AN: Holy this took longer than expected. I had to do a couple of things today. I took my car to the mechanic and found out I had almost no oil in my engine. Honestly pretty scary since I took my car there on March 13th to fix it because of an oil leak I had since December. They fixed it and I spent 740 dollars. Ouch.
Anyways, it's probably my fault since I love to drive spirited. I won't give any specifics just know it's not very legal at all.
This chapter is 3.8k Words. I also want to thanks every one for Following and Favoriting the story on both Webnovel and Fanfic.net. Also thanks so much for the power stones one day it will be a big story and in the ranking lol. Scribblehub is caught up and getting updated at the same time as the rest.
Im working on the First chapter of My DxD story. I fell asleep yesterday writing it lol.
For one brief moment, husband and wife stood beside each other in the smoking valley.
Both were exhausted.
One from fighting a tailed beast head on.
The other from the rush of emotions and the amount of chakra she had been forced to exert in such a short amount of time.
"I don't know why you are so tired, Misaki," Ay stated as he walked toward a piece of broken rock inside the massive crater the body of the Eight-Tails had created when it fell.
His voice was rough.
His body was burned.
His right arm was still blackened from the earlier Bijuu Bomb, and blood ran down the side of his face, but somehow the man still had enough energy to sound annoying.
"Ay, you jerk, you know damn well I haven't trained properly ever since I got pregnant with Antares," Misaki snapped, placing Blue B gently on the ground before walking over to sit beside him with a pout on her beautiful face.
Blue B was alive but barely.
His body was charred and bleeding, his breathing shallow, but the suppressive seal on his chest held firm. Gyūki's chakra no longer poured out of him like a broken dam. The golden chains Misaki had used to restrain the remaining chakra slowly faded behind her, returning the battlefield to a silence that almost felt unreal.
A few minutes ago, this valley had been the center of a disaster.
Now only smoke remained.
Broken cliffs, fallen pieces of huge stone and shattered earth.
And the Third Raikage sitting on a rock like he had just finished a difficult training session instead of trading blows with a tailed beast and the only thing that can be shown that he was in a fight is his clothing, and his arm shared with the corrosive chakra of the tailed beast.
Misaki looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"You are unbelievable, you know that?."
Ay leaned back slightly and exhaled.
"I won, that's all it matters." Ay said with a stoic facade this had been the first time in a while that the 8 tails had rampaged this time it decided that it was going full power from the start.
"That does not make you less unbelievable." she said back again this time annoyed because he had made her worry for him so much
"I'm glad you were here to contain the damage, Misaki." Ay said with gratitude marring his voice
Misaki opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, then right after the silence around the battlefield began to crack.
At first, it was only one voice.
A single shinobi standing near the edge of the ruined valley raised his fist into the air.
"Raikage-sama!" said the shinobi hailing the Raikage for his strength and saving the village
The sound carried across the battlefield.
Then another shinobi joined him.
"Long live Raikage-sama!"
Then another.
And another.
Within seconds, the entire valley erupted.
"LONG LIVE RAIKAGE-SAMA!"
The cheer rolled through the mountains like thunder.
Medics stopped for half a second while carrying the wounded. Barrier team shinobi who had collapsed from chakra exhaustion lifted their heads from the ground. BOLT operatives standing on broken cliffs turned toward the crater where Ay sat, their masks hiding their faces but not the pride in their posture.
The Third Raikage had defeated the 8 Tails.
Kumogakure had survived.
The chant spread from the valley to the outer ridges.
Then to the clan estates.
Then down into the shelters buried beneath layers of protective seals.
Inside those shelters, civilians had not seen the battle.
They had only heard it.
They heard explosions that made children cry.
They felt the mountain shake under their feet.
They waited behind golden sealing arrays, wondering if the village above them was still standing or if the next sound would be the world collapsing.
Then the noise changed.
There were no longer any explosions.
It was voices.
A child slowly lifted his head from his mother's lap.
"What's going on out there?"
A shelter guard stood near the massive metal door, one hand resting on the seal controlling the barrier.
