I've had this idea in my head for a while, and I guess this is me exorcising it. It may never get past the first chapter, but if you guys like it I will happily continue. Enjoy.

Chapter One

The Devil's Orders

Naruto Uzumaki was no longer a member of the living, but he wasn't quite dead either. His soul had been stolen, it had been recruited into the army of darkness by the king of all darkness himself.

Naruto Uzumaki never believed in some high-ruling devil before the beast came to claim his life. Not even the Nine-tailed Fox was truly evil, Naruto knew that. The only real evil came from the human race, not some great overarching evil.

Or so he believed, until the day the Devil stole his life from him.

"Uzumaki, wake up."

Naruto opened his eyes, blinking as they watered from the chilling air, "What is it?"

"We're moving on."

Naruto looked up at the dark man, a fallen swordsman, maybe a few years older than Naruto, stolen from his life just as they all were. His name escaped Naruto, he never was really good with names.

"The Devil says we're heading to a new village. Konoha, or something."

Naruto's dead heart skipped a beat, "I'm from there."

"What?" The nameless swordsman asked.

"I was born in Konoha. I lived there."

"Oh." The swordsman turned to walk away, "Good for you."

Naruto hissed through his razor sharp teeth and pulled himself to his aching feet. Being dead, or at least as dead as Naruto was, felt something a bit like having perpetually present arthritis in every part of your body. All your limbs and joints worked and your body could hold itself together, but you felt as if every action was fighting against itself to happen. As if it wasn't natural to move anymore.

His physical appearance had also been altered by his after-life. His razor sharp-teeth accompanied his smoky red eyes and stone-like skin. He hated to look at himself, so he shied away from anything reflective, and closed his eyes when they crossed over lakes.

Naruto had been laying down against a tree trunk before the nameless swordsman had disturbed him, and his demonic blade still rested on the ground beside it.

It was dark red, and had the appearance of being made from molten rock. It was the Kyubi no Kitsune, reduced from a powerful beast inside a powerful boy to a weapon of the undead. Kurama's only release from his mundane existence was the pleasure the feeling of tearing flesh and spilling blood gave him, so Naruto fed his former symbiote with the bodys of the damned as often as he could.

That was another thing, Naruto had been right about one thing, there was no overarching evil. The Devil was not an evil being, he was simply in charge of taking the evil souls to hell.

That was where The Devil's Army came into play, because sometimes a soul became so powerful, so purely evil, that death would not be enough to stop it. So The Devil's handpicked 13 undead warriors would track these souls down, and destroy them forever. A fate worse than hell awaited the truly malevolent men, they would be reduced to pure oblivion by the swords of Satan's Army.

However, even though The Devil himself was not evil, Naruto still hated him. And he especially hated taking orders given by him.

Naruto picked up his sword and cooly walked over to the centre of the camp, where the Lord of Darkness waited. His armor covered him from horn to toe, and was black as pitch. Narrow slits and ancient runes ran over the dark metal, and the glowed like molten lava from beneath.

As the 13 warriors encircled him, The Devil spoke, "Warriors, I have good news for you all. The souls we are hunting in Konoha will be the last you ever hunt for me."

The men stood there, reeling in momentary shock until Naruto spoke up, "You don't mean that we can go back after this?"

"Yes."

The men began yelling at The Devil, hissing and stamping and throwing accusations at him.

"I know I told you your servitude would last for all eternity, but I only said that to ensure your full loyalty and commitment, the truth is that I find new recruits every seven years. I am immensely sorry I had to hide the truth from you, for you are truly the greatest warrior's ever to serve in my army."

The men stopped yelling, quieted by the impact of The Devil's words. Naruto was especially affected, for not only would he be able to go home, but he would already be home when he won his freedom.

"Once these souls are destroyed, I will return you to your living states, and will provide transport to your respective homelands." The Devil continued.

"But are families!" A man Naruto knew as Miyamoto spoke, "They all think we're dead!"

"Yes, and I am truly sorry for that as well... it had to be done. I wish there was more I could do."

Naruto felt a great anger rising from the pit of his dead soul. His whole body started to tremble, and he hissed, "BASTARD!"

Although The Devil's helmet obscured his eyes, Naruto could feel them look at him from beneath the metal. In shame, the boy retreated.

"I truly do wish I could right the wrongs committed against you, but this is how it will be." The Devil vanished in a cloud of brimstone and smoke, but his otherworldly voice lingered, "March to Konoha, and earn your freedom."

Naruto fell to his rear, the shock still wreaking havoc on his system. He couldn't decide whether to be happy or angry, so he was stuck being both.

"Uzumaki." An axe-man named Steroc spoke up.

"What?" Naruto answered.

"It is your home, you lead the way."

"It was my home." Naruto stood up, brandishing his demon sword, "And soon, it will be again."

"Sakura! Get in here!"

Sakura Haruno turned briefly to look at Kakashi Hatake, who was yelling at her from behind the closing gates of Konoha.

He shouted, "The doors are shutting!"

Sakura looked back at the corpses that littered the ground in front of her, and felt a tugging in her heart to make sure there were not any survivors before leaving them behind. However any hope of them living was shattered as a large gangly creature began racing amongst their numbers, eating them with great speed and agression, one by one.

