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Chapter Text

Two immense Ki waves were clashing against each other in the middle of a now deserted place, pushed by the two strongest warriors on Earth. Both were at their limits, but the clash only dragged on despite the exhaustion. The result of that final stand would decide the fate of the planet, and possibly of the universe as well.

His legs shivered as they gave in. His eyelids closed as the last drops of energy were consumed by his body. The internal and external hemorrhages of his destroyed left arm had caused him severe losses of blood, which only worsened his condition and his odds to win the clash of energy waves.

His right arm remained up only through the inertia produced by the release of the kamehameha from his palm, which he continued to feed with what little Ki he still had in him.

The clash of beams had produced a massive alteration in the winds, as itself produced powerful currents that raised the dust of the deserted landscape and the lighter rocks. All the animals had long left the place, and the few plants had been vaporized during the fierce battle that ensued only minutes prior.

Gohan stumbled on himself, and his wave was very swiftly pushed almost all the way. It did not matter how much his friends tried to distract Cell, or how much his father tried to cheer him up from the other side. He had given all he had and still lost.

As it became evident the battle had been sentenced, Cell began cackling. Despite the weakening of the android's kamehameha due to his overconfidence, nothing changed in the course of the battle. Cell's own wave overcame and consumed Gohan's, and the Z-Warriors could only stand still in utter shock, witnessing what would be the end of their world.

From the Other World, King Kai and Goku struggled to believe what they were seeing. The saiyan raised as human blamed himself, as he had taken the choice of coming out of the chamber early due to his overconfidence in his son's abilities and strength.

Piccolo was not about to just stand by and watch as Gohan died, though. He was the son of the fearsome and formidable Piccolo Daimao. Kami's evil half. Piccolo junior had been trained ruthlessly and with the sole purpose of achieving vengeance. And throughout his short life, everything had been about fighting to kill or fighting to survive. Such undertaking had built a cold and determined character, which meant he would never hesitate to give his own life in battle.

Not enough time had passed for Gohan's arm to even go down in realization of his own defeat, when Piccolo suddenly placed himself in between Cell's attack and Gohan's body. He had done it once and he would do it again. Arms extended, muscles tensed and a stare filled with determination.

His eyes immediately widened as pain like he had never felt before completely overwhelmed every single nerve of his body. He had wanted to say something before being vaporized. At least to tell Gohan to run away while he still had time. After all, his sacrifice was only to give the boy a second chance.

However, he could only scream at the top of his lungs. His nerves slowly began to fail as they were burnt by the android's own kamehameha, but his screaming did not stop, and neither did the pain.

Behind him, he felt Gohan's body collapse on his back. Then, he realized his sacrifice would do nothing to change the odds for a possible rematch against the android. A second chance at saving Earth.

He closed his eyes as he assumed his destiny, and let himself be eliminated from existence.

Then, all went blank. Pain vanished, but he could still feel Gohan's head resting on his back. One by one, his senses simply stopped responding. Though before his consciousness completely faded away, Piccolo could swear he felt as if he was falling down.

When he woke up, his ears were immediately overwhelmed by the sound of dozens of people talking and mumbling. He rubbed his eyes as they were not yet used to the direct light of the sun, and slowly stood up. After a few seconds, he was finally able to have a glimpse at the still blurry image of his surroundings.

He was in the middle of a crater, seemingly in the middle of a small village. What he presumed were the inhabitants had gathered around the still fresh crater to see what had happened. If he was to judge by their clothing, he would guess it was a village of poor farmers.

Then, a piercing sensation of pain overcame his left arm. It was still broken. Completely so. Of his attire, only the upper parts of his pants and the brown shoes given to him by Piccolo remained. Everything else had probably been vaporized in the battle.

Gohan could not comprehend how he was still alive. Last he remembered was barely holding on to consciousness as Cell's kamehameha completely absorbed his own. He should be dead, and the Earth should be destroyed. Then, another thought came to mind. His friends.

His eyes closed as he focused on sensing all the energy signals nearby. All were small, except for one that was immediately next to him. Said energy was extremely superior to any other that was nearby. And despite the monstrous size of it, it was very familiar.

"Mr. Piccolo!" The boy yelled as he turned around.

The namekian warrior laid face down, unconscious on the ground. Most of his attire had also been destroyed, but some of his shirt and most of his pants survived. However, one of his arms had split from his body, and one of his feet was simply missing. Steam still came out of his body, as if he had been boiling until recently.

Gohan's hearing slowly recovered enough for him to pick up some words of the noise caused by the dozens of people around them. Only three words stood out. 'Oni', 'Monster' or its plural, 'Monsters', as well as the very interesting word 'God'.

Were they calling them gods and demons?

The saiyan was not given enough time to process this as he immediately noticed that a few villagers were actually stepping into the crater. Some carried torches, while others carried buckets of water and food.

Gohan wasn't about to risk it, and so he picked the unconscious namekian up and flew off. As his blue aura erupted to further shoot himself in the air, he broke the barrier of sound. The sonic boom sound produced by the boy's speed frightened the villagers, who fled and hid inside their homes.

Gohan had chosen to stay in a mountain that was very familiar to his own home. Said mountains were only a few kilometers west of the town. Its vegetation, as in the trees, seemed dense enough to hide them while they found a way to reunite with the others.

The half-blood saiyan had already begun to gather wood, in preparation to build a humble hut for himself and the namekian. It was a light job for him, even if he could only use one of his arms. He was used to doing it back home, though with the purpose of using it for fire. Admittedly, he did not know much about building.

As he arrived back at the spot he chose and left the logs on the floor, he noticed that Piccolo had already sat up. He had woken up while he was gone.

"Mr. Piccolo, you woke up!" Gohan said as he noticed that his right arm was still missing.

The namekian seemed to ignore the boy's greetings as he directly spoke about something else. "I can't sense anybody else that we know. There's only you and me."

The half saiyan raised an eyebrow in confusion. His onyx eyes already showed great concern at the implications of what his master was saying.

"You lost, Gohan. We lost. It makes no sense that we are still alive and the world is still perfectly okay." He turned his face to give the boy a serious look.

"Maybe someone else took Cell down. Maybe the others are just very far away or in Kami's Lookout and that's why we can't sense them."

Piccolo sighed as he turned his head back to its original position. "If they were at Kami's Lookout, both of us could very easily sense their Ki. In fact, at this point, at least I should be able to sense their Ki even if they were on the opposite side of the world."

Gohan sat down on a log he had close to him and put his only available arm over his face. He was trying to hide his tears.

"I'm not sure what's going on. I just know there's no other familiar Ki signals, there's no Kami's Lookout and overall, there's no other decently-sized Ki signal either." He finally regenerated his missing arm, letting out a small moan of pain. He was still very tired, and he knew that Gohan was as well.

Piccolo stood up and turned around. He had regenerated his missing foot as well. He pointed his finger at Gohan, and gave him one of his attires in perfect state, though without the cape because of the added weight. Then, he did the same trick on himself.

"I'll build the hut, you should rest your arm." At one point in his life, he had had to build a shack for himself. Hiding from the world did not leave one with a lot of options of where to sleep.

Gohan raised his face to look at his master. The sorrow on his face was clear.

"I want to help."

"I know. So why don't you explore a little? We do need to find out at least where we are."

An old man smoked from his pipe while he was sitting on his couch. His eyes were closed as he let the smoke produced by the herbs of his pipe do their magic. The muscles of his face were relaxed, showing that even before smoking he was already in a serene demeanor.

The room he was in was very small. Apart from his own, it only had three more couches and a low wooden table in the middle of them. And with that, the room's space had run out.

On the table, a series of documents had been placed. They went all the way from tax reports, to mission requests. After hours of discussing taxes and administrative issues, the time had finally come to discuss the requests for missions.

The old man was wearing a white tunic, though he was missing the traditional headpiece of the Hokage. He failed to see the need of wearing it in council meetings.

Opposite to him, a slightly younger man was sitting. Were it not for dye, his hair would be just as white as the Third Hokage's. Additionally, half of his face was covered in bandages, and most of his body under a dark tunic.

On the other two couches, two more elders sat. One was Homura, an old man with glasses and a simple beige tunic. The other was Koharu, an old woman wearing a dark kimono with some gray details.

She was the one to speak first.

"Homura and I have already revised the first request. We decided to discuss it first because we believe it's ridiculous and rejecting it seems obvious." Her tone was firm and arrogant. If they were not official documents of Konoha, she would have thrown the ones for this specific request away, like trash.

"What is it about?" Serenely asked the Hokage, who continued to smoke like a chimney.

Homura cleared his throat. "A small village in the northern territories of the Land of Fire reported the appearance of, and I quote, 'an Oni and a God' after they fell from the skies."

Koharu spoke up once again. "They say the only proof they could provide is being held by some fanatics who are now worshiping it." She shrugged, almost making fun of the ordeal. "We see no reason to believe it and we think we'd be wasting the time of our shinobi with this."

"How much is the reward they offer?" Asked the man of the bandages.

Koharu and Homura glanced at each other.

"They're offering up to thirty million ryos." Admitted the elderly woman.

Danzo seemed satisfied. He lowered his head, indicating he had made a decision already. The Hokage exhaled a small cloud of smoke. Then, he smiled serenely.

"Seems fun. Accept the mission." Declared the old man. "We have accepted more ridiculous missions before. And clearly Danzo liked the amount."

The remaining two elders sighed and nodded. Homura grabbed a seal from the table and stamped the document, which indicated the mission had been accepted.

"Assign a C-rank. I already have someone in mind for this one." The Hokage smiled, knowing a certain blonde boy would be very excited to hear about the mission.

Chapter Text

A certain blonde boy woke up after a long night of deep sleep. The sun was already entering his room through the window of his small apartment. He yawned before standing up and heading for the table, which was right next to his bed.

He grabbed his old milk and the bowl that had the least amount of ramen leftovers in it. There, he put some cereal and then poured the milk. Some small oily particles from the broth of the ramen were still observable among the milk. However, the blonde boy was not even close to noticing.

After finishing his bowl of cereal in barely over a minute, he grabbed a piece of bread and ate it. Then, he finished what little was left of milk on the carton.

He then went to grab his usual uniform and looked at himself in the mirror while changing. His hair was all messy so he went to the bathroom to use some water to fix it slightly. Finally, he put his hitai-ate on, and headed for the door.

Naruto felt as if he had forgotten something, but figured it was not as important if he had failed to remember it. After closing the door of his apartment, he ran down the hallway and jumped into the streets of Konoha.

He had forgotten to take a shower.

After taking his usual shortcuts, he finally reached a familiar alley. There, his two teammates were already waiting.

"Good morning, Sakuraaa!" Yelled Naruto, waving at her while still running.

The pink-haired girl turned to look at him, not especially thrilled to see him. The blonde boy, however, ran into Sasuke before her.

The two boys locked stares and immediately looked in the opposite direction. The two crossed their arms and humphed. Sakura, who was already irritated by having to wait so much for their master, cringed at the behavior of the boys. Her mind was quickly filled with murderous thoughts of whom she called her inner self.

Three more hours went by before the silver-haired jounin showed up at the intended place for the meeting. Sakura and Naruto were furious at him, while Sasuke was simply unimpressed.

"Good morning. I'm afraid I got lost on the way here…" He said calmly as he waved. His only visible eye showed as little emotion as always.

He flinched slightly after the blonde boy ran up to him in the blink of an eye. It was not real, but he could feel as if a burning aura of fire surrounded the boy's body.

"Oi, Kakashi! Any new cool missions for team 7?! I'm tired of the boring-ass quests the old man has given us!" He raised his punch as now his eyes were caught on fire. "We want action! Something where we can use all of our skills and get stronger and-and-and-"

"Is that so?" Asked the jounin with his trademark uninterested soft tone.

"Speak for yourself, dumbass!" Yelled the pinkette furiously.

The last of the Uchiha humphed again, simply looking away as he remembered how he almost gave his life to save that idiot.

"If I remember correctly," the man put his index finger on his chin as he began to speak. "The last time we got a harder mission you all almost died."

The flame of Naruto's spirit did not wane a bit. "But now we've learned and are stronger! We can surely beat anyone's ass now."

"Not even close…" Mumbled the jounin.

"What was that?!"

Kakashi pretended to be oblivious and shrugged. Naruto squinted his eyes while staring at his master.

"Anyways, we do have a mission. Why else would I want to make my day worse by dealing with you?" He sighed and put his hands on the pockets of his pants. "Lord Third assigned us a C-rank mission. He said it's especially for you, Naruto."

The blonde boy's eyes began to glow, while Sasuke finally turned around with a suspicious look.

"Didn't know there were missions especially for idiots." Said the Uchiha softly.

"Oi!" Yelled Naruto, threatening Sasuke with his fist.

Kakashi ignored the two boys and continued talking like nothing happened. "Some villagers in the north of the country saw a god or two and we need to trace them down and kill 'em."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at how unimpressed the jounin was. A god? That's a very big word to describe someone.

"Master Kakashi, why is the mission only C-ranked if it's about hunting a god?" She scratched her chin. "And why are we assigned to do such a thing? We're just genin!"

The jounin totally forgot these kids did not know a single thing. Couldn't blame them much, though, as they were still very inexperienced.

He shrugged. "We get these sorts of reports all the time. Usually it's just some cheap wizard or a crazy priest. Once it was a rogue genin. Never anything too serious."

The pink-haired girl nodded in understanding. There was no way the Hokage would make some genin team hunt down a real god.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke were still staring down at each other. Kakashi only then noticed, and rolled his eyes as he realized he would have to explain everything all over again. That's why he hated being the master of a genin team. He hated dealing with kids.

The half-saiyan returned after slightly less than two days flying around the entire world. Normally, he would have been able to fly across the entire planet in a few hours, but he really tried to find his friends or any familiar location, which delayed his journey.

Piccolo was resting outside of the newly built hut, taking the sun. The hut, however, was not made out of wood. Instead, the namekian had used his magic to make one in the style of his people. Admittedly, it was probably better than anything Gohan intended to do with the wood he had gathered.

While he did not open his eyes, he was aware that his pupil had arrived.

"Well, how'd it go? You took your time." Asked the namekian.

Gohan could not even reach the namekian before he collapsed on his knees. He could not hold it back anymore and began sobbing.

Piccolo peeked at the boy with just one of his eyes. He sighed as he noticed it was just as bad as it sounded. Gohan was stronger than him, but he still was a boy. A boy that had been stripped from all his friends and family.

He pulled the half-blood saiyan into a tight hug. Such was a common gesture among humans, and while namekians did not exactly understand or share it, he felt it was effective enough. The last thing he wanted was to just watch as his pupil broke down in front of him.

"I don't know what happened, Mr. Piccolo," the boy struggled to even breathe between phrases from his agitation. "I couldn't find anyone. I couldn't even find any familiar places! Not even the lookout. Everyone is gone and everything is different."

Piccolo had been looking away due to his embarrassment. There was something about physical contact that he was just not used to. However, his interest was naturally captured by the boy's words.

"Not even the lookout?"

The boy could only shake his head.

It was definitive then. They were not on their own Earth. Somehow, the planet had completely changed its appearance and the people in it. Or could Cell simply kill them, destroy the places they know and let the planet be?

"The big cities seem older, more primitive. No Capsule Corp., no tall buildings, no cars."

"Could Dende have made a wish…?"

"Why would he wish for something like this?!" Gohan punched the ground, creating a small crater. "I lost everything."

"That way he would earn us a second chance." Piccolo was trying to give sense to the situation, despite the seeming lack of it. "Losing it all but our lives."

"What would it matter?!" Gohan pushed himself away from the namekian's hug.

Admittedly, it relieved Piccolo to finally be free of physical contact once again. However, he was not so satisfied with the now angry half saiyan walking towards his hut. For a solid few seconds he believed the boy would demolish it.

However, Gohan simply stopped himself and looked up at the sky. Tears still escaped his eyes. He had still lost everything.

The boy then had a realization. He still had someone left. Someone who had been a pillar in his life from the moment his uncle invaded Earth. Even if his situation was bad, it could be worse. He could be forced to deal with it alone.

"I'll go sleep a bit." Said Gohan before entering the hut.

The namekian nodded and once again let himself rest on the floor. As the warm light of the sun penetrated his green skin, he spoke to himself. Or to his insides.

"No lookout means no senzu beans," he said, with his eyes closed. "No dragon balls."

He really focused his mind.

"Kami, do you think you could grant me some of your abilities?"

A few weeks went by and it seemed that team 7 was finally approaching its target. They better be, because they had been hiking the mountains for several days now. The wind only got colder, and despite the abundant vegetation, the hills only got taller.

Early on that day, they had finally found a dirt road. It was an indication that someone was using it frequently. Possibly an indication of civilization. And indeed, two hours later, Naruto found the main entrance of the village.

The blonde boy jumped and cheered at the relieving sight of the village, while one of the farmers that were starting their work of the day stared in confusion at the sweaty and exhausted boy. Behind him, the rest of his team were trying to catch up to him.

Kakashi's only visible eye snapped open in relief at the sight of the farmers. After days of hiking, he was not sure how much farther he would be willing to go before calling the mission off.

Sasuke was as expressionless as ever. He was gasping for air and very sweaty, just like Naruto. The only sound produced by his body was the growls of his stomach.

Meanwhile, Sakura collapsed on the ground. She was completely exhausted and on the verge of dehydration. Every mission they went on, it became evident that despite her cognitive advantage over the boys, she was lacking a lot in the physical conditioning department.

"Oi, you! Old men!" Naruto yelled at the farmers as he ran towards them. Once he was right in front of them, they flinched due to his putrid smell. "Give us some food and water! We have come to save you!"

The boy gave them his trademark confident smile while he raised his hand in a thumbs up. However, the farmers were not very happy with the cocky attitude of the blonde boy. One raised an eyebrow, while another brought a bucket of water and poured it over Naruto. A third farmer brought a glass of water for the collapsed girl.

"What you need is a shower." Said Kakashi as he finally reached his student. Naruto squinted while shaking to get the water off him, like a dog would. "Apologies. We are the shinobi from Konoha that your leader hired. We came to deal with that Oni you reported a few days ago."

"Ah. Lord Saru will be happy to see you!" Said one of the farmers, while beckoning the shinobi to follow him.

As they traversed the town, they confirmed the seemingly humble nature of it. Despite this, it was still a very big town. It had been one of the first known settlements in the northern regions of the Land of Fire. With a story of over a thousand years, the town had survived even the Warring States Period and the Great Ninja Wars.

Kakashi recalled that old man Sarutobi was very nostalgic when reminiscing about the town. He was not sure of the reason at the time, but the name of the local governor gave him an idea of why that could be.

In the exact center of the town, an old temple stood firm with a banner of the Land of Fire right next to it. The statues of the Sage of Six Paths in each corner of the temple indicated that it had been built around his time, which only added cultural weight to the location.

Naruto carefully examined one of the statues, while the silver-haired jounin addressed their guide. Sasuke slapped the back of his head to prevent him from damaging a religious monument.

"If you do anything to that statue, I'll snap your neck!" Yelled Sakura, who cared a lot about such matters.

Kakashi glanced at his students to make sure the situation did not get out of hand. Then, he looked back at the farmer.

"Thank you very much for your assistance. We promise to do a good job."

The farmer bowed, and the jounin followed. "If you excuse me, I'll go back to work."

The jounin waved him off before turning back to his students. They were still yelling at each other.

"Get away from that statue, Naruto. Sakura is right, we don't want to break any of this." He grabbed the boy by his jacket and pulled him up. "It might not be as important for us in Konoha, but in the rest of the country these symbols are very valued. Break one and I will not save your life."

Naruto gulped. The pinkette only nodded to confirm all the words of her master, even though she really did not pay attention after he said 'Sakura is right'.

An old man came out of the temple. He was wearing a traditional white kimono under a pair of hakama pants. Over his pants, he held the sheath of his sword. The man was corpulent and imposing, while his white beard was very messy.

He smiled warmly at the sight of the familiar uniform of leaf-nin. "Come on in, please."

The temple was filled with religious iconography and candles. The smell of incense was very intense, and the smoke produced by it was visible all throughout the building.

The old man guided them across a hallway with many doors. However, they were beckoned to only go through the one at the end. It was the only door that was open, and a wooden table with many cushions around it could be seen through it. There were many candles in the middle of it and some other furniture around it.

Once they entered the room, they could see that the governor and his family were already having lunch. Three women, only one over her forties and the other two not older than thirty, were carefully seated while helping several children with their food. Most of them were toddlers, but there were three who were already adults, and a girl that was around Naruto's own age.

"You caught us in the middle of lunch. So I apologize for having to bring you here. I hope you can accept our food as compensation." Said the old man. He turned to the three women and beckoned them to go bring more food. They silently nodded before standing up and leaving the room.

Sakura glanced at Kakashi, who was unfazed by the situation. While polygyny was not the norm within Konoha, it certainly was outside of it. Especially for nobles.

"Those were my wives. These are my kids. They're mostly little ones, but four of them can already present themselves." He pointed his hand at the three adult males and the younger girl. They all had black hair and tan skin.

The three young men nodded in acknowledgement, while the girl carefully stared at the four shinobi.

"These four are supposed to defeat the gods?" She asked her father.

The old man punched the table while staring at his older daughter. "Be respectful, Touka! They are respectable shinobi from Konohagakure, the great military force created by the Feudal Lord."

"They seemed very strong. The one that wasn't a demon was just as tall as the one in the blue shirt but had bigger muscles than the one with gray hair."

"Touka, leave." Ordered the old man, while looking down at the table.

The girl was initially shocked by the words of her father, but eventually obeyed and left. Naruto mocked her without the governor noticing, but Kakashi threatened him with his single visible eye.

"Apologies once again." The old man sighed as he played with his messy beard. "But back to the topic that concerns us. I'll take you to the proof of our story when we are done eating."

"What is it?" Asked the silver-haired jounin. He was very skeptical, like everyone else in Konoha. The mission was only accepted because it was easy money.

"It's the arm of the demon. It seems he lost it when he crashed." His tone changed from his previous warm one to a more serious one. "It's currently being held by some fanatics just outside the village that stole it to worship it. I believe they're already building a temple just for it."

"Crashed?"

"Yes. From the skies." He took a sip from his tea before continuing. "I can show you the crater on the way."

A shiver went down Kakashi's spine. The single thought of the possibility of these mysterious figures being actual demons was previously inconceivable to him, but now it plagued his mind. Only Sakura felt the man's shiver, and she turned to look at him.

"Hmmm. Intriguing."

Inside, though. He had a bad feeling about this mission.

Chapter Text

Gohan finally woke up after over twenty hours of sleep. The sun was hitting his face through the small window of the Namekian hut. He felt a little dizzy due to how long he had been asleep.

He stood up and rubbed his eyes. His vision was still somewhat blurry, but it would slowly get better. The first thing he noticed was that Piccolo was already outside, and if he had to guess, his master was probably meditating.

As he came out, he found the Namekian levitating but not meditating. Piccolo noticed that the boy was already up, but chose not speak until Gohan did so first.

"Good morning, Mr. Piccolo."

"Hey, Gohan," the Namekian turned to look at the boy. "Look what I found."

He put his green hand up and showed a little piece of a senzu bean in between two of his fingers. According to the half-blood's estimations, it was probably two thirds of a full bean.

"A senzu bean?" Asked the half-saiyan, already knowing the answer.

"Mhm. Seems we dropped it somewhere around here." He seemed unsure and confused. "I found it on the floor."

Gohan scratched his chin. "I thought Cell blew them up during the battle."

"Me too, but I suppose we got lucky." He threw it at Gohan, who caught it perfectly. "Here. Take it so your arm heals faster."

The boy stared at it for a few seconds. "Why don't we plant it?"

"We're not the cat. It won't grow."

"But if it happens to grow, we will have more beans eventually." Continued Gohan. "If I just eat it, we will completely run out of them for… possibly forever."

Piccolo closed his eyes and thought about it for a while. The kid was right, and his Kami side agreed on the idea. However, the chance of the bean actually growing were very slim, and the chances of Gohan's arm not healing properly were bigger.

"We have to find a doctor for your arm, then."

"That's…" Kakashi stood amazed by the size of the crater left by the supposed demons.

Sakura could only gulp at the sight of it. She was starting to get scared of their mission, and the prospect of it being even worse than the Land of Waves became more realistic. As for Sasuke, he was deep in his thoughts, carefully analyzing the situation, but with no conclusions yet.

Naruto was squinting at the crater. "There is no way anyone could survive that. Are you playing with us, old man?!"

The silver-haired jounin turned to his student. He spoke with a passive-aggressive tone. "Don't be disrespectful, Naruto."

The pinkette was the one to hit him in the head, though the jounin would have also loved to do so himself.

"It's certainly impressive that anyone could come out of this alive." Admitted Kakashi. "But I assume once we see the arm we'll be convinced. Right, Naruto?"

The blonde boy was still rubbing the bump on his head when he nodded in response to his master.

The old man led the group to the outskirts of the town. It was hard to even call it a town when it was so big. The buildings were humble and traditional, but the streets seemed endless and they were always filled with plenty of villagers and merchants.

As they reached the ends of the streets, they were approaching a forest. It was dark and dense, but their destination was just before it. The old man stopped at a small wooden temple, not very well made nor detailed in its architecture.

A group of five men wearing rags stood just outside of it, though the voices of many more could be heard coming from inside. The smell of the place was also strong, given the excessive amount of incense that was being used.

Naruto covered his nose, and his teammates followed. The jounin seemed unfazed by the smell, and so did the old man.

"Here it is. They've already finished the temple, it seems." The old man said, pointing at the building. "If you go inside, you'll find the arm. It's possible they're currently worshiping it."

"You won't come with us?" Asked the man with the face mask.

"It's better if we avoid unnecessary disputes. Saves time for both of us."

The jounin nodded before beckoning his students to follow him. He casually walked past the five men standing outside the temple, and then entered the temple as if it was his own house. His nonchalant entrance called the attention of all the worshippers, who turned around to look at the strangers.

If they had not been wearing their hitai-ate, it's very possible they would have been attacked. The uniform of a jounin was also something that still caused fear and respect to the commoners.

Kakashi pushed a few worshippers out of the way, trying to look at the arm. His single visible eye snapped open as he finally caught it on sight.

It was green, and had some pink and red parts over its muscles. That was no human arm, not even an animal arm.

Sakura gasped as she saw it, while Naruto's jaw fell to the ground. Sasuke simply walked out of the place in disbelief once he witnessed it with his own eyes.

"It's… An actual demon?" Sakura asked, turning to look at her master.

Kakashi could only curse his skepticism and that of the village. If these demons turned out to be real, the mission could easily become S-ranked. A threat that not even he alone could deal with.

He gulped, and then beckoned his assigned genin to follow Sasuke and leave the place. Once he himself came out, the old man questioned him with his glance.

"It seems like we are indeed talking about a demon." Kakashi reluctantly admitted. "Which leaves us with a dilemma, my Lord."

"What would it be?"

"We might have underestimated the stakes of this mission. My students here are very inexperienced, so we might not be able to deal with the threat ourselves." He put his hands on the pockets of his pants. "If that were to be the case, we will have to go back to Konoha, and an elite team of jounin will be sent here to deal with the threat instead."

A scientist placed her cup of coffee on her table. If she had been using disposable cups, then her desk would be completely filled with them. The night had been long, but she was very close to her final objective and could not simply stop working. She would not let herself stop.

The room was dark, with a single fluorescent lamp illuminating it. The light of it only revealed the middle of the room, in which stood a big machine. Her desk, with her computer and mess of papers, was on a corner, away from the strange metallic structure she had presumably built.

Her clothes were dirty as well. Some brown stains of coffee were spread across her blouse and lab coat. Being so focused on work had also meant she had not changed her clothes in several days. Her hair, a mix of gray and blue, was greasier than she would normally let it get.

She pressed one final key before letting the computer run a series of estimations and equations. She drank her coffee anxiously while carefully following the operations. It took around half an hour, given the high complexity of the calculus. After all, even her father had been unable to find the solution for that problem while he lived.

The computer released a beeping noise as it reached a positive result. Bulma almost spit the last sip of her coffee out. Her eyes snapped open as the computer had finally not given errors in the process.

That was it. She finally got it.

She jumped and cheered before running to the door that marked the exit of the room. She ran across the hallway and then upstairs, reaching another hallway within her usual home at Capsule Corp.

She almost jumped out of the window, but decided against it. Instead, she yelled towards the yard of the building, in which a bald man was training alongside a scarred man and two little kids.

"I think I got it!"

"Huh?!" Yelled the man with a scar on his cheek. He scratched his short spiky hair, visibly confused. "Really?"

"Yeah! I'll schedule the test for Monday!" The two kids turned around as well, wanting to know what the adults were talking about. "Make sure to tell Chi-Chi, Krillin."

"A-alright." Replied the bald man nervously.

"Will Goten come?" Asked one of the kids.

Bulma had already turned around to go back to her lab, but was still close enough to hear. "Probably!"

Chapter Text

Team 7 set off to face their objective first thing in the morning. They left the rooms they had been granted by the chief of the village clean and well ordered. For breakfast, they only got a little bread and water. With that, they felt ready enough to enter the forest to quickly scout it and find their targets.

One of the farmers had told them the day before that it would be more efficient to follow the river. For such, Kakashi had left Pakkun and his other dogs in charge of scouting the forest, while they ran up the river.

It had already raised some alarms that, from all the possible animals to be found in a forest, they only heard birds. It had been especially strange for the jounin, who had gone through that situation many times before.

However, the theories he began to form in his head were interrupted when Sasuke spotted a building in the middle of nowhere with his sharingan.

They silently jumped from branch to branch as they approached the building. Its architecture was strange and unrecognizable to them. Kakashi had been all around the known world, and yet he had never seen something like it.

Naruto was about to jump into the place, but the jounin pulled him back onto the branch. Then, he pointed forward so as to show the little detail he had missed.

A green man was levitating in the small clearing in front of the hut. He wore a white turban and cape, on top of a purple gi. His ears were long and pointy, and his eyebrows were hairless and pronounced.

"You almost jumped right into the jaws of a demon, idiot." Mocked the avenger with a cocky smile on his face. It was always satisfying for him to be remembered of his continued superiority over his teammates.

"Shut up-!"

Naruto was hit directly on the head by the pink-haired girl, who furiously stared at him. "Don't yell, Naruto!"

"It's pointless," simply replied the jounin with a completely flat tone. His single visible eye was completely expressionless, but his heart rate was spiking as his body released a dosage of adrenaline. "He already knows we're here."

The three genin turned to look at their master with eyes completely open. Naruto was the one to speak.

"How?"

"No idea. You know what to do. Distract him while I prepare my little surprise, and I take over from there."

The trio nodded and vanished into the abundant leaves of the tree. Kakashi sighed and uncovered his second eye. The sharingan was already raging with its powerful red color.

A small brown pug suddenly jumped into his branch. It was wearing a hitai-ate with the symbol of Konoha, as well as a blue haori. His stare was just as inexpressive as that of the silver-haired jounin.

"Hmm. You found him first." The pug seemed disappointed. "Apologies."

"Your job is done for now." Kakashi said serenely. Meanwhile, he made a myriad of hand seals very quickly. "But I still need a favor. Deliver that letter."

"The one you gave us yesterday?"

The jounin nodded. "In case we don't make it, I guess it's better to let the Hokage know they are real demons."

"You were clear to the kids about the risks, right?" Replied the dog, still with a neutral expression. "For you to admit you might not make it back…"

"No, they'll fight better without knowing." Kakashi smiled with his eyes. The chirping of the birds became more intense as small sparks covered his arm.

"Hope you don't regret sending us back to Konoha." Was the last thing the pug said before disappearing into a cloud of smoke.

Once again, the copy-nin sighed. He turned to look at the small clearing in front of the hut.

Naruto stood all alone in front of the still levitating green man. The latter was more annoyed than anything else, while the fury of the blonde one was unmatched.

"Oi, green demon!" He pointed his finger directly at the face of the Namekian. "Prepare for death! The great Naruto Uzumaki has arrived!"

Piccolo opened a single eye, to confirm that the one threatening him was simply a human kid.

"Demon, huh?" He touched down while laughing softly. "Haven't heard that in a while."

Naruto gulped as the green demon towered over him. By his own estimations, he was even considerably taller than Kakashi.

A massive fireball emerged from the bushes around them, clearly targeted at the Namekian warrior. However, it was suddenly blocked by something that appeared out of nowhere.

Whatever hit the fire caused an explosion of smoke that covered the mysterious obstacle. It slowly dissipated, while Piccolo finally opened his eyes to stare directly into the soul of the blonde kid.

Naruto flinched and put his two hands in front of him, as if trying to protect himself from a mere stare.

Sasuke emerged from the bush, his Sharingan burning in his eyes. Behind him, the third remaining teammate followed, though with two kunai in her hands.

From the smoke, emerged an abnormally muscular boy. He wore the same clothes as the green man, except for the turban. One of his arms was raised, though it remained completely unharmed despite blocking a great fireball. His other arm was noticeably injured, filled with cuts and scars.

"Whatever you're trying to do, brats," Piccolo said, his annoyance translating into his tone. "I'd advise you to stop and run away while you still can."

"No can do, plant guy." Replied the bearer of the renowned dojutsu of the Uchiha. "You've brought this trouble to yourself."

Piccolo sighed, somewhat disappointed and annoyed at the situation. He grabbed his turban and removed it from his head. He let it fall to the ground, and once it made contact, it created a small crater on it.

The scene left the genin in shock, as they could not believe he was resisting so much weight on his head.

The Namekian moved one foot backwards and adopted his usual fighting stance. Gohan followed with his own stance, clearly ready to fight.

"What do you want?" Asked the half-blood.

Sasuke and Sakura seemingly disappeared into thin air, while Naruto made dozens of hand seals in under thirty seconds. He finalized his combination with the clone seal. He let out a big sigh before his body multiplied into hundreds of exact copies. With the appearance of each clone, a small smoke explosion was released.

Gohan gritted his teeth, initially worried at the sight of so many clones. It reminded him of Tien's technique, but on a whole other scale.

The Namekian seemed unimpressed, and turned to look at his student.

"His energy signal has been split. He's weaker this way." Then, he charged several Ki spheres and began launching them at the incoming horde of Narutos.

Gohan faced the horde directly and punched one straight to the face. The clone immediately exploded into more smoke. Initially confused, the half-blood then kicked another clone. It also exploded, revealing that their resistance was almost null.

The son of Goku then released a Ki explosive wave, which quickly swept his side of the horde. However, the insane amount of white smoke started to get annoying.

From behind, pushing away all the smoke, a massive fireball was once again thrown at the Saiyan. However, the latter turned around and pushed the wind forward with his Ki, which allowed for a powerful wind current to simply disperse the fireball. The wind also cleared what remained of the smoke, revealing the black-haired genin that had launched the attack, completely shocked at the ease with which Gohan simply dispersed his best jutsu.

From the side, Naruto jumped and attempted to scissor kick his neck. However, his legs were unable to do any damage to the Saiyan, who grabbed him by the right ankle and launched him towards his teammate.

Sasuke was unfortunate enough to catch the blonde with his torso, and fell down to the ground from the force of the throw.

Gohan felt one final energy signal approach him. He was distracted, however, by the intense sound of birds chirping that was seemingly getting closer.

The pinkette emerged from a nearby bush and reached the half-blood in the blink of an eye. She was wielding a massive axe. The Saiyan raised his hand and pointed it at the girl, who moved aside and spinned to completely move around him.

Gohan thought she was fleeing, but the girl closed in on him once she reached the opposite side, and landed a direct hit to his injured arm. Unexpectedly for her, the axe was the one to break once it hit the arm.

He simply ignored her as he turned towards his master, who had not intervened in the fight yet. The birds went silent, and the blue light coming out of the smoke standing in between them and the green warrior also disappeared. Slowly, the smoke dissipated, revealing an image that Gohan was simply not expecting.

The jounin had landed his chidori directly on Piccolo's abdomen, which caught both of the stranded warriors by surprise. The jutsu had been so sharp, that despite the seemingly massive difference in power it had been able to pierce through anyways.

Sasuke was simply captivated by the sight of his successful master, while Sakura and Naruto cheered for the jounin.

The Namekian was far from defeated, both were aware of that, but they had greatly underestimated their opponents.

Piccolo moved his arms to grab and crush the man with his own hands, while his opponent's own arm was still inside his abdomen. However, Kakashi vanished into a cloud of smoke and left a piece of wood in his place. He easily crushed the log and immediately regenerated his injury.

Naruto's jaw dropped one last time at how easily he recovered from the jounin's stellar technique, before it was dislocated by a powerful kick from the Namekian that landed directly. The boy was sent flying into a tree, which fell over him as the impact broke it down.

Gohan then grabbed the arm of the pink-haired girl, who was the one closer to him. He pulled her closer and hit her forehead with his index finger, sending her flying into a nearby tree in a similar manner to the blonde boy.

Only Sasuke was left, and both warriors nodded at each other before vanishing into thin air. The boy looked in every direction, trying to find them with his Sharingan, but it was useless.

From behind, the half-blood hit him directly in the neck, knocking him out. He was followed by Piccolo, who mercilessly kicked his chin and sent him flying into the sky.

"You were very annoying, kid." Said the Namekian before pounding him down.

Recognizing that his master had gone too far, Gohan tried to catch the Uchiha, but failed as Piccolo suddenly appeared slightly above him to kick him towards another tree. Sasuke broke through two trees before finally stopping his flight on a third one.

The genin, however, was completely out of combat and severely wounded.

"You might have overdone it, Mr. Piccolo." Said the half-blood, clearly disapproving of the excess of power used by his master.

"They're alive." He crossed his arms. "I was too merciful with those brats."

From the bushes, Kakashi was staring silently at the small clearing. His students had been destroyed within a few seconds, just after he had hit one of them with his strongest technique. He was already tired as he had put a lot of chakra into that chidori, and it was not a good signal that the green demon had recovered so quickly from it. Not to mention that the demons were also able to fly.

He carefully analyzed his surroundings. There was nothing left for him to do other than plan a retreat. One that involved him grabbing all his students and quickly getting to the village.

Maybe Pakkun was right. He would regret sending them back to Konoha.

A small cloud of smoke popped right on the Hokage's desk. A small brown pug swiftly jumped out of it, holding a letter in its mouth. The old Hokage put his pipe in his mouth while raising both of his eyebrows.

He had recognized the dog as one of Kakashi's pets, but was confused as to why he had been reverse summoned to his office. The dog pushed away one of the mountains of documents that filled his big desk, and carefully placed the letter there.

The old man opened his hand and a kunai appeared out of nowhere. He glanced at the man standing in front of his desk, who stared at the letter just as seriously.

Hiruzen cut the wrapping of the letter open with great precision, and carefully extracted the paper itself. He opened it as it was folded, and read the short message in under half a minute. He closed his eyes as he dived into his thoughts.

As the man finally released the smoke from his lungs, Danzo moved his stare from the letter to him.

"Is this certain, Pakkun?" Asked the Third.

"Not really, but he wanted to be sure."

Danzo now raised his head, making his posture straight. This was unusual for him, and only happened when he was either interested or being threatening.

The Hokage handed the letter to his advisor, who took an arm out of his tunic. He read the letter as quickly as Hiruzen, and carefully left it on the desk once he was finished. It was safe to say he was not happy.

"Did we lose three of our most valuable assets?" He coldly asked, once again returning to his usual curved posture.

"Perhaps." Once again, the Hokage smoked from his pipe. It was the easiest way of easing his stress.

Pakkun turned his attention from one to the other, somewhat nervous of their reactions. So far, they seemed inexpressive, but a subtle tension was starting to build up in the air. And he did not want to be in the middle of that.

"They were supposed to go to the Chunin Exams." Continued the advisor. "Suna will send their jinchuuriki to humiliate us, and now we lost our own."

"We will not lose the fox. The only question is whether we'll have it on time for the exams." He sighed. "And whether we'll have a substitute jinchuuriki ready, as well."

"You know the kid is the last of our concerns. We already have a backup." Danzo replied. "I will start gathering the assassination team that will be in charge of recovering the fox and the corpses."

"I can't be there if the goal is to seal it again." Reminded Hiruzen as his advisor began to walk out of his office.

"I'm aware." He confidently said, not even turning around to face his old friend.

Pakkun gulped, wondering what kind of monsters they would put together to carry out such a mission.

Chapter Text

The clock was ticking as the seconds continued to pass. Kakashi's forehead was covered by sweat accumulated from his short but intense participation in the skirmish; though also because of his stress in trying to devise a plan to get out of there with all of his students alive.

He was not even certain that the genin were still alive.

Piccolo had already sensed the energy of the jounin, but had no real reason to chase him. Both he and his student were aware that they had the upper hand, and therefore the initiative in that confrontation.

Gohan was checking the vital signs of the three genin. He was especially worried for the black-haired one, as he was the most severely injured. His right arm and both of his legs were noticeably broken, and it was hard to tell how much damage his spine had received in the collision against the trees. The half-blood let out a sigh of relief once he confirmed that they were all alive.

"See?" The Namekian cracked his knuckles. "You know we can hold ourselves back."

"I was not sure if we could do it to such an extent. They're far weaker than our usual enemies." Tried to explain the teenager.

"You're just like your father. You care too much for the enemy."

Gohan laughed nervously at the comparison. He hadn't thought about his family in a while, mainly because when he did, he got homesick and began to cry.

Suddenly, both of them turned their heads straight to the blonde boy. His energy suddenly increased by about five times, and an orange aura of bubbly chakra completely took over his body.

Naruto stood up like a zombie, as if his limbs had an independent will of their own. His eyes were closed until he stood firmly. They opened to reveal the burning red eyes of a fierce beast. The leaves of the bush began floating around his aura, which soon began to form two fox ears on the boy's head, and a single tail behind him.

"So you had more to give, eh kid?" Piccolo adopted his fighting stance.

Gohan was not so sure. "His Ki seems very different."

"We know that since we arrived here. Their Ki is not like our own."

"No. I meant this orange Ki is different from the kid's own." The half-blood struggled to understand what he was sensing. "This one is not only far larger, but it also feels… excessively violent and hateful."

Piccolo closed his eyes to carefully sense the boy's energy, looking further than the mere increase in his power. He nodded as he finally understood what his student meant. Even from a considerable distance, the killing intent in this new energy was evident.

Naruto yelled. Screamed, even. The nature of it was somewhere between pain and anger. Somewhere between animal and human. The bubbles of his aura became more abundant as the orange tone of it turned to red. A second tail appeared before the blonde boy finally jumped on the two Z warriors.

Kakashi had been watching as the fox took over Naruto, but chose not to intervene. He knew that, given the circumstances, it would be a good distraction for them to retreat. From his current position, the one furthest away from him was Sakura, and the closest was Sasuke. But to go for the latter, he would need to run next to the green demon.

It was better to go for Sakura first.

Gathering his remaining energy into his hands, he prepared his body flicker jutsu. He let out a sigh before seemingly vanishing.

Kakashi ran at his top speed towards the bushes where an unconscious Sakura rested. He glanced at the battlefield to see Naruto being launched into the woods just like he had been before. Almost as if not even the fox could match those demons.

His distraction cost him his plan, however, as his head hit something as hard as stone. He crashed into the ground, and his head was concussed. He desperately tried to stand up, while his blurry vision could only distinguish a few colors.

Gohan had been the one to stop him with a kick straight to the head. The boy made sure it was just enough to knock him down, but not to kill him. He quickly checked on him, but as soon as he touched the jounin, the man vanished into a cloud of smoke.

