Things were quiet along the shore of the sea, surrounded by a lush green forest.

Having been reanimated by Kabuto, Itachi slowly made his way along the shore, supporting a weak and crippled Nagato along the way "We've been walking for quite a good long while, ever since the sun began to rise. It can't be long before the time comes for the two of us to fight then."

"But who will we be fighting against?" asked Nagato.

"That I'm afraid I can't say, but I do have an idea." there was a brief pause.

"It can't be."

"Are they close?"

"Something about this feels familiar and nostalgiac."

"I see."

That was when Naruto appeared in front of them and ground to a halt "You guys… Itachi Uchiha and Nagato?"

"Naruto what is it-" Sasuke skidded to a stop and froze "Brother…"

"No way."

"Incredible." Nagato murmured "I never imagined that I would have to fight you again Naruto, not like this."

"I feel the same way Nagato."

"For you it's been a good long while since we last met hasn't it? But for me it's only been a matter of moment, you've grown quite different haven't you?"

"You mean my Nine Tails Chakra Mode? Thanks to some training with Tatsu and this jinchuuriki guy from the Hidden Cloud, I can control the power of the Nine Tails at will. His name is Kurama by the way."

"I see, so you truly are quite different then. I can see it in your eyes."

"Yeah."

Itachi's eyes widened slightly "You're now in command of the power of the Nine Tails? I must say that I'm impressed with your development, I never imagined you would be able to grow so much."

"Well he and I happen to be sibling students." Nagato pointed out "I'm not surprised at all."

"Fair enough." Itachi turned his attention over to Sasuke, and his eyes softened "Sasuke…"

"Yes brother, it's me." Sasuke told him "And for the record, Tatsu was the one who did everything for him."

"No way, that's so not true!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him "And besides, it's not like you were even there!"

Nagato's one visible eye narrowed slightly "Tell me Naruto, have you actually done it? Have you been able to overcome your hatred?"

"You bet I did, as my elder and my sibling student you taught me about the true meaning of pain and then Tatsu and Octopops showed me how to handle the Waterfall of Truth. My mother and my father too, I got help from everyone who cares about me. I have all of you to thank for helping me get as far as I have."

"I see, so that's your answer then?"

"Yeah it is."

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly as he turned in Sasuke's direction "Sasuke, there's something very important. I have to ask you."

"That's a good thing, I have a few things I was hoping to ask you too."

"Sasuke… I-"

"Well well, it would seem that I found you first Nine Tails. With a card like that hidden up my sleeve Madara will have no choice but to fall right into my hands, too bad I won't get to see the look of shock on his face underneath that ridiculous mask of his when he finally realizes that I've won."

Itachi suddenly froze for a split second before he quickly formed a hand seal "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he breathed out a massive ball of fire.

Naruto quickly drew Crimson Death and cut the fireball clean in half "Hey what the hell? I thought we were still talking!"

"That sword, it belonged to your mother did it not?"

"What? Oh yeah, Kakashi-sensei gave it to me after the Five Kage Summit and if you think that's weird then let me tell you that Ino got that shark guy's sword."

"You mean the Yamanaka girl acquired Samehada? I see, so that means that Kisame has fallen in battle.'

"Sasuke remember, these guys are being controlled. We have to make sure we don't hesitate or anything."

Nagato found himself on his own when Itachi disappeared in a puff of smoke, revealing that it had only been a Shadow Clone "Look out above you!"

"I know, I see him!" with his Mangekyo Sandagan flaring into life, Sasuke met Itachi in a clash in mid air.

Itachi began firing off a barrage of punches and kicks "Tell me, what have you learned since the last time we encountered each other?"

"I know that you were ordered to slaughter almost all of the Uchiha clan because they were attempting a coup de tat, and I know that Kazuma is still alive. I know everything about your top secret mission and I know how Madara was involved in."

Nagato's eyes widened slightly when he heard this "What do you mean secret mission?"

Sasuke dealt Itachi a kick to the gut, sending him skidding back "I know all of it."

Itachi took a moment to recover "Tell me Sasuke, was it Kazuma who told you the truth?"

"Yeah it was, Tatsu was the last one to find out when we went on a mission to Loran."

"...I see, that does sound like something Kazuma would do, in all the years since then he's never changed has he?"

"Just tell me, was what he told me about our clan the truth? Was our father really going to be forced to lead a coup in order to take over the village-"

"Stop it Sasuke, you've said more than enough about that."

"Itachi…"

"Tell me Itachi, is what this boy speaks the truth?" asked Nagato.

"Itachi you made yourself out to be a criminal to the entire world in order to protect me and the entire Hidden Leaf Village, I understand your pain and your resolve as to how far you were willing to go. But I just couldn't let your name be dragged through the mud the way you wanted, I knew for a fact that you deserved better for all of the pain you brought upon yourself for the sake of me and everyone else in the village."

'Sasuke… I suppose Madara must have known the truth about me as well. And I suppose you told everyone in the village about this as well?"

"Yes I did, they see you as a hero now and the elders who ordered you to commit the massacre were stripped of their positions. Danzo was ambushed by Madara and tried to take him down with him but he failed."

"And the name of the Uchiha clan was tarnished as a result?"

"Actually the only ones whose names were tarnished were the ones who were involved in plotting the coup, like the ones who accused you of murdering Shisui. Which reminds me, it turns out Shisui is actually still alive."

"What do you-"

"Universal Pull!" against his will, Nagato used his Universal Pull to bring Naruto over towards him and summoned a boulder into his path in an attempt to have him smash into it.

"Dammit!" Naruto used his chakra arm to push himself out of the way and out onto the surface of the lake.

"That was nicely dodged Naruto."

"Thanks but I should warn you, I'm a hell of a lot stronger now than I was when me and Bushy Brown went up against Pain a few months ago. I'm gonna keep getting stronger too."

"...I was right to believe in you, to believe that you would be able to finish this."

"What?"

"Okay Naruto, get ready." Nagato told him "You have to get me away from here, I can't move on my own anymore!"

"I know."

"Summoning Jutsu!" Nagato formed a number of hand seals and slammed his hand into the ground, summoning the gigantic multi headed Rinnegan dog and Rinnegan bird "Well maybe I can after all."

"Well would it kill you to make up your mind already? I mean come on!"

Itachi blitzed behind Sasuke "Look out Sasuke, I'm right behind you!"

"I know!" Sasuke drew his Raijin katana and slashed at him.

Itachi retreated into the air and formed some hand seals "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Shuriken Jutsu!" he unleashed a volley of fire enhanced shuriken.

Sasuke summoned an arm of is Susanoo and blocked the fire shuriken with ease as he summoned another arm and grabbed Itachi from behind "I've got you!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Using his chakra arms from his Nine Tails Chakra Mode, Naruto sent the multi headed Rinnegan dog crashing to the ground "Yes, you know for such a big dog you go down a lot easier than I thought you would."

"Don't let your guard down Naruto, it's not over yet!" Nagato called from atop the bird "Take a look and see for yourself?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto looked down at the multi headed dog and noticed another head appear on its body "What in- What the f*ck is that thing doing?! I didn't know it could do that!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You've improved since our last battle Sasuke, but that won't be anywhere near enough to defeat me." Itachi dispersed into a flock of crows.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed "The typical genjutsu of a Sharingan user, Itachi do you really take me for some sort of amateur?" his Sharingan pulsated and the crows turned into a volley of shuriken hurtling towards him, which he easily deflected with his Raijin katana "I should warn you, I've improved a little bit too since then." he charged and brought down his sword.

