Chapter 97: Die by the Sword

Naruto stepped forward, eyes set on three of the most powerful shinobi the world had ever seen. With the exception of Madara Uchiha, Hachimon or the Rikudo Sennin he doubted any warrior could match up with the combined prowess of the Great Senju Brothers and Orochimaru.

And now he was facing all three of them alone in combat.

Wordlessly, four shadow clones of him were created instantly. Never waiting for any verbal command from their original, the clones quickly performed an identical series of hand signs before slamming their hands on the ground.

"Shishienjin (Four Violet Flames Formation)"

A large square shaped barrier of purple colored flames was formed all around the warriors confining them to a limited area. The clones who had formed the barrier quickly knelt down and took their positions as another protective barrier covered them. This way no one would be able to disable the barrier by destroying any one of them...

"It seems you've mastered one of my jutsu..." said Orochimaru wickedly,

He sighed when Naruto remained silent, never giving a reply to his minor taunt.

"Kurama, now we can go all out..." said Naruto seriously,

"Is that wise, Naruto? Your true power-"

"I know. We will be careful not to overuse my powers or risk destroying the Reich Capital and the people in it. This barrier is strong, so the damage will be confined to this area. Mostly..." reassured Naruto, as the fox gave him a feral grin.

"Then let's do this..."

Orochimaru quickly tossed two sharp swords to the Senju brothers who accepted the weapons without a word. In return, Naruto did the opposite by sheathing his sword much to Hashirama's confusion.

"Pick up your sword, Kaiser..." said Hashirama flatly,

"It is not a weapon which can be carelessly used when thousands of innocents still reside within this city. Don't worry, I will give this fight my all..." promised Naruto,

"Very well, then..."

Orochimaru made a hand seal, and the next second Tobirama vanished. Naruto having sensed the danger, quickly ducked just in time for the Nidaime Hokage to appear above him. The sword missing the Kaiser's neck by just a minute second...

"He's fast, but..." thought Naruto, as he raised his hand.

The Kaiser's right arm instantly transformed into a lengthy wooden spear, which was now an inch away from stabbing Tobirama through the chest. Instead, Hashirama leaped inside the battlefield his sword making a long slicing arc towards Naruto's chest. The Kaiser simply shifted his weight evading the blow, and formed a wooden shield in his other hand just in time to block the hail of exploding tags Orochimaru had launched towards him.

"Naruto, close quarters..." warned Kurama urgently,

Acting on the sensible advice given by his partner, Naruto was able to capture a fierce roundhouse kick from Hashirama by stabbing the man in the foot with his spear transformed wooden hand. Tobirama twisted quickly in the air, and aimed a powerful punch for the Kaiser's spine.

What the Nidaime Hokage hadn't expected was a sudden chakra tail to abruptly emerge from his opponent's back and impale him straight through the chest.

Instead of being shocked, the younger Senju simply smirked alarming Naruto.

"Shit..." cursed the Kaiser,

He put great force in his jump, but even so he was not completely successful in evading an upper cut from Tobirama who emerged from beneath his feet. The attack connected with Naruto's left portion of the chest barely. But the impact made the Kaiser cough blood...

Back flipping away, he created a certain distance between him and his enemies.

"The Nidaime was said to be the master of genjutsu. Kurenai had praised his skills so many times, and father had warned me about his speed. Now I know why..." thought Naruto frankly,

The Kaiser grunted when the triad of Hashirama, Tobirama and Orochimaru ran towards him from different directions. Their speed was frightening to say the least...

Together they leapt at him, initiating a series of offensive Taijutsu moves.

Anko who was standing a few meters away, guarding the captured coffins holding Shin, Sai and Rei's reanimated corpses could only nervously watch as Naruto fought a brutal hand to hand combat match.

Slowly but surely the enemies managed to find a tiny moment where Naruto's defense was vulnerable, and struck hard. Although all it did was piss off the Kaiser even more, the blows raining down on him would have shattered even the fiercest Anbu ninjas yet Naruto simply fought back more vigorously.

