Hey everybody, thesaiyanjedi here with the latest chapter of "Shinachiku's Next Adventure!"

I know, it feels like it's been forever since I've updated this story, but I have a very clear reason for that: work. You see, as the COVID-19 pandemic has played out across the globe, many of us have found ourselves out of work. In my case however, the effects of the pandemic have actually had the opposite effect. Without going into too much detail, I have found myself working longer hours and getting less sleep than normal to meet the sudden influx of demand, and this has already lasted for months. The end result of this is that by the time my work day is over I am usually too tired to plot out a story.

I know that sounds like an excuse, but it really is true. I never abandoned you guys, I just...well, my drive and inspiration to write has taken a serious hit for a while. And I cannot promise that things are going to get much better anytime soon. I do hope that all of you can understand and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your continued support and for your patience.

As for this chapter itself, this will be the final installment in the 'superman trilogy', for lack of a better name, a series of three chapter s in row that document the rise to power of our main antagonist and the eventual formation of the regime that Shinachiku and Boruto are now trapped in.

I must warn you though, because this finally chapter in the trilogy is going to get pretty dark for some of our favorite characters. You have been warned.

With all of that said, lets get to reading!

Chapter 28: Reign of the Superman

"Take cover! Take cover! Don't let them enter the vault!"

Deep in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, an elite platoon of Cloud shinobi were fighting for their lives against a powerful and mysterious new enemy. Seven hooded figured garbed in a rainbow of colors had stormed the secret cave and were massacring everyone!

"AAAAGGGHHH!" One ninja screamed as the enemy in green thrust his electrified arm straight through his chest.

"NO! NO! NO! AAAGGGHHH!" Another yelled as the one in red ripped both of his arms clean off and left him a bloody mess on the stone floor. Like the one in green, his eyes were red with the Mangekyō Sharingan.

The carnage was everywhere. The one in blue conjured up a wall of sand that entrapped an elite ninja just as he was charging an electric technique, thereby entrapping him inside with it and electrocuting himself to death. The one in black had entrapped no less than five of the platoon in a shadow and manipulated them all into impaling each other like they were puppets. The woman in pink kept transferring her own mind into the poor Cloud ninja's bodies, causing them to murder their own comrades and then leaping into another body with no pattern for them to predict. And the one in yellow opened a flask of water attached to his belt of form a blade of water that he used to hack away at them with inhuman speed and skill.

All the while, the one in white was hanging in the back, calmly walking slow with his white hood concealing his face. He was content to simply let his forces do all the work for him, knowing that they would do an excellent job. Those precious few Cloud ninja that did manage to get to him, blades drawn, were either strangled to death with a simple snap, or had their arms ripped off, or some other fate on the same level of gruesomeness.

By the end, all of the Cloud ninja were dead and their bloody corpses littered the cave. Nonchalantly, the team of seven continued walking, this time falling behind their leader in white.

As they came the far end of the cave, Sugure pulled back his hood. He shook his head in disgust. "Primitive." He then closed his eyes and then snapped them open again. "BYAKUGAN!"

He could see it clearly. Their prize was indeed just behind this rocky wall. But if their intel was correct, then there was only one way to reach it. "Dan."

The one in blue stepped forward and drew a kunai. He cut his hand and rubbed his blood over the rocky wall, like a sacrifice. The plan worked, the back wall was opening up with a rocky rumble.

"So that Cloud ninja we persuaded into talking was right," Boi said. "Only the Fourth Raikage's bloodline could open the doorway." He smiled to his comrade. "Not that that's a problem for us."

Sugure said nothing as he entered the back part of the cave. There is was, sitting there like it was waiting to be picked up. Darui thought that have full proof security would be enough to prevent anyone, Taka or otherwise, form claiming it again. He could never have guessed what happened here today.

Sugure bent down and picked up the small glowing blue gem. Holding it in his hand. He smiled. "One down...six to go."

...

...

"Alright, that concludes today's test. Everybody get some rest and we'll pick this up first thing tomorrow."

At his words, all of Katasuke's staff filed out of the lab and proceeded to hang up their coats. Walking out himself, Katasuke moved to his locker and proceeded to empty it, gathering all of his important belongings into his briefcase.

Stepping out of the Science Ninja headquarters, he was about to go home for the day, when he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice. "Katsuke Tōno, I presume?"

He turned at the sound of the voice, finding a lone man in white robes standing there. "W-Who are you?"

"Someone who's taken an interest in your work," the man in white said.

"M-My work?"

"Indeed." He walked closer to Katasuke, slowly and calmly. "The Tote, the handgun, I know of them. And unlike the late Hokage, I can see their potential."

Katasuke was taken aback. "You...You can?"

"What Naruto Uzumaki and his friends saw a cheap, clumsy insults to the shinobi way of life, I see as a weapon of the future. After all...if the target is dead either way, what difference does it make how it is done?"

Katasuke paused in a stupor, entranced that, at last, someone was able to appreciate his work. "W-Who are you? What do you want from me?"

"A friend. One who wants to offer you an even larger view of the future...and of your invention's role in it. Perhaps you'd care to join me for a friendly drink?"

"I..." Katasuke paused for a moment, unsure of what to make of all of this. "I don't know, I really should be heading home now. Perhaps another time?"

"Please, friend." The man in white held out his hand from beneath his robe. In his had he held a strange glowing blue gem, the glow from which reflected in the ambitious, self-serving science ninja's transfixed eyes. "I insist. The drink's on me."

...

...

Sugure held up the Sword of Ōtsutsuki that he had acquired from Hanzai Harada and examined it. He was deep in thought as he did so.

It had been months since that meeting and the world was still reeling from the death of Naruto Uzumaki and the disappearance of his son Shinachiku. However, as predicted, it would not be able to keep him under the radar for very long since as soon as would got out to the rest of the Shinobi Union that one of the chakra gems had been stolen out from under them, shinobi from all over the world would all be coming down upon them...

Which was exactly why he chose to go after the Mind Gem first. The rest of them were incredibly valuable and had their roles to play yet, but with that gem in particular he could avoid an unnecessary fight and simply turn his enemies into his allies instead. Why fight your way through legions upon legions of shinobi, when you can simply turn them to your will and get their help to claim your prize for you?

...That was how he came to possess both the Space and Soul Gems as well.

