Chapter 73: The Son Rises

(1 Month Later)

BOOM!

A large explosion rocked the stadium signifying the damage the battle had started to inflict. Everywhere there were bodies of shinobi from Konoha and Suna villages. The entire hidden leaf village had became a battleground with fighting going on in each and every corner.

Konoha was taken completely by surprise by this sudden betrayal of their ally, the chunin exams had already stretched their forces to the maximum and their front line forces were quickly decimated when the full might of Suna forces landed on them.

Although things were not as hopeless as people had imagined them to be, despite the initial shock and losses suffered. Konoha ninja were fighting back and were also pushing the Suna ninja back, nevertheless they were losing too many ninja of their own for every inch of the village they retook from the enemy forces.

Amidst the chaos a group of 6 genin were currently rushing towards the western sector of the village, their objective was simple.

Protect the medical hospital at any costs, it was too much to ask of young genin but all of them were strong and this was an emergency.

Sakura quickly jumped across rooftops at a rapid pace, her teammate Ami was beside her. Frankly, she was surprised the civilian girl hadn't lost her marbles yet. On their right side the members of Team 8 were also charging towards their destination at an equally fast pace.

Team 10 had already been routed to go defend the civilians who were being evacuated. Team 9 only had two members which were Neji and Tenten, both of whom were already fighting the enemies inside the stadium. The last member of Team 9, Lee was recovering from his injuries and was in the hospital. All the more reason they needed to defend the hospital...

Anko and Kakashi were fighting near the stadium, trying to get to the Hokage who was already fighting a death match against the Kazekage.

Sakura couldn't understand why 2 important members of her team were missing at this time. Sasuke had never showed up for his match, and Kurenai was somewhere else. Frankly, the genjutsu mistress had completely changed in the past month. It was as if she was a new person, one who hated Naruto from the bottom of her heart.

None of them knew what to make of it, but something had changed in her. When they had tried to talk to Kurenai about it, she shot down the conversation every time.

SLASH

Her eyes widened in horror, when a kunai struck in Ami's forehead as she collapsed on the rooftop. Sakura quickly jumped to check on her teammate only to find her dead with a shocked expression visible in her eyes.

The members of Team 8 quickly stopped, with Hinata activating her Byakugan. Her eyes widened in horror when a exploding tag was fired towards her squad. she moved her hands to defend her comrades but instead of exploding the weapon emanated a bright light.

"A flashbang!" yelled Kiba urgently,

Alas, it was too late.

The device went off as Hinata screamed in pain, the sheer bright light had a devastating effect on her eyes a her Dojutsu was active. Kiba and Shino quickly regained their bearings, they were still shaky but managed to form a cover in front of an injured Hinata and Sakura who was trying to revive Ami.

"That was too easy, and you guys think yourself capable of becoming a chunin..."

Sakura and all her comrades were shocked on hearing that voice, as Sasuke Uchiha emerged from the shadows of one of the buildings. He was dressed in a strange outfit with the Swastika symbol on it, a tanto was visible in his hands and his menacing sharingan was glaring at them.

"Sasuke?" asked Sakura in shock,

"Oi, teme. What is the meaning of this?" demanded Kiba furiously,

"Sasuke. which side are you on?" asked Shino flatly, he was the only one among the survivors who could feel the hatred burning in Sasuke's heart.

His bugs were going crazy with the amount of malicious KI being leaked by Sasuke.

"It's simple, really. Give me the Hyuga and I'll let you guys live. Or you can join your comrade Ami, she was a pain in the ass from the start..." said Sasuke seriously,

The Konoha genin couldn't believe what they were hearing, they had trained with this boy for years. Sasuke was an asshole most of the time, but he was a friend. Then why the hell was he attacking his own comrades? What possible reason did he have to do such a thing?

"Have you lost your marbles, Sasuke?" asked Kiba madly,

''Sasuke, tell me you're not the one who killed Ami. She was our teammate..." said Sakura tearfully, and for a moment she saw regret visible in Sasuke's eyes. But it was soon replaced by anger.

