Uchiha Seiryu [214-216] (Patreon)

Chapter 214: Prelude to War

"Third Hokage, please calm down." Inside Konoha, Kakashi was both mobilizing forces and trying to comfort Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was already in battle gear. "The Fifth Hokage has already gone after them. With his strength, he will absolutely be able to safely bring back Konohamaru."

"Calm down? How can I possibly be calm? Asuma's been married for almost two years and still hasn't had any kids. Konohamaru is my only grandson." Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, then after a moment said, "No, I have to go myself. Seiryu is probably stronger than the Raikage, but he’s on his own right now."

"But, Third Hokage, even if you go now, you won’t make it in time. Inuzuka Kaze and his ninja dog, Momaru, who are skilled at long-distance pursuit, have already set out for the border with a Flying Thunder God kunai. And if you wait a bit longer, Genma and his team can use the Flying Thunder Formation to send us straight there—it might even be faster."

"We’ll have to do that, then." Hiruzen exhaled a long cloud of smoke and sighed.

Facing his grandson’s kidnapping, Hiruzen was not only anxious, but also felt this was, in some way, karma.

Back when the Hyuga clan faced a similar crisis, he had done nothing, merely watching as Hiashi took his brother’s place and died.

Now, the kidnapped child was his own grandson.

Seiryu… he surely won’t abandon Konohamaru, right?

Hiruzen glanced at the empty sword stand in the Hokage’s office, thinking to himself.

…

The Kumogakure delegation, carrying Konohamaru, was desperately fleeing toward the border.

At that moment, a giant bird flew overhead, dropping a barrage of clay bombs in front of their squad.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The road ahead exploded in a series of blasts, the colors of the fire lighting up the night sky spectacularly. But none of the Kumogakure shinobi had any heart to admire the spectacle.

"Ambush!" The acting commander at the front, replacing A after he left, barely managed to defend against the sudden explosions and shouted at the top of his lungs.

The shockwaves from the blasts hit the Kumogakure ninja at the front hard. Several of the weaker ones died instantly in the explosions, while even the stronger ones suffered serious injuries.

"The enemy is in the sky!" The Kumogakure commander wiped blood from the corner of his mouth and gritted his teeth.

Deidara’s figure on the bird’s head was illuminated by the burning trees below; he made no effort to hide himself. For an artist like him, there was nothing better than having the world’s attention.

As the Kumogakure ninja watched, Deidara pulled another huge block of clay from his scroll, chewing it with his mouth and the mouths on his palms, then flung out a new volley of explosive clay.

"Hahaha, feast your eyes on my art! Art is an explosion!" Deidara laughed maniacally as he tossed the bombs from atop his giant bird.

The Kumogakure ninja could only use defensive jutsu to shield themselves from the blast waves.

Meanwhile, amidst the chaos, Naruto and his team stealthily made their way to the rear of the main Kumogakure force.

Sasuke bit his finger, made hand signs, and summoned his contract snake.

Unlike Seiryu, whose fighting style was already set when he signed with Ryuchi Cave, Sasuke still had room to grow alongside his contract snake, integrating its power into his fighting style. Sasuke’s talent was undeniable; after signing his name on the Ryuchi Cave contract scroll, they sent their most gifted young blue snake to be his partner.

In the darkness, a thirty-meter-long snake appeared from the summoning array. To avoid detection, it lay flat on the ground, presenting only its massive head to the trio.

"Young Master Sasuke," the blue snake greeted Sasuke before asking, "What are your orders?"

"Can you carry the three of us underground and infiltrate the enemy lines to rescue someone?" Sasuke asked.

"That’s easy." The blue snake nodded, signaling them to climb onto its head.

With Naruto and Neji steady on its back, the snake's chakra surged and it slowly sank into the ground.

None of the Kumogakure ninja noticed a thing—let alone the presence of mysterious Sage Chakra. With Deidara cackling and bombing from the sky, they had no bandwidth for anything else.

"Damn, we don’t have anyone in our squad with anti-air abilities!" the Kumogakure commander cursed, glaring up at Deidara’s circling bird. But there was nothing he could do.

This Kumogakure squad was made up of a few elite jonin who had come with A, plus spies who had been embedded in Konoha. The ninja A brought were mostly specialists in taijutsu or defensive ninjutsu. Their long-range capabilities were severely lacking; the exposed spies, now forced to retreat, were even less likely to have ranged skills. Against Deidara's aerial assault, all they could do was huddle under defensive jutsu.

