18 Chapter 18: Danzo's Counter Attack

The ground shook violently as the shape of Naruto's Susanoo started to change. It started to grow very large in size, its skeleton structure solidified and was now covered in armor.

Its head was also covered by a shining black armor, and the sharingan looking eyes of the Susanoo flashed dangerously.

Naruto was barely able to suppress the scream in his throat. The curse seal was destroying him from the inside, he had to use Kurama's chakra for his Susanoo, but the pain was unbearable. It was as if he was being burned alive.

Sai sensed Naruto's pain, he also saw the Anbu rushing towards them.

"It will take him a few more moments, to complete his Jutsu." thought Sai seriously

"Sumi Bunshin No Jutsu (Ink Shadow Clone)"

Sai immediately created 10 identical ink clones who were ready to fight with the enemy.

"Everyone, engage the enemy and hold them off, as long as possible." commanded Sai strictly

All the ink clones silently nodded, they unsheathed their Tanto, and charged towards the enemy.

"Defensive Formation." yelled one of Sai's ink clones.

All the clones knew that fighting head on with such a huge force was suicide, as a result they were trying their best to stall the enemy, and give Naruto some time.

"Doton Doryuuheki (Earth Release: Mud Wall Jutsu)"

All the clones formed a large mud wall in order to stop the advancing enemy forces.

The clones then immediately took out something from their pouches, and attached it to their bodies.

The mud wall was shattered to pieces in a few seconds and several Anbu jumped at the ink clones with a murderous KI.

"Katsu"

The original Sai immediately performed the ram seal and detonated his ink clones. The ink clones had attached explosive tags on their bodies on Sai's command.

The impact was instantaneous, the clones were blown to pieces along with several of the Root Anbu. Many Root Anbu were badly injured, again dust covered the entire corridor.

Sai could feel the Root forces had stopped, they must be checking for any further traps, and their injured.

Sai heard a thud behind him, and when he looked back his eyes widened in shock.

Naruto was lying flat on the ground, there was a pool of blood all around him, and Sai knew that it must be Naruto's own blood. His entire body was covered in black marks.

Naruto's eyes were barely open, and he was panting roughly.

"The Curse Seal," thought Sai angrily

He rushed towards his friend and picked him up, Naruto's entire body was burning very badly.

He immediately coughed up blood again.

"Naruto, let me talk with your friend," said Kurama urgently

Naruto just nodded, he could barely keep himself awake. If this curse seal continued like this, then he would be dead in a few minutes.

Sai was quite surprised when Naruto's Mangekyo Sharingan became slit.

"Sai, was your name?" asked the "new" Naruto

Sai was quite surprised with this new voice, what was happening to his new friend.

"Who are you?" asked Sai warily

"I'm the Kyubi." said the "new" Naruto.

Sai's eyes widened when he realized he was talking to the strongest Biju in the world.

"Listen to me carefully, someone is triggering this curse seal. It is destroying Naruto from the inside," said "new" Naruto bitterly

"Can't you do something about it?" asked Sai worriedly

"No, in this situation I cannot do anything. You must find the caster of this seal, and finish him off." said "new" Naruto seriously

Sai's eyes hardened and his entire body was shaking badly. He was pissed.

"You are telling me to leave him here, against so many enemy. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?" yelled Sai angrily

"I know this is harsh-" said the "new" Naruto but was cut off.

"I won't leave him, not in a situation like this. He'll die." said Sai angrily

"He's dead either way, do you know how badly his body is destroyed from the inside. If this continues, he'll die in a few minutes." said the "new" Naruto sternly

"But-" said Sai in protest but stopped.

"Sai...just go. Find Danzo...he is the one who is doing this." said Naruto tiredly

Sai looked at his dying friend, he calculated all the odds. If he stayed here and protected Naruto from Root, he would stay alive for a few minutes, but the curse seal would kill him.

But if he went in search of Danzo, then he would be leaving Naruto all alone in front of an overwhelming enemy force.

He was fucked.

"Sai..I can still fight." said Naruto a little harshly.

He slowly started getting up, Sai caught his shoulders and helped him stand up.

"Are you sure?" asked Sai in a concerned voice

"The mission comes first...both of us know Sai, we are not going to make it back alive. In order to fulfill the next objective of Operation Ghost, we must finish Danzo and his army. I'll hold them off, find Danzo and kill him." said Naruto seriously

"Understood." said Sai sadly

He was quite surprised when Naruto grabbed his shoulders and brought him close to his face.

