Hard Love part two

Part two is here now. Let's have look at what Sasuke's adoring older brother is up to.

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Itachi raced towards where he and Kisame were to meet up to ambush Roshi, already hearing the sound of combat.

'Damnit.' Itachi cursed himself for making a detour instead of going straight to Kisame.

He had made a Kage bunshin and had the Ichibi Jinchuriki dragged to an area in the event that Roshi were captured, just to make sure the Akatsuki was delayed in capturing tailed beasts if one was killed.

He prayed that he could find a way to 'accidentally' kill Roshi. He'd rather not kill a boy Sasuke's age, but he would if he had to.

Reaching the area where the flashes of chakra could be seen by his Sharingan and his ears could pick up the sounds, Itachi sped forward to get to Kisame, the man launching a flurry of shark shaped water projectiles at Roshi.

The Jinchuriki avoided them without much issue and his eyes focused on the newest arrival, glancing between the two.

"I don't know what you fools want with me, but I've fought and survived things much scarier than you." The red haired man said, his chakra flaring.

Glancing across the landscape, Itachi saw that there was already a great deal of standing water, already ankle deep, that looked different to his Sharingan compared to normal water, meaning it was water from Kisame's Jutsu so far. There was also blackened slabs and chunks of rock spread across the area, looking like cooled volcanic rock.

'The fight must have been prolonged to a degree. Impressive for someone to fight Kisame with no knowledge on his abilities.'

Itachi, without taking his eyes off Roshi, spoke to Kisame.

"What is his fighting style?"

"Lava release, just like we thought." Kisame grunted, his sleeve singed and Samehada balanced on his shoulder. "He can hardly touch me, but he didn't reach this age without knowing some things."

"Know things?" Roshi laughed, his hands up and ready to fight, "I fought against the Uzukage in his own stomping grounds and still survived. You might have killed a Daimyo, Hoshigaki, and you might have killed your clan in the dead of night, Uchiha," Roshi spat the two statements, "but I fought a monster and fought my way through corpses to kill the Uzumaki. Two S-ranks are nothing compared to what I lived through."

'So it does seem that Roshi knows about Kisame and me to a degree. But we must make this quick.'

"We must make this quick, Kisame," Itachi warned, "I've been discovered."

Itachi heard Kisame growl under his breath about another complication and readied his sword, pointing it at Roshi.

"Then we better hurry."

Roshi threw his hands out and gestured for them to come at him.

"Come on! Show me what you can do!"

The Jinchuriki then went through hand seals, blasting lava from his mouth at Itachi and Kisame.

Kisame responded with a water bullet, extinguishing the lava with a loud hiss and the chunks of earth fell to the ground.

Before the lava even completely struck the ground, Itachi Shunshined directly towards Roshi through the vapour screen, avoiding the steaming rock and the older man averted his eyes.

'Not a fool then.' Itachi clashed with him, sending several punches and kicks at Roshi to bring him down.

Despite being old enough to be his grandfather, Roshi was forcing Itachi to move at full speed, the man being more than capable at taijutsu.

Roshi nimbly avoided several punches and ducked under a kick, slashing a kunai at Itachi's face. The Uchiha avoided the kunai and finally managed to land a hit on the man's face after lashing out with his own kunai to twist his arm to the side and smashed his left fist forward.

Roshi's head jerked to the side and Itachi grabbed at his face to force it up to look into his eyes, prepared to use a Genjutsu.

With a growl and a flaring of his chakra, Roshi's body glowed and was completely covered in lava, a tail coming from behind him.

Grimacing, Itachi let go and Shunshined away, gritting his teeth from the burn on his hand.

"Kisame!" Itachi barked, needing a distraction to check the damage. His partner obliged and fired a water bullet in the shape of a shark from his mouth, the projectile roughly the size of a wagon.

Roshi blurred through hand seals and pressed his hands into the Earth.

Doton: Mud Wall.

A wall rose up to intercept the water jutsu, the shark exploding against the now cracked wall.

Inspecting the damage to his hand, Itachi was relieved to see that other than the normally pale skin having a shade of pink to it, there was no other damage to his nerves or muscles in his hand.

The last thing he needed was for more injuries to be accumulated. Kakashi was more dangerous than he expected, and Uzumaki was also a capable irritant to him.

Itachi saw Kisame close the distance between him and Roshi, firing another water Jutsu at the weakened wall to shatter it.

Suiton: Water Severing Wave.

The extra chakra Kisame added to it ensured the blade of water tore clean through the wall and revealed Roshi, who was standing on lava with no difficulty.

Itachi watched as Kisame leaped over the shattered wall and the lava, twirling Samehada at Roshi's head as he flipped, landing out of range of the molten rock.

The hit was diverted by a kunai Roshi pulled, but the impact still made him take a step to balance.

Focusing on the little details, Itachi surmised that Roshi was going to try and maintain a distance and try to exhaust them via Ninjutsu fights until others showed up so he could make an escape.

But Kisame was practically inexhaustible on chakra and Itachi wasn't an idiot by any means on using Ninjutsu.

'His lava cloak prevents taijutsu as a route to overwhelming him, so Genjutsu from me and Suiton jutsu from Kisame will work best.'

With that decided, Itachi waited for Kisame to extinguish the pool of lava Roshi surrounded himself with before he weaved his hands into the proper pattern for a Genjutsu.

As Roshi avoided a swing from Samehada, Itachi casted the Genjutsu.

The Iwa nin froze and Kisame managed to clip him, the lava dissipating on the left side of him as his chakra was devoured by Kisame's sword.

The Genjutsu was broken a fraction of a second later and the Jinchuriki retreated, looking between the two.

Roshi called on more of his tenants power and a chakra cloak appeared around him, two tails of chakra trailing behind him.

"Be prepared, Kisame." Itachi said, his eyes narrowed in preparation for a faster fight.

'Hopefully it won't require the use of Amaterasu or Tsukuyomi. My vision already is partially blurred.'

His eyesight wasn't terrible, far from it. But the range of his vision at extreme distances was beginning to get worse, a frightening prospect.

His illness, if it hadn't been treated, might have caused it to worsen even more, but he had thankfully been treated.

Roshi let out a growl and charged at Itachi, the grass where his feet touched igniting from the lava that wreathed his body.

Kisame intercepted and swung Samehada at Roshi, but the shorter of the two ducked and swerved out of the way, firing a ball of lava point blank at Kisame, and twisting to fire one at Itachi.

Samehada, whose bandages had started to come off, hissed as it blocked the lava, before Kisame twirled the blade in an impressive display of speed and expertise in wielding the weapon to sling the liquid rock away from him.

Itachi Shunshined put of the way of the ball of lava aimed at him as his vision picked up Kisame's movements, his hair swishing in the wind.

Or, at least, what was left of it. Half his ponytail was cut off when the first of three red haired Jinchuriki he'd had the displeasure of encountering had wrapped his fingers through it and jerked.

Only two people ever yanked his hair enough to hurt him in his life. Sasuke as an infant and Uzumaki Naruto.

Itachi focused and hit Roshi with another Genjutsu as Kisame used his off hand as a signal, taking a step back just before.

Roshi again stiffened and shattered the Genjutsu, but it left Kisame with an opening to slash at the man, a bleeding slash on his left arm now there.

The strategy was working. With Kisame running defense and close range, Itachi could focus on Genjutsu and ensuring the two could conserve chakra to make a non-stop escape soon.

But of course, nothing in his existence ever went the way he planned. He didn't expect to be the youngest ANBU captain in history, he didn't expect to watch his best friend kill himself, he didn't expect to murder his parents and hurt his brother.

And he definitely didn't expect the Raikage, his Jinchuriki brother, and Kumo's other Jinchuriki to show up.

Itachi saw as the Raikage, his body covered in lightning, shot straight at him in a blue flash.

Itachi picked up the movement, but his body moved slower. He was able to avoid the punch that he was sure would have taken his head off, but it was still nerve wracking how bad the situation had gotten all of a sudden.

The Raikage circled back around and shot towards Kisame and Roshi, the former noticing it and swinging Samehada.

Ay punched the sword and drove it into Kisame's gut, sending him flying. The Raikage's lightning armour fluctuated and he staggered slightly as his speed lowered from his chakra being bit into by Samehada, giving Itachi a fraction of an opening.

Making hand seals, Itachi formed and coaxed some chakra in his gut to heat up, just like fire.

Kaiton: Gokakyu no Jutsu.

He shot a ball of fire from his mouth and instantly Shunshined away towards Kisame, not looking at where the Jutsu hit.

As he turned, he spotted the two Kumo Jinchuriki eying them, while Roshi slowly backed away as he looked between the two opposing parties.

Ay had obviously avoided the Jutsu, looking untouched from the Jutsu that left a blackened corridor of scorched Earth in its wake.

The speedster stared at Itachi, avoiding his eyes, and towards Kisame, glancing at his sword.

"I almost doubted what that shriveled up ginger said when he told me you were here, Itachi," Ay spat his name like it were poison, "But it seems I was right to trust him. You Akatsuki types aren't exactly subtle when we know you're here."

Itachi didn't react to the Akatsuki part, knowing that the organization was known about for their efficiency. But the first part had him thinking.

The only person Itachi could think of that fit that definition was Uzumaki Ashina, but why would the man want him to be locked in a fight with the Raikage and the two Jinchuriki? Ashina knew he wasn't a traitor and Itachi couldn't understand what the dead man wanted. Ashina hated him for choosing the village over his family, but he himself chose to let him leave without sounding the alarm to protect his own grandchildren from the Akatsuki.

"It seems we've had a misunderstanding, Raikage-sama." Kisame said suddenly, lowering his sword.

'What are you doing?' Itachi thought to himself, refusing to take his eyes off the Raikage.

Kisame continued speaking.

"We were contracted by the Tsuchikage to drag Roshi back to Iwa. We planned to apprehend him after the exams were over, but this surprise attack complicated things."