Fortunately, their Lightning Release jutsu did somewhat counter Deidara’s explosive clay. Though they were constantly bombarded, casualties after the initial surprise attack were not overly severe.

But before they could breathe a sigh of relief, the ground at the center of their formation suddenly surged—a giant snake burst forth.

Unlike Manda, who would devour a few people for fun upon arrival, the blue snake’s attack was far more terrifying: it spewed a cloud of poison mixed with Sage Chakra. Any Kumogakure ninja touched by the mist found their skin petrifying within seconds, forcing them to hack off the affected flesh with kunai to survive. The decisive ones saved themselves; a few hesitant genin were quickly turned into stone statues with scales.

The blue snake perfectly completed the mission, bringing the trio to the center of the Kumogakure formation and clearing a space. Now, only one jonin carrying a sack remained in the area.

Without a word, Sasuke and Neji charged at him, wielding the purple-bladed sword and the Eight Trigrams staff.

"Konoha genin?" The jonin, fending off their attacks, immediately recognized them from the Chunin Exams. "Are you here to die?"

"Hmph," Sasuke snorted, slashing with his purple, lightning-wreathed blade. When it clashed with the jonin’s weapon, the collision produced a piercing screech, like a thousand birds crying at once. In an instant, a bolt of lightning as thick as an arm descended from the sky.

The jonin barely dodged, but Neji rushed in, his staff striking at the enemy’s acupoints, forcing him to retreat in disarray.

The others finally reacted, rushing in to help. Sasuke, channeling chakra into his blade, stabbed it into the ground.

"Lightning Style: Ground Walk."

Purple lightning raced out in all directions, targeting the incoming reinforcements with precision.

Electricity exploded at the feet of the enemy, instantly taking out two chunin.

Not far away, Omoi watched in shock. Having lost to Sasuke in the joint Chunin Exams, he had thought their gap was small. Now, seeing Sasuke’s full power, he realized Sasuke hadn’t even gone all out in the exams.

It was easy to understand. In the Chunin Exams, Sasuke had only used an ordinary chakra blade—good quality, but nothing like his current purple blade, forged from the best chakra metal in the entire ninja world by Water Country’s finest swordsmith. Back then, Sasuke had to hold back for fear of breaking the blade. Now, with his signature sword, he could go all out.

Meanwhile, the jonin with the sack was being overwhelmed by Neji’s attacks. The staff, infused with the essence of the Eight Trigrams, was too much for him to handle, especially as Neji’s summoning scroll on his wrist occasionally produced bizarre ninja tools.

Just as the jonin was distracted, a gust of wind struck from behind; Naruto seized the sack off his back.

"Got it!" Naruto eagerly opened the sack, hoping to free Konohamaru.

But Neji’s Byakugan spotted something wrong. "Naruto, be careful! That’s not Konohamaru!"

Inside Naruto, the sleeping Nine-Tails suddenly awoke, shouting, "Kid, be careful! The person inside means you harm!"

No sooner had they finished speaking than a flash of cold light shot from the open sack. Out sprang a small boy, about seven or eight, viciously stabbing a kunai at Naruto’s heart.

Thinking it was Konohamaru, Naruto was unprepared. He barely managed to twist aside, but the kunai plunged deep into his right shoulder, blood pouring out.

The attacker immediately drew another kunai, aiming for Naruto’s heart again.

Naruto caught the kunai with his left hand and finally saw his assailant’s face—he was stunned.

The attacker was a boy about the same age and size as Konohamaru, someone Naruto had seen around the village many times.

"I remember you… you’re the son of the restaurant owner two streets over from Ichiraku Ramen..." Naruto stared blankly at the boy, noting the ferocity in his eyes. "Why would you do this?"

"My father was the leader of Kumogakure’s spy team in Konoha. I’ve always known—I am a proud shinobi of the Hidden Cloud!" The boy’s face twisted with fanaticism. He let go of the kunai Naruto was holding, drew another, and stabbed again. "Die, you damn fox!"

But a purple flash streaked through Naruto’s vision.

"Sasuke! No!" Naruto shouted, but it was too late—the boy was instantly engulfed by Sasuke’s attack.

Blood splattered across Naruto’s face. He stared in shock.

"Don’t just stand there. He was the enemy," Sasuke said, frowning as he joined Naruto.

There was no time to think. With Neji joining them, the three formed a defensive formation, back-to-back. Sasuke demanded, "Where have you hidden Konohamaru?"

The Kumogakure commander, busy fending off Deidara’s attacks, ignored Sasuke and shouted instead, "Kill these Konoha prodigies! Even if we die here, it’ll be worth it!"

