❝ good job. ❞

middle of the crater with a pop but Shizuka could only see the colors orange, red, black, and green. The distance is too far and her eyesight is not good.

"What is that?" asked Sakura, narrowing her eyes for a better look.

"Naruto?!" the Hyuuga man next to them exclaimed in shock. He had activated his Byakugan.

"Naruto?"

Then there is dust smoke coming out again in the area there. "What's going on? I can't see from here..."

"Incredible..." he spoke in awe. "he took down one of the Pains with a single blow."

From above them, an orange frog —Gamakichi— jumped down next to them. He carried Tsunade in his hands. "Tsunade-sama!" Sakura immediately left Shizuka's side and approached the Hokage.

Her forehead mark is gone, Shizuka thought as she just noticed that. She's already released the art of mitotic regeneration. She routed her chakra to Katsuyu-sama to protect the villagers from the Pain's jutsu.

"Gamakichi," she turned towards the orange toad. "I assume Naruto with the other toads?"

"Yeah, even with Grandpa Fukasaku and Granma Shima," he explained. "Oh! and Naruto said that he would fight them alone."

"What?" she furrowed her eyebrows, clearly disliked Gamakichi's statement. Pain has killed Jiraiya who is one of the strongest ninjas in Konoha and he wants to fight Pain himself? Is that his form of revenge? Shizuka knew that he was reckless but not to the point either.

She sighed as she raised her glasses. "Has he mastered senjutsu?"

"Yeah!" Gamakichi replied with great enthusiasm. "It's incredible. He can master it for just a week!"

Shizuka fell silent. Well, Oha Asa said that Aquarius placed first.

"Alright," she huffed.

"Tsunade-sama has also given me to Naruto-kun," said Katsuyu who suddenly was around them. Shizuka also just realized there were several ninjas, including Shikamaru and Shikaku there.

"That's good, we'll find out what happened past you, Katsuyu-sama," said Shikaku.

Her forest green eyes then fixed on Tsunade whose body was already wrinkled. "Katsuyu-sama, can you return your other bodies? Except for you and those with Naruto," she trailed off. "So that Tsunade doesn't have to spend more of her chakra. And that will speed up her recovery."

"Ah, I understand!" Katsuyu nodded.

Then she turned towards the other ninjas. "While Pain are focusing on Naruto, I want you to scatter around looking for other ninjas. If they're still able to move and have minor injuries, tell them to help you. And if anyone is seriously injured or dead, bring them here," Shizuka ordered. which was immediately given a nod by the other ninjas and left. "I will heal Tsunade-sama."

"What? Don't!" Sakura immediately turned quickly and gave her a sharp glare. "You've run out a lot of chakra!"

"It's only a moment," said Shizuka, the vines already wrapped around Tsunade's body. "You can help other medical-nin."

"All right," she huffed. "If you collapse I won't take responsibility. I already warned you!"

And after Sakura went inside the hospital, Shizuka looked at Katsuyu. "Tell Naruto that he is an idiot."

○○○

Naruto gritted his teeth as he glared at the orange haired boy in front of him. He was lying on the ground stomach first with some ferrous metal embedded in his body. He couldn't lie if it didn't hurt. But he couldn't let the person who had killed his teacher find out and take advantage of it.

"I believe you called my view of peace as an 'outright line'," Pain monotonously said. "Yet, within this accursed world of shinobi, having peace created from mutual understanding is just a delusion."

"You're wrong!" Naruto snapped.

"All you do is talk. As someone who couldn't even answer me, what is it that you think you can do?" he asked, pulling out a piece of iron from his sleeve. "All you can do... is give me the power of the Kyuubi."

"Tch! There's no way in hell I'm going to give you that!" the blond hissed.

"Very well," Pain closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them. "Maybe this can change your mind ..."

Clang! The sound of iron and chain was heard followed by a shuffling sound. Naruto looked up, eyes widening in return.

No, no...

In front of him. Right in front of him, there was a girl with pastel green hair who was bowing limply. Both her hands and feet were chained by a metal ball. Her clothes were dirty and there were many cut marks and blood spots on her outfit.

Pain's hand gripped the girl's hair hard and forced her to look at Naruto. Letting him know that she is indeed Midorima Shizuka. And the boy could see her dull face, her tears, and her blood marks. Her glasses have disappeared somewhere.

"Let go of her!!" growled Naruto. His blue eyes had turned red. His body shook to try to release the irons stuck in his body.

"I'll let her go if you give me the power of the Kyuubi," said Pain.

Naruto's glare intensify. His emotions were overflowing. Since he arrived in Konoha, he felt Shizuka's chakra thinning. The thought alone scared him, and seeing her like this ... he couldn't allow this...