"It will make a beautiful weapon master," Geki said. "A weapon of the gods."

"Indeed," Sugure agreed, before putting the sword down. "But that would have to wait. After all, it won't work until someone's finally found the most important gem of them all."

Just as Boi burst in with some urgent news. "Master!"

"Not now Boi," Geki said. "The master is occupied."

"Forgive me master, but I think you should watch the news sir."

Sugure turned to face his youngest follower. "Why is that?"

"They are talking about us sir. About you."

Sugure narrowed his eyes. 'Well, this could be a problem.'

...

Minutes later, all seven of the superhumans were gathered in the main room of their hideout watching the television broadcast of Konoha Tonight, hosted by Daisuke Kishiyama. Sugure himself sat in a chair in the center of them all, his legs crossed and his hands in a contemplative pose. His listened intently as the reporter spoke:

"In the last few months that have passed since the death of the Seventh Hokage, Shinobi Union forces have searched far and wide for the whereabouts of the killer of the world's greatest hero. But now an new lead has emerged as to the identity of this mysterious murderer. At long last, it seems that the true identity of Naruto Uzumaki's killer has been made public at last. Good evening, I'm Daisuke Kishiyama, and this is Konoha Tonight."

Sugure didn't budge nor speak a word as he continued watching. The other six superhumans were glancing towards him, nervous if he might go off and do something they all might regret...except for Burai, who was simply gritting his teeth and clenching his fist as he watched:

"We are joined in the studio here today by none other than captain of the Anbu Black Ops, Sasuke Uchiha, a man who has agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to answer not only my questions, but yours as well. Sasuke, I thank you for being here."

"Thank you Daisuke."

"Sasuke, your Anbu units have been searching for months for the identity of your friend Naruto Uzumaki's killer, and yet today you come to us to say that you've supposedly known the killer's identity this entire time. Why are you only releasing this to the public now?"

"That information was listed as classified by the Konoha Elders to avoid any kind of panic and thoughts of vigilante justice at a time when emotions in the village were extremely high, or to put a target on the village's head by this new enemy. However, Lord Eighth Hokage and myself both agree that the time has come to trust this village with the whole truth of what happened, as we believe with everyone's help we can finally capture this son of a [expletive] and justice can be served."

"Sir, please keep the language to yourself this is a family program after all."

",,,"

"R-Right anyway. Are Lord Homura and Lady Koharu in agreement over yours and Lord Eighth's decision?"

"...No. In fact I have personally been threatened with termination from the Anbu Black Ops and a lifetime ban from the Konoha shinobi force altogether if I came forward and spoke to you today."

"Then why are you doing this?"

"Like I said, to seek justice for my friend...and my godson...and my daughter."

"Your daughter?"

"Yes, she doesn't remember it, but this criminal we are after has tampered with my daughter's memory and the rest of her team, most likely to cover his tracks and make her forget whatever really happened to Shinachiku Uzumaki, for whom the search is still ongoing. I am hoping that watching this broadcast will help her to awaken those memories."

"And how do you know about this?"

"...Because Naruto knew about it and he confessed it to me before he died."

Sugure still did not react as he continued to watch.

"Master?" Dan said.

"Leave him be," Goushi advised as the broadcast continued:

"I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. You say that Naruto Uzumaki knew about this the whole time?"

"A story for another time. What I am hear to tell you Daisuke, and to everyone watching at home, is that the man responsible for the murder of Naruto Uzumaki is named Sugure Mashita, a genetically engineered human made from the DNA of both myself and Naruto...and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."

"...Sweet Sage... Umm...Sasuke, are you implying that there is an enemy out there that has all the power of the three of you combined."

"Yes, and that's not all. He has followers, ones I assume are also beings just like him, and their powers are not to be taken lightly—"

CRASH!

No more was heard of the broadcast, because Burai's temper finally boiled over and he threw a kunai directly at the television, shattering it.

"Dammit!" Burai cursed out loud. "Now they know who you are and they'll be coming for us!"

"Hold your tongue brother!" Geki shouted.

"No! You hold your tongue Geki!" I'm the only one of us who is awake to the real dilemma here—"

"And we would have know a lot more if you hadn't broke the dammed TV!" Dan threw back.

"Will both of you boys shut up!" Mei protested. "Arguing over this isn't going to get us anywhere!"

"SILENCE!"

The sound of their master's furious uproar quieted all of them, even Burai. They bowed their heads as their leader stood up and pace just for a moment or two.

"This is most problematic," he admitted. "We have truly lost the element of anonymity. Security around the chakra gems will now be tougher than ever, especially in Konoha."

"Where you suspect the Power Gem is hidden," Goushi deduced.

"Indeed." The man in white paused again as he plotted his next move. "We can't afford to wait much longer now that the cat is out of the bag. There is still one last chakra gem accounted for and it is imperative that we secure it before the Union increases security even more."

"And how are we going to get back to Konoha in time before then?" Boi asked. "The railroads will probably be on lockdown and we'll never get by unnoticed now."

Sugure smiled ever so slightly. "Don't worry about that. I took the extra precaution of setting up a Flying Thunder God kunai in a hidden place during my last visit to the Leaf. If all of you hold onto me and focus your chakra in tune with my own, I believe that it should be able to get us back there."

"Ingenious," Geki raised his master.

"And how do we avoid attracting attention to ourselves once we get there?" Mei asked.

"Don't wear your colored cloaks over your robes. Wears basic browns instead. Keep your hoods up and don't let them see your faces."

"When do we leave?" Dan questioned.

"Right now."

In an abandoned building in the slums of Konohagakure, seven hooded figured teleported themselves into the space, six of whom placed their hands upon their leader that brought them here. Once they arrived, they removed their hands and got serious about what they were here to do.

"Remember everyone," Sugure told them, "keep a low profile if you can, but let nothing stand in your way. This might be our only chance to secure the Power Gem."

"Hai master!" the six of them all said as one as they took a knee, like a shinobi loyal to their kage would do.

Standing, they exited the building inconspicuously and went their separate ways. Sugure, for his part, knew exactly where he needed to go first: to the other two people in the entire village besides Uzumaki whom would likely have clearance to know the true location of the gem.

...