"So I can see." Itachi began dodging every strike or countering with a kunai.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Water Style: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto slammed a water enhanced Rasenshuriken down on the multi headed Rinnegan dog, only for another head to grow on it "Dammit, this thing is never gonna stop is it?"

"The number of heads only multiplies when you hit him." Nagato told him "You're going to have to knock me out first!"

Itachi suddenly leapt onto the Rinnegan bird and activated his Mangekyou Sharingan in his left eye "Amaterasu!"

Naruto leapt back down onto the top of the multi headed Rinnegan dog "Watch out Sasuke, you better stay on your toes! That's his Mangekyo Sharingan, if you get hit by his Tsukuyomi or his Amaterasu then you're done for-" he paused when he felt something and he started having a fit of coughing, and before he knew it a crow popped out of his mouth.

"Excellent, now it finally came out."

Naruto was left reeling and gagging as a result "You can't be serious… Why in the name of hell did a crow just come out of my mouth?" then it hit him 'Wait a second… Back when Itachi found me before his big fight with Sasuke, he said he shared some of his power with me.'

Nagato froze at what he was sensing 'This feeling… Naruto be careful, it's Amaterasu!"

"Chidori Senbon!" Sasuke fired off a barrage of Chidori Senbon at Itachi and Nagato.

"Almighty Push!" Nagato unleashed an Almighty Push, cancellilng out the Chidori Senbon before they could hit Itachi "Dammit, I lost control of my body again."

"And now to enact it." Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, causing the same to appear in the eye of the crow, resulting in a certain something happening.

"What was that? What the hell just happened?"

Nagato's eyes widened slightly "So then it wasn't the Amaterasu?"

Naruto looked and saw Itachi's crow land on his shoulder, the Mangekyou Sharingan still in place in one of its eyes "What the… Why does that Sharingan look familiar? I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

"So that's it then now is it? Amaterasu!" with his Mangekyou Sharingan once again flaring into life, Itachi activated his Amaterasu and to the surprise of everyone he unleashed it on the multi headed Rinnegan dog.

"What the-?" Naruto leapt out of the way to avoid being caught in the black flames "Wait a second, did he miss with his Amaterasu?"

"No, that's not it." Sasuke appeared next to him on a tree top "Itachi would never miss with something like that unless it was his intention to miss, meaning that you were never his true target with it."

Itachi finished off the Rinnegan dog and turned his attention back towards Nagato "It's done."

"That crow down there on Naruto's shoulder, is it one of yours?" asked Nagato "I don't understand, what exactly did you do with that bird?"

"I underestimated him. Itachi Uchiha, he's clearly very different from all the others reanimated pawns I've collected up to this point. To think he was able to resist the reanimation jutsu."

"Itachi, did you…"

"I was hoping it would work." Itachi told him.

"...Of course, I think I understand now."

"Forgive me for this. Amaterasu." Itachi unleashed Amaterasu on Nagato and the Rinnegan summoning bird, covering Nagato in the black flames and sending him crashing down to the ground below them as the flames began eating away at his body "Naruto. Sasuke." he leapt down onto the tree next to them.

"I don't get it, what the hell is going on?" asked Naruto.

"Calm yourself, I have control of my body now. I used a new genjutsu of my own to counteract the reanimation jutsu the enemy is using."

"What do you mean?"

"This is a genjutsu I programmed that orders me to protect the Hidden Leaf Village, the reanimation jutsu no longer holds any control over me. That crow that was inside of your body emerged in response to my Mangekyou Sharingan, I prepared it as a precaution just in case if a time like this should ever come."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sasuke.

"I implanted it in the left eye of that crow."

"...There's only one genjutsu capable of doing such a thing. Tell me, did that left eye belong to… him?"

"Yes, the Mangekyou Sharingan of Shisui Uchiha. The ultimate genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami. The genjutsu that I used on myself broke whatever control Kabuto had over my body, however it appears that the Mangekyou had already worn off."

"We're talking about the same Shisui Uchiha right? Shisui the Lightning Teleporter?"

"That's right Sasuke, as I'm sure you were already aware Shisui's visual prowess is increasingly unique for a number of reasons. It grants the user access to a powerful genjutsu that allows them to control someone without the victim even realizing it. After Shisui gave me his left eye I programmed the genjutsu to program the victim to protect the Hidden Leaf, I implanted the command into the left eye of that crow and then gave the crow to Naruto. Of course I never thought about the possibility of me having to use it against myself one day."

"But that eye…" Naruto cut in "You said Shisui gave it to you right, after he tried to use his genjutsu on Madara but failed? But I still don't get it, why would you go out of your way to give the eye to me of all people?"

"Self sacrifice." Itachi's eyes reverted back to the standard Sharingan "If one is to become a true shinobi then they do not set out merely for glory, they protect what they hold dear from the shadows. That is the mark of a true ninja, Shisui was the one who taught me that. Shisui knew that a battle for the possession of his eyes would ensue after his death, especially since his plan to get Madara to leave the village alone failed. With this in mind he faked the destruction of his eyes and then he took his own life. I helped him with this by allowing myself to become the target of suspicion. The last time I saw Shisui he had already entrusted his right eye to Danzo since he felt it would be best to keep them separated, and the left one he bequeathed to me. He had instructed me to use it to protect the village and then he disappeared."

"Actually Itachi it turns out Shisui isn't dead."

"...What?"

"According to what Kazuma told us he faked his death just like he faked the destruction of his eyes and went into hiding in the Land of Snow, after me and Bushy Brown beat Pain he showed up in the village again."

"...The Land of Snow you said?"

"Yep."

"...I'll look into that later. Anyway Naruto, I gave that eye to you since you are a ninja with the same integrity as Shisui. I felt that if Sasuke, whom I had left behind, would ever become a threat to the Hidden Leaf Village then I would have violated all that Shisui had entrusted me to do. I felt that aside from Tatsu, you may have been the only one who could ever make things right. You said that you had considered Sasuke to be a brother Naruto, that is why I knew that you were the only one who had a chance of stopping him. I knew that Sasuke would at least try to transplant my eyes into himself, especially after I met him and Tatsu following that mission to Loran all those years ago. He wanted to acquire the true power of the Uchiha clan, the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and I feared the possibility of him turning against the Hidden Leaf Village if Kazuma should have failed to reach him before Madara did. I programmed the crow so that if such an event were to transpire then the crow was set to emerge from your body when it came into contact with my eyes then the crow would cast the Kotoamatsukami on Sasuke and make him want to protect the Hidden Leaf Village. That was my plan."

"But I never turned against the Hidden Leaf." Sasuke pointed out "But if that was your grand plan then why didn't you just cast that jutsu on me right from the get go?"

"It's not a question of didn't, it's simply because I couldn't. At least not back then. Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan takes more than a decade for it to reactivate itself unless you have the chakra of Hashirama Senju. You wanted me dead for many reasons Sasuke, I had to concentrate on just what my death would do to you."

"Itachi, I have to thank you for putting your trust in me." Naruto told him "But you don't have to worry any longer, not about Sasuke or about Madara. I'll take care of him. You've done more than enough for the Hidden Leaf Village, there's no need for you to do anymore at all. You just have to let me take care of the rest of it."

"...I see." Itachi gave a small smile "Sasuke my younger brother, you are luckier than you could ever have imagined to have someone like you as a friend and teammate."

"Even Shisui's eye, luck just keeps smiling on me."

"Almighty Push!" down on the ground, Nagato used an Almighty Push to repel the flames of the Amaterasu, allowing his body to finally begin regenerating itself while he personality had been erased by Kabuto.