Piccolo quickly pointed his arm at the tree where the pink-haired girl was lying. There, the silver-haired jounin was already holding her in his arms. Yellow energy began to accumulate on the Namekian's hand.

Kakashi only then noticed that he had been spotted. He swiftly replaced himself with a random log, heading for the Uchiha.

Naruto once again emerged from the bushes. He grabbed onto Gohan's back and began furiously slashing and punching it. The saiyan was caught off guard, and charged his aura into an explosive wave.

The blonde genin was overwhelmed by the massive burst of Ki, which burned through the chakra of the fox. Once he was off him, Gohan turned around and landed a powerful hit straight to his jugular vein. As a result, the genin fell down unconscious like a ragdoll.

Piccolo had never really lost the jounin, whose energy he had been tracking down. For such, he suddenly moved the target of his arm just as Kakashi was about to reach Sasuke's unconscious body.

The jounin gasped as a Ki attack was launched at him. He barely had time to drop Sakura, but took the hit directly.

The Namekian quickly called the attack off, knowing not much more would be needed to defeat the jounin. He had no intention to kill the man either. However, as the wave dissipated, only a log had been left in his place.

"That stupid technique again!"

Kakashi was now holding Sasuke while hiding behind a tree. His flak jacket had been completely vaporized by the attack, as had his mask and hitai-ate. The rest of his uniform was partially burnt, and patches of his skin showed severe burns as well. However, a small grin appeared on his now uncovered face.

A second Kakashi grabbed the unconscious Naruto, and disappeared into a cloud of smoke alongside the kid. For Piccolo, the energy of the clone and the boy had completely disappeared, and then reappeared very far away.

However, he still knew the real one was hiding behind a tree. Both Z-warriors had sensed it.

"Why hasn't that one left?" Asked a curious Gohan.

"I'm not sure."

Once again, the chirping of the birds became more intense. And it was then that Gohan realized why his master had been hit by the attack previously.

Piccolo grabbed onto his ears, trying to block the sound from his sensitive senses. The sound acted like whistling for the Namekians: it overwhelmed their hearing and made them dizzy.

Gohan stretched his arm and threw a Ki ball behind him. It hit the jounin directly, but he continued his advance.

The half-blood turned around completely. He placed both of his hands on his forehead, and charged a considerable amount of Ki on them.

"Masenko!"

The jounin's red eye was seemingly glowing with intensity. He put his chidori forward and charged straight into the boy's attack. Initially, he was able to pierce through it, and the Saiyan was left astounded.

However, once the attack was intensified, he was overwhelmed and was completely absorbed by the technique. His body exploded into a small cloud of smoke that was dispersed by the Masenko.

"The real one left." Said Piccolo as his ears finally rested with the absence of the intense sound. "He took the kids with him, it seems."

"So that was what he was trying." He sensed his surroundings, confirming that the man had left.

"That guy was more of a nuisance than I expected." Admitted the Namekian. "Very smart, but he was limited by those stupid brats."

Gohan turned around as he sensed a third Ki. One that was unknown to both of them. He walked towards it. It was coming from the bush, so he pushed the branches and leaves around. He turned around and beckoned his master to approach him.

They had left the pink-haired girl behind. She was still unconscious, and was not as injured as the two other kids. Gohan had sensed she was the weaker of the bunch, and so decided to take her out quickly. But since it was him, he was probably more careful than Piccolo had been.

"What should we do?"

"Well, we kill her. They were trying to take us out." Replied the Namekian coldly. "We don't know what she may try once she wakes up, and we certainly don't want more of her friends coming to get her."

"But Mr. Piccolo…"

The green alien rolled his eyes.

"We should help her recover. Maybe she can tell us why they came after us." He rushed to check how the senzu plant was growing. It had been almost a month since they had planted it. It was in good shape, but still had some time left before it gave any beans.

"The senzus will take a while longer, but we can still help her!"

"You take care of that. Don't bother me." He sighed and turned around. The only thing he wanted was to go back to his meditation. "I've had enough of babysitting."

Kakashi swiftly jumped from branch to branch. He knew the village was close, and he was pushing himself to go as fast as he could. His chakra had almost run out completely, and his injuries were making his nerves explode with pain.

In each arm, he carried one of his students. Unfortunately, though, it had not been possible for him to save the three of them. The unexpected level of the threat had forced him to prioritize the two boys, as they were the more important assets for Konoha.

Regardless of his thought process and the validity of his judgment under shinobi principles, the guilt was starting to eat him from within.

"Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum!"

Those damned words bounced in his mind, and he could not think of anything else. The fateful day that marked his entire life. And in the end he learned nothing. He was worse than scum.

He finally jumped out of the woods and landed on the ground. The accumulated weight of his own body and that of his two students made his legs shake, struggling to even keep him up. Two farmers were in the outskirts of the town as they had been looking for wood. They were initially frightened by the sight of the injured shinobi.

"Please take them to… Heal them." He waited for the explicit confirmation from the two men. His vision was only losing clarity, while his lower body was starting to collapse. As the two men reached him to grab the boys, he collapsed on the ground.

The two ran yelling into the town, and Kakashi was left behind. He knew they were looking for more help to carry him as well. But something inside him made him wish he was left there to die and rot. Something inside him desired the certainty of death, so he could stab his own eye and bleed to death.

Something inside was tired.

Chapter Text

The Hokage carefully stared at the jounin laying on the bed in front of him. His head was almost completely bandaged, with only his eyes being visible. However, the man had decided to cover his single sharingan with an eyepatch.

Almost two weeks had gone by since he reverse-summoned himself and his two severely injured students back to Konoha. It had been the only conceivable way in which he could take them back to get medical treatment at the village. Given his own condition, he would have probably been unable to even make it down the mountains of the north. Same condition that forced him into a hospital room.

Next to him, stood an old man holding a staff. He wore a gray tunic over a traditional white kimono. Half of his head was bandaged, though that was his usual look given his permanent scars.

The third man in the room was the old Hiruzen, who serenely smoked the usual mix of herbs from his pipe. He was wearing the traditional attire of the Hokage, except for the hat. Despite the calming effect smoking caused him, his face was clearly plagued with concern.

"We are glad that you managed to save yourself and your students, Kakashi." Began the leader of Konoha. "You know you are important assets of our village."

"I lost one." Simply replied the jounin. His voice was as flat as ever. His eyes were lost in the view of the window of his room, too ashamed to look the man in the eyes.

"We've already prepared a replacement from the reserves." Danzo spoke, but did not glance at the injured jounin. He was always looking down, towards the floor.

"That was… quick."

"Danzo is very aware of interesting prospects that, due to unfortunate circumstances, were taken back to the academy or left in the reserves." Hiruzen explained.

"Luckily, you lost the most disposable of your genin." Continued the man of the staff. He was insisting on seeing the positive side of their outcome. However, his and the jounin's ideologies were very different.

Kakashi moved his single visible eye towards the elderly man. Shimura did not move a single centimeter. He understood that his comment was not well received. Of course, the jounin could not say or do anything about the comment. Not realistically.

"Do not worry. We have prepared an elite team of shinobi tasked with assassinating the demons and recovering the corpses. Including your student's. Sakura Haruno will have a proper funeral, as every soldier of Konoha deserves." The Hokage smiled, before inhaling from his pipe. "The mission will be carried out until after the first phase of the Chunin Exams, of course."

"Those demons…" Kakashi once again turned to look at the window. Saying he was skeptical of that mission was an understatement. "The Nine-Tails was no match."

Hiruzen glanced at his old friend, who was unfazed by the information. Then, he glanced back at the jounin.

"Even the strongest of all shinobi can be killed by someone skilled enough. You don't need to be stronger, just precise and smarter." Explained the advisor. "You must not worry about the mission or the so-called demons. Focus on the Chunin Exams."

"Now that you mention it, I'm not sure if my team will be ready on time…" The jounin said, trying to get it off his back. If he had a choice, he would not want to even think about the exams.

"They will." Danzo's tone was firm. His position remained the same, with his head lowered, but he was no less intimidating.

The Hokage looked uncomfortable, more than anything. "You must understand, Kakashi, that the participation of your team is… of great importance in the context of these Chunin Exams."

"If they don't heal quickly enough, we will find a solution." Shimura smashed his staff against the ground.

"As for your new student, Danzo will most likely refer her to you in the coming days." The old man glanced at his old friend.

"Ami Hattori." He declared. "I believe she was a classmate of your other students. So they will know each other well. She is certainly more talented than the other, but her team failed to impress their assigned jounin."

Kakashi glanced at the man once again. "Who was the jounin?"

"Confidential." Replied the advisor coldly. Once again, he did not move.

A group of three teens stormed into one of the many rooms of the hospital. A blonde girl was flanked by a fat boy and another one with long hair tied into a ponytail. She was visibly worried, possibly even scared.

Behind them, a nurse was trying to stop them. So far, she had failed quite miserably.

Three kids were already inside the room, standing next to one of the two beds. One was a brown-haired boy wearing glasses, and who had a runny nose. The second one was a ginger girl with wide eyes and red cheeks. And finally, the third one was a boy with spiky dark hair, and who wore an excessively long blue scarf. All three were carrying familiar green goggles on their foreheads.

Konohamaru jumped onto the blonde girl, who was running into the room as if it was her own. He kicked her head and landed back on the ground. His face showed his anger and annoyance, while he pointed at the trio of intruders.

"What the hell do you punks think you're doing here?!" Yelled the boy, as his two friends ran to his side to back him up.

Ino rubbed her forehead while her concern quickly boiled into even greater anger. She showed her fist to the kid, threatening him.

"Move away or die, little idiot."

Shikamaru sighed as he felt the hand of the nurse be placed on his shoulder. He had not even agreed to go there in the first place. They knew they were not allowed to enter.

"Ino wanted to check on Sakura, she's worried." Explained Chouji calmly. He was holding a bag of chips, which he occasionally ate.

The blonde girl gave her teammate a furious stare, before turning once again to the boy of the goggles.

"Now get out of my way."

Konohamaru was visibly confused. "Sakura? Who's that?"

Yamanaka was finally done with the boy, so she kicked him straight to the jaw. The boy was shot upwards and hit his head with the ceiling, before crashing down on the floor. His two friends came to his aid while he was rubbing the growing bump on his head.

Shikamaru walked past the kids, and shrugged as the ginger girl stared at him. He was guilty of nothing and he wanted that to be clear.

Ino scanned the room quickly. It was one of the bigger ones, but it only contained two beds. In one of them, Naruto was connected to several tubes and even had an oxygen mask. His body was almost entirely covered in bandages, with only half of his face being the exception.

Diagonally from his bed, there was another one. However, the sight of it was even more horrifying to the blonde girl. Someone was completely covered in casts and bandages. The only uncovered places of his skin were those in which the tubes connected to his veins, or the physiologically relevant parts of his face, like his mouth and nose, over which an oxygen mask had been placed.

The girl could only identify him through his eyes, which were closed anyways. Barely anything of his black hair was visible. The image was frightening to her, who frantically began to scan the room for a third bed that just was not there.

Chouji stared in shock at the blonde boy. He even dropped his chips. They were still rookies, and had seen very little. For such, it was hard for them to understand that the genin who had taken on an A-rank mission had been defeated to such an extent.

"Where is Sakura?!" Yelled Ino, turning to the nurse.

The woman was nervous. Initially hesitant to answer the question, though she eventually gave in with a sigh.

"Nobody else from team 7 survived."

Her heart pounded and her knees gave in. Sakura was dead. She was shaking and tears began to build up in her eyes.

"There's surely a misunderstanding." Suggested a Shikamaru in disbelief.

Chouji only lowered his head. His father had had a conversation with him the day after his graduation from the academy. The life of a shinobi was cruel and such things could happen at any moment. It was rare for shinobi to make it to adulthood for a reason.

Ino covered her eyes as she finally began sobbing. She had been looking forward to the exams as she would finally be able to challenge Sakura. Her friend had faced greater threats and harder missions, so she wanted to prove to her that she was not falling behind.

And after all, it ended like this. Not even able to say sorry for all she did to her back in the academy.

"There's no misunderstanding." A man entered the room. Half of his face was bandaged, and he used a staff to help with his balance. "Team 7 lost a member in their mission to the north."

Shikamaru recognized the man. He gulped at the revelation that one of their generation of graduates had died. Was it really their destiny as shinobi?

"Now leave. You are not authorized to be in this room." The man said before turning around and leaving. He had more important matters to attend to.

Konohamaru clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. He knew the mission had to go very badly for the boss and his team, given how injured he was. But he did not expect that he had lost a teammate to the mission.

Was he not so strong, after all?

A numerous group of people had gathered just outside the building of Capsule Corp. The massive green and lush garden of the company had been repurposed for the exhibition to be held that day.

The ceremony was private, and only had Bulma's own close friends as guests. Not a single journalist had been even informed about it, regardless of the revolutionary character of the technology to be showcased.

In front of the many chairs and tables laid on the extensive territory of the garden, an immense machine stood. It consisted of several mechanical parts that were hard to distinguish, though it seemed to have the form of a spiral that led to the big circle in the middle of it.

The guests, which were the likes of Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Tien, Chi-Chi, etc; were not really able to understand such technology. Their interest was more on whether the machine would really work.

Krillin was sitting at the same table as the anxious Chi-Chi, constantly fearing for his life as he suspected he could be the victim of any of her reactions. After so many years, he was still as bald as the first day he met Goku, but he had now grown a gray beard that went slightly past his chin. As for Chi-Chi, her hair had adopted a similar color, while her face was now covered with wrinkles.

Bulma did not look much different, other than her slightly gray-ish hair. She had not too long ago wished to be a few years younger, which meant she looked as old as the second generation, and not her own.

"After years, I think I might have found a solution." Said the blue-haired woman as she faced her friends. She was especially focused on Chi-Chi and her younger son, Goten. "I've achieved the impossible, hopefully."

Without thinking of anything else to add, she simply turned towards the computer she had connected to the machine. It was through it that she controlled it. After preparing all the details, she finally started the machine.

It was so loud that the ear drums of any regular person would just be pierced. A blinding light began to emerge from the machine. In terms of how it progressively got louder and brighter, it was similar to when one of the Z-warriors charged their attacks.

Excitement quickly built up among the guests. However, Master Roshi seemed skeptical.

"In case this works…" Said the old man, calling the attention of Krillin, Chi-Chi and Yamcha; who were beside him. "Would this not also bring Cell back?"

Chapter Text

Heavy breathing was the only sound in the space. The breathing of someone who was dying. Slowly and tortuously. Not only was she in an empty space. Someone else was there with her, and she could feel the frustration…

It felt as if she was floating in a vacuum. Which was odd, as she had never floated in a vacuum before. Despite the lack of air, she was not drowning. In fact, she didn't even feel the need to breathe.

The pain…

There was an unusual pressure in the empty space regardless. There was nothing around her. Only herself, floating around. It reminded her of when they were taught in the academy about the pressure that was common in deeper waters. She had never really experienced it, but it was the closest thing she could relate to what she was feeling.

The hatred…

She turned around, multiple times. There was no one else in the infinite emptiness. Only herself, floating around. But she had a feeling. Something was telling her that she was not really alone. Something was hiding in the shadows.

The burning hatred…

Suddenly, she felt as if fire was intensely burning under her feet. She yelled, screamed. And then, she saw it.

The beast. Severely maimed and missing both of its legs and a single arm. Its face, already that of a monster, was partially destroyed. Some veins and cables were still visible where its limbs were supposed to be, while a purple liquid similar to blood flowed from them.

Her eyes were as wide open as humanly possible. Her entire body was shaking in complete horror, while her screams continued. They would until her vocal cords snapped.

"Bring…"

She tried to run away. As fast as she could. But it was useless, pointless. She turned her head to glance behind her. Despite how fast she was running, and how much she was pushing herself to the limits of her own body, the beast was no further away than before.

"Him…"

She continued to run. It didn't matter that it was useless. The sensation of actually trying felt better than that of just staring at whatever the beast was.

"To…"

She finally fell down. What previously had been an invisible floor gave in, and she fell into the infinite darkness. She was still screaming.

"Me…"

Upon waking up, she sat up on the bed. It seemed she had already been screaming in her sleep, and she just continued. The panic of her dream continued into reality, and she took a while before she even noticed her surroundings.

She had been in a coma for around nine days. It turns out that not only Piccolo, but also Gohan had exceeded the necessary power to beat the strangers.

After her vocal cords began to hurt, she finally stopped. Her breathing was heavy, which was to be expected due to her being agitated from the nightmare, and also due to her screaming.

Her green eyes first caught the color of the wall in front of her. It was white. Her bed was also white, and surprisingly comfortable. The sheets that were covering her body were blue, and the bed had purple curtains hiding it from the rest of the room. However, they were somewhat translucent, which allowed her to notice that someone was sitting on a chair right next to her.

She rubbed her eyes, wondering what had happened to everyone. The last thing she remembered was her team getting completely humiliated by the demons. Though given the fact she was now resting on such a fancy bed, Kakashi had probably saved them and taken them back to Konoha.

She just wasn't sure she remembered ever seeing such curtains in any hospital bed.

Gently, Sakura pushed one of the purple curtains away. She wondered who could be sitting in that chair. Maybe Sasuke, which would be such an honor to her. It could also be Kakashi, who would probably be making sure she was alright. Or it could be that idiot Naruto.

It was neither. In fact, it was probably even worse than if it was Naruto. On the chair was sitting the half-blood Saiyan, fast asleep.

She screamed once again, and this time it woke up the Saiyan.

Gohan jumped off the chair and fell on the ground. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, trying to help himself in regaining his senses.

The pink-haired girl tried to jump out of the bed, but her legs were a little numb after her coma. The Saiyan yawned one last time before noticing that the girl was trying to leave, so he walked up to the bed.

He cluelessly put his hand on her head. "Hey, hey. Take it easy, you just woke up from a coma."

Her throat was irritated, so she had stopped screaming. However, she began shaking upon the touch of the black-haired boy.

"Get off me!" She grabbed his arm and pushed it away.

Gohan was a little surprised by her reaction. After all, he didn't really consider the fact she still probably saw him and Piccolo as demons.

"Where is my team? What did you do to them?" Her tone was beginning to shift from fearful to angry. "Did you kill them? Are you going to kill me too?!"

The half-blood could only shake his hands, indicating that was not the case. He was not used to being treated like a menace. It was hard to imagine how Piccolo lived so many years being perceived as such.

"No, no. They just left without you. We always try to avoid killing." He explained while sitting back down on the chair. "And since we felt responsible for your injuries, we took care of you."

"Left? Where?"

The boy shrugged. "It's been more than a week and they haven't returned."

Such revelation hit her like a bullet straight to the heart. She gritted her teeth. It couldn't be possible. The demon was lying.

"Liar!" She punched the bed. "Where are they?!"

"I couldn't tell you. We really don't know this world." It didn't matter to him that she was accusing him of killing her friends. He just answered her questions.

"But…" She lowered her head. "They couldn't have possibly left me behind like that…"

Since he did not really know the rest, he couldn't say much to her. He just shrugged.

"Once your injuries are healed, we can get you back home. Which should be soon as our senzu beans are almost ready!"

Sakura ignored him. She was still trying to process the fact that her team left her to die. Abandoned her at the mercy of two demons. Tears finally overwhelmed her eyes and fell down on the bed sheets.

"Ah, I guess you don't know what a senzu bean is…" He had been rambling, but once he stopped, he finally realized that the girl was crying.

Only then he realized that the situation would be a bit harder than he expected.

Piccolo had been meditating as usual. He did so several hours a day, pretty much every day. It was his preferred way of training, and also a way to get the peace and quiet he so much enjoyed. But in the past few days since finding himself in this unknown world, he had also dedicated some of his meditations to discussing with Kami and Nail of possible ways to acquire the former's powers.

This new world, possibly an alternate version of their own Earth, was completely unknown to them. They had also found that such a thing as Kami and the Lookout did not exist, which means senzu beans and dragon balls were absent as well. They were lucky that somehow a single bean made its way alongside them, but they were probably not going to be as lucky with the rest.

For some reason, Piccolo felt it was somewhat his responsibility to fix that.

"If you are unable to access my powers yourself, then perhaps you can produce someone else who can." Said Kami with his serene voice. He had fused with Piccolo, but like Nail, some of him still remained inside the son of his other half. And Junior decided to manifest them as voices that could freely talk inside his head.

Piccolo gritted his teeth at the suggestion. He wasn't particularly fond of the idea of vomiting a massive egg.

Nail denied the idea. "Piccolo is of the Warrior Clan, it's not possible for warriors to reproduce."

Junior was about to speak, but Kami beat him to it.

"Piccolo Daimao was from the Demon Clan, a new class that he created upon our own separation into two separate beings." Explained the elder guardian of Earth. "This granted him new magical abilities, as well as the possibility of creating beings that were not fully Namekian. Perhaps, warriors from the Demon Clan are different from the regular warriors of Namek."

"This Piccolo Daimao seems to have indeed been a peculiar Namekian as a result of your separation…" The strongest of Namek's warriors spoke. "But I don't see why that should change how the Warrior Clan works. They're Namekians designed to fight, and that's why they can't reproduce, unlike those of the Dragon Clan."

"Well, Junior as a warrior of the Demon Clan has been able to use magical abilities that a regular warrior should not." Kami argued. He was not as knowledgeable as Nail about regular Namekians, but he certainly knew as much as could be known about Daimao and his son.

Nail remained silent for a few seconds. Piccolo's eyebrow was twitching physically at the insistence of the old guardian of Earth to call him 'Junior'.

"Then maybe it's worth a try." Finally admitted Nail.

Piccolo sighed. In the end, he would have to go through that horrible process. His father was used to it, but he as a warrior should not even be able to do it.

"Hey, this discussion was your idea, Junior!" Said Kami, anticipating the main Namekian's intentions of blaming it on him. He laughed alongside Nail, while Piccolo just grunted.

The conversation was interrupted by a voice that was coming from outside. It had at least been settled already.

Piccolo opened his eyes to his student.

"The girl finally woke up. How long do you think the first beans have left to grow?"

It was a regular day in the Konoha Hot Springs. The women and men entered their respective places to bathe in the renowned hot springs of the village. Dozens and dozens of people regularly visited the place on their days off.

Among them, a peculiar man was sitting just outside the entrance to the hot springs. His seat was a big orange frog, which he used to more comfortably write the manuscript of his latest novel.

He was a tall and corpulent man that was around his fifties. His hair was very long and of an unusual white color, which he held back with an unusual horned hitai-ate with the kanji of 'oil' painted on it.

Occasionally, he kicked the toad so it moved closer to the fence that was meant to block the view of the women's section. There, he had built a little opening in a strategic position that allowed him to look clearly into it.

He laughed softly in between peeks and writing. So far, his secret return to Konoha had produced great advances in his research and the manuscript of his incoming novel.

However, he was spooked by the sound of a staff smashing the floor. He jumped off the orange toad and his manuscript almost fell to the small pools used to decorate the entrance of the place. He barely rescued the little book at the last minute.

The man turned around furiously to see who had scared him, ready to yell and threaten the perpetrator with a painful death. However, his demeanor changed entirely once he was met with the wrinkled and bandaged face of Danzo Shimura. He almost seemed disappointed.

"Ah, Danzo." He said before jumping back onto his frog's back. It seemed his return to Konoha had not been so secret, after all. "Didn't know you also spied on girls around here."

Danzo cringed a little before replying. "I don't, Jiraiya."

"What brings you here, then? The old man sent you?" With Danzo's insistence in denying that he was as much of a perv as his good friend Hiruzen, the only alternative reason for his presence was that he had been sent to sermon the Sannin. "If he's trying to give me the hat again, tell him I already said no a quadrillion times!"

"That's not why I'm here." Calmly explained the old man. "I just wanted to ask you if you could bring Tsunade back."

The words of the advisor caught the Sannin completely off-guard. He turned around with a shocked expression. It almost seemed as if a prank was being played on him.

"What for?" Was the only thing he could think of asking.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha are severely injured. With the medical excellence of Konoha there is no doubt they will survive, but it is unlikely they will make it in time for the Chunin Exams."

Jiraiya's face once again returned to an unusual serious expression. "And you want them to participate?"

"Well, Suna is sending their jinchuuriki. It's only logical we have our own in the Exams as well."

He turned to his little hole once again. As if trying to distract himself from the decision for just a few seconds. He then stared at the notes of his manuscript, and sighed.

"I don't think I could find her in time."

"Hmmm." Danzo's silence was always hard to interpret.

Chapter Text

Hiruzen was sitting on a comfortable blue couch, right behind an old desk. On the table, there was a white cloth with the symbol of Konoha drawn on it. In front of him, just down the small stairs in front of the desk, the jounin elite had also gathered in the room.

Regularly, meetings were held between the very few shinobi who had the honor of being jounin and the leader of the village, the Hokage. This was done with the purpose of discussing matters of relevance at the moment. On this specific occasion, the topic was that of the incoming Chunin Exams.

Lord Third's posture was curved and his face showed his exhaustion. In the past few years, the old man had only barely put up with the immense amount of responsibilities of his position.

"Now, then, we'd like to hear first from those who are in charge of the newest graduates of the academy." Said the old man, while eyeing the pipe that was resting on the table. Ultimately, he gave in and put it in his mouth.

Three jounin moved forward, past the overall group of elites. One was a tall and bulky man of tan skin, who wore a piece of white cloth with the kanji of 'fire' painted on it right under his flak jacket. His big nose was almost identical to that of the Hokage.

Next to him stood a slender woman with very pale skin. Her long and abundant hair was pitch black and fell straight slightly past her shoulders. Her eyes were of a scarlet red color, which could very easily be mistaken by a sharingan. She wore an elegant white dress, being one of the few jounin who chose not to wear the traditional uniform.

Finally, a third man was pushed forward by Might Guy. Kakashi was sitting on a wheelchair, and did not seem especially excited about it. His head was bandaged almost completely, and one of his eyes was covered by an eyepatch. He was not wearing his uniform. Instead, he still wore his hospital robes.

Many looks were focused on the severely injured copy-nin, wondering who could have caused so much damage to one of the strongest assets Konoha had to offer.

"Masters Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma. Do any of you recommend your team for this year's Chunin Exams?" He quickly inhaled and exhaled from his pipe. That day, he had chosen to smoke tobacco. "Remember that, before even considering them, they must have at least completed eight missions. And for them to be really competitive, they must have completed double that number."

Most of the jounin gathered in the room were skeptical about it. Some were even offering to bet, since it seemed the replies of the masters of the rookies were clearly going to be negative ones. It had been years since the last jounin that recommended a team of fresh graduates for the Exams. It simply was too soon.

Seeing that Kakashi was hesitating, Asuma decided to speak up first.

"Team number 10, led by Asuma. Consisting of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. I vow upon my clan, the Sarutobi, that all of them are ready to take on the exams."

His resolute decision was crushing. Whispers began to take over the room, as his recommendation had been quite unexpected.

Kurenai would not fall behind. "Team number 8, led by Kurenai. Consisting of Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino. I vow upon my clan, the Yuhi, that I am as certain as my esteemed colleague that all three are ready for the Chunin Exams."

Finally, Kakashi's turn had arrived. It was now inevitable. He had to give the answer and there was nothing he could do about it. Not anymore, at least.

Still behind his chair, Guy was watching his rival with certain concern. He had witnessed the severe condition of his kids. The vessel of the fox was barely conscious, while the other one was yet to wake up.

"Team number 7, led by Kakashi," he began.

However, Guy had also seen the pressures from Danzo and other officials on his friend. Really, for as much as he hoped that Kakashi gave a negative answer, it was more than likely that he was simply forced to recommend his team.

"Consisting of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Hattori Ami." Despite their room being private and closed to only a few specific people, rumors had spread of the disastrous outcome of team 7's latest mission. For such, everyone was expectant of Kakashi's statement. "I vow upon the honor of my clan, the Hatake, that all three of them are ready for the Chunin Exams."

A small smirk formed on the Hokage's face. Noticing his almost subconscious expression, he opened his mouth to exhale some smoke and divert the attention.

"How unusual for all three of you to have unhesitatingly recommended the newest genin teams on our ranks!"

However, a man was already pushing through the many jounin to move forward. "Wait!"

The Third's smile fainted a little as he recognized the voice of Iruka. He had no business letting him attend the meeting, as he was not a jounin himself. However, Hiruzen owed him a lot due to his work in the academy, and he thought it fair to allow him to attend a meeting in which he would see his students recommended for the Chunin Exams.

The old man thought the professor would be proud of seeing how far his students had gone. Hiruzen had been a teacher to many himself, and he knew the feeling. However, he misunderstood Iruka's character. The orphan knew it was insane to allow them to participate.

"Allow me to speak, Lord Hokage!" Yelled the man as he finally walked past the bigger group of shinobi. Now, he was standing in between them and the three masters of the rookies. "Forgive me if I overstep, but most of the nine students that were just recommended for the exams were my own students until very recently."

Asuma and Kurenai turned around to face the man. The eldest son of the Hokage looked down on him, almost with disgust. Kurenai herself gave the orphan a deadly stare.

Kakashi, on the other hand, simply lowered his head. Guy noticed, and he gulped at the full realization of the complex situation his rival had been put into.

"I do believe they are all very gifted and show great commitment, but it's way too soon for those kids to step into such a deadly challenge." His tone and posture were firm. "Not to mention that Kakashi's team is in really bad physical condition. I was not even aware that Haruno Sakura, the original third member of his team, had died in their latest mission!"

The atmosphere of the room was heavy. The whispers that previously filled the room had gone completely silent, leaving Iruka's voice completely alone.

"Only with time will they improve and be ready for those examinations."

The man sitting on the wheelchair sighed. "I was six years younger than them when I attained the rank of Chunin."

"Times have changed, and they are not like you!"

"I think it's time for them to find out what real pain is." Coldly replied Kakashi. His stare was still set on the floor. "Plus, they've already healed. And it's normal to lose comrades in battle, we are both aware of that."

Iruka widened his eyes and almost took his hands to his head. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"I understand what you're saying, but I stand by my recommendation."

"You just-"

Kurenai finally stepped in. "Let's just finish this already, Kakashi."

"They're no longer your students, Iruka." He finally turned to see the man's face. "They're soldiers under my command."

Once again, the Hokage smirked. He was pleased with Kakashi's adherence to their plan.

"I do wonder, boss," said a familiar kid with spiky, dark hair. His long scarf was being dragged through the floor due to him still being too short for it.

"How did you heal so quickly?"

Konohamaru had been walking down an alley alongside his friends. His two usual accomplices stood by his side, while Naruto was slightly ahead of them.

The blonde boy put his hands behind his head. "I've always healed very quickly, but I'm not sure why."

His blue eyes then opened wide as he got an idea. "Maybe I'm just that cool."

Konohamaru cringed while his two friends fell on their backs. The youngest of the Sarutobi regained his composure to continue with his next question.

"What about that silent freak friend of yours?" Asked the kid.

"Sasuke?" Naruto scratched his chin while thinking as hard as he could. "Well, no idea there."

"I saw the guy and he was done for!"

"I guess the Uchiha are just built different." Said the little girl, shrugging at the situation.

Naruto squinted. "There must be a trick."

"So, how did you do it, Danzo?" Asked the elderly lady.

Following the meeting with the jounin elite, the Hokage had to attend another meeting, though this time with his advisory council. They had gathered in the usual small room, all sitting in their respective couches.

Hiruzen turned to look at his old friend, curious himself of what solution he had found to deal with the last Uchiha's severe injuries.

"Well, we infused him with the chakra of the fox, which was healing the jinchuuriki right next to him." Explained the man calmly.

The other two advisors smiled in amazement at the genius of the man's method.

"We used a sensor to transfer the chakra, like a cable channels electricity." He held onto his staff, while his face remained in the usual lowered position. "The fox did the rest of the job."

"Amazing, Danzo." Admitted the Hokage with a smile on his face. "And Kakashi recommended his team, so our plan is proceeding just as we intended."

"Hey!" A feminine voice yelled from behind.

Naruto turned around first, followed by the trio of kids walking alongside him. He squinted as usual, not being able to recognize the girl.

She ran up to them, which made Konohamaru step in front of Naruto. He put his fist upwards, and pointed it at the girl. In response, she laughed at him.

"What a cute little creature!" She said while petting Konohamaru.

The honored grandson grabbed her wrist and threw her hand off him. He stared right at her with killing intent. She could swear she saw fire burning in his pupils.

Ignoring the kid, she then turned to the blonde boy. Naruto had been distracted trying to remember if she knew the girl from anything, but nothing came up.

She was around the same height as Naruto, perhaps slightly taller. Her purple hair was mostly short, except for a strand of hair that was longer, extending past her shoulder. She sported a hitai-ate, placed in the traditional position on her forehead.

"You are Naruto, right?" She extended her hand to him. "Nice to finally meet you!"

His face remained the exact same for about thirty more seconds until he finally gave up trying to remember. "Who the hell are you?!"

As he yelled, he pointed directly at her despite the little distance between them. For such, his pointing acted more like a poke to her nose.

Konohamaru and his friends fell on their backs, while the purple-haired girl's eyebrow ticked a little.

"I guess it's been some time." She laughed nervously. "I'm Ami Hattori, we were in the same class in the academy when you failed the first time."

"Ami, huh? Name's familiar but I'm not sure why." His thoughtful mood then changed completely into a burst of full energy and enthusiasm. He gave her a thumbs up, before striking a ridiculous pose. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the future Lord Hokage!"

Quickly, the trio of kids joined him, and struck new ridiculous poses of their own all around the blonde boy.

"And our boss!" Yelled Konohamaru with pride and a big smile.

Ami's jaw dropped to the floor. All of this show was not at all what she expected from him. It made her wonder how she failed to be accepted on a team, but he succeeded.

However, she quickly forced herself back to a more friendly face. She laughed a little, before insisting on shaking the boy's hand.

Naruto finally followed, and did so awkwardly. He suspiciously squinted at her like he had done before, and the girl could not help but think he was still trying his hardest to remember her.

"Well, it's not so important if you remember me." She played with her longer strand of hair. "After all, I'm your new teammate!"

"Huh?" Naruto was even more confused now. If the conversation continued like this, his brain would eventually explode.

"Yeah, I was heading for today's meeting with master Kakashi!" She replied with excitement. "I'm honored to finally be included in a team!"

"Wait, how did you know there was a meeting?" He scratched his head. "I know you are excited to be the teammate of the next Lord Hokage, but genin teams only have three members, we are full."

"Well, I'm the third now." Initially, she was confused. Once she understood what was going on, she let out a sigh. "I'm replacing Sakura."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You're starting to spook me."

"Have you not realized?" Ami was trying to find the words to tell him. She had expected to at least not be given the burden of delivering the bad news to her new teammates.

"She died during your last mission."

His mouth opened almost instinctively. His blue eyes opened wide, and his eyelids were shaking. The dead silence that filled the place allowed for the strong blowing of the wind to take over.

After his eyelids, his hands followed in shaking. His face remained the same for a few seconds, before tears finally started to escape his eyes.

"This is…" He was already sobbing. "It's not possible, is it?!"

Konohamaru placed his hand on the boy's back. He lowered his own head. He had already learned about the destiny of his boss's teammate, but was not aware that he was oblivious to the fact.

Ami could only remain silent. If there was anything else she could say, she chose not to.

The silence and evident awareness of both the kids and the girl was indicating that it was indeed true. The realization of it crushed Naruto like a boulder smashes an insect. In the past few weeks, he had grown even closer with Sakura throughout their missions. She was probably the one he liked the most from his team. The thought of her or any other member of his team dying was simply inconceivable to him.

"So… that's why she wasn't in the hospital with us."

Naruto let himself fall on the ground. Almost immediately, he began punching the ground. His tears made the dirt softer, but did not help much in avoiding the injuries that formed on his knuckles.

Had he failed her? Had he failed Sakura and let her die at the hands of those demons? He had tried his best to beat them, but it was useless. Hell, he was out before either of his teammates. Then, did that mean Sasuke was to blame?

Then, it hit him. Kakashi was hiding behind the bushes the whole time. That had been his plan. Kakashi then chose to rescue both him and Sasuke, but not Sakura.

She left her to die.

He finally stopped punching the ground and stood back up. Ami gave him an awkward smile and tried to approach him, but he pushed her away.

"Kakashi is a dead man."

Chapter Text

The night had fallen over the dense forest where Piccolo and Gohan had settled. Their little clearing allowed for more light to enter their hut. However, once the sun set, the gentle light of the moon was sometimes not enough.

Normally, Gohan would start a fire using a small spark of his own Ki. This would come in handy not only to produce heat and light, but also to cook the fish that the boy hunted. Due to his great appetite, something he inherited from his father, he never missed a single meal in a day.

Piccolo sat by the fire only to accompany his student. He normally continued his meditations when he was not engaged in conversation with the boy. Otherwise, he conversed with the young Saiyan while he cooked or ate. Himself, as a Namekian, had no such necessity. His people only required water, and found no real pleasure in eating.

Saiyans, on the other hand, were just as wasteful as humans in terms of energy, and needed to constantly eat other forms of life to replenish their great caloric output. Piccolo, having eaten food back in his earlier days living alone on Earth, had come to learn that photosynthesis was a far more efficient way of producing energy.

"She hasn't left her bed ever since she woke up." Gohan said while staring at the fire burning beneath the many fish he had caught earlier.

Piccolo opened his eyes and glanced at him.

"It probably doesn't help that she thinks we're demons." He rubbed his face with his hands. "Can't help but think we just went too far with them."

The Namekian rolled his eyes. The half-blood was too nice for his own good. "They attacked us first. And don't think too much about it, I'm sure she'll eventually understand we aren't evil demons."

Gohan was surprised at his master's optimism. He turned to look at the Namekian who had now placed his hand over his shoulder.

"You showed me it was possible."

The boy was reminded of his first few months with Piccolo, in which he was subjected to his tough methods of training. Then, he briefly remembered his master's first death at the hands of Nappa.

He nodded, understanding and agreeing with the point the Namekian was trying to make. Before Gohan, Piccolo and his father were seen as evil demon kings. But he, in his young age and despite being a very fearful kid, was able to see the good in Piccolo.

"Ummm… E-excuse me." The voice of a girl called the attention of both warriors, who swiftly turned around to be met with the image of the now awoken pink-haired kunoichi. "Is there something to eat? I'm starving."

The half-blood smiled while moving slightly to the side. He had captured at least twenty fish. The appetite of a Saiyan was not easy to satisfy. Meanwhile, the Namekian returned to his meditation.

The girl was surprised by the amount of fish, but the growling of her stomach exposed her hunger. Gohan beckoned her to sit next to him as he began to remove the first fish that were already fully cooked.

She furiously ate through the first fish, which caused the boy next to her to laugh a little. Then, he ate two fish as if they were small candies. Certainly, Sakura could not possibly compete with such a pace at eating.

Both began laughing at the appetite of Gohan, while a small smirk formed in Piccolo's face.

Once they were finished, the silence got somewhat uncomfortable. Previously, their laughter and the sound of their chewing made it so their lack of talking was not as noticeable. But now, with their stomachs full and their fish all gone, the silence was almost absolute.

Sakura was the one to break the ice, as she really had curiosity towards the green man standing next to the boy. However, she had manners and so would make the educated questions first.

"So, what is your name?" She asked with a soft voice. After so much screaming, her vocal cords hurt when talking, so she decided to keep her tone low.

"I'm Son Gohan, and this is my master, Mr. Piccolo!" Cheerfully replied the Saiyan. It was almost relieving that the girl was finally opening up to them. Guess that showed just how powerful hunger was.

"Oh," she was still somewhat unnerved by the Namekian, and it showed. "Nice to meet you."

For a couple of seconds, it seemed as if silence was to take over again. However, Sakura continued with her questions.

"Why were you tormenting the villagers?"

Gohan raised an eyebrow. He was genuinely oblivious to everything that led to the assassination attempt against them by the leaf-nin. "Which villagers?"

Sakura raised both of her eyebrows in surprise. "Well, the ones from the little town just down the river."

The half-blood still had no idea, but that did not stop him from trying to remember any detail that could be useful.

"We were not tormenting anyone," spoke Piccolo. His deep voice was just as intimidating as his appearance, especially to someone who was ignorant to his species. "We just happened to crash there. We didn't choose to do so."

"Crash? Like… a meteor?" She asked.

Gohan scratched his chin. "I guess you could say so."

Sakura moved slightly backwards, frightened at the implications of the revelation of their arrival.

"So you really are demons?!"

Piccolo put his hand over his face, annoyed at the dramatic attitude of the girl. Gohan, on the other hand, nervously tried to beckon that that's not what they meant.

"We aren't demons! We're just… normal, I guess."

"Then why is he green?!"

"Well, he's a Namekian, and they're green." Naively explained the half-blood.

"A what?"

Piccolo sighed, figuring he would have to take over the conversation. "If we were demons, we wouldn't have saved you, brat."

She was far from convinced. "But then how do you explain your powers? You are so powerful!"

"That's just Ki. You guys have that too, don't you?" Gohan replied.

"Ki? You mean like… natural energy?" She put her hand under her chin. "No, we just use Chakra."

The Saiyan raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"It's the energy we use for all forms of jutsu. Where we get our own power from."

The boy turned to the Namekian. "That probably explains why their energies felt different."

"Now let me ask you a question." Intervened the Namekian after a short silence. "Why did you try to kill us?"

Sakura was caught off-guard by the question, but after thinking it through, it made sense. They had ambushed the duo out of nowhere, and immediately attacked them aggressively in what, thanks to Naruto, was an obvious assassination attempt. However, her team was completely unaware of how much more powerful the two warriors really were.

"Well, the village sent a request to my own, Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Usually we don't believe it when people claim to see demons, but they offered a lot of money for your heads, so yeah…" She scratched the back of her head, not wanting to sound proud of her actions.

"Money, huh?" Piccolo was almost disgusted. "You bunch are mercenaries then?"

"We are shinobi. A lot of the missions we do are assassination ones, but we do a bit of everything." She understood the disgust in the green man's voice, but continued to explain what a shinobi is. "From catching lost pets to wars. We are just soldiers who in times of peace do missions requested by people all around the Land of Fire."

"The Land of Fire?" The half-blood inquired. "So that's the name of this country?"

Sakura nodded.

"And who is your leader? We noticed you have no Kami here." Asked Piccolo. He was surprised at the total confusion of the girl.

"Kami? Like 'god'?" She seemed quite taken off-guard by the question. "Well, there are many religions but I've never seen a 'god' per se…"

"Nevermind. It seems we have different concepts." Piccolo waved off his own remark.

"As for our leader… in my village we have the Hokage, the strongest of all shinobi. But for the country, the Feudal Lord is who owns the land and rules over it."

The Namekian nodded in understanding, before closing his eyes and going silent once again. He was diving into his thoughts.

"Strongest, huh…" Gohan scratched his chin. "I don't remember feeling any strong energy when I flew around the world…."

"You what?!"

Naruto had run towards the bridge, leaving his trio of followers behind. The only one who tried following him had been the purple-haired girl, who had to go there anyway.

The blonde boy was furious and moved everything and everyone out of his way only to get to the intended place of the meeting quicker. Once he arrived, he found Sasuke, who was laying against one of the fences of the bridge.

Uchiha noticed the girl behind his teammate, and raised an eyebrow. He had also failed to recognize the girl, but that was far from her biggest concern at the moment. She gasped for air as soon as she stopped running. The boy had been faster than she expected.

Almost instantly, a man on a wheelchair also arrived at the bridge. His head was completely bandaged except for his eyes, of which one was covered with an eyepatch. Behind him, a man with very thick eyebrows and a bowl cut was pushing him forward.

