Chapter 38

OHNOKI

Ohnoki was surprised as he watched his meteor erupt into a thousand pieces, its pieces flying away in a different direction.

The technique lost much of its potency in this way, allowing regular shinobi to either evade or destroy the pieces headed their way. Yet he narrowed his eye, at the group below.

Though which one of them had managed to pull this off. Had it been, the Senju Princess, or was it that accursed Yellow Flash. Or was it someone else, and given the technique used to destroy the boulder had been a Suiton, it was highly likely that it was the latter, that silver haired shinobi who was said to have killed Hanzo himself.

BOOM!
BOOOM!
CRASH!
BOOM!

The ground beneath him exploded, as the leaf ANBU and the Ame-nin destroyed the pieces of the meteor, as he assessed the situation.

There was still an opportunity, though they might have been able to escape absolute annihilation, he could still target them and land a massive blow on Konoha and Ame at once.

He glanced below and saw the Senju Princess, who had not moved and sat on the ground cross legged as her chakra dispersed around her through her summon, healing everyone. She was at the moment performing iryo-ninjutsu over the range of several kilometers, saving lives that would have otherwise been lost.

There was no other shinobi who could pull off a feat even half as impressive as that, and that just showed the king of monsters Konoha created. His reserves had dropped to below their half level, and he doubted that the Senju princess had more chakra than him at this point, and even if he only managed to kill her, he could consider it all a success.

So, he began to cycle through a set of handseals, getting ready to use his prized particle style against the greatest med-nin of the continent.

Yet he had only made two handseals, when a sharp voice from behind cut him off.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," came the thick voice, and he turned around quickly and found himself facing the infamous silver-haired shinobi who had slain Hanzo himself and now led Amegakure.

And Ohnoki was surprised that he had not been able to feel his presence at all. His silver hair fell down and covered his eyes, as the shinobi stared at him with that steely gaze.

"Who are you?" he questioned as both of them floated in the sky, face to face.

"I believe that is irrelevant, Ohnoki. Though I am surprised that you had the audacity to attack like that knowing that there were both Ame and Konoha forces present down there," the shinobi remarked, as wind blew and his hair swung with the gust showing Ohnoki the man's eyes.

And Ohnoki stilled as he recognized the pattern in that eye. He would never dare forget it, till the day he died.

He had seen that eye before. Years ago, it had belonged to none other than the demon of the shinobi world himself.

Madara Uchiha.

"Where did you get that eye?" he questioned sharply, for Madara had been dead for years. Yet how had his eye resurfaced?

"You are a Uchiha?" he questioned.

"No, I am not. And this eye was a gift," came the answer, making him frown.

"And I don't believe I need to tell you from whom, fence sitter," and Ohnoki's face scrunched up at that nickname, and he let go of his chakra, flooding the air with it as he glared at the man.

"Then why don't I show you just what a fence sitter can do boy!" he snarled, angrily.

And the boy, was not affected by his killing intent or chakra and simply raised a brow.

"You could," came the simple answer much to his surprise, and then the air shifted as the pressure he had exerted suddenly vanished, as the boy let go of his own chakra and killing intent surprising him with its potency.

"Yet I am afraid such an a=endeavor would spell the end of Iwagakure itself," said the man, his tone non-chalant yet had no hint of a boast or lie. It was as if he was making a simple statement.

Then the man glanced down and spoke up.

"Look down, Ohnoki, and tell me what don't you see," the boy proposed, and he did, still reeling from his earlier statement.

His eyes scanned the now cleared ground, and he saw that the ground had craters where the pieces of the meteor had hit. Shinobi from both Ame and Konoha were present below, organizing and resting, and then he suddenly realized what the boy wished for him to see.

"It cannot be," the words escaped his mouth as he saw the absence of that accursed yellow haired shinobi. Konoha's yellow flash was nowhere to be seen. The Uchiha was also gone, the Snake sanin as well, and he still dread pool in his gut as he realized the sheer implications of the absence of three shinobi of such caliber.

"Indeed, I believe you have realized just who exactly is missing from down there," the silver haired ninja began.

And Ohnoki's fists balled up as he tried to catch any hint of a bluff or lie. Yet there was no such hint, and even if there was a minute chance that the three of these men had vanished to do what he feared, it could indeed spell the end for Iwagakure.

"You believe them to be your allies, yet when I came I saw them fighting you in a deadly battle?" he questioned, and the shinobi raised his brow.

"Indeed, there were grievances between our villages yet I believe your attack has helped us mend our ways in away."

"You lead Ame yet you would put your trust in those tree huggers," he challenged.

"I would, for though we may have a rocky alliance, neither of us hold any love for you and your village Ohnok. So, tell me what will it be," the man said.

"Annihilation," the man said emphatically as if he was not taking of a complete slaughter.

"or Peace," the man challenged, and Ohnoki ground his teeth as he floated in the sky, and tried to imagine a way out. In the end, there was only ever one option.

