Naruto remained still.
His eyes set on his ancestors who were still considered as one of the strongest fighters to ever exist and the most powerful among the Uchiha.
They were THE Great Brothers.
The ones who raised the Uchiha to their pinnacle of success and glory, and he could see his own soldiers including Shin and Kurenai were nervous in their presence. No matter, he had to fight.
"Naruto, I want to kill Madara. I've remained your ally for years, just grant this one wish of mine and I will do whatever you want..." growled Kurama,
"Then it's time, my friend. One last trick..." said Naruto serenely,
"Naruto, I have never seen someone like you. Despite the fact that I killed your parents, ruined a good part of your life, you forgave me. Despite my betrayal a few years ago, you accepted me back. You became my only friend after the Rikudo Sennin. I am glad to have met you..." said Kurama proudly, a lone tear slipping from the fox's eyes.
"The feeling's mutual, Kurama. You were with me from the start, and I couldn't have completed this journey without you. I couldn't have achieved my dreams without you, I couldn't have become Kaiser. I will forever be indebted to you, but are you sure you want to go ahead? Because there is no going back once we start..." said Naruto seriously,
"The same goes for you as well. I guess I finally found my reason for existence, the Sage wanted me to assist the one who shall bring peace. I believe you are that person and are certainly worthy of this task. I am ready whenever you are..." said Kurama defiantly, Naruto grinned in return.
"Ready to take one last hill, fox?" asked Naruto bemusedly, Kurama snorted.
"Bring it on, you puny human..." replied Kurama cheekily,
Izuna furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Naruto smile. The Kaiser calmly stepped forward, and gave Madara a passive gaze.
"I'm quite surprised even a little proud of you, Naruto. You managed to destroy the shinobi world, a feat even I couldn't accomplish. It speaks volumes of your power, wouldn't you like to join us? We are after all family..." said Madara, a curious smile visible on his face.
"Interesting offer. One which I'll pass, a Kaiser can never surrender or kneel before anyone..." said Naruto proudly,
"Why do you resist, Naruto? All of us are aiming for the same thing: Peace..." suggested Izuna patiently,
"I can never agree to be a part of the Moon Eye Plan. Sending entire humanity to an endless dream world? Never to wake up forever..." said Naruto crudely, shocking Kurenai. So this was the Akatsuki's ultimate plan. To say it was delusional would be an understatement.
"Why not? We can have eternal life. Each of us can live the way we want, there will be no wars, no famines, no poverty, each and every desire can be fulfilled in that world. Everybody can be a Kaiser, everybody can have the love of their life, the childless can have children, and every thing which is impossible to achieve in this cruel reality..." explained Izuna seriously,
"A world of love, a world of victors, a world where all wishes comes true..." finished Madara,
"But it won't be real, can't you understand that?" asked Kurenai frankly, and stood her ground even when Madara glanced at her.
"Is reality such a desirable thing? Tell me, Naruto. This world you want to create free of shinobi and chakra, will you truly be able to enjoy in it?" asked Izuna calmly, his tone quite sympathetic.
To everyone's shock, the Kaiser lowered his head. Kurenai and Shin stared at him, so did the Reich soldiers. The Uchiha Brothers smiled...
"I won't since most of the people whom I wanted to live beside with sacrificed themselves for that dream. But that doesn't mean that I must give up, because even if we can't enjoy that dream fully we must make it happen so that our children and their children after that can reap their benefits. That is how humans evolve, what you are doing would stop that progress forever. Even the current Reich empire was built from the experiences of the Shinobi World, which in turn was built upon the experience of the Clan Wars Era. That is what I have learned from history..." explained Naruto, Madara smiled ruefully.
"Izuna was right. You're too much of an idealist, just like Hashirama..." said Madara disappointedly,
"Even so those ideals are real and ours. Everything we shall have or even achieve in this dream world of yours would be just an illusion, nothing more..." stated Shin frankly,
"That is your perspective. But it doesn't matter to either me or Nii-san, since none of you have a power to stand up against us. Except for Naruto..." said Izuna smartly,
"Did you truly defeat Hashirama at his full power?" asked Madara curiously,
"I managed to seal him away, so that should be equal to a draw..." said Naruto modestly, Madara laughed proudly.