The facial expressions of both jounin were neutral, but they already knew something was wrong given the obvious anger of the jinchuuriki.

Naruto yelled while running furiously at the man on the wheelchair, completely overcoming the previously relaxing mix of the sound of the river beneath them, and the blowing of the wind.

The blonde boy jumped, but he was immediately elbowed to the ground. As he stood back up, he noticed that the man on the green jumpsuit had been responsible. His stare showed that he would not hesitate in killing him if it was necessary. And faced by the determination of the jounin elite, Naruto shivered a little.

"What the hell?" Was the only thing Sasuke thought of uttering at the moment. "Have you finally snapped, idiot?"

"I tried to stop him, master Kakashi, but he was too fast." Said Ami in between gasps. However, she was still slowly approaching the boy from behind.

"Don't worry, Ami. This isn't your problem." Calmly replied Kakashi, who stared down at his student with his usual unimpressed eye.

"You bastard!" Yelled Naruto while crossing his arms. With Guy's display of his strength and speed, he realized he would have no chance of beating his master's ass.

Sasuke wondered for a moment if he was dreaming or hallucinating, as such irrational behavior was too much even for Naruto. He was still wondering who the girl was and why she was calling Kakashi her master.

"Why did you let Sakura die?!" Finally accused the jinchuuriki. Neither of the jounin reacted, almost as if they already knew that was the issue.

Ami lowered her head. She would love to avoid the incoming argument if she could, but it was not really an option to leave as that was her first meeting with her new team.

Sasuke's eyes opened wide at the accusation. What was his teammate talking about? Though, it would explain a couple of things if Sakura had indeed died. She was not in the hospital with them, and that new girl could be a replacement. His stare turned to Kakashi, who felt an extra weight on his shoulders.

Naruto was staring him down with hatred and even a hint of killing intent, while the last of the Uchiha was doing so with shock and expectation.

"In such high-ranked missions, there comes a point when a shinobi has to make a balance and make a decision based on that." Explained the silver-haired jounin. "You were all knocked out in under fifteen seconds, and my strongest jutsu was very easily resisted by one of our enemies."

"You said that those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!" Argued the still furious Naruto.

Sasuke's stare had now changed in nature. The previous intense shock had been swiftly replaced by disbelief, and then by an anger of similar intensity as his blonde teammate's.

"And I stand by what I told you." Continued the jounin, shocking both of his original students. He closed his only visible eye. "I had gone for Sakura first, as she was the one sent the furthest away from where I was. But their speed is far greater than anything I've ever seen, and I was forced to choose."

Naruto clenched his fists. His lips trembled, as he also gritted his teeth. Not only had he left one of his students behind to die, but now he was also making up excuses.

"You can't always save everyone, Naruto." Said Kakashi while Guy finally returned to his wheelchair's back. "But I understand your anger. That is, unfortunately, a lesson you'll only learn the bad way."

Sasuke looked away, knowing he could not possibly blame it on his master. He had witnessed the power and speed of those demons. Their skills were probably on par with Itachi's.

Tears began to build up on the blonde boy's eyes once again. At that moment, he was just like a little toddler trying to hide his face while crying. Kakashi petted him on the head and played with his hair a little before taking it back.

Then, he beckoned Ami to also approach him, as she had been standing a few steps away from the rest.

"With that out of the way, I had called a meeting to hand you these." He took three small papers from inside his hospital gown, and handed them to his students. "I know it might not come at the most ideal of times, but I've recommended you three for the Chunin Selection Exam."

"What?" Ami was shocked by the revelation. She glanced at the other jounin, who was visibly in disagreement with the decision.

Sasuke took the paper, but did not waste the chance to give his master a questioning glance. Naruto, while still angry at his master, could not resist the need to grab the paper. The prospect of fighting with the strongest of the genin was too strong of a temptation for him.

"I've noticed by your way of walking, Sasuke, that you have not fully recovered your equilibrium. Your legs are obviously injured and you will not perform to the best of your abilities." Kakashi suddenly bursted. "Naruto, your confidence is obviously shattered. You would have normally tried countless times to hit me even if Guy and I kept pounding you to the ground incessantly. And Ami, you're literally a failed genin."

Might Guy lowered his head to look at his rival in disbelief. He was about to say something, but the silver-haired man continued.

"It is entirely a voluntary decision if you participate in the exams. My recommendation is not a definitive inscription, and that's why you have to fill out those applications and deliver them to room 301 in the school." Somewhere inside, he still had the faith that one of them would decide not to participate and save the entire team from a likely disastrous outcome. "The choice is completely yours to make."

Naruto squinted at the brutal roast his master had delivered to him and his teammates. However, it had the opposite effect than what the man intended. He raised his fist and then pointed his index finger at the jounin.

"Kakashi, you idiot! I'll prove to you who's the strongest in the village and when I win and become a chunin, I swear to the Sage that I'll beat your ass for what you did to Sakura!"

Sasuke was shaking a little. His limping and lack of balance was so visibly obvious that even Kakashi without his sharingan had noticed it. He wondered if his teammates had noticed too.

Naruto was burning with determination, so much so that it almost seemed like an invisible aura of fire was covering his body. Next to him, Ami was smiling with noticeable excitement. They would no doubt present their applications. Despite the team dynamics so far, at that moment, Uchiha was the only one with doubts.

But he could not let Naruto surpass him.

Chapter Text

By the next day, team 7 had arrived at the academy, one hour before the stipulated time. Sasuke was always on time and liked to do so. It was less occasional for Naruto, but that day he wanted to make sure he made a declaration of his determination. Ami, on the other hand, simply respected the time her teammates wanted.

It was a cold day. A serene and soft breeze blew through the place, making the few leaves that had fallen from the branches move in such a way that it seemed they were dancing.

They had met at the main entrance, where dozens of other genin teams already awaited the opening of the place. It was still too early, but it was better being early than late.

After half an hour, the gates of the main entrance were opened, and the horde of shinobi stormed into the building. The teachers never saw their former students so excited to go to the academy until they applied for the Chunin Selection Exams.

Team 7 made their way to the second floor of the building. They were very patient and let the horde pass first, then it would be their turn.

As they arrived at the second floor, they were met with several genin that had already gathered in front of a room. The label read '301'. It was confusing as they thought they had only reached the second floor.

In front of the gathered bunch, a single trio of genin was trying to get in, but they were being blocked by two other shinobi who constantly punched and slapped them.

One of them was very recognisably a member of the Hyuga clan, given his pearl-like eyes. His hitai-ate, with an unusual black cloth instead of the traditional blue one, covered his forehead almost entirely. His brown hair was long and fell all the way to the middle of his back, even though it was loosely tied barely above the end.

The other one was possibly the one with the most injuries. He wore a distinctive green jumpsuit, while his hitai-ate, with red cloth, was worn as a belt. His haircut was eerily similar to that of Kakashi's rival, and his brows were almost as bushy. The question of whether he was Guy's son very quickly came to mind.

The third one was a girl. She had brown hair, worn as two buns over her head, with two short bangs falling over her hitai-ate, which was a traditional one. Her face also had some bruises, but minor compared to those of her bowl-cut teammate. For a girl, she was noticeably buff.

"Is someone as talentless as you really trying to take the Chunin Exam?" Said one of the genin blocking the entrance to the room. "Why bother?"

In front of them, the boy of the green jumpsuit was still recovering from a direct hit that caused him some bleeding.

"Bunch of wet-behind-the-ear snotnoses!" Added the second of the genin that were blocking the room.

"Please… we're begging you… Let us in." The girl said, seeming very desperate.

The rest of the genin, who were waiting their turn to enter the room, had been whispering and commenting on the situation.

"That's just cruel!" Said one of those closer to the trio.

One of the two genin, the one with the spiky hair, smirked before raising his voice. "You misunderstand! We are just trying to spare you! The exams are incredibly difficult. There's people who made it and immediately quit being shinobi, while the majority that doesn't make it ends up crippled, as vegetables or even dead!"

Several gasps were heard from among the horde of genin. However, there were still many others unimpressed. The nature of the exams was well known.

"Besides, chunin are the leaders of their units. The responsibilities for casualties and failed missions fall on their shoulders." His smirk widened. "You little punks really have the nerve to apply?!"

"We're really just weeding out the obvious losers. Sparing the village a couple of casualties." Added the second genin. His hitai-ate covered his head entirely, with only some bangs of hair falling out on his face.

"Just let us through. I've seen through your genjutsu." Replied Sasuke. His voice was cold and uninterested. "I have business on the third floor."

Whispers once again intensified among the crowd of genin. Phrases along the line of 'what's he talking about' were very commonly thrown to the air.

"Heh, so you figured it out." The genin whose hair was covered by his hitai-ate laughed.

"We're still on the third floor." Explained Sasuke.

"Not bad!" Admitted the genin of the spiky hair. "But just looking through it isn't enough!"

His body flickered before disappearing. In the blink of an eye, the genin had reappeared just in front of Sasuke, with his leg already positioned to land a kick.

Uchiha tried to position himself to block, but his leg failed to move in time and he fell down. However, at the last second, someone stepped in to block the kick.

The boy of the green jumpsuit easily grabbed the leg and pushed the attacker back. Despite his grave injuries, he was able to reach incredible speeds just to prevent a fight from happening.

Ami and Naruto, who were standing at opposite sides of the Uchiha, widened their eyes at the exhibition of the genin of the bushy brows. Sasuke himself was surprised, but had to shake it off as the boy offered to help him up.

The Uchiha shook his head, denying the help, and stood up himself. The other genin cringed as he fell to the floor after the boy in the green jumpsuit let his leg go. Sasuke continued to analyze his savior, eventually noticing that there was something odd about his chakra.

The boy of the bowl cut let out a sigh of relief after seeing that he had successfully avoided a fight. His Hyuga teammate approached him, though, and he did not seem exactly satisfied.

"That's not what we agreed," he began. "You're the one who insisted we should avoid drawing attention to ourselves!"

"But…" The boy of the green jumpsuit turned to team 7. "Did you not notice? That guy is injured."

The Hyuga rolled his eyes. "I did, but we can't be helping all the weaklings in the exam."

The brown-haired girl approached her teammates from behind and placed one of her hands on the boy's shoulder. "Lee, stay focused on helping your team."

Naruto had been squinting the whole time, like usual. Just watching the situation unravel. Now though, was time for him to ask questions and finally understand whatever was going on.

He raised his hand and pointed at the boy who saved Sasuke. "Oi, bushy brows, who the hell are you?!"

All members of the trio turned around to look at the blonde boy. The Hyuga did not hold back his menacing stare, while the girl was giving him a suspicious glance. Only the boy of the bowl cut seemed friendly, and cheerfully approached team 7.

"My name's Rock Lee!" He made sure to bow as a sign of respect. "What's your name's? I've only recognized Sasuke Uchiha, the last of his clan."

The avenger closed his eyes and confidently smiled. It was always satisfying when people recognized him without even asking his name. That was the prestige that came with his legendary lineage.

"Disappointing." Said Neji softly, as it was only directed at his female teammate. The pattern of walking and the strange posture of his legs made it obvious that the boy was injured.

"I have to admit I expected more from the heir of the Uchiha." Replied the girl, just as softly as her teammate. "Guess he did not come out as talented as the rest of his family."

"One lineage less to compete with mine, I suppose."

"The name's Naruto Uzumaki! Keep it memorized because I'll be your Hokage very soon!" He replied with his usual flaming determination.

The purple-haired girl followed, and gladly presented herself. So far, she was enjoying her new life as part of a genin team.

"My name is Ami Hattori. Hopefully, you'll be worthy opponents!" She confidently smiled as well, following it with a nod.

"Well then, we shall see." Said Lee before bowing again and returning to his own team.

Naruto carefully stared at him as he ran back. He definitely had something to do with that friend of Kakashi that was pushing his wheelchair around. However, he still felt like he was a total weirdo.

As he approached his team, Lee's expression changed to a serious one.

"When master Guy told us the heir of the Uchiha would be participating, I wanted to challenge him." He briefly turned around to give a quick glance to team 7, who were already leaving for the third floor. "However, it would be almost cruel to do so seeing his injury."

Tenten sighed. "Master Guy would've beaten your ass if you did so, anyways."

Team 7 continued their way until they finally reached the real room 301. The hallway was unexpectedly empty, and only Kakashi waited for them right next to the door. He was sitting on his wheelchair, and did not seem especially excited about seeing them there.

"I see you made it after all." Acknowledge the jounin. He pushed the wheels forward to approach his students.

"Huh?" Ami raised an eyebrow at the comment of the jounin. After all, they only had to go up some stairs in the Academy.

"This way you all qualify to apply to the Chunin Selection Exams." He cracked his neck before continuing his explanation. "The way the tests are set up, only a team of three genin can participate. So if any of you decided not to participate, the entire team would be out."

"So you were testing us." Sasuke confidently smiled as usual. He acknowledged it was a smart move from his master, but at that point, he was starting to get used to the tricks.

"Yep." His single visible eye was just as unimpressed as ever. "That way I also kept you from pressuring your teammates, and the decision was genuine."

Behind his many bandages, Kakashi was gritting his teeth. After all, not even his backup plan had worked. He should not have provoked Naruto.

"With that said, get in there. The exam is about to begin."

The night had gone by normally. Gohan and Sakura slept inside the hut, but Piccolo spent the entire night outside, meditating. Then, during sunrise, he left the clearing entirely. This caused great confusion when his student woke up very early in the morning, and failed to find him.

He looked around the river, and even deep in the woods, but failed to find the Namekian. Ultimately, Gohan decided to sense his Ki, which would be easy given how much bigger their energy was than anyone else on the planet. When he did so, he discovered that his master had gone very far away.

In the end, he figured he probably had something to do, or just wanted to meditate in total isolation like he already did back home, so he decided to leave him alone.

Then, he proceeded to fish like usual, especially seeing how that day was very sunny. And when Sakura finally woke up, he was just coming out of the river.

The girl was looking for either of them, as she had found the clearing empty, just like Gohan before her. This led her to walk towards the river, just like Gohan before her.

When he arrived at the shore, she found Gohan's clothing right next to the water, just over some rocks. She gasped, thinking something happened to the boy. However, her concerns were very quickly eased as the boy emerged from the water.

Gohan was holding three fish by the tail on each hand. He shook the water off his body, similarly to how a dog would. Then, he dropped the dead fish near his own clothing.

The boy was completely naked and seemed unfazed when he noticed the girl's presence. He smiled and waved at her, while Sakura's face turned as red as a tomato. It was not necessary to mention that she had never seen a naked boy.

"Oh, hey! Wanted to help me with fishing?" He asked, though as soon as the girl fainted, he figured something was not right.

He rushed towards her and barely managed to stop her fall before her head hit the floor. In a few seconds, she woke back up. She slowly regained consciousness and was met by the concerned face of the Saiyan.

She blushed again, feeling his very muscular hands holding her. She shook her head and pushed him away.

"Cover yourself up!"

"Oh." Gohan realized before running back to his clothes.

Sakura turned around while the boy put them back on, and frantically apologized to her at the same time. His apologies continued even when his clothes were back on, but the pink-haired girl really wanted to forget about it.

The two headed back to the clearing where the hut was. The way back, even if it was short, felt like an eternity for the uncomfortable pre teens.

Upon arriving, Gohan quickly ignited a fire on the usual place, and put the fish on sticks to cook them. The girl sat close to the fire, not being able to look him in the eye. It was an odd feeling. Though her main question was how someone as young looking as him could achieve such muscles.

After a couple of minutes, Gohan handed the girl two fish, and he kept the other four.

Not much of a conversation ever happened. They just ate silently, avoiding each other's eyes. And so continued the rest of the day.

Chapter Text

Upon entering the room, team 7 were met by a classroom filled with genin. Dozens and dozens of shinobi from several different villages were ready to take on the first phase of the Chunin Selection Exams. The image was almost intimidating to the inexperienced rookies of Konoha.

It did not take long for the first team to approach them. It was team 10, which included Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru. However, their attitude towards their reunion was not exactly as cheerful or intense as they expected. There was even a hint of suspicion in the air.

"You must be very eager to die to participate after the beating you took." Said the boy of the ponytail, whose face showed nothing but unwillingness to be there.

Chouji simply stood firmly, eating chips from the bag he was holding. Carefully staring at each member of team 7.

"Ami? What the hell are you doing here?!" Yelled Ino. She was as abrasive as ever, and her bursts of anger usually scared those not used to her character.

The purple-haired girl smirked and then shrugged. Her playful smile, that of a prankster, even gave a slight flavor of ill intentions.

"I've replaced your best friend, as she unfortunately died." It was hard to tell if she was laughing about Sakura's death or about Ino's anger.

"You piece of-" Ino tried to jump on the purple-haired girl, but Chouji made sure to grab her by the arm before she could actually attempt anything.

Ami giggled.

"You know her?" Asked Naruto, who was only able to realize that he was missing some context.

"We all do, idiot." Replied Shikamaru.

Ino got out of Chouji's grip, but did not continue her approach against Ami. Instead, she fixed her purple clothes and turned to look at the blonde boy.

"She was Sakura's bully back in the academy." Upon the revelation, Sasuke gave the purple-haired girl a stare filled with killing intent. Naruto, on the other hand, seemed more surprised than furious. "I have no idea how you accepted her into your team."

"It wasn't our decision." Grunted Sasuke after looking away.

"I'm stronger than her anyways, let's be honest."

"Woah, Ami?!" Another voice said as a different team approached the two that were already interacting. "No way!"

As they reached the other two trios, it was revealed that the voice came from Kiba Inuzuka. He had two red markings on each cheek, while his wide smile revealed the fangs that were characteristic for the Inuzuka clan. Next to him were his teammates, the silent Shino Aburame and the shy and nervous Hinata Hyuga.

"Nice to see that the gang's all reunited!" Continued Kiba. "Though, I'm quite disappointed that Sakura didn't make it."

"Sasuke seems injured." Whispered Shino, who made sure only his female teammate picked up what he was saying.

Hinata nodded, it was quite obvious that his posture was odd, and his way of walking was awkward. Almost limping. However, she had spent most of the time carefully analyzing Naruto, and she was glad to find that he was fine. Perhaps too fine.

"Yeah, yeah. It would be nice if you all did us a favor and shut up, though!" A stranger's voice caught the attention of the rookies, who turned around.

It came from a silver-haired shinobi, whose hair was tied into a ponytail while two bangs of hair still flowed over his hitai-ate. He wore a pair of circular glasses.

"This isn't a school trip!"

A couple of days had gone by quite quickly. Piccolo was yet to return, but the half-blood was still able to pick up his Ki. He obviously let his master remain alone, as he probably had a good reason to have gone so far away. It also meant, though, that Gohan didn't have much to do other than fishing and hunting.

He was left with many free hours in between foods, while Sakura spent a lot of that time napping, as she was still recovering. It had surprised Gohan how, even after a coma, the girl could sleep so much. He figured their 'Chakra' had to be a lot more wasteful than Ki, which wasn't a good look since it was also much weaker.

As he sat outside in the clearing taking some sunlight, he figured he could continue his training. It had been a considerable amount of time since they arrived at that strange Earth, and yet he had completely abandoned his training so far. His father would not like it to see him slacking off, if he could.

He got up, stretched a little and proceeded to improvise a training session for himself. All knowing from the get go that nothing there would be like the training with his father in the Time Chamber. Perhaps he could ask Piccolo for some tips.

The hours went by flying, and Gohan had spent it all training nonstop. The sun was very intense, so he took his shirt off to cool off a little. And after so long, he decided to relax a little by just lifting sets of three trees as weights.

That's the image that Sakura found when she came out of the hut after having woken up from her nap. She was yawning before she noticed that Gohan was using whole trees as weights. Her mouth did not close after the yawn due to the shock.

At least, that explained the boy's muscles.

"Are you sure you guys aren't demons?" She asked, laughing nervously.

Gohan turned around, surprised to find that the girl had woken up. He let the trees fall down, creating a small crater around them.

He spoke while wiping some of the sweat that rested on his forehead. "Well, I'm just improvising. I normally don't use trees."

As the boy laughed nervously, the pink-haired could only stare in shock at the literal craters–even if small ones–formed on the ground from the sheer weight of the trees.

"What the hell are you even training for?" Asked the girl, still in disbelief.

Gohan put his hand over his chin as he carefully thought about it. "Well, I've always trained very hard since I was a little kid. But I guess there's no big threat anymore."

"Big threat? And how little?"

"I was probably 4 years old when Mr. Piccolo trained me for the first time." He scratched his messy hair as he spoke.

Sakura's jaw fell to the ground. Inside, she could only think of the tortuous training he had to be put through as a little boy.

"Why so young?"

The boy laughed nervously. "Well, let's say my uncle attacked us and when my father defeated him, he told us two of his friends, who were far stronger, were also going to attack and kill everyone."

Forcefully trained as a toddler, forced to fight and on top of all that, family drama! What a childhood. Sakura was starting to be glad that she came from a healthy family of commoners.

"It's a complicated story." Gohan admitted while laughing it off.

"How old are you now?" If she was to guess, she would say the boy was older than her. Possibly around 15 or 16 years old. He looked young, but on the latter end of puberty, especially due to his muscles.

"I'm 12 years old." Said the half-blood with a smile on his face.

He was in fact younger. Sakura fell on her back at the shocking revelation. Younger than them, and stronger than Kakashi. She figured her master was not lying, after all.

Gohan helped her up, and she wiped some of the dirt and grass from her clothes. At that point, she really wanted to wash her clothes. She really missed her home.

"How about you?"

She was trying to clean the metal of her hitai-ate as the boy spoke. She raised her head to look at him and replied.

"Well, I'm 13. Not much older than you."

"I see."

A short, uncomfortable silence took over the place in between them once again. The girl just continued to wipe some of the dirt off her clothes. She also tried to fix her hair a little, as she had not taken a bath for days now.

However, there was a question that was going around the boy's mind, and he was curious. Piccolo probably wondered a little about it, too.

"So, would you mind telling me about that 'Chakra' you use?"

The first exam went by normally. The majority of the bunch quickly figured the whole point was to cheat, while some others like Naruto were too desperate and nervous to realize. The latter's exam was left completely empty all the way to the last question, and so was Ami's. Academic knowledge was not exactly her area of expertise either, but she was certainly a very good cheater.

In the end, twenty-six teams made it through the exam. Ibiki, the very tall and bulky proctor of the exam, had expected his first exam to really filter far more shinobi than it ended up doing. He had created a new set of rules and a new methodology, and yet it seemed like this new generation was ready to stand up to the challenge. Instead of being frustrated by the outcome, he didn't seem too bothered.

Immediately after the leader of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Unit declared that the exam had finalized, what seemed like a meteor entered the classroom through one of the windows. Very quickly, four kunai were placed on the ceiling and the floor. Each one was tied to one of the four corners of a piece of cloth with a phrase written on it in kanji.

Once the cloth had been neatly placed right in front of the previous proctor, the second one landed on the floor and revealed herself as the responsible for the spectacular entrance.

A young woman of spiky, violet hair styled in a short fanned-out ponytail. Her clothes were quite revealing, as she wore a custom outfit made of thin metal mesh, which covered from neck to thighs. On top of it, she only wore a brown mini-skirt and a tan overcoat. Despite being a jounin, she wore no uniform nor pieces of armor, other than a pair of metallic shin guards.

"None of you are in any position to celebrate!" She declared with her loud and flaming confidence. Very similarly to how Naruto tended to declare his intentions of being a Hokage. "I am the second Chief Examination Officer, Mitarashi Anko!"

Everyone in the room cringed at how intense she was. And from behind, Ibiki removed the cloth from his face to peek and look at her.

"Time's running out! Let's go!"

Ibiki cleared his throat, and successfully gained the woman's attention. "Can you not sense the mood in here?"

She quickly scanned the room, looking for an excuse to turn the situation against Konoha's top torturer. Quite luckily, she was quick to find such an excuse.

"Seventy-eight are still here?!" She yelled while placing her hands on opposite sides of her waist. "Ibiki, you obviously went too easy on them!"

He smirked. Quite confidently, in fact. "Well, this year we got a talented bunch."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say." She looked away. "Whatever. I'll cut them by half or less by the time my exam is over!"

Her smile grew in size and adopted a playful, even malicious nature. Her body started to even shake a little from the excitement. Still next to her, Ibiki could only cringe at her behavior.

"Ooh! Hehehehe…" She giggled softly, almost to herself, imagining how her exam would unfold. "Let's go! Now! I'll explain the details once we move to our next location. Last one to arrive is dead meat!"

"So that's it, huh?" He scratched his chin. "It kinda sounds like Ki, but also a lot more… specific."

Both him and Sakura were sitting right in front of each other. Some of his sweat had gone dry now, which meant he was a little more smelly. However, their conversation had continued normally.

"Though seeing how quickly you recover from all that training, maybe Ki is less wasteful." Sakura thought about it a little. "I guess it depends on each person's Chakra control."

"But then I wonder why you can't fly." Gohan said. "It's not very hard to learn to do it with Ki."

The pinkette shrugged. She wasn't exactly sure, but it probably had to do with how heavy they were, which would make it quite costly for them to try and fly.

"There's a legend that says the Tsuchikage and his family have a secret jutsu that allows them to fly. But then he would be the only person able to do it."

"Tsuchikage…. No idea who he is." The half-blood shrugged.

Sakura looked away while thinking about something. She had an idea, but was unsure on the logistics of it. Could she even learn such a thing if she was a Chakra user?

"Um, Gohan." She began.

The boy raised both of his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

"Could you teach me how to fly, like you and…" She tried her best not to call the other one 'The Green Guy'. "Mr. Piccolo?"

He nodded and shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Chapter Text

The seventy-eight remaining genin were taken to a nearby training ground, not too far from the Academy building. There, the examiner gathered them near the metallic fence that surrounded its perimeter. She stood right in front of one of the many gates that led into the dense forest.

Near said gate, there was a small stand where three shinobi were waiting. The stand had a desk, where three piles of papers were held.

The woman put her hands inside the pockets of her overcoat while carefully looking at the training ground. Even for such a lush forest, it was unusually dense, with very big trees making it unusually dark for the forests of the Land of Fire. Their trunks were covered with moss and epiphytic plants, which further confirmed that it was a dark and humid environment.

She smirked just looking at it. Then, she turned around to look at the nervous faces of the majority of the genin.

"This is the arena for the second examination: the 44th Training Ground." Her smile only widened as she got to mention the name of the place. "Also known as… The Forest of Death!"

A lot of those faces that had been previously nervous, now turned into shocked or even scared. The teams began to whisper among themselves, and the rookies were not the exception.

"Scary!" Admitted Ami just by looking at it.

Right next to her, Sasuke was sweating. He looked down at his legs from time to time, just checking out how they were. He did not need to do that, though, as he knew very well how they were.

Naruto was simply silent, examining the forest himself. So far, he did not see why they would call it 'of Death'. Not like some humidity, lack of light and moss could kill anyone.

So far, Anko was enjoying the many facial expressions that denoted concern. "You're about to find out firsthand why they call it 'The Forest of Death'!"

The blonde boy finally snapped. He let out steam from his nose before starting to dance like a chicken.

"Oooh, you're about to notice firsthand why they call it the Forest of Death!" He mocked the examiner with a high-pitched voice. Then, he stood firm again and pointed at her. "Like that's gonna scare us! I'm not gonna fall for your cheap tricks!"

Surprisingly, her reaction was to smile warmly at the boy. "Oh, really? You're pretty cocky, huh?"

Her sudden sweet behavior was followed by her suddenly pulling a kunai out of the sleeve of her overcoat. She threw it at the boy, who could only widen his eyes in shock at her speed. Luckily for him, the kunai only barely missed his face.

Then, before the kunai even hit the ground behind him, he felt the cold hands of the young woman on his shoulders. Then, one of them moved to his cheek, which she used to pull his head closer to her.

Ami flinched and stepped backwards. Sasuke saw her coming, but was unable to react in time. If the examiner actually intended to kill him, none of his teammates would have been able to actually do anything about it.

Anko stuck her tongue out and licked the blood falling from the cut on the boy's cheek. The kunai had, in fact, not missed. It was just intended to cause a little wound. However, the woman suddenly turned her head and moved her other left hand from the boy's shoulder to where the new stranger's tongue was. She was holding a kunai.

Naruto wanted whatever was going on to end, especially as she noticed that the third person, also a young woman, had an unnaturally long tongue. Said woman was a shinobi from Kusagakure, the Village Hidden in the Grass. On her tongue, she was holding the kunai that Anko had thrown before, as it had fallen right next to her.

"I believe you dropped your kunai." She said with a voice that certainly caused some shivers on the blonde boy's spine.

"Huh, thanks." Said Anko, still looking at the Kusa-nin. They stood there for a couple of seconds until the examiner turned her expression into one of annoyance. She was trying to enjoy the taste of some young blood, and this weirdo was just staring at her. "Don't just stand behind me radiating bloodlust…"

The foreign woman did not flinch a little.

"Unless you want to die." The examiner smiled, before gulping the boy's blood down.

She retracted her tongue while a creepy smile formed with her purple lips. She finally stood straight, fully revealing the face she had been hiding under her conical hat and very long black hair.

"I'll try to keep it under control, but I also really enjoy the sight of some fresh blood." Her pale skin was almost the color of milk, and made several people wonder how someone who was still alive could look like that. "I also was a little… unsettled after losing a strand of my precious hair."

Ami was shaking at the sight of the tall woman. She looked young, but was almost a head taller than the examiner. And there was something about her aura that just caused her to shake like a little scared child.

"Sorry about that." Anko replied while shrugging the situation off. She finally let go of Naruto, who was sticking his own tongue out, wondering what the other guy's trick was.

The blonde boy then rubbed his wound, while Ami came to check on him. Naruto was a little embarrassed, but he couldn't deny he liked the attention. Previously, that kind of attention was only given to Sasuke.

Uchiha simply stared at the tall Kusa-nin. Not only was she very tall, and very thin, and very pale. She was also unsettling. Her almost whispering voice, like that of a snake. Her long tongue, her confidence to threaten a jounin of Konoha so casually. It all solidified what seemed to be one of the top contenders for the exams to come. And for a moment, she turned around exclusively to look at him. To stare at him and lick her lips. Sheer bloodlust.

"Anyways, before we begin the second exam." Anko spoke up again to regain the attention of the genin. "There's something I have to hand out."

She grabbed one of the piles of paper from the stands, and raised them for everyone to look at them. "They're consent forms. We want all details covered before the first deaths start to occur! But first I'll explain the exam, then you can sign them."

The sun had not diminished, even in the afternoon. However, Sakura was determined to train with Gohan, especially as she was interested in the skill of flying.

The two were sitting right in front of each other, on the clearing right in front of the hut Piccolo had built.

"Ki basically is the energy that flows throughout your body."

"That's Chakra." Replied the pink-haired girl.

Gohan laughed nervously. "Well, I suppose. But Ki as I know it is your life force, you could say. It can manifest in many ways, but this is probably the clearest form it can take."

He put both of his hands together and focused his energy on each palm. Slowly, a small sphere of energy was formed in between, which he showed to the girl.

"Well, I've not seen Chakra manifest like that." She scratched her chin. "Usually, it manifests in one of the elements, be it fire, wind, water… Or in seals."

"Interesting. With Ki we can push wind forward, creating stronger currents. With water too, but it's not exactly controlling the elements."

"I guess that's one point for Chakra!" Joked the girl, getting a laugh out of the half-blood.

"Mr. Piccolo and I did notice that the energies of people here are different from those from where we come from." He dispersed the energy he had gathered, which caused the sphere to disappear. "So maybe they just work differently."

"In the academy, they did talk to us about Natural Energy, and it seems closer to Ki than Chakra." She explained, trying to find a parallel. "But they didn't go much in depth as it was something only the highest level shinobi could dominate."

"Well, how about we try some basic Ki training? Perhaps we can make some progress and learn something from it!"

"Sure." Sakura nodded. She put her hands in a similar position to what Gohan had done before.

"Focus your energy, but also make sure to relax your body."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I can't focus my Chakra and relax my body. I need to re-channel my Chakra flow towards my hands!"

Gohan blinked, not understanding what she was talking about. In his eyes, she was overcomplicating the process.

"You have to be able to let your Ki flow by itself all around your body. For such, you need to relax your body." Explained the Saiyan. "However, your mind has to stay focused to sense the flow of your energy, and then be able to concentrate it somewhere in specific. In this case, in your hands."

That was against what she had been taught. But in the end, both energies probably worked differently. She figured that if she was to learn some of his techniques, then he would have to follow his advice. Even if skeptical, she decided to try it out.

"Now the rules, and what offenses you can be disqualified for!" Anko cheerfully raised her hand. First, she lowered all of her fingers except for her index. "Obviously, the teams who fail to reach the tower in time, carrying both a Heaven and an Earth scroll, are out."

Chouji, who was laying defeated on the ground, was only further pushed towards surrendering as the instructions and rules continued. It was already bad enough that they would have to eat whatever they got their hands on, and would not have access to restaurants or food stands.

"Inhumane!" He yelled, while Ino stomped him, trying to silence him.

Anko now raised her middle finger, counting to two. "So is any team that loses a member, whether it be to death or severe injury."

By this point, Hinata was shaking so much and so sweaty that Kiba was starting to get worried. Shino was not impressed at all, and he knew that if they were given the option to give up, the girl would not hesitate.

"And under no circumstances can you leave the forest before the time is up." The examiner put both of her hands on opposite sides of her waist. "No recess, no time-outs."

"Inhumane!" Yelled once again the heir of the Akimichi. This time, he received a kick from Shikamaru, who really wanted his friend to not kill what little prestige they still had from their noble clans.

"Also, it's strictly forbidden to look at the contents of the scrolls until you're inside the tower!" She finished.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What if we sneak a peek?"

Anko shrugged. "That's for those who look to know!"

The blonde boy did not look any less confused. His dumb face made the examiner sigh, and further explain the point.

"If any of you get the rank of chunin, you will be entrusted with top-secret documents, so consider this a test of your trustworthiness." She put her hands back on the pockets of her overcoat. "That's all the explanation you get. When you've got your scrolls, choose whatever gate you want to start from. Everyone will begin at the same time."

A little weight was removed from her weight as the explanation of the examination had seemingly gone smoothly.

"One final piece of advice." Her light-hearted nature gave place to a more serious facial expression. "Stay alive!"

After one hour, all teams had traded their forms for their respective scrolls. Then, some of the assistant proctors took the different teams to one of the many gates around the perimeter of the training ground. And finally, the signal was given, and the second examination began.

After a few hours of trying, it seemed like the traditional method was not working for Sakura. Both Piccolo and his father had taught him the same, and it was a bit confusing that it was not working for the kunoichi.

Mr. Piccolo would probably know what was going on, or perhaps Master Roshi. But the latter was inaccessible to them now, and the former was gone for some reason.

However, in one last try, a spark finally appeared in between her hands. Her green eyes widened as the spark turned into a small energy sphere, similar to that Gohan had done only a little while ago.

The half-blood stood up and cheered for her. She had finally done it. From there, the process should be easier.

"Now what? Now what?!" She asked with excitement.

"Now you need to reach a level of control that allows you to fly, but it should be a little easier now!"

In the following hours until sunset, Gohan taught the kunoichi how to focus her energy to float a little. In his experience, it would take time, but it was encouraging that she was already able to manifest Ki in the traditional way. Perhaps in this world, Ki and Chakra coexisted within people.

By the end of the day, Sakura was already floating in the air, slightly above the ground. Her progress was impressive for a human girl like her, and certainly Gohan had not seen such a quick process. Though, admittedly, his only reference was his own process as a kid, unwilling to fight and train.

"Woah! Already floating after just a day!" Cheered the boy, while the girl finally let herself fall down.

She landed on her butt, and then lied on the ground, completely exhausted. Her energy reserves were almost empty, and her body was sweating a lot.

"At this rate, you'll be flying in no time!"

In between heavy breaths, she smiled at the boy. They had only trained for a day, but he had been a surprisingly encouraging and nice teacher. Nothing like the ones he had in the academy, and certainly nothing like Kakashi.

"You think so?"

"Yeah! Your progress is like nothing I've seen." Admitted the Saiyan. He scratched the back of his head. "It took me a little longer to learn how to float and then fly."

She blushed a little.

"I do have a little tip for you, though." Continued Gohan, raising his index finger. "It would be better if you cut your hair short."

"Huh?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, before grabbing her hair and looking at it, trying to find if something was wrong with it. "But Sasuke…"

"Yeah, short hair is better for fighting, and since you say you're a ninja, I guess you fight a lot." He had not noticed that he had interrupted the girl. "If your hair is longer, your enemies could grab it or it could get in your eyes. So it can be a little annoying."

"Ah… That makes sense…" She stood up, struggling a little.

To Gohan, it was clear she did not seem too fond of cutting her hair. He guessed a ponytail could do the trick, but long hair was always a nuisance when fighting.

"Thanks for the training. Shall we continue tomorrow?"

The Saiyan nodded eagerly. "Sure!"

By the next day, Gohan was met with the surprise that the girl had cut her hair short, almost to the height of her ear.

Chapter Text

Naruto let out a sigh after resting for a few seconds. The powerful wind attack had launched him flying through several of the thick roots that were abundant in the forest. He was finally stopped by a thick net of roots that resisted his impact.

He rolled and used his hands to quickly stand up. Rubbing his butt, as he had landed on it, he looked around to find his teammates. It turned out he had been thrown further away than the rest.

"Where'd they go?" He asked to himself.

Then, he noticed a shadow over him. He slowly raised his head, shaking a little. His eyes widened as he finally met with those of the giant snake that had been standing just over him.

The massive reptile smashed its tail against the floor, which Naruto barely dodged by jumping. However, the tail wrapped around his body while he was still in the air. He desperately tried to overpower the creature's grip, but was ultimately unable to.

Seeing that the boy was not able to put up much resistance, the giant snake threw him into his mouth. Naruto went down his throat, but never stopped yelling even from inside.

After two days, Sakura was already flying quite comfortably. She was very happy about it, but most of all, Gohan was very proud of his first student. He stood with a big smile on his face while watching the pinkette enjoy her new ability.

She finally touched down on the ground, and returned the smile to the half-blood. Apart from flying, Gohan noticed that her power had increased a little only because she tapped into her Ki. It was interesting to him because he started to understand what was going on a little better.

"Now we can go look for Mr. Piccolo together!" Said the pink-haired girl while putting her hands on her waist.

"He can take care of himself." Gohan laughed nervously. The only real threat to Piccolo currently there would be precisely the Saiyan.

"Ah… Well, we can continue training, then!"

"I was going to tell you about something else that could be useful to you." Explained Gohan. "We can sense the energy of others and measure their power based on that. I think you could make good use of that."

"Oh? Like sensor shinobi…" She nodded. "Let's get into it, then!"

With Naruto nowhere to be seen, Sasuke and Ami were left alone to face the tall woman. She was suspiciously confident and inexpressive. So much so, in fact, that she grabbed her team's Earth scroll and openly showed it to the enemy shinobi.

"I suppose you'd like to steal our Earth scroll, wouldn't you?" Her tongue began to come out, and did not stop until the tip reached her chest. "Since you've already got a heaven scroll."

Both members of team 7 stared carefully. However, their focus was broken by the obscene image of the woman wrapping the scroll with her tongue and forcing it into her mouth. She ended up swallowing it completely, and acted like nothing had happened.

Ami nearly gagged, while Sasuke was frozen in his place. His legs were shaking, and his eyes already felt tired after having used his sharingan for their previous encounter with an enemy team.

"Now, shall we see.." She lowered her head to hide her face behind her hitai-ate and her long hair. "Just who will be stealing scrolls from whom?"

Then, she revealed her face. She had stuck a finger directly into her eye socket and pulled her own eyelid so far down that it seemed she was going to remove her own eye.

"We'll fight to the death!" She yelled with a deep voice that sounded so supernaturally that it echoed for several seconds inside the ears of the genin.

Almost as soon as the echo stopped, they felt the pain of being stabbed over a hundred times in each limb. They saw so much blood that it seemed it was falling from the sky. The horrifying spectacle ended with a kunai being precisely nailed on the middle of each of their foreheads.

Sasuke fell on his knees directly, and threw up on the ground beneath him. Ami managed to remain standing, but her legs were visibly shivering.

"Genjutsu!" Recognized the Uchiha after vomiting.

He turned to look at Ami. Her eyes were nailed on the tall woman. Despite shaking like an angry chihuahua, her expression only showed killing intent and determination. Then, he also turned to the Kusa-nin.

Even if he knew it was an illusion, given the fact that they were still alive, he had his doubts. He felt physical pain, very clearly so. He saw her teammate be slaughtered right next to him, and at the same time, he felt a torture he had not felt since that fateful night, at the hands of his own brother.

Whoever she was, her genjutsu abilities were of the highest level.

"Still standing?" Exclaimed the woman, while a smirk formed on her face. "No genin should be able to resist such powerful genjutsu. What's your secret, young girl?"

Ami smirked and reached for one of her many pockets. From it, she did not take a shuriken, or a kunai. She took out a small piece of paper from where she summoned a tanto. Then, she bit the blade of her weapon to hold it while she made a complex mix of hand seals.

The woman quickly threw a pair of kunai at her. Ami was quick enough to grab her weapon with her left hand only half a second after her last hand seal, and skillfully blocked both kunai.

When both kunai had been deflected, her tanto became embedded with electric sparks. She had infused it with lightning chakra.

The woman's smirk widened into an unnatural smile, revealing her snake-like fangs. "You are more than you pretend to be, little girl! How exciting!"

Ami rushed at the Kusa-nin and tried to slash her left arm off. However, the woman simply stopped the weapon with her bare hand and took it from her. The purple-haired girl widened her eyes in shock.

A black seal quickly covered the tanto as soon as the Kusa-nin grabbed it. She had used fuinjutsu to absorb the lightning chakra infused into the weapon. Then, she discarded the blade like it was trash.

Ami was paralyzed at the sight of the approaching woman. She felt her neck being squeezed as she was raised to the woman's height. While choking the girl, the woman placed her other hand on the chin. Using just her index finger and her thumb, she forced the girl's mouth open.

Her eyes gained new light as her suspicions had been proven right. The girl's tongue exhibited the signature seal the advisor of the Hokage placed on his loyal men within the ANBU branch.

"Marked by Danzo, poor little soul."

Sasuke had dashed behind the woman's back, and attempted to stab her with a kunai. However, the woman disappeared in the blink of an eye. This forced him to reluctantly activate the renowned dojutsu of his clan, to desperately look around and try to locate the woman before she could land a fatal blow.

From one of the many branches above, a giant snake threw itself onto him. He jumped away, but the creature bounced from the fall and continued following him. In response, he grabbed as much shuriken as he could and threw them right into the open mouth of the animal.

They landed directly and managed to kill the snake. Its body fell lifeless on the ground, only to then explode into a cloud of smoke.

Sasuke quickly raised his head to look above him, just in time to see a myriad of shuriken raining down. He quickly made a single hand seal and substituted himself with a branch that was out of the danger.

His move had long been foreseen, and it was made evident as he felt a wet tongue licking his neck from behind. His eyes widened in total shock.

"Don't let your guard down…" She whispered, but then she raised her voice. "It makes the chase so much more rewarding for the predator!"

At that moment, something fell from the trees and the sound of its crash echoed throughout the small area in which they were fighting. Sasuke glanced just under the branch he was standing on, and was so shocked by what he saw that he had to vomit again.

