NHRK Chapter 61

“Are you sure about this?” Temari asked her now eerily calm red-haired brother.

Gaara only nodded as he glanced at the visage of the five tails.

Going through his plans would have many, many repercussions.

One did not simply betray Suna and get away with it, even if he was doing it for the right reasons.

Reasons that would have made no sense to him just a month ago, but now…

Even Shukaku, the bane of his life, had tempered himself and acted somewhat cordial.

Memories filled Gaara’s mind, memories of another life, where he was one of the catalysts of the invasion that was currently happening.

He did not remember that Iwa had anything to do with it, however.

These memories spoke of a life where he was made Kazekage after this event, before his village and others united as one to deal with the Akatsuki.

Memories of a world where all hope and faith laid upon the shoulders of one man.

He stared at the sky where he now hovered, prepared to deal with the mess in front of him.

Naruto Uzumaki…or from what he gathered, was known as Naruto Hagoromo here.

In another life, he was his brother in all but blood, and more than likely fellow Kage in the future.

In this life, in this world…he was unsure.

He was unsure if he was the same person he once knew, or what these foreign memories made him out to be.

His demeanour was so different now, and he was already Jonin. His eyes blindfolded and his name changed. What else could be different about him?

Gaara did not like this uncertainty, but he now trusted the feeling in his gut, an instinct honed by years of leadership.

He had to side with Konoha, and blame the actions and manipulations of Orochimaru that sunk their claws into his father for their mistakes.

But that result could only occur if Konoha came out the victor.

If they didn’t…he’d be executed for treason at the very least, or he’d have to live his life as a nukenin.

Thus, he needed to be involved.

“Are you sure you want to follow me?” Gaara asked, turning towards his brother and sister, who even in this world, were loyal to him to the end.

“Don’t be stupid, Gaara,” Temari scolded, “We’re all the family we have. What’s family even if we abandon each other when things get hard.”

Kankuro nodded. “We have your back.”

Gaara gave them a small smile, and an appreciative nod.

Then he turned to his adversary.

At the very least, he would hold the five tailed jinchuuriki in check.

“Very well,” he said.

Then he drowned the world with sand.

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Naruto had a tough time deciding which threat to subjugate first, which one would cause the most destruction.

The jinchuriki, with its tailed beast bombs, was no doubt a threat but he could use that Hiraishin trick to displace the balls of destruction elsewhere.

Onoki, on the other hand, had the cunning of a Kage, and if left alone, the old man would likely know where to hit that would cause them the most damage.

He would need to act quickly–

Then a torrent of sand burst out from a nearby building and engulfed that five tails jinchuuriki before his attack even began.

Naruto paused, glancing towards the source.

There he met the pale teal eyes of his once long time friend.

Gaara stared back at him, arms crossed and gave him a stiff nod.

Naruto blinked in confusion.

…What was…happening, exactly?

Fratricide? Betrayal? Or was it a calculated plan by Suna?

Did they plan to triumph against both Konoha and Iwa in this invasion? To supplant themselves at the very top?

Naruto flared his senses once more.

No. Suna was with Iwa in this invasion, as well as Oto, there can be no doubt of that. The only ones who took action was…

…Gaara and his siblings.

Naruto hiraishin’ed to the red-haired boy’s proximity.

“What is your intention here?” Naruto asked the moment he appeared.

To Gaara’s credit, he remained stoic and unshaken by his sudden appearance, though Naruto knew Gaara long enough to catch the hints of surprise in his eyes.

“I will side with justice, Naruto Hagoromo,” Gaara stated, “my siblings and I saw through the Oto-kage’s plan. We cannot change Suna’s decision in this war, but we will not fight for them, not when they are led by a snake.”

Naruto contemplated his words, before slowly nodding. “Fine. Can I trust you to deal with the five tails?”

“Yes,” Gaara plainly stated.

“Then he will have my assistance as well, Naruto-san,” another voice called out.