"We'll be able to hear it clearly when the barrier drops."
The golden arrays along the shelter walls pulsed once.
Then they began to fade.
Layer by layer, Misaki's seals withdrew into the stone, no longer needing to hold against shockwaves and falling debris.
The massive metal doors unlocked with a deep grinding sound.
Cold mountain air entered first.
Then light.
Then the voices.
"RAIKAGE-SAMA!"
For a few seconds, the civilians did not move.
They simply listened.
Their shinobi were cheering.
Their village still stood.
The Third Raikage had won.
One old man started laughing with tears in his eyes.
A woman covered her mouth and sank to her knees.
Then someone shouted from inside the shelter.
"LONG LIVE LORD RAIKAGE!"
Another voice answered.
Then dozens.
Then hundreds.
Soon every shelter that opened joined the same cry.
"LONG LIVE LORD RAIKAGE!"
The sound spread so loudly through Kumogakure that the ground itself seemed to vibrate faintly beneath it.
Back in the crater, Ay closed his eyes for a moment.
Misaki watched him carefully.
For all his arrogance, for all his pride, for all the way he carried himself like nothing in the world could bend him, she knew he understood what that sound meant.
Those people had been afraid.
Now they were alive.
Then a figure landed beside the Raikage.
A woman in dark armor with a mask pushed to the side of her head dropped to one knee.
Ikazuchi.
BOLT's second in command.
"Lord Raikage."
Ay opened his eyes and looked down at her.
"Report."
"Commander Shiden has begun reestablishing order. BOLT units are securing the shelters, recovering injured shinobi, and restoring command lines across the outer districts," she said in a militaristic tone, her voice flat and without any unnecessary emotion.
Ay nodded once.
"And the village?" he asked
"Damaged, but holding strong sir."
Her tone shifted.
Colder.
"There is something else."
Ay's expression darkened.
"Speak." He said getting more serious and tense
"A group of four Root ANBU were spotted near the far ends of the village. Blank masks. No visible markings. They infiltrated during the chaos."
The cheers across the battlefield suddenly felt very far away to Ay and Misaki.
Ay's lightning flickered once across his shoulders.
Misaki slowly turned her head.
Ikazuchi remained kneeling.
"They were reported to Commander Shiden twelve minutes ago. He dispatched a three man interception team immediately and they are on the look out for the intruders as we speak."
Ay stared toward the distant mountains surrounding Kumogakure, looking for any visible sign of the intruders.
Ay's voice dropped a notch and in a heavy tone he said "Root." while narrowing his eyes in dangerous tone
The air around the Third Raikage grew heavier, but not as intense as the moments before. This was not the pressure of a man fighting a beast.
This was the anger of a Kage realizing another village had sent soldiers into his home during a disaster.
'Could it be a coincidence?' Ay questioned in his head
Misaki's fingers tightened against the stone beneath her.
"During the tailed beast rampage?" she asked quietly.
Ikazuchi did not look up.
"Yes, Lady Misaki."
Ay's jaw flexed.
"They came to watch."
"Most likely," Ikazuchi replied. "But their exact objective is still unknown."
Ay's eyes narrowed.
"They were near the far ends of the village?" Misaki asked fishing for information on Ay's behath
"Yes ma'am."
"Which direction?" Ay asked
"Western mountain routes. The interception team was sent to cut off their escape."
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Misaki's eyes sharpened.
The western mountain routes.
The Kaminari estate sat high above that side of the village.
Her home.
Her son.
The lightning clone she had left behind.
A sudden pain flashed across her face.
Not physical.
Something sharper.
A connection pulling tight.
Her clone.
Ay noticed immediately.
"Misaki?"
Misaki stiffened.
Her palm twitched with the seal she had feeding her clone chakra so it can stay longer and be more durable.
Then her face went pale with rage.
"Our Home Ay!." She said looking quickly at her Husband in a distraught tone
Ay stood so quickly, so fast and with such strength the ground beneath him caved in slightly.
Ikazuchi's head snapped up.
