Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto franchise or its characters.

Chapter Twenty-Six: The Storm Arrives Part (IV)

Hiruzen immediately felt that something was off.

A pulse of energy emanated from somewhere in the stadium, alerting his own chakra system like a beacon of light in the middle of a dark forest. He stood up urgently, prepared to direct the Anbu hidden in the shadows of the room he was in to identify the perpetrator.

"What's happening?" Onoki asked gruffly, understanding the oddity for what it was as well.

Then everything went to hell.

People dropped to the floor in slumber, eyes closed and breathing slowly. One by one, the entire stadium was filled with asleep attendants who had no idea what was happening. He eyed some of the Jonin who were able to identify the counter to the Genjutsu. Good. They'll take care of the Genin and civilians.

"Four Violet Flames Formation!"

The combined voices of four unknown shinobi from around them suddenly became known. With it came a surge of chakra that manifested itself in the form of a blazing, translucent purple wall that surrounded the entire building they were on. The analytical side of Hiruzen came out as he began to inspect the jutsu they were encased in.

A purple barrier? 'Four Violet Flames'? I can't risk trying to cross regardless of the chance the barrier wouldn't be able to stop me. I don't know the capabilities of the four who cast the barrier, but they must be rather proficient in Fuinjutsu or they wouldn't have attempted something like this in the first place. Needless to say, the fact that it required four members to cast means that this barrier isn't to be trifled with.

He felt another surge of chakra from beside him as Onoki began floating midair, his eyes darting around for any sign of danger.

It's clearly a trap. A trap to contain me, the Hokage, while the perpetrators reign havoc on the village. Think…think old man! Who could possibly—

His eyes widened in realization.

Hiruzen suddenly felt the haunting sensation of cold steel on his neck.

The sound of a familiar voice entered his ear. "Sensei."

The Hokage felt an urge to smile. "My dear student…I didn't think you would have the guts to do something like this."

Orochimaru chuckled. "Ambushing Konoha? Child's play, master."

"No…challenging me."

The Saanin, practical as ever, swiped the kunai as quickly as he could. He almost couldn't believe it when he felt the metal piercing through his master's throat as blood burst perfectly over his face.

It couldn't be that easy, could it?

"Of course not."

Orochimaru looked upwards as he saw the menacing figure of the Hokage in his war attire standing on the roof above him. He looked down almost…disappointedly…at his once favorite student. The disappointment quickly faded away, revealing a much more dangerous look on the wrinkled face Hiruzen sported.

Anger.

The traitor of Konoha laughed loudly, spreading his hands wide. "Let it be known! Today will be forever known as the day the Third Hokage died!"

Onoki floated in the air beside Hiruzen, arms crossed and a disapproving expression on his face. "Orochimaru of the Saanin. I've heard of your exploits…and how all of them have failed. The impudence of youth. Do you really believe you will be enough for the both of us? Let alone me? I haven't been insulted in such a manner in ages!"

Orochimaru chuckled. "No, no. I'm many things, esteemed Tsuchikage, but impudent is thankfully not one of them. I've always had respect for my predecessors, a bit too much, some would say."

Hiruzen froze as an oppressive aura made its place known. Are those…coffins? Large, upright coffins were summoned next to the Snake Sannin, leaking out a vile aura that was telltale of the danger in front of them. The doors of the coffins opened to reveal–

Hiruzen gritted his teeth in fury.

The faces of the First and Second stared back at him.

Even after death, Hashirama Senju still had the ever-present twinkle in his eyes. "You've aged, Sarutobi."

I'm going to kill you, Orochimaru.

—

Naruto finally realized what was next to him. "What are you?"

Not only was the dog talking, it was dressed in shinobi attire.

"I'm Kakashi's partner, or summon to be more specific," the dog responded dryly. "My name is Pakkun."

"Why are you here?" He asked the dog curiously.

"Well, someone had to wake you up. You took a while, though. Whatever, we have a mission to accomplish. A-rank, according to Kakashi. That Gaara brat is completely missing…and it's our task to find him."