Sai was now directly staring into Naruto's Mangekyo Sharingan, he heard Naruto speak some words.

What was going on? What was Naruto doing?

Naruto sensed his friend's confusion, he put a hand on his friend's shoulders and spoke in a soft voice.

"Relax, I didn't do anything harmful to you. I gave you some of my power, one that would help you in your objective and protect the Hidden Leaf." explained Naruto simply

"I see...I'll be going now." said Sai and turned around.

"Take care of yourself. I'm counting on you," said Naruto in a kind voice

"Don't die on me, or else I'll drag you back from hell and kill you again myself," sad Sai with a smirk

Naruto chuckled a little and gave one last hug to his friend.

"For Konoha."

"For Konoha"

Both the friends parted, Sai rushed towards another direction in order to find Danzo, he knew he had to stop him, or else his friend was dead.

He wouldn't fail, no matter what.

In the meanwhile, smoke started clearing and Naruto could see the entire Root Anbu forces getting ready.

"This isn't going to be easy." sighed Naruto

"Indeed, without your Susanoo, you are at a great disadvantage. And you cannot even use my chakra, so your wounds won't heal, and the curse seal is indeed destroying your cells. Athough it has slowed down since you have stopped using my power." said Kurama angrily

"Are you trying to make me more depressed?" asked Naruto sarcastically

"Shut the fuck up, you little shit!" yelled Kurama angrily

"Troublesome"

(With Sai)

He rushed through the dark corridors.

Where was he supposed to go, he wasn't a sensor like his friend.

Should he go left, or right. He didn't know which direction was right, every wall looked the same.

It was like a fucking maze.

Sai gave a frustrated sigh, he couldn't even use his ink animals for scouting. He had to preserve his chakra in order to kill Danzo.

He knew that he was not strong enough to Kill Danzo, but they were out of options.

The mission was getting worse with each passing moment, and the odds were definitely not in their favour.

Sai gripped his tanto more tightly, he didn't even want to think about the situation if Danzo unleashed her.

Rei was the only one whom Naruto could never kill.

Sai knew Naruto would rather die then kill his own flesh and blood.

He wouldn't kill his own daughter, no matter what. Not for Konoha, or not for anything in the world.

Sai sensed some disturbing energy to his right, he looked in the direction and his eyes widened when he saw his target.

"Found you"

(With Naruto)

Naruto stared at the Root forces, they were glaring at him murderously. He could see they were seeing him as a traitor, and it didn't bother him at all.

Because he was a traitor of Root.

He sensed something that sent shivers down his spine. He used his sensor abilities again, and his eyes widened in fear.

His body started shaking badly, he couldn't believe what he just found.

"Naruto..what's happening?" asked Kurama worriedly

He couldn't believe Naruto Uchiha was covering in fear. That boy wasn't scared on taking up a suicide mission, nor was he scared when he fought with hundreds of Anbu special forces on his own. He didn't back down, even in the face of death.

But why was he in fear now, his entire body was shivering.

"She's here," said Naruto dreadfully

Kurama's eyes widened in shock, was it really true?

"Naruto, steel yourself. You must fight," advised Kurama sadly

"My daughter's in the enemy forces, you idiot!" yelled Naruto in his mind.

"Then be careful, not to kill her," said Kurama tiredly

Naruto steeled himself, he had to do this. He had to rescue his daughter.

A lot of emotions were going through his mind. He was going to meet his daughter, his own flesh and blood.

Words couldn't describe how happy he felt, it was always his dream to have a family one day. But since this mission came in his life, that dream was shattered.

But now everything had changed, even though Danzo had committed an atrocity, something good came out of it.

Naruto now had a reason to live, a reason to come back alive. Even Kurama had felt Naruto's desire to live come back again, when he found he had a daughter.

Naruto didn't know whether his daughter knew him, he was scared for her. He blamed himself for her fate.

