AN* And I am back again. First off, thank you for everyone that has reviewed, it does help to get the feedback about what I am doing and what needs to be worked on. On that note, quite a bit of contradicting responses from the last chapter but a few of them I felt required a response since they were left as anon reviews. The majority of this four chapter arc has been planned out way in advance, so the plot armor trick was done for a reason. It is a rare thing if I don't have some kind of reason for what I am doing and why, even when it may not be visible right that very second. Have some faith in me here, I do plan things out quite a bit farther then most would think. Anyways, now that I've said my piece I hope you all enjoy this chapter and leave some more reviews at the end.

Break Pt. 4: Yourself

Naruto had to school the look of surprise that was on his face as he stared at Jiraiya who stood across from him with a look of such fury that Naruto knew that if looks could kill that he would likely be dead right where he stood.

"Well this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting you to join the party so early Jiraiya." Naruto smiled now "But all you've done is hasten your own end."

"Not likely." Jiraiya said calmly as he kept his eyes locked on Naruto, not trusting him to attack at the first opening "Kushina, get Minato out of here."

"Jiraiya" she began.

"No. Now." Jiraiya started firmly "I'll keep Naruto here but you need to get out of here before things get any worse."

Naruto chuckled as he spun Aka rippā in a small circle and launched himself forward to finish off his two parents, intending to phase right through Jiraiya's attempt at a counter, not suspecting the form that counter would take.

"Doton: Yomi Numa(Swamp of the Underworld)." Jiraiya called out as the ground under Naruto turned into a massive swamp, halting his feet as he stumbled, not expecting this as Kushina managed to pick up Minato and start towards the shore as Jiraiya bit into his thumb and flashed through the handsigns needed for his follow up techinique "Kuchiyose no Jutsu(Summoning technique)!" in a cloud of smoke appeared two smaller toads who leapt onto Jiraiya's shoulders in a heartbeat.

"Well Jiraiya boy, what's going on here?" the male one asked.

"Is that Minato's son?" the other asked with a frown.

"Yeah. We need to stop him." Jiraiya stated.

"Alright then. Let's use it then." the female nodded in understanding.

"Just what are you planning old man?" Naruto asked as he finally managed to get himself out of the muck.

"I'm about to put you down." Jiraiya stated as his eyes closed and then his face altered, as his nose became bulbous and with warts on it, a goatee suddenly growing out, and when he opened his eyes they had changed as well to more closely resemble a toad.

"And making yourself uglier has what to do with it?" Naruto asked as he mentally ran through his options. He knew turning his back on Jiraiya would be a very bad idea, especially since he had no idea what the sannin had just done. He was working with maybe 30% of his total chakra and he knew that using his more powerful techniques was no longer an option. He could still phase using the Sharingan but that would start draining chakra the more he used it, especially if he had to use full body ones to dodge whatever it was that Jiraiya had done to himself.

"There's no point in telling you." Jiraiya stated, revealing the sharpened point like teeth that were now filling his mouth "I'm going to put you down right here."

Naruto wanted to scoff at this but before he could even realize what was happening Jiraiya was moving and only the Sharingan saved him from a direct blow. Leaping back he dodged the initial punch but his eyes widened in shock as he felt a blow still catch him and send him back a few steps that Jiraiya was quick to exploit as he moved in quickly to press the assault. Scowling now Naruto phased through a strike but was still pushed back by the force of the blow, and throwing off his counter as his swing was blocked by the male toad on Jiraiya's right shoulder who held it in place and to Naruto's shock Jiraiya had created two Rasengan's that struck with overwhelming force, sending the blond flying into some of the wreckage from his battle with his parents.

"What... What the hell." Naruto gasped out as he stood up, feeling fear beginning to edge into his mind "How are you doing this?"

"I told you, it doesn't matter." Jiraiya stated.

"He's able to phase out of reality." the female toad noted "But he has to leave a piece of himself here as an anchor otherwise he would likely completely enter that other reality."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as the toad summed up the ability that the Sharingan had given him.

"Heh. It's a cheap trick but one that he uses quite well." the other toad noted "He's got sharp reflexes, and that swing would have gone right through you if I hadn't stopped it." he looked at the blade a moment before handing it to Jiraiya who stabbed it into the ground "He's dangerous. If we don't kill him quickly we might regret it."

"I know." Jiraiya stated calmly "He's no longer Minato's son. He's an enemy that needs to be stopped once and for all."

"And you think you can do it?" Naruto chuckled as he cracked his knuckles "You are not nearly strong enough to put me down. I will reshape this world into one without war Jiraiya."