"Now I'm even more eager to fight against you, boy. Someone who can stand up to Hashirama is definitely worthy of not only becoming Kaiser but of fighting against me as well..." said Madara eagerly,
"Are you actually praising Naruto, even if he's your enemy?" asked Kurenai confusedly, Madara snorted.
"I value power, women. I can see this boy has a powerful body and strength, and I have no qualms in acknowledging the skills of a worthy opponent. Besides, he is also my great grand nephew..." said Madara bemusedly,
"Wait, Nii-san. I'd rather want Naruto to join us, instead of fighting and dying against us..." said Izuna politely,
"Izuna..."
"Nii-san, just one chance. That's all I'm asking..." requested the younger brother, Madara sighed.
"Do as you wish" replied Madara, and then carelessly sat back on the ground.
"Naruto, what if I give you your dead friends back? Then you can live together with them forever, without the risk of ever losing them. I can bring back Sasuke, Tsunade, Gaara, Rei, Shin, Sai and all those soldiers you lost to this war..." offered Izuna honestly.
For a moment Kurenai saw how tempted Naruto was from that offer, but with great reluctance the Kaiser closed his eyes.
"I can bring them back myself after I take the Rinnegan from you..." challenged Naruto,
"Huh, you sure are confident about your chances against me and my brother; even when you are wounded and slowly dying?" asked Izuna sharply,
Naruto grimaced, of course his ancestors would see through his deception with those eyes of theirs. Kurenai gave him a sharp glare, and his soldiers seemed quite terrified from that news. Only Shin remained unfazed, which earned him another glare from Kurenai as she understood that the boy knew this as well.
"It is true that I am wounded. But it won't stop me from defeating you..." said Naruto confidently,
"Interesting. Izuna, I'd say we should fulfill his wish..." mocked Madara,
"Is that your final answer?" asked Izuna sadly,
"Why do you care so much, Izuna?" retorted Naruto sharply, making the man look away.
"Accept it or not, you are my blood. I don't have any true family left beside Madara and you. I couldn't save your father, and it would pain me greatly if I have to kill you..." said Izuna sadly,
Naruto blinked. Was he truly serious? The look in Izuna's eyes was quite genuine, he honestly cared about Naruto in a twisted way.
"What do you mean you couldn't save my father?" asked Naruto confusedly,
"Izuna, do you really want to do this?" asked Madara tiredly, he wanted nothing more than to flex his muscles against this brat.
But except for Izuna, there was no family for him. Even this boy meant nothing, he had learnt a hard lesson of family betrayal when his own clan turned their backs on him. The only thing that mattered was power and the will to accomplish one's goals...
Unfortunately, even if Izuna agreed to side with him. His little brother still cared about his descendants, and Madara cared about Izuna a lot.
So, he would give his brother time to make the brat understand. Otherwise...
"When Izuna died during the Clan Wars Era, Zetsu approached me. Through him I learnt that there was a way to bring my brother back, so I allowed Zetsu to preserve Izuna's body while I searched for a way. In order to do that, I also agreed to Hashirama's wish of forming a village only to stop the fighting so I could concentrate on my real task. After going through the Uchiha Tablet, not only did I find a way to bring Izuna back but also change the world..." explained Madara briefly,
"You could have simply worked to bring Izuna back, and with your powers you would have even succeeded, Madara..." pointed Naruto,
"Even if I revived my brother, things would remain the same. Wars still continued, and I knew Izuna would die one way or another protecting Konoha since the Uchiha were a part of the village, and my brother was extremely loyal to his family. In the end the net result would be the same..." said Madara seriously,
Naruto sighed. But didn't stop his delusional ancestor.
"When I tried to explain the Moon Eye Plan to Hashirama, neither could he understand its importance or the concept itself. So I left the village, and the rest of the history you know. Except that I faked my death and didn't die in the final battle with Hashirama..." said Madara, a cunning smirk visible on his face.
Kurenai and Shin could now understand from where the Kaiser got his dangerous cunning.
"For decades I continued my work step by step, while the ninja world continued to fight great wars. By the end of the third great ninja war, I had became extremely old and at that time I managed to awaken the Rinnegan, the eye that was once possessed by the Rikudo Sennin. I was the first to attain this power after that old man..." said Madara proudly,
"The Rikudo Sennin is real?" asked Kurenai in surprise,
"He is. The Uchiha, Senju and Uzumaki clans are his descendants..." clarified Izuna, Kurenai gasped.
