Chapter 92 : War Cometh (2)

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Minato stood at attention, his body and skill now mirroring what it used to be. He couldn't help the small smirk on his face, which was covered by his white mask. He wore grey armor over black cloth, a mandatory tanto on his back, and his weapon's pouch on his hip and right leg. His sun-kissed hair swayed with the breeze, and his breath was calm.

"Team Ro," Neko began, "Welcome our newest member," she gestured to Minato, "Nezumi-Two." She finished, causing actions that, if not for his natural reflexes, Minato would have been smashed into the earth.

Ushi, a hulk of a man, rushed towards him with speeds that shouldn't have been possible for someone of his size. The ox-masked operative raised his massively muscled arm, ready to smash the imposter. The real Nezumi was tiny on the outside, and even though the hair matched, this person was not taicho!

Minato barely had enough time to dodge the man's assault, swiveling to his right, placing an opened palm on his body out of habit. Before he could react, the hulking man was upon him again, his speed almost too much for the Yellow Flash to handle.

A giant fist was mere seconds from crushing his skull, when "Nezumi-Two" simply vanished in a gilded light.

Before Ushi knew it, a tri-pronged kunai was pointing at his kidney. Ushi grunted, before doing something… unexpected. He rotated, allowing the knife to slice his flesh clean, before bringing both of his hands up, poised to smash this pretender.

"Ushi, enough!" Neko finally spoke, her words caring the authority of the real Nezumi, so he listened, but kept his fists ready to take him out.

"What is this, Neko-taicho?" Saru asked the question on everyone's mind. How could anyone take up the title of Nezumi after the Kamikage had made it so famous? There wasn't a person in the entire village, save for maybe Hatake Kakashi, who could wear the mask with confidence, and that's only because Kakashi had a similar reputation within the corps, not because he was equal in power.

"Ro-Han," Neko began, her voice stern, "What we are about to discuss is an SS-class secret, one given only to you by Naruto-taicho's command. This secret will never leave your lips, and you will only hear it once." The team tensed. Something so secretive was usually "Hokage ears only".

The fact that their taicho thought them worthy to know meant a lot to them. The greatest ANBU squad ever to grace Konohagakure no Sato stood straight, their demeanor that of professional assassins.

"Nezumi-Two, take off your mask."

Whatever Team Ro was expecting wouldn't prepare them for what was to come. They had fought alongside the Bringer of Hope, the most powerful shinobi in all the Elemental Nations. They had seen Uzumaki Naruto do the impossible on multiple occasions.

Whether it be destroying entire nation's singlehandedly, or battling gods, they stood next to him with no fear, confident in his strength and ridiculous success record. But when they finally saw what was underneath the mask of the blond, they would find nothing but confusion and shock.

Nezumi-Two smirked, placing his hand on his mouse-like mask.

Taking his time, he took off his mask, lowering it so that his face was shown to the small team of the most deadly shinobi in the world.

All of Ro-Han froze.

...

"Kid…" Jiraiya finally decided to speak up after staying silent for the entire day they'd been traveling. "I know why you wanted to bring the Uchiha gaki along," he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at said raven-haired "gaki", "But why did we bring the death glare kid?" He asked.

Naruto turned his head to his newest student, chuckling at the "death glare" comment. Turning back to his godfather, he smiled. "Gaara is one of my students now." He stated.

"We have no idea how long we are going to be gone, and I didn't want to leave him in my room at Nee-chan's place the entire time." He shook his head. "And I need to begin training him as well.

They need to be ready for when the Akatsuki stop playing around, especially Gaara." He wouldn't let the Akatsuki take Gaara's Bijuu from him, he refused.

Jiraiya nodded, excepting the answer. "Alright…" he then gave a pointed look. "But if he starts randomly killing people, I'm blaming you." He knew exactly how unstable the ex-Suna Jinchuuriki was, and his apparent unquenchable thirst for blood was disconcerting.

Naruto just gave him a happy smile and nodded.

They had been traveling for an entire day already, searching town to town all throughout Hi no Kuni. Apparently, one of Jiraiya's spies spotted Tsunade in the neighboring "gambling villages", which, to someone as close to the woman as Jiraiya, was the obvious location of the "legendary sucker".

Naruto had briefly spoken to both Sasuke and Gaara about the mission, and both didn't care too much. Sasuke followed because his master asked him to come, and Gaara followed so he could learn; learn how to truly be alive, to be awake…

…to be a monster.

Naruto could feel these emotions in his fellow Jinchuuriki, and he was almost as excited as the red head.

Another monster would soon grace the earth, and it was going to be glorious.

....

Onoki, Tsuchikage of Iwagakure no Sato, sat in his office, a faraway look on his face. He just sat there in the dark, wishing he had never crossed Konoha.

How was he supposed to know that… he was so strong? The – was he even human? – boy's strength was on a level so far above anything he'd ever seen before in his life, and he had even faced the nightmare that was Uchiha Madara.

The blond-haired, blue-eyed child reached to the heavens, and brought their wrath down upon his people without a second thought. The son had truly surpassed the father, because Iwa had a new butcher, a new boogeyman, a new harbinger of death and destruction.

The one they call Uzumaki Naruto, the Kamikage of Konohagakure no Sato, the most terrifying shinobi the aged Onoki had ever faced.

He looked down at his hands… they were still shaking.

He was afraid.

Suddenly, his door slammed open, an upset, short-haired young woman rushing in. She wore the standard red, one sleeved Iwa shinobi uniform.

"Jiji!" Kurotsuchi, the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, ran towards her grandfather. "W-What happened?" She asked. Kurotsuchi had been on a mission to Kumo when she heard word of what happened in Konoha, and she rushed back as fast as she could; only now arriving.

She could see the sheer terror in her grandfather's eyes. It was enough to frighten her, because her grandfather was so powerful, so invincible in her eyes, that anything that could make him so… so fearful thoroughly terrified her. When she saw his shaking hands she grabbed them into hers, squeezing tight.

Onoki finally registered that someone had entered his office and made eye contact with his granddaughter. "The heavens," he started in a shaky, breathless whisper, "They…" he shivered, "They spoke." Kurotsuchi narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"The Kamikage… he opened the heavens…" he started to panic. "He's not human!" he warned, "He's something more! We… we need to prepare!"

A look that she'd never seen in her grandfather's eyes replaced the fear, the anxiety.

"P-prepare for what, Jiji?" she asked, hesitantly.

Onoki gave her a dark, sinister look, taking to the air before answering.

"Prepare for war, Kurotsuchi." He stated in a cold voice. "We prepare for war."

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