Chapter 100 - Shuushin (Final Trial)

Ekyt took Lady Tsunade aside and told her everything. Every detail of his plan. The risks versus the potential reward made it clear that it was the obvious choice for the Leaf. But it meant making waves among the other countries. The only real ally the Leaf had was the Sand. And that was problematic, because Ekyt and the Kazekage didn’t exactly get along.

“Please, My Lady… I don’t want to, but I have to do this. This HAS to be dealt with, and dealt with quickly.”

Tsunade was still processing Ekyt’s insane plan. No normal person would have cooked it up. It was too dangerous. WAY too dangerous. And Tsunade wanted to tell him ‘no, you can’t do that!’ in the worst way. But even worse was the feeling that she HAD to say yes. As risky as the plan was, it was the only plan they had. And they had no time to form another.

Ekyt’s parents look on at their son, both worried about and proud of the boy. They had always been a tight knit family.

“He’s taking this seriously. I’m glad he grew into a dependable man,” Shinobu commented. “I don’t like that killing business, or this assassination attempt he’s doing…”

“A man does what he must,” Shiro commented. “This isn’t our world. This is his. And he knows best. We have to accept that.”

“I know, I know,” Shinobu murmured, watching her son pace around the library. “But look at him. He’s so…uneasy. His anxiety isn’t there, but he’s not happy, either. When he visited us and told us about that girl, Sakura. Or Azami, even. He was so happy. His life had come together. But now…now it just seems like he’s back to where he was.”

Tsunade had inadvertently overheard, and had to tell Shinobu and Shiro just what was really going on. She asked Shizune to get all of them some tea, directing Ekyt’s parents to sit down at a table in the center of the Library’s first floor.

“It’s a hard story to follow, but I’d imagine you’ve heard at least a little of it…”
-

Ekyt sat up on the highest floor of the library, his head buried in his hands. He felt the thin scar horizontally across his left eye, left by the Mizukage. His fingers traced it, recalling the pain and rage.

“Now I’m going to assassinate someone. End a regime of evil. There’s so much riding on this. But…what if I can’t do it? I don’t want to kill! I don’t want to! I want to fight, and I want to help. But when it comes down to it…I’m scared of taking lives. And this time, I’m…I’m starting the fight.”

I know for sure that if Orochimaru lives, we’ll all suffer…so there’s no choice. But why does that seem like I’m twisting truth to suit me?

Ekyt’s mind flashed to Asuna and Mimizu. Mimizu had found a man in her life, one she had always spoken of fondly. Ekyt already missed the girl sitting on his shoulder, flirting with him. But she had moved on. On to something better, and something real. Ekyt never knew just how serious she was about him, but he could never take her flirting seriously.

Asuna, though…

Ekyt got up and tore down the stairs. His parents were in deep conversation with Tsunade, so he wouldn’t be missed. He couldn’t leave things like this.
--

Asuna walked slowly toward the gate, her head bowed slightly in thought.

A miko doesn’t need male’s companionship. Only nature’s. And he wasn’t the right one anyway. I feel bad leaving him behind like this, but it would just make things harder. For him and for me. He’d have to worry about protecting me; I’d have to worry about how I feel about him. It’s not love, but…I don’t know what it is. Maybe it’s because I feel that, no matter what he does, he’s something like a pure soul. When I heard he killed someone, I felt more sad for him than ever before.

“Asuna!”

Asuna couldn’t believe it. Her ears HAD to be playing tricks on her. She turned around slowly, almost not daring to look up. But when she did, she saw that her ears hadn’t been messing with her.

Ekyt came running up, out of breath. As he bent over, hands on his knees to catch his breath, Asuna noticed that his pants had wet marks on the legs. It was either sweat or tears, and Asuna knew Ekyt was capable of producing both.

“I…I couldn’t let it go like this, Asuna! If I let you walk away now, I would regret it the rest of my life!”

Ekyt drew in a breath, then drew Asuna into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry that it wasn’t love, Asuna. I’m so sorry for everything I’ve put you through, even as a friend. It’s so unfair to you. And it’s damned unfair to me, too. I want to be your friend, at least. I know it can’t work like that…or maybe it can, I don’t know! All I know is that I can’t just let you go back to that temple. Not without saying goodbye!”

Ekyt held her by the shoulders, looking her in the eyes. But he looked confused, and kind of...wounded. He hesitated for a moment, but then kissed her on her smooth, white cheek.

“uh!” Asuna managed to squeak out, completely taken aback. Once she recovered, though, she ended the tender moment by giving Ekyt a hard shove. So hard, in fact, that she accidentally laced it with chakra and pushed Ekyt to the ground.

“You bastard! I was making this easy on you!” she shouted. “You can’t fight and worry about me at the same time!”

Ekyt was still on the ground, dirt all over his uniform. “You think I wouldn’t worry regardless?! You just thought I was going to pick Mimizu, right?”

“Didn’t you?” Asuna was much more quiet. I thought for sure he’d…

Ekyt looked away. “No. I didn’t pick anyone. Mimizu picked Okayu. And I chose to take a mission into the Sound Village.”

“The Sound Village? But that’s…you can’t go there!”

Ekyt drew Asuna close, but not in a hug. This time, it was to whisper to her.

“I have to kill him. I don’t want to, but I have to. Orochimaru is going to come here and slaughter the village, now that he’s obtained the Sharingan. He’ll be all but unstoppable. I have to stop him before he gets complete mastery of the Sharingan. It’s going to ruin me, Asuna. I’m going to come back, but I’m not going to be unhurt, mentally or physically. That’s why I had to say something to you now.

“If I lose my life, my limbs, or my mind, I need you to know that you’ve been important to me. I’m so sorry that I couldn’t save your sister. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you the love you wanted. And I’m sorry, above all else, for making you take care of me when I was at my weakest. I know it bothered you. And I’m sorry. But I’m NOT sorry I met you, and I never could be.”

“You…you idiot,” Asuna sniffled. But she gave him a hug back. “If you come back…no, when you come back…the temple is always there for you. You taught us to protect ourselves. And we’ll protect you in your hour of need. Just come home, okay? Besides, you never know…how things will turn out.”
--

“…in other words, as a legend, he’s the bravest and the best for this job. Our village is going to be hit by two wars if we don’t take the preemptive strike your son suggested. To put it another way…this is our only chance for survival.”

Tsunade let that sink in. Shinobu and Shiro had been surprisingly calm about all this. She had told them everything that had happened to their son, and in detail. The injuries, the failures at love, near-death episodes, the criminal record, the clearing of that criminal record…all of it.

“I’m just so proud of him,” Shinobu finally said. “If this was his idea, then I trust him. He has to do what he thinks is best or he’ll never forgive himself. And if people got hurt because he made the wrong choice…”

Shiro took a deep breath, looking at the huge library. He wasn’t an avid reader, though Ekyt was. Shiro didn’t even especially like martial arts. But he had been behind Ekyt one hundred percent in his pursuit.

“Now I know why he had to move out. To protect us. Someone would have targeted us because of him. I never thought we’d get that kid out of the house…”

Shinobu gave Tsunade a frank, ‘woman to woman’ look. “And the girls he loved…”

“He never sealed the deal, no way,” Tsunade told her, chuckling. “He’s incredibly girl shy. His crush on my student lasted for three years and he never said a word. He stepped aside and let someone else have her. The second girl…it destroyed him when she betrayed him. She’s since taken a husband, but it hurt her a lot, too. She genuinely loved your son. As for the other two…nothing even close to serious. Truthfully, I had hoped he’d found his girl one of the first two times. But it just doesn’t come naturally to him, and he’d rather see someone else happy than feel happy himself, if I had to guess.”

“It’s not that, really,” Shinobu admitted. “He doesn’t want to desert us. You called him ‘Ekyt’, right? I know for sure ‘Ekyt’ would feel like he’d be leaving his father and I behind, and he just can’t do that to us. I’ve told him I’m okay with it, which is probably why he finally loosened up a little.”

After a little chuckling, the library doors opened again. It was Ekyt, back from talking to Asuna. He looked tired and battered. His right arm was still bandaged from Sasuke’s sword. He favored one side to avoid the wound on his side, where Sasuke had stabbed him. There was a small burn on his face from using the cooking oil for an impromptu fire jutsu on Sasuke.

But his eyes were alive. They weren’t ‘happy’ eyes, but they were eyes that carried a mission.

“My Lady, for Otogakure I need a small strike force. Jonin who can get in and get out, fast. I’d like to ask for Asuma, Gai, and Kakashi. When is Kurenai due?”

