According to our calculations... Now's about the time we should head out.

Mn.

In that instant, Kurama called to Naruto's attention inwards, and soon the two of us were facing each other. I gave him a smile. "Yo, Aniki."

"'Sup, Imouto?"

"I'll be blunt with you," I said. "There's a war going on right now."

Naruto's eyes widened. "What?"

"I don't have time to explain—Kurama will fill you in on the rest while you, Utakata and Killer Bee make your escape," I said. "I'm telling you this now, though, so you don't get all worried about me when I head out ahead of you."

"Why can't you take me with you?" Naruto demanded.

"Because you'll be needed elsewhere," I dismissed. "Besides, what I'll be fighting isn't something for you to concern yourself over. Just focus on helping everyone, okay? And please don't try to use the Hiraishin without me there."

"But—"

"Later, Aniki!"

"Damn it, Miwa!"

Before Naruto could even begin to verbally castrate me on how idiotic I was acting to him, I had already broken the connection and called upon my improved Hiraishin.

In that bright flash of red, I tip-toped on the tip of the rushing waters. I relished in the fact that I had barely felt any sort of fatigue from the massive distance jump, as well as the fact that the Kumogakure fūinjutsu core had been unable to set up any sort of defensive barrier against my Hiraishin to keep me there.

Not surprising, I suppose, considering how well-guarded Papa kept the technique.

"M-Miwako-chan?!"

I glanced back at Ino, who was gaping at me in disbelief. I winked at her, then held up a single finger to my lips. "Shhh."

Confusion washed over her face, but I was already moving away. With ease, I pulled out two slips of papers, with numerous seals drawn on it.

"Hello, idiots," I greeted with a purr at the two brothers.

I have to hurry up and take care of these guys. I have far more important places to go.

Ginkaku and Kinkaku both stared at me from across the waters. I noticed with a happy smile, that they had already brought forth the weapons. Darui moved to stand beside me, his eyes wide. "You're one of the Kyūbi jinchūriki, what are you doing here?"

"I won't be long, I promise," I reassured him.

Which was certainly true. These morons could only summon up to four tails worth of chakra, versus our perfect nine.

It seems almost unfair, but...

With a shrug, I decided to get straight to the point and I called forth my nine tails. "Darui, please stay out of my way."

"We'll see," he mumbled, looking a little bewildered.

Feeling Kurama's chakra bloom inside of me, I felt actually... well... excited for the upcoming battle. With miles of uninhabited water ahead of me, and behind the brothers, and with Darui directing many of the shinobi and kunoichi away from me, I had the chance to really cut loose and get a nice, good warm-up before I had to face Obito.

So, feeling really enthusiastic, I actually made the first move. I knew I had to get the weapons away from the duo—especially that golden rope, whatever it was called, that could actually prove detrimental to me.

Ginkaku, the holder of the rope, was certainly not expecting me to appear at him max-speed with a tanto that was ablaze with Kurama-powered red lightning. I saw his eyes widen, but in that heartbeat, I had already made my move.

I sliced his arm straight off and grabbed the golden rope wrapped around it.

Ginkaku screamed, his face rapidly paling as his arm dissolved. Kinkaku wore an expression torn between mutinous and horrified. In that heartbeat, I flickered back over to Ino, handing her the golden rope. While I knew the reanimated corpses could not feel pain the same way living beings could, I was quite certain it was still highly uncomfortable to see your arm get chopped off.

I was equally sure the brothers weren't certain of what their limitations were on the reanimated jutsu. For all they knew, I had permanently chopped off his arm.

"Make sure this stays out of their hands," I told her.

Dumbstruck, Ino wordlessly took the rope I handed to her while I sprinted back to deal with the other brother.

"YOU WHORE!" Kinkaku screamed. "HOW DARE YOU HURT MY BROTHER. HOW DARE YOU!"

"I guess you should have done a better job protecting him," I told him seriously. "Honestly, what kind of sibling are you?"

Kinkaku roared with rage, and became cloaked in Kurama's stolen chakra. Ginkaku was panting heavily, and had fallen to his knees, waiting for his arm to regenerate.

Kinkaku came at me with all the might a four-tailed beast could have. He swung at me with his one handed sword, and I noticed that he had dropped the other legendary weapon—the sealing one—beside Ginkaku—in favor of trying to rip my face off with his bare hands.

I could completely understand that desire. After all, I had certainly ripped off my fair share of faces and hearts in my days when angered enough. At the moment, though, it was a little disconcerting to be on the other end of that rage.

For several minutes it seemed that all we were doing was exchanging taijutsu blows. I rarely bothered dodging his blows, choosing to block. When I decided that the dead man was all-consumed with his rage and would not notice me landing a few... lighter blows... I began to attach him with discreet seals.

The seals themselves became imprinted on him not unlike I imprinted my Hiraishin—through my chakra stamp. Unlike the marks of my Hiraishin, I could not exclusively use my chakra stamp to impart the entire seal onto him. Instead, after getting a fair bit of my stamps all over him through our bouts, I discreetly pulled out my paper seals and moved to attach them to him.

Kinkaku must have been of the mind-set that paper seals would dissolve in his cloak.

Under normal circumstances, they certainly would have.

These were not normal circumstances. This was months in the making.

So, he did not pay any mind to them—especially when they proved to not be paper bombs and blow up.

About the time that I added the last of the seal, Ginkaku had started to join in on the fray, also using his cloak.

With a smile on my face, since I noticed that Ginkaku was also fighting irrationally and purely with anger, I did the exact same damn thing to him as I did to Kinkaku.

Ten minutes must have passed since I first started the fight, and both were finally ready to move onto the next stage.