What had fallen from the branches above had been Ami's body. She had been stabbed all throughout her body with multiple kunai, shuriken and blades. Yet, she was still alive, as her head was intact and her chest made the natural motion the human body does when breathing.

Sasuke then felt a freezing hand be placed around his neck, once the tongue moved away. He began to turn around, but his movement was interrupted by a barrage of kunai and shuriken that was thrown at them.

The woman moved her arm away very quickly, avoiding what would've been an incapacitating injury on it. Sasuke took the chance to jump to the ground, close to the severely injured girl. He moaned in pain as he felt that his legs were beginning to give in. The fall had proven to be too much for his previously injured limbs, and only that pain was enough to tell him he would not be able to keep up the pace of the fight.

Both the woman and the Uchiha turned to the direction from where the weapons had been thrown, revealing Naruto standing on one of the taller branches. He stood firmly, and his smirk showed nothing but confidence.

"I can't remember that stupid password!"

The gravely injured Ami smiled at the sight of the blonde boy before finally losing consciousness. Naruto quickly scanned the battlefield, and noticed that their new teammate had been brutally wounded.

"What the fuck?!" Yelled the boy from above, while the woman licked her lips.

"Naruto, this freak is way out of our league!" Sasuke yelled at the top of his lungs. His survival instincts were raising all the possible alarms, and his body had released so much adrenaline that it was on its limit.

The blonde boy only squinted. He heard what Sasuke said, but he could not just let the weirdo get away with almost killing one of his teammates.

"Congratulations on your stunning defeat of the giant snake, Naruto!" Complimented the woman as she melted into the wood of the branch on which she had been standing.

"Oi, snakey!" Naruto pointed straight at the weird woman. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!"

She giggled. There was no one even remotely near her own level in the entire Forest of Death.

Sasuke figured the situation was getting out of hand, and took the decision to de-escalate the situation. He deactivated his sharingan and grabbed his team's Heaven scroll.

"Just take our scroll and go." Said the desperate Uchiha.

By then, the woman was nowhere to be seen. For such, the black-haired genius frantically looked in every direction.

"Huh?! You're now playing some cowardly tricks to get the enemy off our backs or what?!" Yelled the furious Naruto.

"Kukukukuku…" The woman's soft laughter echoed through the battlefield. It was as if she was everywhere all at once. "You're obviously natural-born prey… Instinctively knowing that your only hope is the slim chance of the predator getting distracted with a tastier bait!"

The woman reemerged from the ground right in front of Sasuke. Her smile was wide and confident, just like the one she wore the moment the fight began. The boy hesitated for a split second, but then threw the scroll at her.

However, Naruto had already thrown himself down, and reached the floor just in time to grab the scroll before the Kusa-nin could.

Sasuke glanced at the orange flash that stole the scroll. He knew it was his teammate, but the utter shock on his face showed that he was in total disbelief.

"Idiot, stay out of this! You'll get us killed!"

After landing, he bounced and threw himself onto the Uchiha. The latter widened his eyes as he saw the blonde boy's fist only a few milimeters away from his face. Naruto landed a punch directly on his face, knocking him down.

Sasuke bounced onto a nearby branch and wiped the blood that was falling from his mouth after the strong hit.

"Have you lost your fucking mind?!" Asked the Uchiha.

"I don't know what happened or if you were replaced. But you're a damned coward, which Sasuke isn't!" He yelled back. "I've got no idea if we have to fear this guy, and even if we do, our only chance is to fight. We have no guarantees that he'll spare us if we just hand our scroll."

The woman giggled at the discussion the two teammates were having, but she could not deny the blonde boy's words were exciting.

"You're right, Naruto!" She said while her tongue went up to the height of her eyes, which were looking in opposite directions. "Why bargain when I can just kill you and take the scroll from your corpses!?"

She raised the sleeve from her right arm, revealing a seal that resembled a snake. She bit her thumb and rubbed it through the seal once it was bleeding. The straight trail of blood activated the seal, which began to form a spiral of smoke around the tall woman.

Naruto decided to charge against her, already tired of her being a weirdo and acting like she was in total control.

"Shut the fuck up!" He grabbed a kunai from his pocket and jumped onto the spiral.

"No, don't!" The Uchiha had been desperately trying to gain any form of control over the situation, but it just continued to escape his grasp. He grabbed his own face as he looked away, ready for the blonde's death.

From the spiral emerged a massive snake, just underneath the woman. She stood firm on its forehead, knowing her summoning would do the job just fine. As he was still in the air, the tail of the reptile sent Naruto flying upwards. The latter hit a branch, which caused internal bleeding. Then, he began to fall again.

For him, his fall was taking forever. He felt the adrenaline releasing through his veins, while a strange Chakra overflowed his own channels. An orange aura surrounded his body, and then it turned to a red color. By the time the boy had reached the head of the snake, his aura was bubbly and two tails had formed on it.

He smashed the snake's nose with a single punch, sinking it from the sheer power and almost instantly killing the creature. Naruto made sure to stare directly at the woman for the split second he was able to, revealing his burning red irises, which were like those of the Nine Tails.

"The seal's already weakened that much?" For the first time in the entire fight, the woman's smile diminished.

Then, Naruto disappeared and reappeared behind her. It all happened in the blink of an eye, and she was unable to block the powerful kick the boy gave her. She was thrown away, but managed to safely land on a branch.

Naruto pressed on and landed a powerful kick straight to her mouth. She was forced to spit out a tooth before grabbing the boy's arms and wrapping her tongue around his neck. While choking him, she quickly made a complex and long pattern of hand seals. She raised her right hand, revealing that the tip of its fingers had visible sparks of chakra. Then, she slammed it on the boy's abdomen, where the seal of the fox had been placed thirteen years prior. The sparks of chakra burned a new seal on top of the old one.

"I would rather not deal with you right now." Said the woman calmly as she took her tongue back and let the boy fall down.

His aura disappeared and he lost consciousness. With a single jutsu, the boy who all of a sudden achieved such power, had been defeated.

"It's your turn now, Sasuke." She said quite playfully.

The heir of the Uchiha was not so excited about the idea, and immediately tried to approach the now unconscious Naruto. However, the woman stood in his way.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan once again, figuring that their battle was just inevitable. He was visibly shaking.

"Go on, attack me." She insisted.

The avenger jumped back and tried to reach one of the many branches, but his left leg did not respond and he fell down. He tried to stand up but the woman was already on him.

He desperately tried to throw a barrage of shuriken, but she melted into the ground like water. Then, she emerged once again.

As soon as he locked glances with her, the images of his defeated, perhaps dead, comrades flashed through his mind constantly for a solid four minutes. He screamed and grabbed his head, unable to do anything.

The woman finally ended the illusion. She carefully stared down at the boy, who was gasping for air and lying defeated on the ground.

"Underwhelming." Was all she said before wrapping her tongue around the boy's neck. "I expected a lot more from the heir of the Uchiha clan. What happened to you?"

Sasuke tried to remove the tongue from his neck, but he was too tired and weak to successfully do so.

"Perhaps, if you pass this final test, you might still be of use to me."

She let the boy go, and he fell on his knees. His legs were greatly hurt, which meant he was not able to run away or attempt anything.

The woman stretched her neck just like she did her tongue, and moved around the boy's head. Once she saw the back of his neck, she opened her mouth and bit him there.

The bite itself was not especially painful, but what came later was worthy of being called hell. A small black mark formed in place of the bite mark, and the woman's neck returned to normal.

"Hopefully, we meet again soon, Sasuke."

The boy began to scream, harder and harder. The pain that was overcoming his body was inhumane, and the mark quickly adopted the form of three tomoe.

The woman melted into the ground as her mission had been completed there. However, something bothered her regardless. Someone had ruined the vessel. The heir of the Uchiha was not only limited by the obvious injuries in his legs, but his confidence had been crushed so much that he had been unable to properly react throughout the battle.

He would have one last chance, one last test. To survive the cursed mark.

Chapter Text

A group of officers of Konoha's intelligence division had been inspecting a green area near some of the training grounds. It normally was a sort of park that led from the village itself to one of the locations of the many training grounds.

In this specific case, the little park was well known by the people of Konoha for its continued straight line of statues of the Sage of Six Paths. They were miniature representations showing him in deep meditation and with a symbol of Konoha on the forehead. However, said symbol had recently been painted over by a group of orthodox followers of Ninshu who disliked governments associating the Sage to them politically.

A local had reported a strange and very strong smell coming from the area, but was unable to find the source.

One of the officers had crawled to check behind the miniature statues of the Sage. In reality, they had already identified the source of the smell. Three corpses of Kusa-nin that had been brutally killed. However, there was something very odd about them.

"Starting out with a problem…" He scratched his head through his spiky hair. "I think we better report this to Lady Anko."

One of the trio nodded and immediately jumped into action. "Yessir!"

He headed as quickly as he could to the main entrance of the Forest of Death, where the chief examiner had been resting ever since the exam began. When he arrived, he found the violet-haired jounin calmly sitting on top of the stand where the piles of paper had previously been placed.

Anko seemed to be in her happy place, enjoying the silence while stuffing her face with dango rice dumplings and oshiruko bean soup. She occasionally threw nails at a nearby tree, slowly forming the symbol of Konoha.

Her content face expression ended, as did the swinging of her legs, when the officer of the Intelligence Division appeared from a cloud of smoke.

"Terrible news, Lady Anko!"

And that's when her smile dropped completely.

She finished swallowing her food before speaking. "What is it?"

"We've found dead bodies, but they're very weird!" Said the officer, while the examiner raised an eyebrow. "You must come see for yourself!"

When the officer arrived at the statues, he was being followed closely by the jounin. She was not especially worried about the situation, nor was she thinking much about it.

Until she saw the corpses, that was.

"Judging from their belongings and the few documents we found, they were shinobi from Kusagakure." Explained one of the three officers. "They were registered to take part in the Chunin Selection Exams."

Anko was completely frozen, though. Her eyes felt like they were shaking, while her stare was set on the blank faces of the corpses. But she was not afraid because of the unsettling sight of faceless corpses. She was afraid because she had seen such a thing before and knew what it meant.

"As you can see, their features are completely gone." Continued the officer. "Their faces are as smooth as though they melted away."

A series of memories flashed before her. She blinked, trying to snap herself back to reality. However, that could not stop her hands from shaking.

"Show me their ID photos," she swiftly turned around to look at the third officer, who was holding a bunch of papers. "At once!"

As she was handed the first photo, it immediately became evident. A young woman with pale skin and purple lipstick. The sweat began to build up on her cheeks as the weight of the situation finally fell on her.

"This is awful! Report this to Lord Hokage immediately and ask that he deploy two additional ANBU to the forest!" She yelled before turning back. By her posture it was clear that she was about to rush for the training ground. "Tell him Orochimaru has returned to the village!"

Before any questions could be asked, she vanished into thin air, as if she had never been there in the first place.

The sun had set and the darkness in the forest only got worse. The nights were usually the times in which the forest was the most inactive during the exams. Mostly because it was so dark that only those with a very trained eye could really take advantage of the lack of light.

Anko had been searching the entire forest as fast as she could, but in the hour and a half she had spent inside she had not been very successful. She swiftly jumped from one branch to the next one, dodging and squeezing through the very dense branches and roots of the massive trees.

She had been one of Orochimaru's students after she graduated. Certainly, she was her favorite of the three due to her superior talent. However, the man experimented on the three regardless of talent. That's how she got the mark on her neck, which her teammates could not survive.

She remained close to him until his lab was uncovered and he was forced to leave the village, only a couple of years after the attack of the Nine-Tails. Unlike most shinobi, she did not try to stop the man. Instead, she even aided his escape, still caring about who had been her teacher. And for the first few months, she was a spy for him from within Konoha.

Their relationship deteriorated very quickly, and Orochimaru disposed of her like she was nothing. After risking her life for him, she was quite hurt by the abandonment. Old man Hiruzen played a very important part in helping her, taking over the old role Orochimaru held for her. That way, she recovered her trust in Konoha, and Konoha recovered its trust in her.

But after all those years, she came to regret not having tried to stop him. With the information she had, she could have been key in the capture of Orochimaru. And for that sense of failure she now felt it was her responsibility to deal with the rogue Sannin.

He had become one of the most wanted criminals in the entire shinobi world, and reached the highest level of security risk in the bingo book. He was also one of Konoha's strongest shinobi in history. And yet, Anko was determined to take the man down all by herself. She had to be the one. Even if it cost her life.

Anko finally landed on a branch, and stood firmly while sharpening her senses.

That sense of responsibility was something he had learned from her master. To fight to the end, regardless of whether her life was on the line.

"That's what I learned from you, Orochimaru."

The man emerged from the trunk of the tree whose branch she was standing on.

"Impossible..!" He exclaimed. She quickly identified that his voice was coming from behind her, and turned around in the blink of an eye.

She pushed a set of four senbon out of her sleeve, and grabbed each one in between fingers. She jumped from the branch and aimed at the man, but he had already launched his tongue against her.

The tongue wrapped around her arm and squeezed her wrist so hard that she dropped her senbon. But far from scared, she pulled the tongue with her arm, and then used her other hand to grab it and pull even harder.

She yelled from the sheer amount of effort she was doing. Two twin snakes emerged from her sleeves and wrapped themselves around the tongue, while biting it multiple times.

Her pull managed to knock the man down, who was forced to retract his tongue. His face, however, showed excitement rather than anger or surprise. He used the same force she had been using to pull him in to then put his back first and hit her against the tree behind her.

The pain in her torso from the hit forced her to widen her eyes, and then she saw the opening. She grabbed his arm and switched positions, placing his body against the tree. Then, without letting go of his hand, she nailed both his and her own against the tree using a kunai.

With so much adrenaline in her body, she did not feel the stabbing on her hand at all. Once she had him at her mercy, pressed against the trunk of a tree and nailed to her own hand by a kunai, she confidently smirked. Though in that smile, there was also some relief.

She breathed heavily, while her face was covered in sweat. "Lend me a hand, will you?"

She began to make a combination of seals with her master's hand. For both of them, it was a very familiar combination. One of their ultimate jutsu for desperate moments, just like that one.

Orochimaru's eyes widened in shock, while Anko savored victory.

"That's right, we're going to die here together!"

But before she could make the final seal, she felt a stinging pain on her neck. She barely resisted the need to throw up.

"You mean commit suicide? How cute!" The echoing voice of the Sannin was followed by his characteristic giggles. "That's a shadow clone, dear."

Indeed, the Orochimaru she had been fighting exploded into a cloud of smoke. The shock followed by the intense pain coming from her cursed seal mark forced her to her knees.

"Since, for now, it seems you've become a jounin, you shouldn't just squander every secret I taught you."

She punched the branch she was on while moaning from pain. "Why now?!"

The Sannin grabbed onto the skin of his face and took it off like it was a mere mask. What came off was very similar to the old skin that came off reptiles who were shedding.

"For old times' sake, my dearest Anko!" He smirked. "But from your face, one could almost suspect you are not glad to see me again!"

Anko fought her hardest against the burning and expanding pain of the cursed seal and tried to stand up. So far, she had not been successful.

"What is it? An assassination attempt on Lord Third?"

Orochimaru cackled at her guesses. "I couldn't, my dear! I lack the resources and hubris to attempt something like that!"

She began to shake as she once again was forced down from the pain. The fight was over.

"I'm more scouting for young talent with extraordinary abilities! You know me!" His smile grew a little. "In fact, I already left a mark on one of the boys!"

Anko tried to rise once again, revealing her face completely dampened in sweat and with bags already formed around her eyes.

"You… monster…" She was driving her nails deep in her skin around the mark on her neck, trying to distract her nerves with another, newer pain. "Does the thought of him… give you a charge…?"

"Sadly, he didn't make it. In an hour or so he had died. I'm quite disappointed!" The man would have wanted to smile confidently, but he sighed instead. "You know, that kid was exceptional! He was one of the last of his bloodline, the Uchiha."

While her consciousness was beginning to give in, the news of the death of the heir of the Uchiha only made things worse.

"You…"

"Though, my dearest Anko, I have reason to suspect that somebody ruined him! His legs were injured and his equilibrium was lacking." His light-heartedness and smile were replaced by a frown of dissatisfaction. "I don't know if you, Konoha, purposely ruined my preferred vessel, but it was not a pleasant move to do. Your punishment, regardless, will be to have to respond for Sasuke Uchiha's death."

The drops of her sweat had already formed a small puddle on the branch. Her eyes just showed that she was about to pass out.

"Oh, and don't even think about ending the exam! I plan to enjoy this." He finally stood up, figuring it would not make sense to talk to his unconscious former student. "If you attempt anything to stop it, it will spell the end of Konoha!"

As he disappeared into a cloud of smoke, she collapsed on the branch. Due to her sweat, she slipped and fell all the way down to the ground.

A few days had passed ever since the Namekian disappeared out of nowhere. In that time, Gohan had been unable to find any clues or get a concrete idea as to why he could have left so suddenly. However, for as long as he had known his master, he had known that he could trust him. Therefore, he decided to give him space.

There were a couple of reasons why Gohan should stay regardless. Firstly, he had to take care of their new home in that strange world. Secondly, the senzu beans that were starting to grow from the plant. And thirdly, he had to take care of Sakura and help her with training.

That specific day went by normally. It rained a little early in the morning, but it stopped quite quickly and soon the sun shone over the forest. The two pre-teens ate their usual breakfast of fish and rested a little before jumping into the girl's training.

She had progressed impressively quickly. She could fly with relative ease, though not as fast as Gohan given she was weaker and still not at her hundred percent.

And her training to sense energies was not the exception. So far, she was already able to sense energy signals that were close to her.

The afternoon came by very quickly. The days had been flying ever since they found themselves in that new world. The sun began to set and it was time for the Saiyan to make the fire.

Sakura sat in front of the usual place while the boy threw a small Ki ball at the several branches and pieces of wood they had gathered. The fire emerged fiercely from the initial sparks caused by the small explosion.

"You know where Mr. Piccolo is, right?"

Gohan nodded while still looking at the fire.

"Any idea why he might've left for so long?"

The boy shrugged. "My guess is he went to meditate by himself. He did that a lot back home."

She thought about it for a few seconds, but ultimately decided it would be best to leave the topic alone. Sakura still did not know them well enough and felt it was not her place to pressure them too much. Plus, Gohan seemed comfortable with how the situation was unfolding, which meant there was no fixing to be done.

"And how did you meet him?"

"Well, he used to be my father's rival, but when my uncle attacked they joined forces." He finally sat down next to her. "Dad died in battle but Mr. Piccolo took me and trained me."

"I'm sorry…" Said Sakura, a bit saddened thinking she had asked about a tough topic.

However, a familiar deep voice coming from behind them was the one to reply.

"Don't be. His father came back and beat the bad guys."

The two pre-teens turned around and saw that the Namekian had returned. He wore the usual attire, but he was not alone. Grabbing onto Piccolo's legs were two small green hands, and a little head was peeking from behind them.

Gohan's eyes widened while Sakura rushed to the little thing as if it was a cute puppy. The older Namekian pet her in the head and pushed her back gently.

"Let's better avoid that." Said Piccolo while cringing.

"You had a son, Mr. Piccolo?!"

"Kami's idea."

Chapter Text

Anko, still recovering from her fight against her former master, was pacing across a hospital hallway. She was trying to keep up with the old Hokage, who despite his age remained quite a fast individual.

The two of them walked past a series of patients and nurses that were quite surprised to see the Hokage himself in the building. He did occasional visits every month, and he had already visited a week prior to the Chunin Exams.

Hiruzen finally reached the door he was looking for. Room 513. He opened the door with so much strength that one could almost say he slammed it. 

Inside, a group of doctors were performing surgery on someone. The curtains of the rooms were closed, and so the only light inside was that from the lamps used specifically for the purpose of the surgeons.

The old man cautiously walked around the doctors, looking for an opening through which to look at the surgery itself. He found very quickly that said spot had been already found by a figure hiding in the shadows.

Danzo had been present there ever since the medical process began, and had been carefully watching every movement for the past hour. He nodded in acknowledgement of the Hokage and the violet-haired jounin that followed.

“You may continue, Anko.” Ordered Sarutobi, briefly glancing at her. They had been speaking already just outside the building, but the announcement of the imminent end of the surgery forced him to rush into the room.

“That lying bastard said he was dead.” Said the young woman, not really continuing their conversation.

“Hm?” Danzo turned around at the same time as the Hokage, both being quite intrigued at her comment.

“During our battle, he said Uchiha had died as a result of the seal.”

“Orochimaru told no lies.” Replied Danzo with his usual tone. It was interesting how, when in the dark, he always turned to look at everyone, unlike out in the open when he always kept his head lowered. “Sasuke Uchiha was found with no pulse.”

Anko turned to the advisor with considerable shock on her face.

“The medics in front of us are keeping him alive artificially, trying to stabilize his body.” He wished he could smoke from his pipe in that room. “It’s unlikely he will make it but we have to try.”

“His eyes…” Said Anko, remembering her conversation with Orochimaru. “Did he…?”

Danzo looked away and kept his eyes set on the surgery. Instead, Hiruzen knew he would have to be the one to answer. 

“Yes.”

“So the Uchiha clan is lost.” The young woman placed her hand on her forehead and face, wiping some of her sweat.

The advisor remained silent. He debated himself on whether to offer a reply, but after briefly glancing at his old friend and active leader of the village, he finally decided to add nothing.

After fifteen more minutes, one of the doctors stepped away from the boy and removed her gloves. She cracked her knuckles before turning around and walking towards the elders and the young woman.

As the doctor shook her head, it became evident that the expected outcome was the one to take place. Despite all their efforts, the heir of the Uchiha had died.

“So what’s his name?” Asked Gohan while scratching his left cheek. 

Piccolo looked away. A drop of sweat fell down his cheek while he finally decided to answer. It was already embarrassing enough having to present his newborn child.

“I thought of Katas but I’m not sure yet.” He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the conversation Kami and Nail were having inside his head. “Do you have any ideas?”

“How about Little Green?” Suggested Sakura while staring at the little Namekian with great admiration.

The newborn was wearing the same attire as Piccolo and Gohan, just in miniature. However, he was still hiding behind his father’s legs, terrified of the strangers. It was natural, as he was not only a baby, but also had never seen humans before.

Piccolo cringed quite heavily at the girl’s suggestion. Both him and his student knew that name was out of the question almost instantly.

The Saiyan scratched his chin, unsure of what to name him. Perhaps Dende would be a nice name, but maybe it was not appropriate to give off a name in honor of someone who was probably still alive.

“How about… Miushi?” Gohan raised his finger as he found an idea he liked. 

Piccolo nodded in approval, while the pink-haired girl stood up and thought about it for a second. She was not sure about the boy’s suggestion, as it kinda sounded like ‘umiushi’, which meant sea slug. 

“Sounds too similar to something else… The poor baby could be bullied or something!” She shook her head to further confirm her disagreement. “However, how about Akira? Isn’t that a cool name?”

Gohan was surprised at first, but really liked the idea, so he gave her a thumbs up. On the other hand, Piccolo shrugged.

“I liked Miushi better but I’ll take your suggestion.”

A tall and bulky man was calmly sitting on a wooden bench in the middle of a regular park. That day had been quite sunny, and he wanted to take advantage of the nice sunlight. However, he had another reason to be there, other than sunbathing. 

The birds were singing while kids, supervised by their parents, ran from one side to the other. He missed the days when he was the one chasing his friends. Childhood friends whom he had not seen in decades.

The man had brought two notebooks with him, hoping to get some work done in the meantime. In one, which had a blue cover, he wrote the notes from his research. In the other, which had a red cover, he had been writing the manuscript for his next novel. It had been a few years since he had published the last one, but it had been a little harder for him to focus solely on writing.

“How’s the book going?” The familiar warm voice of an old man caught the attention of the relaxed man. He was kind of surprised as it was still a little early.

“Well, slow but I think it’s the best I’ve written in years!” Replied the tall man with some excitement. He grabbed the notebooks and put them on his lap. “Come, sit down, old man!”

“Glad that you’re happy with your writing, Jiraiya. I was worried that you would have dropped it entirely after we began giving you so much work.” Continued the old Hokage as he sat down on the bench. He breathed in some of the fresh air of that nice morning.

“So what was it that you wanted to tell me?” Asked the Sannin, while turning to look at his master.

While his face remained serene, the Hokage’s smile certainly fell down. The news was complicated, though admittedly they could be worse.

“Well, Naruto and his team were attacked by Orochimaru. He killed Sasuke Uchiha and took his eyes. I believe he also reinforced the seal of the Nine-Tails.” He looked away once he noticed his student’s shocked facial expression. “We have good reason to believe he is still in Konoha and that he has been plotting something.”

“You’re gonna cancel the exams?”

The old man shook his head. “I’m afraid Orochimaru threatened with destroying Konoha if the Exams were to end.”

The Sannin could only rub his forehead at the several unfortunate and even terrible news that had just been delivered to him. 

“Danzo is already in the process of finding replacements for team 7.”

“No need, I’ll take him.”

Hiruzen turned his head at his student, pretending to be unsure of what he meant.

“I’ll take Naruto.” Repeated the man with the long, white hair. He already had it planned, but with all the horrible things happening around the boy he decided to drop his old plan and just go meet him directly. “I’ve received information that he is in danger. I’ll train him.”

“Danzo received the same information.” The old man glanced back at the grass over which the many kids were playing. “Make sure to do some training of your own, Jiraiya. I can’t promise to beat Orochimaru if the situation comes to that.”

The Sannin nodded, but gulped almost immediately after. Several years had gone by since he fought his teammate when he left the village. The fight had been close, but ultimately every attempt he made was useless to defeat him. If the Third Hokage could not promise to beat him, then Jiraiya could not either.

In the corners right underneath the terrace of one of the bigger temples in Konoha, two figures stood right behind a series of pillars. That way, the shadows absorbed their bodies, and hid their full appearance from whoever was walking past the place. 

Both were men, wearing their shinobi attires. One was a jounin from Otogakure, wearing the full uniform, which was very similar to Konoha’s own. The other wore a hitai-ate with the symbol of Konoha, but was paradoxically kneeling in front of the foreign shinobi.

“The eyes have been delivered to the central base of operations.” Said the leaf-nin, whose long gray hair was tied into a ponytail. “I shall proceed with the surgery upon my return to Otogakure.”

“There was something odd about him when I fought him.” Replied the jounin. The way he talked it seemed like he was whispering, almost resembling the hiss of a snake.

The leaf-nin stood up straight while pushing his glasses back in place. “I noticed an injury in both legs and, given his lack of equilibrium, possibly some damage to the spine as well.”

“Someone ruined him.” Hissed the jounin. 

“I heard about Team 7’s last mission before the Chunin Selection Exams.” Said Kabuto. “And I believe that might be where he was ruined.”

The oto-nin’s yellow eyes turned to the leaf-nin. His stare was just as cold as his pale skin, and just as unsettling as his overall appearance. 

“They were said to go fight off some demons in the northern regions of Konoha. A rural town of farmers, the hometown of the ancient Saru clan, from where the Sarutobi are said to have descended.” He kept his middle finger right over his glasses as he spoke, focusing on remembering the details as accurately as possible. “However, Kakashi returned before the estimated date and reported a tactical retreat and one casualty among his students.”

“Demons?” Orochimaru sounded almost offended by the uttering of such nonsense in his presence. “Possibly missing-nin, or worse…”

A familiar pattern of red clouds on black cloth passed through his mind during the brief silence.

“The rest are rumors, I’m afraid. But Kakashi said one of them had green skin.”

The Sannin’s eyes snapped wide open. Only one shinobi came to mind under that description, and it was not good news that Konoha had already directly faced him.

“This complicates things…” The man gritted his teeth before forcing one of his signature unnaturally wide smiles. “For now, focus on your duties, dear Kabuto. Our plan shall go on.”

Kabuto smiled too, though with genuine confidence. “I sense some worry in you, my lord…”

“I certainly have my reasons for some concern. It’s only natural when you plan such an ambitious invasion…”

Chapter Text

"You're a total mess." Said Shikamaru at the sight of the just woken up Naruto.

Almost a month had passed since the preliminaries of the Chunin Exams, and now only three days were in between them and the finals. As for the blonde boy, he had been put into the same room as the only other teammate of his that survived the incident in the Forest of Death. However, the purple-haired girl was yet to wake up.

The boy was connected to several tubes, both infusing serum and helping the circulation of his chakra. And up until he woke up, he had been wearing an oxygen mask. He normally healed very quickly, but the fact that he was out for so long showed how much of a beating he had taken. The medics, however, believed there was an additional factor in the new seal that was placed over the Fourth Hokage's.

Nara had not been the only one to visit the blonde boy that day. Alongside him were Ino and Chouji, while further behind, lying on the wall, was Kakashi. The jounin, like usual, was reading his favorite book in the 'Icha Icha' series.

However, when the boy regained consciousness, only the silver-haired shinobi was there with him. He had been visiting every day throughout that month, making sure he progressed correctly. He was also aware that, once the boy was fully recovered, his godfather would be the one to take him for a long while.

Naruto was the last of his original students, and for such, alongside the personal ties to his father, the jounin had a deep care for him.

"I'm so sorry." Said Ino while approaching the boy to hug him.

When team 10 arrived, he had already been informed of the tragic fate of his teammate and rival. As expected, it had hit Naruto like a bullet straight to the heart, and the tears were yet to stop flowing.

"So, uh, I don't know if you still care but Kiba and I made it to the finals." Shikamaru tried to change the topic to lighten the mood. "You're invited to cheer me up if you want."

"Of course not!" Naruto snapped. His mood swing was so sudden that Ino flinched. "I'll be busy training to become strong enough so no one ever dies again!"

Chouji frowned at the mix of determination and sadness in the blonde's face. He had not seen such sorrow in him ever since the days of the academy.

Shikamaru sighed, but figured it was the expected reaction. "You might learn a thing or two if you watch the matches."

"He's right, Naruto." He put his book down for the first time in hours. "I can go with you, if you want."

"No, really…" His voice softened this time. "I'll be busy training…"

His single visible eye fell a little with disappointment. It was a good chance for him to forget about everything that was going on and also learn a thing or two about some strong shinobi.

Then, said eye snapped wide open. "Oh! I almost forgot."

The members of team 10 turned to look at the jounin, who in turn pointed at a cup filled with flowers of several different species that had been placed on his table. It had been noticed by them once they entered the room, but they figured it was standard decoration for the hospital.

"Hinata left those for you. She came while you were still asleep." Explained the jounin.

"But she was severely injured!" Said Ino, quite impressed by the claim that the feeble Hyuga could have visited Naruto. However, she was even more impressed by the complexity of the floral arrangement. Only a noble could possibly have access to it, mostly because of flowers like the jofuku, which were very rare.

Kakashi shrugged. "She came in with crutches and was helped by a maid or something."

Throughout the month, Gohan and Piccolo had been focused on helping the young Akira with basic training. Not only focused on Ki control, but also in the domination of magic. After all, the little Namekian was part of the Dragon clan, unlike his father.

Piccolo had explained Kami's plan to his student, which was the sole reason he even got through the problem of giving birth to a baby. Akira was to be trained to become the new Kami of that Earth, and with that he would create a new lookout and a new set of Dragon Balls.

Of course, all of this had been hidden from Sakura, who thought they were just training the boy to be a warrior like them. Gohan told her it was a tradition among them, using the argument of himself being trained as a little kid.

Piccolo figured it would be better to hide the Dragon Balls from mercenaries.

That day, the older Namekian would be the one to take care of Akira's training, as it was purely about Dragon Clan magic, and he was the one who had absorbed Kami. For such, Gohan was supposed to have a day off.

Sakura knew this, and for such she decided to finally approach him and ask him a favor.

The Saiyan was lying on the grass, sleeping while the warmth of the sun bathed his skin. Ever since they arrived, the climate had been mostly sunny, with few days of actual rain.

"Um, Gohan." She said while standing right next to him.

He sat up, mostly because the girl was blocking the sun for him. "Yeah?"

"I was thinking of going back to Konoha and I wondered if you wanted to go with me." She explained.

At that point, she could go back alone and whenever she wanted. However, her time with the boy and his master had been quite fun, and even more so with the newest addition to the group. That had been holding her back from returning home, but now she could not possibly delay it further. She needed to go back and see her parents.

"Why not?" Replied the boy cheerfully. He jumped and floated a little to make sure he landed properly.

His warm smile reminded her of why she wanted him to accompany her. After so long, many things could have changed. And she did not want to just face everything all alone.

"Should we get going?!"

"Yeah!" Replied Sakura, with a warm smile of her own.

It was time to meet her friends and family once again.

Later that same day, a certain tall man with very long and spiky white hair had arrived at Naruto's room. However, unlike any normal person, he entered by breaking the window and making ridiculous poses. This caught Naruto by surprise, but not so much Kakashi, who seemed unimpressed and continued reading his book.

It did not take very long for the strange man to realize he had landed facing the wall. After cringing, he turned around to face the blonde kid, and once again struck the same pose. He smirked confidently, while awaiting for what he thought would be an inevitable question from the boy.

However, Naruto remained silent, unsure of how to react. Jiraiya was forced to take the reins of the situation, so as to save his act.

"Ha! I know you must be wondering 'who's that cool young guy that just entered through the window'? And I just happen to have the answer!" As he laughed quite loudly, the silver-haired man sitting in the corner of the room wanted to just disappear. "I am the most holy hermit sage of the toads of Mount Myoboku, also known as the Toad Sage! Pleased to meet ya!"

A cold drop of sweat went down Naruto's forehead while he did the exact same face as his jounin master.

The man with the white hair then stood firmly to scratch his chin. "I guess they also know me as Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin but I'm not sure how popular that name is these days."

Then, Naruto's jaw dropped. That name he did recognize, but he was a little disappointed that such a legendary shinobi turned out to be a ridiculous old sage. As for Kakashi, he facepalmed and shook his head.

Still sweating from the embarrassment, Naruto pointed at the strange man. "And what the hell are you doing here, weirdo?!"

The confident smirk returned to the sage's face. He struck the exact same pose as before and enjoyed it for around five seconds, thinking he looked all cool and imposing.

"Well, kiddo, Lord Third Hokage himself has asked me to become your teacher!"

"No, thanks."

The boy's response caused the sage to immediately fall on his back. Kakashi hid his giggles behind his book, which he was already struggling to contain.

"Ungrateful little brat!" Yelled a now furious Jiraiya as he stood back up. "Not like it's your choice anyways, it's direct orders from the boss himself!"

Naruto shrugged. "That old geezer can't tell me what to do! Plus, I'll be training with Kakashi, a real shinobi!"

The silver-haired jounin then cleared his throat to announce his entrance into the conversation. That was the first time Jiraiya realized the man had been in the room the whole time, and he felt a little embarrassed.

"Um, about that, Naruto." He scratched his face through his cloth face mask. "I'll be busy and I haven't fully recovered yet, so I think it's better if you take his offer."

The blonde boy was a little disappointed. After all they had gone through, not even then did his master want to train him. He lowered his head a little, figuring he had run out of options.

Jiraiya turned to the silver-haired jounin, who shrugged at him. Then, he approached the boy and gave him a few pats on the head.

"Hey, don't be sad. I'll make you into someone as cool as me!"

"I don't wanna be a weird clown."

The sage's right eyebrow began to tick. "I meant a legendary shinobi, you stupid brat!"

The boy sighed, assuming his fate. "When are we starting?"

Jiraiya's face softened as the boy finally accepted training with him, even if reluctantly. His previously furious facial expression was replaced by a warm smile, followed by a confident smirk.

"Right now!"

Naruto was surprised, but he would not step away from a challenge. If anything, it helped him get a little excited, though it was hard after all the information he had to process that day.

"I gotta get my clothes, be right back." Was all he said before jumping out of his bed and leaving the room.

The silence in the room did not last long, as the sage and the jounin needed to have a certain conversation.

"Kakashi, tell me something." The Sannin did not turn around to face the man.

The jounin raised his head from the book he was reading, having a series of assumptions about what the man could ask him.

"What was it exactly that you encountered in your mission to the North?"

"Oh, so you know about it." Replied the silver-haired man with forced cheerfulness. "Well, I'm still not sold on the idea, but they might as well have been real demons."

"How so?"

He finally put his book down. "Well, one had green skin and both of them were strong enough to take me and the fox out with relative ease. Not even a drop of sweat."

Jiraiya turned around, revealing that his eyes had opened wide. "So that's why the seal was weakened, the Nine-Tails was put in danger."

"I don't think the fox unleashed much of its power but… I'd say it was in danger, yes." Explained Kakashi, with still some of his forced cheerfulness remaining.

"I have to ask," began the Sannin, announcing further advances in his questioning, "did they wear black cloaks, with red clouds on them?"

Kakashi thought about it for a couple of seconds, before finally shaking his head. "I don't think so. They wore more like… basic purple clothes."

The tall man could not tell whether those were good or bad news. It could perfectly mean that, on top of the organization he had been chasing and investigating for years now, there was another, with members just as or more powerful.

"We'll have to worry about that later, though." Continued the jounin. "I heard that there are plans to destroy Konoha."

Jiraiya sighed. "Indeed. They will attack on the day of the finals, according to our estimations."

"Orochimaru stole Sasuke's eyes after killing him."

"That bastard is really causing a lot of trouble, huh?" For a few seconds, he remembered the final moments of their fight, all those years ago. When he could have prevented so much. "Well, I hope either the old geezer or me will be able to stop him, but to be honest, I don't know for sure."

Chapter Text

"Oh, man." Shikamaru sighed as Kiba was carried away on a stretcher. His furry companion, Akamaru, was also lying on the torso of his human friend, just as badly beaten up.

Despite their conversation about women being weak just a few minutes prior to the fight, Inuzuka had just gotten his ass demolished by Tenten, the female teammate of Rock Lee and Neji.

He was completely knocked out, while the girl was only a little agitated. Her physique was far ahead of their own, and made Nara seriously question their prowess as mere rookie genin. It even made him question how they made it to the finals in the first place.

She simply walked past the boy of the ponytail, which he took as disrespect. He could not deny he was starting to get nervous, especially as his own opponent was the blonde girl that destroyed Chouji with barely any effort.

For now, though, there was one more match ahead before his own. That of Neji, the Hyuga prodigy that nearly got Hinata killed in the preliminaries. However, this match would not be as easy, as he was going to face the redhead freak that almost killed Minoji, his opponent in the preliminaries.

Rock Lee was cheering for his teammates like there was no tomorrow. Alongside the trio of suna-nin, they were the only complete team still participating in the exams.

"Good job, Tenten!" He gave the girl a thumbs up accompanied with his shiny smile, which caused a little blush on the girl's face. "Go, go, Neji!"

The Hyuga ignored the cheers of his teammates and jumped directly into the arena from the fence of the platform of the participants. Immediately, the intense roars and cheers of the audience filled his ears. Even if he preferred silence, he could not say he minded the noise of the stadium.

As for the boy of the red hair, he calmly walked down the stairs all the way to the actual entrance of the arena. He took his time, and when he emerged from the tunnel, blood was soaking from his clothes and the few traces of sand still visible floating around him. As he walked forward, he stained the vibrant green color of the grass with dark tones of red.

Not only Neji was unsettled by this, but also the referee, Hayate, who believed the tunnel to be empty and closed.

The sickly man gulped before forcing himself to keep his stuff together.

The prodigy of the Hyuga clan thought a good way to reply to that would be to immediately adopt his fighting stance, that characteristic of the Gentle Fist style. The veins around his eyes emerged from his skin as he focused his chakra on them. Very few sights were as intimidating as that of the Byakugan.

"Alright, the rules have already been explained. I will intervene if there is a clear winner, without the need of one dying." The proctor wanted that to be as clear as possible.

Neither of the genin replied, instead giving each other deadly stares filled with killing intent.

The sickly jounin sighed and then extended his arm into the small space between the two genin. He hesitated for a few seconds, before removing his arm and yelling. "Begin!"

Meanwhile, among the audience, a group of the already eliminated genin gathered to watch their old and new friends compete in the final phase. Ino and Chouji were sitting alongside the members of team Shibire, whom they had met in the preliminaries.

One of them, and whose name was used for the overall team, was the leader, other than their assigned jounin. His hair was brown and he had thick sideburns, though no trace of a beard.

As for Minoji, he was the shorter member of his team, but was also a year younger due to his good grades getting him a year ahead of his generation. His dark hair was a little curly, though not long enough to show much, while his most distinctive characteristic were the green lines tattooed on the skin between his eyes and ears.

Then there was Tanzo, possibly the one who had gotten closer to team 10 due to his match against Shikamaru. He was not too different from Nara, as he was also a little lazy and definitely the smarter member of his team. His black hair was styled similarly to that of Sasuke, though he wore his hitai-ate on his chin.

Behind the genin, the masters of teams 7, 10, 8, as well as teams Guy and Shibire, were also sitting together. The assigned jounin for team Shibire was Ken Utatane, who very characteristically wore a construction helmet over his hitai-ate, as well as a pair of safety glasses.

"Is Naruto really not going to come?" Asked Ino while turning around.

"He is busy training." Replied Kakashi with his usual tone. "Believe me, I tried to convince him."

"I think he could've used a little distraction." Continued the girl.

"What a shame." Chouji added. "Hopefully he is doing a little better."

"I do wonder where Shino and Hinata are."

Akimichi turned around to look at his blonde teammate. "No idea about Shino but Hinata is probably still in the hospital."

"That Neji guy really fucked her up." Added Tanzo, though not with much confidence as it was a complicated topic.

"Well, now he's facing a freak of his same caliber."

The central viewing tower was the tallest one in the stadium, and had a special balcony destined for nobles and leaders of the many nations of the shinobi world. For the specific case of the Chunin Selection Exams, which was the main use given to said building, the tower was destined for the leaders of those nations that reached the final phase of the exam, and who would act as juries to decide whether the participants are worthy of becoming chunin.

For that edition of the exams, only genin from Konoha and Suna had made it. For such, only the Hokage, as the host, and the Kazekage were present on the balcony with their respective elite guards. Despite the alliance between the two nations, their time in the balcony had been mostly silent and tense, with some glances being exchanged periodically.

As the match between Neji Hyuga and Gaara of the Sand was about to begin, a figure, escorted by two ANBU, entered the balcony through the main gate. Half of his face was covered in bandages, while only one of his hands was outside of his gray tunic. His stare was stuck on the floor beneath him as he approached the leader of the host village.

Hiruzen immediately knew it was Danzo, and it made him lower his guard a little. The advisor walked up to the man and moved close to his ear. There, he whispered.

"We should make our move first." Said the man of the gray tunic.

A drop of sweat went down the Third's forehead as he glanced for a split second at the Kazekage, then back to the arena.

"No, we shall not." He cracked his knuckles as he observed the apparent dominance of Neji over his opponent. "After all, we are not entirely sure if Suna is involved and if anything will be attempted. We shall stick to the plan and the established protocols."

Danzo replied with a few seconds of silence. Then, he spoke. "I'll be ready. Black ops squads have been deployed to all key locations of the village. Do you know anything about Jiraiya?"

Sarutobi wiped the sweat that was starting to build up on his forehead. He figured it was starting to become suspicious. "He's in the Forest of Death. He'll be ready for action."

The advisor nodded, not entirely satisfied, and left the same way he arrived. The two ANBU followed, while those who were there guarding the Hokage turned to look at their leader.

The Third cleared his throat before turning once again at the Kazekage. "What an intense match this has been! Don't you agree, Lord Kazekage?"

The leader of Sunagakure turned to look at him and revealed that his eyes were wide open, almost tense. Hiruzen's smile fell slightly.

