Chapter 8: Chains of Hatred IV: Counterattack!

The six members of Team Sigma were exhausted.

Their morning had been chaotic.

The afternoon promised to be no better.

At the moment, many of Team Sigma dozed quietly on the backs of man-sized primates. They darted through the trees with just as much proficiency as the ANBU towards their destination. Naruto absentmindedly used his chakra to stick to the warm furry surface of his summon, his eyes closed and his breathing relaxed. The wind rushed past him, ruffling his hair and flapping his cloak, while Naruto and the rest of his Squad took the precious few moments they could to rest and recover. Long shifts and resting where you can were second nature to his ANBU Team, while Naruto had spent many unpleasant nights by the Hokage's side as the old man defied his age and went about his business without a wink of sleep for days on end. Whenever it seemed like he would doze off without permission, Sarutobi whacked him or dumped water over his face. At the time, Naruto had just thought the old man was being his usual sadistic and horrible self. Now, as he put his experience to use, Naruto looked underneath the underneath and appreciated his hellish training even more.

The summons took them a fair way of the distance but even they too started to tire. As they approached their destination, Team Sigma stopped and Naruto thanked the summons gratefully. A little more rested, Naruto led Team Sigma to the coordinates they had received from the enemy officer on foot.

They closer they were, the more apparent it was that there had been an enemy presence in the area. Entire swathes of the forest had been swept aside and black oily smoke rose into the air. Some parts were still alight, the giant trees of Fire Country burning brightly as fire roared through them. There was no sense of reason or logic that Naruto could deduce from the pattern of the burns- it seemed random and chaotic, acts of vandalism and destruction rather than any important strategic goal. There were several villages in the area, small and unimportant towns with populations no greater than a thousand. They made their living off of the forest, harvesting wood and sending it further south via river to Fire Country's trade cities along the Tea-Fire border.

The first village they came across had been utterly destroyed. Small fires were still burning over the large blocky stone buildings. Naruto's fingers darted in ANBU code and with a streak of movement all six of them secured the destroyed village. Naruto stood in the centre of it, his mask hiding his turbulent emotions, as he stared at the large pile of charred and burning corpses in the middle of the town. The smell was acrid and foul and it bought tears to his eyes- at least, that's what Naruto told himself as he walked around the pile quietly, looking at the husks of men, women and children. The village had depended on Konoha for protection and the Leaf had failed them.

The small Chunin Team that had been deployed there- probably for general policing duties- hadn't managed to put up much a fight and the dozen Shinobi had been killed. Their corpse had been torn apart and desecrated, used as target practise and spat on. Naruto could smell urine from one of them and his blood boiled with anger.

"Ferret," Towa muttered but there was a questioning tone to it.

He was trembling, Naruto suddenly realised, and stared down at his hand in abject fascination. His fingers were shaking and he forced them into a first, squeezing them tight. It wasn't fear that swept through his body but a sudden and savage fire of hatred. He wanted to find who did this and he wanted to kill them- slowly and painfully, tearing them piece from piece.

The rest of his team was looking at him now and Naruto closed his eyes. He breathed in deeply, ignoring the smell and bottling his hatred, and he released it on the exhale.

Shinobi Rule #4: A shinobi must always put the mission first.

Shinobi rule #25: A Shinobi must never show emotion.

"Let's go," Naruto said quietly and emotionlessly. They ANBU nodded and disappeared. Towa hesitated and patted the young blond on the back in a somewhat clumsy manner. The two of them disappeared an instant later.

They were well within the coordinates of the target area. It was a huge area and they could have spent a week searching without any luck, even with the Byakugan on their side. However, it wasn't long before Team Sigma came across the next location of significance and rendezvoused with Squad 5 of Gamma Team.

The ground was black. Naruto stared down at the broken and bloodied body of his comrade and watched as Komachi placed a delicate hand on the broken-masked man's neck. A wide blue eye stared back at him as Komachi rose and shook her head silently. Naruto hadn't thought so. Directive seven hadn't been enforced- the bodies of the black-ops unit hadn't been destroyed as protocol dictated. Even a wounded and dying shinobi would have gone of their way to burn the bodies, to stop the enemy from learning the secrets of the Village.

Naruto felt somebody behind him and turned.

"We found three more," Yuuka said quietly. Her voice was sombre. "Most were killed in combat. One was still alive when they took him. It seems that they performed a battlefield interrogation. It was messy but there's still enough left for me to have a look."

"Go," Naruto ordered.

Yuuka nodded and disappeared.

Naruto took a deep breath and his hands flipped through seals. He raised them and blazing cone of flame swept from his palm and gently enveloped his comrade. The blue eye continued to stare at him unblinkingly as fire began to consume the body. Naruto turned.

There were other comrades to attend to.

Sometime later, Team Sigma met up at the base of a large tree. Kunai were scattered over the ground and there was a splotch of blood that was still dripping from large fern leafs that grew up and around the trunk. There was no hesitation in Naruto's stance or voice anymore and his mind had hardened to stone, unable to deal with the horrors of what he had seen.

Naruto would shelve them and deal with them later.

"From what I found it seemed as if Squad 5 was trying to link up with Captain Uzuki," Yuuka reported. "They were patrolling the border along Tea Country when they received an urgent message to return and regroup. They were on their way to meet up with Uzuki but they were ambushed."