With great care, I built up chakra into the bottom of my throat and then screamed with all of Kurama's might.

Ginkaku, Kinkaku (as well as many surrounding shinobi and kunoichi) immediately moved to cover their ears, and once more, my speed proved to be superior because in that moment I grabbed the last item I needed.

The legendary sealing container.

Benihisago, Kurama purred inside of me. Now, let me take over, and I'll really make this thing sing.

All you, my dear.

As Kurama and I switched places, and I returned to my mindscape to watch the battle end through Kurama's eyes, I reflected on our plan.

I smiled.

It was a damn good one.

Ordinarily for one to seal another into the Benihisago, they needed the golden rope to pull out the enemies 'spirit word'. The spirit word would then be sliced apart and recorded onto the sword that Kinkaku currently wielded. From that point, Benihisago could seal away the spirit word—thus sealing away the spirits entirely within.

Once more, these were not ordinary circumstances.

If one already knew the spirit words, and one was familiar with how to use Benihisago, then the first two steps could be entirely skipped.

We knew their spirit words, as it was stated in the manga.

Kurama most certainly knew how to use the Benihisago, as he was there when the Sage of Six Paths developed the weapon in the first place.

Kurama gave the two brothers a taunting grin, red eyes gleaming. "You two really are the biggest idiots I know. Ginkaku, Kinkaku, Benihisago!"

The two brothers could only gape as their spirits were sucked inside of the Benihisago.

All that was left now was to get the two brothers to utter the words (thus triggering the seal, and dooming their fate).

Ginkaku laughed, his tails waving around lazily. "It's you who is the fool! Kinkaku and I will finish you and—"

Ginkaku convulsed, and Kinkaku whirled around, his brow furrowed. "Ginkaku?"

Kinkaku seized.

That was... oh wow that was too easy.

I didn't exactly tell them what their spirit words were. They couldn't see it light up on that useless sword, and I doubt they even knew what their spirit words were. I told you they were the biggest idiots I know. I mean, for fuck's sake, when I ate them they ate me. Instead of, I don't know, launching a fireball in my mouth to make me spit them back out.

That is pretty... okay, it's really gross and stupid now that I think about it.

Idiots.

With a shrug, the two of us switched places again and I headed over to Darui, handing him the sealing item.

"Make sure this is guarded," I told him. "I'm leaving now. See ya."

What are the chances he actually succeeds in guarding it?

Absolutely nil.

Kurama cackled.

('･ω･')

I reappeared a little ways from the cave I knew Kabuto was staying in.

This is what happens when you spend the majority of your life planning for this, and you have a good, solid week to do whatever you need to do to prepare without worrying about keeping up pretenses. Thank the Maker I was able to play missing-nin for a week.

This idea was, in actuality, taken from Konan's final battle against Obito. Her plan, in theory, was flawless. She had no way of knowing the bullshit back-up jutsu Obito had up his sleeve. If it wasn't for that, there would have been no way Obito would have lived. He would have died to those million paper bombs.

While I did not have the chakra paper to create a million paper bombs, I did have the clones, paper, and ink, to create...

Twenty-thousand paper bombs exactly.

For two entire days I sat in that cave, using my clones and every inch of reconnaissance training I had learned planting them. I could not use any sort of genjutsu over them—as that would have been far too obvious, nor could I change their state to mimic the cave like Konan would have been able to. Instead, I dug all around the cave. I buried them deep inside, and then I shoved the rocks and dirt over them before Kurama took over.

Unlike me, Kurama had a knack for fire. And, as Kurama had told me so long ago—bijū chakra did not have an affinity. When drawing upon it, it was the ultimate blank slate. You could use, enhance, or create any affinity with it.

I did not have the skill to do so, and while Kurama did not bother to teach himself all of the affinities, he did know one affinity very well.

The fire affinity.

Kurama assumed control of my body, drawing upon his chakra and super-heating the rocks and dirt to seemingly melt together. He knew basic earth styles, as well, and was able to create more rocks and dirt out of his chakra to give the cave a more natural look.

At a first glance, no one would have been able to tell something was buried in those stone walls.

The bombs I had created weren't especially unique paper-bombs, but they were definitely above the standard grade. They could only be activated by a remote trigger—my chakra—and the paper was resistant to heat.

It had been fairly easy for Jiraiya to show me how to mark paper-bombs so they would activate simultaneously with a flare from my chakra nearby. Using them as such meant that I couldn't use them in battle too often—as if I flared my chakra in a manner even close to the pattern required to trigger the bombs to explode, I was SOL. However, in the way I was using them... that risk was essentially eliminated.

These particular bombs were set to detonate ten seconds after I triggered them.

Ten seconds was all I really needed.

I had to get Anko and Yamato (which vaguely surprised me that he was still captured, despite not coming to the island with us, but Kabuto did specifically search for him, so I suppose he would have been captured regardless of where he was) out of there. All I needed was a handful of seconds to teleport to them, and teleport out. I couldn't run the risk of grabbing them first—and Kabuto seeing / sensing me—and then heading out. I had to make sure Kabuto had little to no time to react to my presence.

It was almost nerve-wracking—this kind of risk was either incredibly rewarding... or horribly detrimental to my life.

I could, I suppose, go about this other ways. More safe ways.

But those would take time I did not have to spare.

Enough lives had been wasted while I waited for those two idiot brothers to be resurrected. Besides, any minute... any second... Kabuto could bring back Madara.

And I was not about to let that go about willingly.

