Chapter 41 - Naruto 41:

Ganryū and his men had managed to hold their own amidst the explosions and shock waves that littered the landscape as battles raged all over.

Most noticeable was the enormous tailed beasts in the distance. The men knew that things were getting serious now and the battle was reaching it's peak.

"General Fuyōna is battling with all his might! We have to hold on until reinforcements arrive!" Ganryū shouted, trying to keep their morale up.

The Anbu had also noticed that the surrounding battlefield had been very lively and had to wonder what had happened to both Mangetsu and Ameyuri.

"We have to hold strong until lord Mizukage kills these traitors!" The Anbu captain shouted.

"Attack!" Each group shouted as they charged in for a battle.

Both groups gave it their all, but the Anbu were just too skilled and quickly gained the advantage.

Ganryū was equally as skilled, but alone he was no match for them. His units numbers had been reduced to equal theirs, and the odds were not looking good.

"Reinforcements!" One of the men shouted as about forty shinobi came charging out of the trees and ramming themselves into the Anbu flanks.

"Shit! How did they get the drop on us!" The Anbu captain shouted as he blocked an incoming attack.

The Anbu's unit had been taken by surprise, and at least half of their numbers had just been cut down.

"Push through men! We can do this!" Ganryū shouted as every one of them gave it they're all.

The Anbu were getting desperate as they huddled together, trying to fire a combined jutsu.

Garyū had already seen this and was quick to counter as he barked orders at others to do the same.

Water, fire, wind and lightning all crackled and clashes in the air and roared over the never-ending screams of battle.

The Anbu captain could count only four of his men left. Himself included made five, while the enemy numbered over fifty.

"I hate to admit it, but we have no choice." He said, keeping his sword raised.

They had been surrounded on all sides, by Ganryū's forces. Ganryū stepped forwards amongst the standoff.

"Give it up! Your outnumbered and don't stand a chance. If you surrender now, we will let you live. No more mist shinobi blood needs to be spilt."

The Anbu seemed as if they would be willing to do as he asked, each of them slowly lowering their weapons.

"Never! We will never surrender to traitors!" The Anbu captain barked, snapping his men back to their senses.

"We follow lord Mizukage, even to the death!"

Ganryū nodded his head.

"I can see that nothing I say will change your mind. Have it your way. Men, attack!" He shouted as he pointed his sword.

"What the hell was that!" Someone shouted among the screams.

"It- It's him!" Another shouted as another group were smashed through the air.

Ganryū could see what was going on and was forced to watch as wave after wave of his men dropped from what seemed like a machine gun fire of water bullets.

"It's Mangetsu Hōzuki!" Someone shouted as the area around the teenager cleared so he could be seen.

"Don't tell me this group of insects are giving your men trouble?" Mangetsu said to the Anbu captain.

The Anbu all stood a little taller as their morale lifted, seeing that one of the seven ninja swordsmen had joined them.

"Already men, no mercy!" He shouted as he gripped his sword tighter.

Mangetsu joined the Anbu and pulled his blades apart, so he had one in each hand ready to unleash his power in full.

All of Ganryū's men took a step back as they knew precisely what Mangetsu was capable of.

"We are all going to die at this rate! Where are our leaders?" Someone else shouted.

Ganryū couldn't blame them. He knew they were no match for Mangetsu, even with their numbers.

He knew he needed to say something. Anything. He just couldn't form the words.

"Water style! Hōzuki scattershot!" A voice suddenly shouted as its owner fired a rapid-fire of water bullets that hit the ground in front of Mangetsu and the other Anbu.

The owner of the jutsu landed in front of the others and faced off against Mangetsu, and he stood to his full height.

Ganryū didn't recognise him but differently recognised the Hōzuki clan symbol on the back of his blue robe.

"Kōgetsu..." Mangetsu said as he snarled a little.

The boy was about the same height as Mangetsu, with his hair around the same length but dirty blond in colour.

Kōgetsu had a dark blue robe on with black baggy trouser, the standard black shinobi footwear and fingerless gloves on.

Everyone was confused about who he was but could tell that he and Mangetsu knew each other and they waited to see what would happen.

"What are you doing here, Kōgetsu?" Mangetsu said with a snarl.

"I am part of the rebellion against lord Mizukage. I'm here to stop you." He said as he pulled part of his hair back.

"You can't defeat me, Kōgetsu. Get out of here before I kill you too." Mangetsu said as he pointed his sword at him.

Kōgetsu took a ready stance and weighed all of the Anbu around him as well as Mangetsu.

