya. "What?" Jiraiya frowns and turns to Izuna. "Looks like you have forgotten about your childhood friend, Hiruko. He was the one who came up with this idea. Orochimaru just changed the technique to suit his needs." Izuna chuckles as he walks away from the ce. "I have marked the location ofst known hideout of Orochimaru. As for Naruto, don''t worry about him, he can take care of himself." Whoosh Izuna flickers away from the spot. Jiraiya tightly holds onto the scroll as he reminisces his past. "Orochimaru you broke the taboo. The matters of life and death aren''t something to which anyone can have ess to. I still regret my decision back then, if only I could have been a better friend and helped you back then." Sigh Jiraiya takes a deep breath. He flips open the scroll and notices the location of Orochimaru''sst hideout. ''I hope it will lead me to some of his trails.'' Swoosh Jiraiya''s body turns into smoke as he disappears from his ce. Whoosh... ''I am sorry, Jiraiya. I have prepared a contingency for you. You are as stubborn as ever. I guess, it is what makes you the protagonist of your novel.'' Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket as a sealing form appears on it. ''I hope it would help you in some dire situations.'' Izuna walks towards the location of Naruto. ''Time to check on Naruto. I sealed his chakra earlier, but I guess he is in a much bigger pinch than I thought. He stillcks the experience of a proper fight. I grew up during a war and took part in it at the age of eight. Most of my ssmates during that time are either dead or retired as shinobi. Peaceful times sure are good.'' Izuna shakes his head and flickers towards an old abandoned building. ''I wonder how every vige or location has such abandoned buildings, which are an ideal spot for kidnappers.'' He activates his Sharingan and looks through the building. He locates Naruto and Fu fumbling out from the building. Hmm Izuna senses two chakra signatures approaching the building. ''Looks like Naruto picked up a pretty bad timing for an escape. I would like to see. How would he perform against these fellows? These fellows seem to be rogue ninjas from Takigakure. I guess someone from the Takigakure vige leaked the news of Shibuki''s departure. But why did they target Naruto? Guess, only one way to find out.'' Izuna hides his presence as he witnesses the entire incident. ---------------------- "Did you tie them properly?" The silent rogue ninja questions his violent partner. "You don''t have to worry about that? They won''t be able to escape with their level of abilities. We just have to bait the Vige Head Shibuki and negotiate for Hero water for the life of this Konoha kid. This way, we could get our hands-on Hero water and we would be ninjas of the Otogakure." "True I deserted the Takigakure because the current Vige head is a coward and ipetent. I won''t be able to pursue my dreams under his rule. My ambitions are far beyond the boundaries of Takigakure." The silent rogue ninja clutches his fist. "" Izuna eavesdrops on their conversation. ''Is he some kind of Shonen protagonist? The kind who is too adventurous and ventures out in the open world to pursue his dreams? He is more of a chunni than a protagonist.'' "We are finally out from this ce." Naruto walks out of the dpidated building and stretches his body. "Ano Fu thinks that it is still too early for that." Fu weakly points towards the two rogue ninjas. "Oh kid you sure are gutsy. nning to flee from our grasp." The violent ninjas lick his lips and take out a kunai. "I need to rough you a little to hammer some sense in your brain." Whoosh The violent ninja flickers towards Naruto and attacks him. Bam Naruto blocks the attack and counterattacks with his kick. ''Hmm he is still far from Rock Lee''s level but at least he is not cking on his Taijutsu practice.'' Izuna nods his head. ''I guess the idea of Sasuke leaving him into dust bolstered him for more training. But sadly, Naruto''s physique is still weak. He needs more physical training.'' Bang The kicknds on the rogue ninja who blocks it with his arm. "Kid I don''t know where are you getting your confidence from?" Bang The rogue ninja punches Naruto squarely in guts. Bleurgh Naruto spits out a mouthful of saliva and clutches his stomach. "Damnit if only I had chakra." He yells in frustration. ''Hmm seems like Naruto has learned his lesson. shy Ninjutsu techniques aren''t always the way to go.'' Izuna makes some hand signs and releases the seal on Naruto. Whoosh Naruto releases a burst of chakra from his body. "Finally I can use my chakra again." He turns to the rogue ninjas and yells at them. "Let''s see who will beat whom." ''Multi- Shadow clone jutsu'' Naruto makes multiple shadow clones. "You ready boys let''s show this bastard the power of our Taijutsu technique." "Yes boss" all the clones yell simultaneously. "Naruto Uzumaki: Secret Technique: Uzumaki Taijutsu Hundred Combo Smash" Around a hundred shadow clones attack the rogue shinobis from all directions. "" Izuna silently stares at Naruto. ''His naming sense is as terrible as Minato.'' "I think it is a good name for such a technique." Minato remarks from the Grimoire. "Go go Naruto beat them up." Kushina cheers for Naruto. "" ''Like father like son." Yin Kurama grunts before closing its eyes. Chapter 175: The Four- Tails Chapter 175: The Four- Tails "Thanks for your help, Izuna-san." Shibuki thanks Izuna as he rebukes Fu. "Fu next time don''t run away on your own. You would be grounded for the next month." "But but Fu wants to make some friends." She points towards Naruto. "He is Fu''s first friend." Sigh Shibuki sighs and apologizes to Izuna. "I am sorry for the trouble." He turns towards the badly beaten rogue shinobis. "The Takigakure vige will take care of these traitors. After that incident ten years ago, Takigakure has been short on manpower." Shibuki orders his subordinates. "Very well then we will be on our way." Izuna nods his head and signals Naruto to follow him. ------------- "Our next destination is the Land of Earth followed by the Land of Medicine." Izuna and Naruto walk through the forest as Izuna summarizes the destination of their journey. ''My next target is ''Four Tails''.'' Izuna enters his mindscape as he releases a wisp of chakra from his hand. ''Together with this I have amassed the chakra of the Nine-tails, Eight-tails, Seven-Tails, Six-tails, and three tails. I am only missing the chakra of Five-tails, Four-tails, Two-tails, and One-tail.'' The chakra wisp floats in front of him, together with other chakras. ''I got lucky with the Eight-tails chakra. That snake Orochimaru was harvesting Eight-tails chakra in one of his secret hideoutbs.'' Sigh Izuna sighs and continues to move towards the Land of Earth. ''It seems to be almost impossible to harness the power of Sage of Six-Paths without the chakra of the Nine-tailed beasts. I will use the chakra of the tailed-beasts as a catalyst to form the Six Paths Chakra.'' "Nii-san can you remove the chakra seal? It is getting harder to catch up with your pace. Huff huff" Naruto breathes heavily as he follows Izuna. "Naruto that''s my normal pace you need to train more if you want to be the Hokage." "I will be the strongest Hokage Dattebyo!!" Naruto clenches his fist and raises them in the air. Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket. "Pride located the jinchuruki of the Four-tails. Now it is my turn to get the chakra." Izuna inspects the map on the scroll. ''Roshi the jinchuruki of the Four-tails is the oldest jinchuruki of all. He has been a jinchuruki for over thirty years and can harness most of the powers of the Four-tails. It would be a tough battle to fight without revealing my identity. My other alias as Yuito Yuki is still there. Kirigakure doesn''t want to lower its reputation by revealing my identity as a shinobi of Konoha. Their pride won''t let them do so. So they requested to keep my alias of Yuito Yuki as a secret and dered Yuito Yuki as a hero of the Mist.'' Both Izuna and Naruto continue their journey through the Land of Earth. ------------------- Huff Huff Naruto is breathing heavily as he is carrying a giant boulder on his shoulders. "Not bad Naruto you improved a lot in these three weeks." Izuna praises Naruto as he rests against a tree. "Nii-san in these past few weeks you only trained my body, when would I learn a cool new jutsu. I am tired of this training." Bam Naruto ces the boulder on the ground and lies down. Haah Haah "That''s too difficult with these weights on my body." "Listen Naruto the chakra in our body is the spiritual energy through which we couldmunicate with Nature, elements, and even other living beings. This chakra is stored in a vessel, which is your body. Now in your case the chakra reserves of your body are enormous as an Uzumaki. On top of that you are also the jinchuruki of Nine-tails which increases your chakra reserves even further." Hmm Naruto nods his head as he tries to understand the exnation. "But Nii-san what does it have to do with a new jutsu? Teach me a new jutsu instead." "" Sigh Izuna shakes his head as he continues. "Naruto you need chakra to release a jutsu. You have plenty of chakras but your body can''t handle this much amount of chakra. Wait I will show it to you." Izuna takes out a water balloon from his pocket. "Naruto pour some water in this balloon." "Yes Nii-san." Naruto pours some water in the balloon and stops after the balloon is at full capacity. "Keep pouring" Izuna orders him. "But but the balloon will explode if we fill it with too much water." Naruto hesitates. "Exactly it is like your body your body is weak. If you use Nine-tails chakra with such body, your body will suffer grievous injuries." Izuna remembers the incident from the original where every time Nine-tails took control of Naruto; he would be badly wounded. ''The chakra of Nine-tails might be able to heal him but the process is simr to the Hundred Seals of Tsunade. It just speeds up the division of cells cells can only multiply a few times in their life.'' "Huh I understand little but I get it. If I want to use that cool power, I would have to train harder." Swoosh Naruto jumps with a new resolve and starts his training. "This Naruto" Izuna shakes his head and continues to instruct Naruto. -------------------------- Another week passes in the blink of an eye. At the borders of Land of Earth, in a distant vige, A middle-aged man with red hair and a tapered mustache and beard is chopping woods with an ax. "Found him." Izuna stares at the middle-aged man from a distance. ''I doubt he will happily offer me the chakra of the Four-tails. A fight is inevitable. I can''t use my identity of Izuna Uchiha and Yuito Yuki to assault the jinchuruki of Iwagakure since it may create some political conflicts.'' Izuna makes some hand signs and changes his appearance. ''There are multiple Ronin from the Land of Iron wandering the world. I could change my appearance to one of them.'' Whoosh A heavy te Armor covers Izuna''s body. His appearance changes to that of a Samurai as he wields a sword. ''Roshi had some feuds with Samurais in his past. It won''t be strange for a samurai to seek revenge on him.'' Izuna swings his sword as he walks towards Roshi. ''I have no prior experience with the Samurai way of the sword. I only saw a glimpse during the Ninja war. It seems that Samurais are quite feared throughout the shinobi world. It would be a foolish decision on a shinobi''s part to engage in a confrontation with a Samurai.'' Chop chop chop Roshi is chopping some firewoods. Hmm He lifts his head and notices Izuna. A frown appears on Roshi''s face as he grips his ax. "What is the Ronin (Rogue Samurai) of the Land of Iron doing in the Land of Earth?" Swish Izuna swings his sword and releases a crescent de of energy at Roshi. "Sword Style: Crescent de" Swoosh Roshi jumps up in the air and dodges the chakra de. He makes some hand signs. "Lava Release: Scorching Steam Rock Jutsu" He expels multiple blobs ofva from his mouth. The blobs solidify into multiple molten rocks that track Izuna. Bam bam Izuna dodges the molten boulders as they m into nearby trees. The boulders hit the trees with a tremendous force and set them on fire. Wham Izuna infuses chakra into his sword to increase its reach. Swish swish He swings the sword multiple times at Roshi. "Kenjutsu: Iaido" Izuna swings his de with smooth, controlled movements and attacks Roshi. The sword knicks a bang of Roshi''s hair. Whoosh whoosh Roshi performs a backflip and creates some distance between them. "You are quite skilled with the sword. Looks like I have to get serious." ''Here it is.'' Izuna clutches his sword as he waits for the transformation. "Lava Release: Chakra Mode" Roshi ps his hand together. Four-tails appear behind him and his body gets covered inva. The ground beneath Roshi melts. Bam bam Roshi kicks the ming boulders towards Izuna. "Kenjutsu: Raiden sh" Izuna infuses lightning chakra through the sword and shes the boulders. Whoosh Roshi flickers in front of him. "Lava Release: Scorching Armoured Fist" He punches Izuna with hisva coated fist. nk Izuna blocks the fist with his sword. "Lava Release: Flower Fruit Mountain" Roshi ms his legs on the ground and creates a volcano beneath him. The volcano explodes violently, sending molten rocks flying in all directions. The volcanic shards bloom into a giant flower whose petals rain down on the ground. Whoosh whoosh Izuna dodges the me petals and stares at Roshi. ''This old man is quite hard-headed. He sure is a tough nut to crack. But my job here is done.'' Izuna enters his mindscape where he releases a wisp of chakra from his hand. ''I guess it is enough. The rest of the jinchurukis are hard toe by. They are too deeply secured within the bounds of their vige.'' Swish Izuna sheathes his sword and bows before Roshi. "I am sorry. I mistook you for someone else." Hmm "I could see so. There was no killing intent in your blows, otherwise the sword of a Samurai is sharp enough to slice through a mountain. Better watch out next time." Roshi scoffs at him and returns to his wood chopping. ---------------- A/N:- People who are wondering why Roshi behaved the way he did is because I did some research and found that in past Roshi had some feud with Shinobi with Land of Earth being close to Land Of Iron and all. He was guilt-ridden by one of his act and thus left the vige. Samurai''s would often attack him and he would spare them if there was no malicious intent. Some people could even remember when he first fought with Kisame he saw the bloodthirst and pointed out ''it doesn''t seem to be the case of a mistook identity''. Chapter 176: Howling Wolf Village Chapter 176: Howling Wolf Vige A/N:- Man it sucks to live in area where there is a ongoing revolution movement. The peaceful struggle turned violent as some people spread some false rumors through social media. Inte facilites were terminated for the entire day because of this and I got bored asf. I couldn''t even attend my scheduled online lectures. I will try to update the chapters the instant I get my inte. Otherwise just bear with it for a few days. I don''t even know when will this revolution (Kissan Andn) will settle. --------------- "Finally, we are there." Izuna and Naruto arrive at the border of the Land of Medicine. Three giant mountains appear in their vision. The top of the mountains is covered in ice whereas rich green vegetation grows at the foothill of the mountain creating a valley of nts and flowers. Izuna closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Nature energy is so rich here." He activates his Sharingan and inspects the area. He notices a chakra ley-line passing through the area. ''These chakra ley-lines were once the roots of the God tree. The God tree absorbed the Nature energy of the through its roots to form the chakra fruit. After the Rikudou Sannin sealed away the tree these roots remained and formed the chakra ley-lines creating a rich hotspot of Nature energy. This is part of the reason the Land of Medicine is known for its medicinal nts.'' "So beautiful" Naruto takes a deep breath in the area. "I feel like all of my exhaustion is washed away." Naruto throws away the boulder from his shoulders and jumps around in excitement. Izuna inspects Naruto''s body. ''He is passively absorbing a little amount of Nature energy. I guess this is the power of a reincarnation of Asura Otsutsuki.'' "Naruto you have trained enough. Take a break for a while as we meet with Tsunade." "Yay Dattebyo." Naruto jumps around in excitement. "Let''s go Naruto we would have to reach the nearest vige or we would sleep in wild tonight." Izuna calms him down. "No I don''t want to sleep in wild." These words pour a bucket of cold water on Naruto''s excitement as he calms down. "Naruto the Land of Medicineprises three viges: The Howling Wolf Vige; The Awakening Wolf Vige; The Nourishing Wolf Vige," Izuna exins the history of the Land of Medicine to Naruto. "The Daimyo of the Land of Medicine lives in the center of these viges." Izuna points towards a far off distance in the center of the three mountains. "We will meet with Tsunade there." "Oh! It has been a while since Ist saw Granny Tsunade. I want to see her so badly. I will show her how strong have I be in all these years. Dattebyo!!" Naruto proudly raises his head. "Hai hai let''s hurry to the Howling Wolf Vige. It is the nearest vige." Izuna walks towards the vige. "Yes" Naruto follows him. Hmm Naruto ces his thumb and index finger below his chin as he enters a serious pose. Izuna notices Naruto''s serious face. "What''s the matter, Naruto? What are you thinking so seriously?" He asks Naruto. "Oh Nii-san I wanted to ask why these viges have Wolf in their name. Is there some connection with a wolf?" Naruto curiously tilts his head. "Indeed there is a rtion with a wolf. A few centuries ago the viges in the Land of Medicine were frequently attacked by a giant wolf-like monster called Roen. The monster terrorized the Land of Medicine and would kill anyone it spots. During that era, members of the Kodon n inhabited this area. Tired by the relentless attacks of the wolf, they requested assistance from a member of the Uzumaki n to seal the beast" "Oh!... it was someone from my n who sealed away the wolf." Naruto opens his mouth wide in surprise. "Indeed the person who sealed the Wolf monster Roen was the founder of the Uzumaki n. His name was Kenshiro Uzumaki." Izuna exins the details to Naruto. Hmm hmm Naruto nods his head in understanding. "Nii-san you are from the Uchiha n. You live together with the other members of your n." "Yes." Izuna nods his head. " so, where are the members of the Uzumaki n? Why haven''t I seen anyone from my n? I have heard that the Uzumaki n is very powerful but where are its members?" Naruto questions him as he patiently waits for a response. Sigh ''How should I exin to him? Minato-san Kushina-san I will leave it to you?'' Izuna silently whispers to Minato and Kushina''s souls. "Uhum Naruto the members of your n are scattered around the Shinobi World. Your mother came to Konoha and became its citizen." Izuna dodges Naruto''s question. "Mother? where is my mother?" Naruto questions Izuna with hope in his eyes. "Everyone has parents. Where are my parents? Why haven''t I met with them? I also want to enjoy festivals with my parents, like every kid in the vige. So where are they?" Naruto frantically questions Izuna as he tugs his clothes with hope. Izuna notices the hope in Naruto''s eyes and clenches his fists tightly. "Soon Naruto you will meet them soon. Your parents are on a secret mission. But they will meet you soon." He pats Naruto''s head to calm him down. "Why I always hear the same thing?" Naruto depressingly lowers his head. "Naruto you will able to see your parents soon. Just believe your Nii-san." Izuna assures Naruto. "Yay! then it''s a promise." Naruto extends his pinky towards Izuna. "Promise." Izuna makes a pinky promise with Naruto. Inside the Grimoire, The soul of Kushina and Minato silently stares at the interaction of Naruto and Izuna. Sob sob Tears overflow from Kushina''s eyes as she notices the depressing expression of Naruto. Minato hugs her and assures her. "Everything will be alright. Izuna-kun is working hard for our sake. I am sure we will be able to embrace Naruto soon. Believe in Izuna-kun." "Yes" Minato wipes away her tears. Kushina hugs him tightly. Kurama opens his eyes and stares at Minato and Kushina. ''Damn kid! Hurry up and revive them already. Also free me from this ce? I can''t handle anymore bully.'' He closes his eyes and falls asleep. Izuna and Naruto reach the outskirts of the Howling Wolf Vige. "Stop right there." A bunch of guards block their way. "You can''t enter the vige with permission." One guard warns them. "Here" Izuna takes out an insignia from his pocket and hands it over to the guard. Hmm The guards inspect the insignia. "The guest insignia from the Kodon n." He hands over the insignia to Izuna as an amiable expression appears on his face. "So you are the honored guest of the Kodon n. Wee, please enter the vige." The guard wees him into the vige. Mmhm Izuna nods his head and walks inside the vige. He directly walks towards the center of the vige. A giant district appears in his vision. "This is the district of Kodon n," Izuna informs Naruto. The guards at the entrance of the n notice Izuna. Izuna shes his insignia and the guards allow him entry into the vige. A middle-aged man walks out from one of the mansions in the n district. "It has been a while guest from the Uchiha n." The man greets Izuna whole heartedly. "Yes, it has been a while n Leader Tenma-san." Izuna exchanges greeting with the n Leader Tenma. "The pleasure is all ours. It is not every day that a shinobi of your caliber pays a visit to our n. Please wee." The Kodon n leader invites them. "Then, we won''t stand on ceremony." Izuna signals Naruto, who follows him closely. Tenma signals one of his subordinates to arrange necessary arrangements for the group. "Then, I won''t disturb you any longer. Please enjoy your stay." Tenma bade farewell to them and walks away. The subordinate leads them to a luxurious room and makes necessary arrangements for them. "Kodon n sure is rich." Izunapliments their hospitality. "It''s all thanks to patrons like you Land of Medicine is known for its vast resources of rare herbs and Medicine. Our Kodon n preserves the heritage of Land of Medicine." The subordinate nods his head and receives thepliment. "Honorary guest if you need something, then don''t hesitate to inform me." "Very well." Izuna nods his head. The subordinate walks away from the room. "Who are they?" Naruto pinches his nose. "All of them smell like cape jasmines. I kind of don''t like this smell." Naruto waves his hand in front of his nose. "" Izuna silently stares at Naruto. "What are you a dog? Howe are you able to smell such a faint smell?" He asks Naruto. "I have a very sensitive nose. Dattebyo!" Naruto rubs his nose with his fingers. "Must be because of that giant dog sealed inside you." Izuna chuckles. Growl "Bastard who are you calling a dog? I am a proud member of the Fox n. I am the Nine-tails Fox their leader." The Yang half of the Nine-tails growls at Izuna. "Ok ok dog-san now calm your anger." Izuna waves his hands. "Bastard let me out and I will eat you alive." Growl The Nine-tails roars at Izuna. "Ok ok you are a fox. Now do a belly roll for me." Izunaughs at Nine-tails antics. "Bastard" The Yang Nine-tails angrily smashes its nails at the seal. Bzzt The seal releases ck lightning and zaps the Yang Nine-tails. Nine-tails is pushed back from the shock as it rolls over. "Haha nice one. Now do it again." Izuna ps his hands while making fun of Nine-tails. Hmph "I won''t fall for the same trick again." The Nine-tails admits its defeat and closes its eyes. Chapter 177: Wolf Monster Roen Chapter 177: Wolf Monster Roen Late at Night, "I am so sleepy, Nii-san." Naruto stretches his arms and yawns as hezily rests on the bed. "Rest well, Naruto." Izuna walks out of the room and stares at the mountains in the night sky. He spots the various medicinal and herbal nts shining at the foothill of the mountain. "Such a scenic view, the rich Nature energy is very refreshing." Izuna takes a deep breath and absorbs a little amount of Nature energy. He stares at thepound of the Kodon n as he remembers his first encounter with them. ''Tsunade introduced me to this group of people. The Uzumaki n had a very good rtionship with the Kodon n of the Land of Medicine. Tsunade being a medic-nin and the granddaughter of the Mito Uzumaki enjoyed various privileges.'' Whoosh Izuna opens his hand to reveal a small vial with purple fluid in it. ''I can''t believe this small bottle of medicine costs Hundred Thousand Ryo.'' Izuna shakes his head and flips the bottle. ''The Mangekyo Sharingan has started to show its side-effects. I have no side-effects because I am a unique case. But the rest of the people felt irritation in their eyes. The awakening of Mangekyo Sharingan puts a lot of strain on the optic nerves of the user. The continuous use of Mangekyo weakens the optic nerve and turns them blind.'' Izuna pockets the bottle. ''Apparently, this special medicine called Kotaro prevents the side-effects of the Mangekyo Sharingan, though at a cost. After applying the medicine, the irritation will stop for a while, but the person will turn blind for a day or two. Looks like this is the only solution for now. I can''t find a better cure. But damn, it is so expensive. Only the members of the Kodon n can produce this medicine. The members of the Kodon ns have a unique physique. By consuming the Wolf hook grass growing in the Three Wolf Mountain Range; they are able to produce a special fluid which is used to create this medicine.'' Sigh Izuna takes a deep breath and turns around to sleep. Hmm He halts in his footsteps as he senses a chakra signature. "Oh! this is interesting." He notices a cloaked person secretly creeping out of the Kodon n. "I wonder who it is." A smile appears on Izuna''s face as his body turns invisible. ''What can I say? I have a hobby to dig out the secrets of others.'' Izuna chases after the cloaked person. The cloaked person snoops out of the Kodon n and walks towards the Three Wolves Mountain Range. After walking for a while; the person arrives before a dpidated shrine. "Good you are here." A deep voice greets the cloaked person. The cloaked person removes his cloak to reveal her face. ''Oh! the wife of the Kodon n leader.'' Izuna recognizes the woman. ''Let''s start.'' The deep voice orders her. "Yes." The Kodon ndy nods her head and removes her cloak to reveal her clothes. She is dressed as a shrine-maiden. ''Interesting I wonder what''s going on?'' Izuna''s curiosity is piqued even further. He gets closer to the shrine. Inside the shrine, Izuna notices another person dressed in priest clothes standing before a stone tablet. ''This chakra'' Izuna recognizes the chakra signature of the person. The person in the shrine removes his hood to reveal himself. ''Tenma Kodon is here too. I wonder what''s this pair of husband-and-wife up to. I doubt they would visit a dpidated shrine in the middle of this icy mountain range in the night''s wake to have a priest and shrine maiden cosy.'' Izuna shakes his head to remove such unnecessary thoughts. Tenma Kodon takes out a sealing talisman from his pocket. He makes some strange movements and dances around the stone tablet before cing the talisman on the stone tablet. Hmm ''Strange this talisman has a reverse enclosure Fuinjutsu seal on them. Is he trying to unseal something?'' Izuna spectes as he surveys the stone tablet. The wife of Tenma also takes out a talisman. She mimics the strange movements of Tenma before cing the talisman on the stone tablet. Whoosh The stone tablet glows with a purple hue as various Fuinjutsu seals lit up. "This is" Izuna''s eyes widen as he senses the chakra from the stone tablet. ''Fuck this pair of husband and wife has gone insane. Don''t tell me, they are going to unseal the legendary Wolf Monster Roen.'' Crack. Crack Many cracks appear on the stone tablet as it slowly falls apart. Boom boom The stone tablet shatters into countless fragments as dust and debris cover the area. Shoom An agile figure shoots out from the dust and debris. Whoosh Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and inspects the figure. Awooh A roar pushes away the group as the figure reveals itself in its full glory. The shock waves from the roar destroy the remains of the shrine. Izuna stands steadily in his ce as he stares at the creature. A giant wolf almost as tall as a five-story building appears in his vision. The wolf has white fur with purple lines running all over its body. Its eyes are asrge as a small water tank, and its fangs and ws are long enough to match a fully grown man. The tails of the wolf forks in two separate tails. There is an ever-burning wisp of purple chakra mes on its tails. Awooh The wolf howls again as it ms its tail on the ground in celebration. Crack Crack The ground cracks from the impact of the tail m. ''Looks like this guy is celebrating its long-found freedom.'' Izuna curiously inspects the giant wolf. ''Woah it has the same amount of chakra as the three tails.'' Izuna is surprised by the chakra reserves of the wolf. "Oye Kurama! Is he perhaps a step-brother of yours? You are a fox and he is a wolf. Maybe he is your brother born from a different mother." Izuna jokes as he questions Kurama. "Stop with your nonsense. I have no rtion with this mindless beast." Kurama growls at Izuna. "He is just an abomination made of flesh and blood. This beast is just driven by its instincts and only knows how to hunt. He is nothing, but a mutated beast corrupted by the Negative chakra." Yin Kurama scoffs at the Wolf Monster. "I can easily topple it with a swing of my paw even in my current weakened state." Kurama ms its paw on the floor to assert its dominance. "Hai hai I believe you. Now can you tell me what do you mean by Negative chakra? I have heard of ley-line chakra, Senjutsu chakra, elemental chakra, dark chakra, and light chakra, but what''s the deal with this Negative chakra?" "Yes, I am also pretty curious." Minato agrees with Izuna. Ahem Kurama clears his throat as he starts the exnation. "Hmm every tailed beast is born with a unique ability. My unique ability allows me to sense the negative emotions of every being. Negative chakra is formed when the hatred, resentment, and many other negative emotions of living creatures gather at a point. This Negative chakra is very powerfulpared to normal chakra, but it has a side-effect." Kurama pauses for a while as he allows the group to catch up to him. Hmm Minato ponders for a while as he recalls something. "If I remember correctly there are records of an unknown tailed beast listed in the hidden archives of Konoha. This beast can also sense negative emotions like Kurama and is quite powerful." Minato stresses his memory as he tries to recall the record. "What was its name again? hmm zero-tails yes, it is called zero-tails, and it is sealed somewhere in the deserted ruins of the Land of Sky." Minato remembers the name of the unknown tailed-beast. Humph Kurama harrumphs in anger. "That''s a fake tailed-beast. There is no zero-tail. It is just a malevolent spirit made of dark thoughts and feelings. It doesn''t have any rtion with us tailed beasts. All of us tailed-beasts are siblings, and I am the eldest and the strongest one." Kurama proudly raises his head. "Oh no wonder one-tails hates you because of your narcissism." Izuna nods his head in understanding. Humph "That tanuki is weakest of us all." Kurama scowls. Haha Kushina chuckles at the interaction of Izuna and Kurama. "They sure are having fun. Izuna-kun is such a bully, he didn''t even spare the Nine-tails." "Indeed I guess, no one else other than him is capable of such a feat." Minato shakes his head as a smile blooms on his face. ''I hope Naruto would be able to make friends with the other half of Kurama.'' Boom The Wolf Monster Roen swipes its w at the n leader Tenma and his wife. Whoosh Both of them barely dodges its attack. "Quick take out the Saigenzai. We have to control it before it goes on a rampage." Tenma instructs his wife. "Alright." His wife nods her head and makes some hand signs as she releases a purple gas from her mouth. The purple gas surrounds the wolf. Izuna calmly stares at them from a distance. ''I wonder how they n to control this beast. Through medicines? Does this wolf smoke weed?'' Chapter 178: Blue Fire Powder Chapter 178: Blue Fire Powder Tenma and his wife make some hand signs and release some purple smoke from their mouth. "Secret Technique: Kodon Saigenzai" The purple smoke surrounds the wolf monster Roen and slows its movements. Hmm ''Interesting'' Izuna curiously stares at the battle between the Kodon n Leader and the wolf. ''He is utilizing the hypnotic abilities of the medicine to induce a genjutsu on the beast. Looks like he wants to gain control of this wolf. This medicine is very potent, and it even affects the Mangekyo Sharingan. I wonder what motives the Kodon n fosters for trying to seek control of this beast. Previously, they sealed the beast to prevent any further harm to the Land of Medicine and now they have unsealed the beast.'' Awooh The wolf howls at the Kodon n leader as it senses their intention. Swish It swipes its ws and creates a wing de to disperse the smoke. "Not so fast, you beast you may have terrorized our ancestors, but our abilities have far surpassed them." Whoosh The couple makes some hand signs and releases more purple smoke at the beast. Awooh The roar of the beast turns feeble as the purple smoke induces its effect. "Tenma do you think it would work?" His wife questions him. "It should work. The vigers had growncent with the invention of blue fire powder by the Kumanoi n. If this continues, the vige will discontinue the shinobi services and we would grow vulnerable to foreign attacks." Tenma clenches his fist tightly. "I can''t allow such a thing to happen. The foolish decisions of a few old geezers shall not ruin the legacy of our ancestors." ''Hmm so he thinks he can control a monster at the level of a tailed-beast.'' Izuna silently stares at the Kodon n leader. ''Well, I am always up for more entertainment. Let''s see how he will dance.'' A wide smile appears on Izuna''s face as he chases after the Tenma n Leader. Whoosh Whoosh The couple continues to douse the beast with more purple gas. Bam After a few minutes, the beast copses on the ground and loses its consciousness. "Here is our chance, apply the sealing talisman on the beast. With this, it will fall under our control." Tenma takes out a sealing talisman from his pocket and brings it near to the beast''s forehead. Swoosh The talisman slips into the beast''s body and the eyes of the beast turn violet. "Sess." Tenma has a relieved expression on his face as he stares at the beast. "Now it''s time for the second part of our n." Whoosh whoosh Tenma makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. Poof The Wolf Monster Roen disappears in arge puff of smoke. "Now on to the vige. Once the vige faces this monster, they wille to know the value of the shinobi culture. Fostering shinobis is necessary to understand the horrors of the war. The Land of Medicine can''t maintain a neutral stance." Tenma and his wife walk towards the Howling Wolf Vige. Fwoosh Izuna reappears at the ce as he stares at the back of the Kodon n leader. "This human is foolish. He is seeking his doom." Kurama scoffs at the Kodon n leader. "Does he think he can control a mindless beast corrupted by Negative Chakra on his own? Humph" Kurama snorts and closes his eyes. "" Izuna silently stares at Kurama. "If my memory serves me right, then there is someone here who wasn''t controlled once but twice and now he talking shit about others." Haha Haha Kushina giggles loudly as she tries hard to control herughter. Minato, Kushina, and Izuna stare at Kurama for a while. "Don''tpare me to this vile beast. Also, the one who controlled me was Madara Uchiha. You can''t fathom his power with your imagination; that''s how strong he was. I can still feel the vile chakra of Madara." m Izuna swings his hand and a giant Tori gate falls on top of Nine-tails. "Oops my hand just slipped." Izuna apologies to Kurama. Minato and Kushina nod their head as Kurama stares at Izuna in perplexion. "Anyway the point is, the Kodon n leader can''t control the beast properly. It would get out of his control, eventually." Minato clears his throat to ease the tension. "I also believe so" Kushina nods her head in agreement. "Earlier, I recognized the sealing formid on the stone tablet. It has some resemnce with that of our Uzumaki n. So, I guess that seal was created by the ancestor. Now, since the seal has been lifted, it will take a while for the beast to gain its full power. And once it reached its full power, it will easily break free from his control." Kushina exins the details. "I guess I can gain some profits from this incident." Izuna greedily rubs his hands. "After all, who doesn''t get sick in this mundane world and if I can procure first-ss herbs and medicines for free, then I will happily dive in." Whoosh Izuna''s figure turns into countless shards of ice, which shatter and disappear. Inside the Howling Wolf Vige, Tenma Kodon and his wife reach the center of the vige. "It''s time to put our ns into action." Swish Swish Tenma makes some hand signs and ms his palms on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Roen" Poof A giant puff of smoke rises in the air as the giant wolf monster appears in the vige. Tenma makes some hand signs, and the eyes of the wolf glows brightly. Awooh It howls loudly and releases a shock wave through the vige. Boom The shock wave blows away the nearby house and destroys most of the house. Panic and chaos ensue in the vige as the vigers run for their life. "Quick RUN, the vige is under attack." The vigers rush out of their houses as the wolf''s roar terrorizes them. Hmm "Interesting that howl has yin chakra infused in it. This beast can use the yin chakra to induce fear and emotional instability. I want to cash in a favor I can''t allow them to die." Izuna makes some hand signs and creates multiple shadow clones. "Protect the vigers." "YES BOSS" The shadow clones nod their head and disperse. Awooh The wolf howls again and releases another powerful shock wave through the vige. It releases a purple ring of energy from its body. The ring expands through the vige and casts a powerful hallucination on the vigers. "Quick the vige is under attack, we have to neutralize the threat." Various guards and ninjas surround the wolf. "This monster he is simr to the legendary wolf monster Roen told in tales. How is he here?" The expression of one of the old guards turns ugly as he informs the other guards. "What? he is that monster." Fear encroaches the hearts of the guard. "Quick, send someone to ask for backup from the Kumanoi n. Their ''blue fire powder'' would help us a lot against this monster. Also, send someone to Kodon n to request their help." The Guard Captain orders a few of his subordinates as the rest of them engage the wolf. "Get into the formation, we have to prevent him from further harming the vige." Hmm ''They don''t have the ability to fight this wolf. That Tenma just released a disaster on his own vige.'' Izuna shakes his head as his clones continue to evacuate the vigers. Inside the Kumanoi n, A middle-aged man stares out of the window as he listens to the report of one of his men. "Hmm so the vige is under attack by a giant wolf monster. I have a hint of the identity of the culprit, but we have to stop the wolf first." The middle-aged man turns around and orders his man. "Ready the blue fire powder. We will blow that wolf into smithereens." "Yes leader." One of his subordinates nods his head and flickers out of the room. "All ninja techniques are useless in front of our blue fire powder. The invasion by Amegakure is a prime example of this. Those haughty bunch of shinobis invaded ournd with an army only to get annihted by the might of our blue fire powder." The middle-aged man closes his eyes and reminisces the past. ''It was right after the Second Shinobi War. The Amegakure was under the rule of Hanzo of the Smander. He was feared throughout the shinobi world. Hanzo was a master of poisons and the medicinal herbs of the Land of Medicine sparked greed in his heart. He sent his legion of shinobis to attack and plunder the Land of Medicine.'' The Middle-aged man removes the cloth from his arm to reveal a wooden stump. ''My father was the n leader of the Kumanoi n at that time. I was a hot-headed adult who took part in the war. It was thanks to the invention of blue fire powder by father that led our Land of Medicine to victory.'' Sigh The middle-aged man sighs and covers his arm. "Monster or not nothing can stand before the explosive power of blue fire powder." Chapter 179: Blue Fire Powder Part-2 Chapter 179: Blue Fire Powder Part-2 Whooshwhoosh The members of the Kumanoi n surround the wolf monster Roen. The leader of the Kumanoi n leads them in the fight. "Load the small blue fire powder cylinders andunch them at the monster." The members of the Kumanoi n throw multiple small cylinders at the wolf. Boom Boom The cylinders explode on top of the beast and torch it in blue mes. Awooh The wolf monster cries in agony. "Eat this, you beast nothing can stand before the might of the blue fire powder." They continue to throw the bombs at the beast. Hmm Izuna inspects the blue fire powder thrown at the beast. "I can see traces of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal. Seems like they have made a chakra version of Dynamite. This thing packs quite a punch." Boom Boom The bombs continue to explode on top of the monster as they torch its skin. ''If I were topare it to a jutsu, then it packs the power of a B-rank jutsu.'' Izuna stares at the fight from a distance. ''The technology of this world is quite inconsistent. They haveputers, long-rangemunication devices, explosives but no mode of fast transportation. Oh they do have trains.'' Awooh "This is not good. At this rate the vigers would be able to suppress the wolf and the need for the shinobis would diminish." An ugly expression appears on Tenma''s face. "No, I can''t allow this to happen. I have to do something." Tenma makes some hand signs. A sealing form appears on his palm. Whoosh He infuses some chakra in the seal. Awooh The wolf howls again and releases another pulse of purple energy from its body. Boom The shock wave travels through the vige and knocks back the Kumanoi n members. "Damn it the beast is empowering itself. We have to stop him." The leader of the Kumanoi n signals his n members. "Bring out the big bombs. Let us show the power of the Kumanoi n to this beast." "Yes leader." The Kumanoi n members carryrge cylinders of the blue fire powder. They load the cylinders in cannons and aim them at the wolf monster. "Fire" The Kumanoi n leader waves his hand. BOOM... BOOM... Therge cylinders blow on top of the beast, pushing it to the outskirts of the vige. Crack Crack The talisman around the wolf monster shatters into countless fragments. Crack Aah The seal on Tenma''s hands breaks as he suffers a bacsh. "Things aren''t looking good. That previous explosion from the blue fire powder damaged the sealing talisman I have lost control over the beast." Tenma''s expression turns ugly as he stares at the wolf monster with helplessness. AWOOH The beast howls at the vigers as its eyes turn red. Shoom shoom It releases multiple chakra pulses from its body. Boom An enormous amount of chakra gathers near the mouth of the beast. Whoosh The beast channels arge amount of negative chakra and creates a chakra orb. Swoosh It shoots the negative chakra in a purple beam. The beam travels through the vige, carving a ridge across the vige. Boom boom Multiple explosions ur in the path as it destroys a major portion of the vige. ''Looks like it is time for me to step in.'' Izuna stares at the destruction caused by the beast. ''I don''t have a good summon; if I could subdue this beast and make it my summon, then that would be a big gain.'' Izuna wonders about the possibility as he flickers towards the beast. "How could it be? how could this beast be so powerful?" The Kumanoi n leader stares at the wolf monster with wide-eyes. "Fire fire Continue to bomb the beast I am sure we would be able to subdue it in no time." The Kumanoi n members fire more blue fire powder at the beast. Awooh The beast howls loudly and creates a chakra field around itself. The shield blocks the bombs and protects it from the explosion. ''Interesting it can even defend itself. Now I am really tempted to make him my summon.'' Awooh The beast charges up another beam of chakra as it aims it towards the Kumanoi n members. ''Is this the end? Is this how I would meet my maker?'' Kumanoi n leader stares at the beam traveling towards him. ''At least the creation of blue fire powder brought some fame to the Land of Medicine.'' He closes his eyes and epts his fate. "This sure is a hassle" Izuna appears in front of the beam and stops it with his bare hands. Huh The Kumanoi n leader opens his eyes as the expected impact never came. "I am alive. How?" He wonders to himself. "If your daydreaming is over, then I would highly appreciate it if you could evacuate your n members. I don''t want them to be the casualties of this battle." "Yes yes I would do that." The Kumanoi n leader tactlessly nods his head. "Also after this battle I would like to have a chat with you. I am interested in your blue fire powder." Izuna reminds him. "Yes yes please save the vige." The Kumanoi n leader helplessly nods his head. ''Looks like we still need the help of a shinobi.'' "Very well now it''s time to take you down, big fellow." Izuna turns towards the wolf monster and taunts it. AWOOH. The Wolf howls in anger and charges at Izuna. Swipe It swipes its chakra infused w at Izuna. Whoosh Izuna dodges the attack and kicks the wolf in the head. Bang The wolf smashes into a boulder. "Woah that''s dangerous." Izuna inspects the ground where the wolf swiped its w. Purple fumes rise from the ground as it corrodes everything. ''Is this the power of the negative chakra? It eats away everything, including the sanity of the user. Well, I can do the same thing with my dark chakra. Let''s see whose corrosion is more powerful.'' Izuna makes some hand signs as strange seals appear on his right hand. "Darkness Release: Asura Mode" ck fumes rise from Izuna''s body as they cover the right half of his body. A ck horn made up of chakra sprouts from his head. Izuna draws his katana and shes it at the beast. sh ''Darkness Release: Violent Hell me'' ck mes erupt from the sword and cover the beast. Awooh The beast charges another beam of negative chakra and fires it at the mes. Boom A gigantic explosion covers the entire area and blinds everyone. Izuna leads the beast towards the mountain. Tenma bites his lower lip as he stares at the battle. ''It''s my fault. I never expected the beast to be this stronger. I can''t allow others to suffer because of my mistakes. I have to take responsibility for my actions. With this sealing talisman, I would be able to reseal the beast.'' He takes out a sealing talisman from his pocket. Bang bang Izuna punches and kicks the beast multiple times. ''Damn what a thick hide. This dude is sure on his steroids. Let me try to burn the corruption of negative chakra with my dark chakra.'' Izuna raises his sword and infuses Dark chakra in it. ''Darkness Release: Purge of the dark'' sh He releases a dark ck sh of mes. The dark mes cover the entire body of the beast and scorch it. The purple negative chakra emanating from its body starts to wither down. Awooh The beast writhes in pain as it struggles to get rid of the mes. "It''s working now I have to cleanse the remaining negative chakra." Izuna infuses the dark chakra in his right hand and jumps on top of the beast. He ms his hand on the beast''s forehead and releasesrge amounts of dark mes. The mes start to cleanse the negative chakra. Huh ''What''s this? Whose memories are this?'' Various strange memories flood through Izuna''s mind. ''These are these are the memories of this beast.'' Izuna closes his eyes as he enters the mindscape of the beast. Chapter 180: A New Contract Part-1 Chapter 180: A New Contract Part-1 Awooh A giant snow wolf appears in Izuna''s vision. The snow wolf has three cubs beside it. ''It''s a female wolf.'' The snow wolf feeds its cubs as it stares at the sky. Rumble Rumble A giant meteor falls from the sky and crashes nearby. Grrr The wolf growls as it retreats into a nearby cave. Boom boom Multiple meteors fall from the sky and devastate thend. Hmm Izuna curiously stares at the scene. ''Is this a meteor shower?'' Rumble Rumble The ground trembles from the impact as shock waves travel through the ground. Awooh The snow wolf howls and hides away its cubs. The wolf slowly walks out of the cave and stares at the sky. One of the bold, smaller cubs follows her. The wolf raises her head and stares at the sky. Hmm Izuna raises his head to follow her gaze. "What the hell?" His eyes widen as an unbelievable phenomenon appears in his vision. "This is what the heck is this? Is this what I think it is?" A gigantic mass of rocks and rubble is floating in the air. The floating mass dwarfs everything as it blocks the sunlight. The satellite of dust and debris slowly rises in the air. "Don''t tell me it is the ''Moon''." Rumble Rumble Many cracks appear on the surface of the moon as a giant grotesque earthen-colored humanoid entity with a mummified appearance and many spiky protrusions break free from it. Roar The grotesque figure releases a powerful shock wave from its body. Grrrr The snow wolf retreats in fear as it hides inside the cave. "That''s the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path: the husk of the ten-tails." Izuna recognizes the statue. ''So it seems this incident is before the formation of the moon and during the battle between the Rikudou Sannin and the Ten-tails.'' Roar The statue roars again as it desperately attempts to get free from the Chibaku Tensei. Bam bam Multiple rocks fly from the ground and m into the statue further sealing it inside the core of the satellite. ROAR The beast releases multiple bolts of chakra from the protrusion on its back. Swoosh swoosh The bolts destroy a portion of the moon and travel towards the cavern of the snow wolf. Boom The chakra bolt destroys the cavern and buries it underground. Sigh Izuna takes a deep breath as he stares at the scene of destruction with his eyes. ''This scale of power is almost god-like the ability to terraform a and create satellites. I could only imagine such things in my previous life.'' Whoosh The scenery changes as another memory flood Izuna''s mind. Rumble Rumble The cavern copses as arge snow wolf escapes from it. AWOOH The wolf howls in sorrow as it stares at the dead body of its family. ''Hmm so this is that little wolf cub.'' Purple chakra rises from the wolf''s body as it consumes its mind. Awooh The wolf howls in agony as the chakra mutates its body. ''So that''s how it is.'' Whoosh Izuna exits from the mindscape of the beast. ''Poor guy the power of the Demonic Statue of the outer path killed his family and overwhelmed his mind. The demonic statue absorbed the vitality of hundreds and thousands of humans. The hatred, fear, and the helplessness of so many people together with the potent chakra of the ten-tails created the negative chakra which influenced the mind of this snow wolf.'' Sigh Izuna sighs and caresses the head of the beast. "Don''t worry, I will free you soon." The wolf calms down and stops its rampage. Izuna continues to drain the negative chakra from its body. "You beast I can''t allow you to rampage anymore. I will reseal you once and for all." The leader of the Kodon n jumps towards the wolf and throws a talisman at it. "Sealing Technique: Roen Kodon" He ps his hand as the sealing talisman floats in the air. "Stop" Izuna yells at Tenma. Whoosh The talisman flies towards the wolf. Various fuinjutsu seals crawl out of it and wrap around the wolf. Bzzt Red lightning crackles from the talisman as it creates a powerful suction force. Awooh The wolf howls in anger as it gets pulled towards the seal. "This idiot I was so close to nullifying the corruption." Izuna curses the Kodon n leader as he jumps from the top of the wolf. AWOOH The wolf howls in anger. Swish It swipes its w at the sealing talisman and destroys it. "No way how it can be? This sealing form was supposed to seal the beast forever. How can it destroy it so easily?" Tenma has a terrified expression on his face as he stares at the wolf. Sigh ''There is no cure for idiocy.'' Izuna shakes his head. Awooh Dark ck chakra rises from the body of the wolf and covers its entire body. The fur of the beast turns ck and its eyes turn red as the beast enters into an enraged state. It releases a shock wave from its body, which pushes the Kodon n leader away and ms him into a boulder. The Kodon leader passes out from the attack. ''Looks like he thinks that I betrayed him. My goodwill was a trap meant for his sealing.'' Crackle crackle Izuna cracks his knuckle as he walks towards the enraged beast. "It was never meant to go easy. But I prefer it this way, at least I won''t have to train you in the future." Whoosh Izuna flickers in front of the beast as he clutches his fist. "Eight Gate Release: Sixth Gate: Gate of View Open" "Power Release: Asura''s Robe" Izuna opens the sixth gate and coats his body with the power release chakra cloak. Red lightning flickers from his eyes as his fists ze with fire. "Ora Ora ora" Izuna releases a rapid barrage of rapid-fire punches at the enraged wolf. Various dents appear on its body as the wolf struggles to fight back. ''In terms of fighting capabilities, this wolf isparable to two-tails or three tails.'' "ORAA" Izuna performs an uppercut which sends the wolf flying towards a small hill. Bang The wolf ms into the hill and passes out. The ck aura around it vanishes as its fur turns white. Izuna walks towards the wolf and inspects it. ck fumes rise from the wolf and seep into the ground. Hmm ''So, this is the so-called malevolent negative chakra. The chakra which can overwhelm the emotional state of any being.'' Whoosh The Sin Grimoire floats out in front of the wolf. Swoosh It starts to suck the dark ck negative chakra. "" "Just because you can eat it, doesn''t mean you have to eat it you glutton." Izuna shakes his head and allows the grimoire to do what it wishes. "Now for you" Izuna turns towards the snow wolf. "It would be a hassle to subdue you here. I will deal with youter." ''Kamui'' Izuna activates his Kamui and sucks the beast into his pocket dimension. "Now with him out of the way, all that is left is to deal with the vigers." Pitter-patter Sounds of footsteps fall in his ear. The vigers warily approach the hill. ''Time to cash my benefit.'' Izuna walks up to Tenma and wakes him up. Ugh "Where am I? What happened?" Tenma clutches his forehead as he looks around. "Where where is that beast? I have to seal him at all costs." Tenma jumps in a frenzy and warily looks around. "Well, you don''t have to worry about the beast but you better get ready for them." Izuna points towards the approaching vigers. "This It was my fault. So many people died in this battle in a moment of folly I released that monster in the vige and killed so many people. I don''t deserve to live anymore." Tenma is overridden with guilt as he drops on the ground. "Well well looks like you finally gained some consciousness." Izuna walks towards the oing vigers. "Where is that beast? where is he?" The Kumanoi n leader leads the vigers and stops in front of Izuna. "Oh the monster I was having a hard time fighting against that beast but n leader Tenma arrived right on time and used a secret technique of his n to seal the beast." Izuna points towards Tenma. "Eeh who me?" Tenman looks in confusion. Ahem... Izuna clears his throat to signal Tenma. "Ah yes I sealed him using the secret sealing technique of Kodon n, which was used to seal the beast a few centuries ago." Tenma nods his head. "Is that so" The Kumanoi n leadree suspiciously stares at Tenma. "Then you have our gratitude, n Leader Tenma." The n leader of the Kumanoi n nods his head and leads the rest of the vigers towards the vige. "We would conduct an emergency meeting to discuss the details of the incident and the aftermath of the fight. Be sure to join the meeting." He informs Tenma before departing for the vige. "n Leader Tenma we have some things to discuss." Izuna adopts a serious expression. -------------- A/N:- People wondering about the appearance can google the ANDRIUS(Wolf of the North) Genshin Impact. I have also posted rted images on my discord. Chapter 181: A New Contract Part-2 Chapter 181: A New Contract Part-2 "That was a steal." Izuna walks towards the guest room as he remembers the deal with the Kodon and Kumanoi n leader. Kumanoi n leader agreed to supply him with a constant supply of blue fire powder at a very discounted price. ''Well it is better than nothing. I have to gather all the resources I can to prepare for the war. As for the Kodon n leader'' A smile blooms on Izuna''s face as he remembers the deal. "Uchiha n will get a free supply of medicine and herbs for the next fifty years. Also a free supply of Kotaro." Izuna takes out a vial from his pocket. ''This medicine is really mysterious. It can slow the degradation of optic nerves caused by the Mangekyo Sharingan. I hope Tsunade had made some progress with the medicine. I want to cure Itachi before his illness res up.'' Swoosh Izuna pockets the vial and enters the room. Zzzz. Naruto is deep asleep as he snores. "Well he is sleeping soundly. So it is all good." Izuna shakes his head as he checks the fuinjutsu seals. ''I can''t me him after so many reinforcements and silencing seals, this room is as fortified as a castle wall.'' Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. "It''s time to talk with that wolf." Whoosh He opens a swirling portal and disappears from the room. Inside the Kamui dimension, Whoosh Another portal opens up as Izuna enters the dimension. "Woah that''s nasty." He notices several w marks carved on the various tforms floating in the dimension. Growl Swish Izuna performs a backflip and avoids the w attack. "Hooh looks like the previous beating wasn''t enough. Care for more!" Izuna cracks his knuckles as he turns towards the wolf. Grr. The wolf growls at him. "I have lived long enough to know that I can''t trust anyone in this world." A deep voice addresses Izuna. "While trapped in the darkness I saw all the negative emotions and memories of the humans. How they were betrayed by the very God they worshipped? All of their hatred, grudge, fear, and helplessness I felt all of it. After watching all of these memories how can I trust a human like you?" The wolf walks out of the darkness to reveal itself. The wolf has white fur with ck stripes running vertically across its body, parting at one of its tail. ''That''s quite a wonderful ability. To be able to hide in darkness looks like after the purification of corruption, he has gained some unique abilities.'' "Hmm so you mean, you don''t trust humans." Izuna folds his arms as he stares at the giant body of the wolf. Growl "You are strong stronger than any human I have seen during all these years. I can sense it; your abilities are even greater than the person who sealed me here. But that doesn''t mean I would submit to you. I finally regained my sanity, I can''t allow myself to get shackled again." Izuna nods his head in agreement. "Fair enough but I can''t allow a powerful beast like you to wander across the shinobi world." Izuna denies his request. "Growl Then there is nothing to talk about anymore." Whoosh The wolf dives into the shadows and disappears from the vision. "I can''t allow you to roam the world on your own but what about under my observation." Growl "What do you mean?" The wolf talks from the shadows. "What about a contract? A summoning contract Sign a summoning contract with me and you can watch the world with me." Izuna stretches a hand towards the shadows. Grrr "There is no ce for me in this world. I am an abomination made of hatred and darkness, why would you want to form a summoning contract with me?" The wolf questions him. "Well that''s what makes it more fun." Izuna smiles at the shadows. "Huh so you will set me free just like that." "Yes" Izuna nods his head. He makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. A giant fuinjutsu seal appears on the ground. "This is a Summoning Fuinjutsu seal. Drip your blood on the seal to form a contract." Izuna instructs the wolf. "Alright" The wolf jumps out from the shadows. It swipes its w and drips some blood on the seal. Whoosh The seal signs brightly as it rises in the air. "Time for a new contract." Izuna takes out a giant scroll from his storage and infuses chakra on the scroll. The summoning seal fuses with the scroll. Snap Izuna bites his thumb and drips a drop of blood on the top of the seal. Shoom The seal shines for a while before fading out. ''Hmm I can feel the connection with the Wolf. Now he is my summon.'' Whoosh The Sin seal on his right hand activates and releases some chakra on the scroll. Shoom The seal shines with a purple light. A giant magatama symbol appears around the wolf''s neck. Hmm Izuna inspects the magatama for a while before shaking his head. ''I still don''t have any clue about it. This sin seal is as mysterious as ever.'' "With this you are my summon." Awooh The wolf howls in happiness. "Roen call me Roen." The wolf speaks to him. "Very well, Roen Let''s get out of here." Izuna opens a portal out of the Kamui dimension. "But before that can you manipte your size? With this enormous body, I don''t think you could roam freely with me." "Yes" Roen nods his head as he infuses chakra in his body. Whoosh His body shrinks as he turns into a normal white snow wolf with ck strips over his body. "That''s much better. Let''s go." Izuna nods his head and walks out of the portal. Swoosh. Roen dives into Izuna''s shadow. ------------------- Next day, Awaah Naruto yawns as hezily stretches his hands. "That was a very good sleep. It has been a while since Ist slept so well." Naruto stands up from his head and walks out of the room. "Ramen, I need some ramen for breakfast." Naruto orders the nearby servant. "Ah! dear guest I don''t think it is healthy to eat ramen this early in the morning. Why don''t you eat breakfast with Izuna-sama?" The servant leads Naruto towards the dining room. "Oh! Naruto, you are awake." Izuna waves his hands at Naruto. "Nii-san I am hungry." Naruto hurriedly dives at the table and chomps down the food. "Naruto eat slowly. The food isn''t going anywhere." Izuna tries to calm down Naruto. Chomp chomp "But Nii-san it has been three weeks since Ist ate something good." Naruto continues to swallow his food. "What do you mean, Naruto? You mean to say that, you didn''t like my steak dishes, which I cooked for you." Izuna hangs down his head in sadness. "No no they were delicious really delicious but but we had steak for every breakfast lunch and dinner so I am fed up with it." Naruto hurriedly denies it as he shakes his hands. "True but I can only cook steak dishes." Sigh Izuna sighs and continues to eat breakfast. "Naruto today we will meet with Tsunade." Izuna points towards arge mansion located on top of the Three wolf mountain. ''That ce is a treasure trove for medical-nin. It has a record of all known medicines and herbs of the shinobi world. Any n or vige no matter where always seeks the Land of Medicine for medical supplies. Part of the reason Hanzo wanted to get hold of this ce so badly. Well I can''t me him either other nations feared this ce because of the presence of Roen, but Hanzo was bold enough to attack this ce.'' "Get your stuff ready, Naruto we would move out soon." Izuna finishes his breakfast and strolls through the Kodon npounds. "Izuna-san here is the medicine you needed." A tall young boy offers a scroll to Izuna. The boy has a frantic expression on his face, as if he is meeting an idol. "Oh that''s good." Izuna epts the scroll as he notices the simrity of the boy to Tenma. "You are" "I am Reishi Kodon the elder son of Tenma Kodon. I am the new pharmacist of the Kodon n." The boy introduces himself. "Mhm" Izuna nods his head. " we will see each other often in the future." "Yes" Reishi frantically nods his head. "Izuna-san I am a great fan of yours. I have heard all the stories regarding you. You are my idol." "" ''There are stories about me when did that happen?'' Izuna turns to Reishi and asks him. "These stories you mentioned where did you get them from?" "Oh here it is the recent issue of the Icha Icha series: Innocence." Reishi passes a book to Izuna. Izuna hurriedly grabs the book and skims through it. An ugly expression appears on his face as he turns the pages. "Damn you, Jiraiya don''t make me the protagonist of your hentai series." Izuna tightly clutches the book. "Next time I see you I will beat that old ass of yours." Chapter 182: Fight Me Chapter 182: Fight Me "Nii-san do I have to do it again?" Naruto helplessly stares at Izuna. "Yup your training isn''t over yet and this will be an excellent opportunity for you to train." Izuna nods his head. Haah Naruto lifts a giant boulder and ces it on his shoulders. "Good" Izuna and Naruto walk out of the Howling Vige as they ascend the Three wolf mountain. -------------------- Inside a guest room, H Tsunade chugs down a cup of sake as she lies on the table. "Gimme more I want more." Tsunade ms the cup on the table as she demands more sake. "Tsu Tsunade-sama it is still early in the morning. You shouldn''t drink this early." Shizune tries to stop Tsunade. Oink Oink Tonton jumps around Tsunade, agreeing with Shizune. H "I don''t care I need more sake." Tsunade waves the cup at Shizune. Sigh Shizune sighs to herself and refills the cup. Gulp gulp Haah Tsunade chugs down the sake. "I am so sleepy." She ms the cup on the table and falls asleep. "Sigh Tsunade-sama has worked hard." Shizune gently covers Tsunade with a nket. She picks up the stacks of paper scattered around the room and arranges them in order. "I have never seen Tsunade-sama pushing herself this hard in a while. She is giving her all for Izuna-kun''s sake." Shizune picks up a paper and reads through its content. The paper has a detailed diagram of the lungs with tenketsu points and a chakrawork. "Incredible I always wondered how Izuna-kun has such detailed information about the human body." Shizune reads the details of the paper as she wonders in amazement. "While studying under Tsunade-sama I always had a feeling that Izuna-kun already knew a lot about medical ninjutsu." She ces the paper on the table and walks out of the room. "Let me fetch some breakfast for Tsunade-sama." Shizune walks out of the room. "Miss Shizune the breakfast is ready." A sweet and gentle voice greets her. Shizune turns towards the owner of the voice. A fairdy with blue eyes, purple hairs framed in a ponytail with two bangs parting on each side of her face appears in her vision. Thedy is dressed in luxurious clothes with the insignia of Land of Medicine carved on her robe. "Oh it''s you, Lady Hanyu. Good Morning" Shizune greets the neer. Lady Hanyu signals one of her servants, who carries over the dishes. "I have some matters to attend in the Howling Wolf Vige there was quite a ruckus yesterday so I would have to visit the vige." Lady Hanyu nods her head and walks away. ''I wonder what happened there.'' Shizune shakes her head and carries the breakfast. -------------------- "Just a little more, Naruto we are close." Izuna cheers Naruto, who struggles to carry the boulder. Huff Huff Naruto breathes heavily as he carries the shoulder. "I am close I won''t give up Dattebyo." Naruto pumps up his chakra and dashes forward. "That''s the Naruto I know" Izuna nods his head and follows him. Haah Naruto throws away the boulder as he lies down on the ground. Huff Huff "I did it. Dattebyo!" "Good job Naruto." Izuna praises Naruto. "With this, the first part of your training is over we will continue the second partter." Izuna uses Sage Chakra to rejuvenate Naruto. "We are here Let''s meet with Tsunade." Naruto stands up and dusts his clothes. Both of them enter the mansion. Izuna takes out an insignia from his pocket given to him by Tsunade to get entry into the mansion. ''This ce is well-guarded.'' Izuna raises his eyebrow as he notices many shinobis hiding in the shadows. ''These shinobi aren''t a problem.'' He turns towards the walls of the mansion. ''Quite a sinister trap if I have to say it. To use blue fire powder cylinders asndmines. Just a light step and it will start a chain reaction and blow away the entire buried Blue fire powder.'' Izuna raises his head and notices various cannons mounted on top of the outer wall. ''Quite a fortified ce. This ce is like a medieval-era castle with a hint of modern technology.'' Both of them continue to walk through the courtyard of the mansion as Izuna inspects his surroundings. ''Shinobi World has a mix of all cultures. Amegakure has fortified iron walls and houses. Takigakure is simr to a resort city and Konoha is like a pre-modern era vige. Anyway I have to look for Tsunade.'' Izuna closes his eyes and senses Tsunade''s chakra. "Found her." "I am so excited to meet her. I will show her my new jutsu." Naruto jumps in excitement. "Ok ok Naruto calm down. Also, did you buy any gift for her? It has been a long time since you met her; so you must buy her a gift." Izuna asks Naruto. "Gift? I haven''t bought anything." Naruto scratches his head with an awkward smile. "Naruto whenever you visit someone, you have to bring some gifts for them. Like a bouquet, especially when you visit a girl." Izuna advises him. "But granny is an old hag. She is not young anymore." Naruto shakes his head. "Oye kid what did you say?" A shrill voice falls in their air. Clomp clomp Sounds of heavy footsteps close upon them. "Naruto you are on your own. It''s not my fault ok!" Whoosh Izuna flickers away from his position. Bonk Tsunade appears in front of Naruto and bonks his head. "Oye kid what did you say just now? Who is an old hag who isn''t young anymore?" Aww Aww Naruto clutches his head and rolls around on the ground. He has tears in his eyes as arge bump appears on his head. Hmph "That''s what you get for being disrespectful to ady?" Tsunade ces her hands around her waist as she stares at Naruto with an angry gaze. Haha Haha Izuna chuckles as he remarks. "Naruto I warned you beforehand." "You are not much better than him." Tsunade snorts at him. "Naruto-kun are you fine Naruto-kun?" Shizune walks out of the room. She uses the ''Mystic Palm Technique'' to heal the bump on his forehead. "Aren''t you happy to see me after such a long time?" Izuna walks up to her. Hmph "Who would be happy to see you? Anyway did you bring something for me? Earlier, I heard something about a gift." Tsunade rubs her hands in excitement. "Of course I did. How can I not bring a gift for you?" Whoosh Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket and takes out a wine bottle from it. "It is the frosted dew wine from Kirigakure. I got it from the collection of Terumi n leader. That guy is quite grateful for your help." "Yes" Tsunade hurriedly snatches the wine from his hands and enters the room. "Let''s talk in the room." Her voice fades away as she enters the room. "This alcohol addict" Izuna shakes his head and follows her. ---------------- Inside the room, Gulp gulp Tsunade drinks a mouthful of the wine. "Ah such a fine wine. It has been a while since Ist had something like this." Gulp She takes another mouthful of the wine. "So how is it? Any progress" Izuna asks her with an excited expression. Gulp m Tsunade ms the cup as she signals Shizune. "Shizune, bring those papers." "Yes Tsunade-sama." Shizune pulls out a stack of paper and passes them to Izuna. Izuna inspects the papers as Tsunade exins. "Earlier,st year I read your detailed report of the illness of the Terumi n Leader." Mmm Izuna nods his head as Tsunade continues. " so I researched it in detail and found some simrities with Itachi''s diseases." "Can you treat him?" Izuna nervously asks her. "For now no" Tsunade shakes her head in denial. "No" Izuna gulps his saliva as these words pour a bucket of cold water on his hopes. ''Seems like I have to hurry up and learn Sage of Six Paths Senjutsu. That''s the only way to save Itachi.'' Izuna clutches his fists. " but I think I would be able to I just need some more time. I am near the end of my research." Tsunade takes the papers from his hand. Phew ''At least there is still hope." Izuna takes a deep breath. "Anyway I don''t think your purpose to visit me is to just talk about this." Tsunade adopts a serious expression as he questions Izuna. "No I want you to return to the vige and take over the position of Hokage." Izuna straight-forwardly reveals to her. "No I don''t have any interest in that position. It is a position only meant for fools." Tsunade shakes her head in denial. "Hokage did you say Hokage?" Naruto jumps down from the bed and stands in between them. "You mean to say that granny will be the next Hokage." He asks Izuna. "Well, yes but no Tsunade denied the position and I am helpless to convince her." Izuna raises his hands in submission. ''No matter what Naruto is the protagonist of the story. I am sure his Talk-no-jutsu is still better than mine. Let me see how it ys out.'' Izuna backs down as Naruto turns towards Tsunade. "Granny Tsunade ''Fight Me'' if I win, you will be the next Hokage." "" Izuna and Shizune silently stare at Naruto''s bold remark. ''Well, too much for the protagonist. He is still the old Naruto.'' Chapter 183: Hokage is my Dream Chapter 183: Hokage is my Dream A/N:- Sorry for not updating for three days. Because of the ongoing farmer''s protest. The government terminated inte in my area. It has been 10 days since the cellrwork is terminated. Then suddenly on Thursday, the WiFi also got terminated as per government''s instruction. I was bored to death in these three days. Finally, my inte is back. My inte might get terminated again; since everything is depended on Government''s whims. --------------------- "Well who am I even kidding? It''s Naruto who we are talking about?" Izuna shakes his head and walks towards Shizune. He picks up Tonton and rubs her head. "It''s turning quite meaty and juicy all these years." Oink Oink Tonton struggles in his arms. "Oh, brat! looks like you have developed some guts in all these years." Tsunade cracks her knuckles and walks towards Naruto. "You can''t undermine the position of Hokage Dattebyo! I will be the Hokage in the future." Naruto makes some hand signs. "Shadow Clone Jutsu" He makes two shadow clones and dashes towards Tsunade. "I will prove to you that my dream to be a Hokage is not a shallow one." "Hoh! you haven''t even graduated from the academy and you want to challenge me. Come then Kiddo!" Tsunade lifts her hand points a finger towards Naruto. "Though I may not look like it, but I am also one of the Sannin. One finger... I will use just one finger to beat you." Tsunade taunts Naruto. "Don''t underestimate me, granny I have trained hard in these past few years." Naruto clutches his fist as he signals his clones. "Let''s show granny, what are we made of? Dattebyo!" Naruto and his clones take out kunai from their pocket and throw them at Tsunade. Flick flick flick Tsunade flicks out the kunai with her finger. "Kid if that''s all you got, then you don''t stand a chance." Crunch crunch Izuna crunches popcorns as he watches the fight. "" Shizune silently stares at Izuna. "Izuna-kun you aren''t worried about Naruto. Tsunade-sama is a Sannin, there is no way Naruto who hasn''t even graduated from the academy could beat her." Crunch crunch Izuna fills his mouth with popcorns as he answers. "Just wait and watch you might be surprised to see Naruto''s growth. He is their son after all." "Uhm if you say so, then I believe you. Even so, it is Tsunade-sama we are talking about" Shizune has a worried expression on her face. "Rx just sit back and watch." He offers her some popcorns. "Haah take this." Naruto closes the distance and attacks Tsunade with a kunai. Swish Tsunade flicks the kunai with her finger and staggers Naruto. "It''s over." She points her finger near Naruto''s forehead and flicks it. Poof Naruto''s body disperses in a puff of smoke. "What?" Tsunade''s eyes widen in surprise. Poof The kunai turns in Naruto and attacks her. "Eat this Rasengan." Naruto makes a Rasengan and attacks her. "This technique" Tsunade sobers up as she hurriedly kicks the ground and jumps up in the air. Boom The ground beneath them shatters and Naruto tumbles over it as he ms the Rasengan on the ground. BOOM The Rasengan expands and creates a crater on the ground. ''Woah I never expected Naruto to unknowingly add Wind Chakra to the Rasengan. Looks like he is learning at a very quick pace. I guess he has inherited his father''s genes for quick learning.'' Whoosh "I almost got her." Naruto bites his lip in frustration. "It''s not over yet." Whoosh His clones act like a catapult and toss him in the air. "I will get you this time." Naruto makes some hand signs in midair. "Wind Style: Pressure Breakthrough" Naruto exhales a st of wind pressure from his mouth. "Good try kid, you almost got me." Whoosh Tsunade appears behind Naruto and flicks his forehead. "It''s still too early to fight and win against me." Boom Naruto is sent flying by the flick as he tumbles over arge distance. "Kid, you sure have grown a lot, but it is still not enough to beat me." Tsunade slowly walks towards Naruto as she praises me. "Now tell me why do you want to be the Hokage?" Tsunade ces her hands around her waist as she questions him. "I will be a Hokage no matter what! Because Hokage is my dream! Dattebyo!" Naruto proudly raises his head. "What" The image of Dan and Nawaki oveps with Naruto as Tsunade enters into a trance. ''She is a bit off her guard. This is my chance'' Naruto clenches his fists. ''Oye Nine-tails give me some chakra.'' Hmph Nine-tails snorts at him. ''Here brat... take it and don''t bother me again.'' Whoosh Naruto enters into a one-tail cloak chakra mode. "Now is my chance, Rasengan" "What the" Tsunade''s eyes widen as she looks at the new form of Naruto. "Oh! I never expected Naruto to use this form. Looks like he really respects the position of Hokage." Izuna dusts his hands as he flickers in between them. Boom Arge cloud of dust and debris rise as Izuna is holding Naruto''s arm with his bare hands. "Now, now Naruto I warned you to not use this power recklessly, much less against the family." Whoosh Izuna disperses the chakra cloak as he scolds Naruto. "Naruto you should be careful with this power. As punishment, I will double your training." "No nii-san. No!" Naruto hugs Izuna''s legs. Aah He slumps on the ground and passes out. ''This guy he overexerted himself." Izuna shakes his head and ces Naruto on his shoulder. "Hold on I have a few questions for you." Tsunade stops him. "Well I will answer all of them. Let''s talk in the room." Izuna scratches his head. --------- Inside the room, Bam Tsunade ps her hand on the table as she questions Izuna. "Was it you, who taught him the Rasengan? Besides Minato, Jiraiya, and Kakashi, you are the only person who knows how to use that jutsu. Minato is no longer with us Jiraiya is out of the vige and Kakashi is in Anbu, which only leaves you. Tell me, why would you teach such a powerful jutsu to an academy student like Naruto." Tsunade angrily questions him. "Tsunade, when I was at Naruto''s age; I had already made a name for myself in the Shinobi war and joined anbu. Compared to that teaching a jutsu is nothing." Izuna argues with her. "You idiot! Things were different back then. Now we are in an era of peace." Tsunade angrily ces her hands around her massive chest. " also what was with that Nine-tails chakra? Don''t tell me you are training Naruto to control Nine-tails chakra." "Well, about that" Izuna scratches his head as he exins. "It was Minato and Kushina''s wish to allow Naruto to get hold of this power. I am just helping them fulfill it." "It''s still too early for that. Let him grow first. He is still an academy student." Tsunade argues. "Tsunade" Izuna holds Tsunade''s shoulder. " remember how I told you about an imminent threat on the shinobi world. I have to prepare Naruto for that threat." "Well if you say so." Tsunade calms down and sits down. She opens the sake bottle and chugs down a mouthful. "I trust your decision." "So, what are your thoughts about the Hokage position?" Izuna refills her cup. Hmm Tsunade lifts her eyebrow as she stares at Izuna. "I will return to the vige. It''s for Naruto''s sake, I wanted to see how far can he grow for the sake of his dream. He is a fool." "Well, at least he is a determined fool." Izuna chuckles and pours more wine. "I would be waiting for your return to Konoha. There is still something which I need to take care of." Izuna grabs Naruto and stands up. "See ya" Whoosh He disappears from their vision as he teleports out of the room. "This guy... he is always in a hurry." Tsunade shakes her head and chugs down another mouthful of wine. "Shizune, we will party all night." "Hai Tsunade-sama." Oink Oink ------------- Whoosh Izuna reappears in Konoha. He ces down Naruto on the bed and flickers towards the Hokage''s Office. Knock knock Izuna knocks on the Hokage''s office door. "Come on." An old voice greets him. Izuna enters the room. He takes out a scroll from his pocket and ces it on the table. "Hokage-sama I havepleted the mission. Orochimaru is building a new hidden vige in the Land of Sound. His motives are still unclear." Hmm Hiruzen picks up the scroll and skims through it. "Orochimaru what are you up to this time? I hope I won''t regret my decision." "Tsunade is on her way to the vige; she would return in a few weeks," Izuna informs him. Sigh Hiruzen takes a deep puff from his pipe and exhales it out. "So it''s about time for me to retire. The Will of Fire shall be passed to the future generation." Izuna silently departs from the office, leaving Hiruzen alone. Haah Hiruzen pulls out a drawer and takes out a crystal ball. He gently rubs the ball as he whispers. "Goodbye, old friend! It''s about time for us to part ways." Hiruzen covers the crystal ball with a cloth and closes his eyes as he reminisces. Chapter 184: The New Hokage Chapter 184: The New Hokage Six months passes in the blink of an eye. Tsunade is inaugurated as the Fifth Hokage. Inside the Hokage Office, Tsunade is sitting on the Hokage chair as she skims through some paper works. "Damn I hate this paperwork. I should have never agreed to be Hokage in the first ce." She clutches the paper tightly. "Tsunade-sama, the position of a Hokage is a big responsibility. You shouldn''t ck while working." Shizune rebukes her. "Haah I need a break. I want some booze." Tsunade stretches her arms and grabs the paperwork. "Hmm chunnin exams are close. Konoha signed a peace treaty with Sunagakure during the Third Shinobi War so it is an excellent opportunity to further improve the rtion." Tsunade takes out a scroll from the drawer and scribbles something. Snap Tsunade snaps her fingers as a messenger eagle appears on the window. "Deliver this to Sunagakure." Whoosh The eagle disappears in a distance. Sigh "I have to write more letters. If only Izuna was here, I could dump some paperwork on him." Tsunade stretches her arms and rxes on the chair. "Did someone mention my name?" Whoosh Izuna teleports in the middle of the room. "You are back Izuna-kun." Shizune grabs all the papers to prevent them from flying around. Swoosh Izuna tosses a scroll to Tsunade. "It''s done." Hmm "That was fast." Tsunade nods her head and opens the scroll as she reads the content. "I never expected someone would be gutsy enough to break free a prisoner from the Hozuki Castle." Tsunade throws the scroll on the table. Sigh Izuna takes a deep breath as he closes his eyes. ''Kara is on the move already. They broke free one of their future inners from the Hozuki castle.'' The scroll rolls open to reveal the picture of the prisoner. The picture of a tall man with a heavily built frame appears on the scroll. The man has blue eyes and a mustache. "Boro is a rogue ninja from Iwagakure who deserted the vige a few years ago. He massacred a dozen Jounin while escaping from the vige. He is an expert user of the Lava Release. That old fool Onoki has to personally make a move to capture him. Later, he was imprisoned in the Hozuki castle to never see the dawn. I wonder who freed him from the prison. The culprit must be quite skilled to be able to jailbreak Blood Prison." Tsunade reads the details of the scroll aloud. "Kusagakure signed an alliance with the Konohagakure during the Third Shinobi War. So, when they requested help, we had to deploy our most powerful shinobi." Tsunade folds the scroll and ces it on the table. "I will take my leave if there is no mission for me." Izuna opens the window and jumps out. "Wait I have a job for you." Tsunade stops him. ''I could dump the responsibility of Chunnin exam on him. This way I could take a breather.'' Ahem Tsunade clears her throat. "I want you to deliver this letter to Kirigakure. I heard you are ''quite'' close to the Mizukage so it will be convenient for you to deliver this letter." Tsunade smiles at him as she teases him. "Yes, I am dating her. It has been one and a half year since we started dating." Izuna nods his head. "Tch you are no fun." Tsunade clicks her tongue. "Then I will be on my way." Izuna grabs the scroll and teleports out. Haah "So much work to do." Tsunadeins. "But Tsunade-sama, Izuna-kun has been running lots of errands for you in these past six months." Shizune remarks. "That''s true, if not for him, I would be struggling with this much paperwork. Shizune let''s go to Yakiniku Q tonight. I want a break." Ahem "Let me check your schedule first." Shizune clears her throat as she enters her secretory mode. "Tsunade-sama, you have to attend the graduation ceremony of the academy in the afternoon. Then in the evening, you have an appointment with the merchants. Later at night, you have a dinner arrangement with the wife of Fire Daimyo. So, with the schedule in mind. Tsunade-sama you don''t have any free time." Haah Tsunade depressingly drops her head as she mumbles. "It''s not fair. I have no free time, why did I agree to this position in the first ce?" "Tsunade-sama, Naruto would graduate today. Don''t you want to see him be a genin and take his first step towards his dream?" Shizune asks Tsunade. "Yes, I would also like to see his growth. If not for him, I wouldn''t even agree to this position." Tsunade stretches her arms and gets up from her seat. "Let''s go." -------------- Inside the academy, Naruto iszily resting on the table with his eyes closed as he listens to the conversation. "Hey, today is the day we graduate from the academy. I can''t wait to be a Ninja." One of the civilian boys clenches his fist and raises it in the air. "Yes, I am pumped up. Finally, I will be able to use those cool jutsu and impress some girls." Another civilian raises his fist. Humph Sasuke snorts as he calmly closes his eyes. "A bunch of delusional kids who think the life of a Ninja is easygoing. Soon, they will understand the harsh reality when they will take their first step outside the vige." "Yes, it is very rough outside the vige. Dattebyo!" Naruto nods his head as he reminisces his experience. "Last year, I tagged along with Izuna Nii-san on a mission. But I was kidnapped by the enemy ninjas and was held hostage." Naruto narrates his experience to them. "Naruto, are you okay?" A timid and sweet voice asks him. "Oh! nothing happened to me, Hinata. I beat those bad guys up and escaped from their grasp." Naruto smugly folds his arms. "Hmph who will believe that white lie. Right Akamaru?" Woof woof Another kid with a small puppy on his head walks up to them. "What do you mean, Kiba? You want some beating." Naruto cracks his knuckles. "Anytime, you knucklehead." Woof woof "Cut it out, you two. Don''t bother Sasuke-kun" A blonde girl pushes them back as she approaches Sasuke. "Ino you pig, stop hogging Sasuke for yourself." Another girl with pink hair and a broad head pushes them. "Damnit why Sasuke gets all the attention." Narutoins. "Shut up, Naruto." The blonde girl and pink-haired girl shouts at him. "Shut up, you billboard brow." The blonde girl shouts at the blonde girl. Both the girls start a verbal fight. "Calm down, you two Ino and Sakura." A fat boy with a rotund build and some markings on his cheeks tries to calm them down. "Shut up... you fatty." Both Ino and Sakura shout at him. "Fa fatty did you call me fatty?" Choji enters a trance and expands his body. "CUT IT OUT EVERYONE." A loud voice interrupts them. "Any more noise and I will kick you out of the ssroom." The neer yells again. "Iruka-sensei it''s Iruka sensei." The hustle-bustle dies down as everyone takes their seats. Ahem Iruka clears his throat as he takes out a paper from the drawer of the table. "All of you have been a part of the academy for almost three years. Now the time hase for you to finally graduate from the academy and take your first step as a Ninja." Iruka pauses as he stares at the ss for their reaction. "I am all pumped up." Kiba raises his fists. Woof "What a drag" Another boy raises his head for a second before closing his eyes and restingzily on the table. "" Iruka silently stares at the boy. ''All the Nara n members are the same.'' "Ahem anyway before you take your first step as a Ninja you have to clear the academy''s graduation exam and prove your strength. Then only would you be able to wear the shinobi headband." Iruka shakes his headband. "Come on Iruka-sensei, stop with your flexing and start the exam." Naruto remarks. Tch A tick mark appears on Iruka''s face as he clenches his fists. ''Naruto this boy. Though his grades aren''t top-notch he is still ranked in the top ten. As for his taijutsu and Shurikenjutsu skills, he is only second to that Uchiha boy Sasuke.'' Ahem "So wasting no more of our time. I will start the first part of the exam." Iruka takes out a stack of paper and ces it on the table. "The first part is the written-exam followed by a test of your Ninjutsu skills." "Not this again" Naruto drops down his head. "I hate this part." "But didn''t you diligently study for the past few months?" Sasuke questions him. "My dream is to be the Hokage and Izuna Nii-san told me to study books if I want to be the Hokage. So, I won''t give up no matter how boring these books are." Naruto clenches his fist as a fire burns in his eyes. "" "Well... if you say so." ''He is too easy.'' Sasuke nods his head. Chapter 185: The New God Tree Chapter 185: The New God Tree At Kiri borders, Whoosh Izuna teleports outside Kirigakure. Hmm Izuna looks in a certain direction and nods his head. "There is no need to hide." Whoosh A tall figure in a ck cloak flickers in front of him. "I have something to report, Master." A female voice falls in his ears. Sigh Izuna rubs his forehead as he rebukes her. "Wrath just call me Captain. You don''t have to call me Master." "No" The figure shakes her head. "I have nowhere to belong to. The vige which I considered as my home betrayed me the people which I considered my family backstabed me. It was at such a time that master stepped in and saved my life." "You know, there are other ways to repay the gratitude. You don''t have to pledge your life to me." Izuna questions her. "No my resolve for revenge has never been this strong. A searing fury burns in my heart and it is this resolve which makes me strong." The figure clutches her fists. "I am Wrath." "Well, if that''s your choice, then I won''t stop you. But remember this, the day you even think about betraying me would be the day you breathe yourst." Izuna''s expression turns serious as he threatens her. "That day would nevere." The figure reassures him. "I hope so." Izuna nods his head. "Now, for the report." Swoosh The figure passes a scroll to him. "Master, this is what you asked me to collect." Hmm Izuna makes some hand signs and infuses some chakra in the scroll. Whoosh A dark red orb of chakra appears in front of him. "Sharingan" Izuna activates his Sharingan and inspects the chakra orb. "Hmm there is nothing wrong with it." He turns towards the cloaked figure and nods his head. "Well done, it was a wise decision to send you to Sunagakure to collect the chakra of One-tails." Whoosh A dark red diamond mark appears on Izuna''s palm. ''Dark Release: Chakra absorption'' Swoosh He absorbs the red chakra orb through the diamond mark. "Seven down two more to go." He turns towards the cloaked figure and orders her. "Wrath! Your next task is to visit the Land of Sky and monitor Ancor Vantian: the famous flying city of the Ninja world. I want you to steal a sample of chakra from the zero-tails sealed within the depths of the flying city." Izuna tosses a scroll to wrath. "This scroll contains the intelligence collected by the Pride. Unfortunately, he can''t apany you for this mission, he is on another important mission." Wrath grabs the scroll and makes some hand signs. Whoosh She disappears in a puff of smoke. ''I have to recruit more members. I still have no clue about Kara besides the name of their members." Izuna rubs his forehead as he thinks about the looming threat. "Anyway, it''s time to meet with Mei." A smile blooms on Izuna''s face as he flickers towards the Kiri''s entrance. --------------------------- Inside an underground hideout, Thump thump A giant chakra tree with a giant red flower is pulsating with chakra. "What a beautiful sight?" A man in his early thirties with ck hair and a thick beard walks in front of the tree. He has light green eyes and wears a thick ss frame with orange lenses. He is dressed in a dark-colored cored shirt and wears matching pants. Puff The middle-aged takes a deep puff of smoke from his cigarette as he curiously inspects the tree. "Wonderful" The man readjusts his spectacle as he curiously stares at the pulsating node of chakra. "It is still in infancy." A deep hoarse voice breaks him from his thoughts. Hmm The spectacled man nods his head and turns around to greet the neer. A tall man of lightplexion walks in front of the tree. The tall man sports a shaved head with a long mohawk of long ck hair tied in a ponytail reaching his lower back. He has pronounced eye ridges void of brows, a broad nose, andrge ck eyes. He has a diamond-shaped mark on his chin and a Roman Numerical "IV" tattooed below his left eye. He also wears five red earrings on top of each ear and an additional at the bottom of each ear. His body is covered with a ck hooded cloak with marron lining, along with the light-colored capri pants and sandals. The man touches the tree and closes his eyes. "I have waited so long for this moment. The God tree shall bloom once again." The man removes his hand from the tree and turns towards the spectacled man. "How is your progress with the body modificationsing along?" The spectacled man adjusts his spectacles as he reports. "I have sessfully gathered the gic material of most of the powerful shinobis. I have to perform more experiments to test the feasibility of cloning their abilities." Hmm The tall man nods his head. "What about the project involving the transfer of Kama seal? Did you see any progress?" "Unfortunately, no" The spectacled man shakes his head in denial. "The body of these children is too weak to handle your power. Also, I am not an expert when ites to ninja anatomy. There are only a few people who have the necessary knowledge to perform such a feat." The spectacled man takes out a folder from the table and passes it to the tall man as he exins. "There are only four people who have such knowledge. The first person is Tsunade Senju: one of the best medic-nin of the shinobi world. The second person is Izuna Uchiha: he is one of the disciples of Tsunade Senju." He adjusts his spectacles as he continues. "The third person is Orochimaru: one of the Sannins and the fourth and thest person is Hiruko: one of the missing-nin of Konohagakure." Hmm The Tall man nods his head as he makes a Ram seal and brings it to his right eye. "Release" His right eye changes as eight spokes appear in it. He concentrates some chakra in his eye. After concentrating for a moment, he turns towards the spectacle man and orders him. "Amado offer some benefits to Hiruko and trade for his research. If he doesn''tply, then you know what to do." Amado nods his head and walks out of the chamber. The tall man sits on the throne as he muses to himself. "Kaguya, it has been almost a millennium since you betrayed me. You left me on the brink of death to die in this nameless dimension." He clutches his fists in anger. "A thousand years, it took me a thousand years to recover to my current state." Huh Tears flow from his left eye as he touches them. "Weak, you are nothing but a weak human, and yet your will still linger within this body. I even hate to call you as my vessel." Bam He ms his palm on the armrest. "Kaguya, did you honestly thought you would get rid of me? You thought that this entire world is dancing on the palm of your hands." The tall man stretches out his hand as a projection of God tree appears in it. "You are nothing but a sacrifice meant for the sake of n." Thump thump The dark red chakra continues to pulsate through the veins of the God tree. The tall man stands from his seat and stands in front of the tree. "The chakra fruit was meant to be harnessed with your sacrifice." The tall man lifts his head and stares at the moon. "Pathetic you are sealed by the power of your very own creation." Thump Thump The God tree continues to pump more chakra. "But the n has to continue and what makes a better fodder than your very own descendants." Haha The tall manughs hysterically as he ces his hand on his right eye. "Release" Eight spokes appear in his eye as he stares at the God tree. "Otsutsuki n don''t need any bastards in such a remote ce. All of them are nothing but fodder in my eyes. The Senju n, the Uzumaki n, the Kaguya n; all of them turned into fertilizers for the God tree. I failed to do so with the Uchiha n, but there will always be an opportunity. Once the God tree blooms and bears a chakra fruit; the Otsutsuki n shall be the only supreme n. Until then" Whoosh The tall man disappears from the underground chamber. ---------------------- A/N:- Some mysteries will be unveiled inter chapters as for others I will leave them to your imagination for now. Chapter 186: A Date Part-1 Chapter 186: A Date Part-1 Outside the Terumi npounds, Whoosh Izuna flickers in front of the npounds. The guards recognize him and let him in. "Izuna-san Fuji-sama is waiting for you. He has some important things to discuss with you." One of the guards informs him. Mmhm Izuna nods his head and enters thepound. He senses Fuji''s chakra signature and flickers towards him. "Ao I need you to deal with the rogue ninjas from the Noble n. There are still a few remaining insurgents surfacing now and then." Fuji orders Ao. "Yes Fuji-sama." Ao nods his head and flickers out of the room. Izuna enters the room. "You were waiting for me Dad." Izuna smiles at Fuji. "Ahem who are you calling dad? You have yet to marry Mei. Anyway" Fuji clears his throat in embarrassment. "I have an important task for you." Fuji takes out a scroll from his pocket and passes it to Izuna. "It has been one and a half year since the civil war in Kiri ended. During that time, many shinobi deserted the vige. This scroll has a list of people who fled to Land of Fire." "I see." Izuna nods his head. "I will take care of the matter." Izuna assures Fuji. He looks around for a while and searches around. Fuji senses his gaze and answers him. "Mei is in the Mizukage Office. She is still learning about the responsibilities of Mizukage. Elder Genji is assisting her with politics." Haah Fuji cracks his neck and sits on the tatami floor. "I don''t want to burden her with too many responsibilities. Her mother''s dying wish was to have a peaceful life for her." Fuji closes his eyes as he reminisces some old memories. He opens his eyes and turns to Izuna. "I might not be as strong as you but if you dare to hurt my daughter''s feeling then I would chase you till the end of the world. Even my ghost would haunt you for eternity." Fuji has a serious expression on his face as he warns Izuna. "Don''t worry, dad! Her happiness would always be my priority." Mmhm Fuji nods his head. Whoosh Izuna flickers out of the room. --------------- Inside Mizukage Office, Mei is sitting on the Mizukage seat as she skims through the reports. A frown appears on her face as she reads the report. "The economy of the vige has been on a decline since these past few years. The reign of the Fourth Mizukage sapped all of our resources." She ces down the report and rubs her forehead. "The memories of the Bloody Mist still haunt the reputation of the vige. No business executive is willing to invest their resources in our vige." "That''s true" Elder Genji nods his head. "To reform the vige, we have to start from the internal policies and improve the image of Kirigakure in the eyes of the other nations." "Hmm but how? There are not many trustworthy people in Kirigakure and most of the higher-ups are corrupted." Whoosh Izuna flicker inside the Mizukage Office. The Anbu raises their guard as they surround Mei to protect her. "It''s fine! He is here." Mei calms them down. "Yo! How are you doing?" Izuna appears in front of Mei. "Humph" Mei angrily harrumphs at him. "How many times have I told you to use the door to enter the office?" "Well, it is faster this way." Izuna scratches his head and chuckles. "Anyway, jokes aside, I have a solution for your problem." Izuna tosses the invitation scroll to her. Mei catches the scroll and curiously asks him. "What do you mean? How can this scroll help Kiri with its reputation?" "Open it up. You will get the answer." Izuna nods his head. Hmm Mei opens the scroll and reads its content. "A message from the Hokage" Her expression turns serious as he reads the content. She ponders for a while as she passes the scroll to Elder Genji. "It has been a while since Kiri conducted itsst Chunnin promotion exam. After the end of the chaotic civil war, the vigecked enough resources to conduct a chunnin exam. The old method of bloody ughter has left a bitter taste in the mouth of many of our elite shinobis. It''s time for old rules to be reced by the new one." She turns to Elder Genji and questions him. "Elder Genji! what do you think about this proposal?" Elder Genji reads the scroll and nods his head. "This might work" "Very well. Kirigakure will ept the invitation. It will help us improve our diplomatic rtionship with the Land of Fire." Mei takes out a scroll from her table and scribbles on it. Mei makes some hand signs and infuses her chakra and creates a seal on the scroll. She tosses the scroll to Izuna. "Kirigakure is ready for the coborative chunnin exam." Whoosh Izuna tosses the scroll in the air and stores it. "With that out of the way, it''s time for some serious business." Izuna adopts a serious expression as his voice turns heavy. Hmm Mei and Elder Genji''s expression turns serious as they perk their ears to listen to the matter. "Ahem" Izuna clears his throat and turns to Mei. "So after this, how about we go for a date? We can start with a mixed bath to relieve our stress and then we can walk among the streets of the Kiri as we try the local delicacy andter, we can have a candlelight dinner under the mellow and radiant moonlight." Izuna stretches his arm in front of Mei. "" Mei and Elder Genji silently stare at Izuna. A blush appears on Mei''s face as she hides it under her Mizukage hat. Cough cough Elder Genji coughs violently as he almost enters a seizure. The hidden anbu members silently stare at Izuna as one of them takes out a diary from his pocket and writes something. The other members turn towards him and questions him. "What are you writing Hakuren?" Ahem Hakuren clears his throat and replies. "Every time Izuna-sama visits Mizukage-sama, he has a unique pickup line. Out of curiosity I tried it and proposed to my neighbor and guess what?" "What?" All of them perks up their ear. "The girl liked it and epted my proposal. Now I have made it a habit to write down every pickup line Izuna-sama uses in a diary." He passes the diary to his fellow anbu members. One of them grabs the diary and reads the title. "A hundred ways to make a girl fall for you." He reads the title aloud. "" All of them turn towards the anbu member. "Destroy that diary this very instance or else" Mei clenches her fist as ava ball appears in it. Gulp "Yes, Mizukage-sama" The anbu member gulps his saliva and burns the diary with a fire release technique. Mei nods her head. She turns to Izuna and scolds him. "You should stop with these pickup lines. They won''t work on me anymore. Humph" Mei harrumphs at him. "Well isn''t this reason you fall for me? If I remembered correctly, there was a certain someone who really liked my pickup line." Izuna smugly stares at Mei. "Sss stop we won''t talk about it anymore. As for your proposal, I ept it just forget the bathhouse part." Mei ces a finger on his mouth to shut him up. "Ok! Fine with me." Izuna shakes his shoulders. Cough cough Elder Genji coughs slightly. "Miss Mei we have a meeting with the merchant group regarding the new economic policy in a few hours. Please get ready for that." Elder Genji reminds her. "Well! I will take my leave now." Izuna winks at Mei as he teleports from the Mizukage Office. "This idiot" A slight smile blooms on her face. Mei shakes her head as she turns to Elder Genji for the discussion of the iing meeting. ----------------- Whoosh Izuna teleports inside the Hokage Office. "I am back." "ORYAH" A punch greets him in return. Boom He is sent flying out of the office as he breaks through the roof. "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO ENTER THROUGH THE DOOR?" An angry Tsunade yells at him. She looks at the scattered paperwork as her anger rises by another notch. "Tsunade-sama! We just recently fixed that roof." Shizune tries to calm her down. Humph "Cut it from his next mission pay." Tsunade snorts as she collects the scattered paperwork. ------------------ A/N:- I have little to no experince with romantic writing. But I will try my best. The rtionship will progress slowly with many funny bits like this. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Comment your thoughts on this chapter and suggest any improvements. Chapter 187: A Date Part-2 Chapter 187: A Date Part-2 "Ouch! That hurts." Izuna drops down from a tree. Crack crack He cracks his neck and stretches his muscles. "Tsunade is getting stronger day by day. This would hurt in the morning." Whoosh He flickers towards the Hokage Office. Inside the Hokage Office, Tsunade unseals the scroll and reads its content. "So Kirigakure has agreed to the coborative Chunnin exam. We have to just wait for a reply from the rest of the hidden viges." Hmm Tsunade stamps the scroll and ces it on the table. She turns towards Izuna. Fffwweehh Izuna whistles as he avoids her gaze. "I have a job for you and you don''t have the right to refuse." Tsunade ms her hands on the table. "Well, there are few things to do now, and I don''t want to baby-sit any genin for now. So, I will ept it." Izuna nods his head. A smirk appears on Tsunade''s face as she stares at Izuna. Hmm A bad feeling wells up within Izuna''s heart. "Why do I feel like I am being set up?" He turns towards Shizune to question her. Shizune turns her head away and avoids his gaze. Tsunade walks up to him and pats his shoulder. "I believe you will do a fine job handling the uing chunnin exam." "Wait what? chunnin exams! Don''t dump your work on me." Izuna retorts. "Hey you agreed to the mission. You can''t eat your words." Tsunade dismisses his retort. "I fell for it" Izuna depressingly drops his head. Knock Knock Someone knocks on the door. "Come in." Tsunade returns to her seat and orders. Kakashi walks into the room and bows before Tsunade. "You summoned me Hokage-sama" Tsunade nods her head. "Kakashi have you decided on a genin team yet?" "No Tsunade-sama none of them satisfies my requirements." Kakashi shakes his head. Tsunade takes out a file and passes it to Kakashi. "What are your thoughts on this team?" Hmm Kakashi opens the file and checks the profile of the new genins. "Naruto Uzumaki: he had a decent score in the written exam, not the top of the bunch but still a good score. As for his Ninjutsu exam, he fared pretty well Sasuke Uchiha: the top genius of the academy. He scored the second-highest in the written exam and is the top scorer in the Ninjutsu and Shurikenjutsu Sakura Haruna: a civilian kunoichi. She is the top scorer in the written exam and did pretty well with the Ninjutsu exam" Kakashi closes the file and rubs his forehead as he turns to Izuna. "If I am not wrong, Naruto and Sasuke were taught by you." Izuna nods his head. "Yes, both of them are pretty strong for their age. They can easily rival a chunnin and can even fight toe-to-toe with a Jounin while using their trump cards." Haah Kakashi takes a deep breath as he calms his nerves after listening to Izuna''s exnation. "These kids already surpass my skills when I was at their age. How am I supposed to babysit them? Also, why would you even bother to put two of the strongest genin in the same team, Hokage-sama?" He asks Tsunade. Tsunade points towards Izuna. "It was his idea. I was against it, but he convinced me." Kakashi turns to Izuna and tilts his head in confusion. "Kakashi! Naruto and Sasuke had known each other since childhood. Both of them trained together and are aware of each other''s weaknesses and strengths. Their teamwork is formidable." Hmm "Teamwork huh" Kakashi closes his eyes as he reminisces his past. ''So, the ghosts of past still haunt him.'' Izuna shakes his head. ''Maybe Naruto would be able to beat some sense in him with his Talk-no-jutsu.'' Ahem Izuna clears his throat to get Kakashi''s attention. "How about we make a bet Kakashi?" "What bet?" Kakashi snaps out from his thoughts. "Kakashi, hold a bell test with Naruto and Sasuke. If they can get their hands on bells, then you would destroy those pictures." Izuna remembers his dark secrets recorded by Kakashi. Hmm "What pictures?" Tsunade''s interest piques up. "No no, nothing. It is a matter between two men." "Hoh now I am really interested." Tsunade has a smirk on her face as she turns to Kakashi. "Kakashi I want to see those photos." "Uh! Tsunade-sama those pictures?" Kakashi scratches his head. "Kakashi if you dared to reveal those pictures to her I will set your entire collection of culture books on fire. Also, the new Icha Icha Violence is out." Izuna takes out a book from his pocket. "This is the first collector''s edition of Icha Icha Violence signed by the Jiraiya. He gave it to me at ourst meeting. I was about to throw it away, but then I changed my mind and thought of gifting it to you." Izuna shakes the book in front of Kakashi. "The new Icha Icha collector''s edition." Kakashi''s hands start to shake as he gently holds the book. Sniff sniff He sniffs the book. "" "This fresh scent of paper. It is definitely the new edition." "" "I can''t wait to finish it in one sitting." Swish Izuna grabs the book and stores it. "Listen I will give this book to you for free just forget about the bet. But DON''T DON''T YOU DARE TO REVEAL THOSE PICTURES." "No give it back." Kakashi grabs Izuna''s shoulder like a drug addict. "" Tsunade and Shizune watch the drama unfolding from a distance. "Tsunade-sama, I am also curious to see those pictures of Izuna." Tsunade nods her head. "Don''t worry, someday I will make Kakashi cough them out." "" "Hey! I can hear you loud and clear." Izuna turns towards them. "Anyway, Kakashi, aren''t youte? You have a genin team to meet up with." Izuna reminds him. "Ah! Yes, I will be on my way." Kakashi walks out of the Office. "I will also take my leave. A woman is waiting for me." Whoosh Izuna disappears from the Office. Sigh Tsunade sighs as she stares at the empty space. Izuna reappears in front of the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Miss Yamanaka is watering some flowers. She raises her head and notices Izuna. "Oh Izuna-kun!" Izuna bows in gratitude. "Here for flowers." Izuna nods his head. "I still remember the first day you bought these flowers. You had no clue about the color of roses." She picks up an orange rose and smells it. "Orange rose represents life, energy, passion, and excitement. These roses are given as a present to express your gratitude and appreciation." She picks up a yellow rose and gently caresses it. "Yellow roses symbolize friendship, joy, and dness. They are gifted as a sign of remembrance." She picks up a white rose as she exins. ''''White rose symbolizes purity, innocence, grace, and humility. A fine gift for a new-wed couple for the new budding love." She walks even further and picks up a pink rose. "Pink rose symbolizes femininity, elegance, and refinement. These are often used by nobles to decorate their parties." Miss Yamanaka chuckles and moves on. She picks up avender rose and turns to Izuna. "These were the first flowers you bought as a present. Lavender rose symbolizes love at first sight." Uhm Izuna scratches his head to hide his expression. She walks inside the store and brings out a bouquet of red roses. "Red roses symbolize romance, love, beauty, and perfection. They are the perfect gift for a date." She passes the bouquet to Izuna. "Here Izuna-kun." "Thank you Miss Yamanaka." Izuna picks up the bouquet. "Ara you can''t make ady wait for so long." Miss Yamanaka chuckles as he waves her hand. ------------------ Outside Terumi Compounds, Mei is fidgeting her fingers as she checks her dress now and then. She is wearing a long-sleeved, dark blue dress that falls just below the knees. The dress is closed at back with a zipper and is open on the front-right side from the waist down. The dress covers up to the upper part of her arms and the underside of her chest. Her hairs are styled into a herringbone pattern and tied with a dark blue band in a top-knot. Fours bangs hang at the front of her face. She wears cherry red lipstick. "Will he like it? It is a new dress." Whoosh Izuna teleports in front of Mei. "Sorry I am a bitte." He apologizes and presents the bouquet to her. "No no I was a bit too early." Mei shyly shakes her head. "Cute" Izuna is entranced by her expression. "Cu cute" Mei shyly asks him. "Yes Mei, you look beautiful in this dress." Izuna nods his head as he appreciates her beauty. "This is how it should be. Dark blue color suits you the most." "Really?" "Yes I love it." Izuna bends on his left knee and stretches out his right hand in a knightly pose. "Would you grace me with your humble presence tonight?" Mei chuckles and holds his hand. "If you can guess what my favorite restaurant is, then we have a deal?" "Then it seems like we have a long night ahead." Chapter 188: The Bell Test (Kakashi Style) Chapter 188: The Bell Test (Kakashi Style) Next day in the morning, Izuna wakes up in the morning and stretches his arms. "That was a splendid night yesterday." Yawn He yawns and walks out of his room. "Oh! Izuna-dear. You are awake." Aiko greets him. "Yes mother." Izuna walks up to the table and picks up his breakfast. "Where is Ayaka?" He looks around. "Ayaka is in the backyard. She woke up pretty early." "Oh" Izuna finishes his breakfast and enters the backyard. Sho sho Ayaka is throwing wooden shurikens at a training dummy with her eyes closed. She removes her blindfold and checks the target. "Why do I keep missing my targets?" Ayaka frowns. She cutely walks up to the training dummies and inspects them. "Why can''t I hit them I saw Onii-san do it with his eyes closed. I also want to be like Onii-san." Ayaka pouts as she throws away the shuriken. "Oh! looks like my cute little imouto is having some trouble with her training." Izuna walks up to her and pinches her cheeks. Humph Ayaka pouts and turns her head away. "Onii-san you BAKA! you never spend your time with me. Train me today. I won''t leave your side today." Ayaka tightly hugs him like a ko. "Well." Izuna scratches his head. "No I won''t hear a thing." Ayaka puffs her cheeks as her eyes turn teary. "Onii-san! you are such a meanie. You won''t y with me." "No no how can I ignore you? I will spend the entire day with you today." Izuna gently picks her up and ces her on his shoulders. "Yay!... let''s go. That''s more like it." Ayaka hugs his head. ''Hmm today is supposed to be the day when Kakashi will hold the bell test for them. I have a bet with Kakashi. Let''s check on them.'' "Ayaka! let''s watch Naruto and Sasuke train." "Yay I will see Naruto and Sasuke nii-san train." Whoosh Izuna flickers towards the third training ground with Ayaka. He notices Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura sitting around three stakes. "Damnit! Kakashi Sensei is sote. Dattebyo!" Naruto kicks the stake in anger. "Naruto, Calm down." Sasuke calms him down. He ces his hands under his chin as Sasuke enters into his thinking pose. "As far as I can think of Kakashi Sensei called us here to test our skills. He might be spying us on at this very instant. Naruto you should be aware of the fact that patience is very vital for a ninja. If you aren''t patient enough, then you might fail a very important mission." "Oh! I almost forgot about that." Naruto calms down and sits beside him. "Hey, Naruto! get away from my Sasuke-kun?" Sakura pushes away Naruto and sits beside Sasuke. Hmm Sasuke frowns as he notices this. He turns towards Sakura and rebukes her. "Listen Sakura! Naruto is like my younger brother. Apologize to him this very instant for your rude behavior." "But but Sasuke-kun Naruto always bothers you in the academy. He he always fights with you." Sakura replies in trepidation. "Listen that''s our personal matter. There is no need for any outsider to interfere with that. Naruto is my brother, friend, and most of all he is my rival." "Oh Sasuke, you think so highly of me." Naruto shyly scratches his head. "No one beside me can insult Naruto." Sasuke continues. "Hey!... what do you mean?" Naruto clutches Sasuke''s cor. "Wanna go at it again? I have learned some new techniques from Izuna Nii-san. I won''t lose this time." Naruto smugly replies to Sasuke. "Oh you too, and here I thought Izuna nii-san only taught me." Sasuke brushes away Naruto''s hand and smugly replies to him. "Damnit I am mad now." Naruto cracks his knuckles. "Then let''s decide." Growl Both of them are interrupted by an empty stomach''s growl. "Huh!" They turn towards Sakura, who blushes and turns her head away. "You haven''t eaten anything." Both of them ask her. "Yes Kakashi Sensei told us to not eat anything in the morning and I am on a diet so I didn''t even eat my dinner." Sakura shyly responds to them. "Diet? why do you need to diet?" Naruto walks up to her and inspects her. "You aren''t as chubby as that, Choji. Is there even any need to diet?" ''Shannaro'' Sakura clutches her fist as she angrily stares at Naruto. She punches Naruto. Whoosh Naruto dodges her punch and questions her. "What was that for? Are you an idiot?" "Naruto you are an idiot?" Sakura angrily replies to him. "Hmm I agree with Naruto. What kind of ninja will go unprepared for a mission? If the ninja doesn''t even have any strength to support his body, then forget aboutpleting the mission he will just turn into a useless liability for the team." Sasuke calmly replies to her. "Uuu useless" Sakura drops down her head as she looks at Sasuke. "Listen, Sakura! it may not seem like it but Naruto is as strong as me. He likes to fool around a lot, but believe me, when this guy is serious he can put a lot of effort into any task. I hate to admit it, but it is the truth." Sasuke praises Naruto. "Oh! this is music to my ears. I have recorded it. Now I can hear it anytime." Naruto takes out a tape recorder from his pocket and ys it. "Listen, Sakura" "Damnit destroy that tape this instant." Sasuke chases Naruto. "Haha" Ayaka giggles as she stares at Naruto and Sasuke from the top of a tree. "Onii-san Sasuke Nii-san and Naruto Nii-san are so funny. But who is that girl? I don''t like that girl. She is very rude." Ayaka points her little finger towards Sakura. "Humph she is useless for calling Naruto Nii-san useless." "" Izuna silently nods his head. "True words were never spoken." Ahem "Anyway Ayaka look who ising?" Izuna points towards Kakashi, who is walking towards the group. "Oh that''s broom haired Nii-san. I recognize him." "" ''Looks like she caught my old habit of nick-naming people.'' "Ayaka! a great show is about to start. Let''s watch it together." Izuna takes out some popcorns from his storage. Ayaka grabs a handful of popcorns with her tiny hands and gnaws them like a squirrel. "Nii-san I feel like it is missing something. I need something to drink with it." "" Izuna silently takes out a soda can from his storage and passes it to her. ''Why do I feel like, she is also reincarnated like me? Probably not.'' Izuna shakes his head to dismiss such thoughts as he watches one of the most awaited moments of Naruto. ''I wonder how things will turn out this time. Kakashi is a lot stronger than his original counterpart. But so are Sasuke and Naruto. As for Sakura, let''s not talk about her for now.'' ------------------ "Hi, folks! Good Morning." Kakashi waves his hand. "You arete." Naruto and Sakura yell at him. "Sorry sorry a ck cat crossed my way, so I have to turn around and take the longer route." Kakashi scratches his forehead. "Lies" Naruto yells at him. "Okay" Kakashi takes out an rm clock and ces it on the stump. " it is set for noon." He takes out two bells from his pocket and jingles them. "Today''s assignment is to take these bells away from me by noon." Jingle jingle The bells jingle in his hands. "I am sure everybody skipped their breakfast, right?" Kakashi questions them. "No Sasuke and me ate ours." Naruto reveals this to Kakashi. "Ho as your team leader I gave you an order for the mission and you neglected my order." Kakashi grabs the bells tightly as his expression darkens. Gulp Sakura gulps her saliva as she stares at Kakashi. ''Scary Kakashi Sensei is scary.'' "Mind exining. Why?" He questions them. "Let me exin. We ate our breakfast because without our breakfast we won''t be in our peak condition. A shinobi should always be prepared before a mission and that includes food supplies." Sasuke answers him. "Well, that''s true." Kakashi nods his head as he exins the rules. "Wait! Kakashi sensei, why are there only two bells?" Sakura asks him. "Good question." Kakashi nods his head as he replies. "There are only two, so at the very least, one will have to go back to the academy." Huh All three of them are surprised by this revtion. ''What''s he thinking?'' Sasuke ponders as he stares at Kakashi''s smug expression. ''As far as I know, a squad should have three members. How can there be a squad without three genins? Looks like there is more to the matter than it seems.'' "I won''t return to the academy. Dattebyo!" Naruto pumps his fist in the air. "Hoh! Confident aren''t you? Let''s see where your confidence will carry you?" Kakashi smiles at Naruto as he ties the bells around his belt. "You won''t be able to take the bells unless youe with the intent to kill me. Begin when I give the "ready-go" signal." Chapter 189: The Bell Test Part-2 (Kakashi Style) Chapter 189: The Bell Test Part-2 (Kakashi Style) "Ready" "Go" "Start" Kakashi waves his hand to start the Bell Test. He takes out the new Icha Icha Violence given to him by Izuna. Poof Poof Naruto and Sasuke throw smoke bombs on the ground and create a smokescreen. ''Fundamentally, a ninja must mask their presence and hide. But when in open they need a distraction to get away from the enemy''s vision. Looks like Izuna taught them well.'' Whoosh Kakashi waves his hand and clears the smoke. "I will pound you to death." Naruto runs out of the smoke with a kunai in his hand. "Guess I had too high of the expectations." Kakashi scratches his head. ng He deflects Naruto''s kunai with his own and backhand chop Naruto. Poof Naruto disappears in a puff of white smoke. "What?" Kakashi is surprised to see this. ''Not a normal clone. But a shadow clone looks like this kid is really onto something.'' "Got you." The kunai turns into Naruto and attempts to grab the bell. "Leaf Hurricane" Kakashi immediately sweeps his legs and kicks Naruto away. Poof Naruto disappears in a puff of smoke again. "That was close." Kakashi closes the book and pockets it. "Looks like I can''t take it easy. These kids have some skills." ''That was a very creative way of using Shadow clones. Using transformation jutsu to transform a shadow clone into a kunai and testing the strength of the enemies. He sure has learned a lot from Izuna. Besides Izuna, I can''t think of any other shinobi who has enough chakra to perform such a feat. Maybe Naruto is the second person to do so.'' Tch In a nearby bush, Naruto clicks his tongue as the shadow clones send the information. "He easily defeated my clones." "He won''t be much of an elite Jounin if he can''t deal with the clones of a genin." Sasuke remarks as he formtes a n. "We can''t take him down individually we have to join hands and strategize to get the bells." Naruto nods his head and remarks. "I hate to admit it but looks like there is no other choice." "Very well." Sasuke nods his head and turns towards Sakura. "Sakura is there anything you are particrly good at? I have known Naruto for so long that I am aware of all his strengths and weaknesses. So you are the only when we have no information on." "Well Sasuke-kun I I am not really good at anything except the writing part. I was the top scorer in the written exam." Sakura shyly replies to him. "That''s useless, Dattebyo! Do you want to beat Kakashi Sensei by throwing books at him?" Naruto ces his hands beside his head as he questions Sakura. ''Shannaro Naruto, I swear I will beat you to death for saying this in front of Sasuke-kun.'' The inner Sakura clenches her fist. "I I don''t know." Sakura drops down her head. "Enough Naruto. I am sure she could y some part in our n." Sasuke turns towards Naruto and asks him. "Naruto, do you have paper bombs?" "Yes I do. Izuna Nii-san creates all of our paper bombs, remember." Naruto takes out a stack of paper bombs and passes them to Sasuke. "That should be enough." Sasuke nods his head as he formtes a n. ------------- "Oh they have hidden pretty well." Kakashi walks through the forest as he searches for the group. Swish swish Multiple shurikens attack him from all directions. ng ng Kakashi deflects all the kunais as he remarks. "Shinobi Battle Skill #1 Ninjutsu" Whoosh ''Shuriken Shadow clone jutsu, '' The shurikens multiples as they attack Kakashi from his blind spot. "Earth Release: Mud Wall" Kakashi ms his palm on the ground and blocks the shurikens. Tch Sasuke clicks his tongue and changes his hiding spot. Whoosh. ''Wind Release: Vacuum des'' Naruto jumps out from the back of the wall as he makes some hand signs and releases multiple sharp wind des at Kakashi. "Well that''s not what a normal genin should be able to use but I guess you aren''t normal." Bzzt Kakashi releases a lightning bolt from his right hand and dissipates the wind des. Poof Naruto disappears in a puff of smoke. Tch ''He is very strong. To be able to use a weak element to counteract a strong element.'' Sasuke clicks his tongue. "Yo kid." Kakashi appears behind Sasuke. "What how?" Sasuke''s eye widens in surprise. "Shinobi Battle Skill #2 Genjutsu" Kakashi makes some hand signs and casts a genjutsu on Sasuke. "Sharingan" Sasuke activates his Sharingan as he counterattacks the genjutsu. "What? a fully matured Sharingan at such an age." Kakashi''s eyes widen in surprise as his body gets paralyzed by the genjutsu. "It''s over." Bam Sasuke punches Kakashi. Poof Kakashi disappears in a puff of smoke. Tch "A shadow clone I revealed my trump card for nothing." Sasuke clicks his tongue. Aiyah He hears a scream from a distance. "That''s Sakura''s scream. Looks like Kakashi Sensei got her. I have to save her she is vital for our n." Sasuke dashes towards the direction of the scream. "Huh that''s Sakura''s scream. I have to check on her." Narutoes out from his hiding spot and dashes towards the scream. "What''s the hurry kid?" Whoosh Kakashi jumps in front of Naruto as he kicks him. Bang Naruto is sent flying towards a tree. "Shinobi Battle Skill #3: Taijutsu" ------------------- Crunch crunch Izuna eats some popcorns as he records the fight in his memory. "This fight turned out to be more challenging than the original." Crunch crunch "But I am more surprised at Kakashi''s growth. Looks like the presence of Sakumo-san saved him from losing hope. Also another factor is the seal on his Sharingan. It prevents the continuous drain of his chakra." Slurp slurp "That''s so good." Ayaka finishes arge can of soda. "" "Onii-san I don''t like the vor of Orange Soda. Next time, you should bring Lemon Soda." "" Izuna silently nods his head. "I will keep that in mind." Burp Ayaka burps cutely as she ces her tiny hands on her mouth. "You didn''t hear that Onii-san right?" "" Izuna nods his head again. "I heard nothing." "Good huhu." Ayaka ces her tiny hands on her waist as he stares at the bell test. "Wow Naruto and Sasuke Nii-san are very cool." Aiyah Both Izuna and Ayaka watch as Kakashi traps Sakura in a genjutsu. Sakura faints from the genjutsu. "But that girl she deserves it for bullying Naruto Nii-san. Now look who is the useless one?" Humph Ayaka harrumphs at Sakura. ''Looks like Ayaka doesn''t like Sakura.'' "What about me? Am I not cool?" Izuna points a finger towards himself. "No you are not cool." Ayaka shakes her head. "Is that so?" Izuna drops his head depressingly. "You are the coolest." Ayaka hugs him tightly. "Huhu right your brother is the coolest and most handsome Ninja born ever." Izuna smugly raises his head. Humph "Yes but I am cooler, right Nii-san?" Ayaka makes puppy eyes as she cutely stares at Izuna. "Yes yes of course, our little princess Ayaka is the coolest." Izuna gently pats her head. "Look look Nii-san, broom haired nii-san is fighting Naruto now." Ayaka points towards the direction of the fight. Bang Naruto is kicked away by Kakashi as Naruto hits a tree. "Ouch that must have hurt a lot." Ayaka closes her eyes. "Ayaka your Nii-san personally trained Naruto. He won''t go down that easily. Look" Ayaka opens her eyes as he curiously stares at the fight. ----------- Ptui Naruto jumps back as he wipes his face. Ouch ouch "My back hurts." He slowly gets up. Crack crack He cracks his knuckles and dashes towards Kakashi. "I haven''t gone from the hellish training of Izuna Nii-san for nothing. Dattebyo!" Bam bam He exchanged blows with Kakashi. Bam ''Leaf Hurricane: Whirlwind'' Naruto jumps in the air and performs a front flip to gain momentum as hends a kick on Kakashi. Whoosh Kakashi blocks the kick with his left hand as he is pushed back by the attack. "Looks like you have trained quite a lot in Taijutsu. Your endurance is quite high Naruto." Kakashi praises Naruto as he takes a Taijutsu stance. "Now show me, how capable you are?" Kakashi taunts Naruto. "Alright, let''s face off fair and square." Naruto makes a hand sign. "Multiple Shadow clone Jutsu" He creates ten shadow clones as he points towards Kakashi. "Alright, boys, beat him up." "Oye Oye! how is this fair?" Kakashi blocks one attack after another from Naruto''s Shadow clones as heins. -------------- A/N:- Happy Valentine Day. Chapter 190: The Bell Test Part-3 (Kakashi Style) Chapter 190: The Bell Test Part-3 (Kakashi Style) "Uzumaki Style: Ten Combo Smash" The shadow clones attack Kakashi from all directions. Bam Bam Bam Kakashi blocks one attack after another from Naruto. "You have quite the knack for Taijutsu. But it''s not enough." Swoosh "Leaf Hurricane Reverse Whirlwind" Kakashi delivers a reverse roundhouse kick and dispels all the shadow clones. Haah He jumps in the air and grabs Naruto "Falcon Drop" Kakashi grabs Naruto''s ankle and wrap legs around his waist as he drives Naruto into the ground. Boom Naruto is wedged into the ground as he struggles to get free from the ground. "Aww aww let me out." Swish swish Multiple shurikens encircle around Kakashi and tie him up with metal wires. Haah "Fire Style: Great Phoenix Flower Technique" Sasuke channels arge amount of chakra through fire as he incinerates the wires with the mes. "This technique it is a jounin level technique." Kakashi''s eyes widen in surprise. Srr The jutsu explodes near Kakashi as it turns him into cinders. "Did I get him?" Sasuke hurriedly checks his surroundings. Poof Kakashi''s body turns into a wooden log as it turns to cinders. "A substitution Jutsu!" Whoosh "Beneath you." Kakashi jumps out from the ground as he clutches Sasuke''s legs. "Earth Release: Head-hunter Jutsu" Whoosh Kakashi pulls Sasuke into the ground as his head is wedged out. "Using such a shy jutsu in the middle of a fight leaves you vulnerable to surprise attacks. Now then" Huhu Sasuke smiles smugly as he disappears in a puff of smoke. "Uchiha Style: Surging Fire Wild Dance" Sasuke appears behind Kakashi and releases a barrage of kicks and punches. Bam bam Kakashi blocks his attack as he is pushed back by the impact. "Now Naruto!" Whoosh Naruto performs a backflip as he jumps in the air. "Pile Driver" He infuses some chakra in his leg as he directs the foot on top of Kakashi''s head. Bam The kick shatters the ground. Swoosh Kakashi jumps back and avoids the kick. He performs a backflip and stabilizes himself. "Sakura! this is our chance." Sasuke yells as he signals Sakura. "Yes" "Release" Sakura makes some hand signs and ms her palm on the ground. Rumble Rumble The ground beneath Kakashi crumbles apart to reveal a pit full of explosive paper bombs. "This amount of paper bombs" Kakashi''s eyes widen in surprise at the sheer number of Paper bombs. "Hey hey! calm down, kids when I saide with the intent to kill me; I didn''t really mean it." Whoosh Whoosh Three of Naruto''s shadow clones grabs Kakashi tightly as one of the smirks. "Let''s go down together, Kakashi Sensei. Dattebyo!" BOOM The paper bombs light up as they trigger a massive explosion. "We got him. Dattebyo!" Naruto palm-ps with his shadow clone. ------------------------ "Oh!... they did pretty well." Izuna nods his head. "Looks like their harsh training wasn''t for vain." Neh Neh Ayaka tugs his sleeves as she points towards the group. "Is broom haired Nii-san okay?" Izuna gently pats her forehead. "Just watch, it''s not over yet." Hu Ayaka nods her head and turns towards the fight. "I hope Naruto and Sasuke Nii-san wins this." Ayaka silently prays with her hands closed. ----------------- Rumble rumble Whoosh Kakashi jumps out from the ground as he pulls Naruto in the ground. "It''s still too early to celebrate. You can''t lower your guard until you have confirmed the decapitation of your enemy." Kakashi reveals his Sharingan as he pants. ''I can''t believe these kids pushed me to this extent. That Izuna! he is raising a bunch of monsters like himself.'' Huff Huff Kakashi breathes heavily as he points towards the clock. "Looks like time''s up." Huff Huff "Yes, time''s over." Sasuke breathes heavily as he points towards Kakashi''s belt. "What?" Kakashi checks his belt as he notices the absence of the bell. "We did it." Naruto and Sasuke breathe heavily as they p their palms together. Jingle jingle Both of them show the bell to Kakashi. "When" Kakashi scratches his head as he remembers the memory before the battle. "It was then" The moment before the explosion shes in his memory. "Very well! Looks like both of you got one bell each." Kakashi deactivates his Sharingan. He turns towards Sakura and shakes his head. "Too bad Sakura you didn''t get the bell. Seems like you have to return to the academy." ''Sigh! I lost the bet with Izuna. Now he won''t allow me to see the end of this.'' "Noo I failed." Sakura drops down her head as her eyes turn teary. "That won''t do. Sakura is our teammate, if not for her we won''t be able to get the bells." Naruto defends Sakura as he argues with Kakashi. "Kakashi Sensei, a genin teamprises three members. This test was unfair to begin with. With only two bells, one of us was sure to be eliminated. Sakura is the weakest link of our team, but that doesn''t mean she has yed no role in our strategy." Sasuke argues with Kakashi. "Hmm that''s true. But rules are rules. A ninja must always follow the rules regardless of the situation." His expression turns serious as the atmosphere turns heavy. Gulp Naruto gulps his saliva as he gets ready to fight Kakashi. "We are a three-man squad. We are part of a team. If you want to fail one of us, then we three will return to the academy together." Naruto clenches his fists together and shouts at Kakashi. "Yes! we three are one team." Sasuke nods his head. "So, this is your collective decision." Kakashi releases a wave of chakra to pressurize them. "Naruto-kun Sasuke-kun" Sakura''s eyes tear up. She wipes her tears and turns to Kakashi with a resolute expression. "No, Kakashi-sensei don''t fail them. I will return to the academy." "No Sakura, we won''t allow this." Naruto blocks Sakura. "YOU GUYS" Kakashi''s voice turns heavy. " you pass." He gives a thumbs up and smiles at them. "Huh what?" The expression of Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto turns nk as they stare at Kakashi. "Up until now, it was always just dunces who would meekly listen to what I said. A ninja must see through the deception. A ninja who breaks the rule is TRASH. Rules are important, but friends are even more so. Those who don''t cherish their friends are worse than TRASH." Kakashi''s expression turns solemn as he reminisces his past. ''Obito Rin I failed you guys. But I won''t repeat the same mistake.'' "Anyway that''s for the exercise. All of you pass. Come meet me tomorrow to officially start your missions." "Yay hurray!" Naruto jumps around as he celebrates his victory. Whoosh Whoosh Izuna appears in front of the group. "Yo!" Ayaka raises her hands and greets the group. "So cute" Sakura''s eyes shine brightly as she walks towards Ayaka. She tries to pinch Ayaka''s cheeks, but Ayaka pushes her away. Humph Ayaka dodges her hands and hides behind Izuna. "No get away from me. I don''t like you." "Why?" Sasuke asks her. "You made fun of Naruto Nii-san." Naruto walks up to Ayaka and picks her up. "Today your Naruto Nii-san is very happy. He will treat you to Ichiraku Ramen. Dattebyo!" Bonk Ayaka clenches her tiny fists and bonks Naruto''s head. "That''s so unhealthy. You only eat ramen, I won''t allow this." Ouch ouch Naruto rubs his forehead in pain. "But but Ayaka Ramen is so good. It tastes so heavenly, remember those silky noodles, that sparkling broth, the taste of the toppings. I can''t help but salivate." He tries to entice Ayaka. Gulp Ayaka gulps a mouthful of saliva. ''No I can''t fall so easily. I have to take care of all of them. I am their caring imouto, after all. What will happen to them without me?'' Bonk She bonks Naruto''s head again. "No means no if you argue again, I willin to Tsunade Nee-san." "But but my ramen." Naruto depressingly drops his head as he sits in a corner and draws some circle. Ahem Izuna clears his throat and turns to Kakashi. "Kakashi! you lost the bet. It''s time for you to fulfill your end of the deal." He stretches his hand in front of Kakashi. "Fine fine" Kakashi takes out a packet from his pocket and passes it to Izuna. "What''s this?" Ayaka walks up to Izuna and tries to grab the packet. "No nothing. It''s nothing." Izuna hurriedly grabs the packet. Srrr He sets the packet on fire and burns it to ashes. "Now I am really curious to know what it was." Ayaka ces her tiny hands on her waist as she demands from Izuna. Whistle whistle Izuna whistles and turns his head away to avoid Ayaka''s gaze. Chapter 191: Start of the Chunnin-Exams Part-1 Chapter 191: Start of the Chunnin-Exams Part-1 Inside the Hokage Office, Yawn Tsunade yawns as he skims through the paperwork. "The paperwork has increased recently chunnin exam is on the horizon. I can''t even rx a little." Thump Shizune ms arge stack of paperwork on the table. "Tsunade-sama these are the entries of genins taking part in the Chunnin exam. They have been nominated by their Jounin instructors. You have to inspect and approve their participation." "" "Shizune why do I feel like you are doing this on purpose?" Tsunade has tears in her eyes as she stares at the stack of paper. "No no, of course not Tsunade-sama. As your secretary, it is my responsibility to make sure you do your job properly." Shizune smiles smugly. Knock Knock Someone knocks on the door. "Come in." Tsunade corrects her posture as she adopts a serious expression. "Yes Hokage-sama." Izuna and the group enter the office. "Hello Tsunade Nee-san." Ayaka waves her hand at Tsunade. "Oh Ayaka." Tsunade waves to Ayaka. "Baa-san give me a mission." Naruto interrupts them. Tick Tsunade has a tick mark on her forehead as she angrily stares at Naruto. "NARUTO How many times would I have to tell you to call me Hokage-sama when I am in the Office? Be formal in the Hokage Office." Bonk She bonks Naruto''s head. Aww Aww Naruto rubs his forehead as arge bump appears on it. "Now now Tsunade! Be lenient on Naruto. Sometimes, I feel like he has turned this way because you bonk his head quite regrly." Izuna jokes as caress Naruto''s head with Mystic Palm. "What did you say?" Tsunade angrily turns towards him. "No Nothing." Izuna turns his head away and whistles. "But but why Ayaka can call you informally." Narutoins. "Ayaka is different. She is just a kid and look how cute she is." Tsunade gently pinches Ayaka''s cheeks. "Yes Tsunade Nee-san, you are also beautiful." Ayakapliments Tsunade. "Aww so cute." Tsunade hugs Ayaka. "Look how smart she is." "" Izuna and the rest of the group silently nod their head. ''She is a smooth-talker just like her elder brother.'' Kakashi silently whispers to himself. ''I can hear your thoughts Kakashi.'' Izuna turns towards Kakashi. "But but why she doesn''t like me? Am I not beautiful?" Sakura questions herself. "" Izuna controls hisughter as he tries topose himself. Ahem Kakashi clears his throat to get their attention. "Hokage-sama, this group of genin has passed the final selection test." "Oh! Kakashi, so you finally passed someone. Your standards are quite high for failing almost 5 teams previously." Tsunade sits on her chair with Ayaka in herp. "Yes, Hokage-sama. They have proved their strength to me and I think they are ready to start their Ninja life." Kakashi nods his head. "Very well." Tsunade takes out three papers and stamps them. "With this, their registration as a Ninja isplete. They can start Shinobi Missions from tomorrow." She ces the papers in a file. "Yay! I am finally a ninja. Baa-san, just give me a mission. I am itching to do some shinobi missions for such a long time. Dattebyo!" Naruto jumps in front of Tsunade. Tick Another tick mark appears on Tsunade''s forehead as she angrily clutches her fist. Gulp Naruto gulps his saliva and retreats. "NARUTO tomorrow means tomorrow. Hammer this in that numb skull of yours." Tsunade angrily yells at him. She points towards therge stack of paper. "It was you who convinced me to take over this position. If you want to be Hokage, then you would have to do the same. Now don''t bother me anymore, I have work to do." Gulp Naruto quickly dashes out of Hokage Office. Sigh "This Naruto! he will never learn." Tsunade shakes her head. Kakashi and the rest of the group walk out of the Office as Izuna stays behind. "So, how is it the preparations for the uing Chunnin exam?" Izuna sits on a sofa beside the Hokage seat. Sigh Tsunade sighs and passes a scroll to Izuna. "This is the reply from Iwagakure." Izuna skims through the scroll and nods his head. "I figured as much. That old fool of Iwa won''t agree with it. He is a proud, headstrong, stubborn, and boastful geezer. It is part of the reason Iwa has no new Tsuchikage for the past thirty years." Tsunade nods her head. "He mocked Konoha for showing weakness and scheduling a joint chunnin exam." "How about Kumogakure? What''s their reply?" Izunazily stretches his legs as he questions her. Whoosh Tsunade tosses another scroll at him. "It''s the same. That unruly A is quite stern, outspoken, and hypocritical. Looks like he is still hung up on his loss at your hands." Tsunade chuckles. "Don''t bother him anymore. He is still salty about his loss." Izuna shakes his head. "What about Sunagakure?" He asks her. "Sunagakure has signed a peace treaty with Konoha after the Second Shinobi War and they helped Konoha during the Third Ninja War so needless to say they are our allies. They have agreed to the decision." Tsunade tosses another scroll to Izuna. Izuna skims through the letter and nods his head. "That Rasa of the sand is quite an open-minded individual when ites to the welfare of Suna. But this makes him a dangerous ally required to be kept at a hand''s distance. He can be quite ruthless to his allies." Izuna warns Tsunade. ''He sent Pakura on a suicide mission to Kirigakure. Well, for him it was for the betterment of the vige as Pakura could be a potential threat to his Kazekage position because of her title as the Hero of the Sand.'' Izuna shakes his head to discard such thoughts. "What about the smaller Nations?" "Well Kusagakure, Takigakure. Tanigakure, Yugakure, and Ishigakure have agreed to the proposal. Only Amegakure denied the proposal." Tsunade lists the name of the small hidden viges. "It''s fine. That''s still a lot of work for me." Izuna rubs his forehead. "You still have around three months to prepare," Tsunade assures him. "Easy for you to say, you ditched your job on me." Izuna snorts. "If I remember correctly it was certain someone who pestered me to take the position of Hokage." Tsunade smiles smugly. "Fine fine I will take care of this matter." He stands up and walks towards Ayaka, who is currently ying with Tonton. "Onii-san! this pig looks so plump and juicy. I wonder how it will taste like." Gulp Ayaka gulps her saliva as she hungrily stares at Tonton. "" Shizune silently stares at the brother and sister duo. ''She is really his sister. Both of them think alike.'' Oink Oink Tonton jumps out from Ayaka''s grasp and hides behind Shizune. "I think it is not a bad proposal. It has been a while since Ist ate some pork." Tsunade licks her lips. "NOO" Shizune grabs Tonton and hides her. "Don''t bully poor Tonton." "Well if you say so." Izuna ces Ayaka on his shoulders and walks out of the Hokage Office. ''It is a fine opportunity to introduce Mei to Mom and Dad.'' Whoosh. -------------- Izuna walks through the streets of Konoha market along with Ayaka. Heave hoo Heave hoo The sound of heavy breathing falls in his ears. He turns around and notices Might Guy and another boy in a green jumpsuit walking upside down on their hands through the streets. Guy notices Izuna and jumps up with one hand and stands in front of him. "Yo Izuna let''s have a duel." ''Not again I can''t handle the hot-blooded nature of Guy. He is too ''YOUTHFUL'' for me.'' "Not today Guy." Izuna points towards Ayaka. "I have made a promise to my cute little sister." He gently pats her forehead. Guy turns to the boy beside him. "Lee he is the man whom I talked about. There are only two men whom I call my rivals. The first being Kakashi Hatake and the second being Izuna Uchiha." "What? He is your rival, Guy-sensei." Lee''s eyes shine brightly as turns to Izuna. "Yes, Lee we have trained together in my YOUTH and he is the only person whom I could never win against in Taijutsu. He is my motivation to try hard every day." Guy clutches his fist and closes his eyes as he drowns in his youthfulness. "This is Youth Lee. Giving your all in and train even harder to get stronger with each passing day." Tears flow from his eyes as he narrates his struggles to Lee. "Guy-Sensei" Lee hugs Guy as both of them have a youthful hug. Ahem Izuna clears his throat to clear the awkward atmosphere. "Guy! It has been a while since you start to train the genins. What are your thoughts on their participation in the chunnin exam?" Sloosh sloosh. Guy wipes his tears and turns to Izuna. "They are not ready yet. They are stillcking in youthfulness." Huff Huff A boy and girl catch up to the group as they stand beside Guy. "Guy Sensei! can we take a break?" The girl rests against an electric pole as she pants. "Tenten, you are stillcking in youth." "Well, I will see youter, Guy." Izuna waves his hand and bade farewell to them. "Onii-san that bushy brow man is weird." Ayaka remarks. "" "Yes he is." Izuna nods his head as they return to Uchihapounds. Chapter 192: Preparations for the Future Chapter 192: Preparations for the Future Outside the Mizukage Office, "Here Mizukage-sama this is your Mizukage hat?" Elder Genji passes the Mizukage Hat to Mei. Mei dons the hat as Elder Genji nods his head. "You are going to meet his parents for the first time." Fuji remarks. "Father I am nervous." Mei fidgets her finger. Haha Fujiughs as he encourages her. "It will be fine. I talked with that rascal, he will take care of everything; if not I will give him a piece of my mind." Fuji balls his palm in a fist. He turns towards her bodyguards. "Ao, I entrust you with Mei''s safety." Ao nods his head. "Yes, I will protect Mizukage-Sama with my life." Mei turns towards the group of genins and addresses them. "All of you are the pride and future of Kirigakure. Gone were the days when the Kiri was still known as the ''Bloody Mist''. It is up to you now to remove the stain from Kiri''s tainted reputation." "Yes, Mizukage-sama." All the genins shouts in resolution. "Err will I be alright? There will be genins from the other viges." A short, tufty blue-haired boy with dark eyes asks meekly. Mei notices him as she cheers him. "You will be fine, Chojuro. Just give your all." "Grow up, boy" Ao pats Chojuro''s shoulder. The group walks out of the Kiri borders as the Vige Elders lead them out. ----------------- Inside the Kiri forest, The group walks through the borders as they reach near the coast. "Elder Genji has already arranged a transportation boat which will lead us to the Land of Valley. It would take us seven days to reach Konoha." Ao informs the group. Whoosh whoosh Many shurikens and kunais with paper bombs areunched at the group. "Enemy attack, it''s an enemy attack." Ao and the rest of the jounin take out their kunais as they get ready for the ambush. "Elder Genji warned us about the ambush. There are still some war insurgents from the Civil War lurking around Kiri seeking for an opportunity to get rid of the current Mizukage." Mei adopts a serious expression as she makes some hand signs. "Lightning Release: Lightning Water Dragon Bullet" Mei kneads chakra in her hands and mouth as she releases a water dragon from her mouth, followed by a lightning bullet from her hand. Bzzt The lightning release chakra nullifies the explosive paper bombs and the water chakra diffuse them. ''Water Release: Bullet Orca" An immense surge of wateres crashing down on the group. Whoosh Mei makes some hand signs and ms her palm on the ground. "Boil Release: Vapor Suppression" She releases thick vapors of Mist from her mouth. The Mist umtes around the water surge and evaporates it. Whoosh whoosh Multiple shinobis cloaked in ck garments surround the group. One of the shinobi who appears to be the leader of the group makes some hand signals to the rest of his group. "Co-operation Ninjutsu: Water Pir Prison Formation" The enemy group erects a giant four-pir barrier formation around the Kiri ninjas. Mei calmly stares at the barrier as she faces the group of ninjas. The Head Ninja walks in front of Mei and confronts her. "There is no need for pretenses. Just reveal yourself, Elder Kodachi." Mei calmly faces off against the enemy group leader. "Hoh! so, you figured it out." The enemy group leader removes his mask to reveal an old man. "I have been waiting for this moment for a while. You frog of Middle faction snatched the position of Mizukage from us Noble faction and soiled the legacy of the First Mizukage." Kodachi adopts a righteous expression as he spews out these words. "Today, I shall punish you for your misdeeds." He signals his subordinates to attack Mei and her group. Ao and the rest of the shinobi jump in front of Mei to protect her. "Mizukage-sama we will protect you." Mei waves her hand to stop them. "There is no need for you bunch to do anything. I learned a new jutsu from Izuna. I mastered it recently, so I have got no opportunity to test it out in a battle. This is a fine opportunity to do so." Mei slowly walks in front of the group as she faces off against a squad of almost thirty enemy ninjas. Humph Kodachi snorts at Mei as he taunts her. "This group of shinobis is elite among the elite who passed the brutal ninja regiment and survived." Mei ignores Kodachi''s taunt as she slowly makes some hand signs. She infuses arge amount of chakra in her mouth. "Lava Release: Volcanic Bloom Burst Jutsu" She fires multiple small blooms ofva. Theva blooms surround the group of enemy shinobi. "Burst" Mei sps her hand as they blossom intova flowers. BOOM BOOM Lava rains down on the group of enemies as it scorches them to cinders, leaving moltenva and ashes behind. "" Mei and the rest of the group silently stare at the aftereffect of the jutsu. Avake appears in ce of the enemies. Gulp Kodachi gulps his saliva as he stares at Mei with wide eyes. "H How?" A weak squeakes out from Kodachi''s mouth. Mei turns to Ao and signals him. "Do the necessary cleanup." Ao nods his head. Chojuro raises his head and silently stares at Mei''s back. ''Mizukage-sama is so kind and powerful. I will do everything to protect that gentle smile of hers I hope I can.'' He clutches his fists tightly. ---------------- Inside the Hokage Office, Izuna is sitting on the sofa as he listens to the recent reports. "Recently, there has been spotting of many Rogue Ninja and Mercenaries around the small viges on the border. Sakumo Hatake has done a great job in eliminating the threats." Tsunade nods her head. "Sakumo-san is a great asset to the vige. He is one of the few elders I can haveplete trust in." ''Sakumo-san is a Kage level Ninja. He would be a great asset in the Fourth Shinobi War. Fourth Shinobi War is the least of my worries, it will serve as a whetstone for Naruto and Sasuke to grow in power. I am more worried about the Kara and the Otsutsuki n. I have little information about the Otsutsuki n, but from the knowledge I have on Kara, most of its members are monstrous in terms of abilities. If I were to rank their power, then even one of their members can do a cleanup of Akatsuki except for Nagato and Obito.'' Izuna rubs his forehead as he thinks about the Kara. ''The biggest pain is I haven''t been able to locate any traces of its members. Maybe it is the ability of Isshiki''s Right eye or maybe I am unlucky in my research.'' Tsunade notices the troubled expression on Izuna''s face. She closes the report and turns towards him. "What''s troubling you? Is it something I can help you with?" Izuna shakes his head and replies. "How about you conduct the chunnin exam on my behest?" "" Tsunade silently stares at him. "No no, I was joking. I will take care of the chunnin exam. Just let me borrow a few jounins." "Fine" Tsunade nods her head. Phew Izuna takes a deep breath and walks out of the Hokage Office. "I have made little progress in these past few years. Looks like I have hit my limit. There is no sign of the awakening of Rinnegan even after 15 years of imntation of Hashirama cells. Looks like I need to get hold of the chakra of remaining tail beasts to shorten the process." Whoosh whoosh A figure flickers out from his shadows. The shadow turns into a giant wolf. "Master." The wolf bows in front of him. "Roen it has been six months since you signed a contract with me." "Yes master. There are few humans around you who break the norm and have different emotions, but my judgment for the rest of the human still holds." Roen growls as it rys his thoughts. "Well I can''t do anything to change your mind." Izuna scratches his head. "Oh yes I have a job for you." Izuna sps his hand as he remembers something. Whoosh He takes out a scroll from his pocket and tosses it to Wolf Roen. "Do you still remember the location where the battle between the Rikkudou Sannin and Ten-tails took ce?" Growl Roen grabs the scroll as it replies. "Master I can never forget about that ce. It took everything away from me and turned me into this abomination." Roen reminisces his past. "Er I have a task for you which needs you to return to that ce." Izuna interrupts Roen''s thoughts. "Yes, Master I will follow your orders." "Good all the necessary information is within that scroll." "Then I will be on my way." Whoosh Roen turns into a shadow and disappears from his vision. ''If I can get a fragment of God tree''s DNA then I think I could create something simr to Gedo Mazo.'' Izuna clutches his fists tightly. ''Looks like it''s time to squeeze out some usefulness from that snake. I will give him an opportunity.'' Chapter 193: Girlfriend meets Parents Chapter 193: Girlfriend meets Parents A weekter, At Konoha Entrance, Izuna stands at the entrance together with Kakashi and Might Guy. Heave ho heave-ho Guy is performing some push-ups as he waits for the guest. Kakashi is silently resting against the vige wall as he is engrossed in thetest edition of the Icha Icha series. "Guy you should rx once in a while. Too much training will burden your body." Izuna stares at Guy and remarks. "This is the prime of my youth. How can I sit idly by and let my youthful energy to waste? Heave ho" Guy continues to perform his pushups. Sigh Izuna shakes his head and questions him. "Guy you consider me and Kakashi as your rival, right?" Whoosh Guy stops his pushup and jumps in the air, and spins as he stands erect. "Yes I the mighty green beast of Konoha is the eternal rival to Silent Shinigami Izuna Uchiha and the Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake." sh Guy shes his smile as he gives a thumbs up and winks toplete his ''Nice Guy'' pose. Kakashi raises his head and nods his head before returning to his reading. "True" Izuna nods his head. "You are indeed our rival, but there is one ce where you lose to both of us. No you aren''t even in thepetition." Izuna smirks at Guy. "What?" Guy''s eyes widen in surprise. "How could it be? How can I, the almighty Noble green beast of Konoha, lose to my rivals? My hot bloodiness and youth will never surrender." Guy clutches his fists tightly as tears flow from his eyes. Kakashi closes his book and turns to Izuna with a confused expression. "I am also curious to know about the details." "Oh" Izuna has a smile on his face as he reveals. "It is" "It is" Both Guy and Kakashi close on him. "It is" "It is" Guy almost falls over Kakashi. "It is love." "Love" Kakashi and Guy stare at Izuna in confusion. Guy scratches his forehead and questions Izuna. "Izuna I have heard about your affair. But when did Kakashi got a girlfriend?" Guy turns to Kakashi. "Kakashi you betrayed me. We made a promise to stay single forever since the academy." He hugs Kakashi''s thighs. Bam Kakashi kicks away Guy and turns to Izuna. "Izuna, what are you talking about? Why am I not aware of my own love life?" He curiously asks Izuna. "Well of course you aren''t aware of it. It is a one-sided crush on girl''s part." Kakashi points a finger towards himself. "Crush on me." "Yes" "Are you talking about Rin?" Kakashi closes his eyes as he reminisces his memories of his past team. "No no" Izuna hurriedly denies preventing Kakashi from falling into self-remorse. "Do you remember the mission you carried for your Jounin exam?" Izuna asks him. "Well I do." Kakashi nods his head. "It was in the Land of Keys I had to carry an escort mission there." Kakashi narrates the incident. "So you remember the girl you met crying while passing through one of the viges." Hmm Kakashi tries to remember the incident. "Yes there was a vige girl who lost her way back to the vige. I just pointed the way to her and justforted her by exining to look above to clouds to find her way." Kakashi shrugs his shoulders. "So you did remember." Izuna nods his head. "Recently, I had a mission to the Land of Keys. While on my way, I passed through a shinobi vige called Jomae. I met with a girl named Hanare who recognized my Konoha headband. The girl approached me and inquired about you Kakashi." Izuna takes out a picture from his pocket and passes it to Kakashi. "She is quite beautiful." Guy nods his head. "Kakashi my rival. My charm lost to you." Guy admits defeat and sulks in a corner. Kakashi curiously inspects the photo as he tries to remember the features of the girl from his memories. "She is indeed simr to the girl from my memories. But that''s all. I don''t feel any love or attraction towards her." Kakashi shakes his head and pockets the picture. "" "Then why are you pocketing the picture?" He asks Kakashi. "Well I don''t know. But I would like to meet with her." Kakashi scratches his head. "I see." Izuna nods his head. Grab Guy grabs Kakashi''s shoulder and gives thumbs up to him. "Kakashi the springtime of youth has finally arrived for you. Cherish it with all your heart. Don''t let go of this opportunity." "But Guy" "No Kakashi I understand it." Guy pats Kakashi''s shoulder. "Now let me inform this matter to Asuma, Kurenai, and all of our other friends. Finally the loner Kakashi has found his true love." Whoosh Guy jumps on top of a roof and flickers away. "Oi Oi Guy don''t spread false rumors about me." Kakashi follows Guy. "" "Oi you bastards stop ditching all the work on me." Sigh Izuna sighs and shakes his head. "Maybe Kakashi would be able to find true love this time." Hmm "They are here." Izuna raises his head and stares in a distance. Whoosh whoosh Multi Kiri Ninja appears in front of the vige. Izuna slowly walks towards the group and stops in front of Mei. "You took your sweet time Honey." He smiles at her. "Ho Honey." A blush appears on Mei''s face as she turns away her head. Ahem Ao clears his throat. "We came across a minor problem along the way." "Anyway I Izuna Uchiha wees you on behalf of Konohagakure. I represent Hokage-sama as her student and well, she is busy with some other important tasks." Izuna wees the group. "But but it is disrespectful." One of the Elder who apanied the group protests. Crack crack Izuna cracks his knuckles and turns towards the elder. "You want more respect Ossan." Gulp The elder gulps his saliva and furiously shakes his head. Bam Mei elbows him in his guts. "Ouch that hurts. Be a little gentle with your boyfriend." "Stop fooling around and lead the way." Mei angrily res at him. "Ok ok fine." Izuna leads the group inside the vige as he exins. "I would be the person-in-charge for this bout of chunnin exam." Izuna turns towards one of the gatekeepers and remarks. "Oi Kotetsu lead our genin guests to the special inn arranged for them." Kotetsu points towards himself. "Mm Me." "Yes Is there someone else who goes by the name of Kotetsu?" Izuna questions him. "No no. I will lead them." Kotetsu leads the Kiri group towards their residence. "You wait with me." Izuna grabs Mei''s hand and stops her. "Ok." Mei nods her head and stops. "But But Mizukage-sama your safety is of most concern." The elder tries to protest again. "Oi Ossan do you think she would be safer with you bunch than being with me?" Izuna snaps at the Old Elder. Bam Mei elbows him again. "Don''t be so mean to elder Gowakichi. He is worried about my safety in another vige." "But ain''t my words true." "" Mei silently nods her head. Ah An imaginary arrow pierces through the heart of Ao and the rest of the Kiri anbu guards as they drop their head in depression. "No, no it''s not like that. What I mean is I trust your capabilities too but it is just that it is" Mei tries to appease her Anbu guards. "It''s fine Mizukage-sama. We understand." One of the Older Anbu guards nods his head and follows Kotetsu. The rest of the Anbu guards follow his lead. "No no wait I I just" Mei flusters as she is unable to exin to them. "Let them go. They were just bothering us." Izuna tries to calm her down. Bam Mei elbows him again. Aww "Whose fault was this, to begin with?" "Not me." Izuna smiles as he shakes his head. "" "Shameless." Mei snorts at Izuna. "Ok ok calm down." Izuna calms her down. "Let''s go to Uchihapounds. My parents are eager to meet with you, especially my Mother." Izuna leads her towards the Uchihapounds. Gulp Mei gulps her saliva as she questions him. "Would it be fine? It''s my first-time meeting with them." Mei anxiously asks him. "Daijoubu Daijoubu Everything will be alright. Juste with me." Izuna tries to calm down her nervousness. Mei tightly clutches his hand as she follows him. Chapter 194: Springtime of Love Chapter 194: Springtime of Love A/N:- This chapter was a new experinece for me as this is my first time writing this type of chapter. I have neglected his family for a long time. Some new family interactions will appear in the future. Also, please write your feedback on this chapter. There is always a room for improvement. :) ----------------------- Mei follows Izuna to the Uchihapounds. Izuna enters his house. "Onii-san you are back." Ayaka runs towards him and hugs him. Izuna pats her head. "Mom Dad." He calls his father and mother. Aiko and Akira walk out of a room and stand in front of him. "What''s the matter Izuna?" Aiko questions him. ''Mother remember the girl I talked about." Aiko nods her head. "Yes you told us about the girl from Kirigakure. Her name was Mei, right?" "Yes." Izuna nods his head. "So what''s the matter?" Aiko curiously stares at Izuna. "Well she is in Konoha right now or to be exact, she is in front of our house," Izuna informs them. "WHAT! what are you waiting for? Bring her inside." Akira pushes him out of the house. "" "I would also like to see the girl our Izuna is chasing after." Aiko has a smile on her face. ''That smile'' Gulp Izuna gulps his saliva as he walks out. ''What is going in Mother''s head? The thought process of a woman is a mystery to me.'' Izuna shakes his head and signals Mei. "Come in Mother wants to meet with you." Mei nods her head and enters the house. Akira and Aiko eagerly wait for her. "Finally our Izuna is showing some interest in a girl." Akira crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Yes I am worried about Izuna''s future. This boy he had no interest in anything besides training. I am proud of his achievements as one of the strongest Ninja of the shinobi world, but deep down I am concerned for his well-being. Now my only wish is for Izuna to marry a girl and settle with a family. He is already 20 years old." Ayaka shakes her head. "Mother she is here." Izuna and Mei enter the house. Mei has a worried expression on her face as she whispers to Izuna. "Will they ept this? Bloodlines are an integral part of a n, even more so for a distinct n like Uchiha." Izuna shakes his head as he convinces her. "Our rtionship may bother others, but my parents are different. Besides, if anyone has any problem, we can always sit and have a pleasant chat over tea." He smiles at her. Huhu Mei chuckles as she calms down. "I am not nervous anymore. You always have a way with your words. I wonder where you learned such things." "Well I was a natural-born smooth talker." Izuna scratches his head. "" They enter the meeting room as Aiko and Akira are sitting around a table. Both of them raise their head as their eyes meet with Mei. "Ara what a cute girl?" Aiko inspects Mei. " he is my son after all." Akira nods his head. "Oooh! a new Onee-san." Ayaka curiously stares at Mei. "Go introduce yourself." Izuna pushes Mei slightly as he lifts Ayaka upon his shoulder. "I I am Mei Terumi. I am a member of the Terumi n from Kirigakure. It is nice to meet you Mr. and Ms. Uchiha." Mei introduces herself with a flustered expression. "Ara don''t be so nervous." Aiko stands up and walks up to Mei. "You are the girl our Izuna gave his heart to and" Aiko circles around Mei. ". I have to say he has made the best decision ever." Aiko nods her head. "Good job son." Akira gives a thumb up to Izuna. "" ''Was he always this active?'' Izuna stares at his father. "Comee why don''t you sit with us and talk about yourself?" Aiko pulls Mei away. Hmm Akira curiously stares at Mei as he ponders. "Why does it feel like I have seen her somewhere?" Mei sits beside Aiko as she talks with them. Izuna sits with Ayaka. "Ne Ne Onii-san, who is that pretty Onee-san?" Ayaka tugs his sleeves. "She is" Izuna closes his eyes as he reminisces his past. ''The past is nothing but distant memories. I am no longer the medical student Rudra I used to be now I am Izuna Uchiha, the Genius of the Uchiha n.'' Izuna shakes his head as the memories of his previous life fade even more. "Onii-san Onii-san" Ayaka shakes him. "Oh Ayaka where were we? Ah yes yes" Izuna gets out of his thoughts as he gently pats her head and replies. "She is the girl I fell in love with." "Mei-chan, is it? Tell me more about yourself, Mei. Your hobbies your likes your dislikes and how you came to fall in love with this dense son of ours." Aiko curiously inquires. "Well" Mei turns towards Izuna, who nods his head. "As I told earlier I am a member of the Terumi n of Kirigakure" "Terumi n I remembered Terumi n members specialize in Lava Release Kekkei Genkai. I fought against them during the Second Shinobi War." Akira freshens up his memories of the past war. "She is not an ordinary member of the Terumi n. She is the princess of Terumi n." Izuna reveals to his parents. "What? She is the princess of the Terumi n." Akira and Aiko''s eyes widen as they stare at Mei. "Wait, a sec If I remembered correctly" Akira takes out a small book from his pocket and skims through it. "Recently, Kirigakure had a new Kage from the Terumi n. It is a female Kage." Akira skims through more pages as he stops at a certain page. A picture of Mei in her Kage outfit is imprinted on the page. "Got it." Akira lifts his head as matches the picture. "This is" His eyes widen even further. "What''s the matter, dear?" Aiko tugs Akira''s sleeves. Akira silently passes the book to Aiko as he mutters. "This is the most recent issue of Bingo Book." Aiko stares at the picture and identifies Mei. "Oh! look it is Mei-chan." She reads the details of Mei written in the book. [Name: Mei Terumi Age: 23 years old Affiliation: Kirigakure Ninja Rank: S-Rank Info: Mei Terumi is a fearsome kunoichi of Kirigakure. She is a proficient user of Lava Release and Boil Release. During the recent Kiri Civil war, she led the revolution against the rule of the Noble n and dethroned their dominance, thus bringing an end to the age of ''Bloody Mist''. After the civil war, Mei Terumi took on the mantle of a Kage and became the first-ever Female Kage or to be precise the Fifth Mizukage of the Kirigakure.] Aiko finishes reading the information in Bingo Book as her expression also changes. She silently stands up and walks up to Izuna and grabs his ear and chides him furiously. "What''s going on? Why didn''t you tell us earlier? She is a Kage a respected and renowned shinobi and a guest of our Vige." "Ouch ouch that hurts Mom." Izuna is surprised to see the violent side of his mother. ''Looks like I have neglected my family in pursuit of power. I never got to see this side of my mother. I have to spend more time with them in the future.'' "Mom I wanted to surprise you. So, I disclosed nothing." Izuna replies helplessly. "Fine" Aiko releases him and turns towards Mei. "We are sorry for troubling you Mizukage-sama." She bows in front of Mei. "No no please don''t." Mei hurriedly stops her. "But you are the Mizukage. You are a leader of a vige." Akira shakes his head. "Please don''t. I came here to meet you not as the Mizukage, but as a girl who fell in love with your only son." Mei smiles at Aiko and Akira as a gentle breeze flows through the window and flutters her hair. Akira and Aiko calm down. Haah Izuna takes a deep breath. ''It worked. Another of my underrated jutsu Wind Style: Gentle Breeze-No-jutsu." "Can I call you mother?" Mei hesitatingly asks Aiko as she bit her lower lip. "My mother died when I was a child so I never had a chance to experience mother''s love. Father took care of everything for me." A teardrop flows through her eyes as the memories of her mothere flooding. "Of course, you are going to be our daughter. So, call me mother from now on." Aiko hugs Mei andforts her. Akira stands up and walks up to Izuna and pats his shoulder. "Son you have made me proud today. You even stole the heart of Mizukage. You are my son, after all. Haha" Akiraughs loudly. "" "You two what are you dawdling there for? Come and help me with the work. Tonight is going to be a feast." Aiko chides them. "Also don''t forget to invite other members of our family." Aiko adopts a serious expression as a figure of Onii appears behind her. "YES, MAM." Izuna and Akira nod their head. "I will invite Uncle Yagami and Uncle Fugaku." Izuna flickers out of the house. He turns around and stares at his house. ''Looks like a new chapter has begun in my life.'' "This springtime the love has finally blossomed." A voice falls in his ears. He turns around and notices a middle-man selling movie tickets. "Grab thisst ticket while you have the chance. The movie featuring Princess Gale is about to premiere tonight." Haah Izuna shakes his head and disappears from the ce. Chapter 195: No Escape Chapter 195: No Escape Somewhere at the outskirts of the Land of Ancestors, "Orochimaru you are a wanted criminal. A rogue ninja from Konoha. Tell me why shouldn''t I capture you and hand you over to Konoha." A masked figure in red clothes faces Orochimaru. "Now now. Both of us have the same goal. You want to plunder all of Konoha''s resources, whereas I want to destroy Konoha." Slick Orochimaru licks his lips as he stares at the figure. "Orochimaru We had signed a peace treaty with Konoha. Stop festering baseless assumptions of your own." The masked figure rebukes Orochimaru. "Hoh No wonder, Sasori calls you two-face. If I want to destroy Konoha I can ally with any other nation. But I choose to talk to you for a reason." Orochimaru takes out a scroll and throws it towards the masked figure. Whoosh The masked figure catches the scroll and reads its content. A frown appears on his face as he holds the scroll tightly. "Orochimaru you are also aware of the fact that Konoha has many formidable ninjas protecting it" The masked man remarks. " the third Hokage is a formidable shinobi of his time. Then your former team members, the Fifth Hokage and the Jiraiya of the Sannin. Don''t even forget about the White Fang. These are just the shinobis of the past generation. I have yet to factor the shinobis of the current generation." The masked figure slowly walks up to Orochimaru. " the Copy Ninja ''Kakashi'', the Teleporter ''Shisui Uchiha'', Itachi Uchiha of the Sharingan and the most troublesome of them all, The Silent Shinigami ''Izuna Uchiha''. Tell me, Orochimaru how you n to deal with them?" The masked figure stands in front of Orochimaru as their eyes confront each other. "So you don''t mind joining the fray." Orochimaru has a sly expression on his face. ''Agree to him.'' Another figure beside the masked man whispers in his ear. "Very well." The masked man nods his head. Whoosh whoosh The red-clothed figure disappears with his men. Haha Orochimaru licks his lips and flickers away. Inside a hidden underground cave, "I have done what you asked me." Orochimaru speaks to a figure cloaked in ck garments. "I will give you the rest of the research information after you fulfill your end of the deal." "Very well. Remember this, if I find anything missing then you won''t find a hole to hide." The figure threatens him. "Just bring me the body of Izuna Uchiha and I will give you all the information you need. Slick" Orochimaru licks his lips. ''Soon my dream to possess a perfect body will beplete.'' "Remember your end of the bargain." Whoosh The ck figure disappears from the cavern as his words echoes Haha "Finally, I will have my revenge. That old geezer Hiruzen, I will make him regret his decision." Whoosh Orochimaru disappears from the cavern. Inside an undergroundboratory, Whoosh Orochimaru appears in the middle of the room. "Orochimaru-Sama, you are back." A spectacled figure picks up a scroll and passes it to him. "Kabuto! get ready for the infiltration. You know what to do." "Yes Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto adjusts his spectacles. "How are the new test subjects faring?" "The battle royale just ended. The results are out." Kabuto points towards the underground arena. Hmm Orochimaru notices five-exhausted figures lying on the floor of the arena. Slick "They might serve as my new recement. Let me taste their chakra. Slick" Whoosh Orochimaru turns into a snake and slithers towards the arena. Aaah. Aaah Cries of pain and agony echo through the arena as Kabuto turns his head and readjusts his spectacles. "I believe Orochimaru-sama would be able toplete this venture sessfully." ---------------------- Across the streets of Konoha, "This is the ce. I am sure you will love the taste of Ichiraku-ramen." Izuna brings Mei to Ichiraku Ramen. "Yes Ichiraku Ramen is the best ramen I ever ate. Dattebyo!" Naruto raises his fists in the air. "But isn''t it the only ramen you ever eat?" Sasuke calmly replies. "Damnit Sasuke. You?" Naruto balls his fist and turns towards Sasuke. "Onii-san this smell it''s so good." Ayaka smells the aroma wafting in the air. "It smells really good." Mei nods her head. "Ojou-san my ramen is prepared with the best ingredients avable around here." Teuchi picks up a silk-like strand of noodle as he soaks it in broth. "Then I can''t wait to taste it." Mei takes a seat. Izuna sits beside her and ces his order. "An extra bowl of Miso Ramen with Menma toppings." "I will take the same as him." Mei also ces her order. "Aye! Coming right up." Teuchi prepares the ramen. "Aah! it was so tiring, Shizune." An exhausted Tsunade walks through the streets as Shizune supports her. "Tsunade-sama, please drink less sake next time." Shizune rebukes Tsunade. Growl Tsunade''s stomach rumbles. "I am hungry." Growl Shizune''s stomach also growls loudly. "Let''s let''s grab something for breakfast." Uhum "This aroma it''s so good." Tsunade smells the aroma of ramen wafting out of the Ichiraku ramen. "It''s decided then let''s eat Ramen for breakfast." Tsunade drags Shizune along with her. "But but Tsunade-sama Ramen is not good for breakfast." Shizune resists. "It''s fine. Don''t mind the minor details." Both of them approach the Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto notices Tsunade walking towards them. "Granny you are also here for breakfast. Slurp" He slurps his ramen as he asks her. Bonk "Don''t call me that Naruto." Tsunade bonks his head as she notices Izuna and the rest of the group. Hmm Her eyes meet with Mei as she curiously inspects thetter. "I have to say the new Mizukage is quite the beauty." Tsunade sits beside Mei as she orders her ramen. "It is my pleasure to meet with the legendary Sannin of the shinobi world." Tsunade and Mei exchange pleasantries as Izuna finishes his Ramen. "That was good. Ichiraku Ramen is just so good I can''t get enough of it." "Yes it is the best. Dattebyo!" Naruto gulps down three bowls of ramen. "" "Oye Izuna!" A giant hand falls on Izuna''s shoulder. "So, the pervert Sannin is also back to the vige," Izuna replies without turning back. "I have to talk about something." Jiraiya clears his throat as he signals Izuna. Izuna notices the serious expression of Jiraiya and nods his head. "Well,dies you can have your chat while I attend to this pervert." Izuna stands up and follows Jiraiya. "Oye! Don''t spoil my image in front ofdies?" Jiraiya retorts. Jiraiya and Izuna walk towards an alley as Izuna rests against a wall as he listens to Jiraiya. "So what do you want to talk about? Seeing your serious expression, I can deduce it must be something really important." "Yes, it is." Jiraiya has a grim expression. "After ourst meeting in the Land of Waterfall, I tracked down the traces of Orochimaru." Izuna nods his head as Jiraiya continues. "While looking for the tracks of Orochimaru, I came across a very strange man." Jiraiya recounts the incident. "The man had a facial tattoo with a strange numerical. He wore a ck hooded cloak with silver-colored lining fastened to his right shoulder with a metal pin." Jiraiya takes out a scroll and draws the appearance of the man from his memories. ''This is'' Izuna''s eyes widen as he recognizes the image. ''This is the appearance of an Inner Kara member.'' "This man was lurking around the Orochimaru''sir. So, I thought of incapacitating him and interrogating him about the whereabouts of Orochimaru. I tried to sneak up on him, but he noticed my presence. Both of us engaged in a fight. He was more than my match." Jiraiya scratches his forehead as he remarks. "That man was a monster. He could bepared to the likes of you. He easily overpowered all of my ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu skills. Left with no choice, I tried to use Senjutsu, but he made some weird hand signs and punched me. After that" Hmm Izuna nods his head as he is lost in his thoughts. ''Kara seems to be more active than usual. Looks like something has made them hasten up their ns. Pride and Wrath are secretly terminating the sleeper agents of Kara. Maybe my intervention has forced their hand.'' " that punch drained my entire chakra, and I lost my conscious." Jiraiya recounts the entire incident to Izuna and turns towards him. "I have never heard or met such a powerful person before. If Orochimaru were to ally with such people then I can''t even imagine what kind of catastrophe he will lie on Konoha." "Jiraiya he could be a member of the Akatsuki. Orochimaru was a former member of Akatsuki, after all. He might still have some dealings with the group." Izuna tries to divert Jiraiya''s attention. ''Kara is too dangerous for the like of current Jiraiya. He will face certain death if he fought against any inner Kara member. I won''t be able to face Tsunade if he died because of my carelessness.'' "Oi are you listening?" Jiraiya shakes him. "Yes you should thank me. I saved your life inadvertently." Izuna stops Jiraiya. "What? How? That man, he did nothing to me." "Oh! Are you sure about that?" Izuna has a smile on his face. "Mind taking out the scroll which I gave you." "Well If you say so." Jiraiya takes out the scroll from his pocket and inspects it. "Here it is. What''s the matter?" Swish swish Izuna makes some hand signs and infuses some chakra in the scroll. Whoosh The scroll shines brightly and a Fuinjutsu form appears on it. "I nted a fuinjutsu form with my Amaterasu programmed in it. I set it to go off the instant it detects a life-threatening danger to your life." "What?" Jiraiya''s eyes widen in surprise as he examines the scroll. "I believe you, boy." Jiraiya recognizes the Fuinjutsu form. "I owe you one for saving my life." "Hoh! you spoke too early. I haven''t forgiven you for ruining my reputation through your novel." Izuna cracks his knuckles as he turns to Jiraiya. "It''s time for payback." "Wait wait we can talk this out." Jiraiya panics as he tries to flee. "No there is no escape." Chapter 196: Start of the Chunnin-Exams Part-2 Chapter 196: Start of the Chunnin-Exams Part-2 Somewhere in Sunagakure, Inside a round building made of y and sto. A person with auburn hairs and dark eyes knocks the door. "Chiyo-Baasama Chiyo-Baasama are you there?" Rumble Rumble The door shakes for a while before an elderly woman with ck eyes andvender coloured hair tied in a bun opens the door. Thedy wears a dark coloured, loose-fitting outfit with a poncho-like top. "What''s the matter? Why are you disturbing the rest of this olddy?" The olddy remarks as she recognizes the visitor. "Chiyo-Baasama, I have a favour to ask from you if you would please." The visitor requests her. "Rasa you know Chiyo and I had retired a long time ago after the Third Shinobi War. We can''t help you with any matter." An elderly man with heavy-lidded eyes walks out from inside the house. The old man has a turban wrapped around his head and his outfit is simr to Chiyo. "Ebizo-jiisama." Rasa greets the old man. "Rasa both me and Chiyo had already retired from the Suna Elder Council a long time ago. I am the leader of the Council only in the name. Our retirement was in hope for the new generation to look out for themselves without being reliant on the previous generation." The Old man stands besides Chiyo as he faces Rasa. "But Ebizo-jiisama and Chiyo-Baasama I need your help for the betterment of Sunagakure. As such, I am here to request your assistance." Rasa insists. "Rasa you are the Fourth Kazekage, and there is also the Suna Elder Council to help you make decisions. Tojuro is the second inmand after me in the council I am sure you have already consulted with him." Ebizo calmly replies to Rasa. "That''s true." Rasa nods his head. "The thing which I am about to discuss is of much importance for Suna''s future so it is better to talk inside," Rasa exins. "Very Well let''s talk inside." Chiyo nods her head. Inside Chiyo''s house, Rasa is sitting in front of Ebizo and Chiyo as he reveals his n. "Ebizo-jiisama and Chiyo-Baasama recently one of the Sannins Orochimaru approached us and offered a deal to us. He wants to ally with us and face Konoha in a battle." Hmm Ebizo frowns as he interjects. "Rasa Orochimaru is a traitor of Konoha. As far as rumours going around in the Shinobi World, he was cast out of the vige by the Third Hokage. It would be a foolish decision to trust such a person." "I agree with my brother Orochimaru or not Konoha has various top-tier shinobis among their ranks. The Third Hokage is still alive, then there is White Fang." Chiyo clutches her fists tightly as the memories of the Second Shinobi War freshens up in her memory. "Also, don''t forget about that ''slug girl Tsunade'' who is also the current Hokage. I have heard the new generation of Konoha has quite a bunch of fearsome shinobi among their ranks unlike Sunagakure." Chiyo snorts as she closes her eyes. "True I agree with Chiyo such matters can''t be taken lightly." Ebizo agrees with Chiyo. "Jiisama Baasama what choice do we have?" Rasa ms his palms on the table as he recounts the sufferings of Suna. "Suna suffered a great loss during the Third Shinobi War. We suffered a huge loss of manpower and resources during the war. The wounds of the war are still open up to this day." Rasa clenches his fists as he continues. "To further rub the salt on those wounds The Daimyo of Land of Wind outsourced all the missions meant for Suna to Konoha. With such a blow, the vige is pushed to the brink of poverty. Ninja barely had enough resources to make arrangements for the already scarce missions." Rasa takes out a scroll from his pocket and tosses it to Elder Ebizo. "Here is the list of missions outsourced to Konoha." Ebizo opens the scroll and notices the number of missions. "That''s around seventy percent of the missions." Elder Ebizo''s expression turns ugly. "Not only this the only missions avable are too high of a rank formon chunnins and genins toplete. As such, the mortality rate has increased significantly." Rasa takes out another scroll and passes it to the Elder. "This is the list of fatality of Suna ninja in the previous ten years after the Third Shinobi War. Only a handful of ninjas survived the brutal missions which were rejected by Konoha. While the citizens of Suna are suffering from this economic blow Konoha had already recovered from their loss and has even prospered further. Konoha is feeding on the resources meant for our people." Crack Crack Rasa clenches his fists tightly as his the sound of snapping of bones echoes in the house. "To stabilize the economy of Suna, I had to sell my ''gold dust'' to gather the required funding to pay for those Shinobis since the losses out cost the profit." Sigh Ebizo sighs and closes the scroll. "Sunagakure has fallen to this extent. There is not much these old bones can do now." Ebizo closes his eyes and rests his back against the seat. Chiyo picks up the scroll as she questions Rasa. "So you came here to inform us about the attack on Konoha." Rasa nods his head. "I was hoping for your and Ebizo-jiisama''s assistance in this venture." Sigh Chiyo takes a deep breath as she picks up a framed picture of a man and woman from the nearby table. "I had already lost everything in the war. Now nothing interests me anymore. I just want to spend the rest of my old days together with my brother. He was my only family left alive in this world. So, go away I can''t help you anymore. The matters of the Suna are yours to deal with." "This" Rasa''s expressions turn ugly as Chiyo and Ebizo deny assistance. "Go away. I won''t entertain you anymore." Chiyo hushes him out of the house. "Fine" Rasa dejectedly walks out of the house. He turns aroundst time as he notices the picture frame in Chiyo''s hands. An idea forms in Rasa''s mind as he leaves with parting words. "Chiyo-Baasama this might be your only opportunity to avenge your son and daughter-inw." Crack Chiyo holds the picture frame tightly in her hands as some cracks appear on the frame. Whoosh Rasa flickers away from the elder''s house. -------------- Some dayster, Outside Konoha, Izuna stands at the entrance gate of Konoha as he patiently awaits the arrival of Sunagakure''s group. "It has been a week since the representatives of all other viges have arrived in Konoha. Only the entourage of Sunagakure has yet to arrive." Izuna rests against the wall as he closes his eyes. ''As far as I remember, Sunagakure allied with Orochimaru toy waste to Konoha during the chunnin exam. Multiple participants arrived from Otogakure and I checked every one of them and there was no trace of Orochimaru. Also, Naruto and Sasuke won''t be participating in chunnin exam this time around so there is that.'' Swish He takes out a list from his pocket with the names of the participants of the chunnin exam. ''Interesting enough some names on this list sounds familiar, especially these few.'' Izuna circles the names with a brush. ''The first phase of the chunnin exam will start two days from now. I am really curious to see the performance of these few individuals.'' Izuna pockets the scroll as he detects some chakra signatures moving close towards Konoha. "They are here." He informs Kotetsu and Izumo. "You guys know what to do?" "Yes yes Senpai." Kotetsu and Izumo hurriedly nod their heads. The entourage of Sunagakure finally arrives as Izuna greets them. "Wee to Konoha, guests from Sunagakure. All of you must be exhausted from your long journey. Here Kotetsu and Izumo will direct the participants towards their amodations meanwhile I... Izuna Uchiha will lead the elders and the representatives to the inns especially reserved for them." Izuna greets them with a smile. ''Damn I am not doing this again. It is too much for me.'' Izuna has an awkward smile on his face. "I have heard a lot about you, Izuna Uchiha." A tall man walks in front of Izuna. The man has two distinctive red markings on the right side of his face. He wore a turban-like headgear with a sheet of cloth hanging off from the turban covering the left side of his face. He dons the standard attire of Suna ninja with a forehead protector and jounin k jacket. The man extends his hand as he introduces himself. "I am Baki, one of the head jounins of Suna and a member of its advisory council. It''s nice to meet you." Izuna shakes hands with Baki. "It''s nice to meet you too, Sand Grudge Baki." "I am sure most of you must be exhausted from the long and tedious journey. I will now lead you to your amodation." Chapter 197: Chunnin Exam Closes In Chapter 197: Chunnin Exam Closes In A/N:- Mid-semester exams are on me. So, I took a break from writing to prepare for it. I will still post chapters since the exams aren''t that hard but I won''t post any chapter on the day of exam. ------------------- Inside the Hokage Office, "Here." Izuna delivers the report of all the participants to Tsunade. "There are 168 participants in total. 69 from Konoha, 33 from Kirigakure, 36 from Sunagakure, 15 from Kusagakure, 9 from Takigakure, 6 from Otogakure." Hmm Tsunade nods her head. "Otogakure is a new vige found by Orochimaru. We are unsure of his motives, but if Orochimaru wants to extend a peaceful coboration, then I will give him a chance." Tsunade closes the scroll and nods her head. "The first stage of the Chunnin examprises a written exam, and it will be held in the Ninja Academy. We will hold the Second Part of the exam in The Forest of Death." Izuna exins the details to her. "The final exam would be held a month after the second exam as it would be a one-on-one tournament and it would provide the participants enough time to recuperate from their injuries." Hmm Tsunade nods her head. "I see so the Daimyo and the Kazekage would be present during the final event." "That''s the gist of it. Also, I am nning to open a gambling den during the event." "WAIT. WHAT?" Tsunade jumps from her seat and clutches Izuna''s shoulder. "You are opening a gambling den?" "Yes" Izuna nods his head. "It would be a missed opportunity to earn money if I don''t open a betting and gambling den." Izuna rubs his hands and exins. "During the final exam, thepetitors from different viges will face up against each other. By announcing the matchups, we can stir the crowd and attract greater publicity for the event. With that premise, we can set up a gamble on the winner and earn some fat stacks of cash." ''Most of my funds are used by Pride and Wrath to hunt down the sleeper agents of Kara. I seriously need cash right now. This is a well-timed opportunity; I can''t miss it.'' "Fat stack of Cash" Tsunade''s eyes shine brightly as she holds Izuna''s hands. "Izuna can I partake in this gambling event? I also want to gamble and earn some money." "Err well" Izuna scratches his head as he stares at Tsunade. "I don''t need to remind you of your luck, right? With your luck, you will end up losing all your money." "No" Tsunade bites her lower lip as her gambling craving kicks in. "Oh! this might work." An idea forms in Tsunade''s mind. "Izuna since you would be the owner of the gambling den, then you can just return the money to me if I lose the gamble." "" "How about NO?" Izuna walks out of the office. "No wait" Tsunade hugs his back as she presses her enormous chest against Izuna''s back. Gulp Izuna gulps his saliva as he resists the temptation. "I won''t fall for your Kunoichi seduction tricks. NO means NO." Sob sob Tsunade gloomily sits in a corner and draws circles with her fingers. Sob Sob "My most beloved disciple has forgotten about his teacher. He is a grown man with a girl chasing after him. He doesn''t need his Sensei anymore. Sob sob" Tsunade continues to draw a circle in the corner. "No not again." Izuna rubs his forehead as he stares at Tsunade. Hmm Tsunade stares at Izuna from a corner of her eye to see his reaction. "Fine Fine I will let you gamble. But it will be in limit." "Yes now I can gamble to my heart''s content. It has been a while since Ist got an opportunity to let loose. Haha" Tsunadeughs hysterically. "" ''There is nothing I can do to change this woman.'' Izuna shakes his head and walks out of the Hokage Office. "Man I am so tired of these D-rank missions. There is no challenge at all." A familiar voice falls in his ears. Hmm Izuna stops in tracks and waits for the voice. "Naruto you might be strong for a genin, but that doesn''t mean you are strong enough to do hard missions. Every instance is a life and death during a mission. One slight mistake can cost you your life." Kakashi walks in front of the group as he warns Naruto. "Oh! Kakashi and the group." Izuna greets them. "Izuna." Kakashi nods his head. "Nii-san these D-rank missions are not fun at all. I want to go out of the vige and do some serious missions like a real ninja." Narutoins. The group enters inside the Hokage Office as Kakashi submits the mission report. Tsunade skims through the details and nods her head. "Team 7 has done an outstanding job in these past few months. They havepleted 8 D-Rank missions during this period." "Obasan! These missions are hardly any challenge for us. Give us a high-rank mission already. I want to do some cool ninja missions." Naruto ms his palms on the table. The impact sends the papers on the table flying. Tick A tick mark appears on Tsunade''s head as she clutches her fists and bonks Naruto. "Naruto you idiot." Ouch ouch Naruto clutches his head and meekly retreats. "It''s fine Tsunade-sama." Shizune hurriedly gathers the paper. "Fine since you want a hard mission, then I have a suitable mission for you." Whoosh Tsunade throws a poster towards Naruto. Swish Naruto catches the poster and inspects it. There is a picture of a brown cat on the poster. ''This cat'' Izuna and Kakashi sweat-drops at the image of the cat. ''This cat still looks the same. It has been almost 13 years since Ist did the mission to retrieve this cat. I wonder what kind of species is this cat?'' "It''s just a cat. Humph" Naruto harrumphs as he scoffs. "Obasan I asked for a challenging mission not to search for lost pets. How is this challenging?" Naruto tosses the poster back to Tsunade. "I won''t do this mission. Give me another mission." Mmm Sasuke also nods his head. Ahem Izuna clears his throat. "Listen, Naruto don''t judge a book by its cover." Huh The curiosity of the group rises as they turn to Izuna to hear the story. "It was 13 years before when I was also a genin like you." Izuna exins dramatically as he creates tension in the atmosphere. "Back then, the third Hokage-sama gave us the same mission to capture this cat. But" Gulp Naruto gulps his saliva as he listens to the story. " but this cat is no ordinary cat. It is an immortal cat." "Immortal cat?" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura question him together. "Yes you can ask Kakashi for the confirmation." "Kakashi sensei is it true?" Sakura asks him curiously. "Yes it is true. This cat has changed little during all these years. It still looks the same as today. I still remember the struggle of my team while attempting to capture this cat. Back then I was a chunnin and this cat still gave me a hard time. Without proper coordination and teamwork, it is almost impossible to capture this cat. This cat is a myth among genins and is called the ''legendary whisker'' But you lot don''t have to worry, I had made necessary arrangements to capture the cat." Whoosh Kakashi takes out a pair of walkie talkie as he cooks up some bullshit to convince the group. Twitch twitch Izuna and Tsunade''s eyebrows twitch as they stare at Kakashi. ''He sure can spew out bullshit like it is a natural thing.'' But of them collectively agree to this. "Oh! now that looks like a challenge." Naruto clutches his fist as he grabs the walkie talkie. "Watch me catch this cat in no time. Dattebyo!" Whoosh Naruto flickers out of the Hokage Office. "Oye Naruto! Wait for us." Sakura and Sasuke chase after him. "Sorry for bothering you, Hokage-sama." Kakashi bows before Tsunade before flickering out of the office. Sigh "This boy sure is troublesome. He is a spitting image of Minato, but he behaves like Kushina." Sigh Tsunade closes her eyes as she reminisces the past. "Naruto can be troublesome sometimes, but that''s what makes him unique. His innocence and purity of heart is the reason he can influence others." Izuna remarks silently as he stares at Hokage Monument. ''Just a little. Just a little longer Minato and Kushina Nee-san. Once I get the chakra of five-tails, I would be able to manifest the power to resurrect both of you.'' Chapter 198: First Test of Chunnin Exam Chapter 198: First Test of Chunnin Exam Inside the academy hall, "Damn when would this exam start? I am craving for some blood." One of the participants from Otogakure stares at the rest of the genins and licks his lips. Bump Another shinobi bumps into him and pushes him aside. "Oye! You have a death wish or something?" The angry Otogakure participant clutches the shoulder of the shinobi and questions him. "Apologize this very instant or this won''t fare well for you." The genin turns around to reveal his onyx eyes and ash-grey hairs, and he wears ck-rimmed circr sses. He wears a Konoha headband on his forehead. "I am sorry." He hurriedly apologizes to the Sound Shinobi. "Huh! I don''t think that''s an honest apology. Leaf Vige or not, I won''t let it slide this easily." The sound Shinobi grabs the cor of the spectacled guy. "Grovel and apologize and I might spare you." The Sound Shinobi has a fierce expression on his face. Gulp A short tufty blue hair and dark eyes boy with a Kiri headband gulps his saliva and approaches the Sound Shinobi. "Ano I think you should let him go. He just slightly bumped into you. It''s not that big of a deal." "Huh who are you?" The Sound Shinobi turns towards the neer. "It is a matter between us both. Who are you to interfere between us?" "I am Chojuro from Kiri. Please spare him." Chojuro weakly demands the Sound Shinobi. "Cheh your pathetic expression made me lose my mood. What a killjoy!" The Sound Shinobi throws away the spectacle guy and walks away. "Are you ok?" Chojuro extends a helping hand towards the spectacled guy. "Cough cough I am fine. Cough" The spectacled guy coughs and grabs Chojuro''s hand. He adjusts his spectacles and introduces himself. "I am Kabuto Yakushi. One of the genin of Konoha, as you can see from my headband. It is nice to meet you." Kabuto shakes hands with Chojuro. "I suppose this is your first time participating in a chunnin exam." Kabuto questions Chojuro. "Ah! Yes yes apparently the vige decided to conduct a joint chunnin exam with Konohagakure." Chojuro replies meekly. "Man! You need to step up your game. With this attitude, you will get disqualified quite early." Kabuto pats Chojuro''s shoulders. "Oh Kabuto-san you know about the chunnin exam." Chojuro asks Kabuto. "Yes I know quite a lot, actually." Kabuto adjusts his spectacles. "Oh then is this your second time in the chunnin exam?" Chojuro curiously questions him. "No it is my fifth time." Sigh Kabuto sighs as he reveals the embarrassing number. "Huh!?" Surprise appears on Chojuro''s face as he inspects Kabuto. "There doesn''t seem to be any problem with you." Kabuto ignores Chojuro''s gaze as he continues. "This exam is only held twice a year, so it is my third year. Let me give you a few hints about the purpose of this chunnin exam." Whoosh whoosh Kabuto takes out multiple cards from his pocket andys them in front of Chojuro. "These are" "They are Ninja info cards." Swish Kabuto inserts some chakra in the card to demonstrate to Chojuro. "First, the purpose of this chunnin exam is to deepen the friendly rtionship with the other countries. Next is to heighten the level of shinobi of each country by testing them in differentnd and circumstances." Kabuto collects his cards as he exins. "So that''s all?" Chojuro asks him in confusion. "Well that''s what they told to each other." Kabuto shrugs his shoulder as he closes near Chojuro and whispers in his ear. "The real purpose of this chunnin exam is to confirm the level of ninja in each nation and determine the scale of power bnce. They do so to check and restrain each other''s powers; if not, the strong nations will invade the weak nations and plunder all their resources. Well, that''s my guess. But Konoha is in a pretty strong position right now. Konoha has many powerful shinobi protecting it. So, they hold the weight; part of the reason the chunnin exam is held in Konoha." Kabuto replies to Chojuro. "Oh no wonder you know this much. This is your fifth time after all." Haah Kabuto breathes deeply as he hangs his head in depression. "Don''t remind me, alright." "Well that wasn''t my intention." Chojuro scratches his head. "Anyway, forget that do you want to ask me something?" Kabuto asks Chojuro. "Ah yes I want to know how many viges are participating in this exam." "The viges participating this time are Konoha, Kiri, Suna, Kusa, Taki, and Sound. This year many talented genins from other viges havee to participate in the exam." Kabuto exins the details to Chojuro. "What about the Sound Vige? This is my first time hearing about it." Chojuro scratches his head. "Otogakure is a small hidden vige from the Land of Sound and was found recently. I don''t have much information about them." Kabuto shakes his head. Huh The Sound Shinobi turns towards Kabuto as he overhears the conversation. "So, you Konoha bastard think that we of the Sound Vige are small fries and pushovers." The Sound Shinobi angrily snarls at Kabuto. Whoosh He flickers in front of Kabuto and punches him. Swoosh Kabuto jumps back and avoids the attack. "I dodged it." Shoom Crack A shockwave travels through the air as Kabuto''s sses crack. "I thought I dodged it. Guffaw" Kabuto vomits out a little amount of blood as keels on his knees. "Kabuto-san" Chojuro jumps in front of Kabuto and draws his de as he faces the Sound Shinobi. -------------- Outside the Academy hall, Izuna is walking alongside a tall, imposing man. The man is very tall with a rugged head and his face is covered with two diagonals scars running from his forehead to his chin. He is dressed in a long ck trench coat with a k jacket and chain-mail armor beneath the jacket. The man has a stoic expression as he walks alongside Izuna. "Man Ibiki with that ever-present stoic expression you look like a terminator rather than an instructor." Izuna jokes with Ibiki. "Here you should smile like this." Izuna stretches his lips with his hands to form a smile. "Hmph I had my fair share of pain and hardship. I had forgotten what a smile is. These scars carved on my face are proof of the immense torture I endured in the past. Now it has been forever imprinted on my face." Ibiki calmly walks towards the academy hall. ''When I first met with him, he reminded me of terminator.'' Izuna shakes his head and follows Ibiki. "Needless to say, you would be the proctor for this round of examination. I especially requested the Hokage-sama to deploy you for the position." Izuna informs him. "I am a member of Konoha''s Torture and Interrogation Squad. Why would you ask me to babysit a bunch of genins during this exam?" Ibiki questions Izuna. "Well" Izuna scratches his head as he replies. "I just want to scare a few rude kids, and who would be better than the Terminator himself?" Hmm Ibiki ignores Izuna and enters inside the Academy hall. "Well, looks like he can''t take a joke." Izuna awkwardly scratches his head and flickers away. "I will let him y with those genins." --------------- Inside the Academy hall, ng ng Chojuro is engaged in a fight with the Sound Ninja as he deflects his attacks with his sword. "A swordsman. Huh!" The Sound Ninja chuckles as he throws multiple kunais at Chojuro. "Honestly, I thought the shinobi ofrge nations would be worth a challenge. But from the looks of it, they are a bunch of pussies. Slick" Huh! The rest of the genins angrily stares at the Sound Ninja. The Sound Ninja disappears and reappears behind Chojuro as he tries to stab him. ''This is bad. I have to use the ability of the sword.'' Chojuro infuses some chakra in his de as it starts to glow with blue light. Poof Arge puff of smoke appears in the center of the academy hall. Whoosh The smoke clears out to reveal Ibiki. "Silence! Degenerates!" Ibiki yells at the genins as he stares at them like a predatory hawk. Gulp Chojuro gulps his saliva and stops his attack. The Sound Ninja also stops in his tracks as Ibiki''s gaze is focused on him. ''Man this guy is really scary.'' The Sound Ninja retreats to his teammates. "I am Ibiki Morino, the proctor of the first test of the Chunnin exam." Ibiki scrutinizes every genin with his piercing gaze as his eyes rest on the Sound Ninja. "Any pig that tries to screw with me will be immediately disqualified. Now with this the first test of the chunnin exam starts." Chapter 199: Contingency Plan Chapter 199: Contingency n Whoosh Izuna flickers out of the academy as he moves towards the Hokage Office. "Ibiki will take care of the first round of chunnin exam." Shoom shoom A seal appears on his hand as it glows. "Hmm. A report from Wrath." Whoosh Izuna infuses some chakra in the seal as a scroll teleports in front of him. He grabs the scroll and reads its content. "Interesting." He pockets the scroll and flickers towards the Hokage Office. ''I have changed the Flying Thunder God Technique to suit my needs. Previously, only the owner of the sealing form could use teleportation, but now anyone can use it. But the problem is, they can only send inanimate objects from one ce to another. I have yet to figure out a way to teleport someone else.'' Sigh He shakes his head and enters inside the Hokage Office. Inside the Hokage Office, Mei and Tsunade are sipping tea as they discuss various political matters. Tsunade is giving some friendly advice to Mei. "You shouldn''t pay much heed to the old geezers of the Vige council. They might have experience, but those senile geezers always like to manipte things. Just listen to their advice and act ording to your wisdom. Luckily, in Konoha Izuna took care of all of those old corrupt council members and reced them withpetent members. So, this way majority of the decision-making power lies with me." Tsunade exins the details to Mei. "I see." Mei nods her head. "My father leads Kiri council, but there are still a few council members of other faction. We couldn''t find any dirt on them during the cleanup of Noble faction so we had to spare them." Knock knock Izuna knocks on the door to get their attention. Ahem Tsunade clears her throat and asks him. "You took care of it?" She ces down her cup. "It is just a written exam, nothing to worry about." Izuna waves his hand and pours some tea and sits beside Mei. "I am very suspicious of Sunagakure''s lineup. We have to take caution while dealing with them." Sip He sips his tea as he reveals the fact to Tsunade. Hmm Tsunade frowns as she questions him. "Why do you think so? Suna had been in a peace treaty with Konoha since the end of the Second Shinobi War. Why would they violet the pact?" Yawn Izuna finishes his tea and lies down in Mei''sp. Eh A blush appears on Mei''s face. Izuna ignores it as he makes himselffortable. He turns towards Tsunade and exins. "The Third Shinobi War took a toll on Suna''s economy. It has reached the point that the Fourth Kazekage Rasa has to sell his gold dust at a dirt-cheap price to raise some funds for his vige. Suna is really in a dire state and would do anything to get more resources." "That''s such a shame." Tsunade shakes her head. "The harsh terrain of Land of Wind together with the ever-present sandstorm makes it difficult for Suna. But how do you know about this?" Tsunade questions him. "Well, duh! I was the secret buyer of that gold dust. Like,e on why I won''t buy it? He is just handing over a crap ton of gold for free. Haha" Izunaughs as he takes out a scroll from his pocket. ''The construction of the chakra cannon requires the chakra ore. The prototype blueprint A gave me had many faults in it. I modified the chakra cannon, and the model requires gold as a medium to stabilize the power source. Well, it is all theoretical. I still can''t make it. I am no rocket scientist. I need someone to help me with the construction of the cannon. Luckily, I had just the perfect person for this task in mind. But it would be awhile before I could recruit him.'' "This scroll has all the gold I bought from the Kazekage. Most of my funds which I scammed from Raikage went into this." "" Tsunade and Mei silently stare at Izuna. "Now I have to earn some of that money back, and this coborative chunnin exam is an ideal opportunity to do so. I have already analyzed the abilities of all the genins, and the gambling den would bring huge amounts of money. Soon, we would rack up a shitload of cash. Haha" Izunaughs maniacally as he flips the scroll. "Imagine what would be the expression of Kazekage if he came to know that I would use the young shinobis of his vige to earn more cash. I bet he will puke out a liter of blood in a mad rage. Haha Profit it is profit." He chuckles as he rests on Mei''s thighs. "" Mei and Tsunade stare at the devilish smile of Izuna. ''This guy is a devil. Yes, he is definitely a devil.'' Both of them nod their head in agreement. Ahem Tsunade clears her throat as she asks him. "About the suspicious activity of Suna? What do you mean by that? Mind exining it in detail." "Of course," Izuna opens one of his eyes as he exins. "My spy from Suna sent me a report about the recent activities of Suna shinobis." He takes out Wrath''s scroll and passes it to Tsunade. "Here." Hmm Tsunade frowns as she reads the scroll. Her expression turns ugly as she tightly clutches the scroll. "The guts of Suna have inted a lot. To think that they would n such a scheme against Konoha." Bang Tsunade smashes the scroll on the table. "Now now calm down a little." Izuna calms her down as he exins. "It is all just a spection at this point. We don''t have any concrete proof. Sunagakure could just easily deny it and wash off their hands." "But that doesn''t mean we can give it a rest either." Tsunade calms down as she contemtes the content of the scroll. "Seeing this number looks like Suna is nning for a full-blown war. If they utilized it in Konoha, then at least half of the Konoha would be destroyed. We need some countermeasures for it." Tsunade rubs her forehead as a crease appears on it. "I have already nned a countermeasure for it." Izuna removes the map of Konoha from one of the walls andys it on the table. He marks a circle on the map and exins. "This would be the venue for the final exam of the chunnin exam, and I am sure the attack would take ce on that day." Hmm Tsunade nods her head as Izuna continues. "I will ask Uncle Fugaku to lead his Police Force and form a perimeter around the stadium. This way we could contain most of the fight within the stadium. Also, deploy the members of the Aburame n and Akimichi n at the outer perimeter of the vige. They will hold down the attacks of the Suna ninja force stationed outside the vige. You can ask Jiraiya to lead this team. The members of the rest of the n will guard the inner perimeter and rest of them would evacuate the civilians to a safe shelter." Hmm "That makes sense." Tsunade nods her head. "But what about the genins of other viges who are present in the stadium? If any of them die in this chaos, then other viges will hold Konoha ountable for this loss. This may very well turn all of them against Konoha." Tsunade questions him. "I had already thought about that circumstance. Kakashi together with the rest of the jounins would protect them while Shisui and his anbu team would take care of the anbus of Suna." Izuna marks another circle on the map. "I see I will deploy the medical ninjas of the Konoha Hospital to take care of the injured people." Tsunade and Izuna form a rough outline of their contingency n. "Summon Shikaku Nara, Choza Akimichi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Hiashi Hyuga, Uncle Sakumo, and Lord Third to discuss the n with them. They are trustworthy and I am sure they will follow the n." Izuna names a few persons. "Very well" Tsunade signals the nearby Anbus and sends them to summon the n leaders. "We still have around a month to prepare." "What would be my role in all of this?" Mei questions them. "Well" Izuna and Tsunade stares at Mei as Izuna scratches his head. "You are a guest of Konoha and I don''t want to embroil you in the matters of Konoha," Tsunade replies to her. "But I would soon be a member of Konoha." Mei res at Izuna. Gulp Izuna gulps his saliva and avoids her gaze. "No means no I won''t allow this." Tsunade denies her request. "How about this? You can evacuate the Kiri genins to a safe shelter and then you can reunite with me to help me." Izuna appeases her. "Hmm that''s reasonable." Mei nods to the suggestion. Whew ''I dodged the bullet.'' Izuna takes a deep breath. Chapter 200: Sneaking into Chunnin Exam Chapter 200: Sneaking into Chunnin Exam Scree Izuna raises his head and notices an eagle pecking at the window. Whistle He releases an incoherent sound, and the eagle flies away. "Looks like the second test of the chunnin exam has started. I will let Anko handle the exam." Izuna turns towards the group of n leaders and the Third Hokage as the meeting starts. Hmm "Izuna Uchiha the matter must be quite serious for you to summon all of us here for an emergency meeting." Hiruzen has a frown on his face as he awaits Izuna''s response. "All of us here have interacted with Izuna one way or another. So, the matter must be quite serious for him to summon us." Shikaku calmly stares at Izuna as he remarks. "True he has helped all of us considerably one way or another." Hiashi remarks as he remembers the Hyuga incident. "Let''s ask him what is the matter?" Fugaku opens his eyes as he stares at Izuna. ''When will Fugaku learn to smile.'' Izuna takes out the information scroll from his pocket and ces it on the table. "Have a look at this. It is the information I got from one of my spies in the Sunagakure." Hmm Hiruzen frowns as he reads its contents. He ces the scroll on the table as the rest of the n leaders read its content. All of their expression darkens as Choza remarks. "Those Sand Bastards are doing it this time. Their guts have inted a lot after the defeat during the Second Shinobi War." Choza ms his palm on the table. "Calm down, Choza! It is still a piece of intel; the real thing hasn''t started yet." Shikaku calms him down and turns towards Izuna. "How sure are you about the validity of this intel?" He questions Izuna. "I am a hundred percent sure. My source can''t be false." Izuna assures Shikaku. Sigh "Then it seems like Sunagakure is serious about this invasion. I can''t even rx these old bones of mine." Hiruzen sighs as he contemtes over the intel. "I guess you summoned us because you already have a n in your mind." Shibi Aburame breaks the silence. "Yes, I do." Izuna nods his head. "And I n to discuss it with all of you. You are the only few trustworthy people I can trust in Konoha." Izuna reveals to them. "Well I don''t know how to feel about that statement." Inoichi scratches his head. "Well then let''s hear your n." Shikaku starts the discussion. "Hokage-sama, please disclose the strategy." Izuna signals Tsunade. "Very Well." Tsunade ces the map on the table. -------------------- In training ground three, Hah Hah Sasuke and Naruto are engaged in a Taijutsu fight as they exchange blows. Sakura watches from the sidelines as she cheers them. "Sasuke-kun Naruto-kun do you best." ''Sasuke-kun! Beat Naruto up. Shannaro!'' The inner Sakura cheers for Sasuke. Huff huff Both of them breathe heavily as the spar ends with a draw. Huff Huff "Naruto I never expected you to improve so drastically." Sasuke breathes heavily as he remarks. "It is thanks to the secret training I did with Izuna Nii-san. I have improved a lot. Dattebyo!" Naruto pumps his fist. "Sasuke-kun let me wipe your sweat." Sakura offers a towel to Sasuke. "I will do it myself. There is no need for you to do anything." Sasuke grabs the towel and wipes his sweat. Hai Sakura depressingly passes the towel to Sasuke. "Man I am bored." Naruto rests against the wooden pirs. "Kakashi sensei is busy with that chunnin exam thingy. We don''t have any missions these days. I am so tired of these D-Rank missions. I want to do some cool ninja missions." Naruto drinks some water as he wipes his sweat. "So, you mean to say that you don''t mind capturing that cat again?" Sasuke remarks. "Anything but that" Both Naruto and Sakura reply simultaneously. "That thing is not a cat. It is even more agile than the ninja hounds of Kakashi sensei." Naruto shakes his head as the memories of the Cat Capture Mission flood his mind. "We spent seven hours chasing after that cat, and we weren''t even able to catch as much as a fur of that thing. In the end, it returned to the owner of its own free will." Naruto narrates the incident. "But we got the full payment, right!" Sasuke remarks. "No, don''t remind me of that. Every time I hear that, I start to doubt my abilities as a Ninja. How will I be a Hokage if I can''t even catch a cat?" Naruto shakes his head. "Anyway, forget about that. Why don''t we take a peek at the chunnin exam?" A wild idea pops out in Naruto''s mind. "No! Naruto. It is a bad idea." Sakura hurriedly tries to convince Naruto. "Kakashi Sensei said we aren''t ready for it yet. We have to do at least three C rank missions before even thinking about the chunnin exam." Sakura advises him against it. "Come on, Sakura. You know of our abilities; it would be a walk-in park for us." Naruto ignores Sakura''s warnings. "Sasuke-kun now only you can convince Naruto-kun to drop the idea." Sakura turns towards Naruto. "Hmm it sounds interesting. I am with Naruto on this one." Sasuke agrees with Naruto. "Yes let''s go. We will sneak in the chunnin exam." Naruto jumps in excitement. "Hold on, Naruto. Do you even know about the location of the chunnin exam?" Sasuke calms his down. "Err this. I don''t know but we will be able to figure it out somehow." Naruto pumps his fists in the air. "Chunnin exam I aming." "" Sasuke and Sakura silently stare at Naruto. "I expected nothing less from you." Sasuke stands up as he dusts himself. "Hey! What do you mean?" Naruto growls at Sasuke. "Don''t worry, I had already made preparations for this." Sasuke makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu" Poof A small puff of white smoke appears as the summoning seal ispleted. Scree The smoke clears out to reveal a small eagle. Scree The eagle screams again as it flies and perches on Sasuke''s shoulder. Woah Naruto and Sakura''s eyes shine brightly as they stare at the eagle. "Hey, when did you got this?" Naruto points towards the eagle. "You aren''t the only one who is doing secret training with Izuna Nii-san," Sasuke smirks as he pats the eagle. "Damn I also want one of these." Naruto gnaws his teeth. "Can I touch it?" Sakura stares at the eagle with shining eyes as her hands creep towards it. Scree The eagle pecks on her hand and turns away. "Garuda doesn''t like anyone besides me and Izuna Nii-san." Sasuke takes out some food from his pocket and feeds the eagle. "Fine, I got it." Naruto puffs his cheek as he asks Sasuke. "So, how would we find the location of the Chunnin exam? By flying on top of this little guy?" Naruto tries to touch Garuda only to get pecked by his sharp beak. "Aww It hurts." He grabs his bitten thumb in pain. "There is no need for that." Sasuke releases the Garuda as it circles above them in the air. "Now watch carefully." "Sharingan." He activates his Sharingan and makes some hand signs. "Uchiha Secret Technique: Mirrored Telescopic Vision" He cups one of his hands around his right eye as he shares the vision with Garuda. "This is one of the secret techniques of the Uchiha n. It allows the user to share his vision with his summons. The visions of ordinary Hawks can spot a small rat from a mile away and Garuda is a summon, so his vision is several times better than an ordinary hawk. He would be able to spot the location of the Chunnin exam in minutes." Sasuke nods to Garuda. Whoosh Garuda flies higher in the sky and disappears from their vision. "Wow he is so fast." Naruto and Sakura stare at Garuda in amazement. "Of course, he is at least three times faster than messenger eagles." Sasuke proudly raises his head. "Damn now I really need a summon." Naruto bites his lips. Swoosh "Oh! I can see it." Sasuke focuses on the binocr vision as the vige appears in his vision. "I can see the entire Uchiha npound from here. Let us go to the academy. We will get some hints from there. Also, Hokage Office is there." Whoosh Garuda flies higher and approaches Academy. ---------- Inside the Hokage Office, "The meeting is finally over. My throat is dry from all that talking. I need some sake to parch it." Tsunade slumps down on the Hokage chair. "" Izuna and Shizune stares at Tsunade. "Ok, I will get some orange juice for you." Izuna opens the window as he jumps out. Huh Izuna feels a gaze on him. He raises his head and notices a eagle flying far away in the sky. "Oh!" Izuna stares at the eagle and smiles. ---------------- In the training ground. Brrr. A shiver runs down Sasuke''s spine as Izuna''s face appears in his vision. ''Did big brother notice me?'' Chapter 201: I won’t fail this time Chapter 201: I wont fail this time ''I must avoid Izuna Nii-san at all cost.'' Sasukemands Garuda to change the direction through his mental link. Whoosh Garuda flies in the opposite direction to the Hokage''s Office. ------------ Inside the Hokage Office, Tsunade notices Izuna staring at the sky. "What''s the matter? What are you staring at?" "Oh Nothing. Just some yful kids with their games." He shakes his head. "Well peaceful times sure are great. I have to make sure it stays the same." Tsunade nods her head and continues her work. Whoosh Izuna flickers out of the window. --------------- Whew "I avoided it." Sasuke sighs. "What''s the matter?" Naruto and Sakura notice Sasuke''s tense expression. "Izuna Nii-san almost found us out. Thankfully, I somehow avoided him." "That''s a relief. Otherwise, he would punish us with more hellish training." Naruto sweats heavily as he remembers the punishment. "Training? Isn''t that a good thing? Izuna-san is one of the most powerful ninjas in our vige. His training would surely improve our skills by a margin." Sakura questions them. "No don''t mention it. You won''t understand our pain and sufferings." Naruto and Sasuke reply simultaneously. "Ehh is it that hard?" Sakura tilts her head in confusion. "It is much much harder." Naruto opens his arms wide open as he describes the training session. "Kakashi Sensei''s training can''t evenpare to Izuna Nii-san''s warmup." Naruto shakes his head at the thought of hellish training. "So hard" Sakura''s curiosity is piqued. "Don''t even think about the training?" Naruto warns her. "Shhh I found it." Sasuke signals them. Naruto stops his exnation as he asks Sasuke. "Where is it? I am excited to experience the chunnin exam." He clutches his fists. "It is north to the Forty-Third training ground." Sasuke notices the group of genins gathered at the gate of Forest of Death. "It says the Forty-fourth Training ground. I never knew the vige had a forty-fourth training ground." Garuda flies over the training ground as Sasuke inspects the surrounding. He notices a metallic fence with several gates at the perimeter of the area. "I guess it is a restricted area of the vige. It must be quite dangerous for it to not open to the public." Sasuke concludes as he notices the deathly silence of the forest. ---------------- Outside the Forest of Death, Anko stares at the participants as she licks her lips. "So, this is the batch of the genins eager to take on the exam to be a chunnin." Chojuro stands with his Kiri teammates as he looks around. ''I can''t find Kabuto-san anywhere. Maybe he is also preparing with his teammates.'' Slick The Sound Ninja licks his lips as he stares at the forest. "I am itching for some blood. I can''t wait to hear some cute screams." "Now now looks like all of your quite energetic after clearing the first part of the chunnin exam. You might have cleared the first step but it still unsure whether you could do the same with the second test." Whoosh Anko takes out a stack of paper from her pocket. "Unlike the first part of the exam where there was no fighting; this round is all about survival. If you have the capabilities to survive while keeping your enemies at the bay, then you might get a shot to move to the final round." Bam She ms the stack on the table as she stares at the genins with a predatory gaze. "Before you proceed to the second test, you would have to sign this consent form. You would only be allowed to take the exam if you sign the form otherwise you are free to leave." Gulp Many genins gulp their saliva as they stare at the form. "What consent?" One of the genin questions. Anko turns towards the genin and replies. "Consent that you won''t return alive from the exam and thus the leaf vige won''t be held responsible for your decision," Anko smirks as she stares at their terrified expression. Many genins retreat in fear as they forfeit the exam. "Hey Sasuke, what''s going on?" Naruto impatiently asks Sasuke. Sasuke narrates the entire series of events to Naruto and Sakura. ''Thanks to my Sharingan, I can read her lips.'' "That''s scary." Sakura gulps her saliva. "Are you sure it is a good idea? What if we face something horrible in the forest? We don''t even know what''s in there." Sakura advises against sneaking. "We won''t back down aftering this far. I will never give up because that''s my ninja way. Dattebyo!" Naruto pumps his fist. Sakura turns to Sasuke, only to notice a calm expression on his face. Sigh She depressingly drops her head. ''At least, Sasuke-kun is there to take care of me.'' The Inner Sakura cheers up. Hmm Anko looks around as she feels a gaze on her. ''Why do I feel like someone is watching me?'' She surveys her surroundings and notices nobody. ''Strange! I felt like someone was peeking at me. Anyway'' She shakes her head and turns to the group of genins. "So, the remaining participants move to the different gates and pick up your scroll. Once I signal, the exam would start and keep in mind many chunnins would monitor you throughout the exam so if you are caught teaming up with other teams then both of the group will be immediately disqualified." Anko points her fingers towards her eyes and the rest of the group as a warning. Whoosh whoosh The genins start to flicker towards the allotted gates as they pick up their respective scrolls. -------------- In training ground three, "It has started," Sasuke recalls Garuda as he informs the group. "Naruto, Sakura, we will meet in an hour. Make necessary preparations for the exam. I will exin the rules as we will infiltrate the Forest of Death." Sasuke orders them. "Yay!" Naruto cheers in excitement as he flickers towards the Uzumakipounds. "Naruto don''t bring anything unnecessary. We are participating in an exam, not in a pic." Sasuke reminds him. "I know," Naruto yells from a distance as he flickers away. "Hai" Sakura weakly walks towards her house. Whoosh Sasuke flickers towards the Uchiha npounds. Rustle rustle The leaves of a nearby tree rustle as a figure appears on the branch. ''These bunch of kids.'' Shisui shakes his head as he stares at the back of Naruto and Sasuke. "Izuna Nii-san informed me about their little n and sent me to monitor them. Kakashi Senpai is busy with the chunnin exam, and Izuna Nii-san had some urgent work. With the recent purge, the Konoha police force doesn''t have much work to handle, so I am free most of the time." Shisui shakes his head as his body disperses in a bunch of crows. ---------------- In Yakiniku Q restaurant, "It is my treat. Order anything you like; the food is really good here." Izuna passes the menu to Mei. "Yakiniku Q is a Gyu-Kaku Style restaurant. So, you have to cook your own meal. Don''t worry about the ingredients, just order anything you like; I will cook a fine dish." Izuna exins the details to Mei. "Then I won''t hold back." Mei picks up the Menu and ces her order. "Three servings of Gyutan reared in Land of Rice Paddies, three servings of Welsh Onion from the Land of Medicine" Mei orders one premium dish after another. Sweat appears on Izuna''s face as he wipes it secretly. ''Damn when I meant anything, she took it literally; ordering three of the most expensive dishes right off the bat. This lunch is going to cost me an S-Rank Mission at this rate.'' Mei smiles at Izuna as she orders her food. ''I must bear with it. This is my responsibility as a man.'' Izuna has a bitter expression in his heart as he smiles at Mei. "Yay! I will also take the same order as Mei Onee-san." Ayaka also ces her order. "Ne Ayaka why don''t you order something different? There are lots of other dishes to order from." Izuna tries to convince Ayaka. "No I will eat the same food as Mei Onee-san. I also want to grow up as a beauty like Mei Onee-san." Ayaka stares at Mei''s chest as she blinks cutely. "." Izuna silently nods his head. "Then why don''t you follow Tsunade Onee-san. She has more growth than your Mei Onee-san." He jokes. "No I don''t want to. I heard Tsunade Onee-sanining about back pain because of her chest." "" ''Kids these days sure grow quickly.'' Izuna shakes his head in understanding. "Customer here is your order." The server brings their order. "Behold my cooking skill I will cook the most delicious meat ever." Izuna carefully ces the meat on the charcoal brazier. "Onii-san don''t burn them like the other day." Ayaka pours a bucket of cold water on Izuna as she innocently states the fact. "" ''I can never win. Can I?'' ''Sharingan.'' He weakly picks up another piece of meat and cooks it. ''I won''t fail this time.'' Chapter 202: Struggle for Scroll Part-1 Chapter 202: Struggle for Scroll Part-1 In the training ground three, An hourter, Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura regroup with each other. "Are you guys ready?" Sasuke turns towards Naruto and Sakura. "I am always ready. Dattebyo!" Naruto raises his fist. "I am also ready." Sakura nods her head. "Let''s go." Naruto dashes towards the training ground forty-four. Sasuke and Sakura follows him. Whoosh whoosh "Naruto, Sakura! I overheard the rules of the chunnin exam earlier. We have to collect a heaven Scroll and an Earth Scroll and reach the central tower to pass the chunnin exam. Every group is provided with only one scroll. They have to fight another group and steal their scroll toplete the set. Since we are only testing our capabilities, we would just steal a Heaven scroll and Earth Scroll and approach the central tower." Sasuke exins the rules of the exam. "That''s easy. With our abilities, we can easily snag scroll from other teams. Dattebyo!" Naruto pumps his fists. "No on the contrary, it is extremely difficult." Sasuke shakes his head. "Huh! Why?" Naruto turns to Sasuke. "Those genins aren''t our opponents. Our real opponents are the chunnin and jounins monitoring the area. We have to steal those scrolls under their watchful eyes and make it to tower. So, it is much harder than our expectation." Sasuke states the real test. Gulp "Guys we can still turn back. It is a bad idea." Sakura tries to convince them. "No this makes it more fun and challenging. Now I am fired up for this exam." Naruto cracks his knuckles. "All these years, I haven''t trained for nothing." Whoosh Naruto increases his speed. "I am also looking forward to this exam. I want to push myself to limit and reach the next level. I want to be as strong as Izuna and Itachi Nii-san." Sasuke clutches his fists as he follows Naruto. "You guys." Sakura shakes her head in frustration and follows after them. ''I wonder how far would they be able to make it.'' Shisui stares at the group from a distance. ''Nii-san just instructed me to keep an eye on them and allow them to do whatever they want without as long as they don''t go too far with their shenanigans. I am also interested to see them progress.'' Shisui follows after the group. Whoosh whoosh The group arrives at gate number twenty-third of the Training Ground Forty-Four. "This gate is farthest from the gate number one where the jounin is stationed at. It is on the opposite end. We have to quickly enter the Forest before anybody notices us." Sasuke reminds them. "Sharingan" He activates his Sharingan and inspect the nearby area. "I can''t see any chakra signatures nearby. Hurry up and enter in the forest." He deactivates his Sharingan to preserve his chakra. Swoosh swoosh The group jumps on top of the gate and enters the training ground. "This ce is also called as the Forest of Death. This ce serves as a testing ground for the survival and fighting skills of genins who are aiming to be a chunnin. It is a very dangerous ce filled with hordes of giant and poisonous flora and fauna. The forest has a radius of ten kilometres and it could be quite deadly, especially during the night." Sasuke exins the details to the group. "Wow! Sasuke, you are so knowledgeable." Sakura praises Sasuke. "It is nothing special. It ismon knowledge known to every n member. I was just surprised by the location of the Forest of Death." Sasuke shakes his head. The group continues to enter deeper into the forest. "Man this ce is so dark and creepy." Naruto flicks away a leech from his shoulder. Swish The leechnds on top of Sakura''s head and startles her. Kyaah Sakura screams in fear. Sshhh Sasuke immediately ces a hand on Sakura''s mouth to shut her up. Rustle rustle A nearby bush rustles as the group quickly hid themselves. ''Sasuke-kun is so close to me.'' Inner Sakura pumps her fist in joy. Naruto takes out his kunai as he prepares for thebat. Rustle Rustle A nearby bush rustles as a bear jumps out of the bush. "It''s a bear. Leave it to me." Naruto jumps in front of the group. He makes some hand signs. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough" Naruto takes a deep breath as he infuses arge amount of chakra and stomach and releases it as a gust of strong wind. Swoosh The wind current takes the shape of a hurricane as it ms into the bear. Boom The wind current blows away the bear and uproots nearby trees. Bang The bear ms into a tree and passes out. "That was easy." Naruto gives a thumb up to Sasuke and Sakura. "Naruto! You idiot." Sasuke yells at Naruto as he dashes away from his hideout. "Quick get out of this area as fast as possible. We have to leave quickly to avoid any chunnin." "Ah! My bad." Naruto scratches his head as he follows Sasuke and Sakura. Whoosh whoosh An instantter, a group of chunnin arrives at the area. They inspect the surroundings and notice the unconscious bear and the nearby destruction. "Looks like the genins this time are really something. Such a powerful wind technique." One of the chunnin inspects the traces of the wind jutsu. "Must be those Sand Ninjas. I heard they are quite skilled in Wind Release Techniques." "Must be them." Another chunnin nods his head in agreement. "How many participants do you think would pass this stage?" He questions his partner. "I don''t know, but maybe around ten teams." The other chunnin takes a guess. "Let''s make a bet. If I won you will treat me to a dinner in Yakiniku Q and if you win, I will treat you to a dinner." The first chunnin suggests. "I will take you on that offer. It has been a while since Ist ate some free food." The chunninughs as makes the bet. Whoosh whoosh Naruto and the group flickers through the forest. Hmm Naruto hears faint noises from up head. He signals to Sasuke and Sakura with hand signals. The group slows down and hides in a bush and monitors their surroundings. Two groups are engaged inbat with each other. ''Sharingan'' Sasuke activates his Sharingan to inspect his surroundings. "There are no chunnins and jounins nearby." He informs Naruto. Boom A mini explosion urs in front of them as a small mass of dust and debris rises in the air. Hmm They notice a team from Kiri and Suna engaged with each other. "Hand over your Scroll quietly and we promise it won''t be painful." One of the Suna ninja slowly walks towards the Kiri shinobi with a giant fan in his hand. "Don''t get so cocky you Suna scum. We haven''t lost yet." One of the Kiri genin dusts himself as he stands up. "Eat this." He makes some hand signs. "Water Release: Water Bullet" He fires a water bullet at the Suna genin. Tch "Petty tricks." The Suna Ninja scoffs and swings his giant fan. "Wind Release: Sand Whirlwind" He releases a sharp gust of wind using his fan. The gust creates a cloud of dust and forms a whirlwind as it ms into the water bullet. Boom The sand whirlwind tears through the water bullet and ms into the Kiri ninja. Bang The Kiri genin ms into a nearby tree. Guffaw He pukes out a mouthful of blood and passes out. "Humph these Kiri rats think that they could win against us." He walks up to the unconscious Kiri ninja and kicks him. "Hoshio search for the scroll. We need an Earth scroll and we would be set." The Suna ninja with the fan orders his teammate. "Yes, leader." Another Suna ninja with a puppet searches the body of Kiri ninja. He takes out a white scroll from their clothes. "It is a Heaven Scroll same as ours." Tch "All that effort for nothing." The Suna ninja harrumphs. "Leader should I?" Hoshio makes a cutthroat gesture. "Leave it be. Who knows how many of those Konoha chunnins are watching us? I don''t want to get disqualified for nothing." He kicks the unconscious body of Kiri shinobi and walks away. "Store that scroll with other Heaven scrolls. We don''t want others to get their hands on them." He closes his fan and ces it on his shoulder and walks away. "What a terrible day? We met two teams, both with Heaven Scroll." Hoshio pockets the scroll and follows his leader. In the nearby bush, "Hey! There are supposed to be three guys in a team, right? Where is the third one?" Sakura questions them. "He is there." Sasuke points towards the shadow of Hoshio. "Where? I can''t see him." Sakura tilts her head in confusion. "Sakura-Chan, it''s so obvious. The third guy is a sensor ninja. He is using a secret technique to hide his presence." Naruto remarks. "I I can''t see him." Sakura hangs her head in depression. "You can always train and get stronger." Narutoforts her. "Izuna Nii-san''s hellish training will work its magic." He gives thumbs up to Sakura. "Uh why do I feel like that''s a bad idea?" Sakura doubtfully stares at Naruto. Chapter 203: Struggle for Scroll Part-2 Chapter 203: Struggle for Scroll Part-2 "Let''s get the scroll from them." Naruto cracks his knuckles as he gets ready to engage the Suna Ninja. "Wait, a sec." Sasuke stops him. "Being a ninja is not just about using jutsu and fight the enemies. The true essence of a ninja lies in being hidden and catching enemies off-guard for a surprise attack." "WOW! That''s Sasuke-kun for you." Sakura praises Sasuke. "Naruto hold your horses for a while. Let''s test the abilities of enemies before attacking them. Never ever underestimate your opponents." He warns Naruto. Gulp Naruto gulps his saliva. "I will keep that in mind." He nods his head. "With that in mind, let''s chase this band of Suna Ninja. Once they are distracted by their fight with another team; we will use that opportunity to take the scroll from them." Sasuke formtes a n. "But that''s dirty, and it''s not fair," Narutoins. "Listen Naruto, life is not fair. Only the fittest or the most prepared individual can survive in this cruel world. If you have a heads up above your enemy, then use it to your advantage. The enemy won''t care about honor and fairness when hees for your life. "Sasuke advises Naruto. "Hey! You sound like Izuna Nii-san." Naruto turns away. "Fine, I will follow your n. You are the leader when ites to nning. Tch" He admits to Sasuke''s n. "Very well, then let''s follow them." Whoosh Sasuke follows after the Suna group. Whoosh whoosh Naruto and Sakura chase after him. On top of a nearby tree, Mm Shisui nods his head. ''They have grown well. The shinobi world isn''t a yground. One mistake and you will loose your life forever.'' Whoosh He disappears from the tree. "Maintain a distance of fifty meters from them. ording to my observations, that''s the maximum range up to which their sensor ninja can detect the enemy''s presence." Sasuke inspects the Suna ninja with his Sharingan. Team 7 continues to chase after the Suna Ninjas. After an hour, "Leader two teams are fighting up ahead." The hidden sensor Ninja of the Suna informs his teammates. "Let''s take a look. We will ambush them when the winning team is about to get the scrolls. The Suna Ninja with the giant fan remarks. "Yes Leader." His teammates agree with them. Boom Boom They hear multiple explosions going off in the distance. Whoosh whoosh The Suna group hides in a nearby bush as they stare at the confrontation between the two enemy teams. Team 7 stops at a safe distance from the Suna group. "What''s the matter?" Naruto asks Sasuke. "Sharingan" Sasuke activates his Sharingan and inspects the distance ahead. "There is an ongoing fight up head. Two teams are engaged inbat. Hmm from the looks of it; one of the team is from Kusagakure and the other team is from Kirigakure." Sasuke observes the field. "Looks like these Suna fellows are following the same n as us." Naruto remarks as he stares at the back of Suna Ninjas. "Of course, they would. Who would want to interrupt the fight between two teams? What if those team turns hostile towards their intruder and teams up against them and deal with them andter decide the winner among themselves?" Sakura shakes her head. "It is as Sakura said, no team will take the risk to fight two teams simultaneously unless you are confident of your abilities or you have one or two screws loose in your forehead." Sasuke remarks as he hides. "We will follow the n." He deactivates his Sharingan to preserve chakra. "Got it." Naruto and Sakura nod their head. ''It all boils down to patience.'' Shisui stares at them as he signals to a group of chunnins. "Leave this area to me. I am on a secret mission and can''t disclose the details to you." He sends the chunnins away. "Yes, Sir." The chunnin flickers away. ''Well, Naruto isn''t particrly patient, so I wonder how will it turn out.'' Meanwhile, At a few hundred meters in front of the group, ng ng One of the Kiri shinobi throws multiple shurikens towards the Kusagakure ninja. "Leave them to me." A Kusa ninja with a pair of sunsses and a giant g jumps in front of the group. Swirl He rotates his g and ms it on the ground. "Wind Release: g Wind Wall" He creates a wind wall using his g. The wind wall blocks the kunais. Tch The Kiri genin clicks his tongue and makes some hand signs. "Water Style: Water Bullet" He fires a water bullet at the g genin of Kusa. Swirl The g ninja waves his g. "Wind Release: g Current" He swings the g and generates a wind current and manipte that current to slice through the water bullet. Drip drip Water drips down on the ground as he shakes his g to wipe off the water. Rumble Rumble The ground beneath the partner of Kiri shinobi trembles as another Kusa ninja with a pair of tekk Kagi jumps out of the ground. ''Earth Release: Hiding like a Mole Technique'' sh He shes the pair of w hooks at the ninja. ng Another ninja with tufty blue hair and dark eyes blocks the ws with a sword wrapped in bandages. "Thank you, Chojuro." The Kiri ninja thanks his teammate. "It''s fine, Renzo." Chojuro nods his head as he blocks another attack from the Kusa Ninja. "Where is their third member?" Chojuro warily looks around. Whoosh He hears the sound of a wind current and raises his head. A giant butt appears in his vision. "Above us! Dodge!" Chojuro warns his teammates as he pushes away the Kusa ninja and makes some distance. Bang A giant person ms on the ground and creates a small crater in the shape of a peach. ''Body Alteration Jutsu'' The Kusa ninja shrinks his body as he helplessly stares at his teammates. "I missed." He takes out arge bottle of green fluid from his pocket and chugs it down. "Oye fatty! Be more useful next time. The Kusa ninja with w hooks reunites with his teammates. You had one job tounch a surprise attack, and you failed it." Burp The fat Kusa ninja burps loudly and throws away the bottle. "I won''t miss this time." He turns towards Chojuro''s group and points his butt towards them. "Secret Technique: Cloud of Reeking Gas" He farts a green gas towards them. "That''s so gross." Naruto pinches his nose as he stares at the cloud of gas. "Such a gross jutsu." Sakura turns her head away. Whoosh whoosh Chojuro and the rest of his teammates jump back and avoid the toxic gas. Srr The toxic green gas decays the nearby nts as various tiny insects die from the poison. "See it works." The Fat Kusa Ninja raises his head proudly. "Good work, now leave the rest to me." The Kusa ninja with the g and sunsses waves his g. "Wind Release: g Direction" He directs the toxic gas towards the Kiri team. "I will deal with it." The third member of Chojuro''s party jumps in front of the toxic gas and makes some hand signs. "Water Release: Bubble Entrapment" He ejects arge water bubble from his mouth. The water bubble entraps the toxic green gas and contains it. "Release" He directs the bubble away from them. Whoosh The water bubble flies towards the bush in which the Suna ninjas are hiding. "This son of a" The Suna team captain curses as he holds his fan and waves it to generate a wind current to redirect the bubble. "This mothefu" Naruto curses as the bubble travels in his direction. "Wind Release: Gale Current" Naruto exhales arge amount of air from his mouth to send the bubble away from them. Sigh Sakura sighs in relief. "I just shampooed today." "" Sasuke and Naruto silently stare at Sakura. "What the?" Shisui avoids the toxic gas as the bubble pops near him. "My life almost shed before me. Such gross smell." "You missed boss." The fat Kusa ninjaughs at his team leader. "Shut up fatty or I will seize your food." The g Kusa ninja threatens fatty. "Ok." Fatty meekly nods his head. "It''s time to end this farce and get their scroll." The w hook Kusa ninja makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Chikymaru" Poof White smoke appears in front of the group as a giant mole with long white ws, brown fur, and a spiked tail appears before them. The giant mole wears white underpants and a green scarf around its neck. The scarf has a giant orange pouch in it. Squeal The mole makes some guttural noises as it grits its teeth. Rumble rumble It digs its ws into the earth and enters the ground. "Get ready! He can attack any moment." Chojuro holds his sword as he confronts the Kusa group. Chapter 204: Clash of Ideals Part-1 Chapter 204: sh of Ideals Part-1 "Odour Concealing Bubbles" The Fat Kusa Ninja rapidly spins his body andunches multiple green bubbles filled with his slimy sweat. Chojuro turns towards his teammates. "Renzo takes care of this fat guy while I will fight with that g guy and Senzo will take care of this mole guy." Chojuro instructs his team. Chojuro draws his sword and points it towards the g Ninja. "Let''s fight." "This was what I was waiting for. Oryaa" The g adjusts his sunsses and spins his g. "Wind Release: g Hurricane" He creates a long vortex of air which expands into a cylinder and traps Chojuro. "Not so fast." The bandages around the de untie themselves as the de glows with a brilliant blue light. "Hiramekarei: Long sword form" Chojuro infuses arge amount of chakra in the de and creates a long semi-circr de. sh The de tears through the vortex and dispels it. "Eat this." He swings the de towards the g Ninja. Bang The Kusa Ninja blocks the attack with his g but isunched in the air. He ms into a nearby tree and passes out. Huff huff Chojuro breathes heavily as his knee caves on the ground. "That took most of my chakra. Huff" Rumble Rumble The ground beneath Chojuro rumbles as the mole summons slips out of the ground. sh It shes its w at Chojuro. "Boring." A calm voice interrupts them as the Suna Ninja walks out of their hideout. The leader of the Suna group ms his giant folding fan on the ground as he confronts them. He smirks at them as he lifts his fan. "Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel Technique" He creates many wind currents which collides with each other and creates multiple vacuum pockets. sh sh The wind current chops nearby trees into multiple logs as it continues to travel towards the Kiri and the Kusa Group. "Chikymaru block the attack." The Kusa Ninja orders his summons. Squeal The giant mole squeals as its ws shine brightly. It jumps in front of the wind current and attacks them. Crack crack The wind current collides with the ws and cracks them. sh sh The vacuum pockets dice the summon as pieces of its flesh flies around. Stter Its blood stters the ground and dyes it red. Chojuro ces his sword in front of him and blocks the wind des. "NOOOOO!. Chikymaru!" The Kusa Ninja stares at the ground in horror as the flesh of his summon flies around. "NOOOO!" He cries in agony as he picks up a kunai and mindlessly dashes towards the Suna ninja. m The Suna Ninja ps him away with his fan. Bang The Kusa Ninja ms into a nearby tree and passes out. "Such pieces of trash. If I had known this earlier, then I won''t even have to waste my time waiting for them to finish fighting." Hezily walks towards the Kusa g guy and searches through his belongings. "Oh! Found it. It is an earth scroll." He ms his fan in excitement. The Suna Ninja turns towards Chojuro and his group. "You Kiri trash hand over your scroll and I might allow you to leave intact." "Here take it." Chojuro takes a ck scroll from his pocket and throws it at the Suna Ninja. "Another Earth Scroll. This is hrious. These bunch of fools were fighting for nothing. Haha" Heughs maniacally as he pitifully stares at the Kiri group. "Now get lost from my sight or else I might change my mind." Chojuro weakly stands and supports his teammates as he walks away from the ce. "Leader, are you going to let them leave this easily?" Hoshio asks him. "No I hate these Kiri shinobis to the very core. They plotted against my elder Sister Pakura and killed her. I won''t forgive them this easily." He lifts his giant fan and points it towards the retreating Kiri group. "Wind Style: Beheading Vacuum Winds" He infuses arge amount of chakra in his fan and prepares to swing it at the Kiri group. "Eat this. Rasengan." Naruto jumps out from behind a bush as he attacks Pakura''s brother with a Rasengan. "What the" The expression of Hoshio changes as he stares at Naruto. Swish Pakura''s brother hurriedly turns around and swings his fan at Naruto. Swoosh He creates arge narrow de of wind that travels towards Naruto. BOOM Rasengan and the wind de collides with each other. Tch Naruto clicks his tongue as he sub-consciously infuses a small amount of wind chakra in his Rasengan. Swirl The Rasengan rotates slightly and dispels the wind current. "What?" His eyes widen as Naruto closes the distance. Bang He blocks the Rasengan with his fan. Whoosh Naruto releases the Rasengan as it expands quickly and creates a small wind pressure. Bang The wind pressure knocks away the fan and sends Pakura''s brother flying together with it. BOOM He ms into a nearby tree and skids down. "KAITO!!" Hoshio and the other hidden Suna ninja shout his name. Sasuke and Sakura regroup with Naruto. Ptui Kaito spits out some blood and slowly stands up. Bam He ms his fan on the ground and faces Naruto and the group. "KAITO!" The Suna group supports him. "I am alright Hoshio, Reo." He angrily stares at Naruto and the group as he shouts. "These bastards of Konoha havee to interfere." Hoshio and Reo take out a kunai as they warily stare at the group. "Listen! I don''t know what''s your problem. But what you did earlier wasn''t right. It doesn''t sit well with me." Naruto confronts Kaito. "Humph Who are you to judge my actions? Are you a chunnin or jounin instructor or are you the invigtor of this exam? If they don''t have any problem with my actions, then who are you to talk shit here?" Kaito lifts his fan and points it at Naruto. "Uhh who am I again?" Naruto scratches his forehead. "" "Naruto!" Sasuke and Sakura facepalms. "Uhuh I am Naruto Uzumaki. The coolest and the most badass Ninja ever. You already got their scroll; I won''t allow you to harm them anymore." Naruto points a finger towards Kaito. "Oh! Then let me see, how will you stop me?" Kaito takes a stance as he infuses some chakra in his fan. "Sasuke I will take this guy." Naruto calls to Sasuke. "Then I will fight these both." Sasuke confronts Hoshio and Reo. He turns towards Sakura and orders her. "Sakura hide somewhere and keep a watch out for chunnins, jounins, and any other team." "Alright!" Sakura nods her head and jumps on top of a tree and hides. "You will pay for your arrogance." Hoshio and Reo dashes towards Sasuke as they attack him. ng ng ng Bam Sasuke engages in a one vs two fight as he has the upper hand. Haah Kaito takes a deep breath as he focuses on Naruto. "I will end it swiftly." He swings his giant fan towards Naruto. "Wind Release: Wind Cutter Technique" Kaito releases several small wind des at Naruto. Naruto stares at the iing wind des as he makes some hand signs. "Wind Release: Gale Palm" Naruto kneads some chakra in his palms and sps them together to release a spiral current of wind whichpresses and collides with wind des and nullifies them. "Oh! So, you are a wind user as well. But if you think you can beat a sand shinobi using wind techniques, then that would be the biggest mistake of your life." Kaito lifts his fan and opens it wide and swings it towards Naruto. "Wind Release: Great Task of the Dragon" A gigantic tornado appears in front of Naruto as it tries to sweep him away. Huff huff Kaito breathes heavily as he stares at the tornado. ''I have used up lots of chakra performing so many chakra taxation jutsus.'' He takes out a chakra pill and eats it. "This is not looking good." Naruto stares at the giant tornado closing on him. He stretches his arm as blue chakra gathers in his palm. Swirl The chakra rotates and creates a blue ball. Kaito stares at the jutsu. ''This is the same jutsu he used to block my attack earlier. It even knocked me back. Don''t tell me he can use it multiple times?'' Kaito''s expression turns ugly. Boom Naruto throws his Rasengan at the tornado. Swirl Boom Rasengan collides with the tornado and creates a vortex of its own. The vortex rotates in the opposite direction from the flow of wind of the tornado and cancels it. BOOM A giant crater appears in ce of the jutsu. ng Kaito blocks Naruto''s sneak attack with his fan as both of them engage in closebat. "What''s taking you so long?" Sasukezily rests against a tree as he stares at Naruto. "Damnit Sasuke! This guy is a little tough. Just a little tough." Bang Naruto delivers a roundhouse kick to Kaito and sends him flying. Chapter 205: Clash of Ideals Part-2 Chapter 205: sh of Ideals Part-2 Bang Kaito ms in a nearby tree and falls. Augh He spits out some saliva as he angrily stares at Naruto. "You bastard I won''t let this slide." Kaito uses his fan to support himself. "Here." He takes out the Heaven and Earth scroll and throws them towards Naruto. "You want this, right? You can have them." Naruto catches the scrolls and throws them towards Sasuke. He grabs Kaito''s cor and questions him. "Why did you try to kill them? It is just an exam. Why would treat them like a dog and then let them escape only to attack their back even though you had the upper hand? Tell me why?" Fwish Kaito swipes away Naruto''s hand as he stares him in the eyes. "Shut up, you fool. It''s not your matter whether they live or die." Kaito slowly stands up as he struggles to bnce himself. "No it is my matter. How could you attack them from back?" Naruto stops Kaito. "I said SHUT THE FUCK UP," Kaito yells at Naruto. He turns towards him. "You don''t understand the way of shinobi. The shinobi world is a ce meant only for powerful people. The weak and feeble people have no right to share the samend as the strong ones. This chunnin exam is a test of the same. It tests your strength and survival skills. Weak people are nothing but fodder for the strong." "WHY YOU?..." Naruto clutches his fists tightly. "Even so... You don''t have any right to attack their back. You could easily finish them upfront; why would you attack their back?" Naruto yells at Kaito. "Shut up you know nothing. These Kiri bastards backstabed my sister when she went to Kiri for the peace treaty. Back then I swore to myself, I will take revenge for her. I won''t allow any Kiri shinobi who crosses my path to live anymore. I will bring justice to my sister." He pushes away Naruto and walks away. Crunch crunch crunch Kaito crushes gravel under his footsteps as he ignores Naruto. "Why? Why would you do so? Doing such a thing won''t bring your sister back. If your justice is exacting vengeance on Kiri, then your justice will only bring more vengeance. It will only create a never-ending cycle of hatred." Crunch Kaito stops in his footsteps and remarks. "You talk too much. Peace was never an option. It was those same preachers of the peace who killed my sister. Tell me, do you think they won''t do the same to others? Tell me, what if someday one of your loved ones dies in the same exact manner; would you exact revenge for them?" "I I" Naruto stutters as he is lost for an answer. "You can''t tell, right? So, stop bothering me I will do whatever I see fit." Kaito holds his teammates and ambles away. "It''s alright, Naruto." Sasuke pats Naruto''s shoulder. "But but" Naruto tries to argue. ''Naruto this is the life of a shinobi. This is the harsh cold truth of the world.'' Shisui stares at Naruto as he remarks to himself. ''Nii-san told me that Naruto has plot armor. He will always pull through everything. I don''t know what it means, but I trust Nii-san and I trust Naruto''s capabilities. I have trained him for nothing. He will be fine.'' "Anyway Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun. We got the scrolls." Sakura inspects the scroll. "Now what?" Naruto turns towards Sasuke. "Now we would have to just reach the center of the Forest of Death and that''s it." Sasuke enters deeper into the forest. "Wait for me." Naruto and Sakura follow him. Whoosh Whoosh They move through the forest for an hour as a giant tower appears in their vision. There are several chunnins guarding the tower. "We have made it there. It took us four hours to reach this ce." Sasuke looks around. "Now what? We somehow made it here." Naruto asks him. This means we cleared the second stage. Let''s return to the vige." Sasuke nods his head. "Hold up I want to see what''s in these scrolls." Naruto waves the scrolls at Sasuke. "Go ahead. I am also curious to know what is written in these scrolls." Sasuke and Sakura curiously stare at scrolls. Whoosh Naruto unfurls both of the scrolls andys them on the ground. Swoosh swoosh A fuinjutsu seal appears in the scroll as the seal spreads on the scrolls. Poof A white puff of smoke appears on top of the seal. "A Summoning Form." Sasuke stares at the white smoke. "What would it summon?" Naruto questions. "Congrattions! You have passed the second stage of the chunnin exam." The smoke disperses to reveal Kakashi. "Huh!" Sasuke''s, Naruto''s and Sakura''s eyes widen in surprise. "Huh!" Kakashi also stares at the group in disbelief. "Huh!" All four of them tilt their head in confusion. "Oh shit! I almost forgot about that." Shisui stares at the group from a distance. "You three?... what are you doing here?" Kakashi angrily questions them. "This area is off-limits for genins, even chunnins need permission to enter this area. What are you bunch doing out here? With the chunnin exams summoning scrolls no less." Kakashi taps his foot on the ground as he res at the group. "We we" The group is at a loss for words. "I won''t hear any excuses. Just give me an honest answer." Kakashi riles up his chakra to pressure the group. "Kakashi Sensei we were just training nearby." Naruto scratches his head and smiles. "That terrible of an excuse won''t work on me, Naruto. This is a serious affair. The chunnin exams are no joke. Several other nations are involved in this matter." Kakashi twists Naruto''s ear. Ouch ouch "Sorry, Kakashi-Sensei. We were just bored with all the D-rank missions; there was nothing better to do. So, we just thought about taking a peek at the chunnin exam." Naruto discloses everything. "Just a peek... you say, when you almost cleared the second stage. I will deal with youter. Also" Kakashi raises his head and stares at a tree. "How long are you going to hide and watch this drama unfold? I have questions for you too." Whoosh Shisui flickers in front of Kakashi and scratches his forehead. "You found me out." "Of course, I was the former leader of your Anbu team. I might have left the anbu, but the skills are still there?" Kakashi remarks. "So what''s this all about? Why didn''t you stop them? I want to hear the truth." Kakashi folds his hands. "Well it was Izuna Nii-san''s n. Earlier, he noticed Sasuke and the group snooping around the academy, eavesdropping on the location of the second phase of the chunnin exam. Nii-san figured out their intention and sent me to follow them. If these bunches were to behave recklessly and create some problem, I would have to step in to stop them." Shisui reveals everything. "So Nii-san found us out?" Sasuke hangs his head. "Of course, he would. He is the best anbu member of all time. Also, he is a sensor Ninja; his perception is very high. Do you guys honestly thought you could go unnoticed from his eyes?" Kakashi rebukes them. "All matter aside, I will still punish you for breaking the rules. You three would be grounded for the next month. No more missions for anyone of you." Kakashi harshly chides them. "But but Kakashi sensei" Narutoins. "No buts. Any more words and the duration would be extended." "" Naruto immediately shuts his mouth. "Shisui lead them out of the Forest and inform Hokage-sama about this. The exam must continue." "Yes." Shisui nods his head. Poof Kakashi disappears in a puff of smoke. "Shisui Nii-san!" Naruto stares at Shisui with puppy eyes. "No" Shisui drags Naruto away as Sasuke and Sakura follow him. "Still you guys did very well. I am impressed by your skills." Shisui praises them. "Of course, we have trained hard under you and Izuna Nii-san. This little bit of exam is not a problem." Naruto smugly pinches his nose. "Naruto you might have the skills of a Ninja but you still don''t have the mindset of one," Shisui instructs Naruto. "The world is too vast and everyone has their ideals. It is good to guide people towards the correct path but don''t try to enforce your ideals on others. Every person has their own path to choose from. All of us have to make choices at one point or another. What you did today may be correct from a moral viewpoint, but as a shinobi, it can turn into a weakness that your opponents might take advantage of? Listen, Naruto by sparing your enemies, you might save a life, but you are jeopardizing the safety of your friends and family. Today''s situation might not be an ideal example, but it is still a lesson you need to learn as a shinobi." Sasuke and Naruto listen silently as Naruto clutches his fists. "But what he did today was not correct?" "Yes it might not be correct, but it is a fact that only strength rules over everything. Konoha is strong, and it is because of this factor that other nations fear us and hesitate to invade us despite our resources. There is no such thing as true peace." Shisui and the group flicker through the Forest. "If there is such a thing as true peace, then I will find it. Dattebyo!" Naruto has a serious expression on his face as he clutches his fists with firm resolution. A ray of sunlight seeps through the darkness of the Forest of Death and brightly shines on Naruto. Shisui stares at Naruto with wide-eyes as a smile appears on his face. ''Naruto Nii-san believes in you. I will also put my belief in you.'' Shisui shakes his head and speeds up. "Let''s go. We have yet to decide a punishment for you all.'' "" Chapter 206: Final Phase of the Chunnin Exam Chapter 206: Final Phase of the Chunnin Exam A/N:- Sorry for being a bitte today. I had an exam today; so I took some time off to prepare. -------------- A month passed in the blink of an eye. The day of the final phase of the chunnin exam neared in. At the border of Land of Fire, Rasa moves together with his subordinates. This is the ce marked by Orochimaru. Rasa patiently waits for Orochimaru''s arrival. "Kazekage-sama is this your final decision?" Baki questions him. "What needs to be done has to be done! We have no choice. This is the only way for Suna to survive." Rasa resolutely clenches his fists. "Your wish is my order, Kazekage-sama." Baki nods his head. "But we can''t trust Orochimaru. He is a sly snake who can backstab us any moment." Baki warns him. "I know. I have made necessary arrangements in case that happens." Rasa nods his head. Rustle rustle The sound of footsteps crushing gravel and sand falls in their ear. Rasa and the group turn towards the sound and notice Orochimaru walking towards them. Rustle Rustle Orochimaru stops in front of Rasa. "So Lord Kazekage are your preparations ready?" "We are all set on our side. How are the preparations on your side?" Rasa nods his head. "My spy has already infiltrated Konoha. With just a signal of mine; everything will be set in motion." Orochimaru licks his lips. "I cannot enter Konoha without being detected, but that doesn''t mean I won''t lend a hand. Once the attack starts, I will deploy my summons to assist you in the battle. Till then, I will wait outside Konoha, ready for your signal." "Very well you can join my forces hiding outside Konoha," Rasa exins to Orochimaru. "Lord Kazekage, I am impressed by your resourcefulness. Being able to spread false rumors and distract the border forces of Konoha to sneakily traffic your own man. That''s such an impressive feat." Orochimaru curiously stares at Rasa. "I just happen to know the right person who could do the job for me." Rasa shrugs his shoulder. "Very well we will take our leave then." Rasa nods his head and prepares to retreat. "Oh! I almost forgot about it." Orochimaru stops Rasa. Rasa turns around and stares in confusion. Orochimaru points towards the cloaked figure. "He is the person whom we talked about." "Who?" Rasa notices the man cloaked in ck beside Orochimaru. ''Strange I can''t even feel his presence at all. It is almost like he isn''t even here.'' He scrutinizes the cloaked figure. Rasa tries to peer through the figure to see his appearance, but fails to do so. "It is a pleasure to meet you." Rasa extends his hand towards the figure as he secretly uses his gold dust to coat his hand. "Don''t bother yourself with such childish tricks. I have made a deal with Orochimaru. I will help you deal with whoever you want." The figure ps Rasa''s hand away, dispersing all the gold dust. Rasa feels a numbing sensation in his hand as it gets paralyzed. ''What kind of jutsu is this?'' His eyes widen in surprise. "Lord Kazekage he will act as your retainer and bodyguard to infiltrate Konoha. I hope you are fine with it." Orochimaru proposes a n. "Ah yes yes. There is no problem." Rasa shakes his head. "Then we will meetter." Orochimaru turns around and leaves as he slowly disappears from their vision. "Let''s go," Rasa orders his subordinates. "Yes Kazekage-sama." The group follows after him with the cloaked figure closely walking beside Rasa. ------------------ Outside Konoha, Izuna is resting against the wall as he waits for Kazekage''s arrival. Shisui, Itachi, Guy, and Kakashi are standing beside him. "Are you guys ready for the contingency n?" Izuna questions them. "Yes, Leader we are ready." All of them nods their head. Sigh "You don''t have to call me that in open. Your alternate identities are a secret." Izuna shakes his head. "Just address me how you usually would?" "Nii-san do you think that snake Orochimaru is still alive and will attack Konoha?" Itachi asks him. "Yes, I do. That snake is like a cockroach. No matter how many times you crush him, he will just stand up and walk away like nobody''s business." Izuna chuckles. "Shisui, Itachi both of you will engage with the anbu members of the Suna vige and neutralize them as quickly as possible. You willter provide support to others." Shisui and Itachi nod their head. "Kakashi, Guy you will take care of the jounins in the arena. Both of your skills are a cut above the rest of the jounins." "I will show my YOUTH to those Suna bastards." Guy clutches his fist. "" The group ignores him as Itachi raises a question. "Nii-san, what about you? All of us are upied with an enemy or other; who will you fight against?" Shisui and Kakashi also curiously stare at him. "Izuna is unarguably the strongest Ninja of our vige. Even father, Jiraiya-san and Lord Third agree with it. So, who can possibly upy Izuna and prevent him from dealing with the forces of Suna?" Kakashi states the fact. "That''s true. I am also curious to know who would be my opponent. Who can bank the confidence of Suna?" Izuna wonders. ''I have a person in my mind.'' The incident of Nine-tails freshens up in his memory as the appearance of a purple figurees into his mind. ''No that guy is gone for good. It can''t be him, right? If it''s him, then I would have to use my trump card to deal with him. I hope that won''t be the case.'' Izuna shakes his head to discard such thoughts. Hmm He senses multiple chakra signatures quickly approaching the vige. "They are here." Izuna signals them. Whoosh whoosh Multiple Ninjas dressed in Suna shinobi outfit stops in front of Konoha''s entrance. Izuna walks towards them as a fake smile appears on his face. "Wee Kazekage-sama it is our pleasure to have you in Konoha." Izuna politely greets him. Kakashi, Guy, Shisui, and Itachi control theirughter as they stare at Izuna. ''This guy is such a good actor.'' Izuna notices the group as his lips twitch slightly. He ignores them and turns towards the Kazekage. "The final exam will start tomorrow, so there is still time to rx and enjoy yourself in Konoha. We have arranged a small tour for the group. I am sure you will like the hospitality of Konoha." "Alright! We will take you on that offer." Rasa nods his head. Izuna leads them towards their lodgings as he secretly inspects them. ''There doesn''t seem to be anything wrong with this group of shinobis. I can handle them easily.'' His vision stops on the cloaked figure as a strange feeling well within him. ''What? I wasn''t able to sense this person at all.'' He tries to sense the chakra signature of the cloaked figure and fails. ''How could it be? It is almost like this person is not even present here. What kind of technique is he using to mask his presence? Let me see his guise with my Sharingan." He secretly activates his Sharingan and inspects the cloaked figure. "What?" Izuna''s eyes widen in surprise as he is unable to see through the cloaked figure. ''Somehow he can evade my perception.'' Izuna''s expression turns tense. "Hmm did you say something?" Rasa questions him. Ahem Izuna clears his throat and points towards the cloaked figure. "He is?" "Oh! He he is one of my bodyguards. There is nothing to worry about it. Now, I can''t visit another vige without some security, can I?" Rasaughs and dodges the question. ''So, he is the person who is meant to be my opponent? I have a bad feeling about it, but at the same time, I am excited to fight and go all out. It has been a while since Ist went all out. I am ready to dance.'' Izuna has mixed feelings about the cloaked figure. The cloaked figure feels a gaze. He raises his head and notices Izuna''s stare. He notices an illusion around Izuna''s eyes as his eyes pierce through the illusion. ''Interesting'' The figure murmurs to itself beforepletely ignoring Izuna. Grrr. Inside the Sin Grimoire, Kurama growls as he stares at the cloaked figure. "This person is bad news. I can feel it." "What?" Minato turns to Kurama. "I can''t sense the depth of his power, but I can feel a mix of conflicting emotions from that guy. I had never felt so much agony, pain, and suffering in one person. On the other hand, I can feel some sinister emotions lurking in his heart." Kurama exins to Minato. "I just can''t wrap my head around it." "Will Izuna-kun will be alright?" Kushina asks in worry. "I don''t know." Kurama shakes his head. "Can you ask Sin about it?" Kushina asks him. "No I can''t. Sin has been in a dormant state after Izuna visited Ryuchi cave. It won''t respond to me." Tch Kushina bites her lips in worry. "Izuna-kun will be alright. I am sure he is prepared for it. We have to trust in his abilities since we can''t help him. Nheless, we must warn him about that man." Minato assures Kushina. Chapter 207: Final Phase of the Chunnin Exam Part-2 Chapter 207: Final Phase of the Chunnin Exam Part-2 Inside the chunnin exam arena, Tsunade, Rasa, and Mei are seated in the VIP Section as they stare at the arena. Many civilians and shinobis came to watch the final battles as there is a hustle-bustle in the arena. "I am so excited to watch so many ninjas fight." Ayaka is seated with Aiko and Akira in the audience seats. "Where is Onii-san?" She looks around but fails to find Izuna. "He is up there." Akira points towards the VIP Kage seats. "Your Onii-san is acting as a bodyguard for the Hokage-sama. He is fulfilling his duty as a shinobi." Aiko caress Ayaka''s head. "Wow! Onii-san is so awesome." Ayaka''s eyes shine brightly. "Of course, he is he is my son afterall." Akira proudly raises his head. Aww Aiko elbows him as she has a smile on her face. "Ara you forgot about me." "How could I? He is our son afterall." Akira has tears in his eyes as he forces a smile. "Yes I will also be a cool ninja-like Onii-san." Ayaka nods her head. "You will definitely be a cool ninja." Akira pats her head as he turns towards Fugaku and Yagami. Both of them nod to him as he gets up from his seat. "Ayaka father has some work to handle. Till then, why don''t you watch the fights with your mother and aunt." "Okay!" Ayaka nods her head as she is being pampered by Fumiko and Mito. "Such a good girl." Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are seated with the other members of Konoha 11 as Ino and Sakura linger around Sasuke like flies lingering around honey. "Ino-pig get away from my Sasuke-kun." Sakura hugs Sasuke''s arm. A frown appears on Sasuke''s face as he is annoyed by her. "Shut-up you ''billboard brow''. You have been hogging up Sasuke-kun all by yourself." Ino pushes away Sakura. "What a drag!" Shikamaruzily rests on his seat as he stares at the arena. Chomp chomp Choji gobbles down one snack after another. "I have prepared enough snacks for the entire tournament." He picks up a giant bag full of snacks. "You want some." Choji passes a packet to Naruto. "Ah I am fine. I am not hungry." "Such a shameless sight." Neji snorts at the sight of Sakura and Ino fighting each other. "Lady Hinata will never stoop as low as them." "Umm Naruto-kun, I made this for you." Hinata walks in front of Naruto and passes a box to him. She has a blush on her face as she stretches her arms and passes the box to Naruto. "What''s in this?" Naruto asks her. "I I baked some cookies for you. I hope you will like them." Hinata replies with a shy smile. "Oh! I am not that hungry." Naruto scratches his head. "Did someone say cookies?" Choji turns towards them. He grabs the box from Hinata and opens his mouth wide and gobbles all of them in a bite. Huh! Hinata''s expression freezes as she turns around and runs away with a tear in her eyes. "Naruto-kun! You Baka." "Huh! Did I do something wrong?" Naruto cluelessly scratches his head. "NARUTO!!" Neji activates his Byakugan as he angrily stares at Naruto. "Hinata-sama" He chases after Hinata before giving ast re at Naruto. "But what did I do?" Naruto looks around cluelessly. "Naruto you knucklehead." Tenten angrily res at him. "Naruto-kun you have lost the way of youth. Come with me and I will guide you to the springtime of Youth." Lee spins in front of Naruto and stretches his arms. Bang Tenten smashes Lee''s head with a hammer. "Don''t make it worse." "ALL OF YOU SHUT UP. YOU ARE SO ANNOYING!" Sasuke yells to silence them. In the VIP area, Izuna is standing beside Tsunade and Mei as he keeps a constant eye on the cloaked figure. ''Since I can''t read him, I will have to be ready for his movement.'' The cloaked figure stares at the arena as he scrutinizes the audience. ''None of them match my requirements.'' He continues to watch the people as his eyes fall on Ayaka. Hmm His eyes stay on her for a while as a strange light flicker through his eyes. Izuna senses a small fluctuation of chakra near the cloaked figure. He immediately puts up his guard as he scrutinizes the figure. Huh! The figure ignores him as his eyes continue to linger towards the Uchiha family. Izuna follows his gaze as Ayaka appears in his vision. His expression turns ugly as he clutches his fists. ''What''s this bastard nning? He better not have any bad intentions for Ayaka or he will see the worst side of me.'' Crack crack Izuna knuckles crack from the pressure. "Are you alright?" Mei and Tsunade question him as they notice his expression. "I am good. The chunnin exam just reminded me of my chunnin promotion during the era of the Third Ninja War." Izuna takes a deep breath to calm his emotions. "Good." Both of them nods their head as they turn towards the arena. Might Guy walks in the center of the arena as he stares at the crowd. "Ladies and Gentleman! I Might Guy, Konoha''s Sublime beast of prey would be the referee for this tournament. I am here to judge the youthfulness of each enthusiastic genin aiming to be a chunnin." Guy does his signature gentleman pose as he shes a smile brighter than stars and a thumb higher than a mountain. Boo boo The crowd instantly boos him. "This Guy. I knew it it was a bad idea to make him the referee of this tournament." Kakashi shakes his head as he stares at Guy. "Ah! Nii-san insisted on making him the referee. So, I can''t say anything." Shisui scratches his head. "At least, the crowd won''t be bored this way." Itachi tries to show the brighter side of the decision. "Well I can''t agree more." Kakashi nods his head as he notices the enthusiasm of the crowd. "Let''s get back to the guard duty of Daimyo-sama." Kakashi walks towards another section of the VIP area. "Daimyo-sama decided to spectate the final phase of the chunnin exam. He just mentioned his desire a day before the exam. We can only agree to his demand." Shisui shakes his head as he follows Kakashi. "Izuna told us that Daimyo-sama is like a golden eggying goose. We have to handle him carefully." Kakashiughs at the analogy. "Can''t me him? Nii-san set up a gambling den and Daimyo-sama would be one of our most rich costumers." Shisui remarks. "Just make sure to remind Daimyo-sama about the gambles." Kakashi enters the VIP area to act as a guard. Shisui turns towards Itachi and pats his shoulder. "Itachi you will be the leader of the team for this mission. I believe in your abilities and I hope you too." "Leave it to me, Nii-san." Itachi nods his head as he unites with Team Ro. He puts up his anbu mask and disappears from Shisui''s vision. Haah "I feel like I am being left in the dust. My goal was to always be a great ninja like Izuna Nii-san, but he is on an entirely different level. Now, even Itachi caught up to me or probably is on the verge of surpassing me. Looks like I can''t ck anymore. After this mission, I will retire from Anbu and search for my Ninja way." Shisui takes a deep breath and enters the VIP section. Ahem "So, without any further dy, let''s start with the first round of contestants." Might guy clear his throat as he announces the beginning of the tournament. "Our first pair of contestants are Kegon from Takigakure and Kaito from Sunagakure." Guy announces the matchup. Kegon and Kaito enter the arena from opposite gates. "Izuna, I want to ce my bet on Kegon. He seems to be quite strong." Tsunade ces her bet. "" ''She can never win. Can she?'' Izuna shakes his head and signals to Yugao who is handling the gambling den. "I will ce my bet on that Kaito guy." The Daimyo consults with retainer as he ces his bet. "I will take care of that." Kakashi nods his head and ces the bet. Kegon and Kaito confront each other as Guy stands in between them. He raises his hand and signals them to start. Swoosh bang Kaito immediately opens his fan and waves it to release a powerful gust of wind. The gust catches Kegon off-guard and ms him into the wall of the arena. Aah Tsunade''s cheerful expression freezes as she stares at the arena with wide eyes. Fufu Mei chuckles softly. "No wonder, they call you the legendary sucker. You have never won any gamble." "I called it." Izuna raises his hands. Sob sob Some tears appear in Tsunade''s eyes as she draws circles with her finger. "This sucks. Why can''t I win any gamble?" "Calm down, Tsunade-san. At least you don''t have to worry about the gamble expense. Izuna-kun is taking care of that." Mei calms her down. Izuna pales as almost slips on his feet. ''Women! Such a dangerous creature.'' Chapter 208: Konoha Crush Chapter 208: Konoha Crush Eh!... Guy pauses for a while as he stares at Kaito. Humph... Kaito scoffs and turns around and leaves. Ahem... "The winner is Kaito of the Sunagakure." Guy waves his hand and deres the winner. "That''s more like it." Rasa clenches his fists. Huh! Tsunade and Mei turn towards him. Ahem... "Haha... It was a close match. The shinobis of Takigakure are really something." Rasa coughs slightly to calm down the awkwardness. "..." Tsunade and Mei silently nod their head and turn towards the arena. "Damn it... I will certainly win the next bet." Tsunade clutches her fists as she turns to Izuna. "Now for the next match; our contestants are Shishio from Sunagakure and Kazami from Kusagakure." Guy waves his hand as the contestants enter the arena. "Hey... that''s the g guy from Kusagakure who was beaten by that Fan guy of Sunagakure." Naruto points towards Kazami. "He has some abilities to able to clear the second exam even after losing his scrolls." Sasuke remarks as he stares at the arena. "Huh! What?... what are you guys talking about?" Lee questions them. "Oh shit! We weren''t supposed to talk about this." Naruto sticks out his tongue. "It''s nothing... nothing." He hurriedly shakes his hand to distract Lee. "Look... look... the match is about to start." Naruto points towards the arena. "Guy Sensei!... Guy sensei will show his signature move again." Lee turns towards the arena with shining eyes. Sigh... Naruto takes a deep breath as he curiously stares at the match. Hmm... Shikamaru opens one of his eyes as he stares at Naruto. ''He is hiding something. What a drag!'' In the VIP arena, Tsunade takes out a fat stack of cash and passes it to Izuna. "I will bet on that genin from Sunagakure. Previously, the Sunagakure genin won the match. I am sure, it will be the same this time." Izuna holds the Ryo as he questions her with an uncertain tone. "Are you sure about that?" "Of course." Tsunade nods her head. "Well... you said it." Izuna ces her bet. "Start" Guy waves his hand to start the fight. Rasa notices the gambling held by Izuna. ''I also want to gamble. But I don''t have any money to gamble. Will he take Gold dust instead of Ryo?" Rasa hesitates as he stares at Izuna. Ahem... He clears his throat and points towards the arena. "Hokage, it seems like you will lose your bet." "Huh!... Why?" Tsunade turns towards Rasa for rification. "Shishio is a sensor type ninja; so, his fighting capabilities are subpar. His abilities are more oriented towards assisting his team in battle rather than direct confrontation." Rasa summarizes Shishio''s abilities without specifying them. "NO... my Ryo." Tsunade bites her lips as her eyes almost overflow her tears. --------------- Outside Konoha, Swoosh... swoosh... Multiple ninjas in Suna outfits gather at a spot. "The intel was correct. That snake Orochimaru didn''t sell us out." A sand shinobi with a standard outfit of Sunagakure elder with the signature elder turban is in the lead of the sand shinobis. He has a deep tear trough across his cheeks and another running parallel to his nose. He also has long ck hair and dark eyes. "Granny Chiyo... what do you think about it?" He turns towards Granny Chiyo, who has a child beside her. The child has fair skin, green eyes, and short spiky auburn hair. The childcks distinctive pupils and has ck rings around his eyes. His hairs are parted on the left side of his forehead to reveal a red kanji letter for ''love''. The child holds Chiyo''s finger anxiously as he stares in his surroundings. The rest of Suna Ninja avoids his gaze and turns their eyes away. The child clutches his hands tightly as he senses their expression of loathing. "What is the meaning of this, Jseki?" Chiyo pats Gaara''s head as she res at Jseki. "I need an exnation. Why would the vige bring a child to such a dangerous mission when you canmission more shinobis for it?" Chiyo stares Jseki in the eyes. "Granny Chiyo, this child is a tool, a weapon meant for the destruction of our enemies. He is nothing more than a container of One-tails. As a member of the Suna council, my responsibility and concern lie with the peace and stability of the vige. Now, since the vige is in such dire straits; we have to deploy every mean avable to us." Jseki turns towards Konoha as he remarks. "Besides, he is a failure of a jinchuruki and we need to deal with him one way or the other. This is an opportunity for us, we can leave him to Konoha to deal. With the One-tails rampaging, Konoha will be forced to send their elite forces to hold it back." "JSEKI!!..." Chiyo yells at Jseki. "Oya... oya! Looks like I came at the wrong time." Orochimaru licks his lips as he interrupts them. Ahem... Jseki clears his throat and turns to Orochimaru. "You came right on time. Let''s get ready to deal with Konoha." "That''s more like it." Whoosh... Orochimaru throws a scroll towards Jseki. Jseki catches the scroll and questions Orochimaru. "What''s this?" "This is a summoning scroll. The defense of Konoha is quite strong. We need to punch a hole through the barrier to invade the vige. There is a summoning formation on the scroll. Use these scrolls together with the summoning formation. The summoning jutsu uses quite a lot of chakra." Orochimaru reminds him. Hmm... Jseki nods his head and passes the scroll to a Jouninmander and exins the details to him. "All preparations areplete. We have to only wait for the signal." Orochimaru licks his lips and reunites with his Otogakure Ninjas. --------------- Inside the VIP area, "NOO... I lost again." Tsunade stares at her empty purse with teary eyes. "That''s was my saving from past three years. Gone... all gone in the blink of an eye. Why? Why it has to be like this? Why can''t I win a single gamble?" Tsunade has tears in her eyes. "Dame da ne... Dame yo... dame na no yo.... Anata ga, suki de sukisugite... Dore dake" Izuna pitifully stares at Tsunade as he starts to sing. Three anbus beside him takes out a violin and ys it. "" Mei is bbergasted at this. "NO don''t remind me of this." More tears flow from her eyes. "It''s ok. You will get it next time." Izuna pats Tsunade''s head. "NO" Tsunade hugs Izuna''s waist and bowls out her eyes. "Don''t worry, there is still onest gamble. I will loan you some money." Izuna passes a stack of money to her. ''Either way, the money will return to me.'' Sob sob Tsunade wipes her tears as she cheerfully snatches the stack of cash and counts it. "" Izuna and Mei silently stare at her pace of cheerfulness. "Izuna what were they singing? Somehow, I found it funny but sorrowful at the same time." Mei asks him. "Oh! You know, during my time as an anbu captain; I was quite bored with the mission, as most of them were quite easy. So, in my spare time; I created a band of musicians with them. This is one of my ''Original'' creation." Izuna shamelessly takes the credit. "Now, I am interested. I would like to listen to more songs from you." Mei has stars in her eyes. Izuna sweat drops at her expression. ''I never knew she loves music. I can prepare a concert as my proposal.'' Some wild ideas run through Izuna''s mind. In the arena, Guy raises his hand, and he bolsters the enthusiasm of the crowd. "Ladies and Gentleman! It''s time for the final match of Round One. We have Chojuro of Kirigakure and his opponent will be Kabuto Yakushi from Konohagakure." Whoosh whoosh Chojuro and Kabuto enter the arena. "Kabuto-san! It''s you. I never thought I would meet you in the finals." Chojuro faces off against Kabuto. "What a strange turn of events? I never expected to meet you in finals." Kabuto adjusts his spectacles. "With this, the final match of Round one starts." Guy raises his hand and announces the start. Chojuro grabs the hilt of his sword and points it towards Kabuto. "I am sorry, Kabuto-san. I have to prove myself to my master. I won''t hold back." Swoosh He infuses chakra into Hiramekarei as a blue glow appears on the de. "So, he is your sessor." Tsunade stares at Chojuro. "Yes, Chojuro is a hard-working boy. I am sure he will grow into a fine shinobi." Mei nods her head. "Then, I will gamble on Chojuro." Tsunade ces her bet on Chojuro. "Then let me see what you have got." Kabuto raises one of his hands. Hmm Izuna frowns as he notices arge amount of chakra being kneaded in Kabuto''s body. "It has started, Tsunade." Izuna yells as he warns them. Kabuto smirks as he murmurs. "Genjutsu: Temple of Nirvana" Swoosh swoosh Many white feathers start to rain from the sky as Kabuto casts a wide area genjutsu. "Kabuto-san this" Chojuro''s eyelids turn heavy as his vision turns blurry. Slump He falls into a deep sleep. "No you don''t." Guy yells as he performs a roundhouse kick. "Leaf Hurricane" Bang Kabuto is sent flying out of the arena. "CHOJURO!!" Mei yells as she jumps out of the VIP arena, breaking through the ss. Chapter 209: Edo Tensei Chapter 209: Edo Tensei Whoosh Rasa flickers behind Tsunade and ces a kunai against her throat. "What''s the meaning of this, Kazekage?" Tsunade''s previously aloof expression vanishes as she adopts a serious expression. "Sand has suffered a lot by the hands of Konoha, it is time for some payback." Rasa remarks as he signals the cloaked man. "I will leave Izuna Uchiha to you." Whoosh Bang The cloaked figure blocks a punch from Izuna, who is in his Power release cloak. ''Strong this man is quite strong. At this rate, our battle might deal more damage to Konoha than the invaders. I have to lure him out of the vige.'' Whoosh Izuna makes some hand signs as a sealing formation appears in his palm. "Fuinjutsu: Adamantium Corrosion Chains" Dark ck chains appear out from Izuna''s hand and strangle the cloaked figure. "Now is my chance." ''Swift Release: Sonic Steps'' Whoosh Izuna flickers out of Konoha together with the cloaked figure. nk nk shatter The adamantium chains shatter into countless fragments as the cloaked figure frees himself. ''My strongest Fuinjutsu seals didn''t evenst a second. Who is this guy?'' Izuna warily stares at the figure as a hint of worry appears in his eyes. ''How did the Kazekage and Orochimaru even convinced such a person? No matter what, I have to stop him.'' Whoosh Izuna makes some hand signs. ''Fire Style: Giant Fireball Jutsu'' He fires a giant fireball infused withrge amounts of chakra towards the figure. Whoosh The Fireball approaches near the cloaked figure and vanishes. The fireball turns into a small ball as the cloaked figure extinguishes it between his fingers. "Who are you?" Izuna questions him. Whoosh The figure blinks behind Izuna and performs a roundhouse kick. "Metal Release: Adamantine Skin'' Izuna''s arms turn ck as he coats his arm with Metal Release chakra. Bang The impact from the kick sends him flying as Izuna crashes into a nearby hill. Huff Huff Izuna dusts himself as he walks out from the debris. "That would hurt in the morning." He cracks his neck and turns towards the figure. ''It''s time to get serious.'' ------------------ Inside Konoha, Rasa stares at the back of Izuna and the cloaked figure with wide-eyes. "I never expected Izuna Uchiha to be such a monster. If not for that man holding him down, we would have suffered massive casualties." Bang Tsunade ms her elbow in Rasa''s gut and sends him flying. Bam Rasa ms in the walls of the arena. "You still have the luxury to worry about others, I will be your opponent." Tsunade cracks her knuckles as she walks towards Rasa. Crack crack Some cracks appear around Rasa''s stomach as golden sand falls from it. "So that''s the golden sand armor." Cough cough Rasa coughs slightly and stands up. "The fight has just started. It won''t end until Suna ims victory over Konoha." Whoosh Golden sand floats around Rasa as he creates a tform and levitates on it. Swoosh He directs the golden sand towards Tsunade as the sand forms arge pir and speeds up towards her. Crack Tsunade clenches her fists tightly as she infuses chakra in it. **BAMM** She punches the golden sand pir. Crack crack Cracks appear on the pir as it dissipates into golden sand. Whoosh Rasa waves his hand and recollects the golden sand. **BOOOOOM** A gigantic explosion urs at the outer walls of Konoha. Tsunade turns towards the gates and notices a giant snake with five heads is attacking the barrier. Tch "That damn Orochimaru! He really betrayed Konoha. There would be no redemption this time." "Tsunade! Leave Orochimaru to me." Hiruzen appears beside Tsunade in hisbat outfit. "I have to fix my past mistakes and regrets." He clenches his fists as he stares at the giant snake wreaking havoc on the barrier. Hiruzen dashes towards the outer wall. At the outer wall, "Hold it back. We have to hold it back till reinforcement arrives." Members of the Aburame n and Akimichi n attacks the giant snake to prevent it from destroying the barrier. "Super Expansion Jutsu" Choza makes some hand signs as he turns into a giant. "Eat this." He punches the head of the snake to stop it. Hiss The snake hisses in anger and attacks Choza with itsrge tail. BANG... The tail hits Choza and staggers him. Rumble Rumble Choza loses his bnce and falls towards the outer wall. ''At this rate, I will end up destroying the wall.'' Choza tries to bnce himself to prevent from falling on the wall. ''It''s toote.'' Choza clenches his fists in regret. "Summoning Jutsu" A giant frog appears behind Choza and prevents him from falling. "Summoning: Food Cart Destroyer Technique" Another frog falls from the sky andnds on top of the giant snake. "Gamaken-san! Hold that snake for me." Jiraiya jumps in front of the wall as he stares at the giant snake. "I''ll try my best." Gamaken wields his Sasumata and pins down one head of the snake. Bam He smashes another head with his shield. Hiss The other two heads attack Gamaken. "Gamahiro! I need some help." Gamaken calls the other frog. "Leave it to me." Gamahiro takes out twin swords from the sheath on his back. sh sh "Ebi Ebi" He shes the two heads and stabs them in the ground. HISSS. The snake hisses in fury as it releases a toxic breath from itsst mouth. BAAAMM Gamahiro ms his butt on the head to stop it from spitting out the poison. "Gamaken-san! Gamahiro-san! I will leave this snake to you. I have to search for that bastard, Orochimaru." Jiraiya flickers inside the forest. Whoosh whoosh Hiruzen catches up with Jiraiya. "Jiraiya! Leave Orochimaru to me. I have to finish what I once started." Hiruzen remarks. "Nah, Old man! I also have some unfinished business with that bastard." Jiraiya increases his pace, leaving Hiruzen behind. Sigh "Why all of my students are so stubborn?" Hiruzen follows Jiraiya. Whoosh In an open area, Orochimaru is standing with Kabuto as he stares at Konoha. "What a beautiful sight, isn''t it? I will finally have my revenge on Konoha." Whoosh whoosh Jiraiya and Hiruzen stop in front of him as both of them confront him. "Orochimaru! Stop this foolishness, right now!" Hiruzen warns him. Slick Orochimaru licks his lips as he stares at them. "Sensei! This destruction won''t stop until Konoha bes history." "Why? Orochimaru why? Why are you doing this?" Jiraiya walks towards Orochimaru. "Why, you ask? Haha" Orochimaruughs hysterically. "Stop your nonsense, Jiraiya. You know the answer already. No one can stop me from destroying Konoha today." "So, it hase down to this." Hiruzen res at Orochimaru. "You have stooped so low to the point you are seeking to destroy your birthce. I will finish what I left once. This time I won''t show any mercy." Swoosh swoosh Hiruzen makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Monkey King Enma" He summons Enma. "OROCHIMARU!!" Enma appears on the battlefield as he res at Orochimaru. "Humph!... I know this would happen. You should have dealt with him when we had the opportunity." Enma scoffs at Hiruzen. "I''m going to do that now!'' "It''s toote." Enma faces Orochimaru as he taunts thetter. "Orochimaru! I am going to snap you like a twig! It should have been done years ago!" Enma takes a stance. "It''s a bit toote for that." Orochimaru licks his lips as he ignores the angry gaze of Enma. Hiruzen makes some hand signs. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu" Swoosh swoosh He throws a shuriken towards Orochimaru as the shuriken multiples into many other shurikens. "Fire style: me Bullet" Jiraiya coats the shurikens with fire as the shurikens close on Orochimaru. "Ottou!!... It''s too much for me to take on both of you." Orochimaru jumps back and ms his palm on the ground. Rumble rumble The ground trembles as three coffins emerge from the ground. BOOM BOOM The coffins block the shurikens. "It can''t be." Hiruzen''s eyes widen as he stares at the coffins. "Enma, stop him before hepletes his jutsu. If not, the vige will face certain destruction." Whoosh Enma transforms into his adamantine staff form and whizzes towards the coffins. Kuku "It''s toote." Rumble rumble The gates of the coffin open up to reveal two figures. The third coffin is empty. "Hmm that''s unexpected." Orochimaru stares at the empty coffin. Crunch crunch The two figures walk out of the coffin as they crush gravel. "Are those two?" Jiraiya''s eyes widen in surprise. "How is this possible?" Jiraiya turns towards Hiruzen. "It''s my fault." Hiruzen sighs as he stares at the coffin. "During the Second Shinobi War, Konoha was on the verge of losing the war. As ast-ditch resort, Danzo proposed to use the forbidden technique of the Second Hokage. ''Edo: Tensei''. This technique was meant to bring the dead back to life as an indestructible puppet. Left with no choice, I approved it together with other council members. However, the war ended with the defeat of Hanzo because of his failed attempt to invade the Land of Medicine. As such, this technique never saw the daylight. But I never expected Danzo to continue the research with Orochimaru." Hiruzen shakes his head. Haha "Enough talk. It''s time to end this." Whoosh Orochimaru sps his palms together. "Edo: Tensei" Chapter 210: Student Vs Sensei Chapter 210: Student Vs Sensei A/N:- A small throwback to the old ssic fight. I was in quarantine for a week so I wasn''t able to write much during this time. ----------- Clomp clomp Two figures walk out of the Edo coffin. Hmm A tanned figure in dark red armor with a ck suit and wooden sandals raises his head. "It has been a long time, Saru." Another fair figure in blue armor walks beside him. "Oh? It''s you, Sarutobi. You have aged quite a lot." "I didn''t expect to see you two in a form like this Hashirama Sensei Tobirama Sensei!" Tears overflow Hiruzen''s eyes. "I am mortified to see you in such a state." "Now now enough with the heart-warming teacher-student reunion." Whoosh Orochimaru takes out two kunais with sealing tags. He inserts the kunais in Hashirama and Tobirama''s body. Haah Orochimaru makes a hand seal to control their movements. Argh Hashirama and Tobirama try to resist the control of Orochimaru. "Give it up," Orochimaru smirks. "I have summoned you with half of your original strength. These vessels aren''t strong enough to summon you in your prime. Besides, I am not sure I could control you in your peak strength." Slick Orochimaru licks his lips. "If that''s the case, Sarutobi, we must fight you." Hashirama takes a step towards Hiruzen and Jiraiya. "Sensei! Any advice while fighting against them." Jiraiya asks Hiruzen for advice. "I will stop Orochimaru. If we incapacitate him, the summoning should wear off. Till then, we have to hold our own against them." Hiruzen summons arge Fuma Shuriken. "Easy for you to say." Jiraiya''s expression turns ugly. "No matter the era, war will always gue thend." Hashirama remarks as sps his hands together. "Edo Tensei!... So, this kid summoned us with my forbidden technique." Tobirama stares at his fingers. "Tobirama, I warned you. This technique was a mistake." Hashirama remarks. "Shut up." Tobirama scoffs and turns towards Hiruzen. "Saru, we are gradually losing control of our body and emotions. I hope you will be able to cope with the situation." "Enough banter. Time for work." Swish Orochimaru makes a hand sign as he kills their emotions. "Oye! Oye! Now they have turned into a killing machine." Gulp Jiraiya gulps his saliva and performs his signature pose. "But fear not the legendary Toad-Sage Jiraiya-sama will fight them for you." BAM Hiruzen ms Enma''s staff on Jiraiya''s head. "Stop fooling around and follow the n." "Yes." Jiraiya''s expression turns serious. Whoosh whoosh Edo-Hashirama and Tobirama dash towards Hiruzen and Jiraiya as they engage in closebat fight. "Enma!" Hiruzen extends his staff and ms it into Tobirama. Bang The staff shatters Tobirama''s body in half. Swish swish The ashen material of the reincarnated scrumble together and reforms his body. "This is bad." Hiruzen''s expression turns ugly as he dodges a kick from Tobirama. "This was the real purpose of the jutsu, Sensei! To create immortal shinobi warriors who don''t require chakra, food, or any such necessity and can fight tirelessly. I just eliminated some major ws of the jutsu and perfected it beyond the original creator." Slick Orochimaru licks a kunai as he stares at Hiruzen. Whoosh He flickers towards Hiruzen and attacks him with a kunai. nk Hiruzen blocks the kunai. Bang Tobirama kicks him and sends him flying. Swoosh Hiruzen performs a somersault in the air and bnces himself. Swish Orochimaru opens his mouth as a snake extends from his mouth and bites Hiruzen''s neck. Argh Hiruzen struggles to free himself. "Having trouble with this kind of attack? You have grown old Sensei!" Orochimaru smirks. Crumble crumble Hiruzen''s body turns into dust. "Earth Style: Hiding like a Mole" Hiruzen appears behind Orochimaru. Whoosh He makes some hand signs. "Shuriken Shadow Clone jutsu" Hiruzenunches a barrage of shurikens at Orochimaru. Haah Orochimaru makes a hand seal as Edo-Tobirama jumps in front and blocks the shurikens. "ENMA! Now." Whoosh Enma turns into Adamantine Prison Wall and imprisons Tobirama. "It will enough to hold him for a while." Haah Orochimaru smirks as he makes a Ram seal. Fwoosh Tobirama''s body shines brightly. "This is bad. Explosive tags!" BOOM Tobirama''s body explodes violently. Argh Enma releases a miserable shriek as he withstands the explosion. "Haha I wanted to do this for a long time." Orochimaruughs maniacally as he stares at the pitiful state of Enma. The pieces of Tobirama''s edo body start to gather again. "Hiruzen! I won''t be able to take another of that explosion." Enma grimaces in pain. "Orochimaru stop with this nonsense. You will achieve nothing. Cut this stupid acting already." Hiruzen res at Orochimaru. "Stupid, you say! Haha You underestimate me, Sensei. This isn''t an academy ss and I am not the same person I wasst time." Orochimaru and Hiruzen confront each other. "You are right." Hiruzen removes his shoulder pads and takes a stance as he riles up his chakra. Orochimaru also takes a serious stance and riles up his chakra. Crack crack The ground beneath them cracks from the pressure of chakra. "I will not go easy on you just because you''re old." "I may make you redo your training in the academy, depending on your performance." Whoosh whoosh Both of them flickers towards each other as they sh multiple times. "Hah! I am surprised you can keep up with me with those old bones of yours." Orochimaru remarks as he relentlessly attacks Hiruzen. "These old bones carry the weight and hope of Konoha. I won''t allow the likes of you to trample the future of Konoha." Bang bang Both of them trade multiple taijutsu blows. Whoosh whoosh They separate from each other and create some distance. Swish swish Hiruzen and Orochimaru make multiple hand signs. "Multiple Striking Shadow Snakes" Orochimaru stretches his arms as a big swarm of snakes appears in an instant. HISS HISS The snake hisses as they approach Hiruzen. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon me Missile" Hiruzen takes a deep breath and kneads an enormous amount of chakra in his lungs as he spews out a giant fireball from his mouth. Swoosh The fireball takes the shape of a dragon. The dragon covers arge area and incinerates all the snakes. "I am not done yet." "Earth Release: Mud dragon me bullet" Hiruzen ps his hands and summons a mud dragon. The mud dragon merges with the me dragon and closes on Orochimaru. "I am not your opponent, Sensei." Orochimaru smirks as Tobirama jumps in front of him. "I am sorry, Hiruzen. The explosion did more damage than I expected." Enma returns to Hiruzen. "But so, did him." Enma points towards the multiple cracks on Tobirama''s body. His jutsu isn''t perfect yet." "Water Release: Giant Water Wall" Tobirama creates a giant wall of water to block the attack. Sizzle The water wall blocks the jutsu as it turns into vapors, extinguishing the fire. "Water Release: Water Colliding Wave" Tobirama converts the atmospheric vapors into a massive vortex which explodes and turns into a rapid gushing wave of water raging furiously towards Hiruzen. Tch "Tobirama Sensei is the most powerful water release user ever." "Hiruzen makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Earth Release: Rock Wall" He erects a giant rock wall to block the raging current of water. Whoosh Hiruzen jumps on top of the rock wall to avoid the wave. Whoosh Bang Orochimaru appears in front of him and kicks him. Hiruzen blocks the kick with his arm but is sent flying by the momentum. Whoosh whoosh Multiple anbu guards appear on the battlefield as they surround the group. "Lord Third is in a pinch. We must help him." The anbu unit takes out their weapons and flickers towards Orochimaru. "It''s not a wise choice to disturb such a great show." Four figures in ck cloaks flicker in front of the anbu group and block their way. Swoosh. Swoosh All of them throw away their cloaks as they get into a formation. "Sound Four, erect a barrier around this ce. I don''t want anyone to ruin my reunion with Sensei after such a long time. Slick" Orochimaru licks his kunai as he stares at Hiruzen. Cough cough Hiruzen coughs slightly and gets up. "Enmae forth!" Enma turns into his adamantine staff form as Hiruzen wields it skillfully. "Sensei! You aren''t the only one who owns a weapon." Cough cough Orochimaru coughs out a snake from his mouth. The snake opens its mouth as a hilt appears from its mouth. Kachin Orochimaru grabs the hilt and draws the sword. "The de of the sword has a cyan glow to it." Orochimaru waves it around to get a hang of it. "It has been a while since I got my hands on this de. I never got the opportunity to test it out in battle." "That that de! It can''t be" Enma''s eyes widen as he recognizes the de. "That''s the legendary Kusanagi de. Eons ago this de was wielded by the great Sage to vanquish all evil from the world. It is a relic lost in the tides of time. I never expected Orochimaru of all people to get his hands on this de. Hiruzen, even if my adamantine body is as hard as diamond; one sh from that sword can significantly harm my body." Enma warns Hiruzen. "Let''s go, Enma." Hiruzen swings the staff as he confronts Tobirama and Orochimaru. Chapter 211: Sword Master Vs Puppet Master Chapter 211: Sword Master Vs Puppet Master Swoosh whoosh Jiraiya dodges one attack after another from Hashirama. "What''s with his strength? Even when he is summoned with half of his strength, he is this powerful; I can''t imagine how strong was he during his peak." Jiraiya warily stares at Hashirama, who relentlessly attacks him. "That doesn''t mean, I will sit back and watch." Whoosh Bang Jiraiya blocks an attack from Hashirama and kicks him to create some distance. Swoosh swoosh He quickly makes some hand signs. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique" Jiraiya spews out a condensed beam of me towards Hashirama. m Hashirama ms his palm on the ground and creates a giant wood dome to block the fire jutsu. "Damn he didn''t even make any hand sign." Jiraiya curses. Rumble Rumble The ground beneath Jiraiya trembles as multiple tree roots erupt from the ground and strangle Jiraiya. "Herees the Wood Release. Damnit, I have to get serious or I might die here." Snap Jiraiya bites his thumb and makes some hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu" ------------ Inside the vige, Whoosh whoosh Multiple Sound shinobi dressed as spectators jump out from the audience. Another person in anbu outfit makes a cut-throat sign towards the shinobis. The sound shinobis start to attack the asleep civilians and Ninjas. ng ng Kakashi and Guy block their attack as Kakashi signals Guy. "Guy follow the n. I will take care of the rest." "Yes." Guy nods his head. He takes a Taijutsu stance. "Leaf Whirlwind" He sweeps his leg and kicks them away. Kakashi flickers towards the location of Tsunade and Rasa''s fight. Whoosh He performs a backflip and avoids multiple kunais. "What''s the hurry! Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan!" Baki blocks his way as he confronts Kakashi. "I will be your opponent." Swoosh Baki pinches his fingers together as he creates a small invisible wind de in between them. "Wind Release: de of Wind" Woosh whoosh Baki releases a barrage of wind des at Kakashi. Swoosh swoosh Kakashi dodges the wind des and creates some distance. "Baki of the sand! A master user of Wind Release; looks like it is going to be a tough battle." Swish Kakashi draws his de and faces Baki. Inside a room near Hokage Office, A group of people dressed in Shinto priest uniform stretches their hands in front of their chest as they hold a giant water sphere. "Keep the barrier intact. We can''t let the enemies breach the barrier." The leader of the Barrier Corp has sweat on his face as he struggles to maintain the barrier. Whoosh A figure enters the headquarter of the barrier team. Swish swish sh The figure slices the heads of barrier team members. The figure removes his mask to reveal his face. Kabuto adjusts his spectacle as he stares at the dead body of the barrier corps. "Nothing will stand in the way of Orochimaru-Sama''s revenge." Outside Konoha, Rumble rumble The barrier crumbles into pieces. Jseki and Chiyo stare at the crumbling barrier as Jseki signals Suna ninjas. Whoosh whoosh The Suna ninja infiltrates Konoha. "Stop them. We can''t allow them to invade our vige." The members of the Akimichi and Aburame n confront Sand shinobis. Whoosh A battalion of Suna ninjas separates from the rest of the group and engages with Akimichi and Aburame n. ----------- Inside the inner perimeter, "They are here." Fugaku is standing on the rooftop as he surveys the vige. He activates his Sharingan as he notices the infiltrating Suna ninjas. "Captain! We will stop them." The members of the police force gather around him. Fugaku waves his hand as the group disperses. "The other ns are busy with evacuating civilians to safe shelter. We have to hold them back till backup arrives." Whoosh Fugaku jumps from the rooftop and flickers towards the Suna group. Swoosh swoosh He makes some hand signs. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu" Fugaku spews out a giant fireball at the Suna group. Woosh Jseki takes out a scroll from his pocket and unfolds it. Poof White smoke appears from the scroll as a puppet appears in front of him. Swish swish Jseki weaves his fingers as multiple chakra threads attach to the puppet. "Secret ck Technique: Mechanical Light Shield Wall" The chakra stretches out its right arm as it segments into four sections. Swoosh Fwoosh The four sections radiate chakra and form a light blue, thin shield. Boom The fireball collides with the shield. Whoosh The puppet is pushed back by the momentum of the fireball, but it is able to neutralize the full brunt of the fireball. Fugaku''s expression turns serious as a frown appears on his face. "This is going to be rough." At a distance, Chiyo nods her head. "Despite your foul demeanour, your skills with puppets are still notable." "I dedicated my entire life for the sake of Sunagakure. How can I falter when Suna is in such dire state?" Jseki weaves his hand as the puppet opens its arm. "Red Secret Technique: Machine Gun Blow" Whoosh The arm separates from the puppet and whizzes towards Fugaku. Snap snap Various cross-sections open on the arm as the puppetunches a barrage of senbons at Fugaku. The senbons are coated in a purple fluid. "I won''t fall for the same trick again. Sharingan" Fugaku activates his Sharingan and takes out a kunai. nk nk nk... He swiftly deflects all of them. "Lightning Release: Lightning Stream" Fugaku makes some quick hand signs and releases a bolt of lightning. Crackle crackle The lightning flickers towards the puppet and destroys the arm. Crackle crackle Lightning crackles in Fugaku''s arm as his eyes meet with Jseki. Jseki recognizes the Sharingan. They are the members of the Uchiha Police Force. "The Uchiha n members. They were one of the feared adversaries during the Second Shinobi War. Their Kekkei Genkai made them one of the most difficult enemies to handle." Whoosh Jseki waves his hand as the puppet opens its mouth. Fwoosh The puppet releases a cloud of ck smoke from its mouth. The smoke quickly engulfs the area and blocks the vision. "But this time, I came prepared." Jseki weaves his fingers as the puppet enters into the ck smoke. "ck Secret Technique: Poison Mist Hell: Hundred Continuous Firing" Multiple cross-sections open on the arms of the puppet and release a barrage of Senbons. Jseki turns to Lady Chiyo and signals her. "Lady Chiyo! Release the One-tails in the center of Konoha." Humph Chiyo harrumphs and grabs Gaara and flickers deeper into Konoha. Chiyo reaches the center of the vige as she inspects the vige. ''White Fang!... Where are you?'' "Kenjutsu: Fang of Light" Swish A white de of chakra strikes towards Chiyo. Hmph Chiyo scoffs at the white de and performs a backflip to avoid the de. "WHITE FANG! I FINALLY FOUND YOU." Chiyo''s eyes turn red as he clenches her fist. "Damn you, White Fang! Revenge will be mine." Chiyo dashes towards Sakumo. Bang Whoosh whoosh "Kenjutsu: A thousand Cut" Sakumo draws his sword and releases a brilliant disy of Swordsmanship. sh sh The white chakra de slices through Chiyo''s figure. Poof White smoke engulfs Chiyo as she turns into a puppet. Whoosh The real Chiyo jumps down from the top of a nearby tree. "White fang!" Whoosh Multiple kunais floats beside her as sheunches them towards Sakumo. "Red Secret Technique: Manipting Attack des" Woosh woosh woosh ng ng Sakumo deflects the kunai as he confronts Chiyo. "Chiyo! I am sorry for the death of your son- and daughter-inw. But war is war. Countless lives are lost meaninglessly in a war." "White Fang! I won''t forgive you. You will pay for their death." Swoosh Chiyo waves her hand as a scroll appears in her hand. "Chikamatsu collection" She summons a set of 10 puppets. The puppets float beside her as she faces Sakumo. Sakumo recognizes the ten floating puppets in white garments as his expression turns ugly. "Chikamatsu Collection!... It is the puppet collection of the first-ever puppet user of the shinobi world, Monzaemon Chikamatsu; a legend who perfected the art of puppet mastery. These puppets were his ultimate creation; capable ofying waste to an entire country single-handedly." Swish swish Chiyo waves her hand as the puppets float in front of her. "White Secret Technique: Collection of Illusions" Chapter 212: Truth Behind First Hokage’s Death Chapter 212: Truth Behind First Hokages Death Wham Izuna draws his chakra de and points it towards the cloaked figure. He infuses Light release chakra through the de as the de hums with a brilliant blue glow and radiates an enormous amount of heat. "Swift Release: Sonic Steps" Whoosh Izuna disappears from his position and reappears behind the cloaked figure. Swish He swings the sword near the cloaked figure''s neck, aiming to slice it quickly. "Futile!" The figure turns his head and blinks. Swoosh Izuna''s de disappears from his hand. "What the?" Bang The cloaked figure performs a round-house kick and swats Izuna away like a fly. Bang Izuna blocks the kick with his arm as it sends him flying. Crack The bones in his arms crack. Whoosh Izuna performs a somersault midair to regain his bnce. ''It will take a little time to heal this injury.'' He ignores the pain and stares at the cloaked figure. "I have figured out your identity, Jigen!" Izuna remarks as he waits for the cloaked figure''s reaction. ''Earlier he used a unique jutsu to shrink the size of objects without making any hand signs. I had my doubts when he shrank my fireball andter, he used his ability again to shrink my sword. I was able to notice the change because of the microscopic vision of my Sharingan.'' Shoom Izuna''s eyes turn into Mangekyo Sharingan as he draws another de from his pocket. ''If I remember correctly, his ability can''t shrink living objects.'' Snap Izuna bites his thumb and makes some hand signs. ''I never expected, I would have to resort to this failed technique of mine.'' "Fuinjutsu: Blood Carnate Sword" Blood drips from his thumb and coalesces into a giant sphere in front of him. Swoosh swoosh Multiple fuinjutsu seals bind the blood sphere and shape it into a sword. Izuna grabs the sword and confronts Jigen. Jigen removes his cloak. He has a shaved head with a long mohawk of ck hair tied in a long ponytail reaching his lower back. Jigen has pronounced eye ridges void of brows, a broad nose, and a diamond shape Kama seal mark on his chin and Roman numerical IV tattooed below his left eye. "YOU! How do you know my name?" Fwoosh Jigen riles up his chakra as he exerts pressure on Izuna with his chakra. A wave of chakra is released from his body. Whoosh The chakra wave travels outward and pushes Izuna away. --------------- Hmm Edo-Hashirama stops in his tracks as the chakra pulse hits him. Argh Hashirama struggles to break off from Orochimaru''s control. Haah Orochimaru feels Hashirama''s resistance. His expression turns ugly. "I didn''t expect this. His Will is way too strong." Orochimaru makes some hand signs to control Hashirama. Crack crack Cracks appear on Hashirama''s body as he breaks free from Orochimaru''s control. "Huh!" Jiraiya stares at Hashirama with wide-eyes. "Lo Lord First! Are you in control?" Hmm Hashirama waves his hand as he struggles to get his motor sense. "Yes, it''s me. I am back in control. But it will take me a while to control my body." Hashirama continues to attack Jiraiya. "That''s a relief. We have to stop Orochimaru from further waging destruction on the vige." Jiraiya anxiously turns towards Hashirama as he repels his attacks. "No I need to talk about something more important. I trust in Saru''s abilities." Hashirama''s expression turns serious. Gulp Jiraiya gulps his saliva as he stops. Hashirama turns towards the direction of Izuna''s and Jigen''s battle. "Who is the person fighting against that monk?" Hashirama points his finger towards Izuna. Jiraiya notices Izuna fighting against the cloaked figure. He is unable to see the face of the figure. "That is Izuna-kun I mean Izuna Uchiha. He is a disciple of your Granddaughter Tsunade." Jiraiya informs Hashirama. "You mean Tsuna" "Yes." Jiraiya nods his head. "I am her old teammate, Jiraiya. Together with Tsunade and that guy Orochimaru; we learned under the guidance of Sarutobi Sensei." "I see." Hashirama nods his head as he continues to fight with Jiraiya. "He is fighting evenly against that monster but I don''t think he has a chance to win." Hashirama murmurs to himself. "Huh! Did you say something?" Jiraiya asks Hashirama as he blocks another attack. "Tell me more about the Uchiha boy?" "Well" Jiraiya scratches his head as he informs Hashirama. "That Uchiha boy is a genius. A one of kind genius. He became a genin at the age of 5, chunnin by 8. At the age of 8, he partook in the Third Ninja War and earned a name for himself" Jiraiya narrates Izuna''s feats. "No matter what the era, conflicts, and wars always exist." Hashirama shakes his head. "Perhaps my old friend was right. Maybe I was too nave back then. I found Konoha to prevent young children from facing the dangers of war, and yet even in this era, the young ones are still exposed to the atrocities of war." Sigh Hashirama sighs as he and Jiraiya continues to battle. "ter he became an anbu at the age of 10 where he lost his mentor and the vige lost its Fourth Hokage." Jiraiya sighs as the memories of Minato and Kushina floods his mind. "So, who is the current Hokage? If the Fourth died early, then the current Hokage must be Fifth." Hashirama turns to Jiraiya. "It is Tsunade. She is the Fifth Hokage." "What? Tsuna Tsuna is the Fifth Hokage. My VILLAGE!!" Hashirama clutches his forehead as he enters a depressed state. "Lord First! We have to stop them from destroying the vige." Jiraiya anxiously reminds him. "I can''t do much in my current state. I can''t even use half of my strength. This body is too weak to handle my chakra. It will disintegrate if I exert my chakra." Hashirama shakes his head. He turns towards Izuna''s and Jigen''s fight. "What I am more worried about is the oue of that fight? If that Uchiha boy loses to that Monk, then the vige is in far greater danger than what your friend Orochimaru can do!" Hashirama continues to watch the battle. "In my current state, I would only be a hindrance to that Uchiha boy. Somehow, that boy reminds me of my old friend, Madara. Haha" Hashirama chuckles. "" Jiraiya silently nods his head. "Lor Lord First! Can you tell me more about that person who is fighting against Izuna-kun? You said he is a far greater danger than Orochimaru." Jiraiya inquires. "He indeed is. Can you tell the cause of my death?" Hashirama asks a weird question. "Uh!!... Your death. As far as vige records, you died fighting in the First Shinobi War. The shinobis of all other nations who considered you as a far greater threat joined hands to assassinate you. They outnumbered you." Jiraiya reveals the facts to Hashirama. "Haha those kids from other viges. How could they possess a threat to me? Haha" Hashirama chuckles as he shakes his head. Gulp "Then did you win against them?" Jiraiya raises a question. "Of course, I did. It was not that great of a challenge. Subduing Madara with Nine-tails was more challenging than that fight." Hashiramaughs. "Then then how did you lose your life?" Jiraiya waits for a response. "Hmm during the aftermath of the First Shinobi War, when all other viges ganged up on me, I repelled their collective effort and almost ended the war. While on my way to the vige, I noticed traces of a strange kind of chakra seeping into the ground. Out of curiosity, I tracked the traces of chakra" Rumble Rumble A shock wave travels through the ground as a giant Susanoo appears in their vision. The Susanoo is silver with golden bracers and has a pair of katanas. Hashirama pauses as he lifts his head. "What strong chakra?! This boy is on par with me at such a young age. To fight against him, I would have to resort to Sage Mode to gain equal footing." Hashirama remarks. "What?!" Jiraiya''s eyes widen from the revtion. "Lord First you mean to say that that boy can rival you in power." "Yes he is almost as strong as me during my peak. If he survives this ordeal, then I can rest in peace, knowing the vige has such a powerful protector." Hashirama nods his head. " anyway, where were we? Ah! Yes yes. I tracked the traces of the chakra to the Land of Ancestor, which was quite close to the battlefield. The chakra led to a cavern. I tried to enter the cavern, but there was a strong barrier cast at the entrance of the cavern. Out of curiosity, I tried to force my way through the barrier, but I felt a sense of danger never like before. Before I could do anything, a ck rod pierced through my body. It drained me of my chakra and I lost my consciousness. Thest thing I remember was the sinister chakra emitting from the rod." Hashirama points towards the monk fighting with Izuna. "The person who is fighting against that Uchiha boy has the same chakra signature I sensed before I was assassinated." Chapter 213: Predestined Fate Chapter 213: Predestined Fate Whoosh Jigen flickers in front of Izuna and prepares to kick him. Swoosh "Power Release: Asura''s cloak" Izuna enters in his power release form and avoids the kick. He gets behind Jigen and clenches his fist and gathers chakra in it. "Sage Art: Super Compression Vacuum Fist" Bang He releases a strong chakra wave from his tenketsu points. The chakra waves take the shape of a giant fist construct and ms into Jigen. BOOOOMMM... Jigen is sent flying into a nearby hill. The upper half of the hill explodes as a giant crater appears at its ce. BANG... BANG... BANG... Jigen continues to m through multiple hill. Bang... He ms into another hill as dust and debris rises in the ground. ''Most of my ninjutsu techniques would be useless against him. He can absorb my jutsu and use against me. I can''t give him any opportunity to retaliate.'' Izuna makes some hand signs and opens his mouth. "Sage Art: White Rage Technique" He expels a giant crimson dragon from his mouth. The snake holds a purple orb in its hand as it moves towards Jigen. Ptui... Jigen slowly stands up as he spits out a mouthful of blood. There is arge fist mark on his chest. Swoosh... The fist mark on his chest closes as he slowly stands up. Jigen raises his head and confronts the iing attack. "If this is the extent of your power, then you don''t stand a chance... Izuna Uchiha." Jigen stretches his arm in front of his chest as he prepares to shrink the jutsu. "Release" Izuna immediately makes a Ram seal and releases the jutsu. Crack crack The crimson dragon crushes the purple orb. *BOOOOMMM* The orb shes a blinding light which engulfs the entire mountain. Scree The dragon releases a deafening sound from his mouth. The powerful screech blows away the nearby tree and casts a powerful genjutsu because of the intensity of the resulting vibrations. *BOOOMMMM* The intense sound vibrations m into Jigen as his body throbs violently. Drip drip Jigen touches his ears as blood drips from them. Bleurgh Izuna coughs a little blood as a result of the bacsh of the jutsu. ''These Sage Arts of Ryuchi Cave are quite powerful. But they also have a side-effect on the user.'' Wham The deafening pulse travels around Jigen and traps him in a genjutsu. "This is my opportunity." Izuna stands up and sps his hand together. "Sage Art: Wood Release: Gate of the Great God" Izuna sps his right wrist and stretches his arm outward. Whoosh He motions it downward. BANG A giant tori gate falls from the sky and crushes Jigen. BANG BANG BANG Multiple Tori gates fall one after another and trap Jigen. "Not yet." Whoosh whoosh Izuna creates four shadow clones. He nods towards the clones. The clones dash around the Tori gate and get into a formation. "Space-Time Technique: Dimensional Ensnarement" Izuna creates a space-time sealing barrier with Fuinjutsu seals. Whoosh... He flickers towards the Tori gates and makes some hand signs. "Dark Release: Corrosion shackles" The clones create four shackles and bind Jigen. ''He isn''t utilizing his ability to shrink objects to get rid of Tori gates. Maybe it has a certain limit to it or it is on a cooldown of some sort. I don''t know to what extent has he recovered. But he is nowhere near thebat prowess he showed in his fight against Sasuke and Naruto. I won''t take any risks. If I can finish him here, then I will get rid of one of my problems.'' Izuna analyses Isshiki''s ability as he prepares for his next attack. Whoosh He summons the Eighth Mist de from his storage. "This weapon has enough power to y a god. The owner of this de used it to kill some Otsutsukis. That''s what the Snake Sage told me." Izuna remembers the information about the de revealed by the White Snake Sage. He wields the great sword and dashes towards Jigen. "It''s time to end this." Izuna swings the de at an incapacitated Jigen. "Your futile efforts are praiseworthy. But you underestimate me." Fwoosh Jigen''s right eye changes into his unique Dojutsu as eight spokes appear in his right eye. "Daikokuten" Jigen murmurs silently. Swoosh... Arge disturbance urs in space-time as time slightly slows down. Swirl... A ck swirling portal opens in front of Jigen''s right eye''s focal point. BANG BANG Multiple ck rods instantly appear in front of Izuna as they attack him from all angles. ''Damn, they are too fast to track. Even with my Mangekyo Sharingan, I can''t track and avoid all of them in time. I have to resort to it." Izuna infusesrge amounts of chakra in his left eye as he activates his Mangekyo ability. "Amenominakanushi" Shoom The time slows down around Izuna as the ck rods appear in slow-motion to him. "Sage Art: Dark Metal sh" Izuna coats his hands with metal release chakra and turn them into a de. nk nk nk He deflects all of them and points his de towards Jigen. "I can say the same to you. Don''t underestimate me." Izuna remarks as he swings the de towards Jigen''s neck. ''I can''t maintain this ability for a long time. It requires an enormous amount of chakra and concentration.'' Hmm Jigen notices the unusual movement in space-time with his Dojutsu. He ignores Izuna''s attack and remark. "Oh!... You possess the ability to wield a concept. It is such a low-level, but it is still there, nheless." ''I never expected a member of the Branch family to possess such power. Maybe if I feed him to the ten-tails, then it might be able to bear aplete chakra fruit.'' Jigen clenches his fists and punches the stacked Tori seals. BANG... Arge explosion urs at his position as shockwaves travels through space. BAM... The shockwaves pushes Izuna back. Crack crack Several cracks appear on the Tori gates as they start to break apart. "I am not done yet." Izuna takes a deep breath and makes multiple hand signs. "Artic Release: Hailstorm of Frost mes" He spews out blue mes from his mouth. The mes burn on top of the Tori gate and freeze instantly encasing them in ice. Bang Jigen punches them again. Crack... crack... Some slight cracks on the ice but it holds up. ''Interesting'' Jigen turns to Izuna as his right eye revolves slightly. ''Kama Rift'' Whoosh Jigen''s body is enveloped in a ck portal as he disappears from his ce. The shackles holding Jigen''s body fade away as the shadow clones dispel. "What?!" Izuna''s eyes widens in surprise. "Where would he attack from? Top, bottom, left, right?" Izuna warily inspects his surroundings. "Daikokuten" Several portals appear around Izuna as many ultra-high-speed projectiles aim at him. "Crap!... Susanoo: Yata No Kagami" Izuna instantly summons his Susanoo and encases his body into the Yata shield. BAM BAM BAM The barrage of high-speed ck rods collides with his shield. Crack crack Cracks appear on his shield as the onught of ck rod continues. Izuna''s expression turns ugly. ''At this rate, I won''t be able to hold out for too long. I have to do something.'' He reinforces his shield with Sage chakra and makes one hand sign. ''Metal Release: Mineral Wall'' Izuna ms his palm on the ground. Large amounts of minerals rise from the earth and form a wall to block the ck rods. Whoosh Jigen teleports behind Izuna. BANG He kicks Izuna''s Susanoo. Rumble rumble Cracks appear on Izuna''s Susanoo as it shatters into countless fragments. Bleurgh Izuna pukes out a mouthful of blood as the ck chakra rod pierces his body. His body is pinned against the hill as he struggles to knead his chakra. Swish The ck rods rapidly drain his chakra. Cough cough Izuna coughs another mouthful of blood as he stares at Jigen. Jigen slowly walks up to Izuna and grabs him by the neck and lifts him. "You bear a mighty fate a star of change." Jigen suriously inspects Izuna with his Right eye. "... I can see it clearly with my eyes. Yet the fate of all genes all beings is predestined. And your fate is you will die by my hands and act as fodder for my n. So long!" Jigen''s right eye changes slightly as he opens a Kama rift. --------------- A few moments earlier, Inside Konoha, Mei grabs Chojuro from the arena and flickers towards Ao. She hands over Chojuro to Ao. "Ao! Take care of this kid and our people." She turns around and prepares to leave. "But Mizukage-sama! What about you? Where are you going? Your safety is my priority." Ao blocks her way. "Ao! I am the Mizukage. But I am also a woman who fell in love with a man. How can I rest easy when my lover''s life is in danger? Ao! You won''t understand my feelings; my pain. I can''t lose any of my loved ones, and that includes Izuna." Mei has a serious expression on her face. Gulp Ao gulps his saliva as he is at a loss for words. He gets out of her way. "Take care Mizukage-sama!" Whoosh Mei flickers towards the location of Izuna and Jigen''s fight. In the audience hall, Akira, Yagami, Aiko, Fumiko and Mito sense the genjutsu cast around them. Whoosh Akira and Yagami immediately jump from their seat as they block attacks from nearby Sound and Suna ninjas. Akira turns towards thedies. "We will stop these invaders. The rest of you evacuate to the safe shelter." "We understand." Aiko picks up Ayaka and flickers towards the shelter. Mito and Fumiko follow her as they evacuate nearby civilians. "Mom! Will Onii-chan be alright?" Ayaka asks Aiko in fear. "Yes! your brother will be alright. He is very strong, after all." Aiko caresses Ayaka''s head as she turns towards the direction of the battle. ''I hope you will be alright son. Somehow, I have a bad feeling about it.'' -------------------------- A/N:- Comment your thoughts on this chapter. I want to make this battle arc better than the Uchiha arc, so any suggestion is appreciated. Chapter 214: Sand Jinchuriki Chapter 214: Sand Jinchuriki A/N:- I am finally back to college after an year. The workload for this week is too much for me. I was exhausted from all theb work. Things will calm down by next week and I will get a breather. ------------- Inside the arena, "Huh! Nani?!... Nani?! What''s going on?" Naruto turns around as he notices nearby people falling asleep one after another. "Naruto... here this chiiippp..." Choji falls asleep as he passes a chip to Naruto. "Oye Choji!" Naruto grabs Choji''s cor and shakes him. "Give it up, Naruto. He won''t wake up." Sasuke shakes his head. "Look there." Sasuke points towards the sky. Naruto raises his head and notices white feathers falling from the sky. "Genjutsu!" "Yes, it is a genjutsu and a pretty powerful one at that." Sasuke nods his head. "I will look around for help meanwhile you try to wake others." Sasuke flickers away. "What should we do, Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asks them. "Oh, Sakura! You didn''t fall in genjutsu." Naruto turns to Sakura. "I wonder why." Sakura cluelessly scratches her head. "Enough of that, we have to try to wake others." Sasuke stops them. "Oye Choji... wake up!" Naruto yells in Choji''s ears. p... Choji swats away Naruto''s hand and turns around. "It''s not working." Naruto helplessly turns to Sasuke. "Why not try to wake him by food?" Sakura suggests. "That''s a good idea." Naruto nods his head. He picks up a nearby packet of chips and opens it. He brings it near Choji''s nose to entice him. Sniff... sniff... Choji''s nose twitches as the fragrance of chips enters his nose. Swoosh... Choji grabs the packet and empties all of its content in his mouth before closing it. Chomp... chomp... gulp... He chews the chips and swallows them. Burp... Choji burps loudly. "..." "He isn''t waking up." Naruto gives up. "Naruto, Sakura... both of you broke free from genjutsu." Sasuke arrives with Kakashi as Kakashi remarks. "Eh Sensei! This genjutsu didn''t have any effect on me." Naruto remarks. "I see." Kakashi nods in understanding. ''It must be Nine-tails. But what about Sakura?'' Whoosh... nk... Kakashi blocks an attack from a nearby enemy. "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura... dispel the genjutsu and wake up the rest of your friends. They will be a great help in evacuating the rest of the citizens in the arena." Kakashi remarks as he blocks another attack with his kunai. "But... but... Sensei. I don''t know how to dispel a genjutsu." Naruto cluelessly stares at Kakashi. "I also have no clue, how to dispel genjutsu for others." Sasuke shakes his head. "Me too." Sakura chimes in. "This..." Kakashi has an awkward expression. ''I never taught them anything. I thought Izuna trained them in everything. Looks like I have to teach them again.'' "Anyway... you six carry the rest of your friends to shelter." Kakashi orders them. "Six!" The group questions him. "Shikamaru, Shino, Neji, three of you can drop the act. Help them carry others." Kakashi turns towards another corner. "What a drag!" Shikamaru opens his eyes. "Yes, Sensei!" Neji nods his head. He gently picks up Hinata and ces her on his shoulders. "I will take care of Hinata-sama." Whoosh... He flickers towards the shelter. "I will carry Kiba." Shino picks up Kiba and Akamaru. "Leave Ino to me." Shikamaru quickly picks up Ino and dashes towards the shelter. "I will take care of Lee." Sasuke carries Lee. "Then I will carry Tenten." Sakura carries Tenten. "You guys! Why would you leave this fatty to me?" Naruto helplessly stares at their back. Yosha... He picks up Choji and ces him on his back. "Damn! So heavy. This fatty is so heavy. He is even heavier than the boulder Izuna Nii-san made me carry." Naruto carries Choji towards the shelter. -------------- In the inner sanctum of the vige. Fugaku and the Uchiha Police Force are engaged in a fight against the Suna and Sound invaders. Fugaku fights against the Suna elder Jseki. "Captain! One of them escaped. An olddy escaped from our grasp." One of the Uchiha Police Officer informs Fugaku as he fights against other invaders. "Sakumo-san is holding the fort back there. But to be sure, send a few men to monitor that olddy. Also, maintain your distance from her. She may be old, but she is very dangerous." Fugaku orders them. "Yes, Captain." The Police officer nods his head as he sends three people on Chiyo''s trail. In the center of the vige, Haha... "Eat this... White Fang!" Chiyo weaves her hand as puppets number 6,7 and 8 align themselves in a triangr position. "Three Jewels Suction Crushing" The three puppets open their mechanism and invoke a terrifying suction force that pulls everything towards itself in arge radius. Trees, rooftops, and various other objects fly towards the puppet. The puppets grind everything into dust and eject everything from their back with tremendous force. nk... Sakumo infuses chakra in his de and stabs it into the hard pavement to prevent himself from being sucked into the death grinder. "Haha... White Fang, I will finally have my revenge." Chiyo weaves her hand as another puppet appears behind Sakumo. "Now die." The puppet opens its mouth and fires explosive chakra bombs at Sakuma. Snap... Sakumo bites his thumb. BOOM... A gigantic cloud of dust and debris rises in the air as Sakumo is caught in the middle of the explosion. Whoosh... Whoosh... The Uchiha Police Officers catch up with Chiyo as they witness the fight. Gulp... One of them gulps his saliva as he remarks. "This olddy is really something. She is overpowering Sakumo-san." "Don''t underestimate Sakumo-san. He is the hero of the vige. He won''t go down that easily." Another Police Officer remarks. "Hey! Both of you, stop bickering among yourself. Look, that boy is still there." The third member of the group points towards a tree at some distance from Chiyo and Sakumo. "Let''s capture that boy. He must be someone important to that olddy to bring him to this battle. We might get an advantage if we held him hostage." He suggests to his group. "Very well... let''s capture that boy." Whoosh... whoosh... Three of them flickers towards Gaara''s location. They silently sneak behind Gaara and attacks him. Swoosh... A swathe of sand blocks them and defend Gaara. Ah... Gaara turns around and notices them. "Are you people also send by my father?" Gaara questions them. "This boy is not normal. He blocked our strike from his blind spot." The members of Uchiha Police take out their kunai and activate their Sharingan, ready to fight Gaara. "Looks can be deceiving. Take Captain Izuna, Shisui, and Itachi, for example. We can''t go easy on him because he is a kid. Attack with your full power and incapacitate him quickly." The Third member orders his teammates. Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh... All three of them attack Gaara from three different spots. "So, father sent you to kill me... just like the rest of them. It was a lie... when he said he will bring me some friends... all of it was a lie. NOOO..." Gaara clutches his head as sands rise around him. Swish... swish... swish... The sand turns into two giant ws and attacks the Uchiha group. Whoosh... The group dodges the sand attack as they stare at Gaara in horror. "The chakra this boy is emitting... there is no doubt about it. This boy is that mentally unstable jinchuruki of sand. Sunagakure ns to have their jinchuruki rampage in our vige." Their expression turns ugly as they figure out Suna''s intention. "Oye Reo! We will try to hold him back for a moment. Inform the captain." Two of them turn towards their de facto leader. "But..." "No... buts... the safety of the vige is at stake. Don''t worry about us, we will pull it somehow." They push Reo away. "Stay alive, you two..." Reo flickers away from them. ''I must hurry. I won''t allow them to die here.'' "Good thing, he is gone, Atsushi." One of them turns towards his partner. "Yes, he has more talent than us. But he is still younger than us, Isao." Atsushi nods his head. "Oye! We are also young. I am only twenty years old; you know." Isao argues. "Yes... yes, we are. We were in the same ss as Captain Izuna. I wonder if he still remembers us." Atsushi turns to Isao. "I guess not. Captain is one of a kind genius. He graduated in around six months. I don''t think he has any memory of us." Isao shakes his head. "Enough... let''s hold this beast at bay." ROAR... More and more sand shrouds Gaara as he loses his humanoid form. Swish... swish... The sand monster waves its hand and fires multiple high-speed sand projectiles at them. Whoosh... whoosh... Both of them dodge the attack and appear on the opposite side of the monster. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu" They fire a giant fireball at the sand monster. Swoosh... The sand monster waves its tail and disperse one fireball. ''Sand Bullet'' It opens its mouth and fires a sand bullet and disperse the fireball in its front. "Wide range jutsu won''t work. We have to use small-range jutsu." Isao suggests. Chapter 215: Despair Chapter 215: Despair "KILL THEM KILL THEM I will kill them." Gaara clutches his forehead as bloodlust takes over him. Swish swish He swipes his w and sends the Uchiha group flying. Bang Bang The Uchiha group ms through multiple houses, their fate unknown. ROAR More and more sand converge around Gaara as he loses his consciousness. "HAHA Finally, I am free. And I want to kill someone to calm my anger." Shukaku roars furiously as inspects his surroundings. "These damn humans, they sealed me for such a long time. Just a little more just a little more for this vessel to break and I will be free from my restraints." Swish Shukaku swipes its ws and rampages through the vige as he destroys one house after another, searching for targets. "Huh!" Yang Kurama opens his eyes and stares at the center of the vige. "That damn Tanuki is here. What is that bastard doing here?" Kurama growls in anger. "Ah" Shukaku senses Kurama''s chakra. "That bastard fox is lurking around here. Last time I heard he was sealed inside a jinchuruki. I will shred that bastard to pieces. ROAR" Shukaku dashes towards Naruto''s location. "Damnit I am trapped in this brat''s body or else I would have taught a lesson to Tanuki." Rumble Rumble The ground trembles as Shukaku marches towards Naruto. Brrr A shiver runs down Naruto''s spine as he feels a sense of iing danger. "What''s going on? Why I suddenly feel like I am in great danger?" Naruto looks around to search for the source of the threat. "Oye brat! listen to me" Kurama advertently pulls Naruto into his mindscape. "Huh! Howe I am here?" Naruto blinks cluelessly as he stares at the undergroundplex of pipes and shallow water. "It is that ce again." Naruto quickly dashes deeper into the undergroundplex. A giant cage appears in front of him. "Nine-tail fox, why you pulled me here? I was about to reach the shelter." Naruto demands. "Listen, brat! I don''t have enough time to exin. The jinchuruki of one-tails lost control and is rampaging in your vige. Earlier, he sensed my presence and now one-tail ising for your ass. As much as I hate your guts, I also hate to lose to that Tanuki. I don''t want a trip to Sanzu River without my other half." Kurama growls. "Wait, a minute!... Hold on a sec! You mean to say that one-tails ising after your sorry ass and I am being targeted because of that." Naruto mes Kurama. "Ahem!...Brat! If you want to live to see another day, then follow my instructions or else forget about it. I will swallow this humiliation from that Tanuki bastard and will repay him two-fold in the future." Kurama closes his eyes. "NO NO I will listen." Naruto furiously shakes his hands. "I never even got a chance to meet with my parents. Izuna Nii-san told me I will meet them soon and I believe in him." "Grr" Kurama remembers the incident of the past where he stabbed through Minato''s and Kushina''s body. "Humph Fool! then listen!" Kurama formtes a n and conveys it to Naruto. "I got it." Naruto nods his head. He opens his eyes and dumps Choji near the shelter. "Sorry, Choji! I have to save everyone else. That one-tails ising for me. I can''t bring him to shelter and risk everyone''s life." Whoosh Naruto flickers towards training ground1 located in the middle of the vige. "At least this way, there would be no casualties. I hope others will help me." Inside the shelter, Sasuke, Sakura, and the rest of the people drag everyone else to the shelter. Sasuke looks around and spots his mother. Mikoto has a distressed expression on her face as she is furiously searching around. She notices Sasuke and sighs in relief. "Thank god! Sasuke you are fine." Sasuke nods his head. "Mother! Where are father and brother?" He asks her. "Your father and brother are repelling enemies and evacuating people to shelter." Mikoto calms down. "Where is Naruto? He should be with you right?" Mikoto asks him. "Naruto!" Sasuke searches around for Naruto. He turns towards the rest of his ssmates and asks them. "Did you see Naruto? He was with us when Ist saw him." "No, I didn''t see him. Choji is also not here." Neji activates his Byakugan and inspects the shelter. He shakes his head in denial. "Naruto! That idiot. I bet he is in some kind of trouble." Sasuke clicks his tongue and dashes out of the shelter. "Sasuke-kun!" Sakura tries to follow him. "Hold on, Sakura!" Shikamaru stops him. "You will be a burden to him. Sasuke is strong on his own. He can take care of himself; you will just hold him back." Shikamaru shakes his head. "But but" Sakura whimpers as tears flow from her eyes. "Why am I so useless in everything?" "Uh!" Shikamaru rubs his forehead as he is at a loss for words. ''Even I can''t think of a solution for that.'' "Mikoto! Have you seen Ayaka around?" A distressed Aiko and Fumiko walk up to her. "No as far as I remember, she was with us until now. Where is that girl?" Worry appears on Mito''s face. "Let me help." Neji offers help. "Izuna Nii-san saved my father''s life. This much is nothing." "Very well." The mother group nods their head. "Byakugan!" Neji activates his Byakugan and searches every nook and cranny of shelter. "She is not in the shelter." He shakes his head. "Where did this girl ran off to?" Their worry intensifies. Neji continues to expand his sight. He stops around half a kilometer and shakes his head. "This is my limit. I can''t see past it." "Let me help." Hinata''s mother offers help. "Byakugan!" She activates her Byakugan and searches the inner sanctum of the vige. "I can''t see her in the inner sanctum of the vige." She continues to expand the horizon of her search until she reaches the outer section of the vige as something blocks her vision. "I can''t look past the outer sanctum of the vige. There is a barrier blocking my vision. It is quite a powerful genjutsu based barrier." She shakes her head. Click Aiko clicks her tongue in worry and dashes out of the shelter. "I have to search for that girl." Mikoto and Fumiko nod their head and follow her. "We will also help." The rest of the Konoha 11 group breaks free from their genjutsu as they offer help. "You guys it is very dangerous outside. You will only get in the cross-fire of enemies." Mikoto shakes her head and denies them. Whoosh She flickers out of the shelter. ------------ Outside Konoha, Whoosh Mei stops in front of a crimson barrier. "This is this is a powerful barrier. I can sense Izuna''s chakra signature from it. He must have erected it to prevent any damage to the vige." Mei touches the barrier as the barrier repels her. "Let me see how can he stop me." She tightly clenches her fists. "Lava Release: Heavenly Searing de" Mei kneads arge amount of chakra in her mouth and spits out a giantva de. Srrr Theva sword ms into the barrier and dissipates. Tch "It''s useless." She clicks her tongue in frustration. Crack crack Some cracks appear on the barrier as it crumbles apart. "Did I seed?" Crack crack Bang The barrier shatters into countless fragments as the infused chakra dissipates into the surroundings. Mei hurriedly enters the area to look for traces for Izuna. She looks around as a painful moan falls in her ears. "IZUNA!!" She notices a badly beaten and battered Izuna held by the cloaked figure. Multiple ck rods are stabbed into his body as chakra fumes out of them. "IZUNA!" Mei hurriedly dashes towards him. "Lava Release: Meteor Shower" She makes some hand signs and releases multipleva meteor at Jigen. "M Mei get away from him You are not a match for him. He is he is very powerful." Izuna struggles to breathe as he spits out these words. "I know. But I can''t allow him to kill you." Mei has a resolute expression on her face as she faces the cloaked figure. Hoh! Jigen turns towards Mei as he ignores the mingva meteor heading his way. "Another foolish human who doesn''t know their limit." Swoosh Jigen waves his hand. ''Sukunahikona'' The ming meteor turns into ming pebbles as they approach Jigen. Whoosh Jigen catches them in between his fingers as he waves his right hand. ''Daikokuten'' Whoosh Jigen uses his eye ability and releases multiple high-speed ck chakra rods at Mei. Stab stab stab The rods stab through Mei''s legs and arms and pins her on the ground. "Is she your other significant half?" Jigen turns towards Izuna. Only silence greets him as Izuna refuses to answer him. "I see." Jigen walks towards Mei as he opens a small Kama rift and takes out another ck rod from it. "I can sense your chakra signature from her. That must be it." Jigen raises his hand and stabs the ck rod towards Mei''s womb. "You bastard!" Izuna yells in fury. BOOM ---------------------- A/N:- Yes, the story is turning a little dark from this point onwards. I never meant it to be a merry go lucky type story. We all like a story where MC dominates everything; but after a point it bes crass and too nd to read. MC must learn some lessons through harsh way. It would be dark but not to where it will be repulsive to read. I had dropped lots of hints in previous chapters. I would like to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Chapter 216: One-tails Shukaku Chapter 216: One-tails Shukaku A/N:- Naruto World is a shinobi world build on blood and sacrifices. Giving him powerups without any sacrifices will ruin the theme of Naruto (atleast for me). More sacrifices wille in future. Still, I am grateful to the readers who stayed till now. -------------- Whoosh Naruto flickers towards the training ground. "Get ready, brat! He is on you." Kurama warns him. Rumble rumble The ground trembles as a giant sand behemoth appears in Naruto''s vision. Gulp Naruto gulps his saliva as he stares at the approaching Shukaku. "How am I supposed to fight that thing? He is so huge." "Kid! As much as I hate your guts for bossing me around; I hate that Tanuki even more. I will lend you my chakra this time around. I will leave the rest to you." Burble burble Red chakra bubbles pops out from Naruto''s body as they form a red chakra cloak around him. Three chakra tails appear behind him. ROAR Naruto releases a roar and dashes towards Shukaku on his all fours. Sniff sniff "This foul smell of chakra. There is no doubt that dimwit fox is here." Shukaku quickly dashes towards the training ground as he senses Nine-tails chakra. Rumble rumble He destroys one tree after another and rampages through the forest of the training grounds. Whoosh Shukaku notices a small red dot quickly dashing towards him. "So, he is the jinchuruki of that snarly fox." Shukaku opens his mouth and inhalesrge amounts of chakra. "Wind Releases: Drilling Air Bullet" Shukaku pounds his stomach with his arm as he rapidly fires onepressed air bullet after another. BOOM BOOM Whoosh Naruto quickly dodges the bullet as they create craters on the ground. "Brat! Hit that tanuki on his tail joint. That''s his weak spot. Blow away his tail and his sand will disperse." Nine-tails remind him. Shoom Naruto quickly flickers around Shukaku as Shukaku tries to pound him with his giant arms. Tch "Is this all you can do you damn fox? Dodging and avoiding all of my attacks?" Shukaku taunts Kurama. "You runt Tanuki, I am shackled behind this damn seal, or else I would pound you to ground. You are the weakest among us all tailed-beasts." Kurama retorts. "Damn you, fox! If a fox can transform seven times, then a tanuki can do eight times. I can do much more than you are even capable of." Shukaku swipes its tail and sends Naruto flying. BANG Naruto ms into a boulder as he coughs out some blood. "I think I broke a rib." He slowly stands up and stares at Shukaku as he smirks. "But I managed toplete the job." He makes a ram hand sign. "Release" Multiple explosive papers appear behind Shukaku''s tail." BOOM An enormous explosion urs as dust and debris rise in the air. Sand falls apart from Shukaku''s tails. "Did I get him?" Naruto slowly stands up as he stares at the aftermath of the explosion. "Watch out, Kid!" Nine-tails warn him. BANG A giant sand paw ms into Naruto and crushes him. "Haha! Did you honestly think that would be enough to break through my sand? My motto is absolute defense That is what I, Shukaku, pride myself on." Argh Naruto struggles to break free from his bindings. "Now then, say your farewell." Shukaku opens his mouth and charges a giant wind bullet. Fwoosh He fires the sand bullet at Naruto. BOOM Wham A thin green barrier appears around Naruto as it blocks the attack. Whoosh A pendant flies out from Naruto''s neck as it releases an enormous amount of chakra. "That is that''s the pendant Izuna Nii-san gave me on my birthday." Naruto recognizes the pendant. Whoosh Multiple sealing formations appear around the pendant. Swish swish The seals attach to Shukaku''s arm and glow brightly. BOOM The seal explodes as sand disperses from Shukaku''s arm. The explosion reaches up to its head and disperses a part of sand to reveal an unconscious Gaara. "Ah!" Shukaku stares at his arm as it continues to disperse. Whoosh Naruto quickly escapes from his w. "Not so much a defense now, isn''t it?" Kurama makes fun of Shukaku. "Damn you, Fox." Shukaku roars in anger as he chases Naruto. Whoosh Naruto enters in his three tail-cloak forms again. "I can''t beat him with a normal jutsu. I have to use Rasengan." Swirl swirl Naruto creates a Rasengan in his right hand. Three more Rasengan forms on his tails as Naruto lounges towards Shukaku. "Try to aim for his head. I can see the jinchuruki of this tanuki bastard. He seems to have lost his consciousness, and this Tanuki took over his body. Earlier, with that explosion, I figured out the true nature of this transformation. The real Shukaku is still trapped inside the seal on that boy''s body. This body of his is just a giant sand construct held together by his chakra." Kurama figures out the true nature of Shukaku''s transformation. "Who is Shukaku?" Naruto questions Kurama as he approaches Shukaku with his Rasengan. "That''s the name of One-tails." Kurama remarks. "Oh! He has a name. So do you have a name too?" Naruto asks Kurama. "Of course, I have a name. But it''s not the time for idle chatter." Kurama warns him. Whoosh Naruto flickers on top of Shukaku''s head. "I won''t allow you." Shukaku figures out Naruto''s intention. "Sand Barrier" Shukaku creates a thick barrier of sand around Gaara to protect him. BAM Naruto ms all of his Rasengan into the barrier. "HAAH." The Rasengan whittles down the sand barrier. "I am almost there." Naruto gives thest push as he breaks through the sand barrier. Argh! He pukes out a mouthful of blood as his chakra cloak runs out. Various wounds appear on his body as blood leaks through them. "Looks like this amount of chakra was too much for his body." Kurama shakes his head. He lifts his head and stares in a direction. "At least, this boy has some luck, or should I say a family who cares for him." Kurama has aplimented expression on his face. Naruto slowly falls to the ground as he loses his consciousness. "I wasn''t able to do it, after all." He slowly closes his eyes. "Haha you scared me, kid." Shukakuughs hysterically and opens his mouth. "Wind Release: Sand Buckshot" Hepresses sand into various bullets and fires them towards Naruto. Whoosh A shadow appears behind Naruto and grabs him. Swoosh The shadow disappears and reappears near a tree. "You did well, Naruto." Shisui catches Naruto as he stares at his condition. "Sasuke! Hurry up and take him to a medic. I will take care of this matter." Shisui passes an unconscious Naruto to Sasuke, who just arrived at the training ground. "Yes, Nii-san." Sasuke carries Naruto away from the battle. Humph Shukaku harrumphs and turns towards Shisui. "Since you saved that fox from my hands, I would have to satisfy myself with your blood." Shukaku opens his mouth and gathers an extensive amount of chakra near his mouth. Red and blue chakra bubbles gather near his mouth as he charges up a tailed-beast bomb. Hmm... Shisui turns around and confronts Shukaku. "It has been a while since Ist used this jutsu." Shoom His Sharingan turns into Mangekyo as green chakra Skelton constructs form around him. ''Susanoo'' ------------ "Summoning Jutsu" Sakumo summons his giant bulldog. The bulldog summon spits out his giant bone at the puppets. "Bone smasher" Swoosh The giant bone smashes into the puppet formation and destroys their jutsu. Sakumo stabilizes his footing as he holds his sword. "Bulltaro! Hold these three puppets for me. I will deal with the rest of them." Whoosh He infuses chakra in his de as it glows with white light. "Kenjutsu: Dance of the Crescent Moon" Swish swish swish He releases a multitude of crescent shes and shreds two of the nearby puppets into pieces. Swoosh Chiyo waves her hand as she reattaches the parts of puppets with her chakra threads. "Your skills have improved since west met, Lady Chiyo." Sakumo remarks. "It was all for this moment. All of my hard work in this old age was to exact revenge for my son and daughter-inw." Chiyo remarks as she continues to assault him. ------------------- A/N:- Honestly, when I saw the fight between Naruto and Shukaku in Naruto; I really thought Naruto shouldn''t have any chance against him. Chapter 217: Price for Power Chapter 217: Price for Power Boom A giant fireball explodes on top of Jigen''s head. Humph Jigen shrugs off the fireball as he turns around to look at his attacker. "Stay away from my Onii-san." Ayaka angrily yells at Jigen. There is a hint of fear in her eyes, but she resolutely clutches her fists. "AYAKA! NO! RUN!" Izuna shouts at Ayaka. "Onii-san, I will save you." Ayaka makes some hand signs and opens her mouth. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu" She fires another fireball at Jigen. Whoosh Jigen stretches his arm and shrinks the fireball into a small tiny spark. Hmm He absorbs the chakra from the fireball. "This chakra" He turns towards Ayaka as his right eye transforms in his Dojutsu. He inspects Ayaka curiously. ''Her Otsutsuki bloodline is quite thick and her body is strong enough to host my Kama seal. She would be my perfect vessel.'' "I finally found it. The perfect host I was looking for. I have been searching this world for a millennium and I finally found it." Jigen pulls Ayaka towards himself. Whoosh Ayaka flies towards Jigen as she struggles to get free. "Not so soon, you bastard." Izuna breaks free from Jigen''s grasp as he riles up his remaining chakra. "Sin, do it!" He stretches his left arm as a seal appears on it. The seal is in the form of an eye. Burble burble An enormous amount of dark purple chakra rises from the seal. "This chakra" Jigen senses an intense threat as the spokes in his right eye rotate rapidly. He tries to absorb the purple chakra. Argh His arm gets scorched by the purple chakra. "What kind of chakra is this? It is so corrosive." Jigen cautiously stares at the purple chakra as he is unable to absorb it. "Electroma Release: Flux Rasengan" Izuna creates a dark purple Rasengan in his left hand. The Rasenganpresses into itself as it forms a small unstable electric and maic field around itself. Bzzt The intense maic and electric field distorts the surrounding space. Jigen feels an intense threat from the Rasengan. ''I am afraid If I take it head on, I would suffer some serious damage. I can''t stand to lose this body without transferring my Kama seal to that girl.'' He activates his Dojutsu''s ability. "Sukunahikona" Jigen tries to shrink the jutsu. Bzzt Shoom The Rasengan shrinks a little, but it resists the jutsu and releases a powerful EMP st, which makes him dizzy. "Impossible! This technique has touched the level of a concept. I must avoid it all cost or things won''t go well for me." BAM Jigen headbutts Izuna, but Izuna withstands it without even as much as a flinch. "I won''t let you..." He wraps his arm around Jigen''s waist as hepletes the jutsu. "I won''t let you harm my family any further. Let''s go down together." BAM Izuna ms the Rasengan in Jigen''s body. Zrrr Brr The jutsu releases multiple EMP sts as it expands violently. An extensive field of purple lightning appears on the battlefield as it terraforms the area. BOOM AAH Jigen yells in agony as the jutsu corrodes his body. BOOM The Rasengan explodes and expands into a purple tornado as it engulfs both of them. AAH Izuna yells in pain as the corrosion spreads to his left arm. I have to hold on to it. Bang bang The EMP st knocks Mei and Ayaka away. ----------------- Edo-Hashirama and Jiraiya watch the battle as their expression turns ugly. "Quick we have to help that Uchiha boy. I have regainedplete control over my body now." Both of them rush towards the location of the battle. Bzzt The Rasengan creates a giant crater at its location as purple lightning flickers through it. Jiraiya tries to approach the crater. Bzzt... A bolt of dark purple lightning strikes in front of him and creates a small crater. "Boy! Stay away from that lightning. It is no ordinary lightning. It is the highest form of lightning. This lightning has touched upon naturalws, and it is a part of the force of nature itself." Hashirama warns Jiraiya. "Highest form? Naturalw? Force of Nature?" Jiraiya has a confused expression on his face as he stares at Hashirama for answers. "Take care of the girl first while I will tend to that boy. This body of mine is meant for such work." "Very well Lord First." Jiraiya nods his head as he walks towards Mei. He tries to pull the ck rods from Mei''s body. Aww Aww "What kind of material is this? It is rapidly draining my chakra." Hmm Jiraiya ponders for a while as an idea clicks his mind. "This might work." He sps his palms and absorbs Nature''s energy from the surroundings. The facial features of Jiraiya change to match that of a frog. Jiraiya grabs the ck rods as Sage Mode helps him resist the chakra drain. He pulls out all four ck rods from Mei''s body. Jiraiya reverts to his normal self and checks Mei''s pulse. "She is in serious condition. She needs immediate medical attention." "Onii-Chan!" A feeble voice falls in Jiraiya''s ears. He turns around and notices Ayaka curled up in a corner. Jiraiya quickly picks her up. "So hot her body temperature is so high. This little girl has such an intense fever." Crunch crunch Jiraiya hears some footsteps as he raises his head. He notices Hashirama is carrying Izuna in his arms. The Edo-body of Hashirama is in a battered shape as it regenerates very slowly. Hashirama ces Izuna at a distance from the rest of the group. Hmm Jiraiya turns towards Izuna as his expression turns ugly. Purple lightning is flickering through the entire body of Izuna. "Lor Lord First? What''s going on? Is this boy alright? If something happens to him, I won''t see the end of it from Tsunade." Jiraiya inquires. Hashirama shakes his head. "I can''t say anything about him. He used a forbidden jutsu to fight against the enemy and paid a price for it." Hashirama points towards the left arm of Izuna. "He used his left arm as a sacrifice to use this jutsu." Hashirama shakes his head. "What is that purple lightning around him?" Jiraiya curiously stares at Izuna as he sends one of his frogs to inform Tsunade. "That''s the highest form of Lightning Release. When the proficiency of an element has reached its highest state; then it bes a very part of nature itself. Nature has various fundamental forces acting and shaping the very world we live in. These forces are either materialistic or non-materialistic." Hashirama exins the details to Jiraiya. "Take my Wood Release, for example. It is a part of the materialistic force as it helps in the flourishment of life. My proficiency with the wood release reached its highest state, and I came across what I call ''Life Release''. ''Life Release'' is a materialistic force of Nature. The very nature epts my existence and helps in the flourishment of my life. I can tap into the power of Nature with my Life Sage Mode. It is the part of the reason I oust my old friend Madara in our final fight. I can channel the immense vitality of nature through my body, but it ces a certain amount of burden on my body so I can''t use it extensively." "Life Sage Mode?" Jiraiya curiously questions him. "Let me demonstrate." Hashirama kneels and touches the ground near Mei. Various small nts grow near her as her body shines with a light green glow. "This is simr to Nature energy but but it has something else within it." Jiraiya''s eyes widen in surprise. The green light heals Mei''s wounds and closes the holes caused by the ck rod. "This is as far as I can use it in my current form. To use the full extent of my prowess, I need my own body." Hashirama shakes his head. He points towards Izuna and continues. "Simr to me, this boy has also touched upon the essence of the force of Nature. Though in his case it is the non-materialistic force of Nature. The Non-materialistic forces are quite vtile and destructivepared to materialistic ones. Their power far surpasses the materialistic aspect, but it also makes them extremely hard to control. He has lost control over his power and is currently struggling to contain it. I advise you to stay away from him or else his power will harm others." Hashirama advises Jiraiya. "Yes Lord First. I will keep that in mind." ------------------------ A/N:- This chapter took me a while to write. The gap between Kekkei Mora and Kekkei Tota is a grey area. So, I used something different to describe it. Well, at least, I exined the plot value of Hashirama cells. His cells are too OP with that cockroach like sustenance. Chapter 218: Kage Vs Kage Chapter 218: Kage Vs Kage A/N:- Happy Holi. The Festival of Colours ----------- "Ma Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral" Rasa ces his palms on the ground as a considerable amount of gold dust erupts from the ground. He waves his hand and creates a sand tide that engulfs arge area. The gold sand tide travels towards Tsunade at an extremely high speed. Tsunade jumps in the air to avoid the sand. She lifts her left leg as she concentrates an enormous amount of chakra on her heels. "Heavenly Foot of Pain" Tsunade performs a falling axe kick as she rapidly swings her heel down. BOOM Her kick destroys the nearby ground, creating a giant crater. The shock wave from the kick travels in front of her and creates a rift in the ground. Swoosh The gold sand falls in the rift and fills it, creating a giant golden scar on the ground. Whoosh Tsunadends on the ground. She infuses some chakra in her heels as she kicks the ground and propels forward with extreme speed. Swoosh Rasa quickly lifts his hand in front of his chest as he maniptes the gold sand to create a protective sand barrier. "Ma Release: Air Gold Dust Protective Wall" Bang Tsunade punches the gold sand barrier. Crack crack Some cracks appear on the sand barrier, but it withstands the attack. "Water Release: Water de Technique" Rasa creates a water javelin and strikes Tsunade as his javelin pierces through his Sand Shield to attack Tsunade. Whoosh Tsunade jumps back and avoids the spear, but it still manages to leave a slight wound near her chest. Tch Rasa clicks his tongue at the missed opportunity. Tsunade makes some hand signs. Vapors rise from her wound as it heals rapidly. "Ma Release: Imperial Gold Sand Spear" Rasa lifts his hands and holds them in the air as he maniptes the nearby gold sand. The gold sand coalesces together and creates multiple golden sand spears. He points his hands towards Tsunade and waves them. Swoosh swoosh swoosh The spear rotates rapidly and speeds up as they target Tsunade. BAM Tsunade kicks the ground and raises a portion of the ground to block the attacks. Bang bang The spears strike the portion of the ground and crumble it to dust. Bang bang Tsunade punches the remaining spears and scatters them into dust. HAAH! Rasa sps his hand as sand surrounds Tsunade. "Ma Release: Gold Sand Desert Imperial Seal" Large amounts of Sand traps Tsunade and forms a giant Pyramid that traps Tsunade. "Seal" Rasa ms his palms on the sand pyramid as various ma releases seals carve on the pyramid. Whoosh The sand settles down as Rasa takes a deep breath. "You were quite troublesome, Fifth Hokage!" BANG The pyramid trembles as the seals shake. Rasa''s expression turns serious as he tries to reinforce the seal. BANG Cracks appear on the gold sand pyramid as the gold dust starts to scatter. "This is bad!" Rasa jumps back. BANG The gold pyramid crumbles into dust as Tsunade jumps out from the seal. The diamond mark on her forehead has spread over her face and eyes. She turns towards Rasa. Whoosh Tsunade disappears from her ce with incredible speed. "Where is she?" Rasa looks around. He raises his hands and creates a protective gold sand dome around himself. "Ma Release: Gold Sand Fortress" Bang "Heavenly Fist of Pain" Tsunade punches the sand dome and scatters it into dust. Bang Her punchnds on Rasa and sends him flying. Whoosh Bang Rasa ms into a nearby wall. Various spider-like cracks appear on the wall as he gets imnted in the wall. He loses consciousness and passes out. Humph Tsunade harrumphs and turns towards the vige. She jumps on top of the remains of the arena and overlooks the battle. "It''s time to wrap up this attack." Swoosh Tsunade takes out a scroll from her pocket. She infuses some chakra in the scroll. Poof A giant Taiko drum appears in front of her. Tsunade infuses some chakra in her fists and bangs the drum. "Mechanical Eight Trigrams Formation" Countless rock walls rise in the air and create a maze throughout Konoha, trapping enemies in the maze. Tsunade drags Rasa''s unconscious body and makes a hand seal and gathers chakra on her fingertips. "Five Elements Seal" Bang She ms her fists into Rasa''s stomach and seals his chakra. "I don''t want any more trouble from you." Croak croak A green messenger frog arrives near Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, big trouble!... Izuna-sama is in trouble. He needs your help." The messenger frog informs her. "What? Izuna is in trouble!" Tsunade''s expression changes as she turns towards Rasa. nk nk Tsunade grabs a metal pipe from the remains of the arena. She wraps it around Rasa and folds it with her bare hands. "Now I can rest assured." She turns towards the frog. "Quick! Lead the way." "Yes, Tsunade-sama!" The frog leads her towards the location. ------------- Whoosh whoosh Tsunade appears at the location of the battle. She surveys the nearby area and her expression turns ugly as she notices the damage caused by the fight. "Tsunade! Quick, help the girl!" Jiraiya calls her. "Yes." Tsunade walks up to Mei and ces her hand on Mei''s chest. "Her pulse is faint. She has suffered grave mental and physical trauma. I have to carry her to the hospital." Tsunade notices Ayaka lying near Mei. "This girl! What''s she doing here?" Tsunade hurriedly checks her condition. "There is no physical or mental injury on her body. But there is a strange chakra flowing through her body. It is the cause of her fever." Tsunade inspects her body and notices a diamond mark on her palm. "What''s this? It looks like some kind of seal." Jiraiya curiously stares at the seal. "We don''t have time for this. Carry this little girl to Konoha Hospital." Tsunade lifts Mei and flickers towards the hospital. "She she ignored me. My Tsuna-Chan ignored me." Hashirama depressingly drops his head. "Uh! Lord Third! Why don''t help carry the boy!" Jiraiya picks up Ayaka and turns towards Hashirama. "Ah! Yes yes!" Whoosh Both of them flickers towards the Konoha hospital. ----------- Inside Konoha, BOOM Shisui swings a giant katana as he disperses the sand construct of Shukaku. "I will have my revenge, next time. You pathetic humans!" Shukaku yells before dissipating into dust. Whoosh Shisui flickers towards the remains of Shukaku and picks up Gaara. He notices the young appearance of Gaara. "What a sad thing! This child is even younger than Naruto, and yet both of them suffer from the same fate." He shakes his head and makes a hand seal. "Five Element Seal" Shisui reinforces Gaara''s seal with his seal. "With this, the tail beast won''t be able to overpower this boy''s body temporarily." He picks Gaara up and flickers towards the Konoha Hospital. "With this, the tides have turned in Konoha''s favor. I am sure by now, Itachi must have dealt with all the enemy anbus. He must be on his way to aid Lord Third." Mmm Gaara struggles in his sleep. "Mother!" Hmm Shisui turns towards Gaara and notices the Kanji letter ''Love'' on his forehead. "Poor boy! He is in so much pain and suffering, and yet he is hated by his people for his status of Jinchuriki. I wonder how Naruto would have ended up if not for Nii-san''s interference." Whoosh He enters the Konoha hospital and notices Shizune tending to patients. "Shizue-san! There is an emergency. Take care of this boy." Shisui ces Gaara on a nearby bed. "Yes, I will look after him after I check on Naruto." She passes a medical report to one of the medical ninjas. One of the nearby patients notices the sand emblem on Gaara''s clothes. "He is he is an enemy. Why are you tending to an enemy? Look, I need immediate medical attention." He yells at Shizune as he points towards a minor injury near his stomach. Swish Shizune flips a scalpel in her hand and stabs it in the shinobi''s chest. "AAH what are you doing?" The shinobi screams in pain. "What else? Treating you!" Shizune turns towards Shisui and nods her head. "I will shift him near Naruto." "Thank you." Shisui nods his head. Whoosh Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Hashirama arrive in the hospital. "Quick! I need three assistants. I have to perform a surgery." Tsunade yells as he enters into an operation theatre. "Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Three medical ninjas follow her. "What''s going on?" Shisui turns towards Jiraiya for answers. "It''s like this kid," Jiraiya exins the series of events of Shisui. "What? Nii-san''s and Mei san''s life are in danger, and even Ayaka is caught in the cross-fire." Shisui''s expression turns ugly. "I won''t spare these bastards." Shisui''s eyes change into Mangekyo as he flickers out of the Hospital. Gulp Jiraiya gulps his saliva. "This kid is the most peaceful among those Uchiha bunches. If even he has lost it, then I wonder what would happen to the rest of these brothers." Jiraiya silently closes his eyes. "I can only pray for you sorry souls." Chapter 219: Immortality Chapter 219: Immortality sh sh sh Orochimaru ils the Kusanagi de at Hiruzen. Hiruzen blocks the de with his staff. Argh Enma grunts in pain as the Kusanagi de damages him. "Hiruzen, anymore of these strikes, and I would be forced out of my transformation." He warns Hiruzen. Bang Hiruzen ms down the staff as he makes some hand signs. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu" He spits out a small volley of fireballs at Orochimaru. Whoosh whoosh Orochimaru swings the de and slices the fireball in half. "Looks like the old age caught up to you. Your attacks can''t even faze me anymore." Haah Hiruzen ps his hand together. BOOM The remains of the fireballs explode on top of Orochimaru. Bang Orochimaru is sent flying out of the explosion as he ms into a nearby tree. He facents on the ground. "I might be old, but I can still deal with the likes of you." Hiruzen takes a deep breath. Stab "Are you sure, sensei?" Orochimaru stabs the Kusanagi de through Hiruzen''s chest. "How could this be?" Hiruzen turns towards Orochimaru''s body. Crumble crumble Orochimaru''s body turns into a paste of flesh and blood. "This technique?" Hiruzen''s eyes widen. "Haha Sensei! You are old and frail and you will soon die by my hands. But I have achieved immortality, I am longer restricted by the limits of my body. I am no longer restricted by the limitations of my talent; I just have to find a suitable vessel as a new host for my body and I can live for as long as I want. Haha" Cough cough Hiruzen coughs out a mouthful of blood as he turns behind. He notices the snake-like appearance of Orochimaru. "Orochimaru! You lost your humanity. You are not a human. You have be a monster." "Haha Sensei! If this is what it takes in my pursuit of knowledge, then I am ready to be a monster." Stab Orochimaru continues to push the sword through Hiruzen''s chest. Swoosh Enma turns into his monkey form as he grabs the other end of the sword and stops Orochimaru from further shoving the sword. "Since when! since when you fall prey to this obsession. Since when... since when you found the necessary means to pursue this foolish conquest of yours?" Hiruzen struggles to breathe as he questions Orochimaru. Slick Orochimaru licks his lips as he replies. "Since you are going to die, anyway; I will satisfy your curiosity. It all started during the Second Ninja War. Tsunade, Jiraiya, and I fought against the forces of Hanzo and Smander and barely survived the battle against him. It was during that time, Jiraiya stayed in Amegakure, Tsunade returned to the vige to mourn the death of her lover. While I on my way back to Konoha came across the remains of a particr ruin near the Land of Ancestor. Those were quite old ruins, probably even older than the history of Shinobi itself." Orochimaru has a frantic expression on his face as he describes the ruins. "Out of my curiosity, I explored the ruins, and what I found inside the ruins changed my outlook on life." He turns towards Hiruzen and remarks. "You must be curious what was inside those ruins, Sensei?" Argh Hiruzen grunts in pain. "Inside those ruins was the secret of the immortality. There were various statues and murals of god-like horned beings. I spent three months inside those ruins while trying to decipher them and guess what, sensei? I figured their secret of Immortality." Orochimaru opens his mouth and spits out a tattered scroll from it. "This is the result of my research." He unfolds the scroll in front of Hiruzen. There is a pyramid-shaped figure carved on the scroll. Beside the pyramid shape barb, there is a diamond-shaped seal on the scroll. "Sensei! This is the technique used by those beings. By inscribing the very essence of their being on a well-crafted seal; those horned-beings can preserve the entire information of their body as a backup. Later, they imnt this seal in a suitable host. This seal contains a part of their soul; so when their body dies, they will just reincarnate in the body of host as they slowly take over their consciousness and reform their old body." Hiruzen''s eyes widen in surprise. "Orochimaru don''t tell me you?" "Haha yes, Sensei! I can''t create a perfect replica of this technique. Also, the host requirements for this seal are quite high and almost impossible to meet. But I improvised this technique and created my own seal. Though my seal isn''t as efficient as this technique, my technique has fewer harsher requirements. Slick" Orochimaru licks his lips as he reveals the information to Hiruzen. "I see you haven''t changed at all. Even in your youth, you were always overconfident of your abilities. It''s the part of the reason Jiraiya surpassed you." HAAH Hiruzen ps his hands together. "Dead Demon Consuming Seal" Whoosh A swirl of smoke rises from Hiruzen''s body. The smoke turns into a Shinigami as it floats behind Hiruzen. Swoosh Ethereal blue energy separates from Hiruzen''s body as the Shinigami extends his hairs and wraps them around the ethereal energy. The ethereal energy turns into a spiritual image of Hiruzen as the Shinigami holds his soul. Swish A blue spiritual arm pierces through Hiruzen''s naval and grabs Orochimaru and draws his soul. Aah Orochimaru screams in pain as the Shinigami rips apart his soul from his body. "Orochimaru! My time is already near. I would die sooner orter; but before I die, I while get rid of my biggest regret." The Shinigami continues to pull Orochimaru''s soul. "NOO!... I won''t allow you. After how far I havee... after all the things I have achieved in my life... I won''t fall here. Just die already." Orochimaru pushes the Kusanagi sword through Hiruzen''s chest. "Hiruzen, you won''t be able to make it. My summoning time is already running out." Enma remarks as he struggles to hold the sword. "Then, at least, I will seal a portion of his soul." Swish The reaper draws its de and rips a portion of Orochimaru''s soul and seals it. Aah Orochimaru screams in pain as his snake body wreathes on the ground. "Too bad, I won''t be able to clear my regret." Hiruzen silently closes his eyes. BOOM A giant Orange chakra de cleaves the purple barrier in half. Guffaw The Sound Four spits out a mouthful of blood as a result of the bacsh of the barrier. Hiruzen slowly lifts his head and notices a giant Orange humanoid heading his way. "Lord Third are you alright?" Itachi jumps in front of Hiruzen with his Susanoo. He holds Hiruzen''s body in his arms. "Itachi! You did an outstanding job. You are a worthy candidate for the position of Hokage." "Please don''t push yourself too much." Itachi takes out a sealing tag from his pocket and ces it near Hiruzen''s chest. The sealing tag releases a bright green glow as it slowly heals Hiruzen''s wound. "It''s no use. My death is certain, Itachi. I made a pact with the Shinigami with my soul as the sacrifice. You can''t save me." Hiruzen shakes his head. He weakly points towards the snake Orochimaru. "Yes, Hokage-sama!" Itachi nods his head. Stab The Susanoo stabs its de through Orochimaru''s snake body. "Totsuka de of Sealing" Swoosh A gourd appears at the hilt of the de as it seals Orochimaru. Aah... Orochimaru''s wails of resistance die down as Itachi turn to Hiruzen. "I got rid of him, Lord third!" Itachi nods his head. "Finally, I can rest in peace." Hiruzen closes his eyes and falls in eternal slumber. Rumble rumble The enemy sensor barrier around Konoha copses as Konoha shinobis get rids of enemies. "Sarutobi! We will meet in the afterlife." Tobirama regains control of his edo-body as it dissipates slowly. Drip A single teardrop flows from Hiruzen''s eyes as he peacefully rests in his sleep. Whoosh whoosh The rest of the anbu gathers near Itachi, who slowly raises his head. Yugao steps forward and reports. "Captain Itachi! we have neutralized all the enemy forces with zero causalities on our side No Lord third lost his life in this battle." She slowly closes her eyes. The rest of the Anbu closes their eyes as they surround Hiruzen. Whoosh whoosh Two anbus pushes the crowd and approaches Hiruzen''s dead body. One of them gently grabs Hiruzen''s body as tears flow from his eyes. "Father!" Itachi silently stands up and leaves the father and son duo. "Give me the detailed report." Itachi orders his Anbu team. "Ca captain! We got a fresh report. Captain Izuna, Lord Mizukage-sama, and princess Ayaka are in a serious state." "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Itachi''s eyes turn into Mangekyo as he stares at his subordinate. Gulp The Anbu gulps his saliva and reports everything to Itachi. " Captain Shisui left for Sunagakure." Crack crack Itachi tightly clenches his fists. "Suna will pay for this. No matter where the culprit is hidden; I will drag him out." Whoosh Itachi flickers out of Konoha and disappears from their vision. "I have never seen Captain Itachi lose his cool before." One of the Anbu members remarks. "I can''t even imagine the hell they will unleash on Sunagakure." ------------ A/N:- Orochimaru''s curse seal of Heaven and Earth reminds me of Kama. Well atleast, both of them have same function. So, what are your thoughts? Is this matter debatable? Chapter 220: Revenge Chapter 220: Revenge Outside Sunagakure, Whoosh A tall figure with an Onii-mask flicker in front of the entrance. The figure has long orange hairs draped over her shoulders. "The time hase." The figure clenches her fist and enters Suna. "Is this what you want?" An old voice falls in her ears. "Who is there?" The figure jumps back and turns towards the source of the voice. Ebizo calmly walks out and confronts the figure. "Tell me, is it really necessary? Do you want to exact revenge on your home?" He stands in front of the figure and looks at the figure in the eyes. The masked figure stops and confronts him as she stays silent. "I won''t ask you to stop. But I don''t want you to involve innocent people in your revenge." Ebizo calmly closes his eyes. "I won''t make a promise, but if someone interfered in my revenge, then they will suffer my wrath." Whoosh The figure enters deeper into Sunagakure. "So that''s your answer." Ebizo closes his eyes as a teardrop falls from them. "Perhaps if only I acted my part as the leader of Suna council, then this tragedy could have been prevented." BOOM BOOM A series of explosions ur inside the vige as it set many houses on orange mes. Smoke and fire pour out from them. Whoosh whoosh Multiple Sand Shinobis gather around Ebizo as they wait for his instructions. "Honored Grandfather! The vige is under attack. The enemy is targeting the elders of the vige. We are waiting for your orders to neutralize the enemy." One of the Jounin leader bows in front of Ebizo. "Just leave it be." Ebizo waves his hand. "It has been a while since we did some cleaning in Suna. The rats have overpopted the vige." The fire dyes the evening sky with a red hue. Whoosh The Onii-masked figure reappears at the entrance with two unconscious bodies in her hands. "That''s Elder Tojuro and Elder Yura." The eyes of the rest of the shinobis widen in surprise. Swoosh swoosh They hurriedly jump in front of the figure and blocks the entrance. "Stop!" Ebizo waves his hand to stop them. "They got what they deserve and besides, none of you are a match for her." "But but that''s the members of the Suna council." A few shinobis resist. "And I am the head of the Suna council." Ebizo stares at them with a stern expression. "YES! Honored Grandfather." The shinobis turn tame as they allow the figure to leave Suna. "Take care, Sensei!" A silent whisper falls in Ebizo''s ears. "You too, child." Ebizo closes his eyes as the figure of the intruder vanishes into the desert. He slowly reopens them and turns towards the rest of his men. "Investigate the remains of the properties of Elder Tojuro and Elder Yura. You will get your answers." Whoosh He flickers towards his house. ''Chiyo! I hope you won''t make any foolish decisions. I still want to see that clumsy smile of yours.'' Bang An enormous explosion urs at the entrance of Suna. The explosion blows away the outer gate. Ebizo slowly turns around and notices a giant green humanoid figure swinging a giant Katana at the entrance. "This is" His eyes widen in horror as the memories of the era before the First Shinobi War freshen up in his mind. "This is Susanoo. The power of Madara Uchiha, what''s it doing here?" Swish The giant humanoid swings its sword again and cleaves a hill guarding the entrance. "It''s an enemy attack. Quick, we have to stop him." The guards gather at the entrance as they make hand signs. "Wind Release: Wind Bullet" "Earth Release: Sand Buster" "Water Release: Water Bullet" The shinobis make multiple hand signs as they fire one jutsu after another at the giant monster. Swish The Susanoo swings its sword and repels the attack. With another swing of its sword, it easily incapacitates the guards. "The Sand will pay for its crimes. Nothing will stand in my way." Shisui roars as he enters in the Sunagakure. Swish swish Multiple kunais with paper bombs bombard the Susanoo. Bang Bang Multiple minor explosions ur on top of the Susanoo as smoke and dust cover their vision. "Did we get him?" One of the Suna jounin gulps his saliva. "We did, right?" Another jounin warily stares at the smoke. Swish A giant green de greets them as it destroys the hill hiding them. Whoosh Ebizo flickers in front of the Susanoo. "Stop!" He raises his hands to stop Shisui. Hmm Shisui notices Elder Ebizo and stops his assault. "Are you a member of the Suna council?" The Susanoo stretches its arms in an attempt to grab him. "Yes, I am. I am the leader of the Suna council." Ebizo nods his head. "Then that makes it one down." The Susanoo grabs Ebizo with one of its arms and continues to walk deeper. "Wait! Listen to me first." Ebizo tries to reason with Shisui. "What do you want me to listen? It''s because of you that my big brother, his wife, and my little sister are in ama. How can I forgive your sins? You Suna shinobi waged war on Konoha with no thought of retaliation from our side. In a war, the destruction is mutual." Shisui angrily stares at Ebizo as his Mangekyo revolves. "No no I didn''t mean to stop you. Just listen to what I have to say." Ebizo shakes his head as he pleads to Shisui. "Fine speak up." Shisui relents as he releases his grip. "Look!" Ebizo points towards the burning houses in the Sunagakure. "The culprits have already been punished." He exins the entire series of events to Shisui. "Onii-mask, you say?" Shisui dispels his Susanoo as he stands in front of Ebizo. "Yes!" Ebizo nods his head. Hmm ''Nii-san once mentioned the separate branch of his team, which works in shadows. Perhaps it is the work of one of the members of that group.'' "Very well" Shisui nods his head and flickers out of Sunagakure. Scree In the skies near Sunagakure, A giant hawk is quickly approaching Sunagakure. Itachi stands atop his hawk summon as he gazes at the entrance of Sunagakure. The dpidated entrance appears in his vision. "This must be the work of Shisui Nii-san!" The hawk lowers its altitude as Itachi jumps from it. Whoosh A figure flickers out from the entrance of Sunagakure. "Huh! Is that Shisui Nii-san?" Itachi notices Shisui walking out of Sunagakure. Whoosh He flickers towards Shisui and unites with him. ---------------------------- Swirl In an underground hideout near Land of Ancestors, A ck rift opens in space as Jigen falls from it. Cough cough He coughs out some blood as purple lighting continues to flicker over his body. "I never expected him to possess such a technique. I let down my guard." Cough cough Jigen rests against his throne as he coughs more blood. "At this rate, this body will fail before I could evenplete my Kama awakening. I need to recover from this grievous injury. Izuna Uchiha! I will remember this." Jigen tightly clenches his fists. Pitter Patter Jigen raises his head as he hears some footsteps. "Amado! You are here." "Yes, Leader." Amado adjusts his spectacles as he notices Jigen''s condition. "You are in terrible shape. Let me take a look." Amado approaches Jigen. "No! This is not something you can deal with. Cough cough" Jigen coughs again as the purple lightning continues to corrode his body. "I will take care of it on my own." He shakes his head. Swoosh Jigen''s right eye changes into his Dojutsu. He opens a spatial rift as a juvenile ten-tails appears in his vision. "I have to draw chakra from the ten-tails to recover my body. It will take some time, so proceed all ns without me. Whoosh" He enters inside the portal and disappears from Amado''s vision. Amado adjusts his spectacles. "Now now that''s interesting." He strolls out of the room and enters ab with manyrge capsules filled with nutritional fluid. Several test subjects are floating in these capsules. "Izuna Uchiha! Quite an interesting man." He picks up a report with the information of Kama seal. "Otsutsuki n! A n of God-like beings. They possess the power to shape worlds and even destroy them." He picks up a map as it turns to ashes in his hand. "What are they searching for in this vast world? Why they are desperately seeking more power despite possessing such god-like abilities?" Amado raises his head as he stares at a bulletin board with a map pinned on it. "If they can help me achieve my aim, then I am ready to betray humanity." Chapter 221: Meeting with the Sage of Six Paths Chapter 221: Meeting with the Sage of Six Paths Ugh! Izuna clutches his forehead as he feels an intense stabbing pain in his head. Ugh He groggily opens his eyes and slowly gets up. "Where am I?" He slowly looks around and notices a white room. "Ah! My mindscape." Izuna slowly stands up and turns towards the elemental orbs floating in his mindscape. "It has been a while since Ist came here. This ce is livelier than before." He notices a giant purple ck hole floating in the middle of the group. Purple lightning keeps flickering from the ck hole orb. "So that''s the electroma release." Izuna approaches the purple orb and urges it toe towards him. Bzzt The purple ck hole resists his pull and releases a bolt of lightning which strikes Izuna. "You aren''t tame, are you?" Izuna shakes his head. "Quite a unique ce, isn''t it?" An ancient and powerful voice falls in Izuna''s ear. Huh! Izuna''s expression turns grave as he hurriedly urges all the elemental orbs to surround him. "Who is there? Who is intruding in my mindscape?" He turns around and notices a tall, pale-skinned man with deep wrinkles and a strong jawline. The elderly man has spiky, shoulder-length, pale brown hair with a chin-length braided lock hanging in front of his left ear. He also sports a goatee tapered down to his waist. He has a pair of horn-like protrusions extending from either side of his forehead. Both of his eyes have pupilless Rinnegan in them. He wears a white, full length-kimono with a pattern of six ck magatamas. ''Sage of Six Paths! What''s he doing here?'' Izuna lowers his guard a little as the orbs continue to fly around him. Hagoromo nods his head as he introduces himself. "I am he who shall achieve peace and order and my name is" "You are Sage of Six Paths Hagoromo Otsutsuki, right?" Izuna interrupts him as he inspects Hagoromo''s ethereal body. ''Man! What potent chakra? His entire body is a lump of chakra held together with his soul. Such dense chakra to form a physical form.'' "Ah! So, thou are aware of me? I beg thy pardon for intruding into thine mindscape." "I see. So, what''s the esteemed Sage of Six Paths seeking from me?" Izuna warily stares at Hagoromo. ''Sage of Six paths or not? I still don''t know what are his intentions for intruding in my mindscape. Is it because I stole chakra from the tailed-beast?'' Ahem Hagoromo clears his throat as he continues. "You can lower thy guard! I have no malicious intention towards thee. I am nothing but a spiritual body with no physical form." "Very well" Izuna waves his hand as the orbs return to their position. Hagoromo nods his head. "I never expected thou mindscape to have such powerful defenses. It''s even stronger than my mindscape, if I would have to say. For the past twelve years, I have been seeking an opportunity tomunicate with thou; but thy mental barrier always barred me from entering in thine mindscape." "Well, it is not like I was expecting you to enter in my mindscape." Izuna curiously stares at Hagoromo. "Fair enough! I don''t have enough time to spare, so I will get to the point. At the rate thou are progressing with thy chakra, thou are going to die in five more years." Hagoromo drops a bombshell on Izuna. "WHAT?!" Izuna yells in flusteration. "What do you mean? How am I going to die in five years? Would you mind exining it to me?" He quickly approaches Hagoromo. Cough cough Hagoromo coughs slightly to calm him down. "Thou still have five years to live." "That''s not helping." Izuna depressingly turns towards Hagoromo. "Can you tell me the reason why I am dying?" He pleads to Hagoromo. "It''s because of that." Hagoromo points towards the purple-ck hole in the center of his mindscape. "Thy power is killing thou." He remarks. "Can you borate on it a little more?" Izuna turns towards the electroma release orb. Hmm "Thy chakra and mental strength are far too strong. Thy power is slowly corroding your body and eating away your chakra system." "WHAT? There was such a thing." Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and inspects his body. "This is" His eyes widen in horror as he notices purple lightning flickering through his body. There are several microscopic cracks in his chakra nerves. "No way this" He desperately turns towards Hagoromo for help. "Sadly, I don''t have a solution for thine problem." Hagoromo shakes his head. "But, there must be a way. If I die now, how will I fight against Jigen?" Izuna turns towards Hagoromo. "It''s the reason I seek thou. My lifelong goal was to achieve peace and order in this world. They areing, the members of the mother''s n are approaching this world. They aim toy waste upon this world and harvest the essence of this to grow in strength." Hagoromo warns Izuna. "I know. You must be talking about Momoshiki Otsutsuki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki." Izuna nods his head. "NO! I am talking about a much bigger threat." Hagoromo shakes his head. He stretches out his right hand and creates a staff from his truth-seeking ball. Tap tap He taps it on the floor and creates an image of Kaguya and Isshiki. "The Otsutsuki n existed at a time much before even this world was created." Whoosh The image disappears as a giant neb appears in front of Izuna. "The members of the Otsutsuki would travel from one world to another nting the seeds of ten-tails and harvesting chakra fruits in an attempt to reach a higher form of life, to evolve into a form they call GOD." "GOD?!" Izuna interrupts Hagoromo. ''Well, that''s news to me. But it makes sense, I died too early and never came to know the ending of Boruto. So, the appearance of a GOD is quite possible.'' "The so-called GOD is omniscience, omnipotent, and omnipresent, being capable of creating and destroying worlds just by his thoughts alone. All the members of the Otsutsuki n will unite with this being and will exist as one single entity called ''Entropy''." Whoosh Hagoromo ms his staff on the ground to create a blurry image of an entity. Brr Cold sweat runs through Izuna''s body as his eyes meet with the image of the figure. His body shivers as he feels a sense of dread from the image of the being. Whoosh Hagoromo taps his staff and dispels the image. "This being exists and doesn''t exist. He is a mere concept at this moment, but if the Otsutsuki n seeds in their attempt, he wille into existence." "Then we must stop them at all costs? I can''t allow them to mess with my family and friends." Izuna clenches his fist. ''No way in hell, I will allow them to do as they please. One thing I would never want in this life is regret.'' He turns towards Hagoromo and questions him. "About this ''GOD''? How is he leading the Otsutsuki n?" "Even without existing in reality; this being can still shape the world and guide the Otsutsuki n. He is a concept, an existence far beyond anything. He is the Otsutsuki GOD." Gulp Izuna gulps his saliva as the image of Otsutsuki God keeps refreshing in his mind. ''This wasn''t how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to get rid of Isshiki Otsutsuki and prevent the Shinobi World from plunging into the era of destruction. What''s the deal with Otsutsuki GOD popping out of nowhere? Then there is that Soul n too. That member of Soul n messed me up.'' Izuna is lost in his thoughts as Hagoromo stares at him. ''If thest prophecy of the Toad Sage before my death bed was correct; then this world will fall into chaos and destruction, the likes of which were never seen before. ording to the prophecy, a child of fate will lead the world in this Era and prevent the downfall of this world.'' "Err I don''t mean to be rude or something; but can you tell me the source of this information?" Izuna curiously turns towards the Sage of Six Paths. "It is no harm informing thou about such matters." Hagoromo nods his head. "There are several ancient ruins spread throughout the Shinobi world. They existed much before the arrival of Mother. There is an ancient shrine of Otsutsuki God erected in one of those ruins. That shrine acts as a beacon to other Otsutsuki members and guides them to this world." "I see." Izuna nods his head. "I came to know about such matters during the final moments of my Mother when she inadvertently passed all of her memories to me. Mother destroyed the shrine when she ate the chakra fruit, but the remains of the shrine are still present. I sealed the shrine at my death bed but Isshiki Otsutsuki recently broke my seal, awakening me from my slumber." Hagoromo taps his staff on the ground as an ancient Shrine appears in his vision. "This location!" Izuna recognizes the location. " isn''t this the inhabitable Land of Swamps; and filled with all kinds of mindless monsters and mutant chakra beasts." Hagoromo nods his head. "During the war between Mother and us brother; the chakra of ten-tails leaked into the world and infected many nearby beings. The roots of the ten-tails were spread throughout the shinobi world as it continues to effect living beings. I spent the rest of my life spreading the teaching of Ninshu while sealing these beings at one ce." "I see." Izuna nods his head. Izuna stretches his arms and lies on the ground. "But still do you have a solution for my problem? I don''t want to die early." "No, I don''t." Hagoromo shakes his head. "" Chapter 222: A Grave Loss Chapter 222: A Grave Loss "I see." ''What''s with this unknown disease trend? Is it a tradition or something to die due to unknown diseases?'' Izuna has tears in his eyes. "Then, can you give me a bit of advice on how to attain the Six Paths Power? It will help me get rid of this disease, right?" Izuna turns to Hagoromo. Hmm "Thou are right. Six Paths Power will certainly elevate thy existence to the next phase of evolution, but I am uncertain of the possibility of such a matter." Hagoromo shakes his head. "Let me exin Six Paths Sage Mode to you." Hagoromo taps his staff on the ground. Whoosh He creates an image of God tree as he exins. "A millennium ago, the seedling of God treended on the Shinobi World. Its roots spread throughout the world. It thrived by absorbing blood, shed into the countless battle over the period as it gradually drained the natural energy from them. Later, the tree bloomed a chakra fruit which waster consumed by mother. Thus, the chakra fruit is the essence of Nature energy of the very itself. After harvesting the chakra fruit, the God tree will either revert to its seedling form of Ten-tails and it will continue to absorb the Nature energy until the dies or it will wither away having fulfilled it''s purpose. The Six Paths Senjutsu uses the chakra of the ten-tails. Mother ate the chakra fruit as such as I was born with the chakra of Otsutsuki and ten-tails." Hagoromo pauses as he waits for Izuna''s response. "I am aware of it." Izuna nods his head. "I have read several records of it in Mount Myoboku." ''Well, no shit! I already knew about it from my past life.'' "Then, where do the Six Paths Sage Modees into the picture in all this?" He questions Hagoromo. ''Come on! Old Geezer! Just spit it out already.'' Mm "Six Paths Sage Mode is a by-product of Sage Mode and ten-tails chakra in my body. I awakened it the moment I gained ess to my Rinnegan." Hagoromo exins the truth. "With this power, I gained an innate understanding of all five basic nature transformations, yin, yang, yin-yang release, and manifested truth-seeking balls with no need to master them." "I expected as much. No wonder, I cannot progress beyond Kekkei Shi." Izuna sighs helplessly. "So, ten-tails chakra is the key. No wonder the Otsutsuki n is harvesting after. They just spread the seedling of God Tree to different worlds andter came sniffing it like a dog." Izuna mocks the Otsutsuki n as he stares at Hagoromo. "Anyway, Old man, though you weren''t of much help still I have got a faint idea of my path forward." Izuna turns towards the orbs in his mindscape as he slowly walks towards the purple ck hole. He stretches his arm forward and coats it with Nature energy as a cyan cloak appears on his arm. He grabs the orb forcefully and contains the purple lightning using the Nature energy. "This should work for now." ----------------- Inside Konoha Hospital, Tsunade checks the vitals of Mei as her expression turns ugly. "She is four weeks into her pregnancy. That blow to her womb led to a miscarriage." Tsunade turns to a Hyuga beside her. "Give me a detailed report of the embryonic tissue. I will perform a surgery to remove it." "Yes, Tsunade-sama." The Hyuga medical-nin activates her Byakugan. "Shizune... pass the curette to me." Shizune passes the surgical instrument to Tsunade. An hourter, Outside the operation theater, Creak creak The door opens and Tsunade exits the room. The Uchiha family, together with the Kiri entourage, is impatiently waiting outside the room. "How is it? How is her condition?" Aiko asks her. "She is out of danger. As for her pregnancy, it was toote. She had a miscarriage." Tsunade shakes her head as she silently closes her eyes. ---------- Ugh Izuna slowly opens his eyes as he gets out of hisatose state. "Captain, you are awake!" Ah Izuna turns around and notices two Uchiha police members lying on the bed. One of them has a bandaged arm, while the other has a bandaged leg. "You two are" Izuna tries to recall their name as their appearance seems familiar to him. "Atsushi and Isao, right?" "Captain, you recognize us." Izuna nods his head. "I have a question for you." He asks them. "Yes, Captain." "How long was I passed out for?" "Uh! Captain it has been three days since we came here." Atsushi scratches his head. "I see." He extends his left arm to remove the IV drip from his right arm, but emptiness greets him. ''So, I lost my left arm.'' Izuna shakes his head and removes the IV drip using his mouth and walks out of the room. "I have to check on Mei and Ayaka." He hurriedly dashes out of the room as he senses Mei''s chakra. "Found her." Whoosh Izuna flung opens the door and enters the room. "MEI!" Mei is silently staring out of the window as the silver clouds slowly drift in the sky. "Izuna!" She slowly turns towards him as tears flow from her eyes. "I am sorry, Izuna." Whoosh Izuna flickers in front of her and embraces her. "It''s not your fault. Don''t me yourself. I was too weak to protect you." He hugs her tightly. Waah Tears flow from her eyes as Mei lets out all of her emotions. She sheds tears for a while in Izuna''s embrace. Izuna pats her head as she slowly calms down. She gently touches the stub left arm of Izuna. "It''s ok. I can live with one arm and it won''t hinder any of my abilities." Izuna assures her. He caresses her womb as anger zes in his eyes. ''UNFORGIVABLE! Absolutely Unforgivable! Next time, I meet him will be hisst.'' "Yes!" Mei silently nods her head, as there is a hint of sadness in her eyes. Izuna notices her expression. ''I am not a mother, so I can''t imagine the loss of a child for a mother; but as the father of the child, my fury won''t subside until I exact revenge on the person responsible for this.'' He tightly clutches his fist. ''Isshiki Otsutsuki!'' Bang The door ms wide open as Tsunade enters the room. Bam bam She walks towards them with heavy footsteps as she approaches them. "Uh! Tsunade!" Izuna turns towards her. Bam Tsunade punches him and sends him flying. "You idiot! How can you be so reckless with your life?" Tears flow from her eyes. Aww ouch... Izuna whimpers in pain as he turns to Mei for help. Mei turns away and ignores him. "No, save me." Izuna begs for mercy. "Do you think you are some kind of hero? Trying to do everything by yourself. You preached about the importance of family and friends, and yet you dived into trouble all on your own. You are nothing but a reckless fool." Tsunade balls her palm into a fist. "You deserve punishment for your sin." Izuna closes his eyes. ''I can''t run away, can I?" Whoosh He is squashed between two huge melons as Tsunade hugs him tightly. "You idiot! Don''t do something as reckless as this again? I was worried for you. I lost everyone close to me; I can''t bear to lose you too." Tears flow from her eyes. "I won''t." Izuna pats her back as he embraces her. ''I am such a fool. To protect my family, I hide things from them; yet it only leads to more trouble. It''s time to confess everything and dig out all secrets.'' Cough cough Edo-Hashirama coughs slightly as he enters the room. "Tsuna-chan! Why are you ignoring your grandpa? Grandpa needs a hug too!" He opens his arms wide. Hmph Tsunade scoffs and turns her head away. Ah! Hashirama''s expression froze as he depressingly hangs down his head. Creak The door wide opens as more person enters the room. Aiko and Akira push Hashirama away and hugs Izuna. "It''s a relief, you are okay!" Aiko tightly hugs him in her embrace. "That''s my son." Akira nods his head. "Ah mother, I am suffocating." He ils his arms around. "I am sorry!" Aiko leaves him from her embrace. "Onii-Chan!" A sweet voice falls in their ear as Ayaka jumps in his embrace. "Ayaka!" Izuna catches her with one arm and hugs her. "Thank goodness, you are fine." He gently pats her head as Ayaka wraps her arms around his neck. Hmm "This is" Izuna notices the diamond shape mark on her palm as his expression turns ugly. ''That bastard! He wants to sacrifice Ayaka.'' "Ayaka!" He separates from Ayaka as his expression turns serious. "There is an evil spirit around you. Let big brother deal with it." "Ok! Onii-Chan!" Ayaka nods her head. Whoosh Izuna makes some hand signs with his right hand as he forms a Fuinjutsu seal. ''I won''t be able to restrain this Kama seal. But I can slow its advance. Since it is a type of curse seal; then this should work.'' "Fuinjutsu: Demonic Evil Containment Seal" Whoosh. Various fuinjutsu seals float in space as they circle Ayaka. "Enclose" Izuna makes a one-hand Ram sign as the seal shrinks near her palm. Swoosh Smoke rises from Ayaka''s palm as she clutches it tightly. "Onii-Chan! It hurts." "Hold a sec longer. The pain will go away soon." Whoosh The sealing form surrounds the Kama seal and forms a circle around it. "It''s done." He sighs in relief. ''Thank goodness, there were various curse seals sealing forms in the scrolls of the Shikkotsu Forest.'' "Oni-Chan! I feel so sleepy." Ayaka''s vision blurs as she hugs him. Izuna catches her andys her beside Mei. "She will be fine after some sleep." He nods to his parents. "Wonderful!" Hashirama walks in front of Izuna as he curiously stares at thetter. "Your Fuinjutsu skills are even better than Mito." Hepliments Izuna. "Thanks for thepliment, Lord First." Izuna nods his head. "Hmm Kid, I don''t have enough time. I couldst this long solely with my will. This body will dissipate soon before it happens; I have some things to discuss with you." Hashirama''s expression turns serious. "Yes, I also have something important to talk to you." Izuna nods his head and turns towards Akira and Aiko. "I believe it''s time to answer some unanswered questions." Chapter 223: Confrontation with the Truth Chapter 223: Confrontation with the Truth All four of them walk out of the room. Izuna turns towards Hashirama. "Lord First, before you start, I have an important revtion for you." "Well, it is nothing important. Go ahead." Hashirama nods his head. "Mom, Dad, I think it is about time to reveal the name of Grandfather. Though, I already figured it out on my own. But still, I would like to listen it from your mouth." Izuna''s expression turns serious. Sigh Akira takes a deep breath as he stares at Izuna''s serious expression. "Fine, I can''t hide it anymore. One day or another, the truth wille in front of you." "But Akira-dear" Aiko holds Akira''s hand. "It''s fine Aiko. Izuna deserves to know the truth of his heritage." Akira assures her. He turns towards Izuna and Hashirama. He bows in front of Hashirama. "Lord first, I apologize on behalf of my father, Madara Uchiha." "What?!" Hashirama eyes widen in surprise as he stares at Akira. "As ridiculous as it may sound, but I am the son of Madara Uchiha and Izuna is the grandson of Madara Uchiha." Akira takes a deep breath as he reveals the truth. "I am sorry for hiding this truth from you. I did it for the safety of our family." He turns towards Izuna and apologizes. "Well, that took you long." Izuna shakes his head. "There is no need for any apology, Dad. I know you did it for our sake." Izunaforts Akira. Ah!... "Now after taking a close look at you. You do resemble Madara in his middle-age." Hashirama scrutinizes Akira. "As for you Hmm your appearance does match with Madara''s younger brother Izuna. You even share the same name as him." "Yes, we named him after Uncle Izuna." Akira nods his head. "I see but still, I am curious to know about the identity of his wife. That guy was pretty dense; he never had any interest in any woman." Hashirama curiously turns to Akira. "Kasumi Uchiha! Mother''s name is Kasumi Uchiha." Akira reveals the name of his mother to Hashirama. Hmm "Kasumi Kasumi?! Where have I heard that name?" Hashirama tries to recall the name. "Yes, I remember now." He bumps his fist on his palm as he recalls the name. "Isn''t she the little girl who would eavesdrop on Madara and me during our friendly spars? She would usually treat Madara''s wounds and would follow him around. But that dense friend of mine never paid any heed to her. Well, can''t me him. It was the era of war and Madara shouldered the responsibility of Uchiha n as the eldest son of n leader. Haha" Hashiramaughs heartfully as he reminisce some old memories. "Still, he never married her So when?" Hashirama turns towards Akira. "Well" Akira forks out a scroll from his pocket. "On her deathbed, mother passed this scroll to me with these parting words. ''When a man learns to love, he must bear the risk of hatred; much so for the Uchiha n. The loss of his younger brother was too deep for him to ovee. Perhaps I was also blinded by my love that I failed to notice the hatred in his heart.'' Till that day, I held on it this letter and I could never bring myself to open this letter again." Akira tightly clutches the scroll as tears flows from his eyes. "I don''t know what her words meant back then. But but I could never bring myself to face the truth. Maybe, this is the reason I am not as strong as father. I don''t have a strong resolve like him." "Father weakness is not a sin; but staying weak is." Izuna supports Akira. "Thanks son." Akira slowly opens the scroll as he reads its content. ''Son, if you are reading this again, then this means you have grown out from the shadow of your father.'' "Yes, Mother! I have a family now a genius son and a loving daughter." Akira wipes his tears as he continues to read the letter. "Son, as much as it pains my heart to say this; but I believe your father isn''t even aware of your existence. If he was, then I am sure he would have searched every corner of this world to get a glimpse of you." "Mother!" Akira gently touches the letter as a tear drop falls from his eye. ''I see. That makes sense. No wonder Grandfather made no attempt to search for his son. But what could be the reason for it?'' Izuna curiously stares at the letter. Akira reads the contents of the letter aloud to Izuna and Hashirama. "Hmm I see. So, that''s how it was. No wonder he was pissed when he fought against me." Hashirama rubs his forehead. "But still... to think that, he would face such circumstances." Crack crack Hashirama''s edo body starts to glow brightly as it slowly dissipates. "Looks like I don''t have much time remaining, so I will ry some information about the person you fought against." "Yes, Lord First." Izuna supports his father as he turns towards Hashirama. "During the First Shinobi War, a number of shinobis died in the battle" Hashirama narrates the incident of his death to Izuna. "So, Lord First? You mean to say that the same person is responsible for your death?" Izuna asks Hashirama. "Yes, I felt a simr chakra signature from the figure that attacked you." Hashirama nods his head. "But it has been almost forty years since your death. How could that person be still alive, if he was responsible for your death?" Izuna curiously questions Hashirama. ''Jigen pretty much lived a thousand years; but still I want to hear the thoughts of Hashirama Senju.'' "Well I have no idea about that." Hashirama scratches his head. He grabs Izuna''s hand as his eyes shine brightly. "I can''t entrust the responsibility of leading the vige to Tsuna; but if you help her, then I can rest easy." Ah "I think Tsunade-san is doing a great job." Izuna scratches his head as heughs awakardly. Haha "That''s good." Hashirama nods his head. "But still don''t let her ruin the vige." Hashirama clutches his hands tightly. Whoosh Hashirama''s edo body slowly dissipates. Sigh Izuna takes a deep breath and turns to his parents. "Let''s meet with the rest of the people." The group returns to the room. Whoosh An anbu member flickers in the room and bows in front of Tsunade. "Hokage-sama. It''s about time" "I see." Tsunade nods her head. She slowly walks out of the room. "Funeral ceremony?!" Izuna questioningly turns towards the people in the room. "We lost Lord Third." Yagami closes his eyes as he answers. ''I see. So, some things will never change.'' "I will join youter." Izuna sits beside Mei as the rest of the people depart from the room. Izuna gently caresses Ayaka''s head as he silently sits there. "You are hiding something from me." Mei notices his expression. "No no, I am not." Izuna immediately shakes his head. ''I want to share my worries with her, but I can''t inform her about my encroaching death, at least not yet. She has yet to ovee the grief of loss of our child.'' "Keep herpany. I will return soon." Izuna stands and walks towards the door. Whoosh. In the Leaf Vige Cemetery, The members of the various ns are gathered in ck clothes as they mourn for the loss. Tsunade walks in front of the group as she addresses the ceremony. "When a person dies, he disappears, along with his past life, current lifestyle, and his future. Lord Third is no different. He was kind, loving, caring,passionate and most of all protective." Tsunade closes her eyes as she reminisces her time with Hiruzen. "He weaved the bonds of faith, trust and love in our heart to create this family of Konoha." Crackle crackle Omnious dark clouds gather in the sky as rain falls on the group. Tsunade slowly raises her head as she faces the sky. "Looks like even the heavens are mourning the loss of our beloved Third Hokage. Saruto Sensei sacrificed his life to protect the vige. He has passed down his burning desire to protect the vige in the form of Will of Fire." "I will miss the grumpy old man." Naruto grabs Izuna''s sleeves as he has tears in his eyes. Sigh Izuna takes a deep breath as he pats Naruto''s head. "Naruto!... Every person has goals and dreams. We dedicate our entire life in pursuit of these dreams. But everyone has someone important to them parents, siblings, friends, lovers. These people trust you and help you achieve your goals. These bonds are formed at the time of birth and they grow thicker as time goes by." Izuna closes his eyes as the contents of his grandmother''s letter resonate in his ears. Chapter 224: Meaningless Power Chapter 224: Meaningless Power Fifty-five years ago, In a small vige in Land of Rice Paddies, Outside a small hut, Chop chop A man in his early thirties is chopping some firewood. Huff huff He raises his head and wipes the sweat. The man has spiky, long ck hair with a slight blue tint to them. There are prominent creases under his eyes. Chop chop He continues to chop the firewood. "Here! Have some water, Madara-sama." A fair-skinned woman with long, straight ck hairs walks out of the hut. Her long ck hairs parts into bangs and frame her cheeks and ck eyes. There is a small beauty mole under her right eye. She hands over a ss of water to the man. Gulp gulp The man gulps down the water. He picks up the axe and continues to chop the firewood. "Kasumi! Sometimes, I think that living such a life in this remote area ain''t that bad." "Madara- sama! For me every day is a blessing as long as I have you." Hah Madara swings his axe and chops thest firewood. Kasumi wipes his sweat as he sits beside her. "Perhaps leaving the vige wasn''t that bad of an idea. The uneasy feeling I felt in the vige is slowly fading away. People changes with time and circumstance, maybe I am still holding on to my old views and can''t see the light in Hashirama''s idea." Madara shakes his head. "No matter what decision you make, I will always support you." Kasumi nods her head. Mm Madara picks up his axe and walks towards the forest. "Let me hunt some wild boar for dinner." Whoosh He disappears in the forest. "Madara-Sama!" Kasumi closes her eyes as she reminisce some old memories. "It has been two years since Madara-sama had a fallout with Lord Hashirama. Out of fear or respect, the n members offered the position of n leader to him, which he declined. I can''t me him; many nsmen secretly used him as an evil person who murdered his brother to steal his eyes." Kasumi shakes her head as she enters the hut. "I will make preparations for the dinner." Whoosh. A white figure pops out from the ground. There are Venus- flytraps like protrusions exuding out from its body. "Found them." Zetsu stares at the hut for a while. "Quite a lonely ce to live in." He murmurs to himself. Whoosh He enters into the ground and disappears. Swoosh White Zetsu pops out at a nearby ce. "Oye ck! I found them out." Swirl A ck mass rises from the ground and wraps around White Zetsu''s body. "You already know what to do next." The ck Zetsu speaks in a heavy tone. "Of course" White Zetsu nods his head. "Let''s wee Madara-sama. Kuku" Whoosh Both of them disappear into the ground. ------------------- Somewhere at outskirts of Iwagakure, Whoosh Zetsu pops out from the ground. Swirl ck Zetsu separates from his body. Crack crack White Zetsu''s body starts to expand as his bodily features changes slowly. The protrusions on his body disappear as his skin gains an even tone and facial features appear on his body. An Iwa headband, together with a k-jacket, appears on his body. Hmm White Zetsu checks his body and nods his head. "The chakra signature and the body proportion are perfect. It is time to y some games. Kuku." He slowly walks towards the Iwa entrance. "Stop right there!" A loud voice greets Zetsu. Hmm Zetsu raises his head as his eyes meet with the vige guards. Another nearby guard closes his eyes and senses Zetsu''s chakra. "I am sorry, Daichin-sama." The guard bows his head and apologizes to Zetsu. "It''s fine. The safety of the vige is our priority. I have some vital information to report to Lord First; so I will be on my way." Whoosh Zetsu flickers inside the vige. A few momentster, Swoosh Zetsu in Daichin''s form flickers out of Iwagakure with a bunch of other shinobis. "We have to deal with Madara Uchiha as soon as possible. He is away from the leaf vige and it is an ideal opportunity to get rid of him, when he is alone." Daichin addresses them. "Yes! Daichin-sama." The group nods their head. Daichin passes a map to one of the Iwa shinobi. "Lord First has assigned another task to me. So, all of you have to move without me. Is there any problem?" He scrutinizes them. "No! Daichin-sama." The shinobi shakes their head. "Good." Daichin nods his head and flickers in the nearby forest. Whoosh Zetsu transforms back into his original form and enters in the ground. Swoosh He pops out at a nearby ce and unites with ck Zetsu. "Is it done?" ck Zetsu questions him. "Yes, of course! These shinobis are a bunch of low intelligence creature. They are so easy to fool. Kuku" White Zetsuughs smugly. "The job isn''t done yet. These people aren''t enough. They won''t even act as a distraction." ck Zetsu replies in a monotone voice. "Let''s visit other hidden viges." Swoosh He sticks around White Zetsu''s body as both of them disappear in ground. ---------------- A few dayster, In the Land of Rice Paddies, "I will hunt for some rabbits. It has been a while since I had some rabbit stew." Madara picks up his axe and flickers in the forest. "Then, I will make necessary arrangements." Kasumi nods her head and enters the hut. She rubs her belly as a shy expression appears on her face. "How should I tell him?" A few momentster, Various shinobis from Iwa, Kuma, Kiri, and Suna gather in front of the hut. Whoosh. Whoosh They draw their weapons as they get ready to strike each other. "You Kuma scum, what are you doing here?" The leader of the Iwa group confronts Kuma leader. "I could ask the same from you?" The Suna group also draws their weapons. "Hold on!" The leader of the Kiri group stops them. "If I am correct, then all of our goals align with each other. We Kiri shinobis are here to deal with Madara Uchiha." The group stops their fight as they reach an agreement. "Yesterday''s enemy is today''s friend. Fine, Iwa will co-operate with you." "Suna will help too." "Humph Fine! Kiri will co-operate too." "Then let''s get rid of Madara Uchiha." The Kiri leader stares at the hut. "Sensor Ninjas sniff him out." The Iwa leader orders the sensor unit. The sensor ninja closes their eyes as they sense Madara''s location. The group splits into two as the smaller group surrounds the hut. Therger group dashes towards the forest. Whoosh The Kiri leader separates from the rest of the group. Crack crack He shapeshifts into White Zetsu and enters in ground and unites with the ck Zetsu. "The preparations areplete." ck Zetsu nods his head. "Just get rid of the woman. She is his weakness. As long as she is alive; he will ovee his curse of hatred. He doesn''t need any emotional attachments to reach his full potential." ck Zetsu orders White Zetsu. "Very well!" White Zetsu enters in ground. ---------- Inside the forest, "That makes it three." Madara hunts another rabbit as he walks back towards the hut. "Living such a life ain''t that bad. Izuna, my brother! I will live for your sake, too. You entrusted me with your eyes to watch this world." Madara is lost in his thoughts as he slowly walks towards the hut. Hmm Whoosh swish swish He jumps back and performs a summersault and avoids a barrage of kunai. Madara raises his head and notices the shinobi from other viges. "So, you weaklings finally decided to cooperate." Madara ces down his game as he riles up his chakra. "You had the entire world to live; yet you choose this remote ce for your grave." Whoosh He disappears from his ce and reappears behind the group. sh sh Ssh Fountain of blood rises in the air as the heads of enemies rolls down. "Let''s dance." ------------ Half an hourter, Madara wipes his hands as he stares at the remaining shinobis. "You monster!" The leader of the Iwa group slowly raises his head as his body is soaked in blood. "It seems that you still want to dance but You will not be able to make steps anymore." sh He picks up his hunt and walks towards the hut. "After that exercise, I am quite hungry. Kasumi''s rabbit stew is quite delicious." Hmm He raises his head as the scent of blood permeates in air. Madara''s expression turns serious as he flickers towards the hut. "This is" His eyes widen as the hut is lit on fire. "KASUMI!" Madara immediately makes some hand signs. "Water Style: Water Torrent" He extinguishes the fire and search for Kasumi. "Madara-sama!" A weak and frail voice fell in Madara''s ear. Whoosh Madara flickers towards the forest and notices the blood-soaked body of Kasumi resting against a boulder. "Madara-sama!" Kasumi calls weakly. "I am here, Kasumi." Madara quickly approaches her and holds her hand. "Everything will be alright, Kasumi!" Tears appear in his eyes as the memory of Izuna''s death shes in front of him. Haah He picks her up and dashes towards the vige. "There is a doctor in the vige. Everything will be alright." He holds her hand. Madara reaches the nearby vige and yells. "Doctor! Doctor! please treat her. Her condition is serious." An old man with a walking stick and white tunic walks out of a house. Madara slowly ces Kasumi down as the doctor examines her condition. "It''s toote." The doctor shakes his head. "NO! there must be another way." Madara breaks down as he clutches the cor of the doctor. "Examine her again. She can''t die." The old doctor shakes his head. "She is already dead." The doctor closes his eyes. "NO!" Madara releases a scream of pain as he picks up Kasumi''s body. Crackle crackle Dark cloud looms in the sky as the rain drizzle on his face. "How good can there be in power if you cannot protect those you love?" ng ng He slowly digs up a grave as he gently ces the cold body of Kasumi. "Kasumi!... I am all alone again." Madara closes his eyes as a drop of tear trickles down from his eye. He turns around and slowly walks away. -------------- A few hourster, Rumble rumble The ground around the grave shakes as a hand appears out from the grave. "Aw man! It is a terrible feeling to get buried alive." Chapter 225: The Real Culprit Chapter 225: The Real Culprit Swish.... swish.... swish... Author Style: Double Chapter Release-No-Jutsu For next few days (until I am free), I will post double chapters to make up for the days we missed. So, enjoy. ------------------------------- Inside Konoha Intelligence Division Department, In the Torture and Interrogation Force, Ssh One of the jounin sshes a ss of water at one of the Suna Elder. "Wake up!" Argh Jseki groggily opens his eyes as he confronts the member of the Torture department. Spit He spits on the jounin and yells. "Never! I will never reveal any intel to Konoha scums. No matter what torture you use, I won''t open my mouth!" Hmph *BANG!* The Jounin angrily kicks Jseki''s sack as he turns and walks out of the room. "So, how was it?" Ibiki is calmly sitting on a chair as he turns towards the Jounin. "No sess! No matter what method we try, he won''t budge." The Jounin shakes his head. Hmm "Give me a minute and he will sing like a canary." Ibiki stands up from his chair and saunters towards the interrogation room. The Jounin reverently stares at Ibiki''s back as he murmurs. "If it''s Captain Ibiki, then even a mute can sing an Opera!" --------------- "Inoichi! Any leads?" Izuna and Tsunade follow Inoichi as Tsunade question him. "Er Hokage-sama! I think it is better if you question the person. He holds the same position as you after all." Inoichi replies. "Very well." Tsunade nods her head. "Aaaaaaaaah!!" Screams echo through the hallway. The group turns towards the Torture and Interrogation department. "Looks like Ibiki is cracking a hard nut!" Inoichi remarks. The group enters the Analysis Team Headquarters. A person with auburn hair is strapped to a chair. His hands are tied behind his back and a suppression seal is ced on them. A blindfold covers his eyes. Tap Tap Rasa raises his head as the sound of footsteps echoes in the room. "I have said it before and I will say it again! I have nothing to say." Swish Inoichi removes the blindfold as Tsunade and Izuna stand in front of Rasa. "Hoh! So, the Kazekage of the Sand is such a coward. He can''t even bear the burden for his crimes." Tsunade taunts him. "Say whatever you want! But I hope you will still treat me like a fellow Kage." Rasa closes his eyes. "I see." Izuna steps forward as he lifts Rasa''s chins. "Kazekage or not! I don''t give a shit about your position. It was because of you; I lost my unborn child. It was because of you; I lost my arm. Tell me, how do you want to repay this debt?" *BAM!!* Izuna tightly clutches Rasa''s neck and lifts him. The seal on Rasa''s body breaks as Izuna lifts him into the air. ''Finally, the suppression seal is lifted. I can exert my chakra." Rasa tries to rile up his chakra as he resists Izuna''s grasp. Humph Izuna snorts and exerts his chakra. *BOOOMM!!* The floor beneath them copses as a small crater is formed. "Hokage-sama, at this rate, he will" Inoichi tries to interrupt Izuna. "It''s fine, Inoichi." Tsunade stops him. "The Sand Vige has crossed their limits this time. Despite the peace treaty with Konoha, they dared to plot against us; not only that, they even conspired with the traitor of Konoha and brought a cmity to the vige. If not for Izuna, the entire leaf vige would have met its doom by now. Thanks to his efforts, there were no war casualties. The only person who suffered is Izuna and his family. Let him vent his feelings. Besides, I have faith in Izuna. He won''t do something reckless." "I see." Inoichi stops in his tracks as he waits for orders. *BAMM!!* Izuna smashes Rasa on the floor. Guffaw Rasa pukes a mouthful of blood as he weakly sprawls on the floor. "You want respect, then I will give you respect." *BAMM!!* He smashes Rasa again. Crack Rasa''s bones crack as he weakly sprawls on the ground. Aah He releases a weak squeal as he lifelessly stares at Izuna. "Had enough respect? Or you want more?" Crack snap pop Izuna grabs Rasa as his bone snaps and pops. "Izuna! I think it''s enough. Let me take over." Tsunade stops Izuna. "Fine!" Izuna drops him on the ground. Tsunade walks in front of Rasa. "Kazekage! Every action has consequences, and you must be prepared to face them. If I could, I would get rid of you this very instant." Tsunade clutches her fists. "But I won''t. I don''t want to prematurely start another Shinobi war and embroil the entire shinobi world in chaos. "With the death of all elite shinobis from Sunagakure; the Land of Wind will be defenseless, and it will unleash the greed of other nations. Fourth Shinobi War will break out as relentless struggle to im the territory and resources of Land of Wind will start." Swoosh Tsunade uses the ''Mystical Palm Technique to heal his injuries. "Still, I can''t allow you to leave scot-free. My disciple bled from this attack and Suna will pay the price for this." Tsunade turns towards Izuna and asks him. "What do you think about this proposal?" "I don''t agree." Izuna shakes his head. "Eh! why?" Tsunade is stunned to hear this. "This matter involves Kiri, too. Mei suffered greatly in this battle. He is also a culprit of Kirigakure for attempting murder on their Mizukage. I will let her decide his fate. As for me, since I lost my unborn child due to him; he will pay the price in kind." Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Kamui" Whoosh He opens a swirling portal in front of Rasa. Swoosh An asleep Gaara appears in Izuna''s hand. "GAARA!" Rasa''s eyes widen in horror as he struggles to stand up. Whoosh Izuna waves his hand as Gaara disappears into a portal. "The price of blood shall be paid by blood. From now onwards, your son will be a ''Guest'' of Konoha." "But But he is a jinchuruki!" Rasa protests. "I agree with him." Tsunade nods her head. "NOOOO!!" Rasa screams in despair as Izuna walks out of the room. Bzzzt A sealing form appears in Izuna''s palm. Hmm ''A message from Wrath.'' Izuna infuses some chakra into the seal as a scroll appears in front of him. He opens the scroll and reads its content. "Leader, I have caught the real culprit of this incident." "Huh! The real culprit?" Izuna continues to read the contents. "The real culprit who orchestrated this event and manipted Suna is none other than one of the elders of the Suna council. His name is Tojuro." Izuna rolls down the scroll as a picture of Tojuro is imprinted on it. ''Tojuro holds the number two position in Suna council and his authority is only below the Council leader Honorary Grandfather Ebizo. A few years after the Third Shinobi War, Elder Ebizo retired from the council which left all power and authority in the hands of Tojuro. Tojuro is very ambitious, and he aims to gain control of Suna through the Suna council. Most of the decision-making power lies in his hand and and it was him who ordered for my assassination.'' "I see." Izuna tightly clutches the scroll as anger zes in his eyes. "TOJURO!" '' after further investigation, I think he has some involvement with Kara and he could be one agent of Kara. After searching through all his belongings, I saw various shady transactions of Suna''s resources. If my spection is correct, then elder Tojuro may very well be the sole reason for the economic downfall of Suna and the funder of Kara.'' "I see." Izuna burns the letter into ashes. He takes out a scroll from his pocket and scribbles something on it. Whoosh He activates his Flying Thunder God seal and teleports the scroll. ''Rasa might be innocent and a part of some big scheme; but it doesn''t change the fact that he partook in it. I am no Saint. Those who mess up with my family must be ready to face the consequences." Whoosh Izuna teleports away. ------------------ Inside an underground hideout, Whoosh Obito walks out of a portal. "Madara Uchiha! What brings you here?" Pain and Konan turn towards him. "I am here to remind you that Akatsuki has only one goal, and it''s about time to take a step towards that goal." Whoosh He throws a scroll towards Pain. "It has all the necessary intel in it. Because of the interference of Izuna Uchiha; we have to change our original n." "I see." Pain grabs the scroll and reads its content. "The time for the salvation of this true world hase." He dissipates the scroll and walks out of the underground sewage system of Amegakure. "Release the six paths of pain from their slumber." Chapter 226: Fear Chapter 226: Fear A few moments earlier, In the underground hideout in Mountains Graveyard, Tap tap Obito is sitting on a throne near the remains of God Tree as he raps his finger on the armrest. "Izuna Uchiha! Why?! Why must you interfere with our every n? As long as you exist, Akatsuki could never achieve its goal of world peace. You are preventing the world from achieving true peace." *BAMM!!* He ms his fist on the armrest and cracks it. "Losing your temper over pointless musing won''t lead you anywhere." Whoosh Zetsu slowly gets out of the ground and stands in front of Obito. "Still, Akatsuki had made no progress in these past few years." Obito stands up from his seat and walks towards the God tree. "The Eye of the Moon n is necessary for the salvation of this world. We must seek some other way to put our ns into action. Anyway" Obito turns towards Zetsu. "Report me about the situation in Konoha! One of the spies of Sasori informed us about the cooperation of Fourth Kazekage with Orochimaru. They nned tounch an all-out attack on Konoha to wipe it out. How is the situation over there?" Obito inquires. "I recorded the entire series of events in my memories." Zetsu nods his head. "And?!" " As expected, Sunagakure never stood a chance. Current Konoha is way too strong for other hidden nations to take on by themselves. Even without Izuna Uchiha, Konoha has many other powerful shinobis like Sakumo Hatake, Tsunade Senju, Fugaku Uchiha, Akira Uchiha, Yagami Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, and various other n members" Zetsu lists a few names. He pauses for a while. " also Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage died in this battle." "I see." Obito nods his head. "It won''t affect them much, but Konoha lost one of its spiritual pirs. So how about the battle of Izuna Uchiha?" "No I didn''t get a glimpse of it." Zetsu shakes his head. "There was a barrier erected to prevent outsiders from intruding on the battle, and I didn''t venture closer because of the fear of being discovered. Hmm "But he lost an arm in the battle." Zetsu adds. "That won''t affect him in any major way. Re-growing an arm isn''t a major deal." Obito slowly caresses his body. "I am more concerned about the person who left him in such a state. Izuna Uchiha by himself is enough of a threat to ruin over ns, and now another person with simr strength appears out of nowhere." Obito muses over the matter. Hmm ck Zetsu ponders the details. ''From the memories, I inherited from mother; mother prepared the white Zetsu army tobat a very powerful enemy. Could it be him?'' ''NO! It isn''t possible. Izuna Uchiha will never stand a chance against Mother, much less the cmity mother was prepping for.'' Zetsu shakes his head. ''More and more variables are appearing in my n. Till now, I have been manipting the shinobi world to create the present history; but with the appearance of Izuna Uchiha, everything seems to go out of my control. I have to get rid of him at any cost.'' ck Zetsu stresses his memory for a method to ovee the current predicament. "Found it! This should work." An idea clicks in ck Zetsu''s mind. Hmm Obito raises his head and turns towards him. "Zetsu! Do you have a n?" "Yes, I do." Zetsu nods his head. "You are aware of the fact that I am Madara-sama''s will and have inherited all of his memories!" Mm "That''s true." Obito nods his head. " after his battle with Hashirama Senju; Madara-sama seemingly lost his life, but he defied death through the use of Izanagi" Zetsu continues. Hmm " disgraced by his death, Madara-sama swore to pay the debt to Hashirama Senju. So, Madara-sama wandered the shinobi world to seek greater power. On his journey, he came across an ancient ruin hidden deep in the Land of Sea hidden away from the maind." Whoosh Zetsu rolls out a map of the Shinobi World as he marks a certain spot. "This hidden ancient ruin is filled with many deadly traps and seals, and it is almost impossible to unlock the secret buried in its depth. Madara-sama could only venture to one-fourth of the ruin before being forced to stop. Still, with only one-fourth of the exploration; he coulde across such marvelous weapons and treasures." Zetsu points towards various weapons and scroll decorated on the walls of the hideout. He points towards the ring on his hand and remarks. "These rings were also a part of the treasure of those ruins." "Zetsu! If even Madara Uchiha failed, then how do you expect me to seed. It would be pointless suicide if dared to attempt it." Obito scrutinizes Zetsu. "Back then, Madara-sama was alone and had yet to awaken his Rinnegan. But now with the help from the members of Akatsuki and Pain; I am sure we would be able to dig out the secrets of this ruin." Zetsu assures Obito. "Hmm that''s reasonable. If this could give us an edge in our n; then it is worth the shot." Obito nods his head. "Very well, I will visit Nagato and make preparations." Obito picks up the map and swirls out of the hideout. "You make a fine storyteller, ck!" White Zetsu remarks. "I told him half the truth." ck Zetsu scoffs at White Zetsu. "There are four Otsutsuki ruins spread throughout the corner of the shinobi world. I learned about them from Mother''s memories. After her war with Hagoromo and Hamura; Hagoromo sealed one of the ancient Otsutsuki ruins with a powerful seal. The second ruin became a part of the seal which sealed mother and now it resides on the moon. The Third ruin was forever lost in that chaos. Even I am not aware of its location. As for the final ruin, it is located on an unnamed ind located in the Land of Sea. These ruins are our sole chance of turning the tides in our favor." Swoosh Zetsu enters the ground. ----------------- Inside the Hokage Office, Tsunade is sitting on her Hokage chair as she turns to Izuna. "Izuna! Are you sure it is a good decision to let two jinchuruki meet each other?" Tsunade peeks out of the window as Gaara is talking with Naruto. "Yes! It is the right decision." Izuna nods his head. "I would have just straight up killed Rasa to give this kid a better future. But I will let things y out like this. Besides, this child will only suffer in Suna. I don''t need to remind you about Naruto''s childhood." "Naruto!" Tsunade clutches her fists as the schemes of Danzo freshen up in her memories. "If not for us, he too would have be a tool for the vige, just like this boy. I am no saint when ites to these matters, but I am humane enough to consider the feelings of this innocent child. The people who seek to manipte such a pitiful child are the real monsters. TSUNADE! Power in itself is neither evil nor good. It is the people who wield them that ultimately decide its nature. The tailed beasts are sentient beings made of energy. Like us, they too desire to live a peaceful life; but it is the greed of a few power-hungry people who attempt to use them for their nefarious purposes." Izuna remarks. ''Sorry, Grandpa, I am selling you out on this one. I hope we will be able to reconcile over this.'' Izuna closes his eyes. "But still! How do you n to raise him?" Tsunade asks him. "Well, for the time being, he can live with Naruto. He is a shinobi by birth; so of course, I will train him as a shinobi." Whoosh Izuna raises his hand as a small sand ball form in his hand. "Besides, I can easily teach these party tricks of Rasa to him." "You never change, do you?!" Tsunade shakes her head. "Well, it won''t be me; if I change." Izuna shrugs his shoulders. ''I hope I will never change. The fear of death doesn''t faze me; it is the fear of being unable to see my loved ones that shake me to my core. Death! Huh! Let''s see who will win this race.'' ------------------------ A/N:- In canon, Orochimaru had a secretb in Land of Sea where he first created his cursed seal and branded Anko. I will leave the rest to your imagination. Chapter 227: Self-Reflection Chapter 227: Self-Reflection In a secret underground hideout, Puff A man with shaggy brown hair sporting a pair of small, circr ck sses takes a deep puff from his cigar. He wears a ck suit with a purple tie, a yellow shirt underneath his ck coat. Puff He takes another puff from his cigar before extinguishing it by rubbing it on the tabletop. Another man in a hooded cloak with a colored lining, fastened at the right shoulder is sitting in front of him. "So, you want to offer protection to me?" The spectacled man takes out another cigar from his pocket. ck ck A nearby goon lights up his cigar with a lighter as he takes another puff of smoke. "Matter of life and death are whimsical in your line of business. Having a strong bodyguard adds an extrayer of protection and can be death-defying when things go south." The hooded man remarks. "Well well that''s indeed the truth. But we are a legal shippingpany which provides transportation facilities to fisherman and we need no such protection." The man in sses remarks. "Gato Company! I know how much of a legalpany you are, but the choice is yours." The hooded man stands up and strolls out of the room. "Boss, who was he?" A light-skinned man with bluish-white hair and ck eyes walks out from another room. A long Katana with a blue handle is strapped to his waist. "Oh! He He is just another random penniless guy seeking to earn some quick bucks by offering protection to my business." Gato takes another puff from his cigar. "So, he is another guy with all talk and no weight." Another man of tall stature walks out of the room. He wears a ck eye-patch over his right eye and has brown hairs parted in three, finishing in an borate topknot. There are various intricate tattoo marks stretched across all over his body. "Ignore him, Zori! Waraji! You two are more than enough to take care of these minor matters." "Yes, boss." Zori and Waraji nod their head. Gato extinguishes his cigar as he turns to them. "So, how is the matter with the Land of Waves? I want to establish headquarter for ourpany. You two are mercenaries from that ce, right? So, you must have some idea about the ce." Gato questions them. "Lord Gato! As you know, it is just a small ind nation with no hidden vige of its own. They don''t have any shinobis to rely upon for protecting thend." Zori answers him. "I see." Gato nods his head as he ns another evil scheme. --------------- Outside the secret underground, The hooded figure takes out a strange device from his pocket. He presses some buttons on the device as it lights up. "How was it?" A deep voice questions from the other end of themunication device. "He refused." The hooded man answers. "I see. There is no need to waste any more of your time. Just visit another person. We require some funds to continue my research. Just approach someone else. Beep" The voice cuts off as the hooded figure curiously stares at the small strange device in his hand. "Is he monitoring me using this device?" The hooded man pockets the device and flickers away. ----------- Inside an underground researchb in Land of Ancestors, Beep Amado ces down hismunication device. "The research requires an extensive amount of funding, and our only source of money is now out ofmission. We have to look for somebody else to fund the organization." Amado adjusts his spectacles as he stares at the test subjects. ''I am ready to sacrifice my morality as long as I can achieve my goal.'' Swish He tears off a small sample of flesh from one of the test subjects and experiments on it as he continues to ponder on recent events. ''The Otsutsuki n members have God-like powers, and they shaped the shinobi world to its current form. But it''s all a facade, in the eyes of Otsutsuki n; the natives of this world are nothing more than livestock.'' Amado shakes his head. ''But still Izuna Uchiha! Looks like I need to pay a visit to him. He is a man who bears a mighty fate.'' Amado continues his research. --------------- Achoo Izuna sneezes as he slowly opens his eyes. Various small purple orbs are floating around him. ''I have finally gained a basic understanding of Electroma Release Kekkei Shi. That previous explosion in my fight against Jigen opened a new possibility to use Electroma Releases.'' ''Electroma Release: Shinra Bansh'' Whoosh Izuna wills one of the floating purple orbs to appear in his hand. He stretches his right palm as the purple orb floats in front of him. ''They are still short of being a true truth-seeking orb, but we can consider them as fake truth-seeking orbs. Their powers are severallyckingpared to the real deal and I can''t shape-shift them freely, but I can replenish them however I want; though the amount of chakra they take is phenomenal.'' Whoosh The orbs return behind his back. ''Light Release: Camouge Cloak'' He cloaks the orbs to hide their presence. ''The amount of concentration they require is quite high and I can only control a maximum of five of these orbs at a time; any more than this and I will lose control over them and they will explode violently.'' Izuna stands up and stretches his body. "It has been a month since the Konoha Crush incident. Mei has somewhat recovered from the incident, but the trauma is still present. Besides, she is also burdened by her Mizukage duties and she won''t allow me to help with her matters. I will pay a visit to her after her Mizukage duties are over. Maybe the fresh air of Shikkotsu forest will ease the burden from her shoulders." Izuna jumps from the top of the giant tree of Shikkotsu Forest andnds on the ground. "As for our marriage, it is a major political issue and will have serious implications. I don''t give a crap about that, but I cannot convince the council members of Konoha and Kiri. After the dust from this previous incident settles, nobody will be able to stop us from getting married." He wipes the dust from his clothes and walks towards a nearby waterfall to clean himself. "Izuna-kun! I heard about the details from Tsunade-sama and I am very sorry for your loss." The tentacles of giant Katsuyu shake frantically. "It''s fine, Lady Katsuyu." Izuna shakes his head. "Time is a great healer." ''It can take the edge off the pain in my heart, but will it be able to fill the void left by the loss? Only time will tell.'' He turns towards Katsuyu. "Lady Katsuyu! I will return for now. Maybe I will pay you a visit in the evening." Whoosh Izuna teleports from Shikkotsu Forest. He reappears on top of the Hokage Monument in Konoha. "Power doesn''t forge a person; pain and suffering do. Maybe it is a lesson for me to never lose sight of my goals. Every person suffers from pain. Either it is the pain of discipline Or it is the pain of regret. I would rather suffer the pain of discipline for my entire life than suffer the pain of regret even once." Izuna closes his eyes as he self-reflects. Whoosh He jumps from the Hokage Monument and walks towards the Uchiha n. "Nii-san Nii-san! train me." He spots Naruto, who is running towards him. Swoosh Naruto stops in front of him. "Naruto! Ask your Kakashi-sensei for more training! I am sure thatzy ass must be goofing somewhere reading that holy scripture of his." Izuna shakes his head as Naruto continues to pester him for training. "But but Nii-san! I feel like I am not improving with Kakashi Sensei''s training." Heins. Hmm ''Maybe I was too harsh with my training leading to their quick improvement. Their abilities as shinobi might have improved vastly, but as such, I failed to incorporate the values of a shinobi.'' "Naruto! I think you are quite strong as you are. Why don''t you request some high-rank missions? I think it will provide you with more experience and you will see your improvement." Izuna suggests. "Mm That makes sense. I will immediately ask Granny for a B-rank mission." Whoosh Naruto flickers away. "Well! Good luck with that." Izuna shakes his head. Chapter 228: Valley of Lies Part-1 Chapter 228: Valley of Lies Part-1 ************ Finally, I am out from quarantine. With the resurgence of Covid-19 in India, I also got infected. Took me a week to recover and get discharged. With that said, I am back home, the college is closed again. So, yeah we will pick up the pace for the story. I will try to post 10-11 chapters a week. With that said, here is a double chapter. ************ In a giant metallic skyscraper In Amegakure, "PAIN! Do you think it is a good idea to leave Ame unguarded?" Konan address Deva Path as she stares at the perpetual rain falling on the metallic jungle of Amegakure. "Konan... Akatsuki''s sole aim is to achieve true peace in this world. The safety of the Ame is of secondary importance." Deva Path Pain approaches the window as he gazes upon the residents of Ame flocking through the streets. "But... Pain!..." Konan argues. "KONAN! Izuna Uchiha is a threat to Akatsuki. He is a threat to our dreams and goals. We won''t be able to achieve our dreams without getting rid of this threat." Deva Path cuts off Konan. "I am sure Yahiko also wants the same." "I... I see..." Konan swallows her words. "Besides... I am sure you will take care of matters in Ame in my absence." "I will." Konan reassures him. Swirl... Whoosh... A swirling portal appears behind them as Obito walks out of the portal. "That won''t be the case." He takes out a scroll from his pocket and throws it towards Deva Path. Swoosh... Deva Path catches the scroll and questioningly turns towards him. "Madara! What do you mean?" "Take a look at the scroll." Obito calmly replies. Deva Path opens the scroll and reads its content. "Intel on the location of the hidden Jinchuruki of Iwagakure!" "Yes!" Obito nods his head. "The tailed-beasts are an integral part of our n. Without them, it is impossible toplete the ''Eye of the Moon n''." Obito remarks. "We will capture them at all costs. The decree of God can''t be defied." Pain clutches his fist. "Currently, the jinchurukis of One-tails and Nine-tails are in Konoha. The jinchuruki of Two-tails and Eight-tails are in Kumogakure. Three-tails have yet to revive from its previous death. The jinchuruki of Six-tails has gone rogue and the jinchuruki of the Seven-tails has yet to be identified. This only leaves us with the jinchuruki of Four-tails and Five-tails. The information pertaining to them is hidden quite well by Iwagakure." Obito slowly walks towards the window as he stares outside. "Recently, one of Sasori''s informant found out some intel regarding them." Obito turns towards Konan and remarks. "Nagato and his Six Paths of Pain will be crucial to explore the ruins. So, I would like you to visit this informant and dig out the intel." "But..." Konan hesitates. "Very well, she will do it." Pain nods his head. "Only through pain and suffering the world shall achieve true peace. Even a foolish child can grow up in the right way when he learns what pain is. Knowing pain controls one''s thoughts and decisions. The world shall know pain." Deva Path spreads his arms as he gazes at Ame. "I... I see. Then I will follow your n." Konan weakly nods her head. --------------------- Outside Konoha, In an underground secret hideout, Whoosh... A shadow flickers in front of the entrance. The shadow takes out a seal from its pocket and unseals the formation. Hmm... Izuna raises his head and remarks. "Pride... you are here." "Yes, leader." Pride flickers in front of Izuna and passes a scroll to him. "Leader, this is the information you requested." Mm... Izuna nods his head and opens the scroll. "I have already gathered the chakra of all tailed beasts except the five-tails." Hmm... "Valley of lies! It is a smallndmark located at the border of the Land of Mountains. The informant is a resident of Shangri-La; a small vige situated in between a gorge." Izuna folds the scroll and pockets it. "Great job, Pride! You can take a break and pay a visit to your family. But keep in mind, you can only do so from a distance; for that is your sin and retribution." "I will bear that in mind." Pride nods his head and flickers out. Whoosh... Izuna teleports from his location and reappears in his room. "Finally... I will be able to gather the chakra of all tailed beasts and perform the Yin-Yang: Bnce in All things technique to revive Minato and Kushina-san." Bzzt... Hmm... Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket. The scroll shines brightly with a purple glow. "A summon from Ryuchi Cave!" Izuna''s expression turns serious. "Well... it won''t hurt to pay a visit to that old hag snake Sage." Izuna closes his eyes and senses the location of Ryuchi cave. Whoosh... He teleports at the outskirt of Ryuchi cave. "Let''s see what the Snake Sage has to say?" Izuna saunters in the Ryuchi cave. HISSS... A giant purple snake with ck rings appears in his vision. "Oh! Isn''t it the boss summon Manda himself? You like quite good with that fresh look." Izuna remarks as he stares at the charred skin of Manda. "You too. This new look suits you well." Manda snorts as he stares at the left hand of Izuna. "At least, we can agree on something. Haha..." Izunaughs as he walks towards Manda. Bang... Heunches Manda in the air and walks deeper into Ryuchi cave. "Bastard! I will repay you for this." Manda releases a weak squeal. "Lad! You are here." An old, grumpy voice greets him as a giant, white snake appears in front of him. "You should be more gentle to that Manda brat." She remarks. "Let''s say we are cut from the same cloth." Izuna shakes his head. "You should better look for another sessor." He remarks. "He is the most powerful of his generation. But it is his arrogance and ignorance that holds him back." The White Snake Sage remarks. "So, where is the boy?" Izuna questions her. The giant white snake points her tail towards the pool. "There!... The boy has ovee the trial. Now he has officially be a Sage." Hmm... Izuna turns towards the pool as he senses a massive surge of Nature energy. Whoosh... Kimimaro absorbs arge amount of Nature energy in his body as his pupil changes to resemble a snake. Various tendrils of Nature energy gather around his body and morph into snakes. Whoosh... shoom... Kimimaro disappears from his ce and reappears in front of Izuna. Swoosh... He directs a punch at Izuna''s face. Swish... Izuna stretches his palm and catches his fist. "Not bad." Whoosh... Kimimaro takes a step back and disappears again. He flickers around Izuna in an attempt to confuse him. Whoosh... Kimimaro reappears in Izuna''s blind spot and tries to stab him with a bone infused with the Snake Sage Mode. "Your reflexes have improved greatly. But there are still many unnecessary movements." Izuna raises his palm and brings it down. Bang... Kimimaro is smashed into the ground and forms a crater. "Ouch!" He clutches his forehead as the Sage Mode disappears. "I am sorry, Angel-san. I couldn''t live up to your expectations." Kimimaro performs dogeza in front of Izuna. "No!... you did quite well. I am happy with your improvement." Izuna shakes his head as he picks up Kimimaro. "Boy! You should be a little prouder of your achievement. It took you only two years to master Snake Sage Mode. You seeded where others failed. It has been thousand years since the Ryuchi cave had a human Sage." m... The Snake Sage ps its tail on the ground. "But... but... Angel-san is already a sage." Kimimaro meekly replies. m... "Boy! He is an exception. Don''t judge him in the same light as others." The Snake Sage remarks as she turns to Izuna. "With this, the Ryuchi Cave has fulfilled its part of the promise. Since there is no other matter; you may see yourself out. I have to enter into my mediation to recover my energy." The snake sage closes her eyes and enters into a deep slumber. ''She is still holding a grudge for losing the bet.'' Izuna shrugs his shoulder and flickers out of the Ryuchi Cave. Whoosh... Both of them exit the separate istion Space Barrier of Ryuchi cave. Shoom... Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and inspects Kimimaro''s body. ''Hmm... there is no sign of cancer anymore. The poison must have acted as an inhibitor to the cancer cells. Paired with the rich Nature energy of Ryuchi cave, he has recovered from his bone ailment.'' Izuna nods his head. ''Also... his bones... they have mutated.'' Izuna notices various greyish marks on Kimimaro''s bones. ''From the looks of it, his Kekkei Genkai has attained a perfect state and now it is in harmony with his body and chakra. Now he won''t suffer the same problem as earlier.'' "Well done, Kid!" Izuna pats Kimimaro''s shoulders. "Angel-san! I am ready to serve you." "Uh! Huh!... Let''s talk about itter. For now, let''s go on another journey like the previous time." Izuna scratches his head. ''I don''t know what kind ofxatives his n fed to him to make him this loyal.'' "Yes, Angel-san. I will follow your lead." Kimimaro nods his head. He takes out a small diary from his pocket and scribbles on it. Chapter 229: Valley of Lies Part-2 Chapter 229: Valley of Lies Part-2 At the border of Land of Mountains, "We are here." Izuna and Kimimaro scale a very tall mountain as they gaze at a gorge located in between two mountains. Hmm Izuna takes out the map from his pocket to assure the location. "This is the location, but I can''t see anything out of ordinary here." A long river flows through the gorge, parting two mountains in half. "SHARINGAN!" Izuna activates his Sharingan and gazes down on the slope of the hill. "I see that makes sense." He nods his head as the truth appears in front of his eyes. "No wonder they call this ce as the ''Valley of Lies''. This entire mountain range is shrouded in a veryrge-scale genjutsu. To any outsider, the ce will just look like a normal mountain range, but it can''t fool my eyes." Izuna turns towards Kimimaro. "Have you done skydiving before?" "SKYDIVING?!" Kimimaro tilts his head in confusion. "No problem there''s first time for everything." Izuna lifts Kimimaro and points him towards the base of the hill. Gulp "UH! Angel-san! I am afraid." Kimimaro gulps his saliva. "Daijoubu! Daijoubu! Besides, I am also here with you." Whoosh "Here you go!" Izuna swings his right arm andunches Kimimaro towards the foothill. "This is the actual test of your skills." Whoosh Izuna takes a leap of faith from the peak of the mountain. --------------- At the base of the Mountain, Ha ha ha Kimimaro is breathing heavily as there are various bruises on his body. "I I did it." "Well done." Izuna nods his head. "Mystic Palm Technique" Izuna heals Kimimaro''s wound. "With the Snake Sage Mode, your body has gained the traits of a snake. Your body has be more flexible and it will help greatly with your Kekkei Genkai." "Yes, Angel-san." Kimimaro nods his head. ''Maybe I am too harsh to him. But only life-threatening situation can awaken the true potential.'' Izuna shakes his head. "Kimimaro, our destination is here." Izuna remarks as he stares at a giant boulder. He walks towards the boulder and investigates it. "Found it." Kacha click He activates the mechanism and a passage opens in a nearby hill. "Let''s go." Kimimaro stands up and dusts his clothes. Both of them walk inside the cave as Izuna exins the details. "Shangri-La is a small vige hidden deep in the valley of Lies. This vige is a haven for rogue ninja who abandoned the life of shinobi and aims to live peacefully. A genjutsu barrier is erected on the hill and is maintained by the vigers to deter bounty hunters from the vige. The ninjas of the vige use Transformation Jutsu to hide their actual identity." Izuna turns towards Kimimaro. "So let''s change our appearance." Izuna makes some hand signs. "Transformation Jutsu" He transforms into a burly middle-aged man with a scar on his right eye. "As for you, Kimimaro you are fine as you are. You just need some touch-ups." Whoosh Izuna takes out a make-up kit from his storage scroll and ''paints'' Kimimaro''s looks. "Well I think I did a good job with my make-up." Izuna nods his head as he stares at his masterpiece on Kimimaro''s face. "Just a few touch-ups here and there!" After half an hourter, "It is a nice cosy. You are ready to go." Izuna stores his make-up kit and nods at Kimimaro''s new appearance. Kimimaro takes out the small diary from his pocket and scribbles on it. "Cosy is good." Both of them continue to walk through the underground passage as they approach the vige. Whoosh whoosh Three masked ninjas appear in front of them. They draw their kunais and point them towards the duo. "Halt!" Both of them stop as they warily stare at the group. "Outsiders aren''t allowed are here. Please return to where you came from." One of the shinobi walks in front of them and threatens them. "No no we aren''t here for trouble." Izuna shakes his hands. "My name is Akihito, and this is my son, Akifumi. We are from a small shinobi vige from thend of Grass. The head of our vige was a lecher and a sexual deviant. While I was on a mission; he assaulted my wife. Out of guilt and sorrow, my wifemitted suicide. When I came back from my mission, I learned about the truth. Enraged by this, I murdered that son of a bitch and fled the vige. Since then, I have been on a constant run with my son. It has been five years since then." Izuna gently pats Kimimaro''s head. "He is my only family in this world. I want to give a stable and peaceful life to him. A life where he would never have to live in fear of death. Recently, I heard about this ce from someone. So, we climbed all the way to this mountain to reach this haven." Tears fall from his eyes as he hugs Kimimaro. Sob sob The eyes of one of the guard shinobis tear up. "I feel you, brother. I share the same story as you. But in my case, I had no family." "We share the same sentiment as you, brother. All the residents of Shangri-La have suffered one way or another." The remaining two shinobi also nod their head as their eyes tears up. They withdraw their weapon and guide them towards the vige. "Shangri-La wees you. All of us are the rogue criminals of this cruel world. We hope you will be able to achieve peace here." The group continues to walk deeper into the cave. ''Damn! I never expected my third-grade drama to melt their heart. Does this mean I am a natural-born actor? Maybe I should have opted acting as a career path rather than medical studies.'' Izuna silently stares at their back as they walk along the bank of the river. "Would you mind telling me more about this vige?" Izuna turns towards one of the shinobis of Shangri-La. The shinobi nods his head as he exins. "Shangri-La was originally a small cave which was part of this giant mountain. After the end of the First Shinobi War, a group of shinobi from smaller nations fled to this ce to preserve their life. They dug out the mountain and found this vige. Since then, the vige has continued to expand. As the vige is carved out from the mountain, there is always a risk ofndslide. So, the previous vige Head nted a giant tree to acts as a support for the base of the mountain." The shinobi points towards a gigantic tree situated in the middle of the cavern. "I see." Izuna nods his head as he secretly activates his Sharingan to investigate the tree. ''Hmm there is nothing unusual about this tree other than the fact that it is surrounded byrge amounts of Nature energy. Maybe it is the effect of its immense vitality.'' "We are here." The group stops as they reach the base of the giant tree. Knock Knock One of the shinobi knocks on a small door embedded in the tree. Creak The door creaks open as an old man with a long white beard walks out of the treehouse. "What''s the matter, Fusao?" Fusao bows in front of the old man. "Chief, there are neers." He points towards the ''father-son duo. Hmm The old vige chief scrutinizes Izuna and Kimimaro and nods his head. "Good! It has been almost three years since someone new joined the vige. Fusao! Exin the drill to them." The old chief turns around and returns to his treehouse. Fusao turns towards the duo and remarks. "You must have already encountered the barrier around the vige." Izuna nods his head. "Yes, we came across the barrier. Since we were specifically seeking for the vige; it didn''t fool our eyes." "Hmm" Fusao nods his head. "The barrier requires an enormous amount of chakra to maintain, as such many of the vigers spent four hours a day to help maintain the barrier. Since you are now a member of the vige; you would also have to fulfill this duty." "I will fulfill this duty." Izuna nods his head. "Good! Let me escort you to an empty house. Whenever a viger dies; he leaves behind an empty house. You can live in one of these houses." He directs the pair to one of the old houses. Chapter 230: A Peculiar Village Chapter 230: A Peculiar Vige Hmm Izuna inspects his surroundings as he closes the door. "All these people are in disguise. Can''t me them; all of them are criminals or rogue shinobis. I have little to do with the vige, but the informant is from this ce. I wonder who he is?" "Seal" He makes a hand sign and ces a Fuinjutsu seal on the door. ''It has be an instinct of mine to ce sealing forms everywhere.'' Izuna shakes his head and turns towards Kimimaro. "Kimimaro! your Kekkei Genkai Shikotsumyaku is an integral part of yourbat. Paired with taijutsu and Senjutsu; you will be a force to be reckoned with." "It''s all thanks to you, Angel-san." Kimimaro bows in front of him. "But it''s not enough." Izuna shakes his head. " you don''t have any talent for genjutsu and even your ninjutsu skills are very poor." Izuna remarks as he makes some hand signs. Crackle Snap Pop Kimimaro snaps his bones and takes out a bone sword from his arm. "I don''t need ninjutsu or genjutsu to kill my enemies. I can just slice them off with my bones." A hint of bloodlust appears in Kimimaro''s eyes. Izuna notices the bloodlust in his eyes. ''It must be the effect of his bloodline. As he reaches adulthood, more and more of his bloodline potential will be released and he too will slowly turn insane, like his n mates. No wonder the Snake Sage Mode suits him. But he needs to keep his bloodlust in check.'' "I see." Izuna nods his head as he lifts his finger and points it towards Kimimaro. "Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique" He casts a simple genjutsu on Kimimaro. Argh Kimimaro clutches his forehead and shakes in fear as he hugs his body. Snap Izuna snaps his body and dispels the genjutsu. "This was a D-Rank genjutsu meant to be used against chunnins and genins, and yet it turned into a nightmare for you." "I I am sorry." Kimimaro lies down on the ground as his entire body is drenched in sweat. "Having self-confidence is fine and all. But you must never underestimate your enemies. Since you know your weakness; it is time to get rid of it." ''What about you, brat? Most of the time you underestimate your enemies. Hmph'' Kurama snorts at him. ''Let''s not talk about that.'' Izuna turns his head away in embarrassment. Haha ahaha Minato and Kushina chuckles. ''I agree with Kurama on this matter.'' Minato nods his head. ''Not you too Minato-san.'' Izuna drops his head in shame. Ahem He clears his throat and turns to Kimimaro. Whoosh Izuna takes out a chakra paper from his pocket. "I never checked your chakra nature; maybe it is time to do so." He hands over the chakra paper to Kimimaro. "Infuse your chakra in this chakra paper." Swoosh Kimimaro grabs the paper and infuses his chakra into the paper. Drip drip Crumble crumble The paper turns soggy before it crumbles apart in the dust. "I see! So, you have a dual chakra nature of Earth and Water. That''s pretty good." Izuna nods his head. "In these uing days, I would train you in some basic ninjutsu techniques. Since you don''t have an affinity for genjutsu; we will skip that part. I will only teach you how to dispel a genjutsu. So, get ready for the training." "Yes Angel-san." Kimimaro meekly nods his head. -------------------- Outside the Land of Valley, Whoosh Konan climbs the mountain as she reaches the peak of the summit of the mountain. "This is the ce." She takes out the map from her scroll and checks the location. Swoosh Icy winds blow in the mountain as a chill runs down her spine. She pockets the scroll and gazes at the bottomless end on the other side of the mountain. Scramble scramble ''Dance of the Shikigami'' Various paper sheets gather behind her. The paper sheets form two giant wings behind her. Swoosh The paper wings create a thrust as she flies to the bottom of the hill. Whoosh She smoothlynds at the bottom of the hill. "It must be somewhere around here." Konan searches for the hidden mechanism to enter the vige. She founds the mechanism. Swoosh ''Paper Transformation Technique'' The paper gathers around her as she changes her outer appearance. Whoosh whoosh Three masked shinobis with kunais block her way. "Halt!" ----------------- "Kimimaro, I have taught the basic technique to you. Practice it diligently and you will master it in no time." Izuna instructs Kimimaro. "I am on my way to barrier maintenance duty." He steps out of the house. "You are right on time, Akihito! I will teach you the method." Izunaes across Fusao, who guides him towards the location of the barrier squad. Both of them approach the center of the vige, near the giant tree. "This giant tree serves as the foundation of this vige. It not only supports the weight of the entire mountain on itself but also acts as a core for the barrier. The roots of this tree are spread throughout this mountain range and thus act as a chakra circuit to maintain the barrier." Fusao exins the details of the barrier to Izuna. Whoosh whoosh Both of them scale the giant tree as theynd on one of its branches. There are two giant blue leaves on the branch. Swish swish Fusao makes some One-hand signs as he ces another hand on the leaf. Swoosh A surge of chakra rises from Fusao''s body and enters leaf. Hmm Izuna curiously stares at the process as he activates his Sharingan. "This is" His eyes widen in surprise as various chakra veins and circuits appear in his vision. The chakra veins on the leaf absorb Fusao''s chakra and the chakra circuit circtes it through the tree before spreading the chakra to the roots. ''Wonderful truly wonderful I have never seen such a method of creating barriers. There are no fuinjutsu seals involved at all. Not only this, but this entire tree; I have never seen such a thing even in the Mount Myoboku; Ryuchi cave, or Shikkotsu Forest.'' Izuna curiously surveys the entire tree. "It''s your turn now." Fusao interrupts Izuna''s thoughts. "I" Izuna helplessly stares at his left arm. "" Fusao notices the missing left arm of Izuna. "Eh! why don''t you try to ce your leg on the leaf? Just make the necessary hand signs with your right hand." He suggests. "That could work." Izuna nods his head and follows the instruction. Swoosh A massive surge of chakra rises from his body as the tree greedily absorbs the entire chakra. "This at this rate, this tree will suck me dry." Izuna''s expression turns ugly as he wrestles control of his chakra. ''I have been sucked dry for almost ten years. My chakra control has grown to the point that I won''t even waste a single drop of my chakra.'' He directs a small amount of his chakra to the tree. An hourter, Huff Huff Fusao breathes heavily as the tree continues to absorb his chakra. "You don''t look so well." Izuna notices the pale expression of Fusao. "It''s nothing." Fusao shakes his head. "I have to do my share to protect the vige. Also it''s not like we have to do it every day. We need to do this once per week as for the rest of the days; someone else will take over. Huff huff" Fusao assures Izuna as he pants. Hmm Izuna activates his Sharingan as he inspects Fusao''s body. ''The rate at which his chakra is draining, I am afraid he will suffer from Acute Chakra Deficiency (ACD) within next two hours. His body will lose its bodily function, and it willpensate the rest with his vitality. What urate calction? Three hours is the perfect time to stop.'' Izuna analyses the situation as the gears in his mind churns. ''Don''t tell me, I havee across another trouble. Am I a trouble ma or something? Why does every unknown trouble of shinobi world cling to me?'' Izuna closes his eyes as he muses over the matter. ''Still if my hunch is right, which usually is. Then something is fishy about this ce. Not just fishy; I can smell the entire fucking ocean here.'' Sniff sniff Izuna takes a deep breath as a soothing fragrance enters his nose. Haah He takes a deep breath as his body rxes automatically. rms ring in Izuna''s mind as it lowers his guard. ''What''s going on? What''s the deal with this fragrance? Why my body is acting strangely?" Fusao notices Izuna''s tense expression and chuckles. "There is nothing to worry about. This is the scent of the ze snow lilies grown in the nearby pond. These lilies produce a fragrant aroma which soothes mind and body." Fusao takes a deep breath and calmly closes his eyes. ''ze Snow Lily?! It sounds like some sort of chakraxative. Well, whatever it is; I will face it head-on.'' Chapter 231: Flower of Deceit Chapter 231: Flower of Deceit Later in Night, Whoosh Izuna jumps on the top of the roof. "Light Release: Camouge Cloak" He hides his presence as he surveys the vige. ''There is nothing noteworthy about this vige, maybe except that giant-ass tree.'' Izuna turns towards the giant tree in the center of the vige. The tree is lit up with a faint blue hue as shallow moonlight shines on the tree. Izuna raises his head and stares at the almost round moon visible from the giant crack in the mountain. Two vigers are continuously pumping their chakra into the tree. ''Earlier, while pumping chakra in this tree, I noticed the unusual flow of chakra. The tree directs only a small percent of the chakra towards the barrier, it directs the rest somewhere else. Either these vigers are scheming something or they are being used by someone else.'' Izuna shakes his head. Swoosh He takes out the intel scroll from his scroll. "9 o''clock from the tree will lead to a small stream; move along the stream and a small cave will appear in vision. There is a small pond in the stream filled with ze snow lilies. Dive in the pond. There is a small secret passage hidden at the bottom of the pond. Enter the passage and swim for five minutes. After five minutes, a small exit will appear which will lead you to the other side of the pond. Meet me on the night of the full moon, I will wait for you there." "It''s still three days before the day of the full moon. Maybe till then, I can research this vige." ''Sharingan'' He activates his Sharingan and jumps on top of another house. Whoosh In a small house at the other end of the Shangri-La Vige, "I have an odd feeling about this vige." Konan gazes out of the window as she looks at the giant tree in the center of the vige. "Somehow, this giant tree reminds me of the God tree from the Legend of the Sage of Six Paths." Being a part of Akatsuki. she has paid close ation to the history of the shinobi world especially with the emergence of Izuna Uchiha. Akatsuki has been stifled to the point that they dare not make a move after the previous Uchicha Incident. Thus, to seek advantages she had turned to shinobi history to seek some legends and myths. Scribble scribble Konan maniptes some paper sheets and creates a replica of the giant tree. Scribble scribble She maniptes more papers and creates another paper origami of a giant tree. "Madara revealed the details of the ns to Nagato. But Nagato never mentioned the details to me." Whoosh A gust of wind blows as an enchanting fragrance wafts in the air. Konan closes her eyes as the image of a young Nagato and Yahiko appears in her memories. "YAHIKO! You left me all alone in this cruel world." A teardrop drips from her eyes as her hair flutters in the wind. "Yahiko! Nagato I was the support that holds our bridge up. Yet, unknowingly I became the weak link which led to the copse of that bridge." She closes her eyes as the memories of Yahiko''s death floods her mind. The enemy captured and held her as a hostage, forcing Nagato and Yahiko in a disadvantageous position. "At your deathbed I made a promise to myself!... A promise to never leave Nagato''s side; no matter the circumstances." Swoosh Konan takes out a small orange paper flower. "But but Yahiko I failed the promise. Nagato has be an empty husk devoid of emotions." More tears fall from her eyes as she continues to reminisce about her past. "With each passing day Why do I always feel like Nagato is getting farther and farther away from me? Why do we have to shoulder the burden of world peace?" Sob sob Konan hugs the orange flower to her bosom as she lets out her emotions. "Yahiko! I miss you. I feel empty without you. There is no such thing as hope in this world, only pain and suffering. If only was not so useless back then." Haah She wipes her tears and returns to her emotionless state. Swish swish She makes some hand signs and releases a handful of paper butterflies from the window. The butterflies flutter through the window and disperse in the vige. "I have to gather the intel on this vige. There seems to be something suspicious about this vige." She makes a hand sign and controls the movements of the butterflies. Whoosh Izuna jumps on top of another house as he records the true identity of the resident in his memory. "No matter what technique you use to hide your identity, I can see through it with my eyes." He turns towards another house as he uses his X-ray vision to peer in the house. He notices a pair of husband and wife in the house. Fwish The wife has a whip in her hand as she whips her half-naked husband. "WOW! Now that''s a rare sight. The wife is an S, and the husband is an M." He turns towards another house. Hmm "Interesting now that''s something unusual. I can see two different people in this house, but both of them have the same chakra signature but have different physical bodies. Is that a shadow clone?" "Mangekyo Sharingan" He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan to see through the clone. "Oh! So, that''s how it is. No wonder he can fool these vigers. Mud Release! he possesses the unusual Mud Release Kekkei Genkai. It is a nature transformation of Water Release and Earth release, the same as Wood Release; but the chakra proportion of Mud Release and Wood Releases are different. Wood Release is so famous and legendary. Courtesy of First Hokage, that the Mud Release is considered a hoax. I never expected toe across it here of all ces." He copies the details of the Mud Releases with his Mangekyo. ''Though, I won''t use it. But maybe it might help me in some rainy days.'' Swoosh A gust of wind blows as an enchanting fragrance wafts in the air. Sniff The fragrance enters his body as a feeling of sorrow and guilt ovees him. He tries to resist the feeling. ''What?! what is this?'' He raises his guard and warily looks around. ''Is it some sort of genjutsu? But I am immune to most types of genjutsu thanks to my Sharingan!'' He continues to look around for the source of the fragrance. His gaze stops on the pond located in the center of the vige, near the giant tree. Swoosh The ze snow lilies flutter in the wind as they release small microscopic pollens in the air. "I see." Izuna activates his micro vision as he inspects his body. There are various microscopic white pollens stuck in his lungs and windpipe. The pollens have a purple hue as they release a strange chakra in his body. "These ze snow lilies are the source of all trouble. During the day, these lilies release pollens which induce happiness, and during the night the pollens induce sorrow and remorse." Swish swish He makes some hand signs as purple lightning flickers in his hand. Bzzz He infuses the purple lightning in his body. Cough cough He coughs out ck smoke from his nose and mouth. "I hate this method, but at least it gets the job done." He gets rids of all the pollens from his body. "I have never heard or read about such kind of flower in any archives. Not even thend of Medicine has any information on them." Aaah "Harder Harder Daddy Harder!" "" Loud moans fill his ears as he slowly turns towards the house with the couple. The Husband whips his wife as she moans loudly. "My eyes WHAT DID I SEE?!" Izuna rubs his eyes as he is bbergasted by the situation. "What the heck? This pollen reversed their personality. Now the husband is an S, and the wife is an M. Scary!! This flower is scary. I will pick a few samples of this flower to research them." Whoosh He flickers away towards another house. An hourter, He returns to his house and dispels the camouge. "This vige is more interesting than I imagined. First is this mysterious tree located in the center of the vige. Then there is this weird flower of deceit that influences emotions. What other secret does this vige hide?" He muses to himself. "There are exactly sixty-nine people in this vige, including us. Most of them are deserters who fled here in the hope of a better life. Almost all of them are in Bingo Book and have a huge bounty on their head. But!! What I never expected was toe across Konan here? I wonder what Akatsuki is up to?" Sob sob "Angel-san please relive me from this pathetic life. I am a monster who has killed countless people. Please kill me." Kimimaro grabs his legs and wails in sorrow. Sigh ''I see. So, this flower has a different effect on different people. For some, it brings out their insecurities and maniptes their behaviors. For others, it manifests their worst fears. Truly, a scary flower.'' Bzzz Purple lightning flickers through his right hand as he ces it on Kimimaro''s chest. "It might hurt a little, but bear with it." Chapter 232: A Giant Problem Chapter 232: A Giant Problem Three days pass in the blink of an eye, On the night of the full moon, Whoosh Izuna flickers out of his house as the full moonlight casts its serene brilliance on the vige. ''The moon seems to be a bit bigger today.'' Izuna raises his head and takes a nce at the moon. "It''s about time to meet with the informant." He flickers towards the pond as various thoughts pop in his mind. ''After spending four days in this vige, I am unable to solve the mystery of this vige. The more I ravel about this vige, the more mysterious it bes. Given the nature of this vige, so far I can''t trust anything here.'' Izuna takes out the intel scroll from his pocket. ''This scroll seems to be nothing more than a farce, but I am curious to learn about the nature of this vige. Still, I will take some precautionary measures." Izuna closes his eyes and stretches his right hands in front of him. "Shinra Bansh" Five dense purple orbs manifest in his palm. Swoosh He wills the orbs to float behind him. ''To a certain extent these orbs are infused with an extent of my will; so, they can operate autonomously to protect me.'' Whoosh Izuna hides his presence as he flickers towards the designated location. ----------- Swish swish Multiple paper butterflies gather on top of a house in the vige. The butterfly morphs into Konan. She takes out a scroll from her pocket. ''It''s about time to meet with the informant.'' Whoosh The butterflies disperse as Konan disappears from her ce. ------------ Hmm Izuna appears near the pond marked on the map. Multiple ze snow lilies are floating in the pond as they shine with a fitful silvery hue. ''The passage is beneath thiske.'' Swish. Swish He makes some One-hand signs. ''Water Release: Air Water Bubble'' Izuna forms a water bubble around his body as he dives into the pond. Swirl The water swirls around him as he propels forward. ''This pond is quiterge than I expected. It is more of ake than a pond.'' Izuna continues to travel across the pond as he surveys the pond. After diving deeper for a while, a small water passage appears in front of him. ''This must be it.'' Whoosh The water-air bubble wraps around his body as he enters the passage. Haah Izuna exits from the other end of the passage in yet another pond. Swoosh A deep, enchanting fragrance greets him. Hmm ''These are'' Whoosh He jumps out of the water as various ze snow lilies are floating in the pond. "No something is different about them." Izuna scrutinizes them. ''The number of petals differs from the previous ones. There were 20 petals in the previous lily, whereas this has 23 petals. Also, there is a pink hue on their petal tipspared to the other lilies.'' Izuna picks up the lily as he inspects it curiously. ''Its fragrance differs greatly from the previous flower.'' "Sharingan!" He activates his Sharingan to look for the pollens of the lily. "Hmm No pollens!! That''s quite surprising." Swoosh Izuna stores the lily in his storage scroll and walks deeper into the passage. ------------ After half an hour, "What''s going on? I have yet to arrive at the marked location." Izuna''s expression turns ugly as he warily looks around. "Is this some sort of genjutsu? I feel like I am moving in circles." He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and inspects his chakra flow. "My chakra flow is normal. I can''t see any disruption in my chakra. Then what else could it be?" Swish swish Izuna makes some hand signs. ''Light Release: Light Sabre'' He creates a light saber. Buzz sizzle Izuna carves a symbol on the wall of the passage as he moves forward. "At least this way, I won''t move in circles. Time to move forward." Half an hourter, Whoosh He reappears at the same ce as the symbol appears in his vision. "Hmm so I am moving in circles." Izuna closes his eyes as he tries to sense the surrounding space. ''I will just teleport back to the vige.'' "It''s odd. I can''t sense my seals. There seems to be a powerful barrier distorting my sense of time and space." He opens his eyes and takes a deep breath. ''I don''t know what sort of trouble I have invoked, but I don''t have time to waste here.'' Izuna stretches his arm and wills the Shinra Bansh orb. Whoosh whirl The orb changes slightly as a small ring appears around it. Izuna points it towards the ceiling of the passage. **BOOOMM** The orb drills a hole through the ceiling. Whoosh Izuna jumps out of the hole. **ROOOAARRR** An intense scram of agony greets him as the deafening roar rings in his ears. Rumble rumble The ground beneath Izuna trembles and he loses his bnce. Shoom Izuna infuses some chakra in his feet and sticks to the wall. "What the hell?! What''s going on?" Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan as he inspects the walls of the passage. Slosh slosh The rock walls of the passage transform into flesh as various veins appear on them. Thump Thump Thump A loud heartbeat echoes in the surrounding. Ssh A rapid stream of blood flows through the body of the giant creature. Whoosh Izuna jumps and hangs on the ceiling as he avoids the gust of blood. Slosh The hole in the wall regenerates quickly as the wound closes. "This this looks like a blood circtory system of some kind of giant creature." ROOOAARR Another roar echoes in the surrounding. Izuna closes his ears as the roar disrupts his senses, leaving him dizzy. "What a powerful sound-based attack? This roar was infused with an enormous amount of chakra. I have to quickly get out of this ce?" Swoosh swoosh Izuna directs his Shinra Bansh orbs towards the inner walls of the creature as he creates one hole after another in the creature''s body. ROOOARR The creature screams in agony as its inner blood vessels explode one after another. Slosh Slosh The blood vessels regenerate rapidly as Izuna jumps quickly out of the body of the beast. Whoosh He breaks through the outer shell of the beast andnds on top of its body. Rumble Rumble The giant monster shakes its body rapidly to ease the pain. Hmm Izuna inspects the outer shell of the beast. "This shell is made of the mountain rock. Let me take a clear look at it." Whoosh Izuna flies in the air. After reaching enough altitude, he takes a clear look at the form of the beast. "Holy Shit! This is a giant mountain Torterra." Izuna levitates in the air as the giant creature appears in his vision. Rumble Rumble Dust and debris rise in the air as the giant creature slowly stands up. There is a giant tree on the back of the creature and there are three stony extensions in the shape of mountain peaks on the creature''s stony shell. The creature hasrge red beady eyes with ck rims around them. The mouth of the creature is jagged, giving it an appearance of a giant turtle. Its legs are thick and have four toes in the shape of jagged stones. ROAARRR The creature releases another powerful roar as it searches for the source of its suffering. Rumble Rumble It lifts its rocky neck and notices Izuna floating in the air. ROAR Anger zes in its eyes as it notices the purple orbs floating being Izuna. Shoom The creature opens its mouth as it gathersrge amounts of chakra in its mouth. Large numbers of red and dark blue chakra orbs gather around its mouth as itpresses them into a small orb. "Crap! It is about to fire a tailed-beast bomb." Whoosh Izuna directs his Shinra Bansh orbs to stop the beam. **BOOOOOMMM** The orbs and the tailed beast collide with each other as a giant explosion rises in the air. BOOOM Shockwaves travel through the air as it hurls Izuna into the sky. Whoosh Shoom Izuna topples in the sky as he continues to gain altitude. "Susanoo" Giant silver humanoid constructs with golden bracers and shoulder pads form around Izuna and he regains bnce. Whoosh The Susanoo opens its wings, and it flies towards the giant turtle-like creature. BOOM The giant turtle is pushed back by the explosion and it ms into a nearby mountain. Swoosh Izuna reappears in front of the creature as he maintains a safe distance from the creature. "I don''t know if you can understand me or not, but I need to know where are the residents of the Shangri-La vige." ''Kimimaro is still in the vige. I can''t abandon him aftering this far.'' ROAR The creature angrily roars at Izuna as its eyes turn a darker shade of red. Rumble Rumble The ground trembles as the creature charges towards Izuna. "Fine! I will search for them myself." The Susanoo unsheathes its Katana as it points it towards the charging beast. "Reality sh" Chapter 233: Spirit Mountain Turtle Reiki Chapter 233: Spirit Mountain Turtle Reiki ''Reality sh'' The Susanoo swings its giant Katana towards the creature. BOOMM The Katana releases a massive surge of chakra which travels through the ground, parting a major chunk ofnd in half. The swing of the de forms a bottomless rift as the chakra wave travels towards the giant turtle. BOOM BOOM Large pirs of ck mes rise from the ground. BANG The st hurls the beast in the air. BOOM The giant turtle topples over andnds sideways on its body. BAM BAM The Susanoo slowly walks towards the giant turtle and points its Katana towards the turtle''s neck. ''This giant turtle is simr to ''Genbu'' of Kumogakure. I wonder if it is rted to the ind turtle of Kumo.'' Izuna scrutinizes the giant turtle and wonders about the possibility. ''Shinobi World is truly wondrous. This mountain turtle and the ind turtle of the Kumogakure are even more ancient than the history of the shinobi itself. They must be at least 10,000 years old, or perhaps even older.'' He shakes his head and threatens the giant turtle. "Listen! I don''t have any feud with you, but I need to know the location of Shangri-La vige. The vige was supposed to be somewhere on your back, but I can''t sense the chakra signature of the vigers. Tell me where are they and I won''t harm you further." Izuna questions the giant turtle as he thinks about Kimimaro. ''I can''t sense my Flying Thunder God seal on Kimimaro. There are only two possibilities, either there is a powerful space-time barrier disrupting the space or someone has tempered with my seals and erased it.'' ROAR The giant turtle roars angrily as it struggles to gain bnce. The turtle angrily stares at Izuna as it opens its mouth wide. Swoosh Dark red and blue chakra bubbles gather around its mouth as the beast charges up another tailed-beast bomb. "Very Well" Whoosh Bang The Susanoo flickers on top of the turtle and kicks its head, preventing it from charging up the attack. "Since you won''t cooperate, I can only get rid of you to prevent any further catastrophe to thend." Swish The Susanoo lifts its giant Katana and swings it towards the turtle''s neck. "ANGEL-SAN! STOP!!" A loud yell echoes in Izuna''s ear as Kimimaro jumps out from behind the giant turtle''s back. Huff huff Kimimaro pants heavily as he lies against a giant rock on the turtle''s back. His clothes are badly tattered and there is dust and dirt smudged on his body. Swoosh Izuna disperses his Susanoo as he flickers to Kimimaro. "Are you ok?!" Izuna notices the haggard appearance of Kimimaro. "What happened to you?!" Izuna inspects Kimimaro''s body. "Angel-san! Please don''t hurt this turtle." Kimimaro begs Izuna. ''There are no injuries on his body.'' Sigh Izuna takes a deep breath as he uses Mystic Palm Technique to heal Kimimaro''s wounds. The wounds on Kimimaro''s skin close as glow returns to his body. "Thank you, Angel-san!" "It''s ok." Izuna shakes his head and asks him. "Describe the entire incident to me. Tell me what happened after my departure?" "Yes, Angel-san! But before that" Kimimaro turns towards the giant turtle. Whoosh whoosh Kimimaro jumps towards the giant turtle''s ears and whispers something. Hmm Izuna curiously stares at their interaction. "Don''t tell me Kimimaro can somehowmunicate with this giant turtle." ROAR The giant turtle releases another roar as it turns towards Izuna. The giant turtle nods its head as Kimimaro continues to whisper something in his ears. Rumble Rumble The giant turtle lies down on the ground. Whoosh Kimimaro flickers towards Izuna. "Angel-san please help this giant turtle. He is in so much pain. Please help him." Hmm "About that exin everything in detail to me. I would like to know each and everything before I take any action." ROAR The giant roars and nods his head. "Angel-san After your departure, a strange scent spread throughout the entire vige. Before I could react to it, my head felt dizzy, and I lost my consciousness." Hmm Izuna nods his head. "It might be the work of those ze Snow lilies. Maybe they induced some sort of genjutsu and induced sleep in the vigers" Izuna remarks as he ponders. ''But who could be the instigator of these events? Is it Akatsuki? The image of Konan appears in his mind. It could be them, or else why would Konan appear in a remote ce like this vige. But what could be their motive? I have shut down their activities and suppressed them." Izuna ransacks his thoughts as he signals Kimimaro to continue. " Later, I regained consciousness and found myself tightly bound in a giant metal cage with the other vigers. The vigers were under some sort of genjutsu and I was unable to dispel the genjutsu" Kimimaro helplessly shakes his head as he continues. "Those metal cages were made of an unknown metal which restricts my chakra and I was unable to infuse any chakra. So, I used my bones to break free from the cage and escape from the imprisonment." Kimimaro describes the series of events to Izuna and how he escaped from his imprisonment. "I see. So, it looks like someone is plotting something in Shangri-La." Izuna turns towards the giant turtle and questions. "So what about this giant turtle? What''s the deal with him and you?" Kimimaro scratches his head and answers. "Umm when I was escaping from the prison; I heard a miserable cry filled with pain in my head. So, I followed the direction of the scream and found my way out." Kimimaro points towards the giant turtle. "Somehow, I can understand this giant turtle." Eh! Izuna has an incredulous expression on his face. ''Should I call him a Pokmon Trainer now?'' Cough cough Izuna coughs slightly as he discards these unnecessary thoughts. "So what does this giant turtle has to say? He can understand me, right?" Izuna turns towards the giant turtle. Roar The giant turtle nods its head. "I see" Izuna walks near the giant turtle and questions him. "Before I agree to help I would like to learn more about you." Roar Kimimaro nods his head in consent as he acts as a trantor. "My name is Reiki. I am also known as the spirit turtle or the mountain turtle." The giant turtle introduces itself. Hmm Izuna nods his head as Reiki continues. "Before the era of the shinobis; thisnd was inhabited by many giant creatures. I was one such being who roamed freely in this world. Back then, humans don''t have ess to chakra. As such the humans of that era treated me like a deity and called me ''Mountain Turtle''." However, various other creatures terrorized humankind and attacked their cities. So, the Sage of Six Paths fought against these creatures. Most of them died under his hands, others sealed; only a few including me and my brother Genbu signed a pact with the Sage." Hmm ''So that''s the origin of the Mountain''s graveyard. A ce filled with the remains of various unknown creatures.'' "GENBU!! Isn''t that the name of the ind turtle of the Kumogakure? So, he is your brother." Izuna questions the Mountain turtle. "Ind Turtle!!... I see that''s what you humans call my younger brother. I am d he is still alive and well." Reiki nods his head as he continues. "After the death of the Sage of Six Paths; all of us hid from the world, ording to the pact." Reiki finishes his introduction. "I see" ''Damn! He is a living fossil I can research his body to learn more about the Nature energy and its origin.'' Kimimaro pauses as he waits for Izuna''s response. " so why are you restless after so many years?" Izuna questions him. Sigh The giant turtle heaves a sigh of relief as he turns towards the giant tree on its back. "This entire mountain range is a part of my body, including the various creatures which inhabit my body. However, this giant tree on my back is like a malignant tumor. The roots of this tree have spread throughout my body and are continuously draining my vitality as we speak." The giant turtle points at various dark ck spots on its body. Hmm Izuna surveys the ck spots. "This is simr to aging. This tree is draining your vitality and life essence. At this rate, you will die within the next few years." Izuna warns the giant turtle. "Still howe you never get rid of this tree? You could easily get rid of this tree when it was still a seedling but now it has grown to such an extent that it has be a part of you." He questions the giant turtle. "About that this tree induces arge scale genjutsu on me, rendering me immobile. I am unable to resist the control of this tree. The genjutsu is quite powerful." The giant turtle remarks. ''No wonder! Casting such arge-scale genjutsu to hide a small vige was quite suspicious. The true motive of the perpetrator was to suppress this turtle.'' Izuna nods his head in understanding. "Earlier, your attack severed one of the major roots which were directly linked to my mind, and as such, I was able to break free from my restraints." The giant turtle turns towards Izuna as he begs for help. "Oh human! You possess the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths. I request you to get rid of this cmity." The giant turtle lowers its head. "" ''Dude! A few moments ago, you were hell-bent on getting rid of me.'' "Yare! Yare!" Chapter 234: Jujutsu? Chapter 234: Jujutsu? "Fine! I will do it." Izuna nods his head. He turns towards Kimimaro and instructs him. "There is some kind of barrier blocking my sense inside the body of this turtle. Either it is the work of the Giant tree or someone else is messing with our senses. Either way, be on your guard." He warns Kimimaro. "Yes, Angel-san." Kimimaro nods his head. Whoosh whoosh Both of them flickers towards an opening on the surface of the Giant turtle''s body. "Our priority is to search for the missing vigers. There might be some rtion between them and this giant tree. Fortunately, my seals aren''t the only things which can help me with the tracking." Izuna makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Shock Release: Detection Wave" Izuna releases low-frequency body waves from his hands. He ces his ears on the ground to hear the reflected waves. ''Shock Release allows me to manipte body and surface waves on Earth. I can release low-frequency seismic waves to study theposition of the earth. These waves can travel further along the ground and will bounce back. Or, I can release High-frequency seismic waves to createndslides and earthquakes. These body waves differ from the naturally urring body waves since I infuse some of my chakra in these waves.'' Shoom Shoom Izuna continues to release the chakra-infused surface waves throughout the cavern. Wham Izuna senses one of his reflected waves. "I can sense a presence up ahead at 8 o''clock. Let''s check it out." Whoosh Izuna flickers towards the location as Kimimaro follows after him. They enter one of the many tunnels inside the cavern as a rock wall appears in front of them. Hmm "There is someone bound behind that wall." Izuna activates his Sharingan and inspects the rock wall. There are multiple green-colored veins on the surface of the rock wall as they tightly bind a person. Hmm "This is one of the many roots of the giant tree." Swish swish Izuna makes a hand sign. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu" He spews out a giant fireball to burn the root. Sizzle Sizzle Smoke rises from the root as the fireball fails to burn it. "Huh! This is some sturdy material. It is highly resistant to fire. Then what about this?" Izuna makes some hand signs and stretches his palm. "Inferno Release: Searing mes" White mes cover his palm as Izuna directs them towards the root. Crackle crackle Smoke rises from the root as it slowly turns into ashes and frees the prisoner. Bam A familiar figure falls on the ground as Izuna recognizes the person. "Fusao!" Izuna inspects Fusao''s body. "Hmm He is under a powerful genjutsu. It is simr to the barrier around the vige. Looks like it is the work of one of those lilies." Swish swish Izuna makes some hand signs as purple lightning crackles in his hand. Bzzz He zaps Fusao and purges the pollens from his body. Ugh Fusao slowly opens his eyes as he slowly recovers from the genjutsu. "Where where am I?" Fusao groggily opens his eyes as Izuna and Kimimaro appear in his vision. "Akihito-san! What''s going on?" He questions Izuna. "Well! I am not so sure. But apparently, it has something to do with that giant tree." Izuna shakes his head. "I would like to know your recount about this tree. Maybe it might help us escape from this situation." Izuna questions Fusao. "I I Honestly, I know little about the tree." Fusao shakes his head as he recounts his tale. "Twenty-five years ago, the mes of the second shinobi war were yet to go cold when my entire vige was massacred in one single night. My father and I were the only few lucky survivors. It was the work of an evil cult. The members of the cult murdered our entire vige to create a Forbidden Jujutsu." Fusao narrates his story to Izuna. ''Hmm background stories like his aren''t that rare. Almost every shinobi from smaller nations suffers the same fate as him. Still, I am slightly interested in the evil cult and their Jujutsu. Various Evil cults are operating in shadows in this world. Some of these cults worship an unknown God and pay a tribute to the said ''God'' to gain power.'' An image of Hidan appears in Izuna''s mind. Hidan is a member of the Jashin cult, which offers the human sacrifice to their God to earn his favor. In exchange for the ritualistic sacrifice of many people; Jashin grants them Immortality. ''As enticing as the idea of immortality may sound; there must be a sort of catch to this offer. The members of the Otsutsuki n are God-like in the eyes of the shinobi. But they are just a bunch of cosmic parasites leeching life from one world to another. Maybe this Jashin is also a simr being.'' Izuna ponders as the image of the purple cloaked figure appears in his mind. ''Can Jashin be somehow rted to that unknown being? No! Right?!" Izuna shakes his head to discard this thought. ''For now, I should focus on the matter at hand.'' He turns towards Fusao, who continues his story. "ter, Father found about this vige from a passer-by and since then I have grown up in this vige. Father died three years ago, leaving me all alone in this world." Fusao solemnly shakes his head. "I I see. I am very sorry for your loss." Izuna awkwardly nods his head. ''I just want to get some information about this God-damn tree; so, I could prepare against any surprises.'' Izuna helplessly stares at Fusao. "This entire vige is a trap. There is no haven in this vige; instead, this entire vige is situated on top of a giant ancient turtle. Supplying chakra to the Giant tree to maintain the barrier around the vige was just a pretense; their real aim is to cast and maintain a genjutsu on the giant turtle." Izuna informs Fusao as he ponders. ''So, this tree was nted twenty-five years ago; perhaps after the Second Shinobi War.'' Shoom Shoom Izuna continues to use Shock Release to look for the traces of the vigers. Wham "Found them! At 2 o''clock." He quickly dashes in the direction. Whoosh Kimimaro and Fusao follow after him. "This is" Surprise appears on Izuna''s face as he stares at the state of the vige. Multiple tall trees and vines popte the vige. The long and thick light green vines tightly bind the vigers. They form a giantwork around the vige as the vines wrap around each other to create a giant cage. Izuna activates his Sharingan and inspects the vines. There are multiple spikes and thorns on them as these thorns'' pierces in the body of the vigers and rapidly drain chakra from their body. "Angel-san! This is the ce." Kimimaro reminds Izuna as he flicks his arm and draws a bone sword from it. He walks towards the vines to free the vigers. "FALL BACK!" Izuna yells to stop him. Whoosh He grabs Kimimaro''s arm and drags him back. ng ng ng Multiple thorny spears shoot out from the ground as they try to pierce Kimimaro''s body. "Shinobi Rule No:1 Never let your guard down," Izuna warns him. Swoosh Swoosh Swoosh Multiple thorn spears attack the group from all directions. Swish swish swish Izuna makes some hand signs as he faces the spears. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu" Izuna spews out a giant fireball to incinerate the spears. Swoosh Swoosh The spears pierce through the fireball as they aim for his vital spots. Tch "Looks like fire release is useless against them." Whoosh Izuna jumps back and avoids the spears. ng ng The spears pierce the ground as poisonous fumes rise from it. Izuna monitors his surroundings as he searches for the tracks of the attacker. ''I can''t sense the presence of the attacker.'' He fails to sense the chakra signature of the attacker. "Mangekyo Sharingan!" Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan to look for the location of the attacker. "Strange!! The attacker can avoid my detection. Let me inspect the surrounding area and these trees and vines." He continues to inspect therge vines and trees as something clicks in his mind. "I see. It makes sense now." Izuna deactivates his Mangekyo as he slowly walks towards the vigers. Swoosh Swoosh Multiple thorn spears attack him from all directions. Whoosh Izuna skilfully avoids the spears as he closes the gap. "I have figured out your secret." Izuna stops in front of a small tree in front of the cage. "I will give you three seconds to reveal yourself or else" Chapter 235: Shinrin Clan Chapter 235: Shinrin n "I will give you three seconds to reveal yourself or else" Shiing Izuna draws his Katana and points it at the small tree in front of him. "Three." Izuna readies his de. Swish A pair of eyes appears on the trunk of the tree as they stare at Izuna in bewilderment. ''How did he manage to locate me? He must be bluffing, right? There is no way, he can see me in this form. No sensory techniques should be able to sense my chakra.'' "Two." Crackle crackle Lightning crackles on Izuna''s de as it wildly dances on the ground. Ah HAh Izuna stabs his de in the ground as lightning seeps into the earth. The lightning spreads through the entire cavern as it paralyzes the nearby vines. ''Wha what''s he trying to do?'' The eye on the tree moves frantically as the figure tries to make sense of Izuna''s actions. ''He can see me?! No he must be bluffing!'' Crackle crackle Soon the entire cavern is filled with purple lightning. "Looks like you don''t have any n to reveal yourself." "" sh Izuna shes his de and chops the tree in half. Swoosh BAM The upper portion of the tree falls on the ground as it is cleanly slit from the rest of the tree. Crackle crackle Purple lightning engulfs the tree and withers it away. "Huh!" Izuna withdraws his de as he inspects the tree. ''Strange! Even though I am unable to sense any chakra signature or any suspicious activity from this tree, but my intuition tells me something else. I felt like a pair of eyes is monitoring me.'' Izuna raises his head and looks around. ''Also thanks to my contract with Roen; I can sense negative emotions around me. It is weakerpared to Kurama''s ability; so, I can only sense the presence in this area.'' Swish swish swish The vines release a barrage of thorns at Izuna. Hmph Izuna waves his hand and releases a barrage of lightning senbons to deflect the attack. ''Secret Technique: Life Concealment'' ''Huff huff that was a close call. I almost lost my life there.'' A pair of eyes appears on the trunk of the furthest tree. There is a trace of fear in the eyes as they stare at Izuna in trepidation. ''What kind of monster is this guy? Such keen senses!'' Whoosh Izuna jumps back and avoids all attacks. ''Still no trace. Huh!'' "Guess I will try my final resort to sniff him out." Izuna scrutinizes his surroundings as the feeling of being watched appears again. He continues to monitor his surroundings to search for the culprit. ''Let me see if Sage Mode''s sensory abilities work or not.'' Izuna closes his eyes and absorbs Nature energy. A cyan cloak appears around him as he senses his surroundings. Hmm Izuna inspects the surrounding trees and vines as thick Nature energy permeates in the air. ''These trees are rich in Nature energy. I can''t sense any other chakra signature thanks to the dense Nature energy.'' Sigh He takes a deep breath and dispels the Sage Mode. "Guess I can only resort to brute force method." Swish swish Izuna slowly makes some hand signs as he raises his head. "Still not revealing yourself I see. Don''t me me for the consequences, you forced my hand." Izuna ms his palm on the ground. "Lava Release: Molten Catastrophe" Rumble Rumble The ground trembles violently as a small rift appears in it. Moltenva erupts from the ground as the surrounding temperature rises rapidly. Crackle crackle Smoke rises from the vines and trees as they catch fire. Gulp The expression of the eyes turns ugly as the intense heat burns his body. ''How powerful?! At this rate, if hepletes his jutsu; then I would be severely injured. NO! I can''t allow him toplete his jutsu.'' Rumble Rumble The tree uproots itself from the ground as the nearby vines start to shudder. Rumble rumble The surroundings tree fuses with the tree as its height increases. The vines wrap around the giant tree and form a thorn armor. Purple fluid coats the pointed ends of the thorns as they shine with a deadly hue. Two giant eyes appear on top of the trunk as the tree morphs into a humanoid form. ''Secret Technique: Heavenly Tree of Punishment'' Whoosh BAM The giant tree monster jumps on top of Izuna in an attempt to crush him. Whoosh Izuna avoids the attack and cancels his jutsu. ''The bait worked. Initially, I wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible; but his weird abilities piqued my interest. His fighting skills may not be top notch, but his hiding skills sure are. He can even fool the sensory abilities of Sage Mode and Sharingan.'' Izuna raises his head to inspect the giant tree monster attacking him. "F***!! It is the Swamp Thing." Izuna curses loudly as the appearance of the tree reminds him of a character fromics in his past life. "What the heck!? First! A giant Torterra now swamp thing what would be next?! a blue speedy hedgehog!" Izuna unsheathes his Katana and shes it at the giant tree. "Kenjutsu: Moonlight sh" sh sh He releases a flurry of shes as the vines and branches of the tree fall apart. Roar The giant tree releases an agony of pain as green liquid drips from its branches. Drip drip A patch of small grass grows in ce of the green liquid. "What strong vitality!!" Izuna squints his eyes as he notices the effect of the green liquid. ''I bet Mom would be happy to get this liquid. She won''t have to worry about her orchids.'' Swoosh swoosh New branches sprout from the shed spots as the giant tree raises them to form a giant fist. Bang He ms the fists towards Izuna. Whoosh Izuna dodges the fists as they collide with the ground. Rumble Rumble Dust and debris rise in the air. Hmm Izuna easily deflects the giant green tree monster as he ponders the possible origin of the tree. ''Is it some sort of mutated nt creature which absorbedrge amounts of chakra? Or is it another abandonedb experiment of that snake Orochimaru? He has been trying to replicate the Wood Release for a while.'' Thwack thwack The giant tree continues to y its arms around and Izuna nimbly dodges all its attacks. Gulp Sweat appears around the eyes of the tree as they have an ugly expression. ''I can''t maintain this form for too long. At this rate, I will exhaust myself and I will be forced to enter in hibernation.'' The giant tree continues to attack wildly as its momentum dies slowly. ''Has it hit its limit?'' Izuna stops and stares at the tree. "Guess! There is only one way to find out." Izuna slowly raises his palm as white mes appear in them. "Inferno Release: Searing mes" He maniptes the mes and directs them towards the tree. Ah! The giant tree monster feels foreboding as the intense heat of white mes assault it. Rumble The giant tree instantly falls on its knees as it bows before Izuna. "I I surrender. So Please don''t kill me. Please spare my life." Huh! Izuna and the group are surprised to see this. Swoosh Izuna makes some hand signs and disperses the mes as he scrutinizes the tree. "Who are you?!" Izuna slowly walks in front of the tree as his guard is up. "I I" The giant tree hesitates to answer. Izuna confronts the giant tree as his eyes contact the eyes on the trunk. "I presume this is not your actual form. Revert to your original form and you might talk your way out of it. Or else, I can only get rid of you." Izuna threatens the giant tree. "Yes!!" The giant tree gulps its saliva as it shrinks rapidly. Whoosh A man with green eyes appears in front of Izuna. The roots, branches, vines, and sprouts withdraw into the man and revert into small seeds. ''Woah! He is tall." Izuna raises his head to look him in eyes. ''I look a dwarf in front of this man. He is at least seven and a half foot tall.'' The man has long green hairs and there are two green seed-like marks above his brows. He has pale skin, and his arms and legs are skinny. The man bows in front of Izuna as he introduces himself. "My name is Kozue and I am a member of the Shinrin n." Chapter 236: Lord Kishin Chapter 236: Lord Kishin "My name is Kozue and I am a member of the Shinrin n." The tall man introduces himself as he warily stares at Izuna. ''Man! This middle-aged guy is so scary. He can even see through my n''s Hiden Techniques.'' Gulp Kozue gulps his saliva. "Hmm Shinrin n?! Never heard of it." Izuna shakes his head as he has no memory of the n. ''I have read various records of various ns existing in Shinobi World in Konoha''s library. There is no n with such a name. Either this n is quite well-hidden, or it is extinct. Perhaps this guy is the only survivor of his n." Izuna leans towards the second possibility. Poof Izuna undoes his transformation and returns to his Original appearance. "Since it hase to this; there is no use of any disguise." Aah Kozue''s eyes widen in surprise as he notices the Sharingan. "Uchiha n?! You are a member of the Uchiha n!" "So!" Izuna raises a eyebrow. "Nothing! Nothing!" Kozue shakes his head. Hmm Izuna turns around as he feels a tug on his sleeve. "What''s the matter, Kimimaro?" He asks Kimimaro. "Aaa angel-san! The the giant turtle is in pain. He is asking for help." "OH!" Izuna turns towards Kozue as his expression turns serious. He riles up his chakra as he pressures Kozue. Gulp Kozue gulps his saliva as a hint of terror appears in his eyes. "Are you the one behind this incident?" "N No it''s not me" Swoosh stab Before Kozue could finish his sentence; a long Katana pierces through Izuna''s body. AAH! Izuna''s eyes widen in his surprise as the Katana pierces through his heart. Sizzle Sizzle The Katana releases an eerie purple chakra as it corrodes Izuna''s skin. "Curse Technique: Death Demon Possession Seal" Bleurgh A curse seal appears near Izuna''s heart. The sealprises an inverse triangle with a vertical eye in its center. HAHA "Finally, I fulfilled my mission." A man cloaked in red clothes appears behind Izuna as he holds the Katana. Whoosh Kimimaro flickers beside the cloaked man as he attacks the man with a dark-gray bone. BANG The man lifts his leg and kicks Kimimaro in the nearby rock wall. The curse seals crawl over Izuna''s chest as it tries to possess him. Bleurgh Izuna spits out another mouthful of blood as he slowly turns towards the attacker. "You are who are you?" HAHA The cloaked man removes his red garb to reveal his face. A bald man in histe fifties appears in their vision. The man has shriveled hands and there is a curse mark on his forehead. The mark has a simr appearance to the one on Izuna''s chest. "Vi Vige Chief?!" Fusao''s eyes widen in surprise as he notices the old man. Previously, the appearance of Izuna agitated him a little. But he was able to shrug off the feeling; since everyone in Shangri-La wore a disguise, he being no different. But the appearance of the vige chief shocked him to his core. Drip drip Blood drips from Izuna''s chest as the seal restricts his chakra. Swirl The blood slowly flows on the ground as it forms a simr blood seal on the ground. ''I can''t use my chakra. This seal is slowly sealing my chakra.'' Izuna has an ugly appearance on his face. The sword stabbing through his heart doesn''t bother him much. He can regenerate from this injury as long as his heart is still in his body. What surprised him more is the sudden appearance of the vige chief and the sneak attack while his guard was down. ''Sin! Help me break free from this seal.'' Izuna makes a mental remark to the Sin Seal. Whoosh The sin seal slowly gathers chakra as it prepares to break the seal. ''It will take some time before the seal will break; till then I have to figure out the intention of this old man.'' Haha "Finally I have found a suitable vessel for Kishin-sama. With this, Kishin-sama will be able to break free from his seal and rule over this world." The vige Chief has a fervent expression on his face as he bows in front of Izuna. "Kishin?!" Izuna has a confused expression on his face. Drip Drip Blood continues to drain from his body as the Katana continues to release an ominous chakra in his body. The seal around his chest expands as Izuna slowly losses control of his body. "Who is this Kishin you speak of?" Izuna weakly questions the bald Vige chief. Hmph The vige chief snorts as he answers. "Since you are going to be the new host of Kishin-sama; there is no harm in revealing the facts to you. Anyway, you heretic will die a miserable death" "Host to Kishin?!" Various questions erupt in Izuna''s mind as the gears in his mind churns. ''Is it some sort of Possession?! The Yamanaka n can also possess someone else''s body, but they can only do so for a short amount of time. I wonder what kind of possession this is? I have to dig out some information from this guy as I wait for Sin to dispel the seal.'' Haha The bald vige chiefughs hysterically as he has a fervent expression on his face. "Kishin-sama is a God who once descended on this world a millennium ago. Kishin-sama led his army and single-handedly established his one-thousand-year Kingdom. He bought true peace to this world as he reigned supreme over the world" Reverence flickers in the vige chief''s eyes as he continues to bicker his story. "However, a hated guy who called himself the ''Traveler'' appeared out of nowhere and fought against the Lord Kishin. Their battle was legendary as it shook thend and mountain." ''Hmm Traveler again?! Just who is this guy?! I have heard various tales of this person from the Toads, Slugs, and the snakes. Even the monkey and dogs know about him. Just who is he? Is he simr to Otsutsuki n members; another cosmic parasite, or he is like that purple-cloaked man.'' Wariness appears in Izuna''s eyes. ''Also this Kishin God and his symbol. It reminds me of the Jashin cultist. Are they somehow rted?'' "In the end, that hated guy sealed Kishin-sama in this sword with a very powerful seal. We are descendants of the n which followed Kishin-sama during the warm, and finally we will set him free as Kishin-sama will once again rise and reestablish his Kingdom." The vige chief finishes his story as he turns to Izuna. "The seal on the sword weakened over time. Now once Kishin-sama takes possession of your body; he will once again rule the entire world." Ambition reflects in Vige Chief''s eyes as he tightly clutches his staff. Wham A surge of purple chakra course through Izuna''s body as he feels light-headed. His vision turns blurry as he gets pulled into his Mindspace. Huh! Izuna slowly opens his eyes as a vast expanse of white space appears in front of him. He turns towards the center of his Mindspace as multiple floating orbs appear in his vision. "Why am I pulled in my mindscape?" Izuna warily inspects his surroundings. Swoosh swoosh Suddenly, the dark ominous chakra invades his mindscape as it slowly covers his mindscape. The dark shade of chakra slowly erodes the white area as it slowly crawls towards the center. "Is this the so-called possession? Invading the Mindscape of a person and gain control of their body!" Humph! "If so then I won''t go down without a fight." Whoosh whoosh Izuna urges the various orbs floating behind him towards the ominous chakra. In the outside world, Swish whoosh The possession seal covers the entire chest area of Izuna and it crawls near the sin seal. Swoosh Various fuinjutsu seals and marking crawls out of the Sin Seal as it resists the invasion of the curse seals. Whoosh A quick, agile figure jumps out of the dust and debris. Kimimaro is in his white snake mode. Green Nature energy flickers around his body. "Dance of the Clematis: Vine" Kimimaro pulls his spine and infuse it with Nature energy. Swirl The bones of the spine turn grey and form a long whip. Smack Without wasting any moment, Kimimaro smacks the bone whip towards the vige chief. Whoosh The vige chief jumps and avoids the attack. He turns towards Kimimaro as his expression turns serious. "After so much preparations, I was able to lure out the perfect host for Kishin-sama. Too bad, only one of them fell for the bait; the other person didn''t show up." The vige chief shakes his head as hements. "Kishin-sama would have a spare body if the Leader of the Akatsuki also showed up. Anyway, the body of Izuna Uchiha is fine too. With that being the case I won''t allow anyone to interfere with the ritual of possession." The Vige Chief turns towards Kozue. "Hold him back for me or else you know the consequences." He threatens Kozue. Gulp "Yes yes Vige Chief." Kozue gulps his saliva and stretches his arms. "Secret Technique: Vine of Solitude" Swish A dark green vine with spiky thorns sprouts from his palm. Smack Kozue smacks it on the ground and fights against Kimimaro. Chapter 237: Curse of Possession Chapter 237: Curse of Possession "I will help too." Fusao offers assistance to Kimimaro as he draws a pair of Tanto des. Hah Both of them confront Kozue. Bam ng Kozue is able to hold evenly against both of their assault. Whoosh Kimimaro straightens his bone whip as he relentlessly attacks Kozue. ''I believe in Angel-san. He will pull through everything.'' Kimimaro has a resolute expression on his face as he smacks his Bone whip towards Kozue. Snap The bone whip and the vine collide and release a sharp crackling noise. Whoosh Fusao uses this opportunity tond a sneak attack behind Kozue. Stab He stabs his tanto through Kozue''s chest. Swoosh Kozue turns towards him and smiles. "Your skills with assassination are quite good; too bad it won''t work against me." Crack crack A giant hole appears near Kozue''s chest as the nearby skin turns into a tree. nk The sword slides through his chest and falls to the ground. Swirl The hole in his chest closes up as green veins pop out from his skin. Swoosh Kozue''s skin turns normal as he continues to beat up Kimimaro and Fusao. "I am sorry for such cruelty. I didn''t intend to harm you, but this is the only way to preserve the heritage of my n." Kozue has an unwilling expression on his face as he smacks Kimimaro with his vines. BAM Kimimaro ms into a nearby boulder and pukes out some blood. Argh He slowly stands up and cautiously stares at Kozue. ''I can''t allow them to harm Angel-san.'' Haah!! Kimimaro ps his hands as Nature energy gathers around him. Whoosh He rapidly absorbs an enormous amount of Nature energy and his skin turns white. Various green snakes of Nature energy streaks out of his body as they hiss towards Kozue. "Ah!" Kozue is surprised to see the new transformation of Kimimaro as he feels the increase in the fighting spirit of Kimimaro. "Ten finger Drilling Bullets" Kimimarounches a flurry of bone bullets from his fingers towards Kozue. He infuses the bullets with Nature energy to empower his attack. Whoosh whoosh Kozue barely dodges the attack as he closes the distance. "Kid! You are quite a powerful shinobi for your age, but too bad your technique doesn''t work against me." Smack He smacks Kimimaro with his vines. BAM Kimimaro is sent flying by the attack as the Nature energy around him disperses slightly. "I am a member of the Shinrin n. We are the descendants of the Shinju tree and as such, Nature energy attacks don''t work against us. My Kekkei Genkai will just absorb the Nature energy around you." Kozue continues to push back Kimimaro, who fails to deal a lethal blow to Kozue. Even when Kimimaro is able to injure Kozue; he just shrugs the attacks and heals the injuries with his tree-like body. The Vige Chief nods his head and turns towards the unconscious vigers being held hostage in a giant vine prison. "Lord Kishin will soon grace us with his presence. These vigers will be the perfect sacrifice for Kishin-sama." Inside the Mindscape, Argh Izuna feels a surge of pain in his head as the dark purple ominous chakra continues to invade it. He clutches his forehead and falls on his knees as he hallucinates. "Is is it another genjutsu?" Izuna feels light-headed as his vision turns blurry. Various incidents of his past and present flood his memories. In the outside world. The Fuinjutsu seals from the katana continue to spread throughout Izuna''s body, as it upy two-thirds of his body. Shoom Dark purple chakra rises from Izuna''s body and his chakra signature changes drastically. Inside the Sin Grimoire, "What''s going on?" Minato feels the ominous chakra flowing through Izuna''s body. "What a sinister chakra? It has been almost a thousand years since Ist came across this sinister chakra?" Kurama''s expression turns ugly as he warily stares at the various curse seals on Izuna''s body. "You know about this chakra?" Minato has a grim expression on his face as he stares at the Fuinjutsu seals on Izuna''s body. "These seals have a resemnce to the seals utilized by the Yamanaka n." Minato inspects the seal as he remarks. "I believe they are some sort of Mind-Body possession seals." Minato concludes as he is unable to guess the true nature of the seals. "These are curse seals; not the usual curse seals, but these seals are simr to ritualistic curse seals." Kushina remarks as she stares at those seals. "Only a few people in the Uzumaki n are aware of these seals. Back in the era of Warring States, the Uzumaki n would receiverge numbers of sealing requests from other ns. There were various cases where many malevolent spirits, demons, or chakra entities would possess a person and take control of their body. The n leader would use simr ritualistic seals to seal any evil creature or entity in a medium or talisman." "Hmm I came across such a record in the confidential files of the Hokage Office. It''s about a powerful demon sealed somewhere in the Land of Demons." Minato remarks. "Yes the Uzumaki n has a record of it. Kenshiro-sama sealed the powerful demon of Land of Demon. He was unable to kill the demon as it would resurrect again in few years. So, Kenshiro-sama summoned the Shinigami and sealed the soul of a demon in the Land of Demon. The body of the demon is sealed in the Land of Swamps. Later, he passed the sealing techniques to the aristocratic family of the Land of Demon." Kushina shed some light on the past of the shinobi world. "Hmm close enough." Kurama nods his head. "This seal is called the Death Demon Possession Seal." Kurama closes his eyes as he reminisces some old memories. "During the era of Rikudou Sannin, the Sage fought against several powerful evil creatures. Some of those creatures were from our world, while some were from other worlds. The Sage sealed and killed these evil creatures and lead the humans to an era of peace and prosperity. However, this era was short-lived. After the death of Sage of Six Paths; various evil entities began to re-emerge." Kurama slowly opens his eyes as he continues. "One such evil being was called Jashin a self-proimed God. He spread his evil teachings and his devout followers worshipped him and created a religion in his name. The followers of Jashin willmit mass-murder and genocide in the name of offerings. Even the youngest son of Sage has to pay with his life to seal away this evil God." Kurama shakes his head as he lifts his draw an inverted triangle in a circle on the floor with his nail. "This is the seal of the Jashinism." "I I see." Minato enters in deep thought as he warily stares at Izuna. ''There are various hidden threats spread throughout the Shinobi World. The schemes and ploys of other viges appear to be of secondary concernpared to threats of such levels." Inside the Mindscape of Izuna. The dark ominous chakra shrouds the entire mindscape as it slowly creeps towards the central region. "F***! At this rate, I will end up being possessed. I have no choice but to use the iplete Yin-Yang Release Technique." p Izuna ps his hands together as a dual Taijitu symbol forms in his palms. "Yin-Yang Release: Elemental Reversal" A Taijitu symbol forms around Izuna as he channels the Yin-Yang Release chakra. Wham Before the ominous chakra could invade further, a thin blue barrier locks it. Swoosh swoosh swoosh Several Fuinjutsu seals appear on the barrier and the barrier shines brightly. Whoosh whoosh whoosh The various orbs floating beside Izuna shine brightly and resonate with the seal as various kanji seals of respective elements appear on them. Bzzz The barrier releases dark-red lightning and disperses the ominous chakra. Argh A shrill scream echoes in the Mindscape as the ominous chakra fades away. Crack crack The reverse pentagram curse seals below Izuna''s feet cracks and shatter into countless bloody fragments. Bang The bacsh of the seal sends the vige Chief flying. Shoom Various Fuinjutsu seals crawl out of the Sin seal. The seals slowly overpower the curse seals. Haah Izuna opens his eyes. Shiing His eyes change in Mangekyo Sharingan. "Limbo Hengoku: Body Substitution" Izuna summons his Limbo clone and switches ce with the clone. Phew "That was a close call." He takes a deep breath and turns towards the vige chief. "I had enough of this shit for the day." Crack crack He cracks his knuckles and walks towards the baldy. ------------- A/N:- I will drastically scale the powers of the enemies in the future arcs. If I have to put it in words, many of Naruto''s viin never reached their full potential or power cap. Don''t take me wrong, Izuna is OP ording to Shinobi standards, but ording to Otsutsuki standards( only raw power), he isn''t strong. It''s true that he can easily nuke a city and destroy mountains but Otsutsuki can obliterates. Our boy has yet to reach the level of buster. Chapter 238: A Dramatic End Chapter 238: A Dramatic End "Shadow Clone Jutsu" Izuna makes a shadow clone jutsu to help Kimimaro and Fusao with their battle. ''This Tree man has some amazing abilities. It seems like they are rted to his Kekkei Genkai.'' Izuna inspects the member of the Shinrin n as he pummels the vige chief. Bam bam bam Izuna violently pounds the vige chief as his screams echo through the vige. Whoosh Bang Izuna''s shadow clone overpowers Kozue and sends him flying. ''His Kekkei Genkai is simr to Kimimaro. It is based on his physical body and is not chakra rted.'' Izuna concludes about the abilities of Kozue. ''His transformation is like Iburi n members. The Iburi n members can turn into smoke while he can turn into a tree.'' Izuna licks his lips as he stares at Kozue. ''I am really interested in his Kekkei Genkai. If possible, I want to recruit him. I want to study the difference between his Kekkei Genkai and Wood Release.'' Ugh The vige chief groans and moans as Izuna continues to bash him. Crack crack Izuna breaks the bones of the vige chief and lifts him in the air. He brings him closer as their eyes meet. "I have a few questions for you and I only want to hear the truth." Izuna stares him in the eyes as fear creeps in the Vige chief''s heart. ''Oye Brat! Beware of the suicidal techniques of these cult maniacs.'' Kurama warns him. ''I know I know You don''t have to remind me.'' Izuna nods his head as he has overheard the previous conversation between the trio while he was in his Mindscape. Ugh The vige chief struggles in Izuna''s grasp. Bam Izuna punches the vige chief squarely in his face. Swoosh Various seals crawl out from Izuna''s hand and spread over the vige chief''s body. "Fuinjutsu: Chakra Suppression Seal" He seals the vige chief''s chakra and questions him. "Tell me who is this Lord Kishin? What are your goals and why did you specifically target me?" "I I won''t open my mouth even if you kill me or torture me. I won''t betray Kishin-sama." The vige chief has a stern expression as he refuses to budge. "I see." Izuna nods his head in understanding. "So, you won''t open your mouth. Huh! Fine by me. I have plenty of other methods to retrieve the info." Bam He punches the vige''s chief again. Ugh The vige chief pukes a mouthful of blood as the punch badly mangles his face. "Ugh Divine Retribution of Lord Kishin will befall on heretics like you. Argh" The vige chief curses him. "I had enough of your shit!" Shiing Izuna activates his Mangekyo as it spins rapidly. "Mind-Body Destruction Jutsu" Izuna ces his palm on the vige chief''s head to read his memories. "Hmm So, this baldy has been manipting this vige since the second Shinobi War. He is a member of the Akuma n who worships the Evil God, Kishin." Izuna continues to skim through the memories of the Vige Chief. "Oh!" A piece of information shocks Izuna as he turns to Kozue, who is suppressed by his clone. "Kozue?! Right!" Tch Kozue spits some blood and turns towards him. "Hmm I have an interesting piece of information which you might like or dislike; depending on your preference." "Humph I don''t want to hear anything from you." He snorts. "So you don''t even want to know about the truth about the extinction of your n." Izuna presses on. "Humph nice try. The members of My Shinrin n were peace lovers. We never interfered with the secr world and we peacefully hid in the Land of Forest away from the blood and gore of the Shinobi World. However, during the start of the Second Shinobi War, a bunch of mercenaries invaded ournd. The War has depleted the resources of all viges. The Land of Forest was well known for its precious medicinal herbs; the other ce being the Land of Medicine. However, the Land of Medicine had strong backing, and it was sessfully able to resist the foreign invasion. So, these various viges set their sights on the Land of Forest. They ruthlessly massacred my n members to harvest the vitality restoring medicine produced from the bodies of the Shinrin n members." Kozue''s eyes turn bloodshot as he reminisces about his cruel past. "Those shinobis They ughtered my family members. I was the only surviving member of my n. It was all thanks to the timely arrival of Vige Chief who saved my life and helped me fled from the cmity." Kozue tightly clutches his fists as he hatefully stares at Izuna. ''Damn! This dude is totally and utterly brain-washed.'' Izuna shakes his head. ''Can''t me him. The shinobi world is a cruel ce, after all and such cliche stories are far too many to count.'' Izuna remembers his time in Anbu. ''Even during Anbu training; many war orphans from other viges are thoroughly brainwashed. The Anbu feeds them with all kinds of lies and deceit to generate a sense of loyalty and longing in their heart. It''s the same for this guy.'' Bang Izuna kicks the vige Chief in front of Kozue. "Why don''t you hear the details from the man himself?" Shiing "Kotoamatsukami" Izuna casts the powerful Mangekyo ability and forces the vige chief to reveal the truth. After a few minutes, "NOOO!! It can''t be. How is this possible? NOOO!! this is a lie. You are deceiving me. You are lying to me." Kozue clutches his forehead as his eyes turn lifeless. He helplessly falls to the ground as his body curls in fear. "NOO it''s not the truth. Everything is a lie. NOO!!" Sigh Izuna takes a deep breath as he stares at the pathetic condition of Kozue. "This Baldy orchestrated a sinister n and killed all the members of the Shirin n from the Land of Forest to steal the unfertilized seed of the Shinju tree. He spread the rumors about the healing capabilities of the blood of the Shinrin n members. When the shinobis from the other viges invaded; he found an opportunity to steal the chakra seed and fled from the vige. On his way out, he came across you and saved you. It wasn''t because of the benevolence of his heart but the need for the blood of Shinrin n member to activate this chakra seed." Izuna recalls the story as he stares at Kozue. "Whether you believe me or not is up to you. I can''t force the truth on you." He shakes his head. ''In a way, I am doing the same thing this vige chief did. The only difference is I am feeding him the truth to sway his opinion. He could prove to be an asset to the team. His reconnaissance abilities are on par with Zetsu.'' Izuna remembers the ability of Zetsu to travel through the grounds. Ugh Argh The guttural noise of Vige Chief moaning in pain falls in Izuna''s ears. "I have yet to extract the memories of this Akuma n and Kishin from you." Izuna approaches the Vige Chief and ces his hand on his head to extract the remaining memories. Ugh Argh The Vige Chief resists in pain. "Your fate is sealed, old man. Why do you resist?" Swoosh The curse seal on the vige chief''s forehead activates. Whoosh Various strange seals and totems crawl over his entire body as a massive surge of chakra and vitality and rises in the air. Argh The vige chief roars in pain as his body dissipates. "He is about to explode." Fusao expressions turn ugly as fear creeps into his heart. "Sigh in the end, I am about to die no matter what. Death by being sucked dry or death by exploding to dust. There is not much of a difference." Fusao sighs helplessly "" Kimimaro and Izuna silently stare at Fusao. ''Is it really necessary to be overly dramatic? Never mind!" Izuna shakes his head and focuses his attention on the lump of chakra gathered around the curse seal. He briefly analyzes the pattern of the curse seal and memorizes it. "I guess this is not the end of troubles. Since, I can thwart the n this time, I can do it again." BOOOM The vige chief explodes, releasing a powerful shock wave across the giant turtle''s body. The expression of the turtle turns ugly as it senses the massive surge of energy on its back. ''I entrusted this human to relieve me from my pain; why is he hell-bent on relieving me from life?'' "Kamui" Swirl whoosh A swirling portal opens near the explosion and pulls the entire force of the explosion into another dimension. Whoosh Peace and calmness return to surroundings as the portal closes. ''Well, it was a dramatic end.'' "With that out of the way; let''s check on the vigers." Izuna walks towards the unconscious vigers. Chapter 239: The Seed of Chakra Fruit Chapter 239: The Seed of Chakra Fruit Hmm Izuna nces at the vigers. "All of them are under a genjutsu." He approaches the vigers and ces his hand on their heads to disrupt their chakra. "This is the same Genjutsu as Fusao." Bzz He zaps the viger and disperses the pollen inside their body. ''Now I really want to recruit this guy. His genjutsu is ingenious; if you don''t know the method to dispel it.'' Mmm "NAGATO! NOO" A pained grunt attracts his attention. He stands up and walks near the source of the sound. "KONAN?! So, she is also under the effect of Genjutsu." Izuna ces his hand on her head to dispel the jutsu. ''Wait! Should I dispel the genjutsu? Technically, she is my enemy and I should capture her." Izuna ponders for a while. ''Let me ask Minato-san about it.'' Whoosh His consciousness enters in the Sin Seal. He spots Minato and Kushina conversing something serious with Kurama. Ahem Izuna clears his throat to get their attention. Hmm Minato and Kushina turn around and notices Izuna. "Izuna-kun! Thank God you are fine." Kushina bear hugs him. Ah Izuna struggles for a while but finally relents. He turns towards Minato and asks him. "Minato-san! I have a question for you." "Mm Go on." Minato nods his head. "So, it is like this" Izuna discloses the identity of Konan and the relevant information about Akatsuki. "I see that''s a lot to take in." Minato enters in deep thought. Sigh "So, she is the orphan Jiraiya-Sensei took under his tutge." Minato rubs his head. "Though they harbor harmful thoughts for Konoha and as a former Hokage I should eliminate them, but I am a dead man. So, I will leave the choice for Jiraiya-Sensei. Till then, why don''t you try to influence their thoughts? You are quite good at convincing others." Haha Kushina chuckles as she hears thest sentence. "Well" Izuna rolls his eyes at Minato''s remark. ''My free trial of Talk-No-Jutsu has expired. I can''t influence others anymore.'' Izuna shakes his head and turns to Konan. "I will influence her thoughts with Kotoamatsukami. Though it is not an ideal approach; but it will get the job done." Shiing "Kotoamatsukami" Izuna ces his hand on her forehead and casts the powerful genjutsu to alter her thoughts and induce his suggestion. Buzz He continues to dispel the genjutsu of all other vigers. "Ugh!" Konan sps her forehead in pain as various ideas cycle through her mind. In this journey, her thoughts were in disarray as the death of Yahiko continues to cycle through her mind. ''Is this the Akatsuki Yahiko dreamt of?'' Various memories of bloodshed and ughter freshen in her memory. The members of Akatsuki members plundering other viges in the name of mercenary bounties and killing innocent people erupt in her mind. ''NO! What Yahiko wanted was a peaceful world with no war and bloodshed. He didn''t want anyone to be a war orphan and struggle for survival.'' More and more memories of Yahiko''s dream and Akatsuki''s brutal activities cycles through her mind as both sides start to sh. "NOOO!!" Konan feels a splitting headache as he abruptly opens her eyes and sits up. Haah Haaah Sweat trickles from her forehead as she clutches her forehead. Her vision turns blurry for a second before she retains rity. "Where where am I?" She looks around as the unfamiliar environment greets her. "What''s going on?" "Where am I?" "My son!! Where is my son?" Various unfamiliar voices echo in her head as she looks around. The memories of the incident return to her. "Thest thing I remember was I left the vige to meet up with Sasori''s spy." Whoosh Konan immediately raises her guard as various paper shurikens, and chakrams float around her. She warily stares at Izuna. Hmm Izuna senses a hostile gaze on his back. He turns around and notices Konan. Swoosh Izuna disappears from Konan''s vision. ''So fast he is so fast.'' Whoosh He reappears behind her. There is a sharp de ced near her neck. "If I really wanted to kill you; then I could have done it ages ago." Whoosh Izuna sheathes his Katana and turns around. "Looks like Jiraiya''s teaching fell on deaf ears. The messiah of Jiraiya''s prophecy turned out to be a paragon of destruction. An emotionless puppet used by others for their selfish cause." ''Wha what?!'' A frown appears on Konan''s emotionless face as a tint of remorse and guilt appears in her heart as Izuna''s words reverberate in her ears. ''An an emotionless puppet!! used by others for their selfish cause.'' Konan is lost in a trance as she reflects on her life. ''Why?!. why can''t I deny his words?'' The weak, frail and emotionless image of Nagato bound to the Gedo statue appears in front of her. Konan slowly lifts her head and stares at the image of Nagato. "Those eyes. the eyes of Sage the eyes of hope and light. But now why they are devoid of any love and hope" A shiver runs down her spine as the cold, emotionless eyes gaze into her soul. " why they so much resentment and hatred for this world?" Konan mumbles to herself as she struggles to look for an answer. Izuna ignores her and walks towards the Giant tree. ''The Genjutsu is showing its effect.'' Crunch crunch He steadily walks towards the center of the vige and approaches the base of the Giant tree. "Hmm this tree is still sucking the vitality of this turtle. Should I try to uproot it?" Swoosh Two giant Susanoo arms appear behind him as the arms grab the trunk of the tree. The arms of Susanoo apply upward force, and the roots of the tree erupt from the ground. ROAR The giant turtle roars in pain. Ah Izuna surveys the roots of the tree and notices some red veins tightly bound to the roots of the tree. "These are these roots or rather, these veins are directly connected to the heart of this giant turtle. If I pull the tree out; the heart of the turtle would stop functioning." The Susanoo arms gently ce the tree and disperse. "I have to think of another way to remove this tree. If I forcefully removed it, this turtle will die for sure." Izuna scrutinizes the top of the tree. Huh! He notices a small red fruit at the peak of the tree. Whoosh Izuna flies towards the top and grabs the fruit. Swoosh Instantlyrge amounts of Nature energy and vitality cycle through his body and rejuvenate him. "WOW! Just by touching this fruit, I recovered my chakra. What kind of fruit is this?" Hmm He notices two more small unripe fruits near the only ripe fruit. "These are Vitality fruits." Kozue slowly approaches Izuna and remarks. "Oh!" Izuna returns to the base of the tree and stands in front of Kozue. "Looks like you have some idea about this tree. Any clues on how to save this Giant turtle." "Yes!" Kozue nods his head as he wipes his tears. "This giant chakra is grown from the chakra seed passed down through our Shinrin n. A millennium ago, the seed of the Senju tree reached out to earth from another world. The seed slowly sprouted and grew into a Shinju tree. The ancestors of my n were nomads who would wander thend from one ce to another. The King of thend tasked members of my n to take care of the Shinju tree in exchange for a stable life. So, the ancestors of my n settled near the Shinju tree. Slowly, my ancestors grew dependent on the Shinju tree. They would drink the dew from the leaves of the Shinju tree. Cook food from the bark of the Shinju tree. Slowly slowly the physiology of my ancestors changed. This is the blessing of the Shinju tree to our n, and we are the descendants of the Shinju tree." Kozue narrates the origin of his n. Hmm Izuna performs a full body scan of Kozue as a frown appears on his face. ''His body is simr to Zetsu. Though in Zetsu''s case, his memories and sense of individuality are wiped clean. Still, his body is almost the same as Zetsu; maybe except for some parts considered unnecessary by a certain someone.'' Izuna stares at the thing dangling between Kozue''s legs. Brr A shiver runs down Kozue''s spine as a cold sensation crept between his legs. He hurriedly hugs his body and continues. " after the Rabbit Goddess consumed the chakra fruit. The chakra fruit left an empty unfertilized seed. She passed that seed to the caretaker of the Shinju tree; the Shinrin n" "Mm so mean to say that this giant tree is the sprout of that hollow chakra seed." "Yes!" Kozue nods his head. Chapter 240: End of Problem Chapter 240: End of Problem ''A seed of chakra fruit, huh!... I thought only ten-tails act as the seed of the chakra tree and transform into a Shinju after feeding upon an Otsutsuki. Maybe there is more to it than meets the eye.'' Izuna turns to Kozue and asks him. "Will this tree turn into a Shinju in the future?" ''If it can turn in a Shinju, then I can put most of my ns into action.'' "No" Kozue shakes his head. "This tree can''t turn into a Shinju Tree. It contains only a fragment of the power of the Shinju tree. Still, this fruit can bring a person back from death." "What?!" Izuna''s eyes widen in surprise. ''If it can bring a person from the dead, then it is as good as the outer path of Rinnegan.'' "This tree has absorbed an immense amount of Nature energy and Vitality from this Giant turtle and grew these chakra fruits. These fruits were meant as an offering to the Lord Kishin. This turtle will die once all three fruits ripen." Hmm... Izuna inspects the chakra of the turtle. ''Indeed... the vitality of this turtle is rapidly draining.'' "So, do you have any way to remove this tree without killing the Giant turtle in the process?" Izuna asks him. "I can give it a try." Kozue nods his head and walks towards the giant tree. Shoom... Kozue infusesrge amounts of chakra in his arm as they turns into arge green vine. Swoosh... He slowly inserts the vine into the tree and merges with the tree. ''So that''s the Kekkei Genkai of the Shinrin n.'' Izuna examines the process. ''He has fused with the giant tree and is now almost non-recognizable from the natural energy of the tree. His intel-gathering capabilities will be quite useful for the team.'' Whoosh... Swoosh... The roots of the Giant tree retract slowly as the veins of the Giant turtle turn normal. After an hour, Swoosh... whoosh... The roots of the tree disappearpletely and the giant tree shrinks. Swish... Kozue jumps out of the trunk of the tree. Huff... huff... He breathes heavily with a small chakra seed in his palm. "I did it." He takes a deep breath and falls to the ground. Whoosh... Izuna flickers near him. "Are you ok?" He supports Kozue. Swoosh... Izuna infuses a small amount of Nature energy into Kozue''s body. Haah... Kozue slowly sits up and takes support against a boulder. "I am alright. I am just mentally and physically exhausted." Roar... A giant roar interrupts them. Kimimaro walks towards them and conveys the message of the Giant turtle. "The Giant turtle is no longer in pain." "Well... that''s good to hear." Izuna nods his head. He turns towards the rest of the vigers, who are slowly recuperating from the incident. "There won''t be any Shangri-La Vige after this incident. Since most of you are rogue ninjas with huge bounties on their head; it would be difficult for the likes of you all to live peacefully in the outside world." The expression of Fusao and the rest of the vigers turns ugly as Fusao had earlier recounted the details to them. Gulp... One of the middle-aged men gulps his saliva and asks him. "Then... then where should we go? What should we do?" Hmm... Izuna scrutinizes them as he ponders. ''Though I don''t have any special connection with this group of people and I would even suffer a huge loss by not handing them over to bounty office. But what most of them have done has nothing to do with me; so, I am a bit conflicted.'' "Izuna-kun... why don''t you send them to one of the smaller viges in the Land of Fire?! These small viges are under the protection of Konoha since Konoha is paid by the Daimyo to secure hisnd." Minato suggests him. "This way... the vige can monitor them and even employ them in the future." "Well... that''s not a bad idea." Izuna nods his head. Ahem... Izuna clears his throat to get their attention. "Since you people have nowhere to stay and live" After half an hour, After dealing with the vigers, Izuna turns his attention to Kozue and Kimimaro. "So, what about you, Kozue? What would you do after this?" "I... I" Kozue holds his head as he is lost in thoughts. "I will visit the remains of my vige and after that, I will roam the world to search for a meaning in my life." He shakes his head as he reminisces about his vige. "I see... If you are fed up with your travels in the future; then you can alwayse and seek me for a job in the future." Swoosh... Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket and passes it to Kozue. "Just visit Konoha and hand over this scroll to the guards. Somebody will lead you in." "Thank you." Kozue epts the scroll and slowly walks out of the remains of the vige. ''Konan has also left. I had no choice but to manipte her thoughts. Let''s see how things will y out with both of them.'' "Kimimaro! Let''s say goodbye to this giant turtle." Both of them flicker out of the cavern together with the vigers. Roar... "You have my gratitude, human." The Giant turtle thanks him. "In the future, if you have any need for me. You can just summon me." The giant turtle spits out a summoning contract in front of Izuna. ''Er... I don''t think I will need this turtle in any sort of fight.'' "Kimimaro... since you can understand this turtle. Why don''t you sign a contract with the turtles? Also, their defensive abilities pair well with your Taijutsu and Kekkei Genkai." Izuna nudges the summoning scroll to Kimimaro. "Yes!" Kimimaro nods his head and bit his thumb to sign the summoning contract. "This trip wasn''t the kind I was looking for, but still I got something useful out of it." Izuna stares at the chakra fruits in his hand. There are two small fruits and onerge fruit in his hands. "With this out of the way, let''s return to the vige." Izuna grabs Kimimaro''s shoulder and teleports to the vige. Whoosh... ----------------- Inside Konohagakure, Sigh... Tsunade takes a deep breath as she rests against the Hokage chair. "Finally, all the paperwork is over. Shizune... let''s visit the hot spring tonight. We will bring Mizukage Mei with us to ease her mood." "Yes... Tsunade-sama." Shizune massages Tsunade''s shoulders and nods. Swish... Tsunade takes out a scroll from the drawer. "This seal by Izuna is quite handy." Tsunade opens the scroll. There is a summoning seal on the scroll with the sealing form of Flying Thunder God Technique engraved on it. "This seal can allow a person to summon another person from far away, albeit the summon has to agree and infuse the chakra in his version of seal to teleport here." "Yes, Tsunade-sama." Shizune nods her head. "The Flying Thunder God Technique is quite hard to master. Besides, the Fourth Hokage, his Raijin Squad, and Izuna; nobody has managed to learn this technique." "This seal can prove very vital during a war where the information exchange is quite crucial." Tsunade nods her head. Sigh... Tsunade takes another deep breath and gazes out of the window. Multiple ninja academy students appear in her vision as the kid''s practices their Shurikenjutsu skills on targets. "Konoha suffered a little loss during the attack from Suna and Orochimaru. The future of Konoha is safe for now and I hope Konoha will flourish in the future." Haah... Haaah... A small girl with ck hairs with a blue tint on end appears in her vision. Her hairs are tied in a ponytail with bangs framing her face. The girl has ck eyes. She wears a long-sleeved, high-cored ck shirt with the Uchiha n symbol on the back. Her baggy blue pants flutter in the air as the girl has a serious expression on her face. There are five shurikens held between her fingers. Haah... The girl aims the shurikens at the target andunches them simultaneously. Whoosh... whoosh.... Whoosh... nk... nk... nk... All the shurikens hit the target right in the dead center. "Amazing! That''s quite impressive Ayaka-chan." The chunnin instructor praises her. "It''s nothingpared to Onii-san, Iruka-sensei." Ayaka shakes her head and picks up another batch of shurikens. Sigh... Iruka sighs helplessly and turns towards the rest of the group. ''Izuna-san is a genius. I was in the same ss as him during the academy, yet he graduated just in six months. I am sure he didn''t even remember my name.'' Iruka takes another deep breath and instructs another student. "Tsunade-sama, don''t you think it is too early for Ayaka-Chan to enter the academy. It is the era of peace, so the vige isn''t in a dire need of Ninjas." Shizune questions Tsunade. "No. it is alright." Tsunade closes her eyes as Izuna''s warning echoes in her ears. ''Tsunade! The Fourth Shinobi War is on the horizon. It will require the collective strength of all nations to deal with the enemy.'' "Ayaka is also a rare genius, like her brother. So, it is not that big of a deal to enroll her in the ninja academy." Sigh... "Now I really miss Naruto. It has been a week since that brat left for his mission in the Land of Waves." Sigh... "I just want to ditch all this work and drink some booze and gamble." "" Chapter 241: Sparring Session Chapter 241: Sparring Session Whoosh Izuna and Kimimaro teleport on top of the Hokage Office. Izuna jumps down and enters the office through the window. Eek Tsunade is startled to see him jump in front of her. Ora She clenches her fist to punch him. "Wait wait!" Izuna dodges her punch. "I have something urgent to report." He dodges another punch from Tsunade. Humph "It better be something urgent. I was taking my beauty nap, and you disrupted it." "" ''Sleeping during work! She is cking as usual.'' Izuna clears his throat and signals Kimimaro. Swoosh Kimimaro jumps down and enters the office. "Kimimaro she is the current Hokage of Konoha." Izuna introduces Tsunade. "It''s nice to meet you Hokage-sama." Kimimaro respectfully bows in front of Tsunade. "He is?" Tsunade tilts her head in confusion. "He is a war orphan of Kaguya n thest survivor of his n after the massacre. I met him during the Kiri infiltration mission. After that, I just trained him a little." Hmm Tsunade nods her head. Tsunade and Shizune curiously inspect Kimimaro. ''His skin is so pale. He looks a little anemic.'' Both of them turn towards Izuna and Tsunade res at him. "What?! It is true. I trained him in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. After which I left him in Ryuchi cave where he mastered Sage Mode in one and half years. He is the second youngest Sage after me." Izuna proudly announces to them. "What?!" Tsunade and Shizune looks at Kimimaro with a dumbfounded expression. "As I thought, everyone around this guy is unusual." Tsunade shakes her head and stares out of the window. Her gaze stops at the Academy training grounds. Izuna follows her gaze and notices Ayaka sparring against someone. Inside the Academy Training grounds, Iruka leads a batch of academy students in the training ground. "Today we will learn about the hand-to-handbat of shinobi. It is a tradition carried out by even the previous Hokage and those before him. They participated in such drills and became stronger through sparring." "Yes, Iruka Sensei!" The academy students have stars in their eyes at the mention of the Hokage. "I will be a strong Kunoichi, just like Tsunade-sama." One of the girls with tworge orange pigtails clenches her fist and raises them in the air. "Hu hu" Iruka nods his head. "So let''s start today''s sparring session. The first spar would be between Ayaka Uchiha vs" "Yes, Sensei!" Ayaka walks inside the ring and prepares to face her opponent. A short girl with shoulder-length dark-brown hairs and white eyes walks in front of Ayaka. "Before you start your spar, both of you make a seal of confrontation to ry your intention to fight. It is a shinobi tradition." Iruka instructs them. "Yes, Sensei!" Ayaka and the Hyuga girl nods their head and make the seal of confrontation. "Ready" Iruka ces his arm between them as he signals the start. "Begin!" "Haah" The Hyuga girl instantly takes a stance andunches a palm attack towards Ayaka. Whoosh Ayaka easily dodges the palm attack and disappears from the Hyuga girl''s vision. "Where is she?" The Hyuga girl warily searches for Ayaka. "Behind you" Ayaka whispers in her ears and swings her hand. Ah! The Hyuga girl turns around but a palm attack greets her. "Stop!" Iruka signals them to stop. Whoosh Ayaka''s palm stops in front of Hyuga''s face as the Hyuga girl topples on the ground. "I lost." The Hyuga girl depressingly drops her head. "Here!" Ayaka stretches her arm towards the girl. Haah The Hyuga girl grabs her arm and stands up. "It was a good match. Both of you fought well." Iruka''s eyebrows twitches slightly as he speak these words. "Now Ayaka Hanabi make the seal of Reconciliation to end the spar." "Yes, Sensei!" Both of the girls make the hand seal. "You are quite good, Hanabi!" Ayaka praises her. "If not for my speed, I would have lost the match." Hmm "I won''t give up easily. Next time, I will defeat you for sure." Hanabi resolutely clenches her fists. "You are my rival. I won''t lose easily." Hanabi has a resolute expression as her fighting spirit soars. Hu hu Iruka nods his head. "This is the kind of fighting spirit and resolution a shinobi should have to progress further." He turns to Hanabi to console her. "Don''t worry Hanabi, I am sure you will get stronger till your next spar." "Yes, Sensei!" Hanabi nods her head, but there is a hint of sadness in her eyes. ''I have been training with my father since I was three years old. How could I lose to her?'' She turns towards Ayaka and questions her. "Ayaka how long have you been training in Taijutsu?" "Oh!" Ayaka turns around and faces her. "How long?!" Ayaka cutely ces a finger around her chin as she enters in her thinking pose. "Hmm I think it has been almost a month since I started my Taijutsu training. Yes, it has been a month. Before that brother only taught me Shurikenjutsu and some basic Ninjutsu techniques." "Ah!" Iruka almost trips on the floor at the mention of basic Ninjutsu. ''This girl can easily use a chunnin level technique without exhausting her chakra reserve and she thinks it is basic Ninjutsu training.'' Iruka gets shbacks of the Ninjutsu Training where he asked the students to perform any Ninjutsu they might have learned from their parents or n. At that time, Ayaka almost burned down the inner training ground with her massive fireball jutsu. "One one month?!" Hanabi suffers a huge blow to her confidence as Ayaka''s words echoes in her mind. ''She is so strong after training in Taijutsu for only a month. Father lied to me. He told our Hyuga Taijutsu techniques are one of the elite techniques of the vige.'' Sniff sniff Hanabi''s eyes tear up as she suffers a blow to her confidence. "Well" Iruka is caught in a weird situation as he can''t find any words to console Hanabi. Sigh He sighs and takes a deep breath. "How should I report this situation to Principal-sama? The Hyuga n broke their n custom and allowed the n heiress to enter the academy to get some experience with the kids of the other ns. But now" Sigh ''Even Izuna san''s little sister is a genius like him.'' Iruka could only helplessly shake his head as tries to think of a solution for the current problem. -------------------- "That''s my girl!" Izuna nods his head as he praises Ayaka. "Today I will take her to her favorite restaurant in Kirigakure." "" Tsunade and Shizune silently stare at him. ''He is spoiling her too much. That''s a sis-con for you.'' Hmm Izuna notices their expression and immediately shakes his head. "No I am not a sis-con. Look how cute Ayaka is! How can I as a big brother not reward her for her efforts?" "" Tsunade and Shizune silently nod their head. "Anyway let''s forget about that." Izuna tries to change the subject. He looks around the vige and turns to Tsunade. "Where are Kakashi and team? I can''t see them around. Are they out on a mission or something?" "Yes! That brat Naruto was pestering me for a C-rank mission as the previous mission to deal with mountain thugs was too easy for him. So, I assigned an escort mission to him in the Land of Waves." Tsunadezily yawns and stretches her back. "It is so calm without that noisy brat." "Wait Land of Waves escort mission" Izuna''s expression changes as the memory of Naruto''s first mission enters his mind. "Was the person who issued the mission named Tazuna?" Hmm Tsunade straightens up as she notices the strange expression of Izuna. "Yes why?! Is something wrong with him?" "Fuck! I almost missed it." Izuna curses loudly as he makes a one-hand sign. Whoosh He disappears from the room as his parting words echo in the Hokage Office. "I have some urgent work in Land of Waves. I will leave this boy Kimimaro to you." "Damnit!" Tsunade bangs the table. The table breaks from the force. "He is ditching his troubles on me again." Tsunade angrily turns towards Kimimaro. Brr Kimimaro shivers under Tsunade''s angry gaze. "Fine! Your name is Kimimaro, right?" "Yes!" Kimimaro weakly nods his head. "I will arrange a ce for you to stay." Swoosh Tsunade signals a nearby anbu to handle Kimimaro''s matter. "Tsunade-sama! The paperwork!" Shizune points towards the papers spread on the floor. There is ayer of ink spilled over them. "Damnit! Shizune Cut it out from his next mission pay." ------------- A/N:- So, I am nning to edit almost all of initial chapters. I have improved quite a lot during these days and the initial chapters just doesn''t fulfill the quality I am looking for. I will make some minor changes to the plot (Nothing major to change the plot) to make the forced situation look a bit more Natural. One of the example is of Izuna''s Mangekyo Awakening and some other stuff. I will edit them at a slow pace, maybe two to three chapters per day. Also, at this point of the story, it''s better to tag it as AU ( Alternate Universe) since I have heavily changed the plot and the power scaling. If you don''t want to nerf your MC just make the enemies stronger, Lol! Anyways, the power scaling won''t be DBZ level but the level will reach at buster for most of the uing ''Alien'' viins (not shinobi) and the most powerful being of them all will be at Gxy buster level. I will also introduce various new abilities in future. Well, Actually, I have lost count of how many OG jutsu and chakra releseas I have created. (If anyone canpile then he will do God''s job for me :) But almost 80 percent of jutsus in this novel are my Original creation except for Signature techniques. ( Can be a kapp since two people can have same ideas but I am sure of myself I did create them on my own.) I hope you stay tuned for the story. Chapter 242: Monetary Problems Chapter 242: Mary Problems A/n:- I have edited the first chapter. Please re-read and rate it. ---------------- In Land of Waves, Near a semi-constructed bridge, "Kakashi-sensei, why did you allow that masked ninja to get away with Zabuza?" Naruto questions Kakashi. Sigh Kakashi takes a deep breath as he turns towards the bridge builder Tazuna. "Tazuna-san I am afraid this mission is now an A-rank mission. The involvement of Zabuza Momochi, the demon of the hidden mist, hasplicated a lot of things." Kakashi turns towards Naruto and answers him. "As for your question, Naruto, that masked ninja is a part of the hunter-nin of the Kirigakure. It is a special branch of Anbu of Kiri assigned to capture and deal with the Rogue Shinobis." "Ah so that''s how it is." Naruto nods his head. "Kakashi Sensei! How does the hunter-nin deal with the Rogue Ninja? Do they decapitate them or just capture them alive?" Sasuke questions him. "Earlier, although the senbons pierced through the central nerves of Zabuza rendering him dead I have my suspicion." Hmm Kakashi ponders for a while and answers. "Usually as soon as the Hunter-nin spots a rogue shinobi, they would immediately take action and decapitate them without giving a chance to retaliate. But in some rare situations, they would restrain the rogue shinobi to interrogate them. However, that doesn''t seem to be the case with Zabuza." "So, Sensei you mean Zabuza isn''t dead yet." Sakura spectes. "Most likely We have to prepare to confront him again. This time though we will get rid of him for sure." Kakashi remarks. He turns towards Tazuna with a scrutinizing gaze. "Tazuna-san, you need to give a suitable exnation andpensation for the current rank of the mission. We won''t risk our life meaninglessly for such meagerpensation." Ah Tazuna has a grim expression on his face upon hearing Kakashi''s words. ''I must inform them about the situation of the Land of Waves. Maybe out of pity they would agree toplete the mission.'' Sigh Tazuna sighs helplessly as he narrates his story with a sad expression. Sniff sniff Naruto and Sakura have tears in their eyes as they listen to the sad story of the bridge builder Tazuna. At some distance from the group, on a tree; Izuna rolls his eyes as he listens to the sob story of Tazuna. "Regardless of other things, I have to say this old man has a way with words. His Talk-no-jutsu is in no way inferior to Naruto. The situation of Lord of Waves ismonce in Shinobi World. Many powerful people bulliesmon people in smaller nation and in turn these shinobis serves as dogs for some rich mogul." Izuna turns his attention to Naruto to see his reaction. Sniff sniff Naruto has tears in his eyes as snot leaks from his nose. "Here." Sakura passes a handkerchief to Naruto to wipe his tears. Brrr Naruto wipes his tears and snots on the handkerchief. "Thank you, Sakura-chan.," Naruto passes the handkerchief back to her. Eew Sakura''s brows crease in disgust as she pats away Naruto''s hand. "You can keep it." She shakes her head and turns towards Sasuke with a hopeful expression. Sasukepletely ignores her and directs his attention to Tazuna. ''Hmm although the words of this old man are overly exaggerated; still there is some truth to them. But I don''t want to needlessly risk my life for nothing." Izuna''s teachingse to his mind. ''In this world, the strong feed on the weak. Such is the rule of this world. However, one must follow their conscience and act ordingly.'' He turns towards Naruto and waits for his response. "Old man! We will help your vige deal with this problem. Dattebyo!" Naruto pumps his fist. Sigh ''Nothing less to expect from this idiot. He is too nave and easy to manipte.'' Sasuke shakes his head. ''Still, I won''t allow anybody to take unfair advantage of him.'' Kakashi silently listens to the story of the Land of Waves. Before arriving here, he has already done some prior research about this ce. It has be a habit of his to uncover everything before the start of a mission. A habit instilled in him by his former Anbu Team Leader Izuna. "Sometimes I wonder Izuna-san was overly concerned or a little cynical in his approach." Kakashi murmurs to himself. Oh "So that''s what Kakashi thinks of me. Looks like I have to seize some of the books from his collection." Izuna res at Kakashi. Brrrrr. Kakashi feels a shiver run down his spine. "Kakashi Sensei! Kakashi Sensei!" The Banshee-like screams of Sakura drag him out of his stupor. Ahem Kakashi clears his throat and turns to his group. "So, what''s the opinion of you, bunch? If you agree to continue your mission, then we willplete it. But you think it is too much for you then we will end it here." "I will do it, Sensei!" Naruto pumps his fists in excitement. Kakashi turns to Sasuke and Sakura for their opinion. "Since this idiot has already said it, then I won''t refuse either. Also, I would like to test my limits with a B-Rank or A-Rank mission." Sasuke shakes his head. "If if Sasuke-kun is doing this mission then I will also do it!" Sakura exims with a red face. Mmm Kakashi nods his head. "Still, since it is registered as a C-Rank mission; thepensation would ordingly be of the same rank. There won''t be any rise in your pay grade." At the sidelines, Tazuna is relieved to hear this as he takes a deep breath. ''Finally, my people have some hope.'' "Alright! I will lead you all to the vige. The bridge is already semi-constructed. You folks have to protect me and the vigers for a couple of days till thepletion of the bridge." Tazuna leads them towards the vige. Buzzz buzz Kakashi hears a buzzing noise in his head. ''This is this is the secret voice transmission technique of Anbu created by Captain Izuna.'' Kakashi turns around and inspects his surroundings. He notices a pair of red eyes at a faraway tree. Shoom The surroundings of Kakashi changes as he appears in a vast empty world coated in red and ck. Whoosh Izuna appears in front of him. "Captain!" Kakashi greets him. "What brought you here? I thought you were out on an important mission." He inquires. "The mission was a false rm. As for why I am here, I am here to naturally deal with Gato and his goons. You see this Gato dude has no strong backing from any hidden vige or organization but he still dares to deal in illegal business. Since our organizationcks mary funds; we will usurp all of his wealth and business. You and the group take care of Gato while I will make arrangements for his business." "Yes, Captain. As you wish." Kakashi nods his head. Whoosh Kakashi is released from the Tsukuyomi as his consciousness returns to the real world. "Also don''t kill Zabuza and his acquaintance. Just incapacitating them is enough. I still have some use for them." Izuna''s voice echoes in his ears. "Yes!" "Sensei! Sensei!" Naruto''s voice falls in Kakashi''s ears as he nags him. "Why were you staring nkly in the air for a second?" He curiously asks Kakashi. "Nothing. I was just thinking about the earlier battle. Let''s go!" He nudges Naruto as the group follows Tazuna. Whoosh Izuna appears at their previous ce as he gazes at their faraway back. "This Gato guy is an opportunity for me to get rid of my poverty. After investing in the model of chakra cannon, I am out of funds. The gambling in chunnin exam helped a little with the funds but all of it was consumed within a month." Hmm Izuna ponders on his mary situation. "Looks like I will have to finally make a trip to Land of Silence to mine that reserve of pure chakra ore. That will substitute for the need for shinobis continuously pumping their chakra in the cannon to fire it. Also, the charging time would be a lot less with chakra ore acting as a fuel." Izuna nods his head as he ponders over his next course of action. ''Since the canon has already started, I should also make suitable preparation ordingly. Also'' Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and peeks inside his body. Various small cracks in his chakra system appear in his vision. ''Then there is also this issue of me dying prematurely. My body is unable to content with my higher tier of chakra. Even my regeneration can''t keep me going. I have to look for a solution to this problem as soon as possible.'' Sigh He takes a deep breath and shakes his breath. ''Taking too much tension is not good for my health. I have to visit Mei to calm myself.'' Whoosh He teleports from his location. ------------------ A/N:- How you doing all? I have started a editing campaign starting with the first chapter. Back then my writing was slightly jarring and offensive to read but I am editing it all again to improve the quality of the fic. I will also remove many non-sensical things from the chapters. If you want to re-read some day. Give it a shot. So,ment your thoughts on the new first chapter. Note:- I will only edit staring 120 chapters or so. Since I think rest of the chapters are fine as they are. Chapter 243: Golden Goose Chapter 243: Golden Goose In a dpidated hut somewhere near the semi-constructed bridge, Whoosh A small petite figure agilely carries arge man on his shoulders. Heys the man on the ground and proceeds to remove the senbons stabbed in his neck. Swoosh Zabuza grabs Haku''s hand and stops him. "It''s alright. I will do it myself." Zabuza removes the senbons from his neck and slowly sits up. "You already came back to life?!" Haku has a surprised expression on his face. Crack crack Zabuza cracks his neck and straightens his posture. "We have already done this drill countless times. Now I don''t feel that much pain. Nevertheless, the feeling of being close to death isn''t much pleasing." Zabuza swings his arms around to get back his motor sense. "Still I severely underestimated the Copy Ninja Kakashi. Hisbat abilities are far more superior aspared to the one listed in the Bingo Book." Zabuza has an ugly expression on his face. "Looks like we have kicked a hard metal te this time. Never in my wild dreams, I thought we would face Kakashi as our opponent." Zabuza helplessly shakes his head. The trouble this time is too big for him to handle. ''Looks like I have to seek Gato for morepensation. Also, it will take me almost a week to recover from injuries sustained in this battle.'' "Zabuza!! I will be the shield that will protect you from any harm. If required, I will be the de that will cull the enemy''s obstructing your way. I won''t ever leave your side." Haku has a resolute expression. Zabuza stares at Haku before closing his eyes as he scoffs inside. ''For me, you are just a tool, a weapon meant to fulfill my interest. If your edge gets dull, I won''t hesitate to get rid of you that very instance. As for trust and familial bonds, those are just the facies of a nave and foolish person. To survive in this world, I have ughtered far too many people than I can keep the count.'' Old memories of the Blood Mist as well as the dirty deeds done under the orders of the Elder Akifumi surfaces in his mind. Haku slowly nurses Zabuza''s wounds as thetter is lost in his thoughts. ----------------- Haah Haah Naruto and Sasuke are currently sparring with each other as Sakura watches them from the sidelines. "Sasuke-kun! Naruto-kun! Both of you do your best." Sakura cheers them. ''Sasuke-kun beat Naruto up! Shannaro!!'' The inner Sakura clenches her fists. Kakashi iszily resting on a nearby tree with a book in his hand as he nces at the trio. ''Since Izuna-san has a n, I won''t interfere with that. I will treat this mission as a vacation for myself.'' Hu Haan A pervy smile appears on Kakashi''s face as he is deeply engrossed in the book. "No matter how many times I read Icha Icha Paradise, I can''t get enough of it." "Kakashi Sensei!... what are you reading?" "It is not a book meant for kids." Kakashi answers Naruto without raising his head. Naruto shrugs his shoulders and asks. "Anyway Kakashi Sensei! Since you are the Copy Ninja having copied over a thousand Jutsu; teach me a powerful jutsu. I want to defeat my enemies in a single move." Kakashi closes his book and turns to Naruto. "Naruto! Even I am unable to beat my opponents in a single move, much less you will. For now, you should focus on your uing chunnin exam. Although you folks are quite strong in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, the chunnin exam also tests your patience, endurance, intelligence, and all other factors. Most importantly, you will take part as a team. As such, you should focus on teamwork and coordination." Kakashi reminds them as his gaze lingers on Sakura. ''Izuna san has taught almost everything to both Naruto and Sasuke. So, it is futile for me to teach them anything. Sakura is a weak link of the team; I should teach her some jutsus to make her presence more useful during a battle.'' Kakashi ponders on Sakura''s strengths and weaknesses. ''Hmm her chakra control is quite good, but she doesn''t have much talent for Ninjutsu. Maybe I should train her in some Genjutsu techniques.'' He turns towards Sakura and beckons her. "Sakura! I will teach a genjutsu technique to you. It will help you during the uing chunnin exam." Upon hearing these words, a smile blooms on Sakura''s face as she happily tip-toes towards Kakashi with an excited expression. "Sensei! Please train me in the Genjutsu technique." Kakashi nods his head as he instructs her on the hand signs for the Genjutsu techniques. At the sidelines, Tazuna stares at the group as he is busy with the construction of the bridge. ''These Ninjas have quite a sturdy body and their endurance is quite good.'' He turns towards Naruto as a sly smile appears on his face. ''Out of this bunch, this kid is the easiest to fool. Maybe I can ask him for help.'' He turns towards Naruto and yells. "Oye! Yellow-haired kid" Huh! Naruto turns towards the bridge builder and points a finger towards himself. "Yes! You! I am talking to you." Tazuna nods his head. Naruto walks towards him. "Earlier I heard you want to train yourself. I can help you with that. Tazuna points towards the heavy logs on the ground. "Why don''t you help me carry these logs to the end of the bridge? This way you will be able to train your body as well as help with the bridge-building." Hmm Sasuke raises his head and senses Tazuna''s intentions. ''Although Naruto is a knucklehead, he is not a fool.'' Sasuke closes his eyes and ignores them as he meditates. "Nii-san told me that the Sharingan affects the state of mind. Its power stems from intense love and hatred. If hatred consumes one''s mind, then they will eventually lose the power of their eyes turning blind. This is Uchiha''s curse of hatred. I must control my state of mind to prevent myself from falling prey to the curse of hatred." Shiing Sasuke''s ck eyes changes as a three tomoe Sharingan appears. ''Izuna Nii-san, Shisui Nii-san, and Itachi Nii-san; all of them possess the next form of Sharingan called Mangekyo Sharingan. I wonder when would I be able to achieve those eyes.'' "Alright Old man! I will help you." Naruto nods his head and agrees to help the bridge builder. ''Izuna Nii-san asked me to train my body. Only then would he teach me the Cool Sage Jutsu. Though this old man wants to take advantage of me; his intentions aren''t bad. So, I will entertain this old guy.'' Haah Naruto picks up a bundle of heavy logs and steadily walks towards the bridge. Ah! The eyes of Tazuna and the rest of the vigers widen in surprise as they gape at Naruto with their mouths wide open. "This little boy can carry a weight meant for ten strongmen to lift on his own." "How strong!" A small boy with ck spiky hair and dark-colored eyes stares at Naruto from a corner. The boy wears a green jumpsuit with a yellow shirt and a simple pair of sandals. There is a blue and white striped hat covering a portion of his head. The boy has stars in his eyes as he stares at Naruto. "I also want to be as strong as him. So that no one will be able to bully mother and grandfather." The boy resolutely clutches his fists. ------------------ In a small warehouse at the outskirts of the Land of Waves near the sea, A short man with shaggy brown hair sporting a pair of small, circr sunsses swaggers inside the warehouse. His two bodyguards follow behind with a fierce expression. "Gato-san! It is nice to do business with you." A group of thugs armed with swords, metal pipes, and various other weapons appear in Gato''s vision. Mmm Gato unnervingly nods his head. "I want you bunch to wreak havoc in the vige and disrupt the construction of the bridge. After thepletion of the mission, I will pay you handsomely." "Yes!" A smile appears on the faces of goons as they rub their hands together. ''Oh!'' An invisible shadow is hovering near the warehouse as it stares at the bunch. ''Looks like my golden goose is ready toy eggs.'' Chapter 244: Battle of the Bridge Chapter 244: Battle of the Bridge A weekter, Near the construction site, "Hurry up! The bridge is almostplete. Once finished, our vige will be free from the clutches of the Gato organization. We will no longer depend on him to sustain ourselves." Tazuna nudges the other workers of the vige. "Look at that kid! He is younger than you folks by a decade or two. Yet he is so energetic and active." He points towards Naruto who is carrying four giant logs on his shoulders. The group of workers turns towards Naruto who is running back and forth with the logs. "Let''s go. We will finish the bridge today." One worker tightly clutches a wooden log and lifts it. "Haah A kid won''t outdo me." Another burly man picks up four logs like Naruto. The rest of the group stares at him in amazement but the burly man is having a hard time maintain his vigor. ''Damn! This is too heavy. How the hell is that kid carrying such weight? Even the shinobi kids are so strong.'' The group of workers works diligently till afternoon. "Let''s take a break." Tazuna halts the construction work. "If nothing unusual happens, then this bridge would bepletely constructed by evening." Tazuna takes a deep breath as he reminisces about the past. Theirnd of Waves is an isted ind situated quite a distance from the maind. Being an ind vige, they have to depend on the maind to sustain themselves. The only way of trade avable to them is through the sea. But five years ago, the Gatopany emerged out of nowhere and monopolized the sea trade; leaving the vige at their mercy. Any voice of discontent was quickly suppressed, and any attempt at revolt was brutally crushed. Tazuna closes his eyes as some memories flood in his mind. At a distance from the bridge, Whoosh. Whoosh Zabuza and Haku hide in the shadow of a tree as they monitor the bridge-building. "The bridge is almost finished constructing. We must stop them today at all cost; if not, we can only blow the bridge." Zabuza clutches Kubikiribch as bloodlust appears in his eyes. "Kubikiribch needs blood to reform its de. In myst battle with Kakashi Hatake, the de was chipped off at the corner." Zabuza caresses the de at the broken end. Haku silently nods his head. "As you wish, Zabuza. I will follow your wishes." Haku silently stares at the construction site as Naruto appears in his vision. Unknowingly a brief smile appears on his face as the memory of how Naruto mistook him for a girl while picking herbs for Zabuza surfaces. The boy was so shocked by the revtion that he even asked him to open his pants and confirm it. Haku''s face turns red from embracement. ''But why did he call me a Trap? Is it some form of address in Leaf Vige?'' "Let''s go!" Zabuza''s hoarse voice falls in his ears. "This time I am prepared. I will upy Kakashi Hatake while you will look for a chance to assassinate the bridge builder." "Yes! Zabuza." Haku nods his head. Whoosh "Also keep an eye for those kids. They are quite powerful for their age." Zabuza warns him before flickering towards the bridge. Whoosh Haku follows him. Hmm Sasuke who is silently meditating on top of a tree slowly opens his eyes. "Just now someone was monitoring us. It must be those ninjas. I must inform Kakashi Sensei." Whoosh He jumps from the top of the tree andnds in front of Kakashi, who is silently reading a book while instructing Sakura. "Sakura! Your chakra control is quite good, but your perception of elemental chakra isn''t good. If you want to cast a powerful genjutsu, then you have to use elemental chakra in conjugation with the Yin release." "Yes yes Sensei!" Sakura nods her head as beads of sweat trickles down her head. ''Why am I so useless? ording to Sensei, I have very good chakra control even better than Naruto and Sasuke but my elemental affinity is so poor. I won''t be able to use any ninjutsu with such poor elemental affinity. I just want Sasuke-kun Sasuke-kun to praise me.'' A blush appears on Sakura''s face, but it is quickly overpowered by the harsh exertion of her chakra. Hmm Kakashi closes his book and lifts his head as his eyes meet with Sasuke. "Is there anything bothering you, Sasuke?" "Kakashi Sensei! The enemy Ninja is on move. Earlier, I sensed a gaze on me while I was meditating." Mmm Kakashi nods his head. "I am aware of it. I was waiting for you bunch to respond. Looks like only you could sense the enemy attack. Good job!" He praises Sasuke andmands the rest of the team. "Sakura! Stop your practice for now. The enemy is about to attack us anytime. You will help in the evacuation of the workers and protect Tazuna with Naruto." He then turns towards Sasuke and instructs. "Sasuke! Zabuza has an aplice this time. He is almost the same age as you. You will upy him while I deal with Zabuza." "Yes, Sensei!" Sasuke nods his head in affirmation. Naruto drops his log and stops in front of Kakashi. "But Sensei! I want to fight too. I am so bored these few days." Narutoins. "No! Prioritize the safety of the bridge builder. The mission is to protect the bridge builder, not to fight the assant." Kakashi rebukes him. "Yes, Sensei!" Naruto depressingly drops his head. Whoosh whoosh Two shadows appear on one of the pirs of the bridge. Naruto and the team raise their head as their eyes meet. Swish swish swish Zabuza quickly makes some hand signs. ''Water Release: Hiding in the Mist Technique" The air fills with thick mist and engulfs the bridge and the surrounding workers. Aah "What''s this?" Tazuna and the worker panics at this scene. "Please stay calm and follow me." Sakura calms them down and slowly leads them away from the battle. Whoosh Zabuza reappears behind the bridge builder and swings his massive de to cleave Tazuna''s head. "Ninja Art: Silent Assassination" ng A kunai blocks the sword, and Kakashi appears in front of Zabuza. "Not so fast, Zabuza!" ng Kakashi parries the attack and faces Zabuza. Swoosh Zabuza swings his de and puts it on his shoulder. "Kakashi Hatake! Last time I wasn''t prepared for you but this time, I have made all the necessary arrangements." Swish swish Zabuza makes some hand signs. "Sharingan" Kakashi activates his Sharingan and copies Zabuza''s hand signs. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique" "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique" Both of them release their jutsu simultaneously as the jutsu collides with each other and cancels out. A drizzle of water shrouds them as Zabuza smirks. "Water Release: Hiding in the Drizzle Technique" Whoosh Zabuza''s body vanishes in water vapors as hepletely conceals his presence. "This technique don''t tell me it is Hozuki n''s signature technique." Kakashi''s eyes widen in shock momentarily. "I see." He calms down and looks around. "This technique was developed by the second Mizukage during the Second Shinobi War to deal with the members of the Uchiha n. So, the rumors were true, you were indeed a part of the New Mist Swordsman created by the Late Elder of Kiri." Zabuza ignores Kakashi and silently travels towards the bridge builder to assassinate him. ''I don''t have any confidence to win a fight against the Copy Ninja Kakashi Hatake. I can only seek this window of opportunity to silently assassinate the target and escape. There is no need to sacrifice my life for this mission.'' Hmm Naruto senses something amiss while protecting the bridge builder. He senses a strong killing intent directed towards the bridge builder. Recently, as his mastery over Nine-tails chakra increased; he is faintly able to sense strong emotions around him. Since he is in the vicinity of the bridge builder, he sensed the killing intent. "Enemy attack!" Naruto warns Sakura and makes some hand signs. "Wind Release: Great Wind Breakthrough Sweep" BOOM He inhales arge amount of air and expels it outwards in a spherical form, blowing everything around him. Whoosh The jutsu blows away the mist in the surrounding area and reveals the figure of Zabuza to Naruto. "You are" Naruto recognizes the person who is in front of him. "You were supposed to be dead? How are you still alive?" Naruto has a serious expression on his face as he questions Zabuza. "" Sakura, Kakashi, and Zabuza silently stare at Naruto. "Anyway, since you are alive. I won''t allow you to harm Tazuna-san." Swish Naruto pulls a kunai from his holster and takes a stance. m Zabuza ms his giant de on the ground and confronts Naruto. "Kid! If you want to live a little longer and cherish your life, then get out of my way or else" Whoosh Zabuza disappears from his position and reappears in front of Naruto and swings his Executioner''s de. "DIE!!" Chapter 245: Battle of the Bridge (Naruto Vs Zabuza) Chapter 245: Battle of the Bridge (Naruto Vs Zabuza) "DIE!" Zabuza swings the Executioner''s de towards Tazuna in a horizontal sweep. His aim is to slice the bridge builder in half, leaving no chance of recovery. ng Naruto blocks the de with his kunai. Aw The impact of the strike leaves a tingling sensation in his hands. "What?" Zabuza has a surprised expression on his face. "How?" In the previous strike, he used most of the strength of his body to release a devastating blow to sh the target in half. He even used the special de techniques of Mist swordsman to deliver the strike. Paired with the Executioner''s de, that strike can even cleave through thick earth walls, but this little genin blocked his sure-kill move with only a kunai. Zabuza is bbergasted to see this. Aww Naruto shakes his hands as his hand feels a little numb. He clutches his kunai and turns to Kakashi, who is watching from afar. "Kakashi Sensei! I can fight this guy. Leave him to me." Mmm Kakashi nods his head in affirmation. Even he was surprised to see Naruto block that attack. ''Sensei! Can you see this?! Your son is also a genius like you. He is already strong enough topete with elite Jounin.'' He turns towards the confrontation between Naruto and Zabuza. ''If Naruto isn''t able to hold his own, I will step in and save him.'' Upon hearing these words from Naruto, Zabuza''s expression turns ugly. "You underestimate me, kid! A greenhorn like you thinks he canpete with a Mist Swordsman." Zabuza swings his Executioner''s de with a bloodthirsty expression. "Kubikiribch will bathe in your blood brat." Whoosh Zabuza disappears from his position and reappears behind Naruto. He swings his de towards Naruto''s neck, aiming to end him in a single sh. Poof Naruto disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving a kunai behind. "A shadow clone?! Then where is the real body?" Zabuza looks around for the actual Naruto. The kunai flips in the air and turns into Naruto. Haah Naruto has a kunai in his hand as he aims for Zabuza''s head. "What?!" Swish skid Zabuza kicks the surface of the water and instantly maintains a distance between them. "This kid?! He is too cunning. I can''t lower my guard." Zabuza has a serious expression on his face. Just now, he barely avoided the sneak attack from the kid. "Kid! I must say you have some skills for your age, but it isn''t enough to stop me." Stab Zabuza stabs the de on the surface of the water and makes some hand signs. Swish Swish swish "Water Release: Water Bullet Technique" Zabuza maniptes the surrounding water and fires a giant water bullet towards Naruto. Whizz The bullet closes on Naruto. "Kid! Although you have some skills in Ninja techniques. In terms of Ninjutsu, you stillck experience." Naruto calmly stares at the iing water bullet and makes some hand signs. "Wind Release: Giant Wind Bullet Jutsu" He takes a deep breath and inhalesrge amounts of air and fires a giant wind bullet towards the iing water bullet. BOOM Both the wind and water bullet collide and cancel each other, leavingrge amounts of water droplets in the surroundings. "You got some moves kid, but it ends here." Zabuza clutches his de with one hand and raises another hand over his head as he takes a stance ready to cast his most powerful jutsu. "I won''t allow it." A pair of hands creep out from under the water and grab Zabuza''s legs. "What?!" Zabuza is shocked to see the hands. He lifts his head and stares at the ''real body'' of Naruto. Poof Naruto smirks at him and disappears in a puff of smoke. "Another shadow clone?! this kid! Just who is he?!" Haah The pair of hands tug tightly and attempts to pull Zabuza under the water. Instead of panicking, a smile appears on Zabuza''s face. "I finally found you, kid. This must be your real body." Swirl Zabuza''s body turns into a puddle of water and engulfs Naruto. "Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu" Zabuza''s water clone turns into arge sphere of water and traps Naruto. Burble burble Naruto breathes heavily in the sphere as he attempts to get free from the prison. "It''s futile kid! I have spent quite an amount of chakra to form that water prison." Swoosh Another water clone appears behind Zabuza. The water clone inserts his hand in the water prison to maintain it. Kaching Zabuza draws the Executioner''s de and walks towards a terrified Tazuna. Haah Sakura jumps in front of the bridge builder. "I will protect you." She tries to assure Tazuna. But her words do not affect him. "This is the end for me. Gatopany is too terrifying." Tazuna closes his eyes in fear. Sakura takes out her kunai and stands in front of Tazuna. Kakashi watches the entire series of events from the sidelines without interfering. ''Since Naruto asked me to not interfere, then I won''t. Still, I am curious to see, how will get out of this predicament. Of course, I won''t allow Zabuza to kill our target of protection.'' Kakashi turns towards Naruto who is struggling with the water prison. ''Water prison is a C-rank jutsu used to restraint one''s enemies. But the power of a jutsu depends on the user. In the hands of a Ninja-like Zabuza, it could be quite challenging to get rid of this technique.'' Haah Naruto tightly clutches his hands asrge amounts of red chakra surge from his body. Haah BOOM The surge of chakra destroys the water prison and frees Naruto. "Farewell! Bridge Builder!" Zabuza swings the Executioner''s de to im Tazuna''s life. "Kenjutsu: Secret art: Mist Execution" Kakashi''s expression turns serious as he makes his move. ''I can''t dy any longer.'' Suddenly, Fwoosh swoosh A streak of orange light shes past him. "This is" Kakashi''s eye widens in surprise as he is able to get a glimpse of the appearance of the streak. "Sensei!!" These words involuntarily escape from his mouth. Whoosh Naruto appears in front of Zabuza to intercept his attack. "Rasengan" Naruto has a dense red Rasengan in his hand. BOOM The Rasengan explodes on top of the Executioner''s de. Crack crack Cracks appear on the de and the de shatters into pieces. "How can this be?!" Zabuza''s eyes widen in sheer disbelief. "That was one of the famed swords of the Mist. How can it shatter this easily?!" Haah Naruto tightly clutches his fist and punches Zabuza. BANG Zabuza is sent flying by Naruto''s attack. -------------- Earlier, Inside the vige, "That takes care of things." Sasuke dusts his hands as two unconscious goonsy in front of him. They were precisely the bodyguards of Gato: Zori and Waraji." "Earlier, I suspected Gato would make a move to sabotage Tazuna''s family while we are busy dealing with the shinobi. Guess, I was right on cue." He ties both of them with a rope and flickers towards the bridge. "I will leave their fate to these vigers." Whoosh Sasuke arrives beside Kakashi and reports to him. "Good work!" Kakashi nods his head as both of them turn towards the fight between Naruto and Zabuza. Sasuke notices the red chakra of Naruto and silently murmurs to himself. ''I never expected this dunce to improve this much. While I have made little progress, he has improved tremendously.'' Sasuke feels the pressure from Naruto''s growth. ''I don''t want this idiot to leave me in the dust. After this mission, I will ask Izuna Nii-san to train me.'' Hmm Sasuke senses a shadow slowly creeping towards Tazuna. ''It''s that hunter-nin guy. He is aiming to assassinate Tazuna while Naruto is engaged with Zabuza. He thinks he can get past me. Hmph'' Sasuke snorts and immediately flickers towards Tazuna. Whoosh nk Sasuke deflects an ice senbon aimed at Tazuna''s neck. "Not so fast." Tch Haku clicks his tongue and appears in front of Sasuke. "I have toplete the task Zabuza gave me at all costs. Even if it means killing someone." Haku solemnly stares at Sasuke as the surrounding temperature drops. Brrr Sakura and Tazuna feel the chill in the atmosphere. Both of them rub their hands to get some warmth. Kakashi''s eyes narrow as he watches this phenomenon. "Ice Style! A Kekkei Genkai user. It''s going to be a fight between two Kekkei Genkai." At some distance away, Chomp chomp Izuna and Ayaka crunch some popcorns as they watch the fight while floating in the air. Ayaka is sitting on a small rock that is floating beside Izuna. "Ayaka! I brought you here to get some experience. But why do I feel like you came here to watch a movie?" Izuna helplessly stares at Ayaka, who is cutely munching on popcorns. "Ne Ne Onii chan! Don''t bother yourself over this small stuff. I am learning a lot from this fight." Ayaka waves her hand and focuses on the battle. "" Chapter 246: Battle of the Bridge (Sasuke Vs Haku) Chapter 246: Battle of the Bridge (Sasuke Vs Haku) Sasuke senses the chill in the atmosphere and frowns. ''An Ice Style User!'' Whoosh Haku quickly closes the distance between him and Sasuke while making some hand signs. Swish swish "Water Release: Secret Art: Thousand Stinging Needles of Death" Swoosh swoosh swoosh Haku creates a thousand senbons of water from the surroundings and aims them at Tazuna, Sakura, and Sasuke. Swish He waves his hands andunches the needles at the group from all directions. ''Crap! I can easily avoid them but I can''t say the same for Sakura and the bridge builder. Although these needles will cause superficial injuries to a Ninja; they are quite lethal to a civilian like Tazuna.'' Tch Sasuke clicks his tongue and makes some hand signs. "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Fire Barrage" Sasuke rapidly spats out arge number of small fireballs around to counteract the water senbons. The small fireball covers arge area and quickly evaporates the water needles. The resulting sh creates a screen of water vapor and mist. Using this opportunity, Sasuke throws multiple shurikens towards Haku. Swish He draws a pair of metal wires from his holster and controls the movement of the shurikens. ng ng Haku deflects the shurikens with a kunai but Sasuke controls their trajectory and continues to lock on Haku making him unable to counterattack. Zabuza who is locked in a battle with Naruto momentarily stares at the situation and is shocked to see the battle. "That boy he can fight on even ground with Haku. No he has forced Haku on defensive." Bang Using this chance, the clones of Naruto punches Zabuza. Zabuza blocks the attack, but the impact sends him flying. He falls beside Kakashi, who silently walks towards Zabuza. "It''s enough Naruto." Kakashi stops Naruto. Swish swish He makes some hand signs and taps Zabuza''s forehead. "Ninja Art: Chakra Suppression Seal" Kakashi seals Zabuza''s chakra and sits beside him as he watches Sasuke''s battle. Earlier, Kakashi received a message from Izuna to not kill Zabuza since he has some use for Zabuza. "Kakashi Hatake" Zabuza stops resisting since he realized earlier. ''These bunches of kids are monsters. Then there is also the Copy Ninja.'' He turns towards Kakashi and curiously asks him. "What''s the deal with these kids? Who are they? Why are they are so strong?" "Oh!" Kakashi raises his eyebrow and answers. "These kids were personally trained by Izuna Uchiha the ''Silent Shinigami''." "Si Silent Shinigami" Zabuza takes a deep breath as some terrifying memories of the Third Ninja War shes in his mind. He participated in the Third Great Ninja war as one of the chunnin of Kiri under the orders of the Noble Faction. During a supply escort mission, he saw an Eight-year-old kid with a Konoha headband brutally assassinating the entire escort team. He barely survived the massacre by jumping down a cliff. "No wonder these kids are so terrifyingly strong. But still" Zabuza has a pensive gaze on his face as he stares at Haku. "Haku has yet to use the power of his cursed bloodline, the power of his Kekkei Genkai ''Ice Release''." He remarks. "That kid might not be Haku''s match once Haku gets serious." "You think so" Kakashi shrugs his shoulder and remarks. "Sasuke is an Uchiha. Unlike me, he possesses aplete pair of fully matured Sharingan." "What?!" Zabuza''s eyes widen in shock as he turns towards Sasuke. "This boy has awakened his Kekkei Genkai." "See for yourself." Kakashi removes the mask from his eye and activates his Sharingan to watch the battle. ''Though I can''t copy Ice Release, I can still learn more about its weakness and strengths.'' At the bridge, Haku is caught in a desperate situation as he is unable to retaliate against Sasuke''s relentless attacks. He is locked in a defensive stance. Haah Haku riles up his chakra and deflects the shurikens and makes some One hand signs. "Ice Release: Certain-Kill Ice Spears" Swoosh swoosh Suddenly, multiple ice spears erupt from the ground, impaling everything in its vicinity. Whoosh Sasuke senses the danger and quickly jumps in the air, twisting his body to avoid the deadly spears. Swish swish swish He makes some hand signs while mid-air. "Fire Release: Dragon me Jutsu" He spews out arge amount of mes from his mouth. The mes morph into a giant me dragon and rams through the ice quickly melting it. "Fire Release: Fierce Dragon me Jutsu" Sasuke makes some more hand signs and the mes congeal at a spot turning into arge dragon head shaped-fireball. Haah Sasuke directs the fireball towards Haku in an attempt to end the battle. ''With this, the battle wille to an end. I want to preserve my chakra for sticky situations besides this technique requires arge amount of chakra to perform.'' BOOM The giant dragon fireball engulfs Haku and explodes on top of him. A deafening explosion rings in the surroundings, evaporating the surrounding water. "This Jutsu I never saw him use it. It is at least a B-Rank jutsu." Kakashi murmurs to himself while witnessing the sheer destructive force behind the explosion. "Looks like this battle is over." He shakes his head. "No wait!" As if sensing something, Kakashi turns towards the battle. A giant igloo-like dome appears in his vision. The hunter-nin boy is encased in the ice while sheltered from the explosion. There are some faint cracks on the ice dome but it still intact after sustaining that earlier explosion. "Such a strong defense. It is almost on par with Kazekage''s sand shield." Kakashi murmurs as he inspects the ice Igloo. Hmph Sasuke snorts at the giant Igloo. "So, this dome can distribute the force of blunt attacks over its entire surface thus greatly reducing the impact." He quickly figures out the weakness of the jutsu. "In that case" Swish swish swish Sasuke quickly makes some hand signs. "Lightning Release: Chidori" Chii chirp Chirping of thousand bird rings in the air as Sasuke infuses arge amount of Lighting chakra in his hand. Whoosh He flickers towards the ice dome and attacks it with his Chidori. Stab Crack crack The Chidori prates through the thick ice barrier and shatters it into countless ice fragments. Stab spurt The momentum of Chidori dies down but Sasuke still manages to stab through Haku''s shoulder. Aaah Haku tightly clenches his teeth and grabs Sasuke''s left arm with his right hand. Swish swish swish He quickly makes some One-hand signs. "One-hand signs?!" Kakashi raises his eyebrows. "This boy has quite the talent for Ninjutsu, unlike certain someone." Kakashi directs his gaze towards Sakura. Ah! Sakura senses a gaze on her. She looks around, but Kakashi removes his gaze and turns towards the battle. "It''s getting interesting every moment. I wonder what other surprises this boy holds and how will Sasuke react to them?" "Ice Release: Thousand Stinging Needles of Death" Haku uses the ice version of his earlier water jutsu and summons a thousand ice senbons to pierce through Sasuke and turn him into a porcupine. "Hmph Not so fast!" Chii chirp Sasuke infuses some more lighting chakra in his left hand and stabs through Haku''s shoulder to free himself. ARGH!! Haku releases a scream of agony and lets off Sasuke''s hand. Swoosh Sasuke jumps in the air to avoid the ice senbons. Stab stab Still, a few ice senbon manages to stab through his left leg. Sasuke feels a numbing sensation in his leg as the senbons freeze his chakra acupoints thus, disabling his left leg for a while. ng ng Sasuke pulls out the senbons from his legs and throws them aside. Haah haah Haku is breathing heavily as blood spurts from his shoulder. "I can''t give up at this point. For the sake of dreams of the person I respect; I will give my all." Whoosh The surrounding temperature plummets rapidly. Haku freezes the wound on his shoulder and starts to make some quick hand signs. Kakashi observes the change in Haku''s resolve and remarks. "You have got quite the sophisticated tool, Zabuza." "The world is a big ce Kakashi Hatake. You will never understand the pain and loneliness of being rejected and feared by your very own people." Zabuza speaks in a hoarse voice. "When I met this boy, he was all alone; without any family, without anybody to look for him. I just offered some sweet words, and he became a tool for me." Kakashi lifts his head and turns towards Naruto. Sakura is tending to his wounds as he grimaces in pain. ''I might not understand his pain, but someone else might.'' Swish swish swish swoosh Haku sps his hands as he finishes his hand signs. "Secret Art: Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals" Shoom Shoom The surrounding water vapors quickly condense in ice mirrors and surround Sasuke. The mirrors fuse to form a giant dome of ice mirrors. Whoosh Haku enters one of the mirrors as his reflection appears in all other mirrors. "Now, it''s my turn to attack." Chapter 247: Battle of The Bridge (End) Chapter 247: Battle of The Bridge (End) Whoosh Haku''s figure enters the ice mirrors surrounding Sasuke. Shoom shoom shoom Multiple reflections of Haku appear in Sasuke''s vision. "A cloning Jutsu?!" A frown appears on Sasuke''s face. Hmm He scrutinizes the mirrors and realizes. "No! They are his images formed by the phenomenon of the light trapped in this mirror. The light reflected from his body suffers a total internal reflection and thus multiple reflections of his forms in these ice mirrors." Haah Sasuke takes a Taijutsu stance ready to intercept Haku''s move. Swish swish swish Haku and his reflections simultaneously make some hand signs. "Ice Release: Thousand Stinging Needles of Death" Multiple ice senbons lock on Sasuke''s position. Swoosh.. swoosh The ice senbon barrage attacks him from all directions. Haah Facing the iing barrage of the ice senbons, Sasuke takes a deep breath and calms himself. "Sharingan" Shiing Sasuke''s eyes changes and a three tomoe Sharingan appears in both of his eyes. ng ng ng Sasuke''s body moves at an incredible speed as he smoothly deflects all the iing attacks. His breathing is normal, and there is no hint of exhaustion or sweat on his body. "This is" Zabuza''s eyes widen in shock. "How is this boy able to keep up with Haku''s almost light-speed attacks?" He murmurs to himself. Soon, he notices the tomoes in Sasuke''s eyes and gets his answer. "No wonder Haku never stood a chance." Zabuza sighs and stops resisting. Swoosh Sasuke deflects the final senbon and turns towards a mirror. "It''s time to end this useless struggle." Swish swish swish He makes multiple hand signs and takes a deep breath. "Fire Style: zing Fireball Shower" He spits out a volley of fireballs into the air. The fireballs spread out through the ice dome and simultaneously attack all of Haku''s images. BOOM BOOM The fireballs explode on top of the ice mirrors. Searing mes rise through the ice dome, raising the surrounding temperature rapidly. Crack crack Multiple cracks form on Ice dome''s surface. BAM The jutsu shatters into countless ice fragments which instantly melt in vapors because of the mes. A figure falls from the air. Whoosh Sasuke flickers in front of the figure. Haah He performs a roundhouse kick and attacks the masked face of the figure. Bang Haku is sent flying by Sasuke''s attack. BAM He crashes into a nearby wooden pir and his hunter-nin mask shatters. Blood leaks from Haku''s mouth. His eyes lifelessly stare at Zabuza. "I am sorry, Zabuza. I failed to fulfill the mission you gave me." Haku silently murmurs to himself as a wave of exhaustion washed over him. "Huh! He is" Naruto immediately recognizes Haku from the previous day. "Hey! He is that pretty boy from the previous day." Naruto immediately rushes towards Haku. "Seems like you handled the situation well." Izuna appears beside Kakashi and nods his head. "It was not much big of a deal. Naruto and Sasuke did most of the job." Kakashi replies without even turning back. "I guess! You taught them well." Izuna remarks with a grin. "Not as well as you did!" Kakashi retorts. "Anyway, I will take things from here on." Izuna turns towards Zabuza with a smile. Gulp Zabuza gulps his saliva as he recognizes Izuna. ''The Silent Shinigami Izuna Uchiha. He is a death God in human form. Looks like this is the end for me.'' Hmm Izuna walks towards Zabuza and stares at the broken de in his hand. He picks up the broken de and draws his finger over the broken edge. "I hope Mei won''t be angry over this matter. It''s still one of the famed des of Seven Swordsman of the Mist." ''The flow of chakra is not smooth in this de. Also, this de has durability issues.'' Izuna judges the quality of the de. "My de is much better than this." He turns his attention to Zabuza. "As for you Hmm" Izuna ponders over Zabuza''s fate. Gulp Zabuza gulps another mouthful of saliva as Izuna''s gaze lingers over him. He breaks out in a cold sweat as in his mind an image of a Shinigami wielding a scythe ovep with Izuna. The Executioner''s de in Izuna''s hand glows with a sharp tint as Izuna subconsciously waves it. "I will let Mei decide your fate. Since you are a rogue shinobi of Kiri." Phew Zabuza heaves a sigh of relief. ''At least it won''t be worse than being handled by this Death God.'' Hmm Izuna turns his attention towards Naruto and Haku. "YO! I never expected to meet you so soon." Ugh Haku slowly lifts his head and notices Naruto. "Na Naruto" He slowly tries to stand up. "Hey! Hey! Take it easy." Naruto stops Haku. "I will tend to your wounds." He turns around and notices Izuna. Naruto''s eyes lit up, and he waves his hand to Izuna. "Nii-san! I need your help Nii-san." "This troublemaker" Izuna shakes his head and walks towards them. He notices Haku''s injuries and turns to Sasuke. "You went easy on this boy. It''s so unlikely of you, Sasuke." Swoosh Izuna uses Mythical Palm Technique to heal Haku''s injuries. "I did for sure. If not, then a certain knucklehead would pester me to no end." Sasuke shakes his head. "Hey! I won''t." Naruto retorts. "Oh! Really" Sasuke smirks. "If my facts are correct, then a certain someone exhausted himself while training in the wild and then slept like a log in the wild. If not for me keeping a close eye on you, then a certain someone might have sent you on your one-way trip to" Swish Sasuke does a cut-throat motion. Gulp Naruto gulps a mouthful of saliva and retorts. "In the end, I am safe. Nothing happened to me." "Hmph I don''t know about his intentions. He might have detected my presence and thus I acted as deterrence for him or there might be some other reason." Sasuke snorts. "OK! OK! Calm down, you both." Izuna calms them down. "Why don''t you ask him yourself?" He turns to Haku. "I I" Haku stammers for a while before he gets hold of his breath. An earnest expression appears on his face as he answers. "It''s true that when I met Naruto, initially I had the urge to kill him and get rid of Zabuza''s burden. But but somehow the way Naruto treated me made me change my mind. He he treated me like a friend. Up till now, kids of my age were either afraid of my abilities and adults would try to kill me, once they came to know about them. Only Zabuza was different. Even if he treated me like a tool; he never saw me with scorn like others. So so I was happy to be Zabuza''s tool. He was my only family. Sniff sniff" Haku has tears in his eyes as he recounts his past. Sob sob Tears stream down Naruto''s eyes as he bowls his eyes out. Sigh Sasuke shakes his head and pats Naruto''s shoulder. "" Izuna silently stares at the group. ''Look at this bunch, acting all grown-up and childish at the same time.'' Izuna only felt a slight sympathy for Haku. ''This is the dark truth of this Shinobi World. Konoha had it quite easypared to other nations; thanks to the effort of a certain Hokage. Still, we had our cancerous tumors in the past.'' Izuna sighs to himself and addresses the bunch. "Enough chitchat! I have to take him into custody and present him to Kiri for judgment. Despite his past, he still hasmitted lots of crimes under the orders of Zabuza. Now is the time to ount for them." "But Nii-san! He is" Naruto protests but Izuna res at him. Naruto gulps a mouthful of saliva and swallows his words. "It''s alright, Naruto! I have to ount for my sins. If I get an opportunity in the future, then we will meet again." Haku assures Naruto. He turns towards Izuna and nods his head. "I am ready." ''Oh! He is quite cooperative. Maybe his interaction with Naruto changed his mentality. That''s the protagonist aura for you.'' Izuna shakes his head and turns to Kakashi. "Kakashi! With this, your mission isplete. The only thing left for you is to deal with Gato and his goons." Izuna turns towards the other end of the bridge, where a bunch of hoodlums are marching towards the group. "Hmm I will take care of it." Kakashi nods his head. Izuna grabs Zabuza and Haku. "See youter, everyone!" Ayaka jumps from the top of the tree andnds on Izuna''s head. "Ayaka!!" Naruto and Sasuke stare at her in shock. "I couldn''t sense your presence till now." Sasuke shakes his head. "You need more training, Sasuke Nii-san!" Ayaka sticks out her tongue and teases them. "I think so too." Izuna nods his head. "NOOO!!" Naruto and Sasuke sweat drop and yell in unison. Haku is amused to see them act like this. ''They are already so strong. What kind of training are they doing?'' It piques Haku''s interest. Chapter 248: Origin of Trouble Chapter 248: Origin of Trouble In Kirigakure, Inside the Mizukage Office, While Mei is scrolling through the paperwork, Elder Genji is summarizing the recent turns of events to her. "Mizukage-sama the next bout of chunnin exam would be held in our Kirigakure. Konoha, in honor of our treaty and good faith, would help conduct the chunnin exam.This is a huge opportunity for Kiri to wash away its past and reforge a new future." "Indeed" Mei nods her head. ''It''s all thanks to Izuna. He had helped Kiri a lot.'' Mei closes her eyes and gazes towards the direction of Konoha. ''I wish I could retire today as the Mizukage and move to Konoha.'' She turns towards Elder Genji and interrupts him. "Elder Genji how is Chojuro faring with his training?" Elder Genji nods his head. "Ao has been taking care of the kid''s training. After his promotion to chunnin, the kid has grown out of his shell; nevertheless, his personality needs a little extra effort. I am sure with time; he would grow in a fine shinobi. As for the position of Mizukage" Elder Genji pauses for a while. " Mizukage-sama! I don''t think it would be a wise decision to hand over Kiri to a person with such a weak personality." "No! It will be alright." Mei shakes her head. "I have a hunch that Chojuro will make a great Mizukage." She shakes her head and indulges in paperwork. On top of Mizukage''s Office, Whoosh The Flying Thunder God seal of Izuna glows brightly, and three figures teleport out of nowhere. Hmm Mei and Elder Genji raise their head as they sense Izuna''s chakra. "He is here." Mei has a smile on her face. She immediately jumps out of the window and scales the roof. "Yo!" Izuna waves his hand and hugs Mei. "Did you miss me?" He smiles at her. "Yes, I did." Mei nods her head. Ahem Elder Genji coughs slightly. "If my memory serves me right, then we met yesterday." He remarks. "Is that so?" Izuna raises his eyebrow. "Why can''t I remember anything?" Izuna smiles at Elder Genji. Bam Mei elbows him in the gut. "Stop fooling around! Tell me the purpose of your visit." She questions him. "Do I need a purpose to visit my wife?" Izuna retorts. "Fine! Now tell me the reason." Mei sighs helplessly. ''I can''t win against him. He is too shameless.'' She notices Zabuza and Haku behind him. Mei immediately recognizes Zabuza since she knew about him from her academy days. "He is Zabuza Momochi, and this boy is" She turns to Izuna for answers. "He is thest known surviving member of the Yuki n. His name is Haku Yuki." Izuna introduces Haku and ushers him in front of Mei. "I It is nice to meet you, Mizukage-sama." Haku stammers. Hmm "He is indeed a member of Yuki n with that appearance." Mei nods her head. Swoosh Izuna produces the Executioner''s de from his Kamui. "Kakashi and the kids came across them during their mission. I brought them here to let you decide their fate." Mmm Mei''s expression turns serious as the demeanor of Mizukage appears to present itself. "Zabuza is a rogue ninja of Kiri who deserted the vige during the Blood Mist era. As such, he hasmitted treason against the vige and his punishment will be decided ordingly." She turns towards Haku and a gentle expression appears on her face. "The Yuki n suffered great injustice under the hands of the previous Noble ns. The Yuki n was a former ally of my Terumi n. Still, he will face punishment for impersonating as a Hunter-nin." "Let me handle that" Izuna butts in. "I will take care of his punishment." Izuna has a smile on his face as he secretly gestures to Mei. "Hmm then I will leave it you." Mei nods her head and continues with her work. Later in the evening, Inside one of Kiri''s famous restaurant, Izuna and Mei are seated beside each other, enjoying their dinner. "So, you want to recruit Haku for your team?!" Mei asks him. "Yes! That boy has so much untapped potential. His skills with Ninjutsu are top notch. He can use One-hand seals to cast Ninjutsu. I can count the number of people who can perform this feat on my fingers. Also, the Ice-Release is the cherry on the top. I will teach him all of my Ice-Release techniques." Izuna picks a piece of meat with his chopstick and dips it in the sauce. Aah Mei opens her mouth and bites on it. "Thankfully, I am using the transformation jutsu to eat here or as a Mizukage, I would be too embarrassed to do this in public." Mei''s face reddens. "What''s there to be shy about?!" Izuna chuckles and takes another bite of meat from Mei''s hand. "This is quite good." He enjoys the vor of meat and remarks. "Still, I am quite sad that you won''t be able to assist us with the uing chunnin exams." Mei has an unresigned expression on her face. "I finally got a clue of an important mission. I can''t miss it at any cost." Izuna sighs in an apologetic tone. "Kakashi and the rest should be enough for the task." Mei and Izuna spent the rest of their dinner talking about trivial stuff. "Alright! I think that''s enough for today. I have other responsibilities too, otherwise, I am afraid I won''t leave till next morning." Mei abruptly breaks the conversation. Izuna''s expression turns sour. "It''s just some useless job. Let others take care of it." He snorts. "NO! That won''t do. I can''t ck with the work." Mei shakes her head. Izuna nkly stares at her as it reminds him of a certain Hokage always whining for more breaks. ---------- In Konoha''s Yakini-Q, Achoo Tsunade sneezes violently. She waves an empty cup towards Shizune. "Shizune! Do you think I caught a cold from overwork?! H" "" Shizune helplessly stares at her. "Err Tsunade-sama I think that''s enough sake for the day. I think it''s about time we return. Naruto must have returned from his mission." "One more Shizune!! one more it won''t do any harm to drink more." Tsunade waves the empty cup in front of Shizune. Sigh Shizune sighs and refills her cup. ---------- "Let me pay the bill." Izuna ces a stack of Ryo on the table. Both of them walk out of the restaurant and scrutinize the nearby area. "Kiri has improved quite a lot in these past three years." Both of them notice the hustle-bustle of the surrounding area. "It''s just the light of Kiri. Blood and all sorts of evil still taint the darkness of Kiri. Unless I uproot the problem from the root, Kiri has to bear the burden of its infamy." Mei sighs. "Hey! At least, you are giving your best. Things will work out with time." Izuna assures her. Both of them continue to walk through the streets of Kiri. Soon, they arrive near the residential area of the lower ss -the slums of Kiri. "There is not much improvement in the status of the Lower ss." Izuna remarks. "My hands are tied in this case." Mei helplessly remarks. "The elders of the vige don''t trust these war prisoners and captives. The least I can do is to hire them for odd jobs and increase the number of missions directed their way." "That''s fine too. You are their leader, not their nanny." Izuna chuckles. Suddenly, a girl in a tattered pink dress walks towards Izuna. "This is for you, Mister." She passes a small scroll to Izuna and turns around to leave. "Wait!" Mei stops the girl while Izuna inspects the scroll. ''Hmm there are no traps or other such seals on this scroll. There is no sign of poison either. It''s just a in scroll.'' "Girl! Who gave it to you?" Mei interrogates the girl. "It was a masked man with sses who gave this scroll to me. He told me a man and a woman will shortly pass through this area and told me to give this scroll to the man. In return, he gave me some money." The girl produces some coins from her pocket. There is a hint of worry and fear in her eyes. "It''s alright. She is as clueless as us." Izuna takes out some Ryo and gives it to girl. "Thank you, Mister!" Izuna waves her off. "Now for the message on this scroll. Let me see" He opens the scroll and checks its content. There is only a single line carved on the scroll. "Izuna Uchiha! Let''s meet near the Land of Origin of Shinobi World." ----------------------------- A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. There will be an extra chapter with each 500 power stones up to a max. of 3 bonus chapters per week resulting in a total of 10 chapters. So, Gimme that power stones. Chapter 249: A Desolate Meeting Chapter 249: A Deste Meeting "Land of Origin?! Huh!" Mei reads the scroll and tilts her head in confusion. "If I remember correctly, then there is no such ce." Mei tilts her head in confusion. "You are right! There is no such ce." Izuna nods his head. ''Still, the Land of Origin of Shinobi World." Izuna ponders over the details. "Is it some kind of prank? Or is someone messing with you?" Mei''s expression turns ugly. "No!" Izuna shakes his head. "I think I have a good idea of what it means." Izuna pockets the scroll and turns towards Mei. "Looks like that''s my cue to leave. We will meet tomorrow." He kisses Mei''s lips and teleports away. Hmph! "He and his secrets." Mei snorts and turns towards the streets. "Since I am out on a patrol, might as well inspect the situation of Kiri with my eyes. The current Kiri is hung on a fragile bnce. One wrong move can overturn the entire scale. Although I im to be a fair and justful Kage; still my rule is built on a brutal civil war. So, some people might still have some misgivings. Those lurking in shadows waiting for an opportunity to topple my position could easily manipte such people." With such thoughts, Mei enters an abandoned alley. She makes a hand signal and three anbus appear in front of her. Sigh Mei takes a deep breath and stares at them. "You people don''t need to keep following me around." One of the anbu members walks in front of her and bows. "Mizukage-sama, it''s our duty to protect you. Elder Fuji entrusted your safety in our hands." Sigh "Father is too overprotective of me." Mei shakes her head. "Since you are already here, I have a task for you all." "Yes, Mizukage-sama!" The Anbus nods their head. "Although one faction of the lower ss helped us during the civil war; the other faction kept a neutral stance. Now, this neutral faction is creating trouble for us. Gather intel about their whereabouts and their next course of action." Mei orders them. "Disperse" She waves her hand and disperses them. "A Kage''s job is really tiring. I think I need to learn some tips from Lady Tsunade on my next visit." Whoosh Mei flickers from her position. -------------------- Izuna returns to his secret base in Konoha. He takes out a scroll from his pocket. Swish swoosh He makes some hand signs and infuses chakra in the scroll. Whoosh The scroll lit up with a red glow, and three apparitions appear on top of it. "Leader!" The three figures instantly greet him. Mmm Izuna nods his head. "Let''s cut to the chase. I have summoned you here because I am about to enter the home ground of our enemy. I received an invitation for a talk from them. Though I don''t know their purpose; we have to still entertain precaution to ensure safety." Izuna shares the content of the scroll with the rest of the members. "Stay near the borders of the Land of Ancestor. I will send a distress signal if I am caught in enemy schemes. Immediately vacate the area and inform the Hokage and others. If nothing else, then the conversation went smoothly. Do you understand?!" "Yes, Leader!" The group nods their head. "Very well! Then I will be on my way to the Land of Ancestors. Let''s see what does the head of Kara''s research and development section wants to talk about." Whoosh Izuna flickers out of the secret base as he travels towards the Land of Ancestor. ''Land of Ancestor can be considered as the Land of Origin of Shinobi World. It was at this ce where the God tree sprouted. Although I have my doubts about the motives of Amado and it could very well be a trap to lure me in; but I am willing to take the risk. Besides, I have a few countermeasures in ce. It''s not like I won''t be able to escape from their clutches. I already have a pretty high mastery of Space-time Ninjutsu. I can break through most of the spatial confinement and escape with my life.'' Izuna weighs the pros and cons of this meeting and shakes his head. ''This is as far as the memories of my previous life can help me. I died too early without knowing how Konoha dealt with Kara. Maybe Kara is simr to Akatsuki; it is the main antagonist of the Boruto series.'' Whoosh He arrives in the Land of Ancestor. He takes out the summoning scroll from his pocket and makes some hand signs. "Flying Thunder God Technique: Reverse Summon" Poof With a puff of smoke, three figures appear in front of Izuna. "Take your positions." Izuna instructs them. "Yes, Leader." The group nods their head. "Alright, I will head towards the root of the Shinju Tree." Whoosh Izuna flickers towards the location of the previous Shinju tree. A vast deste desert appears in his vision. There are numerous cracks on the ground and a vast patch of barrennd is spread far in the distance. "Thend has lost all of its vitality. It''s not a barren piece ofnd; it is a dead piece ofnd. Barrennd can be restored but this can''t be." Izuna surveys the vast patch of barrennd around him. Swoosh A giant crater, about the size of a hidden vige, appears in his vision. There are various cracks and indentions spread throughout the crater. Hmm Izuna bends down and scoops up a handful of soil. "As expected, no trace of life, not even microscopic." He dusts away the sand from his hands and turns his attention to a small hut in the center of the crater. "Is that the meeting ce?" Shiing He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and inspects the surrounding area. ''There are no Fuinjutsu seals around here, no sign of any sealing formation.'' He turns his attention towards the hut. There is a single person inside the hut. Izuna''s gaze pierces through the hut andnds on the figure. He scrutinizes the figure but is unable to sense the chakra signature of the person. Hmm ''It''s simr to Jigen. I can''t sense his chakra signature. Looks like these Kara members utilize some sort of secret technique to mask their chakra, such that even Sharingan can''t see through their disguise. No, I bet even Byakugan would be useless against this technique. Isshiki is an Otsutsuki n member with quite a high status. Since Byakugan and Sharingan are derived from their n; he must have some countermeasures against them.'' As if sensing Izuna''s gaze, the person inside the hut waves his hand. Izuna tenses up and gathers Nature energy ready to fight it out. "Rx, I am not here to fight!" A man in histe thirties walks out of the hut. The man has ck hair, ck beard, and a well-trimmed mustache. He has green eyes and wears thick sses with orange lenses. There is an unlit cigarette in his mouth as he walks towards Izuna. Izuna immediately recognizes thetter as Amado, the head of Kara''s research and development division. Although not much is known about hisbat capabilities, he certainly possesses extraordinary prowess to be able to keep even the like of Jigen on tenterhooks. "You must be Amado, the head of Kara''s research and development division." Izuna remarks as he awaits Amado''s response. "Oh!" Surprise shes past Amado''s eyes. He couldn''t help but nod his head in admiration. "As expected of the most renounced shinobi of this era; not only yourbat capabilities are noteworthy, but even your intelligence-gathering abilities are top-notch." Tiing Amado takes out a lighter from his pocket and lit up his cigarette. He casually walks in front of Izuna and stands facing against him. "Izuna Uchiha! The Silent Shinigami of the Shinobi World" He peers in Izuna''s Mangekyo Sharingan and asks him. "What are your thoughts on Kara?" Chapter 250: Partnership Chapter 250: Partnership "What are your thoughts on Kara?" Amado''s questions resound in Izuna''s ears. He calmly stares at Izuna, awaiting his response. "Kara is the next Akatsuki No, it''s even a greater threat than Akatsuki. If Akatsuki is an S-Rank threat then Kara can be considered above S-Rank threat, a threat to the entire shinobi world." Izuna calmly replies to Amado. "Hmm Quite an apt response." Amado nods his head. He takes a puff from his cigarette and exhales a ring of smoke. "So what would be your response Izuna Uchiha if I give you an opportunity to work with Kara?" Amado stares him in the eyes. Izuna''s gaze turns chilly as he replies with a heavy tone. "Will you believe me if I say I will loop off your head in the very next instant?" Swoosh Izuna swiftly draws his de as a sh of purple lightning flickers in his surroundings. His surroundings turn dark as the worldes to a standstill. Shoom Amado''s eyes flicker slightly for an instant, but he maintains his position. Hmm Although the sh in Amado''s eyes was brief; Izuna still noticed it with his Mangekyo Sharingan. Whoosh Izuna''s de stops at a hair''s breadth from Amado''s neck. The icy de almost touching Amado''s neck, ready to behead him any instant. "I see." Izuna withdraws his de and calmly walks inside the hut. Hahaha Amado chuckles. He adjusts his spectacles and follows Izuna. Inside the hut, Izuna is calmly sitting on a chair opposite Amado. "I have no interest in Kara. On the opposite end, I am eager to destroy Kara from its Root. I want a peaceful and stable life." Izuna remarks. "A peaceful and stable life in this world?" Amado chuckles and shakes his head. "That''s just a pipeline dream. This world is more chaotic than you can imagine. Various forces lurk in this world and Kara is just one of them." "Oh?!" Izuna raises his eyebrow. "Then how high will you rank Karapared to other forces?" Izuna calmly asks Amado. Tiing Amado lights up another cigarette. He takes a deep puff of smoke and exhales a ring of smoke. "The current Kara is in its infant phase. Still, I will rank it in the top three just based on our leader''s strength." Amado replies. "That''s low!" Izuna''s brows scrunch up as numerous thoughts shed through his mind. ''Does this mean there are other forces which are on par with Kara?'' Izuna raises his head and stares at Amado. ''The intelligence-gathering abilities of Kara can be said to be a notch higher than any other organization. So, his words are most probably true. If so, then I can''t dy the formation of my organization. This is such a pressing matter.'' "What did you expect?" Amado rubs the cigarette on the table and extinguishes it. "No! I expected that much. However, the position of other forces surprised me a little. Though I have a rough idea about their identities." Izuna replies without any emotion. ''Maybe the other forces have something to do with that, Lord Kishin. I will have to more attention to them too.'' Izuna makes a mental tone. "Enough with the chit-chat. Now tell me the reason you sent a letter to me. Don''t tell me it is just to recruit me in Kara." Izuna has a solemn expression as his Sharingan pierces through Amado, trying to peer in his secrets. "NO!" Amado shakes his head. "Everything I told you until now was a test. The recruitment to Kara, info on other forces. Truth be told, I never expected you to already know about most of these things. I am a little surprised." Amado adjusts his spectacles as the atmosphere turns tense. "To be honest, I have a proposal for you. If you agree then I will disclose the details otherwise forget about this conversation." "Oh! I am a little interested. But your proposal is something which crosses my moral and bottom lines, then sorry to disappoint you, I am not interested." Izuna''s expression turns serious. ''Morals and Bottom lines, Huh!'' Amado stares into Izuna''s eyes as his eyes flicker with a faint light for an instant. "Very well! But first, let me ensure our conversation is truly private." Amado draws a small bottle from his pocket. There are two red and two blue round pills in the bottle. He unscrews the bottle and takes a red pill out. Gulp Amado swallows the pill. Argh Amado''s expression turns grim as a seal appears beneath his eyes. The seal is simr to roman numerical VIII. "This seal is out." Amado takes out a blue pill and gulps it down. Whoosh The seal flickers brightly for an instant before fading away. Sigh Amado takes a deep breath and turns to Izuna. "Let''s talk now." Hmm Izuna notices the earlier series of events as he stares at Amado for an exnation. "Despite his strength, Jigen is a calctive man. He doesn''t trust anyone besides himself. This seal can monitor all of my activities and can even share my memories with him if required. However, I have already decoded the sealing formation, and it is quite easy to suppress this seal and fool Jigen''s eyes." Amado pockets the bottle. "Alright! Let''s talk business." Izuna nods his head. "Quite straightforward, aren''t you?! Then let''s cut to the chase. I want to get rid of Otsutsukis for once and all and for that, I need your help." Amado rys his intentions to Izuna. "You want to get rid of Otsutsukis." Izuna raises his eyebrows and stares into Amado''s eyes. "Looks like you are either underestimating Otsutsukis or are overestimating my abilities. I am strong, but only ording to Shinobi''s standards. Otsutsukis are God-like beings capable of easily destroying worlds. Do you think I can hold my own against them?" Izuna scrutinizes Amado. "Of course, you can''t by yourself. But with my intellect and your strength, there is a slight possibility. The choice is all yours to make." Amado remarks. Hmm Izuna ponders for a while as he weighs the pros and cons of such possibility. ''There is also the possibility of Amado backstabbing me. All of it is a faade and his real intentions are to get rid of a hindrance from Kara''s path.'' Numerous possibility shes through his mind. In the end, "Alright! I will cooperate with you. But you mustn''t hide anything from me. Also, you have to beware of Jigen." Izuna has a serious expression on his face. "Naturally!" Amado nods his head. "Jigen has locked himself in an isted dimension. The previous fight with you took a toll on his body and ording to my calctions, it will take him at least five years to recover." "Very well! I agree with our cooperation." Izuna shakes hands with Amado. "So, what''s the first step in our n?" He asks Amado. "The time is not ripe yet. I still need to make a few preparations. For now" Amado takes out a syringe from his pocket. "I need some of your blood. Your Uchiha n is a descendant of Otsutsuki. So, your blood possesses some of their secrets. I need to research it to get some fruitful results." Hmm Izuna ponders for a while before he nods his head. "Alright!" He stretches his arm. Amado takes a sample of Izuna''s blood. ''With his blood as a temte, I cany out most of my ns.'' Amado nods his head in satisfaction. "A healthy partnership is built on equivalent exchange. So, I will share some of my intel with you." Amado takes out a scroll from his pocket and tosses it to Izuna. "Here is the information which is currently most relevant to you. I am sure you will make good use of it." Izuna catches the scroll and nods his hand. Amado takes out another scroll from his pocket and makes some hand signs. m He ms his palm on the scroll. Poof With a poof of white smoke, Amado disappears from his position. "Reverse Summoning" Izuna senses the changes in surrounding space. "These space coordinates they aren''t of the Shinobi World. They are coordinates of another small dimension simr to Kamui. No wonder the Sins weren''t able to trace the location of Kara''s headquarters. It''s located in a separate dimension protected by a barrier. That Jigen has been umting resources for thousands of years. Kara is on an entirely different levelpared to Akatsuki." Izuna nods his head as a smile appears on his face. "Still, this intel came right on time. I can finally rest easy." Chapter 251: The Seal of Reincarnation Part-1 Chapter 251: The Seal of Reincarnation Part-1 Izuna flickers to the borders of the Land of Ancestor. He makes a hand sign and releases a signal to summon the rest of the members. The three Sins appear beside him. "Here! Finally, I have a lead on Five-tails location." Izuna tosses a scroll towards them. "Collect the chakra of the Five-tails and report to me in Konoha." "Yes, Leader!" Whoosh The group disappears from his vision. Sigh Izuna takes a deep breath and enters the Grimoire Space. He appears in front of Minato''s and Kushina''s soul. "Minato-san, Kushina Nee-san! After eleven years of wait, I can finally fulfill my promise to you." Sob sob Kushina''s eyes turn teary and she hugs Izuna. "Thank you thank you Izuna-chan. I can''t describe my happiness in words." Hu Hu Minato nods his head as a smile appears on his face. "Of course! I have to take good care of my little brother." Izuna smiles sheepishly. "His eleventh birthday is close and I want to make it memorable for him." "Yes!" Kushina wipes her tears. "I can finally hug him in person. All these years, it has been hard for him." Yin Kurama opens one of its eyes and stares at the group. The old memories of his family wash over him. Humph He snorts and closes his eyes. "Humans and their emotions" ----------- Later in Konoha, Inside the Hokage Office, "Tsunade! I have something very important to tell you." Izuna''s expression is serious as he sits opposite Tsunade. Hmm Tsunade''s expression changes and she waves her hand to dismiss the Anbus. "What''s the matter? It has been a while since Ist saw you with such an expression. Thest time was during the attack on the vige. Is the vige going to suffer another cmity?" Tsunade ms her palms on the table, anxiety clear on her face. "No!" Izuna shakes his head. "But the situation is in no way inferior to the previous one." Tsunade''s expression turns grim. "If so, then I have to summon the n leader and the vige council. We can''t dy this matter any longer." Tsunade takes out a scroll and brush from her drawer, ready to write a summon letter. "Wait!" Izuna stops her. "The circumstance this time are different, and it isn''t wise to inform so many people. After all, I don''t want the process to fail." Tsunade ces down her brush and asks him. "So! What''s the situation you are talking about?" "It''s better to see it in person. Besides, others are already present there." Mm Tsunade nods her head. ------------- In a Secret Underground room, "We are already here! Now won''t you fill me on the details?" Tsunade and Izuna walk through a passage as Tsunade asks him. "Have some patience! You will understand once we get there." Tsunade observes her surroundings and remarks. "Danzo has built quite a fort here. I never knew his Root had grown to such an extent. The number of resources required to build this base must be quite high." "What do you expect?! The third Hokage turned a blind eye to most of Danzo''s questionable actions, thus giving him an incentive to be more unbridled." Izuna shakes his head. "Well" Tsunade has a conflicted expression on her face. She can''t deny Izuna''s words since there is some truth to them. But she also can''t me her Sensei for Danzo''s deeds. ''This reminds me of the situation with Jiraiya and Orochimaru. One grew in the shadow of Sensei, the other in Danzo''s. If only'' Tsunade shakes her head and discards her thoughts. Soon, both of them arrive in arge hallway. There are a few people already present in the hallway. Tsunade recognizes all of them. "Sakuma-san, Mizukage-san, Kakashi, Guy, Itachi, Shisui, you all" "Greetings Hokage-sama." All of them greet her. She turns to Izuna for answers. "These are a few of the people I trust the most in the vige. Today, I am going to perform a crucial forbidden technique and I need all of you to watch over me. Though the chances of failure are slim still I can''t afford to take any risk." Izuna enters the hall, and the group follows. Whoosh As soon as the group enters the hall, a dense wave of chakra assaults them. Swoosh A Fuinjutsu formation lit up and erects a barrier. "This is" The eyes of the group turn into slits as a massive Fuinjutsu seal appears in front of them. The seal extends to the other end of the giant hall, spanning a distance of almost fifty meters. "Suchplex seal" Tsunade takes a deep breath as she stares at the giant seal. "Even the barrier formation surrounding Konoha isn''t thisplex." She remarks. "Yes! Although I don''t have any detailed knowledge in Fuinjutsu still I have paid a few visits to the Barrier team''s headquarters and that sealckspared to this seal. No there is noparison at all." Sakuma nods his head in agreement. "Hmm I remembered Izuna made some changes to the barrier formation around the vige after the chunnin exam event. But this is on an entirely different scale." Kakashi remarks. Shisui and Itachi silently agree with the fact. "Of course I have exhausted all of my Fuinjutsu knowledge to create this seal. You can say it to be the finest masterpiece. This seal took me ten years toplete." Izuna remarks with a smug expression. "Ten years" The group sucks a breath of cold air as they stare at Izuna with wide eyes. "What what kind of seal is this? You are a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster and it took you ten years toplete this seal." Tsunade peers in Izuna''s eyes. Kakashi, Itachi, and Shisui activate their Mangekyo Sharingan and inspect the seal. There are eight different circr nodes on the outer edge of the seals. Various seals which are connected to a giant central node surround the other circr nodes. The central node is a giant Tai-chi symbol. One-half of the circle is ck separated by a curved line. There are two giant white dots in the ck half instead of the usual one. Simrly, the other white half has two giant ck dots instead of one. The seal is absorbing vast amounts of Nature energy from the surroundings. Tsunade senses the abnormal flow of Nature energy whereas the trio of Kakashi, Itachi, and Shisui can see the flow of Nature energy with their Sharingan. "Wha what''s the purpose of this seal?" Tsunade questions him. "I am also interested in this seal. Somehow, I can sense an abnormal amount of energy from this seal." Mei remarks. "How do I say it? This energy is simr to chakra, but it is also a bit different." Mei shakes her head in confusion. ''What?! Mei can sense Nature energy.'' Izuna raises an eyebrow. ''When I met her for the first time, I sensed her aptitude for the Sage Mode and it was average. She wasn''t suited to learn Sage Mode. But now, she can sense Nature energy without any help. What''s going on?'' Many thoughts sh through Izuna''s mind and he is unable to conclude. ''Is it because she bore my child? NO! NO! What am I even thinking of?'' He furiously shakes his head and discards such thoughts. "It''s the Nature energy. This seal is absorbingrge amounts of Nature energy to sustain itself. But I am not sure of the details." The group turns to Izuna for answers. Ahem Izuna clears his throat and enters in his professor mode as he exins. "" The group rolls their eyes as they stare at Izuna. Still, they attentively listen to Izuna''s exnation. "The basis of Fuinjutsu is to use your chakra as a medium to create desired effects since your chakra ispletely under your control. However, not everyone is proficient enough to draw using chakra. It requires a certain degree of mastery to achieve that feat" Izuna stares at them with a smug, as if implying something. "" The rest of the group silently nods their head in understanding. ''Narcissist! This guy is a Narcissist.'' After a short pause, he continues the exnation. "Thus, the Fuinjutsu seals are drawn using the ink made from the ingredients grown in the Shikkotsu Forest. Those ingredients are rich in Nature energy and can easily act as a substitute for one''s chakra. However, the effect of such seals is not that great, and it limits the potential of the seal. But in this case, I substituted my chakra with the Nature energy. The reason being, if I used my chakra to create this seal; the seal will crumble apart once I left this ce. It is part of the reason why sealing scrolls are made of the bark of trees grown in Shikkotsu Forest. That paper has special chakra conductive property and can retain the external chakra for almost a millennium." Izuna finishes his exnation as he ponders to himself. ''Also, this seal is a test of my fuinjutsu abilities. I have been stuck at the Grandmaster level of Fuinjutsu for nearly 14 years. Finally, after so much pondering, I saw a new hope to reach the next level. To touch on that level, I have to return to basic. Since Fuinjutsu affects Nature and Nature energy is derived from Nature; then what will happen if I use Nature energy infused with my will to draw the seal. Only one way to test it out.'' Chapter 252: The Seal of Reincarnation Part-2 Chapter 252: The Seal of Reincarnation Part-2 Whoosh As Izuna was exining the intricate details of Fuinjutsu to the group, three shadows flicker beside him. Hmm Izuna notices them and nods his head. "You are here, which means" "Leader! That task you gave us isplete." Wrath takes out a giant scroll and passes it to Izuna. "Good!" Izuna nods his head. "You three can stay and watch the entire process" The rest of the people also notice the three and nods their heads. They are already aware of Izuna''s organization, though they do not know about their identity. Izuna turns to Tsunade and the group. "Since everything is here, let''s start the process." Swoosh swoosh swoosh He takes out seven giant scrolls from his storage. The scrolls paired with the new scroll have various Fuinjutsu seals on them and are almost the size of a person. Swish swish swish Izuna infuses some of his chakra into the scroll and they float in the air. Fwoosh Izuna waves his hand and the scrollnds on the Eight Trigram nodes around the seal. Swish swish swish Izuna makes some hand signs and ms his palm on one of the seals. Whoosh An enormous amount of chakra flows through the seal and connects with the eight nodes. Swoosh swoosh swoosh The scroll opens up to reveal a Kanji for ''One''. Simrly, the rest of the scrolls also open up to reveal Kanji for ''Two'', ''Three'', ''Four'' to Eight. Wham The chakra in the scroll resonates with each other and the Kanji letter glows with different chakra colors. Phew Izuna takes a deep breath. "The first step isplete." Next, he infuses some chakra in the Sin Seal. Swoosh Tworge coffins appear in front of the group. Hmm The rest of the group are bbergasted to see the coffins. Izuna removes the lids of the coffins and takes out two bodies. He ces the bodies in two different ck circles in the white half of the Tai-chi symbol of the central node. "They are" The expression of the rest of the group changes as they recognize the two bodies. Swoosh Tsunade instantly flickers in front of Izuna and grabs his cor. "IZUNA UCHIHA!! What''s the meaning of this?" Her expression turns scary as she subconsciously riles up her chakra. At the sidelines, the expression of Sakuma, Kakashi, and Guy also changes. They have a hint of shock on their faces. Only Mei, Shisui, and Itachi are a little calm. "Sensei!" Kakashi mutters as sorrow, grief, and remorse appear in his eyes. Haaah Izuna takes a deep breath and ces his hand on Tsunade''s shoulder. "Calm down, Tsunade!" He releases some of his chakra and suppresses her chakra. "Listen to me first!" Humph Tsunade calms down a little and res at Izuna. "Mind exining why you pilfered the grave of Kushina and Minato. Even if you ignore the fact that Minato was the Fourth Hokage, at least you should respect the peace of your teachers." Tsunade''s anger res again. "How will you face Naruto in the future? You should never disturb the dead." SWOOSH Izuna riles up his chakra, and instantly an immense pressure bears down on the group. "I don''t have time for this emotional drama, just inspect Minato and Kushina''s body." He nudges Tsunade towards the center of the seal. Humph Tsunade snorts and approaches the seal. She ces her hand on Kushina''s body to check her condition. ''Kushina has grown up under the care of her grandmother and was like a younger sister to her. If not for Izuna''s identity, she would have punched out the daylight out of him.'' Lub Dub Lub Dub Tsunade feels a very faint heartbeat. "What?!" Her expression turns grim, and she releases a loud cry. She quickly turns towards Minato''s body. Lub Dub Lub Dub Simrly, she could feel a faint heartbeat from Minato''s body. The rest of the group is startled to hear Tsunade''s cry. Mei quickly approaches her and asks her. "Tsunade-san, is something wrong with them?" Tsunade takes a deep breath and turns to Izuna. "Minato and Kushina are Alive! NO! They are in a near-death situation. But how could it be?" Her gazes prate through Izuna trying to seek the truth behind the matter. "Very Well! Then watch carefully" Izuna makes some hand signs and dispels the illusion. Fwoosh The rest of the group turns towards Minato''s and Kushina''s bodies and notices various sealing chains erupting out from their body. The chains are holding a mass of ethereal energy together. If not for the chains, that ethereal mass would have escaped already. As the group identifies the ethereal mass, the trio of Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi is able to see much more. A drop of tear falls from Kakashi''s eyes as he mutters. "Sensei! You are alive." The trio can see the outline of the ethereal mass. It looks exactly like Minato and Kushina. Izuna points towards the ethereal mass and remarks. "These are the souls of Minato-san and Kushina Nee-san. Minato-san used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal to seal the Yin half of Kurama and thus his soul was contracted to Shinigami. As for Kushina Nee-san, if not for my seal, her soul would have already passed away to Pure Land." Numerous emotions fluctuated through the eyes of the group as they stare at the scene. However, all of them are amazed by Izuna''s response. "So so Can you save them?" Sakuma questions him. "Yes!" Izuna nods his head. "If it was a natural death, I would have been helpless to do anything; but since I was present during the time of their death, I was able to save them using a Forbidden Jutsu of my Mangekyo Sharingan." Izuna mixes the truth with lies. Earlier, he had a conversation with Minato and Kushina and they decided that it would be unsafe to disclose the secret of Grimoire. "I I see" Tsunade nods her head as she calms down. "It took me ten years to research a method to fuse their soul and body." Izuna walks towards the central Tai-Chi seal and infuses arge amount of Nature energy as he exins to the group. "This revival technique is based on the Forbidden Technique ''Edo Tensei'' of the Second Hokage. Edo Tensei summons the soul of the dead from the Pure Land. It requires the body of a living human as a sacrifice to host the summoned soul. This body acts as a medium to connect the Pure Land and the living world. However, there are various ws with ''Edo Tensei''. Firstly, the strength of the soul summoned is nowhere near as powerful as it was during the time of their death. Secondly, the body of the medium turns into ashes and dust, which are inorganic in Nature" Izuna allows the group to digest the information. All the preparations areplete. He asks Kushina''s and Minato''s souls to move inside the white circles present in the ck half of the Tai-Chi symbol as he continues his exnation. "However, I was able to remove these limitations thanks to Orochimaru''s research on ''Edo Tensei''. Paired with my research, I came up with this technique. I call it" Swoosh... Izuna enters Sage Mode. A cyan clock of Nature energy appears around his body. There is a giant Magatama on his front and back. "Yin-Yang Technique: Summoning: Heavenly Pure World Reincarnation" Swish swish swish He makes multiple consecutive hand signs and ms his palm on a Kanji seal for ''Bnce''. Fwoosh The entire seal lits up with a cyan glow and the surrounding Nature energy pours into the seal. "Yin and Yang represent the Dualism of Nature. How the two contrary forces areplementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world. The body of a living being represents Yang, while their soul represents Yin. Now, I have to search for a bnce between Yin and Yang. Therefore, those white and ck nodes which you see in the Yang and Yin Half are the bnce nodes. The souls are ced in the white node of the Yang Half since the soul is seeking a bnce with the body. Simrly, the body is ced in the ck node of the Yin Half since the body is seeking a bnce with the soul. My body will act as a conduit and will transfer this massive amount of Nature energy to their body and soul. So, I have to focus the entirety of my concentration on the process lest it may fail. So, stay on guard everyone." The rest of the group raises their guard to the max and focuses on the process. Swoosh A simr seal appears around Izuna''s naval region and his body floats atop the central node. Woosh woosh woosh The seals with the tailed-beasts chakra light up and releaserge amounts of chakra towards Izuna. Fwoosh Izuna''s body absorbs the chakra of the Eight-Tailed beast and eight small Magatama symbols appear on his chakra cloak beneath the giant Magatama. Swoosh swoosh Numerous changes ur on Izuna''s chakra cloak as more and more seals appear on his body. Swirl The Sin seal activates and more totems and seals erupt from it. These seals merge with his cloak and stabilize the massive amount of chakra. With the Sin Seal as a medium, numerous strings of Izuna''s chakra connect with Kushina''s and Minato''s body. Shoom The Tai-Chi symbols rotate slowly and a bright glow appears in its center. The rest of the group closes their eyes because of the blinding light. Whoosh The processsts for five minutes and the bright glow fades away. Haah haah Izuna breathes heavily, and his body falls to the ground. Swoosh Mei immediately catches and hugs him with a worried expression. Izuna''s face is pressed in between tworge mounds. A smile appears on his face as he weakly raises a thumb. "I am fine just a little exhausted. Just hold me like this for a few minutes and I will recover." Mm Mei nods her head, but soon understands Izuna''s intention. A blush appears on her face, but she quickly hides her embarrassment. "Is it sessful?!" Tsunade asks in trepidation. "Izuna-kun seeded." A sweet voice falls in their ear as Kushina slowly opens her eyes. Kakashi and Tsunade immediately flicker beside them and help Minato and Kushina. "We are alright!" Minato nods his head as he sits up. "Izuna-kun is sessful." ----------- A/N:- This chapter was quite draining. Hopefully, my exnation is to your satisfaction. Comment down your thoughts, if you have more interesting ideas. Chapter 253: Reunion Chapter 253: Reunion "Sensei!" Kakashi has tears in his eyes as he stares at Minato and Kushina. "You have grown well, Kakashi!" Kushina ruffles Kakashi''s hairs. "YOUTH!! This is YOUTH!!" Tears stream down from Guy''s eyes as he clutches his fists. "You too, Guy!" Minato sweat drops at Guy''s antics. "Move aside for a while; let me check their body." Tsunade pushes everyone aside and inspects Minato and Kushina. Guy and Kakashi obediently move aside as there is a hint of worry on their face. After inspecting for a while, Hmm Tsunade''s expression turns grim. The others notice her expression and Minato asks her. "Tsunade-san! What''s the matter? Is there something wrong with our body?" "No!" Tsunade shakes her head. "On the opposite, both of your bodies are brimming with vitality. It''s like like both of you have been reborn." Tsunade has a conflicted expression on her face. "Wow!" Kushina checks herplexion, which is as smooth and healthy as a baby. "It looks like I have reverted to my teen years." Kushina happily pinches her skin. Ziiiiii Mei intensely stares at Kushina''s skin as envy appears in her eyes. "Oh!" Izuna notices the envy in her eyes. He takes out a bottle from his pocket and passes it to her. Ahem "I got this souvenir from my recent journey to Land of Valleys. This is a special lotion filled with vitality. It nourishes skin and helps retain youth. I brought it especially for you." "Really!" Mei immediately grabs the bottle and a smile blooms on her face. Hah Izuna heaves a sigh of relief and snuggles into Mei''s bosom. Eh! He feels an intense stare on his face. The stare is almost prating, as if it wants to burrow holes in his body. Izuna lifts his head and notices Tsunade, who is ring at him with a murderous gaze. Humph Tsunade harrumphs and cups her hands in front of her chest. Boing Her massive chest shakes with her momentum. Gulp Izuna gulps his saliva and takes out another bottle from his pocket. "Ehto! Tsunade Sensei! This is for you." Hmph Tsunade snorts and grabs the bottle. There is a slight hint of joy in her expression, but she hides it quickly and a stern expression appears on her face. "" The atmosphere turns awkward and silence descends on the surroundings. ''It''s a good thing that the vitality of that tree has condensed in this liquid. I will gift the remaining liquid to my parents and rtives to slow down their aging. Tsunade is using her transformation Jutsu to maintain her appearance." Suddenly, it reminds him of Mito Uzumaki who maintained a youthful look through her middle-age. It was only during herter years that she aged rapidly. Cough cough Sakumo coughs slightly to break the ice. "Lord Fourth! We have already heard about Izuna''s narration of the event. We would also like to hear your part of the story. Izuna withheld most of the information of the incident." Sakumo res at Izuna and turns to Minato. "Enough!" Tsunade''s shout calms everybody down. "Escort them to Konoha Hospital. I need to do a thorough check-up. Your questions can wait for a while." ---------------- Later in the hospital, "All the preliminary procedures areplete. Now we have to just wait for the Blood Sample Report." Tsunade heaves a sigh of relief after the check-up. She turns to Minato and Kushina. "Let''s talk now." "Alright!" Minato nods his head. "Wait!" Izuna makes some hand signs and creates a barrier around the room. "It''s to prevent someone from eavesdropping. The things we talk about today can prove detrimental for Konoha''s safety if words get out." "Then shall I leave?" Mei asks him. "It''s alright! Just stay here." Izuna holds her hand. "Ok!" Mei nods her head. Kushina notices this, and a mischievous grin appears on her face. Izuna notices the grin and grimaces. ''Looks like this prankster is up to no good. Ayaka will get along well with Kushina Nee-san.'' "Alright!!" Minato adopts a serious expression and narrates. "A few months before the Nine-tails attack, Kushina and I sent Izuna-kun on a secret mission to Uzushiogakure to investigate the remains of the Uzumaki n. However, the investigation took longer than expected and Izuna-kun didn''t make it on time; otherwise, I would have entrusted him to protect Kushina." Mm Izuna nods his head. "About that mission" Izuna rummages through his storage and takes out a scroll and passes it to Minato. "This is the report of that mission." Minato takes the scroll from Izuna. Izuna turns to Kushina and reports. "Kushina Nee-san! I found the origin and the heritage of the Uzumaki n. Nee-san you should pay a visit to the heritage with Naruto." "Really?!" Kushina curiously asks him. "I thought the elders of the n destroyed the heritage." "No! What they destroyed are just the superficial things. The real heritage is hidden deep down in the vige." Whoosh Izuna takes out the Shinigami Onii-mask. "This mask is the key to the seal. The other mask is in the Noh Mask Hall." Izuna passes the mask to Kushina. ''I have already checked the Uzumaki secret chamber for dangers. It''s safe for Kushina and Naruto.'' "Alright!" Kushina grabs the mask and keeps it. Meanwhile, Minato briefs the entire incident to the rest of the group. Minato''s eyes turn to Izuna. Previously, while being sealed with Kurama for ten years; both Minato and Kushina have picked a bunch of skills from Kurama. Kurama''s years of experience in the Shinobi world had led him to develop a plethora of skills. Telepathicmunication, long-distance chakra transfer, creating chakra constructs, knowledge of unique Fuinjutsus are few among them. When Izuna asked him why he never used these skills? Kurama rolls his eyes and replies. "I can easily smash everything with my size and chakra. As for other times, I was suppressed or controlled before I could do anything." Minato establishes a telepathic connection. ''Izuna-kun! Should I reveal about the other cloaked figure who attacked us that night?'' ''Umm Let''s put it on hold for now. We will talk about itter. Also, another powerful enemy will visit us soon. We have to prioritize him first.'' Minato withholds the information about the other cloaked figure. "So, that''s what happened?!" the group exims. "Izuna''s ount of the incident is simr to yours." Tsunade nods her head. "But?! Do you a clue about the identity of the perpetrator? The Nine-tails was under a Sharingan Genjutsu, so it has to be a member of the Uchiha n or someone who possesses a powerful Sharingan." The group turns to Uchiha n members and Kakashi. "If we exclude the Uchiha n members and Kakashi, then our only suspect is Danzo and Orochimaru." Sakumo spectes. "Danzo and Orochimaru! Both of them are dead." Shisui remarks. "Then who else it can be?" Kakashi frowns. Izuna slowly stands up from his bed and walks towards Minato''s bed. "Minato-san, I think it''s about time you reveal the truth to Kakashi." Minato and Kushina''s expression turn sour. Kushina bites her lip, and a tear appears in her eyes. "Yes! eventually, Kakashi will learn the truth." Minato sighs and turns to Kakashi. "Kakashi! You have grown enough to not be overwhelmed by your emotions and sentiments. Still, you must promise me to not take any reckless action." Kakashi senses a feeling of foreboding. He clutches his fists and nods his head. "I am ready, Sensei!" "The person who attacked and killed the wife of the Lord Third, the person who released Nine-tails seal and controlled it to attack the vige, the person who attempted to kill Naruto and almost killed us is" Kakashi takes a deep breath and steadies his nerves. "OBITO!" OBITO OBITO OBITO These words resound in Kakashi''s ears. His eyes widen to the extreme as he stands rooted on the ground. "O Ob Obito?! How could this be? It can''t be! Obito is dead!" Kakashi incoherently murmurs as his body shivers incoherently. "Wake up, KAKASHI!" Izuna pats Kakashi''s shoulder. "Wake up to reality! Face the truth!" Izuna infuses chakra in his voice to disrupt Kakashi''s sense of mind. Bam Kakashi falls on the ground, his body covered in ayer of cold sweat. Sigh Sakumo sighs to himself and silently pats Kakashi''s head. ''Once I too was fallen into such a state. This is the life of a shinobi. Blood, hatred, and betrayal gue thisnd.'' "Son! I won''t say much. But keep in mind, your father always has your back." Sakumo pats Kakashi''s back. A few minutester, Sigh Kakashi takes a deep breath and calms his nerves. "I am sorry, Dad! Sensei! I was overwhelmed by emotions. I am fine now." "Good!" Sakumo nods his head. "Here!" Izuna extends his hand to Kakashi, who grabs it and stands up. "This is the reason why I never told you about the killer. If I did, you would recklessly chase after Obito, abandoning everything. I won''t stop you now, but I suppose you will be able to figure everything on your own." "I will." Kakashi nods his head. "Still, how did Obito get this strong? He was an average chunnin, but how did he turn into such a powerful shinobi capable of fighting toe-to-toe with Sensei in just under one and half year." Kakashi turns to Izuna for answers. "Well, about that why don''t we talkter? For now, we have a birthday party to attend." ---------------- A/N:- Bonus chapter in the morning! It''s night here. Chapter 254: Birthday Party Part-1 Chapter 254: Birthday Party Part-1 "BORING!! This training ss is so boring." Ayaka is sitting on top of a tree while the rest of the ss spars with their respective partners. "Why do I have to attend the academy with the rest of the people?" She grumbles to herself. ------shback-No-Jutsu--------- "Onii-san!! Mom! Dad! Academy is so boring. I don''t want to attend anymore. Most of the stuff they teach there, I have already mastered it a long time ago. I want to learn from Onii-san; his training is way better." Ayakains. Sigh Izuna sighs and pats her head. "I know. I can teach you way betterpared to the academy. Even the kids of the other ns won''t learn much from attending the academy" "See! Even Onii-san agrees with me." Ayaka puffs her chest. "But! That''s not the key point. If you immerse yourself in training, you will lose the fun of training. Academy is not just a ce for learning; it''s also a ce for making friends and enjoying your childhood. The friends you make during this time will have your back in the future when you form a three-man squad. So, don''t be rude to your ssmates." Izuna ruffles her head as Ayaka puffs her cheek. "Fine!!" ---------------- Hmm "Today is Naruto Onii-san''s birthday. I have to give him a surprise birthday party. But I can''t do everything on my own. Let me ask my ssmates for help." She jumps from the tree and approaches a group. The chattering of the group falls in her ears. "One day, I will surpass my grandpa and be a great hokage." A kid with short spiky brown hair and blue eyes is holding a shuriken in his hands. "You can do it, Konohamaru!" Another kid with short brown hair cheers for him. The kid has a drip of snot hanging from his nose as circr sses frame his dark eyes. "Go! Go! Konohamaru!" A girl with orange hair tied in two big pigtails cheers for the boy. Ayaka watches them and notices the position of shuriken in Konohamaru''s hand. She rolls her eyes and approaches them. "He is going to miss the target!" Ayaka stands beside the boy and girl and remarks. "No way! Konohamaru" The boy and girl yell and turn around to argue. They notice Ayaka and their voice remain stuck in their throat as memories of a past incident sh through their mind. --------------- A few days ago, In a yground, "Oye! Look at those creepy eyes. She is one of those Hyuga freaks." One of the kid remarks. "Oye! Oye! But isn''t she from one of the four noble families?" "Humph! What noble families? People from noble families like that are always stuck up. Look at those eyes, they are looking down on us!" "You want to gang up on me for losing in the spar earlier. So be it, I will fight with you." Hanabi takes a stance. Gulp One of the kids gulps his saliva. "Oye! Tajiro! What are you afraid of? We are three and she is one. We can easily beat her." "Y Yaass!!" Tajiro clutches his fist and runs towards Hanabi. Haah Hanabi engages in a fight with the three of them but soon is forced on the defensive. On a nearby bench, "Udon! Should we help her? They are three and we are also three." The orange-haired pigtail girl asks the brown-haired spectacle kid. "Moegi! I heard that Kashio''s big brother is already a genin. Hanabi is a member of the Hyuga n, so she would be fine; but but what about us? Won''t his big brother beat us up?" The brown-haired spectacle kid argues. "But" Moegi stutters and stops. "Humph! Pathetic!" A powerful, sonorous voice drags their attention. Ayaka calmly strides towards the group and stands in front of Hanabi. She ignores the three boys and turns to Hanabi. "What are you afraid of? You can easily beat these brats up." "But but I" Hanabi murmurs. "Hey! Isn''t this that Uchiha girl? The ss Queen!!" Kashio remarks. "Hmph! I remember she punched me during the spar and knocked me out." Tajiroins. "Then let''s beat her up too." Kashio cracks his fist. "Humph! A bunch of weaklings." Ayaka folds her hands in front of her chest and mocks the civilian kids. "YOU!!" The three kids dash towards and surround her. BAM BAM BAM Bang She knocks out the kid and walks towards a swing. "I don''t even know who you are!" She remarks to the unconscious kids. "Thank you!" Hanabi thanks her. "Mmm I am your rival right! Then get stronger, if you don''t want to be left behind." Ayaka notices Udon and Moegi, but she ignores them. A whileter, Kashio slowly stands up and notices Ayaka on the swing. "Damn! This girl! I will ask my Nii-san to beat her up." He wakes up his buddies and runs out of the yground. "Just you wait!" Five minutester, A rotund boy with burly arms boy enters the yground. He has a forehead protector tied around his belly. The three civilian kids are following him closely. "She is the one!" Kashio points towards Ayaka. Hmm The rotund boy notices the Uchiha and Hyuga symbols on Ayaka''s and Hanabi''s clothes. He flinches a little but walks towards them. Huh! Ayaka lifts her head and notices the towering shadow of the big, rotund boy hovering over her. He stops her swing and speaks in a hoarse voice. "Apologize to my brother and his friends!" Hmm Ayaka frowns and stares him in the eyes. "And why should I apologize?!" The big, rotund boy is taken aback by Ayaka''s remark. He turns to his brother questioningly. "Nii-san! Just now she beat us up." Hmm He frowns and remarks. "I won''t allow you to bully my younger brother even if you are from a noble family." "Huh! But your brother was the one bullying. I just taught him a lesson." Ayaka turns to Kashio. "NO! Nii-san! She is lying. Look how she beat me up?" Kashio points towards his swollen eye. "So that''s how it is." The genin is convinced by his younger brother''s words. "Whatever!" Ayaka stops arguing. "If you want a beating, I will give it to you." Ten secondster, Bang The big rotund boy sprawls on the ground with his eyes swollen. "If one punch won''t work, then I will punch you twice." "" Moegi and Udon stare at Ayaka with a wide-open mouth. --------------- Swoosh Konohamaru throws the shuriken and misses the target. "What?!" Moegi and Udon stare at Ayaka in astonishment. "Can she predict the future?" "Yes, it has to be." Both of them nods their head. "What''s this future nonsense? It''s just his hand wasn''t positioned correctly. Ayaka waves her hand. "Anyway, I need your help with something." "Oh! I will help too." Konohamaru walks towards them. "It''s nothing much. I just want to hold a surprise birthday party for Naruto Nii-san." Ayaka nonchntly waves her hand. "Boss Naruto?!" The eyes of Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon shine brightly. "We will help too." All three of them nods their head. "I will help with the cake. My family runs a bakery." Moegi waves her hand. "Then I will help with the decoration." Udon adjusts his spectacles. "Alright! It''s settled then. Konohamaru, I and Hanabi will invite his friends." Ayaka pulls Hanabi towards her. "Ok!" Hanabi nods her head. "Good! Let''s start the preparation." Swoosh The gang rushes out of the academy. "Hey, kids! The academy isn''t over yet." Iruka yells at the departing kids, but they ignore him and dashes out. Sigh "These kids! They are at the top of this batch. Guess, skipping one day won''t matter for them. But they shouldn''t make it a habit in the future." Iruka sighs to himself. ''What am I even thinking as a teacher? But how can I stop that girl? Never mind!'' ---------------------- A/N:- Bonus chapter for reaching 500 power stones. Chapter 255: Birthday Party Part-2 Chapter 255: Birthday Party Part-2 In training ground three, Yawn Naruto slowly opens his sleepy eyes. "I fell asleep again while training." He slowly stands up and notices the sun overhead. "It''s almost time for lunch. I will eat some ramen from Ichiraku." Gulp Naruto gulps his saliva as small drool leak from his mouth. Whoosh He flickers to the nearbyke and washes his face. Ten minutester, "I am here." Naruto walks towards the ramen stall. "Boss! Give me a bowl of Char-sou Ramen. Make it extrarge." "Alright! Aye! Coming right up." Teuchi nods his head as Ayame walks out of the shop. "It''s been a while Naruto since Ist saw you." "Oh! I was busypleting some missions." Naruto scratches his head. He looks around the shop as his gaze lingers on the calendar. "Uh! Ayame-san! What''s the date today?" Naruto asks Ayame. "Oh! It''s 10 October." Ayame answers him as she prepares the flour. "October 10! Which means" Naruto mumbles to himself. Bam Teuchi ces the bowl in front of him. "Your ramen kid! This one is on the house." "It has been a while since youst visited us and also today is a special day." Teuchi winks at him. Sob Naruto''s eyes turn teary. "Thank you, Boss!" "It''s nothing much." Teuchi shakes his head. Naruto slowly eats his ramen as various thoughts flow through his mind. ''No one came to wish me a happy birthday. Did they forget about it?! No, it can''t be.'' He shakes his head. ''There must be a surprise party for me. It has to be. I have to check it out.'' Naruto''s mood cheers up and he slowly savors the ramen. Meanwhile, Hanabi and Konohamaru invite all of Naruto''s friends. Ayaka returns to her house. "Mom! Today is Naruto Nii-san''s birthday. I want to give him a surprise party." "Oh! Our little Ayaka has grown up. She is even nning a birthday party." Akira chuckles and ruffles her hair. Hmph Ayaka puffs her cheeks and smugly folds her hands in front of her chest. "Of course!" "Alright! Your Onii-san already told us about it." Aiko waves her hand. "Then help me with the celebration. Let''s decorate Tsunade Nee-san''s house." Ayaka tugs her sleeves. "No! This time the venue is a little different." Aiko shakes her head. "Oh! Tell me! Tell me!" Ayaka jumps in excitement. "Let''s wait for your Aunt Mikoto and Fumiko. We will go there together." "Alright!" Ayaka nods her head. ------------- In the Konoha Hospital, "Here!" Izuna takes out a set of keys and passes them to Minato. "These are" Minato questions him. "The keys to your house. After your supposed death, I bought your house with all the money I had saved from my missions. I am quite rich, you know." "Haha! You brat! You are bragging in front of me. Remember the days when I lent you the money to buy the material for your Fuinjutsu training." Kushina chuckles. "Alright! Let''s go. I can''t wait to see Naruto." Minato shakes his head. "There is still some time before the surprise. Before that, why don''t you meet someone else?" Izuna walks towards the window. "He is already here." Swoosh Izuna opens the window and a long white-haired man in red haori jumps inside. "Oi Uchiha brat! Why did you call me on such note" Jiraiya''s jaw drops midway, and he gasps in astonishment. "M mmm Minato!!... K.. kukuku Kushina!!" "Hey! Sensei!" Minato waves his hand. "How are you, Jiraiya-Sensei?! It''s been a while." Kushina also waves her hand. Haah Jiraiya takes a deep breath and turns to Izuna. "Oi brat! Is it one of your weird Genjutsu again? If it it''s not funny." Jiraiya grabs Izuna''s cor. Sigh Izuna sighs and signals to Kushina. Swish Kushina pinches Jiraiya''s ears. Aww Aww Jiraiya winces in pain and hurriedly turns to Kushina. "See Sensei!! You feel pain. So, it''s as real as it can be. It''s not a dream and not a Genjutsu." Minato chuckles and walks towards Jiraiya. "Also" Minato whispers something in Jiraiya''s ear whose expression turns pale. Hmm Izuna perks his ears to eavesdrop on their secret. "Stop! Stop!! You are the real Minato. I believe you." Jiraiya hurriedly stops Minato from speaking further, yet Izuna is able to hear a few words. ''Tsunade Panties!! Oh!!'' Izuna''s mouth opens wide as he stares at Jiraiya. ''This is a big scoop definitely a big scoop.'' He calmly stares at Jiraiya''s panicked expression. ''I will let it slide this time.'' Somehow, Izuna feels pity for Jiraiya and looks at him with a sympathetic gaze. "Oye! Oye! What''s with the pitiful gaze of yours? Why do I feel like you are making fun of me?" Jiraiya stares at Izuna with hatred. Ahem "I am also here." Kushina clears her throat. "" Minato sweat drops and retreats. Kushina res at him and turns to Jiraiya with a smile. "Sensei! Looks like I need to have a long chat with Tsunade-san!" "No!" Jiraiya panics as he hastily performs a dogeza in front of Kushina. "Kushina Why don''t you let bygones be bygones?" Creak The door to the room opens up. "Huh?! What''s the matter? What bygones?" Tsunade enters the room. Whoosh Jiraiya hurriedly stands up and clears his throat. Ahem "Nothing!! Nothing!! I was just reminiscing some memories with my student." Haah Jiraiya''s eyes turn teary as he stares at Kushina and Minato. "I would have to live with the fact that my Sensei and student departed right in front of me while I was helpless to do anything. Looks like I can finally die in relief." Bam Tsunade elbows him. "What nonsense are you spouting?" "You old pervert!! Don''t raise a g!!" Izuna shakes his head. "Alright!" Jiraiya takes a deep breath as his expression turns serious. "So, will anyone fill me on the details?" Half an hourter, "So, that''s the gist of it?" Minato finishes narrating the entire series of events. "I see." Jiraiya turns to Izuna and nods his head. "Brat! I never knew you were this capable." Izuna rolls his eyes. "Don''t try to act cool, you pervert! Besides, I am more capable than you think." Izuna retorts. "Yeah! Whatever!" Jiraiya shrugs his shoulder. p Izuna ps his hands to get their attention. "Let''s go for Naruto''s birthday party celebration. This time Ayaka has nned a surprise birthday party for him." "Oh! Ayaka!! I can''t wait to hug her." Kushina hugs herself with a flushed face. "" Izuna sweat drops as he remembers the bear hugs Kushina used to give him in his childhood. ''Ayaka! Your brother is with you. I will pray for you from a distance.'' ---------------- In the evening, Sigh Naruto sighs to himself as he exits the Uchihapound. "No one! There is no one at home." Just now, he paid a visit to Sasuke''s house and Uncle Fugaku told him that Sasuke, Itachi, and Shisui left for a n mission. "Even Izuna Nii-san is not at his house and Ayaka is probably at the academy." Sigh He sighs again and walks towards the Senjupounds. "Wait, a sec! Could it be they are preparing a surprise party at home?" Naruto cheers up in excitement. Whoosh He hurriedly dashes through the streets and reaches the Senjupound. "I am home." Naruto pushes open the door in excitement. "Oh! You are back, Naruto. Wash up and I will prepare dinner." Shizune greets him. "It''s only you, Shizune Nii-san! Where is Tsunade Baa-san?" Naruto asks depressingly as his excitement dies down. "Tsunade-san is busy with her hokage duties. The next chunnin exam is on the horizon and she has to make arrangements for it." Shizune responds to him as she enters the kitchen. "I I see" Naruto enters the bathroom and washes himself up. "Guess, everyone forgot about my birthday!" He mumbles to himself while bathing. "Naruto Nii-san!! Help! Naruto Nii-san!!" Ayaka''s weak voice falls in Naruto''s ears. Huh! Naruto immediately stands up from the bath and quickly wears his outfit. He walks towards the gate and notices Ayaka in a battered state with some blood leaking from her mouth. "Naruto Nii-san!" Ayaka weakly falls to the ground. Whoosh Naruto flickers towards her and supports her "What''s going on? What happened? Who did this to you?" His expression turns gloomy and anger rises from the bottom of his heart. "Nii-san, it''s a chunnin. I beat up his brother, and he called his elder brother for revenge." Ayaka hugs him tightly as tears flow from her eyes. Naruto remembers some previous incidents where Ayaka beats up many bullies including some chunnins. ''But for a chunnin to beat her like that?'' "How dare he?!" Naruto''s eyes turn red as a wisp of red chakra leaks from his body. The whiskers on his cheeks be more prominent. "Ayaka!! Just tell me where is he?" Naruto growls in anger. "Yes. Follow my directions!" Ayaka points out the direction, and Naruto quickly follows the path. Soon, they arrive in front of a two-story house with an orange-tiled roof. "He lives there." Ayaka points towards the house. "Alright! Leave it your big brother." Whoosh Naruto flickers in front of the door. Bang He forcefully kicks the door, breaking it in the process. "Come out! How dare you bully my sister?" "" Chapter 256: Birthday Party Part-3 Chapter 256: Birthday Party Part-3 "SURPRISE!!" Naruto stops in his tracks as these words greet him. POP POP The lights in the room lit up with a burst of party popper. "Happy Birthday Naruto!!" The group wishes a warm and hearty birthday greeting to Naruto. Ah! Naruto is bbergasted to see this. He turns to Ayaka. "I am sorry, Naruto Nii-san!" Ayaka jumps in front of him and wipes the bloodstain and undoes her transformation. "It''s a surprise, after all." Ayaka sticks out her tongue. "You guys!!" Tears burst out from Naruto''s eyes as he stares at the group of people. Sob sob "I thought you all forgot about it." Naruto wipes his tears and turns to the group. "Thank you, everyone!" "If you want to thank someone, then thank Ayaka." Sasuke remarks. "Yes, she nned to hold this celebration. We just lent her a hand." Shizune enters the house from the broken door. "Ayaka!! Thank you so much!" Naruto tries to hug Ayaka with tears and snot. "Of course, I am your imouto. I have to take care of you." Ayaka smugly folds her hand in front of her chest. Haha The rest of the groupughs at her antics. Izuna walks in front of Naruto and taps his forehead. "Naruto you remember the promise I made to you, right!" "You mean" Naruto jumps in excitement as Izuna''s promise freshens up in his mind. ''Soon Naruto! Soon you will meet with your parents.'' He looks around for a while but fails to see anyone else besides the people he already knew. "Nnn Nii-san" Whoosh Suddenly, a pair of hands gently block Naruto''s vision. Eh Naruto freaks out and touches the pair of hands. Somehow, he feels a sense of familiarity from these pairs of hands. Numerous emotions surge through his heart as those warm pairs of hands give a familial feeling. Kushina''s motherly instinct triggers the moment her hands touch Naruto. ''Naruto! Mother has missed you for so long.'' Tears erupt in her eyes as she lovingly gazes at Naruto. ''You have grown up, Naruto. Eleven years have passed since then. I could only watch you grow from a distance never able to ease your pain, loneliness, and sorrow. But now I won''t leave your side.'' Kushina silently pledges to herself. "Mo Mo Mom!" Naruto unconsciously mutters these words as a stream of tears flows from his eyes. He immediately turns around and hugs Kushina. The once familiar body warmth makes his heart flutter. He silently sobs into his mother''s embrace. Kushina gently caresses Naruto''s head and ruffles his hair. "Yes Naruto!! Mama is back!" Tears stream down from Kushina''s eyes as she tightly embraces Naruto in her bosom. Sob sob Naruto continues to shed tears in his mother''s embrace. The tears of bitterness, loneliness, sadness slowly flows away. He separates from Kushina and a sweet smile blooms on his face. "Wee home, Mom!" "Yes, I am back!" Kushina wipes her tears and gently smiles at him. "And I won''t leave your side never ever again!" The rest of the members of Konoha 11 silently stare at the reunion of Naruto with his family. "I am so happy for you, Naruto-kun!" Hinata wipes tears from her eyes. "Youth! This is youth!" Lee clutches his fists. Only Shikamaru notices Minato, who is silently standing beside Naruto with a warm smile. "He is" Shikamaru''s eyes widen in shock. He quickly gazes at the Hokage monument from the window to confirm his guess. "It can''t be. He is" Hepares Naruto and Minato''s looks. The close resemnce leaves him bbergasted. "I see! Well, whatever. What a drag!" Shikamaru shrugs his shoulders. The eyes of Aiko, Fumiko, and Mikoto also widen in surprise. All of them re at their respective sons for an exnation. Shisui and Itachi tacitly turn to Izuna. Izuna notices their piercing gaze and gulps his saliva. He turns towards Shisui and Itachi for help. Whistle whistle Shisui and Itachi whistle and ignore his re. Izuna signals to them with his eyes. ''Get ready for double training!'' ''We will do triple the amount of training. Just don''t drag us into your mess.'' Shisui and Itachi signals with a smug smile. Hnngh Izuna grits his teeth but raises his hands in surrender before the power of the Mother gang. The Mother gang nod their head and turn to Naruto and Kushina with motherly love in their eyes. "What about me? Are you upset with your dad?" Minato ruffles Naruto''s hairs. "DAD!!" Naruto tightly hugs Minato. "I missed you Dad!" "Dad missed you too!! You have grown well Naruto!" Minatoughs heartily and pats Naruto''s head. "Happy Birthday Naruto!!" "Thank you, Dad!" Naruto shes a brilliant smile. "So, did you like my birthday present?" Izuna smiles at the family reunion. "Yes, Nii-san. It''s the best gift ever." Naruto wipes his face as tears and snot leak out, making a mess of his face. "Ok! Alright! For starters, go and wash yourself. The party hasn''t even started yet." Minato pats Naruto''s head. "Yes, Dad!" Naruto nods his head. "Come to Mama!" Kushina waves her hand. "Mama will help you bath. I never got a chance to bathe you." "But But I have grown up." Naruto awkwardly rubs his head. "It''s fine. You are still a kid to me." Kushina forcefully drags Naruto in the bath. Haha The rest of the groupughs at their antics. "That''s just like Kushina. She hasn''t changed at all." Tsunade remarks. "Of course, she is still the Red Hot-blooded Habanero of Konoha." Izunaughs. "Alright! Now tell us everything in detail." The Mother gang turns their gaze to Izuna. Gulp "It''s like this." Izuna hurriedly recounts the major details while skipping a few important parts. Hmph Bam bam Two giant lumps rise on Izuna''s head. Izuna silently uses the Mystic Palm Technique to heal himself as he turns to Tsunade. ''I can understand why mother bonked me; but why even you?'' "Haah! That helped me shook off some pent-up frustration. I feel so rxed now." Tsunade stretches her arms. Izuna swallows his words and walks to the middle of the room. He clears his throat and addresses everyone. "The news about Minato and Kushina-san is a very confidential matter. It can disrupt the fragile bnce of peace among the five shinobi nations. Sunagakure already suffered a crushing defeat under our hands and the entire world is aware of our alliance with Kirigakure. I bet Kumogakure, and Iwagakure are already on tenterhooks at the moment. Iwa had to bitterly swallow the taste of humiliating defeat during the Third Shinobi War, whereas Kumo has suffered way too many losses under my hand. Now if theye to know about the presence of the previous Hokage, then they might as well as join hands and ally with neighboring small countries to attack us." Izuna pauses as he stares at the expression of all present here. The adults nod their heads in affirmation whereas the kids except for Sasuke, Shikamaru and Neji are slightly clueless. The revival of Minato is a huge matter. He acts as a major deterrance to the Shinobi world with his feats recorded during the Third Shinobi War. "Good! I think everyone is aware of the graveness of this matter. With that being said, let''s continue the celebration." ----------- Later at night, On top of Hokage Monument, Izuna is silently staring at the starry night as the huge moon flickers in the sky. ''I have four years to search for a solution. Although, I have already harnessed the Six Paths Chakra. It''s not enough to heal the damage in my body. Perhaps I will get my answers from the Otsutsuki shrine in Land of Demons. But that shrine is so elusive. I haven''t been able to track its whereabouts at all.'' Izuna slightly tilts his head as Mei appears in his vision. "Wow! It''s such a wonderful ce to look at stars." She remarks. "Yes, it is." Izuna hugs her in his embrace. Ahem "So, Izuna, why did you call us here?" Kakashi coughs slightly. Izuna lifts his head and remarks. "Kakashi, can''t you pretend to be air for a bit while." "" "I have been here for the past half hour. Isn''t that long enough?" Kakashi rolls his eyes and takes out a book from his pocket as he grumbles. Besides him, Guy is climbing back and forth on the backside of the Hokage monument with one hand. As for Yamato, he is standing still like a tree. Whoosh Whoosh Several figures gather in front of him. "Alright! Since everyone is here. Let''s start the meeting." Chapter 257: In-Yō Chapter 257: In-Y "Alright! Since everyone is here. Let''s start the meeting!" Izuna jumps towards the backside of the mountain and the rest of the group follows him. Swish swish While in mid-air, Izuna makes some One hand signs. Swoosh A spatial tunnel opens in front of the group. Kakashi, Itachi, Guy, and Tsunade are surprised for a moment as they curiously stare at the tunnel. "Come in!" Izuna gestures for them to enter. Whoosh The tunnel closes after everyone enters it. Soon, the group appears in a dark space with a vast stretch of emptiness. Izuna takes a step forward and the ce lights up. He walks deeper into space. The rest of the group follows him. "Hmm this seems to be a small independent dimension." Minato senses the surrounding space and mumbles. "Yes, I created this small, independent space. It''s only the size of a npound." Izuna informs them. "That''s quite incredible!" Minato is amazed by this small dimension. "It''s all thanks to your guidance, Minato-san." Izuna scratches his head. "Anyway, this is going to be the new headquarter of our organization. After some renovation, this ce won''t'' be much different from our previous ce and it is much more securepared to the previous one." He nods his head in satisfaction. ''I can''t help but steal the idea from Kara.'' The other members curiously inspect the space. "it''s like a pocket in space," Kakashi mumbles to himself. ''I wonder if I can ess Kamui from this dimension.'' Kakashi activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Kamui." A small tear opens in space. Kakashi infuses more chakra to expand the tear. Fwoosh Poof A powerful fuinjutsu seal surrounds the tear and forcefully closes the tear. "I knew it." Kakashi is taken back by the Fuinjutsu seal. A trail of blood leaks from his eyes as he deactivates his Sharingan. "Here! Kakashi Senpai!" Yamato passes a handkerchief to Kakashi to wipe the blood. "I forgot to mention, this ce is sealed by Space-time Fuinjutsu seal, and the space in this area is locked. Unless you have the key to the seal, you won''t be able to influence the space in this dimension." Hmm Minato takes out a kunai from his pocket. Swish He throws the kunai in a random direction and tries to use the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. nk The kunai falls on the ground while Minato is still in his previous position. "There is no doubt about it. Abilities like teleportation, blink, and portal formations are restricted here." Minato nods his head. ''I spent almost a year studying the formation around Ryuchi cave and Shikkotsu Forest. This is the product of my research.'' Izuna proudly stares at his creation. "Looks like I can''t fall behind in my training or else Naruto won''t even look up to me." Minato chuckles. "You will forever be Naruto''s hero. The hero who fought against Nine-tails and saved the vige." Izuna shakes his head. "If I am Naruto''s idol then you are the person he strives to be like." "Then that''s more of a reason for me to restart my training." Minato picks up his kunai. "Minato-san, I have a few things to discuss with you." Izuna walks deeper into space. Minato, Mei, and Tsunade follow him. "Minato-san, you already know the specifics of my organization." Mmm Minato nods his head with a serious expression. "Our enemy is way too powerful. We must prepare in advance to deal with them. It''s the part of the reason you found In-y." In-y is the name of Izuna''s organization. It trantes to Yin and Yang, which is synonymous with Light and Shadow. Hmm Tsunade and Mei stare at each other with apparent confusion. "Minato! Izuna! Was this a part of your n?" Tsunade asks them out of curiosity. "Pretty much!" Minato nods his head and reveals the information about the purple-robed guy. "Tsunade-san, our enemy is immensely powerful. He possesses God-like powers and we can''t evenprehend the limit of his power." Minato takes a deep breath. "Not only this, I am afraid there are more powerful beings like him secretly eyeing our world." Minato reveals the secret information he read in the records of Mount Myoboku, Shikkotsu Forest, and Ryuchi cave. "What?!" Tsunade and Mei''s expression turns grave. "If that''s the case, then won''t our lives be at the whims of these beings." "Not really!" Izuna shakes his head. "From the information, I have gathered; there are two powerful factions. And these factions are at odds against each other. So, we still have around 15 to 20 years to prepare before a full-blown war starts." Izuna recounts the incident of future events from his memories. ''My presence has drastically changed the shinobi history but it shouldn''t have any major impact on Otsutsuki and otherworldly forces, right?" Izuna questions himself. "When the timees, In-y will deal with these otherworldly threats. Currently, it has two branches, the Light and the Shadow branch. The members of the Light branch are the major fighting force of the organization whereas the members of the Shadow branch are responsible for gathering intelligence, reconnaissance, and assassination." Mmm The group nods their head in understanding. "The members of the Light branch include Minato-san, Kakashi, Guy, Shisui, and Itachi. Naruto and Sasuke will join once they grow up. As for the members of the Shadow organization, I can''t reveal their identity." Izuna shakes his head. "I made a promise to hide their identities. Currently, there are only four members with codenames Pride, Wrath, and Envy, and Sloth. Members of the Shadow branch will report to me." Hmm "That makes sense. But there are only 11 people; if you exclude Sasuke and Naruto, then only 9 remain. Would such a number be enough?" Tsunade raises a question. "It''s more than enough." Izuna firmly nods his head. "At such a level of fight, numbers won''t matter anymore. What matters is thebat prowess of the individual." ''In his new body, Minato-san is easily as strong as Naruto in his Nine-tails Chakra mode. Also, he has Sage Mode to top it off. Itachi and Shisui will reach Grandpa''s level once they awaken their EMS. Guy is also a monster with the perfected version of Eight-Gates. Kakashi is a genius in the art ofbat. He created an A-Rank jutsu at the age of 12. Let''s not talk about Naruto and Sasuke; both of them have the plot Armor of the main character.'' Mei, Tsunade, and Minato helplessly shake their head sensing Izuna''s firm gaze. "Still, in case of a full-blown war, we definitely need an army to hold the enemy," Minato argues. "Hmm if that''s the case, then we must inform other nations of the impending threat." Tsunade proposes. "Yes, I don''t think we can ovee our enemies just by ourselves. An alliance is necessary to counter our enemies. What do you think Izuna! Mizukage?!" Minato curiously stares at Izuna and Mei for an answer. "Kirigakure is already an ally of Konoha. So of course, we will lend a hand. Besides, this matter concerns the future of the shinobi world." Mei agrees immediately. ''Minato-san''s leadership skills are exemry. From the very start, I nned to make Minato-san the leader of In-y. There is a ticking time-bomb in my body and I have to search for a solution.'' Izuna ces a hand under his chin as he is lost in thinking. ''As for the matter of the alliance; In the normal course of history, Akatsuki will force other nations to join hands. The name of Madara Uchiha is enough to instill fear in the hearts of every shinobi.'' Sigh ''Although I am stronger than Grandpa in his prime; Ick feats to match my strength.'' Izuna shakes his head in despondency. ''I wonder what Akatsuki will do next?!'' Tsunade, Minato, and Mei notice his expression. "Is there any problem?" Tsunade questions him. "No! It''s just that" Buzzzzzz Suddenly, a buzzing sensation spreads through his head. Whirl The chakra in his body starts to circte on its own. "I I" Izuna clutches his forehead and falls to the ground. "IZUNA!!" Mei, Tsunade, and Minato hurriedly support him. Chapter 258: Awakening Chapter 258: Awakening "IZUNA!" Mei, Tsunade, and Minato hurriedly support him. Izuna feels a heating sensation in the optic nerves around his eyes. Swoosh His body furiously absorbs the Nature energy of the surroundings. The Nature energy fuses with his chakra and forms a wisp of dense cyan chakra. This chakra circtes in his body and moves towards the optic nerves in his eyes. ''Don''t tell me it has finally manifested'' Fwoosh Izuna loses consciousness as his skin turns pale. The expression of the rest of the members turns grim. "What?! What happened to him?" Mei grimly asks Tsunade. Hmm Tsunade inspects Izuna''s body. After a while, she heaves a sigh of relief. "It''s not anything major. At least for him!" She raises her head and notices the worry in other''s eyes. "He is suffering from Acute Chakra Deficiency. His chakra is drained to the veryst wisp." "Isn''t that harmful? If a person ran out of chakra, then won''t his body substitute it by draining his vitality." Kakashi remarks. "If it was someone else, then that might be the case. But Izuna is a Sage; his body is absorbing the Nature energy of the surroundings to replenish his chakra." Tsunade picks up Izuna. "Minato! Let''s get out of here. He needs an environment with rich Nature energy to recover." Tsunade instructs Minato. "Alright!" Minato makes some hand signs and a spatial tunnel opens in front of them. The group exits the small dimension. Swish swish "Reverse Summoning Jutsu" Tsunade makes some hand signs and ms her palm on the ground. ------------- Whoosh She reappears in the Shikkotsu forest atop the giant tree. "Tsunade-sama!!" Katsuyu walks out of a nearby cave. She notices Izuna in Tsunade''sp. "Katsuyu, Quick!! Send some of your smaller clones to help Izuna. He is suffering from chakra deficiency. Allow your clones to help gather Nature energy for him." Tsunade orders Katsuyu. "I am on it. Tsunade-sama!" Katsuyu immediately summons her clones. The clones crawl over Izuna''s body and absorb Nature energy. Their body glows with a cyan hue. "Good!" Tsunade nods her head and carries Izuna to the treehouse on top of the Giant tree. Sheys him on the bed and walks out onto the balcony. A stream of fleeting clouds blocks the radiant moonlight as they shine with a silvery hue. The fleeting clouds asionally cast a shadow over the Giant tree. Haah Tsunade takes a deep breath, a breath full of vitality and vigor. "He will be alright! It''s not his first time!" Tsunade shakes her head as her hairs flutter in the winds. Like the fleeting clouds, she discards her worries. "It''s pointless to worry too much. I have to return to Konoha." Tsunade leaves with some instructions to Katsuyu. -------------- "Where am I?" Izuna groggily opens his eyes as the familiar white space appears in his vision. "My mindscape?!" Crack crack Izuna cracks his neck and slowly stands up. "What''s going on? Why am I in my mindscape?" Soon, Izuna recounts the earlier chakra outburst near his eye nerves. "It''s about time to awaken my Rinnegan. Thirteen Years! It took me thirteen years to awaken my Rinnegan." He slowly stands up and walks towards the center of his mindscape. Various floating orbs with elemental energy appear in his vision. Numerous chakra orbs revolve around a dense purple chakra orb in orbits. "This reminds me of the sr system." Izuna closely inspects the floating purple chakra orb. "No! To be precise it is like an atom." Whoosh Izuna waves his hand and the chakra orbs halt and float towards him. He looks around but fails to notice anything out of ordinary. "Hmm let me feel the changes in my body first. Maybe I might get some clue about my current situation." He closes his eyes and inspects his body. His body is absorbing vast amounts of Nature energy at an incredible rate. The dense cyan chakra has umted around his optic nerves. "The consumption of chakra is too much. At this rate, the chakra would be evenly distributed among my eyes and I will awaken a normal Rinnegan in both eyes." Izuna tightly clenches his fists. "I won''t allow it. I want to awaken a Kekkei Mora, not a Kekkei Genkai!" The words of Hagoromo echoes in his mind. ''Kekkei Mora isn''t a power, it is a divine state. A divine state that uses the principles of all creation tomand all things in Nature. It is a manifestation of Natural Law and Order. To acquire this ability, severe training and refining of chakra are needed or the effect would be too small to make a difference. No matter the suffering that goes against one''s steel conviction, one cannot give up. To achieve Samsara and Destiny''s guidance, only those who carry these traits will be given the power to temper thews of the world, the power to wield concepts.'' Izuna grits his teeth in pain. "The Rinnegan awakened by Grandfather and Sasuke is a Kekkei Genkai. Since they don''t have any understanding of the Law and Concepts behind the abilities; they can only awaken a set of predestined abilities. But I am different! I have shed blood and sweat to master these abilities. Aftering this far, how can I settle with a Normal Kekkei Genkai Rinnegan? I won''t give up!" Haaah As if feeling Izuna''s desperation, the orbs around him tremble violently. Shiing A giant Rinnegan eye opens in his mindscape. Whoosh whoosh Space and time orb flies towards the Rinnegan and merges with it. Shiing Two tomoes appear in the innermost circle. "It''s not enough. Aah" Izuna urges the rest of the orbs to fuse with the Rinnegan. Whoosh The purple orb flies towards the Rinnegan and fuses with it. A third tomoe appears in the innermost circle of the Rinnegan. "To create a Kekkei Mora, I have to fuse all elements. However, the current me is not capable of such a feat. I have to search for an alternative." Izuna focuses his entire spirit on the Rinnegan as his mindscape trembles violently. "Kekkai Shi is a precursor to Kekkei Mora. What if I fuse more Kekkei Shi with the Rinnegan?" An incredulous idea pops into his mind. "Whatever, if I fail here; the worst case will be my death. Anyway, I am fated to die in four more years. Then I might as well take the risk and make a go for it." rity returns to his mind as he focuses his entire attention on the various orbs floating around him. "I have to choose four distinct elements tobine out of the five elements. The number of such possiblebinations is five. I have already created the Electromaic Release which leaves me with four possiblebinations." Izuna solely concentrates on the floating elemental orbs around him. "Merge!" He urges the orbs to merge with each other. As if sensing Izuna''s intention, the orbs furiously repel each other. Haah "I can''t fail aftering this far." Izuna bites his lips and urges the orbs with his entire being. After countless failures, he manages to create four more Kekkei Shi orbs. "Go!" Izuna weakly waves his hand to direct the orbs towards the Rinnegan. Swoosh swoosh The orbs merge with his Rinnegan and four more tomoe appear in it. "There are a total of seven tomoes. I guess I won''t be able to awaken a nine tomoe Rinne-Sharingan." Sigh Izuna helplessly shakes his head and sighs to himself as his vision deteriorates. Whoosh The Light and the darkness orb around him tremble and shoot towards the Rinnegan. Wham The two orbs merge with the Rinnegan and nine tomoes appear on the Rinnegan. "Finally my heart can rest easy!" Izuna feels heavy as darkness shrouds him. In the outside world, The Nature energy of the entire Shikkotsu forest furiously pours into his body. An enormous amount of chakra umtes around his left eye. Shiing Izuna''s Mangekyo Sharingan awakens on its own. Swirl The pattern of his Mangekyo changes as the sclera turns purple. Five concentric rings form on the sclera. Shiing shiing The concentric rings are followed by nine tomoes which arrange themselves in the inner concentric rings. The rings continue to rotate for a while before it eventually calms down. The color of the Rinnegan changes to blue, red, golden and it finally settles to purple. Bzzz The awakening of the Rinnegan sends a jolt through Izuna''s body. ------------------ In a faraway dimension, Hmm A pale white figure with four crooked horns resembling a crown slowly opens his eyes. "The Heavenly eyes of Samsara have awakened in its truest form. It''s the most exalted eyesparable to Pure eyes." Tap tap The figure taps his finger on the armrest of his throne as an attendant appears in front of him. "Our n has fought this battle for eons. It''s finally time to end it for once and for all. Summon the elders of the n." The four-horned figure clenches his fist. "Yes, my lord!" Whoosh The attendant disappears from his position. "The time hase. The time for the GOD to awaken." Chapter 259: Kekkei Mora Chapter 259: Kekkei Mora Ugh!! Izuna slowly opens his eyes as the gentle sunlight of early dawn greets him. He slowly wakes up from the bed and stretches his muscles. My muscles are stiff but my spirit feels so refreshed. Swoosh A dense wave of Nature energy assaults his senses. Huff He takes a deep breath of fresh air and walks to the balcony. The scenery of lush greenery and dense forest appear in his vision. His vision is sharper than ever as he is even able to see a tiny insect on a de of grass a mile away. He immediately recognizes this ce as the Shikkotsu Forest. "This is Shikkotsu Forest which means" Swirl Izuna produces a blob of water in his hands. The blob morphs into a mirror. He inspects his left eye and notices the ripple pattern with nine tomoe. "That wasn''t a dream. I have finally awakened my Rinnegan. Not only that, it''s a Kekkei Mora Rinne-Sharingan." He waves his hand and dispels the blob of water. "It will take me a while to get used to this eye." "Camouge!" He mutters and a veil of light covers his left eye. "Now I don''t even need to make hand signs to cast a jutsu. How convenient! But it''s also boring. Hand signs are the true identity of a shinobi." Hmm Izuna inspects his body and notices the small cracks in his chakra system. "Rinnegan is a manifestation of chakra. It mostly enhances the spiritual side of the body. Now my body is falling behind. At this rate, my body won''t bepatible with chakra and I will explode like a bomb." A shiver runs down Izuna''s spine. "That wisp of Six Paths Chakra which I harvested from the Summoning Heavenly Pure Reincarnation is already used up. Now I have to depend on myself to fend off this disease. Which reminds me, how did the Sage of Six Path die? His spirit is still alive and kicking in his incorporeal form. Was his body also too weak to host his powerful soul and thus failed him at old age?" Izuna ponders over this detail. ''The members of the Otsutsuki n have a prolonged life span to the point of being immortal. Kaguya has all of her chakra drained and her body was sealed in the moon, yet she can still revive herself. Then there is that Isshiki. His entire body was sliced in half and yet he can still live long enough to possess another body and even that body is alive for almost a thousand years. These Otsutsuki sure have the vitality of a cockroach. There sure all lots of secrets. I can only depend on Amado''s research and my discoveries about the Kama. With my new abilities, the research will be smoother." Crack crack Izuna cracks his neck and jumps from the top of the tree. I need to stretch my muscles to lessen the stiffness. Bang He heavilynds on the ground and creates a crater at hisnding ce. "Those wild beasts will be a nice sparring partner to test my new abilities." Whoosh Izuna flickers towards the territories of the wild beasts. Huh! The main body of Katsuyu crawls out of a cave. The earliermotion has attracted her attention. "Looks like Izuna-kun is awake! I must immediately inform Tsunade-sama." Katsuyu summons one of her small clones and sends it to Konoha. Bam Bam Multiple explosions ur in a distance. Arge cloud of dust and debris rises in the air. "Izuna-kun is at it again. He sure likes to bully others." Katsuyu shakes her head and enters her cave. ------------- Konoha Inside the Hokage Office, Chiii A messenger eagle shrieks near the window. Shizune opens the window and receives the letter. She takes out a pill from her pocket and feeds it to the eagle. Chiii The eagle flies towards the nursing pen of Konoha''s information department. "Tsunade-sama! It''s a letter from Kakashi!" Shizune presents the letter to Tsunade. Hmm Tsunade unfurls the letter and reads its content. "Kakashi and the group have arrived at Kiri. The chunnin exam will start in a week. Till that time, the genins will familiarize themselves with the ce and rx a little to ease the stress of the journey. Good!" Tsunade nods her head. "I will visit Kiri during the final phase of the exam." Tsunade folds the letter and stores it in a drawer. "This time most of the young children of the various ns are taking part in the exam. To ensure their safety; I sent Kakashi, Guy, and Itachi. Shisui is busy with his duties as the executive chief of the Konoha''s Police Department." Hah Tsunade stretches her arms and rxes on the chair. Creak The chair weakly moans under her weight. Shizune silently stares at Tsunade. ''It must be the weight of her breast.'' She thinks to herself. "Hmm Shizune! Why do I feel like you thought something rude just now?!" Eek Shizune freaks out. "Nnn No Tsunade-sama. It must be your imagination." Shizune wipes a bead of cold sweat from her forehead. "Probably!" Tsunade nods her head. Oink Oink Tonton nods in agreement. Swoosh Poof White smoke appears on Tsunade''s table and chibi Katsuyu crawls out from the smoke. "Katsuyu!" Tsunade perks up and corrects her posture as she picks up the chibi Katsuyu. "Tsunade-sama! Izuna-kun is awake Tsunade-sama!" Chibi Katsuyu reports as Tonton squishes it in her embrace. "Oh! That''s good news." Tsunade''s mood cheers up. She waves her hand and summons the Anbu. Whoosh A yellow-haired Anbu with a tribal mask appears in front of her. "You can remove the mask, Minato!" Tsunade orders. "You summoned me, Lord Fifth." Hmm Tsunade informs Minato about Izuna''s awakening. "That''s a relief." Minato heaves a sigh of relief. "He pushed himself to his limits to perform that ritual. I will immediately inform Kushina of this good news." Whoosh Minato teleports from the office. "Let''s meet with him. It has been a month since he went into aa." Tsunade grabs chibi Katsuyu from Tonton''s clutches, who groans in displeasure. Oink Oink Swish swish Tsunade makes some hand signs and reverse summons to Shikkotsu Forest. --------- Whoosh She appears in Shikkotsu forest alongside chibi Katsuyu. "Tsunade-sama!" The main body of Katsuyu walks out of her cave. "Where is he?" Tsunade asks her. BOOM Another violent explosion rings in the distance. Tsunade''s expression turns ugly, and she turns towards the direction of the explosion. "Everyone is worried about him and the first things he does after waking up is to create chaos." Whoosh Tsunade enters Sage Mode and dashes in the explosion''s direction. Sigh The Main body Katsuyu, and the chibi Katsuyu sighs. "She is acting like an angry housewife again!" In the forest, Izuna is floating in front of a giant croc. "Yo! Your body looks sturdier than the previous guy. Look at those shiny scales. I am sure you can handle a beating." The giant croc trembles in fear as he stares at Izuna with terror in his eyes. His neighbor, a giant python is tied around a tree in a bowtie knot. Roar The croc roars at Izuna and warns him to not approach him. He opens his giant maw as his teeth glisten with sharpness. "Hmm Mother''s birthday will arrive soon. Maybe I can give her a purse made of crocodile leather." Izuna rests his palm against his chin as he scrutinizes the giant croc. Brrr A shiver runs down the giant croc''s spine as it notices Izuna''s scrutinizing gaze. "Roar No skin." The crocodile mumbles some incoherent words. "Oh! He has awakened his spiritual intelligence. Katsuyu! Add him to the list." A chibi Katsuyu jumps from Izuna''s shoulder and marks the giant croc''s body. "That makes it three. Seems like the wild animals of the Shikkotsu Forest are developing intelligence at a rapid rate." Izuna pats the giant croc''s head. "Study well or else" Plop The giant crocodile falls on the ground and loses consciousness. Sigh "What a weak-hearted croc?!" Whoosh "IZUNA!!" Tsunade is rapidly dashing towards Izuna. Her right hand is balled into a fist and it glows with a light green chakra. Izuna has noticed her a long time ago. "No, you don''t." Whoosh Tsunade phases through Izuna''s body, who is nonchntly floating at his ce. Bang Her punch shatters a nearby two-story rock into pieces. "" Izuna breaks out in a cold sweat as he stares at the remains of the boulder. ''Phew! Thankfully, I avoided it. Otherwise, the concussion from a direct hit would have hospitalized me for a day." "Yo! What''s the big deal? I just woke up, and this is how you greet me." Izuna has a sour face as heins. Humph "Can''t you see how worried we are? It has been a month since you went into aa and the first thing you do is to squander around." Tsunade roars in anger. "A month?! Shit!" Izuna hurriedly grabs Tsunade''s arm despite her resistance. Whoosh He teleports to Konoha together with Tsunade. ------------- A/N:- YO! How you all doing? If you enjoy the story so far, don''t forget to write a review. Chapter 260: Cookie Chapter 260: Cookie In Uchiha Compounds, At Izuna''s house, Haah Haaah Ayaka is repeatedly swinging a Katana in a forward sh. Akira is observing her from the side. "Your posture is still too stiff. There is still ack of coordination between your de and body. The de should act as an extension of your arm. Just incorporate this in your practice." He instructs her. "Yes, Dad!" Ayaka nods her head as a drop of sweat trickles down from her forehead. Akira stares at her resolute expression and nods his head. ''Izuna was too much of a genius. I never got a chance to train him seriously. He justprehended everything at such a rate that it took the joy out of teaching. However, I can keep up with Ayaka''s learning pace.'' "Alright! That''s enough practice for today." Akira stops her. "But Dad! I can keep going." Ayaka protests. "No, means no!" Akira flickers behind her and seizes the katana from her hands. "You shouldn''t exhaust yourself from excessive training." Akira pats her head. "Ok! Dad." Ayaka mumbles. "Ayaka! Ayaka!" A loud voice interrupts them. "Oh! It''s Aunt Kushina." Ayaka perks up and instantly dash towards the front yard. "Is my cute little sweetie at home?" "Yes, I am." Ayaka hurriedly dashes towards the door. "Here you are!" A smile bloom on Kushina''s face. "Now give me a hug and I will give you good news." Kushina opens her arms wide. "Ah!" Ayaka hesitates, but Kushina pulls her into her embrace and gives her a bear hug. "So, what''s the good news?" Ayaka stares at Kushina with expectation in her eyes. "Take a guess!" Kushina raises her hands. "Um! Is Onii-san back?" Ayaka ces a hand under her chin and mimics Izuna''s action. "How cute!" Kushina pats Ayaka''s head. "Yes, your brother is back from his mission." Kushina nods her head. After consulting with Akira and Aiko, Tsunade fabricated a lie to not break Ayaka''s heart. It may cause her past trauma to resurface. Since Tsunade is the Hokage, Ayaka naturally believed the lie. "Yay! I want to surprise Nii-san." Ayaka raises her fists. "Then let''s bake some cookies for him," Kushina suggests. "Yes, I will bake the best cookies for him." Ayaka hurriedly dashes towards the kitchen. "This girl! She is so energetic when it is rted to his brother." Aiko shakes her head. She turns to Kushina. "About Izuna? Is he alright?" "Yes! The news came from Tsunade-sama. So, he should be alright!" Kushina nods her head. Phew Aiko heaves a sigh of relief. "That boy, he worries me to no end!" --------------- Whoosh Izuna and Tsunade appear in the Hokage''s office. Oink Oink Tonton is startled to see them. Whoosh Minato appears in the office after sensing themotion. Mei appears with him. "Are you alright?" Mei hurriedly dashes towards him and gently touches his face. "Of course, what will happen to me?" Izuna puffs his chest. Ahem Tsunade clears her throat and Mei''s face turns red in embarrassment. She takes a step back and inspects Izuna. "Umm You look a bit different." Mei mumbles. "I can''t see the changes but I feel like you are somewhat different." She curiously stares at Izuna for answers. "Hmm It''s true. You indeed feel a little different. I failed to notice it in the Shikkotsu forest." Tsunade also nods her head. Minato just silently watches them from the side. "Of course! I am different." Izuna nods his head. "I am even more handsome than before." Izuna proudly puffs his chest. "" The group rolls their eyes at Izuna''s narcissistment. "Nothing has changed at all. This guy is still the same as ever." Tsunade snorts and turns around. "I have to hurry and meet Ayaka. She must be worried for me." Izuna prepares to teleport. "Don''t worry! I took care of it for you." Tsunade grumbles and exins the details. "Thank you so much, Tsunade. I will treat you to a premium wine." Izuna grabs Mei and teleports in front of his house. "Don''t forget your promise." Tsunade''s yells fade in distance. --------- Whoosh Izuna appears in front of his house. He hurriedly dashes towards the door and yells. "Mom! Dad! Ayaka! I am back." "Don''t yell! I am not deaf yet." Aiko furiously walks out of the house. She stops in front of Izuna and twists his ear. "You don''t know how worried I was for you? Even if you don''t care for your well-being, at least care for the well-being of your family." Izuna turns to Mei for help. Mei avoids his gaze. ''Looks like she is upset too. I can''t avoid it, can I?'' "Mom! Where is Ayaka? Is she in the academy?" Izuna wisely diverts the topic. Humph Aiko snorts and lets him off. "Come inside first!" She beckons him. "Ok!" Izuna follows her. He can easily sense the location of any person he wants to search in the entire vige. But out of respect for his parent''s privacy, he chooses not to. Since these are the etiquettes of a ninja. Otherwise, imagine a bunch of Hyuga''s peeking through the entire vige. They will be brandished as a n of perverts rather than a n of elites. "Sit!" Akira sternly stares at Izuna, his expression unreadable. Hmm Izuna anxiously sits on his knees as he waits for the harsh lecture about to befall him. Sigh Looking at Izuna''s anxious expression, Akira takes a deep breath andughs loudly. Haha Aah Aww Aiko elbows him to stop hisughter. "Do you think it''s funny?" She res at him. "Yes! I mean, NO! But I can''t help myself butugh when I noticed his expression. It has been a while since Ist saw him like that. Maybe twelve years or so." Akira strokes his waist. "Hmm it''s true. It has been a while. Time surely flies by!" Both of them reminisce the memories. Izuna winks at Mei as he avoids the punishment from his parent. "It''s ready." Ayaka walks out of the kitchen with a tray in her hands. Her hairs are doused with flour and there are stains of cream and chocte on her clothes. "Ayaka!" Izuna cheers upon seeing Ayaka. "Onii-chan!" Ayaka hurriedly throws away the oven mitts and jumps into his embrace. "Hoh! She isn''t so passionate when she hugs me." Kushina pouts and follows her. "I missed you, Onii-chan!" Ayaka snuggles in his embrace. "Onii-chan! Missed you too!" Izuna pats Ayaka''s head. ''Angel! Ayaka is my cute little angel. All of my worries are washed away.'' "Look Look Onii-chan! I made some cookies for you." Ayaka beckons to him as she shoves the tray filled with ck charcoal and cinders to him. There is a little bit of cream smeared on their top which distinguishes them from the coal used to bake them. "You made these cookies?" Izuna has an ugly expression in his heart, but an amiable smile appears on his face. "Of course! I made them all for you." Ayaka puffs her chest and raises his head. Her expectful eyes wildly screams in Izuna''s ears. ''Praise me! Praise me more!'' Gulp Izuna gulps his saliva and stretches his hands to pick up a piece of charcoal, no a piece of cookie. "Wait!" Ayaka stops him. "I will pick one for you." Ayaka stretches her tiny hands and picks up a shuriken-shaped ''cookie''. "Try this Onii-chan!" "Al Alright!" Izuna weakly grabs the cookie as Ayaka expectantly stares at him. Crunch He takes a bite of the cookie; the taste of cinders and ashes greets his pte. Ayaka passionately stares at Izuna with expectation in her eyes. "Onii-chan! How is it? Do you like it?" Crunch crunch Izuna munches on the cookie as if he is enjoying himself. "Good! There are very good. No! they are the best cookies I ever ate." Izuna weakly mutters these words. "Oh! If so then I will bake more cookies for you in the future." Upon hearing these words, Izuna''s expression turns pale. He perspires profusely. Ayaka notices the sweat on Izuna''s forehead. "Onii-chan! You must be feeling hot. Let me bring some ice cream for you." Ayaka dashes towards the kitchen. Izuna turns his head and notices the flushed faces of Kushina, Mei, and his parents from holding theirughter. Swish He waves his hand and casts a silencing seal. Haha Haha Kushina bursts out inughter, followed by Mei and his parents. "That''s retribution for you." Meiughs loudly. Haha Haha Kushina and his parents crack up again. Izuna stares at them with a poker face as an evil smile slowly appears on his face. "Onii-chan! I brought this ice cream for you." "Oh! Thank you, Ayaka!" Izuna grabs a spoon and savors the ice cream. "Ayaka let others taste your cookies too. How can I be the only one to enjoy such good cookies? Remember, you should share good things with your family." Izuna gently smiles at her. "Ah! My bad!" Ayaka smacks her head. She picks up another cookie and passes it to Kushina, Mei, and her parents. The expression of glee is reced with horror as the group holds a cookie in their hand. "Go on! Have a bite!" Izuna gently smiles at them. Izuna''s gentle voice sounds like the whisper of a devil to the rest of the group. Gulp They steel their heart and swallow the cookie in one bite. "Let me taste too!!" Ayaka picks up a cookie and nibbles on it. "Eek! I forgot to add sugar." "" Chapter 261: SSXR Card Chapter 261: SSXR Card Twenty years in the future, "How is the investigation going, Sasuke?!" Naruto is resting against the Hokage chair as he poses a question to Sasuke. "The situation up there is quite chaotic. It has been ten years since a full-blown between them have started. The Otsutsuki''s are growing restless day by day!" Sasuke sighs and stares out of the window. "Hah! The ambition of Otsutsukis are too grand. Thankfully, the other faction is keeping them engaged. But we won''t entertain any of them. After all, both factions are just the opposite sides of the same coin." Shikamaru ces down a report. "Thankfully, we have you and Ayaka to monitor their movements. If not for your intel, our world would have ended up as their nutrition long ago." Naruto leans forward on the table. "It is our responsibility. Besides, who else other than me and Ayaka possess the ability to transverse dimensions." Sasuke takes out a scroll from his pocket. "Damn! It sucks to be so weak!" Shikamaru leans against the wall. "We are nothing more than ration and chakra pills in the eyes of these monsters." Shikamaru clicks his tongue. "Well yeah! Those two Otsutsuki fellows surely learned their lesson for underestimating our abilities." Naruto recounts the details of their recent battle. "Those two fellows are least of our concern. They have little status in their n. That foul-mouthed guy was a small prince from a branch family. He was too desperate to prove himself, all to preserve his status. The other was just his attendant. " Sasuke shakes his head. "The most troublesome is the third guy who escaped from our clutches. He is a member of the royal family. I am not sure of his status or rank in the n but his abilities are real." Naruto stands from his seat and walks towards a bulletin board. He criss-crosses the picture of Momoshiki and Kinshiki. "This third Guy Urashiki is dangerous!" Naruto returns to his seat and picks up the report presented by Shikamaru. "This is" "See for yourself!" Shikamaru rests on the couch. "Thiszy guy!" Naruto grumbles and reads the scroll. "A new Otsutsuki ruin?!" He raises an eyebrow as his eyes meet with Sasuke. "It''s just as Nii-san predicted. There are four Otsutsuki ruins spread throughout the Shinobi World. We have already excavated the other three ruins, only thisst ruin was hidden from our sight." Naruto folds the scroll. "Yeah! After the initial ruin exploration, the explorer team found a strange turtle-shaped vase. Since it is a relic of the past, I passed it to the research department to decipher its secrets. After all, it can give us more clues about the Otsutsuki n." Shikamaru remarks. "Leave this matter forter. For now, our key priority should be Urashiki. Naruto you should remain on your guard. His target is the Nine-tails sealed inside you." Sasuke warns him. "I will be on guard!" Naruto nods his head. "I will send someone from Anbu to guard your house." Shikamaru stands up. "There is no need for it. Besides, Dad is also there with me." Naruto waves his hand. "Alright! I still have other matters to attend to. So, I will take my leave." Shikamaru picks up a scroll from the table. He walks out of the Hokage Office leaving Sasuke and Naruto alone. Sigh Sasuke sighs and his expression turns serious. "Naruto! I am sure you are already aware of Boruto''s condition." "Yeah! During the chunnin exam invasion, Momoshiki brandished him with his Kama seal." Naruto touches his forehead in worry. "It''s not the first time, we have been through this. Previously, thanks to Nii-san, the situation was resolved. Also, Ayaka is an exception. But Boruto" Words linger in Naruto''s word. He takes a deep breath and calms himself. "If only Nii-san was here" Sasuke mumbles to himself. -------------- Inside Yakiniku-Q restaurant, "Eat up! All of you eat up. It''s my treat today!" A twelve-year-old boy with spiky blond hair and blue eyes waves his hand. "Then I will eat my fill!" A dark-skinned girl with amber eyes and a round physique picks up a piece of meat and stuffs it in her mouth. "Damn! You sure are in a bright mood even after failing the chunnin exam." Another boy sitting opposite to him remarks. The boy has spiky ck hair tied in a ponytail. He has teal-colored eyes andziness erupts from his demeanor. "Boruto! You have yet to repay me from thest time and you still have enough money to spend on a party." Another girl with onyx eyes and shoulder-length dark hair with a tint of blue at end chimes in. "Sarada! You sound like my grandma. Also, grandpa gave me money to treat you all." Boruto grumbles. "Hehe! It''s time for the finale of this party." Boruto takes out a small cardboard box from his pocket. He removes the seal and three stic packets appear in his hand. "This is thest packet left in the shop. I was lucky enough to get my hands on it. Hehe!" "Hmph! What''s so exciting about these cards? A packet of potato chips is more useful than this. You can eat them and appease your hunger." The dark-skinned girl grumbles. "You won''t understand, Chocho! Besides, you only have eyes for food. You won''t understand the charm of these ''Extreme: Shinobi Picture Scrolls''." Boruto peels the stic wrapper with excitation. "Whatever! Potato chips are still the best." Chocho snorts and picks up another piece of meat. "So, yummy!" Boruto ignores her and slowly opens the first packet. "Give me an SSR card Give me an SSR card" He prays while opening the first pack. Ten cards appear in the pack. Boruto hurriedly scrambles through the pack as the color of his face changes. "What a bummer! No SSR card in this pack." He throws the pack aside and focuses his attention on the second pack. "Bless me with luck. Just give me a good SSR card." Boruto silently prays in his heart. Zip He slowly peels the outeryer as his heart races in excitement. "Not this one not this one not this too" He scrambles through the cards. "Finally! It is an SSR card." Boruto jumps in joy. "It''s uncle Itachi too. I am so happy." Boruto jumps in excitement. "Uncle Itachi!" Sarada pushes him away and stares at the card. "It''s indeed Uncle Itachi!" "Hey! What was that for?" Boruto snatches the card from her hands. "Let me take a look at the stats!" Card Name: Itachi Uchiha (Pre-Fourth Shinobi War) Rarity: SSR Taijutsu: 7 Ninjutsu: 9 Genjutsu: 10 Kenjutsu: 7 Bukijutsu: 8 Fuinjutsu: 4 Senjutsu: 7 Special Ability: Gaze of Abyss: Paralyzes the opponent with fear. After ying this card, the opponent''s next move will be cancelled. "Yay! This is a very powerful card. It''s one of my best cards." Boruto ignores the rest of the cards and gently ces this card in an album. "Now for thest pack." Boruto rubs his hands in excitation. "I wonder if this pack will have good cards too." Boruto peels the cover with trembling hands. "Not this Not this Not this" One by one, he scrambles through eight cards and his expression turns ugly. "None of them are good!" His vision finally rests on the ninth card. "Damnit! It''s Dad again! Why do I keep getting his cards?" Borutoins as he stares at the smiling picture of adult Naruto. He stares at the stats of Naruto. Card Name: Naruto Uzumaki (Pre-Hokage Period) Rarity: SSR Taijutsu: 8 Ninjutsu: 10 Genjutsu: 4 Kenjutsu: 5 Bukijutsu: 5 Fuinjutsu: 9 Senjutsu: 10+ Special Ability: Orb of Destruction: Annihte the entire opponent''s deck below S-Rank rarity. "Anyway I will still keep this card. It will be a waste of an SSR card." He pockets the Naruto card and grumbles. "That killed my mood. Even so, at least I got the Uncle Itachi card!" Boruto ignores thest card and prepares to throw it away as he nces at the card. "WHAT?! WHAT THE HELL?!" Boruto yells loudly, rming nearby customers. They turn to Boruto with angry looks. "We are sorry! We are sorry!" Sarada apologizes to them. "My friend has a few loose screws. Don''t mind him!" She angrily turns to Boruto. "What was that?!" "This this" Boruto points towards thest card. "What is it?" Sarada turns to thest card and her mouth opens in an ''O'' shape. "No way!" She hurriedly picks up the card and reads the details. Card Name: Izuna Uchiha (Fourth Shinobi War) Rarity: SSXR Taijutsu: 10+ Ninjutsu: 10+ Genjutsu: 10+ Kenjutsu: 10 Bukijutsu:10 Fuinjutsu: 10+ Senjutsu: 10+ Special ability: Full Counter: Grants immunity to opponent''s next five attacks after which unleashes an attack with the power of opponent''s past five moves. (Invulnerable to any status effect.) "Wow!" Boruto''s and Sarada''s mouth forms an ellipse as they read the state of the cards. "You guys!" A pale-skinned boy with blond hair snatches the card from them. "Let me take a look." "Holy Shit!" His eyes open wide. "What''s the big deal, Inojin!" Shikadai grabs the card. "What''s the deal with this card? Heh! Isn''t it too broken?" Chapter 262: Who is the strongest Shinobi? Chapter 262: Who is the strongest Shinobi? "Yo Boruto! Everyone!" A spectacled boy with dark eyes and ck chin-length hair tied in atop-knot waves at them. "Oh Denki! You came right on time." Boruto grabs Denki''s hand and thrusts the card in his hand. "Look Look Isn''t this card too broken?" "Let me see." Denki takes a peek at the card. "SSXR rarity card. No way!" Denki gasps in astonishment. "Boruto!! Do you know how lucky you are?" Denki almost yells in Boruto''s ears. "Eh! Is that so?" Boruto and the rest of the group curiously stare at him for answers. "Ahem! Let me exin." Denki adjusts his spectacles. "I am sure all of you know that my father''s Kaminarimonpany produces these cards" Huhu The group nods their head. "Since my father''spany produces these cards, their rarity and number are also determined by my father." "That makes sense." Shikadai nods his head. "So, needless to say, the cards with the higher rarity rating are very low in number." Denki continues. "Yeah! That''s true. I only have 12 SSR rarity cards even after spending all my pocket money for 5 years." Boruto grumbles. "What about the money you borrowed from me?" Sarada res at him. "Yes! During the production of these cards, we decided on a fixed ratio for the number of cards. For example, almost 90 percent of cards produced are of N rarity, 7 percent of the cards are of R rarity, 2 percent of the cards are of S rarity, 0.995 percent of the cards are of SR rarity and 0.005 percent of the cards are of SSR rarity. This ratio will stay fixed no matter how many cards are produced in the future." Denki reveals the production secret to them. "No wonder, I can only get 12 SSR cards in 5 years," Borutoins. "No! There is more to it." Shikadai shakes his head. "With such a meager number, it would be a miracle if you even managed to get even a single SSR card, much less twelve. There is something else in y here." Shikadai spectes. "Wow! As expected of Shikadai." Denki nods his head in praise. He looks around and ces a hand near his mouth as he whispers to them. "This is a secret. So don''t tell to anyone or I will get in trouble!" "Don''t worry! You can trust us." Boruto pats Denki''s shoulder. "Since my father is the owner of thepany, he decided to sell a percentage of packs with SSR cards exclusively in Konoha. Also, this SSXR card is very, very rare. It''s so rare that only 5 of such cards will be ever made." Denki whispers to them. "Woah! Isn''t that a bit unfair?" Boruto grumbles. "Ssshhh!" Denki ces a finger on his lips. "Do you want other viges to get all your SSR cards?" "No! Never!" Boruto frantically shakes his head. "So this is the reason why only three packs are allowed per person per day." Shikadai nods his head in understanding. "Yeah, kind of!" Denki scratches his head. "Still, I am so envious. Even I couldn''t get that SSXR rarity card." He grumbles. Boruto picks the card and stares at Izuna''s picture in sunlight. "He looks just like Tatsuya Nii-san." "Of course, he is. He is Tatsuya Nii-san''s dad." Sarada rolls her eyes. Hmm Boruto''s expression turns serious, and he turns to Sarada. "Hey, Sarada! You are an Uchiha and lives in the Uchihapound. Do you know anything about Uncle Izuna? I mean he is the only person with an SSXR card. Not even dad and uncle Sasuke have such a card given how strong they are." "Hmm Now that I think about it, it makes sense. Let''s visit Grandpa Akira and Grandma Aiko. They will tell us more about Uncle Izuna." Sarada suggests. "Can Ie with you?" Chocho hurriedly stuffs the remaining pieces of meat in her mouth. "Me too Me too" the rest of the group also insists. "Fine! All of you follow me." Sarada shakes her head. ------------- Later in the evening, "Bye, everyone!" Boruto waves his hand and dashes towards his house. "Woah! I never expected uncle Izuna to be so incredible. But why does nobody know about him and where he is now?" Various questions pop in his head. "Even Grandpa Akira didn''t mention it when I asked him. Let me ask mom. She must know something." Boruto hops over to his house. "Boruto Onii-chan! You are back." Himawari waves her hand. "Oi Brat! You are back." A spectacled woman with crimson eyes and red hair walks out of the house. "Oh! Aunt Karin. When did youe?" Boruto panics a little. "Huh, Boruto! This is how you greet your aunt." Karin grumbles and pulls Boruto''s ear. "Aw Aw That hurts." Boruto rubs his ear. "Aunt! Where is mom?" Boruto asks Karin. "You looking for me, Boruto!" Hinata walks out of the kitchen. "Oh! My Boruto-chan is back. Give Grandma a hug!" Kushina walks out of the kitchen and bear hugs Boruto. "Aww why do I feel like I live with a bunch of barbarians?" He silently mumbles to himself. "Ara did you say something?" Kushina has a smile on her face as her hair rises in the air. Gulp "No! I didn''t say anything." Boruto gulps his saliva. "That''s good then. Go and wash. Dinner will be ready soon." After half an hourter, Phew! "That hit the spot." Boruto rxes on the couch. "You sound like Dad!" Himawari giggles. "No! I am not an old man!" Boruto grumbles. He turns to Hinata and Kushina. "Mom! Grandma! Who is the most powerful shinobi to exist ever?" Boruto expectantly stares at them for an answer. Ah! Ah! Hinata, Kushina, and Karin''s expressions freeze as they hear this question. "Boruto! Why the sudden question?" Kushina curiously asks him. "It''s because of this." Boruto takes out Izuna''s card from his pocket. "Oh!" Hinata, Kushina, and Karin reads the details and shake their head. "These stats. They are an understatement of his true power." "What?!" Boruto''s eyes widen in surprise. "The then! That means Uncle Izuna is way more powerful than this." He asks in trepidation. "Of course!" Kushina nods her head. "Don''t you agree, Tatsuya-chan!" Kushina raises her head and stares at the ceiling. Whoosh The space in front of them trembles and a person appears in front of them. The neer greatly resembles Izuna except for his hairs which are a little bit different. "Tatsuya Nii-san!" Boruto is shocked to see him. "Why are you sneaking around here?" He asks Tatsuya. "Sneaking?!" Tatsuya rolls his eyes. Bonk He bonks Boruto''s head. "You brat! I am doing my duty as an Anbu. I am the bodyguard of Hokage and his family." Tatsuya shakes his head. He acts as if Boruto''s words hurt him greatly. "This boy!" Kushina rolls her eyes. "Not only his looks, but even his personality is simr to his father." Ahem Tatsuya clears his throat and remarks. "Boruto! If you want to know how powerful my dad is. Then let me tell you, he single-handedly ended the Fourth Shinobi war." He has a proud expression on his face as he describes Izuna''s feats. ''It''s nothing. Father even stopped the invasion of Gods.'' Boruto turns to Hinata for confirmation. "Mmm" Hinata nods her head. "Woah! Incredible! Uncle Izuna is really incredible. Tell me tell me! Where he is? I want to train under him." Boruto asks in excitement. "He" Tatsuya''s expression changes as a tint of sorrow and sadness appears in his eyes. Kushina notices the sorrow in Tatsuya''s eyes. ''Poor child! He is just like Naruto! Naruto spent the first ten years of his life without his parent. Tatsuya spent theter ten years of life without Izuna.'' "Boruto! Your Uncle Izuna is on an SSS-Rank mission. A mission only he can do. Since it''s a secret, every information rted to him is hidden. This is the reason the kids of your generation know little about him. As for us, Izuna Nii-san was our idol. He was our hero!" Karin has an infatuated expression on her face. Ahem Kushina clears her throat. "It''s gettingte. Your father and grandfather are already here." She interrupts the conversation. "We are back!" Minato''s and Naruto''s voice rings in their ears. "Wee back! Grandpa! Dad!" Himawari dashes towards the door. "Oh! It''s Hima-chan!" Minato picks her up and Naruto tickles her face. "My Hima-chan is the best. Look how much she loves dad!" Naruto pampers Himawari. ------------- A/N:- Bonus chapter in morning! Chapter 263: Shinobi Soccer Chapter 263: Shinobi Ser A/N:- Yo! The bonus chapter. Had to present in an online meet in the morning. ****************** ---Present time Konoha---- ''Hah! Two years have passed since Minato and Kushina san''s revival. Various things have happened during these two years. I havepletely mastered my Rinne-Sharingan. Now, I can use 50 percent of its power with no side-effect on my body. Any more and I am afraid I will overexert myself and my chakra system will blow up like an inted balloon. Also, Mei''s constant hard work for the past five years has finally paid off. The vige has groomed Chojuro as her sessor and next month will be our wedding ceremony. She will officially settle in Konoha and her father will temporarily take over the leadership of the vige. As for the situation of the main cast, all the members of the Konoha 11 are chunnins now. No major incident happened during this time. The vige is peaceful as ever. But What''s with this current situation?!'' "Here I go? Yoshaa!!" Tsunade aims towards his head and kicks the ser ball with her full strength. "Izuna Onii-chan! Watch out!" Ayaka warns him from the spectators. Hah Izuna raises his hand and catches the ball. Aww He feels a numbing sensation across his wrist. ''If it was anybody else, they would surely suffer a concussion. Tsunade''s strength is sky-rocketing day by day. What the f*** is Uzumaki family feeding her?'' Izuna grimaces in pain. Tsk Tsunade clicks her tongue. "I thought I had him this time." "Nope! Not a chance!" Izuna passes the ball to Sasuke. "Go for it! Sasuke Nii-chan!" Ayaka cheers for Sasuke. "You can do it too, Hinata Onee-san!" Hanabi cheers for Hinata. ''Well! As you can see, this is the situation. I am ying a match of shinobi ser with the gang. Ser isn''t a popr game among shinobis, only the civilian kids are engaged in it. Can''t help! Given the abilities of Shinobi kids, a normal ser game won''t entertain them much. So, one and half years ago, I came up with Shinobi Ser. Since then, it has be a popr sport among shinobi kids. It is one of the main events of the Konoha Annual Sports Meet.'' Izuna turns his attention to the field as he watches the opponent team''s effort to tackle Sasuke. Now, for the current match. Well, it started with a small misunderstanding in hot spring to this full-blown war. They quickly divided teams into Men Vs Women. The members of the Man''s team are Minato-san the Captain, Guy, Itachi, Shisui, Asuma, Neji, Lee, Kiba, Naruto, Sasuke, and Me. The women''s side has Kushina Nee-san as the Captain, Tsunade, Mei, Shizune, Anko, Izumi, Tenten, Hinata, Ino, Sakura, and Karin. Yup Karin! I found her during the chunnin exams held in Kirigakure. She participated in chunnin exams from Kusagakure. Initially, Kusa was against Karin''s return to Konoha; but it only took some negotiations from me to convince them. Now, she is a part of the Uzumaki household. Kushina Nee-san has a sweet spot for cuteness and Karin quickly filled that spot. It also may be because of her Uzumaki lineage and sad backstory. "Now for this current situation, the real culprit" Izuna raises his head and gazes at the spectators. A white-haired pervert is holding a camera and is constantly clicking pictures. "Haha I will add this to my collection. A picture of Tsunade in bloomers. I will treasure it for the rest of my life." Jiraiya has a perverted expression on his face as he constantly clicks more images. Sigh "I will it pass this time. Also, Maybe I can No! No! What am I even thinking? I have to focus on the game." Izuna shakes his head and focuses his attention on the ongoing game. ''Shinobi Ser is simr to normal Ser in the sense that both sides have eleven yers, but there are no extras. I have expanded the yground to almost thrice the size of a normal ser field to keep up with the speed and stamina. Also, to ensure fairness, ninja abilities aren''t allowed during the game. Thus, I created a sealing tag to restrict the infusion of chakra. So, the yers won''t be able to use any Ninjutsu and Genjutsu during the match. However'' Sasuke passes the ball to Minato who dashes towards the goal post of the opposing side. He aims the football towards the post and prepares to kick it. "MINATO! If you dare to score a goal, then there won''t be any dinner for you." Kushina shouts from the opposite corner. "WHAT?!" Minato is stunned for a second. Mei uses this opportunity to snatch the ball and pass it to Anko. "Hey! That''s unfair, Mom!" Naruto grumbles. "Everything is fair in love and war, dear! And this here is a war." Anko passes the ball to Kushina, who dashes towards Izuna to score a goal. "Is that so?!" Izuna raises an eyebrow. "Then don''t mind if I y dirty." Whoosh Izuna takes out a wine bottle from his storage. "Tsunade! If you help me score a goal, then this vintage wine from Land of Noodles is yours." "What?! Vintage Wine!" Tsunade''s eyes glow. "But that would be" she falters. Seeing her hesitation, Izuna ups the stakes. "I will make it two!" He takes out another bottle from his storage. "These are limited wines. There are only a hundred bottles of them. Initially, I was going to use this wine during my wedding but now you can get a chance to drink it in advance." Izuna shakes the bottle in front of her. Gulp Tsunade gulps her saliva and drool leaks from her mouth. "Alright! Just don''t forget your promise." She turns to Kushina and dashes towards her. "This wine will be mine." "Oh No! Tsunade-sama has betrayed us." Shizune anxiously stares at Tsunade. "Haah!" Tsunade steals the ball from Kushina and dashes towards the goal. Shizune clenches her fists and prepares to block the ball. Hah! Tsunade delivers a roundhouse kick, and the ball is sent spinning towards the right side of the goalpost. "I will block it." Shizune dives towards the right to block the ball. Huhu "You weren''t even born Shizune when I had mastered the art of kicking," Tsunade smirks as the ball curves and changes its trajectory to left. Brr A shiver runs down Jiraiya''s buttocks. He rubs his butt and murmurs. "Why does my butt hurt suddenly?" Whistle Kakashi whistles to announce the end of the match. "Team Minato wins the match with a score of 1-0. It''s a loss for Team Kushina." "Yeah! We won!" Naruto cheers happily and jumps around in the ground. "Well! that was easy!" Izuna brushes his hand and walks towards the rest of the group. "Humph You are sleeping on the couch tonight." Mei snorts and turns away. "Well! That was anti-climactic." He turns to Minato. "Minato-san, why don''t we spend our night at Yakiniku-Q. I will pay for the dinner." "Seems like a good idea." Minato nods his head. "Then it''s decided. It will be a Boys Night out tonight." Izuna drags the rest of the group with him. "Hey! Don''t forget about me." Jiraiya shamelessly joins the fray. "It''s Boys Night Out! Not an Old Man Gathering!" Izuna bickers with Jiraiya. "Humph who are you calling an old man. My heart is still young." Jiraiya ignores Izuna''s gaze. "Youth! This is youth!" Guy clenches his fists. "" -------------- Later at Night, "Humph if these men can celebrate, then so, can we?" Kushina holds ady''s only meeting in her house. Ayaka serves them tea. "Then let''s celebrate Lady''s Night out." Tsunade sips her tea. "Hmph Tsunade-Sensei! We lost the match because of you." Kushinains. "Now! Now! Don''t sweat the small stuff!" Tsunade waves her hand and brushes the topic. "Since Yakiniku-Q is reserved by man; why don''t we visit Kirigakure''s restaurant? "Yep! That''s a good idea." Swoosh Mei and Kushina fork out a sealing tag. "Hold us tightly! These Flying Thunder Sealing Tags can only carry 6 people at a time." -------------- Swirl A portal opens outside Konoha and three people walk out of it. In the Yakiniku-Q restaurant, Izuna raises his head and gazes in the portal''s direction. "A temporal Shift? Who could it be?" Chapter 264: A Well-Planned Story Chapter 264: A Well-nned Story Swirl A portal radiated with blue energy opens in mid-air outside Konoha''s barrier. Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh Three figure plops out from the portal. Swoosh One of the tall figures performs a somersault and grabs the smallest figure among them. Whoosh The three figures safelynd on the ground. "My head is so dizzy. I feel like puking." Boruto clutches his forehead and dashes towards a nearby bush. Bleurgh Bleurgh He pukes out his breakfast and feels light-headed. Aww Aww "My head still hurts. Bleurgh" He pukes again. Tatsuya also grabs his head as he feels dizzy. Hah! He falls on the ground and takes support against a tree. Adult Sasuke clutches his forehead for a while before he regains a little bit of hisposure. "I am pretty used to dimensional travels. So, spatial shifts are normal for me. But this is my first time undergoing a temporal shift, and it''s the same feeling when I did my first dimensional shift." Sasuke takes a deep breath to ease his nerves. He turns towards Tatsuya and Boruto with concern. "You two? Are you alright?!" "Haah Haah I am fine. Just a bit dizzy and nauseous." Tatsuya takes a deep breath to calm his nerves. He tries to assure Sasuke but his pale face says otherwise. "I know a little about Spatial and temporalws. Father taught me many Space-time Ninjutsus. So, I will be fine after some rest." Tatsuya closes his eyes to rx. "Check on Boruto!! This is his first time leaping through Space and time. His condition is worse than mine." "Alright!" Whoosh Sasuke flickers towards Boruto and gently ces his hand on Boruto''s back. "Are you alright, Boruto?!" Boruto weakly turns to Sasuke. "Uncle Sasuke! My head is throbbing with pain, and it seems like my chakra is in disarray. Bleurgh" Boruto vomits some blood and passes away. "BORUTO!" Sasuke quickly infuses some Nature energy into Boruto''s body to rejuvenate him. But, despite his efforts, Boruto''s condition doesn''t change at all. "This kid! If I knew such a thing would happen, I would have left him behind. Sigh" Sasuke sighs in remorse. "He needs immediate medical attention." Sasuke ces Boruto on his shoulders and walks towards Tatsuya. "Can you move?!" "I can." Tatsuya nods his head. Crack He chops a branch from a nearby tree and uses it to support himself. "Before we make a move First, we need to know where and at which time are we?" Sasuke grabs hold of Karasuki and questions him. "Which time period is this? And where are we?" "Understood! This is three years prior to start of the Fourth Shinobi War, and currently, we are in past Konoha." Karasuki answers Sasuke''s question. "I see." Sasuke nods his head. Swoosh He stores away Karasuki and walks towards Konoha. "Currently, there are only two people present in Konoha who can help Boruto in his condition." Sasuke remarks. "You mean! Tsunade-San and Dad!" Tatsuya spectes. "Yes! Their Medical skills are ahead of their time. I am sure Boruto will make a full recovery under their care. But first" Konoha''s gigantic entrance appears in their vision. " We have to enter Konoha to seek them." Both of them continue to walk towards Konoha. "We can''t enter Konoha in our current appearance. Your Anbu outfit will instantly rm them." Sasuke warns. ''I am currently out of chakra. So, I can''t use my Rinnegan. It will take another 30 hours for me to recover my chakra, but Boruto can''t wait that long. Otherwise, I could easily manipte the memories of these gatekeepers. "I know!" Swoosh Tatsuya immediately changes his appearance to that of a peddler. He tightly wraps some bandages around his right leg and left arm. "Ah!" Sasuke speechlessly stares at Tatsuya as it suddenly reminds of Izuna. ''Why does it feel like dj vu? Izuna Nii-san will use such transformation to infiltrate and somehow they always work.'' "Sasuke-san! Both of us are peddlers from a nearby vige. We were on our way to Konoha to sell our goods, but halfway through our journey we were attacked by bandits and all of our goods were stolen by them. We escaped from the fervent pursuit of bandits and came to Konoha to ask for help." Tatsuya fabricates a story. "" Sasuke and Izuna turn speechless to hear this story. Izuna is hiding his presence using one of his Rinne-Sharingan abilities. "Kuninotokotachi" It''s one of his unique Rinnegan abilities derived from the Light Aspect. With this ability, Izuna can create a thought projection. This thought projection can travel through all sorts of restrictions and barriers without any inhibition. Since this thought projection has no mass and soul, it can''t be detected through any sort of means. ''Perhaps even another Rinnegan won''t be able to see it. Though I have yet to testify this im.'' Izuna shakes his head and turns to the trio. The moment Izuna sensed the disturbance in temporal and spatialws, he sent his thought projection to inspect the situation. ''I can recognize Boruto and Sasuke. But this other guy, he looks simr to me and Mei. Looks like he is our son.'' A smile bloom on Izuna''s face. "I have to make sure the future me is teaching my son well. I will personally test how far my son has progressed?" A devilish smile appears on Izuna''s face who is sipping some alcohol in Yakiniku-Q. H "What''s with that stupid smile on your face?" Jiraiya interrupts his thoughts. "Nothing much! I was just wondering about the pictures you took this morning?" Gulp Jiraiya instantly sobers up. "Pictures?! What pictures?" I don''t have such sort of thing." Jiraiya hurriedly denies the im. "Oh!" Izuna rolls his eyes. "Maybe! I was imagining things." Izuna brushes aside the topic and takes another sip of sake. "That must be it!" Jiraiya heaves a sigh of relief. ''Damn! This closet pervert!" Jiraiya scoffs internally. ''Let''s get back to the trio''s situation. For now, I don''t have any intention of helping any of them. For starters, I dislike that snotty personality of Boruto. From the manga and anime, Boruto acts like a spoiled-brat, totally different from Naruto who just acted mischievously to seek attention. Also, it is kinda fun to watch them.'' Izuna smiles sheepishly. ---------- Back at the Konoha entrance, "Halt!" Izumo and Kotetsu block Sasuke''s and Tatsuya''s path. "Visitors aren''t allowed at this hour!" Izumo sternly warns them. "The visiting time is between 6 am to 10 pm. It''s already past that time." Kotetsu adds. He notices Tatsuya and Sasuke''s dpidated looks and stays indifferent. Such transformations weremon for enemy invaders. They will appear harmless and helpless on the surface but will stab you the instant you lower guard. Izumo and Kotetsu were on high alert. Kotetsu has a re in his hand. He was ready to release it the moment Tatsuya and Sasuke showed any sign of aggression. "Please help us! Konoha shinobis please help us." Tatsuya weakly staggers towards them. "He?!" Izumo and Kotetsu draw their kunai, ready to attack him any moment. BAM Tatsuya stumbles on a rock and face nts on the dirt near the entrance. "This!" Izumo and Kotetsu stare at each other. ''Does he really need help?'' Both of them silently converses with each other. ''I will check on him. Meanwhile, you maintain your guard. Any suspicious activity and immediately release the re.'' Kotetsu volunteers. ''Alright!'' Izumo clenches the re in his left hand with a kunai in his right hand. "I will help you." Kotetsu carefully walks towards Tatsuya. He ces his left hand on Tatsuya''s back and helps him stand. ''Let me check his chakrawork. If he is a civilian, then there will be no reaction if I circte my chakra through his body.'' Kotetsu releases his chakra in Tatsuya''s body, who seems to be impervious to his intentions. ''Hmm! There is no chakra flow in his body which means he is a civilian.'' Tatsuya narrates his ''story'' to Izumo and Kotetsu. Sigh Kotetsu sighs slightly and walks towards Sasuke. "I am sorry but we have to check your bodies before we allow you entry into the vige. It''s the rule of the vige" "We are fine with it." Sasuke nods his head. Kotetsupletes his inspection and signals to Izumo. Haah Izumo sighs in relief and gestures for them to enter. "Come in. I am sure you people are looking for the hospital. It''s that way." He points the general direction of Konoha hospital. "Thank you very much." Sasuke thanks them and enters Konoha. All this time Izuna silently monitors them. The trio reaches an isted valley. "Phew! That was close!" Tatsuya removes a seal from his wrist. Sasuke also removes a simr seal from his and Boruto''s wrist. "Thankfully, we had these chakra suppression seals." ''These are!! Fuck! Wait, a sec! Hold on!'' Izuna''s eyes open wide in astonishment. ''Don''t they look simr to my chakra suppression seal used during the Shinobi Ser?'' Izuna exims in surprise. "Let head to Konoha hospital to treat Boruto. Also, we need a ce to settle and ess the situation." Sasuke ns. "Alright!" Tatsuya nods his head. Chapter 265: I Learned from the Best Chapter 265: I Learned from the Best A/N:- Sorry for the dy. I changed my ssd and it took me some time. -------------------- "That was some nice acting skill out there." Sasuke apuds Tatsuya. "Of course, I learned from the best." Tatsuya nods his head. "" Izuna and Sasuke roll their eyes. ''Still, I have to say that was an Oscar-winning performance right there?'' Izuna nods his head in satisfaction. ''For now, I can only follow them around like this. Once the party is over, I will settle their business.'' Sasuke takes out Karasuki and questions him. "We are already in the past. Where is Urashiki? There are no signs of him present here. Given his power, he should have already turned this ce upside down." Sasuke questions the turtle. "Master Urashiki fell from the temporal bubble midway, so his destination is a bit altered. ording to my calctions, he will arrive a monthter." Karasuki replies to them. "That''s a relief to hear!" Sasuke and Tatsuya heave a sigh of relief. "If he were to appear now, I am afraid we won''t be able to hold against him. If it''s a month, then we have enough time to n a counterattack." Sasuke nods his head. "But first" He turns to Tatsuya. "I will look for a ce to settle." Tatsuya nods his head in understanding. "Then, let me take Boruto to the hospital." Both of them decide to split up. ''If that''s the case, then'' Swoosh Another thought projection of Izuna appears beside him. The second projection follows Sasuke. Whoosh Tatsuya hides his presence using Anbu techniques and flickers through the vige. Soon, he arrives in front of arge inn and enters a nearby alley. "I can''t use the money from the future here. It might lead to some severe consequences. I have to think of another way." Creak Tatsuya enters the inn. "Wee!" a female attendant greets him. "I will reserve three rooms with food and other necessities for a month." "Sure!" The attendant takes out a calctor from the drawer. "That will be 50,000 Ryo." The attendant turns to Tatsuya. "Please deposit the cash in advance." She has an amiable smile on her face. Sigh ''I don''t mean to do this. But I have no choice.'' Shiing Tatsuya activates his Sharingan. "Genjutsu: Sharingan" He casts a Genjutsu on the attendant and all the nearby people. "Thanks for your patronage." The attendant smiles at him and passes the keys to him. "These are the keys to your room." "Thank you!" Tatsuya grabs the keys and walks upstairs. ----------- On Sasuke''s side, Whoosh Sasuke appears at the entrance of the Konoha hospital. "Emergency! It''s an emergency. Please help!" He hurriedly enters the hospital while carrying Boruto on his shoulder. "Let me check." Coincidently, Sayori enters the room. (She is from Chapter 113. Aftermath Part-1) "Please!" Sasuke gently ces Boruto on a nearby bed. Sayori gently grabs Boruto''s wrist and checks his pulse. She inspects his eyes and ces her hand on his forehead to circte some chakra. Her expression turns ugly. "His condition is quite critical. Shift him to the emergency ward!" Sayori immediately orders nearby medic nins. "Tch My medical knowledge isn''t enough to treat him. Only Shizune-san or Tsunade-san can treat him." Sayori clicks her tongue. "But but they aren''t present here." She sighs in helplessness. Sayori notices Sasuke''s ugly expression and immediately shakes her head. "Don''t worry, I will immediately send someone to look for Tsunade-sama. Tsunade-sama is the current Hokage, so she won''t visit the hospital that often. Usually, such a situation is hard toe by. It may not seem like it, but I am the best Medic-Nin after Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san." She tries to assure Sasuke. "I I see." Sasuke slightly nods his head. ''Looks like I can only search for Izuna Nii-san and ask him for help. I have to avoid the present me at all cost.'' Sasuke walks out of the Konoha hospital. Whoosh He jumps on top of an electricity pole and turns towards the Uchihapounds. Whoosh Sasuke disappears from his ce and flickers towards the Uchihapound. "Sasuke-san! How did it go?" Tatsuya appears beside him. Sasuke shakes his head. "We can only ask Izuna Nii-san for help. He is our only hope." Both of them avoid the members of the Konoha Police Force patrolling the n and sneaks into the n district. Whoosh They flicker towards Izuna''s house. "If my memory serves me right, it should be there!" Soon, they appear in front of Izuna''s house. "This is Grandpa''s house." Tatsuya curiously stares at the house. Many things happened in the future, and Konoha has to rebuild a few times. As such, the present Konoha is vastly different from the future Konoha. He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and inspects the house. There is a dense barrier present around the house. Numerous Fuinjutsu seals are carved into the barrier. "Sasuke-san! Be careful! There are many Fuinjutsu seals here." Tatsuya warns Sasuke. "If that''s the case, we can only wait till morning!" Sasuke sighs helplessly. "Wait! Maybe I can bypass few seals. Dad taught me a lot of things, including Fuinjutsu." Tatsuya chimes in. "Then go ahead and give it a try. If it gets dangerous, then retreat." Sasuke gives the green signal. Meanwhile, The real Izuna is staring at them while floating in the air. The party is already over and he came to settle them. "Oh! Now I am curious to know how much has he learned." Izuna acts like a doting father who is curious to see his son takes his first step. Swish swish swish Tatsuya makes several hand signs and ms his hand on the invisible barrier. Swoosh Several seals crawl out of his hand and cover the barrier. After half an hour, Huff Huff Tatsuya breathes heavily as he stares at the barrier. "This is a Sage level Formation. Although I have yet to reach that level, I am not far from it. Still, I have deactivated most of the seals in this area and we can safely enter the barrier." Tatsuya takes a deep breath and turns to Sasuke. "Well done!" Sasuke nods his head. ''Not bad!'' Izuna smiles slightly. ''But it''s not enough. Do you think the barrier which took me over a year to create is a joke? You only disabled the outeryer; the real barrier is still hidden. If Sasuke had his Rinnegan, he might be able to see the hidden danger.'' Izuna shakes his head in disappointment. ''Never mind, I will allow you in. I have tested you enough!'' "That''s Izuna Nii-san''s room." Sasuke points towards a room on the first floor. Whoosh They appear near the window. Shiing Tatsuya activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and both of them enter the room with their guard up. "He is not here." Tatsuya and Sasuke stare at the empty room. Whoosh They jump out of the room and reappear near the entrance. "Oh! What a surprise!" Fugaku and Yagami stare at Tatsuya and Sasuke who appeared out of nowhere. "You people are?!" Fugaku has a stern expression on his face. ''Father?! Uncle?!'' Sasuke starts to sweat bullets as he notices Fugaku. Meanwhile, The thought projection of Izuna is cracking up. ''Now what will you do, Sasuke? You may be stronger than your dad, but he is still your dad. And Uncle Fugaku particrly has that ever-present frown on his face. It makes his face hard to read.'' "Erm! We are working for Izuna-san. We came to deliver some intel." Tatsuya hurriedly handles the situation. "Oh!" Yagami nods his head. Both of them ignore Sasuke and Tatsuya and enter the house. "" Tatsuya and Sasuke speechlessly stare at them. "Aren''t you afraid, we are spies?" Tatsuya mumbles to them. "Is that so?!" Fugaku and Yagami turn towards them. Both of them activate their Mangekyo Sharingan and sternly stare at them. Eek Tatsuya freaks out to see them. He is not afraid of their power, but rather of their identity. Both of them are his grand uncles who took care of him during his childhood. But he is still curious to learn the reason. Haha Fugaku and Yagamiugh lightly. "You got us there. H How can any spy enter this ce? Izuna-kun''s ce is the safest in the entire Konoha. If an enemy can infiltrate this house and by now, he would have leveled Konoha." Yagami lightly pats Tatsuya''s shoulder. Heh! Tatsuya and Sasuke speechlessly stare at them. ''Both of them are drunk.'' "Let''s invite Akira for a drink. Since kids out there are enjoying themselves, we old fellows might as well. H" Both of them knock at the door and a momentter Akira walks out of the house. Sasuke and Tatsuya hide their presence as they speechlessly stare at the house. "That was a close call!" Sasuke heaves a sigh of relief. "They are as scary as ever!" "Since there is nothing much we can do here. Let''s return to the inn and search for him in the morning." "Looking for me!" Whoosh Izuna appears beside them. AH! Tatsuya and Sasuke freak out at Izuna''s sudden appearance. Chapter 266: Like Father Like Son Chapter 266: Like Father Like Son "Dad?! Nii-san!" They stare at Izuna with varied emotions. "Woah! Let''s hold on for now!" Izuna immediately stops them. "What will people think if I have an eighteen-year-old son and a thirty-two-year-old younger brother?" Izuna rolls his eyes. "You three being present here has already messed up the timeline." "I I see." Tatsuya and Sasuke calm down. They look at their surroundings and turn their attention to Izuna. "Phew! That was a close call." Sasuke heaves a sigh of relief. Hmm Izuna scrutinizes Tatsuya as thetter anxiously stands at the spot. "You took your looks from me, but your hairs are after Mei. I will give you a score of 10 out of 10 for your handsome looks. As for you earlier performance, 5 points for your courage and 1 point for your foolish execution." Ah! "Well!" Tatsuya scratches his head in embarrassment. Izuna''s expression turns stern, and he harshly rebukes Tatsuya. "You fool! Do you think a Sage level Fuinjutsu formation is so easy to solve that any Tom, Dick, and Harry can crack it? Here! Take a look!" Izuna waves his hand. Shoom The Fuinjutsu formation around the house appears in front of them. "Take a closer look at the Fuinjutsu seals and tell me, do you understand where you made a mistake? If not for me disabling the rest of the formation, I won''t be bantering here with you." Gulp Tatsuya gulps his saliva and inspects the seals. His expression changes change from trepidation to fear, then to amazement and wonder, to finally that of relief. "This sealing formation is really amazing. I I only deciphered the outeryer." Tatsuya lowers his head in shame as he stares at Izuna''s toes; his face turns red in embarrassment. Pfft Haha Izuna cracks up at his expression and pats his head. "I am not angry at you. It''s just that I am ashamed of myself. I didn''t teach you well." ''Also, I always wanted to say that catchphrase.'' Izuna shakes his head. He turns to Sasuke. "There must be a valid reason for you three to be here." Swoosh A portal appears behind the group and sucks them in. Swoosh The portal opens in the new headquarters of In-Y. "Let''s talk here. No one will disturb us here." Hmm Izuna and Sasuke look around in surprise. "Isn''t this our headquarters?" Tatsuya wonders in surprise. "I am also amazed that Nii-san created this ce this early?" Sasuke stares at the small dimension in wonder. In the future, this ce has be one of the most important strategic forts of the shinobi world. Although, this ce currently looks deste; in the future, it is gigantic enough to upy an entire vige. "It''s just empty husk for now. Let''s sit and talk business." Swish Izuna waves his hand and three chairs and a table appear in front of them. "Now tell me the reason for your arrival in the past? I am sure you already know this, but Time Travel is for Immortals and Fools." Izuna ces his hand under his chin as his expression turns grave. "And I am sure you both aren''t immortals, so do the rest of the math yourself." "Well!" Sasuke and Tatsuya''s faces turn red from embarrassment. "Izuna Nii-san? It''s not what you think it is? There is a very powerful enemy traveling through time to hunt Naruto" "Oh you mean Urashiki Otsutsuki!" "Yes!" Sasuke nods his head. "Wait!" "You already knew about it." Tatsuya and Sasuke stare at him in amazement. "Nii-san is as amazing as ever! He never fails to surprise us." Sasuke sighs in wonder. ''Well!! To be honest, I am that cool kid who read the story and already knows the spoilers.'' Izuna curiously stares at them. ''Though the story has changed a little due to the appearance of new characters. Still, I wonder just how powerful is this version of Urashiki and why my future self didn''t interfere. I will hold my curiosity on this one or I might erase an entire timeline by mistake.'' Izuna makes a mental note. "Alright! Alright! Don''t reveal anything or the history might change." Izuna prevents them from speaking further. "Let''s get to the matter at hand. Boruto would be fine. I already informed Tsunade of his condition. She will take care of him." Izuna assures them. Hmm Adult Sasuke curiously stares at Izuna. "Nii-san! Since when did you know of our arrival?" ''Way before you were born. I can''t say that, can I?'' "I sensed some disturbance in the temporal and spatial coordinates earlier. So, I hid my presence and arrived near the disturbance. There I saw you three hopping out of the temporal field. You three must have used some sort of artifact to protect yourself or else the temporalws might have already deaged you to dust." Izuna states the facts. "Yes, we used an Otsutsuki artifact." Sasuke forks out Karasuki from his storage. Hmm Izuna examines the turtle-shaped artifact. "Master Izuna! I am Karasuki, a device meant for temporal shifts." Karasuki trembles a little upon noticing Izuna''s gaze. ''Huh! Am I seeing things, or is it just a figment of my imagination? Why is this artifact shaking upon noticing me? It''s a relic of the past and a prized artifact of Otsutsuki. It might be my imagination.'' "So, you used this artifact to travel through time? It sure requires a lot of chakra." Mm Sasuke nods his head. "Nii-san?! If you noticed us the very instance we arrived here, that means you" "Ah Yes! Yes! Don''t mind the small stuff. I already knew what I should know." Izuna waves his hand. "For now! You both should return to your inn and rx. The temporal shift took a toll on your body. I will settle you tomorrow. And here" Izuna takes out a stack of Ryo and passes it to Tatsuya. "That''s 300,000 Ryo. It should be enough tost you for a month. If not, you can ask me for more, but in the future, I will cut this from your pocket money." "Please don''t." Tatsuya pales. Haha "I was joking." Izuna waves his hand. "I knew it." Tatsuya has a deadpan expression. Sasuke stares at their antics and rolls his eyes. ''Like Father, like son!" Whoosh Tatsuya and Sasuke flicker towards the inn. "Sasuke! Wait!" Izuna stops Sasuke. "Is something wrong, Nii-san?" Adult Sasuke turns to Izuna. "Yes! Out of the three time-travelers, you are the sole person whose past self is present here. So, don''t interact with your past self, or else it will create a paradox and it might erase one of you from the timeline. You know the rest of the details." "Yes!" Adult Sasuke solemnly nods his head. "Also, I can still see that you haven''tpletely mastered your Rinnegan yet. Seems like you have been cking in your training. Come to the training ground 4 tomorrow at sharp 7 am. Understood!" "Yes!" Sasuke straightens his back. "Good! Go and have some rest for now." Izuna waves his hand and dismisses him. Whoosh Sasuke flickers away. Hmm ''I got some clues about the future from their presence here. I can only specte about it in my mind. Even my thinking of this matter will drastically affect the future. Fuck! Time travel is such a pain in the ass.'' "For now, I want to sleep. I will think about itter." Yawn ------------- Back at the inn, Tatsuya pays the money for a night and returns to his room. He sits on his bed and takes out a picture of Izuna and Mei with a ten-year-old kid in their arms. The kid looks exactly like Izuna''s past self. Izuna''s features are a bit more prominent. He still has his young appearance, but his body is a little bulky and his muscles are evenly toned. Mei is still tall and slender but there are some slight changes in her personality which are apparent from her posture. She is gently hugging Tatsuya and there is motherly love in her gaze. Sob Tatsuya wipes tears from his eyes and pockets the picture. "After ten years, I finally got to meet you. Even if it is your past self! You are still that strict and grumpy father of mine. Though I prefer this past self-more!" Tatsuyains a little. He takes out a small diary and writes about his encounter with Izuna. "Mother! I will write about all of my adventures with father. When I return you can read them any time you want." After finishing his writing, he stores the diary in his storage scroll as a small heart shape box rolls out in front of him. "How silly of me! I even forgot to pass Aunt Ayaka''s present to dad." He ces the box on the table. "I will pass it to him in the morning." Sigh Sasuke sighs to himself as he witnesses Tatsuya from the opposite room. "Nii-san! Wherever you are, please return home. Your family is waiting for you at home." Chapter 267: Sunder Release Chapter 267: Sunder Release Next day in the Morning, In the training ground Number four, Sasuke and Tatsuya have baggy eyes as they silently wait for Izuna. Whoosh Izuna arrives at the training ground half an hourter than the promised time. "You guys are quite early!" He observes Tatsuya and Sasuke. Both of them have pale faces and bloodshot eyes. "Looks like you didn''t sleep well." He chuckles and takes out two bento boxes from his storage. "I am sure you guys didn''t have breakfast yet, so I asked Mom to prepare two extra Bentos for you." He hands them over to Tatsuya and Sasuke. "Let''s talk while we eat. I have a couple of questions for you." Tatsuya and Sasuke grab the boxes and gobble down the food. Mmm Izuna nods his head and takes out another bento to eat with them. "Okay! My first question is about Urashiki Otsutsuki. How strong he is and what are his abilities?" Izuna straightforwardly asks about the enemy''s info. Tatsuya and Sasuke stare at him with an odd look and Sasuke question him. "Nii-san! Aren''t you already aware of Urashiki''s information? Crunch Izuna takes a bite of rice balls and answers them. "Don''t give me that look. It''s true I know about Urashiki but I only know about his name and nothing else. His abilities are still unknown to me. You should be aware of the fact that there are four Otsutsuki ruins. I have explored three of them and they are my source of intel on Otsutsuki." "Oh! That makes sense." Tatsuya and Sasuke nod their head. Sasuke takes a deep breath and replies. "To be honest, we don''t know the full extent of Urashiki''s abilities. He is just too slippery and cunning. The other Otsutsuki utilized brute force to capture and destroy us and but Urashiki, on the other hand, is quite wary of us. He always looks for an opening and strikes at our weak points." Sasuke has an honest expression on his face. "However, he has some weird escape abilities. When he is caught in a pinch, he can transform his body into various red color chakra orizuru and escape. It''s simr to Substitution jutsu, but he bes untraceable for the next few seconds and can avoid detection from all sorts of detection. Also, he is an expert puppet master. He wields a special chakra fishing rod that can hook other''s chakra and turn it into chakra pills for him to replenish his chakra. Then, most importantly, he possesses a pair of Byakugan and Rinnegan. I am not sure if these abilities are rted to his Rinnegan or some Otsutsuki techniques." Sasuke briefs him on Urashiki''s known abilities. "I see. That helps a lot. Now tell me about your Mangekyo abilities. Those will prove to be useful while developing a strategy." Izuna nods his head. The group finishes their breakfast and Izuna creates a barrier to witness their abilities. "First off, you Sasuke!" Izuna turns to Sasuke. Sasuke exins his abilities to Izuna. ''So, most of his abilities are the same as the original. Except for Kagutsuchi: me Control. He can manipte every kind of fire technique with his right eye, not just the Amaterasu mes. Though I have yet to see his Rinnegan abilities.'' Izuna curiously turns to Tatsuya. ''I am really curious about his Mangekyo abilities.'' "Alright then! I will show you the results of my harsh training." Tatsuya eagerly confronts Izuna. He never got a chance to showcase his abilities to his father, but now he got a chance to do so. Although, his father isn''t his father yet. Shiing Tatsuya activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Be ready, Dad! Attack me with all you got." Tatsuya curls his finger and taunts Izuna. "Hoh! You are asking for a beating brat!" Izuna has a wide smile on his face. Sasuke walks to a nearby stone and rests on top of it. He takes out a bag of popcorn from his storage and spectates Izuna''s and Tatsuya''s battle with excitation evident in his eyes. ''It has been a while since Ist saw Nii-san in action. Thankfully, I always carry my trusty popcorn snacks with me.'' Sasuke takes a handful of popcorn and stuffs them in his mouth. ''These popcorns are quite a lifesaver and had saved me from hunger countless times in other dimensions. I always stock up on them whenever I return to Konoha.'' ''Well, that''s bullshit! But they still taste quite good.'' "You sure have grown some guts, little guy!" Izuna has a smile on his face as he instantly blinks in front of Tatsuya. "Leaf Hurricane: Whirlwind" Izuna delivers a series of low and high kicks at an incredulous pace. "Bring it on, Old Man!" Tatsuya has a smile on his face. "Leaf Coiling: Reverse Whirlwind" Tatsuya delivers a low reverse roundhouse kick to kill Izuna''s momentum and counter his move. Bang Both of their kicks sh with each other. Rumble Rumble The ground beneath their feet trembles, and cracks appear on it. "Not bad! Let''s raise it a notch, shall we?" Izuna nods his head and jumps back. "Then what about this?" HAAAH!! Izuna clenches his fist. "Eight Inner Gates: Gate of View: OPENNN!!" SHOOMMM Izuna immediately opens the sixth gate. Due to the immense amount of chakra, he releases a shock wave from his body, which cracks nearby rock and boulders and creates a crater around him. Hah! Sasuke stretches his left arm and creates a barrier around himself to block the shockwaves. "It''s my turn, Dad!" HAAAHH!! Tatsuya clenches his fists tightly and riles up his chakra. "Eight Inner Gates: Gate of View: OPENNN!!" Whoosh Both of them disappear from their position and sh mid-air. BANG BANG BANG Multiple explosions and shock-waves release from their battle and spread through the training ground, wrecking it beyond recognition. Izuna takes a peacock stance and rapidly punches the air. "Asakujaku (Morning Peacock)" His punches create a peacock-like fan of mes in front of him. "Now watch me!" Tatsuya waves his arm and creates an air de. He grabs the de and takes a sword stance. "Yoakeha (de of Dawn)" Tatsuya rapidly swings the air de in front of him. Bang bang The air de creates multiple air pockets with high density in the shape of a de. These air des catch fire and travel forward with a sharp aura. BAM BAM The fire des collide with the fan of mes and split it in half. They continue to travel towards Izuna. "Not bad at all! You created a unique technique to focus on the sheer firepower of the sixth gate. Asakujaku is a technique meant to be used at closebat but your Yoakeha removes that weakness and turns it not a long-range attack." He dispels the fire des with a wave of his hand. "You have passed my Taijutsu test. That new technique was a pleasant surprise for me." Izuna nods his head in satisfaction. "Next up is your Ninjutsu skills. Feel free to use any technique you like. Let me see your full strength." Izuna nonchntly stands at his position. "Are you sure?!" Tatsuya asks in trepidation. "Yes, I am sure of it. Now stop dilly dallying and hit me with whatever you got." Izuna curls his fingers and taunts Tatsuya. "You asked for it." Tatsuya ps his hand. Crackle crackle Purple lightning crackles around his right hand whereas Fire engulfs his left hand. Haah He spews out a de of wind from his mouth. Crackle crackle The fire and lightningbine with the wind de and transform into a javelin. Tatsuya grabs the javelin and aims it towards Izuna. "Sunder Release: Valkyrie Enactment" Whoosh The javelin tears through the air, leaving a trail of vacuum behind it. BOOM BOOM It releases deafening supersonic waves as it propels towards Izuna. Izuna gasps in astonishment as he stares at the iing de. His first thought being. ''Damn! I have to admit defeat. It''s so cool. Why didn''t I think of it first? This jutsu! Not only does it have the firepower of Fire and Lightning Release; it also has the kic force of the wind release. It has very high prative power and can even drill a hole in a Sage level Sealing Formation. But that''s not all, it will gain momentum the more it travels further and, on the impact, it will transfer all of its kic energy to the target in form of a sundering st which will tear apart through everything.'' Izuna''s expression changes as the jutsu close on him. ''Damn! I was so focused on its principle.'' "Susanoo: Yata on Kagami" BAM A colossal dark ck shield appears in front of him. BANG The shield absorbs the entire kic force of the javelin, leaving the vtile chakra behind. BOOM The chakra explodes on top of the shield, leaving a trail of destructionshed with fire and lightning. "He he blocked it." Tatsuya''s expression turns pale. He has used most of his chakra in hisst attack. ''Even if I can''t beat you, this jutsu should have left you in a rough state. But looks like I was dreaming.'' Tatsuya sighs in depression. ''In the end, I wasn''t able to impress father.'' Chapter 268: You Poor Soul Chapter 268: You Poor Soul "That was a pretty good move. I definitely felt that one." Izuna sincerely praises Tatsuya. "You have put some effort into your training. I am impressed!" Izuna pats Tatsuya''s shoulder. He transfers some of his chakra to Tatsuya. "Let''s keep going. Your Taijutsu and Ninjutsu skills are excellent, as for genjutsu, let''s not talk about that. Now! Fight me like your life depends on it. In a life and death battle, the opponent won''t sit idly and watch youplete your jutsu like an idiot." Shoom Izuna has a stern expression. He riles up his chakra. Rumble rumble The ground trembles beneath him and web-like cracks appear on it. "That''s what I was waiting for?" Tatsuya takes the initiative and makes the first move. Whoosh He takes out a kunai and aims it for Izuna''s blind spot. "Too bad for you, I don''t have a blind spot." Izuna turns around and blocks the kunai with one of his own. Swoosh Izuna performs a roundhouse kick to attack Tatsuya. Whoosh Tatsuya leaps on top of Izuna''s kick and dodges it. He gathers some chakra in his fist and aims a punch at his face. Bam Izuna blocks Tatsuya''s fist with his palm, easily dispelling the chakra. Bzzz Tatsuya releases some purple lightning to free his hand from Izuna''s grip. Aww Izuna waves his hand to shake the numbing sensation. Whoosh whoosh Tatsuya rapidly performs body flicker around Izuna, leaving multiple afterimages around him. Izuna silently stares at multiple afterimages hovering around him. "Is that a move from Shisui''s book?" Izuna raises an eyebrow. "Too bad! It''s quite easy to counter if you know the right technique." Izuna ms his palm on the ground. ''Artic Release: Life Reaping Spears" Shoom The surrounding temperature drops instantly and ice crystals start to rain. Swish swish swish Numerous ice spears with cold glint erupt from the ground. They pierce through all of Tatsuya''s afterimages and shadow clones. Haah Izuna makes a Ram hand sign. Sizzle The spears turn into blue mes and incinerate the clones and afterimages to dust. Bleurgh The real Tatsuya pukes out a mouthful of blood as the ming blue spear pierces through his gut. "As I said, it''s too easy to counter. Any wide-area jutsu will make a quick work of them. It''s only useful against arge number of enemies." Izuna shakes his head. "I have avoided your vitals, if I was an enemy, you would be dead by now." Tatsuya has a downcast expression as the ming spear burns through his body. "But! I will give a full score for the attempt." Izuna nods slightly. Tatsuya lifts his head and smirks. "Got you!" Whoosh Tatsuya''s body vanishes into an afterimage. "Huh?! What?!" Swoosh He instantly reappears behind Izuna. "Chidori: Raikiri de" Tatsuya stretches his palm and forms a lightning de. He aims the de for Izuna''s heart. Swirl Shiing Izuna''s eye pattern changes and he activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Amenominakanushi" Swoosh Time slows down around Izuna. He turns around and faces Tatsuya, who has an incredulous look on his face. "That was a pretty close call." Izuna slightly raises his hand to attack Tatsuya. But before he could attack Tatsuya, Whoosh Tatsuya disappears from his ce and appears at some distance from him. "What?! Again?!" Izuna has a slightly confused expression on his face. ''What was that now?! I should have absolute control over space and time in this area, so he shouldn''t be able to use any Space-Time ability but he still somehow blinked from his position.'' Izuna waves his hand and dispels the Space-Time field around him. He slowly walks towards Tatsuya, who is huffing for breath. "What was thatst move of yours? It felt like a space-time Ninjutsu but there weren''t any space fluctuations." "Eh?! That that''s the Mangekyo ability of my right eye." Tatsuya exins. "While using this ability, I can create space remnants of myself in another dimension. These remnants are invisible to the eyes and even Sasuke san''s Rinnegan can''t detect them. These space remnants can bypass the restrictions of space locking and can move freely through space. I can also instantly swap positions with them. When I do so, my body will return to its previous state present during the initial use of this technique though my chakra will be drained in the process. Earlier, in our fight, I intentionally used the Body-Flicker Jutsu as a feint to reveal a ''weakness''. You utilized the ''weakness'' to attack and subdue me. But that was part of my n. I had mixed some of my space remnants with the body flicker image and shadow clones. Your jutsu did not affect them and I purposely took the hit to bait you. You fell for the bait, but in the end, your guard was still up." Tatsuya has a wry smile on his face. "No! That was a clever move. It''s just that your opponent was me. Still, your Mangekyo ability is amazing." "Well! There is a drawback to this technique, swapping position while being critically wounded will destroy the remnant and I can only create four remnants for now. I have yet to master this ability." Tatsuya scratches his head in embarrassment. "Hmm your ability is a mix of Limbo, Substitution, and time-reversal. Also, what was that at the end? I thought I slowed the surrounding time, yet you were able to react on time." Izuna curiously stares at Tatsuya''s Mangekyo. ''He possesses Choku-tomoe Sharingan, just like me.'' "That''s the ability of my left eye. I don''t exactly know how it works, but after activating it I can see a few seconds in the future. It''s more like irvoyance. Also, it makes me immune to time-based abilities to an extent. I have yet to figure out the full extent of its potential." Tatsuya helplessly shakes his head. "" Izuna rolls his eyes. ''And here I thought, my Mangekyo abilities were broken. But my son has already surpassed me in this aspect.'' Izuna scrutinizes Tatsuya. ''His chakra reserves are normal. He can bepared to an elite Uzumaki member. Also, he doesn''t seem to possess the cockroach-like vitality of Hashirama. Looks like my boons didn''t pass to my offspring. It''s fine. Given his natural talent, he will surpass Grandpa Madara in a year or two.'' Izuna nods his head in satisfaction. "Earlier, I had some reservations regarding your abilities but now I am fully convinced of them." Izuna dispels the protective barrier set around the training ground. He gazes at the ruins of the training ground. "That''s quite a mess." Izuna ms his palm on the ground and fixes it with the wood release. "Tatsuya, I have training partners for you. They are almost the same age as you. Oh! They are already here." Whoosh whoosh Shisui and Itachi arrive at the training ground. Izuna''s back is facing them, obscuring Tatsuya from their vision. Swirl Adult Sasuke hides his presence or lest they might recognize him. "Good! You came right on time." Izuna turns around and nods his head. ''Dad! Won''t they suspect my identity?'' Tatsuya whispers to him. ''Everything will be alright! They won''t believe me even if I tell the truth.'' Izuna moves aside to reveal Tatsuya. Shisui and Itachi curiously stare at Tatsuya. "Nii-san, is that a shadow clone in disguise?" Shisui inspects Tatsuya who looks exactly like Izuna except for some distinct features. "No! He is my son, Tatsuya Uchiha." Izuna reveals the truth. Pfft Haha Shisui and Itachi burst out inughter. "Please don''t joke around. How can he be your son? He is almost the same age as you." "" Izuna rolls his eyes and helplessly stares at Tatsuya. ''See! I told you.'' Tatsuya and Sasuke are dumbfounded to see this. ''What? What''s going on?'' Adult Sasuke questions him from the shadows. ''You don''t have to worry about your identity being discovered. I have created an illusion using one of my abilities. Even if they find anything suspicious, they will ignore it as a prank.'' Izuna shrugs his shoulder. ''It''s not my fault that I use to prank both of them all the time during my childhood. Ah! Those sweet old days.'' "Never mind!" Shisui and Itachi shake their head. They can see through every sort of hidden tactics and tricks used by other shinobis, but when ites to Izuna Nii-san of theirs, they are helpless to do anything. ''He is as mysterious as ever!'' Shisui and Itachi reach an agreement and turn to Tatsuya. ''Since he is a clone of Nii-san, we will relieve all of our frustration on him.'' Izuna notices the changes in their facial expression and senses their intention. He silently prays in his heart. ''Oh, my poor son! Father can only pray for your poor soul as your uncles will bully you.'' ************ Don''t join patre0n at the end of the month. It''s not worth your bucks. Join at the start of each month till the mid of month if you want to stay ahead by a month of WEBNOVEL. Currently there are 30+ chapters and number will increase. P.S. I post weekly 8 chapters on webnovel and around 10-11 on *******. If the story meet the power stone goal then a bonus chapter for that week. 500 power stone- 1 bonus chapter in the uing week 1000 power stone- 2 bonus chapter in the uing week Chapter 269: Preparation for the Battle Chapter 269: Preparation for the Battle While Tatsuya is being bullied by Shisui and Itachi, Izuna approaches Sasuke. "Let''s go and pick Boruto. Tsunade must have fixed him by now." "Alright!" Sasuke covers his face. "You don''t have to. I have cast an illusion on you to protect your identity." "I just want to add anotheryer of assurance," Sasuke replies. "Well, do whatever you see fit!" Whoosh Both of them flickers and arrive at Konoha hospital. "Oh! Izuna-kun! It has been a long time since Ist saw you." Sayori greets him. "Sayori-san! It surely has been a while." Izuna nods his head. Sayori turns to Sasuke. "Oh! You must be the person who left that child yesterday." Sayori recognizes Sasuke''s outline. "Yes, that''s me." "Good! Tsunade-san is currently waiting for you in ward number 5," Sayori informs them and returns to her work. "Let''s go!" Izuna and Adult Sasuke enter Ward 5. Tsunade is using the Mystic Palm technique to heal Boruto. Creak The door opens up and Sasuke and Izuna enter the room. Tsunade turns around and notices Sasuke and Izuna. "Why am I not surprised that this kid was involved with you?" Tsunade has a stern expression on her face. Eh Hehe Izuna scratches his head in embarrassment. "Do you know this kid could have died if left untreated for another day?" Tsunade res at him. She turns to Sasuke. "You are his guardian, right?! What kind of guardian are you? You can''t even take care of a little brat?" "This I am sorry. I will keep it in mind." Sasuke lowers his head. Hmph Tsunade snorts and turns to Izuna. She stretches her palm in front of Izuna. "My payment?!" "Heh?!" Izuna stares at her in confusion. "Don''t you dare tell me you forgot your promise?" "Ah! Right! Right!" Izuna takes out a wine bottle and passes it to her. "Good!" Tsunade nods her head in satisfaction. Swoosh She stores the bottle in her storage bracelet. Izuna''s expression turns serious, and he speaks in a solemn tone. "Tsunade! I am going to summon Konoha members of In-Y. It''s an emergency. A powerful enemy has appeared." "What?! I will immediately inform them." Tsunade rushes out of the hospital without any dy. Aw Aw "My head hurts." Boruto slowly opens his eyes. Sasuke and Izuna appear in front of him. "How are you feeling?" Izuna asks him. "I am feeling slightly dizzy and nauseous. It''s like I ate too much Thunder chili burger and drank a lot of hot habaneros shake on top of that." Pfft Haha Izuna burst out inughter. "That''s Naruto''s son for you. He is even more of an idiot than I expected." "Oye! Who are you calling an idiot? And I am not like my dad, I am much smarter than him." Boruto grumbles. Sigh "I am sorry on behalf of Naruto!" Sasuke lowers his head in embarrassment. Haha "That''s fine too. Let him meet with a younger version of future pirs of Konoha. He will surely learn a lot and perhaps it might change his view of them." Izuna proposes. "Eh? I don''t think it''s a good idea." Sasuke has a reluctant expression. "Just let him be." Izuna waves his hand. "Fine!" Sasuke relents in. He instructs Boruto with a lot of do''s and don''ts. "Alright! Alright! I understand. I am eager to try a thunder chili burger of this era." Izuna rolls his eyes. "You really think that exists?" "Heh! It''s not around?" Boruto anxiously asks him. "Where do you think it is? Do you expect a McDonald''s or Burger King here?" Izuna chuckles. "Wow! That sounds like a ce I would like to go to." Boruto salivates a little. "Alright! I will summon Naruto and send this punk to Ichiraku." Izuna summons a little eagle and sends it to inform Naruto. Both of them drop Boruto at Ichiraku with Naruto and enter the headquarter of In-Y. "Why I am stuck with a noisy brat like this?" Narutoins. "Shut up! You took the word out of my mouth." Boruto grumbles. "Aah! Mo! I can''t handle this brat!" Naruto grabs Boruto''s cor. "Huh?! You want to duke it out." Boruto grabs Naruto''s cor. "Go! Go! Naruto Nii-san and Onion haired boy." Ayaka is sitting on a nearby fence as she cheers for them. "Huh?! Aunt Ayaka?!" Boruto turns to Ayaka. "Hmph who are you calling an aunt? Naruto Nii-san! Beat him up." Ayaka angrily res at Boruto. ------------------- At In-Y headquarter, Whoosh whoosh Tsunade, Minato, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Itachi, and Shisui arrive at the headquarter. "Hmm where is Guy? And why is this pervert here?" Izuna raises an eyebrow. "Guy is out on a mission with his Genin team. As for Jiraiya, he was fooling around near hot springs; so, I dragged him along." Tsunade shakes her head. "Huh?! You have a problem with me, brat!" Jiraiya res at Izuna. "No, on the contrary; it''s good that you came here." Izuna has a smile on his face. ''Now, I can dump Boruto on him for babysitting.'' "What?! Why do I feel like something is fishy here?" Jiraiya has a crooked expression. "Anyway, I summoned you here because a powerful enemy is on its way to Konoha." Izuna starts the meeting. "He is so powerful that the likes of his power are never seen before." Izuna has a grim expression. Minato senses the meaning behind Izuna''s words. "Don''t tell me, he is one of those otherworldly beings." "Yes, he is!" Izuna nods his head. "Then that''s really a worst-case scenario." Minato clenches his fist. "Otherworldly being? What''s his objective?" Kakashi raises a question. "It''s not what? It''s who!" Izuna corrects him. "Do you mean he is targeting someone?" Tsunade chimes in. "Yes, this time the target is Naruto. NO! To be more urate, it''s Nine-tails sealed inside Naruto." "What?! Someone is targeting me." A projection of Yin Kurama appears in front of the group. "Nine-tails?!" The group gasps in astonishment. "It''s the other half of the Nine-tails. Don''t worry! He is docile, he won''t bite anyone." Izuna calms them down. "Oye! Who do you think am I? A dog?" Nine-tails growls at him. "Well! It''s scientifically proven that foxes too are a part of the dog family. So, my point stands." Izuna states as a matter of fact. "You bastard! Don''t test my patience. I am the great Nine-tails fox, the Kyubi-sama!" Yin Kurama shes his sharp canines. "Alright! Alright! I don''t have time to bicker with you." Izuna shrugs him off and turns to the group. He takes out a scroll from his pocket and passes it to the group. "This is the intel on the abilities of the enemy. It''s not a hundred percent urate, but this is what we have for now." Hmm All of them read the scroll one by one and their expression turns grim. "What''s the deal with him? He is so insanely powerful!" Jiraiyains. "He can easily raze our vige to dust. What kind of cmity has befallen on Konoha?" Minato rubs his forehead. "I am afraid, we are no match for him." Shisui shakes his head. "He can learn people''s jutsus just by absorbing their chakra. What else he could be, if not a monster?" Kakashi agrees with the rest. "But we can''t hand Naruto just like that. Naruto is a member of our family." Itachi argues. "Yeah! You are right! I finally got a second chance to be with my son. I won''t give it so easily." Minato has a resolute expression. Izuna and Adult Sasuke watch them from the sidelines. "So, Izuna-kun! What''s the n?" Minato turns to him. "The n is simple. Since we have an advantage of a preemptive strike, we will lure him into a trap and deal with him." Izuna formtes a n. "It''s simpler said than done. What kind of trap can hold a monster like him?" Jiraiya argues. "Actually, I know of such a trap. It''s just that it will take lots of time to set it up." Izuna takes out another scroll from his pocket and passes it to Minato. "Minato-san! What do you think of this Fuinjutsu seal?" Hmm Minato opens the scroll and inspects the seal for a while. "It''s it''s incredible. I have never seen such a powerful seal before." Minato passes the scroll to Izuna and shakes his head. "It''s just that, it''s not feasible with our current means. First, it requires arge amount of chakra. Also, the chakra should be of high quality. Then, there is the issue with the creation of this seal. It will take us a very long time to set it up. Even if we set it up, we should be able to lure him to the trap." Minato shakes his head in dismay. "I will take care of theter part." Sasuke walks from the shadows. His face is covered with a cloak. "He is?!" The group turns to Izuna. "He is a member." Izuna brushes it aside. "As for the first problem, this should be enough?" Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket and ms his palm on the seal. Poof Arge amount of crystal-clear chakra ores appears in front of them. Chapter 270: Troublemaker Chapter 270: Troublemaker "Chakra ores?" The group is surprised to see such arge amount of chakra ores. "It''s even of a very high quality." Minato remarks on the transparency of the ores. "Where did you get such arge amount of supply?" Tsunade curiously asks him. "Nothing much! I just excavated some chakra mines in the Land of Silence." Izuna waves his hand in dismissal. "Really?! The Daimyo of the Land of Silence allowed you!" Tsunade raises an eyebrow. "Of course! The people of Land of Silence were silent when I took this ore." "" The group rolls their eyes at his remark. "Anyway! Don''t mull over the small stuff. I have more than enough chakra ores to power the formation. Our only concern is to finish the seal on time." Izuna shrugs his shoulder. "Hmm That''s reasonable!" Minato nods his head. "Alright! Let''s divide the task." Izuna turns to Tsunade and Kakashi. "Both of you will evacuate the vigers to a safe shelter. This threat is even bigger than Nine-tails attack, we have to prepare for the worst-case scenario." He turns to the rest. "Minato-san! You and Kushina-san will help me with the formation of the seal andter you will maintain the seal. This old pervert will help too." Jiraiya grumbles, but nods his head. "Guy, Shisui, and Itachi will monitor the perimeter. I don''t want a repeat of Ayaka''s incident." Izuna has a stern expression on his face. "Then who will fight with the enemy?" Jiraiya asks him. "We both will fight him." Sasuke stands beside Izuna. ''I can''t allow Tatsuya to fight Urashiki directly. The risk of Kama is too high, it''s almost untraceable. Both me and Sasuke are safe because of our Rinnegan, but the same can''t be said for others.'' "Izuna, that''s too risky! We can''t allow you to put your life on the line every single time." Tsunade and Minato instantly deny his n. "Then do any of you have the confidence to survive the battle?" "This" The group falls silent as they have noeback for Izuna''s argument. "I understand your sentiments. But it''s not sentiments but the strength that will help in battle. Believe it or not, your presence will hold me back in the battle." Izuna harshly rebukes them. Tch Tsunade clicks her tongue but abstains frommenting. The rest of the members also have indignant expressions on their faces. "Good! Then, let''s proceed with the first step." Snap Izuna snaps his finger, and a table appears in front of him. Heys a map of Konoha on the table. "Here!" Izuna marks a giant red circle on the map. "This will be our ce of ambush. It covers an area of 25 sq. km." Izuna draws a sealing formation on top of the area. "The seal will consist of one central node and eight external nodes. He marks the external focal nodes with an alternate white and ck mark. These white nodes are the heaven nodes. They would be buried underground with a pile of chakra ores. You can also call them the life gate of the nodes. These nodes will sustain the formation, so they must be hidden from the view. These ck nodes are the earth nodes. This would be the ce from where Minato-san, Kushina-san, and Jiraiya-san will control the rest of the formation. You can call them the human gate." Hmm Minato and Jiraiya study the formation and nod their head in understanding. "What about this fourth human gate? Who will sustain it? Jiraiya questions him. "Don''t worry, I already have someone in my mind," Izuna assures him. He continues to carve the rest of the formation while exining to the group. Except for Jiraiya, Minato, and the hidden Tatsuya, none of them were able to figure out the principle of the seal. Even Jiraiya''s and Minato''s understanding was limited. ''Too bad only the members of the Uzumaki n have an affinity for Fuinjutsu. As for others, this is how far their talent can take them.'' Izuna shakes his head. The discussionsts for an entire hour. The group devises various ns and strategies and even formtes backup ns in case of an emergency. He takes out the chakra sealing tag from his pocket and passes it to the rest of the group. "I have modified these chakra sealing tags. These new chakra tags will prevent the forceful extraction of chakra from your body. This way, that Urashiki won''t be able to steal your chakra and techniques." "With that being said, let''s conclude the meeting for the day." Izuna dismisses the group. One by one all the members of the group leave the small dimension. "Tsunade, Wait!" He stops Tsunade while the rest of the group leaves. "Huh?! What''s the matter?" "It''s nothing severe. Just don''t inform Mei about our n. I don''t want her to embroil in this chaos again." Izuna requests her. "I I see! Is there anything else?" Tsunade nods her head. "Yes! I have another request for you. Send Sasuke away from the vige for the next month. Anywhere is fine, just pair him with another team and send him on a mission away from Konoha. "Well! Alright! I will take care of it. Anything else?" "No no! That''s it for now." Izuna shakes his head. "See you,ter!" Tsunade disappears from the small dimension. Phew Izuna heaves a sigh of relief. "With their help, we have at least eighty percent chance to win this fight. I will have to do more research for thest neen percent. As for a hundred percent? Who is so sure of fate?" "Yes! We can prevent Urashiki from interfering with the past. It will be even better if we can drive him back to the future." Sasuke nods his head. "No! This ce will be his grave." Izuna shakes his head. He has his reason for this. He wants to extract a small sample of Urashiki''s blood and cells to study their physiology. Perhaps it may give him some clue about the working of the Kama seal. ''Also, I might get a solution for my condition. I only have one and a half year left. My Rinne-Sharingan is too powerful for my body. It has elerated the rate of deterioration of my chakra system. I wonder if there are other worlds with living creatures other than the shinobi world. Otsutsukis have sucked many worlds dry but those worlds should have some living beings to maintain the flow of Nature energy.'' Chakra is just a type of energy utilized by Otsutsuki. When Hagoromo and Hamura inherited chakra; Kaguya was infuriated. She even attempted to steal their chakra. ''I wonder if passing the knowledge of chakra is a taboo in the Otsutsuki n or else why was Kaguya so mad about chakra if she has already betrayed her n. Mysteries! Too many mysteries!'' Izuna shakes his head. "Sasuke, let''s go and check our battlefield. The surprise gift for Urashiki shouldn''t beckluster. As for you Tatsuya why don''t you check on Boruto?" Whoosh The Three of them warp out of the In-Y dimension. ----------- Back at the Ichiraku ramen, The fight between Naruto and Boruto has turned into a full-blown brawl thanks to Ayaka fanning the mes. Naruto and Boruto''s face are swollen with ck and blue bruises. "Damnit! Ichiraku ramen is the best!" Naruto yells at the top of his lungs. "No! Thunder chili burger is the best!" Boruto screams his vocal cords out. Ayaka takes out a pair of cotton plugs to block the noise. Both of them have raised quite a stir and gathered arge crowd. "Huh?! What''s going on?" Hinata notices Naruto in the middle of the crowd. "Naruto-kun?! What''s the matter?" She asks Naruto with a red face. "Mom!" Boruto''s shout drags her attention. "Mmm Mom?! NO!!" "Gentle Fist: Eight Trigram Sixteen Palms" She rapidly ps Boruto''s face and dashes out of the crowd. Boruto''s face has swollen beyond recognition. ''Damn! Mom is scarier in her childhood!'' Tears flow from Boruto''s eyes. Pfftt Haha Naruto burst out inughter. "Serves you right for insulting my ramen." "Hmm he looks exactly like an onion with that swollen face." Ayaka nods her head. She is pleased with her naming sense. On a nearby electric pole, Tatsuya''s face twitches as he stares at the sorry state of Boruto. ''He is a real troublemaker! Brawling with his dad and insulting his mother. Which young girl won''t be offended if a kid of her age calls her mother?'' Tatsuya shakes his head. Whoosh He appears in front of the crowd. "I am sorry, everyone! This kid just got discharged from hospital. He is still recovering from his sequ." He grabs Boruto and disappears. ''Hmm was that Nii-san? His appearance was simr to Nii-san.'' Ayaka ces a finger under her chin and clicks her tongue. ---------------- A/N:- 2 bonus chapters in the uing week. Chapter 271: Ama-no-Ukihashi Chapter 271: Ama-no-Ukihashi Adult Sasuke and Izuna inspect the formation area. Sometimes Izuna will pause and mark a ce. Sasuke who is curiously following Izuna raises a question. "Nii-san?! Have you awakened Rinnegan? If you have, then what are its abilities." "You will naturally get your answers when the timees. Also, even if you know about my abilities, it won''t benefit our teamwork during the battle since there is none, to begin with." Izuna chuckles and continues to map the area. ''Why does he even bother to ask when he already knows about them? It''s not like my Rinnegan abilities will change much in the future.'' He maps the area and marks the nodes for the next two hours. "Next up is a rough outline of the formation. Let me take a look from the skies." Whoosh Izuna leaps in the sky and flies to an appropriate altitude to get a clear look at the entire area. Whoosh Sasuke closely follows him behind. "Oh! You can fly too." Izuna is surprised to see Sasuke fly. "Yes! My visual prowess has returned. I spent quite a lot of chakra during the temporal leap." Hmm "Your low chakra pool is one of your biggest weaknesses. But this doesn''t seem to be the case anymore." Izuna gazes at Sasuke as his eyes turn into Mangekyo Sharingan. "Your chakra pool is almost on par with Naruto without the Nine-tails." "Yes! I mastered the Snake Sage Mode and the Snake Sage helped me with my chakra problem." Sasuke nods his head. "That old hag helped you?" Izuna raises an eyebrow, as he can''t believe his ears. "That old hag was so wish-washy when I asked her to help me and now, she is reluctant to help you. What sort of changes could make her do so? Wait! Don''t tell me." Izuna shakes his head and returns to the previous matter. "Your chakra pool is fine and even your chakra control is fine. This can mean only one thing! Your technique! It''s your technique that wastes a lot of chakra." Izuna spectes the reason. "Tell me which technique do you use to travel through dimensions?" "Hmm it''s Yomotsu Hirasaka. It''s a Rinnegan ability and even the Otsutsukis uses this ability to travel through space." Sasuke replies. "No wonder!" Izuna shakes his head in disgust. "Eh?!" Sasuke is surprised to see his expression. "But Nii-san that''s a Rinnegan ability and is very hard to master." Sigh Izuna takes a deep breath and turns to Sasuke. "Sasuke! It''s not that I am undermining this ability. It''s just that using this ability wastes a lot of chakra. Even the Otsutsuki you have met so far can''t execute this ability properly. Yomotsu Hirasaka is an instantaneous technique, but it sacrifices efficiency at the cost of speed. It might be good during a battle but it isn''t an optimal technique while leaping dimensions." Izuna points out the ws of the technique. "I will teach you a different technique. Although this technique is slowpared to Yomotsu Hirasaka, it''s very efficient. It only uses half the amount of chakra used by Yomotsu Hirasaka." Izuna takes out an ancient scroll from his pocket and passes it to Sasuke. Sasuke grabs the scroll and it almost slips from his hand. "So heavy!!" His expression turns serious and slowly opens the scroll. "Ama-no-Ukihashi" He reads the name of the technique. "Yes, it''s an ancient technique which I found among the collection of toads. Go and try to decipher this technique. It will be useful for your future battles." Izuna waves his hand and dismisses him. Whoosh Sasuke flies away to a remote corner to practice the jutsu mentioned in the scroll. Izuna stares at the scroll in Sasuke''s hand and shakes his head. ''It''s another technique of that ''Traveler'' guy. This technique gave him an edge against his fight with Otsutsukis. He was traveling alone while a hoard of Otsutsuki was chasing after him. Whenever things went downhill for him, he would use this technique and escape to another dimension. Those Otsutsukis could only use Yomotsu Hirasaka to chase him. In the next dimension, the Otsutsukis would be weakened because of theck of chakra. The traveler will use this opportunity to deal with a bunch of them and flee again. In the end, he perished in this world and passed his legacy to toads, snakes, and slugs to look for a sessor.'' "Anyway, let me survey the rest of the area." He flies around for a while. "Izuna-kun! Izuna-kun! Here!" Kushina is waving at him from a distance. Whoosh He flies towards her andnds on the ground. "I heard about the situation from Minato. I won''t let any bad guy touch my Naruto." She clenches her fist. "I will help with the seal." "Here!" Izuna passes the sealing scroll to Kushina. Kushina curiously inspects the seal and her mouth opens wide in astonishment. "Wow! Amazing! This is a work of art." She honestly praises Izuna. Her skills with the Fuinjutsu have reached another level after inheriting the legacy of the Uzumaki n. She is not on par with Izuna but she surely has leaped some distance to close the gap, just a little though! ''The legacy of Traveller is far better than the Uzumaki legacy. There is noparison at all.'' Kushina passes the scroll to Izuna and extends her arms widely. "Eh?!" Izuna tilts his head in confusion. "Take me to the sky. I also want to fly in the sky." "Oh!" Izuna infuses some chakra into his palm and pats on Kushina and Minato''s back. "You can fly now." "Oh!" Kushina''s eyes shine brightly. She instantly leaps in the air and spreads her arms like a swan ready for a flight. Whoosh whoosh Kushina whizzes through the air. "It''s so fun. I never thought flying would be so fun." She turns to Izuna with an envious gaze. "I am so jealous of you, Izuna-kun! You can fly whenever you want." "Well!" Izuna silently scratches his head. ''I can teach you whenever you want. After your rebirth, your body and constitution have changed a lot. So, it''s not impossible to learn Dust Release.'' "Yahoo!" Kushina continues to fly around for a while. Cough cough Minato coughs slightly to get her attention. "Kushina, let''s get back to the work. We are doing it for the sake of Naruto, Remember!" Whoosh Kushina immediately appears in front of Minato. "Of course! I won''t let anyone bully my Naruto." Izuna flickers towards the vige to gather material for the seal. "Since it is a big project, I will request funds from the vige. I don''t want to pay the bill from my pocket." Izuna summons a small eagle and writes down the list of material and sends it to Tsunade. "Tsunade will look for these materials while I will search for some rare materials." Whoosh Izuna teleports from his position. He reappears at Mount Myoboku. "Oh! Izuna-boy! I have been waiting for you." Fukasaku walks out of his house. "Here!" He passes a giant scroll to Izuna. "This is" "Great Toad Sage prophesied your visit. He also told us the reason for your visit. This scroll contains all the rare materials collected by Mount Myoboku over the past thousand years. I am sure they will be useful to you." Fukasaku throws a nce at Izuna. "Also! You look a little different from before." "Of course! I am handsome than ever." Izuna shamelessly brags in front of him. Fukasaku narrows his eyes. "No! On a second look, you are the same as ever." He turns around and enters his house. "Hey! What''s that supposed to mean?" Izuna silently stares at the back of Fukasaku. ''Did this old frog roasted me just now? Never mind! I won''t bicker with an old frog.'' Izuna pockets the scroll. "Next destination! Ryuchi cave!" Whoosh He appears in front of arge cave with many crossroads. ''Damn! That old hag messed up with my Flying thunder, Mark. I will imprint a new one.'' He enters one of the caves. After fifteen minutes, Izuna arrives in front of arge cave. There is a majestic temple inside the cave. Hisss Arge blue snake with light-green eyes slithers out of the temple. There is a giant scroll in its mouth. "It has been a while, Aoda." Izuna greets the snake. "I am doing well, Master Izuna." Aoda passes the giant scroll to Izuna. "The Sage asked me to pass this scroll to you." "Oh! This again." He turns towards the temple and yells. "How did you know I wasing?" "I can smell your foul scent from miles." The snake sage responds. "Is that so? Are you a snake sage or dog sage?" Izuna chuckles. "Brat! Get lost from here before I count to ten or else, I will even snatch that scroll from your hands." The Snake Sage hisses violently. "Fine, old hag!" Izuna grumbles and teleports away. "Damn! This foul mouth brat!" The White Snake Sage bashes the walls of the temple. -------------- A/N:- Yomotsu Hirasaka stands for the slope to Underworld. Ama-no-Ukihashi stands for the Floating Bridge of Heaven. P.S.:- Ama-no-Ukihashi is also an original technique of mine. I just like to research whenever I name a person or technique. I want it to feel like Original. Chapter 272: Eight Black Yin-Yang Annihilation Seal Chapter 272: Eight ck Yin-Yang Annihtion Seal A/N:- Bonus chapter for y''all. Enjoy! ----------------- "Finally, I have gathered all the materials required for the seal!" There are three giant scrolls in front of Izuna, one from each Sage Region. After his visit to Ryuchi cave, Izuna visited Shikkotsu Forest and Katsuyu gave this scroll with no hassle. "Izuna-kun, Tsunade-sama said to pass this scroll to you." Shizune arrives at the ce with Tonton in her arms. "Thank you very much!" Izuna unfurls the scroll, and a letter falls from it. He picks up the letter. "This is a message from Tsunade-sama about the materials." Izuna curls the letter and throws it in the air. The letter zes in mes and turns to ashes. A wind current blows away the ashes. "I am sure Tsunade will readily provide me fund in the future. After all, it is for the greater good of Konoha." "" Shizune silently stares at him and shakes her head as words are stuck in her throat. ''But Tsunade-sama said that, "This is the first and thest time, the vige will fund you. Don''t expect any funding in the future.".'' "Never mind! You won''t listen either way." Shizune returns to Konoha. Izuna summons Jiraiya, Minato, Kushina and Tatsuya. "The materials are ready. Let''s inscribe the seal." Mm The group nods their head. "Each of you pick up an Earth node and engrave the seals from that node." Izuna crosses his index and middle finger. "Shadow clone Jutsu" He creates four shadow clones. "My clones will pick one heaven node each." The inscribing of the heaven node is much difficultpared to the earth node since he has to conceal these nodes. Also, these nodes will operate autonomously; so, he has to ensure that there is no error in their inscription. To speed up the process and cut some time, he is using Shadow clone Jutsu. ''It''s not like I can''t create more shadow clones. Carving a seal with Nature energy takes a lot of concentration. It will be extremely difficult to sustain the shadow clones while absorbing Nature energy and engraving seals. My current limit is four; any more and I am afraid I will lose concentration and the seal will be unstable. Take Naruto, for example. He could only maintain two Shadow clones with Nature energy. My clones on the other hand are also concentrating on the seal inscription.'' "Izuna-kun?! Do you have a name for this sealing formation?" Kushina curiously asks him. "Hmm I haven''t thought of a name yet. Why don''t you all name it?" Izuna proposes. "Then, let me think of a name!" Kushina ponders for a while, and her eyes lit up. "What about the Eight ck Yin-Yang Sealing Barrier?" Kushina suggests a name. "Hmm Isn''t the name a little too simple for such aplex seal?" Minato ces a hand under his chin and muses. "I think ''Eight Heaven-Earth Seal: Barrier of Absolute Annihtion'' is a more fitting name." Minato nods his head in satisfaction. "" The rest of the group silently stares at Minato. "Your naming sense is awful as ever. My name is a hundred times better than yours." Kushina argues with Minato. "Oh! I have a name too." Jiraiya eagerly chimes in. "Since the enemy is an otherworldly being with God-like powers, then why don''t we name it as ''Eight Trigram Demon Suppression Seal''?" "That''s too nd!" Minato and Kushinain simultaneously. Izuna has an incredulous look as he stares at a bunch of adults fighting over naming his technique. Hmm "Then let''s decide the name by drawing lots." Izuna takes out three sticks from his storage scroll and squeezes them in his palm. "These sticks are of varying length. The person with the biggest stick will win the lot." He stretches his hands towards the group. "Pick your choice." Kushina harrumphs and points towards a stick. Jiraiya immediately makes his choice, leaving Minato behind. "I don''t have any choice, do I?" He wryly smiles at them. Izuna twitches slightly at their choice. ''Damn! I never expect this pervert to win. I can''t let him name my technique.'' Izuna sneakily applies some force and breaks the stick. "Alright! Go ahead and pull your sticks." The three of them instantly grab their pick. "This!" Jiraiya stares at a toothpick. "Isn''t it too small?" "Hurray! I win." Kushina smiles and teases Minato and Jiraiya. "I am second!" Minato shakes his head. "Never mind! I am not interested in such a lousy technique." Jiraiya cleans his teeth with the stick and throws it aside with indifference. "Alright then! It will be a mix of Kushina and Minato-san''s names. I will name it ''Eight ck Yin-Yang Annihtion Seal''." He slightly changes the name. Tch "My original name was much better." Kushina clicks her tongue. "Ok! Hurry and finish the task. You all need toplete at least thirty chakra circuits before the dusk." Izuna and his clones scatter throughout the area. "Fine!" Jiraiya and the rest grumpily return to the work. Izuna focuses on the central node while his clones shift to Heaven nodes. He inscribes one seal after another on the ground. ''A Fuinjutsu seal is simr to an integrated circuit board. You have to create the IC boardponent byponent and weave aplexwork of circuits to make it work as intended. Simrly, the Fuinjutsu seal is distributed in many circuits, each with its ownponents. A set of programs written in a specifguage operates the IC board. Fuinjutsu has itsnguage too. It has a vast set of runesposed of Kanji, Katakana, Hiragana, Roman, Hieroglyphics, Latin, and many other shapes and symbols. When written in a certain pattern, these symbols invoke thews of the World to initiate a change. Simr to electricity, chakra or Nature energy is the power source of these seals which triggers these changes. The more chakra circuit a seal has, the major the changes it will invoke in the surroundings. For example, most simple Fuinjutsu seals like exploding tags have one or two chakra circuits. The storage scrolls, on the other hand, have ten chakra circuits. The sensing barrier surrounding the vige has 360 chakra circuits, while the barrier around my house has 1200 chakra circuits. The current seal, ''Eight ck Yin-Yang Annihtion Seal'' has around 2000 chakra circuits.'' Izuna rapidly carves one circuit after another. "We have a month before Urashiki arrives. At this rate, we have to carve seventy chakra circuits a day toplete it in a month. I will carve forty chakra circuits a day while the bunch will carve thirty chakra circuits. Carving these seals consumes a lot of chakra and spirituality. We can only work 7 hours a day before exhausting ourselves." Izuna''s hand moves rapidly as he carves one rune after another. Each chakra circuit is different. Some areplex while some are easy to inscribe. Soon, the sun sets on the horizon as duskes knocking. ------------- Back in Konoha, In the Hokage Office, Tsunade is sitting on her chair as she listens to Shizune''s report. Kakashi is lying on a nearby sofa with a book in his hand. "Damn, that Izuna!" Tsunade grits her teeth. She takes a deep breath and stares at Boruto. "So, this brat is with that man!" Tsunade heard a report from Izumo and Kotetsu. She finds it funny how this bunch could fool those two guards. "Izuna has already vouched for them, so there is no problem with their background. But, what''s with this current situation?" "Argh! Dammit! You are getting on my nerves." Naruto grabs Boruto''s cor. "Hehe! You think I am afraid of you?" Boruto brushes his hand away. Sigh "One troublemaker was already enough, now I have to handle two!" Tsunade res at them. "It was not my fault! It was this guy who started it first!" Naruto and Boruto point at each other. Crack crack Tsunade angrily clutches the corner of the table and tears it apart. "I had enough of your nonsense!" Tsunade angrily stands from her seat. Bonk Bonk She smacks Boruto''s and Naruto''s heads. Aww aww Both of them grab their forehead and whimper in pain. "Kakashi! You will be the one to babysit them. Since your leader, Izuna is the one responsible for this trouble." Kakashi closes his book and points towards himself. "Me?!" "Yes, you! You are the only person who is currently free at the moment. Monitor these brats and prevent them from creating more troubles." Tsunade has a livid expression as she pushes the responsibility to Kakashi. Hmm Kakashi ponders for a while. He takes out a poster from his pocket and turns to Boruto and Naruto. "Let''s go on an Ostrich hunt." Gulp Naruto gulps his saliva. "Don''t tell me, it''s that Ninja Ostrich again?!" Chapter 273: Not a Chapter Chapter 273: Not a Chapter So, I recently rmended one of friends who is an Otaku but not a fan of fan-fictions to read my story. After reading a few chapters and theirments, he asked me, "Is it just your fan-fic or there are other fan-fics on this website that receives the same amount of hate as you?" I was baffled by his remark and I replied. "Bro, I have no idea! I have read plenty of fan-fics with wholesomements and hatements alike and even my fan-fic have many wholesome people who appreciate my content." I forgot about this conversation and three weekster i.e. today my friend informed him that he read few other fan-fics on the website and liked quite a few. (Yup, he joined the dark side.) I asked him. "What are your thoughts?" He straight up told me. "Bro! Delete your first hundred chapters. They are not healthy for your or your readers sanity!" I was like. "What the fuck bro! I know my English is terrible but it''s not to the point that you can''t read an make sense of it." He chuckled and remarked. "It''s not about the grammar and the story. It''s about the amount of toxicments. Almost, 70% ofments in your early chapters are toxic. Most people rte it to original Naruto and drawparison knowing well that it is fan-fic. Other people just straight uppare it to real life. And they are even some people just straight up ming you for writing this fic." He waited for my response. I was confused for a second but I replied to him. "Bro! After writing for a while, I am used to suchments. Since in theter half of the story, all I received are just wholesomements." My friend was speechless for a second then he joked. "Is this the reason that you have grown resistant to the bantering of baldy (one of our professor in college who like to yell and me others for little stuff)?" "Well, I guess!" I was shocked at my answer. Writing this fan-fic has truly changed my character. Before writing this fic I was not a very tolerant person. I would always aggressively defend my case whenever possible. But after months of writing, I have changed a lot, though I still try to defend myself but no so aggressively. Sometimes, I just straight up ignore many things. Just thought of sharing this part of my writing journey with you all. It was an interesting moment with my friend and I couldn''t help but write it here. Chapter 274: Arrival of Urashiki Chapter 274: Arrival of Urashiki A/N:- Thanks for your wholesomements. It made my day. Enjoy the bonus release today. Also, I have set a patre0n goal of 50 chapters for this series after which I will restart my Fairy Tail fan-fic. The new plot of Fairy-tail will be different and I will follow my writing style of this novel and create a new OC with a new origin in Fairy-tail while keeping the integrity of the Original intact. i.e. I will use elements of Fairy-tail to create my own AU version of it but every major plot change will be a part of Fairy tail lore just like this novel. Tell me, if you prefer this unique writing style of mine or will make do with no major addition except for MC. P.S. I won''t start writing Fairy-Tail until next month. It''s reserved as a anniversary celebration for this novel. ------------------- A month passes in the blink of an eye. Phew Izuna takes a deep breath as he stares at thepleted seal. "It took us a month with 7 hours per day toplete this seal." "Yes, if this help can restrict the enemy, then it is worthwhile." Minato nods his head. "Ah! I am so beat." Kushina massages her arms. "Brat! You better pay me handsomely for this great Jiraiya-Sama''s service." Jiraiya waves his hand and T-poses. "Of course!" Izuna takes out an envelope from his pocket and passes it to Jiraiya. "Oh! How rare of you?" Jiraiya has a smile on his face as he receives the envelope. "I have beencking some fundstely. This came right on time." Jiraiya pockets the envelope. "Open it!" Izuna instigates him to open the scroll. "Oh! You want me to count the money. How great of you?" Jiraiya happily opens the envelope. He slightly pulls the contents of the envelope to take a peek. Jiraiya''s expression freezes as his hands'' trembles. "Not to your liking!" Izuna yfully smirks. "Or do you want more?" Izuna takes out another envelope from his storage and passes it to him. "Ah!" Jiraiya grabs the envelope with trembling hands. He slowly opens it with fear in his eyes. Gulp Jiraiya peeks inside from the corner of his eyes. "Oh! What is it Jiraiya-Sensei?" Kushina curiously asks him. "Oh! It''s nothing nothing at all!" Jiraiya hurriedly pockets the scroll. "I have some urgent business to take care of, I will see you soon." Whoosh Jiraiya hurriedly turns around and dashes from the ce. Haha Izuna chuckles at Jiraiya''s departing back. "He is always in a hurry." He shakes his head and turns to Minato. "Minato-san! Our hard work has finally paid off. Let''s visit hot springs to rx. I was about to invite Jiraiya-san too but he left in a hurry." "Alright! I also want to relive some exhaustion from this hard work." Minato agrees with him. "I wille too. Let me invite Mikoto, Tsunade-sama, and others." Kushina hurriedly departs for Konoha. "Then, let''s get going." ------------- Back in Konoha, "Aww! Why I have to be dragged in your assignments?" Boruto grumpily follows Naruto and the rest of Konoha 11 members. "Now! Now! Stop whining! Let''s get the job done." Naruto pats his back. "I am not whining. But after all that why it has to be cleaning the hot springs? And I am not even getting paid for this mission." Boruto swings the mop in his hand. "I just can''t get into this." Kiba has a mop in his hand. "Too bad! We don''t have much of a choice. It''s a direct order from Lady Fifth. Besides, we also get to soak in hot springs after cleaning." Shikamaru shakes his head. "Oh! Really?" Boruto asks him. "Yes!" Shikamaru nods his head. "Then I will be right back!" Boruto dashes out of the bathhouse. "This guy, he looks and behaves like Naruto!" Shino remarks silently. Outside the bathhouse, Boruto takes out a bottle with thebel ''Instant Itch Powder'' from his pocket. He takes out a towel from one of the cabs and sprinkles on it. "Hehe! I will get back to you for bullying me. This waterproof Itch powder will surely do the trick." He returns to the bathhouse as the group is discussing the recent events. "Maybe there is something else going on! I even heard about an emergency drill from n higher-ups." Neji remarks. "Who cares about that! C''mon, let''s hurry and get this cleaning over with." "Ok! Shadow clone Jutsu!" Naruto makes some hand clones and rushes through the hot spring. "I won''t fall behind." Boruto crosses his fingers and makes shadow clones. "Oh! Then, it''s on! Come on, Akamaru!" Kiba''spetitive nature kicks in. Woof woof Akamaru jumps on top of his head. "Man-beast transformationbo" Two Kiba appear with mops in their hands. Both of them dashes through the bathhouse. "You guys are full of energy! Aren''t you?" Shikamaruzily brushes the floor. "Here I go!" Lee grabs two mops while walking upside down. "Look, guys! Watch me!" Naruto grabs a hose. "Water Style: Water Jet Jutsu" He waves the pipe around. "Be careful with what you are doing?" Shino warns them with a feeble voice. The group ignores him like usual and Naruto continues to waves the hose around. Psst He drenches Boruto in water. "My bad! Hehe!" Naruto scratches his head. "Oye! You did it on purpose, didn''t you?" Boruto res at Naruto. Boruto grabs a shower hose and points it towards Naruto. He turns the hot water tap on. "Now watch me!" "Water Style: Hot Geezer-no Jutsu" He aims it at Naruto''s face. "H Hot! Hot! Hot!!" Naruto squeezes the end of the hose and gathers arge amount of water at its end. He points it towards Boruto and releases the pressure. "Eat this! Water Style: Full power Water Jet" Whoosh Boruto ducks and avoids the water jet. At Men''s Bathhouse entrance, Izuna, Minato, Kakashi, Shisui, Itachi, and Jiraiya enter the bath. "Man! I am so beat!" Jiraiya cracks his neck and turns to Izuna. "Damnit, brat! You are so mean. You didn''t even invite me to hot springs." "It''s not my fault if you leave in a hurry without even listening." Izuna shrugs his shoulder. "Hmph Anyway, I am going to enjoy myself." Jiraiya pushes the gate and enters. Whizz Gurgle gurgle A pressured water jet to the face wees him. Pfft Haha Izuna cracks up inughter. While the faces of the rest of the group turns red from holding theirughter. Jiraiya blocks the water with his hand and angrily turns to the kids. "Which of you is causing the trouble?" The group turns to Naruto. Naruto is still holding the hose in his hand as few water droplets drip from it. Phew Shikamaru heaves a sigh of relief as he closes the tap. "Oh! Pervy Sage! It''s you." Naruto immediately throws away the pipe. "Brat! Stop creating trouble?" Jiraiya harrumphs and walks towards the bath. "Hey, dad! Kakashi Sensei! Izuna Nii-san! Shisui Nii-san and Itachi Nii-san!" Naruto waves at them. Boruto also follows him. "Alright! Let''s enjoy ourselves!" Kakashi and the rest jump in the bath. "Ah! It feels so good." Kakashi closes his eyes. Naruto and the rest of the group stare at him as Boruto question them. "Why does he wear his mask even in the bathhouse?" "We don''t have an answer for that." The group shakes their head. "Oh! You want to know the reason." Izuna incredulously stares at the group. "Yes, we do!" The group nods their head. "Alright! Listen! I have known Kakashi since I was four years old and it has almost twenty years since then. But to this date, I have never seen Kakashi remove his mask." "Oh!" the group exims. Izuna beckons them as he whispers. "I think he was born with his mask, or how else can you exin it?" "Really?" The group has a doubtful expression. "Oye Izuna! I can hear you." Kakashi res at him. He turns to the Konoha 12 group. "Since you guys want to see my face, I will remove my mask. But it will be thest time I will do so." Kakashi slowly removes his mask with his left hand. Suddenly, Scratch scratch Jiraiya scratches his nuts as he feels itchy down there. "What''s going on? Why I am feeling Itch all of a sudden?" Plop He jumps in the water to get rid of the scratch but the itch persists. "Damnit!" Jiraiya grunts and dives into the water again. He reappears in between the group and Kakashi. The towel around his waist loosens up and slides from his thighs. "Ah! I feel rxed now." Jiraiya sighs in rxation. "My EYES!!" The members of the Konoha 12 instantly close their eyes but the scene is still burned in their memories. ''No wonder, Tsunade rejected him! That thing is too small!" Izuna whistles and turns his head away. "Huh!" Suddenly, Jiraiya feels a gust of cold air between his legs. "Oh No!" He instantly grabs some foam to hide his prestige. "I will be right back!" He grabs the towel and dashes out of the bathhouse. Meanwhile, Kakashi wears his mask again. "Kakashi Sensei! Can you show us again? We missed it!" Narutoins. "No! I told you, I will only show you once." Kakashi turns around and soaks in hot water. "Ah! So good!" "Now do you believe me?" Izuna asks the group. "We do!" All of them nod their head in unison. -------------- "That was a good bath! I feel so rxed." Izuna and the rest of the bunch walk out of the hot springs. "I didn''t enjoy it at all." Jiraiya mumbles. Izuna ignores him. Whoosh A shadow appears in front of the group. "He is here!" Chapter 275: Urashiki Vs In-Yō Chapter 275: Urashiki Vs In-Y A/N:- The fights are quite fast paced since everything happens in a matter of seconds. Still, I will try to make them as slow and long as possible. -------------- "He is here!" Adult Sasuke appears in front of Izuna. He takes out Karasuki from his storage. "Greetings, Master Izuna! A few moments ago, I sensed some disturbance in the temporal field of this timeline. Someone is about to enter this timeline." Karasuki answers them. Hmm "It must be Urashiki." Izuna turns to Karasuki and asks him. "How much time would he take to enter this timeline?" "ording to my calctions, the temporal tunnel will open in the next three hours." "Three hours?! That''s quite low." Izuna clicks his tongue. He turns to the rest of the group. "The enemy is here. We have three hours to prepare." "I see. So, he is already here!" Tsunade and Kushina walk out of the woman''s bath section. "Let''s hurry and make preparations." Tsunade immediately flickers towards the Hokage Office. She takes out a scroll and infuses some chakra into the scroll. Poof Tsunade summons a taiko drum with a Mitsudomoe design. Bang Bang Bang Tsunade infuses chakra in her palm and beats the drum. Dum Dum Dum The sound of the drum reverberates through the vige. "It''s here!" Most of the n leaders and elders walk out of their houses. "The emergency drill has started. Everyone please evacuates to shelters." The n leaders evacuate the members of their n to the shelter. "Let''s go!" Fugaku orders the members of the Konoha Police Force to evacuate the civilians. Naruto and the rest of the Konoha 11 curiously converse with each other. "What''s going on?" Naruto raises a question. "That''s the signal for the emergency evacuation. Looks like something big is happening in the vige." Shino answers him. "This is an emergency drill! Everyone please evacuate to the underground shelter! I repeat, this is an" A chunnin announces the news and flickers away. "Look like Neji''s information was correct." Lee nods his head. "Hmm an emergency drill at such an hour. Seems like something fishy is going on! Now, I have to walk to the shelter. What a drag!" Shikamaru shakes his head. "Let''s get moving, guys!" Naruto and the rest dash towards the shelter while helping civilians on the way. Hmm Tsunade monitors the situation from the top of the Hokage Office. "Looks like the situation is under control for now." Tsunade heaves a sigh of relief. "I will leave the rest to you all." She continues to monitor the situation. Whoosh Izuna and the rest of the group appear on top of Konoha''s outer wall. Sasuke holds Karasuki in his hand as they patiently wait for Urashiki''s arrival. "This Urashiki guy? How will he arrive here?" Jiraiya asks him. "He will use a Space-Time Ninjutsu to arrive here. I am not sure where he will appear but we have to lure him into our formation or else he will annihte Konoha in seconds." Izuna warns them. "Also, don''t forget to ce the Chakra suppression seal on your body. I don''t want him to steal our powers and use them against us." Izuna reminds them. "We know!" They apply the Chakra suppression seal on their body and hide it under their garments. A few minutester, Swirl A portal radiated with blue energy opens in mid-air outside Konoha''s barrier. Hmm Izuna turns towards the portal as he senses the temporal fluctuations. "He is here, everyone. Be on guard!" Whoosh Izuna dashes towards the portal. The rest of the group follows after him. Heh! "What''s with this dreadful chakra? It''s so terrifying." The group senses Urashiki''s chakra signature. Their expression turns ugly at the intensity of the chakra. "This chakra! It''s it''s so" Words remain stuck in Jiraiya''s mouth as he is unable to express his dread. "Let''s go! We have to show him that not anyone can mess with my Naruto. Not while, her mom is still alive!" Kushina takes the lead. "How can I stay behind as a father?" Minato also increases his pace. Whoosh Urashiki walks out of the portal and looks around. "Yare! Yare! My ns really went off-kilter." Urashiki shakes his head. He turns towards the iing Izuna and the group. "I guess I''ll have to hunt down the annoying insects first." Swoosh Urashiki waves his hand and a flexible fishing rod of dense red chakra appears in his arm. "There he is!" The group notices him floating in the air. Urashiki recognizes Sasuke and Tatsuya among the group. "I knew it, you got here before me." He ignores Izuna and the rest of the Konoha members and focuses his attention on Tatsuya and Sasuke. "You gave me quite the trouble in ourst encounter. But since Kyubi (Future Naruto) isn''t here to help you, things will be a lot easier now." Swoosh Izuna disappears from his ce and reappears in front of Urashiki. Bang He punches thetter in the gut. Bleurgh Urashiki coughs up a mouthful of blood. "You talk too much!" Izuna remarks and prepares to kick him away. "Amazing!" Sasuke is amazed to see Izuna get the upper hand in their first confrontation. ''Nii-san is amazing as ever! He is easily the strongest ninja of all eras.'' Shiing Urashiki''s eyes change into blue, tomoe-less Rinnegan. They glow with a blue hue. ''Origami Recement Technique'' His body turns into ten glowing red orizuru and disappears. Shoom The red orizurus shine brightly. "Oh No!" Sasuke''s expression turns grim. BOOM The orizurus explodes violently, sending a shock wave through the air. A cloud of dust and smoke rises near Izuna''s position. Rumble Rumble Ripples appear on the barrier around Konoha. Tsunade notices the explosion and worry appears on her face. "Now that takes care of one!" Swoosh Urashiki appears behind Jiraiya. Stab He impales Jiraiya with his fishing rod hook. Poof Jiraiya disappears in a puff of smoke. "Huh! Clone Technique of Kyubi!" "You really have no regard for us, huh!" The smoke and dust clear out to reveal Izuna. There is a purple barrier around him, protecting him from the explosion. ''Electromaic Release: Flux Barrier'' Swoosh Izuna waves his hand to dispel the barrier. He floats in the air and confronts Urashiki. "Oh! The insect has grown wings." Urashiki points his fishing rod towards Izuna and swings it at him with full force. Swish Swish swish Heunches a barrage of chakra hooks at the group. ''Ameno Subaruboshinomikoto'' Whoosh whoosh The group swiftly dodges his attack. Bang Bang Bang The chakra hooks m in the ground and create giant craters. Swish swish swish Minatounches a barrage of his signature kunais at Urashiki. ng ng ng Urashiki waves his fishing rod to repel the kunais. "Rasen-sh Super Circle Dance Howl Stage Four" Bang Bang Bang Bang Minato teleports from his position with multiple shadow clones and bombards Urashiki with a multitude of Rasengan. A sh of golden lightning flickers with each of Minato''s strikes. BOOM Minato detonates a Big Rasengan on Urashiki''s body and sends him flying. BOOM Urashiki ms into a small hill and raises a cloud of dust. "Did we get him?" Jiraiya has a doubtful expression on his face. Swish "Kushina Nii-san! Be careful?" Izuna warns Kushina, but it''s toote. A fishing rod hook impales Kushina''s body. "Oh! A space-time technique user. How interesting!" Sizzle Sizzle Urashiki walks out of the debris. White smoke rises from his wounds as they heal rapidly. "Such regeneration! There is not even a scratch!" Jiraiya clicks his tongue. "Kushina!" Minato teleports near Kushina to free her. Swish Urashiki waves his fishing rod and pulls it out. He inspects the end of the fishing hook. "I can''t extract her chakra!" Urashiki is surprised to see this. Whoosh "Dynamic Entry" Guy aims a kick at Urashiki''s face. Tch "Another insect!" Urashiki clicks his tongue and blocks the attack with his fishing rod. "Gate of Limit: Open! Leaf Great sh" Guy directly opens the fifth gate and releases a powerfulteral kick at Urashiki''s head. "What?!" BANG Urashiki is sent flying by the kick and ms into a nearby boulder. "Don''t worry! Konoha''s Mighty beast of prey is here!" Guy takes a Taijutsu stance. "Good! You are finally here, Guy!" Izuna nods his head. Argh! "You insects are testing my patience!" Urashiki growls in anger. His eyes change to pupilless purple Rinnegan. "Those eyes!" The expression of the group changes as Urashiki points his hand towards the group. "Shinra Tensei!" Shoom With his body as an epicenter, Urashiki releases a powerful ''repulsive force'' towards the group. Rumble Rumble The ground trembles with the repulsive force asyers byyers of rocks get chipped away. "Oh No! It''s this technique." Whoosh Sasuke jumps in front of the group. Swirl Shiing His left eye changes to a six-tomoe Rinnegan. Sasuke stretches his right arm and uses the same technique. "Shinra Tensei!" Rumble Rumble The repulsive force of his technique shes with the repulsive force of Urashiki''s technique. "What?! Another Rinnegan!" Jiraiya is bbergasted to see another Rinnegan appear in front of him. Crackle crackle Sparks appear between the two repulsive fields, as both of them are at a stalemate. "Huh! I never expected to see you recover your strength after I stole so much of your chakra." Chapter 276: Urashiki Vs In-Yō Part-2 Chapter 276: Urashiki Vs In-Y Part-2 Rumble Rumble Both of Urashiki''s and Sasuke''s technique cancels each other. Whoosh whoosh Itachi and Shisui activate their Susanoo and appear on Urashiki''s each side. "Yasaka Magatama" Both of them create arge chakra magatama in their hand. They aim it towards Urashiki and throw it with full force. BOOM BOOM The magatamas explode on top of Urashiki followed by a burst of lightning and fire. Buzz Lightning flickers on one half of Urashiki''s body while the other half is scorched ck from the attack. Swirl Urashiki absorbs their jutsu with his Rinnegan, and his body recovers rapidly. ''Tool creation Technique'' Multitudes of dense red chakra weapons appear behind Urashiki. Shoom The red chakra weapons shoot at incredible speed and pins down Itachi and Shisui''s Susanoo. Boom boom The chakra weapons continue to bombard their Susanoo and annihte them, leaving a tattered Shisui and Itachi. Urashiki extends his arm outward. He condenses arge purple ball of energy into his palm and aims it towards the group. Fwoosh Minato tosses a kunai in the air and teleports from his position. There is a giant Rasengan infused with Nature energy in his right hand. "I have been waiting for you!" Urashiki smirks and turns around. His Rinnegan turn blue. ''Amenosubaruboshinomikoto: Ryg'' BOOM Urashiki''s purple orb of energy collides with Minato''s giant Rasengan. BOOM An immense demonic purple serpent appears around the purple orb, with the purple orb acting as its eye. Roar The purple orb devours Minato''s Rasengan and continues to target him. Fwoosh Minato teleports and reappears near his kunai. Bleurgh He coughs out a mouthful of blood and tightly clutches his right arm. There are some burn marks on his right hand and the outer skin is peeled away. "Let me heal you." Kushina uses the Mystic Palm Technique to heal Minato''s arm. "Heh! I never expected these insects can resist to this degree. It''s time to end this." Urashiki extends his left palm outward and forms a swirl of explosive purple energy in his palm. He aims it towards the still recuperating Minato, Kushina, Sasuke, Shisui, and Itachi. Jiraiya''s expression turns ugly as he stares at the violent swirl of purple energy. He gathers chakra in his palm and creates a gigantic Rasengan. Haah Jiraiya opens his mouth and spews out mes on the Rasengan, turning it into a gigantic ball of mes. "Chdama ming Rasengan" Whoosh Jiraiyaunches the giant ming Rasengan towards Urashiki. "Hmm I haven''t forgotten about you pest." A gourd materializes around Urashiki''s waist. He inserts his right hand in the gourd and withdraws a green sphere of chakra. Swoosh He throws the green chakra sphere towards the iing Rasengan. The green chakra rapidly expands and forms a gigantic tornado. BOOM The tornado collides with the Rasengan dispelling it. "Oye brat! How long will it take to charge your jutsu? I have already created an opening for you." Jiraiya has an anxious expression on his face. "I have been waiting for this moment." Whoosh Izuna appears behind Urashiki with a purple orb of his own. "Electroma Release: Flux Rasengan" BOOM Izuna''s Rasengan collides with Urashiki''s technique and creates a violent vortex of energy. The vortex expands instantaneously and engulfs Izuna and Urashiki. Poof Izuna disappears in a puff of smoke as the vortex consumes Urashiki. Urashiki''s Rinnegan turns red before he gets consumed by the vortex. Crackle crackle The vortex creates a gigantic crater almost the size of Konoha. Purple lightning flickers through the crater as bursts of EMPs radiate from the crater. Swirl A pitch-ck portal appears behind Minato and ten orizuru leaps out of the portal. Urashiki leaps out of the portal. The corrosive power of Electromaic Release scorches almost half of his body as purple lightning continues to flicker through his body. Even with his restorative powers, he is recovering at a slow rate. Stab Urashiki impales Minato with his fishing rod and tries to steal his chakra. "Hmm I can''t steal your chakra!" He notices the sealing tag near Minato''s naval area. Strip Urashiki removes the sealing tag and inspects the seal. "I see. So, it''s this sealing technique that is protecting you." Srrr He burns the sealing tag to ashes and extracts Minato''s chakra. A ming red ball of chakra appears at the end of the fishing hook. Urashiki grabs the chakra and turns it into a chakra pill. Gulp Urashiki swallows the chakra pill and his body recovers rapidly. "I can sense Kyubi''s chakra mixed within this pill." Urashiki greedily stares at Minato. Whoosh Izuna teleports near Minato and supports him. He transfers some of his chakras to Minato to help him recover. ''I still need Minato-san''s help with the sealing formation.'' Izunapletes the chakra transfer and focuses his attention on Urashiki. ''His escape technique is too damn annoying. I can''t track his whereabout even with my Rinnegan.'' Haha Haha Urashiki recovers from all of his wounds. "Now have a taste of your own medicine." Swoosh Urashiki stretches his arm as red dense chakra gathers in his palm. The chakra swirls continuously and forms a giant Rasengan. Bzzt Urashikibines the Rasengan with his technique. A small purple orb appears in the center of the Rasengan. ''Dark Crimson Spiral'' Urashiki throws the giant spiraling mass of chakra towards the group. Shoom A dense ck shield of dark chakra materializes in front of the group. ''Yata No Kagami'' BOOM The spiraling mass of chakra ms into the shield. Crack crack Dust and debris rise in the air as ground cracks beneath their feet. Izuna is pushed away by the force of the spiral. Haah He redirects the technique towards the sky. BOOM The spiraling mass explodes in the air, releasing a dazzling disy of light. Intense lights erupt from the explosion and it dispels away the darkness of the night. The technique shatters the cloud, exposing the blood-red Moon. "This is" Tsunade''s eyes widen in shock as she could feel the sheer amount of chakra involved in that previous technique. ''I am afraid if this technique explodes on top of Konoha then not even a rubble will be left behind.'' The jutsu extinguishes in a star-shaped remnant, and the light slowly fades away. Rumble Rumble The aftermath of jutsu releases a powerful shock wave which levels the nearby flora and fauna, turning it into a rocky wastnd. Bzzt The barrier around Konoha flickers violently, and some cracks appear on its surface. Tch Tsunade clicks her tongue in dismay. "If another technique of such a scale explodes, I am afraid the barrier will crumble and it will expose Konoha to the shock waves of the battle." She instantly summons the anbu team. "You lot go and help the barrier team to reinforce the barrier. We have to maintain this barrier at all cost." --------------- Inside the underground shelter, Tremble tremble The shock waves of the battle travel through the ground, leaving an earthquake in its wake. "What''s going on? Why there is an earthquake all of a sudden?" Narutoins. "This earthquake might be the reason for the emergency drill." Lee spectes. "No! This earthquake is different." Shino takes out a tiny insect from his pocket. "Usually, my insects will warn me whenever an earthquake urs. But this time, they didn''t." He releases his insects on the ground. After a while, the insect flies back to him. "As I suspected, there are traces of chakra in this earthquake." His insect trembles in fear. "And this chakra is very dangerous." Shino''s sses shine with a glint. Gulp "You are creeping me out." Naruto gulps his saliva. He turns to Neji and nudges him. "Hey, Neji! Why don''t you check out, what''s going on outside?" "Alright!" ''Byakugan!'' Neji activates his Byakugan and gazes outside the shelter. After a while, he shakes his head. "I can''t see anything past this shelter. I assume there is some sort of barrier blocking my senses." Neji deactivates his Byakugan. "You guys! Why don''t you take it easy like Shikamaru?" Choji is munching some potato chips as he points towards Shikamaru, who iszily resting on the ground. Shikamaru opens one of his eyes and remarks. "It''s not like, you guys can interfere with whatever is going outside?" He closes his eyes and yawns. "I am so sleepy." ---------------------- Huff huff Izuna breathes heavily as the explosion destroyed a major portion of his shield. Minato and the group heave a sigh of relief. The previous explosion could have easily killed them if they confronted it head-on. "Thankfully, Izuna-kun you blocked the attack, or else I was about to teleport from here." Minato has a grim expression on his face. Previously, he didn''t agree with Izuna''s decision to confront the enemy alone. After his rebirth, Minato had the confidence to fight against most of the enemies, but now after taking a nce at the scale of the battle; he could only shake his head in dismay. "It seems like we are holding Izuna back. He is protecting us while keeping the enemy at bay. Let''s follow our original n." The rest of the group nods their head. "Then I will serve as the distraction." "Let''s go!" Jiraiya, Minato, and Kushina flicker towards the sealing formation. Guy dashes towards Urashiki with seven gates open. Chapter 277: Spear of Penance Chapter 277: Spear of Penance "Then I will serve as the distraction." Guy dashes towards Urashiki and activates the Eight gates. "Seventh Gate of Wonder: Open" Blue sweat covers Guy''s body and his body emits a blue-greenish aura. Guy rapidly dashes towards Urashiki to gather momentum. He stretches his right palm forward and taps it with his left hand to form a double clutch fist. Haah "zing Hirudora" Guy punches his fist towards Urashiki and makes a tiger seal. Roar The powerful pressure from the fistpresses the air into a giant white tiger almost the size of a full-body Susanoo. Roar The tiger roars and dashes towards Urashiki. Crackle crackle Raging fire envelops the giant tiger as the sheer force of friction sets it aze. Roar The tiger opens its mouth and leaps at Urashiki. Shiing Urashiki''s Rinnegan turns red, and he stretches his arm in front of his face. "Tsurugari" A giant red ming crane of vtile chakra erupts from the ground. Urashiki directs it to confront Hirudora. Scree The ming crane ms into Hirudora and grapples its head with its ws. Roar The zing tiger opens its giant mouth and bites on the ming crane''s neck. Scree The ming crane releases a shrill cry, and its body bloats out. BOOOOM The crane detonates violently, scorching the nearby ground and turning thend into a pool of moltenva. The zing Hirudora condenses into a single point and explodes along with the crane. RUMBLE RUMBLE A giant column of fire rises in the air, supercharging the surrounding ions. The pir of mes is followed by a dome of mes that expands rapidly and engulfs Urashiki. Swish Urashiki waves his hand and creates a cyan barrier to protect himself from the assault of the shock waves. Huff Huff Guy breathes heavily and thumbs up towards Izuna and the rest. Whoosh Kakashi supports him. "Kakashi?!" Guy is surprised to see Kakashi. "Guy! You did well. Leave the rest to them." He passes a chakra pill to Guy and carries him on his back. "Recover your chakra for now. The fight isn''t over yet!" Guy nods his head. After the explosion settles, dark clouds looms over the entire area. Crackle crackle Purple lightning flickers through the clouds, releasing deafening explosions. Whoosh Adult Sasuke jumps in front of Urashiki and raises his right hand. Chirp chii Purple lightning flickers in his palm. Bzzt He shoots a bolt of lightning towards the clouds. Rumble Rumble The clouds shake vigorously andrge amounts of lightning gather at a point ready for discharge. "Kirin" Sasuke brings down his hand and directs the lightning towards Urashiki. Roar The lightning shapes into a lightning dragon with thick eyshes, an upward flowing mane, and a long pair of slim beards. The dragon has a pair of red eyes and there are numerous scales on its body. ROAR The dragon releases a high pitch cry and dives towards Urashiki. Sasuke uses his Rinnegan to control the flow of chakra through the lightning. "This guy! He is too strong!" Jiraiya turns towards Sasuke and remarks. "I don''t think I am a match for him, Rinnegan or not!" He helplessly remarks. Minato and Kushina nod their head. "Looks like Izuna-kun has found quite a helper." Kushina remarks. "Seems like it is a right choice to leave the battle to Izuna and this man." Minato sighs helplessly. Urashiki''s expression turns ugly as he confronts the dragon. "You underestimate me!" He inserts his right hand in his gourd and takes out a glowing cyan chakra orb. "Amenosubaruboshinomikoto: Kamenootohime" The glowing cyan orb morphs into a gigantic turtleposed of wind chakra. The turtle encases Urashiki in its shell and blocks the charging dragon. Bzzt Lightning flickers around the thick chakra shell of the turtle as the outer scales of the shell slowly chip away. Whoosh. Izuna appears behind Urashiki. Large amounts of fire, lightning, wind, and water chakra gather in his hand. "Oblivion Release: Spear of Penance" Izuna clutches his right hand and condenses the entire chakra in a dark crimson spear. BAM The spear easily prates through Urashiki''s barrier and shatters it like a thin sheet of ss. BOOOM Urashiki is flung across arge distance. He crashes through multiple hills, destroying them in the process. BANG Urashiki crashes in a mountain, leaving a deep gorge behind. BOOOOM. The spear detonates on top of Urashiki. A mushroom cloud of dust and debris rises in the air. The impact rends the ground apart, and the mountain is blown to smithereens creating a bottomless trench in its wake. Rumble Rumble The mushroom cloud dissipates to reveal a dumb-bell shape explosion of 3 km height. Crack crack Web-like cracks spread through the ground and reach all the way to Konoha. Rumble Rumble Thend around Konoha trembles and caves in, leaving Konoha on a small teau. Crumble crumble The barrier around Konoha crumbles from the shock wave and shatters into countless pieces. The entire Konoha tremble from the shock waves as many houses in the outer area copse. "This is bad!" Tsunade clicks her tongue. She strikes the Taiko drum again. "Mechanical Eight Trigrams Formation" Various earth walls rise from the ground and form a wall around Konoha. She warily turns towards the battlefield. "As their teammate, big sister, and mentor, I can''t allow them to risk their lives. But my duties as a Hokage forced me to watch them battle from sidelines." Tsunade clicks her tongue in dismay. Inside the Barrier Corp Headquarter, Blood leaks from the ears and nose of the barrier team members. "Quick, medical team!" The nearby Anbu members act immediately. Rumble Rumble Dark red clouds loom over the sky. The red clouds flicker with violet purple lightning. A gigantic raging fire tornado spins fiercely at the point of impact. Drizzle Drizzle The clouds start to rain incessantly and lightning crackles through the cloud. Crackle crackle Bolts of lightning continues to strike the area. "This is" Izuna and the rest of the group stare at this scene with wide eyes. Gulp Jiraiya gulps a mouthful of saliva, unable to express the current situation in words. "Wha what''s this technique, Izuna?" Minato stutters, as he barely squeezes out these words. Izuna silently floats in the air with no movement. He has a shocked expression on his face as he stares at his right hand. ''Th this is the power of a Hydrogen Bomb. The power of a Nuke!'' -------------- Iwagakure, Inside the Tsuchikage Office, Rumble Rumble The table shakes slightly, spilling the tea on Onoki''s clothes. Tch "What''s going on? Why there is an earthquake all of a sudden?" Onoki wipes his clothes in dismay. He turns towards his granddaughter who is gaping out of the window. "Young people these days they wantonly waste their time while lost in their dreams." "Ooo Old Man! Ll ll look!" Kurotsuchi points outside with trembling hands. "Hmph what''s there outside to look? Nothing but a bunch of useless fools! Wasting all of Iwa''s resources! Otherwise, how could we lose to Konoha time and time again!" Onoki grumbles. "You stubborn old man! Come and take a look!" Kurotsuchi drags him along. "Oww! My back! My back!" Onoki grimaces in pain. "Young people these days they have no regard for their elders," Onoki grumbles and follows her. He looks out of the window and is dumbfounded at the scene A gigantic dumbbell shape pir of light appears in his vision. "What''s going on?" He instantly flies out of the wind. "Hey, old man! Bring me along, too!" Kurotsuchiins. Onoki ignores her and continues to gain altitude to get a clear look at the scene. A gigantic fire tornado appears in his vision. "What''s going on? That''s thend of Fire!" Onoki has a grim expression on his face. "What are those leaf fledglings up to?" He squints his eyes to take a clear look. "This this seems to be some kind of jutsu." Onoki''s expression turns ugly. "From the looks of it, it seems to be a forbidden jutsu. If Konoha used such a jutsu against Iwa, then I am afraid there will be no traces of Iwa left behind." Onoki continues to monitor the situation as he ponders. "Currently, Konoha has be the undisputable number one hidden vige. It houses various powerful ninjas of the old and new generations. We don''t even have any intel on Konoha since all of our spies have been weeded out. Things can''t continue like this, looks like I have to hasten our n." Onoki clenches his fists. ---------------------- A/N:- This chapter took a lot out of me. Writing fighting scenes is hard. In the anime, Urashiki doen''t have many jutsu. Since his character was based on Urashima Taro folk lore and his jutsu''s name too, I have to research the folk lore and conjure his jutsu names based on the folk lore to make it look more authentic. Also,ment your thoughts on Izuna''s new chakra release. I am introducing these jutsus because canonically all of Otsutsuki techniques are devised as Kekkei Mora techniques (Combination of Five chakra releases). Now this leads me to a question, how the fuck can a simple Rasengan or fireball jutsu can counter and nullify them. Like How? If this is the case then what''s the use of training those Kekkei Genkai. I am sure, the level of a jutsu depends on its user but the other party has an inherent advantage in terms of grade of the jutsu with his Kekkei Mora. Also, Kekkei Mora like Truth seeking ball can easily nullify any ninjutsu then why Otsutsuki never used them? Note:- Kaguya and Toneri were able to create Truth-Seeking balls which makes me think it is a Otsutsuki technique but I am skeptical. Chapter 278: The Real Battle Chapter 278: The Real Battle In Kirigakure, Inside the Terumi npounds, Humph "I am mad!" Ayaka angrily stomps on the ground. "Now now Ayaka-chan, don''t be angry!" Mei tries to calm her down. "How can I calm down? He just left me here yesterday and didn''t even bother to bring me back." Ayaka sulks in a corner. "He must have a reason to leave you behind!" Mei shakes her head. "Come on, now! Let''s bake some cookies. I will teach you a new recipe. It''s a special recipe from my mother." "Really?!" Ayaka curiously turns to her. "Of course! Today I will teach you the basic recipe. I will teach the rest after I return to Konoha." Mei pats her head. "Mei Nee-san, you are so nice, unlike my mean brother! I can''t wait for your wedding next week. Then Ayaka will spend all her time with you." Ayaka nods her head. "Ok, let''s go!" Mei shakes her head and walks inside the house. Rumble rumble Tremors run across the ground as an earthquake hits the vige. "Ah!" Ayaka drops on her hand and knees and sticks to the ground. Mei dashes out of the house and heaves a sigh of relief to see Ayaka on the ground. "What are you doing, Ayaka?" She curiously asks her. "I am exercising the safety measures during an earthquake." "Oh! Who taught you these?" "Onii-chan taught me." Ayaka continues to hold her head while kneeling on the ground. Rumble The tremors slowly fade away, and Ayaka slowly raises her head. "It''s over!" She heaves a sigh of relief and stands up. "Huh! What''s that?!" Ayaka points towards a giant red tornado churning in the skies. "That direction! Isn''t the vige in that direction?" Mei notices the giant cloud and her expression turns ugly. "Ao! Hurry ande here!" Mei grabs Ayaka and jumps on top of the mansion to get a clear look. "This is" Her eyes widen in shock. "That''s Konoha!" She hurriedly takes out a sealing tag from her pocket and infuses chakra in it. The seal glows, but there is no response. "Why is there no response all of a sudden?" Mei bites her lips. Whoosh Ao arrives behind her and bows. "You summoned me, Mizukage-Sama!" Mei points towards the giant red tornado. "Byakugan!" Ao activates his Byakugan and inspects the tornado. Gulp He gulps his saliva and reports. "Mizukage-sama! That''s Izuna-san''s chakra. That that tornado has Izuna-san''s chakra mixed in it." He reports with a trembling voice. "Izuna-san''s chakra is so dense and unique; I can recognize it from miles away." "I knew it!" Mei angrily grits her teeth. "He must have left Ayaka here for this reason too." Mei figures out the gist of the situation. ''It must be one of those otherworldly threats Izuna was talking with his group.'' "I can''t me him. He did it for our safety! But still..." She helplessly shakes her head. She gently caresses her stomach. "There is no point in worrying, let''s return! I believe in Izuna''s decision." A simr situation urs in Kumogakure and Sunagakure. ''A'' has a telescope in his hands as he gazes at the churning red tornado. "Damn, Konoha! What kind of forbidden Jutsu is this?" He grits his teeth. BAM He ms his arm on the grill and shatters it. "Fool! Ya Fool! That explosion is so cool!" Bee has a telescope in his hand as he draws something in a small diary. BAM A smack his head. "Stop fooling around and get back to the Genbu Ind." A has a grim expression on his face. "Looks like I have to speed up the pace of ''Project Chakra Cannon''. Konoha''s strength is growing incessantly." In a secret underground headquarter, Obito narrows his eyes as he stares at the giant fire tornado. "This must be the work of Silent Shinigami. I doubt anyone else besides him possesses such power." He takes out a glowing ss orb from his pocket. "The Akatsuki had beenid back for too many years, it''s time to make an appearance." ---------------- Back at Konoha, Swoosh The giant fire tornado disperses. The entire mountain has been blown to smithereens, leaving a bottomless trench behind. "Such power!" Minato turns towards Izuna. "Izuna, I never expected you to create another forbidden jutsu. From the likes of it, this jutsu seems to be more potent forrge-scale destruction." ''Incredible! So, this is the first time Nii-san used this jutsu. But its power doesn''tckpared to the other times.'' Adult Sasuke stares at Izuna in amazement. Izuna shakes his head. "Even I didn''t expect the jutsu to create such an effect. This is my first time using it at full power." Back then, during his Rinnegan awakening, he created four new Kekkei Shi to awaken a Kekkei Mora. Oblivion Release was one of them. ''Seems like every Kekkei Shi has unique power, but the price to use them is also quite high. I won''t be able to use this jutsu again for a while.'' Shiing One of the tomoes in his Rinnegan vanishes, leaving eight tomoes. "Did we get him?" Jiraiya warily stares at the pit. Swirl Ten red Orizuru appears in front of the group. Huff Huff Urashiki is breathing heavily as blood leaks from his blue Rinnegan. Shoom The Rinnegan fades away to reveal his Byakugan. "You are still alive?" Jiraiya couldn''t help but question him. "Not bad! Not bad! I never expected you insects to possess such powers." Urashiki huffs for breath as he praises the group. "Oh! Still putting airs. You have paid quite the price to escape from my technique." Izuna mocks Urashiki. "I wonder how many times can you rewind your time and return to your former state," Izuna smirks. Previously, during their battle, Izuna has instructed Tatsuya to monitor Urashiki''s every movement and report to him through telepathy. Tatsuya has been studying Urashiki''s techniques during the battle. Only he can track Urashiki''s movement during his escape technique thanks to his Mangekyo ability of irvoyance. When Izuna''s jutsu hit him earlier, Urashiki used the ability of his Blue Rinnegan to reverse the surrounding time. He was able to escape from the explosion, but the shock waves still got him. ''Even Rinnegan has limitations.'' Izuna shakes his head. Bleurgh Urashiki pukes out another mouthful of blood as he vengefully stares at the group. "I''ll need to regroup and reformte my strategy." Swirl He opens a Yomotsu Hirasaka to escape from them. "Do, it!" Izuna signals the group. Swish swish Minato, Jiraiya, Kushina, and Tatsuya make some hand signs and m their hand on the ground. Vroom The sealing formation lights up with chakra, and a gigantic barrier surrounds the ce. Bang Urashiki''s Yomotsu Hirasaka shatters and the surrounding space closes, leaving no path for escape. Rumble A blue barrier encloses the entire group, isting the space-time of the area. Swish swish Izuna makes some One-hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. Swoosh He erects another green barrier and conceals the rest of the group from Urashiki. Whoosh Sasuke appears beside Izuna and removes his cloak. Shiing His left eye changes to reveal a Six-tomoe Rinnegan. "Now I can fight without the fear of exposing my identity." Izuna also dispels his illusion to reveal his eight-tomoe Rinne-Sharingan. "Yeah! I have been holding myself back for a while. Fortunately, this Urashiki will allow me to go all out and vent my frustration." ''I have finally found a worthy sandbag. Unlike Isshiki this guy''s brain is in his knees.'' Izuna cracks his neck and turns to Urashiki. "Let''s dance!" "Rinne-Sharingan!" Urashiki''s expression turns ugly as he notices Izuna''s Rinne-Sharingan. Even Sasuke is surprised to see this. Urashiki attempts to open another portal, but it shatters before it could form. "A space-time Istion Barrier?!" He waves his fishing rod to shatter the barrier. Bzzt Red lightning flickers around the barrier and deflects his fishing rod. "Since you havee this far, why bothering leaving now? We Uchiha n members will show our hospitality to the members of the Otsutsuki n." Izuna and Sasuke walk towards him. "Haha Ahahaha" Urashiki clutches his forehead andughs maniacally. "You vermin are nothing more than fodder in our eyes. How dare youpare yourself to the likes of the Otsutsuki n?" Shoom He infuses some chakra into his palm and inserts it into his guard. Swish swish swish Urashiki pulls out ten orbs from his gourd and throws them towards the Uchiha duo. Poof Poof The orbs morph into puppets with Otsutsuki symbols. "I hate to use my skills against the likes of insects, but you have truly infuriated me this time." Urashiki waves his hand and shoots ten chakra beams at the puppet. Snap snap The puppets assemble themselves ande to life. "Beware, Nii-san! These puppets are quite tricky to handle and their weapons can even pierce through Susanoo." Sasuke warns him. Izuna pulls out a glowing cyan de from his storage. "When ites to fighting a group of enemies, I am the best!" ---------------------- A/N:- How is the battle so far? Is it boring or is it exciting? Do you think it is fast-paced, slow-paced or just right on the mark? Are you able to follow up with the events of battle or have hard time grasping the situation. Comment your thoughts. P.S. It''s quite hard to ry the situation of battle without any drawing or visual means. Still, I will try my best to make it possible to imagine. Chapter 279: Final Form Chapter 279: Final Form A/N:- I will add a few images in paragraphments to make it easier to visualize some objects. ------------- "Shadow clone Jutsu" Izuna creates ten shadow clones to fight against Urashiki''s puppet. "You underestimate me! Even Kyubi with his hundred clones was no match for my puppets." Urashiki mocks Izuna. "NO! It''s not the quantity that matters, but the quality. Since it is going to be my first all-out battle with my Rinnegan, I won''t hold back." Izuna grabs the de in his mouth and makes some hand signs. "Power Release: Asura''s cloak" Swoosh A dark red cloak appears around his body. Purple lightning flickers through his eyes as he wields his de. "Sasuke! A ninja is all about speed. Show me how much progress have you made in that regard!" "Hah you took the words out of my mouth, Nii-san! I was waiting for this moment for so long." Sasuke takes a sword stance. "Amaterasu!" He coats his de with ck mes and purple lightning flickers through his body. Urashiki takes out some pills from his gourd and consumes them. Hisplexion changed slightly and a giant horn grows in the center of his forehead. Whoosh Izuna and Sasuke disappear from their position, turning into a bolt of red and purple lightning. Haah Urashiki activates his tomoe-less purple Rinnegan. He extends his arms and aims them towards the duo. Swish swish swish Urashiki rapidly fires a barrage of ck chakra receivers from his arms. ng ng Izuna and Sasuke deflect the attack and close the distance. "I am not done yet!" ''Tool Creation Technique'' Urashiki ps his hand and creates a multitude of tools like axes, des, hammers, chains, shields, and scythes. Haah He wields his fishing rod and the rest of the weapons floats behind him in a Chakram formation. ''Amenosubaruboshinomikoto'' He swings the fishing rod tounch a barrage of fishing hooks. Haah Izuna intercepts the barrage with an attack of his own. He swings the cyan de andunches a barrage of cyan vacuum des. Bang bang The cyan vacuum des sh through the fishing hooks andnd on Urashiki. Urashiki summons a giant red shield to block the attack. "Amenotejikara" Sasuke uses the ability of his left eye to switch positions with one of Urashiki''s des. Shiing Urashiki''s eyes turn blue. He wields a chain with his left hand and wraps it around Sasuke tightly locking him in his grasp. "Now I got you. Friend of Kyubi!" Heh Sasuke smirks at him. Shoom He disappears from his ce and appears in front of Urashiki as Izuna reces him with own jutsu. "Amenotejikara" Izuna copies Sasuke''s Rinnegan ability. He shes his de towards Urashiki, shattering the chain and the shield in the process. Bang Urashiki ms in the ground, creating a giant crater. Ugh He pukes out a mouthful of blood. Argh "Damn you insects! How dare youy your filthy hands on me? He controls the gravitational field and lifts a giant piece ofnd. Haah He hurls it towards the Uchiha duo. "Susanoo" Sasuke summons his Susanoo and swings the de to slice through the boulder. BOOM His de cleaves the boulder in half andnds on Urashiki. Crack crack Cracks appear on the de as it shatters and disperses. Urashiki has a glowing white de in his hand which he drew from one of his puppets. Whoosh Izuna appears behind Urashiki and performs ateral kick. Swoosh Urashiki ducks down and dodges the kick. Izuna smirks and mutters. ''Frog Kata'' BOOM Urashiki is sent flying by the invisible blow of the Nature energy. BANG Urashiki ms into the barrier. Red lightning flickers through his body as he slides down. The horn in the middle of his forehead cracks and separates from his body. "Since you don''t want me toy hands on you then would leg work?" Izuna unites with Sasuke. Ahahaha Haha Muhaha Large amounts of chakra surges in Urashiki''s body. "I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL EXTERMINATE YOU INSECTS!" Urashiki''s hysterical cries echoes in their ears. He stands upright and sps his hands together. Shoom Fwoosh Fwoosh The Otsutsuki puppets stop momentarily and the Otsutsuki symbol on their forehead glows brightly. Bang Bang Bang The puppets fly towards each other and fuse together to form a gigantic humanoid construct. Haah Urashiki stretches his arms and a giant opening appears in the center of the puppet. Whoosh He encases his body within his puppet. SHOOM The puppets charge a dense purple chakra beam and aim it at Izuna and Sasuke. "Nii-san, beware! This attack can prate through all sorts of defense and even nullify regeneration." "SUSANOO" Izuna creates a full-body Susanoo. The Susanoo spreads its arm and a gigantic ck shield appears in its left hand. "Let''s see which is more powerful, my shield or your spear!" Swoosh He infuses his Susanoo with Nature energy and adds anotheryer of protection. Shoom Shoom Cyan scales form on the Susanoo and a green vertical eye opens in the center of the ck shield. me motifs surround the eye, making it more imposing. BAM Izuna ms the gigantic shield on the ground and ces it in front of the chakra beam. Fwoosh The chakra beam ms into the shield. The eye in the center of the shield glows brightly and disperses the energy of the attack. The right hand of the Susanoo wields a katana and shes it towards the gigantic puppet. nk The puppet draws its white de and blocks his attack. Crack crack Izuna''s katana shatters into fragments and disperses. Tch Izuna clicks his tongue. "These Otsutsuki energy weapons are a problem." The Susanoo''s shield continues to degrade under the energy beam. "I have to do something." Izuna stretches his arm and five malleable purple orbs with dense chakra appear in his palm. "Shinra Bansh" He shapes the orb into a giant purple katana and swings it around. ng ng The purple katana deflects the puppet''s weapons without any scratch. ''Even with my chakra reserves, I have used up a lot of chakra in this battle. This is my first time in a while to be so low on chakra.'' The Susanoo dashes towards the giant puppet and bashes its chest with its shield. Crack crack The chakra cannon on its chest shatters. "Sasuke, how long will it take for you to find it?" Izuna asks Sasuke. "Just a little more!" Sasuke is dodging the relentless attacks of the puppet as he scales its surface. Haah Izuna grabs the puppet and tries to lift it up in an attempt to throw it. Swoosh Swoosh A pair of additional arms appear from the mechanism of the puppet. Izuna dispels his shield and locks arm with the puppet. Both sides are in a stalemate as they continue to push each other. "Amaterasu: me Wrapping Fire" Izuna wraps his Susanoo with ck fire to gain an advantage. Kacha The puppet opens its giant mouth and sucks the surrounding fire. "What?! It can even absorb a jutsu!" Kacha Kacha Two additional pairs of arms sprout from the puppet''s chest. The arms wield white energy des. Swoosh It swings the de in an attempt to slice through Izuna''s Susanoo. HAAH Izuna''s Susanoo kicks the legs of the puppet and jumps back. Shoom The eyes of the puppet glow brightly, and it charges another powerful st. Izuna summons his shield to block the attack. "Found it!" Sasuke covers his Kusanagi de with Amatersau. Stab "ze Release: Honoikazuchi" He impales the weak point of the puppet with his de. Srrr The Amaterasu shapes into numerous spikes and pierces through the joints of the puppet. Shoom The puppet glows brightly as Sasuke destroys its energy core. Whoosh Sasuke jumps back andnds beside Izuna. BOOM The giant puppet explodes into pieces, leaving shards of dismantled small puppets. Swoosh A shadow flickers out of the remains of the puppet. "I have been waiting for you to show up!" Whoosh Izuna appears behind the figure. Stab He impales Urashiki''s heart. Bleurgh Urashiki pukes out a mouthful of blood as he stares at Izuna with shock. Swish Izuna draws his de and stabs him again. "These Otsutsuki have cockroach-like survivability. I want to ensure he dies for real." FWOOSH SHOOM Enormous amounts of chakra surges through Urashiki''s body as he releases a powerful shock wave, pushing Izuna behind. Crack Crack Cracks appear on the barrier isting the group. "Nii-san, beware! He is going to undergo his final transformation!" Sasuke warns Izuna as he raises his guard. "What?! Is he a rtive of a certain white space-lizard?" Izuna warily stares at Urashiki. "Ahaha Haha Now you monkeys have gone and done it. I have to say you monkeys possess some level of skill for this deste dimension. No wonder Momoshiki and Kinshiki lost to you. However, I am different!" Urashiki''s body turns upright as dark clouds loom over the ce. He plucks out his eyes and swallows them. "Ahaha haha" SHOOM SHOOM He releases a powerful gust of chakra. Crack crack The istion barrier cracks from the powerful shock waves as Urashiki undergoes his transformation. Meanwhile, Izuna is closely studying his body. ''He is releasing such powerful chakra without destroying his body. Also, I can feel that his Rinnegan has evolved. It''s almost as powerful as my Rinne-Sharingan. How is he doing it? If I can figure it out, I might be able to solve the issue with my body.'' Chapter 280: Desperate Struggle Chapter 280: Desperate Struggle A/N:- We finally have an editor and proofreader. One of the readers Zack_Spaghetti has volunteered to edit new and older chapters. So, expect the quality to improve a lot. Kudos to him for such contribution. Note:- He isn''t a professional so there might be some small errors. So, please don''t me him for any mistakes. Also, he will start from next chapter. ---------------------- "You Monkeys! You will pay for it with your death!" Crunch crunch Urashiki slowly rips apart his eyes and consumes them. AAH!! He consumes all of his stored chakra and his eyes to undergo his final transformation. HAAH!! Urashiki screams in agony as his chakra rises exponentially. Shoom Shoom His body releases a powerful pulse of chakra. The chakra pulse exerts a powerful pressure and raises a storm. The istion barrier cracks from the pressure, exposing the rest of the group. Even Izuna and Sasuke are pushed away by the powerful chakra. ------------- Back in the shelter, Shiver A chill runs down the spines of the Konoha shinobis. Even the non-sensor Ninjas can sense Urashiki''s terrifying chakra. "Wha what kind of chakra is this?" Sakura is scared by the terrifying chakra signature. Gulp Choji gulps his saliva and pockets his potato chips. "I have lost my appetite." "What kind of monster has appeared here? I can''t even sleep peacefully!" Shikamaru opens his eyes groggily. He has a grim expression on his face. "I have never sensed a chakra like this before." Shino picks up one of his bugs on his finger. "Even my bugs are scared." Naruto anxiously stares at the roof. ''Dad and Mom are outside. I hope they are safe. I don''t want them to leave me again.'' ''Oi brat!'' The Yang Kurama beckons Naruto. Swoosh Naruto enters his mindscape. "What''s the matter, Kurama?" "Brat! Stay away from this matter if you want to live. I have never sensed such malice and killing intent from anyone before. This chakra is so sinister that I can even sense the souls of countless living beings screaming in pain." Kurama warns Naruto. "But Mom and Dad! They are outside!" Naruto clenches his fist. "Brat! Your mom and dad are safe! With that Uchiha brat around, nothing will happen to them. You should worry for yourself instead, if you go out now, you will only cause them trouble." Kurama warns him. "Alright!" Naruto nods his head. Humph "Idiot brat!" Kurama snorts and closes his eyes. Meanwhile, on top of the Hokage Office, Tsunade senses Urashiki''s sinister chakra and a grim expression appears on her face. "The situation seems to have taken a turn for worse. I have to help them." "Sakumo!" Whoosh Sakumo appears beside her. "You summoned me, Lady Fifth!" "Sakumo, guard the formation and help the Anbu members to maintain order. I am about to head to battle." Whoosh Tsunade jumps down and flickers towards the battle. ------------- The group has an ugly expression on their face as they stare at Urashiki''s transformation. ck asymmetrical totems appear on Urashiki''s body. The totems spread through his face, legs, and arms. His hairs turn long and his feet and hands turn into ws. The broken horns on his head transform into red wings. Shoom A vertical tomoe less golden Rinnegan opens on his forehead. Urashiki opens his eyes to reveal his golden Byakugan. "I am going to beat you all to death!" He has a savage look on his face. Gulp Jiraiya gulps his saliva. "So, this is his real form? He looks more like a demon than a God!" "Get ready! He is about to attack!" Izuna draws his de and holds it in front of him. Hahaha Urashikiughs manically. He turns towards the now exposed group and dives towards them. "I will take care of the weakling first!" Whoosh He crashes on top of Jiraiya. BANG A crater forms on the ground as Jiraiya jumps in the air and avoids his attack. Shiing Urashiki''s golden Byakugan shes and he reappears beside Jiraiya. Stab He stabs his fishing rod through Jiraiya''s chest and rips apart the seal on his body. Swoosh He steals Jiraiya''s chakra with his fishing rod. Gulp Urashiki gulps the chakra and more lines appear on his chest and back. "After I am done with you all, I will take my time savouring Kyubi''s chakra." Cough cough Jiraiya coughs a mouthful of blood. Whoosh Tsunade appears besides Jiraiya. She uses the Mystic Palm Technique to heal his wounds. "Looks like I made it on time." She raises her head and notices Urashiki. ''So that''s the otherworldly being! He looks like a crane!'' "No matter how many of you monkeys arrive, it won''t change a thing." Whoosh He dives towards Tsunade. Whoosh Sasuke appears in front of Urashiki and blocks his talon with his sword. Haah Urashiki savagely swipes his ws at Sasuke in an attempt to tear him apart. ng ng Sasuke blocks his attack but is pushed back by Urashiki''s momentum. ''After using this form, he has turned into a brute. His physical parameters have exceeded greatly. Even my Sharingan can barely keep up with his movements.'' Izuna seeks an opening to attack Urashiki. Swoosh Sasuke infuses a kunai with lightning and throws it towards Urashiki. Fwoosh Urashiki tilts his head and dodges the kunai. Spurt Blood spurts from Urashiki''s face as the invisible lightning de pierces his skin. "Damn you!" Urashiki grabs Sasuke''s de in anger and kicks him. Sasuke crosses his arms to block the kick. BANG He is sent flying by the kick and ms into the ground, forming a web of cracks. Bleurgh Sasuke pukes out a mouthful of blood and there is a gash on his left arm. Whoosh Using this opportunity, Izuna teleports behind Urashiki. Swish He swings his de in an attempt to cleave Urashiki in half. "I haven''t forgotten about you." Urashiki turns around. nk He blocks the attack with his w. Swoosh Urashiki performs a roundhouse kick and kicks Izuna. Izuna blocks the attack with his arm. Bang Crack Izuna is sent flying in the air as the bones in his arm crack. ''His attacks are heavy. I can''t engage him in a direct confrontation.'' Sizzle sizzle Smoke rises from Izuna''s arm as it heals rapidly. "You persistent monkey! I will kill you first!" Urashiki reappears on top of Izuna and swipes his ws incessantly in a frenzy. ''His transformation has affected his mental state. He has let go of any strategy or tactics and is solely reliant on brute force. He is easily irritable now. Also, he haspletely given on defense at this point and has gone on total offense. It seems more like ast-ditch effort. Maybe there are some limitations to this transformation.'' Izuna constantly blocks Urashiki''s frenzied attack. Haah "Amenosubaruboshinomikoto: Gyokk" Urashiki conjures a dense purple orb in his palm and aims it at Izuna. "I can''t hold back any longer or else I might suffer some serious injuries." Fwoosh A cyan cloak appears around Izuna as he enters his Sage Mode. He oveps his Sage mode with his Asura cloak. Swoosh Izuna summons one of his Shinra Bansho orbs in his palm. He infuses it with Nature energy and throws it towards Urashiki to counter his attack. BOOM Both jutsu collides with each other. SHOOM A deafening silence enshrouds them as the jutsu shes with each other. The collision of jutsu creates a void in space as it sucks everything inside it, not even sound is able to escape from it. Dark Purple and ck lightning flicker around the void as the space turns unstable. Pop The void copses on itself and vanishes in a disy of bright colors. BANG BANG Both Izuna and Urashiki are sent flying by the resultant explosion. Izuna ms through multiple mountains, blowing them in the process. Dust and debris rise as the hill copses on him. BANG Urashiki ms into the ground, creating a giant crater. "IZUNA!" Tsunade anxiously stares at the faraway hill. Haha Urashiki smirks as his body fades into nothingness. Huh Tsunade has a bad premonition as her senses warn her of danger. She clutches her fist tightly. Bang Tsunade punches the ground and lifts a giant piece of earth. Whoosh Urashiki appears beside her and attacks her with his fishing rod. Orya!! She throws the giant piece of earth towards him. sh Urashiki swings his fishing rod and shatters the piece of earth. BOOM BOOM Tsunade throws multiple smoke bombs around Urashiki and flickers towards Jiraiya. "Jiraiya! Are you alright?" "I am alright! This is nothing but a flesh wound." "Good! Keep him busy while I treat the rest." She flickers towards Sasuke. Jiraiya jumps up. He wipes the blood from his chest into his eyes and ps his hand. "All these years, you aren''t the only ones who have improved. I have some tricks in my hands too." Arge amount of Nature energy gathers around Jiraiya as his features turn frog-like. He makes some hand sign and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu" Poof A giant crimson toad appears in a puff of white smoke. "Bunta! Just buy me some time." Jiraiya hurriedly rys his order. "Alright!" Seeing the severity of the situation, Gamabunta agrees without any hassle. Jiraiya jumps on top of Gamabunta with his hand sped. Gamabunta opens his mouth. "Toad Oil bullet" He fires a giant barrage of sticky oil at Urashiki. "Fire Release: Toad-Oil me bullet" Jiraiya fires a giant fireball to ignite the oil. Sizzle sizzle A ming ring surrounds Urashiki, restricting his movements. Swirl Urashiki opens his mouth and sucks the mes, extinguishing them. "What?!" Gamabunta''s eyes widen in surprise. "Ninjutsu won''t work against him," Jiraiya warns him. Swish Gamabunta draws his katana and attacks Urashiki. Chapter 281: Battle of the Toad Sage Chapter 281: Battle of the Toad Sage A/N:- I won''t be able to update chapter on this weekend. I have to present in a very important meeting in front of my research project instructor on Sunday. So, I will have to prepare for it. ------------- Huff Huff Gamabunta is breathing heavily as Urashiki easily parries his attack. "A low-life creature darey its hands on me?!" Urashiki extends his arm towards Gamabunta. "Shinra Tensei" Swoosh He releases a strong directional repulsive gravitational force. Bang Gamabunta stabs his de in the ground to resist the push. Hmph Urashiki snorts and throws a ck receiver rod at Gamabunta. Swish The rod turns into a two-pronged fork and pins down Gamabunta. Haah Jiraiya jumps down and ms his palm on the ground. Poof White smoke surrounds him, and he enters the Sage Mode. Fukasaku and Shima are sitting atop his shoulders as Jiraiya enters the Sage Mode. "Looks like Izuna-boy failed to handle the enemy!" Shoom Urashiki''s powerful chakra assaults them and their eyes turn into slits as they notice his appearance. "Such sinister chakra!" Shima stares at him in trepidation. "It''s not Izuna-boy''s fault! This enemy is too strong for him to handle alone!" "Baa! Paa! Now isn''t the time for chatter! Let''s focus on him first! Ninjutsu and Taijutsu won''t work against his Rinnegan. He can steal our chakra, so beware of his tricks!" Jiraiya warns them. "Jiraiya-boy! Buy some time for us as we umte enough chakra!" "Alright!" Jiraiya ps his hands together and summons a pair of stone swords. The des of the swords are te grey. The swords have circr, hollow pommels with long grips. A long chain connects both of the swords at their hilts. Jiraiya wields the swords in his hands and dashes towards Urashiki. "Sage Art: Toad Sword Beheading" The des glow with a blueish hue as Jiraiya infuses his chakra into them. Jiraiya uses his toad-like physique to leap at Urashiki. He instantly covers the distance between them. Swish He horizontally shes with his des while spinning in the air. ng Urashiki blocks the attack with his fishing rod. Swoosh The second de spins from behind and attacks Urashiki''s blind spot. ng A dense red chakra Kusari appears behind Urashiki and blocks the second attack. Urashiki clenches his fists and punches through the stone sword, shattering it. He swings the Kusari chain and wraps it around Jiraiya''s leg. Swoosh Bang Jiraiya got hurled into the ground. Argh Jiraiya groans in pain as his muscles rupture. He ignores the bleeding and ps his hands. Haah "Needle Jiz" Jiraiya hardens his hair and shoots them towards Urashiki. Swoosh swoosh Urashiki dodges the hair needles and extends his arms. Fwoosh He gathers a dense orb of energy in his hand. "Baa! Paa! Do it!" Jiraiya yells in urgency. "Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation Chant" Fukasaku and Shima release sheets of musical notes. The musical notes enter Urashiki''s ears and disrupt his chakra. Puff The energy ball in his hand dispels and Urashiki enters in a trance. "Jiraiya boy! Hurry up! We can''t maintain this for long." Shima urges him. "Yes!" Jiraiya summons another pair of stone swords and shes them towards Urashiki. "Toad Three shes" He coats his des with chakra and releases three crescent shes aimed at Urashiki''s neck. "This is the end, Urashiki!" Hehe Urashiki smirks as his Byakugan flickers slightly. Bleurgh A phantom appears behind Jiraiya. Its w pierces through Jiraiya''s gut. Jiraiya pukes out a mouthful of blood and falls to the ground. "Jiraiya boy!" Fukasaku and Shima throw a smoke bomb and grab Jiraiya. "I I am fine!" Jiraiya breathes heavily. "He missed my vitals thanks to my toad transformation." Phew Fukasaku and Shima heave a sigh of relief. Swoosh. Urashiki appears in front of them. He raises his palm and releases a volley of energy attacks. Swish Izuna appears in front of the toads. He swings his de and releases a barrage of vacuum des to counter them. Whoosh A phantom of Urashiki appears behind Izuna. Bang The phantom kicks Izuna and sends him flying. He ms into the ground and forms a crater. Bleurgh Izuna pukes out another mouthful of blood. Izuna has a haggard look as he slowly gets up from the crater. ''Is that a clone Technique?! No, it''s a Limbo!'' Izuna activates his Rinnegan, but there is no trace of anything. ''I am almost out of chakra. If things go on like this, I will have to borrow chakra from the Nine-tails.'' He helplessly shakes his head. ''He is too strong. More powerful than what I expected. This is the true power of a pure breed Otsutsuki.'' Swoosh Urashiki''s Byakugan shes and another phantom appears behind Izuna. Bang The phantom kicks him from behind, sending him flying. Haah Izuna riles up his remaining chakra and regains bnce in mid-air. ''What kind of ability is this? He summons a phantom out of nowhere. It''s doesn''t seem to be a clone technique nor can I sense any Space-Time Fluctuations.'' "Amenominakanushi" Izuna activates his left eye ability and slows the flow of time around him. He constantly shifts his gaze from one ce to another, looking out for Urashiki''s sneak attack. Whoosh A phantom appears behind Izuna. The phantom has a fishing rod in his hand as it swings the rod at Izuna. Haah Izuna spins in mid-air and dodges the attack. He performs a roundhouse kick to attack the phantom. Swoosh His kick phases through the phantom and the phantom disperses. "What?! I can''t hit him!" Izuna is dumbfounded. ''It looks like a Limbo and has the abilities of one but I can''tnd a hit on it.'' Whoosh The phantom reappears behind a now recovered Sasuke and kicks him. Bang Sasuke is sent flying through the air. Swoosh Izuna flickers behind Sasuke and catches him. "Are you alright?" "I am fine." Sasuke steadies his breath. ''Dad! That phantom seems simr to my space remnant. I don''t quite understand its powers but the principle must be the same.'' Tatsuya informs Izuna. Hmm Izuna and Sasuke engage in another round of closebat with Urashiki while looking out for his phantom. Hahaha Ahahah "Die! Die! Die you monkeys!" Urashiki is frantically attacking them. ''What''s with him? Even I have run low on chakra but this guy is still rampaging.'' Shoom The phantom reappears behind Izuna and attacks him. Swoosh Izuna barely dodges its attack. "Huh!" Izuna notices some changes in Urashiki''s Golden Byakugan and Rinnegan. To confirm his spection, he continues to engage in Urashiki''s attacks while monitoring his movements. Fwoosh Urashiki infuses some chakra in his Byakugan and Rinnegan. Swoosh A phantom appears behind Sasuke and kicks him away. Swirl Sasuke coats himself with his Susanoo to protect himself. ''Sasuke! Buy me some time. I think I found a clue on how his technique works.'' Izuna sends a mental message to Sasuke. ''I will try.'' Sasuke nods his head. Izuna continues to study Urashiki''s technique while Sasuke keeps Urashiki distracted. Sasuke draws his de and infuses some chakra in it. He takes out a kunai and throws it towards Urashiki. Swish Urashiki tilts his head and avoids the kunai. "Amenotejikara: Instant" Whoosh Sasuke disappears from his ce as he shes towards Urashiki at an insane speed. ng Urashiki''s Rinnegan flickers slightly as he grabs Sasuke''s de with his bare hands. Bzzt Sasuke infuses purple lightning chakra in his left hand. "Chidori Sharp Spear" He aims it towards Urashiki''s head. Bzzt Urashiki''s Rinnegan flickers slightly, and his shadow appears behind Sasuke. Swoosh Sasuke turns around and blocks the attack of the shadow with his de. BANG Urashiki kicks Sasuke from back and sends him flying. "I figured it out." Whoosh Izuna flickers beside Sasuke and supports him. "Sasuke, that phantom of his is the ability of his Golden Rinnegan. He uses his Byakugan to lock on a specific chakra signature. Then he uses his Rinnegan to travel to the future for a few seconds. His future version appears as a phantom and attacks us. That time remnant represents every potential oue where he fails tond a hit on us. But since the phantom is able to hit us, it ceases to exist after every sessful hit." Izuna exins the principle behind Urashiki''s attack. "Subarashii!" Urashiki exims. "An insignificant being like you possess some level of intelligence to be able to see through my most powerful technique. How praiseworthy. But it''s futile, you will still die in the end." "Amenosubaruboshinomikoto: Tamatebako" Haah Urashiki sps his hand. Swoosh Another phantom appears behind Izuna and Sasuke. The phantom has a glowing purple orb in its hand as it attacks Izuna. "Amenosubaruboshinomikoto: Ryg" A gigantic demonic white snake appears behind the purple orb and attacks Izuna. Haah Izuna makes One-hand signs and opens his mouth. "Sage Art: White Rage Technique" He expels a giant crimson dragon from his mouth. The gigantic serpent has a purple orb in its hand. BOOM Both orbs collide with each other as the crimson dragon swipes its ws at the giant snake. The giant snake bites on the crimson dragon''s neck. BOOM Both of the techniques cancel each other out. Huff Huff Izuna breathes heavily as his cyan chakra cloak disperses. ''I have used up all of my nature energy reserves with thatst attack. Looks like I have no choice but to borrow some chakra.'' "I am on it!" Yin Kurama sps his hand and gathers his chakra to pass onto Izuna. Hmm Minato and Kushina sense Izuna''s intention since they have formed a connection with the Nine-tails. "Kushina! I have recovered enough. Let''s buy some time for Izuna to recover his chakra." "Alright!" Kushina nods her head. She turns to Urashiki and yells. "Do you think I will let you harm my Naruto? In your dreams!" Kushina clenches her fists. Haah Arge amount of yellow chakra emanates from her body in form of flickering mes. The chakra coats her body with a yellow cloak as Kushina enters the Nine-Tails chakra Mode. Both Minato and Kushina have fed on Nine-tails chakra for eleven whole years. The Nine-tails chakra has merged with their chakra system and has granted them ess to the first form of Kurama Chakra Mode. Even Kurama was amused to see this as he recalls a simr incident. Sixty years ago, the infamous Gold and Silver brothers of Kumogakure challenged him. In a fit of anger, Kurama swallowed them. The brothers fed on his chakra for two weeks and gained ess to the version two of six-tails. However, there are some limitations. The user has to slowly umte chakra to enter this form. Once used, they won''t be able to utilize it again unless enough chakra is amassed. Kushina ps her hands. "Adamantine Sealing chains" Chapter 282: Urashiki’s Demise Chapter 282: Urashikis Demise "Adamantine Sealing chains" Dark yellow Adamantine chains seep out from Kushina''s torso. Haah She aims them towards Urashiki and attacks him. The chains coil around Urashiki and attempts to drag him down. ng Urashiki swipes his ws and deflects them. ng ng Kushina incessantly aims the chains at Urashiki, who deflects them with his ws. Crackle crackle Yellow lightning crackles around the chains. Bzzt The surge of lighting paralyzes Urashiki for a moment. "I will help you!" Shoom Using this opportunity, Minato also enters the Nine-tails chakra mode. He ps his hand together and enters Sage Mode to further enhance his abilities. Minato extends his hand and produces a bright orange Rasengan. He infuses the Nature energy in the Rasengan to make it more effective. Swoosh Minato throws a kunai towards Urashiki. ng Urashiki frees himself from the bindings. He deflects the kunai with his ws and grabs Kushina''s chains and yanks them. Snap Snap The chains break apart and Kushina is sent flying by the attack. Whoosh Izuna teleports behind her and stops her momentum by shielding her with his body. Swoosh Minato teleports on top of Urashiki and ms his Rasengan on Urashiki''s head. Crack A crack appears on Urashiki''s red horn. Snap The horn snaps in half and blood trickle from Urashiki''s head. Argh Urashiki screams in pain as the blood dyes his ws red. "I WILL KILL YOU!" He quickly turns around and grabs Minato before he could teleport. Stab He stabs a chakra receiver through Minato''s arm, disabling him from infusing his chakra. Fwoosh Minato''s chakra cloak disperses as Urashiki grabs him by the neck. "I shall grant you death for ruining the crown of a noble Otsutsuki!" Urashiki stretches his other hand and coats his talons with chakra. Stab He impales Minato through the chest. Whoosh "Amenotejikara" Izuna reces the position with Minato. Bleurgh He pukes out a mouthful of blood as Urashiki''s w pierces through his chest. Hmm Urashiki notices Izuna rece his position with Minato. "This is the reason you are so weak. You protect these weaklings despite your power." Urashiki mocks Izuna. Haha Izuna smiles at him and grabs his arm. "No! It''s the opposite! I have my strength only because of them. Each of them contributed to my strength. They took care of me when I was young, mentored me when I was clueless. They aren''t some weaklings; they are my family." "DO IT!" Whoosh A cloaked figure silently appears beside Urashiki. Tatsuya uses his Mangekyo ability to sneak behind Urashiki. Stab Tatsuya stabs a kunai in Urashiki''s golden Rinnegan. ARGH Urashiki ms Izuna on the ground and clutches his forehead. Blood leaks from his forehead as Urashiki screams in agony. "This is my chance." Izuna locks on Urashiki''s chakra. He infuses the entire borrowed chakra in his left eye. Shiing Izuna''s Rinnegan turns blue. It releases a pulse of blue energy. The blue energy pulse travels outward in a circr ring manner. Swish swish Everything in his surroundings freezes as the timees to a standstill. Izuna draws the cyan de and steadily walks towards Urashiki while his Rinnegan is glowing with blue energy. "Urashiki! With your Rinnegan gone, you won''t be able to resist my ability. You aren''t the only one with time-maniption abilities. This time I will annihte you for sure." Argh Urashiki opens his golden eyes as he gazes at Izuna. Haha Ahaha "My fate might be to die by your hands, but your fate! It will be far worse than just simple death. You will suffer in agony as you watch your loved ones die right in front of your eyes." Urashikiughs maniacally as his Golden Byakugan flickers with green light. Stab Izuna stabs Urashiki''s golden Byakugan with kunais. "I won''t be a part of your bullshit! My fate is in my hands. While death is the end for most people, it was the start of my journey. I will defy my fate and forge my destiny. After all, I aim to live a life with no regret. Even if I die a heroic death or a dog''s death; as long as there is a smile on my dying face, I will die content." Swish He slits Urashiki''s neck. ''I don''t know what weird ability his Rinnegan possesses and I don''t want to give him an opportunity to leave his Kama.'' Swish The glow in Izuna''s Rinnegan dims down, and another tomoe disappears from his eye. Haah "I won''t be able to use this ability for some time. My current body is still too weak." Izuna weakly falls to the ground as the wound on his chest heals slowly. ''These Otsutsuki weapons can negate my regeneration factor. I guess it''s another long trip to the hospital.'' Bang Urashiki''s dead body slowly falls to the ground. Whoosh Time returns to its normal flow. "Huh?!" Sasuke notices Urashiki''s body coldly lying on the ground. "He is dead! I killed him with my Rinnegan ability." Izuna informs him as he rests on the ground. "Damn! What a pain! He is just one of many Otsutsukis. We don''t know how many more are out there?" Izunains. "I I see." Sasuke sits beside him. "I don''t want any spoilers from you, since it might ruin the future, you return to. But there will be some evitable changes in the future. This is just the beginning and more enemies might appear in the future. You lot have to ensure that such a thing won''t happen again. Or who knows if more of these Otsutsukis might slip into the past and murder our entire n before we were even born." "I will keep that in mind." Sasuke nods his head. "My wedding will be dyed again?!" Izuna has an indignant expression. "Last time, it was because of Isshiki, and now Urashiki! Damn! Next time, If I meet any Otsutsuki; I will beat them to death!" Izuna stares at the giant hole in his chest. "Izuna!" "Izuna-kun!" "Izuna-san!" The Konoha party rushes towards him and surrounds him. "All of you move aside and let me take a look." Tsunade pushes them aside and inspects the injury on his chest. A frown appears on her face as she notices the big gaping hole. Tsunade uses preliminary treatment to seal his wound. "He is alright! This guy is born with cockroach genes. He won''t die this easily." She remarks. "Hey! That kind of hurt my feelings!" Izuna sighs pitifully. "Help me! I am dying!" Jiraiya groans in pain. "Let me see!" Tsunade quickly flickers towards Jiraiya. Izuna slowly sits up as Itachi and Shisui support him. He looks at the haggard and battered condition of the rest of the members and an ugly expression appears on his face. "Just one member of Otsutsuki n has pushed the elites of this world to such a condition. What would happen if an entire army appears in front of us?" Heins. The rest of the members have an indignant expression on their face. Sigh Izuna sighs and shakes his head. "This is a wake-up call for us. The conflicts of the shinobi are like scuffles of children in their eyes. They possess the power to reshape worlds. We are just insignificant insects in their eyes, we are their food." He resolutely clutches his fists. "But this doesn''t mean we will give up. This setback will only strengthen our resolve to grow powerful and fight back." "Yes! Izuna-kun is right! We mustn''t growcent from this victory but treat this a lesson to understand the scale of their power." Minato nods his head in agreement. "Alright! That''s enough!" Tsunade drags Jiraiya over. "Most of you have serious injuries from the battle. All of you need immediate medical attention. We can talk the restter!" Tsunade urges them. "Alright!" Izuna helplessly shakes his head. He turns to the group as he activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. "I am afraid, today''s incident might have a serious impact on the timeline. I will have to manipte your memories to prevent any paradox." Shiing Izuna casts a powerful genjutsu to manipte their memories and remove some crucial details like his and Sasuke''s Rinnegan and Urashiki''s name and his Rinnegan. ''The world only has one Rinnegan, which is in the possession of Akatsuki leader. It should stay the same until Sasuke awakens his own in this timeline.'' Izuna turns to Tatsuya and Sasuke. "Help me carry them to the hospital!" Ah Suddenly, his vision turns blurry. "Ah! Not again!" Heins as his body falls to the ground. "Dad!" "Nii-san!" Sasuke and Tatsuya hurriedly support him. Chapter 283: A Smile Worth Fighting For Chapter 283: A Smile Worth Fighting For A/N:- Hello guys! I am back with the updates. The presentation didn''t go as smooth as I want it to. As usual there is that one asshole in the judgesmittee that you can''t convince no matter what. Out of five professors, I got a score of 8-10 from them but thest guy gave me 6 which averaged me around 7.5 out of 10. I was hoping for 8 or above but this is what it is. -------------------- A weekter, Aww Aww Ayaka is angrily hitting Izuna''s chest with her small hands. "Onii-chan, you BAKA! BAKA!!" Aww Aww "It hurts Ayaka-chan! Nii-chan hasn''t recovered yet!" Izuna helplessly raises his hand. "Hmph! Why did you leave me there?" Ayaka angrily turns her head away and pouts. "Well! How about it this, I will make it to you some other time?" Izuna helplessly shakes his head. "Yeaaahhh!! Promise!" Ayaka happily turns over. "Promise!" Izuna nods his head. "Ne Ne Onii-chan! I have a gift for you." "Eh?! Really!" Izuna looks at her with anticipation. Ayaka pulls out a heart shape box from a bag and presents it to Izuna. Gulp Izuna gulps his saliva as his expression turns bitter. "Hehe There was no need for you to go to such lengths. Onii-chan would have recovered on his own." He grabs the box with shaking hands. Fufu Fufu On the nearby bed, Shisui and Itachi are snickering as they look at Izuna''s miserable condition. There is anticipation in their eyes as they wait for Izuna to eat the cookies. ''Heh! Laughing at my misery! How could I allow you two to get away scot-free?'' He turns to Ayaka and pats her head. "Onii-chan is happy to receive this gift from you! But I think you should share it with Shisui and Itachi too! Look at the anticipation in their eyes! They can''t wait to eat your cookies!" Izuna points towards Shisui and Itachi. "Really?!" Ayaka turns towards the duo and notices the look of anticipation. "Yes, Onii-chan you are right!" "Of course! How can I eat these cookies before them?" "I have made plenty of cookies." She walks towards them with her bag. Shisui''s and Itachi''s expression turns ugly as they notice Ayaka walking towards them. Gulp Both of them gulp their saliva and groan in pain. "See! They can''t hold their excitement!" Izuna adds the fuel to the fire. Ayaka passes two boxes of chocte to them and smiles. "Recover soon! Shisui Nii-san and Itachi Nii-san!" Both of them could only smile helplessly, looking at the innocent smile on Ayaka''s gaze. ''Nii-san is a devil! He is using such a pure angel to punish us.'' Crunch crunch Both of them take a bite of the piece of charcoal and smile blissfully at Ayaka. "How is it Shisui and Itachi Nii-san? I have put lots of effort into them!" Ayaka looks at them with anticipation. "It''s very good! I love it!" Shisui praises her as he savors the chocte. Fufu Izuna snickers at their misery. "Onii-chan! Eat yours too. I especially made it for you to recover soon. I don''t want you to miss your wedding next week." Ayaka smiles at him. "I will eat it!" Izuna''s expression turns pale but takes a bite nheless to appease Ayaka. ''How can I not eat this after seeing that smile!" "Alright! Then I will be off. I have to make lots of preparations for the wedding. I want to n the decoration of your wedding." Ayaka hops out of the hospital. Growl Izuna, Shisui, and Itachi clutch their stomach as it grumbles loudly. Whoosh All three of them appear in front of a bucket. Izuna grabs the bucket to puke. Shisui and Itachi also contest with him. "There is only one bucket and we are three. So, let me go first since I am the eldest." Izuna pulls it towards him. "If that''s the case, then Nii-san, you should care for your younger brothers. I am the youngest among us three. So, I should get the chance first!" Itachi pulls it towards him. "You two can decide your turn. Let me puke first!" Shisui pulls the bucket towards him. "Damn it! Let me go first! I am your elder brother!" "Hey! It doesn''t apply here!" "Shisui, Itachi! I will take a bullet for you both. This cookie is a small thing. So, you two should also sacrifice some things." Bang The door is flung open as three figures enter the room. Mei, Yugao, and Izumi enter the room. "Mei! Help me!" Izuna''s face has turned bluish-green from holding himself. "Yugao!" Shisui also stretches his hand for help. "Izumi! Help me!" Itachi turns towards Izumi. Pfft The girls burst out inughter, looking at the hrious expression of the trio. "Look at the miserable expression of the three strongest Ninjas of the vige." Izumi chuckles. "They can''t even handle one of Ayaka''s sweets." Yugao holds her hand in front of her face. "This means Ayaka is the strongest Ninja of the vige." Mei bursts intoughter as she helps Izuna. Bleurgh The three of them relieve themselves and turn to thedies. "You won''t understand the pain of being a big brother!" "Alright! We got it!" Thedies burst out inughter again. Izuna stares at the smiles of the group and the corner of his lips curves in a smile. He was worried about Shisui''s love life since thetter never had any interest in any girls. He has Mei to take care of him. Itachi had Izumi as his die-hard fan since childhood. Even Kakashi had a girl waiting for him. As for Guy, he is just Guy. So, let''s not talk about him. But there is more to Shisui than meets the eye. ''This fucker has been silently dating Yugao for the past eight years. From the day, he joined the Anbu to this very date.'' Izuna silently curses at Shisui for hiding this for such a long time. Initially, Yugao had a crush on him, but he never paid any heed to it. Since he was busy training. Later, Yugao realized it was just pure admiration, not love. Later, she met with Shisui who just joined the Anbu. Slowly, slowly as both of them went through countless life and death situations together; love bloomed between them. Both of them secretly dated each other for eight years until Izuna caught them red-handed one day. "I never expected Shisui to be such a dark horse of love!" Izuna chuckles and shakes his head. He turns towards Mei and opens his arm in anticipation. p Mei tightly ps his face. "You idiot! You should have at least informed me before you underwent such a huge battle. What if something happened to you? How could I and our child live without you!" "Our child!" Izuna turns towards Mei''s womb with anticipation. He activates his Sharingan to inspect the baby. Hmph Mei blocks his eyes with her hands. "It was supposed to be a surprise for our wedding, but you made me ruin it. Now don''t ruin it further! I want to experience the bliss and anticipation of a mother." Mei chides him. "Alright! I won''t." He helplessly raises his hand. ''It''s already ruined for me. Damn! Is this price I have to pay for knowing too much?'' Heins to himself, but there is a stupid smile on his face. ''I am finally a father!'' He wraps his hand around Mei and silently listens to the faint heartbeat of the baby. "Have you thought of a name for the baby?" "Yes! I do." Mei nods her head. "If it''s a boy, I will name him Tatsuya. If it''s a girl, I will name her Kanna!" Mei proudly raises her head. "Then I am anticipating a pair of twins." Izuna smiles sheepishly. "No! You!" Mei pinches his ears. Haha She smiles at him and nods her head. "Me too!" Izuna soundly lies down in herp and turns to Shisui, who is being scolded by Yugao. "Hey, Shisui! Yugao! When are you guys nning to marry? It has been eight years already! Will you still keep us hanging?" "N Nii-san!" Shisui stutters in embarrassment. "The bride is ready! But this idiot told me, he won''t marry unless Izuna Nii-san is married." Yugao shakes her head. Haha "Then why don''t we double the celebration by holding your marriage together with ours." Izuna proposes. "Yes! That''s a good idea!" Yugao nods her head and elbows Shisui. "Yes! That''s a very good idea." Shisui also nods his head. "Nii-san! Make it triple! If not this bro-con Itachi won''t even look at me!" Izumiins. "It''s not like this!" Itachiins. Haha The rest of the group burst out inughter. "It''s decided then! The Uchiha n will hold a triple marriage ceremony!" Akira, Yagami, Fugaku, Aiko, Fumiko, and Mikoto barges into the room as they had yful smiles on their faces. "You were listening!" Shisui questions in embarrassment. "Fufu of course!" Fumiko chuckles at him. "Ara! I never expected my Itachi to already bring a bride." Mikoto teases him. "MOM!" Itachi turns his head away in embarrassment. "Since your childhood, I have already considered Izumi as my daughter. This marriage is just a formality!" Mikoto chuckles and holds Izumi''s hands. "Right! Izumi-chan!" "Yes!" Izumi meekly nods her head. "See!" Mikoto nods her head in satisfaction. "Yay! There will be three marriages which will triple the fun!" Ayaka jumps in excitement. "Now I get to n all of their marriages!" Akira, Yagami, and Fugaku smile at their sons as they reminisce about the moments of their marriages. "Ah! It''s good to be young!" They sigh silently. Izuna silently gazes at the smiles of his family members. ''Now this is a smile worth fighting for!'' ------------------------- A/N:- Comment on the ships. Izuna and Itachi''s were obvious, but what about Shisui? Also,ment your thoughts on theedy and slice of life part of the story. Is it forced or does it seem Natural? Does the interaction between the group look forced? Also,ment your thoughts on the Urashiki fight in its entirety. That being said! Have a nice day! Chapter 284: Farewell Part-1 Chapter 284: Farewell Part-1 Another week passes by. Haah Izuna stretches his arm and walks out of the hospital. "I have recovered from my injuries. Time to head out!" Whoosh He flickers out of the hospital. ''I should check on Sasuke, Tatsuya, and Boruto. They have yet to leave for their timeline.'' Shoom He opens a portal to the secret headquarter and enters it. Hmm Izuna enters the small space and notices the Konoha group studying the remains of the Otsutsuki puppets. "Any progress?!" Izuna asks them. "Yes, we have found some clue regarding the power source of these puppets." Adult Sasuke nods his head and produces a small piece of stone to Izuna. "This is the shattered core of the Otsutsuki puppets." Hmm Izuna grabs the core and flips it in his hand. "There is some strange chakra flowing through this rock. Back then, during the fight, I failed to notice it because of the heat of the battle. But now you mention it." Swoosh Izuna forks out a simr smaller rock from his storage. "This is the remains of the meteorite which crashed in Land of bears two hundred years ago. They created the hidden vige of Hoshigakure around this rock." Izuna passes the rock to Sasuke. "Oh! I remember that mission. The shinobis in that vige used a peculiar chakra to perform their unique ninjutsu. They would release purple chakra from their body and manifest it in the form of a feather-shaped array behind them. It would drastically improve their capabilities, but the cost was too steep to use. I remembered Naruto shattered this rock to prevent the Hoshigakure ninja from misusing it." Sasuke picks the rock andpares it to the core of the puppet. "Indeed! Naruto shattered the meteor. But since this meteorite had such marvelous effects on the abilities of a Ninja, I picked up the remains of the meteorite to study them. Even the R&D department of Konoha is studying this meteorite. In the end, they concluded that this rock doesn''t belong to this world. Looks like they were right! It''s rted to Otsutsuki." Izuna briefs him on the origin of the rock. "I see! Maybe I will look into their study after I return." Sasuke makes a mental note. "Still, the energy in this rock isn''t beneficial for human use. It will slowly corrode the chakra system, physical body, and the will of the user and eventually make them a puppet of the rock." "Maybe it''s the part of the reason, Otsutsuki uses this rock as the power source for their puppets. Those puppets were autonomous and rarely required any instructions." Tatsuya points out. "Yes, that makes sense! Anyway, studying these puppets will exin a lot about the technological advancement of the Otsutsuki n. Also, the energy weaponry of these puppets is quite powerful; to be able to easily pierce through a Susanoo." Izuna picks up a dull de with many Fuinjutsu arrays and symbols on it. "Just leave a single puppet behind and take the rest to the future." Izuna picks up a puppet and stores the rest in a scroll and passes it to Sasuke. "Also, you should watch out for the Otsutsuki n members. I am sure they won''t remain underlying after this defeat. This is a major blow to their n. They lost three of their main family members in this small world. The situation will turn more chaotic in the future." Izuna steps out of the small dimension as Sasuke and Tatsuya follow him. "Also" Izuna raises his head and stares at the moon. "You should visit your distant cousin on the moon. I am sure he would be in a pinch and requires saving!" "Eh?!" Adult Sasuke and Tatsuya''s eyes widen in surprise. "You knew about him!" Sasuke asks him in shock. "Of course! Who do you think am I? A shinobi must keep his friends close, and enemies closer!" Izuna smiles at them. "I think it''s about time for you folks to return to your time. Prolonging your stay here would only have negative consequences." Whoosh The three of them flickers towards the vige. "Pick Boruto up and meet me on top of the Hokage Monument!" Izuna teleports away. ---------- Inside the Yakiniku-Q, "Damn! I am still having goosebumps from that day!" Naruto picks up a piece of meat as he slowly chews it. "Well, it is the matter of the grown-ups! I am sure they must have sorted it out!" Shikamaru picks up a piece of meat and dips it in the sauce. "Yes, I agree with him. It''s not our ce to worry!" Neji nods his head. "We should instead focus on our training." He continues. "Training?! What a pain!" Shikamaru eats his piece of meat. Haha "That''s so like Shikamaru!" The rest of the group burst out inughter. Sigh Boruto sighs as he stares at this group. "Come on! What''s up with this sullen face?" Naruto nudges him. "It''s not like that! It''s just it''s just I will return to my vige!" Boruto sighs helplessly. "Heh! You are leaving already!" Naruto has a sad expression. "I guess! I can''t stay here forever!" Boruto sighs in mncholy. "We will miss you!" Choji offers a packet of potato chips. "This is for you! You won''t find it anywhere!" "Thank you!" Boruto picks up the packet. "Before you leave,e with me to my house. I want to give you something!" Naruto drags Boruto out of the restaurant. "Hey, Naruto! At least pay your share of the bill!" Kiba yells at him. "Here!" Sasuke ces a stack of Ryo and dashes after Naruto. "Damn it! This Naruto and Sasuke! They always ignore me." Kiba grinds his teeth. "It''s ok, Kiba! You can alwayspete for the third spot!" Shino gently pats his back. Back at Naruto''s house, Boruto silently stares at the house and remarks. "It''s totally different from my memory. Looks like they rebuild it. As much as I would like to meet, Grandpa and Grandma; it''s a bad idea to meet with them. Also, Grandma would" Boruto strokes his head. "I don''t want to be the target of her anger again! I guess I will pass on the idea." "Here!" Naruto dashes out of the house with a bag. "It''s my gift for you!" He shes a smile. "Thank you!" Boruto thanks him. "Boruto! It''s about time we leave!" Adult Sasuke flickers beside Boruto. "Then see youter!" Naruto waves his hand. "The next time you see me I will be the Hokage, Dattebyo!" Naruto thumbs up at Boruto. "I guess you will really be a Hokage the next time we meet." Boruto nods his head with a smile. Whoosh Adult Sasuke grabs Boruto and flickers away. Whoosh Young Sasuke flickers towards Naruto and asks him. "Who was that man?" "Oh! He! He was Boruto''s guardian!" Hmm ''Why do I feel like I know him?'' Sasuke stares in the direction of Boruto''s departure. "Forget that! Let''s prepare for Nii-san''s wedding. It will be a big asion tomorrow!" Naruto drags him away. -------------- On top of the Hokage Monument, Whoosh Izuna appears in front of Boruto, Sasuke, and Tatsuya. "Hah! As much as I would like you guys to stay for my wedding! I don''t think it is a good idea. There will lots of people tomorrow and it might affect some events if any of them notice you." He turns towards Tatsuya and passes a scroll to him. "This is a gift for your mother! I am sure she would like it." He passes another few scrolls to him. "This is for Ayaka! Mom! Dad! Shisui! Itachi!" Tatsuya is buried under the scrolls. Ehehe Sasuke and Tatsuya smiles warily. "Let''s ce everything in a single storage!" Izuna turns towards Sasuke and Boruto. "Here!" He gives a scroll to Sasuke. "This is for my niece, Sarada!" "Nii-san, you?!" Sasuke''s eyes widen in surprise. Shh "I told you earlier! I know far more things than you expect!" He passes a few more gifts to Sasuke. "I think that covers everyone! Next!" Izuna turns towards Boruto and taps his forehead. "You remind of the current Naruto!" "Really?!" Boruto is excited to hear this. "But in a bad way!" These words pour a bucket of cold water on him. "Your potential to grow is far greater than Naruto and you have a very powerful hidden power lying dormant in you!" Izuna points towards his right eye. "You know about it!" Sasuke, Tatsuya and Boruto ask in unison. "Of course!" Izuna rolls his eyes. "Jgan is a double-edged sword. It will prove to be a powerful tool against your battle with the Otsutsuki n! Its potential is on par with Rine-Sharingan or maybe even higher. Both Sasuke and I had to work quite hard to awaken our Rinnegan, and yet you are born with such power from birth! Honestly! I am speechless!" Izuna shakes his head. ''That''s the protagonist for you!'' "Anyway! What I mean to say is, Jogan is a power that is strongly inherited from the Otsutsuki n. This power will try to tempt and erode your mentality as you use it. It requires a strong will to wield this power and resist the temptation and not lose yourself to this power. I believe you can do it!" Izuna pats Boruto''s head. "As for the troublesome stuff!" Chapter 285: Farewell Part-2 Chapter 285: Farewell Part-2 "As for the troublesome stuff!" Izuna grabs Boruto''s right hand. There is a diamond-shaped Kama mark on Boruto''s hand. Izuna activates his Rinne-Sharingan. Shoom He appears in a mental ne. A pale figure with pale-blue hair tied in a long ponytail appears in front of him. His hairs are parted in a zig-zag pattern and his head is adorned with a pair of t, curved horns. "Gokigenyou! I never expected a low-life like you to intrude in this ce. You do possess a certain level of ability to fight on the equal front with us, noble Otsutsukis!" Momoshiki activates his Byakugan as he gazes at Izuna. Izuna raises his head and stares him in the eyes. Tsk "You sure talk a lot for a dead man!" Izuna smiles at him. "Humph you low-life were lucky to be able to kill me." Momoshiki harrumphs at him. "Low-life! If I am a low-life, then what are you? A parasite?! Feeding on others to sustain your existence!" "Shut up! You lowly being! How dare you insult a noble Otsutsuki?!" Momoshiki activates his Rinnegan, ready to attack Izuna at any moment. "Oh! Looks like I hit the sore spot!" Izuna slowly walks in front of Momoshiki and confronts him. Both of their eyes meet each other as Momoshiki peeks through Izuna, trying to figure out his secrets. "Momoshiki! You are trying to ride the coattails of this child of destiny to preserve yourself in the uing chaos! Do you think you have what it takes to survive in this turmoil?" Haha Ahaha Momoshikiughs hysterically and remarks. "An insect-like you think he knows the big picture of the world! You aren''t even worthy of being a pawn in this game!" Haha Izuna burst out inughter as he activates his Rinne-Sharingan. "No!" Shoom The surroundings change as arge torii gate falls from the sky and pins Momoshiki down. The Torii gate suppresses Momoshiki as thetter is unable to even resist slightly. "I am not a pawn! I am a beater!" Shiing Izuna reveals his Rinne-Sharingan to Momoshiki. "It can''t be!" Momoshiki is horrified to see Izuna''s Rinne-Sharingan. "That pattern! How could it be?" Cold sweat runs down Momoshiki''s spine as he notices Izuna''s Rinne-Sharingan. "Do you still think I don''t possess the abilities?" Izuna calmly stares at Momoshiki. Hmph "So what?! Even with your eyes you ''re nothing more than an ant! Fodder for the truly powerful beings!" Momoshiki scoffs at him as his nerves calms down after the initial outburst. "It''s indeed true that the current me is too weak to wield this power. But in this mental space where I am not restricted by the limitation of my body, you are nothing more than a worm in my eyes." Izuna swings his arm as the torii gate presses on Momoshiki, pinning him to the ground. "I can easily squash you if I want. But I will give you an opportunity!" Izuna slowly walks in front of Momoshiki. "Hmph do you honestly think I will agree to you?!" Momoshiki scoffs at Izuna. "No! I don''t believe you will agree, I am sure you will agree!" Izuna has a smile on his face. "As far as I can see, you lot are nothing but disposable pawns. But I can see the will to survive burning brightly in your eyes. This is part of the reason you cling to Boruto''s fate. Also, you don''t hold any considerable power among Otsutsukis, or else they would surely have taken measures to save you! What does this mean? Either you fulfilled your job or you have lost your usefulness." Izuna smirks at him as he stretches his arms. "Don''t tell me you are also a disposable pawn!" "You!" Momoshiki''s face turns ugly as a figure with crown-shaped horns shes in his mind. Tch "Fine, I will agree with you! But don''t think a measly human like you can control the likes of me!" Momoshiki clicks his tongue. "Of course! I am proposing a partnership beneficial for both of us! Help this boy with his growth and in return, I will help you with your ambition!" Izuna walks near Momoshiki and whispers something in his ear. "What?!" Momoshiki''s eyes widen in shock. "Fine! I get it!" He nods his head. "Haha I was right! You will agree with me! Death sure has toned down your aggressive character!" He pats Momoshiki''s back. "I won''t ask you to utter any Otsutsuki secret since you won''t be able to reveal anything either way!" Izuna walks towards a white gate that appears in the mental space. "But I am sure, you will be of great help in other matters!" Izuna steps through the gate and disappears. "Damn! This human thinks he can manipte me!" Momoshiki grinds his teeth. "Just you wait!" Swoosh Izuna opens his eyes and smiles at Boruto. There is a circr seal around the Kama. "You don''t have to worry about this Kama seal for a while." Phew Sasuke heaves a sigh in relief. One of his purpose besides dealing with Urashiki was to seek Izuna''s help with Boruto''s Karma Seal. This seal is like a ticking time bomb and it was partially their fault for dragging Boruto through that incident. "Now then! It''s time to return!" Sasuke pulls out Karasuki from his storage. "Sasuke-sama! Karasuki at your service!" The turtle briefly opens its mouth. "Here!" Izuna feeds some of his chakra to Karasuki, as Karasuki greedily sucks it all. "Destination confirmed! Initiating Temporal Shift in" "Hold on!" Izuna pulls out a scroll from his pocket and passes it to Tatsuya. Tatsuya tilts his head in confusion. "This scroll is the amalgamation of all my Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Kenjutsu, Senjutsu, Fuinjutsu, and Taijutsu technique. This is the path I walked on. I hope for you to learn from my mistakes and take a path of your own. I hope one day, you will surpass me in the future!" Izuna smiles at his son. "Of course!" Tatsuya dashes towards him and hugs him. "Dad! I will keep my promise!" "Now! Now! Don''t make me tear up even before you are born!" Izuna chuckles and pats his head. 3 2 1 Izuna steps behind as a temporal bubble forms around Sasuke and the group. He activates his Rinnegan to spectate the process. ''This temporal shift involves Time-Laws. If I can figure out even a fragment, my time-rted abilities will improve vastly.'' Izuna records the entire process with his Rinnegan. ''I will study it during my free time.'' Shoom Blue energy flickers out from the bubble and it vanishes with a sh. "So, these are so-called temporal tunnels." Izuna notices a portal irradiated with blue energy. The portal is slowly closing as the energy supporting it dissipates. "Guess, I will return to the n!" -------------- Back in the future, Swoosh Another portal opens on top of the Hokage Office. "They are back already!" Minato, Naruto, Mei, Tsunade, Kakashi, Shisui, Itachi, and Shikamaru warily stare at the portal. Whoosh Three-figure jumps out of the portal andnds on the roof. "Onii-chan!" A tall slender figure with fair skin jumps in Tatsuya''s embrace. The figure has ck eyes and ankle-length, auburn hairs with a tint of blue at the end. Two short bangs are framing the sides of her face, covering her eyes slightly. She wears a long-sleeved ck dress that falls just below her knees. The Uchiha symbol is imprinted on the back of her dress. "Yes, I am back, Kanna!" Tatsuya ruffles her hair. "Ne Ne Onii-chan! Tell me more about father! How much different was he in his youth!" Kanna curiously asks him. "Alright! I will tell you everything. But before that" Tatsuya takes out a scroll from his pocket and walks towards Mei. "Mom! It''s a souvenir from dad! He especially asked you to open it as soon as possible or it will be spoiled!" "Oh!" Mei curiously takes the scroll from his hand and opens it. Poof With a puff of smoke, a bento packed in a blue cloth appears in front of them. A mouth-watering fragrance wafts in the air "This fragrance" Mei hurriedly unpacks the bento as theyers of well-cooked steak appear in front of her. "It surely is" Tears rolls from her eyes as she gently picks up a piece of steak and nibbles on it. "This taste I have been yearning for years it is still the same taste!" Mei wipes her tears and savors the steak. Kanna and Tatsuya are surprised to see their mother like this. It has been almost ten years since their father left them, but until now they never saw tears in their mothers'' eyes. "Tatsuya, Kanna! These steaks are the reason I fell in love with your father." Mei closes her eyes as she reminisces about the moments when she first met with Izuna andter how thetter would cook these steaks in wild. On the side, Sasuke exins the turn of incidents to the group. "As expected of Izuna! He is always so mysterious!" Minato shakes his head. Swoosh Suddenly, the surroundings turn dark as a gigantic portal opens in the sky. The expression of the group turns ugly as they stare at the portal. Chapter 286: A drink with the Dad Chapter 286: A drink with the Dad A/N:- It''s thest week of the month already. Don''t join the patre0n. ---------------- "Konnichiwa!" "Konnichiwa Baa-san!" Izuna greets an olddy as he strolls through the Uchiha npound. Ha He takes a deep breath and stares at the hustle and bustle of the n. "It sure is peaceful after that huge battle!" Currently, he is on a stroll because thedies have upied the house. Ayaka and other female members of the family are busy decorating the house and thus have kicked him out of the house. "Onii-chan! I will prepare a surprise for you!" Ayaka''s cute face appears in his mind. "How can I say no to such a cute angel?" His inner sis-con wakes up from the slumber. Ahem "It''s a surprise from Ayaka! How can I ruin it?" He continues to stroll through the Uchiha n and arrives near the entrance of the n. ''After my marriage, I can''t continue to stay in the same house as my parents. I will have to move to a new house. The old house will be cramped with the five of us.'' "Also, it''s not like I will move out of the vige. My new house is very close to theirs." "Yo! Izuna!" Kakashi raises his hand and greets him. "Oh! Kakashi, Guy, Yamato, You guys!" Izuna is surprised to see the trio at the entrance of the Uchiha n. "What are you guys doing here?" He curiously asks them. "Oh, Izuna! What great timing? Now we don''t have to go through the trouble of searching the entire n district for you. Hurry up ande with us!" Guy drags him along. "What''s going on? Is there some urgent matter?!" Izuna turns towards Kakashi and Yamato for answers. "You will know once you get there!" Both of them refuse to speak further. "Well, if you say so!" Izuna helplessly follows them. Five minutester, In front of the Yakiniku-Q, "Is this your urgent matter?" Izuna stares at the trio. "Now! Now! Don''t be a spoilsport! Juste in. Ignore the small stuff and juste in!" Kakashi and Guy push him in. "Fine!" Izuna follows them along. In a corner of the restaurant, "Congrattions!" Kakashi, Guy, Yamato, Asuma, Kurenai, Shizune, and Anko congratte him as they sit around a giant table. Even Shisui and Itachi are present there. "You guys!" Izuna smiles at them as a warm feeling runs through his heart. ''This looks like a reunion of old college friends after years of graduation!'' "Thank you, everyone!" "Now! Now! Let''s enjoy ourselves." Kurenai urges them to sit. "Who would have expected that out of all of us, Izuna would be the first one to get settled?" Asumaughs and picks up a piece of meat. "Oh, really?!" Izuna dips a piece of meat into sauce and ces it in his mouth. "Then why do I see a certain couple trying to hide their affair for such a long time? It has been around six years, I presume!" Izuna smiles at Asuma and Kurenai. "Don''t pretend like you don''t know!" He turns towards the rest of the group. Whistle whistle The rest of the people whistle and turn away. "Is it that obvious?" Asuma gulps his saliva and asks him. "Of course!" Izuna rolls his eyes. "I spotted you at Yamanaka flower shop plenty of times. Don''t tell me you were buying a bouquet of red roses for the aunt next door!" He chuckles. Kurenai''s face turns red from embarrassment. Ahem Shizune clears her throat. "Don''t tease them like that! We should be the one teasing you, not the other way around!" She shakes her head. "Hoh! Do you think you can tease me that easily, Shizune?!" Izuna smiles smugly. "You think you are an expert when ites to love affairs?" Kakashi rolls his eyes. He adopts a schrly pose and remarks. "Love is like a spring breeze. You can''t see it, but you can feel it. Romance is the mor which turns the dust of everyday life into a golden haze." p p "Woah! Amazing! I never expected Kakashi Senpai to be so knowledgeable about love! His knowledge of love is so profound!" Yamato praises Kakashi. "Oh! Really?" Izuna scoffs at Kakashi. "To me, it sounds like the rambling of a certain single middle-aged pervert? You can''t even impress an old grandma, much less a beautiful kunoichi with such words!" Hmm "Izuna-kun is right! This seems to be a one-dimensional textbook definition of love!" Shizune nods her head. Ah! An invisible arrow pierce through Kakashi''s heart. "I would rather date a guy who will buy me unlimited Dango?" Anko drools at the thought. Haha The rest of the group bursts out inughter. "Those sure are some simple conditions!" "Hey! Nothing is better than Dango!" Anko grumbles. "You are quite brutal, Senpai! It was supposed to be our chance to tease you, but you turned the tables!" Yamato sighs helplessly. Haha "Now! Now! Don''t mind the small stuff. Just enjoy yourself!" Izuna savors the delicious piece of grilled meat. ------------------ Later in the evening, The Uchiha trio returns to the n district. "Time sure flies by! It was like yesterday when we first awakened our chakra!" Izuna remarks as he walks alongside Shisui and Itachi. "It sure is." Shisui closes his eyes. "Oh! Izuna, Shisui, and Itachi!" The group runs in Akira, Yagami, and Fugaku, who walks out of the house. "Dad! Uncle Yagami! Uncle Fugaku! You all" "We got kicked out of the house. Thedies have their ns!" Akira shakes his head. "You too!" "Yeah!" The trio nods their head. "Yagami Fugaku! Let''s go to our usual drinking spot!" Akira beckons them. "Why don''t you join us?" He nudges the trio. "Well! Isn''t it" Izuna scratches his head. "What are you so shy about? Soon, you are going to be a part of the husband gang too! You should get used to it." The father group pulls them along. The trio helplessly shakes their head and follows them. Soon, they arrive in front of a traditional Izakaya bar. Inside the bar, "Okyakusama!" the bar attendant greets them. "Serve the usual!" Yagami ms his hand on the counter. The group walks towards a corner and sits on the tatami mats with low tables in front of them. The server brings a wet towel to wipe their hands. The trio of middle-aged carefully wipe their hand with the towel. The younger trio also follow them as they curiously stare at their surroundings. ''This is my first time visiting a traditional Japanese bar!'' Izuna inspects his surroundings. ''Although I have visited plenty of bars with Tsunade, all of them were high-end bars, unlike this traditional bar.'' The waiter serves them an otshi and tsukidashi as the appetizer. Next up, he brings a bottle of traditional sake and serves it to them. "Ah! It''s so soothing!" Yagami takes a sip from the sake cup and nods his head. "Such a fine wine!" Hmm Izuna takes a look at the sake. The cup is filled with a clear liquid. He slowly picks up the cup and smells it. A slightly fruity and nutty aroma greets his nose. He takes a slight sip of the sake. "It''s good!" He nods his head. An astringent feeling runs down his taste buds as the slightly sweet vor soothes his pte. ''No wonder Tsunade is so addicted to Sake!'' He slowly savors the wine as the waiter serves the dishes. Gulp gulp Fugaku chugs down his cup as the eternal frown on his face loosens a little. He turns towards the trio and nods his head. "You lot sure have grown-up!" Mm Akira and Yagami nod their head. "I think it''s about time for us to retire and pass our responsibilities to you lot!" Yagami nods his head. "Huh?" The trio ces down their cup and turns towards the elders. "What do you mean, Fugaku-san?" Izuna curiously asks him. H "What I meant is? It''s about time to pick a new n head. I have served as the n head for twenty years. It''s time to choose a new sessor!" Fugaku ces down his cup. "I see!" Izuna nods his head and continues to sip his sake. "Izuna Uchiha! Why don''t you be the next head of the Uchiha n? I know it''s a big responsibility but with time you will" Fugaku ms his hand on the table in his drunken stupor. "I decline!" Izuna calmly ces the cup on the table. "Huh?! You decline!" Fugaku, Yagami, and Akira are surprised to hear this. "Why? Any particr reason?!" Akira questions him. "Not really! It''s just that stuff like leading a n is not my cup of tea. I am not suitable for the task!" Izuna shakes his head. "But you are the strongest member of our n!" Fugaku argues. "No! I am not interested. Besides, those group of old-bones don''t like me for my brass attitude. They want to control me for their ambition." Izuna shakes his head in denial. Sigh Fugaku sighs helplessly. "I am also not interested!" Shisui also raises his hands in denial. "I am content with leading the Uchiha Police department. I am not interested in the troublesome matters of the n!" Shisui shakes his head. "I I see!" The group turns to Itachi for his opinion. Itachi calmly ces his cup on the table and remarks. "A n is built on the foundation of trust. Too bad! In the incident ten years ago, I have already lost the trust of the higher-ups of the n by acting as a double agent. I don''t think they will trust a traitor!" Itachi shakes his head. "I think it''s better to raise Sasuke as the next n head. Most of his friends are soon to be future heads of their respective ns. Take Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi n, for example. Then there is Uzumaki, Inuzuka, and the Aburame n." Itachi states a few names. Hmm "Now that you mention it!" Fugaku falls in deep thought. Chapter 287: Set in Motion Chapter 287: Set in Motion A/N:- This is ast minute addition. Originally, the chapter was different or to be precise the uing chapter was supposed to chapter 279. -------------------- In a hidden dimension, A bald monk with a long Mohawk is pinned against a giant tree. There are various vines attached to his body, as his body glows with a green hue. Shoom Jigen slowly opens his eyes as a glint flicker through them. His right eye changes into a dharma wheel. Fwoosh The scene of Izuna beheading Urashiki appears in his vision. "Looks like Urashiki has fallen to this lowly human." Hmm He notices the Rinne-Sharingan of Izuna as he ends Urashiki''s life. "He awakened the Rinne-Sharingan?!" Surprise appears in Jigen''s eyes as he focuses his attention on Izuna. Swirl The wheel in Jigen''s eyes rotates rapidly as tries to peer through Izuna''s destiny. Argh Jigen''s expression turns ugly. A trail of blood leaks from his eye as he hurriedly closes it. "I can''t see his fate anymore. Looks like the strength of his Dojutsu is far superior to mine." A grim expression appears on his face as he recalls the pattern of Izuna''s Rinne-Sharingan. "That pattern!" He attempts to recall any information pertaining to Izuna''s eyes. "I can''t seem to recall any information in the n about the spiral pattern of his Rinne-Sharingan. It must be a mutation of some sort; otherwise, how could a bastard descendant of that Kaguya awaken those eyes?" Resentment appears in Jigen''s eyes as he recalls the betrayal of Kaguya. Haha Haha A series ofughter ring through his forehead as the consciousness of the real ''Jigen'' appears in his mind. "Karma bides its time, and it''s your time for payback." Hmph Jigen scoffs and uses his Dojutsu to suppress that consciousness. "You are nothing more than a pathetic remnant soul lingering in this body. I would have destroyed your soul long ago if it''s not for my unwillingness to stay in this body." Jigen continues to recover using the chakra of the Chakra tree as he ponders over his next course of action. "During the previous battle, the unexpected attack from that Izuna Uchiha caused far more damage than I expected. This body is already at its limit; if I try to push it any further, I am afraid it will perish." Jigen stares at the failing organs in his body. "I have sustained this body for thousands of years thanks to the chakra I secretly stole from the Chakra tree." He stares at the small chakra tree behind him. "This chakra tree results from the chakra I stole during the sealing of the Ten-tails. I groomed it into a new chakra tree once it turns into ten-tails; I will feed this failing body and aplice my mission. Luckily, I managed to leave a Kama mark on that girl." He closes his eyes and slowly merges with the tree. -------------- In a giant pce on the moon, "Looks like an Otsutsuki member from the main family has perished on the earth." A teen with pale skin and shaggy white hair turns in the direction of the earth. Six magatamas are tattooed around his corbone to resemble a ne. "I wonder who could it be?!" His eyelids are shut close as he continues to gaze in the earth''s direction. Rustle rustle A wooden puppet walks towards him and bows. "There is a te of food in the puppet''s hand." The teenage kid turns towards the puppet and dismisses it. "I am not in a mood to eat anything. You can leave now." He waves his hand and continues to gaze at the earth. Since his childhood, after his ceremonial sacrifice to Tenseigan, he has been locked up in this ce. ''It has been ten years since father and mother left this world. I have always been myself." Ten years ago, the centuries-long war of the Otsutsuki n of Moon ended with the victory of the branch family. The Main family was annihted by the branch family using the power of the Tenseigan energy vessel. Toneri recounts his memories as the dying words of his father rings in his mind. "Toneri! After my death, you will be the sole survivor of the Otsutsuki n of the Moon. Our n has lived on the Moon for centuries, as we protected the vessel of the Ten-tails. However, over time, the sinister chakra of the Ten-tails altered our personality and made us fight among ourselves. Now, with the release of the vessel of Ten-tails and the downfall of our n; you, as the sole survivor of the n, should return to earth and start a new life. You don''t have to shoulder the burden of your ancestors." "No, I don''t want to." Tears run down Toneri''s cheeks as he slowly wipes them. "I have always been all alone by myself, locked in this pce. I lived in perpetual fear of assassination by the members of the Main family. Now, when everything is gone and I am the sole survivor of the n; what is the purpose of my existence? The culture of the Earth differs from that of our moon. How can you expect me to mingle with such people? Sniff" He wipes his tears and turns towards the pce. "When I was a child, you took my light and sacrificed it to sustain the energy vessel of the ancestor. You did this for the greater good of the earth, to prevent the suffering of countless people on earth, to protect them from the terror of the Ten-tails! And now look at them they weaponise chakra and wages wars against each other. Sniff" A resolute expression appears on Toneri''s face as he walks deeper into the pce. "Since I have sacrificed my entire life for humanity; then I shall be the judge who will deliver the punishment to these sinners." Toneri arrives in a giant underground room with a gigantic spherical energy vessel in the middle of the room. He stops and gazes at the energy vessel for a while before walking towards the shelves arranged around the energy vessel. ------------------ Somewhere in the Land of Swamp, In an undergroundboratory, Swish swish A fair skin man with long ck hair and tan eyes is operating on a person. His hands move skillfully as he operates. "It''s done!" Swish He flicks the scalpel and stores it in the interior pocket of his trench pocket. ARGH HUAAA The person on the operating table screams in pain as dark purple chakra rises from his body. Fwoosh Fwoosh The features of the person change rapidly as his body expands in size. Multiple totem marks appear on his body. Saliva drools from his mouth as his teeth turn intorge canines. His finger and toenails expand and morph into razor-sharp ws. Fwoosh Fwoosh A pair of flesh wings erupts from his back and the spine of the person extends and morphs into a long tail. Grrr The test subject growls in fury. His eyes turn red as he riles up a massive amount of dark purple chakra. Growl He roars with bloodthirst and lunges at the fair man. "Another failure!" Swish The man swiftly waves his scalpel. sh The head of the giant rolls down as the scalpel shines with a dark purple chakra. "It''s hard to find pure-blooded descendants of my Akuma n. Only an Akuma n member with a bloodline purity of fifty percent or higher can undergo the process of Demonification and retain his sanity." Crackle crackle Dark purple mes crackle through his palm as he throws them at the dead body. The mes engulf the body and disintegrate itpletely. Fwoosh The mes morph into a demonic purple snake and enter his body. "Let me pick up another batch of candidates." He walks towards a wall and pulls a lever. Swoosh Four containers filled with a transparent amniotic fluid pops out of the wall. Hmm "A fresh batch!" The fair-skinned man nods his head. -------------------- A/N: - For people confused about the conversation between Jigen and Isshiki. Isshiki is the Otsutsuki who possessed the body of a human monk called Jigen. He didn''t brand Jigen with the Kama, but instead directly possessed his body. So, Jigen is more like a puppet body of Isshiki, which he modifies however he sees fit. In the case of a Kama seal, Isshiki separates a part of his soul and consciousness into a seal and brands another person. The Kama seal, when activated will slowly eat away the consciousness of its host and slowly modify his body. So, you can say the Kama is like a virus that downloads the backup of an Otsutsuki in a host. I hope I am able to rify it since most of the people weren''t able to figure out how it works. Chapter 288: Unexpected Guests Chapter 288: Unexpected Guests A/N:- These few chapters are totally different from my usual writing style. I have to research a lot about Japanese wedding culture to write this part. Since, I am writing this fic as aplete story, some slice of life are to expected. ------------------ Yawn Kakashi yawns as Guy drags him out of his house. "KAKASHI! Let''s buy a wedding gift for Izuna!" Guy is fired up. "Guy it''s five in the morning! I don''t think there will be any gift shop open at this hour. Yawn" Kakashi rubs his sleepy eyes. "KAKASHI!" Guy grabs Kakashi''s shoulders. "What should I gift him? I want to show my hot-blooded passion to Izuna when I present my gift to him. What will be a youthful gift?" He shakes Kakashi''s shoulders. Hmm "So, you haven''t decided on your gift yet?" Kakashi stares at Guy with deadpan eyes. "NO! I haven''t been able to find a gift filled with youthful energy!" Guy shakes his head. "Kakashi! Do you know of such a gift?" "Well! I don''t have any clue about such a gift but you should also consider the bride while presenting the gift. It should be a gift useful to the couple." Kakashi suggests to him. Hmm "A gift useful to both Izuna and Mizukage! Izuna is a very powerful shinobi and Mizukage is also one of the Kage!" Guy ponders for a while. "Thank you, my friend, Kakashi! I think I have got a direction for my gift!" Guy nods his head and dashes away. Phew "He left! I am so sleepy; I want to get some sleep. I haven''t sleptst night due to the patrol duty." Kakashi heaves a sigh of relief and turns around to leave. Whoosh Guy suddenly appears in front of him. "Oh, by the way, Kakashi!" Hua aha Guy''s sudden appearance scares Kakashi. "That scared the shit out of me!" He res at Guy. "What is it now?" "Umm Kakashi! What are you going to gift the newlywed couple?" Guy curiously stares at Kakashi, waiting for his response. "Me! I am going to gift them tickets for a honeymoon trip in a resort in Land of Noodles." Kakashi fishes out a voucher from his pocket. "Oh!" Guy nods his head. "Your gift is quite good, but my gift will arouse the burning passion of youth in their heart. Haha" Guy gives a thumb-up and leaves. "Well! Good luck with your gift!" Kakashi smiles warily and waves at him. He raises his head and notices the sun rising on the horizon. "I guess it''s toote to go back to sleep. I should probably grab some breakfast and get ready for the ceremony!" Whoosh Kakashi flickers towards the market. ------------ In the Uchiha npound, "Ykoso!" Fugaku, Akira, and Yagami are dressed in a ck kimono with the Uchiha crest on it. The three of them wees guests with a warm smile. "Congrattions!" Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga approaches them with some Hyuga elders. Hiashi presents a bouquet to Fugaku who politely epts it and passes it to another Uchiha standing beside them. "This is a joyous asion for the Uchiha n and we Hyga are delighted to be a part of it." Hiashi exchanges pleasantries with Fugaku. Both sides have a warm smile on their face as they greet each other. Hyuga n has be an ally of the Uchiha n after the Hyuga incident ten years ago. They even lent a helping hand to the Uchiha n during the attack on the Uchihas. Hanabi is holding hands with Hinata as she curiously looks around. "Here!" Ayaka waves her hand towards Hanabi. "I aming!" Hanabi dashes towards Ayaka with a smile. "Haha the kids of our n sure get along well!" Hiashi smiles joyously and enters the venue. "Hinata! Here!" Naruto waves his hand at Hinata. "Na Naruto-kun!" Hinata''s face turns red from embarrassment. "Go on!" Her mother nudges her with a smile. "Yes, mom!" Hinata walks towards Naruto. "Oh! Hanna! Hanako! You are here!" Mikoto waves her hand at Hinata and Neji''s mother. Mikoto, Aiko, and Fumiko are dressed in a ''Tomesode'' which is a formal, ck kimono embroidered with colorful designs. Thedies gather and chatter with each other. Fugaku and the rest continue to greet the guests from the other ns. Soon, Minato and Kushina arrive with Karin in tow. "Lord Fourth!" Fugaku greets Minato with a smile. "Congrattions!" Minato nods with a smile. Kushina looks around and notices thedies'' group. "Mikoto! You look so pretty in this dress!" She hurriedly joins the group. Karin joins with the rest of the younger Konoha group. One by one all the guests gather as the environment bes harmonious. Soon, An entourage of Kiri shinobis arrives at the entrance of the venue. "Lord Fuji!" Fugaku, Akira, and Yagami respectfully nod their head in greeting. "Haha there is no need to be so formal with me. We are one big family now!" Fujiughs heartily. Akira personally leads the group and caters to their needs. Soon, Another entourage of shinobis arrives at the Uchiha n. "Suna shinobis!" Fugaku and Yagami frown as they stare at the group. "Did we invite them?" Fugaku doubtfully stares at the group. "It''s Izuna! He is the one who invited them!" Tsunade enters the venue with Shizune. "Lord Fifth!" Fugaku and Yagami respectfully greet her with a bow. "But isn''t it a bit of a stretch to invite them after what happened four years ago?" Fugaku has a grim expression on her face. "I had simr thoughts but Izuna intended to invite this bunch. So, I could only agree with his demand!" Tsunade shakes her head. "Let''s see how things y out! With thest incident, I am sure Suna will be more docile than usual." She ces a hand under her chin and stares at the group of the Suna shinobis. "Ykoso" Fugaku and Yagami politely greet the group. "Congrattions!" Rasa passes arge bouquet of orchids to Fugaku. He notices the slight frown on the faces of the group and replies politely. "We are here on this asion to congratte the Uchiha n and also sign an alliance and a new peace treaty with Konoha." Rasa rys his intentions. "This is just a small token of our gratitude!" Rasa waves his hand and a group of Suna shinobis bring out some packed boxes. "This! There is really no need for this!" The Konoha group is surprised by this extravagance. "No! No! Please ept it! It''s nothing in front of our sincerity!" Rasa tries to appease them. In the end, the Uchiha group could only ept the gifts, seeing the sincerity in Rasa''s eyes. "Please! This way!" Yagami personally leads the Suna group. Haah Fugaku takes a deep breath. "This is turning more on the political side than just a peaceful wedding!" He sighs helplessly. "What else do you expect?! The reputation of Izuna, Shisui, and Itachi is widespread! You should have expected such a situation from the start." Tsunade shakes her head. "I guess the Uchiha n has restored its lost dignity!" Fugaku has a smile on his face as a burden lifts from his heart. ''Previously, because of my ipetency, the n suffered a major blow and was almost on the verge of extinction. That was a huge blow to the pride and dignity of the n. But thankfully, due to Izuna, Shisui, and Itachi''s efforts; the fame of the n has reached new heights.'' Fugaku turns around to leave and host the ceremony. Tap tap Sounds of multiple footsteps fall in his ears. "Who is it this time?" Fugaku helplessly turns around. An entourage of the Kumogakure appears in his vision. "Kumogakure?" He questioningly turns to Tsunade. "Did Izuna invite Kumogakure too?" Hmm "He did send an invitation to all the other hidden viges but even I didn''t expect this guy to appear here." Tsunade nods her head. "Out of the five hidden viges, we expected the arrival of Sunagakure and Kirigakure, but the appearance of Kumo is out of our expectation. Given the headstrong personality of the Raikage and Tsuchikage, we expected them to outright reject the invitation. But I never expected him to appear here." Tsunade has visible confusion on her face. Tap tap Sounds of footsteps of anotherrge group fall in their ears. "Don''t tell me it''s Iwa this time!" Fugaku''s expression turns ugly. "This is no longer a wedding ceremony! It has turned into a huge international political affair!" Hmm A raises his head and notices the tiny Onoki slowly walking towards the venue. "Hah! Looks like the spine of Iwa is broken just like it''s Kage!" A ridicule the Iwa group. Hmph The expression of Iwa shinobis turns ugly as they re at Kumo shinobis with hostile gazes. Fire is zing in their eyes as they are ready to pounce on the Kumo group. Cough cough Onoki coughs slightly and waves his hand. "We are in Konoha to attend a wedding ceremony. This is not a war!" "Yes, Tsuchikage-sama!" The Iwa shinobis lower their guard, but the hostility is still apparent in their eyes. "Iwa still holds its dignity, unlike a certain someone who lowered his head and begged pathetically to others to rescue their men." Onoki mocks A. "Tsuchikage! You are asking for it!" A riles up his chakra and presses his feet on the ground cracking it in the process. "Bring it on! I am not afraid of you and your pathetic vige!" Onoki lifts his finger as he slowly floats into the air. "Enough!" Chapter 289: The Wedding Ceremony Chapter 289: The Wedding Ceremony "Enough!" Tsunade furiously walks towards them. Hmph Onoki and A stop in their tracks. They snort at each other and greet Tsunade. "Princess Tsunade! Iwagakure is here to extend its regards!" Onoki waves his hand and the shinobi beside him carries boxes of gifts towards Fugaku. "Ykoso" Fugaku greets them and signals his men to carry the gifts. "Hmph! Kumo won''t also fall behind!" A also signals his men to pass the gifts. "This is a small gift from the Kumogakure to show our regards!" Fugaku receives the gift with an awkward expression, but he maintains his calm demeanor. He leads the group of Iwa and Kumo inside the venue. Onoki and A turns towards each other with a frown. The wedding ceremony is just an excuse. Their real aim is to test the waters. With their spies weeded out of the Konoha, they have no intel on the current strength of Konoha. Back in the venue, Kakashi is in a ck kimono as he stands with Guy, Asuma, Yamato, Kurenai, Shizune, and Anko. "Kakashi! What are you going to gif the couple?" Asuma and Kurenai walk towards him. Asuma just arrived with the Sarutobi n. With the death of Hiruzen, the responsibilities of the n have fallen on his shoulders. His elder brother would help him with the n matters from time to time. "I am going to gift them Honeymoon tickets to Land of Noodles." Kakashi takes out an envelope from his pocket. "That''s so like you, Kakashi!" Kurenai and the rest of the group chuckle. "Then what about you, Asuna? What is your gift? You are representing your n so your gift will represent the prestige of your n." Kakashi shakes his head as he is slightly displeased with the bothersome n matters. "My gift is the Monkey Fruit Wine from Mount Huaguo. This wine is specially brewed by the Monkey Sage and I got some courtesy of Monkey King Enma!" Asuma fishes out a transparent gourd with a crystal clear wine. Hmm "That sure is an extravagant gift!" Kakashi nods his head. "What about you guy? Thought of any gift!" Kakashi and the rest of the group curiously stare at Guy. "Of course! It took me a while to think of a gift that will symbolize the fiery passion of youth. Here it is!" Guy points towards arge gift box. "Oh!" The rest of the group notices the giant box. "What''s inside of the box? What''s your gift, Guy?" Shizune asks him. "Hehe First, I thought of gifting a pair of dumbbells and weights to Izuna. But given his fitness, I thought it wasn''t enough since he must train quite hard to maintain his prowess. So, I bought the entire training set for him. It cost me a hefty sum of money!" Guy tearfully takes out a wallet from his pocket. Eh! The expression of the group turns strange as they stare at Guy. "Looks like I have to hunt some wild animals for the rest of the month!" Guy bites his lips. "" The rest of the group sweat drops at Guy''s antics. ''Well! We can''t expect more from this guy!" They shake their head and turn to Shizune. "What''s your gift, Shizune?" Kurenai curiously asks her. "This!" Shizune takes out a small bottle from her bag. "And this is?" "This is a special lotion from the Land of Medicine. I spent quite a lot of time there withdy Tsunade learning medicine. It is a special paste made of various rare herbs from the gardens of Land of the Medicine. It will help one maintain a youthful appearance and nourish the skin!" Shizune hesitates for a while as she pockets the bottle. ''This is the only bottle I got from there. I could not think of a better gift, but still!'' She bites her lips in frustration. "Anko! What''s your gift?" Asuma turns towards Anko. "Let me guess, it''s a box of Dango!" Kurenai makes a guess. "H How?! How do you know? Am I that easy to read?" Anko has a shocked expression. "" "Is there anything else besides Dango thates to your mind?" Kurenai shakes her head. "But Dango is the best!" Anko argues. She has a box wrapped in gift packing in her hand. "These are the Kamo Mitarashi Chayo Dango from the Land of Honey! I especially ordered them to be delivered here!" Gulp Anko gulps her saliva as drool leaks from her mouth. ''I want a bite! Just one!'' "This foodie!" The group shakes their head and turns to Kurenai. "Kurenai? What''s your gift?" Shizune curiously asks her. Up till now, most of the gifts reflect the personality of the person gifting them. So, she is curious to see Kurenai''s gift. "My gift! It''s nothing fancy! It''s a matching pair of Kimonos for the couples that Imissioned in Land of Bear!" "Oh! That came as a surprise. But it matches with your personality!" Shizune smiles and teases her. "Oh! Looks like you folks came prepared!" Kushina walks towards the group. "Kushina Sensei!" The group straightens up. Haha "There is no need to be formal with me!" She chuckles. "Izuna is the youngest among your generation, but he is the first one to get settled! What about you lot? You guys have any n for marriage!" Kushina teases the group. Emm The faces of the group turn red from embarrassment. "Asuma, Kurenai! How long are you guys going to be secretive about your rtionship? Just marry already!" Kushina turns towards Kurenai. "Eh! Kushina-Sensei! It''s not like this. We just" Kurenai is flustered to hear Kushina. Haha "Alright! Alright! I got it!" Kushina then turns to Kakashi. "All of you have hidden your rtionship pretty well! But not as well as Kakashi!" Kushina chuckles. "Kakashi!" The rest of the group turns to Kakashi. "Me!" Kakashi points towards himself. "Who else?!" Kushina rolls her eyes. She takes out a picture and passes it to the rest of the group. "Look! This is the dream girl of Kakashi! The secret lover affair of Kakashi!" "That picture!" Kakashi is shocked to see the picture. He hurriedly inspects his pockets and storage. "It''s not there!" He sighs helplessly. "Izuna-kun is the one who gave this picture to me and talked about Kakashi''s secret love story." Kushina shes the picture of a girl. "She is Hanare from the Land of Keys. Such long-distance love!" Kushina shakes her head. "If not a certain someone afraid of political incidents, this girl would be present here attending this marriage ceremony with us!" "It''s not like that Kushina Nii-san! Let me exin!" Kakashi tries to sort the situation. "Let it be!" Kushina waves her hand. "I don''t want to hear any of your excuses!" "Broom-haired Nii-san is a bad guy! He breaks the heart of a poor girl!" Ayaka tip-toes to them. "Yes, my Ayaka-chan is right!" Kushina pulls Ayaka into her embrace and bear hugs her. "Kushina-san!" Hanna walks over with Hanabi in tow. "Oh, Hanna-san! Let''s talk about Naruto and Hinata!" She pulls Hanna and walks towards another corner. "Hmph Broom-hair Nii-san, you baddy!" Ayaka snorts and dashes away. Sigh Kakashi has a bitter expression on his face as he stares at the back of Ayaka, unable to express his emotions. Pfft The rest of the group burst out inughter. "You deserved it for what you did, Kakashi!" Guy pats his shoulder. Haah ''How can I exin to this bunch? Anything I would say will be useless!" Kakashi shakes his head in mncholy. ------------- Inside the dressing room, "It''s about time!" Aiko enters the room and signals to Izuna and Mei. Mei is dressed in a white ''uchihkake'' with a blue floral pattern. There is a white headdress on her head. She is holding a small folding fan with the Terumi n symbol imprinted on it. Izuna is dressed in a ck kimono with the white Uchiha symbol embroidered on it. He is staring out of the window at the vast patch of sky. ''This is the happiest moment of my two short lives!" "Let''s go!" Mei sps his hand. "Everyone is waiting for us!" She has a brilliant smile on her face. "Yes, let''s take our first step towards a new future!" Chapter 290: The Wedding Ceremony Part-2 Chapter 290: The Wedding Ceremony Part-2 Both Mei and Izuna walk out of the dressing room while holding hands. Their wedding will be held in a Shinto Ceremony Fashion, ording to the Uchiha tradition. Mei desired to hold the wedding in a Christian fashion, so they opted for two wedding ceremonies. They will hold the Shinto wedding ceremony in the Uchiha n and the Christian Wedding in the Kirigakure. Both of them reach the venue for the wedding. They walk towards the wedding altar present in the center of the venue. The pair of Itachi, Izumi and Shisui, Yugao are already waiting there. "Looks like we are thest one to arrive." Izuna smiles as both of them stand beside the other couples. An elderly Uchiha man in priest garbs is standing to the right of the altar. Hmm Suddenly, Izuna senses an unfamiliar gaze on him. The gaze feels like someone is trying to peer through his secrets. He turns around and notices a woman with long brown hair and light-colored eyes walks. The woman has pale skin and is dressed in a Shrine Maiden outfit. The woman has the appearance and bearing of a standard Miko. But what''s peculiar is her eyes. She has violet, ornate pupils which are glowing with a purplish hue. Hmm Izuna secretly activates his Sharingan and inspects her eyes. ''These are'' His eyes widen in surprise as he notices various strange runes in her eyes. ''I have never seen these runes before.'' The woman''s gaze lingers on him before she turns her head away. Shoom Her eyes return to normal. "Is there any problem, Miroku?" Kushina asks her. "No. Everything is fine!" Miroku shakes her head as she throws ast nce at Izuna. Kushina carefully leads the shrine maiden towards the wedding altar. The Miko stands on the left side of the wedding altar. "She is?!" Izuna questioningly turns to Kushina. "Oh! I almost forgot to introduce her." Kushina shakes her head. "She is Miroku, a high priestess from the Land of Demons." Kushina introduces her to Izuna. "The Uzumaki n has friendly rtions with the Land of Demons. A few centuries ago, the founder of our Uzumaki n, Kenshiro-sama lent a helping hand to the Land of Demons to seal a very powerful demon." She walks towards Izuna and murmurs. "During my childhood, Miroku once visited our Uzumaki n with her guardian. However, shortly after I moved to Konoha and Uzushiogakure was destroyed. I never got an opportunity to meet her again." Kushina sighs in mncholy. "Fortunately, this wedding ceremony provided me an excuse to unite with her and invite her as a Miko for the wedding." Kushina turns towards Miroku. "It''s nice to meet you, Miroku-san!" Izuna politely greets her. "It''s nice to meet you, too!" Miroku slightly nods her head. After the introductions, Kushina returns to her ce as the ceremony starts. The ceremony starts with the rite of purification. The elderly Uchiha priest offers prayer and calls the attention of the benevolent spirits. Next, the Miko prays to Kami to offer good luck, happiness, and protection to the couples. The couples are standing in the center of the venue, right in front of the wedding altar. The rest of the family members are standing right behind them as they offer their prayers to God for couples'' happiness. Next, the elderly priest announces the start of the san-san-Ku-do ceremony or the three-three-nin-times. It reflects the three oaths taken three times. In this ceremony where the bride and the groom share three nuptial cups of sake. The sake is poured in three cups of increasing sizes. The elderly priest pours the sake into the smallest cup and offers it to Izuna. Izuna takes a sip from the cup and passes it to Mei, who takes a sip of the remaining sake. Next, the priest pours the sake into the slightly bigger cup and offers it to Mei first. Mei takes a sip of the sake and passes the rest to Izuna. Izuna down the remaining sake in one sip. The priest pours thest cup of sake and offers it to Izuna, who empties half of it in one sip and offers the rest to Mei. This ritual symbolizes sharing joys and sorrows as a married couple. Next up, the couple walks in front of the altar and faces each other as they vow to each other. Izuna stares into Mei''s deep green eyes as various emotions erupt in his heart as he slowly parts his lips. "Mei Terumi, the woman I love, I am about to marry, No matter what your health situation is, No matter the circumstances, I will forever love you, Respect you, Console you, Look after you, Protect you, Until death do us part, This, I swear to you, With Kami as my witness." Mei''s eyes turn watery as she quickly wipes them. ''Mother! I will finally marry the person I love.'' Next up, Mei turns towards Izuna as she stares into his deep ck eyes. Her lips slowly parts as he vows. "Izuna Uchiha, the man I love, The man I am about to marry, Be it in the peaceful times, Or during Sickness, I will forever love you, Respect you, Comfort you, Look after you, I will forever stand by your side, Until death do us apart, This, I swear to you, With Kami as my witness." Mei closes her eyes as various memories of her time spent with Izuna sh through her mind. She lovingly gazes at Izuna, who returns her gaze with a charming smile. Sniff sniff "Can you see this, Miko! Our Mei has finally found her soulmate." Fuji wipes his tears as he dotingly stares at Mei. Akira and Aiko have smiles on their faces as they witness Izuna and Mei holding hands. "This idiot son of mine has finally fulfilled his promise!" Aiko tears up. "Here, Mom!" Ayaka passes a handkerchief to her. Aiko wipes her tears and turns to Ayaka. "Someday, I will have to see you marry off someone else!" she sighs to herself. "No! I won''t leave Onii-chan''s side. He is the only person I love!" Ayaka tightly clenches her fists. "Silly girl!" Aiko shakes her head. For this wedding, Minato acted as the ''Best-Man'' for Izuna, while Kushina acted as the ''Bridesmaid'' for Mei. Izuna holds Mei''s hand as they walk towards their family members to receive their blessings. Both of them leave shortly, to get changed for the celebratory meal. "Cheers!" Various n leaders offer their congrattions to Fugaku, Akira, and Yagami for the asion. They have a cup of sake in their hand as they asionally burst intoughter. The environment is full of happiness, colorfulness, and festivity. A group of Anbus dressed as performers walk to the front of people. Each of them holds a violin in their hand as they y a melodious tune. "Wonderful!" The n leaders and even Onoki and A are surprised to hear the harmonious tone as it perfectly fits the cheerful environment. Izuna and Mei have changed into a more casual attire as they return. "Congrattion, brat!" Tsunade walks towards him with a cup of sake in her hand. "Thank you, Tsunade!" Izuna scratches in slight embarrassment. "Look at you acting all shy!" Tsunade rolls her eyes. Tiing tiing The notes of music flow in their air and pull the attention of Mei and Tsunade. La You call out to me from somewhere within my fragile soul Your voice like fantasy, telling me to keep on dreaming I can''t stop these tears from flowing, or the ache inside my heart But on the other side of sadness, I know I''ll find you waiting there La Mei and Tsunade hum to the tune as Tsunade feels nostalgic. "What''s this song?" Mei turns to Izuna in excitement. Last time, he proposed to her with a simr song and now again during their wedding. "It''s Itsumo Nando Demo (Always with Me). It''s a love song. I wrote it especially for this asion." Izuna shamelessly takes the credit. ''I won''t get sued in this word for taking the song.'' (A/N:- Please don''t sue me.) La Mei and Tsunade hum the song as Kushina also joins them. "What a pleasant song! Izuna, are you the one who wrote this?" She asks him. "Yes!" Izuna nods his thick face. "Alright!" More and moredies join them, even Yugao, and Izumi also join the group. Feeling slightly awkward, Izuna slightly leaves the group. He grabs a cup of sake and walks to a corner and silently stares at the sky. A pair of white dove takes flight in the sky. "What a lovely pair of doves? They symbolize peace, love, feminity, hope, and" A feminine voice falls in Izuna''s ears. "DEATH!" Chapter 291: REIGAN (Soul Eyes) Chapter 291: REIGAN (Soul Eyes) Hmm Izuna turns around. "Lady Miroku?!" He is surprised to see the shrine maiden following him. "Can I help you with anything?" He politely asks her since she holds quite a high status as the great priestess of the Land of Demons. "No!" Miroku shakes her head. Shoom Her eyes change into a violet, ornate pupil. The pupil has a kaleidoscopic geometric pattern, and it emits a holy and sacred power. "You are going to die within a year!" Miroku gazes into Izuna''s eyes as she remarks such cold words. Hmm Izuna frowns, and his expression turns cold. "Lady Miroku! It''s our honor to have you here in our Uchiha n. You are a distinguished guest of the vige but please don''t speak such inappropriate remarks." "No! My eyes, they are never wrong! I have seen the death of countless people with these very eyes. This cursed power of mine allows me to peer in destiny and gaze at the fate of a person, the matter of life and death!" Miroku shakes her head. Izuna has a livid expression as he res at her. He activates his Rinnegan, ready to manipte her memories. ''I can''t allow her to reveal this news to Mei or my family. I don''t want to worry them needlessly. I still have a way out.'' Izuna remembers the chakra fruits he plucked previously. Shiing He infuses some chakra in his left eye to invade Miroku''s mindscape. Shoom The kaleidoscopic pattern in Miroku''s eyes rotates and violet glows surround her. The runes in her eyes flicker brightly, and a seal appears on her forehead. Fwish Izuna''s memory maniption jutsu cancels midways. "What?!" Izuna is dumbfounded to see the abilities of his Rinnegan fail. ''I failed!'' He stares at her with trepidation. ''Is her Dojutsu this powerful? Able to counter Rinne-Sharingan''s abilities!'' Miroku turns to Izuna and shakes her head. "You don''t have to be so wary against me. I won''t reveal this news to any of your close family members and friends." She assures Izuna. "Really?!" Izuna has a skeptical expression as he stares into her deep violet eyes. "I assure you with my position as Miko!" Miroku nods her head. "Alright! I believe in you! But why would you seek and even ckmail me!" Izuna res at her. Sigh Miroku heaves a sigh of relief. She regains herposure and her Dojutsu deactivates on its own. "Before I start, I would exin the history of Land of Demons to give you an idea of my request." "Hmm I am listening!" Izuna nods his head. Miroku starts her tale. "A few centuries ago, A very powerful otherworldly demon invaded the Shinobi World. Its goal was to conquer the entire world and establish a one-thousand-year kingdom. The demon led a very powerful ghost army and corrupted the minds of various ns of the Land of Demons to do his bidding. Many forces rose in resistance but were ruthlessly crushed by the army of the demon." Miroku pauses and stares at Izuna. Hmm ''That demon must be Moryo. As far as I know, the demon sealed beneath thend of Demons is Moryo.'' Izuna nods his head as Miroku continues. "Back then, the youngest son of the Senju n leader; Kenshiro Senju ventured through the world to seek a purpose for his life. On his journey, he came across the princess of the Land of Demons who was desperately escaping from the chase of the demons. He rescued her in that desperate situation. The princess informed him of the grim situation of Land of Demons and sought his help. Kenshiro Senju and the princess gathered a group of fallen ns to resist the invasion, but they were too powerless to keep the demons at bay. In the end, the princess used a forbidden artifact from the era before the Rikkudou Sennin and summoned a Shinigami from the other world." Miroku takes out an old parchment from her pocket and passes it to Izuna. Hmm Izuna nces at her and grabs the parchment. He curiously inspects the parchment. "This is" A cloaked figure is sketched on the parchment. The figure has a scythe in its left hand and a book in its right. ''A book!'' Izuna''s mind jolts at the image of the figure. ''Could this be?!'' A certain purple cloaked figure appears in his memory. Izuna intently inspects the drawing and notices a seal on the figure''s right hand. ''No way! It can''t be!'' His face turns pale. "This parchment records the incident of the battle between Kenshiro-sama, the princess and the demon." Miroku is focused on her exnation and fails to notice Izuna''s pallid expression. "Tobat against the Demon, the Shinigami enhanced the physical abilities of Kenshiro-sama. He granted him a powerful vitality and arge chakra reserve. The Shinigami also taught him the art of the Fuinjutsu!" "I I see!" Izuna nods his head as countless thoughts run across his mind. "The princess wasn''t suited for a direct battle so the Shinigami enhanced the spiritual aspect of her body. With those powers, the princess manifested the ''Reigan'' or the ''Soul Eyes." Miroku points towards her eyes. "That''s the name of my Dojutsu! These eyes allow my soul to return to the past when I die. I will resurrect in my past body with the memories of future events. This allows me to alter my fate to some extent and avoid perilous circumstances. I can also foresee the death of someone and my eyes nullify all sorts of spiritual attacks." Miroku reveals her Dojutsu prowess to Izuna. Hmm Izuna folds the parchment and turns to her. "Why would you reveal such secrets to me?" Izuna curiously stares at her. "Because your fate is intertwined with mine. If you die, then I will die too." Miroku calmly states the reason. "Lady Miroku! Your words are quite misleading! Someone might think you are hitting on me!" Izuna chuckles Ah Miroku immediately recognizes the fault in her words. "NO! NO! I didn''t mean it like that!" She has a flustered expression. "On our first encounter, my Dojutsu activated subconsciously and I saw you perish at the hands of the demon." Miroku tries to sort out the misunderstanding. "It''s alright!" Izuna shakes his head as a calm expression appears on his face. "I won''t die and neither will you!" He assures her. "But" "Izuna! Here! Here!" Mei waves her hand. "Coming!" Izuna gulps down the remaining wine and walks towards the rest of the group. Miroku stares at the departing back of Izuna with a conflicted gaze. ''Isn''t he afraid of death?'' "Miroku! So, you are here! I have been looking for you!" Kushina grabs her hand. "I will introduce you to my family." ---------------- In the corner of the venue, Onoki is silently scrutinizing the various n heads and powerful shinobis of Konoha. "While other viges degraded from the third shinobi war, Konoha has prospered even further." He tightly clenches his fists. "Not only that" Onoki turns his gaze to Minato and Kushina. "Even the Yellow sh Minato Namikaze and the Uzumaki princess are still alive!" Onoki has several questions in his mind, but there is no one to answer them. ''Is this a ploy of Konoha? With such strength and manpower, they can easily annex the rest of the hidden viges. Also, that jutsu two weeks ago!" He has a grim expression on his face as he weighs the ups and downs of war. ''With this marriage, Konoha and Kiri have formed a permanent alliance. Then there is Sunagakure, who won''t even dare to lift a finger in presence of the ''Silent Shinigami''. It will most likely adopt a neutral stance, just like the Third Shinobi War. That leaves Iwa and Kumo. If we join hands and attack Konoha, then Kiri will nk Kumo from sides and the formation will fall apart.'' Onoki clicks his tongue and gazes at Izuna. ''This brat has be the pir of Konoha. With him around, it''s impossible to win against Konoha.'' Sigh Onoki rubs his forehead in frustration. Simr thoughts run through the members of Kumogakure as they brainstorm to seek a solution and save themselves from the impending disaster of Konoha. Hmm Izuna senses two prating gazes focused on his back. He turns around and notices Onoki and A sitting in corners. ''I almost forgot about them!'' He nudges Mei and Tsunade and points towards the Iwa and Kumo group. Meanwhile, Izuna walks towards Rasa, who is happily chatting with Sakumo. "Lord Kazekage!" Izuna addresses him. Rasa turns around and notices Izuna. Cold sweat runs down his spine as he remembers the incident four years ago. "Co congrattions! Izuna Uchiha!" Rasa straightens his back and regains the bearing of a Kage, but his voice falters. "I have good news for you!" Izuna directly jumps to the business. He waves his hand towards a corner. Naruto and Sasuke walk towards him with Gaara in tow. "You can take your son back to Sunagakure! I won''t forgive you for your crimes but I won''t separate a child from his family." Gaara walks in front of Rasa and bows his head. "It has been a while, father!" ''What?!'' Rasa is bbergasted to see Gaara''s tame behavior. ''Is he really Gaara, my son?! When did he turn so docile!'' Hmm Izuna senses Rasa''s confusion and answers. "The seal devised by you Suna shinobis is so primitive that even a kid can inscribe it. I have tweaked the seals and removed their ws." He turns to Gaara and waves his hand. "You are ready to meet your family!" Gaara turns to Izuna. Tears flow from his eyes as he slowly opens his mouth. "Thank you, Sensei!" ----------------- A/N:- In the Naruto series, this dojutsu didn''t have any specific name. So, I named it to fit my story. Comment your thoughts on the name. Chapter 292: Failed Kage Summit Chapter 292: Failed Kage Summit In a private room beside the Hokage Office, Bam A ms his palm on the table and destroys arge chunk of it. "What''s the meaning of this, Hokage?" "Mind your words, Raikage!" Izuna res at A with cold eyes. "IZUNA! It''s a meeting between Kages. I would rather have you not interfere in this matter." Tsunade has a stern expression. "Alright!" Izuna nods his head and returns to his seat. He throws a nce at A. Gulp A gulp his saliva and tones down. "Princess Tsunade! I would like to know the stance of Konoha about the peace." Onoki calmly stares at Tsunade, steering her away from the tension. Tsunade contemtes for a while and answers. "Konoha wants to maintain a peaceful rtionship with the other viges. We have no intention of starting a war and annex thend of the other nations." She meaningfully stares at Onoki. Hmph Onoki snorts and retorts. "If it was not for the threat of other nations, Iwa would have never made a move. Now, the current demands me to make a move to preserve Iwa." Onoki folds his arms and stares into Tsunade''s eyes. "Konoha, as it is right now, is way too powerful. Far too powerfulpared to the rest of the viges. The number of Kage ss shinobis in your ranks is in double digits." He takes out a scroll from his pocket andys it on the table. "Sakumo Hatake, Izuna Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Jiraiya of the Sannin are a few names among them. Then there is you, the current Hokage and then Minato Namikaze. He turns to Minato, who is calmly sitting beside Izuna. Also, the current Mizukage will be a permanent member of Konoha. These are but a few numbers; who knows I hid what other powerful shinobis within your ranks!" Onoki has a serious expression. "I hate to say it, but I agree with the Tsuchikage. The current Konoha is too powerful to be not wary of. With such strength, it can easily monopolize all the resources." A clench his fist. Tsunade nces at Onoki and A and shakes her head. "Konoha has its hand-full with various other threats which threaten the safety of the world in its entirety. As such, we would like to extend an alliance with all other hidden viges in hope of coping with this looming threat together!" Tsunade extends an alliance pact towards the rest of the viges. She turns to the Kages of the other viges for an answer. "Kirigakure will firmly stand with Konoha no matter the circumstances!" Mei nods her head. Hmm Rasa ponders for a while as the events of the incident three years ago freshen in his mind. ''I witnessed the overwhelming power of Izuna Uchiha with my own eyes. I suspect only the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha couldpare to him in their prime. But that cloaked figure not only overpowered him but also beat him to a near-death state.'' The figure of Jigen with a horn appears in his mind. ''Looks like Konoha has found some clues about that man and thus is seeking an alliance with other viges despite its current strength.'' Rasa ponders for a while before he makes a decision. "Sunagakure will also join the alliance of Konoha and Kiri and won''t fall back in any circumstance." Rasa also agrees with the alliance. Hmm Tsunade nods her head and turns to Onoki and A with a hopeful expression. ''I can''t reveal too much information to them since this old fox and that shrewd A might back out from the alliance.'' Onoki raps his fingers on the table and remarks. "Kiri is tied with Konoha in a marriage alliance so it is needless to say they are on the same boat as Konoha. As for Sunagakure, the entire world is aware of the crushing defeat it suffered under Konoha''s hand" He turns to Rasa with a mocking smile. Hmph Rasa snorts but does notment. "So, I can''t help but wonder that Konoha has an ulterior motive behind this alliance." He replies to her with a calm tone. "If you are honest with the alliance, then why don''t you reveal the information pertaining to the secrets of the recent events." He turns to Tsunade for answers. "The recent event involves a very powerful faction who has its eyes on the entire Shinobi world. As for the rest of the information, I will only ry after you join the alliance. "Also Konoha has no intention of initiating a Fourth Shinobi War." Tsunade clears her stance. "What tomfoolery! Even a five-year child won''t believe such a nonsensical story." A snort at Tsunade. "Princess Tsunade! Your foolish ideology reminds me of your grandfather during the First Kage Summit. Back then, he single-handedly subdued eight out of nine-tailed beasts. The other vigers grew wary of it and decided to hold a Kage Summit to discuss the fate of the shinobi world. So, to maintain the scale of power bnce the First Hokage distributed the seven tailed beasts to other vigers for a price." Onoki calmly stares into Tsunade''s eyes. "Now, tell me, Princess Tsunade! How would you retain the bnce of power since the current situation is simr to the past? Will you also" Onoki ceases his remark but his intention clear. *BANG* Tsunade ms her fist on the table and shatters it into dust. "You old geezer! Do you think Konoha is afraid of Iwa and Kumo''s war alliance? We never started a war, but we were always the ones to end it. It was the greed of all other viges which led to the previous Great Shinobi Wars. But Konoha was always magnanimous enough to spare you some dignity. Back then, if not for Grandpa''s magnanimity and desire for peace; he would have single-handedly united the entire world under Konoha''s banner. So, don''t you dare spout such foul words and tarnish the name of my grandfather in your illusory veil of cowardliness!" Anger zes in Tsunade''s eyes as he res at Onoki and A. ''Good job, Tsunade!'' Izuna secretly gives a thumbs-up to Tsunade. ''It doesn''t really matter if they join the alliance or not. After all, the only help they can provide is resources and mary funds.'' Izuna nods to himself. Sigh Minato shakes his head. "Their interest aligns with their vige''s welfare; they are unable to see the big-picture. Also, revealing too much will only furtherplicate the situation. No vige would like to acts as cannon fodder for the other viges." He silently turns towards the meeting. "Hokage! If that''s your stance, then Kumogakure will reject the alliance!" A firmly clenches his fist. "Iwa too won''t be a part of the alliance." Onoki harrumphs. "Then I will see you out!" Tsunade coldly remarks. She turns to Shizune. "Shizune! Led the guests out of the vige before my patience turns into fury and erupts again!" "Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune nods her head. She quickly leads the Iwa and Kumo group out of the meeting room. Sigh Tsunade takes a deep breath as her livid expression calms down. "Is it alright for the situation to turn like this? I just wanted to handle everything peacefully but I couldn''t help myself when that fence-sitter brought grandfather in the situation." "It''s alright! Don''t worry too much about it." Izuna pats her back. "They will soon learn their lesson and beg Konoha to ally." Izuna consoles her. "Also, get ready! We will head to Kiri for the second part of my wedding!" Umm Rasa silently stares at their interactions and wonders. ''I am not supposed to be here, right?'' The group ignores his presence and continues talking among themselves. Sigh Rasa sighs silently and closes his eyes. ''I am air! I am air!'' He chants these magical words in his mind. --------------- A few hourster in Kirigakure, Dong dong dong The bell in the church rings as Izuna takes out a wedding ring from his pocket. "I, Izuna Uchiha, take you, Mei Terumi, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, ording to God''s holy vow, and this is my solemn vow." He holds Mei''s hand and slides the ring in her ring finger. Fuji also takes out a ring from his pocket and passes it to Mei. "I, Mei Terumi, take you, Izuna Uchiha, to be my husband" Mei also vows to Izuna. Both of them kiss each other. "Yoshaa!" Izuna picks her up in his arm and walks out of the church. Outside the church, Kakashi, who is in a tuxedo, walks towards them. "This is for you guys. I already gave Shisui and Itachi theirs. You are the only one left." He passes an envelope to them. "Oh!" Izuna epts the gift with a smile and opens it. "Enjoy your honeymoon!" Kakashi remarks and goofily walks away in distance. Izuna stares at his lonely back and remarks. "What an actor? He will get his turn soon!" Chapter 293: Responsibility Chapter 293: Responsibility A/N:- So, that wraps up the previous arc. Comment your thoughts on the battle with the Urashiki and the conclusion of the previous arc. Now for this arc, I will be utterly and truly honest with you; this arc is a semi-filler arc. First, I wrote a major portion of this when I was facing some mental and emotional issues. So, the quality might drop a little. To prevent that I wrote these so-called filler chapters. This arc will focus on the growth of the people around him. There will be quite some action but I will separate that in side chapters. In more simple terms, this arc is a prologue for the future arcs and next uing major battle arc since it will pave a path for the majority of the future plot. P.S. If the above passage spoiled your anticipation then I am sorry but it has to be done. Also, if you like my story and have some spare buck and want to support me then drop by on patre0n. I also have a discord server where you can see images relevant to the plot and could directly ask me about the plot development (no spoilers though). --------------------- NEW ARC:- RESPONSIBILTIES ************** A month passes in the blink of an eye. Izuna returns to Konoha with Mei. "It''s going to be a new start for us!" He smiles at Mei and holds her hand as they enter the Uchiha n. Mei has a slight baby bump as Izuna stares at it with affection. "I can''t wait to hold our kids in my arm!" "Me too!" Mei smiles at him. Aw Mei rubs her belly. "The baby just kicked now." "He is too eager toe out!" Izuna chuckles and both of them walk in front of their house. "We are home!" "Wee back!" Ayaka dashes out of the house and hugs Izuna and Mei. "How are you, Ayaka?" Izuna ruffles her hair. "Did you miss me?'' He smiles at her. "I missed you a lot!" Ayaka nods her head. Izuna and Mei enter the house. "Wee back!" Aiko walks out of the kitchen. "So, how was your honeymoon?" She teases them. "I enjoyed it a lot!" Izuna nods his head. Mei''s face turns red from embarrassment. "Looks like I will be a grandmother soon!" Aiko chuckles as she notices the baby bump. Ahem "Where is Dad?" Izuna changes the topic. "Your Dad is out on a mission! He won''t be back until next week!" "I see!" "Ne! Ne! Onii-chan! Did you bring me some souvenirs?" Ayaka tugs on his sleeves. "Of course!" Izuna takes out a few gift boxes from a scroll. "This is for you!" He passes arge box to Ayaka. "Oh! What''s this?" Ayaka hurriedly grabs the box and rapidly dismantles the gift wrapping. "" ''But I spent so much time wrapping it!'' Izuna has a heartache. Fufu Mei holds herughter as she stares at Izuna''s expression. Ayaka hurriedly opens the box to reveal arge plushie of a bear. Wow "It''s soft!" Ayaka hugs the giant teddy bear. "Thank you, Onii-chan! You are the best!" "Of course! I am the best!" Izuna puffs his chest. "Mother! This is for you!" He passes another gift to his mother. "Ara there was no need for it!" Aiko epts the gift with a smile. Ayaka grabs the giant teddy bear and rolls it on the floor. While ying with her bear, she turns to Izuna. "Onii-chan! I will graduate from the academy tomorrow. You have toe with me since dad isn''t here!" She informs him. "It''s that time of the year already!" Izuna is surprised to hear this. "Alright! I will visit the academy!" Izuna pats her head and turns to his mother. "Mother! I will be moving out to my new house!" Mm Aiko nods her head. "I will help you with the packing!" "No! There is no need! It''s already over." Izuna chuckles and points towards the stairs. Rumble Rumble Five of Izuna''s shadow clones descend with boxes in their hand. "So convenient!" Mei is surprised to see them. Poof poof poof The clones ce the boxes on the floor and dispel themselves. Swoosh Izuna takes out a storage scroll from his pocket and stores the boxes in it. Both he and Mei walk out of the house. "I will help too!" Ayaka follows them. "Come back for the dinner!" Aiko shouts from the kitchen. "Ok!" --------------- Later next morning, "I have some minor affairs to handle in Kiri. I will be back in the evening!" Mei informs him. "Alright!" Izuna nods his head and passes a gift box to her. "Give it to dad!" Mm Mei grabs the box and inserts some chakra in her wedding ring. In the past month, Izuna has inscribed a few Fuinjutsu seals on the ring. Hiraishin is one of them. Now, she could teleport to any of Izuna''s marking just by selecting the coordinates and infusing her chakra. "See youter, Honey!" Mei kisses Izuna and teleports away. "Hmm it''s about time for the ceremony!" Izuna walks towards his old house and picks up Ayaka. "Ayaka, you will be a full-fledged shinobi now!" He pats her head. Mm Ayaka nods her head. "I am also curious to know about my teammates and Sensei!" "Then, let''s keep going!" Five minutester, Izuna and Ayaka reach the entrance of the Academy. "Izuna! It has been a month since Ist met you!" Hiashi Hyuga approaches him with Hanabi in tow. "Hiashi-san! It sure has been a while! You are also here for the ceremony!" Mm Hiashi nods his head. "If we were to follow our n customs, then Hanabi should be training with the elders of the n. But that incident ten years ago has opened our eyes. The Hyuga n has changed drastically in these years. So, I will let my daughter experience the life of the academy to make more friends and socialize with other young shinobis." He dotingly pats Hanabi''s head. "It''s all thanks to your help!" "That was nothing! I just helped a little!" Izuna modestly shakes his head. "Come Come Hanabi! Let''s attend the graduation ceremony!" Ayaka pulls her away. Meanwhile, Izuna and Hiashi stand with the rest of the parents. Izuna notices a tall man with brown eyes, olive skin, short spiky hair, and a beard. He instantly recognizes thetter as the brother of Asuma Sarutobi since both of them are a spitting image of each other. "Ajuka-san! You are here for Konohamaru!" Izuna greets him. "Izuna!" Ajuka nods his head. "Konohamaru is about to graduate today! As a father, I have to spare some time for him and fulfill my responsibility!" Ajuka stares at the student. Izuna has known him since his days in Anbu since Ajuka was one of the few anbus who taught him during his training in Anbu. As such, he has a good rtionship with thetter. Ahem Tsunade walks towards the stage. She climbs up the stage and stares at the batch of fresh students. Most of the new students are around ten to eleven years old. Only the group of Ayaka, Hanabi, and Konohamaru''s gang is the sole exception. She shakes her head and addresses them. ----------------- Later in the Hokage Office, Izuna is sitting on the sofa as he stares at Tsunade, who is diligently scrolling through the papers. "What?!" she asks him in annoyance. "Well! I should be the one asking that. Why would you summon me?" He stretches his arm and lies down on the sofa. "I am quite a busy man, you know!" Hmph "Busy my ass! I am the one who is busy here!" She snorts and points towards therge heap of paperwork. "Eh! Is this some kind of memory loss disease? I already told you about the broken Shadow clone jutsu! Why won''t you use it?" He curiously asks her. Pfft Shizune bursts out inughter. "SHIZUNE!!" Tsunade res at her. Eek Shizune freaks out and holds herughter. "Hoh! Is there some story behind it?" Izuna perks his ears and turns to Shizune. "There is!" Shizune nods her head and whispers to Izuna. "Initially, your n of using the Shadow clones worked. Tsunade-sama would leave all of her paperwork to her clones and rx in hot springs. But after a while, the work starts to pile up. Even with the shadow clone, no work was done. So Tsunade-sama created another clone to assist her first clone. But even two clones weren''t enough to finish the work. So, one-day Tsunade-sama thought of spying on her clones. She made two shadow clones and slipped out of the office. She hid near the academy to monitor the clones and guess what" "SHIZUNE!!" Tsunade yells at Shizune. " she found both of her shadow clones soundly sleeping on the sofa and the chair. Haha" Haha Shizune and Izuna burst out inughter. Izuna wipes a tear from the corner of his eyes. "As expected of Tsunade! Even her clones are aszy as her!" "SHIZUNE! Today, you won''t return home until this pile of paper is stamped." Bam Tsunade ms a gigantic pile of paperwork in front of Shizune. She turns to Izuna, who is stillughing while clutching his stomach. "As for you, Izuna! It''s about time you fulfill your responsibility as a Jounin! I won''t ept no for an answer." Tsunade''s tone turns harsh as she res at Izuna. "What?!" Izuna''s expression turns ugly. "But Tsunade, I don''t want to babysit genins! I am not suitable for such kind of task. You know me already! So, why would you do such a thing?" He nkly stares at Tsunade. "You can''t shirk your responsibilities forever!" She returns to her position as the demeanor of Hokage erupts from her blinding Izuna and Shizune. "Izuna! You are an idol of countless shinobis of the vige. So, it''s right for you to set an example by training genins." "But but Tsunade! What about my organization?" Izuna tries to argue with her. "You don''t have to worry about that! Minato will take care of everything!" She ignores Izuna''s pleading gaze and focuses her attention on the paperwork. Chapter 294: Genin Squad Chapter 294: Genin Squad "But but Tsunade!" Izuna tries to argue, but Tsunade ignores him. Huh?! Izuna raises his head and stares at the ceiling. Whoosh He flickers towards the window and jumps out of it. On the top of the Hokage Office, Rumble rumble Suddenly, ck clouds loom in the sky. Crackle crackle Lightning flickers through the cloud as a bolt of lightning shoots towards the Hokage Office. Fwoosh Izuna raises his hand and creates a giant barrier. BOOM The lightning ms into the barrier and disperses. Swoosh The clouds disperse and rity returns to the surroundings. Hmm Izuna raises his head and turns towards a nearby small hill. Hoh! He smiles at the figure on the hill. Ah! A small figure on the hill gasps in shock as she stares at Izuna. "How did it fail?!" She hurriedly picks up her supplies and dashes away from the ce. Whoosh Izuna returns to the office and curiously stares at Tsunade. "Tsunade! From your expression, I can see you are already aware of the culprit." He rests against the sofa and stares at her. "An attempt on Hokage''s life in broad daylight! Are you going to forgive the culprit just like that?" "The situation is a littleplex." Tsunade shakes her head. "This is also the reason I summoned you here!" "Oh! Go on! I am all ears." Mm "The girl just now is the new prodigy of the Kurama n. She is a blessing as well as a curse to the Kurama n." Tsunade picks up an academy profile and passes it to Izuna. Izuna grabs the paper and reads it. "Yakumo Kurama Age: 9 years Academy Registration Number: 012957 Bio: A member of the Kurama n. She possesses the extremely rare Kekkei Genkai of the n. Her skills with the genjutsu are peerless as a result, her abilities with Ninjutsu and Taijutsu are quite poor. She is able to enter the academy solely on her Genjutsu abilities." Izuna folds the paper and throws it to Tsunade as she exins. "This girl''s talent in Genjutsu is so powerful that her n has to put a seal on her abilities to avoid her from harming the other members of the n. Despite all these efforts, she still ended up killing her parents. Afraid of her abilities, the Kurama n secluded her and cast her away out of the vige. I asked Kurenai to take care of the girl, but these past two years Kurenai is busy with her genin team. This led to the current situation. This is her second attempt on my life. She has a grudge against Konoha for isting her." Tsunade sighs helplessly and turns to Izuna. "I want you to take care of this girl and mentor her as a jounin instructor." "Well, Ain''t you asking too much from me? My Uchiha n isn''t in a friendly rtionship with the Kurama n." Izuna shakes his head. "What if I told you, the Kurama n''s head requested the Hokage office to dispose of her by killing her?" "What?!" Izuna raises an eyebrow. "Yes, after Yakumo killed her parents, her uncle Unkai Kurama inherited the position of the n head. It was he who isted her andter made an attempt on her life. Previously, I made a promise to Yakumo''s father to protect her, so I assigned an Anbu team to protect her. She mistook it as the vige''s attempt to iste her from her family." Tsunade smiles wryly. "Hmm so you want me to mentor her to control her powers." "Pretty much! In the entire vige, I can''t think of anyone else who is as skilled as you in genjutsu." "I see." Hmm Izuna ces a hand under his chin and ponders over the matter. ''Should I mentor a genin team? Well I want to experience the life of a shinobi. So, I think I should give it a try. But there is that ticking threat of death.'' He ponders for a while before eventually reaching a decision. "Fine! I will mentor a genin team." "Good!" Tsunade has a smile on her face. She rxes against her chair. "Now since the matter is settled, where is my souvenir?" Tsunade stares at him with expectation. "Here!" Izuna takes out a wine bottle from his storage. "This is your souvenir!" Tsunade jumps in excitement and grabs the bottle. "Shizune! We will party tonight!" Ahem "Tsunade-sama! The jounins are waiting for your instructions!" Shizune clears her throat. "Ah yes! I have to assign genin teams to them." She hurriedly stores the wine and turns to Izuna. "Let''s go! I will also assign a team to you!" The three of them walk out of the Hokage Office. "Lady Fifth!" They bump into Hiashi, who is on his way to Hokage Office. "Hiashi! How can I help you?" Tsunade curiously asks him. "Lady Fifth! I have a request to make." Hiashi stares at her with expectations. "Hmm Alright! If your request is reasonable enough, then I am all ears." Mm Hiashi nods his head and continues. "Lady Fifth! I would like to know who will be the jounin instructor of Hanabi. She is the future head of the Hyuga n as such, I am quite worried about her growth." Hmm Tsunade frowns at Hiashi''s request. ''The academy pairs genins based on their academy performance to ensure fairness and bnce. Hiashi request to interfere in the process could be considered rude. But Hyuga n has contributed a lot during the previous wars as such, I can''t overlook the matter.'' "Well" Tsunade opens her mouth to speak. "Why don''t I mentor her too?" Izuna turns to Tsunade. "Since I will lead a three-man squad and one of them is already decided, then what about Hanabi as the second person?" "Well that" Tsunade ponders for a while. "That''s would be great!" Hiashi nods his head. "If it''s Izuna, then I can rest assured. His Taijutsu skills are unparalleled in the vige. Hanabi will learn a lot under his tutge!" "Fine! I will make the arrangements." Tsunade nods her head. Haah Hiashi heaves a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Lady Fifth!" "Let''s go!" Izuna, Tsunade, and Shizune walk towards the academy. ''Hmm Since two members of my squad are already decided. Then why don''t I pick Ayaka as the third member? Hehe this way I will get to spend more time with my Ayaka-chan!'' Izuna has a silly smile on her face. Tsunade and Shizune notice his smile and roll their eyes. ''This guy is up to no good!'' Ahem Izuna clears his throat and turns to Tsunade. "Tsunade! I have a request to make!" "No! Your request is denied!" Tsunade decisively rejects him. "" "Hey! Let me speak first! How can you reject me without even listening to me?" Heins. "Knowing you, it must be another unreasonable request!" Tsunade shakes her head. "At least hear me out!" Izuna takes out another wine bottle from his storage. "I was nning on drinking it with you. But looks like sigh" He stores the bottle in his storage. "" Shizune silently stares at the duo. ''This is the first time; I have seen someone bribing a Kage with a bottle of wine!'' "What? Another bottle! You hid it from me!" Excitement appears in her eyes. "Deal!" Tsunade nods her head. "" ''And she fell for it!'' Shizune is speechless at the scene unfolding in front of her eyes. ''Maybe it is because it is Izuna that Tsunade-sama epts his request.'' Shizune reminisces about the past spent with Tsunade. ''It has been fifteen years since both of us joined Tsunade-Sama''s tutge! During this time, we formed an inexplicable bond with each other.'' "Alright!" Tsunade pockets the bottle. "I will hear you out!" "I don''t have too much of an outrageous request. I just want Ayaka to be the third member of my three-man squad!" Hmm Tsunade frowns upon this request. "Won''t it disrupt the bnce with three prodigies in a single squad?" "No! No! Of course not!" Izuna frantically nods his head as he exins. "Tsunade! That Kurama n girl is proficient in Genjutsu while being weak in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. Hanabi Hyuga is proficient in Taijutsu but weak in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. Ayaka can fill the gap since she is proficient in Ninjutsu. Look how all three of themplement each other!" "Hmm now that you mention it! It makes sense, but why do I feel like I am overlooking something?" Tsunade suspiciously stares at Izuna. "No! No! It''s perfectly fine!" Izuna assures her. "" Shizune rolls her eyes. ''Tsunade-sama! Isn''t it obvious? This sis-con just wants to spend more time with Ayaka to pamper her. Also, this squad is full of problem children!'' "We are here!" She clears her throat and grabs their attention. Tsunade straightens her posture and enters the room. A group of jounins is patiently waiting for her. "Lady Fifth!" All of them bow before her. "Mm" Tsunade nods her head. "Now, I will assign a genin squad to you all!" ------------------ A/N:- So, here we go! A new adventure awaits Izuna as a teacher. Chapter 295: Prank gone too Far Chapter 295: Prank gone too Far Inside the academy ssroom, Tok tok tok Ayaka is walking back and forth with impatience. "It''s already an hour. How long do we have to wait?" She has a livid expression on her face. "All other genins already left with their Jounin instructor." She folds her hands around her chest. "Now now Ayaka! Don''t be so impatient. I am sure the jounin must be held back by something. Also" Hanabi stares at the vacant spot beside her. "Since we will form a three-man squad, we have yet to see our third member!" Click The door is creaked open as two figures walk in. "Oh!" Ayaka''s ears perk up as she curiously stares at the neer. But soon her expression turns to dismay. A nine-year-old girl with long brown hair and light brown eyes enters the room. Her hairs are braided on one side and left straight on the other. The girl is escorted by a masked anbu. "Stay here and behave! Don''t create any ruckus." The Anbu warns her before he departs away. "Oh! So, you are going to our third member!" Ayaka curiously inspects the girl. She notices her pale color and bby skin. ''Hmm looks like this girl doesn''t exercise often!" "What''s your name? My name is Ayaka Uchiha, and she is Hanabi Hyuga." Ayaka introduces herself. She tries to initiate a conversation with the neer. Hmph The girls snort and walk to a corner of the room. Ayaka frowns at the attitude of the girl and her expression turns unfriendly. "Whatever!" She continues to stroll back and forth in the room. "Oh!" Izuna is monitoring the girls using the crystal ball in the Hokage Office "So, that''s the Kurama n girl, Yakumo Kurama!" Mm Tsunade nods her head. "She has got quite the attitude!" Izuna stares at Yakumo. Izuna walks towards the nearby sofa and lies down on it. "" Shizune and Tsunade silently stare at him. "Aren''t you going to introduce yourself to them?" Yawn "They can wait for another half an hour. I will take a quick nap." Izuna closes his eyes. "" "Well, whatever!" Tsunade and Shizune return to their work. ------------- In the academy ssroom, Hmph Ayaka puffs her cheeks in anger. "When will the Sensei arrive? I am tired of waiting for him." "Ayaka, maybe you should rx and sit down. Sensei wille eventually!" Hanabi tries to console her.'' "No, I am impatient because Onii-chan is waiting for me. I have to tell him about my new Sensei!" Ayaka shakes her head. She rummages through her storage and takes out a ck ball. "Since he likes toete, then he shouldn''t mind if I prank him a little!" Ayaka has an evil smile on her face. "But but what if Sensei got angry?" Hanabi asks in trepidation. "Daijoubu! Daijoubu! I will take full responsibility." She tosses the ck ball in her hand walks towards the door. "This is a new Fuinjutsu tool made by Kushina nee-san!" She ces the ball against the door. Swoosh The ck ball sticks to the door and releases a sealing form. Whoosh The sealing formation crawls over the entire door and disappears. Yakumo, who is sitting in a corner, raises her head. She curiously stares at the sealing formation. ''What if I temper with this door? I can get rid of this nuisance once for all!" She takes out a painting scroll from her bag. Fwoosh fwoosh Yakumo quickly makes a few strokes of the brush and draws the door. Fwoosh She makes a few more strokes and the door slightly changes. A guillotine appears at the upper hinge of the door. Huh! Ayaka frowns as she stares at the door. ''Just now, I sensed a strange chakra in this door.'' She curiously inspects the door for changes but didn''t notice anything out of ordinary. ''Must be a figment of my imagination!'' She shakes her head and returns to her seat. Ah! Ayakazily rests against the desk. "Ehto! Ayaka! What did you do to the door? What was that ck ball?" Hanabi curiously asks her. "Oh, that! It''s nothing major. It''s a small ninja tool which upon contact with a person will trigger the seal and dowse the victim in ck ink. This is a special ink which will cause slight burns in the eye and the victim will turn blind for a couple of days." "Oh!" Hanabi opens her mouth in an ellipse. "But Ayaka-chan! That''s too evil!" She shakes her head. "What''s so evil about it? It''s a small trick from a genin. If a jounin can''t even sense such a small trick, then I might not as well allow him to teach us. Also, that''s what he gets for being sote." Ayaka snorts. "Umm that makes sense! But somehow there is something wrong with your statement." Hanabi shakes her head. Half an hourter, Yawn Izuna slowly opens his eyes. "That was a good sleep. I must get going now!" He cracks his neck and walks out of the room. "This is Hokage Office! Not a public restroom!" Tsunade groans in anger. Izuna ignores her and walks towards the academy. He approaches the ssroom. Hmm He senses something odd about the door. "Interesting!" Izuna activates his Sharingan and investigates the door. "A sealing formation and a genjutsu! This sealing formation must be from Ayaka and Genjutsu from that Kurama n girl. Also, this genjutsu gives off murderous vibes. Looks like this girl wants to murder her Sensei!" Izuna has an incredulous expression on his face. "Does this brat really think she can kill a jounin with such a lousy trap?! Well, I will entertain them!" "Yo!" He steps inside the door and waves his hand. Swish Fwish Ayaka makes a hand seal and Yakumo makes a stroke of the brush. "Release" ng Swoosh A metallic guillotine with a sharp de falls on Izuna''s head and a dark blob of ink is hurled towards his eyes. ng Puff Izuna raises his arm and grabs the de with his bare hand. Crack crack The de shatters in countless ink particles and disperses. A windshield appears in front of his face and blocks the ink blob. "Nice attempt! I have to give you that. I will give you a score of six out of ten for an attempt to blind and kill your Sensei!" Izuna shes a smile at the trio. Gulp Ayaka gulps her saliva. "Nii-san! What are you doing here?" She asks in confusion. "What am I doing here? Of course, I am here as your jounin instructor!" Izuna has a devilish smile as he stares at Ayaka. "Also, address me as Sensei when we are on a mission!" "O Ok!" Ayaka nods her head as she clutches her head. ''What should I do? Onii-chan is my new Sensei, and I tried to prank him.'' She turns to Izuna, who has a silly smile on his face. ''I guess he deserved it for being sote!'' She consoles herself. "I will talk to youter for using the ink of the Poisonous Phantom Squid!" He turns towards Yakumo. "As for you, I will give you a score of four out of ten for your genjutsu. Although your genjutsu was powerful, it was in in sight and thus easy to notice! I will show you what a real Genjutsu is!" Shiing Izuna casts a powerful genjutsu on Yakumo. Sweat starts to trickle from her forehead as she tightly clenches her fists. Her expression turns pallid as horror appears in her eyes. Tick Izuna snaps his finger and dispels the genjutsu. "This is what you call a genjutsu? What you are using is quite crude? You waste lots of your chakra and thus it is easy to spot the abnormality?" Izuna lectures her. "If you want to learn, thene to the roof for the introduction!" He turns to Ayaka and Hanabi. "As for you two! Follow me to the roof!" Whoosh He flickers out of the room. Sigh Ayaka heaves a sigh of relief. "Let''s go!" Both Ayaka and Hanabi follow him. Umm Yakumo has a conflicted expression on her face. Just now, she was trapped in a powerful genjutsu. These three seconds felt like three days to her. She was helpless to do anything while caught in the genjutsu. "I I what should I do?" She helplessly stares at the roof. "The other members of the n call me a monster and imprisoned me in that mansion. These people of Konoha acts as the gatekeeper to that prison. They won''t allow me to move out of that mansion. What should I do? Will he really teach me?" Various questions sh through her mind as the scene of that dark red sky with a ck moon shes through her mind. "Yes! I will learn it. I have to learn it! I want to be a ninja and achieve my freedom." She rxes her fists and steps out of her room. ------------ A/N:- Casting Tsukuyomi on a little girl might be too much for people''s taste, but that''s just a part of Izuna''s personality. He is straightforward when it matters. Also, Yakumo is a special case if you know her story. Chapter 296: Team Three Chapter 296: Team Three Whoosh Izuna, Ayaka, and Hanabi flicker on top of the roof of the academy. Swoosh Yakumo joins them shortly. "So, you decided to join us?" Izuna curiously asks her. "Yes, I don''t want to be left behind. Not anymore!" Yakumo resolutely nods her head. "Alright! All of you take a seat." The three girls sit on a bench on the roof. "Let''s start with introductions." He turns to the girls. "Introduce ourselves? What are we supposed to say?" Yakumo asks him. "Hmm why don''t we start with your name. Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies, and things like that!" He points towards Hanabi. "Why don''t we start with you?" "Alright!" Hanabi nods her head with confidence. "My name is Hanabi Hyuga. I am a member of the Hyuga n. Things I like Umm" Hanabi ponders for a while. "I love my Onee-chan, Hinata! She is the best! Umm!" Hanabi nods her head. "As for the things I dislike I don''t like very spicy food. For my dreams I will be the future leader of my Hyuga n. As for my hobbies, I like to train a lot, especially with my Onee-chan!" Hanabi nods her head in satisfaction. "Alright! Now, it''s your turn!" He points towards Ayaka. "I am Ayaka Uchiha, a member of the Uchiha n and sister of ''Silent Shinigami''." She turns to Izuna and smirks. "" Izuna rolls her eyes as Ayaka continues. "For my likes, I love my Onii-chan! He is my idol, and he is the best!" Ayaka has a smile on her face as she speaks these words. ''Now even I am embarrassed by myself!'' Izuna scratches his head. "I dislike bitter things and rude people. As for my dream Umm" Ayaka ces a hand under her chin and ponders for a while. Hmm "I got it!" She smacks her tiny fist on her palm. "I will be the Second Strongest Shinobi of the world!" She nods her head in satisfaction. "Oh! Why not first?" Izuna curiously asks her. "Because that spot is reserved for my Onii-chan!" Ayaka nods as a matter of fact. ''My cute angel Ayaka!'' Tears streams through Izuna''s eyes. He quickly hides them under ayer of illusion. "As for my hobby I like to cook for my Onii-chan!" Ayaka nods her head in satisfaction. ''Ah!'' Izuna''s expression freezes as his face turns pale. ''Ayaka! What you call hobby is simply torture for others?'' He speaks these words in his mind. "Good! That''s quite the dream you have there! You have to work quite hard to achieve it!" Izuna weakly nods his head. "Of course! I will never shy from hard work!" Ayaka pumps her tiny fists. "Now! On to you!" He turns towards thest member of his squad. "I am Yakumo Kurama from the Kurama n. I don''t like anything in particr as for my dislikes" She turns to Ayaka and Hanabi. "I dislike overconfident people whock the ability to back their confidence. My dream is to be the greatest Genjutsu user of the shinobi world. As for my hobby I like painting. It eases my worries and soothes my heart." Yakumo finishes her introduction. ''Hmm she is quite a handful. Looks like I will have to slowly discipline her.'' Izuna nods his head. "What about you? We also want to know about you?" Yakumo stares at him. "Hmm I am Izuna Uchiha. Things I like and things I hate Hmm I don''t feel like telling you. As for my dreams, it''s to y beach volley with anime girls!" Huh! The three girls tilt their heads in confusion. "What''s that supposed to mean?" Hanabi turns to Ayaka. "I don''t know!" Ayaka shakes her head. "As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies!" Izuna finishes his introduction. "Umm but you never really told us anything about yourself other than your name?" Yakumoins. "Is that so? I thought I told you plenty!" Izuna shakes his head. "Alright! Since our introductions are over. We will have our first mission tomorrow!" Izuna stares at the trio of girls. ''Should I pull a Kakashi on them? I mean it has be a Konoha tradition at this point.'' He stares at the cute face of Ayaka. ''Nah! I will skip the breakfast part. I don''t want to see my cute angel copse from hunger.'' "Sensei!" Hanabi raises her hand. "Yes, Hanabi! Any questions?" "Sensei! What kind of mission will we do tomorrow?" "Hmm it will be a task which the four of us will do together. It will be a survival exercise!" "Survival exercise! But we already did it in the academy. That''s how we reached here!" Doubts appear in Hanabi''s mind. Haha Izuna chuckles as he stares at the group. "It won''t be your run-of-the-mill survival exercise under a safe environment. It will be a life and death exercise with your life on the line. For other tests, if a genin fails the exercise he will return to the academy. But for my test, if you fail it; you will move on to the afterlife." Izuna has a scary expression on his face. Gulp The girls gulp their saliva as they stare at Izuna. "Alright! Then we will meet tomorrow!" Fwoosh Izuna''s figure disappears into countless fragments of light. "Wow! So cool!" Hanabi has stars in her eyes. Hmph "Nii-san is such a show-off!" Ayaka snorts. Gulp Hanabi gulps her saliva. "Still, I am scared of his parting message!" She turns to Ayaka. "Ayaka! Do you know anything about it?" Yakumo perks up her ears as she eavesdrops on the duo. "I think it''s the bell test. I saw Naruto and Sasuke Nii-san''s bell test with my own eyes. But I am skeptical of Onii-chan! He always likes to mess around, so I don''t think he will follow the usual test. There must be something more to his test!" Ayaka spectes. "Let''s forget about that! Why don''t we go and celebrate in Yakiniku-Q? We should invite Konohamaru and his team too!" Ayaka suggests. "But!" Hanabi inserts her hands in her pocket. "I don''t have money to pay for the food!" "Daijoubu! I have enough money to pay for everyone!" Ayaka takes out a stack of cash. "I receive pocket money from lots of ces." She extends her pinkie fingers and counts. "Izuna Onii-chan gives me pocket money! Shisui Nii-san too! Itachi Nii-san! Dad! Uncle Yagami! Uncle Fugaku! Kushina Nee-san! Tsunade Nee-san!" She curls up another of her finger. "I receive quite a lot of money!" "" Hanabi silently stares at her. ''Why do I suddenly feel like my family doesn''t love me?'' Doubts appear in Hanabi''s mind. "Will you join us?" Ayaka turns to Yakumo. "No! I have to decline!" Yakumo shakes her head and slowly walks away. "Well,ter!" She turns to Hanabi and pulls her hand. "Let''s go!" ------------------- Back at the Hokage Office, Hah! Izuna returns and lies down on the couch. Tsunade res at him, but he ignores it. "Izuna! What''s your n for their survival test? It''s an academy tradition of Konoha to test their newly graduated student throughbat in survival training?" Shizune curiously asks him. "Well, it will be too much for those little girls to fight against me! I want to train them as a shinobi, I don''t want to hurt their confidence." Izuna shakes his head. "It will be quite difficult for me to hold back! At this point, even Jounin battles look like kids ying house to me!" He sighs in mncholy. "" "Suffering from sess!" Tsunade and Shizune roll their eyes. "Hmm it makes sense! So, do you have any other ns?" Tsunade curiously asks him. "Of course! It will still be a survival test! Just the venue and the examiner will be different!" Izuna chuckles and doesn''t reveal anything else. Hmph "You and your cheap ideas!" Tsunade snorts and makes a shadow clone to help with the paperwork. "I want to finish work as soon as possible! I want to enjoy that wine!" She engrosses in the paperwork. -------------- Later in the evening, Swoosh Mei teleports inside the house. "Good work out there!" Izuna walks out of the kitchen in an apron. Fufu Fufu Mei chuckles at Izuna''s outfit. "Why does it feel like I am the husband and you are the wife? Our roles are reversed!" "What can I say? My wife is an office worker and ve driver!" Izuna sighs helplessly. "Really? You want to sleep on the couch!" Mei snorts at him. "No, please! I don''t!" Izuna frantically shakes his head. Haha Mei bursts out inughter as Izuna''s expression turns ugly. "Hoh! You sure like to press my buttons but this time you pressed the wrong button?" He picks her up and walks towards the bathroom. "You must be exhausted from the work! Let''s take a bath together to relive your exhaustion!" "Wait! Izuna!" Mei protests. "Not this time!" Chapter 297: Prison Break Chapter 297: Prison Break Inside the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility, In a prison cell, A man with green eyes and shoulder-length hair with a tint of blue at the end is scribbling on the wall. He is dressed in prison attireprising a gray tunic and matching pants. Scratch scratch He continues to scribble lines on the walls with a rock. "Three years! It has been three whole years since I am locked up here. Damn you, Konoha! You ruined my life!" He mutters to himself. Bang He angrily crushes the rock into powder. ''I need power. I need more power to escape from this ce and exact my vengeance!'' He has a frantic expression on his face. Hissss A white snake silently slithers through the prison walls. Whoosh The snake jumps in the air and coils around his neck. Ah! The man panics as the snake entangles around his neck. He grabs the Snake''s tail to free himself. Hisss The snake hisses at him as a whisper falls in his ear. "Do you want power?!" "What?!" He stares at the snake in confusion. "Do you want the power to exact vengeance?" "This" He stares at the snake in trepidation. "Can you give me power?" Hisss The snake hisses wildly and slithers towards his hand. Fwish He bites on his hand. Argh The man clutches his hand in pain as the poison spreads through his arm. The poison condenses into a dark ck skull mark. Argh He winces in pain and passes out. After an hour, Huff Huff He breathes heavily andys down on the ground as the pain subsides down. The white-haired man slowly stands up and looks at his body. "I feel so light! Strength is coursing through my body!" He turns towards the prison bars and grabs them. nk He bends the cold steel bars with his bare hands. "This strength!" He quickly turns towards the white snake. Hiss The snake flickers out its tongue and spews out a scroll. "Come to this ce, if you want to change your fate and exact your revenge!" The man tightly clutches his fists. "Haha With this power, I will exact my revenge. Just you wait, Konoha! Haha" Hystericughter echoes through the prison cell. --------------- Later in the evening, Boom Boom Multiple explosions ring through the prison as the inmates fervently attack the prison guards. "Quick, lower the bridge!" One of the chunnin urgently asks his partner to lower the bridge. Crank crank The chunnin pulls the lever to raise the bridge. Bang A fist ms into his body and sends him flying. The chunnin crashes into a wall and loses consciousness. "What''s the hurry? The party hasn''t even started yet!" The white-haired man walks out of the dark corner. Crack crack He cracks his neck and stares at the prison inmates. "Raijin, Fujin! Release our other friends from their cells, will you?" He turns towards two figures with gigantic bodies who are following after him. "Anything for you, Aniki?" The two figures walk towards the nearby cells. nk They grab the bars and pull them apart with their bare hands. nk nk nk Both figures continue to release more and more prison inmates. The loud noise alerts the prison securities as a bunch of chunnins and jounins rush out. "What''s going on?" The Prison guards notice the criminals escaping from their cells. "It''s the Stupid Brothers! They are jail-breaking other prisoners." A chunnin informs him of the situation. "What?!" The eyes of the jounins widen in surprise. "These two were docile as long as you don''t disturb their food! What happened today?" One of the older jounins stares at the Raijin and Fujin brothers. "Food! We will get more food if we follow Aniki!" The stupid brothers continue to free other prisoners. "Stop them! We can''t allow these criminals to escape! The Jounins take out their kunais and engage with the escaping prisoners. Meanwhile, The older jounin engages with the Stupid Brothers. "Raijin, Fujin! Return to your cell and I will give you an extra serving of food! It''s a promise!" Bang Raijin clenches his giant fists and ms them into the jounin. "Aniki already gave us good food!" Poof The jounin disappears into a puff of smoke leaving behind a log. ''Substitution Jutsu'' Phew The jounin reappears at some distance and heaves a sigh of relief. "That was a close call!" Ah! Raijin stares at the wood log. "He dodged it!" He angrily turns to jounin and charges towards him. "Body Bash!" Raijin drags his enormous body, aiming to smash the jounin into a meat pie. "This is bad!" The jounin makes some quick hand signs. "Fire Style: me Shot Jutsu" He expels a long ball of fire. Bang The me shot ms into Raijin, turning his clothes into ashes. Raijin ignores the fire and bashes into the jounin. The jounin crosses his arms as Raijin ms into him. Bang The jounin is sent flying from the impact. He ms into the prison wall. His body slides down the wall and loses consciousness. "We should lock him up!" Fujin grabs the bars and twists them to lock the jounin. BOOM BOOM One after another, jutsu flies through the prison as the guards engage with the prisoners. Themotion grabs the attention of the Warden in a nearby tower. His expression turns ugly as he notices the riot in the prison. "At this rate, these prisoners will flee and create havoc in nearby viges!" He takes out a scroll from his pocket and scribbles on it. Whistle The prison warden whistles and summons an eagle. He ties thetter to the eagle''s leg and releases it towards Konoha. ''I hope it makes it on time!'' He dashes towards the prisoners with a kunai in his arms. "Quick! Destroy the bridge! Don''t allow these criminals to escape from this ce!" The prison warden instructs the chunnins near the bridge. "Yes! Warden-sama!" The chunnins make some hand signs and spew out a multitude of jutsu to destroy the bridge. ----------- Back in Konoha, Haah Tsunade heaves a sigh of relief. "Finally, the paperwork is over. I can take a breather now!" Shizune massages her shoulders. "Shizune! Let''s go out for a drink. I have yet to taste the new wine Izuna brought for me!" "Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune nods her head. Tock tock tock An eagle pecks its beak on the window. "This is an emergency messenger eagle!" Shizune hurriedly opens the window. She picks up the scroll and passes it to Tsunade. Tsunade unfurls the scroll and reads its content. "Emergency! It''s an emergency, Hokage-sama! The prisoners are breaking from the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility. We need urgent help to calm the situation!" "What?!" Tsunade folds the scroll as her expression turns ugly. "Konoha Strict Correctional Facility is the top security prison of Konoha where the most wanted criminals are kept in detainment. How can there be a breach in security?" She hurriedly summons the Anbu members. "Quick! One of you, summon the nearby jounins while the rest of you depart for the prison. No prisoner shall escape from the prison!" Tsunade sternly warns them. Whoosh whoosh The anbu flickers away in a hurry. "Damn! I didn''t even get to drink my wine." Tsunade bites her lower lip in anger. Fifteen minutester, Whoosh whoosh Asuma and Kurenai appear in the Hokage Office. "You summoned us Hokage-sama!" Both of them bow in front of Tsunade. "Oh! It''s you two!" She turns towards the anbu member and questions him. "Where are Guy and Kakashi?" "Erm Hokage-sama, Team Kakashi is on a mission in the Land of Snow whereas Team Guy has yet to return from their escort mission to Sunagakure!" The Anbu reports to her. "Damn! The situation is quite urgent!" Tsunade turns to Shizune. "Shizune! Join Asuma and Kurenai and fill them on the details." "Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune nods her head. She turns towards Asuma and Kurenai. "Alright!" Asuma and Kurenai follow her. Tch "There are many wanted criminals and war prisoners locked in the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility. I am afraid these three won''t be able to hold against so many prisoners." Tsunade clicks her tongue as she ponders over the situation. "Should I send Izuna to help them? If it''s him, he can single-handedly resolve the situation. Minato and Kushina are out on another mission and Sakuma is holding the fort at borders." She ponders for a while. "Wait, a sec! There are still Shisui and Itachi! They can take care of the situation." She turns towards the Anbu and orders him. "Hurry and inform the vice-chief executive of the Konoha Police Force about the current situation. Also, inform Team Ro to act quickly!" "Yes, Tsunade-sama!" The anbu flickers away. Phew Tsunade heaves a sigh of relief. "I still can''t believe there can be a security breach in that prison. It''s second most guarded prison after the Hozuki castle." ----------------- In the Uchiha n, Haah "That was a busy day!" Shisui massages his shoulders as he walks alongside Itachi. "Sitting at the same ce for eight hours has stiffened my muscles." Heins. "Can''t help it! With the reduced crime rate, the Konoha Police Force has nothing else to do!" He shakes his head. He turns to Itachi and asks him. "What about you Itachi? I am sure you have quite a busy life leading the Anbu team." Sigh "Not really?" Itachi shakes his head in dismissal. "Team Ro is one of the elite team of Konoha. So, it''s only deployed during emergencies. Most of the time, its members are paired with other teams to aid them in missions." "Well, it looks like both of us have quite some free time!" Whoosh A masked anbu member arrives in front of them. "It''s an emergency! Hokage-sama has summoned you both!" "An emergency Summon!" Shisui and Itachi''s expression turns serious. Whoosh They immediately flicker towards the Hokage Office. ----------------- A/N:- So, I have started work on my second Fan-fiction. I will post a chapter for you all to read. Chapter 298: Prison Break Part-2 Chapter 298: Prison Break Part-2 Whoosh Shisui and Itachi arrive at the prison facility. They notice an unconscious chunnin lying at the entrance of the watch house. "Wake him up!" Itachi orders one of his anbu team members. The anbu member summons a ball of water and wakes up the unconscious chunnin. "The prisoners are escaping! I have to raise the bridge!" The chunnin anxiously stares at the prison castle. p The Anbu ps him to break him from his stupor. "Report the situation!" Itachi calmly asks him. Ah! The chunnin quickly summarizes the series of events. "Hmm Most of the criminals escaped from the prison." Shisui turns to Itachi. "We can still catch them if we hurry! I will send a messenger eagle to summon more guards and surround the perimeter. In the meantime, let''s recapture those criminals. They haven''t goo far yet, we can still catch up!" Shisui activates his Sharingan and scans the nearby area. "I can''t spot anyone hiding nearby! Let''s move out!" "Alright!" Itachi nods his head. He turns towards one of the members of his anbu team. "Atsu! You are the only medic-nin on the team. Treat the injured personals of the prison." "Yes, Captain!" Atsu nods his head. Whoosh The group flickers away. Fifteen minutester, Argh "Aniki, I can''t hold any longer?" The two legendary stupid brothers are hanging down at the end of the broken bridge. Hotva is churning below their feet as bubbles of hot gas andva sshes everywhere. "Let''s get going!" The white-haired man scales the broken bridge like adder. "Those other prisoners will serve as a distraction for the anbus and the Police Force while we make our escape." Swoosh Heunches a kunai tied to a rope towards the nearby cliff and uses it as an anchor to scale theva pool beneath him. The Stupid brothers follow him. ------------------- Yawn "I am so sleepy!" Izuna and Mei walk out of their parents'' house. "One thing led to another! In the end, we could only eat dinner at Dad''s house!" Izuna shakes his head. "And whose fault was that?" Mei rolls her eyes. "No harm is done! I got to eat my mom''s cooking!" Izuna waves his hands. Whoosh whoosh Multiple members of the Konoha Police Force dashes out in hurry. They have anxious expressions on their face as they rush out of thepound. Hmm "What''s going on? They seem to be in a hurry!" Izuna curiously stares at their back. He recognizes a person in the group. "Isao!" Izuna yells his name and stops him. "Izuna!" Isao turns around and notices Izuna. "What''s the matter? Why the sudden rush?" "Erm Izuna-san, there is a security breach in the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility. Multiple prisoners have fled from the prison and the situation is quite chaotic there with multiple casualties!" Isao informs him. "I see!" Izuna nods in understanding. "Then, I will be on my way!" Isao turns around and flickers away. "Breach in Konoha Strict Correctional Facility?!" Mei turns to Izuna. "Isn''t that the most secure prison after Hozuki castle?" "Yes!" Izuna nods as he exins. "The Hozuki castle is located on a cliff surrounded by multiple whirlpools and there are multiple death traps around the castle. The isted ind acts as another natural barrier for the prison. Besides this, it also has a formidable warden keeping a watch on the criminals. Simr to the Hozuki castle, the Konoha Prison is situated at the helm of an active volcano. During the reign of the First Hokage, Lord Hashirama used a powerful earth jutsu to raise a chunk of earth from the volcano to create an ind surrounded byva. He then used his wood style to construct a Shiro on the triangr ind. This prison held multiple vicious criminals of the warring era. With the passage of time and the reduced crime rate, the castle was renamed, and it now houses shinobis who havemitted treason or other serious offenses. There is a long bascule bridge that connects the nearby watch house to the prison castle. The criminals mine sulfur and various other ores under the strict management of the guards." Izuna summarizes the details of the prison to Mei. "It''s almost impossible to escape from this prison unless someone has outside or inside help!" Izuna shakes his head. "Let''s return home for now!" He walks towards his house. "Aren''t you going to help?" Mei asks him. "There are multiple other shinobis in the vige beside me. They can handle the situation. I won''t butt in unless Tsunade asks me." "Hmm that makes sense!" Mei follows him. Chii As if right on cue, a messenger eagle hovers in the air. Chii It releases a shrill cry andnds on Izuna''s shoulder. "I jinxed it!" Izuna helplessly shakes his head. He grabs the scroll from the eagle''s leg and reads its content. "It has been almost three hours since Shizune, Asuma, and Kurenai left for the prison. I haven''t received any report from them. Shisui, Itachi, and Team Ro are chasing after the criminals who have fled the prison. I would like you to take a look at the situation!" Izuna folds the scroll and pockets it. "Looks like I have to make a move. Shizune, Asuma, and Kurenai are in danger!" He sighs helplessly. "It''s fine! You are going to sleep on the couch either way!" Mei chuckles. "" ------------- Whoosh Izuna reappears inside the prison facility. He teleports to his mark on Shizune''s storage bracelet. "This is" A frown appears on his face as he notices multiple injured guards lying around in the castle. Multiple anbu medic-nins are treating their injuries. The Anbus are surprised to see his sudden arrival but calms down after confirming his identity. "What''s going on?" Izuna questions a nearby medic-nin. He recognizes thetter as a member of the Team Ro. "Captain Izuna! Chief Shisui and Captain Itachi left with the other members of Team Ro to subdue the criminals who escaped from the prison. Later, the reinforcement arrived and now we are treating the injured personals." Hmm Izuna nods and turns towards a camp. He enters the camp and notices Asuma, Kurenai, and Shizune''s unconscious bodies. "These three are the most severely injured out of all other jounins. I provided preliminary treatment to them so their external injuries are fine but they need immediate medical attention!" Atsu reports their condition to him. "It''s fine, now!" Izuna walks towards the trio. ''Mystic Palm Technique'' He infuses some Nature energy together with healing chakra to rapidly heal their injuries. Ten secondster, Argh Shizune and the rest wake up while clutching their forehead. ''Amazing! Captain Izuna is still amazing as ever!'' Atsu nods his head in praise. "Multiple A-rank criminals surrounded and ambushed us at the entrance of the castle. They were waiting for us!" Asuma has a wry smile. "It''s alright! Shisui and Itachi are already on their trail." Izuna waves his hand. "For now, let''s focus on the injured personals." "I am on it!" Shizune nods her head and helps the rest of the medic-nins. Izuna stares at the prison walls and ponders. ''I still refuse to believe anyone among these criminals can escape from the prison. I will look around.'' He walks deeper inside the prison while inspecting every nook and cranny with his Sharingan. Five minutester, "Oh! Interesting!" Inside one of the prison cells, he noticesrge amounts of dry blood and snakeskin. He wipes the dry blood with his finger. "Hmm there are multiple drugs in this blood and it looks like as if someone forcefully injected Nature energy into an individual." He picks up the snakeskin and inspects it. "This chakra signature!" A frown appears on his face. "Damn! That old hag Snake Sage!" He curses silently. "I have to pay a visit to her after this fiasco. But at least I know about the culprit!" Izuna returns to the stationed medical shinobis as he helps with the treatment. An hourter, Whoosh whoosh Shisui, Itachi, and multiple members of the Anbu and Konoha Police force return with prisoners in tow. "Make a tally of the prisoners and report to me!" Shisui instructs Isao and walks towards Izuna. "How''s the situation?" Izuna asks him. "We captured most of them and killed the rest of them!" "I see!" Izuna nods his head. "Chief! There are three people still missing from the prison. The headcount doesn''t match!" The Police Officer reports to him. "The Legendary Stupid Brothers and former academy instructor Mizuki are still on loose." "What?! The legendary Stupid Brothers! They escaped!" The expression of one of the prison guards Jounin turns ugly. Hmm "Round up the remaining people and throw the corpses of the dead in theva!" Izuna orders them. "Also, if any of these criminals don''t behave, then just send them for a swim inva." Izuna has a stern expression. Gulp The prisoners gulp their saliva and voluntarily return to their cells. "As for the situation of Mizuki and the Legendary Stupid Brothers. Leave it to Team three!" Whoosh Izuna teleports away from the prison. Yawn ''I am so sleepy!'' Chapter 299: Update (Fairy-tail: I.S.L.E) Chapter 299: Update (Fairy-tail: I.S.L.E) Yo! Second chapter is out. Give it a shot! Also don''t mind me shamelessly promoting my story in my novel. Hehe! Chapter 300: Battle with the Stupid Brothers Chapter 300: Battle with the Stupid Brothers Whoosh whoosh Ayaka and Hanabi flicker through the forest at the outskirts of Konoha as they follow the trails left behind by Mizuki. Since Mizuki was in a hurry to escape, he didn''t have enough time to erase his trail. "Um Ayaka! Is it alright to leave her behind?" Hanabi stares at Ayaka''s back. "Humph It''s fine. We don''t even need her. Won''t we hold her back if she teams with us?" Ayaka snorts and continues to move forward. "Ah!" Hanabi stares at Ayaka''s back for a while. ''Ayaka''s words make sense. We approached her nicely, but she rejected our goodwill.'' Hanabies to understanding and follows Ayaka. Whoosh Both of them continue to flicker through the forest and soon arrive in an area full of bamboo trees. ng ng They hear multiple shes through the forest. "Looks like we are already there!" Ayaka and Hanabi slow down and monitor their surroundings. Swoosh A shadow looms over both of them as the sound of something wheezing through the air enters their air. They raise their head and notices a giant boulder quickly approaching them. Whoosh Ayaka and Hanabi jump back in the air and evade the boulder. BANG The boulder crashes into the ground and raises a cloud of dust and debris. Ayaka takes out a kunai from her pocket and raises her guard. "Byakugan!" Hanabi activates her Byakugan to search for the source of the attack. "Hey, Fujin! Aniki asked us to stall the enemies and buy him some time! Are these little girl enemies?" Two giant hulking figure walks out of the forest. "Look at the headband on their forehead! Aniki told us that anyone with that headband is our enemy!" Fujin points towards Ayaka and Hanabi. The dust settles down to reveal the giant boulder. "Such a giant boulder!" Ayaka''s eyes widen in surprise. Her expression turns serious as she confronts the Legendary Stupid Brothers. ''Their physical strength must be terrifying if they can lift something so heavy!'' Ayaka analyses the situation. "Hanabi! These two must be the aplice of the target. They both seem to be physical typebatants, so be careful with them in closebat!" Ayaka warns her. "Alright!" Hanabi focuses on the stupid duo and scans their tenketsu points to search for a weakness. "Little girls! We won''t allow you to chase after Aniki. If they captured Aniki, then we won''t get our food." Raijin menacingly stares at the girls. Haah He presses his left leg on the ground. Rumble The ground crumbles under the pressure of his feet. Bang Raijin shots himself towards Ayaka. "Shoulder Charge!" "This is bad!" Swish swish Ayaka quickly makes some hand signs. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu" She spews out a giant ball of fire towards the charging Raijin. BANG The fireball ms into Raijin and engulfs his upper body in mes. Raijin ignores the fireball and continues his charge as the fire incinerates his upper garments. "Does he not feel any pain?" Ayaka wryly stares at the charging mass of mes. Swish swish She quickly makes more hand signs and ms her palm on the ground. "Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld" Ayaka changes the ground in front of her into a mud pool. Raijin blindly charges through the swamp, but the sticky mud kills his momentum. Hees to a standstill as the sticky mud ensnares him in a ce. Ayaka infuses more chakra into her jutsu as Raijin slowly sinks into the ground. He wildly ils his arms to free himself, but his struggle pulls him deeper. Phew Ayaka heaves a sigh of relief. "That was a close call!" On the other side, Hanabi takes a Taijutsu stance as she confronts Fujin. "Gentle Fist: Eight Trigram Sixty-Four Palms" Haah "Two Palms" "Four Palms" "Eight Palms" "Sixteen Palms" "Thirty-two Palms" She uses the secret gentle fist technique of the Hyuga n to seal Fujin''s Tenketsu points. Huff Huff Hanabi breathes heavily as she stares at Fujin. Haha haha "Stop it! It tickles. Stop!" Fujin giggles as Hanabi hits his tenketsu points. She finishes the rotation of her Gentle fist. "What was that for?" Fujin scratches his head. Growl His stomach growls as he relieves some pressure. Psst Fujin farts loudly, and his lips widen in a smile. "That helped me with the digestion of breakfast. Now, I am hungry for lunch!" He pats his stomach like a gong. Ah! Hanabi silently stares at her hands. ''I am sure I finished the rotation of Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. But why is he still standing as if nothing happened!'' Doubts appear in her mind as she stares at a smiling Fujin. ''Did I do something wrong?'' Up in the air, Izuna notices Hanabi''s dilemma and shakes his head. "Gentle Fist causes severe internal damage to the victim by inflicting damage on their chakra pathway system through injecting your chakra in target''s body. However, if the chakra of your opponent is stronger than yours or their chakra is malleable, then they can easily ignore the damage caused by gentle fist thus rendering itpletely ineffective." He turns towards the Legendary Stupid Brothers. "These stupid brothers have a mutated physique which passively absorbs chakra to strengthen their body. As such, they have zero to no knowledge of Ninjutsu but they can ovee this weakness solely on their physique." Izuna deactivates his Sharingan as hepletes the inspection of the Legendary Stupid Brothers. ''I intended to seek for a solution to my problem by examining the body of these brothers but it seems like we are built different.'' He sighs helplessly. ''Still, the raw strength of these brothers isparable to Tsunade''s. But that''s it! They don''t have enough brain juices to properly utilize that brute force. Nheless, they will prove to be quite a challenge for the girls since these brothers can tank hits quite easily. Also, Hanabi''s gentle fist is perfectly countered by their physique.'' Huff Huff Hanabi breathes heavily as she wryly stares at Fujin. "Raijin!" Fujin turns towards Raijin, who is slowly being pulled into the ground. AHHHH His pupils turn white. Nerves pop on his forehead. "Fujin!" Fujin''s pupils also turn white, with nerves popping on his forehead. He slowly lifts his hand in front of his chest. A bluish and reddish aura surrounds the brothers as they rile up their chakra. "This is bad!" Ayaka''s expression turns ugly. "Hanabi! Quick, get away from them!" AAAHH BANG Both brothers m their fists on the ground. RUMBLE RUMBLE The ground trembles as a huge cloud of dust and debris rises in the air. Crack crack Ground cracks beneath them and the nearby tree uproots one by one. Whoosh Ayaka quickly jumps in the air and avoids the attack, but Hanabi is a step toote. Fwoosh She is sent flying towards a rock with a sharp edge. "Hanabi!" Shiing Ayaka activates her Sharingan and quickly makes some hand signs while in mid-air. "Shadow clone Jutsu" She makes a shadow clone. The shadow clone uses her body as a tform andunches itself towards Hanabi. Bang It ms into Hanabi and alters her trajectory. Poof The clone hits the sharp rock and dispels whereas Hanabi ms into a nearby tree and falls down. BAM Ayaka also ms into a tree and falls down. Cough cough She coughs a little bit of blood as the shock waves of the previous attack rattle her internal organs. Swoosh The dust and debris settle down to reveal a giant bowl shape crater. The idiot brothers are menacingly standing in the middle of the crater as they re at the girls. "FOOD! We need more food!" They charge towards the girls. The ground cracks from their stomps. "Genjutsu: Sharingan" Three tomoes revolve in her eyes as Ayaka casts a genjutsu on the brothers. AH! The stupid brothers halt in their track. Their eyes turnpletely white and they are stuck in a stupor. Huff Huff Ayaka breathes heavily and deactivates her Sharingan. ''I have used quite a lot of chakra with thatst genjutsu. My chakra control is still very terrible.'' She slowly stands up and walks towards Hanabi. "Hanabi! Hanabi! Are you alright, Hanabi?!" She vigorously shakes Hanabi. Argh Hanabi clutches her head and slowly opens her eyes. "My head hurts. Earlier, I passed out from concussion." "Here! Take this!" Ayaka takes out a chakra pill from her storage and passes it to Hanabi. Both of them swallow the pill and slowly recover their chakra and heal themselves. ''If only I had all of my ninja equipment and scrolls.'' Ayakains in her mind. On the previous day, Izuna has confiscated all of her seals, tools, and scroll given to her by Kushina and Izuna. "You shouldn''t overly depend on these tools. They are not a part of your personal strength. I will take them away for tomorrow''s test." That was his exnation. Hmph "That cheapskate brother of mine!" She grumbles in her mind. ------------ In the mid-air, Izuna has a pained expression as he stares at Ayaka''s condition. "I am sorry, Ayaka! Bear with it. I don''t want my love and care to turn into your weakness. This is a cruel world where only strength matters. So, your Onii-chan has to be harsh on you!" He tightly clutches his fists and grits his teeth as he holds himself back. He turns towards the Stupid brothers. "You two like to be punching bags, right? I will get back to youter!" Chapter 301: Team Three Vs Mizuki Part-1 Chapter 301: Team Three Vs Mizuki Part-1 Grrr Fujin and Raijin growl fiercely as they resist the genjutsu. Ah Their bodies quiver slightly and they slowly regain their motor control. "What? How could it be?!" Ayaka''s eyes widen in horror. "How can they break free from my genjutsu? It was one of my most powerful genjutsu which directly affects the brain." She anxiously stares at the Stupid brothers. "Do they not have a brain?" She asks herself. HAAH Fujin breaks free from the genjutsu. He furiously takes a step forward. Squish Fujin feels a soft feeling under his feet. "Huh?!" He stares at his feet and notices a pair of giant rice balls squashed under his feet. "OUR LUNCH!" He yells furiously in anger. Fujin''s expression turns dark, and he releases an intense red aura from his body. "NANI?!" Raijin breaks free from his stupor and notices the squashed rice balls. "MY FOOD!" Veins pop out on his forehead and his muscles bulge out as he tightly clutches his fists. "YOU WILL PAY FOR SQUASHING OUR FOOD!" Rajin releases an intense blue aura from his body as he riles up his chakra. "I AM PISSED! I WILL SMASH YOU TO A PULP!" Both brothers angrily charge towards Ayaka. Ayaka''s expression turns grave. She slowly stands up and activates her Sharingan. "Hanabi! I will stall them for a while. You should escape in the meantime. We will reuniteter and n a new strategy." Ayaka turns to Hanabi. "But Ayaka! They are too powerful!" Hanabi protests. "Hurry and leave! I still have some tricks up my sleeves." Ayaka makes some hand signs. Chirp chii Lightning flickers through her left hand as she gathers arge amount of lightning chakra in her palm. "Chidori: Raikiri Lightning de" Ayaka dashes towards the Stupid Brothers. "Kono!!" Raijin waves his fist to smash Ayaka into pulp. Whoosh Ayaka tilts her head and dodges his punch. She aims the lightning de for his neck. Haah Raijin crosses his arms to block her attack. Stab Chii Ayaka shes the lightning de at his arms. sh Blood leaks from his arms as Chidori pierces the outeryer of his skin. "RAIJIN!" Fujin res at Ayaka. He lifts his wide arms to smash her head. ''I won''t be able to dodge it!'' Ayaka bites her lips as she continues her attack on Raijin. BAM Fujin punches Ayaka, but an invisible wall blocks his attack. "Ah!" Ayaka blinks in confusion as she notices Fujin is held by something in mid-air. "Hmph in the end, you still need my help!" Yakumo slowly walks out of the forest. She has a painting in her hand. Swish She swipes the brush and a bolt of lightning falls from the sky. Buzz The lightning hits Fujin and knocks him away. Yakumo has a smug expression on her face, but her flushed face with beads of sweat rolling down her forehead gives her away. Fwoosh Ayaka dissipates her Chidori and performs a somersault to maintain her distance. "Damn you!" Fujin angrily stands up from the ground. His hairs are charred a little and smoke rises from his body. "Nii-san!" Raijin clenches his fists as his arms bulge with chakra. His wounds heal rapidly. Both brothers lose theirst shred of sanity and charge at the trio in a berserk state. Huff Huff Yakumo breathes heavily. She turns to Ayaka and asks her. "Where is our target?" She looks around in Mizuki''s search. "He isn''t here. He went in that direction!" Ayaka points deeper in the bamboo forest. "We were on the cusp of catching up when these two meat monsters attacked us! They are blocking our only way to target!" Ayaka replies to her. "I I see!" Yakumo nods her head. "It''s evening already. We can''t dy any further or else the enemy will get away and we will fail our mission!" Yakumo grits her teeth. She turns to Ayaka and Hanabi. "I will hold these guys back. You two move forward and catch up to the culprit!" "Are you sure?" Ayaka raises an eyebrow. "Yes, I am! My body is too weak to catch up with your pace. I will trap these fools in my genjutsu and buy time for you!" She squeezes these words out of her clenched teeth. "Alright! Then good luck!" Ayaka nods her head. Both Ayaka and Hanabi pick up their pace and dash out of the bamboo forest. In mid-air, Hmm "So, these stubborn girls are willing topromise if the situation demands it." He stares at Yakumo in amusement. Yakumo lifts her brush and leaves another stroke of her brush on the paper. She draws a pit of fire on the painting. A simr fire pit appears on the ground and surrounds the Stupid brothers. Hmm Izuna stares at the process with interest as he tries toprehend the principle behind her Kekkei Genkai. "This is not a simple genjutsu which only utilizes Yin release. Instead, this Kekkei Genkai utilizes Yin-Yang release. It affects the mental realm in such a way that the genjutsu manifests in the physical realm. Only through the use of Yin-Yang release can one create form out of nothing. But" Izuna scans Yakumo''s body. There is no fluctuation of chakra in her body, but there is a strange chakra manifested in her brain. "It seems like this Yin-Yang Release has something to do with that strange chakra. Unfortunately, I can''t replicate it. Otherwise, it would be a very nice jutsu in my arsenal." He helplessly shakes his head. "For now, I will study her jutsu and decipher itpletely. There is something strange with her chakra." He diverts his attention to Ayaka and Hanabi, who are sprinting through the bamboo forest. --------------- In the bamboo forest, Sniff Ayaka''s nose twitches slightly. She stares in a distance. "I can smell the fresh scent of blood. There must have been a battle here recently." She hastens her pace, with Hanabi closely following her behind. The duo arrives at the end of the forest. They notice a trail of blood leading out of the forest. Hmm Hanabi notices a small rug of cloth wedged at the end of a sharp bamboo shoot. "This cloth" She presents it to Ayaka. "Hmm this seems to be a piece of chunnin k jacket. I have seen Nii-san''s k jacket countless times and I am sure of it!" She grabs the rug and follows the trail. "This should be a piece of Iruka Sensei''s clothing. The other person is a prisoner so he must be in prison clothes, not in a chunnin outfit." She spectes. Whoosh They pursue the trail. A giant cavern appears in front of them. There is a giant pool of blood in front of the cavern. "We have to hurry up! Iruka Sensei seems to be in danger!" Hanabi and Ayaka dashes towards the cavern. They reach the entrance of the cavern and notice a badly wounded Iruka resting against a rock. Cough cough He coughs out some blood. There is a small hole near his chest. A giant Fuma shuriken is wedged in his back and there are multiple scars across his legs and arms. "Iruka Sensei!" Ayaka and Hanabi quickly dash towards him to support him. Ah! Iruka weakly opens his eyes. He notices Ayaka and Hanabi rushing towards him. "You two stop!" He weakly signals them to stop. "There is a powerful criminal inside thisir. You two quickly run from here and inform the Konoha jounins!" He waves his hand to send them away. "But Sensei we are here to help you!" Ayaka and Hanabi walk towards him. ng Hanabi slowly pulls out the Fuma shuriken without affecting his blood flow. Ayaka takes out a medicinal paste from her storage and applies it to his wounds. She forks out a pill and passes it to Iruka. "Sensei! This pill will help you recover slightly." Gulp Iruka gulps down the pill. His condition improves slightly. "You two! Quick, get out of here! The enemy inside is out of your league." He warns them. "But Sensei!" Ayaka and Hanabi try to exin, but Iruka insists on leaving. Haha A peal of maniacughter rings in their ears as a white-haired man walks out of the cavern. "No one will leave anywhere!" The man has a beaker in his hand. There is a crimson red solution inside the solution. He slowly swaggers out of the cavern and stands in front of the group. He waves the beaker with the solution in front of Iruka. "Isn''t it beautiful Iruka? This thing" He waves the beaker in front of Iruka. "It contains power. A power far beyond your reach. Now I will attain that power." He brings the beaker near his mouth. Gulp Gulp Mizuki chugs down the liquid in a single sip. ng Mizuki clutches his throat as his body twitches wildly. The beaker falls on the ground and shatters into countless ss fragments. AAAH Argh Large amounts of chakra surge around his body. Various ck marks appear on his body as they frantically absorb Nature energy from surroundings. A vortex of Nature energy forms above Mizuki''s head as the Nature energy is forcefully pumped in his body. In a far corner on the other end of the forest, "Hoh! It''s more effective than I thought!" A cloaked figure adjusts its spectacles as Mizuki''s reflection appears in them. ----------------- Check out my patre0n and read some advance chapters .pat /ForgottenLife Chapter 302: Team Three Vs Mizuki Part-2 Chapter 302: Team Three Vs Mizuki Part-2 Argh Multiple tiger-like ck stripes appear on Mizuki''s body. The stripes cover his face, arms, legs, and back. His muscles bulge rapidly, and a feral look appears on his face. Large amounts of chakra rile up in his body and his eyes turn into slits with a yellow pupil. Aaah. The veins in his body pop rapidly and his muscles reform one after another. He turns into a giant musclebound behemoth withrge bulging arms. "Wha what''s happening to him?" Hanabi gulps her saliva. Ayaka activates her Sharingan and inspects his chakra system. "An enormous amount of unknown chakra is being forcefully injected into his body. This unknown chakra is the cause of his transformation." She answers in trepidation. "You two run as quickly as possible! I will buy some time for you." Iruka grabs the giant Fuma shuriken and stands in front of the Ayaka and Hanabi, blocking them from Mizuki''s vision. "What will you say now, Iruka? Ahaha" Mizukiughs maniacally as he res at Iruka. "Mizuki! This power is not your own. This power isn''t a result of your hard work and training!" Iruka tries to forge some sense in Mizuki. "Haha Iruka, you are jealous of my power! Aren''t you?" "No, Mizuki! It''s not like that!" Iruka tries to buy some time for girls to escape, but the girls don''t budge from their position. "Enough chitchat! Now I will have you a taste of my power!" Whoosh Mizuki disappears from his position. "Fast! He is so fast!" Iruka''s eyes widen in surprise. He looks around to search for Mizuki''s trail. Swoosh Mizuki reappears in front of Iruka. "Where you looking at? I am right here!" Mizuki clenches his fist and smashes them towards Iruka''s chest. "Not good!" Iruka crosses his arms to block the attack. Bang Mizuki hammers his fists into Iruka and sends him flying. Crack crack The bones in Iruka''s arms fracture from the heavy blow. Iruka grimaces in pain as he crashes into a tree. "Iruka Sensei!" Ayaka and Hanabi wryly stare at Mizuki. Mizuki turns his attention to them and scoffs. "So, Konoha still underestimates my abilities. They sent a pair of fragile little girls to deal with me!" Crack crack He clenches his fists and flickers towards Ayaka with extreme speed. Tch Ayaka clicks her tongue. "I can see his movements with my Sharingan but my body isn''t fast enough to react to his speed." Swoosh Mizuki reappears on top of Ayaka. He hammers his fist towards her head. "I will crush you to paste!" He maniacally stares at Ayaka. Whoosh Ayaka bends her body horizontally and avoids the strike at thest moment. BANG Mizuki smashes his fist in the ground. His punch creates a small crater on the ground. He turns around and res at Ayaka. "Those eyes!" Anger appears in his eyes as he notices Ayaka''s Sharingan. "They remind me of an individual who took all the spotlight from me!" He turns around and dashes towards Ayaka. "This time I will smash you to a pulp!" Mizuki aims his fists towards Ayaka''s head. Whoosh Hanabi jumps in front of Ayaka. "Gentle Fist Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation" Hanabi emits chakra from her Tenketsu points. She spins rapidly and creates a protective shield of chakra. BAM Mizuki ms his fist in the barrier. BANG The chakra barrier repels his attack with counterforce. Mizuki loses his bnce from the aftershock. His arms tumble backward as the attack throws him off bnce. His upper body bends unnaturally backward from the reactive force. "Ayaka now!" Hanabi ends her rotation. "I am on it!" Whoosh Chirp chii Ayaka holds Chidori in her left hand. She quickly dashes towards Mizuki and jumps out of the barrier as soon as Hanabi ends her rotation. "Raikiri: Lightning de" Stab She stabs the lightning de in Mizuki''s guts. Bleurgh Mizuki pukes out a mouthful of blood. Swish There is a fist-size hole in Mizuki''s stomach. "Damn you!" Mizuki regains his bnce. He attempts to hit Ayaka''s head. Swoosh Ayaka jumps backward and pulls out her blood-soaked hand. Mizuki''s guts spill out from the hole. Argh He screams in agony and falls to the ground. "We did it!" Ay stares at her blood-soaked hand. "MIZUKI!" Tsubaki flickers out of the forest as she notices thest moment of Ayaka piercing Chidori through Mizuki''s gut. Whoosh She flickers towards Mizuki and supports him in his arms. "Mizuki! Why?" Tears fall from her eyes as she hugs Mizuki in thest breathing moment. "YOU!" Mizuki stares at her. "None of you tried to understand me! Not even you, Tsubaki! I attained this power to show my worth to the world but in the end" Iruka lies against the tree as he stares at Mizuki''s dying moments with a conflicted gaze. "Mizuki! You were my friend, but when when did you fall to the dark side. As your friend, I was unable to notice it!" Up in the mid-air, Izuna calmly stares at the situation. "You got what you deserve! Besides, this polite and kind-hearted personality of his is a faade. I will let you die with some of your dignity preserved!" In the far corner of the forest, Tch The cloaked figure clicks his tongue. "In the end, it''s still a failure. Well, I already got the data!" Swish He makes a hand seal. "Time for me to head out!" ARGH AHH HAA Mizuki''s body rises in the air. His body absorbs arge amount of Nature energy and his injuries recover rapidly. The skull mark seal on his hand glows and spreads across his body. Yellow fur appears on his body and the stripe marks be more prominent. Mizuki''s upper body turns into that of a tiger. AHH His nails turn into razor-sharp ws. His chest muscles bulge rapidly. ROAR He releases a feral roar and turns towards the group. "I will tear you apart!" BANG He smashes his arm in Tsubaki and sends her flying. Hmm Izuna senses the fluctuations in the chakra. He turns towards the far end of the forest and notices the cloaked figure making some hand signs. "No, you don''t!" Shiing Izuna''s eyes change into Mangekyo Sharingan. "Amenominakanushi" He casts his space-time ability to lock the cloaked figure on his spot. Heh The cloaked figure smirks and takes out a sealing talisman from his pocket. Bzzt The sealing talisman burns into mes and the space-time restriction around him shatters. Whoosh He teleports out of the forest. Tch Izuna clicks his tongue in dismay. "You won''t escape for long. I have left my mark on you. I will return to youter; before that" Izuna turns towards Mizuki, who is rampaging around. "Haha unlike you all, I am not bound by puny things like morals and righteousness. I am destined to grow stronger as I give up on such things. Haha" He turns towards Ayaka and the group. "But before that, I will tear your apart. This will serve as a warning towards Konoha." Gulp Ayaka gulps her saliva. Fear appears in her eyes, but she tightly clenches her tiny fists with resolve. Whoosh Mizuki disappears from his position. "He is faster than before! I won''t be able to react this time!" Ayaka has a grim expression on her face. Shiing Mizuki draws his ws and swings them at Ayaka. Whoosh Iruka grabs Ayaka and Hanabi. "Substitution Jutsu!" A log appears in his position as Mizuki tears it apart. He leaves behind arge trail of w marks on the nearby ground and rocks. Huff Huff Iruka appears behind a tree with Ayaka and Hanabi in tow. He breathes heavily as his early injuries irs up. "Sensei!" Hanabi bites her lips. "IRUKA! Oh, Iruka! I almost forgot about you!" Mizuki slowly walks around as he tries to locate them. "Found you!" He notices the trail of blood on the ground. Whoosh Mizuki flickers towards the tree and clenches his fist. "Looks like I won''t be able to save you again!" Iruka sighs helplessly. Ayaka and Hanabi stand in front of Iruka to shield him. "Sensei! We won''t go down without a fight!" Ayaka calctes the trajectory of Mizuki''s punch and aims her kunai in that direction. "At least I will be able to injure him a little!" BANG Mizuki punches towards Ayaka''s head. Ayaka crosses her arm in front of her head to brace for the impact. A few secondster, Huh! She slowly opens her eyes as the expected impact never came. In front of her, Izuna is holding Mizuki''s gigantic fist with his right hand. He turns towards Ayaka and Hanabi. "Well, in the end; I had to step in!" Crack He twists Mizuki''s arm and sends him flying with a shake of his hand. Argh Mizuki tightly clenches his right hand which is bent at an unnatural angle. Crack He twists his hand and returns it to normal. "It''s you!" He gnashes his teeth and turns towards Izuna. "You are the one who stole all the limelight from me. If not for you, then I won''t be in the situation I am in now. You ruined my life. I despise you from the bottom of my heart!" Mizuki uses Izuna as fury zes in his eyes. "Looks like you are still delusional as ever. You murdered your teammate who suffered from a minor injury during a mission. Then you tried to justify the act bybeling it as merely eliminating a potential hindrance to the sess of the mission. Your facy and pitiful pride blinded your vision, and you were unable to see the right from wrong. You got what you deserved!" Izuna calmly stares at Mizuki. "NO! It''s your damn fault for making me suffer to this extent!" Mizuki extends his ws and leaps at Izuna with a fierce expression. --------------------- Support me on Patre0n and read some advance chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 303: A Difficult Demand Chapter 303: A Difficult Demand "DIE! DIE!" Mizuki wildly waves his ws at Izuna. Izuna nimbly dodges all of his w attacks. "So, you are still persistent in your blind faith." ng Izuna grabs Mizuki''s ws with his bare hands. Crunch He squeezes them with his hand and grinds them into dust. Argh Mizuki clutches his hand in pain. Blood leaks from his fingers. "Your actions are no longer redeemable!" BANG He elbows Mizuki in his gut. BOOM Mizuki is sent flying by the attack. He crashes through multiple trees and ms into a boulder. Fwish Mizuki loses consciousness from the concussion. White smoke rises from his body as the effects of the potion wear off. The aftereffects of the potion kick in and his cells start to degrade rapidly. Mizuki shrivels up in a frail and decrepit old man, his skin turns dark brown and wrinkles appear all over his body. The current Mizuki looks like an emaciated old man. "Mizuki!" Tsubaki dashes by his side. Tears erupt from her eyes as she stares at the frail body of Mizuki. "It''s my fault! I shouldn''t have let youmit any crime. If only" Sob sob Izuna slowly walks by his side. "Mystic Palm technique" He uses the Mystic Palm technique to stabilize Mizuki''s condition. "I have stabilized the deterioration of his body but the harm has been done. That potion has destroyed his chakra pathway system. He is a cripple now and thus cannot wield chakra. Take him to Konoha hospital. He can recover to his former self after the treatment. But he will spend the rest of his life as an ordinary man." Izuna walks away from the couple. He stands in front of Iruka and stares at his badly wounded body. "You know it wasn''t your responsibility to face him on your own." Izuna uses the Mystic Palm technique to heal Iruka''s wounds as he chides him. "Iruka! As an academy instructor, you should be aware of your weaknesses. Don''t take such reckless actions next time. Sigh" Izuna shakes his head. "Yes, I will keep that in mind. But I just can''t let my only childhood friend to fall in darkness." Iruka weakly shakes his head. Numerous thoughts pop in Izuna''s mind as he stares at the indignant expression of Iruka. ''It''s true that weakness disgusts me. But it''s my own weakness that disgusts me. This world is full of powerful people and weak people alike. Powerful people y an important role to decide the fate of the world, but even weak people have their duties to fulfill.'' "Alright!" He turns his attention towards Ayaka and Hanabi. "As for you two" "ANIKI?! ANIKI?!" A hoarse voice falls in their air as two gigantic figures rush towards them. A sickly girl is following them with a pale face. "I am sorry! I wasn''t able to hold them for too long!" Yakumo apologizes to Ayaka and Hanabi. The Stupid brothers notice Ayaka and Hanabi. "You two beat-up Aniki? Now we will beat you up!" Fujin and Raijin charge towards them. "Good! I was about to look for you. But you delivered yourself right in front of me!" Izuna clenches his fist. A green and red aura surrounds his body as ground cracks beneath him. Whoosh Crack He disappears from his ce. The ground crumbles in his wake. BANG Izuna punches Fujin straight into the chest. Bleurgh Fujin pukes out a mouthful of saliva, followed by blood. Shoom He is sent flying through the forest. Multiple trees uproot on impact as arge cloud of dust and debris rises in the air. BOOM He ms into a small hill and the entire hill copses on his body. There is arge fist shape dent on Fujin''s chest. "B B Big Brother!" Raijin trembles in fear as his legs shake wildly. Izuna turns towards him. AH! A putrid smell spreads in the surrounding. Rajin shits in his pants and forms a pool of piss near his legs. Izuna''s expression turns ugly at this. Eww Hanabi and Ayaka clench their nose in disgust. "You think I will spare you if you pee your pants!" Izuna turns to Hanabi. "Hanabi! Watch carefully!" He takes a taijutsu stance. "This is Gentle fist!" Hanabi''s eyes widen in surprise as she recognizes the stance. Haah "Eighty Gods Vacuum Fist" Izuna thrusts his fist forward. He releases a gigantic fist made of chakra. The chakra fist travels towards Raijin at an insane speed. BOOM It ms into his body and sends him flying. A massive crater forms at his position as Raijin flies through the forest. He ms into another hill beside his brother and passes out. The hill copses on top of him. Hanabi''s eyes widen in surprise. Star appears in them as she stares at Izuna in admiration. "Sensei! What technique was that? I thought it was Gentle Fist from the stance but it''s apletely different technique!" She curiously asks him. "It''s called Eighty Gods Vacuum Fist! For now, you can say it is a precursor of your Gentle Fist. Do you want to learn it?" Izuna asks her. "Yes, sensei!" Hanabi nods her head in excitement. "Then learn it well!" Izuna takes out a scroll from his pocket and passes it to her. "This is a secret technique of mine! You can''t teach it to anybody else!" He sternly warns her. "Mm" Hanabi nods her head. "Ehto Sensei! Can I teach it to my Nee-san?" Hanabi asks him in trepidation. "Hmm you can teach it to Hinata. But don''t teach it to anybody else or I will take it back!" "Thank you, Sensei!" Hanabi jumps in excitement. At the sidelines, Yakumo has a shocked expression on her face as she stares at Izuna in amazement. ''Sensei is very powerful!'' Ahem Izuna clears his throat. "At the beginning of the test, I told you that if I take action during your test, then all of you will be disqualified!" The expression of Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo turns ugly. "But but we" Izuna sternly gazes at them. Hanabi and Ayaka tear up at this. "That was a lie!" Izuna chuckles. "What I was looking for wasn''t a spectacr performance instead I was looking for teamwork." Ah! They nkly stare at him. He turns towards Ayaka and Hanabi. "During the early phase of the mission, you abandoned your teammate behind and continued the mission. This might follow the ninja code but it doesn''t follow the moral code. In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum. But those who abandon their friends are far worse than scum." Izuna stares at the trio as they lower their head in embarrassment. "Although your start was rough, but you redeemed yourself with your co-operation against the Stupid Brothers. Cooperation is the basis of teamwork. I am sure you folks will form a fine team in the future." Izuna smiles at them. "Does this mean, we" Yakumo slightly parts her lips as she asks him. "Yes, you three passed my test." "Yeah!" Hanabi and Ayaka jump in excitement. "Alright! You are dismissed for now. Come meet me at Hokage Office tomorrow morning to pick your first mission!" Izuna waves his hand. Ayaka grabs Hanabi''s hand as she mutters to herself. "Nii-san bullied me! I willin to Mei Nee-san!" "Ah!" Izuna, who is preparing to teleport away, falters in his footstep. ''Was it a mistake to pick her in my team?'' He questions himself. "For now, I should focus on the real culprit! You won''t escape from for long." Shiing Izuna''s left eye changes into Rinne-Sharingan. He senses the spatial mark ced on the cloaked figure. "Found him!" Swirl He opens a portal in front of him and walks into it. Whoosh Izuna reappears inside a dark humid cavern. There are multiple passages in the cavern leading to different ces. "My spection was correct. It must be him." Izuna turns towards one of the passages and walks inside. Hisss Multiple gigantic snakes slither through the cavern. They respectfully open a path for Izuna to walk through. After fifteen minutes, Izuna appears in front of a giant cavern with a visible temple inside it. "White Snake Sage! You already know why I am here?" Izuna bellows at the cave. Hisss A gigantic blue snake with green eyes slithers out of another cave. "Izuna-sama! The White Snake Sage is in her meditation. She won''t be able to attend to you." "Really?!" Izuna raises an eyebrow. "Let him in!" A hoarse voice enters their ears. Hmm Aoda meekly nods his head and retreats into his cave. Crunch crunch Izuna steps inside the cave as he crushes gravel and dried leaves under his feet. He walks in front of the temple. "Hand him over to me and I will leave peacefully!" Izuna has a cold expression on his face. "And before you deny it, I already know he is here!" Hiss The white snake Sage hisses and an old woman walks out of the temple. "I am sorry to disappoint you, but I won''t hand him over!" The old woman stands in front of Izuna. Their eyes confront each other as the woman''s reflection appears in Izuna''s Mangekyo. Chapter 304: Holy Mission Chapter 304: Holy Mission "You can''t protect him forever!" Izuna stares into her slitted eyes. "I won''t!" The old woman has a resolute expression on her face. "For a thousand years, my Ryuchi cave never had a Human Sage who represents us in the shinobi world. But now there is a spark of hope!" "I won''t touch him for the sake of good faith you showed to me. But" Izuna gazes in her eyes as his left eye changes in Rinne-Sharingan. "There is always a price to pay for everything!" The White Snake Sage eyes narrow as she stares at Izuna''s Rinne-Sharingan. ''This is the eye of Sage of Six Paths. No, these tomoes, it''s even more powerful than him.'' A trace of fear reflects in her eyes, but soon calmness returns to her face. "Fine! I willply with your wishes." She nods her head. "Good!" Izuna''s eyes return to normal as he demands. "I want Ryuchi cave to train three members of the Uchiha n in Senjutsu for me. Also, I will" He states his conditions to her. Swoosh Izuna takes out a scroll with Sasuke, Itachi, and Shisui''s picture. The old woman grabs the scrolls. Her slitted eyes scan the pictures. "Alright! I agree with your condition." Izuna turns around and steps out of the cavern. Whoosh He teleports away from the Ryuchi cave. The White Snake Sage stares at the empty space for a while. ''His powers are growing rapidly. I don''t know if it''s a good thing or a bad thing! But his awakening has elerated the entanglement of fate and destiny as they rapidly intertwine and blur the thin outline of the distant future. I can hear the woes of countless souls echoing in my ears.'' ---------------- Whoosh Izuna reappears in front of his house. He opens the gate with a smile. "I am home!" "Wee back!" Mei walks out of the kitchen with a spat in her hand. Sniff Izuna takes a deep whiff. "It smells delicious!" He salivates from the fragrance of the dinner. "Go and wash yourself. I will put the dinner on the table." "Alright!" Izuna walks towards the bathroom as Mei ces the food on the table. Fifteen minutester, "Aha! That was a nice bath. I feel so refreshed." Izuna walks out of the washroom. He walks towards the dining room with excitement. Sob Sob "Nee-san! Onii-chan bullied me. Sob sob" Ayaka sheds some tears in front of Mei. "What?! Did he bully you? Tell me more!" Mei ces down the te and sits beside Ayaka. Sob "It''s like this!" Ayaka recounts the entire series of the incident to Mei. "What?!" Mei''s brows scrunch up. "He assigned your group to fight against an A-rank criminal right after your graduation!" Some memories of Bloody Mist freshen up in her mind as her brows scrunch up. "Hmph! How dare he bully my cute Ayaka like that?" Mei pats Ayaka''s head. "There won''t be any dinner for him tonight!" Mei picks up the te and passes it to Ayaka. "Ayaka! You must be hungry. Nee-san prepared a sumptuous meal for you!" "NO! My dinner!" Izuna has a heartache as he stares at Ayaka gobbling his dinner. He walks towards Mei. "My dinner!" "There is no dinner for you tonight!" Mei harrumphs at him. "And don''t you dare eat anything from outside or else forget about sleeping on the same bed with me!" AH! Izuna''s expression freezes as something shatters in his heart. He walks towards a corner and draws circles with his finger. "My wife doesn''t love me!" "My wife doesn''t love me!" "My wife doesn''t love me!" "" Mei rolls her eyes. "Your drama won''t work on me today." Burp Ayaka burps loudly. "Oops" She ces a hand around her mouth. "The food was very delicious." Ah! Izuna kneels down on the floor on all fours. "My wife, my imouto doesn''t care for me anymore!" "Come Ayaka! Let''s sleep together." Mei ignores him and brings Ayaka to the bedroom. Sigh Izuna sighs. "Ah! I miss those old days when my Ayaka-chan was so innocent." "It''s the result of your badpany which corrupted her!" Yin Kurama opens his eyes and sniggers. "" --------------------- Next day in the morning, Inside the Hokage Office, "Good morning Tsunade!" Izuna walks into the Hokage office with bags under his eyes. "You didn''t sleepst night?!" Tsunade curiously stares at him. "Sort of!" Izuna nods his head. Hehe Ayaka chuckles as she enters the Hokage Office with Hanabi and Yakumo. After the previous day, the group has grown closer to each other. "Oh, Ayaka-chan!" Tsunade ces down the paperwork and turns to Izuna. "You here for a mission!" "Yes!" Izuna nods his head. "Give me the Holy Mission of Konoha!" He asks her. "Holy Mission?!" Tsunade raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want that mission?" "Yes, I am!" Izuna nods his head. "I think these girls can handle it!" Bang "I am back Granny!" Naruto ms the door open and enters the Hokage Office. "Naruto! Keep your voice down in the Hokage Office!" Tsunade yells at him. "" Naruto calms down after Tsunade''s outburst. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi enter the office. "Lady Fifth! The escort mission in the Land of Snow isplete. Here is the report!" Kakashi passes a scroll to Shizune. He turns to Izuna and throws a scroll at him. "You might be interested in it!" "This is" Izuna tilts his head in confusion. "This is a chakra Armor from the Land of Snow. It blocks most of ninjutsu and genjutsu below B-rank and it even strengthens user''s chakra and techniques to another level." Kakashi exins to him. Hmm "That''s pretty good!" Izuna nods his head. He inserts some chakra into the scroll. A ck armor with multiple chakra nodes and inscription appears in his hand. There is an opening near the chest area for the power source. ''Hmm it follows the principle of Fuinjutsu and inscription. But there is also some craftsmanship and engineering involved in it. It''s more like a whish''s version of Iron Man''s suit in Naruto. A chakra ore can power this suit. But the energy conversion efficiency is quite poor. Also, it has some durability issues. This alloy has many impurities mixed within it. Although, I have little engineering knowledge but I can improve its design. Imagine a bunch of Iron shinobis battling against the Otsutsuki n members.'' One of the most iconic Marvel scenes appears in his mind. ''Nah! That''s not cost-efficient at all! The cost of production of even one such armor is phenomenal.'' He shakes his head to dispel his fantasies. ''Still, I can fulfill my wish of an Iron Man suit in this world.'' Izuna stores the scroll and turns to Naruto and the group. "Ayaka-chan! What are you doing here?" Naruto curiously asks her. Hehe Ayaka shes her Ninja forehead protector. "I am a ninja now. So, of course, I am here for a mission." She has a smug smile on her face. "Wow! You graduated from the academy." Naruto stares at her in amazement. "Of course!" Ayaka crosses her arms around her chest. "Incredible!" Naruto and Sasuke praise her. "So what mission are you going to pick?" Sasuke curiously asks her. "Umm Tsunade Nee-san mentioned something about the Holy Mission?" Ayaka tilts her head in confusion. "I don''t know what this Holy Mission is?" "Ho Holy Mission!!" Naruto and Sakura''s expression turns pale. "It still sends a shiver down my spine. After this mission, I doubted my abilities as a ninja!" Naruto gulps his saliva. "Is it that scary?" Hanabi has a fearful expression. "You will see for yourself!" Sakura nods her head. "Alright, Here is your mission." Tsunade takes out a pamphlet from her drawer. She passes the pamphlet to Ayaka. Ayaka grabs the pamphlet. There is a picture of a cat with brown fur on it. The cat has a ck line running down its forehead. Three lines run across the ck line. The cat has amber eyes and a red ribbon is tied to the right ear of the cat. "It''s a cat!" Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo has a nk expression. "No! This thing isn''t a cat!" Naruto shivers from his post-traumatic stress disorder. "Hmph What''s so different about a cat? Even I can easily catch it with no effort?" Yakumo scoffs at the picture. "Then, it''s decided. I will assign team three the Holy Mission." Tsunade stamps the pamphlet and passes it to Izuna. Chapter 305: The Legendary Whisker Chapter 305: The Legendary Whisker Beep "Ayaka here! I am at point C. Over!" Beep "Yakumo here! I am at point B. Over!" Beep "Hanabi here! I am at point A. Over!" "Okay, Squad three!" Hm?! "The target has moved. Follow it! Out!" Beep Izuna ends the radio conversation. Whoosh A small agile shadow quickly dashes through the forest. "Quick! Catch it." Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo dashes towards it. "Yakumo! It''s running towards you." Ayaka informs Yakumo on thems. Whoosh Haaah Yakumo dives into the shadow to catch her. Swoosh The shadow performs a somersault in mid-air. AH! Bam Yakumo face nts on the ground. Dirt smudges on her face. Fwoosh The cat jumps on top of her hairs. Meow MEOWWW It scratches its ws on Yakumo''s head and face and makes a mess of her hairs. MEOW The cat stands on its hind legs and swaggers away. "Damn you! Just you wait! I will mess you up once I catch you." Yakumo grits her teeth in anger. Whoosh The cat dashes away. Yakumo takes out a painting from her bag. She quickly strokes with her brush to cast a genjutsu. Beep "Yakumo! You aren''t allowed to harm the target. She is the pet cat of Madam Shijimi. Besides, this cat is the bread and butter of countless genins in the vige. Over!" Izuna warns her. "Fine!" Yakumo grumbles and stores her painting. Beep Thems chortle again. "Yakumo-chan! You are so slow. We missed the trail of the cat again." Ayakains. "Let''s reunite for now. We will start our search again after lunch." Beep Izuna ends the conversation and walks out of his hideout. Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo walk out of their hiding spot. All of their faces are roughed up with dirt-smudged over their faces and hairs. There are many scratch marks on their face and arms. "Aw! My beautiful face." Ayaka takes out a mirror from her pocket. She inspects the scratch marks on her face. "Sensei! How is this a C-Rank mission? It''s even harder than an A-Rank mission." Hanabiins. "I am exhausted!" Yakumo slumps on the ground. "" Izuna silently stares at their antics. Tok tok Mei walks out of the forest with a basket in her hands. "Alright, everyone. It''s lunchtime!" She waves the basket at them. "YEAH! Mei Nee-san!" Ayaka hurriedly dashes towards Mei. Mei takes out a towel from the basket and wipes Ayaka''s face. "My cute little sweetie must be tired!" Sheys down the basket and turns towards Hanabi and Yakumo. "Come join us! I have enough for you all!" She takes out a bunch of sandwiches from the basket. "I have a chicken sandwich, egg sandwich, fish sandwich, vegetable sandwiches, and some fruits and cream." Sheys down the lunch on a cloth. Gulp Hanabi and Yakumo gulp their saliva. Hanabi quickly dashes towards her. "I am quite hungry." She picks up a sandwich and munches on it. "I am not feeling hungry." Yakumo turns away. Growl Her stomach grumbles in hunger. Yakumo''s face turns red in embarrassment. "Now! Now! Yakumo-chan! It''s not good to stay hungry before a mission. Come and eat your fill." Mei waves her hand. Gulp Yakumo gulps her saliva as the enticing fragrance of sandwiches enters her nose. "Then don''t mind if I do!" She quickly sprints towards them and sits beside Ayaka and Hanabi. Chomp chomp The girls quickly munch one sandwich after another. Whoosh Izuna flickers out of the forest. "Leave some for me too!" He walks towards Mei and opens his mouth. Aah Mei tilts her head in confusion. "Feed me!" He points towards his mouth. "How shameless!" Mei snorts but feeds him nheless. Ayaka cutely munches on her sandwich and stares at Izuna. "Izuna Onii-chan is such a man child. Even as an adult he needs to be fed by others." AH! Izuna''s expression freezes. He slowly turns towards Ayaka with a smile. "Ayaka-chan, who told you that term?" Hmm "It was Shisui''s Nii-san. He was the one who called you with such a name." Ayaka happily sells out Shisui. "SHISUI?!" Izuna''s expression turns ugly. Pfft Mei bursts out inughter. "Now that I think about it. It makes sense." She nods her head. "Not you too!" Izuna grumbles. He picks up a sandwich and stuffs it in his mouth. ''For some reason, this sandwich doesn''t taste as good as before!'' Mei picks up a sandwich and takes a bite of it. She turns to Ayaka and curiously asks her. "So, what''s your current mission?" Ayaka turns to Izuna for confirmation. Izuna nods his head. "It''s the Holy Mission!" she remarks. "Holy Mission?" Doubts appear in Mei''s mind. "What kind of mission is that?" She asks in surprise. "It is one of the sacred missions of Konoha and every genin has to perform it once or multiple times in their lifetime. You won''t be a true shinobi unless youplete this mission!" Izuna proudly deres. "Really?!" Mei has a skeptical look on her face. She turns to Ayaka for answers. Ayaka takes out the poster and passes it to Mei. Mei nces at the poster and notices the cat. "It''s a cat! So, it''s a cat hunt mission!" "NO! This thing isn''t a cat. It''s the ''legendary whisker'' of Konoha!" Ayaka shakes her head in trepidation. "It''s more agile than a ninja hound, cleverer than a fox, and it has more endurance than a horse!" Ayaka recounts the chase of the past few hours. Ahem "Let me tell you the story of the immortal cat, the ''legendary whisker'', and how this mission came to be known as the ''Holy Mission'' of Konoha!" Izuna clears his throat and recounts his experience to the group. Fifteen Minutester, "Haah that hit the spot." Ayaka pats her stomach and cleans her teeth with a toothpick. "Hah I am full." Hanabi rests against her. Burp Yakumo burps and lies down on the grass. "" Izuna silently stares at the trio. ''Are we on a pic? We sure are not! Then why does it feel like one?'' Cough cough Izuna coughs slightly to get their attention. "Your mission isn''t over yet. That cat won''t return on its own." "Sensei! We are exhausted after the previous chase. We will continue the hunt once we regain our peak condition!" Hanabi waves her hand. ''This girl! She is bing a shadow of Ayaka. Even her actions are affected by her.'' Izuna has an ugly expression on her face. "See, I told you! It''s the effect of your badpany on these kids." Yin Kurama opens its eyes and yawns. Izuna res at him. Yin Kurama shes his teeth and sniggers. Izuna has a stern expression on his face as he turns to the girls. "If you fail this mission, then the first-ever mission of Team three will be recorded as a failure and it will forever be a stain in your shinobi career." "What?!" The girls quickly stand up. "Hanabi, Ayaka! Let''s catch that cat before evening!" Yakumo takes the lead. "OK!" -------------- Later in the evening, Inside the Hokage Office, Hanabi has a brown cat with a red ribbon on its right ear sleeping in her arms. "You found her!" Tsunade raises an eyebrow. "These girls were lucky. They found it sleeping on top of a tree." Izuna shakes his head. Bang The gate of the Hokage Office is mmed open. A corpulent woman with dark brown hair walks inside the Hokage Office. "My Tora-chan?! My darling!" Meeoww The cat''s eyes open wide as it is startled by the voice. "Tora-chan?! Give me a hug and a Kissy!" The corpulent woman parts her lips opens and walks towards Hanabi. MEEEOWW The cat''s hairs stand up in fear. It freaks out at Madam Shijimi''s appearance. The cat jumps down from Hanabi''s embrace and dashes towards the door to flee from the woman. Excitement appears in Madam Shijimi''s eyes as she stands near the door. "Look how excited my Tora-chan is?! Looks like she missed me too!" Before the cat could resist, she scoops her up and embraces in her hug. MEEEEEOOOWW The cat chokes from the deadly embrace of Madam Shijimi. It wildly ils its arms in a struggle. "Oh! Tora-chan wants a kiss!" Smooch She kisses the cat and drenches her entire face in saliva. "Thank you, Hokage-sama!" Madam Shijimi takes out a stack of Ryo from her purse and passes it to Shizune. Shizune counts the money. "Madam Shijimi! It''s twice the amount of the mission." "It''s alright! You can keep the change. Ahaha" Madam Shijimi folds a fan in front of her face and chuckles. "Besides, my husband makes a lot of money! Ahaha" "Well!" Tsunade has a conflicted expression on her face. "If you say so!" Madam Shijimi grabs the half-dead cat and walks out of the Hokage Office. Pfft Haha Ayaka and the group burst out inughter as they snigger at the pathetic condition of the cat. "Serves it right for its mischievousness!" Chapter 306: Undercurrents in Shadows Chapter 306: Undercurrents in Shadows A/N:- So, this uing part of the arc is entirely based on hints given in the Naruto series about demons. I will use a bit of pieces of story from Manga, anime, and even official Naruto games to write this arc and modify it ording to my liking. When the part from the game will appear, I will point it out together with the name of the game. --------------- In the Land of Demons, Inside a deep valley surrounded by various mountains ranges, There is a gigantic rock temple carved into a mountain in the middle of a ridge. The temple has a gigantic rock gate with two fire torches burning on each side. A giant kanji for ''demon'' is carved in the temple''s helm. Whoo whooo Heavy winds blow in the ridge as the clothes of the guards flutter with the winds. Yawn One of the guards yawns slightly and rubs his eyes. "Stop cking! Miko-sama has warned us to maintain strict surveince." Another guard chides his partner. The guard rubs his eyes and straightens his posture. Whoosh whoosh whoosh Five figures appear on top of a nearby hill. Four of them are dressed in white shinobi garbs. There is a hexagonal symbol inscribed on their robe. The fifth person who seems to be their leader is dressed in grey attire, with a ck trench coat and ck shinobi sandals. The group calmy gazes at the temple. "The moment has arrived. The moment we have been waiting for!" He raises his hand and gazes at the night sky. Swirl "The stars have aligned perfectly." In the sky, The red moon, sun, and otherary bodies align in a straight line. "It is for this night that we developed the Dark Medical Ninjutsu." He turns towards the four members of his squad. "With it, we shall reawaken the Lord Kishin and unite all thends." Whoosh He flickers and reappears behind the four people. "For that, we must first awaken the general of Lord Kishin''s army." The man in ck waves his hands towards the group. Fwoosh Fwoosh Four dark snakes of chakra erupt from the ground and stab into the four shinobis in white. "Strengthening Prescription: Chakra Injection" Dark purple chakra courses through the snake. The man in ck forcefully injects this chakra into four shinobis. "Prescription Filled." He spreads his arms and the ck snakes return to his body. Whoosh whoosh The four white figures jump from the hill and dash towards the temple. "Intruder!" "Be on your guard!" The guards raise their weapons and dashes towards the four shinobis. "Do it, Gitai, Setsuna!" One of the shinobi, with a blue cloth around his face, slowly walks towards the guards. His hair flutters in the wind as he infuses arge amount of chakra. "Fire Style: Fire Run" A stream of fire erupts from the ground. The stream of fire surrounds the guards and forms a ring to trap them. "Don''t flinch at the meager mes like this!" The guards raise their weapons and swing them around to extinguish the mes. "I won''t give you the opportunity to do so!" Another shinobi in white with three triangr puffs of hair jumps in the air. He waves his hand and releases several small wind tornadoes. "Wind Release: Divine Wind" The wind tornadoesbine with the fire and form a gigantic fire tornado. The giant fire tornado incinerates the guards and ms into the giant rock door. BOOM An explosion urs at the point of contact. The giant tornado blows the rock gate to smithereens. The group walks deeper into the temple, and another giant door appears in front of them. The four figures push open the door. Shoom shoom shoom Multiple torches light up in the temple. "The time has finallye." The ck figure walks deeper into the temple. "Wait here! From here on lies the boundary of life and death. Only I, the one with the name ''Yomi'' can enter." He takes a step into the shadows and disappears from the vision of four shinobis. Yomi continues to walk deeper into the temple as more and more torches light up in the temple. He descends multiple rock staircases and arrives in a giant hall. There are multiple rock statues bound to the ground in the hall. Numerous ropes with multiple paper seals hang across the cavern. At the center of the room lies a shrine-like building with five tall pirs. A massive seal with white light lies on top of the shrine. There is a small gap in the cavern from which moonlight illuminates the seal. Yomi walks in front of the seal and raises his head. The stars and the celestial bodies slowly align with each other. "It''s waiting! Waiting!" He stretches his arm towards the seal. Veins pop out on his body and his muscles stiffen as arge amount of dark purple chakra rises from his body. p Yomi sps his hands together. "Rite of Descensionmence!" "Min, Shin, Gan, Reppyou, Shouzen, Mika, Dan, Raku, Shou!" Yomi chants a long ritual rite. Fwoosh He stretches his right hand towards the seal. Swoosh He emits a thick wisp of dark purple chakra from his body. The wisp of chakra enters inside the seal. Crack crack crack Multiple cracks appear on the seal and it slowly crumbles apart to reveal a dark other-dimensional passage. Siii Dark winds blow from the passage and a thick, dark blue miasma leaks from the passage. Fwoosh The dark miasma pushes Yomi back. Yomi kneels on the ground. "It has been a while Have I returned to this world?" A deep, chilling voice erupts from within the passage. "My liege! It has been a long time." "You are" The dark chilling tone creeps out of the cavern. "It''s Yomi, my liege! I am a survivor of the shinobi n, which used your powers to lead the thousand ghost army." Yomi grovels in front of him. "Why have you summoned me?" A voice full of irritation and resentment falls in his ears. "I have been sealed in this ce for almost a thousand years as my lord is banished to another realm." "My liege! The stars have aligned again. Soon, the door to the other realm will appear again. It''s an opportunity for us to wake Lord Kishin from his slumber and establish the Thousand-Year Kingdom." Yomi replies in a humble tone. "But where is my physical self?" The voice groans in anger. "With only my soul, I will fade away in no time and will disgrace the dignity of the Lord!" "Please use my body as your vessel until we recover your physical self!" Yomi slowly stands up. He removes the ck trench coat to reveal his chest. "With my dark medical skills, I will transfer your soul into my body." He takes a scalpel out of the multiple tools hung in his trench coat. Swish Yomi skilfully waves the scalpel in his hand. Swirl The scalpel lights up with a dark purple chakra. Swish He makes a clean cut across his sternum to reveal a dark mass of chakra. "Now, please enter my body!" "Very well" A mass of dark blue mes rises in the passage. It leaps out of the passage and jumps into the gap in his sternum. AHHA AHHH Yomi screams in pain as the soul possesses his body. "Rite of Descensionplete!" His pupils turn round and deep blue light flickers through them. Hahaha. Haha "Now my master shall be the sole ruler of this world." Yomi raises his head and stares at the alignment of stars. "It will take another two months for stars to align perfectly. Till then, I should slowly amasss my strength without alerting the priestess." Whoosh He releaseas four dark purple snakes from his body. The snakes possess the bodies of the guards and they slowly stands up. Soon, calm returns to the temple as Yomi restores the gate of the temple with his new-found power. ------------------------------ In Konoha, Inside the Yakiniku-Q restaurant, Achoo Izuna sneezes loudly. "Here!" Ayaka passes a handkerchief to him. He blows on it and wipes his nose. ''Strange! How can I catch a cold? No, it must be Mei. She must be thinking about me.'' He shakes his head and turns towards his team. "Eat up! Eat your fill! Today your Sensei is very happy with your performance!" Izuna signals them to eat. "Then I won''t hold back, Sensei!" Yakumo grills a piece of red meat until turns brown. She dips it into the sauce and puts it in her mouth. Nom nom "What a delicious piece of meat?" Stars appear in her eyes. Ayaka and Hanabi also grill their meat and slowly chew on it. Izuna fondly stares at his team as he reminisces the past two weeks. ''It has been two weeks since my team three came into being. In these two weeks, these little girlspleted 3 C-Rank missions, 2 D-Rank missions, and even a B-rank mission.'' Their most spectacr performance was in the previous mission, which was also their first B-Rank mission. Initially, it was a C-Rank mission where a bunch of bandits were plundering and murdering people in a small civilian vige in the territory of Land of Fire. However, after investigation, the mission escted to a B-rank when some rogue chunnins of small viges were found among the bandit gang. These bandits abducted the vigers and held them hostage. But the girls calmly sorted out the situation, earning Izuna''s praise and this well-deserved treat. Izuna grills arge piece of steak. Heyers it with sauce and takes a bite of it. "Delicious!" He closes his eyes and rxes slightly. ''I can rx for a couple of months before departing to seek a solution for my problem. If it boils down to worse than I can always consume that vitality fruit to buy myself some time.'' Izuna stretches his arm and rxes. "Peaceful times sure are good!" Swoosh A shadow creeps behind Izuna. Izuna turns towards the shadow. "Huh?!" Chapter 307: Attack on Konoha Chapter 307: Attack on Konoha A/N:- These past few days, I was traveling to meet my sister on the asion of Raksha Bandhan which is an auspicious Indian festival where a brother pledges to protect his sister from all sort of evils and the sister prays for the well being of the brother to help him through all sorts of rough situations. --------------- Swoosh A shadow creeps behind Izuna. Izuna turns towards the shadow. "Huh?!" A small wolf jumps out from the shadow. "Master! There is an emergency." The wolf has a grim expression on its face. "So cute!" The eyes of the three girls lit up. They immediately surround the wolf and stroke its fur. "So soft!" Ayaka wraps her arms around the pelt of the wolf. "So beautiful!" Hanabi wraps the tail of the wolf around her neck and cuddles it. "Roen! I missed you a lot. You shoulde and y with me more often!" Ayaka gently strokes Roen''s neck. Tickle tickle She continues to tickle him. Growl ahhh ahhh Awoo Roen''s ears twitch slightly and he growls in bliss. "What an embarrassing sight to show to you, master?!" Roen apologizes to Izuna. "Go on! Enjoy yourself!" Izuna takes another bite of meat and ignores Roen''s plight. Yakumo watches Ayaka and Hanabi y with Roen. She notices the soft and fluffy fur of Roen. ''I want to y too!'' She hesitates for a bit, but the charm of fluff is irresistible to her. Yakumo also grabs the soft pelt of Roen and rubs her face against it. "So fluffy!" She turns to Ayaka and asks her. "Who is this wolf?" "He is Onii-san''s summon. His actual size is enormous." Ayaka expands her arms. "He is almost as tall as the Hokage Monument. But Roen can shrink himself to this size. When I was small, I used to y with him a lot. Then, brother sent him away on a mission." Ayaka snorts at Izuna. Izuna ignores their banter and throws a piece of meat at Roen. "Let''s talk while you have some food. I will cook for you." He turns towards the server and orders. "Please send eight pounds of meat to our table." Soon, The server arrives with the meat. Swoosh Izuna casts a silencing barrier around the group and turns to Roen. "It has been four years since we met and three years since you left for your journey. So, how was your experience in these past few years? But first, tell me what is this emergency you speak of?" Izuna curiously asks Roen as he grills the piece of meat for him. Chomp chomp Roen bites on the meat and answers. "Master! As per your orders, I departed for the Land of Sky to search for the traces of the Zero-tails. After three years, I have finally found a lead when I abruptly sensed arge amount of dark chakra. However, the chakra was immediately suppressed, and I wasn''t able to pinpoint the exact location of the Zero-tails. I tried to search for the trails of the chakra but lost the lead. So, I used our contract to reverse summon myself by your side." Roen reports the incident. "I see!" Hm?! He raises his head and gazes at the sky. "Looks like the enemy is quite quick to act." Whoosh. Izuna flickers out of Yakiniku-Q restaurant. He arrives at the center of the vige and makes some hand signs. "Barrier Gate Five Seals Technique: Castle Closing Eight Gates" Izuna ms his palm on the ground. Fwoosh A gigantic seal forms at the center of the vige. The seal quickly spreads through the entire vige and covers it. A giant transparent barrier encloses the entire vige. "What?!" "What''s going on?" The viger panics at the sudden appearance of the barrier. At the Hokage Office, Whoosh Tsunade and Shizune flicker to the top of the Hokage office. Both of them notice the giant barrier slowly enclosing the vige. "Tsunade-sama! This is Is this an enemy attack?" Shizune has a grim expression. Hmm Tsunade focuses her attention on the barrier. "No, it''s not!" She shakes her head after a while. "I can sense Izuna''s chakra in this barrier." Whoosh Izuna flickers towards the Hokage Office and approaches them. "Tsunade! This is an emergency! An attack ising Konoha''s way!" Izuna replies to her. "An attack?!" Tsunade''s expression turns grim. "Is it another of those otherworldly invaders?" She warily asks him. "No! It''s from the Land of Sky." Izuna shakes his head. "Land of Skynd of sky" Tsunade ponders for a while as she tries to figure out the identity of the familiar name. "Don''t tell me it''s the Land of Sky from the Second Great Shinobi War!" Tsunade has an anxious expression. "Yes, it is." Izuna nods his head. "I I see!" She turns to Izuna and asks him. "You can easily handle the enemies if you want, so why inform me?" She curiously questions him. "I won''t help this time." Izuna shakes his head. "I am a ninja not a nanny of the vige who will tend to every problem." "But" "Tsunade! The vigers must learn to fend for themselves. I won''t always be here protecting them." Izuna refuses to budge from his decision. "Also, this barrier will onlyst for half an hour against enemie''s relentless attacks." He informs them. "Tsunade-sama! What''s that?" Shizune points towards multiple shinobis flying towards Konoha. Tch "They are already here!" Tsunade clicks her tongue. "Send out the Level 3 security alert!" She immediately summons the anbu. "Immediately evacuate the civilians and alert the n leaders to prepare for a battle!" Tsunade hastily instructs them. "It''s not enough!" She takes out a scroll and infuses some chakra into it. A Taiko drum appears in front of the group. Bang Bang Tsunade infuses chakra in her palm and ms the drum. "That''s an emergency signal!" Nearby chunnins and Jounins immediately recognize the sound of the drum. Whoosh whoosh They quickly spread through the entire vige. Meanwhile, up in the air, On top of a sky ship, An elderly man with long grey hair, thick grey eyebrows, and yellow eyes with bags around them stares at Konoha with an evil glint in his eyes. "Konoha! You will pay for your sins. Thirty years it has been thirty years since I waited for this moment. Back then, you crushed our Land of Sky through cruel and sinister means. It''s time to pay back that cruelty. We have amassed our strength for the past thirty years. Now, it''s the time to settle our grudge." He tightly clenches his fist. "We aren''t like Sunagakure who trapped themselves in a quagmire. Our technology gives us an advantage in aerialbat." "Men! Lay waste to every single structure of Konoha." He points his hands towards Konoha and instructs his battalion. Swoosh swoosh Multiple sky shinobis equipped with Winged Mechanical devices fly atop Konoha. "Release" One by one all of them drop bombs on Konoha in an attempt to destroy everything. BOOM BOOM BOOM Multiple explosion rings on top of Konoha as a faint barrier shields the structures. Tch "There is a barrier protecting the vige." The elderly man clicks his tongue in dismay. "Deploy the Barrier demolition squad. With their Flying Destruction Machine, they can easily get through this barrier." He issues another order. Swoosh Six giant flying machines operated by four people each fly on top of the barrier. Three of the people are operating the wings of the machine while the fourth person is sitting in an extendablepartment. Bzzt The group of four focuses their chakra on a cylindrical structure. Lightning flickers through the cylinder as massive amounts of energy gather in front of the cylindrical barrel. SHOOM The machine fires a wide destructive beam of chakra. BOOM The beam of chakra explodes on top of the barrier. The barrier sessfully blocks the attack, but its glow dims down a little. Back in Konoha, Multiple Konoha shinobis are assembled on top of the roofs of the houses. "Who are these enemies? How can they fly?" One of the Akimichi n members questions his partners. "They are using chakra to pilot these things." A Hyuga member points out. "That mist around them is creating an air pressure difference between the tops and bottoms of wings causing them to stay in the air and fly." A member of the Uchiha Police Force inspects the sky shinobi with his Sharingan. "Get ready for the counterattack. The barrier won''tst long enough!" An Aburame n member warns them. Whoosh whoosh The members of Konoha 12 gather on top of the houses and stare at the group of flying shinobis. "What''s that, Dattebyo?!" Naruto curiously stares at the flying shinobis. "That headband! I have never seen such a symbol before." Sasuke inspects the shinobis. "Also, these strange flying devices they are using it feels familiar to the chakra armor we faced in Land of Snow." "No matter who they are Me and Akamaru will crush them? Right Akamaru?!" Kiba pumps his fist. Woof "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but how do you n to get up that high?" Shikamaru asks him. "I I" Kiba turns silent at his remark. "We will figure out a way!" Woof "Looks like you have fed your intelligence to your dog. Even I cane up with better ideas!" Naruto smugly smiles at Kiba. Chapter 308: (Not a Chapter) An Important Announcement Chapter 308: (Not a Chapter) An Important Announcement So, while travelling these past two days, I was bored out of my mind, so I took a look at the recent chapters of the arc(pre-written one) I have to say I was quite disappointed in thest 10 or so chapters. So, I delved deeper into the reason for such fall off in quality. After some pondering, I realized that I have hit a writer''s block without even realizing. In the past one year, i have written plenty of new things in this novel. I have a basic plotline and an ending nned for this novel, but the content in between is proving to be a challenging task since I want to write something new and different with each arc. So, after hitting the 300 chapter goal, I am nning to put this series on a hiatus of two months and re-pick it in November. So, you folks might wonder then what I am going to write next. First is my Fairy-Tail fanfic. I will write this series slowly and carefully since it''s going to be more of an Original creation. So, I will write three weekly chapters and once I pick up my pace, the weekly chapters will increase to five. (I don''t want to overburden myself and rush chapters for the sake of publishing a chapter every day.) But that''s not all, It''s the reason behind this post. I have an in-depth knowledge of Naruto-verse thanks to this fan-fiction. So, I don''t want this to go to waste. Hence, I am nning to write another Naruto fan-fic which will differ greatly from the current one and will be much smaller. For now, I have two ideas in mind which are as below. I will do a quick poll among you folks to pick one of your choice.. Before the ideas, I want to make a few things clear. 1) No, I won''t drop the current fan-fic. Not happening, I have promised myself toplete the fan-fic. 2) The new Naruto fan-fic would be much smaller. Now, for the actual fanfics plots. 1. Reborn In Naruto as a weapon Shop Owner About this book:- The MC will be a civilian with no chakra system. He will inherit his father''s shop after his father''s death. He will be a reincarnated individual with memories of Naruto intact. Now, to make things interesting, he will get a weapon system when he inherits the shop. So, the MC will have ess to modern weapons as well as fictional weapons from different universes. To name a few, from a glock to an Rpg. From an iron-man suit to a satellite railgun and even legendary swords like Excalibur. Also, I will include weapons from different games and anime like: Destiny 2, Valorant, Apex legends, Fate series and other different anime. Now, it may sound a bit too Op and it is. But to bnce out things, most of the powerful weapons will be a ime water-downed use only. Since it''s a system novel, there will be system missions too, but the MC won''t be a System ve as I dislike such genre. Now about the timeline, he will be the same age as Kakashi and the group. He will run his weapon shop and will sell general shinobi ware like kunais, shurikens, swords, katana, tanto, and other cold weapons. The system weapons are only reserved for him unless the situation demands it. 2. Naruto: Shinobi of the Root About this book:- The MC was an assassin in his past life with no prior knowledge of Naruto. He will be a civilian and grow up in the same orphanage as Minato. He doesn''t have any sort of cheat or system of any sort except for his martial skill and memories from his previous life. The MC will have average chakra reserves (same as Kakashi). He won''t even have the advantage of any sort of future knowledge or other legacy. This story will be a little dark with only few light humour spots. As indicated by the title, Danzo will mentor our MC and thus MC will be a part of the ROOT. The MC will be calm, mature, calctive, and often maniptive. He will do anything in his capacity to survive in the cruel world of Naruto, be it back stabbing, murdering his teammates or even abandon the mission and the vige if necessary. Watch him on his journey as he makes a name for himself and make the entire shinobi world tremble in fear by mere mention of his name. Chapter 309: Pick your Poison Chapter 309: Pick your Poison 1. In Naruto as a Weapon Shop Owner 2. Naruto: Shinobi of the Root P.S. Both ideas will be implemented in future. It''s just priority order which I would pick first. So, leave a paragraphments against the names. It will help with the counting. Note:- I will remove this chapter in next 24 hrs. So, vote fast. Chapter 310: Team Three’s First B-Rank Mission Chapter 310: Team Threes First B-Rank Mission "You two snap out of your childish thoughts and let''s focus on the enemy in front of us." Neji chides them. Hmph Kiba snorts and turns towards the flying Sky shinobis. BOOM BOOM The Flying Destruction Machines continue to wreak havoc on the barrier. Crack Numerous cracks appear on top of the barrier. "Prepare for the attack!" Shikamaru warns them. Bzzt Sasuke gathersrge amounts of lightning chakra in his palm. "Chidori Sharp Spear" He uses the shape transformation to morph his Chidori into a long spear. BOOM The barrier protecting Konoha shatters into countless fragments. "Attack! The barrier is down." The elderly man rallies his troops to attack Konoha. Swoosh swoosh Multiple sky shinobi in winged mechanical devices fly through the skies of Konoha. BOOM BOOM One by one they drop multiple bombs on the buildings. Sasuke clutches his spear and aims it towards the retreating Flying Destruction Machine. Swish The Chidori spear wheezes through the air and prates through the heart of the pilot. BOOM The machine explodes into pieces and falls towards the ground. AAAH The screams of the sky shinobis ring in their ears as they crash into the ground. Swish swish Sasuke makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu" Poof A giant brown hawk appears in front of the group. The hawk has dark marking around its eyes, and there are some red markings along the side of its beak. "Hey, isn''t it Garuda?" Naruto immediately recognizes the giant hawk. "When did it grow so huge?" He curiously strokes the hawk''s feather. "You humans aren''t the only ones who can grow tall." Garuda scoffs at him. "Well that''s true!" Naruto scratches his head. "Hop on! We will let them have a taste of their own medicine." Sasuke gestures to Naruto. Scree The hawk releases a shrill cry and leaps in the air. BOOM BOOM The sky shinobis continue to bombard the houses and other buildings. At the entrance of the Uchiha n, Swoosh swoosh Akira, Yagami, and Fugaku stand on top of a pir and stare at the flying shinobis. "It''s them again!" The three of them grit their teeth as some memories of Second Shinobi War freshen in their mind. Fwoosh Fwoosh The Sky shinobis drop their bombs towards the Uchiha npound. "Not so fast!" Bzzt Akira infuses some chakra in his palm and throws multiple lighting senbons at them. Chii chii The senbons pierce through the bombs and defuse them. "Amaterasu" Fugaku''s right eye changes into Mangekyo Sharingan as he sets multiple sky shinobis on fire. Caw caw Multiple crows appear in front of the group as Shisui appears in front of them. "Let me handle them!" He jumps on top of a giant crow and flies in the air. sh sh Shisui reaps one life after another as multiple sky shinobis fall under his de. On the other side, The flying sky ninja shoots a barrage of kunai towards Naruto and Sasuke with their Handheld Kunai Launcher. ng ng Naruto deflects all the kunais and forms a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu" He creates two shadow clones. One of the shadow clones picks up the other clone andunches it towards the sky ninja like a projectile. Bang The clone Naruto ms into a sky ninja and destroys his flying device. AAH The sky ninja screams in fright as it falls on the ground and turns into mush. "" Shikamaru and the group speechlessly stare at him. "When he told me, he will use his head, I didn''t expect he will use his head in this manner. He is bashing himself into the group of enemies." Naruto continues to throw his clones towards the sky ninjas. In front of the Hokage Office, Chirp chii Kakashi destroys another toon of Sky shinobis. Whoosh Itachi leads his anbu teams and takes down multiple flying units. "We can''t use anyrge-scale techniques here or it might harm the vige." He warns his team. On top of the sky ship, Tch The expression of the elderly man turns ugly. "Looks like this amount of force isn''t enough toy waste to Konoha. I have to summon Ancor Vantian and uses its powerful chakra cannon to obliterate it in one go." He turns towards the remaining sky shinobis and signals them. "Retreat!" Whoosh whoosh The remaining sky shinobis turn around and flee from Konoha. ''I had already harvested enough dark chakra. It''s time for n B.'' The elderly man has a sinister smile on his face. "Shall we chase after them?" Kakashi turns to Tsunade for further orders. "No need! For now, help the injured people and make a damage report." Whoosh She returns to the Hokage Office. --------------- In the Yakiniku-Q restaurant, Izuna is silently munching his steak as the rest of the customers together with the servers hide beneath the tables. Team three is also sitting beside them as they warily stare at the flying sky shinobis. Umm Hanabi and Yakumo bite their lips as they stare at Izuna. Izuna ces down his chopstick and turns to the girls. "There is no need to worry about anything. You will be safe, as long as you''re inside this building." He assures them. "Ano, Sensei! You are also a Jounin, right?" Hmm "Then why didn''t you join the fight?" The girls curiously ask him. "Well, I did. The barrier you saw earlier was created by me." Ah The girls are stunned by his response as words remain stuck in their mouths. In the end, they don''t inquire any further. ------------------------ Later at the Hokage Office, Izuna and Team three are standing in front of Tsunade. Tsunade puts down her brush and raises her head. She has an annoyed expression on her face as she notices Izuna. "Why are you here now?" She angrily asks him. "Well! I am here to settle the score with those sky scoundrels." Izuna helplessly replies to her. "You better do what you mean!" Tsunade snorts at him. Izuna takes out a scroll and passes it to Tsunade. "I have bad news for you." "What?!" "The Zero-tails has resurfaced." "That''s bad!" Tsunade''s expression turns ugly. "It''s the people of the Land of Sky." Tsunade reads the intel in the scroll as she remarks. "It was during the Second Shinobi War. When the war was about to reach its conclusion and almost all hidden viges had exhausted their resources; the Hidden Vige of Land of Sky resurfaced with their grand ambition. They openly challenged the Five Great Shinobi Viges for control of the Shinobi World. To prove their strength, they initiated an attack on Konoha." Tsunade signals to Shizune who walks to a nearby shelf. Shizune rummages through the bundle of scrolls and after some search, she appears with a giant scroll in her hand. Tsunadeys down the scroll on the table and exins it to the group. "The shinobis of the Land of Sky can mold their chakra in mist, which allows them to fly high in the sky. Thus, they are masters of aerialbat. This gives them an unprecedented advantage in the battle against the Land troops. Their hidden vige, Ancor Vantian, is a flying fortress armed with various powerful chakra weapons and cannons. It''s powered by the Zero-tails and can easilyy waste to any hidden vige." Tsunade points towards an ancient flying city drawn on the scroll. "Wow! So powerful!" Ayaka''s and Hanabi''s eyes widen in surprise. "Yes, they were extremely powerful. The Aerial troop of the Land of Sky bombards the ground unit of other viges with explosives. During the war, they leveled many small viges in the vicinity of the Land of Fire. The sorrow, hatred, helplessness, anxiety, fear, desperation, and all such negative emotions served as fuel for the Zero-tails. It further bolstered the strength of the Ancor Vantian." "Then how did they lose the war?" Yakumo curiously asks her. The rest of the group, including Izuna, perks up their ears. ''Since this incident urred during the second shinobi war, I have no clue how the vige repelled the attacks of the Land of Sky.'' Izuna curiously awaits her response. "Well!" Tsunade has a hesitant expression on her face as she answers. "During the initial phase of the war against Land of Sky, Konoha was on the losing side. The aerial troops of Land of Sky will bombard the vige without any warnings. However, the Root head Danzo Shimura formted a strategy. His Root Anbus infiltrated among the ranks of the Land of Sky and secretly assassinated them in the dark. Without the lead of higher-ups, the administration of the Ancor Vantian crumbled and thus our vige was able to secure a victory against them." Tsunade pulls out another scroll and passes it to Izuna. "I see!" Izuna reads its contents and nods his head. "Who is Danzo Shimura?" The trio of girls curiously asks them. "Well!" A conflicted expression appears on her face as she turns to Izuna. The existence of Danzo Shimura is a shame to Konoha. Although, he led the vige to victory on multiple asions; however, most of these conflicts were orchestrated by him. For example, Danzo joined hands with Hanzo, the smander, and initiated the Second Shinobi War. This incident led to the formation of Akatsuki, the most powerful criminal organization in the shinobi world. Later, he staged various conflicts at the border with Iwa, which ultimately led to the Third Shinobi War. Not only this, he even joined hands with Akatsuki to massacre the Uchiha n, which is the backbone of Konoha. Sigh Izuna takes a deep breath and answers. "Danzo Shimura is a traitor of the vige. As for the rest of the information" He turns towards the trio and smiles. "You three don''t have enough clearance level to know the rest of the information." Izuna purses his lips and avoids their question. Tch Ayaka clicks her tongue. "Alright!" Izuna snaps his fingers to dismiss the previous conversation. "Tsunade! I will handle this revenge mission with Team three." "You better!" Tsunade firmly nods her head. "I will handle the entire nation on my own!" Izuna confidently nods his head. "It''s just the remnants of the Land of Sky. I am more than enough to handle them. Besides, this will serve as a training trip to these little girls." Izuna ruffles their hairs. Hmph Tsunade snorts and takes out a brush and scroll. "Investigation in the Land of Sky! It will be a B-rank mission for team Three." She stamps it and passes a copy to Izuna. "" Izuna is speechless to hear this. "Tsunade?! Are you sure this is a B-Rank mission? Shouldn''t it be an S-Rank mission?" Tsunade continues to stamp other papers as she remarks. "The vige is quite low on funds after the previous incident. Besides, there was a certain someone who refused to make a move and let the entire vige suffer heavy damage!" "Wait! That was for the safety of the vige!" Izuna protests. "If I made a move, then the vige might suffer more damage from the bacsh of my jutsus." Tsunade ces down her brush and raises her head. "I will count it as your contribution to the vige in the previous incident." She replies as a matter of fact. "You got me!" Izuna helplessly shakes his head. "But if Iplete the mission within a week, then you will treat me to an expensive meal in Yakiniku-Q." He turns around and leaves without waiting for her response. Team three immediately follows him. Tsunade takes out her purse from the drawer. Buzz A fly buzzes out of the empty purse. Whoosh Tsunade immediately shelves her purse. She turns to Shizune. "Shizune Can I borrow some money from you? "" Chapter 311: Poll result Chapter 311: Poll result So, I held the poll at four different ces and the result are as follows. 1. Reborn In Naruto as a Weapon Show Owner:- 89 votes 2. Naruto: Shinobi of the Root:- 57 votes. So, 1 is the winner. So, I will start the new fan-fic from 1st September. There will be 5 weekly chapters. Since, I will write 3 weekly chapters for Fairy-tail alongside with it. Chapter 312: New Naruto Fan-fic (First Chapter is out) Chapter 312: New Naruto Fan-fic (First Chapter is out) Yo! The first chapter is out. Go and check it out. Chapter 313: Herald of Abyss Chapter 313: Herald of Abyss "You can put it that way, but not exactly!" Kurama shakes his head. "The Abyssal creatures feed on dark energy generated by the negative emotions of other beings through the various spatial tunnels. Dark chakra is produced when a human with chakra or Nature energy is consumed by negative emotions. They invade other worlds and set up an altar to transfer the dark chakra of a world to their dimension. Usually, these creatures will stay low key and act only in the dark, but for some odd reason, they are quite insistent on invading the Shinobi world." Kurama recounts the events from his memories. "Back then, the Sage of Six Paths discovered one such altar of sorrow, which was trying to open up a permanent rift in our world. The Sage acted hastily and sealed the passage with a powerful seal. On his deathbed, he instructed his youngest son, who inherited his chakra, to guard the seal. Soon after his death, the seal was cracked open by a few humans who were enchanted by the whispers from the Abyss. It corrupted their mind and converted them into demons by altering their physique. They look humane on the surface but with the infusion of dark chakra they will morph into demonic beings." Kurama draws a few figures on the floor. Hmm Izuna curiously inspects the figures as he ponders. ''In the original Naruto, there was not much information on the origin of demonic beings. They were said to be intruders from otherworld but now it makes sense for them to be from a specific dimension meant for them. I wonder which of them is stronger, Otsutsuki or the Demons. Have the two groups fought against each other in the past? Then there is also that purple cloaked guy with his grimoire and that unknown race of otherworldly beings who helped in the creation of the Uzumaki n.'' "Damn! So many mysteries." Izuna clutches his forehead. He turns towards Kurama and asks him. "Then how is this all rted to the Zero-tails?" "Hear me out, brat! Don''t be so impatient." Kurama builds up the suspense. "" Izuna rolls his eyes. "Just spit it out already. It''s not Sherlock Holmes Sunday Suspense!" He impatiently res at Kurama. Ahem Kurama clears his throat and answers. "The Abyss sent a very powerful demon to invade the Shinobi World. However, the younger son Asura sensed its presence before it could cause any major havoc. He fought a deadly battle with the spirit for ten days and nights. We tailed-beasts also lent our power to him and finally, Asura was able to y the demon for good." Kurama pauses and stares at Izuna, who nods his head. "Or that''s what we thought! Asura sessfully destroyed his physical body, but the spirit of the demon escaped. It took shelter with the demon n and nourished itself from the dark chakra of the world. However, the damage from the previous battle was too great for its spirit. It lost its sense of being and transformed into a mindless spirit. Sensing the condition of his representative, the Lord of Abyss Kishin transferred some of his dark powers to him and transformed him into a malevolent spirit. But the Abyss Lord was not pleased with the failure of the demon. So, he sealed him into a person and banished him to the shinobi world." "Oh!" Izuna nods his head in understanding. "So,ter Zero-tails found an opportunity and assassinated Asura." "Yes!" Kurama nods his head. "Asura was exhausted and heartbroken after his battle with Indra. Both brothers fought for fifteen days and nights and finally, the battle ended with the defeat of Indra. Asura had tears in his eyes when he dealt the final blow to his elder brother Indra. We tailed beasts witnessed this battle with our eyes." Kurama sighs helplessly. "The Sage of Six Paths envisioned a future where both brothers will co-operate with each other and lead this world to great heights. But the elder brother Indra went astray from the path of righteousness. Sigh" Kurama shakes his head as he nkly stares at the space. Izuna silently stares at Kurama. ''I don''t know if I can understand your sentiment. Indra and Asura were like elder brothers to you tailed-beasts and both of them died in front of your very own eyes.'' Sniff Yin Kurama wipes his tears and continues. "The host of the Zero-tails ambushed Asura in his weakened state, hoping to exact his revenge. But in the end, both of them perished in that battle." "I I see!" Izuna pats Kurama''s giant head to console him. "I am I am alright!" Kurama shakes his head. "You are a thousand years too young to console me!" He adds. "" "Fine!" Izuna grunts and ignores him. "Back then, the zero-tails perished with its host, but the power of the Abyss Lord Kishin was too great. The Zero-tails reformed itself using the dark emotions generated through countless wars over the years. It grew so powerful that it was threatening to destroy the world. We tailed beasts had to join hands to kill it again." A shiver runs down Kurama''s spine as it narrates the incident. "Five out of us nine died in that battle. Shukaku was the first one to die in that battle." Kurama has mixed emotions as he recounts this. "Since I had the most tails, and I survived the battle, I judged Shukaku as the weakest of us all with his One-tail. It''s the part of the reason he hates me to till this day." Kurama chuckles. "You are so mean to your younger brothers, you know." Izuna rolls his eyes as he adopts the posture of a caring elder brother. He curiously stares at Kurama as a question pop into his mind. ''Back when they were born, these tailed beasts were in their chibi form. Now they have grown into their adult forms. Do they also grow like humans or other animals?'' Unable to hold his curiosity, he questions Kurama. "Of course, we grow like you humans, but our growth is slightly different!" Kurama nods his head. "Unlike your body of flesh and blood, we are sentient beings of chakra. You humans absorb nutrients from your food to grow, we tailed-beasts passively absorb a little amount of Nature energy to sustain ourselves. Over these years, by slowly umting Nature energy and influencing it with my will; my chakra reserve has grown a lot from the day I was born. Unlike you humans, we chakra beasts won''t die unless our consciousness is destroyed. The Sage of Six Paths used a very powerful technique to create us. It''s because of that technique that our consciousness and will is preserved even if our physical bodies are destroyed." Kurama proudly praises the Sage of Six Paths. Hmm Izuna nods his head. ''Creation of All things is surely a very powerful Yin-Yang technique. Back then, I used its reverse application to destroy Danzo''s soul for good. Destruction is easy, but creation is hard. Even with my Rinnegan, I am not proficient enough to create anything useful. I am limited by my body and chakra.'' He helplessly shakes his head. Honk Honk His conversation with Kurama is interrupted by the sound of a horn. Izuna''s consciousness exits the space of Sin Seal and stares at the sea. A giant boat is sailing towards them. "Sensei!" The girls surround him as they curiously stare at the boat. "Don''t worry! Our ride is here." Izuna ruffles their hair and turns towards the boat. "Hey! Izuna-kun!" A woman in a sailor uniform with a bandanna on her forehead is waving at him. Her tworge mounds sway up and down as she waves her hand. "Izuna-kun! It has been a while. I missed you!" "" Izuna sweat drops at the enthusiasm of the woman. Ziii He feels a sharp re focused on his back. Izuna turns around and notices Ayaka ring holes at his back. "Nii-san?! Who is that woman?!" Ayaka points towards the Sailor Girl. "Ayaka she is" Swoosh The boat reaches the coast and docks near it. Whoosh The sailor woman jumps from the boat and dashes towards him. "Izuna-Kyun! I missed you a lot!" The woman tightly hugs him and squeezes his face in her chest. Ah! Ayaka and the girls nkly stare at Izuna and the woman. "Nii-san! Are you cheating on Mei Nee-san?" Ayaka grinds her teeth as she res at Izuna. Haah Izuna pushes the woman away and turns to Ayaka. "Ayaka, it isn''t what you think it is? Kanami is just a friend of mine. Izuna tries to exin to Ayaka. "Just a friend! You betrayed me Izuna!" Kanami res at Izuna. Sigh He helplessly turns to Kanami, who purses her lips with a smile. "Don''t make things worse for me!" Chapter 313.1: The Cursed Ghost Ship Chapter 313.1: The Cursed Ghost Ship A/N:- With this I have resumed the story after an entire year. Lots of things happened during this time. I graduated from college,pleted my research project, got covid positive twice, had an surgery to remove my gall dder due to gallstones and much more. I hope all of you are doing well. I will start slowly with 5-6 chapters per week and will gradually increase the number to 8-10 eventually. With that being said, "I AM BACK!" ---------------- "Don''t make things worse for me!" Izuna helplessly turns to Kanami. "Exin!" Ayaka crosses her hand in front of her chest and taps her foot on the ground. Kanami hugs Izuna and speaks. "Izuna-kun and I hugged while naked to warm each other." Fwish Izuna pushes her aside and chides her. "Don''t speak such misleading words." He turns to Ayaka and exins. "This is a very old incident from my childhood. Before the third shinobi war, the vige tasked me to trade some herbs on the Benisu ind." Izuna recalls some old memories from his childhood. "Benisu Ind?!" The girls curiously stare at him. "I have never heard of it!" Yakumo and Hanabi shake their head. "Me too!" Ayaka also tries to recall the name but fails. "Benisu Ind is an ind nation in the Mist Sea. It''s a small ind situated between the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning." Izuna starts his geography lessons. "Benisu ind is a paradise for traders, merchants, and business people. This ind is rich in resources with various sea products andmodities." Izuna turns to Ayaka and remarks. "Your favorite Ca carp is also fished out and supplied from the Benisu ind. It''s such a treasure trove of resources that the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning attempted to annex this ind. However, there are various whirlpools and rock beds around the ind which prevent any invasion from the sea." Izuna draws an ind on the beach and marks various circles and squares on the ind, representing whirlpools and rock beds. "Then how do the people of the Benisu ind leave for trade?" Hanabi curiously asks him. "Like this" Izuna draws a passage in front of the rocks. "There is a small passage in front of the ind. The people of the Benisu ind cleared out the rocks and created a passage for the sea trade. This passage is heavily guarded by the shinobis of the Benisu ind. Despite being a small ind country, Benisu Ind still raised a batch of shinobis through its wealth. These shinobis are called ''Sailor Shinobis'' by other nations." Izuna points towards Kanami. "Kanami is one such sailor shinobi. She is often tasked with the escort missions of the shipment from Benisu Ind. Back then, during the third shinobi war, she escorted a very important shipment to the Land of Fire. Konoha dispatched me and Shisui''s team to escort the shipment back to the Benisu ind." Izuna closes his eyes as the memories of Kazuko and Mami sh in his mind. Izuna is lost in grief as he recalls their names and faces. "SENSEI!" The shout of the girls breaks him from his stupor. He shakes his head to dispel such thoughts and continues. "During our return trip, we were hit by a very powerful storm and the entire ship was wrecked in that storm. Kanami and I grabbed the nks of the broken ships and drifted into the sea for three days. On the fourth day, we managed to drift to a small iceberg at the boundary of the Mist Sea and Pr Sea. All of our clothes were wet and there wasn''t any mean to dry them and keep ourself warm. So, we have to" Izuna turns to Kanami and coughs slightly. "" The girls roll their eyes as Izuna pushes Kanami aside. Kanami hides her embarrassment and retorts. "Still, Izuna-kun! You are so mean. You took advantage of me and you didn''t even invite me to your wedding." Sheins. "I did!" Izuna helplessly turns to her. "But you were on escort duty to the Moon Ind. Also, I had no other means tomunicate with you." "Alright! Alright! Get aboard on the ship and set sail for the Benisu ind." Kanami issues orders to the rest of the crew. The group boards the ship as it lifts the anchor. Ayaka and the rest of the girls curiously look around as it''s their first time traveling on the sea. "We will arrive at Benisu ind by tomorrow night. So, enjoy your sea journey." Kanami remarks. Izuna takes out his deck chair andzily lies down on the ship. Ayaka and the rest of the girls sit beside him and silently practices their jutsu. After an hour, "Ah Mo! I am so bored!" Ayaka closes the Fuinjutsu scroll in frustration. She turns towards Izuna, who is sleeping on his chair. "He is sleeping like a log! Let me check the ship." Ayaka pockets her scroll and frolics around on the ship. Bzzzt Suddenly, ck clouds appear in the sky and block the sunlight. Bzzt Lightning crackles through the clouds as it discharges one bolt after another. Large waves rise in the sea as the ship sways wildly. "Everyone! Grab hold of the sail. We will steer against the storm!" Kanami instructs the rest of the sailors as the rest of the crew handles the situation. She turns towards the girls and orders them. "You three! Go and take shelter in the cabin until the situation calms down." Swoosh Izuna waves his hand and forms a wind barrier around himself as he silently remarks. ''What''s a sea journey without a storm! If ites to worst, I will butt in.'' With that he closes his eyes. After another hour, The waves calm down slightly as the sail bes steady. Phew Kanami heaves a sigh of relief and rests against the mast. Ayaka and the rest of the girls also walk out of the cabin. "Is the sea journey always like this?" Yakumo turns towards Kanami. "The sea journey is full of the perilous journey like this. Especially the journey through the Mist Sea. There is always a chance of capsizing. Also, there is a strange rumor that strange chakra flows through the sea bed of the Mist Sea. Sometimes, it will exert a very powerful gravitational pull and drown a ship, and other times it creates a very powerful repulsive force which will create gigantic waves." Kanami answers her. Hmm Izuna opens his eyes as he gazes at the sea. ''This Mist Sea is the ce where the Sage of Six Path and the Ten-tails fought against each other. The Sage used a massive chunk of thisnd to form the moon, leaving a bottomless pit behind. Later, this ce became the Mist Sea.'' Ayaka and the girls attentively listen to Kanami''s tales. "Oh!" Seeing the girls hooked up to her story, an evil smile appears on Kanami''s face as she remarks. "The Mist Sea is full of mysteries. The tale of the Cursed Ghost Ship and the Giant Corpse Crab are a few of such stories." Kanami smiles at the girls. Bzzt BOOM A bolt of lightning shes in the sky, lighting up her evil smile. Gulp Hanabi gulps her saliva and hugs Ayaka''s arm. "Ayaka! I I don''t like ghost stories. They are so scary." "It will be alright!" Ayaka pats her head, but her expression is also ugly. Yawn Izuna yawns and walks inside the ship. "It''s nighttime already! I am feeling sleepy." He stretches his arm and walks into his cabin. Hmph Kanami angrily harrumphs at him, but he ignores her. "Kanami-san!" Yakumo tugs on her sleeves. "Can you tell me more about the cursed ship and the corpse crab?!" Yakumo has a curious expression. "Of course!" Kanami nods her head, much to Ayaka''s and Hanabi''s dislike. "The cursed ghost ship is a very mysterious ship which sails through Mist''s waters. Only a very lucky few or unlucky few came across this ship." Kanami has a mysterious expression as her tone turns heavy. "This Cursed Ghost ship only appears during thick fogs." "Is it like this one?" Hanabi points towards their surroundings with a trembling finger. Hmm Yakumo and the rest of the crew who are indulged in Kanami''s story look around. "Strange!" Ayaka and Hanabi stare at the surrounding mist. "Howe there is such a thick fog all of a sudden?" Hanabi asks in trepidation. "I have no idea!" Ayaka shakes her head as she hugs Hanabi. "This fog is no big deal!" Kanami waves her hand. "Usually, after such a heavy downpour is followed by thick mist. After all, the Mist Sea is known for its thick fogs." "I I see!" Hanabi nods her head as Kanami continues her story. "The ghost ship is followed by a flock of crows. The crew of the ship is entirelyposed of ugly ghosts." Haha The entire crew bursts out inughter. "That''s one pleasant story!" The crew members shrug their shoulders and return to their work. "We have to steer carefully through this fog or we might bump into an iceberg or a rock formation." Swish Swish Hanabi silently tugs on Ayaka''s sleeves. "A Ayaka! Llll look over there!" Hmm "What''s the matter?" Ayaka turns towards the direction pointed by Hanabi. "I can''t see anything!" She shakes her head. "Llll look closely!" Hanabi continues to point in the direction with trembling hands. "Ok! Let me see!" Ayaka narrows her eyes to take a closer look. "This is" Her eyes widen in shock. Chapter 313.2: The Giant Corpse Crab Chapter 313.2: The Giant Corpse Crab "This is" Ayaka''s and Hanabi''s expression freezes as they nkly stare at the sea. Haha Yakumoughs with the rest of the crew as Kanami concludes her story. "Don''t take this story to heart. It''s a folklore in the Mist Sea." Kanami dismisses the crew. She turns towards the girls. "Alright girls! It''s nighttime already. Time for sleep!" Kanami waves her hand in front of the terrified Hanabi and Ayaka. "What''s the matter, girls?" "Ka Ka Kanami-san! Look over there!" Ayaka points towards the thick fog with trembling hands. Hm?! Kanami stares at the thick mist surrounding their cargo ship. An outline of a giant ship appears in their vision. There is a giant ck g on the mast of the ship and a flock of crows follows the ship. "It''s the Ghostship from the folklore." Hanabi remarks in fear. "What?!" Kanami warily stares at the Ghostship. "Everyone! Get ready to intercept the enemy." She tightens her Bandanna headband and draws a long saber from her waist. Fwoosh The ghost ship sails towards the Kanami''s cargo ship at an incredible speed. "At this rate, it will ram into our ship." Kanami''s expression turns ugly. "Ready the cannons! We can''t allow it to close on us." The nearby sailor ninjas quickly rush towards the deck and prepare the cannons. They aim it towards the approaching ghost ship. "Ready!" The sailor ninjas load the cannon with specially made spherical projectiles. They insert the sphere into the cannon and infuse it with chakra. BOOM BOOM The cannon fires multiple spherical orbs at the iing ship. Swish swish The orbs split opens and fire a barrage of kunai with explosive tags towards the Ghost Ship. BOOM A giant explosion urs on top of the ghost ship. Large amounts of mist rise in the surroundings and block their view. Fwoosh The Ghostship rams into their cargo ship. Rumble Rumble The ship sways wildly as the collision destroys a major portion of the ship. Tch Kanami clicks her tongue. "That will be cut from my paycheck." She angrily turns towards the Ghostship. "Whoever you are! You better get ready to pay for my loss!" Whoosh Kanami draws her saber and leaps from the ship. She dashes towards the Ghostship and jumps on its deck. Swoosh swoosh The rest of the sailor ninja follows after her and jumps on the deck of the Ghostship. "Get ready for the attack!" Kanami clenches her sword as she gazes at the dark cabin of the ship. Fwoosh fwoosh Multiple figures in ck clothes charge out of the cabin andunch an attack against the entire crew of sailor shinobis. Swish swish Kanami makes some hand signs. "Water Style: Torrent Bullet" Kanami spews out a giant vortex of water. The vortex expands rapidly and engulfs the entire fleet of enemies. Hmph "That''s what you get for messing with the sailor shinobis of Benisu Ind in the sea." Both sides engage in a fierce battle against each other. On the Cargo ship, Team three stares at the barrage of jutsu released one after another. "Shall we help them?" Hanabi asks cautiously. "We should! If the ship gets destroyed, then we will lose our way and end up being stranded in the middle of this vast sea." Ayaka nods her head. "Let''s go!" Ayaka and Hanabi leap into the sea and dash over the water towards the enemy ship. "I will support you both from here!" Yakumo takes out a painting scroll from her storage. She swiftly draws clouds and the enemy ship with her brush. "Eat this!" Ayaka jumps on the deck of the ship. She quickly makes some hand signs. "Fire Style: Pheonix Flower Jutsu" She fires a volley of small fireballs at the enemy group. BOOM BOOM Multiple explosion rings on the deck as Ayaka quickly deals with a group of enemies. Inside a cabin in the cargo ship, Yawn Izuna yawnszily as he stares out of the window. He notices the trio of girls engaged in a battle against a group of masked enemies. Sigh Izuna helplessly shakes his head. Shiing He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. Crack crack His surrounding shatters into fragments as he frees himself from the genjutsu. Izuna opens his eyes and notices a gigantic crustacean attacking the ship. "So, this is the Giant Corpse Crab from the stories." Izuna scrutinizes the appearance of the crab. The Giant Corpse crab has razor-sharp pincers which are hooked on the hull of the ship as he slowly tears it apart. Multiple sailor ninjas, including team three, are standing on top of its back as they fervently attack the ''enemies''. The rock-hard shell of the corpse crab easily blocks all the jutsus of the group. The barnacles on the crab''s back open up and attempt to swallow the crew. BANG Hanabi uses her gentle fist to repel the attack from a barnacle. Haah "Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two palms" She rapidly attacks the barnacle. Poof The barnacle explodes into flesh and blood. Swoosh swoosh Multiple barnacles surround Hanabi to overwhelm her. "I will help you!" Ayaka groups up Hanabi as both of them resist the attack of the ''enemy crew''. Whoosh The giant corpse crab opens its mouth and releases a multitude of tentacles from it. Fwish Fwish It grabs multiple Sailor shinobis and grabs them inside his mouth. "Hmm A vine user!" Kanani frowns as she stares at the dark cabin. "Your tricks won''t work against me." Swish swish She skillfully weaves her saber and chops the vine into pieces. Haha Izuna ruefully stares at the struggles of the giant corpse crab and the crew of Benisu Ind. "This crab sure is crafty." He stares at the thick mist surrounding their ship and remark. "This crab releases a thick chakra mist in the sea to act as a trap. Later, he hides beneath the sea and patiently waits for its prey. Whenever any living being enters the thick mist, it will alert the crab. The crab will quickly arrive at the surface and then it will use the mist as a medium to cast a powerful genjutsu on its victim. Inside the genjutsu, his body morphs into a gigantic ghost ship. He rams his body into the ship to prevent its target from fleeing from its clutches. The barnacles on its hard-shell act as the pirates of the ghost ship as they slowly overwhelm the crew with their sheer number. What a nasty strategy!" Izuna shakes his head as he is surprised by the craftiness of the crab. "This crabcks spiritual intelligence and yet he is still able to formte such a sinister n. I wonder how many ships have it targeted to be folklore in the Mist Sea. Maybe a lucky few survived his clutches and spread the rumors of the Cursed Ghost Ship to the rest of the world." Izuna hides his presence and slowly walks towards the giant crab. "I won''t interfere with their battle, since it can serve as training for the girls. But I also won''t allow this crab to harm any crew member. After all, I still have to visit Benisu Ind." Swoosh swoosh Izuna saves the sailor shinobis from the grasp of the giant corpse crab. ----------------------- On the Cursed Ghost Ship, Huff huff Ayaka, Hanabi, and the rest of the crew breathe heavily as they stare at the dark cabin of the ship. "How many more?" Huff huff "How many of these pirates are still hiding inside this ship." One of the crew members breathes heavily. "I have lost count of how many enemies I killed, but they keeping endlessly!" Kanami frowns as she stares at the corpses of the pirates. She nudges the body of a pirate with her saber. The empty head of a corpse tumbles down and rolls on the ground. The hood of the head slides down to reveal a Skelton. Eek Ayaka and Hanabi scream in fear and hugs each other. "This is a Ghost Ship. This ship is definitely a ghost ship!" Hanabi frantically nods her head. "That''s a made-up tale among sailors!" Kanami waves her hands to dismiss her. "Then then how can you exin the endless amounts of enemies appearing one after another!" Hanabi argues with her. "Well!" Kanami is stuck speechless as she confronts another wave of enemies. ''Is it really a ghost ship?'' Doubts appear in her mind. Chapter 314: The Demon Within Chapter 314: The Demon Within Swish swish Kanami shes another pair of vines and frees one of her teammates. "Things aren''t looking good; at this rate, we will run out of chakra and stamina before we could defeat the enemy." She has a grim expression on her face." Ayaka and Hanabi are fighting against the endless waves of enemies as signs of exhaustion appear on their bodies. "I am almost out of chakra!" Hanabi breathes heavily. "I am down to half!" Ayaka''s back rests against Hanabi''s as she actively scans the enemies with her Sharingan. ''It''s strange! Very strange! There is no distinction between the movements of the enemies. All of them follow a simr attack pattern. It''s almost like they are puppets or something.'' Confusion appears in her eyes as she engages in the battle. On the deck of the Cargo ship, A frown appears on Yakumo''s face as she stares at the battle. She ces down her brush and attentively stares at the enemy ship. "Somehow, I feel like something is off here!" "Oh!" Izuna notices Yakumo''s restlessness. "Looks like she is the first one to figure out the genjutsu." He turns towards the thick mist surrounding the group. "This mist is the source of this genjutsu. There is a strange chakra flowing through this mist, which disrupts the chakra of the victim. Normally, a genjutsu disrupts the flow of chakra in the target''s cerebral nervous system. Or to be precise, it affects the prosencephalon structure of the brain. This particr part of the brain is responsible for the sensory organs of the body. The sensory organs will function normally and send proper feedback to the brain. But the genjutsu will alter the information perceived by the brain, thus altering the perception of the brain. However, the genjutsu cast by this crab is different." Izuna activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and stares at the thick fog. Various tiny purple particles are present in the fog. "These particles invade the body through the olfactory system and disrupt the chakra of the sensory organ rather than the brain. As a result, the sensory organs will send false feedback to the brain. Since it affects the sensory organs directly, such a genjutsu is quite hard to dispel, since the conventional method of disrupting the brain''s chakra won''t work in this case. On the contrary, it might lead to a further imbnce between mind and body." Izuna shakes his head as he remembers a certain past incident. "It''s simr to those ze snow lilies from the Valley of Lies!" BOOM BOOM The battle continues to rage on as the crew resists the frantic attacks of the giant corpse crabs and his barnacle army. Grrr Scree The corpse crab screeches in anger. Despite its continuous attacks, it has failed to capture even a single prey. Grrr It releases a dark purple chakra from its body which covers the entire crew. The movements of the entire crew turn sluggish as the toxins in the chakra turn them lethargic. "What''s going on?!" "Why do I feel so dizzy all of a sudden?" The crew members grab their forehead as the toxins of the crab slowly poison them. Dark purple chakra rises from their body and enters in a bead on the crab''s head. Hm?! Izuna frowns as he notices the dark chakra leaking from the crew members with his Sharingan. "So, this is how dark chakra is extracted from a person. This bead seems to be sort of container." The corpse crab wildly ils its tentacles around and attacks the crew. "Watch out, Ayaka!" Hanabi warns Ayaka as one of the tentacles swiftly attacks her. Ah! Ayaka shields her eyes with her hands to block the attack. Swoosh "That''s enough!" Izuna appears in front of Ayaka and slices the tentacle. "Onii-chan!" Ayaka stares at Izuna''s back with relief. "It''s about time to end this farce." Bzzt ck lightning flickers through Izuna''s hand. "ck Lightning: Lightning Spear" Izuna creates a giant lightning spear in his palm. BAM The ck lightning spear skewers through the crab''s body, instantly killing it in the process. The lightning continues to flicker through water and clears the dense fog around them. The dense fogprises Yin chakra and the small genjutsu particles. Izuna''s ck lightning isposed of Yang chakra and lightning, which makes it a powerful counter to the genjutsu. Fwoosh The genjutsu dispels slowly as the thick film of fog vanishes. AH! The sailor crew members slowly gain their bearing. They gawk at the giant screen of thick fog slowly fading before their eyes. "Perhaps you should look beneath your feet!" Izuna warns them as he picks up Ayaka and Hanabi and flickers towards the cargo ship. EH! The group returns to their senses and notices the corpse of a giant corpse crab under their feet. "What?!" Dark purple fumes rise from the giant crab''s body. The bead on its forehead slowly absorbs the fumes. Whoosh whoosh The sailor crew hastily jumps on the water and avoids the body of the corpse crab. "Sensei! So, the ghost ship we were fighting was this giant crab." Hanabi asks in fear. "Yes!" Izuna nods his head. "This corpse crab was secretly following our ship in the search of prey. When we were in the middle of the sea, he slowly released the thick fog from its body. This fog slowly encapsted you all and without even your awareness all of you were trapped in its genjutsu." Izuna chuckles and ruffles their hairs. "Still, you did well for a fight of such scale. Yakumo even figured out the genjutsu." He turns towards Yakumo and praises her. Hmm Yakumo is nkly staring at the giant corpse crab as Izuna''s voice startles her. "Ah! Sensei! I I" "What''s the matter? Why were you spacing out all of a sudden?" "Well! I How do I say it?" She points towards the bead on the crab''s head. "Sensei! I didn''t know, but for some reason, I can feel a familiar chakra from this bead. But the chakra in this bead is scary." "Oh!" Izuna raises an eyebrow as he remembers the strange chakra used in Yakumo''s mindscape. ''Does that chakra have some connections with this dark chakra?'' Swoosh Izuna waves his hand and the beads float towards him. "Wow!" Ayaka and Hanabi stare at the bead in amazement. "Don''t touch it! The chakra inside the bead is very evil, it will corrupt your mind." Izuna warns them. "Are you sure it feels familiar?" He turns to Yakumo. "Yes, Sensei!" ''Interesting!'' "Alright! Let me purify the evil will inside this chakra." Izuna uses the purifying element of his light release to purify the sinister Will inside the bead. Fwoosh Suddenly, Izuna is dragged into his mindscape. "Why am I in my mindscape all of a sudden? Did someone attack my mindscape?" A gigantic serpentine creature with a very long and dark purple body and multiple dragon-based heads appears in his mindscape. Shiing The eyes of the creature glow with a red hue. Swish It swipes its gigantic ws at Izuna''s mindscape in an attempt to destroy his mind. Swoosh swoosh The elemental orbs around rapidly shoot in front of him and form a barrier. ng The wsnd on the barrier, but the barrier absorbs the attack. Fwish The counterforce from the barrier disperses the w and turns it into smoke. ROAR The giant serpentine creature roars in fury. Its eyes zed in anger. "You dare overstep your mortal authority and challenge a God?!" Hmph Izuna scoffs and waves his hand as the light orb shoots towards the giant serpentine figure. "Just a small fading consciousness and you proim yourself a God!" BOOM The light orb ms into the giant serpentine creature. Crack crack The figure shatters into countless fragments and turns into a wisp of smoke. Swoosh The darkness orb floats in front of Izuna and absorbs the wisp of smoke. Fwoosh Izuna exits his mindscape. "Here!" He passes the bead to Yakumo and curiously stares at her. ''The presence of that consciousness points towards the involvement of demons. But Yakumo can sense a feeling of familiarity with this object. Does she have some connections with the demons or does her bloodline originate from a demon?'' Izuna spectes various possibilities as Yakumo carefully grabs the orb. Swoosh Dark purple chakra rises from the orb and slowly shrouds Yakumo. Hmm Swish swish Izuna makes some hand signs and covers Yakumo''s body in an illusion to hide the process from others. ''I am afraid, others might fear her for her sinister power. I don''t want people to iste her again.'' AHHHH Yakumo screams in pain as the dark purple chakra enters her body through her mouth. Hm?! Izuna frowns at the process. ''She isn''t absorbing the chakra as we do with Nature energy and normal chakra. She is directly eating the chakra.'' The dark chakra travels through her entire body. Izuna spectates the entire process with his Mangekyo Sharingan. It slowly circtes through her chakra system and then enters her brain. The dark chakra slowly enters her mindscape. A demonic being with horns and sharp, long canines slowly walks out of the darkness within Yakumo''s mind. Shoosh The demonic being opens its mouth and consumes the entire dark purple chakra. It slowly turns around to return to the darkness. "Hold on a minute!" Chapter 315: Inner Demon Ido Chapter 315: Inner Demon Ido "Hold on a minute!" Izuna''s voice echoes in Yakumo''s mindscape. Huh?! The demonic figure pauses and slowly turns around. It nkly stares at Izuna''s figure with its beady eyes. "Who are you?! What are you doing in this girl''s mindscape?" Izuna draws his cyan de and points it towards the demonic figure. Swoosh The demonic figure waves its hand as a giant painting appears in front of her. Swish swish The figure rapidly makes some strokes with her brush. Fwoosh The surroundings change instantly. A giant purgatory ofva and mes appears around them as the demonic figure floats on a pedestal. Burble burble Bubbles of hot air rise from theva and form a gigantic wave. Swoosh The gigantic wavees crashing down on Izuna and submerges him. "That''s some fancy trick you have got there!" Izuna slowly walks out unscathed from the pool of mes. Whoosh He waves his hand and throws a light senbon at the painting. Crackle crackle The senbon pierces the corner of the painting and lights it on fire. Ah! The demonic figure flinches at the fire and hastily throws the painting away. The painting turns into ashes and leaves a small wisp of dark purple chakra behind. Swoosh Izuna stretches his hand and draws the wisp of dark purple chakra towards himself. "Hmm A Genjutsu using the dark chakra!" Fwoosh Izuna flicks his finger and dispels the dark purple chakra. The eyes of the demonic figure narrow at this. The figure immediately summons another painting scroll and scribbles on it. Swish swish The demonic figure''s brush strokes move swiftly and it creates another painting. Shoom Suddenly, the surroundings change again. Woosh woosh Icy wind blows, and snow slowly falls on the ground. A bone-chilling gust of wind envelops Izuna and encases him in ice. Swish The demonic figure makes a few more brush strokes and many sharp snownces pierce through the snow encased Izuna. The demonic figure calmly puts down its brush and prepares to roll the scroll. Crackle crackle The painting catches fire, and a small burning hole appears near Izuna''s drawing. The demonic figure warily turns towards the ice-encased Izuna. Crack crack Numerous cracks appear on the ice casing. BAM Izuna stretches out his fist and shatters the ice. "Is this all you have got?" He raises his head and stares into the eyes of the demonic figure. A trace of fear appears in the eyes of the demonic figure. It narrows its eyes and flicks its hand. Whoosh A gigantic painting scroll appears in front of it. Swish swish The demonic figure makes some quick strokes directly with its nail instead of a brush. Rumble rumble The surrounding trembles slightly, the vast expense of darkness shrouds Izuna, isting him from the rest of the world. Bzzt Dark purple mes rise in the domain of darkness and form a giant circr ring around Izuna. BAM BAM. Multiple gigantic Tori gates fall from the sky and form a formation around the circr mes. The mes morph into a gigantic demonic figure and brandish its ws and m them at Izuna. Oh! Izuna raises an eyebrow. ''A reality illusion of Yomi-no-Kuni, the world of darkness or the gateway to theherworld, to be precise. A pollutednd where the gloomy and shadowy existence coagted from the sins and filth of mortal resides.'' BOOM The giant palm of the demonic figure ps down on Izuna, engulfing his entire body in the process. The fiery figure of the demon smirks as it stares at the ground beneath its palm. "Too bad! This is not the real thing. Also, you are not an adjudicator of death." Rumble A beam of golden light rises from the ground and pierces through the fiery purple figure, dispelling it in the process. Rumble rumble The entire illusory realm trembles. Crack crack Countless cracks spread through the domain, and it crumbles apart, revealing the mindscape of Yakumo. "NO! Don''te near me. Leave me alone!" The demonic figure releases a shrill cry. It hugs its body and shivers in a corner. Various paintings around the figure are set aze with mes. They turn into a small wisp of dark purple chakra and float around the demonic figure. Izuna takes a step forward and slowly approaches the demonic figure. "NO! Leave me alone! NO!" The demonic figure''s voice turns feminine as a familiar voice falls in Izuna''s ears. "Yakumo?!" Izuna''s eyes widen in surprise as he nkly stares at the demonic figure for a while. He approaches the demonic figure and gets on his knees in front of the figure. "Are you the inner-self of Yakumo?'' Izuna has an incredulous expression on his face as he questions the demon. Every being, be it an animal or a human, has two aspects. The first aspect is his outer self; his body, which is present in the real world. The second aspect of a person is his inner self; his spiritual form which is present in the mindscape of a person. The inner self is a reflection of the true form of a person. A person can alter his outer appearance and looks, but one can''t alter their inner self. The inner self is the inherent aspect of a being. It represents their form, personality, character, ambition, and spirituality. Then there is also a hidden aspect. The aspect of the soul. It''s such aplex aspect that not many have been able to delve deeper into it. Izuna shakes his head as he recalls some of the information he found in the record alongside the sin of lust. The demonic figure shivers in fear as it hugs its body. Izuna looks at the pathetic condition of the figure and slowly extends his hand. He pats her head. "Don''t worry! Your Sensei is here." The demonic figure slowly raises her head and stares at Izuna with beady eyes. Izuna has a warm smile on his face as he waves at the figure. "Ido! My name is Ido!" The demon wipes her tears and kneels in front of Izuna. "I I I am sorry, Sensei! I didn''t mean to harm you!" It apologizes to Izuna. "Oh!" Izuna is surprised to see her reaction. "I could have forgiven you if you weren''t so hell-bent on wiping me from his existence." He has a serious expression on his face. "No! No! Sensei! It wasn''t my intention. I just don''t want you to see my inner self. So, I tried to expel you from my mindscape." Ido has a flustered expression. Haha Izuna chuckles and shakes his head. He pats her head and remarks. "You are a hundred years too early to even think about facing me." Shiing Izuna''s eyes change into Mangekyo Sharingan. Fwoosh The surrounding scenery changes rapidly. Both of them appear in a giant vast patch of grasnd. There is a small table with two chairs and a teapot in front of them. Izuna calmly sits on the table and gestures for Ido to sit. He pours a cup of tea and sips on it. "The honey tea from thend of Honey is still my favorite." He pours a cup for Ido to calm her down. "I I" Ido has a flustered look on her face as the sudden change in her mindscape transfixes her. "Have a cup of tea to calm your nerves." Izuna offers her a cup. "Y Yes!" Ido grabs the cup and sips from it. "So good!" She meekly closes her eyes and rxes. "Alright! Seems like you have rxed a little. Now tell me about your origin and all of the shenanigans that you did?" Izuna crosses his arms and stares at her. "I I" Ido bites her lips and hesitates. "Don''t worry about anything. Just speak up! I will take care of the rest." Izuna assures her. "Sensei! I am the inner self of Yakumo. But but she hates me. She despises me for my appearance; much to the point that I have be the darkness of her heart. Sensei! I don''t know why, but I was born this way. Yakumo first came to know about me when she was four years old. Back then, she lost control of her powers and set her own house on fire. She immted our house on fire. Our parents dived into the fire to save us but the mes consumed them." A tear drops slides down from Ido''s face. Sniff She wipes her tears and continues. "Heart-broken by the loss of our parents, Yakumo fell in deep grief. When she woke up, she was already in her mindscape. There she met me, Ido. I told her that I was her true inner-self. But Yakumo was terrified of my appearance. She judged me as being responsible for the death of her parents. Thus, she despised my existence and locked away her heart. This rejection and hatred from my outer self-created an imbnce in our bodies. This is the part of the reason, Yakumo''s body is so weak despite her being a shinobi." Ido recounts her story to Izuna. She turns to Izuna and performs a dogeza. "Sensei! Please help us or I am afraid Yakumo won''t live long with the imbnce between her physical and spiritual self!" Ido pleads to Izuna. Chapter 316: Attack on Benisu Island Part-1 Chapter 316: Attack on Benisu Ind Part-1 Hmm Izuna stares at Ido''s demonic figure and ponders over the matter. ''Looks like I have to delve deeper into the origin of the Kurama n.'' "Of course, I will help you. You are my student, after all. For now, you should try to assimte therge amounts of dark chakra you absorbed from the bead." Izuna waves his hand and exits Yakumo''s mindscape. "Is there something wrong Sensei?" Hanabi and Yakumo ask him as he staring at the space. "Hmm I was wondering about your recent performance in the battle. A ninja should always expect the unexpected." He shakes his head and turns to Kanami. Kanami walks towards him with a smile. "NO!" Ayaka stands in front of Izuna and crosses her arms to keep her away. "ARA!" Kanami purses her lips and chuckles. "Don''t worry Ayaka-chan! I am indeed interested in your brother but I can''t stand beside him." She shakes her head and turns to Izuna. "I sincerely thank you on behalf of the entire fleet. If not for you, then our entire fleet might have perished in the sea." Kanami has a sincere expression on her face. "There is no need to be so modest with me." Izuna shakes his head. "These people saved my life once; I am just repaying the debt." "Thank you so much!" Kanami bows to express her gratitude. The Mist in the sea gradually clears up and rays of sunlight descend from the clouds. "Miss Kanami! We are about to reach the shore." One of the sailors informs them. "That''s a relief!" Kanami heaves a sigh of relief. "Ayaka-chan! Hanabi-chan! Yakumo-chan! I will take you on a scenic tour around Benisu ind. There are various tourist spots around here." She waves at them. "Ohhh! I am so excited about the trip." Hanabi has stars in her eyes. The group gets off at the harbor. The members of the cargo fleet wave goodbye to them. "You lot enjoy your tour with Kanami, meanwhile I will pick up some supplies," Izuna waves goodbye to them and departs. "Alright girls, follow me," Kanami and the group walk in the opposite direction. Whoosh Izuna flickers through the streets. He takes out a scroll from his pocket. There is a map on the scroll. "It must be around here!" He stops at the container near the docks. "Pride! You cane out." Izuna turns towards a corner. Swoosh A cloaked figure leaps out from the shadows and bows in front of Izuna. "Report!" Izuna nods his head. "Leader, after seven years the three-tails has finally resurrected itself." Hmm "That took a while!" Izuna nods his head. "It is severely weakened after its previous death. It''s still recuperating its chakra at the bottom of ake in Land of Water." Pride passes another map to Izuna. "Hmm that''s good!" Izuna pockets the scroll and asks him. "What about the six-tails and its jinchuruki?" "Ist spotted him at the Nagi Ind. After he deserted the Kiri vige, the hunter-nins of the Mist have relentlessly chased him down." "I see!" ''Akatsuki hasn''t made a move in all these years. I haven''t even heard any news about Nagato since our previous scuffle. Either they are just lying low or they are nning something big. Anyway, for now, Zero-tails takes the priority.'' Izuna turns to Pride as an ideaes to his mind. "Pride! I would like you to infiltrate the Land of Sky''s flying fortress, Ancor Vantian, and monitor their activities. They are nning an uprise against the five shinobi nations, but I believe someone else is pulling the strings from the dark. Your task is to source out the puppeteer in the shadows." He assigns another task to Pride. "Understood!" Pride bows again and gets ready to depart. "Wait!" Izuna stops him. He takes out a small sealing talisman from his pocket and passes it to Pride. "Keep this talisman with you. It will ward off the sinister chakra of Zero-tails," Pride pockets the talisman and flickers away. Sigh "Lately, I feel like a lot of things are happening in the shadows. Everything seems to be a part of some big conspiracy," Izuna rubs his forehead. "I still have two months before my body fails and my chakra system ruptures. Even thinking about such a thing scares me. Even after searching nonstop for almost four years, I haven''t been able to find a solution. Looks like I have to rely on the chakra fruit to revive myself. As for now" Izuna raises his head and notices a fleet of ships sailing towards Benisu ind in a distance. He notices the emblem of the Sky troop etched on the hull of the ship. "Another battalion of Land of Sky! They are most probably here to attack the Benisu ind to harvest some fuel for the Zero-tails." Izuna concludes. "Hmm the speed at which they are traveling; they will be here in another hour or so." He predicts the arrival of the Sky troop. "In this time, I can strike a deal with the Merchant Association of the Benisu Ind in exchange for the protection of this ce." Various ideas pop up in Izuna''s mind. ''Running an organization is such a pain. I have to always think about the finances. I am turning more and more like a certain money-loving shinobi Frankenstein.'' ------------- In a small tavern in the Land of Fire, Achoo Kakuzu sneezes loudly. Sniff He wipes his nose and chugs down a cup of sake. "You caught a cold, haven''t you?" Another shinobi with medium-length grey hair and distinctive purple eyes chuckles at Kakuzu. There is a giant triple-ded scythe tied around his back. "Shut up or I will kill you!" Kakuzu growls in anger. "Haha You can give it a try!" Hidanughs hysterically. "Shut up!" Kakuzu slowly sips his sake. He gazes out of the window. A giant Shaolin Monastery appears in front of his eyes. There are a multitude of staircases in front of the monastery, as it is located on top of a small hill. The walls of the monastery are surrounded by imprable sealed iron walls. A gigantic metallic gate lies in the center of the walls. Multiple statues and images of Karasu and Yamabushi Tengu are sculpted on either side of the entrance. "So, that''s the Fire temple of the Land of Fire." Kakuzu licks his lips as he appreciates the beauty of the temple. "It sure is a giant temple." Hidan nods his head. "After Iy waste to this temple, I will make it a worship ce for Lord Jashin." "What a waste!" Kakuzu snorts. "Look how fancy this temple is. I am sure there are lots of treasures and hidden wealth buried deep within this temple! That''s worth a lot of Ryo. It will be a shame to demolish this temple and make it a worship ce for some phony God! I can even sell the bricks of this temple for lots of Ryo," Kakuzu''s eyes shine with Ryo. Hmph Swoosh Hidan waves his giant triple-ded scythe and attacks him. ng Kakuzu blocks the de with his hand. "Earth Release: Earth Spear" He circtes earth chakra through his hand and turns it into a darker shade of ck to raise his defense. "Take it back!" Hidan growls in anger. Take back what you said about Jashin-sama!" Hidan frantically attacks him. "Hmph Make me if you have the skills. A blind worshipper of a phony God!" Kakuzu snorts at Hidan''s effort. "Damnit! I will kill you," Hidan goes berserk and attacks Kakuzu. "Bring it on! I am not afraid of you and your phony God!" BOOM Both of them start a fight as they flicker towards the middle of the forest. ---------------------- At Benisu Ind, In front of the Merchant Association. Izuna stares at the gigantic headquarters of the association and clicks his tongue. "This ce sure has a huge influx of money. Can''t wait to strike a deal and squeeze some money out of them." He has a sinister smile on his face. ''I am not some saint or messiah who will blindly protect anyone because I am entitled to do so. I will provide my services as an S-Rank shinobi and get paid for the missionmissioned to me.'' Izuna convinces himself and takes a step inside the building. Chapter 317: Attack on Benisu Island Part-2 Chapter 317: Attack on Benisu Ind Part-2 A/N:- Spent past few weeks on prepping for an exam for job and further studies. The exam is on 18 Sep(exam name: CSIR-NET; a huge pain btw ) I have exhausted my brain cells by revising through 3 years worth of sybus in 3 weeks. No chapter on 15 and 18. After which The updates will be stable, I promise! -------------------- Izuna enters the building of the merchant association. "Irasshaimase!" A blonde woman with shoulder-length hair wees him. There is a beauty mark on her chin as she greets him with a warm smile. Mmm Izuna nods and greets her. "Sir, are you here to purchase something?" The woman asks him with a friendly smile. "Sort of!" Izuna nods his head and walks upstairs. There are multiple items ced on disy on the first floor. Hmm Izuna''s curiosity is piqued as he stares at the various items shelved into ss cases. "Respected Sir! These are the recent batch of items dug out from the ancient ruins discovered on a nearby ind." The attendant introduces the items to Izuna. "Ancient ruin?!" Izuna tilts his head in confusion. "Yes! Recently, one of the exploration team of sailor shinobis discovered a hidden archipgo that resurfaced nearby. Four small inds surround a tall mountain in the middle. There is an ancient temple in the middle of the mountain." The attendant points towards various murals, wine jars, swords, and other antics kept on disy. "These priceless artifacts were scavenged from that ce. The exploration team ced them here. Later, they will be auctioned to the collectors." The attendant has a polite expression as he introduces them to Izuna. "That makes sense!" Izuna nods his head. He throws a momentary nce at the so-called priceless artifacts and prepares to leave. ''There is nothing noteworthy among them.'' He turns around to walk to the second floor to meet someone familiar. Hmm Izuna notices a momentary glint from the corners of his eyes. "This is" His attention is attracted by a dull de with five hollow rubies embedded in it. ''I sensed some intense chakra fluctuation in it for a second.'' Izuna walks up to the shelf. "I would like to take a closer look at this de." He turns towards the attendant. "Ah dear customer! They are carefully preserved in the case. I am afraid touching them might damage them and thus hamper their value. I am sorry but I can''t fulfill your request." The attendant apologizes to him. "It''s alright! He is a guest of mine." A middle-aged man in a traditional green kimono walks down the stairs. "Vice-chairperson!" The attendant hurriedly bows to the neer. He has long ck hair tied in a topknot at the back of his head. He sports a petit handlebar mustache and a garibaldi beard. There are thick hairs on each side of his arms. "It''s a been a while, Ezume-san!" Izuna greets the middle-aged man. "Haha! It sure has been." Ezume nods his head. "Back then, you were still a kid when you escorted my supplies. Time sure flies away quickly." Ezumeughs heartily. He turns towards the attendant. "What are you waiting for? Show him the artifact!" He waves impatiently. "Yes yes sir!" The attendant hurriedly removes the de from the case and carefully hands it over to Izuna. Hmm Izuna grabs the de in his hand. ''It''s quite heavy for a one-handed de and its hilt is quite small for two-hands.'' Izuna flips the knife in his hand. He carefully examines the gems embedded on the de. ''These look like pure chakra ores. But they have dried up their reserves.'' "What''s the name of this de?" Izuna asks the attendant. Ezume notices the interest in Izuna''s eyes as thetter analyzes the de. "Ermm Sir, let me check the details!" The attendant turns around to bring the log register. "There is no need!" Ezume waves his hands. "This de was found by a squad of sailor shinobis working for me. It''s called the ''Dragon de''. I was the one who put this on auction." Ezume turns towards Izuna. "Are you interested in this de?" "Sort of!" Izuna nods his head. "The material of this de is quite rare. I was thinking of reforging it into a new katana for my personal use." "I I see!" Ezume is surprised to hear Izuna''s response since this de is an old antique. "Ezume-san! A de is a weapon, a weapon meant for battles. It will be a waste to put such a fine weapon on disy!" Izuna shakes his head. "Well, I can''t argue with you on that!" Ezume chuckles. "Since you are interested in this de, I will directly sell it to you for half the price." Ezume presents an offer. "Really?!" Izuna raises an eyebrow. "Of course! It was thanks to your help back then that my supplies were safe, and I was able to grow this big. If not for that, I would probably be drowned in debt by now." "Is that so?! Then I will appreciate your goodwill. Please state the price." Izuna gently caresses the de. "I was originally about to auction it at a starting price of 1 million Ryo, but since I promised to sell it to you for half the price, then what about five hundred thousand Ryo." Ezume has a smile on his face. ''Damn! That''s too expensive for such a rusty de. These businessmen sure are fickle-minded people.'' Izuna curses them in his mind. "Fine! I will buy it." He hesitatingly draws a stack of Ryo from his storage and passes it to Ezume. "Haha As direct as ever!" Ezume bursts out inughter. He passes the money to the attendant and gestures at Izuna. "I am sure you are here for another batch of sake and tea. I will send someone to fetch them for you. Meanwhile, you can wait in my office and have a chat with them. I am thinking of expanding my business to Konoha." Before Izuna could reply, he was dragged upstairs by Ezume. Izuna has a helpless expression as he stares at Esme''s back. ''Damn! I was here to grab some free cash from them, but instead, they scammed me for 500 thousand Ryo. Still, it''s a steal even with the amount of sum.'' Izuna flips the dragon de in his hand. ''This de is made from meteorite iron, which is a very good crafting material and is extremely rare.'' ''Brat! Can I take a look at that de? It feels familiar!" Yin Kurama''s voice rings in Izuna''s ears. "Well sure!" Izuna passes the de to Kurama as he arrives in Ezume''s office. Ezume gestures to Izuna to sit on a sofa. He waves at an attendant to serve some tea. "So, I would like to talk about the potential business expansion in Konoha" Ezume starts his long, boring monologue. Izuna sips the tea and enters the Sin Space to take a look at the Dragon de. Hmm Kurama is carefully inspecting the de as it holds the weapon in its ws. "Do you recognize it?" Mmm Kurama nods his head. "It''s the Dragon de from Mount Kory." Kurama points towards the five-partite prism symbol engraved on the hilt of the de. "This is the symbol of Mount Kory." "Mount Kory?!" "Mount Kory or the Ancient Flow Mountain is an ancient temple located at the junction of the chakra ley-lines of the shinobi world. This faction existed way before even the birth of the Sage of Six Paths. Back then, humans couldn''t channel chakra through their bodies. Instead, they use such special weapons, which absorb chakra from nature, tobat against various powerful beasts roaming throughout the world. However, not much is known about their origin and downfall." Kurama shakes his head and passes the de to Izuna. "You can still restore this de and use it without smelting and reforging it. The forging method of this de has been lost centuries ago. It has a blood seal engraved on it. Just drop some blood at the hilt and you can summon it during the battle." Kurama introduces the method to wield the de. "I see!" BOOMM A loud explosion urs in the middle of the city. Multiple sky shinobis fly through the skies of the Benisu Ind as they wreak havoc everywhere. "That''s my cue to leave!" Izuna exits his mindscape. Ezume has a terrified expression on his face as he stares at the flying sky, shinobis. "What what''s going on? Who who are these people? Why are they attacking us? Where are the guards?" Ezume shouts at his attendant. Whoosh whoosh Multiple sailor shinobis flicker through the rooftops as they engage in a battle against the Sky shinobis. "They are the sky shinobis!" Izuna replies to Ezume. "They attacked Konoha a few days ago and lost the battle. This time their target seems to be Benisu Ind." "Sky shinobis?! What grudge do they have against us?" Ezume panics as the Sky shinobis closes on. "It looks like they are targeting the Merchant association!" Izuna scans the pattern of their flight. "Our Association?!" Ezume''s expression turns ugly. "Seems like it!" Chapter 318: Infiltrating Land of Sky Part-1 Chapter 318: Infiltrating Land of Sky Part-1 Boom boom The sailor shinobis and the sky shinobis engage in fiercebat. Izuna calmly stares at the battle without making any move. ''My shadow clones will ensure the safety of the civilians, but I won''t interfere with the battle. This attack from Sky will serve two purposes. Lately, the ego of the merchants of the Benisu ind has inted a lot. They are manipting the market of the world of the shinobi by creating artificial demand and supply leading to intion. This will serve as a lesson for them and will tone down their ambitions. Secondly, well it is an opportunity for me to earn some big cash to fund my organization.'' Izuna takes another sip of the tea and slowly ces it on the table. "Ezume-san! I am sorry but I have to evacuate from this ce and I hope you do the same." Izuna grabs his supplies and prepares to jump through the window. "Wait!" Ezume has a flustered expression. "Izuna-san! You are a powerful shinobi, right?! Please lend the merchant association a hand." He pleads to Izuna. Hmm Izuna stops in his tracks. He has a smile on his face as Ezume takes the bait. "Well" Izuna turns around with a serious expression. "Ezume-san! I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am currently in the middle of another important S-Rank mission issued by the vige. Also, looking at the scale of this attack; it can easily be an above S-Rank mission. Such missions are quite risky and one can lose their life if they aren''t prepared." Izuna helplessly shakes his head. "I I" Ezume stutters as he is unable to refute Izuna''s words. "I may not be able to lend a hand, but I know a few powerful Konoha shinobis who are present on this ind that might help you in your current situation." "Really?!" Izuna''s words spark some hope in Ezume''s eyes. "Yes! But they don''t have any incentive to lend help. So, I am afraid it''s not easy to convince them. You get what I mean Ezume-san?!" Izuna drops some hints at Ezume. "Please summon them. I will convince them with handsome rewards." Ezume drops on his knees and pleads to Izuna. "Please stand up, Ezume-san! Don''t embarrass me like that!" Izuna hurriedly stops Ezume. "I will immediately summon them, but bear in mind all of them are S-Rank shinobis and their price might be a bit too high." "It''s alright! Merchant associationcks anything but funds!" Ezume nods his head. "Alright!" Izuna jumps out of the window and flickers away. "I hope the personals of the association won''t suffer any harm!" Ezume stares at Izuna''s back with worry. Whoosh Izuna flickers in a nearby alley. Swish He makes a hand seal. Poof Poof Seven shadow clones appear in front of him. "You know what to do!" Izuna signals to them. "Just leave it to us!" Swish swish The clones transform into masked shinobis and flicker towards the merchant association. "I will be making some quick buck if these clones follow the script." Izuna has a sly smile on his face. "My acting and scriptwriting skills have improved a lot. Now, I have to polish my directing skills. But for now, let me search for Ayaka and the rest." Izuna closes his eyes and senses their chakra. "Found them! They are on another ind!" Whoosh He flickers towards the group. ------------- In a small restaurant, Ayaka and the girls are hiding under a table. They warily stare at the group of sky ninja flying through the skies. "Why does it feel like a repeat of the previous incident?" Ayaka remarks. "Because it is!" Yakumo nods. "Ayaka-chan! Yakumo-chan! Do you know them?" Kanami asks them. "They are the sky shinobis from the Land of Sky. A few days ago, theyunched an attack on our vige but were easily repelled by Konoha shinobis." Hanabi replies to her. "So now they are targeting our nation." Kanami grips her saber. "Your girls, stay here! I have to join the fight to protect my vige." Whoosh Kanami flickers out of the restaurant. Mm "Ayaka! Do you think Sensei will be alright?" Hanabi inquires with worry. "Of course! Sensei is strong! I heard he is even stronger than the Hokage." Yakumo nods her head. Tap tap A pair of hands poke their head. Eek The girls freak out the sudden attack. "What are you girls gossiping about?" Izuna appears in front of them. Phew They heave a sigh of relief. "It''s you Sensei! I thought it was an enemy for a second!" Hanabi takes a deep breath to calm herself. "Alright girls! It''s time to depart for the Land of Sky." Izuna walks out of the restaurant. The girls closely follow beside him. They look around but fail to notice a boat or ship. "Sensei! The Land of Sky is on another ind. How will we reach there?" "We already have a boat!" Izuna points towards the sky. The girls raise their heads and notice the flying ship of the Sky. "But that''s the enemy ship." "It sure is!" Whoosh Izuna jumps on top of a building and grabs a flying Sky ninja. "Shinobi Battle Skill #4 Deception" Swoosh Bang Izuna pulls down the flying sky shinobi and knocks him out. Poof He transforms into the sky shinobi and ties the winged flying mechanical device around his waist and takes flight. "You three have five minutes to follow after me. This is a test of your infiltration skills. If you can infiltrate the sky ship without being discovered and sessfully reach the Land of Sky, then you will pass my test." Whoosh Izuna flies away in distance and disappears from their vision. "Another test?" Ayaka grit her teeth in anger. "Let''s go!" Yakumo takes out a painting scroll from her storage and makes some brush strokes. "Genjutsu: Sharingan" Ayaka activates her Sharingan and traps an enemy in her genjutsu. "Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm" Hanabi knocks out another sky shinobi from the sky. Poof poof poof They transform into the sky shinobis and fly towards the sky ship with the help of the Mechanical winged devices. ---------------- On top of the sky ship, "Damn it! Where did these shinobise from?" The captain of the fleet grinds his teeth in anger as he stares at multiple masked shinobis wreaking havoc on his sky fleet. "Retreat!" He signals his subordinates to retreat. "If I suffer a loss here, then I won''t be able to facemander''s wrath. Besides, we have already fulfilled our purpose." He pulls out a crystal orb. The orb is glowing with dark purple chakra. "This is enough dark chakra to power the flying fortress for another month." He stows away the crystal orb and signals to his second-inmand. "Order your men to do a thorough inspection of every shinobi. I don''t want another case of the second shinobi war incident." "Yes, Captain!" The subordinate nods his head and leads his men to inspect every sky shinobi. On a corner of the ship, Gulp Three sky shinobis gulp their saliva. "Do you think they will catch us?" One of them asks the other. "I hope not!" The sky shinobis inspect every shinobi one by one. The guard arrives in front of them. "You three! Present your chakra tag." "Chakra tag?!" The trio cluelessly stares at the guard. "Umm we are new recruits! So, we don''t know what chakra tags are?" "What?!" The guard''s expression turns ugly. "You THREE!" Before he could any more words. "Genjutsu: Sharingan" Ayaka quickly activates her Sharingan and ces him under a genjutsu. Hmm "What''s the matter?!" The rest of the guards turn towards the first guard. "You three are fine. Next!" The first guard returns to his senses and continues the inspection. Phew "That was a close call!" The trio heaves a sigh of relief. At the other corner of the ship, Another shinobi stares at the trio and smiles slightly. "Looks like they have sessfullypleted the first step!" He nods his head in satisfaction. ''Naruto world is all about a shinobi, a ninja who is a master of deceit and covert operations. Although in thetter half of the series, the skills of a ninja became irrelevant but these skills are still an integral part of a shinobi''s growth. Who knows, they mighte in handy in sticky situations?'' Izuna nods his head and stares at the captain, who is gazing at his subordinates. Hmm "From his expression, it looks like he is surely up to something! Well, that''s none of my concern, at least for now!" Fwoosh Izuna hides his presence and fades into shadows. Chapter 319: Infiltrating Land of Sky Part-2 Chapter 319: Infiltrating Land of Sky Part-2 "What now?!" The trio of the girls cautiously walks around the sky ship. "We are already on the ship. Let''s just wait until we arrive at the Land of Sky." Hanabi proposes. "No, that won''t do! We can''t let them got away scot-free." Ayaka shakes her head. "Then do you have a n?" Yakumo curiously asks her. "Of course!" Ayaka nods. She rummages through her storage scroll. "Here!" Ayaka forks out a stack of paper bombs. "Paper bombs?!" Hanabi and Yakumo stare at her in confusion. "What do you n to do with them, Ayaka?!" Hanabi questions her. "What else! Blow up this ship, you dummy!" Ayaka ces the paper bomb on one of the walls of the sky ship. "These paper bombs are custom made by Kushina Nee-san!" Swish swish Ayaka makes some hand signs. Swirl The paper bomb disappears in the wall. "These paper bombs will disappear from sight once you nt them." Swish Ayaka pulls out the paper bomb, and it turns visible. "See!" She rents the paper bomb and disappears. "Wow!" Hanabi and Yakumo''s mouth turns into ''O''. The vanishing paper bombs surprise them. "Here!" Ayaka passes a stack of paper bombs to Hanabi and Yakumo each. "Let''s meet at the same spot after an hour. I will take the right!" Ayaka walks towards the right side of the ship. "Then I will take the left!" Hanabi walks towards the left. "Guess I will cover the remaining area!" Yakumo turns around and starts nting the paper bombs. An hourter, The girls meet up at the same spot. "Have you nted all the bombs?" Ayaka asks them. "All done!" The girls nod. "Good! We will prepare an Explosive Surprise for these Sky shinobis. They will get a taste of their own medicine for attacking our vige. Hmph" Ayaka folds her hands around her chest out of her usual habit. "What are you three bantering about? Go and help the rest of the men to repair the flying devices." A Sky Jounin happens to pass by. "Yes yes sir!" The body of the trio stiffens, and they hastily move out. Swoosh The Sky jounins undoes his transformation and turns into Izuna. Sigh "These girls! How reckless they are?" He shakes his head. "Don''t they know even the walls have ears? What if someone eavesdropped on them? Still they are quite daring for nning to blow up this entire ship. It would be a good idea if this was a normal ship, but it isn''t." Izuna turns towards the energy room of the Skyship. He narrows his eyes. There is a giant spherical orb at the location of the power source. It''s pulsating with dark chakra as it powers up the entire ship. "If this thing blows up, then I am afraid it will contaminate everything in at least a radius of fifteen miles. No wonder they don''t use deploy these ships in the battle. The power core of this ship is so unstable. Even a tiny bit of scratch on this thing will make everything go boom." "I saw a simr thing in the flying fortress Ancor Vantian of the Sky fleet." Roen leaps out from the shadows. "This thing contains so many negative emotions that even staying around it will cause anyone to go insane." He remarks. "It''s the part of the reason that there are so many ''Evil Warding Sealing Talisman'' around this thing. At least the Sky shinobis know the danger they are ying with. But howe they are so technologically advanced than the rest of the shinobi world?!" ''I never expected to witness a flying vassal in the shinobi world. There are many smaller nations whose technology is far betterpared to Konoha, like the Land of Sky, thend of Snow, the Benisu Ind, and many other smaller nations. Perhaps the feudal system ofrge nations has limited their achievements, and it only empowers them as a military force while ignoring all other aspects of growth. Well, I will leave that headache to the future hokage. For now, I have to deal with this power core.'' Whoosh Izuna walks towards the power source of the Skyship. His body phases through the walls and he arrives in front of the core. Ba-dump Ba-dump Ba-dump The energy core is furiously pulsating with dark energy as it pumps out the dark chakra towards every corner of the ship. Swoosh swoosh Izuna swiftly removes the protective seals around the core. Swish swish He makes some quick hand signs and forms a sealing Fuinjutsu around the core to hold it in ce. "This dark chakra could be useful for Ido, but I will have to slowly purify to make it usable." He raises his head and stares at the giant orb. "It will probably take me a few days to cleanse this much amount of foul chakra. Thankfully, on our way here I crafted a new seal based on my light chakra." Swish swish He quickly throws five sealing chakras around the dark core The seals glow with a bright hue and slowly cleanse the core. "I will erect an illusion to prevent others from interfering." Izuna makes his preparations and departs from the core room. --------------- Outside on the deck, Hmm The captain of the ship takes out a pentagonalpass from his pocket. The needle in thepass goes haywire and flickers wildly. The captain''s expression turns ugly. He immediately turns to his second-inmand. "Quick! Take a look at the power source. There are some energy fluctuations in the room. If that thing gets unstable, all of us will be blown to smithereens." "Yes, Captain!" The second-inmand dashes inside the power source room. He walks closer to the reactor room and looks around. "Everything seems normal, but Captain said there are some fluctuations with the power source." He walks closer to the power source to inspect it carefully. In a corner of the room, ''They sensed the energy fluctuations in the core! How?!" Various questions pop up in Izuna''s mind. "Anyhow, I can''t allow him to get closer to the core and disrupt the process." Whoosh He sneaks beside the second-inmand. Swish Izuna silently assassinates the sky shinobi without even spilling a drop of blood. He ces a hand on the shinobi''s forehead and recovers his memories. "I see! So, they have a device to monitor the condition of the core." He nods his understanding. Swirl He opens a Kamui rift and disposes of the body of the sky shinobi. There is a heap of bodies of sky shinobis in the Kamui dimension. Swish swish Izuna makes some hand signs and creates a shadow clone. The shadow clone transforms into the sky shinobis and walks out of the room. "Everything seems fine, Captain! There is no need for concern." He assures the captain. "Hmm" The captain nods his head. ''I still have a feeling that something is fishy.'' "I will take some rest. Inform me when we arrive at our destination." He waves his hand and walks into his room. "Yes, Captain!" The rest of the guards nods their head. "Sate sate sate!" The shadow clone turns towards the rest of the guards and smiles. The guards return his smile and stare at a distant corner of the ship. At another corner of the ship, The trio of girls is lurking in the shadows to avoid detection. "We have been flying for almost sixteen hours. We are probably close to our destination." Hanabi counts the number of hours spent on the ship. "Yes! As soon as we reachnd, we will drop down from the ship using these winged devices, and then we will blow up the entire ship." Ayaka ns. The trio is holding a winged mechanical device each. Tap tap The sound of footsteps falls in their ears as a group of guards walks towards them. "Did they find us?" Hanabi panics. "Calm down, Hanabi! Let''s wait and watch their reaction." The group stops in front of the trio. "Hey, you three! I have been keeping an eye on you for a while. What are you lot doing in such a remote corner?" The eyes of the guards turn to the flying device in their hands. "And what''s the deal with the flying device? Why is it still with you? Go and deposit it in the armory!" The guard yells at them. "We we" Hanabi is flustered to hear such harsh words. ''They found us out!'' She sighs helplessly. "We are repairing our flying devices. During the earlier battle, it suffered some damage from the attacks of the Sailor shinobis." Ayaka points towards a broken part. "Also, do you have a problem with us?" She stares at the guard with cold eyes. "Humph whatever!" The guard snorts and leaves with his friends. Phew "That was a close call!" Hanabi sighs in relief. Mm Yakumo also nods her head. At the other corner of the ship, Fwoosh The group of guards turns into Izuna''s clones. Haha "I had a delightfulugh there. Seeing them like that, I was almost about to crack up!" The clone burst out inughter. "Me too!" Another clone also cackles up. "You two are quite mean, you know?!" another clone argues with them. "Hey! We are the same person, so I don''t know what are you talking about?" The first clone throws a sideways nce at the third clone and ignores him. "" On the deck of the ship, The real Izuna silently stares at his clones. "Why do I feel like I will get split personality disorder if I continue to heat their arguments?" He ignores them and enters the Sin Space where Kurama is beckoning him. Chapter 320: Light Genryū Chapter 320: Light Genry Fwoosh Izuna enters the Sin space. "What''s the matter, Kurama? Why are you almost on the verge of jumping the gun?" "Brat! Never mind that, just look at that the de." Kurama points towards the dragon de present beside him. Swoosh The Dragon de is floating in the space beside him. Shoom It emits a dark red chakra while rotating mid-air. The five chakra gems in it are pulsating with energy. Shoom Shoom The gems float out of the de and form an elemental pentagram seal. They release the chakra of their respective element. The chakra infuses within the five-partite prism symbol and forms aplex array of lines. Fwoosh The five-partite seal glows brightly and releases a blinding light. Hm?! Izuna and Kurama shield their eyes to block the light. Whoosh Izuna activates his Rinne-Sharingan in case of any unexpected situation. ROAR A translucent figure of a gigantic white dragon appears in front of Izuna and Kurama. The dragon has five eyes, with two eyes on each side and one giant eye in the middle of its forehead. It has five sharp forked horns in the shape of a crown. BAM The dragon ms its palm on the ground and roars furiously. It ps its massive wings and slowly opens its eyes. Izuna and Kurama warily stare at the Giant white dragon. "Oye Kurama! I promise you I won''t beat you up. Just tell me how you summoned this giant dragon in here?" Izuna turns to Kurama with an unfriendly gaze. "Oye! Oye! It''s not my fault. I was just inspecting the dragon de. Out of curiosity, I infused some chakra in it. Who knows, it will drain almost one-fourth of my chakra and start to glow?" Kuramains. "I am not the culprit; I am the victim here!" Kurama has a helpless expression. "I will deal with youter, but first let''s see whether this dragon is hostile?" Hm?! The white dragon slowly opens its giant eyes. Its massive eyes inspect its surrounding. Gulp Kurama gulps his saliva as he feels overwhelming pressure from the white dragon. The dragon notices Kurama and Izuna. "A Kitsune and a human?!" Shiing The middle eye on the forehead of the dragon glows slightly. Its gaze pierces through the illusion and notices Izuna''s eyes. "OTSUTSUKI CLAN?!" The white dragon roars in fury. Shoom Its horns glow brightly and it forms a giant concentrated energy ball on its forehead. "DIE!" Fwoosh With no prior warning, the dragon releases a powerful energy attack towards Izuna and Kurama. "Damn it! It''s a hostile being." Kurama grits his teeth. Shoom He opens his mouth and gathers arge amount of dense red and dark blue chakra particles. He coalesces them in a tailed-beast bomb. "Don''t be so hasty!" Izuna waves his hand and uses his Rinne-Sharingan to dispel Kurama''s tailed-beast bomb. "Just wait and watch!" He gestures to Kurama to sit beside him. Hmm Kurama warily stares at the iing energy bomb. Swoosh swoosh A giant Fuinjutsu form appears in front of them. Shoom The energy bomb ms into the Fuinjutsu seal. Rumble Rumble The space around them trembles violently because of an enormous amount of energy. Swirl The Fuinjutsu seal slowly devours the energy bomb. Fwoosh The energy bomb disappearspletely, and the seal retracts back into space. "Do you think this glutton sin will let go of such vast amounts of energy?" Izuna chuckles. "You made me worry for nothing, brat!" Kurama heaves a sigh of relief. "OTSUTSUKI CLAN?! Today you will witness your reckoning?" The eyes of the white dragon turn red. It spread its wings. Swoosh swoosh The dragon channels elemental chakra through its wings and passes it to its w. "Elemental Annihtion Strike" It swipes its ws towards Izuna. "You think you are the only one who can wield all five elements!" Izuna crosses his hands around his chest and raises a finger. Shoom Large amounts of chakra rise from his body and turn into a gigantic Susanoo. Swish The Giant Susanoo pulls out its de. Swoosh swoosh The elemental chakra of all five nature condenses around the de. sh The Susanoo swings the de and intercepts the w of the dragon. BOOM A giant explosion urs in space. BOOM The force of the explosion pushes both Susanoo and the dragon back. Both of their attacks cancel each other. "NOT YET!" The dragon roars in fury. "I won''t calm down unless I exact vengeance on the Otsutsuki n for destroying my world!" ROAR BAM BAM The dragon ms its ws on the ground. Rumble Rumble It riles up its entire chakra. Shiing Shiing Shiing Its five horns glow with different elemental chakras. "Earth Genry, Fire Genry, Wind Genry, Water Genry, and Lightning Genry; lend me your strength! ROAR" The dull dragon de slowly floats up in front of the giant dragon. Swoosh stab The de stabs in the center of the five horns of the dragon and turns into a sixth horn. The five elemental chakra gems glow brightly and fuse with the other five horns. ROAR The entire body of the dragon glows brightly. Its size increases drastically and numerous spikes made out of scales grow on its entire body and forms armor around it. The dragon opens its mouth and condenses an enormous amount of chakra into it. "Light Genry: Roar of Decimation" "That''s Light chakra?!" Izuna''s expression turns grave. "This lizard can use Light chakra." Izuna is shocked to see the dragon use the light chakra. ''I thought no one beside me can use the light chakra. It''s the first time I am seeing someone else use it beside him.'' Fwoosh The dragon fires a condensed beam of vtile light chakra towards Izuna. Rumble A giant sealing Fuinjutsu seal appears in front of Izuna. BOOM The light beam ms into the sealing formation. Crack crack Numerous cracks appear in the sealing formation as it is unable to sustain the intensity of the attack. "Your sealing formation is of dark nature. It can''t block my light nature attack. Today, I will grant you eternal damnation!" The dragon roars at Izuna. Izuna''s expression turns serious as he confronts the attack. "You aren''t the only being who can control the light release chakra." Swoosh Izuna infuses his Susanoo with Light chakra. His Susanoo turns silver and golden shoulder pads and gauntlets appear around it. "Amenouzume" (Amenouzume is the goddess of dawn) Izuna summons a gigantic shield of light in front of his Susanoo. BOOM The vtile chakra beam of the dragon collides with Izuna''s shield. Haah The Susanoo grips the shield but the brunt of the attack slowly pushes it back. The collision of both sides creates a blinding disy of light. Argh Kurama closes his eyes as he feels a stinging pain in them. A minute passes away as the explosion finally settles down. Kurama slowly opens his eyes. He narrows his eyes to get a closer look at the battle. Izuna''s back appears in his vision. The previous attack has dispersed A significant portion of his Light Susanoo but there is not even a hint of scratch on Izuna''s body. Kurama looks around but fails to notice the giant white dragon. "Where is that dragon?" He curiously turns to Izuna. "It''s there!" Izuna points towards a chibi white dragon lingering around the Dragon de. "It''s that giant dragon!" Kurama curiously stares at the white dragon. Swish swish It pokes the dragon with its sharp ws. ROAR The white dragon roars at Kurama. "Kitsune! You better watch out for your fangs. Don''t undermine the might of a dragon. Even if I am weakened, I can still take you down with me." "Whatever!" Kurama mocks the dragon. "How did he turn small?" Kurama curiously asks Izuna. "How you say?! When you are the reason, this dragon grew up to its previous size, to begin with!" Izuna rolls his eyes. "This dragon de, or to say this dragon, has a special ability. It can forcefully cut or assimte the chakra of other beings. Needless to say, when you infused the de with your chakra. This dragon soul used the opportunity to steal a major portion of your chakra!" Izuna exins the details to Kurama. "Hmm" Kurama nods his head. "Human! Who are you?! Why do you have those eyes and how can you use both light and dark chakra? No being should be able to use such contrasting aspects of energy!" The chibi dragon fires a flurry of questions at Izuna. "I can sense that you are not a member of the Otsutsuki n, but you still have the blood of Otsutsuki flowing through your veins. Did this world also suffer demise at the hands of those wretched Otsutsuki n members?" The white dragon grits its teeth in anger. "I could not fulfill my promise to the ''Traveler''." The white dragon sighs helplessly. "Hold on a minute!" Izuna interrupts the white dragon''s monologue. "Can you exin to me what''s this all about? As for your questions, I will answer them after you answer mine." "Fine!" The white dragon nods his head. Chapter 321: Fall of a World Chapter 321: Fall of a World "Call me Light Genry." The White dragon introduces himself. Mm "I am Izuna Uchiha and this dog here is Kurama!" Izuna points towards Kurama. Grr "I am a Kitsune, you brat!" Kurama growls furiously, but the dragon and Izuna ignore him. "About my origin!" The chibi white dragon reminisces some memories as he is lost in his thoughts. "I am not a being from this world!" The dragon speaks with a voice full of longing and desire. Mm Izuna and Kurama nods at him. The technique and the chakra used by the dragon aren''t from the shinobi world. Kurama, with his vast experience and Izuna with his Rinne-Sharingan, can notice the fact quite easily. "It was a few millennials ago! No! Perhaps even before that! My world was once a prosperous world, with all sorts of life growing and flourishing in it. But all of it was destroyed!" The dragon has a sombre tone as he speaks these words. He turns towards Kurama and continues. "This Kitsune is a being born from the chakra of this world and thus is a part of nature itself. In my world, we had five such elemental beings. There were five different Genry or dragons representing earth, wind, fire, water, and lightning. These five Genry were worshipped throughout the world as they helped to maintain order in that world." "Are you not a part of those five?" Izuna curiously asks him. "No, I am not!" The white dragon shakes his head. "When the faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, temperance, and prudence of all beings of the world merged with the other Genry; I, Light Genry, came into existence. I was born to save the world from the ws of those greedy beings!" The white dragon has an anguished expression on his face. Hmm Izuna stares at the Light Genry. He silently analyses the words of the white dragon. ''From the way, he was born, he seems to be a ten-tail version of his homeworld. Also, what I am more curious about is how he can use the Light chakra?'' "Greedy beings? You mean the Otsutsuki n?!" Kurama curiously questions him. "Yes! Those Otsutsuki n members invaded our world in order to steal all of our nature energy. However, the Nature energy of the world has already given birth to five elemental Genry to maintain bnce and order in the world. So, those Otsutsuki n members targeted the Genry. One by one, they suppressed all of them and stole their chakra. They nted a God tree to steal the Nature energy from all beings. In order to resist the Otsutsukis, the various beings of my world formed a resistance army to have ast stand against them. But it was all futile!" The dragon helplessly shakes his head. "In front of the God-like powers of those Otsutsuki n members, the beings of my world were like ants, waiting to be trampled beneath their feet." He tightly clutches his ws in fury. "When all beings had lost hope and the world was on the brink of copse, a Miko appeared from the stars. She sacrificed her body andbined the power of seven virtues with the five weakened Genry to create me, the Light Genry." "Oh?!" Izuna raises an eyebrow. ''Seven Virtues?! Why does it sound familiar?'' "I was thest line of hope of my world against the power of the Otsutsuki n. We sessfully resisted their power and even pushed them back, but it was all in vain. Sigh" The white dragon sighs helplessly. "Why?!" Unable to hold his curiosity, Kurama asks him. "With the failure of the previous two members, the Otsutsuki n sent more powerful members to correct their mistake. Against more powerful enemies, we weren''t able to resist at all. We were quickly pushed into a corner and were on the verge of extinction. Despair and desperation shrouded us, and all hope was lost. In the gruelling battle, I lost my body and almost all the living beings of my world turned into nutrition for the Chakra tree. It was at this moment; he arrived!" The white dragon has a respectful gaze. "Who?!" Kurama curiously asks him. "He called himself ''the traveller''. He was a shrouded figure of mysteries. He easily dispatched the Otsutsuki n members to the afterlife." "The traveller?!" Izuna has a conflicted expression on his face. ''Just who is this ''traveller'' guy? Why is he involved in every shit that''s rted to these otherworldly beings?'' Doubts appear in Izuna''s mind. The white dragon continues its tale. "We might have won the battle, but we lost the war. From the initial poption of billions of beings, only a handful of thousand beings survived. Under the constant siege of the chakra tree, the Nature energy of the world was exhausted. Our world became a barren and deste ce unfit for sustaining life. The traveller took pity on us and brought us to a new world, this world! He carved this Dragon de and sealed the lingering souls of the five Genry in this de as a tribute to our old world. Under his leadership, we found Mount Kory and established a temple to protect this new world from the threats of the Otsutsuki." The white dragon sighs as he reminisces about some distant memories. "Even if our world was destroyed and our connection to our home severed; we persisted to preserve our legacy. To repay this debt of gratitude, we passed the sole legacy of our world to ''the traveller'', the legacy of Senjutsu!" "Senjutsu?!" Izuna and Kurama stare at each other in shock. ''And here I thought, it was the traveller guy who created the Senjutsu. Turns it out, he was just the inheritor of the technique.'' "However, the traveller already had a technique which was a superior version of our Senjutsu. Still, he passed on the knowledge of Senjutsu to the beings of this world to save it from the same disaster as ours." The white dragon sighs helplessly. Fwoosh Izuna gathers some nature energy and presents it to the White Dragon. "You mean to say that the Senjutsu is a technique of your world." "Yes! The flow of nature energy in our worlds was vastly superior to this world. This world is small-sized, whereas our world could be considered as a middle-sized world. The survivors of our world acted as the guardians of this world to protect it from the otherworldly threats and suffer the same fate as our homeworld." "Then how did your temple turn into ruins? It was already destroyed when I was born!" Kurama raises the question. "It''s the damn Otsutsuki n members! Two of their members, a female and a male, invaded this world to harvest its Nature energy. The guardians of Mount Kory sensed their arrival. Both sides engaged in a brutal battle, but they were no match against the overwhelming power of the Otsutsuki members. The temple was obliterated and sunk into the bottom of the ocean. Thankfully, the protective barrier carved on the dragon de preserved it at the bottom of the sea." The White dragon heaves a sigh of relief. He turns towards Kurama and Izuna and questions. "I have answered all of our questions, now it''s time to answer mine!" "Go ahead!" Izuna nods his head. "What happened after the downfall of Mount Kory. How did this world manage to survive the catastrophe of the God tree?!" "Well, it''s a long story!" Izuna and Kurama fill up Genry on the series of events that happened after the arrival of Kaguya and Isshiki. "I see! So, that''s what happened?" Genry nods his head. "This world might be temporarily away from harm''s way, as in the case of our world. But I suspect, more powerful enemies will soon head your way!" He warns Izuna and Kurama. "I know!" Izuna nods his head. He stares at the small body of the Light Genry and asks him. "Can you still recover to your former strength?" ''If this dragon can recover to its past strength, then the Shinobi world will have another powerful protector in its arsenal. "Unfortunately, no!" The white dragon shakes his head. "This world rejects my existence as a foreign being and thus I can''t absorb the Nature energy of this world. I can forcefully extract the Nature energy using my powers, but that will conflict with my reason of existence. I was born as the saviour of the world, not as the harbinger of destruction. Thus, I choose not to rob the world of its energy." "That''s unfortunate!" Izuna shakes his head. He turns to Kurama and waves. "You two keep eachpany since I have to deal with some affairs outside!" Whoosh Izuna disappears from the Sin Space. ----------------------- A/N:- There will be an important side arc for a buildup for uing arc in the future. The side arc is a bit long but it is necessary for the world building. Chapter 322: Side Arc Part-1: HOLE Chapter 322: Side Arc Part-1: HOLE Whoosh whoosh Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, Kurenai flickers through Konoha streets. The groups up and continue to flicker towards the Hokage Office. "So, you got the summon too?" Kakashi asks the rest of them. "Yes!" Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai nods. "Looks like the situation is quite serious!" Kakashi has a serious expression on his face. Whoosh They arrive near Hokage Office and scales the roof. Tsunade is standing on the roof with Shizune. She anxiously waits for the group to arrive. "Hokage-sama!" The group bows in front of her. Mm Tsunade nods her head. "I have an emergency mission for your four and your teams!" Tsunade has a distressed look on her face. "The HOLE has been breached!" She rys the information to the group. "WHAT?!" Kakashi''s eyes widen in surprise. "That''s bad! How is the current situation?" He asks in apprehension. "We received a distress signal three days ago! I sent an elite squad of three jounins, ten chunnins and an additional squad of anbus in shadows to monitor the situation. But" Tsunade''s expression turns ugly as she sighs to herself. "Wiped! All of them were wiped in a gruelling battle. The patrol team brought back their remains. If you can call them as remains." Whoosh Tsunade leads them towards the Logistics support and medical division. "Ah! Hokage-sama!" One of the medics greets her. Tsunade nods her head and leads the group inside one of the rooms. "Take a look!" She points towards the badly mangled corpses of Konoha shinobis. "This is" Kurenai''s brows scrunch up at the scene. Hm?! Kakashi activates his Sharingan and walks towards the bodies. He inspects the remains of their bodies and notices the marks left behind by enemy jutsu. "It seems like these people were obliterated in one fell swoop. They weren''t even able to resist against the enemy attack!" Kakashi remarks as he covers the bodies with a white cloth. "As far as I can see, the enemy used overly powerful techniques to deal with them. From this, we can conclude that our enemies possess phenomenal chakra prowess. They can easily reach the threshold of a Kage." Kakashi spectes the possibilities. "I think so too!" Tsunade nods her head. "That''s why I am assigning this mission to you and your teams. I will also deploy Team Ro in secret to monitor the situation. If the situation demands it, then I will request Lord Fourth to take action!" Tsunade has a concerned look. "HOLE is a very important strategic location for Land of Fire. If it falls in enemy''s hands then the entire Shinobi world might face destruction." She bites her lips in frustration. "Umm Tsunade-sama! What''s the HOLE you mentioned about?" Guy asks her in confusion. Tsunade notices Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai''s confused faces. "Fine! I will tell you. But this isn''t right to ce talk about." Tsunade looks around. "Come to the Hokage Office!" The group follows her. Guy turns to Kakashi and asks him. "Kakashi, you know about the HOLE?" "Of course! It''s not much of a secret in Anbu. Every elite anbu member has to patrol in HOLE once in their career." "This ce is so important?!" Asuma curiously questions him. "Yes, HOLE is the centre of the shinobi world!" He nods his head. The group arrives at Hokage Office. Tsunade walks to her desk and takes out a map from the drawer. She pins the map on the table. The group surrounds the group and curiously stares at it. Tsunade marks a ce on the map with a circle. "This is HOLE. It is a sacrednd in the Land of Fire. This ce resembles an ecological oasis in the middle of a barren wastnd. This ce is quite close to the Land of the Wind. It is somewhere in the middle of the desert of Land of Wind and Fire. There is a small vige called Tonika in this ce. HOLE is home to a diverse and flourishing flora and fauna. A special spring flows through this ce. The spring water overflows with life and vitality. It elerates cell division and boosts regeneration and thus is useful for medical purposes. During the Second Shinobi War, Konoha used this water to counter the poison of Sunagakure shinobis. It''s because of these miraculous effects that the spring is called as ''Spring of Youth''." Tsunade exins to the group. "YOUTH!" Guy''s eyes glow. The rest of the group ignores him and Kurenai remarks. "It''s indeed a strategic ce with such a miraculous spring." "NO!" Tsunade shakes her head. "It''s true that the spring is a strategic advantage, but that doesn''t make HOLE important. The significance of HOLE lies with the weapons of mass destruction sealed deep within thend." Tsunade''s expression turns serious, and she takes out a scroll from the drawer. "HOLE houses several sacred treasures of the Shinobi world but the most important of them all is Ama no Hoko, an ancient superweapon." She spreads the scroll to reveal a tower-like structure. "The origin of this structure is unknown. It''s said to be even older than the entire shinobi world. There are various spections about its origin. The most famous being that this tower is a product of an ancient war between two very powerful forces." Tsunade shakes her head. ''Initially, I refused to believe this rumour but the current circumstances speak differently.'' The details of the Otsutsuki n and otherworldly forces appear in her mind. "During the warring era, numerous forces and ns tried to awaken this weapon to use against each other but failed. Even during the current era, Danzo once proposed to study and weaponize it. But his request was rejected by Lord Third, who dismissed it for being too vtile and unpredictable. It is said that the key to this weapon has been lost for centuries. The residents of Tonika vige have established a militia to guard the tower and other treasures of HOLE. Lord First signed a pact with the HOLE to protect its members during a cmity." Tsunade folds the scroll and turns to the group. "From the current circumstances, I am afraid, the enemy is after Ama No Hoko. If they seeded in starting it, then I am afraid; the entire shinobi world will face certain destruction. So, I want you all to head for the Tonika vige and inspect the abnormality. Kakashi will be the team leader for this mission." "Yes, Hokage-sama!" The group respectfully bows and departs from the office. Tsunade solemnly gazes at their back and mutters. "First, the appearance of the Zero-tails and now the attack on HOLE. Looks like something big is going to happen!" ------------------ Outside the Hokage Office, Swish swish Kakashi makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu" Poof A small, pug-like dog with brown fur and a dark brown snout and ears appears out of white smoke. "YO!" The ninja hound waves its front paws. "Pakkun! Go and summon Naruto and the rest." Kakashi takes out a book from his pocket and rests against a tree. "" Pakkun stares at Kakashi with a deadpan face. "I am not doing it!" He walks towards the tree and lifts his hind legs to pee. Kakashi takes out a pouch from his pocket. Sniff sniff Pakkun''s nose twitches slightly. He stares at the pouch in Kakashi''s hand. "This is the reward for your job?" He waves it at Pakkun. "Fuck, man! I will do it!" Whoosh Pakkun flickers away. "Such an easy pug!" Kakashi smirks and engrosses in his book. "" Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai silently stare at him. Asuma makes some hand signs and summons a monkey. He orders the monkey to summon his team. Kurenai summons a small white cat and sends it away. Poof Guy summons a small turtle. The turtle slowly crawls away. "I will do it myself because this is YOUTH!" He turns upside down and walks with his hands. --------------- Fifteen minutester, Whoosh whoosh The Konoha twelve slowly gathers in front of Konoha''s entrance. "You summoned us, Sensei!" Sasuke asks Kakashi who is feeding biscuits to Pakkun. "Yes! We have an important mission for you all. Let the rest of the people arrive first!" Naruto walks towards Pakkun and ys with it. He snatches the pouch from Pakkun and takes out a biscuit. "Here doggy! You want this biscuit, right?!" He waves the biscuit in front of Pakkun. Pakkun res at Naruto with his dead-fish eyes. Grrr He opens his mouth and reveals his sharp canines. Chomp Pakkun bites Naruto''s hand together with the biscuit. "Aww. Ouch! Aww" Naruto grabs his hand in pain as it turns red. "Kiddo! Don''t mess with me. I can bite!" Pakkun''s teeth glisten in the sunlight. Gulp Naruto gulps his saliva and retreats. Whoosh whoosh The rest of the members arrive. Kakashi closes his book and turns to the group. "I suppose everyone is here. Let''s head out!" ------------------------ Check out my pat reon for 40+ advance chapters .pa /ForgottenLife Also, give me that power stones to promote in ranking. Chapter 323: Side Arc Part-2: Attack of Demons Chapter 323: Side Arc Part-2: Attack of Demons A/N:- Support me on patr eon to help me dish out more chapters. Read 40+ advance chapters on .pa /ForgottenLife ------------------------------ Four days ago, At the outskirts of Land of Fire, Whoosh whoosh Four shinobis in white cloth flicker through the desert. "Kusuna! Are you sure this is the ce?" The member of the Gang of four asks him. The group stares at the vast expanse of barren wastnd. There is a gigantic structure on the horizon. Whoo whooo Hot winds blow through the desert, raisingrge amounts of sand in the surroundings. The scorching heat glistens on the ground, giving it a ss-like appearance in the distance. "Yes, I am sure it is this ce, Setsuna!" The clothes of the group flutter in the wind as they stay unaffected by the searing heat. There is a round transparent water barrier around their body which shields them from the sand and heat. Kusuna takes out a scroll from his pocket. He unfurls the scroll and holds it in front of him. The scroll floats in the air with the aid of wind chakra. "Our target is Tonika vige, hidden deep within the HOLE. Master asked us to retrieve a certain artifact from this ce. This artifact will aid us in freeing our Lord from his deep slumber." He stores the scroll in his pocket and turns towards the group. "Since this HOLE stores such a precious artifact, how can it be so simple to reach this ce?" He walks forward and makes some hand signs. BOOM He stomps on the sand. Rumble rumble The ground quakes beneath them. "The road to HOLE is rigged with various deadly traps, seals, illusions, and genjutsu." "Take this trap, for example. This genjutsu makes it look like the HOLE is located in the distance but the actual ce is hidden here all along!" He points towards the gigantic structure on the horizon. Swoosh He inserts some chakra into the ground. Fwoosh Woosh The genjutsu around the area dispels slowly. Arge cavern appears in front of the group. "Let''s go!" Kusuna leads the gang of four inside the cavern. "This is one of the secret passages to the HOLE. You can''t ess this area unless you have a map with you." Whoosh whoosh whoosh The group flickers through the passage. Soon, the other end of the passage appears in their vision as bright sunlight lights up the cavern. At the other end of the passage, "Intruders!" The guards patrolling the entrance are alerted by the presence of the Gang of Four. "These are the members of Tonika''s militia!" Kusuna warns them. "Hmph they are nothing but a bunch of small fries." The sole female member of the gang of four mocks the guards. "They are indeed a bunch of weakling, but their weapons can harm us, Shizuku!" Setsuna stares at the weapons in the guard''s hand. "Those are some high-quality chakra des!" "Brother, hurry it up!" Gitai exims in impatience. "No need to feel rushed!" Fwish Kusuna releases three dark purple snakes from his body. Slither The snake slithers over to the rest of the group and enters their body. Aah Argh "It''s working!" The bodies of the group bend at an unnatural angle. Shoom Dark purple chakra riles in their bodies and surrounds them like mes. Swish swish Multiple ritualistic curse marks appear on their body. A reverse pentagram mark forms on their body. The mark shines brightly and dissipates. Ah Haha The Hexagram marks on their clothes shine brightly and draw power from the dark purple chakra. ARGH A red light flickers through their eyes and their pupil turns hollow. AAAH The curse seals alter their bodies as fangs and razor-sharp ws grow out in Gitai''s body. His forearms bulge out and turn massive. His body expands rapidly, and he turns into a herculean figure. AAAH Setsuna''s teeth turn into sharp fangs, and two wing-like protrusions erupt from his back. The curse seals run horizontally across his face and chest. ORYAAH A sharp de erupts from Shizuku''s elbows and calves. Three curse marks run vertically across her face and chest. Crack crack An extrayer of bones encases her legs and arms BANG bang Shizuku rapidly punches and kicks air and releases supersonic sounds with each strike. "Each of our chakra nature and roles is as discussed earlier!" Kusuna walks towards them and nods his head. "Let''s go and do it!" Gitai clenches his massive fists. "Don''t fail!" Kusuna nods his head. BOOM Shizuku kicks the ground and is the first to disappear from her ce. She leaves multiple supersonic booms in her wake as her speed exceeds the speed of sound. Swish swish She rapidly dashes through the guards. sh sh sh Blood leaks from the necks, arms, and legs of the guards as she cruelly dismembers them with her des. Ahaha Haha Sheughs maniacally as her arms and legs are covered in blood. "This is so fun! Haha" "Quick! Inform the vige chief. We need reinforcement!" One of the guards takes out a re from his pocket and fires it towards the sky. Bang bang Gitai smashes his fists together and stares at the guards with a cruel smile. "I can''t allow Shizuku to have all the fun, can I?" Bang He leaps into the sky and jumps towards the group of guards. BOOM He smashes in the middle of the guards and crushes a guard into a paste with his legs. Haha Ahaha "This is so fun! Crushing them like ants." One of the guards dashes towards him and shes his back with his chakra de. ng The chakra de leaves a slight scar on his back as a trail of blood leaks from it. "YOU BASTARD!" Gitai angrily turns to the guard. AH! The guard drops the de in fear as the massive arms of Gitai surround him. BANG Gitai ps his palms together and smashes the guard like a watermelon. Blood and organs st on the ground and dye the faces of a nearby guard. AH! "DEMON! These people are demons!" The guards cry in dread. "Haha haha it''s my turn now!" Setsunaughs maniacally and ps his wings. Whoosh He reappears in the sky. He makes some hand signs and the fangs in his mouth part away. "Wind Release: Divine Wind Mountain" He releases a giant vortex of wind from his mouth. The wind vortex engulfs the remaining guards and shreds their bodies to pieces. Spalt st A rain of blood stters on the ground as the surrounding area is littered with the internal organs of the guards. "Haha haha that was so satisfying? This power! It''s so magnificent!" Whoosh The group arrives in front of Kusuna. "That was a splendid performance!" Kusuna has a wide smile on his face. "Now go and retrieve Saezuri. Kill anyone who interferes with you!" -------------- Inside the Tonika Vige, The expression of the vige chief turns ugly as he notices the re. "The vige is under attack. We must protect the vige." He orders the members of the militia to take action. BOOM A gigantic tornado appears in distance. The vige chief raises his head and notices Setsuna, who is taking flight with his wings. "This is not good! The vige is under attack by demons!" He immediately releases an eagle from a nearby cage. "I have to seek Konoha for help!" The old vige chief immediately scribbles on a scroll and ties it to the eagle''s leg and releases it towards Konoha. "I can''t allow Saezuri to fall in the hands of these demons." BOOM A violent explosion rings at the entrance of the vige. Arge column of fire rises in the air and engulfs a nearby house. AHHH! "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!!" "SAVE ME! SOMEBODY SAVE ME!" "NO! DON''T KILL ME!" Agonizing screams of the vigers rings in the atmosphere. mes erupt in nearby houses as the vigers frantically rush away to save their life. "I DON''T WANT TO DIE YET! SAVE ME!" The vige chief tightly clenches his fist. "I can''t allow these demons to kill my people!" Shiing He draws a de from a nearby wall. The de glows with a dark ck hue. "This ''Onikiri'' de is the bane of all demon''s existence. It is passed through the family of the vige chief for countless years to prepare for such an asion." The vige chief draws the de and swings it around. Chii The de releases a shrill cry and emits a dark de of chakra. "For the sake of my people, I will draw this de and vanquish all evil!" Chapter 324: Side Arc Part-3: Tonika Village Chapter 324: Side Arc Part-3: Tonika Vige A/N:- Support my work with power stones to get back in rankings. So, more people will be aware of my work and I will get more readers. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Whoosh whoosh The Konoha groups flicker through the forest as they arrive at the outskirts of Land of Fire. "Ah, man! I am so excited about this mission. It has been forever since Ist did a mission, Dattebyo!" Naruto pumps his fist. "We did ourst mission two weeks ago!" Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Really?! Two weeks feels like ages. But what''s with these other teams tagging along with us!" He points towards the rest of the squads following them. Eh Hehe Tenten and Ino''s faces twitch slightly. "Oi Naruto! Don''t drag us down on this mission!" Kiba growls at him. Woof Akamaru also barks in agreement. "Huh?! Kiba, you are still salty about your loss during chunnin exams aren''t you?" Naruto has an evil smile on his face. "You want a piece of me, Naruto?" Veins pop on Kiba''s forehead as Naruto''s words piss him. "You want a beating, Kiba?! My hands are getting itchy." Naruto cracks his knuckles. "What a drag?!" Shikamaru stares at Naruto and Kiba''s antics. "Give me a break already. I just want to return home and sleep under the tree in my yard! Yawn" Eh Hehe Asuma''s face twitches at Shikamaru''s remarks. Sigh He sighs to himself. "If only you were a little lesszy." Woof woof "Bring it on!" Kiba cracks his knuckles. "Akamaru and I have developed a new technique. We will beat you to a pulp. Right Akamaru?!" Woof "Pipe down a little, NARUTO!" Sakura yells at him. AH! The group tones down by Sakura''s banshee-like scream. Aww Oww Shikamaru inserts his fingers in his ears to block the scream. "Any more, and I am afraid blood will leak from my ears." Pfft Haha Ino bursts out inughter. "Sakura! All the nutrition from your diet goes to your big forehead and your vocal cords. There is nothing left for your chest." She crosses her arms around her chest as her breasts jiggle slightly. AH Sakura lowers her head and stares at her t chest. Pfft Haha Naruto bursts out in a peal ofughter. "NARUTO!!" Sakura res at him with hatred. Hinata lowers her head and cups her breasts in her arms. "Will Naruto-kun like my size?" Hinata mutters to herself. "" Kurenai turns speechless. Ahem Kakashi clears his throat. "We are about to cross the border of Land of Fire and reach the desert. So, stay on guard, everyone!" He warns them. "Yes! Finally, it''s time! I am tired of this long journey." Naruto grumbles. "It''s not something to rejoice over!" Kakashi turns to him. "The situation is quite grave! An entire patrol team of three jounins, ten chunnins, and another squad of elite anbus was wiped in the battle. They didn''t even get a chance to retaliate before they were annihted by enemies." Kakashi informs the Konoha 12 group. "Huh?! Are you serious?!" Naruto''s eyes widen in surprise. Mm Kakashi nods his head. "It''s part of the reason there are more people this time. With me, Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai; there are four jounins, and counting you all we have twelve chunnins." Whoosh whoosh The group flickers through the desert. Kakashi takes out a scroll from his pocket. There is a map on the scroll. "The HOLE is hidden from the rest of the world. You need special maps to locate it." Kakashi leads the way as the group continues for another hour. "We are finally here!" Kakashi stops at arge dune. Hmm Sasuke and Neji sense something odd in their surroundings. "Sharingan!" "Byakugan!" They activate their respective Dojutsu and inspect the area. "There is a wide-scale genjutsu cast in this area." Both of them notice the odd flow of the chakra. "Correct!" Kakashi nods his head. Swish swish He makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. Shoom The genjutsu around them dispels to reveal a passage. "Let''s go!" Whoosh whoosh The group flickers through the passage. "Neji! Hinata! Keep an eye on the surroundings. We don''t know the situation of the vige. The enemies might be still hiding in the shadows!" Kakashi warns them. "Yes, Sensei!" Neji and Hinata maintain surveince with their Byakugan and ry the situation to the group. The group arrives in front of the vige. "Form a team of two and look for clues!" Kakashi instructs them. Whoosh whoosh Ino and Sakura flicker in front of Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun! Team up with me!" Both of them ask him in unison. "Hey, you! Ino-pig! Team with your squad. Don''t steal my Sasuke." Sakura res at Ino. "Shut up! Billboard brow! You are always sticking up with Sasuke. At least, let me pair with him for now." Ino banters with her. "Naruto! Let''s go!" Sasuke ignores them and walks away with Naruto. "Let''s go! Dattebyo!" Naruto and Sasuke walk away. Ah Sakura and Ino stare at their back with nk faces. "Shikamaru, let''s go!" Choji drags Shikamaru away. Kiba pairs up with Shino. Neji walks away with Hinata. Lee and Tenten dashes in another direction. Asuma and Kurenai pair up with each other. Only Kakashi, Guy, Sakura, and Ino are left behind. "Guess it''s us four then!" Kakashi scratches his head. Ino and Sakura begrudgingly pair up with each other. Naruto and Sasuke walk deeper into the vige. "Everything is razed to the ground" Sasuke inspects the burnt pieces of wood splintered all over the ce. "I wonder what kind of jutsu did this?" Naruto looks around. He picks up a burnt piece of paper with a painting on it. The painting crumbles into ashes. Hmm Sasuke raises his head and stares towards a house. Whoosh He flickers towards the house. "Sasuke! What happened?" Whoosh Naruto follows him. "Naruto! Use your wind release to gently lift this rubble." Sasuke turns to Naruto. "Why? What''s in there?" Naruto asks in curiosity. "Just do what I say!" "Fine! I will do it!" Swish swish Naruto makes some hand signs. "Wind Style: Sweeping Vortex" He slowly exhales arge amount of air beneath the rubble. The air forms a vortex and lifts the rubble. Bang Naruto sweeps away the rubble in another direction. Swish Sasuke draws his katana and shes at the floor. Kacha Kacha The floor splits into pieces to reveal a trapdoor. "Someone is down there! Earlier I heard some movements here." Sasuke warns Naruto. Shiing He activates his Sharingan and holds his katana. "Nah! Everything is fine! Watch me." Naruto takes the lead and enters the trap door. "DIE!" A cold glistening de aims for Naruto''s head. Swoosh Naruto pinches the de in between his fingers. "What''s the big deal?" "Eat this!" The assant throws a red powder on Naruto''s face. Aww Ouch oww "It burns! My eyes!" Naruto hurriedly dashes out of the trapdoor. "I see!" Sasuke sheathes his katana and speaks softly. "Don''t worry! We aren''t here to harm you." "Liars!" A childish voice sounds in his ears. "It''s true! We are shinobis from Konoha. We are here to help you!" "Really?!" "Yes!" A small head peeps out of the trapdoor. It warily stares at Sasuke and notices the leaf headband on his forehead. "You really are a shinobi of Konoha!" The child lowers her guard and walks out of the trapdoor. "It''s a girl!" Sasuke stares at the child. The girl has dark eyes and short, chin-length dark brown hair. Growl Her stomach growls in hunger. "I am hungry for the past five days. Sob" Tears flow from her eyes. "Here!" Sasuke takes out candy from his storage and passes it to the girl. ''Thankfully, I always have candies and popcorns in my storage. Ayaka likes them a lot.'' "Haaah what a relief?" Naruto arrives before them. His face is drenched in water. "What was that for?" He turns to the girl. "I am sorry!" The girl weakly nibbles on the candy. "I thought you were demons. Waah" The girl bursts up in tears. "Those demons they ate Uncle Takashi. Waah" Tears flow through her eyes and her body shivers in fear. She fearfully hugs her body. "Demons?!" Sasuke''s eyes narrow at this word. "DEMONS?!" Naruto''s legs tremble in fear. "I hate scary things like that!" Sasuke passes another candy to the girl to calm her down. "What''s your name?" Sob The girl wipes her tears and replies. "My name is Sora. I am an orphan and Uncle Takashi took care of me. He hid me in the secret door when demons attacked the vige. Uncle Takashi he" The girls tear up again. "Calm down! Calm down! Little girl!" Naruto tries to appease the girl. Hmm "Demons?! Where have I heard about them?" Sasuke ponders as the name sounds familiar to him. Eiyaah Aiyaah Two shrill screams enter their ears. "That''s Sakura-chan and Ino-Chan''s screams." Naruto recognizes the screams. "Let''s go! They must be in danger." Naruto picks up the girl and both of them flicker towards the scream. Chapter 325: A Troublesome Situation Chapter 325: A Troublesome Situation A/N:- Support my work with power stones to get back in rankings. So, more people will be aware of my work and I will get more readers. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Whoosh The Sky ship arrives in the airspace of Land of the Sky. "So, this is the Land of the Sky." The trio of Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo peeks through the window. "It''s time for us to bail out of this ship. If we go any deeper, then we will be stuck in enemy''s turf." Ayaka reminds them. "Alright!" The girls tie the winged mechanical flying device around their bodies. They sneak towards the aircraft catapult to get an initial thrust for their flight. "Will this thing even fly?" Yakumo asks in hesitation. "Not unless we try it!" Ayaka rolls her eyes. The girls position themselves on the take-off system. "Ready, set, go!" Swish Ayaka throws a shuriken towards theunch mechanism to activate it. Whiz whiz whiz With an initial burst of thrust, the girls take off from the ship. Fwoosh The girls undo their transformation jutsu and soar into the sky. ng ng ng They remove and drop the armor worn by the Sky shinobis. "That was very suffocating. Even moving and breathing was hard with that armor." Hanabi takes a deep breath and gazes at the vast expanse ofnd beneath her. On the dock of the ship, Hmm The captain raises his head and turns towards the direction of the take-off system. "I never issued any order for any take-off. So, what''s going on?" He takes out a telescope from his pocket and focuses it on the girls. "Huh?! Intruders!" The captain''s expression turns ugly. He immediately presses the emergency button installed on the dock. "A group of intruders just escaped from the ship. Stop them as soon as possible!" The captain yells his lungs out at his subordinates. "Damn! A bunch of useless idiots." He clenches his fists in anger and ms them on the safety grill. "I already failed toplete the objective at the Benisu Ind. If even these intruders also escape from my grasp, then themander will probably skin me alive and feed that monster!" Brr A shiver runs down his spine. "Dammit! Hurry up, you idiots!" Whoosh whoosh Multiple sky ninjas take off from the ship and follow Team three''s trail. Whoosh The girls continue to lower their altitude to search for a safe spot fornding. Hmm Hanabi feels a gaze focused on her back. Swish swish She makes some hand seals. "Byakugan!" Hanabi activates her Byakugan and inspects her surroundings. "It''s bad! The enemy is on our trail!" She warns the others. "What?! They caught on to us!" The girls panic at the revtion. Ayaka lifts her head and stares at the giant sky ship in the air. "We are already a considerable distance from the ship. I think it''s about time we blow it up to buy us some time and safely escape from their pursuit." Swish swish She makes some hand signs and yells. "Explode!" Swoosh A gust of breeze passes by, making their hair flutter in the process. "Ah!" Ayaka''s expression freezes. She nkly stares at the sky ship. "Explode!" She makes more hand signs, but nothing happens. "It''s not working! Why those paper bombs are not exploding? Did Kushina Nee-san give me duds? NO!" Swish swish swish The sky shinobis aim their kunaiunchers towards the trio andunch a barrage of kunais at the girls. Haah "Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm" Hanabi thrusts her palm in mid-air and releases a wave of vacuum shell at the iing kunais. ng The vacuum palm deflects the kunais, but the recoil of the jutsu breaks the wing of her flying device. Unable to maintain her altitude, she falls free from the sky. "HANABI!" Whoosh Ayaka and Yakumo dive and grabs Hanabi''s arms. Swish swish Another barrage of kunais attacks them. The kunaisnd on the flying devices and damage their wings. Whoosh Having lost their ability to fly, the girls descend towards the ground. AAHH The girls scream in fear and quickly remove the flying devices to lower the weight. While mid-air, they grab each other''s arms and dives into the forest right below them. Whoosh whoosh whoosh The girls fall freely through the forest. They quickly elerate towards the solid ground. Gulp Hanabi gulps a mouthful of saliva. AAH "Ayaka-chan! Yakumo-chan! It was a fun time with you two, but it''s about time we say farewell!" Hanabi and Yakumo close their eyes in fear as death appears in their vision. They tightly hug Ayaka''s body. HAAH Ayaka takes a deep breath and infuses arge amount of wind chakra into her mouth. "Wind Style: Great Wind Twister" She exhales a giant vortex of wind from her mouth. The vortex of wind ms into the ground and creates a windstorm in the area. This creates an upward current of air which greatly reduces the speed of their descent. Bang Bang Bang The girls fall to the ground. "AH!" Hanabi and Yakumo slowly open their eyes and looks around. "We are alive! We are alive!" They cheer with happiness and embrace each other. "You two shut up and get off me!" An angry voice falls in Hanabi''s and Yakumo''s ears. "Ayaka, where are you?!" They look around in puzzlement. "I am right below you! NOW GET OFF ME!" Ayaka yells at them in anger. Oops Both of them hurriedly get off. "Ayaka-chan! Are you alright?!" They hurriedly support Ayaka andys her against a tree. "Huff Huff Do I look alright to you?" Ayaka points towards her tattered clothes. She breathes heavily and rests against the tree. "Somehow, we survived the fall. If not for my wind jutsu, I am afraid all of us would be a meat paste by now!" Swish Ayaka takes out a water bottle from her storage and chugs it down. She passes it to Hanabi and Yakumo. Gulp Gulp The girls chug down the water. Ah "This water is so amazing!" They stare at the water bottle with surprise as the water hastens their recovery. "What''s so amazing about it? I drink it almost every day." Ayaka rolls her eyes. "Nii-san told me that this water is from some Shikkotetstu Forest Ah, mo! I can''t remember the name." She shakes her head. "Anyway! We should be moving now! The enemies are already on our trail!" Ayaka raises her head and notices a group of Sky shinobis flying through the sky. "Quick!" Whoosh Ayaka grabs Hanabi''s and Yakumo''s arms and dives into a nearby shrub. A few secondster, Swoosh swoosh A few skies shinobisnd near the crater created by Ayaka''s jutsu. Hmm One of them bends down and inspects the crater. "They haven''t gone too far. We must capture them at all cost." He turns towards the rest of the shy shinobis and waves his hand to disperse them. Haaah Other sky shinobis disperse in the surrounding area. The first sky shinobis slowly stand up from the crater and stare at the nearby bush. Ah! ''I think I felt Nii-sama''s presence through our connection just now! But for now, I must get away from this ce.'' Ayaka warily stares into her surroundings. ''It must be my imagination!'' His lips curve into a smile as he flickers in the other direction. Phew Ayaka and other heaves a sigh in relief. "That was close! We should keep moving." Swoosh swoosh The trio of girls continues to walk deeper into the forest. Swoosh On a nearby tree branch, Haaah Izuna dispels his transformation and stares at their back. "That was a close call! This girl almost caught me. Thankfully, I could avert her attention through my Mangekyo Sharingan ability. Well! I feel like scum by doing this to her. But I have no choice. I have to let her ovee the hardships of a shinobi on her own. I won''t be able to shelter her for my entire life, even though I want to. Damn! How can I be so cruel to my cute angel?" Izuna clutches his fist as a stream of tears rolls down his eyes. Chapter 326: Escape from Pursuit Chapter 326: Escape from Pursuit A/N:- Support my work with power stones to get back in rankings. So, more people will be aware of my work and I will get more readers. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Swoosh swoosh The sky shinobis quickly surround Ayaka and the group. Tch "We are surrounded!" Hanabi activates her Byakugan and inspects the surroundings. "Guess, we have to fight our way out!" Ayaka takes out a kunai from her holster and confronts the enemy. Hanabi takes a Taijutsu stance and guards Yakumo. Swoosh Yakumo pulls out a drawing board from her storage. Swish swish She quickly scribbles on it. "Hanabi! Protect Yakumo while shepletes her genjutsu. Meanwhile, I will create an opening and keep the enemies at bay." "Yes!" Yakumo and Hanabi nod at her. Shiing Ayaka activates her Sharingan and takes out multiple kunais and shurikens from her holster. Swish She clutches the shurikens in her hands and analyzes the location of enemies. Haah Swish swish swish She aims and throws the shurikens towards the hidden Sky shinobis. ng ng ng The Sky shinobis deflect the shurikens with their kunais. "I was waiting for this!" Swoosh Ayaka throws her kunai towards the falling shurikens. ng The kunai collides with the shuriken and changes its trajectory. ng ng It continues to deflect multiple shurikens and alter their trajectory. Stab The kunai loses its momentum falls on the ground right in front of Ayaka. It stabs upright into the ground. Swoosh Ayaka ces her foot on top of the kunai and stares at the Sky shinobis. Tch "This girl! There are only three of them and we are seven people with reinforcement on the way. What''s there to be afraid of?!" One of the sky shinobis res at Ayaka. "Oh?!" Ayaka raises her head and stares at the shinobi. She notices the chunnin outfit of the shinobis. ''The enemies sent a team of chunnins to deal with us. They underestimate us, but it works in our favor. I don''t think we will be able to deal with seven jounin at the same time.'' Swish Ayaka stomps on the kunai and tilts it towards the chunnin who just opened his mouth. Shiing Shiing Shiing Multiple sharp metal wires appear around the chunnin. They entangle his arms, legs, and neck. Swish Ayaka stomps on the kunai again. sh sh Blood sshes everywhere as the sharp metal wires cleanly slice his arms, legs, and neck from his body. AAHH The chunnin releases a shrill scream as his body is mutted into pieces. Hmph Ayaka snorts and stares at the rest of the chunnins. ''These chunnins are just the cannon fodders. The real trouble is those shrewd jounins hiding in the distance. They are monitoring us from a distance and are trying to test our abilities using these chunnins. I don''t know what their objective is, but it seems like they want us to capture alive.'' Earlier, Hanabi noticed the group of chunnins and jounin hot on their heels. ''If I was on my own, then I could have escaped thanks to the various protective means given to me by Nii-san. But Hanabi and Yakumo will fall into the enemy''s hands. I absolutely won''t allow them to harm my friends.'' Hanabi quickly scribbles on the drawing board. Rumble rumble Dark clouds slowly loom over the sky. Crackle crackle Lightning starts to crackle through the clouds. "Something is not right!" The hidden jounins sense a life-threatening danger. They notice the dark clouds in the sky and Yakumo continuously scribbling something. "It''s that girl! Quick kill her." The leader of the jounin team signals his subordinates. Swish swish The jouninsunch a barrage of kunais at Hanabi and Yakumo. Haah Shiing The tomoes in Ayaka''s eyes spin rapidly. She kicks the kunai on the ground and jumps in mid-air. Swoosh Ayaka spins her body in mid-air and dodges the kunais. HAAH Hanabi walks in front of Yakumo and extends her right arm in front of her chest. "Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven" She emits arge amount of chakra from her tenketsu points and spins rapidly. ng ng ng Hanabi continues to deflect all the kunai aimed towards her. Swoosh While in mid-air, Ayaka performs a back-flip and stomps her leg on the floating kunai in front of her. Swish This creates arge amount of tension in the metal wires attached to the kunai. sh sh sh The tight metal wires pierce through the skins of the chunnins and brutally dissect them into pieces. Swoosh Hanabi finishes her rotation as she deflects thest kunai. "I am done!" Swish Yakumo makes ast stroke with her brush and points the painting towards the sky. Bzzt The ck clouds discharge multiple bolts of thick yellow lightning. AAHH The sky jounins screams in agony as the lightning incinerates their body to ashes. Huff Huff Yakumo and Hanabi breathe heavily and fall to the ground. "I exhausted all of my chakra in that previous jutsu. I can''t move anymore." Yakumo rests against Hanabi''s back. "Me too! I have yet to master the secret technique, so it took me a lot more chakra toplete the technique." Poof Ayaka makes a shadow clone. She picks up Hanabi, and the clone picks up Yakumo. "We can''t dy anymore. We have to retreat to a safe ce far away from the pursuit of these sky shinobis." "We are already in the Land of Sky. Where is Sensei?! He told us he will meet with us once we reach the Land of Sky." Hanabiins. "Umm" Yakumo also nods her head in agreement. "He always likes to arrivete. I am sure we will see him soon!" Ayaka flickers deeper into the territory of the Land of Sky. On a nearby tree, Whoosh Izuna stands on a branch and stares at the back of the trio. "That was thest group of sky shinobi left which left that ship. I have already dealt with other scout teams. Also, my seal haspleted the process of purification of the core. Now, the only person left on that ship is its captain and some of his loyal guards. I have to keep him alive for a little longer, since I am still curious about the orb and thepass in his hand. That orb was reeking with sinister chakra, but I could also hear the screams of countless beings begging for salvation. There is something fishy about this entire situation! For now, I am interested to see where these girls will end up!" Fwoosh Izuna''s body disappears into countless light particles. ------------ Huff Huff Ayaka continues to carry Hanabi and Yakumo on her back. Burble burble Sounds of a waterfall fall in her ears. "There is a waterfall nearby. Let''s go over there!" She suggests to Yakumo and Hanabi. "Yes, we are already out of the water and I am feeling quite thirsty." Hanabi nods her head. Ayaka ces them down and the girls walk towards the waterfall. A huge double fall appears in their vision. The waterfall is surrounded by various nts, trees, and nktons floating in the water. Gulp gulp The girls gulp down the water from the waterfall and Ayaka fills up her water bottle. Hah "That quenched my thirst!" Hanabi wipes her lips. She takes a pail of water in her hands and washes her dirt-smeared face. "Looks like the enemy has lost our track. Let''s search for a nearby human settlement!" Ayaka suggests. "Yes! I don''t want to sleep in this wilderness." Yakumo nods in agreement. "Then let''s get going before the night falls!" The girls gather their bearings and slowly crawl through the sky forest. After every few meters, Ayaka will activate her Sharingan and look for traces of any human activity. "There is a cavern up ahead!" Hanabi activates her Byakugan and remarks. She points towards a small hill in the distance. "I have recovered enough chakra to use my Byakugan. You can rx now!" Hanabi assures Ayaka. "Alright! Then we will follow your lead." The girls walk towards the path pointed by Hanabi. After fifteen minutes of walking, the girls arrive in front of a giant cavern. A bed of rocks blocks the entrance of the cavern. Hmm Hanabi and Ayaka scrutinize the passage. "Looks like someone blocked this cavern using an earth-style jutsu!" Ayaka concludes. "Let''s break it open!" Haah Ayaka ps her hand and gathers some lighting chakra in her palm. "Lightning Release: Lightning Bullet" She fires a yellow ball of lightning towards the rock bed. BOOM The jutsu blows away the rocks and opens the entrance to the cavern. The girls enter the cavern. Hmm They notice a trail of footsteps in the cavern. A thinyer of dust covers the trails. "These footsteps don''t seem too recent, but they aren''t that old either. Looks like we are near a human settlement!" Ayaka concludes. "Let''s keep going!" The girls continue to walk through the cavern. After another fifteen minutes, a huge opening appears in front of them. "We are out!" The girls quickly dash out of the cavern. They arrive at the other end of the hill on top of a small teau. A small vige at a distance appears in their vision. "Let''s take shelter in that vige for the time being!" Swish swish The girls make some hand signs and use transformation jutsu to alter their appearance. "Shinobi Battle Skill #5: Infiltration" Izuna''s lesson freshens up in their mind. "Always use transformation jutsu while you are in enemy''s territory." Rustle rustle The shrub behind the girls shakes wildly. Hanabi and Yakumo insert their hand in their pocket to retrieve their kunais. Chapter 327: Red-Haired Girl Chapter 327: Red-Haired Girl A/N:- Support my work with power stones to get back in rankings. So, more people will be aware of my work and I will get more readers. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Rustle rustle The bush beside the trio sways wildly. Whoosh A white rabbit jumps out of the bush. "It''s just a rabbit!" Phew The girls heave a sigh of relief. Rustle rustle The bush shakes wildly. Ayaka and Hanabi tense up again. Whoosh A figure with reddish-brown hair jumps out of the grass. There is a blue bandanna tied around her head. The figure leaps in the air and jumps on top of the rabbit. The momentum of the leap carries the figure forward. The figure slides for a distance and rolls a few times before stopping in front of the girls. AH! Ayaka and the girls warily stare at the neer. ''It''s a girl!'' Hanabi whispers to the group. ''How did you find out? Don''t tell me you peeked at her!'' Ayaka whispers back. "No! It''s not like that." Hanabi hurriedly denies it. "There is a slight difference in the chakra pathway of a man and a woman." "Oh? I see!" Ayaka nods her head. Huh?! The red-haired figure raises her head and notices the trio of girls. Swoosh She hurriedly jumps back and points a scalpel towards the girl. "Who are you guys? What are you doing here?" The red-haired warily stare at Ayaka and her group. "Hey! Before you ask others about their identity, you should introduce yourself first. Also, it''s very rude to point a knife at someone you just met. Hmph" Yakumo snorts at the red-haired girl. Umm "Indeed, it''s my fault. I am sorry for that!" The girl bows and apologizes to them. "Wait! That''s not what I mean I mean to ask, who are you guys? And what are you doing in the middle of this forest?" The red-haired girl raises her guard. "Ehto! We don''t mean any harm to you." Hanabi tries to calm her down. "We are from a group of traveling merchants who were sailing through the sea. A few days ago, arge wave hit our ship and destroyed it. The wave washed us to shore and since then we have been wandering around looking for my brother who is a part of the crew!" Ayaka cooks up a story on a whim. ''That''s not going to work, Ayaka-chan! No one will buy such a story.'' Hanabi whispers to her. Yakumo also nods in agreement. Hmm The red-haired girl ces her hand under her chin and remarks. "Hmm there was indeed a Tsunami a few days ago. While on our way back, Sensei and I were also hit by it. But we were able to escape thanks to Sensei!" The girl nods her head. "" The trio of girls speechlessly stare at the red-haired girl. ''She bought it!'' "Alright! I will help you guys. There is a vige nearby. I will lead you there!" The girl waves her hand to lead them towards the vige. Umm "If you don''t mind, could you tell us your name?" Hanabi asks the girl. "Oh where are my manners? I am Amaru!" Amaru taps her head and sticks out her tongue to make a silly face. "I am Hanabi. The girl on my right is Ayaka and on the left is Yakumo." Hanabi introduces herself. "Let''s walk towards the vige. It''s pretty far from here." The trio follows Amaru''s lead. "Amaru-chan, what were you doing so far from the vige? And what do you mean by you also arrived here a few days ago?" Ayaka has a friendly smile as she tries to gather some intel. "Oh! I was out here hunting for some food. You know my sensei is a doctor. He travels across the world and treats people wherever he goes to." Amaru has stars in her eyes as she introduces her Sensei. "Before meeting with Sensei, I was an orphan who lived in a coastal vige near the Land of Fire. When I was small, I had a strange disease that was slowly eating away my body. Everyone in the vige would shun me away and no one was willing to help me because of my strange disease. But then I meet Sensei! He cured my diseases and since then I have been following Sensei and learning medical knowledge from him. I am his best apprentice." She smugly raises her head. Amaru continues to praise her Sensei for the rest of the journey. "We are here!" Ayaka''s words snap her out of her monologue. A wooden arc-shaped entrance appears in their vision. Multiple wooden fences are lined up against each other to form a protective wall around the vige. Amaru quickly hops towards the vige and gestures the girls to enter. "This is Nagano vige." "Oh, Amaru!" "Amaru-chan!" The nearby viger waves at her. "You seem to be well-liked here!" Yakumo looks around in the vige. "Of course!" Amaru nods her head. "A few years ago, Sensei cured the gue inflicted on this vige. Since then, the people of the vige always wee us with a smile." Amaru waves at the vigers and leads the girls towards a small house. "I will ask Sensei to amodate you for a while. We will be staying for a while. So, if your brother happens to pass by, you can unite with him. If not, then I will ask Sensei to n our next journey to your vige. I am sure your brother will eventually return there." Amaru assures them with concern in her eyes. "Thank you!" The girls nod at her. Amaru walks in front of the cottage. Knock knock She knocks on the door. "Sensei! It''s me." "Oh, Amaru! You are back from the hunt!" A weak, cracky hoarse voice sounds from the hut. Creak An elderly man with long grey hair and beard opens the door. He has a thick, well-trimmed eyebrow. He also has yellow eyes with dark bags around them. A pair of tear troughs run down his cheek, giving him somewhat of a stern expression. "Amaru and some guests!" The elderly man smiles at the girls. "I am back, ShinnSensei. And look, I got us dinner!" She waves the rabbit at Shinn. "Hoho! Amaru sure has grown up. But it won''t be sufficient since we have a few guests here." "Ah! I forgot about it." Amaru sits in a corner and draws some circles. "Haha you don''t have to worry, Amaru. I got some vegetables and fruits from the vigers. It''s enough to make some rabbit stew for all of us." Shinn points towards the stack of vegetables and fruits lying on the table. "Then I will make preparation for our dinner!" Amaru hurriedly rushes out to skin the rabbit. Hmm The elderly man turns towards the girls. He smiles at them and asks them. "You three are?!" "It''s like this" Ayaka narrates her ''story'' to Shinn. "Oh! That''s too bad. You three can stay here and wait for your brother!" He assures them. "Then we will help with the dinner!" The girls walk out of the house, leaving Shinnalone. Hmm "Konoha genins and three of them at that!" Shinn gazes at the door. "If these three are here, that means their lost brother is the jounin of their team. How did they manage to track us down with such a speed?" Doubts appear in Shinn''smind. "Are there more of such teams? If there are, then it might spell trouble for my ns." He brainstorms over the matter. "Before that, I have to contact the fleet captain I sent to Benisu ind." He takes out a scroll and brush from his clothes. He jots down on the scroll. Swish swish Shinn makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the scroll. Poof The message on the scroll disappears in a puff of smoke. "Scrollmunication Technique" Poof Another message appears on the scroll. Hmm Shinn''s expression turns ugly as he reads the contents of the scroll. "These girls infiltrated the sky ship and escaped the pursuit." Crack crack Shinn clenches his fists in anger and closes the scroll. "Thirty years ago, during the second shinobi war; it was a chance for my Land of Sky to rise and dominate this world. But these cowards from the Hidden Viges joined hands in order to suppress us. Especially the despicable Konoha who sent a team of Anbus to infiltrate our ranks and ughter our people from inside. I still can''t forgive how my brother died in my arms. But this time, I will have my vengeance." He raises his head and stares at the girls from the window. "They think they can use a simr strategy to suppress us. This time I will make them pay the price in blood. Starting with these" sh Chapter 328: Side Arc Part-4: Konoha 12 vs Gang of Four Part-1 Chapter 328: Side Arc Part-4: Konoha 12 vs Gang of Four Part-1 A/N:-The side arc and current arc are going side by side at the same time. I didn''t want to post everything separately and thus will post side chapters in between. At one point, both side arc and the mc arc will converge. Also, don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. Pa treon is a monthly subscription system now which counts the number of days rather than the first of each month. So, if you sign up on 30th of a month, your subscription will end on 30th of next month rather than 1st of each month like it used to charging you twice. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- "Ino! Sakura!" Whoosh whoosh Naruto, Sasuke, and the rest of the group flickers towards them. They notice Sakura and Ino trembling in fear. "What''s the matter, Sakura, Ino?" Sasuke flickers in front of them. "Sasuke-kun!" Both girls sprint and hug him. Sasuke flinches at this, but he ces a hand on their back to calm them down. Tch "Popr Guy!" Naruto clicks his tongue. "Have you calmed down?" Sasuke asks them. "Now tell me what''s the matter?" "There!" Both girls point towards a cavern. "Another passage?!" Sasuke slowly pushes them away and walks towards the cavern. He activates his Sharingan and unsheathes his katana. "This is" Sasuke''s eyes widen in horror. Click He clicks his tongue and looks away. "What''s the matter, Sasuke?!" Naruto ces down Sora and walks towards Sasuke. "See for yourself?!" Naruto enters the passage and notices the strewn pieces of flesh, organs, bones spread across the cavern. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the caverns are painted with the blood of the dead bodies. AH! Naruto''s expression freezes and his legs tremble in fear. Gulp He gulps his saliva. "Demons! It must be demons!" He continues to shake in fear. Sigh Sasuke sighs and pulls Naruto with him. The rest of the people also gather in front of the cavern. "What''s the matter, Sasuke?" Kakashi asks him. "Sensei it''s" Swish swish Multiple kunais fly towards them. ng ng ng The group easily deflects the kunais and raises their guard. Whoosh whoosh Multiple figures in a dark blue uniform with gold trimmings surround them. "FREEZE!" They ce des around every member of the Konoha group. A tall and slender woman walks out of the dark blue uniform group. Shiing Sasuke activates his Sharingan and ces a hand on his katana. "Are you trying to exploit the current situation and rob the treasures of this vige?" "WAIT!" Kakashi waves his hand to stop his group. He turns to the woman and answers her. "NO! We are here at the request of your vige chief. We are shinobis from the Hidden Leaf Vige." Kakashi inserts his hand in his pocket. "What are you trying to do?" The woman ces her de against Kakashi''s neck. Swoosh Kakashi takes out the scroll and throws it on the ground. "This is the distress letter sent by the vige chief of Tonika vige. We are here to investigate." Swish The woman pokes the scroll with her de to check for traps. "Bring it to me!" she signals to one of her men. One of the blue-uniformed guys cautiously picks up the letter and passes it to the woman. The woman skims through the content of the letter and nods her head. "This is indeed the writing of the vige chief!" She waves her hand and the guards lower their de. "I beg your pardon. We are aware of that request." The woman lowers her head and apologizes. The Konoha group lowers their guard. "And you are?" Kakashi turns to the woman. "I am Shiseru. We are a security unit from the neighboring vige of Hachou. Tonika vige and our vige have a pact of friendship." "I see." Kakashi nods his head. "Pleasee this way. I would like you to meet someone." The woman leads them away. "Shiseru" An elderly man with yellow eyes, a gray beard, and dark brown eyebrows turn towards the group. There are multiple guards around them, digging graves and burying dead bodies. "Who are they?" The elderly have a friendly smile as he turns towards the Konoha group. The group introduces themselves. "I see." The elderly man nods his head. "I am the Vige chief of Hachou Vige. I appreciate your quick response. Yesterday, a few who escaped death, came to the vige seeking help, and the situation came to light." The elderly man sighs and remarks. "Tonika vige is isted from the rest of the world by a barrier. It took us a while to realize the tragedy that happened in the vige." He closes his eyes to pay his respect to the dead. "Do you have any idea who the assants were?" Kakashi questions him. "The escapee from the incident stated that the vige was attacked by demons. But most of them are a bunch of small kids thus the validity of their im is questionable." "DEMONS?!" Kakashi''s eyes narrow as he hears this term. "Vige Chief, if you don''t mind, then can we meet the survivors?" Kakashi requests him. "Sure! Please follow us to the Hachou vige." The elderly man nods his head. "Everyone! Let''s follow them." Kakashi instructs his group. ----------------- High up in the air, p p Four shinobis in white are standing on the back of an invisible bird. Slick One of them licks his lips and stares at the Konoha group with a hungry gaze. "Brother! I can''t hold myself. Should I take a go at it!" "Wait up, Gitai! It''s still too early. We have yet to get our hands on the remaining keys of the Saezuri. After overturning this vige, we could only find four keys. The rest three keys are still missing. I suspect the remaining keys are with those survivors." Tch "If not for that darn old fart! We would have alreadypleted our task and pleased our master." Shizuku clicks her tongue. "Who would have known that the old man had a weapon which could harm us?" Kusuna shakes his head. "Damn that, old man! It took us three days to recover from those injuries." Setsuna cracks his neck. "We got to loosen up a little with those shinobis from Konoha. They were a bunch of pathetic weaklings!" Gitai has a wide smile on his face. "For now! Let''s follow these people. Once we get our hands on the keys, we willy waste to this Hachou vige. It will serve as an offering for our Lord." Kusuna lips part in a wide smile. Hmm Kakashi raises his head and stares at the sky. He shakes his head and continues to move forwards. "Kakashi! Do you also feel like we are being monitored?" Guy whispers to Kakashi in a feeble voice. "I do! It must be the enemy who attacked the Tonika vige." Kakashi gestures to him. Kakashi turns towards the rest of the group, who are following the vige chief without much of an expression. ''It''s better we don''t alert the enemy yet. I want to lure them away from the Hachou vige.'' Shiing Kakashi''s left eyes changes into Mangekyo Sharingan. "Genjutsu: Sharingan" He sneakily casts a genjutsu on the vige chief and the security unit of the Hachou vige. Whoosh whoosh The group continues to flicker through the desert. Soon, a forest appears in front of them. "It''s about time." Swish Kakashi takes out a kunai from his holster. Chirp chii He infuses lightning chakra in the kunai and throws it at the sky. Fwoosh The groupes to a halt and stares at Kakashi with confusion. "Get ready for a fight! They are enemies on our trail." Kakashi warns them and dispels his Genjutsu. Scree A shrill cry echoes in their ears. A gigantic dark ck bird with two faces and six eyes appears in the air. The bird has white vertical curse marks spread across its body. A kunai infused with lightning chakra is stabbed in one of its eyes. "I have been waiting for this!" Naruto pumps his fist. "Yeah! These guys had been patiently following us for a while now." Sasuke nods his head. "Wait! So, you knew about them?" Sakura questions them. "Yes, these guys were hiding in in sight. They didn''t even bother to hide their sinister chakra signature." Naruto nods his head. Tch "Brother! We should have finished them earlier. Later, we could just torture one of these vigers and get the direction from him." Shizuku scoffs at the group. "Brother, hurry up!" Gitai cracks his knuckles. "Haha what''s the rush? We can take our time with them." Setsuna cracks his neck. The group stares at the Gang of Four riding on top of the bird. "Are they the so-called demons who attacked the Tonika vige? They don''t look that demonic!" Sakura and Ino speak in unison. Fwish Kusuna releases three dark purple snakes from his body. Slither The snake slithers over to the rest of the group and enters their body. Aah Argh Curse marks appear on the three people and they transform. "You both have to jinx it. Don''t you?" Shikamaru wryly raises his head and stares at the transformation. "And here I thought it was a normal investigation mission. What a drag?!" "Everyone! Get ready for the battle." Kakashi instructs them. BANG BANG BANG The three people jump down from the top of the bird. They smash into the ground and raise a cloud of dust. Swish swish swish The three of them make some hand signs and m their palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu" A giant summoning seal appears in the air behind the group. Chapter 329: NOT A Chapter- Just an announcement Chapter 329: NOT A Chapter- Just an announcement A/N:- I will resume Fairy-tail fanfic and post it together with Izuna one. For now, most of the chapters will be on pa treon until I have enough stock chapters. Then, I will post it on webnovel. It''s kind of early ess on pa treon. NOTE:- There won''t be much semnce to the Fairy-tail story since I n to write it as much as Original as possible. However, rest assured there will be heavy involvement of Fairy-tail characterster on. I will also include other Magic rted animes if possible (only some of their elements), so I would like your opinion on the matter. For now, here is some info on the Magic World. ----------------------------------- Some Information on World Building of New Fan-fic, Old Magic Era, The world of Akasita (subject to change) is habituated by Gods, Demon, Dragons, Humans, Spirits, Monsters and various other sub-species. The world is divided into sevenrge continents each under the rule of a powerful race. The Gods are near immortal existences with almost an infinite lifespan and they maintained their power through the worship of their believers. They practiced Divine Magic and their followers practiced God Magic Demons ruled the world with fear and chaos. They possess demon factor which allowed them to use Demon Magic and Chaos Magic. Dragons are the rulers of the sky with prowess simr to Demons and Gods. They had powerful physical bodies impervious to most elements. Dragons used Dragon Magic and Rune Magic. Humans are the rulers of thend. They have a limited lifespans which is more than ounted for by their immense reproduction abilities. Humans have a very high talent for Magic resulting in the creation of several magics. However, it can be generally categorized in Arcane Arts, Summoning Magic, Holy Magic, Dark Magic, Life Magic, Death Magic, Order Magic, andstly the elemental magic. The magic system is wildly distributed among humans with various nations using their respective magics. Human magic users are called Mages in some kingdoms and wizards in other. This leads to two types ofmon magic system called Caster Magic and Wielder Magic. Mages uses the caster magic which is expelled from the body through the maniption of Magic Particles or Mana stored in their body. Wizards uses the wielder magic by infusing their bodies with powerful magic weapons. While Mages are versatile with an arsenal of magic, the Wizards'' masters only a single type of magic pertaining to their Magic weapon. There are some other lesser-known Misceneous Magic System like Warlock, Witchcraft and Mystics. However, such magic practitioners are a rarity. Spirits are sentient Mana beings roaming throughout the world. Most of them are naturally born by the umtion of Mana at a ce. Some powerful spirits can even absorb Prana from Nature and gain a physical body. Every natural new-born spirit is automatically recorded in Athenaeum of Spirits through their natural connection with Mana and the Spirit King; the first spirit of the world. Spirits are free beings with no sense of good and evil. If, there are some kindred spirits, then there are some malevolent spirits. Since they are mana creatures, spirits can directly influence the Nature around them which is called Spirit Magic by other races. Spirits also signs contract with other races to appear as a summon. The terms of Summoning Contract were first introduced by the Spirit King and any vition from either party will cause his wrath. Monsters are mostly mindless creature mutated by the corruption of mana or negative factor. Any species be it God, demon, human, spirit, or demi-humans can convert into a monster. Gods turns into monster when their divinity get corrupted by other factors. Demons turns into monsters by an instability into their demon factor. Dragon turns into monsters under the corruption of their dragon core. Spirits will only turn into monster under the effect of Negative Factor. Negative Factor is an umtion of evil energy derived from an external in called Abyss. Sub-species races include races like elves, dwarves, giants, angels, ogres, orcs, goblins, oni, beastmans, dragon-kin and other demi-humans'' species. They are often a result of breeding between two different species (mostly spirits). Most demi-humans are discriminated by other species since they didn''t inherit the character of any known race. However, most sub-species have a friendly rtionship with humans and thus out of fourrgend continents onnd, one is entirely ruled by sub-species. New Magic Era _ _ _ _ _ _ to be continued ---------------------------------- Pleasement down your thoughts Chapter 330: Side Arc Part-5: Konoha 12 vs Gang of Four Part-2 Chapter 330: Side Arc Part-5: Konoha 12 vs Gang of Four Part-2 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- POOF Arge cloud of white smoke rises behind the group. MOOO A gigantic demonic bull leaps out from the summoning circle. The ck bull has giant curved horns. There is a giant reverse pentagram seal on its forehead. Multiple horizontal curse marks run across its girth. MOOO The giant bull stomps its hooves on the ground. Crack crack The ground splits apart, and arge rift opens beneath them. Whoosh The group jumps in the air and avoids falling in the rift. Swish swish Sasuke quickly makes some hand signs. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu" He shoots out a giant fireball towards the bull. The fireball explodes on top of the bull and covers its dark ck fur with mes. "It''s my turn, Dattebyo!" Naruto takes a deep breath and makes some hand signs. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough" BOOM Naruto exhales arge vortex of wind from his mouth. The vortex ms into the bull and forms a giant fire hurricane. Naruto''s and Sasuke''sbination jutsu slow down the momentum of the giant bull. MOOO The giant bull opens its mouth and sucks the fire hurricane inside. "What the?" Naruto''s eyes widen in shock. "He ate my jutsu!" Naruto points at the bull with trembling hands. POOF POOF The trio summons more demonic creatures. Rumble rumble A gigantic demonic sandworm erupts from the ground. Its entire body is covered in a rock-like dark shell. There is a giant reverse pentagram seal on the belly of the sandworm. Multiple vertical stripped curse seals run across its entire body. Dark Purple Fumes rise from its body. The sandworm opens its giant mouth. Pittar Pattar Its mouth is filled with many razor-sharp teeth. Bzzzt Lightning flickers through the sandworm''s mouth. Bzzt BOOM It shoots a dense beam of lightning towards the group. Bolts of lightning flicker across its body. The lightning beam incinerates the sand and turns it into the ss. Fwish The beam travels in a straight line and leaves a trail of destruction in its wake. Gulp The Konoha 12 gulps their saliva as they warily look at the sandworm. "It''s not over yet!" Shikamaru points towards the summoning seal, which is still glowing brightly. BAM BAM A gigantic scorpion leaps out from the summoning circle. Dark green fumes rise from its mouth and stinger. Its body is covered with a thick armored shell. There is a reverse pentagram seal on the back of the scorpion. ng ng The scorpion waves its gigantic deadly pincers. BOOM He inserts the pincers in the ground, and the pincers vibrate at a very high frequency. Rumble rumble Multiple blocks of the earth rise from the ground. The giant scorpion waves its pincers and directs them towards the group. Chirp chii Lighting flickers through Kakashi''s palm. "Chidori Current" Kakashi creates an electrical discharge in the surrounding area. He channels the lightning through the ground. Bzzt The lighting instantly travels through the ground and attacks the pincers of the scorpion. Rumble The gigantic scorpion digs out its pincers and waves them in the air to disperse the lightning. "No effect!" Kakashi raises an eyebrow. Haha Ahaha "Brother! I have been itching to have a go at them." Gitai dusts his knuckles and leaps in the air. He has a wide smile on his face. "I will take care of that green cucumber!" He smashes its giant body towards Guy. p p Setsuna ps its wings and leaps in the air. "Then leave these bunch of kids to me!" Shizuku zooms across the battlefield. "Hey! Who are you calling a kid?" Swish swish Naruto and Sasuke make some hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu" "Summoning Jutsu" POOF A giant cloud of white smoke rises in front of them. "What''s the matter, brat? Why would you bother me during my afternoon nap?" A giant toad with dull, rusty red skins appears on the battlefield. There is a scar over its left eye, and its tongue has a series of stud-like piercings. The toad wears a Happi vest with kanji ''Ebi'' on its back. There is a giant dosu de tied to its waist. "Boss! I need your help." Naruto points towards the three giant demonic summons. Hm?! Gamabunta frowns as he stares at the summons. "Demonic creatures!" "Yes, boss! These guys summoned them." Naruto jumps on top of Gamabunta. "Let''s beat them up, boss!" "Alright!" Gamabunta sheathes his giant dosu de and shes with the ck scorpion. POOF Sasuke summons a giant blue snake with light green eyes. "At your service, Master Sasuke!" The snake politely greets Sasuke. "Aoda! Let''s deal with that giant worm." He jumps on top of Aoda as thetter slithers towards the giant sandworm. Naruto and Sasuke upy a summon each. BOOM Gitai ms on top of Guy. Swoosh Guy performs a somersault and dodges his attack. "Kakashi! Leave this giant man to me!" Guy engages with Gitai. Bzzt Lightning flickers through Kakashi''s palm. "Purple Chidori Senbon" He shoots a barrage of purple lightning senbons at Setsuna, who is flying in the air. "Wind Release: Divine Wind" Setsuna''s fangs parts open and he spews out multiple tornadoes from his mouth. BOOM The lightning senbons shes with the wind tornadoes and dispel them. "I will handle this guy. Asuma, Kurenai! Take care of the woman." "I am already on it!" Shoom Asuma infuses wind chakra in his trench knives. "Flying Swallow" sh ng He shes them at the fast-moving shadow of Shizuku. ng ng Asuma skillfully deflects all of Shizuku''s fast shes. "Huh?! You can deflect my ultra-fast attacks." Shizuku pauses and stares at Asuma with surprise. "Let me see how long will youst against my lightning-fast attacks. Ahaha Haha" On the other side of the battlefield, MOOO The giant bull ms its hooves on the ground and charges towards the rest of the group. "I will try to block this bull!" Munch Munch Choji takes out some chakra pills from his pocket. He quickly swallows them. "Partial Expansion Jutsu" Choji infuses chakra arms in his arms and expands them to a massive size. HAAAH He jumps in front of the bull and grabs its horns with giant arms. BOOM The momentum of the bull pushes him back. Choji''s arms tremble in pain as he struggles to hold the bull. "Guys! GUYS! I need some help here! I don''t think I will be able it back for long." "Akamaru and I are on it!" Kiba holds Akamaru and takes a horse stance. "Man-Beast Ultimate Taijutsu: Fang Over Fang" Both of them rapidly rotate their bodies and m into the bull from both sides. "I will lend a hand too!" Rock lee clenches his fists. "Eight Inner Gates: Gate of Life: Open!" Lee directly opens the third gate. Bang bang bang Lee rapidly kicks the air and gains altitude. He stops in mid-air and dives while spinning. Rapid currents of wind form around his body. "One-Man Front Lotus" BOOM Hends a blow on the girth of the giant bull. Crack crack Ground cracks beneath the bull as it lies t on the ground. A giant dent forms on its back. Huff Huff Lee breathes heavily as he performs a somersault and returns. "Did we get it?" He warily stares at the giant bull. MOOO The giant bull roars in anger. Its eyes turn red and dark purple mes rise from its body. BOOM It ms its hooves on the ground and releases a powerful shock wave. Kiba, Lee, and Choji cross their arms as they are pushed back by the shock waves. Dark purple mes spread across the ground. The bull channels the mes through its horns and charges towards the group. At the sidelines, The security squad of Hachou vige wryly stares at the Konoha''s ninjas fighting against the demons. "Are these the demons who attacked the Tonika vige?" One of the guards gulps his saliva. "I am afraid if they attacked our Hachou vige then it will suffer the same fate as the Tonika vige." The vige chief stares at them with trepidation. "Shall we assist them?" Shiseru asks the vige chief with hesitation clear in her tone. "We can''t fight them! These demons are way too powerful. I am afraid we will get in their way!" The vige chief shakes his head. Up in the air, Kusuna stares at the battle and nods his head with satisfaction. He turns towards the Hachou vigers. "There are too many insects here. Let me thin their numbers first!" Scree The two-faced bird waves its wings andunches a barrage of its steel-like feathers towards the group. Whoosh whoosh Hinata and Neji jump in front of the group. "Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams: Palm Revolving Heaven" Both of them rapidly spin in front of the group and release chakra from their tenketsu points and form a barrier to shield the group. ng ng They easily deflect all the steel feathers. Tch Kusuna clicks his tongue. He makes more hand signs and infuses chakra in the bird. The bird parts its beak wide open. Crackle crackle Lightning condenses in between its beak and forms two giant yellow lightning balls. "Lightning Release: Divine Punishment" Chapter 331: Side Arc Part-6: Konoha 12 vs Gang of Four Part-3 Chapter 331: Side Arc Part-6: Konoha 12 vs Gang of Four Part-3 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- "Ch-dama Rasengan" Naruto infuses arge amount of chakra in his palm. Swirl The chakra rapidly spins in his palm and forms a gigantic sphere. Whoosh Naruto jumps from the top of Gamabunta''s head. "Boss! Pin him down." BAM Gamabunta swings his giant Dosu de and entangles the pincers of the scorpion with the sheathe and the de. Rattle Rattle The scorpion resists Gamabunta''s grasp and tries to pierce him with his tail. "Brat! Whatever you are up to, do it fast! I won''t be able to hold for long." Gamabunta struggles to contain the giant demonic scorpion. Fwoosh Naruto jumps in the air and aims the Rasengan towards the soft part of the belly of the scorpion. Swish The giant scorpion swings its tails and aims its stinger towards Naruto. HAAAH Naruto ms the giant Rasengan towards the scorpion. Crack crack The tail of the scorpion instantly shatters and turns into dust. Swoosh Naruto jumps back as the Rasengan smashes into the giant scorpion belly. BOOM The Rasengan explodes on top of the scorpion. A giant hurricane of chakra, dust, blood rises in the air. BANG BANG BANG Strewed pieces of flesh, blood, and bones fly everywhere. The Rasengan disintegrates the flesh of the giant scorpion into dust, leaving a gigantic carapace behind. A gigantic crater forms at the previous position of the scorpion. Shoom Shoom Shoom The carcass of the demonic scorpion turns into dark purple chakra particles and slowly disperses into the surrounding. Sizzle Sizzle Arge portion of thend near the carapace of the scorpion turns ash brown due to degradation by the sinister chakra. "Such Sinister chakra!" Yang Kurama raises an eyebrow. "Don''t tell me, they have returned!" His expression turns ugly. Phew "That was a close call! I was almost on the brink of being poisoned to death." Gamabunta heaves a sigh of relief. "I will leave the rest in your care, brat!" Gamabunta reverse summons himself back. "I will help Shikamaru and the rest!" Naruto dashes towards the Shikamaru and the Hachou vigers to lend a hand. On the sidelines, Hmm "So, Naruto is already done with his side? I can''t ck off either!" Sasuke has a serious expression on his face. "Aoda! Hold him down for me! Don''t let him burrow into the ground!" Sasuke instructs Aoda. "Yes, Sasuke-sama!" Aoda quickly slithers towards the giant sandworm and coils his giant body around the snake and tightly squeezes it to prevent it from drilling into the ground. Scree The giant worm screeches in pain. Crackle crackle Yellow lightning flickers around the giant sandworm''s body as it desperately struggles in Aoda''s coil. The lightning slowly incinerates Aoda''s scales, leaving a charred smell behind. "Sasuke-sama, I won''t be able to hold form much longer!" Aoda resists the lightning strike of the worm. "Just a bit longer!" Sasuke stretches his right palm. He grabs his wrist with his right hand. "Lightning Release: Purple Chidori Sharp Spear" Sasuke condenses arge amount of purple lightning in his hand. He shapes it into a spear. "The outer carapace of this sandworm is quite durable. My jutsu won''t be able to prate it. But what about its inside? Does it have the same durability?" Sasuke aims his jutsu towards the mouth of the sandworm with the help of his Sharingan. Haah He jumps near the mouth of the worm. Scree The giant sandworm opens its mouth to swallow Sasuke. "Eat this!" Sasuke throws his jutsu inside the belly of the sandworm. Bzzt The purple Chidori spear prates through the protectiveyer of flesh inside the sandworm''s body and explodes inside its stomach. Crackle crackle Wild purple lightning rampages through its body and destroys its innards. Crack crack Numerous cracks appear on the surface of the sandworm''s body. The purple lightning torments its body. BANG The giant sandworm ms into the ground and breathes itsst. Shoom Shoom Shoom The carcass of the sandworm dissipates into dark purple particles which scatter into the surroundings. "It''s over!" Sasuke heaves a sigh of relief. He turns to Aoda, whose body is badly injured from the fight. "Aoda, go and heal yourself. You have pushed yourself in this fight!" "Yes, Sasuke-sama!" Poof Aoda disappears in a puff of smoke. "Now it''s time to assist others." Sasuke turns towards Choji and Lee, who are struggling against the giant bull. ------------ At Hinata''s and Neji''s side, "Lightning Release: Divine Punishment" The giant two-headed bird in the sky condenses arge amount of lightning chakra into its mouths and fires two gigantic spheres of lightning balls at them. Hinata and Neji''s expression turns ugly. "We won''t be able to block it with our rotation." Neji shakes his head as the lightning balls swiftly approach them. "Wind Release: Rasengan" Swoosh Naruto jumps in front of Hinata and Neji. He throws a Spiraling Rasengan infused with the wind chakra towards the lightning balls. BOOM A gigantic storm of lightning and wind erupts at the point of impact. The storm releases strong winds which travel across its epicenter. Haaah Naruto and the rest shield their bodies with their arms to withstand the strong wind current. Fwoosh The giant two-headed demonic bird and Kusuna are pushed further in the sky due to the sharp gust of wind. "ANIKI!!" Gitai, Setsuna, and Shizuku stop in their momentum and turn towards the sky. "You can''t lower your guard in a fight!" "Leaf Hurricane: Shadow of the Dancing Leaf" Using this opportunity, Might Guy closes the distance and sneaks behind Gitai. Bang He kicks Gitai and sends him flying in the air. Whoosh Guy appears behind Gitai as thetter is falling towards the ground with strong momentum. "Front Lotus" He wraps his arms and legs around Gitai and spins rapidly in mid-air to hasten the descent. Tch Gitai clicks his tongue. He uses his enhanced strength to free himself from Guy''s technique. "I won''t let you do it!" Tch "Then I will take you down with me!" Fwoosh Sharp spikes protrude from Gitai''s body as they attempt to pierce Guy''s body. Swish Guy bends his body at an unnatural angle in mid-air and narrowly dodges the spikes. sh A trail of blood leaks down from his cheeks. BOOM Both of them m headfirst into the ground and create a gigantic crater. Guy shields the impact with Gitai''s body. Whoosh He jumps out of the pit and stares at Gitai''s body, which is lying cold in the crater. "That''s one down!" He turns towards Kakashi. "Kakashi! Do you need some help?" "No! It''s almost over on my end." Kakashi turns towards a flying Setsuna. "It''s some pretty big words for a guy who is struggling against me!" Setsuna mocks Kakashi. "Do you really think so?" Swish swish Kakashi makes some hand signs. Bzzt Bzzt Multiple purple lightning orbs appear in the sky. They surround Setsuna and forms a ring around him, restricting his movements. "What?!" Setsuna is shocked to see them. "How?! When?!" Swoosh Kakashi finishes his signs and ps his hands. "Lightning Release: Thunder Overload" Bzzt Bzzt The purple lightning orbs spin rapidly and release a sharp buzzing sound. "What what''s going on?" Setsuna desperately tries to free himself from the cage of the purple lightning orbs. sh The purple lightning orbs release a powerful bolt of lightning. Bzzt The lightning bolt pierces through Setsuna''s leg and travels towards another orb. Bzzt It deflects upon contact with the lightning orb and pierces through Setsuna''s arm. AAAHH Setsuna screams in pain as the lightning continues to drill holes through his body. "That''s quite a brutal technique!" Guyments on Kakashi''s technique. Kakashi silently turns towards Guy and the pile-driven body of Gitai. "You are one to speak!" "Gitai! Setsuna!" Shizuku stops in her tracks and looks at the state of herrades. "Damn you!" She screams hysterically and charges towards Kurenai, intending to kill her. "Kurenai! Be careful!" Asuma warns her. "I have been waiting for this!" Swish swish Kurenai makes some hand signs. Swoosh Her body disperses in smoke. "Where where are you?!" Shizuku yells in mad fury. Pop pop Crackle Various tree sprouts erupt from the ground and strangle her. Crack crack A flower blooms on the branch of the tree as Kurenai slowly blossoms out of it. She has a kunai in her hand. Stab Kurenai stabs the Kunai through a shocked Shizuku''s heart. "You let down your mental guard when yourpanions fell into the battle; thus, giving me an opportunity toplete my genjutsu." Slick Kurenai licks her lips. Gulp Asuma gulps his saliva as he stares at the scary side of Kurenai. "I have to be careful in the future to not offend her!" Bleurgh Shizuku coughs out a mouthful of blood. Her body turns limp and the light in her eyes fades away. Fwoosh Kurenai dispels her genjutsu and stands beside Asuma. She shes a smile at him. ''Scary!'' Cold sweat appears on Asuma''s forehead. "Looks like we are done here!" Kakashi and Guy walk towards them. SHOOM The bodies of Gitai, Setsuna, and Shizuku glow with a dark purple hue. Swoosh Their bodies rise from the ground and fly towards the sky. Whoosh Kusuna grabs their bodies andys them on top of the bird. "It''s that guy! He survived?" Naruto points towards Kusuna. "Konoha shinobis, I will remember this defeat!" Kusuna res at the Konoha group. p p The two-headed demonic birds p their wings and flee in the distance. "Hey! Come back here! You aren''t getting away" Naruto yells and chases after them. "Naruto! Stop!" Kakashi shouts to stop Naruto. "There is no need to chase after them." He orders Naruto. BOOM A deafening explosion sounds in the distance as a huge pir of smoke and fire rises in the distance. "That''s! That''s the direction of our vige!" The Hachou vigers have anxious expressions on their faces. "Quick! Let''s go!" Kakashi instructs the rest of the group. Chapter 332: An Uzumaki refugee? Chapter 332: An Uzumaki refugee? A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- sh Amaru shes out the guts of the rabbit and slowly skins it. "Amaru-chan, we will help too." Ayaka and Hanabi help her with the preparation of the rabbit while Yakumo slowly chops the vegetable. Hmm Ayaka scrutinizes Amaru''s hair. ''This hair colour it''s almost simr to Kushina Nee-san. Kushina Nee-san''s hairs are a tone redder than hers. Does this mean Amaru has connections to the Uzumaki n?'' Ayaka spectes at Amaru''s origin. "Umm Amaru-chan, can you tell me more about yourself? Like how you lived before you met Doctor Shinn!" "Before I met Doctor Shinn?! Hmm" Amaru ponders as she slowly cleans the outeryer of the rabbit meat. "As far as I know and the information, I heard from the other members of the orphanage I lived in. My father died while my mother was pregnant with me. After my birth, some bad people captured my mother and tortured her for her bloodline. Though I am uncertain of the details, they abandoned me because I had an incurable illness." Swish Amaru lowers her garments to reveal her chest. "Look!" Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo turns towards her and notices a strange tumour in the section between her breasts. There is a dark purple orb embedded in the centre of the tumour while multipleyers of skin are constricted around the orb like a clot. Swish Amaru covers her chest and exins. "From the people of the orphanage, I heard that my mother had a special chakra which could heal people when someone bites on her skin. So, when I was born; those people thought my chakra had simr effects. So, they took arge portion of my blood and injected my chakra into their body, but it had a negative effect on the people. Instead of healing, my chakra worsens the injuries. However, the blood loss, this tumour appeared on my chest and since then it slowly spread to my entire chest. People were terrorized when they notice the huge tumour on my chest. So, they shunned me away. However, seven years ago Doctor Shinn found me. He treated me by nting this orb in my body. After he nted the orb, the tumour on my chest slowly receded and the pain which I suffered since my birth was gone. Doctor Shinn is my saviour. He is my idol and my sensei." Amaru spews out one praise after another as she idolizes Shinn. "Such blind worship!" Yakumo mumbles to herself. "Alright! Alright! Let''s prepare the dinner. Doctor Shinn must be hungry." Ayaka calms her down. Mm "I will prepare the best rabbit stew for Sensei!" Meanwhile, inside the hut, Shinn scrutinizes the interaction between Amaru and the Konoha trio. "Amaru has formed a bond with these three girls. If I get rid of them now, then she might lose her mind and all my preparation in seven years will go to waste. Also, it''s very hard to search for another suitable vessel on such short notice." Tch He clicks his tongue in dismay. "I will let you live for a few more days. I just need a little more dark chakra then my n will finallye to fruition." Swish He takes out themunication scroll and jots down on it. "There is a change of n. I want you people to attack the Nagano vige. Those girls are here. Together with the girls, kill the people of the entire vige." Poof He closes the scroll and nods to himself. "This way, it will appear as an ident. So, it won''t have enough impact on the girl to make her lose her mind. Also, by attacking this vige; I will be able to lure out the other Konoha shinobis." "" Izuna, who is using his light release to turn himself invisible, silently stares at Shinn. ''Does he honestly think Konoha needs an army to deal with him? Even in the original verse, Naruto was able to solo his entire vige much less now.'' Izuna turns towards the window and stares at Amaru with his Rinne-Sharingan. ''This girl has half the bloodline of the Uzumaki n. I suspect her grandparents were the lucky few survivors who escaped the Uzumaki massacre. Then their daughter married someone from the other n, and as a result, Amaru was born. Also, upon further inspection of her body, I can see that the two bloodlines in her body are in a mutual sh with each other. When she was born, the Uzumaki bloodline was the dominant one as evident from her hairs, but after a majority of her blood was drained as an infant; the recessive bloodline erupted with its traits. As a result, both bloodlines shed for dominance. The treatment this quack offered is nothing more than a farce. That orb is slowly absorbing therge amount of chakra generated by this girl. This way, it managed to resolve the conflict of the bloodline by suppressing both, but this orb is also slowly absorbing her vitality. At this rate, this girl will die in another ten years; if she is left untreated. Also, I suspect he has other motives to pick this girl.'' Izuna shakes his head. ''If I want, I could end everything by just killing this Guy right here, but then I won''t be able to locate the Zero-tails and know his motives. Handling this dark chakra is tricky. Tch what a drag?!'' Izuna silentlyins to himself while invisibly monitoring Shinn. Creak The door bursts open as the girls dash towards the kitchen. Inside the kitchen, "Do any of you have any experience with cooking?" Amaru turns to the girls. "NO!" Hanabi and Yakumo shake their head. "I used to bake cookies for my Onii-chan and he likes them a lot!" Ayaka proudly nods her head. Bleurgh Izuna almost pukes and blows his cover as he hears Ayaka''s self-boasting. ''And here I thought I was shameless enough but looks like Onii-chan lost to you in this department!'' "Wow! Ayaka-chan, I didn''t know you could cook. Next time make some cookies for me too." Hanabi has a hopeful expression. "Of course!" Ayaka nods her head. "Alright! Then you two can wait outside while Ayaka and I will be cooking the food." Amaru sends Hanabi and Yakumo out of the kitchen. "Let''s start with the soup. Soak the brown mushrooms in water. Meanwhile, I will chop and season the rabbit meat." Amaru instructs Ayaka as she starts her preparations. "Next, heat the oven till the coals are brick red. Add some olive oil and roast the garlic loaves till they are crispy brown. Then do the same with the finely chopped red mushrooms." Amaru preps the meat as Ayaka starts the roasting. After five minutes, Sniff sniff Amaru raises her head and sniffs. "Why does it smell like burnt charcoal?" She turns around and notices Ayaka humming to herself while the oven is set on fire. Whoosh Amaru hurriedly brings a bucket of water and quenches the mes. After five minutes, Creak The door to the kitchen opens and a depressed Ayaka walks out. "What happened?" Hanabi and Yakumo curiously ask her. "Looks like Amaru-chan wants to prepare everything by herself. So, she kicked me out of the kitchen." "Oh!" Yakumo and Hanabi nod in unison. Phew Izuna heaves a sigh of relief as Ayaka gives up on cooking. ''Well, at least this Shinn deserved that cooking.'' He gazes into the kitchen and notices Amaru merrily cooking food for Shinn. "What a bastard for taking advantage of such an innocent child! After I deal with these events, I will bring her to Konoha. I am sure either Tsunade or Kushina will happily adopt her. Especially Tsunade since this girl has a talent for Medical Ninjutsu. She could be a great sessor to Tsunade''s legacy. For now, I have to wait for a report from Roen. He has been out for a while now; he must have found some sort of clues regarding Zero-tails location." Chapter 333: Aztec Temple Ancor Vantian Chapter 333: Aztec Temple Ancor Vantian A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- The next day in the morning, "Amaru, I will go out for a while." Shinn hangs a bag around his shoulder and waves to Amaru. "I am looking for some special herbs which grow deep in the mountain. It will take me a few hours to search and gather them. So, I will return by evening." He warmly smiles at Amaru. "But but sensei I would also like toe along with you." Amaru grabs the hem of Shinn cloth. "Silly girl! It''s quite dangerous in the mountain. Many wild animals are lurking out there." Shinnwarns her. "That''s more the reason, I shoulde with you. I will protect you!" Amaru clutches her fist. "The other day, I went out on a hunt and captured that rabbit without help." Haha Shinn chuckles and pats her head. "It''s alright! This old man can still take care of himself. In the meantime, why don''t you tour the vige with our guests." Shinn walks out of the vige and slowly disappears in the distance. "Alright! Since sensei asked me, I will show you around the vige." Amaru leads the trio of Team three through the vige. Outside the vige, Near the passage of the cavern, Swish Shinn takes off his outfit of the kind doctor. His expression slowly morphs from a kind and caring elder to a cruel, cold-bloodedmander. "I maintained this faade of a kind-hearted doctor for fifteen years just so that I could harvest enough dark chakra from the people. After all these years, I am close to thepletion of my goal. How can I allow some little twerps from Konoha to ruin my n?" Swoosh swoosh He throws away the outfit of the doctor on a rock beside the entrance. Shinn takes out his Skymander outfit from the bag on his shoulder and wears it. "It''s time to meet with my subordinates." Shinn walks out of the passage. Hmm He notices the remains of the shattered earth release technique at the entrance of the cavern. "So, these girls destroyed the barrier I made to iste these vigers." Swoosh swoosh Multiple sky shinobis in their flying devicesnd in front of Shinn. Whoosh The captain of the fleetnds in front of Shinnand salutes him with trembling hands. "I I am sorry,mander!" He kneels in front of Shinnas he awaits his execution. Hmph "You already know what you have done wrong! So, I will make it quick." Swish Shinn takes out a scalpel from his pocket and shes it out towards the captain. "Darkness wave" He releases a dark wave of chakra in the shape of a de towards the captain. sh The dark chakra de chops the left arm of the captain. "I will give you another chance to redeem yourself." Shinn points towards the vige and remarks. "Those three girls are in that vige together with the vessel. The girl has grown overly dependent on me in all these years. After all these years of grooming, the time for harvest hase. So, to trigger it, we need to give her a soul-stirring trauma. You and your men will kill me and those three Konoha girls in front of the vessel to induce a much greater impact. Do you understand?" Shinn has a fierce expression. Gulp The captain gulps his saliva and frantically nods his head. "Good! Now get out of my sight." Shinn dismisses him. "Ah yes,mander!" The captain turns around and quickly throws a dark purple orb towards Shinn before tip-toeing out. Hmm Shinn notices the countless souls wreathing in pain inside the dark orb. ''I have enough offering to receive lord''s blessing!'' He pockets the orb and walks deeper into the forest. "Time to pick some herbs!" A few minutester, Whoosh Izuna appears at the meeting spot of the Sky group. "So, the Sky shinobis are also a member of the cult of this evil God Jashin. Hmm that exins their way too advanced technology and the usage of dark chakra. But what are they trying to achieve by collecting such arge amount of dark chakra?" Whoosh A shadow leaps towards Izuna. It morphs into a small wolf and bows in front of Izuna. "Master! I have located the hidden fortress Ancor Vantian." "Good!" Izuna ruffles Roen''s smooth white fur. "Let''s check it out. I suspect that they are nning something big!" Swirl Izuna and Roen teleport away from the spot. Swoosh They reappear in front of arge underground temple. Hmm Izuna frowns as he appears outside the temple. "A space-time barrier blocked my teleportation. So, I could only teleport outside the barrier." He raises his head and gazes at the entrance of the temple. There is a giant stone head sculpture with its mouth acting as the entrance of the temple. Izuna looks around and notices various carvings and ancient writings on the wall of the temple. "This reminds me of the Aztec civilization in my previous world. Though I feel a much sinister vibe from this temple." Swoosh Roen dives into Izuna''s shadow and disappears. Izuna takes a step forward and enters the temple. He feels a slight resistance at the entrance. Izuna turns around and notices a slim watery film-like barrier at the helm of the mouth. "Let''s go!" He continues to delve deeper into the temple. Along the way, multiple murals, sculptures, ancient writing, and stone masks with varying expression appears in front of them. Hmm Izuna inspects the writing ancient and tries to read its content but fails to recognize anything. "Hey, Kurama! Do you know anything about it?" Izuna asks the Yin Kurama. "Let me see!" Kurama scrutinizes the writing and the sculptures. After a while, he shakes his head. "I have never seen such writing. I am sure, even the old man Hagoromo doesn''t know about it." "Mm I don''t understand the ruins, but I recognize the murals." The Light Genry pops out of the Dragon de. Izuna and Kurama turn their attention to the drawing. They notice multiple drawings of serpentine creatures, horned humanoids, and cloaked figures with scythes engaged in a war against each other. On another mural, there is a colossal structure with multiple ancient ruins engraved on its wall. There are multiple floating inds around the structure, as the structure emits a giant pir of light. He points towards the mural with the structure and remarks. "From the memories, I received from the Miko; this ce is called Kamiumi. A ce where gods are born! That''s all I remember since all of my memories are jumbled up and the Miko didn''t pass too much information to me. Even ording to Miko, all of this was a myth; so I am not sure of the credibility of the information." Genry shakes his head. "Let''s keep looking! Maybe we will get more clues about the origin of this temple." Izuna walks into the deeper section of the temple to explore it. Back in the Nagano vige, "SENSEI! SENSEI! Don''t leave me alone, sensei!" Amaru frantically shakes Shinn''s cold corpse, which is lying on the ground. "Wake up, sensei! Wake up! Please wake up sensei! Your number one disciple Amaru is here please wake up!" Tears flow from her eyes as she continues to shake Shinn''s body. "Aa Amaru!" Ayaka and Hanabi stare at Amaru with worry. Umm Ayaka bites her lips as she is unable to gather any word tofort Amaru. "Amaru! Don''t give hope yet. Maybe your Sensei could still be saved." In the end, Ayaka could withstand the despair in Amaru''s eyes; so, she tries to console her. "My my brother is a very good Medic. I am sure he will be able to help Shinn recover." Sniff Amaru wipes her tears. "No! Sensei is he is gone! He can''t be saved anymore." She nkly stares at Shinn''s corpse. "I we" Words remain stuck in Hanabi''s mouth as she stares at Amaru''s hopeless expression. Haha A peal of sonorousughter rings in their ears. "You little girls! I was waiting for this moment." Whoosh A Flying Destruction Machine suddenly appears above Ayaka and the rest. The captain of the sky ship is piloting the machine. "You three gave me a lot of trouble. Now I will deal with you in one fell swoop." Shiing Four sky shinobis rile up their chakra and infuse it in theser cannon installed on the machine. "Here I go!" The captain raises his remaining right hand and presses the button. Fwoosh "Oh, no!" Before Ayaka and team three could react. BOOM A gigantic beam of chakra engulfs them. "Ayaka!" Amaru screams in horror as the girls vanish into dust. A giant crater remains at the ce of Ayaka and the rest. Haha The captainughs hysterically. "Serve them well for what they did to me?!" AAAHH Amaru clutches her forehead and screams in agony. Fwish fwish Multiple dark chains rise from her body. Chapter 334: Attack on the Nagano Village Chapter 334: Attack on the Nagano Vige A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- An hour ago, "This concludes our trip to the vige." Amaru stops in front of a diner. "This is the best food shop in the vige. The food here is very delicious. But I can''t afford to eat her often!" Amaru sighs helplessly. "Oh, Amaru-chan!" The owner of the diner walks out of the shop. He notices Amaru and the group. "You are here with friends?" "No! No! It''s not like that. I was just showing them around the vige." Amaru shakes her hands with a flustered face. "Haha! It''s fine. I will treat all of you to lunch. Doctor Shinn has done so for us. A free meal once in a while is the least, I could do." "Then I will take you on the generous offer." Amaru gestures to Ayaka and the rest to enter. A few minutester, Nom Nom The girls gulp down their food happily as they chatter. "Your food is as delicious as ever, ji-san!" Amaru praises the food. "Haha I am d you like it." The shop owner nods his head. Aaa Chomp Hanabi takes a big bite of the chicken meat and turns to Amaru. "Amaru-chan, I never got to ask, but how old are you?" Ayaka and Yakumo also turns to her. "Me?!" Amaru ce down her chopsticks and counts on her finger. "Hmm I spent six years in the vige orphanage and then another seven years with Shinn Sensei. So, I am thirteen years old and I am about to turn fourteen." "Oh!" Hanabi is surprised to hear her age. "But you look a little too small for your age. My elder sister is also fourteen, and she is big." Hanabi makes a curve sign around the chest. Hmph "I am sorry if I am small. But I will grow with time." Amaru snorts at them. Fufu fufu Ayaka and Yakumo sniggers at the side. Suddenly, Whoosh whoosh The girls hear wheezing sounds in the air. "What''s going on?!" Ayaka quickly gazes out of the window. She notices a group of Sky shinobis flying through around the vige. "Them again?!" Ayaka frowns at the appearance of the Sky shinobis. "Why does this feel like a Dj vu? First in Konoha, they appeared while we were celebrating in Yakiniku-Q. Then on Benisu Ind, Miss Kanami was treating us to the seafood. Now here in this isted vige. What''s the deal with these Sky shinobis?" Ayaka angrily stares at the group of sky shinobis. She frantically turns to the group and warns them. "It''s the shinobis from Sky. They are attacking the vige; we have to take cover." "You four hide in the underground storage." The shop owner quickly gestures to them. "No, I won''t!" Amaru stubbornly shakes her head. She attempts to dash out of the shop. "Shinn Sensei is still out. I have to find him." "Wait, Amaru!" Ayaka chases after Amaru and tightly grabs her arm. "It''s dangerous out there! If you rush like this, then you might die under the attacks of the enemies." Boom Boom The Sky shinobis bombard the houses in the Nagano vige. BOOM A bomb falls near the girls'' position and explodes. AAAH The explosion hurls Ayaka and Amaru in the air. Bang Ayaka pushes Amaru towards a pile of straws as she ms into a nearby tree. "Shinn Sensei! Amaru will save you." Amaru ignores Ayaka and dashes towards the vige. Whoosh whoosh Hanabi and Yakumo flickers towards Ayaka and support her. "Are you ok?" "I am alright!" Ayaka nods her head. "But Amaru she" "Let''s save her!" Hanabi suggests. Tch "We have no choice then!" Yakumo clicks her tongue. "That''s why I hate stubborn people." She remarks and dashes towards the explosion. Swoosh A shadow clone of Izuna appears at their previous ce. ''It''s such a hassle! I have the urge to finish it up all, but then the girls won''t learn anything. This mission is a learning experience for them. Dammit! Being a teacher is more work than I thought it to be. Is this the reason there are no Nara n members teaching in the academy despite their high intelligence?'' "For now, I will evacuate the vigers to a safe spot. I will let the girls fight to gain morebat experience." Whoosh The clone Izuna flickers towards the explosion. "Shinn Sensei! Shinn Sensei! Where are you Shinn Sensei?" Amaru continues to dash around the vige while yelling Shinn''s name. Up in the air, In a sky ship; "That''s the girl! Be careful not to hurt her." Shinn points towards Amaru. "I will descend. You know the rest?!" "Yes,mander!" The Captain respectfully nods his head. Boom Boom Multiple explosions set off around Amaru as she continues her search. "Amaru!" Shinn appears at the entrance of the vige with a bag of herbs in his hand. "Sensei!" Amaru dashes towards Shinnwith tears in her eyes. BOOM An explosive shell falls from the sky and explodes in front of Shinn. "SENSEI!" Amaru screams in terror as dust and smoke rises in the air. WHOOSH Shinn''s bloody and charred body flies out of the explosion. Itnds right in front of Amaru. "SENSEI!" Amaru frantically rushes towards Shinnand supports him in her arms. "SENSEI! Please don''t leave me." Drip drip Large amounts of blood leaks from Shinn''s body and drenches Amaru''s clothes. "Sensei! I will use the medical knowledge you taught me to heal you. Everything will be alright!" Amaru frantically takes a scalpel and tweezer to operate on Shinn. "A Amaru! It''s its toote. Sensei is happy that you are fine!" Shinn gently touches Amaru''s face with his bloody hands. Shuash His body stops breathing and his heart stops beating as Shinn''s hand lifelessly falls to the ground. "SENNNSSSEEEIIII!!!" Amaru yells in despair with Shinncold corpse in her arms. Whoosh whoosh Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo arrives at the scene. "We were toote!" They helplessly shake their head. "Those sky shinobis held us back!" Yakumo clicks her tongue. "Amaru" Ayaka walks towards Amaru tofort her. BOOM A st of chakra falls from the flying destruction device andnds on top of the Ayaka and the girls. "Ayaka!" Amaru yells in desperation as Ayaka and the girls vanish into smoke. HAHA "Serve them well for what they did to me?!" AAAHH Amaru clutches her forehead and screams in agony. Fwish fwish Multiple dark chains rise from her body. The chains rapidly attack the flying shinobis and machines and absorb their chakra. AAAH Dark purple chakra rises from Amaru''s body as he drains one Sky shinobi after another. The purple orb on her chest glows brightly and sucks all the chakra. BOOM The dark chains wrap around the sky ship captain and pull him down. They drill through his body and drain his life force and chakra. The captain turns into an emaciated corpse. AAAAHHHH The dark chains rampage around and ughters everyst remaining shinobi of the sky troupe. AAAH Amaru clutches her forehead and passes out. "Omoshiroi!" Shinn, who is pretending to be dead, wakes up. He wipes the blood around his body and makes some hand signs. Swish swish "Body Revival Technique" His wounds heal rapidly and hisplexion turns young. Crack crack The revived Shinncracks his neck and walks towards Amaru. Bang He kicks her away. "Damn this little brat! I have to wait for seven years for this day." He flips the girl with her legs. sh Shinn rips apart her clothes and removes the orb around her chest. Haha. Heughs hysterically as he inspects the orb. "I have more than enough chakra to resurrect and power the ancient fortress. With this, the Land of Sky shall be sole ruler of this world. As for this girl" He turns towards Amaru andughs. "I will spare her pathetic life to let her suffer in despair and agony." Whoosh He flickers away from the ruins of the Nagano vige. Five minutester, Swoosh The clone Izuna appears in front of an unconscious Izuna with Team three in tow. "Go and help her!" He waves to them as Hanabi rushes towards Amaru to support her. Hmph Ayaka turns to him and snorts. "Do you like watching us suffer?" She angrily harrumphs at him. "Ayaka-chan! It''s not like that. You three are shinobis now; so you should face the harsh life of a shinobi." Izuna tries to appease her. Hmph "I am not buying that. I will tell Mei Nii-san everything. She is the only one who loves me now. My Onni-chan doesn''t love me anymore." Ayaka ignores Izuna''s pleading gaze and walks towards Amaru to support her. A few minutes ago, During the veryst second of the explosion, the clone Izuna used Kamui to teleport the girls and save them from the impact of the explosion. Later, the girl witnessed the truth about Shinnunfold before their eyes. "Here you go!" Izuna tosses a camera and a scroll towards Yakumo. "Show this to the girl to convince her! Also, this is a map of the location Shinn is heading to. My chakra has run out!" Poof The clone Izuna disappears in a puff of smoke. Chapter 335: Flying Fortress Chapter 335: Flying Fortress A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Back in the Ancor Vantian, Izuna continues to explore the giant fortress. Hmm He turns toward Nagano vige. "So, the mastermind is about to make his next move. I better hurry and find Zero-tails." -------------- Inside one of the chambers of the temple, Multiple high ranking sky officials are gathered around a temple. "I have instructions from themander. It''s about time we start our n and activate the fortress." The Second-inmand of the Land of Sky clutches his fist and raises it in the air. "For the eternal rule of Sky!" "For the eternal rule of Sky!!" the other captains beside him cheer in unison. The secondmander takes out four scrolls from his pockets. He makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the scrolls. Poof Poof With a puff of white smoke, four fist-size, dark purple orbs appear in front of the group. "These are the power cores of the fortress. Insert them in the four different wings in the east, west, north, and south section of the fortress to power it up." He hands over the cores to each of the captains. "Yes, sir!" The captains salute him and walk out of the meeting room. "I should also get moving towards the central room. The chakra cannon requires calibration before we could fire it." He takes out apass from his pocket and walks towards the centre of the temple. Themander arrives in front of a wall with multiple hieroglyphic runes on it "Oh! There it is." He pulls a hidden lever from one of the walls. Rumble A door opens in one of the walls to reveal a dark chamber. Themander enters the chamber as the wall behind him closes. Bam He stomps his foot on the ground to activate a pressure te. The entire room lights up with a blueish hue as multiple murals with hieroglyphic runes appear in their vision. There is arge stone tablet in the centre of the room. A dark purple leech with a serpent-like body is pinned on the stone tablet. There are multiple sealing forms and inscriptions on the tablet which restrains the Zero-tails. Multiple sealing talismans are floating around the beast, encasing it in a tan-coloured cocoon-like structure. Several tubr attachments extend from the cocoon are connected to each side of the room. Swish swish The zero-tails unleashed its tentacles to attack themander. "Woah! You are quite excited, aren''t you?" Themander waves thepass and forms a barrier around himself to deflect the Zero-tails attack. Shoom Shoom The hieroglyphic runes on the four walls light up. Fwoosh Fwoosh Dark purple chakra channels through the tubr structure and enters inside the cocoon. "Looks like the preparation is over. It''s time for this fortress to make its debut in the shinobi world in all of its majesty." Swish swish Themander makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. Swoosh A giant circr sealing formation appears on the floor and spreads to the entire room. Awhoo The Zero-tails growls in anger as the sealing formation sucks its chakra and directs it towards the four sections of the flying fortress. Themander ces thepass in the centre of the sealing formation. Shuash A pedestal rises from the ground with thepass in its centre. Multiple controls appear on thepass. Themander tinkers with the controls and configures the trajectory of the flying fortress. "Here I go! With the power of Reibi (Zero-tails), this fortress is ready to take its first flight." Fwoosh He ces his hand on a hand shape indentation on the pedestal. Shoom Shoom Darkness shrouds the entire fortress as one by one all the power source in the temple shuts down. "Nani?!" Themander looks at the situation in trepidation. "Did I miscalcte something?" He warily stares at the controls and makes some adjustments. Rumble Rumble The entire temple trembles violently. Shoom Large amounts of dark chakra leave the cocoon and enter the walls of the room. Shoom Shoom The runes on the walls light up and start to adjust their sequence. Swoosh They arrange in a certain pattern and channels the dark chakra through the entire fortress. Fwoosh The eyes of the various statues in the temple light up with purple colour as the various chakra circuits iid around the temple connect. RUMBLE The temple trembles slightly and with a thrust, it slowly rises from the ground. ------------------- In one of the chambers of the temple, "It has begun!" Izuna warily stares at the various statues and the chakra circuits iid in the walls of the temple. "This temple isn''t just an architectural construction, but it''s an artifact which requires arge amount of chakra to function. Amazing!" "Oye brat! Stop being amazed by the design of this temple and do something about it. I have a bad feeling about this entire ordeal. I feel like my other half is also in some sort of extreme danger." Yin Kurama has an anxious expression. "What Naruto is in danger? Then why didn''t my sealing form warn me." Izuna quickly looks at the bracelet on his wrist. There is no response from the bracelet. He inserts some chakra into the bracelet, but nothing happens. "Looks like something or someone is messing up with my seals. I can''t locate Naruto and the rest of the group." Worry appears on Izuna''s face. "The chakra of the zero-tails flows through this entire fortress. Using this, I can track the location of the Zero-tails." He ces his hand on the floor and closes his eyes. "Found it!" Izuna opens his eyes and quickly flickers towards the central chamber of the temple. ---------------- A few minutes ago, Outside the temple, "This is the ce Sensei marked on the map." Yakumo unfurls the map and stares at the opening of the Aztec temple. "It''s scary! I am feeling goosebumps around this temple." Hanabi crosses her arms. The girls stop in front of the temple and gaze at its opening. "Should we go in?" Hanabi asks anxiously. "Of course! We have to go. It''s a part of our mission." Ayaka nods at her. "Also" She turns around and stares at Amaru, who is nkly staring at the temple. "Amaru-chan, are you sure you want toe with us? It''s going to be quite dangerous once we enter this temple." Ayaka tries to persuade her. "I am." Amaru resolutely nods her head. "If Shinn Sensei is alive, then I want to ask him why he did all of this? I am sure he will hear me out." "Well I won''t stop you then." Looking at Amaru''s resolute expression, Ayaka could give up on persuading her. "Let''s go!" Yakumo takes the lead and steps forward. BAM She ms into something at the entrance of the temple. "Ouch! Ouch!" She clutches her forehead and stares at the entrance. "I felt like, I hit a wall just now." Hmm Ayaka walks towards the entrance and knocks around on the entrance. Her hand hits a watery film and ricochets back. "There is an invisible barrier around this temple!" Hanabi activates her Byakugan and inspects the entrance. "I can''t see anything past the barrier." She deactivates her Byakugan and shakes her head. Tch "If we can''t even enter this ce, then how are we supposed to stop the culprit!" Yakumo clicks her tongue. She rests against the invisible barrier. Rumble The temple trembles violently. "Wha what''s going on?" Yakumo loses her bnce and falls to the ground. She face nts on the entrance of the temple. "Ah! The barrier is gone." Ayaka enters the temple. Amaru and Hanabi follow her. Hanabi stretches her arm to help Yakumo. "What was that tremor just now? Is something happening within this temple?" Ayaka and the group look around for clues. Rumble Rumble Another powerful tremor runs across the temple. The girls quickly grab each other''s hands to bnce themselves. The tremblests for a few seconds. "What a poor design this ce has? It can''t even provide protection from earthquakes." Ayakains. "Aaa Ayaka!! Ll LLOOK!!" Hanabi points towards the entrance of the temple with trembling hands. "What? What happened?" The girls quickly dash towards the entrance. Swoosh Sharp wind currents blow on their face as their hair flutters in the wind. The girl looks down and notices ayer of clouds around them. "What?! We are flying!!" Chapter 336: Side Arc Part-7: An Old Friend? Chapter 336: Side Arc Part-7: An Old Friend? A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Whoosh whoosh The group quickly flickers towards the Hachou vige. "My vige!" The elderly vige chief anxiously stares at the smoke and fire pouring out in the distance. "Vige chief! Don''t lose hope yet. We can still make it in time and protect the vigers." Kakashi tries to calm him down. "Everything will be fine!" Shiseru supports the vige chief. "I hope so! I don''t want the innocent vigers to suffer because we sheltered the residents of the Tonika vige." "Let''s go!" Naruto increases his speed and dashes away in the distance. "This guy! Why is he so reckless?!" Neji shakes his head. "Don''t worry, I will follow after him." Lee thumbs up at Neji and chases after Naruto. Whoosh The group quickly follows Naruto and Lee. Swoosh Naruto arrives at the entrance of the Hachou vige. He flickers through the vige and stands on a pole in the center of the vige to get a clear picture of the vige. "Who is attacking such a peaceful vige?" He looks around for the culprit. BOOM Naruto hears a gigantic explosion in the distance. Smoke and fire pour out as a house is set on fire with a fire jutsu. "Found them!" Naruto spots a group of shinobis wreaking havoc through the vige. He flickers towards the group of shinobis. Swish Swish Naruto throws a pair of shurikens and makes some hand signs. "Shuriken Shadow clone Jutsu" Fwish Fwish The shuriken replicates into a multitude of shurikens and attacks the group of shinobis. ng ng The enemy shinobis turn around and deflect the shurikens. "Huh?! What?!" Naruto is shocked to see the enemy shinobis. There is a multitude of shinobis from various nations among the group, varying from leaf, cloud, sand, rock, mist, grass, and various other smaller nations. "Hey, you! Why are you attacking this small vige?" Naruto questions them. HMM The group of shinobis has dark grey sclerae and there are some cracks across their skins. "Answer me?!" Naruto yells at them to get their attention. Argh The group of shinobis turns towards Naruto. Swish swish They take out shurikens and kunais from their holster and attack Naruto. "What''s the meaning of this?" Naruto raises his guard. He crosses his fingers. "Shadow clone Jutsu" Naruto makes a few shadow clones and deflects their attack. Crack crack The shadow clones crack their knuckles and lunge towards the hostile shinobis. "Beat them up first and question themter!" BOOM BOOM Naruto and his clones engage in a fierce battle with the enemies. "You are still the same knucklehead even after all those years?" A tall man in a ck robe with red lining creeps behind Naruto. Whoosh The real Naruto swiftly performs a reverse roundhouse kick to attack the enemy behind him. "Now! Now! It has been a while, and this is how you greet your old ''Friend''?" Whoosh The cloaked figure jumps back and avoids Naruto''s attack. "You?! Who are you?!" Naruto cluelessly stares at the cloaked figure. Whoosh Lee catches up to Naruto and stands alongside him. "Fear not Naruto! Konoha''s beautiful Green Wild beast hase to your aid." Lee takes a taijutsu stance. "Haha! Another old friend is here!" The cloaked figure chuckles. "Who are you?!" Lee has a serious expression on his face. "Me?!" The cloaked figure slightly lowers his hood to reveal a part of his face. He has long white unkempt hair lying on his shoulders. A pair of spectacles rest against the bridge of his nose. His eyes have snake-like pupils and the majority of his facial skin is pale-white and there are some snake-like scales below his eyshes. "Kabuto?!" Lee is shocked to see Kabuto''s appearance. "Wait, Kabuto?!" Naruto points towards Kabuto with a shocked expression. "He is that Kabuto from three years ago! The one in the chunnin exam!" HAHA Ahaha Kabutoughs hysterically at Naruto''s antics. "You sure haven''t changed in these three years!" "Hmph but you sure have changed a lot!" Naruto points towards the snake-like appearance of Kabuto. "You are way creepier than before!" Naruto shakes his head in disgust. "Haha this is the price I have to pay for power! Once I have enough strength, I will fulfill what Orochimaru-sama failed to do. I will prevail where he failed. This way I will prove my worth to Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto has a frantic expression on his face. "Enough chit-chat! Let''s take him down!" Swish Naruto draws a kunai from his holster and dashes towards Kabuto. Whoosh Lee closely follows behind him. They nk Kabuto from both sides and perform a roundhouse kick to knock him out. Swish Swish Kabuto makes some hand signs and ps his hand. mp A pair of wooden coffins rise from the ground. Bang The wooden coffins receive their kick and rattles from impact. Whoosh Kabuto jumps back and avoids the attack. "You lot sure are impatient!" Fwoosh A shadow clone of Naruto jumps out of the ground. The clone has a Rasengan in its hands as it ms it towards Kabuto. "What?!" Kabuto is shocked to see the surprise attack. Swoosh He twists his snake-like body at an unnatural angle and barely dodges the attack. BOOM The Rasengan ms into the ground and creates a giant crater. Tch "I almost got him!" Naruto clicks his tongue in dismay. Phew Kabuto heaves a sigh of relief as he warily stares at Naruto. ''That was a close call! I am afraid, if not for my heightened senses and the snake-like body, I would have taken the hit! This kid is scarier than before!'' Slither A giant white snake slither towards him. Spat The white snake spats out a pair of transparent rods of varying sizes. "I have got what I came for! So, I will be taking my leave; meanwhile, you two can entertain these two people!" Whoosh Kabuto submerges into the ground and disappears from their sight. Whoosh whoosh Kakashi and the rest of the group arrive beside Naruto and Lee. "Was that Kabuto?" Neji and Sasuke ask at the same time. Mm Naruto and Lee nod their head. "Reanimation Jutsu!" Kakashi notices the grey sclerae and the cracks on the hostile enemies. "Reanimation?!" The group of Konoha 12 has confused expressions on their faces. "It''s a form of forbidden summoning jutsu, where the user of the jutsu uses a living body as a vessel to summon the soul of a deceased person. The user then controls the reincarnated vessel to do his bidding." Sasuke calmly exins the details of the technique. "Hey! How did you know?" Naruto questions Sasuke. "I read it in the scrolls Nii-san gave us! You should pay more attention to studying next time!" He chides Naruto. "Hmph I don''t like reading stuff. I would rather use my Rasengan to st them away!" Swirl Naruto prepares a Rasengan in his hand to attack the figure in the coffin. Creak Bang The lid of the coffin ms on the ground as a footstep out. "Keep watch! Don''t attack blindly!" Kakashi warns the rest of the group. HAAAH Naruto ignores Kakashi''s warning and jumps at the coffin with a Rasengan in his hand. "Eat this!" He ms the Rasengan on top of the coffin. BOOM The Rasengan ms into the body of the Edo and raises a storm of dust and debris. "AH! This feeling! This jutsu! It has been a while since Ist felt something like this!" A muscr figure slowly walks out of the coffin. Crack crack He cracks his neck and stares at the Konoha group. "He He is" The expression of Kakashi, Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai turns ugly. "This person is dangerous! Extremely dangerous!" Neji warily stares at the new enemy with his Byakugan. Chapter 337: Side Arc Part-8: Battle Against A Kage Chapter 337: Side Arc Part-8: Battle Against A Kage A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Fwoosh Kabuto appears outside the Hachou vige on a small nearby hill. He perches on top of a tree and stares at the Konoha group with his snake eyes. "I have yet to perfect the Reanimation Jutsu, but with the help of this, I can now finally put my n in motion." He takes out a vial with a clear liquid in it. "The effects of this ''Spring of Youth'' are beyond my expectation. This water is brimming with vitality and life. The strength of the Edo Tensei will rise by a level if I use this water to form the summoning seals." Kabuto pockets the water and gazes at the battle. "I have almost perfected the Reanimation jutsu and I can retain almost 80 percent of the ability of the Edo before their death. But with this ''Miracle Water''; I can push them beyond their peak. Kuku" Heughs hysterically and adjusts his spectacles. "Orochimaru-sama! Finally, I will prove my worth to you!" ng He forks out a pair of transparent rods from his pocket. "I came here for the ''Miracle Water'', but never expected to get my hands on a treasure." Kabuto weighs the rods in his hand. "I have never seen or heard of such material. These rods are made of a mineral that doesn''t exist in the Shinobi world. NO!!" He shakes his head. "This material defies the principality of existence. Such a metal shouldn''t even exist, to begin with." He raises his head and stares at the ruins of the Tonika Vige. "Now I am curious to unearth the secret buried deep within the wake of the ''Center'' of this world!" Whoosh Kabuto flickers away from the spot. At the Hachou Vige, "HE! HE!" Naruto points towards Edo with trembling fingers. Smoke rises from the body of the Edo as the Rasengan fails to deal any damage to him. He dusts his body and stares around. "I am back to the living world?!" He curiously looks around. "No! This is different." A clutch his fist. "I feel like I have free will but I don''t have any control over my body." "So, it''s the foul technique of that damned Second Hokage!" tter tter Another figure walks out of the second coffin. He has a bald head with a few locks of brown hairs at the back of his head. There is an intricate green dragon-shaped tattoo around his top head with a ck w mark around his right eye. Kakashi''s expression turns ugly as he notices the neer. Crack crack A crack his neck and stares at Naruto with curiosity. He notices the Konoha forehead protector on Naruto''s head. "A Konoha shinobi? And that technique?!" A turn to Naruto and ask him. "How are you rted to Silent Shinigami?" "Silent Shinigami?!" Naruto retreats and tilts his head in confusion. "That''s the moniker of Nii-san!" Sasuke reminds him. "Oh! You mean Izuna Nii-san!" Naruto turns towards the Third Raikage. "Izuna Nii-san is my elder brother and mentor!" He proudly nods. "I see!" "Naruto! Be careful! He is the third Raikage." Asuma and Kurenai warn him. "Haha Haha" The figure beside Augh as he confronts the group. "I never expected myself to be a pawn of the technique I hate the most!" He turns towards the third Raikage and remarks. "So, the kid beside the Second Raikage has turned into an old man and fallen in battle!" "Who is he?" The younger Konoha group curiously stares at the second person. "He is the second Kazekage, Shamon! A master of puppet art. He was hailed as a shinobi who aimed for innovation and improvement. During the First Shinobi War, he confronted the Second Hokage and lost the battle when the Second Hokage used the Edo Tensei." Tch "I still despise this foul technique! But I have to give credit to Tobirama for his idea!" Shamon clicks his tongue. Bzzt A lightning cloak appears around A. He slowly lifts his hand and points towards Naruto and the rest of the group. "I cannot control my body any longer! So, watch out for my attack!" He warns the group. Swoosh A disappears from his ce and appears in front of Naruto. Haah "Lightning Straight!" A aims a punch towards Naruto''s head. "So fast!" Sasuke is surprised to see A''s speed. "I can''t track him with my Sharingan!" "What?!" Naruto bends his body backward and narrowly dodges the attack. Swoosh A turns into mid-air and aims his punch towards Naruto''s gut. BOOM Naruto creates a wind current in his palm and propels himself backward. Bang He staggers backward and falls to the ground. "How is he so fast?! I thought I was about to die for a second." Naruto heaves a sigh of relief. "Don''t ck off just yet!" Shiing Sasuke''s Sharingan spins rapidly. "Lightning Release: Purple Chidori Sharp Spear" Sasuke gathers arge amount of lightning chakra in his palm. Whoosh He flickers towards the blind spot of the Third Raikage. Whoosh A swiftly turns around and blocks the attack with his arm. BAM Sasuke''s Chidori ms into A''s hands, but the thick lightning cloak around A block his attack. Haah He infuses more chakra in his Chidori and pushes forward. Stab The Chidori manage to pierce through ayer of the lightning cloak and stabs into the outer skin of A. Hmm A is surprised to suffer damage. "This is the second time, someone has prated my lightning cloak!" Whoosh A swipes his leg and kicks Sasuke. Bang Sasuke blocks the attack with his arms but is sent flying by the momentum of the kick. Swirl swirl Pieces of ash and dust fly around and restore A''s hand. "Tell me your name, Kid?!" A asks Sasuke. "Sasuke Uchiha!" Sasuke introduces himself. "Are you also a student of Izuna Uchiha?!" "Mm" Sasuke nods his head. Haha A burst out inughter and riles up his chakra. "Then I would like to see, how well that kid from back then taught his students?" Whoosh Naruto flickers beside Sasuke. "Let''s do it, Sasuke!" He cracks his knuckles. On the other side, Shamon takes out a scroll from his pocket and makes some hand signs. Swish swish Poof He infuses his chakra into the scroll and summons a multitude of puppets. tter tter Various chakra threads weave out from his hands and bind the puppet. "Guys! Don''t lower your guard at any cost." Kakashi warns them. "The second Kazekage is the creator of the puppet technique. He created the Secret ck puppet control technique, and even Lady Chiyo is one of his disciples. The des on his puppet areshed with a deadly poison; any slight injury will send you on your way to the afterlife!" Gulp Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai gulp their saliva as a drop of sweat trickles down their forehead. Kakashi turns to the Konoha 12 group. "It''s better if you lot don''t engage in this fight. All of you handle the rest of the reanimation!" "Yes, Kakashi Sensei!" The group nods their head. "But Naruto-kun!" Hinata warily stares at Naruto and Sasuke. "They will be fine! Trust me, these two are a lot stronger than you expect them to be." Kakashi assures them." Click click One of the puppets, shaped in the form of a scorpion, opens its mouth. Fwoosh It releases a cloud of purple smoke from its mouth. "That gas is poisonous, watch out!" Kakashi and the group jump back. Swoosh Another humanoid puppet waves a mechanical fan and quickly disperses the poisonous smoke in the surrounding covering the entire battlefield. "Quick! Take the anti-dote." Kakashi and the rest take out a syringe from their storage and inject it into their body. Tch On the other side of the battle, A click his tongue. "I was never fond of using such underhanded means in a battle! Let''s change the location of our battle." He flickers away. Naruto and Sasuke quickly follow after him. "Naruto! This is our first time fighting against a Kage and an immortal one at that! We can''t hold back." "Mm I know! I haven''t been training so hard for anything. I will surprise you with my technique. It took me a year to perfect this technique!" Naruto pumps his fist. "I am looking forward to your new technique!" Sasuke nods at him. -------------------- In a hidden cave somewhere near the Hole, Tch Kusuna grits his teeth in anger. He stares at the lifeless body of hispanions. "Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable! Those Konoha shinobis will pay for this." BAM He smashes his fist into the wall and turns towards the bodies. "Now, there is only one way to save them! I have to inject more dark chakra into their body and evolve them to the next phase of Demonification!" Fwish Fwish Fwish Multiple dark purple snakes slither from his body. Swirl swirl swirl They enter the body of Gitai, Setsuna, and Shizuku. Argh Aaah Blood-curdling screams escape from their mouth. The entire cavern is lit up with purple light. Crack crack Multiple cracks appear on the walls of the cavern as it copses on itself. Chapter 338: Side Arc Part 9: Rise of New Generation Chapter 338: Side Arc Part 9: Rise of New Generation A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Whoosh whoosh Naruto and Sasuke confront the Third Raikage. Crack crack A crack his neck and knuckles. Yoshaa Naruto withdraws a shuriken from his holster and throws it towards A. "Shadow Shuriken Jutsu" He makes some hand signs and the shurikens replicate and attacks A. ng ng ng The shuriken hits A''s body and falls on the ground, inflicting no damage. Naruto''s expression turns grim. "Sasuke! Be careful! This dude''s body is quite tough." "I know!" Sasuke draws the Kusanagi de and infuses some chakra in it. Shoom The de glows with white light. "Nii-san told me that this de can easily cut through armor. How well will it fare against this guy?" Whoosh He flickers behind A and shes at his legs. ''His lightning cloaks stimte his nerves and muscles to react at phenomenal speed, but the excessive lightning chakra might paralyze his body. So, he uses his heels as a lightning rod to discharge the excess chakra into the ground. This makes the area around his ankles the weakest in terms of protection.'' Sasuke swings the Kusanagi de and aims it for A''s ankles. ng A deflects Sasuke''s attack with his fingers. "Nice try, kid! But if you can figure out the weakness of my cloak; then so can I. That''s why I took extra precautions to remove any weakness." Ah Sasuke jumps back and rubs his wrist. ''Even the Kusanagi de is unable to prate his lightning cloak. Just how strong is his defense?'' He turns to Naruto. "Naruto! Use your wind style to counteract his lightning style. His lightning cloak is too thick for me to prate with my de. Make an opening for me so that I couldnd a fatal blow on his body." "Alright!" Naruto pumps his fist and gathers arge amount of chakra in his hand. Swirl He rapidlypresses the chakra into a small ball and adds wind chakra to it. "Wind Release: Rasengan sh" Fwoosh He fires thepressed chakra as a focused beam towards the Raikage. BOOM Thepressed chakra ms into Raikage''s body and spins rapidly. Snap snap It grinds away the lightning cloak around his guts and punches a hole through his body armor. Crack crack The armor around Raikage''s body snaps and separates from his body, revealing a pair of scars around his chest and guts. "Now is the chance!" Whoosh Sasuke quickly flickers in front of A. He infuses Kusanagi de with chakra and stabs A. "Toote!" A shake his head. Swoosh He twists his body in mid-air and dodges Sasuke''s attack. "Damn! This old man is so slippery." Narutoins. Whoosh A retreat and confronts Naruto and Sasuke. Swoosh The lightning cloak around his naval area restores itself. "Forget about dealing with me, unless you can strip away my lightning cloak in a single strike or you have a strike powerful enough to ignore my defense! My movements are still slow, so use this time to finish me, or else unlike me, you will die for real!" A warns them. "Damnit!" Naruto clicks his tongue. "This guy has a cockroach-like shell! Sasuke, how long will it take?" "Just a little!" Purple lightning flickers around Sasuke and covers the entire area in a radius of 10 meters around him. "Alright! It''s time to show you the fruits of my hard work." Naruto stretches his right palm and grabs his wrist with his right hand. Swoosh Swoosh Large amounts of wind chakra blow around Naruto. It rapidly spins around him and forms an eye. Shiing Shiing Numerous wind des flicker around him and form a barrier of wind. The wind chakra rapidlypresses into a ball with fourrge wind points around. Shoom The wind points spin rapidly and form four wind des. Swirl Narutopresses the entire wind storm around him into the chakra sphere. "This is" Sasuke''s eyes widen in shock. He gapes at Naruto''s jutsu and remarks. "What a powerful Wind Technique?! I am surprised he created a jutsu of this scale and managed to hide it from me without showing off?!" "If it''s this jutsu, then it might work!" A nod his head and the Rasenshuriken. "Wind Release: Rasenshuriken" Naruto dashes towards A with the Rasenshuriken in his hands. HAAH He aims and throws the jutsu towards A. Whoosh A twists his body in mid-air and dodges the jutsu. "Release!" Naruto crosses his arms. BOOM He detonates the central sphere of the chakra, producing a vortex of wind at the point of impact. The vortex engulfs A. Swish swish sh Countless microscopic wind des skewer through A''s body like a pin-cushion. Crack crack The lightning cloak around his body disperses immediately as the des continue to pierce through him. BOOM Rumble The ground trembles from the might of the explosion of the jutsu, raising a cloud of dust and debris. "That is" Kakashi and the rest of the group turn to Naruto''s and Sasuke''s battle. "What kind of jutsu is this?" The expression of Shikamaru and the rest freezes at this. "Damn! They both are something." Shikamaru shakes his head. "I can''t fall behind!" Kiba makes some hand signs. "Wolf Fang Over Fang" He and Akamaru quickly mow through the group of edo shinobis. "What a powerful jutsu? The number of attacks even I couldn''t count them all with my Sharingan. What an incredible technique?!" Sasuke has a shocked expression on his face. Rumble Rumble The ground trembles for a while as the aftershock of the jutsu pushes everything away. Swoosh swoosh The smoke and dust clear up to reveal A lifelessly lying down in a crater. "Did I get him?" Naruto warily stares at A. Shoom A open''s his eyes and jumps up. tter tter Dust and ashes rise from the ground and slowly repair his body. "Your technique is an incredible kid! If my body was alive when I was hit with your technique; then I am pretty sure even with my invincible defense, I would have died right then and there?" Crack crack The Edo body recoverspletely. "Too bad! With this body, I can simply ignore the damage of your jutsu!" A riles up his chakra and curls up his finger. "I am going to end it!" Whoosh Stab Sasuke appears behind A and stabs a purple lightning de through A''s lightning cloak. "How?!" Crackle crackle Purple lightning flickers around Sasuke''s body. It forms a ring on the ground as multiple shes of lightning consecutively strike A''s body, preventing him from regenerating. "Lightning Release: Chidori Raiden''s Judgement" Bzzt Crackle The intense lightning chakra scorches the ground and forms multiple rings of lightning around A and Indra. "This is" Naruto stares at Sasuke''s jutsu with shock. ''Sasuke''s jutsu is not only channeling the lightning chakra through the enemy''s body and nullifying his lightning cloak, but it''s also actively paralyzing every nerve cell of the opponent, rendering them unable to make any movement. Not only that, the initial thrust was even able to pierce through the almost unbreachable lightning cloak. What an amazing jutsu!" "Oye Naruto! Stop daydreaming and seal him using one of your sealing fuinjutsu! I can''t hold this guy for too long." Sasuke warns him. "Yes! Yes!" Naruto scratches his head and takes out a sealing scroll from his storage. He makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the scroll. Swoosh The scroll wraps around A''s body and slowly seals him away. Phew Sasuke cancels his jutsu and stands beside Naruto. ''Perhaps the future generation has already surpassed the previous generation. I wonder how A is doing?!'' A silently stares at Sasuke''s and Naruto''s back as his soul returns to the pure world. He looks down and stares at the scar near his naval region. ''Back then, that kid took me by surprise and pierced my invincible shield with his de. Now, his disciples'' On the other side of the battle, Kakashi and Guy dust their hands as they destroy all of Shamon''s puppets. "Now all that''s left is to seal him!" Swoosh Kakashi takes out a sealing formation from his storage. ''Izuna designed this seal. So, there is no doubt about its ability!" He throws the sealing talisman at Shamon. Whoosh The talisman expands and wraps around Shamon''s body. Crack crack Numerous cracks appear on Shamon''s body as his soul returns to the pure world. "I will help you with the rest!" Naruto appears beside Shikamaru and the group and seals all the immobilized enemies. Whoosh The military squad and the vige chief arrive at the battlefront. The rest of the Edo''s crumble apart, leaving a few dead bodies behind. "These these" One of the vige elder points towards the bodies with trembling hands. "My son! NO!" He hugs the corpse of a young man in his twenties. Crumble The body of the young man crumbles into dust. "NO! MY SON! Don''t leave me alone!" The vige elder''s eyes turn red as his body twitches unnaturally. "It''s their fault! It''s the fault of those Tonika Vige. I will kill them!" He screams in frenzy and dashes towards the vige. "Stop him!" Kakashi signals them. Chapter 339: Shinnō vs Team Three Part-1 Chapter 339: Shinn vs Team Three Part-1 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Hmm Izuna quickly traces the chakra of the Zero-tails. He flickers through the chamber of the Ancor Vantian and arrives in a closed chamber. "The Zero-tails is somewhere around here. I can sense its chakra." He carefully looks around. "Looks like it''s hidden behind a secret room." Swirl "Wind Release: Rasengan" Izuna throws a spiraling Rasengan infused with wind chakra towards the walls of the chamber. BOOM The Rasengan smashes into the wall. Fwoosh The runes around the walls light up and absorb the chakra of the Rasengan. "Oh? A chakra absorbing sealing formation!" "Izuna, the Zero-tails is behind that wall. I can sense its malice." Nine-tails points towards the right wall of the room. Izuna clenches his fist and opens six gates in sync with the Power release. BOOM He punches the wall and shatters it. Huh?! The second-inmand is startled at Izuna''s sudden intrusion. "Enemy attack!" He hurriedly takes out a de and attacks Izuna''s blind spot while Izuna is distracted from the dust and the debris. BAM Izuna punches him and sends him flying. BOOM The captain ms into a wall and passes out. He turns towards the center of the room and notices the zero-tails pinned to the stone stele. "It''s time to get rid of this malevolent spirit Reibi once and for all." Izuna stretches his palm. "Shinra Bansh" Eight purple floats appear in his palm. Swoosh He wills the orbs tobine and morph into a spear. Haah Izuna directs the spear towards Zero-tails andunches it. Swoosh The spear quickly approaches Zero-tails. It shatters the barrier around the zero-tails and shes with the various sealing talismans. Grr Themotion causes Zero-tails to wake up from its slumber. It makes some incoherent noises and releases arge amount of dark chakra. Swoosh swoosh The dark chakra infuses with the sealing talisman and reinforces the surrounding barrier. Crack crack Multiple cracks appear in the sealing formation as the spear continues to prate through its defenses. The sealing formation shatters like a sheet of ss as the sealing talismans turn into ashes. Grrr The Zero-tails screeches in anger and releases multiple tan-colored tentacles to resist the attack. Boom Boom The tentacles crumble under Izuna''s relentless attack. BOOM The spear pierces through therge of tubr structures, strikes a zero-tails cocoon. Crack Boom Arge amount of dark chakra escapes from the cocoon as it slowly crumbles away. ROAR A serpentine creature wearing a Noh mask with Kanji ''Reibi'' imprinted on it slithers out of the cocoon. Five red hair-like strands sprout from the mask. The Noh mask distorts to reveal a gloomy expression as Zero-tails res at Izuna. "Human?! How dare you?!" The mask slowly opens its mouth as the Zero-tails release a telepathic message to Izuna. "A spiritual attack?!" Izuna frowns as Zero-tails voice makes him dizzy. Hmph "You think you are the only one who can do so!" Shiing Izuna right eye changes into Mangekyo Sharingan. "Tsukiyomi" ---------------- Through the hallways of the fortress, Phew "That''s the third group!" Hanabi dusts her hand as she deals with another group of Sky shinobis. "Yes, with our teamwork even Jounins aren''t a match against us." Yakumo nods in agreement. "Let''s get going, you guys! We have to stop these people from attacking another nation." Ayaka reminds them. "But wouldn''t it be dangerous with only us four of us?" Hanabi asks in trepidation. "Have you forgotten about Sensei? He is fighting against the more powerful enemies, so the rest of the group are just a bunch of weaklings!" Yakumo assures her. "I I just want to meet, Shinn sensei. I want to him say that everything you people told me was a lie, and he is still the kind and generous doctor who is loved by everyone." Amaru resolutely stares deeper into the chamber. Whoosh whoosh She dashes deeper into the chamber. "After her!" Ayaka and the group follow her. Swoosh Another group of shinobis walks out of the nearby room. "Get out of our way!" Hanabi clutches her fists and infuses chakra into them. "Eighty Gods Vacuum Fist" She releases the infused chakra in form of a giant fist. BOOM The giant fist sends the iing Sky Ninjas flying. "Wow! Incredible Hanabi-chan! You mastered the jutsu sensei taught you in such a short amount of time." Ayaka praises her. "No, it''s not like that. I have yet to master it. I only modified the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Fist slightly." Hanabi shakes her head as the group flickers towards the center of the temple. They arrive in a giant open hall. There is a giant throne in the center of the room and a person is sitting on it. "Sensei, you are alive!" Tears flow through Amaru''s eyes as she notices Shinn sitting on the throne. She quickly dashes towards Shinn. "Amaru, wait!" Hanabi warns her, but Amaru ignores her warning. Swoosh Amaru dives into Shinn''s embrace and hugs him. "I knew it! You didn''t die." Haha Ahaha Shinn clutches his forehead andughs hysterically. "I thought I was able to fool you people with my death and my subordinate was able to get rid of you. But it looks like I was mistaken. Haha" Shinn clutches Amaru''s head with his other hand. "Se-Sensei?! It hurts!" "Fine, I will do it myself." He lifts Amaru like a rag doll and hurls her towards the nearby wall. Whoosh Ayaka quickly flickers towards the wall and grabs Amaru before she could m into the wall. "You stinky old man!" Hanabi res at Shinn as she takes a taijutsu stance. Haha Shinn sits down on the throne and ces his arm on the armrest. Swirl Arge amount of dark chakra rises from the throne as he channels the chakra through his body. "I''ve obtained the Reibi''s power. The Dark chakra!" Swish swish Shinn slowly removes the bandages around his body. Shoom Dark purple chakra rises from his body as his body bes muscr. "Sensei! Something is wrong with him. He is not acting like himself! We have to fix him, please!" Amaru desperately shakes Ayaka. Ayaka raises her head and stares at the sinister expression of Shinn. ''It looks like a Monday hangover to me!'' "There''s nothing wrong with me!" sh Shinn rips his upper garment to expose hispact muscles. Swish swish He makes some hand signs and circtes the dark chakra through his body. "Body Revival Technique" Shoom Shinn riles up the dark chakra in his body. His hair floats in the air as the muscle mass and the proportion of his body increases. "With this perfect body, I will be able to open all eight gates, including the Death Gate." Shinn inspects his body and nods in satisfaction. Whoosh Ayaka flickers behind his blind spot tond a sneak attack on him. "Too slow! Your movements are too slow." Shinn shakes his head. Whoosh He disappears from his ce and reappears behind Ayaka. Tch Ayaka clicks her tongue. Swoosh Shinn performs a roundhouse kick and attacks her. Haaah Ayaka crosses her arm to block the attack. Bang She is sent flying by the attack. Argh Ayaka ms into a wall and coughs some saliva. Poof She disappears in a puff of smoke. "Oh?! A shadow clone!" Shinn lowers his leg and stares at his surroundings. "Fire Release: Pheonix Flower Jutsu" Ayaka makes some hand signs and releases a barrage of fireball at Shinn. "It''s futile!" Swoosh Shinn waves his hand and releases a ck, widespread wave of dark chakra. BOOM The dark chakra wave easily dispels the fireballs and ms into Ayaka. Poof "Another clone?!" Shinn raises an eyebrow. "Eat this!" Whoosh whoosh Ayaka and Hanabi appear on each side of Shinn. "Chidori!" Ayaka has a Chidori in her right hand while Hanabi''s right hand is clenched into a fist. "Eighty Gods Vacuum Fist" Whoosh Shinn rotates his body and jumps in the air. While mid-air, he performs a downward chop with legs and hands. Bang He easily dodges Ayaka''s and Hanabi''s attacks while attacking them at the same time. BOOM Arge amount of dust and debris rise from the impact. Whoosh Shinn swings his arms to dispel the fog. He looks around to search for a trace of the girls. "These girls forced me to open three gates out of the Eight!" Behind a giant pir, Huff Huff Ayaka and Hanabi breathe heavily as they warily stare at Shinn. "That was a close call! I thought I almost died for a second." Hanabi catches her breath. "He is too fast. I can follow his movements with my eyes but I am unable to react to them." Ayaka shakes her head. "After this mission, I have to train my speed." The girls turn towards Yakumo, who is beside an unconscious Amaru. "She was causing such a ruckus, so I had to put her under a genjutsu!" "I I see!" Hanabi and Ayaka sweat at her remark. "We have to think of a n to deal with him. If we are somehow able to restrain his movements, then I cannd a killing blow on him." Ayaka formtes a n. "Leave it to me!" Yakumo nods her head. "Then I will act as a distraction. Since he is using Taijutsu to fight against us, I can repel his attacks using rotation to some degree." Hanabi clenches her fist. "Then let''s get him!" Chapter 340: Shinnō vs Team Three Part-2 Chapter 340: Shinn vs Team Three Part-2 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Swoosh Yakumo takes out a notebook from her storage. She quickly scribbles on it. "I need a few minutes toplete my genjutsu!" "Found you!" Shinn notices the girls hiding behind the pir. Whoosh He quickly flickers towards them. Shinn clenches his fist and punches the girls. "Haah eat this!" Swirl Ayaka creates a spiralling mass of chakra in her right hand. "Rasengan!" She aims it towards Shinn''s punch. Haah Shinn cups his hands in front of his chest. He gathers arge amount of dark chakra between his palms. "Revival Fist" He focuses the dark chakra into a beam and shoots it towards Ayaka to intercept her attack. BANG Ayaka smashes her Rasengan into the beam of dark chakra. Fwoosh Her Rasengan ploughs through the dark chakra beam and ms into Shinn''s hands. BAM The impact from the Rasengan pushes him back, but he is able to stabilize his footing. Ah Shinn gazes down and notices his badly mangled right hand. Snap He uses his left hand to fix his bone at right angles. Dark chakra rises in his hand and heals itpletely. Crack crack Shinn clenches his fist. "So, I am stillcking in terms of Ninjutsu." He turns towards Ayaka andpliments. "Girl! You have quite a good Ninjutsu technique. Now watch this!" He stretches his left hand and infuses arge amount of dark chakra into it. Swirl The dark chakra quickly condenses in his palm and forms a dark purple orb. Two dark rings form around the orb and spin rapidly. "This No way!" Ayaka and Hanabi are bbergasted as Shinn copies the principle of Rasengan to create his own jutsu. Swoosh He quickly disappears from his ce and reappears in front of Ayaka. "Have a taste of your own medicine!" "Super Revival Fist" BANG He ploughs the dark chakra orb through Ayaka''s stomach. Bleurgh Ayaka pukes out a mouthful of blood and saliva. Poof She disappears in a puff of smoke. "A clone?!" Haah Ayaka appears above Shinn with a shadow clone by her side. "Eat this! Ch-dama Rasengan." She ms a giant Rasengan at Shinn. Hmph Shinn snorts and intercepts her attack with his own technique. BOOM Both techniques collide with each other and create a blinding explosion. Dust and debris rise at the impact. Bang Ayaka is sent flying out of the debris. Whoosh Hanabi quickly flickers beside Ayaka and supports her. Bang Shinn is also sent spinning out of the debris. He ms into a near wall and forms a crater in the wall. His body slides down as he falls to the ground. There is a spiralling indention around his neck. "Are you alright, Ayaka?" Hanabi inquires with concern. "I am fine, but it looks like I broke my wrist!" She points towards her right wrist, bent at an unnatural angle. "Let me try to fix it!" Hanabi grabs her hand. Snap She readjusts the joint angle of the bone. "I have snapped it back to the correct angle but the bone in your wrist is still cracked." Swoosh Ayaka takes out a medicinal pill from her storage and eats it. She also applies some medicine on her wrist and wraps a bandage around it. Haha Shinn slowly stands up and stares at the girls with amusement. "He is still alive?!" Despair appears in Ayaka''s and Hanabi''s eyes. "Body Revival Technique" Shoom Large amounts of dark chakra gather around the throne and infuse into Shinn''s body through the various chakra circuits in the temple. Crack crack Numerous cracks appear on the floor as Shinn riles up his chakra. Sizzle sizzle White smoke rises from his body as the dent in his stomach heals rapidly. Huhu Hahaha Ahaha Shinnughs hysterically at the look of despair in the girl''s eyes. "With each death and destruction, my body bes more adapted to this new power, this chakra. Muscles grow stronger with rebirth. As long as I have the dark chakra from Reibi, I am INVINCIBLE!" Fwoosh Dark blue mes appear around him and form a cage. "Right on time!" Ayaka heaves a sigh of relief. "Huh?! What''s this?" BAM Shinn punches the cage with his bare hands. Sizzle sizzle Smoke rises from his hands as the mes chars them. "Hmph do you think you can stop me with suchme tricks." He scoffs at the girls and coats his hands with dark chakra. Bang Bang He continues to punch the cage. The mes within the cage diminish with each hit. "Quick! I can''t hold him back for longer." Sweat trickles down Yakumo''s forehead as she resists Shinn''s relentless attacks. "I am on it!" Ayaka slowly stands up. She infuses the rest of her chakra into her left hand and forms a lightning de. "Chidori!" Ayaka dashes towards Shinn with Chidori. Hmm Shinn senses her intention and gathers dark chakra in his other hand. "Darkness wave" He waves his hand and releases a wave of darkness that prates through the cage and aims for Ayaka. "I won''t let you harm Ayaka!" Hanabi jumps in front of Ayaka. "Rotation" She spins rapidly and dispels the jutsu. Whoosh "Eat this!" Stab Ayaka plunges her fist through Shinn guts as the lightning de pierces through his back. Haah Yakumo dispels her jutsu and falls down while panting. Bleurgh Shinn pukes out a mouthful of blood. He clutches his abdomen and falls to his knees. "How could this be? I had Reibi''s power!" Argh He falls to the ground as blood continues to leak from his abdomen. Huff Huff Ayaka breathes heavily. She stares at Shinn, who is lifelessly lying on the ground. After ensuring he is dead, she turns around to leave. Whoosh Suddenly, Shinn stands upright. "Watch out Ayaka!" Hanabi yells to warn her. Swoosh Shinn performs a roundhouse kick. BANG Ayaka is sent flying by his kick. "AYAKA!!" Hanabi and Yakumo anxiously stare at Ayaka. BAM Ayaka ms into the wall and falls. She loses consciousness from the impact. "AYAKA!!" Hanabi and Yakumo hurriedly dash towards her to support her. Haha "Do you think the perfect body, with its chakra exertion, will fall so easily? Let me give you a show of my real power. Haah" Shinn clenches his fists and stretches them in front of his body. "Eight Gates: Gate of Death open." BOOM He rapidly sucks arge amount of dark chakra from the nearby chakra circuits. Crack crack The floor beneath him crumbles and forms a crater as he continues to rile up his chakra. Bang Shinn clenches his fist and punches himself right above his heart. Fwoosh A bloody stream rises from his body. His pores, hairs, and eyebrows emanate a blood-red aura. Shoom He releases a shock wave from his body, which sends the girls flying. Argh Amaru clutches her forehead as the sinister chakra causes her to break free from the genjutsu. Swoosh Large amounts of steam rise from Shinn''s body as opening the eight gates rapidly incinerates him inside-out. "Normally, the only oue after opening the Eight Gate is death, but" Shinn clenches his fists as he basks in the raw power of eight gates. "I can circumvent death by rapidly healing my body up to the cellr level using the miraculous body revival technique. Paired with the constant supply of dark chakra from Reibi, my body will constantly undergo death and rebirth until it formed a bnce between the two and my body can sustain the power of Eight gates." He turns towards the girls with a sinister smile. "Want to be the first test subject of my new power?" He clenches his fist and punches the girls. BOOM He releases a cannon of pressurized air from his punch. The air pressure blows a portion of the wall around the girls, forming a giant gaping hole through the fortress. "Oops Looks like I missed!" He stares at girls with a mocking smile. Gulp Hanabi and Yakumo gulp their saliva as terror reflects in their eyes. "Haha This expression! That''s what I would like to see in the eyes of those shinobi nations when they stand against me." "Sensei! Why sensei?!" Amaru weakly stares at Shinn with tears dripping from her eyes. "Amaru! Oh, dear Amaru! Humans! They are inherently weak. They don''t have fangs or ws to fight against those inhuman monsters roaming throughout the world. So, why do humans still exist in the world despite such terrifying monsters?" Crack crack Shinn slowly walks towards them. "Because among all the living beings, we''re the most inhumane!" Whoosh He reappears in front of girls with his fists clenched tightly. "DIE!" Chapter 341: My Family Chapter 341: My Family A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Hanabi and Yakumo close their eyes in despair as Shinn punches towards them. "NO! Shinn Sensei, you can''t!" Amaru yells at him. Swoosh swoosh Multiple dark purple chains rise from her body and bind Shinn. The chains kill his momentum and hold him at a ce. "Huh?!" Yakumo and Hanabi open their eyes and notice Shinn struggling in front of them. They turn towards Amaru with a shocked expression. "Amaru! You?!" "No, sensei! I won''t allow you to harm anyone. You are such a kind and gentle soul. How can you even think about killing other people? This is not the real you. I will fix you soon!" Shoom Shoom More chains rise from her body and wrap around Shinn. Hmph Shinn riles up his chakra and pulls his arms and snaps the chains wrapped around it. Swoosh More chains appear and retie his hands. "So, you have awakened your troublesome suppressed bloodline!" Shinn scoffs at her. "These chains are said to be strong enough to hold down even a tailed beast but" Snap Shinn draws more dark chakra from his throne. His muscles swell up as his physical strength is pushed to the limit. "It won''t be able to hold me back since I have already surpassed that limit." Snap Snap The chains around him shatter and Shinn frees himself. "S sensei!" Amaru loses consciousness due to the over-exertion of her chakra. Shoom Shinn gathers arge amount of chakra in his right hand as he performs his version of Rasengan. "I should have killed you back then to lessen my troubles. But now it doesn''t matter anymore!" Shoom He releases the mass of dark chakra towards Amaru. "Amaru-chan!!" Swoosh Boom Another ball of crackling blue energy appears out of nowhere and collides with the dark ball of chakra. BOOM Both energy balls explode and disperse in a brilliant disy of sparkles. AWOOH A wolf''s howls rings in their ears as Roen walks out of the other end of the hallway. "Master was right to send him here. If I waste even by a moment, then this red-hair girl would have died." Roen slowly walks in front of the girls. He turns towards Ayaka, who had lost consciousness. Swoosh Roen presses his paw on her forehead and releases some Healing chakra. "Medical Ninjutsu!!" The girls recognize the healing chakra. "Roen you can use medical ninjutsu, so amazing?!" The girls have stars in their eyes as the fear in their recedespletely. The presence of Roen assures them that their Sensei is nearby, so they don''t have to worry anymore. "Of course! I have picked up a few tricks under Master''s guidance." Roen turns towards a stunned Shinn. "You girls would be fine even if this mongrel attacked you, but this red-haired girl would have died!" He points out. "Really?!" Yakumo and Hanabi doubtfully stare at Roen. Roen points towards the bracelet around the girl''s wrist. "The bracelet master gave you isn''t just a storage tool; it also has a very powerful barrier formation inscribed on it. It will activate whenever your life is in danger." He assures them. "I am not buying that!" Yakumo shakes her head. "If it activates when our life was in danger, then why didn''t it activate now when we are about to die under his attack." She argues with him. "Yes, I agree with Yakumo." Hanabi also nods her head. "It didn''t activate because I deactivated it." Roen points towards the cor around his neck. "This works in a simr fashion to your bracelet. All of them are connected with each other with a seal. So, if you know the sealing form, you can deactivate it. With me here, there was no need for the barrier!" Shinn gnashes his teeth. He stares at Roen with anger and resentment. "A puny summon thinks that he can deal with me when my powers are even greater than the tail-beasts. Haha" Shinn mockinglyughs at the small size of Roen. Shoom He riles up his chakra and extends both of his palms in front of his chest. Fwoosh Arge amount of dark chakra gathers in between his hands. Hepresses the dark chakra into an orb and aims it for the girls. "That previous time must have been a fluke. I won''t miss this time!" Roen turn to the girls and gestures towards them. "You kids, hide behind that pir. You are a part of my lupical, I can''t allow the young cubs like you to get hurt when I am about to go all out." "Alright!" Yakumo and Hanabi nods and pick up an unconscious Ayaka and Amaru. Shoom Dark blue mes light up on Roen''s tail as it splits in two. Whoosh One of the mes flies towards the girl and forms a transparent blue barrier around them. After assuring their safety, Roen ferociously turns towards Shinn. Grrr Roen''s eyes turn red as his body slowly expands. Awooo He howls in fury and reveals his fangs and ws. "You mongrel, you dare harm the dearest lupical of mine." Roen turns towards Ayaka, who is slowly waking up. Memories of Ayaka''s childhood sh through his mind as she used to y with him. "I lost my only lupical when I was a cub and now when I finally found my lupical you dare harm her. You will pay for this audacity!" Roen opens his mouth and gathers arge amount of Negative chakra from the surroundings. He condenses arge amount of negative chakra into a blue ball and fires towards Shinn''s iing attack in the form of a beam. BOOM Both jutsu collide with each other as a gigantic explosion urs at the center of the hallway. The explosion blows away multipleyers of the floor to reveal various chakra circuits running across it. They are held in a deadlock, as none of them can overpower each other. Haha Shinnughs as he notices the deadlock. "Even as a summoned beast, you have some skills, but this is not the limit of my power. With Reibi''s chakra, I have unlimited power." Shoom He draws more dark chakra through the throne and infuses it into the technique. Shinn''s technique overpowers Roen''s energy beam and slowly pushes it back. "It''s good you can put a fight or else I won''t be able to execute you properly." Roen grins at him. Shoom Shoom Shoom Five blue magatama mes light up around his neck. Swoosh swoosh swoosh They merge with the energy beam and empower it. BOOM The energy beam instantly obliterates Shinn''s jutsu and smashes in him. "NO! How how is this possible?!" Shinn has an incredulous expression on his face. He is nailed to the wall as the energy beam destroys the surrounding wall. Sizzle sizzle White smoke rises from Shinn''s body and heals his body. He slowly stands up and smirks at Roen. "As long as I have ess to Reibi''s chakra, I" Swish Roen infuses the negative blue mes in his ws and swipes them at Shinn. sh He shes a major portion of Shinn''s front body, leaving behind a gigantic gash around his chest and abdomen. Spurt Arge amount of blood leaks from the gash. Shinn grabs his chest and falls into his pool of blood. Swish Roen wipes his ws and stares at Shinn with a savage expression as his suppressed inner bestial nature erupts. "Now that''s what I like to see when my prey won''t die easily. This way I can toy with them however I like." ck fumes rise from the bloody gash as it negates Shinn''s healing technique. "My earlier attack was infused with arge amount of corrosive negative chakra. It can negate most regeneration techniques. I am surprised you can still heal after that!" Roen curiously stares at Shinn. "Let me see how long will youst!" "Damn you beast!" Shinn growl in anger as he gives up on defense and healing. "I will take you down first, then I will enough opportunity to heal myself!" At the side-lines, Yakumo and Hanabi stare at the battle with amazement. "Wow! Roen is so amazing. He is so powerful!" "Of course! He is the summon of the most powerful shinobi." Yakumo nods her head. ---------------- Back at the battle between Izuna and ten-tails, Izuna raises his head and stares at the ceiling. "Looks like Roen handled everything perfectly. But I can''t break this final barrier around Zero-tails without him." Izuna stretches his right hand. Shoom He gathers arge amount of wind, fire, and lightning chakra. "Sunder Release: Valkyrie Execution" Hepresses the chakra into a spear and aims it towards the ceiling. "Since a kid learns from his father, then a father can do the same!" Swoosh He releases the spear towards the ceiling of the closed chamber. BOOM The spear ms into the ceiling. It pierces through the various runes carved on the walls and explodes. Rumble The ceiling copses from the impact of the jutsu. Chapter 342: Scar in Sky Chapter 342: Scar in Sky A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Rumble The ceiling copses from the impact of the jutsu. "What the" Shinn, who is preparing a powerful dark jutsu to get rid of Roen and the girls, is taken by surprise by the sudden copse of the ground. Rumble Rumble The floor beneath them crumbles, revealing a dark gloomy abyss. Shinn jumps on the falling debris to slow down his descent. AHHH The girls also free falls towards the lower floor of the temple. Swoosh Whoosh Roen turns into his shadow form and supports them on his back. He swiftly jumps towards the various falling debris and descends lower. Swish Izuna waves his hand and creates a barrier around himself to avoid the falling debris. Crack crack Multiple cracks appear on the barrier around Zero-tails. Shoom The ruins and Fuinjutsu seal around the Reibi glow brightly as it absorbs the dark chakra from the surroundings and repair the barrier. Tch Izuna clicks his tongue. "Pesky cockroach!" Swoosh Roennds beside him with the girls in his town. "Oh! You are finally here, Roen." Izuna nods. "I need your help. I want you to cut off the connection of this beast with the dark chakra. It''s absorbing the negative emotions of the surrounding people. This entire temple acts as a giant conductor to channel the negative chakra towards him. I am pretty sure there are multiple people locked in this temple who act as batteries for Reibi. Since you also possess the ability to channel the dark and negative chakra, I want you to contest control over the negative chakra while I cut the supply from the main node." Izuna issues amand to Roen. "Yes, master!" Roen nods and walks towards the giant cocoon of Reibi. He extends his ws and ms them into the ground. Bzzt Arge amount of dark purple chakra flows through Roen''s body, turning his fur purple and his eyes a darker shade of red. Awooo Roen howls in agony as numerous negative emotions flow through his mind. The aura of Roen changes and it reminds Izuna of the time when they first met with each other. "Are you okay, Roen?" He asks with worry. "I am fine for now, master! I can still hold for another ten minutes." "Good!" Izuna nods and makes some hand signs. He extends his right hand in front of his forehead and makes a one-hand Ram seal. "Kokoro No Me" A giant vertical dark purple eye opens in the mindscape of Izuna. The eyes appear beside the various elemental orbs floating in his mindscape. Izuna feels like his consciousness has left his body and transcended a higher state of existence as he gazes at the entire ce, including his body, from a third-person perspective. He tries to sense his body, but everything points towards his body, which is closing its eyes on the ground. "What a strange technique?" Izuna gives up on trying to sense his existence. This is one of the techniques which appeared in the Sin Grimoire recently. ''The existence of Sin Seal itself is an anomaly. Much less the technique associated with it.'' He shakes his head and focuses his attention on the surrounding area. The entire world appears in a shade of gray as a detailed map of the entire area appears in his mind. His senses easily bypass various barriers and other restrictions meant to counter the abilities of powerful Dojutsu. Soon, Izuna''s consciousness leaves the scope of the Ancor Vantian and stares at everything from the atmosphere of the. Huh?! Izuna is shocked to see a glowing red aura around the entire as a beam of red energy shoots towards the sky from a distant ce. There is a huge rift in the sky which appears like a scar on the''s surface. Chills run down Izuna''s spine as he feels a threatening energy signature from the rift. He turns down and notices Ancor Vantian emitting a simr dark red color chakra towards the sky. ''This flying fortress is a beacon which sends a signal to that rift to guide something to this.'' Izuna concludes. -------------- Meanwhile, As Izuna is lost in his technique to search for the core of the temple; Shinnnds on the ground and notices Izuna and the rest of the group. "This ce How did they find it?" He notices Roen interrupting the flow of the dark chakra. "Argh you beast! Stop what you are doing right now!" He dashes towards Roen with mad anger. BOOM A shield of dark chakra blocks his attack. Grrr Roen towards him with his dark red eyes and giant glowing purple fur. Swish He shes his w and sends Shinn flying. BOOM Shinn ms into a nearby wall as he blocks the attack with his arms. Sizzle sizzle The gash on his arms heals slowly. He turns towards the girls, who are hiding behind Izuna. "This man he must be the mastermind who ruined my n!" Shinn gnashes his teeth and lunges towards an open Akio. "Die!" Shinn gathers a massive surge of dark chakra in his arms and forms a giant purple orb with three rings around it. "Super Shadow Revival Fist" He ms it towards Izuna''s head. "Nii-san! Watch out!" Ayaka screams at the top of her lungs to warn him. Swoosh Izuna''s consciousness returns to his body as time slows down around him. Swoosh His right eye changes into Mangekyo Sharingan. Akio slowly opens his eyes and gazes at Shinn''s iing attack with a cold expression. "You had your share of fun toying with my students and imouto. Now, it''s my turn to return the favor." Cyan color chakra shrouds Izuna''s arm. He clenches his fist and punches the attack of Shinn. BOOM Everything happens so fast that Shinn is unable to react to Izuna''s sudden punch. Izuna''s punch blows the dark red orb of dark chakra as itnds straight on his chest. Crack Shinn''s spinal cord shatters with the punch as thetter is sent flying towards another wall. He firmly lodges in the wall and creates a crater in it. Argh He pukes a mouthful of blood and slowly slides onto the ground. There is a fist-sized dent in his chest. Bleurgh He pukes out another mouthful of blood and stares at Izuna with disbelief. "How are you so powerful? I have already reached the peak of humanity with all eight gates open. How can you still survive an attack from me and even wound me to this extent with just a single punch?" "Peak of humanity?!" Izuna shakes his head. "Your technique is wed. Your grasp of eight gates is wed. Your cirction of chakra is wed and even your use of your chakra is wed. You don''t even have a proper technique to use that powerful strength granted by the opening of all gates. And you boast that you have reached the peak of humanity? I already someone who can use Eight gates to its full extent with a heart of resolve." A figure of Guy shes in Izuna''s mind. He shakes his head and turns to Roen, who is struggling to contain all the dark chakra and negative emotions. "Just hold on for a little longer! I have found the core of this Fuinjutsu formation." Izuna slowly floats up and flies towards a wall. Bang He shatters a hole in the wall and flies deeper into the temple. "Damn you! How can you leave like that after ridiculing my lifelong dream and hard work?" Shinn clenches his fist and channels the dark chakra through his body. Argh Dark red lightning flickers across his body. He pukes another mouthful of blood as his body shrivels and his hair turns gray. His eye sockets turn hollow and his muscles dete. Shinn turns into a bag of bones as the side-effect of forcefully using the Eight Gates kicks in. The previous attack from Izuna disrupted his flow of chakra, shattering the bnce of dark chakra and the Eight Gate. However, the powerful energy of the dark chakra helped him survive the bacsh, albeit at a cost. "No!" Shinn ms his fists on the ground as he stares at his pathetic state. "Why? Why? Why did this happen to me? I I just wanted to avenge my country. I just I just wanted to pay back for the injustice suffered by my people." Shinn wallows in sorrow as the girls silently stare at him. "I feel sorry for him!" Hanabi, who is the most emotional out of them remarks. "Save your pity for someone else. He is not worth it!" Ayaka shakes her head and points towards Amaru. "He is paying for all the misdeeds he did in his life. This is his retribution, his karma!" "Ayaka is right!" Yakumo shakes her head as she recalls her own life. ''Perhaps I would have followed a simr path if I didn''t meet my team.'' ROAR The trio is startled by a sudden roar. Chapter 343: Side Arc: Part 10: Ama No Hoko Chapter 343: Side Arc: Part 10: Ama No Hoko A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- At the center of the Hole, In a facility hidden underneath the ''Spring of Youth'', ng ng ng Kusuna inserts various hexagonal metallic rods on a raised tform. "ANNNIKKII?!" Saliva drips from the mouth of the rest of the three as they continuously stare at Kusuna. "Setsuna, Gitai, Shizuku! Aniki will be exact revenge on those Konoha bastards for leaving you in such a state." He clutches his fist and stares at hispanions with red eyes. "ANIKI?! RE REVENGE!" The three of them groan in anguish. There are multiple spiked scales on their body. Multiple ck totems run across their body and their eyes glow red due to the sinister chakra coursing through their chakra system. They resemble a demon rather than a human. Kusuna takes out a scroll from his pocket. He makes some hand signs and inserts some chakra into them. Poof With a puff of white smoke, an ancient transparent device with a dial and multiple mechanics appears in front of him. There are seven holes around the device and there is a configuration control at the center of the device. ng ng ng Kusuna forks out five transparent rods of varying lengths from his storage. "Now to activate this mechanism!" He withdraws an ancient scroll from his storage. There are multiple runes drawn on the scroll. Kusuna configures the runic formation on the control with that of the scroll. ng ng One by one, he inserts the five rods in their respective slots. Tch "To make this device work, I still need two more sound rods." He clicks his tongue in dismay. "But those damn Konoha shinobis are guarding the remaining sounds. With them in the picture, I won''t be able to retrieve the sounds and fulfill the order of the high priest ''Yami''." BAM He ms his fist on the floor. "Dammit! I have to ask High priest Yami for help. This is the first task our Lord assigned to us, and yet we are not even capable ofpleting it; much less rule the world under his liege." "ANNNIKKI!" The other three members pat to console him. "Looks like you are looking for this!" Swoosh ng ng Kabuto throws the transparent rods towards them. "These are thest two sounds?!" Kusuna warily stares at Kabuto. Whoosh Gitai, Setsuna, and Shizuku flicker towards Kabuto. "DIE!!" They surround Kabuto and attack from all sides. Kuku "Now now don''t be so impatient!" Swoosh Kabuto enters in-ground and pops out from a different ce. "I have a proposition for you lot!" Swish swish Kabuto picks up the sounds and caresses them. "I will hand over to them on a condition!" "Hmph we don''t need someone else''s pity. It will be a huge disgrace to our lord''s image." Kusuna scoffs at Kabuto. "One way or another, we will take back what truly belongs to us. Even if, I have to suffer my lord''s wrath in the process." He stores the Saezuri in a scroll and makes some hand signs. "Haha" Kabuto clutches his forehead andughs hysterically. "You think I will allow you, people, to leave this easily! Hand over the device before you leave this ce." Shiing Kabuto''s snake eyes narrow as he threatens the demonic gang. "ANNNIKKI?!" Crackle crackle Large amounts of dark chakra rise from the bodies of the demonic trio. "How dare you block Aniki''s path?" Whoosh Gitai disappears from his position. He mps his hands in a giant fist and aims it for Kabuto''s head. Swoosh Kabuto jumps back and avoids the attack. BOOMM The ground cracks from the sheer force of Gitai''s attack. HAAAH Gitai kicks the ground and chases after Kabuto like a mad dog. "ANNIKKI!!" Setsuna and Shizuku follow his lead and attack Kabuto from all sides. They enter a berserk state, ignoring all the damage deal by Kabuto''s attack. "This is bad! Their mental state is so chaotic that my Genjutsu isn''t able to affect them. Also, I have yet to assimte all the remains of the Orochimaru sama." Kabuto clicks his tongue. Swish swish He makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation" BANG Kabuto maniptes the surrounding terrain. He floods the entire close space with Nature energy and uses it to breathe life in inorganic substances like rocks. Swoosh swoosh Multiple stctite and stgmite spikes rise from the ground and pin down the demonic trio. "Sage Art: Phantom Sound chains" Kabuto casts a powerful sound-based genjutsu to paralyze the demonic trio. "This is my chance!" "Body Fluid Shedding Technique" He partitions parts of his body by using his bodily fluids like a snake shedding its skin. Swoosh swoosh Kabuto, in his snake form, slithers out of the cave and escapes from the spot. BAM BAM BAM The demonic trio continues to punch the reincarnated walls and rocks. "He is gone. You can stop now!" Kusuna assures the demonic trio. "ANNIKKI!!" The trio stop their attacks and surround Kusuna. "Luckily, we managed to recover thest two sounds." Kusuna picks up the remaining sound rods. He summons Saezuri and inserts the sounds in their respective slots. "Now it''s time to free our lord!" He inputs the runic configuration in the controls ording to the old scroll. "It''s done!" Kusunapletes the input and retreats. SHOOM The ancient device hums to life and radiates a very powerful chakra. La Laa LLaa A deep, enchanting musical note reverberates from deep within the wake of the earth as if a mother is singing a luby for her child. Rumble Rumble The ground trembles violently as a giant pedestal erupts out. There are multiple unknown runes and seals carved on the column. FWISH A very powerful beam of dark red energy rushes out of the pedestal. BOOM It tears through the underground cavern and creates a gigantic hole in theke. Burble Burble The water of theke boils from the sheer intensity of the heat. It quickly evaporates, leaving behind a vast trail of sand. VROOM The dark red beam of energy forms a gigantic pir in the sky. It tears through the fabric of space and opens a massive hole in the sky. "Our Lord, our savior! He will finally rise from his slumber!" The gang of four kneels on the ground in respect. Splitter stter The bodily fluid left by Kabuto turns into multiple white snakes. Slither slither These small snakes slither towards the gigantic column. They attach themselves to the seals and start to absorb their chakra. At some distance outside the HOLE, Slick Kabuto licks his lips with his forked tongue. "Kuku they thought they got rid of me! No, they just yed right into my hands. Now they can activate the device and I will be able to steal enough energy toplete my technique!" Fufu He takes out an old dusty scroll from his pocket. "ording to records found alongside those two sound rods, this gigantic device lies within the very heart of this universe. It can open passages to other dimensions, even the forbiddennd of Pure and Impure world, but the cost required to open such a portal is enormous." Kabuto narrows his eyes and stares at the giant column of red energy. "This energy it''s from the Purend!" He has an incredulous expression on his face. "No wonder, the water of theke in its vicinity was full of vitality and life. This ancient device is absorbing the energy from the purend and redirecting it somewhere! But where?!" Kabuto raises his head and stares at the gigantic dark wormhole in the sky. The red energy from the purend continues to expand the wormhole in the sky. SHOOM A bolt of dark purple lightning strikes out of the wormhole. Rumble rumble Dark clouds engulf the sky as the surrounding atmosphere turns chilly. A burst of energy leaks from the wormhole. Swoosh It blows on the surrounding area, turning every living being in its vicinity into ashes. Brr A shiver runs down Kabuto''s spine as he stares at the wormhole with dread. "This energy where does it lead to? I have never sensed such sinister energy anywhere. Not even the impure world has such evil and malevolent energy." Whoosh Kabuto quickly takes shelter from the malevolent energy. ---------------------- In the Hachou vige, Phew Naruto heaves a sigh of relief as he ties down the vige chief. "I never expected him to be affected by the dark chakra of those demons." Kakashi shakes his head. He turns towards the survivors of the Tonika vige gathered at the center of the vige. "Miina! Leo! Faz!" The little girl Sora besides Naruto and the group dashes towards the children of the Tonika Vige. "So, would anyone tell me what''s going on? I will only hear the truth as an answer!" Kakashi has a stern expression on his face. "Yes! I will do it." A portly man with short brown hair and a receding hairline walks in front of Kakashi. The man wears square-framed sses, and he has a short mustache with a pointed beard. There is a tattoo of Tonika militia on his right hand. "I am Dokku, a former member of the Tonika''s militia. It''s like this!" BOOM An explosion urs in the distance. Tremors run through the ground as it trembles violently. The group stabilizes their footing and turns in the explosion''s direction. A gigantic structure appears in their vision. "This is bad! The enemy has initiated the Ama No Hoko." Dokku''s expression turns ugly. Chapter 344: Not a Chapter: Announcement/ Promotion Chapter 344: Not a Chapter: Announcement/ Promotion The first chapter of my new genshin fan-fic is out. Check it out and write your thoughts. Release rate is 3 chapters per week. This story will continue as usual. Fairy-tail fan-fic will start after this story ends. There are around 5 arc of 30 chapters each remaining for this story. Chapter 345: Side Arc Part 11: Demonic Ritual Chapter 345: Side Arc Part 11: Demonic Ritual A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- "Ama No Hoka! The ancient weapon of the HOLE!" The expression of Kakashi and the rest of the Konoha group turns ugly. "If they sessfully use its power, then I am afraid the entire shinobi world wille under their control. We have to hurry up and stop them." Kakashi orders his group. "NOO! It''s not a weapon!" A mellifluous childish voice sounds in their ears. "It''s not a weapon! It''s not a weapon!" A little girl with short shoulder-length red hairs parted in bangs walks in front of the group. The girl has red eyes and her hair is tied into a small ponytail on the right side of her head. "Miina!!" Dokku and the rest of the survivors are surprised to see her outburst. "Calm down, Miina!" Shiseru kneels in front of Miina and hugs her tofort her. "NO, Shiseru! Ama No Hoka isn''t a weapon. It''s a gateway which holds all the dimensions together in a stable state." "WHAT?!" Kakashi and the group stare at the little girl with shock. Kakashi turns towards Dokku and Shiseru for help. Mm Shiseru nods her head. She gently pats Miina''s head and asks her. "Miina, Aunt Shiseru can''t understand you! So, can you exin what you said earlier to aunt?" Mm Miina nods her head. "I can see it. I can see the silhouette of various worlds intertwined with each other. These worlds are separated by various notes of sound which are produced by the Ama No Hoka. Also, I can see the information about the past, present, and future of certain objects. But But" Her body shivers timidly as she stares at the giant wormhole in the sky. "Miina!" Shiseru hugs her to calm her down. "This information is quite shocking!" Kakashi is stunned to her Miina''s revtion. He ponders over the matter while monitoring Miina. "Shiseru, I am fine!" Miina nods her head. She turns in the direction of the cemetery where the bodies of the Hachou vigers are buried. Fwoosh A white light rises from Miina''s body and covers the surrounding area. Whoosh whoosh She purifies the souls of the deceased people and guides them to the afterlife. "This is She is guiding the souls of the dead people to the Pure world." Yang Kurama, who is resting inside Naruto, opens his eyes because of the earliermotion. "Oh! So, that''s what''s happening." Naruto rys the information to the rest of his group. Hmm ''This girl can divine past and future. She has a strange connection to Ama No Hoka. Then, she can also purify the souls of the dead and guide them to the afterlife. Looks like things aren''t as simple as they look on the surface. No wonder, these demons are so restless!'' "Alright! Let''s head towards the HOLE to stop the demons. We can''t allow them to unleash the power of Ama No Hoka on the shinobi world." "Yoshaa!" Naruto pumps his fists to get ready for the fight. "We will alsoe with you." Dokku and Shiseru propose to Kakashi. "You guys! It''s not safe with those demons rampaging in the vicinity." Kakashi warns them. "No, as a resident of Tonika vige; it''s my duty to protect it!" Dokku insists. "Miina wille too!" Miina walks in front of Kakashi. "Miina thinks that Miina can stop the Ama No Hoka!" "We wille with her to protect her!" Dokku and Shiseru persist. "Fine!" Kakashi helplessly nods his head after seeing their resolve. "Sakura, Hinata, Tenten, and Ino; protect the girl at all costs!" He rys his order to the girls. "Yes, sensei!" The girls reply in unison. "Good! Then let''s set off." Swish swish Naruto and Sasuke make some hand signs and m their palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu" Poof Poof An eagle and a frog pop out of the white smoke. Whoosh whoosh Both of them jump on top of their respective summon. "Garuda, head towards the giant column!" Sasuke points towards the Ama No Hoka. Scree Garuda screeches in excitement and speeds up towards the Hole. "Boss! Head towards Eh!" "Ken-san!" "Gamabunta is tending to his injuries after the previous battle. So, I came instead. Though I am pretty weak, I''ll try my best." "Ken-san! Then let''s head in that direction." Swoosh swoosh Gamaken leaps in the air and jumps towards the Hole. The rest of the Konoha group follows after them. At the Hole, Kusuna and the rest of the demonic gang kneel in front of the giant wormhole. They have a fervent expression on their face as they stare at the wormhole with fervent eyes. "Finally, our lord will break free from his imprisonment! Let''s offer the sacrifice to get our lord''s attention." Kusuna walks in front of the Ama No Hoka pir. He takes out five pentagonal stakes from a scroll. Stab stab stab He stabs them on the ground and creates a reverse pentagonal altar. Vroom The altar lights up and forms a circle in the center. Swoosh He takes out a fist-sized purple orb from another scroll. Woo woo The orb emits a dark purple ominous chakra as the sounds of multiple souls suffering in agony echoes inside it. "The souls of these puny vigers will serve as a suitable sacrifice for our lord." He inserts the orb into the altar. p Kusuna sps his hands together. "Rite of Descension,mence!" "Min, Shin, Gan, Reppyou, Shouzen, Mika, Dan, Raku, Shou!" Kusuna chants a long ritual rite while performing strange head seals. Swoosh Sasuke and Garuda arrive at the location of Ama No Hoka. Rumble Rumble The dark clouds in the sky crackle with red lightning. Bzzt A bolt of lightning discharges from the sky and attempts to strike Sasuke and Garuda. Whoosh Garuda ps his wings and dodges the lightning. Rumble rumble Multiple bolts of lightning aim for them. "Lightning Release: Purple Lightning Chidori Sharp Spear" Sasuke gathers lightning chakra in his hand and forms a spear. He throws it towards the iing bolt of lightning to block it. "Garuda! It''s time for you to return. We can''t fight in an aerial battle under such situations." Poof Garuda disperses in a puff of smoke. Whoosh Sasuke jumps down and arrives in front of the demonic group. "ANNIIKKI, Protect!" The demonic trio shields Kusuna and confronts Sasuke. "As I suspected, you three are still alive!" Swoosh Sasuke draws his Kusanagi de. Shiing He activates his Sharingan and analyzes their chakra system. "This is" He frowns as he notices a lump of dark purple chakra near the hearts of the demonic trio. Ba-dump Ba-dump Ba-dump The dark lump is rapidly pumping dark chakra through their body. It courses through their chakra system and strengths their body. Uwaah The demonic trio releases an incoherent scream and attacks Sasuke. Swoosh Shizuku disappears from the ce and arrives beside Sasuke in an instant. "She is almost twice as fast as before!" Whoosh Sasuke ducks down and avoids a roundhouse kick from her. BAM Gitai leaps into the sky with his massive body and shoots towards Sasuke like a missile. Whoosh Sasuke jumps back and avoids the m. Awaah Setsuna opens his wings and takes flight. He gains a considerable altitude. Next up, he folds his wings as a horn appears on his forehead. Fwoosh He gathers arge amount of dark ck lightning around his forehead. Shoom Setsuna discharges the lightning as a beam. Swish Sasuke blocks the lightning beam with the Kusanagi de. Swish He swings the de and disperses the jutsu. "Things aren''t looking good! These people are much stronger than before." Sasuke is quickly overwhelmed by thebined forces of the demonic trio. Swoosh Bang A giant toad falls from the sky and appears in between Sasuke and the demonic trio. "Need some help, Sasuke!" "You came right on time! We have to stop that Guy frompleting his ritual at all cost!" Sasuke points towards Kusuna. "I am on it!" Naruto and Gamaken leap towards Kusuna in an attempt to disrupt the rite. Swoosh Gitai leaps in the air andunches himself towards the duo. ng Gamaken withdraws his Sakazuki shield from his back and blocks the attack. ng ng Gitai continues to punch the shield with his enhanced strength. Swish swish The forces from his attacks slowly push Gamaken back. Whoosh whoosh The rest of the Konoha group arrives at the boundary of the Hole. Rumble Rumble The altar set up by Kusuna hums with life. Fwoosh It fires a beam of dark purple energy towards the giant wormhole in the sky. Rumble rumble Ama No Hoka responds to the giant purple beam of energy. With it as a center, a giant red dome-shaped barrier slowly encases the entire Hole thus isting it from the rest of the world. "We are in!" Kakashi and the rest of the group are able to make it inside before the barrier could close up. "What''s up with this barrier?" Lee curiously stares at the barrier. He clenches his hand in a fist to punch the barrier in an attempt to shatter it. "LEE STOP!" Kakashi immediately warns Lee. Swish Lee''s fist stops an inch away from the barrier. "Don''t attack the barrier." He turns towards Neji and signals him. "Byakugan!" Neji activates his Byakugan and inspects the barrier. "Tenten, attack the barrier with your Ninja tools." Neji requests her. "Alright!" Tenten summons a spiked mace and throws it towards the barrier. Bang The mace hits the barrier. Crackle crackle Dark red lightning flickers through the barrier and incinerates the mace into ashes. Gulp Lee gulps his saliva and jumps back in terror. "Looks like our only way to get out from here is to shut down Ama No Hoka!" Kakashi stares at the giant wormhole in the sky. --------------- In the Land of Sky, Hmm Izuna raises his head and stares in the distance. He uses his Rinne-Sharingan to gaze into the distance. "This is bad! This looks like a portal to another world!" His expression turns ugly. "I have to hurry!" Chapter 346: Destruction of Ancor Vantian Chapter 346: Destruction of Ancor Vantian A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- Roar The fur of Roen changes to purple as dark purple mes rise from its tails. Roen''s eyes turn blood red and he releases an aura filled with immense bloodlust. Roar Roen roars again and looks around. He notices the girls shivering in a corner, terrified by the chilling aura of Roen. Roar Roen roars and lunges at them. "Rrrr Roen! What happened to you?" Ayaka timidly calls his name. But Roen ignores it and swipes his w at the girls. Swoosh A dark green barrier appears around girls and protects them from Roen''s attack. Roar Roen roars in anger and attacks again and again with his ws. He infuses dark chakra into his ws and releases a dark purple me shes at the barrier. Rumble w marks appear on the ground as the barrier trembles because of the powerful attack. The attack fails to scratch the barrier. Roar The fury of the Roen''s mindless state increases and it relentlessly releases a barrage of attacks at the barrier. Crack crack Multiple cracks appear in the barrier. Roen starts to slowly chip away the barrier with his powerful attacks and dark purple corrosive mes. "Wha what''s going on? Why is he attacking us?" Hanabi timidly question as she stares at Roen''s red-eye in fear. "This dark chakra is influencing the mental state of Roen. I can feel overwhelming negative emotions from it." Yakumo bites her lips as she stares at the dark purple mes. "Roen! Calm down, Roen! Do you remember me? I am Ayaka! Roen" Ayaka tries to calm Roen by recounting some fond memories she spent with Roen. Roar Roen growls again and shakes his head as the dark purple chakra continues to pervade his body. Roar It roars again and shes at the barrier with another powerful attack. Crack Crack Boom The barrier shatters into countless fragments, exposing Ayaka and the rest to a berserk Roen. Meanwhile, As the girls are struggling against Roen, Izuna dives deeper into the depth of the temple. Hmm Hees across a giantwork of seals, where multiple cocoons are hanging around a tree. Shiing Izuna''s left eye changes into a Rinne-Sharingan. He notices multiple people held hostages in the cocoons as the giant tree siphons their chakra and converts it into dark chakra. "This must be the core and the power source of the temple which also provides dark chakra to Reibi." sh He shes the tendril of the cocoon attached to the branch to free the person locked inside. Swish Another tendril immediately shoots out from the tree and recaptures the person. Hmm "Seems like I will have to get rid of the tree to free these people. In that case" Shiing The tomoes in Izuna''s Rinne-Sharingan rotates as he stretches his arm. "Shinra Bansho" Ten dark purple orbs appear in his palm. Swoosh The orbs morph into a giant sword as Izuna grabs it by the handle. "Ama-no-Habakiri" Izuna waves the giant purple de and shes apart the giant tree from the middle cross-section. sh The powerful sh from the de not only shes the tree in half, it even shes apart the entire temple as a violet wave of energy travels through the atmosphere. Swoosh The invisible red aura around the temple disperses as the giant tree slowly dissipates. Whoosh Izuna flickers and saves the hostages. ----------------- Roar Roen slowly regains his senses as the flow of dark chakra stops. "Mm Miss Ayaka, I I can''t control my body. Quickly run from here before I lose control again! Only master can handle me in this state" He desperately holds himself back and pleads to Ayaka. "Roen!" Ayaka stares at Roen with teary eyes. Roar The dark purple chakra around Roen res again as he swipes his ws at the girls. Swish The consciousness of Roen is temporarily able to resist it and stop the attack. "Run away! Please run away!" "Roen, I I can''t watch you in agony." Ayaka clicks her tongue and recalls the incident from the past. ''It has been almost five years since that incident when Onii-chan almost died at the hands of that man. That day, I decided I will grow strong and protect my Onii-chan. But I I am so weak" Ayaka grits her teeth. "Let me try! I think I can absorb the dark chakra." Yakumo steps forward. She ces a hand on Roen''s body and slowly absorbs the dark chakra. "Yakumo-chan!" Ayaka clenches her fists as she is too powerless to help. Unbeknownst to her, a white aura leaks from her body and slowly engulfs the group as it repels the corrosive effect of dark chakra. The invisible white aura blocks the flow of negative emotions and allows Yakumo to absorb and purge the dark chakra with no harmful effect. Crack crack The group hears the sound of an egg being shattered as the barrier around Reibi disperses. Scree Reibi screams in anger as it awakens from its slumber. Having lost its vessel, it undergoes a crisis of existence to sustain itself. Roar It roars and notices the life signature of the girls. Ayaka releases a pure white aura. The body of unconscious Amaru releases a red aura. Hanabi releases a cyan aura. Only Yakumo releases a dark purple aura. Roar Reibi roars again and lunges towards Yakumo in an attempt to possess her to sustain its existence. AHH The sudden appearance of a giant leech-like creature surprise and terrifies the girls. Swoosh The bracelet on Yakumo''s hand glows with a blue hue and forms a dark blue barrier to protect her. But Reibi ignores the barrier and dives into Yakumo''s body. Argh AHHH Yakumo screams in pain as Reibi slowly possesses her body. Multiple ck totems appear on her body. Her appearance changes slowly as horns, ws, fangs grow out from her body. Whoosh Izuna arrives at the scene. "Get away from my student, you vile beast!" He makes some hand signs and forms a giant Fuinjutsu seal. "Demon Purging Chains" Swish swish Numerous red chains emerge from the seals and coils around the Zero-tails. Haah Izuna yanks the chains and pulls out Reibi from Yakumo''s body. Swish swish He makes a couple more hand signs as the chains wrap around Zero-tails like a cocoon. "Sin seal it!" Hemands the Sin seal. Whoosh Multiple chains erupt from Sin Grimoire and drag the Reibi inside itself. The Zero-tails tremble in fear as it notices the appearance of Sin Seal. Whoosh Izuna seals the Reibi and frees Yakumo from its influence. Yakumo loses consciousness and tumbles down the gap between the two halves of the giant temple. "Yakumo!" Ayaka and Hanabi quickly jump towards her and grab her hand before she could fall to her death. They slowly pull her up andy her down beside Amaru. Izuna turns to Roen and nods. "You did well, Roen! Looks like you are able to control your dark negative emotions to some extent. Perhaps one day, you will be able to control your dark chakra form." "Master! I hope that day will nevere." Fwoosh Roen shrinks into the size and walks towards the girls. He lifts Yakumo and Amaru and ces them on his back. Izuna turns towards the girls and remarks. "Our mission is done here. There are some hostages still held in this ce. I will free them and destroy this giant temple, after which we will return to the vige." Whoosh whoosh Izuna sends multiple shadow clones to clean up the ce and free the hostages. An hourter, The group is standing on the ground as they stare at the giant fortress slowly falling towards the earth. "It will be a disaster if this thing falls on the ground. I will annihte it." Shiing Izuna gathers arge amount of fire, wind, lightning, and water chakra in his palm. "Oblivion Release: Spear of Penance" He inserts less amount of chakra than the previous time. A dark crimson spear appears in his hands as he aims it towards the falling fortress. "This should be enough topletely obliterate the fortress." Swoosh He hurls the spear towards the fortress as the spear releases sonic booms as it travels through the air. Eiyah The girls take shelter behind Roen''s giant body as the shock waves uproot the nearby trees. BOOM The spear collides with the remains of Ancor Vantian and explodes. A dazzling explosion of red energy followed by a ck cloud of dust and debris rises in the sky as even the dust particles dissipate into nothingness. The explosion forms a dumb-bell-shaped pir andsts for a few seconds before everything copses on itself and dissipates into the void. "Wow!" Ayaka and Hanabi stare at the explosion with wide eyes as they get to see a glimpse of Izuna''s true power. ''Onii-chan is so cool and so powerful!'' ''Sensei is so powerful!'' Both girls have stars in their eyes. They stare at Izuna''s back with reverence. Hanabi tries to activate her Byakugan to stare at the explosion, but Izuna warns her. "Don''t activate your Byakugan or Sharingan! You will hurt your eyes." Chapter 347: An Imminent War Chapter 347: An Imminent War A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- In a private room beside the Hokage Office, Tsunade, the various n leaders, and the elders of the vige are having a meeting as they discuss the recent events. "Any lead Hokage-sama?" Sakuma asks Tsunade with slight worry in his eyes. "Lord Fourth! Report what your scouts saw." "Yes, Lady Fifth!" Minato nods and walks towards the centre of the room. In these recent years, Minato had been tasked with the leadership of the Anbu. As the previous Hokage, he is more than enough to qualify for the responsibility. "Around a month ago, some of our anbu stationed near the HOLE noticed some abnormalities in the Tonika Vige. So, a squad went to the HOLE for investigation." Minato marks a ce on the giant map spread on the table. "However, after a week, there was no sign of them. Instead, a messenger eagle begging for help arrived at the Anbu headquarter." Minato pauses and turns towards Tsunade and the n leaders. "Also, it was around this time that the shinobis from Land of Sky invaded the Land of Fire andunched an all-out assault on Konoha. It was thanks to quick action from Hokage-sama and Izuna Uchiha, the vige was able to avert the disaster with no casualties." The various n leaders and vige leaders stare at Fugaku with an envious gaze. "There is no doubt about it that Izuna Uchiha is the greatest asset of the vige. If not for him, then we might have suffered major losses during the attack of Sand and the attack of Sky." Hiashi deres as others nod in agreement. "His contributions alone make him a worthy candidate for the position of next hokage. Not to mention his strength, which evenpares to the likes of the First Hokage." Inoichi remarks. "And there was a time we people were foolish enough to believe in the lies of Danzo and other elders to banish Uchiha n to the outskirts of the vige." Another n leaderments. Fugaku crosses his arms around his chest. He has a neutral expression on his face, but everyone could sense the pride in his eyes. Ahem Shikaku clears his throat to get their attention. "We can discuss this matterter. For now, let''s hear Lord Fourth''s report." "Yes yes Please excuse us, Lord Fourth and Lady Fifth!" The n leaders and elder regains theirposure as Minato continues. "Even though the damage was minimized, it still took us over a week to recover from it. The attack from the Land of Sky was a major vition of the peace treaty signed a few years ago. So, Konoha had every right to counterattack and pay the favour in kind. Thus, Lady Fifth issued an SS-Rank mission to demolish the forces of Land of Sky. This mission was epted by Izuna Uchiha, who I presume has alreadypleted the mission." Minato remind them of the red cloud that appeared on the horizon a few hours ago. Mm The n leaders nod with a solemn look. ''A single person single-handedly destroyed a country feared by multiple nations. This is no small feat. This makes Izuna Uchiha on the same level as the God of Shinobi.'' Such thoughts ran across their mind. "However, the Land of Sky is not our concern and is not the reason behind the meeting." Minato continues. "Lord Fourth, is it rted to the stone golems which appeared at our borders?" Akimichi inquires. "Indeed, it is!" Minato nods with a grave expression. "ording to the eyewitnesses at the borders, these golems suddenly appeared out of the nowhere and arranged themselves into a formation a few days ago. Since then, they haven''t made any move. That''s not all! These stone golems have also been sighted at the border of Land of Wind, Land of Stone, and Land of Lightning. Land of Water, being a distant ind, is the only ce where these golems haven''t appeared." The expression of n leaders turns grave. "It seems there is a much bigger force at y here. Whoever or whatever it is, it wants to conquer all hidden viges in one fell swoop." Shikaku spectes as he rubs his forehead. "I also believe that such is the case." Minato nods in agreement. "Then why they haven''t made their move yet? Are they waiting for something or someone?" Fugaku raises a question. "Hmm about that!" Minato presents the recent report to the group. "I have sent a group of shinobis of the younger generation and the anbu Team Ro to investigate the peculiarity in the HOLE. The group includes team 7, team 10, team 4 and Team 8." The expression of the n leaders changes as they hear the teams. "Two days ago, we lost contact with them. A giant red barrier has shrouded the entire Hole and despite the best efforts of our barrier team, we cannot break through it." Minato reports to them. "But that''s" Hiashi, Inoichi, Choza, Tsume enquires with worry. Only Fugaku, Shikaku, and Shibi maintain theirposure. "I am sure you all are worried about your kids. Even my son Naruto, whom I met after twelve years, is trapped in that ce. But as a shinobi, we can''t allow such sentiments to blind us at such a grim time. If I am not wrong, there is a huge possibility of the Fourth Shinobi War starting anytime soon. As such, we can''t embroil ourselves with sentiments and lose sight of our enemies. Otherwise, the cost will be too much for us to bear." Minato warns them with a heavy heart. Sigh The n leader sighs helplessly. "Lord Fourth is right! We can''t allow such emotions to cloud our judgement and let our entire ns and vige suffer because of this." Shikaku breaks the silence. "We need tomand our troupes and get ready for the battle. Meanwhile, we will send a team of highly skilled and trustworthy shinobis to inspect the barrier. If possible, we should ask Izuna Uchiha." Shikaku breaks down the situation. Suddenly, Swoosh The surrounding space warps slightly as Izuna appears in the room with his team. Hmm He looks around and notices various n leaders and leaders gathered for a meeting. Izuna notices their grim expression and asks. "Is something bothering you all?" Ah The n leaders get out of their shock as Shikaku continues. "You came just in time. There is an emergency! The Fourth shinobi war is about to start." "Fourth shinobi war?" Izuna raises an eyebrow ''Did Obito start his n without even capturing the tailed-beasts?'' "Fill me in!" He turns to Minato and Tsunade. "It''s like this" Minato recounts the entire series of events to Izuna. The girls also listen to the discussion. "Hinata nee-san is in danger!" Hanabi enquires with worry. "Naruto and Sasuke Nii-san too!" Ayaka also has a worried expression. "I see" Izuna nods and ponders ''Stone golems armed with weapons and armours? That must be the army of demons. Did they awaken their general? Looks like I have to make a quick trip to Land of Demons. That priestess and her kid are in danger. Also, an imprable barrier around the HOLE." Izuna closes his eyes and tries to sense his mark on Naruto and the group. "I can''t sense it. They are isted by a space-time barrier." Izuna opens his eyes and turns to the n leaders. "Alright! I will ept the mission and investigate the situation at HOLE. Meanwhile, you people gather your forces and prepare for the imminent war. If possible, try tomunicate with other nations to seek an alliance. The situation might be worse than it seems." Izuna warns them. "Ok! Lord Fourth will deploy the Anbu unit to investigate the enemies. Shikaku will handle the logistics and Sakumo willmand the forces." Tsunade orders everyone. "Yes, Hokage-sama!" The group of n leaders nod and leave the room in hurry. Only Minato, Izuna, and Tsunade are left in the room. "How is it Izuna-kun? What''s the real situation?" Minato and Tsunade ask him with slight worry. "You know about it, Minato-san!" Minato''s and Tsunade''s questions slightly surprise Izuna. "Of course, all these years; you have grown under our eyes. You are like an open book in front of our eyes." Sigh "Alright! I will tell you what I think is the truth or close to the truth." Swish Izuna makes some one-hand signs and summons a chibi Yin Kurama. "Kurama, exin everything to them. The tale of demons, the origin of Zero-tails and the seal of the Sage." Chapter 348: A Lot to take in Chapter 348: A Lot to take in A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- "That''s a lot to take in!" Tsunade remarks after listening to the story. "Yeah! Perhaps it may sound like the plot of one of those fantasy novels in the Konoha library, but it''s the reality." Izuna chuckles dryly. "Hmm So, Izuna-kun, you suspect that the demons are behind this incident?" Minato asks him. "I am hundred percent sure. It''s them. Also, from my trip to Land of Sky; I discovered they had some involvement with the demons or they excavated some ruins of the demons in the past. Perhaps this can also exin their sudden rise in power during the Second Shinobi War." Izuna spectes. "But for now, let''s focus on the enemies knocking on our doorsteps. Meanwhile, I will check the matter at HOLE. It might be another attempt of demons to make aeback and spread their Thousand-year kingdom like in the past." Izuna closes his eyes and senses the space near the HOLE. ''That barrier is quite powerful. I can''t even sense anything in a radius of fifty kilometers around that ce.'' "Alright, I am off!" Shoom A portal opens in front of Izuna. He walks into the portal and disappears from the room. After his departure, Minato and Tsunade stare at each other and sigh. "Izuna-kun is so reliable. Just having him around eases half of our worries." Tsunade remarks with a smile. "Yes, he has grown a lot during all these years. I clearly remember the day when I first met him." Minato reminisces the past memories. ----------------- Around seventy kilometers from the HOLE, Swoosh A portal with a purple hue opens up. Izuna steps out of the portal and looks around. "Hmm I am slightly off from the coordinates I picked up." Shiing His left eye changes into Rinne-Sharingan and he looks around. "As I suspected, my earlier spection was correct. This ce isn''t isted by a space-time barrier. Rather, it has been transported to some unknown dimension." Shiing He infuses some chakra in his eye as the surrounding scenery changes. Multiple bolts of chaotic energy flow through the space. Numerous invisible small-scale explosions keep urring in the surroundings. ''This is the dimensional gap that separates two different dimensions. The space-time momentum is so chaotic here that even a slight disturbance can alter the fragile equilibrium of space-time and lead to the copse of the entire surrounding hundred kilometers. I have to be extra careful.'' "Susanoo" Izuna shrouds himself with his Susanoo and carefully walks through the chaotic dimensional gap. Invisible bolts of energy keep hammering his Susanoo. Cracks start to appear on the armor of his Susanoo. Tch "I am still too far away from the barrier. If I continue to move at this pace, then my Susanoo will disperse before I could even make it to the barrier." He stretches his palm and creates ten purple orbs. The purple orbs cover his Susanoo and form anotheryer of protection. "Full speed ahead!" Swoosh Boom With a sonic boom, Izuna speeds up through the dimensional gap. The chaotic energy particles continue to bombard his Susanoo. "Almost there!" A red barrier appears in front of Izuna''s eyes. Whoosh Izunands beside the barrier and extends his hand to touch the barrier. Bzzt Sizzle Red lightning streaks at the point of contact. "Hot hot" Izuna immediately removes his hand from the barrier. Smoke rises from his hand as his hands heal slowly. Hmm "It''s a very powerful barrier. I am afraid my understanding of Fuinjutsu isn''t sufficient to decipher it." Izuna stares at the various unknown runes and seals on the surface of the barrier. "Perhaps I can try to brute force my way by striking at the seals I am familiar with." Haah. Izuna takes a deep breath and stretches his hand. Swirl Arge amount of dense fire, lightning, wind, and water chakra condenses in his hand. "Oblivion Release: Arrow of Nothingness" The dense chakra morphs into an arrow. Fwoosh The Susanoo crosses its two upper arms and wings and creates a crossbow out of them. Kaching Izuna notches the arrow on the crossbow and aims it for the weak spot of the barrier. "This particr rune is vulnerable to high impact and heat. My jutsu condenses the power of a small scale nuke in a small arrow and thus can focus the destructive power at a single point. The pressure and temperature at the point of impact are almost at the level of a formation of a star." Fwish The Susanoo releases the chakra string andunches the arrow towards the barrier. Swoosh The Oblivion arrow tears through the fabric of the chaotic space and pierces into the barrier. BOOM A deafening explosion urs at the point of the impact as the entirepressed energy is released in the form of a cone. Rumble Rumble Ripples travel across the entire barrier from the point of impact. The entire barrier trembles violently. "Will it seed?" Izuna stares at the arrow with an anxious expression. Fwoosh BOOM "Herees the reaction force from the barrier." Izuna crosses his arm and blocks the iing assault of the reflected energy with his Susanoo. BANG He isunched out of the chaotic space by the shock waves. "Did I make it?" Izuna narrows his eyes and stares at the point of impact. There is a basketball-sized hole in the barrier. "All that effort and this is all I am capable of. Sigh" Izuna sighs helplessly as the hole slowly repairs itself. Shiing One of the tomoes in his Rinnegan slowly fades away. ''It will take me two days to recover the chakra to use this jutsu again.'' He shakes his head and stares at a corner of the sky. "I can see you, old man. There is no need to hide." He speaks to no one in particr. Tch An elderly man with pale skin and a face with deep wrinkles and a strong jawline appear in front of Izuna. The man has two small horn-like protrusions on his forehead. There is a red Rinnegan marking on the center of his forehead and he has two purple tomoe-less Rinnegan. Sigh Hagoromo''s spirit sighs and stares at the state of the surrounding space. "This is too much to take in. I didn''t expect my small homeworld to harbor such a big secret." Hagoromo rubs his forehead. ''Even a spirit can get a headache?'' Izuna curiously stares at Hagoromo as this question pops into his mind. Hagoromo turns towards Izuna, who has a tranquil expression on his face. "The shinobi world is about to meet its end and yet you seem to have a calm expression." Hagoromo''s curiosity is piqued. ''Looks like this old man put some effort into learning thenguage of this era. I wonder which literature crash course he took.'' Umm "If the Sage of Six Paths himself is helpless in such a situation, then what can a powerless person like me can do in this situation?" Izuna shakes his head. "If the world is fated to end here, then so be it. I will happily ept my doom." Izuna calmly responds to Hagoromo''s question. "Oh! So, have you epted your fate?" "No, of course not! Who would want to die in such a shitty way? But I am powerless in such a situation." Izuna shakes his head. "Hmm that''s true. But at least you should make some effort to change your fate." Hagoromo remarks. "Old man, stop spouting riddles and get to the point. We have little time." Izuna cuts to the chase. "Ah!" Izuna''s sudden rude remark surprises Hagoromo. "Haha you are quite impatient like my younger son, despite being the descendant of my elder son. Alright, I won''t tease you anymore." Hagoromo stretches his hand. Swish swish The truth-seeking orbs behind his back and flies in front of him and forms a staff. Hmm Izuna scrutinizes the orbs with his Rinnegan to get a better understating of the jutsu. Ting Hagoromo taps his staff in the air as their surrounding changes. "This is a mindscape!" Izuna curiously looks around as they appear in apletely dark space with multiple distant stars and nebs. "That''s right! This ce is my mindscape." "Hmm For an old man like you, this ce is quite dull and" Izuna looks around a little more and remark. "Umm deste! Don''t you feel lonely in such a void?" "Huh it does look a little deste, but I can only spare a certain amount of energy to sustain this ce and prolong the lifespan of my spirit." Hagoromo shakes his head. "After my death, my consciousness should have withered and returned to the nature. However, the half Otsutsuki bloodline granted longevity to my spirit. Thus, for years, my spirit preserved itself through slumber only to be awoken by the recent incidents." Hagoromo exins the details to Izuna. "This isn''t the only reason for your awakening and seeking me, right?" Chapter 349: Abyssal Nightmares Chapter 349: Abyssal Nightmares A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to 40+ advance chapters of this series and around 40 chapters of another series Naruto: The Weapon Shop Owner. .pa /ForgottenLife --------------------- "You are right!" Hagoromo nods and taps his staff on the ground. Whoosh The surroundings change and an image of the Kaguya, Urashiki, and Isshiki Otsutsuki appears in Izuna''s vision. A plethora of emotions surge through Hagoromo''s eyes as he sighs in reminiscence. "Back then, mother was obsessed with the arrival of Otsutsuki. Her dread for them clouded her sanity and as her son, I could only helplessly watch and seal for all eternity. However, it was muchter that I became aware of the truth." Haah Hagoromo sighs and shakes his head. "s! It was toote." Swoosh The surroundings change to the aftermath of the battle between Ten-tails and the Otsutsuki brothers. Izuna silently stares at the various shing images as Hagoromo recounts his experience. " along my travels as I preached Ninshu to the shinobi world, I discovered traces of activities of other otherworldly beings in one of the Otsutsuki ruins. Out of curiosity or perhaps wariness, I approached those creatures in an attempt to understand them." "Demons?" Izuna interrupts Hagoromo. "Mm you can put it that way. Though demon is a broad term. These unfamiliar beings crawled out from the depths of the earth where they might have been lurking for who knew how long. Their foul chakra slowly corrupted the leylines; eroding the vitality of the entire. Hamura and I eliminated waves after waves of them, but there were countless of them. Our battle with themsted for a decade, during which I came to know their names. These creatures were called Abyssal nightmares." "Abyssal Nightmares?" Izuna frowns. ''There is already nock of enemies. Now an entire faction of enemies joins the fray. First Otsutsuki, then that unknown guy from god knows which factions, demonic gods, and now these abyssal creatures. Shinobi world is in a far bigger threat than I previously imagined.'' Oblivious to Izuna''s worries, Hagoromo continues. "These creatures are very tenacious and almost impossible to kill. They don''t have a physical form and exist as spiritual bodies. They feed on negative emotions and use them as a conduit to influence living beings and possess their body. Their corruption is like a gue, which slowly spreads throughout the entire world. There is no definite way to get rid of them except for sealing them." "Then how did you get rid of them?" Izuna interrupts him again. "Quite impatient, aren''t you?" "Nah I am just curious about these spirit life forms." Izuna denies it with a straight face. ''These somehow remind me of youkai from the Japanese folklore. I wonder how many simrities they have?'' "Did you ever try to exorcize these nightmares?" Izuna asks another question. "Unfortunately, all our efforts were in vain. In the end, a Miko from an ancient n used a sacrificial ceremony and their heirloom weapon to seal all those nightmares in a separate dimension. Despite our best efforts, a few nightmares still escaped in the end." Hagoromo grimaced in self-mockery. "Then you mean" Izuna points towards the dense red barrier around the hole. "Ama-no-hoko or the spear of heaven tore through the fabric of reality and ripped apart a portion of this dimension to create an isted space to act as a prison for one of threemanders of the army of Abyssal nightmares. That ancient weapon was so powerful that it created a permanent hole in the very fabric of space of this dimension." "So powerful!" Izuna sucks a breath of cold air. He clutches his fists and mutters to himself. ''Will I be able to reach such a level of power? If my enemies grow stronger in the future, then I have to surpass my limits too.'' Shiing The tomoes in Izuna''s Rinne-Sharingan rotate in a clockwise manner. "For now, our chief concern is to fix the seal and prevent the release of abyssal nightmares." Hagoromo''s words pull him out of his thoughts. Sigh "That''s a lot to take in old gramps!" Izuna takes a deep breath. "This world is more f*cked up than I thought it is." Huh Hagoromo tilts his head in confusion. Ahem "Nothing nothing! What I meant to ask is there a way to fix this seal? I mean I can''t even enter this ce in the first ce. Also, all my friends and family are trapped there. I am worried about their safety." "There is still some time before the seal is undone. To fix the seal, you need to find the control device Saezuri and tune the sound ording to a certain pattern to activate the sealing mechanism. As for the barrier, it is a defensive mechanism to contain the tide of nightmares in case of a contingency. You can get the entry talisman from the high priestess of the Land of Demons. The fate of the world rest upon your shoulders." Hagoromo extends his hand and passes one of his truth-seeking orbs to Izuna. "This is the most help I can provide you at the moment. The rest depends on you." "Tch stingy!" Izuna clicks his tongue and grabs the truth-seeking orb as it slowly revolves around him. Ah! Hagoromo speechlessly stares at the fading remanent of Izuna. "I have high hopes for you, boy. A big storm is approaching, ready to engulf the entire world into chaos and misery. His gaze trails off in the vast, starry sky. --------------- Swoosh Izuna reappears in front of the crimson energy barrier. "The high priestess of Land of Demons should be that Miko Lady Miroku whom I met during the wedding ceremony. At that time, she said I will soone looking for her. Did she prophesied the future? Also, what''s the connection between the demon Moryo and this group of Abyssal nightmares? So many questions, but no answers" Izuna helplessly rubs his forehead. "For now, I will head for the Land of Demons." Whoosh With a burst of red and ck lightning, Izuna disappears from the spot. ------------- Land of Demons, Outside the main shrine, Boom Boom The sound of explosions drowns the silence of the night. Whoosh whoosh A squad of shinobis garbed in ck clothes with a red kanji for ''demon'' on the back appears at the main tori gate of the shrine. "Enemy Attack!" The captain of the demon guard squad flickers on top of the Tori. "Jin, Mori, Hanzo! Lead a team to protect and safely escort her highness, the high priestess, to the safe house. Kira, Akihito, Ami follow me to intercept the enemy." "Yes, captain!" The shinobis guards bow and disperse in two squads. The squad captain and his team quickly approach the direction of the explosion. Screams and miserable cries echo in the vige as a cloaked figure slowly walks towards the shrine. Crack crack The cloaked figure snaps his neck and fingers. "I have yet to gainplete control over this temporary body." A deep and eerie voice echoes under the hood. "My lord, your true body is still buried in the Land of Swamp. This humble vassal will soon fulfill his mission." The lips of the figure move slightly as a subservient voice talks to itself. "Mm before that, we have to remove the only obstacle in our path. The only power which can oppose and reseal us. This time I must fulfill the order of his highness." The figure slowly walks towards the temple as numerous thinrvae of dark purple chakra squirm out of its body. ------------ Mm "Who is releasing the fireworks sote at night?" A little girl with palevender eyes and light blonde hair that falls past her waist walks out of a room while yawning. "So sleepy! I will go to mother''s room to hear a story." Creak One of the nearby doors opens and Miroku walks out of the room with a pale face. "Guards! It''s an emergency. Quickly evacuate princess Shion to a safe ce." Whoosh Whoosh A batch of guards hurriedly arrives in the hall. Miroku turns around and faces them as her Reigan flickers with a kaleidoscopic pattern. "Quick! Take princess Shion as far from here as possible." Miroku takes out a bunch of paper talismans and seals and hurriedly packs them in a bag. "If possible, go and seek shelter from Konoha. By now, they must be aware of the impending crisis." "Mom! Don''t don''t leave me. I I don''t wanna go anywhere. I want to stay with mom." Shion grabs Miroku''s leg and wraps around it. "Mother won''t go anywhere!" Miroku bends down and hugs Shion. "Promise!" "Promise!" Miroku''s eyes flicker once and Shion falls asleep in her embrace. She wraps the girl in a nket and passes her to the guard captain. "Quick, take her out of the Land of Demon." "But Lady" One of the guards tries to interrupt her. "Don''t worry about me. Captain Shinji has already dispatched a squad to escort me. I will be fine." "Then please take care, your majesty!" The guard captain bows and quickly leaves from the backdoor with his squad. Sigh Miroku heaves a sigh of relief. "At least Shion will be able to survive this cmity." Bleurgh Miroku pukes out a mouthful of blood. Chapter 350: Soul Reincarnation Chapter 350: Soul Reincarnation A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. .pa /ForgottenLife ------------------------------- Bleurgh Miroku spats out another mouthful of blood. Drip drip Blood drips out from a corner of her eyes as the kaleidoscopic pattern in her eyes spins rapidly and the purple hue dims down. "The aftereffects of spiritual reincarnation are still as severe. I won''t be able to use it for another half a year." Miroku''s vision turns blurry as she falls to the ground. Whoosh whoosh The squad of temple guards arrives inside the residence. "High Priestess-sama" Hanzo notices the puddle of blood on the floor. He quickly flickers beside Miroku to support her. "Are you alright, Miko-sama?" He asks with a voice full of concern. "I am alright." Miroku wipes the blood from the corner of her eyes. "Quick! Take me in the southeast direction near the location of the ancient temple. I have to reach there as soon as possible." Miroku issues amand. "But but Miko-sama that is in the opposite direction of the safe house." Hanzo hesitates a bit. "Do as I say that''s our only way of survival." She reprimands Hanzo. "The only way to save the world" Miroku mutters to herself as she recalls the events prior to her spiritual reincarnation. ********* Boom boom Yomi makes a hand seal and releases a purple exploding chakra worm towards the houses of the vige. "Beware of the prowess of Miko''s eyes. She might escape." Mry''s deep voice echoes in Yomi''s ears. "I won''t give her a chance." Yomi speeds up towards the shrine. "Intruder!" The shrine guards intercept him but are quickly dispatched by two exploding worms. Whoosh whoosh A squad of guards surrounds Yomi and bombards him with paper bombs, kunais, shurikens, long-range jutsus, and all sorts of weapons. The impact of jutsus kicks up a cloud of dust and smoke, blinding everyone''s vision. Swish swish A shrill sound pierces through the ears as the guards drop one by one. Whoosh Yomi waves his hand and clears the dust cloud as thest guard falls to his death. "What''s going on?" Themotion wakes up Miroku. Ding The wall on the clock chimes to the witching hour. She rings a small bell to summon a guard. "Reporting to mydy Miko-sama, an intruder has trespassed into our temple''s territory." "Intruder?" The kaleidoscopic pattern in Miroku''s eyes shes as she is stuck with an awful premonition. Whoosh She quickly dashes towards the shrine of the temple and searches around. After fumbling around for a minute, she fishes out a hexagonal sealing talisman. "The seal is undone the the demon is out." Helplessness appears in Miroku''s eyes. "That day has finallye!" BOOM With an explosion, the roof and the wall of the shrine are blown away. Miroku is sent flying away by the explosion. BAM She hits the opposite wall and bleeds from a concussion. Her consciousness blurs and drowsiness overwhelms her. "FOUND YOU, MIKO!!!" An eerie voice douses her wake. "It''s the intruder. Surround and subdue him." The guards quickly rush towards Yomi. "Pesky flies." Yomi waves his hand and detonates a few explosive charka worms to wipe the guards. He clutches the forehead of a guard and squashes it like a watermelon. The blood and grey matter sshes on the floor. Under the influence of Mry, Yomi reveals a creepy smile as his neck makes a 180 turn like a mechanical doll. Aaaah Miroku screams in fear. The pupil of her Reigan revolves anti-clockwise. The kanji on the hexagonal seal lights up with a purple hue. "Those eyes it''s those damn eyes!" Rage takes over Mry. "I will rip them out." Heunches a barrage of purple chakra tentacles toward Miroku. Ding The hexagonal seal floats in mid-air and creates a dark green barrier. The seal releases a bright sh of light and envelops Yomi in a containment barrier. Violet lightning flickers through the barrier and evaporates the approaching tentacles. Tch Yomi clicks his tongue. "Annoying" He continues to attack the barrier in an attempt to destroy it. Haah Miroku takes a deep breath and rushes into the hall. "I have to take Shion and get as far from here as possible." She quickly enters one of the rooms and searches around. "Shion Shion! SHION!!" Sob sob Feint noises of sobbing and breathing leak out from one of the keyboards. Miroku hurriedly opens the cupboard. "Ma mama" Shion lunges into Miroku''s embrace. "I I am scared, mama. Shion is scared!" She tightly clutches Miroku''s clothes to hide in her embrace. "Everything will be alright! Mama is here." Miroku gently pats Shion''s head and rushes out of the backdoor. ''I have to seek help from Konoha.'' Izuna''s figure appears in her mind. ''Only he can fight and seal this monster.'' Miroku runs downhill with Shion in her embrace. BOOM A figure drops in front of her from the sky, destroying nearby trees and pavement. "That barrier alone isn''t enough to stop me. Now die!" Whoosh The kaleidoscopic pattern in Miroku''s eyes revolves rapidly as multiple chakra tentacles puncture through her and Shion''s bodies. Miroku''s consciousness slowly fades away. "Miroku-san!" An urgent cry rings in her ears as the blurry image of a young man appears in her dying vision. A faint ripple escapes from her body, crossing time and space. ---- Huff Huff Miroku suddenly wakes up from her sleep and stares at the clock. ''He will be here in fifteen minutes. I have to hurry up.'' ********* Fwoosh An invisible ripple spreads through the entire world. "What was that?" Izuna pauses in his tracks as he feels a slight disturbance in space-time. "What what just happened? Why do I feel like something is not right?" He continues to fly toward the Land of Demons while recalling the previous feeling. ''I think I have already felt something like that before.'' Izuna filters through the recollection of his memories. "Hah got it! It''s the same feeling I had when Boruto and future Sasuke arrived in my timeline. It is the divergence of the timeline." Izuna''s expression turns serious as he recalls Miroku''s words from theirst meeting. ''If I recall correctly, her eyes grant her an ability to reincarnate in past with her future memories. Looks like something did happen to her. I have to hurry up." Izuna stretches his hand and molds the truth-seeking ball into a pair of aerodynamic wing gliders. Meanwhile, in the Land of Demons, Yomi who is steadily approaching the temple halts in his footsteps. "This feeling!" Mry also senses the sudden ripple in the timeline. "It''s her. It''s the visual prowess of that Miko. Hurry up and stop her." Mry warns Yomi who makes quick work of the remaining guards. Inside the temple, Miroku tightly clutches the hexagonal sealing talisman as the guards escort her toward the ancient temple. "There is a powerful sealing formation on top of Mry''s body. It has a restricting effect on Mry and is the only way to get rid of him." The group hastily approaches the ancient temple. Miroku ces the hexagonal sealing talisman in a keyhole. She makes a one-handed ram seal and points it in three different directions while chanting. "Hatsu! Jin! Kai!" The tightly shut door of the ancient temple opens and Miroku enters the temple. "Jin, Mori, Hanzo keep guard at the door. If the demon appears in front of you. Don''t fight it, just escape and preserve your life." "But Miko-sama that''s our" Hanzo refutes her words. "It''s fine. All of you did your duty well. Now it''s my turn to fulfill my duty." BANG The giant stone door ms shut locking her inside the temple. Whoosh whoosh Inside the temple, a wave of torches lights up with blue fire. Miroku picks up the hexagonal sealing talisman and continues to move deeper into the temple. She descends into the heart of the sealing array and arrives in front of an enormous gate the size of a tailed beast. "Beyond this gate lies the sealed body of Mry. Centuries ago, my predecessor sealed this demon in hopes of eradicating it in the future. This demon won''t die unless its soul and body are reunited together. However, reuniting them will also recover its previous strength." Miroku stares at the ominous violet chakra oozing out of the seal as it slowly seeps into the sealing formation. "For centuries, this demon never paused in his attempt to break this seal. Today, I will grant it its wish." Miroku recalls a certain prophecy passed down in her family. "The day the sky is rend apart and the earth is split open, a man with divine eyes will appear andy waste to the armies of the foul omen." Miroku stretches out her hands in front of her chest and performs a ritual. "Min, Shin, Gan, Reppyou, Shouzen, Mika, Dan, Raku, Shou!" Rumble The gigantic door slides open revealing a worn-tornva-filled ground. Swoosh swoosh Four purple orbs float out from the nearby walls and circle around Miroku. Miroku slowly levitates in the air and floats towards the center of theva field. "It''s time to undo the seal." Chapter 351: Too Late Chapter 351: Too Late A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. .pa /ForgottenLife ------------------------------- Miroku floats towards the giant hexagonal tform located in the center of the sealing formation. "A seemingly giant eye is carved in the center of the hexagonal tform." Miroku levitates in mid-air and makes some hand signs while chanting. "Fuu, Sai, Dan, Gika, Ragu, Bagi!" She horizontally crisscrosses her arms. Rumble Rumble Four small tforms rise from the edges of the hexagonal tform. Miroku makes a hand seal and inserts the four floating orbs into their respective tforms. "Release!" She makes a Ram seal and the entire sealing formation light up. Rumble rumble The entire temple shook slightly and theva inside the formation drains to reveal a giant carcass of a flood dragon with eight heads. Ominous chakra, in the form of a purplish ck cloud, rises from the body of the dragon. The chakra slowly gathers into a giant sinister apparition and lunges at Miroku in an attempt to swallow her. Kuku kuhaha Bzzt Lightning crackles from the token in Miroku''s hand and creates a dark green barrier to protect her. The apparition rams into the barrier. Aaah Muah A portion of the ominous chakra evaporates upon the impact. Shrill screams fill the entire chamber as the apparition yelps in agony. Miroku tightly clutches the token in her hand and hugs it to her chest. "I hope you will make it on time." ROAR The apparition releases an anguished roar and continues to tackle the barrier while inflicting self-harm. Outside the temple Rumble Rumble The ground shakes violently, resulting in andslide from the nearby hill. "What what''s going on?" One of the guards stationed outside gulps his saliva. "I hope Miko-sama is alright," Jin worriedly stares in the direction of the temple. *RUMBLE* The ground in front of them split apart and an army of rock soldiers crawls out of it. "The demon army!!" The group''s expression turns ugly. They brandish their weapon and charges at the iing rock army. "The demon execution army of the Land of Demons was formed for this day. Today we will fulfill our duty. Charge!" The squad of fifteen people charges at an army of 100 rock soldiers. Boom Boom Sounds of explosions and collisions drown the silence of the night and light up the new moon night. Hmm Yomi, who is slowly walking through the ruins of the shrine, raises his head and stares in the direction of the ancient temple. "I can feel it! My body it''s sealed there." Mry''s hoarse voice echoes in Yomi''s ears. "The priestess is also there. She has removed the seal on my body and is currently engaged with the remnant consciousness within my body. Let''s hurry up before she finds some other way to seal or destroy my body." "Yes, my lord!" Yomi nods and dashes in the direction of the south-eastern valley. Swoosh Soon, he arrives on the edge of the valley and notices a bunch of guards engaged with the demon army. Yomi raises his hand and gathers some chakra in his palm to send an attack at the guards. "It''s inside that temple Quick!" Mry urges Yomi. Yomi lowers his hand and stares at the massive gate of the temple. Haah He makes some quick hand signs. "Medial Ninjutsu: Dark Physique Enhancement" The muscles in his arms swell out of proportion like a balloon. Yomi clutches his fist and punches at the stone gate. "Dark propulsion fist" BOOM Yomi''s punch st apart the stone gate into smithereens. Swoosh His hands return to normal size, as Mry remarks. "I still can''t disy my entire strength with this weak body." He shakes his head in disappointment and walks inside the temple inrge strides. Along the way, Yomi continues to st apart one trap after another. BOOM With another punch, he sts apart the giant Torri gate protecting thest seal. "Ah!" Miroku''s expression turns ugly as she slowly turns her head towards the exit. Yomi walks towards her with steady footsteps. "Imperial doctor Yomi! It''s you you are the one who released the demon from its prison" Miroku exims in disbelief as she recognizes Yomi. "Why? Why did you do this? Why would let this demon out of its prison?" Haha Yomi releases a peal of creepyughter as he confronts Miroku face-to-face. "Why you ask? Haha because it was you who dismissed this kind of doctor Yomi seven years ago. I saved hundreds of lives and treated thousands of people of the Land of Demon." "Kind?! You are a monster who sacrificed hundreds of children in the name of medical research. You even had designs on my daughter!" Miroku''s expression turns ugly. "A few sacrifices are necessary for the sake of the greater good. This world is rotten and I will do my part to make it a better ce. But you refuse to cooperate with me to discover the mysteries of your Dojutsu." Yomi has a fanatic expression on his face. "You relinquished your soul to the demons and now you preach about a better world! Back then, I should have asked Fudo-san to behead you." Miroku spats at Yomi in disgust. "Haha that fool died a horrific death. He discovered my secret; he discovered my lineage; so how I can let him scot-free." Yomi has a distorted expression on his face. "You you you are a descendant of the Akuma n! You are the one who murdered Fudo!" Miroku points at Yomi with trembling fingers. "That''s what he deserves for ruining my dream of a utopia. Now it''s your turn for standing in my lord''s way. Haah" "Cut the chit-chat and kill her!" Mry roars at Yomi as an uneasy feeling overwhelms him. "Yes, my lord!" Yomi answers like a fanatic and makes some hand signs. "Dar Burst Neb" He releases a burst of dark violet energy at the barrier. BANG The barrier shatters like ss and Miroku is sent flying. She ms into the walls of the cavern as blood trickles down from her head. Argh Miroku clutches her forehead in pain and pulls out a handful of talismans from her belt. She closes her eyes for a moment and chants. ''I hope it can buy me enough time.'' "Reunite my body! I have a bad premonition." Mry urges Yomi. Swish Yomi removes his cloak and unzips his trench coat to veal his bare chest. Swish swoosh With a flick of his hands, he slits opens his chest with a scalpel. Yomi leans down and ces his hand on top of the eye on the hexagonal tform. "Jin, Saru, Dan, Ragi, Reppyou, Raku, Shou!" He ms his palm on the eye to remove the final seal. ROAR The flood dragon beneath the tformes back to life. The chakra apparition swallows Yomi and gushes inside his chest. Haha "This feeling this feeling of reuniting with my body. What ecstasy!" Mryughs hysterically. Rumble rumble The giant flood dragones back to life. The central head opens its mouth and swallows Yomi. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!... This is not what you promised me, my lord!" Indignant roars of Yomi echo from Mry''s mouth. "Only a fool trusts the words of a demon. You were nothing but a disposable vessel for me on my journey to regain my body. Now you have fulfilled your purpose." Shiing Dark violet chakra engulfs the entire body of the giant flood dragon. "Now the world shall know despair! Haha" "Release!" Amidst Mry''s cackling Miroku''s faint sound echoes in the sealing chamber. Rumble Rumble Swish swish Four huge purple chakra chains erupt from the floating orbs on the tform and wrap around Mry''s body. "Kenshiro Senju!" Mry roars in anger at the backup n of Kenshiro. "You weren''t able to kill me when you were alive. Do you think you can stop me now when you are dead?" Bzzt Lightning flickers through the chains as Mry struggles to free himself. "I won''t let you!" Miroku throws a handful of talismans at Mry. The talismans float in mid-air and bombard Mry''s body with all sorts of jutsus. "Futile efforts!" Mry shields himself with one of his wings. He waves his other hand and hurls a flurry of wind des at Miroku. Swish swish nk Miroku gets blown away by the wind des. Blood drips down her from her wounds. Snap Snap One by one Mry snaps the chains binding him. Swirl Dark chakra swirls around him as his body condenses rapidly. He gains a humanoid shape as two chains still bind his left hand and leg. "This body ain''t bad!" Mry admires his new appearance. He retains the same look as Yomi except for violet hair and red eyes. Snap snap He snaps the remaining two chains with his right hand. Crack crack Mry cracks his tongue and turns towards Miroku who is barely holding her consciousness. "An uneasy feeling has been bothering me since the moment I stepped into this temple. This must be your doing. I will eradicate you and your bloodline for once and all." Shiing He condenses a long dark chakra de and swings at Miroku. "Now, DIE!!" BOOM "I am notte am I?" Chapter 352: Izuna vs Mōryō (Part-1) Chapter 352: Izuna vs Mry (Part-1) A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. .pa /ForgottenLife ------------------------------- A few moments ago, "I sense very dense negative emotions ahead?" Kurama''s grumpy voice rings in Izuna''s ears. "Kurama! It''s been a while since Ist heard from you. Do you like your new roommate?" Izuna jokes slightly. "Humph that guy has been sleeping we youst saw him!" Kurama harrumphs at the sleeping figure of Genyr. "By the way, Izuna, why do I have a nagging feeling that I missed something important? My connection with the outside world was cut off for a while." Kurama rubs his chin with his giant ws. "Did you capture some delicious prey again? I will forgive you this time, but next time I want a bigger share." Kurama nces at him and closes his eyes. "" ''Looks like Sin locked him out of my meeting with Sage of Six Paths. Well, it''s still too early to meet Sage. For now, I will deal with the issue at the hand.'' "Ok, deal!" Izuna nods and continues to fly towards the Land of Demons. At the border of the Land of Demons, he notices a group of beaten-up shinobis fighting against a rock demon army cavalry. ''I can sense therge conglomeration of negative chakra up ahead. This must be the ce.'' Shiing Izuna draws his de and shes at the rock demon cavalry. "Kenjutsu: Severing sh," A giant sword light shes through the demon army and beheads the remaining rock figures. "Where is Miko?" Izuna asks a worn-out guard. "Thanks for your help, Izuna-sama. Miko-sama predicted your arrival. She is currently locked in a battle inside the temple." Hanzo grimaces in pain as he replies. "Alright! You guys recover your injuries. I will handle the rest." Whoosh Izuna flickers inside the temple. Whoosh A wave of oppressive negative chakra oozes out of the temple. "There is too much resentment and other negative emotions mixed up in this chakra. I can''t allow it to seep out and corrupt another being. This mass of negative emotions would be a huge tonic for Roen. Too bad he is not here with me. I will try to seal as much as possible as a snack for him." Izuna aims his only hand at the gate of the temple. Fwish Fwish Izuna shoots a couple of ck receivers and makes a hand sign. "Yin-Yang: Evil Containment Seal," A dark purple barrier envelops the entire temple. Afterpleting the barrier, Izuna rushes deeper into the temple. ------------------- "Now, DIE!" Mry shes his dark chakra de at Miroku. ''Looks like I still couldn''t change my fate. At least my Shion is safe,'' Miroku closes her in resignation. BOOM A dark ck spear shoots out of nowhere and attacks Mry. "Nani?" Mry blocks the spear with his chakra de, but the impact of the spear sends him flying into a nearby cavern wall. "I am notte, am I?" Izuna hurriedly dashes towards Miroku and supports her. He uses the ''Mystic Palm Technique'' to alleviate her injuries. "No! you are right on time." Miroku heaves a sigh of relief and nods at Izuna. "I will handle the rest." He ces her down and turns towards Mry. "Be careful of his chakra. It will slowly corrode your will." Miroku warns him. "Ok!" Izuna summons the Kusanagi de and points it in Mry''s direction. The truth-seeking orb returns to his side. Crack snap Mry twists his broken arms and legs and snaps them back into ce. "I smell the foul stench of those parasites. You must be one of their descendants, just like the guy who sealed me a few centuries ago." "Otsutsuki n?!" Izuna frowns and stares at the ce he struck with the truth-seeking spear. ''No damage! Looks like this demon is immune to the certain kill effect of Six Paths.'' "Time and time again! Either it was those damn parasites or those Astral demons. This time, I won''t allow anyone to ruin our ns. You will be my first prey." Mry swings his des and shes out a dark wave of chakra. "Negative Release: Annihtion sh," [A/N: - Negative release is just a jutsu of negative chakra. I used this term to separate Dark Release and Darkness Release from it. Another point to rify is that dark release uses normal chakra. Darkness release is unique to the Sin book, Izuna, and other rted beings. The negative release is unique to Roen, Zero-tails, Abyssal Nightmares, or other corrupted creatures. In the future, I will use it as such.] Hmm Izuna feels a sense of threat from the iing sh, which surprises him. "This attack has some power ofws mixed within it. It is simr to that floating orb behind you. Don''t get casually hit by it." Genry''s warning sounds in Izuna''s ears. Whoosh Izuna flickers away from the attack and avoids the attack. sh The sword swing chops out a portion of the roof and hits the barrier. The corrosive power of the sh sizzles the cavern and smoke rise from the barrier. "You are awake?!" Izuna asks Genyr. "I was awoken by the early energy surge." Genyr turns towards Mry and frowns. "Abyssal Dread! This world has an Abyssal Dread!" ??? Question marks pop into Izuna''s mind as he parry''s another attack of Mry with the sword of the truth-seeking ball. "Isn''t it an Abyssal Nightmare?" He questions. "Abyssal Dreads are evolved forms of Abyssal Nightmares. There are different types of Abyssal creatures, ranging from bottom barrel crawlers, and lurkers to mid-tier troops like nightmares, headhunters, and soul-eaters to high-tier troops like dread, devourers, and yers. There is also a centurion above them, but I don''t know much about them." Genyr shakes his head. "How do you know so much about them?" Izuna asks curiously. "The resources of a middle-size world are even tempting to Abyss. Before the arrival of Otsutsuki, we were invaded by Abyss. Their army consisted of two centurions, 4 dreads, 7 devourers, and 3 yers. However, they pulled back when they faced Otsutsuki. If Otsutsuki likes to parasitize and devour everything and spit out bones, then Abyss just swallows everything without waste." Genyr calmly exins to Izuna. "This flood dragon is a dread; you must be careful of his corrosive attacks. Light element is quite effective against it." "Alright! After this battle, tell me more about the Abyssal creatures and their weaknesses. For now, I have a battle to finish." Izuna turns his attention to Mry who is pissed at Izuna for blocking and dodging his attack. "Damn rat! Don''t you dare dodge my attack," Mry spouts profanities to vent his hatred and relentlessly attack Izuna. He raises his left hand and gathers arge amount of negative chakra in his arm. "Negative Release: Dread mes" Dark violet mes with burning images of skeletons light up in Mry''s hand. "Die!" Mry waves his arm in a circle andunches a spiral of mes at Izuna. Shiing Izuna''s eyes change to Mangekyo Sharingan. "Sin," He stretches his hand as the sin seal activates. Several totems crawl over his entire arm and fuse in his right eye. A demonic ck horn sprouts on the right side of his head. Izuna''s voice turns bone-chilling as he spats. "Darkness Style: Violent Hell me," Izuna infuses the sword with dark purple mes and swings at the iing spiral of violet mes. BOOM Both mes collide and extinguish each other. "That form" Mry''s eyes constrict as he stares at Izuna''s demonic form. "How did you have this power? How did you possess the power of Astral demons?" Mry roars and attacks him again. ng Izuna blocks his swing with his sword and coats his leg with darkness chakra and kicks Mry in the gut, sending him flying. Bleurgh Mry spats out violet blood and ms into another wall. "You must die! No matter what." Mry issues a decree andunches himself at Izuna. Izuna puts down the sword and converts it into a gauntlet. He channels light chakra through the gauntlet. He clenches his fist and blocks the iing punch. Sizzle sizzle Smoke rises from Izuna''s fist as the light chakra incinerates Mry''s arm and the negative chakra corrodes the gauntlet. Crunch Izuna clutches Mry''s fist tightly and headbutts him, pounding him on the floor. "Damn! What a thick skull." Izuna rubs his sore head. Roar Mry roars in anger and riles up his chakra. Rumble rumble Rubble falls from the roof as the chakra corrodes everything in its surrounding. Whoosh Izuna arrives beside Miroku and shields her with his Susanoo. He stabs a ck receiver on the ground to act as a medium for his Susanoo. Fwoosh The chakra storm clears to reveal Mry''s garbed in an armament. His entire body is covered with ck armor made of scales. He holds a long spear in his right hand and a tower shield in his left hand. "DIE!" Mry charges at Izuna and hurls his spear. Whoosh Time seems to slow down for Izuna as he leans down and avoids the spear. Bang With a backflip, he kicks the spear and sends it back at its wielder. Bang Mry parries the spear with his shield and rams into Izuna. Izuna clutches his fist as red lightning flickers through his eyes. A cyan cloak envelops him as he punches the shield. *BOOM* Chapter 353: Izuna vs Mōryō (Part-2) Chapter 353: Izuna vs Mry (Part-2) A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. .pa /ForgottenLife ------------------------------- *BOOM* The explosion blows apart a giant chunk of the hill. Swoosh swoosh Two figures sh out of the smoke and dust. Haah Izuna clenches his fist and hammers it on Mry''s chest. Bleurgh Whoosh Mry pukes out a mouthful of blood and is sent flying. BANG He collides with a nearby hill, copsing it as a result. Huff Huff Izuna breathes heavily and wipes the sweat from his forehead. My chakra is rapidly draining because of the corrosive properties of negative chakra. "Izuna-kun, are you ok?" Miroku asks him in concern. "I I am I am alright!" Izuna waves his hand. ''Kurama, give me chakra, will you?'' ''Ok!'' Kurama transfers a small part of his chakra to Izuna. ROAR Mry roars in rage and blows apart the hill. A giant flood dragon with eight heads leaps out of the hill. Each head charges an energy cannon and releases it at Izuna. "Susanoo: Yata no Kagami," Izuna ces a dark ck chakra tower shield and blocks the beams of attack. Roar roar roar The eight heads screech and surround Izuna. Rip Izuna summons his full-body Susanoo and shes apart all eight heads with a single sh. Swirl All eight heads regenerate almost immediately and roar at Izuna. All of them open their mouth and charge another beam of negative chakra. "As if I would let you do that!" Swoosh The Susanoo ps its wings and charges at Mry. sh Izuna makes a crisscross sh, destroying the eight heads again. Swirl The negative chakra coalesces again and reforms Mry''s body. "So tenacious!" Izuna frown at the instantaneous regeneration of the giant flood dragon. "Izuna, these abyssal creatures are spiritual life forms. They are almost immune to physical attacks. Attack them with powerful energy or a spiritual attack to kill them. Use the Dragon de to attack him. It should be able to get the job done." Genry suggests him. "Alright! It''s worth a shot." Izuna summons the dragon de from his storage. Shiing He infuses light chakra into the dragon de. The dragon de quickly adjusts to the size of Susanoo and glows with a blue light. Mry''s giant dragon eye beads constrict as he feels trepidation from the de. "Human! I won''t let you destroy our n so easily. I will take you down with me." Chomp Chomp The central head rapidly chomps on other heads. After sacrificing seven other heads, the central head grows to an enormous size. A gigantic red crystal horn appears on the head. Crack Mry snaps the giant crystal from its head and proceeds to stab it in his chest. "Quick, stop him! He is about to perform a sacrificial move." Genry''s urgent voice echoes in Izuna''s ears. "Damnit! You are even more unreliable than Kurama." Izuna curses him and swings the giant de towards the crystal core. *BOOM* A gigantic explosion urs at the point of impact. With the crystal and Izuna as an epicenter, a massive pir of purple energy rises in the atmosphere. Multiple concentric rings of energy sweep through the air, clearing the clouds in the sky and illuminating the entire Land of Demons. Rumble Rumble Ground trembles incessantly as the shock waves travel through the entire continent. Miroku closes her eyes as the remnant Susanoo blocks the shock wave. After a few minutes, the dust and smoke slowly settle down to reveal a massive crater the size of an entire vige. The ck receiver turns into dust and the Susanoo evaporates into the air. "Izuna-kun!" Miroku hurriedly dashes towards the crater. From the top, she notices a gigantic humanoid gully. Silver and golden chakra mes flicker through the gully as nearly three-fourths of Izuna''s Susanoo is blown to smithereens. The remaining Susanoo dissipates as Izuna slowly rises from the gully. Huff huff He breathes heavily and stares at the aftermath of battle. "I I am fine. Just a little exhausted from the battle." Izuna waves his hand at Miroku. "I I didn''t expect him to straight up blow himself once he started losing the battle. Unfortunately, I lost the truth-seeking orb given by the Sage of Six Paths. However, soon I will be able to make them on my own." He dusts his clothes and slowly rises in the air. "He isn''t dead yet!" Genry''s words pour a bucket of cold water and drown his sense of victory. "Damnit, Genyr, if you don''t speak; no one will consider you mute. Just speak everything in one go!" Izuna gets irritated at the bits and pieces of information given by the white dragon. "Well I" Genry hesitates for a bit before continuing. "Every high-tier and above being of Abyss can self-destruct. Once they self-destruct, their spiritual body will dissipate and their soul will return to Abyss. You can''t kill them unless you use the power of concept the power ofws." "You must have said that earlier. Still, I got a rough estimate of the strength of these Abyssal creatures from the previous fight. The low-tier soldiers should have the strength of chunnins and special jounins. Mid-tier soldiers should be around high-level Jounins to somewhere around the level of a Kage. As for high-tier soldiers like Mry can easily rival the likes of Hashirama Senju." Izuna spectes the threat level of Abyssal creatures. "As for my current strength, I am stronger than Lord First by a huge margin; but I am still weaker than the Sage of Six Path. Then, I can assume the power of an Abyssal centurion to be around the level of an Otsutsuki member. Even if I am slightly weaker than them in terms of raw power; I can fully make up for it in terms of the arsenal of powerful jutsu and Rinne-Sharingan. I still have a chance against the possible centurion sealed in the HOLE," He tightly clutches his first. "That old geezer is still as unreliable as ever. He didn''t even tell me such important information." Izuna scolds the Sage of Six Paths in his mind. "Are you alright?" Miroku hurriedly approaches him. "Just some superficial wounds." Izuna shakes his head. He turns to Miroku as he recalls the purpose of his head. "I have something important to ask of you." "It''s about the barrier in HOLE, right?" Miroku nods her head. "Umm yes but how did you know?" "I sensed it earlier. The Miko who sealed the demons in that ce was from my n, or to be exact, she is my predecessor. Our ancient n existed long before the era of chakra. We once received help from a very powerful being as he taught us the various demon sealing rituals and granted us the power of spiritual reincarnation. Later, we awakened Reigan, and it became a part of Dojutsu''s ability. Land of Demons is our homnd. The people living in the HOLE are the members of the branch family responsible for maintaining the seal of Ama no Hoko." Miroku exins the origin of her n. "I I see... that makes sense. So about the barrier" "Here!" Miroku passes the hexagonal sealing talisman to Izuna. "This is the key to the barrier around the Ama no Hoko. It will allow you passage inside the barrier and will also help you search for Saezuri. Unfortunately, our branch doesn''t have the sound pattern to activate it." "It''s okay! I have a way around it." Izuna grabs the seal and flies towards the HOLE. "Itachi, Shisui, and the rest are still locked inside the barrier. I hope they are alright!" He increases his speed and disappears into the sky in the blink of an eye. "The demon haunting the Land of Demons for centuries is finally dead. But somehow, I don''t feel happy about it." Sigh Miroku heaves a sigh of relief and stares at the ruins of the temple and shakes her head. "Miko-sama! Miko-sama are you alright?" Hanzo arrives near the crater with the remaining ten or so guards. Hiss He gasps in horror at the sheer size of the crater. "I am fine!" Miroku stares at the beaten and battered expression of the Demon execution army guards. "Let''s return to the vige and handle the situation there. This time, the vige has suffered many casualties." "Yes, Miko-sama!" Hanzo follows after Miroku as she returns to the vige. "Once we settle the situation at the vige, I will make a trip to Konoha to fetch Shion." Chapter 354: Start of the Disaster Chapter 354: Start of the Disaster A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife Check paragraphment for cover page. ------------------------------- Back at the center of Ama-No-Hoka, "What?" Sasuke and Naruto warily stare at the thick pir of dark purple energy. A chill runs through their spine as the beam merges with the wormhole. "Such evil energy!" "We must stop them!" Sasuke resolutely clenches his fist. Chirp chirp chii Purple lightning shes between his fingers. "Lightning Release: Purple Lightning Chidori Sharp Spear," Sasuke condenses another lightning spear and discharges it toward Kusuna. "Protect Aniki!" Gitai jumps in front of the lightning spear and punches his demonic fists. "Earth Release: Negative Metal Body" A dark shade of brown charka with a tint of violet wraps his body and forms a coating of metal around his fists. He punches toward the iing lightning spear. Poof The lightning spear dissipates into a cloud of white smoke as Naruto emerges from the smoke. "Eat this! Wind Release: Reverse Spiral Rasengan," Naruto throws the Rasengan towards Gitai. "Haah!" Naruto joins his palms to guide the Rasengan. Swoosh The Rasengan circles around Gitai and flies towards Kusuna, who is in the middle of the summoning ritual. BANG Gitai''s fistsnd on Naruto. Bleurgh Naruto coughs up a mouthful of saliva. Poof "A shadow clone!" Swish A lightning spear arrives beside the clone and pierces through Gitai''s chest. Ssh Thump A mix of purple and red blood sshes from Gitai''s chest. He falls to the ground while clutching his chest. "Hiding in the shadow!" Sasuke murmurs silently. "NO!" Setsuna and Shizuku leap towards the wind Rasengan to stop it. "Wind Release: Demonic Dark Wind" "Water Release: Negative Riptide" Both of them attack simultaneously to counter the Wind Release Rasengan." Fwoosh Both jutsus shes and negate each other. Huff huff Setsuna and Shizuku breathe heavily. They have expanded a lot of negative chakras in such a short amount of time. Heh Sasuke, who has fallen to the ground, smirks. "It''s not the end yet!" "Something is not right! Where is that yellow-haired brat?" An uneasy feeling rushed into Setsuna''s heart. Rumble Naruto leaps out of the ground near a defenseless Kusuna. "Eat this! Cho-Odama Rasengan!" He smashes a big ball Rasengan into Kusuna''s back. Rumble rumble The Rasengan drills into Kusuna''s back and sends him flying. Bleurgh Kusuna spits out a mouthful of blood and smashes it into nearby walls. He slides down the wall as purple fumes rise from his body, slowly healing him. "Argh NOOOO!!!" He clenches his chest and ferociously stares at Naruto and Sasuke. "You insects have foiled the great n of his majesty. We will tear you to shreds." The features of the Gang of Four turn more demonic as dark purple scales all over their body as they morph into the second stage of their Demonification. "This is not good!" Gulp Naruto gulps his saliva as he supports an exhausted Sasuke. "Damn it! Why can they transform again?" "Naruto erects the barrier given by Izuna Nii-san. It will buy us enough time for the rest of the group to arrive." Sasuke takes out a ck scroll from his pocket. Naruto takes out another white scroll from his pocket. Swoosh Both scrolls unfurl into the air to reveal a kanji of "Heaven" and "Earth". "Ying Yang Release: Heaven Earth Mystic Formation" A silver barrier surrounds them. Bang Bang The Gang of Four violently punches and unleashes a barrage of jutsus on the barrier. Rumble rumble Ripples spread through the barrier, but it stands perfectly fine nheless. "Wow! Amazing!" Naruto stares at the barrier with awe. "Izuna Nii-san''s jutsu is incredible. I wonder when I will be as strong as him. I also want to learn this barrier jutsu, but Izuna Nii-san told me that I have no talent in Fuinjutsu." Naruto scratches his head in embarrassment. "It''s because you are dumb!" Sasuke rolls his eyes and eats some chakra pills to replenish his chakra. "Earlier, what was that terrifying chakra? I still get goosebumps just thinking about it!" Sasuke warily stares at the giant scar in the sky and shakes his head in fear. "It''s a very powerful evil entity! The one that feeds on the emotions. Kurama told me this." Naruto raises his head and stares at the giant scar in the sky. Aah Suddenly, his body freezes on the spot. The pupil in his eyes constricts. "Ssss Sasu Sassuuke!" Naruto points towards the sky with trembling fingers. "Huh! What happened Naruto?" Sasuke turns his gaze towards the direction pointed by a trembling Naruto. "Aah" His legs turn to jelly. An overwhelming sense of extreme terror and helplessness spreads through his being. A gigantic eye appears near the previously opened portal. Naruto and Sasuke fall into a daze as they stare at the giant eye. Kusuna and the rest of the gang''s four members tremble in pleasure and kneel towards the giant eye. Swoosh A beam of dark violet chakra shoots out of the eye andnds on the barrier protecting Naruto and Sasuke. Crack Numerous cracks slowly spread through the barrier as it slowly falls apart. Snap Snap The bracelet around Naruto and Sasuke''s wrists shatters into pieces. Numerous Fuinjutsu seals spread across the barrier to stabilize it. "AH!" Naruto and Sasuke break out from their daze and immediately turn their eyes away. "What what a powerful genjutsu? I almost died!" Sasuke wipes the cold sweat from his forehead. "Don''t stare at that eye." Yang Kurama warns Naruto and Sasuke. The giant eyeball flickers rapidly to reveal a hint of emotion. It turns its attention towards the kneeling Gang of Four. Swoosh swoosh Violet fumes rise from their bodies as the group screams in pain. Their bodies decrepit rapidly, revealing their dried muscles and bones. In a few seconds, even the bones turn into ashes as the eye extracts the snake-like sentient chakra from them. The chakra snakes merge into one to form a grotesque-looking creature. Twisted horns grow out of its head. Rotting flesh and barbed bones jut from the body. The creature immediately grows into a gigantic abomination with demonic features of every gang''s four members. Roar It roars and spread opens its arms to reveal a pair of flesh wings. p p The creature flies towards the gigantic portal and starts to attack it to expand its size. ------------------- Hmm While flying through the chaotic space of the Hole, Izuna stares at the various images produced by Genry. ''So, these snake-like creatures are Abyssalrkers. They don''t have a physical form, so they possess others and feed on their chakra and emotions to produce negative chakra. Once they have enough negative chakra, they overwhelm the mind of the host and modify it ording to their needs. To advance further into nightmares and dreads, they either devour each other or continue to feed on the surrounding negative chakra. Abyssal dreads have enough appetite to devour the negative chakra of therge-scale continent.'' "Damn! The resource Genry mentioned is the people of this world. If I let them run amok, they will gobble these shinobi nations like a snack. No wonder that old man prophesied the doom of the entire world. Their hunger is not the scary part, the scary part is their ability to multiply by possessing others. People with weak wills will instantly turn into an Abyssal demon." Izuna helplessly shakes his head. "Also, there is that sealed centurion in the isted space of HOLE. I don''t even know how strong he is!" Whoosh Izuna arrives in front of the crimson barrier surrounding the Hole. He takes out the hexagonal sealing talisman key. The talisman sticks to the barrier and expands rapidly to form a gate in the barrier. Swoosh Izuna flies inside the barrier. Hmm A wave of overwhelming negative chakra greets him. Izuna''s eyes constrict as he stares at the gigantic portal in the sky. Shiing His eye spins and changes into Rinnegan. "That is" Izuna notices the gigantic eye behind the portal and a humanoid monster smashing the walls of the space around the portal. "This aura! Mry is a jokepared to this aura." Izuna''s expression turns serious. "And also, that humanoid abomination is almost on the verge of an Abyssal dread. Looks like it''s being controlled by that giant eye. Oh! It noticed me." The pupil in the giant eye spins and turns towards Izuna. Rumble rumble The space around the portal shakes violently, as if the eye is trying to forcefully break through the space. "It''s pissed at me!" Izuna touches his face. "Is it jealous of my handsomeness?" "" Genry, Kurama, and even Sin roles their eyes. "It must have sensed the danger from you and thus is trying to break through the seal." Genry coughs slightly. Izuna also senses the chakra of the rest of the people in the Hole. He notices the presence of Kakashi, Shisui, Itachi, and the rest of the group. "Naruto and Sasuke are close to the eye. Fortunately, they are safe for now. If that dread attacked the barrier instead of the sealing space, then I might be attending their funeral a few monthster." Izuna murmurs. "No! Others would be attending my funeral together with them." Izuna peeks inside his body and stares at the almost ruptured state of the chakra system. ''The battle with Mry pushed the deadline even closer. But I have a feeling that I will get the solution to my problem in this ce. It will be a disgrace to the god who gave me a second chance to just die like that.'' Izuna clenches his fist and flies towards the group. Hmm "This strange chakra" Chapter 355: GOD Chapter 355: GOD A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ------------------------------- Hmm "This strange chakra I see! So that''s the bloodline of that Miko. It sure has some strange abilities. Abilities to reincarnate into the past, peer into the future, irvoyance, and now even the ability to control samsara to a certain extent. This Miko''s bloodline is worth studying. Too bad I don''t have an opportunity now." Izuna senses the bloodline of Miina. ''She seems to possess a connection with this ce. Or perhaps the other key to this prison lies in her bloodline.'' Izuna spectes while observing the group from afar. He arrives in front of the group. Huh! Kakashi, Shisui, and Itachi sense his presence. "What are you doing here? Aren''t you on a special mission in the Land of Sky?" Kakashi questions him. "Ipleted that mission and now I am your reinforcement for this mission." Izuna shrugs his shoulder and continues to stare at Miina. Miina turns towards Izuna and cutely waves her hand. "Hello, big brother!" She feels a sense of intimacy with Izuna. "What a cute little girl!" Izuna gently pats her head. "You are" Dokku stands in front of Miina, shielding her from Izuna. "I am with them." Izuna points towards the Konoha group as Kakashi nods in affirmation. He sends the vigers away and turns to the group. "This vige is trouble!" Kakashi sighs helplessly. Kakashi gives a detailed report of the previous few days to Izuna. "Hmm It''s as I expected. But let me add a few more things." Izuna recounts his experience and spections of the Land of Sky and Land of Demons while hiding information about the Sage of Six paths and Genyr. "If what you say is true, then Ama no Hoko can''t fall in the hands of those demons. We have to either kill that sealed demon or reseal it." Asuma lights up a cigarette while shaking his head. "What a pain!" "But we need all those rods to reinstate the seal, and Kabuto stole most of them." Kurenai points out. "We don''t have to worry about the sound rods, since someone is here to deliver them for us." Izuna''s smirk turns towards the space a few patches away. "Ain''t I right Hachou Vige chief or S-rank criminal Disonasu?" "What?" Kakashi and the rest carefully look around but are unable to sense even a single soul. Even Shisui and Itachi are unable to sense his presence despite their Sharingan. "Haha as expected of a shinobi who single-handily defeated Pain." Disonasu magically appears in front of the group. He lowers his robe to reveal his face and several scars on his head. "What?" The identity of Disonasu shocks the rest of the group. "I have heard about it from my Anbu days." Kakashi reveals the information about Disonasu. "Previously, he was a temporary member of Akatsuki. He joined the criminal group together with Orochimaru. However,ter they had some disagreements with Pain. He teamed up with Orochimaru to battle Pain, only to suffer a defeat in his hands, and thus, as a result, he left Akatsuki just after two months of his recruitment." "What?! He is that strong." Kurenai stares at Disonasu in shock. "Haha you young people tter me!" Disonasuughs heartily. "Pain! That person he is not a human he is a god with such divine powers." He clenches his fists. "I suffered a humiliating defeat under his hands and have to tuck my tail between my legs to save my life." Disonasu strokes the scars on his head. "So, tobat the power of a god; you went to seek the power of a god." Izuna calmly walks toward him. "Somehow, or should I say someone purposefully led you to the information regarding the sealed ancient weapon, Ama no Hoko. Ten years ago, you sneaked into the Hachou vige; killed the previous chief, and stole his identity for yourself. Well, working with Orochimaru had its perks. I wonder how much of a discount he gave to you for stic surgery." Izuna chuckles as Disonasu''s expression turns slightly pale. "You slowly studied the seal around the Hole in an attempt to break it privy to the horror behind it." ''Why is everyone rted to Orochimaru a nutcase? Be it Hiroku, Yomi, or Shinn.'' "Haha you have quite a thorough intel on me." Disonasu has a twisted expression. "But it''s toote! I have already unsealed the power of Ama no Hoko. Now, my master will rule this world once again." Snap Snap Disonasu''s body makes a crackling sound as arge amount of negative chakra pumps into his body. His body expands rapidly to reveal dark scales and fine-toned muscles. Bang Disonasu ms his fists together and hungrily stares at Izuna. "I sold my soul to the devil to get this power to seek revenge on Pain. Since you defeated him; I will kill you to prove my strength." ??? Question marks appear on Izuna''s hand as he angrily spats at Disonasu. "Oji-san, if you have a problem, then go and seek your revenge on Pain. Don''t drag me into your vengeance." "I will kill him after I deal with you. You are the only obstacle that stands in my lords'' way." Bang Disonasu punches Izuna. Izuna dodges the attack as Disonasu''s punch leaves a crater on the ground. The nearby vigers and members of Konoha 12 rush towards themotion. "He is the vige chief." Shiseru recognizes Disonasu from his tattered clothes. "He is someone else disguised as the vige chief!" Kurenai warns them. Haha DIEE!! Disonasu pulls out the Onikiri de from his clothes and swings it towards Izuna. ng Izuna blocks the de with a kunai as the sword slices through it. ''This sword can slice through my chakra.'' Izuna narrows his eyes and cautiously stares at the de. "That''s that''s grandpa''s sword!" Leo yells and points toward the de in Disonasu''s hands. "Why do you have grandpa''s sword? Return it to me." Leo rushes towards Disonasu, but Dokku grabs him. Tears flow through the viger''s eyes as they understand the truth about the previous massacre of the vige. "Asuma, Kurenai! Lead the Konoha 12 members and vigers out of this ce. There is going to be a big battle here soon. I have opened an entrance in the barrier. Use it to get as far away as possible." Tch Asuma clicks his tongue and nods his head. "Alright! I will follow your orders." "No one is going anywhere!" The monster turns towards the vigers and pounces on them. Bang Izuna punches him in the gut and sends him flying. "Kakashi, Guy, Shisui, and Itachi! You four handle this big guy while I fetch Naruto and Sasuke." "Big brother Izuna!" Miina''s feeble but sharp voice rings in the somber atmosphere. "Miina!" Izuna turns towards the little girl. Tap Miina gently taps Izuna''s head. Swirl A faint purple light shines on his forehead. "I see!" Miina loses consciousness and falls to the ground. Izuna quickly catches her and passes her to Dokku. He gently pats her head. "Big brother will take care of the rest!" Whoosh Izuna quickly flickers in the direction of the sacrificial altar. ''I can''t stop the emergence of the Centurion since the seal is already broken. But I can unseal Ama no Hoko to fight with him on equal grounds.'' Seven transparent rods appear in Izuna''s hands. ''Through some means, Disonasu obtained the power of demons. I suspect it to be the work of that lunatic Shinn. From the information I got from Kakashi and the rest, he stole these sound keys during the massacre with the help of Kabuto.'' Tsk Tsk ''He is still aiming for the power of Ama no Hoko. He was intending to use us to clear the demons for him while he rob the power from Ama no Hoko. Too bad for him. He leaked his negative emotions and thus blew his cover.'' Izuna caresses the sound rods. ''What amazing material? It is a mix of chakra and some unknown metal. This is the work of some powerful civilization. I can''t even scratch them despite using all my strength.'' "It''s origin metal, the same material as the dragon de." Genyr exins to him. "While the dragon de has some traces of the Origin metal, these rods are made of pure Origin metal." Genyr has a shocked expression. "Origin metal?!" Izuna and Kurama have curious expressions. "Origin metal is condensed from the source energy of a world. Natural energy and chakra are just a derivative of it. What the Otsutsuki and the Abyss demons are after is the source of energy of a world. Origin energy gives them a chance to further evolve into a GOD." "GOD?!" "I don''t have much information about the GOD. I only know that it is a higher state of being with the ability to control and alter the very fundamentalws of this universe." Genyr shakes his head. Hmm ''GOD is it simr to the GOD I met or is it something entirely different or a higher being?'' Izuna ponders the origin of the god. "Anyway, for now I should focus on the problem at hand." Chapter 356: Annihilation Chapter 356: Annihtion A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ------------------------------- Izuna quickly arrives at the sacrificial altar. He throws a cursory nce at the altar and then turns his attention toward an unconscious Naruto and Sasuke. There are several cracks in the protective barrier around them and it is barely holding out. Izuna disperses the barrier and checks up on the duo. "Sasuke has exhausted his chakra and Naruto has passed out from the bacsh of the negative emotion sensing technique of Kurama. Other than that, they have some minor injuries which will heal in no time." Swish swish "Summoning Jutsu: Katsuyu" Poof A white slug with a blue striped line appears in front of Izuna. "Izuna-kun!" "Lady Katsuyu! Take these two to safety and help me treat the rest of the vigers and shinobis. Also, Lady Tsunade''s disciple is with them." Katsuyu raises her antler and nces at the giant eye in the rift. She shivers at the sight of that frightening chakra oozing out from the centurion. "Izuna-kun, take care!" "Don''t worry, Lady Katsuyu, I don''t have any n to die yet." Izuna smiles at her and waves his hand as he mutters to himself. ''I might really die this time.'' He stares at the state of his body. ''Due to the influence of this negative chakra, the detriment of my chakra system has elerated. Perhaps this will be myst fight.'' Izuna tightly clutches his fist. ''But somehow, I have a gut feeling that not only will I find a cure, but I will also get stronger if I survive this battle.'' Izuna closes his eyes and listens to the mysterious notes humming inside his mind. ''This must be the sound pattern for Saezuri to unleash the Ama no Hoko. But why does it feel like I have heard it before?'' Haah He shakes his head and opens his eyes, and res at the giant eye in the sky. ''Since you want to desperately free yourself from this prison, I will lend you a hand.'' Izuna steadily walks on top of the reverse pentagon seal. Bang He stomps on the ground and destroys the floor underneath to reveal a hidden alcove. There is an odd-looking device in the alcove. Wham wham The sound rods in Izuna''s pocket fly on their own. The device also floats out of the alcove. nk nk nk Izuna grabs the rods and slots them in the keyholes. A futuristic panel appears on top of the ancient device. Izuna hums the melody sung by Miina and presses on the device ordingly. Haa Humm Hoo Haa The rhythm of the song echoes throughout the hole as the musical note enchants almost everyone. Outside the barrier, Dokku and the rest of the vigers hear the melody of Ama no Hoko. "That''s the that''s the melody Miina usually hums." Leo instantly points it out. All the vigers silently stare at an unconscious Miina. "So, the legends are true. Our ancestors were the guardians of the HOLE." Ausma and Kurenai stare at each other and shake their head. "We must do what can we do in our power to fulfill our part of the responsibility." Kurenai sighs helplessly. "The old man was right! Even if the sky falls one day, there will be someone to hold it for us." He lights up a cigarette. ------------- Inside the barrier, Kakashi, Guy, Shisui, and Itachi''sbined effort easily subdues the demonized Disonasu. Itachi summons the Totsuka de and pierces it through Disonasu to seal him in a gourd. Kakashi stares at the giant rift in the sky. "I have a bad feeling about this." He turns towards Shisui and Itachi. "I feel like Izuna is going to do something reckless again!" Shisui and Itachi stare at each other and nod. "We both also have this jittery feeling since the moment Izuna Nii-san appeared. Let''s go and help him. We might not be able to help much, but at least we won''t be a burden likest time." All of them recall the previous encounter with Urashiki and Isshiki. "We have grown a lot stronger since then!" Shisui clutches his fist. "Let''s go!" ---------------- Back at the Ama no Hoko. Saezuri continues to produce the musical notes and slowly molds them into different shapes. Bam bam The mind-controlled demon who is hammering the seal around the rift pauses in its action. It slowly turns its head towards Izuna and growls. Whoosh The demon lunges at Izuna as its entire body gets coated with the negative chakra. "So, you sensed my intention!" Izuna calmly raises his head and stares at the gigantic eye in the rift. "Yes, I don''t have any intention of resealing you; I will kill you and end it for once and for all." SUSANOO!! Izuna roars as arge amount of chakra pours out of his body to form gold and silver Susanoo. There is a gigantic ck shield on Susanoo''s back. Whoosh The Susanoo stretches out his left palm. Fiveplete truth-seeking orbs appear on its fingertips. The Susanoo clenches its fist as the truth-seeing orbs fuse to form a de. ''Sword of Nunoboko,'' The Susanoo wields arge, double-helix-shaped great sword. "For the first time in my life, I will go all out!" He swings the sword towards the rapidly approaching demon. "Annihtion Release: Absolute Severance," All five types of elemental chakra condense on the tip of the Nunoboko de. The elemental chakra harmonizes in such a destructive way that any sort of imbnce might trigger a copse in their form. *BOOOMMM* An ear-piercing, deafening explosion urs at the tip of the Nunoboko de as the condensed sword light forcefully pushes the air in its vicinity to create a vacuum. The surrounding airpresses in a cone and blows backward like a powerful stream of jet, blowing everything to dust in its immediate surrounding. The beam of sword light rapidly approaches the demon and drowns it in its radiance, annihting it in the process. *BANG* The annihtion beam hits the crimson barrier around the HOLE. Crack crack With a sound like the shattering of ss, numerous cracks appear all over the barrier as it is almost on the verge of copsing. Huff huff Izuna breathes heavily as he stares at the aftereffects of his jutsu. "Huff huff so this is the power of an offensive Kekkai Mora. If the power of a Kekkai Shi is vastly spread out, then the power of a Kekkai Mora is extremely condensed. Condensed to the point that it can distort the very reality and matter." Izuna stares at the aftermath of the jutsu. There are numerous chaotic space fragments in the wake of the impact. The annihtion beam has left a ravine of sma in its path. Harmful radiation continues to leak out from the surroundings as nearby nts and other microscopic lifeforms wither and die. "The demon and the barrier absorbed ny-nine percent of the force of the jutsu, otherwise the situation might be even worse." Izuna shakes his head and stares at the Nunoboko sword in his hands. There are multiple cracks in it. "If truth-seeking balls are a utility type jutsu, then my annihtion release is a pure destruction type jutsu. After all, destruction is much easier than creation." Izuna shakes his head in dismay. "Kaguya was something else to create a powerful utility type Kekkai Mora, like Truth seeking balls. Later, Hagoromo, Hamura, and their descendants received it as an heirloom. However, for me How could I be content with just the truth-seeking ball? I won''t be a true sage if I didn''t create my own Kekkai Mora. Besides, Kaguya took centuries, whereas it only took me ten years." Sparks appear in between Izuna''s fingers as the five elemental chakras perfectly synchronize with each other in harmony. "There are still ws in it. It''s the reason I had to use truth-seeking orbs to stabilize it. Once perfected, it would be a grade above the truth-seeking balls. Still, if I use it at full power, I can easily cleave the entire shinobi world in half." The previous attack wasn''t a gamble. He consulted Genry about the strength of the crimson barrier. Only after getting his confirmation did he release this jutsu? Whoosh A fierce wind blows towards the vacuum created by the previous jutsu. Kakashi, Guy, Shisui, and Itachi are almost blown away by the winds. Shisui and Itachi summon their Susanoo to shield Kakashi and Guy from the strong winds. "This jutsu" Kakashi and Guy stare at each other with trepidation. "This monster had long left us in the dust. We could only chase his footprints on the sand. But now, not even footprints are visible." Both of them shake their head and give up any hope of catching up to Izuna. "At least, he was never our target to surpass!" Kakashi heaves a sigh of relief. "With him around, Konoha will be safe from all sorts of otherworldly threats lurking in the dark." Chapter 357: Adversary Chapter 357: Adversary A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ------------------------------- "Izuna" "Nii-san!" Kakashi, Guy, Shisui, and Itachi fly towards Izuna. Izuna turns towards them and smiles. "This is not a battle you guys can participate in." A shiver runs through their spine as the giant eye scrutinizes them. Izuna points his hand towards them. "Almighty push!" Fwoosh. Shisui and Itachi''s Susanoo are sent flying towards the exit on the barrier. "Nii-san! You don''t have to bear this responsibility on your own." Shisui shouts at him. "Shisui is right! We can strategize and fight ordingly. All of us can y a part to the best of our abilities." Kakashi suggests to him. "No!" Izuna shakes his head. "In front of absolute power, no strategy or scheme stands a chance." With that, he pushes them out of the Hole and closes the exit of the barrier. ''Also, I don''t want any other causality in this battle.'' Izuna recalls the previous encounter with Isshiki. ''In the heat of battle and recklessness, I don''t want to lose any of you. Also, I have a high chance to win this battle and survive. Though I can''t say anything about the aftermath!'' He clears useless thoughts from his head and turns his attention toward the Saezuri. The Saezuripletes its transformation, leaving behind a peculiar weapon. Izuna nces at the weapon. It''s dumbbell-shaped with a ribbed spherical head on both sides. The handle of the weapon shines with a metallic luster as it slowly rotates mid-air. "How is this a spear? It looks like a freaking baton. Should I bash someone with its sharp end?" Izuna holds the weapon in his hand and curiously inspects it. There are unfamiliar ruins intricately inscribed over the entire body of the weapon. "So, how do I use this thing?" Izuna questions himself. He flips the ancient weapon into his palm. "Maybe I should infuse some chakra in it, since it seems like a chakra weapon." Izuna infuses his chakra into the weapon, but there is no change. "Huh! No reaction?! Then what about nature energy?" He infuses it with nature energy but there is no change whatsoever. Izuna furrows his brows. "Could I be wrong about it? Could this thing might not be a weapon, but something else?" "Try to infuse with light chakra!" Genry suggests him. "Alright!" Izuna infuses the light chakra into the ancient weapon. Wham wham Ama no Hoko greedily sucks his light chakra. Half of the inscriptions on it light up. Swoosh "It rapidly increases in size and fits in the hand of Susanoo. Fwoosh Fwoosh A beam of white light shoots out from the ribbed spherical ends. The entire weapon takes the shape of a glowing white thunderbolt. "This this is" Izuna is shocked by the sudden change of the weapon as it reminds him of an old legend in Indian Mythology in his past life. "Vajra!" An ancient powerful weapon of God king Indra, the ruler of the heavens. This mighty weapon was shaped in the form of a lightning bolt representing the divine punishment of heaven. This weapon was forged from the bones of an enlightened sage who readily sacrificed his life by self-immtion, leaving behind his indestructible skeleton. The god of forgery used the spine of the sage to forge the heavenly weapon of retribution, Vajra. God king Indra used this powerful weapon to battle against the Vedic demon dragon serpent Vritra. Izuna grips the lightning bolt and res at the giant eye in the rift. The full appearance of the centurion demon appears in his vision. The Centurion is a gigantic snake with draconic features. It has a single eye in the center of its forehead. There are four crown-shaped horns on its head. Haaah Izuna takes a deep breath and aims the Ama no Hoko toward the giant serpent. "Will I be able to repeat the legend of God King Indra and defeat my adversary?" Swoosh The Susanoounches the spear towards the giant rift in the sky. Time seems to have slowed down as the spear approaches the barrier separating the shinobi world and the prison dimension. Kacha Kacha Like the shattering of ss, the thin barrier between dimensions shatters into thousands of pieces. Each broken piece represents a portion of space at those coordinates. A void forms in the ce of shattered space. Fwoosh The restrictions of the space instantly disappear, and so does the seal holding down the Centurion demon in its ce. Roar The serpent demon roar in anger as it stares at the rapidly approaching Ama no Hoko with fury. It opens its mouth and condenses arge amount of negative chakra into its mouth. "Meikai no Bakuf," [Netherworld st] He releases a violet beam of energy towards the iing spear. *BOOM* The impact between the two releases a deafening explosion that silences everything inside the crimson barrier. Crack crack Numerous cracks appear in the surrounding space as the prison dimension slowly starts to fall apart since the core holding it together is extracted. The collision force of the two attacks utterly demolishes the pocket dimension from within, albeit offsetting the aftermath of the explosion as its cost. It copses on itself into a singrity and disappears entirely while mending the void left behind. ''This must be one of the contingencies of the creator of this dimension.'' Izuna gravely stares at the copsed space. ''If I was trapped within this space while it was copsing, even a single atom won''t be left of my body.'' Izuna turns his attention toward the giant serpent. ''But this snake'' There are several heavy wounds on the serpent''s body. Most of its scales have fallen off even revealing bones in some ces. A dark violet light covers the wounds as it heals them slowly. ''This snake sure has some tenacity. If not, how could it have survived while being sealed here for eons? However, the injuries caused by the copse of a chaotic void can''t be treated so easily.'' Genry reminds Izuna. ''Do you feel any brotherhood with this dragon since you are also a dragon?'' Izuna mentally asks Genry while withdrawing Ama no Hoko to prepare for the next week. ''I have nothing but disgust for such a creature. I am a pure being formed by the virtues of a world, while this serpent is the personification of misery and anguish. There is noparison at all.'' Genry shakes his head in disdain. ''If I was in my prime, dealing with this lowly snake would be a piece of cake.'' Genry raises his head like a prideful swan while looking at the Abyss centurion like roadside trash. Izuna rolls his eyes at Genry''s remark. ''As if I would believe you.'' The Susanoo holds the Ama no Hoko in front of its chest. Fwish Fwish Several totem marking spreads across his body. Nine magatamas form a ne around Susanoo''s neck while a cyan cloak made of nature energy shrouds its back. White lightning crackles through the entire Susanoo as its size slowly increases to match the size of the giant serpent. The Susanoo in its current state easily overshadows the nearby mountains and hills. Its size isparable to Hagoromo''s Susanoo in his fight against the ten-tails. Swirl The Susanoo twirls the Ama no Hoko in its hand and aims it toward the serpent demon. ----------------------- Outside the barrier, Argh Shisui and Itachi are sent flying out of the barrier, whichpletely closes itself after spitting them out. Both of them dispel their Susanoo and jump on the ground with Kakashi and Might Guy. "Damn that Izuna!" Kakashi''s right eye turns red in anger. "It''s the rebellious phase of his youth!" The guy shakes his head. "Shut up!" Kakashi and Shisui shout at him at the same time. Swoosh swoosh Asuma, Kurenai, and Konoha 12 members flicker towards them. "What''s the situation, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asks Kakashi. "Where is Izuna Nii-san? I thought I heard his voice when I passed out." Naruto looks around. Sigh sigh Kakashi helplessly rubs his forehead. "If you are asking me, then whom should I ask?" He makes a long face. Fwoosh Fwoosh Minato, Kushina, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Mei, Roen, Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo arrives at the same time. All of them turn their eyes toward Kakashi with threatening gazes. Gulp Kakashi gulps his saliva. "KAKASHI HATAKE! Report the situation immediately." Three threatening voices ring in Kakashi''s ears at the same time as Tsunade, Kushina, and Mei re at him with a piercing gaze. ''Damn you, Izuna! Even if you won''t die, after this is over; I will murder you with my own hands.'' Chapter 358: Izuna Vs Abyss Centurion Part-1 Chapter 358: Izuna Vs Abyss Centurion Part-1 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ------------------------------- *Bzzt BOOM Crackle* White lightning channels through Izuna''s entire Susanoo. He points the tip of the Ama no Hoko towards the giant serpent. "DIE!" Crackle Crackle Swoosh The lightning condenses on the spear as Izuna wields it and swings it towards the giant serpent again. HISS The giant serpent flickers its tongue and opens its giant mouth to reveal its mouth full of sharp teeth. It condenses another ball of negative chakra in its mouth and shoots it towards the uing spear in form of a beam. BOOM The spear splits the beam into multiple smaller beams, which raze the nearby ground into dust. HISS The snake hisses in anger and swings its tail to attack the Susanoo from behind. BAM The hit from the tails sends the Susanoo flying towards the border of HOLE. Rumble rumble The ground trembles from the impact as the borders of the HOLE slowly crumble apart. It broke a small portion of Susanoo at the point of the hit. So, this is the power of an Abyss Centurion? Just a single hit and he caused this much damage to my Susanoo while being injured!" The Susanoo slowly stands up and repairs itself by channeling more chakra through the broken part. Crackle Crackle The Susanoo clutches its fist and slowly stands up. "Reality sh" He swings the Ama no Hoko like a sword and releases the powerful kenjutsu technique of Six Paths in the form of multiple crisscrossed shes. Swoosh The sword dismantles nearby hills to dust as the giant serpent slithers through every sh. "Annihtion Release: Absolute Severance," The Susanoo summons a giant truth-seeking orb in its other hand and condenses them into a giant energy de to sh at a tricky angle. sh The energy de rips apart the space along the way andnds on the giant serpent''s head. St Corrosive purple blood gushes out from the serpent''s head as the energy de creates a small gash of a few meters. Sizzle sizzle White smoke rises from the gash as it slowly recovers. "Not enough!" Izuna frowns as he stares at the amount of damage he dealt to the giant serpent. ''At this rate, I will exhaust myself before I could even deal any significant damage to it.'' Whoosh The giant serpent hisses and quickly slithers towards the Susanoo. It agilely coils around the Susanoo and tightens its hold on Susanoo in an attempt to crush it to pieces. Crack crack Numerous cracks spread through the Susanoo as it slowly starts to fall apart, receiving fatal damage. Fwoosh Izuna quickly dispels the Susanoo and teleports away from the Snake''s grasp. Huff Huff Izuna breathes heavily and stares at the giant serpent charging toward him. ''What should I do? The Kekkei Mora has little to no effect on this snake. Only this Ama no Hoko can deal some damage to the snake but it easily avoid or deflect the attack of the spear.'' Izuna resummons his Susanoo as he stares at the Ama no Hoko in his hand. Half of the inscriptions on the Ama no Hoko are lit up, forming up the spear. ''Am I using this weapon correctly?'' Izuna questions himself. ''It can channel Light chakra through it, then what about the darkness chakra?'' Izuna stops supplying the light chakra to Ama no Hoko. Wham The light inscriptions fade away as the Ama no Hoko returns to its former state. Izuna infuses it with the Darkness chakra. Wham The other half of the inscriptions lights up with a ck aura as the shape of the Ama no Hoko slowly changes into that of a bow. ''It does work" Izuna is pleasantly surprised. " but that still is only half of its power!" Izuna stares at the remaining inactive inscriptions on the bow. The Susanoo holds the bow and rapidly shoots a flurry of dark arrows empowered by Ama no Hoko towards the charging serpent. Swoosh The giant serpent dodges most of the arrows, but still some of them lodges into its body and slowly corrode the protection of purple negative chakra around its body. Hiss Hiss The snake writhes in pain. It twists and turns to get rid of the arrows lodged in its body. The dark arrow slowly fades away, revealing several holes in its body. Sizzle sizzle White smoke rises from the holes to heal the wound and remove the corruption brought by the arrows of the darkness. "Human! You have managed to anger me." The giant serpent raises its head and res at Izuna. Its eyes glow red and it opens its mouth to charge up a powerful attack. Rumble rumble The nearby ground crumbles to dust just from the intensity of the Negative chakra released by the giant serpent. A giant crater forms at its position as the size of its energy attack exceeds the size of its body. It uses most of its recovered negative chakra tounch a deadly attack at Izuna to wipe this pest buzzing around it. "Shit! I can''t dodge this attack or else it will destroy the barrier and everyone else present just outside the barrier." Izuna clenches his fist and removes the tower shield from the back of his Susanoo. He infuses almost all of his chakra into the towering shield. "Yata no Kagami" He drops down the colossal towering shield in front of his Susanoo. The eyes of the Yaksha on the shield glow brightly with a green hue as numerous inscriptions representing Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning lights up. An additional fiveyers of the elemental barrier are erected in front of the tower shield. ''This shield is one of the treasures I got from the collection of beasts in Shikkotsu Forest. It should be one of the failed products of that Traveler. I hope it''s enough to block the impact of the uing attack. It has to!'' Izuna clenches his teeth as he borrows chakra from Kurama to provide the seal with more chakra. "Yata No Kagami: Ordnance Breaker" The five elemental barriers merge and form a screen of thin but sturdy energy barriers in front of the shield. He ducks behind the barrier as the beam of attack rapidly approaches him. BOOM A deafening explosion urs at the point of impact. At ground zero, the explosion violently pushes away the surrounding air. The gust of air forms a conical shape behind Izuna, blowing the ground into tworge ravines. Crack crack Cracks appear on the energy shield formed by the power of five elements. Bleurgh Izuna spats a mouthful of blood as the shockwaves from the shield travel through his body. Numerous bloody cracks appear on his left shoulder around the area of his lost arm. Izuna''s eyes turn red as the pain bes unbearable to him. Argh He roars in pain and bites his tongue to keep himself awake. Blood trickles from his mouth as the cracks slowly spread throughout his body. ''It has started, the deterioration of my body. NO! I can''t fall here'' Izuna takes out a small crystal-clear fruit from his storage. ''I hope this iplete chakra fruit will provide me enough energy to sustain myself for a bit longer.'' Gulp He swallows the chakra fruit. A burst of energy rushes through his body towards the left shoulder. It halts the process of deterioration to a small extent. Sigh ''My guess was right! This amount of energy isn''t enough to treat my body. I need a higher level of energy to repair my body.'' Izuna remembers the Origin energy present in the Dragon de and Ama no Hoka. ''Regretfully, I don''t have any means to extract that energy. But this should buy me enough to'' BOOM Crack The energy shield around the tower shield crumbles apart. The energy beam bombards the physical body of the colossal shield. Izuna is pushed to the end of HOLE from the st as his Susanoo is held against thestyer of defense of the HOLE- the crimson barrier. The green glow in Yakasha''s eyes dims down as it suffers the brunt of the attack. The corrosive power of the negative chakra slowly eats away the elemental chakra in the shield. Both forces slowly neutralize each other to an extent as the negative chakra beam slowly gains an upper hand. Haaah Izuna pushes the shield forward in an attempt to repel the force of the energy beam. HEH The giant serpent smirks at Izuna''s futile effort. ''Is this the final struggle of an insect near death''s door?'' BOOM The negative energy bomb explodes and engulfs the shield and Susanoo releases a blinding light in its wake. BANG The crimson barrier shatters into fragments, revealing the state of HOLE to the outside world. Chapter 359: Izuna Vs Abyss Centurion Part-2 Chapter 359: Izuna Vs Abyss Centurion Part-2 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ------------------------------- BOOM Shockwaves travel across the border of the Hole, pushing back the reinforcements camping outside the barrier. Multiple shinobis erect earth walls to face the onught of the aftermath of the battle. BANG Tsunade punches the ground and lifts a giant chunk of earth to form a barrier. Mei reinforces the walls with herva and boil release. Even after so many countermeasures, the shinobis barely survive the shockwaves. Sigh Sakumo Hatake sighs as he shakes his head in dismay. The entire shinobi army of Konoha, Kiri, and Suna has fallen in disarray. It has been two days since Izuna pushed them out of the barrier. After neutralizing the threat of the rock soldier army, Konoha and its allies formed a barricade around the HOLE. After the dust from the shockwaves settles down, Tsunade, Mei, and Rasa approach the Intelligence Division. "How is the situation near the barrier? Can the sensor keep track of it after the explosion?" Tsunade asks Shikaku, who is the head of the intelligence team. Shikaku turns to Inoichi for the intel regarding the sensory division. Both of them converse for a while before Shikaku turns to the Kages. "Ahem Hokage-sama! Regarding the situation of the battle in the Hole, we can''t provide a current detailed report since the previous explosion blew up all of our sentries and scouting formations." "What?!" Mei''s expression turns ugly. "Then what''s the use of sensory division if they can''t even report on the battlefield!" "Ah! Well Mizukage Sama" Shikaku tries to calm her down. "Shikaku-sama I have something to report," a sensor sand shinobi barges into the room. Rasa and Tsunade turn towards him. Gulp The sensor ninja gulps his saliva in fear. "Let''s hear him out!" A silent Rasa speaks up. "Kazekage sama One of the sensory shinobi in my team has very powerful eyesight. He can track the movement of any living being from kilometers away. I thought he might be able to help out." Hmm Tsunade, Rasa, and Shikaku turn towards each other and nod. "Alright! Send him here." "Yes, Kazekage sama, Hokage-sama, Shikaku sama." Soon, a pair of father-daughter enters the room of the sensory unit. The father quickly arrives before Rasa and bows down. "Kazekage-sama I am Yoshi and this is my daughter Yome. We have a special visual prowess called Water Droplet Reflection Sight. This allows to track down anyone within a radius of ten kilometers via the reflection of the tiny droplets." Mm Rasa nods his head and turns to Shikaku. "We might be able to enhance their ability using our sensory formation and I will personally project the image perceived by their brain on a visual projection," Inoichi exins to the group. "Alright! Then let''s do it." Inoichi signals one of the nearby sensor shinobi. The sensor shinobi brings out a strange helmet-like device with various wire and pipe-like protrusions connected to a central unit. "This is the core of the Sensory Formation. Both of you wear this helmet and I will be able to project a live feed of the battle." Inoichi asks them. "Ah" The girls shriek and hide behind Yoshi. "Everything is alright, Yome." Yoshi pats her head and both of them wear a helmet. Buzz Crackle crackle With a static noise, a projection of battle appears in the sensory bubble. Minato and the other members of In-Yalso arrive in the sensory hall to look at the battlefield. A scene of destion appears in their vision as the area around the Hole is beyond recognition. There are numerousva pits in the area. Several bottomless ravines, smoke, and ashes are scattered throughout the battlefield. "This looks like hell if hell was present in the world," Sakumo states the fact. Soon, the scenario changes to the center of the Hole. There is a massive crater huge enough to fit several mountain series in it. Gulp "What terrible destruction!" The group gulps their saliva as they recall the condition of the HOLE before they left it. Hmm "What''s that?" Kakashi points towards a corner. "That is" Yoshi and Yome turn their vision towards the corner. A giant serpent with several wounds and holes is writhing in pain as purple blood flows out of its body. Aaah Yome screams and passes out as the device connected to her shatters. "Yome!" Yoshi turns to Yome. "Quick! Check the condition of the girl." Shikakumands nearby medic-nins. Tsunade quickly picks up the girl and inspects her condition. "She is exhausted from mental stress brought by the sensory barrier. She will be alright after a day''s rest." Tsunade assures him. Yoshi breathes a sigh of relief and grimaces. "Don''t worry, after this battle; your and your daughter''s contribution will be rewarded ordingly," Rasa assures him. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama." Yoshi nods his head in pleasure and turns his attention toward the battlefield. "What was that giant serpent?" Kushina raises a question. "It''s the enemy Izuna-Nii san is fighting against." Naruto''s feeble voice rings in the room. Hmm All the eyes in the room turn to Naruto, who scratches his head in embarrassment. "What''s going on Naruto? How do you know about this?" Minato calmly asks him. "Umm it''s the Kurama. He told me about that giant snake. Kurama says that it has some sort of mental connection with its other half. But since the distance is toorge, it can''t maintain a stable connection." "I see!" The group nods in understanding as they recall the other half of Kurama sealed with Izuna. "Is that Izuna Nii-san?" Sasuke points towards a dust cloud. Hmm The group focuses their eyes on the sensory bubble. The dust slowly clears out to reveal a severely damaged Susanoo and chakra mes flickering around Izuna. Whoosh The Susanoo disperses to reveal a heavily injured Izuna. There are multiple jarring scarlet cracks on the left side of Izuna''s body. Blood leaks out from Izuna''s closed left eye. There are numerous scars over his entire body. All of his clothes are tattered and the totem seals around his body are slowly fading away. White lightning crackles around him as he barely supports himself on the ground with the help of Ama no Hoko. Bleurgh Izuna spats out a mouthful of blood and falls to the ground. "IZUNAAAA!!!" Mei screams in horror after looking at his current condition. She weakly falls to the ground with tears flowing from her eyes. Kushina and Tsunade hurriedly support her. "Izuna why why" She weakly mumbles to herself as tears keep flowing through her eyes. "Izuna! Nii-san!" Kakashi, Guy, Shisui, Itachi, Naruto, and Sasuke tightly clench their fists to the point of producing popping sounds. Even Minato and Sakumo are affected by the current state of Izuna. "Why? Why why must you bear everything by yourself?" Akira spats out these words. "Is it because all of us are too weak to shoulder your burden?" He punches the ground, creating a small crater. "I have failed you as a father!" Tears flow from Akira''s eyes. Yagami, who is standing beside him, slowly supports him. BANG The ground near Tsunade explodes in the dust. "This idiot! This idiot discipline of mine always always shouldering everything by himself. I will teach him a lesson after this battle." Tears flow from Tsunade''s eyes. Since she knew Izuna''s condition better than everyone else. The scarlet scars around his body are a sign of an extremely rare condition. Previously, before the shinobi war; she inspected Might Duy''s charred body after opening Eight gates. Simr scars were present all over Might Duy''s body as a result of opening the Death Gate. However, the scar around Izuna''s body is much, much severe. The atmosphere turns somber as everyone stares at the sensory bubble while praying for Izuna''s safety. ------------------------ On the battlefield, Cough cough Izuna coughs out another mouthful of blood as he slowly sits up using Ama no Hoko as support. He silently stares at his tattered conditions. ''This is the first time I am so close to death in this world.'' He mumbles to himself. ''No, I might really die this time.'' He nces at numerous cracks around his left shoulder. "I can''t even feel anything on the left part of my body." Cough cough He slowly stands up and stares at the giant serpent, slowly healing itself from the injuries. ''At this rate, it will heal itself in a few years and by then the shinobi world!'' Izuna clenches his teeth as a sense of powerlessness spreads across him. ''In the end, I was not strong enough!'' Izuna slowly closes his eyes as his consciousness turns blurry. "Izuna! Izuna! Wake up Izuna!" A draconic voice rang in Izuna''s ears. ''Ah looks like I am hallucinating!'' Numerous memories of his life slowly fade from his mind as the cracks spread over to his left eye. "IZUNA! I have a way to kill this Abyss centurion." Genry''s roar sobers him slightly. Chapter 360: Fall of a Great Hero Chapter 360: Fall of a Great Hero "IZUNA! I have a way to kill this Abyss centurion." Genry''s roar sobers Izuna slightly. "I am ready to pay the price!" Izuna agrees without any hesitation. "Are you sure? It will elerate the process of your cell deterioration." Genyr reminds him. "I am willing! Besides, I only have a few days to live. If I can take down this monster with me to buy more time for this world; then it''s worth it." Izuna shakes his head. "Hmm Imend your resolve. My decision to help you back then was right," Genry approves of Izuna''s sense of honor and sacrifice. "Use the remaining origin power in the Dragon de. I will help you channel it as a Light chakra. We might be able to finish this abyss centurion off with it." Genyr remarks. "But that is your source. If I use it, then you might" Izuna hesitates a bit. "What''s there to worry about? I already sacrificed myself once to save my world. I could do it again to save another world." Genyr shrugs him off. "Thank you" Izuna mumbles and summons the Dragon de. Swoosh The orb from the Dragon de flies out and enters the runes on Ama No Hoko. The Light runes on Ama no Hoko glows with a never seen before shine. Izuna feels a warm current surging through his battered body. He clenches the bow and aims it toward the Abyss Centurion. A light arrow forms on the notch of the bow. He aims the arrow toward the head of the Giant serpent. Izuna closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Fwoosh ck Darkness chakra flows out from the Sin grimoire and channels through the Ama No Hoko. The remaining runes on the Ama No Hoko also light up. A pitch-ck horn forms on the right side of Izuna''s head. The darkness chakra infuses into his left shoulder and forms a dark ck chakra arm with sharp ws. Izuna grasps the bow with his chakra arm while he stretches the strong with his right arm. Darkness chakra and Light chakra intertwine with each other in perfect harmony. A gigantic Sin eye appears behind Izuna as it casts its gaze on the giant serpent rooting it in a ce. "What?" The eyes of the giant serpent dragon widen in shock. "How how is this possible? How do youe in possession of the divine *@#*#@*" The giant serpent''s voice sounds like gibberish in Izuna''s ears. "Light-Darkness Release: Destiny Arrow," Izuna mumbles and releases the tension in the string. Swoosh Together with the release of the bowstring, life also slowly drains from Izuna''s body like an arrow at the end of it''s flight. His consciousness, which was barely holding up, turns nk. The pupil in Izuna''s eyes turns nk as the scarlet cracks spread all over his body. BANG Izuna lifelessly falls to the ground. Fwoosh The destiny arrow tears through the arrow, forming a gigantic rift in space-time as it shoots towards the Abyss Centurion. BOOM The arrow hits the giant serpent, releasing a blinding white light. Argh Blood leaks out from the upper orifices of the sensors in the Intelligence unit. Bang Bang Bang One by one, every member of the Sensory division, including Inoichi and Yoshi, falls unconscious. BANG The sensory bubble shakes violently and explodes into countless particles. The ground trembles violently as the area around HOLE slowly disintegrates. "IZUNA!!!" Mei also faints from the shock. "Everyone hurry up and evacuate the area!" Shikaku immediately releases a new order. Sakumo also orders everybat division to vacate the area around the HOLE. Swoosh swoosh All shinobi units hurriedly escape from the vicinity of the HOLE as the gigantic column of white light slowly approaches them. The shinobis desperately use every means in their arsenal to escape from the impending death. After a few minutes, the giant white pir of light slowly stops expanding after covering a radius of ten kilometers. The shinobi army of the three nations slowly gathers at the foothill of a nearby hill. "How is the situation with the various divisions? Report the number of causalities!" Sakumo orders the vicemander under him. "Yes, Sir!" Three shinobis from Konoha, Kiri, and Suna each salute him and head towards the scattered army. After fifteen minutes, each of them appears with a report in their hand with a grim expression. Sakumo frowns and reads the report. Sigh He sighs slightly and falls back on a nearby stone. "How is the situation Sakumo?" Rasa asks him. "Kazekage Sama, in the previous explosion alone, we lost 30 percent of our men, which sums up to 1000 elite shinobis. Summing up the numbers, we lost a total of 1286 shinobis in this operation. This is an immense blow to our alliance." Gasp Rasa sucks in a breath of cold air. "The foundation of our three viges suffered severe damage. This is almost the same number as a Shinobi War. I am afraid we have to avoid any war at all costs, or else it will reduce the five great nations to two." "You are right, Kazekage-sama!" Sakumo also sighs helplessly as he mumbles. "This is just the number of casualties caught in the aftershock of the battle. I can''t even imagine what would have happened if they fought near the Alliance Army. I am afraid none of us would survive to tell the tale." Rasa also shakes his head as he recalls the incident five years ago. ''I was a fool back then to attack Konoha with such a monster guarding it. At that time, he could have easily wiped out Suna from the face of the Shinobi world.'' "Let''s pack our supplies and retreat to our viges. We still have to handle the post-war amenities of all injured and casualties." Back In In-Y headquarter, Minato heaves a sigh of relief as he looks around. "Thankfully, there was a mass teleportation formation engraved here. With the help of Flying Thunder God jutsu and the teleportation formation, I was able to teleport everyone in the vicinity of fifty meters with me." He turns to Kushina and Tsunade. "Lady Fifth Kushina! Take care of Mei I am afraid she won''t be able to handle the stress. It won''t be good for the twins." "Rest assured, Minato! I won''t allow anything to happen to her and her unborn kids." Tsunade quickly takes Mei to the nearby medical facility. Kushina also follows after her. Minato turns to the rest of the people. "All jounins will follow me back to the battlefield to get a report of the situation. We also have to seal the area around the Hole and dere it as a death zone of the Shinobi World." With these words, Minato and the rest teleport back to the Alliance army, leaving behind members of Konoha 12. "Sasuke, what should we do?" Naruto turns to Sasuke for advice. "Let''s head to the n and inform Aunt Aiko and Aunt Fumiko about Mei nee-san''s condition. They must know about the situation. I will head towards my house to inform the mother." Sasuke replies in a solemn tone. "What about us?" The rest of the group questions. "Head back to your respective n elders and brief them on the situation. We have to strengthen the vige defenses in case of an emergency." Shikamaru walks towards the exit. Ino and Choji quickly follow him. -------------- Soon, chaos ensues in Konoha and other shinobi nations as the news of the battle at HOLE spreads throughout the entire shinobi world. The area around the HOLE became known as ''Shi No Sakeme'' or ''the Chasm of Death'', alsomonly called the ''Death Crevice''. Another great news also spread throughout the Shinobi World- Izuna Uchiha, the great hero of Konoha, the Grim Reaper of the Shinobi Nation was dered MIA by Konohagakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure. This news created a tremendousmotion in the shinobi world, greatly shaking up several small andrge nations. Kumogakure and Iwagakure were also greatly perturbed by the news. They even sent their elite shinobis to survey the area around the death crevice. The report was so exaggerated that Onoki and A had to personally visit the area to confirm the truth. Even still, it shocked them to their very core as both of them wondered, ''Could a normal shinobi even wield such great power? Only a God could possess such absolute power.'' This further pushed their resolve to prepare countermeasures. Kumogakure invested most of its funds in the ''Project Chakra Cannon'' while Iwa also secretly started a new top-secret project called ''Project Gaia''. A few dayster, Konoha held a funeral ceremony to honor the casualties of the previous Demon War. -----End of the Arc---------- ------------------------------- A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 361: The Mysterious Visitor Chapter 361: The Mysterious Visitor Three weekster after the Demon War, "Minato, how''s the search result?" An exhausted Tsunade with ck circles under her eyes walks out through a teleportation formation into the headquarter of In-Y. A simrly exhausted Minato is also sitting on a chair reviewing various reports. He slowly raises his head and shakes his head. "There is no news!" He sighs helplessly. "The space in the vicinity of the HOLE has yet to stabilize. The elite Anbu team R returned empty-handed after investigating the surrounding area. Our spies spotted some activity from Kumogakure and Iwagakure shinobis, but that''s bound to entail since the scale of the event was too huge to cover up." Minato passes a report to Tsunade, who carefully reads through it. "The Light and Shadow squad of In-Y are also on the move, with no results." "USELESS!" Tsunade crumples the paper in her hand in anger. "How am I supposed to answer Mei how am I supposed to cate Ayaka? That little girl has been sobbing non-stop for three weeks and she refuses to eat anything. I have to knock her unconscious multiple times to inject a nutrition solution into her body." Tsunade clenches her fists. Whoosh whoosh Kakashi, Guy, Shisui, and Itachi return to In-Y headquarter with their respective squads and Anbu teams. "Any news?" Tsunade demands with a piercing gaze. "We are sorry, Tsunade-sama!" Kakashi and Shisui step forward and kneel. Sigh Jiraiya slowly walks out from the shadows and shakes his head. "Even with my spywork, I wasn''t able to get any information." Tsunade slumps down on a nearby chair and rubs her forehead. Suddenly, Fwoosh Fwoosh Half of the lights in the In-Yheadquarters flicker out and extinguish. A purple cloaked figure suddenly appears in the middle of the room, rming everyone in the room. Whoosh whoosh All the shinobis in the room enter in abat stance, ready to take down the intruder. "Rx, I am a part of the group!" A deep male voice, together with a powerful pressure, bore down on everyone while stopping the advances of Shisui and Itachi, whose des are almost near the neck of the cloaked figure. The cloaked figure simply lifts his finger to force every shinobi in the room to their knees. Only Minato, Tsunade, Shisui, Itachi, Kakashi, and Guy resist the pressure to an extent. "Gravity control!" Minato mumbles as he gets ready to enter his Chakra cloak mode and Sage Mode. "I am not here to harm anyone!" The figure puts down his finger, lifting the pressure from everyone. "I am here to deliver something on behalf of the Leader." The figure opens his palm as a ck spiral vortex form in his hand. Minato''s eyes constrict on seeing this. ''A high-level Space-time maniption,'' A long dagger with a broken orb, a Kitsune-shaped doll, andstly a book with seven eyes wrapped in chains float in the figure''s hand. "This is" Everyone is puzzled in the room except Minato, who nkly stares at the book in a daze. The cloaked figure passes these three things to Minato and turns around. "Any message from him?" Minato unconsciously blurts out. "The Kitsune will answer all of your questions once it wakes up. As for the book, pass it to Leader''s younger sister." With these words, the purple cloaked figure disappears from the room, restoring it to its previous state. ''I couldn''t even sense how he teleported in and out of this space.'' Minato takes a deep breath. ''He must be one of those otherworldly figures. But why is he a part of Izuna''s organization? Perhaps he is the source of Izuna''s intel.'' Without many clues to pursue, Minato concludes. Tsunade and the rest of the people in the room turn to Minato for answers. "I don''t have any knowledge about this dagger." Minato shakes his head. "It must be quite important to Izuna to leave it behind." Tsunade remarks. "I will safely keep it in In-Y''s forbidden armament section." Minato safely stores the dagger. "As for this Kitsune doll, it is the missing half of the Nine-Tails chakra, also called Yin Kurama. It is currently in a sealed state to avoid anyone from detecting its chakra. As long as it is sealed inside this doll, not even the legendary Rinnegan can sense its presence. I will bring it to Naruto to elerate its awakening using Yang Kurama''s chakra. Perhaps he will answer all of our questionster." Minato ces the Kitsune statue on the table. Lastly, he stares at the Sin Grimoire with a conflicted expression. "About this book well, I am not sure what it is or why or when Izuna came into its possession since he never revealed any information about it. I am sure he must have his reasons." Minato shakes his head. "However, he did tell me that this is a very powerful sealed divine relic. It has a total of seven seals in the shape of eyes and it was the reason Kushina and I survived and reviveter. From my observations, this is a sentient weapon simr to Samehada of Seven Mist de, albeit of a much higher grade." Minato nudges toward the book. The Sin Grimoire floats towards Minato and disappears in the surrounding Space only leaving a chain tied around Minato''s wrist which also disappears a short while after. ''This relic is temporarily bonded to me; I willter pass it to Ayaka ording to Izuna''s wishes.'' Minato shakes his hand to feel the presence of the Sin Grimoire. "Expand the area of the search!" Tsunade dismisses everyone with a wave of her hand. Only Minato, Tsunade, and Jiraiya are left in the room. "How are the Mei and the newborns?" Minato asks Tsunade. "Mei is still recovering from the delivery. The elder twin is a boy, Mei named him Tatsuya. The younger twin is a girl. Her name is Kanna." Tsunade smiles slightly. "Tatsuya inherited his father''s look, while Kanna''s features are simr to her mother." "I will pay them a visitter!" Minato smiles warily and turns to Jiraiya. "Sensei, without Izuna''s protection; several sinister forces have set their eyes on Konoha. I will send a detailed report to youter, as I would like to use your spywork to keep track of their activities, especially the Akatsuki and the genin Kabuto." "Alright! I will personally keep tabs on Akatsuki." Jiraiya assures him. "Sensei, beware of the prowess of Akatsuki''s leader Pain, afterall you taught him," Minato warns him. "I will! I wasn''t a good teacher back then, if only back then I was present for them." Jiraiya clenches his fists and walks out of In-Y headquarters. ----------------------- In the sky outside In-Y headquarters. The purple-cloaked figure silently observes the actions of all Konoha Shinobis. "Seems like there won''t be any need for me to interfere. For lower beings, these humans have more redeeming qualities than those so-called cold higher beings." Heughs in sarcasm and stares in the direction of Death Crevice, revealing his purple eyes with kaleidoscopic patterns. Multiple unknown three-dimensional runes flicker through his eyes as he stares deeply at a massive space rift in Death Crevice slowly repairing itself. The runes in his eyes spin rapidly as time seems to flow backward for him. The moment before, the final blow of Izuna appears in his vision. He stares at the battle as a bystander as Izuna uses the Destiny Arrow to rip apart the space and annihte the Abyss Centurion. "This reckless idiot! Does he want to annihte this world by using such a technique?" The purple cloaked figure recalls his first encounter with Izuna where he was almost sent to the afterlife through a simr move. At that time, out of anger and humiliation, he even sent a pawn to kill Izuna. "No! Something isn''t right. He has yet to master this power." The runes in his eyes spin rapidly as he takes a closer look. He notices the Ama-No-Hoko in Izuna''s hand. "No wonder he was able to use such power without any bacsh. Previously, the Sin Grimoire negated the bacsh for him. This time, this sealed Sacred Relic controlled the output." The scene continues to move forward as Izuna falls unconscious after the attack. His withered body is swallowed by the rift and slowly floats through the void. Hmm Just as Izuna''s body is about to be ripped to shreds by Spatial Fractures, a turtle-shaped artifact appears in the void. ''That is Karasuki, one of the sacred relics of the Otsutsuki n. What''s it doing here?'' Just as he was about to take action, Karasuki wraps Izuna''s body in a protectiveyer and sends him toward one of the wormholes in the void. "I can''t send you back to your world and timeline since the space-time is very chaotic there. I hope you will survive. With this, I have paid the debt I previously owed you." Karasuki turns around and vanishes in the void. The cloaked figure stops his actions as Izuna''s body is swallowed by the void leaving behind four items: the Dragon de, the Kitsune Statue, Ama No Hoko, and the Sin Grimoire. "I see so that''s how it is!" The kaleidoscopic pattern in the cloaked figure''s eyes spins in anti-clockwise as he inserts his hand into the image. A giant hand appears in the void and grabs the Ama-no-Hoko. ''I already retrieved the previous three items, only this sacred relic escaped my eye.'' He stares at the inscriptions on Ama-No-Hoko. "Too bad this sacred relic already has an owner. So, I can''t use it for my purposes. Still, I am surprised that the fool managed to withdraw around five percent of the power of this relic with his coarse usage." The purple-cloaked figure stores Ama-No-Hoko in a separate space and disappears from Shinobi World. ------------------------------- A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife Chapter 362: Curse Seal Surge Part-1 Chapter 362: Curse Seal Surge Part-1 A/N:- A new arc has started. If you are here only for Izuna, then this arc isn''t for you. This arc will focus on other characters and will move the plot forward and shed light on multiple factions from previous few arcs. -------------------------- Somewhere in a forest on the outskirts of Otogakure, Swoosh swoosh Three kunoichis wearing Konoha''s headband chase after a figure wearing the headband of Otogakure. "You won''t get away." One of the Konoha kunoichis makes some hand signs. "Fire Style: Pheonix Flower Jutsu" She spits out a volley of small fireballs which surround the Sound Shinobi and converges at his position. BOOM A loud explosion urs at the ce of impact as the kunoichi takes out their kunais. "On your left" Another kunoichi warns her partner. Swoosh The first kunoichi, who appears to be a part of the Uchiha n, dodges the kunai while in mid-air. "Not good paper bomb!" "Wind Style: Vacuum st" The second kunoichi pushes her palm in front of her body to repel the explosion of the paper bomb. Heh The Sound shinobi smirks and waves his hand, revealing a trap full of paper bombs. "It''s over!" He sps his palm to activate the paper bomb trap. "Sharingan" Ayaka activates her Sharingan as the surrounding times seem to slow down for her. She quickly spots the paper bombs in her vicinity. "One two three Ten Thirty Seventy Ny-nine" Ayaka''s right-hand shes with a dark ck chakra as she infuses darkness chakra. Swoosh swoosh "Darkness Release: Omni-directional Senbon Barrage" She locks her target with her Sharingan and diffuses all the chakra bombs in a fraction of a second with her jutsu. "DIE!" The Sound shinobi sps his hand and waits for the explosion. Ah He waits for five seconds, but there is no explosion. "What''s going on?" The sound shinobi stares at the Ayaka in confusion. "Gentle Fist: Eight trigrams Vacuum Palm" Hanabi quickly approaches the sound shinobi and sends him flying. "You two you have pissed me off!" The eyes of the Sound shinobi turn red as curse markings appear around his neck. His skin turns blue as scales start appearing on his body. "It''s the curse marks!" Hanabi warily observes the sound shinobi''s next move. "Have a taste of my true power?" The sound shinobi infuses arge amount of chakra near his mouth. "Water Release: Whale bomb jutsu," "You talk too much!" Lightning gathers in Ayaka''s hand as she hurls a lightning spear towards the sound shinobi. "Lightning Release: Gathering Storm," Bzzt The lightning spear slices through the water bomb andnds squarely on Sound shinobi''s chest, jolting and knocking him out. The curse marks around his body fade away, returning him to normal. The two kunoichis group together. "Are you alright, Ayaka?" Hanabi inquires with worry. "I am alright! This much is nowhere enough to harm me." Ayaka shakes her head and focuses her attention on the unconscious sound shinobi. "He was just an elementary curse user. Let''s capture the mission target!" The girls walk towards the sound shinobi. Swoosh Suddenly, Ayaka grabs Hanabi''s hand and flickers away. BOOM A dust cloud rises at their previous location as a jet of water prates the ground, forming a crater. "Water Release: Cold Sky water attack" Another jet of waterunches toward the girls. Ayaka pushes Hanabi beside her. "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique" Ayaka spews out a dragon of mes. The me dragon shes with the water jet quickly overpowering it as it continues to rush towards the targets. "Oye Oye!" The attacker swiftly jumps out of the way of the dragon. Ayaka sps her hands and detonates the dragon. BOOM Ayer of mist envelops the group as a consequence of the sh between two jutsu. Swoosh A figure slowly walks out of the mist. "Using a fire jutsu to overwhelm my water jutsu, you Konoha shinobis sure have some skills." The girls focus their attention on the neer. The attacker is around 16 years old with short, ck hair. He has green eyes with two dark violets marking under them. He conceals his head with a gray shark-like top with a hood. Appendages that resemble dorsal fins hang from the back of his jacket. He has two upward curving lines nearing his mouth, simr to a sgow smile. "It would be rude of me to return the favor." He cackles and walks towards the girls, revealing his jagged, pointed teeth. Swoosh swoosh Two more sound shinobis, one man and another woman in a simr outfit, join him. "Iwana, Yamame you two arete?" The shinobi, with pointed teeth, chides the neers. "Kajika you were nearby, so it was easy for you to catch up." Yamame snorts at him. "Hurry up, and deal with them. I have important things to do." Kajika ignores her displeased look and walks toward the unconscious shinobi. "Hanma this failed product what is even the point of keeping him alive?" He rudely kicks the unconscious shinobi a few times and drags him away like a gunny sack. "He''s escaping with our mission target!" Hanabi and Ayaka chase after Kajika. "We are your opponents!" Iwana and Yamame block their path. "Get out of my way!" Ayaka takes a step forward and disappears from her ce. Whoosh She reappears in front of Kajika while aiming a roundhouse kick for thetter''s head. "What the when did she?" Cold sweat drips down from the forehead of Iwana and Yamame. Their eyes unable to even catch a glimpse of Ayaka''s movement. They turn around to attack Ayaka. Bang Kajika raises his right hand and blocks Ayaka''s kick. Fish scales appear around his arm to absorb the impact. However, the force of the kick pushes him a few meters back. "Aww that kind of hurts!" Kajika waves his right hand, which had turned sore from the kick. Ayaka performs a back flip in mid-air andnds on the ground. "You aren''t going anywhere not with him at least." Ayaka grabs hold of an unconscious Hanma. "When did you" Kajika narrows his eyes as he stares at his empty hand. Hmm He notices several metal wires attached around Hanma''s body. "I see" Kajika cracks his knuckles and slowly walks towards Ayaka while riling up his chakra. "Girl! You have got some skills for growing up in a greenhouse. But you picked up on the wrong target! Initially, my mission was to aid this useless piece of trash in escaping; but now I have changed my mind. I am pretty sure Kabuto-sama will be happy with another test subject." Bang Kajika kicks the ground as a water jet sprays out of his legs. He quickly closes the distance between Ayaka and smashes his feet towards her. BANG Ayaka effortlessly dodges the attack while Kajika''s kick leaves a crater on the ground. "You are quick on your feet, but what about this?" Bang Another Kajika appears from the side and attacks Ayaka''s blind spot. Swoosh Ayaka ducks down and avoids the kick. She takes out a kunai from the holster and thrust it into her other feet of Kajika. Kajika turns into a puddle of water and falls. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet," Meanwhile, the real Kajika spews out a water dragon from his mouth that rapidly approaches Ayaka. Tch Ayaka makes rapid one-hand signs and brings her fingers in front of her mouth. "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique" Ayaka spews out a giant fire dragon from her mouth. The fire dragon collides with the water dragon canceling out each other. Large amounts of mist and vapors cover the entire area. Haah "Water Release: Drowning Murder" The earlier puddle of water from Kajika''s water clone turns back in Kajika and grabs Ayaka''s ankles. It attempts to pull Ayaka into the water swamp. Poof Ayaka disperses in a cloud of white smoke. "Shadow clone?" The water clone clicks its tongue and enters the ground. The mist slowly disperses to reveal the real Kajika standing high up on a water pir while surveying the area. "Where is she? Where is that girl?" ----------------------- Meanwhile, on Hanabi''s end Hanabi confronts Iwana and Yamame on her own. Both of them make some hand signs and disappear from Hanabi''s sight. ng ng Hanabi blocks two kunais aiming for her back from behind. ''Do they take me for a fool?'' Hanabi snorts. ''Using Hiding with camouge technique against a Hyuga! Thanks to Sensei''s training, I don''t even need my Byakugan to see their movement.'' Bang bang Hanabi uses her gentle fist to strike two palms at her invisible attackers. Bleurgh Iwana and Yamame spit out a mouthful of blood and reveal themselves out of their invisibility. "You could see us" Both of them stare at her with shocked expressions. "Have you guys never heard of the Hyuga n?" Hanabi withdraws her palm and calmly stares at them. "You brat I will kill you for looking down on us." Yamame bit her lip. The curse mark around the neck glows slightly. Bang Suddenly, a piece of the metal ball falls in between the duo. It releases a blinding light and a deafening sound. Iwana and Yamame curl on the ground to avoid the metal. After a few seconds, the blinding light fades away, revealing an empty forest. "Damn! They escaped" Yamame smashes her fist on the ground. A few hundred meters ahead, Hanabi puffs her cheeks and stares at Ayaka. "Ayaka chan, why did we flee? I could easily deal with them." "No, we are not on abat mission. We already secured the target; there was no need to embroil in a pointless fight; if we could retreat safely. Besides, I don''t want to hear another lecture from Izumi Sensei." Ayaka shakes her head. ''Also, I had an uneasy feeling that someone was spying on us from nearby.'' Ayaka thinks to herself. "Yeah, you are right!" Hanabi nods as she recalls the previous lecture from Izumi Sensei. "Let''s group up with Yakumo and Izumi Sensei." "Alright!" Chapter 363: Curse Seal Surge Part-2 Chapter 363: Curse Seal Surge Part-2 Back at the Reconnaissance spot, Ayaka and Hanabi meet with Yakumo and Izumi who is current acting jounin of their team. "Ayaka, Hanabi are you two alright?" Izumi inquires. "Some Otogakure shinobis ambushed us while capturing the target, but retreated with superficial injuries." Ayaka throws the unconscious Hanma to the ground. Hmm Izumi inspects him and nods. "Great job, you two! We will head for the Yugakure and submit our mission. Yakumo and I also have gathered intel requested by the Daimyo of Land of Hot Water." Izumi takes out a map with various circles marked over it. "I have spotted most of the hideouts of the bandits and other rogue shinobis, including the shinobis from Otogakure. We shall leave the rest to Yugakure''s Harmony squad." Izumi unfurls the map and flickers towards the camp of Yugakure shinobis. ''The secret mission Hokage-sama assigned to me is alsoplete. We will head back to Konoha after submitting the report to Yugakure. This intel is too crucial.'' Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo quietly follow her. Izumi nces at the trio from the corner of her eyes. ''It has almost been one and half a year since I mentored this team. These girls used to be so cheerful before, but after that incident two years ago, they barely even smile.'' Izumi shakes her head as she recounts the past. ''For some reason, after Izuna went missing; the Uchiha n; no, the entire vige feels like it has lost its soul. Itachi indulged himself in his Anbu missions, striving for any information about Izuna Nii-san''s whereabouts. Shisui Nii-san became themissioner of the Konoha Police Force and is barely present at his house. Sasuke left to train in Ryuchi cave; after the Great Snake Sage personally sent a summon. Naruto left for Mount Myoboku after the Great Toad Sage''s prophecy. Mei Nii-san is keeping herself busy with her twins and Mizukage duties, but I can still sense the sorrow in her eyes.'' Izumi raises her head and stares in the direction of Death Crevice. ''Izuna Nii-san where are you? When will you return home?'' ---------------------------- At the border of Yugakure, A group of shinobi led by a woman quietly observe Team Three''s movement through a crystal wall. "Is she the one who infiltrated the secret hideout?" The woman turns towards a nearby buck-teethed Otogakure shinobi. Hmm The buck-teethed shinobi narrows his eyes and stares at Izumi''s silhouette. "I wasn''t able to spot her face. But from her figure, I am almost sure she was the one who infiltrated our headquarters. If not for the alert from insects, we wouldn''t even be aware of it." A swarm of ants crawled around the back teeth''s face. The woman turns her head away in disgust. "Should we intercept them?" Another Sound shinobi asks the woman. "Not for now they are near Yugakure''s border. It might alert Yugakure''s shinobis. We can''t rm them of our presence and ruin our ns. We will take action once they leave the Land of Hot Water''s borders. There is a small vige at the border of the Land of Hot Water and Land of Fire. They will definitely stop there to restock their supplies. That will be our chance." The woman turns around and leaves. The Sound shinobis quickly follows after her. Swoosh The girls arrive at the border of Yugakure. Suddenly, Swish swish Multiple kunais stabbed in the ground in front of Team three. Multiple shinobis in Yugakure''s shinobi gear surround them. "We are allies!" Izumi unfurls a scroll from her pocket and waves it towards the Yugakure shinobis. The guard captain of the Patrol squad recognizes it. "Let them in!" Izumi stores the scroll and follows after a shinobi who guides them. ------------------- A few hourster, Team three departs from the Yugakure, "I didn''t expect Izuna Nii-san owns a few shops here." Izumi has a rxed expression as she recalls her experience in Yugakure. The Land of Hot Water is famous for its hot springs. After submitting the report, the girls arbitrarily decided to take a dip in the hot springs. They were pleasantly surprised when the Hot Spring owner recognized Ayaka. He treated them very well and even arranged a VIP hot spring for them. They even enjoyed a spa and massage after the bath. Later, upon Izumi''s inquiry; it was revealed this business is owned by Izuna Nii-san and is managed by one of his subordinates. Numerous emotions surged through their heat; from ecstasy to depression. "Alright, Girls cheer up! We will soon return to Konoha and will make it back on time to prepare for Konoha''s Annual Sports Festival. You can ask Hokage-sama for anything you want if you managed to get the first position." Izumi tries to cheer them up. "Izumi Sensei, it''s the same as usual since it''s held every year." Yakumo shakes her head. "I can ask Lady Hokage anything without the need for the Annual Sports Festival." Ayaka increases her pace. "I think so" Izumi speechlessly stare at Ayaka''s back as she was reminded of Ayaka''s rtionship with Lady Hokage. ''Why are these girls so hard to please?'' She sighs and follows them. Late in the evening, the girls arrive in the KokkyVige. "The vige has some interactions with the Konoha shinobis. It will be easy if we directly contact the Vige chief. He can arrange a room in an inn for us." Izumi approaches the house of the vige chief. After conversing for a bit and convincing the vige chief of her identity, Izumi and the girls'' books a room in the vige inn to stay for a night. Ayaka''s gaze lingers on the vige chief for a moment as she notices a trace of sweat on his forehead. ''Is he afraid of our identity or is he hiding something from us?'' The girls eat the dinner provided by the inn and enter their respective rooms to sleep. -------------------- Later in the night. Swoosh swoosh Multiple shadows surround the inn. The shadowsmunicate with hand signs. "Kill the girls!" They quietly enter the inn and lurk outside the girl''s respective rooms. The shadows signal each other and take out a metal ball. The metal ball has several spikes jutting out from it. The metal ball also called the ''murder sphere'' is one of the most popr and vicious shinobi weapons. Upon explosion, it releases an Omni-directional barrage of kunais together with numerous senbons, small metal balls, and shrapnel leaving behind a badly mangled corpse riddled with holes. Due to its cruelty, the weapon is forbidden in several shinobi viges. They shield themselves with metal shields and toss the ''murder sphere'' into the room. BOOM A deafening explosion sounds inside the room. Pew Pew Multiple stray kunais, senbons, metal balls, and shrapnel fly across the room riddling the walls, doors, and windows with walls. Smoke and poisonous gas fill the rooms. The intruders put on gas masks and enter the inn to confirm their kills. A few meters outside the inn, Izumi, Ayaka, Hanabi, and Yakumo silently stare at the scene unfolding at the inn. "They look like Sound Shinobis. Why are they ambushing us? Shouldn''t they attack Yugakure if they want revenge?" Hanabi ponders. Izumi looks at the girls with surprise. "I can understand if it''s Ayaka and Hanabi since both of them possess Dojutsu and keen observation skills to identify the abnormality with the vige chief" She turns towards Yakumo. "But Yakumo you" "I can sense negative emotions directed towards me. Earlier, I sensed panic, hesitation, and fear from the vige chief. I also sensed a faint killing intent in the Vige Chief''s house." Yakumo answers Izumi''s doubts. "You girls you have hidden well!" Izumi sighs helplessly. "How did Izuna even teach you? He mentored you only for a few months and yet" She shakes her head, bbergasted by the girl''s prowess. "All our previous missions were too easy. So, there wasn''t any need for us to showcase our abilities." Ayaka turns towards Yakumo and murmurs. "Do it!" The pupil in Yakumo''s eyes turns ck. Purple Demonic chakra flows through Yakumo''s fingertips. Izumi narrows her eyes as she recognizes the familiar chakra signature. ''This chakra is simr to the chakra of the Demon Army two years ago.'' Izumi activates her Sharingan and observes the entire process. ''No there seem to be some distinct elements. Her chakra seems to be a bit more controlled and spiritual typepared to the chaotic and repulsive chakra of demons. Is this her secret? Did Izuna Nii-san know about it?'' Several questions sh through her mind. ''Now, it looks like Tsunade-sama was right! I am unable to fully unleash the potential of this group of misfits.'' Izumi continues to monitor Yakumo curiously. Yakumo takes out a chakra paper and quickly swipes her finger over it. Soon, a painting of the inn and all of its residents appear in a matter of seconds. Dark purple chakra mes appear on Yakumo''s fingertips. Swish swish Yakumo swipes her finger through the painting, setting it on fire. Simr mes engulf the inn in the distance. "This is" Izumi''s eyes widen in shock. Chapter 364: Curse Seal Surge Part-3 Chapter 364: Curse Seal Surge Part-3 Yakumo''s purpleher mes engulf the entire inn. Soon, the entire inn turns to ashes along with the Sound shinobis trapped inside. "That is impressive! I never knew you Genjutsu could manipte reality to such an extent. Looks like you have improved a lot since your previous record." Izumi praises Yakumo. Yakumo smiles at Izumi''s praise but doesn''t reveal anything further. "A shinobi ought to keep some trump cards." Tch Izumi clicks her tongue and turns towards a house a few meters from the inn. "These Sound shinobis are after us. They didn''t even hesitate to hold these innocent vigers a hostage. If we leave now, then these vigers will certainly meet their end." ''How did they manage to track me? I was sure I didn''t leave any clue behind.'' "What''s with these ants? They are everywhere." Yakumo ps a nearby ant to death. "Ants?" Izumi narrows her eyes and picks up a nearby ant. Her eyes turn to Sharingan. "Genjutsu: Sharingan" Hmm Izumi notices the peculiarity of the ants and puts them in a genjutsu to ess itswork. ---------------------------- Back in the house near the inn, A queen ant flies near buck-teeth''s ear. The buck-teeth shinobi stare in the direction of Team Three. "Guren, I lost connection with my ants at that ce. They must be there!" He points in the direction of Team Three. Swoosh The woman jumps out of the house and makes hand signs while in mid-air. "Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Needle Barrage" Her right-hand turns into a crystal shard. She waves the crystal shard towards the position of Team Three. Fwoosh Fwoosh Multiple pink crystal shards bombard Team Three. --------------------- "They found us!" Izumi''s expression turns somber. "Quick retreat!" Izumi throws multiple shurikens towards the iing crystal needle. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique" The shurikens multiply further and counteract the crystal needle barrage. Shiing Izumi''s eyes turn to Sharingan as she observes Guren. "Crystal Release Kekkei Genkai User! Girls retreat quickly. I will hold her back." Izumi makes a single-hand sign. "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique," Izumi spews out a giant fire dragon. The fire dragon engulfs the remaining barrage of crystal and rapidly approaches Guren. Swoosh Guren clutches her right wrist and aims her palm towards the approaching fire dragon. Snap snap The giant fire dragon slowly crystallizes, turning into a giant crystal dragon. Guren waves her hand and directs the crystal dragon around her. "Crystal Release: Tearing Crystal Falling Dragon" ttering noises ring across the dragon. It roars and charges toward Izumi. Huh Izumi is surprised to see her jutsu turned against her. She quickly regains herposure and wields the katana from her back. "Kenjutsu: Sakura Blossom sword art," Illusionary Sakura petals surround Izumi. They form a whirlwind and gather around Izumi''s katana. She wields the katana horizontally in a waki-gamae stance. Izumi takes a deep breath and murmurs. "First Sword: Hundredfold sh" Swish swish Multiple sword shadows appear around Izumi in the shape of a hemisphere. ng ng nging noises rings in the bystander''s ears as Izumi sheathes her katana. Crack crack tter With a loud ttering noise, the crystal dragon shatters into countless dust fragments. "Amazing!" Hanabi and Yakumo are shocked to see the sword art of Izumi. "I never knew Izumi Sensei was so amazing." "Izumi Sensei trained with Izuna Nii-san for a while." Ayaka proudly raises her head. "No wonder! It makes sense now." The girls nod in understanding. "These ants are so gross!" Yakumo steps on a swarm of red ants. Hmm Ayaka grabs Hanabi and Yakumo and jumps away. BANG A jet of water bombards their previous location, raising dust and debris. Haha "We meet again!" Kajika jumps out of the crater. He crosses his arms around his chest and smirks. "You were lucky enough to escapest time. But this time I won''t give you any opportunity." Swoosh swoosh Iwana and Yamame also join him. "I will handle him. Yakumo, take care of those two. Hanabi, locate the insect user and, if possible, deal with him." Ayaka''s expression turns serious. "Alright!" Hanabi activates her Byakugan and investigates. Ayaka takes out a kunai from her holster and res at Kajika. Swoosh In the next second, she disappears from her ce and reappears behind Kajika, striking preemptively. Swish She aims her kunai for Kajika''s throat. ng Kajika barely blocks her attack with his kunai, while swinging his right leg to kick her. Whoosh Ayaka prepared for the counter, twist her body in mid-air, and uses the momentum to counter-strike. Sheunches a roundhouse towards Kajika''s head while coating her leg with the chakra. BANG Kajika blocks the strike with his left hand, but the impact sends him flying. Bang bang bang He flies across multiple houses and ms into a wall before stopping. Ayaka withdraws her leg and stares at the dust and debris. The dust settles down to reveal a bleeding Kajika stuck on the wall. He slides down the wall and falls to the ground. Cough cough Kajika coughs out another mouthful of blood and slowly stands up. Blood drips down from his forehead and left ear. Kajika''s left hand hangs limply from his shoulder. "Cough cough" He coughs again and stares at Ayaka''s calm face. "So, you were holding back previously?" Snap snap Kajika''s left hand makes a snapping sound as the muscles and bones in his arm wriggle slightly. He grabs his left arm with his right hand and rotates it with a jerk. Snap He realigns the elbow joint and clutches his fist. "Since you aren''t holding back, then it will be rude of me to not reciprocate." Aargh Kajika screams as he activates the curse seal mark around his neck. Multiple blue-ck curse lines spread across his body as he enters the first phase of curse form. The curse seals rapidly heal his injuries, restoring his body and chakra to their former condition. Hmm Ayaka frowns as she stares at the curse seals. ''It''s a usage of Senjutsu chakra to rapidly enhance and rejuvenate the body. So, even a non-sage can use Senjutsu chakra for a brief period. However, these cursed seals will slowly consume the will of its users; turning them into a mindless puppet into the end.'' Unbeknownst to Ayaka''s thoughts, Kajika, fueled by the enhancement brought by the Curse marks, kicks the ground and dashes toward Ayaka. "Water Release: Whirlwind Feet," Water jet gushes forth from his legs and increases his speed by another fold. Swish swish Ayaka throws multiple shurikens at the rapidly enclosing Kajika. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu" The shurikens multiply and block Kajika''s path. BAM BAM Kajika kicks the ground andunches himself in the mid-air. Shoom Multiple chakra threads weave from Ayaka''s finger and coil around the shurikens. She controls the direction of the shurikens and redirects them towards Kajika. Haaah While in the air, Kajika kicks the air. He releases a water jet from the sole of his feet and changes his direction. Swish swish Ayaka controls the shurikens with one hand while with the other hand she makes some one-hand seals. "ze Release: Smoldering purgatory mes," Ayaka mixes darkness chakra with fire chakra and spews out ck mes from her mouth. The mes form a spiral and chase Kajika. ''I must avoid those mes at all cost.'' Kajika feels a looming threat of death from the ck mes. He takes a sealing talisman from his holster and throws it towards the mes. Swoosh The sealing talisman floats mid-air and sucks the ck mes towards itself. After sealing the mes, the talisman turns ck and crumbles into ashes. This allows Kajika to close the distance between himself and Ayaka. "I got you!" Kajika''s hands turn into ws as he shes them at Ayaka. "DIE!" ---------------------------- On the other side, Yakumo calmly stares at the Sound duo. Dark purple chakra flows through her fingers. Yakumo unfurls a chakra paper scroll. She swiftly swipes her fingers across the chakra paper, creating a creature simr to an Abyss crawler. The summoned creature has a wolf-like appearance, with its tail split in two. One of the tails burns with purple mes, while the other tail is covered in ayer of metallic spikes. Awhoo The wolf howls and jumps at the Sound duo. The expression of Sound Duo hardens. Having learned from their previous mistake, they instantly activate their curse mark and enter into phase one; avoiding the frenzied w attack of the wolf. Awhoo The wolf howls again and spats out dark purple mes. Swoosh swoosh The Sound duo rapidly flickers through the house and avoids the mes. Iwane distracts the wolf away while Yamame uses ''Hiding with Camouge Jutsu'' to disappear from Yakumo''s sight. Awhoo The wolf turns around and quickly approaches Yakumo to protect her. ''Hmm so she is a summoning type shinobi who is reliant on her summons in the battle.'' Iwane and Yamame cautiously stare at Yakumo and the crawler wolf while looking for an opening. Chapter 365: Curse Seal Surge Part-4 Chapter 365: Curse Seal Surge Part-4 Hmph Guren deflects some hidden shurikens hidden behind the sword attack. Swish swish She makes some quick one-hand signs. "Crystal Release: Crystal Imprisonment wave" Guren waves her hand and encases all the shurikens and kunais flying towards her in numerous crystal shells. Swoosh Izumi summons a giant Fuma shuriken and infuses it with wind chakra and hurls it towards Izumi. "Uchiha Shuriken Jutsu: Oboroguruma," Izumi uses the signature Shurikenjutsu skill of the Uchiha n. ng Guren slices the Fuma shuriken in half with a crystal de. "It''s time to end this! I can''t waste any more of my time." Guren makes some hand signs and inhales deeply. Swoosh Shiing Izumi activates her Sharingan. "Crystal Release: White Dragon Breath," "Second Activation: Seal," Izumi ms her palm on the ground. Fwoosh Fwoosh Fwoosh The Fuma shuriken and the small shurikens lined around Guren activate a sealing formation. A gigantic fuinjutsu formation appears beneath Guren. The sealing formation activates and traps Guren in it, sealing her chakra. Argh Blood leaks from Guren''s mouth as she suffers the bacsh of her semiplete hand signs. She wipes the blood from the corner of her mouth and nces at Izumi. "Was this your n all along?" Izumi slowly walks toward Guren with a kunai in her hand. ''Since she can use Crystal release, she must have a higher position in the Sound Vige. If I capture her, then maybe we can unveil Kabuto''s n.'' Guren clenches her fist and attempts to release her chakra. Bleurgh She spits out another mouthful of blood from the bacsh. Izumi approach Guren as five wisps of chakra mes appear on top of her fingertips. "Five-element seal" Bang She ms her fingers on Guren''s abdomen. Bleurgh Guren spits out some saliva and falls to her knees. "I have sealed your tenketsu points. Now you can''t create any problems. From our initial encounter, I had no intention of dragging out a battle against you." Izumi withdraws her fingers as a seal appears on Guren''s navel. Guren raises her head and stares into Izumi''s eyes. She grits her teeth. "Don''t even think about it!" Hmm Izumi senses a massive amount of chakra brewing within Guren''s body. ''Is she using her curse seal to override the seal? I have yet to see her use her curse seal.'' Izumi jumps back and takes abat stance. Haah Guren clenches her fists as a burst of chakra erupts from her body. "Pressure point of Harm and Death," Shoom Guren''s eyes turn white as a burst of chakra from her body. The chakra turns visible to the naked eye. Ripples of chakra spread through the air as a chakra vortex wraps around Guren. "What''s this?" Izumi''s eyes widen as he analyzes Guren''s technique. ''I can''t see any Nature energy around her. So, she has yet to use her curse seal. But this chakra'' Izumi focuses her Sharingan on Guren''s chakra system. Pink chakra flows through Guren''s chakra system. ''She broke through the five-element seal by overloading it with chakra. But where did this excess chakrae from what type of technique is this?'' Hmm Izumi notices a trace of green energy coiled around the tenketsu point near Guren''s heart. "This energy she is converting her life force into chakra. At this rate, she is shortening her lifespan." Roar Guren roars and destroys the seal on the ground to regain her mobility. Huff Huff She pants slightly and turns to Izumi. "Initially, I nned to make your death painless. But now" Swish swish Guren makes rapid hand signs. "Crystal release: White Dragon Breath," She spits out a long breath of crystallized air. The ground near the breath crystallizes as it approaches Izumi at an incredible pace. Whoosh Izumi jumps in the air to avoid the crystals. Swoosh swoosh A barrage of white crystals rains down on her. Whoosh whoosh Izumi quickly dodges through the rain of crystals and maneuvers towards the nearby forest to avoid the destruction of the vige. ''Such a massive amount of chakra can''t be retained for much longer. She will eventually exhaust her chakra and fall into a weakened state. Such a powerful jutsu can''t exist without any side effects.'' Fwoosh Fwoosh Two floating orbs of pink crystals chase after Izumi as she swiftly shes through the forest. The crystal orbs rain down a barrage of crystals to hinder Izumi''s path. Shiing Izumi activates her chakra vision and notices a stream of thin chakra attached to the floating crystal orbs. ''She can control them remotely with her chakra to track my position.'' Swish Izumi throws a wind-coated kunai towards the crystal orbs. ng ng The crystal orbs block the kunai with a crystal needle. ''These crystal orbs are semi-autonomous. They can attack, defend as well as track.'' Izumi looks around and confirms her distance from the vige. ''This must be far enough!'' She stops in her tracks and turns around. Purple lightning flickers through her eyes. ''Being a half Uchiha, fire release was never my forte.'' Izumi channels lightning chakra through her palms and ms them on the ground. ''Lightning Release: Lightning sh Quake,'' Bzzt crackle Lightning crackles through her palms and travels in a zig-zag path along the ground. BOOM Multiple pirs of purple lightning shoot out of the ground while pinning a crystalline creature hiding within the ground. "So, you were using this creature to track my path?" A crystal lizard jumps out of the ground. The dorsal surface of the lizard is entirely covered in glittering pale blue crystals jutting out haphazardly from its body. The lizard has red crystalline beady eyes and its tail is covered in a dense crystal shape forming a mace-like protrusion. nk nk nk Izumi''s jutsu only paralyzes the lizard for a moment. Tch Izumi clicks her tongue as the crystal channels the electricity to the ground, using its tail as a conduit. Whoosh Guren manages to catch up with Izumi. She has a slightly pale face. Guren calms down her breath and stretches her hands. Blue crystalline curved des jut from her forearms. Whoosh whoosh She closes the gap with Izumi and engages in closebat. ng ng Izumi deflects the de with her kunais. After just one attack, the kunais snap in half. The kunais crystalize and shatters in countless dust particles upon falling to the ground. Hmm Izumi notices the microscopic crystalline particles lingering around the de. ''Her crystal release chakra is capable of altering the molecrposition of any object. Her Kekkei Genkai is closer to Kekkei tota in terms of power. I must avoid those des at all costs.'' Swoosh Izumi draws her chakra de and infuses it with lightning chakra. She parries Guren''s de and retreats. Hmm Izumi notices traces of crystallization on her chakra de. ''Earlier, her jutsu instantly crystallized my fire dragon. But now, it only barely crystallized my lightning de. Is she weakened after the use of forbidden jutsu or is it because my mastery of lightning chakra is much stronger than my fire chakra?'' Izumi analyzes Guren''s weakness as she deflects a barrage of crystal needles from the crystal lizard summons. Swoosh She performs a backflip and avoids another rain of crystals from the floating crystal orbs. ''At this rate, I will get overwhelmed by her rapid attacks.'' Swoosh Izumi retreats further and draws her de in front of her chest. ''Lightning Release: Lightning flicker sh'' Swoosh Multiple balls of lightning disperse from Izumi''s position. The lightning balls turn into shadows of Izumi and flicker across the battlefield. "Lighting Release: Jolting Discharge," Izumi''s shadows draw the chakra de and release a stream of a thunderbolt from its tip. The thunderbolt streams crisscross with each other and bombard the area around Guren. Swoosh Guren raises her left hand and forms a crystal dome to protect herself from the lightning discharge. The crystal lizard channels the electricity to the ground like a lightning rod. Huh Guren narrows her eyes and makes some one-hand sign. "Crystal Release: Shuriken wild dance" The air around Guren condenses in multiple spinning crystal shurikens. They revolve around her at a high speed. Haaah With a gesture of her hand, the crystal shuriken slices through the entire area, including the multiple lightning shadows. "Where is she?" Guren looks around to locate Izumi''s real body. Crack crack The ground cracks open and a shadow jumps out of it. Whoosh Chapter 366: Curse Seal Surge Part-5 Chapter 366: Curse Seal Surge Part-5 The ground cracks open, and a shadow jumps out of it. Whoosh "What?" Izumi jumps out of the ground and pierces the soft stomach of the crystal lizard. Sploosh A burst of blood leaks from the wound. Roar The crystal lizard roars in pain and stabs its tail into the earth. nk nk nk Numerous blue crystals burst out from the ground. The crystal lizard disappears in a puff of smoke to recover. "Kessh" Guren cries in pain at the tragic sight of her summon. Fwoosh A lightning spear also pierces out of the earth and stabs into Guren''s foot. Argh Guren winces in pain. The lightning from the spear jolts her, bringing her back to her senses. She crystallizes her wound to prevent bleeding. Whoosh Izumi also jumps out of the ground. She pricks out a crystal shard from her thigh. Despite her efforts, the desperate attack of the crystal lizard managed to hit her. Thanks to her quick reflexes, she managed to avoid her vital points. Bzzt Lightning flickers through her hands as she cauterizes the wound on her thigh. Huff Huff Guren and Izumi confront each other again. Guren''s eyes are red from fury and exhaustion. The aftereffects of the Forbidden jutsu are still in effect. She res at Izumi and mutter. "Initially, I didn''t want to use this technique since I didn''t trust the power that I can''t control. But you forced my hand" Guren grits her teeth as a curse seal appears on her neck. ck lines slowly spread across her body. Her appearance changes rapidly. Her skin turns tan and the sclera in her eyes turns ck. Argh Guren roars in pain as purple jade crystal juts out from her arms and legs. Roar Guren''s transformation releases a shockwave of chakra pushing Izumi back. "Her chakra has reached an incredible height!" Izumi examines Guren''s condition with her Sharingan. The wounds on Guren''s body heal rapidly. She turns towards Izumi and smirks. ''There is a slight change in her chakra signature.'' Whoosh In the blink of an eye, Guren appears beside Izumi. Swoosh She swings a kick toward Izumi''s head. ng Izumi blocked the kick with her chakra de. Crack A crack appears on the de and it snaps in half. Bang Izumi is sent flying by the impact as the crystal de on Guren''s leg pierces her arm. The wound on her arm begins to crystalize rapidly. Chirp Chii Izumi channels lightning chakra through her arm to neutralize the infection, but it also paralyzes her arm. Whoosh Izumi rapidly flicked through the forest to avoid the barrage of crystals raining down on her. She pops a chakra and healing pill to restore her chakra and stamina. ''She can''t maintain this form for long. There must be a limit to it. If I can prolong this fight to that moment, then I might be able to capture her in her weakened state.'' "I won''t give you that opportunity." Guren also senses Izumi''s intention. She makes some rapid hand signs and ms her palm on the ground. ''Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Labyrinth,'' Rumble rumble Trembles run through the ground as massive crystalline pirs rise from the earth. The crystalline pir rapidly grows outward and forms a gigantic spherical cage encasing the surrounding area. Izumi stops in her track and stares at the giant crystal dome. She infuses a kunai with her lightning chakra and throws it toward the crystal in an attempt to shatter it at one point. ng Lightning disperses on impact with an effect on the crystal dome. Izumi narrows her eyes. ''This dome has a very stable molecr structure which disperses the force homogeneously through the entire structure. I need time to prepare a jutsu to shatter it in one blow. But I don''t think she will give me'' "Crystal Release: The God''s Crossing," Guren stomps her foot on the ground. Fwoosh A long stream of sharp blue crystals rapidly approaches Izumi. Whoosh Izumi jumps in the air and avoids the attack. Swoosh Izumi tilts her head and avoids a sharp beam of chakra aimed at her head. A few strains of her long hair split in half and turns into ashes. Bang Guren appears in front of Izumi and kicks her again. Swoosh Izumi redirects the impact from the kick and falls back. Argh Blood leaks from her mouth as she pricks out a crystal from her waist. She bites her lower lip and stares at Guren. Guren continues tounch multiple energy projectiles at her. ''She has gained a new ability to discharge energy with her curse seals. They are quite fast and almost unavoidable. At this rate, I can''t hold back for much longer. I have to use that technique.'' Shiing The tomoes in Izumi''s eyes revolve rapidly and merge. A three-leaf clover pattern appears in her eyes. "Kamo-wakei-kazuchi" Bzzt A surge of lightning gathers around Izumi. Izumi stretches her palm as six lightning magatama materializes in front of her. Shoom shoom The lightning magatamas hover in mid-air. Purple lightning channels through the magatamas, connecting them. The lightning magatama forms a halo behind Izumi. Haah ''Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Lance,'' Guren forms a gigantic spear-like crystal and throws it toward Izumi to impale her. "Shield!" Izumi mutters slightly as a drop of blood leaks from her left eye. Whoosh One of the lightning magatamas morphs into a purple shield and blocks the iing spear. BANG The crystalnce shatters into countless crystal fragments. Guren''s eyes widen in surprise. ''Those eyes what what are they? There was no record of such a Sharingan.'' Guren mutters to herself. Earlier, she had taken numerous precautions and countermeasures to target Sharingan''s weakness. The lightning magatama returns to the halo beside Izumi as she slowly mutters. "Spear!" Swoosh Another lightning magatama transforms into a giant lightningnce. Bzzt Purple lightning flickers across the spear as the surrounding terrain crumbles from the stray lightning discharges. "Discharge" Izumi aims the spear toward Guren and releases it. "Oh, no!" Guren''s expression turns pale. She immediately sps her hand andpletes her most powerful jutsu. "Crystal Release: String of Glory" A transparent blue crystal prism encases her body within it. Whoosh Suddenly, numerous beams of energy shoot from multiple directions. ''That''s'' Izumi recognizes the energy beams from earlier. ''These energy beams weren''t aimed at me. From the start, she was preparing for this jutsu to end the battle. This gigantic crystal cage provided her with the perfect opportunity. Since it''s made up of her chakra, it''s very hard for me to differentiate it from her chakra signature. Because of its reflective nature, it became harder for me to perceive any of her hidden attacks. Also, after multiple reflections and refractions, she managed to position her jutsu in such a way for them to meet at a focal point.'' Izumi stares at the prism floating in mid-air. Fwoosh The prism refracts all the energy beams once again and converges them at one focal point. The tip of the prism glows with a blinding radiance as it shoots out a concentrated beam of energy. BOOM The magatama spear and the energy beam sh in the center of the giant crystallinebyrinth. A blinding explosion covers their vision. Bang bang Multiple cracks spread throughout thebyrinth as it''s almost on the verge of shattering. "Armor!" A magatama envelope Izumi''s body in a set of purple armor from head to toe. BOOM Dust and debris rise within the confinement of the crystal. Amidst the explosion, the ground underneath them has torn apart. A few minutester, The dust and debris settle down to reveal Izumi and Guren. The prism around Guren is barely sustaining itself, with a massive chunk of it shattered into multiplerge fragments. Half of Guren''s body is scorched from the lightning discharge. The curse mark on her body is slowly withdrawing back into the seal. On the other side, Izumi appears to be in a much better condition. Purple mes disperse around her to reveal her body d in a set of armor. Blood leaks from both of her eyes as she is barely maintaining her position. Huff Huff Izumi breathes heavily and stares at Guren. ''She forced me to such an extent. Her abilities are very impressive. She is almost at the level of a Kage with the curse marks.'' She clenches her fist. ''I am sorry, Itachi I have to break our promise.'' ****shback**** A few years after the Uchiha Massacre, Itachi, Shisui, and Izumi are training their Sharingan abilities under Izuna''s guidance. "Itachi, Shisui both of your Mangekyo abilities are very powerful. Shisui after my observation, your Mangekyo ability ''Kotoamatsukami'' allows you to not just manipte memories or mind. It also has a hidden ability." "Hidden ability?" Shisui is surprised by Izuna''s remark. "Yes, during my training. I delved into your mindscape and observed it, since your ability is rted to mind maniption. There, I noticed unique energy or chakra." "Unique chakra?" Even Itachi and Izumi''s curiosity piques. "Yes, I call this energy" Chapter 367: Curse Seal Surge Part-6 Chapter 367: Curse Seal Surge Part-6 "I named it Dream energy," Izuna answers them. "Dream energy?" Shisui, Itachi, and Izumi inquire. "Yes. Shisui''s kotoamatsukami allows him to manipte someone at the highest level of control without thetter being aware of it. However, it has a very strict usage, i.e., it can''t be cast regrly" Izuna pauses and turns to Shisui. " but it''s not the only jutsu your Mangekyo Sharingan awakened. Every Mangekyo Sharingan awakens two unique abilities. These abilities might be different, like Itachi, or interdependent, like Uncle Yagami." "Dad?" Shisui is surprised. "Yes, uncle Yagami''s Mangekyo ability" Izuna replies. " one of his Mangekyo abilities allows him to manipte shadows to a much greater extent than the Nara n to the point that he bes almost invulnerable while in shadows. His other Mangekyo ability raises his control to such a level that he can create a domain of shadows or extreme darkness without any need for any external source. This maniption depends on proficiency and chakra control." Izuna calmly exins to him. "So, where was I? Ah yes yes Shisui also has a simr ability. However, it has yet to unlock because he has yet to meet a certain requirement." "My second Mangekyo ability?" Shisui is surprised to hear this. "Mm if my guess is correct, then your second Mangekyo ability will allow you to enter someone''s dreams and manipte the dreams to influence their mind. This abilitypletely bypasses all sorts of mental defenses. Even the Yamanaka n, with their strong mental defenses, will be helpless against your new ability. However, you need strong mental strength and willpower to awaken this ability. I am sure you will awaken it with time. Also, once you awaken it, this ability will assist your Kotoamatsukami through the use of Dream energy." Izuna pats Shisui''s back. "I am looking forward to it!" He turns towards Itachi and continues. "Itachi, it''s the same for you. You can''t control your Amaterasu, but you can manipte it depending on your proficiency in Fire Release. Simrly, your Tsukiyomi will improve with Yin release and mental strength." Izuna continues to give pointers to Shisui and Itachi. After a few minutes, he turns to Izumi. Izumi''s expression turn tense as Izuna evaluates her jutsu. "Izumi, your situation is slightly different from these two. I think you understand it." "I do, Izuna Nii-san!" Izumi bites her lips and nods. Shisui and Itachi curiously turn to Izuna for answers. "You two must have known already that Izumi is a half-Uchiha. His father was not from the Uchiha n." "We do!" Shisui and Itachi nod. "So, you must also be aware of the fact that only an Uchiha can use his Sharingan effectively. Even then, they require the medicine from the Howling Wolf vige to prevent blindness from the overuse of Sharingan." Shisui and Itachi recall Kakashi''s condition after his every use of Sharingan during their Anbu missions. "So, Nii-san does this mean" Worry appears on Itachi''s face. Izumi''s face turns red from Itachi''s worry. She starts to daydream. Ahem Izuna clears his throat to get her attention. "Yes, and no!" Izuna''s answer further confuses them. "Yes, it has a severe effect on her, since her every activation of Sharingan draws more chakra than normal. Also, she awakened her Sharingan at the age of 7, much before you, Itachi." Izuna turns to Itachi. "But she I I never saw her use it!" Itachi is at a loss for words. "It was an unfortunate ident!" Izuna shakes his head but doesn''t speak any further. "Her Sharingan withdraws much more chakra than normal. Also, it is almost impossible for her to awaken Mangekyo Sharingan. But during the previous incident, she" Izuna stares at Izumi with pity. "She awakened her Mangekyo Sharingan and passed out for an entire month." "What? So, the reason she was in aa was that" Izumi nodded in approval. Shiing She activates her Sharingan. The tomoes in her Sharingan revolve rapidly and merge in a three-leaf clover pattern. "Now for her abilities Her first ability ''Kamo-wakei-kazuchi'' grants her the ability to wield the highest order Lightning release. Her second ability ''Raikou'', allows her to control and manipte Kamo-wakei-kazuchi. This maniption depends on her proficiency and chakra control." Izuna calmly exins to them. Chirp chirp chi Izumi stretches her palm as purple lightning flickers through them. The lightning dances around her palm and turns into a bird. The bird changes into a snake, then into a dragon. Swoosh Izumi closes her fist and disperses the lightning dragon. Her eye turns normal. Huff Huff She breathes heavily as her chakra level hits rock bottom. "So, did you notice it?" Izuna calmly asks Itachi and Shisui. "Yes, we did!" Itachi nods his head. "No, it''s much more serious. The Mangekyo Sharingan grants greater power at the cost of eyesight, but in her case, it will directly drain her lifespan; if she overuses it." Izuna replies in a serious tone. "Her lifespan?" Shisui and Itachi are shocked to hear it. Itachi turns towards Izumi. "Izumi, I want you to make a promise to me. Unless the situation is life-threatening, you will never use your Mangekyo Sharingan during a fight." "Itachi, but I I want to fight alongside you I don''t want to be" Izumi is flustered by Itachi''s sudden request. "Izumi" Itachi grabs her shoulders. "Izumi, you are a precious friend to me. I don''t want to lose you." Itachi stares into her eyes. "" Izuna and Shisui facepalm as they speechlessly stare at Itachi. ''Itachi! You baka! Did you friend zone me?'' "BAKA!" Izumi ps Itachi and walks away. Itachi silently stares at the space for a while. After a while, he mutters. ''My Sasuke is still the best. He always listens to me.'' "" Izuna and Shisui stare at each other and grab one of Itachi''s shoulders to educate him. ****End of shback**** Huff Huff Izumi breathes heavily as she slowly walks toward an unconscious Guren. "I will reseal her chakra before she wakes up again!" Izumi eats another pill and takes out a sealing scroll from her pocket. ''This chakra suppression seal should be enough to prevent her chakra recovery.'' Izumi leans down to apply the chakra seal. Suddenly, Kuku "I was waiting for this moment." A maniacalughter echoes in the surrounding. The curse seal on Guren''s neck squirms as a face appears on her neck. ARGH. Guren screams in pain as the figure on the curse seal rapidly drains her life force. "That''s" Izumi''s eyes turn wide as a giant snake with Kabuto''s face leaps towards her, catching her off-guard. Shiing Her Mangekyo Sharingan spins rapidly. "Raikou: 4th form Musou Shinsetsu" A giant purple chakra arm appears behind Izumi. The giant arm wields a giant katana and shes it toward the iing white snake. Crackle crackle The clouds in the sky crackle with purple lightning. BOOM A violent discharge of purple lightning falls on the crystal dome. It instantly shatters the crystal dome and strikes the white snake. Bzzt BOOM A chaotic surge of purple lightning storm brews at the location of the lightning strike and engulf the snake within it. The purple lightning burns the snake to cinders. The sword sh splits the ground into two, leaving a gigantic scar spanning a few hundred meters on the ground. Bleurgh Izumi spits out a mouthful of blood and falls to her knees. Blood flows from both of her eyes. "I was expecting your move, Kabuto!" She grits her teeth in anger. ''Earlier, when Guren activated her curse seal; I noticed a change in her chakra signature. It was different from the Nature energy. It was something foreign, something sinister. I never expect you to make your move on me.'' Izumi closes her eyes. ''I hope the girls will finish the fight on their end soon. I must trust in their abilities.'' ------------------- A few hundred meters away from Izumi and Guren''s battlefield. "What''s that?" Hanabi notices a giant bolt of purple lightning striking down the crystal dome that appeared earlier. "It must be Izumi sensei. Looks like I am the first one toplete my fight!" Hanabi stares at an unconscious Iwana and Yamame. ''I have already sealed their chakra. I will tie them here and help Sensei. Ayaka and Yakumo will manage on their own.'' Hanabi takes out a binding scroll and imprisons the Sound duo within it. -------------------- On the other side of the battlefield, Ayaka emotionlessly stares at the purple lightning discharge. ''That''s Izumi Nee-san''s jutsu. To force her to use that jutsu, it means it must be that sinister chakra from her.'' She recalls the sinister chakra she sensed earlier while escaping with the mission target. ''Looks like there is no need to hold back any longer.'' Shiing Ayaka activates her Sharingan for the first time and turns towards a second curse form Kajika. "It''s time to end this!" "Those eyes Sharingan means you you were holding back!" Kajika res at Ayaka. "Were you looking down on me? Argh" Kajika released a burst of chakra from his body. The shark scales on his back merge with his body. He transforms further into a humanoid shark with long sharp teeth and sharp ws in his hands. "I will tear you apart!" Chapter 368: Curse Seal Surge Part-7 Chapter 368: Curse Seal Surge Part-7 "I will tear you apart!" Kajika lunges at Ayaka. "Genjutsu: Sharingan," Ayaka casts a powerful genjutsu on Kajika with just a blink of her eyes. Argh Kajika halts in his attack. The pupil in his eyes constricts and drool leaks from his mouth. Kajika struggles to hold himself conscious as he weakly mutters. ''How could her Genjutsu be so powerful?'' Whoosh Darkness shrouds him, and he loses consciousness. Multiple cracks appear on Kajika''s body as he suffers the bacsh of nature energy after failing to maintain his curse form. ''Their curse form paired with the chaotic chakra flow makes them invulnerable to even a powerful genjutsu. However, I have managed to modify my genjutsu after studying Yakumo''s techniques for almost three years. My genjutsu doesn''t affect his chakra system instead it targets their mindscape. People with strong mental strength can easily shrug it off, but a person with chaotic will like him will easily fall prey to it.'' Ayaka seals Kajika''s chakra with a sealing tag. She erects a barrier around him and quickly flickers toward Izumi''s location. --------------- A few momentster, Ayaka and Yakumo arrive at Izumi''s location at the same time. Both of them notice Izumi resting against a tree while Hanabi heals her wounds with medical Ninjutsu. "Izumi Nee-san, are you alright?" Ayaka asks her. "You should call me Izumi Sensei and yes, I am alright. I just exhausted my chakra." Izumi closes her eyes. Hmm Ayaka notices a faint invisible green energy leaking from Izumi''s eyes. ''That''s life force. Did she use her life force to substitute for her chakra? I have to ask Lady Katsuyu to replenish her life force.'' "What happened here?" Yakumo looks around and notices the widespread destruction and an unconscious Guren lying near Izumi. "It was an intense battle, but I somehow managed it." Izumi gives a subtle reply, avoiding the topic. "I have already sent a backup request to the nearby patrol teams. We will return to the vige once they are here." Hmm "They are already here!" Izumi turns in a direction. Soon, Swoosh swoosh Multiple shinobis in Konoha shinobi wear and headbands surround the group. Sakumo walks out of the shinobi group. "Sakumo-san!" Izumi slowly stands up. "What happened here?" "Sakumo-san it''s" Sakumo notices Izumi''s expression and dismisses the nearby shinobis. "You can brief me now," Sakumo assures her. "It''s like this" Izumi narrates the entire incident to Sakumo. "Hmm So, Kabuto''s n has already reached this stage." Sakumo''s expression turns ugly. "I will personally escort your group and the captives to Konoha. The intel this time is quite detailed. It will greatly bolster our preparations." Sakumo clenches his fists. ''Looks like another war is about to break out soon.'' Izumi gets the subtle hints from Sakumo''s words. A few hourster, the group departs for Konoha. ----------------------- A dayter in Konoha, Inside the meeting room in the Hokage office, The new viger elder council, various n leaders, Minato, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, are sitting around a round table. Thetest intel gathered by Izumi is ced on the table. Every n leader has a tense expression. "Kabuto! That son of a bitch." Choza ms his palm on the table. "How could he how could he destroy a major poption of the Land of Rice Paddies? With this, I won''t receive thetest rice crackers from" Choza''s sound turns feeble as he utters theter words. "" An awkward silence spreads throughout the entire meeting hall. Ahem Tsunade clears her throat and continues. "The Land of Sound has been a budding threat since its establishment by Orochimaru. Orochimaru established multiple secretboratories throughout the Land of Rice Paddies and near the border of the Land of Fire. He experimented on countless shinobis from various nations and multiple civilians from nearby viges to create his curse seal. " Tsunade pauses and stares at everyone. Emotions of rage, hatred, and disgust are spread across the faces of various n leaders as they recall their losses under Orochimaru''s hands. "But we were able to neutralize him before he could threaten the safety of the vige any further. However, his disciple Kabuto, a genius medical-nin and a member of Konoha''s orphanage" Tsunade turns towards the orphanage head, who lowers his head. " he learned from Orochimaru''s mistakes and hid pretty well. Now, after years of preparation; he improvised all of Orochimaru''s ns and ws." Tsunade picks up a scroll with information on the curse seal. "This is thetest intel on Kabuto''s improved cursed seal. Orochimaru''s curse seal is based on the Sji n." "Sji n?" Most of the elders and n leaders are clueless about the new n. "Hmm I seem to have heard about this n." Shikaku Nara taps his finger on the table. "It was a very powerful ancient n in the Land of Ancestors." "Was?" A few n leaders raise their eyebrows. "Yes, this n was one of the most powerful ns, even before the era of the Sage of Six Paths." "Sage of Six Paths? Isn''t he a myth?" A few ns leaders have skeptical expressions. "Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest are also mythical ces, but don''t they exist?" Shikaku answers them with a question. "Well there might be some truth to it!" A few n leaders agree as they stare at a silent Jiraiya. "What was so special about the Sji n?" Inoichi inquires. "Every member of the Sji n was a sage." "What?" Jiraiya, who was silently sitting near Minato, suddenly opens his mouth. "That''s that''s ridiculous!" He exims as he recalls the painful process of learning Senjutsu. "As incredible and unbelievable as it may sound but it seems to be the case." Shikaku also has a dubious expression on his face. "I only knew about it since there seems to be some record of it in our n''s library in the forest." Shikaku takes out a few scrolls with some writings on them. "This is the relevant information I copied from the books." He passes the scroll to the members of the elder council. "Then how did this n perish if they had such abilities?" Jiraiya curiously inquires. "There are not many details on it but at some point in time, a curse that led to insanity afflicted the Sji n members. The insane n members fought amongst each other, leading to their downfall. However, there are still a few surviving members of their n roaming the shinobi world." Shikaku crosses his arms and closes his eyes. Ahem Minato clears his throat to get their attention. "As you all might have predicted, Orochimaru managed to get his hands on a Sji n member. He studied the unique physical abilities of the Sji n members and replicated them through his cells. However, the process was imperfect since Orochimaru himself wasn''t a Sage. He required a suitable vessel to perfect this technique and gain greater power. However, before he could achieve his ambitions, he met his end." "So, does this mean this orphan kid Kabuto achieved what Orochimaru couldn''t in just a few years?" The vige elders and n leaders have incredulous expressions. "Yes, he not only perfected the curse seal, but he modified it to mass produce Jounin-level shinobis from genins, turn normal civilians into chunnins, and raise a jounin to the level of a Kage." Minato throws a report on the table. "This is a report on the recent captives brought by Team Three. This group includes a rare Kekkei Genkai Crystal Release with the power of a Kage, a few genins, chunnins, and even civilian soldiers. Most of these people are under mind control and the intel we got from them is quite worrying." Minato''s expression turns solemn. "How bad it is?" Fugaku, whose eyes were closed the entire time, slowly opens them. "Given the current state of things, a fourth shinobi war is around the corner!" Minato deres his spection. Before Izuna went missing, he disclosed a few things hinting of the Fourth Shinobi War. To prevent a paradox in the timeline, Izuna only revealed the major involvement of the Kabuto, Akatsuki, and Otsutsuki n. These subtle hints were enough for Minato and the rest to conclude. "Fourth Shinobi War?" Whoosh All the n leaders stand up from their seats, stunned by the shocking revtion. Chapter 369: Shadows in Dark Chapter 369: Shadows in Dark A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- "Fourth Shinobi War?" All the n leaders stand up from their seats, stunned by the shocking revtion. Cough cough Tsunade coughs to calm them down. She gestures to Minato to continue. "The possibility of Fourth Shinobi War is still a spection" Minato''s words slightly ease the worry in their heart. "However, Konoha and its allies should still prepare for the worst-case scenario." Minato rolls the scroll and sits back. Chitter chatter The various n leaders discuss the possibility of war among themselves. Minato and Tsunade close their eyes and calmly think of the situation. After discussing for a while, Hiashi Hyuga turns to the Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, before this discussion reaches any conclusion, we would like to know more about the enemy. Konoha, Suna, and Kiri had an army of elite shinobis ready to deploy at any moment. Whereas Akatsuki is just an organization consisting of ten elite shinobis and Kabuto is just a single person with control over a few shinobis of the Land of Sound. Unless these people unite the small shinobi nations, they hardly stand a chance against thebined might of three shinobi nations." Hiashi voices the question that most n heads are eager to get an answer to. Hmm "Edo Tensei!" Minato voices out a word. Silence Utter silence spreads throughout the entire meeting hall. "Orochimaru improved the forbidden jutsu of the Second Hokage. During the demon war, Kabuto seems to have improved this jutsu a step further. From our evaluation, the improved Edo Tensei can retain most of their peak strength and Kabuto seems to be capable ofpletely controlling their actions." Minato recounts the previous encounter of Konoha 12 with the reincarnated Third Raikage. Shock spread throughout the faces of the n leader. "No wonder no wonder there were multiple cases of grave robbery in the previous few years. At this rate, this Kabuto might have gathered the remains of almost all well-known shinobis." A chill spread through everyone''s back. The emotional and sentimental burden of fighting against their long-dead friends and family. The n leaders clutch their fists in anger. "We can''t allow that bastard to tarnish the honor of our friends and family. Suddenly, Whoosh A shadow appears in the meeting room, startling everyone presents in the hall. The shadow stands beside Minato and hands over a scroll to him. Minato grabs the scroll and unfurls it. His expression turns ugly. He passes the scroll to Tsunade. Tsunade nces at the scroll, and her expression also turns foul. She turns towards Minato, who nods his head. "EVERYONE!" Tsunade raises her voice to get everyone''s attention. "We have thetest intel regarding the Akatsuki!" Swoosh Tsunade throws the scroll to the center of the table. "Recently, in these past two years, the hidden members of the Akatsuki have surfaced again. They have captured multiple shinobis throughout the different nations." The n leaders attentively listen to her exnation. "One and a half years ago, Yugito Nii of the Kumogakure was captured alive during a mission. A few dayster, Kumo dered her MIA. Then, a year ago, Akatsuki targeted the resurrected three-tails. Kiri suffered multiple casualties and the members of the Akatsuki captured the new jinchuruki. Eleven months ago, just a month after the previous incident; Iwagakure confirmed the kidnapping of Four-tails. Three monthster, six members of Akatsuki broke through the encirclement of a hundred elite Iwagakure shinobis. They sessfully captured the Jinchuriki of Five-tails and escaped. Onoki was quick to suppress the news, but our spies were able to dig it out" The expression of n leaders turns grim. " Two monthster, after the end of the chunnin exam; two Akatsuki members attacked an entourage from Takigakure. They wiped out all the members of the entourage. Later, Takigakure revealed that the Seven-tails jinchuruki was within the group. And now" Tsunade turns to the scroll in the center of the table. "Yesterday, the rogue jinchuruki of Six-tails was kidnapped right under the nose of Kiri shinobis. Kiri suffered yet another loss. As our ally, it''s an immense blow to our man force." The faces of n leaders turn pale. "If the rumors regarding the forbidden jutsu of the tailed beast are correct, then the Akatsuki is very close to achieving it. If they capture the remaining three tailed beasts, then not even thebined forces of Five Great Nations will stand a chance against them." The n leaders recall a piece of information from history where a certain n managed to capture eight-tailed beasts in the past. Using their powers and the help of an ancient relic, the n almost managed to unify the entire shinobi world. In the end, thebined powers of all other ns prevented the tragedy. After the catastrophe, the greed of the ns took over. This led to the start of the Warring period of shinobi history. However, all records of that ambitious n, including their name, were wiped out from the annals of history. The meetingsts for another hour. In the end, "There is still a month before the start of the Konoha''s annual sports festival. The festival willst for seven days. On the seventh day, we will hold a meeting with the important members of Suna and Kiri and will formte a strategy and assess preparation for the possible uing war." The meeting concludes. Only Tsunade, Minato, Jiraiya, and Sakumo are left behind in the meeting room. Phew Tsunade heaves a sigh of relief. She turns to Jiraiya and asks him. "Still no intel on Pain?" Jiraiya shakes his head. "It has been three years since Nagato disappeared from the shinobi world. Despite my efforts, I was unable to track his trace. It''s like he disappeared into thin air." Jiraiya shakes his head. "Even the members of In-Y are unable to locate him." Minato shakes his head. Tsunade bites her lower lip in frustration. "Akatsuki has captured six-tailed beasts as of the current moment. Their next target will be Konoha and Kumogakure. Konoha has one-tails and nine-tails residing in it, so the scale of the attack might be even bigger than the previous attacks. Akatsuki won''t spare any effort in taking us down." Jiraiya clicks his tongue in frustration. "If only he was here" Tsunade''s thoughts linger for a while as she mutters to herself. The room turns silent as everyone is lost in their thoughts. ------------------------------ Later in the Konoha Hospital, Izumi is resting on a bed with multiple flowers around her. Almost half of the Yamanaka flower shop is present in her room. "Get well soon, Sensei!" Yakumo decorates a bouquet of yellow roses and daisies. "You girls should also take care." Izumi waves her hand to Yakumo as she leaves the room. A few momentster, Itachi and Ayaka enter the room. There is a dark expression on Itachi''s face. "Itachi I" Izumi stutters as she fails to respond. "I I am sorry!" Her eyes turn teary. Sigh Itachi sighs helplessly and embraces her in a hug. "I am not mad at you for breaking our promise. You had no other choice. I am just I am just mad at myself for my inability to help you." They both hug each other for a while. After a few moments, Cough cough Ayaka coughs slightly to get their attention. "I am still here, y''know!" AH! Izumi''s face turns red in embarrassment and Itachi turns his head in another direction to avoid Ayaka''s gaze. Haha Sound ofughter and giggles sound from outside the room as the Uchiha family enters the room. Whoosh Itachi immediately distances himself from Izumi like a spring. This leads to another series ofughter from the group. "Ara Itachi! It has been three years already. When will I get the fortune to be a Grandaunt?" Fumiko chuckles and teases Itachi. "Aunt I Izumi we" Itachi is flustered by Fumiko''s teasing. Haha The group breaks out into a fit of yet anotherughter. "Alright! Alright! Give her a break y''all. She still needs to recover." Aikoes to Itachi''s rescue. Itachi silently thanks Aiko in his mind. '' Shisui and Yugao are already expecting. So, Itachi, you better not make us wait longer!'' She smiles at Itachi. Itachi''s expression freezes. He walks beside his father and uncle, who gently pats his back with an expression of. ''We all have been through this, son. You have to manage it on your own.'' While the group was chattering among themselves, Ayaka takes out a small crystalline vial from her pocket. There is a glowing cyan color fluid in the vial. She hands it over to Izumi. "Izumi Nii-san, this is a medicine from Shikkotsu Forest. Big Sister Tsunade uses this to recover from the loss of life force while using her Creation Rebirth technique. I hope this will help you recover from your previous life-force loss." "Ayaka this" A smile blooms on Izumi''s face as she epts this. ''Grandmother mother I finally have a loving family.'' She gulps down the content of the vial. ---------------------------- Deep into Death Valley near the chaotic spatial rifts, Fwoosh A gigantic rift in space opens up. A figure covered in ck robes slowly steps into the shinobi world. "This seems to be the ce; I was looking for." Hmm The figure raises his head and stares in a direction. A few secondster, another figure in purple robes appears in front of him. "Go back to where you came from. You don''t belong in this ce!" Purple kaleidoscopic patterns revolve in the eyes of the newly arrived figure. "That''s what I should say to you prince *#@#*" The ck-clothed figure cracks his mouth open. The face of the purple-robed figure crumbles. "No, you!" Chapter 370: Shocking Revelation Chapter 370: Shocking Revtion A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- Somewhere In a secret hideout in the Land of Ancestors. Swirl A swirling portal opens up. A yellow one-eye masked figure d in ck robes with a red cloud pattern walks out of it. "How are the preparations?" Swoosh swoosh Multiple origami papers swarm the area. The papers coalesce together to form Konan. "Pain is waiting inside for you!" Konan turns around and enters the room. Tobi follows her. Inside the room, Pain is sitting on a ck rod throne with four other pains standing beside him. "The preparations areplete. After three years of exploration, I retrieved what you asked." Pain withdraws a scroll from his robe and tosses it toward Tobi. Tobi grabs the scroll and nces at it. "This should be enough to ensure our victory in the uing war. However, we still need time to prepare for war." "How is the cooperation with Kabuto?" Pain asks him. "Are you sure about the co-operation with that snake? What if he backstabs us, just like Master?" Konan voices her concern. "That won''t happen! I already have his weakness in my hands." A scroll appears in Tobi''s hands. "This is the thing that Kabuto desires the most. Fortunately, it happens to be in my hands. If he wants it, then he must have to work for me." Tobi closes his fist, and the scroll disappears. "Also, it''s about time for me to formally introduce myself to the rest of the Akatsuki members. Gone are the days when I was known as Tobi!" Tobi''s demeanor changes as he speaks. "Izuna Uchiha was a throne, stuck in the path of Akatsuki. Now, it has been two years since he disappeared from this world. So, after ample preparations, we can finally make a move on Konoha to capture the remaining One-tail and Nine-tails." Tobi takes out two magatama beads and one circr ss bead from his pocket. He passes them to Pain. "Even without Izuna Uchiha, Konoha still has multiple powerful shinobis within it. Sakumo Hatake, Tsunade Senju, Minato Namikaze, Fugaku Uchiha, Yagami Uchiha, Akira Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy" Tobi continues to count the elite shinobis of Konoha. " and finally, your sensei Jiraiya." Konan''s expression flinches slightly at the mention of Jiraiya. Even Tobi himself is surprised by the sheer number of powerful shinobis present in Konoha. ''Current Konoha is a force to be reckoned with. Fortunately, I was able to get my hands on that thing or else'' He assures himself. "Fighting a head-on battle against Konoha will be a mistake even with your Rinnegan." Tobi analyzes the current strength of Konoha. "Summon the rest of the members to initiate our n." Pain taps the ring on his finger. Half an hourter, The projection of every Akatsuki member gathers inside the secret hideout. "It has been a while since Ist saw your face." Kakuzu res into Pain''s eyes. "Hey man! I thought you were dead. Too bad, you would have made a great offering to Lord Jashin." Hidan clicks his tongue. "I am not here to listen to the bbering of a walking antique zombie and a lunatic cultist of a shady God. If there is nothing else, I will return." Sasori opens his mouth and mocks Hidan and Kakuzu. "Looks like someone is itching to meet the death God." Kakuzu clenches his fist in anger. "His soul will be a sacrifice to my Lord Jashin, not some death God!" Hidan readies his scythe. Fufu Deidara chuckles slightly. "Sasori my man! Looks like they have already nned a funeral and afterlife home for you." "Shut up!" Sasori res at him. "Enough!" Pain who has his eyes closed the entire time opens them and speaks, inducing fear in every Akatsuki member present. "I haven''t summoned you here for the useless bbering." Pain res at every member of Akatsuki. "Before we begin, I have someone to introduce." Pain turns to a dark corner as a figure walks out of it. The Akatsuki members recognize him. "Tobi?!" They are surprised to see Tobi. "Before we begin, let me re-introduce myself" " so, except for Fushin and Kisame who will attack the Eight-Tails, the rest will attack Konoha with me. Kabuto will also provide some backup to both teams. So, let''s meet outside the Land of Fire in the next seven days." Pain concludes the meeting. Swoosh swoosh One by one, the projection of every Akatsuki member disappears from the room. Tobi also retreats with Zetsu to meet with Kabuto to finalize their n. Only Konan and Pain are left in the room. "After removing the only obstacle in our path, the ''Eye of the Moon n'' will finallye to fruition. I will bring peace to this forsaken world." Pain slowly walks out of the hideout. "Nagato!" Konan has a hesitant expression on her face. "Will this n really bring peace to the world? Wouldn''t we end up sacrificing hundred and thousands of people if a war starts now?" Konan clenches her fists as she murmurs. "This is not what Yahiko envisioned Akatsuki to be a terrorist organization responsible for mass murder." She questions Nagato''s decision again as she recalls Izuna''s words from the past. "These hundred and thousands of people are the necessary sacrifice to propagate a new future. These heartless people never even once spared a nce when their nation attacked other nations for resources. We had to survive another day as they enjoyed their life. They brutally crushed our peaceful attempts to rise. They never showed mercy to us. So, why should we reciprocate? Konan you can''t change my mind." Deva Path leaves the ce with other paths. Sigh Konan sighs helplessly. "Nagato you have changed you have changed a lot. Your power has corrupted your mind. But I will still stand with you and see this to the end, for that is my promise to Yahiko." Konan closes her eyes as tears fall from them. "Yahiko" -------------------- Somewhere in a forest outside the Land of Rice Paddies, A figure in a ck cloak is sitting on a rock. A white snake slithers around the figure. Kabuto gently pats the snake. Swirl Tobi walks out of a swirling portal. "I am notte, am I?" "No! You are just on time." Kabuto raises his head and turns to Tobi. "Have you brought it?" Kabuto has an eager expression on his face. Swoosh Tobi summons a storage scroll. "It will depend on your contribution." He tosses the scroll to Kabuto. Kabuto grabs the scroll and checks its content. His expression turns ugly. "This is not what you promised?" A scary expression appears on Kabuto''s face. "You have yet to make any noteworthy contribution. So, this is all I can spare for now." Tobi calmly crosses his hands in front of his chest as he ys Kabuto on his fingertips. "You!" Rage appears in Kabuto''s eyes. However, it soon disappears, and a calm expression is on his face. Kabuto smirks and speaks in a chilly tone. "Contribution, it is!?" Swish swish He makes some quick hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Edo Tensei!" Poof Poof Eight wooden coffins pop out of the ground. One of the coffins slightly differs from the rest. BANG BANG One by one, the lid of the six coffins falls to the ground. "How is it for contribution?" Tobi''s expression changes drastically as he stares at the summons. "YOU?!" His eyes narrow as he stares at the summons in the coffin. Kuku "I have perfected the technique which Orochimaru-sama failed to. With my modifications, each of these shinobis retained their peak strength no, they are beyond their peak strength since they don''t feel pain, hunger, and exhaustion. They can''t die by normal means and will never run out of chakra." Kabuto tickles the chin of the white snake wrapped around his body. Hmm Tobi''s expression turns normal. "This should be more than enough. Once the war is over, I will give everything to you. That''s the term of our agreement." "NO!" Kabuto shakes his head. "We need to slightly change the terms." BANG The lid of the final two coffins falls to the ground. "IMPOSSIBLE!" For the first time, Tobi loses his calm as he res at the two figures in the coffin. Tobi is shaken to his core as Kabuto calmly walks towards him. "You know while researching, I came across a shocking revtion. The rest was quite easy to figure out. I connected a few dots and" Kuku Kabuto smiles ominously as he mutters. "Isn''t that right, Mr. Obito Uchiha?" Chapter 371: CPS System Chapter 371: CPS System A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- "Man!! I am so bored. I also want to join the fun." Kotetsu stares in the direction of the training ground while yawning. "Our shift will end in a few more hours. I am sure we will be able to make it during thest event of the day." Izumo consoles him. Today is the first day of the Konoha''s Annual Seven Days Sports Festival. The preparations for the festival took months; from decorations and event arrangements to the preparation of invitations. This festival is the only source of entertainment for the deste and mission-driven shinobis of Konoha in recent years. This festival was first proposed by Izuna Uchiha as a reward for one of his sessful missions. The Hokage Office approved the idea andter implemented it as a tradition. Being a shinobi festival; it is a highly anticipated event among shinobis and civilians alike. Through participation in the events, the shinobis can enjoy a much-needed break and even obtain some rewards from the Hokage if they perform well during the events. As for civilians, it provides another source of ie since even normal civilians can take jobs like street and venue decoration to earn some extra money. Civilians can open stalls to sell their homemade items, including food, clothing, decorative items, and much more. However, the main attraction of the festival is the carnival held every day after the finale. Performers from various other nations will demonstrate their skills to entertain adults and children alike. One can also buy items from wandering merchants from other nations without the need to visit the nation. However, the festival this time is much more important than the previous ones; since it''s the first-time other shinobi nation are invited to attend it. Multiple shinobis from Kiri, Kumo and Suna wander across the streets of Konoha. Ayaka, Hanabi, Yakumo, Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi wander across the streets of Konoha as they shop for items. "Tch it''s so boring. Assigning an inspection mission even on the day of a vacation." Konohamaru grumbles as he secretly monitors the shinobis from other nations. "Honestly, it''s not that badpared to what big sister Hinata has on her hands." Hanabi shakes her head. "Also, it is still some time before our event starts. It''s not too bad to enjoy the atmosphere." Moegi shakes her head as she stares at a jewelry shop in anticipation. "Ayaka, Hanabi, Yakumo let''s check that jewelry shop. I heard it was quite poprst time. I missed itst year, but this time I have saved up enough money from missions." Moegi grabs their hands and dashes towards the shop. "What''s so exciting about a jewelry shop?" Konohamaru scoffs. "Konohamaru look look" Udon pulls Konohamaru''s sleeves and points in the direction of the bookshop. "The new special edition of Giga Man is out." Udon''s eyes sparkle in fascination as he stares at the cover of aic book. A masked man in a sci-fi suit is printed on the cover page of theic book. Ayaka turns around and nces at theic cover of Giga Man. Few old memories surfaces in her mind. Since her childhood, she had a habit of listening to a new story before falling asleep. Her mother had exhausted every story present in Konoha''s library. But it wasn''t enough. Even her uncles and brothers were helpless against her habit. ''In the end, Izuna Nii-san wrote this story for her.'' She was quickly fascinated by the modern sci-fi setting of the story. A world where people were able to perform miraculous things without the use of chakra. This story became so popr in the Uchiha n that Aiko decided to publish it. Later, it received the award of the best children''s tale for ten consecutive years to till this date. Now, this story is serialized by one of his brother''spanies. Sigh Ayaka takes a deep breath. ''Nii-san, I miss you.'' She enters the jewelry shop with the rest of the girls. -------------------------- Inside the Konoha Police Headquarters, Shisui is calmly staring at an eagle-eye projection of Konoha. Several markers of different colors are constantly moving across the projection. The green markers belong to the members of Konoha''s Shinobi force. The brown markers represent the tourists and shinobis from Suna. The blue markers belong to the tourists and shinobis from Kiri. The ck markers represent the various merchants from several nations. Multiple different shinobis in the standard Konoha police outfit constantly monitor the projection. A tracking device is installed on the identity tags and armbands provided to every person who enters Konoha. The tracking device records the chakra signature of the target in the database and will consider it a friendly target. Any unknown chakra signature without the armband will appear as a yellow marker. It will mark hostile shinobis as red targets. ''Such a wondrous Fuinjutsu formation.'' Shisui marvels at the sight of the live broadcast of the situation. "This is the most recent Fuinjutsu formation developed by Lady Kushina. This current event will serve as a trial ground for this Fuinjutsu formation." ''This idea to remotely monitor allies and enemies in the form of beacons using their chakra was first invented by Izuna Nii-san. He developed a framework and merged it with the current monitoring system. However, he wasn''t able toplete the task. Thankfully, Lady Kushina was able toplete the work using the notes he left behind.'' Shisui assigns various tasks to the members of the police force. He then proceeds to head towards the headquarters of In-Y. --------------- Inside the In-Y headquarters, A more prominent version of the Chakra Positioning System is present in the center of the room. Minato, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the rest of the group examine it as Kushina tweaks around a little. "Izuna''s model was big enough to cover the entire. He designed it as a monitoring system to defend against otherworldly beings. Though I am unable to replicate his entire design due to ack of relevant rune knowledge, duplicating a small-scale model using the known Fuinjutsu runes wasn''t a particrly challenging task. Still, this small-scale model is enough to monitor an area of 100 sq. km around Konoha." Kushina slightly adjusts the setting of the globr device. The projection zooms out to reveal the entire area covered by the Chakra Positioning System. "The test run seems to be sessful." Kushina has a pleasant expression on her face. "The CPS system in the Konoha Police Headquarters is working fine." Shisui arrives in the room and reports. Swoosh A cat-masked Anbu flicker beside Minato and reports to him. "The CPS system in the Anbu headquarters is also working as intended." Minato nods in approval. "Also, Yamato you can remove the mask." Minato turns to the cat-masked shinobi. "Yes Lord Fourth!" Yamato removes his anbu mask. "The CPS system in the Konoha''s detection division is also fully functional." Kakashi arrives in the room and reports. He turns to Yamato and waves at him. "It has been a while, Kinoe!" "Umm Senpai, I currently go by the name Yamato." Yamato scratches his head in embarrassment." Kakashi ignores him and turns to the giant projection in the center of the room. Ah "He ignored me!" Yamato sulks in a corner. "Alright! Now I will sync the data for all CPS systems." Kushina makes some hand signs and ms her palm on the ground. Swoosh A gigantic Fuinjutsu seal covers the entire In-Y headquarters. A simr invisible Fuinjutsu seal appears in the air around the headquarters of the Anbu, Konoha Police Force, and the Detection Division. Kushina exins the functioning of the CPS system to the group. ''The main core of the CPS system, the device responsible for the chakra detection, is hidden in this pocket dimension present in the center of the vige. Three devices that act as amplifiers are located at three different locations in the vige. These locations are the respective headquarters of each branch. These devices operate by using a giant Fuinjutsu seal with the amplifiers acting as the chakra nodes.'' For the next hour, Kushina continues to exin the operation method and design of the seal to everyone present in the room. Mm "This will prove to be a huge asset in the uing war. His ideas are so far ahead of this time." Tsunade praises the CPS system. As the group discusses the applications of the CPS system, PING PING Arge yellow beacon suddenly appears on the map. Hmm "This scale of chakra" The group is shocked to see the extremelyrge chakra beacon. "Has the Akatsuki made its move already?" Jiraiya raises his eyebrow. In the past few weeks, Jiraiya and the members of In-Y monitored the movements of Akatsuki. They spotted quite a few members of Akatsuki near the Land of Fire. PING PING Another small yellow beacon appears on the edge of the chakra radar. "Another one?" The group frowns as they monitor the movement of the group. "Should we deploy the Crystal Telescope Technique to get visual feedback? Though it might alert a sensory type shinobi." Yamato stares at therge and small chakra beacons. "There is no need for that!" A smile appears on Minato''s face. "Look at the position of these two beacons." Hmm Kushina turns towards the chakra radar. "That''s that''s the Mount Myoboku shrine outside the vige. Which means?" A smile appears on Kushina''s face. "He is back!" Kushina clenches her fists. "It has been two years since Ist saw him. I won''t rest before I give good threshing to him." Chapter 372: Return Chapter 372: Return A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- Swoosh A figure in a red cloak with ck mes suddenly appears outside Konoha. The figure looks around to confirm the location. "Hmm from the looks of it, I am in the right ce." Achoo A shiver runs down his spine. He hurriedly looks around to sense the danger. "Why do I feel like I am in trouble all of a sudden?" The figure scratches his head in confusion. "Looks like I am worrying for nothing. It has been a while since Ist saw everyone. I wonder how all of them are doing. I can''t wait to surprise them." The figure turns in the direction of Konoha. Hmm ''Looks like he is also here. I can''t wait to meet him and show my progress.'' A grin appears on the figure''s face. ''The vige is still a decent distance from here.'' The figure slightly bends forward. Whoosh With a burst of extreme speed, he disappears from his ce. The afterimage slowly disperses into nothing. On the other side of the vige, Swoosh A figure in a ck robe appears outside Konoha. The figure clenches his fist. ''These past two years, I never cked, even for a day. I wonder how much I have progressed.'' Hmm He turns his attention to Konoha. ''Looks like I will find it out soon. For now, it''s time to meet everyone.'' Whoosh A gentle breeze blows away as the cloaked figure vanishes into the air. ------------------- Outside Konoha''s gates, Yawn Kotetsu yawns and stares at the entrance. "Man! Our workload sure has increased these past few days. I am working overtime now." "I don''t mind it if the pay is good. There is not much stressful work to do anyway, since no one is foolish enough to simply barge into Konoha without proper permissions. The shinobis from other nations are well-behaved and the civilians don''t create much ruckus, anyway. Besides, we are also receiving a bonus from the Hokage Office. So, it''s not that big of a deal. Our shift is about to end. Let''s visit the stadium to witness thest event of the day. Later, I also want to enjoy the carnival." Izumo shrugs his shoulder. "Yeah" Beep beep Before Kotetsu could answer, the proximity sensor seal raised an alert. Soon, a burst of wind shes past their eyes. Their eyes only manage a sh of orange. "What?! What was that?" Kotetsu and Izumo stare at each other with wide eyes. "The alert is ring on. Someone must have barged into the vige without permission." Kotetsu stares at the still ring rm. "But what was that speed? I I couldn''t even see an afterimage." Izumo gulps his saliva. Suddenly, Whoosh Another figure appears at the entrance of the vige. Swish swish Kotetsu and Izumo enter abat stance. They warily stare at the ck-robed figure. "Who are you?" Kotetsu inquires. "It''s me!" The figure removes his cloak. "Sasuke Uchiha!" Izumo instantly recognizes thetter as the son of the Uchiha n head. Sasuke enters the vige. The sensing barrier recognizes his chakra and allows him entry into the vige. The gatekeeper duo lowers their guard. "The person before me must be Naruto. For some reason, the sensing barrier didn''t sense his chakra." Sasuke reminds them. Swoosh Shisui and Itachi quickly appear at the entrance. "Sasuke!" Both stare at Sasuke with wide eyes. "You have grown a lot!" Itachi remarks after a moment of silence. "Let''s go home. Everyone is waiting for you." Shisui signals him. Mm Sasuke nods his head and stares around the vige. "Did the vige recently change the sensing barrier?" "Oh! You can see it." Shisui raises an eyebrow. "Mm the Fuinjutsu seals are different from the past. I can faintly sense that someone is monitoring me." Woah Itachi and Shisui are shocked to hear this. ''He can sense the detection ability of the CPS system. Just how much has he progressed in these two years?" Itachi and Shisui are curious to see his progress. "We will test your progress tomorrow. For now, let''s celebrate your return." Itachi pokes his forehead and flickers toward the Uchiha n. ------------------- Near the Uzumaki n, "Mom! I am back." Naruto stops outside his house. "Oh! My Naruto is back." Kushina walks out of the house with a smile. She bears hugs Naruto in her embrace. Minato, who also waiting for Naruto to hug him, stops in his tracks. Crack crack Sound of bones snapping rings in his ears. Gulp Minato gulps his saliva and crosses his outstretched arms. He gives up the idea of a family hug. Mmf Hmf Naruto, while struggling in Kushina''s embrace, makes some muffled noises. "Oh, my son is excited to meet his mother after two years. I must give him all the love I missed in these two years." A smile appears on Kushina''s face as she tightens her embrace. Mmmf Hmmf Naruto''s struggles intensify. His face turns red and tears flow from his eyes. "My son is so happy to meet his mother after two years that his eyes are tearing up." "Mom! You are choking him up." Karin walks out of the house. She adjusts her spectacles and rebukes Kushina. "Ah really?" Kushina releases Naruto from her embrace. The smile on her face still lingers. ''Mom is still the same sadist as I remember.'' "Ara Karin dear did you think something rude about me?" Ah Karin''s face freezes. "No! No! Since Naruto is back, let''s celebrate his return." Karin hurriedly changes the subject. Huff Huff Naruto breathes heavily to inhale every bit of air present around him. "" Minato and Yang Kurama, who are silently watching the spectacle sweat drops at their antiques. ''She is still the same scary girl I could remember.'' Yang Kurama telepathically mutters to Minato. "But that''s the part I like about her." Minato shakes his head with a smile. Eh Yang Kurama''s expression freezes as he stares at Minato with an expression of. ''Are you being serious?'' Later in the evening, the Uchiha n and the Uzumaki n reserve an entire floor of Yakiniku Q restaurant to throw a weing party. ----------------------------- Later next morning in the Uchiha n''s training ground. Swish swish Itachi and Sasuke are sparring with each other as the former tests thetter''s abilities. ng ng Both precisely deflects each other''s Shurikenjutsu. "We are pretty much on the same level in terms of Shurikenjutsu. Next up is Kenjutsu." Swoosh Itachi and Sasuke wield katanas and sh into a sword fight. "Uchiha Style: Dance of the Sun Halo" "Uchiha Style: Dance of the Moon Halo" Both utilize different techniques and sh against each other. ng ng They parry each other''s attacks and continue to exchange techniques. "Uchiha Style: Crescent Gale sh" "Sage de Art: Moonlight sh" Ding Itachi''s katana is sliced in half and falls to the ground. Sigh "It''s my loss." Sasuke sighs and raises his hand in defeat. Ding ding ding Sasuke''s katana breaks down into multiple cleanly sliced pieces of metal. "My Kenjutsu and Genjutsu are stillckingpared to you, brother." He turns to Shisui. "And I am still not as fast as you, Shisui Nii-san. And in terms of Genjutsu, not even Itachi Nii-san is a match for you." Haha Shisui chuckles and pats Sasuke''s back. ''We all have a particr talent where we excel the most. Your chakra control and Ninjutsu skills are better than both of us. Not to mention, you are a perfect Sage now.'' Shisui sighs as he recalls the past. "In the past, both Itachi and me trained in Senjutsu under Izuna Nii-san''s guidance. We achieved a perfect Sage Mode. But our chakra quantity is severelyckingpared to you and Izuna Nii-san. So, we can''t maintain Senjutsu for much longer. Also, our rate of gathering Senjutsu is nowhere near close to you both. Thus, it makes it impractical for us to use Senjutsu in battles." Shisui takes out a seal from his pocket. "This sage seal made by Izuna Nii-san can help us absorb nature energy up to an extent. But in the end, it''s still not our ability. Unless necessary, we don''t want to depend on it to bolster ourbat strength." "Naruto Nii-san you are here!" Ayaka, who was silent the entire time, turns towards the entrance of the training ground. "YO!" Naruto has a grin on his face as he greets everyone. "Except for your body, you haven''t changed a bit, Naruto!" Sasuke shakes his head in disappointment. "Huh?! What do you mean by that?" A tick appears on Naruto''s forehead. "Come, let me show you how much I have changed?" Naruto ms his fight. "That''s what I am waiting for?" Sasuke also grins at Naruto''s provocation. Sigh "These two are still as childish as ever!" Ayaka shakes her head. "" Shisui and Itachi silently stare at Ayaka, lost for a word. ''Well, she isn''tpletely wrong tho!'' "Alright, let''s begin!" Naruto and Sasuke confront each other. Chapter 373: Naruto Vs Sasuke Part-1 Chapter 373: Naruto Vs Sasuke Part-1 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- "Alright, let''s begin!" Naruto and Sasuke confront each other. "Wait wait you two!" Shisui hurriedly stops them. "If you two fight here in the Uchiha training ground, it will create a huge ruckus, and it might even destroy the training ground. Let''s go somece suitable." "Ok!" "Fine!" Shisui unfurls a scroll and throws it toward the ground. Swoosh A summoning seal forms underneath the group. Whoosh The group disappears from its current ce and appears in a colosseum-like structure. "Wow!" Naruto looks around in amazement. "What is this ce? It looks amazing." He looks at the towering stadium with multiple giant statues. "I never knew there was such a ce in Konoha." The giant structure amazes Sasuke. Hmm He notices a blue dome-like barrier around the Colosseum. Sasuke inspects the Fuinjutsu seals with his Sharingan. "I am not sure if I can even break this barrier with my full power." Sasuke knocks on the wall of the barrier. "This ce is a secret training ground created by Izuna Nii-san. The barrier around this ce is very sturdy. So, you two can go all out without holding back." Shisui, Itachi, and Ayaka return to the audience seats to witness the battle. "I am fired up, Dattebyo!" Naruto pumps his fist with chakra. ''Bring it on knuckle-head!'' Sasuke taunts him by curling his fingers. "Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto makes multiple shadow clones and dashes toward Sasuke. Sasuke also makes some hand signs and throws multiple shurikens toward the approaching shadow clones. "Shuriken shadow clone jutsu" He releases a barrage of shurikens toward the clones. ng ng Poof Poof Some of the shadow clones deflect the shurikens while the remaining few dissipate on impact from the shurikens. The shadow clones close the distance and engage in closebat with Sasuke. Bang bang Sasuke blocks a roundhouse kick and drops kick with his arms. Swoosh He spins and delivers a roundhouse kick to one of the clones while stabbing the other clone with a deflected kunai he threw earlier. Poof poof The shadow clones dissipate, and other clones rece them. Bang bang They overwhelm Sasuke with numbers. "Uzumaki barrage" One of the clonesunches Sasuke into the air with a kick to the chin. The rest of the clone continues thebo by further kicking him up into the air. "I always wanted to do this to him." One of the clones forms a tiger seal and stabs it toward Sasuke''s rear. "One thousand years of death" Ayaka closes her eyes in embarrassment. Itachi turns his head away in shame. Only Shisui stares at the battle with interest. Haah While mid-air, Sasuke twists his body and dropkicks the tiger hand seal clone. Poof The most dangerous shadow clone disperses, leaving behind an opening for the rest of the shadow clones. The rest of the shadow clones overwhelm Sasuke with numbers and release a barrage of fists and kicks at him. Poof Sasuke disperses in a cloud of white smoke. Huh "Shadow clone!" All of Naruto''s shadow clones look around to search for Sasuke''s real body. "You aren''t the only one who can use shadow clones." Sasuke''s voice echoes in their ears as he appears beside the real Naruto. He taps the shoulder of the real Naruto and smirks. "You! Beat him up." The shadow clones are pissed at Sasuke and dash toward him. Sasuke raises his finger and pulls slightly. Fwoosh All of Naruto''s shadow clones are stuck in their position, unable to move any further. Their fists are only at a slight distance from Sasuke''s face. "That''s quite smart of him!" Shisui praises Sasuke. Multiple thin metal wires coated with chakra threads appear all around the arena. All of Naruto''s shadow clones are entangled in the metal chakra threads held taut in Sasuke''s finger. ''He calcted the trajectory of all those earlier shuriken throws, and their deflection projection." Itachi nods his head in approval. Bzzt Chirp chii Sasuke slightly twerks his finger, channeling a small burst of lightning chakra through the metal wires. Poof poof One by one the entirety of Naruto''s shadow clones disperses into white smoke. "Did you think I was the real one?" Naruto smirks. Poof He disperses in a burst of white smoke. Swoosh A Fuinjutsu seal appears beneath Sasuke''s feet. "Fuinjutsu: Shadow restriction technique" Sasuke is paralyzed at the ce. Multiple fuinjutsu seals slowly crawl across his body. "It''s a bit annoying!" Sasuke clicks his tongue. "It''s over!" Swoosh Naruto appears on top of Sasuke''s head with a giant Rasengan in his hand. "Eat this!" Bang Dust and debris rise in the arena as the giant Rasengan creates a small crater in the ground. Huh Naruto looks around, unable to locate Sasuke at the previous ce. The fuinjutsu seal on the ground is undone as a shadow of Sasuke slowly disperses into nothingness. ''Shadow Substitution Jutsu'' Sasuke jumps out of Naruto''s shadow with a Chidori in his hand. mp Naruto grabs Sasuke''s Chidori with his bare hand. His hand is coated with a denseyer of blue chakra. "I learned this technique from Kurama. If I can use Kurama''s chakra to create a chakra cloak, then I can also use my chakra to do the same." Naruto smirks. ''It looks easy to coat one''s body with chakra, but there are several requirements to do so. First, the user must have a sizeable amount of chakra to freely release from his body. Second, the user must have almost perfect chakra control to release arge amount of chakra from one point of his body. Third, the user must have a high degree of shape maniption to pull off something like this." Shisui notices a faintyer of wind chakra around Naruto''s arms, negating the effect of Sasuke''s lightning chakra. Swoosh Sasuke releases his jutsu and jumps back. Naruto also shakes his hand as he still feels paralysis in it. ''Man, my hand was almost done for!'' Naruto and Sasuke confront each other again. "Sasuke! It''s time to get serious." Naruto clenches his fists as he instantly enters Sage Mode. Orange pigmentation appears around his eyes while his pupil turns toad-like. "Sage Mode: Second Stage Transformation" Numerous magatama markings appear all around Naruto''s body. A red cloak with ck mes covers Naruto''s back. The sclera in Naruto''s eyes turns into a plus sign. There are three transformations in Senjutsu before one attains the Six Path Senjutsu. Sage Eye: An ability granted by the second transformation of Senjutsu. It raises the perception of one''s energy to a new height. One''s senses are raised to such a degree that one can even sense beings like Limbo present in another dimension. The Third transformation of Senjutsu grants the user a powerful defensive chakra cloak that bolsters the defense, strength, agility, and reflex of the user to a new height far beyond the level of a Kage. The power it grants falls shortly only to the Eight Gate. Once a user perfects the third transformation; they can awaken Six Paths Senjutsu if their proficiency in elements is at the highest level. Previously, Izuna was stuck at this stage, as he was unable to perfectlybine all elements. "I was about to say the same." Shiing Sasuke activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. A pattern of three intersecting red ellipses appears in Sasuke''s eyes. "Senjutsu: First Transformation," Purple pigmentation appears around Sasuke''s eyes as his eyes gain slightly snake-like features. ''First Transformation is my limit for now. I was unable to go beyond that despite all my efforts. The Snake Sage said that I need a pure heart to advance further. Resentment of the past, a curse of hatred lingers in my blood, which prevents me from achieving a pure heart. Still, I never expected Naruto to learn Second Transformation this quickly.'' Naruto and Sasuke stare into each other''s eyes. The ground cracks beneath their feet as they rile up their chakra. Shoom Both disappear from their ce and arrive in the middle of the arena. BANG BANG Both engage in a Taijutsu battle. "Looks like we are on time!" Minato and Jiraiya arrive in the arena to watch Naruto and Sasuke''s battle. Chapter 374: Naruto Vs Sasuke Part-2 Chapter 374: Naruto Vs Sasuke Part-2 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- Bang bang Naruto and Sasuke trade multiple blows with each other. "Frog Kata," An invisible aura surrounds Naruto''s fist and strikes Sasuke''s face. ''Heavy!'' Sasuke blocks the attack by crossing his arms in front of his face. BANG The blow pushed him back, leaving behind multiple trails on the floor. Whiz Spurt Multiple wounds open on Naruto''s fist, blood drips from them. Huh Naruto stares at his fists with surprise. Hmm ''If the Sage Art Taijutsu techniques of Mount Myoboku add an aura with the effect of striking; then the Sage Art Taijutsu of Ryuchi cave adds an aura of cutting. That''s amazing'' Jiraiya is surprised to see the Sage Art from Ryuchi cave. ''Orochimaru always craved the power of a Sage, but unfortunately, his heart wasn''t suitable for the Senjutsu. To gain this power, he didn''t hesitate to experiment on himself to gain a perfect body. But these two'' Jiraiya shakes his head. ''Life is not fair! But it''s what it is. A person''s achievements aren''t always determined by their talent.'' ''Still, a spar between two children of prophecy is an amusing sight. These kids are leagues above anyone of simr age. Heck, even I don''t have any confidence in a victory against them. The only genius who surpasses their level at their age Nah! It''s unfair for that monster to be called a genius it''s unfair for these kids.'' Jiraiya shakes his head as he recalls Izuna''s achievements. He turns his attention to the fight. Hah Both jump back to create some distance. Sizzle sizzle Smoke rises from the cut on Naruto''s face, regenerating it rapidly. Green light glows from Sasuke''s hand as he heals the bruise on his face. Swish swish Sasuke makes multiple hand signs. "Sage Art: Pheonix Sage Fire Bombs," Boom boom boom Sasuke spews out multiple dark crimson orbs of fire. The fire orbs track Naruto''s position and detonate, leaving behind a scorching field of high-temperature fire. The fire from the attack melts the floor beneath them. Whoosh whoosh Naruto deftly avoids the firebombs, but the heat from the fireballs scorches his body. "Aww hot hot" His clothes catch fire. Naruto jumps around to extinguish the mes on his body. "It''s my turn!" While in mid-air, he makes multiple hand signs. "Sage Art: Gale of Wind God," Naruto inhales arge amount of air and spews out a small cyan wind tornado from his mouth. The cyan tornado rapidly expands and sucks the surrounding fire to be a fire tornado. It expands further and engulfs Sasuke. sh sh "Sage Art: Raikan Hengoku" Bzzt Purple lightning shes across Sasuke''s eyes. He manifests two giant purple des in a cross pattern. The lightning des sh apart the giant tornado. Whoosh The tornado disperses, and Naruto jumps out of it with a giant Rasengan in his hands. "Sage Art: Fma dama Rasengan," Shiing Sasuke''s Mangekyo Sharingan spins rapidly and purple armor surrounds Sasuke''s body and blocks the Rasengan. Crack crack Multiple cracks run across the armor and shatter it into countless chakra fragments; the Rasengan also runs out of chakra and disperses. Swoosh Bang Sasuke jumps out of the partial Susanoo armor with a Chidori in his hand. "Sage Art: Chidori Raikiri" "Shit!" Naruto quickly crosses his arms to block the attack. Swoosh Yellow mes surround his arms and form a protective cloak. sh rip The Chidori rips apart the chakra cloak. Naruto jumps back and manages to avoid the attack. "It''s time to end this spar!" Naruto stretches his hand out. The two chakra arms cover the top of his hand. Swirl swirl The intensive wind gathers around Naruto''s arm and forms a spiral of wind enveloping Naruto in a mini tornado. "What an intense chakra?" Shisui stares at the jutsu with wide eyes. Haah Sasuke also calms his breath and closes his eyes to perform one of his most powerful jutsu. Swoosh Whoosh Whiz Whiz A screeching noise simr to a giant windmill fills the entire room. The chakra arms hold a giant Rasenshuriken. "Sage Art: Ch-dama Rasenshuriken," Whoosh Naruto swings the chakra arms and throws the Rasenshuriken toward Sasuke. "That jutsu!" Jiraiya flinches at the sight of Rasenshuriken. "Should we stop the spar? If Sasuke is hit by that jutsu, then getting out barely alive would be considered a pretty good oue. Worse he might" "Sensei, wait!" Minato holds Jiraiya. "If any of their lives are in danger, I will immediately teleport them out," Minato assures Jiraiya as he calmly stares at Sasuke. No to be particr. He stares into Sasuke''s eyes. After the reconstruction of his body by Sin Grimoire; Minato''s cognitive abilities have reached an entirely new league. His perception even allows him to sense even a minute disturbance in the chakra. And currently, Minato can sense a massive amount of chakra gathered around Sasuke''s eyes and mouth. "Now!" Sasuke opens his eyes. "Sage Art: White Rage Technique," Sasuke spews out a massive red dragon infused with all of his nature energy. Shiing Blood leaks from Sasuke''s right eye. "Amaterasu: ze Release: Kagutsuchi," Ayer of ck mes wraps around the giant red dragon, turning it into a massive ck me dragon. "Sage Art: Combination Technique: Hiry on Ikari," (Fury of the me Dragon) ROAR A red glow appears in his eyes of the ck fire dragon. It roars in fury and leaps at the iing Rasenshuriken. The dragon opens its maw wide and swallows the Rasenshuriken. SHOOM A bright sh engulfs the arena, blinding everyone''s sight. Whoosh Minato disappears from his ce. A momentter, BOOM A massive explosion urs in the center of the arena. BANG. BANG RUMBLE The floor of the arena crumbles apart. The blinding light dies down to reveal the arena split in half. Two orbs of energy are engaged in a struggle against each other. An elliptical shape burst of white wind chakra is supporting one of the orbs while another elliptical shape burst of ck mes supports another orb. Bzzt Red lightning gathers around the orbs as they engulf each other. The two orbs copse into each other while releasing a column of ck energy. The energy pir shoots toward the sky and collides with the protective barrier. Rumble rumble The entire arena shakes from the impact of the two jutsus. A few small cracks appear on the barrier, but it withholds and disperses the energy of the attack. Bzzt ck Fuinjutsu runes light up in the arena and repair the damage from the previous battle. Shisui and Itachi''s expressions turn ugly as they stare at the recovery process. ''I don''t want to mine again!'' Simr thought appears in both of their minds. "Wow! That''s incredible." Naruto, who has somehow appeared beside Minato, stares at the entire process with wide eyes. Sigh Minato takes a deep breath and shakes his head helplessly. "That will eat lots of chakra ore." Hmm Sasuke silently stares at the state of the arena and ponders. ''It may look like a tie, but I lost the previous confrontation. Naruto''s jutsu slightly overpowered my jutsu. But then again, I didn''t use my Susanoo during the battle; but I could say the same for Naruto.'' Sasuke stares at Kurama sealed inside Naruto. Kurama, seemingly sensing a gaze, opens its sleepy eyes and stares at Sasuke. Growl He growls slightly and nods his head and closes his eyes to sleep again. ''Looks like more or less, we have equalbat strength.'' Sasuke clenches his fists. ''But still it''s nowhere near Izuna Nii-san.'' Up until now, Sasuke has always pushed forward with Izuna as his goal. For once, he wants to achieve a simr level of strength as his Izuna Nii-san. Ahem Tsunade and Kushina, who have arrived in the arena at some point in time, re daggers at everyone present. Ayaka innocently stands behind them with arms wrapped around her chest. Ah Minato, Jiraiya, Itachi, Shisui, Naruto, and Sasuke stare at Ayaka with using eyes as their eyes send a message. ''You traitor, you betrayed us at the first moment!'' Ayaka slightly shifts her eyes sideways to avoid their gaze as she silently rys a message. ''Your mess has nothing to do with me. I was just a spectator. And also, I won''t plead to Tsunade and Kushina Nee-san for lenience." She closes her eyes. Crack The heart of the boys'' gang shattered at Ayaka''s disregarding gaze. ''Our Ayaka is no longer the little innocent girl we used to know. The thoughts of these Onis corrupted her.'' Imaginary horns appear on the forehead of Tsunade and Kushina in their eyes. "Were you thinking something rude about us?" Tsunade and Kushina''s eyes turn red. Beads of sweat trickles down from the forehead of the guys. They fervently shake their head to deny it. ''Sigh Fine! I will ask them to reduce your punishment.'' Ayaka sighs helplessly. "Angel! Ayaka is our angel." Imaginary white wings appear behind Ayaka. "" Ayaka speechlessly stares at the exaggerated expression of everyone. ''I can totally imagine their thoughts with the help of Yakumo''s jutsu.'' She walks out of the arena and reappears in the training around. A gust of wind slightly blows her silky ck hairs. Ayaka raises her head and stares into the sky. "Nii-san, I can sense it. Your presence it''s close by." Chapter 375: Reunion with Friends Chapter 375: Reunion with Friends A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- "Aw, man, that sucks!" Ayaka, Naruto, and Sasuke walk out of the Hokage office. "We spent our entire morning listening to the lecture!" Naruto grabs his head. "My head hurts!" "Hey, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun!" Sakura waves at them. Huh Naruto and Sasuke turn around and notice the group of Konoha 12. "Hey, you guys! How are you all?" Naruto waves his hand at the group. Whoosh Lee jumps in mid-air and pushes his fist toward Naruto. Naruto also does the same. Both of them do a sequence of fist bumps and end it with a hug. "Dynamic Fist bump!" "" Ah The rest of the group speechlessly stares at them as a few nearby kids from the academy p. "Wow, that was so cool, big brothers!" One of the small kids ps and cheers them. "Right!" Lee waves his hand and demonstrates his signature, shing a smile with a thumbs up. "Wow, amazing!" The kid surrounds him. Ah Naruto silently stares at Lee as the kid flock toward him. "What about me? Does nobody remember me?" Pfft Haha The rest of the group burst out inughter. "Hey Sasuke-kun, do you want to visit the carnival with me?" Ino locks her arm around Sasuke''s hand. She pushes his arm into her well-developed bosom. "Ino Pig! Put your cow tits away from my Sasuke." Sakura screams like a banshee and pulls her away. "Your Sasuke! How is he yours? you washboard billboard brow!" "Heh you picking a fight with me?" Both girls grab one of Sasuke''s arms and pull him in their direction. Sigh Shikamaru, who was silent the entire time, sighs helplessly. "Being popr is sure a pain!" Choji, who was stuffing his mouth with potato chips, stops and res at Shikamaru. "And here I thought you had something going on with that Suna girl!" Shh Shikamaru immediately grabs Choji''s mouth. "Don''t shout, others might hear you!" Both of them ignore Shino''s presence. ''But I was listening to your entire conversation.'' Shino silently mutters to himself and sulks in a corner. ''They forgot about me again!" He draws circles on the ground. "Umm Naruto-kun! Would like to go on a date to the carnival with me?" Hinata shyly approaches Naruto and speaks in a feeble voice. "Umm what? You saying something Hinata!" Naruto turns towards a red-faced Hinata. "Naruto-kun! I you" "HEY NARUTO! LET''S SETTLE IT FOR ONCE AND ALL!" Kiba, while sitting on Akamaru''s back, jumps towards Naruto. He fails to see the Hinata standing behind Naruto. "Huh, Kiba!" Naruto side-steps exposing Hinata to Akamaru''s pounce. Ah "Eight trigrams Palm revolving Heaven!" Out of instinct, Hinata spins rapidly while releasing chakra from her tenketsu points to protect herself. The force from the revolving Heaven sends Kiba and Akamaru flying. "AH Kiba I I am sorry!" Hinata turns around and dashes away while covering her face. Sigh "She is still the same Hinata from two years ago. Nothing has changed!" Naruto scratches his head. "Naruto! You bastard." Neji res at Naruto with his Byakugan. "Hinata-sama!" He dashes after Hinata. "Haah this sis-con!" Tenten shakes her head. Sigh "And you are the same knucklehead from two years ago. Naruto Nii-san, you baka!" Ayaka stomps on Naruto''s foot. Aww aww Naruto grabs his foot in pain. "What was that for?" "Nii-san! Go after Hinata Nee-san." "But why?" Confusion appears on Naruto''s face. "Because she asked you out on a date!" "Ah really!" Naruto turns around and swiftly chases Hinata. "Hinata, wait for me!" "Well, at least he realizes to cater to the feelings of a girl." Ayaka shakes her head and turns towards Sasuke. "Sasuke Nii-san! Is it alright like this?" She stares at Sakura and Ino who are ying tug with a log. "I had no choice!" Sasuke shakes his head. "If not for my genjutsu, I am afraid they might have pulled out my arms." "Mm seems like it!" Ayaka notices several hand prints from the girl''s grip on the wooden log. "Both of them have a crush on you. So, how would you reciprocate it?" Ayaka curiously asks him. "Well, I will let them figure it out themselves. I don''t want to hurt their feelings. Also, it''s still too early for a kid like you to butt in your elder''s love matters." Sasuke ruffles her hair. "But I am not small anymore." Ayaka stares at her budding chest. ''Well, it''s still bigger than someone''s washboard.'' She haughtily stares at Sakura. Achoo Sakura sneezes and stares at Ino. "Ino-pig! You must be thinking something rude about me." "Hey, Ayaka let''s head out for the arena. It''s almost time for our event!" Moegi waves at her. Konohamaru, Udon, Hanabi, and Yakumo are also with her. "Alright! I aming." She pulls Sasuke''s arm. "Sasuke Nii-san, let''s go to the arena. I am participating in the three-leg race with Moegi. Cheer for me." "I will also cheer for you!" Naruto arrives with a red-faced Hinata. An angry Neji is also following them. "Neji, let''s also shop at the night carnival. There are lots of weapons from different ces that I want to add to my collection." Tenten pulls Neji away. The group walks towards the training ground. -------------------------- Later in the evening, "We won!" Moegi and Ayaka palm p to celebrate their victory. "I am very excited to meet Tsunade-sama. She is my idol!" Stars shine in Moegi''s eyes. "We are second!" Konohamaru has a depressed expression. Udon pats his back. "At least we still got the silver medal." "We lost! I am sorry Hanabi." Yakumo apologizes to Hanabi. "It''s my fault that we lost." "It''s alright! Also, it was my idea to partner up with you." Hanabi consoles Yakumo. "Still" Yakumo grits her teeth. "I will work harder to train my body." "Let''s celebrate our victory!" The entire group of Konoha 12 and junior 6 enter Yakiniku-Q. "Today it''s my treat." Ayaka takes out a stack of cash from her pocket. Choji gulps his saliva as he stares at the stack of cash in her hands. He takes out a handful of crumpled banknotes from his pocket. "Her pocket money is more than my mission earning." A small drop of tear flows from his eye. "How many potato chips could I buy with all that money?" He gulps his saliva. "Actually, Choji Nii-san, her pocket money is more than the earnings of your entire n. No, she can buy the potato chip for your entire n for the rest of their life." Udon interrupts Choji''s sweet dreams. "What? Potato chips for entire life." Drool leaks from Choji''s mouth. "Huh how?" The rest of the group also turns to him. "Well Ayaka is the owner of three differentpanies which are a part of the shinobi world''s biggest enterprise, Kaminomegumi (God''s Grace). One of herpanies is the biggest beauty brand in the shinobi world." "It all makes sense. She is the owner of ''Ayaka'' beauty and cloth brand." It dawns on the girls. They stare at Ayaka with fervent eyes. "It was Nii-san''s idea!" Ayaka''s cheeks flush red from embarrassment. "Not only that, she is also the owner of the Kaminari publishing house responsible for the publishing and serializing of popr series Giga Man." "Andstly" He stares at Choji and a weird expression appears on his face. "Choji Nii-san, what brand of potato chips are you eating?" "Of course, it''s thetest Spicy tangy tomato vor from the Isshinpany. It is sweet, sour, spicy, savory, and crunchy to eat. The potatoes in these chips are grown in the Land of vegetables. The spices are from the Land of bean jam and they grow the rice crackers mixed within in the Land of Rice paddies. It is the ultimatebination of health and food." Choji spreads his arms wide as he savors the taste of the potato chip. "Ayaka is the owner of the Isshinpany." Udon drops the bombshell of news in Choji''s ears. "What?" Choji''s eyes widen. "Well, technically, Udon is right about feeding the entire n part. Since she is the owner of the Isshinpany, then that means every potato chip the Akimichi n eats is from herpany." Shikamaru grabs a potato chip and slightly snacks on it. "Ayaka, your potato chips taste wonderful. The few knock-offs I ate previously are nowhere close to it." "Of course, this is the secret recipe of my mother perfected by my Izuna Nii-san with his Sharingan." "" ''What a waste of such a powerful Kekkei Genkai?'' The rest of the group takes a bite of the potato chip. Hmm "On second thoughts, it''s the perfect use of Sharingan." All of them turn to Sasuke. "Well, I can''t cook." Sasuke shakes his head. Sakura''s and Ino''s eyes dim down. ''But brother can!'' Sasuke remembers a memory from his childhood where both his parents were out on a mission. He was alone with Itachi. At that time, Itachi used his Sharingan to make perfect fried eggs for him. Pew Pew Firecrackers explode in the sky tomemorate the end of today''s events. "It''s time to shop at the carnival!" Moegi grabs Ayaka''s, Hanabi''s, and Yakumo''s hands and dashes in the direction of the carnival. Chapter 376: End of the Sports Festival Chapter 376: End of the Sports Festival A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- Soon, it''s thest day of the Konoha Grand Sports Festival. After the rewards and medal distribution ceremony, the sports festival came to a close with a motivational speech from the Hokage and the Mizukage. Rasa left early since he had some matters to attend to in the Sand Vige. The rewards for solo and team y events were rewarded separately. The first-ce winners were rewarded with a lump sum of 150,000 Ryo each, together with a vacation trip to a resort in the Land of waves. The Second-ce winners were rewarded with a sum of 75,000 Ryo and a trip to the resort in the Land of Waves. The third-ce winners were rewarded with a sum of 30,000 Ryo and a trip to the resort in the Land of Waves. Additionally, the first ce was also allowed to ask for anything within certain limits from their respective Kages. The reward was sponsored by the Vishkar Corporation in one of their resorts in Land of Waves. As a co-owner of the corporation, Mei unhesitatingly held the event. "Mei, will it be alright?" Tsunade asks with concern as she hands over the prize to the winners. Over the span of 7 days, around 200 events were held. The Vishkar corporation sponsored the entire event. The entire cost of the events, including the prizes, amounts to a whopping 3 billion Ryo. The carnival held at the end of each day was also arranged by the Vishkar Corporation. This sum was equivalent to the entire earnings of Konoha in a month. "It''s alright!" Mei shakes her head. "ording to the initial estimates, thepany already made a profit of 1 billion Ryo from this event." "Well" Tsunade gulps her saliva as she imagines the huge amount of money. ''That''s a lot of money I can spend on gambling!'' Slight drool leaks from Tsunade''s mouth. Ahem ''I am respected Hokage. How can I think of such a thing but still such a vast sum of money? I should have asked some from Izuna.'' Mei notices Tsunade''s expression and chuckles slightly. "Tsunade-san, I forgot to mention this, but you are also a part-owner of thepany." "I I am" This revtion bbergasts Tsunade. "Yeah! The Diceroll casinos and gambling dens are under your ownership." A smile appears on Mei''s face. "Wait! The Diceroll cassino isn''t that the recent most popr casino? And I am its owner, you say?" Tsunade''s eyes widen even further. "So so all this time I I was giving money to myself." Tsunade turns around and tears leak from her eyes. "Could this even be called gambling, if I take money from myself only to give it to myself?" Tsunade clenches her fists as Izuna''s face appears in her mind. Izuna has an evil grin on his face as he points his finger at Tsunade andughs. "Izuna, you better be prepared the next time I meet you!" She clenches her fists. Pfft Haha Mei and Shizune burst out in a peal ofughter. "That Izuna! He is really evil. To think of such an ingenious n to make Tsunade-sama quit gambling." Shizune wipes a drop of tear from the corner of her eyes as she barely holds herughter. "Damn you damn you Izuna!" Tsunade angrily mutters. "Oh I forgot to give you something!" Mei takes out a ck card from her storage and hands it over to Tsunade. "This is for you!" "This is a bank card." Tsunade recognizes the symbol of Okane Bank on the card. She takes out a simr Diamond card from her storage. "Isn''t it the same thing except for the color? What''s the difference?" "There is a lot of difference. The diamond card is a standard VVIP version of the card. Diamond cards are issued to all the Kages, owners ofrgepanies, and people with special privileges. Next is the tinum card, which is a downgrade from the Diamond Card. Then there is a Gold Card, Silver Card, and Bronze Card. Bronze Card is issued to a shinobi. There is another card below them called ''the civilian card''. Civilian cards are of different colors depending upon the nationality." "I already know about that." Tsunade nods. "It was Izuna who introduced this system to his new bank a few years ago. These cards use some sort of Fuinjutsu seal at nearby stores or bank branches to withdraw money from the ount. The card is even blood and chakra bound to the owner, so there is no issue of faking one''s identity to steal the money. When it was released, it became so popr that almost every merchant immediately applied for one. Now merchants don''t have to worry about carrying a vast sum of money and gold. The cases of robbery have dwindled a lot. It was so effective that even that stubborn old geezer Onoki has to let go of his old ways and embrace the influence of this card." Tsunade recalls Izuna''s meeting with Onoki when the old fool has to eat his words and plead with Izuna for removing him from his cklist. "Of course! That old bastard has to bleed before hees to terms with Izuna. After all, not only he but multiple nations attempted to replicate the card system and the banking system found by Izuna. Some even went as far as to kidnap several Fuinjutsu seal experts from several nations to decipher the Fuinjutsu seal on the card. In the end, they ended up blowing themselves up." Tsunade burst out inughter as several usations of terrorism were thrown at Izuna. "Try to infuse your chakra in this card." Mei reminds her. Tsunade infuses her chakra on the card. A Fuinjutsu seal appears on the card and envelope Tsunade''s body. "User confirmed: Tsunade Senju!" "Activating advance ck Card Serial Number #7" "Please drip a drop of blood onto the card!" "Woah" Tsunade almost drops the card in surprise. "What''s with this voice in my head and also what is even this thing? How is it even speaking?" She gives the card a thorough inspection. "It''s an advanced Fuinjutsu formation developed by Izuna. I don''t understand the underlying principle behind it. But Izuna called it an ATM card. When I asked him what ATM means, he shortened it to Any Time Money." Mei exins the function of the Card to Tsunade. "Take a look at mine!" Mei holds a simr card to Tsunade. She bites her thumb and drips a blood drop on the card. "I need three hundred thousand, Ryo." She mutters slightly. Poof A small summoning circle appears on the card and a stack of cash appears in it. WOAH. Tsunade''s eyes widen to the extreme. She immediately bites her thumb and drips a drop of blood on her card. "User confirmed: Tsunade Senju," "Authority Level: Tier three Administrator," "Administration Privileges are ess to all funds of Okane bank, a protective Fuinjutsu barrier, a" "I don''t want to hear all of that, just give me a hundred thousand no, five hundred thousand Ryo." Tsunade shakes her card in excitement. "" Mei and Shizune speechlessly stare at her. "Then I will let you figure out the rest of the functions of this card on your own." After the closing ceremony, the Jounins of Kirigakure and Sunagakure leave for their respective vige. "Now it''s time for the cleanup." Kakashi, Might Guy, and the rest of the Jounins helplessly stare at each other. "Who will take the responsibility?" All of them stare at each other. Each of their genin and chunnin teams have won one award or another and thus are exempted from the cleaning duty. "Let''s draw lots," Kurenai suggests. "The same as usual!" Kakashi and one of the Hyuga and Uchiha n members nod their heads. "Using your Dojutsu or genjutsu is forbidden!" The rest of the jounins stare daggers at them. During the previous few cleaning duties, the Uchiha and Hyuga n members cheated with their eyes. Even the Nara n members manipted their lots by using their shadows, leaving the cleaning task to other shinobis. All of them draw lots and wait for the result. After tallying the result, Kakashi stares at his lot. "In the end, I still won." The rest of the group stare daggers at him. "How can we believe that you didn''t cheat?" "Well, will you guys believe me if I said I didn''t cheat?" "NO!" A collective response almost deafens his ears. "All right! I will help you guys with the cleaning." Kakashi shakes his head. ''I really didn''t cheat. I was just lucky, as usual.'' ------------------------------------- A few kilometers from Konoha, The members of the Akatsuki gather on top of a hill. "Most of the shinobis at the border retreated to Konoha, so it wasn''t an issue to infiltrate the Land of Fire." Kisame looks around. "It''s about time for some explosions." Deidra pats an explosive sparrow. "This is the moment when the defenses of Konoha are at their lowest. They just concluded their annual festival and the rest of the viges have already departed from Konoha. We will strike them down when their guard is lower and capture the Nine-tails and One-tails." Pain calmly stares in the direction of Konoha. Chapter 377: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-1 Chapter 377: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-1 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- "Enough chitter chatter! It''s time to get to work!" Pain rebukes Deidara. "Alright, I am on it!" Deidara opens his palm and releases a flock of y sparrows from them. The sparrows fly up in the sky and scatter. Deidara closes one eye and shares his vision with his sparrows. "Explosion Release: Multi vision death," He scouts the perimeter of Konoha with his mini sparrows. "There are 7 scout towers and 4 different patrol bases." He marks the location on the map. "Take a tower on each. I will handle the patrol bases." Pain gestures to the remaining members of the Akatsuki. "Deidara monitor the activities of shinobis using your mini sparrows. Don''t let anyone escape." Tch Deidara clicks his tongue in dismay. "When will it by turn to blow things up? Alright alright! I will do it!" He closes one eye and continues to monitor the activities of Konoha patrol shinobis. Tobi separates from the group. "I will move on my own. I have certain things to attend to!" Tobi warps away in a spiral and heads toward Konoha. He stares at the barrier around Konoha. "This flimsy barrier won''t stop me from infiltrating Konoha." Zetsu also enters the ground and monitors the activities of Akatsuki. ''It''s about time. Our n takes an additional step ahead.'' ------------------------- Meanwhile, at the same time inside In-Y headquarters, Bzzt. Some ripples spread across the CPS system present in the center of the room. Multiple yellow dots appear on the map. Some dots are very small while other dots arerger. One particr dot is almost the size of a ping-pong ball. "Unidentified targets discovered!" The CPS system alerts the entire vige as multiple feedbacks appear in the headquarters of Anbu, Konoha Police Force, and Konoha reconnaissance and investigation center. In the Anbu headquarters, Itachi, who is instructing his subordinate frown. He quickly enters the observation room to monitor the situation. The rm alerts the Minato, Tsunade, Mei, Jiraiya, and Kushina, who are discussing important matters in the Hokage Office. "What''s the matter? Why is the CPS system issuing an alert?" Tsunade frowns. "Let me check." Kushina takes out a scroll from her storage. She opens the scroll andys it down on the table. There is a giant seal on the center of the scroll. Kushina bites her thumb and drips a drop of blood on the seal. Shiing The scroll releases a bright light and a small transparent sphere rises from the center of the scroll. Multiple yellow dots appear on the sphere. "There is a breach in the barrier. Multiple unidentified targets have entered the outer perimeter of Konoha." A simr situation urs in the Konoha Police Headquarters. Shisui stares at the multiple yellow beacons on the map. "Disy the beacons of the nearby Scout towers and patrol bases. Also, inform them about the situation." Ping Ping Multiple green markers appear on the map. "These are the shinobis present in the patrol zone." Ding ding One by one, the green beacons slowly disappear from the map. Shisui''s expression turns grim. "Mark these targets as hostile targets and issue an alert to all security teams. Konoha is under attack!" He orders the head of the observation team of the Konoha Police Force. Shisui summons his deputies Isao and Atsushi. (Chapter 207: Sand Jinchuruki) "Isao Atsushi! Keep an eye on the activities of enemies. Also, keep all teams on standby and help other teams evacuate the civilians in case of an emergency. I will head to the Hokage Office to discuss the situation with Lady Tsunade." Shisui issues a series of orders to them. "Yes, sir!" Isao and Atsushi salute him. Whoosh Shisui flickers out of the Konoha Police Headquarters. Itachi also issues a series ofmands to his Anbu members and flickers toward the Hokage Office. Inside the Hokage Office, The color of the beacons turns red on the sphere. The expression of the group turns grim. "It''s an enemy attack!" Tsunade immediately bites her thumb and makes a series of hand signs and ms her palm on the desk. Shoom A teleportation seal appears beneath the group. Whoosh The entire group disappears from the Hokage Office and reappears in the In-Y headquarters. They quickly enter the observation room. Kushina swiftly activates the visual feed of the CPS system. Swoosh swoosh Multiple images of Akatsuki members attacking the scout towers and patrol bases appear on them. "Damnit! It''s the Akatsuki members. How dare they attack Konoha?" Tsunade gnashes her teeth. "They must be here for the One-tails and the Nine-tails." Kushina gnashes her teeth. Before Izuna went missing, he managed to extract One-tails from Gaara at thetter''s request. Gaara entered into aatose state for a month but was able to survive the extraction of the tailed beast thanks to Izuna''s Life Release. Currently, the one-tails and Yin half of Nine-tails are sealed into an isted space inside the Uzumaki temple located in the Uzumaki n district. "Minato activates the secondary and tertiary defenses of the Protection barrier. Also activate the Space Locking Seal. We can''t allow these criminals to enter Konoha or else they might level the entire vige. Jiraiya notices the figure of Yahiko in the visual feed. Haah He takes a deep breath to calm his emotions. "I never imagined this day woulde! It''s my fault as a teacher, and I am willing to take responsibility for it." "Jiraiya! Don''t be reckless. Wait for others first." Whoosh Jiraiya disappears from the In-Y headquarters. "Damn this bastard! He never listens to anyone." Tsunade punches the wall of the observatory. Shisui and Itachi also enter the observatory. "Good timing!" Minato quickly exins the situation to the duo. "Currently, there are 14 Akatsuki members wreaking havoc in the outer perimeter of Konoha. We have erected the defensive barrier built by Izuna. But that''s only a temporary measure. We can''t hide inside the vige like a turtle. Pick up your opponents based on their strengths and weaknesses. We will counterattack them. Given the threat level of the Akatsuki members, sending other shinobis will add to the casualties. Inform Kakashi and Might Guy to enter the battle." Minato immediately issues a set ofmands. "Also, inform Naruto and Sasuke. Those two are strong enough to take on opponents of such a level." "But Minato those two are here for" Kushina attempts to argue with him. "No Kushina we can''t allow Naruto to forever live under our and Izuna''s protection. He is also a shinobi who risks his life to move forward. Besides, he isn''t as weak as you think he is." Minato assures her. Beep beep Suddenly, two red beacons appear dangerously close to the inner perimeter of Konoha. The location of the beacon is almost at the entrance of Konoha vige. "Someone managed to infiltrate this far into the vige." Tsunade''s eyes narrow at the situation. A visual feed of a yellow-masked shinobi appears in their sight. "He is" "I will take care of him." Minato interrupts Kushina. ''Please don''t be too harsh on him.'' Kushina mouths these words before she focuses her attention on the visual feeds. "Kushina I will return to the Hokage office to manage the protective barrier of the vige and perform my duties as the Hokage of the vige." Swoosh Tsunade also disappears from the observatory. ------------------------- Outside Konoha''s wall, BANG. Tobi is pushed out of his Kamui dimension. Hmm "What''s this?" He notices ayer of sturdy invisible barrier blocking the entrance to Konoha. He reuses his Kamui to bypass the barrier, but is repelled. "Space locking formation," Zetsu pops out of the ground and remarks. "You know about it!" Tobi turns to Zetsu. "It''s an extremely advanced Fuinjutsu formation. We encountered a simr seal in the Otsutsuki ruins. It will take a lot of effort to break past this seal." ck Zetsu remarks. "Is there no way around it?" Tobi questions. "No! None of us is an expert in Fuinjutsu. We can only break this through brute force." He shakes his head in denial. "This wasn''t a part of our n. Was it a measure left behind by Izuna Uchiha?" Tobi murmurs to himself as he takes out a strange green crystal from his storage. There are three green beacons in the crystal. Two of the beacons are situated at the same ce, while the third beacon is dashing towards them. "Three signals?" Tobi frowns. "Look, the signal of Nine-tails is very weak. From the looks of it, it''s divided into two halves." Zetsu points out. "Let''s retreat for now and group up with Pain. Looks like my n to capture the tailed beast and destroy Konoha needs slight revision." Obito prepares to leave the area using his Kamui. "It has been a while, Obito!" Suddenly, a yellow-haired figure appears behind him. BANG Before Tobi could finish his teleportation, he is sent flying by a heavy kick on his back. Chapter 378: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-2 Chapter 378: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-2 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- Inside the In-Y headquarters, Kushina inspects the position of all beacons. "The enemy has sentries monitoring the activity of Konoha shinobis. I will activate the anti-reconnaissance ability of the barrier." She writes down some Fuinjutsu seals in the air and infuses them with the sphere. Bzzt Lightning flickers through the sky of the entire outer perimeter of Konoha. Poof poof The lighting destroys all the surveince sparrows of Deidara. Bzzt Bang The device on Deidara''s left eye explodes into pieces. Cough cough "The enemy has noticed our presence." He immediately warns others. "Things have gone astray from our n. But our goal remains the same." Pain clutches the forehead of a shinobi and extracts information from him. "The nine-tails just returned to Konoha. How fortunate!" Whoosh whoosh The remaining paths gather at Deva Path''s position. "We will stick to our previous n and infiltrate Konoha with two teams. Our tactics will be diversion and search. The diversion team will be made of Asura Path, Preta Path, and Animal Path. The search team will be made of Human Path, Naraka Path, and Deva Path." He turns to Konan. "Konan you will be part of the Search team with the Deva Path." "I know" Deva''s path turns towards Konan. "Starting now the world shall know pain!" The rest of the pain prepares tounch the Animal Path inside the vige. "Wait!" Zetsu erupts from the ground. "The entrance to Konoha is blocked by a very powerful barrier. It''s impossible to enter Konoha without breaking the barrier." Hmm Deva Path frowns. "What about Madara? Did he seed in infiltrating the vige?" "No there is a space-locking seal in the area. Any sort of space-time not allowed by the seal is useless inside the barrier. The only way to breach it is to break through brute force. Also, Madara is entangled with the Yellow sh." Zetsu provides the intel. "Inform others we need to make changes to our n." Pain takes out a dark ck orb. "I need preparation to cast my jutsu. Protect me until then." Deva Path sps his palm with the orb in the center. He starts to infuse chakra into the ck orb. Whoosh At the same time, Jiraiya arrives at Pain''s position. "Nagato, Konan stop what you are doing right now? It isn''t toote to turn back." Jiraiya''s presence alerts all pain. "When did he" The eyes of Deva Path widens slightly as he was unable to sense Jiraiya''s presence. "Sensei a shinobi shouldn''t reveal his position to his enemies so easily." Multiple origami papers float in front of Jiraiya. "Konan I never considered you a lot as my enemy. I don''t have any intention of battling you if you turn around and leave right now or else" "Or else what sensei?" Konan res in Jiraiya''s eyes. "You Konoha shinobis will kill us too, like how you killed the innocent civilians of Amegakure." "Konan you know about me. It was never Konoha''s intention to wage a war. It was Ame who first started it." Jiraiya sighs helplessly. "Ame you say then why do you Konoha shinobis have to ughter every innocent Ame civilian you came across? Your anbus created a blood of river across the streets of Ame. The walls of Ame were painted red by the cruel hands of your Konoha''s civilians. And now, you say that it was never Konoha''s intention to start a war." Konan rebukes Jiraiya. "Konan it was all Danzo''s evil scheme. He had already paid for his sins. What does Konoha''s innocent civilians have to do with the sin of a single person?" Jiraiya attempts to appease her. "Innocent, you say the peace the people of Konoha enjoy was earned through the blood of Ame''s innocent kids. Sensei do you know that the souls of all those innocent civilians are still suffering in hell asking for retribution? Sensei peace was never an option." Multiple origami paper gathers around her and forms paper spears. Shiing The paper on the spear hardens andunches toward Jiraiya. Whoosh whoosh Bang bang Jiraiya swiftly dodges the spears aimed at him. The spears impale the ground, creating multiple craters on it. Konan raises her left hand. Multiple papers gather behind her to form giant Paper Fuma shurikens. Whoosh whoosh A barrage of spears and shurikens assault Jiraiya. Tch "Why it has to be this way?" Jiraiya clicks his tongue. He ps his palm and makes some quick hand signs. "Fire Style: me Bullet," Jiraiya spews out a giant me bullet from his mouth. The mes overwhelm the paper spears and shurikens and turn them into cinders. "Nani?!" BOOM A barrage of rocket missiles explodes in Jiraiya''s position. Dust and smoke rise at his position. Whoosh A white figure leaps out of the dust and smoke. ''Needle Jiz'' Long white spiky hairs are wrapped around Jiraiya like armor. Swoosh The hairs shorten again to reveal Jiraiya''s figure. "Is this your decision, Nagato?" Jiraiya stares into Deva Path''s eyes. "So, you knew about us." The Deva Path narrows his eyes. "Nagato you were the meekest of the three. But now" "People change with time, Sensei. The blood of my friends awakened my eyes to the fickleness of this world where life is even more fragile than ss. Peace is nothing but a pipe dream in this cruel world. This world needs salvation, this world needs pain. Even a foolish child can grow up in the right way when he learns what pain is. Knowing to pain controls one''s thoughts and decisions. The peace bought at the cost of suffering and sacrifices of innocents made the five nations foolish and thoughtless. In their blind arrogance. They forgot the pain of others. But now I I want them to feel this pain, to think about pain, to ept pain, and to know pain." "Anyone who stands in our way will meet his demise, even if it''s you, sensei." Deva Path directs his murderous intent toward Jiraiya. Haah Jiraiya takes a deep breath and sighs. "Things didn''t have to turn out this way. But as your Sensei, I will now teach you onest lesson." Jiraiya and the Animal Path m their palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu," ----------------------------- At the location of the rest of the Akatsuki members, BOOM The Akatsuki members turn towards the location of Pain and Jiraiya. "That''s the direction of our leader. Looks like a battle is underway." Hidan licks his lips. Swoosh A figure pops out in the middle of the group. "Die!" Hidan swings his axe, and Deidara sends his explosive birds toward the figure. "Wait, guys it''s me!" White Zetsu hurriedly raises his hand. The axe halts a hair''s breadth from Zetsu''s neck while the explosive bird flies past his head. "You surprised us, Zetsu. You could have died there!" Deidara withdraws his hands. "I have a piece of urgent information and order for you all. Konoha has discovered us thus foiling our n. It''s now time for n B. All of you take your respective position around the borders of Konoha. The leader is about to use the forbidden jutsu we practiced earlier." Tch "What a goddamn waste of time? I didn''t even get a chance to blow things up." Deidara harrumphs and creates a y wolf. He hops on it and rushes towards his position. "Another lost opportunity to earn lots of money!" Kakuzu grumbles and walks in another direction. "At least, I will be able to get some bounty money from the corpses of Konoha shinobis." Hidan stares in the direction of Konoha and offers his prayers to his God Jashin. "Your devout believer will now offer you the souls of this entire vige." After everyone''s departure, Zetsu silently stares at Konoha as hemits the entire incident to his memory. ''The indestructible barrier of Konoha was a factor we forgot to consider in our ns. However, the unexpected gain from the Otsutsuki n''s ruins is the perfect tool for this situation. The curtain to the show of death is about to fall.'' He enters the ground and disappears from his ce. Chapter 379: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-3 Chapter 379: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-3 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after mid-december. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- All the Akatsuki members upy a corner of an Octahedron around the leaf vige. Zetsu split into two halves and upy the remaining two nodes. One by one, each of them makes some hand sign and takes out a small crystal orb from their pockets. "Eight Trigram: Four Yin Four Yang Enclosing Formation," They infuse their chakra into the orb. The orb levitates in mid-air and slowly absorbs chakra from the surroundings toplete the formation. "elerate the process through the tailed-beast chakra." White Zetsu''s clone pops out of the ground. Each Akatsuki member takes out a small magatama bead and infuses it with the levitating chakra bead. Swirl Fwoosh The crystal bead greedily absorbs the chakra from the magatama bead and expands rapidly. The crystal beads reach an enormous size and exert a strong gravitational pull on the ground. Rumble Rumble Rock, dust, debris, trees, and all sorts of surrounding matter rises in the air and fuse with the giant swirling mass of chakra. Small spherical rocks form in the air. The Akatsuki members being directly under the jutsu and being the initiator of the jutsu are unaffected by the strong gravitational pull. RUMBLE RUMBLE Massive shockwaves spread through Konoha in the form of earthquakes. Inside the In-Y headquarters, Kushina notices eight different chakra nodes split on the CPS system. Her expression turns grave. She immediately sends a message to all the members of In-Y. "The Akatsuki is nning something big. You all must have felt the huge spike in chakra. Whatever they are nning isn''t something good for us. Stop them at all costs!" "Alright!" The In-Y members, including Kakashi, Might Guy, Shisui, Itachi, Naruto, and Sasuke respond to Kushina''s message. Kushina also alters the protective barrier and cast a genjutsu on the vigers to prevent them from panicking. "Evacuate the civilians to the nearby safe shelter, just in case of an emergency!" She sends this message to Tsunade. Inside the vige, Tsunade releases an emergency re signal to gather all the shinobis of the vige. Whoosh whoosh Multiple shinobis dash through the streets and roofs and gather in front of the Hokage Office. The civilians stop their activity and stare at the Hokage Office. "Mom! What''s going on? Why are so many people running through the streets?" One of the civilian kids asks his mother. The woman picks up her kid and hurries towards her house. "Something must havee up for Hokage-sama to summon all shinobis." She enters her house and closes the door. A few minutester, An announcement rings through the streets of Konoha. "This is an emergency drill! All kids, women, elderly folks, and civilians please evacuate to the nearby emergency shelter. I repeat this is an emergency drill! All kids, woman" "Why is it so early again?" A shopkeeper hastily closes his shop and grabs his box of precious belongings and tucks it in his clothes. "I didn''t even tally my gains from today''s sale. The festival just ended a few hours ago." Another shopkeeper also closes his shop and steps out with a simr box. Since the incident from the Konoha Crush, the vige had made it a habit to conduct an emergency evacuation drill every three months. Izuna proposed this idea to prepare for future events. The streets soon turn deserted as all civilians evacuate to the nearby shelter. There are five emergency shelters located in the vige. There is an office building on the surface and the shelter building is located beneath the ground. Each shelter has a separate barrier from the vige and can only be manipted from within the barrier. Only someone with a barrier key can dispel it from the outside. The barrier of the shelter is sturdy enough to withstand a single point-nk Oblivion Release jutsu from Izuna, after which the barrier will shatter and disperse. The shinobis and Konoha Police officers maintain public order as they escort the shinobis to the shelter. On the roof of the Konoha''s Investigation and Reconnaissance Bureau, Various n heads surround Tsunade. The n heads are looking for answers. Fugaku and Hiashi activate their Dojutsu and stare at the barrier. "This genjutsu can fool others, but it won''t escape our eyes." Both of them see through the genjutsu cast on the entire vige. "This Genjutsu is a preventive measure to maintain public order and prevent mass panic." Tsunade points toward the scroll Kushina gave to her. "Look at this!" Several images of massive levitating rock spheres the size of a mountain appear on the visual feed. "What what is this?" The eyes of the n leaders widen at this sight. Each of them gulps their saliva as they imagine the aftermath of one such body falling on the vige. ''It will be an utter annihtion.'' Simr thoughts appear in their mind. ''A few might survive due to their skill, but still, the cost would be too great.'' "Who who exactly is attacking the vige?" The current Sarutobi n leader musters some courage and asks the question. The new Sarutobi n leader is a rtive of the Third Hokage. He also has some achievements in the previous two wars and thus is well known among the vigers. "It''s the Akatsuki!" Tsunade acknowledges him and responds. "Akatsuki?!" Confusion appears on some of the clueless n leader''s faces. "Isn''t that a rag-tag criminal organization of a few S-rank rogue shinobis and ruffians? How could they have such a mean?" Kurama n''s leader gulps his saliva as he stares at the massive meteor levitating in the air near the outer perimeter of his n. "They must be using the power of captured-tailed beast to perform such arge-scale jutsu." Fugaku spectes as he recalls the recent activities of Akatsuki from the previous meeting. The previous confidential meeting was only restricted to the prestigious ns of Konoha, who have made a significant contribution to the prosperity of the vige. "So, the Akatsuki was behind the incident of missing-tailed beasts?" The rest of the n leaders be aware of the truth. "Then does that mean they are here for the Nine-tails?" One of the n leaders raises a question. "If we hand over the Nine-tails to them; would they leave us alone?" One of the timid n leaders raises his opinion. Snap Tsunade''s expression turns extremely ugly as other small n leaders agree with the notion. "Yes, if we hand over the Nine-tails, then the rest of the vigers won''t have to face such a horrifying jutsu." Another n leader agrees with the previous n leader. "Yes, we agree with him. After all, the Nine-tails is just a tool captured by Lord Hashirama to protect the vige. If we can exchange it for peace and avoid carnage; then we should unhesitatingly hand it over." "Oh, no!" The n leaders, who were a member of the previous confidential meeting, immediately fall back. BANG BOOM Tsunade punches the roof and demolishes the entire building. Her heart is burning with fury. She turns towards Shikaku and apologizes. "Apologies, my hand just slipped!" Shikaku gulps his saliva and nods. Sweat trickles down the forehead of all noisy n leaders. They shut their mouth and stare at Tsunade in horror. Tsunade calms down her emotions. Shizune passes down a cloth to her. Tsunade wipes the blood from her fist, which heals instantly. ''She used her pure brutal strength to demolish a building. There was no chakra involved in her attack.'' All the n leaders once again be aware of her prowess. Tsunade turns towards the noisy n leaders and narrows her eyes. ''I might have forgiven them. But there is someone who didn''t.'' She raises her head and stares into the sky. The rest of the n leader also raises their head to stare at the sky. Crackle A bolt of lightning falls from the sky and envelops the group of noisy n leaders. The lightning bolts heavily electrocute them, leaving their charred and unconscious body behind. Bzzt The visual feed on the scroll changes and Kushina''s furious face appear on it. "How dare they how dare they even think about handing over Naruto to these criminals? My husband and I sacrificed our life for these scummy bastards and yet they still have thoughts of using my son to save their necks? Unforgivable absolutely unforgivable This is just a mild punishment for them. They aren''t dead yet. After this incident is over, I will give a piece of my mind to them." Bzzt Kushina''s raging face disappears to reveal the previous visual. Gulp The rest of the n leaders gulp their saliva and silently pray. ''We were wise enough to stay away from these ns.'' Some of the ns who have a subsidiary rtion with these ns decided to cut their ties with them. None of the n leaders want to offend the Red Oni of the vige, the only person currently capable of manipting theplex protective barrier of Konoha. They don''t want their ns to get struck by the punishment lightning. ''Looks like after this incident is over, some tremendous changes are going to happen to the hierarchy of Konoha." The n leaders silently think to themselves as they focus their attention back on the visual screen. Chapter 380: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-4 Chapter 380: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-4 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after 20TH DECEMBER. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- "So, what should we do, Hokage-sama? We have to stop them frompleting their forbidden jutsu?" Hiashi remarks. "But how should we stop them? Attempting to overwhelm them with numbers will only cause more casualties if they decide to drop that thing on top of our shinobis." Fugaku frowns as he argues against sending shinobis. "We can''t even sit back and watch them finish whatever they are doing, either!" Inuzuka n leader argues. The n leaders are struck with a dilemma. Only Fugaku has a calm expression on his face. A few moments ago, he received a message from Itachi and Sasuke about the situation. He has uttermost trust in the capabilities of his sons. His sons have already surpassed him a long time ago. "Let''s leave the situation to the younger generation. We will take action if they fail." Fugaku points towards the visual feed where the members of In-Y confront the members of Akatsuki. Kakashi is confronting a ck Zetsu clone. "Copy Ninja Kakashi! This isn''t an opponent I can handle on my own." The Zetsu clone frowns. ''However, the jutsu is almostplete. I have to just buy a few minutes. It''s even worth it to sacrifice this clone.'' The Zetsu clone enters inside the ground to seek an opportunity to sneak attack Kakashi. At another location, Might Guy confronts Sasori. "The Noble blue beast of Konoha is here to kick your ass." He enters the battlefield while spinning in mid-air. ''Who is this idiot?'' Sasori silently stares at Guy''s antics. "Never heard of you!" Sasori shakes his head. He is using his ''real body'' to confront Guy. Previously, his Hiroku puppet was destroyed during the Uchiha n attack. Guy enters into a Taijutsu stance and cautiously stares at Sasori''s movements. ''I will test the waters with him.'' Sasori takes out a scroll from his robe. Poof With a puff of white smoke, the third Kazekage puppet appears in front of him. ''I have made some adjustments after the previous defeat. This time, I will get my revenge.'' Sasori recalls his bitter defeat at the hands of Fugaku Uchiha. At the other corner of the vige, Naruto confronts Kakuzu. Hmm Kakuzu inspects Naruto''s face and tries to recall his figure. "You aren''t even worth killing, kid. There is no bounty on you. Send an adult to fight me or does Konoha degraded to such an extent that a kid has to step forward to defend it?" The face of the n leaders turns red as they lip-read Kakuzu''s and Naruto''s conversation. "I alone am enough, Dattebyo!" Naruto takes a battle stance. He cautiously inspects Kakuzu''s movements. Sigh Kakuzu takes a deep breath and shakes his head in regret. "Looks like the shinobis of Konoha have forgotten the terror of my name. I fought against the First Hokage and survived. Do they truly think a kid who is still wet behind his ears can stop me? Very well, this will be a lesson for you all?" Kakuzu ps his palm and makes some hand signs. "Let the lesson begin!" At another corner of Konoha, Sasuke face against Hidan. He recognizes thetter from the records left behind by Izuna. ''So, this is the immortal member of Akatsuki? He can''t be killed even after being chopped to pieces. I wonder how Amaterasu will fare against him. Also, I have to avoid getting hit by his de and prevent him from taking a sample of my blood.'' Slick Hidan licks his scythe and curiously inspects Sasuke. "A young brat from Konoha! I thought they will send more people to fight me. Am I not that well known in the Five Nations? Well, it''s kind of my fault too, since I killed everyone who fought against me. Haha" Hidanughs sheepishly and slung his scythe on his shoulders. "Kid, be grateful for your pathetic life since soon you will be an offering to the Great God, Jashin." Hidan closes his eyes and prays to Jashin before the start of the battle. ''Izuna Nii-san was right! All these Akatsuki members have one or two loose screws.'' Sasuke unsheathes his katana to battle Hidan. -------------------- At another corner of the vige, Deidara is sitting on top of a boulder with the Magatama bead floating above his head. He pats the head of a y wolf as he res at the giant levitatingary sphere above his head. "Man! The leader sure is scary. To be able to create such a gigantic rock. What would happen if he drops it on something? That would be a cool scene." He imagines the picture of this hill-sized dropping on top of a vige. "My upgraded C0, no, the ultimate art C0 will probably create a bigger explosion. Speaking of which, this is so boring! How long will it take? I have yet to blow anything in the past few weeks. My body is craving for some explosion. That red-eyed bastard is also here. This time I will blow his body to atoms." Schink A sensory alert shes past his body. Whoosh He immediately jumps from the top of the rock. Bang A lightning de cleanly slices through the boulder. "Phew! I was almost chopped in half." Swish Another lighting de flies toward the Magatama bead at an extremely high speed. "Damn it!" The y wolf swiftly jumps in front of the lightning de and blocks it with his body. Bzzt The lightning de slices the wolf and stops in its tracks. Itachi slowly walks out of the forest. Tap... Tap... tap... "It''s you! YOU!" Hatred appears in Deidara''s eyes as he recognizes Itachi. He recognizes the red eyes that looked down on his art a few years ago. "Haha Kuhaha" He burst out in a fit ofughter. "And here I was thinking of looking for you after dealing with the Konoha. But you came to me of your own free will. This time I will return the humiliation I suffered that day by ten no hundred-fold." He removes the visor from his left eye to reveal a glowing red eye. Shiing The tomoes in Itachi''s Sharingan revolve as he inspects Deidara''s chakra signature. ''His chakra signature is almost the same as the previous time. Only his chakra reserves have improved slightly. However, what''s with his eye?'' A void of chakra appears around Deidara''s left eye. Except for a glowing red dot, the Sharingan is unable to see anything. Hmm He adjusts his ''Eye of Insight'' to take a closer look at the peculiarity of Deidara''s left eye. ''It appears to be some kind of mechanical prosthetic transnted in his left eye. I can''t see anything besides that.'' "You you are looking down on me again, right? Those eyes they are judging my art again." Anger appears in Deidara''s eyes. "Die C1!" Deidara waves his hand and sends a flock of white y birds and insects toward Itachi. BOOM BOOM The y birds explode around Itachi, raising a cloud of dust and debris. "Die! Die! DIE!" Deidara continues to send wave after wave of explosive y birds in Itachi''s direction. Schink A sensory alert jolts through his body. Whoosh Deidara swiftly turns around and spews out a y centipede from his mouth. ng The y bird blocks the kunai aimed at his throat. "You can''t fool me with the same trick again!" Deidara''s left eye narrows to reveal Itachi. "Genjutsu doesn''t affect me anymore." The y centipede wraps around Itachi. "Now, explode!" BOOM "Seriously, man, why do I have to be so unlucky?" Another white Zetsu clone stares at the figure of Shisui slowly approaching him. "Why it has to be Shisui Uchiha, the teleporter of all shinobis? I can''t even run if I want to it." ''His Hiding in the Earth like a mole technique is quite advanced. It has been the seventh time I have fished him out of the earth. '' Shisui silently stares at the White Zetsu clone. ''Once he enters the ground, I can''t even sense his presence; much less chakra. It feels like he has be a part of nature when he enters the ground. The only way to lure him out is by attacking the chakra orb floating orb of chakra.'' Shisui clicks his tongue in annoyance. After assessing the situation, he concludes. ''I can''t directly just destroy this chakra orb. Once I destroy the container, it will detonate like a bomb and destroy a major portion of Outer Konoha. Then there is also this massive floating hill-sized rock. If I cut its chakra supply, the rock will just fall to the ground; devastating the surroundings in the process. Either way, it''s a loss for Konoha. The only way to stop it is to seal it. But sealing it requires some time and preparation.'' He enters a standstill with the white Zetsu clone. ''I will take care of him first.'' Shisui makes up his mind and gives up on any attempt to interrupt the jutsu. Chapter 381: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-5 Chapter 381: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-5 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after 20TH DECEMBER. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- Poof Poof Multiple clouds of white smoke rise on the battlefield. "Is it the time you are about to make a choice, Jiraiya boy?" Fukasaku walks out of the white smoke alongside Shima. "So that''s one of the children of prophecy from the previous generation?" Shima stares in the direction of Deva Path. Fwoosh A gust of wind clears out the white smoke from the battlefield. "This is going to be a tough battle, hebi!" Gamahiro unsheathes his twin des as he confronts the Rinnegan summons. The animal path has summoned a wide variety of his summons. Its summons includes a giant drill-beaked bird, a giant multi-headed dog, a giant snake-tailed chameleon, a giant panda, a giant ox, a giant rhino, a giant crustacean, and a giant centipede. "As clumsy as I am, I will try my best during this battle!" Gamaken unwraps his giant Sakazuki shield and Sasumata from his back. "Oye Jiraiya! After this fight is over, you better treat me to some of the fine booze with your money. I want no less than a hundred barrels." Gamabunta unsheathes his giant dosu de and holds it in his hands. "The price is non-negotiable!" He points the de toward the Rinnegan summons. "It''s my second time looking at the eyes of the Sage, but its power is still as incredible as ever." Fukasaku caresses his beard as he inspects the Rinnegan. "Second time?" Shima and Jiraiya turn to him. "Ah that was a slip of tongue! My memory has all turned hazy with old age. Don''t mind my words." Fukasaku waves his small wand to dismiss their doubts. ''I am sorry Izuna-boy! I almost blew your cover.'' Fukasaku recalls hisst encounter with Izuna. -------------shback-No-Jutsu-------------- "Izuna boy! Why do you want to meet me alone with the Great Toad Sage? Baa must be looking for me for dinner." Fukasaku holds his walking stick as he enters the Toad temple. "So, where was I?" The Great Toad Sage slowly opens his eyes. "Izuna-boy wants to say something very important to us. He asked me to be a witness so as to not reveal the content of our discussion to any fourth person." The Great Toad Sage replies to Fukasaku. He turns to Izuna and nods his head. "Great Toad Sage, Grandpa Fukasaku, you two must have heard about the Sage of Six Paths, right?" "I do!" Fukasaku nods his head. "There are a few relics from the era of Sage of Six paths still stored in our treasury." "No let me rephrase my words!" Izuna turns to the Great Toad Sage. "The Great Toad Sage must have even met the Sage of Six paths!" "Huh!" Surprise appears on Fukasaku''s old face. "This senile old geezer never told me anything about it!" He harrumphs at the Great Toad Sage. "Aah! I do have a memory of it." The Great Toad Sage slowly opens his eyes. "It was a long time ago. I used to be a young, rash toad back then. I met Hagoromo boy back then and taught him the Sage Arts. He was very talented in it, just like you Izuna-boy!" The Great Toad Sage nods his head in approval. "Wait, really? You used to be young. Even ording to my grandfather, he always saw you as an old senile geezer. Wait, that''s not the point? Old geezer, you meet the Sage of Six Path and taught him Senjutsu. And Izuna boy, how do you know about it?" Fukasaku turns to Izuna. "Well it''s a long story, but I met with the Sage of Six Paths and he told me his story." Izuna mes his knowledge of the past on Hagoromo''s gossip. "You met with the Sage of Six Paths. No, the Sage of Six paths is still alive!" Fukasaku clutches his heart. "My feeble old heart can''t bear these many shocks in a day." "No, the Sage of Six Paths is already dead. I only met his soul." Izuna shakes his head. He turns to the Toad Sage. "Great Toad Sage, you must have known about the reason for Sage of Six Path''s death, right?" Mm The Great Toad Sage nods. "Hagoromo boy''s soul and chakra possess a very superior quality. However, his body was still that of a human. In the end, his body was unable to sustain his powerful soul and chakra. He eventually found a cure in Redaku. But that was a temporary solution, in the end, Hagoromo boy sumbed to his mortality." The Great Toad sighs for the first time. "Redaku! Isn''t it the name of that deste ce cut off from the rest of the world? The flow of nature energy and ley lines is very chaotic at that ce. As such, it''s almost impossible for a normal person to ever reach that ce. Howe such a ce has a cure for the diseases which even the Great Sage of Six Paths struggled against?" Fukasaku''s surprise intensifies. "I am not sure about the details, but that ce has an intrinsic quality that stabilizes the harmony between soul and body." Izuna shakes his head. "Izuna-boy! What does all of this have to do with you?" Fukasaku has a foreboding feeling as he stares into Izuna''s eyes. Sigh Izuna sighs helplessly. "It has everything to do with me!" Shiing He removes the genjutsu covering his eyes to reveal his Rinne-Sharingan. "That that eye" Fukasaku and the great toad Sage''s eyes widen in surprise. For the first time in a millennium, the Great Toad Sage vacates his sitting ce and crawls toward Izuna. "That that''s a Ri Rinnegan?" Fukasaku mutters incoherently. "The Rinne-Sharingan? Izuna-boy, why do you possess such a cursed eye?" The Great Toad Sage walks in front of Izuna and inspects thetter''s eye. "There is there is no doubt about it. It''s the same eye as the Kaguya Otsutsuki. No, your eye even seems to be a bit more powerful than hers!" The Great Toad sage''s murky eyes re deeper into Izuna''s eyes. "You must have already found the connection by now it''s the Otsutsuki bloodline!" Izuna replies to the great Sage. Sigh "That ursed bloodline of so-called gods from the old records!" The Great Toad sighs and returns to his seat. "Izuna boy, could you exin everything to the old me? Is your eye a Rinnegan or is it something different? It does look simr to Rinnegan from legend, except for the tomoes in your eyes." Fukasaku is unable to hold back his curiosity. ''At this rate, my old heart might not be able to take this much information. I will feel upset if there is no baa to bicker with me in the afterlife.'' Fukasaku takes a deep breath. "Old Grandpa Fukasaku, my eye is called Rinne-Sharingan. It''s the ancestor of Rinnegan. Or you can say it''s the higher form of a Rinnegan, just like how a Sharingan evolves to Mangekyo Sharingan whichter evolves to Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and then to Rinnegan. I am a special case since I skipped a few steps. My Sharingan directly awakened Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, which thenter evolved to Rinne-Sharingan." Izuna reveals the origin of his Rinne-Sharingan to Fukasaku. "Old geezer was right; you really are a child of destiny!" Fukasaku shakes his head. "Grandpa Fukasaku, I am not done yet. Hear me out first!" Izuna picks up Fukasaku in his hands and ces him on his shoulders to look into his eyes. "Now I am about to reveal some of the abilities of Rinnegan to you. This knowledge might help you in the future." He stares directly into Fukasaku''s eyes. "But Izuna-boy, you are still there with us!" Fukasaku argues. "But what will happen if I am not here?" Izuna cuts him off. "Izuna-boy, don''t tell me, you" "Yes, that''s right! I am also suffering from the same diseases as the old man Sage of Six Paths. I even went to Redaku to search for a cure. I was only able to buy myself five years after all these efforts. And now, I am only left with six months. My soul and chakra are too powerful for my mortal body, and I am barely holding myself together." Izuna closes his eyes and releases a sigh. ''This is one of my failsafe for the future, in case things turn for worse.'' Sob sob Tear leaks from Fukasaku''s eyes. "Izuna boy!" Fukasaku grabs his shoulder and bowls his eyes out. "Wait wait Old man! Don''t dirty my new dress. It''s a gift from my wife. She will kill me if I damage it." Waah waaah Fukasaku cries even louder, covering Izuna''s clothes in green snot and tears. "Damn it, old geezer! I am still alive and it''s not certain I will die after six months. I might find a cure somewhere else." Izuna pushes Fukasaku away from his shoulders. ---------------------------- Fukasaku wipes a tear from the corner of his eyes and focuses his attention on the battle. "Jiraiya boy, Baa Gamabunta, Gamahiro, Gamaken carefully listen to me! I have a method to counter the abilities of Rinnegan." Chapter 382: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-6 Chapter 382: Akatsuki Assault Arc Part-6 A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after 20TH DECEMBER. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- "Old man, how do you know about all these abilities?" Jiraiya asks Fukasaku while incinerating a paper chakram from Konan. "Yes, Paa I never knew you have so much knowledge about the Rinnegan." Shima also questions him while smashing the head of the hellhound with staff. All this time, the toads and Jiraiya have beenmunicating using a secret mind transmission technique of Mount Myoboku. "I found some records in the Temple of Toad Sage. Believe it or not, but the old Toad was the teacher of Sage of Six Paths." "What?" Jiraiya and Shima are shocked to hear it. "Sage of Six Paths is real!" "Of course, if his eyes are real, then he should be real, too." Fukasaku stares at Jiraiya with disappointment. "So, it was that old geezer who told you," Shima asks Fukasaku. Mm "I was not certain of our chances of victory against the legendary Rinnegan, so I asked the old geezer for help. But he actually knew about the Rinnegan''s abilities." Fukasaku lies to the group with a straight face. "From this point onward, I will instruct you with appropriate countermeasures during the battle. You have to remember that all these Rinnegan wielders, including the summons, share their vision. So sneak attacks won''t work on them and they don''t have any blind spots." Fukasaku ps his hands and jumps on top of Jiraiya''s shoulder. "Alright!" Jiraiya and the rest nod in understanding. "Baa you can''t kill that hellhound. Not just the hellhound, all of these Rinnegan summons are immortal. We can''t kill anyone of these but once they die, they won''t respawn for a certain amount of time. Now, for the weakness of each summon, the giant drill-beaked summon is quite agile and can fly at an incredible speed whileying explosive eggs. It''s vulnerable to Fire Release and blunt physical attacks at its neck. Ken boy! Lure it at a sufficient lower height and strike it with your Sasumata to snap its neck with a single attack." "Despite my weakness, I will give it my best to knock down that bird!" Ken inhales arge amount of air from the surroundings. "Water Release: Gunshot," He spews out a giant orb of water towards the flying drill-beaked bird. Bang The water orb brushes past the wings of the birds. Some of the feathers of the bird scatter down to the ground. Rii The angry bird turns its attention to Gamaken and shoots towards him like an arrow with its drill beak pointed forward. BAM Gamaken blocks the attack with his Sakazuki shield. BAM "Exploding Sasumata Attack," He attacks the bird with a flurry of Sasumata attacks. The bird swiftly glides through the attacks and takes off to the sky. Some holes open on its belly and it drops massive egg-like pods toward Gamaken. BOOM BOOM BOOM The eggs-like pods explode on top of Gamaken. "Ken boy will handle that bird." Fukasaku turns his attention to the Giant Panda and the Giant Ox. "The Giant Panda can harden its skin, so blunt attacks aren''t effective against it, whereas the giant ox possesses enormous strength. A direct contest of strength isn''t advisable against it. Gamahiro boy wear it down with your agility. Its weakness lies around its belly. The lower spot around its neck is also quite soft. You should be able to slice it apart with continuous attacks from your dual des." "I will keep that in mind." Gamahiro unsheathes the giant dual des from his shoulders and leaps towards the rampaging giant ox charging towards them. Whoosh He jumps on top of the Giant ox''s back and shes its back with his dual katanas. Ding Sound of metal hitting metal rings in his ears. Vibrations travel through the dual des and Gamahiro''s hands. "Its hide is so thick. I have to attack its weak spot." Mooo The giant ox moos loudly and attempt to jump around to drop Gamahiro from its back. Gamahiro grabs the horns of the giant bull and directs it away from the vige. "I will be back in a while!" He shouts while leading the giant ox away from the battlefield. "Bunta Boy! Hold that Giant Rhino for us. Simr to the giant ox, don''t contest with it in strength while it''s charging. Its thick skin is impervious to blunt and piercing attacks. You should be able to slice apart its legs with your de. Also, the broken wings are its weak spots. Once you rip them apart, its strength and defense will lower considerably." Gamabunta, who has been kiting the charge of the Giant Rhino all this time, notices a pair of broken grey wings on its beak. "Got it!" He leaps in the air and smashes his giant body on top of the Giant Rhino. BANG A crater appears beneath Gamabunta''s body as the giant Rhino smashes into the ground. Rumble Rumble The ground trembles violently under the giant Rhino''s rage. It swings its massive horn andunches Gamabunta high up in the air. Whoosh Gamabunta unsheathes his giant Dosu de and swings it downward in mid-air. "Bunta boy should be fine on his own. Afterall, he is the strongest of three brothers." Fukasaku turns his attention to Shima, who is struggling against the multiple heads of the hellhound. The hellhound has already multiplied seven times. "Baa don''t waste your chakra and energy on it. Ninjutsu and any sort of physical attack don''t have any effect on it. You must seal it using a Fuinjutsu technique or cast a powerful genjutsu on it to restrict it." "Hmph I will seal this big dog with my Toad Sealing Technique." Shima smashes the head of the hellhound, who is almost close to biting her. "Jiraiya-boy, I will deal with this giant centipede and the giant crab. Both of them are vulnerable to blunt attacks despite their hard shells. The skin beneath their shell is quite soft." Fukasaku leaps from Jiraiya''s shoulder. He holds his wooden staff in his hand and smashes on top of the giant centipede''s head. "Frog Kata" BANG Cracks appear on the shell of the giant''s centipede at the point of impact. The other shell shatters into countless fragments and crumbles apart. Squeak Chii The giant centipede ils around in agony and spits out a toxic liquid at Fukasaku. Swoosh Fukasaku jumps in the air and avoids the toxic spit. Whoosh whoosh Multiple bubbles fly toward him at an incredible speed. BOOM The giant crab''s bubbles explode around Fukasaku, enveloping him in the mist. "Attacks of such scales aren''t enough to take down that geezer. He is tougher than he appears." Jiraiya focuses his attention on the Deva path. The Deva Path is being protected by the rest of the Paths. ''During this battle, I have analyzed the jutsu; they are casting. Yahiko is the core of this jutsu. If I interrupt him, the jutsu will fail without any consequences.'' "Nagato, Sensei is about to get serious. I don''t think I can hold him back any longer. Also, the summons of the animal path is battling against the toads of Mount Myoboku." Konanunches a barrage of razor-sharp paper at Jiraiya. "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique," Jiraiya spews out a massive breath of fire toward the barrage of papers. The mes cover arge span of the area and incinerate the barrage of papers to ashes. "My preparation is almostplete. Currently, I can''t deploy the other paths since most of the chakra and attention are focused on the Deva Path. Buy me a few more seconds!" The Naraka pathmunicates with Konan through telepathy. "Thirty more seconds thirty more seconds is all I canst Jiraiya Sensei without much preparation." Konan ps her palms. The Archangel wings around her body morph into a massive paper spearposed of paper bombs. She infuses all of her remaining chakra into the giant spear. "Heavenly Spear of Judgement," Whoosh The giant spear shoots toward Jiraiya at an incredible speed. "Shit! I can''t take this attack head-on." Jiraiya makes some quick hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. "Summoning: Penta Rashomon," "Needle Jiz," Jiraiya summons fiveyered Rashomon gates to block Konan''s all-out desperate attempt. BOOM A massive explosion spreads throughout the battlefield as the spear explodes on top of the gates. The First Rashomon takes the attack head-on and almost instantly disperses. The second gate lowers the power of the attack and crumbles apart. The third gate reduces the air pressure generated by the attack and vanishes. The fourth gate negates the heat produced by the explosion of multiple paper bombs. The fifth gate blocks the shockwaves generated by the aftermath of the jutsu and disappears. Even after so many defenses, a few swathes of mes manage to escape and scorch Jiraiya''s body. The armor of hairs around his body blocks the mes, but the hairs get burned to a crisp. The aftereffects of the jutsu die down to reveal a giant crater at the previous position of the Five Rashomon gates. "Hot hot HOT!" Jiraiya extinguishes the few licks of mes still clinging to his clothes. Guffaw Konan falls to the ground. Her origami body turns normal after expending all her chakra. "I have to appreciate your talent. Not only have your techniques improved, but you have turned into one hell of a woman as well, Konan." "I am stillckingpared to you Sensei!" Konan responds in an empathetic tone. Chapter 383: Mugen Ten Shin: Chibaku Tensei Chapter 383: Mugen Ten Shin: Chibaku Tensei A/N:- Don''t forget to vote with power stones. Also, if you have spare change; then sign up on my pa treon to read up to advance chapters of this series. Also, don''t forget to check out my new series, ''The Pride of Favonius''. Also, there is a new early ess series called ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' on my pa treon. It will be avable to the rest after 20TH DECEMBER. .pa /ForgottenLife ---------------------------- "I am stillckingpared to you, Sensei!" Konan responds in an empathetic tone. ''Sensei is still as powerful as ever. He didn''t even break a sweat to shrug off one of my most powerful jutsu. But he is up against a God. Jiraiya Sensei doesn''t stand a chance.'' Konan closes her eyes. ''Nagato, I will leave the rest to you.'' Jiraiya turns his attention to the Deva Path. "Hair Needle Senbon Hell," Jiraiya hardens his hair to the extreme and shoots a barrage of razor-thin hairs toward the Six Paths of Pain. ''Damn it! I still need a few more seconds toplete the jutsu.'' The expression of Deva Path turns ugly. Swoosh The Giant Panda jumps in front of the Deva Path. Its skin hardens as the giant panda blocks the strike for the Deva Path. Peng Peng The needle punctures through the hardened skin of the giant panda. They also smash the nearby boulders into dust. The giant panda turns into a porcupine of white hairs. Poof The extensive damage dispels the panda summon. "I got you!" Whoosh Jiraiya instantly flickers in front of Deva Path with his fists coated with chakra. Jiraiya''s fist almost touches Deva Path''s face. "It''s done. SHINRA TENSEI!" Fwoosh With the Deva path as a center, a burst of powerful repulsive force acts upon Jiraiya''s body. Shoom The powerful repulsive force instantly pushes Jiraiya back. "Oh no!" Jiraiya infuses chakra into his legs and stabs them into the ground. The repulsive force continues to push him backward. Jiraiya leaves trails on the ground as he continues to get pushed backward. His back arches backward at an unnatural angle, and he almost tumbles down. "Damn it!" Jiraiya infuses more chakra into his arms and legs. He kicks the ground and forcefully straightens his body. He extends his hair to shield his body from the flying dust and debris shooting toward him. BANG Jiraiya punches the ground to forcefully withstand the repulsive force from the Shinra Tensei. After a few seconds, the effect of jutsu ends. Huff Huff Jiraiya and Deva Path pants in exhaustion as each of them has been pushed to their limits. Whoosh Whoosh Fukasaku and Shima jump on Jiraiya''s shoulders. "Are you alright, Jiraiya-boy?" "I I am alright! Just slightly overexerted my chakra." Fukasaku and Shima stare at the condition of the ground in front of them. The previous jutsu has forcefully created a distance of almost a hundred meters between the Deva Path and Jiraiya. The ground in front of the Deva Path has been uprootedpletely, creating a small ravine. Ptui Jiraiya spits out some sand from his mouth. "That was a close call or else it would have sent me flying out of Konoha''s borders." He slowly stands up and dusts off his clothes. "That was one hell of a jutsu." Jiraiya cracks his neck and gets ready to engage in battle. "That''s that''s im impossible!" Konan stares at Jiraiya with wide eyes. "How how could Jiraiya Sensei be so strong?" Deva Path also warily nces at Jiraiya. ''Jiraiya sensei''sbat strength is a notch above the one mentioned in the intel. Shinra Tensei should have exhausted, if not injured, him to some extent. But he ispletely fine even after a point-nk Shinra Tensei.'' "Oh! Surprised, aren''t you?" Jiraiya makes his standard pose and remarks. "The future generation has already left an old-timer like me who stopped training a long time ago in the dust," Jiraiya recalls his scuffles and spars against Izuna. ''I got demolished, alright!'' "But as a senior and elder, I ought to maintain a level of strength to garner respect from the next generation. So, I restarted my training a few years ago and even I am astonished at my progress. These old bones of mine can still fight a battle." Jiraiya extends his hand forward toplete his version of the T-pose. Crack A sh of shock runs past his spine. Sound of bones snapping rings across Jiraiya''s body. "My back my back It must be during the time I almost broke my spine." Sigh "You are still as childish as ever!" Fukasaku shakes his head. p Shima ps a nature energy talisman on his back to heal his back. "Thank you, baa!" "Don''t act so recklessly likest time. You almost remind me of Paa" "Huh!" Fukasaku turns to Shima. "Howe I am reckless? I was always a calm andposed toad. Wasn''t it myposure that impressed you at our first meeting?" Fukasaku argues with Shima. "Calm andposed, my ass! You were so wild and brazen back then. You even dared to steal Great Toad Sage''s underwear" Shima responds to him in kind. Fukasaku and Shima bickers with each other. "" "Umm Baa Paa can we focus our attention on the fight?" Jiraiya speechlessly stares at the two old frogs. "It''s all your fault!" Smack Smack Both of them smack Jiraiya''s head with their stick. Two bumps appear on Jiraiya''s head. Tears flow from Jiraiya''s eyes as he speaks meekly. "But I I didn''t even do anything." ''It was you two who started to bicker with each other.'' Jiraiya adds in his mind. "It was all your teachings that made him this way!" Shima harrumphs at Fukasaku. An angry tick appears on Fukasaku''s forehead as he snaps. "It must be the effect of your poisonous food." "Huh! My food is poisonous, you say. The food which I prepare with all my love and heart harms your mind, huh! Then from this day onwards, there will be no food for you in mount Myoboku." Shima''s eyes turn red from rage. "Umm shouldn''t we focus our attention on the battle?" Jiraiya weakly reminds them. "Shut up!" Both of them yell in his ear at the same time. PENG PENG PENG Suddenly, the floating orb of energy on top of Pain''s head reacts. Fwoosh It immediately expands to the size of a house. Fukasaku and Shima stop their bickering and focus their attention on the giant floating orb. Shiing Fukasaku activates his Sage eyes and nces at the giant orb of chakra. "This orb it''s rapidly absorbing the Nature energy from the surroundings." The color of the orb changes to purple after it expands in volume. Jiraiya prepares to attack the orb. "Jiraiya boy, wait! If you attack it now, the nature energy inside it will turn unstable and it will explode with a force strong enough to blow Konoha to smithereens despite Izuna boy''s barrier. Let''s wait and see." After absorbing enough nature energy, the orb slowly shrinks into a small palm-sized ck orb. The palm-sized ck orb seeps into the ground. Rumble Rumble Soon, the ground beneath them trembles violently. A massive ck Tai Chi fuinjutsu formation spanning several tens of kilometers appears beneath Konoha. Bzzt. Crackle crackle White lightning flickers across the eight floatingary bodies. A massive white Tai Chi circle appears in the airspace of Konoha. The eightary bodies upy a node each on the giant Tai-chi formation. "Mugen Ten Shin: Chibaku Tensei," RUMBLE RUMBLE RIP RIP The ground around Konoha split apart. The ck Tai Chi symbol applies a powerful repulsive force on the surroundings. "Jiraiya boy, get out of this formation. We don''t have any time to waste." Fukasaku urgently urges Jiraiya. "Got it!" Jiraiya flickers away from the outer perimeter of Konoha. He reaches a safe distance away from the giant Tai Chi formation and witnesses the scene. The White Tai Chi formation pulls the surroundings of Konoha towards itself. Massive chunks of earth rip out of the outer perimeter of Konoha and float in mid-air. "This can''t be!" Jiraiya and the toads'' eyes widen in disbelief. RUMBLE RUMBLE RIP A massive spherical chunk of earth constituting Konoha splits away from the ground and levitates in the air. The powerful protective barrier around Konoha keeps it in the form of a singlendmass. Bzzt Bzzt Crackle Multiple ck and white lightning bolts leap out of the ck and white Taichi formations. These lightning bolts strike the sphere containing Konoha and iste it in a lighting prison. Rumble. Rumble Multiple beams of chakra shoot out of the eight floatingary bodies and strike the barrier around Konoha. Some small cracks appear in the barrier. BANG BANG. The rocks, dust, and debris from theary bodies separate and surround Konoha. Bang bang After a few minutes, theary bodies dissipate,pletely encasing Konoha in the core of a massive heavenly body. Theary body levitates in the center of the Tai Chi formation. The rest of the Akatsuki and In-Ymembers who have escaped from the previous cataclysmic event stare at the giant sphere with a disbelieving expression. Chapter 384: Naruto vs Kakuzu Chapter 384: Naruto vs Kakuzu A/N:- Hello everyone, my new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. It will be my next big story after this story ends and thus will rece this book as one of the major book. Go check it out, currently there are only two chapters so far and I will update chapters every two days. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ Rumble Rumble On top of the Hokage Headquarters, Tremors run across the entire vige due to the aftereffect of the jutsu. "What''s happening?" Panic spread across Konoha''s shinobis as the scale of the earthquake is never like before. "Tsunade Nee-san, take a look at this?" Kushina shares the image of a floating Konoha through a bird''s eye view. "This is" The eyes of n leaders widen to the extreme. A giganticary bodyposed of the entire Konoha is floating in mid-air between two gigantic Tai Chi formations. Multiple chakra chains are holding Konoha in its current ce. "God! It''s the work of a God." Multiple shinobis shudder in fear at the sight of the cataclysmic event. "Is this the power of legendary Rinnegan?" Fugaku mutters as he stares at the floating sphere with trepidation. "No wonder all Uchiha ancestors were obsessed with this power. The Uchiha stone tablet holds the secret to obtaining the power of the Sage of Six Paths. But anyone has yet to achieve such power. But this this is really the power of a God!" He remarks. "No wonder Akatsuki dared to attack Konoha. With a jutsu of such scale, they aren''t afraid of reprisal from a hidden nation." Shikaku mutters. He ces his hand on his forehead and enters a deep-thinking state. Meanwhile, Shizune passes a scroll to Tsunade. Tsunade bites her thumb and drips a drop of blood on it. "Mechanical Eight Trigrams Formation" Poof A giant Taiko drum appears in front of her. Tsunade infuses some chakra into her palm and ps it on the drum. "Fourth Form: Pir of Heavens," Rumble rumble rumble The streets and buildings of Konoha tremble continuously. Swoosh swoosh swoosh Multiple thick, gigantic rock pirs erupt from the ground. The entire Konoha terraforms as multiple houses, shops, and buildings disappear or enter the ground. The giant pirs form awork and support the entire vige from crumbling by holding the massive amount of rocks and debris crushing onto the protective barrier. "Kushina strengthens the protective barrier around Konoha. Use all of our chakra ore reserves, if you have to." She instructs Kushina. "Got it!" A few secondster, Rumble Bzzt A dense conglomeration of chakra spreads throughout the barrier and repairs the cracks in it. The size of the barrier expands and resists the repulsive force of the two Tai Chi formations. "We have the leave the rest to Jiraiya and others. I hope they will be able to stop the Akatsuki members." Tsunade murmurs silently. ------------------------ A few minutes before the upheaval of Konoha, Snap snap Kakuzu cracks his neck and res at Naruto. "Brat, usually I am a reasonable person. But it looks like I have to teach you a lesson." Kakuzu riles up his chakra. Bang The ground beneath him cracks apart from the pressure of his chakra. Kakuzu makes some quick hand signs. "Water Release: Howling Jet stream," He spews out a high-speed pressurized stream of water from his mouth. Whoosh Naruto lowers his head and avoids the jet of water. Haah Kakuzu controls the direction of the jet and chases after Naruto. Naruto continues to perform a backflip and avoid the water jet. Hehe Suddenly, Naruto smirks and turns around. "You were never my target, to begin with." "Rasengan," Naruto creates a Rasengan in his hand and ms it toward the chakra magatama feeding the massive floatingndform. "Damn it! I was fooled." Kakuzu''s expression changes slightly. BANG A leg breaks out of the ground and kicks Naruto''s back. Bang The surprise attack sends Naruto flying away from the chakra magatama. "Earth Release: Earth Spear," Kakuzu pulls out his hardened leg from the ground. Snap The leg reattaches to his body. "Hey, that''s cheating!" Naruto stands up without as much as a single injury. "Also, that''s so gross. Hairs are wiggling throughout his entire body." ''These aren''t hairs, they are threads.'' Yang Kurama''s voice echoes in Naruto''s mind. ''Naruto just now, I received an urgent message from Kushina.'' ''Mom?!'' ''Mm she said not to attack the chakra magatama. This chakra orb is like a bomb. If you recklessly attack it; the chakra inside it will go out of control and explode.'' ''Oh! Then I suppose I will take down this bad guy. Also, he doesn''t know, I don''t want to attack that chakra bead anymore. I will use it to my advantage. Hehe'' Naruto stands up and makes a hand sign. "Multiple shadow clone jutsu," He creates four shadow clones and dashes toward the chakra bead. His shadow clones surround Kakuzu and prevent him from interfering. ng ng Kakuzu blocks Naruto''s clone attacks with his hardened body. Naruto reaches close to the chakra bead and feints to attack it. "No, you don''t!" "Wind Release: Pressure Damage," He spews out a massivepressed tornado from his mouth. Thepressed wind pressure blows away the surrounding trees and engulfs Naruto and his clones. Poof poof poof. Naruto''s clones instantly disperse into white smoke. While the real Naruto coats his hand with wind chakra to hold thepressed tornado at bay. "I want to try something new. I wonder if it''s possible." He applies shape transformation to the wind chakrapressed in his hands and rotates it in the opposite direction to that of Kakuzu''s tornado. After a few seconds, Fwoosh Kakuzu''s tornado disperses entirely without dealing any damage to Naruto. "It works!" Naruto rubs his swollen hands. "Impossible!" Kakuzu''s eyes widen in shock. This kid blocked one of my most lethal attacks with his bare hands without taking any sort of damage." Kakuzu''s expression hardens as he gets serious. "What''s your name, kid?" "I am Uzumaki Naruto. Bear it in your mind!" Naruto pumps his fully healed fists. "Looks like you have got some skills. It''s time for me to get serious." Kakuzu removes his cloak and throws it aside to reveal five masks on his back. "Recently, I made massive improvements to my jutsu thanks to the help given by the leader. I hate to say it, but I am still no match for his power. However" Kakuzu leans forward. Sciish Zip Riip Eeugh Aaaah Haah Urgh He screams violently as multiple masses of ck thread-like structures sprout from the five faces on his mask. Eww Naruto holds his stomach and almost retches at the sight. "That''s so scary and disgusting. It''s more disgusting. I almost puked my breakfast." He mumbles. " after this fight, I will add your heart to my collection and further perfect my technique to umte all chakra nature, including yin and Yang." Sciish Zip Multiple ck threads sew the holes in Kakuzu''s back. ''Heaven Grudge Fear,'' Five gigantic rag doll-like bodies of threads stand beside him. Each grudge has a respective elemental mask on its face. "Try to block this!" The lightning and fire elemental grudge masks stand on Naruto''s respective side. Bzzt Sizzle Lightning and fire crackle near the mask of the grudge as both of them release a powerful elemental jutsu. ''Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work,'' ''Lighting Release: False Darkness,'' Boom Shockwaves travel through the earth as dust and debris rise at the point of impact. The overload of two elemental jutsu devastates the surroundings to an extensive degree. Fwoosh Naruto jumps out of the dust cloud unharmed. There is a lick of mes on his jacket. "I caught fire! Atata tata" He quickly extinguishes the fire with his hands. ''He withstood that!'' Kakuzu''s expression changes again. ''This looks like an idiot and behaves like one. But he has got high-level skills to survive three of my most powerful jutsus without taking any damage.'' "Man, that was hard to block!" Naruto waves his sizzling hands. "Controlling two distinct elements at the same time seems to be too much for me for now. I have to train harder." Naruto cracks his knuckles and turns to Kakuzu. "Oi old voodoo doll! It''s time I end your freakish ritual." Bang Naruto kicks the ground. Swoosh He disappears from his ce and instantly reappears behind Kakuzu''s body. "He''s so fast! When did he" Kakuzu''s eyes widen as Naruto''s punch closes on his face. Bang Naruto''s fistnds squarely on his cheek and sends him sting through multiple trees. Swoosh Naruto disappears and reappears behind Kakuzu. He punches thetter again and sends him flying in another direction. BANG BANG Naruto continues to beat Kakuzu like a rag doll. His grudges are unable to get a hold of Naruto''s position. "Eat this!" He cups and clenches his fists in mid-air and ms Kakuzu''s back. BANG Kakuzu rams into the ground and creates a medium size crater on the ground. Chapter 385: Naruto vs Kakuzu Part-2 Chapter 385: Naruto vs Kakuzu Part-2 A/N:- Hello everyone, my new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. It will be my next big story after this story ends and thus will rece this book as one of the major book. Go check it out, currently there are only two chapters so far and I will update chapters every two days. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ Tap Tap Naruto walks toward the crater created by the impact. Huh! Swoosh Naruto swiftly dodges back. Shoom ''Fire-Wind Combo Strike: Strange Mask Exploding me,'' A beam of immense heat grazes past Naruto''s previous spot. The heat beam hits the distant hill and creates a massive firestorm at the point of the explosion. The heat from the explosion scorches the ground red as pools ofva appear in some ces. The firestorm engulfs Naruto, who crosses his arms to defend his body. Fwoosh A figure jumps out of the firestorm. A major portion of Naruto''s clothes is charred from the previous jutsu. Naruto rips away his burned clothes and pulls out a simr jacket from his storage to wear. "Man! That was my second most favorite jacket." Heins. "" Kurama silently stares at the cinders of his previous jacket. ''Am I turning blind or do they look the same?'' Swoosh Another jet of water chases after Naruto. Naruto swiftly avoids the attack and turns his attention to the grudge dolls. "How are these guys still moving? Aren''t they his puppets? If I take down the puppeteer, won''t the puppet stop on their own?" "Naruto don''t tell me you forgot to read the intel about Akatsuki," Kurama questions him. "I I did!" Naruto sheepishly scratches his head. "Then listen closely to me this guy is called Kakuzu. He is a rogue shinobi from Takigakure. He uses a Kinjutsu called ''Earth Grudge Fear'' to separate his body into separate entities linked by thread-like appendages. Each entity has a separate heart and is linked to the main body. Unless you kill every destroy every single heart, he won''t die." Kurama describes Kakuzu''s information to him. "So, I have to kill this guy six times to get rid of him for real?" Mm "Alright! It''s time to use my new technique." Naruto pumps his fist and stretches out his hand to gather the chakra in his palm. Rumble rumble Suddenly, the ground trembles, and a gigantic ck Tai Chi formation appears on the ground. "NARUTO! RUN!" Kurama''s urgent voice echoes in Naruto''s ears. "But why I am about to beat that guy''s ass!" Naruto argues. "Don''t argue. Just run!" Kurama warns him. "Alright!" Swoosh Naruto flickers out of the sphere of influence of the giant ck Tai Chi formation. In the crater near the magatama orb, "Damn it! That hurt like hell. Just who the hell is that kid!" A badly battered Kakuzu crawls out of the crater. "He is the current jinchuruki of the Nine-tails." Zetsu crawls out of the ground and informs him. "Nine-tails jinchuruki so that means he is one of our targets!" "Yes!" "Now this motivates me a little. His head must be worth a lot! But for now" He raises his head and stares at the giant magatama bead, slowly fusing with the massivearyndmass. "I have to get out of here!" ------------------------------ "What what even is this?" Naruto stares at the entire process of Konoha getting sealed inside a giantary body with his eyes open wide. "Mom and the rest of the people are trapped in there. I must save them." His expression turns grim as he dashes toward Konoha. "Wait, Naruto! Your mom and others are fine. Try to sense their presence with Sage mode." "Alright!" Shiing Orange pigmentation appears around Naruto''s eyes while his eyes gain a toad-like feature. "Senjutsu: First Stage Transformation," Naruto opens his eyes and senses the chakra of Konoha shinobi trapped within the giantary sphere. He notices the outer wall of the sphere slowlypressing the barrier around Konoha. "I have to hurry up and save them. At this rate at this rate they will end up" He clenches his fists. "I will destroy this jutsu using my new technique!" He makes up his mind and stretches his palm. Whoosh An orange orb of chakra takes shape in his palm. Naruto continues to pump more chakra in the jutsu as the orange Rasengan orb expands rapidly. "Naruto! You can''t destroy this jutsu from the outside. You have to defeat the caster of this jutsu to free Konoha from imprisonment." Kurama stops him. "Damn it! Where could he be hiding?" Naruto grits his teeth. He dispels his jutsu. "Oh! You are still here." Kakuzu and his grudges walk out of the cloud of dust and debris. "Hmm you are also a member of Akatsuki. So, you must know whose jutsu this is. If I beat you up, then I can stop this technique." Naruto makes up his mind. "Senjutsu: Second Stage Transformation," Numerous magatama markings appear all around Naruto''s body. A red cloak with ck mes covers his back. The Sclera in Naruto''s eyes changes to a plus sign. Shoom Ground cracks beneath Naruto''s feet. With a sh of orange, Naruto disappears from his position and appears in front of Kakuzu. "Not again! I still need some time toplete the ''Heaven Grudge Fear: Fusion." Bang Naruto coats his fists with orange chakra and punches Kakuzu. "Land Release: Rock Body," Kakuzu''s entire body turns gray as Naruto''s punch sends him flying. Pfft He spews out a mouthful of blood as multiple rock fragments split away from his body. Bang Naruto kicks the air and rises in the height. Bang He continues to kick and punch Kakuzu relentlessly. ''Uzumaki Barrage: Tenfold Combo," Swirl A giant Rasengan appears in Naruto''s hands. He smashes it on top of Kakuzu''s body, creating a gigantic crater on the ground. The intense chakra from the Rasengan disintegrates Kakuzu''s body into dust. Crack The mask of one of the grudges shatters. ''Water Release: Water Grudge clone Substitution,'' Kakuzu appears at the position of the water grudge. "You will pay for this! I have to sacrifice my water grudge." Kakuzu''s eyes turn red. Crack. Crack Riip The threads on his back rip apart. Swoosh swoosh swoosh Earth, Wind, and fire grudge enter his back. Eugh argh Kakuzu''s body balloons up. Multiple threads wriggle through his body like the infestation of a parasite. Kakuzu turns into a giant monster of almost twice his previous size. The mask around his mouth falls apart to reveal numerous stitches. Bleurgh The stitches around his mouth unzip. Kakuzu opens his mouth slightly to reveal the inner cross-section of his mouth as he speaks. "Earth Grudge Fear was a forbidden jutsu of Takigakure. It was a result of extensive research on living human test subjects and Kekkei Genkai bearers for almost a century. The end goal of this research was to create an ultimate weapon capable of utilizing every known jutsu in the shinobi world. The aim was to not just use every element, but every known and unknown elemental, Kekkei Genkai. However, despite centuries of research; Earth Grudge Fear was a wed technique. No matter how much I tried, I wasn''t able tobine two distinct elements to create a Kekkei Genkai Technique. But now, with the help of an artifact from the Otsutsuki ruins; I have advanced this technique, not just by one, but by two levels. Now I call it the ''Heaven Grudge Fear''." Shoom A white cone of extremely dense chakra gathers in Kakuzu''s mouth. "Behold the ultimate power of my ''Heaven Grudge Fear''." "Dust Release: Atomic Disintegration," "NARUTO! DODGE! DON''T ATTEMPT TO BLOCK THAT JUTSU!" Kurama yells in Naruto''s ears. Whoosh White light engulfs Naruto''s vision. A gigantic beam of white light shrouds a wide range area in front of Kakuzu''s body. The white cone disintegrates the surroundings, including the trees, rocks, dust, and even the ground to a molecr level. "He escaped!" Kakuzu raises his head and notices Naruto high up in the air. ''He used his enhanced strength to jump above the range of the jutsu. But now he is vulnerable while he is in mid-air.'' Kakuzu prepares to release another dust release, when Bang While in mid-air, Naruto kicks the air,pressing it beneath his feet to create apressed air pocket. He uses thispressed air pocket as a pedestal and changes his direction into mid-air. "I have to hold him in a ce!" Thebined Lightning and Yin Release spits a dark red lighting chain. The red lighting travels at an incredible pace and wraps around Naruto''s body. Tch Naruto grabs the lighting chain and pulls it towards himself. Swoosh The fused grudge flies toward Naruto. Naruto clenches his fist and coats it with the wind chakra as he prepares to punch the fused grudge. "Damn it! I have to eat a loss. I will sacrifice both Yin and Lightning grudge with him. I will extract the nine-tails from his remains." Kakuzu makes up his mind and infuses more chakra into his mouth. "Dust Release: Mass Extinction Ray," Chapter 386: Sasuke vs Hidan Part-1 Chapter 386: Sasuke vs Hidan Part-1 A/N:- Hello everyone, my new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. It will be my next big story after this story ends and thus will rece this book as one of the major book. Go check it out, currently there are only two chapters so far and I will update chapters every two days. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ "Dust Release: Mass Extinction Ray," The stitches around Kakuzu''s mouth snap. The condensed dust release chakra takes the shape of a cone and discharges into an ultra-fast beam toward Naruto. The beam engulfs Naruto within it. "Brat! Die for me." Kakuzu''s hoarse voice echoes from the side holes in his mouth. "Tailed beast Rasenshuriken," Three orange chakra arms appear behind Naruto. An immensely dense sphere of blue and red chakra orbs gathers in the chakra arms. One of the chakra arms handles the shape transformation and shapes it into a sphere. The second arm adds wind nature to the dense-tailed beast ball. Swirl swirl A spiral of wind gathers around the tailed beast ball and forms a giant wind shuriken around it. The Third Chakra arm holds the jutsu in ce by stabilizing the surrounding chakra. Haah Naruto destroys the lighting-yin grudge fusion as the chakra arm smashes the tailed beast Rasenshuriken in the dust release beam. BOOM A massive sphere of white energy shrouds the entire battlefield. A massive, turbulent wavelike vortex of red and blue energy pushes rips through the white beam of the dust release and heads towards Kakuzu. "It can''t be this chakra" For the first time during the battle, Kakuzu feels a sense of fear. "I have to I have to avoid it all costs. If not, I will certainly die!" Swoosh swoosh Four shadow clones appear beside Kakuzu and grab his body, preventing him from escaping. "When did he" A memory shes through Kakuzu''s mind as he recalls Naruto''s earlier shadow clones. "He set me up. The weapons of those clones were also shadow clones using transformation jutsu to transform into kunais." The red vortex of the chakra engulfs Kakuzu''s body. Poof poof poof Naruto''s clones disperse from the attack. BOOM A massive red spherical vortex of chakra engulfs the surrounding forest and hill. Within the vortex, razor-sharp red des pierce through Kakuzu''s body. The jutsu obliterates his entire body into dust, not even ashes are left behind. Phew An exhausted Naruto falls to the ground. "I might not becking inbat prowess and chakra, but I amcking inbat experience. I will rx a little to recover some chakra." Naruto plops on the ground. ------------------------------ On the other side of the vige, Sasuke confronts Hidan. He recalls the information about the immortal Akatsuki member Hidan. ''ording to the information collected by Izuna Nii-san, this guy is semi-immortal. Any physical or ninjutsu attack will only cause temporarily harm to him. He can survive even after his head is beheaded. The only effective way is to seal him. Also, I have to beware of his curse technique. If I lose even a single drop of blood, he can use it to cast a blood-controlling puppet curse on me. During this time, any fatal wound he inflicts on himself will reflect on me.'' Sasuke sorts the information and formtes abat strategy against Hidan. ''The information about him might be urate, but it''s almost five years old. I have to take some uncertain factors into my consideration. Five years is a lot to learn, many new techniques. I have to avoid any contact with him at all costs.'' Sasuke wields a kunai in his left hand and the Kusanagi de in his right hand. "Ah Haha" Hidanughs hysterically. "Let''s savor the utmost of suffering together!" Swoosh Hidan takes a step forward and in the next instant, he appears in front of Sasuke with his scythe aimed at Sasuke''s neck. "He''s fast!" ng Sasuke deflects the scythe with his kunai. Ding Ding Sasuke and Hidan engage in closebat. Sasuke deflects multiple attacks from Hidan and shes his body with the Kusanagi de, inflicting multiple de wounds on Hidan''s body. sh He shes Hidan''s neck with his Kusanagi de. Ding Hidan parries Sasuke''s de with a dagger. He rotates his dagger in his palm and stabs it toward Sasuke''s legs. Swoosh Sasuke jumps back and avoids the dagger. Hidan''s dagger stabs into the ground. "Hehe you are pretty good, but" A smirk appears on Hidan''s face. Spurt Blood spurts out from a cut on Sasuke''s face. "What? How? I am sure I dodged it." Sasuke wipes the blood from his face ''How did he hit me?'' Hmm He narrows his eyes and notices the de stabbed in the shadow. ''He stabbed my shadow, and the damage reflected on my body.'' Hehe ''Curse Technique: Pain inflicting Possessed Shadow'' He lifts his dagger and stabs it toward Sasuke''s shadow. Swoosh Sasuke jumps back and narrowly avoids his shadow from being pierced. ''He stabbed me and made me bleed, which means he has my blood.'' Sasuke nces at Hidan''s dagger. ''There is no blood in it, but how? Wait he didn''t directly stab me, he stabbed my shadow.'' Shiing Sasuke activates his Sharingan and pays attention to Hidan''s movements. ''He has yet to reveal all of his techniques. I was careless the first time, I have to pay more attention. I will maintain my distance and use long-range jutsu against him.'' Swoosh Sasuke retreats further and makes some quick hand signs. "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique," Sasuke spits out a gigantic fire dragon towards Hidan. Roar The fire dragon engulfs Hidan and drowns him in a firestorm. "Hot! Hot! Damn it, I don''t like the feeling of being roasted alive!" Hidan walks out of the jutsu unscathed. He shrugs off the remnants of fire from his slightly charred body. A portion of his charred skin is regenerating at an immense speed. His Akatsuki robe has turned into cinders to reveal a priest''s robe beneath them. "Lightning Release: Chidori Raikiri Spear," Sasuke throws out a giant lighting spear toward Hidan. Stab The lightning spear pierces through Hidan''s heart. Bleurgh Hidan pukes out blood from his mouth as he holds the lightning spear in his hand. "This this is the feeling. It hurts good. This feeling of pain this is best!" Kuhaha He pukes out another mouthful of blood on the ground. He pulls out the lightning spear from his body and destroys it with his hands. "Our suffering and pain shall be mutual!" p Hidan ps his palm and makes a ritual circle on the ground with the blood he puked earlier. He draws the Jashin symbol with two inverted triangles crisscrossing each other on the ground. "Cursed Possession: Death Reaper Form," Hidan gains a reaper-like appearance with ck skin and white bone markings all over his body. "Death is the ultimate destiny of every living thing! And Lord Jashin is the one who lords over it." Swoosh Hidan steps forward and disappears from Sasuke''s sight. Sasuke looks around with his Sharingan. "Where is he? Where he could be?" "I am right beside you!" Hidan jumps out from Sasuke''s shadow and attacks him with his scythe. Swoosh Sasuke jumps back and avoids the fatal blow from the scythe. A grin appears on Hidan''s face. ''Not good! My shadow" Stab Hidan stabs the short dagger through Sasuke''s shadow. Spurt A hole appears in Sasuke''s shoulder. Argh Sasuke moans in pain and jumps back to retreat. "You think you can run from me?" Whoosh Hidan disappears from Sasuke''s sight and reappears from his shadow. sh He shes Sasuke''s neck with his scythe. ng Sasuke deflects the scythe with one hand and punches Hidan''s body with the other. Bang A fist mark appears on Hidan''s stomach as Sasuke''s punch pushes him back. Bleurgh Sasuke pukes out a mouthful of blood as a simr punch mark appears on his stomach. His fist also turns ck as some sort of toxin spread through it. ''Damn it! I can''t even touch him in that form. Any physical attack I deal on him is reflected on me.'' Sasuke takes out a detoxification pill from his storage and eats it to detoxify the poison. "Haha it hurts good, doesn''t it? Your attacks turned against you?" Hidan creeps into the ground and disappears from his position. "Not again!" Shiing "Mangekyo Sharingan," A pattern of three intersecting red ellipses appears in his eyes. "Amaterasu," Blood leaks from Sasuke''s eyes as he burns his own shadow. Argh Aah Hidan jumps out of his shadow with his entire body shrouded by ck mes. At the same time, Rumble Rumble The ground beneath him trembles. A gigantic ck Tai Chi symbol appears on the ground. He raises his head and notices a simr white Tai Chi symbol in the sky. "This is not good!" Swoosh He turns around and escapes out of the giant formation. Rumble Rumble The ground where he was previously standing rises from the ground and floats around the eight massiveary bodies. Rumble rumble The ground split apart as the entire Konoha floats in the sky. "Such a powerful technique" Sasuke''s eyes widen to the core. Chapter 387: Sasuke vs Hidan Part-2 Chapter 387: Sasuke vs Hidan Part-2 A/N:- Hello everyone, my new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ Sasuke notices the massive flow of chakra from allary cores to the giant formation. He witnesses some cracks in the barrier around Konoha and the massive amount of rocks and sediments depositing around the barrier. "I am afraid only Izuna Nii-san can counter something of this scale with his Fuinjutsu techniques." He shakes his head and focuses his attention on the Hidan who just casually walked out of the dust and debris. The curse marks around his body have faded. "That was one hell of a Fire Release jutsu. For a moment, I thought I might die for real this time." Hidan cracks his neck and res at Sasuke. "Kid, that was a really cool technique. Now, it''s my turn." Sasuke ps his palm and enters Sage Mode. A purple pigmentation appears around his eyes. "Lord Jashin, I pledge this offering to you." Hidan removes his upper priest garment. The symbol of Jashinism is engraved on his chest. Hidan pulls out the short dagger from earlier. Sasuke pays close attention to Hidan''s every action. ''The curse techniques of this guy follow some weird and unknown principle and sharply deviate from the regr elemental as well as Yin-Yan release. It''s like he using an entirely different type of energy.'' Sasuke notices the Jashinism symbol with the inverted triangle contained within a circle on the hilt of the short dagger. "Lord Jashin!" Hidan holds the dagger with both hands and brings it in front of him. "Jujutsu: Seppuku Ultimate Blood Sacrifice Rite," Puchi Hidan stabs the blood demon dagger in the center of the triangle at the position of his heart. Bleurgh He pukes out a mouthful of blood on the ground. Hidan''s eyes turn white and his body turns limp. His blood vessels be visible as the dagger absorbs the entire blood in his body. Chills run through Sasuke''s spine as he has an ominous foreboding. A pupil appears in the center of the triangle on the blood demon dagger. Swish Hidan''s eyes turn red. He drags out the blood demon dagger from his heart. Slosh slosh Arge amount of blood sshes out of his body and dyes the ground red. Lubdub lubdub A heart is still beating on the de of the blood demon dagger. The heart melds into the de and several blood vessels appear on the dagger. The size of the de grows bigger as the blood vessels grow around the dagger and morph into a crimson de. Blood red aura pulsates around the blood demon de. Hidan''s entire body turns ck. His hairs turn blood red and a giant eye appears in the center of his chest. A deep voice escapes from his mouth. "Finally, I finally have a vessel of my own. Now, this world will be mine to rule. Haha" Sasuke is rooted on the spot as the sight of the blood demon instills fear in his body. ----------------------- High up in the sky, The purple and ck-cloaked figure silently stares at the ongoing battle in Konoha. "A toddler can cause more destruction than these pathetic mortals. These mortals they are" The purple-cloaked chuckles at the sight of their battle. He stops midway after feeling an icy gaze on his back. "Why are you so interested in the battle of such a scale?" The ck-cloaked figure ignores him and turns his attention to the situation below. "Woah I didn''t expect that. These guys raided a tomb or something. Why do they have these ancient Otsutsuki weapons with them? Wait, could these be the remains of the battle from the Numen Era?" The purple cloaked seemingly answers his own question. "Hmm that seems to make sense. It was during the battle of the Numen era that the universe was fragmented into numerous worlds and dimensions. To think that this small-scale world has another of those old ruins. Now, these further pique my curiosity about this world. Oh! You also seem to" "SHUT UP!" The purple figure turns silent and focuses his attention on the battle. After a while, he ispletely immersed in the battle of the mortals. "Tch what a waste of such arge amount of energy? This is such a rough way to handle this formation. He can''t even bring about ten percent power of this formation." The purple-cloaked figure shakes his head in disgust when the Tai Chi symbols engulf the entire Konoha. "Hmm a protective barrier. This barrier is pretty decent for a world of this standard, but the use of Fuinjutsu seals is very coarse and there are multiple errors in it. Even a beginner wouldn''t make many rookie mistakes. However, looking at the standard of this world, I will ignore such rough work for now." The purple-cloaked figure has tant disgust on his face. "No one will think you are a mute if you didn''t run your mouth for a while." The ck-cloaked figure rebukes him. "Haha don''t mind me. I am just stating facts." He chuckles and turns his attention to the battle between Jiraiya and Pain. "A bearer of Otsutsuki bloodline! No even a mosquito in the Otsutsuki household will have a thicker bloodline than this guy." He turns his attention away from the Pain and stares in a distance. "So, that''s where you are hiding? Hmm something is not right! The spiritual signals from his body and his eyes are different. These aren''t his eyes. Now all of this makes sense. No wonder he has such pathetic control. Well, whatever, it''s not my business, anyway." He shrugs his shoulder and turns his attention to the battle. "Oh, Senjutsu! These animals can use Senjutsu." The purple-cloaked figure is surprised by the toad''s usage of Senjutsu. "Well, Senjutsu wasn''t originally created for such a purpose and these people are only scrapping the basics of it. So, it doesn''t matter. However, I have to praise them for their creativity. Even I didn''t think of such a method to use this energy. No wonder no wonder those Otsutsuki are harvesting these small worlds. There is much to gain from them." He turns his attention from Jiraiya and Pain''s battle to Naruto and Kakuzu''s battle. "Oh, that''s an interesting battle. One of them hosts sentimental nature energy with traces of Origin energy, while the other is using a wed low-level puppet maniption technique from the Astral Demon n. Despite his im of perfection, he is still missing about seventy percent of the original technique. And that technique too is obsolete after a certain level." He chuckles and turns his attention to the battle between Sasuke and Hidan. When Hidan transforms into his reaper form. "Hmm I seem to have seen this symbol somewhere before. I can''t seem to recall it, though." Hidan performs Seppuku and pierces his heart with the blood demon dagger and transforms into a demon. "This this stench no wonder NO WONDER!" For the first time, rage appears in the purple-cloaked figure''s kaleidoscopic eyes. "So, this filthy human was a vessel of that damn traitor!" The purple-cloaked figure grits his teeth. The goofiness from earlier disappears. Swoosh He disappears from his ce and reappears in front of the transformed Hidan. "This damn fool! Interfering in matters he should stay away from." A simr kaleidoscopic pattern appears in the ck figure''s eyes. "kuninushi: Zettai no Jikan no Okure," (Authority of Time Lord: Absolute Time Dtion,) [A/N: - I couldn''t find a fitting Shinto god with the authority of the time, so I have to settle with this one.] As soon as the purple-cloaked figure appears in front of the transformed Hidan, the time of the entire worldes to a pause. "What''s going on?" The blood demon stares around in curiosity. He turns towards the purple-cloaked figure and questions him. "Are you the one responsible for this? The purple-cloaked figure removes his hood to reveal his kaleidoscopic eyes. The eyes of the blood demon narrow to the extreme. "This this pattern you are a descendant of the Royal family of the Astral Demon n. Wait, that face! You are the prince. What are you doing in such a backwater world?" "So, you do recognize me; you a filthy traitor?" The face of the purple-cloaked figure hardens. "I would like to pay you back a hundred times for the sin youmitted back then. However, this body of yours is just a vessel that you can change anytime. However, that doesn''t mean I can''t harm your real body." The purple-cloaked figure clenches his fist. The kaleidoscopic pattern in his eye flickers slightly. "Authority of the Death Lord: Malevolent Curse of Osiris," Shiing A dark ck Ankh brand appears in front of the purple-cloaked figure. The brand enters the body of the blood demon. "What did you do to me?" The blood demon panics slightly. "You will know soon." The purple-cloaked figure murmurs and turns to the ck-cloaked figure. Smoke rises from the blood demon''s figure. The transformationes undone, and a frozen Hidan with the blood demon dagger and a hole around his heart appears in front of them. Fwoosh The ck Jashin symbol on his chest fades away. "Aren''t you going to do something? You also hold a grudge against that bastard." The purple-cloaked man questions the ck-cloaked man. "I already did. I slightly modified your death god curse." "You you can even do that!" The eyes of the purple-cloaked figure narrow. "Now, we can track his location and exact our vendetta." The ck-cloaked figure replies with an unfriendly look. Chapter 388: Itachi Vs Deidara Chapter 388: Itachi Vs Deidara A/N:- Merry X-mas everyone. I wish everyone a fulfilling and joyous holiday. My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ "Huh! What happened just now?" Sasuke nkly stares at Hidan. ''Did his ritual somehow fail?'' Sasuke recalls the terrifying pressure he felt earlier. The sense of dread and the feeling of powerlessness are still clear in his mind. It felt like his fate, his life, and his death aren''t in his own hands anymore. His existence is as fragile as a soap bubble that the mere whims of that figure can extinguish it. ''Was that the god this guy prayed to?'' Sasuke stares at Hidan''s nk figure. ''But did he fail mid-way for some reason?'' Bleurgh Hidan spews out a mouthful of blood. "What what''s going on? Why I can''t sense the power of Lord Jashin anymore? Bleurgh He spews out another mouthful of blood. Crack Multiple cracks appear on the blood demon dagger in his hands. Snap The drags break into multiple fragments and turn into dust. "Lord Jashin lord Jashin, have you forsaken your devout believer? Why can''t I sense your presence anymore?" Spurt Blood spurts out from the wound in Hidan''s chest. Hidan''s eye turns white as his life slowly drains out from his body. "Lll lord Jashin!" Hidan dies from excessive blood loss. Sasuke nkly stares at Hidan''s body for a while. His trembling legs give up as he falls to the ground from mental and spiritual exhaustion. Snap The Akatsuki ring on Hidan''s finger snaps in fragments and disappears. Hmm Another Akatsuki member has fallen. ck Zetsu stares in the direction of Hidan. ''I wonder who is next!'' ---------------- BOOM A cloud of dust, smoke, and debris rises in the air as Deidara detonates the y centipede. Hmm Deidara frowns and inserts some chakra in his left mechanical eye. The entire world turns in a shade of red. He looks around and notices Itachi in a different ce. "So, you managed to escape from that explosion? Was it the substitution jutsu or the shadow clone jutsu?" He smirks. Itachi nces at the glowing red eye of Deidara. He jumps out of the shadows and makes some hand signs. "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu," He spews out a giant fire dragon towards Deidara. Roar The dragon roars and engulfs Deidara''s body. Hehe "C3" Deidara smirks. His figure melts up in response to the heat from the fire jutsu. The yellow putty-like explosive y hardens and glows with a bright light. BOOM A bright sh of light engulfs the surrounding forest. An outward explosion of immense heat and light energy expands to form a sphere in the center of the explosion. Bleurgh Itachi jumps out of the explosion with tattered clothes. He spits out a mouthful of blood and falls to the ground. "I am just getting started and you are already acting like this!" Deidara smirks and ps his hands together. "C4 Karura" Gray y appears in his hands. He opens his mouth and bites the y. Soon, Deidara gobbles up the y. His skin turns gray and balloons up to a massive scale. Deidara turns into a humongous giant, the size of a small hill. Poof Poof His body explodes into white smoke and covers arge amount of air. Shiing Itachi activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and notices countless microscopic birds flooding the entire area like parasites. "Now, die!" Deidara, who has been floating on top of a giant y dragon the entire time, makes a snake hand seal. "Turn into dust and witness the grandness of my art. Haha" Itachi''s body starts to slowly dissipate into the surroundings. There is a calm expression on his face as he speaks. "Are you sure about this?" As soon as Itachi speaks these words, the entire world around Deidara shatters like a ss fragment. "How how could it be? I should be immune to Genjutsu. How how did you do it?" He stares into Itachi''s red eyes with despair. "Were you relying on this?" Itachi opens his palm and reveals a red eyeball-like device. "You when did you?" Deidara touches his left eye. He can still feel the glowing red device in his eyes. "What what''s going on?" For the first time, fear ovees Deidara. "Sometimes the reality is an illusion and the illusion REALITY!" Shiing Itachi''s eyes spin rapidly. "Tsukuyomi," Crack crack Deidara''s left eye explodes, and a burst of blood leaks out from the empty eye socket. "When just when! I didn''t even make eye contact with you." Deidara weakly questions Itachi. "Genjutsu is an illusion technique that affects the target by controlling the flow of chakra in their cerebral nervous system. Uchihas are capable of casting a powerful genjutsu through mere eye contact with their Sharingan. But who said that only eye contact is the sole method to cast a genjutsu?" Itachi slowly walks towards Deidara. Tap Tap Tap His footsteps have a rhythm to them. "The footsteps, sound you fooled me!" Deidara''s expression turns ugly. "During that time, my Sharingan was just a distraction. You could prepare a counter for my Sharingan but didn''t anticipate another method, did you?" Itachi calmly stares into Deidara''s eye. "Damn you those eyes they are looking down on my art again! I will never forgive you." Deidara rips apart his cloak to reveal a gigantic mouth near his heart. He undoes the stitches on the mouth. "You shall witness my ''Ultimate Art'', the ultimate creation of death. The supreme art of explosion! A never seen before explosion. Deidara rips apart the mouths on his hand and feeds them to the mouth on his chest. LUBDUB lubdub Deidara''s heart rate increases exponentially. Arge amount of chakra gathers around his heart. "I will paint thisst piece of art with my life as the only color. Because ''ART IS AN EXPLOSION!'' LUBDUB The mouth near his heart kneads the chakra from his entire body. His flesh and blood turn into fuel for the explosion. Deidara''s blood vessels and meridians dry up and wrap around the mouth to create a sphere. The explosive chakra manifests within his heart and the sphere slowly cracks up and detonates the entire explosive chakra,posed of chakra and life force. "Deidara, this bastard!" The ck Zetsu clone, who has been hiding and monitoring the battle during this entire time, spews out profanities and tunnels through the ground. BOOM A gigantic pir of light spanning several hundred meters in height appears at ground zero. The light pir rapidly expands and engulfs the surroundingnd and continues to move toward the giantary sphere of Konoha. "At this rate, it will engulf the entire vige in this terrifying explosion." Itachi, who has been shielding himself with Susanoo and Yata shield, stares at the explosion with worry. "I will attempt to seal this explosion with my Totsuka de." He summons the Totsuka de and pierces it through the light pir. A gourd appears at the handle of the Totsuka de. The gourd pulls the energy of the explosion towards itself. The fiery red de slowly turns cyan. Some cracks appear on the gourd as it continues to absorb the explosion. "I hope it will be able tost long enough to seal this explosion." Soon, the entire Totsuka de turns cyan. Itachi quickly seals the Totsuka de in a scroll and deflects the rest of the explosion with his Yata shield. Huff He dispels his Susanoo and falls to the ground. Bleurgh Itachi spits out a mouthful of blood. ''Sealing that massive amount of uncontroble energy took a toll on my body. I won''t be able to move for a while.'' Itachi rests against a tree and closes his eyes. ''Shisui, Naruto, Sasuke I will leave the rest to you.'' Chapter 389: Might Guy Vs Sasori Part-1 Chapter 389: Might Guy Vs Sasori Part-1 A/N:- Hello everyone, my new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ "This time, I will get my revenge." Sasori summons the Third Kazekage puppet to battle against Might Guy. Swish swish Sasori weaves his fingers through the air and attaches several chakra strings to the Third Kazekage Puppet. ck ck The Kazekage puppet opens its mouth and releases a barrage of poisonced senbons towards Guy. "Leaf Gust," Might Guy kick the ground and spin around to release a powerful gust of wind from his kick. Swoosh The wind gust blows away the senbons. The Kazekage puppet stretches its palm to reveal a chamber with a weapon-summoning seal. Swish swish A barrage of kunai attacks Guy from multiple directions. "This reminds me of my student, Tenten!" ''Leaf Great Whirlwind,'' Guy spins and delivers a series of kicks in the air. The powerful pressure from his kicks creates a gigantic protective whirlwind around him. The whirlwind blocks and deflects the iing barrage of kunais. Fwoosh A tube-like appendage appears beneath the Kazekage puppet''s palm. The tube releases a concentrated purple smoke toward Guy at the moment he ends his spin. The dense cloud of purple fog shrouds Guy. Cough cough Guy coughs slightly and jumps out of the purple fog. He delivers a roundhouse and disperses the purple fog approaching him. "Poison!" Guy frowns as he is slowly losing sensation in his body. "This is one of the most powerful poisons in the Shinobi world. It''s one of my finest creations, a masterpiece indeed. No one, not even the Fifth Hokage known for exceptional medical skills, can counter this poison." Guy falls to the ground as the poison slowly spreads across his body. Tch He grits his teeth and pops out a pill from his storage. ''I hope the pill works.'' Color returns to Guy''s face as the effects of the poison recede slightly. Cough cough Guy coughs out some purple mist from his mouth. He regains his mobility and slowly stands up. "WHAT? What''s going on? How could you dispel my poison so easily? It has been not long since I prepared my poison, and yet you already have an antidote for it." Sasori''s puppet res at Guy. ''So, Izuna was right. This antidote can indeed treat all toxins.'' Guy heaves a sigh of relief. ''The poison was so toxic that I only inhaled a few fumes and yet I was poisoned to such a degree. If I took a breath of that purple fog, then I might have already died without even getting a chance to take the antidote pill. Still, I can''t bring out my full strength for a couple of minutes.'' Guy takes a Taijutsu stance and warily stares at the Kazekage puppet. "The medical skills of the Konoha shinobi are truly exceptional. They even developed an anti-dote that can work against most poisons, including the powerful ones." Sasori sees through Might Guy''s condition with a single nce. "Even so, I am sure you can''t draw your full strength for a while. That''s more than enough to finish you off." ck Sasori waves his hands. The right arm of the puppet turns into a spinning de. A burst of red energy coats the de, turning it into a giant spinning cutter. Saori slightly weaves his arm, and anotherpartment opens on the left arm of the puppet. A chainsaw pops out of thepartment. The de glows with red energy and slices through the nearby rocks like a knife cutting through tofu. Sasori waves his hands and a nozzle opens on the back of the puppet. Bzzt Boom A burst of fire escapes from the nozzle, soaring the speed of the puppet. The upper body of the puppet spins rapidly and creates a giant, red, spinning vortex. Swish swish Guy throws multiple kunais and shurikens toward the puppet. sh sh The energy de shes through them and closes on Might Guy. Guy crosses his arms in front of his body. "Eight Inner gates: Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain: Open," Guy''s skin turns red, and a green aura surrounds him. His hairs rise in the air due to the massive influx of chakra. Guy''s muscles swell up, boosting his physical strength to another level. "Violent-Leaf Adamantine- Strength Whirlwind," Guy spins and delivers a powerful roundhouse kick by focusing the green aura on his leg. BANG The spinning red energy des and Guy''s kick sh with each other. Sparks rise from the metal as Guy''s aura kicks grind against the de. HAAH Guy infuses more aura into the de and pushes even himself further. nk ng The des snap in half and the arms of the puppet are blown away by Guy''s powerful kick. Tch Sasori clicks his tongue and weaves his hand. Click cluck Anotherpartment opens on the shoulder of the puppet to reveal several summoning seals. "Release," The seals glow simultaneously and summon thousands of simr arms. The overwhelming number of arms drowns Guy. HUAHHH Guy roars and pumps up his chakra. "Violent-Leaf Adamantine- Coiling Whirlwind," A massive whirlwind infused with a green aura erupts around him. The massive whirlwind blows away all the arms into small chunks and fragments. Heh Sasori smirks. BANG A massive pir of iron sand drops on top of Might Guy, crushing him beneath with a massive force. Arge amount of dust and debris rise in the surrounding. A sizeable crater forms at the point of impact. Sasori calmly stares at the giant crater. "I thought it will be a bit more challenging, but that was easier than I expected." Rumble Rumble Tremors run across the ground. The massive pir of Sand rocks sideways. "Fifth Gate: Gate of Limit: Open," BANG Might Guy deal a devastating blow to the iron sand pir. The pir is pushed up into the air and crumbles into iron dust. An intense green aura surrounds Might Guy. Huff Huff Guy huffs slightly as he jumps out of the crater. ''I am still affected by the poison. It''s interfering with the opening of my gates.'' Haha hehe Sasori bursts out in a fit ofughter. "It would be too underwhelming if it ends like that. Everything was an appetizer till now, from now onwards the real show begins." "Iron Sand Drizzle," The iron sand around the third Kazekage puppet splits andpresses into multiple, smaller, bullet-like spheres. The minuscule orbs harden even further with the alignment from the maic field and repellent force from the maic field shoots them toward Might Guy like explosive shells. BOOM BOOM BOOM The hardened iron bullets bombard the vast area around Might Guy, closing his every route for escape. Clench Guy clenches his teeth and smashes his fist on the ground. "Dynamic Earth Shifting," Using his powerful strength, Guy lifts a massive chunk of earth from the ground and uses it as a protective shield to block the barrage of iron bullets. BANG BANG BANG The bullet barragests for a minute, raising a cloud of dust and debris in the process. The dust settles down to reveal a beehive-like structure in front of the Kazekage puppet. The massive chunk of the earth in front of Guy has long crumbled into dust. They are numerous holes in the ground and surrounding boulders. The surrounding forest seems reminiscent of the arrival of a termite apocalypse. Huff Huff Guy is hiding behind a boulder. Blood leaks from the injuries on his forehead and arms. He quickly takes out a healing and rejuvenation pill to heal his wounds and recover his stamina. ''The poison has beenpletely dispelled from my body. I can use my full strength now.'' "Still, not dead!" Sasori weaves his fingers. "Iron Sand Gathering Assault," Numerous sand particles gather around the Kazekage puppet. The sand particles condense into multiple high-density constructs like arrows, spears, swords, and numerous other weapons. Fwoosh Arge number of weapons overwhelm Might Guy. Guy clenches his fists. "Violent-Leaf Adamantine- Rising Dragon Falling Star," He rotates his hands and legs in a yin-yang pattern and releases the gathered green aura in his body in the shape of a dragon. "Rising Dragon" ROAR The green dragon roars and engulfs the iing iron sand constructs into iron sand. It continues to proceed towards Sasori. "Damn it!" Sasori grits his teeth. A massive amount of chakra gathers around the Kazekage puppet. "Iron Sand World Order," A gigantic sphere of iron spikes branches out from the Kazekage''s body. The iron dust aligns with the maic chakra of the earth and crisscrosses into an unpredictable cage-like structure, trapping the green dragon within it. Guy rotates his arm in a falling motion and ms them on the ground. " Falling Star," BOOM The massive dragon releases a roar and explodes. The explosion blows away the massive cage of iron sand and engulfs Sasori with it. Rumble Rumble Ground trembles from the shockwaves released by the jutsu. Wham The magatama bead at their position rises in the air and a giant ck and white Tai Chi formation appears on the ground and sky. "I have a bad feeling about this!" Trusting his gut feelings, Guy immediately flees from the sphere of influence of the Tai Chi formation. Chapter 390: Might Guy Vs Sasori Part-2 Chapter 390: Might Guy Vs Sasori Part-2 A/N:- Hello everyone, my new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ Rumble Rumble The dust from the formation settles down to reveal the massiveary size heavenly body. "That is" Guy stares at the giant sphere with wide eyes. "Just what''s going on? Where is Konoha?" He stares at the massive crater at the previous location of Konoha. Tap Tap Sound of footsteps echoes in Guy''s ears. He turns his attention to the footsteps and notices Sasori slowly walking toward him. "Now now I didn''t expect that. It has been a while indeed since Ist used myself." Click ck Sasori''s mechanical figure stands off against Guy. ''This Guy is also a puppet?'' Guy enters in a Taijutsu stance. "Recently, I acquired a very powerful technique from an advanced civilization and since then I have made several modifications to myself. But that''s not all I have acquired an arsenal of highly advanced puppets. I was reluctant to use them in battle since those puppets are a state-of-the art. But now now I want to appreciate that art in the battle." The puppet Sasori pulls out a scroll from his back. Poof Poof Ten humanoid puppets appear beside Sasori. Sasori makes a hand seal to activate the puppets. "Release," The eyes of the puppets glow slightly and they quickly surround Guy. "This is the ultimate art of puppeteer, self-aware autonomous puppets." Sasori stretches out his hand, and the puppet follows his head. A dense ball of chakra gathers in their palm. Fwoosh fwoosh BOOM BOOM The puppets bombard Guy with multiple exploding chakra spheres. Swoosh Guy jumps out of the encirclement with his arms crossed around his body. He closes the distance with a puppet and clenches his fist to punch the puppet. ck ng The puppets block his fist with their own fist. "What?" Guy delivers a roundhouse kick and escapes from the grasp of the puppet. "Violent-Leaf Adamantine- Strength Whirlwind," Click A nozzle appears on Sasori''s palm. An orange kanji symbol for ''Fire'' appears on Sasori''s chest. The nozzle spews out a dense mass of crimson mes and blocks Guy''s path of retreat. The mes engulf the surrounding area, creating a giant wall of mes. Click The orange Kanji symbol turns to cyan for ''Wind''. Swoosh The nozzles spew out a cyan-colored wind tornado. The wind tornado mixes up with the crimson mes to produce a gigantic tornado of fire, further restricting Guy''s movements. Sweat trickles down from Guy''s forehead as the immense heat stings his body. The marite puppets summoned by Sasori engage in closebat with Guy and slowly chip away at his stamina. Every time Guynds a blow on the puppets, his fists tremble slightly. ''Just what are they made of? Every time I hit them; I feel half of the pain from my punch. Also, their bodies are so tough that I can''t even deal any damage to them. I will blow away this wall of fire, confining my movements first. It''s slowing me down.'' Haaah Guy crosses his arms around his chest. "Sixth Gate: Gate of View: Open," Dark green aura with a slight mix of blue wraps around Guy. The shockwaves released by the opening of the gate blow away the marite puppets and the wall of mes engulfing him. Nearby rocks and boulders turn into dust by the powerful pressure emanating from his body. A giant crater appears on the ground at his position. Whoosh Guy''s speed increases by another notch. He appears in front of a marite puppet and rapidly punches it. "Asakujaku," A peacock-like fan of mes appears behind the puppet as the barrage of super-fast punches sets the air aze. Haah Guy recedes his fist even further and gathers the entire aura of his body into his fist. BANG His punch explodes on the marite''s body and a gigantic fire phoenix appears behind it. The marite puppet lodges into the ground and the light in its eyes dims down. There is an exposed core on its chest at the point of impact. ''I seem to have seen this puppet somewhere before!'' Huff Huff Guy breathes heavily after using such an intense Taijutsu move. He nces at the exposed core of the puppet. The puppet is slowly regenerating by using the energy from the core. Swoosh Guy appears on top of the puppet and shatters its core with his leg. He turns in the direction of Sasori and his marites. "One down, ten more to go!" Guy takes a deep breath and spreads the aura of Eight Gates around his body. Aura control was a technique taught to him by Izuna. The eight-gate formation is a powerful technique that removes the natural limiters of the body meant to protect it from overexerting itself. With each opened gate, the individual is given ess to more and more of their body''s chakra; thus greatly boosting their physical strength and speed. However, this increase in strengthes at a cost. Every time someone opens a gate, there is a loss in the life force of the individual. Usually, one can recover this lost life force through medicine and proper nutrition. The medicinal baths are meant for this purpose. Not only the bath heals the injuries sustained by the opening of the gates, but it also helps in the recovery of the lost life force. However, when an individual opens the gates above the fourth gate; a green glow emanates from their body. The glow gets brighter as more gates are opened. This green glow or aura is the life force of an individual. It creates a protective aura around the body to prevent it from crumbling apart. This green glow is present up to the six gates where it is the brightest. Once the seventh gate is opened, the life force emanates from the sweat pores of the body and its hue turns blue. Initially, Guy and even his father Duy, the creator of this technique, had no way to utilize the life force aura around the body. However, Izuna did extensive research on it and found it to be energy simr to the life force of the body. He named this energy ''Prana''. Aura control is a technique that utilizes ''Prana'' to enhancebat strength. Izuna remarked that this maniption is simr to nature energy. While nature energy is the energy of the surroundings, chakra is a form of the physical and spiritual energy of the body, prana is a pure form of life energy that acts as a gateway between chakra and Nature energy. Prana''s sole purpose is to aid the body in creating a more powerful chakra. However, it has another hidden effect of further boosting and concentrating the physical strength and defense of the body. Clench Guy clenches his fists and focuses the dense green aura on his fists and legs. He jumps in the air and while in mid-air, he kicks the air to move toward Sasori at an incredible speed. His powerful kicks create air pockets in the surroundings and Guy uses a pedestal to further increase his speed. BANG Guy intercepts the energy de of a puppet by focusing the aura on his fists. The energy de capable of slicing through the strongest chakra ore is blocked by the green aura around Guy''s fist. Guy grabs the wrist of the puppet and punches it at the position of its core. His hand pierces through the puppet''s body and destroys its core. "Not good! He figured out the weak spot of the puppet." Sasori''s expression turns sour. "I am left with no choice but to use that technique." Sasori opens apartment on the right side of his chest. Swish swish Multiple chakra strings emit from the hole in his chest. The chakra strings attach to the back of the puppets and pull them towards Sasori. ''It''s still iplete, but I will let you witness the glory of the first sentient puppet.'' Haah Sasori makes a Ram seal. ck ng ng The marites merge with Sasori''s body, acting as the core. Their body parts act as the limb of the new puppet, which is held together by numerous chakra strings from Sasori''s body. The countless chakra strings act as the meridian of the body. ng ng White lightning flickers through the puppet''s body parts as they fuse perfectly with each other and their cores shift towards the chest of the puppet. A gigantic mountain size mechanical construct assembles in front of Guy. "This is the ultimate art. The creation of Gods!" Two massive mechanical wings appear behind the giant puppet. Fwoosh The energy from the cores channels across the body of the puppet and creates a powerful barrier around it. Ding Guy''s full-strength punch produces a metallic sound at the point of impact. "Not it''s my turn!" BANG The puppets curl its giant hand in a fist and m it on top of Guy. Guy envelops his body with the aura and crosses his hands in front of his chest to block the punch. Chapter 391: Susanoo vs Shōmetsu Puppet Chapter 391: Susanoo vs Shmetsu Puppet A/N:- Hello everyone, my new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ Bang A gigantic crater forms at the ce of impact, burying Guy deep within the earth. The puppet raises its fist and punches the ground again. "It''s finally over!" The gigantic puppet turns around to leave. "It''s time for step two of the n." Rumble Rumble The ground beneath the puppet trembles. The gigantic mechanical puppet stops in its tracks. HAAH "Eight Inner Gates: Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder: Open," Rumble Rumble A giant pir of blue energy shoots out of the ground. The powerful force from the energy pushes away the nearby dust and debris. Haah Guy jumps out of the ground and aims for the puppet''s head. "You aren''t dead yet?" Sasori is surprised to see the still-alive Guy. "It doesn''t matter. This time I will finish you once and for all!" The puppet crosses its arms and creates an energy barrier to block Guy''s punch. BANG Guy''s punch produces tremendous shockwaves. He focuses the entire aura of his body in his fist and increases the force behind the attack. Rumble Rumble Keough Cracks appear on the energy shield as the powerful force of the punch pushes the giant puppet back. The shield of the puppet shatters, but the strength behind Guy''s punch also fades away. "Why won''t you die already?" Sasori swings the mechanical arms of the puppet and punches Guy away. Five elemental Halos with the chakra of each elemental nature appear behind the puppet. The lightning elemental halo appears in front of the puppet. The puppet raises its hand and channels a massive amount of energy through the lightning halo. A gigantic orb of lightning chakra gathers in the palms of the puppet. "Ksana Shmetsu," The puppet discharges the giant lightning orb toward Guy "DIE!" Guy stands up from the ground and warily stares at the iing orb of lightning. "This looks dangerous. I must avoid a direct hit!" Guy ces his right palm in front of his face. He taps his right-hand palm with his left hand and forms a double-handed fist. A massive amount of air pressure gathers behind the fist. Guy makes a tiger seal with his fingers and points it toward the iing sphere. "Hirudora," ROAR A gigantic tiger with blue horns jumps out of the massive air pressure. Guy adds some of his aura to the tiger to increase its power. ROAR The tiger leaps towards the iing sphere and pounces on it. A blinding sh of light engulfs Guy and the giant puppet as the two attacks sh against each other. BANG Guy is sent flying out of the sphere of the influence of the attack. His body lodges on the nearby hill. Blood leaks from Guy''s body as he is barely retaining consciousness. "Looks like I dislocated my right shoulder." Guy slightly winces in pain. Crack Snap Kakashi appears beside him and snaps the bone in its position. "It has been a while since I saw you that beaten up." Kakashi uses the basic medical technique to heal Guy''s wounds. "How is it on your end?" Guy weakly asks him. "It wasn''t that big of a deal. My opponent was very cowardly and kept running away most of the time. Once that thing showed up, he escaped." Kakashi points toward the giantary sphere floating in the air. ''''I heard an explosion at some distance away and thus decided to head in its direction. And then I saw that giant." Kakashi describes his experience to Guy. "It''s some kind of puppet from my observation. I don''t think your Hirudora is enough to take it down." Kakashi remarks. "I also think so. This puppet looks simr to the one we saw in the headquarters." Guy slowly stands up. "The Otsutsuki puppets?" Kakashi raises an eyebrow. "Hmm now wonder you look so beaten up, Guy senpai." Shisui flickers beside the duo. "How was it on your end?" Kakashi turns to Shisui. "It was the same opponent Kakashi senpai faced. It kept hiding in the ground and attempted to escape the moment that thing showed up. However, I managed to take it down." Shisui answers Kakashi''s question. Rumble Rumble The ground tremors as the sound of footsteps ring in their ears. Swoosh The giant puppet waves its hands to clear the cloud of dust and debris. The ground around the puppet is scorched beyond recognition. There is a massive ravine filled with lightning behind the puppet. Except for a few cracks in a few ces, the puppet ispletely fine. Shiing Shisui and Kakashi activate their Mangekyo Sharingan and prepare themselves for the battle. Swish swash A green rib-cage-like chakra construct surrounds the trio. Chakra bones and flesh materialize around the ribcage as the Susanoo progresses towardpletion. A humanoid figure forms out of the Susanoo, enveloping the trio within it. The iplete Susanoo wields two gigantic des and dashes toward the iing puppet. ng It blocks the fist of the puppet with one of its des and swings the other de to chop off the puppet''s head. ng An energy barrier appears around the puppet and blocks the chakra de of the Susanoo. Click ng A chamber opens on the chest of the puppet and gathers chakra in a canon-like weapon. Bang The Susanoo kicks the ground and creates some distance between itself and the puppet. It crosses the des and blocks the fire from the chakra cannon. The force from the cannon pushes it back. "It''s not over yet!" The elemental halos behind the puppet glow as Sasori channels a massive amount of chakra from the core toward them. "Cosmic Bombardment," The puppet releases multiple elemental bombs from the Halos behind its back. "This form might not be enough to defend an attack of such scale." Shisui infuses more chakra in his Susanoo. An armor appears around the Susanoo and two more arms erupt out of its back. The four arms cross around each other and gather chakra in them. Gigantic Mangekyo-shaped shurikens appear in each of its hands. Shisui infuses each shuriken with an elemental chakra type and throws them toward the iing barrage of elemental bombs. Swish swish swish The shurikens and bombs sh with each other and explode. More and more explosive elemental bombs fly toward the Susanoo. The Susanoo removes its arm to reveal a magatama-shaped orange symbol on its chest. Swoosh swoosh swoosh It releases a barrage of giant senbon needles toward the projectiles. A giant green chakra shield with burning mes appears in Susanoo''s left hand. BANG It ces the shield in front to block the attacks while shooting the chakra needles through the chakra shield. Multiple cracks appear on the shield and the arms of the Susanoo as the barrage of orbssts for a while. The impact of the attacks pushes Susanoo further and further. "Kakashi and Guy senpai how long will it take? At this rate, my chakra reserves won''tst long." "A few more moments!" Kakashi''s hurried reply echoes in Shisui''s ears. "I will also need a few more minutes to slightly recover some chakra and stamina." Guy replies to him. Tch Shisui clicks his tongue as he defends against the giant mechanical Puppet''s attacks. "It''s not over yet! More more" Giant mechanical wings appear behind the puppet. p p It ps them rapidly to create a tremendous air pressure that lifts the puppet in the air. The fire elemental Halo appears in front of the puppet. It infuses a massive amount of energy into the halo. Fwoosh The fire halo shines brightly and spits out a high-temperature beam of condensed fire energy toward the Susanoo. "Damn it! I won''t hold back any longer." Shisui grits his teeth. Shoom He infuses a massive amount of chakra in his Susanoo. "Complete Body Susanoo," A gigantic drill-likence appears in the right arm of the Susanoo and a giant green ming shield with an orange magatama symbol appears in the left hand of the Susanoo. The Susanoo gains a Yamabushi-like appearance with a Tengu head. The trio is moved to the head of the Susanoo from the initial position of the chest. BANG Shisui ms the gigantic ming shield in front of the Susanoo. "Yatagarasu Shield," Caw kraa A giant crow manifests in front of the ming shield and envelops the Susanoo in a protective barrier. The extremely dense beam of fire chakra pours on top of the protective shield. It scorches the nearby ground and razes any traces of vegetation to ashes. HAAH The Susanoo stabs the drill-likence toward the fire beam and disperses it with a single strike. p p Susanoo ps its gigantic wings and takes off to the sky. It reaches an even higher altitude than the mechanical puppet. Crimson mes appear on the drill-likence. The Susanoo aims it for the giant mechanical puppet and throws it with full force. "Meteor Strike," Fwoosh The mes engulf the entire giant drill-likence as it rapidly spirals toward the mechanical puppet. The sudden flight and increases in the output of power surprise Sasori. He hurriedly stacks the elemental haloyers on top of each other and creates a protective energy shield to block the iing spear. BOOM Chapter 392: A much awaited confrontation Chapter 392: A much awaited confrontation A/N:- Happy New Year Everyone. I hope all of your wishese true this year. My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ BOOM A gigantic explosion urs at the point of impact. Horizontal shockwaves travel through the sky, clearing the clouds on the horizon. The drill-like chakrance slowly prates through the energy barrier. Crack crack Multiple cracks appear in theyered barrier as Shisui infuses more chakra into the jutsu. Snap snap One by one, the stackedyers of the elemental barrier crack and crumble apart. The size of thence also reduces in size. Its current size is no bigger than a human-sized polearm. HAAAH Shisui infuses his remaining chakra in thence. With a final burst, thence pierces through thestyer of the barrier and dissipates. "Kakashi senpai, now!" "I am on it!" Kakashi, who has been infusing arge amount of chakra into his Mangekyo Sharingan, opens it. "KAMUI!!" He targets the Kamui at the chest of the puppet. Shoom A giant ck hole opens in the chest of the Shmetsu puppet. The ck hole pulls the protective armor of the puppet, exposing Sasori''s puppet body within it. Shisui''s Susanoo dissipates due to his low chakra reserve. The trio freely falls to the ground. "Guy! It''s also up to you." An exhausted Kakashi turns to Guy. "I have rested enough!" Guy crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Eight Inner Gates: Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder: Open," He directly opens the seventh gate while in mid-air. Guy kicks the air and rapidly air-dashes towards the giant hole in the center of the puppet. He swiftly arrives in front of the puppet and clenches his palm and fist. "Hirudora!" Guy infuses his aura into the Hirudora and punches forward. He concentrates the power of Hirudora at a point andnds the punch on Sasori''s puppet body. BOOM A gigantic cone of pressurized air explodes from the back of the Shmetsu puppet. Crack crack Multiple cracks appear in the cores of the marite puppets. "I I I was so close!" Sasori slowly stretches his palm. The light in his eyes dims down. His puppet body crumbles into dust and gets blown away by the wind. Rumble Rumble The brokenponents of the puppets rain down on the ground. Guy also runs out of energy and free-falls to the ground. A gigantic orange chakra arm appears beneath him and prevents the free fall. "Kakashi Sensei, Guy Sensei, Shisui Nii-san, are you guys alright?" Naruto appears beside them as he watches the fragments of the Shmetsu puppet fall on the ground. "It was a tough opponent, but we somehow managed to pull it through." Kakashi heaves a sigh of relief and rxes against the remains of a boulder. "Kkakashi" Guy extends his palm towards Kakashi and limply falls on the ground. "GUY!" Kakashi hurriedly catches Guy''s hand. Zzzz Soon, snoring sounds ring in the group''s ears as drool leaks from Guy''s face. "He is just exhausted and here I thought!" Kakashi drops Guy on the ground. "We we just ran out of chakra. A little bit of rest and we will be back in good shape." Shisui gasps for some fresh air. "I will heal you all right now!" Naruto uses the Mystic Palm technique to heal their wounds. "Naruto, you know the mystic palm technique?" Kakashi is slightly surprised to see Naruto use the prized techniques of medic nins. ''With this technique, he can be counted as a full-fledged medic.'' "Hehe Well, Tsunade baa-san pestered me non-stop to learn this technique when I was in her care. So, after practicing it for a while, I got the hang of it." Naruto scratches his head. "Alright! Recover your chakra. Soon, we will deal with that." Kakashi raises his head and stares at the giantary sphere levitating in the air. A few hundred meters from above, Swoosh Zetsu pops out of the ground. He stares at the remains of the Shmetsu puppet. ''I thought this trump card might buy us more time to infiltrate Konoha, but who would have expected a perfect Susanoo to intercept it?'' Zetsu nces in Shisui''s direction. "Looks like it''s time to put n Zero to use. We have no chakra of the eight-tails and only a trace amount of Nine-tails chakra." Zetsu enters the ground and disappears from his ce. A few secondster, Swoosh Naruto appears at the location. He looks around to search for a trace of the enemy. ''Strange! I thought I sensed someone here.'' ----------------------- A few minutes before the Chibaku Tensei, Bang Tobi is sent flying by Minato''s kick. "Obito! It has been a while." "How?!" Obito''s eyes narrow underneath the mask. "You can''t fool me. I know it''s you." Swoosh Minato appears behind Obito''s back and attempts to punch him. Shoom Obito uses his Kamui to phase out Minato''s attack. Swish A spatial seal appears on Minato''s wrist. BANG Minato''s punchnds on Obito''s back, sending him flying. Keough Obito spits out a mouthful of blood. Crack crack Cracks appear on his orange mask. The mask shatters into multiple fragments to reveal Obito''s face. A trail of blood fall from his forehead. "It really is you Obito!" Minato sighs in remorse. "You can call me by that name if that''s what you want, but it means nothing to me now." Obito wipes the blood from his forehead. He opens a small Kamui portal and inserts his left hand in it. "Obito you survived! Then why why didn''t youe to us? Kushina she she was so heartbroken by your death. We we all were" "Because it''s irrelevant whether I had survived or not although, I suppose, if you really want an answer then the reason is because you let Rin die." Obito gazes into Minato''s eyes with extreme coldness. He pulls out the Uchiha Gunbai from the Kamui dimension. "Sigh I was a failure of a hokage. I couldn''t even protect the people; I was supposed to protect. I was a failure of a father; I couldn''t even give my son the childhood he deserved and I I was a failure of a teacher, I I couldn''t be present for them when they needed me the most. Obito, you can condemn me however you want, but I can''t let you hurt the innocent vigers. At least, not on my watch." "Pfft Haha condemn you! What would I gain from criticizing this absurd reality?" Obito''s expression turns dark. "Now, I longer have any interest in the affairs of the world that is soon to end! You should have stayed dead, but I will correct my previous mistake this time." Obito ps his hands. "Fire Release: st Wave Wild Dance," Obito infuses arge amount of chakra and spits it out into a massive spiral of mes. BOOM The mes engulf Minato. Swoosh Minato waves his hand and disperses the fire-style jutsu. "If a student walks on a wrong path, then it''s a teacher''s job to set it right. For the sake of Konoha and its people, I can''t allow you to cause more destruction." Swoosh Minato disappears and reappears in front of Obito. "Wind Release: Rasengan," He forms a Rasengan in his hand and ms it toward Obito. "Uchiha Gunbai," Obito blocks the Rasengan with the Gunbai. "Release," BOOM The Gunbai reflects the chakra back in Minato''s direction. "Burst," Minato crosses his arms and detonates the Rasengan. BANG A massive vortex of wind engulfs Obito and Minato. Bang Both of them are sent flying out of the vortex. Obito smashes into a boulder. Swoosh Minato teleports away safely and reappears at one of his kunai. Huff Huff He pants slightly. Bleurgh Obito spits out some saliva and slowly stands up. "Sensei, all these years; your skill has improved even further. But I am also not the same person; you fought fifteen years ago." Shiing Obito opens his left eye to reveal another Mangekyo Sharingan. Stab One of Minato''s kunai pierces through his body. Bleurgh Minato spits out a mouthful of blood and pulls out the kunai stabbed in his back. ''When did he!'' Minato observes Obito''s movements. ''Don''t tell me; it''s the ability of his left eye.'' Swoosh Obito closes his distance from Minato and engages in closebat. ng ng A series of metal shing noises and sparks fly out from each encounter between Minato and Obito. Chapter 393: Jiraiya vs Pain Chapter 393: Jiraiya vs Pain A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ "You can''t beat me, Sensei!" Shiing Multiple kunais and shurikens surround Minato and bombard him. Ding ding ding Minato swiftly deflects them with his kunais. Whoosh Bang Obito appears behind Minato and kicks him. Minato blocks the kick with his hands, but the impact pushes him back. Obito slung the Gunbai on his shoulder and stare at Minato. "Obito Rin she never would have wanted to end things like this. But what caused all of this is me. I I am standing in front of you." Minato lowers his guard. "I am the one responsible for all of this. I am so sorry that I couldn''t protect the Rin. All of it''s my fault, so Obito please don''t vent your anger, your hatred on these innocent people." Minato drops his kunai. "Hah Haha" Obito burst out in a fit of hystericalughter. "RIN she was sole light and hope. And after I lost Rin, this world holds no hope; because there was nothing to see, nothing to protect. Sensei, now this world means nothing to me." Shiing The Tomoe in Obito''s left eye rotates rapidly. Stab The tri-fork kunai on the ground stabs through Minato''s body. Bleurgh Minato spits out a mouthful of blood and falls to the ground. "No one no one can stop me from destroying this world and recreating a new world. Not even you, Sensei!" Obito stares at Minato''s limp body. "So that''s your answer, Obito!" Minato slowly raises his head. He stands up and pulls out the kunai from his stomach. Burble burble Red chakra bubbles envelop Minato''s body. The wound on his stomach heals rapidly. "That''s that''s nine-tails chakra!" Obito''s eyes widen. "Impossible! How could you?" Fwoosh Minato teleports behind Obito and punches him. He continues to pummel Obito as thetter finds it hard to track Minato''s movements even with his Mangekyo Sharingan. "For the safety of Konoha, for the safety of this world! I will stop you, Obito!" BANG Minato''s punch sends Obito flying. His clothes are ripped to shreds as he ms through the forest. A cloud of dust and debris rise along the trail. Bleurgh Obito spits out a mouthful of blood. Multiple injuries spread across his body. "The power of Nine-tails I see!" The dust cloud settles down as Obito slowly stands up. He rips away his tattered Akatsuki robe and pats away the dust from his clothes. Wiss woosh The wounds on his body heal at a rapid pace. Obito''s body returns to its previous state within a few moments. "High-Speed Regeneration?!" Minato''s eyes narrow as he stares at the Obito''s body. "Hashirama cells! Aren''t they such a convenient weapon? It''s ironic how the First Hokage Hashirama Senju spent his life to protect this vige, and even now as we speak, his cells are cultivated tomit more heinous crimes." A mocking smile creeps on Obito''s face. "I am sure you know this fact better than anyone else. After all, your close friend Kura Yuji" Whoosh Bang Minato instantly appears in front of Obito and punches him. BANG A wooden sphere blocks Minato''s attack. "Wood Style: Cutting Technique," Obito''s left arm turns into a sharp wooden sword. Swish He swings it towards Minato''s neck to slice it clean. Whoosh Minato lowers his head and dodges the attack. "How did you how did you know about that name, Obito?" Minato demands an exnation. "What I know is not important! This world has rotten to its core and there is no hope of saving it." "I believe I believe in the next generation. I believe that the future generation will be able to achieve the dream we all have been striving for. All our hopes and ambitions, we pass them to the next generation." Minato stares in the direction of Konoha. "That''s just based on your baseless assumption that the greed of shinobis won''t increase further. We shinobis are tools of war and if one war ends, someone will start a new one. There is no end to this cycle of hatred. So, such a world it''s not worth saving." Obito roars at Minato''s nave thoughts. Rumble Rumble The ground beneath their feet trembles. "So, Pain has seeded!" A smirk appears on Obito''s face. "Sensei, if you still believe in your thoughts; then try to save these Konoha citizens you cherish so much." A gigantic Tai Chi formation appears underneath the ground. Lightning chains appear from the formation and bind around Konoha, releasing the space-locking seal. "Farewell, Sensei! I am sure we will meet soon. Soon, in the Fourth Shinobi War." Obito regains ess to his Kamui dimension. He slips onto the ground and disappears from Minato''s vision. "Things aren''t looking good!" Minato notices the Fuinjutsu seals on the ground. "This is a very powerfulrge scale ancient Fuinjutsu formation. I must return to the headquarters to assist Kushina in strengthening the barrier around Konoha." Swoosh Minato teleports from his ce and returns to the In-Y headquarters. "Kushina, how is the situation?" He appears in the central room of the headquarters. "Minato I have already reinforced the barrier with the chakra ores. If there is no outside interference; then the barrier will be able to hold for another three days. But after that" Kushina bites her lips. "Jiraiya Sensei, Kakashi, Guy, Naruto, and the rest are outside. I am sure, given their prowess; they will be able to deal with them." He assures Kushina. "Minato I I saw it! Was he really" "Mm" Minato sighs and nods. "Kushina, I was a failure of a teacher. Failure of a friend. If back then, if I had known, then I I could have saved them. Yuji, Rin, and Izuna." A teardrop falls from Minato''s eyes as he hugs Kushina. "Everything will be alright, Minato!" Kushina hugs him tightly. ------------------------------ Back on the battlefield, Haa Jiraiya heaves a sigh of relief. He raises his head and stares at the giganticary sphere floating in the sky. "Paa is that also an ability of Rinnegan?" Shima questions Fukasaku. "This this seems to be the case." Fukasaku nods his head in slight confusion. ''Izuna boy told me something like this. But to do something of such a scale I I can''t believe my eyes.'' "Thanks for the warning. We were almost caught in this jutsu, if not for your early warning, Paa." Jiraiya pants as he sizes up theary sphere. "I can still sense everyone''s chakra inside thatary body. So, everyone is safe for the time being. But we have to defeat your student to rescue everyone." Fukasaku reminds him. "I know!" Jiraiya nces sideways and notices the Pain strolling through the remains of Konoha. "Sensei, you are quite tenacious." Deva Path stares into Jiraiya''s eyes. Swoosh swoosh The six Paths of Pain gather beside him, ready to fight any moment. "We outnumber you Sensei, give up!" "Haha Nagato, a student, always surpasses his Sensei. But as your sensei, I also have a few tricks up my sleeve." With Fukasaku and Shima on his shoulders, Jiraiya ps his palm. "Sannin Mode," Shoom Cracks appear on the ground. Arge amount of nature energy pours into Jiraiya''s body. Dark orange pigmentation appears around Jiraiya''s eyes. His irises turn toad-like and Jiraiya''s height increases by another five inches. His muscles expand and Jiraiya''s arms and legs turn thicker. Jiraiya lifts his leg and stomps the ground. "Earth Release: Quaking Shift," Rumble Rumble Shockwaves travel through the ground as a trail of rocks erupts from the ground in a straight path. The Asura Path jumps in front of the group. It stretches its right hand. A mechanical chamber opens in its right arm, revealing a cluster of small pen-sized heat missiles. Boom Boom The clusters of segmented missilesunch a barrage on the rocky trail and destroy it. Swoosh The Asura path ducks down to avoid a blow from Jiraiya''s fist, who has somehow appeared beside him. "You think you can dodge my attack just because you can see it?" BANG A devastating blownds on Asura Path''s body. The powerful blow dismantles it into scraps. Swoosh Jiraiya quickly distances himself and avoids an attack from the Human Path. BANG Human''s path fistnds on the ground. A middle-sized crater appears on the ground from the impact of the punch. "Jiraiya-boy! Be careful of his fists. Not only is his physical strength almost on par with you. But his attacks can drain your spirituality if they connect." Fukasaku warns him. "I will erect a powerful mental defense formation to protect your mind." Shima pulls out some Fuinjutsu talismans and chants with her eyes closed. The talisman dissipates into blue energy and forms an invisible aura around Jiraiya''s body. Jiraiya quickly makes some hand signs. "Sage Art: Co-operation Jutsu: Goemon," Fukasaku spits out arge amount of oil from his mouth. Jiraiya spits out a powerful fire jutsu to ignite the oil. Shima takes a deep breath and releases a powerful wind jutsu to enhance the fire. A gigantic me bird with a temperature as high as sma congregates in front of Jiraiya. The color of the mes changes from yellow to orange, the orange mes ignite further and turn white. Jiraiya, Fukasaku, and Shima continue to spit out more fuel for the me. Its color finally changes from white to blue. The blue me bird scorches the ground in its surrounding. The intense heat even evaporates the water in a radius of around two kilometers. Chapter 394: Jiraiya Vs Pain Part-2 Chapter 394: Jiraiya Vs Pain Part-2 A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. ------------------------ The intense blue mes ignite the Human path''s body on fire. Swoosh The Preta Path quickly flickers beside the Human Path and absorbs the jutsu to nullify the damage to the Human Path''s body. "So, he is the one who possesses the power to absorb chakra." Shima stares at the Preta Path. "That''s one annoying enemy to have!" Mm "These six pathsplement each other''s weakness and the shared vision further enhances their senses." Fukasaku nods his head. Fwoosh Jiraiya hurriedly jumps in the air and avoids a heat-seeking missile. Boom The missile explodes on the ground, creating a giant crater. Pew Pew Multiple mini-homing missiles lock on Jiraiya. Whoosh whoosh Jiraiya swiftly maneuvers through the missiles. Boom Boom The missile explodes in mid-air, raising a cloud of smoke. Swoosh Jiraiya jumps out of the ck smoke with his arms crossed in front of his body. Shoom A chamber opens on top of the Asura path''s head to reveal a miniature chakra cannon. The chakra cannon gathers arge amount of chakra and fires a powerful beam of vtile chakra in Jiraiya''s direction. "Didn''t we just take him down?" Shima stares at the revived Asura Path. "He was repaired by that thing over there?" Jiraiya points towards the half-revealed figure of the Underworld king. "That''s that''s the Underworld king Yama from legends!" Shima''s eyes widen in surprise. "No, it''s not exactly the real Yama. It''s one of the abilities of the Rinnegan. The souls of the person killed by a Rinnegan bearer are harvested by this version of the Yama. As long as its summoner is alive, it can even repair other paths." Swish swish The Animal Path makes some hand signs and summons the scorched Human Path at its location. The human path enters inside the mount of the Underworld king. After a few seconds, it walks out with apletely repaired body. "So, that''s how it is? Then our priority should be to kill that path." Jiraiya leaps towards the Naraka Path at an incredible speed. Swoosh The Deva Path jumps in front of Jiraiya and blocks his path. He opens his palm and directs it toward Jiraiya. "Shinra Tensei," "Tch It''s that jutsu again, and it''s much more powerful than before!" A massive amount of repulsive force acts upon Jiraiya''s body, rapidly pushing him away from the Six Paths of Pain. The Asura Path uses immense repulsive force andunches a metallic spear toward Jiraiya. The spear gains incredible eleration from the immense repulsive force and closes on Jiraiya. Clench Jiraiya clenches his fist and punches the iing spear, shattering into metal shards. The two toad sages p their palm. "Earth Release: Pirs of Gaia," A massive rock pir rises from the ground. The earthen pir erects a gigantic barrier and protects Jiraiya from the powerful repulsive force. The effects of the jutsust for a whole. The repulsive force erodes most of theyers of the pir. Haah Shima and Fukasaku p their palm. The pir rises from the ground and turns into gigantic spikes. "Sage Art: Agonizing Thorn of Death," Fwoosh The rock spikes bombard Pain''s location. Haah The Preta Path jumps in front of the rest of the pain and attempts to absorb the jutsu. BANG The giant rock spikes implode into numerous small spikes and pass through Preta Path''s absorption. The Preta Path''s body turns into a sieve with the bombardment of the earthen spikes. The Asura Path stretches its hand out and creates a mechanical energy shield to block the attacks. "Tch it''s abination of physical and chakra attacks." The Deva Path clicks its tongue at the loss of the Preta Path. Swoosh ''Earth Release: Hiding like a Mole Technique," Using this opportunity, Jiraiya tunnels through the ground and appears behind the back line of the Pain. "Eat this!" Jiraiya coats his fist in nature energy and smashes the Naraka path. Bang A giant crater appears at the position of the Naraka Path. Jiraiya''s powerful punch destroys Naraka''s path body beyond recognition. Fwoosh The Underworld King beside the Naraka Path disappears in hell mes. "Now they won''t be able to recover!" Jiraiya stores the crippled body of Naraka Path inside a toad''s stomach. The Animal Path, Human Path, Deva Path, and Asura Path enter into a high alert state. "I am about to use that jutsu. Get away from this ce!" Pain turns his attention to the recuperating Konan. "But using such a powerful jutsu again in such a short time!" Konan bites her lips. "I underestimated Sensei. He seems to be aware of Rinnegan''s ability, so taking him out by surprise didn''t work out. I will sacrifice other paths to buy more time." Deva Path makes a decision. "Very well!" Konan''s figure turns into multiple paper butterflies and dissipates. "You aren''t going anywhere, Konan." Jiraiya shoots multiple hair senbons towards the paper butterflies. Swoosh The Human Path jumps in the path of the needles and punches them to deflect them. The Deva Path ps his palm and channels arge amount of chakra in them. "Looks like I have to take them down first!" Jiraiya bends his knees and leaps towards the Human Path. The Human Path also punches his fist toward Jiraiya. Asura Path releases a barrage of missiles from the sidelines. The Animal Pathunches arge number of throwing weapons toward Jiraiya. Fukasaku and Shima p their palm. "Sage Art: Frog Call," They focus the Senjutsu chakra in their throat and release a powerful sound wave to disrupt the attacks. ''Jiraiya-boy! Our fused state won''tst for long. We are about to run out of Senjutsu.'' Fukasaku warns him. Boom Boom The missile explodes, releasing arge amount of smoke and dust around Jiraiya. Swoosh Jiraiya jumps out of the fog and punches the Human Path. The Human Path opens his fist and changes it to a w. Bang Jiraiya punches a hole through the Human path''s stomach. The Human path ignores it and grips Jiraiya''s arms. Swoosh swoosh The Asura Path and Animal Path also surround him and grab his legs and waist. "Detonate!" Animal Path makes a hand seal. A fuinjutsu seal appears on the three path''s bodies. "OH NO! It''s a suicidal attack!" Jiraiya hastily channels his remaining Sage Art chakra to erect a barrier. BOOM A gigantic pir of explosion erupts with Asura Path as the center. The detonation of three paths creates a powerful surge of energy that even alters the path of lighting chains around the Giantary Sphere. A spiral disk of energy spreads across the horizon, pushing away the clouds and smoke in the distance. The shockwaves from the explosion releases ripples across the surface of the giantary sphere. The attack tears apart ayer of the crust of theary body. Bang A battered figure is thrown out of the explosion. Huff Huff Jiraiya pants heavily. Blood spurts out from the multiple injuries on his body. Jiraiya opens his palms to reveal Fukasaku and Shima''s figures. "Baa Paa are you two alright?" "We are fine, Jiraiya-boy!" A battered Fukasaku responds to him. Fukasaku''s goatee and Shima''s hair have been burned to a crisp. "Jiraiya-boy! You are hurt." Shima jumps out of his palm and takes out a healing talisman from her pocket. "This is thest recovery talisman I have left." Puff Smoke rises from Jiraiya''s body as nature energy heals his wound. The explosion was very powerful. The Asura Path detonated its core to produce such a powerful explosion. ''I have to spend all my nature energy to barely survive that explosion. And now, I am out of chakra.'' Jiraiya slowly raises his head and stares at the Deva Path. The Deva Path opens its eyes and turns to Jiraiya. "Sensei! This is the end." "True: Bansh Tenin," The Deva Path raises its arm and swings it downwards. Rumble Rumble The ground quakes beneath their feet, and darkness shrouds the sky. "WHAT? WHAT''S THIS?!" The group raises its head. Shima''s eyes widen to her very core. A drop of sweat trickle down her forehead as she subconsciously drops the talisman in her hand. "THIS IS THE POWER OF A GOD!" The Deva Path opens its arms. Chapter 395: Naruto Vs Pain Chapter 395: Naruto Vs Pain "This is the end, Sensei!" "True: Bansh Tenin." A gigantic meteor spanning several hundred meters in width appears in the sky. "This is this is the power of a God!" Shima and Jiraiya stare at the giant meteor in utter shock. Gulp Jiraiya gulps his saliva. "He got me! I am out