Thankfully, and I do mean thankfully, I had placed my marks throughout the entire cave and was a good enough sensor (a Kurama-cloaked exclusive ability) to give a close estimation to where each of them were. Coupled with my phenomenal sense of smell when I channeled Kurama's chakra through my nose, it was relatively simple to tell where each of them were imprisoned.

I took a deep breath, and I raised my right hand into half of the ram seal.

Don't fuck up, brat.

No shit.

I flared my chakra, and in the same breath, I was gone.

Ten.

I teleported to Yamato first—postponing Kabuto seeing me for as long as I could. Yamato was buried deeply into the wall, but my left fist had already been built up with Kurama's chakra. I slammed it against the wall near Yamato, cracking and shattering it—the line danced up, and I worried briefly the whole place would collapse.

Nine.

Eight.

Seven.

Not that it mattered, really, the whole place was going to be blown up anyway.

I grabbed Yamato's shoulders, and snapped my chakra.

Six.

Five.

Bright red light was all I could see, then I was before Anko, and Kurama's cloak was around me. Five tails waved around me, snapping and slicing at anything that held Anko. I heard a hiss of surprise.

Four.

Three.

It didn't matter. Anko was in my arms, and nothing was attached to her anymore.

Two.

I flared my chakra one last time, teleporting straight back to my perch above the cave.

One.

I threw Yamato and Anko to the ground dismissing Kurama's chakra and snapping my head around.

Fire erupted from the cave, explosions ringing through the air and flaming bits of stone were sent hurtling through the air. A plume of smoke shot up into the sky, and explosion, after explosion, after explosion rocked the cave and its surrounding parts.

It was beautiful.

I think I love explosions, I thought wistfully, feeling my heart flutter and the adrenaline slowly start to leave me. For a flash, I experienced a thrill of giddy smugness, but I squashed it down just as quickly as it came. It wasn't over, yet.

I knew better than to relax my guard until the damn brain was splattered against the ground.

Then, I could consider believing they were dead.

So, with a sniff, I inhaled the burning air deeply. It wasn't difficult to pick out the blood caught in the wind. I had been learning tracking for nearly my entire life, after all. Finding a bloody corpse in the midst of burning stone wasn't that hard.

I leapt down, my eyes squinting and burning at the smoke. Fortunately, it wasn't heavy or dense—just annoying, really.

My nose twitched as I followed it to the first bloody piece. I had to kick away some rubble, but I found a heavily burnt, and damaged hand.

My eyes narrowed in mild irritation at the fact that it was just a hand.

I needed the head.

('･ω･')

I kicked through the rubble, sniffing out the smell of the blood. I finally shoved aside a giant rock and grinned upon seeing what laid beneath it.

A head. Extremely battered, and burned, certainly, but Kabuto's scent was definitely emitting from it.

There is no way he could live without his head, I thought vehemently. And even if he could, somehow, do so, he wouldn't be partaking in this war any time soon. No one could recover that fast.

Staring down at the head, I eyed it triumphantly.

Just in case, though...

I raised my right food and slammed down on it, easily cracking it underneath my boot and smearing the gray matter into the ground.

Definitely wasn't a Zetsu, too.

I wiped the bottom of my foot against a nearby rock before I turned on my heel and headed back to Anko, and Yamato.

With Kabuto dead, there was no way Madara would be resurrected so soon. I doubted Obito would happily sacrifice himself to bring Madara back so easily. Besides, if my plan for the Jūbi actually worked...

Well, it wouldn't matter if Madara came back or not via Obito, regardless. At least, not entirely.

If Madara came back at all, really, it would be a disaster. Even though Kurama and I had contingency plans, none of them were really guaranteed.

Jūbi's first step, check. Kabuto, check. Next up...

In a flash of red, I was gone.

The second I reached my destination, I gave a wince at the dizzying sensation. Reflexively, my hand snapped back into my pocket and I grabbed one of the three chakra-storages I had and released it. More chakra rushed inside of me, and I breathed a little easier.

Sasuke's head snapped around, a glower on his face as he realized I had teleported directly to him. I smiled. "Yo!"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded.

"Is Itachi around?"

"What are you doing here, Miwako-san?" Itachi inquired as he landed beside the two of us. I smiled brightly at him, temporarily ignoring the battleground around us.

"I need you," I told him, perfectly seriously. "Do you know Black Zetsu?"

"Yes," Itachi said.

"He's the contingency plan," I said, "I need you to use Amaterasu on him."

"How do you know...?"

"Kurama," I lied easily. "Can you help me, or not?"

"Of course," Itachi said. "Do you know where he is?"

"Half-heartedly trying to get to the Feudal Lords."

"Let's go," Itachi said.

"Wait, I'm coming, too," Sasuke said, grabbing my hand in the same instant I grabbed Itachi's.

"Fine with me. I'll take both of you two him. And make sure you burn every bit of him. He can split himself up to get away. I'll drop you guys off, but then I need to go."

"Where are you going?" Sasuke demanded.

"I have to meet back up with Naruto," I said. "I know you guys can handle Black Zetsu."

Sasuke's brow furrowed, but he didn't have much else to say in the time it took to transport both of them to the hideout the Feudal Lords were in. In a heartbeat, I snapped my hands away from them, and fluctuated my chakra.

In a final flash of red, I was gone.

('･ω･')

Before it was time to join up with Naruto (as Kurama would inform me when my sealing expertise was required) I hopped around the battlefields, doing quick bursts of damage before disappearing to the next battlefield.

When Sasame had caught me on my third trip to the medical emergency group, she grabbed my hand and said, "If you see anyone—please—"

"I'll bring them here," I promised her. I hadn't been paying much attention to the casualties, choosing instead to randomly appear beside those I marked and launching a False Darkness, coupled with my Lightning Fox technique at the nearest enemy. The attacks were narrow enough that I could avoid allies, but certainly still strong enough to cause the enemies to stumble.