Out of the village council chamber stormed two ancient shinobi. One was an old man with a strong jaw line and facial structure, deep wrinkles and the top of his grey haired head balding, and he had a grey beard that reached down to his waist. He was garbed in a light brown poncho over his dark robes and walked with a cane. The other was an old woman with deep wrinkles of her own, dark eyes that one could hardly ever see due to her heavy squinting and drooping, long white hair that was pulled back in a twin bun locked by a hair pin with two pearls dangling off the side. she was garbed in a long brown kimono, closed by an obi and a sash over it, and she also used a cane.

Elders Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, former teammates of the Third Hokage himself and longstanding leaders of the Konoha Council, had stormed out of the room with the greatest speed and fury that they advanced aged allowed.

"Outrageous!" Homura shouted. "I'll have Sasuke's headband for this! Exile him form this village for good this time!"

"We warned that boy that what we knew could never be made public," Koharu agreed. "This betrayal must be dealt with!"

As the two of them came down a hallway, their way was blocked by a lone figure whose face was obscured from them.

"Out of our way citizen," Homura demanded. "You are standing in the way of official Konoha business."

The figure raised his head, allowing the old pair to see his face beneath his hood. The combined features of two young men they knew all too well instantly told them exactly who this was.

"Sugure!" Koharu shouted.

As fast as one could blink, the man was over to them and strangling both of them with his bare hands, lifting them both off the floor as he did so with no real effort, their canes clattering to the floor.

"I'll give you one chance," Sugure said coldly. "Where are you hiding the Power Gem?"

Homura grunted out his answer. "G-Go...to hell."

CRACK!

One slight tightening of his grip and that was the end for Homura Mitokado. The old man's body fell lips to the floor.

"H-Homura!" Kohara managed to get out. "Y-You..You will suffer for th—AGH!"

Sugure tightened his grip slightly as he demanded again. "Don't be as reckless as he was old hag. Tell me where the gem is."

"N-Never."

"Fine."

CRACK!

And just like that, the last elder of the Hidden Leaf Village was gone, her body joining her longtime partner on the cold floor.

Shacking his head in disappointment, Sugure turned to leave, already contemplating the next likely person that would have been trusted with his prize's location.

"NOOOO!"

The outcry came from a third, much younger man than the two leaders who now lay dead. He had brown hair, a handsome face, and was dressed in the Hokage's robes and hat...along with a familiar blue scarf that he kept to accentuate his outfit.

Konohamaru's eyes narrowed. "Sugure."

"Lord Eighth Hokage I presume."

He quickly put his hands into the proper sign. "MULTI-SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"

Four more identical clones of Konohamaru appeared and the five of them all engaged the superman in furious combat. As formidable as Konohamaru's taijutsu was, it was hardly much of a challenge for someone of Sugure's superior ability to not directly counter.

"Foolish." That was all he said as he quickly destroyed all of the clones.

"AGH!" Konohamaru came back again, this time pulling out a pair of duel chakra blades. Glowing blue with chakra, he slashed at he air, each time narrowly missing his mark on the superior enemy before him.

Having had enough, Sugure grabbed his wrist and pinned it behind his back, grabbing the other as well with his free arm.

"Enough," he said. 'I know the Power Gem is in the Land of Fire. Tell me where it is."

"You!" the Sarutobi snarled. "You killed my oniichan!"

"I promised him he'd be remembered."

"And I promised he'd be avenged!"

POOF!

The Konohamaru that Sugure had pinned was merely another shadow clone... Naturally, the most classic and predictable of Uzumaki's battle strategies.

"FIRE RELEASE: FIRE DRAGON FLAME BULLET!"

From behind his target, Konohamaru unleashed a massive wave of flames from his mouth. The flames took the shape of a large dragon and promptly divided to strike at the superman form the left, right and front all at once. It was his grandfather's infamous clan technique, and Konohamaru had mastered it well. The flaming serpent attacked in a focused, precise manner as it coiled around Sugure and formed a vortex of flames.

Sugure was seemingly trapped within the coffin of fire. Kohomamaru had even closed off the one opening on the top of the vortex, effectively sealing him to burn to a cinder within the jutsu.

"Burn scumbag!"

Konohamaru compressed the jutsu as he raised the heat and power...But unfortunately, it was all for not. With a mighty push, Sugure punched what precious little air was left within the jutsu with so much force that it broke through the flames from within. The flames went flying like cinders all around them, burning the walls and causing the building to rapidly catch fire around them.

Konohamaru stood back up in shock. Sugure was standing there with only his robe burned away. His body itself was completely unharmed.

"Is that all you've got?"

The Sarutobi's eyes narrowed in determination. "No."

He stood back up and charged head on at his enemy. It looked like the most idiotic, desperate tactic the young Hokage could muster...until he started emitting an electric surge from his body right as Sugure caught his fist in his hand.

"AGH!" Sugure groaned as he was electrocuted.

POOF!

The shadow clone disappeared. Yes, this one was not the true Eighth Hokage either. The real Konohamaru appeared in a poff of smoke right as his opponent was electrocuted.

"WIND RELEASE: RASENGAN!"

The elemental technique of Naruto was poised to strike down his killer. Victory was assured. Naruto would be avenged...

Or at least he would have been, had it not been for a glowing blue gem that Sugure pulled from his sleeve.

Konohamaru was instantly entranced by the glowing object. He knew exactly what this was, but he was powerless to do anything to look away from it.

"I never really planned on sparing the old coots anyway," Sugure said. "Useless, troublesome fools like them have no place in my superior order. You, on the other hand, I had hoped for better. That's why I wanted to avoid using this. But if I must..."

He looked his victim in the eyes as they reflected the blue aura of the chakra gem. "Where...is...the Power Gem?"

"H-H-Hidden."

"In Konoha?"

"N-No."

"Where then?"

Konohamaru tried to fight it. He used all of his willpower to resist it's influence. He shook his head in refusal. "N-No! Never! I am the Leaf Village's Eighth H—"

The gem grew even brighter, his radiance reflecting Sugure's own determination, and ever decreasing patience. "I admire your resolve, I truly do. But I am not leaving without what I came for. Now where is the gem?"

Konohamaru struggled, he suffered, he summoned every single bit of the indomitable Will of Fire that he had... But the power of this small, blue jewel was simply too much for him.

"T-T-T-The Valley..."

Sugure smirked. He did not need to elaborate on it any further. He knew exactly what that meant. It was rather obvious really.

He broke the Hokage's leg as he put the chakra gem away.

"AAAAAGGGHHH!" Konohamaru screamed in agony as he grasped his leg.

"Thank you for the truth Sarutobi," Sugure said. "In return, I'll let you live for now. Until we meet again, take solace in knowing that what you've done today has brought your village and humanity one step closure to perfection."

He left the crying, broken Hokage to his shame and defeat as he used the Flying Thunder God to return to the hideout. It was the quickest way to get out of there before the Anbu Black Ops came to investigate the scene of the burning council building and he had to get into another needless fight.

In the safety and solitude of the hideout, he pulled out a cell phone and called his right hand man. "Red, this is White. You and Green contact the others and tell them to return to the hideout, and do so discretely. I know where to look for the gem now..."

The Valley of the End. The sight of three of the most infamous battles in the history of the world: the climatic duel between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, the first battle between Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, and their climactic rematch at the finale of the Fourth Great Shinobi War.

...And now, less than a day after their infiltration of the Hidden Leaf Village, Sugure and his followers were at the infamous spot of pouring waterfalls and decimated stone giants facing down an allied force of shinobi from all five of the Great Nations. Konoha, Suna, Kiri, Kumo, Iwa, all of them were there and all of them had sent their best shinobi forces to vanquish this new enemy and avenge the murder of the Seventh Hokage.

...And at the forefront of them all, the last of the Uchiha himself.

Sugure smiled. He knew they would come for them. And more important, he knew that Sasuke would be there. He needed him there.

'Fools,' the superman thought to himself. 'The union must have demanded that Uchiha lead this force as he's the only one of them with any chance of challenging me. But I certain Uchiha knows better. He knows that just his being here gives me exactly the key I need.'

It was not difficult to discern...not for a genius like Sugure anyway. When he came here, he had deduced that Uzumaki must have used his DNA to seal the Power Gem away, like many of the other kages had done. But even with Naruto's DNA as a part of him, the gem would not release. That was when Sugure gained even more respect for his fallen foe than he already had.

'Ingenious of you Uzumaki. The key to the gem's release and you managed to hide it in plain sight. But not even that strategy will be enough to rob me of my destiny...'

The team of superhumans looked upon the Allied Shinobi Army that stood before them. So many familiar faces among the litter. All of the kages were there of course: Gaara, Chōjūrō, Darui, Kurotsuchi, and a disgraced Konohamaru. But there were countless others in the pack as well: Karin Uchiha, Sai and Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru and Temari Nara, Chōji and Karui Akimichi, Shino Aburame, Kiba and Hinata Inuzuka, Rock and Tenten Lee, Neji and Hanabi Hyūga, Suigetsu Hōzuki, Jūgo, the remaining two Sannin, Jiraiya and Tsunade, Shizune, Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina, Kakashi Hatake, Yamato, Kurenai and Mirai Sarutobi, Samui, Iruka Umino, Anko Mitarashi, Ebisu, Kankurō, Omoi, Akatsuchi, Udon Ise, Moegi Kazamatsuri, Aoba Yamashiro, Izumo Kamizuki, Kotetsu Hagane, Killer B, and dozens of others, just to name a handful.

All of them were there and Sugure did not nee to be a genius to know that they were all after the same thing: justice.

"Team," he said, "pick your targets carefully. By the end of this day, I want this world to know for certain what perfection truly looks like."

"HAI!" the six of them all said.

"Uchiha," Gaara said to Sasuke, "you have the best chance of all of us of taking out Sugure. The five of us will support you while the rest of us deal with his minions. Understood?"

"..."

"Sasuke?" Chōjūrō added.

"...I shouldn't be here."

"I thought Naruto was your friend?" Kurotsuchi asked. "Are you just going to let this monster get away with his murder?"

"That not what I meant."

"That what do you mean?" Darui snapped. "Or did loosing to this guy once turn you into a coward?"

Sasuke's said nothing, but the cold look he directed at all five of them did all the speaking for him.

Konohamaru glared at the man before him, the monster that had taken his oniichan away. He would pay for that, today, or so help him he would die trying.

That was why he turned behind him to face all of their allies and gave them and calmly delivered his battle proclamation, two words only: "For Naruto..."

"FOR NARUTO!" Everyone shouted back. And they did so again, and again, and again.

Sugure heard the chanting and appeared unfazed by it. If this was how they wanted it, then so be it...

...

...

...

Over an hour had passed since the battle began, and what remained to be shown of it was a valley stained with the blood and corpses of most of the most respected shinobi in the world. So many lives lost that day, thrown away for their refusal to submit and accept the rule of the new, superior order.

Sai's body was limp on the ground, his throat sliced as his blood mixed with a mass of his ink like oil and vinegar. By his side, Ino was fallen as well, now wounds could be seen on her body, but her brain was obliterated by an overpowering jutsu from the one in pink, leaving her a dead vegetable.

Shikamaru had thought that he had everything planned out as he came at the enemy with a determination and a fury the likes of which none had ever seen in him before... Alas, it was all for not as the one in black overpowered his shadow with his own to strangle the life out of him. Temari, furious at this, unleashed her wind with the force of a hurricane at the man who had taken her husband...only for her throat to be slashed by her own fan.

Chōji and Karui both died in each other's arms, crushed to death together in a sand coffin made by the one in blue. Not even the effects of Chōji's food pills were enough to break the overwhelming death grip of the absolute defense.

Shino's body had been ripped in half, his torso slip apart from his pelvis. The swarms of insects that resided within his body were freed and those that did not die themselves were either scurrying away or, in fitting irony, feasting on his remains to survive, like a female mantis would devour the male. Some distance apart form him, his former teammates Kiba and Hinata were also slain. Kiba had his heart ripped out of his chest as he charged furiously at the one in green, who had been inhuman enough to kill Akamaru. Hinata called upon every ounce of Hyūga willpower and fighting spirit she possessed, proving to be one of the most determined fighters there and one of the last to give into defeat. But in the end, even she could not overcome the strength and skill of the woman in pink. Her own chakra network, ironically, blocked by her clan's own techniques, she was left paralyzed as her neck was crushed, both of her loves' names still on her lips.