Ay actually laughed, then spat down at the ground.

"Try better, or I'm going to rip your head off," At then turned to Roshi, who was trying to slink away, "Stay where you are, monkey, or I'll break your legs."

Roshi stopped preparing to run, but looked ready to bolt at any opening.

"Why bring Uchiha Itachi then?" Ay demanded, refraining from looking at his eyes.

"In case I needed to get into Konoha discreetly to apprehend Roshi," Itachi replied smoothly, stepping forward a step, "I am quite capable of entering a village I am familiar with."

Ay looked between the two of them, then glanced at his brother and Nii Yugito. He then threw his head back and laughed.

"Do you think me a muscle head and a fool?!" He shouted, lightning flaring across his body.

'My eyes can keep up with his movements, but I only have two ways to get through his armour, but it will hurt my eyes and possibly kill him.' Itachi thought, his eyes flicking towards the two Kumo Jinchuriki.

'Kisame can weaken the Raikage's cloak with Samehada, while I can try and face the two Jinchuriki. Roshi will escape, so that means my bunshin needs to kill the Ichibi Jinchuriki, unfortunately.'

A Jinchuriki needed killed, and Roshi and Gaara were the two easiest to justify killing.

Itachi's thoughts lasted perhaps a second or two, because Ay began speaking again.

"I know why you want Roshi," Ay growled, "It's because your organization is after Jinchuriki."

Itachi saw Kisame out of the corner of his vision twitch, his grip on Samehada being adjusted.

'How does he know that?' Itachi thought frantically, the day getting even worse.

"What would make you think that?" Itachi asked, keeping a cold and detached air, "If Konoha informed you, it is likely biased fro-"

"I know about the Akatsuki, Uchiha," Ay snapped, "You and Hoshigaki, Deidara and Sasori, and Kakazu and that Jashinist."

The world almost seemed to spin as Itachi absorbed the information. All the planning by Tobi to stay under scrutiny was all for nothing. Kumo knew about these things, which probably meant Konoha did as well.

"Stay and fight, or scatter and regroup later?" Kisame asked simply, glancing at Itachi.

A foot race with the Raikage would be useless, and three vengeful Jinchuriki would be extremely difficult to outrun. If there was a backup team, then Itachi and Kisame could have regrouped with them to hopefully get away.

Looking towards Ay and B, Itachi noticed the wounds and dried blood on them, as well as B holding his arm a little closer to his body and Ay's left arm, which he had led with, meaning it was his dominant hand, was sagging slightly like there was a localized gravity seal on it.

'If Roshi runs, we can fight them off and escape.'

"Samehada is more useful against the Raikage for now," Itachi responded, his Sharingan taking in every detail of Killer B and Nii Yugito, "I will combat the Jinchuriki."

With that said, Itachi blurred through hand seals faster than any could see and launched a jutsu at them.

Kaiton: Goryuka no Jutsu.

A fire dragon was sent roaring at the group of three, obscuring them from sight.

Kisame was immediately in motion as Itachi sent the fire jutsu and went through hand seals, planting his hands on the ground, his chest expanding as he inhaled.

Suiton: Bakusui Shoha. (Exploding Water Shockwave).

A multilayered wave of water rose up to several meters in height, Kisame riding the wave as the massive influx of water went racing towards their opponents.

The Raikage flashed towards Kisame, jumping up to swing at him. Kisame put Samehada between himself and Ay's punch, his entire body arching from the impact of the hit.

Samehada practically purred from the intake of chakra, Ay's cloak flickering noticeably.

That was the last thing Itachi saw before he clashed with Killer B, a kunai drawn to clash with the taller man. The Jinchuriki of the Hachibi drew five blades and twirled to attack Itachi, his movements unpredictable.

The Uchiha's Sharingan was able to give him the means to see the attacks, but there was no pattern to them, only unadulterated chaos.

Right as he was starting to get accustomed to the chaos, Yugito slashed at him with claws, her fingernails lengthened and pupils slanted like a cat's.

A swift pivot and a front flip off of one of B's swords had him avoiding the two from swarming him, his body twisting midair as he aimed at B's back.

Kaiton: Gokakyu no Jutsu.

The fireball was narrowly avoided by B as it exploded against the ground, glassing the earth despite the standing water across the landscape.

Yugito charged at him and started slashing, sparks coming from his kunai as he deflected the claws.

Itachi was forced to draw a second kunai and read the movements with his Sharingan, trying to get an opening before B circled back from avoiding the fireball.

Spotting an opening after ducking under a set of claws aimed at his throat, Itachi leaned further back and kicked at her elbow, making contact and kicking out with a blind kick from behind.

Yugito hissed in pain and B backed away from the kick where Itachi knew he was going to hit him.

'I must be quick. Focus, Itachi, for Sasuke.'

Steeling himself, Itachi focused on the rage, the despair, the feeling of guilt and inadequacy he felt when Shisui stepped back and fell into the Naka. Sasuke's screaming.

His eyes opened and he felt the ache of his Mangekyo activate.

Disregarding B for a moment, Itachi made a gamble and rushed at Yugito, needing to force her out of the fight for now.

He used a discreet Genjutsu to tweak her sense of depth perception and lashed out with a spinning kick, flinging both of his kunai at her as he did so.

The kick was stopped by her raising her arm, but the kunai managed to still hit her from the Genjutsu impeding her vision.

One opened up a sizable slash in her shoulder, while the other was diverted slightly, cutting open in her side.

Yugito screeched at a hair raising pitch and slid under his trailing leg, staggering some.

Flipping forward, Itachi felt one of B's swords whistle past his head as he twisted and flipped another kunai in his hand, stabbing at Yugito's back.

The blonde Jinchuriki blindly swung at him and managed to hit his kunai, one of the claws scraping against his knuckle. The woman spun with her swing and he saw the opening. The wounds he managed to land had her sending a wrathful look at him.

Specifically, his eyes.

Casting an ocular Genjutsu with the assistance of his Mangekyo for added potency, Itachi struck her with it and her eyes rolled back in her head, collapsing backwards.

B roared in anger and was all over Itachi, an endless storm of steel and fury.

Itachi had an additional kunai in his other hand now and he felt his eye pounding from activating his Mangekyo, fighting the urge to grab at his face.

A flurry of slashes and stabs as B twirled managed to slash at his sleeve and he kept retreating, sparing a glance at the others.

Ay was fighting more conservatively and was sending Raiton Jutsu through the water to try and shock Kisame, who was able to ward off a close quarters encounter with Samehada.

The arc of electricity from Ay slamming his fist into the water around him raced towards Kisame, who jumped up from his high ground and balanced on top of Samehada, letting the sword devour the lightning before it hit him.

Itachi refocused on B and kept diverting the hits, noticing that B's injury to his shoulder was no ploy. The blood on his jacket was definitely his.

His Sharingan picked up the slight shift of chakra in B's left arm as it started to crackle in preparation for charging his blade with lightning.

Itachi feinted like he was going to stop the attack, but twisted his arm back, dropped the kunai, and twisted his fingers into a half seal in a blur of speed, sending a poorly formed gust of wind out of his mouth.

The gust barely staggered B, but it left Itachi the chance to stick the kunai he dropped to his foot and flung it while pushing wind nature chakra to the sole of his foot.

Itachi twisted his body with the momentum and flipped backwards, using a Shunshin to get away.

The wind laced kunai broke the blade B blocked it with, the sword already having several chips in its edge from before the two started fighting.

After getting to a sizable distance away, Itachi took stock of the situation he was in and noticed that Roshi was gone, much to his displeasure.

Kisame and the Raikage had steadily moved further away as Kisame manipulated the water to keep him on a higher ground than the Raikage and was pulling out all the little tricks he could to prevent from being electrocuted. To think that Kisame could find a way to go up against his natural affinity's weakness and still avoid severe injury had Itachi impressed.

B was staring straight at him, while Yugito had regained consciousness and her chakra kept flaring, her hair seeming to shift around.

"B," Yugito gritted out, her eyes squinted and her hand on her temple, "Tell 8 it's time."

B nodded and his chakra flared seconds later, a chakra cloak with three tails forming around him.

Yugito's chakra flared even more and her entire body was wreathed in blue flames. She hunched forward on all fours and the flames formed into a flaming cat with yellow and green eyes, two tails swishing behind her.

Things had gotten even more complicated.

The Nibi was several meters tall and the water surrounding the flaming cat was rapidly vaporizing and turning into steam, obscuring the two from him.

But it wasn't chakra infused, so he could still see the chakra outline of both with his Sharingan no problem.

The Killing Intent directed at him with the assistance of Bijuu chakra from the two of them had him narrowing his eyes in concentration.

'Yagura was more difficult.' Itachi thought, looking at the female Jinchuriki.

B was going to be difficult, but Itachi knew what exactly to do.

Glancing at the broken blade hilt on the ground, Itachi Shunshined straight towards it and grabbed it, pivoting and running away from the two without attempting to fight either one, directly towards Kisame.

Seeing Kisame finally get reached by Ay, Itachi sped up and pulsed wind chakra into the broken chakra blade.

"Kisame!" Itachi shouted, getting Kisame's attention as the former Kiri nin took a kick to the gut from the Raikage.

Itachi's Sharingan picked up the blood that came from Kisame's mouth as he sailed through the air, his partner noticing the two Jinchuriki on the Uchiha's heels.

Itachi rushed straight towards Ay and the two clashed, Itachi stabbing at him with the stolen blade. His wind release wasn't strong enough to pierce through the lightning armour, but Ay didn't know that. Ay shifted to the side and sent a chop at Itachi's neck, the younger of the two twirling and ducking under it.

Judging by the churning water beneath the two and the sounds of explosions behind him, Itachi could guess that Kisame had engaged the Jinchuriki. With Ay being more cautious from fighting Kisame, Itachi could continue to hold him off until Kisame could pull Yugito from her Bijuu transformation with Samehada.

