Chapter 3
Tobirama leaned against the rock that hid him from the eyes of Obito’s clones. Ten. Each of them making rounds around the tree waiting for any attack. He had to pass with caution, the enemy's sharingan could easily spot him if he wasn't careful. Maybe he could try to dig a tunnel under him and come out near the tree. The problem was that he was not an expert in Doton jutsus. He knew how to do several but most were offensive and not stealthy. Otherwise there was the option of the Hidden Mist Jutsu but there was the risk of the enemy using a counter jutsu to get rid of the mist or using a large scale jutsu on the area they were in. They were only clones but he didn’t doubt that their chakra would be much larger than most shinobi out there.
" SO ? » Sasuke asked behind him also looking at the clones. "The clones surely don’t have the same resistance to jutsus as the original, surely we can take them by surprise."
"Don't underestimate the power of this Uchiha, boy. » Tobirama replied without looking away. “It is highly likely that they share the protective attributes of Juubi's chakra. And even if we could beat them it would bring back the original. We must be stealthy. Do you two have stealth techniques? Alone I can manage but with you two in tow we risk getting caught. »
“I don't know much. And most risk being seen by the Sharingan of the clones. »
" I see. How about you Naruto? » He got no response. Tobirama turned to Naruto and saw him staring into space.
"Naruto wake up. Stop thinking about your father. » Sasuke said, not taking a glove to speak to his teammate. Naruto paid him no attention and remained motionless.
Thanks to Naruto who had distracted Obito with his clone they had been able to escape the jinchuriki, Tobirama had been forced to remove the piece of skin where the Hiraishin mark was with one of the black sticks created by Obito. Now He had a hole in his throat but at least he was no longer traceable. Alas the reason for Naruto's condition was due to the fact that he had not been able to save his father who soon after had been disintegrated. Naruto found himself without a father again.
“Naruto. » Tobirama walked over and stood in front of Naruto forcing him to look at him. Even face to face Naruto didn't seem to be there. Then to the great means the great remedies. Tobirama raised his fist and punched Naruto in the face. The Uzumaki fell to the ground and finally woke up from his trance to look angrily at Tobirama.
“ Hey what’s your problem?! »
" Shut up ! » Tobirama shouted. Naruto stopped short.
"It's time to wake up. We are in a war. Death toll is already in the thousands for the shinobis. You won't be able to save everyone, let alone the dead. Your father died years ago to protect the village so don't just stand there because you couldn't save someone who's already dead. »
Naruto clenched his fist and stood up.
"You think I don't know? It is precisely because he died so long ago that I regret not having been able to save him. The first time he died protecting me and now he is being killed again by his student. It is unfair. »
" So what ? Do you think your case is unique? I no longer count the number of shinobis who have lost their parents without ever having been able to say goodbye to them. I saw my mother, my father and two of my brothers die at the hands of the Uchiha clan. Then Madara and Hashirama created the village in hopes of ending its losses. But that didn't stop anything. Madara betrayed the village and Hashirama my last brother died in my arms leaving me to be the new Hokage. You think I wanted to take this job after all this? No, but that's the way of the shinobi, never let emotion control you and fight for such a situation never to come back. »
Tobirama could see Naruto's frustration as tears welled up in his eyes. The Hokage closed his eyes and sighed.
"Ask yourself the question Naruto, would your father want you to feel sorry for him? Or would he want you to fight to stop this man who no longer believes in anything? »
Sasuke silently watched the interaction while observing the clones' movements. Luckily they were far too far away to hear the screams. Naruto looked at Tobirama then stood up. He sighed and then relaxed his limbs.
“He would want me to fight. »
The Second Hokage then smiled and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder to give him some comfort.
"I didn't hit too hard?" »
Naruto then laughed and rubbed his cheek. “Well, without lying, it stung a little. You have strength in your fists, Lord Second. But do not worry. So what do we do ? »
" Covered. » Sasuke muttered seeing one of the clones hovering over the area. The three hid under some debris and watched as the clone ran over them.
"I ask again... Do any of you have stealth jutsus?"
“Stealth isn't really my thing. » Said Naruto looking embarrassed that he couldn't rush into the pile like he used to.
