Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. No profit is being made from this story.
BURN THE BRIDGE
by
Saint N9ne
Chapter One
Uzumaki Naruto stood before Pein, the greatest monster to attack Konoha since the Kyuubi no Yoko sixteen years ago. A man who fancies himself a God, host to the most powerful eyes in creation, the Rinnegan.
Konohas Jinchuriki stood before this monster, a feeling of anger and despair so violent, it could only be described as a demons rage. A killing intent so powerful being directed at said monster, any other ninja would rather slit their own throat than being subject to its merciless fury.
The Kyuubis eight tail release has taken its toll on the blond ninja, or it would have, had the demons chakra not disrupted his own and released his last shadow clone in Mount Myoboku, therefore absorbing the natural chakra needed to obtain his Sage mode, the only indication of his transformation being his eyes, his iris now a bright yellow instead of the electric blue he's known for, and his pupils rectangular in shape, all this surrounded by an orange tint.
Pein stood across from Naruto, admiring the transformation, as giant boulders from his Chibaku Tensei (Heavenly Body Bursting From The Earth), crashed down behind the blond.
"He's tough," he said. "I wanted to test the Fox's power... but, I never thought he'd be stronger than Chibaku Tensei..."
Pein remained still, not daring to make the first move, at least not yet, he needed as much time as possible to recover from his own attack. Chibaku Tensei uses and incredible amount of chakra, and from the killing intent he's receiving from Naruto, he couldn't afford to take any chances.
"... something feels... missing..." Naruto thought. "Katsuyu?" he asked, feeling around his jacket for the small slug, "She must have returned to its original body during the transformation...", after not finding the slug he turned to his right, looking at the giant crater that was his home, the feeling of despair increasing.
" That's the village over there... what happened? Did I do that in fox mode?" he asked himself. He clutched his chest in pain, as a sudden image of Hinata, laying lifeless surfaced in his mind.
"Did I destroy Hinata and the villagers...?" he received no response.
He started to use his chakra sensing abilities, granted by his Sage Mode, to see if he could pick up her chakra, tears started to gather at the corner of his eyes, as he couldn't find trace of her anywhere in the village.
Growing more and more desperate after his second sweep of the village, his tears flowed down his face as a small sob escaped his throat. His unquenchable rage being replaced by a wave of sadness and despair, one that not even he, Uzumaki Naruto: the demon of Konoha, the Nine Tails brat, the mistreated orphan child and despised 'demon', had ever felt before.
A feeling of loss, the loss of one of his precious people: Hyuuga Hinata, the timid girl that no matter what, encouraged him to do his best. The girl that inspired him as a proud failure, and the only one who shares his nindo of never giving up. While others he considers his precious people laugh and ridicule him, or even at times treat him like a punching bag for no reason other than being himself (one pink haired kunoichi being a direct example), Hinata always offered him a kind smile.
He lost the person who believed in him the most...
He lost the girl with the kind smile...
He lost his friend with the beautiful lavender eyes...
...He lost the girl who loved him...
"AAAAARGH!" Naruto let out a cry, screaming to the heavens, tears flowing freely down his face, falling to his knees wrapping his arms around himself, his mind began replaying every moment he has spent with the petite girl.
From their days in the academy, where she would shyly glance at him, only to turn away with a deep blush when he would turn around, and for a split second, meet her gaze with his own. To the Chunnin exams, where he swore on her blood to defeat the person who almost killed her, just because she wanted to change and become stronger. Only for a month later when he was afraid he wasn't strong enough, she gave him the courage and determination to move forward. But no memory replayed its self better than her confession.
"I'm not afraid to die protecting you.. Because I love you..."
More tears fell, as Naruto gently sobbed.
"I'm so sorry Hinata..." he sobbed silently, "I was such an idiot..." Naruto watched as his tears hit the dusty ground.
"It seems you understand a small portion of my pain..." Pein said, as he had waited long enough to recover his strength.
"If you don't share someones pain, you can never understand them, but just because you understand them, doesn't mean you can come to an agreement... that's the truth." Pein finished his explanation of his sick logic, as he was preparing to end this battle.
