Chapter 29

KAKASHI HATAKE

Kakashi Hatake stood there still as he saw the carnage infront of him. He was aware that the Uchiha matriarch was a formidable kunoichi, an elite jounin, yet as he saw her dismantle a whole unit of Iwa shinobi in front of him, did he truly understand just how strong she was?

The Uchiha matriarch was a blur, and the only thing he saw was a silhouette before she vanished once more, as the Iwa shinobi died without even a single grunt.

However the Iwa shinobi were quick enough to realize that they were under attack and backed up as they huddled together.

"Show yourself, who are you!" they shouted as they looked around, and the Uchiha matriarch appeared infront of them in a blur, and he saw a few of the veteran Iwa nin back off as they saw the red blazing eyes staring at them impassively.

"Those eyes, the Sharingan! Don't look into them!" they shouted for the younger members of their team, as three of them rushed towards Mikoto-sama. She slowly moved forward, cleaning the blood of her two fans with a piece of cloth.

"I believe it's too late for that," and with that, he saw as the three Iwa shinobi slashed their kunai at her, yet their weapons simply passed through her form as if she was not even there. And then Kakashi saw a silhouette appear in the middle of the Iwa formation, and he felt the very air become warm as the two fans she held in her hands became red, as she coated them in fire nature chakra.

"Katon: Fire Storm!" and then, as she spun, a literal torrent of fire enveloped the whole unit, as firestorm enveloped the whole unit in the blink of an eye, making the Iwa nin scream in agony as their bodies lit up.

SHWOOSH!

"AGHHH!" the Iwa non screamed as their bodies fell to the ground as Mikoto-sama simply stepped out of the torrent of flames, with the three Iwa non who had rushed towards her watching her with trembling gazes.

Despite the fear, they rushed towards her, and he saw Lady Mikoto nod towards where the six of them had hidden, and Kakashi was quick to reach as he pushed chakra into his legs, his hand reaching for the tanto, strapped to his back, as he vanished in a blur.

The Iwa nin felt him approach and tried to block his attack, but he was too late, as Kakashi simply ducked under his kunai, and struck a clean blow at his neck, ending his life with a single strike.

"Kukh!" blood spurted out of his neck as the Iwa nin dropped to the ground, and he looked to the side and found the other two Iwa nin had been taken care of as well.

Kurenai Yuhi had taken down one, as three kunai spun around her, while the last one had been done in by Obito and Asuma Sarutobi, and the Uchiha matriarch walked towards them.

"Good work," she said, as she cleaned her two fans and put them in her sleeves once again.

"From our intel, there shouldn't be a unit stationed here," cut in Kurenai Yuhi as she pocketed her three kunai, as all of them gathered together.

"Yes, and from the composition, I can say that this was a hastily set up unit. They were mostly just genin or chunin, and that could mean only one thing," she said, voicing out what all of them were thinking.

"Iwa suspects an attack on Kanabi bridge," he answered, and Mikoto-sama nodded with a frown, as she seemed to think for a moment before she commanded him.

"Hatake, have a scroll sent to the village about this suspicion," and he nodded and sat down as he began to quickly do what he had been ordered to do.

"As for the rest of you, I want all of you on high alert. The bridge is not far from here. If they had a unit here, then there is a high chance that they have some of their forces guarding the bridge as well, so we will have to be extremely cautious," she ordered, and all of them nodded.

"Why don't we let us deal with them next time, Mikoto-sama? Let us show off some of our skills," Obito cut in, in his usual easy-going demeanor, forgetting that this wasn't their sensei he was talking to.

And while Kakashi knew that the Uchiha matriarch came off as mostly gentle in their interactions, the way the air stilled at Obito's words even surprised him as she cut in in a chilling tone.

"This was already a very high-risk mission, which has just become even riskier now, with Iwa suspecting an attack," the commander of their unit began, and the way Obito straightened up, he had realized that he had made a mistake.

"So, I want to make something very clear. From this point on, I want you all to follow everything I say. If I tell you to run, you run. If I ask you to hide, you hide. You do as I say, no questions asked, is that clear?" she said, and Kakashi was quick to answer.

"Yes, Mikoto-sama," they chorused together, and the Uchiha matriarch nodded as he finished sending the missive to the village.

They began to move again, moving in a close formation as they moved towards the village. Yet luckily, they didn't face any more Iwa shinobi throughout their journey, yet when they reached near the actual mission site, the Kanabi bridge, his enhanced senses picked up a peculiar smell.

A very peculiar smell, that he had felt previously on several occasions from their sensei's girlfriend, Kushina-san.

"Mikoto-sama," Kurenai Yuhi cut in from behind, her voice strained and her face pale, and Mikoto-sama raised her hand as they all hid behind trees, and he didn't miss as sweat dripped down the face of Mikoto-sama as she replied.

"I know, I can sense it too," she replied, and then, before she could continue, they were interrupted by a thick and gruff voice.

"There is no use in hiding. I can sense all of you," and Kakashi stilled as he heard the voice of their sole opponent, an opponent, whose chakra was dense enough to rival that of Kushina-san herself and felt as if it was lava itself.

Mikoto-sama slowly walked out into the clearing, and the rest of them followed at her heels, as he finally caught a look at the opponent they were set to face, his hair along with his beard and mustache were red, but it was lighter than Kushina-sama.

He wore a large headpiece, with the Iwagakure headband, along with magenta kimono. He sat there on the bridge, in a lotus position, as he stared at them as Mikoto-sama whispered to them.

"I want you all to place the seals on the bridge and then be ready to run at any second. None of you stand a chance against the person standing infront of us," she said as she slipped her fans into her hands, and her Sharingan blazed in her eyes, the three tomoes spinning ominously as she let go of her chakra and got ready to face the man infront of them.