Itachi kept running through plans to counteract Ay without the Susanoo or Amaterasu, thinking of an idea.

The Lightning Cloak had to be able to allow air in, which also meant heat could be transferred through.

'Yes. That will work.'

With an extended swing that transitioned into a backflip, Itachi weaved seals with his off hand and sank into the ground, manipulating the earth underneath him to crumple so he could shoot through it.

Ay chased after him and started smashing the ground violently to flush him out. Itachi, having copied hundreds of Jutsu and done what he could to be extremely competent with elemental release, made multiple earth bunshin and had them as a distraction to delay.

He rose up from the ground several meters away, covered in water and dirt, and made 3 Kage bunshin, tossing the wind blade to one and ordering it to attack the Raikage.

Ay ripped an earth bunshin clean in half as he spotted Itachi and his bunshin, rushing towards the one with the wind chakra pulsed in his brother's broken sword.

Itachi's other two Shunshined in opposite directions, preparing his plan.

Blurring through the required hand seals, Itachi tightened his brow and shaped the air around him, flinging a small tornado at the spot where his bunshin had intentionally gotten into a suicide lock with Ay.

The clone exploded as intended and the concussive wave caused Ay to take a step back, the tornado engulfing him.

Itachi's one bunshin to the right sent a fireball at the tornado, the fire chakra feeding off the wind to produce a spinning twister of fire around the Raikage.

The other bunshin used up its entire supply of chakra to make a wall of earth around the tornado, disappearing in a puff as the earth responding to its command and locked away the Raikage.

Preparing for the Raikage to break out, Itachi was not surprised when the Earth Wall that was wrapped around like a ring exploded around 10 or 15 seconds later, revealing the Raikage.

Ordering his bunshin to pop to give him his chakra back, Itachi saw the unbridled rage on Ay's face.

The extreme heat had resulted in his skin to blister in certain parts and his Kage cloak was scorched, especially at the hem.

Judging by the heavy breathing and sweat pouring off of him, the heat had impeded his breathing when he was trapped.

"You fight tactically, I'll give you that." Ay snarled, tearing his singed, diced, and bloodstained coat from the day of fighting away from his chest, revealing his top half completely, "But Namikaze did as well, and he was faster."

As Ay prepared to charge him, Itachi heard a roar and a boom.

Turning, Itachi saw Kisame slamming Samehada into Yugito's shoulder, the sword's bandages gone and its scales had cut into Yugito's shoulder.

With a scream, Yugito's Bijuu transformation disappeared and reverted to a one tailed cloak as Samehada feasted on the chakra and she collapsed to her knees.

With a flaring of Killing Intent and a shout of rage, B landed a brutal punch to Kisame's face, sending him flying with Samehada still buried in Yugito's shoulder.

Ay ignored Itachi for a moment and rushed towards the two, a blur of crackling blue, and grabbed ahold of Samehada, ignoring the growling blade as its hilt bit into his hand.

"Fucking parasite!" Ay roared, stomping on it repeatedly, the growling eventually turning into whimpering. The sword shifted away from Yugito and Ay flung it away, clenching his bloody fist.

Kisame pulled himself out of the water and stood on it with chakra like the rest of them, his hand covering his openly bleeding face.

Kisame got to Itachi and wiped the blood off his face, glaring at the two Kumo nin still in fighting shape.

"I need Samehada, Itachi." Kisame managed to slur, blood dripping from his mouth still.

Itachi inspected the damage for a moment and saw that B's punch had fractured something in Kisame's face.

"Can you still use jutsu?" Itachi asked, assuming the answer would be a yes.

Kisame tapped his foot against the water that was now several inches deep, indicating that he didn't need to blast water from his damaged mouth.

"Roshi is gone." Itachi said, still waiting for their opponents to make the first move.

Itachi thought Kisame tried to say 'No shit', but he couldn't tell from how Kisame was speaking.

Ay turned to B and said something, the Raikage holding Yugito up, her face pale from the wound in her shoulder and a fair portion of her chakra devoured.

B looked at the two Akatsuki members and a Bijuu cloak appeared again, but it thickened, with tentacles coming out.

"Bow before Lord Hachibi, temes!" B shouted, transforming into a version two Bijuu cloak with six tails.

Staring at the man lauded as a perfect Jinchuriki, Itachi cursed his lot in life. Kisame blinked for a moment and glanced at Itachi, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Eyes?" Kisame looked at Itachi's Sharingan, his own flicking towards a transformed B.

Itachi nodded grimly, realizing this would require him potentially subduing B with Amaterasu.

'I'm sorry.' Itachi thought as he closed his eyes, reopening them with the pattern of his eyes shifting.

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"We really should talk, Uzumaki Naruto."

Moments like these were when I wished I could have just stayed dead. No Kurama sealed in me, no Orochimaru interested in me, no Itachi, and above all else.

Uchiha fucking Obito wouldn't be standing in front of me without a single care in the world.

I didn't need to feign how tired I was and I collapsed on all fours, my reflection a disgusting one as I looked at the standing water from all of my Jutsu.

My hair was completely stained with blood. The only part of my entire face that wasn't was my eyes.

"Rest easy, son," Obito, who wasn't wearing Akatsuki robes, but had his orange mask, said with kindness that had me wanting to tear his throat out, "You've had a busy day. You're fortunate to be all in one piece."

I remained on my hands and knees, trying to contact Kurama to warn Rin, but I couldn't do it without feeling like my head was being split open.

"I don't know who you are," I managed to say, preparing for the most terrifying choice of all, "But boy, am I glad to see you."

Obito seemed relaxed, and it scared me.

"Fighting a Kaguya should not be taken lightly." Obito seemed to lightly reprimand me, putting a hand on my shoulder as he knelt next to me.

I shivered as my left hand clenched around the last exploding tag I had left in one of my pockets on my chest, ready to blow myself up if I felt like I was going to get sucked into his dimension.

Obito seemed to think otherwise and didn't do anything, only helping me sit up.

"Tell me, young Naruto, what brings you out this far?" Obito asked kindly, standing up but leaning a bit to not tower over me.

I truly despised his voice. It wasn't the poisonous kind that I always visualized it as. It sounded kind. Almost cheerful, if only I didn't know what the creature in front of me actually was.

"Uh." I managed to say, a venomous thought going through my head. A thought that made me feel like I was drowning.

'A hooded figure taking her from me. The hood falls back.' Words I heard in another life echoing in my head.

"Rin is only Rin, alive!"

"Look at me! There's nothing in my heart!"

"I will never forget you. Don't let anyone, not even me, tell you that."

'I'm sorry, Rin.'

I clenched the tag and smiled up at Obito, peering at the mask that covered the face of the person that I had fantasized about killing for almost 7 years now.

I was actually grateful that I couldn't sense his foul presence. I might just jump the gun and blow myself up instantly instead of forcing him to use Izanagi with the stolen eye he has hidden by blowing both of us up.

"This kid my age," I managed to say, still looking up at him, "I think he's searching for his teammates, but I've never seen such devotion in a genin before."

Obito didn't say anything, obviously not catching on to what I was saying. Because how could he?

"Uh, he claims to be the teammate of Uchiha Obito. Does that name mean anything to you?"

My knuckles creaked from how hard I was clenching the tag, words going through my head.

'And ne gelæd þu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele, soþlice.'

Obito tilted his head at me, my eyes roving over his body in preparation for an explosive death.

"Uchiha Obito?' He asked aloud, looking away.

'To think my grandfather killed himself in the same way. Was he as terrified of death as me?'

'And yet, the menace of the years, finds, and shall me... Unafraid.'

"Obito," He said quietly, turning to look back at me, "Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. In a long time."

It hopefully unsettled him. I wanted him to second guess all the steps he took to conceal his identity.

"I think my Sensei knows him," I said shakily, "He said he was dead."

I could almost hear the smile behind Obito's mask.

"Oh, he's not dead. Not yet."

'The sunset looks beautiful.'

"You know him."

'I'm sorry, Kakashi.'

"Well of course I know him." Obito laughed, his voice turning predatory.

'I love you, Rin.'

The world truly was a beautiful place, even if there were hideous people in it. The sunset would look like the exact shade of orange that Rin loved by the time she hears I'm dead. I hope she enjoys the sight of it before she hears that her big brother isn't coming home.

"Judging by how you're speaking, he's the next on my list to kill." Obito said flatly.

'What?' My mind completely froze, my hand still clenched around the tag.

Whatever game Obito was playing, he kept it up.

"And get your dick beaters away from that tag in your shirt." He said irritably, "I don't plan on seeing you turn yourself into a pulpy mass."

I managed let out a gasp and tried to back away, my mind racing.

"Don't play games with me, Obito!" I screamed, pulling my arm out and holding the tag next to my head. "I know it's you. I know everything! You surviving! Zetsu bringing you to Madara! Madara not dying! Your Rin dying!" I was practically sobbing in terror, now that another shot of adrenaline woke me up from my fatigue.

Obito tilted his head, looking either confused or shocked.

"What?" It sounded like shock.

"Zetsu is playing you," I managed to stammer out, jabbing at the tag next to my temple as a warning, "And I'll blow myself up if you use your Kamui bullshit!"

"I will not do anything, child," Obito assured me, his hands up in a placating manner "Just tell me how you know of the things you are screaming about. I'm not this Obito person you speak of."

"Liar!" I growled, pulling my broken blade out of its sheath and aiming the jagged end at my spinal column, "I felt your chakra the moment I was born. You took my parents from me! Your chakra is like Hashirama's in your right arm and leg and your left eye is in Kakashi's head! I can sense your chakra." I lied at the last part.

Obito started laughing.

"Bluffing only works if your opponent believes you, Naruto." Obito seemed to shimmer.

At the shifting of his body, I triggered the tag.

