VII

━━━━━━┓???┏━━━━━━

Arc VII Chapter 3

━━━━━━┛???┗━━━━━━

Armed with his cane, Danzo overlooked Konoha?from?the?wall. The outcome of his little operation pleased him.

The air burned?purple and an immense?fireball engulfed?everything.

Satoshi succeeded apparently. He even exceeded his?expectations.

His minion completed his mission faithfully and Danzo slightly regretted his loss. He was such a valuable pawn. The operation cost him Satoshi and a full company of Root ANBU, but sacrifices had to be made for the sake of the village. Nobody was irreplaceable, not even Satoshi.

The fireball dissipating?and the battle began. “Fu, are our friends on their way?”

Fu nodded. “Shibi and Tsume were ordered to advance?and commence the attack. Naritomo and his unit?are currently advancing in her direction. We expect them to make contact soon.”

Danzo grinned.?His plans proceeded as predicted and Konoha was?in for a nasty surprise.

They would meet?an adrenaline-filled Asami?prepared to murder them all. A?single?spark and her world would go down in flames.

”How much do they know?”

”Shibi and Tsume are?still unaware of what is going on.?We left them in the dark and provided only minimal information.”

“And Naritomo?”

Fu grinned. ”He was informed about her arrest and the possibility of Asami having turned?traitor. We ordered?him to attack her on sight if necessary?as the girl is dangerous.”

His words pleased Danzo. ”Excellent, you?never disappoint me, Torune.“

“Order all Root elements to retreat. Satoshi has fulfilled his purpose and I see no?reason to?engage her any further?beyond this point. We will conserve our forces.”

“Understood, Danzo-sama.”?Fu lowered his head and left.

“So?it has begun.”?Danzo chuckled amused.

Purple spheres floated?above the village?and announced her might.

Once again, Konoha was bathed in purple light. Once again, Danzo felt the tremendous force of her shock wave.

Uchiha were always such troublesome opponents. They knew no constraints.

Danzo discarded his cane and removed the seals from his right arm. This was going to be a tough fight.

━━━━━━┛???┗━━━━━━

Sweet, candid voices?invaded her mind. Voice of destruction, voices of bloodshed, voices of madness whispered to her. The voices?lured, tempted,?seduced her.

The honeyed voices commanded her to kill and her bloodstained hands obliged. They administered her retribution.

The voices?guided her as her cause was?just.?They deserved?death. Konoha wronged?her. Konoha betrayed her,

Asami clenched her fist and her Susanoo marched on. Nothing shall?withstand her wrath.

She dedicated her sweat, ?her blood, her life to Konoha, She sacrificed so much for this village, but Konoha turned on her in a heinous act of betrayal. They repaid her kindness with the cold steel of a?kunai.

She didn’t deserve this cruel fate. She deserved better. She was destined for so much more, but her future was bleak.

Konoha tried her patience?and?her good will.

Where was Konoha in her hour of need? Where was Konoha when she lost her mother? Where was Konoha now? The answer was nowhere.

Disappointment?overcame Asami. The betrayal?hurt her and the voices grew stronger. Her resistance weakened.

━━━━━━┛???┗━━━━━━

Naritomo took cover and braced himself against the explosions as a sea of purples flames devastated the village.

What was going on here??Naritomo had no idea.

They approached the epicentre and the strikes crept closer.? They wandered in their direction.

Was Suna responsible for this? Or Oto? Naritomo wasn’t keen on finding out. He had a hunch, and he didn’t like the implications.

Naritomo remembered Shimabara. He remembered the?girl?in black. He remembered her purple?chakra.

Their commanding officer, a lovely little girl named Asami,?had turned traitor and they were supposed to attack her. It didn’t take much to put two?and two?together.

Naritomo had a bad?feeling,?and he wasn't?alone.

The dust settled and Naritomo inspected his unit. A handful of jonin, chunin,?and loads of fresh?genin.

The?genin were?young, too young. They Never experienced real combat?before?as peace reigned since the end of the war.

“Is everyone fine?“

“More or less. No casualties from what we can tell.”?Shino reported?and dusted off his clothes. They didn’t take any casualties, but they caught a lot of dust. An avalanche of dust and ash buried them.

Dust, dusty dust, dust and debris?everywhere. His ears were?still ringing.

“Good?to hear.”?Naritomo shook his head, but his tinnitus didn't disappear. Stupid explosions.?Stupid shock waves.

“Should we advance further, Captain?”

Naritomo blinked. He gave Shino?an incredulous stare. ”Do you want to die, or what?“

“No, we are?going nowhere. We?keep our heads down?and hold our position ?..”

Naritomo?registered ninja approaching unsure whether it was friend or foe. Two, three, four. They were many,?and they travelled?fast.

Naritomo spotted?the approaching ANBU. The group circled?around the corner. Five, thirteen, twenty-five, thirty-six. ?Waves of ANBU entered the street and advanced quickly.

Battered, bruised, bloodied, their clothes shredded, the ANBU ran and?rapidly closed the distance. They escaped hell itself.

Another group followed. Konoha?ninja filled the streets. Their green flak jackets?gave them away.?Their faces?betrayed panic,?.. fear, ... terror.

Noritomo?gulped?as realisation struck. The ANBU weren't running. They were fleeing.

Another group?appeared, Suna-nin and Oto-nin?Scattered, beaten, disorganised,?the enemy ran?for their?lives?and fled the battlefield.

Another?group followed.

And another.

And another.

And another.

Their numbers grew and?Naritomo paled. His blood froze. ANBU, Konoha, Suna, Oto, they were all on the run. The disintegrated remnants of entire platoons, of entire companies.

They?made contact with something?beyond imagination and Naritomo knew who.?They fled from her.

The earth trembled. A cascade of violent explosions?announced her arrival. Asami had gone berserk.

“RUN!!!”

━━━━━━┛???┗━━━━━━