"I don't know how you can follow the Mizukage after what he did to our clan, Mangetsu, but I won't sit by anymore and let that tyrant rule us."

Mangetsu looked angry and let his Chakra flow into his swords.

"Last chance, Kōgetsu. Go home."

"No." He said as he pulled his own sword from his back.

"Then die!" Mangetsu shouted as he rushed in with his blades held high as he cut Kōgetsu in half.

Kōgetsu's body turned to water as Mangetsu's blades passed through his body and everyone suddenly grew tense as the battle had begun.

"A clone?" Mangetsu said as he tried to sense where Kōgetsu would attack from.

Suddenly the earth under all of the Anbu cracked, and they fell into it before it sealed around them, trapping all of them from the middle of their arms upward, leaving only their shoulders and heads exposed.

Mangetsu had jumped into the air and avoid the attack, as he looked down to see what was going on.

Water suddenly started to flow within the cracks of the earth and slowly took the form of Kōgetsu as five clones of himself appeared next to each of the Anbu.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this." He said as he pointed his index finger at each of them like a gun.

"Secret Hōzuki clan jutsu, earth trap water bullet!" Kōgetsu said as he fired the water shot at each of them, blowing all the Anbu's brains out at once, making it look easy.

Mangetsu landed and charged in to attack Kōgetsu. However, he was too late as Kōgetsu suddenly turned back Into water and slowly disappeared again.

"I'll kill all of them if it means drawing you out!" Mangetsu shouted as he charged at Ganryū and his men.

Kōgetsu suddenly burst out from the group and stopped Mangetsu in his tracks as the two of them clashed swords.

Both of them pushed each other away and took a ready stance as they slowly circled each other ready for the next ȧssault.

"I didn't know you could use earth style," Mangetsu said with a toothy grin.

"You know me, Mangetsu, expect the worse plan for the best."

"I'm afraid even your greatest plan won't work against me, dear cousin," Mangestsu said as he suddenly let his chakra burst into both his blades.

Mangetsu could let his chakra flow freely and store inside the blades, allowing it to change to any shape he wished.

"We will see," Kōgetsu said as he readied his sword.

Ganryū and the others all looked on from behind Kōgetsu as he single-handedly took out the remaining Anbu and held Mangetsu at bay.

"Who the hell is that kid?" Someone asked.

Ganryū had to think hard before it came to him.

"He is the youngest son of the Gangetsu line. Currently the only living air to the Hōzuki clan. His brothers were all killed during the war and the civil war." Gabryū said, informing everyone.

"Should we help him?" Another asked.

"No. I think this battle is beyond our abilities. We would only get in the way." Ganryū said as he ordered his men to stand down.

Meanwhile.

Mei found herself trapped under some debris from the shock wave that had sent her flying. Her shoulder was severely damaged, and she was lucky Mangetsu hadn't hit a vital point.

"How long have I been out?" She asked herself as she got free and stood to her feet, taking a look around.

Mei couldn't see anything around her and guessed she had been blown quite far from the battle.

"I need to get back in the fight." She said as she winced at the pain, gripping her arm.

"I don't know how much use I will be with my arm like this, but I have to try."

Kōgetsu and Mangetsu were locked in a vicious battle, and Mangetsu clearly held the advantage.

Kōgetsu was good with a sword that much was clear. However, Mangetsu was next level and outclassed Kōgetsu with his ability.

Kōgetsu blocked and blocked, dodging when he could, but Mangetu was too fast as he landed blow after blow. If not for his clans Kekkei Genkai, he would have been dead over and over again.

Mangetsu was using each blade as a perfect weapon and shield as he could change the shape of the blade at will. He would attack with one and defend with the other, consistently switching between offence and defence when he felt like it.

Mangetsu was finished playing around as he knocked Kōgetsu's sword from his hand before turning his other sword into a giant hammer.

"Let's see your body recover from this!" He shouted as he swung his attack.

Kōgetsu couldn't defend, and the blow smashed him flying through the air. If not for his Kekkei Genkai that allowed him to liquefy, his body would have broken from the force of that blow.

Kōgetsu allowed his body to turn solid midair so he could flip around and get his footing as he hit the ground.

"I don't think so!" Mangetsu shouted from behind him.

Kōgetsu turned around and formed a water blade from his arm to block one of Mangetsu's attacks. But his mighty hammer shaped chakra broke through it and smashed Kōgetsu again, sending him flying.

"If I can't cut you, then I will smash you to pieces until you are too dehydrated to turn to water!" Mangetsu shouted as he smashed Kōgetsu over and over again.

