1,824A Foxes Tale
Chapter 38
AN: Hello all it's been a while. Firstly as always I want to thank everyone who took the time to review, favorite and add the story to their alert list. I actually wanted to get this up a few days ago but you guys know about the site access issue so now its out. As for why there has been no activity for a few months aside from other stories I spend about four days a week now on a side hustle aside from my regular job so I literally write when I can. I am determined to wrap this one up though but I still have a few things to add to this before I do. Anyway that's all I got for now so here is the new chapter.
Start Now:
Itachi and Sasuke were silent as they made their way to the location of the Edo Tensei summoner. The knowledge that their father had been the mastermind of the Kyubi Attack did not sit well with either of them, yet neither was willing to broach the topic with the other. At the same time neither of them were foolish enough to believe that there would not be consequences for this reveal and were sure that they would be brutal. The darkness of the cave they were currently walking through also helped forcing both of them to keep their minds focused on the here and now rather than on the new information. Finally they came to a rather large cavern deep within the cave where two figures could be found.
The first Sasuke identified quickly as Ukon, the elder twin brother of Sakon. Seeing him was a surprise as he was usually conjoined with Sakon using their bloodline to combine their bodies so the elder could sleep. Aside from using his bloodline to become a literal parasite Sasuke thought the duo had little to actually offer except for different expressions of cruelty. It was the second figure that caught his attention the most, as despite being shrouded in a hooded cloak there was a large snake emerged from within it like a tail and Sasuke almost mistook him for Orochimaru. The figure was sitting and looking over a board which told both Uchiha's they were controlling the Edo Tensei.
"It seems we have guests." Said the figure looking up revealing a rather familiar visage.
"Kabuto, I should have known." Said Sasuke with a sigh.
"Orochimaru's second, I thought he was dead." Said Itachi.
"He is, he just won't stay that way. Naruto killed him during the Chunin Exams years ago. Orochimaru had Sakon resurrect him using the Edo Tensei and taught him how to transfer his consciousness to other bodies." Said Sasuke.
"Indeed. Though it appears the rumors that you killed your brother were greatly exaggerated Sasuke-kun." Said Kabuto.
"That explains why Sakon could not release the jutsu. He only summoned Kabuto and Kabuto is responsible for the rest." Said Itachi
"Indeed, though I have long since been freed from the control of my summoner. Regardless I will not release the jutsu and killing me will not force it to lift. Even further destroying this body will not matter as I will simply reform once more. Even for a shinobi of your prowess Itachi there is nothing you can do; I am essentially immortal." Said Kabuto smirking.
"You underestimate my power." Said Itachi slowly black eyes giving way to the scarlet three tome Sharingan.
Uchiha Mikoto practically flew across the distance as she raced to Naruto's location. Her command of the Special Attack Division had been relieved when they linked up with Mifune, the rest of the Fifth Division and the second Division and after a brief mental chat with Shikaku in the command center she hadn't even hesitated in increasing her speed. As she ran, she'd come across several White Zetsu and hadn't even slowed as she cut a path through them with her katana.
Rage, unlike anything she'd ever felt burned through her fueling her power like high octane fuel. All that circled her mind in a seemingly endless loop was that Fugaku was not only alive and had faked his death, but he'd also been the mind behind the Kyubi attack, had gotten Minato killed, Kushina sealed inside of her son and had left the boy orphaned. As if that sin wasn't bad enough, he'd written the clan off, left her to die and traumatized both of her boys. As she neared the battlefield, she could see B and Fugaku were at a standstill and decided to intervene flickering out by use of the Shunshin technique and coming out of it in time to nail Fugaku across the cheek with her right fist sending him flying.
"I apologize for interrupting however I need to have words with my ex-husband." Said Mikoto not even looking B's way.
For once B didn't say a word seeing the expression on her face and simply nodded and leapt away. Mikoto never looked away, instead focusing her gaze on Fugaku's position as he picked himself up and made his way back towards her.
"Mikoto, it's been some time." Said Fugaku
"Uchiha Fugaku for acts of treason too heinous to speak of bringing shame and dishonor to your clan, I Uchiha Mikoto declare you excommunicated. None shall aid or speak of you and your name shall be stricken from all records so that your existence may in time be forgotten by all." Said Mikoto.
