Chapter 4

Everything was developing in a completely undesirable way. Not the most ordinary Shinobi got out of Edo Tensei's control. And this created unnecessary problems. Their goal was to dispel Edo Tensei. They wanted to go back to where they came from. If the Shinobi Alliance weren't so close…

On the other hand, Kakashi is already here. If you dispel Edo Tensei now, the Alliance ninjas will be confused for a while. And this time may be enough to complete what has been started.

Maybe enough, and maybe not. Is it worth the risk? Or try to neutralize these two? One of them is Uchiha. If he were alive, his eyes would fit much better. However, the once legendary clan is completely extinct. Only Kakashi had the Sharingan left. Besides, it was with him that Hiruko was always going to deal.

Uchiha came unacceptably close to Hatake. For the "awakening" of the Sixth Hokage, now was not the best time. Hiruko attacked Sasuke with the storm's favorite element. Uchiha, contrary to all expectations, did not evade or counterattack. He just looked at the attack and it disappeared. Hiruko frowned. This Uchiha could also absorb chakra. There was nothing to think about then. The will of the deceased must be honored and fulfilled. He will immediately dispel Edo Tensei. And he will definitely have enough time. And without Edo Tensei, there are trumps up his sleeve…

It was only necessary to start folding seals to cancel the forbidden technique, as a shinobi with a dangerous scarlet-yellow chakra suddenly revived. His speed was impressive, and the punches he delivered were very dangerous. Hiruko realized this literally immediately when he thought he had dodged a punch, but for some reason the air hit his stomach anyway. Shinobi staggered back and spat blood. He didn't really understand what had happened. Didn't understand: the element of steel didn't help him, or he just didn't have time to apply it?

"As you wish," Hiruko said, taking a deep breath, "I will cancel Edo Tensei.

- Not now! The blond ninja growled angrily. Part of his unusual chakra transformed into hands-paws, and he grabbed the Shinobi attacking him from the back without looking. "First tell me what you did to Kakashi-sensei!"

Sensei, thought Hiruko. - I didn't know he had students. And that they are already dead. Although... there was a war..."

The danger was close. Hiruko instinctively jerked to the side. An electric shock swept past him. Raikiri? Shinobi looked back and quickly left for a safe distance from the out-of-control ninjas. No, not Raikiri. Chidori. And Uchiha manages it very well.

No, Edo Tensei definitely needs to be dispelled.

- Let go of Kakashi-sensei! The blond Shinobi demanded.

He (or maybe it's his clone?) He rushed forward again, attacking with his so unusual Taizutsu. Out of the corner of his eye, Hiruko noticed that the other was still holding two of his subordinates. The other two were confidently attacked by the third. In terms of fighting style, this Shinobi somehow subtly resembled Jiraiya. Perhaps it was the Rasengan. Or maybe in the Sage mode.

Dealing with him, it was absolutely impossible to put the necessary seals together.

But worst of all, he left Uchiha unattended.

Hiruko moved to Sasuke, but the annoying Shinobi demanding Kakashi's release immediately rushed after him. In speed, this guy was not inferior to him, and his flair could be envied. He was clearly not one of those who calculates every step in advance, but his intuition did not let him down at all. It was dangerous to exchange blows with him.

Edo Tensei cannot be canceled so easily. So, these Shinobi need to be occupied even more. He will surely have time to fold the seals of the call…

Naruto had bought enough time to figure out what was going on with Kakashi. Sasuke had never encountered such mind control before. However, it turned out to be much easier to destroy someone else's seal than it looked from the outside. Kakashi came to himself abruptly and looked around in bewilderment for a few more seconds. Uchiha grunted with satisfaction and moved to Uzumaki. Hiding behind the subordinates of his will Shinobi, Hiruko managed to make a call. An incomprehensible-looking creature appeared in the clearing. She had three human faces, in which, involuntarily looking closer, Sasuke recognized recent opponents. They still had distinctive stripes on them. The creature was wounded, it was falling on its left paw. Maroon blood oozed from his left side.