Naruto had already sensed his presence in the shadows, but considering his severe condition, he did not think that he would act.

“Are you sure?” Naruto asked.

“Yes,” Itachi replied as he stepped out in the open.

Naruto could detect Gaara’s surprise once more, but the boy did not act from the appearance of one of Konoha’s most notorious Nukenin.

“Very well,” Naruto said, “I will deal with Onoki. If anything goes wrong, flare your chakra. I will know.”

Naruto made a hand sign and he formed almost as many shadow clones as he did during the war in his old world, letting them scatter to help where they were needed in the village.

He gave the two in front of him one final nod.

With that, Naruto flashed away just in time to meet the Iwa force’s charge.

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The bright flash of yellow almost stopped them in their tracks.

They knew this jutsu.

It was the bane of their culture, their history. They know of the very man who invented it, who used it against them.

It did not help that Naruto’s hair greatly resembled that of Minato Namikaze, the yellow flash.

“Scatter!” Onoki said to his forces and they did as they were told.

Trained shinobi of his vanguard, Chuunin and Jonin alike, all went in different directions.

Onoki’s stomach dropped when in the blink of an eye, a chain of yellow flashes blared, and all of those that acted to scatter first fell.

It was like this…man was taunting him, as if to say that those who listened to his commands most effectively, with trust in their kage, died first.

‘No…it can’t be,’ he thought, ‘Please, just one Kushina Uzumaki is enough. Not another–’

Naruto used that accursed jutsu once more, and just like that, half of his forces were on the floor, some limp, some writhing. He was unsure whether they were dead or simply disabled, but rage now filled him.

Thankfully, to his right and left, Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi still remained. His sword and shield respectively, with the former only recently gaining the title.

“Curse you, Spawn of Namikaze!” He cried out as he felt in his bones that whoever this boy was in front of him, he had to be somehow related to that man, and that he needed to die immediately for their plans to be successful.

‘Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!’

A ray of white domain shot out from his palms, and to his glee, his foe did not move.

Nothing can block his dust release, it would disintegrate any and all into less than even atoms.

It was the pride of his career that he was only the second to ever–

Naruto caught the beam of death.

Wind left Onoki’s lungs, as well as Kurotsuchi’s and Akatsuchi’s.

That…shouldn’t be possible.

Then, like catching the head of a snake, the beam twisted and writhed and then seemed to be…absorbed?

Onoki remained frozen as he watched his unique kekkei tōta, his pride and the symbol of Iwa’s strength get taken away like it was a mere joke of a jutsu.

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Naruto blinked, his chakra appreciating the meal that was presented to him.

Perhaps it had been risky to try, but his curiosity outweighed his sensibilities.

But he’d seen Madara do this before.

He had a Hiraishin kunai ready to teleport to, in case it went wrong–his reaction time was more than enough to escape the jutsu with minimal injuries should it not work.

But as it turned out, he needn’t have to.

Preta path took it all like it was soup.

Once he finished the absorption, he felt rather refreshed.

He looked towards the frozen Tsuchikage and his personal guards.

“What is it that you wish to accomplish today, Onoki?” Naruto asked, voice calm and collected, as if all that he’d done was nothing but a gesture worth barely any effort.

That question snapped them out of their trance.

Onoki did not say anything, pride too heavy for him to admit that he was facing an opponent he could not handle.

“We had no choice,” Kurotsuchi answered for him, having more sense than her grandfather.

“Kuro!” Onoki scolded.

“We did not do this out of malice, but our homeland is destroyed, this was the only option we can take,” she continued, voice bitter with no small amount of self-hatred.

She knew she was in the wrong, that they were in the wrong, but she was still doing this out of duty.

She was a smart girl, Naruto knew, as she knew where their limits lay, and she knew when death was staring them in the face.

Naruto’s brow furrowed as he took in the new information. “Iwa? Destroyed?”

He blinked beneath his blindfold, honing his senses and shaping it to reach the maximum possible distance.

With how much he’d grown, while his control of it was once again taking constant hits, hence why he did not sense past whatever Orochimaru’s seals did to them, he still felt many things.

…Including how barren Iwa was now, hundreds of miles from where he was.

‘That…doesn’t make any sense…’ Naruto thought.

He was interrupted from his thoughts as Onoki fired another particle beam at him, hoping to catch him off guard.

Naruto did not absorb it this time, and instead appeared right next to Onoki a moment later, flicking his forehead and sending his soul out of his body with the human path.

Onoki’s body collapsed and Kurotsuchi cried out in alarm.

Akatsuchi tried to retaliate, attacking the blindfolded man.

Both found that they could not move.

“Relax,” Naruto commanded, “He is not dead. I will have questions for later. For now, sleep tight.”

He did the same to both Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi.

Their bodies also fell like a puppet without strings.

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Kushina’s chains wrapped around the giant four tailed monkey, keeping him contained whilst Naruto’s clone contained the gouts of lava being spat out by son goku’s mouth through displacing them via Hiraishin.

She gripped her chains and pulled, pinning each of Son Goku’s limbs to the ground.

Yet it was stronger than she’d initially anticipated. Perhaps the monkey bijuu’s physical strength distinguished itself from its brethren for she did not have this much trouble pinning a bijuu down previously, unless it was Kurama.

Then a streak of blue landed beside her and her eyebrows rose in surprise from the presence of one Mei Terumi.

The Mizukage gave her a quick bow of her head in greeting and sent a saucy wink to Naruto’s clone, not realising that it wasn’t the real thing.

“If I may provide assistance, Lady Kushina,” Mei said, “It seemed that the Hokage did not need my help with the assistance he had, so I’ve decided to join you.”

“It will be much appreciated,” Kushina said.

Mei smiled. “I’ve always wanted to test out this new jutsu of mine.”

Before Kushina could even ask, Mei leapt into the air, her auburn hair trailing behind her.

Then, it was like her body glowed a magnificent hue before outright shining like the sun. Waves upon waves of scorched anarchy channelled through, wrapping around her body like a suit of armour.

More scorched energy bursted out from the soles of her feet and then she was flying like a thrown projectile.

She went right through Son Goku, first piercing his upper chest before ending behind him, going through his back.

The bijuu roared but Mei was not done.

She held her hands together in a triangle.

“Scorch style: Ray of Sunlight!” She shouted for dramatic effect.

A beam of scorching energy shot towards the bijuu and dismembered one of his arms.

It roared once more, and Kushina would have felt guilty should she not know that these masses of Chakra could regenerate almost any and all wounds given enough time.

For now, she needed to deal with the beast’s enraged state.

“How dare you!” It roared, turning around and swinging its tails in retaliation. The sudden act caught Mei off guard and she was batted out of their air.

Thankfully, Naruto’s clone flashed behind her to catch the Mizukage.

Mei was ready to go once she reorientated herself but she had already done enough.

Son Goku was weakened.

Kushina had the miniature Gedo Mazo statue Naruto prepared for her in her pouch and with a quick flourish, she wielded it in front of her.

She activated the seal, and the four tails fought against the sudden pull it felt towards the container of beasts.

It roared, spitting out more lava than the compromised Naruto could keep up with, turning the battlefield around it into a molten mess. Thankfully all had evacuated from the vicinity of the bijuu. Konoha shinobi had learnt their lesson when dealing with the nine tails: They’d be more help taking citizens away from the carnage rather than fight the beast from some sense of false courage.

It was her job to deal with this, as a seal master, as an Uzumaki.

They trusted her to do so.

It was why one of her status was so feared and respected in the village, even in the years where she was but a husk of herself before Naruto came into her life.

“Be gone, beast of rage!” Kushina roared, “and you will be free!”