Kurenai was pregnant, and Ekyt had to know about her status. He wouldn’t allow Asuma to fight in the war if he had a child newly born or on the way.

“Stable. She won’t give birth for another month. Asuma will be good to go with you. I can only give you ten days. And two days are travel each way…”

“Don’t worry about that. Worry about preparing for an assault by the Akatsuki,” Ekyt told her bluntly. “Let me handle the Otogakure campaign. We need all our manpower to stave off the Akatsuki, if they’re coming like I think they are.”

“After Jiraiya sedated you, he told me that Tobi said he would be delayed several years because so much of his organization had been destroyed. Are you sure the Akatsuki are a threat?” Tsunade asked.

“The Akatsuki- tell the unabashed truth? I doubt it, M’lady. And even so, the chance to strike at us while we’re weak might be too much of a temptation for the remainder of the Akatsuki.”

There was a lot to take into consideration. This ‘strike force’ Ekyt talked about would only get him IN Otogakure- not back out. And if he managed to kill Orochimaru, getting back out amongst all that chaos could either be a blessing or a curse. Ekyt himself was a question- this mission was asking a lot of his mental health, which was still a question, though he was stable. Killing a man had shaken him badly. Going into Otogakure would mean bloodying his hands yet again, and likely not just on one man. If there were any innocents in Otogakure, they were bound to get hurt. For each one Ekyt tried to save, another would die.

“This could kill me…it might very well be the end of me…” Ekyt mused, strangely calm. Was it because he was finally doing something? Because he was the only one he had to worry about on this mission? If he failed, no one got hurt but himself. And he would do damage; enough to slow Orochimaru, if nothing else. As strange as it was, this mission was beyond S-ranked; yet there was no pressure. No one actually expected him to win. And his parents. They were PROUD. Proud of him, even though he thought for sure they’d be upset at what he’d done. But they understood. Just like always, they understood.

“My Lady…Mom…Dad…” Ekyt said quietly. He walked up a couple steps on the library staircase. He turned, paused dramatically, and said:
“Leave the porch light on for me. I’ll be back in ten days. For once, I just KNOW it. I won’t lose in Otogakure. I’ll be back here, and things will be right. The way they SHOULD be.”

Ryouko leapt back down, giving a small half-grin. “I’ve got to get my clothes together. And prep my team.”
--

Black gloves with full finger- check.
Black gi top with ¾ length sleeves- check
Chainmail armguards- check
Tabi boots- check
Boot knife- check
Black cloth headband-check
Black jonin pants- check
Black jonin vest- check

“You look totally bad-@$$!” Azami commented. Even Itachi gave his grim approval with a nod.

“Seriously hot!” Sakura joked. Naruto flipped her the bird behind her back.

“And now, a gift from your parents. If you’ll accept it, ‘Mr. Legend’,” Shinobu added. She fastened a pendant around Ekyt’s neck. It held half of the kanji for ‘victory’.
“It might be clichéd, but I’ve got the other half.”

BAM!

The door was kicked in.

“Am I too late? You’re not leaving without me!”

The boisterous shout was Mimizu, sitting on the shoulder of Okayu, Yuushi’s older brother. There was an akward silence. Mentally, Shinobu ticked Mimizu off on the list of possible mates for her son.

Those good genetics are gonna go to waste! My stupid kid can’t land a girl! And Sakura and Azami would have been great ones, too! Beautiful, intelligent…

Ekyt was quiet. He was lost in thought, it seemed. A thought so deep not even the rowdy Mimizu could shake him from his thought process. Or maybe it was Mimizu on someone else’s shoulder. She was still technically his assistant, right?

No, we need to end that.

“My Lady…I’d like to disband ANBU’s Special Investigative Services, effective immediately, under the grounds that it has become superfluous to the village’s needs.”

“So disbanded,” Tsunade replied, noting it in her head so that it would be recorded later. Since the organization didn’t ‘officially’ exist, it wasn’t hard to remove traces from the record books.
--

This was the blackest of missions. It would be recorded almost nowhere in the Leaf Village. Only a small, black book kept in an unassuming place in the Leaf’s vast library would chronicle this mission. It would be authored by Ekyt, who added his own personal touch. When Tsunade would read that part, she would think of how cunning Ekyt really way at times. It made her thankful they were on the same side.

She watched as Ryouko talked with Naruto. It seemed to akward, even if Sakura wasn’t around. Instead, Ryouko gave Naruto a cryptic message.

“Naruto…” Ekyt began, but he flashed back to the dream he head. Naruto as the 6th Hokage; Ekyt himself dead; a peaceful Leaf Village. If that was the scenario he was creating by doing this, Ekyt had to make sure it was acted out correctly. He had burned a quote from that dream into his memory, and he spoke it to Naruto now, for once confident.
“Naruto, whatever else happens, protect what we’ve done here today. Never let it be forgotten that, no matter how great, any one shinobi or village may be toppled if we lose our vigilance. But even worse would be to lose ourselves, and our humanity.”

This was in reference to the attack Ekyt ((NOTE: I’ve used Ekyt and Ryouko interchangeable on purpose to illustrate that they are the same person)) believed was coming on the Leaf.
It was clear Naruto had absorbed it. For once, someone’s words had really hit home with him. He just clasped Ekyt’s hand and tried not to cry.

“I will. I can do that much. But you’d better come back alive! ‘Cause if you don’t, you’ll make a liar out of me!” Naruto declared with his usual bravado.

“Oh? How’s that?” Ekyt had to ask. He was a little amused by that statement. He couldn’t quite catch the meaning.

Naruto grinned broadly, raising an arm for emphasis. “ ‘Cause you’re a comrade, and I don’t let my comrades die!”

Ryouko grinned back, but the pit of his chest had begun to ache. He already knew how this would end, and it was better for everyone if, just this once, Naruto WAS made into a liar. Ekyt couldn’t come back.

Unless I’m really, one hundred percent right about the Sharingan’s weakness. If I am…I might just make it out alive. Lord Third Hokage…Sarutobi-sensei…I hope I picked up on your clue in time!
--

Ryouko had a few loose ends to tie up before he left. One of those was with Jiraiya. And for once, the big guy with the white hair was not happy. And he cut straight to the chase. It was so forward and so close to nasty that Ryouko’s feeling were actually hurt. They met in the woods, on a small, secluded dirt path.

“I can’t let you fight that battle. I don’t care what he did to you, Ryouko. As cruel as that sounds, what he did to you can’t be as nasty as what he did to me. You never made friends, you wouldn’t understand. But when a friend betrays you…”

Ryouko stepped up closer to Jiraiya, letting his anger out.

“Really now? I’ve been betrayed plenty of times. And you want to either save that friend or kill that friend, right? Rather than let that friend become an enemy, you want to stop it!”

“Oh, you DO understand. Then you’ll let me have the fight with Orochimaru. Good. Good talk.”

Ryouko tugged on Jiraiya’s giant scroll, yanking him back. He pulled the Sannin close and looked him in the eye.
“…This attitude of yours that you’re pulling…it makes me want to fight you. It makes me want to handle Orochimaru even more. You of all people should understand what Orochimaru does. For you to pull this selfish crap… No wonder you couldn’t take the Hokage title…”

The two were close to blows. Ironically, each understood the other’s position. No one was really angry. There were just a lot of hurt feelings, and they all happened to come to a head at the same time. As the two legends glared at each other, it dawned on them how stupid this was. They both dropped their gazes and muttered apologies.

Then it hit Ryouko. A feeling of being watched. Familiar eyes, yet different from any he’d felt before. They peered right into his soul, it seemed.

‘So this is your pain. A newly-found mastery over an old problem. You know, Ryouko, some things are better left undone. You shouldn’t defeat your greatest opponent so easily…let me bring him back!”

Immediately, Ryouko’s body began to react. It was anxiety all over again. He had just beaten it. For it to come back so quickly, and so strongly…
It destroyed him.
But it was worse than that.
It was Orochimaru’s eyes that he had felt, and Orochimaru’s voice he had heard.

He’s managed to obtain a mastery of his new abilities so quickly? He’s got me… he’s won without throwing a punch.

Ryouko hit the ground, shaking violently, but keeping his composure.

You know how Sharingan works. He got you through the eyes. Cover your eyes, and give Jiraiya a chance to beat Orochimaru… If that doesn’t work, then my eyes will have to go.

