~~~
Naruto stared at them, the temperature rising a few degrees. The tension that darkened the air around them was excruciating. Naga gained a slight grin under his mask.
He moved - now released from the cage and the Shadow Paralysis Jutsu - towards Naruto slightly. The floor made no sounds, the metal under absorbing any potential sound that the wood could make.
"Welcome... to MY 5 Kage Summit."
The air remained thin. No one dared to move even a muscle. Naruto slowly got up from sitting down and stood up without any traces of backing away. Just like with Obito, they couldn't move even an inch.
"You... you... actually came," muttered Naga, his grin everlasting as he took another step forward. Naruto noticed this and narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you? You don't seem to be anyone I recognize." Naruto knew nothing of Naga's existence. But he remained calm as he observed the area.
He caught sight of numerous extensions of wood that covered the background.
Wood? So he must be one of those artificial Wood Release users. Naruto thought deeply before his train of thought was disrupted by the voice of Naga. He turned back to him.
"Me? You can call me Naga. My past doesn't have any importance nor should you have any interest in it." Naruto started slowly to piece things together as he locked contact with the dark-black orbs.
"The only thing you need to know that the man I used to serve - Orochimaru - is no more! I now don't have to take trivial orders from him anymore! I was a dispensable tool - an aberration!" He yelled wood sprouting under him.
The wood under him sent him like a piston pushing objects.
"Now! This hunt towards you will give me real meaning! As long as you exist, you'll give everyone a purpose - a meaning to hunt you down!" Naruto smirked as he heard those words. Everything began to become clear to him.
So this is the guy - the reason why Obito fought me; he found a tool that he couldn't lose at all cost. Naruto brought his hand out, his fingers arching into a claw-like grip.
"Zettareido."
Naga found himself unable to move as he crashed down to the floor, the wooden boards clashing with the iron underneath. Naruto looked down towards Naga.
"Now, now. There's no reason for us to fight. My purpose here is not to single handedly kill each and every single one of you. No, I have something to say that will intrigue everyone here." Naruto dodged a strike from Onoki.
The young Uchiha backed away just a tiny bit, sending a glare at the Tsuchikage. As soon as Zettaireido recharged, Naruto forcibly put him down with the flick of a wrist.
Onoki also stumbled down.
"You've crossed your boundaries, old man. You're strong, but we're no longer in the relic ages. Your age has surpassed your strength." Naruto glared down. Onoki glared at the floor.
"You... a brat that has caused nothing but pure annihilation." The Uchiha stood tall, unfazed by Onoki's words. In fact, Naruto dared to say that those words were almost a compliment.
"As to I was saying," said Naruto, their surrounding turning grim. "I've come to announce a declaration of sorts. You'll be interested without a doubt." Naruto stood over them, power shrouding his entire body.
"I've sat around long enough, even after all the time I gave you with each interval, your efforts resulted into nothing." Some grew increasingly suspicious with his actions.
"What do you mean by: 'even after all the time I gave you?' What are you trying to say?" Gaara asked, trying to dig for more information.
"Let me rephrase it for you all. Even between the times that it took me in-between to kill each Daimyo; you all laid back, panicking - maybe even stumbling with each action you took." Naruto didn't even show an ounce of fear.
"That's why... I've decided to finally unveil everything I have to you all." They widened their eyes. The questions they wanted all along were being given to them on a silver platter.
"A year from now on the 1st of October - I'll reset this world back." They were shaken, wanting to know what he meant by 'resetting the world'. It sounded evil, almost magical.
"Resetting the world? Is there some kind of hidden meaning?" Shikamaru asked. Naruto nodded, giving him an affirmative answer.
"To put it simply: From this day on, you'll have 12 months to prepare yourselves. 'Cause on the day rebirth, I'll be..." A terrible gleam reflected onto his eyes.
"Jumpstarting a war."
For a moment, it seemed as though time had stopped. They couldn't believe the words that Naruto was saying to them; it was outrageous.
"Wh-What?" Questioned Mei.
"Are you ludicrous? You? Starting a war?!" Ay was bewildered by Naruto's words. First he talked about ruling the world as king, then now he was talking about resetting the world through war. He made sense.
"Don't be ridiculous! A war?! Are you absolutely insane?!" Onoki yelled as he slowly stood up from his defeat position. Naruto didn't not falter whatsoever.
