Eyes of Pain
by ShinobiSam
Premise: What would've happened if Mizuki actually acted somewhat like the chunin he was? What changes would it cause? And where on earth do Ebisu, the Rinnegan, two Caged Bird Seals (and not Team 7!) figure in all of this?
Author's notes: I'm not really happy with this one.
Mizuki was fucked.
And he knew it.
After all, it looked as if the brat had been taken over by the thrice-damned Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
Heh….though that was to be expected. What chance would a measly brat like him have in front of the greatest enemy to strike Konoha?
No, it wasn't fucking Naruto. At all. That brat couldn't exude…
…such malice
…such loathing
…such contempt
…such bloodlust
…such anger
…such hatred.
That brat was an idiot, a cheerful dunderhead at best and a disruptive influence at worst.
No. This was definitely not Naruto.
…So, what was to be done now?
Stay here, deal with the demon, and then get away?
No chance in hell.
He wasn't going to bloody risk it. He didn't know what the Fox was capable of. Naruto Uzumaki was a pushover. However, the changes that the frickin' Fox might've brought with itself were unknown. He had already seen the elongated nails, deepened whisker marks and the chakra shroud. If this was any indication, his physical abilities could have been augmented.
Anyways, Naruto already had some stamina, was a prankster and never gave up.
The fact that it was here now was proof enough, and a fat load of good it did.
If he stayed here, he'd have to beat Naruto enough that he couldn't get up. Or better, he would die.
It was easy.
But, he didn't know how much that bastard Fox could take.
It had better endurance than a normal human, which was clear by the fact that he'd managed to get till here and was standing there. Or maybe it could heal wounds faster?
He could beat it down. But could he beat it down enough, and quickly?
And if his reflexes and physical movements had gotten better, it would be a whole new problem.
And he didn't even know what that chakra could do.
He didn't know how the Fox would fight in the guise of a human.
He didn't know what abilities it had in this form, or what its powers were.
He may be overestimating the Fox, but better paranoid than overconfident and dead.
Bottomline? He didn't know much about his shitty enemy.
And he wasn't going to fight with something he didn't know about, thank you very much.
Not to mention the fact that those bloody ANBU squads could meet him if he stayed here for long. For all he knew, the fool of a Hokage himself was coming here, flanked by a chakra sensor!
Running the fuck away it was.
Pity.
Iruka couldn't run the fuck away.
The situation was probably as bad as it could get.
If it went from bad to worse…
He was fucked.
And it wouldn't be only him.
It would be Konoha. Every single man, woman and child of Konoha would be dead.
Unless…he could do something right here, right now.
Or maybe he was over-reacting to the situation?
What would the Hokage say?
What if this was all wrong?
Maybe Naruto was still in control?
Maybe it was just temporary?
…FUCK!
What was he doing? Having second thoughts when the time to do something was now?
No. That was wrong.
Konoha wouldn't be sacrificed for a man's momentary indecision.
Even he could see that this wasn't Naruto.
That cheerful idiot was…worlds apart from this…monster.
The time to act was now .The place to act was here. The man to act had to be him.
OK.
Try to incapacitate. If attacks, kill it?
Clear and simple. The basic hallmarks of a good plan.
But, could he do it?
No… no!
Yes…he had to!
No…this is wrong.
Yes…this has to be done!
…FUCK IT! THIS HAD TO BE DONE NOW!
And it would be done now.
Iruka jumped into the fray, grabbing a kunai and some smoke bombs from his pouch.
This was the end.
Maybe for the Kyuubi.
Maybe for Konoha.
And he was going to try everything to make sure that it was Kyuubi's end.
FUCK IT TO HELL!
Running the fuck away from a rampaging monster was hard enough!
He did NOT want to deal with Iruka Umino, the soft-hearted bastard, right now!
He had to get somewhere.
And fast.
Preparing to put the Underground Fish Projection Technique to use, he was about to go underground.
But he didn't.
What he had noticed merited some form of reaction. Staying rooted to a particular spot wasn't the best reaction, but it was all Mizuki did.
Iruka was running towards the Kyuubi. With a kunai.
Hell…this was unexpected. He'd expected to be attacked straightaway. He didn't think he'd be looking at Iruka run towards Naruto; eyes alight with fear and also, determination.
