Shy Fox Chronicles
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Prologue Part 5: Battle of the Mountain Passes
Since the Kamishini's entry into the war, its course had changed. Using the ruined islands of the Land of Whirlpools as staging and logistics centers, they pushed up into the Land of Water and Lightning. These beachheads quickly, as we have seen, became bloody meat grinders. Neither side had the numbers or power needed to push through the horrid terrains infamous of the two nations.
On the western flank, the Village Hidden in the Sand conducted lightning raids and border skirmishes with the Hidden Stone Village. While their lack of numbers and lack of knowledge of the mountainous terrain hindered their offensives, it forced the Stone ninja to commit to a coordinated defense to prevent further incursions.
What looked like a stalemate on the flanks, however, was exactly what Hirzuen wanted. Using his allies' unique abilities and geographical locations to his advantage, he forced his enemies to tie down troops away from the central front with Konoha. Like horns of two great oxen, the flanks pushed and battled each other. All to leave the center open for a thrust towards the Village Hidden in the Stone.
Speed and force concentration would be key for its success, and indeed it was a great risk. Should the flanks learn too quickly, they would be cut off and crushed by the two flanks slamming into the main force. Further still, the Earth Release specialists of the village were renowned for their stonework and defensive fortifications. Mountains, even for shinobi, are a rough area to fight and maneuver in. Entire fortifications carved into mountain battlegrounds of the defenders choosing, and storming the defenses of the village on top of that would demand a butcher's bill few would be able to stomach. However, battles like these are only won by the side willing to sacrifice the most to win. Hiruzen had started this war, and he was going to finish it.
No shinobi force of the size Hiruzen had gathered could be stealthy enough to avoid skirmishing. Though the defenders' manpower was siphoned to other fronts, they were still enough to demand respect. This was their village, and no shinobi with any mind for their oaths will give up without an unholy and zealous fight. Only by using their superior size and power of their formations did they quickly force their way past the skirmish lines. Both sides knew the longer Konoha's force took to capture the village, the less chance of victory they had. However, as they neared the first minor fortifications with their platoon, Team Minato learned like everyone else that day, it was to be one of the bloodiest days in the Leaf's history.
"'Lead the charge', sensei said. 'It will be a great experience', he said. 'It's only a few trench lines and hard points', he said. He didn't say anything about minor summons and bombardment jutsu galore!!!!" Obito roared and complained as he was wrestling a large and imposing ninja hound, trying to crush his skull.
"Quit complaining, Obito! We're still not high enough in the chain of command to be calling any shots! Just follow your orders and complete the mission!" Kakashi called back to his young Uchiha teammate, using his father's signature White Light Chakra Sabre to cut his way through summoned enemy ninja hounds.
"I have every right to complain, Stupid Kakashi! This is absolutely and completely above our pay grade! I bet we aren't even getting hazard pay right now because we aren't handling any of the real hard points! I'm gonna get stiffed by Old Man Baboon again and it ain't fair!" Obito yelled, barely holding back the hounds crushing jaws with a kunai.
"First of all, you two are only Genin and I'm a Chūnin! Second, there's no hazard pay in war! Third of all, show the Hokage some respect, you reject!" Kakashi snapped back, coming over and stabbing the massive canine in the back to open it up for a stab through the skull from Obito.
"That's enough, you hard headed, knuckle dragging bozos! We are in war right now and could die at any second! We are a team! Those guys are the enemy! Can't you two get along for one battle for once in your…" Rin yelled, taking the two aback at the outburst, and what happened to cut her off.
A loud whistling sound cut the young Nohara girl off as they saw shadows on the ground. Round shadows. Small at first, but steadily growing larger and larger. Looking up, they were all caught off guard at the sight of flaming boulders, clearly launched via enemy bombardment jutsu, coming straight towards their position.
"TAKE COVER!" Kakashi called out.
As the rain of flaming stone came crashing down, the two Genin and one Chūnin ran for cover. However, as the blazing boulder bombardment came crashing down and exploded, one of their number was unlucky enough to not be far enough away. As the barrage of fiery rock mayhem went off, Nohara Rin was caught in the shoulder by some of the burning hot shrapnel. The blazing stone spikes pierced her shoulder, digging in deep.
"AAAAAAGGHHH!!!" Rin wailed in blood curdling pain, gripping her shoulder as she felt a loss of feeling in her arm.
"RIN! I'm coming, Rin!" Obito yelled and breakneck blitzed over to his comrade.
"Obito, you idiot! Don't be a hero by going off by yourself!" Kakashi called to his Uchiha teammate, taking off after him on sheer instinct.
Soon, the two boys reached Rin and got a good look at her injuries. What they saw made their young stomachs turn. The shards of stone had pierced deep, the fire on them slightly burning the wounds. Rin was losing a lot of blood and fading fast.
"I'll get her to the rear! Cover me, Silver Mane!" Obito yelled as he picked her up in a fireman's carry.
"Don't get yourself killed, Ebony Idiot! Just get her to the Medical Unit and get back here safely! Now run, Obito, run!" Kakashi called back to his teammate, White Light Chakra Sabre in hand as he cut his way through ninja hounds and used Lightning Release jutsu to try to destroy stray bits of stone blown their way to cover for his teammates.
"Alright, legs! Don't fail me now! Time to show my clan me winning the junior footrace was no fluke!" Obito muttered, before taking off for the rear lines.
With his barely conscious and bleeding kunoichi teammate carried on his shoulders, the young Uchiha rushed through the tree and stone covered terrain. Dodging and weaving through bombardments of elemental Ninjutsu, he kept running. Never stopping, never tiring. Desperate to save his teammate and the girl he'd had feelings for all this time.
As Obito ran for the rear lines, he came across allied shinobi covering their six who were also engaged in combat. Some of them were fine, some of them were wounded. Knowing that he couldn't stop and would have to come back for them, he kept running as the others covered him. He couldn't afford to stop now.
Finally, Obito reached the rear lines, the Medical Unit within sight. Breaking into as much of a sprint as he could while keeping the young Nohara stable on his back, the young fledgling Uchiha charged forward. As he did, he looked back at Rin for a moment to see how she was doing.
To his concern, she didn't look good. She was getting a bit pale and was sweating. He needed to hurry. If he didn't… no! He would make it! He had to!
Going into a full tilt run, Obito finally made it to the main tent of the Medical Unit and burst in through the opening. Panting, he tried to catch his breath.
"Hang… in there… Rin…! We… made it…!" Obito said with quick pants.
"T-Thank… y-y-you…" she answered quietly, barely having the energy to speak through her quivering lips.
"I need a medic here quick! I've got an injured!" Obito yelled, panicked, trying to stand up with her.
Rushing up in a nurse's outfit was a girl a bit taller than Rin's height. Looking down at them with dark eyes, equally dark cropped hair blowing in the breeze, and a concerned look across her rounded face. Slowly the girl helped Obito get Rin onto a free bed and began to look over the injury. As she slowly works and gets supplies, Obito notices a name tag emblazoned with Shizune on it.
"I can slow the bleeding, but I'll have to get my master to handle this. This is out of my league." Shizune said.
"Alright, where are they!? We need to be quick!" Obito yelled, starting to have a hint of a panic attack over the stress.