Naruto looked down and noticed that Nagato was nowhere to be seen "What the hell- Where did he go? Is he…"

Nagato appeared from within the mouth of a cloacked Rinnegan chameleon that he had suummoned "Almighty Push!" he summoned an Almighty Push, sending the other three all reeling from the force of the attack.

Sasuke managed to stop himself within the middle of the woods "Dammit, that was close."

Nagato blitzed behind him.

Sasuke activated the arm and ribcage of his Susanoo and attempted to land a blow "Oh now you've done it, time to show you what I've been working on! Raijin Lariat!" he slammed the arm of his Susanoo into Nagato's gut.

Nagato absorbed the chakra from Sasuke's Susanoo, dissipating it and turning Nagato back into his youthful form, red hair and all and giving him back the use of his legs.

"What the- Son of a bitch, he's absorbing my chakra!"

"Hey Sasuke are you alright?" Naruto dropped in to interrupt the battle.

Nagato blasted Sasuke away with an Almighty Push and had his invisible Rinnegan chameleon grab Naruto with its tongue as he attempted to use his power to extract Naruto's soul from his body.

"What the hell… What are you… What is this jutsu?"

Nagato just kept on tugging on Naruto's soul, his Rinnegan summoning creatures surveying the surroundings using their linked vision.

'He's got some kind of gravity jutsu, two that can pull stuff and repel stuff, a summoning jutsu and a jutsu that can absorb chakra from other people. I get it now, you can use all of the same jutsu as each different version of Pain like last time!" he prepared a Rasengan "But I don't know this one that you're using!" he brought down the Rasengan.

Nagato unleashed a forcefield that easily absorbed the chakra from the Rasengan.

"Oh god dammit that's right, I forgot that I remembered that he could absorb ninjutsu! I'm such an idiot! Nagato help a brother out here will you, can you tell me what the hell this jutsu is anyway?" he received no reply 'Well that's just perfect, he's totally under the control of the jutsu!'

Nagato summoned the King of Hell out of the ground, much to Naruto's horror.

'Hold on a second, isn't this? Yeah that's revival Pain's jutsu! Just what in the hell are you trying to do to me now?"

"I'm going to have Ningendo extract their souls and kill them off, he'll hide their bodies and souls and bring them back to me before he'll revive them. I'll be able to make all three of the jinchuuriki mine in a matter of hours without Madara even having the slightest clue as to what I'm up to. Now then, what other tricks does Nagato have up his sleeve again?"

"Dammit!" Naruto tried to use his chakra arms to stop Nagato from pullin his soul out of his body "How does that reviving jutsu work again? No way, it's like he's yanking my very soul right out of my body! Oh god… getting weak… I've got a bad feeling… This isn't… gonna end well…"

"Hold on Naruto, I'm coming!" Sasuke suddenly burst onto the scene and quickly brought down his Raijin katana.

Nagato suddenly sprouted two more arms on his side and caught Sasuke by the throat, knocking the sword out of his grasp and wrapping him with metal wires from his fingertips.

"Oh crap."

"Sasuke hold on!" Naruto struggled to break free, but he kept getting weaker as a result of his soul being slowly sucked out "Dammit…"

"Come on think, there's gotta be-" Sasuke found a chakra cannon in front of his face "Well this bites in dozens of different ways. Naruto listen to me, if I don't make it then tell Kin that I love her."

Nagato continued charging his chakra and was about to finish the job on both Naruto and Sasuke when…

"Get down!" a giant crimson Susanoo swooped in onto the scene and cut off Nagato's arms, grabbed Naruto and Sasuke and blinded the Rinnegen summoning creatures, courtesy of a newly freed Itachi "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah we're fine Itachi, thanks for that." Naruto told him "You really are a lifesaver."

"Don't let your guard down just yet you two, he's going to regenerate any second."

Sure enough, within a matter of seconds, Nagato regenerated and desummoned his summoning animals.

"As I said."

"I know how strong he is, I've fought him before." Naruto told him "He's got the Rinnegan which gives him the power of the Sage of the Six Paths so how could he not be strong? Besides now we're facing him head on instead of any of his corps puppets. Both his power and moves are way beyond what they were when we fought, they're out of this world."

"Yes that's right, there's that jutsu where he can create a planet to trap them."

"He's probably the strongest one out of all of the reanimated shinobi."

"Look sharp." Itachi warned "He's going to unleash something big."

"Planetary Devastation!" sure enough, Nagato unleashed the small black orb of the Planetary Devastation that began absorbing the rubble from straight out of the ground in order to make itself bigger, drawing Itachi, Naruto and Sasuke to it in the process.

"That black sphere at the center seems to have a very strong gravitational pull, we'll have some trouble breaking out of this."

Naruto found himself struggling to keep his footing on a piece of rubble "Oh crap this is bad, he used this jutsu once before back when he fought me and Bushy Brow! This kind of thing is super bad, you can't get caught in it or you're a dead man!"

"Is that so? Well then just answer me this, if it's a sure kill then how is it that you're still alive right now?"

"...Yeah you've got a good point there. Look the point is that if we get trapped in that thing then we'll never get out, the gravitational pull on this thing is just way too strong! I only got free of it last time because Kurama was going apeshit on the battlefield and Bushy Brow was using the Seventh Gate and the Leaf Dragon God!"

"That's enough Naruto, one must keep a calm mind in order to analyze a situation as effectively as possible. I'm assuming that the black sphere thrown into the air by Nagato must be the central core of this gravitational pull, that means that the answer to ceasing the pull must be destroying the pull. We have to hurry and use our strongest long range ninjutsu and all attack the core as one massively powerful force."

"I hope I can aim well under these circumstances! The lack of solid ground I mean!"

"There's no need for you to worry about that, it's going to hit the sphere even if you don't aim at all. This is the kind of tactic that exploits the core's gravitational pull, every jutsu has some sort of weakness, it's just a simple matter of finding it." he evolved his Susanoo and summoned a massive set of chakra shurikens.

Sasuke summoned his own Susanoo and summoned a spear made of pure lightning "I'm already on it!"

"That was fast, but don't think I'm gonna be counted out just yet!" Naruto summoned his chakra arms and began preparing a Rasenshuriken.

"Yasaka Magatama!" Itachi fired off his Yasaka Magatama at the orb at the center.

"Raijin Spear!" Sasuke fired off a spear made of lightning at the orb at the center.

"Fire Style: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto fired off a fire enhanced Rasenshuriken at the orb at the center, with all three attacks combining into one and eradicating the orb and the Planetary Devastation with a white light and a massive explosion that wiped out a good portion of the forest surrounding the battlefield.

When the blast subsided, Nagato suddenly found himself struck through the center of his chest and his personality returned "I see… it's over then… Please forgive me… Itachi…"

Sure enough, Itachi stood in the middle of the crater, his Susanoo active with his Totsuka Blade piercing Nagato through the chest, with Naruto and Sasuke right behind him "Good, it would appear that your consciousness has been restored. This blade is the Totsuka Blade, it's imbued with a sealing jutsu, you will be sealed away within a matter of moments. Do you have any last words you would like to share?"

"...Yes, as a matter of fact I do." Nagato turned to face Naruto and shot a small sad smile in his direction "Naruto… the time has come for me to return to the side of our master, and from there I will continue to watch your story unfold. I truly believe that you are the star of the final volume of our trilogy. Master Jiraiya was the first one, and as a result it was a perfect beginning. I'm afraid that the second one however was nothing but an abyssmal failure, as a result of the main star being myself, one that even our beloved master could not acknowledge. Whether the series succeeds or fails, it depends largely on the third and final volume. It is up to you to become the masterpiece that finishes this tail for us, one that will overshadow the failure of the middle volume Naruto. It depends on you now."

