Chap-40 End Of Era

Naruto stared at the enemy commander who glared at him defiantly. But instead of arrogance, he saw the grim determination in Daen Nara's eyes. The clan head was well aware that a defeat here or retreat could spell the end of not just the Daimyo's rule but his entire dynasty's and if those monarchs fell from power, then the Nara clan would lose their protection making them open targets for the Uchiha and Senju.

Those two ancient clans had not forgotten the everlasting defiance the Nara's had shown to them over the thousands of years and would make them pay for it dearly in blood if not outright annihilation.

Even the Samurai's livelihood depended on their service to the Daimyo, if that man's rule was overthrown then they would become jobless and always be looked down upon by shinobi.

They had no choice but to fight.

The same was not the case for the common civilian soldiers, shogun and mercenary warriors. These thousands of fighters were trained to defeat great armies and even ninjas, but none of them had the first idea as to how they could defeat a Biju. They would all be massacred before they could even harm a hair on Kurama's body and their fear was clearly evident for Naruto to see. Still, their commander had decided to fight and it was their obligation to follow him no matter the consequences.

Despite the perilous situation the 5000 strong Samurai heavy cavalry was the first to charge on Daen Nara's command in order to stop Kurama who was charging towards the royal army. It was a sight not a single person present here would ever forget.

No matter how hopeless the situation was, the Samurai's charged forward with hundreds of them slashing their swords trying to take out Kurama's legs. To their dismay not even a single sword could make a tiny scratch on the Biju's tough legs.

Naruto grimaced when Kurama roared furiously before smashing his tails wildly over the Samurai cavalry. Within seconds hundreds of Samurai and their poor warhorses were being crushed to death. So bad was their fate that not even a body was left to recover by the time Kurama pummeled them into the bloodied ground.

He should be feeling overjoyed on seeing his enemies die like flies but the sight only filled him with more sadness as these brave men were dying for a lost cause. He heard Kurama roar murderously as hundreds of Nara attached their shadow binding technique all over the Biju's legs.

"Now it ends" whispered Naruto,

The furious Biju opened its mouth and to the horror of the Nara's they saw that while their shadows had trapped the beast for now, it had not allowed them any control over the beast's other actions. A fact they realized too late as Kurama started creating a massive Bijudama.

The royal army paled and most of the mercenary ninjas started fleeing instantly, so did many civilian soldiers. They had lost what little courage they had left on seeing the monstrosity the beast was about to unleash. Even if they couldn't feel chakra, they could see what was about to unleashed was big.

And then something happened.

Madara was witnessing the most memorable battle of his life. His eyes could not believe the power of his brother's pet beast which was just about to go up another notch as it started forming a Bijudama until Naruto knelt and placed a hand on his friend's head. The Biju stopped...

No words were spoken but the massive ball of chakra being created by the fox shattered.

The fox sighed but nodded in resignation as Naruto jumped off the beast and landed gracefully across the battlefield. The remaining Samurai cavalry flinched at the sight of him and even if they wanted to attack him, Kurama's menacing eyes dared them to do such a thing and face the penalties.

Tajima and many other Uchiha growled in frustration when Naruto started walking towards Daen Nara and his army.

"Honorable fool" hissed Tajima, but before he could move to save his idealistic son it was Naori who placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't" she warned,

"He'll get himself killed" said Tajima heatedly, earning a nod from Madara who also looked ready to charge in order to protect his brother.

Naori watched her youngest nephew walked calmly towards the enemy army. She had watched this boy grow up before her and what she saw today was not something she had ever seen before.

You have grown up, Naruto.

"He knows what he's doing. Trust him" she declared, leaving no room for doubt making Tajima and Madara sigh but they did step down making the others do the same as all their eyes shifted towards the boy in golden armor who stepped towards Daen Nara.

Both armies watched the Nara commander and Uchiha stand before each other at a respectable distance.

"Quite a beast you got there" commented Daen without any sarcasm, the man was simply stating the hard and bitter fact.

"That I have" agreed Naruto keeping his face set in stone,

"Why are you here?" asked Daen curiously,

"Look at your men..."

The Nara commander was forced to look at the now 22,000 strong royal forces that were still standing with him. The rest had either fled or were simply butchered by the fox. In each and every person's eyes he saw fear, doubt and despair.

"I don't want to slaughter men needlessly" said Naruto honestly, making the Nara commander sigh.

"You know I have no choice but to fight" replied Daen bitterly,

"What if you don't have to?" questioned Naruto sincerely,

Daen blinked and looked at the young Uchiha before him. There was not a shred of treachery or hidden agenda in those eyes, this boy...