"Quit yelling, brat! This is a field hospital, not a damn music concert!" A voice yelled back at him from behind as Obito and Shizune turned to look at the source.
Walking out in a green robe over a flak jacket, the long, pig tailed blonde hair of Shizune's master caught Obito's attention. Even despite the flak jacket's best attempt, it didn't conceal her titanic mounds either. Avoiding looking at them as best as he could, he knew immediately who she was, and his fears for Rin's life were quashed.
"T-Tsunade-sama…?" Obito asked nervously in confusion, before she sharply cut him off.
"Is it really so surprising that I'm the one heading up this shoddy excuse for a Medical Unit after those Kamishini saved the Uzumaki and allied themselves with us! Now out of my way so that I can see the damage done, kid!" Tsunade snapped at the young Uchiha, clearly irritated about the whole situation.
"Of course!" Obito said, practically flinging himself out of the way.
With that, Tsunade took a deep breath as she marched forward to assess the situation. Upon seeing the blood pouring from her wounds, the Slug Princess almost froze up in fear. To this day, she still couldn't stand the sight of blood. However, for now, she had to do her best to push down her fear and obey the Four Rules of the Medical Ninja. This girl needed saving and she was the only one capable of doing so right now.
Making her way closer to better assess the damage done, Tsunade almost flinched. Just at a glance, she could tell that those Earth Release spikes had probably pierced almost to the bone. The girl was bleeding out, even with Shizune slowing down the bleeding. They needed to act fast.
The Slug Princess of the Leaf turned to address the young Uchiha. "We can save her, kid. I give you my word now that we won't let her die. Now get back to the battle and leave her in our hands!" Tsunade told him, giving him an order.
"I saw other injured on the way here. I can go get them for you if you can handle them…" Obito asked before being cut off.
"Then hop to it, kid! Get as many of those injured here as you can and then return to the battle! Shizune, go get more Medical Ninja while I take over taking care of this girl! And make sure we have enough beds!" The last Senju barked in response, giving out orders to the two shinobi minors.
"On it, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune yelled as she rushed off.
"You got it, boss!" Obito yelled and rushed off to get more wounded.
Tsunade gave a small smile as she watched Obito retreat back into the battlefield to bring in more injured allies. "That kid's got a big heart. We need more shinobi like him in this world…" She muttered before turning her attention to the injured Nohara Rin, taking a deep breath, and getting to work.
One by one, at a rate that surprised even Tsunade, Obito rushed in with shinobi after shinobi. If it wasn't for her and her team's skill and diligence, the Uchiha threatened to overflow the place. To this day no one knows how many Obito saved, but each shinobi, regardless of rank, was still thankful for his actions for the rest of their days. Though some he saved died on their medical beds, too far gone, Obito pressed on as everyone knew they at least got a chance they normally wouldn't. It warmed Tsunade's heart to see the cruel butchery of war be slightly curtailed that day, even if it dug up a bitter well to drink from.
Meanwhile, the son of the disgraced White Fang of the Hidden Leaf was fighting to hold his own against a swath of enemies. With Obito and Rin back at the rear lines and unable to aid him, he had to hold the line here on his own. A gifted young shinobi Kakashi may have been, but he was currently still just a boy. Even he could only do so much at his current level of abilities.
Slashing a ninja hound's head off with his father's blade, Kakashi cut his way through the enemy hounds. As he did, his father's blade glowed with streaks of white chakra as he carved a bloody path through the enemy's lines, even taking out some Genin that tried to challenge him. He was making progress, but not enough. Not quickly enough. They needed more.
"Come on, Kakashi…! You can do this…! Complete your mission…!" The young scarecrow muttered to himself as he kept cutting his way through the enemy to try to clear a path for some of the platoon.
Making his way to a hard point, a small rock outcropping the enemy had turned into a bunker, Kakashi saw his chance. If he could take that out, they could break through. They could finally start making some progress. Smiling under his mask, Kakashi saw this as a perfect opportunity to try out a new jutsu he'd been working on.
Going through a few hand seals, Kakashi put his left hand down in a claw while grasping his wrist with the other. Mentally hoping and praying that this worked, he began to form the jutsu. Lightning chakra formed in the palm of his hand, crackling and chirping like a thousand birds.
"Chidori…!" Kakashi called out, moving his lightning covered hand aside as he took off running at high speed.
Running through at high speed, Kakashi stabbed and cut his way through enemies in an attempt to take and destroy the bunker. Carving a path through the enemy while using his father's White Light Chakra Sabre to cut down anyone who dodged his jutsu. Bit by bit, Kakashi made progress. His new, first ever original jutsu was working. He could do this. He could do this!
However, Kakashi inevitably made a mistake. When he went to run an enemy through with his Chidori, the enemy dodged to the side. Trying to swipe at his opponent with his Chakra Sabre, the tunnel vision caused by the speed of his new jutsu finally caught up to him, causing him to not see that his opponent had drawn two kunai as he dodged the young Chūnin's attack. Blocking the blade with one kunai, the enemy shinobi slashed at Kakashi's face with the other, slashing Kakashi's left eye.
"AAAAGH!" Kakashi cried out in pain as his jutsu ended, the Lightning Release chakra fading away as he fell back and clutched his now useless left eye.
Panting a bit, the enemy Stone ninja glared down at the kid t before him. He recognized the weapon he was holding and the silver hair, both trademarks of the White Fang of the Hidden Leaf Village. However, this brat was clearly too young to be the White Fang.
"I'd heard the White Fang was dead. So why do you have his blade, brat?" The enemy shinobi sneered.
Panting, Kakashi glared up definitely at the older ninja. "It's… a memento… from my father…" He replied back, trying to show no fear.
"Well, then you can join him in hell!" The shinobi spat as they raised a kunai to end their younger foe.
"FIRE RELEASE: GREAT FIREBALL JUTSU!" A voice familiar to Kakashi roared out as a fireball was launched at the enemy shinobi, forcing them to jump away from the now cycloptic Chūnin.
Kakashi was confused as he saw someone land in front of him. Looking up, he saw the familiar Uchiha crest on the back of the boy's shirt and. Giving a brief smile, Kakashi quickly schooled his expression.
"You're… late again… as usual… Obito." He panted to his teammate, internally thanking him for showing up when he did.
"If you just want me to fuck off and let you die, I can do that…" Obito panted in pain.
Kakashi shook his head in response. "That won't be necessary. I guess the saying 'better late than never' rings true here. Thanks…" Kakshi panted back.
The Stone ninja smirked at that. "The White Fang's brat and an Uchiha? Is it my birthday already?" He sneered at them.
"If you think you're getting some free scratch off tickets today, bub, you're dead wrong! No one is killing my team today! Especially when I'm getting jipped on pay!" Obito yelled back.
The Iwagakure shinobi chuckled darkly at that. "You got guts, brat; I'll give you that. It's a pity I've gotta rip them out of you…!" He sneered, drawing a sword from his back.
Kakashi stepped forward at that, his Chakra Sabre at the ready. "Oh no, you're not. Sensei left me in charge of our team as the next highest in rank. He ordered me to do my best to make sure we make it back alive, and I intend to follow his order." Kakashi replied with a glare.
The Stone nin smirked arrogantly at that. "That's an order you're going to fail to carry out, White Fang Junior!" He bit back, charging in.
