Chapter 42: Indra's Heir

She charged at him with her pale moonlight colored blade shining in the darkness. In return, he charged forward bravely with Dawn and his gunbai in his arms. A powerful stream of chakra was released from the blade which soon coated all over his body giving him an unearthly appearance. Around him, three more shadows all moved at the same time with the intent of putting her down.

Hinata unleashed a stream of deep and thick mist that threatened to enshroud the entire battlefield in effort to reduce the sight of their enemy, but her plan was reduced to ashes when the dragon king slashed his gunbai unleashing powerful wind waves that nipped the dangerous jutsu completely.

She was surprised when his eye bled again and this time they bathed Dawn in the flames of Amaterasu, instead of melting the ancient Uchiha sword only grew stronger.

Her powerful byakugan saw the boy named Itachi switch to twin kunai and move in closer while his other two comrades wove through a familiar set of hand seals.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Hinata easily jumped evading the jutsu that would have incinerated her only to come face to face with Itachi Uchiha. She grinned as she raised her palm forward towards the boy.

"SHINRA TENSAI!"

Instead of watching the boy crumble before her, he only dissipated into a flock of crows much to her annoyance.

A bloody clone!

She gripped her sword fiercely as her key opponent closed in. He was right there before her very eyes until he vanished, any other person including many younger ninjas of her clan would not have been able to keep up, but her Byakugan alerted her as she flicked her sword backwards meeting his vertical slash that was aimed to split her from behind.

Not wasting any moment, he made his next move.

"Amaterasu"

Naruto grimaced as instead of his black flames burning her alive, they simply seemed to get absorbed into her skin thanks to the Rinnegan. As he kept her locked, all three of his friends appeared behind the queen unleashing dozens of kunai laced with explosive tags.

The King flipped away just in time as the explosions consumed the enemy queen. He was not happy when the smoke and dust settled only to see Hinata had simply created layers of earthen walls to save her from the explosion.

Without any hand seals.

Now, she looked beyond annoyed as she clasped her fingers creating three more clones who instantly jumped to engage his friends in a fierce duel. The King wanted to help them out but had no choice but to focus on the real enemy.

In a futile move, the enemy queen tried to swarm Naruto with hordes of her dead thralls only to grit her teeth when the king set them all on fire courtesy of Amaterasu. Realizing, she would have to deal with him personally without any external aid she charged back at him.

Their blades clashed with a fierce roar sending sparks everywhere. She dared to look into his eye and surprised him even further when his attempt to cast a genjutsu on her had no effect. She had too much power and experience to fall for his tricks.

Atleast not yet.

He parried a horizontal slash of her blade and ducked in order to avoid her fingers from touching his heart. Having received intelligence about the Byakugan and its powers, he was in no mood test its ability to render him devoid of his chakra and possibly even steal his life.

Only years of his training and experience allowed him to keep his composure as she attacked him ruthlessly. To his surprise, she was not using any jutsu and was actually interested in seeing his skill with the blade. He was only glad to oblige her desire as it bought him more time to study her fighting style.

Hinata dodged another powerful gutso of wind released by Naruto's gunbai and blocked his sword from slicing her legs. She twisted her head sharply barely dodging the water bullets released from his mouth. He had already used that little distraction to twist her sword around and brutally smacked her on the cheek with his gunbai making her sail away.

She twisted mid air in fury and one of her arms transformed into a dozen missiles, all of which she launched at him at once.

Instead of using his teleportation jutsu, he swiftly ran straight towards the nearest horde of her dead thralls currently trying to hold back the king's clone army. Hinata didn't relent even when the first batch of her missiles obliterated dozens of her thralls, if it was the price she had to pay for her arch enemy's death then so be it. But he exceeded her expectations by dodging every one of her missiles which in turn only costed her more men.

He's saving as much of his chakra as he can. Smart boy.

"SHINRA TENSEI!"

The king blinked as the gravitational force tore towards him, destroying every inch of ground in its path. Knowing he had no choice, he was forced to jump into his space dimension and emerge right behind the queen who had already anticipated such an attack as she was ready to face him and was quick to pounce.