Misaki forced chakra through the connection to her clone, her teeth clenching as the strain hit her already exhausted body.
She had made a clone, used the Shunshin Jutsu running past the entire village which is around the size of New York and it took her roughly 15 minutes to reach the battle field from one side to the other and right after exerted her chakra to make the chain and seals to restrained Gyūki.
She had just stabilized Blue B.
Her reserves were not empty, but they were lower than they should have been for a fight like this.
And now someone had reached her child.
"Fuck," Misaki hissed.
At the Kaminari estate, the cheers of the village reached the terrace like a storm rolling up the mountain.
Antares stood near the broken railing, still holding his binoculars.
Below, the battlefield was covered in smoke and dust, but the roar of the Eight-Tails was gone.
His father and his mother were alive and seemed well from this distance.
The village was cheering.
For a second, he allowed himself to take a deep breath.
The lightning clone of Misaki stood beside him, arms folded still very serious, but unlike Antares, she had not relaxed.
Her dark blue eyes moved slowly across the estate.
Slowly scanning the terrace, hallways and the outer walls since she was a clone she cannot sense chakra past 20 meters
Antares noticed.
"Mom, are you still on guard?"
The clone did not look at him.
"Just in case honey, I was made to protect you silly." she said comforting him but not losing he edge
Antares blinked.
"I see." he said slowly still not used to this world
The cheers below grew louder.
"LONG LIVE LORD RAIKAGE!"
Antares looked back toward the valley.
He wanted to feel relieved but he didn't
His stomach still felt tight just remembering the Bijuu Bomb, the mountain being shaved off with a building falling into the village below. Also remembering the barrier that was containing the 8 tails shattering and the Jonin coughing blood from trying to hold back the 8 Tails.
Everything he had seen felt too real.
Too big and way too dangerous.
Then the air behind him changed slightly.
Not dramatically but he felt it.
The clone of MIsaki moved first.
Her body blurred as she stepped between Antares and the hallway leading deeper into the estate.
A shadow appeared there with a blank white mask, and very dark clothing. He doesn't have any markings or anything symbolizing his allegiance. The man presumably, made no sound almost like he didn't exist
'Root.' he instantly knew
The short blade in the masked shinobi's hand was already moving toward Antares' throat.
Antares saw it.
His mind understood what was happening.
His body did not move and did not want to respond. Frozen like a statue.
For all his future knowledge, for all the memories he carried from another world, for all the events and names locked somewhere in his head, none of it mattered in that instant.
The assassin was too close.
The blade was too fast.
Death had arrived before fear could finish forming.
Misaki's clone flashed through hand seals at lightning speed. Boar → Dragon → Snake
'Lightning Release: False Darkness.'
A spear of concentrated lightning erupted forward.
The jutsu tore across the terrace, ripped through the hallway, and punched straight through the Root operative's chest, blood spilling everywhere and landing on Antares' face.
The blank mask cracked.
The body flew backward through the estate wall as stone, wood, and shattered glass exploded outwards.
The corpse was thrown outside, smoke rising from the clean hole burned through its chest before it crashed onto the mountain path below.
Antares still had not moved. The blood was still on his face and slowly dripped down to the floor.
His eyes remained locked on the space where the blade had almost reached him.
A second later, three more shadows appeared.
The clone turned sharply.
The remaining Root ANBU moved at once; they didn't even share a word of what they were about to do with each other, no plans or nothing; they just moved their targets in sight. No wasted motion.
One came low with a short blade.
Another flickered across the ceiling.
The third threw a senbon coated in a dark sheen toward the clone's blind spot.
Misaki's clone deflected the senbon with a burst of lightning from her sleeve, caught the low blade against her forearm with a kunai in her hand, and twisted just enough to avoid the strike from above.
Steel sparked against lightning.
The terrace floor cracked under their feet.
The cheering outside continued.
Inside the estate, only death moved.
Antares remained frozen, blood still dripping onto the floor. It splattered across the floor making a small red puddle.
Part of the wall was gone.
The cold mountain wind rushed into the estate, carrying the voices of the village with it.
"LONG LIVE LORD RAIKAGE!"
The clone's head snapped toward him.
"HURRY UP AND RUN!"
Antares blinked.
His lungs pulled in air all at once, adrenaline was pumping in so fast making his head feel light and the sound surrounding him were being muddled down as if he was underwater.
The clone blocked another blade and kicked one Root operative through a support pillar.
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME AND FIND HELP!"
Her voice was not soft. It was a command trying to get him out of his stupor.
Antares stumbled backward, his legs felt numb.
Then they obeyed, turning and running like his life depended on it and it really did. His breathing was not steady; he was almost hyperventilating.
Behind him, the battle intensified.
One Root ANBU pressed the clone with taijutsu while another moved to cut off the hallway. The third vanished into smoke, already shifting toward the path Antares had taken.
The clone's eyes widened.
"NOOO!"
Far below, on the battlefield, Misaki's real body took a sharp breath.
Ay's expression became murderous.
Ikazuchi vanished immediately, already moving to relay orders.
Misaki forced more chakra through the connection to her clone.
The strain hit her like a blade behind the eyes.
She was tired, too tired.
But Antares was there, her son was there and in a dangerous situation.
"Stop!" said Ay to the Medic healing his arm and stabilizing his injuries he moved forward and turned on his version 1 cloak moving towards his clan estate on the west side.
'Damm it'
Back at the estate, the clone surged with renewed strength channeling chakra onto her body to boost her strength.
She drove one Root operative backward with a palm strike, but the third had already broken away from the fight to chase Antares.
Antares sprinted through the side corridor.
His small feet tapped against the wooden floor.
His lungs burned, and his thoughts were all over the place he couldn't think straight.
But one thing was clear in his mind and that was to run.
He reached the side exit and braising himself slammed his shoulder into the door.
It burst open.
Cold mountain air hit his face.
He stumbled outside onto the stone path.
Below the estate, Unruly Ay had just finished dragging a wounded civilian away from a collapsed shelter entrance.
His V1 Lightning Cloak crackled roughly around his body.
It was unstable and wild.
Nothing like the perfect armor his Father has.
The lightning around his shoulders flared too brightly while the chakra around his legs pulsed unevenly, it was crude but it worked.
It had been enough to clear rubble. Boost his strength enough to carry civilians and enough to keep moving while half of the mountain district shook itself apart.
The man Unruly Ay had rescued stumbled toward the shelter gate, one hand pressed against his bleeding side.
"Young lord, thank you." the man said with gratitude
Unruly Ay clicked his tongue.
"Thank me, after you stop bleeding on the road."
Then the cheering reached him fully.
Unruly Ay froze slighly.
His head turned toward the distant battlefield.
Smoke still rose between the mountains, but Gyūki's roar was gone.
But he heard something that confirmed his suspicions.
"LONG LIVE LORD RAIKAGE!" where the shouts of the civilians from across the mountain.
Unruly Ay stared for a long moment.
Then his lips pulled into a fierce grin.
"Of course he won." he said in a tone full of pride knowing his father was strong
There was no surprise in his voice, only certainty.
Then something shifted in the corner of his eye.
Ay's grin faded.
His gaze moved upward, toward the Kaminari estate.
The estate stood high above, its walls still glowing faintly from protective seals. Servants and guards should have been moving openly now that the shelters were lowering, and Shinobi patrols should have been visible moving about the village. The terrace should have been calm.
But near the western side of the estate wall, Ay saw movement.
A broken wall glowing with blue specks of lightning, and a body falling down with smoke coming out of it.
Then a small voice rang out from above.
"----HELP!"
Unruly Ay's eyes sharpened hearing broken pei.
"That's weird…" he said outloud a bit concerned for his Family
Blue lightning flared around his legs.
Then he vanished in the Lightning Shunshin
Antares stumbled onto the outer path just as the shadow appeared behind him.
And yelled loudly "HELP!"
The Root ANBU landed silently from the side exit, blade already drawn and ready to attack.