"I'll take point, Obito! Cover my blind spot!" Kakashi called out, rushing in at their opponent.
"If you were as good as you say you are, then you wouldn't have a blind spot!" Obito yelled back, getting into position.
"Just lay down cover fire!" Kakashi called back in annoyance, blade at the ready.
"Finally, I get a good job around here!" Obito yelled with a grin on his face. Covering fire was always a fun job because it involved explosions.
"DIE, YOU BRATS!" The Stone nin roared as he rushed in at Kakashi, ready to swing down his blade.
Unfortunately, he failed to keep his eyes on Obito as the young Uchiha went through hand seals for a Fire Release Jutsu. One of his personal favorites.
"FIRE RELEASE: PHOENIX SAGE FIRE JUTSU!" Obito roared out before inhaling air and unleashing a barrage of fireballs at the enemy ninja, taking care not to hit Kakashi.
The Iwa shinobi had to dodge and weave through the fireballs while blocking slashes from Kakashi, cutting and stabbing at him only to have to dodge more fireballs and dodge the Chūnin's counters. He gritted his teeth in anger at the situation. Despite how much they bickered, these two kids fought well together. He needed to make a move fast.
Throwing a kunai, he forced Obito to stop his barrage of fireballs as he went in to try to cut Kakashi in two. Smirking, he swung with all his might.
"ONE DOWN!" He roared out as he swung from Kakashi's blind spot.
"Kakashi, duck!" Obito yelled, grabbing a kunai.
As Kakashi listened to his teammate for once and ducked down, Obito swore he saw everything begin moving in slow motion. It was like he could see what was going to happen before it happened. He saw Kakashi managing to duck as the sword came towards him. He could even see Kakashi and the enemy's chakra. Acting quickly, he threw his kunai at the Stone nin's chest. Soaring, the kunai struck true and stabbed into his torso, throwing off his swing and just barely missing Kakashi.
Shocked, Kakashi turned to look at his Uchiha teammate. When he did, what he saw surprised him.
"O… Obito… your eyes…!" He called out.
"The… Sharingan…" Obito muttered in shock, seeing the change in the brief reflection from a second kunai he drew.
Gritting his teeth, the enemy pulled the kunai out of his chest. "ARRGH! YOU BRATS! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!" He roared in pain and rage, glaring at the two boys.
"Not if I kill you first…!" A voice whispered harshly in his ear.
Turning in shock, the Iwa nin found his throat slit by a triple bladed kunai knife. Gasping for breath, he fell to the ground as he looked up at the man before him. Standing several inches taller than average, the man looked down at him with crystal blue eyes, and spiky blonde hair immediately catching his eyes. There was only one man that could be before him.
"Th… The Yellow… Flash…!" Was all the shinobi could utter.
"Minato sensei!" The two boys called out in relief.
"It appears my assignment didn't go as planned for you three. Rest easy, boys. I'll handle this part of the front from here. Kakashi, get yourself and Obito back to the rear and rest. That's an order." Minato said, a mix of seriousness and warmth coming from his voice as he spoke.
"Yes sir, sensei." Kakashi replied with a nod.
"I'll make sure we get back alive, sensei…" Obito said.
"Just rest, Obito. You've earned it." Minato said, before spinning one of his signature kunai and catching it.
"Yes, sir." Obito sighed.
"See you later, boys. Got some strong points to clear out. Be back in a flash." Minato said with a smirk and in the blink of the boys' eyes he was gone.
The boys both groaned as they realized that their sensei had left on a pun. "Really, sensei…?" Kakashi groaned out.
"He can't keep getting away with that…" Obito groaned.
Sighing, the boys chuckled a bit as they got up. "Come on, Obito. Let's get back to the rear lines so that we can rest and check up on Rin." Kakashi told his teammate.
"Look at that. The walking icebox Kakashi caring about a teammate. Looks like you're getting soft, old man." Obito chuckled.
Kakashi allowed himself a small chuckle in response. "Your soft heartedness must be rubbing off on me. I'll have to check if the Medical Unit can fix that." the one-eyed scarecrow replied back as the boys began their trek back.
"That's against Tsunade-sama's oath, Kakashi. Do please suggest that to her. I'd love to see how she punts you to the moon." Obito smirked out.
As they walked back, Kakashi looked at Obito out of the corner of his one working eye. "Obito…?" he asked.
"Yeah?" Obito asked.
"Thank you for saving me. And congratulations on awakening your Sharingan…" The cycloptic scarecrow told his teammate honestly with a rare smile under his mask, surprising the young Uchiha.
"Thanks… Kakashi…" Obito said, not entirely sure how to take the compliment from his teammate and rival.
With that, the two made their way back as stealthily and silently as they could, trying to evade any enemy traps. Thankfully, with Obito's Sharingan, it was easier to catch the traps now that one of them could see chakra and the other could detect scents. However, their luck eventually ran out. Due to the pain he was in, Kakashi failed to pick up on the scent of one enemy trap and right stepped into it. Seeing chakra at four points around Kakashi, Obito saw it flare up and realized what was about to happen.
"Kakashi, get down!" Obito yelled, tackling his teammate out of the way.
Before they could react much further, four exploding tags exploded right where Kakashi had just been. Thankfully, due to Obito tackling him out of the way and covering him, the one-eyed young scarecrow was saved from most of the damage. Obito, however, wasn't as lucky. Opening his one remaining eye, Kakashi looked up at his teammate as his expression quickly changed to one of horror.
"OBITO!" Kakashi called out in concern, seeing the condition his teammate was in.
Kakashi never imagined there could be so much blood. Pooling and flowing from him like a stuck pig, even the silver haired boy's keen eye couldn't count how many lacerations his teammate had. Worse still were the scorched parts of his body, mostly in his back. Kakashi would've laughed about how the back half of his head didn't have any hair if he didn't witness this in horror. By some miracle, likely Obito's devil's luck, his front half was largely unscathed. Only a couple scratches around his eyes being the most of the damage there.
"J-Just a flesh wound…" Obito weakly said, his vision going already.
'Don't try to talk, Obito! I'll get you to the Medical Unit!" Kakashi told his teammate, trying to hold back a panic attack.
"I can get there…" Obito answered.
"No, you can't! Not like this! Now shut up and save your strength!" Kakashi replied, getting up and moving to grab Obito.
Throwing him over his shoulders in a fireman's carry, he rushed across the pox marked battlefield. The roar of explosions and the cries of dead and dying filled the air. All of that he had to forcibly ignore, even as it echoed in his mind. Finally rushing into the tent, Kakashi barely was able to stand due to exhaustion and his own blood loss. The blood-soaked sight of the young man shocked Tsunade, who was finishing up sowing together the wounds on an Anbu.
Digging deep into her willpower, she began to work on Obito. Despite him squirming due to the pain, she made good progress befitting a queen of medicine she was. Shizune ran about like a honeybee, fetching whatever Tsunade needed on the fly. Kakashi stood in visible amazement at just how efficient she was. However, all of this came to a stop when Tsunade noticed Kakashi's eye.
"You can't go back out onto the battle with a wound to your eye like that, young man." Tsunade sternly said as she finished up with Obito, putting an arm of his into a splint.