Naruto blocked her sword with his own but her chakra fist pierced through his gunbai connecting directly with his left shoulder which sent him crashing away. Anger tore through his heart on seeing his brother's prized weapon broken, more than that his left arm went limp courtesy of her blocking several of his chakra points.

Believing her advantage achieved, Hinata was left stunned when Naruto coated his fingers with precise amount of chakra and gazed at the blocked points with the help of his Mangekyo. In quick touches, he managed to open them all back up regaining feeling in his left shoulder much to the queen's surprise.

Of course, he's married to the bloody Senjus. His wife is one of the finest medics, she must have taught him how to counter my move after seeing what it did to her eldest brother.

The only way to defeat him quickly was to rob him off his precious chakra. For all his skill and valor, Naruto did not have as vast reserves as Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha. Already he had used a plenty to get his forces this far, just a little bit more and he would finally crumble.

"Shinzo!"

To her utter satisfaction, one of her two primary commanders quickly answered her call and behind him came thousands of warriors. Most of them were dead thralls, several were Hagoromo and Kaguya, a few Otsutsuki but one face elicited just the reaction from Naruto that the queen was hoping for.

Naruto clenched his fist shut drawing blood as among the enemy forces, he saw the familiar face of Itama Senju and many of his clansmen. Shisui had not failed to inform him of the young boy's sacrifice that allowed the Uzumaki clan and the Allied forces to flee. The boy who had once been weak became the one to save thousands of lives. To see him reduced to this...

If that was not enough, he saw hundreds of Uchiha dead as his enemies.

His people.

There were so many others he recognized. Hatake, Aburame, Yamanaka, Akimichi, Kurama...

Hinata saw Naruto literally grinding his own teeth, his lone eye ablaze with dangerous fury. She felt the entire beach tremble violently and felt the king's chakra spike violently. What she had not imagined was the entire sea to rumble.

"Attack!"

Commander Shinzo had realized the growing threat and swiftly gave the command unleashing nearly a few thousand former shinobi at the dragon king. Hundreds rushed towards him while hundreds more skilled ones weaved through several dozen sets of hand seals.

The king himself charged forward with righteous fury burning in his lone eye and his ancestral sword burning even more greatly. Naruto's charge gained dangerous momentum as he neared the army of dead.

A wall of kunai, shuriken, explosive tags were immediately thrown towards the king and it was then the king himself grabbed his own set of kunai and effortlessly threw them forward. Without any seals, he created hundreds of replica which not only defeated the attacks aimed at him but also managed to hit dozens of his enemies, all of whom soon exploded courtesy of the hidden explosive tags on the kunai.

Haunting screams echoed across the battlefield as a wall of dark Amaterasu flames surged forward burning every single person in its way. It was so vast and so tall beyond any mercy as it burned alive living and dead alike.

Still, the enemies of the king were just too many and they charged at him as his attack died down.

In return, the king set the sky on fire.

Hinata's eyes widened as she felt the dragon king literally set clouds on fire with the help of the flames of Amaterasu. The amount of energy being churned in the sky was beyond belief and she flew immediately just moments before the heavens cried.

She watched Naruto clench his fist and then a blinding light exploded over the Land of Water.

Kurama blinked his eyes open after what felt like several long minutes which in reality had barely been a few moments, yet a lot had changed in that short period.

His eyes widened as he saw a massive crater born on the beach with its sand turned black.

He also spotted the enemy army devoid of a few thousand of their soldiers and one look at that dark sand lying on the beach told him of their fate.

He had remembered Naruto fighting against a small enemy army all alone before he set the sky on fire with the help of Amaterasu. He had heard the thunder as the clouds had screamed in agony, before a singly flash of lightning had fell from the heavens.

Only instead of the lightning being dark blue in color, it had been dark black.

All the energy of the clouds converted into one single attack combined with the speed, distance and devastation of Amaterasu.

The end result was utter annihilation.

Both armies had momentarily stopped fighting to witness the sheer amount of destruction. Even the Otsutsuki commanders leading their army froze on seeing the fate of their comrades.

And for the first time, their queen looked rattled.

Justifiably, as Naruto's murderous gaze landed on her.

She had been too late.

For all her talent, she was not more powerful than nature. Despite her best attempts, she had been unable to stop that attack and it had butchered a large chunk of her forces.

