The Fall of Konaha
"Chidori!" Sasuke cried, rushing towards the closing shell of sand surrounding Gaara. Several large spikes shot out to defend, but Sasuke pressed on, forcing his Chidori into the sphere. A blood-curdling scream was heard, silencing the audience. The sand began to fall, and Gaara was still standing, only because Sasuke was holding him up. Gaara looked in horror at the lightning coursing across his body, the point of entry being his chest. Blood fell freely from his chest, and life began to drain from his eyes. Sasuke pulled his hand back, and watched Gaara fall. The proctor rushed over, putting two fingers to Gaara's throat.
"Gaara is dead!" he shouted, and the crowd cried in surprise. Sasuke stepped back a few feet, his eyes wide, having never killed someone before, and only ever wanting to kill Itachi.
The sand ninja sensei looked on in horror as he stood behind Konkuro and Temari.
"Gaara is dead, we need to attack now or abandon the plans!" He said into a small radio.
The kazekage stood up, and the hokage took little notice. A great rumbling was heard, and three massive snakes could be seen at the far side of the village. The few shinobi standing guard at the viewing platform looked to the hokage, he nodded, and they left.
"An interesting turn of events." The kazekage noted.
"Who ever is behind this will be brought to justice." The third hokage replied.
"You will try." Orochimaru replied as he cast aside the Kazekage's clothing, drawing a kunai and placing it at the Hokage's neck before he could react.
"Defend the Hokage!" several Anbu Black Ops shouted as they leapt to the viewing platform.
"Raise the shield!" Orochimaru cried to the four previously unnoticed sound ninja.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru!" the sound ninja four summoned the shield, encasing the two Kages inside. The anbu futilely hurled kunai at the shield, and they bounced off harmlessly.
"Alright, Sarutobi. We will fight, alone, and you will die." Orochimaru said as he took the knife from Sarutobi's throat and walked slowly backwards. He shed his outfit, revealing the more familiar outfit typical for Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru...You are actually going through with it, aren't you? All because you were not chosen to be the fourth Hokage. It isn't too late, you can stop this foolishness!"
"That is where you are wrong, Sarutobi Sensei! It is far too late! You were practically begging for death by not allowing me to become the Hokage! For your arrogance, you shall die!"
"You are wrong, Orochimaru. It is you that is arrogant. Your arrogance blinds you, so much that you could not see the truth! Minato was chosen to be the fourth because of his selflessness! You thought of only yourself, and that is why you were denied! If it must come down to it, I will fight you, my pupil!"
"I am NOT your pupil, not anymore, you old fool! For all that it matters, I am now the master, and you are the student! I have surpassed you in every way by mastering all jutsu! I will kill you here, and claim my rightful title as the fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village! Konaha as you know it will cease to exist!"
"You will never be the Hokage, because so long as breath remains in their bodies, I know that the ninja of this village will never bow to you. You never did understand what it meant, to truly be a leaf village shinobi!"
"Well then, Sarutobi Sensei, since you are going to die here, that secret will die with you!"
"It is not a secret, Orochimaru. Everyone else always understood. You were blinded by ambition, your quest for more jutsu has brought you only pain and misery, and you carry them with you like a plague, infecting the lives of everyone else!"
"Shut up, you old, doddering fool! You will die now, without your precious Leaf Ninja to save you!"
"Very well, Orochimaru. I never wanted it to come to this. Elemental Mixture! Fire and Earth Styles! Flaming Mud River!" The Hokage sped through a dozen hand signs, and shot an oil slick from him directly to Orochimaru. He then proceeded to light the oil on fire, in a brilliant display. The fire caught up to Orochimaru, the flames crept up his clothing and consumed his body. He could be heard screaming, and then laughing.
"Did you really think such a pathetic jutsu would deal with me? Sarutobi Sensei, you underestimate your own teachings! This jutsu will be the end of you, Sarutobi! Summoning Jutsu! Impure World Resurrection!"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, I would, Sarutobi Sensei!" Three coffins shot from the ground, and began to smoke.
"What is going on in there? What are those coffins?" The leader of the anbu present asked.
"I cannot allow this jutsu to be finished! If all three are revived, Konaha will fall!" Sarutobi shouted, dashing towards the coffin clearly marked a "IV". He reared back with his leg, and was about to connect, when Orochimaru spat out his massive blade from his throat. Sarutobi dodged the blade, which Orochimaru continued to pursue him with, controlling it only with his mind.
"Die, Sarutobi!" Orochimaru screeched, as the three coffins exploded. Three pale figures emerged from the coffins, each dressed in separate battle outfits.
"Orochimaru, you defile their memories by bringing them back!"
"Sarutobi." Minato said calmly, still fully pale.