These kind of attacks were for the best, as I had to conserve my chakra-storage seals, while biding my time for my confrontation with Obito. I could not stay in any particular battlefield, or else Obito may choose to confront me there. Our confrontation had to be as far away from bystanders as possible, and the only way for that to happen was for Obito to track down Naruto (or vice-versa). Naruto was moving towards Obito—using his damn good sensing capabilities—to try and pinpoint him. Meanwhile, Obito was doubtlessly going to be moving to capture Naruto and the other jinchūriki soon.

So long as I changed where I was at all times—and repeatedly reminded the enemy that I could be gone in an instant—it was significantly less likely for Obito to attempt a confrontation on one of the populated battlegrounds.

Furthermore, since Minato had essentially perfected our Hiraishin, I could use it almost as well as he could (meaning with little chakra exertion—okay, well, little to me and any other jinchūriki. I doubt that many Jōnin would be able to use it as frequently as I did, or at such great distance). I estimated I would burn through about half of my personal reserves before relying on Kurama's for a while (giving my reserves time to replenish—which would take roughly half a day; less if I used a pill), and then switching the process.

With my hit and run tactics I provided many opportunities to our allies to be on the offense, while also alleviating some of the pressure.

Due to the elimination of Kabuto many of the reincarnated soldiers were running on his last orders for them, so none of them could be reasoned with. It also meant that they could not be released until the battlefield was conquered and the fūinjutsu masters had time to work to properly release them. These new constructs were vastly more advanced than the ones we had faced against Orochimaru, and as such the previous seals I had developed were absolutely useless on them.

As a result, all of the reincarnated soldiers had to be sealed in a stasis until such a time that they could be correctly released.

That was easier said than done, as many of the seal masters on the battlefield were specifically targeted because of that. A good chunk of them were already dead by the time I reached the battle, while the rest were cowering away until his or her company restrained the corpses.

As a result, there were many missed oppurtunities to seal the enemies, thus resulted in a dragged out battle.

A part of me wished I could linger longer on a field and meticulously focus on the corpses and seal them away, but I knew better.

With my luck if I stayed on an area for more than hour, Obito would literally teleport himself and the damn statue—along with all the reanimated jinchūriki—right on top of me.

All those casualties caused by my desire to stay would doubtlessly make Naruto to lecture me.

I did not need, nor want, any more Therapy-no-Jutsu. I managed to make it through the first two without drastically changing my philosophy or beliefs, I did not think I could escape unscathed from a third one.

Furthermore, I knew it would take roughly a day before Naruto confronted Obito, so by hopping in between all the battlefields I was essentially killing time (while also helping! Something Naruto would certainly approve of and definitely not Therapy-no-Jutsu me later for).

I leapt above Sasuke, barely sparing him a glance as I moved to question Itachi. "Did you get him?"

"Every bit of him," Itachi reassured me. "We both used our eyes, as well as Neji-san's Byakugan to be sure that no part of him escaped."

"Thank you," I said gratefully. "You have no idea how much of a load off my mind that was."

After all, I had only gotten to just a little bit after Black Zetsu took over Obito's body. Definitely don't want a sentient parasite running around and making plans of vengeance.

('･ω･')

You can go to your brother, now.

Popping in two chakra pills, I flexed upon my Hiraishin seal placed on Naruto's back and became enveloped in red light.

I re-appeared beside Naruto, stumbling as I fell through the air (as I most certainly did not teleport near the ground, since Naruto was leaping in midair). After a startled squeak snuck out of me (which made Kurama sneer), I flailed a bit before I landed on the ground in a less than graceful manner.

"Miwako-chan!" Hotaru cheered, her pretty eyes lighting up.

I reflexively smiled back up at her. "Hey! How's it going? Hope I'm not too late to the party."

"You're fashionably late," Hotaru assured me, winking at me.

"Don't listen to her, your timing is horrible," Utakata told me flatly.

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, Imouto. It's a-a-atro-atrocious."

"Learn a new word, did you?" I asked pleasantly, reaching forward and affectionately patting the top of Naruto's head like I did with the Pack when they did a good job.

He sniffed and preened under my touch, puffing out his chest. "Yeah, you know, no big deal. Next Hokage's gotta be the master of paperwork."

"Yeah," I agreed, feeling warm from the gentle air of comraderies between us. It was impossible to ignore the tense atmosphere outside our little bubble, but it was unbelievably nice to feel included in that bubble.

A few years ago that kind of openness—of relaxed companionship in the midst of chaos—would have been beyond my comprehension. I was drowning in my bitterness towards Konoha, and the unfair (on their part) betrayal against the Rookies. It seemed so silly looking back on it now that I had placed all those expectations on mere children. I really was setting myself up to get burned at that point.

Being unable to move past that burn, however, just proved even more detrimental to my happiness. I was so stuck on the scars I had acquired that I became wholly certain that I would only accumulate more scars if I allowed myself to open up.

It didn't help that in the process of being so stubborn I had literally maimed myself.

Still, if it wasn't for the combined efforts of Kakashi, Jiraiya, Naruto, Papa, and... Kurama... I doubt I would have gotten past everything.

And at last, after years of being stuck in that suffocating hatred and anger... to be able to surround myself with comrades—with people who care about me; who like me for me—it was almost too much.

There were moments that when I stopped to think about all my precious people, it was almost de trop. The weight of their emotions, and of my emotions towards them was nearly unbearable for my frail heart. It pressured it, stretched it, and bent it in new and uncomfortable ways, but it also filled it to the brim with sheer happiness.

