Konohagakure.
The scene was apocalyptic. The once-prosperous village had been reduced to ruins by the chaos of war. Bodies littered the streets, Konoha villagers and shinobi lay side by side with invaders from Otogakure and Sunagakure.
This was nothing like the "Konoha Crush" of the canon.
That had been far kinder. In that version, aside from the Third Hokage's death, the village had suffered minimal structural damage. Shukaku's awakening had occurred in the forests on the outskirts, sparing the village proper, and once Orochimaru's disguise as the Kazekage was exposed, the leaderless Suna army had simply retreated. The only real casualties had been the Oto-nin and the Third Hokage, who sacrificed himself using the Reaper Death Seal.
That so-called "Crush" had been mere child's play. Because Orochimaru had held back quite abit.
This was war. Rasa was personally supervising the assault, two Tailed Beasts were rampaging through the village, and the Akatsuki were lending their terrifying strength to the offensive. The two scenarios could not be mentioned in the same breath.
Although the Otogakure army had been wiped out and the Suna had bled heavily, Rasa's main force remained intact. Konoha was in dire straits, countless shinobi had fallen, to say nothing of the civilians, only Hagoromo knew how many had died at the hands of Shinno alone.
Overall, Otogakure had taken the hardest hit. The elite forces of the small village Orochimaru controlled were effectively extinct. Konoha suffered next, as the battlefield was their own home, the economic devastation was incalculable. The Suna had fared the best, relatively speaking, though their losses were still severe.
"Fourth Kazekage! Your ally Orochimaru has already fled. Continuing this fight will only pile up bodies to no one's benefit," Jiraiya announced, his voice deep and resonant from atop Gamabunta's head. Behind him, the remnants of Konoha's forces faced Rasa's legion. "Konoha is willing to overlook this betrayal. For the sake of hard-won peace, let us end this here."
It was a bluff, of course. The priority was to trick the enemy into leaving. If the fighting continued, Konoha would break.
The Third Hokage was missing. Danzo and the two advisors had vanished into the shadows. Jiraiya was the only one present with the strength and seniority to command, so he had been forced to step up. He could already predict that if they survived this, those old fossils would try to force the title of Fifth Hokage onto him again. And this time the damage was far too severe that he would have no choice but to take the mantle.
The two Tailed Beasts, Shukaku and Chomei, had gradually recovered from their berserk states, reverting to their jinchuriki forms and disappearing into the chaos.
Now, it was purely Suna versus Konoha.
"Jiraiya." Rasa stared him down with a sullen gaze, the stinging burns on his face fueling his irritation. "You don't have the authority to discuss the terms. Bring your Hokage out to speak with me."
Personal grievances aside, both sides were fighting with blood in their eyes. A simple sentence from Jiraiya wouldn't fix this. Moreover, the Suna had paid a massive price for this plan. If they retreated now, the losses would be catastrophic. The Suna had gone all-in, they could not afford to lose.
With the Chakra Armor provided by the Land of Snow and the Akatsuki's backing, not to mention the guarantee from that shipping company president, Rasa's confidence far outstripped Jiraiya's.
'Hokage... I'd love to know where Sensei is myself,' Jiraiya cursed internally. From the Three-Headed Giant Serpent to the two Tailed Beasts, he had been fighting non-stop. He still didn't even understand why the Suna was attacking. If the Anbu couldn't find Hiruzen, he certainly couldn't produce him on command.
"It seems the Kazekage is determined to provoke a war," Jiraiya declared, refusing to admit the Hokage's absence. It would be a fatal blow to morale. Better to shift the blame.
"It was Konoha that provoked this war!" Rasa snapped. If there had been any other choice, who would have gambled their village's existence like this? Konoha's politics of "boiling the frog" had backed the Suna into a corner.
He wouldn't let his village die in his hands.
"Then let the battle continue!"
Jiraiya and Rasa moved simultaneously, as if by tacit agreement.
"Toad Oil Bullet!" Gamabunta spewed a massive torrent of slippery oil.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!" Extremely high-temperature fire erupted from Jiraiya's mouth.
Oil and fire merged, creating an inferno far hotter than either alone.
"Combination Jutsu: Fire Release: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"
Gamabunta and Jiraiya were veteran partners, their opening move was a combination ninjutsu far more devastating than standard arts. Pure water couldn't extinguish this oil-fire mixture, it would only spread the destruction.
But Rasa was the Fourth Kazekage, the man reputed to have suppressed the One-Tail repeatedly. Had he not been carelessly ambushed by Orochimaru earlier, he would have been a nightmare to deal with.
Rasa clapped his hands, and a blinding golden light surged from the underground.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust Imperial Funeral!"
A glittering ocean of heavy gold dust erupted from the earth, forming a colossal wall that smothered the Toad Oil Flame Bullet completely. Suna can extinguish fire-and gold dust is still sand.
Standing behind Rasa, Kakuzu's eyes went wide. His eyes nearly popped out of his skull as he stared, entranced, at the golden dust. He licked his lips in a manner that might make the viewer mistake him for Orochimaru.
At that moment, he felt as if he had seen the light of god.
He looked at Rasa, making a solemn vow in his heart. 'I am definitely befriending this man.'
With the leaders engaged, the subordinate ninja immediately sprang into action. The top-tier combatants sought out their respective opponents.
"I heard you've got a Sharingan, too."
Just as Kakashi finished off a Suna ninja, an arrogant voice rang out behind him.
It was Deidara.
The bomber hooked a finger at Kakashi. "Let's play!"
Kakashi sensed an intense crisis approaching and flashed to the side instantly. A loud *boom* shook the area, an explosion tearing apart the ground where he had just stood.
"Tch. A pity."
A white clay centipede burrowed up from the earth.
"Kakuzu, where is Three?" Sasori asked, coming to Kakuzu's side while keeping a vigilant eye on Kurenai, Asuma, and Guy.
"Three" was the partner Kakuzu had nicknamed for his three-million-ryo bounty.
"That overconfident idiot tried to ambush Kakashi and got himself killed," Kakuzu replied, feeling no sorrow whatsoever for his teammate. "I didn't let him go to waste, though. He's part of me now. Sadly he lost his head due to Kakashi's attack, so I cannot get bounty from him."
He looked at the Konoha Jonin with undisguised greed. "The heads of those few are all worth over ten million. The one with the beard, Asuma? Thirty-five million ryo."
He dropped the large black bag from his shoulder. "Sasori, help me out."
"Fine. But the corpses are mine."
Kakuzu and Sasori actually had a good working relationship, especially regarding the division of "spoils." One needed hearts, the other needed bodies for puppets. Upholding the Akatsuki's fine tradition of diligence and thrift, nothing was wasted.
"Standard rules. I turn the heads in for the cash, then bring the rest back to you." Clearly, this wasn't their first rodeo.
"I'll take two, you take one," Sasori decided calmly. "Three against two."
"It's not three against two. It's three against three."
A massive sword wrapped in bandages slammed into the battlefield as another Akatsuki member stepped forward.
"Kisame?" Sasori paused. "What are you doing here? Where is Itachi?"
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