45. Rising from the Ashes.

The rescue effort, led by Tsunade, was in full swing as they collected all the injured together. Suddenly, a massive explosion shook the ground.

"Everyone, move faster!" Tsunade shouted, her voice cutting through the confusion. "We don't have much time!"

Naruto's clones multiplied, each one working tirelessly to dig out buried comrades and carry them to safety. Gaara's sand swirled around, lifting debris and creating safe paths for the rescuers.

Roar!

They saw Groudon rising, breaking the ice apart, with the iron rod still poking out of his head. Tsunade called out, "Everyone, finish up and get together."

The sensors confirmed no other chakra signatures were present underground. They all gathered around the injured. Akira knew it was his time to shine. He walked forward and placed his palms on the ground. Thick stone walls started rising, parallel to each other. Seeing the massive shield, everyone felt a little safer.

Akira fell back after using up all his chakra, "It's still not enough. Gaara, pour sand between the walls. Everyone, can you help produce some sand for Gaara?"

Earth users converted the ground into sand while Gaara controlled it. Seeing the sand tsunami washing over the walls to fill the gaps, they felt a bit more secure. After it was done, it was time to dig in. Gaara used the remaining sand to make a dome, and Onoki and Kurotsuchi created a stone dome inside the sand one. Darkness fell as the lights went out.

A candle-sized orb of scorch release lit up, enough to light the inside. Akira wasn't feeling well lying on his back; he felt a little claustrophobic. His breathing became ragged, and the more he breathed, the more he felt he couldn't. A cold palm was placed on his face, and he looked to see Terumi Mei sitting beside him. Mei smiled, "Don't think about it, you have done all you can."

Akira replied, "There isn't anything else to think about?"

Terumi Mei placed her finger on her lips and said, "Why don't we continue with our little experiment?"

Akira was interested. All thoughts about dying from oxygen deprivation vanished, and all he could think about were her purple lipstick-covered lips. "So we continue it, now?"

Terumi Mei bent forward, her head just inches above his face. "Do you have anything else to do?"

He could feel her breath on his face, her auburn hair falling on the sides of his face. She smelled like flowers. He looked up to see her green eyes and shook his head in answer. Akira felt that the suspension bridge effect worked wonders.

"So cute." Mei smiled and started to drop down, their lips touching. Suddenly, the ground shook harder, alerting everybody. Mei stood back up, and Akira was pissed. He stood up, "Oh, come on!"

Mei teased, "Looks like you aren't that lucky."

Akira replied, "You underestimate me, Mizukage-sama. I will bend luck if I have to get that kiss."

The earthquake worsened, and he could hear the falling stones from the dome. He tried to refine more chakra.

Outside, Groudon was releasing overwhelming energy that he couldn't control. The reason was hidden in the rod. In actuality, the rod was a syringe filled with an icy blue organic compound made by Aizen. Akira had guessed that Groudon might recover, and when it did, it would melt the rod and ice to release the compound, mixing into its body. The excessive compound made Groudon release all his energy.

Due to the excessive energy, Groudon was like a sun. The evacuated troops looked back to see the blinding light on the horizon. The light grew brighter and brighter, then came the blast. A hemisphere of white light appeared on the horizon. They could feel the ground shake, and then the blast wave impacted them, blowing some of them away.

Near the impact, the light hemisphere ripped apart the barricades, colliding with the dome. Inside, they could see the light pouring from the cracks, leaking white-hot gases inside. The cracks widened.

Akira conjured a massive black Rasengan, compressed it to a golf-sized ball, and threw it through the cracks. Outside, the black Rasengan expanded to form a massive sphere of darkness, but the overwhelming light engulfed it.

Inside, seeing the light again and the cracks increasing, Killer B released the Eight-Tails, and Gaara released One-Tail. The two massive behemoths stood at the front but were dwarfed by the white hemisphere of death. The dome broke apart, and the two tried to stop the wave, their bodies disintegrating upon touching the white wall. Terumi Mei lay down, covering her face with her arms like everyone else, to survive the impact. She looked through her arms to see someone walking toward the white wall. She saw a familiar smile on the guy's face, an overwhelming darkness expelled from him, covering her vision. She fell unconscious.

The evacuated ninjas felt despair, knowing there was no way for people to survive. The massive dust cloud covered the horizon. The snowfall had converted back to rainfall, masking the tears of grief for the fallen comrades and leaders.

The rain caused the sky-high dust to settle faster. A Kumo shinobi, tearful, looked at the horizon and spotted something in the dust cloud. He cleared his tears and still saw the silhouettes. He pointed, "Hey, look, someone is walking out."

Everybody turned to see the number of silhouettes increasing. Out of the dust cloud came the shinobi, led by the Kages. Seeing this, more tears poured out of the shinobis' eyes.

"They are back!"

With this shout, they ran forward to help them. The cheers of the shinobi were heard all around. They were mingling, laughing, and crying. Then someone lifted Naruto up on their shoulder, "Thank you for rescuing my team."

Others who were thankful to him started throwing him up in the air in jubilation. In the air, happy with all the praise, Naruto smiled and shouted, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Remember it, alright!"

This only earned more chanting of his name.

Aside from all the celebration, Akira walked to Terumi Mei to claim his reward. He slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her forward. Terumi Mei teased him, "Oh, the hidden hero has come to claim his reward."

"You are not the reward; you are a promise that I made." Akira went forward and kissed her luscious lips.

Terumi Mei responded enthusiastically, grabbing his hair and pushing his head forward. Their lips entangled, wrestling for domination. They continued until they couldn't breathe anymore, but the separation only made the situation more heated. Their lips were connected by saliva.

"Looks like I am still alive, which could only mean one thing," Akira said.

"Oh! What does it mean?" Mei, still drowning in the aftertaste of the kiss, asked.

"That I am the only man you can kiss. That means your lips should belong to me," Akira teased.

"That is true, but I think we need to continue before I seal the deal," Mei's eyes were blurry; she wanted more.

"Cough! Terumi Mei."

Terumi Mei looked at the source of the voice, and her eyes gained clarity, "Mizukage-sama."

"You should order your troops; they are waiting for your orders," Yagura sternly said.

Terumi Mei made an apologetic expression, "Sorry, looks like I have to go. Duty calls."

"Don't be; it only adds to your beauty," Akira said.

"Oh, such a sweet mouth." She whispered in his ear, "Remember to visit Kiri. I will personally make sure your visit is very pleasurable."

She gave him a peck on his lip and said, "Goodbye."

Akira looked at her booty, which was swinging more than usual, and replied, "Goodbye."

"You are now Mizukage; you can't be seen with an enemy, especially if he is not at your level of strength. You might think us becoming friendly with others is okay, but most of the shinobi don't share our views," Yagura warned her. She still hadn't gained total control over the village, and a scandal was the last thing she wanted.

"That is where you are wrong, Mizukage-sama. Akira-kun holds enough cards to change the world. More importantly, he is handsome, funny, and cute, a perfect boyfriend material." Mei's instincts clearly told her he was the one who saved all of them from the blast; she just didn't know how. She smiled while licking her lips, thinking about how much fun she was going to have unwrapping him and his secrets.

.....

📢 10 Advanced chapters on p@treaon📢

For advance chapters: p@treon.com/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)

46. False Promise.

47. Unseen Threats.

48. Mission to the Southern Sands.

49. Desert Encounter.

50. The Shadows of War.