For each punch taken, he pounced on his opponents with more fury. Orochimaru was the first to suffer the Kaiser's wrath when the snake received a solid kick to his groin sending him sailing away. Tobirama was next when Naruto jabbed his right hand straight to the man's neck creating a large hole. A roundhouse kick then sent the Nidaime crashing into a nearby house.

Hashirama was a completely different story than his other two comrades. While lacking the speed of Tobirama, and the flexibility of Orochimaru the Shodaime Hokage had enormous strength and endurance capacity.

Naruto sent a chakra enhanced right hook straight for Hashirama's chest, only to be effortlessly stopped as Hashirama simply grabbed that attacking arm of the Kaiser. The momentary shock costed Naruto as he received a bone crushing kick to the chest followed by a series of punches to his handsome face which sent him sailing away.

Coughing up blood from his mouth, he had to quickly get up as Tobirama sent a single shuriken sailing towards him followed by quick hand seals...

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique)"

Naruto simply encased his entire body in the chakra provided by his Biju making the entire attack useless. His Mangekyo spinned rapidly, as he narrowed his vision on Tobirama.

"Amaterasu"

The Nidaime performed a quick shunshin, evading majority of the lethal black flames but was unable to save his left arm which was now on fire. With one enemy temporary out of the way, Naruto quickly turned around to see several snakes flying towards him fangs raised to bite.

"Sen'eijashu(Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)"

Orochimaru's grin vanished when the Kaiser dispersed into a petal of crows, the Sannin instantly jumped but only a moment too late as Naruto emerged from beneath his feet and the dangerous Mangekyo spinned again as a predatory look arrived in the Kaiser's eyes.

"Burn, bitch!"

Hinata was surprised when Anko whistled madly on seeing her former teacher's entire chest ignited in black flames making the Sannin scream in agony.

"The Kaiser copied the Nidaime's tactic so quickly. I had nearly forgotten he is quite deadly with his genjutsu..." thought Hinata, her tension decreasing just a little. Maybe Naruto would be all right against those three monsters...

Then her ever sharp Byakugan saw something horrible...

"Naruto, watch out!" warned Hinata,

The Kaiser had just finished hammering a bone crushing kick to Orochimaru's mouth, when several vines rose from the ground enveloping them around his entire body. From the corner of his eye, he saw Hashirama squeeze his folded hands...

"Banmuchi (Vine Whip)"

Brutally, the vines started slamming the Kaiser on the ground like a rag doll. Repeatedly

Grunting in pain, Naruto managed to perform a single hand seal as the vines tossed him again in the air for another brutal slam.

"Fuuton Kazekiri (Wind Release: Wind Cutter Jutsu)"

Razor sharp wind blades swirled rapidly slicing apart the veils holding the Kaiser. Blood oozed from various parts of his body staining his battle dress, he panted harshly as Tobirama emerged in front of him. Apparently, the Nidaime had sliced off his scorched hand and a new one had replaced the lost limb.

"Damn Edo Tensei..." thought Kurama bitterly,

"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu(Water Release: Water Bullet Technique)"

"Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu (Wood Release: Cutting Technique)"

Naruto quickly strengthened his position on the ground as the Senju brothers launched another monstrous attack. The sky was filled with razor sharp water bullets that were about to rain down on him, while the land was being teared apart by hundreds of sharp wooden spears.

"A combined attack. No warrior can escape from this..." thought Naruto seriously,

He thrusted his right arm forward, while his eyes focused on the water bullets falling from the sky. Channeling, a massive amount of chakra from his body he yelled fiercely.

"Amaterasu Danmaku (Amaterasu Barrage)!"

"Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu (Wood Release: Cutting Technique)"

A barrage of black flames were created by the Kaiser which instantly launched to collide head on with the water bullets raining down from the sky, while hundreds of wooden spears rose from Naruto's side colliding head on with Hashirama's same attack.

The result was a massive explosion of dust, debris, wooden particles and mist raining down from the sky. The entire battlefield became a blind spot.

"Hinata, what do you see?" asked Anko urgently,

"Amazing. The Kaiser didn't take a single hit from that deadly attack, and is holding for now. Wait, he's grinning..." said Hinata confusedly,

"What?"

A moment later Anko grinned as she understood just what had happened that had made Naruto smile.

