Bloody Steel

by The Swordslinger

Robbed of everything, even the good in him, and now forced to hunt down the monster that burned his world in a new one with the sword of the fallen demon that hid in the mist, Naruto marches forward. No matter how broken he is, or how the demon that ruined his life tries to bring him down, he won't stop until his blade cuts him in two. Warning: very violent.

I OWN NOTHING

I decided to do this fic out of anger as a sort of stress reliever. There's a lot I need to get out right now so forgive me for adding yet another story to my list, but at least this one's a one-shot.

XXXXXX

He took it all from me… My family, my dreams, and everything I achieved after fighting for so long.

Throwing aside one's humanity to gain "the power of gods" turned to be their first mistake.

That power consumed everything, transforming the ones responsible for burning our world into the meal of a true demon.

That demon took the last friend I made, the one that lived in me, splitting my soul nearly in two to get it out.

I managed to remain alive through sheer will, but that monster didn't stop there, it wasn't enough for him.

My right arm also wasn't good enough for such a monster, neither my eyes which it devoured and called "inferior" to his.

For that bastard leaving me to die on my own blood and laughing as I struggled and cursed him was nothing.

It decided to leave me behind as the entire world rotted and burned so it could reach a new one; another mistake.

It threw me with the "trash", the "trash" he used, the weak "trash" he never praised, the "trash" he burned along me.

The blood of that "trash" is what kept me alive as the fire devoured them.

It was the will of that "trash" to destroy that monster what kept me moving forward.

And it was their blood what led me to the weapon that was feeding from it.

I gripped its handle, finally believing the blade to be that of a demon's as it and I bathed in the blood of my dead allies.

I cut my way through the corpses of my comrades to free myself from the flames and follow that monster.

The anger… it was driving me insane.

I had never felt such sorrow, so much hatred, so… void of anything good.

I cursed the names of that beast, and I swore something:

"No matter what happens, I won't die until I send you straight to Hell!"

My left arm was still good enough to swing the heavy blade, almost like the sword had a mind of its own.

At times I believe the soul of its previous owner, that demon that hid in the mist, guided me.

Or maybe I am losing my mind… I do not know, and couldn't care less.

I followed him into another world, and even without eyes I knew I'd never return home for it had stopped existing.

It didn't take me long to find trails of him all around, from people who sought power from him.

He gave them his blood, turning them all into beasts like him.

His orders upon learning of my arrival were simple: to kill me once and for all.

In this world I have only one goal, to find him and stop others from using the power of that demonic blood.

All I ever wanted and valued was taken from me by him, even the mercy in me.

That was the third and biggest mistake.

Most of my power could have been taken, but that didn't mean I would stop, nothing would stop me.

This madness in me to see him die has given me power the likes of my old friend, only darker.

Something foul awoke in me… Now I have no reason to let him live.

His blood is the one my sword desires to drink the most, after all.

XXXXXX

In the middle of a pub, armed men with cloaks and armor celebrated together with their leader, a massively muscular man about eight foot tall with a halberd he could carry singlehandedly, groping one of the maids serving him booze. The poor girl groaned her discomfort but it didn't stop the man from gripping her breast tighter with a leer to his gruff, porcine face.

"Whehehehehe… Squeal for me, baby…" the leader of the men, obviously mercenaries, moaned into the girl's ears as he added enough pressure to make her let out a cry of pain, "I said squeal!"

"Ah, sir, pl-please let me go! You're hurting me too much!" the girl begged.

The merc leader scoffed, "Ugh, this wench's no fun… Take her, you guys!" he crowed and hefted her at his men singlehandedly, letting the girl fly and fall hard on her back.

She groaned, and the bartender, a poor old man with many recent bruises, tried to help her only to find a broadsword near his neck, "Hey pops! Where's the booze?! We've been waiting long for a damn drink!" he crowed before kicking the man's knee, having him smash his face on the counter for the men's laughs while the others started to unbuckle their pants and approach the terrified maid… until a creak was heard.

The gate to the pub was opened, silencing even the music that came from a man at the piano with arrows around his head and too much cold sweat on his skin from a bored archer's attempts to get him to play faster tunes. In came a man of moderate height clad in a dark cape that had seen too much use judging by the ragged ends.

The man wore a black tricorn hat, seemed to be blond with the way his feathery locks flowed down to his chin, and had his head hung low. He took a sniff at the place and they could see his mouth, which had six scars on each cheek resembling whiskers, twisting as he scowled, "Typical…" he mumbled with a deep gravelly voice, and walked in, ignoring the funny looks from the mercs.

One of them wasn't happy and stepped before the man with twin small axes, one on each hand, "Hey friend, can't ya read? The sign outside says that this place is closed while we party."

The blond man scoffed, "I would, if I could." He said and lifted his face, making the axe wielding merc step back at seeing a black cloth covering the top of his face where his eyes should be, but not completely hiding the scars. It was like some wild beast had torn apart his eyeballs while biting furiously on them. And that was without seeing the void that the cloth hid where once the man's eyes resided.

The archer grinned and pulled his readied arrow at the man's head, "Can't you get a hint, friend? You're not wanted here."

The blond smirked, "I believe you're also undesired here, you waste of space."

The archer didn't waste a second and let go of the string, watching the arrow fly… along his bow, severed arms, and the blood that sprayed out of the stumps on his elbows, "What the-?! Aaahhh!"

The pub was muted, save for the archer's knees touching the ground and his wailing, when the biggest cleaver ever seen touched the floor, with a hole near the tip big enough to fit a man's head. It was even bigger than the blond man, who swung it singlehandedly with his left arm, his only arm. The man wore khaki slacks; brown leather boots kept the legs inside and thus added a ballooning effect to them. His torso had a black leather vest with throwing knives attached to it, and beneath it was a blood red button-up shirt with the collar popped up. The right sleeve moved in the air from his movement, and his left sleeve was partially hidden by a black leather gauntlet.

The cape was open to show that the man packed more than a decent amount of muscle, being big enough to be considered a heavyweight fighter, "You're too noisy." He said and hefted the blade to rest it on his left shoulder, and that heap of raw metal was probably four times his own weight and he carried it without a single sign of strain on his face, "And your stench is ruining my appetite."

The dual-axe wielder crowed at him, "Idiot! You can't swing such a huge sword around, you're wide open!" he threw his axes at the blond, expecting to see the blades sink into his neck and remaining shoulder.

The next swing was empowered by a dash, that way not only did the axes fall to the ground cut in two, but also the merc's body from the armpits down. The maid screamed as she saw the arms – which had been cut along the torso – fall by her side. The merc's head and shoulders had fallen down face first while the rest of his body fell backwards.

The merc leader had enough, "Who do you think you are?!" he asked, grabbing his halberd, which staff was made of pure steel.

The blond simply put his cleaver on his back, seemingly gluing it there, and turned to the counter with a hand reaching for it for he was blind. Once he touched the counter, he reached for a stool, wiped it off, and sat there, "Milk…" the bar went silent for a single beat.

"Huh?!" the mercs' leader was furious that he was ignored, to say the least.

The blond repeated himself, "I want a glass of cold milk." He tapped the counter with his gloved index finger, "Now."

The leader started to sweat, "Hey, do you know who I am? I'm the great Jabali, I've killed boars with my bare hands since I was a kid. I killed my first soldier at the age of-"

"I don't care." The blind swordsman replied, tapping the counter again, "I want my glass of cold milk, not your story." He finally turned his empty eyes to the man, making the large merc feel like he was being seen through the black cloth, "What I know is that when I finish that glass everyone who doesn't work here will be dead."

Three mercs roared, "Fool, we just have to attack you all at once!" one of them cried, the three of them pulling out broadswords.

The blond swung his sword once again, and the pianist, the bartender, and the maid felt sick to their stomachs when the cleaver not only cut through flesh and bone, but also the steel of the swords in its way. The three men fell down, their torsos removed clean off their legs by the waist. What truly scared everyone in the pub was to see how the blood that had been bathing the blade was getting sucked into the steel.

"Where's my milk?" the blond asked, putting the large slab of metal he called a sword on his back.

The leader's reaction was to let out a loud "Eek!" and run off, with his men following close behind.

The bartender gulped loudly but made haste to hand the blond man a large glass of cold milk. The blond reached for the glass, slowly sliding his fingers on the counter so his fingertips could feel its cold exterior when he grabbed it and emptied it in one go. The maid adjusted her clothes and left the man, making sure not to be near a five foot radius from him, as did the pianist.

"Honey, are you ok?" the musician asked the maid, checking her body for any bruises.

She nodded, "Besides the groping, I'm fine, darling… They didn't…" she couldn't go silent no matter how hard she tried to end her sentence there, she let out a single sob.

The pianist held her closer and let her cry on his shoulder while his hands ran on her hair. He finally turned to the blond, and gulped, "I have… heard of you…"

The blond put down his empty glass, "Have you now?" he asked before raising two fingers, signaling he wanted another glass which the bartender happily gave.

The musician nodded, "You're… Naruto Uzumaki. Ten years ago you appeared at a mercenary base with enough men to take down any army by themselves, and you took them down without a single scratch… You killed them all with just one arm and without your eyes. You're known by many names…" he held his wife closer and stepped slightly away from the blond, "The Blood Tyrant, the Chaos Monger, the Crimson Slayer, the Dark Plague, and… the Blind Demon."

The blond emptied his glass and stood up, "So you did hear of me." He reached into his pants pocket and produced two gold coins, "I guess I should take my leave then."

The married man nodded, "That you should, sir… The people you killed, no matter what you or others may say, I know for a fact some of them were monsters… one who I knew all too well." The pianist's tone took on a tone of hatred, "Your actions kept my wife safe, but they also took my father from me…" he gritted his teeth, "That man was a bastard… he beat me up, abused my mother as his slave until she died of exhaustion, and dared to spit on her grave… But to hear he died… How pathetic I am to feel this conflicted?"

Naruto went silent for a moment longer, before standing up and leaving the bar as the pianist stared into his back, glaring holes into his scowl as tears rolled down his eyes. "I have yet to regret killing a man." The blond started, turning his empty eyes to the man, and his voice didn't quiver or show any hesitation, "The rage you have is justified, but carrying it is your choice. My only advice is this: do not end like your father by letting his actions guide you, and do not end like me…"

The man exited the pub and walked into the streets once he made sure that his cape was closed. He wrapped the worn cape's collar closer to his face, knowing that whether he were blind or not that people were looking for him. And could he see, he'd be proven right on thinking that, for on the walls of the streets posters with drawn pictures of the blond swordsman displayed his name, acts, and his head's price.

XXXXXX

Miles away, a polite smile greeted the most terrified group of soldiers to ever be seen. What should be noted of that smile was that it was coated in blood, and it only widened when the owner sunk pearly white sharp teeth on another chunk of meat, tearing out half a dead infant's face. The soldiers shivered at the sight of the being before them who, with a human appearance, kept on devouring an innocent dead creature like one would an apple. The monster was not even hesitating to sink those teeth on the flesh and pull back to tear out big chunks off the dead body.

One of the soldiers bowed to the beast, his armor trembling and clanking from his fear, "Your Eminence, it's been brought to us that the Blind Demon has stepped in town thousands of miles away. He's headed to another corner of the continent, but it won't take him long to be at another town. Perhaps he may be in one this very moment."

"Fool!" the beast roared, "You dare interrupt a god's meal?!" The other armed and armored men cringed when their comrade's head flew off into the air before their boss put on a sneer and spat on the ground, making the poor men hold back their lunch at seeing the dead infant's ear with an earring on it, a gift from the child's mother whose flesh was rotting in the fake human's stomach.

The men fearfully bowed, "What shall we do, Your Eminence? Do you desire for us to engage him on your whims or to keep an eye on him. It shall be our orders."

The monster cackled darkly, "He shall come and find his way to me, he always does. For now entertain him as if he were an uninvited guest… by showing him misery beyond his wildest imagination."

XXXXXX

It was hot, this the blond knew as the sun burned down on him, making him curse for not purchasing a light-colored cape to repel the light, but of course he was blind. But even the lack of eyes couldn't stop him from knowing where he was at, a desert. The unstable surface in which his feet rested and the dry air, along the hot wind blowing, were a given.

He sniffed the air, and didn't need to turn around to know who it was, "We meet again, Blind Demon."

Naruto gripped Zabuza's sword on his back, "What's the matter, porky, afraid you didn't waste enough time on me?"

The large merc leader pulled out a poster, "It says here your head is worth a kingdom, and I don't mean little shit when saying that, I'm literally saying you can build your own kingdom by having your head on a pike."

The blinded blond chuckled, "Oh, this is rich…" he said as he turned around, his ears having trouble pinning down his enemies due to the sand, but other senses didn't, "You brought about two hundred men into this oversized beach for no other reason… but to take my head." He cracked his neck joints by leaning his head side to side, "Those are two hundred and one people that will die here."

Jabali scowled, raising his halberd, "The only one dying is you! Men, take his head and rip off his face's skin! I want his skull as my new cup!"

Naruto swung down his cleaver, the blade making the sandy ground shake, "Did you think I'd let you follow me without being ready for this?"

The mercs had already started running at the blond, but their leader heard him, "Wait, you… you set us up?!"

Naruto gave a step forward and swung his blade, responding with a yes when his cleaver sliced through seven men in a single swing right through their bones, armor and weapons. More mercs started running at him, all with the reward in mind and no regard for their life. They saw Naruto's vulnerable side, and knew he could only swing his weapon with one hand, so it had to be impossible for him to properly strike ten men racing at him from his right side while eleven rushed his left to keep him equally busy.

The blond swordsman's body hunched and the mercs saw the deadly grip he kept on the cleaver far too late. It was like a flash, not even the wind managed to catch up with the slash Naruto gave as three men froze on one side. Right after that, it was like time had stopped for him when he turned around and five mercs attempting to hit his right side were slain too. The first three cried when they watched the blood come out of their breastplates through a large gash on it, followed by their intestines and even the heart and lungs of one of them. The five that rushed his right got luckier; their heads flew off, but from the lower jaw up, thus leaving their tongues to flap around while the sound of their gurgling reached the others' ears.

This had the desired effect of scaring the mercs, having them back down from the blind swordsman who scowled at them, "I had heard of a group of mercenaries roaming around like cockroaches here." He hefted the cleaver on his shoulder as the wind blew on his cape, "My sword needed blood to repair a few dents on the edge, so I thought to help myself to that of the likes of you."

Jabali had enough, "Don't think for a second you can stop us! We're taking your head! Let's go, men!" he shouted as he and his soldiers all rushed at Naruto.

The blond smirked and walked slowly towards them, "This should be enough to keep your sword alive, Zabuza." He roared in laughter, "Let's go!" he shouted and charged the mercs, his body engulfed by dark crimson flames of pure energy.

The men didn't have a chance, they could only see the blinded man leaping at them with his canines lengthening and sharpening. The crimson flames surrounding him took on a form around the blond, but they didn't have time to see it fully. When the dark swordsman made contact, twenty men had fallen with a single swing, their guts and gales of wind flew everywhere along any limb and weapon that had been on the way. Some of the men were riding horses, which were spared. The men watched the horses' riders fall off, before they ran off, away from the blond in fear that started to spread to them.

It was true insanity to just see the man fight. Every swing of the cleaver decimated countless men, and every time someone attempted to strike him an unexpected swift and fast as lightning strike of his weapon was all it took to break them. Spears didn't keep him at bay, arrows just pissed him off whenever he had to use his sword to stop them in their tracks, and any throwing weapon and suicidal soldier with bombs would be met with an earlier demise.

The lucky ones had been the cowards, for they ran away from the massacre, while the greedy were the unlucky ones whose desires ended their life in an instant. They finally saw why the man was called a blind demon, for even if his eyes had been torn off by monsters, he knew where they were and how to strike them with overpowering, deadly blows.