"You dare." Said Fugaku scowling.
"Furthermore, so that you bring no further shame to our name and blood I sentence you to death by execution, to be carried out immediately." Said Mikoto.
"I spare your life, and this is how you repay me?" questioned Fugaku.
"You endangered it." Said Mikoto.
"I am you husband." Said Fugaku.
"I have a new man." Said Mikoto
"Then whomever he is will join you in the grave."
With that Fugaku closed the distance in the blink of an eye and Mikoto dodged his opening attack as her eyes bled into purple with the emergence of her Sharingan. Narrowing his eyes at the sight of yet another new variant of the Sharingan Fugaku frowned and turned his body to regard her.
"Curious to encounter two new variants of the Uchiha Clan's prized doujutsu in a single day." Said Fugaku.
"Incorrect, my variant is the original, the true version of the Sharingan, unencumbered by the curse of the Kyubi." Said Mikoto.
Fugaku scowled as he stored that information into the depths of his mind for later consideration.
"I see. Let's put it to the test then."
As he said this Fugaku formed his hands into fists before a trio of blades shot forth from above his wrists taking the shape of claws. Mikoto eyed the blades warily at their appearance, unlike most Uchiha of their time Fugaku didn't rely on ninjutsu battles or even genjutsu, not that he didn't have abilities in those fields. Instead Fugaku was a close combat specialist and had used his claw blades in conjunction with his Sharingan with deadly efficiency. She'd never actually witnessed him in combat during the war but it was said his eyes would shine like a demons in battle which had given rise to the name Wicked Eye.
Fugaku didn't waste a moment closing the distance and lashing out with the blades from his left. Seeing him coming Mikoto dodged once more though Fugaku was already coming with his right. Twisting to the side Mikoto barely managed to get her hands up in time to block a spinning back kick from Fugaku's left leg. Using the force of the kick to get some distance the Uchiha Matriarch launched a trio of shuriken as Fugaku charged once more. Rather than use his blades to block Fugaku went low ducking under the projectiles and launching himself across the ground at his former wife like a missile.
Seeing him coming Mikoto formed a single seal before spewing out a fireball that had to be at least six feet in all directions at him. Stomping a single foot to the ground Fugaku launched himself into the air clearing the fireball easily. At the apex of his jump, he straightened out pointing both arms towards his target and with a single application of chakra sending himself into a spin turning himself into a drill and another burst of chakra from his feet launching him even faster towards her.
Leaping back to dodge Mikoto only barely touched the ground drawing her sword before launching herself back to her previous position just as Fugaku landed. As she brought her blade down Fugaku brought his arms up blocking her attack with his claws before pushing her sword and thus her arm away. Mikoto was already moving her left leg coming forward to kick him in the chest only for him to catch the limp and send her into an impromptu backflip which ended with her landing face down on the ground.
"Not bad. You were never my equal in ability but the fact you can move this well despite spending years in retirement then as a near paraplegic is a testament to your ability." Said Fugaku.
"Are you playing games with me?" questioned Mikoto as she picked herself up.
"No, testing. These eyes of yours raise new possibilities. My first two attempts at an heir have proven themselves failures for one reason or another. Perhaps a third attempt is necessary." Said Fugaku.
"I'd rather die." Spat Mikoto
"That dear wife has not been taken off the table." Said Fugaku.
Gai had been forced to retreat and settle beside Naruto and B to watch. The scale of the battle hadn't surpassed his ability to be a participant but the battle between Kakashi and Obito was personal and as such Kakashi requested for him to step away. Naruto was of two minds about that, on the one hand he felt Kakashi was being foolish allowing his personal feelings into the matter and on the other he couldn't fault him and say he wouldn't have told anyone else to not interfere if it was him fighting that battle. Kakashi, however, was not conflicted, not in the way Naruto or anyone else would imagine. In truth he was simply pissed regardless of what happened in their past as teammates the fact remained that Obito had been responsible for not just the release of the Kyubi on Konoha but the deaths of their sensei Namikaze Minato and the twelve-year imprisonment of their sensei's wife Kushina, the closest thing to family he'd had left and Kakashi was duty bound to put him down.
