146 Dragonslayer

Sasuke POV

This fight turned from winning easily to an annoying cat-and-mouse game. I had underestimated Kabuto's abilities and this creature, I couldn't call this thing Danzo. Under Kabuto's command, it proved to be more annoying than I thought it would be.

I couldn't focus my attention on Kabuto while it ran at me without an ounce of fear and every time I crushed it the thing exploded and revived the next second.

Rinse and repeat.

I had my suspicions as to what Kabuto wanted to do. Since Kabuto knew he couldn't defeat me in an open battle, he used Danzo to wear me down and he was doing a good job. I had to find a way to get Kabuto while avoiding Danzo's constant attacks.

But how?

To my surprise, a red skeletal hand grabbed Danzo and threw him away. I turned to see Itachi coming loser.

"I told you this was my battle."

Itachi's Sharingan turned to his Mangekyō.

"The original fight was between you and Kabuto. With that creature that I believe represents Danzo out, there is nothing that's stopping me from intervening. I'll take on Danzo. Don't worry about him."

I turned to my real opponent. His Sharingan rotating.

"Amaterasu."

With Itachi joining the battle and keeping Danzo occupied, Kabuto had to dodge the black flames which not only burned at one place but with my Enton could be controlled as well.

Kabuto POV

This can't be happening. I will not acknowledge this. I was the strongest, so how could a snot-nosed Uchiha beat defeat me?

I was immortal! The Snake Sage! No, I was more than that. I have shed my skin and spread my wings to become a Dragons and Dragons can't be killed.

The summoning should have happened. Nagato was my second strongest Edo Tensei after Madara. With his Rinnegan, I could defeat both Sasuke and Itachi, yet something stopped him from appearing.

General POV

Even together, Yahiko knew that he and Konan couldn't defeat Nagato. Sure, Konan knew about the Six Paths, but it wasn't easy to fight an opponent that could use all six of them.

Any ninjutsu against him were useless since he could absorb them. Getting close or Taijutsu proved equally dangerous with the Asura Path given Nagato's multiple extremities.

Konan had to be even more careful since the Human Path could kill her in one hit.

That's why Konan focused on long-ranged while Yahiko tried to stay in mid-range and if it came to the melee, Yahiko could hold for a bit when hit he would regenerate.

"Yahiko, how long?"

Yahiko could see that Konan was slowly coming to an end. Using her abilities for so long took its toll and soon she would be out of chakra.

He knew they wouldn't be able to defeat Nagato, but they didn't need to. If what Ishizu told him was true, then all they needed to do was stall out.

'End this war already.'

Scene change

A scream echoed through the battlefield when Sasuke took a clean strike with his sword and severed one of Kabuto's arms.

"You have lost Kabuto. Even in your 'perfect' Sage Mode, the Uchiha are superiors to you."

Kabuto was hyperventilating. It was he who surpassed Orochimaru, becoming a Sage and perfecting the Edo Tensei. It was him that gave the fake Madara the driving force to the 4th War. He came this far and some small Uchiha who survived his clan's slaughter would be his dead? Impossible!

'I can't lose. I won't!'

The fear of death gave Kabuto a surge of power. His arm regrew within seconds and he used the ground to propel himself toward Danzo.

Itachi made quick work of the monster wasting, not a second in between its deaths to render it useless. All the eyes on its arms and legs were closed and only a few remained on its upper body.

Kabuto didn't want to die, so to escape death he would use the Izanagi for himself.

Turning his body into a giant white snake, he opened its mouth and engulfed Danzo whole.

Itachi only shook his head when he saw what Kabuto had done in desperation. The Izanagi was a strong Jutsu, but like all forbidden jutsus out there, this one had a severe flaw.

Danzo's body slowly showed shades of Kabuto's face, as the possession was complete yet there were visible changes to it.

The white flawless zetsu skin began to form areas of necrosis and malignancies. The Sharingan eyes were bleeding and pus was coming out. It was a disgusting sight. Kabuto too wasn't expecting the sudden changes.

"Wha-t is g-oning on?"

Kabuto's speech was distorted, and one could see the panic on his face. Something was wrong with his new body. Itachi was the first to dismiss his Susanoo knowing Kabuto was done for and in such a way.

"You dug your own grave, Kabuto. There is a reason why the Izanagi is a forbidden Jutsu and shouldn't be used if one doesn't know the consequences."

The fight was over just because Kabuto did something stupid.