"No." was all the old hermit had to say as he struck again, moving into Naruto's space where he slammed a fist into the blond who tanked the blow and shocked Jiraiya as he slammed his forehead into Jiraiya's face, knocking him off balance for a moment from the unexpected pain as Naruto struck with all of his strength, only to find Jiraiya's hand catching his fist and gripping it in bone shattering strength, getting a gasp of pain from Naruto before a kick slammed into his chest and knocked him to the ground where Jiraiya was already making another Rasengan, this one much larger. As he slammed the giant sphere into the ground Naruto completely phased out of reality and into the Kamui dimension where he grabbed one of the emergency soldier pills that he had left there. The one down side to what Orochimaru had done for him was that soldier pills only restored a small amount of chakra, barely even five percent of his total strength, but that small percentage was all that Naruto needed to perform his counter. Swallowing it quickly Naruto returned to the clearing where Jiraiya stared at him for a moment before muttering a curse.

"He restored some of his own chakra. Must have had supplies in that other dimension." the female toad remarked.

"Which means he's back in fighting shape." the other noted.

"No he isn't." Jiraiya remarked as he looked at Naruto with the cold calculating eyes of a sannin "He restored some of his chakra but he's on his last legs."

"How very astute Jiraiya." Naruto nodded "I've been using a great deal of power today and I was not expecting to have to face off against four S ranked shinobi back to back. But once you are out of the way I can make sure that the rest of the Raikage's forces are dealt with and then take a nice rest before setting the rest of the world right."

Flickering forward Naruto was in front of Jiraiya again where he landed a kick into his chest to knock him back a step where he struck again, leaping back from the female toad's tongue as it lashed out where he had been and he blinked when the male had finished making handsigns and sent a blast of wind towards him as Jiraiya had just finished his own.

"Katon: Dai Endan(Big Flame Bullet)." Jiraiya said as sent the jet of fire flying at Naruto, with the wind making the flames even large and more violent.

Naruto flashed through his own handsigns as he slammed his hands onto the ground with a grin "Doton: Doryū Jōheki(Earth Style Rampart)." the ground rose up underneath his feet as he was lifted above the inferno where he started the next set of handsigns "Futon: Kami Oroshi(Divine Mountain Wind)." With a massive exhale Naruto turned the flames so that the wind carried them now towards Jiraiya and the two toads. Standing there, waiting to see where he would reappear at next Naruto prepared to finish off the old hermit quickly when he suddenly heard a croaking sound, one that confused him for a moment as he moved to find the source, already guessing that it was something from the two toads. As he leapt down and started getting close he felt his senses shift and realized that this was a genjutsu and a powerful one at that as he could normally power through them with minimal effort. Leaping forward Naruto tried to reach the two toads only to fall completely into the genjutsu, finding himself trapped inside a cube of water with four large toads sustaining it.

Jiraiya let out a sigh as he saw Naruto stop where he was, standing a few feet away from where Jiraiya, Fukasaku and Shima had been holed up. Moving towards him Jiraiya prepared to kill Naruto while he was still incapacitated only to sense the incoming attack and leapt back to find three figures now landing in front of him, standing in between him and the disabled Naruto.

One was clearly Sasuke, worse for the wear and having sustained a few different injuries on his person, likely from the fighting that had been done. The second was Fu, looking ready to fight and with a fierce scowl on her face. The last was a short figure in a black cloak with a turtle mask on his face that Jiraiya suspected to be Yagura.

"That's enough." Yagura stated "Kumo has already been bested and in full retreat. You are the last enemy combatant on this island. It will not be long before the rest of our forces arrive and kill you. Take this chance to leave here now while you still can."

"And what makes you think that I would accept that offer?" Jiraiya asked.

"Because we both know the value of information." the older jinchuruki stated "You have gleamed much about us from this battle and your own observations and in the end you have revealed just as much about yourself by doing so. Let us call this a draw and face one another again another day."

Jiraiya glared at the three standing in front of him and knew that while he was formidable, Yagura was a kage level shinobi himself along with being a Jinchuruki. Adding in Fu and Sasuke and Jiraiya wasn't certain that he could kill Naruto in the end, even at the cost of his own life.

"Fine. The genjutsu will be released once I have left the island." Jiraiya stated calmly as he moved back a step and stopped using his senjutsu, letting Fukasaku and Shima seperate from him and for them to return to Mount Myoboku "But you should know that the next time we fight, I will kill him. I can't allow a threat to Konoha exist like that."

"You may attempt to do whatever you wish." Yagura chuckled "But in the end it will mean nothing. This world will be reborn in fire and once it is complete the cycle of violence will have ended once and for all."

Nothing else was said as Jiraiya was reverse summoned back to Mount Myoboku and as he disappeared the genjutsu holding Naruto ended as well, letting the blond collapse to his knees, his killer intent rising to the point where only Yagura was able to stay standing.

"Where is he?!" Naruto hissed.

"He has left. It was ill advised to continue to battle him when we knew so little about his abilities, not when your life was on the line. The plan hinges on you."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT! I WANT HIS HEAD!" Naruto snapped in anger.

"And you will have it, once you have suitably recovered." Yagura stated calmly as the killer intent disappeared and Naruto glared at the shorter man before walking towards his palace.

Minato and Kushina lay in the hospital back in Konoha where Tsunade had quickly tended to their wounds and Naruko had been brought in to give Kushina another transfusion of Kyubi chakra. Once she had been ushered out Kakashi, Tsunade and Jiraiya sat in the room with them as they discussed the newest turn of events.

"To think that Naruto was behind it all along." Tsunade sighed.

"Which raises the question of why he was in Tanzuka Gai," Kakashi noted.

"I can already guess, and it will be handled quietly." Jiraiya said with a sigh "But we were lucky."

"Lucky? He's a madman that intends to plunge the world into chaos!" Minato exclaimed.

"He is. But we learned a great deal more about him from it, and from there we might, and I stress the word might, have a chance to stop him." Jiraiya said with a scowl of his own.

"What are you thinking?" Tsunade asked.

"Naruto's done hiding in the shadows. He's ready to go to war and has already amassed a powerful army, while crippling those he deemed the largest threats to him, mainly us and Kumo. But he took to the field himself for this battle, he doesn't fully trust those working for him and we might be able to use that against him. Also we learned a great deal about his ablities and what he can do in a fight. That phasing ability he has is dangerous but not unstoppable. I was able to counter him with senjutsu, but he adapted quickly to the unknown as well. And judging from how he reacted I think he might have gotten a Sharingan of his own."

"He does." Minato nodded "He said that he took it from the man that helped him run away. The same man that was responsible for unleashing the Kyubi."

"Alright. This might be an unexpected boon." Jiraiya hummed.

"Care to share with the rest of us?" Tsunade asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The phasing comes from a Sharingan, and the Uchiha were meticulous in their record keeping of the various off shoots of the Sharingan, particularly the various forms that the Mangekyo Sharingan could take. If we can figure out who's eye it is that Naruto has we might find out more about that ability of his and locate a weakness to it." Jiraiya explained "But that won't change a great deal. He's powerful in just about every sense of the word. He was on his last legs while fighting me and he was still able to go toe to toe with me in sage mode. If I had fought him when he was at his full strength I would have died no questions asked. The next time we fight him we need to have multiple S class nin going against him, at least five of them."

"That would stop him, but what about his army?" Kakashi asked.

"That is a whole other problem." Jiraiya nodded "He has at least three Jinchuruki, and they are all fully trained. Not to mention he has all of Mizu under his command now, and he won't be resting on his successful defense for too long. He's going to launch his own offensive and soon."

"Where?" Kushina asked quietly.

"Kumo." Kakashi remarked with a shrug "He had Mei lure them into that trap, his plan was clearly to cripple them before launching his own counterattack there, and it's a good place to do it. If he can get his hooks into Kaminari no Kuni then he has a very defensible position to work from and begin the work of conquering the rest of the nations."

"Ok. Send word to Kumo and tell them all of this. As well as giving them all of the information that we have on them." Minato said firmly "Also we need to get in touch with the leader of Ame."

"Nagato." Jiraiya nodded "Why?"

"Because Naruto is going to be going after him as well. If we stay divided he will pick us off one at a time. We need a unified front against him." Minato explained "Will he listen?"

"Maybe. I'll try and get in touch with him and see if he is willing to talk, but he isn't the same young kid I trained. No telling how he'll react." Jiraiya warned.

"If nothing else he will know that Naruto is on the warpath." Kushina agreed.

"So what happened?" Naruto asked as he sat in the war room, with Sasuke and Yagura standing near the table.

"Kumo retreated. They lost two thirds of their forces here, unfortunately the more powerful enemies managed to get away." Sasuke stated.

"What?" Naruto asked quietly, his eyes burning into Sasuke "How?"

"It turns out that Killer B was here as well. From what we managed to overhear he snuck out and followed after the Raikage because he was worried about him. He emerged from the ocean and hit Han with a Bijudama before he could react. Once they had a way out A ordered a full retreat, with all remaining forces latching onto the fully transformed Jinchuruki." Sasuke continued "We inflicted a heavy toll, and while A and both Jinchuruki escaped we did kill one of the Raikage's personal guard by the name of C and inflicted serious injuries on Darui. The Raikage was already badly wounded by you and only survived due to him getting his second wind once you were taken away. He avoided extended confrontation at that point and mainly focused on hit and run tactics."

"I am more concerned about you." Yagura remarked "You were taken quite unexpectedly and from what we managed to gather fought against several Konoha shinobi, your parents and Jiriaya."

"I survived. But it was one interruption after another today. Both Minato and Kushina managed to escape thanks to Jiraiya's intervention. How did he manage to sneak onto the island?"

