Crow's feathers - Naruto fanfiction

Chapter 63 The end of all things

“He’s insane,” Hiashi said.

Madara lifted his head and let out a dark laugh. “That is the best you can do? You are fools. You should never have let Naruto leave. Don’t you know what it takes to defeat the tailed beasts? The Kyuubi was your only chance. You’ve lost.”

“No they haven’t is what I say,” a new voice spoke, “there’s one more tailed beast in play.”

“Bee!” the Raikage called when the shinobi stepped within view, “get out of here!”

“Don’t worry brother, I’ll rid you of this bother.”

“Bee don’t be a fool. He already has seven Bijuu.”

“And he’ll have no more once he’s learned what I have in store.”

Madara glared at him. “That rhyming of yours is getting on my nerves. I’ll be glad to remove the Eight Tails from your body if it means I won’t have to hear our stupid voice anymore.”

“Well I won’t let you mate, cuz I am friends with my Eight.” Bee gave a peace sign and turned towards the Raikage. “Ready to squash this rat? Let’s show him our Double Lariat.”

A slow smile appeared on the Raikage’s face and he nodded. “Let’s go.”

***

Daro and Tai supported themselves on their knees. Both were panting heavily and looked a bit worse for wear.

The girl Kei limped to their side, the kunai dagger slipping from her fingers. “Are they gone?” she whispered.

Tai gave a tired nod. “Yeah. Yeah I think they are.”

“We need to get away from here,” Daro said more confident than he felt, “find the others and report to Headquarters.”

The other two nodded in agreement and they set out.

“Hey,” Daro said, “I don’t think I ever asked, but… where… where is your third teammate?”

Tai and Kei exchanged a quick glance and Kei averted her eyes to the ground.

“He was killed,” Tai answered.

It was silent after that.

“I’m sorry,” Daro muttered. He should have known. He shouldn’t have asked.

“How about yours?” Kei asked softly. Her eyes were sad and she didn’t look at him.

Daro’s eyes turned concerned. “I don’t know,” he said, “I haven’t seen them since the start of this war. I don’t know if they’re still alive.”

Tai gave him a sorrowful look and Kei gently took his and. “You know,” Tai said, “Headquarters keeps a list of all known casualties. If we go there, we might find out more.”

Daro slowly turned to him. “Is that true?”

Tai nodded. “They always do.”

“Well then,” Daro said more determined, “what are we waiting for?”

***

Lightning flashed across Final Valley, but it was met with a fierce wind attack. “Will you stop it already?!” Naruto said.

Sasuke scoffed. “You were the one insisting on giving up.”

“Well I can’t let you continue with this pointless war.”

“It’s not pointless,” Sasuke said coldly, “they should pay for what they did.”

“Who?” Naruto asked angrily, “who should pay? And for what? Madara told me about Itachi. I know why you’re doing this, but it’s not right! This isn’t what he would have wanted.”