"Indeed, Lord Hokage." He always spoke almost in whispers. "I'm sure there are more surprises ahead of us."

"Lady Hinata, Neji's match is about to begin." A maid, with the same eyes as every other member of the Hyuga clan, said softly.

The young woman was sitting next to the bed of the still recovering heiress of the main branch. She was holding a book, which she had been reading out to the bored and depressed girl.

The chief of the clan had been very clear to her that Hinata should stay in the hospital, but she thought going to the stadium could ease her mood.

"No, thanks, Natsu."

While always gentle, being forced to deal with the many troubling family dynamics of the main branch of the clan had been very hard for her. It did not matter how many advances she achieved with the daughters of the chieftain, the man would always find a way to regress them.

She opened the book once again, intending to continue reading to the young heiress. The girl was looking out the window, like she had been doing the entire time. Even if the sun was bright and it was midday, she was stuck in bed and felt too humiliated to even try going outside aided by Natsu.

"Musasabi Naruto was taken aback when he entered the hall; there was a strange atmosphere."

It was probably the seventh time Natsu was reading said novel to Hinata, but it was the girl's favorite. Despite the great variety of books she had access to, she always requested the Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, by Lord Jiraiya of the Sannin.

"Mahiru Kokage watched Naruto and spoke to him, unexpectedly. 'You have been badly injured!'"

Just as she uttered that final line, a sound that was not supposed to be there caught her attention. It was almost like something burning. After two seconds, she recognized it and tried to jump onto the girl, who was taken by surprise by the actions of the maid.

An explosion followed and at least three floors collapsed, including part of the one Natsu had just been standing on. The young woman immediately stood on the bed, careful not to step on the heiress, while activating her byakugan.

She looked in every direction, not realizing that it was too late for her to detect the threat on time. The window right behind her broke as one man entered the room from it. Natsu quickly turned around, adopting her gentle fist stance.

However, her move was interrupted by the blade that suddenly stabbed her chest. From behind, another man was just waiting for her to be distracted.

The maid collapsed fairly quickly and slipped from the bed. She fell through the recently destroyed floors and died upon crashing in the lobby.

In her last moment, she was only able to recognize where the two men came from. Their uniforms, wearing pieces of white armor, was clearly that of chunin or jounin from Kumogakure.

Hinata was helpless. She was barely able to breathe correctly after the severe damage received in her chest and lungs by Neji's pummeling. The explosions, and those that followed all across the hospital, only made her paralyzed from the shock and unable to try anything to save herself.

This made it easier for the two kumo-nin to simply abduct her and leave the building just as quickly as they had made it in.

As they reached the roof of the building, they could clearly see as explosions began to set off in almost all of the important buildings of Konoha. The invasion had begun, and a smirk formed on the faces of the kidnappers.

Both Gohan and Sakura had taken flight not too long ago. The former was holding back his speed considerably, however, as the girl was not able to reach such levels yet. The Saiyan also wanted her to enjoy the flight, as he figured that if she was constantly trying to catch up, it would not be exactly a fun experience.

Right before leaving, Piccolo had given Sakura a set of his gi, adjusted especially for her and without any added weight. She had been expressing discomfort with her old clothes, which were quite dirty and damaged after so long without being able to change. As expected, she was quite thankful, even if she was not exactly a fan of the turban, which she removed. Just like Gohan, she kept the cape.

They had been crossing the many forests, grasslands, rivers and lakes of the Land of Fire, which seemed to be quite a lush and naturally rich land despite its misleading name. Sakura had never seen many of those places, and only then truly realized how immense the country was.

However, all of that did not distract her much from the excitement of going back home and meeting with her friends once again.

"Can't wait for you to see Konoha and meet everyone! I'm sure they'll like you." She said.

Gohan laughed nervously, still remembering the assassination attempt very clearly. He had his reasons to doubt the girl's optimism, but figured that having her could perhaps give them a more friendly reputation.

However, the girl suddenly stopped her flight, and simply stood floating midair. The half-blood also stopped and turned around, wondering if something had happened. Her face, previously filled with excitement, had now been overtaken by visible concern.

"Something is wrong." She said, before glancing directly at the Saiyan's eyes. "We're close, I can sense their energies."

Gohan focused on the energies around and in a matter of seconds realized what the girl was talking about. He could very clearly feel as several different energy signals simply vanished out of nowhere. Many people were dying.

"Carry me and let's hurry up!"

The boy nodded. He quickly approached and grabbed her by her left arm. He then charged his Ki, which manifested as a blue aura around him, before shooting out into the skies at such speed that it broke the barrier of sound with ease.

Neji removed his two fingers from the redhead's chest. Blood was coming out of the latter's mouth at very dangerous rates, and the suna-nin collapsed to the ground.

The prodigy of the Hyuga relaxed his posture and returned to a regular stance. Having lowered his hands, he walked away. Several bruises had been accumulated on his face and arms, but ultimately, he was the clear victor of the match.

Hayate slowly and carefully approached to confirm that Gaara was indeed unable to continue the fight. However, a sneeze escaped his nose as he was right next to the boy. This caused the boy's sand to suddenly gather into a massive sphere around him, possibly as a defense mechanism.

The proctor jumped back as purple spikes emerged from the sphere of sand. He turned to the Hyuga, but was unsure whether to call him back.

"The battle is not over yet." He finally stated, which caught the attention of the prodigy.

Neji turned around only to find that a massive arm had emerged from the sphere of sand. It was nothing like a human arm, and several purple veins had formed all over it. It grabbed the prodigy like he was a toy and quickly began increasing the strength of his grip.

In the balcony of the participants, reactions were mixed. Those from Konoha were horrified at the sight of Neji being slowly crushed, while Gaara's teammates exchanged glances and nods.

As feathers began to fall down from the sky, like rain all over the stadium, the two Suna-nin jumped into the arena.

"It's time!"

Shikamaru yelled and tried to stop them, but failed. He turned to the other participants, Neji's teammates, who were just as confused as him.

Unlike Nara, though, both of them knew they had to act quickly.

"That's genjutsu." Tenten recognized before making the kai hand seal to release it.

Shikamaru followed, and the girl then aided Lee in dispelling the jutsu, as he was unable to do it by himself.

"We'll go help Neji, if you want to stay here you're free to do so." Said the girl before jumping into the arena and rushing behind the two Suna-nin.

Lee grabbed the wrappings around his legs and removed a set of very heavy weights from each of them. Then, he loosened the bandages around his arms. Shikamaru's jaw dropped at the small craters left by the weights due to their sheer weight. And yet, nothing could have prepared him for the insane levels of speed the boy displayed the next second.

In the blink of an eye, Rock Lee had reached the sphere of sand, and began attacking it with swift combinations of kicks and punches. In a matter of five seconds, the sphere had been covered with holes all over it.

Nara could not deny that perhaps he was a little lucky that the exams were apparently being interrupted, as he would have been beaten up by such monsters.

As it became clear to Lord Third that a tailed beast was being unleashed upon his village right in front of him, he slowly turned to look at the Kazekage, who was sitting right next to him.

The leader of Sunagakure did so at the exact same time, creating a sequence that for both of them lasted far longer than it really did.

As their eyes finally locked, what was coming became almost obvious. Though, deep inside, Hiruzen hoped that there was still a chance it would not come to it.

"Shall we get going?" Asked the Kazekage.

Behind him, his guards flickered before throwing a smoke grenade right in between the seats of both Kage. The smoke released by the explosion was more than enough to completely cover the balcony and leave it completely out of visibility for anyone that was looking from outside.

The sound of several metallic weapons clashing and even chakra being released was the only thing that reached the ears of the two Kage. However, all of that was easily surpassed by the incomparable sound of the chakra explosion that came from the middle of the arena.

While he could not properly see, Sarutobi knew that sound very well. In fact, he had heard the exact same thing thirteen years prior.

"No…"

Was the only thing the Hokage could utter as he recognized the explosion that came right before a tailed beast was released in its complete form.

There was no doubt anymore. Konohagakure was under attack, and Sunagakure was directly involved.

Chapter Text

"What is going on, master Asuma?" Asked Ino while staring in shock at the scene that was unfolding right in front of her.

She, the genin and the jounin sitting behind them had all released themselves from the genjutsu. However, there was very little they could do to counter the chilling image of the immense monster that had just emerged from an explosion that destroyed half of the stadium.

Resembling a tanuki, the beast had several purple veins all throughout its body, almost as tattoos following a certain pattern. Its claws were of the same color, and its eyes shone with a bright yellow light. It roared after its appearance, and it was almost as intense as the sound of the explosion. Distinctively, it had a single, very long tail.

"I'm afraid that…" Kakashi began, but his words were interrupted by the shock.

It was not a good look that even a shinobi like him, a member of the jounin elite, was just as shocked as the kids at the sight of the creature.

Guy gulped, but managed to finish his rival's words.

"The One-Tail has been released."

Tanzo turned around swiftly, revealing that his eyes were as wide open as they could. "The One-Tail?! As in… One of the legendary tailed beasts?!"

Kurenai nodded in response, while trying to grab the shoulders of the genin to put them behind her and the other jounin.

"But there's no way we can possibly handle this…" Added Chouji. "Not without the Fourth Hokage."

The jounin were left speechless for several seconds. They really did not have an answer or reply for that. Even them had serious concerns for Konoha's ability to deal with such a threat.

"Perhaps…" Ken tried to speak, but not a single name came to mind.

Kakashi, though, did have an idea. "Lord Third is busy, but…"

"But?" Pressed the blonde girl.

"Maybe Jiraiya can pull it off."

A barrage of kunai were then thrown at the group from one of the corners of the viewing tower. Ken immediately reacted and threw a smoke bomb, which covered them in no time.

The jounin took the genin and emerged on the opposite side of the smoke. This had now become a battlefield, and it was no place for genin like them to be in. For such, Kakashi turned to them, already having a set of instructions very clear.

"Leave, now. No questions asked." Said the man of the silver hair. "Go back to the village and help civilians if they're in danger. There are probably ongoing evacuations, so you can help with that. But this is war, and it's better if you avoid trying to fight someone out of your league."

The man then lowered the palm of his hand and summoned his trusty pug.

"Pakkun, guide them. Seek civilians in trouble."

The dog did not seem impressed, but he nodded reluctantly. He then turned to the kids, and the frown on his face got even worse.

"Hurry up, follow me."

In the blink of an eye, the dog vanished into thin air. However, the genin were able to tell where he had gone as a hole was opened through the concrete wall of the tower. From there, they jumped down into the village.

With the explosion, Neji and Lee had been launched backwards with great force. The latter was able to land without major injury, but the already hurt Hyuga crashed directly onto the ground of the arena. He audibly broke several of his bones, and lost consciousness the moment he landed.

Lee and Tenten rushed to him, but he was non-responsive. As the beast roared, it became evident that whatever it was, it was simply on an entirely different level.

The brown-haired girl grabbed the unconscious Hyuga and swiftly began to run towards the exit of the arena. However, the boy in the green spandex did not follow her. Instead, he slowly walked towards the immense beast.

"Lee, what the hell are you doing?!"

As she ran away, she noticed that someone else was approaching the beast. The black hair tied into a ponytail made it obvious who it was.

Shikamaru sighed before making a complex combination of hand seals. "You've completely lost your mind. And so have I."

Lee smirked before an invisible aura covered his body, raising its temperature and pushing his hair upwards. His skin turned to a completely red tone, while instead of sweat, his body began to liberate steam. Several veins all throughout his body became so visible that it seemed painful. His eyes went blank, and finally, his nose bled.

"Third gate, opened!"

Nara frowned before releasing his technique. His shadow sneakily extended to that of the still creature, which seemed to not notice what was going on right underneath it. He turned his head upwards, to check just how tall it was.

His eyes widened when he realized that it easily towered over the main viewing tower of the stadium. Said building only reached its neck.

His shadow finally connected with that of the beast. However, almost instantly, massive amounts of chakra were channeled through the recently connected shadows. Steam accumulated right underneath Shikamaru before the floor exploded and sent him flying against a nearby tree.

As he stood up after the crash, he coughed up some blood.

"What the hell?!"

Lee's body flickered and only reappeared for a few milliseconds on his way to the creature's head. Several small expansive waves formed on the spots where he either punched or kicked. However, his final objective was the creature's face. More specifically, its eyes.

"We need to get him out of there!" Yelled Tenten while she carefully left Neji on the ground right next to the exit.

She took the scroll she usually carried on her back and swiftly summoned a kusarigama. She nailed the scythe on the creature's skin, and noticed that it was made out of sand.

The skin slowly absorbed the weapon, and the girl had to eventually let go of it. She then turned to look at Nara, who was slowly walking towards her. His hand was carefully placed over his own ribs, some of which had been broken upon impact.

"I don't think there's much we can do." Admitted Shikamaru, before once again looking up.

Lee had finally reached the head of the creature, and was about to land a straight kick into its eyes. Steam was coming out of his skin to such an extent that it blocked a lot of the view.

However, all of a sudden Lee was nowhere to be seen, and in his place there was only a sort of pillar of sand. The structure slowly lowered, returning to normal. And finally, the creature took its first step.

The step itself was like over fifty explosive seals going off, and left a massive crater on the ground of the arena.

Both Tenten's and Shikamaru's eyes widened like plates, but their shock acted against them. They found themselves paralyzed.

"Run, now!"

Lee's voice was finally heard by the genin, who turned to look behind them. The boy with bushy eyebrows had landed on one of the trees of the arena, but his skin had returned to normal. He was visibly exhausted and his body was completely dampened by sweat.

"Take Neji and let's go. That thing… There's nothing we can do."

Both Shikamaru and Tenten nodded before rushing to the exit. This time, the boy wearing the green spandex followed. His speed was far greater, but he made sure to not lose them as he knew they would probably need help given their injuries and exhaustion.

"We should take him to the hospital, he's very badly injured." Said Tenten as Lee punched through the walls of the tunnels to escape more hastily. "Both Nara and Neji."

It had been a normal day in the Forest of Death. If anything, it was only unusually sunny, which made it a little less deadly.

However, said day was interrupted by the massive explosion in the middle of the arena of the stadium. Not only was it heard all throughout Konoha, but it caused the ground to shake quite heavily. Birds flew away and terrestrial animals ran in the opposite direction.

Naruto was breathing heavily from his training in the water, while Jiraiya climbed one of the taller trees that were next to the river. What he saw was certainly unpleasant to him.

"Fuck."

The blonde boy got out of the water and let himself fall to the floor. He waited patiently for his new teacher to come down the tree, even if it took a couple of minutes. He even took the chance to drink some of the water of the river, and eat one of the pieces of bread his master had left on the ground after the explosion.

The Sannin finally touched down. However, he ignored his new pupil. He dived into his thoughts while summoning a set of scrolls. He swiftly looked through them and eventually selected two, which he tied up to a belt.

"What the hell was that, pervy sage?" Asked the tired boy.

Jiraiya was reminded of his existence, so he gasped a little. "Ah, right, you."

Naruto fell on his back in reaction to his new master forgetting about him so quickly.

"Well, things got a little complicated, is all."

"That explosion, earthquake, whatever, was very strong." The boy squinted at his new master. "I'm not stupid! What the hell is going on?!"

The tall man sighed as he was forced to tell the truth. "Konoha is under attack, kid."

Naruto's angry facial expression dropped. It softened to more of a concerned one, almost a shocked one. For him, and for many more, the thought of the village being invaded was simply inconceivable.

"But you stay here. Keep trying that exercise." He turned his back on the boy. "It's not safe for you to go out there, and I'll be back soon anyway."

"No, wait…!"

Naruto's attempt to stop the man was futile, as he vanished into a cloud of smoke and disappeared without a trace. But he would not just sit back and watch.

He climbed the same tree as his new master, and tried his best to look past the forest. He identified several massive clouds of smoke emerging from what seemed to be the village. It took him a while, but after a few seconds he finally saw it.
The Shukaku's head sticking out of the stadium, towering over it. His eyes widened, before shaking his head. In the place of shock, he forced determination onto his face.

What would Sasuke think if he just sat back and did nothing? He would totally be pissed about it.

"No way I let that happen!" He grabbed his orange jumpsuit and put it back on, and then did the same with his hitai-ate. "I cannot become the Hokage if I can't protect the village! So it's time to show 'em!"

A cloaked ANBU was being escorted by two oto-nin while heading for the Academy. The man wearing the porcelain mask had been responsible for casting the genjutsu on the stadium, but after that, he no longer had a part to play in there. For such, he figured he could help elsewhere.

They jumped across the wall of Konoha's Shinobi Academy, and swiftly made their way through the schoolyard. It was mostly empty and, unlike what was planned, the building had not blown up like the other relevant locations of the village.

The cloaked man beckoned the oto-nin to stand back before placing an explosive seal on the closed main doors of the building. Then, he jumped back while the doors succumbed to the explosion. He rushed inside and his two subordinates followed.

It did not take him very long to realize that they were unable to move past classroom number 105. He stopped seemingly out of nowhere, and turned around.

"I know this one." Said the man as he removed his porcelain mask.

A pair of circular glasses were revealed, as well as very long gray hair tied into a ponytail.

"You can come out, Anko." Said Kabuto while a smirk formed on his face. "I'll allow you to entertain me while my friends here destroy this place and everyone inside it."

The ceiling above him then collapsed, as something was falling from the second floor. The man barely managed to dodge the falling debris by jumping away.

As the rubble and dust finally cleared a little, a familiar violet-haired woman was revealed to indeed be the one behind the sudden collapse of the ceiling.

"Nice to finally meet you, Kabuto." Greeted the jounin while showing off her teeth with a wide smile.

"Lord Orochimaru has spoken a lot about you." He finally threw the mask away, causing it to break when it impacted against the wall. "So I'm afraid you will be unable to surprise me."

"We shall see."

She quickly pointed her right arm at Kabuto, launching four snakes straight at him. The man vanished into a small cloud of smoke, replaced by a simple piece of concrete. The woman then pushed three needles from the sleeve of her left arm, and launched them as hard as she could at the other two oto-nin.

The needles hit the wall at the end of the hallway, but failed to catch the masked shinobi as they managed to continue their way to the next floor. She knew it would take them time to find the students and teachers though, so there was margin for her.

Kabuto reappeared behind her, with a chakra scalpel formed on his right hand. The woman felt the heat approaching her shoulder.

Another snake emerged from the neck of her overcoat, jumping into the gray-haired man and biting his nose.

The traitor yelled in pain and stepped back as he used his blade to cut the snake in half. As he finally removed the still biting head of the animal, he received a kick straight to his face. In response, he tried to slash back at the woman, but only managed to cut off a strand of hair.

Anko pulled herself back with the chakra threads she had attached to the needles, and gained some healthy distance.

The man's chakra blade dissipated from his hand while the two elite shinobi stared down at each other.

They began making complex combinations of hand seals. Anko began to breathe in a big amount of air, which indicated what she was about to do. The man finished his own combination with the inu seal before water began to break through the floor of the hallway.

A little bit of smoke began to emerge from the violet-haired woman's mouth before releasing a massive flame with the shape of an arrow. It approached the traitor at unbelievable speed, but what previously was a little water turned into almost a geyser that raised around him and blocked the flames.

As the water turned to steam after absorbing the heat of the flames, Kabuto's confident smirk became visible to the jounin.

"Don't you think it's a little bit dangerous to play with fire with kids around?" He giggled a little.

His hands were still holding the inu seal, but then he shifted to the tatsu one, and the water that remained in a liquid state began to gather around him once again. It quickly adopted the shape of a dragon, before being launched back at the woman.

Anko replaced herself with one of the lockers and then bounced on the wall towards Kabuto. The water dragon turned around, chasing the woman.

She swiftly made a new combination of hand seals while approaching the man. His giggles turned into cackles, as his water technique was about to hit her. However, on the last second, she spit out a small ball of thick saliva before jumping into the second floor, right through the same hole she had created when she revealed herself.

The dragon tried to turn upwards, but the ball of saliva began to let out a sound of burning. Kabuto's eyes widened in shock as it suddenly released a massive explosion powerful enough to turn his water dragon completely into steam.

The force of the explosion sent the man out of the academy through the main entrance. He dragged through the ground of the yard before finally hitting a tree that stopped his trajectory.

When he opened his eyes, his glasses were not in place. They were lying on the ground next to him, broken. He ignored the detail and slowly stood up, before removing what remained of the cloak he had been using.

"Seems like you had more surprises than Orochimaru said." He shook some of the dirt off his clothes before holding both forearms right in front of his chest, parallel to the other. "Just so happens that I also have some left."

Both of his forearms became embedded with pure blue chakra that was visible.

Another fire arrow was shot from one of the windows of the second floor, but Kabuto ignored it and rushed straight towards the main entrance. At great speed, he crossed the hallway and jumped into the same hole as Anko.

There, he found no one but dozens of snakes ready to attack him. Several spit venom at him, while others hurried to climb up his legs. He placed his hand on the ceiling, attaching himself to it so he would not fall into the swarm of snakes. He used his other hand to grab a pair of kunai with explosive seals attached to them, which he threw straight at the animals.

The explosions caused the rest of the floor to collapse, and soon both shinobi found themselves in the very same place where their battle had begun. As the violet-haired woman revealed herself, Kabuto adopted a simple fighting stance.

She ran at him and threw a barrage of punches and kicks, all of which the man blocked without much complications. Anko finally tried to low-kick her opponent, but he simply jumped and took advantage of the height to kick her straight in the jaw.

The jounin was pushed backwards, but before she fell she disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Several kunai then fell from the ceiling, and soon exploded as Kabuto noticed they were attached to explosive seals.

However, as the smoke caused by the explosions dissipated, the man was nowhere to be seen. Anko jumped out of one of the lockers, trying to find the traitor. However, two hands emerged from the ground beneath her and pulled the rest of his body out by holding onto her legs.

As Kabuto emerged from the ground, he began to punch the woman in the back with his chakra-embedded fists. Then, he grabbed her by the shoulder and forcibly turned her around, before hitting with an open palm straight at her chest.

The jounin was forced to her knees, and she began to cough up blood. It certainly was not the gentle fist, but he had used medical ninjutsu in a very similar manner to the style of the Hyuga.

"This is it, Anko!" The chakra from his hands disappeared as he raised them up. "This is why Orochimaru abandoned you and chose me in your place!"

Chapter Text

The pressurized wall of water finally fell back onto the tiles of the roof. However, it very quickly rose once again before being launched towards the old Hokage. On its way, the water slowly transformed into a dragon's head.

On the opposite side of the roof, Lord Third Hokage found himself pressed against the purple chakra barrier that had been raised by Orochimaru's subordinates. He swiftly completed a combination of hand seals that culminated with the old man spitting out a lot of mud. It expanded like foam and then it hardened, turning into a big robust wall that blocked the incoming water jutsu.

As the attack dissipated, he could see half of the hand seals the reanimated corpse of the first Hokage was doing. For even elite jounin, it would be hard to tell what was coming by just seeing half of the seals, but for the God of Shinobi, that was more than enough to recognize his predecessor's secret jutsu.

The old man swiftly bit his finger, which caused a minor hemorrhage on it. Then, he jumped and climbed his own mud wall, seeking to escape the little tree buds that were very quickly growing beneath him.

The buds then became a mess of thick branches and roots that only grew faster with time, clearly chasing Sarutobi. As he finally reached the upper end of his wall and stood on it, the roots and branches had already reached him and completely surrounded him. He moaned out in pain as one of the branches cut through his armorless arm and left a major cut.

Very quickly, he found himself completely tied down by the several branches and leaves. His eyes widened as he was completely unable to move. Orochimaru's cackles were audible from his position, even if neither him nor his two predecessors were observable.

The old man reached for the branch closest to him, which was right in front. It seemed like it was too far away for him to place his hand on it, but as he stretched his fingers as much as he could, a small trace of blood painted its surface. The Third's eyes widened in relief before yelling.

"The Art of Summoning: I call thee!" A smoke explosion emerged from the traces of blood before a robust monkey, wearing a black shinobi outfit under a coat made out of tiger fur, appeared on the branch. "Enma, King of the Monkeys!"

The monkey looked over the branches and saw the disciple of his good friend standing right behind the First and Second Hokage.

"Orochimaru!" Yelled the monarch. "So it has come to this… And all because you refused to kill him that day, Sarutobi!"

"I'm dealing with it now." Was the only reply the Third could think of.

The monkey crossed its arms. "Too late!"

His summoning then broke the branches away, freeing the old leader. Then, it jumped into the air.

"Indestructible nyoi staff!" Yelled Sarutobi before kicking one final branch out of the way and emerging from the trap set by the First.

"Transform!" Yelled the monkey before his body turned into a long staff with golden details on both ends.

"How interesting!" Said Orochimaru. He opened his mouth to an unnatural degree before a snake came out straight from his throat. Then, the snake also opened its mouth, ejecting a katana into the air.

The Sannin grabbed the sword while the snake returned to his throat.

Hiruzen rushed towards his two predecessors and tried to hit both of them. However, the Second Hokage crawled down while the First jumped, dodging the attempt.

This left an opening in between them that the Third intended to use. He held the staff pointed straight at his old student, before it began extending towards him. Orochimaru held his sword in front of him and blocked the attack, though the force of the attack pushed him back a couple of steps.

From the golden covering of the end of the staff, emerged the furious head of Enma. The king opened his mouth, revealing his fangs, and reached to bite off the Sannin's head. However, the staff was kicked by both reanimated Hokage, which pushed Hiruzen backwards along with the staff.

The force of the kicks beat Sarutobi's knees and he fell back. Enma retracted the staff to its regular length, while he merged his head back into the form of the weapon.

Orochimaru cackled once again. "I can't believe you didn't even try using shadow clones."

Just outside the barrier, two ANBU were watching the fight closely. Alongside them was Danzo, who calmly awaited for any opening that would allow him to step in. However, it seemed that the Sannin's plan had been precisely to isolate the Hokage to take him down first, as he was by far the strongest shinobi in all of Konoha.

One of the ANBU gasped at Orochimaru's comment.

"Shadow clones are very costly jutsu. Someone his age can no longer abuse it." Explained the second ANBU. "His age has caught up to him. Even the God of Shinobi's chakra reserves decline with age."

Sarutobi's breathing was heavy, and if one's eye was well trained enough, it would be able to see the slight shake in his arms. At this point in life, the legendary nyoi staff had become quite heavy for his frail old body.

Orochimaru, still standing behind the protection of Konoha's first two leaders, watched with certain disappointment as his old master was no longer the legendary shinobi that earned the title of 'God of Shinobi'. He should be glad that it would be easier to take him down, but deep down he was not. Far from it, he was frustrated about it.

The Sannin forced a smirk upon his face. "You're the legendary shinobi known as 'The Professor' for knowing every jutsu in this village, even those held in secret by the clans, and those within the village's forbidden scrolls. Please do not disappoint me."

Smoke began to emerge from two pieces of paper that had been attached to the feet of both Hokage. Hiruzen let out a small sigh of relief as the seals exploded, completely destroying the lower half of their legs.

The smoke briefly covered the bodies of his two predecessors, but once it dispersed, it revealed an unexpected scene. There was no blood, no bones. It seemed as if the reanimated bodies were made out of ashes, as that was all that came from the severe injuries. And on top of all, their injuries were slowly regenerating, with the pieces of ash and paper returning to reconstruct the destroyed limbs.

Lord Third Hokage gritted his teeth. Finally, he realized that he would not be able to defeat the reanimated Hokage in the traditional fashion. If he wanted to end the Edo Tensei, he only had one option.

A cold drop of sweat came down from his forehead, all the way until it fell off his chin. He had to bound the souls of his two predecessors. He had to use the Fourth Hokage's sealing jutsu.

The two oto-nin swiftly made their way upstairs. Slamming the many doors of the classrooms and offices open, even the restrooms. However, the students and teachers were nowhere to be seen.

They began to plant explosive seals in every door they opened, while continuing their way to the last floor, the fifth one. Once they reached it, it became evident that the building was seemingly empty. All the restrooms, all the classrooms, all the offices, all the janitor rooms. Even the lockers were seemingly empty.

But if it was so, why would a jounin like Anko be guarding the building?

The sound of all the lockers opening and closing at a rapid rate suddenly caught their attention. They turned around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. However, the metallic sound only became more intense.

Finally, a kunoichi with long, curly hair jumped at them holding a kunai. One of the oto-nin reacted in time and grabbed her wrist before she could land her attack. Even with the screeching making him dizzy, the foreign shinobi pulled her arm and slammed her into the floor.

Behind them, a man wearing a Konoha chunin uniform also appeared. He had a distinctive scar across his face, while his brown hair was tied into a ponytail.

Both enemies turned to him, recognizing the bigger fish.

"Suzume, go back to the kids. I'll try to hold them back." Said Iruka while grabbing a pair of kunai from his pocket.

"You think we're just gonna let her through?"

"No, but I'm going to entertain you quite a bit."

The woman stood up, and the other instructor got the signal to initiate his own offensive. However, as soon as he took a single step, something akin to a meteor crashed through the roof into the hallway.

Iruka flinched and so did Suzume, but one of the oto-nin had been hit directly. As the dust was slowly pulled down by gravity, a humanoid silhouette was revealed.

A boy with very spiky, black hair was the one responsible for the sudden crash landing right over the oto-nin. His arms were unusually muscular, almost unnaturally so for someone his age. The other foe tried to escape, but the boy appeared right in front of him in the blink of an eye. He gave him a precise hit on the neck, causing him to fall unconscious.

The boy's clothes were nothing like Iruka had seen. His white cape was similar to something people from the Land of Wind would wear in caravans, but his purple gi under it was unfamiliar.

From the hole above, Iruka's students peeked into the hallway to see what had happened. Among them was the familiar face of Sakura, who was wearing the same attire as the mysterious boy.

"All good up there, Sakura?" Asked Gohan, who was not agitated by the confrontation at all.

The ease with which he had knocked out the attackers was almost frightening to both instructors of the academy.

"Yeah! Nobody injured here!" Yelled the pink-haired girl. "Are you okay, master Iruka?"

"Sakura? But I thought you were…" He turned to look at Suzume, and they exchanged confused expressions.

"Yeah, I was away for a while but Gohan here, and his master, took care of me!" Explained the girl, oblivious to the fact that there was a grave in Konoha's cemetery with her name on it.

Iruka then glanced at the Saiyan, who waved awkwardly at the strangers. He had only then realized he was yet to present himself, and felt embarrassed for his lack of manners.

"I'm Son Gohan, nice to meet you." He smiled nervously. "Sakura told me a little about you. Sounds like you're a good teacher."

"I'm Umino Iruka. Welcome to Konoha… I guess."

"Master, what's going on? We sensed a lot of deaths and that's why we hurried up here." Sakura inquired, as from the roof of the Academy, she was able to clearly see the extent of the invasion.

"Orochimaru of the Sannin has invaded Konoha with the help of Sunagakure, it seems…" Explained the teacher, while still unsure of how to react to the situation. "I don't have much information but I believe Lord Third is fighting Orochimaru on the Central Viewing Tower of the stadium."

"Anko is fighting someone on the first floor here. She might need some help." Suzume added, considering that to be the priority at the moment. "I'm sure Lord Hokage will defeat Orochimaru on his own."

Iruka was not so certain.

"Well, Sakura, you can go help that Anko person and I can help… Hokage? That's an odd name." Gohan said while scratching his chin.

Sakura finally jumped from above, into the hallway. She cracked her knuckles before offering to give the spiky-haired boy a brown pocket.

"Oh, no no, keep the Senzu beans. I won't need them and we only have three." He crossed his arms. "I guess you could cut them in half to have more pieces in case it was necessary, and though the effect won't be as complete, it will still help a lot."

Once again, the two instructors exchanged glances filled with confusion. There were many details they were missing. Not only was Sakura alive, but she was accompanied by a weird looking boy and talking about some beans.

"You'll have to explain a lot of things after this, Sakura." Said the teacher, while rubbing his forehead.

The pinkette laughed nervously while tying the pocket to the blue belt of her purple gi.

"By the way, master." Sakura began. "Do you know where Naruto and Sasuke are?"

Iruka frowned. "I don't know."

That was the only viable answer at that specific moment. He could not possibly deliver the news to her at that time, and he also did not know exactly where the blonde boy was, even if he was told he would be training.

"I guess I'll have to find them." Replied the girl with determination. Unusually, the light in her green eyes reminded the instructor of the fiery determination in Naruto's own. Something had changed about Sakura. A positive change.

"Alright, let's go, Gohan!"

"Wait a minute." The Saiyan grabbed the girl by the arm as she began to float. "Where is the stadium?"

Both instructors and Sakura fell on their backs.

"He's very strong but he doesn't seem to be very smart!" The voice of a boy yelled from the hole on the roof.

As the group looked above, they found the familiar face of Konohamaru standing right in front of his classmates. His arms were crossed, though his confident smirk was nowhere to be seen. Instead, his expression showed nothing but concern.

"You can fly, right?!" Asked the boy wearing the long blue scarf.

The half-blood nodded.

"Then you'll be able to see the stadium engulfed in flames and dark smoke south of the big red tower in the middle!" Explained the youngest of the Sarutobi, while pointing to his right. "Please go. Gramps is old and weak. I don't think he can beat whoever that freak is."

Iruka's expression softened at the innocent concern from the boy. Even the grandson of the Third Hokage, the God of Shinobi, was worried about his grandfather.

Gohan flew up to the height of where the boy was standing. He gave him a warm smile and patted him on the head, moving his green goggles a little.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Konohamaru! The future Sixth Hokage!" Yelled the kid while raising his fist towards the Saiyan.

"Well, Konohamaru, I promise to help your grandpa!" He removed his hand from his head to give him a thumbs up. "I'll bring him back in no time!"

Then, a blue aura became visible around his body. The boy felt a certain heat near his face coming from it. He blinked once, and the mysterious boy was already gone. Only traces of his blue aura were left, but they soon were absorbed back into the regular air.

The blue trail of his aura was visible in the sky as he flew at unbelievable speeds towards the stadium.

Even Sakura was shocked by his speed, as well as the intensity of his energy to the point where it was visible. She then nodded and began floating again, this time aiming for the window. She had to go to the first floor and help Anko.

As the girl launched herself at the window at impressive speeds, Iruka was simply left astonished. The boy was powerful, but the girl had also reached a very high level all of a sudden. The ability of flight alone was an ability that only one person in the entire shinobi world possessed, and that man was one of the strongest shinobi alive.

At least he could be certain that Anko would be aided by a very strong kunoichi.

"Master Iruka!" A girl with dreads pushed the still shocked Konohamaru away to speak to the teacher. Her dreadlocks were only kept back by a pink bandage, worn in a way very similar to hitai-ate. "Can I learn how to fly like that?"

"Well, Gin, only the Tsuchikage was known to be able to do so." Iruka explained. "I don't think most of us can do it."

Sakura let herself fall onto the schoolyard. She was yet to test herself and her progress after her brief training with Gohan, so it was only then that she realized how much lighter she felt all of a sudden.

The pinkette turned around and saw the main entrance. She had aimed at the right window. The doors were already open, and the scene unfolding in the main hallway was clearly visible from her position.

A violet-haired woman was on her knees, her back turned on Sakura. In front of her, a gray-haired young man was laughing in quite the maniacal fashion at what the genin figured was his victory.

The girl cracked her knuckles, before dragging one of her feet backwards. She took a deep breath, and then ran at the top of her speed. Not only did she feel lighter, but she had also become considerably faster than before.

Kabuto noticed a flash that quickly approached him. However, he was unable to react. He only realized that he received a powerful kick straight to the side of his face, and was pushed backwards from the sheer force of it.

Sakura landed like a ballerina, using just the tip of one of her feet. Then, she calmly approached the injured jounin, who turned to look at the girl with certain surprise.

For the snake's right hand man, going in between such a powerful kick to such a light landing made no sense. How could someone able to fall down as slowly as a feather possibly hold so much strength. He felt that one of his teeth was loose, so he took it and spit it out by himself.

Anko waved off the girl's offer to help her up, and stood on her own.

"Reinforcements, Anko? Really?" Mocked the man with the ponytail. "And who is this girl? You just called her to use her as fodder? I see some of Orochimaru has remained within you, after all…"

"I don't know her, but I'm not about to deny her help after what she just did to you." Replied the woman as she wiped the blood off her mouth. Then, she adopted her fighting stance. "Let's get this over with."

Chapter Text

Danzo could only stare as the Third was overwhelmed by the incessant offensive of the combined forces of Orochimaru and lords First and Second. He broke into a cold sweat at the unfolding scene. Despite the possible personal benefit he could see from this, the damage to the pride of Konoha and his own was undeniable if the rogue Sannin was not taken down then and there.

He unsheathed his katana, which he infused with lightning chakra. His stoic facial expression remained the exact same as he began repeatedly slashing the barrier. As he ended his combo, the purple wall of chakra remained unfazed. Not even a shinobi of his level could break it.

The two ANBU standing by him were even more frustrated. Their loyalty, their dedication to the protection of the Hokage and Konoha, their skills and powers as shinobi. None of that mattered in the moment of truth. A ninjutsu barrier of the highest level prevented even Konoha's elite from intervening.

The battle finally reached a point of less activity. The king of the monkeys stood right in front of the old Hokage, while the latter held the clap hands seal. His face, while showing just how tired he already was, reflected the Will of Fire in its purest state.

Orochimaru then grabbed his own face and pulled it off as if it was a mask. What was underneath was the face of a very young woman, and not at all the Sannin, who had to be past fifty years old. Danzo gritted his teeth, while the two ANBU gasped.

Hiruzen's eyes snapped wide open in realization. Forbidden jutsu of the highest level. Enma, however, was furious.

"He's done it, hasn't he?" Asked the monkey, more to himself.

The old man's face turned into a somber one. "Do not tell me you've perfected such an immoral technique."

The Sannin only giggled in response. The image of the woman's face on the body that so far had seemed identical to that of the real Orochimaru caused even the God of Shinobi to feel nauseous.

"You terrible, inhuman monster." Was the only thing the Third could utter after such a revelation. "This is exactly why I could not have possibly elected you as Hokage."

Orochimaru's smirk fell for a short window of time. However, he forced it back up as soon as he realized.

"The art of immortality has always been one of my deepest desires." Began the rogue shinobi. "It's a transference jutsu in which I choose a new body to insert my mind and soul into it, and take control over it."

The disgust became visible through Sarutobi's face, but he knew it would be better to keep the conversation going to earn some extra time.

"I only assumed my old appearance because I wanted to make you feel nostalgic, master." The old man grunted in response, which reinforced the Sannin's smirk. "You will die here and I shall obtain a body that's even younger and stronger, and more beautiful than this one."

Sweat was already coming down from his wrinkly forehead in considerable quantities. He exhaled with unusual effort as he was close to reuniting enough chakra for the fuinjutsu he was about to cast.

"You tried to make Sasuke Uchiha your host, didn't you?"

Orochimaru laughed. "Things did not go as planned, but I'm sure you've figured I still got a certain pair of things out of it. But do not worry, master, I promise to make good use of them!"

"How many more bodies have you usurped?" Questioned Sarutobi.

"This is only my second… I've been grooming a series of different candidates, other than Sasuke Uchiha." His smirk fell. "But I will not forgive you for ruining my first option!"

Orochimaru moved his hand back to his face, but as he completely covered it, something hit the barrier.

Everyone inside turned around in the same direction. To their left, a massive blue flash crashed straight into the barrier. However, what caused Hiruzen, the Sannin and Enma to widen their eyes in shock was the fact that the impact caused a serious amount of cracks on the barrier.

Sarutobi noticed then that Danzo was just outside the barrier alongside two ANBU. But he had not been responsible for the attack.

The blue flash lost some brightness, and instead revealed a silhouette surrounded by a blue aura of pure energy. As its image became clearer, the surprise only grew. A boy was floating while his energy raged out of his body in the form of the blue aura.

He placed both of his hands on his forehead, with his palms pointed straight at the purple barrier. A sphere of yellow energy quickly formed over his hands.

"Impossible!" Yelled Orochimaru as his eyes widened. "Go!"

As he pointed at the man, the two reanimated Hokage charged against the distracted Sarutobi. However, Enma was ready and blocked the swift barrage of kicks and punches. Then, he grabbed the First's arm and the Second's leg. He began to spin while still holding them. He let go of the two and launched them far away into opposite corners of the barrier.

"Masenko," Gohan began as the sphere on his hands turned into a beam aimed directly at the purple wall of chakra, "ha!"

The energy wave hit the barrier directly and caused it to finally collapse. The following explosion caused a powerful expansive wave that pushed back all nearby shinobi. As the smoke dissipated, the boy slowly floated towards the new opening of the barrier, which slowly began to close once again.

The four oto-nin standing at each corner of it were shocked by the penetration of their jutsu. Their own breaths were quite heavy, as the struggle of resisting such attacks and now regenerating the barrier meant an important consumption of chakra.

The Sannin grabbed his sword and charged against the boy. However, someone else blocked his attack as the sound of metal clashing filled his ears.

It was Danzo, holding his own sword with a single hand. Orochimaru jumped back to get some extra distance and find a way to get out of that situation. His jaw was so tense that the muscles around it became visible.

Gohan finally landed on the roof of the tower, and turned to look at the monkey that was once again standing by the old man.

"You can drop that, Hiruzen." Said the monkey, before glancing at the boy.

Suddenly, the saiyan's face softened into a more amicable expression. "Excuse me, which one of you is Orochimaru?"

The boy's warm and serene smile was totally out of place in their current context. It was as if he did not understand that he was standing beside some of the strongest shinobi in the entire world. As if he did not realize he interrupted a Kage-level battle.

"Who are you, boy?" Inquired the old Sarutobi.

"I'm Son Gohan, apologies for my manners." He bowed.

The Third was slightly taken aback by the fact he kept ignoring the stakes of the context around him.

"Why are you looking for Orochimaru?" He scanned his outfit, as he thought the white cape and brown shoes were very unusual. "I would advise you to leave before the situation gets too dangerous for you."

"Oh, don't worry, mister! I can easily defeat anyone that is here." He then scratched his chin as he realized something. "You're Konohamaru's grandfather, right?"

The old man's eyes snapped wide open, while Enma crossed his arms. The monkey king realized something might be off. "How did you…?"

"And well, I'm looking for Orochimaru because Sakura and her master told me to get him and help some person called Hokage." He scratched his head. "Who are they, though?"

Hiruzen laughed a little at the boy's ignorance. "Well, I'm the Hokage, but that is not a name. It's a title."

"As for Orochimaru," continued the white monkey. "That pale man over there. That's him."

"I see." He cracked his knuckles and then began to stretch as if he was about to work out. "You can explain all that Hokage stuff to me later. I'll take care of that guy in no time!"

"Foolish kid." Exclaimed the serious Danzo, who still held his sword pointed straight at the Sannin. "Just go and don't get involved."

The Sannin smirked after glancing in between the mysterious boy and his old associate within the village.

"No, no, dear Danzo." He licked his lips. "Listen to the boy."

As he was about to slash through the advisor's arm, a punch interrupted his move and sent him flying towards one of the walls of the barrier. After he fell down, he began to cough up blood from the hemorrhages caused by the powerful impact.

Shimura was left in awe as the boy stood still right in front of him. He had delivered the powerful punch in a split second. He put his blade back on its sheath and jumped back towards the Hokage.

Enma took a step forward and covered both old men.

"What is he?" Asked Sarutobi softly.

"We shall see." Replied Danzo.

