Chapter 45
KUSHINA UZUMAKI
Pain ripped through her entire being as she found herself hung with chains between two massive pillars. Her head spun, as the corrosive bijuu chakra ate away at her, as she lay there lifted into the air by the fuinjutsu chains wrapped around her arms and legs, as the stranger stared at her.
"Who are you?" she gasped, as the seal continued to deteriorate further and further, and a part of her felt that these this could be it for her.
"Have you forgotten about me so quickly?" and at those words, her brows tightened as she focused on that mask, and it took a few seconds for it to click together.
"It is you," she finally recognized him. It was the very man who had attacked Izuna-kun after the Kiri mission, the one shinobi who had suddenly vanished into thin air.
And yet, as she sensed his chakra, it felt both ancient and familiar in a way. As if it was a blend of two chakras, rather than being a single entity.
"What do you want?" she asked, as the man stepped forward.
"I wish to remake this world, and for that I must have the nine tails inside of you," and her mind was a blur of emotions. Fear, anger, remorse, sadness, it was a mess.
The cave she was in was littered with seals, and she could guess their purpose. Their opponent, whoever it was, had planned it well, and so they must be aware of Minato's Hiraishin, and the seals must be to counter him.
As for the one's keeping her in place, their purpose was obvious. He wished to destroy the Nine Tails seal.
And suddenly she saw those eyes shift, as those black orbs were replaced by the familiar doujutsu of the Uchiha clan.
"The Sharingan..." she gasped, as suddenly she felt her body burn, as the Nine tails chakra cloaked her.
"AHHHHH!" she screamed, as she felt his foreign chakra invade her body, entering her mindscape, as it approached the sealed form of the Nine tails.
"NOOOOO!" she gasped, as tears slipped down her face as she saw him form a tiger seal as the fuinjutsu around the Nine tails began to unravel.
"NINE TAI....." and her body burned as the bijuu's chakra tried to break apart the seal with his help, when suddenly he was forced to stop, as Kushina saw kunai cut through the air, and pass right through the masked man's body, before exploding.
BOOM! BOOM!
CLING! CLING!
The chains keeping her in place were cut off as well. As she fell down, heading towards the platform, suddenly, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, cushioning her fall. As she opened her eyes and looked up to see who it was, it took her a second to recognise him.
"YOU!" she heard the masked nin snarl in rage as he stepped out of the debris.
"I was wondering where you were..."
"...Izuna Uchiha," and it was him. It was Izuna, and he had changed. His eyes now had the markings around them, and his irises were different as well, straighter and thinner, similar to Orochimaru-san's eyes.
"You are back," she whispered as Izuna-kun lay her down.
"I am sorry for being late," he said with a smile, as his eyes spun and were replaced, by the Sharingan in an instant as he stepped forward.
"Congratulations on becoming a mother," he said, reminding her of her son as he cracked his knuckles, when suddenly another figure appeared right behind her.
This one she recognized in an instant, with his blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Minato!" she gasped, in relief and pain as her husband knelt besides her looking, his face contorted with rage, and yet as soon as he saw her, she saw those eyes light up as he glanced up at Izuna-kun.
"Thank you," he said, as her apprentice nodded.
"Take her and focus on the village," added Izuna-kun as he took out his tanto and focused on the masked nin who seemed to be seething, as his chakra roared at his command.
"Leave this one to me," and Minato nodded as he cradled her in his arms and turned towards Izuna-kun for one last time.
"Just hold on, I will be bac...."
"Where do you think you are going...." and suddenly the masked nin screamed, as she began to feel her body twist and turn. It felt similar to how she had felt when, the masked man had teleported her to this cave.
Yet the pressure suddenly vanished, as the masked-nin suddenly gasped as he screamed and held his face.
"AGHHH!" and Minato's expression told her that this was not his doing.
And that meant, and her head snapped towards Izuna-kun and as she felt his chakra, she noticed the chakra in one of his eyes grow cold, as the masked nin screamed.
"What have you done! Tell me what have you done!" the masked nin screamed, as Izuna-kun turned towards Minato and her once more.
