Chapter 3

Naruto and Sasuke are as fast as ever. You can't keep up with them. They let me follow them, but they don't want to slow down and wait for anyone. As always in a hurry. And they don't care at all that as soon as Edo Tensei dissipates, they will disappear. It's worth thinking about it, and everything swims before your eyes. Sakura shook her head. No. This is not the time to think about it. It's better to try and catch up with them. Those who, despite all her efforts, are still a few steps ahead. She still can't stand next to them. As before, she can only look at their backs. But it seemed that she had caught up with them…

The "chase" stops suddenly. Uchiha and Uzumaki freeze in place, and for a moment everything gets cold in the soul. What's happening? Are they being recalled? Or… Has their will been suppressed again? Now they will turn around and attack again with all their might?

"Careful, Sakura-chan," Naruto warns without looking back. - The enemy is ahead.

The enemy is really ahead. It was reported that detachments of Sand and Stone, with which they were supposed to connect near Konoha, engaged in battle with a dozen resurrected Shinobi. But it's still a long way from here, Uzumaki clearly means someone else.

Sasuke listens, peers into the distance, vaguely grunts. He doesn't share his observations with anyone, not even Uzumaki. He covers his left eye, takes off from his seat and orders on the way:

- Come on, Naruto.

- Hey! Uzumaki is indignant. - Don't be bossy! - he hurries to catch up with Uchiha, and immediately declares that they will act according to his plan.

Sasuke grunts vaguely. There is mockery in his voice, and, once again emphasizing it, he asks quite seriously about the alleged plan. Naruto smiles smugly and answers something. They keep up, they don't need to shout at each other. And it's not reasonable. However, Naruto could never really hide. He always gave himself away either with a too loud voice or with a careless step.

… But it was so long ago…

Uzumaki grew up, became a first-class shinobi, and it became really safe to ambush him. Thinking about all this, Sakura did not immediately realize that she was still standing still and looking at the backs of her friends moving away from her again.

...They are so close and yet so far away. As always… You reach for them with your hand, and grab the air…

"Come on, Sakura," Kiba urges resolutely.

Ahead, behind a small grove, the sound of a battle can already be heard. The beast roars. He is clearly jumping from place to place, and this makes the earth shake. Inuzuka hisses. He can't even guess who was called this time, but he says he smells like a beast. And it smells disgusting. Something is unnatural.

A flash of light illuminates the grove for a few seconds. Sensors pick up the chakra of the Tailed One. A long-drawn-out howl is carried around. The cracking of breaking trees is heard. And already a new flash of light illuminates the grove.

Akamaru barks briefly, as if urging them on, and they all take off at once. The howl repeats. He's wild, scary. It makes you instinctively freeze in place. And only when it subsides, you start moving forward again.

The earth is still shaking. The trees are still making an alarming noise, and every now and then you can hear the crunch of breaking branches. And it seems that the fight will still be long, but when the allies run out into a small clearing, it's already over. Something strange is burning down in the black flame of Amaterasu.

- Wow, - a skinny shinobi with an unpleasant face thoughtfully pulls, - there was something worthwhile among the garbage...

He lazily watches the creature he summoned become ashes, and then turns his gaze to the Shinobi out of control. He looks at them and clearly does not recognize them. He had never seen them before. He didn't even seem to have heard of them. Where did this Shinobi come from? Where did you hide during the Fourth World War?

... It is impossible to answer the questions. The enemy does not wear a protector, his clothes do not betray the village. Except that three wide horizontal stripes are painted on the high forehead - the only distinguishing sign. Although it means very little. Next to him are his partners. A guy to match the first, with only one stripe on his forehead, and a girl with a sullen face. She has these weird stripes too. There are two of them, and they are printed on her cheekbone. But the most important thing is that these three are alive.

"Not them, dattebayo! Naruto shakes his head impatiently, takes a step forward, but two huge dogs block his path.

- You won't pass, - kunoichi grins. Her face turns from displeased to angry.

Dogs rush at Uzumaki. Naruto jumps back. Rasengan is already spinning on his palm. It seems that he will not have time to finish the technique, the dog will bite him earlier. And even if Uzumaki is absolutely not in danger, it's still scary for him. Naruto is amazingly calm. Instinctively, he steps back. Rasengan is ready, but Uzumaki is in no hurry to use it. Everything evades the creatures advancing on it and waits for the right moment. Their throwing stops Sasuke. Chidori pierces through one dog and at the same moment Naruto attacks another with a rasengan. The summoned creatures disappear almost immediately, but their long, plaintive squeal still hangs over the clearing.