Well, the allies did a good job.

The creature moved slowly and uncertainly. With each step she took, more and more blood remained on the once juicy green grass. Coping with it seemed to be a piece of cake. Uchiha casually attacked her Chidori. The creature reacted more than briskly to the threat to life. She jumped aside, and instead of taking revenge on the offender, she unleashed her anger on Naruto. His clone disappeared in a white cloud. The two Shinobi that he was holding back were slowly recovering. The creature howled, darted to the side and just as easily got rid of the second Uzumaki clone. The real one jumped back briskly.

- Sasuke! Naruto shouted. - Stop him!

Uchiha looked at Hiruko and the next moment moved to him. The blow fell under the gut. The enemy clearly did not expect him. Hiruko rolled head over heels across the clearing. Even despite the chimera's call, he was once again prevented from dispelling Edo Tensei. But why? They wanted it themselves!

- Kakashi-sensei! Uzumaki shouted. - Get out of there!

- Naruto ... - Kakashi exhaled slowly, but catching himself, he followed the advice of a former student. In two jumps, he was behind Uzumaki.

- Sasuke, you too! Naruto shouted irritably, finishing forming the tailed one's bomb.

Without waiting for Uchiha to leave the line of fire, Uzumaki attacked. The chimera darted to the side, but did not completely escape from the attack. A wild howl swept over the clearing. But the scream did not leave the technique. The deadly attack, destroying everything in its path, was rushing directly towards Hiruko.

"If he dies," Kurama reminded him, "you will never dispel Edo Tensei."…

- Don't you think it's too much? Sasuke asked calmly, moving to Uzumaki.

- No, - Naruto grinned. - This is exactly what you need.

Uchiha chuckled. Susanoo's armor grew around him by itself, and gigantic hands deliberately slowly raised an arrow and a bow. The bowstring was pulled imperceptibly, an arrow was silently fired. Anticipating danger, the chimera rushed around on the spot. However, the wounds almost completely restrained her movements. And carelessly waddling from paw to paw, she only lost more blood. The arrow hit the target unmistakably. The chimera wheezed, fell on its wounded side, whined, tried to roll over, but without doing so, it quieted down. Dark blood continued to slowly flow out of the wounds.

There was no time to follow the fate of the chimera. Uzumaki's attack didn't think to slow down and dissipate. Hiruko did the first thing that came to mind - he tried to absorb the attack. He wanted to return it to his enemies a hundredfold, but he did not calculate his strength. There was too much chakra in the tailed one's bomb. It was hard to believe that the boy could use a technique of this level.

Hiruko slowly knelt down. The white bandages covering his face turned red. He couldn't absorb the entire attack. Tailed's bomb still wounded him. I didn't have any strength at all. Hiruko clearly felt old and haggard.

... But he was so close to success! All he needed was to get a sharingan. And the last living owner of it is in his power! Or rather, was…

"It's still too much for him," Kurama chuckled.

- But he's still alive, - Naruto reasonably objected. - When we find out what's what, he can cancel Edo Tensei.

"He won't live," the Fox snorted.

- Really? - Uzumaki was confused. "I... I can cure him!"

- And then everything will start all over again…

"The fifth improved genome," Sasuke said calmly, distracting Naruto from talking to the Fox, "is sharingan.

"That's right," Kakashi nodded. He looked at Uchiha, then at Uzumaki, and could not believe that everything had gone so far. But since he can now talk to his former students, it was worth it.

"You don't have a sharingan anymore," Uchiha said indifferently. - Why all this circus?

- No?! Hiruko gasped in shock. - What does that mean?

- That's right, - Kakashi nodded again. - I don't have a sharingan anymore. I lost him in the last war.

- How so ... - Hiruko could not believe his ears. - How so?

- What is going on here, dattebayo?! Naruto couldn't stand it.