"We’ve been set up," Sasuke muttered coldly, watching the Kumogakure troops converge.

"It’s my fault. If I’d realized sooner, this wouldn’t have happened," Neji said, frustrated.

"It’s pointless to say that now. Naruto, can you still fight?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto didn’t answer, just silently pulled the kunai from his shoulder. Blood oozed, but the wound closed with astonishing speed.

"We’ll break out to the north. Even if we can’t get through, we hold out as long as possible. The border troops should be on their way. If we can capture some of them, maybe we can force out Konohamaru’s location," Sasuke said, his purple sword crackling with lightning.

Chapter 215: Hell on Earth

Facing the onrushing Kumogakure troops, thunder crashed in the night sky as Sasuke’s purple blade arced with deep violet lightning, forcing three enemy ninja back.

"Incoming kunai at twelve o’clock!" Neji’s Byakugan glowed blue in the darkness, his staff spinning fiercely as he drove back attackers trying to break through.

In Sasuke’s Sharingan, the three tomoe spun rapidly. One enemy in front was instantly caught in genjutsu—Sasuke’s blade sliced his throat like a hot knife through butter, the wound cauterized by lightning. The ninja fell, clutching his neck, but not a drop of blood escaped.

After advancing several dozen meters, sixteen bolts of lightning fell from the sky like a prison, chaining the trees into a web and trapping the trio in a scorched circle ten meters wide.

Eight Kumogakure jonin emerged from the shadows, lightning chakra flickering on their skin like armor.

"This is the end, Konoha brats," the lead jonin said, forming the Serpent seal. The lightning on the chains intensified. "Time to pay for your arrogance."

Purple plasma surged through the chains, the air thick with ozone.

As the circle tightened, Sasuke threw seven shuriken, sparks flying where they struck the electrified chains. "A Lightning-style barrier? Too bad I’m not like my teacher, able to manipulate enemy lightning jutsu at will."

Neji planted his staff in the ground and spread his palms—his Rotation deflected all incoming lightning arrows. His Byakugan veins bulged as he turned to Sasuke. "The barrier’s core is with the kunoichi at the northwest corner—she’s keeping the barrier stable with her chakra!"

"Can you hit her?" Sasuke asked.

"I’ll try." Neji’s summoning formula glowed on his wrist, producing a unique sniper rifle. After infusing it with chakra, he fired—a chakra bullet howled toward the target.

But just before it hit, the barrier before her condensed into a shield of lightning, detonating the bullet in a flash of white light.

"No good—the charge time is too long to break through," Neji said, stowing the rifle back in his scroll.

"Then leave it to me!" Sasuke dashed toward the target, lightning flickering at his feet, Chidori Stream.

Violet lightning tore through the night, his Sharingan locking onto the chakra in the kunoichi’s forehead protector. Suddenly, four bolts of lightning blocked his path—Kumogakure reinforcements had arrived.

Three masked ninja with lightning swords landed from above, slashing blackened trenches into the ground. Sasuke was forced to change direction, his sword clashing with theirs in a burst of lightning.

Luckily, Neji intervened, his staff darting in to strike the vital point at the waist of one ninja. As their chakra stalled, Sasuke’s left hand pierced their shoulder with Chidori, blood hissing in the lightning.

The barrier’s controller sneered, slamming her hands to the ground. "Lightning Style: Ground Walk!"

Yellow electric serpents slithered across the damp moss toward the trio.

"Naruto!"

"Understood," Naruto replied, snapping to attention. He rapidly formed hand signs, sending three roaring gales to shred the lightning serpents.

But five lightning arrows shot from the flank, targeting Naruto. At the last moment, Sasuke threw a steel wire around his waist, yanking him clear using his Sharingan’s predictive ability.

"What are you doing? Focus when you’re fighting!" Sasuke snapped.

"Sorry…" Naruto said apologetically.

"Hold them off for me. I’ll take care of her," Sasuke said.

"Right." Naruto took a deep breath, wind chakra swirling around him as he and Neji engaged the two remaining lightning sword ninja.

Sasuke sheathed his sword, gathering wild lightning in his hands. Chidori shrieked as he charged the kunoichi sustaining the barrier. Though Sasuke had long since mastered more advanced lightning jutsu, he used the full version of Chidori now for its piercing power and speed.

The kunoichi saw only a flash of white light before Sasuke’s hand punched through her chest. She fell, lifeless.

"Asai!" her comrade cried in disbelief.

Sasuke shook the blood from his hand, the lightning vaporizing it instantly. With her gone, the barrier collapsed. Neji used Rotation to drive away their opponents, then shouted, "Now! Go!"