"Captain Uzuki must have found something," Kage said quietly. Of all the ANBU, he seemed the most unaffected by what he had seen. "She couldn't have known about the Sky Country Fleet, so there must be something else here that drew her attention."

"I have the coordinates that Uzuki gave Bird-3," Yuuka said, referring to Squad 5's former leader. "It's close."

"Right then," Naruto said and he turned. His voice was flat. "We have a new secondary objective- to locate any other survivors of Gamma Team. Our primary objective remains- locate whatever weapon Sky Country has and destroy it. Go."

Six figures blurred out of the clearing.

The wind whipped past him as Tenzo clutched onto the feathers of the hawk beneath him. It was a large bird, a Class 3-Summon with dark brown feathers and sharp yellow eyes. Behind him crouched eight of his subordinates, their white masks emotionless. Tenzo nodded and glanced around, seeing the other five summons soaring beside him. It had been a long trip and Tenzo knew that some of his men would be tired- chakra adhesion techniques could be quite draining. Nonetheless, his destination was rapidly approaching and soon they would dismount and fight.

Judging from the copious amount of smoke rising into the air, the enemy may have been a little bloodied already.

The hawks skimmed over the tops of the trees, their talons rustling the foliage, and Tenzo raised his hand. The ANBU around him waited for his signal and, at his mark, dropped off the hawk and disappeared silently into the forest below. Tenzo followed them, letting go of the feathery neck of his hawk and flipping over backwards. The wind howled in his ears and the ground rushed to meet him before the ANBU captain righted and landed silently on a large tree branch.

The hawks dove down into the forest and disappeared with large puffs of smoke. Tenzo hadn't seen any long-range enemy patrols and was hoping that the foliage of the forest around them would keep the dispersion of the summons hidden. He raised a hand and made a few signs. The ANBU formed into their Squads, Tenzo's own coming to crouch before him. They darted from tree branch to tree branch as Tenzo led them towards the distant sound of crashing waves.

Towards the enemy.

Team Sigma came across more burning villages as they trekked across Fire Country's southern fields. They all bore similarities to the first one they had inspected. There were hundreds of kunai littering the empty streets and burning homes, fired haphazardly and in greater numbers at great speed. Large craters and pits adorned the surface of the ruined towns, pockmarked craters signifying where explosive spheres had detonated. Fires blazed unchallenged. Smoke filled the sky with a black haze.

Bodies burned.

They found more Konoha Nin, Chunin given the task of guarding and policing the towns they had been assigned to. Some had put up a fight and bore defensive wounds. A few had even managed to kill their attackers or so the debris seemed to suggest. Most had not. Most had died quickly, surprised and tactically disadvantaged against their flying foes.

Some had taken a little while longer to die.

The fires of hatred in Naruto's belly were stoked with every desecrated and tortured corpse he came across. There was no time to dispose of the dead. Bodies were left where they were to burn, men, women and children disappearing under the flames. But for every town they scouted it became more and more apparent that there were survivors.

"I patrolled through here once," Daichi said quietly

The group had paused to stare at a large stack of bodies piled indiscriminately together at the centre of the town. There was no fire here- perhaps the enemy hadn't had time or perhaps they wanted to leave a message. Either way, it gave Team Sigma the first opportunity to truly gage the number of fallen.

"This town had a significantly bigger population than what remains here," Kage murmured.

There were several hundred broken and battered bodies.

"Perhaps they escaped?" Yuuka offered quietly.

"Unlikely," Komachi spoke up. "We would have seen tracks or signs of them during our search."

"Perhaps the enemy took them," Towa suggested. '

It was not a pleasant thought. It would be better to have died with their families and friends, safe from the careless brutality that the Sky Nin had shown. Naruto frowned and they pressed on.

They found more signs of fighting. A team of Konoha Shinobi had been conducting a mission in the area and had gone out fighting. Huge strips of the forest had been torn apart by the force of explosive notes and a series of deep-puncturing scorch marks that bore the signs of a Lightning Release technique. Intense fighting had occurred a little further down the track and there was still chakra laden in the air. There were no bodies but smoke and ash filled the air and there were burn patterns against a tree trunk that suggested that a body had been disposed of here.

More ANBU had been killed. Some had lived to dispose of the bodies.

The landscape was beginning to change as they approached farmlands. Flat open plains dotted the surface between large swathes of forest. Stone ruins jutted out from between rice paddocks, ancient ruins from wars long past. There were no signs of the farmers and the farmhouses were mysteriously deserted. There was no sign of forced entry or an attack- the occupants had simply vanished. As they scouted the surrounding area, searching for signs of Gamma Team or the Weapon, Kage paused and stiffened.

His hands flashed- invaders, due west, closing in, 2 clicks- and Team Sigma scattered, diving into the forest and setting up defensive positions. Naruto gave the signal to hold and waited. His emotions were turbulent underneath his stony and hard exterior, chipped as it was, and he couldn't help baring his teeth up into an unseen and angry snarl.

Wait for the Enemy.

Attack the Enemy.

Capture the Enemy

Interrogate the Enemy.

Dispose of the Enemy.

Yes, Naruto decided grimly. He liked that plan- and suddenly his ANBU tattoo burned and his hatred was gone in an instant as a squad of white-masked dark-cloaked blurs shot into the forest. Naruto pressed his finger on his tattoo and pressed it while holding up his hand and giving the signal to hold position. He used the Body Flicker and appeared before the leader of the new group of shinobi.