"Neither Uchiha or Senju will spare us if the Daimyo is overthrown. My people weren't exactly known to be either clan's lap dogs, we valued our independence then and we still value it now. Besides, your father and Tobirama Senju are not known for showing mercy to those who have defied them" pointed Daen Nara frankly,

Daen waited for the boy to refute the accusations he had laid against Tajima or even Tobirama, to his surprise Naruto never flinched and looked him right in the eye.

"Then retain your independence. Serve neither Uchiha or Senju but whoever is chosen the next ruler of the Land of Fire. Bend the knee and your clan lives, your soldiers live, your people live" promised Naruto,

Daen glanced at Tajima nervously as the Uchiha clan head was glaring at him with cold murder in his eyes.

"We all know what your father did to Kento Senju's family..." said Daen worriedly,

"I am not that man"

Daen could not help but admire the conviction in those eyes and the sincerity burning in them. He glanced at Tajima again but then looked at Naruto who never looked away from him. Daen saw Kurama actually nod much to his shock suggesting the beast actually supported the boy's offer.

Whatever Tajima or Tobirama were capable of, the Nine Tailed fox could surely do more harm should he be insulted.

And the only way that could happen was if Daen refused this Uchiha before him.

Daen looked at his own clansmen and the royal army soldiers. Most of them nodded as he closed his eyes and looked at Naruto with a resigned smile on his face.

"I never thought I would ever see an Uchiha with honor..." said Daen, making Naruto's lips twitch into a faint smile.

"Let's end this senseless bloodshed" proposed Naruto, as he extended his hand towards the Nara.

The said man glanced at him one last time before raising his own hand and joined it with Naruto's.

"The under these terms, I surrender" declared Daen loudly for every soldier to hear,

Madara and his entire army could only gape in shock as one by one each and every royal soldier threw down his weapon and knelt marking their official surrender. He actually saw the fox smile when Naruto turned back and walked towards his family's army.

Naori wanted nothing more than to hug the boy standing before her. It was one thing to mercilessly slaughter one's enemy when your victory was assured, but an entirely different matter when you offer that defeated enemy a chance to surrender peacefully. It was a double edged sword with many risks, history was proof of success and failures behind such moves. Naruto could have wiped out the entire enemy army with the help of his Biju, but he showed mercy.

What consequences it would have for him and their people was something only the future would tell them.

She restrained herself from hugging the boy as he was currently staring at Tajima, Madara, and all the clan heads alongwith their entire army right in the eye. Gone was the look of a devoted Uchiha who would do anything for his clan, these were now the eyes of a man who had committed himself to a cause.

"The Daimyo has been captured. The city has fallen and the royal army has surrendered, we have won" declared Naruto calmly,

Shock and disbelief ripped through the Uchiha army on hearing those words. They all had came here prepared for a bloody fight only to realize that it was already over. Many glanced at the massive fox, a beast that dangerous could have reduced the city to ashes and yet the Capital was still standing which could only mean Naruto took it by force.

While The Young Dragon was a brave and skilled man with an army of 500 fighters, he would have to go through thousands of royal guards. A feat impossible to accomplish unless he used the beast, or...

Tajima was the first to arrive at this conclusion as he narrowed his eyes dangerously at his youngest son who had the grace to gulp nervously.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, boy" warned Tajima,

"Yes, Father" agreed Naruto reluctantly, despite his great victory the cold glare of his father made him feel like the young boy from his past. Tajima could be very intimidating when he wanted to, backed by an entire army the same man could prove disastrous.

Naori sensed the rising tension in the air and decided to quickly intervene. Just one glance at Naruto's nervous gaze was enough to show her the boy had done something very bad. Knowing Tajima, he would lash out quickly and that would not bode well for Naruto's reputation which was skyrocketing these days among their faction. After seeing what power he was capable of displaying with the Biju, it was best for their faction if they listened to the boy and not alienate him.

"We shall talk but not here. Understood?" she commanded, looking at all the clan heads and her own family.

Surprisingly, it was Madara who was the first to agree which made everyone else fall in line as well. The young Hokage was glancing at the giant fox with a gleam in his eye which Naori didn't miss, the same was the case for many of the more militaristic clan heads. The only thing keeping them from just outright grabbing the beast was Naruto's presence and the prior memory of what the fox could do if enraged.

Tajima finally gave a nod but never once did his cold and merciless eyes leave his son's.

"YOU TOOK IT UPON YOURSELF TO ALLY US WITH OUR SWORN ENEMIES?"

Not one man in the large hall didn't flinch on hearing Tajima's thunderous roar. The Uchiha patriarch was fuming in anger, his murderous eyes glaring at his youngest son standing in the center of the hall with a composed look on his face. Naruto held his ground despite the heated glares he received from the various clan heads, not to mention from his own father and brother.

Even Naori was taken aback by his choice.