Sakura froze, knowing any movement would draw the monstrosity to her. But the door was almost shut, and soon she would be trapped out here with the creature. Kakashi had grown silent behind her, and for seconds the world seemed to stand still. The only thing moving was the evil being and its sinister jaw.

Then, Sakura's fear became realized, and the creature's eyes darted upward.

In that instant, Sakura saw all the evil and carnage and chaos and death in the world reflected in the eye's of the monster. It snarled at her, and then attacked.

"Sakura!"

In a collision of brillant blue light, Kakashi fell from the sky, thrusting a lightning-infused fist into the creature's chest.

"Run!"

The monster grabbed Kakashi, sending the charge of the electricity through his body as well. The stood there, shaking from the current, as Sakura knew they would continue to do until one of them died.

So she ran, leaving her sensei to his fate as she dove through the barely open door.

As it shut behind her, she heard the screaming of the carnivorous beast from outside. The flow of the electricity had ceased, and the monster had survived.

Sakura slumped down against the door, knowing that she had lost her sensei. The tears started to flow.

And so it was that the last of her friends was beaten, and Sakura became the only living soul in the village hidden in the leaves. She and Kakashi had held on long, long after the women and children had been evacuated, long after every man she ever cared about had been ripped open and devoured by the scores of demons just outside the walls, long after her life had been torn asunder.

Everyday she was surprised she could still cry.

"It's okay, Sakura. I'm alright."

In her state of desperation and depression, Sakura hadn't noticed Kakashi sitting beside her. She looked at him, the tears obscuring her vision, there was, however, no denying that it was him, "How?"

"It was just a shadow clone... I pumped a lot of chakra in it to sustain it so long, but it was only a clone."

Sakura sprung at the weakened Kakashi, hugging him and weeping into his chest, "I thought you were gone, I thought I was the only one left-"

"Shh... it's okay." Kakashi said, knowing how much of a lie he was telling. Nothing had been okay since Naruto's death.

Kakashi remembered that day, seven years ago, as if it had happened mere hours before. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi had been taking a break from training, resting in the shade of the trees. Suddenly, Naruto had sprang to his feet and exhaled smoke.

"I'm cold." He said. Then, he burst into blue flame.

Nothing they could do would put out the fire, and he wept silently until he turned to ash. No cause was ever discovered for his demise.

His silent tears haunted the nightmares of Kakashi and Sakura, and his death was mourned by the village for years.

But long before he could be forgotten, or even reduced to a fond memory, Konoha was attacked by monstrous creatures. For five long years they waged war against the village, and nothing the ninja had tired could stop them.

Sakura suddenly spoke, "Do you think everyone who will ever be in heaven is already there?"

"What?" Kakashi asked.

"Like when you go to sleep, and you don't remember your dreams, it feels like you just closed your eyes and woke up in the future. Is that what death is like? Everyone wakes up in the same place at the same time, no matter when they fell asleep?"

Kakashi stared out into the deserted streets of the village, "I don't know if I believe in the after-life Sakura... what god would inflict this fate upon us?"

The walls shook around the village as the monsters taunted the last two people in Konoha.

Naruto Uzumaki stared out at his old home from the top of a mortally insurmountable cliff. His fellow twelve soldiers stood behind him, preparing themselves for war. They had arrived only minutes ago, and Naruto was still taking in the sight of his birthplace.

"That wall is new." He said, noticing the giant wall that enclosed the majority of the village.

"They must have built it to keep out the monsters." Steroc explained, "There probably aren't many of them left. I'm surprised we weren't sent here earlier."

Naruto frowned at the axe-man's words, suddenly, he noticed the hundreds of creatures that surrounded the wall, "There they are."

"Wow," A man with a spear said, "We've never fought that many before."

Naruto scoffed, "The Devil saved our hardest battle for last."

"Well, how should we go about the attack?"

"I'll sneak inside," Naruto said, "See who's still alive."

"Good luck." Steroc said. Naruto nodded and left.

Both Sakura and Kakashi were covered in blood, and some of the blood had been there for days. They were always on guard, even when they were resting. The wall was strong, but they knew if it was every broken, they would surely die. There wasn't much they could do to keep the wall from breaking, but they remained on guard regardless, always wary that the stone might weaken and fall apart. The creatures couldn't scale the slick surface, nor could they jump over the wall, so as long as it stood, Sakura and Kakashi would survive.

They still had plenty of food, but unless the creatures abandoned the village, they would only last a few more months.

Suddenly, the sound of something landing inside the village filled their ears, and Sakura and Kakashi sprang to their feet.

They spread out, sprinting between buildings and down alleyways, looking for whatever had infiltrated the wall.

Sakura stopped in front of the battered remains of the Ichiraku ramen stand, as something caught her eye. A tall man in dark armor was kneeling beside the stand. On his back was a malevolent looking sword, and his blonde hair stuck out from his head at odd angles.

She held her breath, and carefully encircled the man, charging the chakra in her fists and preparing to attack. Finally, when she got close to him, she whispered, "Who are you?"

The man stood up faster than Sakura believed anyone could, and his head snapped around unlike any human's should, "Sakura?"

Sakura's breath caught in her throat. The man standing before her looked just like Naruto, with the exception of his stone-like skin, haunting red eyes, and razor sharp teeth, "N-n-naruto?"

She fainted, but he caught her before she hit the ground.