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Chap-51 Battle of Uzu
🕑 Added 2022-03-18 14:43:56 +0000 UTC(Four Days Later)
Shisui Uchiha, Captain of the once powerful Kingsguard force stood in the Uzumaki leader's solar. His eyes a mirror of broken faith and despair as he watched Mito Uzumaki desperately try to save their King. They had watched him fall and be consumed by the soul stealing dragon. They had watched Naori Uchiha sacrifice her life while trying to save him...
Yet unlike all who perished before the dragon, their King yet breathed.
But what life was it when one was deprived of all senses and reduced to a catatonic state?
Hirashiman lost.
10,000 ninjas dead.
Ayato Uzumaki murdered.
Nagato Uzumaki brutally injured.
Shin Aburame missing.
The enemy legions breaching Uzu's outer perimeters and now marching towards the last stronghold of man on this island nation.
All that stood between them was the strongest Castle of the world and 3000 fighters.
For four days, they had fought and held the legions of dead at bay buying precious time for thousands of Uzumaki civilians to flee on Royal ships. Yet more remained but the ninjas had no more blood left to sacrifice. Watching their comrades, friends and family die before them only to come back again with dead eyes had a direct impact on the morale of any man.
Watching their King fall had crushed any hopes of victory.
As the highest ranking officer, he could have ordered his remaining troops to abandon Uzu. Nearly 6000 men had died on Hirashiman alone under the merciless army of the dead and that monstrous statue. Another 4000 fighters had to lay down their lives in a fighting retreat from Hirashiman to the final defense of Uzu's outer perimeters.
Despite the chaos and death, he had managed to retrieve Naori's body and gave her a quick funeral. It was not worthy of someone like her to be given such a short and hasty final parting but it was all Shisui could do to make sure she didn't rise as one of them.
Her ashes now contained in a jar placed near the King's bed.
"Every man able to fight is being mustered to fight"
Itama Senju's voice did little to bring Shisui out of his despair. He had failed in his duty to protect his King, his people and that burden was heavy for him to bear.
"How much longer before the last civilians are evacuated?" asked Itachi bitterly,
"Another few hours" answered Itama sadly,
"We don't have enough men to hold them off for so long!" spat Takeshi furiously,
As the Kingsguard members argued among themselves, Itama saw the despair in Shisui's eyes as he stared at Naruto's wounded form sleeping in the bed. He laid a comforting hand on the Uchiha's shoulder..
"Who am I, Senju?" asked Shisui miserably,
"Our Captain. The one who kept us together when all was lost, the one who chose not to abandon the Uzumaki, and the one who has not deserted us" answered Itama proudly, never could he have dreamed of a day when he would say such words to any Uchiha.
But Shisui had held them together and showed leadership when they wanted it most.
"Do you trust me?" questioned Shisui doubtfully, as he remembered the thousands who died following his orders.
It was Itachi, Kagami and Takeshi who stepped around their friend...
"To death"
Shisui took some comfort from their faith and loyalty knowing they would prove their words if needed. His eyes shifted towards the sky full of darkness and the distant presence of the enemy marching towards them.
Where were the dragons? Where were those roars?
The era of ninjas was coming to an end...
Young boys and old men not worthy of battle could be seen arming themselves, their fear and despair alongwith grim determination felt by all.
Two swords were presented before him, their names as famous and ancient as the Uchiha themselves.
Dawn and Fury.
He caught Mito's gaze as his comrades fastened his armor across his body. Taking the two holy swords in his hands, Shisui and the young boys around him exchanged one final glance with the Uzumaki matriarch.
No words were said.
Mito watched the boys march away to what was most certainly their death.
The last of the defenders gathered around the formidable Castle Walls of Uzu. They were a strange group with ninjas, civilians, merchants, old men and young boys all standing together in this final hour knowing their end was inevitable.
Fear and despair gripped their hearts fiercely, yet the desire to save their families so that they may get a chance to survive this doom kept them standing even in the face of such calamity.
Shisui stared at the lot.
3000 against death itself.
They were all staring at him, hoping that perhaps he could give them something to cling to. It could not be hope for Shisui himself had none, but he could give them something else.
He could give them...
Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, Sarutobi, Inuzuka, Aburame and even Yamanaka. Great enemies of past now devoid of that petty hate and rivalry knowing something evil was coming for them all.