"I think you all don't understand what I'm trying to do. This isn't a simple: Nation vs Nation - nor will it be a Great Shinobi War. Those will only be childsplay when in compared to this war I shall engulf this world in." Naruto spread his arms out.
"I'll jump start a warm that will be even above the heavens!" Naruto looked at them, a cruel look on his face as he announced the name of the war will shake the entire world.
"The Great Heavenly War!"
The name contained no such words like: '1st' or '2nd' - it wouldn't need it. There would be only 1 Heavenly War because once he was done there'd be no more wars that'd exist.
"With this, the resolve of humanity will be put to the test! As their ruler, I'll be responsible for the dawn of the new age. The remnants of the old age will be disposed of." They narrowed their eyes at his not-very-sane words.
"Us versus what army?!" Tsunade roared, anger flaring inside of her. Naruto smirked, using his thumb to gesture to himself.
"An army? Why would I need an army when I'm more than enough to purify the world?" He asked them arrogantly. They gritted their teeth.
"Your arrogance knows no bounds, Naruto! You may be powerful, but do you think you can just take on the entire world alone?! What kind of nonsense is this?" Gaara questioned, readying himself for anything.
Naruto didn't answer, instead aiming his arm to the ceiling of the fortress. Quietness washed over them before Naruto chuckled quietly.
"Shinra Tensei!"
It happened in an instant. Everything that was once the ceiling became absolutely nothing. He had tarnished even the iron that enfolded over them.
"Let me tell you all one things," said Naruto, the hand that was outstretched directly towards the ceiling became a fist, the moonlight shining right on top of it.
"I FEAR NO ONE!" Naruto yelled at the very top of his lungs.
"You - the 5 Kages - I don't care who; I'll take on EVERYONE!" He glared at them. Even after all this time they underestimated everything that he could do.
"I don't care who you throw at me. Whether you reanimate the old 5 Kage or you reanimate Madara - it won't matter because I'll be the victor!" Even after all this time, his thirst for victory never left him.
"I had enough of this!" Screamed Ay, once again being shrouded in lightning as he dashed forwards. He concentrated enough of his lightning chakra to his fist.
Naruto grinned.
"It hasn't even been 10 minutes since I declared war, and you already want to face death?" He reeled his fist back, coating it lightning chakra as well.
A clash between the same natures. How interesting. Naruto didn't even flinch as their fist connected, the lightning around their hands exploding with an extreme amount of power. Threads of lightning strode violently around the room.
It blocked Onoki from using his dust release correctly. Naruto looked above slightly, the difference in height between him and Ay were drastic.
"Interesting. I'll take this a bit more seriously - hopefully I don't lose you all too fast." Before it was too late, the other Kages looked at their respective guards.
"Don't interfere! This is a battle for us Kages!" They yelled in unison. Their guards had a look of puzzled, but also anger. They didn't want to just leave their Kages to fight Naruto.
"We can't just let you fight him alone!" Rock Lee yelled, his anger unwavering. "After everything he's done to us! Do you think I can just stand by and let him slaughter the people I care about?!" His hands were clenched tightly, a reddish tint appeared on them.
Tsunade turned towards Rock Lee.
"This isn't your fight. This is a fight between us Kages and Naruto." Mifune grabbed his blade and stood on the table as he readied himself to dance to the death with Naruto's burning fury.
"They're right," said Naruto, using Zettaireido push everyone that weren't the 5 Kages down. "You all aren't ready for this stage yet." He looked at Naga as he was about to jump towards him. It didn't take long before he was able to use another Rinnegan ability.
"Shinra Tensei."
With a single technique, Naruto had pushed Naga passed through the metal interior and was shot to an area miles upon miles away from the Summit meeting.
Naruto turned back towards the 5 Kages alongside the legendary Samurai. In an instant, they vanished. Naruto smirked, rubbing the side of his neck as he unsealed his blade, holding it tightly around his scarred hand.
"Maybe..." He muttered, his eyes glowing a dangerous red and purple. "You'll be worthy enough to pose as practice." Naruto leaped back, seeing the future as dodged the combined punches of the 5 Kages.
Where's Mifune? He asked himself, the Shinsekai had not reached all the way to the point where Mifune had attacked. As the Kage slowly got up from their previous positions, Naruto used his Shinsekai ability to see who would attack next.