"Why did you betray the village?" questioned Shino seriously, and saw the anger burning in the Uchiha's eyes.

"The Ninja System has failed, for long lasting peace this must be done. And after what this village did to Naruto, I can't forgive it. He was like a brother to me, this place abused him, and pushed him to the edge. It's time Konoha paid for its crimes..." declared Sasuke darkly,

"We know what happened with Naruto was wrong. But you don't have to do this, Sasuke..." pleaded Sakura,

SLASH

Her eyes widened in horror, when Sasuke disappeared from in front of their eyes. In a flash, he appeared behind Shino and Kiba and stabbed two kunai in their backs making them scream in pain, as they collapsed on the floor.

She quickly moved to stop him by sending a punch to his face, but he swatted her hand away and pushed her away as if she was an insect.

He never spared her a glance, as he grasped his sword and stabbed Hinata in the gut. The Hyuga girl screamed in agony as black marks spread across her entire body. Rolling out a scroll from his sleeve, Sasuke quickly performed a set of hand seals and slammed his hands on her forehead. In a flash, Hinata disappeared. Her body being sealed into the scroll.

Shino and Kiba had lost consciousness, a pool of blood had leaked from their wounds. They were dying right in front of Sakura's eyes...

Ami was dead.

Hinata was taken.

And Sasuke, the boy whom she loved, the boy whom she grew up with. Her friend, her crush, stood in front of her with an uncaring look in his eyes. The pain caused by the betrayal was too much for her to bear.

She had already lost Naruto to this hatred, and now Sasuke too.

"WHY?" yelled Sakura tearfully, her cries rocking the entire area.

Sasuke's fists clenched tightly on hearing her cry, it had taken every ounce of his strength to do such a thing to his comrades. Looking towards the dying Shino and Kiba made him feel guilty, if they didn't receive medical attention soon they would be dead in a few minutes.

He had murdered Ami in cold blood, sure the girl was an annoying fangirl of him. But that was still not enough reason to take her life, however it had to be done.

And now came the last part, could he really kill Sakura? Sure, it had been painful doing what he did to the others. But she was his teammate, memories of Team 7 came flooding back in his heart.

"This world is rotting, Sakura. And those who are making it rot deserve to die..." said Sasuke sadly,

"You didn't have to betray the village and your friends for that..." replied Sakura angrily, and flinched when he glared at her.

''The hidden villages are the reason for this, I don't expect you to understand. If only you guys had given me Hinata, then these two morons wouldn't have to die..." said Sasuke irritatedly,

"You..."

Sasuke sighed when Sakura jumped towards him and started unleashing a volley of powerful punches and kicks, but her heart was not in those attacks. He was easily able to predict her moves with his sharingan, and just when she slipped he smacked her roughly on the head.

The pink head collapsed on the rooftop, knocked out cold. He merely sighed as he picked up the scroll in which he had sealed Hinata, and jumped off the rooftop.

His eyes shifted towards the areas where heavy fighting was taking place, and he quickly jumped away in order to accomplish his next objective.

As the fighting raged on across the village, outside on the borders of Konoha stood a large force of 3000 ninja's. Dressed in their Reich uniforms they patiently waited for their leader to give them the signal to attack. The battle for Konoha had already raged on for more than 2 hours and hundreds of ninja must have died on both side, not to forget the civilians losses and collateral damages.

A Tall blonde boy was currently surrounded by several of his own officers, their expecting eyes looking at him for orders.

"I believe everyone is aware of the target they are to engage..." said Naruto calmly,

"Hai" replied all his officers in unison,

They were interrupted when red smoke was fired high in the air from the western side of the village, as a sly smile came on Naruto's lips.

"Release the beast!" commanded Naruto,

A squad of Oto ninja were sitting in a round circle, the ground was filled with Kanji as the ninjas performed a set of hand seals before slamming their hands on the ground. There was a large puff of smoke as a giant scorpion emerged.