"We cannot stop them forever" said Hiruzen Sarutobi, a young boy of nine and son of Sasuke Sarutobi. It was a miracle he survived so long but the little monkey was strong.
He looked up when their Captain himself stepped forward and knelt to Hiruzen's smaller height placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I know" agreed Shisui,
"We should have never come here" said Hiruzen sadly, as he remembered watching two of his cousins die before him.
"Maybe. But we are here now, it is true that we have lost so much but everyone of us that died here saved three lives atleast. It's like the First war for Dawn, little monkey. Darkness and danger had plagued the world back then and our ancestors must have felt what we are feeling now. Even they would have doubted that light would ever come back in their lives. Winter came for them just like it is coming for us..." said Shisui calmly,
"Then how did they win?" asked Hiruzen curiously, and Shisui saw everyone was listening to their conversation quite attentively.
"They never gave up. They kept on fighting even when all seemed lost, they kept on moving forward even in the face of death, they kept on struggling because they held on to something" answered Shisui, as he looked at all the fighters.
Itama felt tears prickle at the corner of his eyes, a feeling which was shared by many as their faint sniffing reached him.
"What are we holding on to, Captain?" asked another young Senju,
Shisui stared at the royal ships onto which the last of the Uzumaki civilians were boarding. His men caught his gaze and there were many who grimly smiled as they realized the meaning.
''We are fighting for something good. We are fighting for those who cannot defend themselves, for their tomorrow we give our today. It is a selfless act and something which the enemy will never understand. They cannot see that despite all the misery there is still some good left in this world. And it is worth fighting for..." urged Shisui passionately,
Tears fell from Hiruzen's eyes but alongwith them also came a proud smile. He watched his Captain stand and unleash Dawn and Fury at the same time, the moment forever becoming immortal in Hiruzen's heart.
"Fight, little monkey. Fight for Spring..."
The ground again trembled as heavy snows fell from the dark skies shrouding the devastated lands in a strange picture of beauty and horror. In the far away distance, Shisui saw a wave of darkness steadily marching towards them now that no opposition stood in their way. The last of the outer perimeter defenders had held their post to death buying precious time for the civilians to flee.
They should have brought more ships because evacuating a large nation like Uzu with thousands of civilians and wounded fighters at such a short notice was nigh impossible. Shisui had insisted for their wounded King to be on the first ships to leave but Mito had warned him of Naruto's fragile state and advised against it. But now there was no chance and the King had to be evacuated regardless of his medical state.
The only reason they had even been able to last so long was the fact that the Uzumaki clan had created unbreakable barriers across their sea borders preventing enemy fleets from surrounding the main island of Uzu.
Centuries old and strong barriers made through blood sacrifices were impossible to break even for an army of death and the enemy's strongest trump card, that cursed statue could not be launched between the sea. It had allowed the royal fleets to evacuate almost the entire remaining population of Uzu that was still alive to the mainlands. Those who remained were being ferried away on the last ships with only one ship left in reserve for Shisui and his forces to board.
If they survived.
The fact that he had only asked for one ship to be spared for his men was enough to ascertain how many he expected to survive the coming battle.
Still, they were not hopeless as the Uzumaki had built their castle in the image of a monstrous fortress.
Surrounded by deep moats on all sides, it had innumerable hidden barriers and traps spread across its terrain. There was only one gate for entrance and it was heavily protected by Shisui's forces. The keep where Naruto was being treated by Mito was nearly seven floors high and on every lower level there were battle stations from where archers and trained ninjas could rain hell upon any invaders. The Castle walls were made up of strong stones which had powerful seals engraved in them. Not only did it prevent anyone including ninjas from literally scaling the walls, but could also resist ninjutsu, explosions and even repel enemy forces.
Yet such protective measures were not enough.
But it was all Shisui had.
His men shivered as the cold only grew more harsher and dangerous threatening to consume their weakest. It was not natural and Shisui knew those pale eyed bastards were definitely behind this phenomenon.
Some of the men who had been near the King during his fall muttered a name called Otsutsuki.
Shisui did not fully know if these strangers were actually descendants of Kaguya, but they were powerful and dangerous which was enough for him to be wary.