A visibly infuriated Orochimaru then yelled and pointed at the boy. The two reanimated Hokage rushed towards him, ignoring the monkey's attempts to stop them. However, their swift and powerful barrages of attacks were all dodged with ease by Gohan. The speed of his movements was like nothing witnessed by any of the shinobi present.

Then, Gohan grabbed an arm from each of the reanimated Kage and launched them into the air. He pointed his opened hands at them before launching a sphere of blue energy at them. Upon impact, the sphere exploded like a bomb, and the bodies were seemingly disintegrated entirely. There was no need to hold back with them, as he could not sense any energy coming from them.

However, the properties of the Edo Tensei made it so the pieces of ash began to slowly regenerate again.

"That's weird. I've never seen something like it." Admitted the Saiyan.

"Well, foolish boy. That's forbidden jutsu of the highest level, the Edo Tensei." Orochimaru slowly walked towards his new opponent. His curved posture revealed his pain, while the blood that incessantly flooded his mouth indicated his very critical state. "Do tell me, what's yours?"

Two hands then emerged from the man's throat, and forcefully broke his own jaw to open the mouth to a disturbing magnitude. Slowly, a new and unharmed copy of the man's body emerged covered in a strange liquid.

Gohan frowned at the scene, which caused some cackling in the Sannin.

"So even kids as powerful as you are so easily disturbed."

The half-blood suddenly appeared right in front of him, ready to punch the man. However, Orochimaru smirked confidently.

Then, the boy fell on the man, seemingly unconscious. He removed the unconscious stranger off his own body, before slowly walking towards the two old men.

"All powerful, but completely vulnerable to genjutsu… How fascinating!"

The two kunoichi of Konoha stood side by side. Each stood on their fighting stance, while staring at the traitor. The hallway had now been reduced to a bunch of debris and rubble.

The man of the gray hair was missing his glasses, which made it a little harder on his eyes. His sight was quite bad without them, but as a shinobi elite, he had to be able to overcome such handicaps.

At the exact same time, Anko and Kabuto began a combination of hand seals. Noticing this, Sakura rushed towards the man, seeking to distract him and give the woman the upper hand. However, as she reached his side and was about to kick him, the earth underneath the floor of the hallway opened up to swallow him.

Anko finished with the rat seal and her chest became filled with air. Behind her, Kabuto emerged once again. His arm was coated in chakra, which held the shape of a blade.

He raised his arm, clearly wanting to slice off the woman's head. Sakura was faster, and she appeared right next to him in the blink of an eye. The traitor widened his eyes in shock before taking a punch straight to the abdomen, followed by a low-kick. And finally, while still in the air, Sakura slammed him down.

The violet-haired woman then turned around and took two steps back. Sparks appeared in her mouth, before it turned into a flamethrower. The fire that she spit out from her mouth quickly adopted the form of a snake.

The man of the gray hair was too slow when standing up, so he had seemingly no way out. The attack impacted and exploded. The lockers and doors that had resisted the battle so far either fell or burned.

Once the fire dissipated, the only thing that was left was the black color of burnt matter all over the walls. Even Sakura barely dodged the powerful jutsu.

"Is it done?" The pink-haired girl turned around while asking.

Anko slowly shook her head, before pointing at the hole in the ground. She already expected Kabuto to be hard to defeat, but maybe he was a little more elusive than she thought.

Sakura closed her eyes and sensed her surroundings. She noticed that Anko's energy signal was more intense than when she arrived, but then, she felt an even bigger presence. Underneath them.

The girl jumped back and pointed exactly under where she had been. A scalpel of pure chakra emerged from the ground, only to be met with nothing but air. Slowly, he came out of the tunnels he had been digging.

"Very impressive, a sensor." Recognized the man. "And I must congratulate you, Anko. Your elemental jutsu is truly worthy of the jounin elite."

"Your escaping jutsu is top tier, too." Replied the woman. "But I expected more than a coward. I guess Orochimaru's judgment has failed, after all."

Kabuto's face, previously covered by a smirk of confidence, fell into a frown. He raised his chakra blade and pointed it at the woman.

However, Sakura raised her voice. "Lady Anko, I have an idea! I just need you to hold him back for a little."

The woman raised an eyebrow, but as she saw that the girl sat down and put her hands together, she figured it was her duty to protect her.

The traitor tried to go for the defenseless girl, but the jounin stopped him by throwing an explosive kunai in between them both. Kabuto turned once again to stare directly at the former apprentice of his master.

"If you're so willing to die, then so be it."

The man charged at her with his blade first. A barrage of stab attempts were initially dodged by the woman, who was eventually forced to jump back. It was probably not an option to block, given the sharpness of the chakra that coated his arm.

Meanwhile, a small sphere of yellow energy was beginning to form between the girl's hands. It was one of the very few things she had learned from Gohan. She thought it could be useful as the boy used something similar to throw at the wood to start a fire. Even if she did not know how to throw it like that, she could simply hit the man directly with it.

Anko pushed a set of four senbon out of her sleeve, before throwing them at the man. Only one hit the target, and it was one of his shoulders. Normally, a single senbon wouldn't do much damage, but Kabuto felt very clearly that something wet had been put on the needle.

"Not even poison will avoid your imminent defeat!" He said while pulling out the weapon with his chakra-coated hand, making a small cut that drained some blood from the wound.

The jounin then jumped and tried to land a kick on his head, but she was forced to move away as the man tried to chop off her left foot. She landed behind him, and took the chance to elbow his back.

"It's ready!" Yelled the girl before standing back up. On the palm of her right hand, she was holding a small energy sphere.

Anko nodded without even turning to look at the girl, and simply climbed up one of the walls to move away.

Her last hit had forced Kabuto to his knees, so he was standing up when the girl was running at him. He turned around just in time to see the sphere hit his face directly. The small energy ball exploded, pushing both Sakura and the traitor back in opposite directions.

Anko jumped in to catch the pinkette, while the one to catch Kabuto was the wall at the end of the hallway.

As he lay sitting with his back on the wall, his head was lowered. This meant his face was not visible initially, as one of the strands of hair he kept out of the ponytail covered it. Even then, the two kunoichi could clearly see that many drops of blood were streaming down to his legs.

"What jutsu was that?" Asked the jounin. "That was… Well, he's dead now."

"I don't think it had a name." Replied the girl while scratching the back of her head.

However, Anko was wrong. The man was not yet dead.

Kabuto raised his head to look at the two kunoichi. Half of his face had been burnt so bad that pieces of his skull were visible. His left eye was completely carbonized, while the rest of his face was completely red, either because of the blood or because the skin had been burnt off.

He held a single hand up, gesturing half of the snake seal. Then, he disappeared into a cloud of smoke, which dissipated to reveal that he had substituted himself with a locker.

Sakura was left with a shocked expression by the horrifying scene of the man's injuries. While Anko was simply surprised that the man had even survived such a thing.

"We'll have to register that jutsu once we go back." As she turned to look at the girl, she noticed her state of shock. She sighed as she realized she would have to take the younger kunoichi out of it before even leaving to continue fighting.

The Sannin licked the blade of his sword as he approached the Hokage and his advisor. In between, the corpulent monkey was ready to take on him. However, his attention was also carefully placed on the reanimated kage, who were about to be fully regenerated.

An explosion caught their attention, though. Orochimaru quickly turned around, finding that the boy had already escaped his genjutsu. The explosion was a result of the energy balls the Saiyan threw at the regenerating bodies of the Edo Tensei, which once again began their recovery.

Orochimaru's jaw tensed and he gritted his teeth. Whoever that kid was, he was getting annoying.

"I would have spared you if you stayed down, kid." Said the Sannin. "But now… Now I'll make you suffer."

His body flickered before appearing right next to the boy with spiky hair. He tried to slash one of his arms, but Gohan stopped his sword and clenched his fist, breaking it.

Not only Orochimaru, but also Sarutobi and Danzo widened their eyes in shock at the scene of the legendary Kusanagi being destroyed by the mere hand of a boy.

The Sannin let go of his sword and wrapped the boy's neck with his long tongue, trying to choke him. However, Gohan dropped the pieces of broken metal and grabbed onto the man's tongue with both of his hands. He pulled the muscle in opposite directions, and tore it apart.

Orochimaru screamed in pain, but still had no intentions to stop his attack. From all the openings of his clothing, emerged swarms of venomous snakes that immediately jumped onto the Saiyan. And while the animals were unable to even bite the boy appropriately due to his hardened skin, he decided to take them off by intensifying his Ki aura.

The sudden rise in heat forced the animals to throw themselves away, and soon all of them had left Gohan alone.

"I can sense it in your Ki." Said Gohan as he turned to face the now tongueless man. "Your evil intentions."

"Ki?" Asked the desperate Orochimaru.

"So you don't know about it either…" The Saiyan then punched the man straight on the face, which sent him flying against the barrier.

Once again, two arms emerged from his throat and broke his jaw. But this time, the boy would not let it happen.

He put both hands together, and then moved them back at the height of his waist. Initially, only heat gathered in between both of his hands, but soon that turned into a blue energy sphere.

Danzo watched carefully as the boy carried out a jutsu that looked oddly familiar, while Hiruzen and Enma were simply awestruck.

"It can't be…" Was all the old Hokage could say.

To them it was clear. Somehow, that mysterious boy knew the Fourth Hokage's own jutsu. The Rasengan.

"Kame…" Began the Saiyan. The blue energy gathering between the palms of his hands became brighter.

The hands had successfully pulled the head of the new body out, but were now struggling to pull out the rest of it. Orochimaru stared in horror as the very familiar jutsu was about to be launched at him.

"Hame…"

His shoulders finally came out after fully tearing all the muscles of the throat of his old body. Now, he only had to pull out his legs and he would be able to dodge the attack. However, as he turned to once again look at the boy, his eyes were blinded by the incoming blue light.

He could simply widen his yellow eyes. Despite all his attempts, his sacrifices, all his efforts; he was now facing death.

Chapter Text

"This can't-" His words cut as the blue energy finally hit his body.

"HAAA!" Finished the boy after releasing the blue energy wave his late father had taught him.

The scream that came out of the Sannin's mouth was gut-wrenching. For certain, neither Hiruzen nor his advisor ever expected to hear such suffering come from him. Not because he did not deserve it, but because of how powerful he was.

"I am…!" The snake made his best attempt to let out some final words. His nerves had already been burnt, which eased the pain to a degree. However, his skin and muscles were still being carbonized and disintegrated. "I am Orochimaru of the Sannin! I am immortal! I cannot die!"

Then, the only thing that was audible was the whistling sound emitted by the wave. It also pierced through the barrier that was right behind the Sannin, and continued its way forward way beyond the horizon. Eventually, the boy released the technique and the energy dissipated.

Once the brilliant blue wave was gone, there was nothing where Orochimaru once stood. His body had been completely disintegrated, without even leaving ashes in its place.

The purple barrier did not regenerate, as the four shinobi standing at each corner released the jutsu. Danzo turned around to chase them down, but Hiruzen held him back.

"My predecessors are still here." Said Sarutobi while pointing at the still regenerating reanimated bodies.

Shimura stared at the four oto-nin as they jumped off the tower. Their faces were filled with terror, confusion and disbelief. They most likely were elite shinobi that for some reason joined the Sannin, given the level of barrier jutsu they pulled off. And if he was to be fair, he could not blame them for being shocked by their boss's death.

Finally, he lowered his head and turned to the reanimated Hokage.

Gohan finally let his arms fall to their regular position, as he confirmed that Orochimaru's presence was completely gone. The environment around him almost felt a lot more peaceful as the massive evil energy of the snake was removed. He sighed out of relief, and then turned around to look at the older men.

They had placed themselves in opposite directions, with the reanimated Hokage in between. Despite the fact that they had been fully regenerated by now, they had regained some autonomy with the death of the Edo Tensei's caster.

Both the Third and his old friend held the palms of their hands together, while a strange pattern of black ink formed around and over the previous leaders of the village.

"Danzo, Hiruzen," acknowledged the Second, "I'm glad you are still working together. Where is Kagami?"

Both of them remained silent, and even the First flinched a little due to the obvious tension of the conversation.

"I see." Continued Lord Second, realizing what was implied. "What a shame, he was the most loyal Uchiha I ever met."

Gohan approached the four men, but Enma jumped on him to push him back a little. The king of the monkeys shook his head.

"No need to help them. They'll keep coming back even if you destroy their bodies completely. Only a seal of the highest level can end this cursed jutsu." Explained the bulky monkey.

"Cursed?"

Enma nodded. "The art of reanimation is one of the forbidden shinobi arts. Jutsu so unethical that all nations have agreed to outlaw them."

The Saiyan remained silent, as he watched the sealing process unfold. The strange patterns of ink on the Hokages' bodies transformed into a more legible form of writing. Then, the ashes that made their bodies began to crumble on their own.

"Great job, Hiruzen." Said the First Hokage with a wide smile on his face. "But do me a favor. Tell that kid his strength is like nothing I've ever seen."

The Second Hokage smirked as his own body began to crumble as well. "Keep protecting this village with such dedication. You've inherited my Will of Fire. Make sure to maintain the cycle."

As they disappeared, what was left in their place was a small pile of ash. It had been nostalgic for both elders. So much time had passed since they last saw those two men. Back then, they were mere teenagers with all their lives ahead of them.

Danzo turned to look at the boy, while Sarutobi directly approached him. The Hokage walked up to Enma, his old companion.

"Thank you so much for your help, Son Gohan." He nodded in acknowledgement. "You've not only saved my life, but also our village and its people."

"We shall have a meeting once all of this is over." Danzo declared, before unsheathing his sword and jumping off the tower.

Gohan rushed to the edge of the roof, leaving only a powerful wind current to blow over the Hokage's face. He looked down to make sure the old man was fine from the massive fall, and he indeed was. However, that was not the only surprising sight.

Right in front of him, a massive tanuki was fighting against three giant toads and a weird red light was bouncing on its forehead.

The scene was almost funny, until he sensed the energies of the creatures. The toads were exceptionally powerful, but still were probably on par with Enma and the Hokage. What was shocking was the energy of the tanuki and that red light. They both exceeded anyone there, even Orochimaru, by a long margin. Not only that, but their energy felt more like pure Ki, and they had an unsettling vibe to them.

Gohan gulped. "What is that, Mr. Hokage?"

Hiruzen turned around, now holding on to Enma's arm due to his exhaustion. After all, the battle with his old pupil and the final sealing of his predecessors took a lot of chakra from his decayed reserves.

The old man frowned at the sight of the tanuki. "That's Shukaku, the First-Tail. He's one of the legendary Tailed Beasts. Spirits of incomparable power that were sealed millennia ago by the Sage of Six Paths."

"And who's that one with the red aura?"

"Red?" The man squinted trying to see the fight more clearly, but was ultimately unable. "I can't see it but… It must be Naruto."

"This Naruto… His energy is familiar."

Three massive toads had stabbed the tanuki with their weapons. One of them was holding a single katana, while another cyan one was holding two. The third one held both a sasumata and a shield. And even with three creatures so massive and seemingly powerful,, they struggled to hold the beast back.

Underneath them all, standing directly on what remained of the arena at the height of the creatures' feet, there was a man. A tall man with very long and spiky white hair. He was holding the clap hands seal while a circular pattern of black ink formed on the ground around him. On his shoulders, two smaller frogs were holding the same hand seal, helping him gather the energy required for the fuinjutsu he was carrying out.

The black ink began to spread through the ground until it reached the tanuki's feet. Once the first contact was made, the seal began to spread very quickly through the beast's skin.

On his forehead, a blonde boy with a bubbly red aura coating his body was holding on to the limp body of the beast's host. Shukaku incessantly shook his body, trying to not only throw the boy down, but also to remove the burning seal that climbed him up.

"Kurama, you bastard!" Yelled the beast in frustration as the blonde boy just refused to let go.

"I already told you my name is Naruto, idiot!" The boy replied while climbing up the redhead's body.

He looked down and noticed that already half of the beast had been covered in Jiraiya's special seal. If he remembered the plan correctly, half of it was already enough for him to start hitting. He was not sure but a vague suspicion was all he needed to finally get to punching.

Naruto jumped and climbed onto Gaara's back. He smirked before raising his fist.

"Alright! Now you'll feel the punch of a Hokage!"

He slammed it right onto the redhead's head. The blow was so strong that the tanuki's movement immediately stopped. The sand that made up its body began to crumble, like when a sand castle was hit by something harder.

"No! I don't wanna…!" Yelled the tanuki, before his voice suddenly vanished. His bright yellow eyes went blank.

Uzumaki widened his red eyes as he realized the imminent fall. He grabbed onto the now awakened Gaara, who seemed just as shocked. The wind began to hit their faces harder as the speed of their fall increased.

However, in the last second, one of the giant toads placed their hands to stop them before hitting the ground. It was still quite the crash, but an amphibian's hand was softer than the solid rock and earth that made the floor.

The red toad moved them closer to his face.

"Apologies, young ones. I am a little clumsy." Unlike the rest of the toads, he had two bony swellings right above his eyes, which resembled horns.

"Oh, stop with that, Gamaken!" Replied another toad. That one looked older than the other two, and was smoking from a large pipe he held in his mouth.

But not only Naruto was awake.

The redhead next to him began to crawl towards the blonde. His green eyes showed nothing but bloodlust. Nothing but blind hatred. It was the stare of an animalistic predator desperate for food.

Naruto's red aura remained, though what previously were three tails had now turned to only two. His breathing was also heavier, as his chakra reserves were already depleted before he even joined the battle.

"Uh, Jiraiya, the other guy's still moving." Said the older toad while he, like Gamaken, simply stared at the two kids on the red toad's palm.

"I'll kill you." Simply said the redhead as he began to stand up. "I'll never cease to exist."

Uzumaki's face softened, but he stood up regardless. He fixed his hitai-ate, before adopting his fighting stance.

"I dare you to try it!"

Small purple sparks began to emerge from around the redhead as he stood up. Despite his stare, the rest of his body showed an entirely different image. His legs were shaking and his posture was clumsy. His face was dirty and injured, while blood escaped the many wounds all throughout his body.

That sight was nothing like the boy Naruto saw in the first phase of the Chunin Exams.

"Why have you gone out of your way to do all this?" The blonde boy let his arms fall down. He shook his head, indicating that he refused to continue fighting against someone who was not fit to continue.

"Because it's all I've ever done. Ever since I was born. I took the life of the woman I was supposed to call 'mother'." Explained the redhead. He stopped walking, but the purple sparks were starting to turn into an aura very similar to that of Naruto's. "I was born a monster, with another one inside me. Because in order to create the definitive weapon, my father cursed me by implanting this evil spirit inside me."

The blonde boy gasped.

"Shukaku. An evil spirit so ancient that it long precedes the Era of Shinobi. In fact, so ancient that he possibly long predates even the Warring States Period."

"Just…"

Gaara laughed. "My only purpose in life is to kill. I exist only to kill all humans other than myself. As long as there are people out there for me to kill, I will not cease to exist. There is no other mission for me in this life."

Tears began to stream down Uzumaki's face. The redhead widened his eyes, caught off-guard by the reaction. Said surprise then turned into mild fear as the leaf-nin approached him.

Gaara raised his fists. "Come and die!"

Naruto then stopped as soon as he was only an arm away from the redhead. He raised his face and revealed that he had been overtaken by sadness and sorrow. The stream of tears had only intensified, while his eyes returned to their natural blue color.

His red aura dissipated. His mouth opened, but he struggled to push words out of his mouth.

"Your pain… I know it very well."

The redhead's eyes widened. He took a step back after flinching. The purple sparks that had been building up around him completely vanished.

"I know it so well that it hurts." Continued Uzumaki. "The loneliness… The hateful stares… The sensation that everyone around you wants you dead."

Finally, Gaara let out a gasp.

"But… I've got people to protect now." He lowered his face once again. He clenched his fist. "I've failed to protect some of the few friends I made along the way, but I've promised to myself I won't let it happen ever again!"

The redhead remained silent. He felt that there was nothing he could add to the conversation.

"I won't let you harm any of them. I'll kill you if I have to." Briefly, his pupil turned into a sharp one, but his iris did not turn red.

"Why…?" Asked Gaara, still with disbelief. "Why should you care about others?"

"Because they saved me from my pit of loneliness." He put his hand firmly over his hitai-ate. "I owe them so much. I love them."

Naruto raised his fist and aimed it at the redhead.

However, Gaara shook his head. He fell to his knees and uttered a simple phrase.

"I give up."

His blue eyes widened, just as the toad sage jumped into the open hand of the red toad. He grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him to his side.

"I have to finish the seal." Explained Jiraiya before heading towards the redhead.

"No need, sir." Gaara raised his arm. "I won't let Shukaku free."

The Sannin raised an eyebrow. "Well? You expect me to trust you on that one?"

"Pervy sage." Called the blonde boy. "I do trust him on that one."

"Yeah, you're an idiot!" Jiraiya began a combination of hand seals, but before he could complete the fuinjutsu, a smoke grenade exploded in between him and the redhead.

He began to cough a lot. Quickly, he tried to find Naruto and once he did, he pulled him into a tight hug. The boy though, was a little uncomfortable about it.

"What the hell are you doing, pervy sage!?"

"I don't want them to kidnap you or something! The old man would kill me."

As the white smoke was pushed away by the blowing wind, the redhead was nowhere to be seen. Jiraiya figured that it was possible other suna-nin had rescued him. After all, he was their jinchuuriki.

"But then that means…" He quickly climbed up the toad's fingers and looked down on the village. Some buildings were still on fire, but the masses of fleeing shinobi were hard to ignore.

He turned to the central viewing tower, and noticed that the barrier had also disappeared. The battle was over, and he could only wonder if his old master was able to pull it off.

"We should head back." Said the Sannin before jumping off the toad's hand.

Sakura and Anko split ways shortly after the battle. After all, as a jounin, the woman had the duty to go out and keep fighting. She also advised the girl not to get involved in many fights, especially as her final technique had drained a lot of her energy.

Now, she was flying back towards the stadium. On her way, she noticed that the invaders were fleeing the village. Though, some confrontations continued regardless.

The massive creature that once stood tall over the viewing towers of the stadium was now nowhere to be seen. Instead, only three giant toads were visible from far away. She touched down just outside the destroyed walls of the arena, as she was a little intimidated by the frogs.

Slowly, she made her way through the debris, and once she jumped into the destroyed arena, she saw him. The spiky blonde hair, the dirty and damaged orange jumpsuit.

"Naruto!" She yelled, before running towards him.

Alongside the boy was a tall man with very long hair, and he also turned the round as the voice of a girl called for his student. He raised an eyebrow, while Uzumaki's eyes widened.

"Sakura?"

The girl jumped on him and hugged him as tightly as she could. She began sobbing almost as soon as her face touched his smelly jumpsuit.

The boy was a little perplexed. For a solid ten seconds he did not know how to react. Somehow, Sakura was alive. And somehow, she made her way back to Konoha.

Tears once again began to stream down his face as he let himself break down. He wrapped his arms around her, corresponding the tight hug. Both of them cried their asses off, and Jiraiya could only stand there and watch with a little smirk on his face.

Inside, he longed for such a reunion with his own friend. He turned around once again, glancing at the opposite side of the arena, just under the Central Viewing Tower.

He saw the bulky king of the monkeys helping the old Hokage walk. It had been a long time since Jiraiya had seen him wear his armor. Danzo was walking alongside them, and so was a mysterious boy wearing clothes very similar to those of the girl that was hugging Naruto just behind him.

Such a detail escaped him at the moment, though. All he cared about was that the old man was alive. His smile was so big that his jaw hurt a little.

Not too far away, already deep into the forest that surrounded Konoha, three young genin from Sunagakure were jumping between branches at very high speeds. Among them was the redhead boy.

"Temari, Kankuro." As he spoke, both the blonde girl and the boy with the black suit turned to look at him.

Normally, he was not very talkative, so it was unusual for him to want to do so.

"I'm sorry."

Chapter Text

Two tall men were making their way down the tall mountains in the northern regions of the Land of Fire. Both wore a long, black cloak with a pattern of repeated red clouds decorating it. The cloak's high collar obscured their faces, as well as the ornamental white cloth attached to their conical sun hats.

They jumped down into a plain surface in between cliffs. They were closer, but it was also getting late.

"It's such a shame that Orochimaru beat you to it." Said one of them. His face had features that resembled those of a shark, mainly his gills and sharp fangs. Under his hat, he wore a hitai-ate, though the symbol of Kirigakure was slashed.

"He failed." Replied the other man. His skin was pale, while his long, dark hair reached a length that was not visible due to his cloak. He also wore a hitai-ate, though his own bore the symbol of Konoha, which had also been slashed. "He could not even defeat the old Sarutobi."

"Well, I heard they still suffered a few casualties and mostly damage to infrastructure." He smirked while glancing at his companion.

His incitation was ignored, and the pale man simply looked up to the sky. "Nothing about my plan has changed."

A drop of water fell on his nose. Soon after it, more began to fall from the clouds. Rain was about to begin.

"We should go into that cave." The man that looked like a shark pointed at a nearby opening that resembled a cave. "We don't want you to catch something before you do whatever you're planning."

The pale man looked at the cave and simply began walking towards it. His companion followed. He was not content with the lack of response, but at that point he was used to it.

Once they arrived at its entrance, they noticed that a few boulders had collapsed and partially blocked the way in. The taller man, who resembled a shark, made half of the inu and tatsu seals, before the water from the rain gathered around him and formed four balls. Then, they were launched at the boulders, and the impact reduced them to dust.

Then, the two calmly walked into the cave, ready to wait for the rain to stop.

Once inside, the pale man simply never stopped walking. He noticed that the cave was quite deep, and he followed the natural path into the depths of it. Not even bats were inside, it was seemingly desolate.

The man that resembled a shark grabbed his massive sword, Samehada, as he suddenly had the same feeling as his companion. Something was off. A presence, other than them, was somewhere in there.

Eventually, the pale man noticed a small bean laying on the ground. He crawled down and grabbed it. It seemed like a regular bean, one yet to fully mature due to its green color.

After a few seconds, he tossed it away before continuing his way.

The bean bounced on the wall and then on one of the boulders right next to them. The last hit launched the bean deeper into the cave, where darkness restricted vision even more.

A deep exhalation echoed through the walls of the cave and reached the ears of the two men. Then, something resembling the sound of static followed.

The pale man turned around, the iris of his eyes with a burning scarlet red color.

"Out!"

Both of their bodies flickered before the cave exploded and everything above it collapsed. Pieces of boulders shot outside the cave, but they were easily dodged by the cloaked men. The intense rain quickly soaked their clothes, but their hats kept their faces somewhat dry.

However, nothing could have really prepared them for what came from the cave. A single explosion cleared all the boulders that had blocked the way once again. A thick cloud of smoke and dust blocked the sight, but both men could sense the intimidating presence of whatever had caused the explosions.

Heavy footsteps were followed by a green crest that emerged from the cloud. Then, his face, and then the rest of his body. Surprisingly, the creature was even taller than the shark-like man. Almost two heads taller. Its body was completely naked, and its skin seemed more like the chitin exoskeleton of an insect. His body had a color palette of green and orange, with black spots spread all throughout.

"Ah… Finally free." He stretched his limbs and breathed in the fresh air. "I might be back in my first form, but…"

He opened his hand, revealing a set of only three fingers, and aimed his palm at the man that resembled a shark.

"Seems like I'm still the most powerful by far…" Then, simply aimed one finger, almost as if he had changed his opinion. A small sphere of green energy formed just over his black nail, before shooting a powerful beam that pierced right through Kisame's heart.

The cloaked man collapsed on the ground, while the intense hemorrhages quickly became evident.

The pale man's posture tensed as he pulled both of his arms inside his cloak. There, he prepared a very specific jutsu.

"Yes, that's it!" Cheered the older Namekian with his deep voice.

He was just outside the hut while training his son. The day had gone by quite normally, up until that point, when the first attempt to actually create the Dragon Balls was made.

The kid's Ki was already exceptional, and that was intentional by Piccolo, who made sure his son was as powerful as his own body allowed. But even then, neither him nor the other Namekians inside his head expected such quick progress.

Akira was extending his small hands towards the grass. His hairless head was sweating a little due to the considerable effort he was doing to concentrate his magic in materializing the base for the dragon. Small yellow light particles formed on the palms of his hands.

Piccolo watched in awe as the small statue of the dragon took shape. It was like a serpent, similar to Shenglong. However, it also seemed to have a completely different texture to it.

The little Namekian began to breathe quite heavily, for which his father decided to transfer him some extra energy. He extended his bigger hand and transferred a little bit of his Ki to his son. If the statue could be finished then, it would save them some time that could be important later on.

With his energy refilled, Akira managed to finish the small statue. Finally, he created a small bowl of glass to cover it. He fell to the ground from the exhaustion of creating it. Then, he exchanged glances with his father.

The statue then revealed that the new dragon was a feathered serpent. It was an interesting choice that none of the known Namekians had taken.

"You did it…" Piccolo was quite impressed, with even a little of disbelief. "You did it!"

He picked up his son and raised him upwards. The kid was caught off-guard and a little scared, but as soon as he noticed the happiness on his father's face, he began to smile and laugh.

That laugh had been the first time Akira used his voice.

"And I thought you were a prodigy, eh junior." Said the old Kami, who smiled quite serenely at the warm image of Piccolo and his son.

"One's children are as powerful as oneself, after all." Added Nail.

However, their cheerful moment was interrupted as Piccolo felt something unusual just behind them. He carefully and slowly put the little Namekian back on the ground. Akira was a little confused, but his smile still remained strong.

The tall Namekian turned around, expecting a stranger. However, what he met instead was something akin to a hole in reality. He had to crawl down to see what was in it.

His eyes widened in shock as he recognized the face of Bulma through the small hole. The circle was actually a portal that somehow communicated them with their old world.

"Piccolo!" She yelled from the other side. As she stood up from her desk, she dropped her cup of coffee, while several gasps and voices echoed in her surroundings.

What the Namekian could identify as the voice of Chi-Chi reached his sensitive ears.

"Is Gohan there?! Is he okay?! Bring him back, Bulma!"

Piccolo's eyebrow ticked a little. "He's fine, but… What's going on, what is this?"

Bulma shook her head before sitting back down. The feat of the machine actually working was already shocking enough, but the fact they found Piccolo and Gohan so quickly was just not on her budget at all.

"This is an interdimensional portal." Explained the blue-haired woman while typing furiously on the keyboard of her computer. For a few seconds, the portal became unstable and emitted a sound resembling static. "The plan was to get you back through it but it seems this is the biggest I can get it to be."

"Just when we were starting to get used to this place." Piccolo turned to look at his son, who was a little confused at the situation. Then, he turned back to Bulma and let out a sigh of relief.

The fact she found them was still good news in spite of everything that happened in the past couple of months.

"But wait." He realized a little detail. If he was right, then Cell should have destroyed the planet. "How are you alive? What happened to Cell?"

Bulma continued to type furiously before carelessly replying. "He disappeared alongside you."

Those words hit Piccolo like a massive anvil on his head. His breathing stopped completely for a solid three seconds, while he felt drops of cold sweat falling down his head and antennae.

"He what?"

"Wait, he is not there with you, is he?" The mature woman stopped typing for a moment.

Piccolo's shocked eyes indicated something other than just insecurity at the possibility. However, the Namekian simply didn't know.

She let herself fall against the chair. "I can't seem to get it to grow. This is the best I can do."

Bulma grabbed her cup of coffee and threw it away. For the first time, she had found her ceiling, her limit. Throughout her entire life, with and without her father, she had managed to break through the horizons of science. She had invented the most innovative machines of her time, but now she had reached a limit she could simply not surpass. She was unable to achieve full teleportation in between dimensions.

Once again, Chi-Chi's voice was so loud that Piccolo could hear it through the portal. Despite how small it was and that only Bulma was visible through it, he figured from the whispers and Chi-Chi that the others were also there.

"Do you think…" this time, Gohan's mother was audibly sobbing, "you can fit some capsules through the portal?"

The blue-haired woman wiped the tears of frustration that were starting to flood her eyes. "Actually, yeah, I think so. Why?"

Chi-Chi broke down a little, so someone else continued speaking.

"Well, we kinda saw this coming, or, Uranai Baba did. So Master Roshi told us to prepare some gifts in case they couldn't come back." Krillin's voice explained.

"Though, my idea was more to get them there through the Dragon Balls." The old man added.

Bulma widened her eyes. "You thought so little of me?!"

"No, no." Krillin replied nervously. "It was just a good plan that could work in both scenarios."

Then, someone unexpected spoke.

"It's such a shame…" The man sounded quite disappointed, though had not yet fallen completely to sadness. "I had returned for a day to welcome them back."

"Goku…" It was impossible for Piccolo not to recognize his old rival's voice, even if faint and soft through an interdimensional portal.

"Chi-Chi and I will go last." Finally said the Saiyan.

After a brief silence, Bulma walked away, still with some tears in her eyes.

The first of the team to come was Yamcha, who had returned to having long hair. However, what surprised the Namekian was that he was already looking considerably older. His face had some wrinkles, while his hair had some gray spots.

"Woah, Piccolo, you look exactly the same!" He scratched the back of his head while handing over a couple of capsules. "I guess I envy those Namekian genes! Anyways. I couldn't think of much, but I thought a signed baseball bat and my old sword were good enough gifts."

"Hurry up, Yamcha, the portal can collapse at any given moment!"

The man of the many scars was scared by Bulma's warning, and so sped up his words. "Well, I hope that place is not that bad and I hope my gifts are okay. See ya!"

As the man jumped away, two more came in his place. Tenshinhan and Chiaotzu looked just the same, though some wrinkles had taken over the former's face.

"Well, we struggled a little, to be honest." Said Chiaotzu, while Tien handed over two capsules. "I think, since it's all we do anyways, the best we can give you is uniforms of our martial arts school and a book with our techniques! I also added my recipe book, in case you ever needed it."

Piccolo nodded as he put their capsules on the floor right next to the ones from Yamcha. He pushed his son back as the little Akira tried to reach them with his small hands. He was also a little embarrassed and preferred not to show them his new son.

"Our apologies if the gift is not good enough. We hope to see you both again, one day."

The duo walked away, and in their place came the familiar face of Krillin. However, he was no longer bald. His gray hair had grown fully, as well as a thick mustache. Alongside him, Master Roshi also squeezed his way into the small image of the portal. Nothing had changed about him other than a different pair of sunglasses.

"Hey, Piccolo!" Waved Krillin, before softly elbowing the old master. "Um, where's Gohan?"

"Well, he's not here at the moment. He went away earlier in the morning." Explained Piccolo while scratching one of his cheeks.

"Huh?!" Yelled Chi-Chi.

Krillin looked very scared for his life before continuing to speak. "W-well. Make sure to give him this, then."

Roshi handed over a few capsules. "We decided to gift you some uniforms from the Kame school, as well as a turtle shell especially for Gohan. We figured you wouldn't be fond of the idea, Piccolo, but I also got you a staff perfect for your size. A replica of mine!"

Despite how proud the old man felt, Piccolo cringed a little. He was indeed not very fond of the idea.

"Karin and Yajirobe also sent a bunch of senzu beans. Certainly will come in handy, I figure." Continued Krillin.

Neither of them could say anything else as Chi-Chi moved them away with two powerful kicks to their heads. Then, the woman, also considerably older than the last time they met, looked furiously into the portal.

"What do you mean Gohan isn't here?!"

"He went to visit some city with a friend he made." Piccolo explained, not wanting to make the woman even angrier. "He's fine, I can sense him here and… no one here is stronger than us two."

"That's some good news!" Goku, who looked just the same as when they fought Cell, stepped into the conversation. His signature smile was drawn on his face, but something about it felt a little melancholic. "I'm sure you've been taking good care of him, Piccolo."

The Namekian nodded. Something felt off about saying goodbye to his rival. The boy who killed his father. The boy who defeated him. And the boy who went on to not only save Earth, but also the universe.

The Saiyan handed over a few more capsules. "Vegeta gave me his gifts so… There you go."

Chi-Chi, still crying, managed to calm herself down enough to speak more clearly. "My father and I gave him some money and I gave him biology books so he can continue studying to become a scholar!"

"I decided to give him my old power pole. I also found an old friend of Gohan's, so please make sure to get him out of the capsule quickly! I don't know if he can get hurt inside there… It's Icarus, his dragon. I think his capsule is of a different color"

"Oh, Dad and I also gifted him some weapons. It was his idea." Chi-Chi was not in agreement with it, but she figured it could be necessary at some point. "Alongside the pole, you have Ox Satan's legendary axe and the Bansho fan."

"And, well, Vegeta gifted him a Saiyan armor. Sadly he left nothing for you, though, Piccolo. I'm sorry for that." He then took another capsule from one of his pockets, after seemingly remembering it was there. "Oh, I did get something for you, though. It's Kami's old robes."

The Namekian received the capsule and stared at it for a while. Then, he looked back at Goku and nodded. That was his way of showing gratitude and respect to him.

"These are a lot of gifts. I'm sure Gohan is as thankful as I am."

"Piccolo." Began Chi-Chi, while holding back her sorrow. "I've never liked you much, but please. Take care of my Gohan."

Once again, the tall Namekian nodded. "I'll do my best."

The portal then began to collapse. Bulma rushed back to her computer and began typing furiously once again. However, the situation soon escaped her control.

"No!" Were the last words she could say before it closed completely.

Then, as the silence set in, Piccolo took a couple of minutes to process what had just happened. He first looked at the pile of capsules he had been given through the portal. They were the only proof that the portal was real and not a hallucination.

He grabbed the only purple capsule among the bunch and turned to look at Akira.

"I think you're gonna like this one."

Piccolo clicked the small button on top of the small device, before throwing it away in front of them. From a small cloud of smoke, a familiar purple dragon emerged. He looked around with some confusion, before recognizing Piccolo and rushing towards him.

Icarus jumped on the unsuspecting Namekian and began licking his face repeatedly. Right next to them, Akira could not stop laughing at the endearing scene.

Chapter Text

Anko was one of the jounin escorting the mysterious boy to the Hokage's office. A couple of days had passed ever since Orochimaru's invasion, and the stranger hero of the village had been kept in between interrogation rooms.

Despite his fight against one of the most legendary shinobi in history, he seemed quite calm and rested. No major wounds, no major psychological effect. He just came in and wiped him out of the face of the Earth like he was nothing. Anko could not conceive that.

The other jounin was Kakashi, the man that had been in charge of the mission of the northern regions where that boy had been first encountered. And he, like the violet-haired woman, constantly stared at the boy from behind.

Lord Third had been very clear in that they could not even touch the boy. He was to be brought safely to the Hokage and his advisors, and when everything was fully understood, a decision would be taken.

As the trio finally reached the door that led to the office, Anko's common sense was overrun. Her eyes snapped open as he perceived the sudden rise in her energy signal and she pushed the boy to the side. Then, she kicked him towards the wall and grabbed a kunai from one of her pockets. She pressed the weapon against the boy's neck, while he was standing against the wall.

Kakashi reacted quickly and pressed his own kunai against Anko's neck from behind. Gohan was caught off-guard, but his arms were ready to get out of the situation.

"Let him go, Anko." Ordered the silver-haired jounin with determination.

The woman did not say or do anything. She simply remained in the same position.

Two ANBU appeared out of seemingly nowhere to join Kakashi. But not even them were enough to make her move away.

"Tell me." She finally said, while her eyes were shaking slightly. "How?"

Gohan gulped. "How?"

"How did you kill him!?" She yelled back.

The half-blood flinched and hesitated in his reply.

"How did you kill Orochimaru?!"

"I just did, I don't know." Answered the boy. "I just did what I've always done. I just fought."

The answer did not satisfy the woman, who lowered her arms. The ANBU moved in to submit her, but Kakashi stood in their way and shook his head.

"Let's continue as planned."

Gohan felt a shiver go down his spine before returning to the door and opening it. The light that came in from the window of the office dazzled him, so he covered his eyes with his right hand.

The silver-haired jounin gave him a soft push forward. The boy understood the signal and continued forward.

The office was a relatively cozy place. Shelves filled with books about diverse topics decorated the walls, alongside the many paintings and portraits. Four of which were the faces of the four Hokage that had ruled over Konoha.

Lord Third was sitting peacefully behind his desk, which was filled to the brink with towers of paperwork. Next to him, Danzo and Ibiki were standing firmly.

"You may take a seat, young Gohan." Said Hiruzen as he pointed at the chairs in front of his desk.

As long as he sensed the energy signals from all three men, he got a bad feeling about the situation. Ibiki, a tall and very bulky man, stared directly at him, irradiating something akin to killing intent. As for Danzo, he was as silent and still as always, almost like a corpse watching over his surroundings.

The half-blood decided to follow instructions and sat down. For a brief moment, he looked behind him. Kakashi and Anko noticed and glanced back at him.

"So, first of all, your full name was Son Gohan, correct?" Asked the old leader.

The Saiyan nodded.

"I've never heard of that clan." As the Third spoke, the boy could hear someone writing on paper, but he could not see anyone doing so. "Where do you come from?"

Gohan hesitated, unsure of what to reply. If he was to be honest, he was not from that world. But was that a realistic answer?

"I come from Mount Paozu, from a very distant land."

Hiruzen glanced at his advisor briefly before turning back at the boy. "Never heard about that place either, how interesting."

"How about your family?" Inquired the man with half of his face covered in bandages. "Can you give us any names?"

"Is this for… some registration?" Gohan replied with a question of his own.

Danzo was displeased with the boy's response, of course. If there was something the elder appreciated it was efficiency. To him, any form of questioning or resistance during interrogations was futile, especially when at the mercy of Konoha.

"Indeed, so please, we will need your collaboration, young one." Hiruzen explained, before beckoning his advisor and the boy to continue.

"My father is Son Goku, and my mother is Chi-Chi. My maternal grandfather was called Ox Satan, while my paternal grandfather was named just like me, Son Gohan." He scratched his chin while diving into his thoughts. "And that's all the family I know of."

"Very interesting." Added Hiruzen. "Was your family dedicated to fighting in some way? It seems you are well versed in… martial arts of some sort."

Gohan laughed nervously. "My parents participated in some tournaments. Dad won one a few years ago."

"A civilian tournament?" Pressed the old Hokage.

"I guess?"

The Third once again glanced back at his advisor. This time, for a few more seconds than before.

"Have you ever been trained in any of the shinobi arts?" Asked Danzo.

"No, sir. I only learned about shinobi through Sakura."

"Do you know who Orochimaru of the Sannin was?" Continued the advisor. His face now showed slight disbelief, rather than a purely neutral expression.

The Saiyan shook his head. "Sakura and her teacher told me to go for him and I did. I had to ask mister Hokage which one of them was Orochimaru."

This was confirmed by the leader himself, who nodded with curiosity as everything seemed consistent.

"Why did you kill him, then?" Asked the Third, quite curious about the boy's motivations.

"I sensed his energy." He lowered his head while explaining. "And it was evil and ill-intentioned. There was something off-putting about it. Something… twisted."

"A talented sensor. Fascinating." Hiruzen said. "Well, whatever the case, we appreciate your service."

Gohan nodded in acknowledgement.

"And we are willing to reward you in exchange for something else."

Kakashi widened his only visible eye.

"Join Konoha as a shinobi. We'll give you everything you need." The Third scanned the boy's face, checking for any signs of what he would say. Unfortunately for him, there was only hesitation.

The boy scratched the back of his head. "I'm sorry, mister Hokage. I don't really like fighting. Sakura told me what being a shinobi meant and… I don't think I'm made for that job."

Once again, Danzo was displeased.

"If you do not like fighting, then why have you trained so much to reach such prowess?" Hiruzen was simply caught off-guard by his response.