Naruto slowly stood up, his eyes fixed on the ground. " Hinata, you died protecting me, I refuse to let your sacrifice go to waste..." The blond ninja then proceeded to untie his forehead protector from his head, letting his hair fall and take its place, and lowered it around his neck tightly securing the knot.
Naruto gently traced his finger around the metal of his forehead protector, as one last tear fell from his face...
"This is how you always wore yours, ne? Hinata-chan?..." Naruto asked with a gentle smile. Remembering how the shy girl always wore her forehead protector around her neck.
He then directed his gaze at Pein, "I'm done talking to you, take me to the real Pein, I want to speak to him face to face!" Thanks to his Sage Mode, Naruto had figured out that the Pein in front of him is just a puppet being controlled, he managed to detect the chakra signal while he was searching for Hinata.
"Oh? So you figured it out, you and Jiraiya-sensei are quite something, but the time for talk is over, nothing you can say now will change anything..." Pein stated as a long chakra blade extended from his right hand.
Naruto tensed and prepared himself for battle, "I guess there's nothing more to say, I gotta beat this guy fast, or else I won't have enough chakra to face the real Pein..."
With a burst of speed both ninjas closed the gap between each other, Naruto kunai in hand, and Pein with his chakra blade, metal clashing against metal, every hit creating shockwaves around them, strong enough to pulverize stones and leave craters in their path.
Demon vs God, a battle with two entities who's power would make any Kage from any of the five great countries tremble.
"His strength is completely different from before..." Pein thought as he blocked another strike of Narutos kunai, that one thought made him lose his focus for only an instant, which would cost him dearly.
Naruto noticed the moment Pein lost his focus, which was more than enough time for him to launch a counter attack, he managed to catch the chakra blade with his left hand and break it in half while landing a bone crushing kick to Peins rib cage, sending the self proclaimed God crashing partway thru a boulder, bones breaking on impact.
Pein slumped to the ground; his Rinnegan fixed on the Nine Tails container. His curiosity peaked as he noticed a strange clear (invisible to the normal eye) aura around the blond, not related to his Sage mode.
"So you had a hidden ability all along?" Pein asked the Sage, as the strange aura around Naruto started taking shape, and embracing the orange clad ninja.
"What the Hell are you talking about?" Naruto replied genuinely confused. But now that Pein mentioned it, he did feel rather strange; not a bad sensation at all, just a feeling of being enveloped in a warm hug.
"I can't waste any time thinking about this! I need to finish him off!"
Ignoring the strange sensation around him, Naruto dashed towards Pein in a burst of speed that would make his father (the Yondaime Hokage) very proud. Pein reacted just as fast, and timed himself perfectly to make his move. In the small moment it took Naruto to reach him, Pein released a small, undetectable Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push), just enough to veer Naruto off course, and gain the advantage.
Naruto felt the small push from Peins signature attack, distracting him enough to lose sight of his opponent. But before he could correct his mistake, faster than his eyes could follow, Pein had landed a gut wrenching punch to his stomach knocking the wind out of him, and strong enough to lift him off his feet. Before he could fly off from the impact, Pein had already grabbed him by the throat with his left hand, making an escape impossible.
Pein lifted Naruto off the ground holding his throat tightly, and placed his right hand to the blonds chest.
"This is it Uzumaki Naruto, not even you can survive the full power of my Shinra Tensei at point blank..." Pein said, preparing to unleash the full power of his attack.
Naruto struggled to release himself from his enemies vice grip to no avail.
"SHINRA TENSEI!" The Akatsuki leader screamed, releasing his full power.
Naruto felt every ounce of power driven into the attack, as the force sent his body crashing thru several boulders. Solid stone crumbling around him, his body protesting to move, as every bone and muscle felt torn and broken.
"Shit..." Naruto cursed, "It took all the chakra I had to soften the blow and survive the crash..." he started moving the heavy boulders around him with his remaining strength. Blood flowed from the right side of his face, the front of his jacket was torn open revealing his mesh undershirt. With his right hand he reached up to his chest and looked down to discover several large gashes across his chest.