Neji was still alive, but he wished that he could go back to being dead once again. In his battle with the one in black, his leg was broken and he could no longer stand. Thus, he could do nothing that watch in horror as his cousin, the very woman he had himself once gave his life to protect, was coldly murdered before his very eyes. And that wasn't the last tragedy he had to bear witness to either.

Rock Lee was a charred, crumbling shell of the mighty warrior he had once been. After he was forced to watch his wife undergo horrific stabbing and torture at the hands of her own weapons, his rage boiled over and he vowed to stop at nothing to avenge her. His battle escalated as he challenged not only the one in red, but Sugure himself. He climbed the ladder of the Eight Gates, stopping at nothing to keep up with his foes, until at last he opened the final gate, the Gate of Death, and unleashed the full force of the Night Lee upon Sugure, causing even the superman himself to momentarily fear for his life... Alas, his technique failed, and without Naruto or anyone else there to heal him, Lee was left to die amongst his friends.

Suigetsu was alive, but badly beaten, enough that he was unable to help his friend Jūgo as even in his monster form he was not able to thwart the power and abilities of the one in yellow, the same one that had overwhelmed him. Thus, he had to watch as poor Jūgo was consumed by the one in yellow's lava abilities.

After seeing her loyal friend Shizune slain by the one in blue, Tsunade released her Strength of a Hundred Seal and might have killed her foe, had it not been for the intervention of the brothers in red and green, and then of Sugure himself. Jiriaya would join her in battle as well, calling upon the toads to enter Sage Mode as he charged Sugure with his Big Ball Rasengan... But not even a jutsu with the power to destroy an entire mountain was sufficient to destroy Sugure.

It was then that an unexpected ally appeared to come to both Jiraiya and Tsunade's aid, but while the force of their combined power was indeed enormous, even it proved not to be enough... And thus all three of the Legendary Sannin fell together that day.

Form there the bodies only continued to add up. Yamato was impaled on own of his own wooden spears. Mirai had to see her mother get beheaded by the one in green. Samui was electrocuted to death by the combined power of the two brothers. Anko was trapped in a and coffin as she was electrocuted from the inside by the one in blue. Kankurō was drowned by the one in yellow's water jutsu. Omoi, Akatsuchi, Aoba, Izumo, Kotetsu, Ebisu, Udon, Moegi, all of them were slain.

Not even the kages themselves were any match. They all fell one by one to the power of Sugure and his followers. Specifically, to the power of the abilities they had inherited from Kaguya. Darui, Chōjūrō, Kurotsuchi, all of them fell, with Boi claming Chōjūrō's sword Hiramekarei for himself.

That left only thirteen of the entire shinobi force left to stand up to the color coded murderers that stood before them. An unlucky number, and of those thirteen two of them were no longer in any condition to fight.

'This battle is taking too long,' Sugure thought. 'I need to end this and get that gem.'

Minato hastily utilized his legendary speed to get behind the enemy to jab a kunai in his back. Sugure was easily able to block it, but that was precisely what the Yellow Flash was counting on.

"LIGHTNING RELEASE: LIGHTNING CUTTER!"

Kakashi charged at his own rapid speed with his signature ninjutsu in hand. However, he was blocked by the interference of the two brothers whom he had already lost a duel against, who not only blocked his technique, but broke his leg for good measure.

"AAGH!" the former Copy Ninja yelled as he fell to the ground.

Sugure did not waste his chance. He grasped the Yellow Flash by the neck before he cold move and thrust his hand into his body, crushing his heart.

"MINATOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kushina yelled in fury.

As her husband's body hit the ground, the Red Hot Habenero came charging with an anger no one had ever seen from her before. This was not the kind of temper tantrums that the Leaf was used to seeing from her. No, this was straight-up, bloodthirsty, murderous rage!

"You killed my son! You killed my husband! I'll kill you for that you bastard!"

Her punches, kicks, hacks and slashes were so full of passion and inhuman strength that even Sugure found himself feeling flustered by it, even as he avoided all of it. Still, that did not prove enough to make him lower his guard. That is why he was alert enough to grab hold of one of Kushina's chakra chains and tug in it with his own superhuman strength to send her flying towards him. She tried holding a kunai out in front of her as she was pulled towards him, but he caught her wrist and forced her to drop her weapon.

"My condolences milady, it wasn't personal," Sugure told her. "I promise you that you will be seeing your loved ones again very soon." He then blinked his eyes and when they opened again, they had turned red with black tomoe within them. "MANGEKYŌ SHARINGAN!"

Kushina was trapped in a genjutsu, a powerful one, one that forced her to watch as her entire family, her husband, her son, her grandchildren, all of them were coldly, hatefully murdered over, and over, and over again.

In the outside world, Sugure was preparing his next attack. "It will be quick, I promise."

"AMENOTEJIKARA!"

Using his Rinnegan, Sasuke bent space and time to teleport just in time to save Kushina's life. He already had his trusty Chidori at the ready to spear the superman, but while the attack did land, forcing him to let the woman go, he was quick to recover and turn the fight towards the one he had really wanted to fight all day.

"Kushina!"

Karin, limping from all the damage she had taken, even for a healer like herself, came over as quick as possible to try all she could to heal her wounds. Meanwhile, Sugure continued his rematch with Sugure.

"AMETERASU!"

Sasuke reignited his infamous black flames, but where they failed before so too would they fail again.

"Foolish," he said.

"BIG BALL RASENGAN!"

Konohamaru took the opportunity to strike while the enemy was distracted to come in with his strongest jutsu. With determination and thoughts of justice for Naruto, he made his move...

...Alas, his jutsu was blocked by the appearance from underground by a barrage of shadow clones.

"Long live the Eighth Hokage," one of Sugure's clones said.

SHIKT!

The clones all at once stabbed Konohamaru with the very same move that had finished off Naruto. The young man could do nothing now but watch as he body began turning to ash. A single tear fell from his eyes as he faded away. Was he thinking of Naruto? His grandfather? His uncle? His fallen teammates? Perhaps all those he'd lost all at once? Or maybe he cried for the village that he had failed, that he would now leave behind?

Only Konohamaru Sarutobi, the Eighth Hokage of the Leaf, knew the answer as his body fell apart and his ashes floated into the wind...

