Strength of Character part 1

Naruto and Lara stared at the enemy amidst the burning chamber set by Greek Fire. Deadpool AKA the Merc with a Mouth was sipping tea in a broken cup he picked up from the ground despite the flames.

"Is he for real?" Lara asked before she began to cough from the ashes.

Patronus sighed as he nodded. "Apparently so." He whispered to her. "If we just walk around him, he won't bother us."

"Do you really think that'll work?" An incredulous Lara asked him.

"We won't know until we try."

"Okay…"

It was only ten steps they took before Deadpool threw the cup at Patronus who deflected it with his arm. Lara gasped as Deadpool leaped at her but Patronus stepped in front of him and initiated Form III's Circle of Shelter to deflect the rapid-fire bullets from the machine guns. "Stay close to me!" Naruto told Lara and she heeded him by staying close to his back.

"Here, stay away from me!" Deadpool cried out childishly until the weapons ran out of ammo. "Well then…" He drew his Carbonadium blades and clashed with Patronus. "I'll slice me up some McHoodie's sandwiches!"

Patronus pushed Deadpool back before kicking him to the side. "Lara, go on!"

"But-"

"You need to go now! I'll be behind you!"

With a perverse giggle, Deadpool pointed his blade at Patronus. "So, you're thinking of screwing her here and now? Such a bad boy~"

"Shut up you!" Patronus retorted with a tick mark on his head.

With the fires burning and oxygen running low, Lara ran ahead but Patronus was behind her albeit blocking and parrying Deadpool's rapid blade-work. It was unorthodox and unpredictable as Deadpool also incorporated leg strikes to throw Naruto off-guard, but he wasn't fooled. Still it was somewhat difficult to find an opening.

"There!" Naruto thrust Kogitsunemaru but it was parried by one of Deadpool's blade, which the ninja wanted. He grabbed the opposite arm and twirled to pull it into an arm-lock as the ninja swung his blade but Deadpool managed to block it with the other sword arm via dislocating his shoulder. "Damn..." He watched his mercenary enemy's shoulder forcefully relocating by its own accord. "Double damn."

Deadpool chuckled before he continued his assault against the defensive Naruto. Meanwhile Lara took cover as a Trinity team blew through the ceiling in the next room. She fired a smoke-bomb arrow at the team, covering them in a cloud before firing a poison arrow. Most of them were killed but two of them managed to escape and converged on Lara as she fired two grenade arrows at them.

One of them saw it coming and dodged to the side but the same couldn't be said for his companion. He took cover around the corner and aimed at Lara but found himself in the crossfire between Patronus and Deadpool as the former spun around him. However, the latter did not as he cut through the waist with his blades.

"Incoming!" Deadpool cried out before kicking the torso at Patronus.

Naruto twisted his body to avoid the torso while Lara fired a poison arrow into Deadpool's back. She was stunned when it didn't take effect on the mercenary as he continued his assault. "Why didn't it take effect on him?" Lara asked before the door was being open forcefully by lasers.

Trinity burst into the chamber but Lara had thrown a Molotov at them, burning them alive before she moved through the door along with Patronus being her rearguard against Deadpool. Naruto parried both swords before kicking Deadpool hard enough to send him skidding backwards.

"Nice try~"

Patronus pointed at his chest, prompting Deadpool to do the same on his own until he felt something that was not there before. He looked down and saw a burning tag, "FUCK!" He took the tag off and threw it but the explosion occurred in mid-air as the force shook the chamber and caused the ceiling to collapse on them, blocking his way from his enemies.

Naruto and Lara ran the entrance and down a tunnel before they swam through a tunnel that had a gas at the top. "Oh no." Lara said with worry.

"What is it?" Patronus asked.

"Sulfur…" Lara responded softly. "This whole place could go up… got to hurry."

"Let's."

They swam through the tunnel while keeping their heads away from the sulfur as Trinity soldiers discussed about their location and the urgency to find them. Lara ducked under a branch but she was noticed by a soldier above her. "I fucking got her!" He ignited his flamethrower but Patronus pulled her into the water to avoid being burned alive.

The duo swam at surface level but dived underneath again when a flare ignited the sulfur as screams of pain and terror filled their ears from above. They even encountered a mutilated arm belonging to a soldier before Lara had to go back up for air where a Trinity soldier had his flamethrower aimed at her.