"Naruto-kun, don't follow his words! This is just an illusion!!" Grandma Shima's scream sounded deaf in his ears. "You are the child of the prophecy! Don't take his word for it and stay focused! This is just an illusion!"

Pain raised his hand and pushed the frog away with his jutsu.

"Stop.." Shizuka shakingly said. Managed to raise Naruto's emotions even higher.

"Let. Go. Of. Her!!" he pressed every word. His mind wasn't clear. He couldn't tell what was real and what was not. Seeing Shizuka's condition clearly suppressed the Jinchuriki's emotions.

And he snapped.

○○○

Shizuka was busying herself with the patients lying around her. Her hands deftly provided treatment to their wounds. Fortunately, Tsunade has used Katsuyu to help all the citizens from that devastating attack, so she doesn't need to spend chakra to treat their wounds because most of them are small wounds.

Deg!

Her hands automatically stopped. Her vision immediately blurred for a few seconds before she stood up and left the hospital, not caring about her already weakened condition.

"What's going on?!" she asked hurriedly to the purple-haired girl from the Hyuuga clan. She already knew what might happen. It's just that she wants to be sure.

"Naruto-kun, he ... He turned into Kyuubi," Hinata replied timidly.

"Can you see how many tails have formed?" she asked again.

"Six."

"What?!" she exclaimed, losing her calm. "I have to hurry over and seal it."

"Don't!" The new voice immediately rejected Shizuka's words. "Your condition doesn't allow you to seal it, Shizuka. It's too risky. We don't want you to be like that bridge mission, do we?"

Hinata looked between Sakura and Shizuka, confused by their conversation but don't have any intention to ask. "Um, I think you should calm down first, Shizuka."

The said teen let out a sigh before she pushes up her glasses. "I apologize."

"It's okay," Hinata smiled a little before using her byakugan again. "they're not there anymore, I'm sure they're out of the gate."

The three of them fell silent but it was Shizuka who was the most restless. The feeling that the Kyuubi chakra was coming out was still clear until now. This indicates that Naruto is still controlled by the Kyuubi.

Maybe the transformation can beat Pain easily. But, again, it's too risky.

"Guys, look up!" Sakura shouted, making the others automatically follow her words. And yes, there was a giant stone ball that seemed to get bigger with time.

But what Shizuka was aiming for the most was an animal —no— the Kyuubi's form who was still only muscular and almost perfect. Eighth tail. She held her breath, too startled.

I'm really useless. The Hokage gave me the responsibility to stop the Kyuubi. And here I can do nothing. My chakra has been drained so much.

What Shizuka disliked the most was how useless she felt and her failed mission. Her right hand goes into her cardigan pocket and firmly grips the stuffed animal, her lucky item for today, to try to calm herself down.

Her vision was blurred and the sounds around her had shrunk. The girl has blocked all her senses. Letting her sink into this taste she doesn't like.

"Shizuka, Shizuka, look!" Sakura shakes the pastel haired girl, telling her to return to reality and turned her gaze up again.

"Huh?" The kyuubi is gone. And the giant ball has started to crumble.

"Naruto did it!" the pink haired girl grinned. "You don't have to worry anymore, Shizuka."

"...yeah," she murmured, still in shock. "I'll be back inside."

She doesn't know how long, but Pain was finally defeated. They succeeded. Naruto succeeded. And now all the citizens enthusiastically welcome him. Shizuka chose to stand near the forest, there was no intention of joining her friends.

She leaned her back against the tree and sighed. This war really plays with her emotions. Shizuka was used to doing missions with a cold, ruthless, and cool minded attitude. That is said to be normal at the ANBU. But just now ... she was careless, didn't take her chakra into account and what might happen, she was quick to panic and restless, and she feels hopeless. Something new for her.

"You don't want to congratulate me?"

The girl opened her eyes slowly after hearing a deep voice from the person who is the center of her emotions going wild. Right in front of her, Naruto stood giving her his trademark grin. The boy was standing right where the sun was, giving him a warm and bright aura.

"Why would I have to do that?" Shizuka pushes up her glasses. "You've received praises from the whole village, you don't need mine, nanodayo."

"But Shi-chan's praise feels more special," Naruto bluntly said catching the girl off guard.

"No," she quickly refused, looking away, but Naruto managed to see her red cheeks and ears.

"Oh come on!!" whines Naruto, even though his own cheeks also started to turn red. "I'm your friend, so as a good friend you should—"

Naruto's words were stopped when he felt something in his hair. His eyes widened in disbelief. Shizuka was stroking his hair! He could feel her fingers through his hair!

Ba-dump! Ba-dump! Ba-dump!

This feeling again. His chest was beating fast once again.

"G-Good job."

Naruto wanted to let go of his flustered heart now by acting silly or joking. But he didn't want this rare opportunity to just disappear. So, he just closed his eyes and enjoyed the feelings.

"Hehe, thank you."