Sword of God -- A Naruto Fanfiction

| 28 | Martial Law

Naruto groans, a pounding headache plaguing him like a malevolent poltergeist.

His ears hear a faint ringing sound, a constant repeat like a song in a loop or a broken radio.

A sound like a bell chiming constantly, swinging from left to right, a steady rhythm that alerts all to its presence.

He blinks twice, the reality in front of him swimming like a blur, long gone.

But the haze eventually clears, allowing Naruto to lay sight upon an absolute wasteland.

The once-thriving grass had been reduced to what seems to be a bed of grey ash, hard foundations still present but not faring well either.

The luscious trees that had yielded many a bountiful harvest had been destroyed, making for the scene of deforestation, but has made use of anoxic chemicals.

The river that had run through had become a canyon for miles around, dried up beyond belief.

It's a desert. A grey, lifeless, barren desert that is in a critical state of lacking any forms of life.

Naruto pushes himself up, staining his gloves with some of the ash but lifting himself up from the ground.

He scans the area with wary eyes, brushing off specks of dirt from his torn clothes.

Nothing, Naruto notes. Nothing at all.

The ringing in his ears recede, allowing him to hear what he wouldn't normally hear.

Silence. It is silent as the grave with the absence of birds chirping or a lively ecosystem slightly scary to Naruto.

It had never been this quiet.

Naruto sinks into a crouch, a loose fighting position as he prowls the area with hypervigilance, a rare quality to be employed by him if any, but in this context, it is most suitable.

As he scrounges for Sasuke, the only ninja that had assisted him in the battle that had decimated the warzone, loud coughing permeates the silence.

Naruto proceeds to the origin of the noise, taking great caution to scout out the surrounding terrain before approaching the mass.

It's covered in ash, a writhing mass that shakes constantly before jolting up.

At first, Naruto blinks at what he perceives to be a mole.

A massive mole, but the same critter nonetheless.

But then, it shakes profusely and violently, expelling off some of the ash that it is covered in before looking around like a lost puppy.

A sleek object detaches itself from the main item to uncover something that the boy is all too familiar with.

A limb? It's Sasuke for sure! Naruto observes, cursing himself for the misconception.

And indeed, it is the Uchiha, who dusts himself off as Naruto had done just before.

"Sasuke? Is the invasion over?" Naruto inquires curiously.

If he were to look at it in hindsight, it is a rather idiotic question to ask.

"I dunno. Let's go back, " he gestures to the direction where they had come from.

A pleasant surprise awaits them.

The path back to Konoha remains untouched and well-paved.

Interesting, Naruto thinks. So the jutsu doesn't affect the area behind me?