Ryouko tugged his headband down over his eyes. He had to work from touch to find his scroll and brush, but he finally did. He scribbled down a short message to Jiraiya. It was what he had learned about the Sharingan. And just in case Orochimaru could count strokes and guess what he was writing, Ryouko used a simple code. He wrote:

Fukusuke had to do what he did. 3
Ayame is kind of hot, isn’t she? 7
Kikunosuke is lucky. 9
Ecchi is your style for sure. 11
Shikamaru used to hate apples. 4
Enishi was a great villain for sure. 52
Arashi mountain will have a violent winter 36
Leaf can overcome, right? 98

Jiraiya read the scribbles that qualified as coded writing. He immediately understood it. It explained why Ryouko had been going nuts challenging the three Sharingan users in the village to impossible matches.

“You WOULD figure that out, Ryouko. Thank you…”

Ryouko heard him, but by now he was barely in control of his thoughts. All the unpleasant, inescapable images he had worked so hard to erase had come back, virtually crippling the young legend.

Jiraiya now had one more reason to kill Orochimaru.

I’ve never seen anyone suffer so uniquely. I’ve seen him take a nearly direct bomb blast and shrug it off. But he gets taken down by something no one can see…
It must drive him insane. As a warrior, especially.
Helplessness is the one enemy none of us can beat.
--

It was official- Ryouko had been taken off the mission roster. His Mother and Father comforted him, saying that ‘maybe it was best’. They had since been told about his gradually worsening mental state, and about the bomb blasts and lightning-laced kunai knives he’d been hit with recently.

But though they couldn’t see their son’s eyes, they could tell that this was the worst kind of pain for him. Being unable to protect the things and people most important to him. It sounded cheesy, but someone like Ryouko needed that kind of purpose. And now that it had been taken from him, he really felt defeated.

Each time anxiety had come back, there had been a ray of hope for him. A light at the end of the tunnel. This time, there was nothing. He was an outcast from his home. His love life was gone. He couldn’t protect anyone or anything. In fact, he had become a danger to all those things.

While sitting there in the library, Ryouko blurted out what would be his saving grace.

“It feels like a genjutsu that can’t end…”

That’s when it hit Tsunade.

“Ryouko…do you remember your ‘Emotional Chakra’?”

Ryouko was getting anxious again, and he had begun chewing on his arm. Anything to dull the mental pain. He nodded around that action. Tsunade took his chin in her hand and made him look her in the eye.

“If you can call on it again, you can defeat this. Your anxiety is real, but a genjutsu brought it back. Your emotional chakra can agitate your normal chakra, and it can break the genjutsu.”
Tsunade saw a little life in Ryouko’s eyes.
“…But if you do it, you’ll risk hurting your mental state even more.”
Tsunade knew that it wouldn’t matter to him.
“…If you’re going to do it, go to the temple and see that miko again.”

Ryouko immediately left. The second he did, Tsunade smiled at Ryouko’s parents.

“Poor kid. I hate lying like that. All this time, his ‘emotional chakra’ was nothing more than his regular chakra changing due to stress. He’s the only one I know who can change his chakra nature by his emotions. Unconsciously at that!”

This was, of course, nonsense to Ryouko’s parent’s. They weren’t shinobi- they had no clue what Tsunade was talking about. But it seemed to be a good thing for their son, so they kept listening.

“Ryouko’s natural chakra style is hard to determine. He’s kind of a blank slate. He can do lots of jutsus, but he needs a catalyst. He can’t create water, for example, but he can use it if it’s around. Fire is something he can create, which makes me think he’s a fire type. But his earth jutsus are a close second. It’s hard to determine that, because there’s earth all around, all the time. When his emotions act up, and he can call on this ‘second chakra’- actually a rush of adrenaline- he actually boosts his own attack and defense. And it’s a healthy thing when he does it!”

“And why does he need to go see this Shrine Maiden again?” Shinobu finally asked, having heard enough things she didn’t understand for a while.

“How to put it…your son is a hero type that responds best in ‘impossible’ situations. ‘Impossible’ for him is landing the girl. If we get him all hot and bothered around her, then he won’t focus on his anxiety, and even more importantly, he’ll fall into the ‘hero’ role.”
--

Ryouko had planned to wait to use this plan when he had left the village. But with things going to…wrong…he made the decision to use them.

All four of them.

Built in secret, in a chakra-tight bunker, and kept hidden under military cover, was the chief intelligence Ekyt had received from the Akatsuki, coupled with his own research. It had taken meeting Asuna, the Akatsuki, and seeing the Third Hokage battle Orochimaru, but Ryouko had finally managed to put something together that truly felt ‘legendary’ to him.

There were four Ekyt’s in the chamber, not including the original. In a Pain-like set of circumstances, Ryouko built his backup plan from shinobi who had agreed to donate their corpses.

“They contain my chakra…they look like me…the last thing to do is to test them. Let’s see…”

Ekyt tapped one of ‘himself’ on the shoulder, awakening it from a genjutsu state of sleep. This clone got up, clicked it’s heals together, and saluted Ekyt.

“Good. You were the first. If you work, the others should as well…” Ekyt mumbled, tapping the clone on the shoulder to free it’s voice and limbs from a second genjutsu.

“Thank you, sir. As the original of ‘me’, you have my admiration.”

Ekyt patted the clone again, this time affectionately, before moving on to the others.

The next one was a female, and immediately began to primp and clean her/himself and the surrounding area.

“So they retain tendencies from their living counterparts…Interesting. And unforeseen…It shouldn’t matter…I hope…”

The ‘female’ smiled and bowed.
“Thank you for awakening me, master. I love you!”

“Erk…ah, well, thank you. But, I’m not ‘master’, and you can’t love me. You ARE me.”

“I cannot love myself?”

“Yes, yourself. But not me. You are you, and I am me.”

“But you said I’m ‘me’.”

“You are ‘me’. But you’re supposed to say ‘I’ when referring to yourself.”

“But I was referring to you as well. You are me, and I am I…”

The female was confused, particularly with her new male parts. Her speech reflecting feminism and strangely enough, also a position something like a servant. Perhaps a maid of some kind? No, that couldn’t be. What jonin would be a maid? Perhaps a caring female jonin? That was more likely.

“Yes, well…congratulations on your ‘birth’. And remember, you are a boy now…”
Hoo boy. Awkard. This one will have people thinking I’m…ugh.

Next up was a smaller Ekyt. A young genin had died in battle. His dying wish was to be made into something useful to his village. And hence he had been made into one of Ekyt’s backups.

Unfortunately, this one seemed to be a little bit…off.

“No girls? Man, this sucks! I’m gonna scope out the academy!” the clone declared. Ekyt shook his head, however, and sat the clone down.

“No. Not yet. This is a trial run, to see if you’re functioning as you should.”

“Yeah, like you weren’t into girls too! And the ones around here are prime real estate!”

“…”

That left one last clone. This one had been created from a foreign shinobi; this one from the Sand Village. They had donated the corpse to prove that Ekyt and Gaara had truly buried the hatchet. It had been quite…nerve wracking on Ekyt’s part. Gaara had ruin Ekyt’s eye at one point (since healed by Sakura), and Ekyt was partly responsible for Gaara’s sister defecting to the Leaf and finding a boyfriend. Kimimaro and Gaara didn’t get along, understandably. So tensions were stretched to the breaking point.

Ekyt awakened the clone. This clone was apparently going to be the strong and silent type, so Ekyt just shook it’s hand and moved on. It was time to tell all the clone’s their orders.

“You, the first clone,” he announced, pointing at the male that had said he ‘admired’ Ekyt. “You will accompany Jiraiya to Otogakure in my stead. The second clone, formerly a female- you will patrol the borders with clone number four. And clone three- you will roam the village and act as intelligence in the event of an attack. You report directly to myself and Lady Tsunade.”

“Understood!” they said as one, moving in the direction indicated by their various instructions. Ekyt himself aimed for Tsunade’s office- there was one last thing he had to discuss.
--

“I can’t be of use in this attack…but I CAN keep other safe. I don’t need my eyes to maintain a barrier jutsu. We can create a safe haven for the shinobi to fall back to, if the Akatsuki attack before Orochimaru, or while he’s still alive.”

It was unnerving to see Ryouko standing there, eyes covered by his headband, and a real cigarette in his mouth.

Tsunade nodded to Shizune. She pulled Ryouko’s headband off. He blinked at the sudden light for a while, but that was it. Nothing else happened. Not until Ryouko began to burp and tear at his own throat. Shizune recoiled, thinking the boy would be sick. Instead, an arm protruded from Ryouko’s mouth. Then eyes. Then a head.

Orochimaru!

The Kusanagi came from Orochimaru’s mouth and aimed for Tsunade’s face. She hadn’t moved yet. Shizune was quick on the uptake, and she dove in the way and took the sword for Tsunade.

“Shizune!”