"How did you awaken the eye?" asked Naruto curiously,
"During my final battle with Hashirama, I managed to steal some of his blood, flesh and interjected his DNA into my own body. For decades I waited for results, and finally by combining the power of the two great clans I managed to awaken that eye..." said Madara honestly, pointing his finger towards the Rinnegan.
"Did you really take Izuna's eyes after his death? Did you really steal it from your brother?" asked Naruto hesitantly, Madara glared in return.
"That is a lie, boy. An Uchiha only needs another set of Mangekyo Sharingan if he does not have Senju blood in him. The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan heals the damage which the original endures during its usage and compensates for it. It is like a twin motor system which work with each other, covering for each others fault. However if you have the Senju blood, particularly of a powerful one then their cells automatically stops the damage. Isn't that why you didn't go blind, despite only getting a new Mangekyo in one eye. while the other was a clone made from its twin and powered by Hashirama's cells? Hashirama's cells inside your body allows you the benefit of using all powers of both the Mangekyo without going blind and at less expense of chakra..." explained Madara in detail,
Naruto nodded. While it was true that one of his eyes was an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan due to Shisui's Mangekyo sharingan replacing his old one, his remaining eye was just a clone replica made from Shisui's eyes and powered by Hashirama's cells.
It was extremely delicate work of genetic engineering which Nono and Tsunade had performed for him. And that treatment had worked, but that was not the end of it.
"So after activating the Rinnegan, you revived your brother?" asked Shin
"Yes. But Izuna reacted in a different manner..." said Madara disappointedly, Izuna massaged his forehead.
"Being reborn decades after everyone I knew had died terrified me a little. The entire world had changed, and I was confused. More than that I saw my brother was an old geezer and clinging to life like an zombie with the help of the Gedo Mazo..." retorted Izuna sharply, Madara chuckled.
"Whatever the case, Izuna was not convinced that my plan was right. So he went away to explore the world for himself, and arrive at his own decision. With my original plan failing like this, I recruited a young Konoha chunin who was your father's student. His name was Obito Uchiha..." said Madara seriously,
"I know..." replied Naruto
"I entrusted him with my will, since Izuna had not agreed with it. And so Obito began his task, by the time Izuna had roamed the world and saw how destructive the ninja wars had been. And then the final straw broke his will..." said Madara frankly, Izuna lowered his gaze.
"I too once had a daughter whose name was Rei, she lived in Konoha after our clan joined it. Your father was her son, although he didn't activate the sharingan he was still my blood. By the time I was revived, my daughter had died. Most of my family and friends were also dead, and I was extremely furious with the clan for the way they betrayed my brother when all he wanted was to protect them from the Senju..." said Izuna furiously,
"Did you try to meet my father?" asked Naruto silently,
"I didn't have any reason to do so. What could I say? Hey, I'm your grandfather brought back from the dead, and Konoha's greatest enemy Madara was still alive? He would have sent me to a mental hospital or incarcerated me since Hiruzen was Tobirama's student and would be weary of Madara's little brother suddenly arriving back from the dead, it would have given the old goat a heart attack. Maybe I should have done that just to see his reaction..." mocked Izuna, making Naruto smile.
"That would be the logical choice..." commented the Kaiser,
"Yeah, but when I heard Obito was going to attack Konoha and specifically my grandson and his pregnant wife. I came to stop him, but by the time I arrived Minato and Kushina were dead. And the fox was sealed into you..." said Izuna sadly,
"You came to save my father?" asked Naruto in shock, making Izuna glare at him.