An entire flank of her army was now wavering and would soon collapse with that dragon still wrecking havoc on her remaining corpses.

A scenario she had never thought possible in her wildest dreams.

Her eyes met the gaze of the king and she flinched when she saw the raw hatred in his eyes. She imagined herself being butchered in the most gruesome ways. She had underestimated him and his hate of seeing his people be turned against him.

He was unpredictable, unlike most humans. She had never anticipated him wielding so much power or control, he was supposed to be the better general. A master of tactical warfare, while Madara and Hashirama were his two strongest fighters.

But unlike those two men whose powers were legendary, Naruto had a power of his own.

Even now she could not bring herself to read his next move. He never screamed or raged, he never gave away his emotions even in the most dire situations, he was silent as a whisper when he attacked never allowing his enemies any time to counter his moves.

Shinzo alongside his little army never had a chance as they were all turned to ashes. The fact that the king had not even spared Itama Senju was a stark proof of his lack of mercy or hesitation.

He had just killed them all.

And now those murderous eyes were glaring at her.

She had to stop him!

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Naruto panted harshly as his body still recovered from the shock of dispensing Kami No Raijin (Divine Thunder) so quickly. It was one of his most expensive chakra consuming jutsu, made even more deadly by the speed of his execution. The result had been complete annihilation of his enemies but it had costed him.

His muscles ached as his body tried to reduce the impact of that much chakra being exhausted at once.

He had already used quite a lot to transport his army here, then fighting against the queen and her forces. Yet, she seemed hardly injured.

Now, he watched as she unleashed an army of dangerous summoning creatures at him.

The entire group was strange: A Giant Dog, A Giant Drilled Beaked Bird, A Fuming Rhino, A Dangerous Ox, even a Centipede, Panda and Crustacean. They were so massive and he knew he could not fight them all at the same time.

They were falling towards him and he quickly gathered another wave of his chakra.

Only to watch the skies above him set alight in scorching flames as of Ryu consumed everything. The green scaled dragon roared furiously as its flames caught the Ox and Panda. The creatures screamed in agony but were instantly silenced as another wave of fire consumed them. The remaining summons scattered away in order to avoid the dangerous flying mass of death.

Naruto could not help but be surprised at the dragon's actions. He had commanded the creature to destroy the Otsutsuki army, yet it had overcame that order given by a Mangekyo and came to his rescue. It truly was a frightening beast as it swooped down from the sky and snatched the Crustacean in its maw crushing it to death before swallowing the beast even as it disappeared in a huge plume of smoke.

The dragon was suddenly attacked by dangerous winds, a courtesy of the Beaked Bird flying above it. But the beast's scales held and soon the dragon found the creature who had the nerve to attack him. The Beaked Bird tried to flee but the dragon was faster and set its enemy on fire. Watching that summon vanish in a pume of smoke was a satisfying sight.

The dragon circled around before landing beside him in a protective manner spreading its large wings and bellowing a battlecry that momentarily stopped the three headed dog, Panda and Centipede; the only three summons that were still alive.

Not a second later, the three beasts screamed in unbearable agony and collapsed. Seconds later dark flames of Amaterasu erupted from their insides and consumed their outer bodies as well. Naruto felt a stinging pain in his lone eye as a stream of blood flooded down his face. He fell to one knee and had to grasp Dawn for support as the pain consumed his body.

He barely had anytime to react as the hidden Chameleon emerged from the shadows, its long and monstrous snakelike tail smashed against the dragon's face sending the beast crashing away. It roared a massive plume of purple smoke and Naruto knew it was dangerous if he got caught. But before he could move a sticky but strong tail emerged from the smoke and wrapped him in a vice like grip.

"Wind Style: Hurricane!"

"Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!"

A gust of powerful wind rushed past him and collided straight with the approaching smoke dispersing it easily. Not a second later dozens of fireballs descended from the skies right upon the exposed chameleon. A quick slash from the sword had the creature's tongue be severed separating the trapped king from its hold. The fireballs hit home and from the huge plume of smoke that happened everybody knew the beast was finished.

A thin smile came upon Naruto's lips as his three friends took up positions around him. Mikoto cleaned the blood of the chameleon from her sword in one reflexive slash, while Shisui and Itachi grabbed their friend by his shoulders to keep him steady.