Naruto felt a small headache from the whiplash of information that was pouring onto him. As if the quest wasn't radical enough! First, he finds out that the entirety of Konoha is in danger, and somehow he has to help save it. Then news about Gaara—who had forfeited against Fuu.

"Wait, wait—hold on. What the hell is happening right now? Why was I even asleep?" Naruto asked incredulously.

Pakkun grumbled incoherently before answering. "Follow me, I'll tell you along the way. We can't afford to delay."

Naruto scooped up the dog in his hands before laying him on his back, ignoring his barks of protest. "It's faster this way."

Then he ran.

Damn…I'm pretty fast right now. I guess leveling up DEX does that.

He balanced the flow of chakra in his feet as he dashed along the vertical wall of the arena.

Pakkun coughed. "So, it's an ambush by Otogakure. Sunagakure clearly allied with them without our knowing. A plan made by the mastermind of it all—Orochimaru."

Naruto's eyes darkened when he heard that name.

"Some unidentifiable Genjutsu was cast on the audience, putting the civilians and susceptible Shinobi to sleep. That's when the ambush started. Orochimaru revealed himself to be the Kazekage disguised—and now is fighting against the Third along with Iwa's Kage."

The blond's eyes widened. "The old man is fighting against Orochimaru? Is the fight still going on? Who else is there?!"

"You seem to have a misconception about how long you've been asleep. It has barely even been a few minutes. The area has been blocked by a sealed border, thus, no one is able to go in. We have to prioritize civilian safety and allow the village's strongest to fight his best. Someone of our caliber would only serve as a distraction."

They made it through the stands of the stadium, with Naruto quickly noticing the groups of asleep civilians that were being awoken by other shinobi and escorted away. Blood was everywhere. On the chairs, on the walls, and on the bodies of mostly everyone.

Naruto felt another surge of anger before he took a deep breath. "What about Gaara?"

"There have been sightings of the boy near some forest outskirts, and our job is to track him down. Kakashi had me get a whiff of him, and let me tell you, he's unforgettable. The faster we go, the better. Kakashi said you were right for the job, and here I am. And before you ask, your friend, Sasuke…he's already searching for Gaara as we speak."

Kakashi had already prepared for such a situation by having his summon smell Gaara in case of a situation like this. It was moments like this when Naruto realized how smart his silver-haired teacher was.

"And Fuu?" Naruto asked, remembering about his opponent before the match had ended.

"Your opponent in the finals?"

He nodded in affirmation.

"No idea. I was summoned by Kakashi after the Genjutsu was cast, and by then she was nowhere to be seen."

It's alright. If anyone can handle themselves in this situation it has to be Fuu.

"Sakura and the others?" Naruto found himself asking a second later.

"She was the first to awaken from the Genjutsu and is most likely helping the other Jonin with tasks and such. Some of the others went with Sasuke."

I need to get there as fast as possible, preferably before Sasuke. Naruto thought with a frown.

Naruto could see a large purple barrier around the building where all the Kages were gathered. Is that wood? Entire trees were poking through the building inside the barrier, meaning they must have come from the inside. What the hell is Orochimaru trying to do? He shook his head—Pakkun was right. There was no point in worrying for the Hokage when he couldn't do anything right now.

They quickly zoomed through the area, leaving the stadium and into the open streets as fast as possible. Naruto took in the absolute chaos that surrounded him. Smoke was rising from random buildings all over the village, giant snakes were moving somewhere further ahead, incessant shouting from every direction. Many civilians were being escorted to safety areas as well.

They continued their path, focusing on their priority—the mission. Naruto listened to Pakkun's directions to the utmost degree and was surprised to see that the dog knew about every shortcut in Konoha. The reason Naruto knew them was because of years of pranking and, more importantly, running away from the ones he pranked.

"The scent is getting stronger," Pakkun remarked with a grim expression.

"Of Gaara?"

"No…death."

They reached the forest outskirts soon after, with Naruto instantly on alert as he felt a wave of killing intent reach his mind.

[Ding!]

[Bloodlust detected!]

Naruto ducked just in time for some kunai to pass by his head. They landed behind him, meaning Naruto was too slow to run away when he turned around and noticed the explosion tags on the end of the blades. He managed to take a few steps before—

BOOM!