"It is true that I hated the Uchiha, but I didn't hate your father. He even became Hokage and I was proud of him because unlike the previous Hokage's, he was not biased against the Uchiha and treated everyone fairly. He was an honorable man..." defended Izuna fiercely,
"Then, what happened to Obito?'' asked Naruto innocently, feigning ignorance even when he knew the truth,
"The little shit got what he deserved, your father managed to kill him. Even if he had survived, I would have given him a painful death for killing my grandson and his wife. I wanted to take you with me, but couldn't do so because you were a Jinchuuriki. And because Minato wanted you to be seen as a hero, and I believed in that farce. You were my hope, Naruto. If the villagers could treat you properly, then I would have continued to believe that there was still a chance for the world to improve itself. But they didn't..." said Izuna bitterly,
"Fortunately, your pathetic treatment by the villagers and the isolation of Uchiha by Konoha, destroyed any foolish thoughts from my brother's mind and he came back to me. I had always doubted whether Obito was truly capable of carrying out my will, so despite suffering greatly I clung to life. And finally passed on my will to Izuna when he regained his senses..." said Madara in relief,
"Madara had already given his Rinnegan to a boy called Nagato as an experiment. He was from the Uzumaki clan and a resident of Amegakure, it was he who founded the Akatsuki along with his comrades and Obito was a part of it. But when Obito died, I took his place..." clarified Izuna,
"I've never seen Nagato or heard of him. Where is he?" asked Naruto seriously,
"He died. He had a grudge against Salamander Hanzo because the old man killed his best friend. In his thirst for revenge, he attacked Hanzo and his entire army. Nagato almost won, but Hanzo in one last suicidal act killed them both alongwith Nagato's friend and another Akatsuki member called Konan. The Ame Ninja covered this incident secretly, and the Rinnegan was lost for years..." explained Izuna patiently, Naruto's eyes widened in realization.
"So that's why you approached me when I replaced my Mangekyo Sharingan..." said Naruto in shock,
"Yes, I saw you had undergone the same experiment as my brother and were likely to awaken the Rinnegan. More than that I wanted to help you in your quest of world domination to make the shinobi world pay for what they did to you..." said Izuna sympathetically,
Naruto remained silent, quite stunned with the affection showed by this man towards him.
"I planned to make you a part of my plan when you became Kaiser. But you had different ideas and Zetsu was successful in finding out atleast one Rinnegan eye..." said Izuna hesitantly,
"So you had no further use for me. And turned on me..." said Naruto sharply,
Izuna lowered his head.
"It is still not too late to change your mind, boy. Izuna is offering to bring back your loved ones, the fact that he managed to bring me back from the dead with the Gedo Mazo's help is a proof of this. I'd say it's a fair deal, considering all you have to do in return is step aside and let us finish our plan..." said Madara flatly,
"Even if you manage to accomplish Valkyrie. Do you truly think eternal peace will continue in this world? Humans will find new reasons to fight, new weapons to kill each other. True Peace is just an illusion, son..." said Izuna patiently,
Naruto shook his head.
"That is true, but nevertheless humanity would be responsible for their actions. They would evolve, instead of remaining in stasis for eternity. A world which does not change, cannot progress. And if it cannot learn from the past and evolve, then life has no meaning. We might as well become machines..." said Naruto harshly,
Madara sighed and shook his head in disappointment. Izuna smiled widely even as a lone tear slipped from his eye...
"You're just like your father..." said Izuna fondly, as Naruto took a step forward. His hand outstretched towards Izuna.
"If you bring back all my people whom you've killed, and let go of your plan then I am willing to offer you a place by my side. I too have a son, a family which will welcome you. Don't waste a second chance at life, Izuna..." insisted Naruto,
"Izuna, you can't be possibly thinking of falling for his lies..." said Madara harshly, as the younger brother bit his lip, lowering his gaze towards the ground.
After a few moments, he looked up and stared at Naruto with a sad smile.
"I'm afraid I can't bear to watch anymore of my family to suffer in this corrupt ninja world. I'm sorry, Naruto. But the Moon Eye Plan is our only salvation, and I must carry it out for all our sakes..." said Izuna sadly,
Madara smiled, Naruto lowered his gaze.
"Itachi, it seems we are destined to fight against our own kin no matter what..." whispered Naruto sadly,
"Naruto..." said Kurenai sympathetically,
"Don't let personal feelings interfere. You're the Kaiser..." advised Shin coldly,
Madara got back on his feet when Naruto's Mangekyo started spinning even as few tears spilled from his eyes.
"Yeah...I know"
Waves upon waves of Biju chakra started leaking from Naruto's body, his gaze hardened as Madara stepped forward.
"Izuna, prepare for the revival of the Juubi. I'll hold them off, I too want to see your descendant's power..." said Madara eagerly,
"Very well..." replied Izuna sadly,
"Do you really think I've come to this battle unprepared?" asked Naruto sadistically, and the shape of each of his Mangekyo changed.
Both were different in forms, which could only mean...
"You took Sasuke's remaining eye..." said Izuna in surprise, Naruto smirked.