He rose to his feet, "I don't even have enough of Kyuubis chakra to heal these wounds." He thought with defeat. A drop of blood trickling down his face landed on the forehead protector around his neck. He remembered his promise to Hinata and felt the strange aura surround him.
Pein couldn't move, his body needed to recover from his earlier attack. So it was with great surprise that he saw Naruto standing; his jacket torn from where the blast had hit its mark, and blood dripping from his face. What surprised him the most was the previously invisible aura, was now a radiant white, and it seemed to be taking shape.
Nine chains protruded from the blond ninja, each link had spikes on either side, and a spearhead on the end of each one.
Naruto stared in amazement at the white chakra chains coming out of his chest, the aura itself had surrounded the ninja similar to the Fox cloak. This cloak however, was the complete opposite; where the Fox cloak clouded his mind and was based off rage, this cloak felt warm and inviting.
His wounds on his chest closed, and the chains wrapped around his arms. He knew he still had time before Pein recovered and needed to act now.
As if on instinct; Naruto plunged both his arms on the ground, the chakra chains shooting themselves underground toward their target.
Pein jumped skywards trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and the fast approaching weapons, but he was too slow. Each chain, crashing out of the ground underneath him, wrapped itself mercilessly around his body leaving him no room to move, and with great force slammed the fleeing God back to earth. He was still to weak to repel them with another blast of his Shinra Tensei. He watched as Naruto stood across from him panting, no doubt feeling the strain of the battle taking over.
He felt five of the chains holding him began to retract back to its owner. "Now's my chance!..." but before he could finish his thought, the remaining four tightened even further, crushing his hope for escape.
Naruto pulled his right arm back, prompting five of the chains holding Pein to return back to him. His Sage mode having long disappeared; he stood, electric blue eyes fixed on the man who has caused him so much pain...
The man who destroyed his home...
The man who killed his master...
The man who killed Hinata.
Teeth clenched as he gathered all the chakra he had remaining onto his right hand, a familiar sphere rotating violently. The chakra chains on his right hand, as if they had a mind of their own, fused themselves to the spinning orb. (+)
The normaly blue jutsu turned a blinding white, spinning faster than ever before, winds ripping the ground and blowing violently around the blond, Pein watched in awe at the tremendous power being emitted. "I-Impossible, where is this power coming from?" he muttered to himself, knowing that if hit, not even he would survive the attack.
Naruto dashed towards his enemy with his war cry, and pulled the shocked Pein with his left hand, bringing the chained God towards him.
"RASENGAN!"
The two clashed in the middle of the battlefield, the Rasengan meeting its target.
Pein was pushed back with tremendous force, as his body was encompassed in a violent bright sphere. Inside the sphere, Peins body was pierced by hundreds of chakra chains, tearing his body apart, skin, bones and muscle, all ripped to shreds. Gods bloody screams of pain, muted by the violent spinning dome were heard by no one.
The sphere could be seen for miles, like a blinding sun, its light reaching the surviving villagers and shinobi at the crater once called Konoha.
At the village, all stood frozen since the battle had started, ninja and villager alike could feel the pressure of the forces clashing against each other, weighing them down and cutting their breath short.
Moments before the giant sphere illuminated the earth and the skies, Haruno Sakura along with Team Guy, had reached the bottom of the crater and began healing the fallen Hyuuga.
"Why did she do it...?" Neji asked out loud.
Sakura concentrated on healing Hinatas injuries, "Hinata loves Naruto..." She thought to herself, as an image of her friend came to her mind.
The sounds from Naruto's battle reached them; like thunder, it crashed around them.
The pink haired shinobi tried to ignore the sounds of the intense battle in the background, hoping her blond friend would come out alive. While trying to avoid images of the worst case scenario, Hinata stirred awake as Sakura completed her healing jutsu.
"Sakura-san...?" Hinata asked in a small voice. "W-where's Naruto-kun?" she asked looking around for the object of her affections. From behind Sakura, a human sized slug crawled closer to answer her question.
"We don't know." She said. "The Katsuyu slug that was with him, was evaporated when he released the demons chakra..."