No one is surprised by so much quick reprisal. Only the girl is a little annoyed. But her partners don't waste any time. At the same time, the summoning seals are folded, and snakes and coffins appear in the clearing. And something from the sky casts a sweeping, crooked shadow.

- Wow! - it breaks out from someone and the look itself clings to a bird soaring in the sky. The huge, steel-clawed creature hovering in the air was a bird only because it had wings.

Shinobi from the Hidden Cloud and Stone put the seals of the summoning. Sakura instinctively steps back - during a fight, a medic should not be on the front line. Kiba and Shikamaru immediately cover her, and Haruno suddenly remembers the fourth rule. But now there is no need for such extremes, because on their side are some of the best Shinobi Konoha.

- We will go ahead and dispel Edo Tensei, - Uzumaki declares, folding the seals of shadow cloning. He has the Fourth World War and a short conversation with Itachi alive in his memory. A conversation that should have started much earlier, and then everything would probably have been resolved quite differently. - We'll leave these to you.

Sasuke seemed to be just waiting for this decision. The fireball sweeps over the clearing, but does not cause any damage. The enemy manifests himself: with amazing ease, he absorbs the fire technique. And it is unclear whether all three of them are capable of this, or only one of them. But for the upcoming battle, this is also very valuable information.

Shinobi with one stripe on his forehead laughs. Sasuke's attack seemed too weak to him. Useless. But Uchiha didn't even try to defeat them. Otherwise, I wouldn't have used my most harmless technique. He only wanted to…

- No! Sakura exhales, realizing that in addition to allies and the enemy, only the Uzumaki clone remained in the clearing. Sasuke and Naruto easily broke through, taking advantage of the faint commotion. - Don't rush! If you dispel the technique, you too…

"We're already dead, Sakura," Naruto's clone harshly interrupts her. - And you haven't yet…

***

Uzumaki has always been determined and stubborn. And that's why he seemed so annoying. But still there is something frightening in his silent determination to help the allies at all costs, to dispel Edo Tensei.

But Sakura is right. After the cancellation of this technique, they will disappear. Is he really... not bitter at all? After all, he so desperately wanted to become a Hokage…

But Sasuke is not going to ask about it. A little scary. It's scary to hear accusations against yourself, and even though there is always something to answer, and, in the end, Naruto is to blame for something that everything ended like this for them, it's still scary to hear a reproach from a best friend. The words of others do not hurt him at all, as long as he knows, as long as he knows for sure that Uzumaki is on his side.

"How far is it?" - it's important. It is important to understand how much time they still have. It will all be over when the technology dissipates. And this boundless sky, which so delighted them, will disappear forever…

"Almost there," Uzumaki responds. His voice is tense and dissatisfied. As if something is wrong.

- what? - Uchiha instinctively picks up and opens his left eye, peering ahead with a rinnegan.

- I feel Kakashi-sensei's chakra, - Naruto confesses confusedly and stops on a wide branch of one of the trees. "There," he pointed ahead.

"You mean it's him?"

- No, - Uzumaki waved away irritably. - He's not alone there. And there's something wrong! - he moved his nose, sniffing at something, and was already preparing to jump, when Sasuke, unexpectedly for himself, grabbed his hand.

- Wait.

- what?

Naruto froze warily, measured Uchiha with a defiant look. From this look, a long-forgotten feeling stirred up in my soul. Not cold and not warm, but calm.

- We can stay.

Sasuke wasn't going to talk about it. He kept pushing away this annoying thought, the thought that he knew how to get around Edo Tensei. It turns out that everything is so simple…

...Although maybe not. Maybe you need to be an Uchiha to know how to do this. And you also need to be dead…

- No, - Naruto said quietly and confidently. As always, he looked straight ahead and was firmly convinced of what he said.

Sasuke chuckled. For some reason, this was the answer he expected to hear.

"It's been a long time, Sasuke," Uzumaki continued quietly. "We don't belong here.

- I know, - Uchiha released his friend's hand.

"So why are you telling me this, dattebayo?!

- Because we can stay, and you should know about it.

"... After all, it's you who have unfulfilled dreams. After all, it was I who stopped you a step away from your cherished goal..."