And Kakashi finally realized just who he was, and he was thankful to Ohashi for forcing him to memorize all those Bingo books.

"He is Roshi of Lava Release, one of Iwagakure's jinchuriki," he spoke out, and their sense nodded as the rest of them, finally realized just what kind of danger they were in.

"Those eyes, it has been some time since I have faced someone with those eyes!"

0000

OHASHI HATAKE

Ohashi Hatake found himself standing atop the tallest tower in Amegakure, as he looked at the spiralling village infront of him. The initial tension that had enveloped the village had settled down somewhat in the days since his fight with Jiraiya, of the Sanin.

People had been expecting him to slaughter the village, yet as they saw him keep his promise of securing the village's borders, they began to settle down. During these days, Ohashi had slaughtered over five units from various villages.

This had given him enough time to assimilate what he had learned from Madara Uchiha, into his repertoire. And had allowed him to improve greatly, yet despite that, he knew that he was still far from the level he wished to be at. No, the level he had to reach for his dream.

His plan hinged on the war lasting for a longer time, giving the villages no time to recover as he made his move. Plus, he needed to recruit people to his cause as well, for as strong he may become, he would need someone to watch his back, and to give the final shape to his plan.

He had a few individuals in mind, yet that would come later, as he felt a certain pesky presence behind him.

He was acutely aware of Zetsu's intentions, yet the bastard was a useful tool for the time being, and Ohashi planned to use it to its full capacity before getting rid of it.

"What news do you bring, Zetsu?" Ohashi questioned as he felt the plant-like creature appeared out of the floor behind him.

"I have acted quickly as per your orders and have made it so that the Third Great ninja war shall be prolonged," he answered, and Ohashi's eyes narrowed, for he could sense something sinister from the Black plant-like creature's tone.

"Konoha's forces planned to attack the Kanabi bridge, cutting off supplied to the Iwa forces at the front," and he stilled as soon as he heard those words.

"I leaked intel to Iwa about the mission, and they have dispatched one of their jinchuriki, and a small unit to guard the village," and Ohashi stilled as soon as he heard those words.

"Which team has Konoha dispatched to take out the Kanabi bridge?" hoping that things were different than what he had seen.

"I believe it's a seven-unit squad. Its two three man cells of seasoned genins under the leadership of Mikoto Uchiha."

0000

FUGAKU UCHIHA

The Third Raikage's last stand had bought Kumo forces enough time to retreat. The man had lived up to his title of Kage and had caused sheer carnage on the battlefield. Despite facing both him and Lord Third, the Third Raikage had been a menace to face, slaughtering any regular shinobi that stepped in his way.

He fought with complete abandon, using every drop of blood and sweat his body could muster as he faced two of them with everything he had to offer. The battle had ended in their victory, yet despite the one-sided nature of the battle, him and Lord Third hadn't escaped unscathed out of the battle.

With Lord Third losing a leg in the battle, since he was the one facing Lord Third, leaving him to provide support. With that victory, the situation on the Northern front had reached a stalemate, with both Kumo and Konoha forces forced to stand down.

And so, he found himself back in Konoha, surprised that his return had been requested by the Hokage-sama herself.

And as he stared at the form of the shinobi resting on the bed, he could only guess that it had something to do with the state he was in. Jiraiya-sama lay there on the bed, holding a book in one hand, a stub the only thing left where there should have been his other arm, and Fugaku found himself intrigued about how the hell was the infamous Toad Sage reduced to such a state.

But before he could question the man, the door to the room opened, and the Fourth Hokage entered the room, as he apologized quickly.

"I am sorry for being late, but I was dealing with your report," she said to him.

"Now, what we are about to discuss is extremely confidential, so I would appreciate it if you could keep what we discuss to yourself for some time, Fugaku," the Lady Hokage requested, and he nodded surprised by her request.

"I believe this has something to do with the current state of Jiraiya-sama," he guessed, and the Shodaime's granddaughter nodded with a grimace.

"Yes, though I believe this concerns your clan as well," and with that, she stepped forward and took out a scroll from her pocket.

"Two weeks ago, Jiraiya faced a rather intriguing foe while on a mission in Amegakure, the shinobi in question single-handedly faced Jiraiya and managed to go toe to toe with him despite him using everything in his arsenal," and Fugaku frowned, as he realized what she had implied.

"Amegakure? Was it Hanzo the Salamander," he guessed, for there was only one notable shinobi from Ame that came to his mind, and Jiraiya-sama shook his head.

"No, this shinobi had fought and killed the man before I had even reached the village. This was someone new," he explained and Lady Tsunade nodded as she unfurled the scroll and turned it towards him.

"And the reason we have summoned you here is because this shinobi had a Mangekyo Sharingan!" and he stilled as soon he heard those words.

"A Mangekyo Sharingan, having this unique pattern," and as he saw the pattern drawn on the scroll, his breath hitched as he felt a shiver run down his spine, as he looked towards Jiraiya-sama.

"Are you sure that this was the pattern of his Mangekyo?" he questioned again, and the man nodded with a frown.

"Yes." And Fugaku shook his head as he looked at Hokage-sama.

"But this is impossible, the pattern of the Mangekyo is unique to each individual user, and the person who possessed those eyes has been dead for decades," he shouted, and the Hokage-sama frowned as she looked toward her teammate with a frown before she questioned.

"And who was this person?" she questioned.

"This eye belonged to the Uchiha who helped set the foundation for this village, the only man who stood on the same level as your grandfather Hashirama Senju," and he saw the two Sanin pale as they realized just who he was talking about.

"Madara Uchiha."

0000

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