Obito had expected things to go a certain way if his identity was revealed to Kakashi, what he had not expected was for the man to completely shut down. Kakashi had undergone a complete mentality shift and though he was not wearing the mask the ANBU operative Inu had risen to the forefront of his consciousness. Every attack was swift and brutal meant to cause massive damage if not outright kill his opponent. The two were mere blurs as they dueled, Obito using a pair of three-foot-long black rods he'd produced from his hand as a weapon while Kakashi utilized the chakra saber he'd inherited from his father, newly reforged after the attack on Konoha.
As Obito sent out a thrust Kakashi sidestepped his blade moving with a flash of white light as he cut the extended arm off just before the elbow. Undeterred by the damage taken Obito immediately attacked with his right arm forcing Kakashi back to dodge. Narrowing his eyes Kakashi watched as pale white skin regenerated as Obito's left arm regenerated itself before his eyes completely restored in only a matter of seconds. Obito smirked only for him to immediately block the next attack as Kakashi pressed on.
Madara had taken advantage of the distraction of the summoner to break their connection forged by the Edo Tensei. Now free of control and observation instead of wading deeper into the battlefield he retreated away. Thankfully he'd not been far from where he needed to be, if nothing else Obito had picked the battlefield for his war well, at least for his purposes. Coming to the wall of a mountain he paid close attention until he found the landmark he was looking for, which could only be seen by the Sharingan which in this case were symbols.
Approaching the symbols he placed his hand in the center and channeled a bit of chakra into it causing a portion of the mountain to open inwardly revealing it to have been a doorway. Stepping inside he quickly cleared the doorway just in time for it to slam itself shut and flames to burn to life on the left wall and shot down a furrow in the wall illuminating his path. He smirked at the sight, Izuna had been particularly proud of that feature when they first built this hideout so long ago. Walking through the hall he soon came to a large space, already lit by the light of the flames within which was amongst other things a single coffin. Moving over to it he rested his hand on the top of it for but a moment, however, before he could open it, he paused and turned as a presence registered to his senses.
Entering the room was a beautiful woman who wore a soft red kimono with Sakura flowers and held closed by a dark obi. Her dark brown hair was held up behind her head while two bangs framing her face and a bundle of flowers were held to the back of her head by her hair. This woman was Lady Tsunomi, a woman who had been long linked to the Uchiha clan.
"Madara, it's good you did not keep me waiting." Said the woman.
"I did not expect to see you this soon." Said Madara.
"I would not miss being around for our crowning achievement." Said Tsunomi approaching him before frowning in distaste.
"Now let us get your spirit out of that body, you smell revolting." Said the woman.
"Unfortunately, it is not so simple. The Rinnegan's resurrection technique requires the life energy of the caster. Even as I am I cannot cast the technique myself." Said Madara flipping the lid on the coffin to reveal his own aged body wonderfully preserved within.
"No, you cannot, even in your true body you would be incapable of such a thing. Fortunately, I have other means at my disposal." Said the woman before grabbing him by the chin and forcing him to look her in the eyes.
"I do not do this service for free, even for you. Do not forget our arrangement and try to turn yourself into a jinchuuriki once you have the beast completed." Said the woman before releasing him.
"Have I ever given you reason to doubt me?" questioned Madara.
"No, but the beast's power will be intoxicating, even the Kyubi does not compare, and you have felt the foxes might before. Now let's get started shall we." Said Tsunomi.
Naruto could say with confidence that outside of the Uchiha Clan there was no one who understood the Sharingan more than he himself did. Over the three years he'd spent away from Konoha training he studied the doujutsu extensively for the day he confronted the man who destroyed his family. He'd studied the Nidaime Hokage's notes regarding the Uchiha to the point that he could quote them verbatim, then Kurama had given him more information and just recently both Hagoromo and Ashura had done the same.