The shockwave of the explosion launched him towards a nearby tree. Naruto managed to tuck Pakkun into the folds of his jacket, absorbing most of the impact as he crashed into the touch wooden exterior. Shit. That hurts! He felt numerous cuts and burns on his skin, and also the burning sensation of his healing factor activating itself.

He stood up to see five masked shinobi running towards him, wearing the attire of the Sound village. So it's true. These are the people who tried to ambush us. Risking everyone's lives in the process. They don't deserve any mercy—it's my life or theirs. A Hokage would do anything if it meant to protect their village…I'll do the same.

If I were to leave them alive they'd simply kill others in place of me.

His thoughts were further proved by the dead bodies he saw near them. The unmistakable Konoha shinobi attire was visible among the bodies. Some of them didn't have the attire either.

He kept Pakkun on the ground. "Stay here."

A quick observe showed that the one in front of the running gang was a level sixteen and a Chuunin—meaning the others would be somewhere around that level if not less as well.

There were no more words between any of them.

One look at each other's headbands was enough.

A simple thought ran through everyone's head.

That's my enemy.

This was the shinobi way.

And so Naruto ran forward as well. He swirled a kunai in his hand, his hands ending up gripping the handle incredibly tightly. He felt chakra coursing through his body as he directed lightning to envelop his kunai. It was easier…much easier in fact. He owed it to the "A Sorrowful Titan Dancing In The Rain" title, which gave him much even more chakra efficiency when using lightning or water-style jutsus. This also involved chakra control in general it seemed.

His muscles tensed, and with a heave, he threw the kunai as hard as he could.

The crackling kunai of electricity flew through the rain like a blur, appearing like a bolt of lightning for the running Sound shinobi.

"Argh—"

The kunai disappeared into the leading shinobi's throat, along with the lightning distributing itself over the man's body, finding another suitable conductor before finally dissipating into the ground. Blood endlessly spluttered from the man's throat as he relentlessly clawed at the kunai, falling to the ground soon after.

[Ding!]

[New Skill Achieved: Berserker - Lvl 1]

[Info: If user draws first kill during a fight, activating this skill results in a 50% rise in all physical stats, but with certain drawbacks…]

[Usage takes 20 MP and effect lasts temporarily.]

He was sure he could kill the rest of the Chuunin with relative ease, but the issue was with how fast he could do so. Right now, Naruto needed to get to Gaara as fast as possible. Especially before Sasuke or some of the others got there; if they were to face Gaara on their own without any idea of his true capabilities then….

Fuck it! Activate Berserker!

A red, malicious laura blazed from Naruto's body before disappearing into his body a second later.

Then came the after-effect.

Naruto felt pure, unadulterated rage enter his body. His blood rushed through his body so quickly that the only thing he could hear was the sound of his wildly pumping heart. His mind felt focused on one thing only—anger. Anger at his enemies, anger at himself, and desperately looking for something to show his anger at. His body twitched in anticipation and eagerness as every single hair rose in response.

His eyes locked onto the remaining shinobi, who had frozen while they clocked in the death of their comrade.

Naruto's eyes weren't their normal, gentle blue.

They were burning.

His body begged him to move, begged him to get closer, begged him to kill those who dared look at him.

[Skill: Bloodlust Lvl 1 Activated!]

He gladly obliged.

Naruto bent his knees, charging power and chakra into his feet as the ground beneath him trembled and groaned in agony at the pressure he administered. He launched forward without any hesitation, running with his arms moving wildly by his side. He ran like a desperate, hungry beast would—no specific technique or skill in his movement, just sheer force in every step he took.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" One of the enemy shinobi shouted frantically after he made the hand signs for the jutsu faster than he had ever done in his life.

Too slow.

Naruto leaped over the emerging fireball with ease, looking at his next target over the ball of fire.

Activate Iron Skin!

He had already predicted his opponent's next, obvious move, which was to throw any projectiles they had at him as he was clearly stuck in midair.

[Activating… ]

[Skill: Iron Skin- Lvl 4 Activated!]

