Naruto: The Shattered Eyes

"Urk,"

Protected by Itachi's burning red-orange Susanoo, a groan escaped Naruto's lips.

Only a glance was all it would take to realize the dire straits that the jinchuriki was facing. Naruto had been teetering on the edge of oblivion for far too long. Despite the newfound tranquility that Itachi had gifted his tormented mind, his physical body was in tatters.

"Jiraiya-sama,"

Despite Danzo being right in front of him and the Toad Sage at his side, Itachi knew that scraping for bonuses would only lead to self-destruction. Their mission had been Naruto's retrieval.

They were in a situation where they could succeed.

Thus...

"So it's time to leave, huh?" Jiraiya's eyes flashed, reading Itachi's blank expression and still finding the message hidden beneath it.

'Shadow Clone Jutsu!'

A single clone rushed forward with two spiraling spheres of chakra instantly forming in his palms.

'Twin Giant Rassengan!'

In response, Danzo's Susanoo swiped its saber through the air. Clashing with the Giant Rasengan, the Susanoo's sword faced a significant hindrance.

Taking this moment of distraction, Jiraiya moved with Gamabunta. Itachi carried Naruto and leaped to his side.

Atop the giant toad, Itachi's eyes flashed.

'Amaterasu!'

The ever-burning black flames that Danzo had been using quite often were now being used against him. A sea of burning darkness surged, engulfing the white Susanoo in a veil. Wrapping around his armor, Danzo's line of sight was obstructed, leaving him in a state of simulated blindness.

"Tsk!"

Danzo clicked his tongue as he felt the flames burning through his Susanoo. With a thought, his own Susanoo spun its blade, slamming into the Twin Giant Rasengan and sending Jiraiya's clone back with the subsequent explosion.

Despite being blinded by the flames, his sensory abilities were enough to locate his moving foes.

Then, his Susanoo breathed.

'Wind Release...'

Feeling a sense of danger, Itachi's eyes shrank. Jiraiya hurriedly formed a seal.

—Fwhip!

With the [Seal of Confrontation], Jiraiya sent out a message to Mount Myoboku. Then, Gamabunta swallowed Jiraiya, Itachi, and Naruto in a single gulp.

Danzo completed his jutsu just then—

'Sudden Vacuum!'

—Crack!

Just as the atmosphere surrounding them vanished, so did the trio. The lethal pressure difference had lost its opportunity to crush its foes.

Danzo perceived their disappearance with an annoyed expression. He was seemingly boiling with rage. However, he still held it all in.

His eyes flashed.

'Bishamonten: Heaven and Earth Reconstruction,'

The battlefield was forced into its earlier state. The burning flames surrounding his Susanoo disappeared as if they never existed in the first place.

All that remained was Danzo's half-melted Susanoo.

"To think that Jiraiya and Itachi would choose to make an enemy of the village..." Danzo inwardly cursed.

Luckily, he had foreseen this betrayal from miles away. His action of chaining down the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki had likely stepped on people's tails.

In fact...

Danzo's eyes flashed. A small smirk appeared on his face as the darkness of the underground deepened in the absence of battle.

"Hyo,"

Upon Danzo's utterance, a masked shinobi appeared at his side.

"Yes, Hokage-sama,"

The shinobi known as Hyo, wore a white Anbu mask with red markings around each eye. His dark hair was tied up in a spiked ponytail that fluttered in the pulsating aura of Danzo's Susanoo.

Hyo's calm response made it clear that Naruto's disappearance was not a worrisome subject at all.

"Inform the Anbu,"

As calculative as ever, Danzo made his command. While his white Susanoo dissipated, Hyo noticed Danzo's mood suddenly shift.

The façade of annoyance and anger he displayed evaporated with his Susanoo.

"The Nine-Tails' jinchuriki and Toad Sage Jiraiya are to be classified as missing-nin. Furthermore, increase the bounty of Uchiha Itachi's head. Inform the other villages of their abilities."

Danzo took a moment to pause. His Mangekyou Sharingan returned to their base state.

"Lastly, inform every Root shinobi that the operation, [Divide and Conquer], will begin in four hours."

"I will do as you have instructed, Hokage-sama." With these words left behind, Hyo flickered away, leaving Danzo behind.

A smirk tugged on the Hokage's lips. Like building blocks falling into place, everything was going according to plan.

—Haha.

It was a pleasant chuckle.

"This is good..."

With forced hands and shrouded intentions, Danzo's machinations began to bloom.

***

In the coming days, Konohagakure's residents would all be hit with a sudden shock.

"Another one of the Legendary Sannin deserted the village?!"

Exclaims of such nature were commonplace. The fear caused by such an announcement created ripples among the village's shinobi. 

With Jiraiya's disappearance, another S-rank had been lost, weakening the village in the eyes of their enemies. The various jounin in the village had a deep sense of foreboding brewing in their gut.

Meanwhile, the other residents of the village were focused on something else.

"That damn Demon Fox is gone!"

Many of the villagers rejoiced at the news. Their hearts, which had always been disturbed by the sight of Naruto, could finally calm down.

No longer would they have to dread the possibility of another incident like the one thirteen years ago. Furthermore, the disappearance of an infamous prankster made a lot of people laugh in relief.

Life in the village would be more peaceful from thereon out. 

At least... that's what it seemed.

***

After traveling nonstop, Suguru's rush to return to Konohagakure was met with surprise.

'This...'

With a single glance, Suguru noticed that his previous plans had been dismantled. What amused him was the fact that his plans were dismantled by a single simple reality.

The Negative Chakra Formation that should've been spanning the entirety of Konohagakure had vanished into thin air. Suguru could no longer feel the malevolent aura that seeped through the crevices in the earth.

'What use was my visit to the Senju and my gift to Shikaku?'

Suguru felt as if his recent schemes had been put to waste.

In place of the Negative Chakra Formation was a new creation that Suguru was unfamiliar with. Luckily, it wasn't as dependent on a Tailed Beast chakra source as its predecessor.

Suguru's gaze pierced through the village's walls from a great distance away. With a cursory glance, he took note of Uzumaki Naruto's absence within the core of the formation.

Instead, a weird mass of cells and a beating heart were all that Suguru could see, suspended in a large glass vat. The mass of cells was wrapped in dense Fuinjutsu and Kinjutsu seals.

It seemed to be some sort of biological chakra construct that supplied the formation with energy.

"Hmmm,"

A weird sense of intrigue engulfed Suguru at that moment. A flash of inspiration crossed his mind just then.

'...I can give that a try.'

Before Suguru lost himself in his thoughts once more, he shook his head and scanned the village with his Kaisugan.

The world's events had deviated beyond recognition. Suguru felt it — a massive battle had occurred in the depths of Konoha. Listening to the conversations of the villagers with his Kaisu-Shinrakugan was enough for him to learn of Jiraiya's desertion.

'Even Naruto has been designated a missing-nin... It's crazy how so many things have changed,' A wry chuckle left his lips.

Suguru couldn't help but lament his absence. Had he been present, he could've watched with a bag of snacks in his hands.

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