"SAND SHIELD!" Gaara had no time to mourn the fall of the last of his fellow kage. He needed to fight on. So he encased himself and his few remaining allies in a protective shield as he shouted to Sasuke. "DO IT NOW UCHIHA! DON'T HOLD BACK! FINISH HIM!"

Sasuke didn't hold back. He used his Rinnegan to access the powers of the Deva Path to levitate himself high above his squad mates. He focused his chakra like a magnet and gathered the rubble both from this battle and the previous battles he'd fought in this place as well. Gathering them around Sugure and his six followers, he brought them into the sky and fused them together into seven satellites that hovered above his now protected allies.

"This is for Naruto you bastard. CHIBAKU TENSEI!"

Sasuke brought the satellites down with a force that none save perhaps Kakashi had ever seen before. The force of he explosion was literally like a planetary destruction! The blast utterly obliterated every trace of the Valley of the End and was so colossally immense that it could be viewed from space!

When the blast finally cleared, there was virtually nothing that remained. Just the scorched Earth and a barrier of hardened sand that now collapsed allowing the nine other people trapped inside to be set free.

"Woah!" Killer B rapped. "That was rockin' like it hot! Blowing the planet ought! To finish off that Sugure and his lot! Fool! Ya fool!"

"This is no time for some lame rap!" Iruka yelled. "Where are they?"

"Right here."

Everyone's eyes widened as they saw the seven supermen appear out of the smoke. They looked banged up, but otherwise they were alive and well.

"It can't be!" Mirai shouted in horror.

"How could they survive something like that!" Hanabi asked.

Kakashi cursed in his compromised state. "A mass substitution. How could we have been so blind?"

"This has been fun," Sugure spoke for him team, "and all of you should be proud of he fight you put up today. But I think this has gone on long enough. By now all of you much be running low of chakra, and even if Gaara's absolute defense was strong enough to defend against that, I doubt it has much left in it now to do much more."

Gaara gritted his teeth, and that was enough to tell Sugure that he was right.

"It's time to end this—"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

A sudden transformation occurred. The at this point badly beaten Killer B fully gave over control to the Eight-Tails. What stood before them now was a gigantic ushi-oni with four long horns on it's head, with the lower left part of it's horns sliced off. Te beast's upper body was muscular with a hunched back similar to a bison, it's arms had spiky protrusions on he elbows, and it's hands with opposite thumbs like that of a human. But the beast's most distinctive feature was it's lower half consisting of it's eight tails resembling the arms of a octopus.

'So the Gyūki has awakened at last,' Sugure pondered. 'I'm surprised he waited this long.'

"TAILED BEAST BALL!"

The great beast readied a colossal concentrated ball of chakra at his foe. The force of this technique might even have been strong enough to rival the technique that Sasuke had just implemented.

Sugure merely smiled. As the blast fired him and his team, Sugure merely activated his Rinnegan, used it to absorb the technique, and fired it straight back at him even more powerful!

"WHAT?!" the tailed best shouted in disbelief.

The attack was thrust back at the gigantic beast...but not before it used one of it's tails to leave behind a clone of itself to take the full force of the colossal blast. The rest of the shinobi present were shocked as they saw what appeared to be the last jinchūriki obliterated by it's own technique...

Everyone that is except for Sugure. He was able to deduce that the beast had used this as a distraction to allow it to escape. 'It doesn't matter, he will have his turn in due time.'

"SAND SPEAR!"

Gaara tried to harden his sand into one more projectile to hurl at Sugure, but the superman jerked his head towards him just in time to trap him in a powerful genjutsu.

"ALL-KILLING ASH BONES!"

The bony protrusions appeared out of Sugure's back and hands and rapidly flung out at he survivors like shuriken. Not of all of them landed, but two of them did, impaling Gaara, Neji and Iruka.

"Agh!" Gaara tried to deflect it, but the speed was to fast and his absolute defense had grown too weak.

"N-Naruto...I-I'm sorry..." Iruka could do nothing but close his eyes and let the tears fall as he turned to ash and passed on.

For his part, Gaara also felt his life slipping away as he began to fall apart. "T-This...This isn't the end... We...We will endure... We will survive... We... Will..."

Gaara of the Desert, the last of the five kage, was gone.

Now only Sasuke, Karin, Kushina, Kakashi, Neji, Suigetsu, Hanabi and Mirai remained.

"Now then, Uchiha," Sugure said approaching him. I do believe you have something I need—"

"SHARANOOOO!"

A titanic punch came out of nowhere, strong enough to knock Sugure over to the side in an explosive collision. They all knew who it was, but none of them were happy that she was there.

"Sakura!" Kushina shouted. "What are you doing here?! Konohamaru told you to remain in the village because of your baby!"

"I don't care!" she shouted back. "This bastard killed Naruto! He's the reason Shinachiku is gone! He has to pay! Besides, most of you are almost dead anyway. My place is here."

"Sakura!" Sasuke shouted in a dead serous tone. "They're right, you can't be here now! You can't take this guy on alone!"

"She's not alone."

Another shinobi appeared next to Sakura in that moment. It was a young girl with dark hair and a distinctive pair of glasses.

"SARADA!" Karin shouted. "I told you to stay home!"

"I'm sorry mom, I had to."

"Sarada!" Sasuke shouted himself. "This is no place for you!"

"He killed Uncle Naruto! He's the reason Shinachiku is missing! I'm not going anywhere!"

"How touching." Sugure stood back up and dusted himself of as started walking back towards them. Some of his followers made a move to attack them, but he signaled for them to stand down.

Sakura got into a battle stance. "What have you done with my son?"

"Not a thing. Your son just disappeared out of thin air when I saw him. I don't know where he is or what has happened. But I do know this...Unlike his father, nobody is going to remember him."

That was it. That was all that Sakura could take. All that she'd lost, the bodies of her friends and mentors all surrounding her. The loss of her love, her son, it had to have been too much for her to bear. Sugure reasoned that was why her seal was released and she ran at the man before her with more raw, unadulterated hatred than she had for anybody else in her life!

"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

Sugure merely stood there, unmoving, as she made her approach. For him, it almost felt like time was falling still. But then, right as she was milliseconds away form landing her most powerful punch, he ducked under her fist and landing his hand palm flat against her stomach.

"HYAH!"

Sakura stopped in her tracks upon impact. She coughed up blood. She felt like she was in pain on the inside...but it was not only her pain.