[Usage takes 7 MP and lasts for one minute before a skill cooldown of ten minutes applies.]

The kunai and shuriken bounced off harmlessly with a series of thuds, much to the alarm and horror of the ones who threw them. Naruto caught a few of the shuriken while landing and threw them accurately at the torso of a tall, blue-haired man.

"Ugh!" The man shouted in pain.

Naruto ignored 'Blue' for now, instead focusing on a brown-haired man who was more on the shorter side and had a scraggly beard. He pounced forward and proceeded with a quick hook straight to the liver. He completely ignored the incoming right from the man, maybe due to his current mentality or confidence in Iron Skin.

His attacks were simply too fast for 'Brown' to respond to, and thus he toppled over with pain at the brutal hit. Without a second glance, Naruto plunged a kunai into the man's chest before driving it downwards through his body in a gory show of cruelty. Crimson liquid burst onto Naruto's face as the man's eyes and body slackened soon after. He ignored the gross sensation of someone else's blood on himself, and almost robotically turned towards the next person.

Three more to go.

One of the three had shuriken partially through his chest. The other two were running at him right now. They looked strangely similar to each other, both having sharp noses and nearly identical looks and height. Twins?

KILL! KILL! KILL!Another surge of rage rammed his mind as Naruto gritted his teeth.

Their hands moved in a complicated manner, making hand signs that Naruto had never seen. It seemed to be a long jutsu as well, considering how many signs they were making in the first place.

He didn't care.

Naruto wasn't going to let them complete the jutsu, after all.

He grabbed the hand of the dead body beneath him with both hands, heaving the man towards the running shinobi. That didn't seem to deter them one bit, however, as they jumped over the body and continued their signs while in the air.

Once they landed, things didn't quite go their way.

A hand burst through the ground underneath one of the twins, grasping onto the leg of the one on the left. He was roughly pulled into the ground as he yelled in surprise. The other twin was instantly startled by his brother's cries, his hands taking a second to pause.

One second was all Naruto needed.

He grabbed onto the stunned man in front of him by the head, pushing with all his might as he drove the man's skull into the ground. The other twin somehow escaped from the grasp of Naruto's clone and was about to retaliate.

"Earth Style: Rising Dirt Jutsu!"

A column of earth began forming in front of Naruto. The dirt from the ground slowly coalesced together, getting thicker and thicker by the millisecond. Naruto drove his hand through the pillar of earth, grasping the twin's throat with a deadly grip and preventing the jutsu from getting any thicker. His enemy gasped and groaned in pain as he desperately clawed at Naruto's hands in a bid to escape.

Naruto lifted his enemy into the air before slamminghim back onto the ground next to his twin.

One left.

Klang!

The blond deflected an incoming kunai with a swipe of his hand, owing to the properties of iron his skin currently had. He walked towards the direction from which the kunai was thrown.

"W-what are you?" The remaining Sound shinobi spluttered out.

Naruto laughed.

—

"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Hiruzen was in a state of confusion, bewilderment, anger, and sadness. All of which Orochimaru intended the moment he summoned the two Hokage before Hiruzen himself.

Large roots arose randomly from the building underneath them, cracking and tearing the cement apart as they rose with a kind of their own. The wooden tentacles were moving relatively slowly, but the sheer scale of the jutsu was more than enough to compensate.

Hiruzen felt a brief moment of triumph.

Whatever technique Orochimaru had used to resurrect the two legends…it was imperfect. If the true Hashirama was here right now, the fight would have been going very differently right now. The wood-style jutsu of this…shadow…was not as graceful, quick, or even as immense. Regardless, it was still incredibly dangerous, especially with Hiruzen's student in the mix.

Onoki couldn't believe his eyes. The First Hokage and the Second as well?

The short man shook out his disbelief before focusing on the incoming tendrils of wood reaching for them. He flew into the air, focusing on not hitting the roof of the purple box they were in. He focused his chakra into his hands, feeling the familiar embrace of the unique energy pumping through his fingers. He spread his hands apart, revealing a cube of blinding light that floated between his palms.