"Identify," he said roughly, tense and alert.

The lead ANBU cocked his head. "Mantis," he replied blankly. "We are responding to Gamma Team's Captain Uzuki Yugao's request for priority assistance. Identify."

"Ferret," Naruto replied. "Team Sigma."

Mantis cocked his head. "Sigma?" he echoed. "You are out of your operational jurisdiction, Sigma. Elaborate."

Naruto frowned behind his mask. "My orders come from the Hokage," he said firmly.

"Very well," Mantis conceded. "Where is Captain Uzuki?"

Naruto stared at the new group for a second. While they had confirmed that they were indeed ANBU- nobody in Konoha's history had ever cracked the Fuinjutsu written into the ANBU tattoos- there was something about Mantis that put him on edge. Nevertheless, he raised a hand and the rest of Team Sigma appeared behind him.

"Uzuki is Missing in Action," Naruto said quietly. He drew himself up. "Gamma Team is scattered, presumed dead."

"The culprit?" Mantis asked quietly and without emotion.

"Sky Country," Naruto explained as the two groups of ANBU settled around each other. "They've worked their way through the area, burning villages and murdering civilians. They use chakra and machines to fly and launched an attack on Konoha."

There was no discernible reaction to the news.

"Point of origin?" the other squad leader asked.

"The Sea of Whirlpools," Naruto replied grimly. "There are two combat platoons on their way to take them out. Our Intel suggested that the enemy had a weapon in this area capable of destroying Konoha. We're on our way to locate and destroy it."

"I see," Mantis said. His voice and tone was still the same and suddenly Naruto found it really irritating. He sort of wanted to shake the other man by the shoulder and see what would happen. Mantis seemed to be thinking. "Very well. We will render assistance."

Naruto raised his eyebrows at that. "You will," he said quietly. "Team Sigma has point and a current priority-one status. Your former mission is suspended- you are drafted under Team Sigma's command and will assist us."

"Very well," Mantis said with a short but respectful nod. "Ferret has command."

"What's your team designation?" Naruto asked as the two Squad Leaders rose up from the ground.

"Classified," Mantis replied shortly. "I am unable to disclose any information about our former mission and current classification. I apologise."

Naruto was sceptical at that. He eyed the new ANBU closely and sent a pulse of chakra through his tattoo. Almost immediately he felt the return pulses, five beats of unique chakra patterns responding in unison. With a shrug, Naruto decided that whatever mission that was so secret that even he as the Hokage's Personal Assistant didn't know anything about was none of his business anyway. He was just glad for the extra firepower that the new ANBU Squad would bring with them.

The ground rumbled.

Naruto paused. Mantis cocked his head.

The ground rumbled again and Naruto swivelled his head around. The trees were shaking and far beneath the surface of the ground a terrible groan echoed. The ground shuddered again and before Naruto's eyes large chunks of earth rose up. Roots were exposed and torn apart, trees split apart and fell and a loud hum filled the air. The various stone ruins around them started to flicker and glow with purple bolts of energy. Something big was coming, something vast, and Naruto could feel the pressure in the air abruptly shift.

"Ferret!" Daichi yelled over the din. He gestured. "The ground has just lit up with chakra! There's something coming!"

With a loud crash the last of the trees bent and snapped a large geyser of dirt exploded before them. The ANBU team ducked as stone and dirt was blasted all around them and Naruto watched with nothing less than complete wonderment as the filthy stone ruins that littered the countryside began to lift up in the air. Purple energy cascaded over them, stripping them of dirty crust and revealing gleaming white marble and stone underneath. They rose into the air and it became apparent that they were all connected. Blank-faced monuments appeared from the surface of the earth, gazing down at the world around them imperiously and with a start Naruto recognised the designs from the Fleet.

:Sky Country, he signed over the noise. He hesitated for a single moment but there was no time to consider the possible ramifications of his orders. His instincts told him what to do next and he obeyed. Jump!

The two ANBU squads darted forward, jumping between falling pieces of rock and fallen lumber as they sped towards the rising object. It was slowly revealing itself to be a fortress, armoured and decorated with the same designs that the Sky Country Fleet had. It was bigger than the ships, though, at least twice as tall and five times as wide as a single Sky Carrier. The fortress slowly rose up into the air, tearing free from its last bonds that held it chained to the ground. The roots of Fire Country's gigantic trees were torn apart and began to fall to the ground. Eleven dark blurs shot up the falling roots and leapt up to the side of the fortress as it rose into the sky.

Tenzo watched from the cliffs at the condition of the enemy. Team Sigma had certainly done their jobs well. The fleet was idling in the middle of the bay, coils of smoke rising into the air. He peered into his binoculars, seeing patches of blackened metal and stone where explosive tags had detonated. The decks of each ship had been torn to pieces but there were already a significant number of Sky Nin circling around the fleet. There must have been another way to launch the Fliers from the ships, although it must be slower than using the deck.

He drew in his Squad Captains and began to devise a plan of attack.

Ancor Vantian arose from its slumber.

