War
But in the meantime the Elements had heard of his plan, and scattered as they were, they united against him, and together they said No.No, they said, not with loud bravado, but with quiet desperation and steady determination; Traitor, Sun-eater, Bringer of Chaos and Bringer of Ruin, no. You ate the Sun that shone for you, you chose the Earth that deceived you, no, we will never stand aside for you, and though we may die, we will never let you bring us down. Destroyer, you may destroy us, but we will never give up, never surrender.
And the villages sent everything they had, their best and their worst, their leaders and their followers, their jounin and their genin, they sent their all for if they failed here, then they would have no future, nothing to save and hold back for. Five armies marched then, five armies and more. Five armies with a common hitai-ate. We are Shinobi, they said. Konoha or Iwa, Suna or Kawa, all shinobi who fought for common cause.
Sun-eater heard their coming through his Earth heart, for it beat in time with their drums. And his Earth heart raised an army to match them; an army of plant-monsters who rose out of the earth to face the shinobi, an army of plant-monsters with thorn-claws and Venus-flytrap-teeth who melted out of the ground without warning in their midst, and tried to eat their enemies.
The Shinobi army was brave, though, and quick, and more importantly, they were committed. We will hold back these monsters, they cried. Press on, whoever can, we will protect your back. Press on, and worry not of the fate of those who remain behind, for we are skilled and steadfast, and we burn with the Will of Fire. And so, though the main bulk of the army was stopped, still many pressed inexorably onwards, towards the Sun-eater's lair.
When Sun-eater saw his plan had failed, he gnashed his teeth and tore his hair. But his Earth heart called to his plant-monsters, who had eaten the bodies of the dead, and his plant-monsters absorbed the power of their victims, and rose again, stronger, plant-zombies who wore the likeness of the dead, and attacked with the faces of loved ones.
The plant-zombies stood in front of those who had pressed forwards, and lied to them, and told them that they, too, had managed to escape the plant-monsters, and they stood ready to help them. But Earth recognized Earth, and knew their lies, and the Shinobi trusted their Earth, ever constant, and battle joined again. The elite nin of all the villages: Konoha's Twelve Guardian Ninja, Kiri's Seven Swordsmen, Suna's Puppet Brigade, Iwa's Explosion Corps and Kumo's Kinkaku Force all joined to engage these plant-zombies, and to allow their comrades to slip through, away and onwards.
Now Sun-eater's Earth heart raged too, and he called on the Snake's Apprentice, and he helped him raise an army of the dead, the noblest of heroes, the most horrific of monsters, and the most heartbreaking of loved ones, and he arrayed them at the mouth of his lair.
By this time, the Shinobi army consisted of the Kage and their apprentices, and the jinchuuriki and their teams. And arrayed against them was an army bigger than them, for the dead so often outnumber the living. But the Nara seal-master [1] took out her ink and she quickly drew a seal that did not explode, but did break the control of the Snake's Apprentice.
The dead were heroes as well as monsters, and the loved ones of the apprentice's enemies. Broken of their control, confused by being so rudely drawn from the pure world, chaos reigned. And in the confusion, Team Seven slipped away, as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon.