NARUTO SI: A Burdened Soul (Elder Brother to Itachi SI)

Chapter 17

FUGAKU UCHIHA

The appearance of the Third Raikage to the front lines had surprised everyone, and had stabilised the crumbling Kumo defences, buying them valuable time for the Third Raikage was a shinobi that one did not face without consequences.

He was arguably one of the strongest shinobi living, rumored to have faced and defeated the Hachibi all by himself. Something that perhaps only the Shodaime and Madara Uchiha could boast of doing.

And yet if Konoha were to change the tides of the war, then it had to attack. Though now they had to target not just the Kumo's defensive forces but also the secondary hoist getting absorbed into their relatively high defensive and offensive line.

And there were two ways to do that. Konoha could aim for a massacre, trying to replicate his son's and Orochimaru's feat from the other side and kill the defensive line of Kumo to the last man, but it was easier said than done.

Despite the numerical advantage, Kumo's forces were not to be underestimated and since they would be the attacking side, they would be at a disadvantage, so Kumo would be quick to call for aid and then the Third Raikage could come to their aide hence ending their hopes of an effective and tide turning offensive.

The other, better option was to get behind enemy lines without any fight. To sneak behind them, blitz the second host, and launch an offensive toward the Kumogakure itself.

It was the unthinkable option but one that most suited their objective, and so as the commander, it was upto him to make it possible.

"Are you certain about this commander Fugaku?" questioned his second in command, Shinku Yuhi, the veteran jounin was commanding the offensive force alongside him.

"Yes," he answered.

"To cast a genjutsu of that level on a whole enemy camp, it is nearly unheard of," the man added as Fugaku turned to face him.

"You leave that part to me. You and your squad are to erect a barrier around the area. Kill anything that tries to get past it. Anything, bird, animal, human," Fugaku ordered, and the man nodded and, with a salute, moved out, leaving him alone as they stood infront of the edge of Kumo's forces.

And so Fugaku took a deep breath as he received the signal and pushed his chakra into his eyes, as he felt the world around him shift. His vision dyed red as a burning sensation erupted from behind his eyes, as he pushed his Sharingan beyond the simple three tomoe stage to the secret form of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

He had avoided using these eyes both because of how it would affect both the village's and the clan's perception of him, for he knew the bitter the truth behind this gaze, behind the cost of this power.

And a great cost it was.

So, he stepped forward as he began moving towards the enemy camp from the front, all alone. As soon as he passed through a certain threshold, shuriken and kunai flew through the air as the traps were activated. Fugaku simply dodged them all with minimal movements as he continued moving on as the enemy from the camp stepped forward.

He counted them, and all of them had come. All twenty of them, and he saw them laughing and smirking as he saw him.

"We thought you guys would bring an army, but it's just one guy. You guys truly are scaredy cats," the commander taunted him, as Fugaku finally stopped and as he opened his eyes, they all stilled.

"Shit! Those eyes! It's him," and they seemed to finally recognize him as blood dripped down his face.

"Don't worry about an army," he said as he saw all of their faces pale as he activated the accursed genjutsu that was held in his left eye.

"It is right behind me..." and all twenty of them stilled as his genjutsu activated.

"Muchio...." and they stilled as Fugaku raised his hand and brought it down, as the said army emerged from behind him, all of them surprised and in awe of what he had done.

"Move forward..." he ordered, and then the Konoha nin began to move forward, and the Kumo-nin simply stood there, and hours later, as dawn broke, they all woke up at the camp unaware of what had transpired in the last ten hours, and how the entire Konoha strike force was now behind enemy lines and heading straight for the disarrayed secondary host.

It would be this feat that would cement the moniker that a Kumo nin had given the Uchiha clan head, one that would soon be entered into his bingo book entry.

The Wicked Eye Fugaku.

However, his actions will be overshadowed by the emergence of another hero along Iwa's borders, this one earning a moniker for himself as well.

0000

MINATO NAMIKAZE

It seemed to him that Iwa had chosen to act first, perhaps motivated or fearing what had transpired at the Northern front Iwa's bomber division had begun its offensive and Konoha defence was crumbling as he rushed through the forest to reach the front lines.

He was supposed to report to the commander's office but had decided against it, choosing to send a toad as a messenger given the dire situation on the front. Once he was able to traverse the massive forest, he reached the front lines and was surprised by the scenes there.

The whole area was filled with the smell of death, blood, and explosives. Hundreds and hundreds of shinobi lay dead, and he could almost see the enemy lines up ahead and just how close they were to their own defensive lines, which had taken heavy losses.

