The Coming of the King

Chapter 23 - The Battle (1)

"So, I take it that you'll come along, Naru-chan?" Itachi asks, slightly afraid of his taichou's mad appearance.

"Do you even need to ask, you moronic butterfly princess?" he replies. With that, the three ANBU take off at their fastest speeds to take down Danzo and ensure Sasuke's safety.

Naruto's P.O.V.

My vision went red. It was similar to what I experienced when facing Richtin, but this time, the feeling lingered longer. I knew that this sensation and my red-tinged vision was due to me drawing from Kurama's chakra and will.

"Kit, you need to calm down," Kurama warns.

'I can't Kurama. That fucking asshole took the love of my life. I'm not going to tolerate this. I'm going to kill him. The moment he set his sights on Sasuke was the moment that he made himself a dead man.' I explain.

"If you continue like this, your power might hurt Sasuke, kid," Kurama warns.

'I won't hurt him.' I argue.

"Kit, you might. I'm just trying to warn you. You know now that you have little-to-no control like this,"

'I'm not going to hurt Sasuke,' I assure him.

Kurama grunts unconvincingly.

I catch the chakra signals of several ROOT operatives. I look at Itachi, who nods, before looking at Shisui, who does the same. Their nods mean something besides, "oh, look at that," they also mean, "go ahead without us." Sasuke's safety is the most important thing to the three of us, but for me, it's also my mission to ensure his life and well-being. If anyone understands the extent of my duties, it's my team.

The ROOT members leap out of their trees to pounce on us and stop our advance. With a burst of concentrated chakra, I'm instantly holding one of my father's kunai. A well-aimed throw takes me from the battle-to-be, though it also takes me face-first into a wall. I don't hesitate to keep moving, chasing Sasuke's chakra signature.

I easily gain on Danzo within minutes. It's disconcerting that he appears to be heading towards the edge of the village. Surely he's realized that we've set up barriers. Even if he hasn't, running is cowardly. Then again, he's always been a two-faced son of a bitch.

The second that Danzo is in my line of sight, I think he realizes it as well. He turns and smirks at me in a victorious manner, Sasuke hanging limply in his arms. Anger pulses through me, but I attempt desperately to quell the emotion. I keep my face neutral, something that I've never been very good at, and narrow my eyes the slightest bit. I barely hear the chuckle that glides past that bastard's lips over the distance between us that several rooftops keep.

"Put Sasuke down," I order, not bothering to conceal my favoritism for the youngest Uchiha.

"I've been wanting to fight you for a while, Kitsune," Danzo grins. "I simply can't wait until you're on the ground begging for mercy," he says, the smile stretching his lips dangerously wide. "So, I guess I can put the little boy down, despite how impressive his sharingan are," Danzo finishes, dropping Sasuke roughly at his feet.

I grit my teeth at his blatant disrespect. He jumps over Sasuke and onto the next roof, closing a fraction of the distance between us.

There's no signal to begin, but we start at the same time. We blur in the same instant, meeting in the center, his sword against mine. The force of the strike makes the world shudder. I don't hesitate to summon a kunai and jab it into his stomach. He grunts slightly and jumps back.

I don't waste time celebrating my strike. I leap back and brace for the next attack. It's a flurry of hand signs and attacks and weapons. It's times like these when I wish that I had the Sharingan. My Sensory can only do so much to alert me to his next movements.

And then, he makes a grave error. As I leap back to dodge an attack, he uses the opening to throw a kunai. The kunai ends up embedded not in me, but in Sasuke's chest, less than an inch from his heart. Now, my vision isn't just tinged red. Everything floods crimson, and I lose control.

The only sensations I feel are my claws just barely scraping against flesh, not enough force carried in the enraged attack to do any damage, the world trembling violently, and the searing chakra enveloping me. Seven chakra tails lash the air furiously as I attack again and again, no rhyme or reason to it.

One thought burns through me before the red fades to black.

'I'll never beat him like this,'

Obito's P.O.V. (Surprise!)

Stumbling into Naruto and Danzo's battle is easily number one on my list of Terrifying Scenarios, but it was easy to see that even with Kyuubi's power, Naruto was losing to the old war hawk. Not by a large margin, but he won't be able to win like that. He needs to calm down and tap into his true power. I guess that's why I ratted myself out and trapped him in a genjutsu of my memories of the day he was born. That power is the sole reason that I tried to kill him then. No one person should have that power.

It corrupts and kills and ravages. I only hope that Hokage-sama's gamble with Naruto actually pays off. If he gains control of his power and turns his back on people, the entire world is screwed.

Naruto, however, is Kitsune. He's responsible for so many people. Even if he isn't the most cut out for his position currently, the responsibility may give him the strength of will to remain loyal to his loved ones.

I face Danzo, suppressing my initial fear, and engage the enemy. We'll never rescue Sasuke if Danzo kills Naruto when I'm showing him just what he is. I won't allow this mouse-of-a-man to interfere.

Naruto's P.O.V.

I know the signs of a genjutsu when I'm trapped in one. I try to break the genjutsu, but I'm left without success. It must've been an Uchiha. Which means that I'm probably stuck until I get through whatever Obito wants me to see.

I hear a woman crying out in pain, so I decide to play along. I move towards the sound just to see something I never thought that I would, my parents. Things move quickly, almost dream-like. My mother gives birth to me, I get kidnapped, Kurama is released by none other than Obito Uchiha.

Anger spikes through me at that, but I don't dwell on it. I know, almost instinctively, that he's the person showing me all of this. Then, when my mother and father seal Kurama within me, something else goes in as well. A power that I never knew that I had. And then, Obito starts talking.

Edited 12-15-2020