Uzumaki nodded slowly. He clenched his hand into a fist and held it out to Sasuke. A well-known provocative, determined smile slowly appeared on his lips. Uchiha grunted, punched his fist and resolutely rejected the silent offer to bypass Edo Tensei himself. There is no reason to stay here alone. Not anymore.

In appearance, this clearing was no different from the others. In such secluded places Orochimaru usually founded his shelters. Finding the entrance to the dungeons has always been a difficult task. However, there was no need to go underground now. The one they needed was sitting in the middle of the clearing. He sat motionless, his hands folded in a full sign of agreement and listened intently to something. And it wasn't Orochimaru, as Sasuke thought for some reason at first. And not Kabuto tried to repeat his recent "feat".

Uchiha had never seen this Shinobi before. Against the backdrop of picturesque nature, he stood out strongly with his white clothes. And he himself was white, somehow faceless. The face could not even be seen - it was hidden by snow-white bandages.

- This is him, - confirmed all the guesses of Naruto. - He's wrong…

Now, looking at the enemy sitting in front of him, Sasuke realized what Uzumaki meant. No, it wasn't the appearance of the immobile Shinobi. His Ki was unusual. Not like the others. Not as disturbing as Kaguya's, but too strong for one simple ninja. And even Orochimaru in his best years did not make him so surprised. There was something very wrong with this Shinobi. It wasn't worth approaching him without a plan. Uchiha squinted at Naruto. He was already folding the Shadow Cloning seals. Dobe. No, to discuss the plan first!

Shinobi suddenly opened his eyes. He looked indifferently at Uzumaki's shadow clones and quickly folded the seals of the storm element. Black clouds surrounded the enemy. Lightning flashed in them every now and then, strongly resembling Chidori. As soon as Naruto's clones got closer, they were struck by lightning. But Uzumaki didn't care much about that. The clones served only as a distraction. He himself was already ready to attack with his irreplaceable Rasengan. But it was not possible to catch the enemy by surprise. In front of. An unfamiliar Shinobi was able to surprise them. He simply absorbed one of Naruto's strongest attacks. He removed the bandage from his left hand, and absorbed it. Uchiha still managed to notice some signs painted on the pale palm. When Shinobi absorbed the chakra, the signs glowed.

To throw Uzumaki aside does not mean to get rid of him at all. The clone attacking Rasengan disappeared in a white cloud, while the last one, the real Naruto, swung a kunai for a decisive blow. The enemy blocked the attack with his right hand. The Kunai broke with a clang.

Shinobi was unusual. He used strange techniques. Sasuke had never seen anything like it before. Or rather, I saw it. But different people. And this one has gathered their talents. And it is not yet known whether his abilities are limited to what he has just demonstrated.

"Be careful with him, Naruto," Kurama warned.

- Do you know him? Uzumaki asked mentally, getting to his feet. Having stopped the kunai, the enemy counterattacked with lightning speed. Naruto didn't have time to dodge, and the blow landed on his shoulder. But there was no pain. Shinobi didn't even really understand what happened.

- One of the old renegades of Konoha, - the Fox snorted, sitting down more comfortably and joining his paws, going to accumulate chakra. - Hiroko, I think. Unrecognized sannin.

- He absorbs the chakra, - Uzumaki mused aloud. "Absorbing," he repeated, and happily slammed his fist into the palm of his hand. - Absorb natural energy and petrify!

- And then you will never dispel Edo Tensei, - the Fox chuckled.

- Damn it!

- Naruto.

Sasuke's voice is distracting. Uzumaki looks around. The enemy stood up, deliberately slowly stretching his legs. Uchiha came closer. He kept his eyes on the opponent, but was clearly determined to talk a little.

"This is Hiruko," Naruto shared. - Unrecognized sannin Konoha.

- How do you know? Sasuke was involuntarily surprised.

- Kurama said, - Uzumaki grinned contentedly and became serious. - It absorbs the chakra.

- I saw it.

- And also owns the storm technique.

- I get it.

- And the elements have become.

"So that's what it was," Sasuke thought, remembering the broken kunai.

And the enemy is incredibly fast. But they realized it only now, when Hiruko was between them in the blink of an eye and threw them in different directions.

- Sasuke! Uzumaki shouted. There was no excitement or anxiety in his voice. Just indignation. - We have to be faster!

Uchiha chuckled. They are unlikely to be faster. But on one level - so it's for sure.

"We need to immobilize him," Sasuke said softly. - I'll take care of the rest.

- Mayton: Justice.