The only one standing beside the boy was the fox who had reduced himself to the size of a small wolf much to the amazement of the ninjas present in the room. When their force had marched through the city, they had seen the carnage it had gone through and the dead littering in the streets. Still the bloodshed was minimal with only 800 allied ninjas dead in comparison to the 8500 royal guards and 400 civilians. Hundreds more were injured but the Daimyo was taken prisoner and his three sons died trying to defend the royal monarch despite Hashirama's best efforts.

Most had expected Tajima to instantly attack the weakened Senjus and probably the Uchiha patriarch would have done so had he not received a pointed stare from the monstrous Biju that made him back down and agree to talk first before waging war again.

Still, the capital was tense as a cold war had erupted between the Senju and Uchiha factions. The only thing keeping them from jumping at each other's throats was the presence of the Biju and the responsibility of watching over the surrendered royal army and the Nara clan.

In a matter of hours, the oldest dynasty to rule the Land of Fire had been overthrown.

But it didn't matter to Tajima and his supporters for all they were seeing right now was a foolish boy who not only agreed to marry a Senju but also robbed them of their rightful vengeance. It didn't matter to them that most of them alongwith their people would be dead by the time the last Senju was killed...

Even Madara was for once in agreement with his father which did not bode well for Naruto.

"I did what I thought was right" said Naruto tiredly,

"I can have you beheaded for this" replied Tajima coldly,

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, his father was many things but never once had he made such a threat. A fact which had shocked not just him but every person in the room. It went to show how deep the man's hate for the Senjus went...

"Father..."

"Show too much kindness to your enemies and you'll wake up one day to find your throat slit!" barked Tajima,

"Father's right, Naruto. The Senjus are weak right now, together with out army and the fox we can defeat them" urged Madara passionately, earning many nods from the clan heads.

Kurama snorted in disgust which made Madara narrow his eyes for his brother had not rebuked the beast for that audacity.

"They killed our brothers, Naruto" said Madara sadly,

The faces of three young boys flashed before Naruto's eyes and for a moment he wanted nothing more than to join Madara, but then he also the faces of two unborn girls that were yet to see the world. Could he allow them to feel the pain he had? Could he willingly let them be born into this savage world? Could he allow them to watch their siblings die for a petty feud?

He and everyone else in the room got his answer when his sharingan came alive and a monstrous killing intent was unleashed.

"I'M TIRED OF FIGHTING!"

His outburst stunned not only his family but all their bannermen. His furious eyes glared at all of them which made many flinch and made Tajima as well as Madara shut their mouth. Never before had they seen this look in Naruto's eyes...

The look of a man haunted by death, war and misery alongwith unbearable pain.

"It's all I have done since I came into this world. I've killed men and women, I've burned clan heads alive, I have given orders that lead to the slaughter of entire clan to the last child!" yelled Naruto disgustedly,

"You're no son of mine..." whispered Tajima in disbelief, not knowing how much it hurt his son.

"I am your son, Father. I am more like you than any of your children, it is why I know that the best course of action for our people is to make peace. If not for ourselves then for our children..." pleaded Naruto,

Suddenly, Madara got up from his chair and briskly walked towards his sibling. Everyone tensed and Kurama even stepped forward growling at the approaching Uchiha, to the beast's surprise Madara not only ignored him but brushed past him to grab Naruto by the collar of his shirt.

Naruto had never seen his brother so furious and disappointed at the same time. Madara would die for him without hesitation but right now his brother looked about ready to kill him.

"Give me one reason why I should not kill you right now? Tell me why you are doing this because I know you desire revenge as much as me for what they did to our brothers. For what they did to Izuna..." whispered Madara fiercely, his sharingan glaring heatedly at those of his brother's.

Naruto looked at his brother and he saw Madara was not joking around. His brother loved him but what he was asking was everything Madara had desired in his entire life. If he tried to take that away without a just reason, Madara would not kill him but no longer would his brother love him. A blow which would be the death of Naruto himself...

Closing his eyes, he leaned closer so that he was near his brother's ear.

"You're going to be an Uncle, Brother"

Madara stepped back as his eyes went wide unable to believe what he just heard. Naruto had kept a lot of secrets from him over the years, the most dangerous being the fact that he had a Biju following him around for years. But this was even bigger than that...

But it did explain why he wanted to make peace with the Senjus.

"You're not lying to me?" asked Madara seriously,

"No" whispered Naruto defeatedly,

Kurama was gaping at his friend for revealing his most important secret to someone like Madara. He had never trusted the eldest son of Tajima, the thirst for power and revenge was clear to see in those eyes. While Naruto reminded the fox of Indra when the Uchiha founder was a boy, Madara reminded the fox of the power hungry man Indra became.

Still, for Naruto's sake he had tolerated Madara but if he or as a matter of fact anyone else tried to harm the boy, then they would feel his true wrath.