It was more than an aircraft. It was a fortress, a flying fortress. Stone and iron towers rose into the sky, the largest settled in the very centre of the stronghold. Large stone faces had been carved into the sides of the fortress, blank and emotionless visages who stared down at the world with indifference and superiority. The largest of this face was at the front of the massive flying fortress, built on top of a circular archway that led from the very depths of the stronghold. On the back two large protrusions, looking quite similar to oversized magnets, glowed with black light as massive amounts of chakra was poured into them. Roots dangled down from the stone and concrete towers, stowaways from the fortress' sudden ascension.

Foliage and dirt were not the only stowaways.

On one of the outer towers, eleven black specks clung to the stone with chakra as they slowly scaled their way up the building. Naruto climbed next to Daichi, paying very careful attention to what he was doing. Chakra warmed his hands and feet as he used it to stick to the surface of the stone and drag himself up, inch by inch. It would have been much easier for the group to simply climb up with their feet but the sudden emergence of that much chakra would have made the group easier to spot- especially given where they were.

Daichi continued to look up with narrowed veined eyes, his Byakugan active. The Hyuuga kept a keen eye on the pair of Sky Nin standing on the balcony just above them. He nodded quietly to Mantis and Kage, who each pulled themselves up to the bottom of the alcoves stone floor. Naruto gave Yuuka the signal and Towa and Komachi grabbed the blonde-haired Yamanaka woman as she let go of the wall to make a hand-seal.

Mind-Body Switch Technique

Yuuka went limp, held up in the air by Towa and Komachi. Naruto waited for a few moments and signalled Kage and Mantis. The two shinobi pressed up against the balcony floor and the blond ANBU heard a soft gasp and then nothing. He smiled vindictively underneath his mask as Daichi gave the all clear and signalled the ANBU Squads to move. He flipped over onto the balcony and stood up.

A Sky Nin stared back at him with amusement, ignoring the fate of his partner as Kage and Mantis gently lowered the body to the ground. As Daichi, Towa and Komachi vaulted over, bringing Yuuka's body with them, Mantis made a hand-seal and pressed down on the Sky Nin's corpse. It began to gently sink into the stone and disappeared without a trace. Naruto turned to Daichi as Yuuka motioned for Kage and Mantis to prepare to dispose of the body she was possessing.

"What can you see?" He asked. There was a thud behind him and Yuuka's eyes suddenly shot open.

Daichi frowned. "I…don't know what I'm seeing," he admitted. "There's an immense chakra source at the centre of the fortress. It's running through the entire stronghold, through every building and hallway. There's so much of it…" He shook his head.

"I wonder how they managed to build this right in our own territory," Yuuka mused. She shook her head, her blonde ponytail bobbing up and down. "I don't understand how nobody saw this."

"It came from underneath the ground," Mantis observed indifferently. Nothing in his body suggested that he was concerned. "It's likely they either built it or resurrected it in secret, away from patrols and shinobi."

"The farms," Kage muttered darkly. "They were abandoned, not attacked, and the occupants had had enough time to pack up their belongings…"

"Plants, perhaps?" Komachi wondered thoughtfully.

"Regardless," Towa said firmly. "It's here now. Can't we worry about that later? Because, I have to admit, I'm more worried about the 'weapon'."

His words paused the group.

"It's a flying fortress, certainly formidable, but hardly a weapon," Kage noted. He glanced around. "Perhaps the weapon is inside."

"There's enough chakra here to…" Daichi trailed off. He ran a hand through his short cropped hair. "I dunno, man. I've never seen so much chakra…and it's so dark. It almost makes me sick looking at it."

Those words made Naruto hesitate.

"Is it human?" he asked quietly. "The chakra, I mean."

Daichi faltered. "Perhaps not," he admitted softly.

There was a tense silence. Mantis and his squad were unmoving with Team Sigma considered each other grimly.

"A tailed beast?" Komachi asked quietly.

"They're all accounted for," Kage said, shaking his head.

Nobody asked him how he knew that. Nobody was looking at Naruto, either.

"Do you see anything else?" Naruto asked Daichi, desperately wanting to break the sudden tension that had filled the air.

Daichi scanned the fortress with his Byakugan. "I think…I see rows of chakra sources," he said, squinting. "It's faint- the other chakra is just everywhere- but I think one of them might by Captain Uzuki."

Mantis shifted. "We cannot let the enemy acquire an ANBU Captain," he said stonily. "The information she holds is too valuable."

"There are safeguards," Towa said. "Seals that stop Captains from speaking."

"Protocol dictates that they should have already activated," Mantis said stiffly. "If that is Uzuki then she is still alive. Directive 7 must be implemented at all costs."

Naruto felt his team draw up around him at that declaration. Even Kage's body language was suddenly radiating wariness. Despite the horrendous nature of it, Naruto could see the other Squad Leader's brutal logic. He slowly nodded and felt his team twitch around him.

"I agree," Naruto said softly. He took a deep breath and held his stony façade. "I will take Team Sigma and implement Directive 7. If possible, we will extract the Captain. If we're unable to, we will implement Directive 7. Mantis, take your team to the centre of the fortress and destroy the chakra source that powers the building."

Mantis nodded.

"We'll meet up at the source of the chakra if we can. If we can't, destroy the fortress and scatter." Naruto finished. He took in a deep breath, reviewing his orders. "Let's go."