Kōgetsu may not have been taking any damage just yet, but Mangetsu was also part of the Hōzuki clan and knew how to counter their ability quite well.

"Water style, drilling bullet!" He shouted as he fired his water pistol.

Mangetsu saw the attack coming a mile away and turned one of his swords into a large shield as he let his chakra change form, blocking the water bullet with ease.

"I don't think so, cousin."

Kōgetsu was starting to get out of breath now, and he could tell his body was becoming dehydrated quickly.

"Not good. I knew I should have packed my water bottle. I always do this!" He said to himself as if he was scolding himself for not planning sufficiently enough.

"I think it's time we finished this," Mangetsu said as he took a fighting stance preparing his swords for an attack.

"Alright, everyone, we need to attack together, on my signal attack with all your might!" Ganryū said to his men.

All of them agreed as they could see that Kōgetsu was starting to struggle against his older cousin.

Mangetsu had started spinning his blades before joining them back together, letting the chakra in each of them grow even more powerful.

"Time to finish it, traitor," Mangetsu said as he hoisted his sword straight into the air.

"Now!!!" Gabryū shouted as himself, and all of his men unleashed their most powerful long-range attack.

Shuriken and Kunai, water, fire and wind ninjutsu, as well as other projectiles were launched towards Mangetsu in a surprise attack.

Mangetsu turned around with a shocked expression on his face at the attacks coming his way.

"You dare!" He shouted as he turned to face them head-on before swinging his sword as hard as he could, letting his chakra explode in a massive burst of power.

However, his attack was not strong enough to stop the large ȧssault of ninjutsu, and he was consumed by the combined attack, which exploded, creating a large shockwave that kicked up a massive vapor cloud.

All of them started cheering as their combined attacks hit the mark.

"We did it!"

"Alright!" Everyone cheered as they watched the dust from their attacks settle leaving no trace of Mangetsu.

Ganryū also breathed a sigh of relief as the dust settled, but his gut was telling him it wasn't over.

"Look out!" Kōgetsu shouted.

Suddenly a group of men and woman were blown into the air by a chakra blast. Everyone turned to see Mangetsu who was crouched down, holding his sword, not looking happy.

His body looked as if it had half-melted, but it was only his liquefied state. His body slowly returned to its solid-state, and Mangetsu went on an aggressive counter-attack.

"Did you really think you could stop me with that!" He shouted as he jumped into the air and slashed his sword into the ground, crushing a handful of shinobi who failed to get out of the way of his massive chakra blade.

"Counter-attack!" Ganryū shouted.

Several Shinobi tried to engage Mangetsu in combat, but he quickly cut them down. Making it look easy, showing just how powerful he was.

Others tried to throw shuriken at him, but the metal stars simply passed right through his body like water.

"It's no good! We can't even damage him!" Ganryū thought as he tried to think of a way to counter his abilities.

He was put on the defensive, though, as Mangetsu set his sights on him and attacked.

"Your the leader, so you can die!" Mangetsu said as he appeared behind Ganryū, slashing at his head.

Ganryū only just got his sword up to block the attack and was taken back by his speed. Mangetsu quickly spun around and kicked Ganryū in the stomach knocking him flying before he crashed into his men.

"Die!" Mangetsu shouted as he raised his sword, getting ready to unleash another chakra blast at them.

"Raisuiryūdan!" (Lightning water dragon.)

A massive water dragon coated with lightning release suddenly roared as it smashed into Mangetsu with such force that it destroyed everything in its path until it crashed into the ground and burst, expelling a massive amount of water that crackled with lightning.

Everyone turned to see who had unleashed such a powerful jutsu and found Mei stood there clutching her shoulder as it was severely injured.

"That should stop him." She said through staggered breaths, having used a lot of chakra.

Everyone was amazed after seeing such an amazing jutsu and stepped aside as Mei walked towards her target.

Mangetsu was still alive but was severely injured and unable to move due to the high voltage running through his body.

"It's over, Mangetsu, give up, or I will be forced to kill you," Mei said as she stood over him.

Kōgetsu joined her side and looked down at his cousin.

"Please, Mangetsu, just hear her out."

Ao slowly woke up after losing consciousness due to the explosion that Ameyuri had set off, thanks to her thunder gate ability.

He sat up and tried to take in his surroundings. His head was still ringing from the blast, so he took his time.

"Hatsu?" He shouted out, trying to find his ally.

"Did he survive?" Ao thought as he looked around.

Ao caught a rustling sound coming from some of the bushes and put his guard up. Good job, too, as Ameyuri appeared.