Kurama was not blind as to how much Naruto had sacrificed for this peace. How much the boy was risking to stop this unending war, no ordinary man could have done such things. In the boy, Kurama saw hope for humanity for the first time and he would be damned if he let these fools take that away from him.

But he was surprised when Madara instead of lashing out at his brother actually sighed. He looked a lot older right now than he actually was.

"Our people chose me as Hokage, brother. You think the Senjus will still want peace when they learn this? Would they still desire peace when the Uchiha don't give them leadership over the Land of Fire because Father will die before he lets that happen!" asked Madara seriously,

"I'll find someway, brother. But I cannot do it alone, you once promised me that it will always be you and me against the entire world. For your sake, I remained loyal to this family and our clan even after what happened that night. I have fought for you my entire life...but now I need you to fight for me again" explained Naruto honestly, his eyes becoming moist.

Madara flinched as he was reminded of the pact he and Naruto had made to each other when they were young boys who had just lost their brothers. Naruto had kept that promise just as he had kept every other promise and so had Madara. But this went beyond everything Madara could have ever imagined.

He looked at the fox and saw the beast was ready to jump at this throat should he attack Naruto, but the fox didn't have to worry.

Without another word, the eldest son of Tajima walked away from the hall much to Naruto's shock.

The boy's shoulders slumped as he realized this was his defeat.

"You are all fools"

His eyes widened when Kurama stepped forward and spoke for the first time. Every person in the room stared in shock on hearing the beast actually speak the common tongue. Tajima went pale and so did his sister...

Kurama saw Naruto urging him not to reveal his true power and it made him even more grateful to the boy. Even now at the brink of losing his family and allies, Naruto had not revealed Kurama's identity to his people. It had been the Biju who had offered his help to crush the royal army while Naruto wanted to find another way.

Even against Madara, Naruto had not revealed Kurama's true mission or the extent of his powers.

You truly kept your promise, Naruto Uchiha. Now it is time I keep mine...

"What are you?" whispered Tajima, bringing Kurama back from his thoughts.

He ignored Naruto's pleading gaze to stop and instead walked towards the Uchiha clan head. Several guards bravely or foolishly stepped in his way but were waved away when Tajima dared to look the beast in the eye.

"Contrary to what you think, I am not a mindless beast. I was created by the Sage of Six Paths, I was there when your ancestor Indra was born. I was there when he waged war against his brother that has been going on till this day. And if you think for one second that I will butcher Senjus just because you want it, then you are a moron!" barked Kurama,

"WHAT!" hissed Tajima furiously,

"I don't fight for the Uchiha and I don't fight for the Senjus either. I am loyal to my only friend who saw me as a person and not as a weapon. He remained loyal to me all these years and in turn I have remained loyal to him and will remain so until his last day. You all have lost a lot to this war, but so have the Senjus. The only thing that can come out of this war is the end of both clans and their allies" warned Kurama,

"I will not stop until I make those bastards kneel before me and then take their lives for what they did to my family!" roared Tajima,

If looks could kill both the fox and the Uchiha patriarch should have burned each other to death. All the clan heads were silently watching this match dreading the conclusion.

Kurama restrained himself from killing this man right here, so blinded by hate was this human that he couldn't even make decisions that were best for the future of his children.

"Enough!"

Naori Uchiha walked towards her brother and laid a firm hand on his shoulder. Tajima glanced at her steely gaze and took a step back as the Uchiha woman stepped before Kurama.

"What do you want, fox?" asked Naori calmly,

"Atleast hear out what the Senjus have to say. Try to make peace as your father did..." urged Kurama, as both Tajima and Naori stiffened.

"How-"

"I told you I have been here in this world for a long time. Your father was a good man and one of the finest Uchiha leaders I ever saw in history. What happened to him was wrong and you made the Senjus pay for that dearly. But if you continue this war, then your children will suffer just like you have. And so will their children after them..." explained Kurama honestly,

Naori glanced at her nephew and saw the pain in his eyes. She and Tajima had lost their siblings early in their life, but Madara and Naruto had watched their brothers die when they were merely young boys themselves. Those two had seen more death and suffering than either she or her brother ever had. The only reason they had survived was the fact that they were strong and remained united. A fact which could change on the decisions made today...

"Very well. We'll listen to what the Senjus have to say" declared Naori,

"Sister!" barked Tajima in anger, but was again silenced when she ignored him and looked straight at the fox.

"And if we don't find their terms satisfactory then the war continues, with or without your help fox" warned Naori, earning a snort and a nod from the beast.

"That's all I can ask" grunted Kurama, as he marched back towards Naruto.

The boy looked at his aunt but she shook her head making him sigh as he left the hall. Naori soon commanded the remaining clan heads to leave them and when they were gone she turned towards her furious brother.

"We need to talk"