Before they could say anything, they watched Naruto's eyes go wide in horror as he pushed past them already weaving his hands through several hand seals.

"SHINRA TENSEI!"

Kakashi Hatake gripped his tanto fiercely as he felt the earth beneath him tremble. Looking at his men, he saw they also felt the power approaching towards them. If the roars weren't terrifying enough, then the sheer wave of darkness rushing towards them was enough to make even the most hardened veterans nervous.

He could be wrong, but he easily spotted thousands rushing towards him.

Maybe 10,000 strong.

His only solace was the fact that the enemy forces were confident in their superior numbers and had decided to storm through their front lines instead of surrounding the barrier on all four sides. It had forced Danzo and Mifune to reassemble their entire force on the Northern Flank.

220 against 10,000.

The men and women were grim with some even imagining that the only way these many enemy could have reached here would be on the sole possibility of their king dying in battle. But Danzo was quick to point out the still open space time portal in their rear lines and it could only function in the event of the king still fighting. It gave the men hope just as Hanzo stepped before them.

Even if Danzo had command over the fighters, the young Shimura had deferred that role to the more experienced Hanzo who had lived through two decades of the Clan Wars Era.

"They'll try to come at us in multiple waves. But we will hold them!" commanded Hanzo, no trace of hesitation or doubt present in his grave voice.

The older commander was pleased when the distinct thump of clenched fist colliding against armor reached him. Looking into the eyes of these warriors, Hanzo now understood why Naruto only wanted those willing to risk everything to be a part of this mission. There was no honor or glory to be gained from this battle, only death.

Only those with a strong heart and determined mind could make that choice.

"Danzo, take command of the left flank!"

"Kakashi, hold the right flank!"

Both boys gave swift nods as they took up their respective positions on the battlefield. If by any chance, the enemy managed to break through or try to reach the barrier from other directions then Hanzo had his dangerous Salamander hidden to deal with the situation. The beast was barely visible and would do well in crushing anyone who tried to destroy the barrier in order to reach the Uzumaki trying to set off four tailed beasts.

Kakashi dared not look back inside the barrier at that growing mass of violent chakra. He could feel its power even from here and felt his bones rattle as he tried to imagine what it would do to him once it went off. He would simply vanish from this world alongwith an entire continent.

The enemy felt that danger too which was why the first wave charged at them without any further delay.

The battle had begun.

"SCROLLS!" bellowed Kakashi,

Similar cries were issued by Hanzo who was commanding the center of their formation and Danzo who was on the left flank. Dozens of ninjas in their rear ranks unleashed multiple scrolls from their holsters and jumped high in the air.

The first wave of scrolls unleashed a rain of kunai that sailed high in the air before landing upon the battlefield.

Dozens upon dozens of explosions tore through enemy ranks but it hardly had any affect as their charge never faltered. Even more of the enemy ranks fell prey to the deadly traps that Kakashi and his men had set underground.

Hundreds of the enemy perished leading to their charge being brought down to a halt.

Their ranks parted until two dozen Otsutsuki stepped forward leading to many of the allied ninjas to take a step back. Their infamous dojutsu manifested in their eyes and Kakashi instantly sensed the massive build up of chakra.

"Samurai, to the front!SHIELD WALL!" he roared, and was glad the veterans stepped forward forming the first line and locked their shields together.

"Earth Style Users, FORMATION Z!" bellowed Kakashi,

Kakashi himself performed a set of hand seals alongside three dozen other ninjas in the center of their formation before they all slammed their palms on the ground.

"Eight Triagrams: Air Palm Wall!"

The Otsutsuki unleashed their attack as a massive force of lethal chakra charged forth in a roaring wave crushing boulders, rocks and the very earth itself in its path.

"Earth Style: Multiple Earth Walls!"

Kakashi and his men erected atleast a dozen large earth walls covering their entire formation and grimaced when they felt their defenses being destroyed one after another. Fortunately, their final earth wall managed to stop the attack if only barely.

A heavy mist started to spread across the area as the roars of thousands of enemy forces echoed across the valley.