The tag fizzled out and puffed, the blood drenched ink from me beating Kimimaro to death destroyed it.

Without hesitation, I stabbed my own broken sword at my throat.

An invisible force that felt similar to a hand gripped my right arm, keeping the broken blade from killing me.

Screaming, I pulsed a chakra blade in my left and stabbed at my face. It was stopped by another invisible force that felt like a hand as well.

Obito shot towards me and in one movement, ripped my severely damaged armour and blood soaked shirt away, revealing my chest and stomach.

'No! No!' I screamed, trying to twist away. 'Fox! Tell Rin to run! Tell them to run!'

My eyes almost rolled in my head from the pain of me trying to contact Kurama due to the two Gates located in my brain being overly sensitive to chakra.

Kurama evidently heard something, but I couldn't tell. It was too garbled.

Obito's fingers glowed and he punched the seal, causing me to scream in both pain and terror.

I collapsed to the ground and curled up in a ball, expecting Kurama to tear his way out of me in a few seconds.

But it never came.

My seal was burning, but I knew the feeling. The feeling was like what Jiraiya did to it.

Like what I did to Gaara.

"Now that I've prevented you from killing yourself like I did," 'Obito' stood over me, his body shimmering again, revealing a red haired man with violet eyes, "Will you explain what the hell you were going on about?"

I was still restrained, but the two things that were invisible shimmered and were revealed to be copies of the red haired man.

Looking closer, I recognized him.

Red hair like mine, a neatly trimmed beard, and eyes that looked eerily similar to Rin's.

With my entire body shaking from expecting to die just seconds ago, I stammered out one word.

"G-grandfather?" I asked, wondering if this was Uzumaki Ashina.

The man I assume now was Ashina smiled, his eyes shining with emotion.

"Ah," He sighed, stepping away along with his bunshin and looked up at the sky, "I never thought I would hear that again."

His voice sounded like glass. So fragile and delicate.

He eventually looked back at me and looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. I needed to make sure you didn't lash out with the Kyuubi's chakra." He gestured towards my stomach, "Your reserves are low."

I managed to get over my shock and glared at him.

"Why did you Henge as that asshole out of everyone in existence?!" I demanded, whimpering as my chakra shifted with my anger and made the seal overlap burn.

"Pardon me for not realizing that the Tobi bastard Orochimaru told me about was the one that killed my granddaughter, judging by how you were speaking." Ashina replied coldly, "The one time you saw me was when I was bodily launched away and I was just freed from Orochimaru's control. The Raikage came after me promptly. Would you have still tried to blow yourself up if you thought it was Orochimaru's puppet coming after you?"

"No." I responded irritably.

"Doubtful," Ashina scoffed, "You didn't even hesitate to go from fighting that dying piece of meat," Gesturing towards the battered corpse of Kimimaro, "to killing yourself. But I Henged in the way Orochimaru described Tobi when he gave a sample of my blood to him."

Ashina then explained how Orochimaru told him about the Akatsuki and that Tobi was a part of the group, hence why he made himself look like the man to inform me of the appearance of the man. He just had the misfortune of not knowing about Obito.

I'd ask about that later, but I wanted to defend why I was ready to blow myself up.

"I wasn't going to let you rip the fox out of me," I said, my hands were still shaking after I actually triggered the seal and had tried to stab myself twice, "I'd rather be trapped in the Shinigami's stomach."

"Ah, yes," Ashina deadpanned, "The Shiki fujin. Whichever ancestor of ours devised that jutsu and the mask to reverse it can go pound sand."

I raised a brow in question, causing Ashina to answer.

"First off," He explained with a massive smile on his face, "Orochimaru is dead. I petrified him with Nature chakra. Second, I grabbed the Shinigami mask from the Temple here and freed your father's soul."

I was breathing heavily in shock. Orochimaru dead? Dad is free?

"What else?" I asked weakly, my mouth dry.

"The sword of Kusanagi is my late birthday present to you, especially since you broke your sword." He gestured towards the hilt in the hands of the one bunshin that stopped me from stabbing myself.

It took me some time, but I managed to calm the racing of my heart and asked a question without my voice cracking.

"How did you know about my dad? And what did you mean about Orochimaru and Tobi?"

Ashina went on to explain how he had been resurrected nearly two weeks ago and how Orochimaru had tried to enlist his willing help.

He pretty much had a plan in motion for a week that involved freeing Tobirama and Hashirama to stop Orochimaru, and Obito had evidently told the Snake Sannin about Itachi killing his clan to stop a civil war.

The plan to free my father's soul from the Shinigami evidently was on the fly, simply because he had accidentally put on the wrong mask when trying to figure out which mask was the correct one.

"I almost wanted to," Ashina admitted, looking down, "I did a great service to Konoha and had willingly shared insights in Fuinjutsu with them. And I was rewarded with betrayal from the clan heads. The mothers and fathers of the current ones."

Ashina's fists were clenched and he was pacing back and forth.

"But I would not harm innocent people to sate the desires of an old man."

My grandfather then looked at me.

"Please tell me how you knew that Uchiha Obito is the identity of Tobi."

I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him the real reason, but I'll give the answer I had cooked up almost 4 years ago in the event that I had to reveal it.

"I don't know why," I started, "Not even Sarutobi-jiji or the Yamanaka could think of why, but I was completely aware of my surroundings and could remember when my mom was pregnant with Rin and me."

Ashina grimaced.

"I shouldn't be surprised by the insanity of our clan's abilities at this point, and I'm not going to question the seemingly random things we have. But remembering being squeezed out of your mother sounds particularly hellish." He looked downright sympathetic at the last part.

The familiar feeling of nausea hit me as I remembered it, the sensation making my skin tingle.

"I'm sure the feeling of going in will be much more enjoyable for you then being forced out when you get a girlfriend." Ashina offered with slight embarrassment, causing me to scowl.

"In what world is that helpful?" I asked indignantly, recoiling in disgust.

"I'm simply trying to be a good grandfather," Ashina rolled his eyes, "It would be a pity if you can't enjoy life to the fullest without remembering a frightful experience."

I didn't want to hear this, let alone from my dead grandpa.

"Can we drop it?" I almost begged.

"Sorry." Ashina said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, before looking directly at me again, "But continue on how you know 'Tobi' is Uchiha Obito'."

I continued with how I was an excellent sensor, which Ashina hummed in satisfaction at, and explained how Obito's chakra felt similar to Kakashi's eye.

A couple small details, like how Kakashi had an implanted Sharingan, were mentioned.

'So Sakumo did name his son Kakashi." Ashina smiled, "I hadn't spoken with him for a year or two before I died, but he said he wanted a boy and to name him Kakashi."

Ashina then narrowed his eyes, turning towards the east.

"We still have plenty of time." He then turned back to me. "Now tell me how you knew of Madara's survival after Hashirama supposedly killed him and who this Zetsu is." His eyes reminded me of Rin's when she confronted me about something and I fought the urge to shrink away.

"I," I started, knowing he wouldn't relent, "I dreamed it."

Ashina gave me an unimpressed look.

"You sound exactly like my son at age three when I asked him how the cookie got out of the jar and ended up in his mouth. 'It fell out'." Ashina's voice raised in a mock high pitch like a child, "I dreamed it'." He used air quotes.

"The Great Toad Elder had dreams." I started to say, but I swore Ashina rolled his eyes so hard that they could have almost gotten stuck.

"Of course Jiraiya fills your head with such bullshit," Ashina looked genuinely pissed, "That was an extremely vague 'dream' that applies to practically every legend of a hero the civilians liked to read about." Ashina started pacing again.

"Jiraiya, the orphan, clanless, deadlast that learns to be great through hard work and to prove himself worthy of the princess," His voice pitched again and he mock swooned, muttering something that sounded like 'my granddaughter' and 'castration', "Namikaze Minato, the same thing, except he was a genius and worked hard to be worthy enough to be the Hokage. And he stole the heart of the exotic princess from Uzu." Ashina's voice was dripping anger as he looked at me with a cold look in his eyes.

"The tragic lost prince of Uzu. A genius who is rarely seen each generation. The last of my grandchildren with our hair, a Bloodline ability that has only manifested in three other males in our clan's history. Container of a demon that seeks to destroy the village you call home. Rejected at every turn for your sacrifice."

Ashina obviously took the stuff Orochimaru told him to heart.

"Stop." I whispered, looking away.

"Beset on all sides by nations that will try to kill you because of your lineage and power," Ashina ignored me, still talking, "A shadowy organization of Shinobi that pursue you... and your sister." Ashina walked straight up to me and pulled me to my feet.

He looked straight into my eyes and sighed.

"I'm not sure how a human could have dreams of events that happened in the past or future," He stressed, "But the means to see the future did happen, at least in the case of the toads."

Ashina let go of me and tugged at his hair, pacing once more.

"Orochimaru told me about your father and everything that's happened since I've died," He looked at me sadly, "I was only trying to show how one can be biased about their own background to see themselves as some prophesized hero."

I nodded shakily, the way Ashina explained it was unsettling.

"Despite my doubts about being able to see past or present events, it did happen once in my experience." Ashina paused and took a deep breath.

"The Toad Elder warned Gamabunta about being careful towards intruders," Ashina explained what he said previously, "You do know who Gamabunta is, right?"

I nodded and he continued.

"One of the hatchling snakes of Ryuchi cave, where the snake summons dwell, explored outside the cave and was taken by a hawk. I happened to sense it and shot the hawk down with a jutsu when I was in my twenties," Ashina looked wistful, "The hatchling was grateful and I asked her where her home was. She ended up giving terrible directions and I spent a month wondering until I stumbled across Mount Myoboku by accident... With a snake perched on my shoulder."

I couldn't help but laugh at the visuals of how this story was leading.

"Gamabunta freaks out and attacks me, thinking I'm a new snake summoner and has discovered their home," Ashina flicked his finger, creating a golden chakra blade, "I end up fighting Gamabunta and gave him that scar on his face as a memento." Ashina snickered, "He learned his lesson to not trifle with a redhead after that."

