Naruto: Tetsuden - 107

Chakra Wizard

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I just got done skimming a lot of excess fat off this storyline, so now I’m over halfway done in the chapter count! :yay: That gives me some hope that I’ll actually finish it nowxd Anyways, enjoy:)

Here’s my previous chapters, for those who missed any:











Chapter 107: A Hell of a Day


As the sun slowly began its descent from the skies above the Land of Earth, members of the Union’s Second Division began setting up camp just miles beyond the country’s borders. Within an hour, hundreds of tents were scattered across the rocky terrain and their inhabitants found relaxation for the first time all day. Exhaustion was prevalent, but their numbers had hardly dwindled since the day began, thanks primarily to the inclusion of one kunoichi, in particular. She was in a particularly large tent at the time, sitting on a wooden bench staring at the silhouette of another young kunoichi standing behind a shower curtain. There was no nozzle – plumbing had not yet become portable for the shinobi populations – but using her unique powers, she aided her comrade with a small stream of water, which continually poured down over her body and rose up again. After a few minutes, she reached her hand out from behind the curtain, prompting the water to fall to the floor as she grabbed one of the towels hanging on a nearby rack. She pulled the curtain aside and walked over, holding the towel over her bare body.

????: Thank you, Nakama.

Nakama acknowledged the thanks with a nod and turned her head as the kunoichi dropped the towel and dressed herself in a stack of fresh clothes sitting on the bench. She left soon after, at which point Nakama undressed herself, leaving the kunai left to her by Airon on top of her clothes before stepping behind the curtain. As her long hair started fluttering around her, the water on the floor began to do the same, freeing her body of what little grime she collected on the battlefield. Within a few minutes, she was finished and took a moment to personally remove every last droplet of water from her hair and body. When this was done, she reached for the towel still hanging on the rack and wrapped herself up, but when she opened the curtain, she jumped back in a fright. Sitting on the bench beside her clothes now was another shinobi, his head held low as he twirled her kunai on his finger. It didn’t take Nakama long to recognize him.

Nakama: Airon.

Airon lifted his head, but continued to say nothing. He just stared up at her, either taking in or not even noticing the fact that only a towel separated his gaze from her body, a fact which caused Nakama to look away as her face turned completely red. It quickly became clear, though, that his mind was somewhere else entirely, and she turned back to see exactly what was the problem.

Nakama: Airon?

Airon: Please…love me…

He lowered his head again as tears began falling from his eyes. She hadn’t yet put all the pieces together, but Nakama knew that whatever happened to him on the other side of the continent, failure was surely a factor. She walked up to him, running her fingers through his hair a moment before pulling him close, allowing his head to sink into her chest as she rested her own atop it.

Nakama: Of course…always…

A moment of silence passed before he reached up and wrapped his arms around her, his now muffled cries slowly filling the tent and making their way to the outside.


– Minutes Earlier –​


The battle over and Unagi’s entire army now in full retreat, those with enough energy and will to do so scavenged the beaches for corpses that were not yet retrieved and wrapped up for preservation. Mei, their now singular commander stood at the far end of the beach, listening to an emotional Niyo’s testimony as a handcuffed Ichigo and a detached Airon sat close by. Manako and Suigetsu listened and stared at the two bystanders, as did many others.

Niyo: He killed every last one of them. And this stubborn child just sat there. He didn’t even bother to help us escape.

Mei: (She finally turned to Airon with a frown.) Airon Namikaze. Is all this…

Her eyes shifted towards the young shinobi, only to widen with surprise when he was nowhere to be found. His sudden departure caught the surprise of nearly everyone present, Manako being a rare exception and Niyo another. The latter clenched his fists in response to the actions of the one whom, until recently, he referred to as “Captain”.

Niyo: Coward. Running at the first sign of disappointment.

Mei: That’s quite enough, Niyo. There’s no point keeping him in our thoughts now. …He’s probably on the other side of the continent.

He and others heeded her words as a nearby group of medical-nin finished wrapping up the bodies of Rounin and the four dead Swordsmen, placing them beside one another.

Mei: Assemble a team to watch over them. And continue to search the island for more bodies. I want every last one returned to their respective country for burial as soon as the war ends.

With no objections, those who did not partake in the requested search took this time to finally relax or search for casualties whom they knew. It wasn’t long before crying parents were hovering over the bodies of their children and vice-versa. Being no exception, a now recovering Lee cradled Tenten’s head in his lap while Metal sat beside him. Towards the opposite side of the beach, Manako watched it all as he sat against a tree, where he was quickly joined by Chan and Miyuki.

Chan: Is this what they mean by that saying “War is hell?”

As Miyuki patted her teammate on the shoulder, Manako stared off towards the horizon, his mind fixed solely upon Airon and his sudden disappearance.

Manako: (Goddamn it, Airon.)