Apparently, a veteran warrior inside the barrier had arrived at the same conclusion.

"Scatter, now. He's going to use the mist against us..." warned Hashirama,

The Hokage heard several footsteps rapidly moving around him, and not a second later he saw several clones of Naruto leap towards him with their swords.

SLAM!

In a sheer display of monstrous power, Hashirama punched his right hand on the ground breaking it into several parts sending debris flying everywhere. Unfortunately, the Naruto clones were in too close proximity and couldn't evade the sudden unexpected attack. They were all destroyed in seconds.

The Senju sighed in relief, until he saw bright lights in the mist.

Lights approaching towards him.

"Shit"

"Mokujoheki (Wood Locking Wall)"

Forming a last minute wooden wall was the only thing he could do. Quickly taking cover behind it, he grimaced as hundreds of powerful fireballs clashed with his defense.

"This boy is strong. Izuna would have loved him..." thought Hashirama kindly,

The Senju gasped in shock when something ran clean through his chest. Looking down, he saw a powerful beam of electricity had sliced through his wooden wall and ran clean through his chest. Off in the distance, he saw a devious pair of Mangekyo smile at him menacingly.

"Chidori Eiso (Chidori Spear)" whispered Naruto, enjoying the shock on Hashirama's face.

He smiled deviously when the Hokage started to get back on his feet, the Edo Tensei already healing the damage done and aided by Hashirama's godly healing powers had only stopped the Senju for a moment.

Clasping both his hands, Naruto channeled another massive amount of lightning chakra through his chidori.

"Chidori Bura Suto (Chidori Blast)!"

The small electric spear piercing Hashirama's chest cackled madly, with a new surge of chakra reinforcing the attack; the hole in Hashirama's chest grew to a larger size. When Naruto yelled, the gathered electricity transformed into a small powerful ball of lightning. Hashirama glanced at Naruto and only muttered one word.

"Shit"

BOOM!

The ball of lightning exploded in a nova blast obliterating everything in half a mile radius. Naruto had to jump away in order to evade getting trapped in his own attack, but still watching Hashirama's body evaporate like that...

"Damn, that was fun..."

He smirked when Kurama finished both of their line of thoughts in a single sentence.

"Did you just vaporize my brother?"

Naruto froze.

Hesitantly glancing back he saw a murderous Tobirama standing exactly behind him. Conscious and extremely livid.

"Now you feel the same pain..."

With those cold words Tobirama vanished only in time for Naruto to spot an armed explosive tag with five strange seals on it.

"Gojo Kibaku Fuda (Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags)"

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

An endless series of violent explosions occurred one after another. So destructive was the attack that it made the entire Reich Capital shake violently, and if not for the barrier formed by Naruto more than half of the district would have been ruthlessly destroyed.

The attack ended after nearly three minutes, leaving behind shocked humans and destroyed earth.

Tobirama narrowed his dark red colored eyes, and frowned on seeing a spectral figure floating irregularly on the ground. Grabbing a sharp kunai in each of his finger, he waited as the smoke slowly dispersed and there stood before him...

"A Susanno..." said Tobirama in surprise,

Before he could even get over his surprise, the Susanno disappeared in a flock of crows. Years of battlefield experience kicked in as he quickly raised his hand.

"Kai!" yelled Tobirama,

The field changed again, and this time he found himself standing in the midst of a deep crater created due to his explosions. In the far off distance, he could see Hashirama's body had started to form again albeit much slowly.

While Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen...

"Maybe the Snake kicked the bucket..." thought Tobirama hopelessly,

His ever sharp sensory powers kicked in and he twisted quickly in an acrobatic manner. Even so he was a moment too late, as a giant chakra arrow destroyed half of his body. Turning back, he saw Naruto standing there. His body shielded with a medium sized Susanno which was covered by bones and holding a large bow with the help of its hands. Its menacing dark red eyes glaring at the Second Hokage.

Naruto raised his hand as another giant arrow was created by his Susanno, Tobirama tried to move but with half of his body destroyed he was rendered immobile.

"You're not the only one with tricks..." said Tobirama flatly,

The Nidaime quickly created a shadow clone without any hand seal, without wasting a moment the clone clasped both of its hands together joining index fingers.