"Sir, I've been forced to fight since I was four years old. It's never been my choice to fight." He looked down. For a brief moment, the image of android 16's face flashed in his mind. "I only fought Orochimaru because he was a threat to life. And the reason I fight is to protect the innocent and the living beings of this world."

The advisor's demeanor did not change with the boy's speech. Lord Third, however, was impressed.

"I see, Son Gohan. What an admirable path you have chosen." The man turned around to look at Ibiki, who nodded back. "Alright, young boy. I insist on our offer to at least move into our precious village."

He shook his head. "I already have a home, and a friend waiting for me there. I appreciate the offer, but I can't accept it."

Gohan stood up and bowed as a form of apologizing, but also showing gratitude. However, before the Hokage could respond, the silver-haired jounin intervened.

"Is that friend…" he began while staring at the mysterious boy. His purple clothes were so familiar that they brought back memories to him. His spiky, black hair was impossible to mistake. "The green man?"

Gohan gulped. Despite his best wishes, the man had recognized him.

"Yes."

Chakra began to gather on the man's right hand, while the Saiyan sensed it perfectly. How could he explain the fact that Piccolo was an alien? If they believed he was a demon, like people did back in his own world, then he would be in serious trouble.

"My friend is not a demon." He raised his hands. "And nor am I."

"Then what is he?" Asked Kakashi. His other hand was already at the height of his face mask, while the temperature in his arm began to rise as well.

"It's hard to explain." Admitted the boy. He sighed, completely cornered. "His species are called the Namekians. They're peaceful people that live out of water and sunlight, just like plants."

"Then why was he so powerful, if such a species is peaceful?"

A drop of cold sweat slipped down the Saiyan's face. He was between a rock and a hard place, and was running out of options in regards to his answers. It was already unlikely that they would believe Namekians were a thing.

"Well, he fused with someone."

"Fused?" Inquired Lord Third. He knew about all kinds of jutsu, even forbidden ones; but he had never heard about such a thing as fusion.

"Yes. Namekians can fuse. As in… mixed. Two can become one, and such." Continued Gohan, as he started to notice intrigue in the faces of the men in front of him. "And my friend, my master, fused with Kami."

The Hokage was the first one whose eyes snapped wide open. He was followed by Ibiki and Kakashi, while Anko flinched. As for the old advisor, he gritted his teeth.

"Kami?!" Gasped the woman.

"He fused with a god?" Added the frightened Ibiki.

Then, an idea appeared in his mind, almost like a light bulb turning on. He nodded confidently, before raising his finger.

"But now, through my master, Kami has reincarnated." The captivated looks of everyone in the room carefully followed the boy's every move. "He is still a toddler, but very soon he should start to grace this world with… magical objects!"

"Fascinating…" Admitted the Hokage. "Would it be possible for us to meet the reincarnation of this Kami?"

Initially, Gohan was not sure if they would believe the story at all. He was the most surprised about their apparent belief of it all.

"Once he has grown older, I'll make sure to arrange a meeting!"

Behind him, the violet-haired woman murmured. "So that's how you did it… With the favor of a Kami."

Somewhere deep inside, Gohan began to wonder if it had been a good idea to tell them that little Akira was a god, rather than the full truth. He would have to talk about it with Piccolo.

"Amaterasu!" Yelled the pale man as a small black flame formed on the creature's shoulder.

Cell watched it with interest. It slowly spread throughout his chest and arm, and every time the pain got stronger. What was more fascinating to him was how it was immune to the intense rain that would have turned any regular fire off by that point.

"Very fancy trick, I must say." The creature charged his Ki and dispersed the black fires simply with his aura.

Itachi widened his eyes. Inside his cloak, he began a different combination of hand seals.

Added to the rain, lightning began to fall around them. Brief sparks were left in the air, and they gathered until they had formed a massive hawk.

Cell opened his arms, excited to receive it directly. He was very interested in how seemingly different fighting was for those people. Their Ki felt different, but they also manipulated it differently. And yet, they were not half as strong as the Z warriors were, or so it seemed to him.

The hawk began to wave its wings before finally launching itself at the creature. It was a direct hit and an explosion ensued upon impact. After the hawk disappeared into the explosion, small sparks were left to give the android's body extra electric shocks. Finally, lightning struck Cell from the heavens, culminating the attack.

The smoke dissipated relatively quickly due to the heavy rain. What it revealed was not what Itachi or any experienced shinobi would have expected to see. Cell was completely intact except for a few burns. An S-class elemental jutsu had done no damage to it at all.

Uchiha widened his eyes as he locked glances with the android. In a split second, Cell suddenly saw as the man replicated himself millions of times. Then, the man also began to run and float in every direction possible. And periodically, some of the replicates of his own body disappeared by themselves.

The android rubbed his eyes and shook his head, but whatever was going on around him did not stop. He even began to get dizzy, when he felt something akin to several spikes hit his arm directly.

He was finally snapped out of the genjutsu by the pain caused by a direct hit from Samehada. Itachi had picked up the legendary weapon from the corpse of his former partner, which now lay lifeless on a puddle of his own blood.

The sword had now freed itself from the bandages that kept its true appearance hidden. Unlike what would be expected from a blade, it was not made out of metal. Instead, it consisted of downward-facing scales all the way until its hilt. On the end of the blade, it possessed a mouth, which was now chewing on Cell's arm.

The android felt that some of his energy was being drained and sucked by the mouth of the sword, but he found it endearing more than anything else.

"Now that's an unusual sword. I'm very intrigued by you, so far."

Itachi's face remained focused and neutral. He pulled the sword back and then thrusted against the android. However, Cell simply stopped the sword with his bare hands. Even through the sharp scales that formed the sword, the creature pulled it off the man's hands and threw it away.

While on the floor, Samehada continued to twist to try and reach the green creature, as his energy had been especially tasty.

Cell smirked while he looked Uchiha straight in the eye. Those were clearly not regular eyes, not only because of the intense red color of the iris, but also because of the black patterns on them. He could also sense his energy, which despite not being impressive in its sheer magnitude, something about it felt special.

The three tomoe of the man's sharingan began to spin very quickly. This had an almost hypnotic effect on the android, who found himself unable to look away. And then, everything around him disappeared.

For a brief moment, he floated in an empty space, before being transported to a red dimension. He was sitting on his knees while his hands were tied to a wooden pillar right behind him. A massive stone structure was then dropped on his knees, before over a hundred copies of Itachi emerged from the shadows with blades on their hands.

One of the replicas took a step forward and raised his voice. Its intensity and echo almost made it feel as if he was a god.

"For the next 72 hours, the weight on your knees will get heavier and heavier, while we stab your back and ribs constantly."

When Cell finally recovered his senses and found himself back in the real world, he was in the exact same place at the exact same time. The rain was still soaking him and everything around him, while his body had no real injuries. However, he felt exhausted and some of the pain was still there.

But the pale man was nowhere to be seen. Only the other man's corpse and his sword, still twisting and turning on the ground. Apart from the rain, the only other sound that reached his ears was that of crows cawing.

"What the hell?" Were the only words that came to mind.

Perhaps he had grown weaker than he expected after losing his perfection and the androids. He would have to go back to his old ways.

He grabbed the lifeless corpse of the shark-like man by the neck and raised it. Cell was almost an entire head taller. He stripped his cloak off, and then let him fall back on the puddle of his blood.

He carefully analyzed the cloak, and saw that it only had the small holes caused by his beam, which he called the 'Perfect Shot'. It was certainly more than useful for hiding some of his appearance, especially after how negatively his previous two opponents had reacted. Even back when he first traveled to the past, he had been met with horrified expressions.

Cell put on the black cloak, and then buttoned it in the same fashion as its previous owner. He looked at himself in the reflection of the small puddles of water that resulted from the rain. It really matched him, or so thought the bio-android himself.

He turned to Samehada, and noticed that it was still fighting to get closer to him. This caused him some laughter. He grabbed Kisame's sash and put it over his cloak, in the exact same way as the shark-like man. Then, he took the sword and put it in place. The bandages he chose to leave behind, as it looked more menacing like that.

"We have something in common." Cell said as he remembered his days of absorbing people to get stronger. Now, he would probably have to return to such methods if he wanted to survive. "I have a feeling we might get along fairly well."

His long tail crawled slowly out of the cloak. It was green with several black spots on it, and at the end of it, there was a brown needle-like structure. Almost like a proboscis. It approached the corpse of the shark-like man, and then stabbed it with his tail. Through it, he began to absorb the dead body. Surprisingly, it still had an impressive amount of energy in it. So much so that the android had a small spasm once he finished.

Only the clothes of the man were left, while his body was nowhere to be seen.

"Ooh, that's a nice charge."

Chapter Text

A group of Otogakure's top shinobi had gathered in the throne room in which Orochimaru had once sat. Kabuto and some of the survivors of the costly Battle for Konoha's Destruction had already learned the news from the Sound Four, but many of those who stayed behind in the Land of Rice were yet to know.

The daimyo had also not been invited to said meeting. The situation was critical, and it would be better for the organization to solve it internally first. It was also possible that, if presenting themselves without a good enough solution, the ruler of the land could completely remove the economic backing of the village.

Apart from the elite squadron of the village and Orochimaru's right hand man, other members had been called as part of the meeting. Kimimaro, who was sitting on a wheelchair, as well as Arashi Fuma, leader of the Fuma clan branch that joined Oto, and Guren, who was one of Orochimaru's favorites as well.

Kabuto was still wearing a porcelain mask from Konoha's ANBU. He was stuck staring at Orochimaru's empty throne. It was a regular one made out of stone, with some metallic ornaments in the form of white snakes. The medic quickly noticed that everyone was looking at him, so he simply turned to the Sound Four and beckoned them to begin.

Tayuya, a pink-haired girl, was the one to speak first. "Lord Orochimaru died during the battle."

Those who knew remained silent, while everyone else gasped almost in horror. Orochimaru was not only the supreme leader of Otogakure, which was barely a real shinobi village in the traditional way. The Sannin was also the main piece keeping it all together; he was the reason the Daimyo of Rice was so interested in funding the organization, he was the reason why so many unfortunate orphans and missing-nin sought a new purpose in life in Oto.

Kimimaro clenched his fist, while he began to feel dizzy. Moreso than usual.

"What now?!" Asked Arashi. He was a middle-aged man and a veteran of minor gorilla wars his clan had fought years prior. Orochimaru had promised him the resources to maintain his clan, and that's why he took the controversial decision of joining Otogakure, which split the Fuma clan in two different branches. The news hit him like a ton of bricks. "Is Oto going to disband?"

Guren lowered her head, assuming the fate of her Lord's project. To her, outside of all the reasons why she admired the man, what was more shocking was that an immortal, a god like him could be killed in the first place.

"If that's what the majority wants, then sure." Kabuto replied while glancing at the patriarch of the Fuma clan.

Kimimaro, as ill as he was, smashed his fist on the armrest of his chair. "We can't just abandon Lord Orochimaru's dream like that."

"What do you suggest, then?" Asked the blue-haired woman. She was as hopeless as everyone else.

"I suggest voting for a new leader." The Sannin's former right hand man replied, beating the hesitating and distressed Kimimaro.

Arashi gritted his teeth. "The Daimyo will retrieve all economic backing without Orochimaru! And we cannot remain here under such circumstances."

"If it comes to that, then we can't let him have a choice." Yakushi was holding tight onto the white-haired boy's wheelchair. "In fact, without Lord Orochimaru on the way, perhaps we can use the Daimyo to negotiate with the rest of your clan."

The man was caught off-guard by the idea, but he could not say he was displeased. He thought about it, and it made sense. After all, Hanzaki had refused to join because of Orochimaru, who was a dangerous criminal known around the world.

He simply nodded, before Jirobo took the chance to speak.

"Let's vote then."

"Who are the candidates?" Asked the boy of the six arms.

"All of us in attendance." Replied Tayuya.

Everyone then nodded in agreement of the procedure. After a few seconds of silence, the voting began.

The first one to raise their hand was Arashi. "I vote for Kabuto."

Guren followed. "I vote null."

"I vote for Kabuto, too." Jirobo announced, while turning to the rest of his teammates.

"Kabuto." Simply said the pink-haired girl.

"I vote Kabuto, too." Continued Kidomaru.

Sakon hesitated slightly more, but in the end he gave in. "We vote for Kabuto, too."

"I vote for Kabuto as well." Said Kimimaro, though his stare was locked on his fists.

The man of the porcelain mask then nodded. "I refrain from voting as it's settled."

He removed his hands from the white-haired boy's wheelchair. He walked towards the empty throne and carefully wiped some dust using his hands. He stared at it for around thirty seconds, before finally sitting on it. A chill went up his spine. It almost felt wrong to him.

"So what're the new orders, boss?" Asked Kidomaru, while stretching all six of his arms.

"We stick to the previously established plan. Kimimaro's surgery remains for today. And we schedule a formal meeting with the Daimyo of Rice for next week as I need some more time to properly heal my wounds." Explained the gray-haired man. "As for the new talent, did we capture all of our intended targets?"

All members of the Sound Four nodded in response. Kabuto smirked behind his mask.

"And Kumogakure succeeded in capturing the heiress of the Byakugan." Added Jirobo, while crossing his arms.

"Then we must meet with the Raikage as well. Let them know we are ready to proceed with that project as well." A small smirk appeared on his face. It took him a while, but after the shiver, and the somewhat thrilling sensation of sitting in Orochimaru's throne, he was starting to get excited. "And of course, let everyone know across all bases and outposts that I am their new leader."

"It's hard to believe indeed." Sarutobi said calmly.

Right after the meeting, they remained together even when Gohan had left. There was more to be discussed without his presence.

"But I must also recognize that the possibility is there, and it's considerable enough to be considered." He finished.

Danzo, while satisfied with his rival's initial statement, was less so when nuance was added to it. He frowned, wanting to make his disapproval of such beliefs.

"Orochimaru was immortal. I could not think of any other explanation for such a feat by such a young boy." Anko, still shook by it all, said. She was looking down at her own hands and had been so ever since the boy revealed he had befriended a god. "Plus, Kakashi reported how they defeated the Nine Tails like it was nothing. It's…"

"Not in its full splendor. A shinobi of the highest level could rival the fox if it's only using fractions of his power." Shimura intervened, tired of hearing nonsense. "Trapped in a vessel, a tailed beast can rarely release its full power, which is part of the reason we keep them sealed."

"Then again, I must agree with Anko." Kakashi joined the discussion. He witnessed their power, and could not keep his own beliefs and concerns quiet just to please some elders. "I hit my raikiri directly into the green demon's abdomen. That would have killed any shinobi, regardless of their power or rank. No amount of jutsu or chakra can save you from having your vital organs destroyed. And yet, he survived."

Danzo remained silent, but he made it clear through his menacing stare that he was not content with the jounin's intervention.

"Indeed, many things are very strange in this case. But for now, we can only wait and be careful." Sarutobi continued smoking from his pipe.

"And what does being careful mean, exactly?" Pressed the advisor.

Ibiki gulped. The tensions in the room were getting higher than he was comfortable with.

"Well, we can't really just let him go freely. It could backfire in the long run. But on the other hand, we don't know how he might react if we keep holding him here. He seems like a good kid, but his power is simply terrifying." Sarutobi turned around to look outside the window of his office. A drop of sweat began to pour down from his forehead. "I'm starting to think we might have to let him go back to his home."

"You've officially lost your mind, Sarutobi." Declared Danzo, completely baffled by his words. "We can't simply let such an asset go."

Ibiki could not disagree with the advisor, for as much as he admired Lord Third. If it was not Konoha, then someone else would pick him up.

"He'll be supervised, of course. And we will request him to visit our village at least once a week. That way we may have more time to convince him to move permanently." Sarutobi sighed. "That's my plan, at least."

"Supervised by whom?" Inquired Kakashi. If he had to be honest, he would rather if he was not put to such a task.

"Well, I've been playing with different ideas. Haruno Sakura, your student, has become quite close, which makes her the obvious choice. But being a genin, I don't think she's the correct one." He took his pipe out of his mouth. "So I think I've decided. Anko shall watch Son Gohan."

Kakashi's only visible eye widened.

As for Anko, she was simply paralyzed.

"So, how did it go?" Asked the pink-haired girl.

Gohan had been staying at the Haruno home ever since returning and intervening in the battle. They had been lucky that the house was not destroyed by the enemy. And so was the Saiyan that he had been received with open arms.

Kizashi Haruno, Sakura's father, was only slightly suspicious of the boy. As a shinobi, even if one of the so-called 'eternal genin', he had heard some rumors that were being said about the boy following his private meeting with the Hokage. Not only that, but it was already hard to believe that a boy younger than his own daughter had been able to kill one of the legendary Sannin.

Now, both of them were sitting on Sakura's bed, in her room. The Haruno home was not very close to the center of the village, so it was a more private place for the now renowned mysterious boy. The girl also closed the curtains of her room, wanting to avoid as much attention as possible.

The half-blood scratched the back of his head. "I suppose it went well, if I'm here. They offered me to become a shinobi."

"Eh? Just like that?" Sakura raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?"

"I said no, of course. I don't even like fighting." He shrugged while shaking his head. "I don't think I'm cut out to be a shinobi."

"Well you'll need some money now, and I bet someone like you could make a lot of money as a shinobi!"

"I don't really need money." He laughed nervously. "I have everything I need back in the forest with Mr. Piccolo, remember?"

Sakura scratched her chin. "Right."

"Um…"

The girl opened her green eyes to look at him. "Hm?"

"Why're there like six people just out the window?"

Sakura widened her eyes before jumping out of the bed. She rushed towards the window and moved the curtains to peek. Her curious, even worried expression was replaced by a furious one as she was met with the blue eyes and blonde hair of her only remaining teammate.

"Naruto!" She yelled before opening the window and grabbing the boy by the neck.

"Hey, hey! Calm down!" Naruto tried to beg for his life, but it was useless.

"Don't think that just because we've been going through a lot I'm going to let you do whatever you want!" She said while repeatedly punching his face.

Meanwhile, more faces peeked from outside. One of them was familiar to the Saiyan, as it was Konohamaru.

The kid jumped into the room and then bounced into the girl's bed. He cleared his throat and then pointed his finger straight at Gohan's face.

"I challenge you for the hat!"

The half-blood was confused and exchanged glances with the pink-haired girl, who finally let go of the defeated Uzumaki.

"What hat?"

"Well, the Hokage hat, of course!" Replied the youngest of the Sarutobi while confidently nodding.

"Why me? Your grandfather is Hokage, isn't he?"

"Not anymore, no." Shikamaru spoke as he and his team also jumped into the room.

Alongside him was a fat boy and a blonde girl.

Ino crossed her arms. "Lord Third just announced he is stepping down due to his old age."

"What?!" Sakura, Gohan and Naruto yelled in unison, being quite shocked at the news.

"Who's taking the hat now?" Continued the blonde boy, while rubbing his sore head.

Shikamaru shrugged. "No news on that yet. Seems like Danzo, Lord Third's old teammate, will take over temporarily."

"And the rumours say…" Another voice, this time unknown to Sakura as well, echoed through the room.

Another boy, wearing a green spandex and with a peculiar set of very thick eyebrows, jumped inside from the window.

"That the mysterious boy that killed Orochimaru of the Sannin is going to become the Fifth."

"Ha, great." Ino looked away as he recognized the boy.

He walked past team 10, and directly approached the pink-haired girl. They exchanged stares for a few seconds, until the boy suddenly kneeled in front of her. He carefully grabbed her hand and kissed it once.

"Never in my life had I witnessed such beauty in person. Wonder what the name of this angel could be." He stood back up, expecting a reply that did not come due to the girl's shock. "My name is Rock Lee! What is yours?"

"You came to my house and you don't even know my name?!" The girl yelled back.

Lee nodded calmly. He then pointed at the group behind him, which included Naruto. "I just followed them."

"Well, yeah, I thought all of us were coming." Naruto put both of his hands behind his head. "Except for those that went out to search for Hinata."

"Search for Hinata?" Inquired the pinkette. Right in front of her, the boy of the bowl cut still awaited a response.

"She was kidnapped during the invasion. Didn't you know? We're not sure by whom yet, but Neji, Kiba, Shino and Tenten went with Kurenai and Guy to search for her in the Land of Rice." Explained Ino. "Gosh, you really don't know anything!"

Sakura was about to reply quite harshly, she didn't even know half of those names, but she was interrupted by the curious glance of Lee, which reminded her of their previous conversation.

She sighed. "I'm Haruno Sakura, nice to meet you."

The boy seemed fascinated by her name, even if it was a relatively common one, at least among civilians like most of her family. He gave the girl a thumbs up, before revealing his shining white teeth with a smile. "I guess destiny has put us together, because I was kept out of my team's mission for technical reasons!"

The pink-haired girl blinked, while Gohan behind her fell on his back.

"Would you like to go out with me? I swear I'll protect you with my life!"

This time, even Konohamaru's jaw dropped all the way down. In fact, the boy then fell on his back and rolled down the bed, so deeply embarrassed by the situation that he just wanted to look away.

Sakura's eyebrow ticked. "No, not really."

"About our fight, though…" Konohamaru rolled over the Saiyan's side and stood up to face him.

"But that's impossible. I don't even live here." Gohan replied.

"Yeah, he isn't even a shinobi!"

Shikamaru shrugged. "No one has any idea about who'll succeed the old man. There's no one like the Fourth Hokage that's obviously going to take the hat."

Hiruzen calmly walked through one of the many parks around the training grounds. He admired the flying birds, the flowing wind and the budding trees and flowers all around him. In his mouth, he was holding his good old pipe, from which he was smoking the usual tobacco.

It had been his first time in thirteen years walking on that park as a regular citizen of Konoha, and not the Hokage.

After a few minutes, he finally reached the end of the rock path that crossed the grass. There, Jiraiya was already waiting for his master.

Sarutobi could not help but smile at the sight of his student, mostly due to the weight he had finally taken off his shoulders.

However, the toad sage shook his head once he recognized the old face of his master. He was no longer wearing the robes of the Hokage, but the regular robes the elders of Konoha used to wear as a sign of status.

"At this moment, resigning as Hokage?!" Questioned the man with the long and spiky hair. "We're at war with Suna and Oto and you decide it's a good time to resign? Have you lost your mind?!"

"Otogakure is in no position to try anything without Orochimaru, so we must not worry much about that." The Hokage inhaled from his pipe while turning upwards to look at the sky. "As for Suna, my last move as Hokage was to settle that. It seems Orochimaru usurped the Kazekage after murdering him, which is a pretty good excuse in itself. However, it also means they don't have any interest in continuing the war, especially as they suffered heavy losses."

Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"My successor will only have to figure out who to marry to the new Kazekage, the son of the previous one." Hiruzen shrugged. "There's plenty of candidates. It shouldn't be hard."

"The jinchuuriki?"

Sarutobi nodded.

"Well, that's why you were the Hokage for so long, I guess."

"My next and final task, though, is to find a successor." He glanced at his student. "Danzo is eager but he's just as old as I am. I would like to leave the village in the hands of someone younger. I know your answer but I'd like to ask you one more time, if you'll allow me."

The Sannin rolled his eyes before crossing his arms.

"All the advisory council and most of the jounin agree you are the best option to become Fifth Hokage at this point. I certainly agree, as well."

"I'm not suited for that, master." He lowered his head.

"Then we have no alternative." Sarutobi cracked his neck. Jiraiya turned to look at him, almost scared at the prospect of Danzo becoming the official Fifth Hokage. "We must find Tsunade."

The white-haired man widened his eyes.

"I'd thought of the same."

Chapter Text

"We understand that you step down as Hokage, but risking your life to search for Tsunade is just foolish!" Protested Koharu.

The elders had once again held a meeting, this time at the request of the old Sarutobi, who now held the position of merely an advisor. His old age and his great struggle in fighting Orochimaru made him realize that it was time for a generational change in the leadership of the village.

"I will be going with Jiraiya. And I might be old but I can certainly still take care of myself!" Hiruzen waved off the concerns of the other elders.

"Jiraiya also requested to take the jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails with him." Added Homura with a stoic expression. "We can simply not allow so many important resources to be put together and sent to search for someone that has been off the radar for years. And especially as we suspect that Itachi might be planning some form of retaliation!"

Danzo, the new interim Hokage, cleared his throat to announce his intervention in the conversation. "I'll allow it. Jiraiya and Lord Third are a duo that very few, if anyone at all, can even dare to challenge in the world. It's also in Konoha's best interest to officially elect a Hokage as soon as possible."

Homura and Koharu exchanged stares. Eventually, they reluctantly nodded in understanding, knowing that they could not protest the decision of the interim Hokage. However, they could try to give a suggestion.

"Then we at least request that a black ops squad escort them from the shadows through the whole mission."

Sarutobi glanced at his old friend, who understood that the final decision was relayed on him. For the interim Hokage, it was quite surprising how much his old friend avoided important decisions. His desire for retirement came back uncharacteristically after the invasion.

"I believe Masanari has recently returned to Konoha after several years on an S-class intelligence mission." Said Shimura. "Seems like a fitting leader for this elite black ops squad."

"Seems ideal indeed." Agreed Homura, now a little more satisfied with the outcome.

"I'll decide on the other two ANBU, but it's settled." The man with half of his face bandaged nodded. "Hopefully you do find Tsunade and bring her back to the village."

Hiruzen could read that there was something off about his old friend's tone. And even more strangely, Danzo had a small smile on his face when giving his good wishes to the Third. He was a stoic man, with always a serious expression on his face. He was not the expressive type of person, and he had never been.

Another quiet day was girded over the serene forests of northern regions of the Land of Fire. Near the cabin you could only hear the flow of the small stream in front of it.

Right there, a small green-skinned boy was looking at five vaguely rounded stones very carefully. He seemed to be concentrating solely on their form, examining them carefully. They had to be round enough to function as a mold for the future set of dragon balls. If they were not, the process would be delayed for several more days.

In his opinion, although not very reliable due to his young age, they were enough. But still, there were only five of them, and there had to be seven in total, at the very least.

A sudden sound of splashing water distracted him. He turned his head towards the small river and watched as a purple dragon emerged happily from the water. He shook the water off him as he touched the grass and then kept walking towards the boy.

"Icarus!" The little Namekian shouted, waving at the dragon with his little hand.

The dragon responded with a smile and one of his signature dances.

It had been a couple of days since that mysterious portal appeared along with a wide variety of gifts. Akira still didn't quite understand it, but he was happy with several of those things. For example, he used Yamcha's old sword as a toy from time to time.

On the other hand, Icarus was not yet accustomed to all this. He had recognized Piccolo, of course, but he was still waiting for Gohan, who was he really excited to see again. For him, it had been a few years since he had met the young Saiyan, and such a fact made him a little sad.

Regardless, he had found good company in Akira, who reminded him of Gohan in more ways than one.

Both continued to play for several minutes, as they did not have much else to do either way. Until Piccolo arrived, of course.

The Namekian landed in the small clearing holding the last two rocks. Despite their imposing size, his arms supported their weight as if it were nothing remarkable.

He shook his hands and then cracked his neck. He sighed and finally spoke.

"I think those work. I found them in a cave in the mountain range that is further north. It looks like there was a collapse recently." He said in his usual calm tone.

Both Icarus and Akira stood firm as they noticed the arrival of the Namekian. However, they quickly noticed that Piccolo was distracted. Normally it bothered him to find them playing, but this time he didn't even notice.

The two exchanged confused glances as the Namekian looked up at the sky. He looked serious, but in a different way than usual.

"Akira."

"Hm!"

"Remember what I taught you about suppressing your Ki?"

"Mhm!"

"Never stop doing it unless I tell you to. Understood?"

Akira nodded, and Icarus imitated the gesture.

"I wonder where Gohan is." The dragon raised his head in interest at the name of his old friend. "It's taking longer than usual."

After a few seconds of silence, the Namekian seemed to come back to his senses.

"Well, Akira, let's continue. The sooner we have the new dragon balls, the better."

"So let me get this straight…" Said a familiar blonde boy.

He was standing in between two men in the middle of a road. They were out in an open field, surrounded by grass and the occasional tree. They had just crossed the thick forest that surrounded Konoha, and were now in the outskirts, where the roads became visible and some small stands began to appear.

One of the two men was the now retired Third Hokage, who was now wearing regular robes and who was free of any headdress. He calmly smoked from his pipe, while carefully glancing at the young genin.

The other man was considerably taller and almost as bulky as Lord Third had been in his youth. His very long hair was also white, but not due to old age. He had red markings under his eyes, almost resembling tears.

"You're looking for a cutie that disappeared a while ago." Continued the genin, while the two older men nodded enthusiastically. "So this is just a perv trip! Why would you take a kid like me on such perverted travels?!"

Sarutobi laughed a little before shaking his head, while Jiraiya seemed quite proud of the way the kid described his mission.

"This woman is actually a renowned kunoichi from Konoha!" Explained Hiruzen.

Naruto squinted, and crossed his arms. He stared at both of them for a few seconds. "I still don't see how that is relevant to me. I should be training and getting stronger! Trying to fight that Gohan guy or something!"

"Hey, hey. You know… I can teach you a certain secret jutsu I know!" He tested an offer, and continued once he noticed that the boy's eyes were now glowing with interest. "It's even better than Kakashi's Chidori!"

Now, even Hiruzen was glancing at him with interest. If his suspicions were not wrong, the Sannin's intentions were to teach the boy the secret jutsu from Lord Fourth.

"Say no more, Pervy Sage! I'm in!" Yelled Naruto with excitement.

Jiraiya could not hold his big smile back. Instead, he showed it to his master with pride. He already knew the kid pretty well, so much so that he could convince him with relative ease.

The old Hokage smirked slightly, remembering when Jiraiya was as old as Naruto and used to be as enthusiastic as him.

Naruto then remembered something, and his enthusiasm declined a little. He stopped walking and began scratching his chin.

"Yo, old man." He called.

Hiruzen turned to look at him once again. He raised an eyebrow, indicating he was listening.

"Has there been any news on Hinata?"

The old man gulped before glancing at Jiraiya, though of course the Sannin could only shrug at the question. He placed his hand over his wrinkly forehead, wanting to make sure no drop of sweat fell from it to reveal his nervousness.

"Not yet, Naruto." Replied the old man, accompanied by his usual warm smile. "I'll let you know once I learn anything about the mission."

At the main gates of Konoha, the Haruno family had gathered to bid farewell to their latest guest. The one who had kept his daughter safe out in the open.

As it was daytime, the flow of people was just as massive as usual, so they had moved to the side of the entrance, where they would not block the entry and exit of people.

The place they chose was, specifically, near the hut where three chunin were placed to watch who entered and left through the gates of the wall. These were the only visible shinobi, but civilians knew well that many others were watching from the shadows.

Gohan was a little nostalgic. He spent about a week in the village and received relatively good treatment for the bad situation they had been experiencing lately. The reconstructions were still in process and it would take several more weeks to return to normal. But both he and Sakura knew well that he had a place to return to.

The girl's parents took their time thanking the boy. They gave him clothes that bore the symbol of his clan, which was a great sign of respect, despite being a modest clan. In addition to several other gifts, mainly food. Then, right there, he received many bows in gratitude for having saved the life of the young genin.

Of course, Gohan blushed at such great gratitude. He tried to bow as much as they did, for he was also tremendously grateful for the good treatment the family had given him.

Finally, what seemed to be an endless loop of bowing came to an end. For a brief moment, a somewhat awkward silence formed.

That's when Sakura took her chance. He approached the boy and hugged him. She also had a lot to thank him for, including the new skills he had acquired in his brief training.

Gohan just stood there, nervous. He didn't know how to react, but eventually he returned the hug.

The girl separated after a few seconds, but stayed close to him.

"Thank you for everything, Gohan." She said as she lowered her gaze. "Send greetings from me to Mr. Piccolo and Akira."

The saiyan nodded. He scratched his head.

"We'll see each other again, won't we?"

"Yes, I'll try to come back from time to time." The boy replied. "After all, the Hokage asked me for that favor. I don't know why, but it seems that he wants me to stay."

"I see..." She smiled. "Well, know that I am waiting for you here!"

Gohan smiled back, revealing his teeth.

"Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye." The saiyan said as his smile waned a little.

Sakura nodded, while maintaining a somewhat bittersweet expression. They both sighed, and he turned to leave.

However, someone stopped him.

"Wait!" A high-pitched voice shouted from the crowd.

Gohan turned and tried to identify the source of that voice. It was then that from the horde of people walking a familiar child emerged.

He tried to pose but stumbled as his blue scarf got stuck in the crowd. Instead, the image he gave was that of his face colliding with the ground.

"Konohamaru?" Gohan asked, somewhat worried about the hit.

He tried to get closer, but someone else beat him. Gohan looked up and met the familiar face of the purple-haired woman. The saiyan swallowed.

"Oh, Lady Anko." Sakura exclaimed, a little confused to see her there.

The woman took the child by the hair and lifted him up. Konohamaru rubbed his face, now wounded by the blow he had given himself. Still, he regained his composure surprisingly quickly and resumed his pose. Finally, he pointed towards the spiky haired boy.

"Take me with you!" He yelled.

Anko groaned at the boy's attitude.

"Huh?" That was all Gohan could say.

"Don't even think about it, kid." The purple-haired woman replied.

Again, the saiyan swallowed. He didn't want to make her angry, because he didn't know what she was capable of. Especially after that unfortunate encounter they had right before his meeting with the Hokage.

"But father and grandfather have just left again on a mission! I don't want to stay here alone and bored while they come back!" Konohamaru claimed, clearly defiant. "You're no one to stop me!"

Gohan feared for the boy's life, but the woman did nothing. She simply sighed.

"I don't have time for this."

"Umm... why do you want to come with me?" The saiyan asked with genuine curiosity. "You don't even know where I'm going."

"That's not important. I just know that you are strong and I want you to train me!" The boy declared. "Naruto told me that there were no shortcuts on the way to being Hokage, and I don't plan to be left behind."

On his back he carried a backpack that was very large for his size. He took it off for a moment to show it to the spiky haired boy.

"Look! I'm ready."

Gohan laughed nervously. "It looks like it."

"So, will you train me?"

"I don't think it's good to leave the village without your grandfather's or father's permission." Gohan patted the boy twice on the head. "Although, if you want to train, you can do it with Sakura."

The boy pointed at the pink-haired girl, who was surprised.

"She knows some of my tricks." He said while winking.

Konohamaru sighed in defeat. That he took defeat so quickly was uncharacteristic of him, but perhaps it was a sign of a certain early maturity.

He put his backpack on his back once again and kept his gaze on the floor.

Sakura cleared her throat to get their attention.

"Excuse me, Lady Anko." She said in a soft voice.

Anko looked at her, and her gaze softened a little. It seemed that the only presence she tolerated there was that of the girl.

"Yes?"

"Are you taking care of Konohamaru?"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "No, I found him by chance."

"Then what brings you here?" The girl asked. "Are you on your way to a mission?"

She shrugged. "Something like that. Lord Third tasked me with the mission of keeping an eye on your friend."

Sakura's eyes widened. Keeping an eye on Gohan?

"It was one of the conditions of the Hokage to allow me to go." The boy said a little nervously. "I accepted more than anything to avoid problems. I really need to go back; Mr. Piccolo must be worried."

Anko looked away at the mention of the Namekian. She was still a little in desbelief by everything he had told them during their meeting.

"I will ask you one thing, though, Sakura." The woman said. "Do not lose sight of the honorable grandson. He's one mischievous creature."

The girl, a little nervous, nodded her head. She didn't understand why the village thought it necessary to assign a jounin as Gohan's escort. He was anything but dangerous. They simply feared him without knowing him.

But she did not protest. She remained silent, fearing the consequences opposing such a measure could have on her and her family. At least she knew that, in any situation, Gohan and Mr. Piccolo could figure it out.

"Anyway, it's time to get going. You lead the way." Anko said in her usual tone disinterested tone.

Gohan simply nodded.

Chapter Text

A young girl and her sister were crawling slowly and carefully on the ground under a small bridge. The river that passed through it was usually dry, which allowed passage through that small area. The bridge was made of stone and marked the main entrance to his hometown, which had now been reduced to a ruined and empty village.

Both had peculiar greenish hair, contrasted by an almost golden eye color. The girl was already well into her teens, but her younger sister had only just begun to read.

On that specific day, her mother was supposed to be out of town to sell some of the crops they had produced. Normally, they went alongside her, but her grandmother needed her company because she was sick. Then, her mother told them to stay and she went to sell in the capital by herself.

Now, they had neither a house nor a grandmother. They barely clung to their lives, hidden under that stone bridge.

The girl was completely ignorant of the situation they were in. She simply kept silent because that was what her sister had asked her to do, playing with her own hands. The girl, however, was terrified. It had been about three minutes since the heart-rending screams of the other villagers had stopped. Now there was only silence, with the occasional sound of the wind blowing. Because there were not even birds left in that place.

Then, she thought she heard a flash of lightning. The tremors in her body were interrupted by a small jump as a result of the fright caused by the powerful rumble. The ground itself shook as if it were about to give way, and then, everything exploded. Her village, vibrant and beautiful yet small and humble, was reduced to an empty crater.

The last thing she saw was her little sister's scared face. Then her sight was blinded by a powerful radiance.

She was thrown forcefully across the bridge. She felt her body hit the ground without her being able to do anything to prevent it. She rolled and rolled, falling down the dry river basin.

Still badly wounded, she clung to her consciousness and tried to get up. The most she managed was to rest her body on her knees. She would always regret that decision. When she looked in the direction her village was supposed to be, she only found a huge crater. Completely empty, dry and flat. The only thing inside was the occasional rock.

She took her own head in her hands and pulled her hair. Her face twisted into the only grimace that a horrified girl, whose innocence had just been raped, could produce. Her jaw opened so wide that it cracked a little.

Then, she shouted.

She screamed as much as her anatomy would allow. Her lungs emptied, but the need to scream did not cease for her. Between deep breaths of air, she beat the ground in desperation.

The monster, floating in the air, looked at her with pleasure. He even let out a small laugh. Although this town had been a feast for him, he considered this girl simply irrelevant. He found it much more exciting that she survived to tell the story of how he razed that town and thus spread terror.

He dropped the girl's small dress before flying off at lightning speeds.

So far, this strange world, devoid of familiar signs of Ki, had put no real obstacle in his way.

In the capital of the Rice Country, everything was going normally. Residents of the burgeoning urban center walked from side to side in the people-infested streets. The markets were overflowing with product, so the inhabitants of the place and even travelers made long lines to buy.

The city was essentially made up of three districts. First, the common district, in which ordinary citizens lived. Then, the commercial district, in which the city's markets are located. And finally, the central district, where all the official and administrative activities of the country's daimyo were concentrated, as well as the place where the luxurious residences of the growing nobility were located.

Normally, due to the status of the sector, the central district did not have as much traffic as the others. Mostly, only government officials, guards, nobles, and, of course, shinobi, prowled the streets of the luxurious district.

On that day, a peculiar meeting took place in the vicinity of the daimyo's intelligence offices.

The spacious building had luxurious gardens that made it resemble a castle of the nobility more than anything else.

Three hooded shinobi entered through one of the openings of the building. That remained undetermined and was not relevant information either.

Once inside, they came across the familiar image of a man flanked by his two guards.

One of them was a boy with a dark complexion and curly hair, whose main characteristic feature was the four arms he had on his torso. The other was a tall girl, with very spiky brown hair and whose face was mostly covered by a black mask.

The man they were protecting was sitting on a wooden throne. The room was dark, so that it prevented the proper admiration of that piece of furniture. But in addition, the man wore a black robe, the hood of which obscured his face.

The two guards tensed at the sudden arrival of the three strange shinobi. However, this tension faded as soon as they removed the hoods from their heads.

They were shinobi from Kumogakure, the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Or at least, that was indicated by the hitai-ate they carried on their foreheads.

A blond man, who was leading the group, stepped forward, leaving his companions behind. He looked intently at the mysterious man who sat in the shadows. However, he was unable to identify any features.

"Orochimaru." He called in an imposing voice, almost as if he were giving an order. His hands remained under his robe, but in reality they were prepared if the situation escalated to physical violence.

The man laughed. That was not the laugh of the famous Sannin.

He got up from his seat and took two steps forward. Then, the blond could see his face. Or rather, only half of it.

The other half of his face was covered by a broken porcelain mask, similar to those worn by Konoha's ANBU. The portion of his face that was visible revealed a different identity than Orochimaru's.

"I'm afraid that Lord Orochimaru didn't survive his confrontation with the Third Hokage." He placed his hand over the visible half of his face. "So, instead, I have been chosen as the new leader of Otogakure."

"What Konoha reported was true... Incredible. And to think that even in his advanced age, the old Hokage was able to defeat Orochimaru..." The blond was surprised. "Although, of course, I suppose you will understand that this changes the conditions of our business."

Kabuto laughed. "I don't see it that way. Otogakure continues to have the necessary resources to move forward with the project. I am not as famous as Lord Orochimaru once was, but I assure you that my skills and knowledge do not fall short."

He dropped his hand to reveal half of a wide smile.

"Orochimaru offered the Raikage to replicate any kekkei genkai and any prodigies that were brought to him." He said condescendingly. "Are you still capable of such a thing?"

"Not only that," the gray-haired man began. "Without Lord Orochimaru's obsessions, we can focus our resources even better. While our former teacher's intellect was unparalleled, his obsessions limited his abilities... I not only offer them that, but I promise them that and much more."

The blond remained silent for several seconds. He was considering the offer. In reality, it was not in Kumogakure's interest for the old agreement to fall apart. After all, they had taken the risks of kidnapping the heiress of one of the most important noble clans in Konoha, and they couldn't just not do what they had planned with her.

Not to mention the resources the Land of Lightning had already invested in Orochimaru's research as part of their alliance.

"Good." He finally said. He extended his arm towards the new leader of Otogakure. "My name is C, I'm one of the closest to the Raikage."

"Yakushi Kabuto." The young man replied simply.

"A large perimeter on the outskirts of the village was covered before our infiltration. One of those camps contains all the hostages." He explained coldly.

Kidomaru felt a small tremor run down his spine. The way the great nations operated was quite creepy.

"As soon as we are out of the capital, they have instructions to hand over the hostages. We will provide all the details that we agree upon for this delivery." Kumo's jounin continued. "I suppose you will understand that any hostility will result in the total destruction of the country. The hostages must be handed back, dead or alive, once the research is concluded."

"Got it." Kabuto said calmly as he shook the blond's hand.

"Good. We will proceed to withdraw, then."

At one of the many restaurants in the shopping district, a somewhat mismatched family was having a calm, quiet dinner.

Night had already fallen, but there was not the slightest sign that activity in the capital was going to decrease for that reason. The only thing that changed is that the bars began to fill up.

That restaurant was also full. It was to be expected, as they served a wide variety of dishes, always involving rice, which were renowned and recommended throughout the city.

The family was made up of six people.

The father was a lanky man with a strange bowl cut. His thick eyebrows were hard to ignore among people, even though his clothes were the most ordinary and simple. The mother was a pale woman with long black hair, which was then tied in a ponytail. Her red lipstick increased the contrast between the color of her lips and her skin. Although, by far, her most striking feature was the crimson color of the iris of her eyes.

That couple seemed to have four children. A boy with tanned skin and rather messy brown hair. A paler boy who hid his eyes behind dark glasses. A brown-haired girl who seemed to be completely focused on the restaurant's menu. And finally, a boy with long brown hair whose eyes looked like a pair of pearls.

"Do you think they have oysters?" The mother asked in a soft voice.