"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"

He spread apart the jutsu as far as he could, focusing more on a widespread effect rather than complete destruction of a small area. The wooden appendages disintegrated when they touched the sparkling light that looked so innocent but were secretly lasers of destruction.

Hiruzen watched Onoki's jutsu with sheer respect. He knew just how destructive and strong the Tsuchikage's techniques were, but seeing them firsthand was more than surprising. Great that he's on my team.

"Particle Style?" Hashirama repeated with interest. "You have some unique friends, Sarutobi."

Tobirama looked almost proud. "He is my student, after all."

And as if the conversation didn't occur in the first place, they went back to fighting. Tobirama and Hashirama ran forward together, the two brothers looking inseparable in battle as they once were in life. They suddenly separated, with Hashirama gunning for Hiruzen whereas Tobirama ran straight towards the floating Onoki.

He can handle himself. Hiruzen reasoned with himself. He noticed Orochimaru in the back with a big smirk and arms crossed. Your hubris will be your demise, Orochimaru. If you were to help one of these two, the fight would long have scaled in your favor.

Looking back at Hashirama, Hiruzen began his hand signs.

"Earth Style: Mud Dragon Jutsu!"

Mud twisted, churned, and rose into the air, forming an enormous serpentine dragon that was shimmering with energy. Its scales, each drop of liquid earth catching and reflecting the light, gave it a mesmerizing, almost hypnotic sheen. Go! Hiruzen commanded. The dragon roared as the colossal beast flew towards the running Hashirama.

Hashirama didn't even bother with hand signs. Wood arose from around his feet, carrying him above the creature of destruction gracefully, allowing him to continue running without any difficulty. The wood continued to grow outward from beneath him, circling the dragon and lodging itself into the floor, thereby trapping the mud structure without any chance of escape.

The Third Hokage ducked an overhead hook but wasn't fast enough to avoid the kick that was sneakily placed in the dead zone of his eyes. Hiruzen's eyes bulged with pain as he was thrown into the side of the building, caving into the structure with his imprint embedded into the cracks of the wall.

He's still strong, regardless of whether or not he's the real First. Taijutsu may not be the best option here.

He heard an explosion to his right, with debris and shattered wood scattered everywhere. He looked to see Onoki holding out his own against Tobirama, which was a good matchup for the old geezer considering his flight made it very hard for most shinobi to deal with. Flight was one of those fantastical ideas that someone only dreams about—never really assuming to see it in real life. Combined with his highly destructive techniques, the Tsuchikage was doing fine against the Second Hokage who was a fragment of his real self.

Hiruzen bit the tip of his finger, allowing the blood to flow before placing his palm on the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A circle of ink forming intricate designs flowed around his hand before a curtain of smoke surrounded him.

"Come forth: Monkey King Enma!"

A muscular, bearded monkey with tiger-striped clothes appeared through the smoke with a passive expression on his face, his voice gruff as ever. "Orochimaru…he has become a bigger problem than ever. Failing to kill him was your biggest mistake, Sarutobi."

Among my many, I'm sure. "We have no time for this argument, Enma. Transformation: Adamantine Staff!"

Enma was replaced by a large, black staff that exuded a strong presence and landed right in the hands of the waiting Hiruzen. He had one hand carrying the staff by tucking it into his armpit, meaning he could no longer cast jutsus… which required two hands. One-handed hand signs were relatively harder and expensive in terms of chakra, but worth the degree of surprise they had when used by an experienced individual such as Hiruzen himself.

Wood grew from beneath the Third Hokage, who used the sudden change near his feet to boost him into the air. He eyed Hashirama who stood still as he controlled the movement of the trees still chasing him. Hiruzen's left hand blurred through their hand signs while he was in midair.

"Earth Style: Serpentine Hand!"

Thousands of small, narrow vipers made of earthly material formed around his hand, before launching themselves forward in the shape of an arm. The makeshift appendage created by the snakes grasped onto a large tree near Hashirama, who began backing away from the technique the moment he saw it. The snakes then constricted, pulling Hiruzen away from the desperate trees that carved themselves into the place he was just in. His 'earth hand' wasn't just for escaping, however. His real hand had begun another set of hand signs the moment the technique was successful.

