Sunset Approaches

Disclaimer: Naruto is not my property. Remember that.

Howdy, howdy. I'm gonna give a shot at Naruto, this time around. Oh, and get this, it'll be more than one chapter! Yeah! Let's hope my lazy ass can get into gear to actually finish a longer story. Anyways, don't expect a long chapter. There are bound to be a few mistakes, as I don't feel like reading this right now, but I do feel like uploading it. I like to keep things a bit short, but hey… I may surprise ya xD. Alright, on with the show!

Everything had been taken from him. This one man, no, this monster, had reached out and ripped all that the young man held dear out of his life. The closest thing to a father that he had ever had was snatched out from under his nose before he even had a clue.

When he couldn't possibly have hurt the boy worse, he did. Like the demon from those many years ago, he struck out at the village… his home. This man, Pein, had accomplished something that not even the demon could. The bastard once again gripped something Naruto loved and destroyed it. Konohagakure had fallen.

Naruto, as valiantly as he fought, was no match for the undeniable power that Pein wielded. His lack of power, lack of ability, caused him to lose yet another. One of his closest friends, intervening just as Naruto was to be taken away, was nearly instantly killed before his eyes.

To make things worse, seconds before, she told him something that nobody had ever told him. He knew that his friends, his mentors cared for him. But she was the first to tell him something like that. She loved him.

Black. Emptiness beyond anything Naruto ever experienced had washed over him. The darkness spoke to him. It felt his pain, his sorrow. Everything the young shinobi felt, the darkness sympathized with. It comforted him. It covered him. It offered him solace.

"Together-…"

'Together-…"

Their thoughts spoke simultaneously. Their minds entangled. Their entire beings came together to create a single entity. They were one. Always and forever.

"We are-…"

'We are-…'

A grin found itself on Naruto's face as he swam in the darkness. He reached out, fingers grazing an object that seemed to materialize from nowhere. His eyes interlocked those within. As he stared into the object, he realized what it was. Naruto had locked eyes with himself. The he in the mirror gazed back, grinning as well. Together, they spoke.

"UNSTOPPABLE!!"

The empty void of infinite blackness vanished before him, replaced with sickening red. Power flowed through his entire body. Pain flowed alongside it. The final ingredient, a surge of pure, unrestrained hatred, connected the three.

What was just seconds ago Naruto now stood a being drenched in an aura of blood red. The skeleton of a fox had materialized over the creature. The chakra itself was solidified around him, attaching itself to the skeleton in its back.

It was Naruto, and yet, it wasn't. Everyone knew Naruto. He was a bit of a wildcard. The young, outgoing shinobi always had a smile plastered on his face.

Uzumaki Naruto was someone who would go out of his way to make anyone else's day the best he could. He was caring. He was kind. Although he was a bit of an idiot, he was a genius in his own right.

This couldn't be Naruto.

It simply couldn't.

And yet… it was.

By the time the being's hearing had returned, Pein was done with his speech. It didn't matter. This creature wasn't in a listening mood. It had one purpose. One thought. One goal.

The seal etched into his necklace activated immediately. It was a little back-up added to restrain the fox's chakra in the case that it might possibly overtake Naruto's.

Even Yamato hadn't suspected, though, that it could possibly get this out of hand. Six tails was simply unexpected. Even so, the seal's power reached forth to restrain the demon and lock its power away.

Naruto elicited an otherworldly screech as his paw reached forward and gripped the necklace. In his normal state of mind, Naruto would never destroy something as precious as this.

It was a prize he had won off of Sundae. This trinket had belonged to the Shoddier Homage.

But it was in the way.

The enflamed paw smashed the necklace without a second thought, relieving itself of the burden placed by the seal.

Six tails of blazing chakra exploded forward with the intent to rip the one standing before them into nothing.

It was Pein's turn to die. He always went on about his pain. Pain this. Pain that. As far as the snarling death bringer was concerned, a little more wouldn't kill him.

That's why this demon intended to send him enough to kill him a thousand times over.

"GRRAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRR-!!!!"

The man named Pein dodged, albeit not easily. The speed that this demon wielded was far greater than that in which Naruto previously wielded.

"This pain… this loss… it has revealed your true power."

A wall of chakra rammed into Pein, silencing him instantly. It crashed over him like a wave called forth by Shinigami-sama himself. For a short moment, Pein couldn't breath. He couldn't see. He couldn't think. But he wouldn't lose.

The smoke dissipated, showing the remainder of Pein's body. Half had been disintegrated by the fox chakra. It was, in a sort of way, funny. Nobody before had been able to defeat so many of bodies under Pein's command. One was the most anyone had ever gotten before being killed by the rest.

Even then, most of the time that one kill achieved was luck. And yet, here, this one young man had completely killed all but this one remaining. Flesh was so weak.

A God doesn't need something as weak as mortal flesh.

"However…"

Pein hadn't anticipated something like this. The Kyuubi's immense power was something that he knew wasn't to be trifled with. Still, Pein hadn't imagined that it would be this monstrous.