The enemy was now visible and Shisui could not hold back a flinch as he saw thousands of his former ninjas were now marching in the front. Brave men and women turned by the cruelty of the Otsutsuki, their corpses mutilated and forced to fight against their comrades. Behind them came thousands upon thousands of more dead Uzumaki and warriors from Land of Lightning. Even more shocking were the legions of new white haired humanoid warriors dressed in shinobi armor. Those troops were never before seen by Shisui in any of the battles but his sharp eyes didn't miss those warriors alone numbered close to 150,000 alone. Combine that with the remaining forces of the dead, his 3000 fighters were up against a force nearly 250,000 strong.
Never in the history of the elemental nations had such a monstrous army been seen before.
"There's plenty for us all"
Shisui blinked on Takeshi's boisterous words but on watching the remaining fighters chuckle at the boy's remark made him give him a thankful nod.
"Are those white haired bastards out there?" asked Hiruzen eagerly, as he wanted nothing more than to kill one of those monsters.
For his remark, he earned a light bop on the head from Itachi.
"Become a little taller, midget. Then we'll think about letting you fight one of them" teased Itachi,
"He's right, little Saru. Leave those monsters to the grown ups" boasted Takeshi, making Hiruzen scowl.
"Aren't you supposed to be with the King? They call your Kingsguard for a reason" protested Hiruzen, desperate for a chance to be allowed to battle those who killed one of his cousins.
"Our king wants us here" said Kagami seriously,
They were all silenced by the deafening roars of the enemy army as they approached closer. Shisui walked through the tall 100 feet walls offering what little encouragement to the men before the battle began.
He raised Dawn commanding the men to get ready when he spotted the first enemy wave about to charge.
In the blink of an eye they roared and marked the beginning of the Battle of Uzu.
"Get Ready!" roared Shisui, and heard the familiar sound of kunai, shuriken and arrows being readied.
He watched in grim satisfaction as the legions of dead warriors were trapped in numerous barriers that arose to defend the home of the Uzumaki. Hundred were burned, vaporized, sliced apart and thrown away.
Three times the enemy charged and three times they were thrown back with nearly 4000 of their own dying in the failed attempts.
"Is this it? Is this all you can fucking throw at us, you bastards!" taunted Miyami Uzumaki, wife of Nagato Uzumaki.
With Nagato wounded, Ayato dead and Mito busy treating Naruto, Miyami was the last Uzumaki leader still left alive and was now commanding the last of her clan's fighters.
Shisui gripped his swords tightly on hearing that blatant provocation. The Uzumaki were certainly rash even in such situation and it was about to cost them dearly as the enemy army parted. His eyes widened when he saw an extremely beautiful woman with pale white hair and skin as radiant as the moon come forward. Her beauty taking away the breath of every man and many women, but Shisui was mesmerized by her eyes.
She raised her hand right towards the barriers...
"Shinra Tensei"
Snow was blown away alongwith the land it once stained as a monstrous and invisible force of nature clashed with the barriers. It sent a monstrous shockwave that had many civilian and young boys flying away to their deaths. The ninjas only managed to keep their footing on the walls due to their chakra and could only watch in despair as the barriers were utterly annihilated.
From the enemy army one chant arose...
"The White Queen"
The abominations cheered in ghastly and foul language as they watched their leader about to raise her hand again only to be forced to deflect a spear that was about to behead her. Cold eyes narrowed at the form of Shisui Uchiha who glared back at her defiantly.
Shisui blinked in surprise when both Dawn and Fury started shaking as a strange light glowed from the ancient swords. Dawn was rumored to be made by Indra himself with the chakra of the Ten Tails, while Fury was also said to be made by Indra's eldest son and rumored to have the chakra of many lost tailed beasts in it. Shisui felt an inconceivable urge burn through his mind as the ancient power in those weapons compelled him. He brought both swords high in the air as a beam of lightning was unleashed across the dark skies.
The enemy queen took a step back and her eyes widened when that monstrous beam of lightning came down right at her. At the last second, she dodged but it only left her forces open to bear the attack.
Shisui watched the woman appear at a certain distance and screeched on seeing thousands of her warriors charred to death courtesy of Dawn and Fury.
A strange chakra force spread through Shisui's body courtesy of the swords. One of them was wild and unforgiving, the other cold and ruthless.
Indra and Indranil.
He didn't know why those names were whispered in his head but he felt the power of these two entities flow through him.
And for the first time he saw the hint of fear and rage in the enemy queen's face as she moved back within her army lines with haste.
The ninjas cheered for the first time in battle and not so soon as the next moment the enemy army gave their own murderous roar and charged.