Orochimaru climbed out of Ekyt completely. Ekyt only made some gurgling sounds before falling to the ground, blood coming out his mouth and his eyes rolled up into his head.

Orochimaru stood up fully, speaking around the sword in his mouth.

“My dear Tsunade, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you last! I see you’re well…”

Tsunade didn’t reply. Instead, she tried to figure out how to save Shizune. A remote chakra search showed that Ryouko was okay; just unconscious.

“You don’t want to talk? My, the princess is certainly unwelcoming toward visitors! Sarutobi-sensei would never have been so cold!”

The sword pushed further into Shizune, now poking out her back. She was still alive, but fading fast. She couldn’t use her Poison Gas Jutsu in here- Tsunade and Ryouko would be dead, and the gas would stay contained. But she could…

“Die!” Shizune shouted, pulling the hidden string in her hand, launching the needles on her forearm. They all sped for Orochimaru’s face.

klank klank klank klank klank!

Each one was knocked down by Kabuto, who had leapt in through an open window. He dropped the corpse of an ANBU agent down to the ground below.

“You should be more careful, Lord Orochimaru. She almost got you, and I don’t have an antidote for that kind of poison…” Kabuto said in his ‘I’m so friendly’ way, pushing his glasses up on his nose.

“I give you trust, Kabuto. Be satisfied with that. Not many hold my very life in the palm of their hand, as you do…”
-

Ryouko could hear the exchange. His eyes still closed, he let his eyes re-adjust.

I knew it. I shouldn’t have opened my eyes! But Shizune startled me… I hope she’s okay. It can’t be helped now. I have to do something…let’s see…

As he laid face down, Ryouko slid his hands under him. He used the blood from his mouth to create a summoning circle from memory. He couldn’t make handsigns or get at his scrolls, so this was the only option.

Summoning Jutsu!

A small frog appeared by Ryouko’s neck. He made brief eye contact with it, speaking to it through a genjutsu. This frog was one of Jiraiya’s messengers frogs- one he had given Ryouko a summoning contract with for just such emergencies.

-

“You’ve obtained the Sharingan, haven’t you!” Tsunade stated, rather than asked. She could see the tomoe of the Sharingan in Orochimaru’s eye. It spun rapidly, becoming the Mangekyo Sharingan.

“Indeed I have. And I have mastered it as well. Do you want to see the form that it’s original body existed in? The one Itachi Uchiha himself crafted?”

Without waiting for an answer, Orochimaru peeled his own skin off. Brown hair, shaggy on top, was revealed first. A pale face, dark eyes, and a slender body.

“Can you see all those mixed in? Itachi himself shows in the demeanor; Azami in the grace; and the child on the floor in cosmetic appearance. Quite a weapon to use against this village, isn’t it?”

-

The frog looked back at Ryouko, putting a genjutsu on him.

Cause a distraction, and we’ll solve this!

The second Ryouko was freed, he made his move.
--

“Raagh!” Ekyt roared, leaping up and grabbing Kabuto by the neck. He rammed him into the wall, punching him in the face so one side of his glasses broke into Kabuto’s eye. His fist struck Kabuto on the neck, denting his windpipe. Kabuto could barely get in enough air to keep breathing, never mind moving. He would die in minutes if not helped.

“An eye for an eye, Orochimaru!” Ekyt declared, sounding strangely calm as he punched Kabuto yet again. “If you kill Shizune, I kill Kabuto. If you kill Lady Tsunade…I’ll kill you. I can finally mean it when I say it- I WILL kill you! You get one chance to withdraw before I finish Kabuto!”

Orochimaru’s only reply was to push his sword through Shizune and toward Tsunade. The sword struck her in the shoulder.

“Agh!”

Ryouko ran toward Orochimaru, but found a high kick meeting him in the chest and sending him flying into the wall. Before he could even think of moving, Orochimaru’s arm was directing snakes toward him. It was all Ryouko could do to hang from the ceiling to avoid the snakes.

“Striking Shadow Snakes!”

Four snakes snared Ryouko around the waist. A fifth aimed for his neck, but Ryouko got an arm in the way, so he managed to keep himself from suffocating.

“My, aren’t you a pain!” Orochimaru declared, morphing a second face out of the back of his head so he could glare at Ryouko. “I thank you for helping me get in here. It was unintentional, but I’m thankful for any kind of help, really. Now then…do you want to see the eyes that would have defeated you eventually?”

Ekyt slammed his eyes closed, but he could feel Orochimaru’s eyes boring into his, right through his eyelids. The genjutsu that had driven Ryouko back into panic attacks earlier was now back on him. But there was no escape- he couldn’t run, or do anything to distract himself.

I…I’m going to go insane! Wait! Lady Tsunade- she said use my ‘emotional chakra’…if I can just…
No. Not yet. I can’t yet. I’m still distracting Orochimaru. What can I do in this position?

Ryouko opened his eyes and fired back with genjutsu. Orochimaru’s Sharingan broke it instantly, but things felt different for a minute. Ekyt repeated the process- there!

When I force him to release my genjutsu, his Sharingan does that- That means he can’t use it elsewhere! The genjutsu he has on me lessens. He has to know that, and he’ll try to snare me again. I’ve got to keep pushing him…

-

Tsunade tended to Shizune, keeping an eye on Orochimaru and Ekyt. They were locked in a silent genjutsu struggle. For now, Tsunade could try to heal Shizune, then assist Ryouko.

The frog on the ground, gone unnoticed, opened it’s mouth and croaked.

-

“Gotcha!”

Jiraiya leapt out of the frog, tackling Orochimaru to the ground while throwing a kunai to free Ekyt. As soon as Ekyt landed, he got over to Tsunade.

“My Lady! I’ve got your back! This can’t be an isolated attack!”

“Never mind me!” Tsunade snapped. “Alert the village! Get people moving! Evacuate the children to the safe areas! Mobilize ANBU! This is a code red emergency! You have my authority to act with any powers the Hokage has! Now, go!” Tsunade glared at Orochimaru, hatred coming from every pore. “This is between the old legends. Take Kabuto outside with you.”

“Understood!”
--

Ekyt’s four duplicates were already on top of things. The one that had been with Jiraiya continued to Otogakure to keep an eye on the situation there. Orochimaru’s men would be coming; that was certain. The real Ekyt authorized him to kill anyone who talked about attacking the Leaf Village.

In the mean time, he ran around the village, issuing orders on Tsunade’s authority. The women and children were evacuated to hiding areas dotted around the landscape. They were assisted by the four Ekyt’s.

ANBU headed to the front lines, eliminating all threats who came calling. But when the number of casualties rose to one hundred in a few minutes, Ekyt knew his fear had come to pass.

“It’s happening, isn’t it?”

Azami had been the one asking. She was unusually quiet. Beside her was Itachi. In contrast to his normal self, Itachi was taken with emotion and anger. He wanted to storm to the front lines himself. But Ekyt had to stop him.

“Pain will be here soon. I can’t fight him alone, Itachi. You can match him. THAT is the best choice for the village.”

Azami looked quietly at Ekyt, thanking him silently for helping her husband. But then Ekyt broke into a grin.

“Besides, you’ve got someone else to watch out for now. My parents will be okay where they are. They already know what I’m doing, and they understand there’s no way to talk me out of it. But you- you’ve gotta watch your girl’s back. You’ve got the ‘someone just for you’- hold on to her.”

Azami instantly felt guilty. She was sure she had been Ekyt’s ‘special person’ before she betrayed him. And now he was helping protect the person she had chosen over him. That took a level of integrity that was unfathomable in her mind. All the same, she let her guilt fade as Ekyt ran off, planning as fast as he could.
--

“We have to attack them in clusters. Don’t let one Pain isolate any one person. Each one has a weakness that can be exploited. We have to keep them separate, too. If you encounter a Pain by yourself, don’t engage him- get out of there. Don’t attack unless you have at least two jonin with you.”

Asuma, Gai, Kakashi, Itachi, Azami, Naruto and the Ekyt’s were the ones who would attack chiefly. They formed impromptu cells, even as they fought of Orochimaru’s men, who had begun to pour in.

Asuma and Kakashi would team up. With them for support would be Shikamaru and Sasuke.

Gai and Itachi would team up, along with Azami. Their support would be Rock Lee.

Ekyt would team up with Naruto. Their support would be Sakura and Hayate Gekkou.

The rest of the Hidden Leaf was engaged in combat with Orochimaru’s men. This elite group would hunt Pain. He WAS coming, Ekyt was sure of that. In the mean time, they used mostly taijutsu to fight off the less skilled Otonin.
Each one had bloodied their hands with numerous kills. No one had time to feel guilt or regret. All they could do was protect their home.

