Chapter 26
Iruka
Iruka was very worried. He observed the students right in front of him and as he saw the faces of the kids his worry increased. He had to take charge.
"OK, EVERYONE! We have rested enough. We will begin moving soon," he shouted. All of them were in a building, on the way to the shelters. The path had been filled with rubble from broken buildings and by protocol he had taken the kids off the street. Now, the path would have been cleared and they could begin moving once more.
"Sensei what about those broken buildings?" a kid from the back asked. The voice trembling and filled with worry.
Iruka smiled slightly as he tried to assure the kids, "Do not worry. The village has plans for that and it will be clear now," he said.
And just as he was about to speak once more. He heard footsteps from the other side of the door.
"Everyone, Get back!" And he jumped to the front. All the kids behind him huddled.
BOOM. The door was blown off.
Iruka heard several footsteps. And then he saw four enemy shinobi entering the room. Iruka held a kunai in his hand, as he got ready to defend the kids. Behind him he noted several kids getting scared. So, he said in an assured voice.
"Do not worry everyone." And he saw the slight smirks appear on the faces of the four enemy shinobi. Their headbands held the symbol of the village hidden in the sound. One of them eyed the kids and spoke in a serious voice.
"I do not think that you are going to be nearly enough," And then Iruka saw all of them spread out and take out their weapons.
Iruka was looking around, looking for any opening. This was going to be dangerous, the four were clearly about chunin level. Iruka could probably take on two yet four was going to be troublesome. More so, while defending his students.
He was still focused on the four of them when he heard a slightly foreign sound. He focused on the sound and the sound was of chirping birds.
BOOM. Suddenly there was an explosion on one side of the room.
"AHHHHHH," he heard several kids shout. His grip on the kunai tightened and his senses heightened. He noticed a blur move through the smoke. There was a slight blue hue surrounding it.
"What the,"
"Augh,"
The enemy shinobi grunted. And now Iruka finally recognized the sound. He had heard stories about it. It was Kakashi. Then came another voice, a voice he had not heard in some time,
"Iruka sensei!" Naruto's voice came from the debris and Iruka felt his body relax as Naruto appeared in front of him.
Then Iruka noticed that the smoke settled down and his eyes widened as he identified the person standing in it. It was not Hatake Kakashi. It was Sasuke Uchiha. He saw the iconic red Sharingan spinning in his eyes, as the lightning around his arm fizzled out.
"Naruto-nii!" a kid shouted and ran up to the front. Konohamaru jumped forward to meet his idol.
Naruto ruffled the kid's hair. And then a third person entered the room.
"We must hurry," It was another one of his students. Shino Aburame standing at the back. And Iruka nodded in understanding.
"Ok everyone, we will begin moving towards the shelter once more!" He shouted and the kids lined up and they began moving once more.
"What are you doing here?" he asked Naruto as they rushed towards the shelters.
"Kakashi sensei had us divided into groups, we three are to help everyone evacuate while Sakura, Shikamaru, and one of our seniors are going towards the hospital as backup," Naruto informed him and Iruka nodded. He felt slightly proud of his students as he saw both Sasuke and Shino defending them from attacks by various enemy shinobi.
'Earth style: Great Quake'
And Iruka saw the building in front of them begin to fall. His eyes widened as he shouted,
"LOOKOUT!" but he saw a clone appear beside Naruto. Then he saw him hump up.
'RASENGAN,'
And Iruka's eyes widened as he saw the blue orb collide with the building reducing it to smithereens. Iruka had seen heard about the move from veterans in the field. Naruto then landed in front of him.
"Is everyone okay?" Naruto asked while smiling at all the kids who were now looking at him with stars in their eyes. Most of them just nodded dumbfoundedly. Naruto gave them a big thumbs up.
"Ok, then we will have to hurry up a bit, and do not be scared because you have the next Hokage here to protect you," he shouted once more. And Iruka smiled as he heard those last words.
Then they began rushing towards the shelters and as they reached them, he saw Naruto about to leave with his other two students.
"Be careful you all," he shouted and all three of them nodded their heads. But then he felt the air around them shift slightly. A shiver through his whole body as a sinister impulse of chakra passed through them all.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
And Iruka looked toward the direction of the sound and his eyes widened. It was a sight similar to what he had seen twelve years ago. A huge creature's silhouette could be seen through all the debris. A creature similar to the size of the Kyuubi, yet instead of Kyuubi's nine tails. Iruka could make out a single tail thrashing around.
"A tailed beast!" words escaped from his mouth. The sinister chakra's presence thickened around them all.
"Naruto let's go," Sasuke said from the side and vanished in a blur. Naruto just turned back and gave him a slight smile before vanishing as well, leaving Iruka alone to ponder memories from twelve years ago.
0000
HIRUZEN SARUTOBI
It was not often that Hiruzen regretted his decisions. Yet as he saw smoke rise through the various parts of the village, he held closest to his heart, he regretted one of his decisions. He regretted sparing the life of his wayward student.
But he was not going to make the same mistake once again. In a blur, his other student appeared by his side. Jiraiya stood by his side with complicated emotions on his face.
"What have you done Orochimaru!" he shouted. And he saw his most promising student smile sinisterly and Hiruzen's heart hardened as he saw the joyful expression on Orochimaru's face.
"What does it look like I have done? I have done what I have wanted for all these years." And he tilted his head.