Over the next few hours, the remaining forces finished gathering all the casualties on the island and aligning near the tree line, where the waves would not disturb them. This task completed and the sun nearing its descent, tents quickly began popping up across the beach as shinobi started turning in for the evening. Inside one larger than the rest, Mei sat alone at a small table, typing vigorously on her personal computer. On the screen was a letter, addressed to the other half of her division.

Several miles north, remnants of a much smaller army relaxed and socialized after what seemed to be a much more successful day of fighting. Inside a large tent much like Mei’s, division commander Itachi sat and read Mei’s newly arrived message as Sasuke stood close by, patiently waiting to hear what news she had for them when Itachi’s face grew tense with morbid surprise.

Sasuke: What did she say?

Itachi: (He gulped in dread.) I think we have our answer now…why the battle went so smoothly on our side.

As he hurriedly forwarded the message to Shikamaru along with his own added words, Sasuke looked over his shoulder to see what he had read. His fingers curled into fists as he did.

Distant from the three areas of battle, in a building that was once the headquarters of the Sound Village, the Union leaders gathered around a large table. Behind a computer of her own, Temari read over the messages from Mei and Itachi as Shikamaru, Ino, Karin, Shikadai and Inojin, among others, waited impatiently for her to read them aloud.

Temari: The northern assault on the Land of Water was met with little resistance. The southern assault, however…fought off three separate waves of increasingly hostile forces, the last of which was led by the Mizukage himself.

The others listened on with grim anticipation, this small piece of news alone leading them to suspect the worst for the southern assault.

Temari: Mei writes “Of our original twenty-five thousand strong, I estimate no less than fifty percent of that number now lay dead across the island where the battle took place. Among the casualties, notable individuals include…General Rounin…”

Every eye in the room grew wide with shock as Temari read off this name, the fact that it was the first to be listed only making matters worse.

Temari: “Hedero Budou and all but one of the four Swordsmen of the Mist who chose not to defect from the Mist Village. The bisected remnants of the great sword Samehada were also found near their bodies.”

She read on even further and quickly found herself overcome with sadness, impulsively shooting a glance to her husband and Ino.

Temari: “Additionally, certain of our high-ranking shinobi might wish to hear that…the body of Tenten of the Leaf Village was also recovered after just the second wave.”

This news hit them like nothing else that came before it. Shikamaru and his son gritted their teeth, Ino shed tears and Inojin closed his eyes, hoping to say a silent prayer for her.

Temari: “With the battle over, our remaining shinobi are resting, tending to our wounded, and healing the dead. I only pray that our other armies scattered across the continent were not met with the same level of tragedy that we have felt on this first day of war…Mei.”

Fighting off her own emotions, Temari slowly began typing her own message.

Temari: I’ll send this to Gaara, Sarada and the Hokage. A-and the captains of the smaller divisions. …I’m sure Sai and Sakura will want to know about Tenten, too.

Ino: (She wiped away her tears.) Poor Lee…

Temari: (She glanced sadly over at her husband.) Who’s going to tell Neji?

Shikamaru: (He feebly stroked his chin as he gave it some thought.) Address Hinata in your forward to Hanabi. Tell her she has the option of letting him know herself or giving that task to Lee. …Tenten was their teammate, after all.

Temari nodded in agreement and continued typing as Shikamaru sat down, clutching his forehead as the regret now flowing through his mind started to bring him pain.

Ino: Shikamaru?

Shikamaru: (As the pain subsided, he moved his hand over his eyes.) Was I wrong? …The Mist had the weakest forces, so I thought they’d be the perfect target to focus our strength on at the start of the war. …Unagi’s a psychopath, though. I should’ve known he wouldn’t just sit back and watch like Ryoku or Otori. …Now over twelve-thousand shinobi are dead.

Shikadai: (He sat down beside his father and forcefully turned his head to face him.) Pops, with all due respect, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard you say. Yes, fifty percent of our forces in the east are dead. And you really think that percentage would’ve gone down if you sent fewer shinobi? It doesn’t take a genius like you to realize that percentage would’ve only gone up. …You made the right move, Pops. It was a better move than any of us would’ve made, that’s for damn sure.

Shikamaru was moved by his words, though not enough to outweigh his surprise at hearing them from his son. He looked over at Temari, who couldn’t help but share these feelings.

Temari: Well, look who’s finally woken up.

Shikadai: (He looked away in annoyance.) Pfffft, please. I just wanted him to stop being a pain in my ass.

His reaction amused them, but understanding his good intentions, they didn’t press him any further. This was in part due to the arrival of a new message on Temari’s computer, which she quickly opened to read as the others listened in.

Temari: It’s another forward from Itachi from Mei. She says “If you could, inform the other commanders to sift through their forces. We need to know…”

Sarada: “…the current whereabouts of Airon Namikaze, who deserted our unit after the battle ended.”

Inside another large tent set up next to the border of the Land of Lightning, Sarada sat a small table, reading the message aloud to a bystanding Naruto, Boruto and Yurui. The news immediately caused her to question the former Hokage’s reaction, turning to find him running his hand down over his face, while Boruto walked over and stared over her shoulder at the screen. Yurui proceeded to do the same, popping his gum as he made the first comment in post.