of chakra and unable to run out of its radius." "Jiraiya-boy! I had prepared precautionary measures for such an emergency!" Fukasaku takes out a teleportation seal. He infuses his remaining chakra into the seal to activate it. "I won''t let you escape!" The Deva Path stretches its right hand in Jiraiya''s direction. Swoosh swoosh He shoots multiple ck rods from his palm. The ck rod pierces through Jiraiya''s legs and arms and pins him on the ground. Bleurgh Jiraiya spews out a mouthful of blood. "JIRAIYA BOY!" Granny Shima grabs a ck receiver and attempts to pull it out. "Wait Baa! Don''t touch them. It will drain your chakra." Fukasaku''s warning falls on deaf ears. The chakra of the teleportation scroll around Jiraiya disperses due to the chakra-draining ability of the ck receiver rods. "I won''t leave this ce without Jiraiya-boy!" Shima attempts to pull the ck receiver out of Jiraiya''s body. Pew Another ck receiver pierces through Fukasaku''s cloak, pinning him to the ground. A few kilometers away from Konoha, "I never expected Jiraiya Sensei will force me to such an extent." Nagato stares in the direction of Konoha. Several ck receiver rods from the Gedo Statue pierces his back. "With the fall of other paths, I can focus all my chakra on the Deva Path. This further enhances the abilities of Deva Path." "Nagato, don''t push yourself further. Anymore and I am afraid you will lose your remaining vitality to this cursed statue and and" Konan bites her lips as she stares at the sickly expression of Nagato. Nagato''s emaciated figure is barely holding against the mechanical walker. Half of Nagato''s red hairs have turned white and the muscle mass in his body has almost dried up. Huff Huff Nagato closes his eyes and focuses his attention on the Deva Path. --------------------- The gigantic meteor closes on top of Fukasaku and Shima. "Sigh I didn''t even write my will." Jiraiya sighs and closes his eyes. Numerous images of his life sh through his mind as he recalls his memories. ''In the end, I didn''t even manage to get the attention of the woman I loved.'' Tsunade''s image shes in his mind. ''Perhaps it was a one-sided infatuation on my part. Tsunade only saw me as a friend.'' "Konoha''s Toad Sannin, marry me!" Another voice echoes in his mind. The image of a woman with green eyes and light-brown chin-length hair appears in his mind. The woman has a slender and curvaceous figure. ''No there was another woman. She was as infatuated with me as I was with Tsunade. No perhaps her love was even greater than my obsession with Tsunade.'' Jiraiya recalls the conversation he had with that Kunoichi from the Nadeshiko vige. ''I was a fool back then and rejected her. But she didn''t give up.'' Jiraiya recalls the stack of love letters biting the dust in his storage. "I am somehow able to survive this, then I will pay her a visit." Jiraiya closes his eyes as he slowly loses consciousness due to chakra exhaustion. "Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken," Screech A whirling noise passes above Jiraiya''s head and collides with the giant meteor. BOOM A massive explosion urs at the point of impact. A humongous spherical hurricane expands rapidly from the point of impact. The powerful wind des of the hurricane slice through the giant meteor and grind it to dust. The strong wind blows away the remains of the meteor to a faraway distance. Rumble Rumble Shockwaves travel through the ground as the explosion of the jutsu blows away the outeryers of thergeoid figure. A giant hole appears in the White Tai-Chi formation suspended in the sky. Snap snap snap Multiple lightning chains holding theoid figure snap and dissipate. The giantoid lowers in altitude and approaches the ground. It suspends a few ten meters above the ground and stabilizes. Swoosh A figure appears beside Jiraiya and the two toad sages. "I made it on time!" Multiple chakra arms pull away the ck receiver from Jiraiya and Fukasaku''s bodies. The figure holds the three battered people and disappears. Rumble Rumble Shortly after, shockwaves and explosions blow away the previous position of Jiraiya and the toad sages. "Things aren''t looking good!" The Deva Path stretches his palm and erects a powerful gravity barrier to repel the shockwaves. BOOM Another explosion urs within the previous explosion and the Deva Path is sent flying by a powerful force. BANG Deva Path''s body blows through multiple hills before embedding into a mountain. Bzzt Bzzt A thin transparent barrier flickers around the Deva path. Peng peng The magatama beads on the ne around Deva Path explode. The transparent barrier dissipates with the shattering of the ne. "Such a powerful jutsu!" The Deva Path drags himself out of the mountain. He floats in mid-air while ncing in the direction of Konoha. "Looks like someone else besides Izuna Uchiha is capable of such a destructive jutsu. I had to sacrifice this protective amulet to preserve this body." The Deva Path pulls away the remains of the magatama ne from his neck. -------------------- Back at the outer perimeter of Konoha, "Paa baa is pervy sage alright?" Naruto holds an unconscious Jiraiya in his arms. He uses the mystic palm technique to heal the flesh wounds on Jiraiya''s body. "He is in aatose state. Jiraiya-boy pushed his limits by using the second form of Senjutsu without proper mastery. He has exhausted all his chakra and the heavy burden on his body made him lose his consciousness." Fukasaku exins Jiraiya''s condition to Naruto. Naruto heals their wounds and passes Jiraiya to them. "Take care of the pervy sage. I will deal with this guy!" Naruto bumps his fist. Shoom An orange cloak shrouds his body as Naruto enters into the Nine Tail chakra cloak mode. Orange pigmentation appears around his eyes as the sclera in his eyes turns into a plus sign. "This is going to be a tough opponent. I can feel it, Dattebyo!" "Naruto boy beware of these ck chakra rods. They can drain your chakra and Sage Mode." "I will!" Naruto nods his head and turns his attention to the horizon. He notices a flying figure slowly approaching Konoha. Hmm The Deva Path narrows its eyes. "Such arge amount of chakra and overwhelming at that." It activates its chakra vision to inspect Naruto. The Deva Path notices the Kurama sealed inside Naruto. ROAR Kurama roars at the Deva Path and expels it from Naruto''s Mindspace. "No wonder! He is the jinchuruki of the Nine-tails." Naruto flickers towards the Deva Path and aims a punch at his head. Bang Naruto''s punch is repelled by the gravity barrier around the Deva Path. The Deva Path raises its hand. "Shinra Tensei," It infuses arge amount of chakra and creates a powerful wave of repulsive force. Naruto''s second punch stays locked in the air just a few inches away from Deva Path''s face. Tch Naruto clicks his tongue and focuses his chakra on his legs and arms. BANG He forcefully withstands the repulsive chakra force and punches the Deva Path in the face. The repulsive force and the impact of the punch create a bacsh on the Deva Path and send him flying across the terrain. Haah While in mid-air, the Deva Path uses gravity to withstand the bacsh and decelerates. Swoosh Naruto reappears in front of the Deva Path with a Rasengan in his palm. "Eat this!" He ms the Rasengan in the Deva Path''s gut. BANG Deva path flies across a mountain range and embeds into a hill. Hmm The Deva Path stands up and casually brushes the dust from his cloak. "You are truly strong Naruto Uzumaki. From all the jinchuruki I have fought so far, you are the only one who had controlled its chakra to such an extent. However" The Deva Path raises his palm. Rumble rumble The mountain range trembles violently. Multiple massive chunks of earth float in the air behind the Deva Path. Swish The Deva Path points his hand toward Naruto. Swoosh swoosh BANG BANG The massive boulders bombard Naruto''s position. A cluster of dust and debris rises as the Deva Path lifts the entire mountain range and copses it on top of Naruto. "Bansh Tenin," The Deva Path closes his fist and crumbles the entire mountain range into a crumbled ball with Naruto trapped within it. "This isn''t enough to take me down, Dattebyo!" Shoom A beam of orange chakra shoots out of the crumbled rocks. The surface of the rocks turns red as Naruto sts a hole through the containment. "This is just the starting!" The Deva Path raises his palm. Multiple massive chunks of earth float out of the ground and surround Naruto. ------------------------ A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 396: Naruto vs Pain Part-2 Chapter 396: Naruto vs Pain Part-2 The gigantic chunks of earth turn into massive earth spears. The Deva Path maniptes the gravity around the spear and adds rotation to them. Swoosh swoosh Heunches them toward Naruto at an incredible speed. Shiing Naruto undergoes the second transformation of the Sage Mode. Whoosh He swiftly dodges the gigantic earth spear and uses them as a pedestal to close the distance toward the Deva Path. Haah The Deva Path ps his palms and encloses the earth''s spear at Naruto''s position. "Sage Art: Ch-dama Rasenshuriken," Naruto throws a gigantic rasenshuriken toward the iing projectiles. The rasenshuriken sts through the rock spears and engulfs the Deva Path. "Shinra Tensei," Deva Path pushes away the rasenshuriken with the repulsive maniption of gravity. Haah Naruto jumps through the repulsive force field. "Sage Art: Ch-dama Rasengan," Naruto ms a gigantic orange Rasengan on the Deva Path''s body. Guffaw The Deva Path spits out a mouthful of saliva and is sent flying across multiple mountains. The Rasengan grinds its body and breaks the protective barrier around it. ''Explode'' Naruto crosses his arms and the Rasengan explodes into a spiral vortex of chakra. Huff Huff Naruto pants slightly and releases the sage mode transformation. Crackle crackle The lightning chains around Konoha snap one after another. The giant Tai-Chi Fuinjutsu formation dissipates and the rocks encasing around Konoha crumble into dust. Rumble Rumble The vige slowly descends into a massive crater formed beneath its previous location. RUMBLE An intensive earthquake spreads across the surrounding regions. "Naruto boy, you did it!" Fukasaku appears beside him. Mm Naruto nods his head. "Where is the pervy sage?" "Baa took him to Mount Myoboku to heal his wounds." Fukasaku jumps on top of Naruto''s shoulder. Naruto walks towards the giant crater with the Deva Path''s body. He jumps down the crater and approaches the body of the Deva Path. Slick Naruto pricks out a ck receiver rod from it. "So, this thing is used to control this body." Stab He pierces the ck receiver in his palm to sense Nagato''s location. "Found you!" Naruto senses Nagato''s location at a distance from Konoha. "NARUTO!" Sasuke, Itachi, Kakashi, and Shisui appear beside Naruto. Kakashi is carrying an unconscious Guy on his back. "You did it, Naruto!" Kakashi nods his head as he adjusts Guy''s position on his back. "It''s not over yet. The real pain is still hiding and I am about to go beat some sense into him." Naruto clenches his fist. "I will go with you!" Sasuke interrupts Naruto. "But" "There is no but. I can''t leave you alone to fall into a trap." Sasuke refutes Naruto''s words. "Alright!" Naruto nods and flickers toward Nagato''s location. Sasuke closely follows after him. "All of this has been such a mess!" Kakashi sighs and stares at the hellishndscape around him. "Looks like Yamato has to work overtime again." Kakashi silently prays for Yamato. A few minutester, Swoosh swoosh Several Konoha anbus gather around the group. "Tally the number of casualties and the extent of damage to Konoha''s surroundings." Itachi issues amand to the Anbus. After the Anbus disperses, Tsunade, Minato, the members of the elder council and the n leaders arrive at the spot with other guards. "Recover the body of the culprit!" Tsunade issues amand to the shinobi guards. Hmm She nces at the corpse of the Deva Path and recognizes him as the previous student of Jiraiya. ''A reanimation using the powers of the Rinnegan!'' "Well done!" The n leaders and the members of the elder council praise Kakashi and the rest for their hard work. Srrrr Multiple n leaders suck a breath of cold air as they survey the surroundings. The aftermath of such an intense battle has brutally devastated the surroundings. The surrounding terrains and the routes have been altered beyond recognition. "Such such a destructive battle! If not for the protective barrier around Konoha, the vige would have been" "Akatsuki''s im to start a Fourth Shinobi War wasn''t baseless rumors. With such powers, they can easily obliterate any shinobi vige on a whim." The n leaders banter among themselves. Minato nces at the surroundings and ponders. "Obito! Just what do you want to achieve? I have a strong premonition that things aren''t over yet." -------------------------- At a hidden ce in the Land of Fire, Swirl Swoosh Obito''s figure walks out of a spiral portal. ''So much for being Madara''s recement. You can''t even handle the Fourth Hokage. Kuku" A mockingughter echoes in the hidden underground base. A white-spectacled figure in a red cloak walks out of the shadows. "Enough banter! How did the task I assigned you undergo?" Obito turns his attention to Kabuto''s figure. Kuku "Failure wasn''t an option to begin with!" Swoosh A ck-robed figure suddenly appears out of thin air beside Kabuto. The cloaked figure passes a sealing jar to Kabuto. "I have secured the one-tails. As for the nine-tails" Swoosh Zetsu pops out of the ground beside Obito. "Nagato has failed to capture the Nine-tails." He narrates the battle between Nagato and Naruto. "So, the nine-tails jinchuruki have grown to such an extent. It''s no surprise since he has the assistance of the Fourth Hokage." Obito narrows his eyes. He turns to ck Zetsu and remarks. "It''s time to initiate the third phase of the ''Eye of the Moon n''. Prepare for the war and recover the" Swirl Obito disappears in a spiraling portal. "Kuku the pieces are all set. Now it''s time to set up the chessboard." Kabuto setups a Shogi board. --------------------- Outside Konoha, "Minato, bad news!" Kushina''s distressed voice sounds in Minato''s head. "What''s the matter, Kushina?" "Minato the one-tail it''s gone!" "WHAT?" Minato raises his voice. "What''s the matter Minato?" Tsunade notices his grim expression. "Tsunade-san, the one-tails it''s gone!" He reports to Tsunade. "WHAT? How? Let''s go and check the Uzumaki shrine." Minato and Tsunade hurriedly dash inside the vige. They arrive inside the Uzumakipounds and Minato and Tsunade use the authorization seal to enter thepounds. Uzumakipounds have been off-limits since the previous incident with Kushina and Minato. The duo walks deeper into the forest and arrives outside a temple-like building. Kushina is waiting outside the building. "Kushina, can you exin everything in detail?" Tsunade enquires. "I am not sure how it happened? But someone infiltrated the vige during the chaos and bypassed the security barrier around Konoha. Breached the Uzumakipound barrier and broke through the defenses of the Uzumaki shrine without alerting a single soul. If not for my inspection, this theft would have been left unnoticed by us." Kushina responds to Tsunade. "But to be able to do something like this is there a traitor among us?" Tsunade frowns. "I can''t deny the possibility, but the chances for it are very low. I can count the number of people who have the ess to this ce on my hand." Minato shakes his head. "But still who could possibly sneak through the barrier of Konoha. It has to be a Konoha citizen." Minato enters in a deep thought. ''Though the kitsune statue of Nine-tails ispletely fine since it was stored in the headquarters and thus was isted from the rest of the world. Which means that the enemy wasn''t aware of their position prior to the infiltration.'' Minato recalls the strange device in Obito''s hands. ''Was Obito a distraction to let someone infiltrate the vige? If it wasn''t him, then who could it be.'' Minato contemtes. ------------------------- Outside the border of Konoha, Step step Naruto and Sasuke walk toward a gigantic tree. Sasuke looks around but finds nothing noteworthy. "Are you sure this is the ce?" Mm Naruto nods his head and touches the trunk of the giant tree. Hmm Riip He rips apart the trunk with his hands to reveal a stack of origami papers. "As expected, this is a fake tree!" Sasuke swings his de and cuts an opening in the trunk. "Don''t lower your guard, Naruto. Even if you are here to talk, we can''t be sure of the enemy''s intentions." "I will keep that in mind." He enters the trunk with Sasuke. Naruto confronts Nagato and Konan. Nagato''s sickly, emaciated body is held on a mechanical walker. Multiple ck rods protrude from his back and extend into an eerie statue. "So, you are the real form of Pain, huh?" "You are here for revenge, aren''t you?" Nagato coldly stares into Naruto''s eyes. "The winner takes it all. That''s how it always has been. Now fulfill your goal and grant me death." Nagato yells at Naruto. ------------------------ A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 50+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 397: Repent Chapter 397: Repent After a brief bout of Talk-no-jutsu, "No matter what the pain and suffering maye on, I will move forward. That''s who Naruto is!" Naruto tosses Jiraiya''s first book toward Nagato. Nagato stares at Jiraiya''s novel and recalls his days spent with Jiraiya. Konan passes him the book as he gently touches its pages. "You are a mysterious guy, Naruto. You remind me of my past self. Perhaps if I had believed and endured a bit further, I might be like the protagonist of this novel, like you! I think I shall try to believe in you" Nagato closes his eyes. His tears stain the cover of the book. He passes the book to Naruto. "I have a message for Jiraiya-Sensei. I might not have lived up to his expectations and easily gave up on myself. But atst Jiraiya Sensei''s teaching made it to my heart. In my final moments, I will repent for my mistakes." Nagato slowly lifts his hands and makes a ram hand sign. "Gedou: Rinne Tensei no jutsu," Nagato uses the outer path- samsara of heavenly life technique to revive the dead shinobis of Konoha. "But Nagato you" Tears flow from Konan''s eyes. "It''s fine, Konan. Even without this technique, I don''t have much time to live. The Gedo statue has drained most of my vitality and at most I would have lived another five years. This battle shortened that duration to a year. However, this is the choice I made for myself." Nagato''s hairs turn white. His sickly body turns more emaciated. "WHAT? What did you do?" Naruto stares at Nagato with wide eyes as he senses the rapid drain of vitality from Nagato. "He used his life force as a catalyst to cast a powerful technique. It''s a sort of Forbidden jutsu." Sasuke exins to him as he inspects Nagato''s body with his Mangekyo Sharingan. ''The power of the Rinnegan is out of this realm. What a powerful ability to manipte life and death!" The hue in Nagato''s eyes dims down as his body limply falls on the mechanical walker. "Nagato!" Konan burst out in tears. Suddenly, Fwoosh Fwoosh Fwoosh Multiple white Zetsu clones pop out of Nagato''s body. "Seems like it was earlier than nned. But we have toplete the task nheless. One of the Zetsu clones rips out Nagato''s eyes." "Recoveryplete!" "YOU BASTARDS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" An enraged Naruto jumps at the Zetsu clone with a Rasengan. Swoosh "Chidori Raikiri," Sasuke also appears beside the Zetsu clone with lightning chakra in his palm. Tch The Zetsu clone clicks his tongue. A sealing Fuinjutsu formation erupts from the mechanical walker of Nagato. The Fuinjutsu formation restricts Naruto and Sasuke''s movements. The Zetsu clone enters the ground to escape. Argh "I won''t let you. KURAMA!" Naruto releases a burst of red chakra and instantly destroys the sealing Fuinjutsu formation by overloading it with the chakra. Whoosh Naruto and Sasuke break through the paralysis of the seal and immediately appear beside the Zetsu clone. They slice the body of the Zetsu clone in half. Heh The Zetsu clone smirks before its death as another Zetsu clone escape with the Rinnegan. "He used a substitution technique to swap his position with another clone." Sasuke dismembers the remaining Zetsu clones. "DAMNIT!" Naruto punches the ground. A gigantic crater appears beneath him. Everything happened in the blink of an eye. "Konan recovers from her shock. It''s him. It must be him- The Madara Uchiha!" Konan grits her teeth in rage. --------------------- Back at Konoha, "Thirty-three casualties! The Akatsuki members wiped the entire patrol toon." One of the Anbu members passes a report to Itachi. Sigh Itachi sighs and stares at the corpses of the patrol teams lined outside the remains of the patrol toon headquarters. Rumble Rumble Suddenly, a gigantic figure of the Underworld King appears at the outer perimeter of Konoha. "WHAT what''s this?" The Anbu members quickly enter into abat stance. "An enemy attack!" They warily stare at the gigantic face of the Underworld King. The purple hell mes around its body send chills down their spines. None of the anbu members dare to stare into Underworld King''s eyes. "Wait!" Itachi stops them as he warily inspects the Underworld king with his Mangekyo Sharingan. ''My gut feelings that tell me to not attack it. If I might attack him, I might provoke something dangerous.'' Numerous rms go off in Itachi''s head as the threat of death looms over him. ''It''s it''s like this thing can control the life and death of every living being.'' Itachi enters in abat stance, ready to make a move the moment the Underworld King attacks. ''I thought Naruto went to talk with the leader of the Akatsuki. Did he fail?'' Several questions appear in Itachi''s mind. Crack crack Suddenly, the gigantic figure of the Underworld King cracks opens his mouth. It opens its gigantic mouth and releases multiple cyan orbs from it." "That is" Itachi inspects the cyan orbs. "Could these be Souls?" Itachi recalls his encounter with the strange girl in the HOLE. That girl had the ability to ferry souls to the afterlife. The appearance and aura of the souls were simr. Fwish Fwish Fwish One by one, the cyan orbs enter the dead bodies of the Konoha shinobis lying outside the remains of the patrol toon headquarters. A cyan aura surrounds the bodies. The wounds on the corpses rapidly regenerate. Even the lost limbs and torn-off heads reattach to the body. Aaaah The anbus gasps in shock as they notice the unusual phenomenon. "He is moving!" One of the Anbus points towards a particr body with visible movement in hands. "No, all of them are moving!" Itachi points towards other bodies as all of them make some movements. "But but how could this be? I personally checked their body and there was life in it." One of the medic-nin falls on his knees. "What what''s this miracle? Could could this be the act of a GOD?" The medic-nin zones out as the patrol team members slowly stand up and look around in confusion. One of the shinobi, with a distinct outfit, quickly regains his wits and turns to Itachi. "Enemy attack! It''s an enemy attack. The Akatsuki are attacking the vige." He reports to Itachi. "It''s alright! The situation is already under control. You did well." He praises the patrol team captain for his wits and soothes him. "All of you return to the vige and continue to tally the damage. I want a report as soon as possible." Itachi dismisses them and waits for Naruto and Sasuke to return. Kakashi had departed for the infirmary to treat Guy''s wounds. Shisui has returned to the Police Headquarters to fulfill his duties. ---------------------- Back at the Uzumakipound, "About this incident, inform the Kazekage. I will tell Mei myself. We can''t reveal the loss of one-tails for the time being. It will create unnecessary panic." Tsunade reaches a decision. "That''s my exact thoughts!" Minato nods his head. Tsunade turns to Minato and questions him. "So, now Minato. I would like to hear more about this student of yours. We have confirmed that he was the one responsible for the release of Nine-tails fifteen years ago. He was also responsible for both of your near-death states, and perhaps he was the person who orchestrated the Uchiha n massacre with Danzo and maniptes the Third Mizukage." Tsunade throws down a bunch of usations at Obito. Sigh Minato sighs helplessly and exins everything in detail to Tsunade. "Hmm so this kid broke down after the death of his only love." Tsunade feels in a dilemma. She reminisces about the death of her brother Nawaki and her former lover Dan. ''Huh it was the same for me. Instead of ming others, I fell into a self-reproach, bottled and channeled all my hatred towards myself. Instead of relieving my hatred of others, I drowned it in alcohol and gambling.'' Tsunade closes her eyes and recalls her previous state. ''Pathetic isn''t it? We shinobis strive forward to another day, just to protect our loved ones. If our only sense of purpose was taken away from us, then what''s even the use of living? That''s what I used to think before.'' Tsunade opens her eyes as Izuna''s smiling face appears in front of her eyes. ''It was you who pulled me out of that self-reproach and blew away the fog blocking my vision. I learned to move forward from you.'' Tsunade recalls her first meeting with Izuna. ''Perhaps you were the first person to treat a beautiful woman with such bitter words. But back then, you were still a kid, so I pardoned your offense.'' Tsunade chuckles to herself. ''Now, after showing me the path forward, you shielded others from the impending darkness.'' Tsunade recalls the final smiling moment of Izuna before the space rift engulfed him. A drop of tears leaks from her eyes. Kushina and Minato silently vacate the ce, leaving Tsunade to herself. "She misses him a lot!" Kushina remarks. "We all miss him, but" Minato shakes her head. ''I am not sure about the feelings in Lady Tsunade''s heart No! I am aware of it. It''s just that I don''t want to voice them.'' "Let''s go!" Minato walks out of the Uzumakipound. "Next time hees, I will make him take responsibility for making Tsunade Nee-san shed tears." Kushina grits her teeth. Chapter 398: Envoy from Kumogakure Chapter 398: Envoy from Kumogakure A few days passed after the Akatsuki assault, "Senpai! I can''t do this." Yamato plops on the ground with exhaustion clearly visible on his face. "Just hold for a bit more. We are almost done with restructuring the terrain." Kakashi tries to cate him. "You said the same thing yesterday, the day before yesterday, and even the day before that." Yamato stares at Kakashi with a wronged face. "Well" Kakashi scratches his head. An idea pops into his head, and he turns to Yamato with bright eyes. "And there he goes again!" Shisui chuckles as Kakashi praises Yamato to the high moon. "Yamato I have high hopes for you. Among the entire Konoha No, the entire shinobi world, you are the only person who possesses the legendary Wood Release currently. Only you are capable of this task." Kakashi pats Yamato''s shoulder. "I believe in you, Yamato. If you finish the task in the next three, no two days, then I will take you to the exclusive VVIP resort in the Land of Hot Water. It will be the most luxurious vacation you will ever have in your life." Kakashi continues to pat Yamato''s shoulder. "Isn''t he talking about Izuna Nii-san''s resort? All of us can visit and enjoy it for free with that card." Shisui takes out a ck card from his pocket. "He is duping Yamato Senpai again!" Itachi shakes his head. "Senpai if if that''s what you want, then I willplete it in the next two, not within one day." Yamato takes out a bunch of chakra pills from his storage. He swallows them all in a gulp and sits cross-legged to restore his chakra. "Looks like I overdid it!" Kakashi scratches his cheeks with a wry smile. "Well, at least he is motivated, so it''s a win overall." He chuckles dryly. Itachi and Shisui shake their head. Hmm The group turns around and stares in the distance. "This chakra! Is it someone from the Land of Lightning?" Soon, a shinobi in the Hidden Cloud attires appear in their vision. He notices the group standing at the foothill of a mountain. The cloud shinobi hurriedly moves towards the group. He waves a green messenger g to ry his intentions. "So, he is a messenger." Kakashi and the rest lower their guard. Soon, Huff Huff The cloud messenger approaches them while panting. "I huff huff have a message huff huff from the Raikage-sama. You must be Kakashi Hatake. Please escort me to the leaf vige." The messenger takes out a scroll from his pocket. Kakashi looks around and notices no one except the messenger in front of him. "Are you alone?" He asks the messenger. "No my teammates are still resting at the vige a few miles ahead." He looks around and remarks. "The terrain around Konoha has changed a lot, so it took us longer to figure out the correct path." "Let''s return to Konoha. There are things we would also like to talk about." Kakashi escorts the messenger to the vige while Yamato, Itachi, and Shisui stay behind to help rebuild the terrain. ------------------- Back in Konoha, at the Hokage Office. Tsunade reads the scroll and ponders. "So, the Akatsuki also attacked Kumogakure. They captured the Eight-tails jinchuruki Killer B." Tsunade ponders as sheys the scroll on the table. "Yes, Bee-sama fought valiantly and took down one of the Akatsuki members; but unfortunately, he was ambushed by another Akatsuki member." The envoy grits his teeth. "I understand Kumo''s stance towards this. Konoha was also attacked by the eight members of Akatsuki. You can still notice the traces of battle outside the periphery of Konoha." Tsunade nods at him. ''What kind of battle did Konoha fight to drastically change thendscape?'' The envoy couldn''t evenprehend the scale of the battle. ''I better report this news to Raikage-sama after I return.'' The envoy makes up his mind. "I need to discuss with the Elder Council before making a decision. So, it''s better if you wait for a while." Tsunade turns to Kakashi. "Kakashi, escort him to the guesthouse of Konoha." "Yes, Hokage-sama!" Kakashi bows and leaves with the Kumo messenger. Tsunade writes a letter to summon the members of the elder council. A few minutester, inside the meeting room. "What should we do with this situation?" The elder council ponders as they recall the contents of the scroll. "So, eight-tails who is Raikage''s younger brother got captured by the members of the Akatsuki. But didn''t Akatsuki suffer a devastating defeat under our hands and most of their members fell in battle? Even their leader, Pain, died in the previous battle." One of the elder council members remarks. "Pain wasn''t the mastermind behind the Akatsuki. The real mastermind is still out in the open." Tsunade reveals a little bit of information about the situation. ''Revealing Madara''s name will create panic among them. That''s a name which can''t be taken lightly even in Konoha''s current situation.'' "So, what''s your decision, Lady Hokage?" One of the elder council members directs the question to Tsunade. "Since it''s the Raikage who initiated the Hokage Summit, then I don''t see a reason to refuse it. Akatsuki has been a major threat to the shinobi world for a while. If we can make a united stand amongst the five nations; then it will only benefit us. Also, the Hokage Summit would be held in the Land of Iron, a neutral territory of the Samurais. So, there won''t be any conspiracies involved." Tsunade announces her decision to the elders. "Then please make sure that Konoha has a leading position in the meeting. We are currently the strongest shinobi Nation out of all Five Nations. So, it''s given that Konoha receives the most benefit out of this meeting." One of the elderly council members reminds her. "Konoha won''t suffer a loss in the negotiation. For now, we should prepare for the possibility of a war. It''s better safe than to be sorryter." "Very well! We will make arrangements with the n leaders." The elder council members agree with Tsunade and the meeting concludes. Tsunade returns to the Hokage Office. "Summon Kakashi and his team!" A few minutester, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura arrive in the room. "You summoned us Hokage-sama!" Kakashi salutes Tsunade. "Team seven, I have an S-Rank mission for you. I want your team to escort me to the Land of Iron." Tsunade writes down a mission letter and issues it to Kakashi. "Land of Iron! It has been a while since Ist went there." Naruto recalls his previous trip to the Land of Iron. "I went to the Land of Medicine with Izuna Nii-san. We visited Land of Iron on our way." Naruto crosses his arms as he recalls the trip from his memories. "Oh, I remember that! Back then you were a lot cheeky brat!" Tsunade grins at Naruto. "Now now don''t bother yourself with the small stuff." Naruto waves his hand in an attempt to change the topic. "Also, Minato will be the other guard!" Tsunade remarks. "DAD! Dad is going with us?" "Of course! Minato is also a former hokage and has much more information about our enemies. So, he will y a vital role in the meeting. This might be the first time when all shinobi nations will put aside their difference and work together for once. If this happens, then the long-awaited dream of the peaceful days of my idiotic grandfather might be a reality." Hashirama''s face appears in Tsunade''s vision. ''Don''t be mean to Grandpa, little Tsuna." He bashes at Tsunade''s angry expression. Knock knock Someone knocks on the door of the Hokage Office. "Come in!" Mei enters the room with Team Three. "I am so exhausted!" She plops down on the sofa in the Hokage Office. "Did you also receive the letter?" Tsunade asks her. "I did! That unruly A want to hold a Kage Summit in the Land of Iron. Looks like he suffered a heavy blow with the loss of eight-tails and his younger brother. It was enough for him to let go of his ego and ask for help." Mei shakes her head. Ayaka waves her hand at Naruto and Sasuke and chats with them. "I will have three escorts. Izumi and team three will escort me from Konoha and Ao and Chojuro from the Mist. Since it''s a long journey from Kirigakure, we will teleport to Konoha and will start the journey from there. This way, it will be more convenient for us." Mei reveals her n. "That''s fine with me. Having additional people will make the journey less jarring and boring." Tsunade agrees with Mei. "I will return home for now. Tatsuya and Kanna might be looking for me. I left them in their grandma''s care." Mei massages her forehead and stands up. "I will alsoe with you, Mei Nee-san!" Ayaka follows her. "Me too!" Hanabi and Yakumo also follow her. Chapter 399: Begin of the Kage Summit Chapter 399: Begin of the Kage Summit The group reaches the Uchiha npounds. They arrive in front of Akira''s house. "Let''s pick up Tatsuya and Kanna!" "Mom"! A little boy and girls run out of the house. The boy has spiky ck hairs with a tint of blue to them. He has ck eyes and is wearing a ck T-shirt with the Uchiha n symbol. The little girl has long auburn hair with a tint of blue at the end braided into two strings. She has ck eyes and wears a kimono with the Uchiha n symbol. "Tatsuya, Kanna!" Mei hugs them and gently pats their heads. "You are here!" Aiko walks out. "Mom!" Ayaka waves at her. "You too Ayaka!" Aiko chuckles. "Come inside, everyone. I just prepared snacks. It''s your favorite chocte cookies, Ayaka!" "Let''s go!" Ayaka grabs Tatsuya''s and Kanna''s hands and drags them inside. Hanabi and Yakumo quickly follow her. "You must be quite exhausted"! Aiko notices the fatigue in Mei''s eyes. "It was a very hefty meeting. Recently, a lot has happened in the shinobi world." Mei shakes her head. "You are right! Looks like another war is about to begin." Aiko warily shakes her head as she recalls the recent attack on Konoha. She evacuated to the shelter with the rest of the n members. Nheless, she was able to figure out the situation from others. "You know?" Mei is slightly surprised. "Is it that obvious?" She asks Aiko. "Well things can''t be hidden for long, no matter how hard you try." Aiko chuckles and enters the house. Inside the house, "Aw so cute!" Hanabi pokes Tatsuya''s cheeks. "NOOO!" Tatsuya grabs his cheeks and hides behind Ayaka. "Nee-san, they are bullying me!" Some tears appear in his eyes. "There! There!" Ayaka gently pats his head. "No one will bully you anymore. Aunt will protect you!" Ayaka smugly crosses her arms. Ah! Yakumo and Hanabi stare at Ayaka with usation. "Looks like little Tatsuya doesn''t like us. He doesn''t like to y with his elder sisters." Hanabi and Yakumo release a long sigh. "Nee-san, I will y with you both!" Kanna grabs their hands. "Aw little Kanna is cute!" Both girls poke her cheeks. "If you bully me, then I won''t y with you anymore." Kanna puffs up her cheeks and turns around while feigning anger. "No! No! We won''t our cute little Kanna. After all, our Kanna is the best." Hanabi takes out the candy from her pocket. "I have a little present for you, Kanna!" She hands over the candy to Kanna. "Wow, it''s for me. Thank you so much, Nee-san!" Kanna grabs the candy and licks it. "I have a present too!" Yakumo takes out a cute little doll from her pocket and hands it over to Kanna. "Hanabi Nee-san, Yakumo Nee-san, both of you are the best." Kanna gives a kiss to both of them. "Kawaii!!" Little hearts appear in Hanabi and Yakumo''s eyes. "Am I not the best?" Ayaka makes a sad face and turns around. "NO! You are not the best." Kanna shakes her head. Sigh Ayaka''s soul leaves her body at Kanna''s words. "You are the best of the best, Ayaka Nee-san!" Kanna hugs her and kisses her cheeks. "Hoh! Our Kanna is turning into a naughty girl." Ayaka ruffles her hair. Hehe Kanna giggles as he licks the candy and ys with the doll. "" Ayaka silently stares at Kanna. ''My cute little angel was bought over by devils with just a candy and doll.'' She res at Hanabi and Yakumo. Hanabi and Yakumo have cheeky smiles on their face. ''It''s our win! Operation KKK Kapture Kawai Kanna sessful!'' "At least I still have Tatsuya with me." She gently pats Tatsuya''s head. Hanabi takes out thetest kunai toy from her pocket and waves it in front of Tatsuya. Sigh "I was about to give it to Tatsuya-kun. But he doesn''t like me, so I guess I will return it." Hanabi sighs in disappointment. Tatsuya''s eyes sparkle at the sight of the new kunai. He silently walks towards the kunai with a stretched hand. "Oh! You want it Tatsuya-kun. I will give it to you if you let me rub your cheeks." Tatsuya begrudgingly ys with the kunai as Hanabi rubs her face against his cheeks. "" Ayaka silently stares at the antics of Hanabi and Yakumo. "This is child assault. I am against it." She pushes both of them away and gently pats Tatsuya''s head. "It''s okay Tatsuya-kun! Aunt will protect me." Tears well up in Tatsuya''s eyes as he points toward the ground. "AH!" Ayaka lowers her head and notices her feet stepping on the new Kunai toy. "This this Tatsuya-kun I didn''t mean to do that." Snap The stic kunai snaps in half under Ayaka''s weight. Waah More tears swell up in Tatsuya''s eyes as his new gets destroyed. "I I didn''t mean to. I am sorry, Tatsuya-kun!" Ayaka hurriedly apologizes and looks for ways to appeal to him. "Don''t worry Tatsuya-kun! I bought another one for you." Yakumo takes out a simr kunai from her pocket. Tatsuya''s eyes gleam. He jumps from Ayaka''s embrace and cheerfully grabs the kunai from Yakumo''s hand. "Tatsuya-kun!" Ayaka calls to him, but he turns around and ignores her. "Ah!" An invisible arrow pierces Ayaka''s heart as Hanabi and Yakumo giggle in a corner. "Operation SSS: Snare Small Shota sessful!" Tick tick An angry tick appears on Ayaka''s forehead. "You guys are so mean. Go away. I won''t talk to you anymore." "Hey girls! What''s going on?" Izumi also enters the room. "Aunt Izumi!" Kanna and Tatsuya turn to her. "Mite! Mite! Kanna, Tatsuya! I have a gift for you." Izumi takes out a basket of sweets and a box of stuffed toys and stic ninja gear. Kanna''s and Tatsuya''s eyes glitter to the point that it blinds everyone in the room. "Aunt Izumi, you are the best of the best!" Both of them hug her and kiss her on the cheek. "I I that that was supposed to be me." Tears flow from Ayaka''s eyes. ''Nii-san, I miss you. I want someone to console me.'' ''There! There!'' An invisible hand ruffles Ayaka''s head. ''Nii-san, you are the only person who knows me best.'' Izumi cheers up slightly. Sigh A cloaked figure sighs slightly in the sky. ''Just a bit more. The start of the Fourth Shinobi War is the absolute point in the timeline and my presence can alter its course, which might doom this world''s fate. So, for now, I can''t interfere too much with thews of this world.'' The figure disappears from space. Ayaka raises her head and nces at the sky. ''Sin! You felt it too, right? That presence!" Jingle jingle Bells jingle in Ayaka''s mind. ----------------------- Three dayster, outside the entrance of Konoha, "Is everyone ready?" Tsunade looks around. "Ready!" Team three and Team Seven respond to her call. Fwoosh With a slight burst of chakra, three-figure appear in front of the group. "Woah!" the sudden discement of the space startles Chojuro. Ao also regains his sense after a few seconds. He turns towards Tsunade and Minato and bows. "Greetings, Lady Tsunade and Lord Minato!" Chojuro also quickly imitates his actions. "It''s fine!" Tsunade and Minato wave their hands. Hmm Minato and Tsunade focus their attention on Chojuro. "So, this young man is your sessor?" They notice the Hiramekarei tied on Chojuro''s back. "Hmm he is one of the mist swordsmen, too. That''s great!" Chojuro clumsily bows his head. "He may look a little clumsy. But when it matters, we can entrust important matters to him. After this potential war, I will retire and hand over my position to him to raise my kids." Mei deres. "But but Mizukage-sama, will I will I be ok?" Chojuro pleads to Mei. "You will be just fine! Also, it''s not like you are alone. My father and Ao are also with you." Mei waves her hand. "Just have more confidence in yourself and I am sure you will make a great Mizukage." "Then then I will do my best to live up to your expectations!" Chojuro solemnly lowers his head. Ahem Ao coughs slightly. "Let''s get going! We are wasting Lady Tsunade and Lord Minato''s precious time." "Ah! I am sorry!" Chojuro hurriedly lowers his head and apologizes to them. "It''s fine!" Minato waves his hand and dismisses him. "You can talk with the rest of the group." He points towards Naruto and Sasuke. "My son and his friends are slightly younger than you." "Thank you so much, Lord Kage!" Chojuro walks towards Naruto and Sasuke with faltering steps. Sigh Mei sighs and shakes her head. "He has the ability butcks the confidence. This time I assigned him the task of guarding me and meet shinobis from other viges to boost his confidence. I hope it will do well for him." "I am sure he will be fine." Minato and the group notice Chojuro chatting happily with Naruto. "Naruto sure has his charm." Mei chuckles. The group departs for the Land of Iron. Chapter 400: Journey to the Kage Summit Chapter 400: Journey to the Kage Summit At the border of the Land of Fire, "Are you sure this information is correct?" A masked bandit holds a scroll as he asks a figure d in ck robes. "Why do you want to cooperate with us and why should we trust you? For us, every Konoha shinobi is an enemy and we won''t rest until wey waste to that entire vige." The bandit leader clutches his fists in deep hatred. Kuku Haha The ck-robed man burst out inughter. "Do you think you can down a behemoth like Konoha with your paltry powers? Even the Akatsuki hailed as the biggest criminal organization of the shinobi world suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the Konoha vige?" "Then why do you think you can help us achieve our desire to destroy Konoha?" The masked bandit grits his teeth and res at the cloaked figure. Hehe "If you promise to cooperate with me, then I can guarantee to deal a major blow to Konoha." The cloaked figure''s tone deepens. "Also, I am aware that you people are nning to release the Forbidden jutsu of the Tsuchigumo n to destroy the Konoha vige. Seems like you are already aware of the uing Kage Summit. Gathering intel about the Kage Summit isn''t a particrly arduous task since none of the hidden viges actively hid this information. You are nning to this opportunity to attack Konoha when most of its shinobis are distracted by the Kage Summit, aren''t you?" The expression of the bandit leader changes slightly. "How how did you know about our n?" "Hehe A group of simpletons like you can only make such obvious ns. It didn''t take a genius to figure out your motives." The cloaked figure tantly mocks the bandits. "YOU!!" Crack Crack Sound of snapping bones rings in the surroundings as the masked bandit clenches his fist in fury. The cloaked figure ignores his temper and continues. "It might have been a viable n if it was the Konoha of the past. However, against the current Konoha; forget about blowing the vige; you people can''t even level the outer walls of Konoha." The cloaked figure turns around and prepares to leave. "Even if we didn''t end up cooperating; I have a friendly reminder for you. There is a very powerful barrier around Konoha capable of withstanding almost all sorts of attacks. The Akatsuki members used all of their powers, but all they only managed to do was leave a few cracks in the barrier." The cloaked figure slowly disappears into the forest. "WAIT!" The masked bandit shouts. Hmm The cloaked figure turns around. "I was waiting for your response." The cloaked figure shes a smile at the masked bandit. "We will cooperate, but we have some conditions." "Very well! Then let''s discuss our cooperation." The cloaked figure shakes hands with the masked bandit. ------------------------ Swoosh swoosh A group of shinobis flickers through the forest. ng ng Ding Ding Hanabi deflects a kunai and turns around. "Behind you, Ayaka-chan." She warns Ayaka. Ding Ayaka blocks a kunai behind her back and shes her sword at her right side. Whoosh Ding The figure blocks her sword and retreats. "I won''t let you!" Ayaka takes out multiple shurikens and kunais from her storage. Sheunches them toward the escaping figure. "Uchiha Style: Scatter Shurikens," She throws five shurikens and five kunais toward the escaping figure. Ding Ding The shurikens and kunais ricochet against each other and follow an unpredictable path. "That''s cheating!" Narutoins as the kunais and shurikens overwhelm him. Ding Ding He hastily blocks all kunais and shurikens with his kunai. "I got you!" Whoosh Ayaka appears behind Naruto with a sword in her hands. She ces the sword around Naruto''s neck. "Oh, really!" Naruto smirks. Poof He disappears in a cloud of white smoke. "Ayaka-chan, you lost!" Another Naruto appears behind Ayaka and ces his hand against Ayaka''s spine. "Hehe Nii-san, you fell for my trap!" Ayaka smirks and makes a hand sign. Shiing A glowing Fuinjutsu seal appears beneath Naruto and restricts his movements. "How?" Naruto''s eyes widen. Hmm He notices the kunais and shurikens lined in a formation around him. "I see!" Naruto raises his hands and surrenders. "It''s my loss Ayaka-chan!" "Hehe I won!" Ayaka has a cheeky smile on her face as she recollects the kunais and shurikens. "That''s a brilliant move, Ayaka!" Minato praises her. "You have already carved a Fuinjutsu formation on your kunais and shurikens beforehand. During the battle, you guided the tempo of the battle in such a way as to activate and trap your opponent in your fuinjutsu formation. I am quite impressed by your nning. Also, that''s not the end, right?" Minato stares at the faintly visible curse marks on Naruto''s arm. "Hehe you found them out!" Ayaka sticks out her tongue. "What what are you guys talking about?" Naruto cluelessly stares at Ayaka and Minato. "Naruto take a close look at your right hand!" "My right hand!" Naruto lowers his hand and nces at his right hand. "What what''s this?" He notices a faint ck mark slowly dissipating on his hand. "Hehe this is a small curse seal of mine. I enchanted my de with this curse seal. I came up with this seal to counter your shadow clones. Your shadow clones are also a part of your chakra. When your shadow clones dispel, a part of its chakra returns to the main body. My curse sealtches on that chakra and travels to the main body. Once enough stacks of the curse seals are umted, this seal will manifest itself and drain arge amount of your chakra and stamina. Once enough chakra is umted, I can use that stolen chakra to detonate the seal and deal a devastating blow to the target. That means I will blow them up with their own chakra. The more chakra someone possesses, the higher the power of the detonation." Brrr A chill runs through Naruto''s spine. "Ayaka-chan! That''s scary." Naruto shivers in fear. "But that''s an ingenious idea." Minato nods in approval. ''Still, to think that she can already design such a powerful curse seal at her age. Her Fuinjutsu talent is even greater than Izuna-kun.'' "You did well!" Mei and Tsunade p and praises her. "Alright, it''s dinnertime." Sakura waves at them. "Let''s go. I am hungry, Dattebyo!" The group returned to their temporary camp to eat dinner. The adults converse with each other while the kids talk among themselves. "The frequency of attacks has increased significantly," Kakashi mutters. "Those foolish people will never learn their lesson. They think it''s an opportunity for them to exact their revenge or earn some fame by defeating a Kage. Do they really think the title of a Kage is a joke?" Ao scoffs. "Well, there are always some reckless fools seeking to soar heights in a single step." Mei shakes her head. "But things sure are troublesome!" Kakashi remarks. "Well, it will serve as training for these kids. It''s an important part of their journey to gain some experience." Tsunade argues. "Soon, we will reach the border of the Land of Fire. Our next destination is the Land of Waterfall. Konoha has some rtions with the leader of the waterfall vige Takigakure. It will be a pleasant opportunity to reinstate our rtionship and enjoy a vacation in Takigakure vige. It has several famous scenic spots and we can enjoy ourselves in one of Izuna''s resorts." Tsunade stretches her arms. "It has been a while since I got to enjoy a vacation. There are still two weeks before the start of the Kage Summit." Mmm Mei agrees with her. "We will travel theter part of the journey through the pr sea. We already have reserved a ship at the estuary of the Land of the waterfall. It will be a three-day journey to the Land of Iron." Minato reveals the schedule. "Alright, it''s prettyte. Let''s go to sleep. I will keep watch for the night." Kakashi takes the night guard duty. Yawn The teen group yawns and returns to their tents. After a few minutes, "Looks like they are gone!" Minato mutters as he nces at his surroundings. "Do they think we don''t know about their ns?" Tsunade scoffs. "These remnants of roots were hidden deep within the vige. Now is the opportunity to clean them all in a single swoop." Minato nces in the direction of the retreating spy. "We will see who will fall for whose n!" ------------------------ A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 401: Vacation in Takigakure Chapter 401: Vacation in Takigakure Soon, the Kage escort group arrives at the border of the Land of the waterfall. Minato signals to Kakashi. Kakashi takes out a scroll from his pocket and dashes deeper into the forest of the Land of the waterfall. Soon, a gigantic tree appears in his vision. Swoosh swoosh Multiple shinobis with Takigakure headbands surround him. Kakashi lowers his cloak and reveals himself. "I am Kakashi Hatake from the Konoha. And this is a letter from your vige leader." Kakashi tosses the scroll toward the captain of the patrol team. Hmm The captain of the patrol team grabs the scroll and reads its contents. "Very well! We will escort your team to Takigakure." "Well, then I am off to inform them." Kakashi returns to the escort group. "They approved our entry. We can enter Takigakure." The Kage escort group enters deeper into the forest. After walking for fifteen minutes, a gigantic tree with sky-touching heights appears in their vision. "Woah! What an enormous tree?" Naruto and the group raise their head to nce at the peak of the tree. The clouds in the sky block their vision. Multiple waterfalls surround the roots of the giant tree. The flowing streams, waterfalls, massive foliage, nts, and flowers paint a picturesque scenery. "Wow! This is amazing." Sakura, Hanabi, and Yakumo mutter in amazement. "This might be the second tallest tree I have seen in my entire life." Naruto and Ayaka murmurs. Swoosh swoosh The Takigakure shinobis surround them. Whoosh The captain of the team appears in front of the group and bows his head to Tsunade, Minato, and Mei in greetings. "Wee to the Takigakure, Lord Hokage and Lord Mizukage!" The captain turns to Naruto and Ayaka. "Our vige boasts the shinobi world''s tallest tree. Could you please tell me the location of another tree, which is seemingly bigger than this tree?" "Oh, that! It''s in the Shikkotsu Forest, one of the Sage regions." Naruto answers him. "I I see!" The captain doesn''t refute his answer. "Hmme to think of it, Katsuyu mentioned something about the seedling of that giant tree. Perhaps this giant tree might be a seedling of that giant tree in Shikkotsu Forest." Tsunade also inspects the giant tree. Her previous journey to thend of iron was through thend of Earth. The group takes multiple turns around the roots of the giant tree. Soon, they arrive in front of a water screen. The captain takes out a whistle from his pocket and blows it. The whistle produces some sound inaudible to human ears. After a while, the water screen in front of them disappears and a group of Takigakure jounins arrives in front of them. The patrol team captain passes Kakashi''s letter to them. One of the neers Taki jounin grabs the scroll and reads its content. He uses a secret seal to check its authenticity and nods his head. "Please follow us!" The jounin and his team lower their head to the Kage group. "Alright!" Minato nods his head and gestures for the escort team to follow them. The patrol team returns to their post. Soon, the group enters through the passage and arrives in front of yet another giant waterfall. One of the Taki jounin walks towards the giant waterfall and makes a series of hand signs. Fwoosh The water in the giant waterfall flows upward to reveal a secret hidden passage. There is a gigantic stone with multiple sealing formations blocking the passage. The jounin makes some more hand signs and ms his palm on the stone. Shoom The seals on the stone glow, and the stone moves sideways to reveal a passage. "Let''s go!" The Taki jounin gestures to them. The group follows after them. "Wow, what tight security?" Hanabi is surprised by the level of security measures adopted by the Takigakure vige. "Takigakure isn''t a major hidden vige since it doesn''t have its official Kage. However, it has withstood three major shinobi wars. This is a testament to Takigakure''s power. After the first shinobi war, Takigakure signed a treaty with the Konoha and since then we have helped Takigakure multiple times." Izumi reveals the information about Takigakure to the group. "Izuna was also a part of the group which helped Takigakure during its time of need," Minato reveals a top-secret detail to the group. "Nii-san!" The group is surprised to hear this. "Yes!" Minato nods his head. "Izuna has some business rtionship with the current leader Shibuki of the Takigakure vige. He is also a benefactor of the vige leader. It''s part of the reason Konoha was able to establish a stable trade route with the Land of Waterfall." "Oh! No wonder." The group is astonished to hear this news. "Not only this vige, but Izuna also has a rtionship with several other viges. His business is spread through most of the shinobi world and thus every vige had to establish some degree of friendly rtionship with Izuna to maintain a stable supply of goods. Izuna''s economical influence on these viges is higher than hisbat prowess influence. Not to mention his political influence. If Izuna wants, he can pretty much dissolve the Daimyo of any small nation with a few words." Minato reveals the scary influence of Izuna''s power in the world. "And that''s just the tip of his prowess. Izuna''spany controls the sixty percent market of the shinobi world. Countless shinobi and merchants will lose their job on his whims." "Wow! Amazing! Izuna Nii-san is so amazing!" The group praises Izuna''s power. "Hehe He is my Onii-san, after all." A smug smile appears on Ayaka''s face as she mentions Izuna''s name. Their group moves through an underground cave system with multiple passages and dead ends, just like a maze. After walking for a while, the group arrives in front of arge water reservoir with a barrier to iste the water. "Wow!" Hanabi''s and Yakumo''s shine brightly as multiple-colored fishes swim past them. "Amazing!" "This way, please"! The jounin group guides them towards a pedestal located in the center of the giant water reservoir. The group climbs the pedestal, which slowly rises through the water. Soon, they arrive in the middle of argeke. The pedestal connects with a gazebo located in the center of theke. "Greetings, Hokage-Dono, Mizukage-Dono!" A youthful figure d in a light-yellow kimono jacket, gray pants, and a turquoise haori greets them. There is a red scarf around his neck with a kanji for ''Waterfall''. The young man has ink-ck eyes and long, dark brown hair. "Greetings, vige head Shibuki!" The group returns his greetings. "Our Takigakure is pleased to have such guests. All of you must be exhausted from the journey. Please rest for the day. We will discuss political matters at ater date." Shibuki signals his retainers. "We will guide you to the nearby resort owned by Lord Izuna." The group strolls through the streets of Takigakure vige. Multiple waterfalls, canals, and streams flow through the streets of the Takigakure vige. "It''s one of the best vacation destinations. I will ask Dad to celebrate my birthday here." Hanabi looks around in amazement. Ayaka takes out a camera from her storage and begins to click photos with the rest of the group. Soon, they arrive in front of a luxurious building spanning several acres. The manager of the resort awaits their arrival with a red carpet. "Greetings Mei-sama and Lord Kage!" He signals some of his men to carry their luggage, "We have prepared the VVIP rooms for your group in advance. There will also be a guide to tour around the vige. Please enjoy your stay." The manager bows to them in utter respect. "Mmm not bad!" Tsunade looks around and nods in approval. "Finally, I can eat some good food. I am tired of eating dried and half-cooked meals in the wild." Narutoins. "Sorry, if my food looks half-cooked to you." Tears flow through Sakura''s eyes. "Hehe you don''t have to feel bad Sakura-chan!" Minato attempts to appease her. In their entire group, only Minato and Sakura know a thing or two about meal preparation. -------------- Somewhere on the outskirts of the Takigakure vige, "They have arrived in the Takigakure vige. We have seven days to n our ambush." A masked figure writes down a message on the scroll. "This time, we won''t fail! Konoha, you will pay the price for your arrogance." ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 402: Alliance with Takigakure Chapter 402: Alliance with Takigakure The next day in the afternoon, in a central building in the Takigakure vige. The members of the Taki elder council, the leaders of various ns, and the retainers of the vige chief gather in a meeting room. Shibuki is seated in the chief seat as he discusses with the vigers. "Our Takigakure vige has maintained a friendly rtionship with Konoha for the past forty years. After the death of the previous vige chief, we didn''t have an official meeting with the representative of the Konoha vige. This is an excellent opportunity to renew our rtionship with them." Shibuki addresses the members of the council and the n leaders. "Since the era of the Hidden viges, our viges have survived solely on the efforts of our shinobis. Since when did we have to rely on protection from outsiders?" One of the conservative elders chimes in. "With Hero water and the terrain of the Land of Waterfall, we aren''t afraid of any invasion from other viges. Even if it''s one of the Five Hidden Nations, we can hold our own against them." Another elder remark. "Then what about the incident forty years ago? Despite our attempted assassination of the First Hokage, he aided us in the invasion from the Land of Earth andter sold the seven-tails to us as a form of protection." Another elder remark. "Not only that, fifteen years ago, the Kinjutsu of Torigakure almost wiped our vige; but it was Konoha who sent aid to us and helped us survive the ordeal." Shibuki reminds them. "Also, the circumstances have changed. I have suppressed the news from the rest of the world, but all of you must be aware of it by now." Shibuki stares into their eyes. "The seven-tail jinchuruki Fu, who I considered as my little sister was kidnapped by the members of the Akatsuki for her tailed beast. From past reports, we know that this isn''t the only incident. Akatsuki has been collecting tailed-beast since a long time ago. Their motives might threaten the safety of the entire shinobi world. It was thanks to Konoha that such a threat was neutralized." "The representative of Konoha and Kiri are here!" A Taki jounin enters the meeting room and announces. "Very well!" Shibuki nods his head. Soon, Minato, Tsunade, and Mei enter the room. Shibuki and the rest of the vige elders stand from their seats to wee them. The group upies the seats reserved for them. With this, the meeting to renew the rtionship between the three viges started. The meetingsted for an hour. Most of the time, the elders of the Takigakure argue with each other. "Kirigakure would like to establish a friendly rtionship with the Takigakure and as a gesture, we will open sea trade routes to the Takigakure." Mei proposes. The elders and the Shibuki discuss for a while before epting the proposal. "Vige leader Shibuki, I have an important proposal to make. Your decision will affect our future rtionship with Takigakure." Minato has a serious expression on his face. "Lord Fourth, please speak!" "Very well!" Minato ces a stack of scrolls on the table as he speaks. "Takigakure must have already heard of the rumors regarding the criminal organization Akatsuki and how they manage to collect eight out of Nine-tailed beasts. Especially since one of them is from Takigakure." The expression of the vige elders turns grim as Minato raises this issue. Still, they nod their head in approval. "Then, you might also have heard about the battle between the Akatsuki and Konoha and how Konoha defeated the leader of the Akatsuki." "We do!" Shibuki nods his head. "Since you are already aware of this news, then let me add further facts to it. The real mastermind behind Akatsuki is still alive, and he aims to start a war against the Five Shinobi nations." Minato reveals Akatsuki''s ns to them. "This will be the start of the Fourth Shinobi War and, once again, turmoil will spread throughout the shinobi world." He deres. "But what does this have to do with the Takigakure vige?" One of the conservative elders speaks his mind. "We never interfered in the matters of the Five Great Hidden Nations since the First Shinobi war. How does this war differ from the rest?" He continues. "You are right! Such a war won''t affect Takigakure if it was between two or three Hidden Nations. However, with the current situation, the Akatsuki ns to wage a war against all the Hidden Nations at once. Since the five great hidden nations are involved in the turmoil. Do you really think that a small vige like Takigakure can''t stay away from the aftereffects of this war?" Minato speaks with a blunt tone. "Well" The Conservative elder''s expression freezes as he recalls the incident from Forty years ago. Iwagakure and Konohagakure were engaged in a war of attrition. Konoha had a dominant position and was slowly inching toward victory since Iwa had run out of resources. Out of desperation, Iwa invaded the Land of Waterfall to loot their resources. This act infuriated the then-leader of the Takigakure, who sent an assassin to kill both the Tsuchikage and Hokage in an attempt to warn Iwa and Konoha. The Hokage easily fended off the best assassin of the Takigakure and the Tsuchikage also managed to survive the attempt on his life, albeit with some major injuries. This act infuriated Iwagakure even further, who then aggressively invaded and destroyed thend of the Waterfall. It was the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju who fended off the Land of Waterfall from the invasion of the Land of Earth and even restored the destroyednd with his wood release. Silence shrouds the meeting room as none of the Taki elders respond to Minato''s words. "Seems like you lot are aware of the situation. Then I won''t mind sharing some information with you. The current Kage Summit in the Land of Iron might lead to an alliance between the Five Nations for the first time. Konoha, Kiri, and Sunagakure are already in an alliance with each other. During this war, the five viges will stand as a united force, and all shinobis as a part of the alliance army. If any nation, be it small orrge, refused to cooperate with the shinobi alliance; then that nation will dere as the enemy of the entire shinobi world." Minato deres to the members of the Taki elder council. "The choice is up to you." "This!" The conservative elder who refuted Minato''s words sweats profusely. "We we need some time to consider. Could you spare us a few hours?" Shibuki calmly cates the situation. "Alright!" Minato, Tsunade, and Mei exit the room. "Minato, I never expected you to be so blunt about the situation!" Tsunade raises an eyebrow. "Tsunade-sama, they are a part of the shinobi world. Obito''s current n doesn''t just possess a threat to Konoha, it threatens the safety of the entire shinobi world. We can''t becent about the current state of the world, where smaller nations might ditch their responsibility on ount of theirck of resources. We will fight this war for the survival of the shinobi world. It''s unlike the previous war where every nation fought for resources. Also, if Izuna-kun''s words are right; then even a much bigger war awaits us ahead. A war where the entire mankind will fight for its survival." Minato recalls Izuna''s warning about the otherworldly beings. "You are right! Looks like Izuna-kun foresaw such an event and left lots of contingency ns for such cases." Tsunade nods in agreement. "In any case, we will fulfill our part of the responsibility!" Mei shakes her head. ----------------------- About an hourter, Minato, Tsunade, and Mei re-enter the room. "So, what''s your decision?" Minato asks them. The elder stares at each other and nods their head. "Our Takigakure is willing to partake in the uing Shinobi war and will contribute to the battle to the best of our abilities." Shibuki deres. "Very well! Since Takigakure is willing to join the Shinobi alliance, then, as their ally, we won''t let them have the short end of the stick. Here is a littlepensation for our alliance." Minato throws a scroll in the center of the table. Poof With a puff of smoke, a body encased in an ice block appears on top of the table. "WHAT?" The elders immediately recognize the body and stand up from their seats. "That''s that''s Kakuzu." One of the elder murmurs. "What? He is the one who is responsible for the murder of the First Vige chief?" "It''s that Kakuzu!" mmer rings through the meeting room as various elders and n leaders discuss among themselves. Minato, Tsunade, and Mei exit the room. "We have already squeezed the value out of his body and deciphered the Kinjutsu he practiced. So, it''s not a big deal if we return his body to the Takigakure as a friendly gesture." Tsunade chuckles. "Minato, I never knew you were so shrewd." She praises Minato. "Well, I picked up some tricks from Izuna." Minato recalls the memories of various scams Izunamitted throughout his life. ''Compared to him, I am just an innocent passerby.'' ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 403: Ambush at Polar Estuary Chapter 403: Ambush at Pr Estuary The escort group spends the next few days rxing in the Takigakure. They enjoy the local cuisines of the Takigakure and capture the sceneries of thend of the waterfall with their camera. On thest day of their stay, the vige chief Shibuki personally escort them out with a group of shinobis to lead them to the harbor. The escort group bodes farewell to the hotel members and departs for their destination. "This was quite a vacation." Naruto stretches his arms as he flickers across the forest. "We have stocked up on our supplies for the sea journey. The pr sea is full of unknown monsters and myths. So, don''t lower your guard while on the sea." Kakashi reminds them. The group stares among themselves and smiles. ''Looks like they can''t hold back anymore. The estuary of the pr sea is an ideal location for an ambush. Once we enter the sea, they won''t be able to make a move anymore.'' Minato continues to move forwards while secretly observing the movements of their pursuers. ''There are quite a few of them. Some of them are from the Land of Sound, some of them are former root members, some rogue shinobis from smaller nations, and even some criminals from Takigakure. Looks like they really didn''t like our stay in the Land of Waterfall.'' Tsunade secretly eyes them. ''However, what''s this uneasy feeling in my heart?'' Mei speaks her mind as she monitors the movement of their pursuers. This entire time, they have been discussing their strategy through a secret sound transmission technique of Mount Myoboku. ''We can''t underestimate them. They must have prepared a trump card or something of that category to get enough confidence to deal with us.'' ''I can sense arge amount of chakra ahead of us. Please be careful!'' Minato reminds them. Among everyone present here, Minato has the sharpest sense after the reformation of his body. Swoosh Soon, the group exits the forest. The magnificent view of the pr sea greets them, but none of them have the intention to praise this view. "Scatter!" Minato hurriedly signals them. Swoosh The group quickly scatters away in a pair of two. Shiing A gigantic fuinjutsu formation appears on the ground. At a faraway distance, Swirl Obito walks out of a swirling portal. ''I have learned quite a lesson from thest time. Back then, Konoha hid in that turtle shell and joined forces against the Akatsuki members. Even their information exchangework was perfect. But this time, I will break them apart.'' Obito takes out a blood-red crystal orb from his pocket. ''This is still a prototype of the jutsu and is iplete. However, thebined powers of eight-tailed beasts are enough to achieve this." He tosses the blood-red crystal orb in the air. Swoosh The blood-red crystal orb quickly rises in the air and shrouds a portion of the moon covering the area. Shoom A blinding light covers the area and interrupts Minato, who is about to use the Flying Thunder God jutsu to evacuate the group from the Fuinjutsu seal. BOOM The fuinjutsu symbol beneath their feet lights up and explodes. "Tsuchigumo Style: Forbidden Life Technique Release: Creation of Heaven and Earth: Dohatsuten," The masked bandit makes some hand signs and activates the giant Fuinjutsu formation. A massive cloud of white energy gathers near the seal and explodes to create a gigantic vortex of chaotic energy. The chaotic energy runs rampant within the confines of the seal and annihtes everything to dust. The masked bandit clutches his fist. "This is the forbidden Kinjutsu of the Tsuchigumo n. This jutsu gathers arge amount of explosive chakra from the surroundings and stores it in the seal. Upon activation of the seal, the explosion is capable of wiping out entire viges. However, the n leader sealed this jutsu to form friendly ties with Konoha. In the end, our n was driven to extinction thanks to the schemes of Konoha." The masked bandit grits his teeth and stares at the explosion. "With this, I have avenged my n." "It''s too soon to celebrate." The expression of the cloaked figure beside him turns grim as he stares at the center of the explosion. "WHAT. What''s going on?" The bandit leader and the cloaked figure stare at the explosion with wide eyes as the energy of the explosion is slowly sucked away into a swirling hole to the other dimension. "What trick did Konoha use this time?" The bandit leader despairs at the sight of Konoha shinobis. At a somewhat faraway distance, Obito''s face turns red in anger. A portion of his body is scorched ck as he forcefully exits the Kamui dimension. "Kakashi you bi@#%. Is this how you repay me for gifting my Mangekyo Sharingan?" Obito spouts profanities at Kakashi. "I was about to activate this jutsu from a somewhat safer ce. But this ce is safe enough." Obito ps his palm and stares at the giant red moon. Back at the center of the explosion, "Is everyone alright?" Minato checks up on everyone. "We are fine! Nii-san''s protective barrier saved us." A scroll In Naruto''s hands turns into dust and dissipates. Simr scrolls are present in the hands of every person. Huff huff Kakashi breathes heavily as he lies down on the ground. "I exhausted a great deal of my chakra to deal with this explosion." Kakashi''s left eye turns normal as he pants. "This technique it''s the forbidden Kinjutsu of the Tsuchigumo n. How did it end up in the hands of these bandits? Tsuchigumo n was an ally of our Konoha. However, this n fell under the schemes of Danzo." Tsunade grits her teeth as she recognizes the Kinjutsu. "Let''s regroup at the center!" Minato sends a message to the group. Suddenly, Shiing Bright white light shines from the moon. "The moon! It''s so big and blood red." Naruto raises his head and stares at the moon. All other members of the escort group also stare at the blood-red moon. Obitopletes his hand signs. "Limited Tsukuyomi," SHOOM Ripples spread across the entire area as the light from the blood-red moon illuminates it. "This is bad!" Minato hurriedly recognizes the danger, but it''s toote. The light from the blood-red moon engulfs everyone. All of their eyes turn nk as a gigantic sphere of energy shrouds the entire area. "It''s done!" Obito releases his hands and stares at his handiwork. ''Using the power of the tailed beast to create a replica of the real world in a form of an illusion. This isted space derives its rules from the real world and can operate on its own. Although it''s a shame that I can''t control this world. However, I can influence it to a certain extent.'' Swoosh ck Zetsu pops out of the ground and stares at the sphere of the Limited Tsukuyomi. "Good job with the jutsu. With this, we can increase our chances of capturing the nine-tails." He remarks. "It''s not enough. Those rogue shinobi from smaller nations are no match for the elite shinobis of Konoha. It''s time to ask Kabuto to fulfill his end of the deal. We tasked him to retrieve the one-tails and the nine-tails, but he only delivered the one-tails." Kuku A cloaked figure walks out of the shadows. "Now now as allies, how could I not fulfill my end of the deal? I have already sent him to retrieve the Nine-tails." "Him?!" Obito''s eyes narrow. "If it''s him, then our chances of sess are a hundred percent." Obito rxes slightly. Fwoosh Another clone of white Zetsu pops out of the ground and shares a scroll with him. Hmm Obito reads the content of the scroll and his brows scrunch slightly. "Failure isn''t an option. Ry these words." Obito stores the scroll in his Kamui dimension. The white Zetsu clone enters the ground and disappears. --------------- Argh Naruto clutches his forehead as a sharp pain run across his head. "Where where am I?" He slowly opens his eyes and looks around. "This is this is Konoha. How did I end up here?" He looks around in confusion. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 404: Limited Tsukuyomi Chapter 404: Limited Tsukuyomi "Wasn''t I supposed to be in the Land of the waterfall? As far as I could remember, I was fighting the bad guys who attacked us. Then how did I end up here?" Naruto quickly jumps up and takes abat stance with full guard. "Eh! Naruto-kun, what are you doing in the middle of the street?" Hinata, Ino, and Karin stare at him in amazement. "Who are you? You can''t fool me with your disguise." Naruto lunges at Ino and Karin with his de. "Nar Naruto-kun!" Hinata panics at the sight of Naruto''s de. "Ah Hinata!" Naruto''s de stops a few centimeters away from Hinata''s neck. "H HINATA! You are the real Hinata. That characteristics look and voice, there is no way the enemy can replicate Hinata to such an extent." Naruto slightly lowers his guard. "Naruto! What''s the matter? Why are you pointing your kunais at the girls?" An angry voice sounds in Naruto''s ears. "Ah M Mom!" Naruto slowly turns around and notices Kushina''s angry face. "Is this what I taught you? You should be a gentleman todies like your Izuna Nii-san. But you sigh You need some punishment." Kushina grabs Naruto''s ear and pulls him towards their house. "Aww aww it hurts. It hurts so much. This isn''t a dream." "Huh! What nonsense are you mumbling? Are you alright?" Kushina ces her hand on Naruto''s forehead. "Hmm your temperature is fine. Did you hit your head or something?" Kushina pulls Naruto in her arms and ruffles his hair to check his head. "Looks fine to me. So so could this be your rebellious phase?" Kushina stares at Naruto with wide eyes. "No! It''s not like that. I am fine, Mom!" Naruto argues with her. "Let''s go home. Your father must be making preparations for the dinner." Kushina drags Naruto with her. ''All of this feels real! And even Kurama is sure this isn''t a Genjutsu.'' Naruto exits from his mindscape after consulting with Kurama. ''Still, I will keep my guard!'' Naruto cautiously walks towards his house. ------------------------- In a different ce, Bang Itachi''s wooden sword hits Sasuke''s head. "Sasuke, what''s the matter? Why are you spacing out?" Itachi asks Sasuke with worry. Swoosh Sasuke swiftly jumps back and activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Who are you?" He warily stares at Itachi. "Sigh It''s me, Itachi, your elder brother." Itachi lowers his sword and stares at Sasuke. Hmm Sasuke inspects Itachi''s chakra with his Mangekyo Sharingan. ''His chakra is the same as Itachi Nii-san. Can someone replicate someone''s else chakra to such an extent that they can even fool the perception of Mangekyo Sharingan? I will test him out.'' Sasuke releases his killing intent and disappears from his ce. Swoosh He reappears behind Itachi with his de slightly piercing through the outer skin of Itachi''s neck. Drip drip Blood drips from Itachi''s face. Except for a frown, Itachi doesn''t show any negative emotion. Swoosh Sasuke jumps back and retreats. "Why didn''t you dodge that? You could easily avoid that attack?" He questions Itachi. Sigh Itachi sighs and replies. "Sasuke, you are my younger brother. Even with all your bloodlust, I didn''t sense any killing intent from you. I am not sure why are you doing this, but you must have your reason." Itachi turns around and walks towards the Uchiha npound. "Mom must be waiting for us! It''s almost time for dinner." Itachi wipes the blood from his neck and disappears from Sasuke''s vision. ''What''s going on? Is it some powerful genjutsu?'' Sasuke makes some hand signs and touches his forehead. ''Hmm nothing changed! Looks like it''s an extremely powerful genjutsu. I have to use the dispel technique from the Ryuchi cave.'' Sasuke sits down with his crossed legs. He enters the Sage Mode and circtes the nature energy through his body to expel almost all of his chakra. ''This particr method of dispelling a genjutsu is unique to Ryuchi cave. Ordinarily, if a person expels all of his chakra for nature energy, the bnce of chakra and nature energy will break and the person will turn into stone. However, the Ryuchi cave has a technique to bypass that effect. It rapidly circtes nature energy through the chakra system and expels it from the tenketsu points of the body. In this way, the body attains equilibrium with the surroundings.'' Sasuke dispels the Sage Mode and eats a chakra pill to restore his chakra. ''I am still in the same ce. This doesn''t seem to be a genjutsu. Then is this reality? Then was my mission at the Land of the waterfall a dream.'' Sasuke looks around in suspicion. "For now, I will maintain my guard and slowly figure out the situation." Sasuke walks towards the Uchiha npound. ------------------ A simr situation happened with the rest of the group. At a slightly faraway distance, Swoosh A crystal ball appears in Obito''s hands as he nces at the Escort group. "Looks like all of them fell prey to my Limited Tsukuyomi. Although I can''t interfere much with the world, I can still manipte a few things ording to my wishes." He turns to Kabuto, who is standing beside him. "It''s time for your puppet to make a move. Order him to send all of those rogue shinobis and root members to attack the Konoha members. I will manipte the small world to let them recall their memories and identify their targets." "Very well!" Kabuto makes some hand signs. On the other side of the estuary, "Damn! Those Konoha bastards survived that attack." The masked bandit smashes a nearby tree with his fists. "At this rate, I will lose all of my men." He grits his teeth and turns to the cloaked figure. "So, where is the help you promised? I am sacrificing my men to take them down, and you have yet to make a move." Suddenly, A blinding light encases the area around the estuary. A gigantic transparent barrier envelops the surroundings. The masked bandit and the cloaked figure are just outside the range of the transparent barrier. "This what''s this?" The masked bandit stretches his hand to touch the transparent barrier, but the chakra from the barrier repels him. "Hehe this is the help I was talking about." The cloaked figure smiles. Several anbus gather beside him. "Woah!" The masked bandit is startled by the sudden appearance of the anbu members. He jumps back with a de in his hands. "There is no need to be wary of me. We are allies, after all. I will open a passage in the barrier and my men will assist your men to take down those Konoha bastards. This barrier is meant to contain them and prevent their escape." The masked shinobi waves his hand and a pitch-ck gate opens in the barrier. "Alright, I will trust you." The masked bandit waves his hand and dispatches his remaining men inside the barrier together with the Anbus. "Not. Let''s just wait for the good news." The cloaked figure cackles. ------------------ "Alright, it''s done!" Kabuto lowers his hand while ring at the crystal ball in Obito''s hand. "Now that''s one powerful jutsu. The ability to create an isted dimension with the rules of the real world. It''s worth researching." Hiss The snake behind Kabuto hisses as Kabuto''s eyes narrow at the sight of the crystal ball. Swoosh Obito waves his hand and then stores the crystal ball. "You shouldn''t bite more than you can chew," Obito warns him. "Kuku the power of the tailed beasts is pretty interesting. However, this doesn''t fascinate me. I want to seek a power, much, much higher than this." Kabuto adjusts his spectacles and chuckles. ''A power simr to the one I witnessed in that battle!'' Kabuto recalls the final battle between Izuna and the Abyss Centurion. Back then, he was also present within the confines of the hole. The giant barrier blocked his path, and he was unable to get out of the Hole. Later, he was caught in the crossfire between Izuna''s and Abyss Centurion''s battle and suffered grievous injuries. ''However, I was able to survive thanks to the regeneration factor of the Hashirama cells. Hashirama''s cell contains a much higher power than just the wood release. Their vitality and life force are so powerful that it feels like even the world assists in their sustenance. ''However, that battle! Those powerful attacks! That chaotic energy! It opened my eyes to a new world; the world of Gods! And now I want to witness the creation of a God with my own eyes. If I can study that process, then perhaps I can create much more powerful.'' Kabuto licks his lips. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 405: Dream or Reality? Chapter 405: Dream or Reality? "Look look mom is back!" Two little kids poke the face of a woman. "Ara your mamma is tired! Don''t disturb her like that, Tatsuya-chan, Kanna-chan!" Ady in her early fifties has a wry smile on her face. "Grandma, but but mom promised us to take you to the amusement park." Tatsuya''s and Kanna''s eyes turn teary. "Ara then grandma and grandpa will go with you." Aiko gently pats Tatsuya''s and Kanna''s heads. "But mom promised us." Tatsuya and Kanna wails. "Tatsuya-chan! Kanna-chan! Be a good boy and a good girl!" "Ya! Yada!" Both kids throw a tantrum and hug Mei. Argh Mei slowly opens her eyes. "Where am I? I was supposed to be fighting some rogue shinobis in the Land of the Waterfall!" "Mom!" Tatsuya and Kanna grab her face with their little hands. "This! Is it a genjutsu? But I should be immune to a genjutsu because of this charm." Mei stares at the bracelet on her arm. She makes some hand signs and taps her forehead to dispel the genjutsu. "Still, no effect!" Mei opens her eyes and looks around. "Mom! Are you alright?" Kanna touches Mei''s forehead with little hands. "Ah! Kanna-chan! Mamma is fine." Mei gently caresses Kanna''s face. "Then, Mom! Let''s go to the amusement park. You promise us." Tatsuya tugs her sleeves. "When did I promise that?" Mei''s voice turns feeble as she attempts to recall the promise. "Mom! Did you forget the promise?" Tatsuya''s eyes turn teary. "No! No! Of course not! Let''s go to the amusement park. Give mamma a few minutes." Mei ruffles Tatsuya''s hair. "Will it be alright?" Aiko wryly asks for Mei''s well-being. "It will be fine! As a parent, I have to fulfill the promise to my kids. Currently, in the absence of their father, I am their entire world." Mei smiles and shakes her head. "Yay! We will go to the amusement park. We will enjoy lots of rides and eat lots of food." Tatsuya and Kanna jump around Mei in happiness. "I will ride the giant wheel-like thingy!" Tatsuya puffs his cheeks. "I will eat the fluffy colorful candy." Kanna drools slightly. "Alright alright! Now, let''s get ready." Mei chuckles. --------------------------- "Tsunade-sama! Tsunade-sama! Wake up, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune shakes Tsunade''s body. Argh Tsunade grabs her forehead and slowly opens her eyes. "Ah! Shizune!" "Don''t Ah me Tsunade-sama! You are drinking again while working. How many times have I told you to not drink while in the office?" Shizune continues to scold Tsunade. ''What''s going on? I was pretty sure I was in the Land of the Waterfall fighting against the rogue shinobis who attacked us on our way to the Kage Summit. How did I end up in my office?" Tsunade groans slightly. "Shizune! Come here!" She waves her hand at Shizune. "Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune lowers her head to Tsunade''s level. Grab Pinch "Eeeeeeekkk!!!" Shizune''s screams echo through half of Konoha. "Tsunade-sama! That''s so mean." Shizune soothes her sore cheek with teary eyes. "So, it isn''t a dream!" "If you want to confirm if it''s a dream or not, then pinch your own cheeks, don''t pinch mine." Shizune uses the mystic palm technique to heal her cheek. "Look, you are fine!" Tsunade points at her cheek. "But it was still so painful!" Growl Tsunade''s stomach rumbles. "I am hungry!" Tsunade looks around and notices Tonton in Shizune''s arms. "It has turned fat and juicy. It''s time to make roast pork." Drool leaks from Tsunade''s face. "OINK OINK" Tonton''s screams echo through half of Konoha. "Hmm still, it doesn''t seem to be genjutsu." Tsunade stares at the bracelet on her arm. "There is no reaction from the bracelet and also the dispel technique doesn''t work. Which means this is reality? But what about the Kage meeting?" Tsunade turns to Shizune. "Shizune, when is the Kage Summit?" "Ah! Tsunade-sama, you forgot? There is still a month before the Kage meeting." "Huh? That long!" Tsunade scratches her head. "Was that a dream, then?" Tsunade ponders as she lies on the couch. "Shizune, I want to drink." "No drinking unless youplete today''s paperwork." Shizune ms a stack of papers in front of Tsunade. "Once you inspect them all, we can go for drinking. That is, if any shops are still open by then!" Shizune res at Tsunade. "Shizune, you are a devil!" Imaginary wings and horns appear around Shizune. "Hehe you are right, Tsunade-sama! I am a devil! Now get back to work." The devil Shizune, smacks her imaginary whip on the table. "Tch, fine!" ----------------------------- "Argh" Minato clutches his forehead and slowly opens his eyes. "I suffered a bacsh from the Flying Thunder God jutsu." Minato looks around. He is presently sitting in a dark room. "This ce. Isn''t it the office of the intelligence department of the anbu? What am I doing here? Shouldn''t I be in No wait, it could be a genjutsu." Minato makes some hand signs and taps his forehead to dispel the genjutsu. "It isn''t working, which means either it''s a very high-level genjutsu or this is reality. For now, I will assume it to be the first case. After staying with Izuna for such a long time, I havee across many unimaginable circumstances, so it is fair to assume the worst case." Minato stares at his desk. "This is my work desk in the Anbu office. He stares at the intel on the table. This information it''s the intel about the suspicious activities of many rogue shinobi groups after the battle with the Akatsuki." Creak The door opens up, and Itachi enters the room. "Lord Fourth! This is thetest intel on the suspicious activities of Kabuto and his group of cursed shinobis." Hmm "ce it on the table!" Minato signals him. "Yes, lord Fourth!" Itachi ces the scroll on the table. He turns around to leave. "Wait!" "Yes, Lord Fourth?! Do you have any orders for me?" "Itachi, use your Tsukuyomi on me!" Minato orders him. "Umm lord fourth, are you sure about that?" Itachi has a hesitant expression on his face. "It''s fine! I just want to check something." Minato assures him. "Alright, then!" Shiing Itachi''s eyes turn into Mangekyo Sharingan. "Tsukuyomi!" He cast the powerful genjutsu on Minato. After a few seconds, the genjutsu dispels. "Lord Fourth are you are you alright?" Itachi asks with slight worry. "I am alright! There is nothing to worry about." Minato shakes his head. ''Hmm Itachi''s genjutsu did affect him, but I was able to dispel it before it could its effect. It''s thanks to the defensive artifact Izuna gave him and also my increased mental and spiritual resistance.'' "Then I will take my leave." Itachi walks out of the office. "I am still skeptical about this since there are multiple methods to deceive one''s perception. For now, I will take a look at the situation in the vige." Minato rolls the scroll and exits the room. ---------------------- "Looks like your pawns have sessfully infiltrated the space. Now, it''s my turn to tinker with these variables." Obito raises the crystal ball in his hand and infuses some chakra into it to shine another light on the barrier space. "Hmm" Obito frowns as he stares at the crystal ball. "Im impossible! This is not right!" A scene appears in the crystal ball. "Hanabi-chan! Yakumo-chan! Wake up!" Ayaka is shaking Hanabi''s and Yakumo''s unconscious bodies. She makes some hand signs and taps their forehead. "Why isn''t it working? Why can''t I dispel their genjutsu?" Ayaka bites her lips. ''Sin-chan! Is there a way to wake them up?'' Ayakamunicates with the Sin Grimoire. "Hmm that girl she can resist the powerful reality manipting genjutsu you cast. How amusing!" Kabuto licks his lips as he stares at Ayaka''s figure like a vicious snake. "If I recall correctly, she is the younger sister of the Izuna Uchiha. Does it have something to do with that?" Kabuto smiles at Obito. Fwoosh ck Zetsu pops out of the ground and stands beside Obito. "This jutsu is an iparably powerful technique that is impossible to resist and it can bypass all impregnable defenses. Looks like this girl has some sort of protection." Obito narrows his eyes at this fact. "An anomaly might ruin our ns. It''s better to get rid of it." Obito infuses the chakra into the crystal ball and directs the assassins in Ayaka''s direction. "Leave her body intact. It''s a wonderful research subject." Kabuto licks his lips. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 406: Unveiling Chapter 406: Unveiling ''Sin-chan! Is there a way to wake them up?'' Ayakamunicates with the Sin Grimoire. Hmm "So, there is some sort of device which is behind this genjutsu. If I destroy that device, then I can wake them all up." Ayaka confirms with the Sin. "But where could that device be?" She looks around in search of the hidden device while attempting to wake up her friends. Swoosh swoosh Suddenly, Multiple rogue shinobis surround her with crazed expressions. Ayaka notices their expression. "They are enemy shinobis, but what''s with their strange eyes?" There is a swirling red pattern in the rogue shinobi eyes with multiple concentric rings. Some saliva leaks from their mouth as they approach Ayaka. "These people they are" Ayaka takes out her kunai and dashes toward the rogue shinobis. She makes some hand signs. "Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu," Ayaka spews out a gigantic fire dragon towards the rogue shinobis. Some of the rogue shinobis make some hand signs and spew out multiple water jutsus to extinguish the fire. "What? They can still respond to my attack!" Ayaka is startled to see them attack. Shiing Ayaka''s eyes turn into Sharingan and she engages in closebat with the rogue shinobis. Ding Ding The sound of metals shing against each other rings in the surroundings as Ayaka releases a barrage of kunais and shurikens toward them. "Shuriken shadow clone jutsu," Ayaka wields her tanto and skillfully deflects multiple attacks from her attackers. Her de weaves among the rogue shinobis as she looks for an opening and decapitates the enemy shinobis. Her sword moves resemble a dance a dance of death. ''Uchiha Style: Dance of the Moon Halo,'' Obito and Kabuto stare at the battle in amazement. "That''s the younger sister of Reaper for you!" Kabuto murmurs at the scene of the battle. "This is problematic! Since it''s iplete, this genjutsu has a weakness. It requires a medium andrge amount of chakra to maintain it. If the medium shatters or the chakra runs out, the genjutsu will be broken. We have to capture the Nine-tails before that happens. However, since this girl isn''t affected by the genjutsu, I am afraid she might break the medium and free these people." Obito res at Ayaka. "This genjutsu has a powerful side-effect. If a person dies within the genjutsu, then he will die for real. Since it hase to this, I will elerate the time flow in the genjutsu by a little." Obito makes some hand signs and taps the crystal orb in his hand. The crystal orb glows brightly. ----------------------- "A few days have passed by, but everything seems normal!" Naruto opens his eyes and yawns. "Naruto-Kun! Karin-chan! It''s time for breakfast! Your dad has already left for his work." Kushina''s voice echoes in the house. Aww Naruto yawns and enters the washroom to wash his face. He brushes his teeth and stares at his reflection in the mirror. "These past few days, I have done several B-rank and A-rank missions with Kakashi Sensei, Sasuke, and Sakura. In my spare time, I spar with Sasuke to hone my skills. Shisui and Itachi Nii-san helps me too. Izuna Nii-san has yet to return since he went missing two and a half years ago. Mei-san and Ayaka-chan miss him a lot!" Naruto gargles and spits out the water. "Wait! Ayaka-chan! Who is Ayaka-chan?" Naruto pauses as he attempts to recall Ayaka''s face. Some fuzzy memories of Ayaka slowly drift into his memories. "Ayaka Ayaka Ayaka is the younger sister of Izuna Nii-san." Crack Multiple cracks appear in the mirror in front of him. "Where is Ayaka-chan?" Swoosh Naruto ignores the mirror. He opens the window and jumps out. "She should be in the Uchiha npounds." "NARUTO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Kushina''s angry voice echoes through the streets of Konoha. "I am sorry, mom! I will be back in a short while." Naruto flickers towards the Uchiha npounds. He knocks on the door of Akira and Aiko''s house. A few secondster, Aiko opens the door. "Ara, Naruto-Kun! What''s the matter? You are up so early in the morning. And these clothes! Did you wake up in a hurry?" Aiko points towards Naruto''s loose pajamas. "Hehe It''s nothing like that." Naruto scratches his head in embarrassment. "I am here to look for Ayaka. Is she at home?" Naruto enquires. "Ayaka?!" Aiko tilts her head in confusion. "Who is Ayaka?" Question marks appear on Aiko''s face. "Ayaka, your younger daughter, and Izuna Nii-san''s younger sister. The princess and the colorful flower of the Uchiha n!" Naruto uses several of Ayaka''s identities to inquire about her whereabouts. "Oh! There was such a girl in the Uchiha n? Why haven''t I heard about her?" Confusion appears on Aiko''s face. Suddenly, BOOM A gigantic explosion urs on the outskirts of Konoha. The explosion blows away a major part of the outer wall of Konoha. "What what''s going on? What''s the deal with that explosion?" Several people jump onto the rooftops to look in the direction of the explosion. Soon A ring emergency horn rings across the streets of Konoha. Multiple anbus and police officer flickers through the streets. "This is an emergency! The outer wall of Konoha has been breached by enemies. All chunnins and jounins gather at the entrance of Konoha within the next fifteen minutes. Others, please evacuate to the emergency shelter. This is not a drill. I repeat this is an emergency!" Several anbu members announce the news across the streets. "That ce! It''s closer to the Uzumaki npounds. Mom, Karin!" Naruto''s eyes narrow at the sight. "I have to protect them." He swiftly flickers in their direction. Naruto quickly reaches the Uzumaki npounds. Ding ding Multiple sounds of metals shing metal rings in the surroundings. "Mom! Karin!" Naruto quickly enters thepounds and notices Karin and Kushina fighting against shinobis in ck clothes. Kushina is holding a pan in her hand. She deflects a kunai with her pan and bashes the head of an enemy shinobi with it. Karin is holding a mop in her hands. She plunges the metal end of the mop into a shinobis'' guts. "Don''t underestimate usdies, you shithead!" She yells while beating them with her mop. "Mom, Karin!" Naruto heaves a sigh of relief. Swish A kunai flicks past his head. Naruto swiftly dodges the surprise attack. "That was close!" He turns in the direction of the enemy shinobis and notices the bloodlust in their eyes. "They want to kill us!" Swoosh Naruto swiftly dodges the attacks of nearby enemy shinobis. He infuses some chakra into his fist and punches one of the enemy shinobis. Snap Crack Naruto''s punch breaks the spine of the enemy shinobi in a single hit. ''Looks like I used too much force in that attack.'' "Mom, Karin! Evacuate to the shelter. I will deal with them." "Alright!" Both women nod at him. Naruto clutches the arm of a shinobi who sneak attacked him with a de. Snap He breaks the arm and grabs the de with his other hand. "I am not as proficient in using des as Sasuke, but I practice a little." Naruto wields the de and swings it horizontally while infusing some wind chakra in it. "Kenjutsu: Crescent sh of Northern Wind," He releases a powerful wind de from the sword. The wind de slices through the enemy shinobis charging at him. "Strange! Why isn''t the reinforcement here yet?" Naruto continues to engage with the enemy shinobis while leading them away from the Uzumaki npounds. ''There are lots of strange things happening today? First, no one recalls Ayaka''s name. Second, what happened to the barrier Izuna Nii-san erected to protect Konoha? Even Akatsuki members couldn''t make a dent in it. Then howe these people bypass the barrier and blow away the outer walls of Konoha? Also'' Naruto stares at the eyes of the shinobis attacking him. '' what''s the deal with these people? Are they possessed or something? Why they are attacking me in such a frenzy?'' Naruto notices the pitch-ck eyes of the shinobis attacking him. "Many things aren''t making sense today. For now, I will lead them away from the vige." Naruto continues to whittle down the numbers of enemy shinobis while dashing towards the entrance of Konoha. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 407: Anomaly Chapter 407: Anomaly Swoosh swoosh Ding ng ng Itachi and Sasuke separate after exchanging blows with each other. "What''s the matter Sasuke? You seem to be lost these few days. Something bothering you?" Itachi lowers his de and asks Sasuke with a concerned voice. "I am fine! It''s just that something feels missing. Everything feels so monotonous." Sasuke shakes his head as he wipes the sweat with a towel. "Looks like you are feeling bored! Then let''s go watch the new movie and eat dinner with everyone tonight." Itachi suggests. "That sounds like a great n." Sasuke nods. ''Perhaps I will figure out the missing part of my life.'' Sasuke raises his head and stares at the sky. ''After that dream, everything feels sockluster. It appears like something important is not there anymore. These past few days, Iplete missions with my team. In my free time, I spar with Naruto, Itachi, or Shisui Nii-san. However, sometimes there is a voice in my head; asking me to wake up. Since this is not a dream, then what should I wake up from?" Sasuke shakes his head. "Itachi Nii-san, let''s invite uncle Akira and Yagami''s family, Shisui Nii-san, Yugao Nee-san, Mei Nee-san, and also Ayaka-chan." Sasuke voices the names of the person he wants to invite. "That''s a great idea. But Sasuke, who is Ayaka-chan?" Itachi asks him with slight confusion. "Huh? Ayaka Ayaka who is Ayaka? And why did I mention her name?" Sasuke muses over the matter. "Anyway, let''s wash off our sweat and send invites." "Mm" Sasuke walks toward the Uchiha n in deep thought. ------------------------ Yawn Mei yawns slightly and stretches her muscles. "The work has been piling as ofte." She stares at the gigantic stacks of paperwork in front of her. "I have to even break my promise to Tatsuya and Kanna toplete the paperwork." "Mizukage-sama, your coffee!" A female attendant hand over a cup of coffee to her. "Thank you so much, Anzu!" Mei takes a sip of the coffee and stares at the moon hanging outside the window. ''If only there was someone to take care of the kid and help me with some paperwork.'' Izuna''s figure appears in her mind. Mei takes another sip of the coffee. "If only Ayaka was here to help me with paperwork like usual." She unconsciously utters these words. "Huh?" Mei snaps out of reverie. "Ayaka who is Ayaka?" A few blurred images of a girl sh across her mind. "She seems to be someone important to me. But howe I can''t recall her face?" Mei ces a hand on her chest. "What''s with this empty feeling in my heart?" "Mizukage-sama! Bad news, Mizukage-sama!" One of the anbus hurriedly enters the office. "What''s the matter, Asahi?" Mei assumes her Kage demeanor. "Mizukage-sama, multiple rogue shinobis are attacking the harbor." Hmm Mei narrows her eyes. She jumps out of the office and stands on the roof. Smoke and fire pour out in a distance. "Gather six anbu squads and seven jounin squads. We will head over to the port in a brief moment." "Yes, Mizukage-sama!" The anbu bows and departs the office. "Which rogue shinobi group has enough guts to cause a ruckus in the Kirigakure?" Mei ces the earlier thoughts at the back of her mind and flickers towards the port with her anbu guards. --------------------- On a small hill, near the shore of the pr sea. Hmm Obito frowns as he stares at the crystal ball in his hands. "This is bad! At this rate, they will break free from the genjutsu and regain consciousness much earlier than my expectations. What''s going on? How could they possibly get the awareness of the existence of the genjutsu?" Obito clicks his tongue. "To prevent them from interacting and figuring out the falsehood of reality, I separated them into different worlds, and yet it didn''t even take them more than a month to spot the anomaly. ording to my calctions, it should be a year before they notice some irregrities. So how?" Obito narrows his eyes. "Mind if I take a nce?" Kabuto curiously asks him. "Hmm alright!" Obito hesitates a little before passing the crystal orb to Kabuto. Kabuto ces his hand on the crystal orb and infuses his chakra. A few minutester, "Kuku I have figured out the reason for your failure." Kabuto fiddles with the crystal orb before returning it to Obito. "What is it?" Obito res at Kabuto. "It''s" Kabuto points towards Ayaka. " her!" "This girl! How is she affecting the genjutsu?" "Kuku take another look at all of those separate genjutsu worlds." "Hmm" Obito follows Kabuto''s instructions. "This how is this possible?" Shock appears on Obito''s face. "As you can see, this girl isn''t a part of the genjutsu world you created?" Kabuto chuckles and states. "From my observation, your genjutsu creates an ideal dream world based on the victim''s desire. It uses the knowledge from the victim''s mind as a basis to create the world and then traps the victim''s consciousness in that world. If the victim dies in that world, then those injuries would reflect in the real world on their bodies. This phenomenon involves some unusualws which I am very curious about." Kabuto licks his lips at his hypothesis. "However, for some odd reason or perhaps some external interference, the information about that girl doesn''t exist in the illusory genjutsu world created by this jutsu. So, this bes the weak point of your jutsu. If it was a perfect world, such a w won''t exist. Since this is an autonomous world, it attempted to fix the problem by removing all information about the girl. This could have been an ideal solution if the girl didn''t have a major involvement in their lives and she didn''t y a major role in their lives." Kabuto points towards Ao and Chojuro''s figure in the crystal ball. "Take a look at these two. They didn''t have much involvement with the girl, so they are still stuck in the genjutsu with no sign of awakening." "Thisck of information about the girl is like a missing piece of an almostplete puzzle. One might overlook it at a nce, but on closer look, you can notice the difference. However, that''s not all. If there is ack of information, then new information could be created and overwritten over the previous one. This is precisely what this genjutsu attempted with their memories. It sealed away the information about the girl from their mind and reced it with false information and facts. Now, this measure created yet another problem. If the person somehow unseals those memories through some sort of trigger which in this case" Kabuto turns towards Ayaka''s lone battle against the group of rogue shinobis. "If it was a normal battle, it wouldn''t have been a problem for me to take them down. However, I have to protect them and fight at the same time. I can''t hold back anymore." Ayaka firms her resolve. She makes some quick hand signs. "ze Release: Darkness Release: Smoldering Purgatory mes," Ayaka mixes darkness chakra with fire and wind chakra and creates a ring of ck mes around the unconscious bodies of the escort group. Bzzt Lightning gathers in her palm. She creates a lightning spear in her palm and throws it toward the rapidly approaching enemies. The rogue shinobi avoids the ck mes around her. Multiple rogue shinobis make some hand signs and release wind jutsu to counter her lighting jutsu. ''I have to lure them away from the group. Looks like they are after me.'' Ayaka takes out a fuinjutsu scroll from her storage and throws it on the ground. The scroll shines brightly and erects a green pyramidal barrier around the escort group. ''Tri Karma Heavenly Principal barrier,'' It''s one of the powerful, self-sustained short-term barriers in her possession. It''s a very powerful, impregnable barrier. However, its limitation is that it has a limited duration. After a fixed amount of time, the barrier will dissipate. Till then, the barrier can repair any damage dealt by absorbing chakra from the surroundings. The duration of the barrier is determined by the number of inscriptions used in its Fuinjutsu form. A moreplex fuinjutsu form will consume considerable effort, but it will alsost for a much longer time. Such a barrier is generally for ime usage. "She has quite some means!" Kabuto chuckles as the barrier slightly surprised him. " this girl''s struggle and her strong emotions are the triggers to unseal the memories. If you want to prevent that, then just get rid of the girl and things might turn normal." Kabuto cackles. Obito frowns for a second, but his emotions turn stable. "This is just a little disposable experiment before the actual jutsu. Initially, I hoped to capture the Nine-tails jinchuruki with this. But if things are this troublesome, then there is no need to linger on it." Obito turns around and prepares to leave. ''Zetsu, have you collected the necessary data?'' Obito speaks to the Zetsu through a telepathic link. ''It''s done! Also, there is a situation with the eight-tails.'' "Very well!" Obito tosses the crystal ball to Kabuto and disappears into a swirling portal. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 408: Breakthrough from Reality Chapter 408: Breakthrough from Reality Huff huff Ayaka pants slightly as she is surrounded by the crazed rogue shinobis. "Preserving my chakra isn''t an option against these numbers. I will finish the battle with my next move." Bzzt Ayaka closes her eyes and concentrates. Red lightning gathers in Ayaka''s hands. Fwish Multiple markings appear over her body and a chakra cloak forms around her. "Storm Release: Raijin no tenbatsu," She discharges the red lightning toward the sky. Fwoosh The red lightning disappears in the sky. A few secondster, multiple storm clouds gather in the sky. Bzzt Crackle Lightning crackles through the clouds as they continue to expand in size. The clouds almost cover the entire area of the isted space. Multiple bolts of lightning flicker through them. "It should be enough." Ayaka slowly lowers her raised hand. The lightning bolts in the air gather at a ce and transform into lightning spears. "Discharge!" Bzzt Boom The lighting spears rain down on the rogue shinobis and im their lives. The powerful lightning discharge scorches the ground and creates an electric field around Ayaka as the lighting lingers on the ground. Ayaka rests against the remains of a boulder and stares at the sky as the clouds slowly disperse. "Have you found it?" Ayaka takes a heavy breath. ''I have found the weakness of this jutsu. To destroy it, I will transport your consciousness to the illusory space created by this jutsu. Till now, I was protecting your consciousness from the invasion of this jutsu.'' Sin rys these words to Ayaka. Hmm Ayaka''s vision distorts slightly as everything turns red in her vision. She looks around and notices the strangeness of the surroundings. There is a giant red moon hanging in the sky. "This is a separate dimension?" "Yes! The consciousness of everyone is bound to this space. It took me some to invade this space without affecting the consciousness of others. Human consciousness is so fragile. If not for them, I could just destroy this simple gimmick with a wave of my hand." Sin''s contemptful voice echoes in Ayaka''s head. "That''s not good, Sin-chan! They are my family. I have to protect them." Ayaka shakes her head. "So, what should I do now?" Ayaka asks Sin. "Fine! The only safe method to dispel this jutsu is to destroy it from both inside and outside. I have already located the external medium responsible for this jutsu. We are currently standing beneath it. It''s a giant crystal orb. Once you destroy it, the medium withholding the jutsu will shatter. However, this illusory reality has be self-sustaining. It requires everyone''sbined effort to break it. I will project their illusory realities in front of you. Currently, all of them are separated from each other." The projection of multiple illusory realities appears in front of Ayaka. Hmm Ayaka frowns at the scenes in the illusory reality. "All of them are fighting against the rogue shinobis we fought earlier. There are stuck in a disadvantageous battle. I want to help them out." Ayaka clutches her fists. "It will take a toll on your spirit." Sin warns her. "I will take the risk!" Ayaka firms her resolve. "Alright!" Swoosh Ayaka''s vision distorts again, and she appears in a secluded forest. "This ce!" Ayaka narrows her eyes and looks around. "This is the mist forest outside Kirigakure. That means" ng ng Sounds of metal shing against metal echo in the surroundings. "I have to hurry up!" Ayaka hurriedly dashes in the direction of the battle. ------------------- Tch "I didn''t expect them to set an ambush in the forest. This area is still a part of the Kirigakure, so how could these people infiltrate Kirigakure under the watchful eyes of the patrol teams? Unless" Kuku Haha Laughter echoes in the surrounding as some footsteps approaches them. " unless someone from the vige sided with them, right?" An elderly figure walks out of the forest. There are multiple rogue shinobis behind him. "Uncle?!" Mei is shocked to see one of the vige elders who is a close friend of his father. "Why are you with them, uncle? What''s the meaning of this?" She quickly regains herposure and questions the elder. "You are asking me why I am with them? Then listen Kirigakure has weakened under your rule. Your husband is a shinobi from Konoha and thus we are overly dependent on Konoha for even trifling matters. Our Kirigakure is one of the five great nations with great power and yet we have recently degraded to such an extent. Both of our tailed beasts were stolen right under our noses in your rule. All of our mist swordsmen died and we have yet to find a recement for them. Our military forces are heavily restricted and far less skilled than the previous generation, thanks to your lenient rules in the academy. You are nothing but an ipetent Kage. So, together with the rest of the elder council, we have decided to eliminate the Terumi n and that also includes you, the current Kage. Later, we will appoint apetent Kage and lead Kiri to greater heights again." The elder criticizes Mei''s action. "Tch" Mei clicks her tongue. "Not all things aren''t like how you portray them. My predecessor left such a huge mess that Kiri is still recuperating from it. Most of the mist swordsmen deserted the vige during the reign of the past Mizukage. The tailed beasts had no reliable jinchuruki and Akatsuki was too big of an organization that even other great nations were afraid of their power. All of you shunned the jinchuruki of the six-tails which led him to desert the vige and ended up being a target for the Akatsuki." "LIES! All of them are tant lies and excuses you made to cate the vigers. But all of us know that your ipetency is the reason Kiri is in its weakest state." The elder fervently uses Mei. The elder''s voice has a hypnotic effect on the nearby shinobis, as even Mei''s entourage is swayed by his words. "This is the only way to deal with this ipetent Mizukage who ruined Kiri. It''s executing her." The elder orders his subordinates. All of them surround Mei, and even her allies draw their weapons. "That''s enough falsehood!" Swoosh Ayaka appears beside Mei with a de in her hand. "A Ayaka!" Mei''s eyes widen as she recognizes Ayaka. "You are the real Ayaka!" Mei gently strokes Ayaka''s face. Crack The seal on her memories slowly lifts and restores her memories. The curtain of falsehood vanishes. "Nee-san, we never had an opportunity to battle side by side. Let''s use this chance." Ayaka shes her de toward one of the rogue shinobis. "You are right! This illusion almost fooled me." Mei makes some hand signs. "Lava Release: Bone Ash Annihtion Meteor," Mei spews out arge blob ofva from her mouth. Theva blob turns into a giant meteor and strikes the approaching rogue shinobis. A hesitant expression appears on Mei''s face for an instance. "Don''t hesitate Mei Nee-san. All of this is illusory. Trust me!" Ayaka''s voice rings in her ear. "A alright! I believe in you, Ayaka." BOOM Theva meteor explodes and creates a gigantic pool ofva on the ground. Theva engulfs the nearby rogue shinobis and traitors. Bang Crack Without a loud bang, the surroundings shatter like a ss fragment. Mei clutches her forehead as all of her disorderly memories are pieced together. She appears in a dark ck space with a red waning moon. "What a terrifying jutsu?" Mei recalls everything. "You are back, Mei Nee-san!" Ayaka appears beside her. "Where are we, Ayaka?" Mei asks her. "Nee-san, you are still trapped in the illusory dimension. You have freed yourself from its influence, but we have to shatter the external medium to break free of this isted space. I will help others break free from this illusion and then I will shatter the medium from the outside." Ayaka rys her n to Mei. "Be careful, Ayaka!" Mei ruffles her hair as Ayaka hops into another projection. "That''s that''s Tsunade-san''s projection." Mei takes a closer look at the projections in front of her. "It seems normal." Mei frowns slightly. ---------------------- Swoosh Ayaka appears inside Tsunade''s illusory space. Swoosh Suddenly, a kunai flies past her year. Whoosh Ayaka swiftly dodges to the sides and avoids the kunais. "Who are you? What are you doing on Hokage-sama''s boat?" Naruto and Sasuke point their kunais toward her. "Naruto Nii-san, Sasuke Nii-san! It''s me, Ayaka!" "Ayaka!" Naruto and Sasuke stare at each other. "Do we know her?" Both of them ask each other. Shiing Ayaka activates her Sharingan. "Hmm an Uchiha!" Sasuke frowns. "I never saw you in the n. Who exactly are you? Are you a spy who stole the eyes of a member of the Uchiha n?" Sasuke clutches his kunai. "What''s the matter, Sasuke, Naruto?" Kakashi appears beside them. "Sensei, there is a suspicious girl on the ship." Naruto points towards Ayaka. "Who are you?" Kakashi questions her. ''Looks like all of them are illusions formed by Tsunade Nee-san''s imagination. They won''t recognize me and even attempt to get rid of me. I have to approach them carefully.'' "I have a piece of important information for the Hokage-sama. I am a member of Hokage-sama''s secret force In-Y." Ayaka uses Izuna''s organization as her cover. She takes out a seal from her pocket and presents it to Kakashi. ''Nii-san gave this pass to me in case of emergencies." Hmm "Very well, follow me!" Kakashi nods at her after inspecting the seal. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 409: Fickle Heart Chapter 409: Fickle Heart "Hmm little girl, who are you?'' Tsunade suspiciously stares at Ayaka. ''Tsunade Nee-san doesn''t recognize me?! Am I in someone else''s illusory reality or she has yet to regain her sealed memories?'' Ayaka questions herself. ''You are in right illusory reality.'' Sin informs her. ''Which means Tsunade Nee-san has yet to regain her sealed memories?'' Ayaka hands over the In-Y token to Tsunade and introduces herself. "I am Ayaka, sister of the Izuna Uchiha." "AH!" Tsunade inspects the token. "This token is real. But did you say you are the sister of my husband?" Tsunade is shocked to hear Ayaka''s identity. "What?" Now it''s Ayaka''s turn to get shocked. "You are my brother''s wife? How could this be? My brother is married to Mei Nee-san." Ayaka gasps at Tsunade''s remark. "Mei Nee-san?! Was Izuna cheating on me? And who is this Mei Nee-san?" Tsunade res at Ayaka with her sharp eyes. "Mei Nee-san is Mei Terumi from the Kirigakure. She is my brother''s only wife." Ayaka nods at Tsunade. ''What''s going on? How is Tsunade Nee-san''s wife? Wasn''t this illusion supposed to be based on reality? Then howe everything is different in Tsunade Nee-san''s illusory reality?'' Ayaka asks herself. ''It''s not impossible. This technique was supposed to create an ideal world for the victim based on his memories. The stronger the desire of the victim, the more will it be simr to their ideal world and the more it will influence their mind.'' Sin exins to her. ''So, does this mean Tsunade Nee-san, she?'' Ayaka stares at Tsunade''s face. ''Has she been hiding her feelings for Izuna Nee-san all this time? If that''s the case, what should I do? How am I supposed to free her?'' ''The illusory reality has heavily influenced her thoughts. If you disclose something that heavily stresses her emotions, then it might negatively affect her spirit.'' Sin warns her. "The Mizukage?!" Kakashi and the rest turn to Ayaka. "But that that''s not possible. Argh" Tsunade clutches her forehead. Her jumbled memories slowly surface. "Tsunade-sama!" Sakura hurriedly supports her. "Are you impersonating Izuna-san''s sister to create a rift between Konoha and Kiri before the Kage Summit?" Kakashi points his kunai towards Ayaka. "This girl has ill intentions towards the Hokage-sama. Detain her!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi surround her. Ayaka takes abat stance as she warily stares at the group. ''They aren''t the real Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi Nii-san. But still'' Swish Sasuke makes his first move. He throws a shuriken toward Ayaka. "Shadow Shuriken clone Jutsu," Sasuke makes some hand signs and releases multiple shurikens toward Ayaka. Hmm Ayaka takes out her de and deflects the kunais with it. Swoosh She ducks down and dodges a roundhouse kick from her blind spot. Haah Naruto rotates his body in mid-air and aims his kick at Ayaka''s head. Bang Ayaka blocks the kick with her arm and jumps back. "Got you!" Whoosh Kakashi suddenly appears behind her and grabs her wrist. A seal forms on his hand to restrict Ayaka''s movements. Poof Ayaka turns into a wooden log and disappears from her ce. She reappears a few meters away from the group. Tch Naruto and Sasuke click their tongue. ''What should I do, Sin? I don''t want to waste my time here.'' Ayaka urgently asks Sin for a solution. ''I have a method to free her from the influence of this illusory reality, but if her will is weak; then she might not awaken even after escaping from here.'' Sin warns her. ''Do it! I believe in Tsunade Nee-san.'' Ayaka grits her teeth. ''Get ready! I will prepare the seal to free her. She will lose consciousness as a side effect.'' Fwish A seal appears on Ayaka''s hand. She ignores Naruto and Sasuke''s pursuit and dashes toward Tsunade. "This is not good! This girl has harmful intentions toward the Hokage-sama. Stop her at all costs!" Kakashi notices the seal on Ayaka''s hand. He immediately warns Naruto and Sasuke. "What?" Naruto and Sasuke''s expressions turn grim. Shiing Sasuke''s eyes turn into Mangekyo Sharingan. Purple Lightning flicker around him as he forms a Chidori in his hands. Fwoosh Nine-Tails chakra cloak appears around Naruto. He creates a Rasengan in his hand and turns towards Ayaka. In the next instance, Swoosh Both Naruto and Sasuke disappear from their position and reappear beside Ayaka. They have killing intent in their eyes as they aim their powerful techniques toward Ayaka to deal a killing blow. "I won''t let you stop me." Shiing Ayaka''s eyes turn to Sharingan. Suddenly, a sharp burst of chakra discharges from her body. Whoosh Ayaka dodges Sasuke''s and Naruto''s attacks and reappears in front of Tsunade. ''Such speed! There was no memory of that.'' Both of them mutter simultaneously. ''Swift Release: Blink Glimpse,'' Ayaka ces her hand on Tsunade''s forehead. The seal on her hand activates and covers Tsunade''s eyes. "WHAT?" Kakashi''s sneak attack pauses a hair''s breadth from Ayaka''s head. Crack crack Multiple cracks spread across the dimension and the space slowly crumbles apart. "How is this possible?" Kakashi mumbles. "Hmm I was right. You were a creation of this illusion to trap Tsunade Nee-san in this fake world." Ayaka res into Kakashi''s eyes, who have a twisted expression on his face. "Now, disappear!" Bang The illusory reality shatters and Ayaka returns to space with a red waning moon with Tsunade in her arms. She ces Tsunade''s unconscious body beside Mei. "Mei Nee-san did you did you see her dream?" Ayaka asks with slight hesitation. "I did!" Mei nods. "I saw everything!" "Then does" "Don''t worry Ayaka! I am not a fickle woman. I saw love and care in Tsunade-san''s eyes. I noticed her feelings way before this incident. But since she wasn''t honest with herself, I let them be. However, if she makes up her mind and gets the courage to express them; I will leave the final decision to Izuna. Because it''s that bastard''s fault to hurt everyone''s feelings." Mei grits her teeth. She ces her hand on Tsunade''s forehead. "Go! We have to save others, too." Mei reminds Ayaka. "Alright!" Ayaka chooses another illusory reality and jumps into it. ''I hope it won''t be as troublesome as Tsunade Nee-san''s illusion.'' -------------------- "Haah" Mei slightly chuckles at herself. "I am a fickle woman, indeed. Since the day I came to Konoha, I have noticed Tsunade-san''s feelings for Izuna. Back then, they shared a bond far stronger than my bond with Izuna. Izuna was a prized disciple of Tsunade who would help her in every sticky situation. Back then, I was envious of such a rtionship. ''If only we could have such a rtionship?'' This was what I thought at that time. However, Tsunade-san never expressed her feelings, and this gave me an opportunity. I epted his proposal, and we got married. I was so happy back then that it was me, not somebody else, but me. And yet" Mei lowers her head. She notices the tears flowing from Tsunade''s eyes. "Why does it pain my heart? Izuna and Tsunade had a unique bond, a bond I could not hope to reciprocate with him. Perhaps if Tsunade-san was a bit younger, then it wouldn''t be me but her who would have married Izuna." Mei grits her teeth. "Why? Why does it pain my heart to see her like that and yet there is a feeling of hidden relief in my heart? It''s all that bastard''s fault. Why couldn''t he see the feelings of people around himself and and" Mei bursts into tears. "I don''t want Tsunade-san to suffer like this and yet I don''t have a way to help her. It''s all that guy''s fault. He is the one who is responsible for all of this. He should take responsibility for all his actions." Mei raises her head and stares at the waning moon. "Wherever you are, get your ass back here as soon as possible! How dare you y with a woman''s feelings!" --------------- Somewhere in an unknown space, Achoo A cloaked figure sneezes. "I should be immune to any sort of disease. What''s going on?" Roar A gigantic dragon roars in front of him. "Hmm this stench!" The cloaked figure frowns. Roar roar Multiple flood dragon roars in front of him. "So annoying!" The cloaked figure draws a sword and sheathes it immediately. "de of Nandaka: Death of All Creation," Swirl Fwoosh Suddenly, the flesh of all dragons rips away from their skins, revealing their bones. The bones slowly wither away into dust, wiping away the existence of all flood dragons. Roar roar More flood dragons surround them. "There is no end to them!" ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 410: The Illusion Shatters Chapter 410: The Illusion Shatters Argh Tsunade grabs her forehead and slowly opens her eyes. "Where am I? My head" she groans in pain. "Tsunade-san! Are are you are you alright?" Mei inquires. "Augh I am fine. But my head hurts and my memories are jumbled up." Mei helps Tsunade sit up. "Where are we?" Tsunade slowly looks around and notices the creepy atmosphere and waning red moon. "We are currently trapped in an isted dimension. Currently, we both have escaped from illusions thanks to Ayaka''s help. Ayaka can freely enter and exit this space. Once everyone is here, she will help us shatter this dimension." Mei exins the details to Tsunade. She points towards the various projections of the illusory realities of other people. "I I see!" Tsunade grips her forehead. "Let''s wait for others," Mei suggests. Mm Silence descends in the surroundings for a while. "Did you see it?" Tsunade mutters weakly. "Huh?!" Mei turns to Tsunade. "I mean did you see my illusory reality?" Tsunade asks again. "Well I" "So, you did see it. Sigh" Tsunade sighs helplessly. "I saw it." Mei nods her head. "So, your feelings for Izuna. Are they" Mei is about to ask further. Whoosh Suddenly, Sasuke appears in front of them with Ayaka. He looks around and notices the red waning moon. "So, my guess was right. I was trapped inside an illusory reality and this is an isted space of that illusion." Sasuke scrutinizes the ce with his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Sasuke Nii-san, I will save others." Ayaka bade him farewell and jumps into another projection. "Sigh Let''s talk about itter. I think both of us have some sort of misunderstanding." Tsunade shakes her head. Wiggle wiggle A small Katsuyu clone pops out of her clothes. "Tsunade-sama! This ce is scary." The small Katsuyu clone shiver in fright. "It''s alright! We will soon escape from this ce." Tsunade strokes the little slug. "Katsuyu always sends her clones or to be exact her offspring with him. This little one is one of them." Tsunade exins to Mei. "Then how does she recognize everyone?" Mei asks in curiosity. "All Katsuyu clones share a hive mind. So, it''s not difficult for them to share information. She was also caught in the illusion with me." Tsunade appeases the little Katsuyu clone. A few minutester, "Looks like everyone is here!" A haggard Ayaka looks around. "It was all thanks to little Ayaka''s effort that we were able to easily escape from this illusion." Minato smiles at Ayaka. "Ayaka-chan, are you alright?" Tsunade stares at Ayaka''s exhausted face. "I I am alright! I just overexerted my chakra a little. I will be fine after a little rest." Ayaka shakes her head. "Take care of yourself." Mei ruffles her hair. "Now, everyone prepares your most powerful jutsu and gets ready to attack the red waning moon in the sky. I will do the same from outside this isted space. We have to shatter the core of this isted space at the same time to break free from its restraints." Ayaka rys her n to them. "Got it!" Everyone adopts a serious expression. Fwoosh Ayaka''s figure disappears from the isted space. She gathers arge amount of chakra in her hands. "Three" Naruto and Sasuke enter Sage Mode. Naruto prepares a giant sage art Rasenshuriken. Sasuke infuses chakra in his mouth and spits out a giant white rage dragon made of nature energy. Kakashi also infuses chakra in both of his hands. Purple lightning flickers through Kakashi''s hand and slowly morphs into a giant spear. Bzzt Crackle Chakra arms of Susanoo manifest behind Izumi. The giant arms wield a katana. Electric arc crackles across the katana. Minato raises his hand in the air and creates a gigantic Rasengan with wind infusion. The Rasengan turns cyan and generates super powerful winds strong enough to blow nearby surroundings. Tsunade gathers arge amount of chakra into her fists. The chakra turns visible to the eyes and coats her fists. Multiple marking appears over Tsunade''s body. Brow pigmentation appears around her eyes. The chakra cloak around her arm turns dark yellow, boosting her physical strength to another level. Chojuro wields the Hiramekarei de and summons multiple giant blue water des. Mei takes a deep breath and expels a giantva meteor from her mouth. Ao and Sakura also perform their part. White mes gather in Ayaka''s hands. Fire, wind, and lightning chakra gather in her hands. The fire and wind chakra mix and create scarlet mes. Bzzt crackle Lightning flickers across the mes and slowly merges with them. The color of the me changes to blue before turning white. Ayaka directs her hands toward the moon in the sky. The white mes transform into ance. "Two" The size of thence increases by two-fold. "One" "Incineration Release: All purging white Samadhi mes," "Sage Art: Ch dama Rasenshuriken," "Sage Art: White Rage Dragon''s Roar," "Purple Lighting Release: Engulfing storm spear," "Raikou: Third Form: Musou Tenbatsu," "Sage Art: Fma dama Rasengan," "Sage Art: Heavenly Fist of Doom," "Water Release: Water fang des," "Lava Release: Chaos Meteor," BOOM All of their attacksnd on the waning red moon. Tsunade''s fists create a gigantic air dragon that soars toward the moon. Mei''s meteor expands and explodes into a shower ofva meteor that bombards the red moon. BOOM Shockwaves travel through the illusory space. Kakashi makes some quick hand signs and erects multiple earth walls to protect them. Minato creates a Rashomon gate to absorb the shock of the multiple powerful jutsus. Snap Crack Multiple cracks appear in the surrounding space. The cracks start from the red moon and spread across the entire isted dimension. Bang With a loud bang, the entire space shatters into countless fragments like a ss crystal. Huff Huff The group pants and falls to their knees from exhaustion. "Ayaka!" Ayaka''s figure appears in their vision. "Ever everyone!" Ayaka''s vision turns blurry, and she falls to the ground. Whoosh Naruto and Sasuke swiftly appear beside her and catches her in their arms. "She endured a lot. The built-up physical fatigue and mental exhaustion must have taken a toll on her." Katsuyu wraps herself around Ayaka and infuses some nature energy into her body to rejuvenate her. "Tch" Kakashi, Ao, and Izumi click their tongue. "It was a well-thought-out n. We didn''t expect them to possess such a powerful restraining jutsu. If only we had taken precautions earlier" "It''s not your fault." Minato shakes his head. "Earlier, I sensed the presence of Akatsuki''s hidden leader and Kabuto. It must have been their handiwork. Looks like they still haven''t given up on the Nine-tails." Everyone turns to Naruto. "Ehe why do I feel that everyone wants a piece of metely?" Naruto scratches his head. "Everything is fine, as long as everyone is unharmed. However, this attack also opened our eyes to the full extent of our opponent''s power. Imagine if Akatsuki used such a powerful jutsu to restrain every shinobi on the battlefield. At that time, we will headless chickens on their chopping board." Minato stares at the corpses of the multiple rogue shinobis. He notices the crazed expression of the shinobis. Gulp Everyone gulps their saliva and heaves a sigh of relief after a close encounter with disaster. "This is a lesson for you all. No matter the circumstances, don''t getcent. Especially you, Naruto!" Minato focuses his eyes on Naruto. "Alright, let''s leave this ce for now. Our ship is still waiting on the shore. We have to leave this ce before other ambitious people like them appear." Minato rys his orders. Mei ces a sleeping Ayaka on her shoulder and the group dashes towards the shore. Swoosh swoosh A few minutester, they reach the harbor of the Land of Waterfall. "Everyone, it''s my pleasure to meet you." A giant ship awaits their arrival on the harbor. The captain of the ship greets them with courtesy. "I was worried about your arrival, since you were quitete from the scheduled time." The captain reports his worries. "We are fine! Some unexpected circumstances cropped up, but somehow, we were able to make it here." Mei gives a short exnation. "Also, how are our supplies?" "We have already stockpiled them and were waiting for your arrival." The captain answers her. "Then let''s set sail for the journey." "Very well, please get onboard. We will set sail for the Land of Medicine!" The captain signals to sailors to pull the anchor and set sail. With this, the group begins their sea journey. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 411: Misplaced Feelings Chapter 411: Misced Feelings In a room inside the ship, "Hmm let''s talk now!" Tsunade, Mei, and Ayaka are present in the room. Tsunade picks up the Katsuyu clone and ces it on the table. "Sigh she is the culprit behind our misunderstanding." "What? Katsuyu-san!" Mei and Ayaka curiously stare at the chibi Katsuyu. "Eeek" The chibi Katsuyu panics and hides behind Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, it''s not my fault. It''s the fault of that other Katsuyu clone. I am just a newborn." Katsuyu wiggles around In Tsunade''s clothes. "Stop! Stop it Katsuyu Haha it tickles!" A few secondster, Tsunade ces the Katsuyu clone on the table. The Katsuyu clone has an apologetic expression on her face. "Sigh I will begin the exnation. It''s like this." Tsunade starts her exnation. A few minutester, "So, Tsunade-san and Katsuyu-san share a mental link?!" Mei asks in surprise. Mm Tsunade nods. "As Katsuyu''s contractor for so many years, I came to share a part of my mental scape with Katsuyu. And thus, I also possess a limited connection to Katsuyu''s hive mindwork." Tsunade exins to them. "When the genjutsu technique started, Katsuyu''s clone was also with me. Both of us were trapped in the illusory reality. Since this illusion technique targets a person''s mindscape and reads their memories to create a replica of the real world, it also managed to get ess to our mental link. For some odd reason, it considered Katsuyu and me as a single entity. And thus, it created the version of illusory reality you people saw." Tsunade breaks down her exnation. "So so does this mean Tsunade-san doesn''t have feelings for Izuna?" Mei asks in a feeble voice. "Of course, I have feelings for him." Tsunade immediately responds to her. "Eh!" Mei and Ayaka are surprised to hear her confess. "But my feelings are differentpared to your feelings." Tsunade chuckles and shakes her head. "I have seen Izuna grow up from a kid to his current state. Our first meeting wasn''t a particrly pleasant one." Tsunade recalls her first meeting with Izuna. "Hehe back then, he was a cheeky brat with a big mouth. And as for me I I was a pathetic woman stuck up in her past. We had a minor squabble among us, but in the end, he ended up being my disciple. He had extraordinary talent in the medical field and he quickly mastered my teachings. Our bond of teacher and student continues to grow as we spend more time with each other." Tsunade chuckles and turns to Mei. "If I was the same age as him and had met him before, then I might have ended up falling for him. But for me, Izuna is more like a son." Tsunade closes her eyes. "My heart already lies with someone else, but love is not just romantic feelings. A teacher''s love for their students, a mother''s love for her kids also shares such feelings." Dan''s face shes in front of her eyes. "If I had a son, then I might want him to be like Izuna." Tsunade raises her hand and touches the illusory figure of Dan, who smiles at her and dissipates. "As for what you saw in the illusory reality, it was Katsuyu''s dream merged with mine. One of Katsuyu''s clones always mutters such silly words." Tsunade chuckles and stares outside the porthole. "Oh, I remember that silly clone. Isn''t she the one who is in charge of all these smaller Katsuyu clones?" Ayaka recalls the giant slug with weird hobbies. "Mm it''s her. That silly Katsuyu." Tsunade shakes her head and turns to Mei. "So, yes, I share feelings for Izuna. But they aren''t of romantic nature. I love him as her teacher and I have a one-sided maternal love for him." Tsunade smiles at Mei. "I I see. I am very sorry about the misunderstanding." Mei quickly apologizes to Tsunade. "I was too hasty to jump to a conclusion. I was envious of your rtionship with Izuna." Mei has a wry smile on her face. "Hoh! I seem to recall something when I was unconscious. Something like fickle-heart and" "Please Tsunade-sama! Don''t embarrass me further. I am ashamed of my stupidity." Mei''s face turns red. "Hmm what are you two talking about? I am very curious to learn about it." Ayaka chimes in. "Nnnn No it''s nothing! It''s not something kids should interfere in." Mei waves her hand. "I am not a kid anymore. I am already eleven years old and will be twelve in the next few months." Ayaka notices Mei''s gaze on her chest. "You are so mean, Mei Nee-san. I won''t talk to you anymore." She puffs her cheeks and turns away. Haha Tsunade burst out inughter. She ces her hand around Ayaka''s ear and mutters to her. "Ayaka, I have a secret to share with you." "Secret!" Ayaka raises an eyebrow. "Yes, when I was your age; I was also t-chested like you. But look at me now." Tsunade puffs her chest out. Badum Badum Her two massive mountains sway sideways. "So, you mean these are unnatural?" Ayaka has a skeptical expression on her face. "What do you mean by unnatural? These are genuine goods." An angry tick appears on Tsunade''s forehead. "Never mind, if you want, I can share my most hidden secret with you," Tsunade whispers in her ears. "Really?!" "Of course! My grandma passed this secret on to me. So, do you want to hear it?" "Of course!" Swoosh Bang Soon Mei was kicked out of the room by Ayaka and she closes the door in thetter''s face. Sigh Mei takes a deep breath. "What was I even thinking of? I am an idiot!" Mei shakes her head and returns to her room. Back on the deck of the ship, "Hey, Sakura, what are Tsunade baa-san, Ayaka-chan, and Mei Nee-san talking about?" Naruto curiously questions Sakura. "How would I know that?" Sakura shakes her head. "Aren''t you her protegee? So, shouldn''t you have a clue about it?" Naruto replies. "I am not sure. Back then, Tsunade-sama kicked me out of her room when Mei-san and Ayaka-chan entered the room." "Tch you are so useless!" Naruto clicks his tongue. "God damnit Naruto! Don''t act like a pervert. And why are you so interested in their conversation?" Sakura angrily questions him. "It''s just I could sense it, their emotions. Their emotions were in turmoil before they went inside the room." Naruto ces his hand under his chin. "They seem to be troubled by something. So, I am not sure about it." ''Tch Naruto! Don''t pry intodies'' affairs." Sakura shrugs him off. "Sakura is right, Naruto!" Izumi pats Naruto''s head. "Everyone has something which they don''t want to share with others." "Oh! So, it''s like that secret stash of cash which dad is hiding from mot" Whoosh Minato swiftly appears beside Naruto and ces his hand on Naruto''s face to prevent him from speaking further. Mufff Huff "Don''t spill the beans, Naruto. Your mother might hear our conversation through our telepathic link. Next time, I will treat you to your favorite ramen In Ichiraku." Minato releases his hand from Naruto''s face. "Seven bowls!" Naruto raises his fingers. "Any less and I will" "It''s a deal!" Minato releases his grip from Naruto''s face. ''Even your left hand shouldn''t know what crime your right handmitted.'' The rest of the members of the escort group turn their faces away from Minato. "The weather is so good!" Kakashi whistles with his eyes closed. ''Do you think I am a fool or are you blind, Kakashi?'' Minato stares at the dark ck clouds in the sky. "These fishes look so delish!" Ao slightly coughs and remarks. ''Not you too! And how the **** are these fishes even a delicacy?'' Minato stares at the poisonous piranhas in the sea being warded off by a barrier. ''I have lost my face! But still, none of them know about the terror of marriage. This Kakashi has yet to make any move on that girl. He just keeps fantasizing off of Jiraiya Sensei''s books'' Minato sighs and takes out a can from his pocket. He takes a few gulps and sighs. "Dad! You are drinking?" Naruto notices the light brown liquid in the can. "It''s a non-alcoholic beverage! Izuna suggested it to me. It clears my mind and freshens my senses." Minato takes another chug from the can. ''I hope Naruto won''t be like me.'' Minato recalls Hinata''s shy expression. "Hinata seems like a good girl." ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 412: Unexpected Waves Chapter 412: Unexpected Waves Somewhere in a hidden underground hideout in Mountain''s graveyard, Swirl Obito walks out of a swirling portal. "Zetsu! Most of our ns underwent unexpected turns. We can''t follow the original n anymore. The betrayal of Nagato and the loss of most Akatsuki members have affected our ns negatively." "Looks like you failed to capture the Nine-tails, again!" ck Zetsu walks out of the darkness. "Until now, your performance was better than my expectations. But now how disappointing!" "Things never go ording to ourfort but run ording to their schedule. Nagato''s betrayal might have impeded our ns, but there is always a recement." Ayaka''s face appears in his eyes. "Initially, I nned to test the limit of the jutsu and perhaps capture the Nine-tails in the process. However, I managed to find a recement for Nagato. Though it will be a bit tricky to capture her." "Who?!" ck Zetsu narrows his eyes. "It''s this girl." Obito takes out a picture of Ayaka. "Ayaka Uchiha, the younger sister of Izuna Uchiha! Her chakra reserves are bountiful and she is an Uchiha to boot. Also, her body seems strong enough to bear the burden of Rinnegan." "Hmm" ck Zetsu ponders for a while. "There are several other options in the Uchiha n, but most of them are strong enough to repel any attempt at their life. And also, it''s very difficult to control their mind." Obito continues. "However, if we can capture this girl and nt an obedience seal in her mind, then we might control her." "I don''t think that''s a good idea. Izuna Uchiha is a variable we don''t want to mess with at such a time. He had foiled our ns multiple times and I don''t want to risk the sess of our operation on such a variable. Though he might not be here, he must have left something behind to ruin our ns. So, there is no need to risk it." ck Zetsu disapproves of Obito''s n. "Also, it''s not like we won''t have an opportunityter. If there aren''t any, then we have to make one ourselves." "Hmm you are right! So, we are back to square one. Eight-tails and Nine-tails are still out of our grasp. It''s about time we dere our intentions to the shinobi world. Activate the final phase of the ''Eye of the Moon n''." Swirl ck Zetsu enters the ground, and Obito disappears from the room in a swirling portal. In an underground cavern, "Kuku ck what are you nning?" White Zetsu asks the ck Zetsu. A massive Shinju tree lies in front of them. Numerous pods numbering in hundreds of thousands hang from the branches of the Shinju tree. Zetsu slowly walks towards the trunk of the Shinju tree. The branches of the tree part sideways to reveal a path for him. ck Zetsu arrives at the base of the Shinju tree. A massive wooden figure of Hashirama sprouts from the trunk of the Shinju tree. "Hashirama Senju the reincarnation of Asura Otsutsuki the only descendant of the Sage of Six Paths who possesses the power of the Shinju tree." One of the branches of the Shinju tree lowers and releases some spores into ck Zetsu''s hands. ck Zetsu collects the spore and turns around. "Too bad this Shinju tree is just a dead remains of the previous Shinju tree. Even though it possesses enough vitality to cultivate Hashirama cells and the Zetsu Army, itcks the Origin energy since its connection to the world has been cut off. I had to sacrifice a lot of shinobi blood to grow it to such an extent. The sacrifice of the Senju n, Uzumaki n, Kaguya n, and Uchiha n wasn''t in vain. They served their purpose as fodder. Now it''s about time to reim what has been lost. I spent a millennium scheming and nning all of this. I can''t let the foolish decision of a little kid ruin my n. Since, in my eyes, everyone is a disposable pawn." ck Zetsu disappears into the shadows. ----------------------- Back in the pr sea, Crackle crackle Bzzt Boom Lightning flickers across the clouds as thunder and rain strike the ship. "Everyone steady! Reinforce the mast to prevent demasting. Everyone else, start the pumps to eject the rainwater back into the sea. Slowly sail the ship forward at a steady pace. Damnit! We checked the weather forecast beforehand. There were no signs of a thunderstorm!" The captain grits his teeth. Minato, Kakashi, and Ao, who are standing beside the captain, frowns. "How bad is it?" Minato enquires. Sweat trickles down the captain''s forehead as he finishes instructing the crew. "Unexpected thunderstorms aren''t a rare urrence in the sea. Most sailors encounter them during their journey. However, it is very rare for a thunderstorm to directly build overhead. The worst part of all of this is that due to the sudden nature of this thunderstorm, we deviated from our regr route. It''s too difficult to navigate back to our route, since thepass is malfunctioning in such weather." The captain nces at the nautical chartid on the table. "We might even have strayed away in the uncharted territory of the sea." The captain clicks his tongue. "That shouldn''t be a bad thing, right? We have enough food and water to sustain ourselves." Naruto remarks. "Food and water are not the major problems. The real problem lies with the unknown monsters lurking in the depths of the sea. During my life in the sea, I have seen several monsters huge enough to topple an entire ship with just a swing of their arm. These sea monsters are territorial, and they might attack us if we trespass on their territory." The captain remarks. "Then how did you people cross the sea? If monsters have marked their territory, then it''s unsafe to travel through the sea." Hanabi raises a question. "There are multiple territorial monsters in the sea. However, a few of them doesn''t mind the trespassing of humans and will allow ships to pass through their territory. All these years, many sailors have mapped such territories and drawn a nautical chart to allow other sailors to navigate through the sea. We sailors have an association of our own and a sailor has to at least draw the map of a new uncharted territory or update the current existing nautical chart to qualify as a true experienced sailor." The captain points towards the nautical chart on the table. "This map is the result of the blood and sweat of my predecessors." ''Hey, Kurama! Have you seen those giant sea monsters?'' Naruto questions the Yang Kurama. "Of course, I have seen most of them. I even fought against a few and won. Back during the era of the Sage of Six Paths, a few sea monsters trespassed on thend. At that time, I valiantly fought against them and pushed them back into the sea." Kurama narrates his heroic tale to Naruto. "Alright alright! I will listen to your tales some other times. For now, just tell me the name and descriptions of a few of the sea monsters. Those sea monsters sound interesting. I already fought a few monsters at Mount Myoboku. Now I want to see how strong are these sea monsters." Naruto telepathicallymunicates with Kurama. "Hmm there are many of them from gigantic crabs, tuna fishes, giant killer sharks, giant octopuses no wait thetter is my younger brother." One by one, Kurama describes the appearance of sea monsters he fought against. "Aside from them, there are a few stronger sea monsters, too. I never got a chance to fight against them. But they are serious bad news. These monsters are very powerful and I might lose against them if I fight in the water. They are Kraken, Leviathan, the terrible dogfish, Umibozu, Scy, Charybdis and there are a few others. The territorial monsters this human is talking about must be them. These creatures rarely make an appearance on the sea surface. However, when they do, they wreak catastrophe in their surroundings. Back then, the Sage of Six Paths killed one such sea monster called Cthulhu. It was a giant ball of flesh with tentacles and dragon wings. Then there was also a giant sea serpent which was in by the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage of Six Paths had to spend considerable effort to kill it. You can still find some of its remains in the Mountain''s graveyard." Kurama ends his story. "Woah, Kurama! You sure know a lot." "Of course, brat, I have spent more years shitting than the amount of time you have spent living." Yang Kurama remarks. "" Naruto''s expression freezes. ''Damn! I am being influenced by the thoughts of my other half. Just what kind of things did he learn in these past few years?'' ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 413: Sea Monster Chapter 413: Sea Monster Crackle crackle Bzzt Rain and lightning continue to pour down on the ship as it sways back and forth with the waves. "I will do something about the rainwater!" Minato writes down some Fuinjutsu seals on the four corners of the ship and makes some hand signs. Fwoosh A purple hemispherical barrier shrouds the ship. The rainwater slides down from the top of the barrier to the sea. "Thank you so much, Lord Fourth!" The eyes of the captain and crew light up. "This barrier can block the rainwater, but the strong winds can still topple the ship. So, be careful! Also, there is a limit to what this barrier can withstand. Since I am the one supplying the chakra to the barrier, once I run out of chakra, the barrier will disappear." Minato warns them. Soon, the rest of the crew focuses their attention on steering and stabilizing the ship. The members of the escort group nce at the sea from the deck. "Sea journey is so boring! There is nothing to do!" Hanabi yawns while ncing at the fish in the water. "Why don''t we y some card games?" Yakumo takes out a pack of cards. "Oh, that sounds fun!" Naruto and Sakura also butt in. "Can I also y with you?" Chojuro curiously stares at the cards in Hanabi''s hands. "Then let''s y the cards. Hey Sasuke, wanna y with us?" Naruto asks Sasuke who is continuously staring at the sky. "No, I will pass!" Sasuke waves his hand in dismissal. "Tsunade, Mei, and Izumi sit on the other side of the ship and drink some tea. Minato takes out another can of beverage from his storage. Kakashi engrosses himself in thetest issue of the ha ha Series. Ao sits down and closes his eyes to meditate. Only Sasuke keeps staring at the roaring thunder in the sky. ''I have yet to create a powerful jutsu of my own. Chidori and its variations are a part of Kakashi Sensei''s arsenal. The white rage technique is derived from the Sage arts. Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi are the abilities of my eyes. I don''t have an ability that I can call my own. Even Naruto has improved Rasengan and created Rasenshuriken, apletely new jutsu. I have an affinity for fire and lightning release. I already have a powerful fire jutsu in the form of Amaterasu and ze Release: Kagutsuchi. It''s time to create a powerful lightning-based attack of my own.'' Sasuke continues to stare at the thunderstorm in the sky to get some inspiration for his new jutsu. Soon, he enters a state of focused intention and lets go of his surroundings. Crackle. Crackle A small thunderstorm forms in his mindscape as Sasuke focuses his attention on the thundercloud. Bzzt Crackle Small lightning sparks flicker across his body and eyes as he unconsciously channels the lightning chakra through his body. Sasuke opens his eyes and makes some quick hand signs. ''Summoning Jutsu!'' He summons Garuda and orders him to take to the sky. Whoosh Sasuke hops on top of Garuda and flies out of the barrier. "Sasuke, he?!" The rest of the group stops their activities and stares at Sasuke in worry. "He will be fine! He has entered a state of focused intention. If he seeds, then he might create a new jutsu." Minato assures them. Bzzt Boom Dense lightning chakra gathers around him and attracts the lightning bolts from the surroundings. A transparent wind barrier appears around Sasuke and repels the lightning bolts. Garuda heaves a sigh of relief. "I can''t sustain this for long. Still, Sasuke-sama''s new jutsu might be on apletely different scale." Minato and the rest also notice the changes in the atmosphere as more and more lightning chakra gathers around Sasuke. "Judging from the scale of lightning, he might create a powerful S-Rank jutsu," Minato mutters. "And it might be on par with Naruto''s Rasenshuriken." He adds. "What? Really?!" Naruto stares at Sasuke in astonishment. "His talent is on par with you. So, it''s a given that he will soon create his own jutsu." Kakashi praises Sasuke. "Umm everyone! There is something below us." Hanabi points towards the sea. "Hmm" Minato closes his eyes to sense the chakra beneath them. "She is right! Something humongous is rapidly approaching us." Minato senses a massive sphere of chakra heading toward them. "Is it one of those sea monsters?" Naruto enquires. "Who knows? There is always a possibility. Perhaps it is attracted by themotion caused by Sasuke''s new jutsu." ck clouds gather over Sasuke''s head and form a gigantic conical field of lightning around him. "It''s here!" Hanabi points toward a giant shadow beneath the ship. "Everyone, get ready for the battle!" Minato signals them. Rumble Rumble Massive waves rise from the sea. The ck mist slowly envelops the area. The waves push away the ship. A massive column of water rises at a slight distance from the ship. "What''s that?" The sudden mist startles the group. "Don''t lose your calm. It must be an attack from the sea creature. It wants to block our vision." Minato warns them. "Something huge ising from 2''o''clock east," Hanabi warns them. "On it!" Izumi infuses lightning chakra into her de and jumps in that direction. Swish sh Her de shes with a gigantic tentacle. The lightning-infused de slices through a portion of the tentacle before being blocked by the hard flesh. SCREE A pained scream almost deafens their hearing. Haah Whoosh Izumi pulls out her de and returns to the ship. "More attacks areing. From 5''oclock north, 11''oclock south, and 7 o''clock west." Hanabi warns them. "We will take care of them." Minato, Kakashi, and Ao volunteer to defend the ship. Three more gigantic tentacles attack the ship. The trio is somehow able to repel the attack with their powerful jutsus. "Tch this is annoying. I can''t see anything!" Naruto clicks his tongue. "I will blow away this ck mist." Swirl whoosh Naruto creates a gigantic wind Rasengan. He throws the Rasengan toward the supposed location of the sea monster. Boom The giant wind Rasengan explodes on top of something and creates a powerful tornado. The tornado sucks away the ck mist and the seawater in itself. Haaah Naruto directs his chakra in the tornado and steers it away from the ship. The mist dissipates to reveal a giant squid-like creature with eight-giant tentacles. "What''s this?" Naruto''s eyes widen as he stares at the giant sea creature. There is a shell covering the head of the giant squid. "It looks like a giant version of the squid we ate in the Land of the Waterfall," Yakumo murmurs as shepares the giant squid to the little squid she ate in the restaurant. There is a small dent on the hard shell of the giant squid near its head. "That''s the location. My jutsu hit me. Except for that small dent, there is not even a scratch on its body." Naruto yells in wonder. "Not only that, but its regeneration is also something else! Look at its tentacles." Kakashi points toward the tentacles of the giant squid. All of its previously cut tentacles are fully restored. The group stares at the gigantic squid measuring a few tens of meters in amazement. "It''s bigger than the Hokage Monument in the vige," Ayaka remarks. "Hey, Kurama, what kind of legendary monster is this?" Naruto asks Kurama. "Hmm judging by its size and the marking on its shell. It''s a baby Kraken." "What? Baby Kraken!" Naruto yells out the name loud as he is shocked by the sheer size of the monster. "Dad! Kurama told me that this monster is a baby Kraken." "It''s a baby!" The girls stare at the gigantic monster in shock. "Then what''s its full size?" Naruto asks Kurama. "Hmm at its full size, it should be around a few kilometers in size at the minimal," Kurama answers him. "A few kilometers?" Naruto''s jaw almost drops to the floor. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 414: Battle against Kraken Chapter 414: Battle against Kraken "A Kraken? You mean this giant monster is a baby Kraken?" The eyes of the captain and the crew widen. "Haah my life as a sailor wasn''t in vain. Finally, I have witnessed one of the legends of the sea. Now I can call myself a full-fledged true sailor." The captain tears up. "Ahem sorry to interrupt you, captain, but can we focus our attention on the battle? If our ship sinks here, then you will drown just like legends." Kakashi gives a rude awakening to the captain. "Of course of course I will personally steer the ship and watch this battle to the end. It will be a tale foretold in the future among other tailors." The captain gets hold of the steering wheel. The rest of the escort crew members continue to attack baby Kraken to whittle it down. "It''s not working!" Ayaka shakes her head. "Its regeneration is too powerful. It can quickly recover from any injury we inflict on it. Looks like we need a powerful attack to finish it in a go." Minato suggests. "But its tentacles won''t allow us to gather enough chakra to release our attacks." Izumi slices another tentacle with her de. "At this rate, we will run out of chakra and stamina." Visible exhaustion appears on Ao''s face. "Dad! Buy me some time. I will attack it with a full-power Sage Mode Rasenshuriken." Naruto requests Minato. "Alright! We will buy you time." Swish swish Minato makes some hand signs. Yellow lightning flickers around him as he disappears from his ce. He reappears near the eyes of the Kraken and attacks them. "No matter the creature, eyes are a weakness of every living being. If I blind it, then it won''t get a chance to dodge the attack." Swish Multiple lightning-infused tri-fork kunais appear in front of Minato. Whoosh whoosh He throws them toward the eyes of the Kraken. The Kraken senses the danger and closes its eyes. Ding ding The kunais produce metallic noise upon collision with the hard protective coating around the Kraken''s eyes. The baby Kraken ils its tentacles around in madness. Whoosh whoosh Minato swiftly maneuverers through the tentacles and continue to bombard the eyes of the Kraken. Other group members assist Minato by repelling its attacks on the ship. Bzzt crackle Kakashi creates a giant purple lightning de and slices through another tentacle of the Kraken. Plop The chopped-off tentacle falls and disappears into the sea. Squirm squirm The tissue around the tentacles squirms like worms, and new flesh grows out of it within seconds. "Its regeneration must have a limit. There is no way it can regenerate infinitely." Kakashi dodges another tentacle aimed at him. He dashes over the tentacle with his lightning de stabbed into the flesh of the tentacles. Swish sploosh A giant cut appears on the tentacles and separates them into two separate halves. A blood scent wafts in the air as green blood leaks from the chopped flesh. Ugh Yakumo closes his nose to avoid the stench. "Everyone, take the antidote. Its blood is poisoning the surrounding air." Kakashi feels slightly nauseous from the bloody stench. He takes out the all-purpose antidote pill and consumes it. "How long Naruto?" Minato asks Naruto who is busy gathering nature energy. "The nature energy is very thin here. So, it will take me a while to gather enough." Naruto replies with closed eyes. "If that''s the case, then" Whoosh Minato gives up on kiting the attacks around. He stretches his palm and gathers arge amount of chakra in it. Swirl whoosh Minato creates a gigantic cyan wind nature Rasengan. Tch He clicks his tongue and infuses more chakra into the Rasengan. The core of the Rasengan turns orange as Minato adds some Nine-tails chakra to it. "Eat this!" He aims the giant Rasengan toward the Kraken''s face. Screee The Kraken senses the threat from Minato''s attack. It opens its mouth and gathers arge amount of water chakra from the surroundings. It charges up a gigantic water beam in its mouth. Fwoosh The Kraken releases the beam toward Minato. Minato counters the beam with his wind-release giant Rasengan. Boom Both attacks collide with each other and create a blinding explosion that covers the surrounding area. Water vapors and mist cover everyone''s vision. Swoosh Minato is sent flying out of the white mist. He topples multiple times in mid-air before crashing into the water. Minato infuses some chakra in his heels and attempts to stabilize his footing over water. His steps leave a giant trail in the water as the bacsh of the attack pushes him further onto the surface of the water. A major portion of Minato''s clothing is torn apart by the previous attack. Haah Minato regains his footing on the water at almost a distance of a thousand meters from the ship. The escort ship is almost point-sized in his vision. Phew Minato heaves a sigh of relief. "I was able to neutralize its attack with my Rasengan. However, the bacsh from the collision of the energy was so intense that it broke two of my protective seals. Bzzt bzzt A transparent barrier flickers around Minato. The barrier flickers for a few more seconds before a bracelet cracks on his wrist. "It has served its usefulness." Minato discards the bracelet and turns his attention to the ship. Fwoosh In the next instance, he reappears on the ship. "Dad, are you alright?" Naruto notices Minato''s tattered clothes. "I am fine! Take care of this Kraken." Minato waves his hand as he takes support against the mast pole of the ship. "Alright! I won''t let this opportunity you gave me in vain." Minato wasn''t the only one to get caught in the aftermath of the explosion. Even the Kraken got a concussion from the powerful bacsh of the jutsu. Haah Naruto opens his eyes and enters the second stage, Senjutsu Mode. He extends his arm and infuses all the gathered nature energy in his palm to create a gigantic rasenshuriken of around ten-meter diameter. "Eat this!" "Sage Art: Cho dama Rasenshuriken," BOOM The rasenshuriken explodes on top of the Kraken and envelops it into a gigantic windstorm. Haah Naruto extends his palm and detonates the inner core of the rasenshuriken. A spherical vortex of razor-sharp des slices and tears through the body of the Kraken. Rumble Rumble The explosion from the jutsu generates powerful wind currents, causing the ship to sway back and forth. "Everyone, quickly hold on to something!" Kakashi warns everyone, as a powerful gust of wind assaults them. The mast of the ship bends at an unnatural angle and is almost on the verge of a breakdown. After a few seconds, the storm settles down to reveal the bloody Kraken still floating on the surface of the sea. Its body is twitching from the powerful impact of the jutsu. There are countless wounds over its body. Most of the minor wounds are already healing at a rapid pace while the major wounds are taking some time to regenerate. "What a tenacious vitality!" Minato marvels at the state of the kraken. "And it''s only a baby at that!" "Tch It''s not dead!" Naruto grits his teeth. "I almost give it my all and yet it still somehow survived." "Kurama, can you lend me some of your chakras? This time I will blow it away for sure with my Tailed beast Rasenshuriken bomb." Naruto clutches his fist. "I can''t do that." Kurama shakes his head. "Why?" Naruto questions him. "Take a look around you." Naruto looks around and notices the tattered state of the ship and the scared expression of many sailors. "If you detonate your tailed beast rasenshuriken here, then Minato and the rest of the people will be fine since they can safely evade the aftermath of the jutsu, but these sailors will be a victim of the explosion," Kurama exins the details to Naruto. "Kurama is right! The tailed beast Rasenshuriken is way too powerful to be used amid the ocean with no footing to stabilize others." Minato shakes his head. "Still, it''s not like your jutsu didn''t have any effect on it. The countless microscopic wind senbons from your rasenshuriken dealt massive cellr damage to this guy. It will be a while before it could recover to its previous state." Kakashi inspects the state of the Kraken with his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Naruto! Leave the rest to me." Sasuke''s voice echoes through the ship. Sasuke, who is still flying on top of Garuda, opens his eyes. Chapter 415: Heavenly Thunder King Raiju Chapter 415: Heavenly Thunder King Raiju Bzzt Crackle crackle Arcs of deep blue lightning jump around his entire body. Sasuke opens his eyes and lightning flicker through them. He raises his hand in the air and releases a powerful bolt of lightning in the sky. RUMBLE RUMBLE A gigantic vortex of clouds appears in the sky. A gigantic pir of lightning originates from the cloud to Sasuke''s hands. ROAR A gigantic blue lightning wolf jumps out of the clouds. The gigantic wolf has white lightning as its mane and there are purple horns on its forehead. AWOO The gigantic lightning wolf releases a roar from the clouds. Crackle crackle Bzzt Multiple lightning bolts sh around the gigantic wolf. "Amazing!" The hairs of everyone on the deck rise upwards. Kakashi opens his palm and notices small bolts of purple lightning flickering in between them. "My lightning chakra is growing restless from this jutsu. Amazing! If I didn''t have a certain level of control over my chakra, then I am afraid my chakra might have gone out of my control and be a part of this jutsu. There is no doubt about it, this jutsu is an S-Rank jutsu. From my estimation, it''s almost on par with Naruto''s Rasenshuriken." Kakashi voices his verdict. "No, it''s a bit stronger than Naruto''s Rasenshuriken." Minato shakes his head. "Even though Rasenshuriken is a pinnacle of Nature and Shape transformation, there is a limit to its power. After inserting a certain amount of chakra, the jutsu burdens the body of the user. And as more chakra is added to it, there is a possibility of the jutsu backfiring on the user due to its inability to maintain its shape. This limitation could be ovee by adding another nature transformation to the jutsu. Adding another nature transformation willpress the density of the chakra and make it more potent and rtively easy to manipte. However, such a feat is almost impossible to achieve." Minato shakes his head. "NO! There was someone else who was able to do it." Tsunade interrupts him. "Izuna!" Mei murmurs. "Yes, he has already achieved the impossible," Minato recalls the powerful jutsu Izuna released tobat the member of the Otsutsuki n. "However, the amount of burden such a jutsu exerts on the body is far greater than the opening of the Eight gates. It''s physically impossible for any human to perform such a feat. There is always a cost to use such a grand power." Minato closes his eyes as he recalls the numerous dark red cracks over Izuna''s body. "Perhaps only an immortal or a GOD could use such power!" Tsunade shakes her head. "Still!" Minato opens his eyes and stares at the gigantic wolf in the sky. "Sasuke-Kun is able to achieve a simr feat ofbining two nature transformations and shape transformation by relying on external help from nature. Since this jutsu is more like a force of nature than the result of the power of an individual, the burden on the body of the user is milder. However, it''s still enough to categorize this jutsu as a Forbidden Jutsu." The group stares at the haggard expression of Sasuke. The purple pigmentation around his eyes slowly disappears and Sasuke adds all of his sage chakra to the jutsu to stabilize it. Haah He lowers his raised hand and brings it down. SCREE The baby Kraken senses the life-threatening danger from Sasuke''s jutsu. It attempts to avoid the attack by diving back into the sea. "You aren''t going anywhere!" Naruto ps his hands. "Adamantine Sealing Chains," He releases multiple orange chakra chains from his stomach. The orange chains wrap around the Kraken and prevent it from diving into the sea. SCREE The Kraken madly exerts pressure on the chains to break free and escape. The powerful pulling force causes Naruto to be sent flying out of the ship. Ssh Narutonds in the sea. HAAH He infuses chakra in his legs and spread it across the surface of the sea to act as an adhesive. "I won''t let you escape so easily." Swoosh Naruto re-enters the Sage Mode to enhance his physical prowess. He grabs the chains and tugs them towards himself to pull the Kraken out of the Sea. Soon, a game of tug starts between Naruto and the Kraken. "We will help too"! The rest of the group bombards the Kraken with different jutsu to prevent it from exerting its full power. "SASUKE! I CAN''T HOLD IT ANY LONGER. THIS THING IS TOO DAMN STRONG!" Despite all of their efforts, Naruto is slowly getting pulled toward the Kraken. "I am almost done!" "Storm Release: Ten Kaminari- Raiju," (Storm Release: Heavenly Thunder King Raiju) Sasuke''s eyes turn normal as he infuses all of his chakra and Senjutsu energy into the gigantic pir of lightning. ROAR The giant Raiju wolf leaps from the sky and aims for the Kraken. ROAR It roars again and engulfs the monster in a massive storm of lightning. BOOM A gigantic pir of blinding lightning engulfs the area around the Kraken. The group closes their eyes to protect themselves from the extremely piercing light. Multiple arcs of lightning chains through the sea. Ding Ding The bolt of lightning hits the hull of the ship. The protective barrier around the ship flickers intensely. Sweat trickles down Minato''s forehead as he struggles to maintain the barrier all by himself. "I will lend you some chakra." Tsunade activates her Strength of a Hundred Seal and transfers a major portion of her stored chakra to Minato. The purple rhombus symbol on her forehead disappears. Minato heaves a sigh of relief and continues to maintain the barrier. The lightning pirsts for another thirty seconds. Everyone opens their eyes as the lightning pir slowly disperses into the sky. There is a giant gaping hole in the clouds in the sky. The clouds slowly dissipate to reveal a clear sky. Huff Huff Sasukends on the ship while panting. "Sasuke Nii-san!" Ayaka hurriedly supports him. "Sasuke!" Sakura also rushes to his aid. "I I am a bit exhausted!" Sasuke closes his eyes and falls asleep. Sakura checks his pulse and breathing. "He is in deep sleep from overexerting his chakra. He will be fine after a good rest." Phew "That was so intense!" Chojuro heaves a sigh of relief. He stares at Naruto and Sasuke in amazement. ''I am slightly older than them, but I am nowhere near them in terms of strength. I must train harder to live up to Lady Mizukage''s expectations.'' Ao notices his expression and pats his shoulder. "Don''tpare yourself to the likes of them. They have monstrous talent and on top of that their teacher is the unrivaled number one shinobi of this era. It''s fine to envy them, but this should also serve as a motivation for you. Afterall everyone person walks a different path." "Thank you, Ao-sama!" Chojuro bows to him for his kind words. "Get some backbone, kid! You will be my superior in the future." Ao chuckles and turns his attention toward the Konoha group. ''Still, Konoha is a ce filled with monsters. Every little fellow on this ship will make a name for themselves in the future.'' Whoosh Naruto jumps back on the ship. Minato dispels the barrier as the aftermath of the previous jutsu ends. "What''s the situation? Is it dead yet?" The group stares at the position of Kraken. Swoosh The surrounding mist slowly dissipates to reveal a charred corpse of the Kraken floating on the surface of the ocean. Huff Huff "Finally, it''s dead!" Naruto takes deep breaths to calm himself. "It took us everything to kill this baby Kraken. What would have happened if an adult Kraken showed up?" Naruto dreads the possibility. "Then, I am afraid, I would have to teleport everyone to safety and our n to visit the Kage Summit would get postponed." Minato shakes his head. "What should we do with its remains?" Ayaka enquires. "Its corpse is a treasure trove of resources. There is too much research value in it to discard it here." Tsunade remarks. "Why don''t we take its body back to Konoha to research, then?" Sakura suggests. "The problem is, we don''t have anything to store it and Minato doesn''t have enough chakra to teleport it to Konoha," Tsunade answers her. "Then let''s dissect its body and store it in different scrolls," Mei suggests. "That''s feasible!" Tsunade nod in affirmation. "Alright, I will guide everyone to dissect the corpse." Tsunade issues various orders to Kakashi, Ao, Izumi, and others. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 416: An Unknown Path Chapter 416: An Unknown Path "And with this, it''s done!" Tsunade stores thest piece of Kraken''s body in a storage scroll. "Even its blood has research value, so we have to store it separately and preserve it with Fuinjutsu seals." "Umm Lady Hokage, Lady Mizukage there is a slight problem!" The captain has a troubled face. "What''s the matter, captain?" Tsunade asks him. "Ourpass has malfunctioned after the previous thunderstorm and we don''t have a spare one. So, it''s extremely hard to navigate in this sea with nond in sight." "That''s a problem!" Minato also frowns. "I can teleport everyone back to the port in the Land of the Waterfall since I left a mark there, but that won''t solve the issue of the Kage Summit." "Is there really no other way?" Mei asks the captain. "I am afraid not!" The captain shakes his head. "So, what should we do in such a situation?" Tsunade ponders. "If we could scout any ind somewhere, then we can think of a way!" Kakashi suggests. "Hmm Kakashi is right! At least with thend, we will have a foothold in the sea and there won''t be a danger of waves toppling us up." "Leave the scouting to me!" Sasuke walks out of his room. He has recovered most of his chakra after a long sleep. "I have Garuda, so it will be easy for me to scout the surroundings." "Very well!" Minato agrees with him. Swish swish "Summoning Jutsu," Sasuke summons Garuda and hops on top of it. "I will be back after an hour!" Whoosh Garuda opens its wings and with a p, it flies into the sky and disappears from everyone''s vision. "Let''s hope Sasuke seeds and discovers a nearby ind with people." Kakashi hopefully stares at the trails of clouds in the sky. --------------------- Half an hourter, in the sky of the Pr Sea. ''Hmm I am pretty far from everyone and yet there is nond in sight. Should I return and report?'' "Yes, there seems to be no point in this mindless search. I will return and report the situation." Sasuke signals Garuda to turn back. Suddenly, Bzzt Boom A bolt of lightning strikes his previous position. "Huh?!" Sasuke stares at the sky in confusion. ''There are no clouds in the sky, so how?'' Shiing He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan and takes a look around to spot the enemy. Crackle crackle Bzzt A few hundred meters ahead, he spots a transparent barrier with his Mangekyo Sharingan. "Garuda, turn around!" Scree Garuda flies closer to the semi-transparent barrier wall. Hmm Sasuke inspects the barrier and frowns. "There is something weird about this ce! Why does it feel like there is an entirely different world on the other side of this wall? Should I attempt to cross it?" Such thoughts appear in Sasuke''s mind. He subconsciously stretches his hand towards the barrier in an attempt to cross it. "Wait, this doesn''t seem to be a good idea. I will take a page from Naruto''s book." Sasuke makes some hand signs. "Shadow clone jutsu!" He makes a shadow clone and signals it to cross the barrier. Whoosh The clone leaps from the top of Garuda and disappears into the barrier. "Ah!" Sasuke frowns as he stares at the barrier. "I lost connection with my shadow clone. I will wait for a few seconds. If the clone didn''t return, then I will retreat." Five minutester, Whoosh Sasuke''s clone walks out of the barrier. Sasuke dispels the clone and regains its memories. "I see! So, that''s the situation behind the barrier. I will report it to Hokage-sama." He gently pats Garuda''s head. "Let''s go back!" ----------------- Back at the ship, "Hmm it has been over an hour. Sasuke-kun has yet to return." Sakura fidgets around in worry. "Don''t worry, Sasuke will be back soon. Besides, he also has Dad''s mark on him. If anything happens, then Dad can just teleport next to him and bring him back." Naruto assures her. "But still" Scree Cries of Garuda echoes on the board. "Oh, he is back. Look, you were worried for nothing!" Swoosh Sasuke leaps from Garuda''s back andnds on the ship. "Sasuke, what''s the situation?" Minato inquires. "Lord Fourth, while looking for thend, I discovered something else. I can''t describe it in words, but it will be better if you watch it with your own eyes." "Oh!" Minato raises an eyebrow. "What kind of secret did you discover?" Tsunade asks him. Sasuke exins the details to them. "So, you are saying that there is a barrier in the Pr Sea and it separates the world into two different ces. When your shadow clone crossed over to the other side; you lost contact with it. That''s a lot to take in!" Kakashi and the rest listen to this tale with incredulous expressions. "No, I think I understand what kind of ce Sasuke is talking about?" Minato ponders for a while. "Perhaps it''s the secret passage to that ce!" Tsunade also agrees with him. "Let''s go and confirm it!" She signals to Sasuke. "What kind of ce are you both talking about?" Naruto and the rest are unable to hold their curiosity. "There is so much to exin, but I will ry it in a few words. Basically, Sasuke discovered the passage to the other side of the world." "Other side of the world?" Everyone''s confusion deepens even further. "Yes, the other side!" Minato nods at them. "This ce, the shinobi world, it''s a gigantic sphere of rock with two equal sides. The shinobi world lies on one side and the other side of the world is a ce filled with unknown dangers. That ce has a name, the other faceless side of the shinobi world, World of Redaku!" "Redaku?! This is the first time I heard of such a ce." Everyone stares at Tsunade and Minato with curiosity. "Actually, Redaku is not all that big. It''s a small country located on a continent in the other hemisphere of this giant. There are several scattered inds around the maind. The key feature of Redaku is that the entire continent on which it''s located is a gigantic mountain range and thus Redaku is a small country isted from the rest of the world. The rest of the hemisphere is filled with the sea and smaller inds. There are multiple dangerous creatures living in the sea and the sea monsters the Nine-tails mentioned mostly live in that ce. I am unsure of the details, but a few millennia years ago, an era much before the Sage of Six Paths; a major incident separated Redaku from the rest of the world. It''s said that a benevolent God died in that ce. In the final moments, God erected a barrier to lock the dangerous creature on the other side of the world. As such, that ce serves as a prison for those creatures. Also, there is no concept of chakra in that ce. I didn''t have any opportunity to visit that ce, but Izuna did visit that ce from time to time and I heard all of these tales from him." Minato ends his exnation. "Simr to Minato, I never had an opportunity to visit Redaku since only a handful of people in the world know the secret path to that ce. However, there are few records about that ce in the library of the Senju and Uzumaki ns. One of our ancestors visited that ce and wrote a description of it. Redaku is a distant paradise with a touch of harsh reality! I am not sure what those words mean." Tsunade shakes her head. "Let''s take a look at the ce. Perhaps we might get some clues and direction from the people at that ce." Minato suggests. "Yes, Lord Fourth!" Sasuke hops on Garuda''s back and keeps his pace with the ship. One and a half hourster, the group arrive in front of the transparent barrier. Hmm Minato curiously inspects the barrier for a while. "It''s arge range barrier surrounding almost all the. I have never seen such a powerful barrier in my life. The runes on this barrier are quite special and innovative. I evenck the knowledge toprehend most of them. Still, this ce is pretty much a prison for its inhabitants. The people of Redaku are surrounded by multiple sea creatures and the sea creature can''t break through this barrier and escape into the sea. Also, this barrier causes hypnosis and hallucinations. Only someone with a perfect mastery of Sage Art can pass through this ce since a Sage''s trained body will unconsciously eject this strange energy." Minato points towards a wisp of semi-transparent energy. "For now, let''s step into the Land of Redaku and ask for directions to the Land of Iron." ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 417: A connection beyond blood Chapter 417: A connection beyond blood "Hmm this familiar sensation!" A sleeping Yang Kurama opens his eyes. "This ce no wonder I felt something familiar." Kurama looks at the space behind the gigantic barrier. "It has been a long time since Ist came to Redaku!" He mutters. "Huh! You know about this ce, Kurama." Naruto asks in surprise. "Of course! I have visited this ce several time. When I was still young, I visited this ce multiple times with old man." Kurama reminisces some past memories. "Old man?! Was he your father or something?" Naruto asks in confusion. "Hmm since the person who brings you to life is called your father, then you can say so." Kurama nods in agreement. "What? You had a father!" Naruto''s eyes widen in surprise. "" "Who doesn''t have a father?" Kurama''s face turns ck. "No no I thought you were born out of nature or something since your body is made of chakra." Naruto argues. "Even if I am a chakra being, I do have a physical body. So, of course, I had a father." Kurama shakes his head. "Hmm then what species of the fox was it?" Naruto ponders. "If I recall correctly, Izuna Nii-san use to call you a Tsundere fox, is that your species?" Naruto asks Kurama with a serious face. Pfft Ayaka and Minato who can hear his conversation with Kurama almost burst out inughter. "Damn brat! Don''t you dare call me that, again!" A bloodthirsty expression appears on Kurama''s face. Pfft Haha Ayaka and Minato burst out inughter. "What? What''s going on? Why are you twoughing?" Tsunade asks curiously. "Lady Tsunade, it''s like that" As Minato was about to reveal the conversation. "Minato! Don''t you dare say a word. Or else I will expose everything you are hiding from Kushina. And don''t worry I am talking directly in your mind so others can''t hear us." Kurama threatens him with a re. Ah! Minato''s expression freezes and he turns silent. "It''s nothing!" Minato shakes his head. ''But I heard it, loud and clear!'' Ayaka''s voice rings in Minato''s and Kurama''s ears. "W what? How?" Kurama''s expression freezes. "It must be the Sin!" Minato immediately figures out the answer. Ayaka turns to Minato. "What shouldn''t be revealed to Kushina Nii-san?" She curiously asks Minato. "Haha nothing! It''s nothing. Every man has a secret or two which he must keep to himself." Minato has an ugly smile on his face. ''If Kushina finds out, then I am done for!'' "Oh! That''s what Nii-san used to say." She nods and turns to Kurama. "But you can''t stop me from revealing your species." Ayaka teases Kurama and speaks to Tsunade. "Oye, Minato! Stop her!" Kurama turns to Minato. "I am sorry, I can''t!" Minato turns his head away. "Damn! My reputation as the elder brother of all tailed-beasts, it''s gone. If any of them finds out, especially that tanuki bastard, then I won''t be able to show my face to anyone." Kurama hides his face with his paws. A clueless Naruto stares at everything in bewilderment as Ayaka exposes Kurama''s species. Pfft Haha Everyone except for Ao and Chojuro burst out inughter. "Haha I can''t control my tears." Tsunade wipes some tears from her eyes. Chojuro turns to Ao. "Ao-sama, what are theyughing about? Do you know what this Sun sun dere is this?" "Hmm I am not sure. But they must be talking about the Sunagakure. Perhaps the Kazekage made some mistake again. Yes, that must be it!" Ao hesitates for a while before firmly nodding his head. "Again!" Chojuro tilts his head in confusion. "Oh! There was that one incident when the Kazekage raised some questions about Lord Izuna and Lady Mei''s rtionship" Ao continues to narrate a tale to Chojuro. "" The rest of the group turns silent at the misunderstanding of Ao and everyone decides to y along with it. Seeing Ao and Chojuro''s clueless faces, Kurama recalls something. "Wait a minute! I was worrying for nothing. Only Izuna and his peers know the meaning of this word. This means no one else other than them has any clue about it. That means my reputation is saved!" Kurama heaves a sigh of relief. "But Gaara knows about it. And the One-tails was sealed inside his body." Naruto reminds him. "Damn!" Kurama yells in frustration. Haha The group breaks out in another fit ofughter at Naruto''s and Kurama''s antics. "It has been a while since I had suchughter." Mei wipes a tear from the corner of her eyes. "It reminds me of my days with Izuna." Her expression turns sour. "Don''t worry, Mei Nii-san. Brother will be back soon." Ayaka wipes her tears. "I can feel it, Nii-san''s presence. He is close to us!" "I I see!" A smile appears on Mei''s face. "I trust Ayaka''s words since she is always right when ites to Izuna." She ruffles Ayaka''s hair. Since her birth, Ayaka had a very close rtionship with Izuna. Even closer than her father and mother. When she was a kid, she will start crying when Izuna wasn''t close to her. Despite Akira and Aiko''s best efforts, they weren''t able to calm her down. But a single word from Izuna will make her calm for the entire day. Such was the magic of Izuna''s presence on her. Later, as she grew up. Ayaka was able to sense Izuna''s location no matter where he was in the entire shinobi world. She could even locate the real him between his identical Shadow clones without the aid of any Dojutsu. Izuna visited Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi cave, and the Shikkotsu Forest with Ayaka to get answers from the three sages. And the only answer all three of them gave him was, "You both share a bond far greater than just blood ties." This ambiguous answer wasn''t enough to answer their curiosity. Since they had no clue, they left it at that. "Hmm Kurama if your father isn''t a fox, then who is he?" Naruto interrupts their thoughts with another question. "I am also quite curious." Minato and the rest turn towards him. Even Ao and Chojuro stop their tale and turn their attention to Kurama. "You said, all of you tailed beasts are siblings and you are the eldest and the most powerful among them all. But all of you have different species, so how are you brothers and sisters?" "Sigh" Kurama shakes his head. "Unlike you human beings, our rtionship isn''t tied by blood but by our origin." "Origin?" Everyone''s curiosity deepens. "Hmm I heard something like this from Izuna. But he never spoke anything in detail and told us, we wille to know everything on our own." Minato also recalls his conversation with Izuna. "Alright! Before I tell you about my origin. There are few things you must know beforehand" The Yang Kurama enters his history teacher mode as he lectures the group. "First of all, you must already know about the Otsutsuki n by now" "We do!" Everyone nods their head. "Then, you must be aware of their purpose too" "We do!" They nod again. "Alright, then I will tell you the tale of an Otsutsuki princess. Though I am notpletely sure of the details, I have an inkling of everything." Soon Kurama narrates a portion of Kaguya''s story and the birth of Hagoromo and Hamura and how they ended up sealing the Ten-tails inside the Moon. And howter Hagoromo separated the chakra of the ten-tails and distributed it in nine portions. "So, does this mean that the Sage of Six Paths is your father?" Everyone''s eyes widen in shock. "Yes, that''s exactly what I mean." Kurama nods his head in frustration. It was a pain for him to convince this bunch of retards. "Hmm this makes sense. Since it was the Sage of Six Path who created you with his technique; then as your creator he could be defined as your father." Tsunade nods in agreement. "So, this is what you mean by your rtionship with other-tailed beasts. The bond you share with them isn''t of blood ties but a bond of the same origin which is much closer than thetter." "Absolutely correct! All of us tailed beasts share a telepathic connection with each other and can sense each other''s location and state. We also share amon mental scape where we can meet with each other regardless of our physical distance. We can also block this connection if we don''t want others to know ourselves." Kurama borates further. "Hey, doesn''t this sound more like Izuna Nii-san and Ayaka''s connection?" Naruto points out. "Hmm if we think of it this way, then it sure sounds like that. What could be the connection between them?" "Yes, what could be the connection between us?" Ayaka ponders. Rattle rattle The sin chains around her rattle. "Oh, you know about it Sin-chan!" Rattle rattle The chains rattle again. "But you won''t tell me, why?" Ayaka puffs her cheeks. "What? It''s not time yet?" "Don''t speak to me, I won''t talk to you." Ayaka ignores Sin''s continued pleading rattles. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 418: Island of Redaku Part-1 Chapter 418: Ind of Redaku Part-1 Hmm After listening to Kurama''s tale, Minato ponders deeply. "Since all-tailed beasts are a part of Ten-tails chakra, then what would happen if all of that chakra merged? Will Ten-tails be reborn?" He raises a question. "No, that should not be possible. The vessel of the chakra, the body of the Ten-tails, is sealed inside the Moon. Only someone with the eyes of the Sage can lift the seal" Kurama pauses as he speaks these words. "Eye of the sages, as in the Rinnegan!" Everyone''s expression turns grim. "Nagato, the leader of Akatsuki, was the wielder of the Rinnegan and all these past few years, Akatsuki has been actively capturing the tailed beasts. So, does this mean?" Everyone sucks a breath of cold air as they figure out the real objective of the Akatsuki. "There is no way Akatsuki wants to revive the Ten-tails. If they did so, then the entire shinobi world will be doomed from Kurama''s description." Tsunade refuses to believe the spection. "The Akatsuki always aimed to recreate a new world by destroying the five nations. If they revive the Ten-tails, then that dream will be reality." Minato continues. "So, it''s not far-fetched to say that Akatsuki is closer to their scheme." Mei voices her thoughts. "No, we still have a chance!" Minato shakes his head. "The Nine-tails is still with us. If we protect Naruto from the clutches of Akatsuki, then the Ten-tails won''t revive." Everyone turns their attention to Naruto. "However, the Akatsuki has been very aggressive these past few days to capture Naruto. First, it was the attack on the vige. If not for our preparations and the barrier around the vige; Akatsuki might have seeded in capturing the Nine-tails. And now their second attempt, it was almost a sess if not for Ayaka''s interference." A chill ran down everyone''s spine. "At this rate, they might end up capturing the Nine-tails in their third attempt. We must do something about this." "Hey, Kurama! This ten-tails sound strong. How much stronger is hepared to you?" Unable to hold his curiosity, Naruto asks Kurama. "Hmm extremely strong. Much, much stronger than me, the ten-tails is so strong that I can''t even hold a candle to it. Ten-tails is the amalgamation of this world''s entire chakra. So, you can only imagine how strong could it be. The Sage of Six Paths was the jinchuruki of the Ten-tails. He was able to achieve feats only a God could achieve." Kurama points toward the Moon. "He created the Moon to seal the body of the Ten-tails. Other than this, the Sage of Six Paths also repelled invasions from multiple God-like beings from other worlds. So, his power is something we could only imagine of." Kurama shakes his head and sighs. "The current shinobi world doesn''t stand a chance against a resurrected Ten-tails. Although, if that brat Izuna was here, then taking down the Ten-tails won''t be a difficulty with his level of power." Kurama praises Izuna''s prowess. "What? Izuna Nii-san was so incredible." Everyone''s eyes widen in surprise. Till now, they were aware of Izuna''s powers. They knew that he was the strongest shinobi in the entire world. But they didn''t know the heights and limits of his power. So, being judged on the same level of power as the Sage of Six Paths, opened their eyes. "Sigh where are you, Izuna? If only you were here, then I won''t have to deal with all this mess. I might even be enjoying myself in a hot spring." Tsunade sighs. A wary smile appears on everyone''s face, but they share the same sentiment as her. "Let''s go in! Mei, Kakashi, Izumi, Sakura, Hanabi, Yakumo, Ao, and Chojuro will stay here. Tsunade-sama, Naruto, Sasuke, and Ayaka will follow me inside the barrier." Minato leads the way. "This is incredible!" Tsunade touches the barrier with her hands. Her hand. phases through the barrier. Mei also attempts to touch the barrier, but her hand gets repelled by the barrier. "As I spected, only someone with a mastery of Sage Art can cross the barrier. Rest of you, please wait here!" Whoosh One by one, the group enters the barrier and disappears from the vision of the rest of the people. "I hope they won''t encounter any danger." Mei and the rest pray for their safety. Swoosh As soon as Minato and the rest pass through the barrier, their surroundings change noticeably. The clear sky changes to a sky covered with ck clouds and thunderstorms. Sasuke summons Garuda and everyone hops on its back. "Hmm the atmosphere here is certainly the same as I remember." Kurama nods his head. "There are few changes in the terrain, but the rest is the same." "What do you mean by a change of terrain? As far as my eye can see, there is water in my vision." Naruto stares at the sea in bewilderment. "Hmm there are a few small inds in the distance." Sasuke narrows his Sharingan. "Of course, that''s how it is. The Land of Redaku or the other half of the world is mostlyposed of water bodies. There are only a few scattered inds here and there. The maind of Redaku is a small continent with multiple mountain ranges located in it. The culture of Redaku is vastly different from the shinobi world. The people of Redaku are self-sufficient and there are rarely any wars for territories. Although, a few disputes between factions will be present here and there. They aren''t that much serious since these people don''t have charka to battle against each other." "It must be tough to live without chakra. I can''t even imagine a life without chakra." Naruto shakes his head. "Although chakra makes over life convenient, it isn''t an essential part of our life. Multiple people in the shinobi world live without chakra." Minato disagrees with Naruto. "Having no chakra doesn''t mean these people can''t protect themselves. They have multiple ways to defend against threats from the sea. Remember, I told you about all those powerful sea monsters?" "Of course, the Kraken, the Leviathan, Charybdis, and other powerful sea monsters, right?!" "Yes, as I told you before, these monsters are locked in this part of the world as prisoners and the barrier you people crossed is the prison holding them back. Although these monsters don''t surface and sleep deep within the sea; their offspring regrlye to the surface to wreak havoc." "You mean the baby Kraken we fought earlier?" Naruto recalls the battle against the Kraken. "That thing was unkible, like a cockroach! And you mean to say that such monsters are amon sight here?" An incredulous expression appears on Naruto''s face. "Then these people stand no chance against them!" Sasuke and Ayaka shake their head. "No, these people have developed special weapons to repel them," Kurama answers them. "Soon you will see for yourself!" Whoosh The group flies for another hour while searching fornd with people. Multiple gigantic sea creatures are surfacing from time to time underneath them. Garuda has to increase his altitude to avoid attacks from them. A gigantic eel-type monster even fired a beam of energy powerful enough to split the clouds. The group barely dodged the attack. After eating a Rasenshuriken from Naruto, the eel fled and didn''t chase after them. "Hmm I can see a few inds with structures on them." Sasuke scouts the area with his Sharingan. "Then let''s go and meet with these people." Swoosh Garuda ps its wings and increases its speed with a burst of wind chakra. Soon, a donut-shaped ind appears in their vision. There are multiple stone structures and buildings on the ind. "I can spot a few guards patrolling the ind. They are holding a weird spear-like weapon." Sasuke continues to scout the area. ------------------- On Donut Ind, Yawn A few guards yawn as they patrol the beach. The guards are donning ck clothes, armor, and a spear-like weapon. There is a Trinity Celtic knot symbol on their protective gears. Suddenly, a ring sound goes off on the ind. "Alert! There is a hostile creature in the sky. Prepare to attack them." The voice of themander echoes in theirmunication gear. "Intruder from the sky!" One of the guards takes out a binocr and scouts in the sky. He notices a gigantic eagle-like creature aggressively flying toward the ind. "That must be the hostile flying creature. Prepare to attack it!" The captain of the patrol team signals his team. "Yes, captain!" The patrol guard points their spear towards the sky. Fwoosh The tip of the spear glows with a blue hue. After charging for a while, the spear unleashes a beam of energy toward the sky. ------------------------- Back on the Garuda''s top. Hm Sasuke frowns as he notices the weird energy on the tip of the spears. Swoosh The guards fire the energy projectile in their direction. "Everyone, brace yourself. We are being attacked by the dwellers of the ind." Sasuke warns them. Whoosh whoosh Garuda swiftly maneuvers through multiple beams of energy. "They are treating us as enemies. Should we counterattack?" Naruto pumps his fists. "No, it could be a misunderstanding too! We don''t want an unnecessary fight to break out with our only source of information." Minato shakes his head. "For now, look for an opportunity tond on the ind. We might be able tomunicate with them." Minato instructs Sasuke. "Very well!" Sasuke pats Garuda''s back. Scree The Garuda releases a scream and increases its speed by another notch. Swoosh With a burst of speed, it quickly disappears from the vision of the ind dwellers. "We lost the target. Looks like it fled from our attacks." The captain signals his subordinates to stop their attacks. "Strange! There have never been reports of a flying-type aggressive monster in this part of the sea." Themander in the control room frowns. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 419: Island of Redaku Part-2 Chapter 419: Ind of Redaku Part-2 Somewhere on a remote corner of the ind, Whoosh Minato and the rest of the group appear in a sh. Minato picks up his kunai from the ground. "It was the right choice to use the Flying Thunder God jutsu tond on the ind without attracting much attention." Hmm "I can sense multiple human presences on the ind." Naruto stares at the strange stone buildings in the distance. "This looks like some sort of vige." Sasuke remarks as he observes the ce with his shared vision with Garuda from the sky. "Let''smunicate with these people. We will leave this ce if the inhabitants are hostile to us." Tsunade suggests. "There is something like a port and an entrance in the distance. Maybe we should start from there!" Ayaka points in the distance. "Alright!" The group walks towards the port. ----------------- Back at the port, Multiple guards are patrolling the area with their spear-like weapons. "What was that flying monster? It showed up out of nowhere and vanished as quickly as it appeared." The guard converses among themselves. "It must have immigrated from one of those countless inhabited inds in the sea. Countless monsters are lurking in the sea and the sky. It''s not rare to see another strange flying monster." Another slightly older guard remarks. "Speaking of which, when will thetest shipment arrive?" One of the guards asks. "Hmm the previous shipment was a month ago. The next shipment should be here in another two weeks. Why you can''t wait for more fancy products from the Shinobind?" Another guard answers him with a smile. "No, it''s not like that." The guard shakes his head. "It''s just that my kid is pestering me to bring another issue of that picture book from the shinobi world. That stuff sure is fascinating to kids." "Oh! This reminds me of my wife''s nagging. She ran out of those so-called beauty and skin care products from the shinobind. These past few days, she won''t even look me in the eye." Another guard shakes his head. "Haah newlyweds!" Other guards enviously mock him. "Hey! Who are these people?" One of the guards points towards Minato''s group, sauntering towards them. "Hmm their outfit seems strange. Are they supposed to be any visitors at this period?" Another guard frowns as he inspects the strange clothing of the group. "Hey! Don''t they look like those shinobis from the picture book?" The guard with the kid remarks. "Shinobis? There aren''t any shinobis here. So, are these people pretending to be one?" Another guard murmurs. "For now, don''t lower your guard. Let''s try tomunicate with them and ask them about their motive." The older guard expresses his intentions. He signals to a younger guard. "Go and inform the captain about these people." "Yes, uncle!" One of the young men departs from the scene. Soon, Minato''s group reaches the entrance. "Stop!" The guards point their javelins toward Minato''s group. "Who are you people? You don''t seem to be from here. State your name and purpose!" The older guards take the lead and issue a warning to them. The Konoha group raises their hands. "We don''t have any hostile intents." The guard frown and take a closer look at their outfits. "Wait, that symbol!" The guard with the little kid recognizes the leaf symbol on the Konoha headbands. He walks towards the group. "Hey, Kazuko! Be careful. These people might harm you." Other guards warn him and point their javelins toward the Konoha group. "Umm are you people perhaps the shinobis from the leaf vige?" Kazuko enquires. "We are indeed shinobis from Konoha." Minato nods at him. "But how do you know about our identities?" "So, I was right. You people are the shinobis of the leaf vige." Kazuko points towards their headbands. "I recognized you from this headband. It has a simr design to the picture book my kid likes." Kazuko answers them. "Oh! So, tales about shinobis are famous here?" The group is surprised to learn of this fact. "Of course! It was only a few years ago. But we people of the Land of Redaku did establish contact with the shinobi world. Though, it wasn''t just our efforts. We have to thank Lord Izuna for helping us out during that catastrophe and establishing a trade route with the shinobi world." The guard recalls an event from the past. "Wait! Lord Izuna?! Do you mean Izuna Uchiha?" The group is surprised to hear Izuna''s name as Tsunade enquires. "Of course! That''s the name of our savior!" Kazuko nods at them. "But how do you know about him? Is he also a famous personality in the shinobi world? I will be surprised if he isn''t. Lord Izuna is such a brave and powerful man." The guard continues to pile heaps of praises for Izuna. Ugh The faces of Minato''s group turn sour. "I get the mighty part. But what''s this with a generous, benevolent and kind person? Why didn''t we know about it?" Tsunade snorts. "Umm do you people happen to be acquaintances with Lord Izuna?" Kazuko asks with a fervent expression. "Of course!" Tsunade and Ayaka nods at him. "I am his teacher, Tsunade Senju!" Tsunade proudly puffs her chest. The faces of nearby guards turn red. "I am his younger sister, Ayaka Uchiha!" Ayaka introduces herself. "I am his mentor, Minato Namikaze!" Minato introduces himself. "I am his disciple and younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha!" Sasuke introduces himself. "I am also his disciple and younger brother, Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto also introduces himself. "These names!" The expression of the nearby guard changes rapidly. "What''s going on? What''s with all this ruckus?" The young guard arrives with the captain. "Captain" Kazuko quickly exins the situation to the captain. The expression of the Captain also changes. A polite expression appears on his face. "Umm pardon my discourtesy! But could I have a look at your ck cards?" The captain politely asks them. "Hmm you mean those bank cards? Sure, why not?" Minato and the rest take out their ck cards and hand them over to the captain. The captain takes out a strange bracelet-like device to inspect it. "They are authentic!" He passes the ck card to them and bows to the group with the rest of the guard. "Lord Fourth, Lady Fifth, Princess Ayaka! We wee you to the Donut Ind." The guards humbly bow to them. The captain activates hisms and informs the situation of themander. "Huh!" This sudden change of attitude bbergasts the Konoha group. "Can anyone tell me what''s going on?" Their sudden change bewilders Naruto. "I am also curious to know what shenanigans did that brat did here to deserve such respect?" Kurama''s voice rings in Naruto''s head. "Even I, who has a temple here, doesn''t warrant such respect?" Kurama continues. "You have a temple here?" Naruto''s eyes widen slightly. "Of course! I am one of the Nine respected sacred beasts of thisnd. I have protected these people multiple times. So, as a tribute, they erected temples for me." Kurama puffs his chest in pride. "Then why didn''t you stay here? It was better to stay at this ce than be hunted down in the shinobi world?" Naruto questions him. "Well, no matter what, this ce is too small for me. Also, this ce has many restrictions in ce and the flow of nature energy is quite distorted here. So, I don''t really like to live here." Kurama answers him. "Hmm you are right. There is something else mixed within the nature energy here. I can''t absorb it to enter the Sage Mode." Naruto attempts to infuse the surrounding nature chakra in his body but fails. The captain, not privy to the little conversation between Naruto and Kurama, answers him. "The ind we are currently residing on is a part of the property of Lord Izuna. No, this entire ind, including the town, is Lord Izuna''s property." The guard points towards a giant building with the Trinity Celtic Knot symbol in the distance. "This ind is owned by the Trinity corporation of Lord Izuna and we are its employees. So, as the rtives of Lord Izuna, you people are the VVIPs of ourpany." The captain leads them inside the city. "Woah! Incredible!" Naruto and the rest are surprised to see the architecture of the city "It''s so beautiful." They look around in amazement. "Humph I won''t forgive brother for not bringing me here earlier!" Ayaka puffs her cheeks in anger. Soon, the group arrives in front of a giant resort-like building. A red carpet lies in front of the group as the manager and the security chief wee them. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 420: Origin of Redaku: Part-1: The Adventures of Pepe Chad Chapter 420: Origin of Redaku: Part-1: The Adventures of Pepe Chad "Lord Minato, Lady Tsunade, Princess Ayaka! We wee you all to the Redaku branch of our corporation." The branch manager wees them with a warm smile. "I am Hoshi, an investor of Redaku and the co-partner of Trinity corporation." The manager introduces himself. He points towards a rough-looking man who is tagging along with him. "This is Kei, the security chief of Trinity corporation and a close friend of mine." Hoshi introduces the security chief to them. "It''s a pleasure to meet you all." Kei bows in respect. "There is no need for such formalities. We aren''t someone that great." Minato shakes his head. "Lord Minato, you may not know it, but your legends are spread wide across the Land of Redaku. Multiple people worship you as their idol." Kei reveals the poprity of Minato. "Hnn Minato, you are quite popr even in a foreignnd. You might have many suitors here." Tsunade teases him. "The same goes for you too, Lady Tsunade. Your poprity is even higher than Lord Minato." Hoshi has a wry smile on his face. "Looks like I am not the only popr one." Minato chuckles. "All of you, please enjoy your stay at our resort." Hoshi gestures to the nearby servants. "That might not be possible!" Minato shakes his head. "We were on our way to the Land of Iron for the Kage Summit. But midway, we were stuck by a thunderstorm and lost our direction. Somehow, we ended up here. We separated from our group to enter Redaku to ask for directions since only someone with Sage Arts can cross the barrier. Our group is still waiting for us outside the barrier." Minato exins the circumstances to them. "That won''t be a problem, Lord Minato. There are still five days before the start of the Kage Summit. That''s plenty of time. After three days, we will escort your group to the Land of Iron with our fastest ship. So, please give us the honor of hosting you." Hoshi requests with sincere eyes. "Well" Sensing the sincerity in Hoshi''s eyes, Tsunade and Minato are unable to refuse him. "But what about our group?" Ayaka asks him. "That won''t be a problem! Our ships are made of special materials which allow them to pass through the barrier." Kei assures them. "Then please escort the rest of them to this ce." Minato requests them. "We both will leave with you." Naruto and Sasuke propose. "Very well!" Soon, the duo reaches the harbor with the military squad of the Trinity corporation and departs to fetch the rest of the Konoha group. Back at the resort, Hoshi, the manager, leads Tsunade, Minato, and Ayaka around the ce. "So, wonderful!" Ayaka''s eyes shine in excitement. She takes out her camera and snaps a picture of her surroundings. "We also have an underground sea aquarium. I am sure you will like that, little princess." Hoshi has a kind smile on his face. Minato and Tsunade are also amazed by the level of advancement of this ce. ''Konoha is truly a vigepared to this luxurious city.'' Such thoughts run across their mind. "This ce how did you create it?" Tsunade couldn''t hold back her curiosity. "It''s the hard work of the people of Redaku. Unlike the shinobi world, the people of Redaku are unable to use chakra. So, we have to rely on maximizing the efficiency of our workforce and limited resources. As such, through the efforts of many generations, we, the people of Redaku, advanced our technology to an extent to achieve something like this." Hoshi has a prideful expression on his face. "It''s the blood and sweat of multiple generations bearing fruit in such a way." "Indeed!" Tsunade and Minato nod at his remarks. Achieving something like this without the aid of chakra is truly a miraculous thing for them. ''Perhaps the shinobi world might have advanced even further if we as its residents weren''t bound by our petty greed and raised unnecessary disputes over resources.'' Minato shakes his head. ''But it''s the inherent nature of humans. The people of Redaku were lucky in the aspect that they had nopetitors in thisnd. Their only enemies lie the sea. Since it was a matter of survival; they could only put aside their petty differences to seek a solution.'' "Now I am curious to know, how did Izuna make a mark on these people''s hearts? What''s the story behind his visit?" Tsunade curiously turns to Hoshi and Kei. Even Minato and Ayaka perk up their ears. "Hmm if I have to recall the day of our first meeting with Lord Izuna. Then, it was five years ago." Hoshi begins to narrate the incident. *****shback-no-Jutsu**** In the Pr Sea, Swoosh A gigantic eagle is flying across the skies. A cloaked figure is sitting atop the eagle''s back. "Damn that useless Sage of Six Paths geezer! He didn''t even tell me how he dealt with his chakra problem? After fumbling through multiple records on Mount Myoboku, I was finally able to uncover some clues." Izuna takes out an old dusted book and a map from his storage. "That old toad geezer will spout nonsense unnecessarily, but when I ask him for a solution to any problem; he will turn into a mute. My prophecies are like oracles, he says. Damn him, my life is on the line here." Izuna grits his teeth. "Although I have an iplete chakra fruit in my possession. It''s nothing more than a globule of pure nature energy. It''s still missing the intrinsic quality of a chakra fruit. Hence, it can only help me replenish my lost vitality." He shakes his head and stores the plump red fruit back in his storage. Izuna focuses his attention on the old book. He wipes some dust from it and nces at its cover. "ording to the old geezer, he has no recollection of this book''s contents. Apparently, this book was written by the first Toad Sage of the Mount Myoboku." Izuna opens the book and starts reading its contents. [This is an era of cmities and disasters. Gigantic monsters cover the sky and the earth. The ground would tremble from their footsteps and the sky will split apart from their breath. A swing of their mighty tail will sunder the oceans. They eat the mountains and drink the sea.] The first few pages continue to describe the appearance and the habitats of the so-called powerful monsters. "Aren''t they just the dinosaurs?" After reading the first pew pages in detail, Izuna concludes. "So, this world too was ruled by the dinosaurs. I wonder if they still exist in this world. Back in my previous world, their fate was sealed by a gigantic meteor from the sky." Izuna continues to read the description of various types of monsters. "Hmm so there were Pterosaurs, Ornithopods, Pachycephalosaurus, Tyrannosaurus, and Titanosaurs. There might be other species of dinosaurs too, but they aren''t recorded in this book. If dinosaurs still exist in this world, then I would like to have one as a pet." Izuna chuckles slightly before flipping to another page. [Then, the end of the world arrived. The sky was burning, and thends were turning. After an unknown period, the burning ball of fire in the sky disappeared. Slowly, everything turned cold. There was no longer any food avable to eat, and I too lost consciousness.] Hmm "So, no matter the world, the dinosaurs will always suffer the wraith of the rock. Somehow, I feel bad about them." Izuna flips to another page. [After an unknown period, I slowly opened my eyes. The giant ball of me was still burning in the sky. There were no longer any gigantic monsters on thend. Soon, many new animals appeared around me. In this new and unknown world, I made new friends and roamed the world with them] "What''s this? Excuse me? What''s the average lifespan of a frog again? Even if I don''t have a definitive answer, I don''t think it''s that long. This frog must be the Pepe Chad of this world. He fricking survived an apocalypse that wiped the dinosaurs, stayed frozen through the entire ice age, and woke up and walked away like nothing truly happened." Izuna recalls the frail expression of Baa and Paa. ''Looks like it''s the frogs that degraded the most over these years.'' Izuna flips to another page. He continues to flip more pages for a while. "There is nothing noteworthy, except the daily life of an adventurer frog. This Pepe Chad ancestor is the protagonist and I am this book''s sole reader." [Then one day, another apocalypse arrived. A gigantic ball of mes simr to the one that wiped those monsters descended from the sky] "Now, that sounds interesting!" Izuna is immersed in the story. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 421: Side Story Part 1: Origin of Redaku: Part-2 Chapter 421: Side Story Part 1: Origin of Redaku: Part-2 Izuna flips to another page to continue the tale. [The ground was trembling, the seas were churning; the sky was burning as countless balls of mes descended from the sky. Anything closer to the ball of mes disappeared from existence. The ground beneath our feet split apart, and the earth consumed us in a single bite. Everything was shrouded in darkness. Without the giant ball of fire, it was hard to move around. We crawled through the area and found buried food in the earth. After a while, we made it to the surface. The sky was red, and the ground was blue. As far as our vision could see, a vast field of fluffy white snow filled the area. And in the center of that, lied] "Hmm who could it be?" Izuna flips to another page. [ a furless and moistureless creature. The creature''s skin was smooth and spotless. It was a species we had never seen before in our life. The creature was in awful shape; it was leaking red liquid from its body. We were afraid afraid to approach that new creature. However, there was a sense offort and warmth around that creature. It was the same feeling I had felt when I opened my eyes for the first time. Many nts and flowers slowly bloomed around that creature. A never felt before sensation of closeness to nature embraced us. We slowly approached the creature. The roundball''s saliva could ease the pain, so it licked the body of the unknown creature.] "Hmm" Izuna flips to the next few pages. "Someone intentionally ruined the writing on these pages. I can''t even trace it with my Mangekyo Sharingan. But from these few interactions, I can conclude that Pepe Chad met with other Sage animals. That roundball must be either the first Katsuyu or the first dog sage." Izuna shakes his head and flips a few more pages. [The strange creature taught us many things; it taught us how to feel the nature energy in the surroundings and absorb it in our body, the art of Senjutsu. By constantly absorbing the nature energy from the surroundings, we gained spirituality. Later, we learned how to read and write.] "This person must be the traveller!" Shoom A strange sensation of energy pulsates through Izuna''s body. "Huh!" Izuna closes the book and stares at his surroundings. He notices the abnormality in the surrounding space with his Sharingan. "There is a powerful barrier blocking the path forward. This strange power is a part of that barrier." Izuna flies closer to the barrier in the Pr Sea and surveys it. "Incredible! To think that such kind of Fuinjutsu inscriptions existed! This is apletely unique system of Fuinjutsu inscription. If what I mastered earlier was basics, then these inscriptions are actual advanced knowledge. Every rune, every hieroglyph, and every inscription contains much more knowledge than the basic runes I learned. Fuinjutsu is like programming. If what I learned before was BASIC then this is C, C++ level of knowledge." He nods at his analogy. "However, every knowledge has the same roots and logic. It''s the pathway, that''s different. I can derive the entirety of this unknown Fuinjutsunguage by deriving and extrapting its contents from the basic techniques." Izuna immerses himself in the study of the barrier of the Pr Sea. "Hmm there are advanced istion formations, hallucination formations, illusion formations, genjutsu formations, Senjutsu formations, auto-repair formation well that''s new! I did make some auto-repair formations of my own, but it was only restoration, not repair. Restoration requires a lot of energy since it will rebuild the entire Fuinjutsu formation, but with this repair function, I can only repair the damaged portion of a barrier with minimal energy. This this formation seems new. Umm it''s a bitplex no, calling it a bitplex is a stretch. It''s borderline insane an advanced space-time maniption formation!" Izuna''s eyes widen as he frantically absorbs the knowledge of the seals. A few monthster. "Ugh I have hit my limit. No matter what, I can''t seem to decipher the contents of this advanced space-time formation any further. I am missing the crucial information to derive it further. The missing knowledge is the key to sess. If I can get my hands on it, then I can bend the space to my will and can elerate, pause and even rewind the time to past." He throws another cursory nce at the barrier and sighs. "I have learned a lot from this barrier. And this barrier revealed a few nasty secrets!" Shiing The tomoes in Izuna''s eyes rotate as his field of vision expands rapidly. He rapidly infuses chakra in his eyes and pushes his sense to their limit. Eventually, his senses cover the entire Shinobi world. Huff Huff The sudden influx of information overwhelms his mind. He quickly filters the unnecessary information. In his vision, the entire world is covered in purple-blue energy. "No wonder no wonder I felt like something was off with the shinobi world. Now I know the reason why." Izuna weaves his hand through the spatial and temporal field of the shinobi world to grab a wisp of that purplish-blue energy. "Someone has elerated the flow of time in the shinobi world. Hmm I can''t figure out the exact ratio, though. This exins many things. No wonder Kaguya spent years preparing for Momoshiki and Kinshiki''s arrival, and yet they made their appearance in the far future. This is an incredible feat of power. I am sure even if I attain the Six Paths power and Rinnegan, I won''t evene close to this level of power. Which amazing person did such a thing to this world? Since I am pretty sure whoever did it, did it with kind intentions towards this world." Izuna releases the wisp or energy which disappears into the spatial and temporal field of the shinobi world. "Such a feat not only requires an incredible amount of power, but also an extreme understanding of space and time. Currently, I don''t know the existence of such a character. Perhaps that so-called Otsutsuki God possesses such power, but I bet he isn''t someone with kind intentions." Izuna shakes his head. "Anyway, I have lost track of my original goal. But it was still worth it to study such a barrier. My skills and understanding of space-time have improved even further." Izuna steps through the barrier. Some restrictions bind his body, but he easily shrugs them off. "Commoners and normal shinobis can''t cross this barrier. Only a Sage can bypass the restrictions of this barrier." Izuna summons a giant Garuda again and rides it to fly across the sea. Scree A gigantic squid-like creature attacks him from the sea. Swish Izuna waves his hand and releases a Shinra Bansho orb toward the creature. Fwish The squid-like monster dissipates into ashes just from a slight touch of the Shinra Bansho orb. Whoosh The orb returns to him and levitates behind his back. Hmm "I can sense a few people in the distance and they seem to battle one of these sea creatures." Izuna narrows his eyes and notices a merchant ship being attacked by a gigantic eel-like creature. "Since I have to start from somewhere, I might as well save them to earn their gratitude. Ick the necessary information to traverse thisnd." Whoosh Izuna signals Chief Garuda to fly towards the ship. ---------------- In the Redaku Sea, on a merchant ship. "Captain! You promise to safely escort us through the sea. So, why are these sea monsters attacking us all of a sudden?" The head of the merchants asks the captain of the ship. "I am not sure, Hoshi-san! Recently, there has been unrest among the sea monsters. Especially the Eel monsters and the squid monsters. Most of them have entered a violent frenzy. Even the mind-breaking stones and the soul fracture stones are ineffective against them." The captain helplessly shakes his head as he instructs his crew members to repel the attacks of the monsters. "At this rate, we are left with no choice; but to vacate the ship and evacuate with motorboats." The captain signals his subordinates to lower the escape boats. "No, how could we do this? My cargo!" Hoshi clutches his forehead and falls to his knees. "That''s my entire life savings! How can I leave it like that? No I won''t leave it with you. Perhaps this monster will lose interest and leave on its own." Hoshi refuses to budge from the sea. "Hoshi-san! Don''t be stupid and act with such recklessness." Rumble rumble crack Cracks appear on the ship as the sea eel coils around the ship. The captain signals his men. Two burly men grab each of Hoshi''s arms and forcefully drag him towards the motorboats to escape. "Gentleman! I think you might need a little help here." Izuna makes his entrance on the ship. ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 422: Side Story Part 2: Origin of Redaku Part-3: Soul Fracture Stones Chapter 422: Side Story Part 2: Origin of Redaku Part-3: Soul Fracture Stones "Gentleman, I think you might need a little help here!" Izunands on the ship with chief Garuda. Scree Chief Garuda grabs the tail of the giant eel and pulls it away from the ship. "Ah!" The sudden intervention from Izuna surprises the ship''s captain and Hoshi. The captain aims his spear toward Izuna and fires an energy beam toward him. Pew A blue energy beam is released from the tip of the spear. It quickly travels toward Izuna and hit him in the face. Bzzt Izuna''s vision cks out for a second. He feels a stinging pain in his forehead. The various elemental orbs in his mindscape quickly protect his soul. Sin also negates the residual energy of the beam. ''That was scary! What the hell was this attack? It bypassed most of my mental defenses andunched an attack on my soul.'' Izuna shakes his head and opens his eyes. He snatches the spear from the ship''s captain''s hand and inspects it. "Hmm the design of this spear is pretty much basic. There is nothing special about it. It''s simr to a light sourcemp insers, whereupon the excitation of a material releases a wavelength of energy particr to that material. However, what''s special is the material used in this spear" Under the bbergasted gazes of the ship captain and the merchant Hoshi, Izuna cracks open the thick metallic spear with his bare hands and extracts a translucent rock from the core of the spear. He tosses away the bent spear and inspects the translucent rock with his Sharingan. A frown appears on Izuna''s face. "Strange! The energy signal of this rock is foreign. The resonant frequency of its molecules and atoms is different from the material of this world. Its nature and behavior with other matter indicate that it''s under the influence of higher energy from another dimension. Interesting. I will research itter." The rock disappears from Izuna''s hands as he stores it in his storage space. Hoshi and the captain''s eyes widen even further as the rock magically disappears right in front of their eyes. Gulp They gulp their saliva and warily stare at Izuna. "Wh who who are you?" The captain stutters as he puts his words together. "Ah my bad! I didn''t introduce myself. I am Izuna Uchiha, a member of the Uchiha n and a shinobi of the Konoha vige." Izuna formally introduces himself. "A shinobi!" A strange fluctuation appears in Hoshi''s and the captain''s eyes. "Are you really a shinobi? The warriors from the legends: who could walk on water, fly in the sky and breathe fire and water from their mouths. Lift a gigantic mountain with their bare hands and destroy countries with a slight flick of their hands." The terror in their eyes changes to awe and revere. "Umm I am not sure what kind of impression you people have of shinobi. But if it happens to be the one you mentioned just now, then indeed I can do all of these things, and perhaps much more than that." Izuna agrees with them. "No, we believe you." The captain and Hoshi nod at him. Just now they saw Garuda easily grab the giant eel by the neck and throw it into the ocean. REEE The gigantic eel jumps out of the water in fury. It opens its mouth and charges a powerful lightning energy orb into its mouth. It aims the energy orb toward Garuda and the ship and discharges it. "We are done for!" Hoshi and the captain hug each other in despair. At the doorstep of death, Hoshi regains some of his sanity. ''Perhaps I should have heard his words and vacated the ship as soon as possible. Now, I will be buried in the sea without an intact corpse.'' Such thoughts run through his mind. ''I was an idiot to think about saving the life of this suicidal man. Now, I will pay for it dearly with my life. I haven''t even married yet.'' Tears flow from the captain''s eyes. "Hmm these sea creatures sure are aggressive." Izuna stretches his palm and grabs the giant beam of electricity with his hands. Crackle crackle Lightning crackles around his body, but Izuna shrugs it off. ''Hmm the power of this lightning ball is simr to an A-rank jutsu.'' Clench Izuna clenches his fist and dissipates the energy beam. ''I wonder how the people of Redaku even survive the attacks of such a thing. Hmm if they use those weapons from earlier, perhaps they might stand a chance and scare these wild sea creatures.'' He shakes his head and a Shinra Bansho orb shoots toward the giant eel-like creature. It pierces through the head of the eel and blows a giant hole in its body. Purple blood stters on the surface of the sea as the corpse of the creature floats on the surface. Hoshi and the captain regain their wits and stare at Izuna with awe. "Such strength such power. No wonder you are a shinobi." "" ''They only trust me now. So, what was that talk earlier? Were they acting?'' Both of them bow their head to Izuna in respect. Even the rest of the crewmates and the subordinates of Hoshi bow to Izuna in awe. ''Ugh why do I feel like I have entered the territory of some ancient tribes who surmise my every action as an act of God? It''s too troublesome, but I have to somehow gather information from these people.'' "It''s fine it''s fine! There is no need for such a thing. I was just looking for some information. You people happened to be on the same path as me, so I decided to lend a helping hand. It''s nothing much!" Izuna shakes his head. "No no how could we treat our savior in such a rude way? We have to properly disy our hospitality. Also, it has been decades since a shinobi made his appearance in Redaku. The legends of shinobis are widespread across Redaku, so it''s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see one right in front of our eyes." The various crewmates scrutinize Izuna like art in a museum. "His looks are simr to us. I thought he would have a thousand arms and legs." One of the crewmates whispers to his friend. ''Hey I can hear you loud and clear, alright!'' Izuna''s facial muscles twitch. "I thought he will be as tall as the sky." Another crewmate mutters. "Shouldn''t he have a body of wood and the head of a dragon?'' Another crewmate mutters. ''Wait! Hold it! This description sounds familiar.'' Izuna''s eyes widen slightly as the goofy face of First Hokage appears in his mind. ''Why does all of their description remind me of the wooden constructs of the First Hokage? The thousand hands should be from the Thousand Hand Buddha Statue. That giant body should be the wooden golem and the dragon head should be the wooden dragon. What the heck? Did First Hokage identally visit this ce?'' Izuna ponders to himself. ''The possibility isn''t low since he was also a Sage, so it isn''t difficult for him to bypass the restriction of that barrier. And also, most of the records about his life vanished courtesy of the ck Zetsu. Hmm now that I think about it, ck Zetsu must also be aware of this ce. So why didn''t he make a move to conquer this ce yet? Perhaps there are few hidden secrets about this ce.'' Izuna takes their praises with a smile. "Alright, I will ept your hospitality. But I have questions that I would like to get some answers to." Izuna states his condition. "Of course. You are our guest, so it''s natural." The captain nods at him. "Ah it''s too rude of us to not introduce ourselves." The merchant lowers his hat. "I am Hoshi Mitsubishi, a merchant from the Land of Redaku." "I am Kei, the captain of this ship." The captain also introduces himself. "Now what would you like to ask, Izuna-sama?" Both of them politely gesture to him. "Hmm I am very curious about the weapon you used earlier." Izuna stretches his hand, and the broken remains of the spear fly towards his hand, awing the spectators in the process. "No to be more precise, what''s this ore that you use as a power source for this spear?" Izuna produces translucent rock. "This is a special ore of Mount Redaku. We call it the Soul Fracture stone. It emits a special energy beam that targets the mind of the victim. It didn''t have any effect on the people, but its beam can scare away those powerful sea monsters. So, we use it in our weapons to fight against these sea creatures." ''Hmm'' Izuna tosses the soul fracture stone on his palm. ''I inspected their mind with my Mangekyo Sharingan. And what they are saying is indeed right? Due to constant exposure to the radiation of this soul fracture stone, their souls have a certain immunity to its effect. However, it could easily break the mind of a normal shinobi.'' ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 423: Side Story Part 3: Origin of Redaku Part 4: Terrain of Redaku Chapter 423: Side Story Part 3: Origin of Redaku Part 4: Terrain of Redaku ''These soul fracture stones. I wonder if they will work outside this ce. If they do, then these people of Redaku can easily stomp the Shinobi world with their level of technology and weapons.'' Izuna pockets the stone. Hoshi and Kei eagerly stare at Izuna. "Umm is there something on my face?" Izuna asks them. "Uh No! No!" Both shake their head. "Then what do you want from me?" "Uh Izuna-sama if perhaps if there is no need to but if possible" "Damn it! Speak your mind. Don''t speak nonsense." Izuna gets irritated by their way of speech. "Can we get a hold of the body parts of this giant eel monster?" Kei and Hoshi stare at him with puppy eyes. Bleugh Izuna almost spits in disgust at the weird expression of these grown men. "Will it kill you to behave normally? Also, stop with that weird nce. You two aren''t little kids. As for the body parts of the eel, you can keep them. Not only this eel monster, but I have corpses of multiple sea monsters. I will give them to you but you have to pay a suitable price." He negotiates with them. "Of course, it will be our honor." The two immediately agree with Izuna. "Well, that was quick! Aren''t you guys a bit too impatient?" Izuna chuckles. "Umm Izuna-sama, since you aren''t from this ce, you don''t know the true value of these monsters. There are multiple uses for the body parts of these monsters. Their horns, teeth, and skeleton serve as a memento and as a trophy to boost the honor and fame of a person who possesses them. Also, a skilled professional medicine maker can extract their liver to make a special tonic that can extend the lifespan of a person by a few years. Not only that, some medicines can even heal a person to full health from the brink of death. Their flesh and blood also contain many medicinal properties. So, of course, the body parts of these monsters are a hotmodity." "Hmm" Izuna ignores their bbering for the most part. He didn''t need any memento or trophy since he can hunt these monsters anytime he wants. As for the fame, well the entire shinobi is aware of his abilities. So, there is no need for that. The medicinal properties to boost health and strengthen the body are also useless to him due to his regeneration and powerful chakra. As for the money earned from selling these parts, he doesn''t care much about it. Since he is one of the richest, if not the richest person in the shinobi world with multiplepanies under him. What fascinates him the most is the medicine that can restore a person to full health from the brink of death. ''Perhaps that might help me with my problem!'' "Can you tell me more about this miraculous medicine with the ability to restore a person to full health?" "Well about that" Hoshi has a hesitant expression on his face. "Umm we don''t know about it since it is just a legend. But apparently, there is a secret facility located somewhere in the mountain range of Redaku where such a medicine is produced. We all think that this is just a conspiracy theory cooked by those researchers." "So, there is such a facility in Redaku." Izuna is slightly surprised. "How far is it from this ce?" He enquires. "That mountain range is in the vicinity of the capital city of Redaku. But I wouldn''t rmend visiting the capital." Hoshi whispers in a hushed tone. "Huh! Why?" Izuna raises an eyebrow. "That ce is filled with dangers. A power struggle is brewing in that ce. The current king and his brother are fighting against each other. So, it''s not a safe ce to visit now. Since the city guards will imprison anyone for slightly suspicious movements. All of your property and assets will be confiscated. The prisons of the capital city are horrendous. I heard that prisoners are treated even worse than animals. They are subjected to the harsh cold of pr ice caps with little to less protection. Their meals are minimal, and they are forced to do gruesomebor in the freezing cold." Hoshi exins everything in detail to Izuna. "Life must be harsh for you people!" Izuna shakes his head. ''Looks like my initial assumption of this ce was wrong. This ce is also filled with people who lust over power and authority.'' "No it''s not that bad. We are currently in the remote parts of the Land of Redaku." Kei pulls out a rough map of the Land of Redaku. "Two different mountain ranges called the Redaku Mountain range and the Tataru mountain range divide the maind of Redaku into three parts." Kei marks two circles on the contour lines on the map. "Traveling from one region to another is a very ardent task and only a few people bear the unnecessary risk." Kei nces at Hoshi for a second. Hoshi''s face turns red in embarrassment. "Aren''t there any trade routes carved through these mountains?" Izuna questions him. "There are a few trade routes, but they aren''t safe." Kei shakes his head. "The Redaku Mountain range is infested with a multitude of creatures, some of which are the descendants of the dragons. These creatures are very aggressive and the soul-fracture stones and mind-breaking stones have hardly any effect on them. So, despite the dangers in the sea, it is considered safepared to traveling through the Redaku Mountain range." "I see!" Izuna nods at his exnation. "Now, for the second region or the central region. This is the most fertilend of Redaku. It''s a vast piece of nend sandwiched between two mountain ranges. The current capital of Redaku is located at this ce." Kei marks another ce on the map. "However, as Hoshi said earlier; this ce is embroiled in its own conflicts and thus hardly has any time for us sea dwellers. "Now for the third and thest region." Kei marks a few more contour lines. "This region is the coldest region of Redaku and is isted from the rest of Redaku by the Tataru Mountain range. This area is the closest to the pr caps and thus is frozen for most time of the year. The hidden facilities Hoshi mentioned are located at this ce. However, there are also several prison facilities located at this ce. No sane person will step foot in this ce." Kei shakes his ce. ''Well, it looks like I will get the answers to all my questions at this ce.'' Izuna makes up his mind. "Can I borrow this map from you?" Izuna requests Hoshi. "Of course, Lord Izuna." Kei nods and transfers the map to Izuna. "May I be blunt enough to ask for your ns, Lord Izuna?" Hoshi asks him with a forced smile. "If you don''t have any ns, they don''t you join the Sea Lord festival with us." He quickly adds. ''Hmm initially I nned to quickly find a cure for my body and leave this ce. However, looking at this unexplored part of the world is making my adventurer blood boil. I will stick with them and take a look at their culture. Perhaps, in the future, I might even bring Ayaka to this ce for a vacation.'' Izuna ponders for a while before agreeing to their request. "Alright, lead the way! I am also curious about the culture of Redaku and the story behind this sea lord." Izuna gestures to Hoshi. "Oh, Lord Izuna is interested in the legend of the Sea Lord. Actually, we haven''t seen the Sea Lord, but tales of the sea lord have been passed down for centuries. Sea Lord is a powerful god with a fish''s body. Back in the past, thend was haunted by the malevolent sea spirit Umibozu. This powerful evil spirit will regrly sink ships and floodnds. Chaos and terror were prevalent in the coastal town and cities of Redaku. When all hopes were crushed, the Sea Lord made its appearance. It fought against the Umibozu in a battle thatsted decades. In the end, the Sea Lord won the battle and sealed the evil spirit Umibozu for good. After that incident, the Sea Lord never made another appearance. So, to pay our respect and tribute as a disy of gratitude, the Sea Lord Festival is held every year. We offer our thanks to the Sea Lord for protecting the sailors during their harsh journey." Kei points towards the symbol of a weird fish with a crown on its forehead. "This is the symbol of the Sea Lord. It keeps us safe during our sea journey." He prays to the symbol. The rest of the sailor imitates his actions. ''Now that''s quite a rich history!'' ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 424: Side Story Part 4: Shirodo Festival Chapter 424: Side Story Part 4: Shirodo Festival Soon, the group reaches the shore. "We are finally on thend!" The sailors frantically dash towards the shore and kiss the sand with tears in their eyes. Hoshi and Kei also take a deep breath. "Thend sure smells refreshing after spending a long time in the sea." Kei stretches his sore muscles. He turns towards the rest of the sailors. "All right boys, get back to the work. We have lots of things to do." He points towards the gigantic corpse of the sea monster. "Yes, boss!" The crew members turn to the remains of the sea monster with sparkling eyes. "Hehe after this, I can marry my childhood friend." One of the sailors sharpens his butcher knife. "Oi Asuga, what''s with that pervy smile? Are you still fantasizing about that girl whose father beat you to a pull for uselessness?" Another sailor mocks him with a smirk. "Tch Mitsu, at least I have a girl, but what about you? You are still a virgin at your age." Asuga retorts. Pffft Haha The rest of the sailor bursts out inughter. Mitsu''s face turns red in embarrassment. "I am not a virgin, not anymore!" He proudly deres. "Oh, so you made love with some old hag in your dreams?" Another sailor burst his fantasy bubble. "You you guys!" Mitsu points towards his friends with trembling fingers. Ahem Kei clears his throat. "Don''t waste your time by idle chit-chat. We still have lots of work to do." He rebukes them. "Yes yes, captain!" The sailors quickly disperse and engage in their work. "Tha thank you, captain, for your help!" Mitsu thanks Kei with heartfelt gratitude. "Umm don''t mind it. You are a part of my crew. Also, if you need with your umm I mean, if you are still looking for a girl, then I can arrange one for you. Though she might be slightly older in age." Kei attempts to console Mitsu. "Not you too, Captain!" Tears flow from Mitsu''s eyes. "Alright alright! I was pulling your leg." Kei wipes a fake tear from his eye. "Still, you can consider my earlier offer." "Grr I hate you, Captain!" Haha Kei leaves him alone. Meanwhile, Hoshi escorts Izuna to the town. There is a festive atmosphere in the town. The townsmen are decorating the streets with vim and vigor. Many kids are roaming the streets with various fish masks. The essence of the festive mood permeates the air. Many hawkers and vendors are selling goods rted to the Sea Lord. Some of them are selling colorful sea shells, others are selling wooden carvings of the sea fishes. There are a few shady ones who are selling fake charms. The joyous mood of the people alleviates some tension in Izuna''s heart. ''Perhaps it wasn''t a bad idea to rx and enjoy this festive gathering.'' Izuna takes a stroll across the streets of the coastal town while enjoying several local delicacies. "Mmm not bad. The food is quite appetizing, with a unique vor. Even their cooking method and spices are different from the shinobi world. This sure is a pleasant culinary experience." He savors the taste of various seafood unique to Redaku. "Everyone gather at the town square; the sea lord y is about to start." This announcement sends an adrenaline rush through the entire townsfolk. All of them leave their current work and swiftly rush towards the town square. At the town square, a group of performers gathers on a stage to perform a y. "It''s time for that event again!" Hoshi stares at the group of people rushing toward the town square. "What event?!" Izuna curiously enquires. "Every year the Shirodo (Sea Lord) Festival is held during the Minazuki period. The festival willst for seven days and each day there will be a y depicting the entire story of the brave hero and the Sea Lord. On the seventh and the final day, a parade of illuminated boats will be held tomemorate the ending of the festival." Hoshi exins with enthusiasm. "Lord Izuna, I am sure you will like it." He gestures towards the town square. "That sounds interesting. Maybe I will also take a look at their performance." Izuna curiously stares at the outfits of the performers from a distance. ''Some of their clothes are from the Warring Era period.'' Soon, almost the entire town gathers at the square. With the beatings of a Taiko drum and the plucking of a Koto string, the y starts. [In the far corners of the northernnd, once there] The vibrant and magical acting and the melody of the instruments stirred the emotions of the audience. The delightful performance captivates the souls of the spectators. Like a fleeting moment, the ephemeral y finally came to an end. The performers silently left the square, leaving behind a spellbound audience immersed in the narrative of the y. A few momentster, hustle-bustle returned to the town square as the people fanatically discussed the story with enthusiasm. "The quality of the y was much better than the previous year. I couldn''t even take my eyes off the stage for a moment." "Yes, the music was so enchanting and soothing that for a moment I felt like I shattered all my shackles as I stepped out of my cage and soared into the sky." "How was it, Lord Izuna?!" Hoshi slowly opens his eyes and turns to Izuna. "It was a very fascinating y. I really enjoyed it a lot." Izuna replies as he nces at the retreating figures of the performers. "Now, I can''t wait for the next day." An erratic smile emerges on his face. "Yes, Izuna-sama!" Hoshi agrees with him. "So, are there any inns nearby?" Izuna enquires. "Of course! Of course! I will lead you to the best inn in the town. The owner is an old friend of mine, so there won''t be any problems." Hoshi smiles as he leads the way. A few minutester, "Ah!" Izuna''s face twitches slightly as he stares at the entrance of the inn Hoshi introduced to him. "Lord Izuna, despite its looks and surroundings, this ce is the best inn in the town and boasts a premium customer experience." "I can attest to their services." Kei, the ship''s captain, walks out of the inn. He waves at the group with a wide smile on his face. "Best service, my ass! Isn''t this ce a love hotel, and this ce is the red-light district of the town? Or do you think I am as blind as a bat and can''t see the so-called ssiness of this ce?" Izuna retorts with an angry expression. "You better take me to a different ce or else" Izuna turns around to leave. "Please wait, Lord Izuna!" Hoshi hastily stops him. "Love hotel is just a small part of our business. The needs and preferences of the customers are always our priority. We aim to serve our customers in all aspects." A middle-ageddy walks out of the hotel. The neer has shoulder-length red hair and brown eyes. She is d in a purple kimono with floral patterns and wears traditional footwear. "So, you are the owner?" Izuna inspects thedy with an intriguing look. ''Hmm things are getting pretty interesting.'' A faint smile on Izuna''s face. ''What was that?'' The middle-ageddy looks around in confusion. "It has been a while, Lady Himari." Hoshi politely bows to her. He points towards Izuna and introduces him. "Lady Himari, this young man is Lord Izuna. He is our savior and a shinobi from legends. He fought against a giant sea eel monster and disposed of it with ease." "Oh?" Lady Himari raises an eyebrow and takes a second nce at Izuna. ''So, that feeling earlier it must be him. Did he find out my secret?'' A smile appears on Lady Himari''s face as she wees Izuna, while numerous thoughts rush across her head. ''It would be bad if he finds out our secret. I have to keep a close eye on him.'' "You don''t have to worry, Lord Izuna. Besides, the love hotel; we are also a properly functioning inn with all necessary facilities." She assures him with a smile. "So, how long does Lord Izuna n to stay in the town?" She enquires. "I am not sure of the duration, but at the very least I n to attend the Shirodo festival," Izuna replies to her with a smile. ''I can''t read him at all.'' Himari has a wry smile on her face. ''Even if he is a shinobi, I don''t want him to mess up our ns. The appearance of one at such a time spells nothing but trouble for us.'' Himari leads him inside the hotel. She hands over the keys to one of the most luxurious rooms to Izuna. "We have prepared one of our finest rooms for your service. I hope sir ''Shinobi'' will enjoy his stay in our humble ce." Izuna rolls his eyes. ''Isn''t I because you want to monitor me since you seem to be hiding some secrets? Anyway, I will entertain you folks. This ce seems to be more amusing than I initially assumed it to be.'' ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 425: Side Story Part 5: Redaku Arc: The Mysterious Groups Chapter 425: Side Story Part 5: Redaku Arc: The Mysterious Groups Later in the night. Hmm Izuna opens his eyes. He nces outside the window. His vision pierces through multiple walls to spot a hidden underground facility. "I can''t see past the passage of this hidden facility. There seems to be some sort of restriction or seal in ce. Izuna turns around and nces at a nearby tree. "Genjutsu: Sharingan," The tomoe in his eyes spins rapidly. "This should take care of the peeping tom." "Shadow clone jutsu," Izuna makes a shadow clone and signals it to lie down on the bed. "With this, I have an alibi. Now I don''t need to worry about the useless trouble these people could create for me." Swoosh Izuna''s figure slowly turns invisible. "Light Release: Camouge Cloak," He wraps his body in a few small barriers to avoid creating any unnecessary sound. "Now it''s time to look at the secret of this little inn." Whoosh Izuna''s figure disappears from the room as he approaches the hidden facility at a quick pace. Soon, he reaches the entrance of the hidden facility. Hmm Izuna spots a few fuinjutsu runes on the door of the facility. "These people they have a certain level of Fuinjutsu skill to erect such a barrier and ce so many restrictions. Only the members of the Uzumaki n in the shinobi world canpete with their level of expertise." The level of Fuinjutsu skill impresses Izuna. He continues to inspect the barrier for a while. ''Now that I take a closer look at these runes and their usage, I can safely deduce that the Fuinjutsu technique of the Uzumaki n and these people had the same origin. While the Uzumaki n weaponized their Fuinjutsu in terms of sealing and binding powerful opponents, these people focused on the utility of the Fuinjutsu in terms of barriers, summoning, and other misceneous tasks. Furthermore, they have refined their techniques by studying the gigantic Fuinjutsu formation around this since the core of that formation lies somewhere in Redaku.'' Izuna recalls the powerful barrier epassing the entire. After studying that barrier for months, he concluded that this doesn''t have enough energy to sustain that barrier for such a long time. Nature energy of this entire and its inhabitants isn''t enough to manipte the flow of space-time around the. If that formation were to use the Shinobi world''s nature energy, then the entire will turn into a wastnd in just a few months. The energy consumption of sustaining such a powerful phenomenon that maniptes reality and bends space-time rules is unfathomable even to the current him. ''Perhaps this is the territory of the GODS.'' He shakes his head and focuses his attention on the barrier in front of him. ''This barrier is simr to a modern face or identity recognition system. It only recognizes a set of parameters simr to a lock, which only recognizes a particr keycode. So, if I replicate the logic behind those parameters and create a key, then it isn''t that difficult to bypass this barrier anymore.'' Swoosh Izuna uses the earth style to create a sapphire. He infuses his chakra in the sapphire and inscribes multiple sets of runes and inscriptions on it in a matter of seconds. "Done!" He holds the sapphire in front of the eyes of a crow statue. A ray of light inspects the sapphire and grants him ess. ''I will erase the record of my visit. These people sure are quite strict with their safety measures.'' Izuna edits a few runes and erases any information rted to his key or his visit. After sessfully infiltrating the hidden facility, he closes his eyes and senses the multiple presences hiding inside the facility. ''This is quite a big facility. Who would expect that there is a huge underground hidden facility the size of a quarter of the town hidden right beneath their nose? The anomaly I felt earlier'' Izuna turns his direction to a particr direction. He senses a strange chakra emanating from that direction. ''Other than the nature energy, I can sense another type of energy simr to energy which is quite simr to chakra but a lot less powerful. Chakra is a privilege of the Otsutsuki n, which the Sage of Six Path shared with the entire world. After reading through the various records, I am pretty sure the Sage wasn''t aware of his actions at that time.'' Izuna shakes his head as he follows the strange energy signature. Soon, he arrives in front of a giant hall. Izuna cloaks his presence even further as he senses a gaze in his direction. ''Despite my efforts, someone here was able to sense my presence.'' Izuna''s gaze turns to a youngdy with silvery white hair. Multiple people in ck robes gather in a circle inside the hall. There is a gigantic circr formation in the middle of the group. Thedy with silver hair is sitting in the middle of the formation with closed eyes. ''Huh?! Those fuinjutsu runes it seems to be some sort of sacrificial summoning circle." Izuna curiously stares at the giant formation on the ground. ''Is that girl the sacrifice for this summoning?'' A slight doubt appears in Izuna''s mind. Thedy with silvery white hair slowly opens her eyes. She nces at the former position of Izuna. ''Strange! I thought that I sensed someone there for a second. But that shouldn''t be. The barrier formation at the entrance will immediately rm everyone in this facility if someone attempts to trespass it. Even the data about every visitor is recorded inside it. So, if someone suspicious enters the facility while holding the key of one of our members, it will alert us to his presence.'' She closes her eyes and sends a strand of her chakra across the entire hall to sense the presence of any intruder. ''Hmm there is no one suspicious here. Perhaps I was worried about nothing.'' She shakes her head. ''What''s the matter, Miko-sama?" One of the ck-robed persons enquires. "Nothing. It''s just that the stress and exhaustion from such a long ceremony are piling up." The Miko with silvery white hair shakes her head. "Don''t mind me. The moon is about to reach overhead. It''s time for us to start the ceremony." She reminds the ck-robed person. "Yes, Miko-sama!" The ck-robed person bows to her and retreats. A few minutester, Rumble. Rumble Ground trembles slightly as the roof of the hidden facility slowly opens up to reveal the giant moon in the sky. The ck-robed people take out a knife and slice their wrists. Drip Drip Blood trickles down from their hands and spills on the ground. It flows toward the formation inscribed on the ground and slowly seeps into it. The Miko bites her thumb and wipes it on her palm. She makes some erratic hand signs and ms her palm on the ground. ''Hmm those hand signs they seem to be a variation of the regr shinobi hand signs.'' Izuna mutters as he curiously stares at the ritual. Rumble Rumble The blood of the ck-robed people coalesces into the formation. The formation slowly rises in the air and covers the space between the roof and the moon. The Miko continues to make more hand sign and chant some incoherent words. Soon, a film of water gathers between the moon and the blood formation. The moonlight passes through the water film and shines on the blood formation with a blue hue. The Miko has a pale expression as she continues to infuse her blood and chakra in the formation. A rusty old bronze token appears in her other hand. She grasps the bronze token tightly. Wham A fluctuation of strange energy leaks from the token and fuses with the blood formation. The trembling blood formation stabilizes and a faint image of a strange creature appears on the water film. Hmm ''Interesting! Things are going to be more interesting in the uing days.'' Izuna takes another nce at the formation and the Miko. Whoosh He silently exits the hidden underground facility. --------- Somewhere in an abandoned warehouse at the port, Multiple masked figures gather in a warehouse. "How is it? How are your preparations?" One of the figures questions the rest. "The preliminary preparations areplete." ******************************** A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 60+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 426: Side Story Part 6: Redaku Arc: History of Redaku Chapter 426: Side Story Part 6: Redaku Arc: History of Redaku "The preliminary preparations areplete." "Very well. It''s time to execute the next step of our n." The masked leader rys his orders. Whoosh swoosh The masked figure disperses and scatters through the entire town. A few secondster, Whoosh Izuna appears in the warehouse. ''Hmm shinobis are supposed to be a rare figure in the Land of Redaku and yet on my first day in Redaku, I came across not just one but two different groups of shinobis.'' He recognizes the chakra signature of these masked figures. "These people are the street performers from the day. And they seem quite skilled in ninjutsu and genjutsu. ording to shinobi standards, at least seven of them are jounins and their leader is at the level of a captain." Izuna recalls the events following the y early in the day. ''During the y, they cast a genjutsu to bewitch and indulge the spectators in their y. This could be considered a novelty in any shinobi vige since it enriches the experience of the audience. However, these people had ulterior motives. The genjutsu left behind a small hypnotic seal in the minds of these people. This hypnotic seal doesn''t interfere with the regr day-to-day of these people and it will wear off after some period. However, continuous exposure to this genjutsu will strengthen the seal without the notice of the victim. After a certain amount of time, the hypnotic seal will inscribe and engrave itself on the mindscape of the victim, simr to amand seal. Themand seal will activate upon uttering some specific set of words and turn these people into mindless puppets without their consent.'' Fwoosh Izuna swipes his hand and takes out a small wisp of dark green energy. ''This is a very innovative method of inscribing fuinjutsu seals. At this point, it''s more like a jujutsu than a genjutsu or fuinjutsu.'' Izuna waves his hand and disperses that wisp of curse energy from his hands. "I can stop their ns in its infancy, but where is the fun in that? Since I also n to leave asting influence on these people, their schemes might work in my favor. Afterall, who doesn''t like the concept of a hero during a crisis?" Izuna shakes his head. "I am not some saint, but I am also not the devil." He continues to wander through the streets of the town to get an idea of the situation. Early in the morning, the sentry outside his room leaves. Whoosh Izuna returns to his room. He dispels his clone and takes its position. "A two-hour sleep is more than enough for me." He closes his eyes and lies down on the bed. In a secret room in the inn, The red-haired, middle-aged inn owner is resting on a rocking chair with closed eyes. Whoosh The sentry from earlier appears beside her and bows his head. "How was it? Any suspicious movement from that guy?" The middle-ageddy questions him with closed eyes. "No he was sleeping like a log for the entire night. His guard was lowered. There were plenty of opportunities to assassinate him in his sleep. I don''t think he is a shinobi. We were worried for nothing." The sentry rys the information. "The information from that merchant might be a fluke. There is a possibility that he used some sort of trick to fool them." The sentry spectes. "Then what about the monster meat in the market? Is that also fake?" The middle-ageddy questions "Ermm the meat is genuine monster meat. And it''s inrge quantity at that, but that guy he was so carefree so I thought that" "You might be right, but you also can be wrong. Only fools and people with real skills will remain fearless, regardless of the situation. Who knows, one wrong move from your side and I might lose a trusted aide." The red-haireddyments. Gulp The sentry gulps his saliva in fear. ''If what the misses say is true, then I might have lost my life if I tried something funny.'' "Th Then what should I do, Miss?" The sentry asks her. "Of course, continue to monitor him. Even if he has some skills, he is currently in our territory. So, he has to follow our rules. If he has a problem, then he cane and meet us anytime." The red-haireddy confidently voices her thoughts. "Even though the power of our Uzu n has declined in the previous few centuries. The legacy of our ancestors is still with us. Not just any random person cane and trample over us." She harrumphs. Knock knock Someone knocks on the door of the secret room in a specific rhythm. "Come in!" The red-haireddy swipes her fingers on the armrest of her chair. The door of the secret room opens and another person in a ck robe enters the room. She turns towards the sentry and gestures for him to leave. The sentry bows respectfully and departs the room from another entrance. The red-haireddy turns to the neer. "Lady Akai, recently a lot of suspicious people have entered the town during the Shirodo festival." The neer passes a report to the red-haireddy, Akai. "Hmm that''s not anything new. Every year there will be plenty of people with malicious intentions seeking an opportunity to fulfill their nefarious goals." Akai shakes her head. "It''s different this year." The ck-robed person remarks. "It''s indeed slightly different this year, but our people should be able to deal with any unexpected situation." Akai flips the scroll in her hands. "I have marked the few suspicious people entering the town on this scroll. And out of them, five people or groups stand out a lot." The ck-robed person continues. "That''s a lot of people." Akai frowns. "Yes, it indeed is. The stars in the sky are aligned in a specific pattern to create a rare celestial event that happens every fifty years. The lunar eclipse on the seventh day of the Shirodo festival also happens to be a part of this rare celestial event. So, a lot of tourists gather at this ce to witness this twice-in-a-century moment. This time, this event will mark the beginning of a new era, a new century." "It is also the time when the seal on the Umibozu is the weakest." The ck-robed person remarks. Akai''s expression turns ugly. "You are right!" Our n has maintained this seal for the past five centuries. Every century the seal will weaken and we have to pay a price to strengthen it. "There were several attempts in the past where someone will attempt to free the monster from its reins," Akai recalls the incident from the previous Lunar Eclipse. During the previous lunar eclipse, the offspring of one of the sea lords went berserk andunched an attack on the harbor town. Our people fought against those monsters for days and yet we couldn''t gain any advantage over them. When the town was on the verge of destruction, a hero appeared amidst us. He was a shinobi from the ound who washed up on the shore. He boldly stood before the fangs of the sea monster and valiantly fought against him. He summoned a wood dragon, a wood deity, and a thousand-hand buddha to fight against the sea lord''s offspring. The battlested for three days and three nights. "Finally, on the fourth day, the battle came to an end when the hero ys the offspring of the sea lord. This event infuriated the seal lord to the extent that their town had to suffer from continuous thunderstorms and tsunamis for the next ten years. The sea lords are unable to attack the maind of Redaku due to an ancient pact between the Sage, the Priest Tataru, and the seven sea lords. If not for the effect of that pact, those foul sea creatures might overrun thend of Redaku. The Sage lent a portion of his power to the people of Redaku in the form of a scepter called Shuigu. ording to the legends, the wielder of this scepter boasts authority over rain, thunderstorm, and even the vast sea itself. He can manipte and bend water ording to their desires. The wielder of the scepter can produce unlimited water and can even drown the entire Redaku if he wants to. The current whereabouts of this scepter are unknown, but it is believed that the royal family of the Redaku had ownership of this scepter at some point. After an internal battle for hegemony between the descendants of the royal family, the scepter went missing. The scepter is a symbol of authority and only the person in possession of the scepter from the royal family will be considered the true ruler of the Redaku. As such, every member of the royal family is searching for that scepter. Akai recalls a few pieces of history. Chapter 427: Side Story Part 7: Redaku Arc: Protectors of Redaku Chapter 427: Side Story Part 7: Redaku Arc: Protectors of Redaku "Don''t tell me something like the past Lunar eclipse is about to happen again." Worry appears on Akai''s face. "With so many suspicious people entering and exiting the town, it''s not just spection anymore. Even the increased aggression of sea monsters is simr to the previous incident. I am afraid we might face the same tragedy as our predecessors." The ck-robed man sighs helplessly. "We lost a lot during the previous incident. Even the previous n head lost his life in that incident." The ck-robed man sighs. "Any lead on who might be the culprit behind these attacks?" Akai inquires. "There is no definitive proof, but so far, all investigation points towards the members of the royal family. There might even be the involvement of an unknown third party. But we aren''t sure of their identity. We don''t have enough manpower and resource to get to the depth of this matter." He shakes his head. "Tch those damn Royals! The lives of usmoners are worth dirt in their eyes. Innocent people are caught in their filthy game of power struggle. They didn''t even hesitate to sacrifice their subjects to find fault with each other. Even even my daughter she" Tears flow from Akai''s eyes. "Mom don''t be sad." A secret passage opens up and the silver-haireddy enters the secret room. "I chose this path out of my vition. You don''t have to me yourself for this." She wipes the tear from Akai''s face. "Yuri, my dear daughter." Akai''s finger slides through the silver-white hairs of Yuri. "Your bloodline was the purest among all the descendants of the Uzu n in the past hundred years and yet to maintain that seal you" Akai sobs and embraces Yuri. "Everything will be alright, mom. We must believe in the Sea Lord." Yuri consoles Akai. ''I wonder if another hero will make his appearance!'' Yuri''s vision turns blurry, and she falls to the ground. "Yuri Yuri" "Ojou-san!" "Viktor hurry up! Help me carry her to the infirmary." --------------------- Yawn A few hourster, Izuna wakes up and stretches his arm. He walks downstairs to eat his breakfast. "Good morning, dear customer!" Akai wees him with a warm smile. "Here for your breakfast?" She inquires. "Mm serve me your breakfast specialty." Izuna nods. He nces at her retreating back from the corner of his eye. ''She seems slightly older than before and even her hair lost some of its colors. Her red hair seems to be a trait of her bloodline.'' Izuna recalls the ritual from the previous night. ''She wasn''t a part of that ritual. So how did she?'' "Dear customer, your breakfast!" A youngdy with shoulder-length red hair and red eyes ces a te full of seafood. "Smoked Trout Eggs Benedict, Lobster "Roll-Less" Avocados, Sardines and Avocado Toast and Lobster Waffles!" She meticulously introduces the names of each dish to him. "Thank you so much!" Izuna smiles at the youngdy and picks up a loaf of bread to eat. ''Hmm this taste different than the seafood of the shinobi world.'' Izuna enjoys breakfast. The red-haired youngdy continues to stand beside him with a smile on her face. While eating, Izuna ponders the situation. ''No wonder that inndy looks so pale.'' He nces at the red-haireddy standing beside him. ''Isn''t she the Miko with the silver hairs who was holding the blood rite summoning ceremony?'' Summoning arts and Blood rite arts are also a part of the Fuinjutsu techniques. He previously delved into the blood arts after reading a record of them in the Uzumaki n''s scrolls. He even created a blood art technique to send a suicidal explosive incarnation at the enemy. However, over time, the technique lost its appeal to him since it had many constraints on fuinjutsu seals, chakra, and blood. Also, he didn''t like to unnecessarily lose blood and be anemic for no reason. He takes another nce at the pale faces of most of the staff in the hotel and the inn. ''These people lost a lot of blood during the previous ceremony. If not for the blood transfusion from the blood bank, these people might not even have spare energy to move, much less work. Especially this Ojou-chan, she lost a lot of vitality with her blood. Just the transfusion from their blood bank wasn''t enough." He finishes his breakfast with some scrambled eggs and a ss of milk. "This breakfast was very satisfactory. I am very pleased with your service." Izuna smiles at the red-haired girl. "Since I am satisfied with your service, I will leave a little gift for you." Izuna ponders for a second before taking out a ne with a dark green emerald in it. "This is for you, Ojou-chan! Red suit you a lot, but sometimes a bit of a change of color might intensify your beauty." He chuckles and exits the inn. "Lord Izuna!" Hoshi and Kei are waiting for him at the entrance of the inn. "So, what are our ns for the day?" Izuna inquires. "Lord Izuna, today we n to visit the" Soon, the group departs from the inn, leaving behind a stunned red-haireddy with an emerald ne in her hands. "Yuri! Yuri!" the inndy calls her name. "YURI! What''s the matter?" Akai approaches Yuri and pats her shoulder. "Why were you in a daze all of a sudden? Are you feeling unwell?" She presses her hand on Yuri''s forehead. "Or are you still exhausted from the previous day? Should I take your ce tonight?" Akai enquires in worry. "No mom! I ampletely fine." Yuri shakes her head as the ne dangles in her hand. "This ne" Akai''s gazends on the emerald ne. "Such a pretty ne. Where did you get it from?" She picks up the ne and touches the emerald stone. Shoom A burst of green energy enters her body. Akai''s slightly paleplexion turns rosy and the slight wrinkles on her face disappear. Even her hair regain its deep red color. "W WHAT?" Shock appears on Akai''s face. She quickly turns around and signals to the nearby butler. The butler understands her gesture and makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the floor. Whoosh A red circr fuinjutsu formation appears on the floor and epasses the rest of the customers. "What what''s going on?" "What is this thing?" "Is it some sort of prop?" "Hey, it could be the secret ninja technique from the legends!" A shinobi enthusiast remarks. "Hey, I didn''t sign up for this. I have an urgent business meeting in a few hours." Panic ensues among the customer as the glow of the red fuinjutsu formation epasses them. After a sh of bright red light, the room turns normal. All the customers slightly shake their heads in confusion and continue eating their breakfast. Yuri silently follows Akai. They enter the private room of the owner. Akai closes the door and then walks towards the firece. She makes some hand signs and taps a few points on the wall. A small fuinjutsu formation appears in the firece, revealing a secret entrance. Bothdies enter the room and the firece return to normal. Inside the secret room. "Mom! What''s the matter? How did you suddenly turn so young after touching the ne and you even went as far as to use the ''Memory Erasure Formation'' on the customers?" Yuri has lots of questions in her mind. "Before that tell me, where did you get this ne?" Akai asks her. "Umm Mom! Do you remember that handsome young man with ck-blue hair and ck eyes?" Yuri''s face turns red as she describes Izuna''s features. "You mean that, young man?" Akai raises an eyebrow. "Ah yes, him! After eating breakfast, he praised the quality and taste of the food and gave this ne to me as a gift. I thought it was prettymon since lots of rich customers visit us frequently. However, somehow, I felt something different about that young man. Even the summoning seal on my hand was reacting to his presence" Yuri removes the gloves from her hand to reveal a smallplex fuinjutsu seal on her hand. "So, it was that young man who gave it to you." Akai''s eyes widen in surprise. "Maybe we underestimated that guy!" Shock appears on her face as she copses on her rocking chair. "For him to easily give away such a treasure, he isn''t just a small figure." She clutches the emerald ne in her hands. "Perhaps we still have hope if such a powerful figure decides to help us." Hope appears on Yuri''s face. "NO! We can''t impose on him." Akai shakes her head. "He already has helped us plenty, as it is." She ties the ne around Yuri''s neck. "This ne will help you recover and it will also suppress the burden of the ritual to some extent." A much-dense green glow epasses Yuri. Chapter 428: Side Story Part 8: Redaku Arc: Brewing Conflict Chapter 428: Side Story Part 8: Redaku Arc: Brewing Conflict Yuri''splexion turns rosy and her hair turns deep red. She slowly regains an appearance suitable for her age. The green huests for a while. The glow of the emerald dims down slightly. Yuri hides the ne in her garments and inspects her appearance in the nearby mirror. "Mm mom! Look my face." Yuri touches her face. "Yes my daughter. You are back to normal." Akai gently strokes Yuri''s face. Tears flow from her eyes. "Miss youngdy!" Viktor, the butler thatid down the memory-erasing formation, enters the secret room. He is slightly stunned to see the appearance of bothdies. "I I can''t express how delighted I am that both of you are back to normal. If only if only master was here." Viktor sighs before turning his attention to thedies. "So, miss how did all of this happen?" He asks. "It''s because of this ne," Akai exins the effect of the ne to him. She also narrates the incident with Izuna. "So, it was a gift from that young man. It''s a relief that we didn''t make any move against him or else I can''t even imagine." He shakes his head. "Perhaps it''s a blessing from the ancestor and the sea lord." Viktor closes his eyes. "Speaking of Sea Lord why did you even approach that young man in the first ce?" Akai turns to Yuri. "I asked one of the servants to deliver the order and yet you were the one to serve him. Also, your expression at that time it was like you were in a daze." Akai frowns as she recalls the incident. "Uh mom, I am not sure, but as soon as I saw that young man, the summoning seal on my hand reacted on its own. I felt a certain attraction to something in that man''s possession. I am not sure what it was but I felt an intimate connection. So, my body moved on its own. After that young man handed me this ne, I lost that feeling." Yuri attempts to recall that feeling. "Perhaps it was this ne. That young man noticed it and thus handed it to you out of goodwill." Akai spectes. "No it was something else something rted to the Sea Lord. It was as if the contract seal on my hand was attracted to that young man. But but how is that possible? Only a selected few members of our Uzu n with pure bloodline can sign a contract with the Sea Lord. In my generation, I had the purest bloodline. So, I got the opportunity to bear this responsibility of maintaining the contract." Yuri shakes her head. "Despite being the summoning contractor of the sea Lord, I I can''t evenmunicate with him, much less summon him to our aid. I am so useless." Yuri clenches her fists. "Everything will be alright. We will find a way!" Akai assures her. Outside of themercial district, Izuna is being escorted by Hoshi and Kei. ''Well gifting that ne isn''t a big deal, since there are plenty of those emeralds in the Shikkotsu Forest. Those emeralds have a simr effect as the advanced health potions from the game. Not only do they help in the removal of any negative status, they even restore vitality and life force to the consumer. Those emeralds are produced by the gigantic tree located in the center of the Shikkotsu Forest. The giant tree absorbs arge amount of nutrients from the surroundings and releases nature energy in return. Its roots are connected to the ley lines of the world and are among one of the seven biggest nodes of the underground ley-linework. As such, nature energy is very dense in the Shikkotsu Forest. The same story goes for Mount Myoboku and the Ryuchi cave who also upy a respective ley-line each. Of the remaining four ley-line nodes, one of them lies deep in the ocean, and the central and the most important node lies in the HOLE, a top-secret ce that houses most of the weapons of mass destruction of the shinobi world. The third one is located in the ruins of the ancient city of Loran. The Ryumyaku, or that''s what it is called by the people of Loran, was previously sealed by Minato-san after Mukade''s failed attempt to use its power to dominate the world. Iter reinforced the seal to prevent a simr incident. As for the fourth and the final ley-line node, despite all my attempts; I wasn''t able to locate it at all. I even explored the uncharted territories of the shinobi world and yet I couldn''t even spot a single trace of it. It was muchter that I came to know that the Isshiki Otsutsuki hid away the seventh and thest ley-line. He used his ocr power to iste the ley line and used its nature energy to feed the ten-tail clone. After the previous battle, he must be recuperating in his secret dimension. So, it''s hard to keep a track of him. Anyway, I am not a shape to take him on again.'' Izuna shakes his head and follows the merchant group. ----------------------- Soon, five more pass in the blink of an eye. Despite multiple ongoing shady incidents in the background, Izuna continued to enjoy his vacation in the Redaku. Hoshi and Kei exined the in and outs of the business and other activities in the Redaku to him. As a business mogul of the shinobi world, he didn''t hesitate to invest his money in various businesses. After exhausting his money from trading the body of the sea monster, he didn''t hesitate tounder the collection of some of his rare gems to purchase more assets. ''It''s not like was I sitting and rxing while doing nothing in these past few days.'' Izuna enjoys a meal in a seaside restaurant as he stares at the outline of a giant building in the center of the town. ''I have figured out the identities of all these people lurking in the town to create a ruckus. Currently, there are four different major groups five if I count myself in the town. The first group is the members of the Uzu n who act as the protector of this town. Their history dates back as long as five centuries. Apparently, their founder was a powerful shinobi from the shinobi world. Back then, that founder was the person who summoned the Sea Lord and had it fight against the terror monster Umibozu. Later, he sealed the monster in a shrine and married a Miko of this vige to maintain the seal. After a few years, he vanished from this ce to never return. I am pretty sure he returned to the shinobi world. Based on this story, I have a spection about the identity of their founder.'' Izuna recalls some records in the Shikkotsu Forest. ''If my guess is correct, then that founder is most likely Kenshiro Senju, who also happens to be the founder of the Uzumaki n. Back then, he left on a journey to discover his potential. Either due to some coincidence or some other factors, he came to Redaku. In Redaku, he slowly honed his skills in Fuinjutsu. Later, he fought against the terror monster Umibozu and used his newly trained Fuinjutsu to create the first Summoning seal known to the shinobi world. ording to the Shikkotsu Forest records, he is the first person to use a summoning jutsu since the Summoning techniques are also a part of the Fuinjutsu; all of it makes sense. Though all of it''s just my spection and I need more information toe to a definitive result. The second faction includes the people sent by the royal family. They are a part of the current ruling King and they are here to keep an eye on the third faction, which happens to be a part of the King''s brother faction. The mayor of this town is torn between these two factions. Poor guy has no choice but to entertain both groups. Now, for the final and the most mysterious group; I can''t seem to ascertain their identity since their memories are protected by a power seal. I can crack open the seal, but it will not only kill the bearer, but it will also alert their higher-ups. This faction is also the one who is responsible for inciting all those monsters in the sea. They might be a member of some cult or faction that worships those sea monsters and Umibozu. They disguised themselves as performers and even cursed the people with a sacrificialmand seal. Either way, these people are the reason lots of incidents are happening in the town. The mayor has his hands full with the two ruling factions and thus can''t take action against these people. As for the Uzu n, they have invested all their manpower in reinforcing the weakened seal. My gift gave them some respite, but still, at this rate, they can''t hold for much longer. And that''s what I want. I am neither a saint nor a devil; I am just a profiteer.'' He chuckles and sips some fresh coconut juice. Chapter 429: Side Story Part 9: Redaku Arc: Release of Umibozu Chapter 429: Side Story Part 9: Redaku Arc: Release of Umibozu Later at nearly midnight. The townsfolk retreated to the safe shelter homes after getting drunk or washed out from the conclusion of the seven-day-long Shirodo festival. In a luxurious room in the Uzu n inn, Izuna silently gazes out of the window. It was nearly midnight, and the night sky was picturesque. A ck-to-navy gradient was the backdrop for a full moon; the night sky so clear you could almost see every crater on the surface of the moon. The giant blue moon casts arge, loomed ethereal glow on the surroundings. The ocean wavesppedzily at the shore, a jumble of navy and royal blue that glistened in the night. White foam crested the top of the waves as they approached, spilling onto the sand like a being cast. Izuna raises his head and nces in a direction. "So, it''s about to start." He mumbles to himself. On the outskirts of Shirodo town. Whoosh whoosh Multiple masked ck-robed figures gather at a gulf close to the town. A tall figure with a bozu mask leads the group. "The century-long wait is about to end. Finally, our sacred priest will rise from his slumber." He bows and makes a praying gesture. The rest of the ck-robe figures follow his gesture. The bozu masked priest produces a harp and plucks its strings. The melody of the harp paired with the gentle sound of the waves hitting the beach sounded almost like a luby. Soon, the tune of the harp echoes through the entire Shirodo town. Creak Creak One by one, the tightly closed gates of various houses and inns open, and the townsfolk slowly walk in the direction of the gulf with a mesmerized looks in their eye. The bozu priest vigorously plucks the strings of the harp. Fwish A ck curse seal in the shape of an anchor appears around the neck of the townsfolk. The curse seal activates and dark red energy seeps out from the bodies of the townsfolk and enters the gulf. Wham A gigantic Fuinjutsu seal appears on top of the gulf. With every note, the gentle luby slowly turns into a bloodthirsty rhapsody that slowly draws the soul of the townsfolk. The blood energy from the people enters the seal and slowly corrupts it. In the Uzu n inn, Akai, Yuri, Viktor, and a few other Uzu nsmen are assembled in the secret meeting room. Akai and Yuri have a grave expression on their face as they stare at the gigantic Fuinjutsu seal in the gulf. "So, it has started. Those vile people" Viktor grits his teeth. "To think they will use the innocent people as a sacrifice!" Akai clenches her fist. "I have already sent our nsmen to intercept them. Now our only hope lies withdy Yuri." He nces at Yuri, who is purifying and strengthening the seal by sacrificing a portion of her blood with other n members. Back at the gulf Hmm Izuna, who is also among the townsfolk, slowly opens his eyes and looks around. ''That''s quite a crude method of breaking a seal.'' He remarks as the bozu priest uses the blood energy of the townsfolk to slowly corrupt the essence of the seal. ''This seal is a product of the Blood Fuinjutsu. Its strength depends on the purity of the bloodline of the caster. So, using the impure blood of this townsfolk will dilute the restriction imposed by the power of the bloodline of the Uzu n. However, the amount of blood required to break this seal I am afraid none of them will survive.'' Izuna nces at the bozu priest. Soon, a tug-of-war starts between the two sides. The bozu priest corrupts the seal in an attempt to break it while Yuri strengthens the seal by sacrificing her blood. "Stop them! We mustn''t let them break this seal." The members of the Uzu n reach the mouth of the gulf. They immediately get into a formation and attack the members of the evil cult. "KILL KILL THEM! We can''t let these heretics disrupt the ns of our holy priest." The masked members of the evil cult attack the Uzu n members in a frenzy. Both sides are engaged in a heated battle as casualties start to appear. With Izuna''s sneaky aid, the Uzu n members avoid the fate of death. However, injuries start to pile up on them. ''Hmm looks like it''s about time I make my move.'' Izuna draws a few fuinjutsu seals in mid-air. He infuses his chakra into the seal and sends them toward the giant Fuinjutsu seal. ''The purifying force of the blue moon and the corruption of the blood energy have reached an equilibrium. I will just shatter this frail bnce with some explosive chakra.'' The seal enters into the gigantic pool of energy and just like a spark of me in gasoline, it explodes in contact. BOOM Rumble rumble. A surge of violent blood energy shrouds the entire gulf and pushes away the nearby onlookers. Bleurgh Yuri and the rest of the Uzu n members who are strengthening the seal spits out a mouthful of blood from the bacsh. "YURI!" Akai and Viktor hurriedly rush toward Yuri to support her. "YURI! My daughter are you alright?" Aksi holds Yuri in her arms. "Mmm Mom we we failed!" Yuri slowly opens her eyes. Tears flow from them. Back at the gulf, the massive storm of blood energy morphs into a vortex. The giant Fuinjutsu seal cracks in multiple ces and shatters into fragments. Shuaa Multiple dark ck shadows eject out of the gulf and envelop the blood vortex. Violent winds blow across the gulf as the shadows and the blood mingle with each other. "Hahaha I did it! I finally did it." The bozu priest cackles inughter as the giant vortex slowly condenses into a giant humanoid form. "That that''s Umibozu!" The eyes of Akai, Viktor, and the rest of the Uzu n members widen as they recognize the figure of Umibozu from the legend. A feeling of despair and helplessness overwhelms them as all of their past efforts and hardships are all for naught. YAAa!! The evil shadow releases a powerful scream. Ripples spread across the water in the gulf as the Umibozu slowly opens its deep red bloodshot eyes. Crackle crackle Dark ck clouds with red lining suddenly appear on the horizon. Red bolts of lightning strike down from the sky as a massive surge of curse energy rises from Umibozu''s body and enters the sky. Hmm Izuna curiously sizes up the enormous figure of Umibozu. ''It''s almost the same size as a tailed beast. And this energy it''s neither chakra nor nature energy. It is sinister and is almost simr to the negative chakra. However'' Izuna ponders for a while. ''The only being with a simr nature that I might think of is the Zero-tails. I have yet toe across it since it has been avoiding my pursuit for a while; however, wraith has managed to get some fragments of its body. So, does it have the same origin as the Zero-tails?'' Izuna erects a barrier and protects the nearby civilians from the violent energy of the Umibozu. "Hey, who are you?" The members of the Uzu n and the evil cult notice his action. "Now isn''t the time to question who I am. We have to evacuate these people." Izuna replies to the Uzu n members. "Haha give up. These people are under my control. As long as I have this harp, I can control them as I see fit." The bozu priest smugly holds the harp in his hand. Swish sh Izuna throws a wind-infused kunai toward the bozu priest and slices the harp in half. "Thanks for the reminder!" "Ah!" The bozu priest is stunned by the sudden action of Izuna. Before he couldprehend what happened; Izuna dispels the trigger for the authority seal. "Argh where are we?" The townsfolk slowly open their eyes in confusion. "Why do I feel so weak? I was on my first round." One of the semi-naked person mumbles. "Genjutsu: Sharingan," Izuna casts arge scale genjutsu on the vigers. He orders them to move towards the town square. "This this who are you?" The eyes of the bozu priest widen. "There is no need for you to know everything." YAAa!! The Umibozu releases another scream and aimlessly attacks everything in its surroundings. Chapter 430: Side Story Part 10: Redaku Arc: Battle Against Umibozu Part-1 Chapter 430: Side Story Part 10: Redaku Arc: Battle Against Umibozu Part-1 Izuna deflects the rampaging tentacles of the Umibozu while his clones safely evacuate the citizens. The loss of blood energy from the civilians induces a frenzy in the mindless monster, since it lost its source of food. YAAa!! Umibozu releases a deafening while smashing its shadow tentacles left and right, regardless of the ally and enemy. The barrier erected by Izuna easily swats away the tentacles, leaving the members of the evil cult to suffer the fury of Umibozu. The tentacles of the Umibozu pierce through the body of the evil cult members and absorb their blood, leaving behind an emaciated corpse simr to a zombie. "What? Why is our sacred priest attacking us?" "Run!" Panic ensues among the members of the evil cult as they be aware of the situation. The leader of the group wipes away the blood from his mouth. The previous blow from Izuna not only broke the harp but also dealt some internal damage to his body. "Shinobi! You must be a shinobi from the Shinobi World." He recognizes the chakra used by Izuna. "Hoh! So, you still want to persist after bing aware of my identity?" Izuna smirks at him. Hmph "Our faith can''t be so easily broken by a mere shinobi." The priest snorts at him. "Genjutsu: Sharingan," Izuna casts a genjutsu on the priest to take him out of the picture. ''I will interrogate himter. For now, I will deal with this Umibozu.'' Izuna stares at the citizens of Shirodo town from the corner of his eyes. His clones have evacuated the civilians to a safe distance and currently, most of the civilians are spectating the battle from the safe boundaries of his barrier. ''It''s time for the show!'' Izuna cracks his knuckle and prepares to attack the Umibozu to leave a heroic impression on the people. "You evil monster, die!" Poof With a burst of white clouds, gigantic Plesiosaurs appear in the gulf. The plesiosaur has a broad t body and a long cylindrical neck. It has four gigantic flippers as its limbs and aparatively smaller head. The Plesiosaur is almost a hundred meters long and around fifty meters in height. Roar It releases a powerful roar and leaps at the Umibozu. Arge amount of nature energy gathers around its mouth. The Plesiosaurpresses the nature energy into a highly dense orb and releases a powerful beam of blue energy toward the Umibozu. BOOOOM. The powerful burst of energy burst out a gigantic hole around Umibozu''s right shoulder and blows away a significant portion of its body. KYAGOHHH Umibozu releases a deafening roar of agony. Dark ck and red energy squirms around its damaged body and regenerates the wound caused by the powerful beam of the Plesiosaurs. "Ah!" Izuna, who was about to intercept the Umibozu, is bbergasted at the sudden appearance of prehistoric dinosaurs. "What the That''s a plesiosaur!" He stares at the gigantic sea monster with wide eyes. Huff Huff A woman in a white robe and silver-white hair slowly walks towards him. "Huff huff I made it in time." Yuri breathes heavily as she stares at the gigantic back of the plesiosaur. Akari and Viktor also quickly approach her. The members of the Uzu n who are still present at the scene open a path for them. One of the Uzu n members quickly approaches Akari and narrates the situation to her. Izuna nces at Yuri for a second before turning his attention to the battle between the giant Plesiosaur and the Umibozu. ''So, despite my warning and the help, she still chose to sacrifice her life to perform the summoning jutsu.'' He notices the rapidly plummeting vitality and life energy of Yuri from the corner of his eyes. The emerald ne around her neck is emitting a denser aura of her life, but the summoning seal on her hand is rapidly draining her vitality to sustain the summoning. YAAaa!! Umibozu regenerates its body in a matter of seconds and releases a powerful scream. Ripples spread across the water in the gulf as the members of the Uzu n block their ears. Faint ripples spread around the silver priestess and erect a transparent barrier to block the attack. The transparent barrier quickly shrouds Izuna and the members of the Uzu n. The bracelet on her hand shimmers with silver light. ''Hmm this scream is a powerful mental attack.'' Izuna rubs his chin in amusement. He curiously stares at the bracelet on her wrist. Sigh Yuri heaves a sigh of relief and turns to Izuna. "Thank you so much for your help." She bows to Izuna in gratitude. Earlier, she overheard the murmurs of the Uzu n members. Izuna not only saved the life of the civilians but also assisted them in their battle against the members of the evil cult. "It''s nothing much. Rather, we should worry about that monster." Izuna shrugs and points toward Umibozu. Yuri bites her lower lip. Her skin turns pale as the summoning seal on her hand glows with a blue light. ''I hope Lord Shirodo can quickly weaken this monster before the summoning time runs out.'' She has to sacrifice arge amount of her blood and life energy to summon Shiroda. Even now, her vitality is rapidly draining away to maintain the summoning seal. She was prepared to sacrifice her life the moment the Umibozu appeared. Bang Bang The Plesiosaur and the Umibozu continue to sh with each other. The flippers of Plesiosaur glow with cyan color. It waves them towards Umibozu and releases a flurry of energy des. Scree The Umibozu releases another scream and waves its shadow tentacles to release multiple crimson des to counter the cyan des. BOOOMM A giant explosion urs at the point of impact. The pressurized energy ejects arge amount of water from the gulf, which rains down from the sky. Izuna erects a barrier to block the falling rainwater. Rumble Rumble Crackle crackle Lightning and thunderstorm pour down from the sky. KYAAAGGGH Umibozu releases another powerful mental attack and swats away the Plesiosaur with its numerous tentacles. Shoom Arge amount of sinister energy gathers around the hollow mouth of the Umibozu. The sinister energy condenses into a giant reddish-ck spiral orb of energy. "That''s not good!" Izuna frowns. Whoosh The reddish-ck spiral orb turns into a powerful concentrated beam andunches towards the Plesiosaur. KYAAA The Plesiosaur releases a suppressed roar and deploys a dense energy barrierposed of hexagonal energy fragments. BOOM The powerful sh produces multiple shockwaves that blow away thend around the gulf. At the center of impact, the explosion pushes away the water to create gigantic waves. "Oh no!" The Uzu n members and the civilian panics at the sight of giant waves. These waves arerge enough to drown the entire Shirodo town. Izuna steps forward. "Ice Release: Snow Blizzard," He makes some hand signs and freezes the gigantic waves. The civilian cheers at the sight of the frozen waves. "That''s Lord Izuna for you!" Hoshi and Kei sing praises of Izuna. The effect of the explosionsts for a while. "Wind Release: Pressure Breakthrough," Izuna blows away the surrounding mist to reveal the state of the battle. The plesiosaur is biting the neck of Umibozu with its powerful canines coated in nature energy. Multiple shadow tendrils of the Umibozu have punctured through the flippers of the Plesiosaur. Some of the tendrils are still attempting to pierce through the hard scales on its back. Yuri''s already pale face turns paler as she notices the tragic condition of Plesiosaur. She sps her hands and closes her eyes. The summoning seal on her hand shimmers with blue light. The faint moonlight which escapes through the gaps in the cloud falls on Plesiosaur''s body. The moonlight rapidly heals its injuries at the cost of Yuri''s chakra and light force. Wrinkles appear on Yuri''s face as much of her life force and chakra is drained to heal the Plesiosaur. KYAAAA The Plesiosaur releases a roar and charges a powerful nature energy st at point-nk range. BOOM The powerful beam sts a hole through Umibozu''s head. Umibozu''s gigantic, headless body falls to the ground. "It''s over!" Akari and Viktor heave a sigh of relief. The townsfolk also cheers in joy as they sing praises of the Sea Lord. ''Hmm something isn''t right.'' Izuna has a foreboding feeling. He quickly looks around to search for the members of the evil cult. Most of their members are still in Izuna''s genjutsu. ''Huh! Where is their leader?'' Izuna frown at the absence of the group leader. ''Where is he? And how did he dispel my genjutsu and escape my senses?'' Izuna closes his eyes to sense his presence. "Found him!" Suddenly, he opens his eyes and notices the group leader of the evil cult. The group leader of the evil cult is standing beside the dead body of Umibozu. "How did he reach there?" Yuri also notices his figure. "Hehe!" The evil leader turns towards them and smirks. He takes out a pitch-ck dagger from his robes and stabs it at the position of his heart. Lubdub Chapter 431: Side Story Part 11: Redaku Arc: Battle Against Umibozu Part-2 Chapter 431: Side Story Part 11: Redaku Arc: Battle Against Umibozu Part-2 The evil cult group leader stabs the pitch-ck dagger through his heart. Lubdub Arge amount of dark, sinister chakra seeps into his body through the dagger. His heart thumps rapidly and multiple pulses of sinister chakra erupt from his body. Argh. Aah The remaining captured members of the evil cult also squirm in pain. A curse mark in the shape of an eight-spoked circle appears around their neck. Ahh!! The evil cult members continue to scream in agony. Their eyes turn red as blood pours out of them. Even their flesh and bones slowly coagte into a squirming ball of flesh. Dark ck sinister energy condenses around the body of the evil cult group leader. The blood and sinister chakra from other members pour into his body. Soon, a gigantic orb of flesh, bones, and evil energy floated near the limp body of Umibozu. Thump thump The lump of flesh and chakra beats rapidly like a heart and releases multiple faint pulses of sinister energy. GYYYAAA SCREE Multiple giant eel monsters leap out of the sea and gather around the body of Umibozu. Their entire body is covered in the sinister chakra. Their screams produce a cacophony full of violence and frenzy. This sound produces an effect simr to a genjutsu and induces fear into the heart of every person in Shirodo town. "BAKEMONO!!" Chaos ensues among the civilians at the sheer number of monsters surrounding the gulf. Gulp Hoshi and Kei gulp their saliva. "We were no match for a small eel monster attacking our ship. And now" They nce at hundreds and thousands of eel monsters of simr or even greater sizes. " How could we fight against something like that?" The civilian despairs at the sight of these monsters. "The SOUL FRACTURE STONES! We must repel them with the soul fracture stones." Some hopeful people quickly suggest a solution. "It''s no use!" One of the coastal guards shakes his head as he points toward the red eyes of the eel monsters. "These monsters are in a frenzy. The soul fracture stone is no longer effective on them." "No, that can''t be! There must be something something we can do in this situation." Some courageous people grit their teeth. "Are we destined to die like this?" A few people lose hope and fall to their knees. "Seems like this is the end!" An elderly figure with long white hair and a beard shakes his head. "This situation is much worse than the previous one." The rest of the people turn towards him. "Ojisan!" The civilians politely address the old man. "You know something, Ojisan!" They ask him. "Yes, a simr situation happened fifty years ago during the Shirodo festival. Back then, on the night of the full moon, a tide of sea monsters attacked the vige. We only survived thanks to the shinobi I fished out of the sea. But now sigh" He shakes his head. "The number of monsters is much greater than before and not only that" The people understand the meaning behind his words. Most of them fall to their knees and lose hope. "Is there really no hope for us? No miracle?" Even the members of the Uzu n who were cheering and celebrating a moment ago loses the color on their faces. Yuri desperately clenches her fists. She takes a deep breath and firms her resolve to sacrifice her life. Without any regard for body and soul, she infuses all of her chakra and life force into the summoning seal. Fwoosh A gigantic pir of silver light emanates from her body. This pir of energy pierces the clouds in the sky to reveal the moon. Moonlight shines upon the giant body of the summoned creature and rapidly heals its wounds. KYAAA The plesiosaur releases a powerful scream and fires multiple smaller beams of energy. These beams of energy obliterate the flood of sea monsters. However, the number of casualties is nothing but a drop in the sea. More eel monster reces theirpatriots and slowly close the gap between themselves and the plesiosaur. Fwoosh The plesiosaur erects a barrier around itself to prevent the flood of monsters from drowning itself. However, more and more monsters throw themselves at it without regard for their life. Therger eel monsters have erected a barrier around the corpse of Umibozu with their body. The giant lump of flesh and evil chakra slowly fuses with Umibozu''s body. Numerous shadow tendril of Umibozu prates the thumping flesh heap and drags it inside its body. The smaller eel monster throws their body at the barrier while therge eel monster charges multiple beams of energy and bombards the barrier around the plesiosaur. Despite their vast difference in power, the plesiosaur is overwhelmed by the sheer number of the eel monsters. It asionally fires a beam of energy and water and wind des to slice the monsters, but none of this is effective against the mob of monsters. Crack crack Numerous small cracks appear on its barrier. "We are doomed!" The townsfolk lose all hope, as even their powerful Sea Lord is unable to handle the enormous wave of monsters. The Sea Lord has exhausted much of its energy in its fight against the Umibozu. Currently, it''s barely holding itself, thanks to the supplement of chakra from its summoner. Yuri grits her teeth and prepares to infuse herst breath of life and chakra into the summoning seal. "Since I am destined to perish, I will make my sacrifice worth it." Izuna, who was silently analyzing the curse mark since earlier, turns his gaze to Yuri. Her bright glow of chakra reminds him of themp that burns brighter before it eventually extinguishes. "That''s quite heroic of you. But there is no need to push yourself so far." Izuna pats her shoulder and disperses all her chakra with his action. AH! Yuri is startled by Izuna''s action. He smiles at her and steps forward. Rumble Rumble The ground beneath his feet trembles as Izuna riles up his chakra. Akari, Yuri, and Viktor sense the massive amount of chakra within Izuna''s body. Their eyes widen to the extreme as an unbelievable scene urs in front of them. With Izuna''s every step, the ground beneath him freezes. The ice domain slowly expands with Izuna as the center and envelops the massive hoard of eel monsters. "Artic Release: Frozen World of Absolute Nothingness," Izuna silently whispers as the col frost envelops every sea creature inside his frost domain. The entirety of the gulf turns into a tundra with bone-chilling iciness. Everything except for a small area around the giant plesiosaur freezes to its core. Tap Tap Izuna slowly steps onto the icy field and walks towards the plesiosaur. The sudden appearance of frost domain startles the summon. It warily looks around and notices the lone figure of Izuna walking towards itself. [You are that human child!] A feminine voice appears in Izuna''s head. ''Hmm Telepathy!'' Izuna is slightly surprised by the mentalmunication. "You know me?" Izuna confronts the giant sea dinosaur. [I sensed a familiar bloodline from you. The bloodline of my first contractor!] The plesiosaur answers him. "Familiar bloodline from me?" Izuna points towards himself. "I am pretty sure I have no bloodline connection with Kenshiro Senju," Izuna answers her. [Hmm the connection I sensed is severed. How is that possible?] The plesiosaur is surprised as she tries to sense the bloodline of the Uzumaki n on him. "Hmm I think I understand what you are talking about." Izuna removes the restriction of the Sin seal and reveals Kushina''s body to her. [Yes, that''s it! This is the presence I sense earlier. But how did it vanish?] Confusion appears on its face. Swoosh Izuna stores Kushina''s body back into the seal. "She is my mentor. She suffered a serious injury and I am currently searching for methods to heal her." Izuna answers her doubts. [Ah I see. I think I have a method to help you. But first, we must deal with these monsters.] It turns its attention toward the eel monsters and the Umibozu. Most of the weaker eel monsters lost their lives in the vast frost domain. The powerful ones are struggling and are almost on the verge of freeing themselves from the frozen state. "Oh well! I just wanted to restrain them for a while." Izuna shrugs his shoulder. [Ryui short for Ryuzaki, that''s the name my first master Kenshiro-sama gave me.] Ryui introduces herself. "Izuna Uchiha! I am Izuna Uchiha." Izuna takes a step forward. Silver and Gold chakra envelops him as a massive amount of chakra gathers around him. "SUSANOO!!" Chapter 432: Side Story Part 12: Redaku Arc: Battle Against Umibozu Part-3 Chapter 432: Side Story Part 12: Redaku Arc: Battle Against Umibozu Part-3 "Susanoo!" A giant silver humanoid construct with a golden bracer and shoulder pads surrounds Izuna. The gigantic Susanoo easily dwarfs Ryui. "That''s that''s" The eyes of the Uzu n members and the Shirodo townsfolk almost pop out of their eye sockets due to surprise. "The legendary Shinobi!" No one knew who uttered these words, but soon the cries of the legendary shinobi echoed across the gulf. Yuri, Akari, and Viktor stare at the giant Susanoo with incredulous gazes. It reminds them of the legendary figure from fifty years ago. "Perhaps we still" They silently witness the battle unfolding in front of their eyes. Fwoosh Whoosh. Ten giant purple orbs with the Mitsudomoe symbol float behind the Susanoo like a halo. The Susanoo raises its hand towards the sky. Crackle crackle. Purple lightning flickers through the clouds. ''Since I am about to put on a show. Then might as well as put in some effort.'' Izuna''s eighth-grader syndrome awakens as purple lightning continues to flicker through the clouds in the sky. CRACKLE BZZT BOOOMM!! With a thunderous voice, a giant bolt of purple lightning strikes the palm of the Susanoo. The Susanoo clenches its fist and grabs the bolt of lightning in its hand. The lightning bolt morphs into a giant katana. "Lightning Release: Raiden Shinei," Crackle crackle Boom Multiple bolts of lightning strike down from the sky and incinerate the smaller eel monsters. The entire Shirodo town watches the battle in amazement. GYAAAAAAHHH Therger eel monster frees itself from the ice prison. They release a powerful scream. Their scream reverberates through the gulf to create a powerful torrent of wind. "Executioner sh," The Susanoo swings the giant lightning de and releases a powerful horizontal discharge of lightning. With every swing of his de, the sound of a thunderp echoes in the surroundings. The discharged lighting de shes through the torrent of wind and slices through multiple eel monsters. REEEEEE More monster reces them and charges toward Izuna in a frenzy to overwhelm him. [I have recovered a little. I will lend you help against these weaker enemies.] Ryui offers her assistance. "There is no need for that. I alone am enough to handle them all." Izuna denies her request. ''I didn''t set up this stage. But the show is mine. How can I allow you to steal my thunder?'' Izuna rolls his eyes. Five of the Shinra Bansho orb from his back floats in front of him. The orbs shimmer with a ck hue and merge with the giant de. The de of the lightning katana turns ck. Pitch-ck Amaterasu mes envelop the de. The Susanoo wields the katana with both hands and raises it vertically in the air. "REALITY" A storm of chakra gathers on the tip of the de. The chakra storm quickly diffuses into the de and increases the intensity of the ck me. The Susanoo swings the de downward. " SLASH!" BOOOOM The sh rips apart the air in the surrounding and cleaves the lightning clouds in the sky to reveal a clear sky. Not only that, the instant the de touches the ground, a massive surge of pitch-ck mes travels straight toward the hoard of creatures. The pitch-ck mes envelop a major portion of thousands of sea monsters. The powerful force of the sh creates a vacuum at the mouth of the gulf. A few secondster, BOOOOMMMM A deafening sound spreads through the surroundings as the air particles swiftly gather inside the vacuum. Just the physical force behind the attack slices apart a major portion of the water body to create a bottomless rift. Arge pir of ck mes explodes out of the rift and swallows almost ny percent of the monster hoard. At this moment, the spectators are lost for words. "GOD! This must be the power of GOD." Some superstitious folks fall on their knees and bow towards the Susanoo. Even Yuri and her summon Ryui are left in shock at the majestic power of the Susanoo. [Yuri this person he he is much more powerful than Lord Kenshiro.] Ryui reveals her thoughts to Yuri with slight hesitation. "What? That can''t be" Yuri is shocked to hear Ryui''s words. [I can sense it. I can sense the endless storm of energy sealed within his body.] Ryui''s eyes glow with a blue light. In her vision, Izuna is surrounded by a massive humanoid monster of energy much bigger than the current Susanoo. [I can''t fathom the depth of his power.] She concludes. After hearing Ryui''s words, Yuri bites her lips. She rys these words to Akari and Viktor. "We are lucky that such a powerful person is present to prevent the crisis. Perhaps we are reaping the good karma of our ancestors." Akari heaves a sigh of relief. "After this incident is over, we must offer our gratitude to him in full. He was magnanimous enough to spare us for our earlier offense. He even helped Ojou-san in the crisis." Viktor also shares his thoughts. Izuna withdraws his katana and summons the gigantic tower shield. "Yata no Kagami," BANG He drops down the colossal towering shield in front of his Susanoo. The eyes of the Yaksha on the shield glow brightly with a green hue as numerous inscriptions representing Fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning lights up. An additional twoyers of the elemental barrier are erected in front of the tower shield. "Yata no Kagami: Elemental Ordnance," Izuna prepares to intercept the numerous energy beams targeted at him. While his previous attack managed to ughter the majority of the monsters, the truly powerful ones hid behind the hoard and used the opportunity provided by their weaker counterparts to charge up their most powerful attacks. Izuna stares at the hundred of beams of energy at the level of a tailed-beast bomb with slight trepidation. "Even I am not confident of withstanding such a powerful barrage of energy with the bare body of my Susanoo." He has the option to teleport out from the range of these beams, but that will leave the town behind him vulnerable. "If it was earlier, then I might not be able to withstand this attack; but after the upgrade to my Yata shield, I am confident enough." His confidence wasn''t baseless. Yata no Kagami is a powerful defensive artifact he found in archives of the Shikkotsu forest. It was one of the artifacts from the traveler''s collection. Initially, he thought it was just a slightly durable shield with no other abilities. However, as he grew more powerful; he came to know of the true abilities of this shield. After his mastery over four elements, he unlocks yet another function of the shield. This shield can absorb the nature energy from the surrounding and can erect an additional elemental barrier to block all sorts of attacks including but not limited to physical, mental, and spiritual. Well, it can''t block emotional damage. However, that''s not its only ability. Its real valuees from its other ability: Counter reflect. Yes, you heard it right. Simr to the ability of a certain protagonist from one of his favorite manga, this shield can reflect a portion of damage to its attacker. The portion of damage reflected is dependent on the durability of the energy barrier, which in turn is dependent on the amount of nature energy stored in the shield and the chakra of the wielder. This can''t reflect the damage above the durability of the barrier. Also, the reflected portion of the damage is also dependent on the number of elementalyers of the shield, which in turn is dependent on the mastery of his elements. Currently, he can only erect a twoyer barrier that surmounts forty percent of the reflected attack. Once he is proficient with all elements and can merge them to create a Kekkei mora, he can exert the shield''s power to its limit. "For now, forty percent reflection is more than enough since these monsters don''t have high durability." During his sea journey, he met various powerful sea creatures. Out of them all, these eel-type monsters have the lowest durability. Swoosh Another transparent blue barrier made of hexagonal energy block coats Izuna''s Susanoo. Izuna turns around and notices the raised flippers of Ryui. [Izuna-dono, I am confident of your strength. Just take this additional protection as my goodwill." Mm Izuna nods at her unrequited action and focuses his attention on the iing attack. "Here ites!" FWOOOSH Multiple powerful charged beams of energy shoot toward Izuna at an incredible pace. Midway through their path, these multi-colored beams merge and create a more powerful and wider ck beam of energy. BOOOM The powerful, highly destructive beam of energynds on the transparent hexagonal barrier. CRACK Within mere seconds, cracks appear on the hexagonal barrier, and the next instant, the barrier shatters and disperses into countless energy fragments. Ryui''s expression crumbles at the sight of her flimsy barrier. [Such a powerful attack!] Worry appears on her face. [If it was me, then I won''t be able to survive theirbined assault.] She heaves a sigh of relief at Izuna''s initial intrusion. Chapter 433: Side Story Part 13: Redaku Arc: Creation of the Donut Island Chapter 433: Side Story Part 13: Redaku Arc: Creation of the Donut Ind Rumble rumble BOOM Earth trembles beneath Izuna''s Susanoo as he blocks the ck energy projectile with his Yata shield. The water in the gulf has long evaporated as a result of the heat and the force of the sh of many powerful attacks. The twoyered elemental shields of the Yata shiel quake and tremble. Crack Cracks appear on the first shield and after a few seconds, the first energy shield shatters. It absorbs a portion of the energy of the attack prior to its dissipation. The second shield bears the burden and soon crumbles into energy fragments after absorbing another major portion of the ck energy beam. HAAAA Izuna continues to hold the Yata shield uptight in ce. The impact force behind the beam slowly pushes his Susanoo all the way to the walls of the gulf. Soon, the energy attack dies down with no damage to the Susanoo. [He did it!] Ryui nods in surprise. "He really did it!" Yuri clenches her fist with a smile. GYAAAAAHHH The eel monsters scream in frenzy at the sight of Susanoo''s feat. Huff Huff Izuna regtes and breathing and smirks at the remaining hoard of monsters. "It''s not over yet!" SHOOM The eyes of the Yaksha on the Yata shield emit an eerier emerald glow. It slowly cracks open its mouth. "Time for payback!" "Yata no Kagami: Counter Reflect," A highlypressed dense beam of energy gathers at the mouth of the Yaksha. Fwoosh Thepressed energy turns into an orb and shoots toward the group of monsters at an incredible speed. GYAAAAH. KYAAAA REE. The monster roars and screams in fear as they sense the threat of death from this attack. However, Izuna pays no heed to them. As soon as the attack reaches the middle of the hoard, he snaps his finger. BOOOMM The energy orb explodes into a giant pir of energy and engulfs the surrounding monsters. Most of the monsters frantically attempt to escape from the column of energy. However, the speed of the explosion surpasses their speed and soon the mouth of the gulf, which was tightly packed with the eel monster, is blown away by the explosion. GYYYYAAAAAAHHH A loud shriek escapes from within the giant pir of energy. The wailing sound is simr to the cacophony of the ughter of a thousand pigs. "Tch what a foul scream?" Izuna cleans his eardrums with his little finger. Rumble. Shockwaves travel across the sea. The entire sea bed around the gulf bes devoid of water. Multiple conch shells, skeletons of fishes, broken parts of ships, and even an entire giant boat appear in the waterless area. "Is that titanic?" One of the civilians shouts and points toward the broken remains of a giant ship full of seaweed and mold. Izuna and the rest of the people turn toward him in surprise. "I was just joking!" Hoshi sheepishly scratches his head. "Hmm now that you mention it, it does look like titanic." Kei also voices his opinion. "Hmm this outline looks simr." A few of the sailors discuss among themselves. Izuna dispels his Susanoo andnds beside Yuri. "What are these people talking about?" He gazes at the bottomless hole present at the center of the explosion. ''So, I have be powerful enough to alter the terrain of the world. The powerful sh between him and these monsters has leveled the hills around the gulf. His previous attack even blew a bottomless hole at the previous location of the gulf and shifted the tectonic tes of the area, which resulted in the elevation of the seabed. Now, the entire ind looks simr to a donut when viewed from above. Only the rift created by the sh of his sword connects the bottomless hole to the sea. "They are talking about the legendary ship that sank a century ago. It was one of the most ambitious projects of our people. However, it was attacked by these eels like the sea monster and met its cruel end." "Oh!" Izuna turns silent and observes the seawater slowly pouring into the hole through the channel created by his sword. "Umm what happened to the Umibozu? Where is it? Did it escape?" Yuri bites her lower lips, an act she has been repeating since she met with Izuna. "Well, it blew up!" "" Yuri, Ryui, Akari, and Viktor turn silent at Izuna''s remark. "Umm I didn''t expect it to be so weak. It was attempting to fuse with that grotesque mass of flesh; but before it couldplete its transformation, it got blown by my attack." Izuna shakes his head in disappointment, as if he was expecting more from the monster. "" The rest of the Uzu n members silently stare at him. [I can''t sense the evil presence of Umibozu or its remnants. It''s dead for good.] Ryui opens her mouth to speak for the first time. "YOU CAN SPEAK!" Izuna''s eyes widen for the first time. [Of course, I can speak. I have lived with humans for so long that I picked up theirnguage. Also, it''s the power of my summoning contract.] "OH!" "Fufu" Yuri burst into a chuckle at his shocked expression. -------------------- A weekter, In the Uzu npounds, "Hmm I have studied the summoning contract between you and Ryui. This contract has multiple ws. I can remove it if you want?" He turns towards Ryui and Yuri. "Please improve the summoning contract if possible. The cost to maintain the current summoning contract is too huge." Akari requests him. "Very well! You can say this summoning contract is the first of its kind in both the shinobi world and Redaku. After your ancestor, Kenshiro Senju, left this ce, he improved the summoning contract in the shinobi world and removed the blood sacrifice limitation, and reced it with a bit of blood and chakra. Though the duration of summoning is limited by the amount of the user''s chakra. It''s not permanent like your current one." Izuna exins the details to them. Izuna''s finger flows with bright blue chakra. He taps the summoning contract on Yuri''s hand and extracts it from her body. "AH!" Both Yuri and Ryui are startled as they lost their connection. With glowing hands, Izuna releases the contract in mid-air. He inscribes one fuinjutsu rune after another on the contract seal and soon creates a giant array from the summoning seal. Izuna continues to carve multiple runes in the air and adjusts or removes the previous rune. Soon, a giant,plex circr formation appears in the sky of the Uzu n. "I have made some improvements to it and modified a few parts and even added a space-time teleportation seal to it. Now you don''t have to continuously supply your blood to the seal to maintain it. The summoning seal will be dormant after you run out of chakra or when you want to dispel the summoning. The drawback is that you won''t be able to maintain your telepathic connection while the seal is in a dormant state. Also" Izuna takes out a giant scroll from his storage. He carves multiple Fuinjutsu seals on it and hands it over to Ryui. "Infuse your blood and energy in this scroll." Ryui follows his instruction and bites one of her flippers. She drops her blood on the scroll. "Good!" Izuna carves a few more runes on the scroll. "Done!" Ryui''s body and the scroll shine with a bright light and soon the scroll flies toward her andnds on her back. "With this, you can sign a contract with any member of the Uzu n you want. Though the summoner has to meet the minimum criteria of chakra to sessfully summon you." Phew "With this, my job is done!" Izuna exhales a deep breath. "Thank you thank you so much for your help." Akari, Yuri, Viktor, and a few elders of the Uzu n bows to him. "It was nothing much!" Izuna shrugs his shoulder. These past few days, he was quite busy. On the mayor''s pleading, he terraformed the exposed sea bed part of the ind using his earth release and wood releases to make it suitable for agriculture and other activities. He even modified the hole present at the previous location of the gulf and connected it with the sea and filled it with fresh water to make an ind reservoir. He inscribed multiple purifying Fuinjutsu seals at the entrance and exit of the reservoir to convert the sea water into fresh water and salt. With this, the biggest problem of Shirodo town was solved. Previously, Ryui and the Umibozu shared space in the gulf. Now, the new reservoir became Ryui''s new house. [That monster has gued thisnd for centuries. My husband, Tatsu died while fighting alongside Kenshiro-sama against that monster. He sacrificed his life to seal the monster. Now, the curse iid on thisnd is finally lifted with your aid. I am very grateful for that.] Ryui bows to him. She extends the summoning scroll toward Izuna. "I want to sign a contract with you." EEEEPP. A small plesiosaur leaps out from a pocket around her waist and curiously walks towards Izuna. EEEEEPPP It nudges its neck against Izuna and points one of its flippers toward the summoning contract. [Ryu! This kid!] Izuna and the rest are startled by the appearance of a small plesiosaur. [I am very sorry for his rudeness. He is still a kid.] Hmm Izuna inspects the small plesiosaur with his Sharingan. "How is he a kid? He is around 300 years old." [We have a different life spanpared to humans. Our species lives for two thousand years and the egg incubates and hatches after 200 years. So, in human terms, Ryu is still a kid.] EEEEPPP Ryu licks Izuna''s face. Izuna strokes Ryu''s head and forms a summoning contract with him. He turns towards the Uzu n members. "Looks like it''s time for me to leave." Chapter 434: Island of Redaku Part-3 Chapter 434: Ind of Redaku Part-3 Hoshi narrates the tale to the Konoha group. "So, after defeating that sea of the monster; Izuna-sama helped us with the reconstruction of the entire ind. He cleared the surrounding monsters and thus after his suggestion, we named this ind the Donut Ind." "Hoshi, what''s the matter? Did some monster attack the ind?" Soon, a few red-haired figures walk out of the entrance of the hotel. "Akari-san, Yuri-san it''s" Two redheads walk toward the escort group. They stand beside Hoshi. "AH!" They are startled to see Kushina since they recognize her. "Hmm what''s the matter?" Their strange expression perplexes Kushina. "It''s nothing!" Both of them sighs and shake their head. ''So, Izuna-dono seeded in his venture.'' Hoshi introduces the two groups to each other. "Uzu n? Hmm I think I have some records about them in the Uzumaki n library. I didn''t expect it to be real." Kushina is pleasantly surprised to learn of their identity. "Then, let me reintroduce myself. I am Kushina Uzumaki, the former princess of the Uzumaki n." "Former princess?" Akari and Yuri stare at each other. A bitter smile appears on Kushina''s face. "Unlike your n, my n wasn''t lucky. Barely a few members of the Uzumaki n are alive today." Kushina narrates the incident of Uzushiogakure''s ughter. "That''s unfortunate! To think our close rtives suffered such a fate. We are lucky, we met Izuna-dono, or else we might also" Akari shakes her head. "It''s alright! I have moved on from that tragedy. Now I am living happily with my family." Kushina introduces Minato and the rest of the group, who politely greet them. "Hmm where is Izuna-sama? It has been more than two years since he visited us." Yuri looks around in confusion. Kushina, Minato, and Tsunade stare into each other''s eyes. They notice the love-stricken look in Yuri''s eyes. ''Another innocent girl snared by Izuna''s love trap!'' Tsunade mutters in her mind. ''This girl is also infatuated with Izuna.'' Kushina replies to her. ''It''s an unrequited love.'' Minato shakes his head. Sigh Minato sighs and exins. "Izuna is caught in some important task and is unable to visit this ce." "Is that so?" Yuri''s face fell. "Don''t worry, once he is free, I will ask him to visit with his family." Kushina smiles at her. "His family?" "Mm this girl is Izuna''s younger sister, Ayaka." Ayaka waves at them. "He also has a wife and two kids. His wife is on her way here." Tsunade adds. "He has a wife and two kids" Yuri''s face fell. A slight tear appears in her eyes. She turns around and dashes away. "YY Yuri!" Akari helplessly raises her hand toward Yuri to stop her. "I am sorry for this!" she apologizes to the group and chases after Yuri. "Tsunade Nee-san is it alright to do this?" Kushina turns to Tsunade. "I can understand her sentiment. But it won''t change the truth. She has to face it and move on." Tsunade shakes her head. "Izuna has already met his love. Harboring any affectionate feeling for him might hurt her." She continues. "Please give us an opportunity to host you." Viktor, the silent butler, gently bows his head. He escorts the group inside the resort. ----------------------- A few hourster, The rest of the escort group also sails their ship to Shirodo ind. The ship anchors on the shore and the group walks on the ind. "Amazing!" The group stares at the building in Shirodo town with amazement. The guards proudly puff their chests and introduce thendmarks of Shirodo town to them. For these people, shinobis are figures of legend and yet these legendary figures are now amazed by their hard work. "This way, please!" The guards lead them toward the trinity corporation resort. "Incredible! To think that Lord Izuna has such a widespread influence on the people of the foreignnd." Chojuro and Ao look around. "Look look that''s Sensei''s jutsu statue." Hanabi tugs Yakumo''s sleeves and points towards a gigantic statue of Izuna''s Susanoo at the town square. Another life-sized statue of Izuna with a katana is present beside the giant Susanoo statue. "Wow! Incredible." They approach the statue and read the story of Izuna''s heroic deeds on the memorial. "As expected of him!" A faint smile appears on Mei''s face. "Umm I also want a giant statue like this." Naruto murmurs. "Don''t you have the Naruto bridge in the Land of Waves?" Sasuke speechlessly replies. "But that''s just the name of the bridge. There is no statue." Narutoins. "Well at that time, the people of the Land of waves were short on money. They didn''t even have enough money to build the bridge. It was Izuna Sensei who gave the funds to them." Sakura adds. "Don''t worry, Naruto. Once you be the Hokage, you will get your own stone carving on the Hokage mountain." Sasuke consoles him. "I feel much better after hearing that." Naruto looks around and notices a small ramen shop on the corner. "Hey hey look look there is a ramen shop here!" He points towards the ramen shop in excitement. Ugh The rest of the group clutch their forehead. "Naruto is Naruto. One moment he is depressed, the next moment he bes cheerful." Izumi remarks with a chuckle. Sasuke sighs as he is dragged inside the shop by Naruto. "We should also eat something fresh. We have been eating dried rations and preserved food for the past few days." Mei gives her permission and enters the shop with the rest of the group. Inside the ramen shop, "Mmm this ramen has apletely different taste from Ichiraku ramen." Slurp slurp Naruto finishes the fifth bowl of ramen and asks for more. "It''s good but if I have to pick between Ichiraku and this, then Ichiraku will be my first choice." "Mm they mostly serve ramen with seafood ingredients. It''s understandable since this ce is present beside the sea." Sakura finishes a bowl of ramen. After the meal, they exit the ramen shop and look at the various food stalls. All the teens turn their gaze to Mei. "Since we are in a new ce, then we might as well have a taste of their culture." Mei understands their gaze and gives them approval. "Yay!" Hanabi and Naruto jump in excitement. ------------------------- Back at the resort, The Konoha group meets up with Akari and Yuri. Yuri has calmed her emotions by now. "I will also like to meet Izuna-san''s wife and see what kind of person is she." Akari heaves a sigh of relief at her words. She can see betterment in her daughter''s words, but some things aren''t meant to be. "I would like to take you somewhere!" Yuri turns to Kushina. "Is it the" "Yes, the Sea Lord wants to meet Lady Kushina." Yuri nods at Akari. "If you don''t mind, can we follow her?" Tsunade turns to Akari. "No not at all." Akari agrees to her request. The group walks deeper into the Uzu npound. After a few turns here and there, they arrive at the center of the ind. "Woah! So huge." Ayaka exims at the sheer size and depth of the ind reservoir. "Fufu of course, as expected of my student." Tsunade proudly puffs her chest as she steals Ayaka''s lines. "So, this ce was carved out of Izuna''s attack." Kushina and Minato turn to each other. "He has grown much stronger now!" They recall the scene of the powerful jutsu used by Izuna to blow away an entire mountain in his battle against the Otsutsuki n member. "This is nothingpared to the chasm of death he carved with his de." A bitter smile appears on Minato''s face. [This familiar presence] An unknown telepathic connection in their mind. The group instinctively raises their guard against any attack. "Don''t worry it''s the Sea Lord." Yuri exins. "Oh!" The group turns towards the center of the reservoir, where a giant column of water is slowly rising. Soon, a gigantic plesiosaur appears in their vision. "Woah, so huge!" The group is startled by the size of the plesiosaur, which easily dwarfs Kurama. [It''s nice to meet you, I am Ryui, also known as the Sea Lord.] Ryui introduces herself. EEEEPPP Another small plesiosaur leaps out of the water and ps its flipper toward Ayaka. The small plesiosaur appears beside Ayaka and nudges its head against Ayaka. Ayaka gently strokes its head, since she doesn''t sense any hostility from the creature. [He is Ryu, my son!] Ayaka pats Ryu''s head. Ryu points one of its flippers toward Ayaka and the other toward its back. "You want me to ride on your back?" Ayaka asks him. EEEEPPP Ryu nods its head. "Alright!" Ayaka jumps on top of him. A water bubble surrounds Ryu as thetter jumps into the water reservoir. [Don''t worry, Ryu has a summoning contract with Izuna. Just like he can sense the connection between Izuna and her. Thus, he considers that little girl as a part of his family.] Ryui exins to calm them down. "I see!" Tsunade heaves a sigh of relief. Chapter 435: Mortal with the power of GODS Chapter 435: Mortal with the power of GODS Somewhere in an unknown dimension with red skies and deste surroundings filled with sinister chakra and nature energy, sh "de of Nandaka: Dimensional Sunder," A cloaked figure wields a transparent de and shes away at the hoard of countless Abyss centurions in the form of flood dragons, asuras, horned demons, arachnids, and many other life forms. The powerful sh of the de rips apart the space andws of the unknown dimension and leaves behind a gigantic cross-shape scar in the sky of the unknown world. Chaotic energy flows through the cross mark and negates any attempt of the unknown dimension to mend the space. With a single sh, the bones, flesh, and even the blood of those countless abyss centurions evaporate into oblivion. The solemn atmosphere of the surroundings pair together with the deste aura of the hellish dimension. "You are getting scarier with each passing day. At this rate, my father, who is the strongest astral demon lord, won''t be a match for you in the next two hundred no, hundred years." The purple-cloaked figure who is also the prince of the astral demon n praises him. "And you are as useless as ever!" The ck-cloaked figure remark. "Hey! Don''t insult me like that. I am still ranked among the top fifty strongest astral demons." The astral demon prince retorts. "You are rankedst on the list." "" The prince bes speechless. "I have a plethora of abilities and techniques. Given enough time and opportunity, I can even assassinate the thirty-first person on the list. Though I will lose my life after that." He utters thest part in a feeble tone. "What use are your abilities if you can''t even find a stinky rat in his hole? As for that top demon rank list or whatnot, I can kill the eleventh rank demon lord in a confrontation and escape with minor injuries." The ck-cloaked figure harrumphs at him. "Hey, I am a genius with never seen potential in the past ten millennia in the astral demon n. I am not a monster like you who can evenbat against people of much higher power than you." The prince shakes his head. "As for that stinky rat this entire dimension is his turf. His aura is widespread across this entire dimension. He can hide in any remote corner of this world and it will not be easy for us to search his traces." ''He is a never seen before monster with almost infinite potential. He killed the eleventh-ranked demon lord and escaped while being encircled by almost thirty other demon lords. Seriously, he should consider the feelings of us never seen before geniuses in consideration.'' The prince has a helpless expression on his face. The past few days, they have been fighting against hoard after hoard of Abyss monsters, and the master of this ce Jashin has yet to show up. "But don''t worry, my death authority curse will slowly eat away his soul and he will die within the next three to four hundred years. Only someone with a power on the same level as the top ten astral demon lords can dispel the curse." The prince smugly stares at the ck-robed figure. "That won''t do! I want to make him pay for what he did with my own hands. I won''t rest until I execute all perpetrators with my hands." The ck-robed figure clenches his fists. "Yes, I won''t forgive them. Theva of molten hot emotions boils within my blood. The millennia of rage simmer within me, ready to erupt and burn everyone." The astral demon prince gnashes his teeth. Pitch-ck mes rise from his body and burn everything in his vicinity into cinders. "Calm down!" The ck-robed pats his shoulder. The surrounding mes vanish into thin air. "Channel this rage towards those culprits and burn them with these mes. For now" The ck-robed figure raises one of his hands towards the sky of the hellish dimension. "Order and Chaos authority: cakra" Rumble rumble The ground quakes and the sky trembles as the ck-robed figure opens his eyes. There is a sigil of a Dharma wheel with eight spokes in his right eye and another sigil of a chaos wheel with eight arrows in all directions in his left eye. RUMBLE. RUMBLE A gigantic sigil of the Dharma wheel shrouds the entire dimension. Anotheryer of Chaos wheel stacks on top of the Dharma wheel. "Hey hey HEY! Are you sure you want to use this attack in this ce?" Goosebumps crawl across the skin of the astral demon prince as he stares at the giant dharma and chaos wheel in the sky with trepidation. Bzzt crackle ck and white lightning flicker between the two wheels. The gates of order and chaos open as a rift to reveal the spokes of a giant, wheel-like weapon. Numerous irreparable spatial cracks appear in the surroundings just from the presence of the giant wheel weapon alone. "Stop! Please stop! Alright alright I understand. So, please stop! I will even put extra effort into searching for that damn rat." The astral demon prince pleads to the ck-robed figure. "You also know that this ce is a shattered ruin of a small world. Even though those filthy abyss creatures wiped out or corrupted the natives and pilfered the origin energy; this ce is aplete world in the end. If you destroy this world, then you will ruin the equilibrium of the cosmos." "Hmph fine!" The ck-robed withdraws his hand. The sigils in his eyes disappear. The giant chaos and order wheel formation in the sky also vanishes, and the rift created by the wheel-like weapon closes. Peace and tranquility return to the surroundings, but the numerous scars like spatial cracks are still proof of the peril this dimension suffered. Phew The astral demon prince heaves a sigh of relief. "That was scary! Really damn scary! I almost died from a heart attack." He calms his rapidly thumping heart. After calming his emotions, he turns to the ck-robed figure. "How? The aura of that weapon how did youe into possession of such a weapon? It has touched the primordialws of existence and that aura it reeks of the Numen era." "I forged it in the dead remains of the first star, using the materials from the heart of the firmament." The ck-robed figure replies in a casual tone, but the eyes of the astral demon prince widen to the extreme. He surveys his surroundings. After ensuring the absence of any sort of intelligent life form or any sort of detection technique or tool, he erects an istion barrier around them. "Hhh how? How did you do it?" These words barely escape from his mouth as he is still unable to fathom the depth of the ck-robed figure''s previous remark. "I deciphered the secret of Sin and virtue." "IMPOSSIBLE!" The astral demon prince almost falls to his knees. He stares at the ck-robed figure with an incredulous gaze. "Www what are you nning to do with that ''thing''? No one in the entire cosmos is your match if you are able to control that weapon. Do you n to kill my father and rece him as the current leader of the Astral Demons?" "Hmph the hegemony of the astral demons was never my goal. My goals lie far behind that. I n to" The ck-robed figure points his finger towards the sky and then clenches them in a fist. GASP~ The astral demon prince gasps and almost faints in shock at the lofty ambitions of the person in front of him. He understands the meaning behind the gesture. The more he thinks of such conceited words, the more ridiculous he thinks the situation to be. ''NO if it''s him, then he really might be able to do something like that.'' Even he, himself is unable to believe the words he thought just now. ''ying a higher existence not just one but all of them. Such arrogance!'' He takes a nce at the nonchnt expression of the conceited fellow in front of him. Tch A sour expression appears on his face and he clicks his tongue in annoyance. "Don''t just talk big! First, let''s kill this stinky bastard, and perhapster we can think about other things." "Hmm while you were lost in your fantasy tale, I already discovered the location of that stinky rat. Though it''s not just him, I also found his foul brother. I have some personal grudge against that bastard. Today I will settle everything, the past and present grudges." The ck-robed figure cracks his knuckles and flies in a particr direction. Sigh The astral demon prince sighs and helplessly shakes his head. ''I even lost to him in terms of sensory abilities. My sensory skills, which were ranked number one among all astral demon lords, are no match for him. Well at this point, the title of number one doesn''t even matter in front of his sky-high goals.'' "HEY! WAIT FOR ME!" The prince increases his pace and chases the trail of the ck-robed figure. ''A mortal who holds the same level of power as GODS.'' Chapter 436: Island of Redaku Part-4 Chapter 436: Ind of Redaku Part-4 Under the directions of the guards, the rest of the group finally return to the resort. "This ce is so fun! I saw several new things and bought a lot of things. Perhaps we should bring Ayaka with us tomorrow." Hanabi, Yakumo, Sakura, and Izumi have lots of shopping bags in their hands. Even Mei is carrying quite a few shopping bags. The girls infuse some chakra on the bracelet in their hand and store all bags in it. "WOAH!" The guards are surprised at the magical sight. They enviously stare at the escort group. "Shinobis are amazing. Not only do they have an amazing method to carry their luggage, but they can also even stuff their stomach with arge amount of food and still won''t feel full." The guard gossips among themselves. "Even those little girls can eat foodparable to five people." The guards point toward Hanabi and Yakumo. Hanabi''s and Yakumo''s face turn red from embarrassment. Haha The rest of the group chuckles. "Hanabi, Yakumo, Izumi Nee-san, Mei Nee-san!" Ayaka waves toward them while riding her pet dinosaur. "Ayaka! WOAH!" The group is surprised at the appearance of the giant creature. Ryu lowers its neck. Ayaka slides down its neck and smoothlynds on the ground. "Wow! Is that a summon?" Sakura inquires in amazement. "Yes, it''s nii-san''s summon." "So cool!" Naruto''s eyes shine in excitement. "Can I touch it?" Yakumo asks with slight hesitation. "Of course!" Ayaka nods at her. Ryu turns towards Hanabi and Yakumo. Both girls gently stroke Ryu''s head and flippers. "What kind of creature is this?" Ao and Chojuro curiously enquires. "We have never seen such a creature in the shinobi world?" Ao mutters. "It''s a dinosaur. Nii-san told me about them. Ryu is a plesiosaur or a sea dinosaur." Ryu pulls Hanabi, Yakumo, and Ayaka on its back. "Naruto nii-san, Sasuke nii-san, Sakura nee-san! Want to join us? Ryu will take us for a ride underwater." Ayaka gestures to them. "That sound fun!" Naruto nods and jumps on Ryu''s back. Sasuke and Sakura also join them. "Can I also join you?" Chojuro requests in a feeble voice. "Why not?" "Thank you!" Chojuro also leaps on Ryu''s back. EEEPPP EEEPPP Ryu cries in joy and rushes towards therge water reservoir. It forms a gigantic air bubble around them and dives into the water. "Is this sturdy enough?" Naruto slightly knocks on the air bubbles. Slight ripples spread across the bubble. Soon, the group enters deeper into the water. They marvel at the sight of the various species of fish, octopuses, dolphins, and jellyfish. "So amazing!" The world hidden underneath the sea fascinates them to the end. Hanabi and Yakumo take out their camera and snap a picture of every sight. "I feel sorry for Hinata Nee-san. If only she was here to view this incredible sight. I will take lots of pictures and show them to her." Click click Both girls snap a picture with enthusiasm. Ryu''s sea tour continues as various glowing nkton, seaweeds, algae, and other smaller creatures fascinate them to no end. Multiple oysters and sea shells as tall as a human are also settled at the base of the seabed. "These sea shells are so big. I wonder if their pearl is also as huge as their body. How much money will I get if I sell them?" Sakura wonders. While the youngsters tour in ocean depths, the adults are gathered in a meeting in the Uzu npounds. Yuri sighs in defeat as she stares at the beauty and majestic aura of Mei. She learns about Mei''s identity. "I don''t stand a chance. Not only is she so beautiful, but she is also powerful with a prominent position." It''smon knowledge that in a world ruled by strong, only the people with exceptional abilities and skills can take on a leading position. Strong subordinates won''t respect and submit to a weak leader. "I admit defeat!" She shakes her head. "It''s alright! You will also eventually find a suitable partner." Akari consoles her. The escort group members consult with Hoshi, Kei, and Viktor about the specifics of the Redaku and a method of traveling to the Land of Iron. "Hokage-sama, Mizukage-sama, our ships regrly dock at the ports of various countries like the Land of the waterfall, the Land of medicine, the Land of Iron, and the Land of hot water. We sell the specialty product of our town and trade them with the products of the shinobi world, gold, and even the currency of the shinobi world. Shirodo town epts both the local currency of Redaku and the Ryu, the currency of the shinobi world. There is a rule that the products of the shinobi world can only be bought using Ryu and both currencies are interchangeable at an equal rate." Hoshi exins the specifics of trade to them. "Aren''t you guys attacked by some greedy people from the shinobi world or perhaps suffer from the treacherous schemes of people?" Minato asks in surprise. "Initially, we did suffer some loss and even lost a few people. But gradually, we learned various methods to counter them. Also, Izuna-san''s summon will guard us from time to time. Not only that, most of his subordinates will help us at the docks. Also, the symbol of Kaminomegumi is enough to instill fear in the hearts of any rogue shinobi." Hoshi replies with a smile. "That''s true!" the grouppletely agrees with him. When Izuna initially started his enterprise, lots of greedy people and merchants attempted to sabotage or even subdue his business in an attempt to gobble up his money. The result was as expected. Izuna was very ruthless to these people. He viciously culled these people. Rivers of blood flowed across the shinobi world as Izuna once again proved his moniker of the ''Shinigami''. This incident even became famous in the shinobi world as the ''Kin no Chi'' or '' the blood of gold''. This incident got such a name because of a rumor about Izuna. Many people said that the ''Shinigami'' only liked two things: blood and gold. While the escort was happily chatting with the people of Redaku. A few guards rush inside the meeting room with gloomy faces. Hmm The shinobi notice them and eventually, Kei also notices them. "Excuse me!" He excuses himself and walks towards the two guards. "What''s the matter?" The guard reports to him. Kei''s expression turns ugly. "I will be in there in a few minutes." He orders the guards. "What''s the matter, Kei-san?" Though with their exceptional hearing, the shinobi group has heard everything. Still, they want to hear it from Kei''s mouth. If the situation is beyond their control, then might even provide some aid. Sigh Kei helplessly shakes his head and exins. "It''s the remnants of the Umibozu. Though Izuna-sama obliterated Umibozu''s body with his powerful attack. The remnant will and the sinister energy of Umibozu seeped deeper into the sea. To this day, it is affecting the sea monsters. Those affected enter into a frenzy and attack Shirodo town from time to time. Thanks to the Uzu n''s and Sea Lords'' help, we are able to defeat them, but recently, the intensity of attacks has increased by a lot. None of us are capable of performing an underwater reconnaissance, but we suspect that the Umibozu''s will has affected an entire colony of those sea monsters and now this entire colony is attacking us in frenzy. This time, a giant sea serpent is attacking the town. I will return to the port tomand my subordinates. So, please excuse me for my rudeness." "Not at all!" Minato and the rest shake their head. Instead, they turn to Izumi. "Izumi, why don''t you assist Captain Kei in dealing with that sea serpent?" Tsunade asks Izumi. "Yes, Hokage-sama!" Izumi slightly bows her head and follows Kei. "Umm will she be alright?" Akari and Yuri ask with slight worry as they stare at the petite figure of Izumi. These past few years, after interacting with the shinobi world, they havee to know various things. "First, the identity of their savior from fifty years ago. Their savior was Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, the n head of the Senju n and the most powerful shinobi of his time also hailed as ''the God of Shinobi''. Not only that, but they also learned about Izuna''s identity. ''The Death God of Shinobi World'', the most powerful prodigy of the entire shinobi world, the fearsome handsome devil, the merciless executioner, the ughter demon, and various other monikers. If Izuna was here, then he would chuckle at the thoughts of these people. ''I can agree with the first three names, but what''s the deal with the merciless executioner and the ughter demon? Did I kill your entire n or something? Hmm well, I did in a few cases. But still, don''t nder people like that.'' "There is no need to worry about Izumi''s safety. Though she may look like that, she is one of Izuna''s students. Izuna has mentored her for almost ten years. She is in no way inferior to us." Mei and Tsunade chuckle. "That''s reassuring!" Akari, Yuri, and Viktor heave a sigh of relief. Chapter 437: Island of Redaku Part-5 Chapter 437: Ind of Redaku Part-5 The Shinobi group continues to discuss matters rted to politics, geography, power structure, and other misceneous matters with the Redaku people. "So, despite such advancement in technology; Redaku is under the rule of a monarch." Minato, Tsunade, and Mei are surprised to hear this. It''s not like the shinobi world doesn''t have any kingdoms. They also have a few ces where thend is still ruled by a king, like the crescent kingdom and the Loran empire. Though these ces are pretty weakpared to the Shinobi viges, they still employ shinobis for missions. "Yes, every major city or town has a mayor who governs the ce. The king''s court and pce lie in the capital on the ins. Our Shirodo town also has a mayor, even though this ce is pretty deste and away from the capital. We don''t get attention from the capital and as a result, this ce is slightly peaceful and free of political struggle." Akari smiles slightly. "We can guess the reason why the capital isn''t interested in this ce. It''s because of the attacks of these sea monsters, right?" Minato enquires. "You are right on cue, Lord Hokage. Speaking of which, the mayor of Shirodo town would like to arrange a meeting with your group, if possible." Hmm The group ponders over the matter. "The mayor is slightly coward in front of the royalty since he was banished to this ce but he isn''t a bad person. There are plenty of times when he stood up for the benefit of Shirodo town." Akari puts in some positive words for the mayor. "Alright, please arrange a meeting with the mayor tomorrow." Suddenly, Rumble rumble The ground trembles with a small-scale earthquake. AH Akari and Viktor are startled by the sudden earthquake while Yuri and the rest of the shinobi group stare in the direction of the port. "This burst of chakra it must be Izumi. Looks like she is almost done with a sea monster." Kushina remarks. She turns towards Yuri and notices her shocked expression. "This technique this chakra it''s simr to Izuna-sama." Yuri mutters. "Izumi is from the same n as Izuna, so it is a given that her technique is simr to Izuna. Though the technique she used now is unique to her, or rather every member of the Uchiha n has a unique version of this technique." "Uchiha n we have read a lot of things about them. We thought only Izuna-sama was a prodigy of the n, but it looks like there are plenty of powerful people in that n. It''s not a n of warriors for nothing." "Haha it''s not like that." Kushina shakes her head. "Only the people around Izuna are strong and talented. There are plenty of weak and normal people in the shinobi world too. Perhaps you people have read a lot of books about shinobi which lead to such an opinion. But in the shinobi world, shinobi only amount to ten percent of the poption. The rest ny percent of the poption are civilians." Minato adds. "It''s understandable. Only strong people have the right to stand beside a strong person. Weak people will be left behind and, in some cases, they might be a burden for others." Akari sighs and shakes her head. --------------------------- Meanwhile, at the port, Kei leads Izumi and his troops toward the location of the monster. The gigantic slender wyrm monster can be easily spotted from a distance. The scales of the serpent are blue. Its head is in the shape of a dragon with arge bony frill around its neck. A series of bony protrusions runs along its slender spine and its tail is split into a giant fin. ROOOAAARRR It releases a draconic roar and attacks the guards with a swing of its tail. asionally, it shoots out a ball of water from its mouth toward the group of guards. The guards take cover behind the shelter built at the port. They regrly peek out of their cover and shoot its body with the energy st from their spears. The spear barely deals any damage to the hard scales of the monster. Since the monster is in a frenzy, the soul fracture barely has any effect on it. "Captain!" The guards notice Kei and his troops. "Evacuate the seriously injured personnel to the nearby infirmary. Personals with mild injuries return to the backline while the new personnel take the offensive position at the frontline." Kei issues a series of orders. "Also, charge the ballista. If nothing else works, then we will have to rely on it to deal some damage to the monster. We can''t always rely on the Sea Lord for her help. Also, it is a single monster, not a hoard of the monster; so, requesting the Sea Lord for assistance will be too much." "We understand, Captain!" The guards salute him and quickly perform their respective tasks and take their respective position. Kei turns to Izumi. "Lady Izumi, we would like to deal with this monster with our strength. If something goes wrong or we aren''t able to hold it; then I would like Lady Izumi to step in and defend these people. If possible, please y this monster at that time." Kei requests her. "Alright!" Izumi nods at his request. It''s not her ce to step in and takemand, since Tsunade only ordered her to assist these people. The guards continue to stall time by using guerri tactics against the sea serpent. They annoy the giant sea serpent by firing multiple energy projectiles and then hide behind cover to escape from its counterattack. RRROOOARRR The giant sea serpent is annoyed by the continuous pestering of these guards. It opens its gigantic mouth and charges up apressed beam of energy. "This is bad!" Kei''s and the other guard''s expression turns ugly. They sense a feeling of trepidation from the powerful energy attack. "What''s the status of the ballista?" Kei inquires with agitation. "Sir, we are still loading the ballista. It will take a few more seconds." The guard replies. "That''s too slow, damnit!" Kei clenches his fist. The giant sea serpentpletes the charging of its attack. It turns towards the port and aims its attack. "Deploy the barriers." Kei grits his teeth. "Yes, captain!" Three guards who are members of the Uzu n quickly carry the gigantic scrolls and ce them on the ground. They make some hand seals and m their palm on the fuinjutsu seal on the scroll. "Release!" WHOOOSH The scrolls glow with a bright light, and a giant blue barrier appears in front of the port. FWOOSH The sea serpent fires its attack toward the port. BOOM The attack explodes on top of the barrier. The shockwaves from the st travel across the port. The guards take cover behind the wall while Izumi confronts the sea serpent in the open. The shockwaves ruffle her air. After a few seconds, the st settles down to reveal the barrier. Smoke rises from the impact with no scratch on its surface. Phew Kei and the barrier corps heave a sigh of relief. The guards load the giant javelin made of soul fracture stone as their core. There are multiple fuinjutsu inscriptions on the surface of the javelins. "Captain! The ballistas are ready." "GOOD!" Kei nods at them. Izumi walks towards the group and curiously studies the javelins. The fuinjutsu seals on the javelins are tooplex for her. During her training, Izuna did teach her some fuinjutsu. However, she had no talent for it. So, after learning the minimal basics, she gave up. "Are you sure these javelins will hurt this monster? If I remember correctly, aren''t the soul fracture stone ineffective against these monsters?" Izumi raises her concern. "The regr soul fracture doesn''t faze them. But these javelins are processed by the special technique of the Uzu n. The power of the soul fracture stone is enhanced multiple times. It should be able to deal some damage to this monster." Kei replies to her. "Fire in the hole!" He waves his arm toward the giant sea serpent. BAM BAM BAM One after another, five ballistas fire toward the sea serpent. ROOARR The sea serpent is provoked by the counterattack. It swings its tail to destroy two javelins in mid-air while shooting down the other two with a barrage of smaller energy attacks. The fifth and final ballista manages to survive the onught and perfectly hits the chest of the beast. GYYYAAAANNN The sea monster releases a scream in agony. The seals on the javelin glow and release multiple bolts of blue lightning. The lightning bolts arc through its body and stun it. "FIRE!" The guards continue to fire the javelins at the sea monster. "Amazing!" Izumi is surprised by their efficiency and the power behind the javelin. ''Perhaps there is no need for me to interfere.'' Chapter 438: 403 Izumi Vs Umihebi part-1 Chapter 438: 403 Izumi Vs Umihebi part-1 The lightning bolt from the javelin stuns the giant sea serpent for a few seconds. This presents an opportunity for the Shirodo guards. They quickly load more special javelins into the ballista and fire them toward the monster. Bzzt The seals on those javelins activate and produce a giant chain of lighting. BANG BANG The javelins pin the body of the sea serpent to the surface of the sea. A wide of electricity engulfs the body of the sea serpent and continues to stun it with lightning. "We can kill it!" the guards exim in surprise at the sess of their attacks. "Don''t celebrate yet! The monster is still alive." Kei warns them. The guards continue to load more javelins and fire them at the sea serpent. RRROOOARR The sea serpent releases a shrill cry. Shockwaves travel through the sea surface, generating a few small tides towards the shore. "It''s a mental attack. Close your ears." Izumi quickly warns them. The guards quickly take out a pair of earplugs and earmuffs. They insert the earplugs into their ear and cover their ear with ear muffs. "Woah!" Izumi is lost for words at the efficiency of these people. After a few seconds, the cry of the sea monster dies down. "Is it dead yet?" Kei asks one of the Uzu n members who is sensitive to the chakra. "It should be. I can''t sense any chakra and movement from its body." The Uzu n sensor remarks. Kei and the rest remove their earplugs and heave a sigh of relief. "This was much easier than expected!" The guards remark while clearing up the area. "Mm I didn''t expect our strategy to work so effectively. Though we used up our entire stock of the soul fracture javelins, we managed to take down this monster without any external help. With this, we will gain confidence to kill more such monsters in the future. All of you did well!" Kei nods in delight and praises his subordinates. "For a job well done, I will throw a party at the Fujiya restaurant." Kei proudly deres. "Woah! Fujiya Restaurant?! Did I hear that right?" One of the guards remarks. "Fujiya restaurant is one of the most expensive restaurants in our town." Another guard remarks. "Hehe captain is being so generous today. I hope his wallet can handle the bill." Another guard grins. "Hoho you don''t have to worry about that. I will get a bonus from the boss for this kill. We will have surplus money, even after stuffing over selves to the brim." Kei discloses the information. "Tch And here in thought, the captain was opening his wallet for us." One of the guards snorts. Haha The other guards burst out inughter. Kei also joins them. "Let''s pick up our spoil of victory. We will fish this monster out of the sea, skin it, and sell its bones, scales, and meat for money. I will keep its skull as a memento." Kei cheerfully waves at his soldiers. Izumi, who was silently staring at their interactions, finds it funny. ''No matter the world, all of these men share the same brain cell.'' She recalls the habit of Itachi and his anbu group and Shisui and his police underlings. The members of the barrier team lower the barrier. Hmm The moment the barrier lowers, Izumi and the Uzu sensor sense an incredible amount of chakra gathering around the corpse of the sea serpent. The seawater around the giant sea serpent boils. The blue skin of the serpent turns red, the luster of the scales on its body increases, and the pointy bones on its back be sharper and stronger. The color of its fin changes to ck. But the most prominent change is the appearance of horns on its forehead. The sea monster opens its giant red eyes and roars toward the militants. "Shit! It''s a mental attack." The unprepared guards are caught off guard and struck by the powerful mental attack. Since the mental attack is arge-scale area of effect, its intensity is reduced. None of the guards loses their lives, but most of them are paralyzed in fear with blood dripping from their ears. A few guards with weaker mentality even fall to the ground with blood leaking from their ears and nose. Only the members of the barrier unit and the Uzu n members are somewhat unaffected by the group. The barrier group quickly takes out the barrier scroll from their storage. They desperately make some hand signs as the frenzied sea monster in front of them is quickly charging a powerful attack. "We won''t make it in time." All the barrier unit members reach this conclusion. Despite that, they still maneuvered quickly,plete their hand signs, mold the charka in their body, andy down the scroll on the ground. Izumi, who has noticed the anomaly much earlier than the rest of the group, steps forward. "This monster has grown much stronger from before. I am afraid none of your attacks will have any effect on it." She deres while riling up her chakra. "I will block its effect while you people erect a barrier to protect yourselves from the shockwaves of battle." Izumi walks out of the effective range of the barrier team''s barrier deployment area. She steps on the water and walks towards the sea serpent while riling her chakra. Some of the guards stare at the graceful figure of Izumi walking on the water in fascination. Shiing Izumi activates her Sharingan. The tomoes in her eyes revolve rapidly and merge in a three-leaf clover pattern. "Kami-wakei-kazuchi," Bzzt A surge of purple lightning gathers around Izumi. She stretches her palm and six lightning Mitsudomoe-shaped shurikens materialize in front of her. Shoom shoom The lightning Mitsudomoe hovers in mid-air. Purple lightning channels through them and forms a halo behind Izumi. "A GODDESS!" The previously love-stricken guards mutter in sync. "That''s unfortunate for you people. She is married!" Kei points towards the ring on her ring finger. "AH!" The heart of those guards shatters, and the budding love withers before it could even sprout. All of them spitefully re at their captain. "Don''t give me that look or I will cancel the party!" Kei grumbles. The guards turn silent and watch the battle. "Shield!" Izumi mutters slightly as a drop of blood leaks from her left eye. Whoosh whoosh The lightning Mitsudomoe floats in front of her and morphs into a gigantic shield. RRROOOAAARRR The sea serpent releases another roar andunches the energy particles toward her. BOOM The energy bomb explodes on top of Izumi''s shield. A cloud of mist and water envelops the surroundings. Shockwaves travel across the area and push away the abandoned boats at the port. The guards have long evacuated the port, so, currently, no one is present at the port. A faint blue barrier appears in front of the group and blocks the powerful shockwaves. Phew "We made it on time!" The barrier team members heave a sigh of relief. Once the barrier is deployed, the effect of the mental attack wears off. All the guards fall to the ground. They wipe the blood from their ears and turn their attention toward the battle happening on the shore. The swing of a giant purple de blows away the surrounding mist to reveal Izumi, who is d in full-body chakra armor which is further enveloped in a half-body Tengu. The guards gasp at the sight of the giant Tengu. "Does doesn''t this look familiar?" One of the guards mutters. "It does!" Another guard nods. "It''s simr to the ability Izuna-sama used, though at that time Izuna-sama''s avatar was much bigger." Another guard remarks. "Yes, Izuna-sama was my inspiration. It was part of the reason I joined the military." Another young guard mutters. "The sight of that giant de culling through that hoard of monsters is still engraved in my mind." The young guard adds. All the guards agree with him. That was truly an unforgettable moment in their life; a sight they will never forget for