"I don't know much about Hiruko," Hatake said slowly. Somehow it turned out by itself to talk about Shinobi as if he was not in the clearing. - He has four improved genomes, can easily control each of them. In strength, he is not inferior to the legendary saninns. For impermissible experiments on people, the Third Hokage expelled him from the village. Hiruko disappeared from our sight for a long time. He didn't remind me of himself in any way. And even the Fourth World War passed him by. After the war, peace necessarily comes. And in this time of peace, he would certainly want to make his move. Hiruko himself said that he needed a sharingan. So we decided to provoke him, lure him out of hiding. Naturally, it was hidden from everyone that I no longer have a sharingan. Few people knew about it…

Hiruko smiled wryly. In vain. Everything he did was in vain. Hoarse laughter burst out of his chest by itself. Shinobi tried to stand up, but his body wouldn't obey him.

"That's good," he suddenly thought cheerfully. - It's even better..."

- We didn't suspect, - Kakashi continued more quietly, - that he could use Edo Tensei. Almost twenty years have passed…

- Kakashi-sensei, - Naruto interrupted him cheerfully, as if not understanding what he wanted to say, - aren't you a Hokage?

- yes.

"Then why are you here alone?"

Uchiha chuckled. The answer seemed obvious to him. Kakashi didn't change. He again tried to sort everything out alone, and used the help of others only to divert his eyes. Sasuke shook his head. Whatever it was, everything was resolved. They achieved what Naruto was striving for so much. Now it was possible to force Hiruko to cancel Edo Tensei. It is unknown how long he will last, and Uzumaki can talk for a very long time.

Uchiha moved to the defeated opponent. Hiruko looked at him wearily and indifferently. Nothing has been said out loud yet, but the question is already hanging in the air. A ridiculous question, the answer to which was so obvious.

"Cancel Edo Tensei," Sasuke ordered curtly.

"I can't," Hiruko grinned maliciously.

Uchiha chuckled. He squatted down next to the shinobi, forced him to look into his eyes. Hiruko fell under Genjutsu almost instantly. Shinobi slowly sat down, not noticing the small, unpleasant wounds, and dutifully began to fold the seals, muttering their names under his nose.

- No! Stop it!

Sasuke smiled wryly. It took a long time for the Shinobi Alliance to get here. And Sakura is late as always. It's too late to stop them now. A few more seconds and Edo Tensei will be canceled.

- It's over, Naruto, - Uchiha said softly, moving to Uzumaki. - It's time to say goodbye.

***

The first thing that caught my eye was the devastation. Even though there was nothing to destroy in the clearing, everything here was turned upside down. The clearing was divided into two parts in a careless zigzag. To the left, crouching to the ground, as if wanting to merge with it, lay a chimera. The allies managed to wound her, and were about to finish her off, when suddenly she disappeared. The summoning saved the creature from imminent death for a short time. Mitsuki looked at the dead beast with disgust. In the excitement of the battle, he looked at the chimera in a completely different way. The creature was the enemy, and the enemy had to be destroyed at all costs. The defeated creature caused only a feeling of nausea. Swallowing slowly, forcing himself not to notice either the deep wounds on the chimera's body or the maroon grass from the blood, Mitsuki turned his gaze to the second part of the clearing. There was bare ground here. It was difficult to understand what kind of battle took place here. But there was nothing left alive in this part of the clearing. No moss, no blade of grass. Only bare, cracked earth in places. And there was a man sitting on this earth. He was slowly folding the seals, muttering something to himself, but hardly understood what he was doing. It was as unpleasant to look at this shinobi as it was to look at the defeated chimera.

Mitsuki looked away. The silence was painful. It's as if they didn't win, but suffered a terrible defeat. Of course, there were sacrifices on the side of the allies, but these sacrifices are not in vain! After all, they won! So why is everyone so intensely silent? Why isn't Hokage in a hurry to encourage everyone? Why doesn't he say that the mission is completed? After all, everything is already over!