"Prepare to FIRE!" yelled Shisui,
The dead charged uncaring of the numerous traps that shredded them, made them fall into trenches or electrocuted them. There was no emotion or feeling left in them except for the unending desire to kill at their master's command.
Ruthlessly they overran the last of the traps and now approached the dense moats surrounding the Uzumaki Castle. Hundreds of them jumped into the dangerous waters only to sink instantly as the hidden barriers sucked them deep within.
"Set them alight!" commanded Shisui,
Hundreds of fireballs soared high in the sky from the top of the Castle walls before plunging mercilessly into the enemy horde. The screams of hundreds of dead could be heard across the entire island as they were burned alive.
Shisui instantly turned towards the upper level battle stations where some of his best marksmen were waiting.
"NAMIKAZE! FIRE!"
The highly trained marksmen unleashed dozens of volleys of kunai laced with explosives shredding rows upon rows of enemy forces.
"VOLLEY!" yelled Miyami Uzumaki defiantly,
The last of the Uzumaki civilian archers raised their weapons and darkened the skies once again before deafening the lands once again through explosions as the arrows went off killing a thousand enemy soldiers.
Shisui cringed when the enemy had enough and launched their own attack. While most of the projectiles could not scale the high walls, a few launched by the strongest dead warriors scaled the heights. His heart broke when he watched a young girl of nine get hit by a kunai, the bow in her hand fell as she crashed brutally down the walls. She was not alone in meeting her end as a dozen men and women joined her in death by falling to their doom on either side of the walls.
Steeling himself, Shisui continued commanding his forces and kept on ordering volley after volley of arrows and ninja weapons shredding as many enemy as he could. But for every thirty the enemy lost, two of Shisui's own died as well.
He narrowed his eyes when he saw a large horde of enemy forces charge towards the main gate.
"Miyami! The gates!" he warned, making the Uzumaki woman realize the threat.
"Barrier teams! BRACE!" warned Miyami,
Majority of the Uzumaki ninjas were dead thanks to the months of fighting and the series of recent defeats, what few were left were now tasked with maintaining the seals and barriers preventing the enemy from breaching the gates.
"Itachi, 100 already" boasted Takeshi, as he continued launching multiple attacks of shurikenjutsu.
"254" answered Itachi calmly, as he shredded another dozen with his kunai.
"Smartass" muttered Takeshi glumly, making Shisui chuckle.
"SHISUI!"
The Captain was alerted by Kagami's warning and his eyes widened as dozens of pillars rose from the earth. It was a clear manipulation of earth style and everyone of them nearly carried two dozen enemy warriors on it as they soared higher towards Shisui's fighters. From the corner of his eye, the Uchiha saw some of the pale eyed bastards standing in the rear ranks with their hands on the ground.
"MELEE!" ordered Shisui,
To his surprise, his childhood friends were the first to react as they all jumped across the wall to land perfectly on the rising earthen pillars. Not even the enemy expected such a suicide move but Takeshi's blood was up and he roared savagely with his sword making quick work of enemies around him.
Itachi and Kagami were much less vocal in their own battle but were equally ruthless.
It brought a thin smile on Shisui's lips despite the fact that he saw nearly a dozen more earthen pillars holding hundreds of enemies rise from the ground to breach his high walls.
Bringing his chakra glowing swords forward, he unleashed devastating lightning beams from Dawn and Fury. Each and everyone of the earthen pillars was shattered as they were not able to stand the ancient power sending hundreds of enemies crushing to their deaths again. Even so the enemy tried their tactic again and again, but the Kingsguard held the line.
For the first time hope was about to surge through the defenders until a familiar roar was heard across the battlefield.
Shisui gave out his fiercest battlecry and brought both his swords forward to launch a devastating beam of lightning just in time as the cursed humanoid statue launched its own similar attack. Painful light bathed the entire island making the dead and living both screech in pain as the two forces of nature collided with each other.
Shisui coughed blood as he felt a large chunk of his chakra being consumed by the two holy swords at a rapid pace but it didn't matter as he saw the enemy attack was neutralized. If possible the statue became terribly angry...
It charged forward with a thunderous roar uncaring of the fact that it crushed hundreds of its own forces.
Many defenders abandoned their posts and fled as they saw the monstrosity headed right for their walls. Every attack they launched never made a scratch and only seemed to make the beast more angrier as it increased its pace.