After that battle, the place Naruto fought in came to be known as the Red Death Dune, called that for the blood that painted the sand, and the broken corpses and weapons laying on it. And on top of the dune where Jabali's head would rest forever as the biggest piece that remained of the large merc, Naruto sat coated in the mercenaries' blood besides the smear that had once been their leader before the flat side of the cleaver smashed and crushed him into a bloody paste. He sat there, Zabuza's sword resting on his only side while he tried and failed to ignore the smell of death and blood around him, with the mercenary leader's head looking at him with empty, dead and terrified eyes. He heard the cleaver draining the blood, cleaning his back in the process.

"Is this sword alive now…?" he slowly asked himself, "Hey, if you are alive then what do you think of me? Am I becoming like Zabuza in a good or a bad way?" he tapped the steel with his thumb, getting silence out of it, "Yeah, I thought so… Who'd want to talk with a guy like me?" he chuckled at his bad joke and stepped up.

Rain… he could smell it in the air. The humidity, the cold, it fell on him, cleaning him and sinking the blood into the sand, yet unable to take off the stain off the dune he sat on or wash the corpses. He could only laugh at this situation, for an entire life trying not to spill blood had taken him to this, a life where thanks to his rage and power blood would never go away.

He smiled softly, "Whatever deity is making this rain for a bastard like me… you're crazy." he said and walked off into the distance, "But… thanks…"

XXXXXX

"Now we move onto our next topic… The Blind Demon."

"That fairy tale used to scare the kids?"

"According to our witnesses, he is very real."

"No, I refuse to believe such a… a thing exists!"

"We all do, but the truth is right before us."

Arguments exploded at the mention of the blond swordsman in a large council room. Many men, old and wise, spoke around to each other in whispers or shouts whenever the dark blinded man was mentioned, such as this case. One councilman slammed his hands on the table, and the others sympathized with his fears while others wanted to know what the demon in a man's skin had done.

"Ahem… Back on topic: it appears that the Blind Demon was sighted near a desert town. There he encountered and killed the Band of the Boards. Their remains and blood still stain the sand like fresh paint."

"And I thought we heard enough of his deeds already when he massacred those men at that tower ten years ago."

"Apparently, he was looking for someone. However, the reluctance of those men to share the information and their eagerness to take him down were… costly."

"Indeed, but this is still one man. Regardless of his power he is just one unit. We can't possibly lose with all our best soldiers together against him. No mortal has luck enough to survive our full might."

"Then we should consider if he's really human… Many times champions from other countries, famous for doing deeds comparable to his, have returned to their homes dead or forever crippled."

"Not entirely true, my friend. There are rumors of him sparing a few soldiers who he deemed unworthy of death."

"Pah! You must be delirious to believe such a monster would spare anyone! He's killed counts, kings, and even women if they were in his way to find what he's looking for!"

"Yet I've heard tales of great and even weak warriors who survived their encounters with him, though injured, but still able to return to continue performing their duties."

"Blasphemy! No true warrior, nay, no true knight would allow himself to live after failing to defeat such a bastard like him!"

"Wait, gentlemen, before we can star arguing… What did you mean by saying the Blind Demon is looking for something?"

"Not something, someone. He keeps repeating names… but one stands out: Shinju."

"What an odd name. What could it possibly mean?"

"It appears to be a collective consciousness, or a single individual perhaps. It is unsure what this Shinju may be, but it is certain that the Blind Demon won't stop… until he's killed this Shinju in the most painful, horrifying way possible. He will not rest, he won't even sleep, and he will take on any army and kingdom to make sure such existence ends."

"What if we gathered information on this Shinju? Surely, this Blind Demon would be willing to-"

"Out of the question. One of the many kingdoms he visited offered him that same offer, and the king's head was found on his throne with the rest of his body painting the walls of the throne room."

"Ah yes, I remember the tale… However, it was rumored that said king was making business with slave dealers. Evidence and proof haven't been found, for the dungeon was burned after a fire started. There is evidence that the Blind Demon was there and destroyed the castle staring from the dungeon up to the throne room."

"How powerful was the castle's guard?"

"Five hundred men strong always armed and ready at their posts. They… didn't stand a chance. Many were smart enough to run away."

"Pah! Cowards, the lot of them! They should've died in battle for their honor!"

"This isn't like your times of old, sir. These are times in which we are struggling to keep our world together. Needless bloodshed will only bring-"

"It shall bring the necessary men to battle this monster and bring it down! If not that, then their spirits will guide and push forward the future generations to end this monster loose in our towns near our families!"

"While I agree, taking on this man would be foolish without a plan!"

"We need to act, not lose time with boorish strategies!"

The men kept shouting at each other for a long time, afraid of the unknown mysteries of the blinded blond that had built a terrifying reputation in the ten years he appeared in their world.

XXXXXX

"Is it nighttime already?" Naruto mused to himself as he walked through a town's streets, noticing how the air had gotten colder and no longer noticing the sun's rays on his body.

He sniffed the air again, noticing two scents in the air. One told him that it was indeed night from the lack of warmth in the air and the other was a woman's perfume, a woman who spoke on a sultry voice, "Hello, stranger. Those are some fancy clothes you're wearing. Are you on a trip or just lost?"

Naruto scoffed, "I'm looking for someone… Have you ever heard of the name Shinju?"

The woman giggled slyly, "I may… or I may not. Dear me, I can't recall with the new tension I've had ever since my husband abandoned me."

She couldn't make herself clearer with her intentions, but the blind man wasn't easily fooled, "I want answers, now."

The woman chuckled, "How about you lose those clothes and we discuss it… more privately?" she purred at the end.

Her arm fell off in a single chop after the blond gave his reply, "I refuse."

The shocked woman gasped for breath, "W-What the… How can a mere human resist me?" she choked out while her arm rested on the floor.

Naruto hefted his sword on his shoulder and stood in place, hearing the body's bones crack and move, "You used too much perfume to hide what you are, no woman abuses her own scent to attract a man unless they're beasts in heat, and not even a cheap harlot would throw herself to the likes of me in such a manner."

The woman growled, and the let go of the stump to show no blood was pouring out, "Well, I was planning on taking your seed. A warrior as powerful as you is worthy of siring children for my kind…" she attached her head back in place and her grin split up.

The sounds of bones cracking returned as her jaws split apart, showing that they were pincers all along. The woman's legs shuddered and convulsed, growing insanely in size until eight of them took the place. The dress was still there, covering her torso, but unable to hide that from the waist down her body was that of a spider's. And, to make matters more annoying, from the stump of her missing arm another grew out, popping out with visceral fluids that she wiped on the floor

The single-armed swordsman aimed his blade at the arachne, the spider woman monster of legend that seduced and then devoured men, "Flattered as I am, you're just another of that monster's puppets. Where is it?" he asked, gripping his sword tighter and taking a far more serious expression on his face.

She giggled, "Fool, what kind of man asks a woman about someone else when she has her needs?" she reared her head back, and Naruto heard a gurgling sound.

Mastering the dodge roll was no easy task, but ten years of fighting all kinds of enemy while blind and with a single arm did a lot of miracles for one willing to live no matter what. Naruto avoided the spider woman's spit, and could hear the slimy projectile land on a barrel which judging by the sound was dissolving slowly. He heard something big and heavy soaring through the air, and raised his sword. The arachne cried when his blade got her two front legs, severing them with ease.

She groaned, "Were this permanent, I'd be eating your dick after raping you." she said and, true enough, her legs grew again.

He hefted his sword on his shoulder, "Then I'll cut your head off next and figure where to go from there."

She exposed her mouth-pincers yet again, "Fool! When you're taken down by our hand, your soul shall know no rest, relief, or a sign of good! You won't even know what life was like or remember a moment without suffering! Had I taken you to bed, you'd have seen true mercy!"

Naruto scoffed, "You're not my type, lady. As for mercy…" he bared his teeth, his canines sharpening, "Mine is allowing the likes of you a quick death."

With a blur of speed, the blond was gone, shocking the arachne, "What power!" she shrieked when he reappeared before her to her horror, cleaver reared back.

He kept his word, he cut her head, and just to make sure he chopped her body over and over with his sword, making sure that no pieces remained to be big enough for her to grow anything back. As he did so, his canines turned into sharp fangs, the red aura of madness and destruction that surrounded him when he killed those mercenaries returned, and his howls of anger were akin to an animal's. He chopped the corpse over and over, not even minding that it was already dead as he kept on splitting every bit nearby to nothing.

He only stopped when a pool of blood and guts was all that remained of the monster, and panted tiredly, "Sorry… I was all out of mercy…"

"T…" he turned, hearing the arachne's faint voice lingering in the air, "Th…Thank… you…" he approached the source of the hound and kneeled down.

He reached at it and touched hair through his gauntlet, "You are…" he started when he finally recognized the object in his hand as a human head, the arachne's. "You're the first one to notcurse my name. Why?"

There was a brief, pained, and weak laugh, "Sorry… I was… forced to… I… I'm… sorry…"

"Tempted by who?!" he asked, holding the head close to his with his only hand after letting go of his cleaver.

She smiled, "You're… gorgeous… Heh…"

He growled, "Who tempted you?! Who made you this way?!"

A tear, he could feel it rolling down her cheek into his only hand, "He… did…" a sob, a pained, desperate sob of a soul who knew its demise, "K-Kill… him…"

And he felt her life no longer. Not a single spark or even a whisper remained to keep her in this world.

"Murderer…" he heard behind his back while he was clutching the head to his body, "MURDER! There's been a murder!"

He gritted his teeth and put the head on the ground, not without passing his fingers over her eyes and with a heavy heart close her lids forever. He gripped his sword and jumped off into the sky over the roofs, his cape and silhouette contrasting against the moon's light like a true demon taking flight.

And the more he ran, the more cries of people he heard, following him with their eyes seeing only what he had become: a killer.

XXXXXX

"Your Eminence, the plan went as expected. That man has killed an innocent at long last."

The soldier before the dark figure shivered when it stood up, its body covered in shadow with rippling demonic eyes staring at him, "He's always been weak and impulsive. All it took was to my blood as a mask on a pure woman. Had I known sooner, I'd have used more humans for him to fight this way… Oh well, the willing ones were far easier to use since their hearts were already corrupted."

"What shall we do now?" the soldier asked, making sure to step out of his boss' way.

The being of darkness walked forward with a sharp-toothed smirk, "We let the world hunt him down for those ten useless years he's spent chasing after me. The Blind Demon is nothing but a blind fool after all."

XXXXXX

Back in the council, all the men shivered at the news they heard.

"Another death by his hand, this time of an innocent woman. A simple baker who lost her husband to a mindless war and is no longer capable of taking care of her child."

"As tragic as that is, this is still the Blind Demon we're talking about. Taking him head-on is suicide."

"So this woman walking up to him to get chopped like a piece of meat was suicide?!"

"Do not raise your voice! Do you believe I'm comfortable with an innocent civilian's death at the by that monster's hands?!"

"Then we must start arming ourselves to put his head on a pike! We've been lenient with him because his blade usually used to slay men and women we had reasons to doubt. Now we can't hold back!"

"Stop, you two! We are not children arguing for how to play a game! We have been tasked by our people and their trust in our ancestors to guide everyone to a bright future since long ago, not to bring their ruin!"

"…My apologies. However, we can't let the Blind Demon roam around much longer."

"For once I agree, action must be taken swiftly before he strikes again. The question is, who can deliver righteous punishment to such a monster, and how?"

"No matter how much money we offer, he's still alive. Entire armies of mercenaries have aligned themselves to take him down, and none have succeeded."

"How can this be?! His very presence strikes fear in the hearts of proud and brave knights, letting him frolic around our people, our families, our wives, our children!"

"We know! Just calm down. We still know that he won't react unless provoked. Whatever triggers his anger is something to avoid, at least until we can figure how to fight him."

"Grr… Never had I felt so useless and powerless against a threat. Even now our best soldiers fear this being like there really is no hope for victory."

"Kings and queens from all over the nations, countless nobles, and even bandits have stopped moving around."

"They have forbidden anyone to even mention his name or mention what he's looking for."

"Trading routes kept over generations of traditions are out of business because of him, and all of this because of one blind man with a single arm."

"Is this true dread? All this crushing sense of futility?"

"No, this is the reason why we have to fight back against this walking terror, to stop being useless and afraid of him!"

"Aye! We shall use all our resources towards whatever army dares to challenge him! And those who manage to do that shall be knighted… nay, they shall be given the title of true nobles."

"Whether they're commoners or not, if they can take down such a beast, that is a right they earned."

"But who shall be our champions?"

"I… have an idea."

XXXXXX

In the middle of a forest, currently waist deep in a spring of water, Naruto was busy both training and washing his body. His clothes were put nearby on the shore while he kept swinging around his sword with his only arm. If one were to see him they'd no doubt be afraid of the missing right arm and the horrible scars on his body. Every inch of his skin was permanently marked from wounds he had received before his ten years of fighting started: burns, stabs, slashes, and even strikes so powerful they could rip off flesh from the force of the blunt object smashing his flesh that.

Legends said he was untouchable, but that was only because no-one lived long enough to count the tales of the wounds he received before his hunt. After all, why would a demon stop just after eating his eyes and ripping off his right arm when there were other ways to leave someone to die slowly and painfully buried in the thousands of corpses of his friends and allies while they slowly burned into ashes with the entire world?

Those thoughts made the cleaver cut through the air, the water, and nearby rocks with ease, like nothing were in its way and its steel were lighter than a feather – and the blond man's muscular physique said it was, at least to him. Meanwhile, the water washed off the blood off his body after shaking his pursuers.

The blood… Its smell seemed to never leave him. It was like a mark, a scent that forever branded him into something that was no longer human.

Even with the clean and cold water washing it off and cooling his body, he could steel feel the warmth of the blood he spilled both from his own and others' bodies. But the blood that left the longest touch was that of those he cut but knew didn't deserve it. His allies, everyone he wanted to fight for, had been piled on top of him after being slaughtered like pieces of meat. And now an innocent woman's blood was on his hand, he could feel it on every swing, clinging to his skin like she had tried to cling for her life after THAT monster corrupted her and forced him to kill her!

"Argh!" he threw and nailed his sword to the shore, taking deep breaths once he had done so.

And he felt it, more blood, only that it was his, and not from a recent wound. His hand reached to his face, through the black cloth that shielded the empty sockets where his eyes had been ripped out off. He had lost the ability to cry real tears when his eyes were ripped off, thus only blood would come out of the wounds. He couldn't help his tired sigh and removed it, feeling the familiar weight of his old and now rusty headband protector on his hand did bring back memories. Some good ones, at the very least.

He turned his face up into the sky, despite being unable to see he remained like that for a while, "I can't… stop now…" he told himself tiredly, "If that monster is willing to use others to get to me, I can't stop. Everyone I've killed so far deserved it, but that woman was different." He gritted his teeth, "I didn't even know her name, and yet she was used as a tool by him." he groaned and grabbed a handful of water, splashing his face with it, "Her life was hers to live, not that monster's. That's why I can't stop now, not with such a meaningless death on my hand!"

He clenched his fist and punched the shore, leaving a large crater on it which made the spring shake. Small waves splashed around him back and forth but slowly settled as did his mood. With a renewed determination, the blond grabbed his clothes, washed them on the spring, and once he made sure they were dry put them on.

With the cleaver on his back, and his cape closed, the man known as the scariest thing alive walked forward, his hand never leaving the handle. Images flashed in his mind, memories of darkness where he sensed and pictured the appearance of the creatures he had fought. Mad kings turning into abominations, once powerful queens becoming symbols of depravity and twisted desire, nobles of all kinds changed into creatures beyond description, and greedy bandits had more than once shown the cruelty hidden in them.