Ao noticed she was hurt and only had one of her swords.

"You ȧsshole..." She said, clearly pissed off.

She had taken damage along one side of her body more than the other, most likely because she could only protect one side of her body with one sword.

"I'm going to kill you if it is the last thing I do!" She screamed, pointing her sword into the air.

"It's over, Ameyuri! Your fighting for a lost cause!" Ao shouted, trying to get her to stop.

It was no good, though. Ameyuri had gone mad, letting her ŀust for revenge take over her, abandoning all reason.

"I will kill you if it's the last thing I do!" She shouted, letting her rage spill out.

"Thunder gate!" Ameyuri shouted as she let as much chakra as she could muster pour into the attack.

Ao looked up in horror as he could see the thunder clouds forming.

"Not good I can't dodge it!" He thought.

Ameyuri laughed as she got ready to drop the wicked thunderbolt from the sky when suddenly a sword burst through her ċhėst, causing her to cough up some blood.

Ao was also shocked and realised that it was Hatsu. He had somehow gotten behind her and stabbed her through the ċhėst in an attempt to stop her.

Ameyuri turned her head a little as the shock set in.

"You bastard..." She spat out through the blood.

"It's over, Ameyuri. You have lost." Hatsu said, digging his sword deeper into her back.

Ameyuri winced from the pain and lowered her sword in defeat before coughing up more blood.

Ao breathed a sigh of relief and dropped back onto his buŧŧ taking a well-needed rest.

"Your prick isn't big enough to stop me!" Ameyuri suddenly shouted as she used the last of her strength to lift her sword into the air.

"No, don't!" Ao shouted as he watched, extending his arm.

"Thundergate!" Ameyuri screamed as she summoned one last lightning strike that hit her and Hatsu, engulfing them in the binding light before the explosion sent Ao flying back.

While all this was going on, Fuyōna and Yagura had been engaged in a stair off that was about to turn into a fierce clash of titans.

Both of them stood ready, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Both in full tailed beast mode with their tails waving in the sky.

Yagura moved first as he jumped into the air, curling into a ball as he rolled tenaciously towards Fuyōna.

The sheer size of his body was enough to uproot the terrain as he rolled forwards, attacking with the total weight of his body.

Saiken's body only had small arms, so Fuyōna was forced to use two of his tales to block the attack. Yagura continued to roll and flipped into the air before Fuyōna smashed him away with his other tails getting some distance.

Quickly he covered the latitude between them and smashed the three tails on top of the head with his tails before unleashing a huge amount of water bubbles that exploded on its hide, causing massive damage.

Yagura flinched from the explosive bubbles, and Fuyōna quickly used the opportunity to wrap his flexible body around his, holding him in place.

The three tails roared as its movements became halted, and in a desperate attempt, it tried to fire a tailed beast bomb that would hit the ground, damaging both of them.

"Look out!" Saiken shouted, trying to warn Fuyōna.

Fuyōna saw the attack at the last second and was quickly able to wrap one of his tails around Yaguras leg, pulling him off balance and knocking him over so that that the blast flew into the sky.

Both of the tailed beasts wrestled on the ground as they thought for dominance over each other. Their tails clashed and destroyed anything they hit as the landscape around them was shredded to pieces sending shockwaves through landscape.

"We have to be careful not to let our battle get too close to the village!" Fuyōna shouted to Saiken.

"I know!" The six tails replied as he was doing his best to control the three tails.

The three tails suddenly stopped wriggling, and Seiken figured out why when his coral palm started to take effect, covering his body in the tough substance unabling him to move.

"It's his coral palm technique. Look out!" Fuyōna shouted as Saiken was forced to release the three tails.

Quickly Saiken created as much distance as he could before the Coral palm froze his movements.

"I guess it's time for that jutsu," Fuyōna said as he watched from his inner world.

Saiken's body suddenly unleashed a massive amount of bones that took the shape of a large exoskeleton that formed around the six tails body like armour, smashing all of the coral that had formed.

The site was monstrous, and Saiken looked like a demon with two large horns forming on its head. Everything, including its six tails, was covered in the bone armour that acted as defence with spikes all over making it even more forbidding.

The three tails growled, showing it wasn't intimidated as it fired a barrage of tailed beast bombs that smashed into Saikens bone armour. However, they hardly left a mark and Fuyōna decided to counter-attack.

"Ice style, freezing bubble jutsu!" Fuyōna shouted as he let loose a barrage of water bubble towards the three tails.

The bubbles hit their mark and, this time, froze on impact instead of exploding. They kept coming, and the three tails was quickly overwhelmed by the amount as they trapped its large body in a layer of ice.