The Otokage raised his hand as the men quickly performed another set of hand seals making the creature howl, Naruto pointed his finger towards the western wall of the village and off went the scorpion at lightning fast speed.

CRASH

The wall was destroyed without any resistance as the defenders had already been taken care of, courtesy of a certain Uchiha inside the village. He saw his army's scorpion engaging several Konoha ninja who were trying to stop the beast. Pointing his finger towards a force of 400 Reich soldiers, a serious expression came in his eyes.

"1st company, assault. I want no prisoners..." ordered Naruto, as Guren gave him a quick salute.

"Yes, my lord" replied the company commander sincerely, and off went she along with her men to destroy the assigned target.

Turning towards the members of Sound Four, each commanding a force of 150 Reich soldiers he gave a few hand signals and received affirmative nods in return.

"Finally some action time, I'm gonna fuck up those shitheads..." boasted Tayuya, as a grin came on Naruto's face.

"Hey, Tayu-chan. I thought I had the exclusive rights to fuck you..." teased Naruto, as her face became as red as her hair color.

"Fuck you, Naruto..."

The tensed atmosphere was broken as all of them laughed, even in the midst of an important battle their leader knew how to make them feel confident and at ease. Their morale was clearly lifted due to him leading the charge.

The Sound four and their troops quickly fanned across different sectors around Konoha, and would soon jump over the tired Konoha and Suna forces.

"Karin, have you located Jiraiya?" asked Naruto distastefully, he had expected the Toad Sage to be out of the village looking for Orochimaru.

But it seemed Hiruzen had deemed it necessary to keep his most powerful student around in case the village got in trouble. The Old Kage definitely had a good far sight, his experience had certainly created a lot of problems for Naruto.

He hesitantly glanced towards Tsunade who had an unreadable expression in her eyes...

"Are you ready, Tsunade-sama? Or would you like some other assignment?" asked Naruto sympathetically, as everyone's gaze shifted towards the Slug Sannin.

"No, I'll go. I'm the only one who can stop Jiraiya, you guys focus on your objectives...'' advised Tsunade strictly, receiving a nod from Naruto.

"One of my most powerful allies shall be assisting you in this battle. He may seem a little crazy, but you'll need him against Jiraiya. He's waiting for you at the rendezvous point in the north-west district..." ordered Naruto,

"Very well..." said Tsunade curtly, and jumped away to fulfill the task assigned to her.

"Will she be alright?" asked Karin worriedly,

"She'll be fine. Now Lieutenant Takami I want you to surround this area from all sides. Block all exits, kill anyone that tries to escape from this battlefield. Take 600 of our soldiers with you..." instructed Naruto, receiving a crisp salute from the veteran warrior.

"As you command, Nidaime..." said Takami devotedly,

With more than half of his forces spread all over Konoha, he turned towards his remaining 1400 something soldiers led by Haku who was standing proudly by his side. Suigetsu also gave him a sharp like grin, the sarcastic officer was ready for a battle.

"Ready to storm the front?" asked Naruto eagerly,

"Hai"

"Then let's erase this village today..." declared Naruto, and charged towards the large gates of his former home.

(Sunagakure)

A group of sand ninja had surrounded a strange spiral masked man, the lone Mangekyo sharingan gleaming through the hole in the mask sent shivers down their spine. Everywhere around them lay bodies of hundreds of civilians and ninja alike.

Far away in a corner, a plant like creature which was both white and black in color was eating the dead bodies while killing anyone who tried to stop him.

"This is so much fun..." said Black Zetsu contently, as he cannibalistically devoured the flesh of a once beautiful woman.

"Ew, you're so gross..." replied and offended White Zetsu, as his other half rolled his single dark eye.

"Whatever, seems Tobi is enjoying himself as well. Naruto was right, their defenses are pathetic. In trying to destroy Konoha, they left their own village vulnerable for attack..." explained Black Zetsu seriously,

SLASH

White Zetsu sighed as another group of Suna ninja fell down on the ground, their bodies sliced in half due to the scythe visible in Tobi's hands. One that was now drenched with the blood of more than 200 Suna ninja.