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw a silhouette of Jiraiya appear behind him, and he shot a thumbs up at Nagato "You can count on me."

"Of that, I have no doubt." and with that, Nagato disappeared into the blade with a content smile on her face, with Itachi's Susanoo dissipating not long after that, leaving a calm yet tense silence amongs the three that remained.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kabuto slammed his fist onto the ground "Damn that Nagato, he wasn't mobile. I thought that the synchronized sight of the Rinnegan and his summoning animals would help by expanding his field of vision, but Itachi is able to even hit targets in his blind spots with his shuriken jutsu. Not even Nagato was able to dodge them." then he smirked "Well it would appear that I no longer have any other choice, I'll just have to bring out my special reserve."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Dammit." Naruto growled "I hate this reanimation jutsu or whatever it's called, you keep on having to fight people that you don't want to. Tell me guys, are all of the other battles with the reanimated shinobi like this too?"

Itachi chose not to answer the question and instead went to a different subject "I will stop the reanimation myself, I will leave Madara to the two of you."

"No I'm not letting you go alone, I have questions for you." Sasuke told him "But that aside one of Tatsu's Shadow Clones told us that he had to fight off some reanimated Hidden Cloud shinobi named Toroi, he says that you can't kill them but you can seal them away. Kabuto has nearly perfected this jutsu, it's like it doesn't have any sort of weakness."

"Didn't I tell the two of you this before? Every single jutsu has some kind of weak point, it's just a matter of finding what it is."

"I can't help but wonder about that."

"But if you wish to receive answers then perhaps it's best that you come with me."

"Makes sense, one reanimated Mangekyo Sharingan and one Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan are better than one."

"You guys can forget that." Naruto formed a hand seal "I told you guys before, I'm going to stopt it myself like I told you guys before so just leave it to me and I'll handle it. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he summoned a single Shadow Clone, but his Nine Tails Chakra Mode ran out and the clone dissipated as a result "Dammit… Looks like I overused my Nine Tails Chakra Mode so I can't even make any more Shadow Clones right now."

"You shouldn't try to do everything by yourself." Itachi told him "Sasuke and I have the best chance to stop the reanimation jutsu and I have a pretty good idea on how to do it."

"Listen I'm gonna put an end to this war all by myself. You got that?"

"...I will not deny that you are far more powerful than you were the last time we met, you're leagues beyond what you were previously capable of. That being said, as a result it would appear that you've lost sight of something extremely important."

"And what's that?"

"You have to remember Naruto, you know why the people of the Hidden Leaf Village gave up on the fear and hatred they once held towards you. You know why they accepted you as one of their own. It's because you showed them that you understood them and you fought so that they would accept you. You just sait that all of the people who care about you are the ones who have helped you get as far as you have, if you forget about all of thost people because you now hold such a great level of power then you'll end up becoming egotistical and eventually you'll end up becoming just like Madara."

Naruto froze when he heard this 'Just like… Madara?'

"No matter how powerful you might become you must never take such a heavy burden all on your own because if you do then you are sure to fail. Your father Minato, the Fourth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf, was able to fulfill his duties only because your mother Kushina and all of his friends and comrades were at his side. You share the same dream as your father do you not?"

"Well yeah, of course I do."

"Then you must never forget this. Becoming the Hokage is now about getting the people of the village to acknowledge and respect you, only those who are already acknowledged will ever be able to become the Hokage. Never forget about your friends, your comrades, the people who have helped you come as far as you have."

And just like that, images of said people began to flash through Naruto's mind 'All of those who have helped me get this far… Tatsu… Sasuke… Kakashi-sensei… Captain Yamato… Bushy Brow… Bushier Brow Sensei… Neji… Tenten… Kiba… Shino… Hinata… Shikamaru… Choji… Ino… Granny Tsunade… Shizune… Konohamaru… Mizuki-sensei… Iruka-sensei… All of them…'

"You know Tatsu made a promise." Sasuke spoke up "From what I heard Iruke made him swear that he'd look after you and protect you, but he decided to share that burden with me and Lee, his fellow members of Team Dragon."

Naruto thought back to what Iruka said to him back at the Waterfall of Truth, and he let out a sigh "Yeah you're right guys, I guess I just got so caught up in everything that I just forgot about that. I thought that I had to do it all alone, but the truth is that even now I still have friends and comrades I can count on.

"I'm glad you realize it." Itachi's crow landed on his shoulder, and he promptly incinerated it with his Amaterasu, taking both Naruto and Sasuke by surprise.

"What the hell- Why did you-"

"Shisui's original eye won't be able to work again for another decade or so, it wouldn't be of any use to you anyway. However Naruto, you possess something far more powerful than this eye could ever be. What you and Shisui share is the same soul, and that is what he was trule hoping to pass on. You don't need the eyes of Shisui, and you never did. The way you are, you and the rest of your team, be it Tatsu or Might Guy's protegee, you can stop Madara without it."

"But you're here now, can't you help us stop Madara once the reanimation jutsu is over and done with?"

"That would never work, I tried to do everything on my own and I nearly failed with Sasuke as a result, so this time I will leave the task of protecting the Hidden Leaf Village for a comrade to handle."

"...You know you're a lot more than just a powerful shinobi Itachi, you're one of the wisest ones too."

"Tell Tatsu I said to take care of you and watch over you."

"Itachi…"

"Come Sasuke, we have a lot of work to do." Itachi took off into the woods.

"Sasuke… so this is it."

"I'll be back." Sasuke told him bluntly "Just make sure you don't die until we beat Madara and the war is over, because after that you and I have a score to settle." and with his Eternal Mangekyo Sandagan crackling into life, he took off into the woods after Itachi.

Naruto watched the two of them depart as his Nine Tails Chakra Mode flashed back into life once more 'I'd better wait for Tatsu to catch up, but then I've got work to do.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gaara watched as the Fourth Kazekage Rasa's Gold Dust crumbled away 'That's one down, three more to go.'

Now bound by sand, the Second Mizukage looked on in approval "Excellent, these sealing tags infused with your sand will stop us. That was very nicely done there Young Kazekage!" and then he started liquifying the sand against his will "What is this?"

The Third Raikage's body started crackling with electricity as he suddenly pierced right through the sand "Well that's just great."

"What in the name of hell is going on? No someone stop this, I just want to be sealed away already!" and then his sealing tag slid off.

"This is entirely out of our control, our bodies have been programmed to automatically counter any offensive jutsu used by the enemy!" they both burst out of their failed attempts at sealing them and charged at the members of the Fourth Division.

"Here they come!" Temari was leading the Fourth Division onwards when the Second Mizukage and Third Raikage charged at them and started tearing through them "Hurry, surround the two of them now while we have the chance!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" Onoki blitzed thourgh several hand seals and unleashed his drill shaped Atomic Dismantling Jutsu.

"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" Mu, the Second Tsuchikage, unleashed his pillar shaped Atomic Dismantling Jutsu, the two jutsu cancelling each other out in a mighty explosion that took out an entire plateau "Looks like you've gotten old Onoki."

"Nothing of the sort!"

"You'd best be careful." Mu suddenly vanished from sight "Without the help and sensory skills of the Kazekage you are sure to die!"

"We'll see about that soon enough."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By this point, a good portion of the Fourth Division had been wrecked as a result of the ensuing chaos.

The Second Mizukage stood back to back with the Third Raikage and addressed the majority still remaining "Listen to me, you must not underestimate my jutsu! You seriously need to stand back, and I'm being for real with this!"

"For real?" now that prompted them to stand back.