As such he knew that the Sharingan was based in emotion, so much so that Tobirama had dubbed it the 'eye that reflects the heart.' While the base form Sharingan with 1-3 tomoe markings was the same for everyone, the Mangekyo was where the individualism of the wielder began to affect it, not just in shape but in the abilities that manifested. The Mangekyo Sharingan bestowed three abilities upon its wielders; one within the left eye, one in the right and one that could only be used by possessing both eyes. The final technique was the only one that every person who possessed the Mangekyo possessed which was Susanoo, a gigantic avatar made from the user's chakra though it too differed in appearance depending on the user.
It was for that reason that he wondered how exactly Obito and Kakashi had manifested two different variations of the same technique. The same could be asked about anyone who possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan as flashy or subtle the techniques granted by the eye were incredibly powerful. Kamui for instance was a time-space technique, one of the most dangerous types of techniques to exist, Itachi had Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu a pair of techniques that would be considered S-class themselves if anyone outside of Itachi could utilize them.
Honestly, he felt like it was a good thing that his mentor/namesake had cursed Indra now simply because it made it where these guys couldn't simply spam the techniques. With that in mind that reminded him of what brought him down this tangent of thought, why the hell hadn't Obito's Sharingan been rendered blind. The man had been spamming Kamui since at least the time he'd fought his father sixteen years ago so how was it that he could still utilize that eye. Kakashi had only utilized Kamui a few times, but the Sharingan Obito had gifted him had been half blind by the time he'd lost it. The new set he manifested didn't possess the curse, which was obvious as the background of the eyes weren't red, but he doubted the man resorted to relying on Kamui to win all his fights.
The same could not be said for Obito which sucks as the man had finally found the seal, he'd placed on him and gotten rid of it. How he did that and could still function so easily was also a mystery, the odds of him being able to overpower a chakra seal applied by him were ridiculously low. Still right now that was a problem for Kakashi to deal with, if the two of them weren't former teammates he wouldn't have extended such an offer, but he still intended to make his ire known.
Turning his attention away from the battles he beheld a new group of revived shinobi and White Zetsu, which to his mind was simply wasteful as he'd dealt with the original group easily. Honestly, he'd expected them to have attacked him by now especially the Zetsu creatures. Though he had been physically watching the two battles he'd sensed the group arrived several minutes ago though it appeared they didn't take his distraction for a sign of weakness, too bad it was their only chance to have a slight hope of fighting back. With that in mind he drew his sword and drove it into the ground.
For a moment nothing happened before the ground began to shake as wooden spikes erupted from the ground spearing all of them before elevating lifting them from the ground revealing the shape of a tree tree with each of them embedded on one of the branches. He watched as each figure shriveled up as they were absorbed into the tree. Once this was done the tree bloomed as it revealed itself to be a giant Sakura tree with vibrant pink petals just before the spirits of the revived shinobi were all ejected from the tree, changed into butterflies and flying away.
With that done he focused his attention back on the two battles that raged near him. With Kakashi dealing with Obito and Mikoto dealing with Fugaku he had a front row seat to the battles being fought between some of the strongest Konoha shinobi of their generations. It wasn't often that shinobi on this level did battle especially from the same village so to be front row for two such battles was an incredibly rare boast. There was also the fact that four of the combatants possessed the Sharingan but even without the doujutsu Gai was able to easily keep up until Kakashi had asked him to step away from the battle.
With that in mind he would not be content to simply watch for long. The only reason he had not involved himself until this point and ignored the white Zetsu and resurrected shinobi was because the battles taking place were personal. Kakashi and this Obito had been teammates whereas Fugaku was Mikoto's husband. That isn't to say that his own personal enmity was somehow lesser than theirs, they had been the force behind his father's death and mothers' imprisonment after all, but he didn't have a personal connection to them prior to the committed crime. There was also the fact that he still needed to determine who to go after first, Obito the perpetrator or Fugaku who had been the mastermind.
Sheathing the blade once more caused the chakra cloak to disappear and while he appeared to retake his normal form if one looked closely enough, they'd see he still possessed the three bars on each cheek and his eyes had retained the orange color. He'd discovered that sheathing the sword allowed him to maintain his Bankai state but in a way that used very little energy. This had the benefit of allowing him to get his body used to the power and one day he'd be able to maintain it indefinitely. His thoughts were cut off as beams of light shot up from the ground where the bodies of the resurrected jinchurriki were lying, each of the bodies having slowly reformed thanks to the Impure World Resurrection Technique.