" I see. In that case I'll try to lure them out while you two pass undetected. » Obito's clone walked away and Tobirama made the ram seal to create two clones of him. The clones took on the appearance of Naruto and Sasuke and prepared to leave.
“I will put my marks on you to join you after having attracted them. »
"Why not just send a clone of you? If Obito catches you, you won't be able to use the Hiraishin. »
" It's a risk to take. Don't worry about me Naruto, I'm already dead. Nothing bad can happen to me. And if he touches me but sees that none of us are the real ones he will immediately understand that the tree is targeted. Ready ? »
The two nodded and Tobirama waited for an opening.
“Go! » Tobirama and his clones came out of hiding and ran towards the tree attracting the attention of the clones of Obito.
Of the ten, five of them went to meet Tobirama while Naruto and Sasuke quietly passed behind them. They heard the start of the fight as several Suiton attacks were launched against the clones before the noises got further and further away from them.
"Well now there are only five left. It will be easier to reach the tree. » Sasuke said staring at the five Obito clones watching the confrontation with Tobirama from afar.
"Yeah hoping the other five don't show up."
“We have to trust the second Hokage to keep them at bay. Just worry about those in front of us Naruto. »
“Yeah yeah I know, well shall we go? »
Sasuke rushed forward with Naruto behind him. They passed under a root of the divine tree and advanced into the blind spots of the clones. They ran for several minutes until they reached the top of the tree trunk.
" Here ? » Sasuke asked, looking at Naruto who was cross-legged on the ground, closing his eyes.
"Yeah we're close, I'll try to connect from here." The sage marks appeared on Naruto's eyes and he approached the bark of the tree. He put his hand on it and closed his eyes.
“The chakra within is intense. It's similar to that of Juubi, almost identical even. »
"So you can sense them?"
“Yeah but… I can't do anything from here. The source is too far. »
“Can you locate it? »
“Yeah, the spring is up the tree. It is the vertex that emits the most chakra. » He opened his eyes and let go of the tree to look at Sasuke.
“That complicates things. There is a high risk of being spotted by the clones during the climb. »
“Do we have any other choice ? » Naruto asked rhetorically.
Sasuke didn't bother to answer that. Instead he scanned the surroundings with his sharingan and jumped in a direction followed closely by Naruto. Head to the top.
Obito exited the Kamui dimension and looked at the shinobis around him. Several recoiled in shock upon seeing him appear but didn't have time to scream before Obito's orbs of truth crashed to the ground and caused a cross-shaped explosion around him. The explosion caught everyone's attention and they saw Obito fly up into the sky. All prepared for the jinchuriki's next attack but none came.
Obito looked towards the divine tree and frowned. The Rinnegan did not usurp its reputation as the greatest dojutsu. As he allowed Nagato to see through the bodies he controlled, he allowed Obito to see through his clones and therefore see the fight with Tobirama who avoided the clones' attacks by reflecting his own attacks. Since Hachibi refused to show himself even under the threat of death, he might as well shave them all at once and come back to protect the tree. The jinchuriki will be forced to intervene to prevent the tree from flowering anyway.
So Obito started to gather his chakra and did the mudras to trigger his attack. At least he would have if a steel-hard stick hadn't dug into his stomach and knocked him to the ground. The staff retracted and Obito stood up to look at the owner of the weapon.
« Sarutobi. »
“Obito. » The old Hokage said with a hard look although Obito could make out a slight sadness. "I find it hard to believe it's really you."
“Yes normally the dead stay dead but I stopped caring about what is possible or not a long time ago. »
“You're not going anywhere. » Said the Hokage preparing to fight, the monkey Enma in hand.
"Do you really think you can stop me?" Asked Obito.