He whispered to his sword, "It's his blood… The blood of that monster, the blood of those demons that became one with such stupid power… That's what made that woman a monster, and it's why I have to keep killing anyone who that bastard has come into contact with. This world is something he wants to defile any way possible, and I won't rest until you have every ounce of his blood in your blade."

Silence rewarded his answer.

He chuckled forceless, "You still won't talk to me, my old friend… That's fine, I know why you wouldn't. Let's move forward."

He took several steps forward, listening to the sounds of birds, sensing the humans moving around, savoring the soft breeze, and keeping the cleaver ready in case the predators smelled the blood on him. He could kill stupid and greedy bandits without breaking a sweat, but an animal just looking for food seemed wrong… unless he were hungry, in which case – that case being right then - some bear stew would be welcomed.

It was weird, he felt tired, too tired to even move forward. It was not by hunger. He tried to question it. What action could cause him to feel in such a way? It felt like he had nothing at all no matter how much he moved. His chest just felt like it had no weight inside, almost as if his insides couldn't move. His hand felt heavy, and his feet were like something that had never been there.

Was that what it felt like to be dead inside, or was he too tired?

Meaningless fights, senseless anger from everyone around him and even himself. All of that because of one action that never had any meaning.

And now, a meaningless death by his own hand.

He chuckled again, forcing the humor out of his lips, "Maybe I should set camp tonight… I still don't know where to go."

He sat on a tree, leaning against it and enjoying the warmth of a campfire in the middle of the night. His sword remained by his side, while his body felt heavier and heavier yet he could not feel like sleep would take him. In his hand, he could still feel that woman's blood, every swing of his sword, and the resistance of her flesh against the blade through the gauntlet.

He shook his head, "I am… not like him…" he whispered with venom on his voice, clenching his hand tightly into a fist.

"Like who?"

Naruto gasped and reached for his sword, only to stop. That voice was not the one from a killer, or from any creature that'd be out for his blood. It was the voice of a little girl, a lost and – the growling of her stomach saying so – hungry little girl. He breathed deeply to calm his only hand from reaching the sword on instinct before he could hurt the little one by his side.

"Who are you?" he finally asked the figure at his side.

A giggle came to his ears, "Say, you smell weird." He could almost hear her nose wiggling, "Like rust…" It was blood what she smelled, but he didn't dare give her a clue.

"Are you lost?" he asked, unable to hide a bit of tiredness on his voice that hinted to him being annoyed.

"Nope! Are you?" she chirped.

Naruto sighed, "Not really. I'm just looking for someone."

"You're weird!" she all but sang with the cheer in her voice.

He chuckled, "Indeed…" he rested his head against the tree, "But you shouldn't be talking around strangers. I'm… not someone you should befriend."

She smiled, "But you seemed very lonely. That's why I thought of making you company."

He forced out his next laugh, "Even so, I'd rather be alone."

The girl stared at him curiously, "Is it because of your weird voice? It sounds so raspy and deep, like gravel…"

Naruto pondered how to answer that, 'One of my first mistakes when I started learning how to fight singlehandedly. I get my throat stabbed and make it out alive, but now I got this voice even if the wound healed.'

"What do you think you're doing?!" The sound of robes and something metallic, most likely accessories, alerted Naruto of the newcomer's presence before he appeared, "You little brat… Who do you thinks owns you?! Just because I'm selling you it doesn't mean you can run off!"

"I'm not yours or anyone's!" the girl shouted back, "I'm me… I'm not a toy to be sold!"

The robed man raised his right hand, lightning cracking on it, before he threw it at the child. The yellow bolt flew through the air at amazing speeds, and was caught by the intimidating blind man's hand. The girl's self-proclaimed owner lost a heartbeat when the swordsman finally stood up and raised his only hand, crushing the lightning bolt in his fingers. Wind chakra always helped to do more than cutting.

"Be thankful of the girl." Naruto started, reaching for his cleaver, "Were she not here, you'd be dead right now."

"T-The Blind Demon!" the man cried, landing on his ass before running off.

The blond sighed tiredly, "If more soldiers did that every time they saw me…" he put the enormous sword on his back and turned to the girl, "Are you ok…?"

Steps, tiny steps that moved, oddly enough, not away from him but closer alerted him of her presence even more. A pair of tiny arms wrapped itself on his waist and, while he couldn't see or feel it through the leather, he knew that there were tears on his vest. He awkwardly put his hand on her shoulder, unsure of what else to do with her head buried in his stomach.

A sob, "Thank you…"

"You're… welcome…" the words tasted weird in his mouth.

Another sob, "Thank you…"

He finally shook her, "Ok, snap out of it." he said, and could only picture her hurt face as she pulled herself off him with teary eyes. "What happened to you?"

The girl wiped her tears away, forcing her voice to not choke with some levels of success, "That man was… my last owner. He bought me from across the seas, dressed me in this clothes, and forced me to play tricks for him." she sobbed the last of her tears out, but something was off.

"What kind of tricks?" Naruto asked, gripping his sword tightly.

Deep in a dark cave, many men in fine robes and many shady businesses were getting noisier and very annoyed until their last missing member appeared.

"About time!" one of them, the picture of a merchant drowning in avarice with his expensive robes, more expensive jewelry, and a woman by his side with a gold collar, a leash on his hand, and nothing but rags, growled out, "I believed we'd be buying something worth our time here."

Another man nodded, seated on top of another man covered in bruises, cuts, and with a saddle on his back, "Yeah, I came here to buy good servants, and you promised a toy beyond compare! Where is she?!"

"The auction is over, everybody, run!" the seller shouted.

"Why?"

"Because the Blind-" the slave dealer gasped. He turned around with near creaking sounds on his neck to meet the most terrifying man on the land a second before his right arm along the right side of his body, including his shoulder, were cut off.

Naruto brandished his sword, his cape flowing on the wind. Despite his lack of eyes, the men in the most expensive clothes knew there was a glare behind the headband's cloth burning into their souls. The dark swordsman slammed the blade on the ground, causing it to shake and the slave dealers and buyers to shiver. Two guards came rushing him from the shadows, silently trying to take on the man for the insane reward to his head. The blind man spun around, his sword a blur, but the guards' bodies weren't once they landed on the ground split in two.

Fear didn't begin to describe what the shady men felt when the blond spoke, "This sword gets sharper the more blood it drinks, how about I feed it yours?"

Many men cried while others raised their hands with fire, lightning and ice forming. Naruto hefted his cleaver over his shoulder and didn't waste an instant to rush at the men in robes. Magical blasts sailed around his head the moment he started running, weaving around the strikes while his senses told him what he needed. What kind of power they were drawing, where they were, and how close he was to them. His sword was too fast for them, it was too fast for anyone to see.

A single swing greatly crippled the only attack force in the cave, and the other slave dealers saw their mistake all too late. Off to the side the slaves, men, women and children that had seen years of abuse, watched in awe and terror the slaughter before them. Pools of blood coated the rocky floor, limbs flew around, and the magic spells died quickly the more Naruto swung around the heavy cleaver. It was like a dance of death, for every step the dark man took someone or many people died, and the blade of his sword got more and more blood to drink from.

One slave dealer tried to avoid getting killed by pushing forward a piece of his merchandise, a pregnant woman that watched with frightened eyes how the blond man rushed at her with his cleaver ready. She closed her eyes, but nothing came to her or the bundle in her stomach. She opened her eyes, turning them around at the sound of a guttural scream. She saw her previous owner split vertically in half with his entrails on the floor and his blood feeding the blond man's sword. It was as if the more blood it drained, the sharper its edge became.

"Get out." The blond told the woman, hefting the cleaver on his shoulder and walking to the remaining shady merchants.

The rest of the battle played out how many other battles had for him. Men screamed, blood was spilled, and his sword grew sharper with every swing even if he smashed it against any hard surface like walls, rocks, or even steel. His imposing figure, his flowing cape, and the blood raining around him made him look more and more like a real devil, a true demon that came out of Hell to drag the wicked straight to the deepest pits of despair for an eternity of suffering. But it was his face, the lack of eyes and his teeth gritted into a feral expression of primal fury that sold that demonic image.

And yet, despite his anger, no slave was harmed by the man that embodied fear for their lands for a decade, "Wait, please!" one of the slave dealers cried, tears on his face, "I have a wife and three kids. She's pregnant with our fourth! Please, spare me! I only came here to make money! I never wanted to hurt anyone, I just want to see my family alive… Please… I'm… I'm afraid to die…"

The cleaver was inches from the crying man's face, and Naruto sneered at him, "You're disgusting… Claiming all of this was for your family…"

"I beg of you, please! Let me live!" the man cried harder, and Naruto could swear he had pissed himself, though the smell of the other corpses and the contents in them made it hard to tell if it was him.

"You tried to attack me like everyone else." Naruto started, moving his sword closed to the man's neck, "Do you expect me to believe such a story?"

The man closed his eyes and sobbed, "F-Fine… kill me… But, in exchange for my life, grant me a wish." The man unsheathed something, and Naruto readied his cleaver for a dirty stab to his gut, but he didn't ready himself for what happen, "Stay away from the west, away from my family!"

Blood, more blood oozed out. Some of the slaves gasped at what they saw and heard, for the shady merchant before them hadn't hesitated in giving his life for his desire. A knife was buried deep in his gut, and the once cowardly man that feared for his life didn't stop there. With gritted teeth, the merchant twisted the blade and dragged it along his abdomen. More blood spilled down while the man fell, dead.

Naruto held his breath, for how long he didn't know. All he knew when he took air back into his lungs no-one was around.

Everyone had left him alone in the middle of the massacre he started.

XXXXXX

As darkness fell down, the little girl Naruto met ran down a large hallway until she arrived where she wanted and knelt down.

"Did you get the job done?" a figure sat at a throne asked, his body covered in black flames.

The girl nodded, frightfully, "Y-Yes, sir. He's on his way to that place. Now… will you keep your promise?"

The dark figure's grin widened and he snapped his fingers, "Of course, dear. Here she is."

The girl's eyes widened at the image of a woman in rags, "Mommy!" she cried joyously and hugged her tightly, "Mommy, I missed you so much! I… I was scared, very scared, but I did it! I got you free!"

The mother smiled kindly to her daughter, "Such a sweet child… You did all of this for me?"

The girl nodded with teary but happy eyes, "Yeah! I… I was beaten up and I had to eat very bad food but… but you're here! You're finally here!"

The mother's smile widened, far too much, "How sweet you are…"

"Mommy…?" the girl started, before her mother's hands fastened around her throat, "M-Mom-my… I can't… Ack!"

The woman's smile literally split her face from ear to ear, showing needle-like sharp teeth that covered every inch of her lower face, "You're so sweet…" she started, inching closer to the girl with her smile widening, "I could just eat you up!"

The figure at the throne smiled while the girl's screams, cries for the pain to stop, and questions of why her mother was devouring her skin, flesh, bone and even hair echoed in the dark room. Once the noise stopped, the dark figure admired the picture before him. Not a single trace of the girl remained, just a red smear on her mother's face, hands, and on the floor.

He clapped slowly, "Aren't I a man of my word? I did say I'd help them be together, forever and ever as one…"

XXXXXX

"The sun's rising." Naruto stated upon the warm light reaching him, "I should get moving before things get too troublesome."

His body felt heavy once again. He stepped into the town, hearing the wind howl, the people awakening, and for a moment it felt nice, until the first gasp and terrified cry alerted everyone else of his presence. He was at a point where he didn't care. If someone wanted him dead he'd deal with them one way or another.

His stomach rumbled angrily at him, demanding food, "S-Stay away!" and it wouldn't be getting those deliciously smelling pancakes at the café he passed.

"Halt, monster!" he heard a voice, a child's. "You're not getting near-"

"Stop it!" another voice, his mother's most likely, cried, "S-Sorry!" she said to the blond and pulled her child away from him.

Naruto wouldn't have been bothered from the start, in fact he actually let out a humored laugh, "Gutsy kid…"

His ears twitched at the sound of metal slapping metal, the sound of armored men running at him, "State your business, Blind Demon." He could almost see their spears aimed at him, "What do you want?"

Naruto decided to be honest, "A warm meal."

"Do not make fun of us!"

"Sir… I think he means it."

"This is the man that has killed countless mercenaries without breaking a sweat. Do you expect me to believe such horse shit?!"

"I do not." Naruto said and moved forward, "But that's what I want, so you can choose." He slapped his cleaver on the ground, "It's a hearty, five course breakfast or having to stop me from getting one."

"I suppose I'll have to answer to you, then." A young but masculine, soft, polite and authoritarian voice said.

Naruto moved his right ear towards the voice, hearing how the soldiers stood out of the man's way, "And you are?"

"I'm a fellow swordsman. And you are Naruto Uzumaki, known by many names as a killer." The man replied, one hand gripping his sword, "I also heard of your latest actions where you managed to take down a ring of slave dealers. While I'd be thankful to any man who'd stop them, I'm not sure I agree with your methods."

The blond smirked, "If you want a fight, get in line."

"What?" the younger fellow swordsman sounded sincerely confused.

"This is the part where everyone tells me they'll get my head and the money on it." he gripped his sword tighter, "Don't expect me to lose, though. I can't, no, I won't stop until I find and kill one man."

The younger man narrowed his eyes, his hand holding his sword firmer, "Shinju. That's the name you're looking for." He then closed his eyes, "I'm afraid that's all I know, just that name."

"Then…" Naruto started and walked to the younger man, "Move out of my way. I'm starving."

The young man narrowed his eyes, "No, allow me to take you to my place."

To say Naruto was baffled was an understatement, he picked one of his ears with his pinky while still holding his sword, "What?"

The swordsman narrowed his eyes, "You are hungry. If a meal is all it takes to make sure you go away, then I'll take you to my place. Many great soldiers I'd trust my life to will be there to keep an eye on you."

Naruto put the cleaver on his back, where it remained seemingly glued to, "Lead the way then." He said that calmly, but his hand remained on the handle, showing he also would lower his weapon but not his guard.

One soldier wasn't happy with such a choice, "Sir, you can't possibly expect us to let this monster in at-"

"I can and will." The young man replied sharply, "It's either this, or risking a fight in which many could die senselessly. For now keep the civilians safe."

All doubt banished from the men at those words, "Yes sir!"

True to his word, the swordsman took Naruto to a large mess hall. The dark blinded man didn't say a word on his way there after hearing the man's reasons for doing this. Not like he could blame him. So far everyone that had been nice to him or he had been nice to either disappeared or… He shook those thoughts away. If he was seeing hesitating for one second anyone could try to jump at him with a sword. The last thing he needed was a fight after what happened last night. That was more than enough blood, and he was finally getting breakfast, for free.

The swordsman spoke up, "I've turned my back to you all this way. Why haven't you tried to strike me?"

Naruto remained silent for a beat but kept his grip on the cleaver's handle, "Why haven't you given a signal for anyone to strike me from the shadows?"

The swordsman didn't reply to that answer, instead he walked into the mess hall, "Enjoy your meal." He said coldly, understandable given the blond man's reputation.

Countless of eyes landed on him, the blinded Uzumaki could tell. One would need a sword as sharp as his cleaver to cut the thick tension in the room while he neared a table. Once finding one he took seat silently, ignoring the rising levels of inner energy building around him. He could tell some of these people weren't even human by their smell, and many were either warriors or, by the smell of paper from tomes on their personas, magicians of a different caliber to the slavers at the cave. And, of course, he didn't miss the sound of a bow's string tensing, giving him a mental image of where the arrows were aimed at.

But there was also another thing to notice, to smell… "Hmm…" Naruto hummed, the tension growing, "I'll have… all of the meat you have… and some water to wash it all down."