The hairs on the back of neck as he felt an etheric force come aiming towards his back. It felt familiar and Naruto soon found out why because of seeing the future.
"I see," whispered Naruto quietly, ducking down to avoid a blow from a purple crystal blade that he had seen before. He didn't panic and instead just looked at Mifune, locking his eyes onto him as he dodged a lighting-fast punch from Ay.
"So Tetsu formed you a sword of your own. Interesting." Naruto lifted his blade, imbuing it large amounts of wind chakra. His eyes wandered, catching sight of Mifune and the Kages moving around him, flashing from one side to the other.
"A battle of speed? You all may be exceptional at it, but don't forget," a slither of his teeth was shown as he smirked slightly, being able to see all their movements as if they're in slow motion. "my level of perception outmatches any Uchiha to this date." Ducking down, Naruto saw all their fists clashing.
Naruto positioned himself, his legs in a way that resembled a coil that was constructing high amounts of tension in his legs. Letting his legs spring him upwards, Naruto used his blade to shoot out energy that resembled a crescent moon.
Just barely managing to react, the Kages and Mifune dodged the attack, backing away to gain distance between them and Naruto.
With his blade looking for the blood of his enemies, Naruto outstretched his hand, his fingers straightening themselves as if Naruto was blocking off an invisible source of energy. Force gravitated to his hand, releasing a concentrated amount of energy to push him away from everyone.
The air violently brushed passed his face, his body flying flying through the air both aggressively and gracefully. Naruto looked at the people at the Summit meeting.
He saw them looking at him before they disappeared in the blink of an eye. Naruto used his Shinsekai ability to see the future once more. Now knowing the information from the Shinsekai, Naruto saw Onoki fly towards him, his speeds easily multiple layers above the speed of sound.
Onoki moved to do his Detachment of the Primitive World Jutsu. Just before he could reach the second hand seal Naruto interrupted it by summoning a clone and throwing it towards Onoki. This caused him to break away from completing the jutsu and dodged the speeding bullet coming to him.
Quickly reaching the ground Naruto was met with Tsunade appearing in front of him, her curled fist fueled with anger just feets away from connecting to his face. Naruto did not flinch, his eyes staring back at the fist of doom hurling towards him.
As if he already knew it was coming, Naruto budged his neck and head to the side, dodging the punch completely. The ground behind him shook, shakened by the immense chakra control that she was wielding.
Naruto backed away a few inches before advancing, lifting his fist that was aimed directly at Tsunade's face. Just before it collided sand appeared and blocked it before it covered Naruto's arm and threw him far away.
As he landed back on the ground, Naruto stomped his feet, the ground releasing a noise of destruction. He looked around seeing Mei doing the hand seal 'horse' to signify her molding chakra.
"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"
Naruto dodged the clouds of mist that escaped Mei's mouth. He saw the acidic attributes of it tarnish the ground that it went over; he knew that he needed to stay away at all cost from it..
Mifune appeared in front of him, the blade of crystal purple being swung down with intention to kill him. Naruto gripped his blade tightly, thrusting it up to block the slash downwards.
Clashing, they struggled to find the victor of the encounter.
"Let's see if you can handle this," muttered Naruto, his voice only being able to be heard by Mifune. Just like lightning flashing, Naruto's blade was quickly covered in his lightning chakra; the wild coils unraveling.
The tendrils of blue shrieked, their blades rubbing against each other in defiance as they fought over who had the better grasp of their blade. Just like with Obito, Naruto added more strength, pressing forward as his blade knocked Mifune's to the side.
"Like I thought: you can't, old man." Naruto elevated his sword, the tip position just under the moon before he slashed down elegantly, trails of purple and blue hues being left behind.
"You think wrong!" Mifune yelled through the bellowing of the lightning chakra. The purplish-black material that was acting like a case around his arm began to glow slightly.
Naruto was surprised, albeit hiding it with a stoic face.
The thin material began to spread along Mifune's body, reaching all the way to Mifune's neck. His entire body was now clad in the unknown black material that acted like a membrane.
The blade that Naruto wielded couldn't pierce through the membrane that enveloped Mifune's stature. The only thing that wasn't covered was Mifune's head.