Kakashi looked disappointed at that until he heard someone weakly speak up. "Maybe… he can…" Obito's voice replied to Tsunade's words.
"Can what?" she asked curiously, humoring him, as she was amazed he even had the energy to speak.
Obito slowly tried to sit up, which was quickly stopped by Tsunade. Kakashi, however, beat her to the punch by verbally reprimanding him for it. "Obito, save your strength! You're still badly hurt!" The silver haired dog summoner told his teammate.
"Is that… any way… to talk to someone… who's about to… do you a favor…? Stupid Kakashi…" Obito weakly slurred out, trying his hardest to stay conscious.
"What are you…? No. NO. I can't accept that, Obito." Kakashi adamantly spouted.
"What are you two brats blithering on about?" Tsunade asked, quite annoyed.
"Ts… Tsunade-sama… c… can you… transfer one of… my Sharingan… to Kakashi…" Obito told her as best he could.
"I can. However, only with your partner's consent to receive it." Tsunade said bluntly, looking now at Kakashi.
"I cannot accept that, Obito. You looked forward to getting your Sharingan so much. For me to take it from you like that… after all you did to get it… after you saved my life…. I can't take that. I'm not worthy of such an honor, not with the taint that covers my honor and standing as a shinobi." Kakashi said, the first time Obito ever heard so much sorrow, indeed tragedy, in his teammate's normally monotone voice.
"St… Stupid Kakashi…! You… you are worthy…! You're a… a great ninja…one of the best… I've ever met…! It's why I've… I've always… considered you my… my rival… and my friend…!" Obito fired back as fiercely and passionately as he could in his state.
"... On the condition that you don't fight anymore this day and live, damn it." Kakashi sternly growled, some part of that getting to him, though Obito had no clue on what part did it.
Obito nodded. "O… Only as long… as you kick… enough rock-brained ass… for me and Rin too… and come back alive…" the young Uchiha told his friend with a small smile.
"If it means your stubborn ass will do what the doctor orders, then fine. Let's get this over with." Kakashi said as he walked over.
"I don't have the resources to put you under for this, so fair warning to both of you, this is going to be the worst pain of your lives." Tsunade said as she put on a new pair of gloves.
"If it means repaying the kindness and trust of a friend, I'll endure any pain I have to." Kakashi said defiantly.
'Famous last words, kid.' Tsunade thought to herself as she got some less than wholesome looking tools from a toolkit Shizune brought.
If one were to ask Kakashi and Obito after that day, would they have in hindsight done that operation and why, the pain would make them reconsider. Kakashi, after hours on the table, staggered to his feet as the left half of his head throbbed in unholy pain. Taking off the bandages only made the pain worse. His now scarred left eye has streams of tears coming down it. Whether from the pain or his responsibility to Obito he did not know.
He turned to address his friend, but Obito, likely due to the pain of the operation and his lack of energy, was barely conscious. He slightly turned his head and barely uttered a brief phrase to him.
"K… Kick some ass… Kakashi…" Obito weakly told the son of the White Fang.
"On it, Obito." he muttered, turning to head out as Obito finally passed out with a smile on his face.
"Be careful, kid." Tsunade said to him.
"Of course, Tsunade-sama. I have a promise to keep to a friend. Thank you for your diligence and for saving my teammates." Kakashi said, bowing his head.
"I've lost too many people I cared about in my life. If it means I can prevent that pain for others… then that's enough to drag me back to the frontline…" Tsuande said, having a hard time saying that, before having to rush off to other patients.
Kakashi briefly looked at his teammates and friends. "I'm heading out, you two. Be here when I get back." Kakashi whispered to a sleeping Rin and Obito, before finally heading out of the tent slowly.
Coming out into the dim light of the day, Kakashi looked up at the sky. It was black with smoke, and it was difficult to see the sunlight, but the sky was still visible. This wasn't Hell or anything like it. And Kakashi had no intention of going there without keeping his promise.
Opening his left eye, Kakashi's vision became sharper than ever as everything came into clearer view than he'd ever had for him on his left side. Tears still streaming down the left side of his face, Kakashi's new Sharingan… a gift from his friend Uchiha Obito… a symbol of the promise he'd made to him… came into view and glanced out over the encampment before him. Drawing his father's White Light Chakra Sabre again, Hatake Kakashi headed back out into the fray as fast as he could.
Charging back into the enemy lines with his new Sharingan ablaze, Kakashi made one handed hand seals to activate his Chidori again. Closing his right eye, Kakashi took off in a flash as he zipped around the battlefield. Running through and cutting down enemies one by one, the young Chūnin sped through the battlefield like a bolt of lightning. Slash, stab, pierce, rinse and repeat.
Kakashi continued this as he cut down enemy after enemy, determined to pull enough weight to make up for his friends not being out there with him because of their injuries. To make sure that Obito's faith in him wasn't misplaced. Trying to keep track of the number of enemies he cut down was a lost cause in his condition.
Coming upon an enemy Chūnin, Kakashi glared at the older shinobi with his Sharingan eye full of determination. Rushing at his foe, the young scarecrow ninja was determined to cut him down quickly. Faster than the Stone Chūnin could react, Kakashi leaped into him and ran his heart through with a handful of lightning while his guard was down, killing him instantly. Rounding on an enemy jōnin, Kakashi took off running. The Jōnin was obviously the field commander here. If he could take him out, he could demoralize the enemy and make things easier for the others while still keeping his promise.
However, Kakashi misjudged his opponent this time. With speed surpassing his own, the Iwagakure Jōnin turned to face him. Drawing two kunai, the Jōnin blocked Kakashi's blade before attempting to stab him faster than he could run him through with his Chidori. As the two got in close, Kakashi found himself pulled back as a tri-bladed kunai knife was thrown into the eye of the enemy Jōnin, piercing straight through to his brain and killing him instantly.
"M-Minato sensei, I was…" Kakashi tried to say, but words escaped him.
"You don't have to say anything, Kakashi. From seeing one of Obito's Sharingan replacing your injured eye, I can guess what happened. He asked you to accept it and get back out here for them, didn't he?" Minato replied solemnly, knowing his Uchiha student quite well despite their limited amount of time together.
"Y-Yes…" Kakashi said, shame in his voice for his failings.
However, Kakashi was shocked to feel a gentle hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he looked into his sensei's eyes to see a kind, gentle, and caring look in them. A look of understanding on the blonde Jōnin's face.
"You've more than done your part, Kakashi. Obito and Rin will be proud." The Yellow Flash told his student.
"I can still fight…" Kakashi tried to insist.
"Will you be able to keep your promise to Obito if you exhaust yourself out here and die?" Minato asked the silver haired boy sternly, causing the young Hatake to flinch.
"Can you at least tell them later I didn't fail?" Kakashi asked.
Minato gave his young scarecrow student a smile. "Of course I will, Kakashi. Now fall back and protect the medical unit for now while I trim the enemy's numbers." He ordered.
"Yes, sir!" Kakashi yelled with a salute, before rushing for the rear.
The Yellow Flash gave a proud smile at his silver-haired disciple as he retreated. "Looks like you got through to him, Obito…" He muttered before beginning to draw as many of his tri-bladed kunai as he could hold.
Glancing coldly at the enemy, Minato steeled himself for what he had to do. He couldn't falter here, not when his students had been out here giving their all. As their sensei, they had inherited this from him.