"The hell is happening now." Said B frowning.
"The resurrection technique has been released. Because of that those bodies are no longer able to contain the spirits within them."
True to Naruto's words what B could only guess to be the spirits of the dead jinchurriki rose from the bodies and acknowledged them briefly with nods or small hand waves before shooting into the sky leaving the bodies to fall apart.
Within the Allied Shinobi HQ the announcement that Edo Tensei had been released was met with relief and even cheering. With the jutsu lifted not only would they not need to worry about more resurrected shinobi, but they did not need to guard over the ones that had been sealed by their forces. While he didn't cheer Shikaku couldn't help but feel a bit of relief at this news. This meant except for those guarding the Daimyo and the HQ itself he could commit all their forces to supporting the group currently taking on Obito and Fugaku, as he had no doubt that they'd have another move they would make.
"What is the status of the Kage?" questioned Shikaku.
"Already on the move. The Hokage was already working on healing them when the medic team arrived, which is crazy considering she had to heal herself as well." Said one of the sensors, a Kiri shinobi judging by the uniform.
"Alright then lets direct the rest of our forces to Naruto and B's location." Said Shikaku.
"Is that necessary? I mean its just two people." Said one of the sensors.
"They still have possession of the biju and maybe even more White Zetsu. The lifting of the resurrection technique will force them to change strategies." Said Uzumaki Shikichi.
"Exactly if they don't win, they'll die. This is the point where they pull out whatever they were holding in reserve." Said Shikaku frowning.
Fugaku scowled as he witnessed the effects of the Edo Tensei being released. That meant that Kabuto had been taken care of and forced to release the technique. He wouldn't dwell too much on that however, relying on Sakon and thus Kabuto had been a decision of Obito's. He'd have simply taken the information of how to execute the technique from Sakon's mind and come up with his own method of utilizing it. Turning his attention back to Mikoto he could see was once again picking herself back up, this time because he'd slashed her right calf, though not deeply enough that it would render her immobile.
"Stand down Mikoto." Said Fugaku calmly as she tightened her grip on her ninjato.
"By this point it is clear you cannot match me, let alone best me. You are simply too slow." Said the man.
"I'm, huh, not done yet." Said Mikoto panting a bit from the strain.
"Further battle is pointless. Further battle between us is useless. The time of shinobi is over; however, you need not die with the trash. I still have need of an heir and while the first two have proven to be less than expected a third would perhaps give better results." Said Fugaku.
"Do you hear yourself, after all of your crimes, all of your sins, you must have truly lost your mind to believe I would ever join you in this foolishness." Said Mikoto.
"Foolishness! That was gifting fools with the gift of chakra in the first place! Foolishness was Hashirama handing out the biju like kunai! Foolishness was putting us under the beck and call of those fucking daimyo as if we were somehow lesser than them! No, if anything this is a correction, one that is long overdue." Said Fugaku
"I always knew you were an idiot. I never thought it would get this bad though." Said Mikoto
"Says the bitch that thought a different color Sharingan would put her on my level." Said Fugaku with a scoff.
"I am not your bitch." Snarled Mikoto.
At the last word she glared her purple eyes spinning and shifting from the triple-tomoe Sharingan until a solid circle formed over which a trio of half-moons formed within her eyes each of them facing away from each other and thus connected at the back. As they locked eyes Fugaku froze for several long moments before he began screaming and collapsed to the ground. Not even a second later her eyes faded to their regular black and she collapsed to her knees panting heavily.
"You okay?" questioned a voice causing her to look up.
Sure enough, Naruto stood just behind her, and she allowed herself to slump even as he bent to one knee beside her.
"I'm fine just tired. I've never had the most chakra and the Mangekyo Sharingan is a very chakra intensive eye." Said Mikoto.
"Could have fooled me considering how everyone else seems to use it." Said Naruto.