"Minato, I am sorry. I failed, I failed all of you, and I failed Konaha!"
"It isn't your fault-" Minato paused as the jutsu began to drag him under Orochimaru's control. "It is the snake's fault. He was rotten from the very beginning, your tutelage had no hand in this."
"Hashirame Senju...The first Hokage, and his brother, the second Hokage...Minato Namikaze, the fourth Hokage... I have failed you all, and for that, I am sorry. Summoning Jutsu!" Sarutobi cried, summoning the gorilla, Enma, to his side.
"Sarutobi, I wish you had been able to summon me under less dangerous pretenses. It saddens me to see them like this. What would you have me do?" Enma asked. Sarutobi replied only by holding one hand out, and Enma became a staff. Sarutobi grasped a firm hold of it, and held his ground. The three former Hokage's had gone fully under Orochimaru's control, and they began to walk towards Sarutobi.
"Sarutobi! Now you die!" Orochimaru screamed, his eyes full of madness. Sarutobi took a deep breath, and watched as the Hokage's rushed at him. The first reached out to punch him, and he deflected with his staff. The second lashed out with a kick, and Sarutobi ducked. He leapt backwards and flipped as the fourth's rasengan crushed the part of the building that had been under his feet. He retaliated, rushing forward and swiping at the fourth with his staff, who ducked, countering with an elbow deep into the aging Hokage's stomach. He stumbled backward, and the second swept his feet from under him. The first then kicked him once, sending him flying backwards.
"Wood Release: Secret Technique, Birth of Dense Woodlands!" the first shouted, and a forest sprang up to catch Sarutobi in his flight. He hit a tree, and slumped to the ground. Roots quickly grabbed onto his feet and arms as he climbed to his feet.
"Water Prison Technique!" the Second shouted, landing next to Sarutobi, prisoning him in a globe of water much larger than necessary. The fourth rushed forward, partially entering the sphere, holding a spinning rasengan at Sarutobi's side. Orochimaru walked nonchalantly forward, laughing maniachally.
"Lord Hokage!" the anbu shouted, resuming their efforts to destroy the shield, without any luck.
"What is the matter, Orochimaru? Your control over them is so weak that you couldn't convince them to kill me?" Sarutobi spat.
"No, Oh no, Sarutobi Sensei. Having them kill you just wouldn't do! I want the pleasure of killing you myself!" Orochimaru said as he picked up the sword. He entered the water prison, standing in it in front of Sarutobi. He held the blade at Sarutobi's neck, his arms outstretched. He raised Sarutobi's chin enough to look him in the eye. "Now, your reign has ended, 'Lord Hokage'" Orochimaru said with much contempt.
"Fine, but Konaha will never bow to you! You are as evil as this nation is beautiful! The Leaf Shinobi will defeat you, Orochimaru! It is inevitable!"
"Oh, but that is where you are wrong! You see, it isn't just me here. The entire army of the Hidden Sound Village, as well as the Hidden Sand village, is here! With their combined might, your pathetic little shinobi will fall!"
"The shinobi of this village are of a different breed, Orochimaru. They are not so easily conquered. Konaha will prevail, and a new Hokage will be chosen, but it will not be you, so long as a single Leaf Shinobi still draws breath!" Orochimaru slapped Sarutobi with his left hand, and Sarutobi's lip drew blood.
"Shut up, you insignificant worm! You doddering old fool, I have another ally with me as well! One who far predates your time! He is the origin of the mighty Uchiha clan!"
"Madara? You couldn't possibly have him here as well! He couldn't be alive!"
"Oh, but he is, Sarutobi, and through no help of my own. He came to me, knowing I had a vendetta planned against this pathetic spit of land you call a village, and he too, had a mission of revenge to complete!"
"You lie, Orochimaru. Your kind will never succeed, and Konaha will-" He was cut off as Orochimaru's sword entered his throat abruptly.
"Shut up and die, Sarutobi Sensei! Konaha will fall, and your failure to lead will be remembered by all!" Sarutobi slumped downward, and the other Hokage's released their Jutsu. The staff vanished in a puff of smoke, and the forest disappeared as well. "Now, my pawns, go, to the downfall of Konaha! Kill any you find who wear a Leaf Village Headband!" the other three Hokages walked over to the barrier as it dissippated. The three Anbu black ops leapt up at them, and each was swatted effortlessly aside by one of the Hokages. They leapt off the building, and went to destroy Konaha.
The three Hokage's leapt in separate directions, out of the stadium. The arena was empty by now, even Gaara's corpse had been removed by Konkuro and Temari. The first Hokage went west, and not long after he had exited the stadium, he was intercepted by two familiar faces. He looked from one, then slowly to the other. Two ninja in sound attire landed behind him, smiling at Asuma and Kurenai.
