NARUTO

THE SOARING LEAF

Disclaimer: I do no own Uzumaki Naruto or any character in the Naruto world.

The Fire Country

The Fourth Great Ninja War

The Epic Conclusion of the Greatest Ninja War.

The Bright Green Leaf and the Silent Sound.

This was time of the New Legend

The Soaring Konoha

The Wonder That Blew All Away…

VOLUME 40

CHAPTER 1

18 years since the Fourth Hokage died.

The Hidden Sound village had invaded The Fire Country, wanting to give make the Country live up to its name. Under the cruel leadership of the renegade ninja Orochimaru, they had invaded, driving for the Hidden Village of The Leaf and setting enormous fires as they went. It seemed that, this was the staging to the final confrontation. Orochimaru had assembled the entire Sound Village's forces, from Chuunin's to Jounin's and the Elite Cursed Seal Sound Ten. Large as the number was, it in fact was a reduced force because throughout the three-year war The Sound had suffered. After the open declaration of war following the loss of Uchiha Sasuke, Orochimaru had bent his entire will, and mind towards the destruction of Konoha. All of his carefully laid plans concerning, the Uchiha and The Akatsuki had been ruined and he could lay the blame at the feet of one person. His rival's Legacy, the ninja who had proved himself a force to be reckoned with.

The evil Snake Ninja could remember the moment his nightmare returned, heralded by the tremendous release of power that had ruined his hidden lair. The battle with that ninja had been brief but the result was clear. He suffered a devastating defeat that left a sour taste in his mouth. It was not the only defeat there had been more. What followed were significant successive defeats of his forces, countered by brief hollow victories.

The humiliation had been unbearable and it sparked the beginning of the Ninja war. He decided to strike first, because he believed that he who strikes first, if he strikes hard enough need not strike again. How wrong he was.

He himself had led the attack. A force of 300 Sound Ninja's but before they could even get within sight of The Hidden Leaf Village, they were attacked. The desperate battle that followed saw his forces defeated and he himself retreating with the help of Kabuto. A display of skill and power and an epic exchange of Jutsu's, had made him realize his folly in going after the Uchiha. How could he have known that such a power existed? Mistakes had been made and The Sound Village had felt his displeasure.

Recruiting more ninja's inflicting, inhumane experiments on them had been his answer to the power of the Leaf. It had all been for nothing because the Leaf along with their allies had proved too hard to overcome.

He would attack and be repelled and he had thought this pattern would repeat for a long time but recently they had come. The battle that had raged in The Hidden Sound Village had been mind blowing to The Snake Ninja. That ninja had been at the forefront and the elites of the Leaf had been right behind him. The destruction of the Hidden Village of Sound had been an event that shook the ninja world. The power of the Leaf was undisputed.

The destruction of his Village had lead to this last desperate, bringing together his remaining forces, he planned to lay siege and to destroy the leaf.

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The forces of Sound did not travel quietly. They had systematically set about destroying everything they could, burning fields and destroying buildings.

"Master Orochimaru is it wise to be so open, in our intention. Surely the Hidden Leaf Village will be ready for us," Kabuto said.

"Do you doubt me Kabuto?" his words coming out in a sibilant, slimy tone, reaffirming his snake like personality.

"No master, it's just that, I do not know exactly what your plan. So you must forgive me if I seem a little bit nervous." He quickly replied. His tone quiet and trying to appease his Master.

"I do forgive you Kabuto, be thankful for that." He said and he added nothing more.

The pair where on a large snake summoned, that was currently barreling through a dense forest area. Toppling trees and drawing a deep gouge in the earth. Orochimaru had opted not to summon Manda, knowing that the temperamental Snake Boss would not like to be used as a transport.

They were drawing closer and closer to Konoha and Orochimaru knew that soon the Leaf would make their move. He was prepared and although many of ninja's would die, it would all be for his plan to work. They were expendable, pawns to be used and thrown away according to his whim.

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The Hidden Leaf Village

The Legendary Slug Ninja and Godaime Hokage Tsunade was sitting in her office behind her desk, with her assistant Shizune standing in front of her. She had come to deliver a report but Tsunade knew what it was about, but she nodded her head and allowed Shizune to speak.