"If I can freeze him for long enough, I should be able to undo the seal!" Fuyōna shouted.

Yagura was having none of it, though, and smashed the ice away with his tails before he jumped back into a ball and rolled out of the way of Fuyōna's attack.

He was rolling around Fuyōna in a circle as he fired small blasts of chakra at him, trying to chip away at his armour. The attacks were no way near strong enough to break through his defence, though, and Yagura decided to attack with his own shell that was as strong as armour, becoming impatient.

Fuyōna did the same thing as last time and stopped the three tails with his tails. This time though, his bone defence acted as a weapon as the bone armor came to life and attacked the three tails from all angles.

"One thousand bones counter attack!" Fuyōna shouted as the bone armour continued to hit the three tails with powerful blunt strikes not to kill him.

The constant barrage of attacks was too much for even the three tails body to handle as Fuyōna held him close, he was continually attacked by the bone armour as if it had a mind of its own.

Finally, Fuyōna released the three tails, looking as if the beast had been knocked out from the onslaught.

"Now is my chance! Secret tailed beast jutsu! Ice mist!" He said as Saiken unleashed a fog that looked like dry ice over the three tails.

Saiken could release a poison cloud or an acid cloud that could melt almost anything. Fuyōna had been able to combine his own Kekkei Genkai with Saikens ability and create an ice fog that would freeze anything it came into contact with.

He watched as the ice fog made its way through the surrounding terrain, freezing everything before it made its way to the three tails. The mist enveloped the three tales body and started to freeze it, instantly trapping the Beast inside a solid block of ice.

"It worked! Alright, Saiken, you know what to do!" He said.

Saiken nodded its head, and its large body suddenly started shrinking until it turned back into Fuyōna.

"Hopefully, that holds for a while." Fuyōna thought as he rushed over to the massive frozen body of the three tails.

Fuyōna placed his hand on the ice and slipped inside of it, being able to move around freely, he travelled up towards the three tails head and could see its eye movements to look at him.

"You are a tough one. I'll give you that." Fuyōna thought as he placed his hand on the beasts head, concentrating.

Fuyōna was able to enter Yagura's inner world, hopefully he wouldn't have any interruptions this time.

He made his way to the same place he had last time and once again found the three tails that was still chained up and trapped.

Yagura was also led on the floor unconscious, and stood over him was Obito. Who didn't look pleased.

"You again! What use is this fool if he can't even beat you. Never mind, I will deal with you myself." Obito said as he stood over Yagura's. Body.

Fuyōna realised that Obito was about to kill him and had to act fast.

"Stop!" He shouted as he appeared in front of Obito and tried to kick him in the face.

As expected, though, his foot passed right through his head, and Obito went to grab him so he could attack.

Fuyōna quickly let his bones shoot from his body, and Obito was forced to use his Sharingan to avoid the attack.

Fuyōna took the opportunity to grab Yagura quickly and get some distance from Obito.

"What a nuisance you are proving to be," Obito said as he weighed his options up.

"It's over, Obito. Release the Genjutsu!" Fuyōna shouted.

He was thinking very hard about what he should do right now. If he could kill Obito here and now, he would stop the war and everything he would do in the future. The only problem was he wasn't sure he could kill him here. Most likely, he was just a part of the genjutsu, and his physical body was elsewhere.

"And if I don't?" Obito asked.

"Then I will push you out and break the Genjutsu by force," Fuyōna said as he allowed his bones to sprout from his body, including the horns on his head.

Obito chuckled a little before speaking.

"You fool. You can't kill me here, and I wouldn't force the Genjutsu if I were you."

Fuyōna expected as much and decided to play along.

"Why is that?"

"You see, I have rigged the genjutsu so that if anybody but me breaks it, then the seal will self-destruct, killing the Mizukage," Obito said, smiling behind his mask.

Fuyōna hadn't realised that he had rigged the genjutsu so that it would kill Yagura.

"Do it!" Yagura shouted as he was trying to sit up.

"Do it, Fuyōna! I refuse to be a puppet!" He shouted.

"That's enough from you!" Obito said as he raised his fingers, taking complete control of him once again.

"This time, I will have him destroy the entire mist village and everyone you care for!" Obito shouted as he pulled out two chains from his black cloak.

"But first, it's time to deal with you. Six tails."

That's the end of this chapter! Thank you for reading. Check out my P-A-T-R-E-O-N for more chapters and faster updates!

Also if you haven't already, check out my Original work Tails of Astaria!