Throwing his kunai, Minato began teleporting around the battlefield in flashes of golden yellow. Catching kunai, he teleported to and cut down enemies before teleporting to the next enemy and cutting them down as well. He continued this for longer than he could count, carving a path through the enemy to open up a way forward for his allies. He had to clear the way for them.
Creating a spiraling sphere of chakra that looked like a small, basketball sized typhoon, Minato hit an enemy with the attack. Unleashing the jutsu, the resulting explosion sent the opposing Jōnin flying into a group of his kin before the jutsu detonated like a bomb. Teleporting away, Minato slashed open the neck of another enemy before stabbing one through the eye, piercing his brain. Teleporting around the battlefield like a flash of lightning, Namikaze Minato continued his advance.
Stabbing and slashing his way through foe after foe, the Yellow Flash of the Hidden Leaf Village carved a bloody path through the enemy. Finally, after much longer than he'd care to think about, he hit an obstacle he couldn't bring down alone. That obstacle being a fortress carved into a mountain. Preparing to create the biggest Rasengan he could, Minato was interrupted by a voice ringing out from behind him as an enemy Jōnin attempted to attack him from behind.
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!!!!" Came a mighty, passionate call from the rear as the enemy Jōnin was sent flying by a green colored blur.
Turning to look at his mysterious savior, Minato was surprised by who he saw. "D… Duy-san!? You're a Genin! What are you doing here?" The Yellow Flash asked the Eternal Genin standing before him.
"You allow your team onto the frontline as mostly Genin, and that fact is somehow being used to preclude my involvement in the greatest battle of our lifetime!? I think not, Minato-san! Rest assured, for these fortresses may stand and endure through the sturdiness of unyielding stone! Yet they shall crumble to dust under the unyielding power of my UNENDING YOUTH!!!!" Might Duy, the Eternal Genin of the Hidden Leaf Village, overzealously called out before giving a thumbs up and a smile to the Jōnin.
"Um… right, Duy-san. I'll support you while you clear a path. Just don't overdo it and hurt yourself to the point where you can't come home to your son." Minato responded, unsure of how to deal with the… enthusiastically youthful man.
"Gai? That is a fantastic idea, Minato-san! I think that keystone over there will be an excellent souvenir to send home to him! Which would be faster, land or air?" Duy asked.
"Um… please don't destroy part of the village. Send it by land." Minato replied with a sweat drop.
"Fair enough, Minato-san! I shall forgo my training weights to replace it with that fine piece of masonry for the return journey! Seventh Gate of Wonder! OPEN!" Duy roared as a rush of energy flowed out of him as a blue aura replaced his green one.
"Hiruzen-sama is gonna kill me for this, isn't he…?" Minato muttered.
"Cover my youthful flanks and rear, Minato-san! We must clear this rocky virgin ground for our comrades to surge forth and breathe life into this harsh land!!" Duy roared and surged forward towards the pass.
Minato sighed with a smile. "I still don't know how to talk to that man…" He replied before teleporting off after Dai.
As a blue and green blur, Might Duy rushed his way through the enemy's ranks like a bull in a China shop. His every blow caved in an enemy's chest or head, some even reducing his unfaithful foes to paste. However, he did not stop. He continued moving forward, leaving a trail of youthful carnage in his wake as Minato covered him from any enemies who tried to surprise attack the Eternal Genin. Pressing on, they continued to go on the attack.
Eventually, they managed to reach the gate before them. It was a massive, towering structure, easily many times the size of either of them. Just from looking at it, the imposing structure would not be easy to break through.
"Any ideas on how to get through this gate, Duy-san?" Minato calmly asked his temporary subordinate.
"I have one, Minato-san! However, my entire body shall be drained to the point of complete paralyzation! Stand back for fear of falling youthful rubble!" Duy yelled to his Jōnin superior.
Nodding, Minato teleported back a good distance. Knowing Duy from his brief interactions with him and his son, this would not be a subtle jutsu. And it would likely have a lot of collateral damage.
Placing a palm facing forward in front of his face with one hand and tapping it with the other hand, Duy formed a fist, which created a massive amount of air pressure. Forming a unique hand seal resembling a tiger, Duy prepared to unleash his jutsu.
"ROAR, MY YOUTH!! DAYTIME TIGER!!!!" Duy roared out as he launched the air pressure at the gate, the blast of air taking the shape of the impression of a roaring tiger head.
The tiger-shaped blast of air shot forward at the gate, shrinking in size as it got closer at the speed of a supersonic cannonball. Finally, the jutsu connected with the gate and all hell broke loose. With a massive explosion of air pressure and an incredible, roaring shock, the ball of air exploded. The destruction it unleashed destroyed not just the gate, but the entire mountain and part of the next mountain behind it as Minato looked on in shock.
"He's been sitting on that for how long? Who the hell is evaluating the Chūnin Exams? They are clearly blind as a shrine bat, and likely just as deaf. This man should be competing for Anbu captain by this point…" Minato said in amazement, before snapping himself into reality, and teleporting over to pick him up.
"Gate… breached… Minato-san…!" Duy weakly, yet still overzealously cheered, giving his signature "nice guy" thumbs up from flat on his back on the ground as he panted heavily.
Far from the point of contact with the enemy, Konoha had set up their forward command post. Even as pebbles landed amongst the high-ranking shinobi's feet, one looked over the scene with a cool stoicness matched only by the stone around him. From his tent came the Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, the God of Shinobi now making his presence known on this field of battle.
"It appears Duy has finally unleashed his new technique he came up with alongside his son. What do you think of it, Jiraya?" Hiruzen asked.
"Well, it's definitely flashy. And it got the job done." Jiraiya replied with an amused grin.
"Thank you again for joining me. I hope you don't mind being pulled off your spymaster duties." Hiruzen said, still looking across the battlefield, not turning to look at Jiraiya.
"I'm more than happy to help, Sarutobi sensei. From the looks of things, we need all hands-on deck for this one. Right, Orochimaru?" Jiraiya replied, looking at his friend.
"Indeed. These fortresses have proven nigh unbreakable. Both toad and snake summons have proven ineffective on the other two passes. However, my sentry snakes noticed forces mustering for a counterattack on our flanks, and the defenders reorganizing deeper in the pass. We have to exploit this breakthrough now, Sarutobi sensei." Orochimaru explained.
"Orochimaru, organize the flanks and hold those flanking forces down. Make sure they don't make any progress. You have my permission to cut loose." Hiruzen grimly ordered.
"At once, sensei." Orochimaru said with delight, using his snake-like tongue to lick his lips in anticipation before disappearing to perform the ghoulish task.
"Well, Orochimaru has his job. What's my role, sensei?" Jiraiya asked his teacher.
"We need an exploitation force. Clear that pass, Jiraiya. Don't hold back." Hiruzen grimly ordered.
Jiraiya smirked at that. "It seems as though the mighty Toad Sage, the one and only Jiraiya-sama, must finally enter the fray." He mirthfully replied.
"Don't bring a mountain down on yourself this time. I'm too old to be digging you out anymore." Hiruzen warned.
The white-haired Toad Sage waved off his sensei's warning. "I got it, Sarutobi sensei. Don't worry so much or you'll get wrinkles." Jiraiya replied before taking off to head into the fray.
