Blonding

Chapter 12 : Minato's Rage

There wasn't much that set an entire ninja village on high alert, all at once.

There was the occasional chakra disturbance from miles away that would tickle at the back of the minds of most active-duty shinobi from time to time, sure, but even those events were few and far between. The Village Hidden in the Leaves existed in a sort of peaceful indifference to the goings-on of the faraway world - and it liked to keep things that way.

It was no wonder, then, that when a chakra beacon three times brighter than the sun began to blossom on the horizon and slammed into the consciousness of every chakra-capable individual in the city with the ferocity of a bludgeoning tool, all hell broke loose.

Up and down the streets, villagers dropped their bags and gaped, pointing shaky fingers to the beam of pure-red power that blitzed into the receding daylight - dancing with the twilight mist like an omnipotent god. The children simply blinked and stared, the adults began to quiver in fear... and the shinobi began to sweat in anxiety.

And their Hokage was nowhere to be found.

Screaming began to echo throughout the more populated districts of the Leaf as a shockwave of pure energy washed over them like a storm front, blasting cups and dishes off of tabletops, knocking shutters about like ragdolls, sending dust and debris into the air in a haze of confusion and fear. Mothers shielded their children as the dust cloud swept across the village like a sickness, coating everything in a layer of soot.

Then came the tremors. China and glassware, pots and pans could be heard rattling amongst one another from the kitchen of nearly every home in the village, and the buildings creaked and groaned under the stress. People rushed about frantically, as if to flee from some sort of assailant; and the younger civilians began to cry in fear and worry, chasing after their family members as they all collectively stumbled towards the safehouses nestled in the mountainside, as protocol dictated.

Atop the Jounin Headquarters, several shinobi began to amass in blurs of speed and wind and leaves. First to arrive was the ANBU, then the special jounin, then anyone else that wasn't currently occupied with herding the general civilian populace into the emergency shelters.

One eye in particular looked upon the panicked village with a form of stoic apprehension, his teeth mashing together in worry underneath a simple navy-blue mask. He watched as one family began to scramble towards the Hokage Monument, currently bathed in the sickening blood-red of the manifested power over the horizon to the northeast.

Kakashi's lone eye narrowed as he studied the scarlet-soaked mug of his sensei, whose own stone eyes seemed to gleam in untold wisdom and strength, reflected back to the village he oversaw.

He clenched his fists together by his sides, nearly reaching for his ANBU mask as he fumed in silent consternation, preparing to lunge into battle with... whatever that was on the horizon.

'Where the hell are you, Minato-sensei?'

The energy beam pulsed again slightly on the skyline, and the copy-ninja grimaced and braced himself for its eventual effect on the village, which was set to arrive at any moment...

Another ripple of condensed air currents rocketed across the Hidden Leaf, sending dust skywards once more and forcing most of the shinobi on the roof to secure themselves with chakra, lest they topple over in the quaking.