"Kokuangyo no Jutsu (Bringer of Darkness Technique)"

The world went dark, as if the entire light of the universe had been sucked inside a black hole. Wherever Naruto looked he could see nothing, he had lost his vision completely.

"Naruto, focus on your remaining senses. Use your sensory powers..." advised Kurama,

"You know about this jutsu, Kurama?" asked Naruto curiously,

"Let's just say one of my former containers had experienced it in the past..." said Kurama mysteriously,

Naruto's memory traced its knowledge back to a certain red head who had been the first container of the fox. Maybe since Kurama was inside of her,

"Is there any way to break it?" asked Naruto politely,

"There is. You hit the user with powerful attacks disrupting the regular chakra flow the user is pouring to maintain this jutsu. That is the only way..." answered Kurama frankly,

"You mean fight blindly?"

"Precisely. What? You scared already?" teased Kurama, as Naruto huffed.

"I'm the Kaiser, fox. A few years back this may have been enough to defeat me, not today. Not after everything I've learned over the years..." said Naruto confidently,

Kurama narrowed his eyes when Naruto raised the hands of his Susanno, a few seconds later several large projectiles started taking shape. The mere sight of them made Kurama remember the night of the Root Massacre.

"Yasaka No Magatama!" yelled Naruto fiercely,

Several powerful chakra bombs sailed away wildly in every direction in the hopes of making contact with Tobirama Senju, Naruto had his eyes closed even as he fired attack after attack in pursuit of the illusive Kage.

"Left, Right. Behind, damn this guy's probably as fast as dad..." cursed Naruto,

Kurama never said a word allowing Naruto to focus on the battle, the cat and mouse game going on between the Kaiser and Tobirama was going on longer than what he initially expected. If Naruto had unending power, Tobirama made up for it with speed.

"Even if Naruto divides his attack into smaller versions scattering them all over the field, Tobirama simply performs a shunshin a moment before getting hit..." analysed Kurama silently,

"Kurama, I think I've found a pattern in his moves. I'll need your help with this..." said Naruto

"You mean your dumbass actually came up with a plan instead of firing powerful attacks aimlessly?" mocked Kurama jovially, and smirked when Naruto's eyebrows twitched.

"Very funny..." retorted Naruto, secretly thankful for the fox's support.

"So, what do you have in mind?"

Naruto quickly explained the plan to his partner as a feral grin came across the giant fox's lips.

"Taking a note out of popular human game, are we? But this is the Nidaime Hokage, not some lame ass joker..." warned Kurama, as Naruto shrugged.

"He's still human. Besides, what have we to lose?" asked Naruto carelessly,

"Fine..."

Tobirama performed a quick shunshin as another chakra bomb exploded a few meters behind him, he simply shook his head disappointment evident on his face.

"In the end, Kaiser you are nothing more than a brute. Typical of Uchiha to lack finesse..." said Tobirama critically, hoping to frustrate his opponent.

Another barrage of chakra bombs were fired by the Susanno, sighing Tobirama again started to perform shunshin after shunshin evading every attack easily. Soon enough, he knew the Kaiser's chakra reserves would run dry and that would be the moment he would launch his fastest attack ending the so called emperor. But still...

"Even his pattern remains the same, is he really the one who defeated Sarutobi?" thought Tobirama curiously,

As he finished another shunshin, and prepped his body for the next one he was startled when a sudden yellow colored chakra tail emerged from the ground in front of him. From his side, he saw the usual chakra bomb approaching rapidly with only two seconds before impact.

"You plan to capture me first to make a hit. Not bad, but not enough either..." thought Tobirama smartly,

Before the tail could capture the Nidaime he performed a reverse shunshin reaching the former position from where he had just flash charged. His eyes widened when another tail emerged from the ground grasping him firmly.

Shocked, he tried to look around only to come face to face with a chakra ball.

BOOM!

The darkness disappeared as Tobirama's head exploded like a watermelon, without wasting any second Naruto charged. His Susanno vanished as his right hand instantly unleashed Ryujin Jakka.

Kurama gasped when Naruto stabbed the sword clean through the Reforming Kage's corpse, Tobirama's head had barely started forming when his entire body froze.