The long stone corridors of the fortress were mostly deserted. Team Sigma darted through them silently, black streaks against the flickering lights. A strange hum had settled over them, the sounds of the engines keeping Naruto from being distracted by his thoughts. So far the eleven ANBU had remained undetected. Team Mantis, for lack of a better designation, would have to be closing in on the centre of the fortress soon. Naruto wondered what they would find- from what he had heard and read and the long talks he had had with the Third Hokage he couldn't really picture one of the tailed beasts being here. Konoha, like all of the Great Villages, made a point of securing intelligence about the Jinchuuriki. It was always essential to know where they were and what they were doing and, to a point, they were all accounted for.

Daichi, who had point, raised a hand and signalled them. Naruto nodded and gestured at the rest of his team. Sprinting forward, the ANBU Team whizzed around the corner in a flash and had jumped on the three unaware Sky Nin in a flash. Komachi went high, her hands flicking as she used her senbon and wire to restrain all three shinobi. It would have only taken them a second but Kage, Towa and Naruto were there, sharp blades tearing through vulnerable flesh and ending their life in an instant. Naruto was breathing deeply, practically straining on the tips of his toes as his kunai withdrew from the back of the taller man's skull. He gently lowered the corpse onto the ground and watched Yuuka wove a Genjutsu. It sprung around the corridor, invisible streams of chakra wafting in the air. A single touch on the skin and the average Shinobi wouldn't even toss a second glance to the piles of bodies stacked to the side.

They moved on, occasionally coming across unaware patrols or off-duty Sky Nin. Naruto worked with the others and ended their lives cleanly and quietly. Many conflicts were over in seconds and the young blond ANBU mused that once their technology and aerial advantage was taken away from them the Sky Nin were truly nothing special.

:Ahead. A dozen plus two over two levels: Daichi signed.

Team Sigma crouched around the single door, waiting. Hands quickly flashed in a series of short odd movements of the fingers as the team communicated to each other and Naruto gave out his orders. With a final nod, Naruto tensed and prepared himself. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and settling his emotions. His chakra coiled and pulsed in his body as he turned his head and nodded shortly at Daichi. The Hyuuga ran a finger the hinges and pushed the door open. It swung open silently.

Naruto dove into the room and appeared in the centre with a flash. They had entered a large chamber, with two long tables stacked with food and equipment. Past the chamber on both levels was a long corridor filled with cell-doors. There were two levels, a set of stairs on either side leading to the upper level, which consisted of a series of metal catwalks that crisscrossed over the cells and hallways. There was half-a-dozen Sky Nin laughing and lazing around the tables, the rest were standing as guards or deeper within the cells.

The ANBU team moved in without any hesitation. Naruto pressed down on the ground, enhancing his muscles and limbs with chakra and pushed. He soared through the air, landing neatly on the crosswalk above him. Daichi and Komachi appeared beside him and together they darted for the surprised and unsuspecting Sky Nin.

Below them, Kage and Towa tore through their enemies. Towa was wielding a glowing crimson mace as he expertly used it to crush through the startled enemy's defences. An arm snapped, the man howled and Towa raised his weapon. It flashed- the mace became a hand axe- and Towa brought it down and cleaved the man's skull in half. Yuuka, her hands twisted in a sign, wove a Genjutsu that sent three shinobi to their knees with the hands clasped over their ears, screaming incoherently. Kage ended them a split-second later, the man quickly and efficiently landing short, sharp fatal blows with a dull black machete. A second later, the enigmatic Squad Captain was darting through the lower level of the cells and launched at the first enemy he saw.

Above them, Naruto twirled and dodged as he fought three men at once. Their hand-to-hand was mediocre at best and they were no match for his superior speed. What he lacked in strength he made up for with a kunai, a blade at the end of a short, sharp vicious jab sliding between the ribs. He formed a sign and shadow clones formed around him, each holding a kunai. The first appeared crouching and lashed out in a horizontal arc, puncturing the kneecap. The second appeared on the Sky Nin's right, his kunai swinging up and into the man's elbow. The third appeared above the now immobilised opponent and brought his down in a two-handed blow that sent the blade right through the man's eye-socket.

The fourth appeared above the last Sky Nin's head, who remained unaware and raised his weapon. The large burly man brought down the butt of his kunai launcher and cracked Naruto's skull open. The blonde ANBU gurgled then disappeared in a puff of smoke- the replacement was successful- as Naruto appeared where the fourth shadow clone had been and dropped down on the other man's back. He held a long piece of wire in his hands and coiled it around the Sky Nin's throat. He was off the man's back in a second and holding two kunai attached to either end of the wire, he tossed them towards his earlier clones. Two of them darted forward, grabbed each end and threw themselves off of the railing. The wire scraped against the metal bars and the improvised noose around the Sky Nin's neck tightened. Something snapped but Naruto paid it no mind, forming a sign and sending sleek flash of bright-white fire from his hands at the next enemy.

With Daichi twirling around him, delivering short and graceful jabs, and Komachi pinpointing enemy vital points with her unnerving accuracy and subtle but dangerous water techniques, the fight was over in less than a minute. His blood racing, his hands clenched and panting, Naruto stood amongst the bloodied corpses of his enemies and felt nothing but numbness. Daichi, Towa and Kage covered the exit as Naruto pressed through the cell chambers. They reeked of blood and pain and suffering but the frightened occupants- men, women and children of Fire Country judging by their clothing- seemed unharmed.

Naruto wondered who had been the previous inhabitants before them.