Like a hammer to a window, the tension had been shattered, but no soul made a sound without counting the cooks acknowledging the order and getting started on it.

Naruto heard another young man, this one seemingly clad in heavy robes, approaching the swordsman that greeted him before the two exited the hall to talk away from the blond wanted man, "This is the first time I have to make strategies against a possible threat in our territory with these… I don't even know what to call them." The robed man, who was younger than the swordsman, said.

The swordsman nodded, "Sorry for calling all of you on such a short notice but… the rumors haven't been exaggerated if news about the findings on the cave the slave dealers met are half true."

"He's blind, he has only one arm, and he's all on his own… I think we got things under control here." The younger robed man replied, sounding confident. "I've made preparations for anything he may dish out."

The swordsman nodded, "Good, so long as he doesn't harm anyone." He reentered the mess hall to let his jaw drop.

The blind man was eating what amounted to three entire boars roasted and recently out of the fire like he was getting paid for it. With his only hand Naruto was inhaling all of the food displayed before him with wild hunger. No forks were used; he simply grabbed a limb with his hand, tore it off, and started to take animalistic bites to satisfy his hunger. Large chunks of meat were ripped off the bones with every bite, and the dark swordsman made sounds akin to a predator that knew nothing but famine finally getting his fangs into its prey. Large bones that had been cleaned into a pearly white by the wanted man's hunger flew into a pile.

"How long were we gone?" the robed man asked a soldier that shook himself out of his stupor.

"J-Just five minutes, give or take…"

Naruto stopped eating; leaving the bones of three entire animals on the table piled on as a mess of clean bones, and reached for the other side of the table. He reached and grabbed a large barrel of water, which he effortlessly brought to his lips and started to drink loudly from. He set down the half-empty oversized jar, and continued eating.

The young swordsman stared incredulously at the blond, "Even his appetite is that of a monster. There's no way he can be human."

After another set of bones to the pile and a loud belch Naruto sighed in satisfaction, "Whew… that was a good meal." He said with a small smile, got up, and grabbed his sword, "And like I've said, I'll take my leave."

The sound of the men in the mess hall moving said otherwise, "Sorry." Said his host, "I'm afraid letting you go like that isn't a good idea when one considers how much damage you can do on your own."

The blinded man turned his head to the young man, "And yet you didn't poison my food, or else I'd have cut you down after the first bite. What is your deal?"

The swordsman smiled, "It is not my desire to fight you and risk to lose my men in a meaningless battle. That is why I had my tactician make a plan if you ever appeared nearby."

Naruto felt heavy, too heavy, "What the…" his legs wobbled, his head was staring to fall down, and his cleaver hit the ground with a loud and heavy thud.

The robed man smiled, "Drugging you would have been too troublesome if what you said about poison along some rumors was true. Either way, I couldn't have the venom ruin the chance of studying such a warrior-"

"Get to the point." Naruto growled when his knees hit the ground, which felt odd.

The tactician smirked, "I had our best mages place a sleeping curse in the area you're in now. Oh, you shall wake up by midnight. I hope you ate enough to last you for-" and this time Naruto interrupted the man's speech with one of the knives on his best, nailing the man's cheek and ripping it off with a clean cut.

A loud, bloodcurdling scream of pain was the last thing the blond heard before he went to sleep.

XXXXXX

"So he was actually captured." The figure of darkness asked the image before him, an astral figure that stood submissively before the dark being.

"Yesh, mah loff (Yes, my lord.)" the figure stuttered, due to having lost one cheek.

The dark being's smile widened in delight, "Have fun with him until I arrive. I hope you've made sure to make the right preparations for his stay at your dungeons…" a nod made his smile widen, "Good, that's very good. And, as promised…" he turned his eyes to the other astral image on the room, "…I shall keep my promise to you, my dear swordsman."

"Thank you, my lord." The man that betrayed Naruto from the start said, bowing and with his hand resting still on his sword.

"No need to be so formal." The dark being said with a brief chuckle, "After all, these are times of celebration now that the monster that was Naruto Uzumaki is under arrest… In fact, I'm willing to bet it shall be one party to remember throughout the ages."

The dark being stepped out of the shadows and into the light, showing himself to be a tall man with waist length black hair in an unruly mane, with blood red rippling eyes, and his body clad in a pitch black samurai armor. Hakama were tucked into the greaves, as well as the gi's sleeves, a black breastplate with a demonic face carved into it greeted the men along black shoulder guards designed as hawk faces. The dark being had half his face covered in a pitch black skin-tight mask. His face was divided vertically in half, one side human, and the other the black "mask" which grinned permanently and stared at them with a blank white eye.

He smiled at the men before him, "To do a pact with someone like me, you are truly remarkable." He told the swordsman.

Said young man bowed politely, "It is for my mother, after all."

The dark being's mouth, or rather mouths, widened their grins, "But of course. I understand you. A mother's love is something every child desires. However, I, with the power I've taken from these poor, unfortunate souls I possess, shall create a bigger love for life than Zetsu's mother. For I am the original god… I am the Juubi."

The men kneeled and bowed deeply, "Yes, my lord/Yesh mah lahd!"

With a wave of his hand, the men's images were gone, making him chuckle much more when he turned to one soldier, "Do reward them properly. A vial of my blood to every soldier and our dear swordsman." He cackled, "The moment they smell Naruto, they will be drawn to him like moths to a flame. Even the brightest of fires can burn out with enough sacrifices… Oh, how delightful a show this shall be."

XXXXXX

A splash of cold water all over his naked torso, and the pain of bruised ribs, woke up the blond with a groan.

"Wake up!" and another kick to his sides which left a sting similar to the others on his chest. At least that explained why his ribs felt like someone had been grinding him through a rocky hill.

"Stop." It was that young swordsman again, "I said not to harm him. Even if his actions left a permanent scar on my tactician, I was expecting such a thing from the start."

Naruto grumbled, and was glad he could still feel his pants on, but not his, "Headband…?" he asked, turning around and noticing the lack of weight on his head from his tricorn hat and the headband he used to cover the empty sockets that were the start of many horrible scars he'd bear through the ten years he had been in this world.

The young swordsman kneeled before Naruto, "I've confiscated it along everything else, except for your sword. It was far too heavy for any man to carry it, not even a platoon of my best men could."

"Had you been smart, I'd be dead by now." The blond said coldly and pulled his left hand forward, noticing some resistance, "So, magic?"

"Of course, what else could hold a man like you back?" the young swordsman replied, sounding amused, "You're not someone I could call human in any way, and yet here you are, covered in wounds like any other person, and even capable of feeling like a normal man. What are you?"

Naruto was having a hard time reading this man, but replied nonetheless, "One of my nicknames is the Dark Plague… Kind of fitting. I'm a guy who just needs to walk around and soon pain, misery and some monster will follow."

The young swordsman stood up, even more amused, "But it seems you've brought me luck." He laughed slightly, in a good, honestly well-humored manner, "The council and all kingdoms have heard the news, and soon many guests shall arrive to see that we've taken into custody the most dangerous man in the world. This kingdom will rejoice and finally move forward, in a dark paved with gold and a better life for everyone." He then knelt down before Naruto, surprising the blinded man when his inner eyes showed him the swordsman's humbleness, "That's why, despite your crimes, I am thankful that you arrived. If it weren't for you, my people, my men, everyone I grew up with here would suffer the same fate as…" he shook his head, "Sorry, I was getting sentimental."

"Sir." One man, possibly the jailor and most likely the one responsible for Naruto's bruised chest, spoke up, "It's nearly time."

"You're right, my apologies. Anyway, Naruto, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. For the future you will create for my people with your life, I shall seek that you receive a painless judgment."

Naruto growled, "Paving the way to the future with blood is one thing. There are two ways to do it. Either you're greedy and use someone else's to do the job, by being a coward too afraid to sacrifice anything, or you actually man up and us yours to make a difference that will at least matter."

A boot greeted his face, the swordsman's most likely from the metallic sole, "What do you know of sacrifice?!" the young man roared, "My mother… You have no idea what this place has been through to get where it is while we keep struggling. All other kingdoms use our resources while we remain miserable! We have to bow to others to move forward and keep on living, but all it takes is to fight on a true monster like you to-"

A loud crack made the young man pull back his foot, seeing Naruto's teeth with a thick metal sole in them, crushing it into scrap metal which he spat, "Then stop crying and do something yourself."

The swordsman narrowed his eyes at him, "Who do you think you are saying this when you are far worse? Countless families have been broken because of you."

Naruto didn't lose a beat, "That's why I'm saying it. Because I am what you should never become." The young man was stunned into silence, "Once you kill someone, you can't back down, so you better know what you're fighting for and if it's worth it. And if you're trying to protect as many lives as you can, be ready to stop holding back… That's what being a killer means."

The youth turned around, speaking to the jailor, "He is to remain here, unharmed. When judgment arrive, I wish for it to still be fair… Whatever worth his life may have, it is a life."

"Yes, sir."

And thus Naruto was left alone.

The young swordsman moved forward, ignoring the small bump on his step every time he had to walk with the missing part of his sole. He gritted his teeth, trying to shake all thoughts of Naruto out to fail when the blond man's words echoed in her head. The blinded man was what he shouldn't become. That idea was nearly laughable with how obvious it was, but there was also a lingering fear to become like him and kill countless people...

"I've no time to waste on this foolishness." The swordsman said once inside his room, "That man is right, I shall not become like him. I will use the wealth behind his head for the sake of my people... We shall finally see a brighter tomorrow..."

He said this, but had to ask himself why it had no weight. Was it because Naruto was another life in this world like himself? Or was it perhaps something more? The blond was powerful, terrifying, and made quite a horrible reputation looking for someone to pay back with countless chops from his cleaver. Yet the truth was easier to see deep down. Whether he had eyes or not, his face and voice showed a lot hidden by the man's attitude. A single glance at him, and you could see he didn't enjoy killing. Listening to the blond, and you could tell there was more than simple hatred behind his revenge, something much deeper that moved him forward like a beast that wouldn't die not even if all of his bones were broken and all his blood were drained.

The swordsman reached the mirror on his chambers and took a look at his body. What greeted him was a fair, round face with attributes that a lady would fancy such as sharp amber eyes, and a mop of coal-like hair in a bob. The body in the mirror had lean arms and was clad in a knight's armor. Soon lean fingers hidden by gauntlets reached for the breastplate and took it off, letting it fall to reveal a nearly flat surface.

The surface of the sword wielder's chest wasn't as flat as a well-trained soldier's, for two small but still somewhat noticeable mounds of flesh rested there. Upon taking off the metallic skirt around round and shapely hips, a round and pert bottom was greeted by the cool air beneath a pair of white smallclothes. One both feet were out of the greaves, long and shapely legs were displayed on the mirror's reflection, showing a pale but athletic complexion. Unbuckling the belt that kept the sword to child-bearing hips felt nice, as did opening the vest that kept a pair of small breasts locked in place. Said breasts weren't really big, they could be held in a hand each, yet while small they both had a round, firm, and jiggling form to them while perky nubs got cooled by the air.

She sighed in relief at the sensation of the cool air greeting her skin once outside the armor and clothes. The swordswoman stared at herself once again, this time a complete opposite of the image she saw in the mirror.

Flashing before her eyes, the image of the blond man her best men managed to capture had taken her reflection's place. There he was: powerful but scarred, fearsome yet humble, and... so very strong... She shivered and inwardly cursed herself for her fears.

"For my people..." she mumbled, and couldn't hold back the choke on her voice or the tear that ran down one cheek, "This is all for my people... This mask I have, everything shall be for them... Everything I have... Everything..."

XXXXXX

"My lord." A knock at the door, and the swordswoman woke up as the sun set down, "Preparations are finally in order. We have also made sure that everything's ready for the Blind Demon's judgment. Should he attempt to fight back, he will be sorely disappointed."

The dark haired woman grumbled, a hand to her neck to check her vocal cords when she spoke, "Those are good news indeed. You're dismissed." She said in her masculine tone. She blushed a bright red upon noticing that her state of dress could be measured with a big fat zero. She was also covered in sweat and it was like a sheet of cold coating her skin.

With a growl, she forced herself off her bed and into her private bathroom to get properly washed up and ready for the night. Once she was done taking a cold shower to cool herself down, she went to her closet where no dress, corset, or pretty high heeled shoes greeted her. Instead she had boots, pants, and many shirts and overcoats. By now she wasn't surprised whenever she instinctively grabbed one and put it on like it was how she was born to be.

She also inspected the various beautiful swords on a shelf by her bed. Swords to give a true gentleman a more refined look and keep them and their dates safe or, if things went south to the point they hit Mexico, get out of a fight. One hand reached out for a rapier, a single and yet strong weapon whose creator made sure that the trademark double-edged blade wouldn't break. The guard was made to look like a white dove, with the wings protecting the hand wielding the weapon from any harm and the head of the dove in front of the user's knuckles.

With that she admired herself, doing her hair so it looked shorter than it was, like a short mop. And there she was, clad in a blue overcoat with gold buttons, a white shirt beneath a black vest that hid her bosom, and tight white slacks that while giving off some of her figure wouldn't reveal she was a woman. And to top it all, a pair of leather gloves and matching but elegant boots. She did give the appearance of a noble, but not one too arrogant about their upbringing at the very least.

From every window of the land one could coaches carrying nobles and a few with wise old men. Ladies in elegant dresses with traits that showed their blooming assets were accompanied by finely dressed gentlemen as their escorts. More than one figure showed power and authority as they stepped into a large building that pertained to the swordswoman.

The raven haired lass owned a wonderful manor capable of housing many guests and also of being used as a fort. But right then and there that night it'd be used for celebrations and wonderful dancing to soothing music. And it was all possible because of the defeat of a single man.

She walked down the hallways and into a large ballroom. A circle in the middle signaled where people could dance to the beats of the music from a band on a corner, and many guests started to get more into it thanks to the calming violins and the serene piano.

Her presence was soon noted, "Oh, it's the young lord that bested the demon..." one lady whispered to her friend, fixing her outfit, "Wish me luck."

Said friend narrowed her eyes, "Wish you luck? Why, darling, I believe you should wish a more deserving lady such luck."

The two were joined by a third lady, "Sorry, ladies, but that gentleman should be with a real woman."

"Get away from him, all you want is to put your hands on that reward, not to love someone as handsome and powerful as him."

"You're one to talk!"

The swordswoman grumbled and quietly made her way to the buffet table. She smiled at the food that the people of her land put for her, for despite their current situation they did earn the right to celebrate, and even more considering what the money would be for. Now she just needed to-

"Hi..." she turned to see her tactician, wearing bandages to cover the lower half of his face, and he handed her a paper which read: The time draws near.

She nodded, "Indeed, but for now let us celebrate. Finally we can do that..." she smiled and placed her eyes on the people before her, "These people's joy is nothing compared to that of our own. They've had such easygoing lifestyles, and now all of them are paying for our future, the future I dreamed of."

"And the one I've also longed for..."

Another shiver, this one far more deep and hard to control than the one when thinking of the blond man's near nude form.

"Father..." her voice nearly cracked when she turned to see a man that was the opposite of her.

A corpulent and bald man past his fifties walked forward clad in large blue robes with a purple shirt, white slacks, and a gold dove necklace on his neck grinned at her. It was his sight what made people wonder if he really had a child like the one before them. His eyes were beady, his face was bulging with fat, and his fingers which currently held a wineglass in one hand and a turkey's leg on the other were too large to properly grab a sword. In fact, his clothes and even his face seemed to be about to burst. It was like he didn't even have a neck.

He took a bite off the leg with grease landing on his face and grinned widely, akin to a pig having the corners of his mouth pulled back, "To think years ago I'd take in the man that not only would be my son but also my land's savior… Truly I made the right choice by buying him from his parents."