"Now listen, here are all of my weaknesses! For real."

"For real?"

"For real. Now listen to me very carefully, I use Shadow Style and in other words that means I use Genjutsu." he bit down on his thumb and slammed his hand into the ground "And my summoning animal… is a giant clam!" he summoned a giant clam, blowing several members of the alliance back.

The Third Raikage had a similar idea on how to stop himself "And in case it wasn't already clear by this point, I'm a Lightnin Style user. Line up your Earth Style shinobi and used them as a way to shield yourselves, then use your Wind Style shinobi to attack."

"Great, thanks for the intel. You have any other details you can tell us?" asked Temari.

"I don't have any control over my body, there's no time for more talk. Now come!" and he bolted almost too fast for them to be able to keep track.

"Alright, all wind style and earth style users follow me and the same goes for all members of the Sealing Unit!" and she left, with the shinobi in question following right behind her.

The Second Mizukage watched the Third Raikage take off out of the corner of his eye 'Yes that's right Raikage, go on and get away from here as fast as you can otherwise these guys will never be able to seal us when we're combining our strengths.' he looked up at Gaara "So tell me, do you have a sufficient strategy for sealing me away Fifth Kazekage?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Gaara looked down at the remaining shinobi "I'm going to leave all of you in charge here."

"...Is this some kind of a joke? You want them to fight me without your help? What the hell are you on? I mean seriously, what kind of tactic is that? You did hear what I said didn't you, I'm a Shadow Style user. My giant clam summoning is able to cast a genjutsu over a very wide area, it makes you see all sorts of illusions. Physical attacks will be useless, I'm talking about a mirage!"

"I can tell that you hold no desire to kill anyone here."

"Of course I don't, I have no reason to! I can't stand being manipulated by a jutsu being controlled by someone else, that's why I want you to seal me as quickly as possible Kazekage! Are you even listening to me?!"

Gaara ignored him and turned to the others "Be sure to take care of him quickly."

"Hey get back here!"

The remaining shinobi stood firm "Yes sir, you can count on us! We'll be sure to take quick care of Whispy Whiskers in no time!"

"...What the hell did you just call me?!" yeah, he f*cking exploded to the point where he was literally on fire "THAT'S IT! I don't give a damn about the reanimation jutsu anymore! I WILL KILL ALL OF YOU!"

"Oh crap I think he means it!" they all got into battle stances.

"Oh… well this is awkward."

"Let's rip his head off boys!" this was met with cheers and roars of enthusiasm as they prepared to charge head first into the fray.

"I'm counting on all of you, so be sure to show me what you've got." this prompted his giant clam to unleash a cloud of mist.

"Okay that's better, now you all look like you mean business. Now listen up and I'll tell you all one more time, there is no point in attacking the me that you see before you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Onoki continued floating high in the air above the battlefield 'I have to be sure to remain calm and analyze the situation.'

"Do not even bother Onoki, your sensory skills are useless against me." Mu's voice rang through the air.

"It's not a good idea to underestimate me." Onoki formed a quick hand seal "Stone Clone Jutsu!" he unleashed half a dozen rock clones surrounding him in mid air.

"So your plan is to overwhelm me with sheer numbers? I must admit that might work."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By this point, the alliance had supposedly pinned the Second Mizukage to a large plateau with a number of weapons and shuriken "Did… Did we get him?"

"...Nope!" the Second Mizukage suddenly phased through the attacks like they were nothing to him "Do you people even know how to listen? I told you before that attacking the form you see in front of you is completely useless, this form is nothing more than a mirage."

"So what are we supposed to do then?"

"You cannot be serious? First you have to take down my giant clam summoning, that thing is the one that's been creating the mirage this entire time. Its shell has remarkable levels of density so be sure to use large scale weapons or paper bombs."

"Yes but…"

"Oh for god's sake what now?"

"We used them all in our last attack."

"...This right here is a perfect example of why I don't deal with the fodder soldiers, just hurry up and retrieve your weapons so you can use them again."

"Oh, okay. You heard him guys, let's move!" so they moved to reclaim their weapons, which took way longer than it should have."

"Sorry this is taking so long."

"...Okay this is just painful."

"Alright let's do this people, target the giant clam!" once they all FINALLY reclaimed their weapons, they aimed for the giant clam, only for it to phase out of sight and phase back in in another location "What the hell?"

"Oh for crying out loud, I can't stand this anymore!" the Second Mizukage got everyone's attention from behind the crowd.

"Okay now I really don't understand what's going on."

"Look will you just listen to me? I keep telling you the same thing over and over again! That giant clam over there is also a mirage you idiot, you have to go after the real one!"

"Yeah alright, but where the hell is the real one?!"

"Oh for- Just like I said, it's hiding somewhere back there behind me and using the mirage as a cover."

"Dammit!" one of the guys threw a giant shuriken at him.

"How many times do I have to say it? Attacking the form that you see is useless, what about that is so hard for you to understand!"

"Uh… well actually I was aiming for the giant clam behind you!"

"I told you before that was just a mirage you idiot!"

"I am so confused, I don't understand any of this! Seriously!"

"Look you guys-"

"Whispy Whiskers."

"...That's is. YOU'RE ALL DEAD MEN WALKING!" this freaked everyone out and prompted them to make the guy who said it apologize.

So the guy bowed to him "I'm sorry."

"Oh for- How much more awkard can this get?"

"Let's try an all out attack again you guys now come on, let's get to it!" this was met with an uproar of cheers.

"Okay even you guys have to realize at some point that that's a really bad idea! Oh who am I kidding, no you won't."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Onoki was taken aback when one of his clones was suddenly blasted into atoms "What in the- Where did that come from?" a few grains of sand floated past him through the breeze.

"Behind you Tsuchikage!" Gaara suddenly burst onto the scene.

Onoki whipped around in an attempt to counter, only to throw out his back 'Dammit, why now of all times?!'

"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" Mu finally revealed himself and prepared to fire another blast from his Particle Style jutsu, when…

"Planetary Rasengan!" one of Naruto's Shadow Clones arrived on the scene and prepared to slam a new type of Rasengan into Mu's back, only for Mu to dodge at the last second 'Dammit, how did he-?!'

"Lord Mu is a sensory type shinobi!" Onoki told him "Attacking from his blind spot won't work!"

"Gaara! Sand!" Naruto ricocheted off of the sand.

Mu observed this as he continued charging his Particle Style jutsu 'So he used the sand as a sort of springboard for his attack, that makes sense. Dodge this, my jutsu is faster than yours!"

"Maybe but it's not faster than this!" Naruto extended his chakra arms to slam his Planetary Rasengan into Mu's gut and blow him straight to the ground, tumbling backwards even after making impact

Onoki quickly caught him and slammed a hand onto his back "Earth Style: Weighed Boulder Jutsu!" he increased Mu's weight and bound him to the ground "Thanks to that little added boost, you're so heavy now you can't even raise your arms. How's that for an old timer?"

"You used to hate the other villages… now you work so well with them…"

"I've learned that living a long life is without a doubt worth it, you can enjoy change."

"I see…"

"It's over." Gaara enveloped him in sand for the sealing.

"Don't let your guard down yet… I'm still…" he was completely enveloped in the sand before he could finish his sentence.

'Now for the other problem.'

Sure enough, Naruto returned to them "Alright! Way to kick ass Gaara, oh yeah and you kicked some ass back there too short old guy." he shot Onoki a thumbs up.

"You do realize I am the Tsuchikage right?" Onoki pointed out dryly.

"Yeah I know."

Gaara, however, was more focused on something else "What are you doing here on the battlefield Naruto?! Why in the world are you here?!"