"SAKURA!" Everyone else watching all shouted as one.

Sugure stood back up from his ducked position and looked her in the eyes, but while he was mostly cold, there was nevertheless some trace of pity in his voice as he spoke.

"I know you can feel something's wrong. I know you can feel it's pain."

"What did you do to her?!" Kakashi shouted.

"It's something I read about in Orochimaru's research, a life draining seal that is targeted not at Sakura here, but at her unborn child."

"WHAT?!" They all shouted at once.

"Even as we speak the seal is slowly draining all the precious chakra the growing fetus possesses. Every day it will such out more and more, until finally there won't be any left. And when that happens..."

Sarada understood what that meant, and it terrified her. "The baby will die..."

"Yes. Unless, of course, the mother channels her own chakra into the child to keep it alive. But if she commits to doing that, then she will have to continue doing so for the entirely of her pregnancy. Thus, it will be the mother who grows weaker and weaker...until finally the day comes for her to give birth."

Sakura could feel her heart shatter as he already knew what he was going to say next. "I'm afraid that on that day my dear, you're going to have to make a choice: either you die...or your child does."

"YOU MONSTER!" Kushina screamed. "How can you do this?!"

"Like I said, I need to wrap this up. And like you all said yourselves, this is the price she pays for coming to a fight while with child. So tragic."

Saying nothing more, Sugure essentially teleported over toe an furious Sasuke's location and moved fast enough even to punch him in the gut hard enough to make him cough up blood.

"DAD!/SASUKE!" Sarada and Karin screamed together.

They both instantly charged at his attacker, but Sugure was alert and quickly formed a Chidori Sharp Spear and fired it at the two of them. The jutsu went straight past Sarada...and stabbed Karin directly in the heart!

Sasuke and Sarada's blood ran cold in absolute horror. They both could only watch as Karin spat up blood and fell to the floor, dying with only her husband and daughter's names on her lips.

"MOOOOOMMMMMM!"

Sarada was devastated, and that devastation awakened something within her. Her eyes changed. They were now black with a distinctive pinwheel design within them.

Sugure watched as the girl focused her chakra as she ran at him in a fury. Lighting formed around her arm and an all-too familiar chirping sound coming from it as she formed the Chidori, which then caught on fire. He watched as she got closer and closer.

"ROAR! SCORCHING CHI—AAAGGHHH!"

Sugure grabbed her by the throat and lifted her in the air, her jutsu dispelling from the counter attack.

"That will be enough of that young lady." He flicked his wrist causing a kunai to slip out of the sleeve of his robe...which he then promptly used to slice both of her Mangekyō eyes, blinding her!

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Sasuke could not even compose himself enough to scream her name. This monster was taking everything from him. Everything!

"Now then..." Sugure punched Sasuke again, this time enough to knock him to the ground. He kicked him over with his foot so he was laying face up.

And that when it finally happened, the thing that Sugure had been waiting to do for this entire battle. He grabbed Sasuke prosthetic left arm, and with all of his superhuman strength, he ripped the entire limb clean off!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Blood poured all over the decimated valley floor. The once mighty Uchiha survivor was left to scream in his own pain even as he was mourning his wife's death and his daughter's blindness.

Sugure, on the other hand, had his own business to attend to. He slammed the prosthetic arm onto the ground, hand outstretched, and focused his superhuman chakra through the severed limp.

"RELEASE!"

His theory proved to be correct. The Power Gem was sealed away here, and only Naruto and Sasuke could access it. But Naruto had been smarter than most would give hum credit for. He didn't merely code the seal to his or Sasuke's DNA, and most of his fellow kage's would. He thought a step further ahead and coded the seal to the First Hokage's DNA, meaning that only Naruto or Sasuke's prosthetic arms could ever release the seal! It was a brilliant, surefire plan that should have ensured that nobody else would ever claim the gem again... Nobody, except for Sugure Mashita.

The remaining survivors of the this terrible battle were either too wounded or too paralyzed with fear to stop the superman from finally claiming his prize. The red chakra gem of power, the ancient weapon of destruction that nearly destroyed the Hidden Leaf Village one year ago, was now his for the taking.

Picking it up, Sugure looked at his prize and smiled before pocketing it.

"Red, Green, Black, Blue, Pink, Yellow! Come! We have what we came for."

Understanding, they all gathered around their leader and they each placed their hands upon him. With that, they are teleported back to their original hideout far from this place where none of these survivors would find him... But not before Sugure noticed Sasuke dart his eyes towards his now compromised daughter.

'Hmm...' His mind was already predicting what might happen now even as he and his team vanished...

A week passed and the set of Konoha Tonight had been taken over. The episode was a special broadcast, one that would be seen not just by Konoha but by the entire Shinobi Union. And that was why Sugure had decided that it was time to fully cast the shadows aside and make himself known to the entire world.

And to make sure that nobody paid him a nuisance and got in his way, he had brought with him the Mind Gem. It gem glowing blue radiance shined into the camera, and thus through the televisions of thousands of people watching, shinobi and civilian alike.

With his followers standing guard, and the entire world enthralled at his words, he proceeded to speak"

"People of Konohagakure, of Sunagakure, of Kirigakure, of Kumogakure, or Iwagakure, and of the entire Shinobi Union, hear my words. I am Sugure Mashita, the leader of the new order, the Superior Order. I come to you all now with a vision, a vision. A vision for a better world. Myself and my followers were made to be the perfect specimens of the human race. Our genetics are master crafted. Our strength, speed, ability, all enhanced to the peak of human possibility...and then pushed beyond that.

"And now, what we want is to share that power, that perfection with the rest of you. Our dream is the see this world remade as what it always should have been: a perfect world. No more crime. No more wars. No more ineffective and corrupt shinobi systems and needless bloodshed over such concepts as inequality or cultural difference. We dream of a word where everyone is perfect, where everyone is equal, where everyone is the best example of what they can be. And under our leadership, we can make that dream a reality.

"That is why, effective immediately, I am declaring the entire Shinobi Union disbanded and to be reorganized into the new Superior Order. All of you are now under the strong and wise leadership of myself and my followers.

"Please, do not get the wrong impression: we are hear to make things better for you, the people. We do this by making sure that we have the resources to give you the perfect world that you al deserve. But to do this, we need you need to serve us first.