A nearby noble let out a laugh, "Indeedly so, my good sir. Why, he's turned into a fine gentleman, hasn't he?"

"True that…" her foster father said, giving her a stare that froze her heart, "I sadly fear he may never marry, the poor, foolish lad. But no matter, for I shall still welcome and feed him like I've done all these years."

"Even more now that he has money." Another noble joked, prompting roaring laughter from the others, but not the girl.

Her tactician nodded, to which she went to the nearest champagne glass, grabbed spoon, and rang the glass, "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?" she said with a warm and practiced smile, holding her glass up in one hand while another reached into her coat, "Today my men, great knights that I've counted on more times than I could count, have stood by my side ever since I first entered this house. They've given me strength, wisdom and hope for the future. But they also gave me power, true power beyond wealth and fame. So look around you, my fellow nobles, to each of the men who took part in setting a plan that successfully captured the man known as the Blind Demon. Especially you, councilmen, since I believe the man gave you more trouble than you needed."

Said old men laughed at the joke but with great pride raised their glasses to the knights before them, which the other nobles did too, albeit some with reluctance due to some spoiled upbringings. "To great glory and prosperity for this land." One of them, who hid his battle scars beneath his robes, said with a large grin beneath a bushy beard while his wrinkled bald head was held high.

Another cheered too, but not for long, "Long live lord-"

"However…" the woman continued and reached for her hair, making her foster parent cringe, "I am more than I appear to be, ladies and gentlemen."

The overweight noble clenched his jaw, "What are you doing, son?" he said with a very forced smile, "What's this nonsense? Everyone knows you're-"

She continued, "I wasn't of a fair upbringing. I was born poor, desperate, and hungry. Many years it was my mother's smile what kept me strong before she had to sell me. She sold me out of despair because I was useless to her, as any kid would to a starving family… Or so I had been told." Her gaze turned cold, "It wasn't until my adoptive father's hands ran through my body that I knew my mother wouldn't have done so, and I was right…"

Said man cringed, "What are you on about?! I saved you from a life of poverty with a woman who'd sooner sell herself than allow you to-"

And her sword was drawn, aimed at the noble man before her, "I was born to be more than a waste of flesh, or so I thought… You molded me to be a son to you, to have an heir, but also to have your way."

People were whispering, unable to understand or fully believe what was going on, "Lower your sword, son! I am-"

And his nose was cut off with a clean slice, eliciting gasps from everyone and cries of horror from the weakest of heart. The man grabbed the hole his face sported without its former flesh guard. Blood poured down like a river of red into his clothes, and his cries were distorted by the trouble he had getting breath in and out.

The champagne glass had been thrown into the ground, broken into millions of pieces, the tip of her sword was on the fat man's throat, and tears ran down her face, "My life has been a lie… That's what mother told me when I finally found her at my lord's place. And it is his power which shall bring back what I lost…" she reached into her coat and pulled out, to everyone's shock, a vial of blood, as did her soldiers.

The soldiers each pulled out their vials opened and pulled them to their lips, not before chanting out loud, "For the glory of our lady!" and thus they drank the blood, all for the woman they followed loyally.

The nobleman's eyes widened, "Imbeciles! I pay you, you should obey and protect me, not this."

"I'm afraid that's enough of you…" the tactician said, wiping his lips off the blood he drank, showing a newly reformed cheek, "We did fight for money, but as soldiers we wanted to fight for more… Our lady showed us far better."

The men then turned to their lady, and her eyes were drawn to the vial in her hand, "With this blood, I shall finally sever my chains to you-"

"Grk!" everyone turned when a knight felt to his knees, his hands on his throat, with his fingers sinking in deeply. And then another followed, falling flat on his behind while his fingers clawed at his chest through his breastplate, scratching so wildly he started breaking the nails and ripping them off his fingers.

Her tactician followed, a hand on his chest where his heart should be, "M-My lady, what-" he then let out a loud, guttural, feral scream of pain and rage before sinking his hands into his ribs, ripping apart flesh and bone, and pulled out his own heart…

And as their cries echoed into the night's sky, Naruto stood up, out of his cell, shaking his left wrist and stepping over the jailors before him with marks from his soles firmly printed on their faces. "I knew he had to be behind this…" he sniffed the air, and the stench of blood gave away where his cleaver was.

Back at the part men and women cried in futile attempts to escape the horrors before them. The warriors that became the pride and joy of the party had lost their flesh, and their armors had been partly ripped off to show the new abominations that came from the blood they drank. Their size multiplied, their muscles grew to the point the skin was ripped off, and their faces changed too along their eyes. Gone was any sign of life or humanity in their faces as their teeth grew longer, sharper, and cut through their lips. The sound of their skin being shred to pieces echoed in the halls almost as much as the screams of the guests trying to find a safe spot. The soldiers' faces grew longer, angular, akin to that of a dog's, and while they remained humanoid, they had grown to be twice the size of any man.

The swordswoman aimed her rapier at the thing her tactician had become. He looked like a large boar, and all similarities ended there. Its body was composed of hundreds of large bulges the likes countless tumors could cause. He was hunched on all fours, his back's flesh ripping to show bone spikes covering and protecting the spine. The face was still human, if barely. The bulges that inflated it, akin to someone stuffing a leather bag full of rocks, forced one eye to be permanently shut behind the large amount of needless skin. And a long tongue was dragged on the floor from the former human's mouth.

"Men, stand back! That's an order!" she shouted, no longer using her authoritarian voice but instead pleading to the creatures that she once trusted.

The large pig before her cackled, "I'm afraid not, my lady… You still haven't accepted our lord's wishes and will." He stepped towards her, his feet and hands making wet meaty sounds on the floor due to them being nothing more than useless flesh and meat coating the bone behind many layers.

She gritted her teeth, "But we were promise-"

"You were promised… fool…" the large boar said with the deformed men close behind him, raising their swords, shields, axes, spears, and staves. "You were promised freedom from the man that stole your right to be a woman, and the one that stole you of the innocence behind a caress…"

Said nobleman, already behind a large table, bolted away towards an opening on a window, intent on jumping out through it. Imagine his surprise when the boar turned around and spat at him. A thick, gooey ball of slime erupted from the deformed tactician's mouth and into the obese man's ankles, making him cry at a burning sensation. The nobleman's cries turned into screams of horror and pain when he looked down at his feet.

They were gone. Instead of feet there were stumps coated in his very blood and slimy threads that led to a pool of dissolved flesh and bone. The nobleman cried again with his face losing all shades of color. He rolled around and used his hands to drag himself away from the puddle, far away from the monster knights and the demonic boar that spat acid to melt off his feet into a messy puddle. And once again he didn't get far upon slamming on the deceivingly fast boar. The corpulent monster opened its jaws, unhinging them, and brought its sharp teeth on the nobleman's gut, ripping off flesh and intestines for a single hungry bite. The man barely let out a yelp before collapsing from the pain, dying slowly and miserably on the floor without being aware of how his life was ending.

The former tactician turned to the swordswoman with a bloody grin while it chewed on her foster father's guts, "Master Shinju expects a good soldier out of you, my foolish lady…" the boar chuckled darkly, "It is time we follow someone worthy of our power…"

And he dashed at the girl, his mouth wide open with drool and his acid spit coming out and his teeth aimed at her neck. The swordswoman didn't hesitate. She narrowed her eyes, stepped forward, and lashed her rapier at the pig with masterful ease. She spun around the large animal while it fell flat on his face, melting the ground with his spit while blood poured out of his side, coating the floor with the dark and acrid smelling thick crimson liquid. She turned around and kept her guard up, blade raised and tip aimed at her former tactician with a cold glare and a sheet of tears covering her eyes.

She blinked the unshed tears away, "You're not my friend…" she wiped the blood off her sword with a swing and stared at him hatefully, "Your eyes, they're not alive anymore. There's no kindness to them or even a hint of humanity. They're void, dark, and full of malice, like a true monster's."

The boar chuckled and got up, getting gasps upon presenting his wound to the guests and how it started to heal at an accelerated rate, "I'm afraid you will make either a fine servant or a fine meal for Lord Shinju." He stomped the ground, "Take her down, men!"

The corrupted soldiers raised their weapons and charged at their former lady who braced herself for the impact and what was sure to be a painful death, but… "If I must go down, I'll do so finding a way to drag you with me and give you rest, my friends!"

"Stop being such a fool…"

At those words, three deformed knights, their weapons and a nearby pillar and wall had been split in two. The audience was shocked into silence as the owner of the raspy gravelly voice stepped out of the hole in the wall to reveal a fully clothed Naruto with his cleaver on his back and a scowl on his face.

The boar gasped, "H-How did you escape?! We sealed you with the best magic of any land, so how could you get here?!"

Naruto casually rolled his shoulder before giving a firm answer, "If it's to hunt down the bastard that turned you into this, you better stop getting in my way." He aimed his cleaver at the monsters and his teeth were bared to them, "Only until I stop him will I allow my body to stop!"

A councilman groaned, "Is this truly the Blind Demon, Uzumaki Naruto?"

Said blond turned to the swordswoman, "Get everyone out of here." He hefted his sword for emphasis, "Swinging this thing around means that anything in its way will be split in two."

She shook her head, "These are my men, I can't allow you to simply-"

"Shut up and do something useful!" he shouted at her, not even pretending to care, "They will stop at nothing until they kill you, eat you, rape you, or all three at once. They and their master are true monsters. That is what the blood you got from him does, and it is something that can't be undone…" he gritted his teeth and they grew sharper, "Once that monster taints you, there's no coming back. Either you end the misery, or it'll keep going until their deaths."

The boar chuckled, "He is right, my lady… Our master has blessed us, and he won't let us go back to our useless, weak selves. Like we desired, we shall fight for someone worthy of our power to our deaths!"

The former tactician rolled into a ball, his spike spine on display while the bone sunk into the floor. Then it started to spin, taking high speeds like a wheel, but crushing and turning the floor into dust and pebbles the more speed it got. It rolled right at the swordswoman, who ground her teeth and readied her sword for the incoming strike and observed her once loyal soldier rush at her with the intent to kill mercilessly. She swiftly stepped out of the way and stabbed at one of the fleshy openings, sinking her rapier on the gut. She also took a few step backs, but held back a grunt at seeing the wound she inflicted closing quickly.

It was then that she started to grasp the concept of what monster she really was facing when the corrupted human slammed into several guests of the party. Their limbs flew off, broken like pieces of a porcelain doll smashed by a hammer. Chunks of meat and puddles of blood landed around the large boar once it stopped its charge without even casting a second glance to the casualties of his first attack. Men and women alike, some far too young who had yet to find the meaning of what marriage meant had been turned into minced meat. The large monster took this opportunity to bite some of the chunks of body parts in front of his face like a true hungry pig in front of edible trash.

Bloody teeth gave her a grin from the large pork before it rolled into a ball and chased right at her with every attempt to kill with his next strike. Just as she was about to prepare for this blow, the boar snorted in amused laughter and jumped at her midway. The girl's eyes widened upon seeing the monster's march change into a jump right at her with his deformed mouth opened, letting globs of his acidic saliva spill on the ground and into some of the guests, melting their limbs and half the face of a poor elder man that wasn't fast enough.

The swordswoman readied herself for another strike, to try to drive her rapier down the monster's head and into his heart if possible, and watched a much larger blade accomplish the job. Naruto had stopped waiting, he stepped up, more like stomped in front of the girl, and spun his body around to bring Zabuza's sword right through the boar's mouth. The loud squelch of meat and bones being cut up echoed in the room, accompanied in the background by some people's horrified yelps and gasps upon the sight before them. Naruto made it happen fast and painless, but that's what it looked like.

The cleaver went right in between the eyes, chopping apart brain matter in two along the skull, the tongue, the throat, and any organs on its way to the heart. Naruto stepped back, raised his sword, and brought it down on the blood pump with enough force to make the ground shake and shatter it into a crater where the blood started to make a pool.

He pulled back the sword and hefted it on his shoulder, turning to the deformed soldiers, "This sword is the only one capable of killing these monsters. Its large enough to cut through their whole bodies at once before they regenerate, and it's a hundred times the damage of a normal sword." He then chuckled, "Of course, I swing it with such force, it dulls the edge. But that's ok, because the more blood it feeds from the sharper it'll get."

Guests all around him backed down, seeing the blond man start to give into his bloodlust with a large, feral grin. There was no humanity to that grin, just the instinct of killing an enemy without a second's doubt. And this was proven when a large deformed soldier with a mace dashed at the blinded man, and soon lost his arm when the blond stepped forward, severing the limb with a powerful cut from his blade. The demonic knight roared in pain, and Naruto took it as his cue to spin around yet again and cut his chest up. His cleaver neatly chopped through the hart and both lungs, rendering the deformed mass of meat in armor unable to do anything but coat the floor with even more blood.

Roaring loudly, both parties rushed at each other with Naruto bringing up his cleaver and the deformed soldiers aiming to kill their master's sworn enemy. The audience closed their eyes or let their fear show of the actions from both sides. Naruto wasn't hesitant, his sword cut through everything on its way, and if it hit a wall and received any crack from it the blood of the dead soldiers would repair it like it had done when Suigetsu broke the mist demon's blade. It fed from the iron on their blood, but to everyone watching the madness it was like the blade hungered on the red substance, draining it from everyone stupid or suicidal enough to be on its way. And the more soldiers rushed, the wilder the swings became, and the more dead bodies fell down.

And one swordswoman realized something, "This isn't just killing intent moving him… those moves…"

A councilman nodded, his wise and unbelieving eyes having to acknowledge the truth, "He may be a madman and a real monster, but those are the skills of someone who has killed so much that it comes natural to them. This is a swordsman that wasn't born with talent; it's one who made himself through blood."

The final soldier rushed at the blond man's right side, trying to impale him with a spear. He nearly got the blade on the blinded man's ribs, had it not been split in half with the staff and the deformed knight's fingers. The corrupted man stepped back, watching his fingers slowly grow back from the stumps, and then looked down when the massive cleaver that had killed all of his former comrades had found a cozy home in his chest. The edge of the blade was pointed to the sky, right at the face of the monster. And Naruto wasn't done, he ran forward, pushing the soldier back until the corrupted soldier's back slammed on a wall, and the blade pierced all the way through his body and through the wall until only the handle could be seen.

It turned even more horrifying to see what a demon's blood could do when the halfway soldier still tried to lash at the blond, clawing at him with his hands which fingers had lost all meat and turned into sharp claws. "Just another mindless puppet…" Naruto whispered and raised his sword up, splitting the body vertically in half along the wall.

Needless to say, no-one remained in the room that wanted to challenge the dark swordsman who sneered, took a deep breath, and spat on the ground, "What is he?" asked the swordswoman.

As if to answer, Naruto nailed his cleaver on the ground, getting everyone's attention from the force that shook the floor, "I…" he started, and walked forward, leaving his sword behind, "Would like to enjoy dinner now."

The entire party had to resist the urge to plant their faces on the ground at such words when the dark man moved to the nearest plates of food and started to eat. He grabbed a large red apple and bit on it with gusto, letting the juice run down his face without a care. The survivors could only stare at the man that by all rights had saved them from being treated to a very horrible evening eat like he was another guest at the party, or rather the host with the way he grabbed a large bowl of punch singlehandedly and started to drink until not a drop remained, and then dropped the bowl back on the table to keep on eating.

"Can a man like him truly exist?" the councilman beside the swordswoman asked, stroking his chin and failing to keep his eyes in their sockets, "To call him human would be foolish, but to call him anything less than a true man with his actions would put a former soldier like myself in shame."

"Dare you speak the truth with such words?" the swordswoman asked, looking down, "Because I'd have to agree with you, dear councilman."

Naruto arched a brow, "Aren't you guys going to eat?" he asked casually before taking a large bite out of a turkey leg.

