The Red Flash Chapter 42 (Phoenix Sage Mode) (Patreon)

Naruto

The scene changed again, right now it showed Uzushiogakure, it was raining and streets were forming small lakes streaming down. People were inside houses.

The young Uzumaki turned with a sad face, he could see from Roku's face that he felt sad about that memory. Almost like an old wound.

"What happened to the town?" He asked hoping he wasn't bringing up more bad memories.

"After that day, My father became wary of people, but we still trained people on how to use Chakra. The town didn't thank us. They still hated us, and we never returned in that town again" Roku spoke with his closed eyes, pinching the bridge on his nose.

Opening them he sighed sadly. "What did you understand with what I showed you?" Roku asked with a hint of seriousness looking directly at Naruto's eyes, almost sizing him up.

"That I should rebuild Uzushiogakure because everyone can call home, a place no one is judged by the sins of another" Naruto started thinking of Konoha. Roku just stared at him for a few seconds and kept silent.

Roku said nothing and turned to look in front of him. "I want to show you something about the Phoenix Contract, something you will need to know if you want to complete your Phoenix Seal, The Phoenix Sage Mode," he said pointing at the seal on his wrist.

"I have one question? How can you show me your memories? Can you show me memories of others?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"I sealed half of my soul in the seal. I can show you my memories but not the memories of others" Roku said with a pained look already knowing what the young Uzumaki was thinking.

Naruto lowered his gaze for a second before turning to look at Roku again, he didn't need to know about it. His face turned into a frown. But almost like Roku could read his mind.

"You wanted to see the memories of your mother" he stated as a matter of fact.

Naruto looked ready to protest but the knowing look on his face showed that he knew what he was thinking.

After a few moments Naruto nodded his head, he hoped to see his mother, and maybe even his grandparents of his mother's side. Roku smiled at him and placed his hand on his shoulder making Naruto look at him.

"I know how you feel, my mother passed away when I and my siblings were still young. But never forget she's always with you, as long as you remember her, she will never be gone" he said placing his hand on Naruto's heart.

The redhead smiled and quickly nodded his head. Roku smiled back and the scene changed again.

Now they stood in the far end of a big hall, in front of them was a hall was large enough for around 50 people, tables were around the hall with a large table above all others. Tables were sat near the walls, the centre was empty.

In the centre stood who Naruto recognized as Roku, despite having white hair and a long white beard he looked younger.

"My lord, the lands of Wave have been attacked again, our allies and prince Dayno Uzumaki need our help," a man said respectfully towards their leader.

Outside young Roku looked calm but inside he was fuming with anger, a few clans of the lands of StrongStone had started attacking the borders of Wave Country, stealing and raping, and killing even the children. The small villages like Shymono, and Reako, were found slaughtered. Burning houses and corpses lying around.

The Uzumaki clan has an alliance with Wave and Summer Islands(Kiri), Wave had sent a letter wanting help, Prince Dayno was fostered in Wave for an alliance and Roku would never let their allies down.

Young Roku raised his hand and everyone fell silent. "I will go there myself, my people need me," he said and stood up not listening to them saying that it was too dangerous.

"Fly higher, Sky, we don't want to scare my great-grandson," said younger Roku standing above an eagle flying across the sea, the man started from the back of the large, black, Eastern-style eagle he was currently riding atop of while he scratched a spot along with the eagle's head – causing it to hum slightly in response after its loud cry. "There's no way they didn't hear that."

The main wings webbing of the majestic creature were black as one might expect, but the spikes and slight webbing in between said spikes down its body, the frill of hair around its face, and at the tip of its tail were also black. Its underbelly, including the underside of its lower jaw, and its two tendrils were a dark grey colour that seemed to compliment the black leathers that composed most of its body quite nicely. The creature's talons were a pristine white along with its sharp beak. Finally, finishing off its appearance, were the two sky-blue eyes that peered towards the large village it was flying towards.

Wrapped around the base of the eagle's head, was a medium-sized saddle that held the creature's rider. It wasn't anything dedicated to looking formal judging by the lack of any designs on the leather, but merely a riding saddle that provided some measure of comfort for the rider if he needed to sit so that his body wouldn't fall.