Itama Senju gasped in horror as he saw Shisui charge with his two ancient Uchiha swords.
The Captain of the Kingsguard army jumped off the high walls to land on one of the elevated earthen pillars. Fearlessly, he hopped across different earthen pillars to charge straight towards the approaching humanoid monster. Three shadows flanked his sides and he quickly tossed one of his holy swords to one of his friends.
Together, the four Kingsguard charged fearlessly towards the roaring humanoid monster. Shisui raised Dawn, Itachi raised Fury, Takeshi unleashed a series of explosives and Kagami shrouded himself in the chakra flames of the Sixth Gate.
"SONS OF INDRA! CHARGE!"
Shisui's ferocious roar resonated across the entire battlefield as the four Kingsguard clashed against the humanoid statue.
A blinding light exploded on the darkened island followed by an inhuman screech.
Both armies watched in stunned fascination and horror as Shisui alongwith Itachi plunged their holy swords into the statue's eyes. Takeshi quickly enshrouded the beast in explosive tags just in time as Kagami roared and connected his brutal kick to the beast's face.
Hiruzen watched in awe as the humanoid monster's face cracked slightly as it went sailing through the air. The statue flew away and crashed several hundred feet away crushing thousands more of its own forces.
Its thunderous crash not only shook the land but also the resolve of the enemy army.
So frozen were the dead that they were not ready when Indra's four descendants unleashed their rage on them.
"FIRE AND BLOOD!" roared Shisui,
Dawn and Fury spewed forth a wave of poisonous and malicious chakra that burned alive any unfortunate soul that got in its way. Kagami descended in the midst of the enemy hordes alongside Takeshi as both warriors started butchering their foes mercilessly.
Shisui and Itachi joined their friends and both warriors unleashed a genjutsu shrouding the battlefield in grim darkness.
The dead screamed as they were killed by the hundreds.
For the first time, panic and confusion spread across the enemy force which only exploded ten fold when the crashed humanoid statue's face developed several more cracks before it vanished in a puff of smoke.
The ninja defenders could only watch in stunned fascination as the legions of dead...
Ran.
Cheers and relieved cries were heard across the entire castle as every defender watched the enemy break ranks and retreat hurriedly. Their eyes narrowed down on the four young boys that were soaked in blood and guts, their bloodstained swords the only support holding their panting forms standing.
Shisui grimly smiled as he watched their enemies run for their lives having lost thousands in their failed attempt to breach the Uzumaki Castle.
But the smile vanished and was replaced by fear when the ground again trembled.
A monstrous red haired monkey and a menacing white horse appeared in a puff of smoke. The thing both beasts had in common apart from their demonic eyes and stained skin full of seals was one dangerous factor.
Four and Five Tails respectively.
"Tailed beasts..." said Takeshi nervously,
"Now we know what happened to some of the fox's kin" realized Itachi grimly,
"What do we do?" asked Kagami seriously,
They got their answer when they saw Itama Senju and Miyami Uzumaki jump from the high Castle walls, both warriors already performing a set of hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu"
Four giant toads dressed in battle armor and carrying heavy swords and shields appeared on the battlefield with Itama sitting on top of the tallest and strongest one. Miyami Uzumaki was also sitting atop a dangerous crab summon.
"Hop on!" yelled Itama with a grin,
Shisui brought forth his own raven and climbed atop while ordering his fellow Uchiha to join Itama's three vacant toads. They all quickly mounted their beasts and saw the twin tailed beasts forming a dangerous ball of chakra.
"Bijudama, brace!" warned Miyami Uzumaki in alarm, her hands already flowing through a set of hand seals.
Two massive tailed beast bombs flew straight at the Castle but the Uzumaki woman was well prepared as she clasped her hands together after finishing her hand seals.
"Sealing Style: Vanishing Barrier!"
A strange vacuum shaped barrier rose in between the path of the Bijudama and absorbed them completely. Just when Shisui was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Miyami flicked her wrists and pointed her palms straight at the tailed beasts.
His eyes widened when the vacuum shaped barrier appeared in front of the two stunned beasts and from them emerged two Bijudama...
The tailed beasts were shrouded in their own attacks and thousands of dead warriors around them were vaporized instantly as the Bijudama went off. The gigantic beasts screamed which earned a grim smile from Shisui as he looked at his comrades.
Never underestimate an Uzumaki.