"She didn't deserve this. I should have been there for her, I should have given her a life full of happiness. But because of me, she lived and grew up in such a way. Kurama, I am worse than scum." said Naruto sadly and tears dropped from his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault, you didn't know she was born. I'm sure that you would have given her, everything she desired, and a good life." said Kurama in a comforting voice

"This doesn't change anything, its all my fault." said Naruto regretfully

Kurama just sighed, this boy sure had a lot of guilt issues. Talking him out of it was pointless, so he decided to make the boy focus more on the battle.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Kurama seriously

"I cannot use Susanoo at least until Sai intercepts Danzo. Even if I could use it somehow, I wouldn't." said Naruto seriously

"Why is that?" asked Kurama curiously

"Its because Rei is in there somewhere, these bastards are using her. I think Fu and Torune know about this, they know fighting me is dangerous. So they are limiting my attacks by using her as a shield. I cannot do any large scale attacks like before, I don't want to kill my own daughter." said Naruto firmly

"I want to ask you something." said Kurama firmly

"Shoot" said Naruto, the Root were now finally prepared and the attack was about to begin anytime soon.

"What did you do with your friend?" asked Kurama seriously

"I gave him a one time weapon, I know Sai is not strong enough to kill Danzo." said Naruto shamefully

"We have sent him into a meat grinder, you know that, don't you?" asked Kurama sadly

"Yes, I know there is a risk, but we are out of choices. Sai will interrupt Danzo which will stop this curse seal, I will finish the enemy and rush towards him, after I get Rei to a secure location. Sai knows the risks too, but we are shinobi. I have taken a precautionary measure to protect my friend, but Sai is no slouch either, he is strong. I will believe in my friend." said Naruto with determination.

Kurama agreed with Naruto's explanation.

"Then how are you going to deal with these idiots?" asked Kurama strictly

"Just like old times," said Naruto with a smirk

(With Sai)

In a dark room, two people stood on the opposite sides.

One was Sai Satou, a Root Anbu who had now turned traitor along with his captain, Naruto Uchiha. Sai was looking at his enemy murderously.

His opponent was none other than Danzo Shimura.

The Yami No Shinobi, the man who had fought in three great ninja wars, the one who had protected Konoha during the Kyubi attack too. The man was a legend and commander of a group of elite special forces.

Sai wouldn't lie, he was nervous. Danzo was his former commander and teacher, he knew everything about Sai. His strength, his weakness, his skills, Danzo knew everything.

And in the shinobi world when your opponent knew everything about you, and was stronger than you, it only meant one thing.

Your death was imminent.

Danzo had a neutral expression on his face, it was as if he wasn't even affected by what was happening in his base.

The man sure knew how to control his emotions.

"You are nervous," stated Danzo calmly

Sai didn't answer and instead threw a kunai laced with explosive tag at Danzo quickly.

There was a loud explosion and fire started burning in the place where Danzo had stood before. Although the man was not visible at all.

"Where is he?" thought Sai

His danger senses kicked off and he immediately jumped high in the air, just a moment later there was a slash. Sai looked down and he saw Danzo had tried to slice his head off with a kunai.

But why was the man standing there with a calm face?

"Shit" thought Sai alarmingly

In the last moment, he blocked an attack from behind with the help of his tanto, but he soon received a very hard kick on his back, which sent him crashing in the wall.

"Genjutsu, but when did he caught me?" thought Sai frustratingly, his left shoulder was badly injured but he could fight.

For now.

He looked behind and saw Danzo standing in the same place with a neutral expression on his face.

"You are still a failure, you have good reflexes, but you cannot defeat me," said Danzo calmly

"We'll see," said Sai neutrally, it wouldn't do any good if he fell for Danzo's jabs.

"When did you create her?" asked Sai sternly, he would try to buy Naruto as much time as possible.

"So, you know. You were always a good spy, but you won't be getting any answers from me," said Danzo in an emotionless voice

"Then, I'll beat it out of you," said Sai and prepared to attack.

Sai jumped in the air, and launched a kunai towards Danzo at high speed.

"Pitiful" thought Danzo disappointingly

He was quite surprised when the kunai exploded and his vision was disrupted.

"Flash Bomb, so he attached it within his kunai. Smart," thought Danzo analytically

"Chōjū Giga (Super Beast Imitating Drawing)"

Danzo heard Sai's voice in the corridor, he sensed multiple enemy signatures approaching his position. He immediately took out several shuriken and threw them in different directions.

The sounds of metal hitting flesh could be heard, and it was soon followed by dripping noises showing Danzo had his the targets perfectly.