Was that why Jiraiya never broached the subject about me signing the Toad contract? Is Gamabunta petty enough to tell me to screw off because I'm a redhead Uzumaki?

"So what happened?" I asked, intrigued by the story. This was stuff never covered in the anime or manga.

"It took another month to get the little gaki home," Ashina smiled, "But the snakes were ever so grateful and offered me a favour in the future. I asked for a vial of venom from the Snake Sage and she accepted, even if I had to insist that I wasn't wanting to learn from her."

Ashina looked thoughtful and seemed to peer at me closer.

"I wonder." He thought to himself.

"What?" I asked.

"I might have a theory on how you are able to see glimpses of events like Gamamaru," Ashina looked thoughtful, "I'll explain at the end. I'd rather talk with my grandson about himself and his little sister. A shame she isn't here right now," Ashina remarked sadly, "She looked almost exactly like Kushina when I saw her fighting." His eyes had a faraway look for a moment, before he blinked and looked back towards me.

Relieved at this, I took my time to tell my grandfather about the two of us, our likes, dislikes, our friends and how the world was different.

Ashina listened intently, his eyes alight with interest throughout me telling him about us.

"But why did you infiltrate the Hyuga compound?" I asked him, genuinely curious.

Ashina scowled and clicked his tongue.

"Long story short, my intellectual property was stolen and used to make the seal for the Branch house after I told them they could tickle a certain part exclusive to the male anatomy with a kunai when they offered to buy my services."

I shook my head at the statement and fought back a smirk.

"Jiraiya and Jiji said I was a lot like you. I think I know what they meant by that now."

"Are you a member of the Creed?" Ashina couldn't keep a straight face and laughed at the absurdity, "That was something I came up with in a drunken haze when I finally convinced Tobirama to drink. It was hilarious."

Ashina then launched into a tale about his student's first time getting wasted.

"That pub was singing an iconic song weeks after that infamous night of debauchery and made its way back to Hashirama, and I thought he was going to pass out from laughing," Ashina's eyes were alight with amusement, "The lyrics went like. 'What shall we do with a drunken Senju er'ly in the morning?"

Ashina started singing the song completely, eventually stopping when one of the bunshin whistled.

"Fine. Fine, I'll explain a few things." Ashina grumbled, looking back at me, "Your Bloodline ability, have you figured out how it differs from the Adamantine chains?" Ashina asked.

"I know nothing about the ability except that it lets me make a chakra blade similar to Rin's wind blade." I replied, "And the chains aren't any better on me knowing."

Ashina nodded his understanding and went on an explanation.

"The Adamantine chains bind and suppress foreign chakra," Ashina said, "But what we have is a more offensively inclined type. It's more limited, but it can do something unique that the chains never could."

I leaned closer, paying rapt attention.

"Train it enough and you can counter all nature releases with it. It acts like a jack of all trades counter to the different elements, having no weakness. Wind blades will eventually break against it if you're clashing blades, lightning armour like the Raikages will be pierced, and earth will be cleaved through. But the final potency is something that saved my life."

Ashina took a deep breath.

"Do you know what the Susanoo is?" Ashina then seemed to reconsider, "Nevermind. You either do and will lie out of fear, or you don't, so I'll just tell you. The Susanoo is a humanoid chakra construct that an Uchiha with a certain type of eye can manifest around them. It can hold up to S-rank Ninjutsu and is extremely difficult to fight against." He then pulsed a chakra blade in his hand, "This will pierce through it if done correctly."

I wasn't able to ask how because Ashina kept speaking.

"Our chakra, even the ones who don't manifest Adamantine chains, is special in how it reacts to other people's chakra. It naturally 'dominates' it, so to speak. Our clan's seals are especially potent because of this, being able to smother other types of chakra on an almost kekkai genkai level. I assume that the chakra blade is an offshoot version spawned from a certain Yin chakra mix that seldom occurs in our clan."

That was something Hiruzen mentioned to me, on how it might have been related to my Yin chakra levels compared to the average Uzumaki.

"So now that you are aware of the possible reason our Bloodline abilities manifest, do you want me to give you my theory on how you know certain things you're scared of telling me, perhaps because you have no context for them?"

Sighing, I nodded.

"Good," Ashina said, "But first, you and Rin have two halves of the same tailed beast inside you. Is there a sort of 'Bleeding Effect' in sensations or thoughts?" He asked, "Can you feel an injury or sometimes feel when she's frightened?"

"Yes, and we can have full conversations," I answered, "But not with this stupid seal on my stomach." I pointed at where he had placed his seal on me.

"That can wait," Ashina said with some annoyance, "You're in too bad of physical condition to go fighting the S-ranks currently fighting anyway."

"Who is currently fighting?" I asked curiously.

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame were fighting the Raikage, his brother, and the newest Jinchuriki for the Nibi. Bossman, actual Ashina," The bunshin said, "Is probably busy killing Roshi as Tobirama and Hashirama are helping the Kumo group."

I managed to catch the part about Roshi. Wasn't he one of the Iwa Jinchuriki? The Yonbi?

"Why is an Iwa Jinchuriki here?" I asked confusedly, "And why kill him?"

Ashina scoffed. "Probably here to spy and see why the Raikage came here with both his village's Jinchuriki, or something." His eyes then seemed to glow slightly and his face tightened. "Roshi killed my son. Blood demands blood as payment."

I almost felt sorry for Roshi. Almost.

"Sucks to be him." I said simply, not having much else to say.

"Quite." Ashina agreed.

"But you were saying?" I reminded him, causing him to nod.

"Your 'dreams' of Madara surviving, how did you see it?" He asked softly, sounding different from before in his tone.

I was going to lie. Ashina was being extremely weird about this and I would give half truths. I'd already had a plan to make something up if certain knowledge that I shouldn't possibly know was revealed from the first few weeks of me being 'awake'. That something being some vague mentioning of how the Toad Elder could see the future.

"Third person perspective. It was like flashes of events that lasted a few seconds. I saw him get stabbed in the back by a bunshin of Hashirama."

Tobirama had been told by Hashirama how the fight went at The Valley of the End afterwards and had then told Hiruzen years later.

"And then I saw him climb out of a coffin and made himself vomit."

"Anything else?" Ashina asked desperately, walking towards me, "Anything where he was old? What did his eyes look like? Was he scarred? Tell me, Naruto, please!" He grabbed ahold of me and was holding me tight.

I pushed him away and staggered, my shoulders hurting from his grip.

"Just tell me why you're wanting to know this!" I demanded, "I kept getting flashes of crap I never witnessed and I was too scared to tell anyone because I thought I was going insane like everyone said I was when my Yin chakra kept spasming when I was little!" My voice was raised at the end.

Ashina clenched his fist and his voice was cracking as he looked at me.

"Because I killed him less than two weeks before I died."

The sentence didn't compute. My mind simply couldn't comprehend what my ears had heard.

Madara was killed?

"Mind running that by me again?" I asked, sitting back down to not fall over from shock.

Sighing, Ashina stooped down and crossed his legs, whistling at the other bunshin.

The others spread out and kept a defensive formation, doing something with the water on the ground to shift it around.

"Approximately ten years after Madara was supposedly killed by Hashirama," Ashina began, his eyes flicking towards the sky, "I had finished perfecting a seal matrix that would allow me to maintain Sage mode, which is when you draw in Nature chakra to enhance your body and Jutsu, to ensure that I would not have to sit still to enter the state and could maintain it for several days at a time."

My entire focus was on my grandfather. This was what made this world an AU from Canon. This was where the perfect mirror reflection was struck and shattered, leaving a spider web of cracks in its wake.

A discordant note.

"The first time I put it on, I was put in a coma for three days from the backlash of receiving half the continent's chakra straight to my sensing ability." Ashina grimaced, likely remembering how unpleasant it was, "But I got a flash of chakra that was intimately familiar to me from a separate part of the continent. Madara's chakra, combined partially with Hashirama's."

The range must have been astronomical.

"You could feel it from that far?" I asked incredulously.

"For all of 3 seconds," Ashina huffed, "I ended up pissing all over myself and I was out of it for a few days after coming out of the coma. My wife told me I kept repeating the same nonsense over and over." His brow furrowed in thought, "Something about requiring something for my bunghole. I kept accusing them of threatening me and talking about a lake I came from."

Ashina then muttered something that vaguely sounded like corn, but I couldn't tell.

"Anyway," Ashina refocused, continuing with his tale, "Madara survived fighting Hashirama, and my son in law had fallen ill at that point, too weak to fight in the second half of the First Shinobi War."

It's still hard to think that the man in front of me, who currently looked too young to be my dad, was technically over a hundred years old.

"I looked where Tobirama buried Madara's corpse and found that it was empty, so I contacted Tobirama months later and requested that he bring the best of his students, including Hiruzen, Kagami, and Danzo," Ashina's demeanor dimmed, "I did not tell him the reason. I was worried that word would leak that Madara was alive and get to him, making him go into deeper hiding."

I still remained still, listening to everything.

"Madara knew. He had to have. If Tobirama and I took point, with Hiruzen, who was nipping at Tobirama's heels in power and skill at that point, with two S-rank Shinobi like Kagami and Danzo, we could have killed him then and there," Ashina swallowed and his eyes glistened, "Tobirama and I had fought him before and knew how he fought. Madara was stronger than me, but he could never kill me without leaving himself vulnerable to Hashirama or Tobirama when I did secretly fight alongside them years later."

"You fought him before?" I asked, catching how he worded it.

Ashina nodded.

"I fought him once before peace was made between the Senju and Uchiha. That first time, I was alone. He came close to killing me after a prolonged battle, but the number of seals I planted on the battlefield beforehand ensured that I escaped with knowledge on how he fought. Rather foolish of me to think I could kill him, the first time," He admitted, before continuing, "The next time I openly assisted the Senju was when the Uchiha were decisively defeated after Tobirama killed Uchiha Izuna, Madara's brother." A breeze blew Ashina's hair around, covering his forehead.