"You can stay," Sakura-san whispered. She didn't ask, she was sure of a positive answer. And yet, in her quiet, trembling voice, hope and pleading were clearly heard.

"No," Uchiha said dryly.

- But Madara could…

- No, - Sasuke interrupted her indifferently.

- Naruto! Haruno demanded, as if he could change something. Her voice began to tremble more. - You can stay, I know! You are the heirs of Rikudo Senin, surely there is a way…

"That's enough, Sakura-chan," Uzumaki gently interrupted her. - We're not coming back, we're dead. It's over for us. But you... all of you," he looked around at his ally, "you're alive. So live! Make your dreams come true, achieve your goals, win, have fun... live! And us... let us go.

"Don't say that," Sakura whispered. - Everything seems to be in vain without you. And victory in the war and everything in general…

- No, Sakura-chan, - Naruto shook his head negatively, - don't say that. Nothing is in vain. Everything is right. The war is over, and we are part of that war.

Mitsuki suddenly felt uneasy. He clenched his fists and was surprised to find that his palms were sweating. There was no reason to worry, but he was worried. It suddenly occurred to him that he was listening to a conversation that he wasn't supposed to hear. And it was only worth thinking like that, and the breath caught, and the heart immediately began to beat faster.

"Everything is for the best," Uzumaki continued calmly, unaware of the torment of the young genin. He smiled warmly, but not as wide and open as when they first met, shook his head slightly. - There is no more Uchiha hatred, no more jinchuriki loneliness. We're finally free.

- You promised... - Sakura broke off.

- Return Sasuke, - Naruto readily suggested. - I did, didn't I? He looked questioningly at Uchiha; he chuckled and nodded.

- Really.

Silence hung over the clearing for a moment. Mitsuki couldn't shake the feeling that these two weren't believed.

- We've discussed everything, figured everything out, - Uzumaki continued cheerfully. As if he was alive, as if he wasn't going to disappear very soon. - We were going to start from where we left off a long time ago.

- But they didn't continue!

Mitsuki took one step back. Sakura-san was clearly not herself. His thoughts were clearly shared by other Shinobi. They tried to quietly move away from kunoichi to a safe distance.

Uzumaki shrugged his shoulders in response.

"You promised," Haruno repeated stubbornly, "that you wouldn't die until you became Hokage!"

- And I didn't die, - Naruto nodded calmly. - After the battle with Kaguya, we were all alive. And all that then..." he hesitated for a moment, thought, but did not continue, just spread his hands. As if what he was about to say was obvious enough.

"If you hadn't started destroying the Valley of Completion, you would already be a Kage," Shakamaru-sensei said softly.

- But I would destroy it over and over again, - Uzumaki stubbornly replied and suddenly laughed. "I don't regret anything," he shook his head negatively. - And even now, I would fight Sasuke over and over again, sacrificing everything and neglecting everyone. We would have fought until we agreed," he spread his hands and smiled disarmingly. - This is my ninja way.

Mitsuki swallowed nervously. The bodies of Uchiha and Uzumaki began to slowly disintegrate. There was something fascinating and frightening about it.

- No! Sakura involuntarily blurted out.

- Hey, Sasuke, - Naruto's voice sounded almost cheerful, - do you have anything to say goodbye?

- You've already said everything, - Uchiha shrugged his shoulders, looked at his allies with a lazy glance, while not singling out anyone. - I have nothing to add.

Edo Tensei has practically dissipated. For a moment, Mitsuki thought he was seeing war heroes in front of him, as they were before death: without black eyeballs, without careless scars created by the resurrection technique. The vision dissipated almost instantly, and everyone stood still for a long time, listening to the silence.

Finally, it feels like an eternity later, after the Shinobi from the promised reinforcements came to the clearing, everyone started up a little. They checked nukenin, who was frozen motionless on the ground, made sure that he was dead, and only after that the Hokage long-awaited announced that the mission was completed.

Mitsuki breathed a sigh of relief. It's finally over. He's finally coming home.