"Here, Black Zetsu another mounds of flesh for you to devour..." said Tobi calmly, as the remaining Suna ninja got a murderous look in their eyes.

"You bastard!" yelled a young boy, who barely appeared to be chunin.

The boy jumped straight towards the Akatsuki leader, his eyes burned with rage as he tried to decapitate the despicable man with the help of his tanto only to be caught by the older Uchiha. The young boy froze when he came face to face with the Mangekyo sharingan.

"AHHHHHH!" yelled the boy madly,

"And another one goes insane..." muttered White Zetsu curiously, as Tobi tossed the mad boy aside.

The remaining Suna ninja started taking steps back as the Akatsuki leader walked forward, the look in his eyes sent chill down their spines. And one thing was certain...

Suna was going to get massacred today.

(Konoha)

He stood hundreds of meters away from the doorstep of his home. Behind him, his vast army waited for him to relay new orders. Memories of the good times he spent with friends and family came back in his heart. Along with that, also came back the painful memories of several of his Root comrades dying horrible deaths for a place which didn't even recognize or remember them.

A place which would betray its most loyal shinobi's in a blink of an eye just for its own gain.

"Naruto, are you all right?" asked Haku worriedly,

"Yes. You charge in with the others after I've cleared the front-line. This is an order..." said Naruto seriously, and despite wanting to protest she relented.

"Um, Nidaime. You sure you're up for this? This place was once your home..." said Karin hesitantly, and for the first time she saw the sadness in his eyes.

"I will never forget Rei's pain..." said Naruto bitterly, as his entire body started glowing with chakra.

His soldiers took a few steps away from him as the ground beneath them started cracking, the KI in the area exploded as Naruto's Manegkyo sharingan came alive. Putting on his old Root Falcon mask, he glared murderously at the village known as Konoha.

"From this point on, the ninja world shall known true pain..." promised Naruto darkly,

He took one step forward.

Then two.

Slowly, his walking transformed into a slow jog before finally turning into a full fledged sprint. The distance between the gates and him closed with every passing second, and his eyes picked up the figures of Suna and Konoha ninja fighting against each other. The rage he had controlled till this day came alive in his heart, as he jumped highly in the air easily bypassing the large gate walls.

His hands moved at blinding speed, fingers performing hand seals faster than any ninja had ever seen.

BOOM!

A deep crater was instantly created on the spot where he landed, the shock-wave created sent several fighting ninja sailing into the nearby buildings killing them brutally. His fingers finished performing the last seal, as his blue colored chakra transformed into red.

His eyes became slit like a demonic fox, and slowly more and more of that malicious Biju chakra started leaking out of his body.

"Live your worst nightmare..." said Naruto furiously, his dark eyes glaring at the Konoha shinobi.

"Mureguchi Chakra Meiji Suru: Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Leaking Chakra Manifestation: Summoning Technique)"

The mass of demonic chakra started growing larger and larger, slowly it was larger than the height of several tall buildings. Its shape shifted as nine red colored tails split from the back of the mass, and a monstrous fox faced demon with glowing red eyes glared at the village.

When it opened its mouth, its canine like teeth were full of malicious chakra as it leaked fire from its mouth.

"GAH!" roared the beast,

Every human in the village froze as the visage of the reincarnated nine tailed fox sent shivers down their spine. For those survivors who had lived through the tragedy that had happened 15 years ago, it was a nightmare reborn. The shock-wave sent by the beast nearly obliterated 2 entire districts, killing any living creature that was unfortunate enough to get caught in the attack.

Their eyes widened in horror when they saw a boy standing in the middle of the fox manifestation and as he took a step forward, so did the fox spirit.

"My name is Naruto Uchiha, heir of the Yondaime Hokage, and betrayed son of Konoha..." said Naruto darkly,

Several Konoha ninja tried to attack the boy only to be crushed beneath the massive tails of the fox manifestation, even the Suna ninja started attacking the boy only in vain as their terrified screams rocked the entire village.