All around was destruction and explosions; kunai clashing and people screaming. It was a full-blown war. Even though the Hidden Leaf had been prepared this time, they were no more sure of the outcome than when Orochimaru attacked the first time.

This time, however, some of the Leaf’s of the village had matured and grown into warriors with strength that Orochimaru himself would have feared for his life, had he been thrown in among them.

Worse was to come. The Village Hidden in the Clouds, still angry over the Hyuuga incident of many year’s past, cast their lot with Orochimaru. They attacked, coupled with the Sound shinobi. The war began to look uglier and uglier.

Even worse, however, had come to the Leaf’s gates-
Pain was here.
--

The three legends stared each other down. Orochimaru was now, no doubt, the most powerful of the three. Having obtained the Sharingan, he could have taken them down with genjutsu alone. However, strength in numbers was an advantage that Tsunade and Jiraiya could play; and did.

“Jiraiya, the roof!” Tsunade yelled, leaping upward herself.

“Right behind you!”

Orochimaru’s tongue snared Jiraiya’s heel as he jumped, though, and pulled the Sannin back down. Orochimaru’s sword came flying down once more.

SCHUNK!

Shizune managed to dive in the way, taking the full brunt of the sword through her stomach.

“Shizune…” Jiraiya managed to utter, completely shocked. “No…”

Shizune coughed up blood, but kept the fierce look on her face.
“I’m fine, Master Jiraiya! Please, fight with Lady Tsunade! You must stop Orochimaru!”

Orochimaru gave a violent tug, and his sword exited Shizune’s stomach. She fell to the ground, blood trickling from her mouth, and gushing from her wound.
--

“What the hell? It can’t be!” Raido (scar on his nose, was with the Third Hokage at the Chunin exams) said aloud, looking to his partner, Genma.

“We’ve gotta look. It won’t be like last time! Let’s go!”

Genma and Raido had been beating themselves up ever since the Third Hokage’s death. They had been able to do so little back then. They never dreamed they would get a chance to make it right- but they HAD trained for just such an occasion.

“Hayate and Yukao’ll be there! We’ve just got to get in place ourselves!” Genma called back, strangely calm. He always did stay calm under pressure.
--

“Send word to the Sand! We need their help here!” Ekyt shouted to the bird keepers. These birds delivered messages.

“We can’t release them! Orochimaru’s snakes can get them, no matter how high they fly!” came the reply.

“Just do it! I’ll cover them!” Ekyt yelled back, already making handsigns.
“SUMMONING JUTSU!”

With that came Taleo, Ekyt’s hawk.

“Go with them, Taleo. See they get to Sunagakure safely,” Ekyt ordered the bird. “And be careful yourself.”

Taleo took to the sky majestically, heading up a formation of carrier birds that was about to be attacked by Orochimaru’s snakes. Taleo rushed down to the snake and clawed out it’s eyes, then hefted it by it’s tongue. The forked sensor between his talons, Taleo swung the giant serpent into the side of a mountain, putting it down for good.

“Good! Huh?!”

The academy was being attacked now! Iruka and Ebisu were defending it alone, Konohamaru and some younger students behind them. Cloud Jonin came at them from all sides, herding them into a corner. Desperately, Iruka threw a kunai. Then:

“Four Square Bomb Release!”

KABOOM! A huge explosion wiped out a few jonin. Iruka’s Jutsu involved paper bombs and a chakra-covered area. Those jonin had entered it, and it detonated of it’s own accord. It made the approaching enemies come carefully, at least at first. But that was all the time Iruka had to plan- he had bought a few extra seconds. And nothing came to mind. He and Ebisu looked at each other, nodded, then began their attack. Their kunai met two attackers, but they fell far too easily.

Ekyt held two bloody kunai knives, bodies lying around him. He exhaled on his cigarette, looking and feeling like the jonin he was told he was.

“Iruka, we need to finish evacuation procedures before ANBU moves in. Can I count on you and Ebisu to deal with that? I’ll give you some help. I’ve got a clone that needs some work now, since his mission was terminated.”

The first Ekyt clone, apparently good with children, began rounding them up and herding them off to the safe houses. Ebisu and Iruka nodded, belatedly, and corralled the remaining kids. One child looked back at Ekyt, and saw him cover the faces of those he had killed.

Whoa…He actually feels bad?
--
--

On the roof, the three-way standoff was still going on. Jiraiya and Tsunade were trying to force Orochimaru’s hand, it seemed. But what was their plan?

Genma, Raido, Hayate, and Yukao were their plan. All four landed on the corners of the building.

“Together now!” Genma ordered, making handsigns. All four jonin sounded in unison:

“Konoha Style Barrier Jutsu: Leaf Catching Complex!”

A green barrier sprang up around the three legends, trapping them inside. But it was all part of the plan for Tsunade and Jiraiya.

“Now! Sage Mode- Senjutsu!”

Jiraiya took his most powerful form. The Elder Toads of Mount Myoboku were on his shoulders, and Jiraiya himself was at full power.

“That’s one jutsu you can’t copy! Now, let’s get going! Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!”

Orochimaru didn’t copy the jutsu- there was no point. Instead, he meant to attack, running at Jiraiya with surprising speed. Tsunade took a swipe at him, which only sidetracked him for a split second. But that was all it took.

“Demonic Illusion: Toad Confrontation Singing!”

Fukasaku and Shima struck up a tune, and Orochimaru couldn’t cover his ears in time. He was paralyzed by the toad’s song.

“And finally- Wild Lion’s Mane Jutsu!”

Jiraiya’s hair ensnared Orochimaru, digging into him with sharp points and binding his arms. Jiraiya himself grabbed Orochimaru and leapt with him into the swamp.

I’m going to do it this time, Orochimaru. I’m going to kill you- even if it means we die together!
--

Immediately, Naruto rushed to the side of the nearest Jonin. It was against his style, but he had no choice. In this case, he picked a Ryouko. The first clone. Other jonin gathered around him.

Pain (Orange hair- the one you see most often) wound up for a jutsu. The real Ekyt and Kakashi couldn’t allow that to happen. Kakashi prepared his Mangekyo Sharingan while Ekyt bit both thumbs and prepared his defense.

“Giant Push!”

That was Pain’s Jutsu- aimed at the cluster protecting Naruto.

“Triple Rashomon!” Ryouko yelled, putting all he could into the jutsu. Three giant walls, Shinigami gates as legend has it, sprang up in front of Naruto. Ryouko held the gates fast with his chakra, while Sakura put all her weight and strength behind it.

“Got it! Mangekyo Sharingan!” Kakashi announced finally. The force of the giant push disappeared thanks to his special Sharingan. There was a brief moment where no one but Ryouko moved.

“Dance of the Sickle Moon!”

Three clones joined him in a sword attack that was swift and fierce. The blades all bit into Pain successfully, each clone attacking an arm and a leg, leaving their blades inside the wounds they created to help hold Pain still. That left Ryouko himself to administer the killing blow.

“Ryuuza: Dragon Constellation!”

Last seen against Azami, Ryouko had spent hours learning to control this dragon of fire and pure heat. As the walls of the Rashomon disappeared, the people were given a clear opening as Ryouko made his move.

The dragon flew into the air, spinning and compressing until it was the size of a golf ball. But unlike last time, it retained the features of a dragon. It fell into Ryouko’s hand, and he took off at top speed. The swords from his clones held Pain in place and still, while he ran straight at Pain.

SCHUNK!

A board from a destroyed building stuffed itself into Ryouko’s stomach just as he reached pain. It was sharp, and jutting out the other side. His spine was destroyed, and it was game over. But with one last gasp of strength, Ryouko thrust the dragon into Pain’s body. It slipped inside and exploded, blowing Pain’s upper body away from his lower body.
--

Orochimaru and Jiraiya sank in the deep swamp, deeper and deeper, until they were surrounded by blackness. Thanks to the two frogs on his shoulders, Jiraiya would last underwater for quite some time. Even as their song stopped and Orochimaru began to struggle, Jiraiya held fast, letting them sink even further.

Tsunade now summoned her slug, Katsuyuya, and instructed her to heal everyone in the village that could be saved.

Please, Jiraiya, you’ve got to make it! Please!

It was as short and desperate a prayer as Tsunade had ever dared to pray.
--

Sakura stayed calm- or, tried to. She had just seen a good friend sacrifice himself to protect her boyfriend. Ryouko had died the same way he had lived- noble, and luckless. And likely in pain.

The other Ryouko, next to Naruto, however, made his move. It was the last move any of them expected.