"Freeze! It's over. Hand over the Atla-" Those were his last words as he was stabbed in the back by a straightsword and fell into the water right on top of Lara.

Patronus quickly dived to her and pulled the body off of Lara while she managed to take something from the soldier's gear. It was a rebreather Naruto recognized and it allowed her to breathe underwater indefinitely, which was good for them since they need to be stealth right now. They swam through the underwater tunnel away from the bloodshed until the duo reached an area the water level couldn't fill.

"You okay?" Patronus asked since he was worried when that soldier fell on her.

Lara put away the rebreather and breathed cleanly. "I'm fine." She answered before looking at him skeptically. "Question is how were you able to swim underwater without coming up for air?"

"… I can breathe underwater."

"Really?"

"Really, really." Patronus answered. When Lara opened her mouth to speak, he interrupted her. "I know, I know: we're going to have a long talk after this is done."

They climbed up a stone-way where a massive statue was surrounded by buildings around them along with floating Greek Fire vessels in the water. "I see our exit out of here…" Lara panted out as the statue of the Prophet leaned towards a building due to a vessel exploding and destroying the supports. "The statue's unstable. Looks like we'll have to use the Greek Fire to set it down."

"Let's go." Patronus affirmed her plan as he left with Lar to gather as much Greek Fire as they could without damaging them or killing themselves. It took a while with the buildings' different obstacles but they managed to gather enough vessels near the support beams of the statue. "Do the honors."

Lara nodded as she released three fire arrows at the same time, hitting their marks and destroying the beams. The statue fell backwards, creating a makeshift bridge for the duo to climb and cross to the building that led to their escape. As Lara and Naruto were walking upwards on the statue, they heard voices behind them before turning around and seeing countless heavy-armored soldiers armed with bows and their arrow-heads ablaze with bluish flames.

"Oh god no." Lara whimpered in fear.

Patronus shouted, "Run!" He and Lara ran up to the building before climbing it through several obstacles as their new enemies, most likely the Deathless Ones, fired incendiary projectiles at them. As they climbed up a wooden platform, Lara lost her grip and fell backwards only for Patronus to catch her hand, then quickly placing her on his back. "Hang on!" Lara held on tightly to Patronus as he ran and climbed through obstacles on their way to the top of the building.

"YEAH, BITCHES!"

The duo had to stop when they heard that voice again and looked at the archers' side to find Deadpool screaming in delight with every kill he committed against the immortal soldiers. His delight grew when one of them resurrected and stabbed him through the chest. "Oh goodie, these guys are more fun than McHoodie!"

"He's enjoying this way too much." Lara muttered in deadpan.

Naruto groaned inwardly. "I can see why Wolverine is annoyed with him."

When they came across a massive gap, Patronus leaped forward but Lara estimated that he wouldn't make so she threw her roped axe with her legs wrapped around his waist as they swung to the other high building. She groaned from the weight her legs carried but her axe released in time as Patronus landed on the building and Lara held onto his back once more.

With another leap, Patronus had his hands out to grab hold of the tunnel in the cavern only to fall short below. "Shit!" He quickly turned around in Lara's embrace so she wouldn't be the one sliding down the slippery and steep downhill as his back and butt was cold and wet. "Hang on!"

The hill wasn't long as they fell a big drop into a small water hole that cushioned their landing. Lara let go of Patronus as they walked out of the water and the cave before contacting Jacob. "Jacob, we made it. We're out." Lara told through her radio.

-"Lara, thank God you're all right. Bring the Atlas to me in our observatory in the mountains."-

"We're on our way." Lara pocketed the radio before she took out the rebreather and dived into a flooded tunnel along with Patronus. She and the hero swam through a few flood corridors filled with rocky protrusions that threatened to cut them if they were not careful. They eventually reached a new ruin filled with statues and sculpted walls before her radio blared with a familiar voice she never thought she'd hear again.

-"Lara! Lara, are you up there?"-

"Jonah, is that you?!" Lara asked with great relief.

Patronus was surprised at this development. "Jonah's here too?"

-"*laughing* Little bird. You're alive, I knew it!"-

Lara couldn't believe this at all. "My god… Jonah, what are you doing here? Where are you?"

-"I'm up here in some kind of fortress. You can thank Jacob… His people picked me up half-dead out on the tundra."-

"I can't believe you came after me!"

-"*laughing* Is that so hard to believe? I told you I got your back. I couldn't leave you out here alone."-

"We're on our way up to you now. Don't go anywhere!"