"CHARGE! TAKE THEM HEAD ON!" commanded the Kingsguard Captain,
The summoned creatures and their riders charged as one towards the recovering tailed beasts. The dead legions took several steps back on watching the monstrous toads and crab coming towards them. Just when they were about to jump on the tailed beasts a white flash happened.
Shisui flinched when the White Queen appeared again with murder in her eyes.
"Shinra Tensai"
He barely managed to jump off his raven and avoided being hit by that invisible force. Unfortunately, his friends and comrades were not so lucky and took the full brunt of the attack making them go flying away.
Shisui grunted as he crashed on the ground and felt the bitter sound of bones cracking. Regardless, he painfully got to his feet with Dawn in his hands and found himself facing the enemy queen.
He fell to his knees when that inhuman killing intent washed over him like a tidal wave. A painful scream escaped his lips as he felt his darkest fears and nightmares coming to life. So much death, despair and suffering...
He could not rise...he didn't want to rise...
The urge to fall and end this misery spread through his heart. He saw the queen walk towards him and her strange eyes held in them a victorious look.
It made her even more surprised when the bone shaped spear that she tried to stab her foe with was blocked.
She dodged the lethal slash aimed at her throat and could not help but watch Shisui in morbid curiosity. Very few could resist her power, for him to even be able to stand pointed towards an iron will.
"Why are you killing my people?" demanded Shisui, even as he fought a duel against the strange but beautiful woman.
Despite all his talents and experience, Shisui felt he was being mocked as his opponent evaded his attacks with childish ease and made it look as if she was toying with him.
"Humanity is not my enemy. It never was but shinobi are..." answered the queen,
''Who are you?" asked Shisui hesitantly,
"The one that holds the divine soul of the almighty goddess within herself. I am her vessel and through me she shall rule once more"
Shisui was brought to his knees when a monstrous beam of chakra was released by the queen which spread across the skies.
"Instead of a foolish King, you will have a QUEEN!"
Shisui trembled as he recognized the demonic face that spread across the skies. He had read about her once and the image matched exactly with the one mentioned in the ancient Uchiha scriptures.
"Dark and beautiful! Stronger than any being on this earth!"
Kaguya's Otsutsuki's demonic face terrified Shisui to his very core as every part of his body trembled under the crushing power that washed over him threatening to crush him like an insect.
"All shall love and fear her!"
The queen's eyes widened and the image of Kaguya shattered in the skies when a beam of energy was unleashed from Dawn and hit the woman head on. The wounded tailed beasts vanished and the army of dead froze as their queen was sent flying away.
Shisui lost his grip on Dawn as the sword burned up with such energy unleashing a wave of monstrous chakra that literally set aflame thousands of enemy soldiers unfortunate enough to be near it. Shisui saw the image of an older version of Naruto emerge from the sword and glow so brightly that it nearly rendered him blind.
The ethereal being glowed in pure chakra that was so full of light and darkness. His menacing red eyes glaring murderously at the white queen...
A beam of chakra was unleashed by the mighty warrior that hit the white queen making her scream in agony as she was sent flying away once again.
The armies of dead recklessly charged towards the ethereal man in a desperate attempt to save their queen only to be sent flying away as the simmering Uchiha launched a massive shockwave before his form vanished.
The warrior vanished away leaving Dawn behind.
But the damage was done.
Thousands of enemy warriors were slaughtered.
The enemy queen was howling in pure agony as she was dragged away with her army retreating alongside her.
Shisui gingerly grasped the ancient weapon of the Uchiha as his friends came around him. Their faces as pale as him for they all could still not believe what they just saw.
"Was that?" asked Takeshi,
"Yes" answered Itachi,
Shisui had always wondered as to why strange phenomenon always kept on happening around Naruto. The first being the incident when the night he became a Kinslayer, the entire Uchiha temple and those in it had burned to death except for Naruto.
The second was the time when the soul stealing purple dragon launched by the humanoid statue that had killed every ninja that came in its way was not able to kill the King. Sure, the king was wounded and might not survive his injuries but his soul was not sucked away.
Looking at Dawn, Shisui now knew the reason behind those strange happenings.
My lord Indra, you have not abandoned your sons.
Shisui came running out of the keep when he heard the news. The last remnants of civilians and surviving fighters were already being loaded on the final ships that were leaving Uzu. They might have managed to repel the enemy once but they would come back again and this time the ninjas did not have the strength to stop them. The Castle walls were crumbling and if that monstrous statue alongside the tailed beasts in the enemy's possession launched an attack, then it would all be over in moments.