"Hokage-Sama, Orochimaru's forces have entered the country and they have razed the ground wherever they have passed." Shizune reported. "The scouts report that he has bolstered his forces with monsters and summons".

Tsunade was not fazed in the slightest, this was to be expected, he had informed her of Orochimaru's desperation and he had told her that Orochimaru would attack Konoha. His prediction had been true it seemed and that her allowing of him to setup a countermeasure was the right thing to do. The council had not even objected to when she had raised the plan and told of its originator. The times have truly changed.

She knew he was out there, leading the ninja of the Village towards a final confrontation with Orochimaru. She also knew that the defense of the Village all rested one person's shoulders and although they had defeated Orochimaru's forces before and they had destroyed his Village, Orochimaru was still not done. All of his power would be bent towards destroying this Village and that one person who had brought him defeat repeatedly in the war.

"Shizune, are out forces ready to intercept?" she asked

"Yes Hokage-Sama, the evacuation of the people in the countryside has meant, no casualties and the scouts have reported that Orochimaru's course will take him into direct contact with our ninja. It seems he was right about Orochimaru"

"Yes he wasn't he Shizune" she replied in a wistful tone. "He was right about a lot of things and without him I don't know where this Village would be." She turned her around to look through the window and at the peaceful Hidden Village of the Leaf. She was silent for a while and Shizune knew that she had more to say. "I am the Hokage of the Leaf, tasked with protecting everyone in this Village. He is something beyond me, and I must say beyond anyone I have ever met. Orochimaru will be at his full power but I feel that it will not be enough." She finished with a sigh.

"Tsunade" Shizune addressing her by her name brought her around to look at her and she that Shizune had a smile on her face. Shizune continued, "I have known you a long time and it is clear that there is something on your mind"

"You know me too well" she sighed "He has given so much but this Village has given him so little. Even I have let him down yet he still stands tall. A ninja greater than all others and still, a beacon to light the way. His strength of will amazes me and yet I have seen his pain in the quiet moments and I fear that… No I will not voice my fears and give rise to their guarantee, instead we will wait and we will hope." She said lapsing into silence.

Shizune patiently waited. "You see Shizune, now you've got me all depressed, I need a drink" with that she performed a set of hand seals and a bottle of saki appeared with a small cup. "Now if that's all, I would like to be alone"

A bang and a cloud of smoke signaled her departure.

Alone in her office she could, relax. She poured the saki and proceeded to sip it slowly savoring the taste of the alcoholic liquid. She had made mistakes in her life and although she had redeemed herself in the position of Hokage, she had still made mistakes. If he ever found out the truth, it would change everything and she realized then that some Leaves fall of trees yet do never touch the ground.

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Hidden Leaf and Sand Ninja Staging Grounds

500 km's from the Hidden Leaf Village

They were not hiding themselves and their passage was an open display of their intent to destroy. The scouts had been tacking their movements and reporting it along the line and in the command tent of allied forces the final preparations were being made. The ninjas gathered were all Jounin level ninja's who had been involved in every major conflict with The Sound Village during the war. They were the ninja's whose skill and power had seen them victorious in all of their battles. The most experienced ninja in the large tent was the Legendary Toad Ninja Jiraiya, and although it might have seemed that, he was the commander of the operation, that was not true. Jiraiya himself like his contemporaries, Tsunade and Orochimaru had left Konoha to travel the world and although each of their reasons were different, the result had been the same. The Three Legendary Ninja had left the Village in which they lived.

Thinking back on it he realized that it was their fate to travel down different paths, they had started out as teammates and they had carved their Legend as teammates. Tragedy and betrayal had dogged their steps and ultimately it had made them go their separate ways. Tsunade began her path of self-destruction when she lost her partner and her brother. Orochimaru's path had been one of madness and evil, conducting human experiments and other acts of indescribable horror. He himself had finally given into his passion of perversion culminating in the Icha Icha Paradise series. Granted the majority of his time was spent on information gathering of the perverted kind, he had actually used some of it for real information gathering. On Orochimaru's whereabouts, on the threat of the Akatsuki and a host of other information he had filtered back to the Hidden Leaf Village.

