~~~
A Few Moments Earlier...
"It seems a friend of yours is coming back for a second beating," said Naruto, directing these words to the person that was hanging right beside him.
Kurotsuchi's eyes widened as she was finally able to pick up on the chakra signature that was nearing the two of them.
"Akatsuchi" -- Naruto disappeared, a surge of fear appearing-- "GET AWAY!" She released a mighty yell, a wild panic overcoming over her.
Over to where Akatsuchi was residing at; he was heard the very loud warning that had shook his ears, ringing with constant sounds.
He looked above as Naruto's fist came crashing into his skull.
"AGHH!" Blood splattered from his mouth as he was thrown back, vomiting blood as he got up from the ground after crashing on the coarse and rough dirt.
Suddenly a foot stopped at the very tip of his chin.
A bit of sweat trickled down his forehead. "You came to me, but for what reason?" Naruto asked, his eyes glaring down on the person that groveled before him.
Akatsuchi gritted his teeth. It hadn't been that long since he had been taken down by Naruto, being shot away at insane speeds.
"I came with a purpose: to save Kurotsuchi!"
*BAM!*
As soon as he said that, the foot that had rested right beneath his chin shot up, throwing him up in the air with such force.
"Wrong," said Naruto. "you came here in pursuit of failure; because you will never be able to save her." He backed away as Akatsuchi bursted forward, growling.
He hit a nerve.
"You recovered a bit of your strength, and healed, only for you to lose again with pitiful fashion." Naruto leisurely ducked down, dodging a punch.
Huh? Akatsuchi thought, his mind blanking as a foot crashed into his face.
"L-Kick!"
In the martial art of Capoeira, was a technique that resembled a person going into a cartwheel-like motion, using one arm to support their body's weight before using one of their legs to deliver a kick to a person's head or torso.
Shrugging the pain off, Akatsuchi angrily punched the ground, rupturing the ground and making the dirt and rough textures rise.
"You have strength, but you lack technique," Naruto said, copying the words that Mifune had once spoke to him before he copied his style of Kenjutsu.
What a cheat the Sharingan was.
Akatsuchi jumped off of the rupturing dirt, appearing above Naruto. There was a calm look in Naruto's eyes as he hoisted his foot as he jumped up slightly off the ground.
Akatsuki copied Naruto, opting to do a kick that had tremendous force behind his legs and foot. Naruto smirked as he used the very end of his foot to cause pain to the Zu San Li pressure point.
It's a pressure point that is commonly used during acupuncture to relieve pain; and it resided a bit under the kneecap. Even though it was used to relieve pain, it did not you can use the pressure point to cause pain.
Akatsuchi widened his eyes as he felt a wave of pain.
Kyusho Jitsu! He gnashed his teeth down. Kyusho Jitsu was the martial art that attacked pressure points. It was akin to the Gentle Fist, but it did not rely on the power of the Byakugan.
Akatsuchi felt Naruto tug on his leg, pulling him down.
Taekkyon! His mind raced as he felt himself be thrown in the air. Naruto created a clone that held Akatsuchi in place for a couple of moments.
Turning his hands into a fist, Naruto swinging his fist horizontally.
"Hammer Fist!"
A technique that was found in martial arts like Hapkido and Taekwondo, Naruto struck Akatsuchi's chest, causing blood to sputter, convulsing out.
Not done and unrelenting, Naruto separated his legs and got into a Kokutsu Dachi Stance (Back Stance) that was used in Kyokushin Karate.
Using his left hand, Naruto used his elbow to strike Akatsuchi's chest, before using his right arm and extended it to do a hand fist strike.
Naruto got into a Krav Maga Fighting Stance as soon as the clone dispersed out of existence. Smoke clouded Akatsuchi's vision once the clone dispersed.
"AGH!" He squirmed in pain.
"Eye Strike!"
Naruto had struck his eyes to cause him to feel an intense amount of pain. Although he had hit the eyes, Naruto avoided disabling him and did not put enough pressure to blind him.
As he squirmed, Naruto entered a Taekwondo Stance: Gojung Sogi.
Shooting his hands forward, it transformed into a knuckle protruding fist that collided with Akatsuchi's body. Sending a volley of attacks, Naruto decided to finish things off.