A rather skinny councilman nearly jumped off his socks, "Oh… why, yes… I am rather famished after that encounter with death…"

"Wait a minute!" a noble lady shouted, "Aren't we forgetting who this man is?! He's the Blind Demon, he shouldn't be trusted with the blood on his hands."

A nobleman nodded, "If one of us were to take him down…" he reached for his rapier.

Naruto threw the bone of his turkey leg and in order to have some peace while eating he clenched his hand into a fist and punched right through the nearest wall, "You can try." He said and blew the dust off his knuckles.

"Wait!" It was the swordswoman, "I and many have made a mistake… Those who you have killed… were they all tempted like I was to use that blood?"

A yelp escaped her lips when the man appeared right in front of her in the blink of an eye and lifted her off the ground with his hand, pulling her close to his face, "Then you owe me more answers than I thought." He stated coldly, "You fooled me, imprisoned me, and would have me killed had you turned into a demon."

"I'll tell you everything!" she said, and her voice didn't show any fear, and didn't shake or hesitate, "In return, allow me to accompany you!"

He sneered, pulling her closer so her eyes met the black cloth that covered his empty sockets, "Why should I? You're nothing but a fool. All of your soldiers are dead by my hand because you fell for a single lie. Had you drank the blood you still hold on your clothes, I'd probably have killed you along them. So think very well on your answer, lady."

She didn't close her eyes, she gave him a determined stare, "Because they were my men, people I trusted with my secrets and sorrows… It'd pain me more than any death to know I could help make their souls rest at peace but didn't do a thing."

And then, the blond slammed his forehead on hers, giving her a ticket to unconsciousness and the audience to feel a large drop of sweat roll down the back of their heads when he went back to eating.

XXXXXX

"In the end… he got free."

"Your Eminence, are you all-"

The soldiers in the room stepped back when their ally's head rolled down the floor, "Just one time would I like for a plan to work on that Uzumaki brat…" he growled, "It was simple, to lure him into a place where my spawns could raise Hell and burn everything to the ground while he was defenseless by this world's best. Then he'd be suffering through an existence worse than Hell for me…"

"Your Eminence, why do you insist on capturing and torturing him? If he remains alive then you'd be-"

And another head was off, "Fools! His blood, his power, you've seen them! Even if he has been broken, he holds the might to stand up, but not to me! I won't be second to a pathetic boy who can't even cry properly! I will take all from him, and the madness he will spiral down into shall be the start of something great!"

"What should we do then, sir?"

"Ready my ride. It is time this blind child learns his place. And by my own hand he will fall."

XXXXXX

Taking in a faint breath, the swordswoman woke up, taking in her surroundings and the morning sun's rays falling down on her through a large window, as well as the intimidating dark man before her. She sat up on the bed she found herself and tried to reach for a weapon, but found herself in a white gown. She blushed for her chest was so small that the hole on the gown's neck for the head allowed a view of her rosy tips. Whether the man before her could see or not, she covered her body with both hands and stared at the man that just one day ago she had tried to capture and sell for a better life for her kingdom.

He appeared to be in a deep slumber, with his behind on a chair and his arm hugging his cleaver to his body. The stench of blood emanating from the blade did annoy her, but she managed to ignore it enough to crawl closer to the blinded blond and, "You're awake." She fell back on her bed from the shock.

"You… How can you be here when all man alive would kill for your head?" she asked, taking in her surroundings to find a way out.

He sighed, "Not everyone at your party was ungrateful. I was allowed to stay here by your servants considering you now own this place. And I have yet to ask where you found that blood."

She pulled the sheets over her body, staring at him intently, "My friend and tactician, he found through his contacts ways to, in his word, give our army the power to stand up to others."

"And you two believed it… Fools." He said without remorse.

She growled, "I know… I am nothing but a fool indeed. But this land can barely survive with other places taking our food and resources." She turned at him with her eyes staring deeply into his being, "If you had the chance to change the life of those you love for the better, wouldn't you risk yourself?"

Naruto sneered, "I would, and make no doubt about that. The problem is that I did that once, and it cost me being half the man I used to be." He groaned at himself, "I'm not saying you should be selfish and look out only for yourself, but if you don't do what is right instead of what you tell yourself is right, then you will pay."

The girl looked down at her knees, which she closed along her legs closer to her face, "I know… I knew I shouldn't have trusted anything but… Families, all who grew here, deserved a chance for something more."

"And you are still a fool." Naruto said firmly before standing up and putting his cleaver on his back, "I should head out now… Whatever you think of me now doesn't matter."

She shook her head, "But you and I desire to kill this monster, so why-"

"Because…" he started, cutting her off with a dry throat, "I'm the reason your men died."

A pause broken by a faint, "How…?"

He hooked his thumb to himself, "That bastard wants my head and my head alone. To stay at one place for more than a night is guaranteed to bring his puppets after my life. And what you experienced tonight was him setting a trap like a spider to catch me."

Her fists were clenched, "Impossible… You're telling me the only reason my men perished was because… we were nothing but bait and tools?"

"To monsters like him, you're nothing." He stated coldly, "At best you're a meal, and at worse a piece of flesh for him to crush for fun. You were the latter, and that's why I desire to kill him." He gritted his teeth, "It shall be me and no-one else who gets rid of him."

"Wait!"she halted him, "Where shall you go, then?! Do you not desire help?! The world has hunted you for so long, you certainly could-"

"The only way I'm stopping is when I'm dead, and I am not letting that happen even if I must crawl my way out of Hell." He said coldly and took a step forward, and only one, "But…" he ground his teeth, "I wished to stay for another reason. There was only one reason why I arrived here, and I fear it was the bait that monster used."

He reached into his vest and pulled out a crest, which she recognized, "That symbol…"

He sighed, "So you recognize it… All right then, I will need your help for this." He turned to the girl, "I met the owner of this crest at a cave, and he lost his life there. Tell me, did he really have a family or was it just a lie to escape getting killed by me?"

She looked down, "It is as you say… He was a member of that slave deal, and as you must know he was also a loving father." She looked down, "Had he taken me into his home, I wouldn't be happier."

"Then take me there…" Naruto said with his back turned to the girl, "I owe the man something."

The swordswoman nodded and, after getting a proper copy of the set of clothes she wore last night, stood by his side and guided the blinded man through the streets. It didn't take long for the blond to stick out like a sore thumb when the first set of eyes landed on him. The whispers came next, some terrified and some curious, which was an oddity considering all whispers he had heard for the past ten years had been fearful ones. The civilians didn't try to avoid him too. They stared at him, but did so without the fear that had been put on many because of his image.

"News do travel fast." Naruto heard the swordswoman say, "It appears that your actions from last night have earned you a favor."

"Hey!" Naruto recognized the voice as the one from the kid that threatened him on his arrival.

The young lady turned to the child, worried, "Shouldn't you be at home? We are busy."

The boy ignored her and raced to the blond, "Did you really kill all the monsters at that party?" he asked, with his head hung low.

The blinded man nodded, "I made sure to get them all."

The boy clenched his jaw, "Then, dad…" the young lady looked away at the pathetic sob that the boy let out.

That single cry, the pain that the boy struggled to feel made Naruto's blood turn cold, "If he was one of the knights at that party, then I'm afraid I took his life."

The child gritted his teeth and rushed at Naruto, but rather than strike him or curse him, the boy hugged the blond man, "D-Did he really become a monster?"

Naruto's hand awkwardly found its way to the kid's head, "Not a monster… He became nothing but a tool of a real demon." He said with a tone colder than he ever thought he'd be capable of using, "I won't make it sound like it's all right, that I was in the right, or that you should let this slide. I took someone's life without regret that is all. They were changed, and I couldn't hesitate. If you wish to hate me then go ahead, just don't let that anger turn you into something like me."

"Then why did he have to die?!" the tears were running down the boy's cheeks.

An old man walked forward, "I also have a question for you." He walked to the blond with his cane helping him, "Why do I have to bury my own son?"

A young woman raced at him, "What of my fiancée?"

"What about the father of my children?!" another woman asked.

Their anger was obvious, and it targeted Naruto. Like the people of his village who never acknowledged him as anything but a monster. It was the same hatred, looking for a target to let it all out.

He would have none of it, "It is because of me." He stated coldly, "The one that turned them into monsters has been targeting me for ten years. All the way through he has been using others, making them fight his battles for him, all to kill me." He then reached for his cleaver, "This blade has bathed on the blood of everyone tainted by his blood and many others."

An old woman growled, "You… You monster! How can you speak so casually when my only son had to be burned to ashes to not desecrate his memory with what he turned into?!"

"It's her fault too!" another angered civilian shouted, his finger aimed at the swordswoman, "She got them the blood that turned them into monsters!"

"Why couldn't you find a cure or fix things?!" a little girl asked, "Daddy promised me he'd teach me to ride a horse for my birthday… Now he can't keep his word-"

Silence was accomplished by Naruto's cleaver slamming into the ground with such force that it nearly shook the mob off their feet, "Let's make one thing clear…" he started stoically, "I have killed every single person that has been tainted by that monster's blood. I know full well what it can do. And I've tried to fix it, countless times. Up until now the only way to help those that use that damned blood is by killing them quickly."

"How can you be sure?" the young lady by his side asked, but her voice came out pained and not because of a physical wound, but a deeper kind.

He sneered, "The moment someone takes that blood it's already too late. It's only when you die that it lets you go. It becomes a part of you." He then turned to the now scared group, "And she's not the one selling it. In case you forgot, this is all because of that dastard's plans, doing this as he hides like the cowardly bastard he is. And that is why I will be the one to kill him for all he has done to everyone, to stop him from ruining someone's life for a whim."

When they saw him heft the cleaver on his shoulder, as if to ask if any of them had any questions, the civilians retreated.

The swordswoman turned to the towering man, a look of concern on her face, "Is that blood as horrible as you say?"

"No." he paused for a beat, "It's worse." He then tilted his head to the side, and she nodded reluctantly at being told to go where he wanted while she had so many questions to make.

Soon enough they found it, a large house. It was like a small brick castle with large wooden gates. About three stories of height greeted them, and inside it the blond knew he'd meet someone he had to talk to. Brief flashes of what he and the girl dealt with the civilians when being confronted about the deaths by his hand didn't help to put the blond man at ease.

"Why are you doing this?" she finally asked. "You've caused so many deaths, so why is this one special?"

Naruto took off his hat and put it on her head, making her nearly fall back with the force he used. "Stay here and watch my hat."

"What?!" she was having none of that, "You can't possibly… They will despise you if your actions have brought a love one's death!"

Naruto pushed the gates open, "It is because I took his life that they have the right to know how he died…" he turned back to face her, "He gave his life to me so I never arrived here, all so his wife and children wouldn't have to be in danger. I owe them that, whether they hate me or not."

He stepped in, and smelled it: blood. His veins froze yet didn't stop him from racing inside towards the smell. A sound reached his ears, the sound of someone eating, ripping and chewing on raw meat. And that someone had a smell that Naruto would never, ever forget.

Naruto let out a deafening roar and lunched forward, his cleaver in hand and sailing through the air at the figure before him. A loud crash was heard and the swordswoman arrived shortly, her rapier out, and her eyes wide at the figure that jumped off the table. The cleaver cut through said table and the ground, and the one that had been seated there stood tall and proud before Naruto with a bloody mouthful of an unborn child whose remains he carried in one hand.

"Naruto, it took you too long." The Juubi said, wiping his mouth with one hand and looking at the living being that had only existed six months in the womb. "I grew bored and hungry. Then I remembered all you've done to this family."

"It's me you want, monster!" Naruto shouted, baring his teeth.

The dark being cackled, "Fool, it is not as easy as desiring to kill y-" he jumped away from another slash that nearly got his head, "How rude you are, Naruto."

"I've spent ten years hunting you down in this world. I'm taking your head now." Naruto growled, wiping his cleaver around.

The Juubi chuckled and reached down to a large couch, and a yelp came out when he caught what he was looking for. "But you still decided to make time for them…" the dark being lifted a child, a young boy whose eyes were stained with tears, "Boy, tell him what I did, detail by detail…"

The boy let out a terrified hiccup, unable to let his voice out in any form, until the Juubi grabbed his arm and to the swordswoman's shock ripped it off. "You bastard!" Naruto shouted, slashing at the black clad demon, but the Juubi stopped the strike. All it took was to raise the bleeding, agonizing boy as a shield.

"Oh Naruto, you seem to forget why you are here. The reason I kept you alive for so long was to sink you into an endless despair. Your misery has made you weaker and weaker, as has your kindness. You're far too stupid to cry, brat. In the end, you shall not even be yourself when I'm done breaking you. So let your rage grow. Come on, let it all out… I want to see it consume you to erase everything you have."

The boy sobbed, "M-Mister… Please… save me…" he sobbed again, "I… I want my daddy!"

Naruto froze at those words, which widened the Juubi's wicked grin as he put his lips near the boy's ear and whispered, "This is the man that killed your father."

The kid's eyes widened, and the Juubi grabbed his head. The swordswoman felt her heart turn to stone and sink when the monster before her who she once believed to be a good lord ripped an innocent, terrified boy's head off. The boy's mouth was opened in a scream that'd never leave his eternally pale lips.

Rage.

Pure, simple, untamable rage erupted from Naruto. His entire body was covered in crimson flames of hatred, and he lunged at the monster before him with nothing but bloodlust and anger behind his swing. The Juubi grinned and reached to his back, pulling out a pitch black blade that Naruto had clashed with on the past, the last Uchiha's chokuto.

The two blades met and the entire house shook, the swordswoman clenched her jaw and ran outside. She had seen the ground sink beneath both opponents' feet and the walls crack from the pressure behind the blow. She jumped off the last two yards out and heard and even felt the entire house fall down. She could hear the walls crumble, the windows break, and the two combatants shrugging it off while the sound of their steel clashing against each other echoed in the chorus of falling debris.

And there they were, at a stalemate with the demon holding his sword with both hands and Naruto pushing him back singlehandedly as he growled at him, "It's the same with all of you. Madara, Obito, Kaguya... All of you want to control everything by making others miserable! I should thank that it makes you so predictable, and easier to kill you!"

The Juubi grunted, "What power… You are a terrifying person indeed, Uzumaki brat…" and then he grinned, "But you forget what I am."

The blond man's eyes would've widened had he still any in his empty sockets when the Juubi stepped forward and pushed him back, singlehandedly, "Bastard…"

Shinju cackled, "Your rage made you powerful beyond any amount of my blood I could have given anyone. And I'll commend you for it. Unfortunately for you, I am not one of those fools you've faced." He kicked Naruto, knocking the wind out of him and sending the man known as the Blind Demon to crash into a wall.

With the world spinning, Naruto had trouble getting back up with his large cleaver as a cane, his senses trying to focus on the monster he had hunted for so long, and Shinju standing a few feet from him. A sharp jolt of pain put the blinded man's feet back on reality when the chokuto pierced his shoulder. The Juubi grinned and twisted the blade with a sickening cracking noise that signaled a bone.

Yet Naruto didn't scream, he wouldn't give the demon that satisfaction, he won't. So he gritted his teeth and, in a moment of brilliance, slammed his forehead on the demon's, sending the dark being staggering backwards and also causing the Juubi to pull out the blade from the feathery haired man's shoulder. Now with a safe distance, the dark blind swordsman raised his sword with great effort for once. His shoulder complained about the pain, but the adrenaline rushing through his veins and the desire to kill the monster that ruined his and many others' life overpowered the need to acknowledge the damage.

Shinju for his part growled, "I can never be too careful with you, even when I play nice… Get him!" he raised his hand at the blond.

