"Homura, what in the world are you…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even get to finish his sentence. One moment, Homura Mitokado was there; the next, He was just… gone. Not a shunshin, not a blur—just gone.
Thwack.
Might Guy stared down, disbelief washing over his face as Homura's hand—sharp as a blade—pierced clean through his abdomen. He'd opened the sixth Gate, pushed his body to its limit… still he hadn't even seen him move.
"Guy!" Kakashi was at his side in an instant, checking the vicious wound.
"Homura, have you lost your mind?!" Hiruzen roared, bringing his Enma staff down toward him with all his strength. He sidestepped it like it was nothing. "What are you doing?!"
"Kill!" Homura's voice was a shrill, piercing shriek, utterly devoid of reason. "You useless fools must die! Ahahahaha!"
"Lord Hokage," Ōnoki's low, gravelly voice cut through the chaos, his face stern. "Will you still deny that Konoha is researching super shinobi?"
"Ōnoki, is this really the time?!" Hiruzen shot back, frantic. "Help me stop him!"
"Stop him?" Ōnoki snorted, a derisive look on his face. "And why should I—"
Thud.
The words died in his throat. His own student, Deidara, was suddenly yanked off his feet by the neck and slammed into the ground by Homura.
"You bastard! Let him go!" Ōnoki's hands flew through seals, his face purpling with rage. "Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
A shimmering, translucent cube shot toward Homura Mitokado.
Swish.
He was just… gone again. He then reappeared on a nearby rooftop, looking down at them like a predator surveying its prey. "Die! Ahahaha! Die!"
"His mind, it's completely gone," Hiruzen muttered, his heart aching for his old comrade. "Homura, you never should have touched those forbidden things!"
"Save the speech for later! Let's just put this monster down!" Ōnoki barked, now fully invested. He'd been happy to watch him attack Konoha ninja, but attacking his people was a line he shouldn't have crossed.
Then, something shifted.
Homura's jaw unhinged, mouth opening far too wide. A deep blood red sphere of energy began to swirl and condense in front of his face.
Huummm.
A crimson beam, thick and blinding, erupted from the sphere. It didn't just destroy; it erased. Houses, streets, earth—everything in its path was vaporized.
BOOM! CRASH!
The entire southern district of Konoha was torn asunder, a deep, smoldering trench carved through its heart.
"W-what is that?"
"This level of power… you've got to be kidding me…"
Everyone could only stare, dumbfounded. This was power on a level similar to a Tailed Beasts bomb.
"Heh… hehehe!" Homura's laugh was a distorted, inhuman sound. A white, bony armor had begun to crawl over his chest. "You all must die! You all must die!"
Pressure. An immense, suffocating pressure rolled off of him, pressing down on everyone present. This wasn't a shinobi anymore; it was a demon.
But then, just as suddenly as it began, it stopped.
Homura's body stopped moving. His face contorted violently, a silent scream trapped in his throat. The bony plating covering him cracked and flaked away, falling to the ground like broken pottery.
"What's happening?"
"What's going on?"
Hiruzen and Ōnoki exchanged bewildered looks. They'd been bracing for a fight for their lives, and now this?
"No! Stop!" Homura wailed, his body convulsing. Then, with a final, violent cough, he hacked up a single, pale purple pearl from his mouth.
Eyes rolling back into his head, as he collapsed to the ground, motionless.
Silence.
Then, realization dawned on every Kage at once.
"That pearl!"
"It's the pearl that gave him that power!"
In an instant, Ōnoki was airborne, darting toward the fallen jewel.
Swish.
An extending black iron rod slammed down in front of him. Sarutobi Hiruzen, his face a dark storm cloud, blocked his path. "Lord Tsuchikage. What do you think you're doing?"
"Preserving evidence," Ōnoki stated coolly, not backing down an inch. "Konoha's little… project… needs to be brought to light."
"That is Konoha's matter, and Konoha's alone," Hiruzen's voice was low and dangerous. "Our sinners will face our judgment."
"Hmph. I'm afraid I can't allow that." Ōnoki didn't waste another word. He attacked.
Boom!
The two Kage clashed, their battle erupting with renewed fury.
"Two old fools," Orochimaru murmured with a smirk, slinking through the shadows toward the pearl. His hand reached out, just then...
Crackle!
A flash of blue lightning, speared toward him, forcing him to jerk his hand back with a hiss.
"Tch. An unexpected guest." Orochimaru's eyes narrowed as he looked at the new arrival. "The Fourth Raikage, I presume?"
"Back off," the Fourth Raikage, A, commanded, his voice a low rumble. He didn't even glance at the Kazekage. "You too, Rasa. Unless you want to test your fists against mine."
"The Fourth Raikage?" Hiruzen and Ōnoki, still mid-exchange, broke apart, their attention snapping to the new threat.
"Raikage! What is the meaning of this?" Hiruzen demanded.
"You cunning brat," Ōnoki sneered, floating higher. "Weren't you here for the Nine-Tails? Now you want this, too?"
"The Nine-Tails?" The words hit Hiruzen like a physical blow. His blood ran cold. "Kakashi! Yamashiro! To the Jinchūriki, now!"
"On it!" Kakashi didn't need it spelled out. He and Aoba vanished from the chaotic square.
"Why can't we want it?" The Raikage shot back, a fierce grin spreading across his face. "Your village's reckless research is a threat to the entire shinobi world. This thing will be safest under Kumo's control!"
"You have some nerve," Rasa (Orochimaru) spat, his eyes flashing with genuine anger. He'd been so close.
"This is Konoha!" Hiruzen's voice boomed with final authority. "Your actions here are an act of war!"
"Konoha forfeited its moral high ground the moment it created that!" Ōnoki retorted. "Talking is useless. Let's settle this!"
BOOM!
Four of the most powerful men in the shinobi world erupted into battle, their conflict instantly consuming the shattered district.
Meanwhile, Kakashi and his team found Uzumaki Naruto right where he was supposed to be: at home, a book open in his lap.
The good news: he was home safe and sound.
The bad news: so were Kumogakure's Killer Bee and C, who were already stepping out of the shadows.
"Kakashi of the Sharingan, troublesome," C said, his voice a flat monotone. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword. "If possible, could you just pretend you didn't see us?"
The only answer was the sharp crackle of a thousand birds singing in Kakashi's palm.
"Chidori"
C sighed. "Well, can't be helped then."
Steel rang as two swords were drawn. The two groups charged, clashing in a storm of lightning and steel right outside Naruto's door.
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