"Oh. That. Well you see it's kind of a long story."

"You had better be able to provide an explanation good enough to persuade me."

"You do know that you're talking to me right?"

"...Just tell me why you're here!"

"That's not possible, so just allow me to do the talking. This is Shikaku Nara from HQ. Lord Tsuchikage, Lord Kazekage, you are in the midst of one of the most critical battles of the war right now so I thought I would save the complicated talk for later."

"Alright we're all ears, but the fighting's not over." Onoki told him "We'll have to head out soon, you can brief us on the way."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Second Mizukage let out a sigh as he stood amongst the downed forms of pretty much every single shinobi fighting him at the time "You know I'm really not trying to win against you guys right now."

One of them lifted their head and let out a pained groan "You're just too strong for us."

"Well regardless of that you have to seal me, otherwise I'll remain a puppet being controlled by your enemy and believe me when I tell you that I loathe the thought of staying like this. Okay everyone get up, snap to it would you?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was running with Gaara and Onoki and finished explaining the situation "So yeah, that's about it."

"I see." Onoki muttered "It's hard to believe that even the Raikage relented. Very well then, I understand now."

"I'll cease with the transmission now."

"Alright then."

"Naruto." Gaara spoke to him "It's good that you and Tatsu are going to each battlefield to identify transformed enemies, but being a former jinchuuriki myself I know that the Nine Tails chakra that you have is a great risk. Are you truly sure it's safe and wise to use it as heavily as this?"

"...I said it before didn't I?" Naruto told him "I have no intention of dying before I finally become Hokage so just because you're already the Kazekage doesn't give you the right to treat me like a kid. I'll meet up with Tatsu's Shadow Clone on the right battle front while you and the old Tsuchikage guy head over to the left."

"Very well but be warned Naruto, the Third Raikage is on that battlefield."

"Which means that Tatsu's probably gonna have him down for the count already so I doubt you have to worry about that!" and he took off.

'That's what I'm afraid of.'

"That means that our opponent is going to be the Second Mizukage." Onoki pointed out "Isn't that right?"

"That's right, he's a genjutsu user."

"Well then any old ordinary combat methods are never going to work against someone like that guy."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The remaining shinobi fired off their attacks at the appearance of the giant clam for what seemed like the umpteenth time, only for them to phase through it for what seemed like the umpteenth time "Oh come on, are you kidding me?!"

The Second Mizukage let out a groan "Why do I bother to keep telling you guys that it's a damn mirage?! Alright, go pick them up. We'll do this as many times as we have to. And I'm gonna go out on a whim and guess that none of you who happen to be from the Hidden Mist aren't familiar with my jutsu?"

One of the Hidden Mist shinobi shrugged "Sorry but the truth is that we only know a little bit about you Lord Second, I mostly only know about the current Fifth Mizukage."

"Well that's just great, the fact that the Hidden Mist is so obsessed with secrets is to blame for all of this. Honestly, if I had known that things would turn out as horrible as they've become right now then I would've left behind a much more memorable legacy. Now look at what our shinobi have become!" then he noticed the ground beneath him beginning to liquify "Oh crap, that's not good. Hey all of you listen up, playtime has been cut short! I need all of you to start coming at me seriously!"

"But we have been serious up to this point." one of them pointed out.

"And that just makes this that much worse. Look the problem here is that I have no control over my body it's casting jutsu all on its own and I can't stop it, believe me when I tell you that I hate being used the way that I am." several balloons rose up from the ground "They're making me use my Water Balloon Jutsu, hurry and defend yourselves!" he unintentionally shot the water bubbles at them, only for them to run into a wall of sand "What in the-"

"That would be me."

The Second Mizukage looked up and saw Gaara floating high above him on his typical cloud of sand "Well if it isn't the young Kazekage, tell me what took you so long?"

"Sealing away the Second Tsuchikage took longer than I had expected."

"Fair enough I suppose, but I hope for your sake that this time you'll actually be able to seal me away."

"That is my intention."

"And I look forward to it with great anticipation." he fired off a barrage of bubbles.

Gaara blocked them with a wall made of his sand, as well as a barrage being targeted at the other members of the Fourth Division, but they broke through and started to cause some devastation amongst them 'No!'

"Don't look anywhere else, you have to pay attention!" the Second Mizukage targeted Gaara with another barrage of water bubbles.

Gaara put up another wall of sand, but it wasn't very long before they broke through and started to turn the sand into slime.

"Don't tell me that's really all you've got. I've been telling all of you my weaknesses, you guys are just useless!"

One of them struggled to get back to their knees "Yeah you keep telling us that but it's not helping, you're just way too strong for us."

"Well yeah but that's no excuse for you guys slacking on your training."

Gaara observed as his sand defence turned into slime and gave out on him 'This liquid is more like oil than water, even if I use sand as a defence it will just seep into it and collapse.'

"You said before that you had tried to stop Mu before you came to me right? You always have to stop the stronger opponent first, that's what winning a battle is all about you fool!"

"That's exactly what we did."

"Well- Oh please, it's obvious that I'm the stronger one! I mean come on, that bastard Mu looks like some kind of half dead mummy! Am I right or am I right?"

"Perhaps, but with that being said looks can be deceiving outward appearances can be quite deceiving. You are extremely strong, I will not deny that."

"Well it's about time you understand- Hey wait a minute, what the hell do you mean appearances can be deceiving?"

"Your whispy whi-" one guy nearly blurted out, only to be shut up by another guy. Lucky him right?

"...I already told you before that I'm not even here, what you're seeing right now is my giant clam's wide range genjutsu. It's a mirage, physical attacks won't do anything. You have to hurry and find the giant clam and crush it or this will never end!" he looked up at Gaara "Oh yes, you use sand do you not?"

"I'm not one for making small talk." Gaara pointed out "I usually prefer to let my actions do the talking for me."

"You mean that you were already using your sand to search for the giant clam and that's why you were only focusing on your defences. Well finally, at last I get to face someone I can actually consider to be a worthy adversary. Now hurry up and defeat me already!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As it turns out, Onoki had managed to locate the giant clam thanks to Gaara's sand "Alright, it's over there. Particle Style, Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!" he prepared to unleash a Particle Style blast, only for it to dissipate before he was able to 'Dammit, I used too much chakra during my earlier battle with Lord Mu, now I don't have enough left to use Particle Style. Well then it would seem that I have no choice, I'll just have to smash it to pieces the old fashioned way!' he blitzed through severan hand seals "Earth Style: Stone Fist Jutsu!" he encased his arm in rock and brought it down on the shell of the giant clam, revealing its presence but he wasn't able to break through its shell.

"There's just one problem…" the Second Mizukage, the real one this time, suddenly appeared in front of him "A weak punch like that one isn't going to be anywhere near enough Onoki, you have to put some power into it. You're not using your Particle Style either, you must have used up too much chakra."

"Don't underestimate me, keep in mind that I'm no longer the same little Onoki that you used to make fun of. Earth Style: Super Weighted Boulder Jutsu!" he increased his weight several times over, the force shattering the shell of the giant clam.

"Okay now, that's much better. Not bad Onoki, not bad at all! You really are much better than I had expected."

Onoki managed to break through the shell, but he threw out his back in the process 'Oh damn, I've really done it now!'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Gaara watched as the illusion of the Second Mizukage in front of him disappeared "It looks like the genjutsu has been undone."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Amidst the resulting cloud of smoke, the Second Mizukage caught Onoki from behind and shot him through the back with the Water Gun Jutsu created and used by members of the Hozuki Clan.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The other side of the Fourth Division was in utter chaos, and by utter chaos I mean hilarious failures.