"Then we must provide back up at once!" Lee interrupted, already in the middle of removing his weights so he can get to where his blond friend is, and help him defeat this threat that has destroyed their village as fast as possible.
Hinata agreed, but before she could rise on her feet, the slug stopped them in their tracks.
"You shouldn't do that, you'll just get in his way." It said, blocking their path.
"We can't just sit here and do nothing! Naruto is out there fighting this monster all by himself!" Neji shouted, as another clash of thunder from Naruto's battle reached them.
"You will just get in his way," The slug repeated. "Just listen to the battle behind us..." More thunder and bursts of power pressure surrounded them, making them flinch from the intensity of the sounds.
"Those two are fighting at a completely different level, Not even Tsunade-sama stood a chance against the Akatsuki leader, you'd be crushed in the crossfire alone. We must wait here, and have faith in Naruto-kun." Katsuyu finished, driving her point. She was right, there's nothing they could do to help their orange clad friend.
As frustrating as it is, they would have to wait and hope that Naruto would return victorious.
Hinata fixed her gaze to where the sounds of battle were coming from, and raised her hand to her heart, tears threatening to fall from her pearly eyes, she whispered a small prayer. "Please return safely Naruto-kun..."
Just then, a bright sphere could be seen on the horizon, and for a moment, the entire village stood still...
The earth shook, and gales of wind tore thru the already devastated village. In a matter of seconds, it was over.
An eerie silence consumed the area.
Is it over?
Who won?
Did Naruto win? Is the threat over?
Or did Pein crush Naruto, and the nightmare had just begun?
Those were the questions going thru everybody's mind, as they were digging themselves out of the rubble.
Who will come out from the dust when it settles? Naruto or Pein?
They could do nothing but wait...
The giant sphere died down; from its center, a mass of gore and bloody flesh fell to the ground.
It's over, this Pein is dead.
Naruto was left standing on his two feet, just barely. Exhausted and gasping for air, he limped his way towards the fallen God, or rather, what was left of him. His body screaming in pain, and protesting every step he took, the strange white chakra having long disappeared, he kept moving forward to reach his defeated enemy.
As he reached him, it took everything he had left not to throw up at the sight of his enemy. The Akatsuki leader was torn to shreds, literally, his arms and legs were missing, half his torso was ripped open and hanging by a thread, while his organs covered the ground. His head was no better, his jaw was missing and barely any flesh covered his skull.
Naruto took in the sight, as he approached him, he noticed his Rinnegan was missing, in place were two blue eyes, dull and lifeless.
He started removing what was left of the chakra rods from the body, as he finished, he couldn't help but to look one last time into the eyes of the crushed puppet. Reaching with his right hand, he placed his index and middle finger on Peins eyelids, and closed them forever, never to wake up again.
In a large hollowed tree not far from the battle, a weakened Nagato violently coughed, blood spilling all over the machine keeping him alive.
In an instant, the origami mistress was at his side. "Nagato?" she asked. Worried for her friend, she knew he didn't have long, and that this battle was probably going to be his last.
"Konan..." he said. "Deva Path has been destroyed, the Kyuubi is on his way..."
Before he could finish his sentence, two hands from the outside tore thru the faux tree and crushed open a path for the young ninja.
Naruto had arrived.
Konan took a step forward, ready to attack the young Sage, but Nagatos labored voice stopped her before she could make the first move. "Stand back, Konan..." he said, measuring up the young man before him. To think that this kid had defeated the Six Paths of Pein on his own would be hard to believe if he didn't see it with his own eyes.
"Are you the real one?" Naruto asked, breaking the silence.
The atmosphere was thick, blue eyes staring at ringed lavender, two titans sizing each other up.
"So peace has arrived, eh?" Nagato responded almost mockingly.
Naruto stared at this man, this sickly looking person who sounded like he was about to give his last breath. The man who with a single attack reduced his village to a smocking crater, the man who killed his master, and killed the young girl who confessed her love to him. Images of his village, Jiraiya, and Hinata rushed thru his mind, all taken from him by this monster, this self proclaimed god.
Narutos anger was rising more and more, both Nagato and Konan sensed this.