Hiruko held out his left hand. The symbols on his palm lit up. Uchiha and Uzumaki were hit by the flow of chakra. Shinobi jumped away in different directions. Someone else's attack grazed their hands. But Edo Tensei slowly restored their damaged bodies.

"I woke you up," Hiruko said softly, peering into the faces of the resurrected Shinobi. "You must obey me.

Naruto snorted, joined his hands on his chest, summoning the Fox's chakra. The opponent didn't seem to notice it.

- What went wrong? - he asked himself.

Uchiha grimaced slightly. The Shinobi's research tone annoyed him. Out of place, I remembered Kabuto. And how much I especially wanted to kill him when he started talking about the next experiments to Orochimaru. If the information wasn't so important, the bespectacled man wouldn't have lasted so long…

- Cancel Edo Tensei! Naruto demanded. He was instantly transported to Hiruko, but he just as quickly evaded the attack.

"By all means," he promised, blocking Uchiha's lunge with the element of steel. - But after I finish what I started. Why don't you just wait a bit?

- Why are you using Edo Tensei? Sasuke asked dryly, moving to Naruto.

"To distract everyone," Hiruko shrugged his shoulders almost imperceptibly. - So they don't get in the way.

- And what do you want to do? Naruto asked suspiciously, slowly removing the nine-tailed chakra.

"Become the perfect immortal ninja," Hiruko announced solemnly. - While everyone is busy with Edo Tensei, I will get the fifth improved genome and finish what I started so long ago…

- I didn't understand anything, - Naruto snorted. - But I don't like it! He folded the seals and two shadow clones immediately appeared next to him.

Hiruko made a slight grimace. The Shinobi Alliance were too close. Edo Tensei is holding them back. They can't get in here and stop him. There is no way to dispel this technique. We'll have to restrain these two.

...But he has no one else to resurrect. It remains either to summon those three, or to try to subdue their minds again. However, no matter how many times he tried to do it, nothing came of it. It turned out only once…

"We wanted to find you," Sasuke chuckled, guessing what Hiruko was trying to do, "so you were able to control us."

"It won't work anymore," Uzumaki assured him. - I don't like to obey.

"Well," Hiruko chuckled to himself, "you can do this..." he quickly folded the summoning seals, and four coffins appeared in the air around him. A minute passed, and Shinobi dressed in burgundy cloaks came out of them.

- Do you know them? Naruto asked, looking at the summoned "enemies".

- No.

Naruto frowned, clearly about to say something, but suddenly stopped himself. He threw up his head and turned around sharply, recklessly turning his back to the enemy. However, no one began to use it. The summoned Shinobi were all trying to figure out what was going on. Hiruko was in no hurry to do anything. The fact that time dragged on was clearly in his favor.

Uzumaki peered into the distance for a few seconds, and then, in his favorite style, shouted loudly.

- Kakashi-sensei!

It was difficult to recognize Kakashi for some reason. This stooped, limp-stepping Shinobi looked too little like a Copying Ninja Leaf. But the closer the Shinobi came, the more recognizable he became. Hatake was still hiding his left eye under the tread, although there was no need for that anymore. Kakashi didn't answer the call. And Sasuke was finally convinced that the former mentor was being controlled.

- Kakashi-sensei! - and Naruto, as always, remained stubborn.

"That's right, Kakashi," Hiruko encouraged softly, "come here.

And everything fell into place at once. The improved genome is sharingan. And since the enemy does not know that he is no longer there, it means that it was deliberately hidden. What for? Because of Hiruko? Or because of the Shinobi Alliance? It doesn't matter now.

Uzumaki rushed to Kakashi. Summoned to thwart them, the Shinobi couldn't even block his path: Naruto was faster. He grabbed Kakashi by the shoulder, shook him hard, but he didn't seem to notice it. I kept trying to move forward, no matter what.

- Don't get in the way! - Hiruko attacked Naruto with the storm element again, but this time he was much faster. He dodged, reinforced the Rasengan with lava, and immediately counterattacked the enemy. But this time, his attack was absorbed and almost immediately returned.

Sasuke moved closer. Noting out of the corner of his eye that Uzumaki was recovering, he separated Hiruko and Kakashi with a black flame. Amaterasu made the opponent freeze and take a closer look at the Uchiha.

- There's something wrong with Kakashi-sensei! - more indignant than surprised or alarmed, Naruto declared.

"He realized it quickly," Sasuke chuckled skeptically to himself.

"He's being controlled," he said aloud. - We are changing.