That kind of feeling—that absolute adoration I felt, and acceptance—was staggering under its weight, but positively worth it.

Even if I knew, intellectually, that these bonds could be turned against me and could harm me further, I knew that I would able to pick myself back up again and form new bonds. My heart did not have to be enshrouded in that darkness, just like Papa had said. It could take the bruising and beatings, but it also had the potential of being rebuilt again, stronger than before.

An impossible thought, truly, just a scarce few years ago.

My smile stretched as I began to take stock of the surrounding area.

It was a disaster, frankly. The entire land was unnaturally flattened and covered in debris, and likely scarred for many decades as a result.

"Not that this isn't a nice reunion, but Miwako, I could really use your assistance in sealing away these jinchūriki!" Gyūki told me, his massive form looming above the group. At that time, I glanced over at the jinchūriki.

All of the reanimated jinchūriki were ensnared in Gyūki's sealing ink clones, along with Utakata's bubbles.

"Between Utakata and us, we can suppress the bijū chakra for another minute or so, but no more!"

"I understand," I told him, pulling the massive scroll that rested on my back off. It already had a stasis seal drawn upon it (the scroll and seal was courtesy of one Jiraiya). All it needed was a direction and place to go. I could not seal the bijū away permanently—as not only would that hinder our plan—but it went against my adamant beliefs.

Instead, I would use the stasis seals that Jiraiya had innovated while training Naruto and myself to force the jinchūriki into a stasis. They would be incapable of moving for a set period of time, and the bijū chakra would be compressed inside of their bodies. It would not stop Obito from withdrawing the bijū into the statue, nor would the stasis last for more than an hour.

Regardless of how well-crafted the seal was, or how much time we had to create it, there was no way of completely paralyzing a jinchūriki, or bijū without some heavy sacrifices, or a fuck ton patience and time (as there was a way to consistently feed the seal chakra, but you had to remain perfectly still to do so, and thus that option was not viable in a war).

I clapped my hands together, drawing upon a mixture of mine and Kurama's chakra before slapping my hands down onto the seal.

Lines of ink shot out of the scroll, piercing through Utakata's bubbles with little resistance and wrapping around the jinchūriki. More lines multiplied upon touching the corpses and they maneuvered around the bodies like a boa constrictor. They tightened and squeezed before delving into the ground and anchoring.

I continued to pump an appropriate amount of chakra into the sealing jutsu until Naruto said, "They're chakra's completely compressed. It's good now."

Letting out a breath of relief, I stood back and wobbled.

For a heartbeat I saw double until I felt Kurama's chakra resurge through my system.

I didn't think sealing all of them would burn through all of my chakra, and one of my chakra storages.

I patted my right thigh where I kept the small pouch of chakra storage seals that would automatically release when my reserves reached a certain point (that extra bit had to be added on by Jiraiya, as I had no clue how to add that to the already complex seal without creating a heavy imbalance).

Hotaru whistled. "That was amazing, Miwako-chan! You must be a fūinjutsu master."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "Thanks. Not a master, yet. In truth, I haven't created many seals of my own design. I mostly just regurgitate what I learn from Jiraiya-sensei and my Papa. It's easy to replicate seals, and activate them once you've been doing it long enough. Everyone's used to activating seals with explosive tags, and once you activate it, the seal does all the work."

"I still think it's very impressive," Hotaru insisted.

"You're biased," I chuckled, blushing slightly.

"Well. That was... brief."

All of our eyes snapped towards the irritated voice across the battlefield.

Ah! Kurama!

I know, I know.

One instant I was standing in the physical world beside my brother, and the next I was in the space of in between.

Kurama stood behind Naruto and myself, grinning cockily down at us while Naruto gave a start of surprise.

"The hell?" Gyūki muttered, Killer Bee resting on top of his head.

I waved my hand at all the bijū.

Utakata blinked in surprise. "Where are we?"

"The mind space that connects all bijū," Saiken answered softly.

"Due to our connection as one entity prior to our separation, our chakra as an eternal connection with one another," Matabi elaborated, her flaming blue tails waving around. Her eyes slowly drifted over towards me. "You could call it our mindscape, if you will."

"It has been many years since we last spoke to one another like this," Kokuō sighed. "Why have you called us, Kurama? Why us, and not our jinchūriki?"

"I cannot call upon your jinchūriki without their consent," Kurama pointed out. "The fact that none of you shared an open seal with them is hardly my fault. These four are the only ones that have a strong enough connection with us to follow them here."

Isobu hummed. "Why did you call us here, though, Kurama?"

Kurama pointed an orange claw down towards me while I raised my hand. "Hi! In truth, I wanted to let you all in on my plan."

"Your plan?" Chōmei inquired, his white fur bristling. "Why would we care for your plans? Even if Kurama is fond of you, that only implies that you're equally as sadistic as he is."

"That's fair," Naruto said, nodding his head in agreement. I shot him a betrayed look and he held his hands. "My talks haven't been getting to you, it seems. I guess we should have another long discussion after the war."

I cringed in absolute horror at the prospect of facing another Therapy-no-Jutsu.

"Don't be cruel to your betters, moron," Kurama snapped. "All of you should just be quiet and listen."

"I want to free the bijū," I told them. "And I know right now that may seem impossible to you, and I understand your skepticism, but that is my plan. I ask nothing from you, except to let my actions prove myself to you."

Isobu gave another rumbling sigh, his only visible eye brushing over my form before looking away and staring at some nonexistent thing. "You said the same thing to me when we first met, little human. I am impressed that you have opened your seal to Kurama in such a way, and that your devotion has not seemed to waver, but my opinion on the subject has not changed."