"Stop me if you can, if any of you hold greater despair in your heart than me..." challenged Naruto,

Jiraiya motionlessly stood in his spot as he saw the chakra manifestation of the nine tailed fox wrecking havoc across the village. There was only one person who was capable of this feat, and if he was here...

"Soon, two destroyers shall rise who shall be the harbingers of destruction..."

Fukasaka's words rang clear in his heart, and his eyes clearly showed him that the first destroyer had arrived. Even from this distance he could feel the hatred, anger, pain which was emanating from this chakra. He doubted any normal shinobi would be able to stop this monster...

He started jumping towards his target only to be stopped by a familiar face. A smile came on Jiraiya's face as he saw the face of his childhood friend and love.

"Good timing, Tsunade. We have to stop that monster right now..." said Jiraiya urgently, and saw a pained look arriving in her eyes.

"Jiraiya..."

"There's no time to talk. Let's go..." said Jiraiya quickly, and jumped by her side with the intention to move towards the monster.

SMACK

His eyes widened in shock when a monstrous punch impacted with his gut sending him crashing through 4 buildings. He coughed up a lot of blood, and felt a few of his bones breaking. He stared at his long time friend in shock, that punch could have really killed him.

"Jiraiya, I am your enemy now..." said Tsunade sadly, as her fists glowed with chakra.

The Toad Sage had to quickly jump away again as a wave of sand tried to encase his body in it. Looking to his right he saw a red head boy coming beside Tsunade, there was a gourd resting on his back from which sand was leaking. He had the Kanji of Love on his forehead, and a bloodthirsty look in his eyes.

"I want your blood..." said Gaara excitedly,

Anko blankly stared at the monster that was ravaging across the village. Her eyes glanced towards Kakashi only to find a sad look in his eyes, a new rage burned in her heart on seeing her love in such a state.

"How could you, Naruto?" asked Anko in disbelief,

"Shut up, Konoha trash. Your pathetic village treated the Nidaime like an animal, and you don't expect him to take revenge?" asked Guren distastefully, as Kakashi looked at her.

"Is your leader really Naruto?" asked Kakashi remorsefully,

"Yes" answered Guren, as her soldiers surrounded Kakashi, Anko and several other Konoha shinobi that were defending the outer area of the stadium.

"Why the hell would Naruto go this far? He already committed a grave crime when he stole the forbidden scroll, I can't believe he would became a traitor too..." said Anko in disbelief,

She looked towards Kakashi for answers and frowned when a knowing look came in his eyes, it was as if he realized why Naruto was doing all of this.

"So, Kurenai failed to convince him. It explains everything, why she hates Naruto and does not remember him..." thought Kakashi regretfully,

His heart was torn, a part of him could understand why Naruto was doing all of this and even accept his actions. And the other side of him which was a loyal ninja of Konoha couldn't agree with Naruto's decision.

He could not understand why Naruto chose to help Anko when he had decided to take revenge against Konoha. It only meant that he still cared about his friends and family, and his revenge was not against them.

Naruto was like a son to him, and if he had truly known the boy then there must be a greater reason behind all this destruction. Naruto never fought solely for revenge, he was a better person than that. The question that lied before Kakashi right now was extremely difficult.

What was he supposed to do?

Could he really side against a village which had betrayed his adoptive son at every point and made his life hell? Konoha was certainly not the dream village today for which Obito and Rin had laid down their lives.

Or could he forsake his duty as a ninja of Konoha? Could he truly side with Naruto after serving Konoha all his life?

And what about Anko? Kurenai? His friends? What would they think about him?

He loved Naruto as much as he loved Anko. He took the boy in his life when everyone else had rejected him, some might even agree Kakashi had done more than Naruto's real parents could ever do for the boy in an entire lifetime.