The Third Raikage was dodging every attack thrown at him with ease "Who the hell are you aiming at?"

"It's not like we can do anything!" they protested "You're just too fast for us to be able to land any attacks!"

"I already told you before, my Chakra Mode uses lightning style and when I arm myself with it my speed and defencive powers both exceed the limits that my body would normally put on them. That means that you'll never be able to stop me unless you use the destructive force of Wind Style!"

"But even using Wind Style we still can't land a blow on you." then Temari suddenly thought of something "No wait a minute… Wind Unit, attack formation C! Let's move!"

"Instead of doing it quietly she announces exactly what their plan is to attack me, how could one be so arrogant?"

"Now! Group Wind Style Jutsu: Wind Style: Casting Net!" they unleashed a combined Wind Style jutsu all at once.

"A wide ranged jutsu designed to overtake my raw speed, a splendid move. I suppose that arrogance is well deserved." he was hit by the jutsu, wounding his body.

"Yes, we got him! Now quickly, hurry up and surround him!"

'No, it won't work!'

"Yes ma'am!" two members of the Sealing Unit charged at the Third Raikage in an attempt to seal him.

That is, before the Third Raikage suddenly sent them reeling with a massive force, his body already regenerating.

Temari got into a stance, her mind racing 'No matter how many times we attack he just keeps on regenerating. Our only choice is to batter him with a consecutive top speed blade dance.'

"Allow me to take it from here." a Hidden Cloud ninja wearing an eyepatch stepped up to the front.

The Third Raikage was quick to recognize him "Is that you Dodai?"

"Yes sir, it's me. The third Lord Raikage was blessed not only with incredible raw speed and power, but also extra ordinary physical resilience. Even long distance Wind Style attacks, the only ones that can even reach him, cannot deal a decisive blow on him. What we need is a more powerful master of Wind Style."

"Well I'm not a half bad Wind Style user myself you know." Temari pointed out "So how did this guy actually die?"

"In order to let his people survive and escape he chose to use his own self as a decoy and ended up facing 10,000 shinobi of the enemy forces all by himself. It's said that he was able to last for 3 full days and 3 full nights to buy his comrades enough time, that is before he was finally brought down."

"I see."

"And now I need him to buy me some time so that at last I can finish up summoning my trump card. I suppose it's time for me to take over then." so Kabuto took the liberty of taking full control of the Third Raikage, erasing his personality in its entirety.

"To be completely honest, in all of the Allied Shinobi Forces there isn't a stronger Wind Style user than me."

"You wanna bet?"

Temari's head snapped in front of her and her eyes widened "No way… Tatsu?"

Sure enough, between the Third Raikage and the Fourth Division stood Tatsu's Shadow Clone, clad in his cyan coloured Tenseigan Chakra Mode "Actually there's three, the other ones being my older brother Kazuma and Naruto. But now you're getting me, deal with it!" he leapt high into the air, the sun shining directly behind him as he materialized some large chakra arms and used them to form a Rasenshuriken 'I'd better stick with the plain old wind version for a guy like this.'

'No way, that really is Tatsu? What is he doing here? I thought he was still guarding Naruto back on that island! That chakra feels like it's from a Wind Style jutsu, is it some new version of the Rasengan? It just might work, if it manages to hit that is.'

"Kage my ass! Wind Style: Rasenshuriken!" Tatsu extended one of his chakra arms, still holding the Rasenshuriken, and thrusted it forwards.

The Third Raikage managed to sidestep the attack with ease thanks to his Lightning Style Chakra Mode.

'I figured that he'd be able to dodge that, the Raikages of the Hidden Cloud are always known for their insane levels of speed.' so with this in mind, he bent his chakra arms in an attempt to land the Rasenshuriken from behind.

However, the Third Raikage still managed to dodge it, though this time he ended up losing part of his belt.

'Perfect, now when it comes back to me…' Tatsu landed on the ground and was able to catch the Rasenshuriken with his bare hand, then blitzed in front of the Third Raikage 'And now that I'm this close, there's no way he can dodge it!' he slammed the Rasenshuriken into the Third Raikage's gut, sending him flying back and engulfing him in the explosion that followed.

Temari and the rest of the Fourth Division were nearly blown away by the sheer force as a result of the explosion 'The power of this wind style is incredible, if it's like this from here then this could actually work.'

Tatsu landed back on the ground "Alright guys you might wanna get to it, that won't keep him down for long."

"Right!" two members of the Sealing Unit charged in and wrapped the Third Raikage in the sealing cloth in an attempt to seal him away.

'And shit hits the fan in 3, 2, 1…'

Sure enough, the Third Raikage suddenly burst upwards and cut himself free of the cloth before they could restrict his movements.

"How did I know this was gonna happen?"

"My lord third Raikage…" Dodai muttered "You're strength is so great that it's truly quite frightening."

"I figured he'd be tougher than the others but I didn't think that not even the Rasenshuriken would work on him."

"The look in lord third's eyes changed a moment ago, it appears that he's been completely taken over." Dodai watched as the Third Raikage held up one hand, coating it with a thick layer of lightning style chakra "No, could that be… All of you men, get as far away from Lord Raikage as you can! Hurry, and you Earth Style shinobi get to the front and get a wall up right away!"

"Everyone link up! Earth Style: Great Mud Wall!" a large number of Hidden Stone shinobi formed a large layer of rock walls.

"Come Tatsu, we must retreat!"

"I figured as much." Tatsu grabbed Dodai using one of his chakra arms and pulled them over the wall.

The Third Raikage burst forward towards the wall.

"Lava Style: Rubber Wall!" Dodai reinforced the earth wall with a wall of rubber lava infused with his chakra.

"So what's the point of this part?" asked Naruto.

"We're up against Lord Third and his most powerful ninjutsu, the Piercing Four Fingered Thrust of Hell. He pours lightning style chakra into the tips of his fingers, the strike compliments his lightning style just perfectly."

"Just like the Chidori and the Raijin stuff that Sasuke uses or Kakashi's Lightning Blade- Oh yeah it looks like he's about to break through. We should probably get out of the way."

"Everyone hurry and get as far away from here as possible right now, there isn't much time!"

But of course, they had to get cocky "Like hell we will, since we know where he's gonna come through we should all focus on that spot. Besides I wouldn't mind a little bit of payback for all of the times we missed this guy before now, everyone on guard!"

"Stop this foolishness!" Temari barked "Listen to what the Hidden Cloud shinobi is trying to tell you!"

"Come on, we have to move!" Dodai grabbed Tatsu and dragged him atop a plateau as a good chunk of the rest of the division was slaughtered by the Third Raikage, who had switched to three fingers "Those damned fools, they just doomed themselves the minute they charged in the way they did."

"What's the deal with that jutsu anyway? From what I could sense it's way tougher than it was before and with that he blew off a Rasenshuriken like it was nothing."

"That's how the Thrust of Hell works, the less fingers he uses the more focused the energy becomes and thus the greater the overall power of his attack. It's the invincible spear of Lord Third, and he's able to handle it because his Lightning Style also makes his body completely impenetrable. It's his ultimate shield."

"So what then, he's not even human?"

"It's been told that he's the only shinobi to go into battle with a Tailed Beast head to head both unarmored and unarmed, he is the strongest shinobi in the history of the Hidden Cloud."

"Good to know. So then how do you explain that?"

"How do I explain what?"

"That lightning bolt shaped scar on the left side of his chest, if he's as impenetrable as you say he is then how did he get that? He didn't even flinch against a head on Rasenshuriken so what gives?"