Following up with the endless fists of protruding knuckles, Naruto brought Akatsuchi's right hand and threw him over his shoulder.
Jujutsu.
Naruto reeled his arm back, forming a flat fist, and struck Akatsuchi in the face, knocking him out before he could do anything else.
Naruto got back up, holding Akatsuchi's unconscious body.
"Looks like Kurotsuchi will have someone to talk to," Naruto muttered to himself, disappearing in a flash.
Capoeira.
Kyusho Jitsu.
Taekkyon.
Hapkido.
Kyokushin Karate.
Krav Maga.
Taekwondo.
Jujutsu.
With only using 8 martial arts out of the many in his arsenal, Naruto had took down a valuable person that resided in the opposing forces; further intensifying the damage that will occur.
Akatsuchi had been caught,
~~~
Present Time...
As numerous nuclear explosions shot forward, Satsuki continued her pummeling with great extent, her fists shooting forward with invisible speeds.
After some time, the nuclear explosions that seemed almost endless, stopped happening; and only leaving the remnants of smoke and dust that polluted the air.
The explosions slowly died down, revealing Satsuki with an adequate amount of lack of damage on her petite body.
Under her was Killer Bee - the Jinchuriki of the 8th Tailed Beast.
"You were pretty strong for someone who had awakened their latent talent in the spur of the moment." Satsuki jumped off the body that seemingly was able to float on the water while under the pressuring power of Satsuki's feet.
"And I wonder how strong others would be if they unlocked an even higher latent ability," Satsuki spoke to herself, "and it worries me that you might reach a level that might pose a threat to Naruto."
They might not be able to reach and defeat Naruto at his full power, but due to him constantly growing in strength, he must hold back even more than before.
Satsuki looked down at Killer Bee. "'Cause this gift that has been bestowed upon humanity is dangerous and can pose a danger to us." She slowly walked away.
"And it won't take long before the tiny ants start damaging the skin of the almighty deity." There was radiating around them, but they were Shinobi.
And they were full of abnormalities.
"You know it, too. You have an adoptive older brother that wants to protect you." Her body disappeared from afar.
"It would hurt if someone you cared about died."
"And I'll kill anyone who tries to hurt him." An oath was created, binding the two Shinobi together in a close-knit that was handled with the utmost care.
And as time went by...
The second day arrived.
~~~
Naruto placed the transmuter near his mouth.
"Can you 3 hear me?" He asked, his voice reaching the ears that sat on the other side of the transmuter. He heard 3 voices come together.
"Yes, we can hear you."
Their voices came together in unison, speaking the same 5 words at the same time in a simultaneous manner.
"Good. This way it'll be more efficient in knowing what I should do based off of what they are doing." He gestured for Karin to go first.
"I'm in Unit 3; and it's being led by a person named: Might Guy. The person who is assisting him is Rock Lee." Naruto was quite surprised by this information.
He did not know that Might Guy had recovered from the injury placed before him. But it was rather obvious that the reason why he is able to continue was due to new arms made from Aphrodite.
It was far too dangerous to use Hashirama Cells due to the body potentially rejecting them. Then was also the case that Aphrodite was far too useful and flexible in use for it to simply not create miracles.
Naruto knew that it would be inevitable for him to fight those two giants; but he had no reason to rush since the war was only starting.
"I am in a unit that is being led by Hatake Kakashi and the assistant commander being Haruno Sakura." Naruto hummed at Jugo's words, expecting as much.
"Unit 5 is being lead by Hyuga Hinata and co-led by Hyuga Neji." Naruto nodded at Suigetsu's words. It was dangerous for him to be there since they had seen his face, but that did not stop henges from happening.
But he was still at risk.
"We had just been ordered to stay on standby and for us not to engage in combat with you. So we'll be staying away from you as far as possible."
"So it seems. Nevertheless, we'll probably engage in battle soon enough. The 5 Kages will concede and will have to fight me sooner or later." Having had used the 3 subordinates of Satsuki infiltrate the many units of the alliance was an advantage that would benefit him greatly.
By gathering inside information Naruto would be able to conjure more plans.
"All right. Keep doing what you have to do and I'll check up on you all after a few hours." He heard shimmering hums appear from the other side.