"'How may we serve you?' you ask? By aiding us in finding the remaining few of these."

Sugure held up the camera three other gems in his other hand, one red, one green, and one yellow:

The chakra gems. Seven ancient jewels that all together can give one infinite power, and which hold the key to your perfect future. My followers and I already have four of the gems now, but there are still three more still out there, and it is imperative that we find them... Or rather, that you help us find them.

"And to anyone watching who may have delusions of resisting us: I issue you this warning."

His tone changed as he changed the monitor behind him to show an image of Naruto Uzumaki's memorial stone;

"Here is your savior, defeated, dead and buried. I have crushed him as easily as I have crushed all who have dared to oppose me. Orochimaru, Taka, Uchiha, the Allied Shinobi Forces, the five kages, everyone. I am a visionary, a savior...but I am also power unlike any you have known: absolute, infinite, and undefeatable. In other words my friends...I am perfection.

The quest for the chakra gems shall begin immediately. To start, my followers and I hereby claim your villages as a collective garrison and institute marital law. We aim to protect you, to serve you, to perfect you. But to be effective, we must be free to act and rule without interference. Cooperate, and our rule will be peaceful and without incident. Stand against us, and our wrath will be unforgiving. Make no mistake, your only options are cooperation...or death. Choose wisely.

"This is the dawn of a new era. The Superior Order begins today."

...

...

...

...

"My Lord!"

Sugure's memories were interrupted as Geki came into his throne room and took a knee.

"Report Geki."

"Master, we have received a report from Agent 040517. He and his reinforcements have had another encounter with the Resistance."

Sugure scoffed. "Hanami Uzumaki...Did they escape again?"

"Hai."

"Then give me a good reason why I don't decommission them all right now."

"Because master, they claim that the Resistance had rescued some civilians spotted out after curfew. And their description of these fugitive are something I believe you will find very interesting."

Sugure paused as he listened carefully. "Go on..."

And with that, this chapter comes to a close! Whoa! That was the longest chapter I've written in a while, but there was just a lot I needed to get through this time.

So...yeah, a lot of people died in this one. A bummer to be sure, but sadly, for this dark future that the boys fallen into to exist, it needed to be this way. It also really goes the farthest mile I've gone yet into putting over Sugure and his team. Defeating Naruto and Sasuke together was one thing, but to also massacre most of their friends like that, these seven characters now seem unbeatable, and that's without the chakra gems!

I actually have to admit that I kind of cheated a bit in writing that scene. I really compressed a lot of these deaths down into a series of after-the-fact descriptions, mostly in fear because I felt the chapter might be dragging on for too long. But also, I kind of think it leaves a bit more to the imagination. I tell you the main beats of what happened, and you the reader can picture how the scene actually looked and what might have been said in you own mind. Some or the character's fates I kind of came up with on the fly, but other I did have planned fro early on. Rock Lee's death for example I knew had to got the way that it did, poor Lee basically meets the same fate that Guy would have met had Naruto not been there to heal him after his fight with Madara. But it this timeline Naruto is presumed dead. Such a tragedy.

Another tragic fate I knew had to go the say that it did was with the Sannin. Two chapters ago I left a backdoor open that Orochimaru might not have died after all, and it was to imply this grand final battle where all three of them—Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade—actually got to put aside their differences and come together one last time, even if ironically, and even if it ended in heir deaths.

It was also nice to finally get to do something with Killer B, even if it was brief. I knew i needed him in the scene, but I had to be careful with him since being a jinchūriki made him a really powerful player for the good guys. I ended up giving him the exit that he, apparently, got in the Versus Momoshiki Arc of the Boruto anime. I haven't seen it myself, but it definitely solved my problem of how I can have him alive as part of the Resistance while explaining why Sugure would ever let him live.

And yeah, Killer B's random rap moment was pretty bad... But that's the beauty of writing him, all of his raps are really bad. LOL!

Besides the big, disastrous battle, I also showed the first meeting between Sugure and Katasuke. This was, obviously, meant to explain how the handguns that Katasuke and his team were developing in previous chapters come to be used by Sugure's forces in the future.

For all of the characters I killed in this chapter, I'm not sure how my readers are going to feel about Sugure killing the two Elders. They have always been a nuisance in the series as well as in my stories, so it seemed fitting to finally just do away with them here. But then again, I can never predict my audience.

The idea of Naruto sealing the chakra gem away and setting the seal not to respond to his DNA but to that of his new, prosthetic arm is an idea I'm really proud of and I think a really clever plan on his part. It was something I had in the back of my mind for a long time, and it was mainly inspired by a scene for the film that was the primary inspiration for SFA, "Captain America: The Winter Solider." In that film, Fury needs to force Alexander Pierce to supply his retinal scan to disable the encryption to deactivate the three helicarriers, but naturally Hydra already deleted Fury's retinal scan. But, that's when Fry reveals his backup plan that also encrypted a backup scan for his bad eye...yes, the one that got scratched out by Goose during "Captain Marvel." Say what you will about that retcon, but at the time of "Winter Soldier," Fury paying off his missing eye like that was so badass to me, and I could see Naruto doing something similar to that with his bad arm.

The big villain monologue Sugure gives on Konoha Tonight (great payoff to that established plot point by the way) was inspired mainly by similar villain speeches in the DC Animated Universe. In the episode "Apokolips...Now! Part 2" from "Superman:The Animated Series, Darkseid has Superman beaten and held prisoner for all of Metropolis to see as he proclaims himself ruler of all of Earth. The other speeches I had on my mind were from the "Justice League" three-part series finale "Starcrossed." Hro Talek's declaration of martial law over all of Earth, and his lieutenant Kragger's short appearance on TV telling people that it was in Earth's best interests to do what they say since only then can the Thanagarians serve them. While the dialogue itself ultimately went a different direction from those speeches, some of he words and sentences did end up quite similar to what was said in those episodes.

And yeah, Sakura and Sarada... I did already reveal that Sakura died when she gave birth to Arashi, and now we know why. It's really tragic and we can only hope that somehow the boys can find a way to prevent this.

As for Sarada being blinded...I'm sure most of you Naruto fans out there already know where I'm going with this, but if not, just wait and see...

i think that's all I have for this chapter. Thank you all so much for reading, and I look forward the seeing you all again for the next one.

Until next time, see ya!