"Konoha's destruction," and Hiruzen shook his head. What had pushed him to such an extent?
"Well, it seems to me that I must harden my heart," he began speaking, his hand clutching the ceremonial garb.
"I never wanted it to end like this my student, yet you have brought this upon yourself," And he tore away the garb. His age-old armor getting displayed once more. He let go of his chakra and he saw both Jiraiya and Orochimaru stiffen slightly. A small smile appeared on his face as he saw their reactions.
Orochimaru stiffened and narrowed his eyes.
"Well, don't you think two against one is a little duplicitous? Let me even the odds," and he began making hand seals. Hiruzen threw a shuriken at him making hand seals himself.
'Shadow shuriken'
Yet they were all blocked by Orochimaru who then completed his own handseals and Hiruzen's eyes widened as he recognized the pattern of the seals.
'Special Summoning: Edo Tensei'
And he saw three coffins appear in front of him. And Hiruzen felt his body stiffen as the lids fell for two of them.
It were the faces of the Shodaime and Nidaime, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju.
Their skin was clammy and broken, yet he could feel their gaze.
"It seems to me that someone has summoned us for the wrong purposes," he heard the voice of his sensei.
"I think I forbade you from developing this move," Shodaime shouted at his brother with some annoyance in his voice.
"I did what I had to do, brother." But before he could continue, he saw Orochimaru make a hand seal and their eyes gained a specific haze.
And then Hiruzen truly felt dread when the final door was opened, and a very soft voice greeted him. A voice that he used to fear and enjoy quite some time ago.
"It has been a long time, Saru" and the person that stepped forward was Mito Uzumaki.
Hiruzen noted the wide eyes of Jiraiya by his side.
"Lady Mito!" Jiraiya exclaimed with some reverence. As a seal master, he definitely held a lot of reverence for probably one of the greatest masters of the art.
Then he saw a small smile appear on Mito sama's face.
"Jiraiya boy. You have gotten old." And Jiraiya just nodded his head dumbfoundedly.
And then he saw her close her eyes, "Kushina?" she questioned looking at him.
And Hiruzen just shook his head. A pang of regret passed through him.
"Unfortunately, no, but we were able to rescue another Uzumaki. She has been granted asylum," and he saw her nod.
"Thank you," and then Orochimaru made a seal once more.
"I think that is quite enough," and Hiruzen noted a haze appearing in Mito-sama's eyes. Though he did not miss the slight glint she had gained.
"It seems to me you must defend the village against us Saru." She said as Hiruzen noted her body stiffen and then she finished in a very serious voice.
"Do not hesitate, Third Hokage," And Hiruzen nodded as he got into his stance. And he felt Jiraiya do so beside him as well.
"You have crossed a very dangerous line now Orochimaru," he shouted as he began making hand seals as well.
"You will finally get to see why I was hailed as the greatest prodigy of my age," and he then smeared blood on his thumb.
'Great Summoning: Monkey King Enma.'
And his age-old companion appeared by his side.
"It has been a long time, Sarutobi." He heard the summon speak.
"Yes, indeed. But it seems that we must rush to battle once again," and then Enma spotted Orochimaru and snarled.
"You never should have spared the bastard,"
"Maybe, but I will not make the same mistake today" and then Hiruzen vanished and appeared right behind his student. Orochimaru was a little surprised at his speed. Hiruzen punched him in the gut and Orochimaru was sent spiraling towards a building crashing into it and destroying it completely.
He also noted the surprised look on Jiraiya's face as well.
"Kakashi Hatake may have copied a thousand jutsus. Yet young people seem to forget something."
And then he began making hand seals.
"I am Hiruzen Sarutoi. Renowned as The Professor and The Man who mastered a thousand jutsus," and then he gathered chakra in his lungs.
'Fire style: Fire dragon.'
And a huge dragon rushed towards Orochimaru. He saw his sensei in front of Orochimaru
'Water style: Water tornado'
And water appeared in the air. Forming a huge tornado around him, stopping his attack. Yet Hiruzen recalled seeing that technique during his youth. The attack used to be much quicker and larger.
The technique is incomplete, he concluded.
And then he saw Jiraiya blur as well. Well, it was time to get serious.
0000
KARIN UZUMAKI
On the other side of the village, Karin was getting anxious. Her senses focused on the arena as she tried to observe a certain brown-haired idiot. For some reason, the sky had darkened and she was feeling Shinso's chakra getting depleted at a very high rate.
Shinso had significant reserves. And now they had fallen to quite precarious levels. Her worry increased and she felt anxious. She stopped moving and looked back and saw a storm of lightning gathering at the site of the arena. Then her eyes widened as she saw a huge sword of lightning appear in the sky.
This was Shinso's doing. And then she saw it descend.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM.
There was a huge explosion, and the ground shook even this far from the arena. She felt her senses blackout for a second and then she gained her focus once more.
"Karin! We must hurry." Yoshino San said from the back.
Yet Karin did not move, and after a while, when her senses returned, dread pooled in her heart. She felt her heart stop for a moment before she pushed chakra to her feat. Not caring about anyone or anything.
"NO!" she shouted as she headed straight for the arena, desperation making her blur through her surroundings.
0000
Naruto and Sasuke are doing their duty.
Shinso uses his attack. And what has Karin panicking?
Shinso's POV next chapter.
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