"I promise," I said firmly, "I will free you. All of you, and I will find a way to ensure you will never be sealed again."

Silence fell upon my words.

"Big words for such a little thing," Son Gokū muttered. "We'll see how you manage."

"That's all I ask of you," I told them. "But, while I feel it's important you know that, it's not the reason I asked Kurama to bring you here. I want to warn you of what's going to happen next..."

('･ω･')

Obito drawled, "That sealing is a stasis, isn't it? It was designed by Tobirama himself, and refined by Jiraiya... I should have known he would have made sure you could use it."

"You really should have," Naruto agreed with him. "You're kind of an idiot, aren't you?"

"You have no room to talk," Gyūki chuckled.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted in indignation.

Obito watched the exchange with an air of disinterest before his hands began to move in a rapid formation of seals. All of us tensed, preparing to make some form of movement in response, but Obito merely summoned the massive Gedo Statue. The large brown humanoid creature loomed above us. It was hard to imagine that such a creature could transform into the Jūbi, but looks could be deceiving. All of its eyes were closed, and it creaked with each time it moved as much as a centimeter.

In quick succession each of the bijū were ripped out of the trapped jinchūriki. Thick purple sealing chains wrapped around the bijū and dragged them into the Gedo Statue's mouth. As each bijū was brought in, one eye opened for each.

Please, everyone, bear with me through this next part.

"Heh, you don't look very happy," scoffed Naruto.

Obito's tone was flat. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Since you're hiding your face, I can only guess," taunted my brother. "If you feel insulted, take off that mask and show us how composed you are! Stupid."

Obito fell silent for a moment, and I could practically feel the annoyance rolling off him in waves. He clapped his hands together in the Sheep sign and summoned forth—

I fought to keep the triumphant grin off my face when he summoned the very same legendary container that Kurama and I had sealed Kinkaku and Ginkaku in.

The two idiots that I had covered in the special seals Kurama and I developed for that very moment.

"I guess I have no choice. Frankly, I wanted to revive this when the conditions were perfect." Obito raised his hands up to his face, creating the Dragon sign now. "It's only a fragment, but it's not lacking in power."

I watched as the Gedo Statue sucked in the weapons, keeping my face hidden by my loose hair and bangs. When he was done and I could no longer sense Kurama's excess chakra from the legendary container, a sense of triumph bloomed inside of me. The smug victorious sense overwhelmed me and I couldn't help but feel giddy.

I giggled, lifting my head, and then full out laughing.

This, naturally, drew my heads in my direction (although Naruto—who listened in on the plan while in the bijū mindscape—was giggling, too).

"Idiot!" I laughed, clapping my hands together and grinning ferally. "You really did it. You really did it. You idiot. You complete and utter fool."

I erupted into another fit of giggles, and I could hear Kurama laughing inside of me.

"What...? What are you...?" Obito trailed off, then his eyes widened as the Gedo Statue gave a great shudder. A low whine echoed throughout the clearing.

I laughed. "Idiot! You just... you just absorbed your own demise."

"What are you talking about, Miwako-chan?" Hotaru asked.

"I placed some special seals on those fellows before they got absorbed. When you transferred their energy to the Jūbi, you transferred those seals. And do you know what those seals are?" I giggled.

The Jūbi's self destruction, Kurama purred.

Naturally. I had been planning this for so long. The idea came to you, Kurama, when Naruto was training in the Senjutsu... heh. To think... to create seals to constantly draw in Nature Chakra, while simultaneously, and continuously botching the correct ratio... The Jūbi is vulnerable to Senjutsu—it is Nature Chakra in its rawest form; but no matter what, no matter who, if you mix those two incorrectly...

The Gedo Statue screamed, and whined, falling to its knees.

"Those seals," I said, pointing at that stiffening statue, "will continuously draw upon Senjutsu and purposely mess up the ratio. It latches onto its chakra I had sealed it to—the chakra that is now a part of that statue—and uses it to ruin the ratio. Your Jūbi will never be formed."

Obito's eyes widened. "No... How?! How did you... how did you plan so far ahead?"

"Listen up!" I shouted. "I told you—I will not ever, ever, allow you to hurt my brother. I will protect him and those I love. It's over for you, idiot. You cannot draw upon the Jūbi, nor can you become its jinchūriki. You're just one man against an army of pissed off shinobi."

Kurama scoffed.

My grin stretched into something far more sadistic than I'm sure Naruto would have liked. "You're just one man against some very, very pissed off jinchūriki."

Obito's eyes narrowed furiously. "I doubt you would doom all the bijū to this. You know of a way to reverse this."

Duh, Kurama and I thought together. As if we'd tell you, though.

I just smiled cheekily. "It's not gonna kill them, but it will keep them from ever forming as the Jūbi. Thanks ever so much for being a rash idiot!"

All we have to do now is eliminate Tobi, then we can free the bijū from inside the statue, properly destroy it so this can't repeat itself, and the war is over.

It almost seems too easy. I can't believe he actually launched his plan half haphazardly in the first place. True, he would have been able to use the Jūbi to some extent, but it's just so... rash. He couldn't have possibly known it would have worked at all with such little of my chakra in the first place, could he?

I'm not sure. There are a lot of silly decisions Tobi made. He may be a tricky foe, but he's still human. I think we've both established that humans make mistakes, no matter how godlike they aspire to be.

We're mortal. We're bleed easily; we hurt easily; we love and we lose because of it. Yet, that doesn't stop us, does it? We endure because we must, but the rewards at the end of that endurance...

Mn.

"Let's go, Naruto!" I exclaimed, sprinting towards Obito.