Many footsteps rushed at him, footsteps heavy with armor. Naruto turned around and cut through a halberd, diagonally slicing the armored knight behind it along his shield and the other three knights behind him. The Juubi dashed at the blond and slashed once again, forcing Naruto to parry the strike with the flat side of his cleaver. The blades shot out sparks, and the crimson flames surrounding the blind man intensified. He jumped at the dark being, swinging the blade wildly while the demon calmly stepped back, walking backwards at a leisure pace with a calm smile and his sword blocking all strikes.

The swordswoman widened her eyes, "He's playing with him… What kind of monster is Shinju?" she reached for her rapier, but noticed it was gone. She looked around for it, and found it, right where the dark being was stepping back into, "N-Naruto, stop!"

The blond did as told and stepped back, holding his blade still aimed at the now scowling dark being, "It seems your little friend brought you some time." He reached back and held her rapier in his left hand, the chokuto on the right, "Tell me, Naruto, would you feel angrier if I killed her, ate her, raped her, or did all three at the same time?"

Satisfaction coursed through the Juubi's being when Naruto dashed at him and his cleaver was blocked by the crisscrossed dual blades the dark being now held. "Just thinking that you exist is reason enough to end this." Naruto growled, "You die today!"

The Juubi cackled, pushing Naruto back, "Through ten years you've killed more people than any I have eaten. Ten years of slaughtering those that wanted a piece of my power and gladly gave themselves to it. How does it feel to end so many families the likes you never had?" the Juubi reared back his foot… and found Naruto's boot heavily planted on his ribs, cracking his breastplate and sending him flying into the sky and crash against a four story building's wall.

"What…" a soldier of the monster breathed out in disbelief while Naruto hefted his sword on his shoulder.

"I never enjoyed anything I did here," Naruto started, walking to the falling demon, "But I made sure to promise myself to keep on living so long as I could stop you from using more people. Their deaths as your puppets, and the deaths of others, have all been blood poured into this sword. You will feel more than my anger."

The Juubi got up and dusted himself with a look of mid-discomfort, "Why do you always blab nonsense, brat?" he couldn't hide the disgust and hatred he felt at being kicked, "Then again, what should I expect from you, a tool of fate that failed to do its one job? Oh, how easier would things have been for you had all those that wronged you been killed."

Naruto grinned, his fangs growing sharper, "What do you think I'm doing now?"

The Juubi lunged at him with both swords raised, bringing them down to try to cut Naruto in three. The blond grunted upon parrying the strike, feeling his feet sink into the ground. The Juubi grinned widely, and while Naruto was blind he could tell many things thanks to his senses going far and beyond any other human. He could sense killing intent from one side, and heard the string of a bow being released too late to move out of the arrow's way.

Naruto pushed himself back with all his might and it still wasn't enough. The civilians that had arrived to see the fight lost a heartbeat in horror when seeing an arrow skewer Naruto's cheeks, passing from his right cheek to the left and letting blood pour out of the wound. The swordswoman looked away, for she had not only lost her weapon to help him, but her men had all been killed by the monster that was trying to make Naruto more miserable than any form of existence.

Then, a crunch. Shinju's soldiers, the citizens, and the demon himself turned to look at Naruto who was showing his teeth with a sneer. A cracking sound could be heard from his mouth seconds before both sides of the arrow that stuck out of his cheeks fell off. They were split, and Naruto finally spat out the middle piece that remained in his mouth, coated in his blood. He then spat out the remaining blood on his mouth, a huge blob of red, and moved forward.

The Juubi jumped off into a seven story building, away from the blond, with a sneer on his face, "And here I desired to see more pain from you. Come on, boy, scream, cry, feel something worth my time."

Naruto roared, "All I need to feel is your blood on this sword!"

The Juubi grinned, "And what of these people's blood on your hands?" Naruto paused, "Thought so. I have a very strong army for myself. Five hundred men who have submitted to serve me over these past ten years, and they know they are disposable. However, they are men, and as such I bet they want money and love… How about everything this place owns along every female's company should they kill the most people here?"

"Don't you dare run!" Naruto shouted, running after him only to get his path blocked by five soldiers, briefly.

Shinju grinned at the sight of his soldiers' bodies flying in pieces, "I will wait for you outside this place. Just let my men kill all they want. I'm sure your rage will be-" He had to block three throwing knives aimed at his forehead, his heart, and his crotch. "Make haste, Naruto" he growled and flew away.

"Go!" the swordswoman said, holding a sword in her hand. Soon many other civilians, including women and children, came to her side armed with weapons or any tool they could get their hands on, "We can hold them back. Kill their master and they will fall!"

"But you…" he had so much to say, but she silenced him.

"You've killed all those people to get to him, and this is our land. We have our reasons to fight for something. Don't let us hold you back, if we die here… it'll be on our own terms!" Many villagers, even some that looked terrified beyond belief, nodded and shouted their approval.

Naruto hefted his cleaver on his back, "I'll take down as many as I can on my way to him."

And he did as told, running down the streets and cutting down every single enemy soldier coming after his or another's life. Slicing them apart with savage swings, his face caked in his own blood, and his shoulder aching from the stab. The adrenaline had already run out, and the fatigue was starting to take its toll on him, not to mention the fact he endured having an entire house fall on top of him. And yet he kept running without slowing down. Even if his body fell apart, he would kill the Juubi.

The archer that had shot Naruto's face tried to aim at the blinded man's back, and was rewarded with a sword that pierced his ribcave from one side to the other, "You will not interrupt his fight." The swordswoman said before turning to the civilian charging behind her, "This is our land, let us fight for it!"

Even as he raced and cut through any and all soldiers that were on his way, Naruto could hear the young lady and her people fighting back with all they had. If they weren't going to stop, then neither was he. His sword blurred through the streets killing and slicing everyone that was an enemy. He kept running, following the presence of the Juubi as he flew away to the outskirts, leaving behind a trail of blood and body parts.

The demon was amazed when Naruto started to catch up with him, "What makes us so different, boy? You have thrown away what you prided yourself of, that determination to save everyone. You're no longer human, and every single time you arrive somewhere there has been more than one death by your hand."

The sound of sparks reached Naruto's ears, and he jumped in time to his side to avoid a lightning bolt shot from the chokuto.

Shinju chuckled again, "Even now you have to realize the way we differ: power. You're no longer what you used to be in more ways than one while I have the full extent of your oh so dear friend's body and blood and Kaguya's puppet child. The only reason you're here is because you amuse me, and you have a greater cause to fulfill once I've-"

"You talk too much!" Naruto shouted as he jumped from wall to wall to the rooftops, gave a final jump at the Juubi, and swung his blade at the monster. The demon raised his sword and the one he took from the swordswoman and blocked the blow with a smirk.

"Still a foolish child. These blades are far stronger than that heap of raw iron you carry because of my power. Allow me to show you."

Pain shot through Naruto's every nerve when countless bolts of lightning shook his flesh. The Juubi grinned and only stopped when smoke started to come out of the blinded man. Watching Naruto fall gave the demon an even bigger smile as he admired the crater, and just like that his smile died when Naruto rose up yet again, using Zabuza's sword for support and his hatred as his fuel.

"Persistent to the end, as I've come to expect." The demon growled and watched the blond racing after him with the same undying determination to kill him.

Sooner than later they had made it to the outskirts, a large dirt arena that surrounded the homes with the sea a few hundred yards away of them. The Juubi grinned and raced his chokuto at the blond while Naruto readied his cleaver once again.

"Amuse me some more, Naruto. Have you any idea of why I put you through so much pain?"

"I don't know and I don't care." The blond replied to the demon's question and moved forward.

Shinju chuckled, "All of this, everything you endured was to make sure the seal you have and that Sasuke's body share are mine to command." That stopped Naruto, "Using the Uchiha's body, I have his half, and yours will be mine too. But you can't and won't give it to me. That is why I have to break you, to make you feel far more despair than any being ever could stand. Now that you're here on your soon to be last breaths, I shall raise beyond any god imaginable... And all because you were too weak."

"Stop screwing around." Naruto said coldly, "Why is the seal so important to you?"

The Juubi smirked, "It sealed Kaguya herself, the woman that took and used my power. Naturally, I want to take it and with it under my command there will be more. Did you know that I started as nothing but an empty husk of power? Oh yes, I was nothing if not a simple mindless entity. Until mankind arrived." Moved his sword dramatically to the soldiers that started to surround Naruto, "Power draws them to me, and it is power what made me. Humans have been drawn to raise beyond what they are. Their hatred, sorrow, and greed is what gave me form. Kaguya tried to stop it all… and look what she turned into: a pathetic existence that was manipulated like someone was having fun making her miserable."

Naruto had enough, he jumped at the Juubi, but the demon parried his blow with the rapier, channeling insane amounts of chakra into it, and then stabbed Naruto on the gut. The blond gritted his teeth but otherwise didn't show any other sign of pain. He raised his cleaver and swung it at the demon, who was forced to parry the blow and step back while the blinded man panted and stood up as tall as before.

Shinju smirked, "Yes, it is desire like that what made humans create me. Things started fine, until you humans started to fight for your whims, your revenges, and all those boorish things you pride yourselves about only if you win. Truth is, the losers are the ones at fault. They were never greedy enough. And here I stand, having fed of all their emotions I now finally possess a form thanks to the Uchiha you saw so foolishly as a friend."

Naruto ran at him again, swinging his blade faster and harder. His strikes became wilder and far more ferocious, but the Juubi could see them coming with his eyes and parried them with ease. The rapier and chokuto would clash against the cleaver's steel and stop it dead in its track or move it away from the dark being's stolen body. All the while, Naruto's anger increased, coating him in more and more flames.

It was then that the Juubi smirked, swung his swords, and Naruto failed to register the sound of cracking lightning until it was too late. His cleaver was far too light, and the loud thud behind him said what he knew and regretted. Zabuza's sword was cut, once again rendered useless unless more blood could be given to repair it. But there wouldn't be such a chance.

"You were good, Naruto." The Juubi said with a small smile, "Fighting for ten years all on your own to kill me is truly not an easy task. Unfortunately for you, I am the original god of our world, and will soon rise to be something beyond any other deity to ever exist thanks to you."

Naruto's cape fell off, along the headband that covered his empty eye sockets. Had his eyes still remained there, he could have seen that his heart had two blades piercing it and the demon's large grin.

"Like I said… on your knees." The dark being laughed and pulled back the blades before kicking Naruto on his wound. "This world and all worlds will look up to me for power, and I shall give it to them. It all starts here without you. May you enjoy this dream, Naruto…"

The blinded blond groaned and staggered back, still holding the handle of his sword firmly while the world spun around him, and soon he started to fall.

Countless thoughts raced through his head: was he going to die like this? What would happen to the sword girl and her people? What would Shinju do once he was bored of this world? Was this how he'd die, a meaningless death? Were all those deaths at his hands just as meaningless?

What… did he fight for?

His back landed on the other split part of Zabuza's sword, coating it with his blood. He opened his mouth, breathing out, but no words came.

His blood kept oozing out into the cleaver, and the demon he hunted for so long was approaching him.

He gripped the handle tighter and, with the last remaining spark of life he had, the blond brought the remains of his sword up, and stabbed the Juubi on the chest!

The demon gasped and stumbled back, but growled, "You stupid fool! You're about to die, so why are you even resisting?!" he shoved back the broken blade at Naruto, letting the wound on his chest seal itself quickly, and raised his swords, "I shall take your head then! Goodbye, Naruto Uzumaki!"

A clash of steel against steel echoed in the outskirts. The Juubi looked at the one that had stopped his blow, unable to believe his eyes even if they were those of Kaguya's child and the last Uchiha.

"H-How?!" he choked out.

A pulse. He could hear it, like a heartbeat. And it came from behind the one that effortlessly stopped his strike and, to add salt to injury, was pushing the demon back. Red flames again, dancing behind the figure that now seemed to tower over him.

They came from the broken blade attached to the blond man's back, as if keeping him up as he grinned, "This blade and I have wanted to kill you for so long, you should realize that someone like you with selfish whims can't take me down! This blade is bathed in the souls, the life, and the blood of everyone you've sent my way and those I cared about! It and I are one, and we won't rest until we erase your blood from this and all worlds!"

"That's impossible, how could blood-" and that was the Juubi's answer, "My blood… My own blood?! But how could you-"

The swordsman grinned and slammed his forehead on the Juubi's, sending the dark being flying backwards into a crater the size of a pool. And while the demon tried to get up, the blond couldn't help his spreading grin, "This sword has bathed on your blood mixed with the blood of those you used. In the end, all you did was give me something… something to kill you with!"

Pure raw red power erupted around Naruto, forcing the Juubi to step back while his soldiers were flung off by the burst of energy. A crimson pillar of light shot into the sky, and died down in a few seconds to reveal Naruto, coated in the blood of everyone he killed, his own, and of the steel that came from that blood.

And Shinju knew that it was his power, but something was different, something was alive in it and the blond, "What is that form, Naruto?!"

Rage poured off the demon's words when he watched the armor that the blinded man had on. He still wore his clothes beneath them, the red shirt and khaki slacks. The vest had been replaced with a pitch black steel breastplate, and the design of said piece of armor that hugged Naruto's torso – showing his strong form – was that of ribs, like a beast's ribcage designed to parry every blow. Round shoulder guards also black as coal kept his joints safe from harm with a spike each. His legs were covered from the soles of his feet to his knees by black greaves with a spike on each knee guard, and even his hips and thighs had thick plates for protection.

But what truly called the attention was the helmet the blond wore. It was blank, covering his skull completely and showing no opening or a slit to take it off. What it had were three holes, shaped like the empty sockets of a skull's eyes and nose. In fact, had the helmet teeth carved on the mouth it'd have looked like a skull mask.

On Naruto's left hand was the handle to Zabuza's sword, still blade-less. He threw it up, showing that his arm was covered from the shoulders to his fingers with black gauntlets, which had sharp claws on the fingertips. And then he caught the handle… with his right arm, protected by the same gauntlet his left arm had.

"It's been a while since I could use this much power, or fight with my full potential…" Naruto's voice echoed behind the helmet, which eye-holes glowed with a bright red, Naruto's new eyes, as did his sword. "And now I can see you."

Too fast, it was too fast for the demon. Naruto was right before him, feet from his body, and swung his weapon. Instead of a broken blade, Shinju got hit by a full one. He watched in stunned shock a double-bladed broadsword made of the same steel the blinded man's armor was made of, and behind it was the power of the foul chakra after his hatred drove him to madness. It was akin to a broadsword's blade, straight and thick, and meant with the single purpose of taking a life with a slash or a stab. It was also smaller than the one the demon broke being four foot long and half a foot wide, but felt far more powerful and thicker than the cleaver. What mattered was that the blade was held by both of Naruto's hands. Such a strike was something that carried far more force than the blond man's previous slashes with the large cleaver.

The new sword was much thicker yet also lighter for him to carry thanks to his restored right arm, and it made contact with the demon's swords, which he moved up to block the swing with all his might. The rapier and the chokuto shattered into a million pieces, and the Juubi was flung into the sky with a cut that went from his left shoulder to his right hip and a wound that poured blood into the dark armored man's blade. While soaring through the air the demon watched how the sword devoured his blood, absorbing it and making its energy the blinded knight's. He could see it because just when he was about ten stories high in the air Naruto had appeared right before him with the sword raised above his head and his eyes glowing with unstoppable fury at the demon. The monster was not given even a fraction of a second to avoid the incoming blow that left a larger, deeper cut on his back and sent him face first into the ground. A large cloud of dirt shot up, and the Juubi was deep beneath the ground.

The nearby soldiers stepped back when Naruto landed and turned to the crater where their master had sunk in. Like he had stated before, he would never stop until the demon were dead, so he rushed at the hole where Shinju landed.

"Damn you…" Naruto heard the monster's voice and stopped his charge, "Damn you… Damn you. Damn you! DAMN YOU, UZUMAKI NARUTO!"