The trio regrouped and sprinted for the edge of the encirclement. Deidara, flying overhead, dropped another wave of bombs, buying time as the Kumogakure ninja tried to reorganize.

But Deidara’s chakra was running low, and after several bombing runs, he tried to swoop down and pick up the trio—only to be driven off by a rain of lightning-infused shuriken.

As the Kumogakure encirclement tightened again, a green signal flare exploded in the northeast sky.

Inuzuka clan wolf howls pierced the thunder, and the Aburame clan’s insect swarms blotted out the moon.

"Our reinforcements are here!" Sasuke called, smashing through a lightning chain.

The nearest border troops, hearing the commotion, rushed to the scene.

The Kumogakure commander, seeing this, had no choice but to abandon the pursuit and meet the Konoha reinforcements head-on. Under the night sky, the two sides clashed immediately.

"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Jutsu!"

A roaring inferno lit up the night, a massive fire dragon tearing through the Kumogakure formation and opening a gap. At that moment, a Hyuga clan squad, led by three branch family jonin, stormed in.

Next, Uchiha clan ninja charged in under a jonin leader. The two clans, once bitter rivals, now fought in perfect unison.

Tenten’s shared-vision tools proved invaluable—Hyuga’s wide-range Byakugan combined with Uchiha’s Sharingan for tracking movement. The combined assault team swept through the enemy, clearing a path to Sasuke’s team.

Members of both clans saluted their respective heirs as Sasuke naturally took command. "Let’s go together. With our comrades outside, let’s finish this!"

"Yes!" Neji and his clan nodded.

Only Naruto seemed lost, staring blankly at the chaos. The blood and fire of war had never felt so close.

Compared to earlier battles, the true brutality of war was now on full display.

Burning trees twisted in the night wind, screams echoing through the smoke.

A Konoha ninja, half his body scorched by lightning, stabbed the ground with his kunai, almost mechanically. A Kumogakure ninja, his belly torn open, simply shoved his intestines back in and stitched the wound with chakra threads before charging again.

Kunai and lightning wove a web of death among the trees. The third Kumogakure assault squad leapt over the corpses of their comrades, only to be cut to pieces by hidden wire traps. The flying flesh, however, shielded their lightning team as they retaliated—seventeen electric snakes shot along the wires, burning five Konoha ninja alive.

In this moment, both Konoha and Kumogakure shinobi became killing machines, driven mad by the battlefield. All they saw was the enemy before them.

The Inuzuka clan’s ninja dogs sensed movement underground—just as they howled in warning, a Kumogakure explosive tag squad burst from below. Hundreds of tags detonated, annihilating the squad and blasting medical kits into trees. Stray scalpels pinned three Kumogakure ninja through the throat.

Naruto stared, hands trembling, at the hellscape that had formed in mere minutes.

Chapter 216: The Hostage

"Kid, get control of yourself!"

Inside the seal, Kurama noticed Naruto was overwhelmed by negativity.

If Naruto wanted, he could use this emotion to break the seal. With Minato and Kushina’s chakra gone, there were no safeguards left. But Kurama, seeing Naruto curled up before the seal gate, spoke harshly.

"Kurama…" Naruto turned, dazed, to the fox.

At that moment, two Kumogakure ninja noticed Naruto’s abnormal state, tunneling under him and leaping out with blades aimed at his vitals.

But suddenly, two dark red chakra arms burst from Naruto’s body, seizing both attackers and crushing them into pulp.

Blood spattered on Naruto as he looked around at the carnage. Since that eight-year-old child attacked him, Naruto felt he no longer understood this world.

Naruto had killed before—since graduating, he’d taken missions where he killed bandits and criminals without remorse. But those deaths were quick, clean, and justified.

Now, the screams around him—friend and foe alike—pushed Naruto to the brink.

Neji and Sasuke were both too busy fighting to notice.

The stench of blood and burning flesh filled Naruto’s senses. Kurama sighed.

At this rate, Naruto couldn’t keep fighting. Dark red chakra, streaked with gold, covered his body, and five red tails appeared—Kurama took control.

Five-tails was the limit Kurama could use without harming Naruto’s body.

Normally, a Jinchuriki can’t use full Tailed Beast power without cooperation. Kurama was willing, but Naruto couldn’t synchronize now, so Kurama had to act alone.

Even so, this power was overwhelming—the Kumogakure ninja couldn’t withstand it. In five-tails form, Naruto rampaged through their lines, tearing enemies apart, immune to their attacks.