"Wind Style: Unlimited Gale!"

An enormous torrent of wind propelled Hiruzen forward, acting like his personal propulsion system. Using his earth hand, he twirled around the tree with blinding speeds, using centripetal force to his advantage as he at last let go of his hold and flew towards Hashirama.

The First Hokage raised a shield of wood before jumping backward.

Of course.

Hiruzen had expected something of that nature to occur and landed a few meters away from Hashirama's position on purpose.

He aimed his staff at the First Hokage. Extend.

The pole of nearly indestructible steel magically extended forward, carving a hole right where Hashirama's should have been. The hole could have been bigger if he had made the staff enlarge slightly, but that would have sacrificed the speed he required to hit the First.

"Sarutobi!" Onoki yelled from somewhere beside him. "These creations of his do not die from regular hits! They have a slow type of regeneration!"

True to his words, Hashirama had begun healing himself. Dark, paper-like fragments began forming back around his body every second that passed. The only boon they had was that the regeneration was relatively not too quick, meaning they had time to maneuver before any full regeneration could take place. Not one to take the opportunity for granted, Hiruzen quickly retracted his staff before extending again, striking Hashirama in the chest once more.

He repeated the process several more times, only stopping once the First was lying prone on the ground. I need to team up with Onoki and discuss the best method of action. If their regeneration is truly limitless, then the only way to win would be to interrupt the jutsu by attacking Orochimaru directly.

"Onoki!" Hiruzen shouted as he made his way near his comrade.

The old man was floating in the air, sweat pouring all down his face as he panted heavily. There were cuts all over his body as he stared at the Second Hokage. Or rather, what remained of the Second Hokage. Tobirama Senju had several gaping holes through his body, yet his expression remained as impassive as ever. He wasn't healing as fast as Hashirama, which could be due to the Particle Style being proficient at complete disintegration.

"We have to take care of Orochimaru to end the jutsu, or else we end up fighting these two until fatigue takes over," Hiruzen said calmly. "Our best bet is to tag them all with your Particle Style."

"You think they will stay still long enough for me to use my jutsu?" Onoki asked disbelievingly.

"I'll think of something…whatever you do, do not hesitate to use your technique. Even if it means my life."

Onoki raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me to not hesitate?"

Hiruzen chuckled despite the harrowing situation. "I should have known."

He dashed towards Orochimaru—who stood still even as his master got closer and closer. The almost-alien smile on his face that struck fear into his enemies did nothing to Hiruzen.

Because he had seen that smile his entire life.

Hiruzen threw a single shuriken at his pupil, keeping his hand in a particular hand sign that allowed the shuriken to multiply into a thousand. The projectiles flew true, but Orochimaru was too quick. The Saanin was fast, even faster than the time Hiruzen had seen him last. He's been getting stronger, while I've been rotting in my office. He thought bitterly.

He was going to change that once he got out of here.

Orochimaru lifted his hand, the limb turning into a huge snake that hissed dangerously as it got closer. Hiruzen rotated his staff with a twirl of his wrist and arm, breaking the snake in half. The front half of the snake bloomed into numerous, smaller snakes that were too close for comfort. Hiruzen let out a tiny but concentrated amount of fire from his mouth, burning the serpents straight to their skeletons.

He felt a familiar presence nearby. Hashirama is back. This is it!

Hiruzen dashed for the traitor, keeping track of the running Hashirama from the opposite side of the building in his mind. Orochimaru was in the middle as two Hokage ran towards him, each with completely different reasons.

He jumped over a bulging tree that was soaring at him, immediately sending chakra to his feet so that his feet could stick. He moved around the tree such that he was running upside down to dodge another incoming vine of death. He let go of the chakra so that he could start running back to the ground, not trusting the tree he was on considering who had sent it.

Hiruzen was now only a few meters away from his once prized student.

Hashirama was even closer.

This time even Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't dodge.

Numerous wooden fragments pierced through his left arm as he felt pain envelop his mind like a blanket made of knives. Tendrils of wood had erupted from underneath him and straight into his arm, poking through the other side of his appendage as well.