"What do you think? After being saved, I not only got my hands on that legendary crystal, but with the help of Ketsueki Tetsu, we managed to extract the essence of the crystal. This is the byproduct of extensive experimentation on the crystal! Behold! The Strongest, Unbreakable Armor!" Mifune declared.
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
It seems as though Tetsu has seen the true me. How perfect. Naruto thought, retreating back a few meters. He now knew the countless possibilities that the opposing force now had if they all mass-produced these weapons and gear.
"What? Did the cat snatch your tongue?" Mifune asked.
Naruto smirked.
"Do you think things like these can stop me? I've now realized something"-- Naruto let the words hang for a few moments before he grinned-- "that if I want to completely destroy you guy's morale, I just have to go... all... out."
Naruto slowly stood up, sealing his blade as he hoisted his arms upwards just a bit above his head. His eyes began to spark with electricity every few moments as he said two simple words.
"Banshou Tenin!" Naruto howled, the 5 Kages that were above to strike from above were ultimately pulled by the invisible, but unstoppable force. Mifune was also pulled in.
The ground snapped, cracked - it was destroyed.
A gray aura began to clad around Naruto, soon forming into a skeletal being that protected him from any attackers. Flesh began to appear, covering the etheric bones that had manifested.
Clothing wrapped around the flesh, a two-sided katana that was just about 8-10 meters in length was held a tiny bit above Naruto's head.
It was incomplete, but he was just testing the tides a bit; you know, he wanted to know what makes them... struggle - maybe even crack.
Naruto spun 360 degrees, then blade spinning, spilling the blood of his great foes.
"Just like what I said to those weaklings" -- there was a pause as Naruto passed through them in an instant-- "you all aren't ready for this stage as well." Naruto turned around, staring as they all fell down the ground, the crimson liquid leaking from their stomachs. (Excluding Mifune of course.)
"In the future, when we all face once again, you'll certainly be stronger; maybe you'll even land one single scratch. Do be wary," a dark look shadowed over him as the Kages and Mifune got up from the ground. "once we do fight, it'll be a duel to the death. Even then, I'll be the victor." Tsunade gritted her teeth.
"Damn it! Shut up!" She yelled out, her fist descending down towards the rough and rigid ground. The ground ruptured in shock, elevating from the shockwaves being sent through the earth. Naruto galloped to the side as he was nearly engulfed in the elevating ground.
Catching sight of Mei, Naruto disappeared in an instant with the only evidence that he was even moving was the cracks on the ground that appeared around them.
"You're a Kage, but your perception is lackluster, Terumi Mei." Naruto appeared above, his Sharingan and Rinnegan locking down on her. He unsealed his blade, imbuing it with wind chakra incase he would need to use it to knock away any potential mist that Mei released.
"Oh no you don't!" Naruto heard a yell from Gaara, a pillar of sand once again blocking Naruto's assault. He grunted, slashing through the sand. Summoning a clone, the clone threw him away, avoiding Onoki's countless pillars of spikes that roused from the ground.
Onoki flew near the ground, debris blasting as he destroyed his surroundings.
"How dare you say we're not ready to fight you! Arrogance doesn't suit a dead man!" Onoki yelled. his pride shattered by Naruto's words. The boy smirked in satisfactory as he obviously dove under the wrinkly skin of that of Onoki.
"Dead man? Shouldn't you be in a retirement home by now? You've outlived your usefulness, Onoki!" Naruto pulled him in with Banshou Tenin while he himself was still in the air.
The Uchiha grabbed Onoki by the neck, his grip tight as Onoki struggled to breathe. Naruto landed on the ground, the snow parting away a few meters away due to Naruto's landing.
"Better yet," Naruto said, tightening his grip, making Onoki writhe in pain. "maybe you should die... now!"He shifted his blade, aiming at Onoki's head.
"Goodbye."
Naruto reeled his arm back and moved to strike Onoki's head. But to his disappointment, a hand enveloped in dark purple had blocked the sword strike before he could bring Onoki into the afterlife.
Dropping Onoki, Naruto backed away so he wouldn't get hit by armored Mifune. Ay came from the side, covered in his Lightning Chakra Mode Technique.
"Looks like I'll be the first to damage God himself!" Ay had anger surging through his fist. Naruto looked back at Ay, his eyes frizzling with small tendrils of lightning appearing every few seconds around his eyes.