-"Who's we?"-

Patronus took advantage to introduce himself. "Me, big guy."

-"Patronus, you're here too?! *Laughing* I assume you've taking care of Lara while I've been gone. Thank you, my friend."-

"No sweat. We'll see you when we get there." Patronus said to his new ally before he and Lara climbed up a shaggy wall to make their way towards the Observatory.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

Geothermal Valley

As they were walking towards the observatory, Patronus had to point the elephant in the room. "So, are we going to talk about what happened down there in the Cathedral?"

"Let's… Those things attacked Trinity, slaughtered them like they were nothing. They must be the Deathless Ones Sofia mentioned." Lara recounted the horrors with a shudder. "And their armor… I couldn't see them well, but it looked like very advanced medieval armor."

"Probably ahead of its time back then, maybe even today. I saw bullet casings splattered all over that place with the statue and the actual bullets." Patronus took something out of his pouch and showed it to Lara. It was a bullet but its point was severely bent. "Those armor of theirs is going to be tough for you when we encounter them. Aim for the chinks in their armor: the narrow openings where the plates meet including their necks."

Lara shook her head. "I fear that won't be enough." Patronus thought for a moment before he stopped as well as Lara did. He pulled up his right sleeve, revealing his secondary Hidden Blade with the wrist computer as he unstrapped it from his arm. "What are you-"

"Give me your arm." Patronus asked gently as Lara offered her left arm. He pulled back the jacket's sleeve as he placed the weapon under her wrist. "Sorry about the size so I'm going to make it as tight as possible." He did the deed, much to Lara's chagrin but she endured it until the weapon fitted somewhat. Naruto also switched the wrist computer onto his primary bracer while the grappling launcher was attached to Lara's borrowed bracer.

Lara inspected the weapon Patronus with intrigue. "How do you use it?"

Naruto stood next to her and opened her hand with fingers out. "Now give it a little flick of the wrist to extend the blade." Lara did the deed and the blade emerged from its dormant state, revealing its golden metal. "And don't worry about it cutting off your ring finger any time. The Hidden Blade had been redesigned to avoid that mishap."

Lara reveled at the obvious ancient signature weapons of the Assassins that she heard Ana call Patronus back at the Cathedral. She flicked her wrist a few times and watched the blade extend and retract several times until she got the hang of it. "Thank you."

"Another thing: pull the sleeve over it." Patronus told her and Lara did as she pulled her sleeve over the weapon. "That way, it'll help you stay in the shadows and crowd better… as well as catch your enemies off-guard."

Lara nodded at him. "Thanks, I mean it." They then continued their way to the observatory where on the steps was a familiar person. "Jonah!" She ran into his arms as Jonah gave her a bear-hug before breaking it.

"You look terrible." Jonah joked as Lara mock-punched him in the arm. "Terrible but… happy." He then noticed Patronus approaching them. "And I'm pretty sure he's one of the reasons why." Lara shushed him just as Patronus offered a hand. "Come here, brother."

Naruto yelped lightly when Jonah picked him up in a bear-hug. "Good to see you're the same, big guy." He was put back on the ground before Lara stood next to him. "Tell him, Lara."

"I was right, Jonah," Lara said excitedly. "Dad was right: The Divine Source is real!" She had a solemn expression. "I wish he was here to see this."

Jonah put his hand on Lara's left shoulder. "He'd be proud of you." He noticed Sofia by the side, reminding him of something else he just learned. "Sofia told what you two have done for her people."

"Lara, Patronus," Sofia spoke with relief.

"Nice to see you, Sofia." Patronus said with a nod.

Sofia pointed at the entrance ahead of them. "Jacob is waiting for you two in the observatory." The group of four walked inside the observatory until they reached the top where Jacob was waiting for them. Lara went ahead of them and approached Jacob as she pulled out the Atlas from her quiver to present it to the leader.

"You actually found it." A stunned Jacob said as he looked at the ancient artifact. "The founders of Kitezh were skilled craftsmen… They used this place to view the Atlas."

Lara inspected the room and noticed chains in the ceiling along with a hanging metal platform that had a shape that resembled the Atlas. "There…" She placed the artifact into the shape. "Jonah… try those chains."

Jonah did what she asked and pulled on the chains as the platform rose to completely seal the sunlight in the ceiling, but it also allowed them to see an enlarged map with the Atlas as a projector with the light, amazing the outsiders and Sofia.