He grabbed Naruto and tried to kill him. Naruto was no pushover, and ended the attack with the Rasengan, right in the gut.

“What the hell was that about?!”

Another Ekyt came by. Sakura could pick him out anywhere- the real one. She had been so taken by surprise that she had thought that clone was the real Ryouko. But it wasn’t.

“He went bad? Never mind, no time,” Ekyt said, in a terrible rush. “Keep kunai and jutsus on that Pain until it’s gone. I guarantee, it won’t stay dead…”

Sure enough, Pain sat up. Kunai and Shuriken met him, putting him back down. But Ekyt was attacked from behind. Paper began to cover him from head to toe. He fought and fought, but had no way to escape. The last piece aimed to slip over his mouth and nose…

“FIRE STYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU!”

The Uchiha brothers shouted in unison, burning the paper that was on top of Ryouko. Amazingly, he himself was untouched. However, he now had an interesting fight on his hands.

“Ryouko, leave this one to the three of us!” Azami shouted at him. “Go deal with your evil twin over there!”

Itachi, Sasuke, and Azami would fight Konan. The fight was a complete mismatch. The sheer talent of the three was staggering, even compared to the brilliant Konan. Fire style jutsus would always trump her odd jutsu, when used effectively. That left Ekyt vs. Ekyt.
-

Pain realized his mistake. It had taken all his energy to attack with that Giant Push- even that of his other ‘selves’. Now he himself was close to being destroyed. Or, at least, this version of himself. The others would not regain consciousness in time to be effective. If he ‘died’ here, even for an hour, the tide of the war would turn.

There will be other chances…

Kakashi’s Lightning Blade roared in, striking Pain’s already injured torso. Kakashi pulled back quickly, just avoiding Pain’s return strike with his strange black sword.

“Oodama Rasengan!”

Naruto was next, blasting Pain with one of his most powerful attacks. But still Pain lived.

‘Tobi’ could make his move…But he won’t. I’ll have dealt damage enough to Konoha for his cause…for now. In ten years, he’ll try again, no doubt.

Pain attacked again, this time succeeding in killing two people. Yuushi and his brother, Okayu, fell side by side. Mimizu, Okayu’s new fiancé, lost all her composure and sliced at Pain until she was cut down herself.

Even genin were now coming running, trying to hold down Pain. He got to his feet, all but indestructible. One boy, standing more boldly than the others, was drawn toward Pain by that mysterious power. This boy was Okkuu Kazuki, one boy who had idolized Ryouko once he got over his initial, baseless hate.
His limbs were pulled in different directions, until his body was divided into left arm and left leg, right arm and right leg, then torso and head. He was alive for the entire gruesome thing. Many lost their nerve at the sight of this. Everyone hesitated just long enough to suddenly be drawn in, all together. All but Kakashi and Yamato were pulled in tight.

“Sempai…I’m beginning to think we won’t win this one…”

The kunai and shuriken that had riddled Pain were now aimed at the Leaf shinobi.

“Know Pain,” he said simply.

--

Ekyt clashed with his damaged clone, trying to deal the death blow. Even injured, his clone was as effective as the real thing. More so, because less chakra had been expended by the clone. Not to mention his fighting style would be a mystery to Ekyt. They shared chakra, and therefore changes in chakra nature. But jutsus were unique and different.

“What made you go bad?!” Ekyt asked, as much to himself as to his clone.

“Do you want to believe it’s your ‘bad’ side manifested? Your frustration realized? Sorry to disappoint. I was a traitorous jonin in life. Why wouldn’t I be one in my ‘second’ life? Frankly, I think it’s YOU who is bad, and I who is righteous.

“Is that right? Well, too bad. You’re going back to hell.”

“Don’t get cocky! You don’t know me like you’d think! Bring on your best, and I WILL top it. Each and every time. Because when you put me together, you didn’t know your chakra would act like ‘jumper cables’ to my old tenketsu. So, in effect, I possess two chakras- yours, and my original. And my original was powerful enough to begin with!”

The next move was the last. Ekyt’s kunai slashed his clone’s head in half, ending the threat.

“I would have liked to give you a better battle. But not while the village is at stake.”

--

Hundreds had already been killed. Konoha was, largely, winning the war. There weren’t many Sound shinobi, and the Cloud shinobi just weren’t up to snuff against Konoha’s finest. This time, the knowledge that Itachi Uchiha was among the ranks; that Itachi’s soon to be wife was a match for Itachi himself; and that ‘Ryouko’ had been named legendary rang in their ranks, and they were intimidated before ever reaching the village. Only the urging of the jonin kept the Cloud troops moving.

Trees began to sprout up from the ground in strange places. They all grabbed Shinobi who had dropped their guards. As they struggled, Kurenai came from the branches and killed them. The ones who escaped Kurenai didn’t escape Asuma. His twin trench knives hacked and slashed until there was nothing left. This was a group of ten Sound Jonin.

“Orochimaru was just trying to trick us. He has very few shinobi. And even fewer are even close to jonin level…” Asuma exhaled, smoke flowing from his mouth.

“But why?” Kurenai asked. “Why go to so much trouble?”

“To get the Cloud Village to agree to attack with him. They stood no chance on their own.”

The newly arrived Gai was supplying that information. He had a very troubled look on his normally jovial face.

“Something’s wrong…” Asuma muttered. Immediately, his head turned to the Hokage building. “A barrier!”

“Relax. That one’s Leaf made. Master Jiraiya and Lady Hokage have Orochimaru trapped up there,” Gai informed them, still looking nervous.

“I get it! So if they die, Orochimaru will still be trapped!” Kurenai exclaimed.

“If Lady Hokage dies, we’ll have war. The Cloud and Sound villages will have been all but destroyed, leaving a war vying for their territory. Meanwhile, we’ll be severely weakened yet again. The Mist, or Rain, or anyone else will definitely come for us. Aid from Sunagakure aside, we’re on our own.”

“Who’s giving orders?” Kurenai wanted to know; realizing that communication with Lady Tsunade would be cut-off for sure.

“Ekyt is. Lady Tsunade appointed him specially at the last second. I hope he’s still alive.”

--

Yamato clasped his hands together, created a wood barrier in front of the rest of the civilians. He held it as the shuriken and kunai pummeled it. But it held fast.

“Ekyt’s coming,” Kakashi told Yamato. “He has to have some plan. We’ve got to buy some time…”

“Understood, sempai! Let me see…Wood Style: Forest Re-birth!”

Trees surrounded Pain, and they just kept growing, reaching high into the heavens, until their height peaked. To attain that height naturally, the trees would have had to have lived for 300 years. All this in a few seconds.

Kakashi clapped Yamato on the shoulder. Yamato thought it was to congratulate him, but it was only to tug him close to whisper a warning:
“Yamato, you need to stay alive. Only you can seal Naruto’s demon away. That means that you DO NOT DIE.”
--

Ekyt had rushed back to find the scared Leaf crowd backpedaling from Pain. One by one, they were being sucked in and destroyed in gruesome ways. All around were corpses, and various parts of bodies. Among them, Ekyt recognized Mimizu (his former assistant when he was Director of ANBU Special Services), Okayu (Mimizu’s Fiancé, and Yuushi’s brother), Okkuu (An old student of his), and finally Yuushi himself.

It made Ekyt’s very blood boil. Almost all his links to the Leaf had been slaughtered. The Uchiha brothers had their hands full, and clearly things were going to get worse. That left one option. A resort that scared Ekyt more than the Reaper Death Seal. It was all he could do at this point, as he in no way had the strength to pull six souls. There was no proof even that Pain COULD be killed.

Ekyt chose a scroll- in this case, a red one. With one of his clones was the another scroll just like it. By focusing his chakra, Ekyt could summon the clone to him.

BLAM!

The tall, silent clone appeared before Ekyt, crouched, waiting for orders. Ekyt closed his eyes, hating the thought of this. But what had to be done had to be done.

“I need you to help me attack Pain. Head-on. How is your genjutsu proficiency?”

“Better than yours,” the clone said bluntly.

“Good. Keep Pain…in the dark. Use the “Bringer of Darkness” jutsu. I’m going to try something, and I’ll need you to hold that genjutsu. If Pain attacks you, attack his face and pull out those black things. Anything that might help us out…”

--

Everything went dark for Pain. No light at all. It was a genjutsu, and a very sturdy one. Easy to break, though.

Something’s interfering?

A purple flower kept appearing in Pain’s mind, stopping him from reaching a light his consciousness created at the end of the darkness.

--

Ino and Inoichi Yamanaka used their mind jutsus on Pain. It was a risk to them, but for Ekyt’s plan to work, it was necessary. As was putting Naruto himself at risk for a moment or two.