It was at this time that The Yondaime sacrificed himself to seal the Kyuubi, an act that had saved the Village but cost it dearly. He regretted not being there for his former student and he knew that even if he was there, he could not have done anything to change the outcome. The Yondaime was a ninja of supreme genius and creativity and he had surpassed his teacher, a long time ago. The Yondaime had unimaginable depths of Chakra, incredible stamina and speed. He had grieved in his own way and he had moved on, his ties with The Leaf Village decreasing.

He could clearly see the steps that had led him to this point and he did not regret them. His wandering had ended and he was now among the ranks of Hidden Leaf ninja's. It was all because of one person. One person who had changed his life and unknowingly caused him to acknowledge the past. That person had proved to be the greatest ninja he had ever seen. He had seen that person come into his own and take the path to being a Legend. It was enough to make an old man smile.

The only thing to mar his thoughts was the realization that it could all fall down and that the person responsible for so many good things would be injured in a very grave way.

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"Jiraiya-Sama, do you know what could be taking him so long?" Sakura asked him.

"He'll be here don't worry" he replied. "He has never let us down before and I don't think he will start now.

He slowly looked around the tent taking his time and observing the assembled ninja. The success of the battles against the Sound had been with the help of the ninja's assembled in the tent, seated around the large table. Haruno Sakura, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Akimichi Chōji, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Hyūga Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten, Kankurō, Temari, Hatake Kakashi, Might Guy, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai and Yamato. A slight rustle of the tents flaps announced the arrival of another critical piece to the puzzle that had decimated the Orochimaru and The Sound Village. Gaara of the Sand, the Kazekage of The Hidden Sand Village.

"He's still not here, he must be busy." The Kazekage said as he took a seat.

"With him you never know, If it's not one thing its another." Said Shikamaru in a bored tone that managed to convey irritation and a lack of interest.

"You should be thankful that he hasn't arrived yet, now you can amaze us all with your genius level IQ and think up a strategy, that's anywhere near as good as his" Temari said in tone that worked wonders on the Nara boy, causing him blush slightly and to mumble a few words about troublesome women.

Another rustle was heard and all heads turned to the tent opening. The once renegade ninja Uchiha Sasuke had arrived. The tension in the tent was palatable and the frown on the Uchiha's face did not ease it in the slightest bit.

The Uchiha's gave wandered around the tent and he slowly made his way to the side of the tent opting to stand rather than to sit. Some wounds were deep and for others they could be shallow. For those who had witnessed the Uchiha's betrayal it seemed that there was an underlying mistrust and the few who had accepted him back had done so without much fuss. In part, it was thanks to one person that Sasuke had escaped execution, if he had not sued for mercy on Sasuke's part, he would have been killed. He himself had understood that killing the Uchiha would have been a mistake because of the information he had concerning Orochimaru but another thing that could have been worse would have been the extinction of the Uchiha. Sasuke was the last Uchiha in the Hidden Leaf Village and because they had failed the Uchiha once they could not seal its doom. Although everything seemed peaceful on the surface between Sasuke and that ninja, Jiraiya still felt that underneath there was something simmering between them. He also realized that the majority of the enmity had come form the other ninja. Whatever it was it would come to head soon, all he had to do was wait.

Suddenly a heavy pressure was felt in the tent and all the ninja had to brace themselves to withstand it, bringing up their Chakra to try and fight off the enormous pressure that was building. It was as if the hand of a god had fallen from the sky to smash the Heavens and unleash its fury, but luckily for the occupants of tent it was not a god and as quickly, as the pressure had come it disappeared.

Jiraiya saw all the heads turn to the tent's entrance and the looks on the ninja's faces ranged from awe to happiness he had finally arrived.

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"Sorry I'm late" Naruto said, with a large grin on his face and with his hand instinctively rubbing base of his neck.

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A genin, yet still the Supreme Commander of the Hidden Leaf and Sand Village, forces on the battlefield.

Uzumaki Naruto.

The wonder that soared above all

Touching the Heavens

And surpassing the stars

The Legend

Next Chapter: The Orange Flash