"Now"

Sai suddenly came out of the ground beneath Danzo's feet and with all his energy attacked Danzo.

Danzo received a high kick on his chin, which sent him flying in the air. Sai grabbed his arm, and swinged him wildly and sent him crashing towards the ground.

However Danzo controlled his body and gracefully back flipped and landed on the ground.

A small amount of blood was leaking out of his mouth.

"Your Ninjutsu attacks have improved. Earth style attack huh, you used a flash bomb to disrupt my field of vision, then you distracted me with your previous attack in order to get close to hit me. Pretty impressive strategy, but not good enough." said Danzo neutrally

"Are you done, because I ain't here to listen to your bullshit," said Sai in a bored tone

Danzo didn't give any reaction to Sai's insult, he was in a fight and falling for an enemy's jabs was not a trait of a shinobi.

"Still trying to be loyal to your friend, tell me what did Hiruzen offer you both?" asked Danzo in an interested tone

"My loyalty will always be with my friend, and the village till the end. Nothing you say would ever change that. You are a monster, you ruined so many lives. You took Shin-niisan from us," said Sai angrily

"So, its about revenge, pitiful. A true shinobi must control his emotions, you have broken the first rule of being a shinobi, by not controlling your feelings. Useless things like emotions only get in your way." said Danzo firmly

"Do you really believe that bullshit?" asked Sai seriously

"Yes, that is a trait of a true shinobi. A ninja must always follow the rules and regulations, something which you never did, nor your traitorous friend. You both are enemy of Konoha, and I'll finish you both." said Danzo seriously and leaked his KI

Sai gripped his tanto firmly, he would stop Danzo at all costs. He remembered everything which Naruto and Shin had done for him, the bond which they shared with each other. Nothing would ever change his feelings for his friends.

"You're right, In the ninja world, those who break the rules and laws are regarded as scum..." said Sai with determination

Danzo looked at his former student and subordinate curiously.

"...but, those who abandon even one of their friends are worse than scum," said Sai firmly

Danzo's eyes widened a little as it made him remember his team; Kagami, Torifu, Koharu, Homura, his one time friend and now rival Hiruzen, and their sensei. The bond which his team had shared in the past, his friendship with Hiruzen during his childhood.

Their plays, their pranks, their pain, all of it.

He had broken every bond, every friendship, he had abandoned all his friends just for this purpose.

Had he done the right thing?

He shook his thoughts of such trivial things.

"I must bring peace to this world" thought Danzo firmly

"I'm scum anyway...so I'm going to choose to break the rules, if doing this somehow make me less of a true shinobi. Then I'll just crush all of your so called "real" shinobi" said Sai with passion

Sai Satou would protect his friend at all costs.

(With Naruto)

He stared at the enemies in front of him, his eyes were trying to find his daughter in the sea of enemies. He would find her at all costs.

The curse seal was not harming his body, it only meant one thing.

Sai had disrupted Danzo, and was now fighting with him.

"Hang in there, Sai." prayed Naruto.

His thoughts then drifted to his innocent daughter.

Naruto knew Rei was created from his cells, it was done without his consent. But that didn't change anything, he was her father. He didn't care if she was genetically engineered, a clone, or his replica. Rei Uchiha was his daughter and there was no force in the entire world that would stop him , from saving her.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)"

Naruto formed 10 identical shadow clones that would help him in his fight against the enemy.

Torune jumped in the front and weaved a set of hand signs.

"Dokujin no Jutsu (Poison Cloud Technique)"

Naruto saw a large dark purple wall coming towards him at high speed. He knew the Aburame clan specialized in hidden ninjutsu, and used their bugs as their battle partners.

"Naruto, these are no ordinary bugs. They are highly poisonous. Kill them now" commanded Kurama

"Hai" said Naruto firmly

He nodded to his shadow clones and all of them performed their hand seals together.

"Futon: Shinkuha(Wind Release: Vacuum Wave)"

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu(Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu)"

Naruto released a large fireball from his mouth, while his clones launched their powerful wind attack.

Both fire and wind ninjutsu combined and formed a fiery tornado, which collided with the approaching bugs.

A huge blast occurred as the attacks collided with each other, ultimately the bugs were helpless against the combined power of the fire and wind ninjutsu.

All the bugs were burned to nothing, and were reduced to ashes.