"Looking at him like this makes me want to feel pity. What happened?" Sasuke appeared next to his brother.

"There isn't much known about the Izanagi's side effects since we humans only have 2 eyes and using it twice will render us blind. However, a long time ago there was a civil war going on within the Uchiha clan. The Izanagi was used by many Uchiha to stay alive and kill their opponent. It went so far that people were clawing out the eyes of their enemies to have another eye to use the Izanage.

After a while those that used their clan's eyes for this purpose had their life force reduced and turned old and weak. While the Zetsu body had delayed the process once Kabuto mixed with him it was just a matter of balance until the dam broke. This is the result."

At that moment, snakes shot out from the ground and ensnared Kabuto's arms, legs, and torso.

The Snake Sage slowly opened her eyes and blew smoke from her pipe as she slithered towards the down Kabuto.

"Kabuto Yakushi, you have lost the battle of Sage. As a result, after your death, your body will be harvested to strengthen the Ryugi Cave."

This was the end for Kabuto.

"N-no. I refuse to accept this. I am the Snake Sage!"

Still, even in this situation, Kabuto held a slither of damnation in his heart. The Reanimation Jutsu was the Ultimate Jutsu. He did what Orochimaru couldn't do.

He perfected it. Outdoing his former master.

There was nothing to could stop the countless Shinobi from fighting. The moment he would die, the Jutsu would continue doing his will.

His body would die, but his life would continue on in the reanimations. The name Kabuto would be known to be important to the end.

He would matter, no matter what.

This was disturbing to Itachi too. Sasuke was confident about killing Kabuto, but how would he deal with the reanimated people?

That's when he remembered something. There was a way to stop all of this. All he needed to do was reach into his pocket.

There was something Ishizu gave him that would stop Kabuto completely.

Scene change.

Confusion spread throughout the war as the reanimated people stopped their attacks and tried to communicate with their former enemies.

Many of the allied forces were skeptical as usual for being a shinobi and trusting somebody who you were just fighting was suicide.

Yet they were all stunned when the reanimated shinobi turned against their allies, the Zetsu, who were as confused as anyone else. The rage burning in their dead eyes was like a tide descending over them.

As soon as the tide passed, questions were asked about what was going on. Most of the reanimated were clueless only knowing they had regained control of their bodies and were either allowed to help, while the ruthless and uncaring ones were literally forced to help the living.

Some thought they saw a grin of a man before they felt as if they were awake, while only a couple knew the name of the person who gave them this opportunity.

At the battle of the Five Kage, Madara felt the changes happening and he too could see the person responsible for this change.

'The original user of the Edo Tensei was defeated but instead of releasing the Jutsu, somebody else used a Jutsu to get hold of it. This reeks of an Uzumaki Fuinjutsu. Annoying. I shall release myself then.'

If the Kage thought they could fight Madara before then they were confident, but now… they stood against an un-killable limitless chakra Madara Uchiha.

Their deaths were set in stone, and only a miracle could save their lives.

Scene change and flashback to Naruto's side

Together with the other Jinchūriki, Naruto bonded with Kurama to a new level. He could feel their combined power rising to new heights.

It was a fantastic feeling as two people combined their strengths.

With their newfound power, Naruto and Kurama were ready to stop the war, and all they had to do was find the masked man who was pretending to fall himself, Madara.

When the clone fighting Madara popped giving all the information came back, Naruto stopped for a moment as he pondered what his clone found out.

'The masked man isn't Madara? If so, then who is he?'

A claw touched his head causing Naruto to look up inside his mind at Kurama laying on his stomach with one arm under his chin.

"Preserve your chakra, Naruto. Even if this person isn't Madara Uchiha, as he called himself before, we saw what the really Madara can do. Whoever this guy is, he is no doubt an Uchiha working with or for Madara.

Don't forget, he was the one that attacked Konoha and freed me from your mother. He isn't someone you can fight with low chakra reserves. Let's not get too overconfident."

With all Bijuu happy, they opened their links between themselves, allowing Kurama to feel his brothers and sisters' joy at being with humans they liked. A memory from old resurfaced in his mind. It was their father leaving them and the humans slowly beginning to hate them.

Over the years, Kurama grew arrogant and stopped speaking with his siblings, but now they were all happy and with their happiness, he too couldn't help but smile.

Yet something was bothering Kurama. In the distance to where they were going, Kurama felt something. It was unnatural, an abomination even sealed but ready to burst out from whatever half-backed shell was containing it.

It made his skin stand up.