"What are your terms?" he questioned angrily.

"Simple, you and your forces are to withdraw from Ame withing a minute, and retreat back to Iwa. Any deviation and I can assure you your men will be slaughtered, and Iwagakure will become nothing but history," the man snarled coldly.

"Hmm, and what is to stop me from killing you all in this minute," Ohnoki challenged.

"Your men number a bit over two hundred and thirty," the man said and Ohnoki was surprised by the accuracy of that count.

"There are about eighty shinobi below us, you may try and fight them all, but with your reserves how many could you kill before running out of chakra, plus both Ame and Konoha have called for mobilization, even now as we speak forces of both village rush towards your village, preparing to raze it to the ground," came the chilling reply, and Ohnoki could only glare at the boy.

Even if it was all just a bluff, there was nothing he could do. He had to think of Iwa.

"Time is running out, Ohnoki. So, what will it be?" came the question as those steely eyes stared at him once more.

"Iwa shall retreat," he said with gritted teeth, and the man nodded.

"Good, then be on your way. You have a minute to pull back your forces, I will not give you any more time," and with that the man began to move, as he began to descent, and Ohnoki glanced down at the missed opportunity before floating away, to ensure Iwa' survival.

Truth was they had too little information on this newcomer. Was he truly related to Madara, or the Uchiha. And why was he leading Iwa. There were so many questions. And without their answers making a move would be anything but risky.

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OHASHI HATAKE

Ohashi Hatake had known that he was trapped, when he had woken up in that cave bound with chains staring into Madara's eyes. He had known at once that if eh was to make it out of there alive he would have to thing out of the box.

He had to provide enough intrigue, that the man would be compelled to choose him as a successor. And so a plan had formed in his head. He had hoped that the man, would free him after he had proved his usefulness, giving him a chance to escape.

Yet things had escalated, and his plan had backfired when he had found himself trapped in the man's Izanami. A kinjutsu said to alter the very fate of a man. There was little he could do, to escape the technique. He had tried everything that came to his mind yet it was all futile, and so in the end he had hit upon a massive gamble.

A gamble for his very sense of self. Trapped in that endless time-loop he had decided to make an alter ego, one molded by him carefully enough that it would fool the jutsu into thinking that it had worked, while he would bury down his own real conscience, praying and hoping that others would be able to catch on to the various hints.

And so had begun the lengthy process of constructing a literal alternate personality, one with just enough of Ohashi Hatake so his fellow shinobi from Konoha could realize who he was, and with enough of Madara to make Izanami believe that his own fate had shifted.

It had been arduous, and time taking. Yet in the end, after much trial and error it had worked. And then all he could do was wait, wait until someone chose to put him under the same jutsu that had begun this all.

And then it had happened. Fugaku Uchiha had used the technique on him once again, rousing his slumbering conscience which would then dismantle the artificial personality he had constructed to regain control of himself.

Yet the situation was dire when he had woken up. A literal meteor was rushing towards them, and there was no one who could stop it.

And so he had pushed himself, using all the chakra to destroy the thing.

And yet despite that the danger hadn't yet passed. Someone still had to deal with Ohnoki. And with Tsunade-san preoccupied, he knew he had to bluff the man.

And so, he had sought the aid of the purple-haired kunoichi, Konan he knew her name. And in the end, using every ounce of strength and cunning in his, he was able to bluff the Tsuchikage, into leaving the village.

"Huhhh, Huhh," he huffed as he lay on the ground, vision blurry, shivering from cold as he saw the same purple-haired Kunoichi worry over him.

"Konan!" he heard someone call out worriedly as a pair of footsteps, came to a halt near them.

"Get away from him! Don't you know how dangerous he is!" someone shouted, he couldn't make out their face but the color of their hair told him who they were.

It was Yahiko, he could tell from his orange mane.

"It's fine Yahiko, and I have to help him, after all he saved our very lives. Without him Ame, would be devastated by that meteor, and all of us wouldn't even be standing here," she argued back.

"He is dangerous!"

"No he is not!" another voice cut in, this one much more serious and calmer, and he watched as Shikaku Nara and Tsunade Senju stepped into his vision with the Fourt Hokage sitting down beside him, as she began to heal him.

"So, you finally back with us kid," the man questioned as he stared at him.

And Ohashi tried to give the man a nod but was stopped by Lady Tsunade.

"Don't move, you idiot! Otherwise, you will kill yourself," she snarled angrily, and he could tell that she had very little chakra left. The wrinkles that her technique had kept hidden had begun to show, as her skin began to shrivel up. Though thankfully, it seemed as though the woman had avoided any major injury, well, except the one he had given her when he had struck her with a Chidori.

Yet she had healed that one already.

"Yes," he managed to eek out, and the jounin commander looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze, before he gave him a small nod.

"Rest up, kid. It's going to be a hell of a debrief for you!"

And with that, he closed his eyes as he thrust his life into the capable hands of Lady Tsunade.

0000

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