"Do you hate me?" asked Nagato, "now that you see me before you... you want your revenge, don't you?" Naruto didn't respond. " If you kill Nagato and get your revenge, that won't change anything, it'll only make you feel better" Konan added.
Narutos anger only increased, his body shaking trying to contain his rage towards the Akatsuki leader.
"There's nothing you can do Kyuubi, you couldn't give me an answer to how you could stop this 'chain of hatred', but I know the answer. Your role is to be the sacrifice that allows me to bring peace to this world... that is the right answer." Not wasting any more time, Nagato launched a chakra rod straight at Naruto, who didn't even attempt to avoid it.
The spear hit its mark.
All was silent except for the sound of dripping blood on the ground, Naruto stumbled a bit, his face downcast, his left hand reaching to the spear embedded in his abdomen. " It doesn't matter what you do know, at this range I can easily control you with my chakra," Nagato let a smile of triumph set on his face, "don't worry, it's not a fatal wound" he said. "As the host of the beast, you are very important to me after all."
Nagato tried to control his new puppet, and was shocked to find his technique wasn't working on the blond. Naruto raised his head, red slitted eyes met Nagato, in that instant he felt the full weight of the Kyuubis power fall on him, immediately he realized what had happened, ' he let himself get hit with my chakra rod on purpose to paralyze me with the demons chakra!' It was true, he was completely immobile.
Standing straighter in a low voice Naruto started to speak. "I... came here to talk to you... but there was something else I wanted to find out too."
"Something you wanted to find out?" responded Nagato, curious to what jinchuriki had in mind.
"I wanted to see how I would feel, if I really saw you in front of me..."
"And?"
Narutos whole body tensed, his whisker marks thicker and more defined, his entire body showing signs of the demons influence on him.
"I can't forgive you!... I want to kill you so much, I can't stop trembling..." he finished while tearing off the chakra spear from his body.
Konan was dumbfounded , she couldn't believe that this kid was able to resist Nagatos power. Without notice Naruto rushed towards Nagato, ready to deliver a finishing blow, Konan reacted just as quick to intercept him, and then... nothing.
Naruto had stopped mid-swing , his fist shaking in self restraint, and an image of Jiraiya appeared in his mind, an earlier memory of the old man during his training trip.
"I'm glad you're my apprentice" the old hermit said with a smile.
"Sensei said the day will come when people will truly understand one another... he had faith." Naruto said this with a downcast look, remembering the words of his master. "When he told me that... I wasn't even really listening to him... he said he wanted me to find the answer, but I was just glad to have his approval.
"Now I finally know what he really meant, its not that easy..." he finished.
"It's impossible Naruto! Love and forgiveness can't be bought with pretty words... it's to late for Jiraiyas idealism now. There will always be something that triggers the hate, even now. You're a victim yourself Naruto, even after all your efforts, peoples hearts are so engulfed with hate that no matter how many times you save them they will still see you as a the Kyuubi and not its container, they will find excuses to convince themselves of the fact, and innocent people like you will always be trampled by their hate and ignorance, can you really believe Jiraiyas nonsence after seeing, no, living this reality?" Nagato questioned Naruto, trying to make him understand that pain and malice will always inhabit peoples minds and hearts.
Naruto stayed silent, finding some truth in Nagatos words.
"So how can you stop this cycle of hatred? How? Give me your answer!" the earthly god shouted before being succumbed by a fit of bloody coughs.
The blond ninja stepped closer, avoiding the question for now.
"...when I found out you'd been his apprentice, there was something I really wanted to ask you..."
"What?" he asked while wiping some blood from his mouth.
"If you were his apprentice, how did you turn out like this? I don't know anything about you..." Naruto honestly asked.
Both Nagato and Konan where shocked by the question, an expression of pain flashed on their faces at the memories of their childhood.
"I want to hear your story, before I give you my answer." Stated the blond, anxiously waiting if Nagato would share his story, trying to hopefully understand just a fraction of who Nagato is and the pain he harbors.
Nagato was silent, contemplating whether he should share his past to this child, finally deciding to humor him if it means he'll get his answer he agreed.