A pillar of light similar to the one Naruto was reborn from shot from the crater, but this one was made of something darker, corrupted, and truly horrible. From it a limb the size of a tower and made of pure energy shot out. It tried to grab the blond. Naruto flipped backwards, avoiding the arm. Shinju's soldiers weren't so lucky, and Naruto saw why the demon kept them nearby. More limbs grew out of the gigantic arm and lashed at the soldiers. The fingers sunk through the armor, the hands ripped through into their torsos right inside their ribcages, and pulled the dying, agonizing soldiers up into the pillar. Naruto watched in silence how a mouth materialized on the pillar and opened wide below the hovering gigantic arm. The smaller arms let the screaming soldiers fall, right into the giant maw. Whatever soldiers weren't screaming or running had finally started to do so when hearing their comrades getting chewed with noisy bites.

Then another arm lunged at them, this time with the enormous hand squeezing the soldiers into a pulp which it brought to the maw before squeezing harder, milking all the blood like juice for it to drink as it fell right in the demon's thirsty mouth. Naruto watched yet another arm shoot out, and another and another until he finally stared at ten arms swishing near the sky after the pillar's enormous mouth was done eating everyone but the blond. There were some soldiers, five, each skewered in a finger like olives on a toothpick. They were shoved one by one into the large mouth to be noisily chewed on.

An eye appeared, a purple eye which spiraled with madness and power, ripples adorned it and tomoes spun on them. The eye and the mouth moved forward, taking form. And there was the Juubi, but it was different. Instead of a monster that defied description, it took a humanoid form. It stood at the same outstanding size that Naruto fought before when it unleashed its full power. Its face, if it could be called that, consisted of a row of sharp teeth resembling broken knives put together on a shark's mouth and that eye of his right in the center and staring at Naruto. Spikes protruded from his head like a crown along his shoulders and thick arms, which were more muscular than its ten tails dancing on his back. Its legs were strong and crossed on the lotus position. And his hands were clasped together, but in a seal every ninja knew too well, the same one at that statue on the Chunin semifinals.

"This is the power of a god…" the dark being said. "With the blood of my subjects, I grow stronger."

Naruto scoffed, "You're no god. You're an oversized brat playing to be one."

XXXXXX

Back at the village, the remaining soldiers were fighting tooth and nail against the citizens. Their leader, a young noble looking woman was quite skilled with the sword she grabbed, and her people followed her closely. Kids piled on the soldiers and beat them with sticks and even bites. Women kicked and smashed any tool they could find on top of any armored man that was down or tried to get away. Old men would join by either throwing anything close to hand or flailing farming tools at the men in armor.

"How can we not even hit at least one?!" a soldier cried beneath the soles of several angry residents.

The swordswoman aimed her sword at them, "This land was taken of its good men and knights because of you… Don't think we will stop!"

And that was when the soldiers had to retreat, only to run into a terrifying sight, their master in his full twisted glory.

The fight stopped, "What is that thing…?" a soldier asked. When he made that question, an ethereal arm shot from the ground and grabbed him, pulling him through the ground and into the gigantic pillar's opened mouth.

The swordswoman also noted someone who didn't let a single demonic limb get a hold of him, "Is that…?"

"My fair lady, we should run!" an elder with a sledgehammer, a blacksmith, urged her.

She shook her head, "No… Not yet." She stared at the armored dark man, "There is still hope…"

XXXXXX

"What makes you think you are different, Naruto?" it questioned, "You've killed without stopping to get to me. What was it all for? Revenge?"

Naruto chuckled and held his blade at the monster, "No, it's not as easy as revenge or something as petty…" he narrowed his eyes and slid a foot forward, "The one reason I wanted to kill you was to make sure no-one else has to suffer with your existence!"

Shinju laughed, "Yet you saw me devour those foolish soldiers I kept around. That shall be your worst decision, to see them die and not do a thing."

Naruto readied his sword at his side, "You were going to have them burn this place, that's why I paid no mind. But now you just gave me yet another reason to kill you."

The Juubi cackled, "You think my blood has granted you power. It is merely a mockery of what I have. However, humans prove useful. They make not only excellent food, but excellent means to rise beyond my abilities. Allow me to demonstrate… what this fine meal granted me."

Shinju's tails hit the ground, and the dirt turned into ice. Naruto quickly jumped when his eyes registered the landscape being frozen at incredible speeds. In the blink of an eye, before he landed softly and his greaves cracked the frozen floor, Naruto stared at a land made of pure ice. Even the ocean was nothing but an oversized chunk of ice.

The dark swordsman scoffed, "If you're trying to give me a headache, it's working. What is this for?"

The titanic demon smirked, "Remember Kaguya's power? The same power she'd have used to do this is not even a tenth of what I have in store. The innate power that humans hold within of surpassing one's obstacles has become mine after devouring so many of them. You're nothing but an ant."

Naruto dashed forward, "It just means I'll have to cut through ice to get to you."

Attacking was the monster's reply when it raised its tails and they swung into the skies. Naruto watched clouds form over his head and raced faster at the large demon. In a split second the blond zipped to his side and continued his run, avoiding a lightning bolt that would have fried his organs. The tails tensed, and many sparks of electricity flashed in the cloudy sky for an instant. Countless lightning bolts started to rain down on the blond man, pouring like rain in a storm. The ice shattered, showing the scorched ground below it once the lightning landed.

Shinju grinned, and lost that grin in the same span of a second when Naruto jumped forward, swung down his blade, and split a lightning bolt in half. The dark being growled not at the fact that Naruto's elemental affinity made him stronger than the attack, but the fact that he could cut his way through near endless simultaneous shots of electricity aimed to fry his body was ridiculous. Was his sheer will to win keeping him up, or did the return of his right arm add that much more skill and power to him? Whatever the reason, he was midair, roaring, and ready to slice some more.

Sparks flew in front of Naruto, and the blond was forced to kick the air with such force he rocketed into the sky near the clouds, away from a jet of flames that lighted the ocean and melted the ice. He growled but kicked the air yet again to air-dash away from the demon and land safely on the ground with both hands still holding the broadsword. Two tails danced behind the towering monster, with more sparks the likes a lighter uses to burn gas flew from their tips. Yet again Naruto dashed out of a tornado of flames and stare at his enemy with every intention to kill him slowly and painfully still not preventing him from losing his train of thought.

But his train of thought had been clear to him for the past years after all he endured thanks to the demon. When the Juubi watched him still charge forward the titanic monster raised its tails again, more sparks flashing into existence, and hot fireballs rained down on the blond while he kept charging at him. One could only imagine the Juubi's surprise when he saw Naruto charge right through the flames with his broadsword slashing at the flames with fury, taking them out of his way with pure brute force, and glowing a bright hot red from the heat.

Shinju could only suck in a gasp of shocked air at such a sight, before the red hot glowing sword slashed at his chest, cutting and burning all the way from his left upper ribs to his right hip. The ten-tailed demon let out a painful roar that echoed and literally shook the buildings at the pain of his flesh being cut and instantly reattached with intense hit. It was like a hot knife cutting butter.

But the attack also affected Naruto. The blond groaned beneath his armor and jumped midair right at the ocean behind the Juubi. Immediately after making contact with the surface and by the time his entire body sunk into the water a large cloud of steam flew to the skies. And in the depth of what would be a watery tomb for anyone with armor, the blond grinned.

He had managed to cut through the demon.

"Naruto!" Shinju roared, and Naruto noticed that he could hear him because the ocean had been split, leaving him face down on the sand. "I shall destroy this entire land and force you to watch as I devour everyone there! I will make you wish for death while you see the universe's eternal suffering! All life shall know pain to the end of time and you will beg to die! You shall watch and desire to exchange such torture for the Hell I will create for you!"

The dark swordsman got up and stared at the demon, with two tails touching the surface of the water. Large walls of water with potential seafood swimming behind them stood around him. It took a flick of the wrist for the demon to freeze them, creating an arena for them. Shinju was now standing and walking at him with his tails dancing in a menacing manner. Naruto grinned nonetheless and stood up, chuckling behind his helmet.

"You've tried that for ten years, what makes you think this'll be any easier?"

The desired effect was granted, Shinju raced at him. "What makes you think you can be so cocky?!" he punched at Naruto, who jumped out of the strike's way and into the sky to see the ground shake and sink with the same power a Bijuu Dama would use. He roared again, "I've taken everything from you! Why are you still standing without anger?!"

The demon's gigantic fist sailed yet again at the blond. And it stopped there, midair. Shinju widened his eye in horror at the sight of Naruto's blade colliding with his arm and stopping it dead in its tracks. The force of the collision sent powerful and visible gusts of wind flying all around the two and clearing the skies of clouds. The two growled at each other, seeing as they were evenly matched in power alone.

"You can play god all you want…" Naruto started, "I want to play human for as long as I can!"

The blond kicked the monster's arm up, shocking the ten tailed abomination when he was opened and staggering backwards from such force. It was like when Naruto unleashed his full power, but there was more, far more.

"What moves you forward, Uzumaki Naruto?!" The Juubi jumped back and opened his giant mouth, before turning his head to the houses and people that had been fighting for their land. "Will it be enough to make you overcome this?!"

Naruto's eyes widened when he watched the pure chakra gathering in front of Shinju's mouth in just an instant, aimed at the swordswoman he met as she still stood tall and proud before her people.

"You'd never understand, no matter how much we fought!" the once blinded man shouted and in a flash of golden light he was ready to intercept the blast.

Shinju let loose his attack, a powerful beam of pure energy sailed the air at the blond man, "Show me this power then!"

Naruto held his sword in both hands and stared at the light before him, raised the blade up, and it was then that the Juubi saw it. Behind Naruto there were not only the people whose friends, husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers he took away permanently, but far more. They all reached out to Naruto's back with their hands.

"Who are those people?! Spirits?!" an elder asked, falling back.

The swordswoman widened her eyes, "Their presence… it feels like they are a part of him…"

The visions glowed with power, a pure golden aura that bathed Naruto in light.

Shinju roared and unleashed far more of his power into the blast, making it increase in size.

Naruto swung his sword down…

And the Juubi blinked… He was staring at two Naruto's…

His vision was fading… And he could feel his body falling… both to the right and to the left. Then eternal darkness, a void where he'd never exist, took him.

The citizens gasped at the sight of the towering and terrifying monster being split in two before his remains started to whither like a leaf, soon turned to ashes that the wind took away. But it was not only the monster. Right behind Shinju, up in the sky, they could see the moon's reflection showing. Their eyes could be playing tricks on them, but they saw it… Naruto had not only cut the Juubi in two, but also the moon behind it.

The blond wiped his blade and stabbed the tip on the ground with a proud smirk.

"I did it…" he whispered.

The swordswoman covered her mouth, "Was this power always his? Did he save it for this one battle? Or did something reach him?"

Crack.

Everyone rushed towards the blond at the sound of something breaking. The young lady watched the back of his armor sport a web-like crack which expanded. The sound repeated itself and now the helmet sported a similar crack. Little by little Naruto's armor started to shatter and fall on the ground, turning into a black sand that once again the wind took with it.

And there was Naruto… back to how he entered this world: his eyes and right arm were missing.

He turned around and smiled warmly at the people before him, "I'm glad it's over…" he panted, and the people before him held back their horror when seeing the wounds on his face and, most importantly, his chest where his heart were open, spilling blood on the ground.

He fell to his knees, into the young swordswoman's arms, "What?! Why?!" she cried, and couldn't help the tears staining her eyes, "What's going on?!"

He smirked, "That armor, the blood on it… it kept me going…" he chuckled weakly, "I'm glad for it… Now I can… rest…"

She felt her heart sink, "You can't! After everything you went through, you-"

He smiled wider at her, a smile far warmer than any sun's rays, "It's fine… I feel… at ease…" he then reached into his pants and, to her shock, handed her a bag of gold, "I've killed… so many… whether I… die or not… does not… matter…"

She closed her eyes, "You were the most human person I have ever seen. Never forget that."

He breathed in his last breath, "Thank you…"

And that's how Naruto Uzumaki died, with a smile on his face. He was gone.

XXXXXX

Or, was he?

"Where am I?" the blond asked no-one in particular, just the light surrounding him and his naked form… wait a bit… "Why am I in the buff?!"

He looked around, desperate for an answer, and noticed more. His right arm was where it should be, made of flesh and bone. And since he could see it, that meant he… After reached for his face he confirmed that, indeed, he had his eyes back. Not only that but any scars on his body were gone. He looked like he had been born once again.

The light around him took form, and a single melodic voice spoke, sounding neither male nor female, "Greetings, young child."

"Hello?" he asked more than replied, unable to make heads or tails of what was happening.

The figure clasped its hands and took on a more feminine appearance, "My brothers and sisters have seen your battles. We are observers of many things, overseers to battles like yours. Yet, not once did we ever witness someone with such darkness like yourself turn it into something so pure. The madness you endured was an ordeal that should have turned you into a monster. And yet…" the light woman approached him, and he didn't know how but he could tell she had a tender smile, "You fought to stop a great evil and deep down cared for those you fought for and against. You stopped many great evils, and did so without hesitation, and showed kindness to those that needed it, as well as strength for those who didn't know they needed it. That has been your life."

He sighed, "I wouldn't say it was one well lived."

The figure smiled more, "We beg to differ. We have seen your potential as a champion, Naruto Uzumaki…" she waved a hand and before Naruto appeared the clothes he died with, clean like the first day he wore them, and the dark armor and sword he carried in his last battle, "That is why we have an offer for you: become our sword to guide heroes like you to defeat unspeakable evils, and fight said evil should no-one else step up for such task."

Naruto gripped his sword and stared at it with cold eyes, "I'm not a saint…" he gripped the handle tighter, "But if it's to make sure that monsters like the Juubi don't roam around, then count me in! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I shall be not the sword to destroy evil, but a shield to protect those who are worth fighting for!"

That was his vow, and this was his new life.

No matter the challenge, he had something to live and fight for.

And that was good enough for him.

XXXXXX

-FIN-

Life has been hard for me these past days: I was in a shootout from which I barely managed to get away from and thanked the entire universe that I didn't find a blocked road on my way to safety, had to delete many of my fics after coming to terms with myself that I'd never be able to finish them because of my lack of inspiration, and have been working myself to mental exhaustion these past months to get past a very stressful part of my personal life.

So I told myself, "Why're you putting up with this? You're better than that!"

I didn't believe it, but then came Death Battle with the Guts vs. Nightmare fight, and then I got into Berserk. You can guess how things went from there. I also got into Bloodborne, and somehow I just kept getting myself depressed over nothing.

It was then that I laughed. No, seriously, I laughed at how pathetic I was being so I decided to man up and set things straight.

I've made this fic partly as a love letter to what Kentaro Miura has inspired on many people, and mostly to show myself that I can still make stories and finish them.

As for any questions you may have... The swordswoman is an OC, a "faceless" character whose life is harsh to show how cruel the world Naruto landed into really is. The overseers were practically the closest to a deity you will come across, and sadly can't interact with the mortal world because of the typical god rules you tend to find in fics.

And Naruto's story ends this way, a bittersweet ending for a bittersweet experience I had writing this.

I hope you all enjoyed it, because I certainly did. I feel refreshed and like I'm finally doing something once again.

I am sorry if you want more, but this is it. You guys can make your own ideas of what happens next. Maybe Naruto appears to test heroes' might, or maybe he beats up really evil assholes.

I'll admit I based the swordswoman's body design on Lucina from Fire Emblem, and that I may as well have ripped off Berserk with the dark turns on the plot. But I never lost sight of what I wanted: to make Naruto face hardships with everything he had and far more.

Now this stor is over, and it was a wild ride.

Thank you for reading it.

Swordslinger out!