[i]An act of desperation and hopelessness, Natsumi’s attack was defended against by Kenta, risking his life to protect the men he had just knocked out. Whatever had spurred Natsumi to act this way, even in the midst of a life-risking deadlock between his hands and her flames, his pain from prolonged exposure didn’t equal his disappointment in her. Had he not cared for his comrades they would likely be incinerated by now due to the Uchiha’s reckless new power. Badly burned but thankfully projecting enough strength with his excess chakra, Kenta Akimichi had successfully defended himself. His arms hung limp at his sides, in spite of his massive strength it didn’t give him invulnerability to a powerful jutsu, one he had no wish to escape. Dropping to his knees the battle had appeared over, but before anyone could say anything Kaede had rushed to Kenta’s side and did her best to hide her disappointment and fear from Natsumi. 

‘That wasn’t Natsumi’ she thought to herself, hurriedly applying her seal to Kenta’s chest and accessing his vital organs and chakra system both. Establishing a link, her chakra had sunk deep into his body and had begun to hurriedly eliminate the poison that coursed through his veins. 

[b]“You’re one of us …whether they see it or not!”[/b] Kaede muttered to Kenta, who was in awe at Kaede’s kindness in spite of everything. Truly the Akimichi could not hide his dedication to the Hidden Leaf, whether he was on the opposite side of their beliefs or not. Because Natsumi was conscious and clearly burned her arms so thoroughly that feeling the pain was unlikely at what she had endured, Kenta was in a much more dire position. The poison came first, the charred flesh that was his hands would come soon enough. No more could be said at this point, for the Commander of the Rebel forces, Takeo Watanabe, was joined by the Hokage and coincidentally his son-in-law Kenji Uchiha. The two gave glances to both Kenta and Natsumi, the latter with a great deal much more concern, while the former with disappointment and regret. They didn’t stop Kaede from healing Kenta, and the Akimichi who had joined in this attack had joined beside Kenta. The ‘traitor’ was bewildered at his clan joining beside him, but they were quick to mention that they’d take care of Kenta if they received permission. It appeared they shared Kaede’s strong opinion of him, rubbing off on the comrades she had in the vicinity. Based on the response everyone else shared, only Natsumi and herself seemed to care at all about Kenta’s well-being. Thankfully his clan was willing to work with him, no longer giving a cold shoulder or wishing his death. 

Kenta Akimichi still loved each and every one of them all this time, and it had shown; he had not killed a single shinobi loyal to the leaf, the only crime tied to him was leaving it when it needed him. 

[b]“Watch the arms, sweetheart.”[/b] Kenji spoke aloud, keeping his dark eyes on the Akimichi that hovered closely to Kenta. Chizuma, wife of Kenji and only daughter of Takeo, had leaped into action and glomped her daughter in a comical fashion, but was careful of the arms all the same. This did well to ease some of the tension, as all those were keeping eye contact on himself. The battle was over, they had won, and there was a lot of dead to see and injured to tend to. While attention was maintained, Kenji nodded to Takeo, who had spoken aloud once more in regards to the peace treaty the Empress had crafted. Although Kenta’s case was on deaf ears, his effort to ensure that putting this war to a true end and coming to terms with the enemy as Konoha knew them had succeeded. They could see it on the faces of many; war brought a lot of pain, and although many wished vengeance, many also wished to make the statement clear for the Empress.

Konoha would not bow to her will. 

[b]“Kaede, is Natsumi …?”[/b] Kenji asked

[b]“Her arms have taken a lot of damage, but I can heal them …I …just need time right now.”[/b] Kaede mumbled. To the untrained eye Kaede would seem perfectly still, but to Kenji himself he saw that she was quivering every few moments. Bearing witness to a side of Natsumi she had never seen and having been so close to losing someone she cared about because of it was a considerable shock. As a jounin Kaede had kept her composure in front of others so as to not bring concern, and as a friend she wouldn’t want Natsumi to know she was so frightened of what she had seen. There was no eye contact to even himself for this reason. 

[b]“Thank you. As for everyone else!”[/b] Kenji spoke louder now, so others might hear him much more clearly. The Hyuga had made an approach to meet with Kaede after her close call with danger, and didn’t appear too fond of Dren’s lackluster effort in the battle itself.[b] “We’ve won today, but tomorrow is another day. I don’t agree with the Empire’s solution, but if it’s the will of my village then I’ll comply. Do we want these terms!?”[/b]

A roar of disapproval erupted from all around him; it appeared that though they were all exhausted, they still had the energy to spit at the Empress’ idea of a peace treaty. Deep down Kenji was thankful that they saw things as he did. The support of his comrade’s aside, Kenji didn’t want this to be a long term war; he’d need to figure out a solution that benefit everyone.[/i]

~-~

For the next two hours the Leaf had done a thorough cleanup, even the enemies they had slain to free themselves from their grasp. There was bitterness among them, but they had treated the bodies of the Imperials with some amount of respect. The kill rate within their own ranks was very minimal, but as Takeo looked at the still faces of those who had fallen he had noticed one of them he had met earlier today; Matsuka. Silently the Commander had paid his respects; although she had not handled herself as well as he’d have expected from a Jounin of Konoha, she died seeing that they were freed. For that, Takeo could not help but offer a silent word of thanks to not only her, but others who had fallen this day. In quiet contemplation the Commander had followed several units of medical personnel to take the bodies of their fallen, and were now heading back into Konoha after a very upsetting process.

[b]“Hm?”[/b] Takeo looked to the village gates where a young man, a familiar one at that, stood waiting. He recognized him as the boy within Ichiraku earlier, who had given him quite the opinion. Allowing the medical personnel to continue on their way, Takeo had stopped and let his left arm rest idly along his blade’s sheath. He didn’t appear winded and hadn’t appeared to have taken much part in the battle itself, leaving him wondering if he really just stood here the entire time. There wasn’t very much for Takeo himself to say on anything regarding him, but should he have something to say then now was the time. [b]“You took what I told you seriously if this is what you've done all this time. What’s it going to be, kid?”[/b]

Natsumi was still at home and he had some questions for her, as he was certain her father did as well, but the both of them had business to attend to. Allowing Chizuma to escort her home and tend to her until Kaede, Kenji and himself arrived left the pair of them busy. Should Ryozan wish to get into a verbal battle of some kind, he’d find that it would fall on deaf ears. However, if it turned out that it was the exact opposite, and that there was a decision to be made, he would listen with open ears.