Charging headfirst into the mountain pass, Jiraiya drew a kunai as he began cutting down Chūnin and Jōnin alike. Dodging a slash from a blade, the Toad Sage lashed out with his wooden geta covered foot, kicking the enemy Chūnin in the chest hard enough to cave their chest in and send them flying back into a group of other Chūnin. Using a kunai to block a slash with a sword from a Jōnin, the perverted hermit kicked the Jōnin in the groin hard enough to shatter his pelvis and send him flying through the air. Slashing a Chūnin's throat, the mighty Toad Sage saw a group of Jōnin coming with blades and kunai as he began to make a set of hand seals.
"Needle Jizō!" Jiraiya called out as he activated his jutsu.
Using chakra to harden his hair and shape it into spikes as it wrapped around him like armor, Jiraiya used his hardened hair to block the attacks from the weapons. Following this, he impaled his foes with spikes of sharpened hair. Channeling his chakra more, Jiraiya smirked as he activated another jutsu.
"Needle Hell!" Jiraiya called out as he began launching a barrage of hardened hair needles in all directions at his foes.
The force of the fired hair needles pierced deep into nearby stone and impaled enemy shinobi in all directions while launching the already impaled enemy ninja into walls. Deactivating his Needle Jizō, Jiraiya's hair returned to its normal length and strength as he looked around at the crowd of enemies. Confident he'd left no survivors; he nodded in approval.
"Not the flashiest finish, but it'll do nicely." The Toad Sage commented with a grin as he continued on his way.
Heading deeper into the mountain pass, Jiraiya used his kunai and Taijutsu to carve a path through the enemy. Deflecting and countering blows, slitting throats, breaking bones, cracking skulls as he went, Jiraiya continued his path through the enemy in an attempt to clear the way for the rest of the Hidden Leaf's army. Coming across another group of Chūnin and Jōnin, the perverted hermit made a single hand seal.
"Wild Lion's Mane Jutsu!" Jiraiya called out as he activated his next jutsu.
Temporarily enhancing his head's metabolism via chakra, Jiraiya used his chakra to manipulate, harden, and lengthen his hair. Wrapping it around the group of approaching enemies like steel wire, Jiraiya saw the fear in their eyes. Knowing what he had to do, Jiraiya closed his eyes as he manipulated his now steel wire hard hair and tore it into the group of enemies, slicing them all into pieces. Retracting his hair, Jiraiya looked at it, now covered in enemy blood that would take a lot of time and effort to wash out. Sighing at what he had to do, not just to himself, but to the enemy for the sake of his village winning this war, the mighty Toad Sage continued his advance.
As Jiraiya continued his advance, he found his path ahead stopped by a thick wall of stone, obviously artificial in nature from an enemy jutsu. Putting his hand out, Jiraiya began manipulating his chakra to form a truly large, rotating orb of chakra above his hand.
"Big Ball Rasengan!" Jiraiya called out as he rushed forward, ramming the sphere of pure, condensed chakra into the wall of chakra-hardened rock.
As soon as it made contact, the large chakra sphere ground its way into the wall before exploding, blocking it to pieces and causing anything behind it to be crushed or impaled by flying bits of stone debris. Looking up, Jiraiya was only mildly surprised to see what greeted him. A large group of animal masked, armored shinobi with blades on their backs had surrounded him on all sides.
"Anbu, huh? Looks like Old Man Ōnoki's finally taking us seriously." Jiraiya commented with amusement.
"You shall go no further, Toad Sage! Not while the blood of stone runs through our veins!" The Anbu captain roared in defiance.
Jiraiya raised a single eyebrow at that. "You do remember that I was trained by the Sandaime Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, right? That my teammates and I faced the Hidden Rain's great Hanzō of the Salamander in combat and lived to tell the tale? What hope could a group of Anbu have against me?" The perverted hermit asked, hoping that these fine young shinobi would surrender peacefully so that things wouldn't have to get any bloodier than they already had.
"We fight for our homes, our village, and those that live in it. That is the sole hope we need." He answered simply, despite knowing the odds against them.
They swore to protect their village and its inhabitants. They were to pay with their lives dearly in the name of that goal.
"So, this is the Will of Stone in action, huh? Very well, I accept your challenge, kids. But I won't go easy on you." Jiraiya warned them.
"Challenge us as you wish. But it will not avail you." The Anbu captain answered grimly, drawing their sword from its scabbard.
Kunai in hand, Jiraiya rushed in as the Anbu charged at him. Blocking and dodging slashes from blades, Jiraiya began what could best be described as a one-sided massacre. His every blow, every slash brought down his foes. However, no matter how many he cut down, more took their places. Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere, the mighty Toad Sage decided to try a new tactic. Converting his chakra into an extremely thick oil in his mouth, Jiraiya unleashed another jutsu.
'Toad Oil Bullet!' Jiraiya thought as he spat out a barrage of bullets made of oil while spinning around him.
The perverted hermit's technique covered the enemy Anbu in the thick oil and stopped them in place. Making hand seals, Jiraiya gathered oil in his mouth created by chakra as he prepared his next jutsu.
'Fire Release: Flame Bullet!' Jiraiya thought out as he spit out and ignited the oil in one moment.
The oil created flames washed over the group of Anbu as they were covered in flames that soon exploded, screaming in agony as they were roasted alive. Closing his eyes, Jiraiya sighed and did a small mental prayer for his enemies. However, as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw himself surrounded once again by more Anbu, this time with multiple Anbu captains present.
'This isn't gonna be as easy as I thought…' The Toad Sage thought as he saw the Anbu captains all going through hand seals.
"SUMMONING JUTSU!" They all called out as they slammed their palms on the ground, massive, billowing puffs of smoke being unleashed as they brought forth massive summoning creatures.
From great pillars of smoke came forth three equally, or greater, creatures of titanic size. One was a great red monitor lizard, which proceeded to flick its tongue into the air. Another was a massive bear with bluish black fur and a scar over one eye. Finally standing firm in the middle was a titanic white wolf, which proceeded to snarl at Jiraya. Seeing their plan, the perverted hermit decided to proverbially fight fire with fire as he went through hand seals of his own.
"SUMMONING JUTSU!" The mighty Toad Sage called out as he slammed both of his hands on the ground, causing three great pillars of smoke of his own to explode beneath him.
From behind him came a more uniform cadre of summons. That of the more amphibian kind. Three titanic toads, two in a red, one in rusty red while the other more magenta, and one in a mix of light and darker blues. The middle one, the shortest, yet widest and with great scars finally spoke up as he gripped his sword at one side.
"Why have you summoned us, Jiraya? You interrupted my nap." Gamabunta grumbled, puffing on his pipe.
"Bunta, Gamaken-san, Gamahiro. I'll be needing your help here. Can I count on you three?" Jiraiya asked.
"I'm pretty ungraceful and weak, but I will do my best." Gamaken modestly replied, drawing his sakazuki cup-shaped shield and his sasumata.
"For the glory of the great toad ancestors, we shall drive these mongrel carnivores to their bloodlines' doom!" Gamahiro boomed in a deep, guttural tone as he gripped his pillar-like swords.