I coughed as the wind blew the smell of blood back into my face, the gust also causing me to shiver.

"I'm grabbing my shirt and jacket," I said, standing up to grab the armour and jacket ripped from me, "Couldn't you have been a little more careful?" I asked, sliding the slimy shirt back on, pulling the armour back on with some difficulty.

"I didn't want to see my grandson die," Ashina replied sadly, "You look far too much like my eldest son when he was your age."

I nodded my understanding, sitting back down.

"Could you continue, please?" I requested kindly, starting to get a little nervous about how long this would take.

Ashina nodded and continued.

"Somehow, it was discovered where Tobirama and I were to meet up and where I would be honest about what happened months prior when I managed to get the Senjutsu mask to work. The information was leaked, probably an agent of Madara's in the village, to the Kinkaku force, who attacked Tobirama's squad while a second group of less than stellar Shinobi attacked me." Ashina's face twisted into a cruel smirk, "They weren't identifiable as human after I finished testing out the mask."

Ashina then explained how he made the mask work, specifically how the snake venom he got from the Snake Sage acted as a 'lightning rod' for the Nature chakra and allowed him to manipulate the environment to a degree.

"What happened to the mask?" I asked excitedly, the thought of using it being too enticing.

"The first one was destroyed when I died," Ashina answered, "While the second is on bossman's face right now."

'That sounds good.'

"It's tied to my chakra," Ashina cut in, giving me a side eye look, "It will kill anybody that isn't me."

'Nevermind.'

"But Tobirama was killed," Ashina said softly, "And I always wondered whether I could have prevented it."

Ashina scratched at his head, pushing his hair back in a similar way to me.

"I still hunted Madara, but he had already vanished and I couldn't find him. It took another 20 years of discreet investigations before I found him again." Ashina's teeth were clenched and his chakra flared, "News had reached me of a coalition of Shinobi villages coming to destroy Uzu. Instead of staying there and assisting the defenses set up personally, I left and delegated it to my sons and a few others." He looked away from me, "I was always better at seals than others."

Ashina then laughed all of a sudden, the sound a hollow one.

"It feels like it was just last month. Here I am, 94 years of age, thinking it would be a marvelous idea to fight against someone I couldn't kill in my prime, but do it when we're both old men."

"Well," I said, "To be fair, you did kill him."

"After nearly 20 hours of fighting and after I consumed 4 soldier pills that caused me to vomit blood so I didn't get petrified by the mask," Ashina narrowed his eyes, "I lost count of how many broken bones I had and how much blood I lost. I caught him completely by surprise and had over one hundred seals that individually were worth my weight in gold. I could seal anything short of a Bijuudama in them and I still barely killed him with every advantage I had." Ashina's jaw was clenched.

"My left hand was hanging by tendons, three toes and part of my foot gone, third degree burns on my chest, several broken ribs, and a great deal of internal bleeding and other injuries I lost count of."

I was pretty sure the horror in my voice matched my expression.

"How the hell did you even survive to get back to Uzu?" I had to ask. How the hell could a guy as old as him survive that?

"Over a week of Iryo-ninjutsu to put my broken carcass back together," Ashina replied simply, "Tsunade would have fixed me up without any damage after about two weeks of work and Hashirama might've done it in a week." He then huffed, "I cut corners on fixing myself up and probably ensured that I would've died within a month from how I 'fixed' certain things. That's also why I didn't enter Sage mode until the last day of the invasion. I was barely holding together once I got back."

And I thought I was resilient.

"How did you get through the pain of running back after a patch job?"

Ashina chuckled darkly.

"Rage is one hell of an anaesthetic."

The next thing I heard was the thing, out of all other things, that had me stunned.

"And his chakra is still alive in the village right now."

I blinked in confusion and tilted my head.

"What?"

Ashina narrowed his eyes once more.

"My chakra sensing is unmatched, save for one or two others. An example; there is another Uzumaki girl that is clustered around weaker signatures. An evacuation bunker for civilians."

"Karin." I murmured.

"So that's her name." Ashina said with a sigh, "Her chakra feels similar to a friend of mine's. I hope she's her descendant. She was a truly kind soul, Kimiko was."

Ashina then abruptly shifted his posture, laughing loudly.

"Rin," He managed to say, "Karin."

His eyes then flicked towards me.

"Who is Hurin?" He asked, stressing the last syllable.

I nearly choked on my spit in shock, my eyes widening.

"What?" I managed to wheeze.

"When I broke Orochimaru's connection temporarily, I ran to here and made sure the mask worked," He explained, "Then I broke into your house and left a few notes, I hope you liked that little note I left, and then I infiltrated Hiruzen's house, getting through the defenses and guards without raising the alarm."

Honestly, I don't fault the Hyuga from freaking the hell out about my grandfather restraining them. He's like a freaking wraith.

"It's the name of the guy who broke into the Hyuga compound last year." I answered, trying to calm my racing heart.

"Yes, well," Ashina was still smiling, "Hiruzen had an encrypted notebook on his bedside that has different details this 'Hurin' had revealed. Of course, the encryption used was one that he learned from Tobirama, who in turn learned it from me."

I remained silent as Ashina seemed to grin further.

"The details were extremely vague, words that made no sense were added into it. I'm proud that the little monkey wasn't complacent with my cypher, but it meant I only understand the first part."

I did not like the way he was looking at me.

"And?" I raised a brow, trying to sound casual.

Ashina was pacing again, wiping at his face as he started wringing his hands.

"One of my grandchildren may have escaped," His voice audibly cracked, "I had 4 children and 21 grandchildren, Naruto, and even more great grandchildren." His breath had quickened, "And there may be one that lived. Someone who knew me, called me Papa Ashi."

I felt like a dull knife was tearing its way through my chest. I inadvertently gave my severally traumatized and heartbroken grandfather false hope that a spark of something that was, still remained.

"But this grandchild abandoned you and Rin." Ashina wiped at his face, "I don't want you to search for him. Let him do what he wishes and waste away if he wishes. None of my grandsons were like that, but losing everything causes part of you to die." He murmured, trying to make sense of why a grandson of his wouldn't help family.

The silence was an uncomfortable one, so I spoke up.

"What did you mean by Madara's chakra being in the village?" I asked, worried by what that meant.

Zetsu could tell who was a reincarnation of Indra or Ashura. If Ashina was an extremely skilled sensor, could he have picked up Sasuke's 'scent'? I really didn't need my extremely dangerous grandfather getting it in his head that he needed to kill Sasuke.

"I won't doubt it if you call me crazy," Ashina said, "I thought I was going insane when I first felt it."

His eyes were staring straight into mine.

"Uchiha Fuji was the most dangerous Uchiha of his generation. I infiltrated the location the Uchiha were at by using a water refraction Jutsu that made me 'invisible' by bending the light around me."

"Like Tsuchikage Mu?" I asked, the way Ashina was able to sneak into the Hyuga compound made sense now.

"He did it like me," Ashina muttered, "But yes. Fuji was recovering from injuries he incurred during a battle with several Senju, including Tobirama and Hashirama's father. I succeeded in killing him and I felt his chakra fade into nothing as he died, just as all chakra signatures feel at death."

I waited patiently as he was making hand gestures as he explained, almost reminding me of how Rin would do that sometimes.

"But colour me surprised when a teenager with the same feel to his chakra turns up in the form of Uchiha Madara, having been born the same year I killed Fuji."

I couldn't help but flinch at my fear being confirmed.

He was able to sense Indra's chakra in them.

This Fuji guy was evidently the one before Madara and my grandfather killed him.

"How would that be possible?" I asked, trying to not sound knowledgeable on this.

Ashina adopted a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm not quite sure. I spent years devising a means to summon a soul back from the afterlife into a new vessel, which I think inspired Tobirama, when he was apprenticed to me, to create the Edo Tensei. I only tried it out to see if that was how Fuji did it."

'You poor bastard.' I thought, knowing he was definitely not going to find out the truth behind it.

"I succeeded in proving that someone could be killed and be reborn," Ashina said, "But not in the way that happened with Madara."

My breathing quickened and a felt a cold chill, trying to not shake.

"Orochimaru managed to get it to work." Ashina sighed, turning away from me.

'Ok. Ok.' I tried to calm my breathing. 'That's what he was talking about.'

Ashina then explained the details of what Orochimaru did, and how it was a flawed concept.

I learned more about the curse mark Orochimaru used than I ever thought possible. It also made sense of how Anko's chakra was changed to reflect Orochimaru's partly from a bleeding effect.

Honestly, Ashina basically discovered how the mechanics of whatever the hell Indra and Ashura were doing could work, but they probably did something involving some weird 'Hagaromo is our daddy' BS that let them reincarnate without some type of seal or Curse mark as an anchor.

The show didn't clearly state how they did it aside from one promising to keep fighting for eternity if he had to and the other stating the same about stopping it.

"And who is this Uchiha?" I asked with my voice devoid of emotion, "This seemingly unkillable guy? Itachi?" I asked the last part with some worry.

Ashina shook his head.

"When I was resurrected, Orochimaru informed me of two Uchiha being alive, but this Obito who goes by Tobi is a third. Based on his age, he might have been who I thought Madara was reborn into, but that theory died when I put on the mask."

He knows it's Sasuke.

"Is Uchiha Sasuke a rather cold boy?" Ashina asked, "I'm sure you would know him, given that he's on Rin's team."

'No. I don't care if you hate me. I'm not letting you hurt Sasuke.'

"He's not like Madara," I shook my head. I was not letting my grandfather kill Sasuke, "His brother tortured him and hurt him, but he wouldn't kill a friend. He wouldn't hurt either of us."