The final earth wall crumbled and much to everyone's surprise the Otsutsuki commanders were themselves leading the charge which only went to show how desperate they were to stop the ninjas.

"UCHIHAS!"

The last of the dragon descendants stepped forward with their attack ready.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

Kakashi watched the last of the Uchiha warriors set the entire field on fire as a raging inferno of flames rushed towards the Otsutsuki army intending to burn everyone alive. In retaliation, the enemy forces joined together to unleash their own water tsunami that clashed against the fire tsunami.

In the chaos, Hanzo turned towards his Samurai warriors with his wicked scythe burning with chakra.

The Samurai infantry brought forward their own swords glowing with their own inner energy. Together, as one they roared and attacked.

''Divine Slash!"

Kakashi watched waves of chakra laced with wind, fire, and lightning chakra be unleashed by the Samurai which charged straight into the enemy ranks eliciting pained screams.

"Danzo, unleash the aerial forces. We need to keep them away from us as long as possible!" ordered Hanzo,

"Understood, my lord" replied the Shimura heir,

Danzo unleashed a current of lightning from one of his hands into the air leading to a group of hawks to descend from the skies. The few Namikaze that had taken part in this mission mercilessly unleashed their payload of hundreds of explosives right on top of the exposed enemy forces.

The battlefield came alive as explosions tore through living and dead alike, their screams echoing far and wide for both sides to hear. Not wanting to give any quarter to the enemy, Danzo took command of their rear ranks as the earth style specialists made their next move.

"Earth Style: Heavy Bombardment!"

Rocks the size of small houses were created by the ninjas and soon hurled across the field into the midst of the disarrayed enemy forces. They were doing heavy damage yet Kakashi smelled several approaching forms from the mist.

He glanced at Hanzo who gave a confirmation nod which was all the permission Kakashi needed.

"Uchihas and Senjus, with me!"

The last living son of Sakumo Hatake charged forward with the most skilled warriors of two powerful clans at his back. He could already make out the forms of the Otsutsuki commanders rushing towards them. They had to be put down because if even half of them reached their formation then their close quarter combat would result into the ninjas suffering severe casualties. A price they could not afford to pay under any situation.

Fortunately, King Naruto had anticipated quite a few of these scenarios and had prepared each and everyone of his men for the same. It was why there was no unnecessary panic or hesitation in the hearts of Kakashi's vanguard as they were about to clash against their feared enemy.

Behind them, their comrades continued to keep the bulk of the enemy army pinned under heavy bombardment from the land and sky. It was a new concept of land artillery and aerial bombardment that had been invented during this war, one which might just give their side a small edge against their overwhelming foe.

He grinned when several hundred shuriken and kunai whizzed past them courtesy of the accurate Uchiha warriors making the charging Otsutuski abruptly stop and suddenly rotate at rapid speed expelling great amount of chakra that destroyed any attack that would have harmed them. But it also gave Kakashi and the Senjus a precious few seconds to close the distance completely.

"Raikiri!"

One of the Otsutsuki had just finished his rotational defense when a lance of lightning shot forward from Kakashi's left arm. He managed to sidestep a little thereby saving his heart from getting impaled but the attack still connected with his chest making him cough blood. Kakashi never gave his opponent any quarter as he charged past him with his tanto cleaving the shocked Otsutsuki's head off.

His victory earned him the wrath of another Otsutuki as the female warrior instantly appeared inside his space and delivered a bone crushing palm to Kakashi's chest only to scream in agony as the Hatake dissolved into lightning and electrocuted her in the process. The real Kakashi emerged from beneath the ground and cleaved her in half mercilessly.

He risked a glance across the battlefield and flinched on seeing four Senjus and three Uchiha lying dead on the ground. The remaining were trying their best to murder 16 Otsutsuki but were only making minimal progress.

Two Otsutsuki also lay dead on the field, so atleast his comrades hadn't died in vain.

Kakashi flinched when a few Otsutsuki shifted away from the frontlines and instead unleashed their deadly Vaccum Air Palm attacks right at the skies. Two of the summoning birds were instantly murdered leading to their respective Namikaze riders being plunged to a gruesome death on the ground. The remaining three Namikaze riders didn't let their grief overpower their rationality and instead distanced themselves away across the battlefield to wreck havoc on the enemy forces, in an area where the Otsutsuki couldn't reach them.