"Go! He won't be able to use his teleportation abilities anymore." That was both a surprise and a relief, as Minato nodded.
And then suddenly she felt her surroundings shift, and in an instant she was no longer in that cave. No, this time, she found herself in a small white room, with but a single bed in the centre, upon which lay a crying child.
Her child.
"Naruto," she cried out in relief and pain as Minato nestled her beside their child.
"Rest. I will handle everything." And she held her child, who was no larger than her palms, as Minato placed a hand on her seal and began to rework it.
"The village," she eeked out, as the bijuu chakra burning pain through her body began to lessen, as her seal was strengthened.
"The village will be just fine. You just stay here," he assured her, but she could sense his apprehension and worry.
But more than that, this enemy of theirs. The masked nin. Before Minato had carried her away, she had been able to fully sense his chakra, and yet she could not believe what she had found.
Her mind raced as she wondered if she should mention her suspicion to Minato at all, and then as he finished repairing her seal.
"I must go now," he said, and just as he was about to turn, she grabbed his hand, stopping him.
"Wait," she called out, knowing that she must voice it out, if not for him then for the village.
"There is something I must tell you about the masked nin who attacked us...."
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IZUNA UCHIHA
In the ninja world, there were a few ways one could solve a problem. You could destroy it with your fists, you could burn it to a crisp with your ninjutsu, or you could put it our of your mind with genjutsu.
And you could do all that with funinjutsu. That and much more.
When he had first begun his foray into the art of sealing, he had begun with a very singular aim. Untraceable tracking seals.
It was a unique concept, but one which he was able to perfect in a few years, as he gained a mastery in the field, and then he had simply planted in on the people he was concerned about.
His entire family had a seal planted on them, even though they did not know about it. He had hoped to do the sae with Kushina-san and Minato-san, yet he had held off for despite the seal's ability, the two of them were fuinjutsu masters, and would not like it if he planted a seal on their bodies.
Though Obito Uchiha was no such master. And so, fearing a day such as today, Izuna had taken pre-emptive action as he placed a seal on the Uchiha senior, hoping that he would not have to use it.
Well, that was wishful thinking on his part.
But he had done it. He had saved Kushina-san, and as he looked down at the snarling form of Obito, he knew that he had won.
"What have you done!" Obito snarled in rage, and this was his biggest gambit yet.
All those who awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan obtained unique doujutsu, and Obito's prowess was one of the more deadlier ones.
Kamui. One of his eyes allowed him to warp space and time around himself, while the other allowed him to do so for any object and body within his sight. Even with a singular eye, Obito had managed to cause unimaginable havoc, getting the ability to go toe-to-toe with a man like Minato-san.
Both of them together, and that was a disaster in the making.
He had hoped to use fuinjutsu to control him, everything that he had tried had failed forcing him to rely on his greatest trump card.
"My eyes! I cannot use them," Obito raged, as he glared at him, as Izuna felt his vision shift, as one of his eyes turned dark, losing its vision for three years as a cost of the miracle, he had just donned.
For just like Obito, he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan as well.
And while one of his eyes allowed him to cast an extremely potent mind-bending genjutsu, the other eye had an ability equally if not even more feral.
Shitsokumi, it allowed him to seal of a specific ability of his opponent, and yet it came at a great cost. For using this ability, robbed him of his sight in that eye as well, and now for the next three years Izuna would have to fight and survive without his left eye.
"That technique of yours," he began as he jumped towards Obito, and landed in front of him a few paces away as he continued.
"It is quite a nice trick, teleporting to and from places as you choose. But I am afraid, the only place you will be going to now will either be a prison cell or a grave deep underground," and his words stilled the masked-nin whose eyes widened as he looked at his Sharingan.
"I see," Obito began, calming down, slightly as he realised what had happened.
"So, you possess them as well. The Mangekyo Sharingan." he chuckled as clasped his face.
"Hahah, I should have expected that. But no matter, do you really think you can defeat me?" and Izuna got into his stance, tanto in hand, as his sole eye spun at his command.