Actually, he'd simply tried to read the Chunin's body language. He couldn't see things like 'fear' and 'determination' in someone's bloody eye!
Iruka, being an open, friendly person, never concentrated on conditioning his body language according to his surroundings. It wasn't needed near a bunch of thick kids anyway, as most of them didn't know about reading body language, except for the odd prodigy, and the last year students.
Here? Conditioning his body language had to be the farthest thing on his mind.
Wildly running towards someone with shaking hands, almost-stumbling feet and a grim-looking face isn't the most awe-inspiring picture.
So, what was it? Had Iruka recognized the situation partly and was rushing towards Naruto due to his judgment being clouded by fear for his student, the kunai being a prepared weapon against any attacker, such as Mizuki?
No, not with that chakra shroud, teeth and claws. Iruka wasn't that stupid. At the least, he should've been more wary?
Had Iruka realized that it was the Kyuubi and was going to attack it, obviously thinking that his comrade Mizuki would back him up?
Or was it that Iruka had somehow found about his treachery, and this was some kind of feint (genjutsu or clone), designed to attract attention and allow Iruka to get a chance to attack?
Or was it Iruka trying to get the Kyuubi to the Hokage (where he would be dealt with), and leaving other ninja to deal with Mizuki?
Bloody hell, what the flying fuck was he doing?
Testing the waters, Mizuki grabbed a kunai, and started circling Naruto.
Best thing he could do.
If Iruka knew Mizuki's truth, he would simply knock out Naruto (or something like that), and get ready to face him. For that eventuality, he already had picked out an object for a quick replacement, and was ready for Iruka's challenge.
If Iruka thought Naruto was a threat and was going in for the kill, he'd probably consider Mizuki as a back-up, and his movements could pass of as backing up someone.
Whatever the case might be, Iruka would need to be dealt with. He needed to get out of here, and Iruka would definitely not allow that.
Though, Mizuki could've attacked Iruka anyways, but that might've resulted in two foes, and anyways, Iruka could turn out to be a temporary ally.
So, it was the best thing he could do.
Iruka saw Mizuki from the corner of his eye, and simply classified him as an 'ally'.
Truly, being paranoid may not always be bad.
All Naruto had to decide was how he was gonna hurt Mizuki and make him fuckin' scream.
He was about to go in charging with all the intellect of a rampaging berserker, but was stopped by the sudden appearance of Iruka. For a moment, he was confused.
For a fleeting moment, that is.
Then, as Iruka neared him, Naruto didn't even take that much time to decide that Iruka was on Mizuki's side, and that made him bloody meat.
But the nagging shadow of doubt was cast on the crescendo of anger and bloodlust.
Why would Iruka do that? Iruka was good, right?
He shouldn't attack him, right?
Damn wrong.
Iruka indeed attacked him. With the blunt head of the kunai, but such a technicality would probably not be registered by the normal Naruto, leave alone the Kyuubi-influenced one.
All it registered was: Being attacked. Enemy attacking. Danger.
Conscious thought and reasonable application were thrown away in the face of another wave of Kyuubi's chakra, destroying any chances of dodging, blocking or anything else.
You didn't dodge foes. You hurt'em.
And Kyuubi hurt'em bad.
Letting loose a wave of chakra, Kyuubi used Iruka's momentary surprise, flinging a wild claw at his legs, concentrating its chakra in its claws, by instinct, a welcome one. Iruka didn't loose his footing, but stumbling was perhaps, inevitable. Due to both, the momentum of the attack, as well as the fact that he could feel the searing pain caused by the claws embedded in his leg. Trying to retain his bearings, Iruka quickly looked for something which could be useful for a replacement jutsu.
The log used for the replacement was torn apart by another chakra-claw.
Mizuki promptly responded. Attacking before the pieces of the log had even hit the ground, Mizuki grabbed Kyuubi's attention, allowing Iruka to get a breather as well. He was more mentally prepared for combat than Iruka was, so rather than a melee charge, he used a shower of shurikens as a decoy, trying to get in a sneak attack.
The aim of the shurikens was good enough to make Kyuubi jump on another tree branch, and Mizuki promptly aimed some more shurikens at its chest.