~~~
Konan walked away from the rubble as numerous civilians fled away in a flurry. There were numerous bellowing yells and roars that illuminated the air as buildings were knocked down and set aflamed.
She stood in a small village that resided in the Tea Country.
Just like he had predicted - they had completely neglected the minor villages due to them concentrating all their forces at different places. While tragic, was necessary for the war.
They wanted to save everyone, but they can't save everyone - only those that were within their reach were possible to save. Even then, those within reach weren't guaranteed to be saved.
Some may die here and now, but that did not mean there wouldn't be any survivors left, becoming mere leftovers of the tragedy of the blazing village.
And thus their fates will be sewed, interwoven into something far beyond their comprehension. Just because they were considered "normal" and weren't considered strong, does not mean that they have no worth.
Because they do.
The worth of a single person is more valuable than that of an exotic diamond. Some may disagree, but when it comes to variables such as intellect, talent, ability-
They disvalue everything else.
If he did it correctly then they should be going to THAT place. Konan thought, her eyes shifting with dullness, reflecting against the fiery bursts of the ascending fire that lit the world.
"I see it in your eyes, Konan-san; you lack the will to live," Naruto said, his voice soft spoken with no malice laced within his voice.
"You're observant." She did not deny such statement, only unhappily embracing such words into her mind, the submerged feeling consuming her.
Naruto held out a hand.
"You may be a former member of the Akatsuki, but I see it - the mellow heart that you hold."
She had took his hand, shaking it with replicated kindness.
Should she be sad?
Even after the many heinous crimes she had done in the past, she still continues doing them without hesitation. Maybe it wasn't her time yet.
To atone for her sinful deeds.
But, deep inside, Konan knew better than anyone else that this was what she needed to do. She didn't necessary believe in the way Naruto wanted peace, but it was something.
A peace that opposed Obito's kind of peace.
That's a peace that she can get behind.
And so, she'll continue to be loyal to Naruto; fight for him; kill for him; until her time came where she was no longer needed by this world.
And only then...
Will she be at peace with herself.
As she dies, the life that lurked behind her eyeballs would leave, leaving her regrets back down on this fiery Earth.
Konan walked away, feeling the tingling sensation of the flames trail along her back as her Akatsuki cloak fluttered.
Nagato... Yahiko... I have a feeling that I will be meeting you two again soon enough. Her body was soon engulfed, completely submerged into the depths of the everlasting forest.
~~~
Satsuki moved through the day, destroying each village that she had came across, and strengthening her connection to her Vector Manipulation.
Due to only using it for training Satsuki had to avoid using it to its fullest extent. And the only time she was able to use Nuclear Manipulation through vectors, was when she wasn't at the place she usually trained.
Each time she used the vectors, changing its magnitude, and manipulating all types of vectors to expand on her arsenal. She felt her power grow, the sensation trailing all around her body.
"Looks like Kumogakure is my next target." Satsuki moved through the terrain that covered the Land of Lightning. Even though she was getting stronger...
It was not enough.
I need more power. She thought, the need to gain more power burning through her heart greatly and brightly. Even now she lacked the power to change things.
If I can just gain enough power... Satsuki clenched her hands, forming two mighty fists. Her knuckles soon turned a ghostly white.
Naruto won't need to... She felt inextinguishable anger ravaging her from the very bottom of her heart.
They were playing a very dangerous game.
~~~
Naruto stood on top of the large bones that reached the sky. From afar, he could see the sun set once more, meaning that the 2nd day was almost at its end.
"And it seems that they have finally came up with their answer," said Naruto, smirking as felt the combined forces of all 5 Kages release a tremendous amount of chakra.
"I've angered them far too much." Naruto stretched his body, seeing as Ay probably did not know of Killer Bee being incapacitated due to Satsuki's actions.
This only meant one thing.
They had come up with a plan to try and take him down.
"How heartwarming that is." Without anything further to do, Naruto jumped off of the skeletal remains, leaving the two Shinobi he had caught behind.
"Let's see how you do," he muttered, disappearing and went towards the direction of the 5 Kages at the speed of light.
~~~
Done. I didn't write much this chapter due to me wanting to make it a chapter for some exposition. I'll be picking up the pace since Grace will be ending around the 125th chapter or so.
But this has been my shortest chapter after so long.
But until next time.
CYA!