“Naruto, hold back all you can while making this a solid blow. I just need you to put him down. We may need to do this five more times…”

The Rasengan would do it. It would have to.

--

Pain heard the attack, but couldn’t dodge it. A full blast of charka stuffed him right in the gut, sending him tumbling backward.

--

“NOW!” Ekyt shouted, if only to himself. He braced his right wrist with his left hand, and focused his chakra. “FIVE ELEMENTS SEAL!”

Ekyt jammed his hand into Pain’s face. Just in time, as the Yamanaka’s withdrew their minds. This might have damaged them. As for the seal, it would Seal Pain’s black marks. Ekyt was betting that was how he kept healing and getting chakra. And if that was the case.

Pain aimed for him right away. He had lots of chakra of his own, even cut off from the ‘other’ supply. He began to pull Ekyt in, and had him dead to rights.

--

Tsunade concentrated as hard as she could. She was ready to use her ‘Genesis of Rebirth’ jutsu. But before she could, water from the swamp drenched the entire top of the Hokage mansion.

A soaked Orochimaru held a limp Jiraiya up by his hair. He dropped the soaked Sannin on the ground, smirking at Tsunade.

“Did you really think it would out so nicely for you, my dear Tsunade? When I’ve attained all this power? That perverted old fool never had a hope! And when I kill you, the Leaf village won’t have a prayer!”

Tsunade’s years behind a desk had taken their toll on her. Too many dumplings and too few workouts (though Sakura’s role increased) had slowed her. Orochimaru was almost on her before she struck back.

“Too slow! -WHAT?”

Jiraiya’s hair tripped Orochimaru, which sent him stumbling right into Tsunade’s punch. Her fist met Orochimaru’s jaw, rocketing him across the Hokage building’s roof.

Jiraiya hopped back to his feet, unhurt. He had dropped out of his Senjutsu mode. That left him the one option- the one Ekyt had given him in code.

“Orochimaru! I’m going to finish what Sarutobi-sensei started!”
--

Ekyt couldn’t fight Pain’s pull. The strange black sword Pain used was poised and ready to impale him.

I’ve done all I can…my genjutsu won’t be any good now…I can only hope my clone figured out what I was doing…

Pwoof! Schunk!

The clone Ekyt had just talked with leapt in front of him and took the sword strike. He blocked Pain’s pull with his body. The clone Ekyt and the original exchanged glances. Ekyt nodded, putting the Bringer of Darkness Jutsu on Pain once more. His clone, meanwhile:

“Forbidden Art: Sealing! Reaper Death Seal!”

Schling!

A kunai thrown from Kakashi beheaded Ekyt’s clone, while a Shadow Clone pulled Ekyt out of the line of fire.

“Don’t you know what would have happened?!” Kakashi yelled, out of character for him. “You would have died! It might be a clone, but it’s YOUR chakra the shinigami would have eaten! You would have been the one who’d have died!”

Ekyt looked Kakashi firmly in the eye. “I know. Call it suicide by clone. I wasn’t sure I’d have the guts to do the Seal myself. So I set things up…”

“You’re really an idiot, Ekyt. Ryouko, whatever. For once, drop this martyr act you seem to need to pull, and fight like you’re supposed to! You’re a Shinobi of this village. No one short of the Hokage herself should use that jutsu, and definitely not like that! There are FIVE MORE of those things! You piss away your life on just one, you’re only helping the enemy! Now, straighten up, and let’s take him down!”

Kakashi’s pep talk hit home with Ekyt. Now, this was a normal battle. Just like any other battle. It was life or death, just like any battle. And it wasn’t just Ekyt’s life at stake- just like any potential battle.

Time to act like the legend they insist on claiming I am.
--



“Fukusuke had to do what he did. 3
Ayame is kind of hot, isn’t she? 7
Kikunosuke is lucky. 9
Ecchi is your style for sure. 11
Shikamaru used to hate apples. 4
Enishi was a great villain for sure. 52
Arashi mountain will have a violent winter 36
Leaf can overcome, right? 98
.”

“What the hell does that mean? That stupid kid used a code like that? What do those numbers mean?”

Jiraiya and Tsunade were scratching their heads, trying to crack Ekyt’s code. Sakura happened to walk in at that moment, looked over Tsunade’s shoulder, and said:

“F…A…K…E…S…E…A…L? Fake seal? What’s THAT mean?”

Tsunade and Jiraiya immediately shooed Sakura out of the room, sweatdrops adorning their brow.

“How did you miss that?!”

“What about you?!”

The two Sannin shelved their argument after that, though. It was to be expected that Sakura could understand Ekyt better. They had spent more time together, and were closer to age.

“Fake seal, huh? So he’s counting on Orochimaru’s Sharingan to pick up the seal…” Jiraiya stated, chewing on his thumb. “But I have to stop short of the last handsign, while keeping it in my mind…”


Jiraiya made the handsigns as fast as he could. Orochimaru followed them, seemingly out of habit. The last sign of the jutsu, an un-named clap of the hands, was where Jiraiya pulled up. Orochimaru, however, finished the handsigns.

Immediately, the roof grew cold. It was an inhuman, awful coldness. Clammy. It felt heavy, too. No one could have mistaken it for something earthly.

And when Orochimaru found out what he had done. That he, himself, the ‘strongest’ of the Sannin, had been tricked into signing his own death warrant, he was beside himself.

“There’s no taking that jutsu back now, Orochimaru!” Jiraiya shouted to his former best friend. “You’re going to die, and this time permanently!”

Tsunade instructed Raido, Yukao, Hayate, and Genma: “Hold that barrier! Don’t let Orochimaru out! If he kills us, so be it! But don’t let him out!”
--
Kakashi and Ekyt joined in with the Uchiha brothers, and Azami, and many other Leaf Shinobi. Anyone who knew a fire jutsu joined in.

“Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!” –Sasuke and Itachi

“Fire Style: Fire Blast Jutsu!”- Kakashi

“Fire Style: Dragon’s Ember Jutsu: Modified!” –Ekyt

“Fire Style: Fire from Above!”- Azami


“Naruto, now!” Yamato ordered, pointing.

“Right! Wind Style: Wind Rasenshuriken!”

Naruto’s newest, most powerful wind style jutsu- a Rasengan that took the form of a shuriken. Wind style Jutsu to fan the flames of Fire Jutsu. A way of harmony among shinobi styles that was all but lost. Naruto had always meant to help Sasuke’s fire ninjutsu, and now he could.

The Shuriken hit, sending the flames even higher. One by one, everyone let up on their jutsu. Could the charred, blackened mass that was Pain have survived?

A hand shot up, grabbing Naruto around the neck.

“I have you, Ninetails!”

Kakashi’s Lightning Blade cut Pain’s arm off. Ekyt unleashed a taijutsu barrage, ending with his “Backward Konoha Snap Dragon”, (Ekyt grabs Pain’s arms and legs while standing on Pain’s back, using chakra and momentum to put the unprotected Pain into the ground) after which Naruto put one more Rasengan into. In the same move, Naruto summoned Gamabunta. It seemed like overkill, but Gamabunta’s sword is what it took to hold Pain down.

Pain was alive as the sword was put through his body. He STILL tried to reach Naruto, though he couldn’t move. His chakra was too weak to use his special jutsu for at least another five seconds.


When Gamabunta’s sword didn’t do it, Ekyt pulled out a scroll. His last option for Pain.

“Sealing Jutsu- Five Elements!”

This was the same move that put Hidan’s head into his summoning scroll. But it didn’t work quite the same way. Hidan was S-ranked. Pain was something beyond that. He was almost- literally, in a REAL sense- immortal and self-healing. His chakra fought Ekyt’s all the way.

“D-Damn it! I can’t hold him! He’s going to break free! There’s no option left! I’ve got to use the Reaper Death Seal!”

But Naruto put a hand on Ekyt’s. His ‘whiskers’ had turned jagged, meaning the nine-tailed fox was riled up now. But could that be what it would take?

“Use my chakra, too! We’ve got to seal him! And you’re not gonna die! You’ve got to be there to see me become Hokage! To see me and Sasuke fight!” Naruto was shouting now, as the Hokage-level chakras were tearing up the landscape around them. Rocks and trees were uprooted.
“And, c’mon! Don’t you want to live like a jonin? You want to belong, right? Well, you belong now! And once you’re one of us…Leaf’s take care of their own!”

For the first time in many years, Ekyt managed a full, real smile. His mind finally felt at peace, even as his chakra was fast dwindling.