" No. But I can delay you. »
He accentuated his remarks by throwing himself on him opting for taijutsu. Obito raised his scepter and prepared to block the incoming blow when Hiruzen thrust his staff into the ground and hovered over him. Obito followed him with his gaze but was taken by surprise when a second Hiruzen, hiding in the shadow of the first, buried his staff in his ribs. The first Hiruzen him finished landing in his back and sent his own weapon to sink into the opposite side of the ribs which would surely break them if his body was less resistant. But in case he wasn't going to test. Instead he activated kamui and the sticks went through him. Obito jumped in the air and disabling kamui made a rotation to break the neck of the two Hokage. But the two disappeared in a cloud of smoke upon contact leaving Obito to wonder where the original was. A spike of heat from the ground gave him his answer as a torrent of flame shot up from the ground and engulfed him. He didn't bother to dodge the attack, the heat didn't bother him.
When the attack dissolved he found himself surrounded by five Hiruzen each preparing a different elemental attack. Who said the bullshit that no one can master the five elements? Most high-level ninjas mastered at least four. The first three Hokage, Kakashi, Danzo, Madara. Even he had managed to subdue them all before he transplanted the Rinnegan.
Too bad it's completely unnecessary. Obito was left wondering if he should absorb the attacks, let them touch him, or just let them pass through him. He opted for the latter wondering if one of their attacks would hit the one opposite.
There was a massive elemental reaction as the five attacks collided destroying the ground he was standing on. Obito walked out of the explosion. He looked at the clones who were all glaring at him and preparing to attack again.
Obito raised his hands and turned them towards the clones. "Senpo: Ranton Koga"
Several rays of chakra appeared from his fingertips and shot through the clones. They disappeared in turn and Obito looked for the original. He took a step forward and a rock gave a puff of smoke replaced by Sarutobi who, clapping his hands together shouted.
«Fūinjutsu: Shiki Fūjin»
Obito, for the first time since becoming Juubi's jinchuriki, felt a semblance of worry come over him as the Shinigami appeared like a ghost behind the Hokage's back. Obito directly activated kamui hoping to get through the attack but the ghost god's hand went through the Hokage and clung to him.
'Kamui didn't work?'
Other Sarutobi’s clones with Enma in his monkey form appeared and grabbed his arms preventing him from countering the attack.
"It's over Obito." Said the Hokage starting to pull Obito's soul. The jinchuriki gritted his teeth and struggled to free his arms. He tried to activate Shinra Tensei but his chakra control was disrupted.
"Barely out of the Shinigami and already ready to go back Sarutobi?" Obito asked the old man who was looking at him with a steely gaze.
"I was prepared to spend the rest of eternity there before I was released. If this technique can save the ninja world from your plans then there is no reason to hesitate. I will correct another one of my mistakes."
"So noble of you, you tried to do the same to Orochimaru and look what happened? Do you really hope you can take my soul away from me that easily?"
"Against Orochimaru I was old and wounded. Now nothing can slow me down. You will come with me in death Obito." The ghost arm fired and Obito's soul started to come out.
Obito seeing that his arms were of no help opted for his feet. All shinobi knew how to use their chakra in their feet to hold onto walls and other surfaces. Few, on the other hand, thinked of using this chakra control to launch attacks. Obito focused his chakra in the soles of his feet and said.
"Katon: fiery emission."
A great wave of flame surged beneath Obito's feet and burned the clones and Enma freeing his arms. The real Sarutobi was also hit by the attack but being a revived Edo Tensei he didn't feel the heat. The damage inflicted was already repairing itself.
« Enma are you alright ? » Asked the Hokage looking at the burned monkey.
« Aaaahh… Not good Hiruzen. »
« Leave now, I will hold him alone. »
« Are you sure old man ? »
« Do not worrie, your survival is more important. »
The monkey slowly nod his head and sais goodbye before disappearing.
"That won't be enough Obito." Said Sarutobi looking into Obito’s eyes.
"No indeed. That on the other hand." Hiruzen felt Obito's arm hit his chest and felt his own soul being pulled out of his body.
"Nothing can slow you down you said? I wouldn't be so sure. The difference between us is that I won't be dead when I took your soul away from you."
Sarutobi gritted his teeth as he felt his control over the technique waver. But he planted his feet firmly and pulled with all his might.
"In this case the first to remove the soul of the other wins." Obito saw a smirk forming on the Hokage's lips.
"What's so funny?"
"What's the first lesson we teach ninja teams in Konoha?" he asked chuckling.
Obito thought about the question and remembered the first day under Minato.