I gasped as the Killing Intent from all the clones present were directed at me.

"He already has," Ashina growled at me, "He has the Mangekyo Sharingan and used it when he fought Rin! Your sister! My granddaughter!"

Trying to breath through the images of me choking on blood and everything fading to black, I managed to digest what he said.

"What?" I choked out, trying to make sense of it.

"My ability to sense gives me a unique insight into the flow of a person's chakra and their emotions, Naruto," Ashina's voice was cold, colder than I'd ever heard, "The chakra of somebody with the Mangekyo Sharingan is uniquely stained by death and anguish."

I don't know how Sasuke could possibly have it. Rin was safe. Hinata was safe. I wa-

' "S-sasuke." I managed to choke out, my eyes on his as Orochimaru stabbed me.'

'Cold steel swinging horizontally. The soft slink as it passed by me. Darkness.'

"He," I managed to say, shaking horribly as my mind was assaulted by the traumatic memory, "He saw me get my head cut off."

Ashina looked unsurprised at the statement, meaning Orochimaru told him.

"Is he your friend?" Ashina asked, reigning in his Killing Intent.

I took in a deep breath after I felt like a weight was taken off my shoulders, eventually clearing my throat.

"Yes." I replied, "He's one of my closest friends."

"Then this will hurt you deeply," Ashina remarked sadly, "But I'm going to kill him."

"No!" I shouted, forcing myself up and glared at him, "I don't give a shit about what you've said. Sasuke is not Madara. He's a kid that got dealt a bad hand in life and I reached out to him."

"Hashirama reached out to Madara when they were children," Ashina responded coldly, "Look where that led to."

Before I could speak, Ashina spoke again.

"I thought it was only this nameless Uchiha that kept somehow reincarnating into other Uchiha, but that changed when I put on the mask two weeks ago."

He looked truly lost.

"Madara said I would accomplish nothing by killing him, that removing his head wouldn't stop him. That he would come back when I was dead."

Ashina then took a deep breath.

"He said that he was destined to save the world and that I would fail in saving my clan like he failed to save Izuna." Ashina then adopted a different look. "He said he and Hashirama were destined to kill each other."

"Why does this matter?" I demanded, "I'm not going to condemn Sasuke for something he hasn't done. He's my friend. Do you want me to kill him?"

"You and Rin will die if you don't kill him." Ashina said simply, making me flinch.

That made me angry.

"Don't manipulate me," I pointed a finger at him, "I don't take kindly to being jerked around because I love Rin."

"I checked your birthday," Ashina stated, "October 10th, and Sasuke's was a few months prior. Hiruzen really does need security tightened around the records section. But both Hashirama and Madara were born within a couple months of each other as well."

"Your point?!" I demanded, refusing to humour the thought of killing Sasuke or letting Ashina do it.

I honestly should have expected the answer.

"Madara wasn't the only one to reincarnate."

Even if I knew it was a distinct likelihood, it still felt like I'd been dunked in ice water when I heard it.

"Hashirama?" I asked quietly.

"Yes." Ashina nodded, his voice still frosty, "Two types of chakra from people long dead that impose the will to kill the other on the newest hosts. If only one was reincarnating, then I'd say it's a sort of automated summoning jutsu on someone's chakra that was alive decades or centuries ago, aimed at specific genetic and chakra markers for a viable host to not be rejected."

Ashina was so far off the mark from his own bias from seeing things through the lense of Fuinjutsu, but his knowledge in summoning things and his sensing sounding like Karin's made him partially right.

But that didn't mean I'm gonna go along with either him or Ashura's will in fighting Sasuke.

"I won't do it," I whispered, looking down, "I'll fight whatever the hell chakra it is from telling me to kill him. And I'll make sure he won't kill me either."

Ashina closed the distance and put a hand on my shoulder, stooping down to look at my face, just inches away.

He honestly looked like he was dreading his next words. His eyes were full of sympathy and regret.

The next sentence was like a knife to my heart.

"You don't have Hashirama's chakra mixed with yours, Naruto," He whispered, his eyes so familiar.

"Rin does."

My breathing stopped and the world started spinning.

No. I refused to believe it. The hair. The love for orange. The temperament. The affinity. Coincidence. Lies! Not Rin! Not my sister.

"No." A truly pathetic voice whimpered, sounding completely foreign, "No."

I realized it was my voice.

I collapsed to my knees and started crying, Ashina holding onto me as I wept at the injustice of my life.

"I'm so sorry, child." Ashina held me tight, his chin resting on my head.

It wasn't fair. Rin doesn't deserve this. Sasuke didn't deserve this. Nobody deserved to live in this hellscape, to only lose everything.

The only reason I knew it hadn't been hours since I had fallen to my knees was because the sun was still shining, casting its rays down towards the earth, the water around us looking like shimmering gold.

Ashina slowly released me and I was somewhat recovered, having let out all the accumulated terror of the day.

I had been resigned to Rin being 'Naruto', even if it was only confirmed now. But the confirmation combined with me being almost killed by Gaara, Kimimaro, and thinking Obito was here had me at a massive emotional breakdown that finally reached a head.

"S-sorry that I, well-" I looked at my grandfather, or at least the bunshin of him.

"I reacted terribly when my son died, Naruto." Ashina replied quietly, "There is no shame in letting all the heartache, fear, and terror out."

Ashina then adopted a pensive look.

"Chakra tends to imprint certain characteristics on people, similar to cravings for food when organs are transplanted." He seemed to narrow his eyes. "Your 'dreams' of Madara and Obito may have been from you and Rin having a mental connection from the Kyuubi's two halfs. A type of connection similar with the two of them could work if Hashirama's chakra from whatever Madara and Obito did to themselves was returning to the portion of Rin's chakra that is like Hashirama's, and it is being interpreted as dreams instead of a memory recall like what a Kage bunshin does." Ashina's voice was animated by the end like he made a massive discovery.

I put my nose against my shredded sleeve and blew out, clearing out my nose from the previous emotional moment.

"Then why would I have the dreams instead of Rin?" I asked.

"Simple," Ashina smiled, "Your Yin chakra and your abilities as a sensor. You had that strange photographic memory in infancy, combined with a bleeding effect with Rin from the Kyuubi, and you now have the reason why you, out of your sister and Hashirama, could get feedback from Madara and Obito."

Ashina then made a little victory dance that was very out of place.

He eventually stopped and seemed to sober up, grimacing noticably.

"Will you kill Sasuke?" He asked quietly, a veil of sadness over his face.

"No," I answered swiftly, "I'll make sure he doesn't end up like Madara."

Ashina sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that, Naruto. It is still fresh in my mind, the death of my family. I broke away from Orochimaru and put on the mask in the hopes of feeling my little Kushina-chan's beautiful twins."

Tears were in his eyes as he was speaking.

"I wanted to feel the good wrought from the deaths of everything I knew. You and Rin are proof that we lived, that our clan would not end with death and bloodshed," His breath shuddered and he walked towards me again, "Your hair. Rin's eyes. I loved you the moment I was told you existed. I wanted to feel the light that was my grandchildren again."

I grabbed ahold of him and hugged him, the first time I took the initiative to embrace him.

He hugged me in return and ran his fingers through my hair.

"I would be a hypocrite if I demanded that you listen to me about Sasuke when I refused to listen to my own father when I thought he was wrong. I knew Madara, but you know Sasuke. If you say he is a good boy, then I will trust my grandson."

I felt my entire body relax now that Sasuke was safe.

The two of us held each other for some time, eventually breaking away.

"I will need to disperse soon," The clone said, giving me a regretful look, "I'm sorry for burdening you with so many things, and for making a terrible demand. I only wanted to protect my grandchildren."

"I understand," I replied, knowing that Ashina didn't know the whole story and he thought the worst in Sasuke, "But I know Sasuke. It's going to take more than a little chakra to make him be bad."

Ashina nodded and formed a chakra blade, prepared to pop himself.

"Wait," I said, holding up my hand so he would pause, "Why not just have this in an encrypted note, like what you said the Hokage had? Why tell me about our Bloodline ability, our chakra and seals, your story and how you fought Madara in person?"

Ashina genuinely laughed.

"I see so much of myself in you, Naruto. You would have tried to fight when you were in no condition to. I got to speak with my grandson, feel your chakra up close while you were awake, and I helped equip you and Rin with knowledge to truly survive whatever Madara had in store with using Obito. That's why I stalled you, to protect you from being a dense headed idiot like I am."

I couldn't help but laugh slightly in return, knowing he wasn't wrong at all.

"But speaking of Obito," I said, seeing his eyes narrow, "I think I can do something to delay or throw off his plans to steal Bijuu."

With the chakra blade extinguished, Ashina tilted his head in curiosity.

"How?"

A genuinely evil smirk appeared on my face as I explained.

////////////////////

The real Ashina felt the memories of the bunshin come back and he had to take a knee from the intensity.

He was getting a headache from the emotional feedback. Edo Tensei weren't supposed to get bunshin feedback induced headaches.

'I tend to break the rules of reality when it seeks to shaft me.' He hissed internally, standing up after it subsided.

Being invisible had its uses and spying on Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame fighting the Kumo trio for a moment had him impressed with the Uchiha.

But if he were honest, Itachi was better than Izuna, even without using a Susanoo.

With Roshi finally fleeing, Ashina could kill him without any interference from Itachi or Kisame.

Based on what the memories from the bunshin were, Ashina grudgingly accepted that Uchiha Sasuke would not die. It rankled him, but he would trust his grandson.

The way Naruto spoke of his dreams was enough to tell him the boy was omitting details, but he wasn't going to press. The theory his bunshin came up with, the construct being a copy of his own mind, was the most plausible one there was from a Fuinjutsu perspective, even if it made him feel like he was grasping at straws.

'Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.'

He had deactivated the chakra seal he put on Tobirama the moment his bunshin popped as a signal for his student to flash towards him, which the man did and Ashina explained what had been going on in the fight, telling Tobirama that he needed to inform Hashirama and Jiraiya that they needed assistance.