"Wrong."
Naruto angled his body slightly to the side, dodging the deadly fist aimed towards him. The Uchiha grabbed hold of one of Ay's forearms and threw him away. Naruto looked back at Mifune as he disappeared and reappeared right in front of Naruto, his sword held tightly.
Sealing his blade, Naruto began to engage Mifune in hand-to-hand combat. The Samurai swung upwards, the luminescent light being left behind by the speeding blade.
Naruto lifted his leg, his foot clashing with the blade.
"Your teamwork sucks. Even though you all work together once every few centuries, I'd expect more from people that like the preach about teamwork on a daily basis." Naruto brought his leg down, using his forearms to block another strike from Mifune.
"It's like you guys actually think letting each of you off one by one will work. It's insulting." Naruto dodged another blow, no injuries being left on his body. He wasn't writhing in pain, he was doing just fine.
Naruto finally decided to be on the offensive and formed his hand into a fist and attacked the chest of Mifune. This only resulted in the Samurai being pushed back with no injury whatsoever.
Mifune smirked.
"Didn't I say it already? This armor is indestructible." Naruto hummed in response before responding to this claim. He stretched his limbs, getting ready to take Mifune down.
All the others are calmly waiting for the right moment to attack. How cruel of them to do. Naruto mused, shifting his legs apart, entering a stance.
"You've grown quite complacent thinking you're indestructible - invulnerable. How wrong you are. In a single second, I'll make you experience nothing but unquestionable pain that will make you writhe in the inside out." Naruto disappeared as the smirk never left Mifune's face.
Naruto flickered around until he decided to do this the old classic way and to just simple dash towards him. Mifune readied himself, having full belief in his armor as Naruto hurled himself towards him.
Naruto reeled his arm back, his hand not curled into a fist - instead being completely straight with no signs of it turning into a fist. Mifune aimed his sword down, attacking as Naruto ducked down, dodging the sword that was held by the same hand that let him use this membrane-like armor.
Naruto pushed the arm away, outstretching the hand that was completely straight, towards Mifune's other arm. His was touching the part of the forearm near the shoulder.
"And just like that"-- a sphere of light formed on the palm of Naruto's hand at the speed of light-- "you're the first one out. HOTOKE!" For a moment, Mifune couldn't feel anything; his eyes were wide, but all he felt was numbness wash over him.
It was only after he heard the steps of Naruto as he walked passed him was when he could fully hear it - the sound of liquid falling down right next to him as an eerie silence was present around them.
Tsunade was silent. Ay was silent. Onoki was silent. Gaara was silent. Mei was silent. Even Mifune himself was silent. The quietness lurked around them, horrified at the sight in front of them.
Mifune, whose head was still, started to slowly - in small... tiny... increments - turn his head to his left, the speed of it being as slow as a snail. As his eyes finally laid on his left arm, it wasn't where he thought it'd be.
The arm that was originally was attached to his body was no longer there. It was now lying on the pure-white snow that was soaked in his blood.
Mifune finally realized that, after all this time, his arm was truly no longer there, and that Naruto had torn it off so fast the pain receptors that should've been active the moment his arm had been torn off was lagging behind by a very considerable bunch.
His eyes widened even further, the pain finally coming in full capacity, rupturing as he screamed.
"AGHHHHHH!!!!!!" Mifune screamed, the birds in the surrounding vicinity flocked away in the snow as he unleashed the scream in absolute horror. As he looked at the night sky... all he could see was...
Red.
It was in his imagination, but it felt so real that he collapsed and fell unconscious due to the traumatic experience. Naruto took one quick glance at the fallen, but complacent warrior that he had taken out.
Hotoke completely bypassed the defensive properties of the unnamed crystal. Naruto looked back at the others that were completely frozen as they saw membrane armor around Mifune recede back to his hand that was not tarnished.
Hotoke was a beam of light that - as the name suggests - is able to travel at light speeds. But enough of that. Naruto looked at the Kages as they grouped up together.
"So... Who is Next?" Naruto asked, unsealing his blade as lightning chakra coursed through it.
~~~
Done. So, you should expect more frequent updates right now. But with this chapter ending, I have accumulated over 4100+ words. But this will be it for now.
Thanks for reading Grace.
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But until next time.
CYA!