"Incredible," Lara muttered in awe as she surveyed the map. "They must have used this to plan the construction of the city."

Sofia then pointed out a relative information, "Like ancient blueprints."

"Exactly." Lara responded as she grew excited by the second when her eyes noticed something in the map. "Everything radiates out from this point; that puts the center of the city under the lake." That was when she noticed a discrepancy. "No… something's not right." She noticed the cathedral symbol and realized it. "The Cathedral… where the Atlas was. It's on the wrong side of the map." She waved her hand in a circle. "Keep rotating, Jonah."

Patronus watched the map by Jonah's doing until Lara told him to stop.

"That's it." A happy smile plastered on Lara's face as she figured it out. "Kitezh isn't under the lake." She walked to a window with Patronus. "It's under the glacier!" She smiled brighter. "The Divine Source must be there."

Patronus didn't like the heavy snow-topped mountain but he knew she wouldn't stop since she was so close. "Question, Lara: how the hell are we going to get through all that ice?" He asked "As much as I want to make ice cream, I don't think the Remnants will appreciate me sending an avalanche on them"

Lara took his hand and pointed at the map again, specially a route. "This path leads into the city." She released the limb to figure out the location of the path. "The Cathedral is there… and the Tower on the other side. That means the entrance of Kitezh must be…" She figured out the location, leaving her stunned. "Here…"

"What now?" Patronus asked to make sure he heard Lara right.

"The entrance to Kitezh is… here." Lara's gaze rested upon Jacob after turning around. "You knew!" The leader nodded before the observatory shook violently, taking everyone's attention to the roof.

Said roof cracked after an explosion before it fell upon them as Patronus tackled Lara and Jonah out of the way before four Trinity soldiers propelled down from the helicopter hovering above the building. Jonah saw the vulnerable Atlas and picked it up just one of the soldiers grabbed him into a hold.

The other two fired their weapons at their targets though Patronus quickly killed them with a swipe of Kogitsunemaru. He saw Jonah elbow the soldier's stomach and kicked him over a debris block right before the other soldier stabbed him in the back while taking the Atlas out of his hands.

"Jonah!" Lara ran to her fallen friend and pressed her hands on his wound. "Stay awake, Jonah, stay awake!"

Patronus growled at the soldier who clipped himself one of the ropes before charging at him. The Trinity soldier saw this coming and fired his gun but not at him. "Bastard!" He Shunshined in front of Lara and Jonah, deflecting the rapid-fire bullets until the soldier was aboard and the helicopter left the observatory. The ninja would've gone after it, but Jonah was in danger now.

"Patronus, help!" Lara cried out as Naruto kneeled next to him and placed his hands on the wound. "Please save him."

"I got it, Lara." Patronus told her softly before his hands glowed white. Jonah groaned lightly as his face relaxed which was good. "He's better now." A heavy click reached his ears and Naruto threw a shuriken at the solo Trinity grunt's hand, forcing him to release the pistol. "We're going to have a little chat."

"Fuck you!"

"Wrong answer." Lara, Jonah, Sofia watched the Assassin grab hold of the grunt and dragged him to the arching windows. Patronus reached the edge and pushed the grunt through the planks as he held him up with one arm. "Talk!" Naruto demanded.

The soldier grunted by his grip. "Never, blasphemer." He cried out when Patronus punched his face. "I'll never tell you anything." Another punch and he felt his nose move a bit, indicating it was broken now. "You'll never reach them now, not with those two protecting the commander."

"Who?!" Patronus demanded before punching his hostage again. "I said who!"

"All of you will die."

"You first." His grip loosened, Patronus watched the soldier fall to his death before he turned around and walked to the group huddled to Jacob. "Damn, they got you?"

Jacob panted with a pained chuckle. "It's a flesh wound; I'll be fine." He glanced at Lara. "It'll only be a matter of time before Trinity knows about the Divine Source."

"Not if I take it away before they do so." Patronus offered with eyes on him. "And I can take out their leaders before they get there."

Lara rose her knees and stood in front of Naruto. "I'm coming with you." Naruto shook his head. "Why not?"

"The two people that soldier mentioned… something about it bugs me. I'm going solo on this one."

"Absolutely not!" Lara countered hotly. "We're a team, you and I! Does that not matter to you?"