"Save your breath, Hiro. Don't waste so much energy for the henchmen." Gamabunta sighed, "And quit with the pessimism, Ken. Don't make me get the stick."
Jiraiya smiled at this. "Thanks, you three. I'm glad I can count on you. Can you keep them busy while I get ready to summon the boss and his wife?" The perverted hermit requested.
"I shall do my best, as ungraceful as I am." Gamaken replied as he readied his weapons.
"Cease Mongrels, or your deaths will be legendary!!!" Gamahiro roared, pointing his swords at them.
"I really need to adjust the contract one of these days…" Gamabunta grumbled as he gripped his massive tanto, preparing for battle.
With that, Jiraiya began to prepare his summoning. Reaching into his robes, he applies red face paint from the corner of his inner eye down in a half circle to his face markings, creating almost a second set of eyes. After a quick set of hand signs, he clasped his hands together in a bowing posture before assuming a wide squat. Closing his eyes, his hands slowly glowed with white energy.
As Jiraiya was preparing his summoning, the two mammalian predators roared, and the monitor lizard hissed as the three charged in. At the same time, the three massive toads roared as they charged in themselves in an attempt to protect their summoner. The ground trembled as the two sides' thunderous steps and leaps made their way through the mountain pass towards each other, rocks and boulders being shaken loose and sending avalanches crashing down the mountains.
Gamaken, being the fastest of the three toads, met his foe first, the enemy's massive wolf summon. As it attempted to bite down on him, he rammed into it with his sakazuki cup shaped shield, attempting to push it back. As it tried to push against him and lash out at him with its claws, Gamaken swung his sasumata to knock it back. Striking his foe with thrusts and swings from his sasumata, the "ungraceful" toad summon leaped over a bite from his foe before coming crashing down on them, making the wolf yelp in pain. Spinning his sasumata in hand to grip it with the forked end facing downward, he thrust it down towards his opponent in an attempt to pin the wolf in place by its neck.
Growling in rage, the wolf tried to roll over to throw Gamaken off, kicking and trying to scratch at him with its claws. In response, Gamaken used his shield to block the claw swipes while using his sasumata to keep his enemy pinned down, pushing it further down into his foe's neck in an attempt to suffocate them. Try as it might, the wolf could not easily escape such a position.
Meanwhile, Gamahiro slashed and thrust with his blades as he tried to hit the monitor lizard hissed in a challenge to the massive toad. Lashing out with its tail, the monitor lizard's blow was blocked by the flat of one of Gamahiro's blades. Slashing with the other, the warrior yakuza toad tried to slice off the predatory reptile's tail only for it to pull it back and leap at him in an attempt to bite him. Stabbing his blades into the ground, Gamahiro unleashed a series of hand chop attacks into the reptilian predator to stagger it before kicking it back. Pulling his blades back free, he slashed it in the chest to force it further back, drawing blood from his foe. Leaping up and forward, Gamahiro pinned the massive lizard down beneath his weight before putting his blades at its neck, as if threatening it to move so that he had an excuse to cut its head off.
Meanwhile, Gamabunta came flying in from his leap while drawing his sword back for a slash. The bear, surprised by the amphibian's speed, barely had time to react as Gamabunta slashed upwards while putting the force of his leap into his swing.
"TOAD SWORD BEHEADING!" Gamabunta called out, swinging upwards to slash the bear as it tried to swipe down at him with its claws.
The slash attack from the massive Toad Boss summon cut into the bear's torso as the bear roared in pain while reeling back, the claws of its paw just barely missing Gamabunta's face. Bringing his sword back down, Gamabunta tried to bring down the bear summon quickly with one blow. However, the bear rolled aside and slashed at Gamabunta with its claws, forcing him to block with the flat of his sword. Making a one-handed hand seal, Gamabunta molded chakra in his mouth as he prepared to unleash another jutsu.
"Water Release: Gunshot!" Gamabunta thought before spitting out a barrage of three orbs of water.
The three orbs collided with the bear's torso, making it roar in pain as it was pushed back. Stunned, the bear barely had time to block a slash from Gamabunta with its arms, pinning it in place. With their enemies pinned in place, Gamabunta turned to look at his summoner and old friend.
"Now's your chance, Jiraiya! Hurry it up!" The Toad Boss called out.
"Almost there, Bunta…!" Jiraiya called out as he began glowing with a white light.
However, as Jiraiya was preparing his summoning, the monitor lizard cracked its tail like a whip as thick as a building to knock Gamahiro off of it. Hissing in rage, it took off at Jiraiya as the white light grew in size and brightness. Noticing this, Gamahiro tried to warn his summoner.
"HARK, YOUNG TADPOLE!! BEHIND YOU!!" Gamahiro croaked out in an ever so hint of panic.
"JIRAIYA! LOOK OUT, YOU BUFFOON!" Gamabunta called out to his friend.
The monitor lizard soon made it to Jiraiya and tried to swing its tail at him to crush him. However, before its tail could make contact, something stopped it. Something small, but unbelievably strong. Soon, a massive Flame Bomb jutsu collided with the chest of the reptilian predator before exploding. The blast knocked it back as smoke and dust obscured the Toad Sage.
"Honestly, lad! What do you think yer doin' summonin' us in a place like this?" An old female voice croaked out from the dust and smoke.
"Easy, Ma. I'm sure he has his reasons. Though ye do tend to summon us into quite sticky situations, Jiraiya-chan." A male elderly voice replied back.
"I do apologize, but I am going to need honored Sage Mode to breach this pass for the rest of Konoha's army to get through. Sensei has tasked me with a very important role in this battle, and you know how the old man is about people letting him down." Jiraiya explained apologetically.
As the dust and smoke slowly cleared, three pairs of glowing eyes began to come into view as the male voice sighed. "Fair enough, Jiraiya-chan. I had a feelin' ye wouldn't summon us for that if it wasn't important." The elderly male voice croaked in reply.
"Ye owe us fer this one, lad. I expect ye to come over to our place tonight after the battle fer dinner and a visit. It's been far too long since we all spent time together without it bein' for a battle." The female elderly voice replied.
"Thank you two so much. I owe you one. Now then, how about we clean up the place?" Jiraiya asked.
Fused to his shoulders were two short elderly toads, each going only up to the man's ears. One was to the human eye clearly more masculine, with pea soup green skin, a white tuft of hair on both his head and chin, and dark black eyeshadows around his large orange eyes. The other was clearly more feminine, with purple poofy hair, large purple-colored lips, and a far lighter shade of green with her skin.
Jiraiya himself, on the other hand, looked quite different. His appearance had taken on much more toad-like features. His nose had grown bigger and warted, his teeth had grown sharp, he had grown a goatee, and he had acquired toad-like eyes. His hands had also become more toad-like and webbed in appearance along with his feet and his posture was more slumped like a toad's as well. His markings had also seemingly spread across his face.
"How do I keep getting into situations where I have to use this? I swear, this is gonna kill me one of these days…" Jiraiya muttered to himself.
"Ye really need to make time to come back to Mount Myōboku and train to perfect yer Sage Mode, Jiraiya-chan. Maybe then ye won't need to be so reluctant to use it." The green male toad, the head of the toads Fukasaku, told his student.
"Pa has a point, lad. Ye really should make time fer it one a' these days." The female toad, the Mother of the Toad Way Shima, replied while agreeing with her husband.