But their defenses were weakening, a stark proof of which was the renewed assault of the Otsutsuki army. Leading the assault where the mad Kaguya whose bloodthirsty eyes unnerved Kakashi for he saw the sheer madness in them.

He gripped his tanto fiercely as he remembered the promise he had made to his King.

Biting his thumb, he performed a quick set of hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Six of the Otsutsuki cried out in pain and surprise as vicious ninja dogs appeared beside their feet only to pierce their sharp teeth into flesh and bone. That momentary lapse was enough for the Uchiha and Senju warriors to pierce their swords into their foes. Their heads rolled to the ground earning a loud cheer from the remaining ninja forces in the rear.

The last ten Otsutsuki warriors glanced at each other before simply retreating back into their charging army, content to have their superior numbers overwhelm the enemy.

Kakashi stood atop a three headed dog summon watching as the rest of the surviving Uchiha and Senju gathered around him. A smirk graced his lips as he could not help but admire the irony, all his life his clansmen had served both of these clans and today he the son of a minor lord was leading them in battle.

"Kakashi, regroup!"

Despite his urge to fight, the Hatake warrior obeyed Hanzo's command and retreated alongside his surviving fighters back into their own ranks. He glanced at the left flank and saw Danzo had also summoned his own partner: Baku, even Hanzo had mounted atop his own Salamander while the rest of their men readied themselves.

Not a moment later, the enemy was upon them.

"HOLD THE LINE!"

Mikoto gingerly opened her eyes and hesitantly glanced around to see her two other friends doing the same. The three of them gasped when they saw the state of the battlefield.

Their army was almost finished.

The beach was now turned into a mass grave where thousands of ninja clones alongside Otsutsuki forces had been crushed to death. But while the clones died, the dead rose back up again.

Only two thousand clones had survived the devastating attack and were now staring in horror as their enemy gathered their strength to surround them from all sides.

Looking ahead, Mikoto saw Naruto was the only reason they had survived as their king stood before them to protect them from that attack with the help of opening a seamless space time dimension.

But when they saw the Kyuubi lying beneath the Otsutsuki queen's knees, they knew it was over.

Naruto had watched his enemy use her gravitational attack to destroy the majority of his forces, using the shock and awe she yanked the Kyuubi towards her with the help of her Rinnegan piercing the beast all across its body with the help of her chakra rods.

The difference in power and strength was too great for them to ignore any longer.

"Naruto...get...away...from...here...save...yourself!" urged the beast, as two more rods pierced his abdomen yet he hoped his friend would listen to him.

Commander Mifune and the remaining clone forces started falling back to take up defensive positions around their king and his friends. They watched as the enemy swarmed them from all sides effectively trapping them.

It was the end.

The Kingsguard stepped beside their friend and king only to watch him grip his ancestral sword tightly.

The wounded dragon also screeched angrily as the enemies got closer and closer.

"Your orders, my king?" asked Shisui calmly,

He got his answer when a monstrous chakra erupted across the battlefield.

"Leave it to me"

A beam of golden chakra pierced the dark skies and the oceans trembled as a massive form rose from the earth. Hinata Otsutsuki narrowed her eyes in anger and disbelief as the monstrosity arose.

The lone dragon had merged with the entity with its entire body covered in dark golden armor. Its large wings extended from the back of the humanoid warrior and in its right hand it held a celestial sword which was the true extension of Dawn.

Even Kurama despite his pain was relieved to see the Susanoo be reborn. It was eerily similar to the one Indra had wielded in his time with its torso, arms, and legs in human form while its head was that of a dragon. The amount of chakra possessed by this entity was enough to make even the Otsutsuki forces take a step back.

"How can he create this with just one Mangekyo? It's impossible" thought Hinata in disbelief,

She narrowed her Byakugan and saw the massive amount of chakra that had not only formed but made this Susanoo was in part provided by Naruto's chakra and the other by Indra as well as every Uchiha leader's chakra stored chakra in Dawn itself.

She was not facing one man but an entire clan across generations.

She looked into his eyes and shivered when that lone eye glared at her murderously and when the beast roared...

The Land of Water trembled.