The father shook his head. "It doesn't look like it."

He looked from side to side, as did his wife. Both seemed to be analyzing their surroundings very carefully.

"Maybe we should go into the central district." The boy with the disheveled hair suggested.

"I don't think they will allow simple tourists to enter." The mother replied, bringing down her son's suggestion.

"Yes, you're right in that it's the place where they're most likely to make the exchange." The father interfered. "Maybe it's time to take a little risk, if we want to intercept the exchange."

The mother didn't seem very happy, but she relented.

"Good."

A large number of Oto ninja had gathered outside the daimyo's intelligence building. Many were visible to the naked eye, but even more were hidden in the shadows, watching the landscape carefully.

Among them was their leader, who was to oversee the exchange they were about to make. After all, there were many conditions that simply couldn't be violated even if by accident.

The darkness of the night did an excellent favor in hiding all this fuss, for it was unlikely that any civilian would see such an unusual shinobi meeting.

About half an hour went by before the Kumo-nin finally made an appearance. There were about five of them and they were escorting at least ten hostages. None of them seemed to be older than fifteen.

The hostages were chained. They looked dirty and thin, and they were wearing rags. They walked in a straight line, following the rhythm marked by the lashes they received on their backs.

One of Kumo's shinobi approached the Otogakure leader, while the others handed over custody of the hostages to the sound-nin.

"A request came from the Raikage at the last minute." He explained. "Lord Fourth requests that the princess be returned alive. So he insists that no stupid things be tested on her. She is worth more alive than dead."

Kabuto nodded, though he was more focused on the chained younglings who were being handed over to them.

"Got it. The others are expendable, aren't they?" The gray-haired man looked at the Kumo-nin.

"Yes."

Then, he smiled. "Good. We will report the first results soon. We have already begun to see progress in our other research programs."

"Lord Raikage hopes so." The shinobi finally indicated.

The bio-android could fly across the entire continent in a matter of seconds, and all this without releasing a percentage of its total power.

Even in the many days he had spent in this strange world, he had felt that no one was capable of presenting him with even the slightest threat. In that place, he was by far the most powerful of all.

He had probably consumed more than a hundred villages. None of them were able to put up any real resistance, so it was somewhat boring for Cell. What he had learned was how his new weapon and companion worked.

That peculiar weapon not only had its own consciousness, but it had a lot in common with him, as it also survived by absorbing the energy of others. The weapon had left the lifeless bodies of all those it killed completely dry.

However, it wasn't as efficient as Cell. The android left no trace of the bodies, after all.

That night, after exploring that mysterious continent a little more, he chose his next target. The villages hadn't been enough entertainment for him, so he'd go for a jackpot. This time he chose a large city, which even had luxurious castles and imposing walls.

Of course he did not know the name of the place, but it was not far from the east coast of that continent.

Wearing only the peculiar robe he had stolen from that strange shark man and his new sword.

He looked down and briefly admired the magnificence of that city. In short, that would be a major blow to the ego of whatever country that country was.

Slowly, he began his descent.

Chapter Text

His new dark cloak helped him blend into the gloom of the night. Perhaps that is why no one noticed him, even if he had placed himself just below the moon. Even as he descended, the wind pushed his cloak slightly upwards, revealing the green exoskeleton that covered his legs.

Perhaps as soon as someone noticed his large crest and monstrous head they would panic.

A few seconds passed until finally his feet touched the ground. He landed in a small, dark and empty alley, near a large street that seemed to be very busy even though it was already quite late.

Taking advantage of the cover provided by the lack of light in that alley, he took a few steps towards the street and simply took his tail out of his cloak. Slowly he pulled it out and dragged it on the ground, as if it were a snake. This he did until finally an unwary man stepped on it. Immediately, Cell lifted his tail and dug the tip into his leg. Then he sucked.

In a matter of seconds, he absorbed not only his Ki, but all the organic matter that made up his body. In this way, where that man once was, only his clothes remained, lying on the ground.

The bio-android repeated this process about ten more times, until someone finally noticed the pile of clothes that had accumulated on the side of the street. What neither that person nor the android knew was that the presence of the intruder had been discovered as soon as he entered the area covered by the great barrier that surrounded the village.

However, given the unusual signal emitted by their Ki, a reconnaissance team had barely been sent to the approximate area where they believed it was.

The person was a middle-aged woman, who was a little drunk and nervously stared at what she believed to be a snake. She tried to step on it, but it immediately jumped to attack her. Out of fright, the woman tripped and fell to the ground, accidentally dodging the attack. The tip of the tail dug into the skull of another man passing by.

The man's wife was splattered with some blood and turned around instinctively. Noticing the terrifying scene she began to scream at the top of her lungs, and was soon followed by the drunken woman who had tripped.

A small smile formed on the android's face, who already knew that the best part was yet to come. He raised his tail and tucked it back into his black cloak. Then, he pulled his arm out of the dark sleeve and stretched his index finger forward. He quickly accumulated a large amount of Ki on his finger and began to fire a swift burst of green-colored lightning. These penetrated with impressive precision the hearts of at least thirty people in less than ten seconds. Panic was completely unleashed and the people who saw that and survived began to scream and run. Some fled through the alleys, while others tried to enter businesses and other buildings trying to find a safe place to hide.

Cell slowly walked forward, intending to exit toward the main path to absorb his most recent victims before they died completely. However, as soon as the light from the poles rising from the sidewalks of the road illuminated his appearance and the red clouds of his cloak, he was intercepted.

A total of seven shinobi, all wearing porcelain masks and dark-colored cloaks of their own, jumped from the nearby rooftops and trees and quickly surrounded him.

"You have to be a little... daring to invade Konoha alone." One of them said.

"We're not in the mood for jokes." Another of the ANBU continued. "Turn yourself in quickly and let's get this over with."

The android let out a small laugh. "Well, if you are in such a hurry..."

He repeated the same gesture he had made before and launched a frighteningly precise beam that pierced the ANBU's head as if it were a piece of paper. The shinobi could barely let out a sigh of surprise before falling to the ground, lifeless.

"Who's next?"

The remaining six fell back, leaping into the small walls surrounding the alley. Two of them broke away and continued to retreat, while the others took up position to start the fight.

"Report to the council!" Shouted one of the ANBU who remained there.

Cell tried to throw two more beams at those who were trying to flee, but they disappeared as if they had never been there, and so his attack missed. That surprised him a little. At least they were fast.

Then, he moved his left arm behind his back and picked up his new toy. When he revealed it to his opponents, more than one was surprised. It seemed that the sword had a good reputation. The android placed it right in front of him, proving to not exactly be a master in that art.

When the first ANBU went on the attack, Cell disappeared and reappeared right next to him. He delivered a fierce thrust with his sword that tore through his opponent's side, piercing his clothes with the thorns of his sword and tearing off pieces of the skin and absorbing the chakra in it.

The ANBU screamed in pain and soon his comrades came to his aid. One of them caused the ground beneath the android to rise at high speed into a stone pillar, though it had no major effect. The other two ran at full speed up the sides of the pillar, imbuing the soles of their feet with chakra so as not to fall. They took an immense amount of explosive seals out of their cloaks and placed them along the entire length of the pillar, and as soon as they reached the enemy, they jumped sideways and threw a myriad of explosive kunai.

What resulted was a massive detonation that took with it part of the buildings on that street, possibly even civilian casualties. The two ANBU that executed the attack barely managed to escape, though their cloaks were completely charred, revealing the armor they were wearing underneath.

The other two had already left, as one of them was seriously injured.

When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that the stone column had been completely pulverized. But right above it, now levitating above the ground, was the android, completely intact. His black cloak, of course, had been destroyed.

He smiled again before disappearing out of nowhere. To the average human eye, nothing happened besides the unusual blowing of the wind that suddenly became stronger.

The tip of the android's tail dug into the neck of one of the ANBUs, and within seconds it absorbed all of its organic matter. After a minute, the other shinobi suffered the same fate as his partner.

In a way, Cell was disappointed. Despite the respectable speed they had presented, they had really been little more than boring toys to him. Little more than a sick, old wildebeest for a pride of lionesses.

He placed his sword on his back again before disappearing into the shadows. He could end it all in one go, but that wouldn't be fun for him. He learned it after destroying about three cities in the future from which he came. It wasn't funny, and it wasn't smart. Although, in this world, there was no risk to his life.

Not that he knew.

A mysterious man stood among the many branches of one of the taller trees in the forest that surrounded the great walls of Konoha. His figure was obscured by the shadows projected by the leaves of the tree, though mostly by the black cloak that covered most of his body. The only thing that could be made out from him was the pair of glowing red eyes.

He watched intently as the mysterious creature he fought slightly over three days prior descended upon his hometown. Very patiently so. The red clouds on his own cloak, the one he had stolen from his now defunct partner, gave away his identity.

In a matter of minutes, screams finally reached his ears. He got there trying to intervene in a way that would actually be useful. To relay relevant intel about this new foe to the authorities. But now, having been faced with the fact that, somehow, the creature had gotten there first despite his own considerable head start.

Now it would be stupid to intervene. Clearly, whatever that being was, greatly surpassed his own capabilities. This left him with only one option left, in regards to Konoha. A man he was going to seek regardless due to the mission imposed on him by the Akatsuki.

After waiting for just one minute longer, his body began to disintegrate into a myriad of flying crows. These birds then flew away in the same direction, though never higher than the trees, as the leaves offered a very valuable cover.

Two ANBU spontaneously appeared, covered by a cloud of white smoke, in the office of the advisors of the now-retired Third Hokage. In the latter's absence, they were in charge of the village's leadership. The room, of course, contained the three elders that the desperate and frightened shinobi were looking for.

The three of them turned to their right side to look at the unexpected guests who had interrupted their secret meeting. Without a good reason, they could be sentenced to death for that interruption.

One of them fell to his knees, exhausted, while the other breathed so heavily that he seemed to be on the verge of a heart attack.

The one who was on his knees was the first to speak. "It's terrible! An... intruder! A beast has invaded Konoha!"

The elders exchanged glances. Then, the only female member fired off her question.

"Another invasion?"

The second ANBU continued to speak. "It wiped out the other ANBU in one attack. A strange jutsu... It was something like a beam of green light."

"Also... Before we intercepted him, he was eating people with his tail... It's crazy." The other followed, still on his knees.

Danzo got up from his seat and headed for the exit. His face was stoic, as always, although that action was interesting. It had two possible meanings, or at least two that his old companions suspected: he was going to hide in some secret bunker or he would jump into action, despite having been retired for more than twenty years due to the loss of his right arm.

"Activate the emergency protocol and inform all shinobi departments." The man ordered in a stern tone. "Homura, Koharu... We must ensure that there is a Konoha for a Fifth Hokage to rule over."

Both old men nodded their heads and stood up as well. Without wasting a single second, the ANBU disappeared in a cloud of smoke, intending to carry out the councillor's orders as soon as possible.

A pink-haired girl walked the streets of the central district of Konoha with great concern. Although Anko tasked her with keeping an eye on the honorable grandson of the Third Hokage, she had lost sight of him in an oversight and since then there was no trace of his whereabouts.

In her search she had been joined by the boy's two best friends, the boy's uncle and some friends he brought. Among them, of course, was Kakashi, who seemed to be experiencing torture after being forced to collaborate in that boring task. It seemed unbelievable for him that three jounin were being wasted on such a thing despite the scarcity of shinobi in the face of the many missions the village had to satisfy to stay afloat.

The third jounin was Ebisu, who searched even beneath the leaves, for he was well acquainted with his disciple's stealth abilities. On a couple of occasions, he even lightly hit a pair of caterpillars, convinced that it was Konohamaru using a transformation jutsu.

"Maybe he did that perverted Naruto jutsu..." He said as he looked down the street, where a popular nightclub was located. "And he hid..."

Asuma slapped him on the head, somewhat annoyed by the distractions and nonsense of the one who was supposedly the best shinobi teacher in the village. A drop of sweat fell down his head as he inhaled smoke from his cigarette.

"Focus!"

Sakura peeked out of an alley and saw nothing but a rat running through the darkness. She sighed and was inwardly grateful that Anko was away from Konoha, as she didn't know the punishment she could give her for failing in her mission.

The ginger girl who was a close friend of the lost boy finally clasped her hands together and sighed.

"I'm starting to believe that he slipped away to follow Gohan..." Moegi said, somewhat saddened by that fact.

"I'm afraid you're probably right." Said the son of the Third Hokage. "I'll have to ask for a reconnaissance team and pray that Anko found him already."

"At least with Gohan he will be safe..." The pink-haired girl said, a little calmer now that she remembered that detail. "He's very strong, after all."

The rat's screech distracted her for a moment. She noticed that, despite having left the alley on the opposite side of where she stood, it was now running in her direction. And it did it much faster than before. She looked up to see if it was running away from a cat, but instead saw an insectoid silhouette standing on the opposite side of the alley.

Her green eyes widened. She could not contain her terror for a second longer and let out a powerful scream that immediately alerted everyone.

Kakashi reacted immediately and ran towards his student. He stood in front of her and, with his hand on his black mask, looked with his single uncovered eye at the alley. He noticed the monster that was there and, almost like a reflection, uncovered his sharingan.

"Asuma, get ready." He said in a somber tone.

Sarutobi jumped to his side and understood the threat as soon as he saw the creature with his own eyes. He bit his cigarette hard. It was a demon straight out of hell, something worthy of a nightmare, not something one could see in the real world.

"Ebisu, take the children and alert all the active jounin in Konoha." Hatake added with the same gravity in his voice.

A cackle echoed through the walls of the alley. Cell had a feeling that he was about to have fun.

Chapter Text

The duo stopped as soon as they reached the banks of the River of Fire, after more than 24 consecutive hours of travel. It had been somewhat demanding for Anko, but not so much for the Saiyan, who was used to much more intense physical demand. Even so, he was the one who suggested stopping to rest there, fearing he might push the kunoichi too much.

A wide variety of vegetation had grown along the riverbanks, especially a forest similar to the one surrounding the village of Konoha, which provided useful cover. After all, on an escort mission, it was always best to avoid confrontations. Anko quickly set up camp using hand seals. Two tents, a campfire, and even a small pot for cooking the rations she carried, which, of course, included a supply of dangos specifically for her.

This is where the difference in their methods became apparent. When Anko sat down peacefully on one of the logs she had placed around the campfire, she came across the naked Gohan, who was about to jump into the river.

Her surprise wasn't so much the young man's muscular body, covered in wounds and scars, but rather the utter bizarre nature of the situation. As if he were an animal, the boy jumped into the water and began to swim calmly, looking for a worthwhile fish.

The jounin simply stared in disbelief. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, but beyond that, there was no further reaction. Perhaps his prowess in combat and his unusually well-built body for his age could be explained by being raised in the jungle, alongside animals and exposed to the harshness of nature.

Finally, she decided to ignore it all, assuming it was the most mature course of action. She took one of the dangos from her supply and began to eat peacefully. Of course, after turning around to avoid seeing the naked boy again when he came out of the river.

As she ate, she heard a strange noise coming from the bushes surrounding her makeshift camp. At first, she thought it might be an animal, which posed no real threat to a shinobi, much less a jounin. Her response was to continue eating her dango.

The noise was followed by a suspiciously coordinated movement in the bushes. It wouldn't be unusual for raccoons or similar animals, but this wasn't a group, but a single individual. Anko decided to take the trouble to move her dango away from her mouth and open her eyes. Few things annoyed her more than interrupting these sacred moments.

She scanned the bushes carefully, searching for irregular movements in the leaves. It took a minute, perhaps more, but the movement returned. And it was so obvious that Anko was able to locate the subject almost immediately.

Its silhouette blurred as she leapt into the bushes, catching the stalker on her first attempt. She didn't feel any fur or anything; what she caught was a blue scarf tied around the neck of a brown-haired boy.

Anko grimaced in annoyance, though she wasn't really surprised. In fact, she should have seen it coming and called Ibiki to lock him in a cell. Her impatience had led to this—another child to look after. She couldn't help but wonder what she had done wrong in the past to deserve such punishment.

Konohamaru laughed nervously. He'd been caught, but that wasn't all bad. He wasn't sure how many more hours he could go without food.

"You're in serious trouble, kid..." The veins on the woman's forehead began to bulge.

Her anger was interrupted by the rumbling of the boy's stomach, who smiled innocently. Of course, not content with sneaking out of the village, now he was going to ask for Anko's rations.

Gohan poked his head out, now dripping wet, and watched the whole scene unfold. He had been sensing the boy's Ki throughout the entire journey, but said nothing so as not to upset Anko, whom he was somewhat afraid of.

"Ah, you finally got hungry, huh?" the Saiyan laughed.

The purple-haired jounin turned around and raised an eyebrow. "You knew that already?!"

Gohan laughed nervously. However, instead of facing the woman's anger, he preferred to dive back down to continue searching for fish.

The bio-android stared back at the two jounin as Ebisu fled desperately with the kids. Cell knew the man could run away from him, but the kids could not. He cackled before releasing yet another one of his beams.

Kakashi was faster, as he had already prepared the hand seals to raise an immense wall of thick rock that, while not fully stopping the beam, was able to give Ebisu enough time to vanish from the scene. The silver-haired shinobi was nonetheless startled by the sheer power of the attack, as it blew through his wall like it was no harder than paper.

Cell continued laughing maniacally. He was enjoying the realization process reflect in the faces of the two shinobi. The realization that they had no chances to leave that confrontation alive.

What surprised the creature the most, however, was what they did with that realization. Any regular individual would have tried to flee, but they did not. In fact, their battle stances became even more firm upon the realization that their lives would end there. If they were to die, then they had to make sure it would not be in vain.

Cell's laughter diminished upon this. It was not as fun if their opponents accepted their fates to serenely. He frowned.

He raised his hand to launch a barrage of beams, but Asuma immediately let out a thick cloud of dust into the air from his mouth. The android could not recognize the powder at first, but as soon as the jounin bit a thin string that came out of his mouth, causing it to ignite, it became evident that it had been gunpowder.

The android flew up at great speed almost as a reflex, dodging the explosion quite successfully. The next second, he realized it was not necessary, as such a weak explosion could not have harmed him.

Above him, the intense, piercing sound of birds chirping overwhelmed the creature's ears. He raised his head to look at the silver-haired jounin, who was coming down at him at great speeds.

Cell instinctively charged a quick masenko, unleashing it directly upon the shinobi. Even then, Kakashi was able to pierce throw the energy wave with his chidori. So much so that he was only a few milimeters away from hitting the android before he teleported away.

Now at the opposite side of the alley, the bio-android look up at the sky once again, only to find that the jounin had once again disappeared.

Underneath him, a dragon made out of rock and earth raised to eat him. Cell destroyed it with a swift energy wave, but this made it so he did not see the furious Asuma approaching him with his blades in hand.

A rapid and vicious barrage of attacks suddenly overwhelmed the beast, who nonetheless managed to dodge every last attempt with relative ease. He finally managed to grabbed one of Asuma's arms, which he squeezed hard enough to weaken his grip on his weapon, which he dropped. Cell continued squeezing harder and harder, wanting to break his arm, but as his bone was about to break, the sound of birds chirping overwhelmed the ears of the beast.

He dashed backwards, letting go of Asuma's arm, but dodging what would have been a direct blow from that mysterious technique. Cell might not know exactly what it was, but the spikes in the jounin's energy signals indicated it could be dangerous to be hit by it, even with their great difference in power.

Cell threw an energy ball at Kakashi, who exploded into lightning upon contact. Cell widened his eyes as he received a power electric shock from the lightning clone. How could they damage him that much despite him being far beyond their level?

He took a step backwards, which triggered a trap. A myriad of chakra strings immediately began wrapping around his legs and tail. The opposite ends of each string had been tied to at least five explosive seals each, which meant that soon these seals were launched towards him.

Upon contact, the dozens of explosive seals accumulated into a series of deadly explosions that Kakashi and Asuma watched from a nearby rooftop. Asuma was grabbing onto his arm, which while not broken was for sure injured.

"Was that it?" He said as he gasped for air.

"I really do not think so."

As Kakashi finished his sentence, a green beam struck Asuma through his chest. The bearded man could only gasp in shock at the realization.

Kakashi widened his eyes. A barrage followed the first individual beam. Sarutobi was struck at least twenty more times before collapsing lifeless to the ground, while Hatake barely managed to hide behind the building.

Even then, he knew he was facing the end of the road. He looked everywhere, trying to find a good escape route. He did not have enough time, though, as a single beam pierced through the building to strike the floor right next to him.

The shot had not missed, as it was a warning telling him that the monster knew where he was hiding.

The jounin swiftly began chaining one hand seal after the other, until the creature inevitably peaked from the side of the building into the back, where the man was hiding.

Kakashi noticed his presence but chose to ignore it, as his next move depended on the jutsu he was going to attempt. A jutsu he had once attempted to dominate, but failed, and one he had never felt the need to ever try again.

The sound of birds chirping filled the entire place, which caught the bio-android's interest enough to make him stop and watch in awe. As sparks began to shoot out from the man's arm, soon what used to resemble the chirping of birds, turned into completely unbearable whistling that would easily rupture the ear drums of a regular person.

Cell, whose ears were especially sensitive, felt dizzy for a solid second.

As he recovered his composure, he noticed that the sparks were no longer blue, but purple and very clearly unstable. The silver-haired man's energy signal had shot beyond anything the android thought possible for any regular human being, while the skin was coming off of his arm in real time.

Despite the great pain that overcame him, Kakashi rushed at the android as fast as he could.

Cell widened his eyes.

He barely managed to dodge the attack at the last second, and then did what he could with the incoming barrage of attempts against his life. Cell was frankly surprised, as that human had been far more annoying than he ever expected. When he first arrived, there was no Ki signal worthy of his attention. But it seems that those humans could also hide their true strength, even if ultimately still insects.

With every slash, Kakashi felt the great burden not only on his chakra reserves, but on his physical body as well. By the time he finally grew too slow and too weak to even keep the purple lightning going, even part of the bone of his arm was exposed, as his skin and muscle had slowly been disintegrated by the sheer energy he had tried to wield.

Once Cell noticed that the man was out of energy, he grabbed the man's arm, still glowing with fierce purple lightning, and raised him. The electricity was so powerful that it did manage to burn the bio-android's hand.

But then, the monster's tail left his cloak and pierced through Kakashi's chest, exactly where his heart was. The shinobi could not even let any words out, as his body just immediately gave in. His head fell down as his entire body went limp.

Through his tail, Cell began sucking the man's power. And by the time he had finished, the man's skin grew wrinkly and dry. Finally, only a dry husk of his body was left.

Cell dropped the corpse as if it was nothing but trash, without even bothering to look at it one last time in acknowledgement. The great copy-nin did not even deserve that in the eyes of the bio-android.

The creature jumped with little effort into the closest rooftop. From there, he witnessed the scene of thousands of civilians running for their lives, blocking each other's path as more and more people gathered into a mob. They were heading for the gates of the walls, but given how slow they were, and how stupid at gathering so much, they were only making the android's job easier.

Cell then jumped into the street. He licked his own lips as he prepared to enjoy the coming feast. His tail came out from his cloak slowly as he prepared to ambush the mob.

However, his slow walk towards his prey was interrupted by a series of powerful wind blades that were launched at his tail with great speeds. They were not strong enough to cut through it, even though they were vacuum based and thus quite dangerous, but they did leave a bad wound on it.

Before the android could even turn around, he found himself surrounded by three elders, all wearing some form of old armor. So old, in fact, that they seemed to be war relics, given their many cracks and dents.

"Huh, already so pressed that you have to send the geriatrics after me?" Cell mocked. "Disappointing."

One of the elders, an old man wearing glasses who was carrying a giant scroll on his back and two smaller ones on opposite sides of his waist, spoke up.

"We will give you a warning as is protocol." He began, with a deadly glare nailed on the creature. "Surrender, and we might decide not to execute you, or face certain death."

Another one of the elders, an old woman wearing a blue armor of the same style, put her hand inside one of her many bags.

"Time's up." She said before throwing a massive barrage of senbon at the creature.

Cell flew upwards trying to dodge the needles, but one did manage to pierce through his feet.

"Poison's in." She told her teammates. "Time to carry out the rest of the plan."

The bio-android widened his eyes upon hearing the word poison. He crawled to grab the needle and take it out of his feet as soon as possible, though the damage was probable done.

Furious he began to charge a new, even bigger Ki wave. He would not even entertain these fools, as they were proving to be more annoying that he previously expected.

He put both of his hands together and pulled them back slightly, as a blue light began to gather in between. The accumulation of energy alone caused a faint and ominous buzzing that indicated the sheer power that was being held.

"Homura, the absorption seal, now!" Ordered Danzo, a man that looked only slightly younger due to his darker hair, and who lacked an arm.

The elder of the glasses swiftly opened one of his scrolls and scanned through it, searching for the seal that had been demanded of him. The second he found it, he inserted a small chakra signal onto it, which lit the black ink into an orange glow.

"Koharu, join us!"

The three elders sat around the scroll and began making a myriad of hand seals at superhuman speed. Even Danzo, who did only half of them, given his lack of another hand.

Cell began cackling at the efforts of the elders. Even when he felt their energy signals spike, and the strange pulses that came from the scroll, he perceived their efforts as useless and pathetic.

His wave was ready, glowing with a blinding blue light and ready to put an end to what he believed was the last line of defence for that city.

"Die!" He yelled before pushing both of his hands forward, releasing a massive Kamehameha. His own Ki spiked, which would normally catch the attention of his foes if they were anywhere near. However, as far as he knew, he was now alone in that world.

Danzo looked at the incoming wave and began sweating profusely.

"Release!" Yelled Homura as he placed both hands together. The effort of executing the seal alone was enough to agitate his breathing.

As the wave was finally about to hit them directly, the seal intercepted it and, surprisingly, began absorbing it. The symbols made out of black ink jumped out of the scroll and began to wrap around the blue wave. And the harder Cell pushed, the more the symbols wrapped around his technique, absorbing it to a greater degree.

The elders were holding both of their hands together, though Danzo had left their formation unknowingly to the creature. Their faces, sweaty, and their breathing, heavy, indicated that, as impressive as their feat was, they would probably not be able to hold it for long.

A heavy breath suddenly caught the attention of the android's sharp hearing. He turned slightly to look from the corner of his eye as the third elder held a blade covered in lightning, ready to cut through him.

Cell had to let go of his Kamehameha to turn around the block the blade with his bare hand. He gave the shocked Danzo a stare full of hatred and killing intent, one that, in the elder's view, could only come from a demon coming straight from Naraka.

The bio-android clenched his fist and destroyed the blade with ease. Then, he pointed his finger at the man and shot a laser beam through his chest.

Danzo gasped, though soon his body decomposed into powerful purple lightning. The ensuing shock was strong enough to paralyze the creature for a solid half second, which was enough for the real Shimura to give the order.

From underneath the rooftop, Danzo yelled.

"Now, revert it!"

In only two hand seals, the two other elders modified the configuration of the seal, which once again opened and, instead of absorbing, released the blue wave back at the demon. The technique, though, lost momentum in being absorbed and then reflected by the seal.

Cell gritted his teeth in annoyance. How were simple humans delaying their miserable deaths so much? He could no longer allow them to waste so much of his time.

As the Kamehameha slowly approached him, he, occupied in his inner monologue, was delaying what would be quite the easy dodge for him.

Gohan peeked out of the water once again as soon as he felt a massive Ki signal. Anyone with the ability to sense Ki would notice immediately that a monstrous energy had been released. Though to him, and probably his master, that specific energy was quite familiar. Familiar not in the positive sense, but rather, familiar in the fear it caused them.

"Cell…"

Only Konohamaru, who was near the river, caught what Gohan had said. Anko, for her part, was busy eating her dangos, trying to ignore the kids.

The youngest of the Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Impossible." Gohan completely ignored the presence of the younger kid and the jounin.

He came out of the water, threw the couple dozen fish he had caught near the fire and quickly put his clothes on. Anko noticed it and she gave the boy a confused look. She then glanced at the fish and was unsure if that would be enough to satiate his unfathomable hunger.

However, as soon as she was about to speak, the exact moment Gohan was about to shoot flying into the sky, something else flew above them.

A massive white light crossed the night sky at unbelievable speeds. So much so that it looked like a comet. However, it was flying much closer to the Earth than a comet normally would, unless it was about to crash into the planet.

Anko, still chewing on her dango, turned to Gohan, who was staring at the apparent comet.

"Something's off, isn't it?"

The half-saiyan could only guess what his master was trying to tell him by flying directly above him. His best guess was that he was being told to stay there, unless his intervention became necessary.

"Mr. Piccolo…"

A group of rogue shinobi had set camp on a small mountain near the northeastern coast of Doto island, one of the main islands of the archipelago that formed the Land of Water. Most of them were already sleeping inside their tent, but two figures remained awake.

One, a young, ginger woman, was sitting next to the campfire. Her hair, once long enough to reach her waist, had been cut very short, almost like a man's haircut, to make her less recognizable. Her striking green eyes and pale skin were still odd traits to have in the archipelago, however.

The other was a middle-aged man with unusual blue hair. He wore a long dark-green cloak, and his right eye, usually covered by a patch, was free to see. Unusually, it resembled the eye of a Hyuga, a Byakugan.

"Lady Mei…" The man softly called as he observed what seemed to be a comet flying very close to the surface of the planet.

The woman glanced over at him and noticed the impressive white comet.

"Isn't that too close?"

"Yes. It would seem it'll crash into the land."

The woman dived into her thoughts.

"The Land of Fire is over there, is it not?"

"It is, Lady Mei." The man sighed. "But for as much as we wish, it hitting Konoha seems very improbable."

Chapter Text

Cell was knocked out of his train of thought by the bright blue light and the intense heat of the energy wave that had been redirected at him. He finally moved away, but all of a sudden, and quite strangely, a hand was placed on his shoulder. And said hand was strong enough to prevent his movement.

The bio-android widened his eyes in shock as he realized he was about to take his own attack directly.

Upon impact, the energy wave soon turned into an explosion. A massive cloud of smoke arose from the collision, while a different mysterious figure shot out of the smoke and posed itself on a nearby roof.

Danzo could not believe his eyes, nor could any of the other two elders. The mysterious figure was a strange green man, whose arms had wrinkled skin with specific spots where it was pink instead of green. And on his head he had no hair, only a pair of antennae.

The green man noticed their presence and acknowledged them with a stare that was hard to decipher.

"You should get going. Evacuate as many people as you can." He said before holding his hands up in a defensive stance. The fight was only getting started. "I can get you some time."

"Who… What are you?" Asked a still awestruck Danzo.

"No questions right now." Piccolo insisted. "Go! Now!"

Cell finally shot out of the smoke and immediately engaged the Namekian with a powerful kick straight to the face. Piccolo was barely able to intercept it with his right arm, before immediately throwing a punch forward, which Cell easily dodged.

The android was scarred and burned at specific points of his body, but he seemed mostly fine.

Piccolo grabbed onto one of his legs and threw him away. Then, he put both of his hands together and began charging a Ki ball that became denser and denser.

Cell recovered very quickly, but when he was flying back at the Namekian, the latter launched his attack. The light grenade floated slowly until it hit the bio-android directly. And upon contact, the energy ball started expanding at great speeds, consuming the beast's body entirely.

Piccolo gave the elders one final stare before they finally snapped back into reality and left the scene to aid in the evacuation efforts.

Reality was that, even if Cell had evidently reverted to his first form, his power remained far above what it had been the last time he had been in such a form. And this meant that Piccolo had no real hopes of ending him even then.

Once the technique dispersed and the smoke was blown away by the wind, Cell's figure re-emerged, almost intact.

"I can't believe you are here as well, somehow." The android finally spoke, realising that the Namekian would make it as bothersome for him as possible. "And here I thought I was going to have fun being this world's God."

"And I see you're back to your cockroach form." Piccolo replied. "Not so perfect anymore, huh."

Cell frowned.

"You speak too much for a bug who's about to get squashed."

"We'll see."

Piccolo started charging his power, releasing a hot and dense white aura around his body, while the veins of his head became visible through his green skin.

Cell did so too.

Their growing energies alone provoked a powerful earthquake in all of Konoha, which made people panic even more than they had been prior. Buildings began to shake and tremble, though the earthquake would be the least the city would have to endure that day.

As his muscles tensed up and even grew in size, the Namekian cracked his neck to ease some of the tension. In an effort to keep Akira's location secret from the foe while also keeping Gohan away from action for the time being, he had driven himself to this fight. A fight that he had lost before.

In the blink of an eye, both warriors clashed against each other, over and over. Each impact released an expansive wave that pushed even the light air back at high speeds, which made it visible for a slight moment. Their speeds were beyond anything the shinobi could call human.

They became visible to the naked eye once again as they grabbed onto each other's hand, gripping and clenching as hard as they could, but none broke the guard of the other. Their sheer power then repulsed one another and both were pushed away.

Piccolo swiftly flew upwards and then used the light of the sun to execute a swift Taiyoken. With his opponent now blinded, the Namekian shot down at him and landed a powerful kick directly on the bio-android's neck. Cell shot down at great speeds, but Piccolo was able to intercept him before he crashed into the floor, kicking his head as hard as he could and sending him upwards once again.

By the time Cell's upward trajectory slowed down, Piccolo was already behind him, ready to smash him down with both of his fists.

The insectoid beast shot down and fell into the red tower that stood in the middle of the village. The powerful impact collapsed the building, which fell directly onto him.

Piccolo decided to take the android to that section of the village because it had already been emptied. The walls and the nearby areas, however, were still very dangerously crowded.

Before the dust had even settled, a Makankosappo was shot from the debris directly at the Namekian, which the latter was barely able to dodge at the last second. However, when he looked back down, Cell was already right in front of him, ready to deliver a powerful blow with his knee straight at the Namekian's abdomen.

When it hit, Piccolo could feel at least one of his internal organs bursting. The Namekian immediately threw up, though luckily for Cell, all his species consumed was water.

As Piccolo was still shocked by the hit, Cell spinned and elbowed his head so hard that he shot down like a missile. He crashed through one of the walls, collapsing an entire section of it.

Dozens died, but those who didn't began running through the new hole opened in the walls, almost by pure instinct. Their panic was so much that they could not even process the death of their fellow villagers.

Piccolo stood up slowly and wiped the blood off his mouth. He noticed the terrified villagers running away from the village all around him, though without paying any attention to him. His crash had created a crater, but it did not stop any of them from fleeing through it.

The Namekian looked up and noticed that Cell had begun to charge yet another Kamehameha, obviously directed at him. And obviously, if it were to land, it would kill hundreds of villagers as well.

Piccolo sighed but did not hesitate when he brought his hand–specifically his index and middle fingers–to his forehead. A light began to shine on his fingers as he began to gather Ki on them.

Five shinobi and a small pig that wore a red haori and a necklace were sitting at opposite sides of a table in the middle of a bar. It was a relatively fancy place for the city, which was well-known for its gambling and other usually illegal or immoral activities. Around the table, there were no chairs, but a square couch that surrounded it.

Three of them were living legends on their own merit, while the other two were their companions. The pig, called Tonton, was a companion of the blonde woman as well.

The tension between the two remaining members of the once fearsome Sannin was palpable, as their encounter would not ever happen under normal conditions. And indeed it did not. However, the presence of the older man, the now retired Third Hokage, eased the ambience of the room a little.

"Tsunade, the village requests that you succeed me and accept the title of Fifth Hokage." Said the elder in his usual serene tone.

The blonde boy sitting between the massive, bulky, white-haired man and the elder choked on his food after the revelation of the true intentions of their search for that woman. Though he still could not believe she was the same age as Ero-Sennin, while looking even younger than Anko.

Even the blonde woman widened her eyes, as did her assistant, despite her state of drunkenness, revealed by her red cheeks.

"That fight against Orochimaru… Which I was very lucky to survive… It really made me realize my own mortality." Sarutobi explained, reminiscing of the moment in which Gohan came out of nowhere to prevent what was certain to be his death. "Konoha deserves a younger ruler that is capable of taking it to new heights."

Her silence was deafening and contributed very little to easing the tensions. To her, it was almost insulting that they presumed that, after years of exile and no contact between them, she would just accept the hat with no questions asked. Of course, especially considering the terrible state the village was in after Orochimaru's invasion.

She grabbed her bottle of sake and served herself another shot, which she then drank as if it was water. Her drunken stare was then nailed onto her former teammate and master.

She opened her mouth, ready to talk, though Sarutobi and Jiraiya already knew the answer.

However, something interrupted her words. Something grave enough that Sarutobi could not believe his eyes as the subject of some of his worst fears stood casually on top of their table.

Jiraiya could only see a pair of sandals, but as soon as he and the rest of his companions looked up, the situation became quite evident. The black cloak with red clouds on it spoke more than a thousand words.

"Evacuate this place, immediately!" Sarutobi jumped out of his seat first and then spoke to the owner of the bar, who had been helping his employees in delivering the plates of his customers.

The middle-aged man that owned the place raised an eyebrow as he saw the elder standing on the roof, as if gravity did not exist. However, he was not ignorant to the existence of shinobi, so he figured he might as well listen to him.

Nonetheless, he sighed, for that day looked to be a very profitable one.

Itachi Uchiha stared at the granddaughter of the First Hokage with his scarlet red eyes, as a predator looks at his prey, as an assassin looks at his victim. However, this stare soon turned alongside his body, for he moved to face the old Third.

Jiraiya, by then, was about to punch him straight in the face. Despite his age, the toad sage was still one of the most dangerous shinobi in the entire world.

His fist, however, went through the man's body as if he was made out of air. There was nothing to hit as it was all an illusion.

Sarutobi could not help but sigh at his poor reaction, for he did not even think of the possibility of that being a genjutsu, despite Itachi being well-known for his skills on the field.

"We must meet outside, Lord Third." His somber voice alone made Naruto shiver in fear. Something about that man felt wrong. "I'm afraid there are pressing issues that demand a truce between us."

"A truce?" Asked Tsunade, then glancing at the old man instead of the criminal that massacred his own entire clan. Ignorant to the entire scheme behind that one fateful day, for she had already been outside the village by then, she could not comprehend the implications of that statement.

"I had originally intended to destroy Konoha myself as soon as I heard that you had failed to protect Sasuke." Admitted the somber man, which shook Naruto to the core.

Could that be…?

"But a new, much bigger threat than myself has arisen and I have decided to collaborate with the village once more." He finished, his Sharingan still burning intensely.

By then, Jiraiya had realized that it was not a regular three-tomoe one.

"Why should we believe you?" Finally replied the elder, still ready to fight to the death to protect the vessel of the fox.

"Because the enemy is invading Konoha as we speak."

"I did not expect you to be such a fool, Namekian!" The insectoid's hissing voice was surprisingly loud, at least for Piccolo's ears, who caught his words with ease and clarity. "I was sure you had learned your lesson the last time we fought."

"Things have changed, bug." Growled Piccolo as he got ready to launch his technique. Ever since the first time he tried it, he really enjoyed putting it to the test.

The Namekian's bulky arm shot forward as he pointed his fingers at the bio-android. From them, a powerful and very concentrated beam was shot at the target at unbelievable speed.

"Makankosappo!"

Cell widened his eyes, but immediately released his charging Kamehameha. He pushed his hands forward with all his might, but the wave was useless to stop the fierce beam heading his way.

Instead, Cell took the easy way out and used Goku's technique to teleport somewhere else.

In the blink of an eye, the bio-android was right behind the pink-haired girl he had terrorized before. The first familiar Ki signal he had found had been hers, so he did not risk it.

The girl and the group that accompanied her had been running in the outskirts of the village, just outside one of the walls. Upon noticing the insectoid creature spontaneously materializing next to her, she let out a sharp scream that made the horde of people panic even more than they already were.

Though no one screamed harder than Ebisu, who was supposed to be the responsible adult in charge.

If Konohamaru had been there alongside his best friend, his jaw would have dropped just like theirs.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Ebisu tried to react as quickly as possible despite his fear, but suddenly he felt the sting of the creature's tail right in his abdomen.

The beast was not only powerful beyond their comprehension, but also too fast for any shinobi to be able to do anything in time, if he wished to avoid it.

However, before the bio-android could completely suck the man's vital energy, he noticed that he struggled to move normally. He looked down at his own shadow and noticed that it now extended further away from him than it should. He followed his shadow with his glance until he met the man responsible.

Shikaku Nara was holding the signature jutsu of his clan the hardest he could, so as to allow the next generations to flee.

"Go, now!"

Ebisu pulled himself out of the sting and started running, without even thinking about the fact he was now bleeding both internally and externally in his abdomen. He grabbed the kids and continued their escape, for his mission was clear.

Cell, interested but too bothered to play with anyone anymore, smirked as he raised his finger apparently effortlessly. Shikaku followed, as the sheer power of the insectoid creature turned his own technique on him.

However, when he shot his laser at the man's chest, Shikaku did not reciprocate. Instead, his body fell limp onto the floor.

At that exact moment, Piccolo arrived at the scene and landed a powerful kick straight at Cell's jaw, which he followed by grabbing him from the head and throwing him away into the walls.

"Sakura, take everyone and find Gohan! He's not too far away from here." Yelled the Namekian, unsure if the girl could hear him anymore. "You will be safe there."

As Cell emerged from the debris of the collapsing walls, he smirked. Even as blood fell from his mouth, he smirked.

"So the boy is here."

"But I'm right here, so worry about ever getting out of here, first."

The bio-android giggled at the Namekian's sudden guts. No amount of beatings would seem to teach him the lesson.

"Makosen!" Piccolo suddenly launched two powerful energy waves one after the other, hitting the android as he still had his guard down.

The Namekian then rushed at his enemy and began overwhelming him with a barrage of powerful kicks and punches. Finally, he elbowed the bio-android's abdomen and then sent him flying into the skies with a powerful kick.

Once Cell was in the air, Piccolo began throwing energy spheres all around him, filling the skies of Konoha and creating an astounding spectacle of lights. The Namekian threw more and more, and even when there were thousands of them around the dizzy Cell, he continued throwing more.

What began as a gorgeous image, soon turned into something worthy of terror. The inhabitants of Konoha could not even imagine the destruction all that could cause.

"Makuhoidan!" Piccolo finally yelled as he pushed both of his hands together, commanding all the Ki spheres to fly directly into Cell.

The bio-android desperately created a purple Ki barrier around him, blocking and bouncing many of the incoming projectiles. These crashed into Konoha instead, destroying entire buildings and leaving streets in complete ruins.

Eventually, the barrier gave in and the android was hit directly by hundreds upon hundreds of Ki spheres. Smoke began to gather with every impact, until all that was left was a thick cloud that obscured whatever was left of the insectoid creature.

An exhausted, gasping and sweating Piccolo began to float down slowly. He was sure the job was done, partly because he had tried his strongest technique and pushed himself to the limit while doing so. If it wasn't, then he would be done for, as he had already run out of energy, mostly.

Unfortunately for the Namekian, a green beam emerged from the thick smoke and went straight through his chest. He gasped in pain as he fell onto his right knee, while trying to stop his purple blood from flowing with his hands.

It seemed that, even after training and despite Cell being back in his first form, there was still a relevant gap between them.

Cell suddenly appeared behind the Namekian and in a single blow, he grabbed and then ripped off Piccolo's left arm.

The bio-android was still superior, but the serious injuries and burns all over his skin demonstrated that he was still far away from what he had been in his perfect form.

"Now die, Piccolo." Cell raised his hand and pointed his index finger straight at Piccolo's head.

Sakura, who was now running and leading a group of villagers through the forest, felt the sudden collapse of Piccolo's energy and could only gasp and look back in horror.