"Is Naruto losing control?" Sasuke immediately noticed and rushed over, planning to use genjutsu to calm him.

"Uchiha brat, Naruto can’t fight now. If you don’t want him to die in the chaos, keep your genjutsu to yourself," Kurama said, turning Naruto’s body to Sasuke.

"You… you’re Kurama?" Sasuke was taken aback.

"Who else would I be?" Kurama retorted, baring his teeth. The death and malice on the battlefield made even him uneasy.

"Alright," Sasuke nodded. "I’ll leave Naruto to you."

As time passed, the battle shifted. Inuzuka Ago and Aburame Shibi worked together to kill the Kumogakure commander, throwing the enemy into disarray. One by one, Konoha picked them off.

Soon, the Kumogakure force was whittled down to fewer than twenty, surrounded by Konoha ninja.

"Tell us—where did you hide Konohamaru?" Aburame Shibi ordered a temporary halt. Their main goal was to find Konohamaru.

"I’ll never tell. Prepare for war with Kumogakure!" a one-armed Kumogakure ninja spat, clutching his bleeding stump.

"If it’s war you want, so be it. Konoha has never feared war," Inuzuka Ago said grimly.

Just then, a messenger bug landed on Shibi’s shoulder.

"Large Kumogakure forces have appeared on the border with the Land of Hot Water," Shibi reported to Inuzuka Ago. "If I’m right, you’ll find the same in the Land of Fields."

"Should we head back now?" Jaw asked.

"No need. Kakashi and the Third Hokage have been sent to the border by Genma. With them there, the border is secure. But it looks like war is truly upon us," Shibi said gravely.

"In that case, let’s take their heads as tribute. The Yamanaka clan can extract the information about Konohamaru," Ago said coldly.

The Konoha ninja raised their weapons again, while the surrounded Kumogakure ninja steeled themselves for death.

"Brothers, let’s fight! The Raikage will avenge us!"

At that tense moment, an old man, not very tall, was racing toward them at an incredible speed.

Soon, Konoha’s sensory ninja detected him.

"Someone’s approaching… That chakra signature—Third Hokage?" one said, surprised.

Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived quickly.

"Third Hokage," all the Konoha ninja saluted. Though retired, his status still commanded respect.

"Have you found Konohamaru?" Hiruzen asked urgently.

"I’m sorry, sir. We haven’t found a trace," Sasuke replied.

"Where is he?!" Hiruzen turned to the Kumogakure, his killing intent flooding out. After years on the sidelines, he was ready to show them the power of a legendary shinobi.

"Hmph, that brat will die with us," the Kumogakure commander spat. "The Raikage will avenge us!"

At that moment, thunder cracked in the sky. A giant war god, wreathed in lightning, descended and landed nearby, then faded away.

Seiryu walked over, dragging the badly injured and unconscious A.

"Fifth Hokage!" The Konoha ninja cheered wildly, making way for him.

Seiryu, expressionless, approached the Kumogakure survivors.

"Waiting for him to avenge you?" Seiryu tossed A at their feet, his tone icy.

"Raikage-sama?" The Kumogakure commander stared in disbelief. Their invincible leader had fallen? And Seiryu looked untouched?

"Seiryu," Hiruzen nodded to him.

"Sorry, Third Hokage. I’ll bring Konohamaru back, I promise," Seiryu replied.

Hiruzen nodded.

Seiryu surveyed the area, his Sage Mode senses sweeping a kilometer radius. After several minutes, he called out, "Those hiding in the shadows—listen up! I’ll count to three. If you don’t show yourselves, Kumogakure can start picking a new Raikage!"

A heavy silence fell.

"Three!" Seiryu raised three fingers.

"Two!"

"One!"

Finishing the count, Seiryu drew his sword and raised it high. Instantly, lightning surged, forming a three-meter blade. Seiryu swung it down at the unconscious A and the Kumogakure survivors.

"Wait!" The person hiding with Konohamaru finally snapped, stepping out and shouting.

The lightning blade stopped just centimeters from A’s nose, crackling with energy.

"So, you finally decided to show yourself?" Seiryu sneered. "I thought you were ready to let Kumogakure pick a new Raikage."

"Let him go, or this kid dies," the man said, holding Konohamaru by the neck.

"Konohamaru!" Hiruzen was frantic at the sight of his grandson.

"Hokage-sama…" Aburame Shibi quietly approached Seiryu, reminding him—exchanging A for Konohamaru would be too much of a loss for Konoha.

But Seiryu nodded. "You want to trade the kid for his life? Fine."