What had broken Shisui's heart was the fact that there was not enough room on the ships left for him to take everyone.
It was why he was even more heartbroken when he watched the last surviving Senju and Uzumaki warriors solemnly marching towards the Castle gates under the command of one leader.
"Itama!Stop!" commanded Shisui,
The Kingsguard member approached the Senju warrior mounted atop a smaller version of his toad battle partner. On seeing him approach, Hashirama's youngest sibling gave him a small smile.
"You cannot do this, Itama! You are the Queen's brother, I forbid you" said Shisui fiercely, as his friends and fellow Uchiha came around him.
"There is not enough room for us all on the ships, Captain. Besides, someone needs to hold the enemy back for our people to escape" explained Itama patiently,
"Then I will stay. You are too valuable to sacrifice your life here" said Shisui seriously,
"No. You are a good leader, Captain. The men need you and I don't think our King will survive if he wakes up only to see another one of his loved ones dead. There was once a time when I used to be afraid of battles, afraid of leading my men, but fighting alongside you all gave me courage and the confidence I lacked my entire life" explained Itama proudly,
"Don't do this, Itama. Your sister and brothers need you" pleaded Kagami, earning a bittersweet smile from the Senju.
"They will understand my desire to defend this nation till the end. This is the home of the Uzumaki and Senju as well, the land of my grandmother, I will gladly give my life to defend it and our people" said Itama honestly,
Shisui opened his lips but no words came out when he saw the look in Itama's eyes. The bitter truth of not being in any position to save everyone, the hard fact that someone had to stay behind to keep the enemy at bay haunted his heart.
For all his desire to stop this, he knew Itama was a fine leader having proven himself on various battlefields.
Most of all, every Senju and Uzumaki had great pride in their eyes as they followed after their young leader in their final battle. No other man could lead these brave men and women better in this hour than Itama...
"Our people love you, Itama. They shall never forget the sacrifice of you and your men" promised Shisui,
Itama's eyes slightly widened when he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi kneel before him with tears in his eyes. The young monkey offered him a final salute which Itama returned with a nod, his comrades were also stunned when every Uchiha, Namikaze, Sarutobi, Inuzuka, Yamanaka, Aburame and other fighters knelt.
They all offered the marching warriors a final salute.
A faint smile came on Itama's lips. All his life he had been doubted by people, he was not as strong as his siblings and had always lacked in leading their people. But now in this final hour, he had earned the genuine respect from not just his own people but former foes as well.
His sacrifice would only serve to make these ties of blood more stronger between their people.
He looked at his 600 men that had decided to follow him and steeled himself when they all gave him a nod.
The gates of the castle opened up and in the far away distance could be seen the disturbing presence of the regrouping enemy army. Shisui watched Itama mounted on his toad cross the gates with his men.
When the final warrior stepped outside, Itama who was at the lead of the small force heard the sound of gates closing.
Taking a deep breath, he unleashed his sword as his toad summon enlarged itself to its original size. Two more large battle toads carrying Senju riders marched alongside him. Itama summoned forth another army of smaller toads and soon enough his small force was mounted atop the reptile species.
He raised his sword high in the air as his warriors aligned themselves around him with their battle toads.
"For Family. For Duty. For Honor"
The Uzumaki roared in approval when he said their clan's prized words. With a resigned smile, Itama glanced at his own Senju clansmen and saw them grimly smiling at him. This time, his roar was joined by them all and resonated across the entire island of Uzu.
"OURS IS THE FURY!"
One of the Otsutsuki warriors came forward towards the frontlines. He narrowed his eyes on seeing a small force of Senjus and Uzumaki warriors mounted atop battle toads charging towards their army.
He raised his hand commanding the disorganized army of dead to reform their lines.
His eyes zeroed down on the form of the young boy charging atop the largest toad. Flags and banners of antlers, dragons and whirlpools were fluttering high in the sky.
The wounded enemy queen snarled in rage on seeing the approaching ninja force.
Getting to her feet, she stared at the one leading this last charge.
A battlecry left her lips.
A few miles off the coast of Uzu stood a lone figure on the deck of the last ship retreating away from the ruined islands.
Shisui watched a monstrous explosion akin to a Bijudama envelop the island of Uzu.
A lone tear fell down his cheeks...
And his world turned red.