Tobirama had then flashed back and said they were on their way and that he would fight another Uchiha like the old days.

With a warning of caution that Itachi was extremely capable, Tobirama rushed towards the waterlogged location of a collosal battle occurring, leaving Ashina on his own.

As he ran towards Roshi's signature, Ashina was running through the extended conversation his bunshin had with Naruto.

'To be burdened with visions is horrible. I truly wish he wasn't burdened with it.'

If he had time, he would do what he did best and tinker around with seals in an attempt to discover what in Kami's name caused his grandchildren out of anyone else to be the ones cursed with either seeing visions of their enemies or having some dead bastard's chakra mixed into their's like a thrice damned parasite.

'To whoever thought my granddaughter was a good choice for being touched by such insanity, you're an arsehole.'

That chakra could easily be generations old. His son in law had it, and now the daughter of the little girl he remembered bouncing on his knee as a toddler had it.

The entire thing stank of his family being cursed.

'Was it my actions that caused this? Is my blood and the blood my descendants carry cursed?'

"I truly am alone." He muttered to himself, the wind whistling in his hair as he rushed towards Roshi, the feedback of his bunshin in Konoha slowly trickling in.

Large swaths of the streets were flooded with water and his bunshin were weaving hand seals under the cover of mist to form Mizu bunshin from seemingly everywhere, killing the Suna and Oto nin who would dare attack the village that housed his grandchildren.

He eventually saw a flash of red on the horizon and he grinned, thinking of the plan his grandson gave his bunshin.

'Kill Roshi. Then approach Hatake under a Henge. But make sure I have bunshin already in the bunker I was held in by Orochimaru to get the blood before Obito.'

Naruto told him how Kamui worked, having seen it when Obito massacred the Kiri nin after Nohara Rin was killed.

Obito would definitely want his blood back, and a trap could be set for the Uchiha spawn.

Again, the theory of the cells and chakra of Hashirama harvested by Madara echoing towards Rin, being detected by Naruto in the form of visions because of the Kyuubi connecting them, sounded outlandish even to him. But it technically could be a reason for why his grandson saw things and had a violently unstable Yin chakra issue as an infant and child, something that didn't happen to him or other Uzumaki.

'But he never told me how Madara survived.' Ashina thought grimly. 'I managed to pull Madara's good eye out of his head and tossed it to the side before I took his head off. Unless this Zetsu creature was there and stitched his head back on, whatever that is.'

Madara's right eye had still been milky white and he definitely was slower than before, age having hurt him more.

Naruto had claimed that this Zetsu thing was some type of extension of Madara's will similar to a bunshin, with a mix of Hashirama's cells and Madara's, but he knew his grandson was hiding something.

He really wanted to press Naruto and demand to know what he was hiding and why, but the sight of his grandson screaming and crying when he was told that Hashirama's chakra was intertwined with his twin sister's stayed his hand.

Between knowing a secret or causing pain to a scared boy that looked so much like him and adored his little sister, he knew what he'd choose everytime.

'Focus, Ashina. You can save them. You're a dead man that needs rest, but just one more day. Obito will try and search for the blood in the bunker, and I'll be waiting where he least expects it.'

Uzumaki Ashina got within range of a visibly injured Roshi and smirked predatorily, gripping the Sword of Kusanagi even tighter.

'This'll be fun.'

//////////////////

Roshi was clutching a stitch in his chest as he ran as fast as he could, mindful of the jarring of his arm as he traversed the grassy plains outside of Konoha.

The mission was technically successful in part, specifically learning the pedigree of the boy.

'The redhead is definitely Uzumaki Ashina's descendant and the girl is his sister.'

But that mattered less than the information Ay had revealed in his presence about the Akatsuki hunting Jinchuriki.

Onoki had contracted out certain sensitive missions to the Akatsuki from the results and pricing being unmatched, but the knowledge of a secret goal was frightening.

'Son Goku.' Roshi spoke to the Jinchuriki sealed in him. 'Can you think of a reason for why anyone would hunt Jinchuriki specifically?'

The two had previously shared a common hatred for one another for years, up until the Fall of Uzu.

Few things create a bound of understanding that forms into a friendship better than almost getting killed constantly by a swarm of vengeful redheads with nothing to lose.

"No," The monkey replied, "The midget will need to hear this though. The Akatsuki cannot be trusted."

Roshi nodded and kept on running, relief filling him that the two Akatsuki members were held up by the Raikage.

Call it a sixth sense, but Roshi dove to the side, twirling on his undamaged arm to right himself.

A sword that looked extremely long and was wreathed in gold retracted back from where it almost struck him, back towards a masked man.

The man was over 50 meters away from him and he hadn't known he was even there.

"Roshhiiiiiiiiii!" An inhuman scream came from the throat of the man, a hair raising level of Killing Intent rolling off of him. "I have been waiting for you." The voice was feral with rage.

'That mask.' Roshi thought in horror, taking a step back.

"You." He managed to breath out.

"I am surprised if you would have forgotten me," Uzumaki Ashina snarled, "After I killed your unit, and you left me for dead in Uzu."

Ashina was dead! How could he be standing in front of him, his hair more red than his own?!

"You cannot imagine the depths I would go to stay alive, fueled by my singular hatred for you." His voice kept that animalistic growl to it, his blade held in the same stance he created and his eyes glowing that sickly yellow that they did when he was drenched in the blood of Roshi's men during the battle decades ago.

Roshi vaguely heard Son Goku swearing in the back of his mind as he adopted a taijutsu stance.

'Now would be a good time for the Akatsuki to intervene.'

Roshi resigned himself to a very painful death, facing off against some unnatural wraith that refused to die in some abominable way.

////////////////////

END CHAPTER

.

The moment I decided that Uzumaki Ashina would be a character in this fic, his background was decided. He was to be the shatterpoint of how this world isn't the canon one.

Naruto was going to find out about Rin truly being the Naruto of this world, and this way is a controlled one that fits with why Ashina was always wary of Madara.

For those that think Ashina is equal to prime Madara and Hashirama: He isn't.

Madara was old when Ashina attacked him. Ashina was old too, but he's an Uzumaki, 'nuff said. You got an old guy that hasn't trained or stretched his legs from paranoia of being discovered, and then an older one who has a much longer lifespan who has been preparing for years to kill the one guy who is trying to hide.

And yes, Ashina is stupid for not asking Hiruzen or even trying to ask The Sannin to make a detour to help him or reveal Madara's survival, but think of how personal this is to him. He sees Madara as the same creature that caused turmoil in his family because of Fuji causing the catalyst of the Hyuga Branch Seal, and Hashirama falling ill early. Then Tobirama is killed. It's personal for him and he wants to be the one to kill Madara.

This is my rationale on Madara's age at the point Ashina fought him.

Based on how old Hiruzen was, being a young child at the time, Konoha was founded at least 60 years before the series began. Subtracting 12 years for Sasuke's age, Madara canonically died about 50 years after Konoha was founded. It's never specified about the ages of Hashirama, Madara, Tobirama, or Izuna, but assuming that Tobirama was a year or so younger than Hashirama, like Izuna was to Madara, and judging by how Hiruzen and Minato were the two youngest Hokage's to be appointed, the war between the Uchiha and Senju was resolved in their late twenties, with the official forming of the ninja villages not long after.

With the trend of marrying and having kids younger during conflict, its safe to say that Hashirama had his first kid in his early twenties and Tsunade's parents were a similar age when they had her, making Hashirama roughly early to mid forties when he became a grandpa, add about 5 more years to teach Tsunade gambling and spoiling her rotten, and you might have a decent estimate for when he died from whatever illness came over him after his fight with Madara. I just assume he was sick for several years and it slowly degraded.

I wrote in this that Tobirama was killed shortly after Hashirama died, but I think he canonically died a couple years before Hashirama, but I couldn't be sure so I made the decision to have Tobirama be the last Senju brother alive.

Doing the math of my timeline: Madara is about thirty something or a little older when he returns to Konoha with Kurama. He gets 'Killed' and lays low for the time being. The butterfly effect of Ashina experimenting with Senjutsu reveals his survival ten years later and Ashina attempts to have an A-Team with him to finish Madara off, the plan obviously turning into the fustercluck that was Tobirama dying.

At this point, Madara would be in his late forties to early fifties. And he hasn't awakened the Rinnegan yet, so he doesn't have broken abilities and he's got a busted right eye from the Izanagi and is laying low while Ashina is the only guy in a position to possibly kill him because of Konoha being locked in a war with the other villages and the old guard of Uchiha and Senju from the Warring States are old, making it difficult for Hiruzen to possibly give aid as a new generation transitions into conflict.

Madara lays low once more and Ashina finally finds him again about 20 years later. Ashina is about twenty years older than Madara and Hashirama, making Madara seventy something at this point.

Ashina, having prepared for years to kill Madara, fights the guy he couldn't kill years prior because his body simply endures aging better than Madara's, and the bad right eye mixed with constantly staying under the radar and not training leads to a demigod becoming a simple 'Monster of a Shinobi.' Hiruzen was still considered the strongest living Kage at 70. Madara would have still been a monster compared to 99% of Shinobi at seventy something.

Even with a constant level of Nature chakra, a means to pierce a Susanoo that a one eyed Uchiha would need to put a little more focus in making, and constant physical and mental preparation for the fight, Ashina still almost died fighting him.

You can guess how or who ensured Madara didn't stay dead.

So brief version: Prime Ashina can't beat EMS Madara from Warring States, nor Prime Hashirama. Old Ashina barely beats old Madara, the two being much weaker than their prime versions, with Madara having a significantly steeper decline.

So anyway, this is the end of the chapter and a massive portion that made this 'verse AU from canon is revealed. The next chapter marks the end of the invasion arc. Later.

Raging.