The blank mask stared at him without emotion and didn't say anything.
The assassin moved forward not in a rush or hesitanting.
His movements were efficient.
Antares backed away, but his foot caught the edge of a cracked stone.
He was falling onto the floor. While the Root operative raised his blade to strike.
Then blue lightning crashed between them.
The stone cracked and the wind burst outward.
Antares threw an arm over his face as dust exploded across the path.
When he looked up, his brother stood in front of him.
Unruly Ay.
"Brother" said Antares with hope marring his tone
His back was to Antares.
His V1 Lightning Cloak raged around his body in unstable arcs, blue chakra snapping across his shoulders, arms, and chest.
Dust stained his clothes.
Blood ran from a shallow cut along his cheek.
His breathing was heavy from moving civilians into shelters below the estate.
But his fists were clenched and his stance was tense.
Antares stared up at his brother's back.
Not the Fourth Raikage yet.
Not the man who would one day stand before entire armies as one of the fastest shinobi alive.
Not the man Minato Namikaze would personally acknowledge as his equal, nor the man who Madara Uchiha would later praise for his speed.
Just Ay a young, reckless and right now very furious teenager.
His Lightning Cloak was nowhere near the perfected Lightning armor Antares knew he would one day wield. His control was imperfect. His chakra flared too much. His breathing was rough.
But even now, standing between Antares and a Root assassin, there was no hesitation in him.
No fear, and the only thing stopping the Assassin from Killing Antares was Unruly Ay.
The Root ANBU did not hesitate either as he started assessing his opponent as his blank mask face tilted slightly to the side he assessed Unruly Ay from head to toe.
Quickly in his head the Root ANBU though
'Young, barely a teen but powerful for his age. Around mid to high Chunin level of speed' he thought blankly
He also noticed the unrefined Lightning Cloak, and the fatigue visible on his face.The fatigue was probably due to helping in the crisis.
His Primary target is still behind the young upstart.
'Eliminating the target is still possible if there is no more interference.' the root ANBU thought once again before moving
The Root operative moved without giving any warning or a word.
A smoke pellet struck the ground as two senbon shot through the gray cloud toward Antares.
Ay's arm blurred.
Clink* Clink*
Unruly Ay moved and the senbon were knocked aside by a lightning coated hand before they could reach his little brother.
The Root ANBU appeared low through the smoke, the Tanto enhanced with chakra was angled toward Unruly Ay's ribs.
Unruly Ay twisted.
The blade scraped across his side, drawing a thin line of blood cutting through his undeveloped lightning cloak, but Ay's fist came down at the same time.
Boom!
The Root operative shifted away just in time, as the punch cracked the stone where his head had been a heartbeat earlier.
A wire snapped tight around Unruly Ay's wrist.
The Root Operative threw a sealing tag towards Ay.
Ay's eyes narrowed.
He ripped his arm back before the seal could activate, dragging the Root ANBU forward by his own wire.
The assassin released it instantly and flipped backward, landing lightly on his feet.
Efficient and Silently.
The masked man is already adjusting.
Ay reached up and grabbed the front of his shirt.
Rip!
The fabric tore apart as blue lightning crawled across his chest and shoulders. His still developing muscles tightened while the V1 cloak surged harder around him, unstable arcs lashing against the stone path beneath his feet.
The Root ANBU's hand shifted toward another blade.
Ay took one step forward and the ground cracked
"You came into our house…" said Unruly Ay eyes burning with fury.
"…and tried killing my little brother!?" he said furiously
Antares' fingers dug into the cold stone beneath him.
The cheers of Kumogakure still echoed in the distance, but here, outside the Kaminari estate, everything felt silent except for the crackle of lightning and his brother's voice.
Ay lowered his stance.
"Touch him…"
The Root ANBU moved again.
Ay vanished forward.
"…and you're dead." was Unruly Ay's last words to the masked root ANBU
Blue lightning and steel collided beneath the roaring praises of the village.
AN: I hope yall enjoyed! :D next chapter is coming out tomorrow, this time for sure.