"Of course, I can..." and then he blurred, as a dozen clones appeared all around him, and approached Obito from all sides, as the chain around him trying to cut him into two yet the attacks simple passed through his body, as Izuna swung his own blade.
"...Obito!"
And the change was instant, as those eyes widened, as he realised that Izuna knew of his true identity. His reaction was but a second off, as Izuna's blade tore through his flesh, , cutting of his arm, as he jumped back in agony.
The flesh fell to the ground, yet it was not flesh. No, it was white and slimy.
"How?" and for the first time in their battle his voice shook as Izuna pslashed his blade through the air, cleaning the blood off of it, with a swing as he refused.
"I will be happy to tell you once you are dead...."
And so, the battle ensued. As Obito quickly brought up his hand, as he spewed a torrent of fire at him.
"Katon: Fireball jutsu!" and he was shaken and disgruntled, as Izuna simply brought up his own hand as he retaliated in kind.
"Katon: Fireball Jutsu!" and yet his flames were different, the blue of them made them hotter and stronger than Obito's technique, as he began to be pushed back.
He had come to rely too heavily on his Mangekyo's ability, and without it, he was as skilled as a regular jounin. But Izuna had crossed that milestone years ago.
BOOOM!
The area exploded as Izuna lowered his body, avoiding the shuriken he had thrown towards him, and he began to cycle through another set of handseals.
"Raiton:..." he called out as he began to gather chakra in his hand, as those eyes narrowed.
"That technique!" Obito snarled as the chakra shifted and lightning began to race up and down his arm as Izuna held a literal storm of lightning in his hand.
"How dare you! How dare you!" he snarled. Izuna's feet dug into the ground, and Obito began to cycle through another set of handseals.
"I should have killed you that day!" he snarled.
"I don't know what happened to you, Obito. But I am going to stop you before you do something you will forever regret," and Obito retaliated as he gathered a massive amount of chakra.
"Katon: Majestic Destroyer Flame!" and this time, the fire that he spewed out was massive. It was a wall of fire that was aimed at him as the sound of chirping birds spread all over the area.
"....Chidori!" but he did not back down, as he pushed himself forward, and his jutsu tore through the torrent of fire, as he emerged on the other side, his hand aimed at his other shoulder, and yet in that last moment, Obito's body shifted by a fraction, and Izuna's attack tore through his chest rather than his shoulder.
SPLASH!
Blood splattered over his face as his hand cut through his skin and came out the other side. As Obito stilled, his mask cracked and fell to the ground, revealing his face.
CRACK! THUMP!
Their eyes met as blood dripped down Obito's lips.
"You monster...." he called out as his eyes grew dull, and his body fell down, as Izuna stood there without showing an expression as he looked down at his bleeding form.
He was dead, in but a few seconds, for the damage from the attack was so vast.
A part of him felt some remorse at what had transpired, yet it was a battle to the death. And Obito would not have hesitated to end his life if it had been him on the receiving end of his technique.
"You damned idot!" Izuna called out as his fists balled up.
"What the hell were you thinking?" he screamed at his body, before suddenly he turned around, and grabbed the arm coming for his neck, and in an instant sanpped the bones inside it using his iryo ninjutsu.
CRACK!
And he turned around slowly, as Obito stood right behind him, eyes wide in surprise and fear as Izuna saw through his entire plan once more.
And the only difference now was that, much like himself, the light had vanished from one of his eyes as well, for he had used one of Uchiha's most feared kinjutsu just to cheat death.
The jutsu that changed one's fate at a significant cost.
"Izanagi," Izuna uttered as he crushed his arm in his hands.
"AGHHHH!" Obito screamed in pain as he fell to his knees. The fight finally over as both his arms were now broken, and his chakra sealed away.
"HOW! HOW! HOWWWW!" he screamed.
"You! You monster!" he snarled, lurching at him, yet Izuna kicked him in the face, and his body rolled away, hitting the ground as Izuna walked up to him.
"I should be the one asking you that," Izuna finally let out as he addressed the bastard.
"For how could you turn your back on the people that treated you as a son!"
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