As those words ended, the statue took in all of the bijuu within it, and Naruto’s clone caught the vessel of Roshi that was falling through the sky.

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Gaara’s sands poured through the buildings of Konoha like the ocean, oftentimes catching shinobi and civilians who were trapped within buildings and dragging them out to safety.

Always, he was met with surprised gazes before they all ran to where they were supposed to be. It seemed that Konoha had safety bunkers in place after the event of the nine tails.

Should things turn out the same, Gaara would plan such bunkers in Suna as well, especially after what Deidara had used against him in the other world.

When he finally reached the five tails, it had already formed a tailed beast ball in its mouth.

Gaara thought he’d have to go through immense measures in compacting his sand and trying to mitigate the blast as much as he could before he heard the S-ranked shinobi who accompanied him call out.

“Susanoo,” Itachi plainly said as instead of forming the mystical armour around him, he did so around the forming tailed beast ball.

Gaara reinforced it by forming a pyramid of sand around the jutsu and compacting it to stop any explosive power from leaking through.

It exploded from within, and even with both their efforts, it still annihilated its container, but thankfully they’d done enough to mitigate the majority of the blast, only having specks of glass from molten sand flying everywhere.

Itachi clutched at his eyes with his hand, looking pained and almost about to collapse.

Gaara cocooned him in a shell of sand and extricated him from where he was.

Gaara would need space from what he was about to do next.

‘Ready, Shukaku?’

The tanuki grumbled but he flared his chakra in affirmation.

Gaara turned into a bijuu himself.

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Sarada, Hinata and Sakura helped evacuate the citizens from the stadium when the invasion began.

They’d spotted the Hokage dashing out of the viewing area with who seemed to be a man with spiky white hair and strange clothing.

It was of little importance for them, as their duties lay elsewhere.

“Over here!” Sarada called out, “Get to the bunkers!”

Sakura was to the side, treating those who needed healing though thankfully, it was mainly just kids with small scratches.

Hinata used her Byakugan to monitor their surroundings, and she was glad to do so as five presences entered the arena.

Five who seemed to be leading the Oto ninja that was funnelling through the stadium doors.

They looked…familiar, and with a flash of memory to the time when Naruto told them of his story, she realised that the appearance of these foes matched the descriptions Naruto had given out.

Though now, they appeared far more deadly than what Naruto had described as mere high-chunin level threats.

The sound four and who seemed to be their leader with white hair and pale skin, the one Naruto told to them as the most dangerous of them all: Kimimaro Kaguya.

“Girls!” Hinata called out, just as Ino and her group approached to join them. “Five major threats!”

Kakashi and Asuma paused at her description to them before turning to each other and nodded.

“Asuma and I will deal with them–” Kakashi tried to say but was interrupted.

“No!” Sarada protested, “We will not sit here and watch you guys fight five against two. Hinata said they were Jonin level at least–”

“Which is exactly why we cannot ask you to join us,” Asuma said, having his turn to interrupt her.

“Your duties remain here,” Kakashi said, “to protect the citizens.”

Sarada made a simple hand sign and two shadow clones of her appeared, doing exactly as Kakashi said: leading the citizens to safety.

“There. That should be enough,” Sarada said, “Sakura, Ino, Hinata and I can handle ourselves. Naruto trained us, after all. No, it is you who need to stay here. The civilians will only listen to those with rank. Then you can come help once you’re done if you wish.”

With that, she dashed towards the five Oto-nin leaders.

“Damn it, Sarada!” Kakashi cried out, but was horrified as Hinata, Sakura and Ino joined her…along with another newly recruited shinobi Kakashi spotted hanging around them quite often.

“Asuma, stay guard!” Kakashi said as he prepared to follow his students to battle.

But when he turned to face their direction once more, a figure stood between him and those he needed to protect.

It was the jonin sensei of the Suna trio, Baki.

Along with him, were dozens upon dozens of Suna jonin.

“Damn it,” Kakashi muttered under his breath.

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