Deep down Kakashi always knew if Naruto found out about Rei he would turn. There were limits to a person's mercy, and Hiruzen had crossed Naruto's limit of tolerance. If his guess was right, then Kurenai must have chosen to side with the village. Kakashi knew the genjutsu mistress was one of the most loyal ninja of this village.

And that would have left Naruto only one option: To put her out of her misery.

Kakashi was perhaps the only one who could completely understand the dark life which Naruto had lived. He himself had been an Anbu and lived that life behind shadows, and the things he had to do sent shivers down his spine till this day. He had already failed in protecting Naruto from enduring that harsh life once...

And now if he stood against the boy, then he would lose him forever.

It only proved one thing to him: He needed answers, he needed to hear the truth.

His sharp eyes turned towards Guren as the Oto captain narrowed her eyes in suspicion, when Kakashi placed his kunai back in his pouch much to Anko's shock.

"I need to see your leader..." said Kakashi frankly, making the purple haired woman laugh.

"Is this a joke? Are you out of your fucking mind? Like hell we're gonna let you get close to the Nidaime..." replied Guren flatly, as the Oto ninja sneered at the masked Hatake.

"He is my son..." admitted Kakashi without any hesitation, shocking the Oto ninjas.

Anko and the Konoha ninjas could not understand what was wrong with Kakashi, these people were their enemies. Naruto was an enemy now, and he wanted to talk to that boy? Had he lost his marbles?

Wordlessly Kakashi started walking forward in Naruto's direction, as several Sound Ninja blocked his way and readied their weapons to kill him.

Anko was about to move forward to protect her man, when Kakashi raised his hand and the harsh look which he gave her stopped her in her spot.

"I am going to see my son. Don't interfere..." instructed Kakashi,

"But-" argued Anko in protest, and flinched when she got a murderous glare in return.

"Don't forget he did free your from your curse. He had no obligation towards any of us after what Konoha did to him, yet he helped the you whom he loved as an elder sister. This is my choice, so back off..." said Kakashi harshly, as even Guren was surprised on hearing this.

Did their Nidaime really help these people? If that was true, then was this man truly their leader's father?

"I am not going to fight you people. I am going to see my son, if you want to stop me then you'll have to kill me. Then you'll have to explain to your Nidaime that you killed his father in cold blood, and then be ready for the consequences..." warned Kakashi, and silently smirked when a horrified look came in every Oto ninja's eyes including Guren.

A chill went down their spines when they remembered the hundreds of executions through firing squads which Naruto had ordered during his reign. The Nidaime was a good person, but he never forgave traitors or those who harmed people close to him.

Being the leader of this company, she pondered over Kakashi's suggestion. Guren doubted this man alone was enough to kill their leader, compared to the nine tailed form of their leader...Kakashi was hardly a threat. But if she killed him, injured him or stopped him from meeting Naruto and if by some fucked up fate he did turn out to be Naruto's father...

She shivered as she imagined the punishment which Naruto would inflict on her...

"Fine. You can go..." said Guren bitterly,

"Captain?" questioned many of her soldiers in disbelief, as Kakashi quickly dashed towards Naruto's position.

"Let him go, I'll take full responsibility. He's just one man, we still have these bastards to kill..." said Guren eagerly, a predator like grin arriving on her lips as her forces surrounded the Konoha shinobi.

Anko lonely glanced towards the disappearing form of Kakashi, as a bad feeling arose in her heart.

''What are you doing, Kakashi?"

Wild winds blowed across the skies of Konoha, carrying the smoke and the foul smell of death along with it towards the nearby areas.

On top of the Hokage Mountain, three people watched in horror and disbelief as the once beautiful leaf village was getting destroyed with every passing second. Regardless of which side people belonged to, they were dying.

Men, women, children.

Death was not discriminating against anyone, and the giant nine tailed fox was acting as the harbinger of destruction.

"Is this a dream?" asked an older voice,

"What the fuck is this? This can't be happening, not to Konoha..." replied his partner in a terrified voice,

"This is reality. It's time Konoha faced the results of its actions..." said the last person, a small creepy smile arriving on his lips.

To be Continued...