"Zanka no Tachi, Higashi: Kyokujitsujin (Longsword of the Remnant Flame, Void)"

"Embrace eternity, Tobirama..." said Naruto sagely,

Hashirama stared in horror as his brother's body started cracking. Within seconds, Tobirama crumbled to pieces on the ground. A divine light emerged from the dust of the corpse which was quickly absorbed inside the glowing sword.

"You may have been more smarter than me, but sometimes a simple deception can even make the mightiest warriors fall..." said Naruto sincerely,

Wordlessly he sealed Ryujin Jakka back in its sheath and turned around to stare at a numb Hashirama.

"Tobi..."

"He is at peace, Hashirama. Never again shall he be used by selfish mortals like Orochimaru, for he has become one with the Divine..." said Naruto kindly,

"You sealed my brother, didn't you?" asked Hashirama sadly,

"I gave him peace, Hokage. His spirit shall live on in this sword, he shall have eternal life even long after humanity meets its end..." confessed Naruto,

"He won't be tortured, would he?" asked Hashirama worriedly, concern evident in his eyes making Naruto smile.

"Ryujin Jakka never discriminates. It's a spirit itself, once a person's fight is over there is only peace if he merges with this sword. Whatever sins committed by man are left behind in this life to begin a new experience with this entity. Honestly, I've always wondered why it chose me as its wielder..." said Naruto mysteriously,

"Because your spirit is pure..."

Naruto blinked, taken aback by Hashirama's words.

"I don't understand..." said Naruto confusedly,

"Madara once told me he forcefully took this sword from a holy monastery where it was carefully treasured by monks, sages who never participated in the violent conflict of Shinobi's. In a way, for ages they had prevented our blood thirsty race from getting its hands on such a monstrous power..." explained Hashirama, surprising Naruto.

"Uchiha Madara wanted this sword? I can't imagine someone as powerful as him ever needing this weapon..." said Naruto frankly, but Hashirama shook his head.

"Madara was powerful, but still a man in the end. He did manage to steal this sword but was never able to master its power, and it infuriated him. I fear if he had managed to control this sword, then the history of our world would have been different..." confessed Hashirama,

"Then how did this sword end up with Shin of all people? He was just another Root Anbu like me..." questioned Naruto,

"When I created Konoha, the Uchiha's became a part of the village. And when Madara left, the clan was more than willing to part away with all his belongings. In a way they were trying to distance themselves from Madara in every possible way, with no one to claim Madara's belongings they landed directly into the village's treasury..."

"The Uchiha's never knew just what this sword was, didn't they? And you never told them too..." said Naruto crudely, making Hashirama lower his head.

"No clan was fit to wield such a power. I sealed this sword in a hidden vault never to be opened again, except by another Hokage..." replied Hashirama honestly,

"Then your brother came along. I guess in his relentless desire to protect Konoha, he experimented with it. Tried to harness its power, but failed too. When Tobirama died his students took over. At that time, the Third Great Ninja War started and the village again needed such a power. So I guess, Hiruzen allowed Danzo to continue to find a way; alongwith finding a person who could actually wield it. Until Shin came..." deduced Naruto, earning a smile from Hashirama.

"Your friend was noble and one who wanted peace not just for Konoha but for the entire world. He wanted happiness for his friends, and even sacrificed his life to save yours. I guess, Ryujin Jakka never wanted a wielder who wanted to conquer but one who worked for the greater good. Maybe it sees that potential in you, Naruto. Don't let it go to waste..." advised Hashirama sagely,

"I still don't fee myself worthy of such power. But I thank you for your advice..." said Naruto gratefully, giving a small bow to his senior.

"Tobirama may have made a mistake by underestimating you, I won't. Prepare yourself, Kaiser..." warned Hashirama,

Naruto's eyes widened when an enormous pressure descended upon the entire capital. Far away, he saw Anko and the others fall on their knees unable to stand against this new power. He grimaced when Hashirama's entire body got covered with chakra and dark lines started forming beneath his eyes.

"Kurama, what the fuck is he doing?" asked Naruto urgently,

"Naruto, the Tree Hugger went batshit crazy..."