' Teamwork.'
Obito looked back and saw Shikamaru Nara accompanied by Juugo. The traitor was using the level two of his cursed mark and had a disturbed look on his face.
Juugo saw Shikamaru give him the green light and he charged at Obito creating a roar with every step.
"I'm going to smash you! Ahaha!"
Juugo could use sage chakra. If he touched him in this position Sarutobi could take his soul and that would be the end of him.
If he could touch it of course.
Obito let go of Sarutobi's soul who looked at him confusedly and Juugo managed to carry the Jinchuriki in his fist. Time seemed to stand still for Sarutobi as Obito stared into his eyes with a blank stare. Then the second after Juugo's fist passed through Obito's skull to crash on the ground between the two ninjas and more importantly, through the arm of the Shinigami. The ghostly arm trembled upon sensing the new presence and the hand let go of Obito's soul to cling to Juugo's who found himself unable to move. The feeling on his soul being grabbed brought Juugo to his senses and he looked at the arm going through him. Sarutobi reacted and tried to let go of poor Juugo's soul but the arm refused to let go. The Shinigami pulled Juugo's soul out of his body himself as Obito waatched.
"It was a finely crafted plan I admit. So far you are the only ones who have come this close to taking me down. You should feel proud."
Sarutobi gritted his teeth trying to hold back the arm that kept pulling.
"How did you do it? Your Kamui shouldn't have worked."
"Kamui is an art that I have been perfecting for years. The cells of the First Hokage implanted in my body allowed me to keep my eye intact without the harmful effects of the Mangekyou appearing. The shinigami prevented me from using number of techniques to get out of this situation but it does not prevent me from using the natural assets that I have such as my arms, my legs, my mouth, or my eye.
All the surrounding ninja watched in fear as the jinchuriki raised an arm and one of the truth seeking orb pierced the Hokage in the chest. Obito made the mudra of the tiger and the orb inside the body deformed and black spikes pierced the Hokage from all sides immobilizing his arms and legs.
"It's over." Said the jinchuriki watching the Shinigami's arm finish its work. Juugo tried in vain to hold back the arm but the ghostly God was determined to leave with his two souls. He had to make up for his four losses earlier in the day.
Obito turned to the surrounding shinobi and stared at them defying them to attack. Shikamaru stared at his motionless teammates not knowing what to do. Eventually a handful decided to run at them in desperation to free the Hokage but Obito released them with a wave of his hand sending the ninjas flying through the air.
"Don't come any closer!" shouted Sarutobi who had almost finished extracting Juugo's soul. "Don't waste your life for a dead man. Worry about finding a way to get rid of him."
Shikamaru clenched his fist and couldn't find anything to say that didn't go the way of the Hokage. At the point where they were it was already finish for them. The Shinigami never lets go. Then with shame he shouted the following words:
"We fall back!"
All did as requested, reluctantly for some, with relief for others, which left only the three combatants.
"It's futile and you know it Sarutobi. No one can stop me anymore."
"You are becoming arrogant Obito. This will be your downfall."
Obito then burst out laughing. The sound was cold and devoid of heat then he turned to the Hokage.
"What is there to lose? The divine tree will soon bloom. After that all will be just a very beautiful dream."
"That you came to this is unfortunate. Where did the child who wanted to become Hokage go?"
"Please Sarutobi, don't make a fool of yourself in your final moments. Obito Uchiha died under the rocks of the Kanabi Bridge mission. So save your talk about the will of fire or whatever other bullshit a Hokage can rant. »
Sarutobi looked at Obito in silence, the Shinigami had almost finished his job. Juugo had become calm, almost at peace with his situation. The bodies of shinobi littered the battlefield and this man stood in the middle, an aura as cold as death.
"Rin would be disappointed of you Obito."
Obito's Sharingan glowed a blood red color and the ball of truth inside Sarutobi exploded, destroying his body and allowing the Shinigami to rip out the souls of the two ninjas. Juugo's body fell to the ground lifeless and Obito watched the Shinigami devour the souls before staring at him. Obito stared the deity in the eyes and waited. Slowly the ghost dissipated leaving Obito alone above the corpses.
"I know."