Yurui: So what? Did he go AWOL, I mean, what the hell?

Boruto: (He looked at him, offended.) Not my son. Not a chance.

Naruto: (He rubbed his chin in thought.) Still, it’s pretty out of character for Airon. …What the hell happened?

Knowing his grandson well, it didn’t take long for him or Boruto to come up with a rough answer. Back in the Land of Earth, less than a mile from Nakama’s tent, Airon’s siblings managed to do the same, having been brought in by Konohamaru and Akatsuchi to read the message themselves and help determine his whereabouts.

Konohamaru: Any clues?

Kei and Inase looked at each other, coming to the same conclusion, but hesitant to share it.

Inase: Well, we know where he is, anyways.

Kei: Right here.

Konohamaru and Akatsuchi were both taken aback by the convenience, but the former’s surprise quickly added to his anger and he turned to storm out of the tent.

Inase: Lord Hokage, don’t-

Konohamaru: Inase, your brother or not, that boy deserted his unit in a time of war. He has to be reprimanded.

Kei: Uncle Konohamaru, it’s Airon. Can you really it deserting?

Inase: He’s right. He has the Flying Raijin, so he can return to them just as quickly as he left.

These points stopped Konohamaru in his tracks, much to their short-lived relief.

Inase: Airon’s been with us our whole life and we’ve NEVER seen him act like this before. So that probably means one thing.

Kei: He got his ass handed to him.

Inase: (She glared at him in disbelief.) Or he failed to protect someone during the fighting. If anything, he left so he can have some alone time to pull himself together. I’m sure when he gets over it, he’ll go back.

Konohamaru thought this over as he stood in the entrance of the tent, eventually turning around when he’d made up his mind.

Konohamaru: Well, he’d better get over it before tomorrow morning, cause if the fighting starts again and he’s not there, me or someone else is gonna charge him with desertion. …Thank you both for answering the call.

Kei and Inase paid their respects to the two seasoned ninja and quickly walked out, waiting until they were out of earshot before letting their argument commence.

Kei: Who do you think beat him?

Inase: (It’s Airon, Kei. Who COULD have beat him?)

Kei: Would you stop doing that? I’m trying to have a serious talk here and it hurts my head talking without actually talking.

Inase: (She rolled her eyes.) If I had to guess, he either failed trying to save Tenten or General Rounin. He’s strong-minded, though. He’ll get over it by tomorrow.

Kei: I don’t think that’s it, though.

Inase: Kei, there’s no one in the Mizukage’s army that can beat Airon. It had to be-

Kei: Sis, would you just listen to me for a sec? You’re not thinking like Airon right now.

Inase: What do you mean I’m not thinking like Airon? I just said there’s no one who can beat…

She stopped walking as the realization hit her.

Kei: Get it now? Airon’s a stubborn ass who thinks he can do anything. How do I know that? Cause I am, too. But Airon’s stronger than me. I’ll tell anyone that any day of the week and if I fight Airon and lose, I won’t stay mad for long cause I saw it coming. …Airon can’t say that, though. About anyone. If he fought someone and lost, he had to be thinking it never would’ve happened in a million years. Yeah, maybe someone’s life was on the line and that’s part of it, but he can get over mistakes like that cause he’s made mistakes in the past. …He doesn’t know how to deal with losing a fight cause it’s never happened before.

Saying this and actually hearing it aloud, Kei suddenly grew deeply worried for his older brother, as did Inase.

Inase: Well, I hope he’s able to sleep it off. …The last thing he needs now is to get kicked while he’s down.

Kei: (He nodded in agreement.) Should we go see him? Maybe you can use your little switcheroo jutsu and boost his confidence.

Inase: (She shook her head.) No, he’s too smart for that to work, at least not forever. …We’ll just have to let Nakama work her magic tonight.

Kei: (Jeez, I almost like the sound of that.)

Inase: (I’m still listening in, you pervert.)

Kei: What the…well, stop doing that! Damn, you make me paranoid when you do that! It makes me too afraid to think about stuff when you’re around!

Inase: Why? Are there things you don’t want other people to know?

Kei: I said cut it out!!

She teased him a while longer as they made their way back to their tent, but in the back of their minds, they both continued to hope for their brother’s quick recovery – and pray that the next time they saw him, he was the same childish prodigy he had always been.

Over the next hour, the sun disappeared completely from the sky, which slowly went from a light orange to a deep black. Inside a small tent lost in a sea of hundreds, Nakama sat on her futon and gazed down at Airon, rubbing his head as he laid on her lap, tears still falling down his face.


Will Airon recover from his crushing defeat!!?

The End
 

Trea

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Emotional chapter even though the last one was where most of the killing took place. This story just keeps getting better and better. Enjoyed it can't wait for the next one.
 

zedek

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Very nice chap got to see a new side of airon not sure how this will affect him going forward hopefully he comes out stronger from this
 
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