I can't stop here! He thought, gritting his teeth.

He brought his knee through the wooden end, freeing his arm as much as he could. The overall arm's mobility was more or less gone, but his fingers were still moving.

All he needed were two hand signs.

"Earth Style: Mud Hold!"

The simplest jutsu that he knew for this specific moment.

The ground transformed into a sticky, mud-like material that clung to Orochimaru's and Hashirama's legs. His student, in his hubris, had believed that Hashirama's technique would have killed Hiruzen, or at least immobilized him completely—that would have been true if this Hashirama hadn't been a shadow of his former self. It felt like Orochimaru had a bit too much faith in whatever jutsu he was using.

The mud didn't last long—not that it needed to.

The second Hiruzen got a hold of Orochimaru in his grasp, he pulsed his chakra in his hands so that they would stick together, preventing the elusive Saanin from escaping immediately. Hashirama moved forward, slower than usual due to the somewhat remnant effect of the Third's jutsu.

"NOW!" Hiruzen commanded.

At that moment, he was no longer the retired scholar who was known for his grandfatherly presence and benevolent attitude. No, the one who issued that command was Hiruzen Sarutobi, student of Tobirama Senju, and one of the most feared shinobi of all time.

Onoki was already in the air before Hiruzen had spoken. Blood was coming out from one side of his face, which had a long cut that carved into his eye and ran to the side of his lip. His vision was completely disoriented, having never been accustomed to one eye. But the sheer focus he kept in his technique was enough to make up for it.

His face glowed from the light that emanated from his hands.

"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"

A piercing white light enveloped Hiruzen's vision.

—

Naruto looked at Gaara appraisingly.

Finding him wasn't very tough at all—the numerous dead shinobi he left behind was more than an easy trail for a summon whose purpose was tracking. Pakkun had disappeared after they had found the red-haired Jinchuuriki, saying his mission contract was over. He had shown some regret in leaving, but Naruto had also pushed for the dog to leave, saying it would be too dangerous for him anyway.

Gaara…didn't look normal, to say the least.

His arm was replaced by a weird, bulky sand appendage that ended with claws. The cocoon on his back was cracked and more sand-like and Naruto could have sworn he saw it moving slightly. Half of Gaara's face was covered with sand, and one of his eyes was completely black with an eerie yellow pupil.

And that wasn't even the worst part.

The manic look in his eyes was screaming psychotic-killer vibes.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

The torrential rain continued to pour down—nature uncaring as ever of the disputes between the minuscule humans.

Naruto stretched his arms. "Alright…I guess it's time that I go all out, eh?"

Summon Shadow Zabuza!

A familiar dark, smoky matter coalesced onto itself, swirling and turning with grace as it formed the shapes of a man who was long dead in the waking world. An impossibility brought to real life.

"It's about time, brat!" Zabuza growled.

"Pass the sword, will ya'?" Naruto asked, not in the mood for his normally petty conversations with the swordsman.

Kubikiribōchō, in its shadow form, glistened dangerously in the rain.

Naruto slammed the sword into the ground with two hands around the handle and began pumping lightning chakra into the vessel of destruction. Electricity crackled around him and the sword erratically, the blue sparks of light fanning Gaara's irritation.

The Sand Jinchuuriki roared into the air with rage; a scream filled with pain, sadness, and frustration.

Let's go!

—-

end…

Yo!

Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter!

Had to include Sarutobi's fight as this will not follow canon in terms of outcome considering Onoki, who's crazy strong, is there as well. Reanimation jutsu might not follow the exact canon rules in this fic, considering just how fucking broken that jutsu is in the first place. It will be mostly the same but with some changes to fit this story more.

Sorry to leave y'all on a cliffhanger, but this chapter was running too long to begin with. The next chapter will be fully powered Naruto versus Gaara, so stay tuned!

Question of the day!

Question: Who do you think will be a useful shadow for Naruto?

Make sure to follow, review, and favorite to keep up with next week's chapter!

Cya' next week. Review down here, it really makes my day!

Next chapter is releasing on Tuesday, 13th of August. Follow so you don't miss it!