"You can't beat a Hokage, little Leaf Shinobi! You probably couldn't even beat us!" Tayuya shouted, and Jorobo just grinned.
"That's where you are wrong, you see, your first mistake was not knowing enough about your enemy. The third Hokage-" Asuma stopped as he disappeared, then reappeared behind Jorobo, holding both of his daggers to the sound ninja's throat. "Is my father!" Jorobo kicked backwards, and Asuma leapt ahead, quickly reversing his direction and going for the first Hokage.
"Demonic Illusion! Tree Bind Death!" Kurenai shouted, and a tree sprung up around Tayuya. Kurenai's head appeared on the side of the tree, slightly higher then Tayuya. She struggled, and Kurenai slowly lowered her knife to Tayuya's throat. Jorobo lunged over, punching and shattering the tree Tayuya was held in. He then activated the first level of his curse mark, and grabbed Kurenai by the throat. She hung in midair, gasping for breath. Jorobo only laughed.
Asuma ran straight for the first Hokage, both blades drawn, cigarette still in his mouth. He leapt into the air, kicking once with his right leg, which the hokage blocked with his left arm. Asuma then rolled over in midair, dropping his heel at the hokage's head. He caught Asuma's foot, grabbed his other, and dragged him violently into the ground. Asuma reared up on his hands, dodging a powerful punch from the first hokage, then leapt to his feet. He saw Jorobo holding Kurenai, and gasped.
"Kurenai! Hold on!" He suffered a blow to the head from the first Hokage for his distraction, and he righted himself, ready to continue.
"Hahaha, little Kunoichi. Is your little tree illusion all you can do?" Jorobo laughed as he squeezed her throat tighter. She kicked, struggled, and squirmed, but to no avail, and she felt her breath slipping away. Tayuya took out her flute, released the first level of her curse mark, and began to play. The three demons she could summon came to her side, then leapt away as she played, going for Asuma. He narrowly ducked as the largest of the demons swung its giant club, and the first hokage retracted to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Asuma kicked one demon in the chest, sending in backwards, then cut another's throat several times. It fell over, bloodied, but then stood back up, seemingly unaffected.
"A...Asuma.." Kurenai gasped weakly as the life was strangled from her.
"Kurenai! I'm coming!" Asuma shouted, stabbing at the Hokage with both weapons. He caught Asuma's wrists, and tossed him aside.
"Rankouge Ichijin Hitoare no Jutsu!" Asuma shouted, holding both hands straight out, and a violent gust of wind erupted from around him, throwing all four of his nearby enemies off their feet. "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Asuma yelled, summoning six clones to his side. Each of them leapt onto one of his enemies, including Jorobo, who dropped Kurenai as a result. She wasn't moving, and if she was breathing, it wasn't deeply. He rushed to Kurenai's side, and checked her pulse.
"Asuma..." she said softly.
"Kurenai, I'm here!" Asuma replied. "Are you alright?"
"As...Asuma, I won't be here much longer...Save yourself, get out of here..." Kurenai muttered.
"No, I won't leave you!" Asuma shouted. Kurenai stopped talking and breathing and collapsed in his arms. "Kurenai!" Asuma shouted, at first mournfully, and then angrily. His eyes grew cold, and he glared at his enemies. "I learned this...from my father, the third Hokage!" Asuma rushed through dozens of hand seals, then dashed over to the first Hokage, breaking his own clone. He held him down, and continued. "Shiki Fujin no jutsu." He muttered, and a spectral visage could be seen behind him. It held out several grisly hands, one each pointing at Tayuya, Jorobo, each of the demons, and The first Hokage. "You are going back in the ground, and the rest of you, you are going to die." An incorporeal hand sprang out from Asuma's chest, penetrating the first Hokage's chest. The same happened with each of his clones. Their souls were slowly being sucked out, and there was nothing they could do about it. They grew pale, screaming, except for the first Hokage, who had no life to feel pain with. He glared at Asuma, and just before it ended, he mouthed the words 'Thank You'. The contract complete, the reaper disappeared, with the souls of his victims in his clutches. Asuma fell over, and crawled over painfully to Kurenai. He rested his head on her stomach, and took her hand in his. "Kur...Kurenai, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."
The Fourth Hokage leapt east, and the first ninja he encountered was one blonde, spiky haired knucklehead ninja in an orange jumpsuit. Following Orochimaru's commands, he attacked any ninja he encountered with a headband, and Naruto had one. He landed silently behind Naruto, and delivered a painful blow with the back of his fist into Naruto's head. Naruto sprawled forward, going head over heels multiple times. He reversed the direction he was facing, got a grip on the ground with all fours, and skidded to a stop. He brushed himself off, and looked at his assailant. He was tall, with spiky blonde hair, empty eyes, and a slightly pale complexion.