Resting upon said saddle, near the hard leather that made a make-shift ledge of sorts around its edges, was a sizable bag tied to the leather firmly with thick string. Then, sitting at the front of the saddle was Roku.

The old leader was clad in clothing that many people of the older generation would recognize as a slightly modified of the First Age of Chakra version of the outfit that his father wore in his prime when he was travelling informally.

He wore what seemed to be a form-fitting, long-sleeved black shirt as his first layer on his torso as evidenced by the layer of fine black cloth functioned like a second skin over the visible areas of his arm – detailing the toned muscle of his biceps. Atop that was a sleek piece of leather Uzumaki chest armour that also provided basic shoulder guards. Said armour, though only visible at the shoulders and collar due to another layer of clothing that rested atop parts of it, was crimson with black trim. Finally, atop the armour, he wore a crimson, sleeveless kimono-style shirt that had a lengthened back with black trim along the edges of the chest. The front portion of it ended at his waist, but the back continued down far enough that it would reach his calves.

Travelling downwards from there, he wore leather arm guards that seemed to match the colouration of his exposed shoulder pads perfectly. They covered from just below his elbow down to his wrist. From there, a pair of black, fingerless gloves made out of the same fine material as his black shirt could be seen covering his hands.

Travelling down from there, the next notable piece of armour would be his rather large belt – a fitted piece of dark-coloured metal that rested upon his hips. In the centre of said belt was the insignia of the Uzumaki clan in highly-polished gold. Partially secured underneath the Uzumaki insignia were two pouches – one effectively held at each of the redhead's hips with the other strap for each secured under the back of his belt. Underneath the pouch on his left hip was a thin black sheath and the bandage-wrapped hilt for a Jian with a small, golden pommel.

Attached to the belt was also a rather elegant piece of cloth that fell to his knees. The centrepiece fell between his legs and was crimson in the centre with black trim to match the colouration rest of his armour. Two smaller pieces of similarly coloured cloth then framed the piece with small flame patterns on the side closest to the centrepiece. This cloth, while mostly worn for appearance's sake, also served to ensure that the elongated back of his kimono didn't swing completely in front of him to impede his movement in any significant way.

Beneath that, he wore a pair of loose black pants without any sort of decoration, though they were mostly hidden from view by the cloth that hung from his belt as well as his greaves. Said greaves, going with the theme already made, were primarily crimson with black trim within the centre and at the ankles.

Finally, finishing his ensemble was a simple pair of black shoes, though they were without the curved tips that most people from Uzushiogakure seemed to wear.

"Land us nice and easy boy," Roku stated as he shifted forward a bit and pat the Eagle behind the head again while they drew closer to the compound they were expected to land within. "No need to go scaring anyone here."

As the redhead grew closer and closer to the ground, he directed his gaze to the figures on a large platform who were likely waiting for him to land.

'Hmm, I suppose the one in red must be my new niece in law,' Roku thought as he could make out their vague appearances from how close he had gotten. Slowly, a grin crept across his face.

Slowly, the eagle continued its descent until it made its landing. As it did, it became evident that its body was so large that it spanned a good three-fourths of the length of an elevated stone platform it landed upon.

"Okay, time to talk," the redhead stated as he stood up upon the saddle after coming to a stop.

With well-practised grace, he hopped off of the saddle even as the group of individuals moved a bit to greet him where he had landed. However, he paid them no mind for the time being and moved to the face of the Eagle that had carried him so far instead. Coming around to face it directly, he met its eyes and placed a hand under its jaw and scratched the feathers beneath, eliciting another small hum.

"Thanks, Sky, we're probably going to be here for at least a day or two, so rest up while you can," he stated as he raised the clothed hand that had scratched his lower jaw and placed it upon his beak. "I'll see if Wave will bring you something to eat a little later, alright?"

The eagle merely exhaled and gave a small nod of his head – showing that he could seemingly understand the redhead.

"Great, now behave yourself, alright? I don't want to get grief about a wounded Wave member later."