Patronus noted the worry in her voice and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Teamwork is everything to me… just as much as you me. Please just… stay here with Jacob and Sofia to prepare the forces against Trinity in case I don't make it in time. You want to prove about your father being right, get to the Divine Source before they do."

Lara stared at him worriedly as her heart pang with a suffocating feeling. It was the same feeling she felt when her father killed himself and now it's consuming her again. "Don't go, please." Her breathing grew heavy and rapid by the second, much to everyone's worry. "Don't go, don't go, don't go…" Lara panted with every word.

"Lara?" Patronus asked with worry before she fell to her knees and he saved her from hitting her head. "Geez, Lara… breathe, breathe." He told her before she fell asleep. "I think exhaustion just hit her." Footsteps came from the stairs and more Remnants arrived to secure everyone. "Take care of her, Jonah."

Jonah didn't like him going as well, but he knew that Patronus was going to do what he needs to do. "I will, brother."

"You're going to need surveillance to aid you." Sofia told him, only for Naruto shake his head.

"Your father, your people need you Sofia…now more than ever." Patronus said to her who reluctantly nodded. "Why the long faces though? I'm going to be back." He walked to the edge of the broken window as Lara's voice softly called out to him. "I will be back, Lara… I promise." Naruto leaped off the edge before Hirashining as he had a date with Trinity.

TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM

Gulag, Soviet Installation

Patronus reappeared in the outskirts of the Gulag as he sensed the numerous ki throughout the landscape though not the ones he was looking for. He took cover on the steel beams of an outside construction crane when several Trinity soldiers were moving weapons into the helicopters.

"To read the Atlas, the Dynamic Douches need a place similar to the Observatory but where?"

Luckily for him, the answer came from below in the form of two soldiers patrolling the area.

"Where did you say they were again?"

"I said at the research center at the high hills in the north. They got the object that apparently leads to this Divine Source everyone's been raving about."

"Good. The sooner we get out of here, the better. I can't stand this cold."

"Texas?"

"California, born and raised."

"Thank you, you two idiots." Patronus chuckled mirthfully before he leaped to a snow lifter to find this research station. His eyes caught sight a broken spherical structure that was in the north as well as a series of lifters that connected to the station nearby. "It's time to end this." He made a series of jumps from lifter to lifter in ascending order.

The ninja softly landed against the metal platform and snuck atop the spherical structure as he heard Ana's voice and looked through one of the holes to find his targets. "I'm too late."

"Extraordinary." A kneeling Ana said with wonder as she examined the map. "The Divine Source… it's in the center of the old city. Buried beneath the ice!"

Konstantin then said with determination, "Then it's time to move." He was geared up for combat. "I will notify the dig teams and prepare the transports."

"Our men encountered the Deathless Ones in the archive… This will not be easy, brother."

"The holy path is not meant to be easy." Konstantin explained as it was easy for him to say.

"Are the men aware of what they will face?"

"No. But they are prepared to fight and die for the cause. That's all we need from them."

Ana hesitated to speak for a moment, then said "Konstantin… Now that we're so close to the end—" Her brother turned around swiftly to face her.

"We've only just begun!" Konstantin corrected strongly.

"I'm afraid Trinity is just using us." Ana voiced her fears about the organization that raised them. "What if they don't intend to let you keep the Source? We should prepare for—"

"No!" Konstantin cut her off when he placed his hands around her shoulders. "You must have faith. I wasn't chosen by Trinity… Once the Source is mine, it won't matter what they want. I will lead God's immortal army and you… You shall live."

"Except you won't." Patronus made his presence known as he burst through the ceiling and landed on Konstantin. "Neither of you." He punched Konstantin before lifting him up over the head and tossed the merciless military man against a wall. Ana dropped the Atlas and ran but her hand was penetrated by a shuriken with enough force to pin her against the wall. "I'll be taking this." Naruto picked up the Atlas and sealed it inside his robe before approaching the dizzy soldier in the room. "Konstantin, I'm going to enjoy this."

Flesh hitting flesh echoed in the building but it didn't last long as Patronus was so focused in beating the man who caused Lara, Jacob, Jonah and the Remnants pain that he didn't register or sense a being until his cocked fist hit something solid. Out of curiosity, Naruto patted a few times and felt a lot of muscles.

"Hulk?" The next thing he knew was being thrown out of the research structure before crashing through a few obstacles and finally into one of the lower buildings then through the wall as he was now in open land. "What the hell, man?" Naruto groaned as he shakily picked himself up when Konstantin's voice was heard through his wrist computer's radio frequency.