"Oh you mean that? He was wounded when he stopped the Eight Tails when it was on a rampage, Lord Third Raikage fought him one on one in battle in order to protect the Hidden Cloud."

"So what then, it took a Tailed Beast to break through to him?"

"He had claimed it to be the most shameful moment of his entire life, but aside from that he never spoke further or gave any details or explanations as to how he had acquired it. Not even Lord Fourth Raikage ever learned of the exact details."

"So he got injured while he was fighting the Eight Tails, and the most powerful jutsu in the arsenal of a Tailed Beast… Well I can't do that and got knows I'm not gonna wait for Naruto to get here. That being said, I've got one other thing I've been dying to try out." he materialized two more chakra arms, a golden Rasenshuriken forming in front of him "I've been wanting to try this out in the real word for ages! Golden Wheel Rebirth Rasenshuriken!" he prepared to fire it off, only for it to dissipate and for his Tenseigan Chakra Mode to run out, causing him to revert back to his normal form "Well that's just f*cking perfect, I'm still not totally used to using this new power."

"I don't suppose you have any other plans to defeat him?"

"Well I've got one idea but I need to get into contact with Killer B and the Eight Tails, you have any idea as to how I can do that?"

"You can go through the Com Corp and have and then have Captain Inoichi Yamanaka of the Intel Unit connect you with Lord B."

"Alright so where the hell is the nearest member of the Com Corp?"

"It just so happens that you're in luck, I myself happen to be a member of the Com Corp."

"And just like that you've already become that much more awesome."

"Tatsu watch out!" Temari barked.

"Hold that thought." Tatsu summoned a quick Rasengan, which he slammed into the Third Raikage's gut at point blank range, sending him tumbling back down to the ground "You might wanna get on that rubber guy."

"Of course." Dodai formed a hand seal to get into contact with Inoichi.

"Lord Dodai of the Hidden Cloud village, what do you need?"

"I'm with Tatsu Kamikaze right now, he needs to get into contact with Lord Killer B and the Eight Tails, can you arrange that as quickly as possible?"

"I doubt I'm gonna have much time, knowing that f*cking powerhouse he'll probably just regenerate right away."

"You are correct, whatever you have to say you'd best make it quick."

"I gotcha."

"Tatsu let me get this straight, you want to talk to Killer B and the Eight Tails? I thought you were supposed to be with them along with Naruto and Utakata."

'The real me is but I'm just a Shadow Clone who's fighting the undead Third Raikage who brushed off a Rasenshuriken like it was nothing, anyway I need to talk to the Eight Tails and fast and I don't have any time to waste so we've gotta make it snappy!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The skies were calm over the forest.

Killer B was in the middle of, let's just call it emptying his tank "Oh yeah that's how we do it, fool ya fool."

"Naruto and the others have gone on ahead. Hurry up with your business, it's taking forever!"

"The urge to pee is beyond one's control you see-"

"Hey Killer B it's me Tatsu, listen I've gotta talk to the Eight Tails about something so can you switch him out for me?"

'Hey man relieving one's self takes concentration so right now just let me focus solely on my urination. This just isn't the time for your kind of interrogation-'

"Stop rhyming and switch out!"

"I've already switched places with that idiot Tatsu, what's going on with you? You seem to be in some kind of hurry."

"I am. Listen Eight Tails, you went up against the Third Raikage before a long time ago didn't you?"

"Yeah that's right, he was really strong and could face some serious punishment. One time he even managed to cut off all of my tails with his strongest move, the One Fingered Thrust of Hell."

"So what did you do to give the old tank with the beard that gigantic scar on his chest?"

"Huh, wait you mean that old thing? Well I guess it was with my Tailed Beast Bomb, or maybe not. I don't know, it's all kind of hazy for me. He and I both collapsed on the ground totally spent and yet still poized and ready to attack. I don't remember much beyond that."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Tatsu's eyes snapped open, blue markings appearing across his face 'Well it may not be the power of the Tenseigan but lucky for me Sage Mode can still kick some serious ass. Thanks for the info Eight Tails.'

Dodai frowned slightly 'This chakra feels different from before.'

"You said your name was Dodai right? I can sense that the Third Raikage is on his way here right now, there's something that I wanna try out so you just hang back here for a second."

"...I understand." and he leapt back.

'God I hope to high f*cking hell this works.'

The Third Raikage burst onto the scene, charging at Tatsu at high speeds, his One Fingered Thrust of Hell armed and ready.

"Come on big guy, time to end this! Rasengan!" Tatsu charged a Sage Mode powered Rasengan and burst forward 'I bet his so called invincible spear is supposed to rip off my arms and legs like they're nothing, but thanks to the power of Sage Mode I can sense danger over a way rider range and it's way faster so now I just have to get out of the way before that shaft of death hits me!' he ducked under the Thrust of Hell at the last second and slammed his Rasengan into the Third Raikage's arm, sending it and the One Fingered Thrust of Hell right through the scar on his chest.

The Third Raikage's body began crumpling as a result of the attack, allowing the Sealing Unit to seal him away for good, drawing cheers from the alliance members.

"Invincible shield my ass."

Dodai made his way over to Tatsu "So that scare on his chest, that must have been how it happened."

"Yep, looks like it."

"That was quite the impressive move but tell me, how did you figure it out?"

"When I talked to the Eight Tails told me that back when he had fought against the Third Raikage both of them fell forward ready to attack, when I heard that I had figured that he may have just got that scar by stabbing himself in the chest with his own move. After all, if he's got an invincible shield than what better to break through it than the invincible spear? That was probably why he was always so embarrassed about it."

"A shinobi with an invincible spear and an impenetrable shield, it certainly does pose quite the paradox."

"I was actually thinking more along the lines of the immovable object vs the unstoppable force but I guess that works too."

"I suppose that is enough proof that Lord Third's spear was more powerful than his shield."

"I don't think there is such thing as an invincible shield, but if I had to pick who has the best shield then it would probably be Gaara."

"Amen to that."

Tatsu looked up and saw Naruto drop in just as his Nine Tails Chakra Mode ran out "Took you long enough."

"Sorry I kind of got mixed up on where the battle was."

"...You're still an idiot."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Despite being shot in the back by the Second Mizukage, Onoki was revealed to be a Sand Clone, courtesy of Gaara, who attempted to seal the Second Mizukage using his Grand Sand Mausoleum, only to be thwarted when the Second Mizukage unleashed his most dangerous jutsu, the Steam Imp.

Despite the Steam Imp thwarting a good number of attempts at sealing the Second Mizukage away, Gaara was eventually able to stop it using his sand mixed with some of the Fourth Kazekage's gold dust to halt the movements of the Steam Imp and stop its repeated explosions by keeping it cool.

Greatly impressed by this feat, the Second Mizukage allowed himself to be sealed while claiming Gaara to be the golden egg amongst the current 5 Kage.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Amongst the ruins of another battlefield, it had turned out that right before Naruto had struck him with a Planetary Rasengan, Mu had used his Fission Jutsu to literally split himself into two different beings.

Unable to break the seal on the other half, Kabuto contemplated his next move so that we would be able to buy enough time to summon his trump card.

And that was when the war would truly begin…

A/N:

And with this chapter, not only do we finally get to see the reanimated Itachi in action and in all of his glory, as well as a reunion between brothers, but on a much more pleasant note, at least given the circumstances.

Just for the sake of clarification, the random quotes in italics that show up are by Kabuto controlling the reanimated Shinobi, for those who couldn't follow that. I figured that switching between scenes showing the battlefronts and having Kabuto there in person would be way too tiresome, so this is the fix that I came up with.