When Naruto says it like that…why do I feel like I belong? He’s right, too. That’s the second time today someone has had to tell me how things should be. I’ve beaten my old problem- I belong.


“First seal: Water! Second Seal: Fire!”

What should my goal be now? A girl? A team? It all sounds good…

“Third seal: Heaven! Four Seal: Earth!”

I know…I’ll make it ‘to be the legend everyone else thinks I can be. And I can start right now!

“Fifth Seal: VOID!”

The last of Pain’s resistance failed. In the blank center of the scroll, Ekyt’s bloody handprint began to glow red. Then, as the power cooled, and the jutsu ended, the color changed to black.

“(huff huff)…It’s over…”

Ekyt felt dizzy, and light-headed, and more drained than he’d ever felt in his life. But it felt good. As Itachi helped him to his feet, while Kakashi and Yamato added seals to the scroll, and Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura all stood together; even as the village itself continued to fight against the (now retreating) Cloud jonin and Sound-nin, Ekyt finally felt a measure of peace. The same peace we all hunt for.

It was thanks to Naruto’s help. Everyone’s help, really. But it was Naruto’s last pep-talk that made things a certainty.

If you had told me, even a few months ago, that Itachi Uchiha would be something of a best friend; that Naruto would be the guy to end my depression after getting the girl I loved; that I would feel this good; that I belong…That doesn’t sound realistic by any definition of the word. Then again, what in this world is?
--

Orochimaru let out an unearthly howl. He knew- from experience- there was no escape from the Shinigami. But he could take a last vindictive swipe at the Leaf village.

Serpents shot out and snared Tsunade and Jiraiya. To them, the Shinigami was now visible. They could feel Orochimaru pulling at their souls. Both were battle-worn and exhausted, with little left in reserve.
Well, their REGULAR reserve.

“Genesis of Rebirth!”
The mark on Tsunade’s forehead disappeared, and the concentration of chakra she kept behind her forehead seeped into her body, revitalizing her. She began to pull her soul back, not letting it exit her body.

“Ma, we’ve gotta give Jiraiya-boy our chakra, or he ain’t gonna make it!”
“Right, Pa!”

Fukasaku and Shima, the elder toads, gave Jiraiya their chakra. Immediately, he straightened up and yanked back on his soul as well. Orochimaru was burning the candle at both ends.

“Face it, Orochimaru! You won’t kill both of us!” Tsunade stated, feeling strangely calm as she fought for her life. “You couldn’t even take ONE of us with you at this point.”

Jiraiya grimaced, fighting internally, but had to give his two cents: “She’s right! If you just let yourself be sealed, no one will hold it against you! We were friends once. I couldn’t make you listen to me the first time…I couldn’t make you stay in the village…”
Jiraiya’s head dropped a little as he remembered. But he snapped his head back up.
“But listen to me this time! For your own sake! There’s no going back, but you can save your reputation! You can make yourself immortal in another way- by coming back to us and renouncing your evil!”

“NEVER!” Orochimaru roared, pulling harder, but fading fast. “If I must die, then I want the Leaf to perish with me! I’m not some misunderstood villain! We each believe ourselves to be the righteous ones! But who is TRULY righteous? It’s the one who can accomplish what he wishes! The ends justify the means! The end IS righteousness defined! I…am…”

Orochimaru began to fall forward. He tugged with futility at Tsunade, trying to ensnare even one limb. He couldn’t fail worse than the Third Hokage! But it was futile. He wasn’t going to last. And Orochimaru, in his dying moment, knew it. He himself had committed himself to death.

“I…am…righ…teous…”

Slowly, Orochimaru’s body fell forward. The Shinigami stabbed Orochimaru, and ate his soul.

A mortal enemy of the Leaf fell then. The three Sannin were together in his last moments. As he died, Orochimaru’s only thought was of vengeance. But as Jiraiya leaned down to close his eyes, Orochimaru’s last view was of his best friend.
--
--

Hundreds injured. Buildings destroyed. And more threats on the horizon. All the same, the Leaf felt like celebrating. This would later be counted as a great ninja war. It would be remembered for being the least bloody of all the wars (among other reasons):

The notable deaths:

Leaf:
Yuushi Akamadori
Okayu Akamadori
Mimizu
Okkuu Kazuki
40 nameless members of ANBU
15 genin
23 chunin
7 Jonin

Sand: (Ally with Leaf)
3 Jonin
5 Chunin
4 SAGU (Suna Advanced Guard Unit) Agents



Sound:
Orochimaru
12 Jonin
3 Chunin
14 Genin
100+ shinobi of Academy level or lower rank
(Many were taken prisoner, including Kabuto)


Cloud: (Ally with Orochimaru)
31 Jonin
29 Chunin
52 Genin
(40 of various rank were taken prisoner)

-

Orochimaru’s eyes were given to Itachi Uchiha. He, in turn, gave one to his brother. Neither boy would be one hundred percent blind, and they would always retain the use of the Mangekyo Sharingan in their good eyes.

Lady Tsunade chose her successor-Naruto, of course- to take over for her should anything happen to her. Until then, he would continue to train with Jiraiya. Sakura would continue to train with Tsunade, of course. But there would be breaks in training to let the kids get together. They were adults in this dangerous world, and they should be allowed to meet the way they wanted to.

For Ekyt…he had to stand trial. But no one was going to denounce someone who had helped in the way he had. He began to assist in hiring carpenters to rebuild the village. Outside of work, he introduced his parents to Asuna. They were ‘just friends’, and it would likely stay that way.
He and Azami agreed to fight again some day. As did he and Itachi.

Naruto was regaled as a legend in the making; the same with Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke needed a new mentor. But his older brother would be perfect for that.

As for the Leaf… Construction would take a few months, but things went on mostly unchanged. Ekyt soon fell into a deep depression, and no one could shake him from it. He had reached his peak as a shinobi- he had no one else to learn from. His star student, Yuushi, was dead. It took Kakashi and the other jonin to realize that Ekyt needed a student or three. So Tsunade gave Ekyt his first team.

Hayato ( name meaning: Hawk. The Naruto to Ekyt’s Jiraiya.)
Kiyoko ( name meaning: Pure Child. Female)
Minoru (name meaning: Truth. Sees things as ‘good’ and ‘evil’, nothing in between)

There was one last thing, though…
--

Ekyt stood by the memorial obelisk. He was alone, puffing on a cigarette, letting the rain hit him. Despite his new-found happiness, part of him hurt horribly. The deaths of Okayu, Mimizu, Okkuu, and especially Yuushi, had all hit Ekyt hard. He didn’t sink into a huge depression. But he felt that he had to spend at least a little more time here now. He had lost his students, his former assistant, and the brother of his student who was also the fiancé of his former assistant. It was a lot of loss for a single person. Not to mention the old death of the Third Hokage came back to Ekyt.

“Oh? Sorry, hope I’m not disturbing you?”

Kakashi ambled into the clearing, taking up his spot near the obelisk.

“Not at all. You’ve got as much right to be here as I do.” Ekyt replied, nodding to acknowledge Kakashi. “We got luck this time, didn’t we?”

Kakashi bowed his head. “…Yes. We did. There are still five other ‘Pains’ out there. And it never feels good after a war. We may have won, but we destroyed two other villages in that victory. No matter what they did, it won’t feel natural.”

Ekyt gave Kakashi a sideways glance. “I would have felt more guilty if it wasn’t self-defense. And everyone knows the Leaf is merciful in victory. Those nations won’t go hungry, and they won’t be defenseless.”

“Huh? What are you guys doing here? Not that I’m surprised…”

Jiraiya joined Kakashi and Ekyt now. In his hand was a memorial tablet and a small cup of sake. It was for Orochimaru, no doubt. It was something everyone knew, but no one asked for confirmation about. They were all here for private reasons. No one felt the need to pry.

“The Leaf is strong,” Ekyt muttered.

“Yes, it is,” Kakashi agreed. “We’ve been a lucky nation.”

“Luck had nothing to do with it. Tsunade IS our Hokage, after all!” Jiraiya joked, before turning serious again. “Luck is irrelevant. The Leaf persevere because of who makes up the village. Right now, we’ve got an all-star lineup.”

The three nodded in agreement. The sun was setting, casting a beautiful palette of colors across the village. By tacit agreement, all three headed off in their separate directions. They had to prepare for the battles ahead.
--

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
And that's the end! Almost a year and half later, I've finally brought Tides of Time to a close. It's been a blast writing it.
As a last request to my readers, in addition to your comment on this last chapter, please tell me what you thought of the story. Also, any questions you have would be appreciated.

See you next fic!

-Nextguardian

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