Mending The Past To A Better Future

Chapter 44: Volumes of Panic

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The smell of burnt eucalyptus is stifling in the smoky skies; Obito has become supremely proficient with the Uchiha clan’s Fireball technique these past few days, and Sasuke always had lightning running up the blade of his sword.

The legion of Zetsu that Madara had sent to them is littered across the ground, plant bodies oozing onto the rocky battlefields, and the sizzle of aloe apparent.

And they’d been a three-man army that consisted of herself, Obito, and Sasuke. They had really done a number on the Zetsu clones, and had barely broken a sweat while doing so. Naruto had mostly been releasing her pent up rage and sadness concerning Sakura. Despite being amongst two avengers, Naruto did not feel left out.

No, for once, she understood Sasuke’s hatred and Obito’s plan.

Sasuke sheathed his sword once the last clone had fallen, barely pausing to take a breath. Sasuke in particular had become more reclusive these days, and only really spoke with her, Kakashi, and sometimes Obito.

“Tired, deadlast?” He asked, turning a challenging eye on her. And Naruto thinks he says it more out of consistency than anything else, and that’s why she offers him a glare.

“You wish, bastard,” She retorts.

They’re the only three out here because the messenger scroll had been sent directly to Naruto, and she’d been with Obito at the time. They’d decided to go and deal with it themselves. Sasuke had intercepted them on the way out, and Naruto could tell how much he needed it in that moment — how strong the urge to avenge was.

So he went with them and they cleared the field. Naruto hadn’t had much time to look at her best friend’s fighting form given how much time was spent around other people, focusing on the war itself. But with just two comrades to parry moves and ideas off of, she’d kept a surprisingly close eye on him.

Naruto could appreciate his style. Sasuke had become especially skilled at kenjutsu, and the way he used an electricity conducting blade was abnormally fascinating. He moved like the sword was an extension of his own arm, graceful and fluid like a dance. She had yet to see an ANBU match his level. He was much more adjusted to his Sharingan now, too, and. it showed.

Obito huffed, shaking his head, his spiky black hair rustling as he did, and sweat breaking free from his dual colored skin. “All these years have passed and you two are still bratty genin.”

Sasuke doesn’t rise to the bait. But that was expected.

Naruto turns to him, and she just knows she’s wearing a judgmental face. “Need I remind you about how you purposefully rile up Yamato-taichou?“

Obito sneers at her, blinking his Sharingan eye away in the process. “Let’s get back. There was nothing in this platoon of Zetsu anyways. We should catch up on some rest, replenish our energy, and report back in with the others.”

“How many clones are there?” Sasuke asks.

Obito grimaces. “More than we can deal with by ourselves, that’s for sure. The number Madara has sent to us is only a small portion of what lies in store. And I feel like these clones are merely a distraction for what has yet to come.”

“Shouldn’t you know what’s coming? I mean, you were his right hand man for practically all your life.”

Sasuke has a point, and Naruto turns back to Obito expectantly. He glares at the other Uchiha. “Madara died shortly after I was retrieved from the ruins of Kannabi Bridge, so it wasn’t like I received explicit instructions from him every step of the way. I knew the general plan and I helped move it along. I revived him. But plans change. I suspect Madara had to alter a few things once my loyalties switched. Plus.. well. I was supposed to become a jinchuuriki,” Obito admits. “For the Ten Tails.”