-'That fucking Assassin is here! Second and Third Regiment, make sure the abomination kills him and desecrate his corpse!'-

Patronus raised a brow. "What abomination?" His answer arrived when it landed in the room in front of him with a loud 'boom' and the ground cracked underneath its feet. "Oh… that abomination."

It was a tall being around the same size as Hulk and a gargantuan humanoid with sharp spikes on his arms, elbows, back, and feet. His musculature was more pronounced than the Hulk though skeletal parts on his chest became visible as well as around his neck. Green, piercing eyes glared into Naruto's own hidden as a deep, rumbling chuckle escaped his mouth.

"Give me a real fight!"

"… Shit." Patronus' worry doubled when the regiments of Trinity arrived to back up Abomination. "Double shit."

"Take him!"

Before they or Naruto knew it, Abomination went on a rampage as he started killing the soldiers with his huge arms and legs. Stomping them, crushing, punching and kicking was the norm. "Stay out of this!" He crushed the last soldier in his hand like popcorn with an audible 'crunch.' "You're next." Abomination declared with a bloody finger pointed at his opponent.

"…" Patronus cracked his hands at the ruthlessness display by this creature. "Fine." He breathed deeply as his body became empowered a second later.

Both stared at each other before they walked like nothing was happening. Their casual walk turned into a jog, then it morphed to a sprint before a full charge with full force. Abomination snarled as they got closer while Patronus growled in response. The ninja and mutant creature leaped at each other with cocked fists and there was only going to be a one winner.

It wasn't Naruto in this case.

Abomination had easily won the challenge while the force from the collision shook the area as he rolled with Patronus before tossing him through a stone building. Naruto grunted with each bump on the ground before stopping, slowly getting up. "What hit me?" The ninja asked in a daze before he lost his balance and fell to his knees. "Is this guy stronger than Hulk?"

"I'm as strong as the Hulk—no, stronger than him." Abomination stated arrogantly as Patronus faced him. The archenemy of the Hulk gestured his arms at Patronus in a 'bring it on' gesture. "Come on!"

"Hulk's strength wasn't like this the few times I worked him. He must've been holding back a lot. If this is Hulk's original strength, I need to be smart about this." Abomination charged at him as Naruto noticed broken debris of the truck. "These'll do." Patronus ran to them as Abomination leaped with his fists overhead, read to smash him.

"DIE!" Naruto's hand stretched out for the debris but changed course and grabbed a fell steel light post before swinging it hard right at Abomination. A shockwave boomed from the contact as Abomination crashed through a generator, causing an explosion as the shower of flames spread out in the base. The humanoid mutant chuckled as he walked out of the flames unharmed. "Is that all you got?"

Naruto's response was throwing the steel post at Abomination who caught it easily. A second later, Patronus Hirashined in front of the surprised gargantuan before he focused senjutsu chakra into his fist and punched him in the face, snapping his neck to the side. Abomination quickly recovered and threw an elbow strike but Naruto flipped over it and used the outstretched limb as a springboard to knee him in the face.

With a smug chuckle, Abomination's other arm quickly lashed out and grabbed Patronus' leg before thrashing him into the ground several times before the last time was in front of him. He raised his foot at the groaning ninja's back and stomped him into the ground. "Hm?" His enemy turned transparent within his massive leg and disappeared from his sight.

Naruto Shunshined behind Abomination with a Rasengan larger than its original size. "Senpo: Odama Rasengan!" He thrust the sun-like sphere into his enemy's back and sent him flying out of the base through the forest. The surrounding buildings shook while some collapsed from the shockwave of the attack. "Now to find those two."

With a series of Shunshine throughout the base, Patronus reappeared atop the crane where he saw Trinity and their leaders boarding helicopters and taking off for Kitezh. Bending his legs, Naruto initiated a mighty leap worthy of the Hulk as he formed another Rasengan with his targets reaching closer to him.

"Konstantin!" Ana cried out in alarm as her brother aimed his assault rifle at the airborne ninja, only to be side-tackled by a green gargantuan. "Good. I hope that Assassin dies by his hands."

"He will, sister." Konstantin tapped the pilot's shoulder. "Head to the valley. Destiny awaits us."

None of them noticed the yellow lightning in the sky as they headed north for the mountains.