"Tch!" Obito leapt away, deftly dodging my right punch, and not even bothering to phase through it.

I was placing a risky bet that Obito wouldn't merely run away and try again later. By explaining the process—what was going on—I implanted into Obito's mind that I knew how to reverse what I had done to the Gedo Statue. In doing so, I became a tantalizing target, and a priority. Obito had to capture quickly before the Gedo received too much damage from the Senjutsu (which was impossible, as the Jūbi was Senjutsu, but it would still make the transformation into the Jūbi impossible according to Kurama). He would most likely stay in the battle in an attempt to capture me and then use Izanami or Tsukuyomi on me in order to learn how to fix what I had done.

The longer he stayed in the battle, the more likely Naruto and I could ensure victory.

"Osu!" Naruto shouted, golden chakra flaring around him as he charged with me.

Bubbles enveloped the field around us as Utakata and Hotaru attempted to limit Obito's mobility.

I knew that Obito could only continuously fade out for five consecutive minutes, and as long as he had to evade their combined bubbles for that long, there had to be an opening for me or Naruto to graze him.

Gyūki converged back inside of Killer Bee and the two soon joined Naruto and myself in our battle with Obito.

Kurama's warm and comforting chakra wrapped around me as I allowed him control of some part of it. Nine tails bloomed from behind me as Kurama took control of them, and soon nine more followed suit from Naruto's form. Tentacles flailed about from behind Killer Bee, and I had a feeling that Gyūki was the one controlling them.

Company.

The sound of crackling lightning was all I heard before Kakashi's right arm sliced through the air where Obito once was. Obito had wisely chosen to substitute with a nearby rock, and Kakashi's Chidori neatly pierced through it instead.

A brief smile was all I had time to spare Kakashi—and he returned it with one of his warm eye-smiles—before he fell into a comfortable pattern with Naruto, Kurama, and myself. Gai shortly joined afterwards, taking charge in the offensive front against Obito, while Killer Bee and Gyūki fell back to provide long ranged attacks with the Gyūki's tentacles.

With perfect synch that could only come from experience (and mostly, I admit, from Kakashi and Gai adjusting their patterns and style to effectively coordinate with Naruto and myself, so really, from experience on their part) our team kept pushing Obito on the defensive. Obito could not stay physical for even a heartbeat to teleport away, or else we would catch him, or the bubbles that constantly surrounded us (but never harmed us, only exploding near Obito) would slow him long enough for us to catch him.

For five minutes our assault continued.

"Shit," Obito breathed out, and I knew his time was up.

Gai swung out his nunchucks and Obito brought up the gunbai to block him, while Naruto and I flanked on either side, a Rasengan in Naruto's hand and a charged up Lightning Fox in my other.

Obito's chakra flickered and he substituted with a nearby boulder that was crushed under Naruto's and mine combined techniques. In that instant he substituted, though, Gyūki's tentacle and Kurama's tail snapped out faster than even I could move without Hiraishin and wrapped around Obito.

I got him!

I felt the swell of pride bloom inside as I felt my Hiraishin mark burn through Obito's clothing and into his flesh via Kurama's tail.

You have no idea how happy I am that we're a team.

Understandable. I am phenomenal, and such a team player.

Naruto's face lit up as he realized what had just happened and he looked excitedly at me. "Can I do it? Can I? Can I? Can I?"

"Be my guest," I laughed, and Naruto's chakra flexed as it had during training and in a blinding flash of yellow he was gone—and right next to Obito, Rasengan in hand.

Kakashi balked. "Wh-When the hell did he learn that?"

"Yosh! Excellent work, Naruto!" Gai cheered.

I grinned cheekily as I followed Naruto's suit, my own shoddy Rasengan forming in my left hand. It was tiny (smaller than my pinky), but I knew it still hurt like a bitch. Plus, you know, as Naruto would say it was a "twinsy moment" that simply "could not be wasted."

With Obito now permanently marked by the Hiraishin, it didn't matter what he did or where he went. Naruto and I could hunt him down, and bring along any battalion we wanted.

The war was over.

('･ω･')

I rolled my shoulders, looking up at the Gedo Statue while Naruto and my comrades finished dealing with Obito—the man was bound, unmasked, and essentially harmless at that point. I personally wanted to chop off his head and smash his brain, but Naruto was adamant about not killing him until he was done talking to him.

Whatever.

Time to self-destruct the seals.

Simple enough. The hard part is going to be extracting the bijū.

Yeah. I have no clue whatsoever how to do that, and honestly, now that I think about it, I don't think we should trigger the seals' self destruction until we extract the bijū. No telling if the Gedo Statue might just automatically start the transformation into Jūbi without those seals.

True. We'll have to bring Jiraiya here to look at—ah... better idea.

What do you have in mind, Kurama?

The seal to release the reanimated corpses releases their very souls. For a scarce minute those souls are completely free, but still tangible. Gyūki and Utakata sealed Nagato in a stasis when he and Konan attacked them earlier. If we release them and ask them to release the bijū...

I see! Nagato can quickly extract the bijū from the Gedo Statue before he passes on.

Exactly.

Good idea, Kurama! So where is Nagato?

Mn. We'll have to run there. Naruto didn't place any markers nearby.

I looked over at the group and shouted. "I'll be right back!"

Naruto waved over at me, grinning. "Okay!"

('･ω･')

With that out of the way, and many shinobi and kunoichi starting to converge upon us, I looked up at the bijū who were now freed from the Gedo Statue.

Naruto was at my side, along with Bee, Utakata, Hotaru, Kakashi, and Gai.

"I don't have any seals to prevent you from ever being captured," I admitted. "But, I promise I will create one."