Konoha shinobi were helpless in this situation, and as he spotted the camp most close to being overrun, he rushed towards them. A cell of twenty which had been reduced to only four alive men, who seemed to be struggling against a whole unit.

And as Minato appeared there, he saw the captain's eyes fill with hope as all four of them turned towards him at once with hope and desperation.

"You are finally here," the captain spoke up, and Minato nodded.

"What is the situation?" he asked quickly as he began to unzip his bag and take out the special kunai he had prepared for this specific day.

"We are being overrun. We have been reduced to just the four of us while the enemy number at least fifty," the captain repeated as Minato handed him four packs of the kunai, to distribute as he began to sense for the Iwa nin's and mark their location in his head.

"You all, just throw these kunai at the enemy and leave the rest to me," he ordered as he completed his sensing, having located the positions and relative powers of all fifty enemy nin.

"Wha..." one of the younger nin began, but was cut off as the captain shushed him.

"Shut up, and do as he says," the captain ordered, and the young shinobi picked up a kunai just like the rest as Minato reached for one as well and gripped it in his had as explosions rocked the area around them.

"And no matter what happens, do not blink..." the captain whispered as he took aim.

"...or you will miss it, Konoha Yellow Flash at work," and as the first volley was thrown, Minato vanished as well, as he appeared behind an Iwa-nin who could barely react as he plunged his kunai in his neck. Then before the rest could move he was away once again teleporting to another one as he killed another one striking shuriken at two more.

They finally realised what was happening and tried to react. And yet, within but a minute, Minato stood there alone with not even a speck of blood on his uniform as fifty Iwa-nin lay dead infront of him.

The captain of the Konoha's unit came forward, looking at him with awe and reverence as he asked him.

"Your orders, Namikaze-sama," as Minato pointed towards his bag.

"Take that bag and distribute the kunai to the others. Salvage the ones you can from here as well and distribute them throughout the front lines and tell them the same thing I told you,"he finished sharply.

"Just keep aiming the kunai at the Iwa's forces and leave the rest to me....."

This was the birth of the bingo book's first 'Flee on Sight' order, and the moniker 'Yellow Flash' became renowned throughout the world, as Iwa's infamous bomber division was slaughtered by a single shinobi.

Minato Namikaze

00000

JIRAIYA-The Toad Sage

The Third Great Ninja War. It represented a failure of the shinobi system, of the dream that Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had once dreamed. In a way, it was treason to that dream of peace, and yet few cared for that. Few cared for the thousands that had died.

For this was the reality of the shinobi world, and no matter how much he desired to change it all. He could not. No one could.

Except one person, the boy of prophecy, one who was meant to be his student. And it was his belief that the child had come, that child that the Toad Sage had spoken of was here and was about to make his mark on the world.

And Jiraiya, for all his youthful dreams and ambitions, was happy to support him.

"It seems Minato has gotten a bit motivated," he commented as he read the message that had been delivered to him through a toad on how he was rushing straight to the front rather than coming in to report to him.

And Jiraiya did not mind. Not at all.

And he could see why he would be motivated as such. After all, he could not let a kid outshine him, now, could he? Izuna Uchiha's tale had been like a beam of hope in these dire times, even though few cared to see the hidden tragedy that lay underneath it.

The tragedy and the treason to the dream of the Shodaime that a nine-year-old child was out there battling on the front lines of a war.

But this nine-year-old boy was no ordinary boy. He was amongst the youngest fuinjutsu masters in history and was giving his prized student a run for his money, breaking his records and now trying to outshine him.

Well, not if Minato had anything to say about it.

And now he oculd not let the new generation carry all this burden and decided that it was time to step up, and help them as much as he could.

"Inoichi," he called his second in command as he walked out of the commander's tent, and his vice-commander emerged by his side, as he looked at all the units gathered there, preparing to support the front lines.

"I believe there is no need for us to rush towards the front lines anymore," he announced as the blonde Yamanaka's eyes widened.

"But why Jiraiya-sam..." but the man did not finish as Jiraiya smiled.

"Because we will be too late now. Minato should be already there and have it handled," he spoke with a smile, and as his words sunk in, he saw the somber mood of the camp turn as relief and hope filled the eyes of Konoha nin there.

"Then what are your orders, Jiraiya-sama?" Inoichi questioned as Jiraiya smirked.

"With Minato taking care of the front lines, why don't we all go and give old Ohnoki a visit..." he spoke as silence filled the camp.

"...in his Village and show him what it means to mess with Konoha."

0000

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