The smoke cleared and Naruto barely avoided a lethal attack, however 4 of his clones were not so fortunate, and were destroyed.

He looked back and was quite shocked to see a rhino had attacked him, he looked around and saw Fu had his hands placed on the ground.

"A Summoning Jutsu" thought Naruto calmly

He looked towards his remaining clones.

"3 of you engage the enemy, while the rest of you follow me." commanded Naruto firmly

"Hai" said all the clones in unison

Naruto and his clones jumped in the air, as the rhino destroyed the spot where they were standing with his horn.

"Combination B, NOW!" yelled Naruto quickly

"Roger" said his shadow clones.

(With other 3 Shadow Clones)

Fu and the rest of the Anbu rushed towards Naruto, but were stopped when 3 of his clones jumped in front of them.

"You'll be fighting us," said the clones in unison

Fu and Torune knew, these were not ordinary clones. They were the shadow clones of a Anbu captain class ninja, they would not go down so easily.

"We have to take them out quickly" thought both Fu and Torune

"Attack" said both the captains and many Root Anbu charged towards the shadow clones.

The clones took out their weapons and performed their jutsu.

"Fuuton Kaiten Shuriken (Wind Release: Rotating Shuriken Jutsu)"

Hundreds of shuriken powered with wind chakra were launched by Naruto's shadow clones at the approaching Root Anbu forces.

Many Root Anbu tried to stop the shuriken but they cut right through their swords, and killed several Anbu on the spot. Their bodies lifelessly fell to the ground, one after the other quickly

"This isn't going to be easy.." thought Torune with a sigh

(With Original Naruto)

Naruto and his clones had now surrounded the rhino from all sides, the creature was bounded by ninja wire, and it seemed it was struggling to break free.

Naruto knew he didn't have much time, so he decided to finish off the summon. He nodded to his clones and they got ready.

"Fuuton Kazekiri No Jutsu (Wind Release: Wind Cutter Jutsu)"

One of Naruto's clones performed his wind style attack, and several sharp invisible blades of wind shredded the rhino's legs. The creature fell down on the ground and screamed in agony.

"Raiton : Shichu Shibari ( Lightning Release : Four Pillar Bind)"

Another clone performed his ninjutsu, and four pillars rose all around the rhino and started subduing it by shocking him with jolts of electricity.

"Raiton : Juurokuchuu Shibari ( Lightning Release : Binding of Sixteen Pillars)"

The last clone completed his hand seals, and immediately sixteen pillars formed all around the rhino, and formed a dome which trapped the creature inside.

"Katon : Suyaki No Jutsu (Fire Element : Bisque Technique)"

The real Naruto performed his hand seal and inside the dome fire started burning, the rhino's screams could be heard in the entire corridor, and soon there was a puff of smoke indicating the summon must have died and returned to its world.

Naruto immediately had to perform a substitution in order to save himself from getting hit by a hail of Kunai and shuriken.

His clones tried to fight but the weapons were too many in numbers for them, and they were ultimately destroyed.

Naruto looked around for his other shadow clone team, but he couldn't sense their chakra, which meant they were destroyed. He could also see his clones hadn't died without a fight.

The bodies of 30 Root Anbu lying on the ground were a proof of that. His clones had fought valiantly till the end.

His eyes widened in shock when he was punched hard in the face, and sent crashing in the wall.

Several debris fell on him, as the entire wall broke due to the force of his collision.

Naruto coughed up a lot of blood, he could feel a few bones of his face being badly injured.

He hadn't even sensed his attacker's presence, nor had he seen the attacker. That was impossible, his eyes were sharp.

The dust cleared and Naruto's blurry vision could see someone standing in the darkness.

It must be his attacker, it was a female.

She barely looked 6 years old, but still her KI, her chakra level was off the charts. This was no ordinary Root Anbu.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock when he saw the girl's face.

Silky blonde hair, a small face that was almost identical to Naruto's own face. The same cheeks, the same lips, the same chin, the same ears.

And a hateful pair of three tomoe sharingan eyes.

"It can't be.." said Naruto in shock, his hands started trembling.

"So, she's finally here." said Kurama in shock

Rei Uchiha stood in front of Naruto, and was glaring hatefully at him.

"Naruto Uchiha...I will KILL YOU!" said Rei darkly

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