The Hokage's Gambit
The battlefield was a furnace of ash and blood. Kaito's chains writhed sluggishly, dripping with gore, while Soka leaned heavily on her golden bindings, her legs trembling. Their breath came ragged, yet their eyes gleamed with unbroken fire.
Hiruzen stood across from them, blood soaking through his robes, his chest heaving. His arms felt heavy, his chakra dangerously low—but the fire of duty kept him upright.
"Form up!" he barked, voice still commanding despite the tremor beneath it. "All squads, synchronize!"
The remaining shinobi—dozens, where once there had been hundreds—forced themselves into ranks. The clans gathered what strength remained. Even as their comrades lay strewn across the ground, they obeyed, their loyalty ironclad.
Kaito spat blood into the dirt, smirking. "Still barking orders, old man? Your people are corpses waiting to fall."
Hiruzen's gaze hardened. "If that is so… then let them fall protecting the village. That is our way."
Elemental Onslaught
The air vibrated as dozens of hands blurred through seals in perfect coordination. This was no random assault; it was strategy born of decades of unity.
Earth Release: Stone Walls! Barricades rose, funneling Kaito and Soka into a killing zone.
Wind Release: Great Breakthrough! Howling gusts tore through the funnel, compressing air.
Fire Release: Majestic Flame! Flames surged into the wind, igniting a storm of fire.
Water Release: Water Dragon Barrage! Serpents of water rose to counter the heat, generating blinding steam.
Lightning Release: Thunderclap Spears! Bolts speared through the haze, erratic and deadly.
The battlefield became a tempest of five elements, roaring like a natural disaster.
Kaito charged straight into it. His chains deflected spears of lightning, his tanto flashing to carve through stone. He swung his broken arm like a club, uncaring of the pain, wind chakra spiraling around his fist to blast open the barricades.
Soka danced at his side, golden chains weaving shields and spears at once. She cut down the water serpents with surgical precision, but the steam scalded her raw flesh further. She hissed through clenched teeth, blood dribbling from her lips.
The onslaught pushed them back, step by step. For the first time, Konoha's coordination drew blood from both predators.
Hiruzen's Forbidden Answer
Hiruzen slammed his palms together. He couldn't let this drag on. His shinobi had given their lives, but it wasn't enough. If he faltered now, Konoha would crumble.
He inhaled sharply, then whispered the words he had long sworn never to use again.
"Shiki Fūjin."
The spectral form of the Reaper shimmered behind him, its terrible grin splitting the air itself. Its aura chilled the battlefield. Shinobi froze in place, dread crawling up their spines.
Kaito's eyes widened. He had never seen it before, but every cell in his body screamed danger. His crimson chains lashed violently, as if trying to retreat.
"You…" Kaito growled, recognition dawning. "You'd call death itself to chain me?!"
The spectral hand of the Reaper reached forward.
Kaito roared, his chains exploding outward in a storm of crimson, clashing against the ghostly grip. The ground cracked beneath the clash of forces unseen by mortal eyes.
Desperate Counters
Soka staggered to Kaito's side, her golden chains latching onto his shoulders, steadying him. Her body was failing—burns, cuts, internal bleeding—but her resolve was steel.
"Don't you dare fall without me," she hissed.
Together, they fought against the encroaching grip of the Reaper.
Konoha shinobi seized the moment. The Nara cast shadows forward, pinning Soka's legs in place. Aburame sent swarms buzzing toward her wounds. Uchiha ignited the air with fireballs, while Hyūga pressed in with Gentle Fist strikes to her chakra pathways.
Soka screamed, chains thrashing violently. One Uchiha's head split from his shoulders, a Hyūga's chest caved under a crushing strike, but others landed blows—burns across her torso, chakra points sealed, golden chains faltering.
Kaito fared little better. A dozen blades sank into his back, kunai and shuriken piercing flesh. Lightning surged through him from coordinated Raikō jutsu, his muscles locking. His crimson chains spasmed, some shattering into sparks of chakra.
The Reaper's hand closed tighter.
Hiruzen coughed blood, feeling his very soul being pulled. But he held firm, his eyes fixed on Kaito. "If I can drag you with me… it will be worth it."
The Predator's Defiance
But Kaito was not done.
His broken arm rose, trembling, as wind chakra spiraled once more. He slammed his palm against his chest, blood spraying.
"Reality Eye—Second Gate: Blood Vision!"
His pupils dilated, the world slowing to a crawl. Crimson light bled from his eyes, mixing with silver spirals. His chains surged back into existence, thicker, sharper, writhing like the tails of a bijū.
They crashed against the Reaper's grip, sparks of metaphysical energy ripping the air apart.
Hiruzen's body shook violently as the strain of the forbidden jutsu doubled. The Reaper snarled, pushing harder, but Kaito's crimson power fought tooth and nail, refusing to be bound.
Blood poured from Kaito's eyes, nose, and mouth. His body was failing, his chakra flaring dangerously unstable.
Still, he roared, "I am not yours to claim!"
The Reaper's advance stalled.
Carnage and Collapse
The battlefield devolved into madness.
Soka, though pinned by shadows and bleeding from a dozen wounds, lashed out with her final reserves. Golden chains burst from the ground, skewering squads whole. A Hyūga screamed as his spine snapped, a Nara was torn in two, Aburame swarms burned alive as fire erupted from her seals.
Konoha's casualties surged past two hundred.
But Soka fell to one knee, golden chains flickering, her breath wet with blood.
Kaito staggered, his chest heaving, crimson chains thrashing wildly like dying serpents. The Reaper loomed closer, its hand inches from his soul.
Hiruzen trembled, his body withering from the toll. His eyes locked with Kaito's, both warriors bleeding, both refusing to surrender.
The battlefield held its breath.
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I saw that most of the votes were for Kaito to be a villain and to explore the world or form his organization, so I'll do that. I'll see if he will form his organization or not depending on your votes.
If you review or give a Power Stone, I'll give you an extra chapter.
A Power Stone: an extra chapter.
A positive review: an extra chapter.
This would help me a lot and would also attract more people, so I'd make more chapters per day.