"All right..." Nagato agreed, "I'll show you our pain".
Konan immediately refused, not wanting to relive the most painful moments of her life. "Nagato this is a waste of time! Just hurry and-" but was interrupted.
"Wait Konan... I want to hear his answer." The Rinnegan user said with a sense of finality. Fully prepared to recount his story.
" I have two great sources of pain..." he started.
Nagato recounted his life, from when he was a child when two konoha ninja killed his parents during the shinobi war, to where he met Konan and Yahiko. To the first encounter with the Sannin, and when Jiraiya decided to stay and teach the trio the ninja arts. From the awakening of his dojutsu to the formation of akatsuki with Yahiko as its leader. The ambush set up by Hanzou the salamander and Danzou from konoha to terminate their group, which resulted in Yahikos sacrifice to save him and Konan.
"Yahiko was dead, after that I became the leader of our gang in his stead. I lost many more friends in battle after that, so many friends..." Nagato recounted with a hunted look on his already pale face. Naruto stayed silent listening intently at his tragic story.
The hard look had returned to Nagatos face once more, "So many people kept dying, as long as people live so too will hatred. There can be no peace in this cursed land, what Jiraiya spoke of was nothing but a fantasy." Nagato concluded.
"Now that you've heard my story, I want to hear your answer." Nagatos low voice filled the empty area.
Naruto stood silent, and reached in his jacket for one of his most prized possessions. He pulled out Jiraiyas first book... his favorite book. 'The legend of the gutsy ninja'.
"That may be true... I think you're right..." Naruto said responding to Nagatos earlier comment.
"Really?.."
"I understand you... but I still can't forgive you. I still hate you..." Nagato was getting ready to finish this battle and once and for all capture the young jinchuriki.
"But..." this made Nagato stop in his tracks. Both he and Konan wondering to see what was Narutos next move.
"That perverted sage believed in me, so I... will believe in what he believed, that's my answer." Jiraiyas teachings and ideals helped him overcome his hatred. " So I wont kill you" He finished.
Nagato was shocked beyond belief, this kid, after everything he put him thru, after destroying his village to killing his master and his friends, was denying the cycle of hatred to continue.
" You will believe in what Jiraiya believed in?... so should we just wait here and wait for you to bring peace to the world! Give me a break! How can I believe in Jiraiya now! There's no such thing as real peace! Its impossible as long as we live in this accursed world!" Nagato was furious, the answer couldn't be as simple as to just stop the cycle.
Naruto stood firm, holding his book tightly. The book that contained his masters beliefs.
"Then I will break the curse, if there's such a thing as peace, I'll find it. I won't give up!" finishing his sentence, Nagato stood astonished, he could have sworn he saw the image of his master behind the boy. A brief flashback of when he himself said those same words to the Toad hermit, at a time where he believed faith was all he needed.
"Believe in me!" Naruto shouted with so much conviction that it was impossible not to put your trust in him.
Those words had a strong impact on the Rinnegan user, suddenly memories flooded his mind, all the times he spent with his sensei and his friends, all the good time that were buried deep inside a shell of bad memories.
Nagato stood still, reflecting on his life, and his purpose.
Suddenly a small smile graced his face. "We studied under the same master..." he started, " I told you before that we should therefore be able to understand each other... heh, I was joking back then, but..." Nagato raised his head high, and sighed. "You're an odd kid Naruto, you remind me of myself when I was younger..."
Naruto was absorbing every word that was coming out his mouth.
"I couldn't believe in what Jiraiya believed in.. or.. in the man himself. But you chose a different path. In you I can see a different future. I feel I can trust you with this world, and with my burden."
Naruto was confused and voiced his concerns. "What do you mean?"
"Naruto" he said, "not everything is as it seems, I will now tell you my true purpose for collecting the tailed beasts."
Author Notes:
There we go, my first fic. Please leave me a review and tell me what you think.
I should also mention, that if you see this plus sign (+) next to a sentence or paragraph, it means that I've drawn a picture to give you a better idea of what I'm going for. Just check my profile and there should be a link to my DA account.
Thank you so much for reading.
Saint N9ne