Oh, no! Kyuubi thought as he too saw the person in front of them. The scene altered drastically, now in the dungeon that held Kyuubi inside Naruto's mind.
"What is it?" Naruto asked the demon fox through the cage.
"That man..."
"What, who is he?" Naruto began to think, going back to the very rare class in which he hadn't fallen asleep or just ignored. His mind flashed to the monument of the Four Hokages, and a stunning revalation hit him. "We are in trouble, aren't we?"
"That is the fourth Hokage, the man who sealed me in this prison!"
"He sure looks a lot like me, I mean we have the same hair, a similar face..." Naruto commented.
"You really don't know, do you boy?" Kyuubi asked.
"Know what?"
"That man, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, is your father..." Kyuubi sighed. "But he has been dead, since he sealed me inside you. Orochimaru must have used a forbidden technique, to summon him. That likely means that the other Hokages are out and about as well." At that moment in time, Naruto was hardly paying attention. He heard "Father", "dead", "Orochimaru", "forbidden technique" and "summoned". That was all the motivation he needed, and then and there, he snapped.
"Give it to
me."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your power, give it to me. All of it."
"I hardly think you can-"
"I WASN'T ASKING!" Naruto shouted, reaching through the bars and grabbing what appeared to be Kyuubi in human form. He appeared like Naruto, except with red hair, glowing eyes, teeth and fangs, as well as nine glowing, red tails. He held the fox by the throat, and Kyuubi grinned.
"If you want the power, take it, boy!" Naruto didn't need to be told twice. He reared back with his other hand, then punched straight at the lock on the prison. As he struck, it all burst away, and a cacophonous wind rushed from the prison outward. "Oooh, you aren't playing around." Kyuubi said as his tails, and both of their hair flapped wildly. Naruto lifted him off the ground, and threw him into a wall. He followed him directly after, pinning him to the crater in the wall by his throat once more. The red chakra faded, ever so slowly from the Kyuubi-Naruto, into Naruto. Kyuubi grew less and less feral looking, and that appearance shifted to Naruto. Naruto punched the visage that was now more like himself than he was, and continued to pummel the image. The prison disappeared, and he was standing on a field in the center of Konaha. Red chakra sheathed his body, he was bent over significantly, he had glowing red hair and eyes, the tails flowed violently behind him, and he could make little more sound than a growl.
He leapt off the ground, lightning fast, making an eruption of dirt around his feet. He punched his father once in the head, before he had reacted. He stumbled backward, and Naruto landed on all fours. Naruto leapt up again, kicking him in the stomach, and then elbowing him in the back of the head, sending his father sprawling. He landed, turned around, growled, and continued. His father brought a rasengan effortlessly to his hand, and rushed to meet his son. They collided headlong, and with a violent outburst of wind, they were separated. Naruto was back on his feet first, rushing over to destroy that which was, but could not truly be, his father. He dropped from the sky onto his father's body who was lying on the ground, pounding him brutally in the stomach, creating a crater and an outburst of red chakra in all directions. He leapt into the sky, and seemed to have control over himself now.
"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" he growled, and thousands of clones dropped from the sky, all with the same appearance, save the nine glowing tails. They leapt in, each pounding Minato in their own unique way. Naruto had leapt skyward, and dropped like a rock. Minato stood up as the clones receded, and Naruto dropped two heels on him, one to each shoulder. He continued, punching Minato violently in the face while holding his position, clinging to Minato through chakra in his feet. Minato reeled back from the assault, and Naruto fell back off of him a little. He lashed out with one swift kick to the jaw, sending Minato flying once more, tumbling across the earth.
Naruto, I have more more gift to give... Kyuubi said, and Naruto involuntarily held his arm out, with his palm flat and facing upward. The rasengan spun in his hand for the first time, and the nearly uncontrollable chakra caused a massive gust to swirl around it, causing anything not nailed down, including the clones, to be tossed aside. Your father's jutsu, enjoy... Naruto ran forward, leapt skyward once more, rearing back with the rasengan.
"RASENGAN!" he cried, driving the sphere into the walking corpse's chest. Naruto caught his breath and looked down.
"Naruto..." Minato began.
"What?!" Naruto said angrily.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I put that animal inside you, I'm sorry your mother and I weren't there for you growing up. I only did what i thought was best for the village. Thank you, for putting my soul to rest, and undoing what that snake Orochimaru did to me. Please, do not hate me for what I have done." Naruto fell to his knees, then fell onto his father's broken body. He began to cry and wrapped his arms tightly around him. His father reached out with one arm to hug him back.
"With this body...destroyed, Orochimaru's spell is broken. I will be departing soon..." He said, and with Naruto still crying and clutching to his chest, his body fell to dust