They came across a large cell at the end of the hallway. Komachi kicked the door open and Yuuka and Naruto darted through the rom. It took all of his conditioning not to gag and lose his rations at the smell that awaited him. Urine, sweat, blood and the rest assaulted his senses. Flesh rotted and flies buzzed around them. Blood splattered the walls of the interrogation chambers, half-dissected and tortured men and women lay on benches around them. In the centre was a rack, where Naruto saw a purple-haired woman strapped to it. Perhaps she had been pretty once, even beautiful. Now, her face was swollen and bloodied, her teeth cracked and some missing. Her clothes were mere tatters, hiding nothing of her bruised and beaten body. Naruto saw a bone protruding from her arm, white fragments embedded in the skin around it. He smelt the odour of body waste and heard the short, rattling breaths that the woman was making.

"Captain!" Yuuka hissed. She darted over to the woman and knelt by her. "Uzuki!"

Yugao opened her eyes blearily. There was unbridled panic and fear within them. Naruto held a hand to his tattoo and sent a pulse through it. Yugao's eyes went wide and suddenly her eyes were glistening, her tense body relaxing instantly. Yuuka undid her binds and raised her hands. Glowing green light poured off of them as Yuuka began to treat the Captain's wounds.

"…suffering…" Yugao's voice was croaky. Naruto paused from surveying the tortured fates of the corpses in the room. Most of them looked like Leaf Nin, although there were none that he personally recognised. "Human suffering…our suffering…the fuel…"

Something the Hokage had said flicked through his mind.

"Dark chakra?" He muttered and knelt down by the Captain's side. "The create chakra using negative emotions- is that what this is?"

"Suffering…" Yugao trailed off.

Abruptly, she lashed out with her good arm and gripped Naruto tightly. The young ANBU winced at the sudden strength, feeling her fingers dig into his forearm. She stared into his mask and Naruto felt as if she was looking past the thick ceramic plate and into his eyes.

"I didn't break!" she hissed dangerously. Yuuka's hands were shaking as she ran them up and down the Captain. "I didn't break! Do you understand? I didn't break!"

Naruto gently took her hand and she let go of him. His voice raw, he nodded once and gently lowered her hand back into her lap.

"I understand, Captain Uzuki," he said roughly. "You followed Directive 5 in the line of Duty. Well done."

Yugao nodded blearily and her head lolled back. She appeared very tired all of a sudden and her last words were whispers.

"I didn't break…" she whispered. "I listened…let them talk…they're not very well trained…I didn't break." She paused. "The Zero-Tailed Demon Worm!" she hissed.

"The what?" Naruto's eyes shot up behind his mask. "Captain?"

Yugao just shook her head. Colour was beginning to return to her cheeks as Yuuka's medical techniques began to take effect. Naruto watched as the Captain wobbled to her feet, looking unsteady and gripping the side of the rack tightly. Naruto reached down and unstrapped a bandage from his thigh. He helped wrap it around her broken arm and used a kunai and a piece of wire to create a makeshift splint.

"I don't know what it is," Yugao said after a few moments. Her voice was considerably stronger and her face had hardened over. "I don't remember much," she confessed. "I blanked out for most of my imprisonment. But I heard that term being used- the Zero-Tailed Demon Worm."

Naruto was silent, his mind racing, as Yuuka finished wrapping her bandages around Yugao's leg and stood. "I've patched you up but you're not combat-ready," she said quietly. "The pain meds aren't going to last very long."

"Captain," Naruto's tone was respectful. "By order of the Third Hokage, Team Sigma has command on this mission." He raised his hand, flipped through some seals and summoned a small chittering monkey. "Yuuka, take notes. Captain, please tell me everything you know."

It started slowly at first, water vapour rising from the surface of the ocean and rising up towards the sky. It slowly spread across the Sky Country Fleet, enshrouding each of the ships and engulfing the view of the men and women on board with a sea of white. It hung there, unmoving, as the Water Release experts from two ANBU Platoons manipulated the vapour of the water until they had created a rolling wave of fog that had blanketed out the sky. It only took moments for the Sky Nin on board to realise that the fog was unnatural and alarms and bells began to blare.

On the shore of the Sea of Whirlpools, Tenzo watched and waited. Once the fog had completely shrouded the fleet and he raised his arm and bought it down. Two dozen blurs streaked past him, dashing across the water and diving underneath the surface. Tenzo bought his hands together and moulded his chakra.

Wood Release: World of Trees Wall!

He slammed his hands down on the ground and channelled his 'inherited' powers into the ground. The ground shuddered as countless wooden branches sprouted from the dirt from behind him, interlacing and forming a wide net-like wall. They towered over him as Tenzo expended considerable chakra to grow them. He finished his technique and allowed the net to tower over him as he raced through the next set of hand signs.

Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!

Tenzo thrust his arm forward and suppressed a grimace as the tissue of his right arm was transformed into wood at a cellular level- a wholly unpleasant situation. He brought his hand forward and the wood in his arm suddenly shot forward towards the beach. It skimmed over the water, broadened and disappeared into the mist. The targets were stationary and it was unlikely that they would have moved in the last few moments. Tenzo continued his technique until he felt a jolt. He adjusted his stance and dug his feet into the ground.

"Squads one through four- move out!" he barked.