"That's the nature of the Kyubi's curse. It decreased the drain on our reserves making the eye easier to use. Consequently, this allowed people to use it more leading to the blindness effect. My eyes no longer hold that curse and while I won't go blind, I won't be using those techniques often either." Said Mikoto.
"What about him?" questioned Naruto looking to the still screaming Fugaku who was now rolling on the ground.
"He's not a problem. My Mangekyo technique Yomi is one that forces the consciousness into a mental realm where all of your sins are turned against you in the form of the people your actions effected. With all that he has done eventually his heart will either give out or explode in his chest. It is the least he deserves." Said Mikoto.
Naruto said nothing to that instead moving his arms so that one was beneath her legs and one at her back. Wrapping her arms around his neck Mikoto was not surprised when he lifted her from the ground nor with how easily he did it.
"When this is all over, I'm going to retire again." Said Mikoto softly.
"Well, you've certainly earned it." Said Naruto before moving back to his previous position beside Gai and B.
Obito scowled as he looked away from Kakashi and down towards the incapacitated Fugaku. On the one hand Fugaku being taken out meant he was even more outnumbered but on the other more positive side it meant that he wouldn't have to deal with him personally now. Regardless his dream would come true with or without Fugaku and at this point the man had already outlived his usefulness, though he could have at least killed one of their opponents. For all the man's boasts of superiority he'd fallen short when it mattered too much. Sighing he pushed his now former partner out of his thoughts and turned his attention to the rest of his foes, Maito Gai was still relatively fresh, while the Eight and Nine Tails were obviously trying to conserve their energy. He'd even believe the Nine tails brat was in his normal state if not for his eyes and the markings on his face giving him away. Mikoto was out, clearly exhausted, and Kakashi as much as he tried to hide it was running low on energy as well.
The fact that they had been content with one-on-one battles meant that they were most likely stalling for time, with the Edo Tensei lifted it meant that the bulk of their forces were undoubtedly on the way. They were probably also trying to tire him out so that even once he'd bested Kakashi they would have fresh bodies willing to step up and face him. He also hadn't counted on Kakashi being able to counter his usage of Kamui or even be able to figure out how his worked, especially not after his Sharingan had been reclaimed from his former comrade. The fact that Kakashi now had two natural Sharingan eyes capable of utilizing both versions of Kamui did not sit well with him, something that could have been avoided if that sentimental fool Nagato had left the people of Konoha dead instead of reviving them and wasting the Rinnegan's resurrection technique.
Sighing he decided that none of that mattered. The completion of his dream was inevitable, even the two jinchurriki were incapable of preventing his desires from coming to fruition, he would just need to stop holding back and end things.
"Looks like you're in trouble, Obito."
It was a new voice that pulled him from his thoughts, one that caused his body to freeze and the breath in his lungs to freeze. Turning his head to look towards it he was greeted to the sight of Uchiha Madara looking at him dispassionately. This shouldn't have been possible as the Edo Tensei had been released, though he quickly realized that didn't matter as the signs of that jutsu were not apparent on his person. This told him that somehow Madara had been truly revived and even restored to his youth, the only difference being he held only a single Sharingan eye in his right eye socket.
Suddenly Madara vanished only to appear in front of Obito slamming a punch into his sternum that sent him flying. Leaping after him Madara caught up easily before seizing him by the throat and slamming him into the base of a mountain. While he was still dazed from the slam Madara's free hand reached up to Obito's head before he snatched out the Rinnegan causing Obito to howl. Releasing Obito he allowed him to crumple to the ground while he planted the Rinnegan into his own empty left eye socket. Closing both eyes for several long moments he soon opened them revealing a pair of solid black eyes.
Looking back down he found Obito was gone, no doubt having slipped himself into the dimension that Kamui was linked to. Suddenly the ground shook before erupting revealing the form of the Jubi towering over everything and announcing its presence with a roar.
AN: That's it the chapter's done. Mikoto's Mangekyo technique is pretty much a genjutsu version of the Penance Stare, though it doesn't burn the soul obviously. Anyway the final battles of the war are coming and I hope to have the story wrapped up with a bow soon. Thanks for reading and please review. Until next time, LATER.