"He left it to me for this reason. So I have not only have my own powers, but that of Shisui and Sasuke as well. Now show me your guts, Madara..." invited Naruto, gesturing the Uchiha to attack him.
"I like you even more, boy..." grinned Madara,
Kurenai and Shin both were sent sailing away as Madara passed from their sides, the sheer force sent them crashing into the nearby wall. With a high jump, Madara jumped in the air ready to pummel Naruto in the ground. And this led to his surprise when he passed through Naruto as if the boy wasn't even there, quickly regaining his balance he turned around and tried to grab the boy by the throat; only for his hand to pass through this time as well.
Izuna focused his Rinnegan, and saw what the problem was.
"Brother, he's not real. It's just a mirage..." warned Izuna,
"What? How is that possible when my own Mangekyo is active..." said Madara, a frown visible on his face even as he searched for the boy.
Izuna bit his lip, quickly thinking about Naruto's last words before the battle started. And a disturbing conclusion came to his mind...
"Naruto's Mangekyo grants him Amaterasu, Tsukiyomi and Susanno. Shisui's Mangekyo could cast the most powerful genjutsu which were even nearly impossible for a fellow Uchiha to see through in time, and Sasuke was famous for his speed. Could it be?" thought Izuna in detail,
Even as Madara searched for their opponent, Izuna realized just what the boy's real target was. Goddamn Anbu's!
"Madara, the Gedo Mazo..." warned Izuna urgently,
Both brothers turned around and saw Naruto standing on top of the giant statue. The Kaiser had a smirk visible on his face, as one of his hands was soaking chakra from the statue.
"Thank you, everyone..." said Naruto gratefully,
"The Biju are giving him some of their chakra, but why would they help a human?" asked Madara curiously,
"The Kyuubi convinced them to help him. Remember brother, while Naruto cannot control the Gedo Mazo due to not having Rinnegan; he can still access its power for himself due to having all three Uchiha, Senju and Uzumaki genes in him. With the power he absorbed just now..." said Izuna hesitantly,
Both brothers rushed forward to stop the boy who had quickly took out his sword and pointed it forward.
"Jokkau Enjo (Fortress Blaze)!"
Madara and Izuna jumped towards him, only to have the statue surrounded by intense flames which quickly spread around to create a fortress of burning inferno. Naruto quickly flipped away, a triumphant smirk visible on his face.
Izuna focused his dojutsu on Naruto, and saw the wound inside his chest had started to heal with the power he absorbed from the remaining Biju.
He tried to summon the Gedo Mazo, but it still remained trapped in that fire barrier.
"Of course, the Gedo Mazo was related to Hachimon. And this sword also belonged to the same god, no wonder it can trap the monster..." thought Izuna frustratedly,
"You only delay the inevitable, Naruto. Once we defeat you, these flames shall vanish with the death of their creator..." said Madara sharply,
"You went straight for the critical objective first rather than the lesser ones? Very Anbu of you..." said Izuna bemusedly,
"I was an Anbu Captain long before I became Kaiser. I can never fight a twin battle against you two and the Gedo Mazo, so why not keep it away for a while? I would like it very much if you two attempted to take it back through force though..." mocked Naruto,
"You'll fail eventually..." said Madara flatly
Kurenai and Shin quickly encircled the two brothers along with the 2,000 Reich soldiers. Naruto smiled deviously...
"Not if I kill the two of you first..." promised Naruto,
"Obito, it seems you might just prove useful this once. Together with your and Izuna's eye I'll fight against this boy..." thought Madara seriously,
"Naruto..." said Izuna, receiving a stern glance from the Kaiser.
The Kaiser threw away his robes revealing a battle armor bearing the mark of the Uchiha clan.
"I already told, the time for talking is over!" said Naruto icily,
Izuna nodded grimly.
"Kurama, I'm putting everything on the line once and for all. Are you ready?" asked Naruto, making the fox grin.
"Let us show them our true power..." suggested Kurama with a grin,
Izuna and Madara quickly took several steps away when Naruto raised his sword in the air, an enormous volcano of flames emerged from the blade. They burned brighter than any fire and illuminated the entire dark cave. The rocks at the top of the cave melted and evaporated into nothing...
"Reduce the Entire Creation to Ashes, RYUUJIN JAKKA!"