A warm gust of air that was more forceful than necessary was shot out of Sky nostrils in response, showing his slight annoyance to that last remark.

"Oh come on, I wouldn't be me if I didn't pick on you at least a little bit buddy," Roku stated with a chuckle as he pats his beak and walked away to the group that had been waiting for him for a few moments now. As he did so, he swung his gaze across the people present despite it being so early in the morning.

'Three older folks dressed in formal Wave robes...Where's Ihara,' he thought as he swung his gaze to the next person. 'Ah, that's probably my grandson's bride, Ritara,' he continued as he spotted an elderly woman in traditional Wave clothing. He continued as his gaze lingered on her appearance for a bit longer than necessary before shifting to the last person in the line.

"Master Lee!"* Roku suddenly exclaimed as he walked forward, missing the slightly wide-eyed Ritara who was drinking in his appearance along with the others who had never seen him before. Without anything further, Roku opened his arms and embraced the slightly shorter man in a fierce hug as he moved closer, surprising everyone present even further. "It's so good to see you again," the aged man finally stated as he relinquished his hold on the man and took a few steps back.

"As it is you, Lord Roku," the man stated with a bow.

"No, no, no," Roku stated as he reached a hand forward to the man's bowed forehead and pushed him back up to his standing position. "No 'Lord' stuff and no bowing. You know that I hate those sorts of things, especially from you of all people."

"I see that the past few years haven't changed you very much...Lord Roku," the elderly man stated with a faint smirk upon his lips at seeing the redhead's eye twitch in response to his altered but no-less-accurate title. "Regardless, thank you for making the trip here. I apologize for pulling you away from your duties."

"Bah, it isn't a big deal," the redhead stated with a rather infectious chuckle. "Besides, there's someone here I've always wanted to meet anyway."

At this, Ritara stood a bit straighter and prepared to greet him properly, but found herself genuinely surprised when he walked directly past her and stood in front of her fiancé.

'Huh...lord Roku's definitely different,' she thought with a slightly furrowed brow as memories of nearly every royal she had met previously immediately sucking up to her came to mind. So far, not only did Roku appear to be an experienced fighter unlike the others based on clothing choices and muscles that were coating his arms based on the bulges against the form-fitting shirt around his arms, but he seemed kind and surprisingly informal as well. Her mind continued as she shivered at remembering a good deal of pompous and rather ugly nobles who had visited blatantly flirting with her ever since she had turned fifteen.

"You must be my grandson," Roku stated warmly towards her fiancé, blissfully unaware of Ritara's current thoughts. "You have grown into a fine young man," Roku said and his grandson gave him a big hug.

"Is good to see you, great-grandpa" he said smiling earning a chuckle from Roku.

They pulled away smiling and Dayno-Kun pointed his hand towards her, who looked nervous.

"This is my fiancé, Princess Ritara Ujaka" he introduced her and Roku turned to look at her.

"A pleasure to meet you, princess. I hope my grandson isn't bringing problems" Roku said warmly and she chuckled while Dayne rolled his eyes.

"Please, after what you said a moment ago, there's no need for formalities here," Ritara stated in a soft tone with a smile stretching upon her face. "I've heard a great deal about you as well though Lord Roku, Dayno-Kun told me a lot about your little pranks"

At this, the redhead froze momentarily before smiling nervously and scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Dayno told you about that of all things? Man, I miss those days," he stated with a chuckle as he remembered pulling said pranks on some of the more pompous nobles that would be in the palace on a nearly daily basis. Dayne loved to pranks and Roku gladly helped him sometimes before he left to foster in Wave when he reached eight years old and now is been only six years and he has changed.

"Yes, he likes to ramble on about you quite a bit," Ritara stated with a laugh from her throat. "My little brother Ash did too, for that matter, though I am already beginning to see why that is the case."

"Oh he does," an elderly Wave woman responded with a grin that grew just a bit more. "He usually has helped from a certain someone," her gaze upon Ritara for a second.

"Ah, well what can I say? I'm happy that my grandson seems happy" the redhead responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well, I'm glad my child will have such a good role model to look up to," Ritara responded as her smile grew just a bit wider. "But we can talk about Ash and the others later. My granddaughter here has been looking forward to talking to you," the elderly woman stated with a gesture towards her left.