Twenty white-masked and black-cloaked ANBU jumped onto the bridge and sprinted along the wood towards the mist. Straining somewhat under the use of chakra, Tenzo brought his other arm up and manipulated the net of branches behind him. With a sudden burst of movement they vaulted over his head and formed a makeshift roof- or shield- over the bridge. He almost immediately felt shudders as the first sounds of explosives and whizzing kunai arose in the air- the Sky Nin almost immediately preparing a defence.

The rest of the ANBU had deployed further up and down the coast, boxing in the fleet and flanking them from all directions. It left Tenzo and his squad on the beach alone, his teammates surrounding him on all sides in a defensive formation. Fliers burst out of the mist, rapidly firing kunai from the mechanical objects in their hands. The shield jolted but Tenzo held it firm. Kunai lacked the penetrating power to crack through the toughened wood and even the explosives merely glanced off of it.

The enemy had realised this and a squad of the Fliers dove past the oncoming ANBU and veered straight for Tenzo. His teammates tensed but Tenzo held firm and watched with no-little satisfaction as loud cries pierced through the air and a flash of brown feathers slammed into them. The hawks were bigger, tougher and knew only loyalty to the Leaf and they tore the Sky Nin apart with their razor-sharp beaks. A large explosion resounded from inside the mist, and then another, and Tenzo nodded to two of his teammates. They lowered their hands and the mist began to rise. Soon the fleet was visible, fresh smoke billowing out into the sky as the ANBU Platoons tore through them and their guards. Large clouds of insects swarmed through the sky as three Aburame sent their kikaichu up into the scattered formations of the Sky Nin. Their machines, which needed a certain balance of chakra to operate, powered down and plummeted helplessly down to the ocean floor as the chakra-devouring insects swarmed over them.

It was going well, just as Tenzo had calculated. However, he frowned as he saw one of the Carriers veering away from the battle. Explosions detonated all around it as the Sky Nin on-board used their full armament to keep the advancing ANBU at bay. Either Team Sigma hadn't been able to sabotage the ship's rudder as well as the others or they had made good progress on the emergency repairs, Tenzo didn't know. He was just about to inform his Yamanaka teammate to pass on new orders when a large cloud of smoke suddenly appeared behind the ship. A loud crack filled the air and suddenly something appeared, twice as tall as the carrier and infinitely meaner. The giant toad, its slit-eyes gazing down at the Carrier, reached for its gigantic gleaming blade and swept it across the carrier. It tore through the hull like a warm knife through butter, sending electrical sparks and debris everywhere.

The Class-5 summon, one of the three gargantuan warrior of the Toad Clan, croaked contently and Tenzo could make out a small figure perched on its head, arms folded across his chest.

"Jiraiya!" Tenzo breathed.

His calculations would be wrong- this battle would be over much, much quicker than he had anticipated. With the power of one of the Legendary Three and a Class-5 summon, Sky Country had no chance.

The counterattack had been a complete victory.

Naruto helped Yugao limp out of the interrogation cell even as the Captain continued to quietly tell her story to Yuuka. He kept an ear out as the pieces began to fall into place. Yugao had noticed increased movement in the area during her standard patrol and had come to investigate. What she had found was an unknown enemy razing the local villages and towns, one after the other, capturing some of the populace and slaughtering the rest. Messengers had been sent- perhaps they had been intercepted or perhaps they would be arriving at a battered Konoha soon. She had called for all Squads to converge on the areas and had begun launching guerrilla attacks against the invaders.

They had done well in the first hour or so, decimating the enemy as they had landed to loot and pillage the towns they had just burned. The Sky Nin were extremely capable in the air and specialised in the use of tools and weaponry to a great degree. On the ground, against the force of ANBU hand-to-hand and ninjutsu training, they had hardly been a threat. Unfortunately, the Sky Nin had had sheer numbers and an aerial advantage and soon it was a game of cat-and-mouse between the two forces- one that Yugao had lost in the end as the Commander of Sky Country had entered the field.

The man, elderly with white hair and yellow eyes, had torn through the ANBU like they had been Genin. Yugao was an ANBU Captain and one of the elite- definitely one of the top twenty in Konoha. She had fought fiercely as her squad retreated through the forest but the Commander had been just as fast, skilled and deadly as the ANBU. Her squad killed, she had been captured for interrogation.

She hadn't gone into the details and Naruto didn't really want to know.

Naruto helped her limp out from the cells and his squad formed around him. Naruto's thoughts raced. There were at least a hundred prisoners in the cells- although Yugao had said there had been many more in the early hours of her imprisonment. Technically, his mission and the safety of the Leaf Village superseded everything. Naruto could leave them there and let them burn along with the rest of the flying fortress after they had destroyed the weapon. The Hokage wouldn't fault him nor would anybody in ANBU.

He couldn't. His heart wrenched at the thought of allowing the helpless that he had been sworn to defend die when he could have helped them. He took a deep breath and made his decision.

"Daichi," he said quietly. The Hyuuga looked at him, his body language quizzical. "The upper decks we passed- those large flying vessels- could you fly them now that you've seen how the chakra works?"

Daichi considered it. "I could," he said. He chuckled and scratched his head. "Well, I could glide it, I think. Landing could be rough," he admitted. "But hey, look on the bright side- we can land."

"Land and crash have two very different definitions," Yuuka muttered.