"Can we save the 'Kick the Toad Sage's Balls' contest until after certain death has been avoided, please?" Jiraiya pleaded exasperated at the two near mummified elders.
"Fair enough, lad. Are ye ready, Pa?" Shima asked her husband.
"Always ready, Ma!" Fukasaku replied back as the three Sages prepared for battle.
"Why does he look different now?" One Anbu asked.
"I don't know, those fire shinobi love their costume changes. How they fight wars, I'll never…" Another Anbu said before being cut off by a massive gout of burning oil.
"SAGE ART: GOEMON!" Jiraiya called out as he unleashed a volume wave of boiling oil, propelled by a Wind Release jutsu from Fukasaku and heated by a Fire Release jutsu from Shima.
As the massive wave of oil washed over them, the Anbu had to leap to avoid being boiled alive. Some of them managed to evade it and clung to the sides of the mountain pass via chakra control on their feet. Others were… not so lucky. The screams of those boiled alive by the makeshift bath of boiling oil would haunt any who survived the battle for years to come.
Looking at the transformed Toad Sage, the Anbu drew their blades and prepared for battle. Signaling, the Anbu Captain who summoned it motioned towards his monitor lizard summon. Hissing in fury as it recovered, the reptilian predator charged in at the Toad Sage, wading through the boiling oil bath even as it hissed in pain. In an instant, the mighty Sage created a spiraling sphere of chakra that quickly grew to gigantic proportions.
"Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan!" Jiraiya called out as he unleashed the jutsu, slamming it right into the reptilian summon.
Hissing in agony, the monitor lizard could only take the attack head on. Soon, the jutsu launched the reptile backwards as it propelled it. Nearby Anbu had to leap out of the way to avoid being swept up by the wind currents of the massive jutsu of pure chakra. Some were not so lucky and were sent flying by the force of it. Soon, the reptilian summon slammed into a mountain as the massive ball of spiraling chakra exploded on impact, carving away and destroying the mountain on impact. Chunks of rock and stone shrapnel were sent flying in all directions from the explosion as the shockwave forced some of the surviving Anbu to take cover as they looked on in disbelief.
"Point Iron to command, line two has been breached! Repeat, Line two has been breached! Sannin sighting confirmed!" One Anbu yelled into his comms as his teammates fell back to further positions.
"Don't leave yet kiddies! I went to the trouble of going into Sage Mode for you! The least you could do is stick around to see what it can do!" Jiraiya called out before dropping to all fours and leaping forward at high speed.
Faster than any of the Anbu yelling into the comms could react, the mighty Toad Sage was right in front of him. Grabbing him by the face, Jiraiya quickly slammed him into the ground, killing him instantly.
"Least you people can do is get my good side." Jiraiya said as he noticed a cascade effect across the mountain line as the enemy shinobi fell back.
Charging in after them, Jiraiya began to cut his way through his enemies. Throwing punches and kicks, Jiraiya's blows instantly killed any enemy shinobi they hit. Some were punched clean through by his blows, some were turned into a fine red mist. Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere fast, Jiraiya filled his mouth cavity with oil created with Senjutsu chakra and expelled it while also igniting it.
'Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet!' Jiraiya mentally called out as he unleashed a massive ball of fire that went after his foes.
The bullet of fire cut a path through his enemies as it traveled quite a distance. Soon, it collided with something and exploded on contact. Making his way deeper into the mountain pass, Jiraiya continued his path of destruction through the enemy. Finally, he reached a spot that made him look out at what was before him.
Looking out onto the plateau below was the target they had fought so long and hard to reach, the Village Hidden in the Stone. Seeing it before him, Jiraiya would have personally named it the Village Built into the Stone. Its towering walls, somehow taller, thicker, and immensely well-crafted even dwarfed that of Konoha's. They made him even as he and his toad companions looked upon it feel… so small.
Before that, however, it was a whole new problem. The Stone shinobi had used the time up to this point in the war well and had turned the remaining ground on the plateau into several rings of fortifications from which the defenders could blunt their attacks. Trenches, traps, strongpoint towers, even pre-prepared sites for summon rituals. Around him he saw the shinobi from the various other parts of the battle swarm into these defenses. The village of the stone was about to squeeze every drop of blood they could from Konoha and sell their lives dearly for their homes. It forced a knot in his stomach to form, as he wasn't so heartless to see the tragedy that had unfolded to reach this point.
"Great. Now how do we get through this one?" Jiraiya asked no one in particular.
"It's quite unbecoming of you to be so uncreative, Jiraiya." An eerily familiar elderly voice said from behind him.
Jiraiya looked behind him and smiled to see his sensei coming up behind him on the path he opened up. "Hello, Sarutobi sensei. Glad you made it. How are Bunta and the others holding up back there?" The Toad Sage asked, a bit worried about his summoned partners.
"They're managing, though with the Stone falling back to this new line, no doubt new summons will be sicked on them now that they're isolated. Our own forces have been quite battered. If we can't use what little momentum we have left, this battle will be over, and I fear the war." Hiruzen said, stepping out in front of Jiraiya onto a ledge.
"You got a plan, sensei?" Jiraiya asked, already having an idea of what the old man was thinking.
"Cover the rear, Jiraiya. I'll take point. I started this damn war, and I'm going to end it." Hiruzen ominously said, as he prepared to jump off the ledge.
Nodding, Jiraiya prepared for battle. "Got it, sensei. Boss, Ma. You ready?" The Toad Sage replied.
"As we'll ever be, lad." Shima replied.
"We'll need to try to be more careful with this one." Fukasaku commented as the three Sages prepared to follow Hiruzen into the fray as Hiruzen bit his thumb and prepared to summon.
"Summoning Jutsu! Monkey King: Enma!" The Sandaime Hokage called out as he slammed his palm on the ground, a billowing cloud of smoke erupting from the spot.
Erupting from the smoke stood a tall humanoid that from a distance could be mistaken for a shinobi with a tiger fur shirt over his uniform. It didn't take much of a closer look to reveal it was instead a towering monkey in that uniform, with short brown fur, long white hair like Jiraiya's, long nails, and a squat flattened face with large white sideburns and a goatee. It then turned to look at Hiruzen.
"It's been a while, Sarutobi. I take it you summoned me so that we can finally put an end to this war?" Enma, the Monkey King, asked his old friend.
"I wish it didn't come to this old friend, but it has. We need to break through that gate and clear a path for our forces when they move closer to the front. If I can have the honor of having you by my side." Hiruzen explained solemnly, the weight of this eternal tragedy born laid bare onto his aging frame.
"Always, Sarutobi. Though we may not agree with anything, I'm glad to fight by your side." Enma replied respectfully as he began molding chakra.
"Transformation: Adamantine Staff!" Enma called out as, in a puff of smoke, he turned into his staff form and flew into Hiruzen's extended hand.
"As the gods in the heavens as my witness, give me the strength to purge my greatest sin from this earth." Hiruzen said to himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, before jumping into the heart of battle with Jiraiya right behind him.
As the two Kage level shinobi crashed down into the fray, the ground cracked and broke beneath them. Immediately, like bullets shot from a gun, the two charged headfirst into the fray with Hirzuen taking the lead.
To Be Continued...