"There are a multitude of means that he could have used. He is an exceptionally skilled shinobi, and the fact that you survived that battle"

"I should have had him!" Naruto snapped in anger.

"Perhaps but that is irrelevant at this moment." Yagura stated "The question is now what?"

Naruto was quiet for a moment before speaking as he stared at the map.

"As much as I want to go and launch a full scale invasion of Hi no Kuni, allowing Kumo to recover their footing will only hinder us. We stick to the plan and go and finish what was started today." Sasuke and Yagura both nodded at this as Naruto continued "Have our forces ready to move out tonight, I intend for us to reach Kaminari no Kuni by dawn. We aren't going to give them a chance."

"Understood." Yagura nodded as he walked off to mobilize their armies while Sasuke remained standing there.

"Something to say?" Naruto asked.

"Yes actually." Sasuke nodded "We are taking a huge gamble on this war, and if we lose then everything that you have done will be for nothing."

"And what is your point?"

"You can't keep risking yourself on the frontlines. You are the pillar that is keeping this entire empire standing. If we lose you before it is fully established then it is going to come tumbling down."

"Are you telling me to cease fighting?"

"I am telling you to be smarter then you've been acting. You have few blindspots but the ones that you do have are blinding, and your family is one. I've watched you predict and manipulate events for years now and I know that you are not one to be caught flatfooted, but Minato got the best of you, and then Jiraiya had you at his mercy when we showed up." Sasuke listed off, holding Naruto's increasingly angry gaze "You may not like what I have to say, but you chose me to be your general and I will be, which means that I am going to call you on your idiocy when it happens."

Naruto glared at Sasuke for a moment before speaking "You know who we are going to be up against. I do not intend to sit in the rear and watch as the fighting rages. If you have a problem with that then keep it to yourself."

"You know I won't." Sasuke stated "You brought me into this, and I intend to make sure that it succeeds."

With that the Uchiha walked out of the room and Naruto glared at his back as he left, and once the door shut behind him his fist slammed into the table, shattering it like a child's toy.

"I'll kill him. By the time I'm through with him he will wish I had killed him here."

The Raikage's office was silent as the small group sat, all but one wounded and wrapped in bandages.

"Normally I'd be furious at you B." A finally said "But you saved our lives back there, along with a number of our shinobi."

"You know that I've got ya back." B nodded, fully focused on the matter at hand "But bro, that was still bad."

"Understatement." Darui groaned as he touched his ribs where he had nearly been pierced through the lungs "We were played hard. If you hadn't managed to drop that kunai that the Hokage had given you, you'd be dead Raikage-sama."

"I know." A sighed as he looked over at a bandaged Yugito "How are you holding up Yugito?"

"I'll live. But the Jinchuruki of the Gobi is no slouch. And we didn't even see the Sanbi or the Nanabi." Yugito said "If B and I fight together we could probably take one or two of them, but if all three are as good as Han, then we are in trouble."

"True. Alright I was too focused on our escape to take note of too many details, so let's hear it. How bad are things?" A asked.

"We lost nearly half of our combat ready shinobi, and all of those among the lost are those that excelled at naval combat. The ones that returned with us have sustained varying levels of injuries and are being treated as we speak. We lost C on the shores of Uzu, and he made up a decent portion of our fighting power. As you should well know, Yugito sustained moderate injuries but she is still fit for duty as am I. Killer B at the moment is our strongest asset, so we are going to need to use that wisely." Darui stated.

"It's as bad as I thought then." A nodded.

"It's probably worse." Darui continued "It's safe to assume that their army is going to be coming here first. They already weakened us and the smartest move on their part would be to kill us quickly before moving forward to whatever else they have planned."

"You think that they will?" B asked "They seemed more interested in playing defense."

"They wanted us to throw the first punch." A replied "So that way they could counter us with a strike that should have killed us to a man. We managed to get out of it, but we aren't safe yet. I agree with Darui, they are coming here next. We need to be ready. Mabui!"

"Yes Raikage-sama." the secretary nodded as she stepped into the room.

"Issue a general alert to all of our forces. Recall all remaining shinobi and give the order to prepare our defenses." A said before pausing "And order a full evacuation of all noncombatants."

"Raikage-sama?!" the woman blinked in shock.

"Do it."A said as he stood and looked out the window "I don't intend to let this village fall, but if things are as bad as I think they are, I don't want those that cannot fight to be caught in the crossfire."

"Understood." she nodded as she turned and left.

"Are you sure about this? It could cause a panic." Yugito noted.

"I am. I am the Raikage, my first priority is to protect my village and my people. I will not allow them to be trapped here when that madman comes to finish what he started. We will be ready though, no matter what happens we will be ready." A said firmly, keeping the trembling fist in front of him where none of his subordinates could see.