the rest of their life. The giant Tengu wields a purple katana in both of its hands. RROOARRR The sea serpent roars at her and releases a barrage of energy attacks toward the half-body Susanoo. "Lightning Release: Eye of the Stormy Judgement," Two more arms appear from Tengu''s back. A giant lightning eye formed in a halo made from the Mitsudomoe. The giant arms plunge their hands into the lightning eye and pull out bolts of lightning from them. They rapidly shoot these lightning bolts toward the iing projectiles and diffuse them. RRROOOAAARRR The giant sea serpent roars again and ejects the bony protrusions on its back toward the Susanoo. HAAAHH "Swift execution," The Susanoo swings its katana and easily deflects all the bony protrusions. RRROOOAAARRR The giant sea serpent slips into the water and circles below Izumi. It quickly erects a barrier and hides its presence. "It can even conceal its presence." Izumi is slightly surprised. However, she soon calms down and focuses her attention on the surroundings. Soon, "Found you!" The two gigantic hands-on Susanoo''s back wield a giant lightning bolt. "It''s not much of a surprise if you only have one ce to attack." Chapter 439: Izumi Vs Umihebi part-2 Chapter 439: Izumi Vs Umihebi part-2 The two arms on Susanoo''s back hold a gigantic bolt of lightning. "Lighting Release: Lightning Thunderp!" As soon as Izumi notices some ripples and movement on the sea surface, she ms the gigantic lightning bolt. BOOM A pir of water rises in the sky, followed by a chaotic surge of the purple lightning storm. GYAAAAANNN The sea serpent releases an agonizing scream as the lightning bolt stuns it at a ce. Crack crack The horn on its forehead shatters and it wreathes on the sea surface in pain. Dark red, sinister chakra seeps from its body. Red lightning flickers across its body, causing it to mutate even further. "I won''t let you!" The Susanoo wields the giant de. Rumble Rumble Lighting clouds gather in the sky and a bolt of purple lightingnds on the tip of the de. "Raikou: 3rdForm Musou Isshin," She vertically swings the de and cleaves the head of the snake from its neck. The sinister chakra around its body dissipates, and the red lighting on its body disperses. The crimson eyes of the monster turn green and slowly return to their previous state. Izumi dispels her Susanoo and flickers towards the port. "It''s over!" She mutters to Kei and vanishes from the spot. "Thank you so much!" Kei thank the empty space in front of him. Whoosh A gentle breeze passes by and ruffles the few strands of hairs remaining on his forehead. Ahem Kei clears his throat to break the awkward silence. "The monster is dead. It''s time for the celebration." He announces. "Now that''s what we are talking about!" An uproar of celebratory cheers and victorious screams echoes across the port. "Before that, don''t forget to collect the body of the monster. It''s now a property of the Trinity Corporation. And depending on its value, all of you might get a bonus." Kei deres. "Captain, you are the best!" The guards cheer for him. "Hehe it''s still not toote to realize that." Kei smugly strokes the hairs on his head. "" ------------------- Back at the resort, ''I still don''t have perfect control over my Susanoo and I can only maintain it for three minutes before I copse from the burden of my eyes.'' Izumi sighs and flickers towards the resort. She appears beside Tsunade and reports. "Ipleted your order, Hokage-sama!" "Well done! You must be exhausted after the battle. Go and take a rest." Tsunade nods and sends her away to rest as she notices the slight dizziness in Izumi''s tone. One of the maids leads Izumi to her room. "Hmm where are the kids? They aren''t here yet." Kushina looks around in worry. "They might be ying around somewhere. Besides, it''s not like something will happen to them. Those kids have grown up and are quite capable. They can take care of themselves." Minato assures her. "Minato is right! Besides, they can always use the flying thunder jutsu seal on them to escape in case of any troublesome situation." Tsunade agrees with Minato. "Mm you are right. But still, I can''t help but worry." Kushina shakes her head. "Kushina-san, please follow us. We will show you around the Uzu n and will also discuss our Fuinjutsu techniques with you." Akari asks Kushina. Minato also follows after them. "Since I have nothing to do, I will explore the market and look for some native nts and herbs in this ce. Perhaps I might find something interesting here." A few maids escort Tsunade to the market. Kakashi also somehow vanishes to find some interesting books in the town. Ao and Chojuro also leave the resort to search for some specialties to bring back to the vige. Since Kiri is too far from Redaku and there are no direct trade routes; they want to bring some Redaku products back to the vige. "I am quite exhausted from the trip. I will take a rest." Mei walks towards her room. "Lady Mei, please wait!" Viktor stops her. "What''s the matter?" Mei turns towards him. "Ummdy Mei. Izuna-sama left something for you, before hisst two years ago. He asked me to pass it to you or Ayaka, in case anyone of you shows up." Mei patiently waits for Viktor as thetter return with an ancient wooden box in his hand. Mei holds the strange wooden box in her hand and looks at it in puzzlement. There are multiple strange carvings, fuinjutsu seals, and runes on the box. "How do I open this?" She asks. "Umm I am not sure. Izuna-sama only left a message: Pass this box to Ayaka, and it will open itself at the right ce and moment." "Is that all?" "Yes, that''s what he said!" "Alright! Thanks for your help." Mei curiously stares at the weird box in her hand. "What even is the use of this box?" She flips it around for a few minutes, infuses her chakra in it, and even drips a drop of blood on it. But the box doesn''t show any reaction. "Is it just a normal wooden box? Or is it one of those prank boxes from Izuna?" Mei recalls a prank gift box from Izuna. It was her birthday and Izuna gave a wrapped gift box to her. When she opened the box, a creepy doll leaped out of it and licked her box. That incident almost gave her a heart attack. Of course, as a punishment; Izuna has to sleep on the couch for next week. "That Izuna!" She chuckles and stores the box in her storage. "Huh!" The wooden box teleports out of her storage. "What? How did ite out?" Mei attempts again, but the result is the same. "So, I can''t store this box in spatial storage. Now, that''s interesting. Looks like this isn''t a normal box. I don''t have much information about the Fuinjutsu techniques. I will ask Kushina and Minato-santer." Mei carries the box into her room. Meanwhile, in the n library of the Uzu n, Akari and Yuji present various scrolls and writing with their unique style of Fuinjutsu to Kushina and Minato. "Incredible! These techniques are quite incredible." Kushina reads the scrolls like a nerd. "It reminds me of the days I spent with Grandma Mito. That was the first time I started learning the Fuinjutsu techniques." Kushina absorbs the knowledge of all scrolls like a sponge. "Although, the fuinjutsu techniques of the Uzumaki n and the Uzu n have the same origin. Both of them diverge in their path. These runes in the barrier skill, this modification in the sealing formations" Kushina immerses herself in the scrolls of the Uzu n. "Ahehe" Minato stares at her enthusiastic expression. "Lady Akari, this is for you." He passes a bunch of scrolls with the Uzumaki n technique and his insights on Fuinjutsu. "Thanks for your generosity." Akari epts the scrolls and passes them to Yuri. "Izuna-sama also taught us a lot of things. With this, we might be able to improve our skills in Fuinjutsu and perhaps seal some of the troublesome sea creatures." "Oh Akari-san! Who was the person that erected the barrier outside the Redaku? That''s an extremely powerful andplex barrier." Minato asks, out of sheer curiosity. Unlike Izuna, who is able to determine the nature of the barrier, with a nce and knowledge; Minatocks the necessary tools and knowledge to understand the purpose of the barrier. Still, his instinct as a Fuinjutsu grandmaster hinted to him of the advanced nature of the barrier. "Umm Minato-san, we don''t know the exact person who erected that barrier. However, there are some folklore and legends of a God who took shelter in this ce a few millennia ago. It was God who sealed and isted this ce from the rest of the world. It''s said that the members of the royal family are guardians appointed by God to monitor the monsters in this ce. However, that''s just some baseless rumors spread by the royal family to elevate their position in the hearts of the people. The current royal family is nothing like the one described in the legends. Rather than the guardians, they are more like the worst adversary of the Redaku." Akari sighs and shakes her head. "Still, there is some information about the origin of Fuinjutsu techniques in our n. It is said that the Kenshiro-sama explored some ancient ruins and found some ancient scripts of Fuinjutsu and the records of a powerful ritual. He simplified the Fuinjutsu records and modified the ritual to create the summoning seal. Most of our records are missing and we don''t have much information regarding theter life of Kenshiro-sama." "Hmm I see. Thanks for the information!" Minato expresses his gratitude and picks up a book from the library of the Uzu n. Akari and Yuri also sit at a nearby study table to read the scrolls and insights provided by Minato. Chapter 440: Niji Jellyfish Chapter 440: Niji Jellyfish Later at night. Hmm Minato, Kushina, Tsunade, and Mei stare at the clock with worry. "It''s already 11 p.m. Why are those kids not back yet?" Kushina walks back and forth at the entrance with worry. "My subordinates couldn''t track any trace of them in the town." Viktor shakes his head. "Will they be alright?" Kushina bites her lips. Hmm "They are back!" Tsunade, Minato, and Kushina turn towards the entrance. "Your worry was unfounded." Tsunade chuckles. "That was very intense." "Yeah! I thought I was about to die there." "I ran out of chakra and was about to get eaten. It was thanks to Naruto-kun, I survived." "I didn''t even break a sweat." "Ugh I won''t eat any seafood for the next few weeks. I don''t even want any seaweed in my ramen. I had enough of it." The kids ramble amongst each other. EEEPPP "Ryu was a good boy. He did well!" Ayaka pats Ryu''s head. EEEPPP "Yup! Yup! Ryu is the best." Ayaka nods. "Hey, Ayaka! You can understand what he is saying?" Hanabi asks him. "Of course, Ryu uses telepathy to talk with me." Ayaka strokes Ryu''s head. "Hnnn I also want to talk to him." Hanabi rigorously stares into Ryu''s eyes. EEEPPP Ryu hides behind Ayaka. "He is saying, he can only talk with me. He can''t talk with you all." "That''s a bummer. I also want to talk with him." Naruto clicks his tongue. "You guys, why are you sote?" Kushina feigns anger and res at the group. "And also what''s with this appearance of yours? Why do all of your looks so tatter? Did you pick a fight with someone?" Kushina questions them. "Mom, we fought some weird sea monsters while exploring the sea with Ryu." Naruto simplifies his tale. "Naruto I don''t think fighting hundred of monsters is the same as fighting only some monsters." Sakura and the rest of the group sigh. "It was a tough battle!" Sasuke remarks. "So, will any of you properly exin the situation?" "Yes, I will do!" Ayaka takes the lead. "We went on a quick trip to stare at the fascinating sight of the reservoir''s bottom with Ryu. While sightseeing, we came across a flock of jellyfish with rainbow lights. So, we thought of bringing a few as a souvenir to the vige. However, those jellyfish were swimming way too fast, and before we knew, we were in the depths of the ocean." "Did you catch those jellyfish?" Tsunade curiously asks her. "We did!" Ayaka nods. "So, where are they? I want to see them." Tsunade adds. "I am also curious about their appearance. Perhaps we can add them to our aquarium." Mei also expresses her interest. "Alright, I will show them to you!" Ayaka stretches her hand and summons a small jellyfish with glowing RGB lights from the sin seal''s space. Normal storage can''t store any living object since the pocket space inside them isn''t stable to sustain life. However, sin has an entire dimension within it. This space is simr to Kamui and thus is capable of storing living objects. PYUU PYUU The jellyfish stare around in confusion and p its tentacles to search for water. "Oops I almost forgot about it!" Ayaka waves her hand and creates a small floating water bubble to cover the jellyfish. The jellyfish circles around in the small globule of water. "So pretty!" Kushina, Tsunade, and Mei are star-struck by the jellyfish''s appearance. They tickle and poke the head of the jellyfish. The jellyfish waves its tentacles in annoyance. Even Akari and Yuri are attracted by the sight of the jellyfish. "Oh my! This is a Niji jellyfish. It''s a very rare species of jellyfish and is hardly spotted in the entirety of the Redaku Ocean. These jellyfishes have a very high demand and are quite popr, especially among the nobles and royals. Since these jellyfishes swim at an incredibly high speed while underwater and are only found at the depths of the ocean. Due to this reason, these jellyfishes are very hard to catch. Not many people risk their lives to catch them since the Redaku ocean is filled with dangerous sea monsters. You kids were very lucky to catch one, since the value of this jellyfish can''t be judged with money. But if I have to put a price on its head, then it costs somewhere around two to three billion Ryu." Akari exins to them. "What? So costly!" Sakura, Hanabi, and Yakumo gasps. "Mm how many ramen bowls can I buy with that money?" Naruto counts on his finger. "" The group speechlessly stares at him for his ridiculous thought. "You can eat a bowl of ramen each hour, every day for the rest of your life, and still have enough money to take a round trip across the shinobi world," Sasuke exins to Naruto. "Woah! That''s a lot of money." The small jellyfish turn into a mountain of ramen in Naruto''s eyes. "I don''t think as Izuna-sama''s sister youck money. Still, this is quite a sight of an ornamental fish. It''s pretty good to even catch one." Akari nods at Ayaka. The rest of the kids stare at Ayaka in surprise. "Umm actually, this isn''t the only Niji jellyfish I caught." Swoosh Ayaka waves her hand and a giant water bubble with around twenty-thirty Niji jellyfish floats in front of them. "Oh, my Sea Lord!" Akari''s and Yuri''s eyes widen to the core. "With these many fish, you can buy the entire Shirodo town," Akari exims. "I don''t need money, since I earn a lot of money even without doing anything." Ayaka shakes her head. She separates five jellyfish from the giant globe of water and sends them toward Yuri. "I will give them to you people as a present since you help Nii-sama with troublesome things." Viktor hurriedly rushes towards the corner. He quickly empties a giant water tank. Ayaka transfers the jellyfish inside the water tank. Viktor makes some hand seals to erect a barrier around the tank. Not only that, he pastes a few talismans on the barrier to fortify it. "" The shinobi group silently stares at his action of preserving a treasure. "Later, I will transfer them to the main tank of the resort and will fortify it with five no ten barriers. Only that way would it remain safe from thieving hands." Viktor gently ces the water tank on the nearby table. The shinobi group could only silently acknowledge his words. "That''s lots of ramen floating in there!" Naruto drools at the sight of those jellyfish. "Pfft Haha at least someone here isn''t swayed by the appeal of money." The group burst out inughter. "Hey, ramen takes priority over ramen!" Naruto remarks. "But Naruto, you can''t buy ramen without money. So shouldn''t money be greater?" Sakura remarks. "Hmm now that I think about it. That does make sense." Naruto enters in deep thought. Ayaka stores the Niji jellyfish in her pocket space. "Alright, enough of that! Let''s hear the rest of the story." Minato silences everyone. "Ahem so where was I? Ah yes after we saw a vast flock of Niji jellyfish, we chased them to the bottom of the ocean. These jellyfishes were very fast but Ryu was faster. So, we were easily able to catch up with them. I had a fishing in my storage. So, I took it out and caught all of them in one fell swoop. These jellyfishes are immune to genjutsu, so it''s very hard to tame them. But once they are inside my pocket dimension, they turned very docile. After capturing them, we realized we were very far from the town. But Ryu remembered the way, so it wasn''t a big deal to return to the town." Ayaka pats Ryu''s head in praise. EEEPP Ryu rubs its face against Ayaka. "However, before we could return, we saw a gigantic shadow quickly swimming in the direction of the town. Sasuke Nii-san and I noticed its appearance. It was a giant blue sea serpent with a bony frill around its neck. It had a creepy bony protrusion on its back." Ayaka exins the appearance of the sea monster. "Isn''t that the sea serpent I fought with earlier?" Izumi walks towards the group. "Oh hi Izumi sensei! Where were you? We didn''t see you earlier." Yakumo asks her. "I was slightly exhausted after my battle with the giant sea serpent you mentioned now," Izumi replies. "Was it powerful?" Hanabi asks in curiosity. "Hmm it isn''t as powerful as a tailed-beast. But it had the ability to transform. I beat it in its second transformation. Also, before it could enter into its third transformation, I chopped its head." Izumi makes a cutthroat gesture. "Wow, Sensei is amazing!" Hanabi and Yakumo praise her. "Of course!" Izumi smugly puffs out her chest. "Oh, what''s that shiny thing floating in front of you?" Izumi notices the lone floating Niji jellyfish around Ayaka. PYUUNN The jellyfish turn towards Izumi in confusion. It lifts one of its tentacles and rubs its head in confusion. "KAWAII!!" Stars appear in Izumi''s eyes. She quickly dashes towards the jellyfish and tickles it with her fingers. "What''s its name?" She asks. "Umm" Ayaka thinks for a while. PYYUUNN The jellyfish also turn towards Ayaka. "It''s Pyunmaru!" Ayaka replies with a smile. "" The rest of the people almost fall to the ground while the jellyfish drops its head in disappointment. "It''s a good name!" Only Izumi nods her head and tickles the jellyfish. "" Chapter 441: Not so peaceful Redaku Chapter 441: Not so peaceful Redaku Ahem Minato clears his throat to get their attention. "Ayaka-chan, what happened next?" "Ah yes yes Ryu was quite afraid of thatrge monster. So, we quickly hid away. A few minutester, after that giant serpent swam by, smaller sea serpents appeared. We figured that these monsters are about to attack the town. So, we engaged them in battle. But there were too many of them. There were almost two to three hundred of those small sea monsters. So, we spent the entire day battling those monsters. It was a very hard battle, and we ran out of chakra multiple times. But thanks to Naruto Nii-san transferring some of his chakra to us, we were able to fight those monsters and kill all of them." "Hehe!" A gloating smile appears on Naruto''s face. "Hundreds of sea monsters!" Akari and Viktor''s face turn pale. "Were they preparing for a siege in the town? If so many monsters did a surprise attack on the town, then I am afraid a lot of people would have lost their life." Akari heaves a sigh of relief and stares at the group of kids in amazement. ''Even their kids are so amazing!'' "Naruto, did you learn the chakra transfer technique?" Kushina asks him. "Yeah, everyone was running out of chakra while fighting so many monsters and using so many jutsus. So, I borrowed some chakra from Kurama. When I saw him passing his chakra to me, I thought perhaps I could also do the same. So, I tried transferring my chakra, and it worked." ''This Naruto he does the most amazing things in a most simplistic way.'' Kakashi and the rest of the people who are aware of the difficulty of the technique sighs. ''Come to think of it, it took him slightly over six months to learn Rasengan and add nature transformation to it. While I almost spent two years trying to add the nature transformation to Rasengan and failed. In the end, I had to create Chidori to replicate the process of nature transformation. There is noparison at all. My students have already left me in the dust.'' Kakashi sighs. Minato, while gazing at the group, notices the gloom on Kakashi''s face. He walks towards Kakashi and pats his shoulder. "Kakashi!" "Sensei!" Kakashi turns towards Minato. "Follow me! I want to talk about something with you." "Yes, sensei!" Minato walks towards the balcony. "Sensei, what do you want to talk with me?" Sigh "Kakashi, I somehow understand your sentiment." A bitter smile appears on Minato''s face. "It''s not that we aren''t good enough. It''s just that the surrounding kids are too abnormal. The talent of this generation is way too highpared to the previous generation." "Sensei. You must be talking about Izuna, right? He did indeed surpass you when he was just 15 years old, the same age as these kids. But isn''t that a good thing? This way they will ensure a secure future for Konoha?" Kakashi remarks. "You are right! At least, we have someone to rely on in the future. So, to secure that future, we have to guide them on the proper path. Ain''t I right?" Minato faintly smiles at Kakashi''s remarks. "I see. Thank you, Sensei!" Kakashi bows and return to the rest of the group. Minato raises his head and stares at the vast sky while lost in thoughts. The prophecy of the Great Toad Sage echoes in his mind. ''I hope the future won''t be as bleak as the toad sage made it out to be.'' He sighs. ------------------- Next day in the morning, Akari arranges a meeting with the mayor for the adult shinobis while the kids tour the vige, with Yuri as their guide. The meeting will take ce in one of the meeting rooms of the resort. Soon, the meeting time approaches, and the mayor arrives with a few security guards. Uzu n members escort him to the meeting room. "I am notte, am I?" The mayor enters the room and bows to the group in respect. The shinobi group inspects the mayor from head to toe. The mayor is a stout, middle-aged man dressed in a white shirt and a ck haori. He has a bald head with some hairs on the sides. The mayor sports a pencil mustache and holds a fan covering his mouth. "No no It''s us who are early." Minato waves his hand in pleasantry. "Please take a seat!" Akari points towards a nearby seat. The mayor makes himselffortable on the seat, and the meeting finally starts with three partaking parties, the shinobis, the Uzu n, and the Mayor. "Let''s begin the meeting!" Akari, who is the host of the meeting, deres. "Before we start our discussion, let me introduce myself." The mayor takes the initiative. "I am Haruomi Adachi, from the Adachi family in the capital. My family holds the position of Viscount. Initially, I would inherit the title, however, I offended the royal family and was thus banished from the family and transferred to this ce. It has been twenty years since that incident. Initially, I had some hope; but after spending a few years at this ce; I settled here since this ce is free from the influence of the capital." The mayor remarks. Then, the shinobi group also introduces themselves together with their position. Although the mayor was already aware of their identities through the intel provided by his subordinates, he still decided to hear them out of etiquette. "So, Adachi-san, why would call a meeting with us? Depending on your request, we might reject you since the shinobi world is in the middle of a war." Minato reveals a piece of crucial information to the mayor to prevent thetter from harboring any thoughts. "A war?" Even Akari and Viktor are surprised by this information. "But we didn''t hear anything about it from our people in the shinobi world," Akari mutters. Hmm Minato narrows his eyes. ''As I suspected, they do have people in the shinobi world. Perhaps it was Izuna who agreed to it and those subordinates of hers might be keeping a very low profile.'' "Umm we do have a few subordinates in the shinobi world, but those are nothing more than the small guards or mercenaries that protect our trade routes." Akari rifies herself to prevent any misunderstanding. No leader likes an invisible spy in their territory. "I see!" Minato nods at her. "Well we are indeed in the middle of a war, but it has yet to be announced to the rest of the people. Only the leaders of various countries know about the details. And our current objective is to hold a summit and discuss the strategy for the war. It''s also at this meeting that we might make a deration of war." Minato replies with a tense voice. So, Adachi-san, what kind of request do you have?" Minato turns to the mayor. "Umm previously, I requested Izuna-san to allow us trade rights in the shinobi world. The Shirodo town is pretty much isted even in Redaku. So, it''s quite to hard get supplies and other unique products. However, thanks to Izuna-san''s help, the economy of Shirodo town sky-rocketed, and even the living condition of the people improved. Now, I would like to request services from the shinobis." The mayor states his request. "Hmm your request is feasible, but Redaku might lose the peace it has been maintaining for centuries. And that''s not the major issue. Once the news about Redaku gets leaked to the rest of the shinobi world; some smaller ambitious shinobi countries might attack this ce out of their greed for resources. No even the five hidden nations might make a move to get their hands on this giant piece of cake called Redaku. So, unfortunately, I can''t agree with your request." Minato shakes his head. "Umm but Lord Hokage, Redaku isn''t as peaceful as you think it is? Some of the ambitious nobles are nning to attack the shinobi territories." "Hmm what do you mean?" The expression of Minato and the rest of the shinobi changes. "Adachi, what do you mean?" Akari stands up from her ce. Sigh "The situation is a bitplex. So, I will shed some light on the previous incident. A few years ago, five to be precise, the king and his brother, who was a duke, were engaged in a power struggle. However, the power struggle ended with the abrupt death of the king. Later, the only son of the king took over his position despite the opposition from the duke''s side. Later, the duke and his family also died a mysterious death. Recently, it was revealed that it was the prime minister who was behind the abrupt death of the previous king and the duke. Currently, the prime minister holds enough power and influence in the capital, but his position as the king can''t be solidified since he isn''t from the Royal bloodline. The situation became worse when the current king abruptly got his hands on the lost artifact of the Sage. This solidified the position of the current king in the hearts of the people. However, the prime minister didn''t give up and challenged the king''s authority by asking him to demonstrate the power of the Shuigu." "That''s quite aplicated situation." Kakashi remarks. "If it was this, then the current king might retain his position. However, the situation doesn''t end here." The mayor clutches his bald head. "There is more!" Tsunade, who is interested in soap operas, curiously listens to the story. Chapter 442: Departure from Redaku Chapter 442: Departure from Redaku "Yes, although the current king was able to secure the lost sacred artifact Shuigu, the method to activate and use its power was lost ages ago. So, the current Shuigu was nothing more than a fancy wand with no use." "Oh! So, what happened next? Did the prime minister make a move on the king?" Kushina asks, out of curiosity. "No! Instead, the prime minister somehow found a young man with a royal bloodline. The young man imed that his grandfather was a prince who was exiled from the royal family. The royal family traced their ancestor tree and found the records of the banishment of a young prince. The young prince, who was presumed to be dead somehow survived and even gave birth to an heir." "So, did the prime minister assassinate the king or did the king send assassins to kill that young man?" Tsunade questions. "Well nothing of that sort happened." The mayor sweatdrops at her remark. "Though there was a fire in the king''s chamber; the king was escorted to safety before any threat to his life. The next day, the royal guards assessed the situation and a tally of lost items were made." "So, someone stole that artifact," Mei remarks. "Ah!" The mayor is surprised. "Indeed!" He nods in affirmation. "The king med the prime minister for thievery and thetter denied the im. However, one of the prime minister''s men informed him about the missing young man. Apparently, a few people spotted a cloaked figure with a staff fleeing out of the capital." "So, the young man with ties to the royal family stole the artifact." Minato remarks. "Yes, the young man not only possesses the artifact; he even knows the method to wield it. He flooded the soldiers and guards chasing after him and escaped to the Tataru Mountain range." The mayor ends the narration. "Hmm a Six of Sage Path artifact with the power to produce unlimited water. Indeed, in the wrong hands, it could be catastrophic to the world." Minato ponders. ''There are records of the Six Paths Sacred Treasures in the shinobi world. ording to the records, there are a total of five-six path sacred treasures called Bashsen, Benihisago, Kohaku no Jhei, Kkinj, and Shichiseiken. Previously, all of these treasures were in the possession of the Kumogakure and were passed down the lineage of the Raikage as an heirloom. These ninja tools were so powerful that any ordinary shinobi couldpare surpass the Kages after wielding them. However, the shinobi will eventually die from chakra exhaustion. It''s part of the reason, these shinobi tools barely made any mark on history. However, they made their reappearance before the first shinobi war. The infamous gold and silver brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku stole four of the five six-path sacred treasures and assaulted the second Raikage and Hokage during the peace pact to stage a coup d''etat. With their overwhelming powers, they almost brought the second hokage to the brink of death. They were condemned for their disgraceful actions. However, the two brothers escaped with the four six-path sacred treasures. Now, Kumo is in the possession of thest remaining six-path treasure Kohaku no Jhei which was frequently used by the Third Raikage to seal a rampaging Eight-tails before searching for a suitable jinchuruki. The Six paths sage created those five sacred treasures during his adulthood and he created the Shuigu during hister years. This means that Shuigu possesses much more power than the other five six paths sacred treasures. So, based on this spection; we can only assume that it indeed possesses enough power to flood the entire shinobi world.'' "Minato! What''s the matter?" Tsunade notices the worry on Minato''s face. "It''s nothing!" Minato nces at Tsunade and shakes his head in Mayor''s direction as a signal. He turns to the mayor. "Alright, Adachi-san, we ept your proposal. However, we will filter the missions and won''t partake in any missions, which might result in a conflict between the two ces. Also, since it''s such a big decision; we will discuss it with the elder council of the vige and will decide the terms of our agreement." Minato agrees to the mayor''s request. "I have no problem with these conditions." The mayor agrees with Minato''s terms. "Then, I hope for friendly cooperation." Minato shakes hands with the mayor. "Thank you so much, Hokage-sama!" The mayor bows to the group and takes his leave. After the mayor leaves the meeting room, Tsunade turns to Minato. "What''s the matter Minato? We would like to hear the details." Tsunade voices her concern. "Then we will take my leave." Akari and Viktor vacate the room, leaving only the shinobi group in the room. "I am not worried about the cooperation, but rather the nature of that artifact," Minato exins the situation to them. "Hmm indeed! This is slightly worrisome. Too much power in the hands of a fool could lead to a catastrophic oue. So, should we send a secret group to oversee the situation? Also, if possible, we should seize the artifact and seal it." Kushina remarks. "That might be troublesome. If the people of Redaku discovered the involvement of shinobi, then this might ruin the rtionship between the two sides." Tsunade assesses the severity of the situation. "Yes, Tsunade-san is right! So, to lower the possibility of such a scenario, we have to send our elite members to perform the task." Mei adds. "Hmm" Minato enters in deep thought with a frown. After a few minutes, the frown on his face disappears. "Looks like you have reached a conclusion." Tsunade smiles. "Yes, I n to" Minato erects a barrier and narrates his n to the group. --------------------- Later the next day, The shinobi group boards their ship and departs for the Land of Iron from the port of Donut ind. "See you soon, Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto and Sakura wave their hand at Kakashi who is staying at the port. Their ship is escorted by two cargo ships with the Trinity corporation symbol. The guards also wave at Izumi. "Farewell, Goddess Izumi-sama!" "Eh? Goddess!" The rest of the group turns to Izumi with a smile. "Looks like someone else other than Izuna amassed enough poprity in this foreignnd to get a stone statue in the town square. "Izumi as a Goddess! I can totally see it." Mei remarks with a smile. "Don''t tease me like that, Mei-san!" Izumi''s face turns red in embarrassment. "Oh! Soon, Itachi will visit this ce. I wonder what will be his reaction when he sees your statue in the town square." She continues her teasing. "Ah! I am so embarrassed to even think about it." Izumi covers her face. Yesterday, during the meeting "So, Minato, you want Kakashi to stay behind in Redaku as part of our deal with the mayor?" Tsunade asks him. "Mmter, I will send an urgent order to the anbus in Konoha to select their member and send an elite force to Redaku. Kakashi will rendezvous with them and exin the details of the mission to them." "Hmm so Kakashi will not only act as the intermediary between the twonds, but also a spy to collect the information of Redaku and the Shuigu. Later, the anbus will carry out the mayor''s bidding under the guise of help; but will secretly gather intel about Shuigu and its current location." Tsunade continues. "That''s what I am nning? The situation in the shinobi world is vtile enough. I don''t want to see Redaku add more fuel to the mes. So, we must take the initiative." ''Hmm makes sense." Kushina agrees with him. "Alright, then" Minato exins the details of the mission to Kakashi. Thetter also offers a few suggestions. "Kakashi, you will overlook this mission for the time being. I will summon you to Konoha during any emergency or once the Fourth Shinobi war breaks out." "I understand, Sensei!" Kakashi waves at the departing group. Once the ship disappears from his vision, he turns towards the escorts on his side. "Please!" The escorts gesture to him. "Alright, then escort me to Aduchi-san!" Chapter 443: Kage Summit Part-1 Chapter 443: Kage Summit Part-1 "I have never been to the Land of Iron. I am so excited!" Hanabi is excited as the ship nears thend. "There is nothing special about it!" Tsunade scoffs. "Huh? Why?" "What''s it like, Tsunade baa-san?" Naruto asks her. "Thend of Iron lies among three mountains known as the Three wolves and shares a border with the Land of Medicine. It has its own culture, its own jurisdiction, a powerful military, and maintains neutrality." Minato answers him. "Huh?! If it has its own culture and power, then what makes it different from the rest of the nations?" Sakura questions. "There is a longstanding rule that shinobis will not meddle with this nation. This rule was established during the Warring Era. It''s part of the reason this nation doesn''t rely on shinobis. Instead, it is protected by thebatants known as Samurai." "Samurai? Like the one from stories." Yakumo asks him. "Yes, those samurai. They are a group ofbatants who enhance their body using chakra rather than expelling it out of their body. Samurais wear heavy, segmented te armor to cover their entire body. They are skilled in the arts of various weapons and channel chakra into their weapons to fight. Their physical attributes are superior to shinobi and it will be a foolish decision for any shinobi to challenge them in closebat since they can draw their de faster than the hand signs of a shinobi." Tsunade exins the abilities of samurais. "Woah! They sound quite cool." Naruto remarks. "Well, the fighting style of samurais isn''t ideal for shinobis since the heavy armor restricts the movements and thus the samurais tend to be less agile. A shinobi can easily escape from the pursuit of a samurai." Minato dashes his hope. "Finally, the ship docks on the port of Land of Iron." Swoosh Chill pervades the surroundings. A st of cold air greets the group in the face. Brr Naruto, Sakura, and the rest of the group shiver from the cold. "Why didn''t anyone tell me that it will be so cold here?" Naruto rubs his hands to warm them. "I was expecting such a situation. So, I came prepared." Tsunade, Minato, and Kushina take out warm cloaks made of snow bear from their storage. They pass these cloaks to the rest of the group. "Wear these! It will protect you from the cold. Also, there is a fuinjutsu seal on it to regte your body temperature. Just channel your chakra into it." Kushina exins the functions of the cloak. The group quickly covers their body with the cloak and infuse their chakra in it to warm their body. "Much better!" Ayaka opens her palm. Snow falls on her palm and melts. "But what about Mei Nee-san?" Ayaka asks her. "Don''t worry, I already gave it to her. Her group will arrive an hourter than us. It might lead to unnecessary gossip if both our groups arrive at the same time." Kushina exins to her. Hmm The group turns towards a group of samurais walking towards them. "Hokage-sama, please follow us!" A samurai with horns on his helmet greets them. "Please!" Minato issues some instructions to the captain of the ship and the group follows the samurais. "Lord Mifune has been waiting for you. Your group is the secondst to arrive." The samurai captain informs them. "Hmm who was the first group to arrive and when did theye?" Minato asks him. "It was Lord Tsuchikage''s group who arrived before everyone else. They have been waiting for other for the past four days. The next group to arrive was Lord Kazekage''s group three days ago, followed by Lord Raikage''s group two days ago." The samurai informs them. "Heh so that muscle brain Raikage somehow made it on time." Tsunade mocks the Raikage. The samurais escort them through the town. Soon, they arrive at the foothill of a small hill. "We have been awaiting your arrival, Hokage-sama!" An old man in his early sixties greets them. He has long, grey hair almost reaching down to his waist, with bandages wrapped around his head. He has ck eyes with distinct wrinkles underneath them, a grey goatee, and a mustache. He wears a simple purple kimono with ck sandals. "My name is Mifune, a general of the Land of Iron." Mifune introduces himself. Two bodyguards with simr outfits stand beside him. Tsunade steps forward and greets him. "It''s a pleasure to meet you. I am Tsunade Senju, the fifth Hokage of Konoha." "Please follow us to the inn. Some hot tea and coffee will warm you up in this cold weather" Mifune pauses as he stares at the condition of the Konoha shinobis. "Looks like that will be unnecessary, but still please allow us to show our hospitality." "Very well!" Tsunade and the rest of the group follow after him. The group enters the inn. The inn is quiterge, with various residential facilities split into different buildings. Mifune leads them towards one of the buildings as he exins. "This is a special inn built to entertain and host foreign delegations." The group enters the inn. Tsunade turns to Kushina and Izumi and signals them. Both nod their head and inspect every corner of the inn with their eyes and chakra while Minato, Tsunade, and the rest of the group silently sit in the hall. Mifune doesn''t pay any attention to them since he knew it is a part of the custom to thoroughly inspect the residential ce while staying in a foreignnd. "We are sorry for the intrusion!" Minato apologizes to him. "It''s fine, Lord Fourth." Mifune waves his hand. A few secondster, a maid serves some tea and coffee to the group as Izumi and Kushina return after the inspection. Sasuke and the rest of the teen group walk upstairs while dragging Naruto as a tacit understanding. "Hmm Mifune-dono, so would you shed some light on tomorrow''s arrangements for the Kage Summit." Tsunade turns to Mifune. "Yes, Hokage-sama. That''s the reason I am here. The meeting will be held at the facility on the top of this hill. There is a staircase leading to the meeting ce in front of every building. Only three people from each vige can participate in the building, the Kage and his two bodyguards. If any party vites this rule or if someone unrted to the meeting attempts to infiltrate the ce, they will be executed without any excuses. Weapons are allowed during the meeting. However, we will prefer if there is no violence during the meeting. Also, I will be the overseer of the meeting, and I will dere the start and the end of the Kage Summit. The meeting will continue until the majority of the vige reaches amon consensus. However," Mifune raises his head and stares at the group. "If there are some unique circumstances involved then, the final decision will lie in my hands and themon decision of the five viges will be void." Mifune continues to exin one rule after another. "That''s all!" He ends the discussion. "Very well! We will follow your arrangement since that''s what all of us five great nations agreed upon." Minato nods at him. While the group is discussing with Mifune, a samurai enters the room. One of Mifune''s guards, who is standing beside him, walks towards the Samurai. The samurai whispers something in the guard''s ear. The guard returns to his position and reports to Mifune in a low voice. Hmm Mifune turns towards Tsunade. "Pardon my discourtesy, but something came up." "We understand!" Tsunade nod in affirmation. Mifune leaves the inn building with his bodyguards. "Looks like Mei is here!" Kushina remarks. Sigh Tsunade heaves a sigh of relief and sprawls on the table. "These delegation meetings are such a headache." She waves her hand and pulls out a sake bottle from her storage. Gulp gulp She chugs down a mouthful of the alcohol. Haah "I wish I could leave these troublesome things to others. After this war, I will retire from this position." "Tsunade Nee-san, no drinking!" Kushina snatches the bottle with a scary smile on her face. "Tch what a bother!" She harrumphs and turns away. "Hey, Minato! Why don''t you take back your position as the Hokage after the war is over? You had the shortest tenure of all Hokage." Tsunade asks Minato. Minato raises his head and stares at the ceiling. "I already fulfilled my dream of being a hokage and now I am not interested in the position. I would rather pass this position to a worthy sessor." Minato shakes his head. "Oh! Do you have someone in mind?" Tsunade asks him. "Well Izuna is the best candidate, but knowing him, he will outright refuse me." "That''s right! It''s just like him." Kushina chuckles. "Also, Mei won''t allow it. She wants to retire from her position as a Kage and spend time with her family. "So that only leaves the other option as my only choice." "Huh who is it?" Tsunade curiously asks him. "It''s Itachi Uchiha." "Itachi?" "Yes, Itachi! He is the most suitable candidate after Izuna. Also, it will ease the bitter feelings of the Uchiha n towards the vige." "Hmm that makes sense." Chapter 444: Kage Summit Part-2 Chapter 444: Kage Summit Part-2 Next day in the morning, The Kage group walks out of their living quarters. "It''s about time!" Minato stares at the giant pagoda in front of him with narrowed eyes. Tsunade takes the leading position, followed by Minato and Izumi. Yesterday, after Mifune''s departure, they decided to let Minato and Izumi participate as Hokage''s bodyguards. Kushina and the rest of the group left early to sightsee thendscape of the Land of Iron. "It''s huge!" Izumi stares at the peak of the giant pagoda. "Not only that, it''s tightly secured!" She remarks. "Yes, I can sense around three hundred samurai''s chakras in that building." "Three hundred! So many." Izumi is surprised. "Also, around five hundred samurais are patrolling this area." Minato continues. "Well the Land of Iron sure is prepared." Tsunade whistles. "Prepared to deal with us in case things go south!" She chuckles. "Let''s go and meet with others. It has been a while since Ist saw their face." Half an hourter, The Kages of the five nations gather in the meeting room on the topmost floor of the pagoda. The Kages take their seat near the respective g of their nations. Mifune is seated in the middle on an elevated tform with the g of thend of Iron behind him. "Please remove your Kage hats." The Kages remove their hats and ce them on the table. "In response to Lord Raikage''s request, the five Kages have assembled here." One by one, light is shed on the respective Kages and the g of their nation. "I am Mifune, your moderator. The Five Kage Summit conference is called into order." Mifune deres the start of the Kage Summit. "Then I shall speak first. Hear me." Gaara, who is currently Kazekage, proposes. "Hoh! There is such a difference in Kage these days. To be Kage at your age is quite an aplishment, Lord Kazekage. It seems your father trained you extremely well" Onoki turns in the direction of the bodyguards hidden behind the g. " except in the area of etiquette." A mocking smile appears on Onoki''s face. "This geezer" Temari, who is hidden behind the Land of Wind g, clenches her fist. Rasa ces his hand on her shoulder and shakes his head. "Dealing with such political trickery is also a part of the position of Kazekage. I am sure Gaara will handle it well. Besides, he isn''t alone!" "You are right! It''s the reason why I can here as Kazekage with the same position and power as yours, Lord Tsuchikage." Gaara calmly answers him. "Hmm he has grown up pretty well!" Minato remarks. "Yeah, back then he was quite violent and bloodthirsty," Izumi recalls Gaara''s previous behavior. "Izuna nii-san sure taught him well." "Ehehe I am not sure about that." Minato recalls the beating Izuna gave to Gaara and the one-tail whenever any of them went on a rampage. "Even the one-tail has mellowed out after that humility training." Minato and Izumi turn their attention to the meeting. Pfft Haha Onoki burst out inughter at Gaara''s retort. "You certainly are cocky for a brat!" "And you are as senile as ever for an old man." Tsunade remarks with a chuckle. "Princess, looks like you are as foul-mouthed as ever." Onoki turns towards Tsunade. "Your back must be hurting from carrying all that burden. Why don''t you retire from your position as the Tsuchikage? The shinobis of Iwagakure might develop some mental issue after being ruled by a senile geezer for so long." Tsunade continues. Tch Onoki clicks his tongue as Tsunade touched his sore spot. All these years, the quality of shinobi in the Iwagakure has dropped drastically. During the previous shinobi war, lots of their shinobis with great potential met their end. And the killer was none other than the Izuna Uchiha from Konoha. The prodigies from the younger generation filled the gap, but all these shinobis are too young to bear the responsibility of a Kage. So, as such Iwagakurecks a generation of talented shinobi with leadership qualities. "Hoh! Did I touch a nerve?" Tsunade chuckles. "Lady Hokage, Lord Tsuchikage, there is no need to make fun of each other." Mei interrupts them. She turns towards Gaara. "Lord Kazekage, please continue." Hmph Tsunade and Onoki harrumph and turns to Gaara. "As you all might be already aware, I am a former jinchuruki. One of the former members of Akatsuki, Orochimaru, manipted the elders of my vige and made us attack the leaf vige. My father Rasa, the previous Kazekage, almost lost his life to his schemes. Thankfully, we were saved by the shinobis of Konoha. Not only that, various other powerful individuals in Akatsuki wreaked havoc in the shinobi world in the past few years. In the past two years, Akatsuki has managed to get their hands on eight out of the Nine-tailed beasts. I am sure they are up to something sinister. So, I consider Akatsuki extremely dangerous. If only the five great nations lent support and co-operated with each other, such a thing might not have happened." "Huh! You expect me to believe such a lousy story when the three nations of Wind, Fire, and Water are already in a secret alliance. Support and cooperation are such nonsense!" Onoki scoffs. "Not every nation holds such fickle belief as you, Lord Tsuchikage. Also, I am pretty sure it was your Iwagakure who hired Akatsuki as mercenaries in the past. The example of Konoha is just the rebellious act of a traitor." Tsunade retorts. "However, having our tailed beast stolen is no cause for immediate fear. Controlling a tailed beast requires skills, knowledge, and time. The jinchuruki and the tailed beast must mature together and adapt to each other. And still, controlling the tailed beast is difficult. It is not a simple task. Isn''t that so, Kazekage?" Onoki turns to Gaara. "I agree with you, Lord Tsuchikage. However, there have been cases of people sessful jinchuruki like the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, Lord Raikage''s younger brother Killer bee, and Fourth Hokage''s son Naruto Uzumaki." Gaara adds. A clench his fist at the mention of his younger brother. "No! Your information is half correct, Lord Kazekage. Other than these people, there have been cases of a person with overwhelming powers controlling a tailed beast. For example, the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, the previous leader of the Uchiha n, Madara Uchiha, and the" Onoki turns towards Mei and Tsunade. " the former student and husband of Lady Hokage and Lady Mizukage, who is currently missing at the moment." Tch Tsunade and Mei also clench their fists. "Enough of this!" Tsunade and A smash the table in front of them while the table in front of Mei turns to cinders. Whoosh whoosh The bodyguards of all Kages appear in the hall with their weapons pointed toward each other. A stalemate urs as the bodyguard re at each other. Only Minato and Rasa are calmly sitting in their position. "I didn''t expect Lord Minato and Lord Rasa to be the only level-headed people here." Onoki nces at Minato and Rasa. AHEMM Mifune clears his throat. "This is a ce of discussion. Please refrain from disruptive actions." The Kages signal their bodyguard to retreat. Mifune also signals his toon of almost a hundred samurais, which have surrounded the meeting room at some unknown time to retreat. A few samurais quickly enter the room and clean up the ce. "Let''s continue our discussion." --------------------- In the Land of Iron vige, "Wow! Look at all these thick clothes made of animal fur." Kushina and the rest of the girls visit the clothing store. "I am so hungry. Let''s eat some ramen, Dattebyo!" Naruto drags Sasuke away. "I am not sure if there are any ramen shops" "Oh, found it!" Naruto''s nose twitches as he dashes in a direction. "Huh! So quickly. Are you a dog or something?" Sasuke is surprised by Naruto''s efficiency. "My nose can smell the aroma of ramen from miles away." Naruto proudly rubs his neck. "What a useless skill!" Sasuke retorts. "Hehe when I was small, one of my dreams was to explore the shinobi world and eat Ramen from every vige and town in the shinobi world. And now I am already halfway there." Naruto proudly puffs his chest. "That''s quite a small dream for someone who wants to be the Hokage." "This and that are different! As a true Ramen connoisseur, how can I not eat Ramen from everynd? It will be a disgrace to the Ramen God." Naruto ps his hands and prays. "Let me have a delicious ramen meal, Ramen God!" "Ramen God?!" Sasuke tilts his head in confusion. "Yes, Ramen God!" Naruto exins the features of the Ramen god to Sasuke. "He has powerful eyes called Ramengan which can see through the fine details of every Ramen ingredient with only a nce. Also, he can" "Umm Naruto, who told you about this Ramen God?" Sasuke''s mouth twitches. "It was Izuna Nii-san. When I was small, Izuna Nii-san told me a story about him. "As expected!" Sasuke sighs. ''Also, why does this description matches the old man Teuchi at Ichiraku Ramen?'' Chapter 445: Kage Summit Part-3 Chapter 445: Kage Summit Part-3 "Please refrain from any further violent action in this conference." Mifune turns towards the Kages. "Let''s continue our discussion." Everyone takes their seats and the meeting resumes. A scrutinizes every Kage and speaks. "Konoha, Kiri, Suna, Iwa Rogue shinobis from your viges make up the Akatsuki! And that''s not all! From our investigations, we know that among you, including your previous Kage, there are those who used the Akatsuki!" A''s gaze lingers on Onoki for a few seconds. Hmph Onoki snorts at him. "I don''t trust you. I had no intention of even discussing this with you. However, the reason I even convened this summit is that we as five great nations have weakened significantly over the years except for" A turn in Konoha''s direction. " Konoha, who is as strong if not stronger than before? However, Konoha is also the source of the trouble. It was an elder of Konoha, Danzo Shimura, whose actions led to the formation of Akatsuki and he was also the person manipting other nations in dark during the second and the third shinobi war." A clenches his fist. "As such, Konoha should take responsibility for the actions of its shinobis." He turns towards Gaara. "Konoha isn''t the sole guilty vige. Sunagakure hired Akatsuki during the third shinobi war to wreak havoc on smaller nations and even and even used the Akatsuki to destroy Konoha. I am speaking of Orochimaru! And as a result, Suna lost to Konoha and became the dog of Konoha." Crack crack Temari clenches her fist and jumps from her seat. Swish Rasa extends his hand and stops her. He shakes his head. Temari returns to her seat with fury. She turns around and notices the clenched fist of Rasa. "Enough!" Tsunade ms on the table. "Hokage-sama, please follow the rules of the convention." Mifune reminds her. Tch Tsunade clicks her tongue. A ignores her and turns his attention to Mei. "The most suspicious is the Hidden Mist vige. You Kiri does not conduct diplomacy. There are even rumors that the mastermind behind Akatsuki originated there! Not only that, Yagura Karatachi, the previous Mizukage, even provided financial aid to the Akatsuki." Mei clenches her fists and lowers her head. The deeds of her predecessor were always a matter of shame for her. When she was a kid, Yagura was her idol. She always strived to be a shinobi like Yagura. However, those ideals were shattered when Yagura turned Kiri into Blood Mist. The reign of terror, the violence of shinobis, and the ughter of innocents left her heartbroken. Her ideals and the perfect image of Yagura shattered, reced with a twisted demon who plunged her vige, her home into chaos and bloodbath. That''s why when Yagura died, her broken heart wasid to rest. She pledged to herself to ovee the mess and wash away the infamy her predecessor left. "Since it hase this far, I will speak honestly." Ao raises his head and murmurs. "Don''t tell me, isdy fifth going to reveal the" "There was a suspicion that someone was manipting Yagura, our Fourth Mizukage. And recently" She turns towards Tsunade, who nods at her. " the identity of the suspect was revealed to be Obito Uchiha, a former member of the Uchiha n, and" She turns in Minato''s direction. Thetter sighs and nods at her. " the student of Lord Minato." BANG A disregard the warning from Mifune and ms his clenched fist on the table, shattering it into bits. "Each and every one of you" He turns towards Konoha in anger. "Especially Konoha is responsible for the current state of the shinobi world. Your elder schemed behind others'' backs and waged war, and your shinobi developed forbidden ninjutsu and tilted the scale of power. And currently, as we speak the shinobi from your vige are seeking a method to destroy the world." "Hold your tongue, Raikage!" Onoki interrupts him. "As much as I would like to nder Konoha with you and seek joy from it, the Kumogakure is also not some innocent sheep. Your vige disregarded the disarmament efforts and sought powerful tools and ninjutsu to gain power. Even though Danzo manipted the scenes, ultimately the second shinobi war was your doing. Your shinobi secretly invaded the Land of Fire to mine chakra ore from their nation and develop a powerful weapon to eradicate other nations." Tch "You are spouting some baseless words when we all know that the real culprit behind this current situation is none other than Konoha." A scoff at Onoki''s words. "If you want to me someone, then Konoha should be the one to take the me." He adds. Crack Tsunade clenches her fist. ''These two are in cahoots. Singing the same tune, do they think the rest of us are deaf?'' "Before we proceed further with this act of shifting responsibility, I would like to make a statement." Minato, who was silently sitting the entire time, walks out from the shadows and stands beside Tsunade. Even Rasa follows his lead and stands behind Gaara. Minato turns to Mifune. "As the former Kage, I meet the criteria to voice my opinion at this convention, right?" Hmm Mifune opens his eyes and stares at Minato before ncing at the face of the other Kages. "Kumogakure asked the Land of Iron to hold a Kage summit, there was no mention that it could only be the current Kage." "Thank you, Lord Mifune!" Minato nods in gratitude. Tch A click his tongue. "What is it that you want to say, Fourth Hokage?" Minato turns towards A and Onoki. "The leader of the Akatsuki is MADARA UCHIHA." Silence ensues in the hall as A and Onoki are too stunned to say anything. Even Mifune, the moderator of the meeting, loses his calm. "Are of sure that?" Onoki questions him with a trembling voice. The past memories of his encounter with Madara Uchiha sh past his mind. "Hasn''t he been dead for several decades?" A question the legitimacy of Minato''s statement. "Yes, Raikage is right. He died long ago. There is no way he is leading an organization." Onoki shakes his head. "Hey, Minato, are you making things up?" A re at Minato. "I am not making things up. The information is reliable." Minato replies to him. "You people must have heard about the recent attack of Akatsuki on Konoha, right? Akatsuki lost most of their members during that battle, although Konoha also suffered some losses. However, we were able to secure some information during the exchange. And this information is one of those?" Minato answers their doubts. "Then Madara is he an immortal?!" A ask in shock. "Perhaps!" Minato replies in a slightly uncertain tone, since he has seen a lot of strange thingstely. "To think he was really a monster." Onoki gasps in shock. If Izuna''s name instills some fear and trepidation in the heart of these battle-hardened shinobis, then the name of Madara Uchiha is the very epitome of terror and a never-ending nightmare. "Fourth Hokage, if what you are saying is true, then Akatsuki is too great of a threat to be left alone. Madara alone can wipe entire nations on his own. As such, we must seek ways to eliminate his threat." Hmm Mifune looks around at the expression of all Kages. Ahem He clears his throat to get their attention. "Everyone, I want to speak on behalf of the neutral actions. The actions of five great nations have always been a cause of concern for smaller nations that seek survival and resources for their people. The turmoil of the previous war has threatened the stability of the entire world. Now, even though peace has ensued in the world; Akatsuki, another such vtile factor threatens to disrupt the peace of the world. So, during such times" "What are you trying to say?!" A interrupts him. "Calm down." Mifune turns to A and continues. "Why don''t we turn this cmity into a fortune? It''s extremely rare for all five Kages to assemble. What do you say? Until the threat of Akatsuki is eliminated, why not establish the world''s first" BOOM Suddenly, an explosion urs in the vicinity of the conference hall. "What? What was that noise?" The Kages are startled by the sudden noise. "Huh? That noise!" Mifune hurriedly turns to his subordinates. "Gazef, hurry and assess the situation." He signals one of the samurai captains. "Yes, Mifune-sama!" Gazef swiftly leaves the room. BOOM Another explosion urs and the entire building trembles violently. "This is!" All Kage stands up from their ce. Chapter 446: The Power of Five Kage Part-1 Chapter 446: The Power of Five Kage Part-1 "Huh!" The sensor ninja senses a disturbance in the chakra beneath the conference hall. Boom A green bud sprouts in the middle of the conference hall. Zetsu jumps out of the bud and stares at every Kage. "Hello!" Whoosh whoosh The Kage and their bodyguards swiftly jump from their seats and enter inbat stance. "One problem after another, now what?!" A clench his fist and gets ready to jump at Zetsu. "It''s Akatsuki!" Tsunade res at Zetsu. "Seems so!" Onoki scrutinizes Zetsu. "Miina-san, Hajimemashite! Boku wa Zetsu!" Zetsu grins at the Kages. "Nani?!" A''s eyes widen in shock. Swoosh He immediately flickers towards Zetsu with his body shrouded in a lightning cloak. Bang A punches the protective green shell around Zetsu and clutches his neck. "You Akatsuki members kidnapped my B. How audacious of you to show before me?" A applies more strength to his grip. Zetsu''s eyes roll backward. "Where is my little brother? WHERE IS HE?!" He applies more strength to his grip and chokes Zetsu. AH Zetsu rolls out his tongue and dies. "Tch the unruly A lives up to his name. You didn''t have to kill him. We could capture him and torture him for intel on Akatsuki." Onoki scoffs. "Nandato!" A re at Onoki. "Well, do you as you see fit?" Onoki shrugs his shoulders. Mifune also acts swiftly as he orders his subordinates. "Okisuke, Urakaku. Issue an order to search for the intruders. Also, issue a Number two battle-ready state alert. "Yes, Sir!" The two samurai captain rys the order through thems. "Don''t bother yourself with this guy. He is just a clone. The real body is still hidden somewhere else." Tsunade reveals the info on Zetsu. Minato, who was sensing the chakra of other intruders, opens his eyes. "Looks like there are several of these clones scattered through this facility." "Tch Damn Akatsuki! I will make them pay for kidnapping my brother?" A grits his teeth. "C!!" He turns to one of his bodyguards. C makes a hand seal and senses the chakra in his surroundings. "Raikage-sama!" After a few seconds, he signals to A. "C! Darui! Let''s go!" A infuses lightning chakra into his fists and punches the nearby wall. He opens a giant hole in the wall and jumps through it. "Ehehe I am sorry about the desk and the wall!" Darui apologizes to Mifune. "Darui, never mind! Let''s go!" C pulls him away. "This fellow is still as violent as ever. The cloud''s rascal hasn''t changed even as a Kage." Onoki snorts. The two samurai captains turn toward the corpse of Zetsu. "Is he actually dead?" The Samurai captain checks the pulse of Zetsu. "There is something wrong with this corpse. Rest of you don''t touch it!" Izumi warns everyone. Shiing She activates her Mangekyo Sharingan and notices fine beads of chakratched onto everyone''s body in the room. "Who are you, little girl?" Onoki turns to Izumi. "Those eyes" He spots her Mangekyo Sharingan. "Mangekyo Sharingan!" Onoki murmur in surprise. "Looks like there are plenty of interesting things to see during this Kage Summit." "Tsunade-san, on your left!" Minato swiftly warns her. BOOM A violent explosion urs at the top of the meeting room. Dust and debris fly around in the room. "I am fine!" Tsunade waves her hand and dispels the barrier around her body. The smoke settles down to reveal a giant hole in the roof of the meeting room. A figure in a purple robe and a one-eyed white mask with a Sharingan decoration on it jumps into the meeting room. Whoosh Everyone swiftly jumps back and maintains their distance from the new intruder. "Tsuchikage-sama, this guy is bad news." Akatsuchi voices his concern as he stares at the masked figure. "I can see that!" Onoki stares at the masked figure and senses the sinister chakra around the intruder''s body. ''This chakra signature is simr to Madara back then.'' He murmurs to himself. "Are you Madara Uchiha?" Onoki asks him. "Me?!" The masked figure chuckles. "Obito! Even if you mask your chakra, you can''t escape from my senses. It''s you, right!" Minato walks forward and stands beside Tsunade. "As expected of Sensei! You know your students the best!" Obito removes his mask to reveal his face. There is a Mangekyo Sharingan in his right eye and a Rinnegan in his left eye. "Your left eye!" Tsunade points towards him with trembling fingers. "It can''t be! Then this means the person who" "Yes, it was me who took Nagato''s eyes." Obito calmly replies to him. "These eyes never belonged to Nagato in the first ce. I merely took back what my mentor loaned to him." Obito res at everyone with his Rinnegan. "If it wasn''t Nagato''s eyes. Then could this be" Minato spectes. "Yes, you are right, sensei! These eyes belonged to my mentor, Madara Uchiha!" Obito reveals the truth about Rinnegan. "THAT EYE!" Onoki points towards Obito''s left eye with trembling fingers. "There is no doubt about it. That chakra signature it belongs to Madara Uchiha." Onoki stares at Rinnegan with wide eyes. "Lord Tsuchikage, are you sure?" Mifune questions him. " I can never forget that powerful chakra. There is no mistaking it. That eye emits the same chakra as Madara Uchiha." Onoki confirms Minato''s suspicion. "Madara was really a monster. To think, he awakened the divine eyes of the Sage of Six Paths." "Obito, so the mentor you spoke of. Was it Madara Uchiha?" Minato asks him. "Yes, it was Lord Madara who rescued me. He fixed my broken body and trained me in the art of Ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. So, yes, Madara Uchiha is my mentor and I am currently following hismand." Obito reveals the truth. "Now, that''s enough chit-chat!" Obito raises his left arm. "Shinra Tensei!" He maniptes the gravity in the room and forces everyone on their knees with increased gravity. "YOU!" Onoki resists the gravitational suppression and stands up. "If it was Madara Uchiha, then I might tremble in fear. But you are a mere brat impersonating him. I have no reason to fear you!" Onoki stands up and ps his palm. "Earth Release: Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique," He counters gravity by decreasing the weight of his body. Suddenly, White spores rise from the body of Onoki and the rest. The spores absorb the chakra from their body and sprout. "My chakra it''s draining my chakra!" Onoki mutters as his jutsu gets dispelled due to the disturbance of the chakra. Bzzt Kiiii Izumi releases a barrage of lightning needles and stabs them through the spores. The lightning chakra diffuses the earth chakra in the spores and disables the jutsu. "I am also done!" Minato makes some hand signs and ms his palm on the floor. Swoosh A fuinjutsu formation covers the floor and dispels the gravity maniption of Rinnegan. "What?" Obito''s eyes widen slightly as Minato nullifies one of the powers of Rinnegan. "This how is this possible?" He murmurs. "Since ourst battle against Akatsuki and the unrivaled power of Rinnegan, I have searched for methods to counteract the power of Rinnegan. And this is one such measure." The gravity returns to normal and everyone stands up on their feet. "Hokage!" Onoki turns to Tsunade and Minato. "I need an exnationter! But before that" He turns towards Obito. "I have to teach this brat a lesson for underestimating me!" Whoosh Onoki disappears from his ce. In the blink of an eye, he appears in front of Obito with his arm covered in a hard rock shell. "Earth Release: Ultra First Rock technique," BANG WHOOSH Onoki''s fistnds on Obito''s body and sends him flying out of the castle. "I will take care of it!" He flies out of the giant hole he just made by punching Obito through the wall. Whoosh Onoki chases after Obito. "We have to help him. He alone isn''t enough to confront Obito and Rinnegan. If we didn''t intervene, he will fall into a disadvantageous situation." Whoosh Minato, Rasa, Mei, Tsunade, and Mifune swiftly jump out of the giant hole and chase after Onoki. ---------------- Back in the meeting facility, "This thing, it''s draining my chakra!" A rip apart the mature spore of Zetsu with his bare hands. "You can drain my chakra when I use it, then I just don''t have to use it." A tears down every Zetsu spore on his body with brute force. He also frees C and Darui from the Zetsu spores. "C, what was that noise earlier?" A turns to C. C closes his eyes and focuses his senses. "Raikage-sama looks like the earlier tremors were a distraction. The mastermind is already in the conference hall." "Nani?!" A clench his fist. Haah He riles up his chakra and cloaks his body with lightning chakra. "I won''t forgive him for kidnapping B." BOOM A break through the ceiling and charges to the top of the conference hall. Chapter 447: The Power of Five Kage Part-2 Chapter 447: The Power of Five Kage Part-2 Onoki flies out of the conference facility and stares at the caved wall of the mountain. "That was pretty rough!" Obito dusts his clothes and stands up. Soon, Minato and the rest also catch up to Onoki. All of them confront Obito. "Old geezer, he tricked you into pushing him out of Minato''s sealing technique." Tsunade rebukes him. "Hmph I will still turn him into dust in the end." Onoki ps his palm. A transparent cube of chakra appears in between Onoki''s hands. "So long!" The transparent chakra cube engulfs Obito and a portion of the mountain with him. "Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu," The cube of chakra shines brightly and vanishes after a few seconds, shaving a portion of the mountain with it. "So much for being a substitute for Madara Uchiha!" Onoki snorts. "So, that''s the legendary particle style. A ninjutsu technique that dismantles anything it touches at a molecr level." A swirling portal appears in the middle of the mountain. Obito slowly appears out of the portal. "How did you?!" Onoki''s eyes widen. "Be careful Tsuchikage, his right eye possesses a space-time ability. It allows him to shift to another dimension and negate all sorts of damage during that period." Minato reveals the ability of Obito''s right Mangekyo Sharingan. "A space-time Dojutsu ability!" Onoki turns to Minato. "Space-time is your forte Fourth Hokage, do something about it!" He asks Minato. "I can lock the coordinates of the surrounding space with a fuinjutsu seal. But it needs some preparation time." Minato replies. "Don''t worry about that! I will buy you all the time I need." Onoki fires another atomic dismantling beam toward Obito. The beam phases through Obito''s body. Whoosh Tsunade uses this opportunity and closes the gap. She clenches her fist and gets ready to strike the moment Obito exits his invulnerability. "Tsuchikage, Kazekage there is a limit to his invulnerability. Every time he shifts dimensions or phases through, a brief window of time appears where he turns vulnerable. This brief window of time is the time required for him to reactivate his ability. If we strike him, the moment his vulnerability ends, then, we can take him down." HAAH Tsunade infuses chakra into her fists and strikes the moment Obito''s invulnerability ends. "Eat this!" "Shinra Tensei!" Shoom Obito extends his left hand and uses the ability of Rinnegan. "Damn you!" The powerful force of repulsion creates a barrier around Obito and blocks the punch. The repulsive force acts upon Tsunade''s body and pushes her away into the air. Mei uses this opportunity and makes some hand signs. "Lava Release: Molten Rock Bullet Barrage," Mei spews out multipleva bullets toward Obito. Swoosh Tsunade performs a backflip in the air and stabilizes her position. Shends on the ground and punches the ground to halt her forced movement. Obito raises his right hand. "Absorb!" He uses the ability of Preta Path to absorb Mei''s jutsu. "WHAT? He can nullify a jutsu." Onoki''s eyes widen in shock. "This is one of the abilities of Rinnegan. The wielder of Rinnegan can absorb chakra in any form." Mei answers him. "Then why did you attack him knowing such a thing?" Rasa questions her. "Previously, there were six bodies with the abilities of Rinnegan distributed among them. Each body could only use one ability at a time. I thought it would be the same this time. Looks like I was wrong!" Mei clicks her tongue. "SHINEE!" Raikage uses his speed to appear beside Obito in an instant. He coats his body with a lightning cloak and punches Obito. BANG Raikage''s fist leaves a giant fist imprint on the mountain. The mountain trembles from the impact and a small amount of ice fall off. "Tch slippery rascal! Where did he go?" Swoosh Obito phases through Raikage''s body and appears behind him. "I will start with you!" He stretches his right hand towards Raikage''s back. "DIE! LARIAT!" Raikage swings his arm in an attempt to crush Obito, but again his attack phases through Obito''s body. "Come and fight me like a real man!" A is pissed off by Obito''s Kamui. Obito swiftly dodges A''s attack while predicting his movements with his Sharingan. ''Fighting so many of them on my own could be a problem. Minato sensei, Tsunade, and the Mizukage are aware of Rinnegan''s ability from their experience with Nagato. So, I already lost the element of surprise with that. Also, with Minato Sensei''s speed and techniques, I can''t even pull any of them into my Kamui since Minato sensei will just teleport them out with his Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Looks like I am left with no choice." Haah Raikage coats his hand with lightning and punches Obito. Bang Obito phases through Raikage''s body and retreats. The punch creates a small crater in the mountain. Obito maintains some distance from Raikage and makes some hand seals. "Those seals he is about to summon something!" Izumi notices the hand seals and therge amount of chakra with her Sharingan. "Summoning Jutsu," Obito ms his palm on the ground. Rumble rumble The ground trembles from the effect of the jutsu. A regroup with the rest of the Kage and warily stares at the ground. Six Coffins erupt out of the ground. "Those coffins!" Tsunade''s eyes widen in shock. "Edo Tensei!" Minato whispers as hepletes the space-locking seal. "Edo Tensei?!" Onoki and Raikage turn to Tsunade and Minato. "Is that the legendary technique of the Second Hokage, which brings back dead from the afterlife as an undead summons?" Onoki asks her. "Yes, it''s the same technique. But how did he?" "Orochimaru was a part of Akatsuki. So, perhaps he was the one who gave them this technique." A grunts. "No, it''s not him!" Minato shakes his head. "It has been over five years since Orochimaru died. It''s his disciple, Kabuto, who joined hands with the Akatsuki." He rifies the situation. "Whether it''s a snake or a crab I don''t care. I will make them all pay to avenge my brother." A riles up his chakra. [Orochi is snake while Kabuto is horseshoe crab in Japanese] BANG BANG BANG One by one, the doors of the coffin m on the ground to reveal six figures in them. "They are" The eyes of the rest of the shinobis widen in shock. "That''s Yugito!" A quickly recognizes one of the figures. Obito makes a Ram hand sign and transfers his chakra to the ck receiver rods to control the edo jinchurukis. Ao and Izumi notice the flow of chakra from Obito to the six edo coffins with their Byakugan and Sharingan. "They are about to wake up!" Izumi warns them. "Damn you mutt! How dare you do this to Yugito?" Whoosh A flicker towards Obito at full speed. Shiing The edo Yugito opens her eyes and flickers between Obito and A. Her arm turns into a w with blue mes. She swipes the w toward A''s neck. Bang A blocks the attack with his arm and retreats but edo Yugito doesn''t give him any time for respite and frantically chases him. Soon, edo Yugito and A engage inbat. The rest of the edo jinchuruki also slowly opens their eyes. The left eye of the edo jinchuruki is a Rinnegan while the right eye is a Mangekyo Sharingan. "Han, Roshi!" Onoki recognizes the two jinchurukis from his vige. He clenches his fist in rage. "So, it was true that Akatsuki captured you for your tailed beasts." Whoosh Onoki riles up his chakra and surrounds himself with sturdy rock armor. "Utakata and Oogura!" Mei also recognizes the two jinchuruki from her vige. "I won''t let you defile them after their death." Mei also riles up her chakra. Mist andva surround her and quickly raise the temperature of the surroundings. Other Kages quickly distance themselves from her. "That girl!" Naruto nces at the remaining jinchuruki, who happens to be a girl. "Naruto?! Why are you here?" Tsunade turns to him. "Where are others?" Minato asks him. "Umm well I overslept. Others were gone when I woke up. Earlier, I heard somemotion and sensed arge amount of chakra. So, I quickly came here, Dattebyo!" Naruto turns to the edo girl. "Where have I seen her before?" Wings sprout from the girl''s back. Naruto attempts to recall her figure. "Everyone beware of their sneak attacks. All of them share their vision. So, they have no blind spots!" Minato warns them as A attack Yugito from behind, but thetter blocks her attack without even turning back. "I remember!" Naruto stares at F''s edo body in shock. "You know that girl?!" Minato asks in surprise. "She was the talkative girl I met in the Land of Waterfall when I was on a training journey with Izuna Nii-san. Her name was what was her name?" Naruto ces his thumb and finger under his chin. "Was it Lu? No no it was Ru no, wait it was Mu" He is unable to recall Fu''s name. Whoosh Fu turns towards the Konoha group to attack them. "Yes, her name is Fu. Back then, I thought she was simr to me. Now I know why?" Naruto stares at the wings on her back as she elerates toward him. Chapter 448: Naruto vs Edo Jinchuriki Chapter 448: Naruto vs Edo Jinchuriki "Fu is also a jinchuruki, like me. I can feel her emotions, her longing for freedom. So, as someone who had the same experience as her; I will free her from his control." Naruto clenches his fist. "Rasengan!" He instantly creates a Rasengan in another hand and ms it toward Fu. "Dad! Leave her to me." Fu instantly creates a thread shield around her body to block Naruto''s attack. BANG The Rasengan tears through the thread shield and ms into Fu''s body. Fu is sent flying by the outward spiral of the chakra. While in mid-air, she ps her wings and stabilizes her position. Fu flies in the air and creates multiple spears by condensing the special threads produced by Chomei. She grabs the spear and rains them down on Naruto like a Gatling gun. Whoosh whoosh Naruto swiftly moves around and dodges the bombardment. Bang bang The spear explodes at the point of impact. "What it can explode?" Naruto swiftly tumbles out of the explosion wave. Fu uses her aerial advantage to rain down heavy artillery on Naruto. "This is not fair!" Naruto runs around while dodging all of her attacks. Annoyed by the continuous evasion of Naruto, Fu inhales arge amount of air and puffs her cheeks. She winds up some thread inside her mouth and spews out a massive to cover Naruto and the surrounding area in an attempt to trap him. Whoosh Naruto stops in his tracks. He takes a deep breath. "Wind Release: Vacuum des," Naruto spits out a flurry of wind des to cut through the. ng ng The wind des produce metallic noise upon contact with the. "Tch it''s too hard. In that case!" Naruto stretches out his palm. "Wind Release: Cho dama Fuma Rasengan," He creates a giant Rasengan and ms it into the. The Rasengan tears apart the and flies toward Fu. "Burst!" Naruto crosses his hands. BOOM The Rasengan burst in mid-air and create a powerful gust of wind. The powerful wind current sweeps away Fu and disorients her. Naruto uses this opportunity to create two shadow clones. The shadow clones grab his real body andunch him toward Fu. Haah Naruto flies towards a disoriented Fu. He takes out a chakra de while flying in mid-air. Naruto infuses wind chakra in the de to increase the lethality and reach of the de. sh Naruto swings the de and flies past Fu. He performs a backflip andnds on the ground. Riipp Fu''s body is neatly sliced in half by Naruto''s de. Fu''s upper body falls to the ground while her lower slowly disintegrates and the ash-like particles fly toward her upper body to repair the damage. "Naruto! Seal her using a sealing talisman!" Minato informs him. "Naruto takes out a sealing talisman from his storage and ces it on top of Fu''s head to seal her Edo body. Tch Obito clicks his tongue. "Looks like thebat abilities of this jinchuruki are seriouslycking. No wonder she was the easiest to capture. However, I can''t allow them to get possession of the Seven-Tails." Obito closes his right eye and makes a Ram seal to activate the ability of his Rinnegan. He uses the six paths power of Rinnegan to wrest control over Fu''s body. Gwaaah Fu releases a beastly roar and a red chakra cloak envelops her body. Fu enters into the first tailed-beast transformation state with two tails at once. The excessive chakra overloads the sealing talisman and the sealing fails. GWAAAHH Fu releases another roar and breaks free from her bindings. She turns towards Naruto and lunges at him with incredible speed. Haa Naruto anticipates her movements and jumps out of her way. Fu runs past him. She gets down on all four and charges again at him like a wild animal. Swish swish Naruto makes some quick hand signs. "Wind Release: Wind Bullet Barrage," Naruto spews out a barrage ofpressed air pressure bullets toward Fu. Whoosh Swoosh Fu jumps sideways and avoids his attack. She closes the distance between them and leaps at him. Naruto raises his left arm and blocks her attack. He raises his right leg and kicks her away. "Leaf Hurricane," Fu is blown away by the kick. Multiple kunai with paper bombs surround her. "Shadow kunai clone jutsu," Naruto makes some hand signs. "Release!" The paper tags explode and engulf Fu''s entire body. White smoke rises from his arm as the corrosive nature of Fu''s tailed beast chakra burns his arm. The wound on his arm regenerates rapidly. He ignores the slight wound and focuses his attention on the dust cloud. Dust and debris rise in the surrounding as the paper tags blows away a portion of the surrounding. GWAAAH Fu leaps out of the smoke. The previous attack has destroyed half of the first-tailed beast transformation. Her body is slowly regeneration from the previous explosion. "Huh! It''s still not enough." Obito stares at the battle between Fu and Naruto. ck Zetsu also observes the entire situation with one of his clones. "Naruto Uzumaki! The reincarnation of Asura Otsutsuki. He is stronger than most of his past reincarnations and is almost at the same level as the Hashirama Senju. If he grows any stronger than this, then this might be slightly troublesome for our n." Argh The Edo Tensei of Fu looks around in confusion. It temporarily breaks from Obito''s control due to the extensive damage it has sustained. Fu''s body slowly disintegrates as she attempts to return to Pure World. ''I can''t let you bail out so easily!'' Obito makes a Ram hand sign and stares at Fu with his Rinnegan. He transfers a portion of his chakra to the ck receiver on Fu''s body. Thump A jolt of chakra surges through Fu''s body. GWAAAHH She releases a scream and a dense mass of red chakra envelops her in a cocoon-like structure. "She is transforming into her Second state." Kurama warns Naruto. "I will be ready for everything!" Naruto also takes a stance and gets ready for any surprise attack. Crack Crack Cracks appear in the cocoon and Fu leaps out of it with seven tails. Whoosh She disappears from Naruto''s sight and reappears behind him. "Behind you!" Kurama warns him. Bang Naruto blocks her attack with his arm. The powerful impact pushes him sideways. White smoke rises from Naruto''s palm. "She is much faster than before. It''s getting harder to track her movements." Fu swiftly jumps around and attacks Naruto from random directions. Naruto passively guards against her attack by trading injuries. ''What should I do? It will take me a while to enter Sage Mode so that''s not an option during the battle. I can''t even Rasen Shuriken or any other powerful jutsu, as it might destroy the surroundings and engulf the entire area. Whoosh Naruto swiftly flickers away from the rest of the group while leading Fu away from the surrounding samurais. UWAAH The seven-tails transformation opens its mouth. A cluster of blue and red chakra gathers in its mouth as it charges a tailed beast bomb. "Naruto, stop her! If she charges up this attack, then it might destroy the surrounding area." Kurama warns him. "Alright!" Whoosh Naruto turns around. He quickly creates two shadow clones. The shadow clones grab his leg and catapult him toward Fu. "Kurama, lend me some of your chakra." Naruto infuses Kurama''s chakra in his palm. ary Rasengan!" He creates a yellowary Rasengan to counteract the tailed beast bomb. "Eat this!" Naruto ms theary Rasengan in the semi-finished tailed-beast bomb. BOOM A vortex of red and golden chakra forms at the point of contact. The vortex engulfs Naruto and Fu as both resist the pressure of each other''s chakra. The ground beneath them cracks open and forms a crater. Both of them are locked in a tug of war as they strive to push each other out. The heavy chakra of the tailed beast overwhelms Naruto. The clothes around his arm tear up by the force of the tailed beast bomb. HAAAH Naruto grits his teeth and adds more chakra to his Rasengan. Kurama aids him by providing more chakra. "Let''s do it, Naruto!" BANG Theary Rasengan and tailed-beast bomb nullify each other. The sudden nullification of the chakra creates a whish and sends Naruto and Fu flying out of the crater. BAM Fu ms through multiple boulders before forcefully stopping her movements by stabbing her-tails into the ground. As for Naruto, he makes multiple shadow clones to cushion the impact. He even generates a wind current to support himself. Meanwhile, the other Kages are also entangled in a simr situation. The Kages quickly overwhelm the Edo jinchuruki with their superior strength and technique. However, Obito realizes the graveness of the situation and forces the jinchurukis to enter into their first and even second-tailed-beast transformations. "I will help you with the six-tails!" Tsunade assists Mei by interrupting the attacks of the six-tails. "Thank you so much, Tsunade-san!" Mei engages in battle against the previous jinchuriki of the three-tails before Yagura, Oogura Rindo. The loss of tailed beasts has always been a burden on her heart. As the first female Kage of the shinobi world, the vigers alwayspared her achievements with her predecessors, and most of the time she was a subject of scorn. This is the perfect opportunity and venue for her to prove her strength. "Let''s do this!" Mei picks up one of Izuna''s verbal tics as she entersbat with the three-tail jinchuruki Oogura. Chapter 449: Uzumaki ONE-Punch Chapter 449: Uzumaki ONE-Punch Cough cough Naruto coughs slightly and wipes the dust from his clothes as he jumps out of a small crater. "Naruto, are you alright?" Minato turns to him as he aids the rest of the Kages in their battle. His clothes are tattered from the fight, but there is not as much as a scratch on his body. "I am fine!" Naruto cracks his head. GWAAH Fu, in her second-tailed-beast transformation jumps also jumps out from the debris. The chakra cloak around her body flickers like mes. The damage on her body regenerates as a perk of being an Edo. She releases a roar and charges toward Naruto. A portion of her head turns into the seven-tails. A protrusion resembling the horn of a rhinoceros beetle sprouts from her head. Fu spits out chakra threads from her mouth. The chakra threads wrap around the horn and harden it even further. "NARUTO! Avoid that attack at all costs." Kurama warns him. "Huh! Why?" "Naruto, my seventh sibling, Chomei, is armored kabutomushi (rhinoceros beetle). The armor on its body is even harder and more durable than diamond, especially the horn, which can even shatter the most durable mineral of the shinobi world into dust. Chomei''s Spear Attack Shining Horn will grind your bones to dust if you are hit by that attack." Kurama warns Naruto. "That sounds troublesome, but I think I can fight it." Naruto clenches his fist in confidence. A red glow gathers around his fist. "That glow! Naruto, don''t tell me, you" "Yes, it took me a few years, but I think I can use it now. The super powerful technique Izuna Nii-san taught me." Naruto brims with confidence. "Also, it''s almost time." SHOOM Arge amount of Nature energy flows into Naruto''s body out of nowhere. A dark red cloak with a ck me pattern shrouds Naruto and orange pigmentation appears around his eyes. "Looks like it was a wise decision to leave a shadow clone behind to gather Nature energy." Kurama is surprised by Naruto''s wits. ''Even though Naruto isn''t as sharp as Minato, hisbat sense is greater than Minato.'' Kurama praises Naruto in his heart. "Alright!" Naruto takes a deep breath and extends his right leg forward while pushing his left leg backward. SHOOM He infuses his chakra and nature energy into his fist and stretches it backward. The red color chakra on Naruto''s fist turns golden as a result of nature energy. ''I can feel strength brimming through my body.'' Naruto clenches his fist and patiently waits for the Edo Jinchuriki to close the gap. When Chomei''s horn is just a meter away from him, Naruto finally takes action. HAAA He inserts the entire strength of his body into his fist. Bang The powerful reactive force from coalescing his strength forms web-like cracks beneath Naruto''s feet. "Eat this!" BAANNNGGG His punchnds on Chomei''s horn and creates a powerful wind current. The powerful force of the attack sends shockwaves into the surrounding with Naruto as the epicenter. Ground crumbles beneath Naruto''s feet and forms a massive crater. HAAAAAA Naruto yells his lungs out and pumps all of his strength in the attack. CRACK Cracks appear on Chomei''s hardened horn. Bang With a loud noise, the horn shatters into fragments and scatters. Naruto''s punch continues with its powerful momentum andnds on Fu''s head. BOOM The powerful impact sts away Fu''s upper body. The remaining lower body of Fu is sent flying by the punch. It crashes through several trees and buildings while leaving behind a trail of destruction. BANG It eventually ms into the nearby hill. Web-like cracks appear at the point of impact, and the entire hill trembles slightly. An avnche of ice falls down from the peak of the hill. The shockwaves from the attack travel across the battlefield. Some of the weaker shinobis tumble on the ground as a result. Even Tsunade, Minato, Mei, and the rest of the Kage, including Obito, momentarily pause their battle and stare at the incredulous sight of Naruto''s punch. White smoke rises from Naruto''s fist as thetter stares at his fist in disbelief. "Did I just do that?" Naruto asks Kurama to confirm his doubt. "Yes, you finally did it!" "What was that, Naruto?" Tsunade is the first person to question him. "Umm well I umm how I exin it? It''s my new technique!" Naruto stutters as he replies. "Where did you learn this technique?" Minato questions him in shock, as his mind is in turmoil. ''That wasn''t a normal chakra-enhancing technique used by Tsunade-sama. Instead, Narutopressed almost the entire chakra of his body, which is almost ten times that of a regr shinobi in his right hand, and released it all in that punch. The power and concept behind that punch are simr to a super-powerfulpressed chakra cannon. The force at the point of impact is enough to shatter mountains. This Naruto, when did he'' *******shback-No-Jutsu******* "Hey, Nii-san? Teach me this cool new jutsu. I also want to blow my opponents away." Naruto is amazed by Izuna''s recent battle where thetter just punched the air and send a group of shinobis flying from a distance of almost fifty meters. There was no wind chakra involved in that attack. If it was there, then he would be able to sense it due to his affinity with the wind. ''Umm how do I tell him? It''s not some cool technique. I just pushed my physical strength to the limit by gathering all my chakra in my arm andyering it with Sage mode and power cloak to further enhance my strength to the extreme. With such a massive boost in physical strength, I punched the air in front of me. This powerful punchpressed all the air particles in front of my fist and ejected them forward at supersonic speed like an air cannon. Those shinobis were hit by that air st. I adjusted my strength to prevent killing them. I just wanted to create a scene from one of my favorite animes in my past life and remove it from my bucket list.'' Izuna turns towards Naruto and notices his sparkling eyes which almost blind him. ''Ugh fine! Naruto meets the minimum requirement to replicate this feat. He has enough chakra reserves and he will soon master Senjutsu. Although he doesn''t have the power release cloak, he can make up for it by using the Nine-tails chakra cloak. The only thing he iscking is a durable body at the moment. But with enough training, he can achieve it eventually. Hmm perhaps after we return to the vige, I will drop him in Might Guy''s boot camp. He will beat Naruto in shape. Also, Naruto has a versatile Ninjutsu ability in Rasengan and I also taught him a lot of other ninjutsu to expand his arsenal. However, he iscking in Taijutsu and closebat. Perhaps this technique might make him the one-punch man of the shinobi world.'' "Alright, Naruto! I will teach this technique to you. But it''s very difficult and has a very high requirement." Izuna teaches the necessary steps to Naruto. "First of all, you have to perfect your chakra control. It will be a challenge with your massive chakra pool, but I think you learn it, eventually. Second is Senjutsu" Izuna rambles for another hour and Naruto listens withplete interest. "Alright, I will give a little demonstration of this technique! So, please get away a little." "Yes, Nii-san!" Naruto flickers a hundred meters away from Izuna. "Good! Now watch closely!" Izuna infuses his chakra and nature energy into his fist and stretches it backward. He alsoyers the power release chakra on top of it. The chakra on Izuna''s fist turns golden as a result. Yellow lightning bolts jolt around his fist. HAAA Izuna aims his fist toward a mountain in distance and punches out. BANG A massive crater forms beneath Izuna''s feet and the powerful shockwaves blow away the forest in his line of sight. Back in the distance, a huge fist print appears on the mountain. Rumble rumble The top of the mountain crumbles apart to create andslide. Various animals and birds hurriedly escape from the area. "Oops! I overdid it." Izuna whistles and turns around. "So, did you see that?" "Yes!" Naruto frantically nods his head. Sigh ''What hardships I have to face just to mimic a fraction of One-punch-man''s true strength!'' "Ah! I almost forgot. Naruto, follow this training regimen. One hundred pushups! One hundred sit-ups! One hundred squats! And a ten-kilometer run" "Umm Nii-san, that''s too easy!" "I am not done yet. Perform this training set a hundred times. Do you understand Naruto?" Izuna turns to Naruto. "Yes, nii-san, I will start right now." Naruto dashes off in the distance. "Good! But don''t overdo it." "Oh! I forgot to tell him the turning off the AC but with Tsunade, it won''t be a problem." Izuna whistles and surveys the isted ind full of dangerous beasts. *********End of shback********* Onoki and A also pay attention to Naruto. "So, that''s the power of the jinchuruki of the nine-tails. The power he used in his battle against the legendary Rinnegan wielder Pain of Akatsuki." Onoki remarks. "This brat" A also stares at the smoking fist of Naruto. ''Can I withstand such a punch with my lightning cloak?'' A question himself. ''I probably can''t!'' His inner voice answers him. Naruto''s figure oveps with the figure of Izuna in A''s mind. "This brat he reminds me of Izuna Uchiha!" A murmur as he recalls his bet with Izuna a few years ago. (Chapter 123) At that time, he had bet with Izuna to save the life of hisrade. Both of them agreed upon a test of endurance. Izuna''s punch sent him into aa for three days. The feeling of pure strength is still etched on his body. A stare at the fist mark on his abdomen. Chapter 450: Obito Vs The Kages Chapter 450: Obito Vs The Kages After the dust settles down, Fu''s Edo body slowly crawls out of the hole. The chakra cloak of the second transformed state has long dissipated from the powerful impact of Naruto''s punch. Tch Obito clicks his tongue. He quickly appears beside her and store her tattered body in his Kamui. ''Among the tailed beast, seven-tails was supposed to be the third strongest after the eight-tails and the nine-tails and yet I couldn''t even capture the jinchuruki of Nine-tails who didn''t even use the power of his tailed beast. Should I unleash a full transformation? But there is a risk of losing control.'' Obito ponders. "The full transformation will go against over initial n. Our purpose in this meeting was to dere Akatsuki''s power and assassinate a kage to lower the strength of their alliance. Since we didn''t meet our objective; it''s time for us to retreat." ck Zetsu warns Obito through telepathy. "Very well!" Obito activates his Kamui to escape. Fwoosh The spiral portal of Kamui''s dissipates before it could even form. "What''s going on?" Obito wonders. "This must be the doing of Minato-Sensei!" Obito recalls his previous battle with Minato. ''Minato-Sensei is one of the greatest space-time users of the shinobi world. He must have found a method to restrain space-time techniques.'' Obito grits his teeth. ''I still have that trump card, but I don''t want to use it here. Also, thanks to the intel of Konoha, they can easily counter the Rinnegan abilities. And I can''t sustain a suchrge amount of chakra usage for a prolonged time even with the Hashirama cells. Very well, then'' Obito makes a Ram hand sign. Whoosh Chakara flows out of his body and enters the ck rod receiver on the body of the remaining five Edo-jinchuruki. The jinchuruki transforms into their semi-tailed beast with partial features of their respective tailed beast. The transformed Edo-jinchuruki aggressively attacks them with newfound vigor. The rest of the Kage slightly struggle against the frenzied jinchurukis. ''The strength of an Edo depends on the strength of the vessel used to reincarnate the Edo. If the vessel is too weak, then Edo can''t bring out their full potential in a fight. Although Kabuto''s perfect technique reincarnated them near their peak strength, the body of an Edo isn''t suitable as a host for a tailed beast.'' Whoosh Obito retreats behind the Edo-jinchurukis. "We can''t let the next generation steal our thunder. We have to show them what we are made of." Onoki ps his calm and creates a transparent energy cube. Whoosh He fires it toward Han, the five-tails jinchuruki. Fwoosh Steam rises from Han''s back and he flickers out from the path of the atomic dismantling ray. "That''s the boil release Kekkei Genkai." Kurotsuchi remarks. Whoosh Han flickers in front of Onoki and punches him. BANG Onoki blocks Han''s attack by coating his body with earth release Choo A whistling sound simr to a steam engine erupts from Han''s body. The temperature of Han''s armor rises extensively and steam escapes from the gap between the joints. BANG Han''s fist breaks through the boulder and strikes Onoki. Rumble Onoki''s body shatters into countless rock fragments. Two giant arms erupt from the ground and grab Han''s legs. "I heard that an Edo Tensei can regenerate from any damage and is almost immortal. I wonder what will happen if I dismantle it into atoms?" Onoki reappears at a slight distance. He ps his palm and shrouds arge area around Han into a transparent energy construct. "Particle Style: Detachment to the Primitive World," Whoosh A bright light shines inside the energy construct with Han trapped in its center. The lightsts for a few seconds before diffusing into the surroundings. Every object or matter within the cube disappears into nothingness. "Hmm looks like not even an Edo can survive my particle style." Onoki proudly crosses his arm. Tsunade, A, Mei, Mifune, and the rest of the Samurai stare at Onoki in amazement. "Incredible! So, that''s the legendary technique of the Tsuchikage-sama!" The samurai gossip among themselves. Only Izumi, Minato, and Obito sense something amiss. ''Therge amount of chakra in that area hasn''t dispersed yet.'' Minato senses a giant lump of chakra at the previous position of Han. ''From this chakra signature, I can definitely tell that this isn''t five-tails chakra, but it''s jinchuruki''s chakra.'' Izumi and Obito nce at the position with their Mangekyo Sharingan. They notice several microscopic particles slowly clustering together in a ce. The size of the particle slowly increases from a few nanometers to a few micrometers. The ashen materialposing Edo''s body slowly swirls in ce. ''Hmm so it''s able to regenerate, albeit at a very slow pace. In that case" Swish swish Obito makes some hand signs and infuses some chakra in his Rinnegan. Badump A burst of chakra releases from the Rinnegan. Fwoosh Dark purple mes erupt from the ground and the King of the Underworld slowly reveals peeks out of the purple mes. It opens its mouth and sucks the air in its surroundings. "What what''s going on?" Onoki and A feel a chill down their spine. "What''s that?" Both of them sense a life-death crisis from the king of the Underworld as they stare in trepidation. "This creature has a Rinnegan?!" "It''s one of the abilities of the Rinnegan, the Naraka Path. The wielder of the Rinnegan can summon the king of the Underworld from the depths of hell." Minato exins the ability to Onoki. "Don''t stare into its eyes for too long or else it will rip your soul from your body," Minato warns him. "Also, don''t touch those mes. These mes don''t harm the physical body, but they burn the soul of anyone who touches them." Minato warns A, who was about tounch a sneak attack on the King of Hell from a blind spot. "You were thinking of sacrificing your arm to inflict some damage to Obito, weren''t you?" Tsunade questions him. Hmph A snort and turns his attention toward his opponent. He indeed had thoughts of attacking him while thetter was busy summoning the King of Hell. When Obito infused his chakra into his Rinnegan to summon the King of Hell, he momentarily lost control over his other paths; thus, making them static in their position. Izumi and Minato curiously stare at the entire situation without missing any moment. Izumi notices the king of Hell pulling away all the microscopic particles of ashes and chakra in his mouth and rearranging them ordingly. While Minato, though unable to see the microscopic particles, senses much more than Izumi. He senses the King of Hell pull the entire chakra of Han and Five-tails from the surroundings and reconstruct their body using the blueprint from their soul. Yes, Minato was able to sense Han''s soul trapped within the vessel. Due to his prior experience of being in a limbo state in a soul-like state, he and Kushina can sense the spiritual world in their surroundings and have grown ustomed to the matters rted to souls. A few secondster, Han walks out of the Hell King''s mouth. The Hell King stares at Obito for a few seconds with a warning gaze while scaring the shit out of him. After warning Obito, it enters the purple me portal and disappears. Obito also wipes the cold sweat from his body. The Hell King warned him for abusing the authority of Rinnegan to trap souls from Pure Land. At a faraway ce, In a secret hideout. Kuku Kabuto smirks as he stares at the pieces on a Shogi board. Slight cracks appear on one of the shogi pieces. He grabs the Shogi piece between his fingers. "Tobi, that bastard! He overwrote my controlmand over the Edo jinchurukis using the Rinnegan and even resealed their tailed beasts within them. Although, I can dispel Edo Tensei and release their soul back to the Pure Land. However, that will break the terms of our contract." Kabuto clicks his tongue. "But now he seems to be in a pinch. It''s time. I will use my trump card and make him aware of my power and influence in this war." Kabuto ps his hands. Shoom A coffin erupts out of the ground. Bang The door of the coffin opens up. A smile creeps up on Kabuto''s face. "It''s about time. The terror returns to the shinobi world." Chapter 451: A FAMILIAR FACE! Chapter 451: A FAMILIAR FACE! "It regenerated!" Onoki''s eyes widen in shock. "Is that also an ability of Rinnegan?" He turns towards Minato. Thetter nods his head in confirmation. "What''s this godly ability? How do you even fight this?" Onoki wonders. "It took us a lot of effort to get rid of Akatsuki''s former leader, Pain. So, you can imagine the power of Rinnegan." Tsunade remarks while punching the slug-like skin of the six-tails. "Ugh I hate fighting against such creatures. They can easily disperse the force of my attack through their slimy body." Tsunade recalls her experience with Katsuyu. She raises her hand and shapes her chakra into a sharp scalpel. Swish swish She chops the slimy tails of the six-tails encroaching towards her. Phoosh Utakata, in his six-tail form, spews out a corrosive liquid. Whoosh Tsunade quickly jumps behind a boulder. The boulder melts as a result of the corrosive property of the six-tail saliva. Utakata makes a hand seal and spits out multiple bubbles from his mouth. The bubble covers the entire battlefield and surrounds Tsunade. Pop One of the bubbles burst and spreads a corrosive mist. The surrounding trees melt from the corrosive property of the liquid. Pop Pop More and more bubbles burst and covers the entire area in mist. Whoosh Tsunade hurriedly jumps out of the mist. A portion of the corrosive liquid melts the hem of her clothes and some of her skin. Tch She clicks her tongue in annoyance. The burns on her body quickly regenerate and restore her skin. "It''s too annoying to fight it in close range and physical attacks don''t even work on it. Looks like I have to use the technique taught me. It took me years to learn it." Haah Tsunade takes a deep breath and calms her mind. She ps her hand and the strength of a hundred seals spreads across her entire body. "This technique is quite taxing on the body. I didn''t know it until I tried it. But Izuna was able to use it just fine without any damage to his body. Looks like he has a regeneration factor on par with Grandpa, but how''s that possible? No, if it''s Izuna, then everything is possible." Tsunade shakes her head to clear unnecessary thoughts. The strength of the hundred seals covers her entire body in ck totem lines, greatly boosting her regeneration, stamina, endurance, and strength. HAAAH Tsunade riles up her chakra. BANG The ground beneath her cave in due to the effect of her powerful chakra. A burst of fire, lightning and ck Yang energy shrouds her body. Cracks spread across the ground as her tremendous chakra creates a pir in the sky. "This chakra!" The rest of the Kages turn towards Tsunade in surprise. A crimson cloak of lightning and fire envelops Tsunade. A mix of red and ck lightning flickers across Tsunade''s eyes as her strength increases dramatically. "This is" A stare at Tsunade''s transformation in amazement. "Isn''t this simr to my lighting cloak?" He res at the flickering red and ck lightning around Tsunade''s body. "No, wait! I have seen this somewhere before." A attempt to recall a simr sight. After a few seconds, a scene appears in his mind as some lost memories and trauma recover. The sinister face of a demon d in a simr crimson robe appears in his mind as the demon approaches him. Yes, A has been suffering from nightmares after his defeat at the hands of Izuna. Tsunade clenches her fists. "Strength is surging through my body. Though I can''t maintain this form for too long since it''s too taxing on both my chakra and body. But keeping it up for the next five minutes isn''t a problem." Onoki also stares at Tsunade in amazement. "This chakra transformation and this perfect blend of chakra. This technique it is it is a Kekkei tota." He points towards Tsunade with trembling fingers. Being a Kekkei tota user himself, Onoki is quite sensitive to other elemental chakra transformations. "I didn''t expect Tsunade-san to pick up this technique from my husband," Mei mutters as she battles against Yagura. "Husband that means this technique was created by Izuna Uchiha?" Onoki turns towards her in surprise. "Yes, this is one of the original techniques of my husband. He created this technique when he was only eleven years old. This technique is simr to a Kekkei tota, but not quite. Rather, it''s a fusion of two Kekkei Genkais. Those crimson mes are enhanced mes produced by a perfect blend of Fire and Yang release. Simrly, the ck lightning is also a blend of lighting and yang chakra. Both of these Kekkei Genkais merge in a perfect ratio to amplify their power by almost five times. Since this chakra transformation involves two elemental and one non-elemental chakra nature, it''s technically a Kekkei tota." Mei exins. "Incredible! To think of such a method. A real genius, not a prodigy, but a genius beyondparison." For the first time, Onoki feels respect for a shinobi other than his sensei. Dust release was a technique created by his teacher, the first Tsuchikage Ishikawa. However, Ishikawa passed away before he couldplete the technique. On his deathbed, he passed the secrets of this technique to his first student Mu, who perfected the technique andter became the Second Tsuchikage. Mu passes this technique to him and through his years of practice, Onoki refined this technique even further. It took three generations of effort to perfect such a powerful technique, and yet an eleven-year-old kid created a technique of a simr scale. Onoki nces at the power emanating from Tsunade''s body. He can sense that this technique has enhanced Tsunade''s strength, speed, and endurance almost tenfold. In terms of pure destructive power, his dust release is superior to this technique. However, in terms of utility, his technique loses to Tsunade''s technique. "What''s the name of this technique?" Onoki wonders aloud. "It''s called Power Release!" Mei remarks. "Power Release, huh! A fitting name indeed." Onoki watches in silence as Tsunade pummels the six-tails without any chance for thetter to react. The corrosive acid of six-tails is unable to prate the protective cloak of power release and the energy emanating from the power release can harm six-tails'' partially transformed body. Slowly but surely, Tsunade whittles down the chakra of the Six-tails. "What a bunch of monsters, these Konoha shinobis?" Onoki mutters. ''Looks like there is a need to elerate the progress of project Gai.'' Soon, the Kages overwhelm Obito''s six Edo jinchuruki paths and slowly trap him in the encirclement. "Give up, Obito!" Minato and the rest surround Obito. "There is still time for you to reform and surrender. None of us will me you for whatever happened till now." Minato attempts to convince him. "I am already aware that Madara Uchiha manipted you and is the real mastermind behind all of this. So, as long as you surrender" HAAH "Surrender! Punishment!" Obito chuckles. "Do you think you have cornered me?" He res in the eyes of every Kage. ''Looks like I have to resort to one of my trump cards.'' Obito takes out multiple chakra pills. He swallows all of them in a gulp. SHOOM Arge amount of chakra gathers in Obito''s left eye. He raises his left hand towards the eye. ''I will use Rinnegan''s power to summon the giant Chibaku Tensei created by Madara Sensei before his death. I will destroy this entire nation together with all the Kages. Earlier, Zetsu confirmed that this space-locking seal of Minato sensei restricts all sorts of space-time ninjutsu, even including the abilities of its creator. So, Minato sensei can''t teleport others out with his Flying Thunder God jutsu. Even though I will also be crushed by the Chibaku Tensei; I will sacrifice my right eye to cast Izanagi and escape death.'' "This isn''t good. He is about to use a powerful ability of the Rinnegan." Minato senses therge amount of chakra being umted in Rinnegan. "This is farewell, Kages!" Whoosh BANG Suddenly, a crimson double-side energy ive flies out of nowhere and stabs into the ground between the five Kages and Obito. The ground splits in half at the point of impact of the ive. Whoosh A cloaked figure flickers beside Obito. SSh A white snake slithers out of the ck-cloaked clothes and wraps around Obito''s hand. "Kabuto!" Obito recognizes the white snake. "Which means?!" He turns towards the ck-cloaked figure in trepidation. "Who is he?!" The Kages stop in their tracks and re at the neer. "He is a powerful shinobi to be able to break through the barrier I constructed to iste this ce." Minato stares at the ck-cloaked figure in trepidation. "It''s strange. I can''t sense his chakra signature." Ao remarks. "A powerful shinobi with perfect chakra control can mask his chakra." Minato remarks. ''Though Izuna is the only one I can remember who can do so. But this feeling, it''s very familiar.'' Minato warily res at the neer. The neer picks up his ive from the ground. He raises it in the air and infuses arge amount of chakra into it. "Everybodyy on the ground!" Minato yells at the top of his lungs. Having learned their lesson, everyone in Minato''s vicinity quickly follows his instructions. The cloaked figure swings his ive and unleashes a powerfulrge-scale attack. The powerful attack slices through Minato''s barrier and forcibly rips apart the space-locking seal. BANG The surrounding space shatters like ss fragments as Minato''s space-locking seal gets destroyed by the attack. "That''s that''s impossible." The barrier crumbles apart to reveal Kushina and the group outside the group. Whoosh Sasuke and Ayaka swiftly take action and throw their most powerful attacks toward the cloaked figure. Whoosh Having regained his ability, Obito phases through their attacks. The cloaked figure raises his hand and clenches the head of the lightning dragon roaring towards him with his bare hand. CRACK He shatters Sasuke''s lightning dragon with his bare hands. "Release!" Ayaka makes a hand sign and uses the power she borrowed from the Sin seal. BOOM Multiple curse marks appear around the ck-cloaked figure''s arm which is holding her attack. BOOM The seal glows brightly and explodes. Dust and smoke settle down to reveal a perfectly fine figure. The clothes around his arm turn to ashes and half of the mask covering his face slowly crumbles apart. "THAT FACE!" Everyone''s eyes widen in shock. Chapter 452: Real or Imposter? Chapter 452: Real or Imposter? "You are" Everyone''s eye widens in shock as they stare at the figure of the cloaked person. They forget about their battle and focus their eyes on the cloaked figure. "That face it can''t be?" Tsunade and Mei fall to their knees, while Minato, Kushina, and the rest of the Konoha shinobi nkly stare at the face of the cloaked figure. "I Izuna, is that you?" Kushina musters her courage to speak these words. The person in front of him has the same chakra signature as Izuna. Every person has a unique chakra signature, and it''s almost impossible to replicate the chakra signature of another person. It''s part of the reason no shinobi attempt to infiltrate enemy camps by changing their appearance using transformation jutsu. Since the enemy sensors can easily recognize a different chakra signature than the person they are impersonating. [A/N:- Zetsu has this property but none of them are aware of it at this point.] "This chakra signature there is no mistaking it! He is Lord Izuna!" Ao mutters as he inspects the cloaked figure with his Byakugan. "What''s going on? Why why is Izuna Uchiha on Akatsuki''s side?" A re at the cloaked figure and Obito. "Nii-san Is that really Nii-san?" Naruto also warily stares at the cloaked figure. "That''s that''s definitely Izuna''s chakra signature, but somehow there is something else in his chakra. I can''t put my fingers on it but his chakra signature is simr to Izuna and also he is a living person." Kurama confirms Naruto''s doubt. "Hokage, what''s the" Onoki, who was about to question Tsunade, turn silent as he stares at her expression. The cloaked figure ignores everyone and turns towards Ayaka. The sole person responsible for inflicting damage to his body. He raises his hand and gathers arge amount of lightning chakra in them to create a lightning spear. He aims the lightning spear toward Ayaka and prepares to throw it. "Who are you?" Ayaka yells at him. "You aren''t my brother. You can fool everyone''s eyes, but you can''t fool me." Ayaka yells at the cloaked figure with a face and chakra simr to his beloved brother Izuna. The cloaked figure flinches at her remark and the attack he prepared dissipates. Argh He clutches his forehead and falls to his knees. A distorted expression appears on the cloaked figure''s face. At a faraway ce, Kabuto''s expression turns ugly as Izuna struggles free from his control. "I spent quite a considerable effort on this pawn. How can I allow it to break free from my control?" Kabuto makes a series of hand signs. Whoosh Numerous curse marks appear on the cloaked figure''s body and its eyes turn lifeless. The cloaked figure stops resisting and nkly stares in Ayaka''s direction. "What''s happening now?" A question in annoyance. "Is he really the Izuna Uchiha or an imposter?" He asks in confusion. "Those fuinjutsu seals it''s a curse seal." Kushina recognizes the curse pattern on the cloaked figure''s body. "He is simr to Nii-san, but at the same time isn''t my Izuna Nii-san!" Ayaka firmly shakes her head. ''Looks like things aren''t going the way Kabuto expected them to go.'' Obito swiftly assesses the situation. ''I will use this opportunity to escape. I am afraid they might retaliate if they are given an opportunity to recover.'' Swirl whoosh Obito activates his Kamui and pulls all his Six paths and the cloaked figure in his Kamui dimension and vanishes from the spot. "Damn it, he escaped!" A punches the ground. He turns towards the shinobis of Konoha and demands. "Konoha owes us an exnation for everything that happened today! Unless I get a satisfactory answer, we can forget about cooperation." He harrumphs. "C, Darui let''s go!" He returns to his living quarters. Onoki also nces in Tsunade and Minato''s direction before turning to Mifune. "Iwa also shares the same sentiment as Kumogakure. Trust is the foundation of cooperation and yet with today''s events we can no longer trust Konoha." He flies towards his quarters. Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi also follow him. Sigh Mifune sighs and signals his samurais to help the injured personnel. Sakura assists him with the treatment of the injured people. "Let''s return to our quarters and have a meeting." Minato is the first person to regain hisposure. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Izumi assist Mifune-san with the situation. "Yes, Dad Lord fourth!" "I am grateful for your assistance Lord Fourth!" Mifune slightly bows to Minato. "Ao and Chojuro you too aid them!" Mei orders them. "Temari you too!" Rasa remarks. ---------------- Half an hourter, Minato, Kushina, Tsunade, Mei, Ayaka, Rasa, and Gaara are gathered around a table in Konoha''s quarters. They have gloomy expressions on their face as they recall the series of events that happened today. "Was that really the Shini Izuna Uchiha?!" Rasa opens his mouth to break the silence. "If we identify him based on the chakra signature, then it was definitely him. However" Minato pauses and turns to Kushina. Kushina also turns towards him and nods. " the feeling he gave me and Kushina was that of a hollow shell with with no soul," Minato adds. Mei and Tsunade raise their head and turn toward him. "What does that mean? Lord Fourth, can you be more specific?" Gaara raises a question. Minato nods at him to acknowledge his presence. "After our revival, Kushina and I gained the ability to sense the changes in the soul of a person. Although that person looked exactly the same as Izuna and has the same chakra signature. He was nothing more than a puppet with a hollow body. His soul seems to be a cluster of various hmm it''s hard to define but he was definitely not Izuna." "It''s exactly as Minato says. Though that person has the appearance and chakra signature of Izuna, he wasn''t really Izuna." Kushina affirms Minato''s im. Mei and Tsunade heave a sigh of relief. "So, who was he exactly?" Rasa raises an important question. "And also, his power was no joke. His abilities were by far superior to anyone of us. He even pushed back seven Kages all by himself." Rasa adds. "Hmm Rasa is right! He was a living person, so Edo Tensei is out of the question. Then who could he be? Also, I noticed a snake slither out of his clothes. So, he must have some connection with Kabuto." Minato spectes. Everyone ponders the situation. "Could he be a member of that hidden evil organization?" Tsunade remarks. "How''s that possible? Didn''t Izuna Uchiha already deal with the leader of that organization?" Rasa asks. Everyone turns towards him with annoyance. Rasa gulps his saliva and swallows his words. Since he was also fooled by the members of that hidden evil organization in the past and one of the elders of Sunagakure was a hidden member of that organization. It''s part of the reason for Suna''s poor economic condition since that dead elder embezzled all of Suna''s funds to an evil organization. To this day, Rasa is ashamed of his ipetence. It''s the reason he retired from his position as a Kage and transferred his position to Gaara at such a young age. "Also, since Ayaka confirmed that he wasn''t the real Izuna, then we don''t have to worry about facing him again. For all we know, he might be a pawn of that hidden organization. We can''t stake the lives of our people for such a thing. Also, Izuna isn''t such a weak shinobi to get controlled by others." Mei speaks with confidence. "Very well! That settles it then." Tsunade agrees with Mei. "Now, we have to think of an exnation to satisfy Raikage and Tsuchikage." Minato points out. "Ugh it''s so frustrating. But we need their strength to unify the shinobi world and fight against amon enemy." Tsunade pulls her hair in frustration. "Age is really catching up to me. I will definitely retire after this war." Tsunade plops on the table. Chapter 453: War Discussion Chapter 453: War Discussion "So, Hokage, Mizukage, and Kazekage, you all three means to say that a greater threat is lurking in shadows; waiting to destroy the shinobi world?" Onoki throws a skeptical nce at them. "Why should I trust your words?" He questions them. "None of you are trustworthy and this fourth shinobi war is not even our problem, but since that damn Akatsuki dared to kidnap B, we have to get involved." A clenches his fist. "And now you guys are spouting more nonsense about a much greater threat. Why should I believe you?" A bellows. "What we are talking about isn''t some baseless assumptions or information with no ground. We have solid information to back up our ims. Whether you believe it or not is up to you." Tsunade snorts. "Then show us the proof, Princess!" Onoki opens his eyes and nces at Tsunade. Tch Tsunade clicks her tongue. "The information regarding the otherworldly threats is confidential. We can''t reveal it without any sort of alliance or cooperation." Mei interjects. "Tch again with those lies! It''s hard to trust you, people, if there is no proof!" Onoki clicks his tongue. "What should we do?" Rasa turns towards Minato. "Hmm looks like revealing a bit of information will do no harm." Minato makes up his mind. "Very well! Here is the proof." Minato takes out one of Urashiki''s marites from his storage. He ces it in the center of the table. "Have a look at it for yourself?" Onoki, A, and Mifune stand from their seat to inspect the marite. "This strange design and this strange material!" Onoki touches the puppet with his hands and attempts to analyze its material using the Earth Release. "Hmm what''s the deal with this weapon? This is only the hilt. Where is the de?" A pick up one of the marite''s weapons. He swings the empty hilt. "Infuse your chakra into the de!" Minato informs him. "Huh!" A infuses his chakra into the de. Wham A purple energy de erupts from the base of the hilt. "This looks interesting!" A extends his fingers to touch the de. "I would advise against that!" Minato warns him. "Humph I am not as fragile as you think!" Bzzt Crackle A shroud his arm in the lightning cloak and slowly brings the de near his arm. The energy de easily pierces through his lightning cloak and cuts open ayer of his skin. Blood spurts out from his arm. Whoosh A quickly pulls away the de and stops infusing his chakra into it. "THIS THIS BLADE it easily prated my lightning cloak called the absolute defense without any resistance. How could this be?" A''s eyes widen in shock as he nces at the empty hilt. Even Onoki and Mifune are shocked by the disy. Both of them are aware of how hard is to pierce through Raikage''s defense and yet this de did it effortlessly. C quickly uses the Mystic Palm technique to heal Raikage''s wounds. "It''s futile!" Tsunade waves her hands. "Wounds from this de aren''t affected by chakra. So, medical ninjutsu won''t work on it." Tch C takes out a vial of medicine from his pocket and applies it on top of the wound. He prevents bleeding and applies a bandage on the wound. ''If Konoha mass produces such weapons, then even a regr jounin can take down a Kage with such powerful weapons. At this rate, Konoha might be the unquestionable overlord of the shinobi world." Numerous thoughts run through Onoki''s mind as he nces at A''s wound. Minato notices his expression and gets a hint of his thought process. "It''s not possible to mass produce these weapons!" Minato shakes his head. "These des are made of an unknown material not found in the shinobi world. The craftsmanship and the technique used to make these des are extremely advanced. I am pretty sure that no person in the shinobi world can make weapons of such caliber." Mifune picks up the de and inspects it thoroughly. "Lord Fourth is right! Our Land of Iron is known as the forge of the Shinobi world and makes one of the finest weapons of the shinobi world. And yet we have never seen such material or craftsmanship." Mifune nods in agreement. "These weapons are almost on par, if not higher than the seven swords of the Mist." Mifune gently taps the sword hilt and praises the weapon. "The Seven Mist des are relics of the past excavated from ancient ruins. What are the chances these weapons aren''t also the same, excavated from some unknown ancient ruins?" A question the authenticity of the weapons. "No they aren''t that old!" Mifune shakes his head as he ces the weapon back on the table. "I am sure Tsuchikage-sama will provide a proper answer to your question." A turn to Onoki. "He is right! These weapons are barely a hundred years old. Using earth release, I can sense the age of a mineral. It''s mining and refinement. And it hasn''t been even a hundred years since this metal was previously refined." "Also, while I might not be a cksmith, but I have some experience in smithing. So, I can say with hundred percent assurance that this weapon was made within thest few decades." Mifune replies with confidence. "Tch so there is some truth to their words." A click his tongue. Onoki eyes the puppet with a glint in his eyes. While A''s eyes are hooked on the des. However, Minato quickly stores them in his storage. "If you agree on an Alliance and cooperate with us during this fourth Shinobi war andter, then we won''t mind sharing more of these secrets." Minato sets the condition. "Also, you might have seen that giant red mass of energy hovering over the skies of the shinobi world a few years ago," Minato asks them. Onoki and A raise an eyebrow as they recall the terrifying energy undtion they felt at the sight of that massive storm of energy. "Could that be?" "Yes, it was from an otherworldly threat that attacked Konoha. We were barely able to push hold him at bay with thebined efforts of all our elite shinobis. Only when Izuna made a move did we manage to kill him. Now, since Izuna is no longer with us" Minato''s words trail off, but A and Onoki understand the hint. "So, as you can see, it''s almost impossible to face them alone. The entire shinobi world has to cooperate to stand a slight chance against them." Minato remarks. "I see!" Onoki and A ponder over the situation. Even though A has quite a brash and unruly side to him, he is still a Raikage and thus possesses the necessary wits to manage a hidden vige. "We would like to see the body of that otherworldly being before we make a decision." Both Onoki and A respond to Minato''s words. Minato nces at Tsunade and Mei. Thetter shakes their head. "Unfortunately, we can''t agree to that condition." He shakes his head. "However, if you form an alliance and sign a non-aggression treaty, then there is a possibility. But you need to visit Konoha for that." Hmm A and Onoki ponder for a while before finallying to a conclusion. "Alright, we agree with the alliance. Let''s discuss the conditions." So, after another round of discussion and negotiation, the first shinobi alliance of the shinobi world makes its appearance. "So, who would be the suprememander of the alliance?" Onoki raises the most important question. "I think I am suitable for the task. I have enough experience and strength worthy for this position. So, I will nominate myself for the position." Onoki nominates himself. "Bullshit! If it''s anyone, then it must be me. I can trust you, old fox, for such an important position." A bellows. "So, I will nominate myself for this position." A proudly deres. "What about you, Lord Kazekage, Lady Mizukage, and Lady Hokage?" Mifune turns towards the trio. "I would like to nominate Minato for the position." Tsunade deres. "I too would nominate Lord Minato for the position of the suprememander." Gaara also nominates Minato. "I will also nominate Lord Minato for the position. He has enough strength and experience to hold such a position." Mei deres. "Damn! These crafty bastards." Onoki clicks his tongue. "I will concede this time." A also gives in. "Very well, it''s decided then. Lord Minato will be the suprememander of the Allied Shinobi Forces." "Now let''s discuss the division of the army and the location of our battlefront. I would like Konoha and other nations to share all of their intel on Akatsuki members." Mifune deres. Thus, after the formation of the alliance, a strategic meeting about the uing Fourth Shinobi War takes ce. Chapter 454: Grudge of Centuries Chapter 454: Grudge of Centuries In an unknown dimension with red skies and deste surroundings filled with sinister chakra and nature energy, "Found him!" The astral demon n prince opens his eyes. "I can sense the location of my curse that I ced on him. He has isted himself within a pocket dimension within this world. Currently, he must be agonizing in pain as my curse slowly eats his soul." "Then what are we waiting for? It''s time to pull that stinky rat out of its hole." The cloaked figure grows impatient. "These are the spatial coordinates." The princes transfer the spatial coordinates to the ck-cloaked figure. "Dimensional Sever," The cloaked figure shes open a cross-shaped space channel and walks into it. The demon prince follows him. The duo reappears within the depths of the they are standing upon. Hot magma flows from various crevices in the surrounding rock bodies. The smell of sulfur and moltenva wafts in the air. A Burst of high-temperature air and toxic fumes greets them. Both erect an energy barrier to ward off the heat and toxic fumes. They notice a castle on a giant rock bed floating in a sea ofva. Hmm The cloaked figure scrutinizes the castle with narrow eyes. "An artifact?! No wonder he could evade our detection for so long. This seems to be a semi-divine-grade relic. Also" Both of them look around and notice multiple enemies in their surroundings. Various Abyss monsters fly out of the castle and various foreignva abominations erupt from theva sea. The astral demon prince ignores the monsters and attacks the castle with a powerful energy projectile. BOOM Their surroundings tremble from the powerful energy undtions. A transparent barrier shrouds the castle and repels the attack. "Tch! That stinky rat just got a turtle shell." The prince grumbles in annoyance. He inserts his hand into the surrounding space and pulls out a curved de. The prince infuses his energy into the curved de. A giant apparition of a horned figure with wings appears behind the prince. The apparition grabs the curved de and swings it toward the barrier to release a cyan ring of energy. BOOM The cyan rings explode on top of the barrier and unleash a powerful burst of energy that decimates the surroundings. It cleaves the surrounding rock structures and blows away the surroundingva. Slight ripples spread across the barrier, but there is no visible damage to its integrity. "It''s sturdier than I thought." The prince clicks his tongue. Swish The cloaked figure swings his de and eradicates thestva abomination attacking them at the moment. "Why don''t you give it a shot?" The prince turns towards him. "I don''t have an artifact!" The cloaked figures disperse the energy de in his hand. "Here!" The prince tosses the battered spear of Ama-no-hoko toward the cloaked figure. Hmm The cloaked figure catches the spear and scrutinizes it. "It''s in quite a rough shape and has lost most of its energy and spirituality." The cloaked figure inserts his chakra in the spear and activates various Fuinjutsu seals carved on the spear. Bright white and dark ck inscriptions appear on the spear. A giant Taichi apparition appears behind the cloaked figure. He raises the spear and points its tip toward the barrier. BOOM A deafening st of energy escapes from the tip of the spear. The energy st hits the barrier and generates multiple small cracks on its surface. "It''s working!" The prince cries in excitement. However, the barrier quickly repairs the crack and recovers to its former state. The cloaked figure grasps the spear and stretches his hand backward in a throwing posture. Crimson energy envelops the spear. Swish He swings the spear and throws it toward the barrier. BOOM BOOM The spear releases a thunderous cry and tears through the surrounding space as it rapidly approaches the barrier. BANG A muffled sound escapes in the surrounding as the spear shes with the protective energy field. The tip of the spear prates the energy field. Multiple cracks spread across the barrier due to the impact of the spear. RUMBLE RUMBLE Multiple shockwaves escape from the sh and utterly decimates the surroundings. The underground cavern copses as a result of the remnant energy. Rock and debris fall on top of the duo but get blocked by their barrier. A powerful pir of crimson energy burst through the ground and decimates a wide area of several hundred kilometers in their surroundings. Numerous cracks spread across the surface of the entire. "Woah!" The prince exims in shock. "Your attacks are as shy as usual." The cloaked figure recalls the spear and res at the barrier. The cracks in the barrier are regenerating at a much faster rate than before. "This will take a while!" He clicks his tongue in annoyance. He grips the spear and prepares to throw it again. RUMBLE RUMBLE Suddenly, the entire trembles violently. A massive amount of chakra gathers around the atmosphere of the. "What''s going on?" Both of them fly into the sky and nces at their surroundings. The crimson pir of energy has blown away a giant hole through the gloomy sky of the. A starry sky is visible through the giant hole. Multiple cracks appear in the sky and a giant Fuinjutsu seal bes visible to the eye. The Fuinjutsu seal covers the entire. The Fuinjutsu seal glows with a purple hue. "This fuinjutsu inscription" The expression of the prince turns ugly as he recalls the sealing pattern. "It''s a trap!" He clenches his fist. "Well done figuring that out, prince!" Two humanoid figures with twisted ck horns walk out of the castle. They have shoulder-length pale gray hairs which part down the middle in a zig-zag pattern. Their ram-like horns are adorned with ring-like ornaments. They have delicate facial features and are dressed in a ck kariginu hunting robe, baggy pants, a pair of tengu-geta, and white gloves. One of the figures has a pale face and a ck aura emanates from his body. Both of them smirk at the astral demon prince and the cloaked figure. "You both" The astral demon prince res at them with a bone-piercing gaze. "JASHIN KISHIN! The traitors of the astral demon n." He grits his teeth in fury. "I won''t forgive you for your sins." The prince almost loses his mind. "Calm down!" The cloaked figure pats his shoulder. "Everything is going as I nned!" He mumbles and stares at the skies above the deste. "Will youe out on your own or will I have to drag you out?" He continues. "WHAT!" The prince is startled by the cloaked figure''s sudden remark and raises his head. Whoosh The dark clouds above their head disperse to reveal multiple massive armies of Abyss monsters. There are countless abyss nightmares, head hunters, soul-eaters, dreads, and centurions. Five figures are leading this army of abyss monsters, a giant ck twin-headed dragon, a giant creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a snake, a gigantic colossus with a height much bigger than the entire, a giant flying insect of an unknown species, and a pale humanoid figure with t, curved bull-like horns with two golden Byakugan and a Rinnesharingan present in the center of his head. "An Otsutsuki with pure royal bloodline!" The cloaked figure frowns at the sight of the Otsutsuki. "I didn''t expect the royal family of Otsutsuki to harbor a traitor among their bloodline." The cloaked figure calmly mocks them. ''These abyssal lords aren''t much of a problem. I can easily deal with all four of them and their army. The real trouble is that Otsutsuki with the Royal bloodline. Otsutsukis with pure bloodline are much closer to their primogenitor and thus can draw more power from their bloodline. They can also sacrifice a portion of their bloodline to temporarily summon a clone of their ancestor. I am no match for those powerful prominent figures.'' The cloaked weighs his options. "Don''t lump me with the likes of these foul creatures. I am here to exact vengeance on behalf of my fianc, which you murdered in cold blood. I have been looking for you for centuries and finally, I found you after all that trouble. These filthy beings happen to have the same objective as me." The Otsutsuki proudly crosses his arm. "You have nowhere to escape. This giant Fuinjutsu seal covers this entire has sealed this entire dimension from both inside and outside. Nobody from this ce can leave this dimension and simrly nobody from outside can enter this dimension." The Otsutsuki deres with a mocking smirk. "Now, prepare yourself for my judgment!" He deres. Chapter 455: B Vs Kisame Chapter 455: B Vs Kisame In a forest at the border of the Land of lightning. "Tch those damn Konoha bastards!" A punches the trunk of a giant tree. "Damn that old crafty fox, changing sides like that? Didn''t we agree to cooperate to pressure Konoha?" He grits his teeth. Ehehe Darui scratches his head. "Umm Raikage-sama, still it''s good news that B-sama is still alive. That Akatsuki leader told so himself." "Still, I am very pissed at the fact that Bee hid himself and avoided me when I was furiously searching for him. He deserves a nice beating." A cracks his knuckles. "Let''s return to the vige. We have to prepare for the war." A and his escort walk towards the Kumogakure. BOOM Suddenly, a gigantic explosion urs in the distance. The entire forest trembles from the shockwaves. "What what was that?" A and the rest of the escort group stabilize their footsteps and nce in the direction of the explosion. Whoosh A and Darui quickly climb on top of a giant tree to survey the situation while C closes his eyes to sense the flow of chakra. "What''s that giant bubble of water?" A and Darui notice a massive bubble of water covering almost a quarter of the forest. "Hmm I can see someone floating inside that bubble." Darui narrows his eyes. "Something orange is floating inside that giant bubble of water! Is that a bear?" Darui spots a giant creature with orange fur inside the water bubble. "I can also see a few humans inside that bubble. But they are too far for me to notice their appearance." Darui remarks. "C, how''s the situation? Is it an enemy or an ally?" A turn to C. "It''s Lord B. His chakra and eight-tail chakra are mixed within that giant water bubble. Also, I am sensing another sinister mass of chakra on par with a tailed beast inside that water bubble. There are rapid fluctuations in the chakra. Seems like Lord Bee is fighting against someone." C assesses the situation. "B!" A scream and dashes in the direction of the giant bubble. "Let''s follow Lord Raikage!" C and Darui also chase him. "All of you, please return to the vige and inform them of the situation." Darui issues amand to the rest of the escort group members. Whoosh They quickly flicker in the direction of the giant bubble. Suddenly, BOOM With another loud explosion, the giant bubbles disappear. "This is bad! A major portion of Lord B and eight-tails chakra disappeared suddenly. I can sense only faint traces of their chakra. Looks like Lord B''s life is in danger." An ugly expression appears on C''s face. "BEEE!!" The Raikage shrouds his body in the lightning cloak and raises his speed by a few notches. Whoosh Soon, he disappears from C and Darui''s sight. "Let''s hurry! We can''t let Raikage-sama and Lord B fight against the enemy on their own. Also, Lord Bee might require medical attention." C and Darui also increase their pace. At the other end of the forest, "Looks like this is the end, Hachibi!" A humanoid shark-like creature with a long tail and a giant protruding dorsal fin on its back walks towards B. The creature has sharp spiky teeth and another two fin protrudes from its arms. The fins on its body shrink and morph into a human. "The eight-tails turned out to be rather disappointing, too!" Kisame slowly morphs back to his original form as he undoes his fusion with the Samehada. Ugh B groans in pain as his version 2-tailed beast cloak dissipates. "B, make a run for it! You are no match for this guy." Gyuki''s desperate voice rings in B''s head. ''He has absorbed most of my chakra. Any more, and I will be forced into hibernation to recover my chakra.'' Gyuki warns him. ''I will pass my remaining bits of chakra to you. Use it to escape from this ce. Your Raikage brother is the only person who is capable of handling this guy.'' "I can''t kill you yet or else the tailed beast sealed within you will escape. I will knock you out and bring you to the headquarters." Kisame raises his sword to sh B. Shoom Fwish B opens his mouth and shoots out a hidden weapon from his mouth. sh A burst of blood sshes in the surroundings as the hidden weapon shes across Kisame''s neck. "What?!" BOOM While the surprise attack distracts Kisame, B uses this opportunity to detonate a few smoke bombs and escape. ''Was that a pencil?'' Gyuki mutters in slight shock. Gah Kisame wipes the blood from his neck. Samehada wraps around his neck and releases the stolen-tailed beast chakra to heal his wound. He nces in the direction of B''s hidden weapon. ''A pencil whose prating power has been increased by high-frequency oscition generated by the Lightning Style, huh? That''s even greater than the wind style''s prating power. High-speed oscitions indeed! Although its prating power is lesser than the lightning-enhanced ninja tools, he used earlier during our fight; its lethality is increased due to its lightweight. If I had taken a direct hit, it would have left a hole in my neck.'' Kisame cracks his neck. "But do you seriously think that you can escape from my clutches? Samehada has memorized the scent of your chakra. Like a hungry shark, it will chase after its prey and will gorge on your delicious chakra." Kisame clutches the hilt of Samehada and fuses a portion of its de into his body. "It''s that direction!" He opens his eyes and dashes towards B''s escape route. A giant roon and a person peep out of a nearby bush. "Will master B be alright? That monster is out for his blood and I am not strong enough to provide any assistance to Lord B. If not for me, Lord B would have won the previous confrontation." The master of the giant roon clutches his giant de. Whoosh whoosh B swiftly flickers through the forest using the remaining chakra provided by eight-tails. "I was almost a goner, Yo! Gyuki, my partner, that wasn''t a fight of honor. My instincts are telling me to escape in this direction, so that''s the reason why this is my selection!" Swish B ducks down and avoids a sharp de of water. The water de chops through multiple trees but cleaves a boulder in half. "I didn''t expect you to have enough chakra to make it this far." Kisame licks his lips as he res at B. "I can''t change you squirming around and entering into your tailed-beast form to escape again. So, I am going to cut off your limbs as a precaution." Kisame raises the Samehada to slice through B''s body. "KISAMA!" A furious A leaps out of a nearby bush and tackles Kisame. "Lightningriat!" He coats his body with lightning chakra and ms his shoulder into Kisame''s body. "Nani?!" A is shocked as Kisame withstands his lightningriat. The lightning cloak around his body disperses as Samehada absorbs his chakra. "Nii-san, it''s his sword. It can absorb chakra." B warns him. "Damn you!" A grits his teeth. His muscles expand slightly, and he knocks into Kisame and sends him flying. BANG Kisame ms through multiple trees before he stabilizes himself by stabbing Samehada into the ground. Ptui He spits out a mouthful of blood. "That was the pure physical force with no chakra involved. As expected, the Raikage is a monster in terms of physical strength. However" Kisame cracks his body and charges toward A. " he is nothing but fodder for my samehada." Bang Shockwaves spread across the ground as A and Kisame sh. A sh against Kisame with bare hands. He blocks Samehada''s attack with the golden vambraces around his wrist. "You bastard! How dare youy your hands on my little brother B?" A infuses lightning chakra into his arms. He clutches Kisame''s shoulder and lifts him in the air. "DIE! LIGER BOMB!" He releases an extreme burst of lightning chakra and smashes Kisame''s head into the ground. Rumble rumble A giant crater forms at the point of impact and the ground beneath their feet trembles from the powerful shockwaves. Kisame''s body limply falls to the ground as he let go of Samehada. C and Darui also reach the spot at the exact moment. Chapter 456: A Vs Kisame Chapter 456: A Vs Kisame "B-sama, are you alright?" C hurriedly supports B. He uses the mystic palm technique to heal B''s wound. "I am fine Yo, thanks to that brother of mine Yo!" B slowly sits up and eats a chakra pill to restore his chakra. "How is that guy?" B turns in the direction of A and Kisame. "No one has lived through that Liger Bomb. He is done for!" Darui remarks. "No! That guy is different." Heh Kisame opens his eyes and smirks. Stab Samehada pierces through Raikage''s lightning armor and absorbs his chakra. "Get away from me!" A forcefully grabs the hilt of the Samehada to push it away. Swish Multiple spikes protrude from the hilt of Samehada and pierce through Raikage''s palm. A slightly grimaces in pain but he firmly clutches the handle and smashes the sword into the ground with his full strength. He picks it up and tosses it away in the distance. "It has been a while since I got injured to such an extent!" A wipes the blood from his chest and hands. "Raikage-sama!" C hurriedly flicker beside A. He uses the Mystic Palm technique to heal A''s wounds. "That guy lived through Raikage sama''s liger bomb." Darui narrows his eyes. "No! It''s that creepy sword of his. It absorbed Nii-san''s chakra before the impact and cushioned his head with its rear. Thanks to the reduced chakra output, that guy survived without any injury. Still, he is quite resilient to attacks." B gets serious and exins the situation to Darui. "I have a lot to learn!" Darui scratches his head. "So, that''s one of the infamous, legendary mist swords, Samehada or Shark Skin. It''s the most terrifying sword of all seven des since it is sentient and possesses a will of its own." C nces at Samehada as thetter crawls its way back to Kisame. Kisame clutches the handle of the sword and ces it on his shoulder. "You! You are Kisame Hoshigaki from Akatsuki." C recognizes Kisame''s identity. "Akatsuki! They are after B again!" A clench his fist in rage. "How dare you?" Whoosh A cloaks his body in the lightning cloak and attacks Kisame. Bang Kisame blocks A'' punch with Samehada and absorbs A''s chakra. A continues to output more chakra and pushes Kisame back with brute force. BOOM A fist print appears on Samehada''s and it yelps in pain. Bleurgh Kisame also spits out a mouthful of blood from the impact. "Looks like my defenses aren''t enough to withstand your attacks. In that case" Samehada squirms around his body and slowly fuses with him. "What''s going on? His features are turning grotesque and his chakra levels are rising sharply. His chakra reserves have already surpassed a human and are on par with a tailed beast." C stares at Kisame in horror. "That''s the chakra he stole from me and B." A cracks his neck and falls back. Kisamepletes his transformation and turns into a humanoid shark-like being. Kisame quickly makes some hand signs. "Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave," Kisame spews out a massive amount of water, covering the entire area with a ferocious tsunami. "Nii-san, be careful! He is preparing to trap us in his water prison." "I won''t let you!" A also quickly make some hand signs. "Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Bullet," A spews out a gigantic dragon-shaped lightning bolt from his mouth. The lightning travels through the highly conductive water and smashes into Kisame''s body. Kisame shrugs off the lightning by stabbing his tail into the ground and transferring the lightning chakra to the ground. "Interesting! It will be an interesting battle. Kuku" Kisame chuckles and flickers toward A while swinging his fin de. Haah A also covers his body with lightning and shes with Kisame. BANG He blocks the fin de with his vambraces. Kisame absorbs A''s chakra from their sh. A falter slightly in their sh, but he regains his bnce and punches Kisame''s chest, sending thetter flying. Kisame slowly stands up. The muscles on his stomach squirm and heal the wound inflicted by Raikage. "Raikage-sama, things aren''t looking good for you. You are getting weaker the longer the battle continues. That sword is continuously absorbing your chakra, and it has drained almost half of your chakra." C warns him. "Heh! If that''s the case, then I am left with no choice." ng ng A remove the lock on his vambraces. Bang Bang The vambraces fall on the ground and create heavy indentations in it. A flexes his hands and swings his arms in a chopping motion. There is a ck tattoo of a kanji for ''Lightning'' on both of his arms. A cross his arms together. Crackle Crackle A surge of ck lightning surges through his body and creates a storm of ck lightning around him. HAAH A screams and releases multiple bolts of ck lightning around him. The unrestrained ck lightning bolt breaks the surrounding rocks and grinds them into dust. A shrouds his entire body in a ck lightning cloak. His eyes turn red from the overflowing lightning chakra and he loses control of himself. Whoosh Bang A disappear from his ce and reappear in front of Kisame in an instant. "He is fast! Much faster than before!" Kisame is shocked to see the sudden increases in A''s speed. Ands a heavy punch on Kisame''s chest. Kisame blocks the punch by crossing his abdomen, but the powerful punch burst open his hands and punches a hole in his gut. Bleugh Kisame is sent flying by the punch. He crashes through multiple trees before eventually mming into a boulder. He pukes out a mouthful of blood. "His power, speed, and endurance are on another levelpared to before. And Samehada refuses to absorb that sinister ck lightning." Kisame wipes the blood from his mouth. The wounds on his body heal rapidly as he draws chakra from Samehada. "Lightning Release: Double ck lightning panther," A makes multiple hand signs and charges the ck lightning in his hands. He aims the charged ck lightning toward Kisame and releases it in a single burst. Roar The ck lightning turns into two giant ck lightning panthers and pounces toward Kisame. Kisame also makes multiple hand signs and infuses arge amount of chakra in his hands. "Water Release: Great Shark Bullet technique," Kisame creates a gigantic shark of water and thrust his hands forward to send the shark toward A. The shark opens its giant mouth and shes with the two ck lightning panthers. BOOM A violent explosion urs at the point of impact. A surge of water drowns A and pushes him away, dispelling his ck lightning mode. Another surge of water and lightning engulfs Kisame and splits his fusion with Samehada. Smoke and mist cover the entire area. A giant orange roon and a Kumo shinobi arrive at their position. "Master Sabu!" B recognizes thetter as his previous battle partner. "You didn''t escape?" B asks him. "I did! But then I heard themotion and saw Raikage sama''s ck lightning. So, I changed my mind and switched directions. Did that guy force Raikage-sama to use it?" Sabu asks him. "Yes!" B nods his head. "I didn''t expect Raikage-sama to resort to this jutsu. ck Lightning is an enhanced version of normal lightning, but it also puts a great burden on the user. Fourth Raikage sama was never able to fully master the technique, so Lord Third has to seal the technique in his arms. Later, he passed a weakened version of this technique to a kid." "That would be me!" Darui points towards himself and reveals the ck lightning tattoo on his left shoulder. Sabu swings his gigantic axe and clears the surrounding mist to reveal Kisame holding Samehada while limping slightly. "It''s time to settle this!" B enters in Version 1 tailed-beast form and confronts Kisame. A also flickers beside Kisame. "B! Let''s do it like the good old days." A charges up some lightning chakra in his body. Whoosh Both of them flicker toward Kisame from the opposite direction. "Water Style: Super Shark Bo" Kisame ps his palm to perform his technique. "Double Lariat!" A and B m their left and right shoulder in Kisame and blow off his head before he couldplete his hand signs. "You guys are too fast" Kisame''s head rolls off the ground as his body falls down. "We did it, BRRROTHERRR!" B turns towards A with open arms to hug him. BAM A clutches B''s forehead with his grip and squeeze his head. "Nuuoooo!" B shrieks in pain. "Have a taste of iron maiden grip! This is for wandering around by yourself!" "Even ya non-dominant arm does me a lot o'' harm! Sound da rm!" "What should we do with his body and the sword?" C and Darui stare at Samehada and Kisame''s body. "Hand over his body to the research department and as for the sword; I will make Mizukage spit out a hefty sum to fetch it back." C collects Kisame''s corpse into a scroll and seals Samehada with a Fuinjutsu seal. Chapter 457: Situation in Blood Prison Chapter 457: Situation in Blood Prison Inside the Hokage Office, "Any words from the Hozuki castle?" Tsunade checks a report and turns to Shizune. "No, nothing yet!" Shizune shakes her head. "It has been over two weeks since the Kage Summit. We already sent the emergency war alliance deration to all small hidden nations and yet the Hidden Grass refuses to cooperate." Tsunade grits her teeth. "Jiraiya, any intel from your spies?" Tsunade turns towards the window of the Hokage Office, where Jiraiya is hanging upside down. "Tch here I thought of surprising you." He jumps down and opens the window to enter the Hokage Office. Jiraiya removes his raincoat since it''s raining outside. "I do indeed have some information, and quite an urgent one at that." He takes out a scroll from the chest pocket of his haori and passes it to Tsunade. Tsunade opens the scroll and reads its content. "Recently, an unusual series of the incident have been spotted in the blood prison of the Hozuki castle. Bloody mangled human bodies of prisoners were located in the vicinity of the prison. Not only that, the torturous screams of the prisoners can be heard from the blood prison. The warden of the Blood prison Mui has ced a lockdown on the prison. No outsider is allowed to visit the prison, and even the prisoners are handled from outside the prison." Tsunade closes the scroll and turns to Jiraiya. "Hmm how should we handle the situation?" While Tsunade is musing over the matter. Knock knock... Someone knocks on the door. "Come in!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura enter the Hokage Office. "You three what brings you here?" Tsunade asks them." "Umm Tsunade-sama, it suddenly started raining outside when we passed by the academy. So, we thought of seeking shelter in the Hokage Office." Sakura answers in embarrassment. "It''s fine!" Tsunade waves her hand. "O Naruto! How are you doing?" Jiraiya waves at Naruto. "Pervy Sage! You are also here." Naruto waves and stands beside Jiraiya. "Hey, Pervy sage! During our previous mission, I visited an amazing, incredible ce. It was so much fun and I ate lots of new food and met many people." Naruto describes Redaku to Jiraiya. "Oi, Naruto! Where is that ce? It sounds so much fun." Jiraiya grabs Naruto and pulls him aside. Both of them continue to bber and raise amotion within the Hokage Office. Tch An angry tick appears on Tsunade''s forehead. "Cut it off, you two. Here, I am grinding my mind to think of a way to deal with the Hozuki castle situation, and yet you two." Tsunade bonks both of them. "We are sorry!" Tears flow from Naruto''s and Jiraiya''s eyes and they gloomily sit in a corner and make circles on the floor with their fingers. "What''s the matter, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura asks Tsunade. Sigh Tsunade sighs and exins the situation to Sakura since she is her student. "Blood prison?!" Sakura and Naruto cluelessly tilt their head in confusion. "I have heard about it." Sasuke is the one to answer. "Hozuki castle also known as ''the Blood Prison'' is the most dangerous and vicious prison of the entire shinobi world. Its reputation is so widespread that the mere mention of this name strikes terror into the hearts of criminals. Thus, Hozuki castle is arguably the number one criminal containment facility in the shinobi world. This prison is controlled by the Kusagakure and is located on an ind in the middle of nowhere. There are multiple vicious death traps around the prison, and the prison is located on a cliff surrounded by whirlpools. There is a small town and a port on the ind. They sentenced rogue shinobis or criminals whomitted heinous crimes to a life sentence in that prison and are intended to remain there until they die, or the hidden vige that sent them officially requests their release." Sasuke gives a detailed exnation of the Hozuki castle. "You are right!" Tsunade nods in agreement and is quite surprised by Sasuke''s knowledge. "Wow, Sasuke-kun! You are so knowledgeable." Sakura fawns over him. "It''s nothing much. I read about it in the Uchiha n library." Sasuke shakes his head. "Hozuki castle ys a vital role in the military decision of Kusagakure and thus the strange urrence in the Hozuki castle can''t be ignored." Tsunade continues. "That''s not all! There is a legend about the Hozuki castle, though the credibility of it is questionable. But given the multiple strange phenomena we encountered in the past few years, I presume this legend leans towards the truth." Tsunade''s expression turns serious. Suddenly, the sky darkens and a lightning bolt strikes down, creating a perfect scene straight out of a horror movie. Gulp Naruto gulps his saliva and grabs Jiraiya''s clothes in fear as Tsunade tells the tale. "The Hozuki castle or the blood prison exists way before the era of the Sage of Six Paths. It''s said that an extremely powerful cursed relic in the shape of a box is hidden beneath the Hozuki castle. Back before the era of the Sage of Six Paths, Kusagakure used the power of the cursed relic to almost conquer the entire shinobi world." Tsunade narrates the story of the Hozuki castle. "Why almost? Did they fail somehow?" Sakura questions in confusion. "They did indeed fail. However, the details are unknown to the rest of the world. Some said that the relic went out of control and wiped out the people of Kusagakure. Others said that an extremely powerful figure appeared and killed everyone. That figureter sealed the box in the depths of the Hozuki castle. There are also ims that the powerful relic released a massive army of demons that devoured their summoner as a living sacrifice and then vanished into thin air." Tsunade shakes her head at the various spections about the relic. "However, after that incident, a certain n took over the responsibility of managing the blood prison as its wardens, and that n still exists to this day. Anyway, the sudden incidents in the Hozuki castle might be rted to that relic." Tsunade has a serious expression on her face. "I would have liked Minato to handle this situation. However, as the suprememander of the Shinobi Alliance Army; he is quite busy dealing with the affairs of war with Sakumo-san." A helpless Tsunade shakes her head. "Then, I will do it!" Naruto raises his head. "I will sneak into the castle, figure out their secret, and escape." Naruto formtes a n. ''This sounds so much fun, Dattebyo!'' An obscene smile appears on Naruto''s face. "Hmph do you think that we don''t understand your n?" Everyone scoffs at Naruto. "You have been holed up in the vige after the Kage Summit. Since you are a jinchuruki, the Akatsuki is hounding you. We can''t let you fall into their hands so easily." Shizune shakes her head. "But but I am quite strong and can handle everything on my own." Naruto clenches his fists. "What if they sent ''him''?" Tsunade speaks with gloom. Everyone''s expression turns sour as they recall the person with Izuna''s face. That person not only matches Izuna''s profile, but even his strength was also as monstrous as Izuna''s. During the Kage Summit, he single-handily suppressed everyone on the scene. "I I I am not as strong as him." Naruto shakes his head and drops his head in depression. "I will do it!" Sasuke volunteers. Everyone turns towards Sasuke and ponders. "Hmm Sasuke might be the best choice for this mission." After a few seconds, Tsunade and Jiraiya nod at Sasuke''s proposal. "However, you can''t indirectly infiltrate the prison since there are various uncanny circumstances involving that ce. Also, it might affect our diplomatic rtions with Kusagakure and Kusa might even turn hostile for exposing their secrets. So, we need to think of a n and for that, we need to contact Iwagakure and Kumogakure." Tsunade formtes a n. The rain stops pouring, and the sky bes clear. Tsunade scribbles down two letters and ties them on a messenger eagle''s leg to send them to Onoki and A. ''I hope this n of ours works.'' Chapter 458: Infiltration in the Hozuki Castle Chapter 458: Infiltration in the Hozuki Castle A weekter, A strange news spread across the Five Hidden Viges. Sasuke Uchiha of the Hidden leaf vige attacked Raikage and Tsuchikage during an important strategic meeting. Sasuke ughtered seven jounins and twenty chunnins during the battle. He chopped off Raikage''s arm and gravely wounded Tsuchikage and escaped the pursuit of two viges. Kumogakure and Iwagakure issued a joint apprehension notice against Sasuke and publicly demanded an exnation from the Hidden Lead Vige. To maintain its diplomatic rtions with the two viges, the hidden leaf vige responded by sending its elite shinobis to capture Sasuke. Thetter was apprehended and pleaded guilty. After a lengthy discussion among the three viges, they sentenced Sasuke to life imprisonment in the Hozuki castle. ng The door of the prison cell closes and one of the guards removes a ck cloth from Sasuke''s face. "You have quite some guts, kid! Sabotaging the meeting between two Kages and massacring their shinobis, you might perhaps be the first person to escape alive after all thatmotion." Bang The guard knees Sasuke in the guts. "Your balls might be big, but my stick is even bigger!" He bashes Sasuke''s head with an iron baton. Blood leaks from Sasuke''s head as he raises his head and activates his Sharingan to re into the guard''s eyes. "How? How are you able to use chakra despite those chakra suppression cuffs?" The guard falls back in terror. Shiing The tomoes in Sasuke''s Sharingan spin as he casts a genjutsu on the guard. A few secondster, the guard pees his pants and froth foam from his mouth. This demonstration scares the rest of the guards. "Hurry up and call the warden! This guy is bad news. We can''t handle him." The rest of the guard panics and dashes away from Sasuke''s cell. "What''s going on? What''s with all thismotion?" A fair, tall man with shoulder-length ck hair, brown eyes, and a chiseled face walks through the corridors of the prison hall. A thick strand of hair hangs in front of his head. He wears a long ck trench coat held together by a long brown belt and a silver buckle. He wears white gloves and long brown boots. "Mui-sama! Mui-sama!" The guards hurriedly surround him and prostrate. "Mui-sama, that new prisoner is too dangerous for us to handle." "Hoh!" Mui walks towards Sasuke''s cell and nces at Sasuke. He opens the prison cell and enters. Sasuke raises his head and nces at him. "I am Mui, and I am responsible for this ce. Being sent here means that you havepletely lost the trust of your vige. So remember this, you are no longer of any value and" Mui swiftly makes a few hand signs. Crimson chakra coats his hands. "Inferno Style: Celestial Prison!" He ms his chakra-coated palm into Sasuke''s chest. Gah Sasuke spits out a mouthful of blood from the impact. A crimson sealing form covers his entire chest and disrupts his chakra. Sasuke''s eyes return to normal. " now your life lies in my hands." Mui withdraws his outstretched palm. Sasuke attempts to infuse the chakra but the seal on his chest glows and disrupts his chakra flow. Argh Sasuke winces in pain as the seal inflicts burns on his body. "It''s futile! This is my n''s imprisonment jutsu that has been handed down for ages. This is the reason the Hidden grass overseas the Hozuki Castle for ages. As long as you have that jutsu form on your chest, you will not be able to infuse the chakra. There are only two ways to get out of this ce. One is an official request by your vige." Mui pauses a nce at Sasuke''s file. "But given the crime youmitted; this option is out of choice. And the second is if you die. Now behave if you want to live a few more years." Mui res at Sasuke and turns around to leave. "Remove the chakra suppression cuffs!" He orders a guard. "Yes, Mui-sama!" The guard enters the prison cell and removes the chakra suppression cuffs from Sasuke''s hands. "Tch you better behave or the rest of your days won''t pass in peace." The guard scoffs and leaves the cell. Sasuke lowers his head and sits in a dark corner of his cell. After ensuring that no one is around; Sasuke opens his mouth. He spits out a mini scroll from his mouth and recalls the event prior to his imprisonment. ------------------------ Inside the meeting room in the In-Y headquarters, Tsunade, Kushina, Shizune, Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, and Itachi gather around a round table. "The Raikage and Tsuchikage have agreed to our n. They are ready to deploy their men in case of emergency and aid us." Tsunade nces at the scroll ced on the top of the table. "We will now execute the next step of our n!" Everyone turns towards Sasuke since he is the central figure of the entire n. "This is the map sent by Raikage and Tsuchikage for the uing strategic meeting of all hidden nations. You will infiltrate this ce and create amotion. The representative of the Hidden Grass vige will also be present at the meeting. So, your acting skills should look convincing to them." "I understand!" Sasuke picks up the scroll and pockets it. "Another important thing!" Kushina takes out a scroll from a nearby cabin and hands it over to Sasuke. "The Hozuki castle has a tradition of sealing its prisoner''s chakra through a powerful ancient seal called Celestial Prison. This seal is so powerful that none of the shinobi nation and ns, including the Uzumaki n known for their Fuinjutsu prowess, were able to decipher it. Thus, the warden of the Hozuki castle has absolute confidence in their seal. However" Tsunade smirks and points toward the scroll. "Your big brother Izuna previously infiltrated the Hozuki castle to investigate the suspicious activities rted to the hidden organization, Kara. His infiltration skills are second to none in the entire shinobi world, so he was able to easily ess the core secrets of the Hozuki castle. After studying the method to nt this seal, Izuna reverse-engineered the seal and created a key to crack open the seal. This scroll is one of those keys. After you infiltrate the Hozuki castle and get branded by the Celestial Prison seal; wait for an opportunity to unlock the seal using this special key. This scroll is made of a special paper unique to the Shikkotsu Forest and is capable of shrinking in size. So, you can easily sneak it in." ---------------- "Looks like this seal isn''t as effective as I assumed it to be. I can still infuse my chakra and even activate my Sharingan and even Mangekyo Sharingan." Sasuke channels the chakra into his eyes to activate his Sharingan. "However, I can''t release the chakra outside my body. Releasing the seal outside my body will activate the seal and, if possible, I don''t want to experience such pain again." He shakes his head and proceeds to unlock the celestial prison seal. "Looks like you have quite the reputation to get a personal cell and make the warden of Hozuki castle pay a visit." A rather feminine voice interrupts him. Hmm Sasuke swallows the scroll again and nces toward the wall on the right side of his cell. "And you are" Sasuke questions the voice. "I am Ryzetsu, a native of this ind. I stole a few things and somehow ended up being here." Ryzetsu introduces himself. "And you are?" He asks Sasuke. "I am Sasuke Uchiha, a former shinobi of the Hidden leaf vige. As for my crime, I chopped Raikage''s arm and almost shed the Tsuchikage in my half." Sasuke introduces himself. "Woah! That''s quite impressive. Looks like you are a real deal is what would you like me to say, however" Ryzetsu pauses. " you are a spy for the Shinobi Alliance, right?" Ryzetsu''s voice changes as he spectes. Hmm ''Looks like they are aware of our moments. Does this mean there are spies among the higher-ups of the Shinobi Alliance since this information was only known to a few people?'' "Hoh! So, what if I am? Do you n to reveal it to the warden and leave the prison on this ount?" Sasuke scoffs at him. "No! I don''t have such intentions. However, I would like to cooperate with you to reveal the truth of this prison to everyone." Ryzetsu offers. "Hmm I never expected I would hear such words from a petty thief." Sasuke retorts. "You can say to me whatever you want, but the Hidden grass isn''t as united as the rest of the nations think it to be." "Then I would like to hear more about this matter before we can think of a cooperation," Sasuke responds to him. "Very well!" Chapter 459: Infiltration in the Hozuki Castle Part-2 Chapter 459: Infiltration in the Hozuki Castle Part-2 "Although Kusagakure might appear reunited on the surface, its political power is divided into two factions, called the Fruit Faction and the Flower Faction. The flower faction is in favor of cooperating with other nations in the Fourth Shinobi War, but the fruit faction is against the cooperation and is scheming to activate the secret superweapon of Kusagakure to conquer the world after the war." Ryzetsu reveals the ns of the Kusagakure''s higher-ups to Sasuke. "Do you have any proof to prove your words? If your statement is false, then it might lead to political strife between different nations." Sasuke asks him. Ryzetsu turns silent for a while as Sasuke awaits his response. "Alright, to prove my sincerity and statement; I will reveal the objective of my mission. However, this isn''t the perfect time and opportunity for such talks." Sasuke turns towards the entrance of the hall. A group of guards walks towards them. "Bandanna!" They shout in Ryzetsu''s direction. Ryzetsu raises his hand in surrender. "It''s time for your cleaning duty." The guards open the gate of the cell and let him out. Ryzetsu throws a meaningful nce at Sasuke and leaves. The guard turns towards Sasuke. "He is the new guy who just arrived! The deputy warden demanded his presence." One of the guards unlocks Sasuke''s cell. "Get out and follow us!" Sasuke silently follows them. After several turns and corners, the group arrives in front of a giant hall. Sasuke narrows his eyes as he stares at the giant letters for ''Punishment Hall''. The guards push him in and stand outside the hall. Sasuke enters the hall and nces at the surroundings. A fat man in green clothes and orange sses is sitting in front of a desk. He res at Sasuke. "So, you are the new guy, huh? I heard you were quite ''friendly'' to my subordinates. I am Tosuke Naobushi, the deputy warden of this ce." Tosuke picks up an iron baton from the table. "For taking such good care of my people, I have to return the favor, didn''t I?" Sasuke res at him and mutters. "Are you sure about that?" Hehe Two guards with batons appear behind Sasuke. Bang They m the iron baton on Sasuke''s back and kick his legs, forcing him onto the floor. Tosuke walks toward Sasuke and lifts his face with his hands. "Even a ferocious lion will turn into a scaredy cat at this ce. You are just a newborn pup who doesn''t know what fear means. Today, I will inscribe the word fear in your mind." Bang Tosuke smashes the iron baton on Sasuke''s head. Argh Sasuke grunts in pain and falls to the floor. Tosuke licks the blood from his baton and rams it in Sasuke''s guts. Bleurgh Sasuke spits out blood and saliva. "This is it! This is the feeling I want from my prisoners. Haha" He cackles and continues to bash Sasuke with his baton. A few secondster, "Ugh that''s enough for the day. I want to take some rest. Also, before you leave, make sure to wipe everything. I don''t want this ce to be dirty." Tosuke wipes his bloody hands with a handkerchief and tosses it into the bin. The guards clean the floor and drag Sasuke out. They toss him into the prison and leaves. "I will take my leave; I have other matters to attend to!" One of the guards waves his hand and leaves. The other guard nces at Sasuke''s unconscious body and leaves the area. "Looks like the shinobi alliance sent someone ipetent for the task." Ryzetsu scoffs and closes his eyes to rest. In another corner of the prison, the guard that left early morphs into Sasuke. Sasuke cracks his bones and adjusts his body and facial muscles. "This body transformation technique is harderpared to the normal transformation technique. The only advantage is that it doesn''t use much chakra and is quite hard to detect. Also" Sasuke nces at the celestial fire seal on his chest. "It''s quite hard to release chakra outside my body with this seal. I can break it anytime, but instincts tell me to keep it on me for some time." Sasuke covers his chest and recalls the earlier incident. After the guards took him to the punishment hall and Tosuke trash-talked him, he used his Sharingan to cast a Genjutsu on everyone present in the punishment hall. Later, he used the body transformation technique to morph his body into one of the guards and used his special transformation technique on the guard to give him his looks. So, the person who took all the beating for Sasuke was one of the guards. ''With this, I have a perfect alibi!'' Sasuke hides his presence and swiftly flickers across the corridors of the castle. Outside the castle, the sun sets on the horizon and dusk shroud the ind. "Exercise period is over. Prisoners will quietly return to their cells for the roll call. I repeat the exercise period is over. Prisoners will quietly return to" One of the guards announces the curfew and every prisoner returns to their cell. Some of the prisoners pass past Sasuke''s cell and nce at his body. "Huh! Another cocky fellow got sent to the Punishment Hall." They chuckle among themselves. The guards nce at Sasuke''s stiff body and shake their heads. They list his entry and move to another cell. ''Did I make a mistake?'' Ryzetsu suspiciously stares at Sasuke''s body. Soon, night arrives in the Hozuki castle. After a roll call for all prisoners and guards, the gates of the castle close shut. Mui silently stands on top of the bell tower of the prison and nces at the guards of the castle. "It''s about time, Maroi!" A fairly tall, dark-skinned man with short front brown hair and a ponytail withrge hairs at the back walks out of a dark corner. He has gray eyes and a beard. "That new guy is definitely a spy! Should I bring him for the" "No! It''s still too soon to get rid of me. If he dies on the first day in the castle, then it might lead to some suspicion. Let him take it easy for at least a week." Mui shakes his head. "Alright, as you wish!" Maroi nods and disappears into the dark. In another dark corner of the room, Sasuke silently eavesdrops on the conversation. He has camouged his body using one of Izuna''s signature techniques, that thetter taught to them for infiltration tasks. ''Hmm what are they nning to do?'' Sasuke quietly follows Mui as thetter leaves the bell tower. Mui walks deeper into the castle and takes numerous turns here and there before arriving in front of his office. Mui enters his office and nces left and right to ensure no one is present. A sudden gust of air greets him. Mui turns around and notices the open window. He closes the window and walks in front of a shelf. Mui pulls a book at an odd angle to activate the lever. Creak One of the shelves rotates slightly to reveal a hidden passage. Mui enters the passage and pulls a lever on the other side of the passage to close the secret door. Sasuke swiftly enters the passage through the slight gap. His movement creates a sudden gust of wind. Hmm Mui turns around and nces at the entrance of the secret passage. After sensing that no one is present in the area, he descends down the dark area with antern he picked up from one of the racks. He walks for another ten minutes and finally arrives in front of a room with a giant iron gate. Mui takes out a bronze key from his pocket and inserts it into the keyhole. ng He opens the door and enters the room. Bang The door shuts close after his entry. Sasuke manages to slip into the room by hiding in Mui''s shadow. Sasuke nces at his surroundings in the new room. This room is simr to aboratory with various boiling test tubes and sks with different colors of solutions. Powerful electric current surges through a giant device with multiple capacitors imnted on top of it. Numerous electric wires jut out of the giant device and connect to multiple straps on the bed. A series of hoses are connected to various fluids on the surroundings container on one end and several giant syringes on the other end. The entire room is enclosed with no window anywhere. Knock knock Someone knocks on the ceiling of the room. Mui pulls a lever and activates a mechanism to reveal a slight opening in the ceiling. A ck-cloaked figure jumps down from the ceiling. "It''s so stuffy in this outfit!" He ces an unconscious body on the bed and removes his cloak to reveal his face. Sasuke recognizes thetter as Maroi from earlier. Chapter 460: Commotion in the Blood Prison Chapter 460: Commotion in the Blood Prison Mui nces at the unconscious body and turns towards Maroi. "I did a clean job. No one absolutely no one noticed me!" Maroi raises his hand.a Mui inserts various syringes into the victim''s body and injects various fluids from different containers into the prisoner''s body. ARGH argh ugh The prisoner scream and squirms in pain. Mui straps the electrodes onto the prisoner''s head and activates the strange electric device. Crackle crackle Lightning flickers across the prisoner''s body and fluid in the containers drain rapidly. AAAAHHHH The prisoner screams in agony and struggles to escape from the shackles. Mui makes a series of hand signs and ms his palm on the prisoner''s chest. The celestial fire prison seal on the prisoner''s body glows with a crimson hue and rapidly drains thetter''s chakra. A pir of scarlet energy rises from the prisoner''s body. Mui controls the flow of the scarlet energy and directs it toward a wall of the secret room. A giant face appears on the wall. The giant face opens its mouth and pulls the scarlet energy towards itself. The body of the prisoner breaks free from the straps. His body levitates in mid-air and the chakra drains from the prisoner''s eyes and mouth. Mui slowly directs the prisoner''s body toward the giant mouth. Ugh The prisoner regains consciousness and nces at his surroundings. He quickly notices his plight and screams for help. "Help me! Somebody help m" The giant mouth bites the prisoner''s lower body and tears off his limbs. ARGHH The prisoner struggles with all his might and waves his hands in the air to escape from his destined death. "It''s futile!" Mui calmly stares at the prisoner as the giant mouth swallows the prisoner. The mouth closes and tranquility returns to the secret room. "It''s not enough!" Mui shakes his head and sighs. "At this rate, even if I sacrifice every prisoner in the Hozuki castle; it won''t be enough to open the box." Mui turns towards Maroi, who is gaping at the sight he just witnessed. "No no! Don''t sacrifice me to that thing." Maroi raises his hands in panic. Mui ignores him and walks towards the apparatus. He properly cleans everything, wipes the blood from equipment, and refills the containers using a canister. Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the room. Sasuke calmly analyzes the situation he just witnessed with his Sharingan. ''The fluids in those containers are some sort of chakra enhancement drug. It sacrifices the vitality and life force of the victim and rapidly converts them into chakra.'' Sasuke turns his attention toward the giant face. ''He is feeding that chakra to that giant face. Is that the ancient superweapon of Kusagakure, a box?'' Sasuke attempts to analyze the box with his Sharingan. Shiing The eyes of the face glow bright red. They emit a beam of light. Whoosh Sasuke''s surroundings morph into a scarlet world. Suddenly, a giant figure of a winged demon with sharp, long ws appears in front of Sasuke. "Is this a genjutsu?" Sasuke attempts to draw his katana, but his body is paralyzed in ce. ''I can''t move! What kind of genjutsu is this?'' The giant demon opens its mouth and swallows Sasuke. Argh Back in the real world, Blood leaks from Sasuke''s eyes as he breaks free from the genjutsu. There are three intersecting ck ellipses in his eyes. Sasuke activated his Mangekyo Sharingan to escape the effect of the illusion. Huff Huff Sasuke breathes heavily as his mind is in a mess due to the aftereffect of genjutsu. As a result, he is unable to maintain his concealment. His camouge breaks to reveal his body. "Who''s there?" Mui and Maroi are rmed by Sasuke''s presence. Sasuke quickly covers his face with a ck clock and dashes towards the ceiling with the small window. "Someone sneaked into this ce. Quickly catch him. We can''t let him escape." Mui makes some quick hand signs. "Fire Release: Heavenly chains of Suffering," Mui produces multiple scarlet chains of mesndunches them toward Sasuke to bind thetter. Whoosh Sasuke swiftly maneuvers through the chains and avoids them. "Lightning Release: Shock needle storm," Pew pew pew Maroi fires multiple lightning needles from his mouth. Sasuke avoids a few of them and deflects others with the scabbard of his de. Sasuke throws a kunai toward a contraption on the wall. Click ng The mechanism around the window on the ceiling activates. Sasuke jumps up through the opening and escapes the room. "Quick, sound the rm! Capture the intruder." Mui waves his hand and issues the order to Maroi as he jumps through the opening to chase Sasuke. Whoosh Sasuke nimbly climbs the wall and escapes from the bottom of the bell tower. He swiftly changes direction and conceals his presence. ''This will create quite somemotion. I better return to my cell.'' Soon Horns and rm re through the prison. Searchlights flicker across the roofs as multiple guards with hounds search for the intruder. "Unit one, check the perimeter. Unit two search the front. Unit three and four, go quickly to the cliffs." The guard captain issues a series ofmands. "All other units, keep a tally of the prisoners, and don''t let any of them make any movement during thismotion." He waves his hand and dispatches his man. Sasuke uses this opportunity to sneak into his cell. He swiftly exchanges clothes with the dead-beaten guard, alters his memory with Sharingan, and tosses thetter into a dark corner. "What''s going on? What''s with all thismotion? I am trying to sleep here." The rest of the prisoners also wake up and stare outside their cells. "Oye! What''s happening?" One of them asks a guard. "Some fool is attempting to escape the prison." The guard replies and dashes towards another floor. "Honestly, which idiot is trying to make a rum for it? With this seal on our bodies, we can''t even leave this ce. Even if someone escapes the prison, there is deep water around this ce. And even if some lucky fellow survived that, then what use will it be with this damn seal on his body? We can''t even use chakra with this damn seal." A few prisoners mock the courage of the fool who attempted to escape. Themotionsts for an hour before peace returns to the Hozuki castle. After a thorough inspection of every prison cell and prisoner, the guards return to their duty. Inside Mui''s office, "I didn''t expect someone will trail me to that ce." Maroi shrugs his shoulders. "What will you do now? The intruder escaped and we have no clue about his identity. He might even be a member of the flower faction." Hmph Mui scoffs and walks towards the window. "I will inform the higher-ups of this situation and let them decide our next n of action." Mui nces at the entrance of the Hozuki castle. A few minutester, a messenger eagle flies out of the castle. Sasuke nces at the eagle through the window. ''I have confirmed a few things on my own. Now, it''s about time I talk with that ''spy'' of the flower faction. Next day in the morning, In the dining hall, Sasuke is silently munching on some dry bread while drinking a watery soup in a corner. Ryzetsu notices him and walks towards him. He sits beside Sasuke and nces at the surroundings. Upon confirming that there are no eyes on them, he murmurs. "I didn''t expect you will pick a fight with the deputy warden. However, you are one tenacious fellow to recover so swiftly." "I don''t have time for idle chatter. What do you know about this prison and the ns of the Fruit faction?" Sasuke questions him. "There was quite amotion yesterday. Looks some third party was trying to pry the information about the Hozuki castle." Ryzetsu shakes his head. "Anyway, I just received a report from Kusagakure. Yesterday, a messenger eagle arrived in the quarters of the higher-up of the Fruit faction. Today, early in the morning, a few elders of the Fruit faction left the vige. We suspect they are about to make a move." Ryzetsu reveals the information to Sasuke. ''Hmm looks like this girl is sincere with the cooperation. Then I won''t hesitate to reveal a few things I discovered yesterday.'' Sasuke nces at Ryzetsu''s face. He recognized her true identity at their first meeting. Despite her best efforts, she couldn''t hide her transformation from Sasuke''s Sharingan. "Very well! Then I also have something to share." Sasuke reveals the presence of a secret room and the secret human experimentation by warden Mui. He also reveals the information on the giant face and how it drained the prisoner of his chakra. "As I suspected yesterday, it was you right!" Ryzetsu narrows her eyes. "So, do you know something about it?" Sasuke ignores her nce and asks another question. "With your description, there is no doubt about it! It''s the Ultimate box of Bliss." Ryzetsu speaks in a hushed tone. "Ultimate box of Bliss?!" "Yes, that''s the name of the Kusagakure''s superweapon. It''s a powerful ancient weapon that requires a massive amount of chakra to activate. The flower faction is progressing faster than we expected!" Ryzetsu bites her lips. "I have to inform the higher-ups about this!" She hastily leaves the dining hall. Chapter 461: Commotion in the Blood Prison Part-2 Chapter 461: Commotion in the Blood Prison Part-2 Later in the evening, "All prisoners and security personnel gather in the exercise hall. This isn''t a drill! I repeat all prisoners and security personnel gather in the exercise hall" One of the guards releases an announcement. "Huh! What''s going on? Why are they summoning everyone to the exercise hall?" The prisoners gossip among themselves. "Did something happen again? Or someone attempted to escape?" A prisoner asks one of the guards. "Some higher-ups from Kusagakure came for an inspection. So, all of you behave yourself. Perhaps your attitude might impress the higher-ups and reduce your punishment." The guards issue a warning as he unlocks the prison cells. "Now, I am curious about it!" The prisoners walk towards the exercise hall with some excitement. "I can smell some drama!" Another prisoner remarks. "Hehe it has been a while since something interesting happened in this bloody ce." The prisoners grin. Sasuke and Ryzetsu nce at each other. ''I got some news this afternoon. These people might be the higher-ups of the Fruit faction. We must be careful with our actions.'' She warns him. ''Mm I will keep it in mind.'' Sasuke assures her and nces at the entrance of the prison. A few minutester, all prisoners gather in the exercise hall. "Why did they gather us here? What''s going on?" The confused prisoners gawk at each other. At the top of the bell tower, Mui nces at the prisoners with narrowed eyes. Four figures in animal masks of a goat, ram, monkey, and bull beside him. "Mui, your ipetence is disappointing." The goat-masked figure rebukes him. "The flower faction might have grown wary of our activities. They might take action to thwart our ns." "I am deeply sorry for my ipetence. I will personally hunt down the spy and execute him." Mui bows and apologizes to the higher-ups. "There is no need for that!" The ram-masked figure waves his hand. He opens his palm and releases four snake-like beasts from his hand. The snakes quickly slither down and enter the crowd. "What are these?" The prisoners swiftly avoid them. The snake hisses at the prisoners and randomly wraps around a prisoner and bites their neck. "What what''s this? Get away from me!" The prisoner attempts to get rid of the snakes, but the snake bites their neck and releases their venom. The skin of their victim turns purple. This further agitates the prisoners and some of them weave hand signs to attack the snake with a jutsu. ARGH Ugh The celestial fire prison seal on their body activates and lights them up on fire. Other prisoners quickly avoid them like the gue. Sasuke recognizes one of the prisoners as a jounin from Konoha. He takes a step forward to save thetter, but someone tugs his sleeve from behind. "Give it up!" Ryzetsu''s voice echoes in his ear. Tch Sasuke grits his teeth and stops his rash movement. He calms his mind and reflects on his action; he took in a moment of spite. ''The sess of this mission depends on me. I can''t destroy everything at this stage.'' One by one, the snakes filter out every spy among the prisoners. One of the snakes slithers towards Sasuke and wraps itself around Sasuke''s neck. ''How did it recognize my identity as a spy despite my concealment as a spy?'' Shiing Sasuke activates his Mangekyo Sharingan for an instance cast a powerful genjutsu on the snake. In a frame of a second, his eyes return to normal. The snake slithers down his body and proceeds to another prisoner. A simr situation happens with Ryzetsu. The snake on her body slithers away after sniffing her body for a few seconds. Phew Ryzetsu heaves a sigh of relief. "He isn''t a spy?! I thought he was one." Mui skeptically stares at Sasuke. "It''s impossible to deceive these Shinjitsu snakes. These special snakes are mutated creatures born from the special chakra of the Ultimate Box of Bliss. These snakes possess the ability to sense fear, hostility, and other negative emotions of other beings. So, they serve as the perfect tools to differentiate allies from enemies. Also, he still has the celestial fire prison seal intact on his body. So, it should not be possible for him to infuse chakra." The ram-masked figure remarks. After an hour, the snakes get rid of every spy and return to the ram-masked figure''s side. He waves his sleeves and collects the snakes. "We have important things to discuss, Mui." The four-animal-masked figure turns around and leaves. Sasuke senses a gaze on him. He raises his head and notices one of the animal masked figures. Hmm "What''s wrong?" Ryzetsu inquires. "It''s nothing!" Sasuke shakes his head and returns to his prison cell with the rest of the prisoners. "I am surprised you were able to deceive those snakes." Ryzetsu stares at Sasuke in amazement. "I have my means, but I am surprised by how you did it?" Sasuke replies to her with a question of his own. "There is a special herb at the foothill of this mountain. These herbs release a special aroma that dulls the senses of this snake." Ryzetsu pulls out her ne from her clothes to reveal a small pouch at its end. The pouch produces a faint distinct smell. "Anyway there is no doubt it. Those people are definitely the higher-ups of the Fruit faction. Looks like they are about to take action. I have to inform the elder about the situation. If possible, I would like your assistance in this matter." Ryzetsu requests him. "I will assist you to the best of my abilities." Sasuke nods and leaves the hall. Later in the night. ''It''s about time. I remove this pesky seal.'' Sasuke activates the sealing key and removes the celestial fire prison seal from his body. His flow of chakra returns to normal and the restraining feeling on his body vanishes. Sasuke gathers a few wisps of chakra at its fingertips. Swish swish He makes some quick hand signs and creates shadow clones. The shadow clone lies down on the bed and pretends to sleep. Sasuke conceals his presence and camouges his body to escape from his cell. He swiftly flickers through the hallways and arrives before Mui''s office. Shiing Sasuke activates his Sharingan and peeks inside the room. ''Looks like no one is here!'' He closes his eyes and senses the chakra in his surroundings. ''Found him!'' Sasuke notices Maroi sneaking around in the castle. Whoosh He flickers behind Maroi and reveals his presence. Whoosh Maroi swiftly coats his hands with lightning chakra and attacks him. Chirp chii Sasuke blocks Maroi''s attack with his bare hands. He grabs Maroi''s arm and overpowers him. "I will spare your life if you tell me where is Mui?" Sasuke summons a kunai and ces it against Maroi''s neck. "Wait wait hold on! I am with you guys!" Maroi raises his hands in surrender. "I am also a spy, just like you." He reveals his identity. "Why should I believe you?" Sasuke questions him as he presses the kunai against Maroi''s neck. Blood trickles down from Maroi''s neck. "Wait wait! I will prove my identity. Please give me an opportunity." Sasuke seals Maroi''s chakra and releases him. Phew Maroi heaves a sigh of relief. He wipes the blood from his neck and takes out a kunai from his pocket. sh Maroi shes his left arm to reveal a prosthetic arm. He takes out a scroll and hands it over to Sasuke. Hmm Sasuke nces at Maroi and narrows his eyes. "A puppet user?" Hehe An ugly smile appears on Maroi''s face. Sasuke ignores his smile and inspects the scroll for any traps. After ensuring safety, he opens the scroll and reads its contents. Sasuke recognizes the official seal of Raikage on the scroll. "So, you are a sleeper agent of Kumogakure!" After a few seconds, he returns the scroll to Maroi. "Yeah, kind of! I spent eight years in this prison to seek an opportunity to steal the box of Ultimate Bliss. These past few years, I slowly gained the trust of the higher-ups of the Fruit faction and grew closer to the current warden Mui. However, all of my hard work was for naught with the Fourth Shinobi war." "Very well. I will trust you. So, tell me where are Mui and those Fruit faction higher-ups." Sasuke asks him. "He is in" Chapter 462: Box of Ultimate Bliss Part-1 Chapter 462: Box of Ultimate Bliss Part-1 "He is in" BOOM The deafening sound of an explosion echoes in the surroundings. "What''s that sound?" Sasuke and Maroi frown and hurriedly dashes toward the window. A giant pir of crimson me rises from the base of the bell tower and engulfs the entire tower. Shiing Sasuke activates his Sharingan and nces at the crimson mes. "This sinister energy it''s the negative chakra." He grits his teeth and recognizes the chakra from the demonic invasion three years ago. Whoosh Both of them flicker out of Mui''s office and stand on the rooftops of one of the buildings. They nce at the bell tower as it zes with crimson mes. "Oye! What''s going on?" "What are these mes?" The prisoners and guards gather on the exercise ground and stare at the burning bell tower with curiosity. "Oye! Isn''t this a perfect opportunity for us to escape? The guards must be pretty busy with this fire!" A few prisoners suggest. "Yes, I don''t want to spend another second in this rotten ce." A few prisoners form groups and charge toward the entrance of the blood prison. "The prisoners are running. Hurry up and block them!" The guards wield their spears and confront the prisoners. "Don''t get in our way!" The frenzied prisoners engage in a brutal fight against the prisoner. Soon, amotion breaks down in the prison, as many prisoners fight against themselves and the guards to settle their new and old grudges. A few psychotic prisoners attack Sasuke and Mui to calm their thirst for blood. Swish Sasuke summons his katana and shes all prisoners with malicious intentions in half with a swing of his de. Swish He swings his sword to wipe the de and sheathe it. Maroi, who was busy making hand signs, stops and stares at Sasuke in amazement. "You are quite a formidable shinobi!" Maroi praises him. Rumble Rumble Tremors run across the ground. A giant summoning formation appears on the ground beneath them. SHOOOMMM The giant summoning seal glows with a bright sh of purple light. "NOT GOOD!" Whoosh Sasuke swiftly grabs Maroi and flickers out of the giant summoning circle in a Knick of time. WHAM A giant pir of purple energy erupts from the ground and shoots into the sky. The giant column of energy engulfs every person in the exercise and evaporates their flesh and blood into bones. After a few seconds, even the bones crumble to dust. Huff Huff Maroi falls to the ground and pants. He warily stares at the giant pir of purple energy and notices the state of the unfortunate guards and prisoners. "That Mui! He has gone nuts! To kill his own people" Maroi grinds his teeth and curses Mui in anger. "I thought I was a goner for a second. If not for you" Maroi nces at Sasuke with an appreciative nce. Whoosh While the two were discussing among themselves, Ryzetsu flicker beside them. "What took you so long, miss Ryzetsu?" Sasuke nces at her. "I I wasmunicating with my superiors." Ryzetsu is startled by Sasuke''s question. "You knew?!" Sasuke ignores her questioning gaze and turns his attention toward the center of the giant summoning circle. Goosebumps are crawling across his skin as he senses an ominous chakra from there. The dust clouds settle down to reveal a giant box with a demonic mask-like face on every side of the box. "This this is the Box of the Ultimate Bliss!" Maroi''s and Ryzetsu''s eyes widen in surprise. "Oi! Oi! Oi! I didn''t expect the gate itself to be the box of the Ultimate Bliss." Maroi marvels at the sheer size of the giant box. "There is no doubt about it. This is the Box of the Ultimate Bliss." Ryzetsu ties her hair and pulls out her prison clothes to reveal a set of anbu operative garbs. "You are a woman!" Maroi is surprised by Ryzetsu''s sudden transformation. The rest of the lucky guards and prisoners who were outside the range of the summoning circle silently stare at the giant box in the center with trepidation. "What what''s that thing?" A few of them gulp their saliva and stare at the box with terror. "Whatever it is! It''s bad news. Didn''t you see how it ate up Aoichi and the rest?" Another prisoner remarks. "In any case, we must stay away from this freakish thing. It''s better to stay alive than die a horrendous death. The screams of the rest of my friends still echo in my ears." The prisoners slowly retreat. Silence pervades the surroundings as everyone res at the giant box in trepidation. Tap tap The sound of footsteps echoes in the exercise ground. Everyone turns their attention towards the footsteps and notices Mui slowly walk towards the giant box. "Mui! Tch" Sasuke grits his teeth. He unsheathes his katana and flickers beside Mui to sh him with his katana. ng A ck metallic de rod blocks his attack. Swoosh Sasuke hurriedly blocks a kick with his left arm. He jumps back and retreats. "It''s you!" Sasuke narrows his eyes and recognizes his opponent. ---------- A few hours ago ----------- Inside the meeting hall, "Mui, we heard about your slip-up!" The goat-masked figure speaks. "How do you intend to make up for it?" The ram-masked figure questions him. "What if the outsiders be aware of our n?" The monkey masked face figure asks him. "We spent decades toy down this n. How can we allow it to fail when we are so close to our goal?" The bull-masked figure clenches his fists. "We must act with haste. Mui activate the box of ultimate bliss. It''s about time the hidden grass vige regains its former glory and rules the entire world." The ram-masked figure raises his hands. "I will make the necessary preparations." Mui bows his head toward the masked figures. The masked figure silently leaves the meeting hall using a secret passage. Tch Mui clenches his teeth and grits his teeth. Tears fell from his eyes as he remembers a memory from the past. "I sacrificed my son for their sake and yet why? Why I do have to" "Do you want to avenge your son?" A deep voice falls in his ears. "Who who''s there?" Mui swiftly raises his head and puts on his guard. A white-masked figure is silently sitting on the desk in front of him. ''Who is he? I didn''t even sense his presence. If he wanted, then he could easily'' Fear strikes Mui''s heart. "Who are you?" Mui secretly makes one-hand signs and gathers the chakra in his left hand. "Who am I shouldn''t be of any concern? Rather, what do you want?" The masked figure res at him with his glowing eyes. "What do I want?" "I" Whoosh While the white-masked figure is distracted, Mui uses this opportunity to attack thetter with his palm. Swoosh The masked figure raises his hand and easily grabs Mui''s palm. The chakra in Mui''s palm vanishes as the masked figure easily dispels Mui''s jutsu. "How did you" Swoosh The masked figure releases Mui''s hand and speaks. "So, what do you think about it? Do you want revenge for the death of your son?" He asks him again. "I I I want revenge for my son." Mui grits his teeth and replies. "Very well! Then I will lend you my aid, but I have a condition." The masked figure raises his finger. "Even if I have to sign the deal with the devil, I will agree to your conditions as long as I can seek my revenge." Mui nods at the masked figure. The masked figure tosses an orb toward Mui. "This orb has enough chakra to activate the Box of ultimate bliss." Mui grabs the purple orb and scrutinizes it. "What do I need to do for you" Mui raises his head to ask the masked figure, but the masked figure is nowhere to be seen. Mui grips the orb and walks toward the giant, demon-masked totem. He makes a series of hand signs and tosses it toward the totem. The demon mask opens its mouth and consumes the orb. Shiing The demon mask glows with a crimson glow and releases a scarlet beam of energy from its eyes. The scarlet beam prates the ground and sets the surrounding on fire. Whoosh Mui hurriedly escapes the secret underground area. Rumble Rumble The demonic masks on the box glow with a crimson hue, and each of them releases a scarlet beam that sets everything aze in their surroundings. Mui exits the underground area and reappears on top of another building facing the exercise ground. He makes some swift hand signs and activates the summoning seal at the center of the exercise ground. Chapter 463: Box of Ultimate Bliss Part-2 Chapter 463: Box of Ultimate Bliss Part-2 Sasuke recognizes the symbol of the cult of Jashin on his opponent''s mask. "None shall interfere with the task the Lord Jashin assigned to us." ng ng Sasuke trades blows with the Jashin cult member. "So, the prion warden Mui coborated with the evil cult members of Jashin." Sasuke turns towards Mui, who is slowly approaching the Box. Mui turns around and is surprised to see Sasuke utilize his chakra and fight against the masked figure. "I didn''t expect someone to dispel the curse seal of my n. Looks like Konoha has some capable people." Swoosh Swoosh Maroi, Ryzetsu, and a few other hidden spies from different viges jump out of their hiding spots and attack Mui. ng ng The four animals masked elders of the Fruit Faction reveal themselves and intercept the group. "Magnificent!" They nce at the giant box and marvel at its beauty. "Now our fervent wishes shall be fulfilled!" "Mui, make haste and activate the box. Mui, fulfill your duty as the gatekeeper of this box. Only you can remove the seal of the box." The animal-masked figure speaks hysterically. "I won''t let you!" Shiing Sasuke activates his Mangekyo Sharingan. Chirp chii He creates a lightning de and stabs through the body of the masked cult figure. "Since this box is so important to you, I will destroy it. Amaterasu!" Sasuke activates the ability of his left eye. Fwoosh ck mes erupt from his focal point and engulf the giant box. "Futile effort!" Mui turns towards him and remarks. "The Box of Ultimate Bliss is impervious to any physical and chakra attacks. Forget about destroying the box; even scratching the surface of the box is an impossible task." The dying cult member grabs Sasuke''s hands and chants some incoherent words. Sasuke senses the abnormality of the evil fanatic and uses his Chidori to pierce through thetter''s heart. Guffaw The evil fanatic pukes out a mouthful of blood on Sasuke''s clothes and recites some unknown words. "Oh no!" Sasuke senses an abnormal amount of chakra gathering near thetter chest. "Amaterasu!" ck mes engulf the fanatic member, but thetter smiles at Sasuke. Crackle Deep blue mes burst out from his body and extinguishes the Amaterasu mes. "These mes they" Sasuke is shocked to see his Amaterasu mes getting overwhelmed by the blue mes. Before he could react further, a sealing formation appear on the ground. "I have fulfilled my purpose, Lord Jashin!" The masked cult member utters these words before his body vanishes into blue mes. The sealing formation creates a powerful curse and crawls over Sasuke''s body. The blood on his clothes turns into blue me chains and immobilizes him. Argh Sasuke struggles to break free from the influence of the chakra. "This is a curse to restrain my movement and chakra!" He also senses that the blue mes are slowly draining his vitality. Mui ignores themotion and stands in front of the giant box. Kachik He bites his thumb to draw some blood. Mui makes a seal on his palm and makes quick hand signs while reciting unknown words. He performs the sequence of actions for a minute and finally ps his palm. "Oh, Box of Ultimate Bliss!" Tears flow from Mui''s eyes as hepletes the recitation. "Heed my wish Let me see my son, Muku!" "Mui, you?! What are you doing?" The four animal-masked figures panic at Mui''s words. "Hurry up and wish for the restoration of Kusagakure." They attempt to rush toward Mui to wake him from his dream. "Ah!" Maroi, Ryzetsu, and the rest of the spies are shocked by Mui''s words. "We won''t let you!" They hurriedly block the four masked elders. "Oh, Box of Ultimate Bliss! Heed my wish Let me see my son. Muku!" Mui recites his wish to the box. "Mui you are making a big mistake. The vige won''t forgive you for your crime." The elders warn him in an attempt to wake him up. But Mui, who seems to be possessed by a spirit, ignores them and recites his wish to the box like a lunatic. SHOOOM The giant box absorbs the crimson pir of energy and releases another pir of dark purple energy. "This chakra!" Sasuke narrows his eyes as he senses the sinister chakra. "This is the negative chakra!" Goosebumps run across everyone''s body as the malicious negative chakra influence the surroundings. Pitch-ck clouds appear in the sky and a faintly visible miasma slowly spreads in the vicinity of the box. The air bes too heavy to breathe. Most prisoners with weak body copse on the ground while clutching their throats. The giant demonic face on the box slowly opens its mouth. "The Hidden grass vanished from my heart long ago! Yes, from the day I lost Muku ten years ago!" Mui answers their questions and continues to supply his chakra to open the box. "Damn you, traitor!" The elders shriek in fury. The Ram-masked elder releases a horde of snakes from his sleeves. "Be careful!" Ryzetsu swiftly warns them. Maroi and the rest of the spy retreat and avoid the assault of snakes. They chop the head of any snake that approaches them. Upon death, the snakes turn into ck fumes and vanish into the surrounding. The four elder uses this opportunity to surround Mui. Each of them stretches their palm towards Mui''s neck. "You have deceived our trust. We will punish you ording to thews of the vige." A faint purple light illuminates their hands as they decide to execute Mui. "It''s toote!" Mui smirks and releases his tightly sped palms. SHIING The box of Ultimate Bliss releases a sharp screeching sound Thump A powerful pulse of negative chakra escapes from the box together with the sound. Guffaw Everyone, including the elders, the spy group, and the prisoners, falls on their knees while holding their chests in agony. Only Mui and Sasuke are left standing. Mui is unscathed since he is the gatekeeper of the box while Sasuke resists the influence of negative chakra with his powerful chakra. Mui nces at him and remarks. "I am surprised you are able to resist the power of the Box of Ultimate Bliss while in your current state." The curse mark slowly extends all over Sasuke''s body. Thetter grits his teeth and riles up the chakra in his body. ''It will take me another fifteen minutes to break free from the influence of this curse. I was careless. I didn''t expect that fanatic to sacrifice his life to cast a powerful curse to immobilize me.'' Tap Tap The sound of footsteps echoes in the surroundings as a pair of legs emerge from the pitch-ck mouth of the demonic mask on the Box of Ultimate Bliss. A deafening silence engulfs the environment as a pale figure with jet-ck hair slowly walks out of the mouth. The eerie red glows in his eyes fade away to reveal gray eyes. The figure is barefoot and tattered clothes with multiple holes through them. "A person?" Maroi, Ryzetsu, the other spies, and the prisoner are surprised to see a living person walk out of the Box. "Muku?" Ryzetsu silently utters. Tears flow from her amethyst eyes. "Muku! Is that you?" Tears flow from Mui''s eyes as he slowly moved towards thetter. "My son!" He confronts the ck-haired figure with overflowing tears. "F father!" Muku slowly raises his head and mutters. "Muku forgive me" Mui grits his teeth and clenches his fists as he apologizes to Muku while being overwhelmed with self-reproach. "I I was wrong! I shouldn''t have listened to the elder''s order and sacrificed you to the Box. Forgive me" Muku slowly walks towards Mui with tumbling footsteps. "Father" Swish stab Muku''s right hand pierces through Mui''s chest before thetter could react. Keugh Bleurgh Mui spits out a mouthful of blood as Muku''s hand cleanly stabs through his body. Ssh Blood sshes on the ground As Muku withdraws his hand and flicks it to wipe the blood. Slick He licks the remnants of his beloved father''s blood on his hand and remarks. "Yes Father you were wrong! You should not have let me out of the box. Everyone''s eyes widen in shock at the betrayal of Muku and his subsequent action to murder his own father. "YOU! WHO ARE YOU?!" The animal masked the elder question Muku with fear. "Me?" Muku points the bloodstained figure toward himself. "Did you forget about me already? It has been only ten years!" He slowly walks towards the four elders with unhurried footsteps. "I am Muku, the son of Gatekeeper Mui. A pawn that you lot sacrificed to achieve your goal." Muku stretches his arm. Swish Chapter 464: Box of Ultimate Bliss Part-3 Chapter 464: Box of Ultimate Bliss Part-3 Swish ng Muku swings his arm and deflects a pair of senbons. The goat-masked elderunches another pair of hidden weapons, but Muku easily deflects them with his bare hands. "It''s payback time! You took everything from me. Now it''s my turn to return the favor." Whoosh Muku disappears from his ce and reappears behind the goat-masked elder. Stab He stabs his hand through the goat-masked elder''s chest and rips out his heart. Guffaw The goat-masked elder pukes out a mouthful of blood. Her eyes widen and her lifeless body falls to the ground. Kachik Muku clenches his fist and squeezes the heart into a bloody paste. He turns towards the rest of the animal-masked elders. The ram-masked elder waves his sleeve and releases a volley of deadly abyssal snakes from them. Muku opens his mouth to an unnatural degree. REEEE He releases an extremely loud screeching sound from his vocal cords and fires a powerful barrage of ck feather-like needles. The deafening noise tears through the surface of the ground and blows away the volley of snakes into smoke. The feathers continue their momentum and pierce multiple holes through the ram-masked elder like a beehive. Chunks of flesh and blood ssh on the floor to create a gruesome sight. Many prisoners and guards with weak personalities puke out their food at the gross sight. Crack Muku''s neck rotates at an unnatural angle and turns normal. He closes his mouth and turns towards the remaining two elders. The bull-masked elder takes out a pair of metallic machetes from his back while the monkey-masked elder takes out a kusarigama from his clothes. The monkey-masked elder spins the chain of kusarigama and attacks him with kama at the end of the metallic chain. While the bull-masked elder grinds the two des against each other and generates a spark of purple fire. He dashes towards Muku while dragging the burning de against the ground. Whoosh He jumps into the sky and spins in mid-air to perform a devastating blow. Whoosh Bang Muku swiftly dodges the strike. The powerful impact of the des creates a crater on the ground. A pir of purple fire rises from the ground. Sling The metallic chain of the kusarigama wraps around Muku''s right leg. The monkey-masked elder tugs it with force to throw off Muku''s bnce. The bull-masked elder uses this opportunity to close the gap and swing the dual machete toward Muku''s neck and heart. Heh! A smirk appears on Muku''s face. Bang Muku''s bare fingers break through the metallic machete and stab through the bull-masked elder''s heart. He rips apart thetter''s heart and tosses his dead body toward the Box of Ultimate Bliss. Weng The eyes of the demonic mask glow with an eerie hue. A powerful attractive force consumes thetter''s body as it disappears within the abyss of the box. The box also pulls the corpse of the other two elders within itself. "It can''t be!" The eyes of the monkey-masked elder widen to the extreme. Bzzt Crackle Muku grabs the chain of the Kusarigama and tugs it towards himself to pull the monkey-masked elder. Bam He grabs thetter''s face and lifts him in the air. Bang Muku smashes him on the ground, shattering his mask in the process. Blood leaks from the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth of the elders. The elder''s eyes roll to the back of his forehead and he loses consciousness. Muku picks him from the ground. Bang Once again, he smashes his face on the ground. Bang Bang He repeats the process until the skull of the elder is cracked open and his brain matter stters on the floor. Swoosh He tosses the dead body of the elder toward the demonic mask. The demonic mask consumes the body in a crimson light. HAHAHA Muku presses his blood-stained hand against his face and burst out in a peal of hystericalughter. KUHAHAHA "Mu Muku!" Tears flow from Ryzetsu''s eyes as she stares at the Muku. "Huh!" Muku pauses and turns his attention toward her. Ryzetsu resists the miasma of the box and slowly stands up. She res into Muku''s eyes. "YOU You aren''t the Muku I know!" Ryzetsu removes her bandanna to reveal her long, flowing, white hair. "What happened to the Muku I considered my best friend?" Her pure amethyst eyes pierce through Muku''s soul. "You are" Thump An invisible pulse of negative chakra flickers through Muku''s body. "Muku! Don''t lose your soul! Return to the Muku you were before the box took you!" She clenches the bandanna as tears flow from her eyes. THUMP Another pulse of negative chakra flickers through his body. Muku''s pupil darkens and a crimson glow shes through them. ARGH Muku clenches his forehead and falls to his knees. ARGH He releases an agonizing scream. The dark miasma in the surroundings gathers above him and drills into his body like a funnel. "MUKU!" The miserable screams of Muku pang at Ryzetsu''s heart. "I will save you, Muku!" He infuses chakra and resists the pain of the Celestial prison seal to break free from the influence of the miasma. "No, you can''t!" Maroi grabs her hand at thest moment and shakes his head. "That person is no longer the Muku you used to know. In his current state, he is a demon!" He points towards the massive apparition of a winged demon created by the foul miasma of negative chakra above Muku. Grrr Suddenly, Muku''s eyes turn red. Saliva drips from his mouth. Twitch crack crackle The muscles in his body squirm unnaturally. His bones twist and turn while his flesh writhes throughout his body. The giant apparition of the winged demon drills into Muku''s back and his body suddenly inte to almost five times in volume. A massive surge of crimson-red negative chakra envelops Muku''s body. Argh AAAHHH Massive ws sprout from Muku''s hands. Gigantic ck wings grow out of Muku''s back as he leans on the ground in pain. A ck feather covers his body and multiple bony protrusion erupts from his flesh. The density of the miasma rises sharply and almost turns pitch ck. Ryzetsu, Sasuke, Maroi, the guards, and the prisoner stares at Muku''s transformation in horror. Thum thum Heavy footsteps echo in the surroundings as a gigantic, headless monster with massive wings walks out of the pitch-ck miasma. The entirety of the monster''s body is covered with ck feathers. Four long, elongated bony tusk protrudes from the corner of the mouth of the giant monster. The giant monster has a long, thin tail, and its hands and feet are wed and sickly thin to the point where it almost looks like almost bone-like with skin attached. The giant monster ps its wings and rises in the air. SCREEE It releases a powerful scream that terrorizes everyone''s heart. The giant monster lifts its massive hand and swipes them toward the prisoner. SWISH With just a simple swipe of its hands, it releases a powerful barrage of wind des that slices through the bodies of the prisoners. "RUN!" The prisoners scream in horror and furiously attempt to escape from the grasp of the demon. The blood and flesh of the dead prisoners are sucked inside the mouth of the demonic mask with a powerful, attractive force. Weng The mouth glows with a crimson hue and absorbs the sacrifices offered by the giant monster. The giant monster rampages in the surroundings and reaps the life of prisoners and guards alike. "This monster!" Maroi and the other spies are fear-stricken by the action of the monster. "I have never seen something like this in my entire life!" Maroi gulps his saliva and whispers to not attract the attention of the monster. "I never knew I was dealing with such a monster." The vile chakra of the monster sends a shiver across his body. "These Kusa Fruit faction members are a bunch of lunatics to release such a demon in the shinobi world." He grits his teeth and softly prays in his heart. ''I just hope that the reinforcements are quick enough to spot my signal and make their move. If they aren''t then I am afraid today will be the day I bade farewell to this world.'' At a far-off distance in the sea, A fleet of ships rapidly sails in the direction of the ind. Chapter 465: Satori- the Gluttony Demon Chapter 465: Satori- the Gluttony Demon The giant winged monster that Muku transformed into massacres the prisoners and the guards alike. After killing them, he throws their body toward the opening of the box. "Muku, stop it!" Tears flow from Ryzetsu''s eyes as she desperately begs him to stop. "It''s useless!" Sasuke shakes his head as he resists the effect of the curse mark on his body. "He''s not the guy you knew anymore. The sinister negative chakra has clouded his mind, and he has be the host of this wicked demonic being. Perhaps the only way to stop him is to either destroy the box or kill this demon. But from what I know, Muku will also lose his life in the process." Sasukepares the transformation of Muku to that of a jinchuruki. Sob sob Ryzetsu clenches her fists and resolutely stares at the giant winged demon. "I must stop him. I can''t let him kill more people and stain his hands with the blood of the innocent. I will reseal him in the box." She pulls out the bandages around her chest and takes out a scroll from them. "The elders of the Flower faction passed this sealing scroll to me to seek an opportunity to get closer to the box and seal it with this scroll." "But it''s quite hard to fight against something like that with this cursed seal on our body." The spies from other nations nce at each other. "I will try to buy you some time." Maroi clicks his tongue and dashes towards the giant winged demon. "Damn it! To think that I will lose my life in such a fashion." Out of everyone, he is the only person who doesn''t have the celestial prison seal on his body. Maroi jumps through the rooftops of the buildings and confronts the demon. He makes some quick hand signs. "Water Release: Archerfish Jet," He spews out a powerful jet ofpressed water to attack the winged demon''s blind spot. Whoosh The demon ps its wings and flies into the air. It effortlessly dodges Maroi''s attack and turns its attention toward him. "Good, I was able to draw its attention." SCRREEE The winged demon screeches and ps its wings tounch a barrage of ck feathers toward Maroi. The ck feathers explode in contact with the ground. "God damn it! I will ask Raikage-sama for a long vacation once I return to the vige. No, retirement is the most suitable option!" Maroi darts through the explosive feathers and narrowly avoid them. His heart races to the extreme as he slowly draws the demon''s attention away from the box. "Now is our time! We can''t let Maroi''s sacrifice to go waste." Ryzetsu and the other spies sneak toward the box. Ryzetsu walks in front of the box. She ces the sealing scroll on the ground and makes multiple rapid hand signs. Swish swish Fwoosh A giant pir of blue light rises from the sealing scroll and creates a dome of unknown energy to confine the vile negative chakra within itself. Themotion alerts the winged demon. It halts in its track and turns its attention towards the box. Ryzetsu makes another set of hand signs and ms her palm on the ground. A giant sealing formation forms beneath her feet and envelops the entire exercise grounds. "Fuu, Sai, Dan, Gika, Ragu, Bagi!" Ryzetsu chants a series of unknown sybles to start the sealing process. Multiple unknown runes float in the air around the box and slowly confine its power. "I won''t let you close the gap!" Maroi stops and quickly makes a series of hand signs. "Lightning Release: Thunderbolt p," He opens his palms and releases a powerful discharge of lightning in the air. Lightning crackles through the air and multiple lightning bolt strikes the winged demon. Whoosh whoosh The demon effortlessly evades the lightning bolts. It ps its wings and releases a powerful gale of ck wind. The burst of ck wind shatters the vast of lightning and strikes Maroi down. Guffaw Maroi is sent flying through the air and smashes through a nearby building. Swoosh The winged demon ps its wings and charges toward Ryzetsu. "He noticed us!" The spies panic at the sight of the demon. The demon swipes its giant ws at Ryzetsu to maul her. Tch Ryzetsu grits her teeth and closes her eyes to greet the death. After a few seconds, Huh! Ryzetsu opens her eyes and looks around. Her surroundings are pitch ck, with nothing in sight. "Where where am I?" She looks around in confusion. "Am I dead?" She slowly stands up and gazes at her hands. Her body glows with pure white light. "What''s happening?" "Rrr Ryuuu" A feeble voice echoes in her ears. "This voice Muku" Ryzetsu turns around and dashes in the direction of the voice. "Ryuu" Muku''s voice grows louder and louder as she dashes forward. A tunnel of light appears in front of her. She rushes towards the tunnel and bright light blinds her vision. She shields her eyes with her hands to adjust her vision to the light. After a few seconds, she lowers her hand and nces in front of her. There is an altar in front of her. Muku is hanging on the altar with multiple thick ck chains piercing through his body. "MUKU!" She hurriedly dashes towards him to free him from the bindings. "Ryuu" Muku weakly opens his mouth and gazes at her with a warm smile on his face. Bzzt Crackle A wall of lightning appears in front of the altar and blocks Ryzetsu''s path. Argh The lightning zaps her body and throws her away. "Muku! I will free you." Ryzetsu slowly stands up. She wipes her face and dashes toward the lightning wall. BZZT Crackle Another bolt of lightning strikes her down and lightning flickers around her body, paralyzing her movements. "Ryuu stop!" Muku weakly utters these words. "You can''t save me." He shakes his head. "WHY?" Ryzetsu slowly stands up with red lightning flickering across her body. "I will save you! Even if it costs me my life." She ignores his warning and dashes towards the lightning wall. Bang The lightning jolts her and sends her flying. GAHH Ryzetsu screams in pain as the lightning burns her skin. "Ryuu give up! I I don''t want to see you get hurt." Tears flow from Muku''s eyes as he weakly utters these words. "No, I won''t!" She weakly stands and charges towards the lightning wall, only to be sent flying by it. "Ryu My fate was sealed the day they sacrificed me to this box. Ryu, the only way to free me is to kill the winged demon, Satori." He weakly mutters these words. "But I" Muku smiles at her. Gasp Ryzetsu gasps and opens her eyes. "Fire Release: Heavenly Chains of Suffering," Multiple giant scarlet chains erupt from the ground and bind Satori. SCREE Satori releases a deafening roar and turns toward its attacker. Mui slowly stands up and wipes the blood from his mouth. There is a gaping hole in his chest. Blood slowly leaks from the wound. "You are alive!" Satori speaks in surprise. "My heart is not in its usual ce. It''s slightly dislocated to the right. from birth. It''s part of the reason I somehow survived the previous lethal attack." Mui weakly walks forward. "Uncle Mui!" Ryzetsu turns towards him. "Ryu Is that you?" "Yes, it''s me." Ryu nods her head. "I will buy you some time by holding this demon back. Use this opportunity to escape." Mui makes more hands and the scarlet chains ze with intense fire. "No I can''t leave you here. We have to seal this demon." Ryzetsu shakes her head. "It''s useless. The old sealing form won''t work. Those fanatics from the Jashin cult altered the seal on the box. The only way to stop the box is to kill Satori. Cough cough" Mui coughs up a mouthful of blood. "Uncle!" Ryzetsu hurriedly dashes towards him and supports him. "How? How could there be no fear in your heart?" Satori questions him. "I have lost everything precious to me, my wife, my son! The only thing that is left is my life." Mui raises his head and res at Satori. "Now I am on the verge of death and my only fear for my life is long gone!" An apathetic smile appears on his face. "I see!" Satori remarks and stops struggling. FWOOSH Suddenly, the eyes of the demonic mask on the box of ultimate box glow with an eerie hue. Satori''s body increases in size and breaks apart the chains binding it. "It''s toote!" Mui sighs helplessly as Satori ps its wings and flies in the air. "I will reward you for your fearlessness. DIE!" Satori charges up a giant orb of scarlet energy and fires it toward Mui and Ryzetsu. Mui closes his eyes and epts his fate while Ryzetsu shields him with her body. Chapter 466: Satori Vs Konoha 12 Chapter 466: Satori Vs Konoha 12 "DIE!" Satori fires a giant crimson orb of negative chakra toward Mui and Ryzetsu. "Looks like this is the end!" Both Mui and Ryzetsu ept their fate. "Wind Release: Rasenshuriken," A loud, brash voice echoes in the air, followed by the sound of whirling des. Whirrr A giant rasenshuriken intercepts the negative energy orb. Both attacks sh and explode in the air after a few seconds. Whoosh A gust of strong breeze blows in the surroundings. "Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall," Yamato jumps in front of Mui and Ryzetsu and creates a wooden dome to shield them from the attack. Whoosh Naruto jumps in front of Sasuke and blocks the aftermath of the explosion. "Naruto!" Sasuke calls his name. "Don''t worry, I am here!" "Sasuke Nii-san!" Ayaka also jumps beside Sasuke and nces at the curse mark on his body. "This is a sealing curse mark!" She recognizes the pattern of the curse. "I will dispel it!" She infuses some chakra in her finger and taps Sasuke''s forehead and the curse nodes. The curse vanishes from Sasuke''s body and thetter heaves a sigh of relief. "Thanks for the help!" "Wood Release: Spikes of Death," Yamato fires multiple wooden spikes toward Satori from his hands. Swoosh whoosh Satori easily dodges the spikes and ps its wings to gain some height. It leans forwards and charges toward Naruto, Sasuke, and Ayaka. "I will protect you!" Naruto crosses his arm and creates a pair of giant Rasengan in each hand. "Not so fast!" Whoosh Sakura leaps toward Satori with a spearhead kick. Fwoosh Satori ps its wings and stops in its track to avoid her attack. "Sasuke-kun!" Ino waves at Sasuke as she jumps from the top of a giant bird. "Everyone!" Sasuke turns towards them and notices the members of the Konoha 12 and some jounins from Kumogakure, Sunagakure, Kirigakure, and Iwagakure. "Quick There is a patient to treat here." Yamato hurriedly calls for emergency aid. Sakura and Ino rush toward Mui and use the Mystic Palm technique to heal the hole in his chest. A lump of negative chakra pulsates around his wound and barres any attempt at healing. Tch Both of them click their tongue as Mui''s vitality drains rapidly. "Eat this! Leaf hurricane!" Lee jumps in the air and performs a spinning downward roundhouse kick with three gates open. Whoosh BANG Lee''s kick creates a gigantic crater on the ground and shatters the pavement of the exercise ground. Satori ps its wings and avoids the attack. "Akamaru, Let''s do it! Fang over Fang!" Kiba and Akamaru fuse into a gigantic white wolf and rapidly spin in the air to perform a powerful drilling attack on Satori. Tenten also jumps at Satori''s blind spot and opens her ninja scroll tounch a barrage of hidden weapons and the like. "Ninja Scroll: Death by Thousand des," "I won''t be left behind!" Choji eats a handful of chakra pills and rapidly expands into a giant. "Human Boulder Tank," He curls his body into a ball and rapidly rolls towards Satori. "Shadow possession jutsu," Shikamaru also sends his shadow to paralyze Satori''s movements. "Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm Barrage," The Hyuga siblingunches a barrage of vacuum palms toward the giant demonic monster. "Secret Technique: Insect Hurricane," Shino opens his sleeves tounch a volley of thousand of insects toward Satori in a hurricane-shaped vortex. The attacks of Konoha 12 members block all of Satori''s path of escape. Satori swiftly nces around and senses the hostility of every shinobi around him. "I can sense it! The FEAR! MALICE! And the BLOODLUST!" Fwish It ps its wings and fires a volley of explosive feathers toward Tenten''s weapons since they are the fastest among all. Satori flies in the air and avoids the barrage of vacuum palms from the Hyuga duo. It rapidly spins in the air and kicks the human boulder tank of Choji to redirect it towards the iingbined assault of Kiba and Akamaru. Satori flies over Shino''s insect and hides above their shadows to prevent the shadow possession jutsu. Tch Shikamaru clicks his tongue and dispels his jutsu to free Shino''s insects. The swarm of insects chases after Satori but thetter opens its mouth and spews out a crimson me to burn the insects into cinders. "It''s futile! Your attacks won''t reach me." Satori ps its wings andnds on the ground. "Everyone The only way to kill this monster is to either seal or destroy the box!" Sasuke recovers his chakra and informs them. "Then I will give it a shot!" Naruto and Sasuke make a series of hand signs. Both of them m their palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" Poof Poof Naruto summons Gamabunta while Sasuke summons Aoda. "Boss!" "Aoda!" "Buy us time to destroy that box!" Both of them issue an order to their respective summons. "What what''s going on?" Gamabunta nces at Satori. "Satori, the gluttony demon!" He recognizes Satori at a nce. "Then does this mean" Gamabunta looks around and spots the Box of Ultimate Bliss in the center of the exercise field. "Naruto, what''s the matter? Why are you fighting against Satori, the gluttony demon? Wasn''t it sealed inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss?" "Umm chief, you know about this monster!" "Of course! There are records of this monster''s existence in Mount Myoboku. Satori is an existence that is bound to the Box of the Ultimate Bliss. That''s its curse! The box gives rise to Satori, moves Satori, and ends with Satori. He captures his enemies and throws them in the box to satiate the never-ending hunger of the box. Not only that, Satori can read the hearts of all living beings. It can sense the negative emotions in their heart and predict their course of action from this. So it''s almost impossible to fight against this demon." Gamabunta draws his de and enters abat stance. "What? Then, how will fight against this thing if it can dodge all of our attacks? Also, how did someone even seal such a monster in the first ce?" Naruto has several questions in his mind. "I don''t know much about it. But the only way to fight against this demon is to have a tranquil heart. Only someone with a tranquil heart can let go of their emotions and stand a chance against this demon." Gamabunta exins to them. "Tranquil heart?! Tranquil heart!" Naruto enters into thoughts. "I think I understand it!" He turns towards Yamato. "Captain Yamato! Can you protect me for a few minutes?" "Alright!" Yamato nods his head as Naruto flickers towards him and sits beside him with closed eyes. Yamato locks him into a protective wooden dome and deflects Satori''s explosive feathers. Gamabunta and Aoda surround Satori from both sides and attack him with a flurry of attacks. Satori swiftly maneuvers amongst their attacks and ps its wings tounch multiple ck wind attacks toward the Konoha 12. "Eight Trigram: Palms Revolving Heaven," Neji and Hinata rapidly spin while ejecting chakra from their tenketsu points to generate a protective dome around them. They sessfully repel the ck wind des and give others some time for a breather. "Damn it! No matter how hard I try, I can''t even touch a feather on its body. It''s so frustrating!" Kiba clenches his fists. Woof Akamaru barks to show his agreement. Swoosh Sasuke flickers beside the Ultimate Box of Bliss. "Lightning Release: Purple Chidori Stream," Sasuke generates a purple lightning de in his hand and stabs at the demonic mask of the ultimate box of bliss. ng Sparks fly from his attack as one of his most powerful attacks fails to even produce a scratch on the box. "Then what about this?" SHOOM Sasuke creates a giant humanoid Susanoo and attacks the box with his katanas. CLANG A crisp metallic noise echoes in the air as his des snap in half from the powerful impact. "Not even a scratch!" Sasuke and the rest are shocked to see his attack fail. "This box is indestructible!" Shikamaru concludes as he res at Satori. p Satori ps its wings and perches on top of the box. "None of you possess the power to shatter this box. All of you are so pathetically weak that your mere thought of destroying this box baffles me. Do you think you possess the necessary power to destroy a divine artifact?" Satori mocks them. "No do you even know what this box is? Can you imagine what''s inside this box? There is no day or night inside the box, so you don''t have any sense of time. There is no exit, so there is no way to escape. It''s pitch-ck inside the box and there is this one sinister feeling that swirls around you. It''s big and ck and seeps into every cell of your body. Every emotion that torments you be vague and when I killed my father with these hands, that feeling vanished into thin air. Nothing binds me anymore." Satori''s voice changes to match Muku. "Muku!" Ryzetsu shouts his name. "Is that really you, Muku?" "Ah! That name. I have no use for that name anymore. Now I only have one purpose." Whoosh Satori ps its wings and avoids an attack from Sasuke''s Susanoo. "What''s happening? I can read his movements with my Sharingan, but he can change them ording to my movements. It''s like he can predict the future!" Sasuke clicks his tongue. "Storm Release: Raijin no Yari," Suddenly, a bolt of red lightning falls from the sky and strikes Satori without any warning. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 467: Conquering the Fear Chapter 467: Conquering the Fear Bzzt Boom A gigantic bolt of red lightning strikes Satori out of nowhere. Smoke rises from Satori''s body and lightning crawls across its skin. The sudden bolt of lightning stuns Satori in its position. The sudden strike surprises the rest of the shinobis. All of them slowly turn their attention toward the user of that jutsu. "Ayaka!" Sasuke exims in surprise as Ayaka''s strikends on Satori''s body. Ayaka quickly makes a few more hand signs. "Fire Style: Pheonix Flower jutsu," Sheunches a volley of explosive fireballs toward Satori. Swoosh swoosh Satori recovers from the earlier attack and ps his wings to take flight in the air. It dodges the majority of the fireballs but a few fireballs stillnd on its body and explodes scorching the fur on its body. "This is a chance!" Tenten uses this moment tounch a barrage of explosive kunai tags toward Satori. The explosive kunais tags almost bloat the sky, sealing Satori''s escape routes. "This time for sure!" Tenten and the rest grit their teeth in anticipation. However, the reality is far more disappointing than their anticipation. Satori suddenly rotates its body in a tornado and precisely releases a barrage of its explosive feathers to counter the several explosive kunais in mid-air. Boom Boom Boom Several explosions ring off in the air, raising a cloud of dust and smoke. Swish Satori ps its wings and flies above the smoke cloud. It turns its sharp gaze towards Ayaka. "Strange, I can''t sense it; I can''t sense your negative emotions." Ayaka makes a few more hand signs. "Storm Release: Light Fang," Ayaka inhales sharply and infuses arge amount of chakra into her mouth. She opens her mouth and fires a sharp, thin stream of light from her mouth. Hmm Satori''s sharp sense alerts him of danger. It swiftly ps its wings and dodges sideways. Pew The beam of light travels at an exceedingly fast pace and pierces through one of Satori''s wings. A fist-sized hole appears in Satori''s wings. Dark red blood seeps out of its wings. Satori narrows its eyes. "Looks like out of everyone present here, this little girl has the greatest chance of defeating me." He remarks and once again ps his wings to dash toward Ayaka. "Since that''s the case, I will first kill you." With a sudden burst of speed, Satori appears beside Ayaka. "We won''t let you!" Gamabunta and Aoda block his path. Gamabunta swings his giant Dosu de in a diagonal sh. "Kenjutsu: Frog sh: Third Art," Aoda also inhales arge amount of air. His hood expands to arge proportion. Fwoosh Aoda releases arge amount of green mist from its mouth. The mist rapidly corrodes the ground and envelopes Satori. "Your poison is ineffective against me." Satori opens its giant mouth and inhales the entire green poison mist. Green fumes escape from its nostril. ng He blocks Gamabunta''s giant dosu sword with its razor-sharp metallic ws. Screech Sparks rise from the sh as Satori swipes its ws across the de and stabs its other hand toward Gamabunta''s torso. Gamabunta abandons his de without any hesitation and falls back. However, Satori uses this opportunity and opens its giant mouth to fire a giant energy sphere toward Gamabunta''s back. Bang The energy sphere explodes on Gamabunta and thetter disappears in a poof of smoke. Satori ignores Aoda and flies towards Ayaka, who is recovering her stamina. "DIE!" It opens its mouth and spats out the powerful poison mist from earlier. Ayaka''s countenance turns pale, and she hurriedly takes out an antidote from her storage and consumes it. A sharp gleam sh past Ayaka''s eye as she counterattacks. Swish swish swish "ze Release: Smoldering Purgatory Spear," Ayaka infuses arge amount of chakra into her hands to produce pitch-ck mes infused with darkness. She retracts one of her feet backward and raises the hand with the ck me spear parallel to the ground. She assumes a throwing stance and hurls the spear at the iing Satori with full force. Peng The spear releases a sonic boom and pushes apart the air in front of it. The next instant, the spear appears in front of Satori. Whoosh Satori blocks the attack with his wings. BOOM A burst of ck mes engulfs him and slowly burns his fur to ashes. However, Satori also closes the gap and pierces its ws toward Ayaka''s body. Wham A green protective barrier shroud Ayaka as she swiftly retreats. Whoosh Suddenly, Satori flips its body sideways and narrowly avoids a gigantic purple chakra sword. BOOM A deep ravine forms at the point of impact of the sword. Swish Another purple sword aims for Satori''s head from its blind spot. Fwoosh Satori''s neck bends at an unnatural angle, and the sword narrowly misses his head. Other than a few strands of Satori''s hair, the giant sword cleaves empty air. "I am not done yet!" Sasuke roars. His Susanoo releases a giant arrow from another pair of the hand, wielding a giant bow on his back. "Amaterasu!" The arrow zes with ck mes and swiftly arrives in front of Satori. Stab It pierces through Satori''s left shoulder and envelops him in ck mes. Fwoosh Satori ps his wings and takes off to the sky to gain an advantage. It gazes at the group of shinobis desperatelyunching attacks at him. Crack Satori grabs the arrow with his other hand and pulls it out of his shoulder. The arrows shatter into countless energy particles and disperse. The eyes of one of the demonic faces on the box of Ultimate bliss glow with a sinister hue. A beam of red light enters Sasori''s body and the wounds on his body regenerate rapidly. "All that for a drop of blood!" Satori ps its wings and contemptuously stares at the group of shinobis. A helpless expression appears on everyone''s face as they are unable to evennd a hit, much less gain an advantage over the monster. Whoosh Suddenly, with a sh of orange, a gust of wind blows in the punishment hall. Whoosh A lone figure appears in front of an arrogant Satori. Bang The figure clenches his fist and disappears again. The next instant, it appears on top of Satori and punches him. Bang The punchnds on Satori''s head and ms him to the ground. BOOM A giant crater appears on the ground. Satori is stered on the floor of the punishment ground. "That''s that''s" "NARUTO!" The Konoha 12 exims in surprise as the figure of orange sh be clear. Currently, Naruto''s entire body is cloaked in a golden orange cloak. Wisps of chakra flicker across his body as Naruto turns towards them and smiles. "Such arge amount of overwhelming chakra!" Neji''s eyes widen in shock as he nces at the Nine-tail chakra cloak. "Guys help old man Mui and Ryzetsu with the seal. I will take on this monster." Naruto pumps his fist. "This guy!" Shikamaru shakes his head and instructs others. "What happened? All of a sudden, this guy can hit him." The group exims in surprise. "Tranquil heart! I see" Sasuke and Ayaka also return beside them as Sasuke remarks. "It''s the Second Transformation of Senjutsu! A form where the user transcends his state of mind and his spirit bes one with nature." He murmurs. "Sadly, I am still stuck in the first stage!" Sasuke shakes his head. "Hinata, Sakura, Ino, help Lord Mui with recovery. Neji and Tenten help them with the sealing formation. Choji, Kiba, Shino, and Lee scout the periphery and seal the exit route of all criminals. As for" He turns towards Sasuke and Ayaka. "I will help Naruto in his battle." "I will help with the sealing formation." Ayaka remarks. Shikamaru nods his head in approval and restrains other criminals with the aid of jounins from other viges. Whoosh Naruto flickers and appears in front of Satori. He clenches his fist and focuses most of his chakra on his fists. "Uzumaki Style: Extinction Fist," Satori crosses his arms in front of his chest. BOOM Naruto''s punchnds on Satori''s chest and a giant explosion of energy urs at the point of impact. A giant sphere of energy forms at the point of impact. Satori is sent flying as Naruto chases after him with a flurry of fists. "Uzumaki Barrage," Narutounches a barrage of blows as the flies away from the prison. A series of explosions ring in the air as both of themnd on the only mountain on the ind. Satori and Naruto confront each other and Satori burst out in a grin. "Tell me" Satori opens his mouth as he utters. "How does it feel to conquer your emotions, your fear? Tell me about this feeling you are relishing right now." Satori opens his palm and gazes at them. "No" "I didn''t let go of my emotions, my fear" Naruto shakes his head. "I embraced them." Naruto clenches his fist and instantly reappears in front of Satori andnds a blow on his body. Chapter 468: Sealing Satori Chapter 468: Sealing Satori Bang bang Narutounches a flurry of attacks and smashes Satori into the mountain. Hends beside the giant crater on the ground and nces at the cloud of dust and smoke raised by his previous attacks. HAHA HAHA A peal of chaoticughter greets them as Satori flies out of the crater with no apparent damage to its body. "Embracing your emotions" He charges up a giant sphere of destructive negative chakra. "Don''t give me that bullshit!" Satori spats the giant vtile sphere toward Naruto. Naruto stretches his right hand and creates a giant rasenshuriken t counter Satori''s attack. Fwoosh Bang BOOM Both attacks collide in the air and create a powerful torrent of energy that sweeps everything in the surrounding. The powerful explosion blows away the top of the mountain and creates a maelstrom of turbulent energy that ravages everything in its vicinity. Whoosh Satori charges out of the energy surge and attacks Naruto with a kick. Naruto crosses his arms to block the attack. Bang The heavy impact sends him flying across the air. Naruto tumbles through and barely stops himself after flying for a short while. "Naruto!" Sasuke appears beside Naruto and provides himself a tform to stand with his Susanoo. The giant Susanoo ps its wings and charges toward Satori. The swords of the Susanoo shimmer with energy as Sasuke shes out swift crescent des of energy toward Satori. Satori confronts the crescent des head-on. It stretches out its left w. WHAM A crimson surge of negative chakra encases his left w. Satori performs a vertical sweeping motion and destroys the iing attack. While destroying Sasuke''s attack, it ps its wings and dodges sideways, avoiding Sasuke''s stab. BANG Narutonds a heavy blow on Satori from his blind spot and sends him tumbling down to the ground. "Cho-dama Rasenshuriken," Naruto creates a giant rasenshuriken almost triple his size and throws it at the ground. BOOM A hurricane of wind des appears at the point of impact and generates a spherical tornado of destruction with countless wind des that destroy the ground to reveal a smooth dome-shaped crater on the ground. Spurt spurt Multipleceration spurt blood from Satori''s body. However, soon a scarlet glow envelope Satori''s body and rapidly heals his wounds. "That''s" An ugly expression appears on Naruto and Sasuke''s faces as Satori charges toward them with replenished vigor. Back at the prison grounds, Sakura''s and Ino''s healing slightly stabilizes Mui''s injury. "I am feeling slightly better!" Mui shakes his head and slowly stands up. He turns towards the Box of Ultimate Bliss. "Satori won''t stop unless we seal the box of Ultimate bliss. Back in ancient times, the members of my n paid an astronomical price to seal this monster in the box. Even though Satori has regressed in strength throughout millennia, it''s still impossible to kill him as long as this box exists." "Then how do we deal with this monster if we can''t even hit it, much less kill him for good? At this rate, this monster will escape to the rest of the world and create havoc everywhere it goes. The elders of the fruit faction will achieve their goal of the destruction of the other nations." Shikamaru questions him in an urgent tone. "There is a method!" Mui slowly drags his body toward the giant box. "What method?" The rest of the shinobi turns towards him. "It''s this seal!" He points towards the sealing scroll in Ryzetsu''s hand. "But didn''t she try it earlier? This sealing formation is not strong enough to contain that monster." Choji argues. "No, this seal is iplete!" Mui shakes his head. "We have to inscribe theplete seal and perform the secret sealing ritual of my n to seal the box. The sealing scroll in the Flower faction''s hand is a weaker version of the real seal. Also, it was because of this reason that the Fruit faction wanted to ally with my n." Mui stands in front of the box with the sealing scroll in his hand. He infuses his chakra in the sealing scroll andys it on the ground. A framework of giant fuinjutsu formation appears on the ground. Mui infuses some chakra in his finger and inscribes a rune on the ground to align it with the chakra circuit of the sealing scroll. "I have some knowledge of Fuinjutsu. I will help with the inscription." Ayaka offers her help. Mui turns towards her and is slightly surprised to hear a little girl im proficiency in Fuinjutsu. "Alright, inscribe a Tenki node on the west side of the sealing scroll. After that, inscribe a Tsuchi node on the east side. As for the remaining directions, inscribe Godai nodes at them except for the north and south side, since their inscription is already on the scroll. I will inscribe the Jinrui gate in the center and connect all nodes with inscriptions." Mui issues a series ofmands to Ayaka. "All right!" Ayaka nods in affirmation and inscribes the sealing runes ording to Mui''smand. Mui also quickly inscribes the runes in the fuinjutsu formation. Surprisingly enough he is a grandmaster in Fuinjutsu. Mui raises his head once to nce at Ayaka''s progress. His eyes widen in surprise at the rate of Ayaka''s progress. ''This little girl is a prodigy. She is already a Fuinjutsu grandmaster at such a young age and her attainment in Fuinjutsu is even greater than mine. If not for the specific nature of this seal, I am afraid she would inscribe it much faster than me.'' Mui also increases his pace. While inscribing the seal, Ayaka frowns slightly as she infers the fuinjutsu form in her mind. ''This seal is slightly unusual. The positions of nodes are reversed. Normally, the heaven node should be in the center, but in this seal, the Jinrui node is in the central gate position. Although the circuits of this seal are unique, they require a huge amount of chakra to activate. I wonder if even have enough chakra to activate this seal.'' Ayaka ponders as shepletes the seal. ''Ayaka, how long will it take?'' Sasuke''s desperate voice rings in her head. ''I am almost out of chakra fighting this monster.'' He adds. ''Nii-san, we are almost done with the seal. Lure that monster to this seal. We will seal it in the box.'' ''Alright!'' Mui alsopletes the final inscription. "Everyone, upy a node to supply chakra to activate the seal. I will take the central node to control the formation." Mui instructs. "Alright!" Sakura, Hinata, Ayaka, Choji, Shino, Neji, Ino, Kiba, and Ryzetsu upy a node ording to Mui''s instructions. Only Tenten, Lee, and Shikamaru are without any nodes since they have the lowest chakra reserves among the group. They infuse chakra into the seal and the sealing circuit of the seal lights up. "Nii-san, we are ready!" Ayaka sends a signal to Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto and Sasuke nce at each other and nod. Both of them increase their pace of attack and slowly lead the battle back toward the prison grounds. Hmm Soon, Satori notices something amiss. He turns around and notices the giant sealing formation. "You want to seal me back into that box?" Satori''s countenance changes. "I was freed after so many centuries, and you want to reseal me into that box?" SHOOM Satori releases a burst of negative chakra from its body and pushes them away. It charges up a giant sphere of negative chakra and throws it toward Naruto since Naruto is the only person who cannd a blow on him and hinder his movement. Swish Sasuke flies in front of the giant explosive chakra and blocks it with Susanoo. BOOM The sphere explodes and engulfs Sasuke in a violent surge of energy. "SASUKE!" Sakura screams in shock. Satori uses this opportunity to escape in the other direction. However, "Storm Release: Four Direction Tempest Prison," A giant cage of lighting encases Satori and seals his escape route. Satori turns around and notices Ayakapleting her hand seal. Anger surges in Satori''s eyes. It infuses negative chakra in its hand and shatters the prison with a swipe of its hand. "Do you think this can stop me?" He mocks. "I didn''t mean to stop you. I just wanted to buy some time." Ayaka grins as Mui ps his hand and infuses his chakra into the Fuinjutsu formation to activate it. WHAMM A gigantic pir of blue energy rises from the center of the seal and slowly encases the area around the group. Satori ps his wings and attempts to escape from the seal. "I won''t let you!" Naruto jumps out of the dust and smoke while supporting Sasuke with one of his shoulders. "Adamantine Sealing Chains," Multiple giant chakra chains escape from Naruto''s body and bind Satori''s body and pull it toward the center of the seal. The sealing properties of the seal restrict the negative chakra of Satori to some extent. "Old Man Mui, do it now!" Naruto yells at Mui as thetter slices his palm and drips his blood on the center of the seal. Chapter 469: End of Blood Prison Arc Chapter 469: End of Blood Prison Arc Mui drips his blood on the seal and activates it. mes rise from the seal and engulf Mui. "Celestial me Prison Seal," The Fuinjutsu formation rapidly drains everyone''s chakra. Mui''s body quickly turns pale as he substitutes his life force for chakra. The scarlet mes form a giant pir with Mui in the center. "I understand now!" Ayaka murmurs as everyone is shocked by Mui''s actions. "No wonder the Jinrui node is in the center. This is a sacrificial formation. This sealing formation needs the sacrifice of the life force to activate." "Uncle MUI!" Tears flow from Ryzetsu''s eyes as she stretches her arm towards Mui''s figure. "Ryu just like you, I can feel Muku''s pain, his agony, his loneliness. I don''t want to see him suffer anymore. I don''t want to see him be a tool for this evil box." Mui smiles at her, and his figure vanishes in mes. The scarlet mes turn sentient and wrap around Satori, forming multiple searing chains of mes. The fuinjutsu formation lights up and multiple sealing runes float in the air. "Fire Release: Great Heavenly Fire Prison Seal," The me morphs into a giant, fiery figure. The fiery figure ms its palm on Satori''s chest, binding Satori''s body with the signature seal of Mui''s n. "NOOO YOU CAN''T SEAL ME IN THAT BOX!" Satori roars as the chains drag a figure out of Satori''s body. A pale Muku falls to the ground. Satori''s figure turns into a giant demonic face of negative chakra. It attempts to bore into Muku''s body, but the scarlet mes keep it at bay. "F-Father!" Muku slowly opens his eyes and stares at the giant, fiery figure. "Muku!" The fiery figure gently grazes Muku''s face. "I am sorry, Father!" Tears flow from Muku''s eyes as his hand passes through the mes. "I was not a good son!" "No I I wasn''t a good father!" Mui''s pained voice rings in everyone''s years. "Thanks for everything, Father!" Muku''s body glows with a fiery hue and dissipates into countless me petals. "RYU I am sorry I wasn''t able to fulfill my promise to spend my entire life with you." Muku''s mncholic voice drifts into Ryzetsu''s ear as a fiery feather flies towards her. "Muku!" Ryzetsu stretches her hand and grabs the fiery feather in her palm. She closes her palm and ces the fiery feather close to her heart. Tears flow from her eyes as Muku''s smile radiates in her memory. The me petals and the fiery figure of Mui wrap around the will of Satori separated from Muku''s body. A zing inferno rises in the sky and the mes engulf the box of Ultimate bliss. The demonic face on the box opens its mouth and drags Satori''s will back into the box. Weng The demonic mouth shuts close, and the glow in its eyes dims down. The box power down and silently stays in the middle of the prison ground. The Konoha 12 and the other shinobis pay a silent tribute to Mui and Muku''s souls. "MUUKUUUU!" Ryzetsu falls to her knees and burst out in tears. Her wails echo throughout the entire Hozuki castle. Akura, Hinata, and Ino stand beside her to console her, but they are at a loss for words. In the end, they allow her to release her grief through wailing. "It''s gone! The dam seal sealing our chakra is gone!" Some of the prisoners burst out inughter as they notice theck of Celestial fire prison seal on their bodies. "We are finally free!" They swiftly dash towards the gates of the Hozuki castle to escape. "Let''s capture them!" Shikamaru signals to the rest of the members of Konoha 12, who nod at him and quickly subdues the prisoner. Half an hourter, The Konoha 12 members lock every prisoner back into their cell. "Let''s wait for the officials from the Kusagakure to rectify the prison situation." Shikamaru, who is the leader of the operation, shakes his head. "What about this box?" Sasuke asks him. "Hmm for starters, let''s try to seal this box using the scrolls I got from the vige." Shikamaru takes out a bunch of scrolls. "Lady Kushina gave these scrolls to me. They should be able to seal this box." "Mom made these scrolls!" Naruto curiously stares at the sealing scroll. "This box is too dangerous. We can''t allow it to fall in hands of some evil organizations or people with an ulterior motive, especially the Akatsuki." Shikamaru ces the scroll around the giant box. "Let me do it!" Naruto takes over. He bites his thumb and drops blood on the scroll and makes a series of hand signs to activate the sealing. WHAM The sealing scroll emits a blinding light that engulfs the box. After a few seconds, the light dims down, but the box is still in its ce. "Hmm the sealing failed!" Naruto frowns. "Let me try again!" He spills another drop of blood on the scroll and makes the necessary hand signs. Another blinding light engulfs the box, but the box is still in its previous state. "We can''t seal this box with ordinary methods!" Naruto helplessly shakes his head. "What a drag!" Shikamaru sighs helplessly and ces his hand on his forehead to think of a solution. "Should we call Lady Kushina from Konoha?" Sakura makes a suggestion. "Oh! That''s a good idea. I almost forgot about it." Naruto nods and takes out a kunai from his pocket. Fwish He disappears from his ce, and the kunai falls to the ground. A few momentster he reappears on the prison ground with Kushina and Tsunade in tow. Hmm "So, this is the infamous box of Ultimate Bliss." Tsunade and Kushina curiously inspect the box. "I can sense a malicious energy from this box." Kushina warily stares at the mouth of the box. "This box certainly has a history of cmity and disaster." Tsunade nods in agreement. Kushina walks forward to examine the box. "Mom, be careful!" Naruto warns her. Mm Kushina nods and taps the surface of the box. "I have never seen material like this. This box is definitely not from this world." She murmurs. "Right! Kurama also thinks so. Even with my and Kurama''s full power, I wasn''t even able to make a scratch on the box." Naruto agrees with her. Kushina stares at the eyes of the demonic mask. "Huh!" A frown appears on her face. She removes the ne around her neck and removes a piece of strange metal from it. Weng The unknown piece of metal hum with energy and vibrate in Kushina''s hand releasing some space undtions. "As I suspected!" She stores the unknown metal piece and turns towards the group. "Kushina, did you find anything?" "Mm and it''s a pretty big discovery." Kushina nods at them. "I also found the reason why we can''t store this box in a sealing scroll." "Oh, what is it?" Everyone curiously asks her. "This box is a gateway to a separate dimension. It doesn''t have infinite space like everyone assumed it to be. The demonic mouth is a portal leading to a different dimension. A tremendous amount of energy is required to open the portal to another world. This might be the reason the elder of the Kusagakure spent centuries trying to open the box since the energy consumption to open the portal is phenomenal." Kushina reveals the true nature of the box. "So, is the legend about the Kusagakure using this box to conquer the rest of the world false?" Maroi asks her with respect. "No, there is some truth to it." Kushina shakes her head. "After listening to Satori''s tale, I am pretty sure it''s a powerful malevolent spiritual creature from another dimension. The Uzumaki n members have sealed plenty of such creatures albeit not as powerful as Satori, into other dimensions. Our sealing ritual banished these evil spirits to some deste dimension. So, the descent of cmity by opening this is certainly true. Who knows if we reopen this box, a hoard of evil entities from another world might invade our world?" Kushina exins to them. "Then, Lady Kushina, what should we do with this box?" Shikamaru asks her. "Hmm since we can''t store it, we should carry it to Konoha, and I ce multiple restrictions around this box and carefully seal it somece secure," Kushina suggests. "Then I will" Before Naruto couldplete his sentence, Kushina shakes her head. "Any spacetime jutsu is ineffective against it. We have to carry it normally." "That''s unfortunate!" The Konoha 12 members shake their heads in disappointment. While everyone is musing about what to do with the box, a strange phenomenon urs in front of Ayaka. WHAMM Suddenly, a wooden box appears in front of Ayaka. "AH!" Ayaka shrieks in surprise, drawing everyone''s attention. "What''s the matter, Ayaka?" Tsunade and Kushina turn their attention to her. The wooden box in front of Ayaka emits a blue light and hums with a strange frequency. Rumble Rumble The Box of Ultimate Bliss responds to that strange hum and vibrates. A crimson glow envelops the box, and it floats in mid-air. The box of ultimate bliss shrinks to the same size as the wooden box and the demon faces on the box shift slightly to form an eye on top of the box. A bright glow epasses both boxes as both boxes fly toward each other. BOOM Both boxes collide with each other, releasing a powerful shockwave that pushes everyone back. RUMBLE RUMBLE Tremors run across the ground as an earthquake hits the area. Soon, both boxes disappear from everyone''s view. After a few seconds, the group stabilizes its footing. "What was that?" Ino asks in trepidation. "Those strange boxes came into contact with each other and it led to an earthquake!" Even Choji is surprised by his own words. "Ayaka, what was that?" Tsunade asks her for an exnation. Some subtle emotions flicker across Ayaka''s face for a few seconds before her expression turns normal. "It was something left behind by Nii-san to contain that box. We don''t have to worry about it anymore." Ayaka stretches out her palm and summons a palm-sized Box of Ultimate Bliss. "Unfortunately, only I can carry it like this since this box is a kind of contracted to me." Ayaka shakes her head. "Very well!" Despite their doubts Tsunade and Kushina nod at her statement. "Let''s return to the vige!" Tsunade turns towards Guy and Maroi. "I am sure both of you are aware of your mission." "Yes, Tsunade-sama Hokage-sama!" Both nod at her. Fwoosh Tsunade and Kushina disappear in a sh of light. "Alright, everyone! This marks the end of our mission." Shikamaru deres. "We will return to the vige to prepare for war." "Let''s go! I can''t wait to pummel those Akatsuki members in the war." Naruto bumps his fist. "Umm sorry Naruto, but we have another mission for you." Guy interrupts him. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 470: Start of the Fourth Shinobi War Chapter 470: Start of the Fourth Shinobi War "Huh?! Mission for me?" Naruto points a finger toward himself. "Why me, when there are several other shinobis in the vige?" Naruto asks him. "Naruto!" Yamato ces his hand on Naruto''s shoulder. "This is very important top-secret information crucial for war. Only someone with your skill can aplish this task." Yamato''s eyes shine with such brightness that they almost blind Naruto. "Really?!" "Yes, of course! You are the only one." Guy nods with Yamato. "This is a top-secret S-rank mission. I can''t disclose the information about it yet." Guy whispers in Naruto''s ear. "Then count me in!" Naruto raises a thumb toward the group. "Let''s go! I am hyped for my first S-rank mission. I will definitely be a jounin after this mission." Naruto takes the lead and walks towards the port. Fufu "So easy!" The rest of the group silently chuckles at Naruto''s simple-mindedness. "Everyone, I will see youter during the war!" Naruto waves his hand at the rest of the Konoha 12 group. He leaves the ind on a ship with Guy, Yamato, Aoba, and Maroi on board. After Naruto leaves, everyone sighs behind his back. "It''s the least we could do to iste him from the war. It would be troublesome if Akatsuki used some unforetold means to capture him to extract Nine-tails." Shikamaru shakes his head. "Everyone, let''s return to the vige. The issue with Kusagakure''s participation in war is over and the elders of the flower faction already agreed to ally with the rest of the nations." "Let''s go, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura and Ino pull Sasuke''s arm. Sasuke turns around and nces at Ryzetsu''s mncholic face for a few seconds. "I hope I will see her around the next time I visit this ce." Sasuke shakes his head and boards the ship with the rest of the people. -------------------------- In some highly secure ce in the Land of Fire, A tall dome-shaped building stands erect with multiple restrictions and barriers around the ce. A, Onoki, Mifune, Gaara, Rasa, Minato, Tsunade, and Mei survey the area. "The fuinjutsu skills of the Uzumaki n are as outstanding as always." Onoki praises the several barrier formations put in ce. "They are outstanding enough for the four shinobi nations to join forces to wipe out Uzushiogakure during the second shinobi war." Tsunade mocks him in an indifferent tone. "It was the circumstances that forced us to take such action. Everything is fair in war as long as it gives us an advantage." Onoki acknowledges the me without any hint of emotions. "I will still choose to do the same if given another opportunity." He adds. Hmph Tsunade snorts and continues to survey the area. After Izuna''s thorough investigation, it was revealed that the four shinobi nations orchestrated the attack on the Uzumaki n during the second shinobi war to weaken Konoha''s forces during the war. Danzo was also in consent as he betrayed the Uzumaki n by withholding reinforcement to aid the Uzumaki n members. "Both the Intelligence Division and the Sensor Division have stationed their core shinobis at this ce. The elites of thebat division are also guarding the perimeter of this area." One of the Kumogakure Jounin reports to the group. Mm The Kages nod at him and walk towards the interior of the headquarter. "Summon Alliance''s chief strategist Shikaku Nara, Sensor division head Ao, Intelligence division head Inoichi Yamanaka,bat division head Sakumo Hatake, Scout division head Ringo Kumano and" Minato issues a series of orders to the guards to summon the respective heads of every division for an emergency meeting. Half an hourter, Every Kage and division head gathers around a round table in a giant hall. "Let''smence the meeting!" Minato signals the start of the meeting. The Scout division head Ringo Kumano takes the lead and presents a report to the group. "These past few weeks our scouts have been repeatedly searching for the traces of Akatsuki and their forces, but we have yet to spot any Akatsuki member or their army for that matter. Even Kabuto Yakushi has escaped our radar." He presents a series of the report and intel of every secret Akatsuki hideout in other nations and even the intel of Pain''s main headquarter in Amegakure. Hmm The Kages frown at this revtion. "This is too much of a disadvantage for us. The enemy is secretly monitoring our every move while we aren''t even aware of their forces." A ms his palm on the table. "The enemy is quite formidable, especially the mastermind, Madara Uchiha. We must search for every clue no matter how much small it is." Onoki clutches his fist. "The intelligence department is in the process of filtering and organizing the intel gathered by the scout division. So far, the most notable information among them is the incident of grave robbery in multiple shinobi nations." Inoichi projects the shinobi world map in front of the group. "Hmm grave robbery?! What does Akatsuki aim to achieve by pilfering the graves of shinobis?" Onoki frowns. "It''s the forbidden jutsu Edo Tensei." Shikaku calmly remarks. "Edo Tensei, that forbidden jutsu of the Second Hokage!" Everyone''s expression turns ugly at his remark. The horror and threat of an immortal army that doesn''t feel any pain and fatigue is nightmarish to shinobis made of flesh and blood. "Hmm Kabuto inherited this technique from Orochimaru, who almost perfected this technique." Tsunade recalls the recent encounter of the Konoha shinobis with Kabuto. "If Kabuto raises an army of Edo Tensei, then we won''t stand a chance in this war." Gaara presents his concern as he recalls Kabuto''s characteristics from his memory of the chunnin exam. "Even if he has perfected the technique, it would be impossible for him to control an army. This technique puts an immense burden on the user''s mind. Also, there is a risk of the summons losing control and gain free will if the summoner fails to control them." Minato states the weakness of the Edo Tensei. "However, it shouldn''t be to be a problem for him to control tens of powerful shinobis." He adds. "Even tens of powerful shinobis can create havoc among our rank. What if Kabuto reincarnated the First Hokage as an Edo Tensei?" Mei raises a question. Everyone''s expression turns ugly at the mention of First Hokage''s name. Thebat prowess of the First Hokage even exceeds Madara Uchiha. If such a shinobi makes a move against the allied forces, then the amount of damage will be catastrophic. "The first Hokage, the second Hokage, and the third Hokage can''t be reincarnated." Minato shakes his head, much to everyone''s relief. "The second and third Hokage''s souls are sealed within the stomach of the Shinigami, whereas Izuna ced restrictions on the first Hokage''s soul, thus preventing someone else from summoning his soul as an Edo. However, there are still plenty of fearsome shinobis we have to be wary of." A member of the intelligence division walks inside the meeting halls and hands over a scroll to Inoichi. Hmm Inoichi reads the contents of the scroll, and the frown on his face lightens. "What''s the matter, Inoichi?" Shikaku notices his expression. Sigh Inoichi sighs and passes the scroll to Shikaku. "The intelligence division has finishedpiling the intel and, fortunately, has inferred the likely location of Akatsuki''s main headquarter. Even Kabuto''s trials are revealed after his recent activities. Shikaku hands the map to Inoichi, who then marks multiple locations on the world map with a circle. "With this, we have a lead on our enemy." Everyone''s expression returns to normal. "Still, it is better than shooting an arrow in the dark. At least we have a direction to work in." Mifune nods at Inoichi and acknowledges his effort. "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s form a team and send it to scurry away every piece of information about Akatsuki and that rat Kabuto. It will be a significant achievement if we can capture that Kabuto and force him to summon Edo Tensei to aid us in the battle." A clenches his fists. "Hmm Edo Tensei is an inhuman technique that requires human sacrifice. Are you sure you can beat the cost Raikage?" Onoki snides at him. "Of course, I can! We can use the heinous criminals who are sentenced to death as a sacrifice for the technique. Also, didn''t you say it earlier? Everything is fair in war as long as we can aplish our objective." A gaze into Onoki''s eyes. The atmosphere of the meeting hall turns solemn at Raikage''s words. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 471: War Council Strategy Meeting Chapter 471: War Council Strategy Meeting "Alright, enough about the intelligence. Let''s hear the report of the logistics." Minato breaks the silence. "The main objective of summoning the war council is to discuss strategy!" He adds and nods toward Shikaku, who takes the lead. "First, assemble reserves of ninja tools and foodstuffs." Shikaku nces at everyone. "The Samurais of the Land of Iron will take the responsibility of stocking and crafting fresh equipment and weapons." Mifune volunteers for the task. "Very well, other nations will equally contribute their reserves of ores and misceneous material for the forging of new gear." Minato makes the decision. "The Land of Rice paddies, the Land of Noodles, the Land of tea, the Land of Honey, the Land of vegetables, the Land of bean jams will take the responsibility for the supply of food material." The representative of multiple smaller nations takes up the lead for the food supply. "We are unable to contribute to the majorbat force, so we will fulfill our part in other ways." The representative adds. "Very well! The allied forces are grateful for your help." Minato nods in agreement as Shikaku continues. "Second, we must divide our shinobi into main battle units, support battle units, and consider how we should build the toons within the fighting forces. Ourbat division must be ready to face every expected and unexpected situation." A and Sakumo turn towards each other and nod. "Currently, the allied shinobi force is split into five different battle divisions for handling various circumstances. The first division, the great battle regiment, is the major fighting force of the battle. I will lead this division to fight a battle on multiple war fronts. This division is further split into five differentpanies. The firstpany: Mid-Range Battle Unitprises shinobis who specialize in mid-distancebat. It''s mostly made of shinobi which uses weapons in battle. The secondpany: Close-Range Battle Unit specializes in closebat. The shinobis of this unit will fight on the front line and will directly confront the enemy forces. The Thirdpany: Intermediate-Range Battle Unit will be stationed to provide support up close and at mid-range. To be part of this unit, one must have speed and physical strength. The Fourth Company: Long-Range battle unit will provide the link with themunication division and Intel unit to support the front lines. In addition, this unit will also act as a shield and spear for the front lines in case of retreat. And finally, the fifth battlepany: Special-Range Battle Unit with their specialized ninjutsu and attack tactics!" "A special unit?" Murmurs spread across the hall. "Yes in war, anything can happen. Even if our forces are broken up into units, it''s wishful thinking to believe that each team will operate without any unforeseen circumstances. Depending on the situation, some units will find themselves in a good battlefield position, while others will be at a disadvantage. This is where we''ll rely on the shinobi who possesses secret ninjutsu. We have yet to decide the captains of eachpany." Sakumo turns towards A and continues. "The second division is the lightning force toon led by Fourth Raikage-sama as themander. This division is suitable for quick and powerful counterattacks. They will zone the battle with their lightning-fast speed and will provide assistance throughout the battlefield and will be the primary reinforcement of the war." A nods his head in agreement with the n. The Third division is the Protection Squad led by the Third Tsuchikage Onoki. This division is further split into two sub-division. The first sub-division will bolster the defenses of the main battle regiment, while the second sub-division will be responsible for the protection of the Daimyos of various nations. There is a high chance that the Akatsuki members might try to use them as high-priority ransom to gain leverage during the battle and force us into a passive position." "Hmm" Onoki ponders for a while before nodding his head. "I will be part of the first sub-division and I want the wood user from Konoha to be a part of my division." Onoki makes a request. "Yamato?!" Tsunade frowns. "I think that won''t be possible." She shakes her head. "Huh! Why not?" Onoki frowns at her remark. "Yamato is on a mission to protect the Jinchuriki of the Nine-tails and is currently on his way towards the ce arranged by the Raikage." Tsunade shakes her head. "That''s unfortunate!" Onoki shakes his head. "I will join your division in his steed." Gaara raises an offer. "Hoh! If the Kazekage himself requests to join my division, then there is no point in denying his request. Also, the famed absolute defense of the Kazekage will be put to the test." Onoki agrees with the terms. "Alright, then!" Sakumo nods and turns to Mei. "The fourth division Water Attack Raid Unit will lead by Lady Mizukage. This group specializes in aquaticbat and will intercept any attacks from the sea." Mei nods in agreement. "The fifth division, the Surprise Attack Division, led by Lord Rasa, shall be responsible for setting up ambushes and intercepting enemies from blind spots. They will disrupt enemy formation and will quickly retreat after being found. This division will be proficient in gueri warfare tactics." Rasa also epts the arrangement. "Other than these five battle units, there will be five support unitsposed of the Sealing Division, the Barrier Division, the Communication Division, the Sensor Division, and the misceneousbat medic Division. These divisions will stay at the back line and will aid the main division during the battles." Sakumo turns towards the respective leaders of each division. The leader of the Sealing division is an old shinobi from Kirigakure, proficient in sealing formations. Kushina didn''t directly partake in the war as she will monitor the battlefield with the CPS system. The head of the Barrier division hails from Iwagakure and is proficient in earth release and several barrier techniques, themunication division head hails from Kumogakure, while the head of the sensor division is from Sunagakure. He is the same person who was able to spot Izuna during his battle in the HOLE. Thebat medic division is led by none other than Shizune. As the disciple of the most talented medic-nin of the shinobi world, no one doubts her abilities. "That concludes the details of every division of the Allied Shinobi force." Sakumo calmly retreats to his position as discussion breaks out in the war council. Five minutester, silence returns to the hall as a few members of the war council raise some concerns. Sakumo calmly rifies everyone''s doubts and reaches a consensus with the rest of the war council members. "If a war is what Akatsuki wants, then it''s WAR WE WILL GIVE THEM!" A raises his hand and hollers. "WAR!!" The rest of the members of the war council shout in unison. The war council meeting ends after another heated discussion of an hour. After the meeting, the Kages gather in a private room to discuss a few things. "The Kaminomegumi Corporation will bear the cost of the entire war," Mei announces the information to the three Kages. "WHAT?" Onoki, A, Rasa, and Gaara are shocked to hear this revtion. "Are you sure you can handle the cost of a war?" Onoki asks in skepticism. "I do! However" Mei pauses and nces at the Kages much to their relief. Having no conditions will lead them to suspect Konoha and Kiri''s motive whereas conditions are always negotiable. "Very well, we would like to hear the conditions." "Alright! First, the cost of war is phenomenal. So, after the end of the war, I would request the three nations to abolish the tax of the Kaminomegumi corporation." Mei states her first condition. "Impossible!" Onoki screams almost instantaneously. Others might not know this, but he definitely knows the scale of money Izuna''s corporation is making. It''s part of the reason he has levied heavy taxes on trade in Iwagakure. "Then what about for the next fifty years?" Mei proposes. "Hmm fifty years is not possible but I can consider the next twenty-five years." Onoki shakes his head. "I am fine with that!" Mei''s and Tsunade''s eyes glow in anticipation as an uneasy feeling shrouds Onoki''s heart. "What next?" He snorts at her. "ess to all trade channels including the secret ones!" "That''s feasible." This time A agrees without any problem. "We also agree with this term." Gaara and Onoki also agree. "Then, myst condition is to open stores in every hidden nation. Currently, all of our products are exported and sold through other channels. We would like our outlet in the three nations." "Hmm" After some pondering, Onoki agrees to it. "Though the only store is allowed in the vige." He adds. "That''s fine by me!" Mei nods with a smile thus leading to the formation of the first mall in the shinobi world. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 472: Akatsuki’s Whereabout Part-1 Chapter 472: Akatsukis Whereabout Part-1 A few dayster, In a narrow valley outside the Land of Rice Paddies. Whoosh whoosh A group of shinobis silently flicker through the valley while hiding their presence. These shinobis are wearing the k jacket and headband of the Shinobi Alliance and are a groupposed of shinobis from Konoha. "Wait! I can sense his presence nearby." Anko signals her group to stop. She turns towards a Hyuga member at her party. "Tokuma, scout the area ahead! Don''t miss a single thing." "I am on it!" Tokuma nods and makes a ram hand seal in front of his Byakugan. "Byakugan!" He activates his Dojutsu and surveys the area ahead. Hmm After a few seconds, Tokuma frowns and turns towards Anko. "Captain! I have found the entrance to the hidden bases of Orochimaru." "Very well, lead the way!" The rest of the group takes out their weapons and enters a high alert state, ready tobat any unseen enemies. Tokuma leads them toward the base of a giant tree. A giant boulder is resting against the trunk of the tree. "There is a path behind this boulder. However, I suspect it is a trap." Tokuma informs the rest of the party. "Ranka, look for any booby traps or hidden mechanisms." "Yes, captain!" Ranka, a special jounin, takes the lead to analyze the trap. Ranka takes out a few tools and gets on the work. Click ck After a few seconds, he unlocks the mechanism. Rumble The giant boulder shakes and moves sideways to reveal a path. Anko and the rest of the team take a step forward. "Wait!" Ranka warns them to stop. He takes out a small wooden doll from his backpack and tosses it inside. Boom With a small explosion, the wooden doll turns to cinders. The expression of the team turns ugly and they throw a thankful nce at Ranka. "I will disable the trap!" After a few more minutes, "The path is clear! Let''s move in." Ranka signals them from inside. "I will send my bugs to scout a map of the area." A member of the Aburame n takes the lead. "I will leave it to you, Muta!" Anko nods at him. Muta ces his finger on the ground and releases a multitude of insects on the ground. The insects crawl across the floor, roof, and walls of the hideout. The rest of the group patiently waits outside. Anko bites her lips as she silently waits for the Muta to finish scouting. A few days ago, the Recon division of the Allied Shinobi force issued a mission to scout the whereabouts of Kabuto and Akatsuki''s headquarters. Anko and her infiltration and reconnaissance party also enlisted for this mission. Her team consists of Muta Aburame and Tokuma Hyuga. Both of them were part of her former genin team after her rescue from Orochimaru''s clutches. Ranka and Dango Mitsuki also volunteered to join the team of their own ord. Ranka has a crush on Anko, while Dango is a close friend of Ranka. Also, Ranka is a special jounin who specializes in trap dismantling while Dango is a sensor. So, Anko readily agreed to their request since it will increase their chance to track Kabuto''s trails. Anko decided to track Kabuto since being a former test subject of Orochimaru and a bearer of Orochimaru''s Cursed Seal of Heaven; she can sense Orochimaru''s presence from far away. This is part of the reason their group encountered several of Orochimaru''s hiddenirs in the past few days. "Let''s go!" Muta recalls his insects and guides the way. Ranka and Tokuma are also alert for the presence of any hidden trap or mechanism. The group sifts through the hideout and finally arrives in one of theboratories. "There is someone here!" Takuma spots three bodies on the ground. Ranka inspects the bodies and remarks. "There is no doubt about it. It''s Kabuto''s doing." The group notices snake-bite marks around the neck of the three Iwa shinobis. "It has been almost two to three days since these people died. They must have stumbled across Kabuto by chance." Takumo inspects their body with his Byakugan and shakes his head. Anko leans over and wipes the dry blood from the corpses. "This method of killing Kabuto is bing more like Orochimaru. But why would he leave a trail like this? He could easily get rid of these bodies." Anko frowns. "Is this deliberate? What does he intend to do?" Takumo spectes. "No doubt Kabuto is carrying Orochimaru''s will. Now, he is going after the hidden leaf and has joined hands with Akatsuki." Anko clenches her fist. "Let''s leave this ce. He is long gone from here." Anko walks towards the entrance. The rest of the group follows her. Back at the entrance, Dango takes out a sealing scroll from his storage and makes some hand signs. Poof A sealing formation appears around the entrance of the hideout and seals it. "These things made by the Sealing team sure are handy," Ranka remarks and ces a mark on the tree to act as a signal for other members of the recon division should they stumble across this ce. "Where to next?" Muta turns to Anko, who closes her eyes and contemtes. "This way!" After a few seconds, Anko opens her eyes and points in a direction. "This ce" The rest of the group frowns. "We are at the border of Land of Sound or the former Land of Rice paddies. Up ahead is the destend of the Mountain Graveyard, a ce where multiple gigantic creatures met their end." Dango remarks. "We have to be careful!" Muta releases his insects to scout the area. ------------------------ Back at the seas, Maroi leads the path for Naruto and his group. "Huh?! Where are we going? And what''s the secret S-rank mission?" Naruto turns towards Guy and Yamato. "Uh-oh!" Guy and Yamato''s expressions pale at Naruto''s question. ''How do we tell him that it is a secret S-Rank mission for us to protect him from Akatsuki? Not the other way around.'' Ahem Guy clears his throat "Umm the secret S-Rank mission is to" Guy turns towards Yamato and Aoba for help. Sweat drips down Yamato''s and Aoba''s faces as they rack their mind to seek an excuse. "Survey and tally dangerous animals on a barren ind," Maroi adds. "Ah yes there is a group of giant, dangerous, summoning animals on an ind. This time, your mission is to subdue these animals and prevent them from falling into Akatsuki''s hands." Guy quickly adds more bullshit to Maroi''s crap. "Eh how do you know about this secret mission?" Naruto turns towards Maroi with suspicion. "Umm that''s" Maroi also sweats at Naruto''s words. "It''s a secret S-Rank missionmissioned by both the Hokage and Raikage after their meeting at Kage Summit." Yamato quicklyes to the rescue. "Yes, that''s how it is! In this mission, I am the representative of Kumogakure." Maroi swiftly adds to Yamato''s lie. "Oh! So, that''s how it is!" Naruto bumps his fists in understanding. "Hehe this is my first S-Rank mission. I can''t wait toplete with an outstanding achievement." Naruto grins foolishly. "Wasn''t your mission to destroy the Sky fortress of Land of Sky also an S-Rank mission?" Yamato inquires. "It was but that time there were too many groups on the mission. So, I didn''t get the full credit." Naruto shakes his head. ''Also, Izuna Nii-san stole all the limelight.'' He silently adds in his mind. "However, this time it''s my solo S-rank mission and a secret one at that. I can''t wait for it." Naruto jumps around in excitement on the deck. Swash The boat sways slightly from the waves, and Naruto falls to the deck while clutching his stomach. "I am seasick again!" Yamato makes a wooden bucket with wood release and gives it to Naruto to puke. "Thank you, Yamato sensei!" Naruto pukes in the bucket and moves toward his cabin. "Have some rest, Naruto!" Yamato waves at him. Phew After Naruto''s departure, the rest of the group heaves a sigh of relief. "He is getting smarter! It''s getting harder for us to fool him." Yamato wipes his sweat. "I feel sad for Naruto. He will be heartbroken once he reaches the destination and be aware of the lie about the S-rank mission." Guy clutches his fist as tears flow from his eyes. "Oh the betrayal of youth!" "Well, the part about the strong wild summoning animal isn''t a lie!" Maroi murmurs. "What? Really!" Yamato and Guy turn towards Maroi with shining eyes. "Umm yes. There is a group of wild summoning animals on Genbu ind. All of these animals are under the supervision of Bee-sama, who fights against these animals for training. Now, since Naruto is also moving to the ind, he can also spar against them under the pretext of an S-rank mission. Also, these animals are super strong, and ordinary jounins can''t subdue them. So, it will also raise the bar of the mission." Maroi replies to them with a slightly awkward face. "Yes, that''s it! We will talk to Lord Bee about it." Guy and Yamato nod at each other. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 473: Akatsuki’s Whereabout Part-2 Chapter 473: Akatsukis Whereabout Part-2 In a dense forest in the Mountain''s graveyard, Whoosh whoosh Anko and her team swiftly dash through the forest. "Everyone!" Anko signals to them to stop. Swoosh The group quickly stops and hides their presence in a thicket. "Kabuto is somewhere around here. I can sense his presence. We have to be careful." She warns the rest of her teammates. She turns towards Tokuma. "Tokuma, use your Byakugan at two o''clock!" "Yes, captain! Byakugan!" Tokuma Hyuga activates his Byakugan and surveys the area, while Muta sends his insects to observe their surroundings. "AH" Tokuma gasps at the sight of something. "Tokuma, what''s the matter?" Ranka inquires. "Captain Mitarashi! This is" "What''s the matter?" "It''s not just Kabuto! He is with a masked member of Akatsuki! The two of them are going through some kind of underground entrance." "What?" Tokuma''s words shock everyone. "That masked figure could it be Madara Uchiha?" Ranka and the rest tremble at the sighting of a masked figure. "It''s most probably him!" Sweat trickles down Tokuma''s forehead as he confirms their suspicion. "Does this mean we found their hideout?" Dango spectes. "Quite possibly!" Anko nods with a grim expression. "Did Kabuto purposely lure us here to show us Madara''s hideout?" Anko contemtes. "But why? If they have joined forces then won''t it mean Kabuto is betraying Madara?" Muta remarks. "Hmm that''s what I am confused about. Madara aims to destroy the five great shinobi nations to create a so-called paradise, while other than his vengeance towards Konoha, what other motive could Kabuto possibly have?" Anko shakes her head. "Captain, what should we do next?" Ranka inquires. "Hmm for now we should send a word to the headquarters immediately and continue to observe the movements of our enemies." Anko issues an order. "Yes, captain!" Muta takes out a jar from his pocket. There is a pair of small beetles inside the jar. Muta takes out a small piece of paper and scribbles the location of their position on it. He ties the small paper around the beetle''s back and releases it. "They are already in!" Tokuma, who is monitoring Kabuto, remarks. "Let''s get closer to get a better look." After some contemtion, Anko decides to take a gamble. They have yet to figure out the military might of their enemies. It would be a huge intel if they could figure out the number of their enemies. Even though they have sent a message to the headquarter, it might be toote if Akatsuki decides to mobilize their army. "Yes, Captain!" Ranka and the rest nod and carefully move toward Akatsuki''s hideout. ------------- Inside the Akatsuki''s hideout. Kabuto''s eyes narrow as the snake on his back nces in the direction of Anko''s group. His lips slightly pucker up, but he maintains a nonchnt expression on his back and follows Tobi. After walking and for some distance inside the hideout, Tobi stops and turns around. "So, how much do you know about Akatsuki''s n?" "The ''Eye of the Moon n'' and the Revival of the Ten-tails." Kabuto''s lips widen in a smile as answers Tobi''s question. Tobi frowns at Kabuto''s answer. "You seem to be very well informed. I know Orochimaru was secretly checking around, but" "Kuku I have my methods." "Hmm very well. Before I expose the military strength of Akatsuki, I would like to see what you have to offer." Tobi''s eyes narrow. "Of course! I will fulfill the part of my promise." Swish swish Kabuto makes a series of hand signs and ps his hands. ng ng One after another, a series of coffin rises from the ground and forms a massive graveyard in the hideout. "Currently, I can control a total of five hundred elite Edo-Tensei and around fifty Kage-level shinobis. Not only that" Whoosh A figure silently appears beside Kabuto and coldly nces at Tobi, sending chills down his spine. "Then there is also the most powerful shinobi of this era? So, what do you think about it?" Kabuto reveals all of his cards. "Hmm I can see your sincerity. Very well, I will reveal my army to you." Tobi nods without any hint of emotion. However, he is very shocked inside. ''This Kabuto I didn''t expect he will grow dangerous to such a degree. Even without my help, he can easily level Konoha if he wants to. What could be his motive in this war?'' He spectes. Tobi leads Kabuto to an underground cavern. Kabuto curiously looks around and marvels at the sight of the cavern. "If I am not wrong, the key to your military power must be Zetsu here, right?" Kabuto nces towards a wall. "You know about me!" Zetsu crawls out of the wall. "Hehe I have done my fair share of research." "Just how much do you know?" The ck Zetsu inquires. "Enough to know a few secrets, I guess!" Kabuto grins toward ck Zetsu. ''Tobi, we have to be wary of him. We can''t let him disrupt our ns.'' ck Zetsu sends a telepathic warning message to Tobi. Tobi calmly walks forward and replies. ''I know! Once we put the ''Eye of the Moon n'' in action. He won''t be able to do anything.'' "With the data, I have gathered so far and my knowledge, I can maximize Zetsu''s strength. However, I have a condition." "What condition?" "I want to capture Izuna Uchiha''s family members, especially his little sister." Kabuto nces towards the silent figure present beside him. "Very well, I agree with your condition, but how will you strengthen Zetsu''sbat prowess?" After some pondering, Tobi agrees with Kabuto''s condition. "It''s the Hashirama cells!" Kabuto raises his finger. "All three of us here have Hashirama cells imnted in our body to enhance their strength. I have injected a portion of modified Hashirama cells into my body to enhance my abilities to their peak. Half of your body is also made of Hashirama''s cells." He turns towards Tobi. "And as for Zetsu, almost the entirety of his body is made up of Hashirama cells." "Hmm so?!" "The modified Hashirama cells in my body are significantly stronger than the normal. The strengthening effect is far superior to normal Hashirama cells. If my estimation is correct, then thebat prowess of Zetsu will rise from chunnin to that of a jounin. However, that''s just my spection. It could be less; it could be more." Kabuto reveals a smile. Tobi''s and Zetsu''s gaze trembles at Kabuto''s words. "Follow me!" Tobi remarks, signifying his silent agreement. The trio walks deeper into the cavern and appears in front of a giant wooden gate. Swish swish swish Tobi makes a series of hand signs and ms his palm on the door. Rumble rumble The giant door trembles and opens slightly to reveal a giant hall. Kabuto walks into the hall. A giant, earthen-colored humanoid entity with a mummified appearance draws his attention. Numerous spiky protrusions jut out from the giant statue''s back and there are a total of nine eyes on top of the statue''s head. Currently, all the nine-eyes are closed. "So, this is the Gedo statue, huh? The husk of the ten-tails!" Kabuto remarks as he curiously nces at the giant statue. Tobi and Zetsu''s expression flickers for a second but soon return to normal. The Gedo statue is located on top of a giant dried flower bud with multiple pedicels. "It''s down here!" Tobi walks downstairs, and Kabuto follows after him. The trio descends a series of stairs and reaches the giantke located at the very base of the mountain. "This is" Kabuto''s eyes slightly widen as he gazes at a figure jutting out from the base of the giant tree. "Yes, he''s alive." Tobi nods at him and walks onto the top of the giantke. Kabuto mimics his action. "That''s Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage. Well, he was merely cultivated from the living cells harvested from Senju during that battle. So, he is like a clone of the first Hokage. Though he doesn''t have a conscious." "Oh!" Kabuto curiously stares at Hashirama''s figure. "What you''re interested in is down below." Tobi calmly states. "Huh!" Kabuto is shocked and immediately lowers his head to gaze at the bottom of theke. "This is amazing. Since when?" Kabuto stares at an army of Zetsu numbering in thousands. "This war is risky for us. I have to use a considerable amount of chakra from the tailed beast inside the Gedo statue to cultivate this army of Zetsu. I want to preserve this as much as possible. If, due to this, the revival of ten-tails is dyed, then it means our ns are dyed as well." "Mm how many are here?" Kabuto nods and asks Tobi. "Around a hundred thousand!" He replies to Kabuto. "So, can you do it? Strengthening all of them!" Hmm Kabuto ponders for a while. "Strengthening such a number without overtaxing the Gedo statue might be a bit difficult. However, I can at least strengthen half of them. Though it will take me around ten days to do so. Also, this should be sufficient time for the tailed beasts to recover their chakra." "Very well! Do it!" Tobi gives his approval. Kuku "Now, I can''t wait to surprise the Five Great Shinobi Nations. Kuku" A peal ofughter echoes in the depth of the mountain. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 474: Beginning of the War Chapter 474: Beginning of the War Outside the Akatsuki hideout, Anko and her team slowly approach the entrance of the hideout. "Wait!" Dango warns them. "There is a fuinjutsu formation near the entrance. If we step any closer, it will warn the enemies." "Alright, all of you, take cover and hide your presence. We will monitor Akatsuki''s activity from here." Anko instructs them. "Yes, captain!" Muta releases his insects on the ground and sends them away to collect intel. He also releases some earthworm-type insects to dig into the ground and infiltrate the Akatsuki hideout from underground. While Ranka and Dango silently hollow out the trunk of a giant tree to create a makeshift camp. Ranka creates a bunch of traps while Dango inscribes some simple fuinjutsu formations to hide the presence of their small camp. "Captain Mitarashi, please rest a little. You have been working non-stop." Ranka suggests in concern. "No, that won''t do!" Anko shakes her head. "The war is at our footsteps. So, we have to gather as much intel as possible. Especially if our intel can save the lives of ourrades fighting in the war." "Wait! Someone ising out!" Muta warns them as his insects crawl out of the earth. Anko and the rest quickly hold their breath and conceal their presence. A few secondster, Tobi walks out of the hideout and nces at his surroundings. After confirming the absence of any intruder in his surroundings, Tobi warps out of the ce by using his Kamui. A few minutester. "He is gone!" Muta silently remarks. Anko and the rest heave a sigh of relief. "That was Madara! He just left the Akatsuki hideout." Tokuma remarks. "I wonder where did he go?" Ranka contemtes. "Let''s monitor their hideout for now since we have no way to track Madara''s whereabouts. Also, Kabuto is still inside." Anko issues another order. "Yes, captain!" Muta releases more insects to infiltrate the hideout. ------------------- Swirl Whoosh A spiral hole opens in the space as Tobi walks out of the Kamui dimension. "Do you trust him?" ck Zetsu also crawls out of the ground. "I don''t!" Tobi turns towards Zetsu. "However, we have no choice," Tobi speaks after a pause. "You are right!" Zetsu nods. "Most of the things didn''t go as we nned. The Fourth Hokage and Kushina survived the ambush, the failed Uchiha n massacre, the destruction of Konoha at Pain''s hand, and the sacrifice of Nagato for Konoha''s sake. Even the capture of Eight-tails and Nine-tails." "We have no choice but to move our n forward, and the strength Kabuto provides is crucial for the war. So, it''s not like I don''t trust him, but I don''t have a choice in the matter." Tobi shakes his head. "You are right! However, we have to be wary of Kabuto. He knows too much of our secrets and has an ulterior motive. Once the ten-tails is resurrected, we can''t let him do as he please." ck Zetsu adds. "You are right! Currently, the resurrection of ten-tails must be our highest priority. Once I gain control of ten-tails, I will get rid of Kabuto." A gleam shes across Tobi''s eyes. "For now, let''s wait for news from Kisame. He managed to infiltrate deep into enemy territory. With his intel, we can deduce the strength of the Allied Shinobi forces, their formation, and important resource points and supply channel. If we disrupt their formation, the war will be in our hands." Tobi and Zetsu enter the secret hideout of Akatsuki. A few days pass in the blink of an eye. Outside the Akatsuki hideout in Mountain Graveyard. "Captain, my insects got some intel! The barrier down below is gone." Muta ces his hand on the ground to collect his insects. "My insects have sensed significant signs of life underground. It''s most possibly Akatsuki''s forces." Muta rys the news to the group. "Tokuma down below! Toward four o''clock! Your Byakugan should be able to perceive what''s down there!" "Please, Tokuma!" Anko requests him. Mm Tokuma activates his Byakugan, and his gaze prates the ground and perceives every corner of the Akatsuki hideout. "This is" Tokuma''s expression turns pale as the sinister chakra of Gedo Statue appears in his vision. "What''s the matter, Tokuma?" Ranka hurriedly supports him. "I am fine!" Tokuma takes a deep breath and continues to survey the underground structure of the hideout. "Found them!" Tokuma''s eyes narrow as he locates the hidden Zetsu army. Currently, Kabuto is sitting beside them and releases a few strands of chakra into the various roots connecting to each Zetsu. "What do you see, Tokuma?" Anko asks him with worry. "Ranka, prepare to contact the headquarter." She issues amand to Ranka. "Yes, captain!" "I saw Kabuto and so many of them" "WHAT?!" Everyone''s expression turns serious at Tokuma''s words. "There are almost a hundred thousand of that tree-like Akatsuki member Zetsu. And that Kabuto seems to use some sort of technique to strengthen those Zetsu." Tokuma replies with a pale face. "Ranka, hurry up!" "Yes, captain!" Ranka makes a series of hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. Poof A small pigeon appears in a burst of white smoke. Ranka quickly pens down the intel on a scroll and ties it down to the w of the pigeon. "Go!" He releases the pigeon towards the Allied Shinobi''s headquarters. The pigeon swiftly flies through the air and vanishes from their sight. Tokuma and Muta continue to observe the movement of Zetsu. A dayter, Swirl Swoosh Tobi walks out of a spiral portal. He enters the Akatsuki headquarters. "Madara is back!" Muta warns them. ---------------------- Tobi walks downstairs and arrives in front of Kabuto. "How''s the progress?" "I am almost done! We can deploy our forces anytime." Kabuto nods at him. "So, did you get the intel?" Kabuto inquires. "I did! However, Kisame didn''t make it. He lost his life while delivering the intel." Tobi shakes his head. "That''s unfortunate!" Kabuto shakes his head. "It''s about time we make our move." Tobi turns towards the giant Zetsu army. "I will make the hundred thousand Zetsu army travel underground and ambush the back line of the enemy. Such arge army would only attract attention if we move above the ground and we will lose our element of surprise." The Zetsu army enters the ground and vanishes from their sight. Swish swish Kabuto also makes some hand signs and summons the former members of Akatsuki. ng ng ng One by one, the lids of the coffin fall and the dead Akatsuki member walks out of the coffin. Sasori, Deidra, Nagato, Kakuzu, Hidan, Dina, and Fushin slowly open their eyes and confront Tobi, Zetsu, and Kabuto. "What''s this?" The dead Akatsuki members open their eyes and look around. "I thought I died in that explosion." Deidra opens his palm. "We are surely dead but are resurrected through Orochimaru''s Edo Tensei." Sasori recognizes the reanimation jutsu with a nce. "Madara, you haven''t given up yet!" Nagato''s eyes narrow as he res at Tobi. Swish Kabuto makes a Ram hand seal and restricts Nagato''s movements. Sasori turns towards Kabuto and scrutinizes him for a while. "I recognize you. You were one of my spies in the hidden leaf. Later, you betrayed me for Orochimaru. No wonder you can use Orochimaru''s jutsu." Sasori res at Kabuto. Kabuto shrugs his shoulder. "If Akatsuki has to rely on a wimp like him to order us around, Akatsuki sure has fallen on hard times. Not only that, the only survivor is Zetsu and Tobi." Sasori rebukes Kabuto. "You''re quite brash for being dead, my good man. And you used to insist that eternal beauty is true art Hmmm! I am sure you died because of that huge weak spot on your chest." Deidra jokes at Sasori''s state. "Deidra, if you didn''t shut up the next moment; I will kill you with my own hands." Sasori res at Deidra. "I am already dead, and so you are. So, it doesn''t matter." Deidra shrugs his shoulder. "Is this really going to work?" Tobi turns towards Kabuto. "There are too many reanimated shinobis and it''s too difficult to control them all. Right now, I am just focusing on mobilization. Ultimately, I will direct everything. When the fighting begins, I will erase their personalities and turn them into obedient killing machines. There is no need to worry." Kabuto assures him. "Oye! Snake-face, there is no need to control me. If you do so, then I won''t feel the pleasure of ughter." Dina turns towards Kabuto. "Since I am dead, I can''t use my money anymore. So, there is no reason for me to fight anymore." Kakuzu shakes his head. "I just want to avenge my death at the hands of that Konoha brat!" Hidan grips his scythe. "Who are we fighting against?" Sasori raises a question. "It''s the allied shinobi force of five Great Shinobi nations," Kabuto answers him. "Also, Sakumo Hatake is the suprememander of the Great Battle Regiment," Tobi adds. "Sakumo Hatake!" Sasori''s eyes narrow. "I will fight in this war of my own volition. Just deploy me on the same battlefield as Sakumo Hatake. This vengeance will be mine." "Very well!" Kabuto nods at him. "What about you all?" Tobi turns to the rest. "I have no good feeling towards the five great nations." Fushin remarks. "Alright then, let''s begin the war!" ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 475: Kabuto’s Plan Chapter 475: Kabutos n "Tokuma, what''s happening inside? What''s Madara and Kabuto doing right now?" Anko asks him. "They they''re on the move!" Tokuma notices therge numbers of Zetsu entering the ground. "They are traveling underground. Akatsuki has mobilized their army." Tokuma rys the situation to Anko and the rest. "That''s bad news." Anko''s expression turns grim. "What about Kabuto? What''s he doing?" Ranka remarks. "Kabuto he he is summoning the Edo Tensei of the former members of the Akatsuki and seems to be dividing them into troops," Tokuma replies to him. "Let''s retreat!" Anko unhesitantly makes the decision. "Join up with the main force and inform them of this! I will remain here and continue to monitor their movements." Anko issues an order to her team. "But Captain, it''s too dangerous for you to stay here alone," Ranka questions her decision. "Shut up and go! I am aware of the risks involved. But if we don''t get the word to them, ourrades will be in greater danger!" "But but captain" "Hurry up and leave!" Anko pushes them away. The rest of her team notices her resolve and reluctantly agrees to her request. Whoosh whoosh The group quickly flickers away from the hideout. Inside the Akatsuki headquarter, Hmm Kabuto raises his head and nces in the direction of Anko and her group. Even Tobi senses their presence outside the headquarter. Previously, it was quite difficult for them to sense someone due to therge number of life signals from the Zetsu army. But now, with the Zetsu army gone, Anko and her group''s presence is revealed to them. "Looks like some rats managed to sneak past us." Tobi''s eyes narrow. "Let me get rid of them. You can join the Zetsu army with the jinchurukis and the rest of the Akatsuki members. Deidra can follow me." Kabuto turns to Deidra. "Huh! Why do I have to follow a wimp like you?" Deidra''s expression turns sour. "Because I want you to." Kabuto ignores him and walks towards the exit. Swish Deidra makes a Ram hand seal to blow Kabuto away, but his body loses control of itself. "I I can''t move!" Deidra speaks with clenched teeth as his body follows Kabuto''s instructions. "I will deal with that woman! While you can capture those shinobi with your flying sparrow mount. Also, don''t kill them. They are a precious resource for the Edo-Tensei." Kabuto sends Deidra to capture Anko''s team. "Let me join him!" Sasori proposes. "I can control them and nt booby traps in their bodies. This will be a nice surprise gift for the army of the shinobi nation." "Hmm alright!" Kabuto agrees to Sasori''s request. "Very well! You can make your move to capture the Jinchuriki of the Eight-tails and Nine-tails while I will mobilize the army to initiate the war." Tobi nods at him and teleports away with Kamui. Muta, Tokuma, Ranka, and Dango swiftly dash through the forest. "Forgive us, Captain Anko! Please stay alive!" Ranka nces back in Anko''s direction. Their group swiftly exits the Mountain Graveyard and reaches the border of Land of Rice Paddies. Suddenly, BOOM BOOM Arge amount of white y constructs rain down from the sky and explodes the ground in front of them. "Shimatta!" Muta bites his tongue and stops. "They noticed us!" The group stops and confronts Sasori and Deidra. "Muhaha this feeling! This is art!" Deidraughs hysterically and sends another round of explosive y constructs toward the group. Whoosh whoosh Ranka and the rest swiftly disperse and nces at Deidra and Sasori. "That''s Deidra and Sasori, the former members of the Akatsuki." Muta recognizes the duo. ------------ Back at the Akatsuki hideout, Thump "This sensation!" Anko''s heart skips a beat. "It''s Orochimaru No" Whoosh Anko swiftly rolls out of the bush she is hiding and narrowly dodges a barrage of kunais. "Multiple Striking Shadow Snakes!" She waves her sleeve and releases a group of snakes from them. Kabuto also copies her action. Hiss The snakes collide with each other and disperse. "Just because you were a former student of Lord Orochimaru doesn''t mean you are like Lord Orochimaru, Anko Mitarashi!" Kabuto licks his lips and stares at Anko. "I never wanted to be like that man. However, I could say the same to you. Just because you have replicated a few traits of Orochimaru doesn''t mean you can rece him." Anko avoids Kabuto''s kick and responds with her own. Bang Kabuto sidesteps her kick and counterattacks with a punch. "You are right! I am not Lord Orochimaru. However, I have long surpassed him. Now, I will achieve what he failed to do ?" Anko parries his punch with her arm and aims her knee toward Kabuto''s chest. "Taijutsu from a bookworm will not work on me!" Heh Kabuto smirks and suddenly his speed increases by a few notches. Bang Kabuto rams a punch into Anko''s stomach. Guffaw Anko spews out a mouthful of blood and stares at Kabuto in disbelief. "When I said I have surpassed Lord Orochimaru, I meant in both knowledge and power." "I" Anko loses consciousness from Kabuto''s punch. The snake on Kabuto''s back wraps around Anko and lifts her. Kabuto carries her to the Akatsuki hideout. "Anko Mitarashi, your body still has traces of Lord Orochimaru''s cells. Once I absorb them, I can recollect the memories rted to those cells." A few minutester, Sasori and Deidra carry the unconscious bodies of Anko''s group to the Akatsuki headquarters. Kabuto nces at them and turns to Sasori. "Mind control the Aburame and Hyuga n members as suicidal puppets. As for these two" Kabuto takes out a summoning scroll from his robe. He takes out a vial of blood from his pocket and recalls his earlier conversation with Tobi. ----shback-no-jutsu------ "Kabuto, can you revive Kisame with your Edo-Tensei?" "Of course, as long as a piece of flesh or blood, I can revive anyone as long their soul exists in the purend. However, if someone''s soul is sealed away somewhere else or there are some sort of restrictions on someone''s soul, I can''t resurrect them." "Then what about the first three Kages, Danzo, and Mito Uzumaki? I am sure you have enough materials to resurrect them?" Tobi questions him. "The souls of the Second and the Third Hokage are sealed within the belly of the Demon Seal Shinigami. As for First Hokage and Mito Uzumaki, there seems to be some sort of powerful restriction ced on their soul. Andstly, for Danzo I can''t find any traces of his soul. Most likely, his soul doesn''t exist anymore." Kabuto shakes his head. "Looks like all of this was nned by Izuna Uchiha." He adds. "That man and his schemes!" Tobi clicks his tongue. "Our chances of winning this war would increase by another thirty percent if we had First Hokage and Mito Uzumaki on our side. That''s unfortunate." Kabuto shrugs his shoulder. "If it''s like this, then take this." Tobi passes a vial to Kabuto. "This is" Kabuto epts the vial and raises an eyebrow. "This is Kisame''s blood. I collected it before I sent him on a mission to infiltrate the ranks of the Shinobi alliance." "That''s cold! You aren''t keen on mercy, are you?" Kabuto epts the blood vial without any hesitation. --------------------------- Kabuto sshes the blood from the vial on the summoning seal on the scroll and makes a series of hand signs. He walks in front of Dango andpletes the hand signs. Shoom A gigantic summoning circle appears beneath Dango''s unconscious body. Chunks of earthen ash rise from the ground and wrap around Dango. AARGH AAAH Dango screams in pain as the earthen ash seeps into his body and transforms his appearance. Dango''s pupils turn white and blood seeps out from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth as Kisame''s soul takes over his body. Dango''s face changes to that of Kisame. Guffaw Kisame opens his eyes and breathes out. "What what''s going on? Where am I?" Kisame looks around in confusion. "Wee back to the world of the living, Kisame Hoshigaki!" Kabuto smiles at him. "You are Kabuto!" Kisame''s eyes narrow. "So, that means" "Yes, you are dead!" "I see." "You don''t look surprised." Kabuto raises an eyebrow. "I was aware of my imminent death even before I took the infiltration mission. So, there is nothing to be surprised about. As a shinobi, it''s normal to die in battle." Kisame epts his death. "Very well!" "So, what mission do you have for me?" Kisame asks him. "Hmm initially I would like to give you a chance toplete your previous failed mission, but now I have changed your mind. You can join the battlefield with the rest of the Akatsuki members. Just mark the location of the Eight-tails and Nine-tails." "Alright!" Kisame marks the former location of Genbu ind on a map and exits the Akatsuki headquarters. Kuku Kabuto''s lips pucker up. ''Obito Uchiha and ck Zetsu, do you guys really think I don''t know about your n? I want you to seed in your n because only then will I get an opportunity to study a" Kabuto whispers slightly and fades away into darkness. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 476: Hidden Zetsu Spy Network Chapter 476: Hidden Zetsu Spy Network At the Shinobi Alliance Headquarters, Coo A pigeon flies through the airspace of the headquarter. An invisible barrier blocks its movements. "That''s" The members of the barrier corps notice the presence of the pigeon. "It''s the messenger bird from the Infiltration and Reconnaissance Party." One of the members of the recon party recognizes the bird. "It must be new intel! Retrieve it!" A few minutester, in the meeting hall. The Kages and the leaders of each division gather around a round table as they discuss the new intel. "The X-marks the location of the enemy hideout. It''s known as the Mountain Graveyard." Inoichi disys a projection of the map at the center of the table. The location of the Shinobi alliance headquarters and the Akatsuki headquarter are marked on the map. "If we go bynd, we''ll pass through the Hidden Steam Vige, the Hidden Frost Vige, and the Land of Rice paddies before we reach the Akatsuki''s base." Inoichi marks a path on the map. "Advice nations that possess the Hidden Steam Vige, and the Hidden Frost Vige to evacuate their civilians. Also, inform the Daimyo of the Land of Rice paddies to do the same." Gaara remarks. "Noted!" Inoichi acknowledges hismand and sends one of his subordinates to ry the order before he continues. "ording to the report by the Infiltration and Reconnaissance Unit, the enemy is roughly a hundred thousand strong. Their individual prowess is further enhanced by Kabuto''s drug." "That''s bad news! With our eighty-thousand-strong army, it will be a hard-fought battle." Onoki grimaces. "We have an advantage in terms of elites." A interrupts him. "But the enemy has five hundred immortal soldiers who don''t need to eat and sleep." Onoki rebuts him. "Hmm I have already made arrangements for the Edo-Tensei group." Minato assures them. Mm The rest of Kage nods, and the meeting continues. "Considering the mobilizing of such a regiment of that size, it''s most likely that a portion of them will travel through the sea to ambush our rear." Mifune marks a route on the map. "If it''s some other army, then that would most likely be the case. But the Zetsu army is a bit special." Minato shakes his head. "How so?!" The rest of the members frown. "The intel unit of Konoha has thoroughly analyzed every member of the Akatsuki. We have detailed knowledge of all of their abilities, strengths, and weaknesses." Minato remarks with a smile. ''Well, it''s part of the contingency n prepared by Izuna. From the looks of it, he probably knew such a situation will ur.'' "Oh!" Onoki raises an eyebrow. "Zetsu is the weakest member of Akatsuki in terms ofbat strength. However, Zetsu has multiple unusual abilities, which might be quite difficult to handle." Minato ces a scroll on the table and reveals the intel on Akatsuki. One by one, every member of the war council reads the intel in the scroll. "This is" Their gaze stiffens as they read through the scroll. "That''s so terrifying! We would surely suffer an immense loss if we didn''t know about it beforehand." The Kage sucks a deep breath of air. "This weak Zetsu is the most terrifying member of Akatsuki. Not only he can hide his presence from Sensors, but he can also travel underground and ambush our back lines. But the most terrifying part is that he can shapeshift into allies and infiltrate our camp, and there is no way to identify him from the enemy unless someone spots him in the open." Onoki''s hands tremble as he reads the intel. Minato retrieves the scroll and gazes at everyone. "I am sure this intel must have been an eye-opener for you all." A faint smile appears on Minato''s face. "Lord Minato, if what this scroll says is true; then our allies. They" Rasa''s hands tremble as he passes the scroll to Minato. "Yes, you are right! Zetsu has already infiltrated the ranks of every shinobi nation except for Konoha and Kiri." Minato drops a bombshell of news on them. "What?" The Kages from the three nations immediately stand up from their seat. Onoki is the first person to regain his cool. "Only three nations. Does that mean Konoha and Kiri don''t have any hidden Zetsu among their ranks?" Tsunade turns towards him and smiles. "Yes, you are right! Konoha and Kiri have already purged spies from all factions." "Izuna purged the spies in Kiri during the civil war," Mei remarks. "We cleaned the spies in Konoha up after the events of the Chunnin exam." Tsunade nces in Rasa''s direction. "Not only that but this intel on Akatsuki members was also gathered by Izuna," Minato adds. "Why do you think Akatsuki didn''t make a move despite all their preparations?" Tsunade questions them. "It was because Izuna was restricting their movements. He would foil Akatsuki''s every ploy before it could take shape. Only after Akatsuki made sure that Izuna wasn''t there to disrupt them did they make their move." Mei answers her question. Suddenly, A and Onoki recall their previous action of almost waging a war against Konoha. ''If we did wage a war, then the only one to suffer losses would be us. Konoha''s intelligence-gathering abilities are truly terrifying, especially that Izuna Uchiha.'' A and Onoki nce at each other and nod. "So, if you are revealing this fact to us now, does that mean?" "Yes, we have a method to sense the Zetsu spies from the rest of the shinobis and currently there is no Zetsu spy in this room. However, there are a few spies among important management positions in the army." Minato replies to them. Minato passes a list to them. "This is the list of spies among our rank. Don''t worry, I have carefully assigned unimportant jobs to them. They won''t have ess to any crucial intelligence. I didn''t inform you earlier because your actions might alert them. But now, we can feed misinformation to these spies and gain an advantage in war." Minato reveals his strategy to them. "I see! Very well!" Onoki nods in understanding. ''I didn''t expect Minato to be such a scheming character!'' He adds in his mind. "Then it alles down to who will make the first move!" Mifune remarks. "Convene the Ambush unit immediately!" A issues an order to Samui. "Have the main regiment reform their formation!" Sakumo also issues an order to one of the captains. "Yes, sir!" Samui and the captain reply in unison and swiftly departs. Tsunade turns to Shizune. "Make sure the medical unit is well supplied with medical ninja tools and medicinal pills." "Yes, Lady Tsunade!" Shizune issues order to her subordinates. "Shikaku and Inoichi, help the intelligence and logistic unit recheck their chain ofmand." "Roger!" "Chojuro, contact Ao and the sensory unit and have them hurry!" Mei turns to Chojuro. "Y-yes, ma''am." The group quickly mobilizes their subordinates ording to the new intel. "On the matter of alliance, here" Gaara passes headbands to every Kage. "These are" Tsunade curiously picks up the headband. A kanji for ''Shinobi'' is engraved on the headband. "Headbands for the Allied shinobi force, eh?" "Nice work!" The group praises the headband. "Of course, I came up with the design. Former enemies who once battled each other are now one shinobi force!" Mifune proudly nods at them. "Furthermore, the shinobi and samurais have joined forces to war against a greater evil. The time for war is imminent." "You are right! Let''s pummel some sense into those Akatsuki bastards!" A clenches his fists. Suddenly, HONNNKKK. Horn res in the alliance headquarters to alert the group of enemy presence. "Quick, stop them!" Whoosh whoosh One after another, multiple shinobis of thebat division exit the alliance headquarters and barricade it. "What''s the matter? What''s will all thismotion? Did enemies already attack our headquarters?" Onoki frowns and nces outside the window. "Let me check it!" Minato makes a series of hand signs to activate the projection of the CPS system in the room. Two red beacons appear on the map. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 477: Grudges of Shinobis Chapter 477: Grudges of Shinobis Minato projects the image of enemies in front of the group. "Hmm these two are:" He nces at the Konoha headband on the enemy''s forehead. "They seem to be Konoha shinobi but something seems to be wrong with their movement. Their bodies are quite stiff." Minato frowns. "Let me check them!" Whoosh Minato teleports from his position and reappears at the entrance of the headquarter. He walks towards the two Konoha shinobis. One of them is from the Aburame n, while the other is from the Hyuga n. "What''s the matter, you two?" Minato enquires. Sasori, who is controlling the duo from a distance, monitors their movement through a remote technique. He shares his vision with the duo and notices Minato. "That''s Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. He isn''t an ideal target for an ambush. If I blow these two up, he can always escape from the explosion with his teleportation jutsu. I have to look for someone else." Sasori controls them and two replies to Minato. "Lord Fourth, we both are a member of the Infiltration and Reconnaissance Party. We have urgent intel to ry." Hmm Minato senses something amiss with their movement but leads them into the headquarter, nheless. "Follow me!" He leads them inside a room in the Allied Shinobi Forces headquarters. "Wait for me here, I will inform other Kages." "Yes, Lord Fourth!" Minato reenters the room with the other Kages and informs them of their arrival. "These two are a part of the team that sent intel about enemies to us. But I sense something odd with their movements. I can''t exactly pinpoint it, but I have this odd feeling in my heart." Minato shakes his head. Hmm The rest of the Kages frown at Minato''s spection. "These two have made a significant contribution to the Allied Shinobi forces, so by right we should reward them. But if their actions are controlled by enemies, then we can only get rid of them." Onoki remarks as he nces at Muta and Tokuma''s figure. "That''s true, but I don''t want to lose two capable shinobi because of my suspicion." Minato is also stuck in a dilemma. "Lord Fourth, can I take a closer look at them?" Rasa, who was maintaining his silence the whole time, speaks. "Sure, but what if alert the enemies?" "I have a solution for that!" Tsunade interrupts them. A few minutester, The gate of the meeting room cracks open, and a figure walks inside. Muta and Tokuma nce at the door. Both of their movement freezes as a pair of red eyes appear in their vision. A few secondster, Rasa and Minato walk inside the room. Itachi nods at them and exits the room. Itachi''s Tsukiyomi is a very powerful genjutsu that can affect the perception of the victim. If Muta and Tokuma are mind-controlled, then their controller must have a method to observe their movements and share senses with them, simr to how a summon shares its sense with its contractor. Rasa walks towards the duo alongside Minato as he speaks. "When ites to mind control, I can only think of a certain shinobi." "Sasori of the Red Sand!" Minato murmurs. "Yes! Sasori was a prodigy puppeteer of the Sand. He was of the same generation as me. But sometime during his youth, Sasori''s obsession with puppets deluded his mind. He went from controlling puppets to controlling humans. After the end of the Third Shinobi War, Sasori mind controlled multiple members of the elder council and plotted an assassination of the Third Hokage. He sessfully assassinated the Third Hokage with the aid of mind-controlled elders andter refined the Third Hokage into a puppet." Rasa shakes his head as he sympathizes with his predecessor. "Later, we captured the mind-controlled elders and studied Sasori''s mind-control technique in detail." Rasa walks beside the two recon team members and inspects their heads and neck. "Found it!" Minato walks beside Rasa and nces at the two extremely small red dots hidden on their head hidden between their hairs. "These two are definitely mind-controlled. Sasori''s mind control technique includes the injection of multiple hair-size chakra strings with Fuinjutsu seals inside the victim''s mind to override their will. This effectively turns his victim into living puppets. These chakra strings are so small that even Byakugan can''t sense their presence. Sasori can use his Puppet Sense sharing technique on these controlled individuals to share his sense with them. Sigh" Rasa sighs and shakes his head. "These two are already dead since Sasori has already destroyed their bodies. I suspect he rigged their bodies with traps and explosives. A simr situation urred with the bodies of the elders." As if on cue, the bodies of the two shinobis glow with resplendent light. Fwoosh Minato grabs the two of them and teleports them away into the sea. A few secondster, BOOM A terrifying explosion urs in the distance as a cloud of smoke and water vapors rise in the air. Fwoosh Minato reappears in the room and heaves a sigh of relief. The scale of the explosion was quite powerful. "If those two exploded here, then despite the various barriers and restrictions, I suspect half of the headquarter would be blown to smithereens. ---------------- Somewhere in the sea, on top of a giant bird, "What''s the matter, Sasori my man? Why did you blow up my C0 bombs?" Deidara nted his modified C0 bombs inside Muta and Tokuma. He got the inspiration for it during the moments of his death. He blew himself using his ultimate C0 bomb. So, an idea came to his mind that he could do the same with others. So, with Sasori''s help, he created two living C0 human beings that can be remotely detonated from a distance. "They found my traps!" Sasori nonchntly replies to them and turns to Kabuto. "I will leave for the battlefield." He ignores Deidara''s whining and jumps from the top of the flying y bird. Click ck A flying puppet attaches itself to him and Sasori flies towards the battlefield. "Hmm I didn''t expect him to possess such a puppet." Kabuto stares at Sasori in amusement. Kuku Kabuto turns towards Deidara and smiles. "Damn! Sasori, my man, don''t leave me alone with this creepy bastard." "" "You are already dead! What worse could happen to you?" Kabuto res at him. "Fine! I will follow your lead." Deidara gives up and pilots the giant y bird ording to Kabuto''s instructions. -------------- The eyes of the rest of the Kage''s narrow as they stare at two gigantic pirs of light in the distance. "That''s Deidara''s C0." Onoki recognizes the forbidden ninjutsu of his vige. "So, Akatsuki revived him too." Onoki narrows his eyes. A few momentster, Minato, Rasa, and Itachi return to the central room. "Looks like your suspicion was correct." Tsunade nods at Minato. "It''s a shame to lose two capable shinobis." She silently mourns Muta and Tokuma''s death. "Hokage, this isn''t the time for mourning. We can spare our tears for after-war funerals. Currently, we have to pay back the Akatsuki for what they did to our shinobis." A clenches his fists. "He is right! It''s not the time to get sentimental. We can onlymemorate their death by crushing Akatsuki in the war." Onoki agrees with A. Tsunade grits her teeth and turns towards Itachi. "It was thanks to Itachi; we were able to diffuse them without alerting the enemies." It was her idea to use Itachi''s powerful genjutsu to disrupt Sasori''s senses with his Tsukiyomi. Since Sasori shares his senses with the two living puppets, then Itachi''s genjutsu will also affect him through their shared senses. So, she took a gamble with her life. And she was proven correct when Itachi''s'' genjutsu disrupted Sasori''s senses for an instance. ''I always win the gamble when the stakes are my life.'' Tsunade mumbles to herself. Frantic shouts echo in their ears as multiple shinobis gather outside the allied shinobi force headquarters. "Looks like the distribution of headbands isplete. It''s about time we make an appearance." The Kages nce at each other and nod. They exit the headquarter and walk up to a podium located high on a pedestal. The Kages silently nce at the shinobis from various nations. Shouts of chaos, anger, distrust, vengeance, and even bloodlust fill the air as multiple shinobis from different shinobis nations are at loggerheads against each other. "I won''t forgive you for killing my friend." A shinobi from Konoha shes against a Suna shinobi. "You Kiri bastard! You killed my brother on a mission seven years ago." A Kumogakure shinobi points his de toward a Kiri shinobi. "I don''t trust these backstabbing bastards from Iwagakure." Another group of shinobis from the Land of Waterfall engage against Iwa shinobis. The Kages stare at the chaotic scene in silence. "It''s hard for past enemies with death grudges to work together against amon foe." Tsunade shakes her head. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 478: Conflict of the Allied Force Chapter 478: Conflict of the Allied Force "Well, it can''t be helped. After years on the opposing sides, you can''t expect them to bond and work together as a team in a day or two." Onoki strokes his beard and stares at the group of shinobis as if enjoying a show. Sigh The captain of each unit helplessly shakes their head as their shinobis engage in a fight against each other. "Someone has to step up and stop this tomfoolery." A turns to his fellow Kages. "Well, all of us old fellows garner respect due to our power, not credibility." Onoki shrugs his shoulder. "Isn''t this the reason you are the least trustworthy among us?" Tsunade shakes her head. "Well, it can''t be helped. When you rule a vige for so long, you have to make some questionable decisions that might weigh on your consciousness. It might be difficult at first, but for the shake of the vige, you have no choice but to continue down that path." Onoki sighs helplessly. "It''s because of this, Iwagakure has the most terrible reputation of all," Rasa adds. "The incident of the Yosuga Pass, and the treachery of the Waterfall vige, are a few among them," Mei adds to his words. "Well, it''s not like we too have a great reputation to behold." A helpless smile appears on Tsunade''s face. "Then let me take the role of the arbitrator!" Gaara steps out and takes the lead. He controls his sand to disrupt thebat and separate multiple individuals in the camp. "I am disappointed!" Gaara shakes his head. "Is this the conduct of the shinobis from five great nations who are known for their strict discipline and sense of duty?" The shinobis who were engaged in a fight lowers their head. "In the name of gain and profit for one''s nation and vige shinobi have hated and hurt each other for many years, from the First to Third Great Ninja Wars. However, I am not here to condemn you for your misgivings. Currently, the Akatsuki is not just threatening the safety of our vige and nation; they are trying to harm the very humanity itself. Our friends, family, our loved ones, all of them are in danger because of the actions of the Akatsuki. If Akatsuki seeds, then there will be no ce called home for us shinobis." Gaara nces at the shinobis from the Five Great Nations. "Are you willing to let Akatsuki achieve their goal?" The shinobis nce at each other and clench their fists. "NOO!" A collective shout echoes in the atmosphere. "Are you willing to let Akatsuki harm your friends and families?" "NO!" The ashamed shinobis also raise their head and join others. "With this war, we will share the same experience and pain. This pain will forge friendships between us. We will step into the battlefield knowing ourrades have our back. Then how can there be bad blood between us? No one is an enemy here! Because we all bear the pain of being hurt by Akatsuki. There is no more Suna, Iwa, Kiri, Kumo, or Konoha, but shinobi! All of us are shinobis who bear the same fate. Even if you still aren''t happy with Suna, then you cane to Suna and have my HEAD!" Gaara''s voice echoes through the field as his sentiments touch the heart of every shinobi. The rest of the Kages silently stare at the expression of the rest of the shinobis. ''The look in everyone''s eyes has changed." They notice the newfound resolve in the shinobis of the alliance. "If Akatsuki achieves their aim, then the world will be finished. I want to protect my precious friends, family, and myrades, and I want to protect this world. But I am too young, too inexperienced to protect the world alone. So, please I request you, lend me your strength to protect this world!" "YOU GOT IT, LORD GAARA!" The shinobis of sand cheer for Gaara. "We will stand with you, Lord Kazekage!" The shinobis from other nations also join in the cheers. Sigh Onoki sighs and shakes his head. "Looks like the new generation has surpassed the old-timer like me." "You are right! He managed to do something; we couldn''t do!" Tsunade also acknowledges Gaara''s words. "Gaara!" Rasa silently stares at Gaara''s back. ''Looks like your mother was right! I failed her as a husband, I failed you as a father, and I even failed the vige as a Kage. But now, I won''t fail as a shinobi!" He clenches his fists. "Sorry about earlier" The shinobis with disputes apologize to each other. "No I was wrong too" "No I said too much" They shake each other hands to write off their disputes. "Now! Now! You stole all the spotlight!" Minato chuckles as he walks forward. "Let me take themand from here!" Minato walks onto the main stage and stares at the group of shinobis. "All unit, mobilize! It''s time for WAR!" Minato deres as the shinobis quickly distribute themselves into the group and march toward the battlefield. "Let''s head out, too!" The rest of the Kage also nce at each other, prepared to mobilize on the field. "Wait, everyone!" Minato stops them. He passes his signature tri-forked kunai to A, Onoki, Rasa, and Mifune. "With this, it will be easier to mobilize in the war." "Ahh now that''s what I am talking about!" A ces the kunai in his holster and nods at Minato. Suddenly, Screech An eagle soars on top of the group andnds on Inoichi''s shoulder. "Another intel?" Shikaku frowns. "No, it''s a backup request from Genbu Ind. An Akatsuki spy infiltrated the ind. Guy and Yamato neutralized the spy, but he managed to diverge the intel to Akatsuki." Inoichi narrates the incident of Kisame''s infiltration into the group. "If Akatsuki is aware of the Genbu ind, then does that mean they also know the location of eight and nine-tails Jinchuriki?" Onoki raises a question. "I am afraid that seems to be the case." Shikaku shakes his head. "There is even a possibility that they might be on their way to the Genbu ind to capture them both as we read this intel." He adds. "Damn it! We have no time to waste. We have to hurry up and protect those two from Akatsuki''s hands. If the enemy gets a hold of them, then this war will have no meaning." Onoki grits his teeth. "Tsuchikage, I will teleport you to the ind. Guy is carrying one of my kunais." Minato steps forward. "Do it!" "I willmand the third division in your steed." Gaara nods at him. Fwoosh Minato teleports Onoki to Genbu Ind and swiftly returns to the headquarter. ------------------- At the Genbu ind, Fwoosh Onoki appears at the moment of the battle between Guy, Yamato, and Deidara, Kabuto. Fwoosh An explosive y bird charges toward him and explodes on top of his body. BOOM "What was that?" The group pauses and stares at the location of the explosion. "I think I saw Lord Tsuchikage for a second." Yamato mumbles. "Was that old geezer? Did I finally kill him by ident?" Deidara stares at the ce of the explosion. Cough cough The sorry figure of Onoki walks out of the explosion. Other than some torn pieces of cloth and slightly burned hairs of his beard, Onoki was unharmed from the explosion. "It''s really the old geezer. And he is totally fine after eating my C2 head-on." Deidara stares at Onoki. "Hmm this foul mouth! So, it''s the brash brat from the explosion corp." Onoki raises his head and stares at Deidara and Kabuto flying on top of a y bird. He slowly floats in the air and appears in front of them. "Brat, you are such a disgrace to Iwagakure for dying bymitting suicide, and that too without harming even a hair of your enemy." Onoki rebukes Deidara for tarnishing the reputation of Iwagakure. "Damn, you old geezer! Your mouth is still as foul as ever. You don''t even respect the dead!" Deidara argues with him. Hmph Onoki snorts and turns his attention to Kabuto. "So, you are Kabuto! The person responsible for all this farce." He res at Kabuto. "Kuku Now now Lord Tsuchikage. I have yet to" "I don''t have to hear your nonsense. Just die!" Onoki ps his hand and creates a transparent orb in his hands. "Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu," A transparent cube engulfs Kabuto and Deidara. Haah Onoki ps his hand and the cube shines with a bright light. Deidara''s and Kabuto''s bodies slowly turn into dust and vanish. Hmm Onoki frowns and senses something amiss. "That''s harsh! You didn''t even let me finish my greeting." Kabuto and Deidara reappear at some distance. "y clones!" Onoki frowns. "It doesn''t matter. I will end it soon!" ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 479: First Confrontation Chapter 479: First Confrontation After teleporting Onoki to Genbu Ind, Minato swiftly returns to the Allied Shinobi headquarters, unaware of Onoki''s plight. "Lord Fourth, from the intel we got earlier; the enemy force is moving underground and is undetectable to the sensors; so how do you n to confront them?" Sakumo asks Minato for advice. "Sakumo-san, I already took that fact into consideration." Minato points towards a strange metallic rod with multiple fuinjutsu inscriptions on it. "This is an amplification device based on the CPS system. It not only amplifies the range and coverage area of the CPS system, but it also acts as a receiver and transmitter and detector for unusual chakra and life signature." Minato introduces the strange metallic pole to the rest of the Kage group. "This was one of Izuna''s ideas and is based on the radio transmitter we use for long-rangemunication. It took the researchers of Konoha seven years to develop a sessful prototype." Tsunade shakes her head. She always praised Izuna''s knack for seemingly strange but extremely advanced ideas. If Izuna was here, he would be speechless at the minds of Konoha''s researchers. This was something he proposed on a whim in front of Tsunade while drawing the prototype for the CPS system. He didn''t suspect she would be so impressed by the idea that she will gather researchers from all over the Land of Fire and ask them to develop a prototype. Earlier, Minato talked about the function of these amplifier rods with Ao and dispatched every sensor unit with a set of these rods. With this, they would be able to cover the entire battlefield and ry anymand or information almost instantaneously. The Intelligence and Logistics unit is also aware of this and has already linked its sensor bubble with the CPS system. Except for Minato, Tsunade, and Mei; the rest of the Kage and themander leaves the headquarter for the battlefield. Minato will monitor the situation from the base and willmand the rest of the army. He will partake in the battle during theter phases of the war, where powerful shinobis from both sides are in a direct confrontation to decide the oue of the war. Suddenly, Kushina teleports into the room alongside Ayaka. "Mei Nii-san!" Ayaka turn to Mei and waves. "How are Tatsuya and Kanna doing?" "Dad is fighting in the war, so I left them in the care of Mom. They are currently at Mom and Dad''s house." "That''s good to hear!" Mei heaves a sigh of relief. Izuna''s parent''s house is one of the safest spots in Konoha, due to several barriers around it. "So, why are you here? You know, you are too young to participate in the war, right?" Tsunade and Mei chide her. "But but back then, my brother was eight-year-old when I fought in the third Shinobi war. So,pared to him; I am four years older." Ayaka puffs her cheeks. "The situation back then was quite different. We had ack of manpower at that time and your brother was already a chunnin at that time and you are still a genin. So, you aren''t eligible to participate in the war." Tsunade and Mei shake their head. "But but I got permission from the mom." Ayaka stares at them with her signature puppy eyes. "No! No, means no!" But the rigid heart of Tsunade and Mei is unaffected by her performance. She has bamboozled them multiple times in the past with the signature move. Now, they have grown immune to it. "Help me, Kushina Nee-san!" Ayaka begs Kushina for help. "Pfft haha" Kushina burst out inughter. "Alright! Alright! She won''t participate in the war." Kushina holds herughter while speaking. "She is here to help me maintain the Fuinjutsu seals of the CPS system since she is also a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster." Tsunade and Mei heave a sigh of relief at Kushina''s words. "Look the first amplifier is up." Kushina nces at the live map of the battlefield as a group of sensor shinobis from the Sensor unit nts a rod on the ground. After nting the rod on the ground, it sinks into the ground and vanishes from sight. This is a defense mechanism designed by Kushina. If left on the ground, it will stick out like a sore thumb. So, transnting it on the earth will reduce the signal range but it will improve the survivability of the rods. Also, they have mass-produced more than enough rods to sustain in the war. There is also a proximity seal on the rod, which determines the proximity of the other rod within the area. If the runes of the seal are green, then there are no other rods in the vicinity. If the runes are red, then there is another rod in the vicinity. "WHOA! What was that?" A shinobi from the medic division asks in surprise. "This is a sort ofmunication device from the headquarter. I am not sure of its function, but it apparently helps usmunicate with the headquarters faster." The sensor shinobi, who imnted the rod, replies to his fellow medicalpatriot. He turns towards a member of themunication division and nods his head. The member of themunication division ces makes a series of hand signs and ces his right hand on his forehead. "Reporting Yusuke Yamanaka from the Team 420!" "Copy! We hear you loud and clear Yusuke!" Another member of themunication unit replies to him in the headquarter. "Over and out!" Yusuke closes hismunication with the headquarter. "It''s sessful!" Yusuke nods at the Sensor shinobi who is also the leader of their support division. "Good! Let''s move out." The leadermands them to catch up with the main battle unit. Soon, a series of beacons light up on the map in the alliance headquarters. To prevent the overload of information; Shikaku has split the entire map into hundred different sectors with a team of four members each monitoring the situation of each sector. These four people can contact the members of themunication unit in their sector to ry orders. "Enemy contact!" One of the shinobis in the headquarter notices multiple red beacons in his sector. He swiftly rys the news to the team on the battlefield. "What?!" Thebat division gets ready to intercept the enemy. Soon, a few figures appear in their vision. "That''s that''s the reanimation jutsu." The leader of the division recognizes the enemy. Soon, multiple teams confront the reanimated shinobis at various battlefronts. The members of the logistics swiftly ry a battle n and the shinobis from the sealing unit get ready to act at any moment. "So, they are our enemy." One of the Edo Tensei nces at the members of the allied shinobi force. "But why do I sense multiple chakra signatures from various nations? There is a chakra signature from Iwa, Suna, Kiri, Kumo, and Konoha mixed within this group of shinobis. "Sensei?! Is that you, Homura sensei?" One of the shinobi recognizes the person in front of them. "That voice!" The Edo Tensei frowns and nces in the direction of the voice to spot an adult man in his early thirties. "Mizuno! Is that you, Mizuno?" He recognizes the middle-aged person in front of him. "No something is not right! The Mizuno I know is a young boy around fourteen years of age. Who are you?" Homura res at Mizuno. "Sensei, it''s me! It has been almost twenty years since you died." Mizuno walks towards Homura. "Oye, wait! He is an enemy." One of his teammates from another nation stops him. "Twenty years?!" Homura tilts his head in confusion. Suddenly, Homura draws his de and shes in their direction. "Kenjutsu: Howling Wolf Crescent sh," With a sudden sh of light, an unsuspecting shinobi is chopped into half. Thus, the first casualty of the war appeared. "Everyone, quickly restrict his movements." The team leader gains his senses andmands his team to act. "Homura Sensei is proficient in Kenjutsu. Don''t engage him in close quarters." Mizuno warns his teammate as he draws his de and walks towards thetter. "Mizuno, I can''t control my body. It''s moving on its own." Mizuno releases another crescent sh toward thebat unit, but the members of the barrier unit block the attack with a barrier. Soon, more reanimated figures appear around them. "Captain, I will handle the Homura sensei. The rest of you focus on others." Mizuno also draws his de and performs the same technique as Homura. "Kenjutsu: Howling Wolf Crescent sh," However, his attack is much bigger and more powerful than Homura''s. "Can you handle it?" The team captain asks him. "Yes, I can!" Mizuno nods in confidence. "Then sealing unit members. Be ready to act anytime!" Homura and Mizuno engage in a kenjutsu battle as Homura asks him. "Mizuno, what''s happening? I thought I had died in that battle. If I died, then why I am still fighting you? And why are there so many chakra signatures from other nations? Is this a war?" ng ng Mizuno parries Kisuke''s de and shes his body in half. But the regeneration from Edo Tensei restores his body. "Yes, sensei! Twenty years ago, you sacrificed your life to buy us time to ry the intel to the vige. We almost died during that encounter, if not for the timely reinforcement from the vige." Mizuno nods at him with tears overflowing from his eyes as he fills him up on the situation. Simr scenes appear at multiple battlefronts as the shinobis meet with their former friends, rtives, or enemies on the battlefield. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 480: Battle of Ice and Fire Chapter 480: Battle of Ice and Fire Author Style: Double Chapter-No Jutsu ********************* "We need backup! Our side is being forced back by the enemy." Soon requests for backup reach the headquarter. "What''s the situation?" Shikaku swiftly enquires. BOOM Suddenly, a giant pir of fire appears on the projection. "Immediately send the special backup force." Shikaku issues the order as he recognizes a figure from the visual feed. He turns to Inoichi and asks him to ry a message. "Inoichi, ask everyone to evacuate that ce. They can''t handle this level of battle." "I am on it!" Inoichi rys his message to every member of the battle division mobilized at that ce. "This is an emergency order! Evacuate that battlefield immediately. I repeat, evacuate that ce immediately!" The captain of the team nces at the pir of fire in front of him and gulps his saliva. "Everyone, retreat!" Swish "Heh! What''s the hurry? I haven''t even warmed up yet." A sadistic voice echoes in their ear as a scythe flies in their direction. ng Suddenly, a figure appears in front of the group and blocks the scythe. "Hurry up and retreat!" Sasuke turns around and orders the captain. ''The backup is a kid!'' Such thoughts sh across the captain''s mind as he aids his teammates in retreat. "Huh?!" Hidan and Kakuzu pause and scrutinize Sasuke. "It''s you!" Hidan''s eyes narrow as he recognizes Sasuke. "You were the reason for my death!" Hidan grits his teeth and swings his scythe toward Sasuke. ng Sasuke blocks the scythe with his katana and swipes it away. The captain of the team takes ast nce at Sasuke''s battle and disappears from Sasuke''s vision. After ensuring the safety of the allied forces, Sasuke nces at the Akatsuki duo. "Hey, how did you kill me?" Hidan questions him But Sasuke ignores him and turns his attention to Kakuzu. BOOM Suddenly, a powerful wind st greets Sasuke from behind. Shiing Sasuke activates his Sharingan as he jumps sideways to narrowly avoid the powerful st. ''Looks like he has already separated his clones from his body.'' Sasuke recalls the information about Kakuzu from his memory. KRRKK BOOM The lightning grudge walks out from his blind spot and opens its mouth to fire a bolt of lightning. Whoosh Sasuke tilts his body in mid-air and narrowly dodges the lightning st. Kakuzu doesn''t continue attacking, however, Hidan uses this opportunity tounch a sneak attack. He controls the trajectory of his scythe with a chain and blocks Sasuke''s escape route with a javelin from the other side. ng ng Sasuke blocks the scythe and kicks away the javelin. He uses the momentum from the kick to maintain his distance from the duo. As soon as Sasukends on the ground, the ground underneath him erupts, opens a giant earth spear, and prates his body. POOF Sasuke disappears in a cloud of smoke, and a wooden log appears in his position. "Substitution Jutsu!" Kakuzu frowns and attempts to locate Sasuke''s real body. ''Hiding in the shadows technique,'' Sasuke slowly emerges from the shadow of Kakuzu''s lightning grudge and pierces its heart with his wind-infused de. Stab Puchi The lightning grudge disintegrates into a hairy mess. Kakuzu immediately senses the death of his lightning grudge. His fire and wind grudge immediately open their mouth and fire a cooperation jutsu. "Fire wind Combo strike: Strange Mask Exploding me," A beam of intense heat grazes across the ground and engulfs Sasuke. BOOM A gigantic pir of super high-temperature mes erupts at the point of impact. The heat from the me pir melts the nearby ground and converts a portion of the earth into the ss. Fwoosh The explosionsts for a few seconds before a gust of powerful wind blows away the ashes and smoke from the point of impact. Crunch crunch Sasuke slowly walks out of the crater. His footsteps crush the ss underneath his feet. A giant purple rib of chakra is protecting his body as Sasuke walks out of Kakuzu''s attack, unfazed. "This technique!" Kakuzu narrows his eyes as he recognizes Susanoo. Memories of his battle against Shisui sh past his bind. "Susanoo, the powerful technique of the Uchiha n possessed by those that awaken their Mangekyo Sharingan!" He murmurs as he stares into Sasuke''s eyes. "This is the ultimate defensive and offensive technique of the Uchiha n. Very well" Kakuzu ps his hands. "Heaven Grudge Fear: Fusion," Krrk Riip Squish The threads on Kakuzu''s back rip apart to reveal awork of ck threads. The three grudges enter his back and Kakuzu''s body squirms disgustingly as he adjusts to the fusion. KKRRRAAKK Kakuzu opens his mouth as multiple threads spew out from it. The threads morph into multiple faces and attach themselves to Kakuzu''s body. HAAH Kakuzu ps his hand and the two of the three-face mask opens their mouth simultaneously. "Behold the ultimate power of my Heaven Grudge Fear," "DUST RELEASE: ATOMIC ANNIHILATION CANNON," SHOOM Arge amount of chakra gathers in front of the three faces. The three chakra types perfectly merge into each other and form a transparent sphere. FWOOSH White light engulfs Sasuke''s vision as a gigantic beam of white light shrouds a wide area in front of Kakuzu. Sasuke''s eyes narrow as his senses warn him of extreme danger. He immediately abandons his Susanoo and jumps up high in the air, above the beam of white light. The white beam of light disintegrates everything along its path. The trees, rocks, ground, and even Sasuke''s iplete Susanoo. Kakuzu raises his head and notices Sasuke avoids his dust release beam. The fire mask closes its mouth and the water mask opens its mouth. A blob of water condenses in front of the water mask. The wind mask also opens its mouth, and the water condenses into ice. "This is something I wouldn''t try if was still alive. Since I am dead then." Kakuzu opens his mouth and swallows the blob of ice, much to Hidan''s and Sasuke''s surprise. As soon as he eats his jutsu, Kakuzu''s mouth balloons up from arge amount of chakra. Slight cracks appear around his face as the jutsu inflicts harm on his body. However, the thread around Kakuzu''s body rapidly seals up the cracks in his face. HAAH Kakuzu opens his mouth and fires an extremely condensed blue beam of chakra. "Artic Release: Haze of the Dawn," "Things aren''t looking good!" Sasuke ps his hands and enters Sage Mode. He makes a series of rapid hand signs. "Sage Art: White Rage Technique," Sasuke spews out a massive red dragon infused with arge amount of nature energy. Shiing Blood leaks from Sasuke''s right eye as he activates Amaterasu. Ayer of ck me wraps around the giant red dragon, turning it into a massive ck me dragon. "Sage Art: Combination Technique: Hiry no Ikari," (Fury of the me Dragon) ROAR A red glow appears in the eyes of the ck fire dragon. It roars in fury and opens its giant maw to engulf the blue beam of chakra fired by Kakuzu. Kakuzu jutsu instantly freezes everything in its vicinity. The temperature of the surroundings instantly drops below the freezing point and it begins to snow in the surrounding. Hidan opens his hand and captures a snowke. Cra crack snap The frozen objects vibrate and shatter into countless ice fragments. "This is one scary jutsu! I didn''t know you were hiding something like this from me." Hidan marvels at the sight. BOOM Sasuke''s, and Kakuzu''s jutsu shes against each other and explode. The st from the jutsu engulfs the trio. Sasuke shields his body with full-body Susanoo while Kakuzu and Hidan pay no heed to the damage caused by the sh of jutsus. A burst of snow encases Sasuke''s Susanoo while ck mes cover Hidan''s and Kakuzu''s bodies. Even the dust and debris in their surroundings either freeze and shatter into countless fragments or burn to dust from the ck mes. A pir of blue and ck energy rises in the air and vanishes after a few seconds. The powerful explosion blows a giant hole through the clouds in the sky. nk The ice around Sasuke''s Susanoo shatters to reveal several cracks spread throughout his bull body Susanoo. "These mes are annoying! They won''t burn off." Hidan swipes the ck mes with his hand but instead of extinguishing them, his hand catches the fire. "DAMN IT!" Hidan plunges his other hand into his body and rips apart his upperyer of skin to get rid of Amaterasu. While multiple thread-like structures appear on Kakuzu''s body. He cuts them off from his body together with the ck mes. "This is why I don''t like fights with no money." Kakuzu cracks his neck. "But you are already dead. So, the money is useless to you." Hidan speechlessly replies to him. "It''s not about life or death, but the satisfaction." Kakuzu shakes his head. "If I were alive, then this would have been the greatest bounty of my life." ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 481: Extermination Scale Chapter 481: Extermination Scale "Now then it''s time Iplete my task." Kakuzu cracks his neck and shoulders and turns to Sasuke. "I don''t like being controlled by others, especially if there is no money in it. But I will do Akatsuki a favor this time since I was a former member of it." HAAH Kakuzu ps his hands. "Also, I wanted to try this jutsu out. It would be impossible for me to try it out when I was still alive since the sheer force of chakra in this jutsu will explode every cell in my body. However, as I am already dead now, it doesn''t matter anymore." SHOOM Arge amount of chakra gathers in front of various masks around Kakuzu''s face. The sheer density of the chakra distorts the surrounding space. It creates a chaotic surge of chakra that runs rampant. Back at the Akatsuki headquarter, "Huh?!" Kabuto turns his attention to one of the shogi pieces on the ground. "What''s going on?" The white shogi piece turns ck. Kabuto picks up the Shogi piece. "That''s Kakuzu''s piece. What''s he doing? Why do I have lost control over him? Hmm" Kabuto makes a series of hand signs and picks up another Shogi piece representing Hidan. He controls Hidan''s body and shares his senses with Hidan to observe the battlefield. On the battlefield, the pupil in Hidan''s eye suddenly turns white before returning to normal. Kabuto observes the battle between Sasuke and Kakuzu. "That''s that''s Sasuke Uchiha. One of the prodigies of the Uchiha n and a student of the Izuna Uchiha. Hmm" He notices the slightly different Mangekyo pattern in Sasuke''s eyes. "His Mangekyo Sharingan looks different from usual. Is it the legendary Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?" Kabuto observes Sasuke with curiosity. Sasuke sense the danger from Kakuzu''s jutsu. ''I can''t avoid this attack.'' He grimaces. Sasuke ps his hands and transforms his Susanoo to its next form. "Since that''s the case, then I might as well as go out" An exoskeleton armor covers his humanoid Susanoo. It transforms into Complete Body Susanoo with a tengu head and a pair of wings on its back. Heavy purple armor covers Sasuke''s Susanoo. Kakuzu alsopletes his preparation as fourpressed chakra orbs of water, fire, earth, and wind appear in front of the various masks. Rumble rumble The ground around Kakuzu trembles as he attempts to fuse the four chakra orbs into one. "Heaven Grudge Fear: Quadruple Fusion," Multiple cracks appear on the grudge masks as the four chakra orbs slowly move toward each other. SHOOM The ground beneath him caves in as a result of the sheer weight of those orbs. BZZT The chakra orb repels each other and refuses to fuse into one. Kabuto''s eyes widen in shock as he figures out Kakuzu''s intention. "He is forcefully fusing four different elements to create a jutsu beyond the Kekkai Tota. The dust release of the second Tsuchikage and Third Tsuchikage is the pinnacle of elemental maniption that a human can achieve. The destructive potential and the difficulty of mastery of dust release are well-known to the shinobi world. It''s part of the reason why the third Tsuchikage is so stubborn about his position as the Tsuchikage. No person among his students has learned the secrets of the dust release. But now" Kabuto stares at Kakuzu with an incredulous gaze. ''Perhaps only that person has surpassed the boundaries of humans and touched the heights of GOD.'' A frantic expression appears on Kabuto''s face as he remembers Izuna''s final battle against the Abyss demon. The repulsion force from the four orbs slowly erodes Kakuzu''s Edo body and even the regeneration of Edo Tensei is unable to keep up with it. CRACK CRACK CRACK One by one, the three fear masks around Kakuzu''s face shatter. HAAAAHH Kakuzu sps his hand and yells as his body slowly starts to disintegrate from the repulsive force of the four elemental orbs. Finally, when almost half of his body has disintegrated, the four orbs fuse into one. "Obliterate!" Kakuzu fires the orb in Sasuke''s direction with thest vestiges of his will. His Edo body disintegrates into countless light fragments. "He seeded!" Kabuto''s eyes narrow and turn into slits as he stares at the rapidly approaching orb of destruction. Kabuto activates an iplete version of Sage''s eyes to analyze the jutsu. "Hmm I can still some traces of four elements in the jutsu. Those orbs merged partially, but so it''s more like a pseudo-fusion. However, its power is much, much higher than Tsuchikage''s dust release." Kabuto recalls his recent battle with the Third Tsuchikage. Although he didn''t manage toplete his objective of capturing the Jinchuriki of eight and nine-tails. He did manage to snag a spoil of the war. Kabuto nces at an unconscious Yamato by his side. Kabuto''s white snake is constantly injecting venom into Yamato''s body to prevent his recovery. This venom is one of his creations from the study of the Hashirama cells. It effectively suppresses the recovery of the Hashirama cells. "He is like a living clone of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, with independent thoughts. I can control him and fuse him with a Zetsu to create a pseudo-body of Hashirama Senju. Though not good as the original, this will still be a considerable battle force." Kabuto shakes his head and produces a serum from his pocket. "This serum is extracted from the blood of one of the test subjects of Lord Orochimaru; Chinoike n was it! Even though that fellow survived the procedure of the Heaven Curse Seal, he lost his sanity in the process and mutated. However, this mutation came with a benefit of its own. The mutation drastically improved the prowess of his bloodline to induce genjutsu. I extracted this serum from his blood to create a potent genjutsu-inducing drug." Kabuto injects the drug into Yamato''s blood vessels. ARGH Yamato''s expression turns hideous as Kabuto releases him from his suppression. "Now then" Kabuto sps his hand, and a shell of Zetsu''s hollow body envelops Yamato. Shoom A new brand of curse marks appears on Yamato''s body as Kabuto controls his movement. "Hmm the performance of this improved Heaven Earth Seal is not too shabby. ording to Lord Orochimaru''s records, the Heaven and Earth Seals are iplete. Only the perfectbination of both heaven and earth seals can be consideredplete. I did manage to fuse both seals, but the merge rate is very low at five percent fusion." Kabuto sighs and makes a few more hand signs toplete the seal. "Even though it''s notplete, this should be enough to overwrite his will for a few days. And the drug will further suppress his free will." Kabuto waves his hand and dispatches the Zetsu Yamato on the battlefield. Back on the battlefield, Inside the Allied Shinobi forces headquarter, RUMBLE RUMBLE Multiple ripples spread across the sensing water sphere of the Intelligence and Sensor department. "What what''s going on?" The intense fluctuation of the water sphere shocks the shinobis in the headquarter. "Lord Inoichi?! This" "There is a powerful flow of turbulent chakra on the battlefield. Someone used an extremely powerful, forbidden jutsu. The magnitude of this jutsu is 5.5 on the ''Extermination Scale''." "A magnitude of 5.5 on the ''Extermination scale''." Everyone in headquarters gulps their saliva in fear. It has been a few hours since the war began and yet such a powerful, forbidden jutsu already made its presence. ''Extermination Scale'' is a destruction magnitude scale coined by Minato after observing Izuna''s powerful mass destruction jutsus. ording to this scale, most A-rank jutsu and below end at around 3 in destruction. S-Rank jutsu ranks around 3.5 or 4. Only the most powerful S-Rank jutsu reaches a scale of 4.5. Above the S-rank jutsus are forbidden jutsus with tactical or strategic values. Each of these jutsus are capable of mass destruction and can easily wipe out a hidden vige with all of its citizens. To give a precise value, Naruto''s normal Rasenshuriken value, and Onoki''s Dust release are set at a value of 4.5, the lowest value for a forbidden jutsu. A fully charged tailed beast bomb, Pain''s full power Shinra Tensei, Naruto''s tailed beast rasenshuriken, and fury the most powerful, forbidden jutsu of En no Gyja are set at a value of 5 on the Extermination Scale. These jutsus are capable of annihting an entire vige with almost no survivors. Most jutsu above this rank are inessible to an individual and are a part of tactical or strategic weapons. Almost all of them are cooperation ninjutsu that requires a huge amount of preparation and thus requires time to deploy on the battlefield. The maximum destruction these jutsu can achieve is a magnitude of 5.9 on the ''Extermination Scale.'' And this power is enough to wipe out a small nation or one of the five great viges with their subsidiary viges. However, there are still a few powerful jutsu possessed by some individuals that are not ounted for on this list, or rather Minato didn''t choose to add them. One such example is the Chibaku Tensei of Pain with a rating of 5.5 and Mugen Tens Shin: Chibaku Tensei with a value of 5.9. The ultimate weapon of the flying fortress of the Land of Sky also had a rating of 5.9, though they never got an opportunity to use it. ording to all these standards, the maximum value the shinobis of the Five Great Nations could ever achieve was 5.9. However, this list didn''t include one individual. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 482: End of the Day One Battle Chapter 482: End of the Day One Battle Yes, you guessed it right! The Extermination Scale doesn''t include Izuna''s jutsus. However, the extermination scale is based on hisbat prowess. Every rise in level is an exponential increment in the destructive prowess of a jutsu, and every level is a barrier that is incredibly difficult to ovee. If every jutsu in the range of 5 to 5.9 has the potential to wipe out an entire nation, then the jutsu from 6 to 6.9 possess enough destructive prowess to annihte entire continents or multiple nations with a single jutsu when used with destruction in mind. Izuna''s Kekkei Shi falls into the category. There were only a few moments when Izuna used this jutsu. Even at those moments, Izuna redirected almost all the energy of the jutsu toward the sky and contained the st radius within a certain range. These jutsus are double-edged swords. This earth-shattering, sea-sundering, and heaven-rending jutsus are just the tip of the iceberg. Minato thought this might be Izuna''s limit. Since too much power in the hands of a single person will corrupt their mind. However, the existence of higher beings, the otherworldly gods, who can traverse across dimensions and consider the lower being like them as livestock, widened Minato''s horizon to a new world. It was at this moment that he thought about a power much greater than the world itself. A power strong enough to destroy an entire world. Perhaps this was the power of those so-called GODS in legend. So, at this moment, Minato added a new tier to the Extermination Scale, ''The power to destroy the world''. He thought that he wouldn''te to witness such power, however, he was proven wrong when the seal on Ama no Hoko was released. It unleashed a greater evil on the world that wanted nothing more than the destruction of their world. That evil possessed a power strong enough to wipe out the entire world in a blink of an eye. "Perhaps to beings like them, our existence is simr to that of an insect, unworthy of their attention." Minato shakes his head and focuses his attention on the battlefield. The report of a jutsu of 5.5 intensity boggled his mind since such powerful jutsus will usually appear at the end of the battle and will be the deciding factor. ''Looks like even after so much consideration and preparation, we might have undermined the gravity of this war. A situation which might be unusible in normal circumstances had already made its appearance.'' He was the one who sent Sasuke to fight against the reanimated members of the Akatsuki. However, even in his wild dreams, he expected such a situation to ur. ''I hope Sasuke can escape on time.'' Minato isn''t worried about Sasuke''s safety since Sasuke has multiple life-saving trump cards and even possesses a teleportation seal to escape the danger. "Sigh we might suffer heavy casualty in that sector." A jutsu with a 5.5 extermination rating has enough radius to cover entire viges. Given the speed of the allied shinobi force, it''s impossible to escape unscathed from that sector despite the early evacuation order. Back on the battlefield, Sasuke has a grim expression on his face as he confronts Kakuzu''s most powerful attack deployed at the cost of his life. He tightly clutches the teleportation fuinjutsu scroll in his hand and calmly calctes various possibilities and their oues. ''The most obvious and reasonable oue for me is to use the teleportation scroll and escape from this jutsu. The current me is incapable of dealing with an attack of such caliber. So, this choice is the most logical. However, the cost of this choice is the loss of every shinobi in this sector. Almost two to three thousand shinobis will instantly lose their life.'' Sasuke weighs the situation. ''Sacrificing a few thousand to save one life might seem unreasonable, but it''s based on the premise that I possess the power to stop this attack. It''s not a matter of choice, but a matter of fact.'' Sasuke takes out another scroll from his pocket. He hesitates for a while as he recalls the importance of this scroll. "This scroll is one of the gifts Izuna Nii-san gave me on my thirteenth birthday. He said that this is one of his most valuable possessions and I must only use it during a life-death situation." Sasuke bites his thumb and drips a drop of blood on the scroll. "Nii-san, I will put my trust in you. I don''t want myrades to unnecessarily sacrifice their life in this war." FWOOSH Kakuzu''s attack closes up on him and explodes in an earth-shattering explosion. A gigantic sphere of vtile energy encases the battlefield and rapidly expands outward. Since Kakuzu used this jutsu at the cost of his life, he didn''t have control over this jutsu. As a result, the flow of chakra followed the natural path of least resistance and expanded outwards. The ground, the trees, the clouds everything rapidly disintegrates into nothingness. RUMBLE RUMBLE Powerful tremors ran across the ground as the shockwaves from the explosion shift the tectonic tes underneath the earth and an earthquake erupt from the heart of the earth with the site of the explosion as the center. The temperature of the surroundings rapidly rises by several thousand. Sasuke, who is the first to bear the brunt of the explosion, feels it the most. Even before the st from the explosion could reach him, the powerful shockwaves and the high temperature cracked and melted his full body Susanoo. The blinding light from the explosion strained his eyes and Sasuke to force to close them off to prevent damaging them. It was at this moment when Sasuke thought he made a mistake by staying at the battlefield and was about to crush the teleportation seal to escape, the scroll in his hand shone with a brilliant blue light. A pir of cyan light erupts from the scroll with Sasuke at the center. The cyan pir of light shrouds his failing Susanoo with a thin barrier. This thin film of barrier instantly blocks the heat and radiation from the st. Next, a colossal towering shield drops in front of his Susanoo. Vrmm A powerful hum echo through the battlefield as the eyes of the Yaksha on the shield glow brightly with a green hue. Numerous inscriptions representing Fire, water, wind, Earth, and lightning bes visible on the shield. ''This is Izuna Nii-san''s ultimate defense.'' Sasuke''s eyes widen in shock. He instinctively grabs the shield with his Susanoo. The powerful burst of nature energy from the shield stabilizes his Susanoo and rapidly repairs the damage. A fouryered barrier appears in front of his Susanoo and blocks the explosion from traveling further. "This shield can store nature energy." Amazement flickers across Sasuke''s eyes as he holds the shield. The stored nature energy in the shield rapidly depletes as Sasuke understands the shield''s usage. ''This shield slowly absorbs the nature energy from surroundings on its own and the wielder of this shield can use that stored nature energy as he pleases. When activated, this shield will deploy a powerful fiveyered barrier. However, I am not strong to deploy all barriers and even these fouryered barriers are the result of stored Nature energy over a long period. However, I have signed a contract with this shield and from now onwards I can use it freely.'' HAAH Sasuke infuses his remaining chakra in the Yata No Kagami shield. "CONFINE!" He yells in frenzy. The shape of the barrier around the shield shifts and it slowly confines the st of the powerful explosion to a very small radius. Sasuke''s chakra drains rapidly. Beads of sweat perspire from his head as he opens his mouth and gulps multiple chakra recovery pills. A blueyered barrier slowly surrounds the sphere of explosion and redirects it toward the sky. "SUPPRESS!" The confined explosion turns into a cylindrical pir of energy and pierces the skies. After a few seconds, the burst of energy dissipates into the surroundings. However, the aftermath of the explosion is still visible to the eyes. ck clouds appear in the sky. Bolts of lightning crackle across the clouds and strike down the ground. Ripples spread across Sasuke''s Susanoo as a few bolts strike his Susanoo. A heavy downpour rains down from the sky as this battle marks the end of today''s day battle. The sun slowly sets on the horizon; however, Sasuke is still silently standing at the previous site of the battle. His gaze lingers on the bottomless hole present in front of him. Sigh Sasuke sighs and shakes his head. He gently caresses the colossal towering shield and ces it on the rear of his Susanoo. ''This shield is a huge boost to mybat strength.'' The Susanoo ps its wings and takes off to the sky, disappearing from the visions of shinobis who were frantically watching the battle from a distance with reverence. "He must be one of the tactical deployments from the headquarters." A few shinobis profusely discuss among themselves. "Everyone, let''s return to the camp!" The Captain issues themand as he takes ast nce at the vanishing figure of Sasuke''s Susanoo. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 483: The Night Battle Part-1 Chapter 483: The Night Battle Part-1 Inside the Allied Shinobi forces headquarter, In the central room, Minato and Shikaku are seated in front of Inoichi. "Inoichi, establish a connection with all divisionmanders and vicemanders. I would like to hear the status report from them." "Yes, Lord Fourth!" Inoichi reys his intention to the members of themunication team and asks them to inform themanders to prepare themselves for the meeting. Half an hourter, Minato, Shikaku, Inoichi, and the rest of themanders and vicemander appear in a virtual space. "This this is amazing!" A fewmanders and vicemanders stare at their surrounding in amazement. "This is marvelous indeed!" Even Onoki and Rasa are shocked by the virtual space. "What is this space?" Onoki turns to Minato in wonder. "This space is a concept I came up with after studying the interaction between a jinchuruki and tailed beast for a few years. The Jinchuriki and the tailed-beast share amon mindscape, with their seals being the medium to link their thoughts. So, I developed something simr using Fuinjutsu." Minato exins the details of the virtual space to them. "To enter this space, the person requires a medium to create a link with the space. The medium and link in this case is the mind-body transmission jutsu of the Inoichi. His mind is connected to the centralwork of the CPS system, which helps in the amplification of his jutsu. So, using his shared link, I was able to pull everyone into this virtual space." Minato sits down on one of the seats. "I have something important to ry to everyone." Minato nces at everyone present in the virtual space. "We have spotted the enemy army in the following sectors." Shikaku marks the Zetsu army''s position on the map. "A quarter of the enemy forces are traveling underground. Another quarter is traveling through the sea while the rest half of the enemy army is nning to ambush our back line by taking a detour." Shikaku marks every feasible route of the Zetsu army. "Hmm as expected! If not for Konoha''s surveince system, we might have suffered huge losses in this war." A acknowledges Konoha''s effort in the war. "Perhaps we can use this opportunity to wipe out the Zetsu army in a direct confrontation by overwhelming them with numbers and then we can retaliate against the ambush party with the rest of our army." Onoki proposes. "That''s a good suggestion. However, we have to ount for the state of our shinobis. Unlike the Zetsu army, our shinobis require food for sustenance and the long-term battle will leave with fatigue and injuries. So, we have to n ordingly." Rasa interjects. "Of course, I Knew it! What if we spilt our army in half and suppress the quarter of Zetsu army with brutal force?" Onoki moves a few pieces onto the table. "Then, we can temporarily abandon the sectors near the sea and leave the Zetsu army with no enemy to battle. Meanwhile, half of our allied shinobi force can engage in a battle against the remaining Zetsu army ambushing our back line and waiting till reinforcement arrives from the first battlefield. With this, our victory will be guaranteed in the battle unless there is no unexpected situation." Onoki proposes a battle n. "Mmm I agree with Lord Tsuchikage''s battle n, but there are a few things we have to take into consideration." Shikaku nods at Onoki. "Oh! I will like to hear the thoughts of the brain of the Allied Shinobi force." Onoki ruffles his goatee. "Lord Onoki, you forgot to consider the uncertain factor of this war, Kabuto Yakushi." Shikaku has a serious expression on his face. "We have a definite number on the Zetsu army. However, Kabuto''s Edo soldiers are indefinite. The members of our sealing unit sealed quite a few of them during the battle. However, more and more of these Edo Tensei soldiers keep appearing on the battlefield. Even the shinobis who recently died on the battlefield in the morning appeared as an Edo Tensei by the evening. So, we have to remove this uncertain factor if we want to win the war. Otherwise, our own soldiers will replenish the enemy''s army." Shikaku raises a serious concern. "Mm I also noticed this situation during the battle." Tsunade nods at Shikaku''s observation skills. "So, I have already sent a few teams with elite shinobis to hunt down Kabuto and dispel the Edo Tensei." "That''s not the only concern of this war. The second factor that we have to consider is the night raid from enemy soldiers." Shikaku continues. "Most of our shinobis are exhausted from today''s battle, whereas the immortal soldiers of the enemy are tireless. So, they will definitelyunch a sneak attack during the night to ambush and assassinate our soldiers. Especially the variousmanders, vicemanders, captains, and vice-captains. Even now, as we speak, a few of our soldiers are already engaged in the battle against the Edo Tensei soldiers in a few sectors. Not only that but while our army is resting during the night, the Zetsu army will continue marching throughout the night. So, we will have a very steep window of operation. So, Lord Onoki''s n has its ws." "Hmm as expected of Shikaku Nara. It''s a pleasure to have an ally like you and a nightmare to battle against you. I can still recall the Second and the Third Shinobi Wars. Your father was always three steps ahead of us." Onoki nods at Shikaku in praise. "Very well, we will revise the n ording to Shikaku''s reforms." So, the meetingsts for another hour before the war council concludes. Back at the Allied shinobi force headquarters, "Lord Shikaku, we have tallied the number of casualties for the day." One of the shinobis from the intelligence department respectfully approaches Shikaku and hands him a scroll. Hmm Minato also walks beside Shikaku and nces at the report. "We lost three thousand shinobis on the very first day of the battle while our sealing unit sealed only around three hundred Edo Tensei." Minato tightly clenches his fists. "Yes, at this rate, a prolonged battle is not sustainable for us. Currently, our highest priority should be to remove Kabuto from this war." Shikaku sighs with a heavy heart. ----------------------- Inside the Akatsuki hideout, Kabuto grins as he stares at the shogi pieces in front of him. Swirl Tobi walks out of a swirling portal and nces at Kabuto. "I didn''t expect your Edo army to deal such a huge blow to the Allied Shinobi force." "It''s just the starting. However, the allied shinobi force has be aware of my impact on the war and they might be prepared for me during our next battle." "That''s for sure! At this rate, they will lose the war even before our armies could engage in a confrontation." Tobi is impressed by Kabuto''s ability on the surface, but the wariness in his heart increases even further. "So, what do you n to do next?" Tobi raises a question. Kuku Kabuto grins and nces at the ck Zetsu beside Tobi. "For starters, I will switch my hiding spot since the enemy shinobis wille hunting for me like rabid dogs, and this ce is not suitable for hiding anymore. Also, there is no need to look for me anymore since you won''t be able to find me." Kabuto hands over a special seed to Obito. "This is the seed of a modified Zetsu. You can use him to converse with me. Also, I have a special surprise for the Allied Shinobi force." Kabuto''s lips widen as a white figure walks out from the shadows. "Hmm?!" Tobi''s expression turns serious as he senses a threatening feeling from the white figure. "Is this also a modified Zetsu of yours?" "Not exactly!" Kabuto waves his hand to open the white shell to reveal an unconscious Yamato. "That''s Hashirama''s clone!" Tobi recognizes Yamato. "I can use my Rinnegan to extract the intel about our enemies from him." Tobi proposes. "That would be unnecessary since Rinnegan''s jutsu will take his life. My truth serum and your Sharingan are more than enough for that task. Besides, I already have a use for him." ''Damn Kabuto just how far have you studied our abilities?'' Tobi curses Kabuto in his mind while staring at him with a poker face. "It''s not the same as the original. But he should be pretty close to the First Hokage after several of my enhancements. Though Ick the data on Hashirama Senju, he should not be that far off from my estimation." "Very well! Let''s extract the intel." Kabuto injects another serum into Yamato''s body while Tobi''s Sharingan turns into Mangekyo Sharingan. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 484: Manhunt for Kabuto Chapter 484: Manhunt for Kabuto A few minutester, "Hmm I expected him to have a little more intel." Tobi shakes his head in disappointment. "Still, it''s better than nothing." Kabuto recovers Yamato in the Zetsu Shell. "At least we got to know the location of the Daimyo''s hideout from him. I will lead a few hundred Zetsu to capture them." ck Zetsu proposes. "Alright! I will leave it to you." Tobi nods at ck Zetsu as thetter enters the ground and disappears. "I will also take my leave. Farewell!" Kabuto casts a nce outside the Akatsuki hideout. He uses the same technique as Zetsu to leave the hideout. "I can''t even track him with Zetsu spores." Tobi clicks his tongue in disappointment. He also nces outside the Akatsuki hideout and notices a group of shinobis rapidly approaching the hideout. "It''s time to vacate this ce." Swish swish Tobi makes a series of hand signs and uses his Rinnegan to relocate the Gedo Statue. Swirl Tobi teleports out of the headquarter using his Kamui. A few secondster, Whoosh A bunch of shinobis in ck anbu outfits arrive at the entrance of the Akatsuki hideout. Hmm One of the Anbu removes his mask to reveal Itachi''s face. He activates his Sharingan and nces at the entrance. "All of you search every corner of this hideout. This must be Akatsuki''s base from the intel. Form a group of three and be careful of traps!" "Yes, Captain!" The members of Team Rfollow hismand. Three teams guard the entrance of the enemy base while seven teams enter the headquarter with Itachi. Itachi takes the central most path and the rest of the team separates from him at every corner. Soon, Itachi and a few other teams arrive in front of the underground stairs. "Let''s go!" The group ventured deeper into the hideout and one by one each team separate from them on every floor. Soon, Itachi is the only person to reach the base of the hideout. He carefully walks forward while surveying the surrounding area. "Huh!" Itachi notices a giant dried flower tree located majestically in the center of the room. "This chakra! Looks like Kabuto and Obito were here a few moments ago." He frowns and stares at the marks left by the Gedo Statue. "Still, this ce" Itachi notices the trunk of the giant dried flower tree located in the center of ake. Itachi carefully steps onto theke and walks towards the trunk. "This is" Itachi notices the figure of Hashirama Senju jutting out from the trunk of the tree. "First Hokage Hashirama Senju!" Shiing Itachi activates his Eye of Insight and nces at the chakra flow of the tree. "Hmm he is a living entity, but he has no spirituality. So, could it be that the Akatsuki cultivated their Zetsu army from First Hokage''s cells?" Itachi frowns and ces his hand on the trunk of the giant tree. Swish swish Suddenly, several needles sprout from the giant tree''s branch and stab into Itachi''s hand. "What?" Itachi swiftly draws his sword and shes the needles. "This tree can absorb chakra in contact!" Itachi nces at the tree. "Could this tree be the legendary Chakra tree?" Itachi recalls the records of the Chakra tree from the Uchiha n''s library. ording to some old records, all chakra originated from the chakra tree. However, the chakra tree was destroyed a few thousand years ago and its chakra was distributed among all living beings. "If that''s the case, then I must seal this ce. The Hashirama cells and the chakra tree are too great of a weapon to fall in hands of some evil organization." Itachi retreats a bit and prepares to seal the ce. Suddenly, Swoosh A figure leaps out from theke and attacks Itachi from his blind spot. Shiing sh Itachi draws his katana and shes. Ssh A giant white arm falls into theke and disappears at its bottom. Hmm Itachi notices a giant white figure with multiple faces and Venus fly trap-like protrusion all over its body. "Is that a Zetsu?" Itachi recognizes the white Zetsu clone. "Hmm Its features are a bit different from what I remember." Zetsu regrows its arm and continues to attack Itachi in a frenzy. "High-speed regeneration, but its senses are a bitcking! Its attack pattern is predictable and there are multiple weak spots on its body." Swish Itachi gathers some lightning chakra between his fingertips and throws a lightning senbon in the gaps between various Venus fly trap-like protrusions. Bzzt Crackle A surge of lightning jolts and paralyzes Zetsu''s body. Aarghh The giant white Zetsu clone grimace in pain. "Hmm it''s slightly resistant to lightning. Next up" Itachi makes a series of hand signs and fires multiple fireballs toward him. AAARGHH AAAH This time the white Zetsu clone screams and frantically rushes and dives into the water to extinguish the fire. The Zetsu splits into multiple bodies to quickly douse the fire. "So, they are vulnerable to fire. Perhaps this is because of the Wood Release. Since that''s the case Amaterasu!" Itachi activates his Mangekyo ability and burns the white Zetsu clones to cinders. Huh Itachi nces at his body and notices multiple white spores. "Do you think you can escape my senses?" Itachi pats his shoulder and infuses lightning chakra throughout his body. The lightning jolts the Zetsu spores and ejects them from his body. sh sh sh Before the Zetsu spores could sprout, Itachi shes them all into pieces. "What a powerful concealment ability! I have to report this to the headquarter since this wasn''t a part of the intel." As for this ce, Itachi takes out a bunch of scrolls from his pocket. He makes a series of hand signs and activates the fuinjutsu seals on the scrolls. The seals on the scroll glow with a bright hue and several sealing rune floats in the air. Itachi covers the entrance of the current floor with a bunch of seals. He climbs higher and continues to ce more and more sealing formations. Finally, Itachi retreats to the ground and seals the underground entrance with yet another powerful sealing formation. ''I have to report this to Minato-san. This secret should be safe in the hands of In Y.'' Itachi takes out a specialmunication scroll from his pocket and scribbles the information about the chakra tree and the Hashirama clone on it. He rolls the scroll and stores it. The rest of the members of the team Rgather at the entrance of the Akatsuki headquarter. "How was the investigation? Did you find something?" Itachi asks his vice-captain. "Nothing much! A few of our members encountered some Zetsu clones, but they made quick work of them. However, we did find someone in one of thebs." The Vice-captain points toward an unconscious Anko. A medic-nin of the anbu team is treating her wounds. "Looks like she is the only survivor." The Anbu adds. Hmm Itachi inspects every member of his anbu team and separates a few of them from the rest. The anbu members curiously nce at Itachi''s back and wait for further instructions. "All of you were infested with Zetsu spores during your battle with the Zetsu clones. These Zetsu spores will slowly drain your chakra and will manifest and attack you once you are exhausted." Itachi informs them. "Infuse some of your chakras and cycle it through your skin to activate the spores. The rest of you help them get rid of these Zetsu clones. Meanwhile, I will seal the entrance of this hideout and send a message to the headquarter." Itachi issues an order and walks in front of the entrance. "Did you find any other hidden entrances?" Itachi turns to his vice-captain. "Captain, there are two hidden exits located on either side of this mountain." The vice-captain informs him. "Very well!" Itachi performs the sealing jutsu with the aid of Fuinjutsu scrolls and seals all entrances. He makes amunication request with the headquarter and informs them of the situation. "So, Kabuto and Obito abandoned their headquarters. Looks like they were expecting us. Continue your search for Kabuto. We have to neutralize his threat as soon as possible." Minato cuts off his connection with Itachi. Hmm Itachi nces at themunication ring on his finger. ''A message from In-Ymembers.'' Itachi flickers to some deste ce and opens themunication channel. "Pride here! I read your message about the Akatsuki headquarter. Wraith and I are in the vicinity. We will handle the matter." "Very well!" Itachi sends the coordinates of the ce to him. Soon, Itachi returns beside his anbu team and departs the ce while searching for Kabuto''s tracks. ''With Kabuto''s concealment skill, it will be an arduous task to find his tracks.'' Itachi shakes his head and focuses his attention on the clues at hand. ''Since Kabuto is sending lots of Edo Tensei soldiers into the war, he will require numerous living sacrifices to resurrect them. The sacrifices must be shinobis to maintain the quality of his soldiers. So, he must be hiding somewhere near the battlefield to collect bodies.'' Itachi narrows down the scope of his search. "Let''s search all the battle sectors in the vicinity." ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 485: Enter the Seven Mist Swordsman Chapter 485: Enter the Seven Mist Swordsman A/N:- I hope all of you are doing well. I met a series of unfortunate events in the past week. My father and I sustained injuries in an ident. My father sustained a broken wrist while I had a muscle tear and a cut in my heel and four of my toe nails got clipped. Other than these, there are a few cuts and tears. I have recovered mostly except for my foot which will take atleast another two to three weeks for me to walk properly. Note:- The Fourth Shinobi war willst for seven days in the fan-fic and this arc willst for almost 60 chapters. Comments your thoughts on the pace of the war so far. Should I slow down or hurry up? A quick note, I will try to release extra chapters to make up for the previous days. -------------------------------- Somewhere in Land of Fire, inside a secret underground hideout. Swoosh Kabuto jumps out of the ground. He stares into his vicinity and nods his head in satisfaction. "This ce will do!" Various stctites and stgmites are hanging down from the roof and jutting out from the ground. He ces a shogi board on the ground and takes out several shogi pieces and ces them on the board. "It''s already midnight. A perfect opportunity for me to make my move." Swish swish Thump thump thump He makes a series of hand signs and eight coffins pop out from the ground. "Who else could be more suitable than the former swordsman of the mist?" Bang bang bang The lid of the coffin falls on the ground to reveal seven males and one female shinobi. "Well, I don''t have all the Seven Swords of the Mist. However, I do have a few in my possession." Kabuto takes out a scroll from his clothes. Poof poof poof Kabuto summons four out of seven mist swords. "Too bad. I only have Kabutowari, Kiba, Nuibari, and Shibuki in my possession." Kabuto shakes his head and proceeds to insert a control tag in each of the eight-mist swordsmen to wake them up. The mist swordsman slowly opens their eyes and nce at their surroundings. "Where am I?" They look around in confusion. "I thought I died in that battle. So, how am I still alive?" One of them attempts to move but is unable to. "Huh, is that you Jinin, Kushimaru? I thought you both died in that battle?" "Huh, this voice!" Jinin Akebino, one of the former mist swordsmen and wielder of Kabutowari, turns towards the voice. "Fuguki, it''s you?" He recognizes hispanion. "Of course, it''s me! But I thought you died in that battle against that man." "Hmm I did die in that battle. But how am I still alive? Did someone resurrect me?" Jinin looks at his surroundings and notices several familiar and stranger faces. "It''s you, brat!" Fuguki recognizes Mangetsu''s features. "You seem to be all grown up!" "Huh! Of course, it has been more than eight years since you died." Mangetsu Hozuki opens his mouth. "Eight years?! He has been dead for almost 12 years." Raiga Kurosuki stares at the duo. "Looks like all of us died in a one-time frame or another. And someone resurrected us." Ameyuri Ringo, the sole female member who was silent for the entire time, opens her mouth. "I recognize this jutsu. It''s Orochimaru''s Edo Tensei!" Juzo Biwa, the former member of Akatsuki, recognizes Orochimaru''s signature jutsu. "Orochimaru, that snake!" A few members of the former generation of Seven Mist swordsman grit their teeth. "Kuku now that''s quite the joyful reunion, isn''t it?" Kabuto''s hystericalughter interrupts them. "Who are you?" All of them turn their attention toward Kabuto. Earlier, all of them noticed Kabuto''s presence, but they were too upied to figure out the situation so they ignored his existence. Now, however, it appears to them that their resurrection has something to do with this man. "What rtionship do you have with Orochimaru?" Juzo res at Kabuto. "I am one of Orochimaru''s Sensei disciples." Kabuto''s lips curve in a smile. "And yes, it was me who resurrected all of you." "YOU!" Jinpachi Munashi, one of the seven mist swordsmen, clenches his fist and attacks Kabuto. However, his body stiffens partway and Jinpachi is unable to move any muscle. "Kuku it doesn''t matter to me. What or how did you die? But currently, all of you are my soldiers and thus will follow my everymand." Kabuto snaps his fingers and erases Jinpachi''s personality. He waves his hand, and Jinpachi obediently stands in front of him and bows his head. "I can also do the same to you all If I want. However, I prefer to keep your personality intact since it''s more efficient this way. However, if any of have thoughts to rebel, then I might as well as erase his personality." "I don''t mind fighting for you as long as there are strong opponents." Mangetsu walks towards Kabuto and picks up Shibuki, one of the seven mist des. Shibuki is Jinpachi''s former weapon. Now, since thetter has already lost his personality, it will serve well in his hands. Kabuto turns towards Juzo and continues. "I am in a partnership with Akatsuki and currently we are in a war against the Five Great Nation," Kabuto reveals the information to them all. "Akatsuki, huh? Never heard of it!" The members of the previous generation grip their weapons and shake their heads. "However, if we can fight powerful enemies from other nations; I don''t mind fighting for you. Since I am already dead, it doesn''t matter if you win or lose the war." Fuguki and other members of the previous generation gently caress their des. "So, who is our opponent?" Mangetsu slung the de on his shoulder and re at Kabuto. "Now now you all won''t be fighting a single person but an army. I will guide you all to the battlefield. This will be a Night Raid and your task is to ughter as many strong shinobis as possible." Kabuto''s lips widen in a grin. "An army huh?! Last time, almost all of us died to a single person. Now, I wonder how strong that person ispared to an army." Jinin smashes the axe and hammer of his de together. "You said this body is immortal, right? So, does that mean I can fight to my heart''s content?" Kushimaru licks the corner of his Nuibari needles. "Of course! However, keep in mind that the enemy can still seal you with a Fuinjutsu technique. So, keep an eye out for that." Kabuto reminds them. "It doesn''t matter. Just tell us the location of the battlefield. I also hope to see the swordsman skill of the current generation of shinobis." Ameyuri Ringo opens her eyes and nces at Kabuto. "Very well!" ---------------------- Half an hourter, inside the Allied Shinobi Force Headquarters, Beep beep beep Multiple fast-approaching red beacons appear on the radar of the CPS system. "Enemy attack!" The shinobis in the logistics department swiftly alert the captains of the various sectors. The various captains signal their men and quickly arrange themselves into a formation. Whoosh Two figures appear outside one of the shinobi camps in a sector. "Huh! So, this is the current state of the five great nations." Jinin and Fuguki nce at the timid expressions of various shinobis. "I am disappointed!" Fuguki shakes his head and turns to a few shinobis with Mist''s chakra signature. "Who is the current Mizukage?" He asks one of the Vice-Captains from Kirigakure. The vice-captain recognizes Fuguki as the mist swordsman from the previous generation. He gulps his saliva and musters the courage to answer him. "It''s Lady Mei Terumi from the Terumi n. Hmm the current Mizukage is from the Terumi n and a female at that. I didn''t expect Mist to degrade to such an extent." Fuguki shakes his head. "How strong is the current Kiripared to other nations?" Jinin, who is silent the entire time, raises another question. "Umm currently, Konoha is the strongest Shinobi nation among the five nations. And since Kiri has very close ties with Konoha, then we can say it''s the second strongest." The vice-captain carefully organizes his words and replies to him. The expression of shinobis from other nations falters, but they can''t deny the truth in his words. "Second strongest?! Close ties with Konoha? What''s with this crap?" Jinin''s expression turns ugly. He hates shinobis from Konoha with passion. Almost all of his family and friends died in the war against Konoha during the Second and Third Shinobi War. His parents died in the Second Shinobi War and his friend and lover died in the Third Shinobi War. He himself died to a Konoha shinobi who was protecting his son. "Umm" The vice-captain notices the ugly expression on Jinin''s face but replies to him, nheless. "The current Mizukage Mei Terumi is married to a member of the Uchiha n, Izuna Uchiha. Izuna Uchiha is the current strongest shinobi of the shinobi world and is almost on par with the God of the Shinobi, Hashirama Senju." He reveals a few things to Jinin. "There is no need to reply to him anymore. He is an Edo-Tensei and is currently our enemy. We should seal him as soon as possible." A few shinobis from other nations gather their courage and surround Jinin and Fuguki. "Attack!" The group of shinobisunches an attack on them in a formation. Theyunch various projectiles toward the duo. "Your formation is not too bad for a group of rag-tag bunch. However, your strength is too weak." Jinin ps his hands. His long red hairs turn hard. "Sharp Hair Spear Might," The hard hairs deflect every projectile and pierce through the body of multiple shinobis, killing them in the process. "Allied Shinobi Force, huh?! Let me see how strong you are!" Fuguki grabs a giant chakra de between his fingers. "Nice de! However, its user is too weak." He clenches his hand into a fist and punches through the guts of the wielder of the de. Whoosh Swoosh sh Fubuki flips the giant sword in his hand and performs a horizontal sh with it. His sh severs multiple shinobis in half. "Don''t engage them in closebat. Trap them using the Earth Release and bombard them with long-range attacks." The Captain swiftly issues a series ofmands. Chapter 486: Blunt sword Kabutowari Chapter 486: Blunt sword Kabutowari Whoosh The shinobis swiftly separate from the two-mist swordsman and the Iwa shinobis create an earth prison wall around the two. "Attack them!" The captain yells and makes a series of hand signs. "Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld," The captain alters the solid ground into the mud to sink the two mist swordsmen. "Pour more water in the swamp!" Multiple water release users make a series of hand signs and spew out jets of water into the swamp to restrict their movements. "Earth Release: Mineral Assimtion," One of the vice-captains makes a series of hand signs and excavates various minerals from the ground and pours them into the swamp to create a slurry. "Use Fire Jutsu to heat it!" The captain yells and sends a message to headquarters for backup. The fire users heat the slurry to solidify it into a concrete mixture. Jinin and Fuguki are trapped inside the solid mixture. "Did we get them?" The shinobis warily stare at the group. "Let''s seal them before they could free themselves." One of the vice-captains instructs the sealing team. "Yes, sir!" The members of the sealing team ce down the sealing scrolls from their backs and make a series of hand signs. "This was surprisingly easy!" Other vice-captains stare at the Mist vice-captain. "Well umm" Before the Mist vice-captain could reply. Hmm The captain''s face changes drastically as he senses a surge of chakra beneath the ground. "EVERBODY, MOVE!" The captain screams to warn his teammates. However, BOOM A powerful explosion urs with the sealing team at the center. The powerful explosion engulfs the sealing team and a few nearby shinobis. Even the vice-captain from Sunagakure is caught in the explosion. Blood stters onto the battlefield as body parts of the sealing unit members spread throughout the area, much to the horror of some shinobis. Dust and smoke block their vision. "What what happened?" The vice-captain from Kiri stares at the situation with horror. "This isn''t good!" The captain immediately enters into abat stance. Whoosh A figure leaps out of the smoke and punches the captain with bare fists. "Explosion Release: Landmine Fist," An Edo Tensei with spiky, light brown hairs and a prominent jawline target the captain. "Crap!" The captain crosses his arm andyers them with earth release. BOOM A powerful unidirectional explosion covers the captain''s body and sends him away flying. Bang The captain smashes through multiple trees and hits a boulder. Bleurgh He pukes out a mouthful of blood and bleeds from the forehead. The captain''s arms are brutally scorched from the explosion despite shielding them with the Earth Release. Cough cough He coughs slightly and wipes out the blood from his mouth. The captain takes eats a recovery pill and slowly stands up. "That''s that''s Gari of the explosion release from the explosion corps." The Iwagakure vice-captain recognizes the attacker. "So, someone still remembers me after my death." Gari turns towards the Iwa Vice-captain. "Captain!" One of thebat medics from the medic unit swiftly treats the captain''s wounds while Gari engages with the Iwa vice-captain. "Don''t fight in closebat with me. Your body will explode at the touch of his hands." He avoids Gari''s punches. Boom Boom Explosion sets off wherever Gari touches with his palm. "Let me help you!" The Kumogakure vice-captain swings his giant de to disrupt Gari''s attack. He makes a series of hand signs. "Lightning Release: Discharge Over burst," He ps his hands and releases a powerful burst of lightning toward Gari. Boom Whoosh Gari explodes the ground underneath him with his feet and leaps into the air to avoid the lightning-release attack. The Kumo vice-captain attempts to follow up with an overhead chop. However, "Where do you think you are going?" A giant axe smashes toward his head. ng "Damn it! They got freed." He blocks the Kabutowari axe with his de. "I am not done yet!" Jinin follows up the attack with a swing of the Kabutowari hammer on top of the axe and breaks apart the giant de into pieces. CLANG CLANK Kabutowari, the blunt sword- is capable of breaking through any defense and smashing apart any weapon into pieces. The Kiri vice-captain''s expression turns grim. "Yo, brat! I haven''t fought with anyone in a long time. Entertain me a little, will you?" Fuguki swings his giant stolen de toward the Kiri shinobi''s neck. ng The Kiri shinobi blocks the de with his kunai. However, Fuguki follows up with a kick and pushes him away. Guffaw The Kiri vice-captain wipes the blood from his mouth and warily gazes at Fuguki. "Tch looks like the shinobi nowadays are cking off in their training. If that''s the case, I might as well end this farce." "Fuguki Suikazan, the former wielder of the Shark Skin, Samehada, not only possesses an enormous amount of chakra but also possesses immense physical strength. In terms of raw power, he was the strongest mist swordsman of his generation. However" The Kiri vice-captain smiles and sps his hand together. "Water Release: Droplet Spear," Blub Blub Several water droplets float around Fuguki. HAAH The water droplet converges on top of Fuguki and bombards him from all directions in the form of mini spears. Pew pew pew They pierce through Fuguki''s body without giving him a chance to retaliate. Huff huff The Kiri vice-captain breathes heavily as Fuguki stops in his ce. "Did he get him?" He warily stares at the silent Fuguki. Bwahaha Suddenly, Fuguki burst out inughter and slowly walks towards the Kiri shinobi. "Not bad! I might be slightly hurt if was alive. However, this body doesn''t feel any pain. Be careful of my next attack!" Fuguki infuses the chakra into the chakra de and lifts it. The de of the sword elongates as Fuguki performs a vertical swing. "Water Release: Great Splitting water exploding wave cutter," BOOM The water de slices through the ground in a straight line and multiple jets of water erupt from the ground, cleaving through the shinobi army. He performs another horizontal swing and slices multiple shinobis in half. Bang Jinin smashes the Kabutowari hammer on the ground, sting a crater at the point of impact. The Kumo shinobi barely avoids the attack. "How can we even stop them?" The Kiri vice-captain despairs. Fwish Suddenly, a bolt of blue lightning shes past his eyes. Huh! The Kiri vice-captain blinks in confusion. "What was that?" "Die!" Jinin follows the hammer attack with a charged axe attack to chop the Kumo captain. CLANG. Suddenly, a bolt of blue lightning shes in front of him and blocks the attack. AH! The Kumo vice-captain was prepared to ept his death and is surprised to see the figure in front of him. "Raikage-sama!" Joy appears on his face as he recognizes the figure blocking the axe attack with vambraces. Lightning sparks flicker across the vambrace as A pushes the axe back. "You think you can stop me!" Jinin smirks and follows the axe attack by smashing the hammer on top of the axe. BANG The ground beneath A''s leg crumbles, but thetter steadily holds his own. Bzzt Crackle Lightning flickers across A''s other arm. "Lightning Release: Quake sh Strike," BANG He smashes his other fist into Jinin''s body and sends him flying across the forest. KRRK CRACKLE Lighting flickers across A''s eyes as he stomps his feet on the ground. "BOLT TACKLE," BOOM A lightning bolt explodes at A''s former position as he vanishes from his spot and reappears above Jinin. "DIE!" A sp both his hands into a fist and smashes them on top of Jinin''s body. The powerful blows away half of Jinin''s body. A grab the Kabutowari de and turn towards the Kumo shinobi. "What are you gawking at? Hurry up and seal him!" A''s yell wakes up the Kumo vice-captain from his reverie. "Yes, Raikage-sama!" The Vice-captain quickly takes a sealing tag from his pocket and applies it on top of Jinins''s body. Besides, the sealing corps, every captain and vice-captain of a regiment is given a bunch of sealing tags for such situations. "Next up!" A turn his attention towards Fuguki, who is rampaging through the shinobi army. The members of the allied shinobi force are frantically escaping away from him. "I will get to himter since he is a bit troublesome." A turn his attention to Gari, who is fighting against the Konoha Captain and Iwa Vice-captain. Bzzt Crackle A cloak his body in lightning and flicker towards Gari. He clenches his fist and punches thetter. Gari also notices A''s presence. Thetter coat his arms in explosive chakra. His palm emits a blinding light. "Explosion Release: Exploding Palm," "Lightning Release: Quake sh Strike," BOOM Chapter 487: Traitor of Mist Chapter 487: Traitor of Mist BOOM The impact of both jutsu creates a powerful explosion at the point of impact. Dust and smoke shroud A while Gari jumps out of the explosion. Gari''s left arm is blown by the st. "Huh! I got hurt." Gari stares at his rapidly regenerating arm. Whoosh A also jumps out of the dust cloud with clenched fists. "How are you still fine?" Gari is surprised to see a perfectly fine A. "Lightning is the weakness of the earth release. The explosion release is also abination of earth release and lightning release. My lightning jutsu counter the earth release." BANG A punches Gari''s face and sends him flying. Gari also ms his fist into A''s chest. ''Explosion Release: Landmine fist,'' Boom The explosion hurls A in the air, but thetter blocks the damage using his lightning cloak. He swiftly closes the distance and rapidly punches Gari from all sides. A overpowers Gari in all aspects. He picks up Gari using his brute strength and ms him around like a rag doll. BZZT CRACKLE A riles up his chakra. Lightning flickers across his eyes as he infuses lightning in his arms. His arms swell up slightly and his veins pop out on the surface of his skin. "LlIIGGGOOORRR BOOOMMBBB!!" A ms Gari''s body into the ground and blows him to smithereens. Dust and ashes spread in the surrounding and a giant crater appear around his feet. Lightning crackles across the crater. Crack snap A crack his neck and turns his attention to Fuguki. "Two down, one more to go!" A leaves the sealing of Gari to the captain and vice-captains. Lightning flicker across his feet as he reappears in front of Fuguki. A clenches his finger into a fist and aims for Fuguki''s head. BANG Fuguki anticipates A''s movements and blocks his attack with the giant sword. Wind swirls around Fuguki''s de as he negates A''s lightning. ng Both of them separate from each other and carefully read each other''s movements. Fuguki calmly stares at A and opens his mouth. "Looks like the third Hokage taught you really well!" "Words of praise are worth feces from the mouth of a traitor!" A mocks his as he recalls Kumo''s previous deal with the former leader of the Seven Mist Swordsman Fuguki Suikazan. Despite being the leader of the Seven Mist Swordsman, Fuguki betrayed Kiri in hopes of survival during the Kiri civil war. Fuguki''s life-threatening battle against Night Duy left him with severe internal injuries that were too difficult to recover from. This led to a rapid decline in Fuguki''s power and status in the vige. So, despite being the leader of the Mist Swordsman, Fuguki was a disposable piece to the elders of the conservative faction. They wanted to drain all of his value before discarding him like trash. Fuguki was also aware of his status quo and thus wanted to escape from the clutches of Kiri''s elders. So, he sold the information to enemy nations around Kirigakure. Kumogakure was one of the nations who bought the intel and A was precisely the leader of the party that handled the trade. So, he recognized Fuguki the instant their eyes met. However, who could have expected that the conservative faction of Kirigakure became aware of Fuguki''s action. So, they assigned a shinobi of their own named Kisame Hoshigaki to Fuguki''s Cypher division. Kisame caught Fuguki in the act of betrayal and managed to ughter him in the end. After Fuguki''s death, Kisame took his Mist sword Samehada for himself and joined the conservative faction as the new Seven Swordsman of the Mist. However, who could have expected that Kisame wouldter betray the conservative faction and join Akatsuki. Kirigakure also hid the news about Fuguki''s death from the rest of the world since it''s a shameful matter for one of the Seven Mist swordsmen of mist to be a traitor to the vige. After being reminded of his dark history, Fuguki grits his teeth. His eyes turn red and his chakra bes erratic. Fuguki''s hairs float in the air and harden. "That battle was a blemish on my reputation. Six of us fought in that battle against a genin from Konoha. And yet, only three of us survived to tell the tale. Everything went downhill from that point. If not for my injuries, how could I have died in the hands of a mere subordinate of mine." Fuguki turns to A with a malevolent expression. "Brat! I will teach you the lesson your father forgot to teach you." RUMBLE Ground cracks underneath Fuguki as thetter riles up his chakra. He was the former wielder of Samehada and as such his chakra reserves were monstrous to handle that chakra-leeching sword. SHOOM A pir of chakra bes visible to the naked eyes as Fuguki stares daggers at A. Swish swish swish Fuguki makes a series of hand signs and opens his mouth. "Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave," He spits out arge amount of water from his mouth. The water surges into gigantic waves each measuring up to tens of meters high. Fuguki rides on top of the waves as they st into A with immense might. Hmph A snort and riles up his chakra. His hair rises into hair from the surge of lighting chakra. A lifts his hand in the air and swings it down into a vertical motion. "Lightning Oppression Vertical Chop," BOOM A sharp bolt of lightning escapes from A''s arm and shes apart the approaching tidal wave. Fuguki jumps down from the top of the wave. Hepresses and infuses arge amount of water chakra into the giant chakra de. The de of the chakra de turns pale blue at first. Fuguki infuses the chakra till the de turns to a shade of deep blue. "Water Release: Crushing Mountain Splitting Earth sh," The de increases in length and shes across the battlefield into an arc. The chakra giant sword releases a powerful crescent water de that shes through the ground and splits an area of fifty meters in half. A powerful pir of water explodes from the ground and rains down as sharp water spears. Haah A avoids the initial crescent water de with his speed. He slowly removes his vambraces to reveal his ck lightning tattoo. "I have seen your strength, now it''s my turn." HAAAAHHH ck lightning flickers across A''s eyes. His entire lightning chakra turns ck and a red glow appears in A''s eyes. "ck Lightning: Doom hammer," Abines both his hands into a fist and raises them above his head. ck lightning gathers around his hands and strikes the area around him. Whoosh A disappear from his ce and reappear above Fuguki. ''His speed is much faster than before. My eyes can''t keep up!'' Fuguki murmurs as heunches an omnidirectional barrage of hair needles from his head. Bang bang pew pew The chakra infuses hairs pierces through surrounding rocks and trees and slices chunks of the ground in its vicinity. However, A ignores the rapidly approaching hair needles. His cloak of ck lightning disintegrates the hairs into ashes before it could pierce his skin. Haah Fuguki elongates his hair and covers his entire body with them. The steel-like hairs surround with me a defensiveyer with multiple spiky protrusions. As soon as A''s hands reach Fuguki''s body, he opens his palms and discharges a powerful bolt of lightning that shred apart Fuguki''s hair defenses and pierces all the way through his body. The powerful bolt of ck lightning splits his body in half and enters the ground while drilling a ginormous hole beneath them. "Hmph even if you were alive and in your peak condition, you would suffer the same fate under my hands." A snorts and turns around. The remaining members of the sealing team and vice-captain quickly surround Fuguki''s still-recovering body. They ce various sealing tags on his body and immobilize him. "RAIKAGE SAMA!" Shinobis from Kumogakure cheer for the victory of their leader. "It''s nothing much!" A nod at them and turns toward the captain of the unit. "Vacate this sector and regroup with another unit from a different sector. I will move to the next sector to provide backup." Whoosh A swiftly flickers away without waiting for any response from the captain. "Yes,mander!" The Konoha captain bows his head in A''s direction and turns his attention to his unit. "Let''s move towards the sector in the north. Earlier, during Raikage Sama''s battle, I heard a loud explosion noise in that direction. Let''s lend our strength to ourrades!" "Yes, captain!" The surviving members resolutely raise their hands and march forward in the particr direction mentioned by their leader. This is just the first wave of attack in Kabuto''s night raid. Simr attacks are urring in almost every sector. The attacks were so intense that Minato and Shikaku had to slightly alter their n and send A to the battlefield to prevent casualties. The night battle rages on. Chapter 488: Omoi’s Determination Chapter 488: Omois Determination A simr situation urs at a different battlefield as a toon of lightning division runs into a group of former Seven Mist Swordsman consisting of Ameyuri Ringo, Juzo Biwa, and an Ice release user from the Yuki n of Kiri. Together with the Yuki n member, the two former mist swordsman shrouds the entire battlefield in heavy mist and blocks the vision of the lightning division members. Ringo and Juzo perform the Hiding in the Mist technique and perform Silent Killing on the members of the lightning division. While the ice release user from the Yuji n rains down shards of ice on the shinobis. He covers a portion of the battlefield in a blizzard as Kabuto takes advantage of an Edo Tensei''s unlimited chakra regeneration to create a domain of snow on the battlefield. Casualties pile up as the lightning toon loses several members, including two of their captains. "Damn it! At this rate, we can''t hold for much longer." Omoi repels a sneak attack from Ameyuri Ringo as injuries slowly pile up on his hand. He wipes the blood from a cut on his face and carefully assesses his surroundings. "With all this mist, I can''t even sense their location, since this mist also contains their chakra." Zaji, the sensor of the team, shakes his head as his back is locked against Omoi''s. "Captain, when will reinforcement arrive?" Omoi blocks Ringo''s attack with his sword and makes a series of hand signs. He spews out a bolt of lightning from his mouth to attack Ringo, but thetter turns out to be a water clone. sh Ameyuri Ringo appears behind another vice-captain and shes his arm with her sword. BZZT CRACKLE She discharges lightning bolts from her twin lightning sword, Kiba. ARRGH The vice-captain scream in pain and loses his life as she stabs the de through thetter''s head. Ssh Blood sshes on the battlefield as the vice-captain clutches his neck and lifelessly falls to the ground. Ameyuri turns around and points her de toward Omoi, telling him it''s his turn next. Gulp Omoi gulps his saliva. "Damn it! I didn''t have even a girlfriend yet and I am about to die now." Omoi clutches his de and patiently waits for Ameyuri Ringo to make a move. Sweat trickled down his forehead. Meanwhile, multiple shinobis from the lightning division attempt to run away from the mist in order to preserve their life. "Stop Running! Isn''t there anyone that can make my heart flutter with their techniques?" sh sh One after another, Ameyuri executes one shinobi after another with a swift sh of her sword. The captain of the toon helplessly stares at the state of hisrades as he is engaged in a battle against Juzo Biwa, another of the seven mist swords. Currently, Juzo is wielding a giant sword he robbed from the corpse of a shinobi he killed earlier. His signature weapon, Kubikiribch, or the Executioner''s de, is missing. However, even without the de, Juzo is more than a match for the captain. The captain is barely able to preserve his life with some help from other shinobis. The situation is not looking good on the other side of the battle too as the remaining vice-captains are locked in a fight against the Ice Release user from the Yuki n giving Free rein to Ameyuri to chop down shinobis like grass. "It''s no fun when all of you are running around like that." Ameyuri stops in her tracks. She points her twin de Kiba, towards the sky. BZZT CRACKLE BOOM A bolt of lightning falls from the sky. She crosses the twin de and stabs them into the ground. "Lightning Release: Thunder Gate," *BOOM* A powerful surge of lightning flickers across the entire forest. The powerful lightning bolt burns down nearby trees and dissipates the surrounding mist. The lightning bolts pierce through multiple shinobis, instantly killing them in the process. "Yurui!" Omoi clenches his sword in fury, as his friend loses consciousness from Ameyuri''s attack. "Damn it! I''ve had enough of this! How many of our friends have died already? I can''t watch this any longer!" "Stop it, Omoi! We can''t fight someone on her level with our skills. Let''s use this opportunity when she is attacking other toon members to escape and inform the division head to request backup." "No, I can''t watch myrades die like this. I better be called a martyr than a coward!" Omoi takes a step forward and charges toward Ameyuri with a sword in his hand. "Omoi, you!" The other shinobis from Kumo stare at his back. "I thought you were a cautious type. Since you dare to show courage in such a hopeless situation, then how can I back away? I will help you." Another of Omoi''s friend flicker beside him. "In that case, let''s take her down together." Ameyuri turns around and notices Omoi''s squad rushing towards her while the rest of the shinobis are running away from her. "Oh, someone with a backbone!" Ameyuri lifts her twin des and stares into Omoi''s eyes. She notices the determination and courage in thetter''s eyes. Thump Ameyuri''s heart skips a beat at his expression. "Oh, I finally met someone who can flutter my heart. But do you possess the strength to back up your bravery?" Whoosh With a burst of speed, Omoi appears in front of Ameyuri while she deflects various kunais and shuriken thrown at her by Omoi''s friend to act as a distraction for thetter. Bang She stomps her legs and jumps in the air to avoid multiple earth spikes from the ground. "Cloud Style: Deception Beheading," He charges forward with ateral sword sh aiming to behead Ameyuri with a single swing while she is still in the air. ng ng Ameyuri deflects the shurikens and kunais with one of her des and blocks his sword with her other de. Both of them engage in a sword battle and Ameyuri easily overwhelms him despite the help from the sidelines. "I have fought against multiple shinobis from various nations during the previous war. I met many men during those battles. Some of them were afraid of me and choose to run away. Some of them were overconfident in their strength and lost their life under by de. However, you you are different!" Ameyuri stares at Omoi''s still trembling hands and legs. "Despite your fear, you are still determined to fight me with no chance of victory. Is it your foolishness or the courage of a reckless man? I wonder which one is it?" "No! It''s not like that" Omoi firmly grabs his sword and parries her de sideway by adjusting his strength at thest moment. "I am a cautious guy by nature who doesn''t like to fight his enemies if things could be solved in a simple manner. However, currently, I am fighting for the sake of protecting myrades. So, even if I have to risk my life, I don''t want to see them dying in front of my eyes." Omoi resolutely clutches his sword and takes a Kenjutsu stance and closes his eyes. "Hehe you are quite funny, kid! It''s the first time I have seen someone like you. If only I met you earlier." Ameyuri smiles and gathers lightning chakra around her body. Fwoosh Suddenly, she disappears from Omoi''s vision and reappears behind him. "I was waiting for you!" Omoi suddenly opens his eyes and shes his de in a single,rge, crescent moon-shaped arc with a ferocious speed. sh Omoi''s de shes through Ameyuri''s legs as thetter managed to avoid her neck in the nick of time. Her des close up on Omoi as thetter closes his eyes to wee his death. However, after a few seconds, the expected pain didn''t arrive. Omoi opens his eyes and notices Ameyuri struggling to hold her hands from chopping off his head. Ah! The sudden unexpected scene surprises him. "Kid, I like you very much. So, run as far away as you can. I can no longer control my body." Ameyuri''s hands tremble as she holds the de an inch away from Omoi''s neck by sheer willpower. Gulp Omoi gulps his saliva. However, he resolutely shakes his head. "I can''t! This is a battle I must fight to protect my friends." Hehe A genuine smile appears on Ameyuri''s face for the very first time. "If not, only I had met you earlier!" At a far away distance, in a secret hideout. "Now! Now! I don''t want my weapons to feel any emotions." Kabuto makes a Ram hand sign. Back on the battlefield, Shoom Ameyuri''s eyes turn ck as shepletely loses her personality and control over her body. She grabs the twin sword and raises them toward the sky and channels a huge amount of lightning chakra through them. "RUN! She is about to release another of those powerful attacks." Omoi warns his friends and swiftly escapes from the range of her jutsu. ''Lightning Release: Thunderbolt Discharge," She gathers multiple lightning clouds in the sky with her chakra. Ameyuri points Kiba towards the sky. The twin swords act as a lightning rod and attract the lightning strike from the sky. Boom A thunderbolt reverberates through the forest, piercing everyone''s ear drums in the vicinity. Ameyuri wields the lightning de and swings in a vertical motion toward Omoi and his group. BOOM. Chapter 489: A Song of Ice Chapter 489: A Song of Ice Boom Ameyuri''s lightning attack snakes forward on a straight path, aiming for Omoi and his teammate''s lives. "This time we are done for sure!" Omoi sighs in helplessness. Whoosh Suddenly, a figure jumps in front of the lightning attack. The figure blocks the lightning attack with his bare hands. "It''s still too soon for you to give up, young man!" Ah! "Vicemander Kakashi!" Omoi recognizes the figure, and relief appears on his face. "Reinforcement is here!" His teammates celebrate with joy. Kakashi turns towards them and rys an order. "All of you fall back and regroup with the rest of the toon. I will hold her back." "Yes,mander!" The group hastily retreats. Only Omoi stays behind. "You aren''t going back with the rest of your group?" Kakashi nces at him as he neutralizes Ameyuri''s attack. Smoke rises from Kakashi''s hands as the coating of wind chakra on his hand dispersed. "Commander I Can I stay back and fight?" Hmm Kakashi notices the determination in Omoi''s eyes. "Alright, I will allow it. However, you must follow my orders and should absolutely retreat at the first sign of danger. Is that clear?" "Ys yss captain! No, I meanmander. I mean yes!" He stutters with his words. "It''s fine as long as you understand. Also, just call me Kakashi-senpai." Kakashi shrugs off his shoulders and focuses his attention on Ameyuri, who is charging towards him with the twin des Kiba. "That''s definitely one of the seven most swords, Kiba! They were lost after Kiri''s civil war. It''s a good opportunity to retrieve them." Swish swish Kakashi makes a series of hand signs. "Wind Release: Pressure canon," Kakashi inhales arge amount of air and spews out multiple rings of wind. BOOM BOOM The wind rings explode on top of Ameyuri and disperse the lightning around her body. Fwish Kakashi draws a chakra de and swings it toward Ameyuri to block her attack. "It has been a while since Ist wielded a sword." ng ng Kakashi engages in a sword fight with her and is evenly matched against her sword skills. "Woah! Amazing!" The rest of the shinobi stares at Kakashi''s battle in amazement. "Commander Kakashi''s Kenjutsu skills are almost on par with one of the seven mist swordsmen." They marvel at his Kenjutsu proficiency. "Of course!" One of the veteran shinobi nods his head in affirmation. "Commander Kakashi Hatake is the son of Supreme Commander Sakumo Hatake, who is known for his powerful Kenjutsu skills. It''s said that Sakumo-sama''s sword skills are greater than that of former Seven Mist Swordsman." The war veteran continues. "Back then, during the second shinobi war, Sakumo-sama fought against multiple members of the Seven Mist swordsman. Not only did he survive the battle, he managed to kill two of the seven mist swordsmen and escape from their ambush. This battle marked the legend of the White Fang of Konoha, since his white chakra de reaped the lives of enemies like the fangs of a wolf." The war veteran shares his experience of the battle. "Commander Kakashi is no less amazing than his father. Perhaps he is even more amazing." Omoi, who has turned into a Kakashi fan at this point, interrupts them. Meanwhile, Kakashi easily parries the attack of Ameyuri and gains an advantage over her in terms of Kenjutsu skills. "It would be a bit difficult if she was in control of her body. But with her free will gone, she is only as good as her puppeteer in terms of skills." Seeing Ameyuri locked in a deadlock with Kakashi, Kabuto decides to use her trump card to finish the battle. Whoosh Ameyuri kicks the ground and retreats from Kakashi. She stabs her twin des into the ground and makes a series of quick hand signs. She picks up the twin des and crosses them as she points them toward the sky. "Secret Technique: Thunder sword Kiba: Sword of Punishment," Bzzt Crackle Arge amount of lightning gathers in the sky and forms a gigantic sword in the air. The giant lightning sword suspends over Ameyuri''s head as she slowly points the twin de towards Kakashi. The lightning de falls down on Kakashi''s forehead, simr to an executioner''s guillotine to sever Kakashi in half. "Unfortunately for you, a secret technique is only as powerful as its wielder, and currently, in terms of lightning jutsu, I am slightly more powerful than you." HAAH Kakashi stretches out his palm in front of his chest. BZZT CRACKLE. CHIRP CHIII Purple lightning gathers in Kakashi''s hands. Multiple bolts of purple lightning flicker around his body and rip apart the nearby ground. Kakashi stretches his palm back and shapes the purple lightning into the form of a spear. "Secret technique: Purple Lightning: Chidori Sharp Spear," Kakashi wields the lightning spear and smashes apart the giant lightning sword with a single swing of his spear. Whoosh He flickers in front of Ameyuri and stabs the spear through her chest. The purple lightning spear pierces through Ameyuri''s heart. The lightning paralyzes her movements and Ameyuri slowly regains control over her body as Kakashi''s earlier attack destroys themand seal within her body. Ameyuri''s body glows with white light as the dust and ashes around her start to dissipate. She casts ast nce towards Omoi and remarks. "I''ll be waiting for you on the other side." With thesest words and a smile, Ameyuri''s body and soul fade away, leaving behind a stunned Omoi. "Did I just get proposed?" He stands in a spot with a stunned expression. Kakashi recovers the twin de Kiba and stores them. He turns to the rest of the group. "Recover the bodies of your fallenrades and erase all trace of their blood, hair, or anything, for that matter. We don''t want them to fall into the enemy''s hands." "Yes, Senpai!" The group hastily follows Kakashi''s order and recovers the bodies of their fallenrades. Meanwhile, the rest of the reinforcement also arrives. "Kakashi Hatake!" Zabuza joins the battle, with Haku by his side. "Zabuza, it''s been a while since Ist saw you." Kakashi nods at him. Zabuza wields a giant sword on his shoulder and stares at the battle between Juzo and the captain. "Let me fight this battle. I would also like to see how I fare against my predecessor." "Kakashi-sama, please let me fight that person from the Yuki n." Haku requests to battle the Ice release user from the Yuki n. "Hmm do you by any chance know that person?" Kakashi enquires. "Mm" Haku nods his head. "He is my uncle! I met him once I was small. He came to pick up my mother and escape from the Land of Water. However, my mother refused to leave with him. Later, my father discovered her identity as a member of the Yuki n because of me. He gathered the vigers and the vigers sentenced her to death." Tears flow from Haku''s eyes as he recalls his past. "Very well!" Haku wipes his tears and walks towards the Yuki n member. "Uncle!" He utters these words as he confronts thetter. "You are you are Kohaku''s son. Haku!" Tears flow from Haku''s uncle''s eyes as he recognizes Haku. "It''s good to see that you are alive." Haku''s uncle smiles at him as he fights the several vice-captains. "Please leave it to me!" Haku turns towards the various vice-captains and requests. "But he you!" The vice-captains hesitate, as Haku is just a young man. "Let me fight him!" Kakashi''s voice echoes in their ears. "Commander Kakashi!" The vice-captain notices Kakashi and nods in respect. Haku takes a step forward toward his uncle. Shiing Shiing Several ice shards gather behind Haku''s back to form a halo of ice. "Another Ice Release user!" The vice-captain''s eyes widen in shock. "Ice Release: Song of a thousand spear," Haku ps his hand and the several ice shards around him turn into multiple ice spears. BANG BANG Ice spears rain down on the battlefield and break apart the ice domain and shatter the several ice mirrors in the vicinity. The ice spears continue to rain down and pierce through the Yuki n member''s body, incarcerating him in a ce. "Uncle!" Haku towards his uncle with wet eyes. "Haku!" The Yuki n shinobi gently caresses Haku''s face as his body shimmer with a white glow. "Sometime after I left the vige, I came to visit Kohaku again. However, I couldn''t find any traces of you and your mother. Later, I learned from the vigers that both of you are dead. I was heartbroken after hearing the news. Later, I was captured and experimented upon. In one of those gruesome experiments, I lost my life." Haku''s uncle reveals his fate after Kohaku''s death. "The name of my captor is Orochimaru!" Haku''s uncle slowly dissipates and vanishes, finally freed from a lifetime of agony. "So, that''s how it is!" Kakashi nods as he walks beside Haku and gently pats thetter''s back. "I am sure your uncle will find peace after knowing you are safe and sound." Mm Haku wipes his tears and turns in the direction of Zabuza''s battle. ''Uncle, Mom! I finally found my family.'' ---------------------- A/N:- After the bridge battle with Haku and Zabuza, Izuna instructed Haku in the ice release. So, it is because of this Haku one-shot his opponent when others were struggling. Keep in mind when Haku''s uncle was alive, he was modified by Orochimaru to increase his strength. Chapter 490: End of the Night battle Chapter 490: End of the Night battle Zabuza also wins his battle against Juzo and shes Juzo''s body in half with a swing of the executioner''s de. Sigh Juzo sighs and closes his eyes. "I did many things which weren''t honorable as one of the seven mist swordsmen. However, now I can rest in peace knowing that the future is in secure hands and Kubikiribch found a worthy wielder." "Yes, you are right!" Zabuza walks beside Juzo and nces in Haku''s direction. "The future is indeed in secure hands, but I am not the worthy wielder of this sword. Like you, I also lived as a rogue and did many dishonorable acts. But unlike you, I got a second chance and was able to right my wrongs. So, I am only holding onto this de until a worthy wielder for this de appears." Zabuza gently caresses the de of the Kubikiribch. "I see!" Juzo closes his eyes and his body slowly dissipates away. Zabuza walks towards Haku and pats thetter''s shoulder. During the battle, he overheard the conversation between Haku and his uncle. "Your uncle and mother don''t want to see you sulk over their death. I am sure they would be proud of the current you." Haku turns towards Zabuza and asks him. "Zabuza-san, are you proud of me?" "Me?!" Zabuza is stunned by Haku''s question. "Of course, I am proud of you. You have long exceeded my expectations and have grown far stronger than I ever could." Zabuza nods at him after a while. Haku closes his eyes and nods at Zabuza''s response. Kakashi notices the interaction between Zabuza and Haku. ''I see!'' He shakes his head at Zabuza''s cluelessness. "Let''s return to the camp." Kakashi turns to the captain and various vice-captains. Other than the third sub-division, the rest of the division also underwent multiple battles. Although all of them sessfully repelled the attacks, it came at a cost. Back at the headquarters, The intelligence division tallied the casualties, and the count reached a thousand deaths. With this, the Allied shinobi force suffered a death count of four thousand deaths on the very first day of the battle. A clench his fists and ms the table as he reads the report. "What are the search parties for finding Kabuto''s whereabouts doing?" "Raikage-sama, they are still looking for Kabuto''s whereabouts?" The leader of the recon division has an anxious expression on his face. "I think it''s about time for us to enter the battlefield," Onoki suggests. "Mm Lord Tsuchikage is right! The Allied shinobi force suffered massive casualties. The morale of our shinobis is at an all-time low after witnessing the death of their closerades. At this rate, we will lose this battle for sure." Rasa agrees with Onoki''s words. "Very well! Tomorrow, the Kages will enter the battlefield and we will reduce the perimeter of the battlefield. We will make aeback with a fierce counterattack and destroy the enemy army." Minato shares simr sentiment as the rest. "Also, about those figures in ck, they?" Onoki inquires about the origin of a strange group of cloaked figures. "They are a secret elite squad of mypany," Mei replies to him. "I see! No wonder!" Onoki nods in understanding. With the deep pockets of Kaminomegumi, it''s not difficult for them to employ a few very powerful shinobis. Despite their disy of strength, Onoki and the rest of the group had some doubts about the familiar abilities of this group. However, they decide to keep their mouth shut since these shinobis are their allies. Minato, Tsunade, and Mei also didn''t deem it necessary to further reveal any information about this group. The meeting ends, and everyone returns to their camp to take a rest. Minato sighs and stares at the giant map of the battlefield. Even though they expected a night raid from Akatsuki. Kabuto didn''t hold back his punches and used most of his cards. The allied shinobi force sealed a total of three hundred Edo Tensei shinobi and most of these were elites. The former seven mist swordsman were just a small part of it. The ambush group also included the members of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas from Konoha, members of the explosive corps from Iwagakure, the infamous puppeteer squad from Sunagakure, and the former Storm trooper squad from Kumogakure. The puppeteer squad and the Storm Trooper squads were a famous group of shinobis from the era of the First and second shinobi war. The puppet expert Lady Chiyo was also a former member of the Puppeteer squad and the Storm Trooper squad was created by the First Raikage to act as bodyguards for the Kage. Other than these figures, the main soldiers of the Edo Tensei army were the various former test subjects of Orochimaru. These test subjects consisted of several shinobis with Kekkei Genkai or inhuman strength and chakra. They retained their modifications before their death without any side effects and were the main group responsible for the high number of casualties on the battlefield. It was a tough battle to neutralize the threats of these groups. However, the Allied shinobi group was able to pull through with the sudden arrival of a group of cloaked figures. There were a total of seven of those cloaked figures and all of them were at a level above elites. These cloaked figures took on more than one opponent and managed to defeat them with ease. However, after sealing the Edo Tensei, these figures will vanish from the battlefield. The helpless captains from various squads could only consider them as part of the tactical reinforcement from the headquarters. But of course, this cloaked group was none other than the shadow branch of the In-Y. Prior to the battle, Minato instructed them to act as reinforcement during the war when required. Back in a secret underground hideout, Kabuto stares at the various ck and white pieces on the Shogi board. "I fulfilled my end of the deal with Tobi, and the war began with an explosive opening. Though, I lost several pieces in the process. For tomorrow''s battle, I will pull back and let Tobi handle the rest. Also" Kabuto narrows his eyes and gazes toward the surface. "There are several hounds of the Allied Shinobi Force in the vicinity. Sooner orter, they will locate my position. So, it''s about time I change my location." Kabuto picks up his Shogi board and enters the ground. He reappears above the surface and stares at the members of the recon division. "Konnichiwa Mina-san!" Kabuto''s lips curl into a smile as several snakes escape from his body and bite the neck of those weak recon division members. A few of them attempt to fight back, but Kabuto easily overwhelms them. Swish swish He makes a series of hand signs and summons a giant snake. "Manda, carry them or me!" He issues an order to the giant snake and the giant snake opens its giant maw and swallows the unconscious group of shinobis and disappears. Kabuto also escapes with the spot using Earth Release: Earth Escape technique. Whoosh whoosh whoosh A few secondster, several groups of shinobis arrive at the location of the battlefield. They quickly survey the traces of battles. "It was Kabuto!" The leader of the group concludes and quickly sends a message to the headquarter. The leader of the recon division learns of the death of his division members and grits his teeth in rage. "Kabuto! You son of a bitch! I will tear you to pieces." The leader of the recon division, Sakuto Koriko, is a former war veteran of Kumogakure and is from the same generation as the three Sannins. Though he isn''t as well known as them, he still made a name for himself during the second shinobi war. "Ry my orders to all squads to group up and search every nook and cranny of the battlefield to search for Kabuto''s traces." "Yes, Lord Sakuto!" His subordinates swiftly retreat from the office. "I will report this situation to Lord Minato and ask him to deploy the members of the special squad." Meanwhile, somewhere in another secret hideout. Fwoosh ck Zetsu pops out of the ground. Swirl A few secondster, Tobi walks out of the shadows. "How was it?" He asks Zetsu. "It was a trap! The entire Zetsu squad was annihted." "Hmm it''s not feasible to capture the Daimyos to gain an advantage in the war, to begin with. Our army is almost about to reach the battlefield. So far, Kabuto''s performance in this war is satisfactory. It''s time our main force enters the battlefield." "What about the Eight and Nine-tails?" Zetsu questions him. "The five nations hid them well and we have no hope of capturing them in such a short time. So, we have to continue the n without them. Kisame brought a portion of eight tails chakra with him and we were able to acquire a portion of Nine-tails chakra from the Fire temple. Though not ideal, it should be enough to awaken the ten-tails." Tobi makes a few modifications to the ns. Chapter 491: Battle of Second Day Chapter 491: Battle of Second Day Back on Genbu Ind, After the recent attack by Kabuto, Onoki moved the entire ind with him to a different location to prevent Akatsuki from staging another attack. Inside a temple on the ind, "Man! It was a challenge to tame all these wild beasts. But I somehow managed to pull it off!" Naruto cracks his neck and nces at the row of giant animals lined together. "Yo!" Killer Bee arrives at the entrance of the temple and waves his hand at Naruto. "Oh! It''s the Octopus ji-san!" Naruto waves at Killer Bee. "Fool ya Fool! I heard everything from Maroi. Naruto, you were so cool!" B makes his signature pose. "Now,e on! I wasn''t really that cool." Naruto grins in embarrassment. "Come to think of it, what are you doing here, Octo ji-san? Are you also a part of the S-Rank mission?" "ASSS RANK?" B tilts his head in confusion. ''B, it must be rted to the shinobi war. Didn''t your brother also send you to this ind to protect you from Akatsuki?" Gyuki''s voice echoes in B''s head. "Oh! I see. That brother of mine really made me a fool!" [It has been a while since west met, Kurama!] Gyukimunicates with Kurama. Hmm The Yang Kurama opens his eyes and nces in Gyuki''s direction. [And here I thought, who was disturbing my sleep? Turns out it was you.] Kurama replies to Gyuki with disinterest. [Hmm you don''t seem to be as violent as I sawst saw you.] Kurama''s calm behavior surprises Gyuki. [Ugh] Kurama recalls the rehabilitation he underwent under Izuna''s guidance. [I would rather not recall that process.] He shakes his head and turns to Gyuki. [So, why would you suddenly bother me?] [Well, it has been a while since west met. So, I was a bit concerned about you.] [I am alright!] Kurama waves his hand. [Hmm does this mean this little fellow is also a perfect Jinchuriki like B.] Kurama''s tame behavior surprises him. If it was Kurama from before, given his prideful and arrogant nature, he would haveshed out multiple times by now. [Sort of.] Kurama answers him with disinterest. [I lend him my chakra on multiple asions but I have yet to synergizepletely with him since he wasn''t ready. His body and mind are ready but his spirit requires a bit of training.] Kurama replies to Gyuki. [Oh! Then why don''t I ask B to train him?] Gyuki proposes. [Hmm Naruto will certainly grow faster under the training of another Jinchuriki. Although that Uchiha brat taught him a lot of things but all of them were supplementary lessons and not the real thing. So, perhaps] Kurama nces at Killer B. [Very well! I will leave this brat in your care. Do as you please!] Kurama nods at Gyuki. While Naruto is counting the giant beasts, Bee is having an internal conversation with Gyuki. ''B, I had a conversation with the Nine-tails. The Nine-tails asked me to train Naruto with the tailed beast transformation. So, B, why don''t you train Naruto in the Tailed beast transformation? It will kill two birds with one stone. Not only will it prevent Naruto from escaping to the battlefield, but it will also raise his strength.'' ''Hmm!'' B takes out a small diary from his pocket and scribbles something on it as hemunicates with Gyuki. ''But what will I get from it?'' ''Umm a listener to your new song.'' Gyuki replies to him after some thinking. "Then, we got a deal!" B smirks. "Huh!? What''s the matter Octo ji-san?" Naruto notices the weird expression of B. "Ah! Yes I was thinking of a new song, Naruto! Would you like to hear the new song that I just wrote?" "Ugh I would rather not." Naruto shakes his head. "What if I also teach you how to do this?" B pockets his notebook and pen and ps his hand. B''s entire body turns into a giant octopus. "Fool ya Fool! Ain''t, I cool?" B perform a break dance in hisplete-tailed beast transformation. [Pfft!] Kurama breaks out inughter at theical sight. [Ugh I have lost my face.] Gyuki''s expression turns ugly. "Oh! That''s so cool!" Naruto''s eyes shine in amazement. ''Hey, Kurama! Can I also do this?'' [Don''t you dare do such a thing with my body!] Kurama warns him. ''Ugh not that! I mean, can I also turn into you, like Octo ji-san?'' Naruto shakes his head. [You can! But as he said, you need more training.] Kurama nods in affirmation. Naruto turns towards the giant Gyuki. "Hey, Octo ji-san! Can you teach me how to do this? I will listen to your new song." "Yay! Now, that''s what I want to hear." Gyuki turns back into B and B makes a victory pose. "Then follow me to the waterfall of truth for the first step of training!" B enters the temple. Naruto quickly follows after him. ----------------------- Back at the Allied Shinobi headquarters, the next day in the morning, The various Kages,mander, and vicemander gather again for another strategic meeting inside the virtual mindscape. Most of them didn''t have any wink of sleep since thest battle was fought until 3 a.m. "Looks like everyone is here?" Sakumo opens his eyes and nces at everyone present in the room. "Then let''s proceed to discuss today''s battle strategy!" He waves his hand and generates a map of the shinobi world. "In yesterday''s battle, we suffered massive losses. The moral of the allied shinobis has taken a hit. So, today we have to make aeback and gain an advantageous situation in the war." Sakumo continues. "We have already discussed the strategy for today''s battle previously. However, some changes are required after the previous battle since the Kages are stepping up on the battlefield." The meetingsted for half an hour as Shikaku devises another strategy. "As expected of the brain of the Allied Shinobi Force. With this, our victory in today''s battle is guaranteed." Onoki praises Shikaku as the new battle n pleases him. "Of course, Lord Tsuchikage will be the central figure of the n. Today, the third division will y a very crucial role in the battle. Their role is to hold down the Zetsu army long enough for the reinforcement to arrive." Shikaku nods at Onoki. "Just leave that to me and Lord Kazekage!" Onoki pats his chest with pride. With that, the meetinges to an end and the variousmanders and vicemanders get ready for the battle. The allied shinobi force splits into two groups, with the members of the third division and fourth division in one group and the first division and the second division in another group. The Raikage''s second division is on standby and will act as the reinforcement unit in case the situation changes on the battlefield. At the battlefield, the forces of the allied shinobi force march forward on the battlefield. Halfway through the battlefield, the force splits into two groups. One group marches towards the sea while the other group continues forward at the expected location of the sh. Whoosh Onoki flies through the sky and nces at the members of the third division and fourth divisions marching toward the destination. Mei is also flying beside him withva wings. "Hmm I didn''t expect the Mizukage to also know of a technique to fly through the sky." "This technique is quite taxing on chakra, so I can''t use it for long," Mei replies to him as she gazes at the outline of the sea in the distance. Mmm Onoki nods at her remark and doesn''t say anything as he focuses his attention on the coast. ording to the intel, half of the Zetsu army is traveling underground beneath the sea. So, they have to barricade the coast and prevent the Zetsu army from uniting with the rest of the army. It will be an ideal case if they can eliminate a major portion of the army before the main division joins them in battle. ''Well, I can''t be too ambitious.'' Onoki calms down. The consequences of being overly ambitious are still clear in his mind as he recalls the events of the Second Shinobi War. ''One Uzumaki is enough to turn the tides of the battle.'' Onoki nces at the various Chakra positioning gs slowly being nted by the members of the Sensor unit. ''What if the entire Uzumaki n was here?'' Chapter 492: Shinobi World, I AM BACK! Chapter 492: Shinobi World, I AM BACK! Inside the unknown dimension with red sky and a deste aura. "My seal has isted this dimension from the rest of the universe. You have nowhere to run." The royal Otsutsuki member res at the astral demon prince and the cloaked figure. "I have been looking for you for centuries and now I will finally exact my vengeance." Shiing The golden byakugan of the Otsutsuki shines with brilliance. He extends his hands forward and summons multiple truth-seeking orbs and a toon of powerful Otsutsuki Marite puppets numbering in thousands. Almost every puppet has an aura on par with the Abyssal Centurions, and around ten puppets stand out with an aura on par with Abyssal Lords. "That''s" The eyes of the Astral demon prince widen in shock as he recognizes the fleet of puppets. "That''s the Golden Monzaemon Kugutsu Order of Thousand Puppets!" "What''s so special about them?" The cloaked figure asks in confusion. "You might not know about them, but these puppets are made by refining of the bodies of the most powerful warriors from several worlds. The members of the Otsutsuki n destroyed several worlds and captured the powerful warriors of each world, destroyed their souls, and refined their bodies into puppets. There are around a hundred thousand of these powerful puppets, and this puppet toon is a part of that army. Also, this powerful puppet army formation is powerful enough to contest and suppress the power of a divine relic." The astral demon prince exins to him. "That''s quite powerful indeed!" The cloaked figure calmly nods his head, unperturbed by the panicked expression of the prince. "I will destroy your spirit, imprison your soul, and refine your body in a puppet to join my collection to satiate my heart." The Otsutsuki n member clenches his fists and shapes the truth-seeking orbs into a spear. "I want them to die as painfully as possible." He swings the spear toward the duo. Swish swish swish The puppet army aligns itself into a formation. Each puppet wields a special red, glowing, malleable chakra weapon. The Otsutsuki makes these weapons from a special chakra ore found in the heart of a star. This special ore contains traces of Origin energy and thus is immune to ninjutsu. The Otsutsuki uses a secret tool creation technique called the ''Benkei no Nanatsudgu'' to shape this special chakra metal into powerful weapons. The Otsutsuki n member initiates the attack by infusing his chakra into the truth-seeking spear. The spear zes with scarlet mes and leaves a crimson trail as it instantly arrives in front of the cloaked figure. Swoosh The cloaked figure grabs the tip of the spear right in front of his face BOOM An explosion of scarlet mes engulfs him, but the cloaked figure easily shrugs them off. CRACK He clenches his fists and the truth-seeking spear breaks apart into small fragments and disperses. "Not impressed!" "Attack!" Jashin and Kishin also signal their army to attack the duo. "Damnit! This prince never expected to fall in such a deste ce and much less at the hands of the traitors." The astral demon prince res at Jashin and Kishin''s figures. He extends his hand and a bolt of purple lightning falls from the sky. The lightning dissipates to reveal a trident. He grabs the trident and prepares to battle the abyss army of Kishin and Jashin. "I will let you handle the Otsutsuki mad dog. Leave these two traitorous bastards to me." He infuses his energy into the trident and prepares to use a Shinjutsu technique to unleash the might of the divine relic. Suddenly, a shockwave pulsates through the entire dimension. "What was that?" The abyss army and the puppet army stop in their tracks as Jashin, Kishin, and the Otsutsuki n members get distracted by the sudden burst of energy. "This energy signature" The expression of the Otsutsuki n member changes. "That''s" Even Kishin''s and Jashin''s eyes gleam with surprise. Slight joy appears on their face as they also sense the familiar energy signature. "Wait, this energy signature! Could it be the thing that my sister was protecting?" "Looks like it''s about time!" The cloaked figure mumbles to himself and pats the demon prince''s shoulder. "Leave everything to me!" He turns towards the Otsutsuki n member, whose eyes also happen to meet his. "You weren''t my match a thousand years ago. You aren''t a match for me, much less now." The cloaked figure slowly removes the cloak around his body. "Three years have passed since shest saw me. But for me, almost a thousand years have passed since that day." He removes the cowl of his cloak to reveal a fair-skinned man with spiky, ck hair with a blue tint to them. His bangs part down from the center of his face to frame both sides. The rest of his hair is hanging loose behind his back. A crescent moon earring with a star in the center hangs on his left earlobe. Shiing Izuna opens his eyes to reveal a Rinne-Sharingan in his left eye and a Reigan in his right eye. "Impossible!" Kishin, Jashin, and the Royal Otsutsuki''s eyes widen to the core in shock. Crack crack Izuna cracks his neck and removes the Astral demon robe around his body. He tosses it toward a bbergasted Astral Demon Prince. "Your n needs a better tailor!" "" The astral demon prince silently stares at Izuna''s face as thetter switches his outfit to a high-cored ck shirt with the Uchiha n crest. Izuna takes a deep breath and stretches his muscles and clears his throat. "Man! It was so tough to act like someone else for a thousand years." Izuna ignores everyone''s piercing gaze and turns towards the astral demon prince. "Looks like the restriction ''she'' ced is lifted ording to my arrangement. Now, it''s just a matter of time. For now, let''s return home." "Ah! Yes yes!" The astral demon prince regains hisposure. "So, it''s finally time!" "Seems like our thousand years of preparations areplete, Seiry! Now, there is no need for me to hide myself." Izuna nods at the astral demon prince. "Who are you?" The Royal Otsutsuki res at Izuna with cold eyes. "Where is Gra, one of the Daiykai?" "Gra is dead. I killed him!" Izuna replies in a calm tone. "Impossible! A weak being like you" The Royal Otsutsuki pauses as he stares into Izuna''s eyes. "How howe you possess the royal bloodline of an Otsutsuki and an astral demon at the same time when you are none of them?" Instead of replying to him, Izuna asks him a question. "Hey, earlier you said that this dimension is sealed by a very powerful sealing formation, right? No one can see what''s going inside and simrly, no one from inside can ry any information outside, right?" "That''s true! No one can break the seal of Shirtra, one of the sacred sealing relics of the Otsutsuki n." The Otsutsuki n member replies in pride. "Enough of your questions. Now tell me who you are and I will impart a quick death to you." "I see! That''s reassuring to hear." Izuna nods at his words. Even Kishin and Jashin warily stare at Izuna as Kishin senses a familiar presence from Izuna. "Why do I feel like I have met him before?" Kishin stares at Izuna''s face with skeptical eyes. Izuna closes his eyes and raises his left hand towards the sky of the hellish dimension. "Order and Chaos authority: cakra" Rumble rumble The ground quakes, and the sky trembles as Izuna slowly opens his eyes. There is a sigil of a Dharma wheel with eight spokes in his right eye and another sigil of a chaos wheel with eight arrows in all directions in his left eye. RUMBLE. RUMBLE A gigantic sigil of the Dharma wheel shrouds the entire dimension. Anotheryer of Chaos wheel stacks on top of the Dharma wheel. "So, that''s your n?" Seirysighs and shakes his head. "It will be faster that way and no one else will know what happened here, thanks to that dumbass!" Izuna mocks the Otsutsuki n member with a smile. "That''s that''s an origin" The Royal Otsutsuki trembles at the sight of the Dharma wheel. "Correct! But no points for the right answer." Izuna smiles at him and waves his hand. Bzzt crackle ck and white lightning flicker between the two wheels. The gates of order and chaos open as a rift to reveal the spokes of a giant, wheel-like weapon. Numerous irreparable spatial cracks appear in the surroundings just from the presence of the giant wheel weapon alone. BOOM A blinding light engulfs the entire dimension and wipes the very phenomenon of cause and effect to rewrite the veryws of existence itself. After a few seconds, the light dies down to reveal the souls of various beings. The torn souls of the Otsutsuki Marite bow in Izuna''s direction to express their gratitude for freeing them from their suffering. Izuna nods at them and the various soul fragments disperse. The kaleidoscopic pattern in Izuna''s Reigan (Soul Eye) spins as Izuna opens his palm to reveal three souls. Two of these souls are pitch ck, an effect of being tainted by the Abyss. While the third soul is blue and has a unique sigil in the shape of an eye engraved on it. "The Otsutsuki n will make you pay for this." The Royal Otsutsuki threatens him but Izuna ignores his measly threat. "Now that''s troublesome!" Izuna recognizes the unique energy from the soul of the Royal Otsutsuki. "It''s still a little early to directly sh with him." SHOOM Izuna''s Reigan flickers slightly, and a small ck hole appears in his palm. The ck hole absorbs Otsutsuki''s soul and disappears. "As for these two, they are yours!" Izuna tosses the shivering soul of Kishin and Jashin to Seiry. "This technique consumes a hell lot of my energy. Still, it was the fastest method to settle things." Izuna rests against Seiry''sshoulder as he recovers his energy. "Alright! Alright! I will take you to your home world." Seiry shakes his head. Whoosh A dimensional fissure appears in the skies of the shinobi world. Seiry and Izuna walk out of the fissure. HAAH Izuna takes a deep breath and shouts at the top of his lungs. "Shinobi World, I AM BACK!" Chapter 493: My Kids are Cute Chapter 493: My Kids are Cute "Shinobi World, I am back!" Izuna stretches his arms and stares at the vastnd of the shinobi world. He closes his eyes and feels the wind brushing past his body. Seiry also walks out of the portal and nces at the shinobi world. "Hmm interesting!" He turns in the direction of the allied shinobi headquarters. "So, is this the reason why you want to return so badly to this ce?" "Mmm" Izuna nods at him. "The Fourth Shinobi War is a destiny event of this world. The series of events following this event will influence the fate of the entire universe. So, this destiny event is the starting point of everything. All these years, my actions had a significant influence on the history of this world. Knowingly or unknowingly, my actions were also influenced by some sort of divine techniques." "Hmm" Seiry activates his Reigan. A kaleidoscopic pattern appears in his eyes. The colors in the world around him fade away as he peers at the very nature of reality itself. In Seiry''s vision, the entire Shinobi world is covered in a mix of blue and red energy. "Huh! I can see the traces of two very powerful Shinjutsu techniques in this world. One of them is quite a strong technique and the other technique is quite peculiar. It doesn''t target the people of this world, but something else. Wait this energy signature, I recognize it. Could it be?" "Yes, you are right! However, there are not just once, but three cases of use of a divine technique and one of them is her." Izuna confirms Seiry''s doubt. "No wonder this sensation was so familiar! So, could she be" "Yes, she spent herst moments in this world. I will take you to her resting ce." Izuna nods at him. "It''s fine!" Seiry sighs in self-condemnation. "For now, let''s take a look at the Destiny event." "Unfortunately, we can''t do that yet." Izuna shakes his head. "This war has yet to reach a turning point since one of the major characters is still missing. Until then, we can''t directly intervene in this war. The effect of the Shinjutsu has yet to wear off. So, even if we take action, it will only benefit our enemies." "Alright! I will leave it to you." Seiry shrugs his shoulders. "Just like back then!" Izuna smirks at him. "Hey, that was the only time. Also, don''t let that moment get to your head." Seiry retorts. "Tch you can''t let me have my moment, can''t you? You and your useless pride!" Izuna clicks his tongue. Whoosh Izuna flies towards Konoha and Seiry silently follows him. Swoosh He appears in the airspace of Konoha and nces at the sea of Fuinjutsu seals forming a protective around Konoha. "This must be the work of Kushina Nee-san!" He smiles at the intricate of seals. Though to the current him, such a barrier isn''t even worth mentioning, but that''s because he has almost a thousand years of experience. Izuna and Seiry easily breach the barrier without alerting the security team of Konoha. Both of them arrive in front of the Uchiha n entrance. Haah Izuna takes a deep breath as his eyes slightly tear up from reminiscing. ''I missed this ce a lot!'' He stares at the familiar arc entrance of the Uchiha n. Izuna and Seiry walk through the deserted streets of the Uchiha n. Most of the shops are closed as a result of the war. Only a few shops with daily necessities are open. Even then, there are almost no customers in these shops. While Izuna is reminiscing, Seiry is looking around in amusement. As the prince of the astral demon n, he never got to experience a carefree life. Since birth, he was caught in the power struggle of various factions within his n. Later, he was forced to participate in a racial war between Otsutsuki, Abyss, and the astral demon n. While fighting in the war, he heard the news of the birth of his younger sister. For the first time, a feeling of delight erupted in his heart. He was eager to meet his younger sister. However, he never got an opportunity to meet her due to the ongoing war. The war ended after a few centuries and he returned to the n only to see his younger sibling grow into a beautifuldy. He regretted the fact that he was unable to pamper his younger sibling when she was still a child. "Those Otsutsuki bastards, it was them!" Seiry clenches his fists. "" Izuna is surprised by Seiry''s sudden outburst. However, he soon recognizes the expression on Seiry''s face. "Sis-con!" Izuna curls his lips in a mocking smile. "Huh!" Seiry also turns towards Izuna. "Hmph Look who is speaking! The pot is calling the kettle ck!" Pfft Haha haha Both of them burst out inughter as Izuna reaches in front of his parent''s house. He slightly hesitates and focuses his senses on the house. "Grandma!" "Grandma!" A childish voice echoes in Izuna''s ears. "Tatsuya, Kanna!" Tears overflow from Izuna''s eyes as he hears the voices of his kids. "Grandma, please tell us another story of Dad!" Tatsuya and Kanna gently tug Aiko''s sleeves with shining eyes. "Hoho!" Aiko chuckles at their antics. With these two little fellows, every day is interesting. Every day after eating breakfast, both of them will pester her non-stop to hear a story about their dad. "Grandma, everyone says that my dad is the most powerful shinobi! When I grow up, I also want to be as strong as him." Tatsuya clenches his fists. "Hoh! And why do you want to be strong?" Aiko gently pulls his cheeks. "Because I want to beat the bad guys, just like Dad!" Tatsuya crosses his arms in front of his chest and raises his head in pride. A smile appears on Izuna and Aiko''s faces as they hear Tatsuya''s response. "I also want to be as strong as Mom and help Onii-chan." Kanna also reveals her dream. "Oh my two cute little dumplings! You will melt my heart." Aiko hugs them in an embrace. "Alright! Today Grandma will tell you a story of how your dad met your mom." Aiko ruffles their hair and narrates the story of Izuna''s adventure into Kirigakure. "Woah!" "Amazing!" During the entire story, Tatsuya''s and Kanna''s eyes shine with a brilliant glow. "Dad is so amazing!" Tatsuya pumps his fists. "Dad is so cool!" A cute smile appears on Kanna''s face. "When will Dad return home?" Kanna innocently blinks at Aiko. "Ah! That!" Aiko''s heart stings from her innocent smile. A stifling feeling encroaches her heart as she nces outside the window and recalls the memories of her son. "Grandma!" Tatsuya notices the sad expression of Aiko and hugs her tofort her. "Soon! Your dad will return soon!" She pats Kanna and Tatsuya''s heads. "Mom!" Izuna''s heart lurches in pain at the sad expression of his mother. Hmm Izuna''s voice echoes in the surrounding. Aiko frowns as a familiar voice lingers in the surroundings. "Did I hear wrong?" She slowly stands up and walks towards the front yard. Kanna and Tatsuya slowly follow her. "Hmm I am sure I heard his voice. Perhaps I am thinking too much!" She shakes her head and turns around. "Mom!" Izuna mumbles as he slowly pushes open the entrance gate. Whoosh A strong gust of wind blows and covers Aiko''s vision with her hair. Aiko swipes away her hair and narrows her eyes to nce at the visitor. "Mom!" Izuna takes a gentle step and slowly walks toward his mother. "I-Izuna!" Aiko''s eyes tear up as the memory of Izuna''s childhood oveps with her vision. Aiko recalls Izuna''s first step as he struggled to crawl towards her while giggling. "Izuna!" Tears flow from Aiko''s eyes as she slowly extends her arms. "Mom!" Aiko tightly hugs Izuna in her embrace. "I am back!" Mm Izuna enjoys the warmth of his mother''s embrace. For her, it has been three years, but for him, it has been a thousand years since hest felt any familial warmth. Aiko raises her head and nces into Izuna''s eyes. Just with a single nce, she can feel the flood of emotions buried deep within Izuna''s heart. His sadness, his anger, his helplessness, his guilt, his remorse, his loneliness, all of them flow into Aiko as she shed tears for her son. A mother''s heart is as deep as the ocean, able to drown all sorrow and loneliness in it. Aiko ruffles Izuna''s hair and separates from him. Ah! Two little critters peek from Aiko''s back and cast curious nces at Izuna. A smile appears on Izuna''s face as he lowers his body in front of the two kids. The appearance of the little boy reminds him of his childhood. Tatsuya has the same appearance as him when he was a little kid. While Kanna''s figure reminds me of a childhood photo of Mei. Izuna gently pinches their cheeks andughs. Kanna and Tatsuya shiver and retreat behind Aiko''s back. They peek at Izuna from her back as Izuna opens his arm towards them. Tatsuya and Kanna nce at each other and then dash toward Izuna. "DAD!" "My kids are cute!" Chapter 494: A Beautiful Sight Chapter 494: A Beautiful Sight "Dad!" Tatsuya and Kanna hug Izuna in a warm embrace. Their little hands wrap around his neck and Kanna giggle and nts a kiss on Izuna''s cheek. "Tatsuya, Kanna!" Izuna ruffles their hair and a warm smile appears on his face. "Dad is back!" Mm Tatsuya and Kanna snuggle in his embrace. A smile appears on Aiko''s face as she notices the glee in Izuna''s eyes. "Come eat breakfast with us! I made your favourite food." "Mm" Izuna nods at his mother and turns towards the entrance of the house. "I am not alone. A friend came with me!" Aiko nces at the entrance and notices Seiry calmly standing at the gate. Seiry has a regal look on his face. He faintly smiles at Izuna''s meeting with his mother as he recalls his mother. He didn''t have many memories of his mother since she passed shortly after birthing his younger sister. But he still fondly remembers the few days he spent with his mother. Those were the only moments of familial warmth in his memories. His father, being the leader of the n, didn''t show many emotions on his face. There was never any disy of joy, affection, or any other such emotion on his father''s face. As the head of the n, he ces the n before his family or he rarely spent any time with his family. The attendants met almost all of their needs. "Oh! A friend!" Aiko smiles at Seiry and invites him inside the house. "Pleasee in!" Izuna also nods at him. "Then, thanks for the invite, Aunty. I will trouble you!" Seiry warmly smiles at Aiko and gently bows to her. The fragile-looking old woman in front of him isn''t worth the attention of a prince of the astral demon n. Not just her, but every being in this world is as lowly as insects in his eyes. For a divine being like him, the mortal holds nothing but momentary fascination, and the current war in this world is just a source of amusement for him. However, he has long since discarded his identity as the prince of the Astral Demon n. Currently, he is nothing more than a friend of Izuna and as a friend; he has to pay proper due respect to thetter''s mother. "Ah!" Aiko is stunned by the majestic vibe of the man in front of her. She nces at Izuna from the corner of his eyes to inquire more about his friend. Izuna notices the subtle hint in her eyes, thanks to his powerful senses. He chuckles and introduces thetter. "Mom, this is my friend Seiry. He holds a noble identity and is a prince of a distant ce. During these past three years, when I was missing, he helped me a lot." Izuna gives a superficial introduction to Seiry''s identity. He didn''t want to create a scene by revealing Seiry''s true identity. "Oh! No wonder he has such a magnificent aura around him." Aiko nods at him and didn''t pay much attention to the matter. Izuna enjoys the homemade food cooked by his mother after such a long time. Even Seiry enjoys the food prepared by Aiko. "Mmm Aunty, I have never eaten anything delicious like this. Not only your beauty but even your cooking is so outstanding." Seiry drinks a spoonful of miso soup. To him, the taste of the food doesn''t matter; only the intention behind the genuine nature of her hospitality, which is free from any power struggle or political matter. Seiry enjoys the simple breakfast of steamed rice, miso soup, grilled fish and omelette while Izuna asks a series of questions from Aiko. He didn''t mention anything about the war or the whereabouts of the rest of his family. His senses have already scanned the entire, and he is aware of everything that''s happening in the war. The struggle of the allied shinobi force, the ambush of the Zetsu army, the counterattack of Raikage''s toon, the grim expression on Onoki''s face and the heroic expression of Mei. He even notices his father, Akira, bravely facing a group of Edo Tensei. ''Well, they aren''t a match for Dad and from the looks of it, the Allied Shinobi force will definitely win today''s battle.'' After breakfast, Izuna ys with his kids for the entire afternoon. "Tatsuya, Kanna! Dad will take you both to a very amazing ce." "OHH!" Tatsuya and Kanna stare at him with glowing eyes. "But first" Izuna nces at the shadow of the kids. "It''s been a while, Roen." He calls the name of his wolf summon Roen. Awooh A giant white wolf jumps out from the shadows and bows in front of Izuna. "Master!" "WOAH! Amazing!" Tatsuya and Kanna stare at the giant body of Roen in amazement. "Onii-chan, it jumped out of the ground!" Kanna points towards the ground beneath their feet. "Really?!" Tatsuya taps the ground with feet. A smile appears on Izuna''s face from the innocent antics of his kids. He turns towards Roen and opens his mouth. "Roen, it has been almost nine years since that fateful day. It''s long past the duration of our summoning contract. In these past few years, I am sure you came to see the world around you in a new light. Now, today, I release you from the shackles of our contract and you are free to do whatever or wherever you want to go." "Ma-master!" Roen''s eyes tear up at Izuna''s words. "You were right! All these years, I saw and felt a lot of unfamiliar things in this world. The ck-and-white world has be more colourful. It was all thanks to you. So, master, let me continue to serve beside you and protect these little ones." Izuna notices the love and cares in Roen''s eyes for Tatsuya and Kanna. "Very well! Then allow me to change the old summoning contract." Izuna bites his thumb and drops a drop of blood. Fwoosh The blood group falls on Roen''s forehead and a giant fuinjutsu seal with numerousplicated runes and hieroglyphs appears around Roen. AWOOO Roen howls with joy as his body glows with resplendent white light. Roen''s giant body shrinks after the glow diminishes. His white fur gains a majestic glow and his body exudes a kingly aura. After obtaining Izuna''s blood, Roen evolves further andes to share an intricate bond with him. "With this new contract, I will give you a new fitting name for your current state. From today onwards, you will be FENRIR!" "FENRIR!" AWOO Roen releases a joyful howl and licks Izuna''s face. "Alright! Alright!" Izuna pushes him away. "Dad!" Kanna and Tatsuya tip-toes to Izuna. Izuna lowers his head and allows both of them to hug his neck. Both of them stare at Fenrir with shining bright eyes. Izuna easily understands their intention and turns towards Fenrir. "I am sure you came to understand that I don''t need your help anymore. However" "Yes, Master!" Fenrir turns towards Tatsuya and Kanna. "Tatsuya, Kanna! Do you want to pet and hug him?" Izuna chuckles and asks the two little critters. "Can we?" both of them asks him with glowing eyes. "Of course, you can!" Izuna didn''t resist the temptation and hugs them both in his embrace. "Both of you close your eyes for a second." Izuna gently covers their eyes. "Like this!" Tatsuya and Kanna ce their little hands around their eyes. "Yes!" Izuna gently pricks their hand with their knowledge and quickly heals the little wound. He sends two drops of blood towards Fenrir and signs a contract on their behalf. "Alright! You two can open your eyes." Both kids open their eyes and nce at Fenrir. They feel a sensation of closeness to Fenrir and quickly jump from Izuna''s embrace and hop onto Fenrir''s back. Awoo Fenrir howls and ferries the two around the backyard. "Yay!" Both of them enjoy the ride on Fenrir''s back. Izuna returns to his mother''s side who arrived in the backyard a few moments ago. Both of them smile at the antics of their child. Seiry had already left for the ce Izuna previously mentioned to him. "It''s such a beautiful sight!" Aiko wipes her tears as she stares at the figure of Tatsuya and Kanna. "Yes, it is!" Chapter 495: A blissful moment Chapter 495: A blissful moment After enjoying a peaceful moment with his kids, Izuna decides to visit Seiry. "Kanna! Tatsuya! Dad has some important work to handle. I will be back soon!" He gently smiles at the kids. Whoosh Both kids jump down from the top of Fenrir''s back and dash toward Izuna. They hug his legs like a ko. "Don''t go, Daddy, pwease!" Kanna and Tatsuya stare at him with glittering puppy eyes. "AH!" A critical hit! Izuna''s heart takes a critical hit at the expression of his kids. "Well umm" "Kanna, Tatsuya! Don''t be a bad boy and girl. Your Dad must have a very important task toplete." Aiko attempts to cate the kid''s feelings. Izuna nces at their expression, and the glow from their eyes overwhelms him. "Fine! Dad will take you on a trip." In the face of the innocence of his kids, his heart melts and he relents to their demands. Also, he feels a sense of guilt in his heart. He missed the toddler phase of his kids. He wasn''t there to pamper and cuddle them at the time. So, he wants to make up for them. ''Also, it''s not like that ce is dangerous.'' "Yay! Daddy will take us on a trip." Both kids dance around in happiness. "Dad, I want to go to an amusement park." Tatsuya tugs his sleeves. "Me too! Me too!" Kanna also nods her head. "Then Dad will take you to an amusement park." "Will it be alright?" Aiko asks him with slight worry in her tone. The world is in the middle of a crisis due to the ongoing war. So, she is worried about the safety of her grandkids. "Everything will be fine! Also, your son is the strongest shinobi to ever exist!" Izuna proudly raises his head in front of his mother. Pfft Haha Aiko burst out a chuckle at the childish act of her son. "Alright! Mother trusts you. So, take care of the kids." "Mm" Izuna nods at her and signals to Roen. Fwoosh Roen jumps into the kids'' shadows and vanishes from their view. "WOAH! Where did he go?" Kanna and Tatsuya tap their shadows with their hands, only to touch the ground. "Let''s go!" Izuna lifts them both and ces them on his left and right shoulder, respectively. "Then, I am off!" He waves at his mother and slowly levitates toward the sky. "WOW! We are flying!" Tatsuya nce around in curiosity. "Ah! While Kanna tightly hugs Izuna''s neck and hides her face in his embrace. "Is my little princess afraid of heights?" Izuna gently pats Kanna''s head. "No, Daddy! I am not afraid of heights. But it''s a bit scary." Kanna shakes her head. "Of course, my little princess is very brave. How could she be afraid of heights?" Izuna pampers her. "Wow, these fluffy white clouds are so cool!" Tatsuya ces around with the clouds and waves his hands through the clouds. Ah! Kanna slowly opens her eyes and stares at the white clouds around her. She carefully extends her hands towards a cloud but her hands phase through it. "It''s so cool, but I can''t touch it." Disappointment appears in her eyes. "Oh! So, my cute little princess wants to y in clouds?" Izuna smiles at her. "Can I?" Kanna asks with slight hesitation. "Of course!" Izuna waves his hands and converts the entire formless cloud into a solid, fluffy field. Hends on top of the cloud and gestures to the kids. "Look!" He plucks out a fragment of cloud and hands it over to Kanna. Kanna gently pokes the cloud fragment, and it bounces off her fingers. "So cool!" Tatsuya jumps down from Izuna''s shoulder. Sproing The surface of the cloud acts as a trampoline and bounces him. "It''s so fun!" He continues to jump around on the cloud. "Onii-chan! Wait for me!" Kanna also jumps down from Izuna''s shoulder and jumps around on the cloud with Tatsuya. Izuna smiles at the cheerful faces of his kids and feels a sense of contentment in his heart. ''It''s only with my family that I can feel all these emotions.'' He also joins the kids in their fun and bounces around with them. After a while, he makes swings and slides with the clouds. The kids y on the clouds for a while and soon get bored with it. "Dad! There is no one here." "Let''s go to somewhere where there are lots of people." Izuna picks them and turns in a certain direction. Whoosh The next second, the group arrives on a street full of people. There are numerous skyscrapers in their surroundings. "So cool!" Kanna and Tatsuya stare around in amazement at the sudden change in the scenario. One second, they were in the skies, on top of clouds; the next second they are in a city full of people." "Dad is so amazing!" Kanna nts a kiss on Izuna''s cheek. "My cute little princess is so sweet!" Izuna gently pokes Kanna''s cheeks. "WOAH!" The sudden appearance of Izuna and his kids surprises the surrounding people. But Izuna ignores them and walks towards the tallest building in the city. Kanna and Tatsuya look around in amazement and marvels at every sight. Both of them have never been to such a wonderful city, and it''s an unfamiliar sight for them. "Onii-chan, look look! That''s Dad!" Kanna points towards a giant bronze statue that looks simr to Izuna. Both of them hop down from Izuna''s shoulder and dashes toward Izuna''s statue. There are a couple of tourists around them. "Yes, it''s Dad''s statue." The two kids look at the statue up close. The surrounding tourists turn toward the two kids and are stunned by their cute appearance of the two kids. Most of them start to take pictures of the two kids. "Onii-chan, look there is a statue of Ayaka Onee-chan, Naruto and Sasuke Onii-chan, and Izumi Onee-chan too!" Izuna smiles at the two little fellows and slowly walks toward them. He isn''t surprised by the statues of the rest of the people, since he already figured out the situation from the text near the statues. Hmm Izuna nces in a direction and notices a group of guards led by a person. A Celtic knot crest is engraved on the uniforms of the guards. "Izuna-sama!" The person in the lead hastens his steps and arrives in front of Izuna. He quickly bows his head to Izuna in respect. "It''s been a while, Kei!" Izuna nods at him. "Izuna-sama, you recognize me," Kei asks in surprise. "Of course, how can I forget the events from a few years back?" Izuna chuckles and turns towards his kids. "Kanna, Tatsuya! Come to Dad!" Both kids hop towards him and hide behind his back to escape from the various peeping eyes in their surroundings. The rest of the tourists also notice Izuna''s presence. "Hey look Isn''t that person the same as the statue?" A few tourists with sharp observation skills point out. "He indeed looks like the statue. So, does this mean he is the legendary" Soon, a group of people crowds around Izuna. "This isn''t the suitable ce for us to talk." Izuna pats his kid''s head and turns to Kei. "Yes, Izuna-sama!" Kei orders his guards to clear the crows and leads Izuna toward the headquarters of the Trinity Corporation. Soon, the group arrives at the entrance of the Trinity Resort. Akari, Yuri, and Viktor are patiently waiting for their arrival at the entrance. They wee his arrival with a red carpet and a group of Uzu n members as servants on the sides. "Lord Izuna!" The three bow their head in respect. "There is no need for such formalities." Izuna shakes his head as he walks towards the Uzu n trio. "I am here on a casual visit with my kids." Yuri''s eyes glow as she stares at the two little fellows beside Izuna. She smiles and waves her hands at them. A rainbow color jellyfish float around her. "Oh!" Kanna and Tatsuya''s eyes glow at the sight of the Niji jellyfish. "That''s the same as Mom''s and Ayaka Onee-chan''s jellyfish." Both of them quickly tip-toed toward Yuri. "You both are so cute! What are your names?" Yuri gently pokes their cheeks. "Onee-san, I am Kanna and Onii-chan is Tatsuya." Kanna introduces her name. "Onee-san is also very beautiful!" Tatsuya alsopliments her. "Aww!" Yuri smiles at Tatsuya''s innocentpliment. "Little Tatsuya is such a smooth talker." Yuri chuckles and ruffles their hair. She nods at Izuna and Akari and leads the kids inside the resort. "Kanna, Tatsuya! Follow your Yuri Onee-chan! She will take you both to the amusement park. Dad will also join you both after a few minutes." "Okay!" Kanna and Tatsuya obediently nod their head and follow Yuri. Chapter 496: Divulging Secrets Chapter 496: Divulging Secrets After Kanna and Tatsuya''s departure, Izuna turns his attention to Akari and Viktor. "How''s the current situation on Donut Ind and Redaku?" "Izuna-sama! The economy of Donut Ind is flourishing and there isn''t any invasion of sea monsters after the previous attack. As for the central in of Redaku capital, the current king is diligently ruling the country and is not a power-hungry tyrant like the previous monarch." Akira reports the situation to Izuna. "Hmm I see! Well done for a good job!" Izuna nods his head in satisfaction. "Also, another thing, what is the opinion of the Redaku''s people about the war in the shinobi world?" "Well, about that matter, the people have a split opinion. Some people want to maintain the current status quo and thus don''t want to interact or interfere much with the shinobi world. There are also a few among them who are afraid of the power possessed by the shinobis and thus want to avoid them at all costs. Then, there is also another faction that wants to aid the five great shinobi nations in the war to earn their favor to open trade routes and establish a peaceful rtionship with them. Though, most of the people in the second faction are merchants and people who regrly use products from the shinobi world." Viktor exins the situation. "Hmm I see!" Izuna nods in understanding as he is aware of the heart of the people. ''Though maintaining the status quo will be hard after the barrier around Redaku vanishes in a few years.'' Everything was a part of his arrangement. The unknown box he gave to the Akari to pass to Ayaka was a sealing artifact called the Box of Ultimate Agony. It is a part of a set and its other half is the Box of Ultimate Bliss. The box of Ultimate Agony was responsible for maintaining the seal around Redaku while the box of the Ultimate Bliss was responsible for sealing the pathway to Abyss. The unknown God whom the people of Redaku worshipped and the God who was responsible for repelling the invasion of Redaku was the same person who made the entire Fuinjutsu formation around the shinobi world. And that same God happens to be the younger sibling of Seiry. Not only that, even the Sin Grimoire which he used extensively in the past is also a divine artifact of the very same person. She was also the kind God who taught Senjutsu to the various summoning animals in the world and she was also responsible for the salvation of Genryworld from the Abyss. It is part of all these reasons that Seiry decided to stay back in this world and investigate the matter of the death of his little sister. And the shrine where she breathes herst happens to be situated in the depth of Redaku Mountain. Also, all these violent creatures in the Redaku Mountain range are guarding her shrine ording to herst wishes. They won''t allow any person to enter the sacred grave of their deity and profane it with their filthy hands. Now, for the two sacred relics in question. Initially, both the Box of Ultimate Agony and the Box of Ultimate Bliss were sealed within the depths of the Tataru mountain. However, sometime after Seiry''s sister''s death; a n of Abyss devil worshippers from the shinobi world infiltrated the Tataru Mountain range. These devil worshippers performed a sacrificial ritual and summoned the Dragon Abyss Centurion within the Tataru Mountain range. The guardians of the two boxes allied with the forces from the Light Genry world to fight against the forces of the Abyss. After a prolonged battle, when the forces of humanity were on the brink of losing the war, they expanded all of their power and summoned a powerful being using the artifact left by Seiry''s sister to win the war. The rest of the story is known to all as the said being defeated the forces of evil and sealed the Dragon Abyss Centurion within the Prison seal in the HOLE. ''Well, how did I know of such a story? Of course, it''s obvious. The person those people summoned was none other than me. As for why I was there in the first ce. It''s a story for another time.'' Izuna shakes his head in mncholy after recalling some incidents from the past. ''Who would have known that I was the trigger behind all these events that happened to me in these few years in the past? Divine Techniques sure are scary. Able to alter the phenomenon of cause and effect and toy with the fate of mortals.'' Now, for the matter of those two boxes and the seal. During his previous visit to Redaku, he came into possession of the Box of Ultimate Agony. The Uzu n members are the current guardians of this box. Izuna studied it extensively during the few days he spent in Redaku and became aware of its secrets. These two boxes are the source of the powerful seal around the Redaku and are also a medium for a very powerful Divine technique. Not only that, the Ultimate Box of Agony in the Uzu n''s possession isn''tplete and a part of it lies within the treasury of the Uzumaki n. Izuna recalls the strange ck box with the sin eye. That box almost made him miss the destiny event of Naruto''s birth. However, now that he reflects on these past events, everything seems to be preordained by a set of rules, and all his movements were ounted for within them. However, what was unounted for was the sudden arrival of Seiry during the Nine-tails attack. ''Sigh I was so foolish back then!'' Izuna sighs and shakes his head at his foolish act of challenging Seiry back then. It''sughable how the he from back then fearlessly challenged Seiry and sessfully repelled him. ''Well, most of it was from a series of coincident or if it could even be called so! After learning the news about his sister, Seiry rushed all the way to the shinobi world without any care for his energy reserves. Not only that, the traces of divine technique on my body surprised him a little. If that wasn''t enough then the presence of Sin Grimoire in the hands of a filthy mortal clouded his emotions. Also, he never expected my counterattack with an extremely powerful technique that even threatened his life. Divine techniques sure are scary. To set the course of fate and destiny straight, even after interference from a higher power. Now that I think about it, it wasn''t courage but ignorance that made me challenge Seiry. I would have died a dog''s death, if not for the protection from the divine technique.'' After reminiscing about some memories, he turns to Akari and Viktor and opens his mouth. "The winds of great change are about to blow through the shinobi world and even Redaku won''t remain unaffected by them." The Akari and Viktor stare into each other''s eyes and wait for Izuna to finish his words. "Gather a few proficient Fuinjutsu experts from the Uzu n and send them to the Shinobi world to assist the Allied Shinobi Force in their battle against the Akatsuki." "Yes, Izuna-sama!" Akari epts his orders without any questions. "This will serve two purposes. First, it will help the Uzu n form friendly ties with all shinobi nations in one go and allow them to gain a foothold in the shinobi world. Second, it will also act as a disy of strength of the protectors of Redaku''s protectors. After witnessing the strength of the Uzu n members, the few organizations with ulterior motives will think twice before making their move in Redaku. I want Redaku to forever stay as a peaceful haven as a tribute to her." Izuna''s eyes turn moist as recalls his memories. "Anyway, I will leave the rest of the arrangements to you. For now, I am on a vacation in Redaku with my kids." "Yes, Izuna-sama!" Akari and Viktor nod in understanding and quickly issues a series of orders to hold an emergency n meeting. Izuna senses Kanna and Tatsuya''s chakra and walks in their direction with a smile on his face. Chapter 497: Battle of Second Day Part-2 Chapter 497: Battle of Second Day Part-2 "Dad!" Kanna and Tatsuya turn around at the same time and dashes into Izuna''s embrace. Izuna stares at them with an amused expression. "How did you two know I wasing?" He picks them up in his arms. "Umm I just knew it." Kanna answers him. "I felt like Dad was walking towards us." Tatsuya gives a slightly detailed answer. ''Looks like they have awakened their sensory abilities." Izuna smiles and pats their head. Yuri also walks towards them and smiles. "So, how is this ce? Do you two like it?" Izuna asks his two kids. "Mm this ce is much more amazing than the amusement park." Kanna cutely nods her head. "Then won''t you give Dad a kissy?" Izuna extends his cheek to Kanna. Muah Kanna kisses Izuna''s cheek and giggles. "Dad, I have never seen so many fishers before. There was this one weird fish that was glowing like antern. And there was another fish with two tails and a fish with a hammer-like head." Tatsuya narrates the description of various fishes he saw in the underwater fish aquarium. "I wonder what they taste like!" Kanna licks her lips. "" Izuna and Yuri sweat drop as Kanna hungrily gazes at the surrounding fishes. The various fish gathered near the ss quickly disperses after sensing the threatening aura of a predator. ''Hmm was that a semi-divine technique?'' Izuna stares at Kanna in amusement. ''It seems like her sense of presence is at the level of a semi-divine technique. And looks like she doesn''t have control over it. It was just a result of her subconscious desire.'' Izuna ruffles Kanna''s hair. "So, do you two want to explore the depth of the sea and take a closer look at these fish?" Izuna asks his kid. "Can we?" Kanna and Tatsuya stare at Izuna with glowing eyes. "Of course!" Izuna nods and walks towards the ss panel of the aquarium. Yuri stares at Izuna''s back. ''He loves his kids dearly to pamper them to such an extent.'' Izuna ces his hand on the ss panel. Swoosh The next instant, he walks through the solid ss panel and arrives on the other side of the aquarium. An invisible air pocket envelops them. "WOAH! Amazing!" Kanna and Tatsuya look around in amazement as the surrounding water gets repelled. "Look look Onii-chan! The water can''t touch me." Kanna pokes her little finger at the invisible barrier. Ripples spread across the water from the contact of her fingers. Tatsuya also ys with the water bubble with Ayaka. His hand stretches out of the water bubbles andes in contact with the water. ''It''s so cold!'' He quickly pulls his hand inside. Yuri, who is still inside the aquarium is surprised by Izuna''s sudden move. She walks towards the ss panel and taps it a few times. But the ss panel is as sturdy as ever. ''How did he do it?'' She wonders. However, the next second, she shakes her head and attributes it to another of Izuna''s absurd abilities. Kanna notices Yuri and waves at her. "Yuri, Onee-chan!" Yuri also waves at Kanna. Kanna turns towards Izuna and asks him with her puppy eyes. "Dad, can that beautiful Onee-chan join us in the fun?" "Of course!" Izuna nods at her little princess''s request and waves his hand toward Yuri. The ss around liquidates for a second and pulls Yuri into the aquarium. An air bubble wraps around her and pulls her towards Izuna and joins with his air bubble. "Incredible!" Yuri also looks around in amazement. Her dainty hands pluck the invisible air bubble a few times, and she also imitates Kanna and Tatsuya. "Let''s go deeper, Dad!" Tatsuya turns towards Izuna and requests him. Hmm Izuna nces at the depth of the sea and notices a glowing rainbow jellyfish. He understands Tatsuya''s intention to capture the Niji jellyfish. "Then, hold on to me tightly!" As soon as Izuna was about to move deeper, Eeep iipp A gigantic white creature leaps toward them. It''s huge pushes the surrounding water and arrives in front of the group. Eeepp The giant creature lowers its head. Its giantntern-like eyes cast a glow on the group. Kanna and Tatsuya curiously nce at the giant creature without any fear in their eyes. "Aren''t you two afraid of him?" Izuna asks his kids out of curiosity. "No, we aren''t scared." Both kids shake their heads. "Because Dad is the strongest!" Both of them giggle. A smile appears on Izuna''s face after hearing the response of his kids. "Of course!" He chuckles and pats their head. Eeepp The giant white plesiosaur also nudges its head against Izuna''s face and demands love from him. The plesiosaur establishes a telepathic connection with him and Izuna hears a few childish gibberish. However, Izuna is able to understand the plesiosaur''s intentions. "I also missed you, Ryu!" Izuna gently pats Ryu''s head. "Dad, who is he?" Kanna and Tatsuya curiously turn to Izuna. "His name is Ryu, and he is also Dad''s friend. Though Ryu is still a kid!" Izuna chuckles and takes out Ryu''s favorite food and feeds it to him. Eeepp Ryu circles around the group in excitement and afterpleting a circle, it stops in front of them and points its flippers towards Kanna and Tatsuya and then points them again at its back. "Kanna! Tatsuya! Ryu wants to give you both a ride on his back. Do you want to y with him?" Izuna turns to his kids. "Really?" Both kids stare at Ryu with glowing eyes. "Yes!" Both Izuna and Ryu nod their head. Swoosh swoosh Kanna and Tatsuya quickly leap out of Izuna''s embrace and hop onto Ryu''s back. "Wow! He is so huge!" They pat Ryu''s back. "So fluffy! Just like the cloud!" They snuggle on Ryu''s back as Ryu sways its flippers and dives deeper into the water. Izuna and Yuri also hop onto Ryu''s back and view the fascinating underwater scenes with excitement. Izuna stares at the cheerful expression of his kids and nods his head in contentment. "This is how it should be!" ------------------------ Later at night. In the Allied Shinobi Force headquarter, There is a smile on the faces of various personnel of the Intelligence and Logistics department as the news of the victory of the Allied Shinobi forces arrives one after another. "The confidence and morale of our shinobis are at an all-time high. Our forces overwhelmed the Zetsu army and almost destroyed one-fourth of them in a single day." The various shinobis celebrate among themselves. "It''s still too soon to celebrate," Shikaku warns them in a severe tone. However, the slight smile on his face betrays his outer feelings. The shinobi personnel quickly tones down, but still, there is a subtle smile on their face. However, different from them; Shikaku has some other thoughts. Though he is happy about the victory of the allied shinobi force. His gut feeling and years of experience and his IQ warn him of another possibility. He calmly analyzes the battle and soon concludes. ''The Akatsuki made their move with the Zetsu army. However, it looks like Kabuto withdrew his Edo soldiers. The quality and quantity of his Edo soldiers were subpar today. The elite members of the allied shinobi forces quickly subjugated them before they could deal any damage. Well, there were a few factors in ount there. First, the various teams were all prepared for them in advance. There were flee-on-sight orders at the appearance of a powerful Edo and ask for backup at the sight of an elite Edo. With such preparation, we minimized the loss of our forces. Secondly, the intel provided by the Infiltration and Reconnaissance Party was of utmost importance.'' Not only had they the awareness of the enemy''s formation, they also knew about the enemy''s marching route; which allowed them to strategize a counterattack. ''Hmm could there be a fallout between Kabuto and Akatsuki?'' Shikaku ponders. ''Whatever the case it is, it works in our favor. However, we have to prepare for a powerful counterattack in tomorrow''s battle.'' Shikaku shares his thoughts with Minato, and thetter agrees with Shikaku. ''Kabuto''s and Orochimaru''s motives were unknown from the very beginning. So, perhaps Kabuto worked with Akatsuki on a whim or some of his motives might align with Akatsuki''s goal. Whatever it is, we must be prepared to deal with everything they throw at us.'' ------------------ Inside a secret underground cave, Kabuto licks his lips as he stares at the Shogi board in front of him. The white pieces on the shogi board dwindle in numbers while the ck pieces are thriving in number. ''It worked out perfectly! But for now'' As soon as Kabuto opens his mouth, the Zetsu spore on him requests amunication request. "Here ites!" Kabuto epts themunication request and ces the Zetsu spore at one of the corners of the cavern. "KABUTO!! WHAT''S THE MEANING OF THIS?" Tobi''s angry voice echoes in the cavern. Chapter 498: End of Second Day Battle Chapter 498: End of Second Day Battle "KABUTO!! WHAT''S THE MEANING OF THIS?" Tobi''s angry voice echoes in the cavern. Kabuto patiently waits for Tobi to calm down. "I know you are still there!" After a few seconds, Tobi opens his mouth. "Why didn''t you send your more powerful Edo soldiers into the war? What are you nning?" Tobi questions Kabuto''s motives. "Well, I didn''t expect the allied shinobi force to deploy their elite shinobis so soon. The various Kages were supposed to be the reserve force to decide the ending of the war. But to think, the allied shinobi force will take a risk and deploy them so early in the battle. They must be really desperate to win an advantage in the war." Kabuto calmly replies to Tobi in a serene tone. Tobi, who is on the other side of themunication, calms down a little. Since Kabuto can think of this point, he also considered it in his judgment. However, Kabuto''s movements were suspicious from the very beginning. His motives unclear and his over-the-top friendliness, everything seems like a deadly trap. However, he had no choice but to risk it all with Kabuto and cooperate with him. During the time of war, it''s better to have an ally withmon interests than more enemies with opposite goals. Also, after Kisame''s death; he and Zetsu are the only surviving members of the Akatsuki. It began with them and it also ended with them. Fighting against the entire world isn''t a small undertaking, and Kabuto offered him what he needed the most; a supply of immortal elite shinobis. Akatsuki had an army of a hundred thousand Zetsu soldiers. But almost all of them were cannon fodders and even a single elite shinobi could easily take down ten and a hundred of them. At that rate, the battle would end within a single day with Akatsuki''s total defeat. He alone couldn''t fight against the elite shinobi of Five Great Nations with their years of foundation. However, Kabuto''s Edo-Tensei filled that gap and now he is stuck with that choice. Tobi slightly regrets his action, but he had no choice in the matter since Kabuto already knew about his ns. And leaking the details of his ns to the Five Great Nations beforepleting the necessary preparations was thest thing he wanted to happen. "Kabuto, we suffered heavy losses in today''s battle. Almost one-fourth of the Zetsu army got wiped out in today''s encounter. Not only that, the enemy was aware of our strategy and was prepared for our ambush. If only we had your Edo soldier to support the army!" Tobi gives a sour reminder to Kabuto. "Now now don''t be so unrelenting. I had my difficulties too. After the first day''s battle, I lost most of the Edo Tensei soldiers and wasn''t able to replenish enough shinobis to summon many Edo soldiers for today''s battle. However, I have enough Edo soldiers for tomorrow''s battle." Kabuto licks his lips and stares at multiple unconscious shinobis around him. These shinobis are in aatose state from Kabuto''s poison. "So, rest assured for tomorrow''s battle." Kabuto has a not so assuring smile on his face. On the other side of themunication spore, "Damn snake!" Tobi grits his teeth and turns to ck Zetsu. "What are the chances that he can truly control him?" He asks Zetsu a random question. "The possibility is very low. However, I have countermeasures in ce." Zetsu assures him. ''I can''t let anyone foil the centuries of my nning. I have waited for this day for so long,'' ck Zetsu thinks to himself. "Then I will put my trust in Kabuto for just this once. Once the third phase of the Eye of the Moon n is put into action, we will get rid of him." Mm ck Zetsu nods at him and enters the ground and disappears. Only Obito is left alone in the hideout. Obito takes out a torn picture of himself and Rin from his pocket. He gently caresses the picture. ''Rin, it won''t be long before we reunite.'' --------------------------- The second day of the war ends with the Allied Shinobis force''s victory. A group of shinobi teams scouts the outer perimeter of the camp in anticipation of any ambush like the previous night. The variousmanders and vicemander gather in their camps and prepare for the War Council meeting. A few minutester, Fwoosh All respective personnel arrives within the virtual space of the war council meeting. All of them take their respective seats and patiently wait for Shikaku to finish the report on today''s war. "After tallying the number of missing people and casualties in the war, we lost a total of one thousand shinobis in today''s war. The enemy forces lost a total of twenty-seven thousand soldiers and around three hundred elite Edo soldiers." He ces down the report on the table. "A total of two hundred shinobis are missing from today''s battle. Looks like Kabuto is up to no good again." He adds. Hmm Onoki, who was silently sitting with closed eyes, opens them. "Today''s battle allowed us to witness the true strength of the Allied Shinobi forces'' brain, Shikaku Nara. With his immacte nning, meticulous eyes for details, and intricate strategy; today''s battle was a huge victory for the allied shinobi force." Onoki praises Shikaku to no end. "Lord Tsuchikage overpraises me. If not for the sacrifice of the Infiltration and Reconnaissance Party to deliver the intel, we wouldn''t have won today''s battle by such a margin." Shikaku shakes his head. A also opens his eyes and nces at themander of the Recon Team. "Any progress on the whereabouts of Kabuto and the missing shinobis?" "Unfortunately, not!" The Recon Team leader shakes his head. "A few of our teams were ambushed and captured by Kabuto''s Edo soldiers and we have lost track of his whereabouts. Even the trackers we ced on our shinobis led to a dead end." Tch A clicks his tongue in disappointment. "Deploy more forces in search of Kabuto. We must find him at all costs." Minato issues an order. "Now, let''s focus our attention on tomorrow''s battle strategy." Minato retreats and lets Shikaku take the lead. Everyone turns their attention to Shikaku as he speaks. "Akatsuki suffered a huge loss in today''s battle. They won''t sit back and let us win this war. Kabuto has probably sessfully replenished his Edo soldiers and he might even deploy Kage-level shinobis in tomorrow''s battle. So, in tomorrow''s battle, we will deploy a defensive formation to resist the enemy''s fierce counterattack." For the next hour, Shikaku designs a defensive battle formation around Onoki''s defense division. The meeting ends and the variousmanders and vicemanders return to their respective camp for the night. Back at the secret underground cavern, Kabuto draws a series of runes on the ground to form a giantplex Fuinjutsu formation. He takes out multiple vials from a storage scroll. Next, he ces down multiple Fuinjutsu scrolls with a summoning seal on the ground. He sshes the contents of the vials on the various scrolls and makes a series of hand signs. "The Edo Tensei is a summoning technique at its very core. I have already modified its Fuinjutsu seal to the very extreme. However, just like the summoning jutsu, the quality of the Edo also depends on the amount and quality of the chakra infused at the time of summoning. The Nature energy from the Sage Mode yields the best result. However, it takes quite a lot of time to infuse the necessary amount of chakra for the summoning. Earlier, I was struggling a lot with the chakra requirement. However, ever since I met her" Kabuto raises his head and nces at an unconscious shinobi with orange hairs held by the white snake. "The members of the Kenja n are a natural source of the constant Sage chakra. With him, I don''t have to worry about running out of nature energy." The fangs of the white snake sink deeper into the body of the orange figure. ng ng ng One after another, multiple coffins gather around Kabuto. Kuku Chapter 499: Akatsuki’s Counterattack Part-1 Chapter 499: Akatsukis Counterattack Part-1 "Dad, that was so fun!" Izuna and the group return to the surface. Kanna and Tatsuya jump into Izuna''s embrace as Izuna cuddles them. "Izuna-sama, the dinner is ready!" Viktor arrives in front of the group and respectfully bows his head. "The, let''s eat some fishes." Izuna pats his kid''s head and follows Viktor. They arrive in a giant hall with a veryrge dining table. There are multiple dishesid on the table. The dishes vary from vegetables, curries, meat dishes, breads, desserts, and seafood. Seafood being the specialty of the Donut Ind, a giant fish is skewered at the center of the table as a presentation. Kanna''s mouth salivates at the sight of a fish. She recognizes the giant fish as one of the fishes she encountered during their exploration. Yuri heard Kanna''s intention to eat the fish. So, she ryed a message to her n members who captured the fish for her. Izuna is unperturbed by the rows of delicacies in front of him. For him, despite the magnificence of this food, he still enjoys his mother''s home cooking the most. As for his wife Izuna recalls an incident where Mei attempted to cook a dish for him. Midway through her cooking session, Ayaka joined her, and well as one can predict the result. It all ended in disaster. He had to douse the fire and purify the poisonous miasma in the kitchen. So, yeah, Mei isn''t that great of a cook. The most she can do is prepare sandwiches. So, in his house, he is the one who is responsible for cooking. ''Well, I haven''t trained my cooking skills with shadow clones for nothing.'' Izuna takes a bite of the fish dish and nods his head. "It''s quite good!" Hepliments the effort put by the chef into the dish. Although his own cooking skills have surpassed the level of this dish by a long shot. "Mmm it''s so delicious." Kanna and Tatsuya enjoy the food in bliss. A smile appears on Izuna''s face after watching the content expression of his kids. "Then, Dad will cook something even more delicious than this when we return home!" Izuna wipes the sauce from Kanna''s and Tatsuya''s faces with a tissue. "Really?" Kanna''s and Tatsuya''s eyes glow at the mention of delicious food. They never ate their mother''s cooking since their mother was always busy with her work. Their grandma prepares all of their meals. Although their grandma''s cooking is delicious. They still crave more variety in their food. "Mmm Dad will cook yummy food for you every day." Izuna ces some vegetables on both of their tes. "But before that you both have to finish your veggies." "Promise?!" Kanna extends her pinkie. "Pinkie Promise!" Izuna curls his pinkie finger with Kanna''s. After eating their fill, the kids savor the desserts and y around in the kid section with other kids. Izuna also joins them and watches them y with other kids with the rest of the parents. Both Kanna and Tatsuya stand out from the rest of the kids due to their cheerful expressions and beautiful faces. ''Those kids are so cute!'' Even other kidspare their kids with both. Izuna proudly puffs out his chest. ''After all, I am their handsome dad!'' The two kids y to their heart''s content and finally return to Izuna''s side with sleepy eyes. Izuna hoist them in his arms and return to his room in the hotel to sleep. He gently ces them on the bed and covers their body with a nket. Izuna leaves a shadow clone behind to take care of the kids as he reaches out to the balcony. Fwoosh A few secondster, Seiry silently appears on the balcony. Izuna nces at Seiry''s sad eyes and sighs. "I want revenge on those animals for pushing her to such an extent." Seiry grits his teeth. "We will!" Izuna nods and nces at the moon in the sky. "However, we can''t fight them head-on without enough preparation." "I know!" Seiry clenches his fists. "That''s why I n to return to the n to not only buy us time but also make preparations in secret." "Then what will you report?" Izuna asks him. "Your father will immediately figure out your lies." "I know!" Seiry nods and also nces at the various stars in the sky. "That''s why I want you to nt a curse on my body!" Seiry turns to Izuna. "Your Fuinjutsu skills are as impressive as hers since you inherited a part of her power. So, I want you to nt a powerful Shinjutsu in my mindscape that alters my memory and a controlmand to trigger my hidden memories." "Are you sure you want to do this?" Such a powerful technique will affect your spiritual energy and weaken your mental resistance. "I am!" Seiry resolutely nods his head. "Just nt a fabricated memory that says thebined forces of the Abyss and Otsutsuki n ambushed me. The souls of those three fellows should serve as enough proof. I suffered some mental damage in the battle against them. And used the powerful, forbidden technique of the Astral Demon n at the cost of inflicting self-harm. With your curse, I will only remember my curse and will temporarily forget everything." Seiry suggests a n. "How does that sound?" "Hmm it''s a bit risky. And you must avoid the top ten Daiykai at all costs, especially your grandfather, who is ranked sixth on the list. He will see through your charade with a single nce. "I know!" Seiry nods at him. "Why don''t you wait for a few more days before I nt the curse? You can also meet ''her''." "Just a nce from far enough for me." Seiry shakes his head. "And besides, she won''t even recognize me. So, I don''t n to waste any more time." "Very well!" Shiing A kaleidoscopic pattern appears in Izuna''s right eye. Multiple runes flicker within his eye as he mumbles an incoherent chant. "Authority of Tatarigami: Malevolent Curse of Arae," Aher green curse seal forms in Izuna''s right hand. "Are you ready?" He turns to Seiry. "Bring it on!" Izuna ces his hand on top of Seiry''s head and channels the curse energy within his body. Shiing A kaleidoscopic pattern appears in both of Seiry''s eyes as his body resists the curse. However, Seiry grits his teeth and restrains his body. A green glow appears in Seiry''s eyes and he loses consciousness due to the invasion of his mind. "The symptoms are simr to the forbidden technique of the astral demon n. Now, all I have to do is rough him a little and then throw him in the void between worlds." A crooked smile appears on Izuna''s face as he inflicts torture on Seiry''s body with a sadistic expression. "Hehe it''s nothing personal. I am just following your wishes." He mumbles as he clenches his fists and smacks a panda eye on Seiry''s face. "Hmm one is not enough!" After half an hour, Izuna was satisfied by his handiwork. He picks up Seiry''s body like a gunny sack and slung it on his shoulders. Fwoosh A pitch-ck space fissure appears in front of him, and Izuna steps into the fissure and disappears. ---------------------------- The next day in the morning, The allied shinobi forces quickly deploy their units ording to Shikaku''s defensive formation. The perimeter of the battlefield shrank a lot after the previous two days. Hmm A sandstorm appears on the battlefield and covers the vision of the Allied shinobi force. Hmm Onoki levitates in the sky and nces at the approaching storm. Rasa also floats beside him on a sand tform and nces in the direction of the sandstorm. A few flying figures are barely visible within the sandstorm. "This technique" Rasa frowns as he recognizes the chakra within the sandstorm. "This is the signature technique of the First Kazekage- < Heaven Sand Burial > and those flying puppet-like figures within the sand storm must be the puppet legion of the Second Kazekage!" The expression of the rest of the shinobis turns ugly. "Everyone, prepare for the enemy attack!" Themanders of various toons issue a series of orders. "We get new intel from the headquarter! There are multiple powerful chakra signatures hidden within that sandstorm." The members of the Sensor team send a warning. "So, it''s finally here- Akatsuki''s counterattack!" Onoki narrows his eyes. Chapter 500: Akatsuki’s Counterattack Part-2 Chapter 500: Akatsukis Counterattack Part-2 Inside the Allied Shinobi Force headquarter, The members of the sensor unit are constantly monitoring the battlefield with the CPS system. Multiple ripples spread across the surface of the sensing water sphere. "Huh!" Ao, who was monitoring the movements of the enemies'' chakra signature, opens his eyes. "Three o''clock! Several Zetsu soldiers are marching towards the shinobi army." Hmm Pop Pop Few water bubbles pop on the surface of the sensing water sphere at the previous position. "Several powerful chakra signatures suddenly appeared in that position. What''s going on?" Ao turns towards another member of the Sensory team in charge of the visual feed of the CPS system. "Ao-sama! A powerful sand hurricane has engulfed the entire Zetsu army." He presents the visual feed to the Ao. "Any intel on the powerful shinobis present in the sandstorm?" He enquires. A few secondster, a member of the logistics department enters the room at a hurried pace. "We have confirmed the nature of the chakra signature and technique. This sandstorm is a result of a powerful technique called < Heaven Sand Burial > and is a signature move of the First Kazekage. Also, the second chakra signature within the sandstorm is that of the Second Kazekage." Pop Pop Before Ao could report the situation to the battlefield, multiple water bubbles pop across the entire water-sensing sphere. Ao''s expression turns ugly at the presence of so many powerful chakras signatures appearing at the same time. "6 o''clock in the direction of the sea. A powerful mist has covered the entire battlefield. We recorded multiple powerful chakra signatures within the Mist." Another sensor reports the situation. "A simr situation is happening at 9 o''clock. ck clouds have engulfed the sky and a powerful thunderstorm is constantly striking the ground." Another sensor reports. "WHAT WHAT''S GOING ON?" The eyes of a senior sensor widen in surprise. "Just now, our sensory devices picked up a powerful reading near the Allied Shinobi forces. However, the signal swiftly disappeared into thin air as if it never appeared. However, the CPS system is still picking signals of the enemy presence." The senior sensor points towards a red beacon near the allied shinobi force. The red beacon is hovering in the air above the allied Shinobi force. "Calm down! This isn''t the time to panic!" Shikaku enters the central monitoring room with Minato. "Let''s calmly analyze the situation one by one and ry the information to the allied shinobi forcemanders." Shikaku turns towards Inoichi. "First and foremost, report the situation regarding the sandstorm and the First Kazekage. The First Kazekage is the closest to our forces. So, he must be our priority target. Use the powerful sensory abilities of the CPS system to determine the exact number of enemy forces and report it as such." Shikaku assigns the task to one of the sensory teams. "Next, monitor the situation near the sea. The enemy forces at sea are quite close to our back line. So, we must ensure their number and prepare our forces to intercept them. If the number of enemy forces is greater than our army, then alert the Lightning division and the Special Taskforce to mobilize. Also, inform Vicemander Fugaku Uchiha of the situation and ask him to mobilize a unit of Fire users to intercept and weaken the mist." "Yes, Shikaku-sama!" Another sensor unit captain takes his leave. "We have identified the shinobis present in the Mist. It''s the First Mizukage Byakuren, Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki, and the Third Mizukage Hyakuren. There are two more powerful presences within the mist. For now, we can''t identify them since their presence doesn''t match with any known record in our database." Soon after, a member of the logistics unit reports to them. "Looks like we have to deploy more forces near the sea. Inform Lady Mizukage of the situation and also deploy half of the special task force unit specializing in water release techniques to aid them." Minato nods at Ao. "Yes, Minato-sama!" "Next up, how''s the situation at 9 o''clock!" Shikaku inquires. "It''s the First, Second, and the Third Raikage. The thunderstorm is a result of a secret cooperation Ninjutsu passed down through the Raikage lineage!" Mabui, the secretary of the Fourth Raikage and a current member of the logistics unit reveals the information to the group. "Hmm very well!" Inform Raikage andmander Sakumo Hatake of the Situation. "Yes, Minato-sama!" Mabui nods as Minato''s gaze locks on one of the visual feeds near the allied shinobi force. The red beacon indicating enemy presence is still glowing brightly as ever and yet there is no enemy in vision. ''Kushina, deactivate the life detection and activate the heat and light sensor of the CPS system?'' He sends a telepathic message to Kushina. "Are you sure about it?" Kushina enquires. The life detection sensor of the CPS system yed the most crucial role in the current war. The Zetsu soldiers can evade traditional sensory means, but their body is full of vitality, a result of Hashirama cells and the Shinju tree. As a result, the Zetsu soldiers appear as bright beacons in the life detection system. "Just activate them in the area around the Third Unit. The enemy seems to be using some sort of advanced cloaking technique to avoid the detection of our sensor shinobi. And judging from no reaction from the Life sensor, he must be an Edo." "Very well! Kushina activates the heat and light sensor. And soon a distorted image appears on one of the visual feeds. "As I suspected, this cloaked technique is an application of water release. The user covers their body with water vapors to bend the light around them and turn invisible." Minato ponders for a while. "I see! I seem to recall the records of the Null Man. Looks like this person is that legendary Null man." Minato turns towards Inoichi. "Inform Lord Tsuchikage of the situation and let him handle it as he sees fit!" ------------------------------- On the battlefield, "Mizukage-sama! Bad news!" A member of themunication team rushes in front of Mei and the rest. "What''s the matter?" Mei frowns. "A dense mist is slowly approaching the allied shinobi force from the seaside. The headquarter has confirmed multiple presences within the mist. Also, judging from the chakra signature within the mist; there is a very high possibility that the former Mizukages are resurrected as an Edo Tensei. And the dense mist is his handiwork." The shinobi turns towards Fugaku, who is also tagging along with Mei. "Commander Minato also requested Fugaku-sama to deploy a unit of Fire users to clear the mist." Mmm Fugaku turns towards Akira and Yagami, the two captains of his team. "Let''s go!" Both of them nod and issues a series ofmands to their subordinates. Soon, multiple shinobis from the Uchiha and Sarutobi ns gather at the shore. "This Mist is so depressing!" Asuma Sarutobi, who is also a member of the Fire Squad, nces at the mist and clicks his tongue. "This mist has a slightly hypnotic effect and seems to be some sort of genjutsu technique. So, beware of it!" Kurenai, who is a member of the Special Task Force, warns him. Shikaku, Ino, Choji, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino also gather at a spot and nces at their sensei. "Asuma sensei is such a coward! It''s been six years already and yet he is still the same. Even Kakashi Sensei left him behind." Ino clicks her tongue. "Looks like we have to n their wedding after this war." Ssh ssh Several water sshing sound echoes in the surroundings. Multiple White Zetsu jumps out of the water and attacks the Shinobi force. "Enemy attack!" The group cuts their chit-chat short and engages in a battle against the iing Zetsu army. --------------------------- On the other side of the battlefield, Rasa and Gaara levitate in mid-air on their respective sand tform and nce at the huge sandstorm rapidly approaching them. "Let me take care of it!" Gaara steps forward. Rasa nces at his son''s back. ''Son! How strong have you be after abandoning the power I forced on you?'' Rasa recalls his action of forcefully sealing Shukaku in Gaara despite thetter. However,ter, due to his stupid actions, he offended the most powerful shinobi of this era and thetter extracted Shukaku from Gaara''s body; a feat he thought to be impossible without Gaara''s death. Gaara opens his palm and conjures an eye of sand. The eye floats in the sky and vanishes in the direction of the Sandstorm. Next, Gaara makes a series of hand signs and spreads his arms open. Rumble rumble The ground beneath the allied Shinobi force trembles. Swoosh The topmostyer of the ground erodes into the sand and gathers in front of Gaara to form a giant palm. The giant palm covers the sky and presses down on the iing Sand storm. BOOM ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 501: Lightning Release: Raimu Raito Chapter 501: Lightning Release: Raimu Raito Suddenly, Onoki narrows his eyes. Fwoosh He darts into the sky and arrives beneath the clouds. "This technique and chakra signature there is no doubt about it." Onoki nces at the empty space in front of him. "You are here, aren''t you, M-sama!" Fwoosh A veil of water lifts and a figure in multiple bandages appear in front of Onoki. "Hmm Looks like you still remember after so many years. Judging from your current appearance, it has been a very long time since I left this world." M scrutinizes Onoki''s appearance. "It has been more than forty years since you died. But the cause of your death is still a mystery to us," Onoki converses normally with M. Thetter doesn''t show any hostility as of yet, which implies that he is still in control of his body. "More than forty years, huh? I guess time sure took its toll on your body. Well, I never expected to die in the hands of that Mizukage bastard. I was in an advantageous position the entire time during our battle. But during hisst moments, hended a sneak attack on me; but I also managed to deliver the final blow to him. So, in the end, both of us died in that battle. There was no victor among us." Mshakes his head. "WHAT? The second Mizukage was so strong?!" Onoki is surprised to hear this. "Mm I also didn''t expect that bastard to hide such a powerful concealment jutsu. The world gave me the nickname of the ''Null Man'' for my jutsu. However, his concealment technique was no less than mine, leading me to drop my guard at the final moment and ambush me when I was unprepared." M sighs and shakes his head. "Still, what''s going on? Why am I back in the world of living? And this technique seems to be the forbidden jutsu of the Second Hokage. Where is he? No, judging from the time passed; he must also be dead. So, who summoned me to this world, and for what purpose?" Menquires. "Well, it''s a long story. But there is someone else besides the Second Hokage who can also use this technique. And currently, he is an enemy of the entire world. That means we both stand on the opposing sides." Onoki gives a brief exnation of the situation to M. "Hmm enemy of the world opposing sides! So, does this mean" M nces at the forces of the allied shinobi army with slight bewilderment. " there is some power strong enough to resist the might of alliance of Five Great Nations? Tell me more about it!" "Very well!" Onoki begins his exnation. ---------------------------- Meanwhile, In the 9 o''clock direction from the Allied Shinobi Force Headquarters, A stare at the giant cloud of lightning in the sky and grits his teeth. "Damn that bastard Kabuto! I can feel Gramps and Pops'' presence within that thunderstorm." A smash his fist into a nearby boulder. "Raikage-dono, it''s not the time to lose calm to your sentiments. Because that''s what our enemies want us to do. They want us to make a mistake and fall for their trap." Sakumo attempts to cate Raikage''s feelings. "Damn it, if the Akatsuki wants to piss me off. Then they have seeded in doing so!" A clench his fist. "You must not lose your calm, Raikage-sama! We are fighting this battle to protect Lord B." C also shakes his head. The mention of Bee''s name slightly calms A down, and he turns towards Sakumo and opens his mouth. "Lord Sakumo, the ck clouds and the thunderstorm in the sky are the result of an extremely powerful technique passed down through the Raikage lineage. The ancestors of my n developed this technique much before the era of the Shinobi nations. At the time of its development, my nbeled it as the strongest lightning jutsu in existence. And it''s still the most powerful lightning jutsu in this era called . This technique involves Four powerful Kage-level shinobis to continuously channel their chakra into a gigantic cloud of lightning. The thunderstorm is a result of that ck lightning cloud. Once the technique ispleted, it''s powerful enough to wipe out an entire vige on its own. The destructive power of this technique is close to 6 on the extermination scale and can be considered a natural cmity. There are very few techniques that can block this attack. The powerful barrier ninjutsu of the Uzumaki n are a few among them. However, the Uzumaki n" A turn silent as he nces at the ck cloud in the sky. "How much time do we have?" Sakumo enquires as he gets ready to battle. "We still have around an hour''s worth of time since only three people are channeling their chakra into the technique." A exins. "Let''s try to stop them before they canplete their technique." Sakumo readies his de and nces at the vast army of White Zetsu. ''Looks like the Akatsuki has focused much of their forces on this battlefield.'' "The reinforcement is on its way!" The member of themunication team receives a message from the headquarter. Meanwhile, at the same time, within the Allied Shinobi forces headquarter, A giant distortion appears on top of the water-sensing sphere at the position of enemy Raikages. "Such a powerful ninjutsu!" Ao and Inoichi nce at the water-sensing sphere with trepidation. "What are the chances that our barrier team can block this jutsu?" Shikaku enquires as he nces at the tumor-shaped distortion on the water-sensing sphere. "The chances are very low!" A senior member of the logistics and barrier team shakes his head. "Perhaps Lord Minato might have a solution!" He suggests. Sigh "Lord Minato is currently busy in a diplomatic discussion with the Daimyo and the representative of Redaku ind." Shikaku shakes his head. "Redaku Ind?!" Everyone in the central hall curiously turns to Shikaku. Shikaku nces at their curious gazes and opens his mouth. "The information about Redaku Ind is the most confidential matter in the Shinobi world. However, since Redaku Ind has made contact with us, it won''t be long before their existence bes known to the rest of the world. So, seems like I can reveal things about Redaku to everyone." Everyone perks up their ears to listen to Shikaku''s intelligence. "The nation of Redaku is an ancientnd separated from the rest of the shinobi world by a powerful natural formation. Only a selected few from the shinobi world can visit Redaku and simrly, only a selected few from Redaku can travel to the shinobi world. However, the history of Redaku predates that of the Five Great Nations and is believed to be even more ancient than the Sage of Six Paths himself. So, with this fact alone; we can''t ignore the presence of Redaku. However, up till now, the people of Redaku isted themselves from the shinobi world to the point that they didn''t even bother with any of the shinobi wars. However, something must have happened for them to finally reveal their existence to the entire shinobi world." Shikaku recalls a confidential meeting of all Kage during the previous night. The secret meeting happened right after the war council meeting. Some influential figures from the Redaku ind contacted Lord Minato through some sort ofmunication technique and proposed to assist the Shinobi world in the Fourth Shinobi War. Of course, they have a few terms of their own for the cooperation. Minato and the rest of the Kage held a meeting to discuss the terms and even informed the respective Daimyo of their country about the situation since this involves the economy of all nations. So, the current meeting is held between the representative of the Redaku and the Daimyo of the various nations. ----------------------- Inside a meeting hall in the Allied shinobi force headquarter, Swoosh swoosh The images of various Daimyos appear on multiple giant screens. The various Daimyo nce at each other and Minato and exim in surprise. "This is quite a convenientmunication technique, Lord Minato!" The Daimyo of the Land of Earth exims with a fan in front of his face. "It was all thanks to the investment from Shinjo-sama, that we could research such a technique." Minato courtly praise the Fire Daimyo. Hoho The Fire Daimyo raises his head in pride and fans his face with a Sensu fan (folding fan) as the other Daimyo casts an envious gaze at him. Minato silently praises Izuna''s evaluation of the current Daimyo in his mind. The Fire Daimy has a fickle and indecisive nature and is easily swayed in his decisions through biases as well as external influences. During the early days of his career as an entrepreneur, Izunacked a source of funding despite his usurping of the Gatopany. Since in the end, the Gatopany was a small fish and Izuna needed arge sum to shape his grand n. So, he used the weakness of the Fire Daimyo to extort funds from him. And what was the weakness of the current Fire Daimyo? Well, it was his wife, Madam Shijimi. Madam Shijimi could easily sway his husband''s mind and thus Izuna coerced her through the prototypes of various cosmetics and other beauty products and was able to secure quite a huge initial funding. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 502: Diplomatic Meeting Chapter 502: Diplomatic Meeting While the Daimyos were chatting among themselves, the image of another figure appears on the central screen. "It''s nice to meet you, people of the shinobi world." A youthful figure d in regal clothes curtly greets them. The youthful figure has a crown on his head and is apanied by two figures on his left and right, a man and a woman. Minato recognizes the woman as the current n head of the Uzu n, Akari Uzu. However, he has no hint about the identity of the youth and the person beside him. The expression of all Daimyos also tenses up as they recognize the youth as someone important. Akari steps forward and greets the Daimyos and Minato as she introduces the youthful figure. "I am Akari, the leader of the Uzu n, a guardian of the Redaku, and this is his majesty Senshura Seimei." Akari introduces the young man beside her. "And the person beside his majesty is his trusted aide and the current prime minister of Redaku Suzuki Ikumi." The prime minister curtly bows to the Daimyos. The Daimyo also reciprocates their greeting. "Oh, never had we expected that the current king of Redaku is such a youthful figure." The Earth Daimyo chuckles and shifts the fan in front of his face. "Even though my lord is young, his abilities are well known among the citizens of Redaku. Under his short reign, Redaku has prospered in all fields and aspects." Ikumi nces at the various Daimyos. Tense rises in the air as both sides re at each other. Sigh Minato sighs softly. ''The Daimyo are too prideful of their status and power.'' "Now now We weren''t doubtful of Seimei san''s abilities. It was just a pleasant surprise to hear his noble name." The lightning Daimyo tries to cate the situation after witnessing the unyielding expression of both sides. "I hope that''s the case!" Ikumi continues to re at them. "That should be enough, Ikumi!" Seimei opens his mouth. "Yes, my lord!" Ikumi nods and retreats behind Seimei. "So, before we start the diplomatic discussions; I would like to make a few things clear to every participating nation." Seimei''s expression turns serious. "Redaku is a peace-loving country with its fair share of war and turmoil in the past. Our history dates even further than the Sage of Six Paths and there are even clear records of the Sage of Six Path''s visit to Redaku. Not only, the royal family of the Redaku possesses a powerful artifact granted us to by the Sage himself. Only a member of the Royal family can control it and that artifact is capable of flooding the entire world on a singlemand of mine." Seimei shows a dominant expression in front of the Daimyos with a clear, threatening expression on his face. The expression of various Daimyos turns ugly from the threat. "Lord Seimei, your words seem to be inappropriate for a peaceful diplomatic rtionship." The Water Daimyo intrudes. "No, no, we have no intention of waging war against the Shinobi world. In fact, we are here to aid them in the current war. However, the majority of Redaku''s poption is made of civilians and shinobis are a legendary existence of them. However, in these past few years, we researched quite a lot of shinobi history and came to understand the rule of the shinobi world. It''s the survival of the fittest. And I don''t want any misconception of Redaku being a weak country spread across the world. So, pardon me for my offensive words, but the basis of our cooperation is peace and trust." Seimei smiles at them. "And I hope all of you are trustworthy enough to maintain a peaceful rtionship with us. Now, with that being said, let''s start the meeting, shall we?" With just a mix of a few threatening and peaceful words, Seimei gains an advantage over the rest. ''This person has a very high IQ and EQ.'' Minato remarks as he nces at Seimei''s face. The diplomatic discussion begins and each nation presents its own set of terms and conditions. Some agree with each other, while a few sh against each other on certain conflicting terms. The Daimyos even summon their advisors to discuss everything in detail. The discussionsts for almost three hours before finally concluding. Each nation agreed to open their trade routes and channels to the merchant of Redaku at a certain tax ratio and simrly, Redaku also levied some taxes on their secret route of entry and exit in Redaku. They also discussed terms of the intervention of shinobis in Redaku''snd. After some lengthy discussion, it was decided that Redaku could also issue a request to the shinobis of various nations simr to other kingdoms. Three hourster, Most Daimyos part with a smile on their face, since almost all of them came into possession of a new source of constant ie. Only Minato and the entourage from the Redaku are left behind in the meeting room. "Lord Minato!" Akari slightly bows her head to Minato. "Minato-sama!" Even the serious expression of Seimei vanishes, reced by the profile of a hardcore fanboy. Seimei greets Minato with enthusiasm. "I read a lot of stories about your legend. You are one of my idles and I was waiting for so long to meet you in person." Even Ikumi''s expression mellows down as he greets Minato. The enthusiasm of Seimei bbergasted Minato. Akari smiles and exins to Minato. "His Majesty, Seimei is also a great follower of Lord Izuna. It was Lord Izuna who helped him ascend the throne of Redaku and, being Lord Izuna''s teacher; his majesty Seimei also respects you a lot." Akari cuts short the details. "I see!" Minato nods at Seimei with a smile. Still, he has several questions in his mind and is mostly confused about the intentions of Redaku''s move. Akari senses Minato''s confusion and opens her mouth. "Lord Minato, it''s an order from Lord Izuna." "WHAT?! IZUNAA!" Minato''s eyes widen in surprise and he loses hisposure at the mention of Izuna''s name. A simr situation happens on the other side of the headquarters of the Allied Shinobi forces. Kushina, who was telepathically listening to the conversation, also stands up from her seat. "IZUNAA!" "Onee-chan!" Ayaka turns towards Kushina with a curious gaze. "Where is he?" Minato frantically inquires. "Lord Izuna is still in Redaku. He is currently apanying his two little kids." Akari calmly reveals the matter to Izuna. "So, he is back!" Minato sighs in relief and slumps down on the chair. The frown on his face disappears and even the looming tension of ongoing war lessens a lot. The burden in his heart slowly vanishes as he closes his eyes. "I knew it! He will be fine!" Minato sighs again and opens his eyes. "Did he leave any message for us?" Minato turns to Akari. "Mm Lord Izuna said, ''I am currently unable to participate in the Fourth Shinobi War due to a few circumstances that might negatively affect the entire world. However, I will intervene in the war when my intervention is required." Akari repeats Izuna''s words to Minato. "I see!" Minato ponders for a while. ''Perhaps it has something to do with the otherworldly threats. Izuna is still hiding a lot of things from us. Once this war is over, I will force him to reveal everything without any excuse.'' "So, does that mean the current intervention of Redaku?" "Yes, it was Lord Izuna who asked us to do so. Also, I have already sent a few elite members of my Uzu n to the shinobi world. They will shortly arrive to aid you in the war." Akari continues. "Then I am very grateful for your support!" Minato bows slightly in gratitude. "Also, send a message to Izuna from me- "His family is eagerly waiting to meet him. Especially his wife, his mentor, his teacher, and most of all, his younger sister"." "Very well!" Akari nods in affirmation. ------------------------- Meanwhile, as Minato was busy with the diplomatic meeting; Shikaku receives an unknownmunication request from. His expression changes slightly as hemunicates with the speaker on the end. "Hmm that will be difficult. However, I will see what I can do." Shikaku replies and cuts off themunication. He turns to Inoichi. "Inform the Raikage of the situation and ask him to hold enemy forces until the reinforcement arrives on the battlefield." "Mm" Inoichi nods at him and swiftly contacts A. ------------------------- A/N:- My new Naruto fan-fic, ''The Rogue Demon of the Shinobi World'' is out. Also, check out my pat reon .pa /ForgottenLife to support my work and get a sneak peak at thetest chapters of both series in advance. Read upto 80+ chapters from both seriesbined in advance. Chapter 503: Lightning Vs Lightning Chapter 503: Lightning Vs Lightning On the battlefield, A confronts the Zetsu army. Haah A cover his entire body in a lightning cloak and charges through the Zetsu army. "Lightning STRAIIIGHT!!" He rams head front in the Zetsu army and mows them like weeds. Bang bang With each punch, he crushes a Zetsu into mush. He rampages through the battlefield and ughters the Zetsu one after another like an unstoppable war god. Fwish Fwish Several Zetsu fuses into one giant Zetsu and attacks A with a flurry of thorns and spikes. A stops in charge and make a series of quick hand signs. He spews out a gigantic lightning dragon from his mouth. The lightning dragon blows apart a portion of the giant''s Zetsu abomination''s right shoulder and chest. HAAH A kicks the ground and jumps in the air. "GUUILLOOTIIINEE CHHOOOPP!" He performs a downward kick with the momentum of his fall and the eleration of his lightning chakra. BOOM A''s kicknds on the head of the giant Zetsu abomination and transfers a surge of powerful lightning chakra throughout its body. The ground beneath the abomination''s leg fractures and the force behind the kick crushes it to the white paste. The yellow eyes of the several Zetsu dim down and the giant Zetsu abomination withers like a dried tree. A uses his lightning chakra to incinerate it to ashes. Hmm He pauses and stares at the giant wall of the Zetsu army blocking his path forward to the location of the Edo Raikages. "This will take a while!" Swoosh swoosh Two figures leap from his side. "Lighting Release: Purple Chidori stream," A stream of purple lightning flickers across the battlefield and incinerates several Zetsu soldiers around the Raikage. "Lead Hurricane!" A powerful hurricane of wind blows away a major portion of the surrounding Zetsu. Two figures steps beside Raikage and block the iing attacks from the Zetsu army. "You two are Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy!" He recognizes the two. "What are you two doing here?" "Raikage-sama, we got orders from themander to aid you in the battle. Themander is currently holding the enemy forces from breaching our defense line." Hmm Raikage nces back and notices the swarm of the Zetsu army marching toward the rest of the Allied Shinobi force toon. Due to his reckless charge, he is currently surrounded. Kakashi and Might Guy barely caught up to him. "Raikage-sama, we will open a path for you. Let''s continue to move forward." "Very well!" A riles up his chakra. He grabs an iing thorn attack from a Zetsu and smashes it to the paste. Shiing Kakashi activates his Sharingan and makes a series of hand signs. He erects a rock tform around them. A and Guy jumps on top of the rock tform and nces at the army of Zetsu. HAAAAAHHH Guy clenches his fists and rifles up his chakra. "Fifth Gate of Limit: OOPPENNN!" Shoom A burst of green aura escapes from Guy''s body. The aura generates a powerful shockwave that pushes away the surrounding Zetsu, clearing the surrounding field. Chirp Chii Purple lightning flickers around Kakashi''s left arm and eye. Fwoosh The next second, the three of them charge through the Zetsu army with a burst of speed. OH! Seeing Kakashi and Guy manage to keep up with his current pace, A is slightly surprised. Their target appears in front of their eyes as they notice the three Edo Kages channeling their chakra toward the giant ck cloud in the sky. "Is that A?" The Third Raikage recognizes his son. "Is he our current enemy?" The second Raikage question. Kakashi''s Guy''s and A''s charge is cut short by a group of Edo shinobis. "This is troublesome!" Kakashi frowns as he recognizes a few of them as former members of the Root. "It must be Orochimaru!" He clicks his tongue. "Zenshiro, Raijin, Reiki!" A also frowns as he recognizes a few of them as the former members of the Raikage bodyguard corp. "Kabuto, that bastard!" A grit his teeth as the three elite Kumo shinobis surround him. These three were a part of his father''s bodyguard unit and they persisted with him to the end of the battle during the Third Shinobi War. In the end, all three of them perished in thest stand with the Third Raikage. They sacrificed their lives to buy time for their allies to retreat, thus earning the honor of heroes in the Kumogakure. However, now Kabuto is manipting them to fight against the very shinobis they sacrificed their lives to protect. This could not help make A''s blood boil in anger. Haah A riles up his lightning chakra to flee the encirclement of three shinobis. Swish swish swoosh The three shinobis throw down a pair of electrodes toward the ground and make some quick hand signs. They use the conductive properties of their metallic rods to create an electromaic shielding field that reduces the effectiveness of A''s lightning cloak. ng ng A block their giant des with his vambraces. "Tch I can''t escape their encirclement." He clicks his tongue in dismay. "Lord A, the three of us trained you for years. So, we taught you all of your techniques and tricks." Reiki opens his mouth. The Raikage bodyguard unit consists of four elite shinobis on par with the Kage. Not only do these four shinobis act as a bodyguard for the current Raikage; but they also serve as teachers and training partners for the next Raikage. "Damn it!" A raises his head and nces at the still-expanding ck cloud in the sky. ------------------------------ "Hmm so that''s the current situation of the shinobi world!" Onoki rys the information after the Second Shinobi War to M. "I didn''t expect Konohagakure to still thrive after the death of the First and the Second Hokage. And to think that there is another shinobi in this era that can terrorize other nations with just his name." M reminisces about his encounter with Madara Uchiha. "Since the whereabouts of that shinobi are unknown; it''s an opportunity for Iwagakure to rise again. After the conflict ends, an alliance bes a squabble over the spoils of war. The victor there bes the new dominant power. So, it will be a perfect opportunity for you to gain that advantage." M advises him. "I will keep that in mind!" Onoki verbally agrees to M. However, in his heart, he knew Iwagakure will never get that opportunity as long as Konoha exists. He previously underestimates the power of Konohagakure. But the recent war revealed several secrets of Konoha to the rest of the world. The current Konoha is leagues above the rest of the Five Great Nations and possesses enough power to topple thebined power of four other great nations. If Danzo was still alive to witness this scene, then he will reach high heavens from sheer happiness and then die again from spite, knowing he can''tmand this power. ''Damnit! Kiri and Suna got an advantage over us. Kiri tied marital bonds with Konoha and the son of Kazekage somehow earned the favor of the Hokage. Looks like I have to seek some methods to tie bonds with Konoha. If I remember correctly, the son of Minato is the same age as my granddaughter. After this war ends, I will propose marriage on her behalf.'' Onoki cooks up a scheme to earn the favor of Konoha. "Hehe enough chit-chat! It''s time for work!" Kabuto''s sinister voice echoes in M''s mind. He involuntarily raises his hands and makes a series of hand signs. "Onoki, be careful! I have lost control over my body." M warns Onoki as hepletes the hand signs and joins the thumb and index finger of both his hands together. A white orb of chakra forms between them as M condenses his chakra into a cone. Onoki senses the threat and responds with hand signs on his own. He also joins his thumb and index fingers together and generates a white cube of dense chakra between his fingers. Both M and Onoki open their mouth and yell at the same time. "Dust Release: Atomic Extinction Ray," "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique," SHOOM A bright white light engulfs the skies over the allied shinobi force as several shinobi raises their head in bewilderment. (Note:- In this ff, Atomic Extinction Ray fires a beam of disintegration ray in the shape of a cone while Detachment of the Primitive World Technique generates a cube in front of the user and disintegrates everything within the volume of the cube.) Chapter 504: Battle of Wits Part-1 Chapter 504: Battle of Wits Part-1 Fwoosh A white beam of light shes across the skies, followed by a series of explosions. Boom Boom The explosions blow away the clouds in the sky. Shoom Shoom M and Onoki fly out of the clouds and confront each other again. "Your use of the Dust Release is more refined than mine!" M remarks. "However, I have the advantage of an almost infinite supply of chakra over you. So you need to end the battle quickly." M extends his palm and generates a cube in between them. "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique," The cube engulfs both Onoki and M. "Hmm a suicidal technique huh!" Onoki remarks as he attempts to escape from the white cube. "I am not in control of my body. Otherwise, I would never such cowardly tactics." M clicks his tongue as it reminds him of his unpleasant experience with the Second Mizukage. "Dust Release: Particle Shift," Suddenly, Onoki''s body turns blurry and rapidly moves backward. He instantly appears outside the influence of the cube and avoids the lethal technique by a hair''s breadth. "Hmm looks like you didn''t disappoint me in all these years." M also reappears behind Onoki. "A clone!" Onoki frowns and swiftly clenches his fist. "Earth Release: Fist Rock technique," He coats his fists in rocks and punches M. "Earth Release: Rock armor," M blocks Onoki''s fist with stone armor. He extends his hand and touches Onoki''s body. "Earth Release: Added Weight Rock Technique," Shiing Suddenly, Onoki''s weight increases by a few thousand pounds, and he quickly drops to the ground. "Earth Release: Light Weight Rock Technique," Onoki barely avoids the fall death by decreasing his weight at the veryst moment. His body floats a few inches away from the ground. Shoom A beam of white light engulfs his body and obliterates the nearby ground. A giant crater appears at the point of impact as Onoki disappears into the white light. "GRAAANDPAA!!!" Kurotsuchi screams in horror as Onoki''s figure vanishes from her sight. "He is gone!" She falls to her knees and a drop of tear leaks from her eyes. ----------------------------- On the sea battlefield, Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji perform a co-operation Ino-Shiko-Ch formation Ninjutsu and wipes out an entire squad of White Zetsu around them. Multiple Zetsubines into one to form a giant White Zetsu. "You aren''t the only one who can increase his size." HAAH Choji pops a few chakra pills in his mouth and ps his hands. "Super Expansion Jutsu," Choji''s body rapidly expands in size and he turns almost as tall as a nearby hill. "Expansion Jutsu: Super p," Choji covers his palm in chakra and smashes it down toward the giant Zetsu. BOOM A giant palm print appears on the ground as Choji crushes the White Zetsu to meat paste. RUMBLE RUMBLE He rapidly dashes forward, crushing several white Zetsu under his feet. Choji jumps into the sky and rolls his body into a giant ball. "Super Human Bullet Tank," Choji crushes the surrounding terrain under his weight and rolls over multiple White Zetsu, crushing them to a pulp in the process. "Oye Choji! Don''t overdo it." Ino cups her hands around her mouth and yells to warn Choji. "Don''t worry, I am just getting started. I have enough chakra to spare." He rolls over a slope and bounces high in the air. BANG After reaching a certain height, his body crashes into the ground and destroys the Zetsu formation around him. Choji continues to rampage across the battlefield like an unstoppable force that mows down all enemies in its way. "Don''t get too cocky, you brat!" Bang Suddenly, an unknown figure appears out of nowhere and strikes down the giant human ball with a fist wrapped in strange, glowing yellow ropes. Bang The powerful impact from the sword sends Choji flying. He rams into a nearby mountain and pulverizes its peak to dust. "CHOOJII!!!" Ino and Shikamaru yell Choji''s name in worry. Shoom Choji returns to normal size and grabs his forehead. "OUCH! OUCH! That hurts like hell!" He clutches his forehead and shakes his head. "I am alright guys! Just a little bit dizzy." Choji slowly gets up and walks towards Shikamaru and Ino. "Bind and Draw Out!" The unknown figure with blonde hair opens his mouth. ARGH BLEURGH Choji holds his stomach as suddenly his chest expands outwards. "CHOOJIII!" A transparent shadow expels from his mouth and flies towards the unknown blonde figure. "GINKAKU!" The unknown figure yells a name. "Yes, Kinkaku!" Another figure with a simr appearance but silver hairs jump in between Choji and Kinkaku. Ginkaku wields a giant broadsword and shes it downward to sever the transparent shadow in half. Bleurgh Choji spews out a mouthful of blood and clutches his chest. ARGH He winces in pain. Shikamaru and Ino swiftly support him. "What just happened?" Ino inspects Choji''s body. "I just saw a transparent shadow expel out of Choji''s mouth when that blonde guy murmured something." Shikamaru tries to make sense of the situation. "It''s a curse!" A tall, blonde kunoichi flickers beside the trio and confronts the two unknown figures. "Curse?" Choji and Ino cluelessly stare at each other while Shikamaru attempts to recall some information from his memory. "What a drag!" "Yes, curse! These two are the infamous Gold and Silver brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku of the Kumogakure. These two brothers are heinous criminals that use underhanded tactics in battle. Both of them vited the peace treaty of Konohagakure and Kumogakure by attacking the Second Raikage and Second Hokage during a peace treaty. As such, they are a disgrace to Kumogakure." Samui introduces the two brothers. "A lot of time has passed since we both left this world. I didn''t expect someone to still know our name." Kinkaku nces at the group. "Gold or Silver Brother, I don''t care! Eat my burning hot attack!" A figure leaps over the Gold and Silver Brothers. "Cloud Style: me Beheading sh," The figure wields a greatsword. He imbues it with fire and performs a horizontal whirlwind sh that engulfs the Gold and Silver Brother. Large arcs of intense mes engulf both brothers and generate a circr ring of fire around them. "Atsui, don''t lose your cool! These two brothers are quite dangerous." Samui warns Atsui. "Well well For someone who''s always cool, you are quite hot right now, nee-san!" Atsui flung his greatsword on his shoulder and lock his gaze with the gold and silver brothers. "This hot-headed idiot who always loses his cool is my little brother!" Samui introduces Atsui to the trio. "Samui-san, Atsui-san! The weapons in their hands; could it be the Ninja Tools of the Sage of the Six Paths from legends?" Shikamaru recalls the relevant intel from his memories. Before the start of the war, Minato has already notified them of several important key points and there was a mention of Gold and Silver Brother and the Sage Ninja tools within them. "There is no doubt about it!" Samui''s expression turns grim as she exins. "The yellow glowing rope wrapped around his hand is the Sage rope Kkinj. The Kkinj binds its victim upon contact and can squeeze out the victim''s spirit word from their body." "So, that transparent shadow from earlier!" "Yes, that was Choji''s spirit word. It''s a portion of the spirit energy of the user." Samui nods in affirmation. "That giant broadsword in his hand is the Second Ninja tool, Shichiseiken. It severs and curses that spirit word. This process casts a powerful curse on the victim and will draw out their soul and seal them if they repeat their most spoken words." "That sounds scary! Will I be alright?" Choji rubs his stomach. Bleurgh Kinkaku opens his mouth and a handle jut out from his mouth. He grabs the handle and pulls out a giant fan from inside his mouth. SWASH Kinkaku wields the giant fan and waves it. Shoom A powerful wave of water cuts through the circle of fire and travels toward the group. "That''s not good!" ---------------------------------- Whoosh Sasuke swiftly flickers in the direction of the ck thundercloud in the sky. After his previous battle, Minato sent him on a mission to track down Obito''s whereabouts. Midway through his journey, he saw the giant mass of chakra in the sky and its potential havoc on the Allied Shinobi Force. So, he contacted the headquarters to provide aid in the battle. Sasuke recalls the contents of hismunication with Shikaku. "Sasuke, is that you?" Shikaku questions. "Yes, it''s me! I sensed arge amount of chakra gathering at 9 o''clock from the headquarters. I am currently heading in that direction to intercept the enemy jutsu." He informs Shikaku. "Mm this is a very powerful co-operation ninjutsu of Kumogakure" Shikaku exins the situation to Sasuke. "How confident are you of intercepting the enemy jutsu?" Shikaku enquires. "I am hundred percent confident of neutralizing that attack," Sasuke recalls the powerful effect of the Yata no Kagami shield. "However, for caution''s sake, I would like you to evacuate the area around the thunderstorm cloud." Sasuke requests. Whoosh Sasuke increases his pace at these thoughts. Chapter 505: Battle of Wits Part-2 Chapter 505: Battle of Wits Part-2 Swoosh swoosh The Ino-Shiko-Cho trio and the two Kumo siblings swiftly jump out of the water de''s way. sh sh The powerful water de slices through allies and foes alike and only stops after massacring tens of people. "Woah! What was that?" Ino stares at Kinkaku''s hand in shock. "That''s Bashsen! Another treasured tool of the Sage of Six Paths." Samui informs them as wields a tanto and observes the other brother. "Nee-san, let me handle this!" Atsui wields his giant de and dashes in Kinkaku''s direction. "They are no match for my ninjutsu, that''s imbued with my hot soul." "He talks too much. This is perfect! Kinkaku, leave this one to me!" Click Atsui clicks his teeth and produces a burst of fire from his mouth. He wraps it around his de and swings it forward in a horizontal motion. ng Ginkaku blocks Atsui''s attack with Shichiseiken. Both of them engage in a sword fight. ng ng ng Atsui madly swings his great sword and builds up his momentum. "Cloud Style: Rampant Strikes," With each strike, his momentum grows, and so does the force behind his swing. "Chotto! That''s not looking good!" Ginkaku''s face turns sour as he has difficulty withstanding Atsui''s continues strikes. Shoom ng Suddenly, Ginkaku extends his hand forward and grabs Atsui''s de with his bare hands. There is ayer of dense red chakra around his hand. "Just kidding!" Ginkaku grins as he performs a front-leg axe kick toward Atsui''s gait. Tch Atsui spins the hilt of his de to free it from Ginkaku''s grasp and uses its t, broadside to block the kick. BANG He veers across the surface of the water and jumps in mid-air to perform a backflip beforending smoothly on the surface of the water. "That kicks packs some hot power." Atsui groans in pain. HEH A grin appears on Ginkaku''s face. "His leg!" Ino''s loud remarks pull their attention to Ginkaku''s leg. A glowing yellow rope is wrapped around Ginkaku''s leg. "That''s not cool! When did he" Samui''s expression turns pale as she nces at Kinkaku''s empty left arm. "WWIIINNDDD!!" HAAH Kinkaku swings Bashsen and generates a powerful burst of wind. Shoom The powerful gust of wind turns into a giant hurricane. It pulls the surrounding water and turns into a giant water tornado. "Dodge it!" The Ino-Shika-Cho trio splits away to avoid the tornado. The tornado continues to travel forward and engulfs several shinobi within it. "LIGHTNIIINNGG!!" Kinkaku performs another swing, and this time generates a powerful current of lightning. GAAH Atsui screams in pain as the lightning travels through the water and electrocutes his body. "The sea is a great conductor of lightning!" Shikaku swiftly flickers towards thend. Crackle crackle The lightning spreads through the seawater and jolts anyone whoes in contact with it. Whoosh Kinkaku closes the gap with Samui and swings the Bashsen fan as a weapon. ng Samui blocks the fan with her tanto de. Kinkaku parries her tanto and tilts his body sideways to avoid the de. Swish Samui wields a kunai with a paper tag with her other hand and swings it toward Kinkaku''s head. Whoosh However, Kinkaku ducks down and dodges her attack with his fast reflexes. Bang He performs an upward front axe kick and hits Samui squarely on the chin. GAH! Samui spits out a mouthful of blood. HAAH Kinkaku clenches his left fist and aims a punch at Samui''s head. Bang Samui barely blocks the punch by raising her arms around her face. However, the powerful force from the kick sends her flying across the surface of the sea. BANG! She ms into Atsui and both of them slide towards thend. "Are you alright?!" Ino swiftly moves towards them. She treats Samui''s chin with the Mystic Palm technique. "Things aren''t looking cool! I barely survived that fight. These brothers aren''t someone we can confront in a head-on battle." "But that won''t stop my hot fighting spirit from igniting them with my mes." Atsui wipes the blood from his face and stands up. "Wait, his arm!" Shikamaru notices the yellow glow around Kinkaku''s arm. "That that''s Kkinj. But how''s that possible?" Samui''s eyes widen in shock. She nces at Ginkaku''s leg and notices a simr yellow glow. "Don''t tell me that" "Yes, they split the yellow rope in half and now both of them possess a portion of Kkinj," Shikamaru affirms her conjecture. "That''s not cool!" Samui grits her teeth. "Switch ces Ginkaku!" "Right Kinkaku!" Ginkaku jumps in front of the group. "Bind and Draw out!" Kinkaku opens his mouth. ARGH BLEURGH Samui and Atsui hold their stomach in pain. Their chests expand outward and a transparent shade escape from their mouth. "SEVER!" Ginkaku shes Shichiseiken and severs the transparent shade in half. Bleurgh Both of them puke out a mouthful of blood after the loss of their spirit word soul. "Record them, Benihisago!" Ginkaku holds a brown-colored gourd around his waist. FSHOOM A powerful suction force originates from the gourd and pulls the severed portion of Samui, Atsui, and Choji''s spirit word souls. "All right! My side is done, Kinkaku." "We''ve been had" Samui grimly stares at the Gold and Silver Brothers. ''Despite their looks, these brothers possess a certain level of intelligence.'' "That''s what you think, you jerks!" Atsui hurls his great sword on his shoulder. "It''s my turn now!" Swoosh Swash Samui swiftly flickers beside Atsui and ces her hand on his mouth. Mmmph. Mfff "Didn''t I always tell you to pay attention to my words? Or did my words fall over deaf years?" Samui res at Atsui. "Now listen. Don''t say another word unless I ask you to. Is that clear?" Samui gives a death gaze to Atsui. Mmff Mm Atsui nods his head in fear. "What should we do now?" Ino asks her. "A portion of our spirit word soul has been taken hostage by him. It''s both a curse and a sealing mark. The words that we have uttered the most since our birth are recorded within that spirit word soul. If we speak that word again then that gourd in his hand will summon our soul and seal it away." Samui warns them. Ginkaku stares at the spirit word marking on the t side of Shichiseiken. Three words- hot, cool, and hungry are engraved on the de. He folds the side of the de to hide the words and nces at the group. "You people seem to know a lot about us! Looks like the passage of time has revealed most of our secrets." Ginkaku grins at them and throws the Shichiseiken de toward Kinkaku. "The words that we''ve said the most are now forbidden? What kind of silly game is this?" Ino grits her teeth. "I see!" Kinkaku reads the words on the de and hangs it on his back. He holds the Bashsen fan with both his hands and infuses arge amount of chakra into it. ''What? What what is it?'' Choji and Atsui hold their head in frustration. ''What is the hot word I use to love the most?'' Atsui shakes his head. "You don''t have to think so hard to figure it out!" Ino and Samui stare at Choji and Atsui, respectively. "Bashsen: Sea of mes," Kinkaku swings the fan and generates a powerful wave of fire. The fires cover a vast area and engulf the group within them. Crimson mes burn over the surface of the water. HAAH Shikamaru makes a series of hand signs and throws a fuinjutsu scroll from his pocket. A blue barrier covers the group and protects them from the fire. "This is so convenient!" Atsui ces his hand on the surface of the barrier. "This scroll won''tst for long. So, we have to think of a solution!" Shikamaru speaks in a pale tone. "Oh! I didn''t expect them to have so many tricks in their arsenal." Kinkaku grins as he stares at the blue barrier. "If that''s the case!" Kinkaku waves to the Bashsen fan once again. "Wind!" He fans the mes and the intensity of the mes increases by another notch. The surrounding temperature rises rapidly and the sea water evaporates into steam. Sweat trickles down the bodies of the group inside the barrier. "At this rate, we will be cooked alive!" Ino wipes the sweat from her forehead. "HOT! It''s so hot!" Atsui opens his mouth. HEH! A smirk appears on Kinkaku and Ginkaku''s faces. SHOOM A powerful suction force originates from Benihisago and draws out Atsui''s body. The suction force ruptures the barrier and pulls Atsui in. "ATSUI!!" Samui yells his name in horror as Atsui''s body vanishes within the gourd. "This idiot!" Chapter 506: Battle of Wits Part-3 Chapter 506: Battle of Wits Part-3 "ATSUI!" Samui yells Atsui''s name in horror as thetter disappears within the sealing gourd Benihisago. "There''s an old saying- Silence is Golden! The mouth is the source of cmity. Right, Ginkaku?" "Yes, of course, Kinkaku!" Ginkaku smirks as his body fades away. "What? An illusion!" The group''s eyes narrow as they try to figure out Ginkaku''s location. Ssh Whoosh Swish swish Suddenly, a figure leaps out of the water and grabs Samui''s hands. "This is what happens when you can''t keep your mouth shut. Words are used to lies. They''re merely tools for deceiving people." Ginkaku binds Samui''s body in an armlock and stares at the Ino-Shiko-Cho trio. Kinkaku calmly stares at the trio as his schemes seed. ''Out of these five, that brash man and this blonde girl are the most dangerous. These three little kids are good but they aren''t a concernbat prowess-wise.'' "Now, don''t move a muscle or this girl will get it!" Kinkaku leaps towards them with Shichiseiken. Suddenly, Shoom A powerful suction force acts upon Samui''s body and pulls her within the sealing gourd Benihisago. "SAMUI-SAAANN! How could this be?" Ino''s eyes widen in shock. "She didn''t utter any word in the past few minutes. So, how could she" Ino''s lips tremble. "I see. I understand it, a bit now." Shikamaru stares at the sealing gourd within Ginkaku''s arm. "The spirit soul word has two conditions to activate. It activates when you utter your most spoken word within your lifetime. But there is also another hidden condition. If the person who is cursed didn''t speak any word within a certain time limit, the curse will activate on its own and seal the victim." Shikamaru concludes. "You are pretty smart for a Konoha shinobi! You figured something that none of the shinobi we encountered before could, not even the Second Hokage from your vige." A vicious smile appears on Kinkaku''s body as she shes Shichiseiken toward Shikamaru''s head. "I am sorry, Samui-san!" Shikamaru raises his head and pulls his finger. Fwish Fwish Awork of shadows appears on the surface of the sea and binds Kinkaku and Ginkaku in a ce. Kinkaku''s de stops a foot away from Shikamaru''s neck. A bead of sweat trickles down Shikamaru''s head. "That was a bit close!" Multiple sharp needles pierce through Kinkaku''s and Ginkaku''s bodies. "Izumi-san, now!" Shoom. A figure leaps out of the water behind Ginkaku. "Kenjutsu: Decapitating Moon sh sh sh Izumi wields her katana and chops off both of Ginkaku''s arms. Fwoosh Fwoosh She snatches the Benihisago and Bashsen from his severed arm. "GIINNKAKKUUU!!" Kinkaku''s eye turn red. He riles up his chakra and the shadow shackles around him begin to crack. "CHOJI, INO! QUICK!" Shikamaru''s face turn red as he barely holds himself. Crack crack crack The various kunais and shuriken, heid down on the ground in preparation for his technique, slowly begins to shatter from the sheer pressure of Kinkaku''s chakra. During the battle against the Gold and silver brothers, Shikamaru threw random shurikens and kunais toward them as a distraction. Everyone thought those attacks were there for distraction. However, Shikamaru''s real aim was toy down the formation from the very start. "On it!" sh sh Both Ino and Choji wield a de and severs each of Kinkaku''s arms. Ino grabs the Shichiseiken de while Choji kicks away the Kkinj rope toward Ginkaku. Ginkaku, who has just regenerated his arm and is broken free from Shikamaru''s binding, is hit by the Kinkaku''s arm. "Shimata!! I touched the Kkinj." "Izumi-san, here!" Swoosh Ino tosses the Shichiseiken de toward Izumi. "No, you!" Ginkaku riles up his chakra and dashes towards the Shichiseiken de to secure it. SHIING "GENJUTSU: SHARINGAN," Izumi activates her Mangekyo Sharingan and casts a powerful genjutsu on Ginkaku. The genjutsu led to a brief pause in Ginkaku''s movement. Thetter immediately dispels it with his potent chakra. However, this slight window of time is enough for Izumi to close the gap. She grabs Shichiseiken''s de in one hand and Benihisago in another hand. Izumi has already stored away the Bashsen fan. FSHOOM Both Treasured tools drain arge amount of Izumi''s chakra. "I can''t use them on my own. Since that''s the case" ng ng Izumi shatters the bracelet around her wrist. The bracelet releases arge amount of nature energy upon shattering. Izumi directs this nature energy towards the two treasured tools to act as their energy source. "I will apologize to Izuna Nee-santer for breaking the gift he gave me." She turns around and dashes toward Ginkaku. "If I recall it currently, it was something like this." She holds the Shichiseiken de and chants. "Bind and Draw out!" ARGH BLEURGH Ginkaku holds his stomach in pain. His chest expands outward and a transparent shade escapes from his mouth. "SEVER! Curse him, Shichiseiken!" Izumi shes Shichiseiken and severs the transparent shade in half. "Record him, Benihisago!" A powerful suction force acts upon the severed spirit word soul and pulls it into the sealing gourd. "Everything went ording to my calction!" Whoosh Shikamaru jumps back and retreats as Kinkaku breaks free from his binding and lunges toward him. Izumi holds Shichiseiken in her hand and nces at Ginkaku. "It''s time to say goodbye!" A trace of horror appears on Ginkaku''s face. "Help me, Kinkaku!" He screams Kinkaku''s name. "Checkmate!" Izumi turns the t side of Shichiseiken''s de towards Ginkaku to reveal his most spoken word which happens to be the name of his elder brother, Kinkaku. SHOOM A powerful suction force acts upon Ginkaku''s Edo body and drags out his soul. The husk of the shinobi used to revive Ginkaku withers and disperses into dust. "GIIINNKKAKKUUU!!" Kinkaku screams with red eyes. BOOM A giant shadow falls from the sky and drowns Kinkaku with it. "Let''s quickly seal him up before he creates more trouble!" Shikamaru quickly signals the members of the sealing team. Burble Burble Suddenly, the seawater below them begins to boil. BANG Choji is sent flying out of the ocean. He shrinks back to his normal size and crashnds on the ground. Choji passes out from the concussion. There is a fist mark on his chest. "Choji!" Ino hurriedly supports him. *BOOMM* A pir of water rises from the seabed. Intense waves ripple out from the pir and push away the surrounding water. The pir of water evaporates quickly to reveal a dense red pir of chakra. "WHY YOUUU HOW DARE YOUUU!!!" Kinkaku is standing within the dense pir of red chakra. His eyes glow with a yellow light and the entire pir of chakra converges on his body. "SHIMATA!" Shikamaru immediately recognizes the transformation. "EVERYONE, RUN!" He warns everyone and grabs Choji''s body with Ino''s help and runs away from the battlefield. "What a drag! Who would have expected him to transform into the Version Two form of a tailed beast, Jinchuriki? His transformation looks exactly like Naruto''s." He turns around and notices version two Kinkaku lift his palm. Shoom Kinkaku''s palm magnifies in size from the exertion of the chakra. He ms down a giant palm on the surface of the sea. "HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO GINKAKU?!" ROOOAARR The powerful impact from the m generates huge tidal waves measuring up to twenty meters in height. "I will help!" Haku, who just arrived at the battlefield, stares at the giant tidal wave. He makes a series of hand signs. "Ice Release: Great Ice Wall," He freezes the rapidly approaching wave with his ice release. However, BANG!! A giant tail of chakra shatters the ice wall and strikes Haku. "Ice Release: Ice Dome of Absolute Protection," Haku encases his body into a dense ice crystal. Kinkaku''s tail strikes his body and sends him flying. BANG Haku ms into a nearby boulder. Numerous cracks appear on the crystal around his body. Crack crack bang The ice crystal shatters into several fragments and Haku falls to the ground. "HAKU!" Zabuza swiftly flickers beside him and supports him. "Nothing will happen to him. He''s fine!" Izumi also flickers beside him and nces at the rampaging Kinkaku. "I am fine, Zabuza!" Haku brushes up his clothes and stands up. "I was a bit careless! I didn''t expect him to strike so hard." Phew Zabuza heaves a sigh of relief and nces at the rampaging monster. "That''s a jinchuruki!" He remarks. "You know about them?!" Haku asks him in surprise as thetter reminds him of Naruto. "Of course, I had even fought against a real-tailed beast." Zabuza nods as he recalls his experience with the three-tails. ------------------ Suddenly, within the allied Shinobi headquarters, Shoom A giant bubble appears on top of the water-sensing sphere. "What''s this time?" Shikaku closely stares at the giant bubble. "It''s the Nine-tails chakra!" The sensor shinobi gulps his saliva and reports. "WHAT?!" Chapter 507: Battle for Friends Chapter 507: Battle for Friends A few hours earlier in a temple at Genbu Ind, "Yo-Yo Naruto! Just focus your chakra with a mix of blue and some red hue." "Ugh but that doesn''t exin anything!" Naruto scratches his head as he collects dense red and blue orbs of tailed-beast chakra in his Kurama Chakra cloak. "Kurama, I already have you to fire a tailed-beast bomb whenever I need it. So, why must I learn to make one while in the chakra mode?" The bnce of blue and red dense chakra orbs in Naruto''s hand disrupts and the unstable orb glows with a bright hue. "AH! It''s about to explode!" Naruto hurriedly tosses it out towards the sky. BOOM A powerful explosion goes off in the sky and the entire ind shudders from the shockwaves. ROAR A loud roar echoes in their ears. Naruto blocks his hands with his ear while Bee takes our earplugs and inserts them in his ear. "What was that noise?" Naruto enquires. "It''s the turtle of this giant ind. The explosions woke it up from its sleep." Bee informs him. "Huh! You mean this entire ind is on the back of a turtle?" Naruto enquires with wide eyes. "That''s exactly what I mean!" Bee nods his head. "Look, you can even hear his heartbeat if you pull your ear closer to the ground." Bee lies down on the ground. "Woah! Amazing!" Naruto copies Bee''s movement and ces his ears against the ground. Lubdub A faint sound of a heartbeat reverberates throughout the entire ind. "I can hear it!" Naruto nods his head in fascination. Ahem! Kurama and Gyuki clear their throat to pull their attention. "Naruto, any way you must learn this technique since that''s what your Izuna-nii san expects from you. Before he left, he specifically instructed me to oversee your training. If you give up now, then your Nii-san will be disappointed in you." Kurama sighs and feigns helplessness. "What? Really?! Naruto''s eyes widen slightly. "Yes, of course! I have no reason to lie to you." Kurama nods his head. "Kurama, transfer some of your chakra, and let''s continue to practice." Naruto pumps his fist. "Yay! That''s the way, Naruto." Bee fists bump with Naruto. Naruto continues to experiment with the dense blue and red chakra. He practices for another hour with three more explosions that annoy the Genbu turtle even further. "Hehe I will apologize to himter." Naruto scratches his head. He extends his hand out and creates a Rasengan. "Hmm Kurama, Dad created Rasengan based on the tailed-beast bomb, right?" "That''s true! But his earlier iteration was quite unstable, simr to your attempts. I saw the entire process with my eyes." Kurama nods at him. "However, it was your Izuna Nii-san who rmended Minato to add rotation to the chakra to stabilize it," Kurama adds. "Hmm Then what if I also add rotation to these positive ck chakra and negative red chakra? I have got the right proportion down to Eight portions of ck chakra and two portions of red chakra. However, the jutsu is unstable. What if I decrease the proportion of ck chakra by a little and increase the proportion of red chakra at the same time while adding rotation to the chakra?" Naruto inquires. "That''s worth a try!" Kurama ponders for a second and nods his head. "Alright!" Naruto takes a deep breath and extends both his hands. He gathers the ck chakra in one hand and the red chakra in the other hand. "Rotation!" Naruto slowly gathers the ck and red chakra and adds rotation to it. The ck and red chakra slowly coalesces into a sphere. "It''s working!" Naruto yelps in surprise. Soon, a stable orb of ck and Red chakra appears in Naruto''s palm. "It''s heavy!" Naruto almost drops the orb, much to Bee and Gyuki''s horror. Naruto lifts it up in his palm and stares at the revolving chakra within the orb. "What should I call it? It''s a Rasengan but also a tailed-beast Bomb." Naruto ponders. "Then what about ''Super Mini-Tailed beast Rasengan''?" Bee suggests a name. Gyuki stares at him and sighs. He turns towards Kurama but is confused to see thetter with a simr expression. Soon enough, "Wow! That''s a super cool name, Octo Pops." Naruto gives a thumbs-up to Bee. "What''s with this idiotic Duo?" Gyuki sighs helplessly. "Alright, Naruto! Let''s test the power of this new jutsu?" An octopus tentacle pops out of Bee''s back and pulls a lever on the walls of the temple. The liver activates a contraption that reveals a hidden chamber. "Alright, you can throw your jutsu inside that room!" Bee signals to Naruto. "Umm will it be alright if throw this in there? I mean won''t be" Naruto makes the gesture of an explosion. "It''s fine! There are several powerful barrier formations inside that room. Bee also used to train his tailed beast transformation within that room." Gyuki assures him. "Alright!" Naruto tosses the Super mini-tailed beast Rasengan into the room. A few secondster, BOOM A sh of bright light and the sound of a dull explosion echoes within the walls of the temple. A few secondster, smoke escapes from the confinement of the room. A fuinjutsu formation appears on the outer walls of the room. "Huh! This fuinjutsu formation" "Hmm that''s a pretty nifty technique!" Bee nods his head and pens down something in his small notebook. "I even got the inspiration for my song from this." "Bee, you idiot! Naruto''s attack broke the istion formation of this temple." Suddenly, an influx of chakra from various senses overwhelms Naruto''s heightened sense of perception. "This chakra" Naruto closes his eyes as he senses several chakra signatures engaged in a battle. "What what''s going on?" Naruto''s expression changes as he closes his eyes and analyses the sudden influx of information. "Sigh it''s toote. The cat is out of the bag!" Kurama shakes his head as he also sensed what Naruto sensed earlier. Naruto sits down with his legs crossed and soon enters into Senjutsu mode. A few minutester, he opens his eyes and a bright glow shes past his eyes. "My friends my families. They are fighting for their lives out there, while here I am" Naruto clenches his fist. He walks towards the exit of the temple. "Yo, Naruto! Where are you going?" Bee questions him. "Of course, it''s obvious. I am going to help them with the war." Naruto speaks with a resolute expression. "I can''t let you go to battle or else I will get the Iron Maiden Grip of my brother!" B crosses his arm. "Then try to stop me if you can!" Shoom Swoosh Naruto''s figure shes with a bright yellow, orange glow. At the same time, Bee also shapes his fist into a hammer and smashes it at Naruto''s position. Fwoosh In the next second, Naruto reappears at the entrance of the temple. "This speed!" Bee''s eyes widen in surprise as a memory sh past his mind. "Fool Ya Fool! That was really cool!" Bee shakes his head and chases after Naruto. Sigh Gyuki sighs and shakes his head. "You are going to get scolded by A again." "Everything will be Daijoubu! I will somehow convince him." Bee gives a thumbs up. Outside the Temple, "Naruto, Stop!" A group of shinobis from Konoha attempts to stop Naruto outside the temple. "So, those peeping eyes it was you guys!" Naruto res at the group. "Huh! Iruka-sensei! What are you doing here?" Naruto recognizes Iruka within the group. "Naruto, please return inside! I can''t allow you to walk out of this room." Iruka shakes his head. "Sensei, but my friends" Sigh Iruka sighs and speaks. "Naruto, Akatsuki wants to capture you and Lord Bee. It''s for this reason they have waged a war on the shinobi world. The rest of the vigers and shinobi are fighting to protect you both. So, please don''t let their sacrifice go to waste." Iruka attempts to convince Naruto. "Iruka, why did you?" "It''s fine! He has already sensed the situation in the war." Iruka shakes his head. "Iruka-sensei! What if I tell you, you can''t stop me?" "Then I will at least give it a try?" Iruka takes a step forward and activates the restrictive fuinjutsu formation on the floor of the temple. The sealing jutsu binds Naruto in a ce. Naruto nces at the sealing formation and shakes his head. "It''s not enough to stop me." "At least we can try!" Iruka smiles dryly as the very next moment Naruto shatters the seal with his overwhelming chakra. Shoom His figure disappears from their vision. "Damn it! I have to inform the rest." One of the shinobi takes out amunicator and informs the barrier division outside the temple. Chapter 508: Escape from Genbu Island Chapter 508: Escape from Genbu Ind "What?! The Nine-tails Jinchuriki is attempting to escape!" A Kumo shinobi receives the news. "What should we do?" He informs the captain of the situation. "Activate the 36yered Self-Regenerating Barrier!" The captain immediately issues the orders to the barrier team. "Yes, sir!" A few members of the shinobi team insert multiple chakra crystals inside a fuinjutsu formation. Each of them upies a node and makes a series of hand signs. "RELEASE!" They m their palm on the node and activate the various chakra circuits of the fuinjutsu formation to activate the barrier formation. Rumble Rumble The entire ind trembles slightly and a giant transparent wall of hexagonal-shaped chakra blocks rises and covers the entire ind in a dome shape. The transparent walls slowly meld with the surroundings and turn invisible to the naked eye. "Will this be enough to hold him back?" One of the Kumo shinobis gulps his saliva. "Of course, it will be. This barrier is the peak of the barrier fuinjutsu skills of Kumogakure. It was only after numerous years of research (and stolen Fuinjutsu scripts from Uzushiogakure) and hard work that the shinobis of our nation came up with such a powerful barrier technique. This barrier is powerful enough to withstand the full-scale rampage of a tailed beast without breaking apart." The captain proudly puffs his chest out. "Why do you think Lord Bee trained on this ind?" "Because it''s so peaceful here! And Lord Bee pissed off Lord Fourth with his rapping!" One of the Kumo shinobis answers him. Bang The captain smacks his head and clears his throat. "It''s all because of this barrier. In his early days as a Jinchuriki, Lord Bee would often lose control and the eight-tails would often rampage throughout the ind. But this barrier could contain his rampage and help him calm down. Eventually, Lord Bee gained control of his tailed beast and became a perfect Jinchuriki. Even after bing a perfect jinchuriki, he is unable to break this barrier. That''s how powerful this barrier is!" The captain exins. "But but isn''t the Nine-tails more powerful than the eight-tails? Also, there are rumors that the Nine-tails jinchuriki fought and won against the former leader of Akatsuki." The subordinate who got his head bonked retorts. Bang The captain bashes his head again and remarks. "What difference could an extra tail make? Besides, didn''t you see the nine-tails Jinchuriki with your own eyes? He is just a kid. Not only that, he can''t even properly control his tailed beast and is currently undergoing training under Lord Bee. So, how could he be as strong as the rumors make him to be?" The captain shakes his head in denial. "Also, inform the headquarter of the situation, just in case!" "Umm what should I say, chief?" "Tell them the nine-tails jinchuriki attempted to escape but was held back by our barrier!" Back at the entrance of the temple, Naruto exits the temple after deceiving Iruka and his group. He arrives outside the confinement of the temple and nces at the sky of the temple. "Hmm I can''t sense their location any longer!" Naruto frowns. "Looks like they repaired the barrier." Naruto clicks his tongue. "Still, I already know the general location. Once I escape this ind, I can navigate on my own." Naruto pumps his fist and dashes in a direction. Bang He didn''t even take a few steps forward before he rams into an invisible wall. The barrier in front of him shimmers with a blue light and turns invisible. "Aww I almost broke my nose." Naruto rubs his sore nose. "Huh! What''s this? A barrier?!" Naruto knocks on the invisible barrier and the impact point shimmer with a blue hue. "It''s indeed a barrier!" Naruto rubs his hands against the wall of the barrier and carefully studies it. "Hmm it seems to be a multiyered barrier. And from the look of it, there are severalyers stacked on top of each other. Also, the eye of the formation is" Naruto narrows his eyes and nces in the opposite direction. He notices a tower-like structure on the other end of the ind. "It''s there!" Sigh Naruto sighs and shakes his head. "It''s a pretty clever design. To reach the eye of the formation and destroy its power source, I have to break through allyers of this barrier!" Naruto praises the design of the barrier. "This barrier is pretty simr to one of the barriers from the Uzumaki n inheritance." Naruto shrugs his shoulder. "For now, let me test the strength of this barrier!" Naruto folds his arm and gathers arge amount of chakra in it. Shoom He creates a Rasengan in his right hand. "RASENNGANNN!" Naruto ms the Rasengan into the barrier. Crack Crack crack Numerous spider-like cracks spread across the surface of the barrier. A giant hole appears at the point of impact and the firstyer shatters into fragments. Naruto continues to push his Rasengan forward. The Rasengan shatters another twoyers before dispersing. "He broke through threeyers with a single jutsu!" The eyes of the shinobi, who was about to report to headquarters, widen. The eyes of the captain almost pop out of their eye socket. "No! No! This must be a fluke! He must have used quite a lot of his chakra." The captain cooks up a lie to convince himself. "Hmm So with everyyer is sturdier than the previousyer." Naruto withdraws his hand and the barrier quickly regenerates itself. "That''s a pretty quick regeneration. The amount of chakra crystals in this barrier must be quite hefty." Outside the barrier, the eyes of the captain bleed with tears as a small batch of chakra ore turns into dust. "His one punch is equal to my monthly sry!" The captain sniffs and wipes his eyes. "Time to turn serious!" Naruto takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. A few secondster, he opens his eyes, and an orange pigmentation appears around them. A red cloak with a ck me pattern appears behind Naruto''s back. Naruto raises his hand towards the sky. Shoom He gathers arge amount of chakra in his hand and creates a Ch-dama Rasengan. Naruto infuses his Senjutsu Chakra into the giant Rasengan. The integrity and power of the jutsu increase by manifold. "Ch-dama RASENGANNN!!" He ms the Rasengan into the barrier. BANG BANG BANG BANG Naruto''s attack sets off a series of explosions and instantly sevenyers of the barrier crumble apart. "WHAAATTT?!!" The chief gets the scare of his life as Naruto instantly destroys one-fifth of the barrier. Naruto continues to push forward and destroy oneyer after another. He only stops after destroying fifteenyers. After fifteenyers, his Rasengan disperses. "He destroyed fifteenyers in an attack. The max Bee-sama destroyed was twenty-sixyers." The chief heaves a sigh of relief. "That must be his limit, right?!" Yet the very next second, Naruto enter into his Nine-tails chakra cloak mode. ''Hey Kurama, can I use the Senjutsu chakra mode with your chakra?'' Naruto enquires. ''Of course! There is no problem. I can even passively gather some nature energy for you." Kurama nods in affirmation. "Then, let''s do it!" Shiing An orange glow envelops Naruto and a new chakra cloak appears around his body. The red cloak of nature around Naruto''s back disperses into multiple magatamas. These magatamas imprint on his back and Naruto clenches his fist. "I feel much more powerful than before!" Naruto raises his head and gathers chakra in his hand. Shoom A small blue Rasengan appears in his hand. The Rasengan expands rapidly and its color changes to orange after reaching its final size. "Let''s go!" Naruto smashes his new giant Rasengan into the barrier. BANG An ear-piercing sound rings through the entire ind as Naruto shatters seventeenyers in a go. "What the" The captain also faints from the shock. "Here I go!" Naruto pushes forwards and shatters oneyer after another. He breaks through eight moreyers and soon approaches Bee''s previous record. Naruto feels a powerful resistance acting upon his body. HAAH He applies more pressure and shatters the twenty-sixthyer. "I won''t stop here!" Naruto shatters two moreyers before his jutsu dispersespletely. Huff Huff Naruto breathes heavily after exhausting all the chakra in his jutsu. "It''s still not enough!" He shakes his head. At the entrance of the temple, "Aren''t you going to help him out?" Gyuki questions Bee as thetter nces at Naruto. "Fool Ya Fool! Naruto looks so cool. He needs no tool to break this flimsy wool!" Bee raps in front of Gyuki. "Besides, even I can break through this barrier if I want to. I just didn''t as insurance for Big Brother. Also, since he thinks I can''t break this barrier; he always locks me up here." Bee breaks into a burst ofughter. Chapter 509: Naruto Enters the Battle Chapter 509: Naruto Enters the Battle "Looks like the Rasengan made from abination of Senjutsu and Kurama''s chakra is stillcking. Guess I have to use the new jutsu I just learned." Naruto shakes his head. He takes a deep breath and stretches out his hand. Small Blue and red chakra particles slowly gather in his hand. Naruto adds rotation to it to stabilize it. He adds sage chakra to even further enhance the jutsu. Narutounches the mini-tailed beast bomb toward the barrier. BOOM BOOM BOOM A series of explosions set off on the surface of the barrier. The attack instantly destroys twenty-fiveyers in a single blow. Whoosh Naruto appears beside the tailed beast bomb and kicks it further toward the remainingyers of the barrier. The mini-tailed beast bomb shatters the remainingyers and flies off toward the skies. BOOOMMM A powerful explosion sets off in the sky. The shockwaves from the jutsu send ripples through the surrounding sea and generate gigantic waves. "I did it!" Naruto cast ast nce at the ind before dashing away on the water. "Umm chief, what should I tell the headquarters?" The Kumo shinobis enquire. ''Tell them we couldn''t stop him!" The captain raises his hands in defeat and passes away. "Yeah, I figured!" The Kumo shinobis sigh and inform the headquarter. ---------------------- At the same time inside the headquarter, A giant bubble appears on top of the water-sensing sphere. "What is happening this time?" "It''s the Nine-tails chakra!" The sensor shinobi gulps his saliva and reports. "And this chakra is above the Genbu ind." "WHAT?!" "Shikaku-sama! We received amunication request from the Genbu ind." Another shinobi from themunication team reports. "Put them through!" Bzzt "Shikaku-sama, the nine-tails and the eight-tails Jinchuriki escaped from the Genbu ind. Both of them are now heading towards the battlefront." "Even Bee?!" Shikaku is surprised by the revtion. Gulp The shinobi gulps his saliva and reports. "Apparently, Lord Bee wasn''t paying much attention to the instructions and escaped with Naruto." Sigh "That Bee he is so reckless!" The Kumo head ninja sighs helplessly. "It''s fine!" Minato walks inside the room. "It wasn''t possible to fool them for so long, to begin with. Besides, I just received pleasant news from the meeting." Minato walks towards Shikaku and the rest. "The Land of Redaku has allied with the forces of the Allied Shinobi Force and offered to send their people to aid us in battle. Also, don''t underestimate them in the slight. They are almost as strong as the members of the Uzumaki n in battle." Minato informs them. "What? The Uzumaki n?!" The rest of the shinobis from other nations are surprised by the revtion. "That will be a tremendous help to our forces. With this, we will be able to quickly seal the remaining Edo soldiers of Kabuto and suppress the Akatsuki''s forces." The shinobis cheer in excitement. "Also, pass my instructions to Naruto and Bee. Let Naruto head towards the coastal battlefield and ask Bee to reinforce the Lord Fourth Raikage." "Yes, Lord Minato!" Back on the battlefield, "Huh!" Naruto turns around and notices Bee sprinting in his direction. Naruto quickly enters into a battle stance. "Wait! Wait! Fool Ya Fool! I am not here to brawl. I will also fight alongside you." Bee pumps his fist toward Naruto. "That would be cool, Dattebyo!" Naruto bumps fists with Bee. Shoom. Suddenly, an intense sense of hatred, rage, and grief shes past Naruto''s mind. Haah Naruto opens his eyes and nces in a direction. "This chakra? Kurama, that seems to be your chakra." Naruto questions Kurama. "This foul sensation! It''s indeed them." Kurama growls in anger. "Who?" Naruto is slightly confused by the rage in Kurama''s eyes. Naruto''s words slightly calm down Kurama and thetter turns his head, refusing to answer any of Naruto''s queries. "Oye, why are you silent all of a sudden? How is your chakra in that direction? And from this sensation, I can feel that it''s sealed inside someone. But how could that be?" Naruto asks a flurry of questions. "Well, he won''t answer you!" Gyuki''s voice rings in Naruto''s ears. "Why so?" "Because it entails some foul and humiliating memories of the past!" Gyuki continues. "Oye Gyuki, stop! Don''t utter a word or else I will" Kurama threatens Gyuki, but thetter pays no heed to Kurama''s warning him and continues. "This happened sometime after the battle of Valley of the End. Two shinobis from Kumogakure, Kinkaku, and Ginkaku, attacked Kurama intending to capture him for Kumogakure. However, Kurama swallowed them during the battle." "What, really?" Naruto''s eyes widen in surprise. "What do you think happened next?" A mischievous smile appears on Gyuki''s face. "Hmm if you swallow something dirty, then your stomach will suffer from an ache." Naruto nods in understanding. Pfft Gyuki burst out inughter. "That''s exactly what happened!" Gyuki continues. "Yamero! YAME-ROO!!" Kurama screams in embarrassment, but Naruto and Gyuki ignore him. "Tell me tell me what happened next?" "Well those two survived inside Kurama''s stomach. When they be hungry, they will feed on Kurama''s flesh from the inside. They continuously thrashed Kurama''s stomach for two entire weeks before Kurama gave up and regurgitate them out. Well well at that time, Kurama''s condition was a sight to behold. I can still recall his miserable face." Gyuki chuckles slightly. "Hehe I can already imagine Kurama''s face from that time." Naruto''s lips widen slightly. "Ah! I remember now. Those two are the gold and silver brothers of the Kumogakure. Both of them were very powerful shinobis with exceptional resilience and strength." Bee nods his head. "That''s not all! Those two brothers possess the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths and are one of his many descendants. It''s because of these reasons they survived after eating my flesh and can proficiently wield the treasured tools of the Sage of Six Paths. If it was someone else, then might have already died from chakra poisoning." Kurama opens his mouth to rify the situation. "So, that chakra signature" "Yes, it must be one of them. Not only that, but I can also sense several chakra signatures of dead people. Looks like someone used the reanimation jutsu of the Second Hokage to resurrect them." Kurama adds. "It must be that, Kabuto!" Naruto clenches his fist. "Octo- pops, I will head in that direction!" Naruto picks up the direction of Kinkaku''s chakra. "Naruto, Bee!" Suddenly, both of them receive a message from the headquarter. "Dad! Is that you?" Naruto recognizes the voice. "Oh, it''s the yellow sh! Fool Ya Fool!" "I have an urgent mission for you both. Now listen carefully!" Both Naruto and Bee perk up their ear. "Naruto, I want you to head towards the coastline. You might have already sensed Kurama''s chakra in that direction. I want you to aid that group in battle." "Mm I was nning to head there and fight!" Naruto pumps his fists. "As for you, Bee, your brother is currently in a pinch. He is locked in a battle against the previous Kages. I want you to head over and aid him in the battle." Minato issues an order to them both. "Fool Ya Fool! That''s not cool. Brother is in trouble! Weee" Bee turns around and dashes in a direction. ----------------------- Back at the coastal battlefront, Izumi nces at the rampaging Kinkaku. "Looks like it''s only me who can stop him!" Shiing Izumi activates her Mangekyo Sharingan as she steps forward. The tomoes in her eyes merge and a three-leaf clover pattern appears in her eyes. "Kami-wakei-kazuchi," Bzzt A surge of purple lightning gathers around Izumi. She stretches her palm and six lightning Mitsudomoe-shaped shurikens materialize in front of her. "Raikou: First Form: Raiten no Yari," Shoom shoom The lightning Mitsudomoe hovers in mid-air. Purple lightning channels through them and forms a halo behind Izumi. "Spear!" Izumi mutters slightly as a drop of blood leaks from her left eye. Whoosh whoosh The lightning Mitsudomoe floats in front of her and morphs into a gigantic spear. The rest of the Lightning Mitsudomoe sticks to her body and creates armor around her. "Aegis!" Izumi stretches out her left hand, a shield appears in her hand. She steps forward like a war goddess with a valiant aura. Izumi clutches the hilt of her spear and aims it toward Kinkaku. The lightning spear in her hand locks onto Kinkaku''s chakra signature. "Release! Izumi stretches her body forward like a bow and throws the spear toward Kinkaku. Chapter 510: Kohaku no Johei Chapter 510: Kohaku no Johei Shoom The lightning spear shoots toward Kinkaku at an incredible speed. Boom Boom It leaves numerous sonic booms in its wake and instantly arrives in front of Kinkaku. Kinkaku swiftly turns around and attempts to grab the spear with his hands. Bang The lightning spear pierces through Kinkaku''s palm and stabs into his chest. Kinkaku grabs the spear with both of his hands and prevents it from prating through his body. Bang The powerful momentum from the spear pushes him backward and pins him down on a hill. Krrk Boom The lightning spear explodes and electrocutes Kinkaku. GYAAAHH Kinkaku screams in pain as the bolts of lightning continue to strike him down. "Damn you, weaklings!" Kinkaku pulls out the lightning spear from his body and enters the next phase of his transformation. Bone armor covers his entire body, and he easily deflects the kunais and shurikens hurled toward him. "Fire Style: Pheonix Sage Fire Bomb Jutsu," Izumi takes a deep breath and fires multiple giant firebombs toward Kinkaku. Boom Boom Boom The fireballs bombard Kinkaku''s body and explode on top of him. The bone armor on his body slowly melts from the heat of the jutsu. Back at the headquarters, "Minato-sama, I received a message from the elders of the Kumogakure vige. They have sent an artifact to seal Kinkaku." Mabui informs Minato. "Hmm What is it?" Minato turns towards her. Mabui takes out a storage scroll and makes a series of hand signs. Poof She summons a giant amber pot with a white Shimenawa rope around its neck. A wooden lid is covering the contents of the pot. "This is Kohaku no Johei, one of the five treasured tools that were used to seal the Eight-Tails during its rampages." "Hmm I have heard the rumors about this treasured tool. But it seems more like arge urn than a pot!" One of the Iwagakure elder remarks. Mabui nods in response and continues. "It differs from the guard, Benihisago in that instead of casting a curse with the Kokinjo rope, the user has to just call the name of the target he wants to seal. If the target answers the call of whoever is holding the pot, his voice is immediately recorded, and he bes sealed." "Mm that''s definitely easier than the Benihisago. However, if Kinkaku is already aware of its effect, then there are very low chances that he will fall for its trap." The Iwagakure elder remarks. "There is also another method to use the sealing pot!" Mabui opens her mouth. "The user has to weaken the target he wants to seal and thenter make a series of hand signs to seal the marked target," Mabui reveals the hand signs to Minato. "Since the situation is urgent, I will use the Ethereal Transmission Jutsu to send it to the battlefield." Mabui makes a ram hand seal. A bright light engulfs the artifact and in the very next instant, it appears beside Izumi on the battlefield. "Izumi!" "Lord Fourth!" Izumi holds the Kohaku no Johei in her hands. Minato exins the sealing procedure to her. Izumi turns her attention to Kinkaku. Thetter recognizes the pot in her and realizes her intentions. "NOOO!! I won''t let you seal me like that." He yells in fury and riles up his chakra to the max. Kinkaku focuses all his tails in front of his body and charges up a massive amount of chakra in front of him. "That''s" Izumi''s eyes narrow as she senses some threat from the chakra ball in front of Kinkaku. "I won''t let you mess around any longer." Two giant chakra arms float beside Izumi. The chakra arms extend their hands forward and summon a giant katana. Izumi nces at Kinkaku and whispers. "Kenjutsu: Gotamshiki," Izumi lunges forward in a burst of speed. She instantly appears in front of Kinkaku andunches a flurry of attacks. SLASH Izumi shes Kinkaku''s body in several fragments. She quickly puts down the Kohaku no Johei on the ground and removes its lid to reveal a ck gooey substance. Swish swish Izumi quickly makes the necessary series of hand signs. "Record and Seal!" A powerful suction force originates from the ck gooey substance and seals Kinkaku within it. Izumi covers the pot with the lid. "It''s done!" She sighs and rxes a bit. "She did it!" The rest of the allied shinobi force cheers in joy, and the few captains and vicemanders heave a sigh of relief. They turn their attention towards a cloud of mist in the instant. Mizukage and her forces are still trapped within that mist barrier. Izumi holds the crimson gourd, Benihisago in her hands. "How can I release Samui-san and Atsui-san from this gourd?" She flips it upside down. "Umm It should be Unbind and Release!" The Ino-Shika-Cho trio walks toward her. Mm Izumi forms a mental image of Atsui and Samui. "Unbind and Release Atsui, Samui!" Fwoosh The Benihisago spits out Samui and Atsui from its opening. "Phew I thought I was a goner for a second. That was a hot experience!" Atsui wipes the cold sweat from his body. "It wasn''t a cool experience for sure!" Samui also agrees with her brother. "Let''s recoup our forces for now. A lot of shinobis lost their life in this battle and many more are critically wounded." Samui, who is also the captain of the squad, issues a series of orders. Thebat medic team tends to the wounds of the injured personnel. ------------------------------- On the desert battlefield, Gaara takes a step forward towards the rapidly approaching sandstorm. He extends his arm and a giant palm of sand covers the entire battlefield. The gigantic hand falls from the sky and ttens the rapidly approaching sandstorm. On the other side of the sandstorm, "Huh!" A shinobi with brown spiky hair frown as he stares at the giant hand of sand in the sky. The giant hand smashes down on the ground and ttens his sandstorm jutsu. "Hmm this powerful technique and this chakra? Is One-tail on a rampage again?" The first Kazekage frowns. "That seems to be the case, Reto-sama!" The second Kazekage, Shamon nods in agreement. "Oh, Shamon! I didn''t expect you would also join me in the afterlife at such a young age!" Reto sighs in mncholy. "Reto-sama, I failed to live up to your expectations. I didn''t expect to die under the hands of an assassin from the Kura n of Konohagakure." Shamon shakes his head. "Hmm since you are here; does this mean the Second Hokage is still alive?" Reto questions him. "No, that doesn''t seem to be the case. The second Hokage Tobirama Senju died earlier than me. So, it shouldn''t be him. Looks like someone else brought us back with his technique." Shamon exins the situation to Reto. "It has been twenty years since the second shinobi war and currently the third Shinobi war is underway." Another Edo shinobi from Suna exins to them. "Five years have passed since the end of the Third Shinobi War!" Another shinobi with a stone headband exins to them. "Hmm you!! Why are you here?" The Edo Suna shinobi from earlier jumps at the Iwa shinobi and grabs his neck. "Why would I be here, you ask? It''s because I died just like you, dumbass!" The Iwa shinobi ps away his hand. "It''s the fourth shinobi war! But I am not sure of the day." A silent Konoha Edo shinobi opens his mouth. "Huh!" The rest of the Edo shinobis turn their head toward him. "How do you know that?" The rest of them question him. "Erm well because I died on the very first day of the battle." The Konoha shinobi speaks with embarrassment. "" The silence of the battlefield pierces Konoha''s shinobi''s heart like an arrow. "Umm I got careless and was ambushed by the enemy while fighting against a group of ten other shinobis." He attempts to exin to hide his embarrassment. "Huh! Didn''t you die in your sleep?" Another Edo shinobi from Kiri opens his mouth. "" The awkward silencested for a while. Ahem Reto clears his throat and turns towards the Konoha shinobi. "Can you exin the current situation to us? What period is this? Who are the current Kages and who is fighting against who in this battle?" Chapter 511: Kazekage Vs Kazekage Chapter 511: Kazekage Vs Kazekage The Edo Shinobi exins every detail to the Edo Kazekages. "Sigh I didn''t expect to fall to other''s schemes even after my death!" The first Kazekage shakes their head. Whoosh A few secondster, Gaara and Rasa arrive in front of the Edo group. "ATTACK!" "Grandfather, I didn''t expect to meet you in such a situation." Rasa opens his mouth as he nces at the Reto. "Shamon-sama!" He bows his head to Shamon in respect. "Rasa, is that you?" Reto nces at Rasa withpassion. "Yes, it''s me!" Rasa has a conflicted expression on his face. There is joy from meeting his elder, but also grief since both of them are enemies. ''Kabuto, that despicable bastard!'' Rasa directs his hate toward Kabuto. Gaara stands beside Rasa and asks. "Dad, they are" "They are your great-grandfather and great-granduncle!" Rasa introduces Reto and Shaman to Gaara. "This boy" Both of them turn towards Gaara and notice the floating sand behind him. "This boy! Sigh" Reto sighs and shakes his head. "Rasa looks like you didn''t make the same mistake as us." "No I followed your footsteps and made the same mistake as you!" Rasa chuckles in self-mockery as he recalls some bitter moments from his past. His father, Retsu, Reto''s son, was the former Jinchuriki of the One-tails. During his lifetime, Retsu was unable to control Shukaku. And one day, he finally lost control and fell under Shukaku''s mind control. In the end, Reto steeled his heart and granted him freedom from his fate. Reto clenches his fists as he recalls the smile of relief on Retsu''s face. Gaara bows to Reto and Shamon in respect. "What a filial child!" Reto smiles at Gaara in approval. "Great grandfather Unlike my grandfather, I met someone great who sympathized with my situation. I made friends who cared for me and had a family who loved me sincerely." A smile appears on Gaara''s face as the images of Izuna, Naruto, Temari, Kankuro, and his mother shed past his mind. "I see!" Reto nods at Gaara with slight tears in his eyes. "Perhaps back then, I was too nave with my approach. If only I had paid more attention to Retsu, if only I cared for him as much; then perhaps perhaps he didn''t have to" Reto closes his eyes in guilt. "Hehe Enough chit-chat! It''s time to get to work." Kabuto''s sinister voice echoes in their ears. Swish swish Kabuto makes a series of hand signs and controls the bodies of Reto, Shamon, and the rest of the Edo shinobis. Their eyes turn ck as they lose all their emotions. Several Zetsu soldiers pop out of the ground and confront Gaara and Rasa. The army of the Allied Shinobi forces also arrives on the battlefield. "ATTAACKK!!" The vicemander of the allied shinobi force issues an order. The Zetsu soldiers also charge toward the allied shinobi force. Boom Boom Sounds of explosions, smoke, fire, lightning, water, and other jutsu echoes on the battlefield. Reto takes a step forward Gaara and several sand golems slowly rise from the ground. Shamon weaves his hand and several chakra threads expel out from his fingers. The chakra threads connect to ten different puppets and float in the air around him. Swish swish Rasa makes a series of hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. Rumble Rumble The earth beneath him trembles and arge amount of gold sand ejects out of the ground. Rasa raises his hand in the air and creates a gigantic humanoid golem with a golden shield and spear. Gaara also reciprocates Reto''s jutsu with his own. He ps his hand and yells. "Sand Drizzle!" Large amounts of sand particles rise in the air and coalesce into multiple lumps of sand. "Sand Buckshot!" He waves his hands towards the several sand golems. BOOM BOOM The lumps of sand bombard and demolish everything in front of him. They pierce through the sand golems and smash most of them into pieces. The sand golems also counterattack. A few of them aim their hand toward Gaara andunch several canon bolts of sand toward Gaara. Bang. Bang A barrier of sand shrouds Gaara and blocks the bombardment of sand bombs. Several other golems create various weapons like sand axe, sand hammers, sand bows, and arrows. The golems charge toward Gaara and the rest of the allied shinobi force. "I won''t let you harm my allies!" Gaara ms his hands on the ground. A small amount of sand rises from his guard and enters the ground. Rumble Rumble The sand from Gaara''s guard grinds the rock beneath the ground and generates arge amount of sand. The sand rises from the earth and Gaarapresses and grinds it into fine sand particles. The sand swiftly flows on the ground and ttens the nearby terrain. It squeezes and crushes a portion of the Zetsu army. The sand binds several sand golems in a ce. "Quick Sand Waterfall!" Gaara sways his hand downward and drowns the sand golems into the quicksand. The sand continues to travel forward and engulf Reto within it. "Grand Sand Mausoleum Seal," Gaara ps his hands andpresses the sand around Reto into a giant pyramid-shaped seal. He tosses several sealing tags toward the sand pyramid and seals Reto within it. "The young generation has long surpassed the old generation." Reto voices fade away with thepletion of the seal. On the other side, Rasa also ends his battle with Shamon. Several heavy gold sand particles immobilize Shamon''s various puppets by blocking their joints. "You grew up into a fine man, Rasa!" Shamon smiles at Rasa as thetter seals him. "I had a fine teacher like you, Sensei!" Rasa also pays his respect to Shamon. Soon, Gaara and Rasa''s division overpowers the Zetsu army and scores an overwhelming victory. "Kazekage-sama, we received a backup request from the special unit. Several former members of the Akatsuki appeared on the battlefield." A member of themunication team informs Rasa and Gaara. "Go, leave this ce to me!" Rasa nods at Gaara. Gaara swiftly creates a cloud of sand and flies off in the direction pointed out by the headquarters. ------------------------- "Hmm" Naruto, who is dashing in the direction of the coastal battlefield, pauses. Whoosh He swiftly jumps sideways and avoids the charge of a giant rhino. "This summons" Naruto''s expression turns grim as he recognizes the rhino. The rhino turns around and charges again toward Naruto. This time Naruto clenches his fist and punches the giant rhino as soon as it closes up on him. Bang Narutonds a heavy blow on the rhino''s head. Crack The horn of the giant rhino cracks into fragments, and it disappears into a puff of white smoke. "Nagato, is that you?" Naruto looks around with a serious expression. Even with his enhanced senses, he is unable to sense Nagato''s location. Poof poof Several clouds of smoke appear around Naruto. A group of giant summons like a giant dog, a giant bull, a giant centipede, a giant crab, and a giant chimera bird surround him. Shiing Naruto closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He opens his eyes and an orange cloak appears around him. "Let''s do it, Kurama!" Whoosh The next second, Naruto disappears from the shared vision of every Rinnegan summons. Bang He reappears on top of the giant bull and ms down a giant Rasengan on top of its head. BOOM Naruto''s Ch-dama Rasengan pins the giant bull to the ground. Poof The giant bull disappears into a puff of smoke. BOOM BOOMM At the same time, the giant chimera bird drops several explosive eggs on top of Naruto. Naruto crosses his arms and generates a barrier of chakra around his body. Dust and smoke cover the surrounding area and block the summon''s vision. Swoosh Suddenly, a giant chakra arm grabs the chimera bird out of nowhere and drags it toward the ground. BANG The giant bird ms into the ground with a powerful impact force and disappears into a puff of smoke. ng Naruto raises his other hand and blocks the w of the giant crab. The crab''s w slowly calcifies his arm, but Naruto shrugs it off with a protectiveyer of chakra. He clenches the arm of the giant crab with such force that cracks appear on its hard shell. "Wind Release: Piercing Vacuum des," Naruto injects arge number of wind des into the crab''s body and slices its body into several pieces from the inside out. Poof The crab also disappears into a puff of smoke. Whoosh Naruto flickers away from his previous position and avoids the fatal poison spit of the giant centipede. The poison corrodes a giant crater into the ground. Naruto frowns as he stares at the poisonous centipede. ''That looks scary. I must avoid it at all costs.'' Rumble The giant centipede enters the ground and disappears from Naruto''s sight. Chapter 512: Jinchurikis in Danger Chapter 512: Jinchurikis in Danger Swish swish swish Suddenly, several ck rods fly toward Naruto from his blind spot. Whoosh Naruto senses a murderous intention aimed at his back. He immediately dodges and avoids the fatal attack. ng Naruto deflects a ck receiver rod with a kunai and grabs it. He stabs the rod in his hand and senses Nagato''s location. "Found you!" Naruto nces in a certain direction. He infuses chakra into his kunai and throws it. Swish Boom The kunai pierces through several trees and finally stabs into a boulder. Nagato''s camouge breaks after the attack. He tilts his head and barely avoids the attack. Whoosh The next second, Naruto arrives in front of Nagato. "Found you!" He confronts Nagato. "Nagato!" Naruto takes abat stance. "Sigh So, it finally came to this!" Nagato sighs as he stares at Naruto''s new form. "I never imagined that I''d be forced into fighting you again, Naruto! It''s probably been a while since west met. But since I have been dead, it feels like it''s been only a moment. You have changed a bit, Naruto." Nagato activates his Rinnegan and nces at the chakra cloak around Naruto. "You are much stronger than before." He adds. "Oh, you mean this?" Naruto stares at the Nine-tails chakra mode around his body. "I''m inplete control of the Nine-tails chakra now. This is my new chakra mode!" "I see No wonder you look so different." Nagato nods at him. "Looks like you were able to ovee your pain, suffering, and hatred" "Yeah, it was all thanks to my friends and family. Pervy-Sage, he will be sad to see you like this." Naruto shakes his head. "Sigh Jiraiya Sensei! I" Nagato shakes his head and turns silent for a while. "Konan, Is she" "Konan-san is alright! She is serving as a warden in an orphanage." "I I see I am relieved to hear that." Nagato heaves a sigh of relief. -------------------- On the other side of the battlefield, "Weee" Bee hops from tree to tree through a forest. Swoosh Whoosh Another figure flickers beside him and joins him. "Bee-sama, I finally caught up with you. The headquarters ordered me toe. I''m supposed to assist you." "Thank you, Motoi Brother!" Bee shakes hands with Motoi. Whoosh Both of them flicker through the forest and march toward Raikage''s location. "WAIT!" Suddenly, Bee leaps down from the tree and hides behind a giant boulder. "Don''te!" He warns Motoi and disappears into the bushes. Motoi takes out a kunai and warily stares at his surroundings. ''Strange! Why can''t I sense any enemy chakra in the vicinity? Howe Bee-sama sensed the location of the enemy?" Motoi questions himself. Motoi recalls the strange nature of Zetsu''s chakra. ''Perhaps it''s rted to their strange nature.'' He shrugs off his shoulder and patiently awaits Bee''s arrival. Five minutester, Hmm Motoi frowns as Bee has yet to return. "Should I join Bee-sama as well? He has yet toe back." Motoi hesitates. "No, the headquarters ordered me to follow Bee-sama''s instructions. I will wait for him here!" Another ten minutester, Motoi gulps his saliva and nces in Bee''s direction. "Bee-sama has yet toe back. I can''t wait any longer." He takes a step forward. Rustle rustle Suddenly, the bush in front of him rustles and an upside-down face sneaks out of it. "WEEEEE." AHHH Motoi screams in horror and jumps back. "Bee-sama Bee-sama he he" He screams these words and dashes in the opposite direction. "Huh!" Bee tilts his head in confusion. "Fool, ya Fool! What just happened to that fool? He lost his cool!" "Bee, let''s chase after him." Gyuki''s voice echoes in Bee''s ears. "Weee Here I go!" Whoosh Bee flickers towards Motoi and soon he appears on a in. "Brother Motoi, wait!" Bee waves his hand at Motoi. "Ah!" Motoi is stunned to see Bee and quickly dashes toward him. "Bee-sama, you are alive!" He grabs Bee''s hands and shakes them with joy. "Of course, I am! I just did a quickie!" Bee raises his little finger. "AH!" Motoi''s face freezes as he feels a wet sensation in his hand. Sniff sniff He sniffs his hand and smells a foul odor. ''You sure took a long one for a quickie!" Gyuki chides Bee. "Your brother might be in trouble!" "I couldn''t hold it any longer and you are about to lose yourposure. But now, I''m feeling good and dandy. So don''t worry and be happy." Bee takes out a paper towel from his pocket. He wipes his hands on the towel, rolls it, and throws it away. "Instead of wasting time on your silly rap, let''s help your brother," Gyuki scolds Bee. "I am sorry, but you don''t have to worry. As for my brother, he should be fine without my help. Yo!" "Bee-sama, this" Motoi stares at his wet hand in bewilderment. "I went pissin'' since the enemy was missin''." "Pissin'', huh!" Motoi wipes his hands with a paper towel and chases after Bee. "Hey wait, Bee! You almost gave me a heart attack with that jump scare. I thought you were dead for a second!" "Don''t sweat the small stuff. Also, things are about to get rough!" Suddenly, Bee''s expression turns serious. He pauses in his footsteps and nces at the ground in front of him. --------------------- In a hidden underground cavern, Hiss A white snake hisses behind Kabuto''s back. Kabuto gently pats the snake''s head and nces at the various shogi pieces on the ground. "With my previous failure, Tobi asked me to leave them alone. However, now both Naruto and Bee are approaching the battlefield." Kabuto takes out a scroll and a pouch from his pocket. "However, this is such a perfect opportunity to capture them." Kabuto makes a series of hand signs and wipes blood on the scroll from two vials. "Kuku I wonder what expression will he make under that mask when hees to know that the eight-tails and nine-tails are already in my grasp?" Kabuto breaks out in a peal of hystericalughter. "Obito, do you really think I don''t know your intentions? You nned to use me and so, do I? And so far, everything is ording to my n Kuku" Kabuto turns his attention toward the shogi board. "So, now let me pick the perfect reanimation for you both, Naruto and Bee!" Kabuto smears the blood on the scroll and a giant fuinjutsu formation appears on the ground. ----------------------- Back on the battlefield, Rumble Rumble The ground in front of Bee and Motoi trembles and a coffin erupts from the ground. Guah aaah Huaah A group of Zetsu soldiers are pushed out of the ground by the wooden coffin. "W-What was all that about?!" The group of Zetsu soldiers stands up and stares at the wooden coffin. "No way is that ?!" The door of the coffin ms down on the ground, and a figure walks out of it. A figure with bi-color hair of green and white walks out of the coffin. The figure has heavy-lidded eyes and a diamond-shaped mark around his right eye. Bee, Motoi, and Gyuki''s mouths open wide in surprise. "You you''re the former eight-tails Jinchuriki, Fukai-san, also known by his moniker Blue B." "Huh!" Blue B opens his eyes and nces around. He raises his head and stares at Bee and Motoi. "It has been a while, Bee! And you are Motoi?! Looking at your current appearances looks like someone performed Edo-Tensei on me. Is it Orochimaru?" Blue B asks them. "Fukai-san That day, thirty years ago Yes, the day you died. We tried to stop the eight-tails rampage and eight shinobis lost their lives. My dad was among them." Fukai grits his teeth. "I see." Blue B closes his eyes. "I am so sorry!" He sighs helplessly. "But I know that apologies won''t bring him back." "Yes, he''s Blue B. There is no doubt about it. But why? No matter how hard I try, I don''t remember a lot about that rampage" Gyuki nces at Blue B and attempts to recall some past memories. "Bee, this chakra I sense from you" Blue B raises his head and stares into Bee''s eyes. "I see, so you became a Jinchuriki." "Kuku the time for a joyous reunion is over!" Kabuto ps his hands. Shoom A chakra pulse shes past Blue B''s body. "Bee, I can''t control myself. So, run!" "If the eight-tails is inside you no more, you can''t fight life before." Bee crosses his arms in front of his chest. "You''re wrong!!" Blue B warns them. "Now, Blue B!" Kabuto makes a ram hand seal. "Why don''t you show them how serious you are?" Burble burble Red chakra bubbles pop out of Blue B''s body as he enters the first transformation. "Impossible! This chakra!" Gyuki''s eyes widen in shock. "Bee, Motoi! Get away!" Blue B riles up his chakra and enters into the second transformation of the tailed-beast mode. Eight-tails appear behind his back and a giant column of chakra rises in the air. Chapter 513: Trauma From Past Chapter 513: Trauma From Past In a secret underground Akatsuki hideout, Fwoosh A white Zetsu clone pops out of the ground. The clone appears beside Tobi, who is observing the situation on the battlefield with the various sentries the Zetsu army ced on the battlefield. "Looks like the Eight-tails and Nine-tails have appeared." "Hmm so the eight-tails and nine-tails are out from their rathole." "Should we capture them as quickly as possible? Though Kabuto is also fighting against them both with his Edo Soldiers." Zetsu questions. "No first we would secure the substitute just in case something unprecedented happens. The initiation of Project Tsukuyomi is of utmost importance. Once Project Tsukuyomi seeds, it''s all over." "So, you are about to make your move?" "It''s finally time for me to join the battle." Tobi tightens the gloves on his hand. "But first, we will steal the substitute." "Very well! I will ry your message to ck Zetsu. He is currently busy searching for the whereabouts of the Feudal Lords." Back at the coastal battlefield, After sealing the gold and the silver brothers, Izumi hands over the Treasured tools of the Sage of Six Paths to another captain of the Kumogakure. However, before the group could celebrate their victory, there are attacked by another wave of the Zetsu army. "ENEMY ATTACKK!!" The sensors receive a message from the headquarters. They quickly warn the rest of the army. Soon, another round of heated battle starts against the Zetsu army. Whoosh whoosh Dina and Kisame, the former members of Akatsuki, appear on a small hill and stare at the group of shinobis from various nations. "Another war, huh?" Dina licks his lips. "So much blood to shed and so much carbon to absorb." "So Tobi finally made his move." Kisame stares at the numerous Zetsu on the battlefield. "I didn''t expect Zetsu to possess a cloning ability. Looks like I underestimated him." Kisame shakes his head. "Huh, you are also dead!" Dina stares at Kisame in surprise. "Kuku it doesn''t matter. Even though I am not happy to revive like this, I will still enjoy dissecting these blood bags into pieces and absorbing the carbon from their body." Dina stares at the shinobi of the allied shinobi force like a hungry wolf. Whoosh Whoosh Both of them flicker amongst the allied shinobi force. Bang Dina morphs his hand into a giant carbon de. sh sh He shes the giant de around and split multiple shinobis into half. Splurt The blood and innards of the dead shinobis stter on the battlefield. AAHHH The surrounding shinobis yell in terror and heedlessly dash around. Slick Dina licks the blood on his carbon de and slowly walks towards the allied shinobi force. A ck gooey substance flows out of the dead bodies of the shinobis and enters Dina''s body. "Aaah this sensation. It''s been a while since I felt like this." Dina relishes the feeling of absorbing carbon from his enemies. Kisame ignores him and chooses another direction. He grabs the neck of a Kumo shinobi charging towards him with a giant de. Snap He snaps the shinobis'' neck in half and grabs his giant de. "Hmm not up to my liking. But this will do it for now." He flips the de in his hand and stares at the rest of the shinobis. "Attack!" The captain of the squad signals his subordinates to attack in a formation. Swish swish The shinobiunches several kunais with explosive tags toward him and makes a series of hand signs. "Fire Release: Explosive me Formation," BOOM A giant pir of me engulfs Kisame and scorches the nearby ground. Thebined might of the group''s jutsu isparable to an A-Rank jutsu. Burble Burble Kisame slowly walks out of the fire pulse with an armor of water around his body. Ssh The water sshes on the ground and Kisame is unscathed by the previous attack. "Looks like your superiors didn''t tell you anything about me." Kisame smiles to reveal his shark-like teeth. p He makes a series of hand signs and ps his hands. "Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave," Kisame spews out a giant amount of water from his mouth. The water from his jutsubines with the water of the ocean and turns into a gigantic Tsunami that engulfs the entire area in front of him. The giant wave of the Tsunami drowns several shinobis and continues to travel forward. Whoosh Haku jumps in front of the giant water wave and makes a series of hand signs. "Ice Release: Domain of Absolute Zero," Haku ms his hand on the surface of the water and freezes the entire wave of water traveling toward him. Whoosh Zabuza also flickers beside him and stares at Kisame. "Huh A Yuki n shinobi! Didn''t expect them to still hang around?" Kisame is surprised to see Haku on the battlefield. Hmm He turns towards Zabuza and instantly recognizes thetter. "Looks like you are still alive and kicking!" "Yeah, I didn''t expect to be thest living member of the Seven Mist Swordsman of my generation." Zabuza warily wields his executioner''s de. "Not for long! After I deal with you, your de will be the perfect substitute for my Samehada." Kisame cracks his neck. Gulp Zabuza gulps his saliva as a bead of sweat trickles down his forehead. He tightly grips the executioner''s de. ''This guy is bad news. He is the absolute strongest of Seven Mist Swordsman among us all.'' "Zabuza!" Haku pats Zabuza''s shoulder. "You aren''t alone. We will fight together!" "Yes, I am not alone!" Zabuza''s tense nerves rx slightly, and he slung the giant de on his shoulder. "I will be the vanguard and you will support me from the back line!" "Mm be careful!" Haku nods and ps his hands. Shiing shiing shiing Several ice crystals float beside him, ready to be deployed at any moment. On the other side of the battlefield, Dina continues to rampage on the battlefield and creates a blood bath. Streams of blood flow around him as a huge pile of disfigured and dismantles corpses lines up beside him. Slick Dina licks his lips and savors the feeling of ughter and carbon pumping up his adrenaline. "Mmm this is the feeling!" Izumi, who has just exchanged the treasured tools with the Kumo captain, turns her attention toward the army and spots Dina on the battlefield. "YOUU!!" An old memory of her childhood surfaces as she recalls the bloody hands of Dina ughtering her grandmother. "GRANDMA!" Izumi cries in agony and her eyes convert to Mangekyo Sharingan. Blood leaks from Izumi''s eyes as four pairs of giant arms appear behind her. The arms wield a spear, sword, bow, and shield. Izumi''s figure disappears in a blink as she charges toward Dina in a bloody rage. The arm with the bow nocks down a chakra arrow. She aims the arrow toward Dina. BOOM The arrow releases a sonic boom and appears beside Dina in an instant. "Huh!" Dina senses the threat from the arrow. "Carbon Control: ck Diamond shield," Dina raises his hand and a giant ck translucent shield wraps around his body. BANG The arrow ms into the ck carbon shield and a pir of dust rises at the point of impact. Fwoosh A figure is sent flying outside the dust cloud and ms through the ground, creating a small ravine on its way. Cough cough Dina coughs slightly and slowly stands up. "Aww that hurts!" He stares at the several cracks on his ck carbon shield. "What a strong attack! Even though I absorbed carbon from so many bodies, it still managed to shatter my defenses. Also, this recoil!" Several ash particles fly around his body and regenerate him to his peak condition. Hmm Dino narrows his eyes and stares at his attacker slowly approaches him. "Hmm you are" Dino raps his head and attempts to recall Izumi''s familiar face. After a few seconds, "Aaah I remember now. You are that fragile little doll from back then. I didn''t expect you to grow to such a degree. Guess it has been a long while since I died. But to me, it all feels like a moment ago." Dino grits his teeth and his expression distorts in fury. "That bastard! I still remember the humiliation he made me suffer. I will payback him in full. But before that" Dino turns towards Izumi with a malicious gaze. "I will savor the taste of prey I missed back then." "You won''t get that opportunity!" Izumi''s cold voice pierces Dino''s ears as she nocks another arrow on her bow. Chapter 514: The Attack of Gedō Mazō Part-1 Chapter 514: The Attack of Ged Maz Part-1 Pew Pew Pew Izumi nocks three more arrows and fires them toward Dino. BANG BANG BANG The arrows pierce through Dino''s body and pin him down on the ground. Samui, Atsui, and the rest stare into Izumi''s direction. "Looks like she can handle it on her own. Let''s help deal with the second member of the Akatsuki." They turn toward Haku and Zabuza, fighting against Kisame. Haku and Zabuza are struggling against the massive reserve of Kisame''s chakra. Kisame takes a deep breath and ps his hands. "Water Release: Great Water Prison Shark Dance Technique," Kisame generates a massive dome of water using the water from his previous technique and the sea. The massive water prison engulfs a wide span of the area and moves alongside Kisame, with him acting as the center of the giant water prison. "Ice Release: Ice Dome of Absolute Protection," Haku encases his and Zabuza''s body into a massive ice crystal with an air pocket inside it to breathe inside the giant water prison. He controls the movement of the ice crystal and attempts to flee out of the water prison. Samui, Atsui, and Ino-Shiko-Cho also arrive in the vicinity of the giant water sphere. "Hmm how should we deal with this?" Shikamaru racks up his brain while Atsui blindly charges toward the water bubble. "My hot blood will burn this water prison to vapors." He encases his sword with fire and madly shes at the giant water bubble. Shikamaru ces a hand on his head and enters into a deep thought to figure out a n. "Huh! What''s he doing?" Samui nces at Shikamaru and turns towards Ino for an answer. "It''s a habit of his. He always makes this pose when he figures out a n." Ino shakes her head. "I have an idea!" A few secondster, Shikamaru opens his eyes. "This is my n!" He whispers the n to Samui, Ino, and Choji. "I understand!" Samui nods and dashes in the opposite direction of the water bubble. Meanwhile, Shikamaru asks Ino to help him contact the HQ and ry his n to Haku and Zabuza, who are trapped within the water bubble. On the other side of the battlefield, Izumi easily overpowers Dino and didn''t even give him an opportunity to counterattack. "You bitch! I should have killed you first, back then." Dino yells in humiliation. sh Izumi severs his head with a sh of her katana. "Too bad I can''t kill someone who is already dead. However, I can seal you away for eternity." Izumi makes a series of hand signs and summons a crimson de with a gourd, as its hilt. She wields the de and nces at Dino''s severed body. "This is the Totsuka de or the Sakegari de." An ethereal de shimmers with a bright hue as Izumi infuses her chakra into it. "There is a very powerful sealing enchantment on this de. Whoever this de pierces shall be sealed within the genjutsu world of drunken dreams for all eternity. This will be your new hell!" Izumi lifts the de and pierces it through Dino''s head. "NOOOO!!!" Dino''s desperate screams echo in the surroundings as the Totsuka de extracts Dino''s soul from the Edo body. Izumi falls to her knees and burst out in tears. "Grandma, I avenged you!" She holds the Totsuka de in her hand and silently stares at the dusk sky. On the other side of the battlefield, The group somehow manages to seal Kisame inside the Benihisago with thebination of Haku, Zabuza, Samui, and Atsui''sbat prowess and Shikamaru''s wits. "This is one handy tool!" Zabuza holds the Kkinj rope in his hands. "However, it uses a lot of chakras and I almostpletely drained of my chakra with a single use." He swallows a chakra recovery pill and passes the rope to Samui. Choji and Atsui also pass the Benihisago gourd and Shichiseiken de to her. "I am so hungry!" Choji lies down on the ground in exhaustion. Shikamaru raises his head and nces at the setting sun in the sky. "Today was a very exhausting day!" Samui passes the two treasured tools to another captain and asks him to inform the headquarters. "Inform the HQ and ask Mabui-san to teleport them back to safety." "Yes, Samui-san!" The captain nods and orders his subordinates to wrap up the battles. Samui also turns around and walks towards the rest of the group. Suddenly, Swirl The space behind Samui swirls into a ck portal, and a figure walks out of it. "Summoning Jutsu!" Tobi makes a Ram hand sign. Huh! Samui swiftly turns around. She notices Tobi in Akatsuki''s robe standing in between her and the Kumo captain. "You are" "Marui, run!" Samui yells in shock and trepidation. "Die!" Atsui flickers behind Tobi and swings his fiery de. SHOOM Tobi lifts his left hand and points it toward Atsui. BOOM A powerful repulsive force acts upon Atsui''s body and sends him flying across the battlefield. BANG Atsui ms into a distant hill and passes out. "ATSUII!!" Samui yells in horror at Atsui''s situation. Tobi ignores her and focuses his attention on the Kumo Captain Marui in front of him. Marui listens to Samui''s words and dashes away from Tobi. "You can''t run. None of you will!" Tobi''s cold, emotionless voice sends a chill down everyone''s spine. He lifts his right hand and points it toward Marui. Shoom A powerful attraction force acts upon Marui''s body and pulls him towards Tobi. ARGH Marui struggles with his entire strength. He grits his teeth and stabs his de into the ground totch on it. However, the powerful attraction force rips apart the ground and drags him toward Tobi. Bang Tobi clutches Marui''s neck and lifts him in the air. Shiing He ces his hand on top of Marui''s head and extracts all the information from him using the Human Path. He pulls out a sealing scroll from Marui''s clothes and tosses Marui''s dead body away. Rumble Rumble The ground around Tobi trembles and a giant humanoid wooden statue with multiple eyes and chains crawls out of the ground. Various ck receiver rods jut out of the statue'' back. "Ged Maz!" Swish swish Tobi makes a series of hand signs and the treasured tools of the Sage of Six Paths appear in his hands. "Hmm there are only two of them!" He frowns as he only sees two sealing tools, Benihisago and Kohaku no Jhei in his hands. "Well it doesn''t matter. These were my original goals, to begin with!" Swirl He stores them away in his Kamui dimension. Tobi turns his attention toward the rest of the allied shinobi force. "Go, Ged Maz!" The giant statue breaks the shackles around its arms, neck, and legs and stands up. The size of the statue easily dwarfs the surrounding mountains as its head almost reaches halfway to the clouds. BOOM The giant statue lifts one of its feet and stomps it down on the ground. BOOM A powerful shockwave traverses across the battlefield. The ground beneath the statue''s foot crumbles apart and a massive ravine forms into the earth. The ravine swallows the shinobis and the giant statue charges towards them in a frenzy. "RUUUNNNN!!" The allied shinobi army gulps their saliva in despair and scatters. Back at the Allied Shinobi HQ, Burble burble Multiple powerful ripples spread across the sphere and one-fourth of the giant sphere separates from the rest. "WHAAAT?!!!" The eyes of the sensor and logistic unit shinobis widen in shock. "What''s the situation?!" Shikaku enquires. "An immense chakra field has appeared on the battlefield near Samui''spany. This amount of chakra, I am afraid, it''s on par with a tailed beast if not greater than a tailed beast." Ao gulps his saliva. "We received an emergency message from Samui''spany!" A member of themunication team rushes into the room. Shikaku and the rest nce at the visual feed on thems. "It appears to be some sort of giant humanoid monster! And it seems to be controlled by the" Tobi''s face appears on the feed. On the battlefield, Tobi raises his head and nces towards the sky as he senses multiple gazes on him. Shoom Tobi activates his Rinnegan and observes the world around him. The world in his vision turns into a spectrum of rainbow and multiple frequencies travel around him. "Huh!" He notices several rod-like nodes emitting a signal imnted within the ground. "Is this what the Allied Shinobi force is using to monitor the battlefield?" Tobi frowns. "What a powerful surveince tool!" The Ged Maz stomps the ground and destroys several CPS terminals in its vicinity. "That''s the Ged Maz!" Minato opens his mouth. "It''s a powerful summoning ability of the legendary Sage Eye Rinnegan!" He adds. Chapter 515: The Attack of Gedō Mazō Part-2 Chapter 515: The Attack of Ged Maz Part-2 "So, the leader finally joined the battle! But for what reason?" Shikaku rubs his chin in thought. "Akatsuki''s momentum is at an all-time high, while our shinobis are exhausted from today''s grueling battle. Perhaps he wants to gain an advantage over us." Another shinobi remark. "No, that doesn''t seem to be the case." Minato and others notice Obito stores the two treasured artifacts in his Kamui dimension. "Hmm why is he after the two treasured tools of Sage of Six Paths?" The shinobis ponder. "No His objective seems to be the two brothers sealed within those vessels." Shikaku shakes his head. "He is after the Nine-tails chakra. Since he can''t capture Naruto, he requires another source to acquire the Nine-tails chakra." Minato spectes. "Get back! Everyone retreats to the coastline." Samui signals the shinobis from herpany to retreat further away from the Ged Maz. "Damn it One monster after another! I can only hope that the rest of the battlefields are faring well." Samui clicks her tongue in worry. Whoosh Choji flickers beside her with Atsui in his arms. "How is he?" She inquires about the status of her brother. "Multiple broken bones, fractures, bruises, and internal injuries. He will be fine after some treatment!" Ino inspects Atsui''s body. "Tch this reckless brother of mine! Always trying to show off his cool side." Shikamaru stares at the giant Ged Maz and sighs. "This isn''t someone we can contend against with just numbers. We need someone strong!" ROOAAARR The Ged Maz opens its mouth and releases a powerful roar that generates shockwaves. It sps both its hands and jumps high up in the air to m down its fists on the ground. Fwoosh The next second, a giant Susanoo appears beneath the Ged Maz and blocks its attack. RUMBLE RUMBLE The ground beneath the Susanoo crumbles from the force of the attack. Cracks appear on Susanoo''s de. HAAH Izumi grits her teeth and channels lightning chakra through her entire Susanoo. The wings on Susanoo''s back turn into an extra pair of arms. Each arm wields a lightning spear and smashes it into the Ged Maz. BANG The ck receiver rods on the Ged Maz''s back absorb the chakra from her attack. However, a portion of the lightning still manages to hit the head of the Ged Maz. A diagonal scar appears around Ged Maz''s face. ROOARR The Ged Maz yells in pain and clutches its forehead. Fwoosh Izumi uses this opportunity to fly away and create some distance. Her Susanoo raises all of its arms and channels arge amount of lightning chakra. RUMBLE RUMBLE Lightning bolts strike down from the sky as Izumi holds a giant crimson lightning spear. "Lightning Release: Kongsho Vajra," The Susanoo holds a giant lightning spear with three prongs on each side. Izumi aims it towards the Ged Maz''s naval area and fires it. Shoom The lightning spear leaves behind a trail of lightning and, in the blink of an eye, appears in front of it. Ged Maz crosses its arms to block the attack. BANG The lightning spear pierces through its arm, but the Ged Maz manages to redirect the force of its attack. sh The lightning bolt slices an arm of the Ged Maz from the shoulder. BANG The giant arm falls to the ground and raises a cloud of dust. Crack crack Numerous cracks appear on Izumi''s Susanoo and it shatters into countless fragments that dissipate into the surroundings. Izumi falls to the ground, unconscious. ROOAAAR The Ged Maz releases a roar of pain. "She managed to slice one of Ged Maz''s arms!" Tobi stares in Izumi''s direction with shock. "I must deal with her!" He makes a Ram hand seal and controls the Ged Maz to smash Izumi to a pulp. ROOAARR The Ged releases a roar and smashes down its other hand on top of Izumi. RUMBLE Shockwaves erupt from Ged''s strike. A giant pir of smoke and dust rises in the air. The Ged raises its hand to reveal Izumi encased within a transparent green barrier. "CURSES!" Tobi clicks his tongue, and the Ged raises its hand again to strike down the barrier. Back at the headquarters, Shikaku and the rest are shocked by Izumi''sbat prowess. However, their cheers soon turn into worry as Izumi''s most powerful attack only manage to slice an arm of the giant monster. Their heart lurches in pain when Izumi''s Susanoo crumbles apart. "I will step on the battlefield!" Minato decides to participate in the war. "There is no need for that!" Swoosh Suddenly, a cloaked figure appears out of nowhere in the central room. "WHAT?!" The eyes of everyone in the room widen as some unknown figure managed to infiltrate so deep inside the Allied Shinobi HQ without any warning. "Who are you?" The Kumogakure elder steps forward with a kunai in his hand. "Uncle Minato!" Two little figures peek out of the cloaked figure''s back. "Tatsuya, Kanna!" Minato lowers his guard a bit as he recognizes the two little fellows. "Then does this mean?" He turns his attention toward the cloaked figure. "Yes, it''s me!" Izuna removes his cloak to reveal his face. His face has grown mature over the years. "It''s really you?!" Minato''s eye turns moist, but he holds back his emotions and nods his head. "You look a bit different from before!" Minato attempts to sense Izuna''s chakra but there his senses cannot capture Izuna''s chakra signature. "Well, a lot of things happened in these past few years." Izuna shrugs his shoulder and turns towards the visuals of the battlefield. Back at the coastal battlefield, GAH Obito spits out a mouthful of blood and holds his left eye. Blood trickles down his Rinnegan as his chakra reserves hit rock bottom. "I underestimated the amount of chakra Rinnegan consumes to summon the Ged Maz. I have to retreat before Ipletely run out of chakra." He casts another nce at Izumi and teleports away with his Kamui. Soon after, Poof The giant Ged Maz also disappears in a puff of white smoke. "It''s gone!" The shinobis stare at each other''s faces in relief. They fall down on their knees and cherish another moment of their survival. Whoosh Samui and others flicker beside Izumi and support her. "Medic! Any medic on the field! She needs emergency treatment!" A few members of the medic team quickly appear beside her. ------------------------- On the other side of the battlefield, After an intense battle with Blue B, Bee finally manages to overpower him. "Bee, seal him with this sealing tag!" Motoi tosses a sealing tag toward Killer Bee. Bee grabs the sealing tag and applies it on Blue B''s head. A series of sealing runes crawls across Blue B''s body to seal him. Suddenly, RUMBLE The ground beneath the group crumbles, and a giant erupts from the ground. "What? What''s this?" Bee swiftly jumps back and warily stares at the vines. The vines grab Blue B''s body and swiftly disappear into the ground. "Huh?!" Bee and Motoi tilt their head in confusion. "What was that?" "Bee, let''s head towards the Raikage-sama''s battlefield." "Wee!! Brother, I aming!" ------------------------- Swoosh ng ng Naruto and Nagato separate from each other. Naruto is holding a kunai in his hand while Nagato is wielding a ck receiver rod. Hmm Both of them raise their head and nces toward the coastal battlefield. "This chakra!" Naruto''s eyes narrow as he senses a sinister chakra in that direction. "It''s the Ged Maz!" Nagato also senses the chakra of the giant statue. "What''s it doing here? Who else possesses the Rinnegan?" "Zetsu stole your eyes and now it''s in the possession of Obito." Naruto informs Nagato. "Obito?!" Nagato frowns. "It''s the guy you all thought to be, Madara Uchiha. His real name is Obito Uchiha, and he seems to be a student of my dad!" "WHAT? So, all these years he fooled us in the name of Madara Uchiha?" Nagato sighs and shakes his head. "It doesn''t matter now! I am long dead!" Nagato jumps back and ps his hand. "Naruto, be careful! I am about to use my most powerful technique!" He releases an orb with an immense gravitational pull toward the sky. The powerful attractive force from the orb rips apart the surroundings and pulls everything towards it. ''Naruto, be careful!'' Kurama warns him. "I have fought against it before. I know its weakness!" Naruto creates a chakra arm and gathers the red and blue chakra particles. Hepresses them together to create a Rasenshuriken. Naruto adds Senjutsu chakra to the Tailed-Beast Rasenshuriken and throws it toward the gravitational sphere. BOOM The tailed beast Rasenshuriken explodes in contact with the Chibaku Tensei sphere and disrupts its gravitational pull. With a powerful burst of energy, it copses on itself and vanishes into a swirling burst of radiation. Chapter 516: Battle of Fists Part-1 Chapter 516: Battle of Fists Part-1 On the Kumo battlefield, A riles up his chakra as he engages in a battle against his three instructors. "Looks like you left me with no choice!" ng ng A removes the locks on his golden vambraces. Bang Bang The vambraces fall on the ground and create heavy indentations in it. A flexes his hands and swings his arms in a chopping motion. Two ck kanji tattoos for ''lightning'' are etched on his arms. A crosses his arms in front of his chest. Crackle crackle A surge of ck lightning surges through his body and creates a storm of ck lightning around him. HAAH "MODE: ck Lightning" ck lightning shrouds A''s entire body. His eyes turn red and his fairs stand up due to the powerful lightning jutsu. Bzzt Crackle A turns his attention towards his three former instructors. Swoosh The next second, he disappears from their vision. "That chakra mode! A he" The eyes of the three instructors widen in shock. Bang Bang Bang A strike down the lightning rods around him and reappears in front of Zenshiro. BANG He uppercuts Zenshiro and sends him flying toward the sky. Whoosh A follows up the attack with another kick andunches him further into the air. Bang A appears above Zenshiro and clutches both his fists together and strikes Zenshiro toward the ground. BOOM A small pir of dust rises in the air as Zenshiro smashes into the earth. "A that chakra mode?!" The Third Raikage narrows his eyes in shock as A rampage on the battlefield. "I didn''t expect him to master it to such a degree." "Ay I never thought you will pass on this secret technique to him." The first Raikage opens his eyes. "Brother, didn''t you also pass down this technique to Ay in hopes of him mastering this technique?" The Second Raikage turns towards his cousin. Sigh The First Raikage sighs and nods his head. "I did! However, Ay walked down his own path. He surpassed my expectations and became a strong shinobi with his own techniques." The First Raikage has a proud smile on his face as he nces at his son, the Third Raikage. "Father, A wasn''t headstrong enough to follow my path. So, I passed the secret technique of our n to him in hopes of him bing the strongest shinobi of the vige and perhaps gain the same level of power as our ancestor." The Third Raikage Ay nces at A battling his three instructors. The First Raikage nods his head as he recalls the information from his n texts and scrolls. Their n is one of the ancient shinobi ns of the Shinobi world. Back during the era of the Sage of Six Paths, the founder of their n was one of the disciples under Sage''s tutge. The Sage imparted the knowledge of Ninshu to his disciples and their n founder was proficient in lightning chakra. The Sage created the ck lightning secret technique and tailored it ording to his disciple''s needs. Later, the Sage passed down the Six Treasured Tools to his disciples. During the invasion of the demons, the six disciples fought against them alongside the younger son of the Sage. In that grueling battle, four of the disciples lost their lives, and the fifth disciple went missing. On their death''s bed, the four disciples passed their treasured tools to the sixth disciple for safekeeping. Later, the sixth disciple married and found his n. He passed down the secret technique, and the Five treasured tools to the next generation. The Giant turtle ind Genbu and the temple and the waterfall of the truth are also a part of that legacy. Yearster, those very descendants found the Kumogakure vige and protected its people as their leader. After entering the Semi- berserk state using the ck Lightning Chakra Mode, A easily overpowers the three bodyguards. He binds them with ck lightning shackles and seals their chakra. A turns his attention towards the three former Raikages. "Well done, A!" The Third Raikage Ay nods his head in approval. "It''s really a surprise to see you master the secret technique of our n to such an extent." The Second Raikage also nods in praise. "However, your efforts were in vain. The technique isplete!" HAAH The three Raikage''s ps their hand and a pir of lightning chakra rises from their forehead. The pir of lightning shoots towards the ck clouds in the form of three consecrating streams. A gigantic concentrated lightning orb the size of a mountain appears in the sky. The bright glow from the jutsu casts a blinding light on the battlefield. It draws an illusion of a second blue moon in the sky from a distance and illuminates the entirety of the battlefield with its glow. "What''s that in the sky?" The various exhausted shinobis from other battlefields cast nces in the direction of the gigantic lightning orb. Gulp A and Kakashi gulp their saliva at the sheer amount of chakra present in this jutsu. Lightning Release: Raimu Raito is an extremely powerful cooperation ninjutsu that requires several shinobis to exhaust their chakra for hours. It''s a strategic grade S-Rank ninjutsu that holds enough power to obliterate an entire vige. There are no known records of thest usage of this jutsu since none of the victims survived to tell the tale. However, back during the era of the Sage of Six Paths, this technique was created by the founder of the Kumo n after years of studying Ninshu under the Sage of Six Paths. Later, he used this technique alongside his subordinates to devastate an entire army of demons. So, the strength of this jutsu is unquestionable. But in today''s battle, even though the scale of this technique is not quite on par with the original creator, it''s still deadly enough to raze an entire vige. The unlimited supply of chakra from the three Kage ss shinobis for hours is enough to generate such a destructive potential. Izuna recalls the history of the jutsu from his memories. He nces at the situation with slight curiosity in his eyes. "But Kabuto what are your intentions with such a target?" "Dad! That blue moon looks so cool." Tatsuya stares at the visual of Raimu Raito with a glow in his eyes. The rest of the shinobis in the HQ sweat drops at the little fellow''s remark. However, Izuna''s next statement leaves them more bbergasted than anything. "Do you want to take a closer look at it?" ------------------------- Back at the Kumo battlefield. A few minutes ago, The trio of Kakashi, Guy, and A rush through the battlefield while mowing down hoards and hordes of Zetsu soldiers. A confronts the three instructors from Kumo while Kakashi protects A from the ambush of any unsuspecting Edo enemies. Guy continues to dash forward on the battlefield while defeating one Zetsu soldier after another. Whoosh Swoosh Suddenly, a lean, tan-skin figure with a below-average height appears in front of Guy. "Leaf Whirlwind," Guy performs a series of low and high kicks. The lean figure perfectly replicates all his actions and ends the flurry of kicks with a round-house kick simr to Guy. He cancels force behind Guy''s every kick despite Guy''s overwhelming advantage in his Fifth Gate form and aura. Shoom A cyan glow covers the lean figure''s body as he blocks Guy''s follow-up attack. Swoosh Bang The lean figure repels Guy''s kick with his arm and delivers a frontal kick toward Guy''s chest. Bang Guy blocks the kick with crossed arms. However, the powerful force from the kick sends him sliding backward. "My arms!" Guy''s arms tremble from blocking the powerful force behind the kicks. "This style" He casts another nce at the old man in front of him. The old man has a wrinkled face with grey-dead locks. He sports a Manchu mustache and a trimmed chin beard. He wears a yellow jumpsuit with ck stripes and open-toed sandals with a green sweatband, and red square-framed sunsses. Guy''s memories click in as he recognizes the fragile Edo Old man in front of him. "Y-you are the legendary Master Chen?!" Guy bows his head to Chen as a form of respect. "Looks like people still recognize me even after so many years." Chen locks his hands behind his back and inspects Guy''s face. "Hmm you seem an awful lot familiar!" Chen tilts his chin and attempts to recall Guy''s identity. "Ah I remember now. That technique you used earlier you must be Dai''s son. None else besides me, myte disciple, and Dai know how to perform the Leaf Whirlwind kick. Seems like Dai taught you well." Chen nods his head in approval. He notices the flickering green aura around Guy''s body. "Judging from that aura around your body. It must be the effect of the Eight Inner Gates formation technique." Chen recognizes Guy''s technique with a nce. "Master Chen, you recognize this technique?" Guy asks in surprise. "Of course, I do! Your father created this technique to replicate my Eight Inner Chakra Enlightenment." Chapter 517: Battle of Fists Part-2 Chapter 517: Battle of Fists Part-2 "Eight Inner Chakra Enlightenment?!" Guy tilts his head in confusion. "Mmm the Eight Inner Chakra Enlightenment is an extremely powerful technique to harmonize mind, body, spirit, and chakra to exert strength far beyond the normal abilities of a human. Unlike the Eight Inner gate formations, this technique permanently opens the chakra nodes in the body and maintains the harmony of both chakra and spirit within those chakra nodes. This harmony of chakra, spirit, and life energy generates a unique and more potent energy called Aura. A human can use this aura to perform physical feats far beyond the reach of a normal shinobi." Chen points a finger toward Guy. He infuses a tiny bit of his cyan aura at the tip of his finger and smashes it toward the ground. Bang Chen pauses his finger an inch above the ground. Rumble rumble The ground beneath Chen''s feet cracks open and a ten-meter-wide rift split open the ground. "The aura is not just the control of physical strength and spiritual energy. It''s the control of the veryws of nature: the transfer and conversion of kic and potential energy." Chen exins the essence of aura to Guy. "If you can master this, then you will truly be the most powerful Taijutsu expert in this world." Sigh Chen sighs and gazes toward the sky. Gulp Guy gulps his saliva as he recalls Izuna''s exnation about Aura. Both of them have striking simrities with each other. Though Izuna''s exnation has more depth to it. Nheless, it wasplicated for him to makeplete sense. "T-then master Chen how many chakra gates did you open?" Guy enquires. "Sigh" Master Chen sighs again and turns towards Guy. "I wasn''t talented enough. I was only able to open four chakra nodes in my lifetime. In this matter, your father Might Dai was much more talented than me. His sixth inner gate was almost on par with my Fourth chakra node and his seventh gate surpassed my Fourth chakra node by quite a bit. As for the eight gates hehe let''s not talk about it!" Chen chuckles. Shoom Suddenly, Chen''s expression turns stiff as a pulse of chakra shes past his mind. "Guy I can''t control my body anymore. So, be prepared!" Whoosh A cyan aura envelops Chen''s body, and he disappears from Guy''s vision. "He''s fast!" Guy swiftly takes a defensive position and closely follows Chen''s movements. Swoosh Bang Chen appears behind Guy and performs a roundhouse kick. Bang The kicksnd on Guy and sends him flying across the forest. Bam Guy crashes through multiple trees before smashing into a boulder. Whoosh Chen reappears in front of Guy and opens his mouth. "That was my afterimage you were tracking!" Swoosh Chen stomps the ground and once again three more Chen appear in Guy''s vision. Bang bang bang Guy wards off multiple of Chen''s constant flurry of attacks with his arms and legs. His hands and legs turn sore from the constant defense. HAAHH Guy crosses his arms and riles up his chakra. "Eight Inner Gate Formation: Sixth Gate of View: Open," Guy emits a powerful shockwave from his body that disperses Chen''s afterimages and pushes him back. Chen crosses his arms in front of his body and nces at Guy. "So, you can also open the Sixth Gate. Wonderful!" Whoosh The cyan aura around Chen''s body thickens, and he performs an upward spin kick. Chen infuses his aura into the kick and generates a powerful wind tornado with the kick. The tornado morphs into a giant cyan dragon with whiskers. ROOAAARR It releases a powerful roar and leaps toward Guy intending to swallow him. Guy confronts the giant dragon and releases a flurry of punches. "Asakujaku," A peacock-like fan of mes appears in front of him as Guy''s rapid punches set the air aze. The flurry of fireballs bombards the cyan dragon. However, it swallows them all and proceeds to attack Guy. HAAH Guy recedes his fists even further and gathers the surrounding aura into his fists. BANG His punch explodes forward a giant fire phoenix erupts from his attack. The phoenix and the dragon sh together and a hurricane of fire and wind appears on the battlefield. Both of their attacks ravage the battlefield around them and multiple Zetsu die as coteral. Finally, both jutsus cancel out each other and vanish into the air. Huff Huff Guy breathes heavily with sweat around his body. Exerting such strength and techniqueses at the cost of his stamina. On the other side, Master Chen is still in his peak state. Being an Edo, he doesn''t have to worry about chakra and stamina since he has infinite reserves of them. The three former Raikages, A, Kakashi, and the rest of the Edo pause and nces at the battle between Chen and Kakashi. "I didn''t expect there is still someone in Konoha who possesses the same level of Taijutsu skill as Master Chen." The Second Raikage and the Third Raikage recognize Master Chen and acknowledge Guy''s Taijutsu skills. They have fought multiple times against this legendary Taijutsu master during the Second and the Third Shinobi war and are aware of his highbat prowess. At some distance from the battlefield, Tenten, Lee, and Neji stand on a small hill and gazes toward the giant ck cloud. "Byakugan!" Shiing Neji activates his Byakugan and nces in the direction of the battlefield. He notices the three former Raikage, A, the three bodyguards, Kakashi, Master Chen, and Guy. "I can see Guy-sensei! He is currently fighting against someone." Neji informs Guy and Tenten. "Guy Sensei! I will be right there." Lee clenches his fists with a bright me in his eyes. "Tenten, how long will it take?" He turns towards Tenten, who is tinkering with some glider-like device. "Give me a few more minutes. This flying device from the Land of the Sky is a bit broken. I forgot to perform maintenance on it after taking it from those shinobis." Sigh Neji sighs and shakes his head. "What are we even doing here? We should be retreating behind the back lines! And yet here I am with you two." "It was Lee''s idea!" Tenten adjusts the wings of a glider as he pushes it towards Lee with an angry expression. Hehe Lee sweats at Tenten''s expression. "But But Guy sensei is fighting on the battlefield for our sake. How can I sit behind and watch from the back line, even after we have grown strong to such an extent?" Lee makes puppy eyes towards Neji and sticks close to him. Augh "Fine!" Neji is repulsed by Lee''s sweat and tears and reluctantly agrees. "You both owe me thirty thousand Ry each for these flying devices." Tenten''s emotionless voice douses down their enthusiasm. The trio ties the flying device around their back and jumps down from the hill. They swiftly fly towards the battlefield. Bzzt A small bolt of lightning flies from the ck clouds and zaps Lee. Smoke rises from Lee and his glider. "Lee, are you alright?" Neji asks in worry. "I I am fine!" Lee gives a thumbs up with smoke rising from his body. Back on the battlefield, Whoosh swoosh Master Chen swiftly flickers in front of Guy andnds a flurry of kicks and punches at him. "Leaf Great whirlwind," Guy helplessly dodges every strike he could and blocks every strike he couldn''t. "Guy!" Kakashi nces in Guy''s direction but is unable to help him as he is held back by enemies on every side. "Tch" Guy clicks his tongue. "Looks like I can''t hold back anymore." He sighs and prepares to open the Seventh Gate. "GUUYYYY SENSEEEIII!!!" Lee''s voice echoes in Guy''s ears. Sniff Tears appear in Guy''s ears as he clenches his fists. "I can even hear Lee cheering for me in this battle. Looks like I can''t give up. With this battle, I will surpass my limits and set an example for Lee." Haah Guy extends his arms in front of his body and prepares to further rile up his chakra and aura. "AAAHH GUY SENSEEIIII!!!" "W-what?! Even Neji and Tenten are cheering up for me. Now I have to win this battle at all costs." Tears flood out from Guy''s eyes. Suddenly, BANG BANG BANG Three explosions ring in the air. Chapter 518: Battle of Fists Part-3 Chapter 518: Battle of Fists Part-3 A few secondster, The Zetsu army notices the three flying gliders above their head. "Is that some kind of bird?" One of the Zetsu asks a stupid question. "Are you blind?" Another Zetsu bashes his head. "I forgot my sses!" The Zetsu chuckles. "" The rest of the Zetsu turn silent and stare at their idiotic friend. "Let''s just ignore him and shoot down these shinobis." The Zetsu soldiers throw a barrage of attacks toward team three. With the constant barrage of attacks, the flying device breaks apart. Bang bang bang Three explosions ring in the air. "GUY SENSEI!" Lee, Tenten, and Neji fall from the sky andnd on top of Guy. BAM Guy, who was about to rile up his chakra to open the seventh gate, is stunned by thebined weight of the trio. "Mmm Neji, get off me!" Tenten waves her hands with struggle. "Sorry! Sorry!" Neji quickly gets off from the top of the group. Tenten heaves a sigh of relief. "Tenten, you are heavy!" Lee, who is squeezed under Tenten, squirms in pain. "Hey, what do you mean I am heavy? I started dieting a few days ago and already lost two kgs." Tenten harrumphs and stands up. "When I fell, why does it feel like I fell on something soft?" Lee slowly sits up. "Lee, below you!" Tenten and Neji point to him with gestures. "Huh! Below me." Lee looks below him. GAH Guy is knocked out with bubbles frothing out from his mouth. "Guy Sensei!" Lee quickly stands up and supports Guy. "Eat this, Guy Sensei!" He feeds a recovery pill to Guy and shakes him slightly. "Lee!" Guy recovers his stamina and notices Lee, Neji, and Tenten beside him. "What are you doing here, Lee?" "Guy Sensei, I couldn''t help myself but rush into battle to aid you in your fight." Lee clenches his fists with a fire burning in his eyes. "LEE YOU!" Guy''s expression turns dark at Lee''s remark. Ah Neji and Tenten gulp their saliva in fear. "LEE! I am so touched! To think that you will march between the enemies to fight alongside your Sensei!" Tears flow from Guy''s eyes as he hugs Lee in his embrace. "Guy Sensei, let''s fight together." Lee clenches his fists. "The blue and green beasts of Konoha are ready to fire up the battlefield!" "Hoho quite a lively bunch, aren''t you?" Master Chen''s words pull their attention. "Ah, this voice!" Lee turns towards the voice and notices Master Chen. "Old Master Chen!" Lee bows his head in respect to greet Master Chen. "I guess I am really famous, hehe!" Master Chen chuckles in delight after being recognized twice in a row. "I am so honored to see you again!" "Eh!" Master Chen and Guy stare at Lee with slight doubt. "Lee, Master Chen died way before you were born. How did you meet him?" Guy points out the fact. "Master Chen wasn''t dead." "What?!" "At that time" Lee narrates his entire experience of meeting Master Chen to Guy. "Huh! You are the brat from that time. You are still a shinobi, eh?" Master Chen grits his teeth and clenches his fists. "One can''t simply give up on their dreams. "Lee, what''s going on? What did Master Chen say to you?" Guy turns to Lee for answers. "A shinobi who can''t use Ninjutsu isn''t fit to be a SHINOBI!!!" Master Chen riles up his chakra. "If you can''t give up on your dream, then today I will make you give up on it." A dense cyan aura surrounds Master Chen''s body. The sheer pressure from the aura breaks apart the ground around him. Numerous cracks and rifts appear on the ground as it splits into multiple small ravines. A giant crater appears near Master Chen''s position. "What amazing pressure?" Lee, Guy, and the rest are pushed back by Master Chen''s intense aura. "How could you say such a thing to my Lee?" Guy angrily turns towards Master Chen. "You, of all people, should know the most." Master Chen scoffs at Guy. "That I" Guy clenches his fists as he recalls the image of his father smiling at him. "Still, I can''t ept it. Master Chen, you said a shinobi who cannot use any ninjutsu is powerless and isn''t fit to be a shinobi. However, only a person who stands and lives by his idea is fit to be a shinobi. And Lee will never give up on his dream. So, Master Chen, you are wrong!" Guy points fingers towards Master Chen. "You two!" Bang Bang A pir of cyan aura rises from Master Chen''s body as a hurricane of wind generates from the sheer pressure emitting from his body. "Very well, I will prove to you both teacher and pupil the error of your ways!" "We aren''t wrong. Lee, you should be able to prove this to him." Guy stands beside Lee. "GUY SENSEI!!" Tears overflow Lee''s eyes. "Yes, Guy Sensei! I will never give up." Both Lee and Guy clench their fists. "Sixth Gate: Gate of View," "Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder," "OPEN!" RUMBLE RUMBLE Both Lee and Guy push their bodies to limit and open the eight inner gates. A powerful aura rises from their body and the shockwaves from opening the gates collide with the wind hurricane generated by Master Chen''s aura. Sparks fly up in the air as the nearby tree, rocks, and ground tear apart from just the sh of their aura. "What intense Aura?!" Lee, Neji, and even the surrounding Zetsu are blown away by their aura. "Lee, he" Neji''s eyes widen in shock. "I didn''t expect him to be so strong!" Neji clenches his fists. "I won''t give up that easily, either!" Neji turns towards Kakashi. "Tenten let''s help Kakashi Sensei in his battle." Mm Tenten gazes at Neji''s face and nods her head. ''Looks like Lee''s growth motivated Neji, who was always hailed as a genius to push past his limits.'' "I AM COMING!" SHOOM Master Chen disappears from his position. SHOOM SHOOM Both Lee and Guy also disappear from their spots and sh against Master Chen in Taijutsu skills." BANG BANG The shockwaves from their battle ravage the surrounding battlefield, and multiple Zetsu lose their life as coteral. "So, this is the peak of the Taijutsu skills in the shinobi world!" The three Raikages stares at their battle with amazement in their eyes. "Konoha, sure, is blessed to possess such strong individuals. Sigh" The First Raikage sighs as he recalls the days of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. RUMBLE RUMBLE The trio continues to move away from the battlefield whileying waste to anything that is between them. "Hmm I didn''t expect Master Chen to be an even match for thebined power of Guy and Lee." Kakashi, who is taking a breather after Tenten''s and Neji''s support remarks in surprise. "Double Dynamic Entry," Both Lee and Guy perform a flying kick toward Master Chen. HAAH Master Chen blocks their kicks with his arms. Clench clench He grabs their legs and spins rapidly. "Leaf Whirlwind Hurricane," He tosses both of them in the opposite direction by using the momentum from spinning. BANG BANG Lee and Guy support themselves by kicking theirnding rocks. Swoosh They lunge toward Master Chen and rapidly dash around him. "NOW!" Whoosh Both of them perform roundhouse kicks. Whoosh Master Chen ducks down and avoids their kick. Bang Lee and Guy kick each other''s feet and rapidly redirect the force from their feet to other parts of their body. BANG They swiftly lower their torso and support their upper body with their hands. BANG BANG Both of themnd a blow on Master Chen''s chin and send him flying in the air. Whoosh swish Lee unwraps the bandages around his wrist and ties them around Master Chen''s body. Guy grabs Master Chen''s body and rapidly spins in the air. "Front Lotus: Revolving Heaven Lotus Drop," BANG Both of them m Master Chen''s body on the ground and swiftly jump away at thest moment to avoid the impact. BOOOMM Arge pir of dust rises at the point of impact. The ground rattles from the impact and a giant crater form at the point of impact. Huff Huff Lee and Guy breathe heavily as they stare at the crater with wariness. HAAAAHH "SENPOU KONOHA RYJIN," ROOARR A giant azure one-eyed dragon leaps out from the crater. The giant dragon wipes away the cloud of dust and releases a powerful roar that generates powerful shockwaves. "SENSEI!" "LEE!" Both Lee and Guy cross their arms and infuse the aura of their body in their fists to release onest attack. "ASAKUJAKU!" "HIRUDORA!" Both of them unleash their most powerful attack to fight against the ultimate technique of the legendary Taijutsu master. RUMBLE RUMBLE A giant fire phoenix, a giant white tiger, and an azure dragon sh against each other. The shockwaves from their attack travel all the way to the back lines camps of the allied shinobi army. "What was that?" The shinobis gaze in the direction of the battlefield as the powerful shockwaves blow off most of their camps and multiple shinobis topple onto the ground. Chapter 519: End of the Third Day Battle Chapter 519: End of the Third Day Battle Rumble rumble The dust clouds and smoke settle down to reveal the azure dragon disperse into pure energy. "My Leaf Dagon God?!" Master Chen falls to his knees in defeat. "How can this be? How can I lose? Why won''t you give up?" He nkly stares at the sky. "No, there was a time when I almost thought of giving up." Lee shakes his head. "Back then in the academy, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn''t be strong like the rest of my ssmates. However, I was fortunate enough to meet Guy Sensei. I don''t have to be like others. My strength lies in my willingness to never give up and keep pushing forward to surpass my limits. If hard work was pain and suffering, then giving up on my dream will make me suffer more. Day by day, I would have lived in regret of never trying and giving my best. But now, I am strong thanks to that resolve and the support of people around me." Lee clenches his fists. "I see" A smile appears on Master Chen''s face. "You found yourself a fine teacher." Crack appears on Master Chen''s body as it slowly disperses into ashes. "Long ago, I too had a pupil" Master Chen recalls the memories of his student and closes his eyes. "Here, take this as my parting gift!" He makes a series of hand signs and summons an ancient scroll. Master Chen passes the scroll to Lee. "Master Chen!" Lee tightly clutches the scroll in his hand and tears overflow from his eyes. "This is" Guy nces at the scroll in Lee''s hand. "This is theplete Eight Inner Chakra Enlightenment Technique. I hope you can find a use for it!" With these words, a white glow surrounds Master Chen''s body, and he returns to the Pure Land. Izuna observes the entire battle from the sky and murmurs. "What a surprise! I didn''t expect the technique I created by improving the Eight Inner Gates Formation to be the basis for the Eight Inner Gates Formation." Back on the Raikage''s battlefield, "A, it''s toote!" The Raikage sighs and stomps on the ground. Bzzt The giant lightning orb releases a bright glow and shoots toward the sky. It pierces through the cloud and vanishes into the sky. "What what''s going on?" The shinobis at HQ stare at the jutsu with skeptical gazes. "This" Even the Kumo head ninja in HQ is bbergasted by the sudden change. "Erm well I only heard stories about this jutsu. I have never seen it in action. So, my knowledge is limited." He helplessly shakes his head. The giant lightning orb reaches the orbit and supercharges into the ionosphere. HAAH The three Raikages ps their hand. Fwoosh Shoom The giant lightning orb splits into several gigantic lightning spears and locks onto several shinobi camps and the HQ. "This jutsu is targeting the vital camps of our army and the headquarters," Kushina informs Minato of the situation. "Quickly inform the members of the barrier team to erect barriers." Shikaku swiftly issues orders to themunication team. In a hidden underground hideout, "Kuku it''s time to cripple the allied shinobi force. If this n doesn''t work, then I can only resort to my trump card." Haah He makes a Ram hand sign. Shoom The lightning spears shoot toward several camps of the Allied Shinobi forces. A gigantic lightning spear falls straight toward A and another shoots toward the First Division''s camp. Hmm Sakumo narrows his eyes as he senses the threat. ''The barrier team won''t be able to make it. I have to buy some time.'' He steps forwards and wields his chakra de in his hand. "Secret Technique: Heavenly Phantom de sh," Sakumo infuses almost all of his chakra into his de and releases a powerful crescent sh toward the rapidly approaching lightning spear. Bzzt Boom The crescent sh shes against the lightning spear. Their sh generates a powerful burst of energy that blows away the surrounding terrain. However, despite Sakumo''s best efforts, the lightning spear eventually overpowers his technique and heads toward the camp. "Wind users, attack!" The vicemander issues amand as several wind usersunch a barrage of wind jutsus in an effort to whittle down the lightning spear. The barrier team also manages to erect a barrier. Boom Crack The lightning spear explodes on top of the barrier and destroys it within a fraction of a few seconds. It strikes down the ground and generates a powerful lightning current that shocks several shinobis in its vicinity. Boom A giant pir of lightning bolt rises towards the sky and dust, and debris covers the area. Sasuke intercepts several lightning spears with the Yata no Kagami shield. The powerful elemental barrier of the Yata no Kagami shield nullifies the chakra within the lightning spear. However, the force behind the spears is still powerful enough to blow him backward. Sasuke''s chakra reserves drain rapidly as he blocks several lightning spears with the Yata shield. "Sasuke, allow the attacks heading towards the HQ to pass through. The barrier around the HQ is strong enough to withstand it. "We will also somehow manage on our own!" Raasa also assures him. After blocking several lightning spears heading toward the medical division, Sasuke runs out of chakra. He dispels his Susanoo andnds on the ground to recover the chakra. Boom Boom Boom Lightning spears strike several ces and havoc destruction among the ranks of the allied Shinobi force. Sigh Minato and the rest sigh and shake their head. "It could have been worse. With Sasuke''s help, at least we managed to avert a big crisis. Still, we suffered heavy losses in today''s battle." Needless to say, the Allied shinobi force lost the Third day''s battle. Lee slowly escorts Guy towards the battlefield as A, Kakashi, Tenten, and Neji confront the three former Raikages. Tenten gulps her saliva as she has no confidence in the Kages. ---------------------- On the other side of the battlefield, Naruto finally suppresses Nagato using the Fuinjutsu seals. "Naruto, I will entrust the hopes and the dreams of the future shinobis generation in your hands." Nagato closes his eyes as his body slowly disperses. "If only I could meet Jiraiya Sensei onest time and apologize to him for my mistakes." "Very well!" Izuna''s voice echoes in Naruto''s and Nagato''s ears. "This voice!" Both of their eyes widen in shock. Fwoosh The next second, Jiraiya appears next to Naruto and Nagato. "Ah huh! Huh!" Jiraiya is holding a bunch of ying cards in his hand as he looks around in confusion. "What? Where am I? How am I here when I was ying cards with" "Pervy-Sage!" Naruto yells and points a finger toward Jiraiya. "Others are betting their life on the line and you are out there somewhere ying cards." "Huh, Naruto!" Jiraiya recognizes Naruto''s voice and turns towards him. He notices the glow around Naruto and is slightly surprised to see it. "That''s Nine-tails chakra. You mastered it, Naruto?" "Of course, I did!" Naruto smugly crosses his arms. "But that''s not the point! Tell me, what are you doing with these ying cards in your hands?" "Oh, these! Whoops" Jiraiya quickly hides the cards in his pocket. "Nothing nothing! Currently, I am on a very important S-Rank mission. But you Huh!" Jiraiya narrows his eyes as he finally notices Nagato. Swoosh He swiftly jumps back and enters into abat stance. "Nagato, is that you?" "Yes, Sensei. It''s me!" Nagato nods with a mncholic gaze. "Pervy-sage, he''s in control of himself," Naruto assures him. "Sensei, I have a lot to talk with you. But first, I would like to apologize to you." Nagato bows his head. "I see!" ------------------------- Somewhere in an isted mansion in the mountains. "Ah!" The five Daimyo stares at the empty space in front of them with shock. Each of them is holding a bunch of cards in their hands. "Jiraiya-san, it''s your tur" Chapter 520: A Clash of Kages Chapter 520: A sh of Kages "Looks like I have to finally step on the battlefield!" Minato nces at the confrontation on the Kumo battlefield. Swoosh He vanishes from the HQ. Back on the battlefield, Whoosh Minato appears beside Kakashi and A on the battlefield. "Minato!" A turns towards Minato with a frown. "I can handle this on my own!" A clenches his fists with lightning overflowing from his body. "Spare the unnecessary debate for some other time. For now, our priority should be them." Minato turns towards the three former Raikages. Hmm The First Raikage and the Second Raikage curiously stare at Minato. "That''s the Teleportation Jutsu of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju!" The second Raikage recognizes Minato''s teleportation jutsu. "Who is he?" "That''s the Fourth Hokage of the Konoha!" One of the Edo-Tensei reveals Minato''s identity. "I thought he was dead. How is he alive?" Another shinobis question. "I am also not sure. But it looks like he faked his death for some reason." Another shinobi remark. "No, Lord Fourth wasn''t dead. After the Nine-tails attack, he went MIA to investigate the incident." A Konoha shinobi remark. "Lord Minato is the current Supreme Commander of the Allied Shinobi force." Another shinobi who recently died in war and was brought back as Edo remarks. "I remember him. He is a shinobi with exceptional skills who rose to fame during the Third Shinobi War." Third Raikage Ay recalls Minato''s name from his memories. ''I wonder where is white fang?'' Ay recalls his battle against Sakumo Hatake during the Third Shinobi War. ''Hmm now that I think about it. There was that brat too.'' The image of an Uchiha kid with ck-blue hair appears in Ay''s mind. "So, another Konoha shinobi with exceptional talent and skills." The First Raikage raises an eyebrow. The previous battle between Master Chen and Might Guy has already colored him impressed and now there is another shinobi who is also a Kage like them. "Very well, I will take him head-on." The Second Raikage steps forwards towards Minato. In front of the Second Raikage''s giant muscr body, Minato looks like a little child with no build to boast about. However, Minato isn''t intimidated by Second Raikage''s strong aura. Instead, he calmly stares at thetter''s body movements to anticipate his every move. Haah The Second Raikage makes a single monkey hand sign. He ps his hand and aims them toward Minato. ROOAAR The Second Raikage releases a powerful stream of lightning from his hands. The lightning stream condenses into a gigantic dragon withrge fangs and shining red eyes. It opens its mouth gigantic maw and lunges toward Minato in an attempt to swallow him in a single gulp. Whoosh Minato disappears from his ce and reappears at some distance near his kunai. ROOARR The lightning dragon opens its mouth and spews out a powerful lightning bolt from its mouth toward Minato''s direction. "I haven''t fought against the Second Hokage and his teleportation jutsu for nothing." He remarks as the lightning dragon shoots multiple lightning spears toward each of Minato''s kunai. Minato dodges the attack and wonders. "The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was renowned as the most powerful water-style user of his era. Simrly, the Second Raikage held a reputation for his mastery of lightning style, making him the greatest lightning user of all time. In terms of versatility and arsenal of jutsus, the Second Raikage surpasses the Third Raikage. However, the Third Raikage holds an advantage in his extraordinary amount of chakra and stamina, which further enhances his endurance." Minato respects the Second Raikage''s fame and stretches it out his palm to reciprocate the attack. Shoom Arge amount of chakra gathers into Minato''s palm and turns into a football-size Rasengan. "Wind Release: Wind Rasengan," Minato adds wind chakra to the Rasengan and throws it toward the giant lightning dragon. A disc of wind chakra shrouds the Rasengan. ROOARR The lightning dragon roars and fires a barrage of lightning attacks toward the rapidly approaching Rasengan. However, the wind disks around the Rasengan nullifies the lightning and m into the gigantic lightning dragon. Both jutsus collide with each other and a storm of chakra brews in the surroundings due to their intense sh. Fwoosh Minato vanishes from his position and reappears behind the second Raikage. Shiing He wields a kunai with sealing fuinjutsu runes and stabs it through the second Raikage''s heart. Heh A smile appears on the second Raikage''s face as his body disperses into lightning. The lightning turns into chains and binds Minato to a ce. "A lightning decoy?!" Minato frowns. The second Raikage jumps out of the eye of the storm of the previous sh of the Rasengan and the lightning dragon. "I see!" Poof Minato also disappears in a puff of white smoke. "A shadow clone?" Now it''s the second Raikage who frowns. "Looks like it''s a mistake to underestimate you." The second Hokage crosses his arms in front of his chest and riles up his chakra. "Lightning Chakra Mode," He wraps his body in a cloak of lightning chakra. His hairs stick up and lightning crackles around his body. His muscles expand as the lightning simtes his body and nervous system, greatly increasing his speed and reflexes. Minato also reveals himself. He takes a step forward. Shoom An orange cloak shrouds Minato''s body. Several magatama markings appear on his cloak. "Sensei, this!" "Lord Fourth!" Kakashi and the rest are surprised by Minato''s appearance. "Looks like you have trump cards of your own." A nce at Minato''s cloak and turns towards his father before returning his gaze to Kakashi and Guy. "Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, I will leave my grandfather to you while I battle against my father." A clench his fists and grits his teeth. He turns towards his father, Ay. "Old man, here Ie!" BANG A stomp on the ground and disappear with a burst of blue lightning. Hmm The Third Raikage also closes his eyes. Shoom Crackle crackle A lightning cloak also shrouds his body. Haah Ay opens his eyes and throws a punch behind him. BANG Ay, and A''s punches sh with each other. Rumble rumble The sparks of lightning from their bodies rend the nearby tree and rocks apart. Bang bang Both of them exchange a series of rapid punches while flickering across the entire battlefield. A''s punches are faster and more precise, while Ay''s punches are stronger and heavier. "Guess we have no choice!" Kakashi and Guy stare at each other and turn towards the First Raikage. "Lee, Neji, Tenten! I will leave the rest of these Edos to you." "Leave them to us, Guy Sensei!" Lee clenches his fists. "Well, it''s much better than fighting against those monsters." Tenten helplessly takes out a bunch of scrolls from her storage bracelet. This storage bracelet was awarded to her by Kushina Uzumaki for winning first ce in the girl''s triple-leg marathon during the annual Konoha sports festival. "You two are exceptional shinobis!" The First Raikage nods at the Kakashi and Guy. While the duo warily stares at them with their guard up against any sneak attack. "Worry not, I am not as strong as those two!" He continues. "However, don''t becent after hearing this. Since a single mistake can be fatal during a battle." Fwoosh The First Raikage''s figure disappears into a blur. "An afterimage!" Kakashi''s expression turns grim as he swiftly throws a kunai toward a spot behind Guy. "Behind you, Guy!" Guy also performs a roundhouse kick. "Leaf whirlwind!" ng BANG The first Raikage deflects Kakashi''s kunai with his own and blocks Guy''s kick with his arm. "What a heavy kick?" He shakes his hand after blocking Guy''s kick. Bzzt Once again, the first Raikage disappears into a sh of lightning. Hmm "What''s this?" The tomoes in Kakashi''s Sharingan flicker as the figure of the first Raikage turns into a lightning bolt and disappears in his vision. ''He can turn his body into lightning?!'' This is the first time Kakashi has seen an odd thing. ''If I count the smoke body n, then it might be the second time.'' Kakashi warily holds the kunai in his hand. "Looks like we have one tough battle ahead." ---------------------------- Back at Naruto''s position. "Back then, if only I was there for you." Jiraiya sighs as he gently pats Nagato''s head. Nagato''s body slowly disappears into motes of white light as he finally makes peace with his Sensei. He turns towards Naruto. "Naruto, I located Kabuto''s position quite a while ago using the abilities of my Rinnegan. I am revealing them to you now since I have broken free of Kabuto''s influence and he can no longer hear our conversation." Nagato stretches out his finger and taps Naruto''s forehead. He passes the information to Naruto using the abilities of the Human path. "Farewell, Sensei, Naruto!" Nagato finally vanishes into white light and returns to the Pure Land. "Nagato!" Jiraiya stares at the empty space in front of him with an outstretched hand. "Pervy-Sage, I will stop Kabuto." Naruto bumps his fists together. Chapter 521: A Clash of Kages Part-2 Chapter 521: A sh of Kages Part-2 Back at the First Company''s camp. Sakumo nces at the state of his camp and sighs. There is a gigantic crater in the middle of the camp. Several scorched bodies and grievously injured shinobis areid inside the giant pit. "Medics quick!" Thebat medics quickly escort the injured shinobis to the medical tents for treatment. Sakumo summons the vicemanders and various captains. "We have to return to the battlefield!" He assigns a few teams to guard the camp and leads a group of elite shinobis with him to the battle. ------------------- Ay and A continue to trade blows with each other and with each strike, the superior strength of Ay pushes A back. "Your fists have grown weaker with age!" Aye nces at the wrinkles on his son''s face. BANG A block one of Ay''s punches and counterattacks with an axe kick infused with lightning. BOOM The kicknds straight on Ay''s chest. A cloud of dust and smoke rises due to the impact. Hmm Ay walks out of the dust cloud and wipes off the dust from his chest. He cracks his neck and turns towards A. "Your kicksck strength; your punchesck resolve. Is this the strength of the current Raikage?" Shoom Ay flickers towards A andnds a heavy blow on him. Bang A block the punch with his arm. Bleurgh A puke out a mouthful of blood. The powerful force from the attack inflicts internal injuries on his body. Bang Ay infuses the chakra in his leg and kicks A away from the battlefield. Bzzt Crackle Lightning flickers around A''s body as he loses the protection of his lightning cloak. Bang bang Ay continues to abuse him bynding a flurry of kicks and punches in his body. A grimace in pain as Ay breaks almost all of his bones. On the other side of the battlefield, The Second Raikage and Minato nce in the direction of Ay and A. The second Raikage shakes his head. "Ay is too brutal! He is not only brutal to his enemies but to his family, too. However, none of that is nowhere enough to the brutality he underwent to shape his body into an ultimate weapon." BAM A grabs Ay''s fist and opens his eyes. BZZT CRACKLE ck lightning flickers around A''s body. A cloak of ck lightning chakra shrouds A''s body. Lightning crackles around A''s hair and eyebrows. A''s eye turns red and the ck lightning tattoo on his body spreads across his entire body like totem seals. "BLACK LIGHTNING CRUSH!" A sp his fists into a hammer and smashes it atop Ay''s head. Haha A smile appears on Ay''s face as he blocks A''s fists with his arms. "This is it!" BOOM Dust and debris fly towards the sky in the shape of a pir as And one heavy blow after another. "Haha bring it on!" The tattoo around Ay''s shoulder activates and he also enters into ck lightning chakra mode. "Hmm I see!" Minato understands Ay''s intention. "He is training A in the ck lightning chakra mode." "Correct observation!" The second Raikage nods in agreement. "The ck lightning is the most savage and uncontrolled form of lightning chakra. It is so powerful that it not only hurts the enemy but also the user who is wielding it. With each use, the ck lightning will slowly destroy the body from within by slowly rupturing every cell of the body from within. So, the only method to train this technique to the extreme was to infuse killing intent into every ck lightning attack and channel it within every bone and muscle." "Hmm so that''s how it is!" Minato nods in understanding. "Despite his outer appearance and strength, Ay was very soft inside. He always had a soft spot for his family. When he first performed the ritual of inscribing the ck lightning tattoo on A''s body, A went into aa for months. This greatly hurt Ay''s feelings and he swore to never train A with such cruelty in his life. So, he handed over the responsibility of teaching A to his bodyguards." Skirsh skirsh The second Raikage tears his upper garments to reveal his bare chest. Arge ck kanji tattoo for ''Storm'' is inscribed on his chest. The second Raikage raises his hands towards the sky and infuses arge amount of chakra into them. "Storm Release: Thunder God Destruction Sphere," (Ranton: Raijin hakai-ky) The dispersed ck clouds from earlier attacks gather above the Second Raikage''s head. HAAH He makes a series of hand signs and ps his hands together. CRACKLE CRACKLE BZZTT The ck clouds coalesce together into a giant sphere of supercharged air currents and overloaded lightning bolts with millions of volts of electric current. Thepact lightning cloudpresses further and the color of lightning turns ck. The super densepressed lightning cloud upies a volume of a water tank. Bzzt Everything in the vicinity of the jutsu gets ionized and even the air turns into a conductor as several bolts of lightning travel through the air and strike the ground. "You can''t counter this jutsu unless you possess a powerful wind release jutsu of the same caliber. So, I would advise you to escape using your teleportation jutsu." Minato nces at his finger as lightning flickers between them. ''So, this is the true power of the fabled Storm Release?'' Minato can feel the pure force of destruction in the jutsu. ''It is said that the second Hokage was capable of flooding an entire vige given there was a water body nearby for him to control. Looks like the same is true for the Second Raikage.'' "I can''t escape even if I want to. Since the jutsu will change direction toward my students if I avoid it. So, I can only respond in kind." Minato shakes his head. He stretches out his arm. Minato infuses arge amount of wind-release chakra into his hand. He shapes the chakra into a Rasengan. The wind-release chakra forms a Fuma shuriken ring around the Rasengan. The jutsu releases grinding sounds simr to the des of a windmill. "Incredible!" The second Raikage witnesses Minato''s Ch dama Rasenshuriken with disbelief in his eyes. "This technique it it''s the cumtion of peak shape and nature transformation. What genius mind and what amazing talent?" He praises the jutsu from the bottom of his heart. "I am not the original creator of this technique!" Minato shakes his head. "Then who is it? Who created such an amazing technique?" "It''s my son!" Minato proudly stares into the second Raikage''s eyes. "I see!" The second Raikage nods and nces towards the sh of two jutsu. BOOM Both jutsu collide with each other. The sh of such powerful jutsu generates a gigantic tornado epassing lightning and wind des. The lightning bolt burns down the ground while the wind descerate everything it touches. "Looks like I got my answer!" The Second Raikage closes his eyes as the Rasenshuriken destroys the ck lightning cloud and engulfs his body. The second Raikage''s body vanishes into the motes of light. On the other side, Ay, and A''s battle alsoes to an end as A''s fingers finally pierce through Ay''s lightning cloak. "You did it A! You surpassed me." A smile appears on Ay''s face as his body slowly disperses. "Old man, I will never forgive this lesson." A''s eyes turn moist and he turns his head away to avoid embarrassment. Kakashi and Might Guy also figure out the nature of First Raikage''s technique. "His technique is an advanced version of lightning flicker. It''s simr to Sensei''s flying Thunder God jutsu, where Sensei marks a target and teleports at its location using the spacetime ninjutsu. However, the first Raikage technique is more like an instantaneous movement technique, where he moves between two specific coordinates in his line of sight using his special lightning-based physique." The tomoes in Kakashi''s left eye spin rapidly and turn into Mangekyo Sharingan. "Kamui!" Chapter 522: A Clash of Kages Part-3 Chapter 522: A sh of Kages Part-3 Kakashi and Guy confront the First Raikage. The first Raikage doesn''t have a vast arsenal of jutsus like the second Raikage. Neither does he possess a powerful shield and spear like the Third Raikage. However, the first Raikage had quite a powerful instantaneous movement ability and a special lightning state that makes him invulnerable to attacks. "Guy, buy me some time to figure out his technique?" Kakashi turns to Guy. "Leave it to me!" Guy crosses his arms around his chest. "Eight Inner Gates: Fifth gate of Limit: Open," Guy enters the fifth gate and flickers in front of the First Raikage. He has yet topletely recover his stamina from the previous battle. So, currently, the fifth gate is his limit. HAAH A green aura envelope Guy. He clenches his fists and dashes towards the First Raikage. However, within a few seconds, the First Raikage overwhelms Guy with a barrage of omnidirectional attacks. "Hmm" Guy could only passively block every attack and despite his every attempt to counterattack with his fast reflexes, he is always slow by a moment. Hmm ''This is'' Kakashi notices a glimmer of a lightning clone every time the First Raikage performs his instantaneous movement. "So, that''s how it is!" He figures the secret of the First Raikage''s movement technique. "Kamui!" Kakashi activates his Kamui and banishes the lightning mark of the First Raikage to the other dimension. Swoosh This disrupts the first Raikage''s lightning state and reveals his body. However, he quickly shifts his position and re-enters into his special lightning state. The lightning remnant allowed him to leave an invisible chakra mark in his surroundings. "Guy, I figured out his technique. I just need an opening to break it." "Very well!" Guy grits his teeth and takes out a chakra pill from his pocket. He gulps the pill and riles up his chakra. "Sixth Gate: Gate of View: Open," The powerful shockwave from Guy''s body disrupts the lightning state of the First Raikage, revealing him and his lightning marks. "KAMUI!" Kakashi quickly memorizes the location of the lightning marks and destroys them with his Kamui, revealing the first Raikage. "Looks like you figured out the secret of my Lightning Remnant technique." The First Raikage nods at them. "The lightning remnant allows me to leave an invisible chakra mark in my surroundings. By expanding my chakra, I can enter into a special lightning state where my body gains the properties of the lightning and I can instantly move between remnants at lightning speeds. Thus, making me very mobile and untouchable on the battlefield. However, this technique has a serious limitation that it requires me to expand an enormous amount of chakra and constantly create new lightning remnants on the battlefield since a lightning remnant gets consumed as soon as I teleport to it. So, this Edo body is almost perfect for this technique." Kakashi seals The First Raikage''s body using a sealing tag and heaves a sigh of relief. GAH Guy''s eyes turn white, and he faints from exhaustion. "GUY!" Kakashi quickly supports Guy and carries him on his back. Previously, Guy pushed his limit by opening the Sixth Gate to create an opening for Kakashi. Sakumo and his team also arrive on the battlefield as the rest of the group is done dealing with their adversaries. "Looks like we arete!" He shakes his head and signals a few medics among his team to tend to the Raikage, Guy, and Guy''s students. "Dad!" Kakashi walks beside Sakumo as thetter nods his head. "Good work! You can take a break for tonight. Someone else will take over your night watch shift!" "That''s a relief!" Kakashi also closes his eyes. Sakumo lifts his head and stares at the giant moon in the sky. "The moon seems a bitrger than usual." He mumbles and turns his attention to the rest. "Quickly wrap up here and return to the camp." ''Today''s meeting is going to be unpleasant!'' Back at the coastal battlefield on Kiri''s side, Tsunade, Mei, Fugaku, and others warily stare at the dense mist in front of them. Other than a few attacks from the Zetsu soldiers, there was no other movement from the mist. "What''s Kabuto nning?" Tsunade frowns as she cast another nce at the mist before returning to her camp. They had the most uneventful battle of the day. "Whatever it is, I don''t have a good feeling about it!" Mei shakes her head. ------------------------------ "What Naruto, you located Kabuto''s position?" Shikaku asks in surprise. "Yes, it was Nagato who located him. And I am currently on my way to stop him." Naruto rys the coordinates and flickers in the southeast direction. The personnel at the HQ marks the location on the map. "That direction!" Shikaku raises an eyebrow. "Sasuke and Itachi are close by!" Inoichi points out. "Inform them of the situation! Naruto, we can''t allow you to walk in the enemy''s trap." Shikaku shakes his head. "Let Sasuke and Itachi take care of it." "But I" "Naruto, he is right! We can''t ignore the possibility of it being a trap. So, it''s best if you leave it to others." Kushina also voices her opinion. "Mom, even you too." "NARUTOO!" "Fine, I get it!" Naruto raises his hands in surrender. In a forest at the border of the Land of River and Land of Fire, Itachi and his team receive the message from the HQ. "We found him." He nods at the rest of his team members and flickers towards Kabuto''s hideout. ----------------------------- A few hours earlier, at the Iwa battlefield, Mu obliterates Onoki using a st of his particle extinction cannon. "GRANDPAA!!" Kurotsuchi screams in horror as Onoki''s figure vanishes from her sight. "Did I kill him?" M nces around at his surroundings as he is unable to sense Onoki''s chakra signature. "It''s gone! His chakra signature." The various sensors at the battlefield gulp their saliva as Onoki''s chakra signature vanishes. "Onoki-sama, is he dead?" The morale of shinobis from Iwagakure hits rock bottom. "Now it''s time for the rest of you to join him." M infuses arge amount of chakra into his palm and shapes it into a giant cone. Swish Fwoosh A blurry figure reappears behind M and pierces a special sealing kunai through his chest. GAH The surprise disrupts the chakra and destroys the giant cone. Several sealing runes crawl out of the kunai and binds M''s body. "You" M slowly turns around his head. The blurry figure bes clear, revealing Onoki''s face. "How how did you do it?" M slowly opens his mouth as the fuinjutsu seal slowly immobilizes his body. M doesn''t enquire about the nature of Onoki''s concealment technique, since it''s a variation of his own ''Dustless Bewildering Cover'' secret technique. The fuinjutsu seal of the kunai disrupts M''s hearing and slowly puts his consciousness to sleep. However, he is still able to lip-read Onoki''s response. "I see!" M closes his eyes with a powerful seal shrouding his entire body. Phew Onoki heaves a sigh of relief and wipes the cold sweat from his forehead. This is a very tough battle for him since his enemy, being his mentor, knew every trick up his sleeve. Not only that, Onoki is aware of the fact that M held withheld a few techniques as his trump card and never taught those techniques to anyone. "Sigh to think that I would have to resort to trickery to defeat him." Onoki sighs as he recalls the battle. Before the fourth shinobi war, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade shared one of the secret techniques, ''Shadow clones'' with all Kages as a symbol of trust. The other Kages readily signed the agreement of non-disclosure to other shinobis of their vige. The shadow clone is one of the most powerful techniques with the most utility. ''In the end, I had to let go of my pride and resort to such means.'' Onoki grits his teeth and flies away toward the camp. While flying, he recalls the bitter memories from his youth. The humiliation and disgrace he underwent on that day and the oath he swore to himself. ---------------------- In a secret underground hideout. Tch Kabuto clicks his tongue at the failure of his n. "It''s time for the next phase of my n!" He nces at the wooden coffin in front of him. "The summoning will take some preparation!" He makes a series of hand signs and ms his palm on the ground. A giant fuinjutsu formation appears on the ground. A twisted smile creeps on Kabuto''s face and a grim smile appears on Onoki''s face as both of them mutter a name. Chapter 523: Battle of Deceit Part-1 Chapter 523: Battle of Deceit Part-1 After sealing the former three Raikages, the group reunites with the First Division. "Sakumo-sama!" Guy and team three greet Sakumo while Kakashi, Minato, and A nod at him. "I will return to the HQ to monitor the situation on other battlefields." Minato teleports away from the battlefield. "What happened?" The various shinobis with Sakumo support and treat A and Guy. Sakumo turns to Kakashi for an answer. "Well a lot happened!" Kakashi narrates the situation to Sakumo. "I see Let''s return to the camp first." Later, the various Kages,manders, and vicemanders spend a restless night. Their subordinates tally the number of casualties. "The number is out!" A member of the logistics department delivers a report to Shikaku. Shikaku holds the report and walks in front of Inoichi. Mm Inoichi nods and informs the othermanders and vicemander to join the meeting. "Quick, tell me what the situation is like?" Both A and Onoki impatiently turn to Shikaku as soon as the meeting starts. Sigh "Here!" Shikaku sighs and passes the report to them. "The allied shinobi forces suffered a devastating blow. Even if you win this war, it will take us a very long time to recuperate from such heavy losses. Also, the victory and defeat are still uncertain given the several uncountable methods of the Akatsuki." Rasa shakes his head after reading the report. "It has been only three days, and we have lost a total of twenty-five thousand shinobis in this war. This must be the highest number of casualties in any war so far." Gaara speaks out. "The only sce in today''s battle is the fact that we managed to whittle down the hundred thousand-strong army to a mere thirty thousand soldiers. However, the presence of that unknown monster summoned by Tobi is quite concerning. It isn''t something that we fight with, just numbers." Sakumo nces at everyone present in the meeting room. "I think it''s about time for us to merge the various divisions." Minato opens his mouth and stares at everyone present in the room for their reaction. Hmm The variousmanders and vicemanders nce at each other and nod. "The first division, the second division, and the third division will merge into onebat division, and the fourth and the fifth special division will merge into anotherbat division," Shikaku suggests. The group collectively nces at the empty seats of themanders and vicemanders of the fourth and fifth divisions. "From the looks of it, the enemy will make their move on the coastal battlefield tonight," Rasa remarks. "The full moon cycle is near. So, there will be huge tidal waves in the sea at night. The enemy might try to use them to their advantage since it will greatly increase the power of the water-style jutsus." One of the Kirimanders remarks. "There is no use mulling over this matter. Let''s leave it to the discernment of the Hokage and the Mizukage." Onoki remarks. "I will take my leave. I am quite exhausted after today''s battle." He exits the meeting. One by one, the rest of themanders and vicemanders also break off the connection to recover. As soon as Minato exits the meeting, he meets up with Izuna. "Kushina wants to meet you!" Minato stares into Izuna''s deep, clear ck eyes. "Ok!" The space in front of Izuna fractures. He steps into it with a sleeping Kana and Tatsuya in his arms. "Oh!" Minato raises an eyebrow in surprise. He studies the fractured space rift in front of him. On the other end of the space rift, "Onii-chan!" Ayaka jumps into Izuna''s embrace as soon as he walks out of the portal. "Ayaka!" He gently pats Ayaka''s head. "It has been a while." He slowly opens his mouth. The memories of the past filter through his mind like a waning dream. "Onii-chan!" Ayaka raises her head and stares into Izuna''s eyes. Hmm Izuna is taken aback by the amethyst glow in her eyes. ''Her Dojutsu is slowly manifesting'' He murmurs a few iprehensible things to himself. "Onii-chan! What''s the matter?" Ayaka tilts her head in confusion. "Nothing I was just overwhelmed by emotions." Izuna shakes his head. "Izuna-kun!" Kushina also silently appears beside him and curiously nces at him from top to bottom. "I can''t even sense your presence. If not for my eyes, I might even wonder if you are even present here." Kushina circles him. "You don''t have any chakra signature at all. It''s like it''s like" Kushina opens and closes her mouth, at a loss for words. "It''s like he is an illusion. A genjutsu that can vanish at any time." Minatopletes the sentence for her. "Yes, that''s how his presence feels like, ethereal and illusory!" Kushina adds. Izuna walks towards a bed and ces Kanna and Tatsuya on it. He gently ruffles their hair with a loving gaze and turns to Minato and Kushina. Both of them have several questions for him. ''Like, where was he in the past three years? How is he so strong now? What kind of trials and hardship did he undergo?'' Ayaka walks towards him and snuggles in his embrace. Izuna gently pats his head with a smile and turns to the couple. "Well, I am sure you both have a lot of questions to ask me?" Izuna opens his mouth. Kushina and Minato nce at each other and nod. "I will answer all of your questions after this war ends. So, please hold your curiosity for a little while." "Alright!" Minato and Kushina nod at him. "Umm I still want to ask you something!" Mm "How strong are you, exactly?" Kushina asks him a very simple question. Haa Izuna chuckles at her question as he replies to her. "Kushina Nee-san, you know that there are countless other worlds, like our Shinobi world with hundreds of millions and billions of living beings? Some of them are smaller than our world and some are smaller. As a part of these worlds, we might think that our fate and destiny belong solely to us. However, unknown to us, there is an unknown force that guides, controls and maniptes our every action. These unknown forces are the so-called rules and thews of the world that shape the very fabric of reality. For us, these rules are ourws that we can''t act against us. However, for those truly powerful beings, these rules andws are just other techniques that they can change at will." "So, are you among those truly powerful beings?" Minato asks in astonishment. "Well, I am," Izuna replies with a confident smile. ''Sort of at least in this world.'' Izuna recalls the existence of GOD that reincarnated him in this world. ''Compared to the real thing, I am just another mortal with some power.'' "So, does that mean this war you can?!" Kushina asks with slight excitement. "Unfortunately, it''s not as simple as you think." Izuna shakes his head. "The events leading to the revival of Kaguya are a part of the destiny event. The destiny event determines the very fate of the universe, so the powerful existence can only subtly influence the event. They can''t directly interfere with it. It''s how a chess yer can control and move the chess pieces onto the chessboard. Even though he has freedom of action, he still has to follow the rules set by the organizer. Though flipping the entire chessboard is something entirely else." "That makes sense!" Minato nods in understanding. "Do you know the true mastermind behind this war?" Kushina asks him another question. "Well, about that" Izuna rubs his nose with an awkward smile. "I still have no clue about the identity of the real mastermind." Izuna helplessly shrugs his shoulder. ''Though ck Zetsu is the real mastermind as far as he knows from his past life.'' However, the scale of events has changed so drastically due to his mere presence that even he has no clue about future events. ''Well, I will leave this problem for the future me to handle. And from the words of my son in the future, a lot of shit is about to happen in the future.'' "Oh, something interesting is happening on the coastal battlefield!" Izuna stretches out his palm and projects a live feed of the coastal battlefield. Minato, Kushina, and Ayaka curiously stare at the projection. --------------------------- At the coastal battlefield, Inside the camps, Tsunade, Mei, Fugaku, Akira, Yagami, Hiashi, and the othermander and vicemander stare towards the sea. The almost oval moon hangs high up in the sky as the asional sound of waves hitting the shore echoes in the distance. The entire surface of the sea is shrouded in a thick mist that blocks the vision. This mist is a strategic tactic employed by Kabuto and Tobi to counter the vast poption of Uchiha and Hyga in the allied shinobi force division. Hmm Hiashi raises his head and nces toward the sky. "Byakugan!" He activates his Dojutsu and notices several chakras filled with dark clouds in the sky. The fleet of ck clouds covers the moon and shrouds the entire battlefield in darkness. "The mist is gradually thickening!" Fugaku also notices the anomaly. "EVERYONE, GET READY! It''s an enemy attack." Mei and Tsunade quickly react to the situation. Chapter 524: Battle of Deceit Part-2 Chapter 524: Battle of Deceit Part-2 A/N:- Inkstone was broken for me yesterday, both website and app. Website is working fine after deleting the cache but the inkstone button on app is still missing. Does anyone has a solution? -------------- Several figures walk out of the thick mist. "They are" The eyes of Tsunade, Mei, and the rest of themanders narrow as they recognize the new adversaries. "D-Dan" Tsunade''s lips tremble at the sight of a man with long, pale blue hair and dark green eyes. "Is that you, Dan?" Tsunade mumbles, and a drop of tear leaks from her eyes. Fugaku, Hiashi, and the othermanders also clutch their fists as they recognize their n members within the group. "Elders!" Both Fugaku and Hiashi stare at the several old figures with white hair. Some bitter memories sh across both Fugaku and Hiashi''s minds. The shinobis in front of Fugaku are among the few of the rebel faction group. Previously, they were ughtered by the surprise attack of Akatsuki and Danzo before they could make their move. And now, Kabuto has resurrected them to wage war. Simrly to Hiashi, he recognizes the few elders as the members of the conservation faction in his n. Another squad with Konoha and Kiri''s headbands walks out of the fog. "They are they are a part of the Hokage and Mizukage protection squad." A few old veteran shinobis recognize the group of new Edo soldiers. Asuma''s expression turns ugly as he recognizes a group of shinobis. "The Twelve Guardian Ninjas!" Asuma stares at the central figure within the ranks of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas. "Nakamura-san!" The shinobi in the center have an orange-red iris. Two-tear-like red marking flows down from the bottom of his eyes over his cheeks. The man has the appearance of a lean adult in histe twenties with a build of over 190 cm. His crimson hairs shine under the asional glow of the moonlight. Hmm The central figure, as if sensing a gaze, turns in Asuma''s direction and is slightly stunned for a few seconds at Ausma''s appearance. "Ajuka, is that you?" The shinobis with crimson hairs open his mouth. "No, I am not him." Asuma shakes his head. "I am his younger brother, Asuma." Asuma shakes his head. "No wonder!" The crimson hair shinobis nod his head and nce towards the line-up of the Allied Shinobi forces. ''So, that''s the legendary me God of Konoha, Nakamura Kazuya.'' Asuma murmurs as he recalls the legend of the shinobi in front of him. Nakamura Kazuya was a legendary hero of Konoha who made a name for himself after the end of the First Shinobi War. He actively fought in the Second Shinobi War and won several victories for Konoha. He was once a part of the Twelve Guardian Shinobis andter returned to Konoha to teach my brother under Father''s instructions. He lost his life while protecting his students against the ambush of a toon of the Kumogakure. His death cast a shadow on my brother, whoter joined the anbu to ovee the grief. "My body isn''t under my control!" The me god Kazuya raises his hands and makes a series of hand signs. "Fire Release: Great me Destruction Wave," Kazuya takes a deep breath and infuses arge amount of fire chakra into his mouth. He expels arge stream of mes from their mouth that progressively widens with range. The high-temperature mes rapidly evaporate arge quantity of seawater and expand the Mist field. Several water-style usersbine forces from the allied shinobi side to douse the mes of therge-scale jutsu. The rest of the twelve Guardian Shinobis follow the cue and flicker amongst the allied Shinobis force to cause chaos. Akira, Yagami, Asuma, and several other shinobis from Kiri confront them. On the other side of the battlefield, "Tsunade!" Dan turns towards Tsunade. "Dan" Tsunade grits her teeth and enters into a stupor as the trauma from the past resurfaces. Dan slowly raises his hands against his will and makes a series of hand signs. Swish swish "Secret Technique: Spirit Transformation jutsu," Dan''s spirit leaves his body and quickly flies towards the group of captains and vice-captain. Dan possesses the body of a captain. The eyes of the captain turn white upon sessful possession. sh sh The possessed captain swings his de and slices the neck of his subordinates. Whoosh Dan''s spirit leaves the body of the captain and possesses another shinobi. The other Edo shinobis also wreak havoc on the battlefield. Fugaku and Hiashi also confront their respective elders in battle. "Tsunade-san, snap out of it!" Mei''s loud voice wakes Tsunade out of her stupor. Mei shakes Tsunade''s body to wake her up. "Tsunade-san, what''s going on? What kind of secret technique is this?" She points towards the flying spirit of Dan. "That''s the Spirit Transformation Jutsu! It''s a powerful, forbidden jutsu that allows the user to leave their body as a spirit and possess another person. The user of this technique can suppress and copse the victim''s spirit, killing them in the process. He can then freely manipte the body of the victim and use all the abilities of their victim, including their Kekkei Genkai. Also, when the user is in spirit form, ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu are ineffective against him. Only the Fuinjutsu technique can restrain the spirit form. Also, the body of the user will be vulnerable to a sneak attack when the spirit is out of the body. Though such weakness no longer exists for an Edo body." Tsunade reveals the nature of the abilities of her former lover. She closes her eyes as some painful memories of her past resurface. Dan''s dying moments sh past her eyes. She clenches her fists and turns towards the spirit form of Dan. "I will stop him!" Tsunade takes a step forwards and flickers toward Dan''s figure. She takes out a Fuinjutsu scroll from her storage. She makes a series of hand signs and tosses them toward the battlefield. "Four Violet mes Formation," A purple me barrier istes Tsunade and Dan''s spirit from the rest of the shinobis. "Tsunade" Dan''s spirit pauses and turns to Tsunade. "Dan" Tsunade extends her fingers toward Dan''s spirit. Dan''s spirit glows and possesses Tsunade''s spirit. Both Tsunade and Dan appear inside Tsunade''s mindscape. Several sealing formations appear in Tsunade''s mind and restrict Dan''s spirit while freeing him from Kabuto''s influence. "That was a wonderful n!" A smile appears on Dan''s face as he nces at Tsunade''s image. "It wasn''t me. It was my most brilliant student!" A prideful smile appears on Tsunade''s face. ------------------------------ At some distance away from the new first division, Swoosh BAM A bandaged hand erupts out of the ground. Rumble rumble The surrounding sand, debris, and rocks tremble as the bandaged figure of M crawls out of the ground. "That Onoki I didn''t expect him to possess such a trump card. To think, he will forego his stubbornness and learn enemy jutsu." M cracks his neck and nces in the direction of the allied shinobi force. "The preparations areplete, heh!" Kabuto''s lips curl into a smile. Swish swish He makes a series of hand signs and Mperfectly imitates them. "These hand signs" Mrecognizes the involuntary hand signs his body makes. "Summoning Jutsu," He ms his palm on the ground. Poof With a puff of white smoke, a wood coffin erupts out of the ground. Shoom A shiver runs down M''s spine as he senses the chakra within the wooden coffin. "This chakra" M''s eyes narrow as goosebumps crawl across his body. His hands tremble in fear from the sheer intensity of chakra within the wooden coffin. BOOOM The wooden coffin explodes into pieces to reveal a figure wearing a high-cor ck shirt with blue pants and bandages around his shins. A crimson armor with numerous metal tes, forming protective guards along his chest, waist, shoulders, and thighs, covers his clothes. "Finally. Looks like he''s managed to sessfully groom that brat, Nagato." "I didn''t think I will be summoning you" "If I''m mistaken, you are" "The user of this Edo-Tensei jutsu has a keen understanding of war. To think of using you" "Did you say Edo-Tensei? This is not the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu?" The new Edo figure nces at his hands. "Hehe this new body of yours is way better than your body in its prime." Kabuto''s voice rings in the unknown figure''s head. "Way better than my original body, you say" Shiing A pulse of chakra shes past Kabuto''s mind as he senses a pair of eyes locked onto him. Gulp Kabuto gulps his saliva in fear. ''There is no way he can figure out my location with just that.'' "So, that''s where you are hiding?" However, the next words of the figure send a shiver down Kabuto''s spine. "How did you" Chapter 525: The Terror Returns Chapter 525: The Terror Returns "So, the user of the Edo-Tensei is a young brat!" Madara smirks at Kabuto''s panicked expression. Hmm Madara raises his head and nce in a direction. "These chakra signatures! They are a mix of shinobis from various viges." "It appears that we are in a war!" M replies to him. "Coming from him he must have something in mind. But things aren''t going as nned. Why else would he revive me in such a state?" Madara folds his arms around his chest and nces into M''s eyes. Fwoosh Kabuto makes a Ram hand seal and possesses control of M''s body. "I am Kabuto Yakushi, the caster of the Edo-Tensei." Kabuto introduces himself to Madara. "I am a coborator of Obito Uchiha!" He adds. "Hoh! So, you even know his real identity? Does Obito trust you so much?" "No I just pieced together the pieces of the puzzle and everything figured out itself!" Kabuto smiles. "Quite a feisty one, aren''t you?" "So, why did you summon me in such a state?" Madara turns to Kabuto. "Well let''s just say that we have run into some trouble. Thebined forces of Five Shinobi nations are a bit too much for us to handle." "So, you want to use me as a weapon to whittle down their numbers?" A cold expression appears on Madara''s face. Crack crack A burst of chakra escapes from his body and devastates the surroundings. "No no I don''t have such an intention. It''s just that our interests align with each other and this summoning is more of a coboration than forceful co-operation. As you can see, you have full control over your body." "Hmm you are right!" Madara nces at his hands and clenches them. "Also, your Edo-Tensei is a bit special. I have fixed you up so that you are even greater than you were in your glory days." "You know what I was like in my glory days?" Madara activates his Sharingan. "No. That''s why I want you to show me your legendary Uchiha power." Hmm Madara raises his head and nces in a direction. "This chakra signature!" Madara senses an extremely powerful chakra signature rapidly approaching their direction. "Looks like he is here!" A smile appears on Kabuto''s face. Swoosh whoosh Suddenly, a cloaked figure appears beside Kabuto. "This person" Madara narrows his eyes as he senses a hint of threat from the person in front of him. "This sensation he is not an Edo!" Madara speaks in surprise. "This is the same sensation I felt when I fought against Hashirama." Slight excitement appears on Madara''s face. "So, there are still a few truly powerful shinobis in this era." "Just like you, he is a handiwork of my creation." Kabuto proudly nces at the cloaked figure. "Your creation?" Madara stares at Kabuto in confusion. "Just like how you cultivated the Hashirama cells, I cultivated the cells of the original shinobi using special cells and created this clone. However, this clone isn''t as powerful as the original." Kabuto shakes his head in disappointment. ''Though, there is still something surprising in his body that I am unable to figure out,'' He adds in his mind. "Oh!" Madara is slightly surprised to hear this. "So, does this mean the original is much more powerful than this clone?" "Yes, but the original person went missing a few years ago and his whereabouts are unknown." Kabuto shakes his head. "What a disappointment?" Madara shakes his head at the thought of missing an exciting battle. ------------------------ At the Shinobi HQ, Blub blub A powerful ripple appears on the surface of the giant water-sensing sphere. "What''s it now? What''s going on?" A and the rest of the sensors ask with tense expressions. "It''s the First division! An extremely powerful chakra signature has appeared near the First Division." The sensor reports. "What?!" Shikaku quickly enters the room. "Quickly inform Lord Sakumo and Lord Tsuchikage of the situation!" Meanwhile, Inoichi and the other sensors activate the CPS system to get an assessment of the situation. "This is" The image of Madara, M, and Izuna''s clones appears on the visual feed. "He he is" "Madara Uchiha!" A few elders from Konoha point towards Madara''s figure with trembling fingers. ----------------------- Hmm Madara nces at a certain spot on the ground. He walks towards the spot and makes a series of hand signs. "Earth Release: Mobile Core," He ms his hand on the ground, and a giant pedestal of the ground rises from the spot. Bang Madara clenches his fist and punches the giant rock pedestal. Rumble rumble The giant rock pedestal crumbles into small fragments to reveal a meter-long metal rod. Madara picks up the metal rod and flips it into his hands. "These fuinjutsu runes Uzumaki n!" Clench He shatters the metal rod with his bare hands. "Looks like the sensory skills of the shinobis have improved vastly." "This must be the creation of Kushina Uzumaki." M walks beside Madara. "So, Uzumaki n members are still alive, huh?! Except for a few, I thought their n went extinct during the second shinobi war." "The princess of the Uzumaki n, Kushina Uzumaki, is somehow still alive. It''s her who revived the legacy of the Uzumaki n." Kabuto adds. "Interesting!" A smile appears on Madara''s face. "Now, I am excited to see the changes in the shinobi world for myself." He takes a step toward the First division. In the middle of the First Division encampment, The expression of Sakumo, Onoki, Rasa, A, and Gaara turns grim. Just now, they received a message from the headquarters. "Madara Uchiha!" Onoki clenches his fists as some awful memories from the past resurface. "Also, to think that M-sama was able to use ''Fission Jutsu'' in that state. I thought he never mastered it." "Fission jutsu!" Gaara asks in confusion. "Lord Mu was able to split his body and create clones. No not clones. It''s closer to say he can split his body in two. Although this would cut his strength in half. However, when he was alive, he never mastered the technique, since the risk involved in using this technique was so high. Having an immortal body really removes the risk of death." "No matter what, we have to stop them at all costs." A clenches his teeth. "It''s not that simple. Back in my youth days, Madara Uchiha was a symbol of power. The mere mention of his name was able to instill fear, despair, and helplessness. And now, he has returned as an undead immortal being. Don''t take it so lightly." "Here hees!" The sensor shinobi warns them of an iing presence. At a slight distance from the Allied Shinobi force, Whoosh Madara, M, and Izuna''s clone appear on a small hill. "So, this is the so-called Allied Shinobi Force. Their headband says ''Shinobis''. But I see them wearing shinobi gear distinctively from each of the Five Great Nations." Shoom Kazuya spews out several Dragon-headed fireballs from his mouth. The fireballs move erratically and cover the frontal, left, and right sides of the army. HAAH Hizashi Hyuga jumps in front of the attack. "Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven," He expels the chakra from the several tenketsu points across his body and creates a gigantic defensive sphere of chakra. The giant dome of chakra blocks and repels several fireballs and protects the nearby shinobis. Hizashi confronts Kazuya. Ayer of chakra reflects on his fists. He covers his fists with a thinyer of chakra to use the gentle fist art. Kazuya also reciprocates Hizashi''s gesture and covers his hands with mes. HAAH