She had popped a soldier pill, as had most of the others, and was looking much fresher. Still, that was two soldier spills in the span of a day. Team Sigma would be feeling it tomorrow.

"We're going to split up," Naruto decided and there was no hesitation in his voice. He had made his decision. "Kage, you're in command of Daichi and Captain Uzuki. You'll free the prisoners and take them to the upper decks. Daichi will steal one of the transports and you'll load them in. Wait for us there."

Daichi flashed a thumbs-up at Kage, who merely scoffed at the exuberant Hyuuga.

Naruto paused. "If…if you come under attack and you can't hold, evacuate." He said quietly. "If that happens, or we don't show up, you'll be in command of Team Sigma until the Hokage decrees otherwise. Understood?"

Kage nodded fractionally.

"The rest of us will link up with Team Mantis and destroy the chakra source of the fortress," Naruto finished. He left out that he had no idea on exactly how to do just that.

The Zero-Tailed Demon Worm.

He had never heard of it but that was the world of shinobi. Information was the most powerful asset a shinobi could possess. If Sky Country had indeed captured an unknown tailed-beast then it was likely that they could use its immense chakra to power their flying fortress. However, everything Naruto had heard about the Tailed Beasts told him one thing: they did not like being confined.

There were stories from other Villages when Tail Beasts had broken their bindings. They had never been nice stories.

With that thought in mind, Naruto stood. Kage and Daichi began organising the prisoners as Yugao watched, while Towa, Komachi and Yuuka formed up around him. With one last wave farewell, Team Sigma split and Naruto led his group out of the cells and back towards where they had come.

After a few moments, the alarms began to blare. Naruto and his squad paused as they surveyed the area. It was just another deserted hallway, cracked and faded stone walls like the rest. He glanced at Komachi, who shook her head.

"Mantis has been found out," Towa noted grimly.

"Let's go," Naruto said shortly.

They dashed through the hallways, navigating the somewhat confusing labyrinth by relying on Komachi's above-average chakra sensing skills and listening for the sounds of distant fighting. Tremors were running through the wall as they got closer to their destination. There was no need for secrecy anymore and their weariness had vanished in the wake of adrenaline. They met light resistance and tore through them with well-practised ease, the average Sky Nin no match for the well-trained ANBU squad.

The sounds of fighting grew louder and louder and resistance began to increase as they got closer to where Team Mantis was advancing. Naruto sent a powerful array of Shuriken Shadow Clone into a pair of Sky Nin and entered the main hallway where the battle was taking place. Mantis and his Squad were pressing forward against dozen of Sky Nin, kunai launchers and explosions tearing through the walls. Perhaps it had just been one corridor to begin with but the fighting had widened it dramatically. Naruto's squad joined up with Team Mantis and Naruto sidled up to the other Squad Leader.

"We will hold here," Mantis said calmly, despite his bleeding shoulder. He jerked his head. "Down that corridor there seems to be a large room with podium. Beyond that podium is a central shaft where I believe the chakra is emanating from. I only caught a glimpse."

Naruto digested the information.

"We will provide cover for your retreat once you have completed the mission," Mantis ducked gracefully underneath a hail of kunai as a wall of hardened earth rose from the stone floor, blocking the rest.

Naruto thumped the man on the back and signalled his squad. Mantis watched and signalled his men. On his count, they all withdrew behind the wall and formed hand-seals. Chakra surged through the air as each member of Team Mantis stood up and moulded powerful flame techniques. The air howled as the fire billowed out in all directions around them, forcing the advancing Sky Nin to retreat or duck for cover.

Naruto nodded once to Mantis and his team jumped from cover in a blur. They paused, molding chakra for the Body Flicker Technique, and flickered to the other side of the hall. The fires were beginning to retreat as Naruto and his squad made his way past the beleaguered defenders and slipped into the passageway that had been indicated.

Their feet pelted along the ground and his heart roared in his chest. His veins were alive with chakra and adrenaline as the squad of four darted through the empty corridor. They approached a set of double doors and stormed through them in a single push.

They entered a large room and halted. Blank-faced statues lined the columns on either side as, up on the podium and seated in a throne-like chair, a white-haired man with ornate robes peered down at them imperiously. His face looked amused but yellow eyes revealed his emotions- loathing and anger and disgust and a thousand other emotions all melded together into an unquenchable hatred. Behind him was the shaft that Mantis had mentioned and a deep dark light emanated from the very centre of it. Naruto recognised the man from the descriptions Captain Uzuki had given him.

It was the Commander of the Sky Nin- the man responsible for the attack on Konoha and the murder, pillage and razing of the outlying towns and villages in the region. Hatred like he had never felt before towards anybody rose up in his chest like there was a monster squirming to get out. Naruto wanted nothing more than to dart forwards and cut that damnable smirk of the elderly man's face.

"I am Shinno," the man said quietly. His yellow eyes watched them keenly as the ANBU spread out below him. "I am the Lord of the Land of Sky, Commander-in-Chief of the Village Hidden in the Winds. Who are you to come into my domain?"

"Ferret, Team Sigma," Naruto replied shortly. He spoke the next words as rote. "You have declared war on Fire Country and Konoha. Surrender and mercy may be shown," he added at the end unconvincingly.

Shinno smiled and chuckled in amusement. Both he and Naruto knew that there would be no such thing. Naruto's hand clenched around his kunai and his chakra began to race through his body.

It was time to end this war.