"Where will you go now?" Naruto asked.

Matabi let out a rumbling purr. "I was actually fond of my time in Kumogakure, and I was close to Nii, even if our seal was created so we could never be too close. If you find a way to keep us from ever being captured, that is nice, but I do not mind being close to humans. I will return to Kumogakure with Bee, and Gyūki. Besides, I know Nii's younger sister will miss me otherwise."

I stared dumbstruck at Matabi from her response. It had never—ever—occurred to me that a bijū could be happy with where they were. I knew Bee and Gyūki were close friends, but I also knew that had taken time and was under unique circumstances. I figured they were the exception (along with Naruto and Kurama). It never occurred to me that that was, perhaps, the viewing of Kumogakure as a whole.

True, Bee faced some prejudice in the beginning, and I did not hear of that same prejudice against Nii (and indeed, she was well missed in Kumogakure upon her departure from what Bee had told me). But, the fact that Matabi actually wanted to return to Kumogakure—regardless if she would be imprisoned her not—surprised me to no end.

"I believe the ocean will be a good place to hide out for a while," Isobu told me. "But, if you need me, little one, I will come."

"I'm going to return home," Son Gokū said simply—and I felt a brief memory of that enormous hidden forest flash through my mind.

"I believe the rest of us actually will join you," Chōmei said softly. "I could use a break from humanity."

That forest...

Most likely.

Perhaps... I may not be able to come up with a way to directly prevent them from being sealed (right away, at least), but I bet I could find a way to prevent any human from entering that forest, or from detecting the bijū.

I felt Kurama's surprise at that, along with a strong sense of thoughtfulness. It's certainly true that fūinjutsu masters could trap their home to prevent intruders from ever finding it, but to do so on such a large scale would take years...

Good thing we've got years, then, huh?

To think... an actual sanctuary for us that humans could not besmirch...

"You should probably get going, then," Utakata said. "The Shinobi Alliance will be here in ten minutes or so."

"Welp, no need to say anything else," Shukaku said, already turning and practically sprinting away. "I am not getting sealed into any damn urns again!"

Within minutes only Matabi remained, and she gracefully laid down. "I must thank you all, though, for freeing us from that statue. I did not relish the idea of being forcibly turned into the Jūbi. And... and it was nice to avenge Nii."

Killer Bee was silent, looking down. He was surprisingly solemn at Matabi's words. "Yeah."

"Well," Naruto said, "I guess that just about wraps up the war, huh?"

"I guess it does," I said, thinking through my checklist. Gedo Statue? Check. Obito? Check. Bijū free? Sorta check. Kabuto? Definitely check. Zetsu? Check.

I don't think I'm forgetting anything.

I don't think so, either. Surprisingly, things went according to plan.

I suppose when you have years to think about this, and a good set amount of time to prepare—and let's be honest, some damn strong people at your side—things are bound to go easier. Although, I was expecting Obito to just cut and run at the sign of trouble, but then again considering how he had foolishly rushed the Jūbi's creation in the first place...

He was probably already feeling anxious. He gave into the pressure of wanting to complete the plan sooner than it could be done. He was rushing what should not have been rushed.

True enough.

('･ω･')

Back at home, I sat down beside Sasame as Naruto began his toasting speech on how amazing everyone did in the war. All of the Rookies, along with Team Gai, and all of our senseis were there in that tiny Akimichi BBQ, crowded around two joined tables. Naruto stood atop one of the tables, raising his glass of milk and cheering.

Kakashi sat down on my opposite side, faithful book in hand and looking only a little tired.

When Naruto finished his speech, he sat back down and draped an arm around Hinata (who was on his right) and Sasuke (who was on his left) and gave everyone a blinding smile. "I only wish Haku, Utakata and Hotaru could join us."

"Wave has its own way of celebrating, Naruto," Sasame told him.

"Haku said Wave's way of celebrating just consisted of who can drink the most sake," Sakura giggled.

Ino crinkled her nose. "The place must reek, then."

"Not if they only do it during celebrations," Tenten pointed out.

"Remind me to never take Lee there during a celebration," Neji whispered to Tenten. Her eyes widened with realization and she nodded her head vigorously.

"Hear that, Lee? Neji seems to think you can't handle Wave's celebration," Kiba chuckled, smirking.

Fire lit up in Lee's eyes as he stood up. "Yosh! If I cannot best Wave's celebration I'll—"

Gai gave a boom laugh. "There's no need for that Lee. Focus on Konoha's celebration for now."

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Get a room, please," Tenten muttered as the two embraced enthusiastically.

I laughed. "Kakashi-sensei, maybe we should start doing that?"

Kakashi gave me a deadpan expression. "Try it and I'll tell Pakkun not to let you play with his paws anymore."

I gave a betrayed whimper. "That's just cruel. You know there the softest things in the world."

Kakashi nodded his head firmly. "Cruel threats must be countered with crueler threats."

"You did start with the cruel suggestion," Sasuke voiced helpfully.

I shot him a glare. "Oh go declare vengeance on some tomatoes."

He sniffed. "As if I would ever. Tomatoes are divine."

Naruto's face twisted in disgust. "Nasty. I think you mean Ramen is—"

"Finish that sentence and I'll show you my version of Thousand Years of Pain."

"I didn't know you were interested in Naruto that way, Sasuke," I cooed. "Do I need to have a talk with you?"

They both gave me appalled looks while everyone at the table laughed at their expense.

My lips twitched, and settled back in my seat while more bickering erupted amongst my friends.

In the back of my mind I could feel the warmth of Kurama's gaze.

Yes, I thought, an impossible thought that became a reality.