"Well I certainly can't say I haven't been doing the same," Roku stated with a chuckle as he turned his gaze to him in question letting his piercing purple eyes gaze meet hers again. "It's an honour to see who my grandson likes," he greeted as he held out his hand towards her.

Ritara extended her hand and gripped his in a firm handshake. Though she didn't let it show on her face, she found herself surprised immediately at the warmth his hand exuded.

"Likewise, Lord Roku," she responded cordially with a friendly smile on her face.

"Uuuuugh, please don't be like Lee and use the stupid title," Roku stated somewhat childishly after taking his hand back and running it down his face in an exasperated fashion. "I'm not Lord Roku. I'm just Roku! I hate all my titles," he finished with a grumble.

"Alright then," Ritara responded after a moment with a grin as she started to get a proper feel of his personality. "I won't use your title if you don't use mine," she offered in compromise. Though she was certainly accustomed to people calling her by said title since it had been with her for nearly her entire life, she didn't particularly like to hear it used when it wasn't necessary.

"Heh, fair enough," the redhead stated after a moment with a small nod of acknowledgement towards her.

"Lord Roku, we have prepared a room for you, a hot bath, food will be delivered whenever you want," her father said gesturing for him to follow inside.

Roku soon was inside the hall, he stood close to the man of the house. It had been a few years since the last time he visited Wave when it came to places, his favourite was of course Uzushiogakure but Summer Islands were a close second.

Naruto and Roku saw the man preparing for battle, the younger Roku had stated that he would protect his allies with his life if needed.

His grandson had wanted to come along and fight for his country and family but younger Roku told him to stay and protect his fiancée.

"Is not because I don't trust on your abilities, I'm trusting you to protect them"

Dayno had agreed and Roku along with 1000 soldiers made of Uzumaki and Wave, but mostly Uzumaki marched towards their borders. Roku rode first in front of his army, their Scouters had sent a message that a large army from StrongStone was marching towards Wave, and in the letter was mentioned that the leader was with them. Rymatasa of Clan Kinzoku.

Riding on horses after a long week, they soon reached the land that the War of Second Sun would be fought.

"This war happened on the year 1279 BNW, three clans of StrongStone had allied with each other to conquer everything on their path. They brought on our lands around 5000 soldiers" Old Roku spoke and Naruto gasped at the large disadvantage between them.

"But unlike them, we taught every one of our clan how to use chakra and fight, while in StrongStone, only those in charge knew how to use it" Roku spoke looking at the large field. Despite being more than a thousand-year since it happened, he still remembered it well.

Naruto understood why only the leaders knew how to use chakra, they were either afraid that someone would take their place or just wanted the power only for themselves. Probably both.

Young Roku stood in front of his army with a white horse, walking towards the centre of the field, alongside him stood Unaka and Ytari.

Reaching the middle in front of them stood three people, all of them with overgrown muscles around their bodies. The middle one was holding an axe large enough to cut down a horse. His face was long with a half-sliced chin. His nose crooked to his right, long dark like crow hair that reached his chest. An armour that covered his chest, arms, waist and legs.

"You wanted to discuss, then talk how do you want to surrender,"  the man in the middle said his voice high and firm.

Roku stepped forward without a hint of fear behind his eyes.

"We seemed to have been misunderstood. We're not here to discuss our surrender, we are here to discuss yours" Roku stated with a firm tone that even Naruto felt a cold shiver of fear on his body.

The man in the front laughed loudly. "And who will stop Us. Look at Yourself. All Old and Weak" he said pointing towards Roku who looked that didn't care about what his mouth spat.

"I might be old. But I'm strong enough to defeat your whole army and still stand" Roku stated adding chakra to his Phoenix Seal on his wrist that was fully completed. The seal started glowing red.

The symbol was a Phoenix with dark eyes and a white circle on his chest.

"We Will Not Surrender" The man spit at Roku's face. The younger Roku looked at him straight in the eyes.

"When you poke a Phoenix. You get Burned"