The Akatsuki leader had to remind himself that this form was only utilizing six of its tails. How frightening. This was something that he couldn't normally fight. This is something that no one could normally fight.

The possessed body of Yahiko turned, glancing back at the raging beast. It wouldn't bode well to be hit by another attack this soon. The only option now was to fall back.

Naruto, though, was not going to be content with letting his prey escape. After all, it would be a waste to have gotten worked up for nothing. Somebody was going to die. It was going to be Pein.

Releasing another, final growl, Naruto launched himself forward, giving chase to the one of whom he longed to shred into nothing.

Several of the remaining forces of Konoha arrived on the scene one after another. The first to arrive was a Hyuga and Haruno Sakura, a newly renowned medic among the village's squads. She was trained by the village's leader and greatest medic, Tsunade.

Her first order of business was to stabilize Hinata. From the looks of it, she was gone, dead. But, a skilled and experienced medic such as Sakura could tell that she lived.

"H-how is she? W-will she live?! Is she alright?! She's dead, isn't she?!"

A hysterical Hyuga wasn't something she could deal with right now. The young woman was already exhausted from doing what she could for the rest of the village. Her limit was close. She needed help.

As if sent by a higher being to relieve her, Shikamaru appeared, being held by Shiho.

"Sakura, what's going on? Did Naruto-…"

Her eyes silenced Shikamaru, confirming his theory. Naruto delved into the demon chakra provided by the tenant within.

"Hinata-sama! Hinata-sama!"

Sakura returned her attention to the patient and her badgering guardian.

"Will she be alright?! Medic-san! Medic-sa-…"

His voice strained before halting. Sakura glanced back and smiled slightly, silently thanking Shikamaru. But this wasn't the time. Hinata needed all of her attention, otherwise her condition would worsen.

"Shikamaru-kun, don't strain yourself with your leg as it is…"

Shikamaru stood, holding the Hyuga hostage with his Kagemane. Restraining this pest was the least he could do. Shiho slipped her arm through his, allowing him to lean on her for support.

This was all he could do for the village at the moment. His father and the others sent off on a scouting mission to find Pein. Naruto had run off. The one time that the lazy guy actually wanted to do something, he couldn't.

Shikamaru sighed lightly before his eyes landed on Sakura and Hinata. "How do you think she is, Sakura?"

Her voiced waved viciously. "Don't you start that on me, too."

Sheer surprised made him flinch, causing his captive to follow suit. "S-sorry…"

Now it was the pink-haired healer's turn to sigh. "I'm sorry… just far too stressed out. She'll be fine. After all," she chuckled softly, "I'm on the job."

Seeing the Hyuga had calmed down, Shikamaru released him and sat down. The feeling of helplessness was beginning to piss him off.

Shiho could see his displeasure as clear as day. She could understand, though. "Um, Shikamaru-kun, maybe we should review what we know and what we've learned about Pein. Maybe we can find a weakness, something we can exploit, or something!"

His eyes trailed up to her face. Laughing, he leaned back and stared towards the sky.

'Something I can do, huh? Thanks, Shiho.'

"Let's get to work."

Naruto thrashed violently, destroying the area as he trampled through. His pursuit of Pein had lead him farther away from the village.

His entire body ached for blood. Someone needed to die. Someone needed to suffer. He was going to make sure that the luxury of life was stolen from this fleeing rat.

"GRAAAAAAAAWWWWRRR… DIIIIIEEE!!"

One of his tails struck out, missing only barely, yet getting close enough to burn the skin of the target. Pein didn't have the time to look back. He had to get into position to finish this.

His own voice rang through his mind. It was time. This was Naruto's punishment for foolishly following him into a trap. Yahiko spun around and focused his remaining hand.

"Chibaku Tens-"

Two large tails exploded through his chest, shredding the body into pieces and reducing them to ash. All that remained afterwards was the head of what was once Yahiko.

"I win."

Naruto's head turned just in time to see a flash of white light overcome him. Agony burned through his body. Screams erupted forth as the body fell to the ground and thrashed. The blood red chakra sizzled out, flashing away from his body and turning into smoke. What was, a second ago, a creature more fearsome than anything Pein had ever seen, was now a simple young man with blond hair down and out on the ground.

A large hand reached down and gripped Naruto's head, lifting him up. As the boy slowly slipped into unconsciousness, he could clearly see the Rinnegan in his captor's eyes. But what shocked him more was the face.

Naruto, actually, nobody had ever imagined seeing this man again. The young shinobi's heart lurched painfully. Pein had to pay. He had to, especially after turning him into one of his puppets. Naruto's eyes closed and his consciousness slipped.

'Ero-sennin…'

Well alrighty then. Hopefully that start was something worth reading. I hope whoever may have read this enjoyed it and will check back every once in awhile for another chapter. Reviews, positive criticiscm, hell even flaming is welcome. So… yeah… later.

-Sokanou