Naruto Senju Shippuden

Chapter 23

Naruto's snake-like dragon was deceptively fast. It wrapped Sasuke's Susanoo ribcage up in the blink of an eye. Then, it roars and bites down, draining the chakra out of the technique. Sasuke felt his chakra being drained. "Give up. You can't use any jutsu in this state. Your... ribcage?" Naruto as he tilts his head in confusion. He had never seen the jutsu Sasuke was doing. "Will fall apart in just a second. This is your final chance," He continues. Sasuke tries to form a Susanoo arm, but the chakra cannot even spread before it gets absorbed. Sasuke was scowling deeply. Damn Naruto and his annoying mokuton. He seems to figure something out since his scowl lessens slightly. The purple ribcage flickers off, and Sasuke lands on the ground gracefully. And before the dragon could recoil itself around the smaller target, he disappears in a shunshin. "You can't hide from me in Sage Mode," Naruto says, and his gaze shoots over to where Sasuke is pressing his back to a pillar. His dragon roars and begins to slither its way towards the hidden Uchiha. Sasuke clicks his tongue. He runs out from his cover and turns straight toward the blonde. He pulls out his sword to finish Naruto off when he focuses on controlling the dragon. Naruto saw this coming and sidesteps the cleaving strike of Sasuke's Grasscutter. "You really should've stood down..." Naruto says with his eyes closed. "Shut up!" Sasuke says as he pulls the sword out of the ground and begins to flail wildly. But all strikes were precise and deadly.

Naruto, however, weaved through the small openings in Sasuke's Kenjutsu.  Sasuke speeds up but loses a little technique. The speed up caught Naruto off guard. Naruto jumps back to get some distance. A small drop of blood ran down his cheek, and Naruto reached out to touch it. The cut was gone as soon as he felt his cheek. Sasuke was able to grace Naruto's chin. "You have gotten faster..." Naruto admits. "So have you..." Sasuke says between gritted teeth. The giant dragon came crushing towards him before Sasuke could say anything else.

Sasuke was holding the gaping mouth of the dragon open. His pained expression was evidence of how hard he had to push himself to keep the dragon's mouth open. It soon crashed into the wall behind them. Sasuke was trying to pry himself out of the grasp. He force activates his Mangekyo Sharingan, and blood begins to run down from his left eye. "Amaterasu!" He aimed for the body of the dragon. Black flames erupt all over the body. It didn't take long for the dragon to be nothing more than ash. Sasuke falls to his knees, heaving heavily. It seems the chakra drainage was enough to keep him down for now.

"Senpo: Mokuton: Stocks," Naruto's cold response to seeing his friend on the ground defenceless. Though he knew the Raikage beside him would kill Sasuke in a heartbeat if given a chance. The stock formed and held Sasuke up. Naruto walks over to the still heaving Sasuke. He crouches down to meet Sasuke at eye level. "I... have done everything in my power to put those behind the massacre behind bars... Now I need your help... But you need to stand down... This isn't going to go anywhere," Naruto says to his captured friend. "I told you to shut up!" Sasuke snarls. The defeated look on Sasuke's face was something both the Raikage and Naruto would remember forever. The Raikage had a look of superiority even if he was just standing on the sidelines in the fight. And Naruto... Naruto hated seeing his friend like this. A familiar swirling suddenly dragged Sasuke into itself. "Fuck! We need to hurry back to the conference room! Someone more troublesome has invaded!" Naruto says to his counterpart from Kumogakure. They both run as fast as they can. All those fighting with their Kages soon run after their kage. The rest of Sasuke's companions were stuck in their respective holdings.

As they enter, a swirl begins to rip the space apart, and the man that Naruto fought alongside Konan and Nagato appears on the railings. "Yo," He says casually to the assembled Gokage. "Where is Sasuke!?" Naruto and the Raikage scream out in tandem, though for different reasons and tones. "He is safe for when I need him later..." The masked man says with the same casual tone. Naruto took out a hirashin kunai. "No need to fight kyuubi. I'm not here for you this time..." He waves him off. "Like I would believe you. I would rather make you retreat like last time," Naruto says with a cocky smile. "Calm yourself, Hokage-dono. Let the man speak. You have clearly fought this man before, so there is no risk in letting the man say a few words," Oonoki says to his less experienced colleague. "Little fence sitter Oonoki. You sure have grown old since the last time I saw you," The masked man says. "You have some nerve to call me little," Oonoki spits. "Really... I thought you of all people would recognise me..." The masked man says. "How would I? You are lying if you say that I am younger than you. Let's hear your name then?" Oonoki demands. "Uchiha... Madara," the masked man answers slowly. A chill went down all the listeners except for Naruto. "That is... impossible..." Oonoki breathes out.