The Kyuubi dodged that one too, using another chakra wave to partially deflect the shurikens, as well as some body reflexes to allow it to navigate through the shurikens without suffering any damage.
The beauty and tragedy of ninja combat was that it was a battle of minds as much as it was of the body.
The Kyuubi was well-endowed in bodily powers, as well as chakra reserves. However, it could be said that being trapped in Naruto's body had at least partially sapped whatever instinctual ability (particularly with bodily movements) it had.
After hearing those shurikens getting embedded in the tree behind it, the Kyuubi ignored them as being of no further consequence. Therefore, it was unprepared for the bleeding Iruka using one of them as a replacement, and got at the place where Kyuubi was at its weakest. Aiming to incapacitate the beast, and killing it once he managed to get suitable traction, Iruka plunged his kunai in the lower part of the Kyuubi's left groin.
Mizuki, hanging back after doing his part, realized the simple fact that he had indeed over-estimated the Kyuubi, using its visual impressiveness as proof of its ability, and that wasn't what he should be doing.
The next time he did that, death was a much more probable end.
But, he wouldn't make that mistake the next time. Everything red isn't blood, and he'd remember that at all times.
But now, he had to deal with Iruka; and the best time to do that was now.
Though, he didn't exactly need to kill him, didn't he? An angry fighter is a sloppy fighter, and frankly speaking, the Kyuubi was already pretty sloppy. Maybe his sloppiness would result in Iruka's very messy end, driving the final nail in Naruto's coffin?
Heh. Sure it could.
While Iruka was trying to get to stable ground and finish what he started, Mizuki used the versatile Underground Fish Projection Technique to get to a proper location, so that the hammer could be struck when the iron was hot.
Kyuubi was enraged. And someone was gonna face HELL!
It should NOT be struck by stupid monkeys!
It should NOT have problems in facing two bloody insects!
It should NOT be feeling weak against anyone!
And above all, IT SHOULD NOT BE STUCK IN SOME FUCKIN' BRAT'S BODY!
Life's a bitch.
And it can't even be a dog and fuck it!
But it was going to fuck up these monkeys, and how!
But before it could relish their screams, it had to get them beaten up. Now that's an enjoyable activity…he was gonna make their blood curdle, their voices crack, their breath stop, their eyes hurt, their mouth silently scream, their hair stand on end, and their minds beg for hell rather than what was being done to them!
It was
Though for that, it'd have to beat'em up first.
And that was gonna be good.
That pony tailed fool attacked him first. Letting loose a very, very minor fraction of its incredible chakra reserves, the Kyuubi dodged his attack; even Naruto's untrained, untested muscles could respond very fast with this magnificent power!
The fool was already bleeding. Heh…the mindless shithead was gonna be the first to die.
Kyuubi ran towards Iruka, having slowed himself down, but not so much that that fool could realize what was happening. The retard hung back a bit, and prepared himself for a last-moment stab.
Bloody fool. Very bloody.
Using a punch towards that monkey's head as a feint, Kyuubi put his chakra in his right foot, preparing to cripple the fool with a kick. Aiming at the already injured foot, with his full speed, Kyuubi prepared to snatch victory from his enemies.
The result was the kind of so-so thing that fucking messes everything up. Stalemate.
He managed to hit that foot, but only partially, and not where he would've wanted, i.e. slightly above the wound. That fool also dodged somewhat, making the resulting wound superficial.
Never mind.
Mizuki was a man of ends over means.
But let's be honest, all ninjas were men of ends over means. However, every ninja had a limit till which they could sacrifice their morality in the face of success and money. That limit was usually very, very low could even vary depending on circumstances (and also, money!). You could delude yourself into giving the trade of the ninja a sheath of morality, but when you realized the depraved and defunct morality of most ninjas, that all would hinder you.
In this situation, Mizuki had no use for morals. All he had use for was anything that would help him survive and get to Orochimaru.
So now, he was going to try out anything and anything for achieving what he wanted.
If that involved sticking a kunai in Iruka's wound, driving it in, and giving him a blow with the blunt end of the kunai, so be it.
Though making sure that the Kyuubi didn't see him was a bother.
Getting to a safe position (how much he loved the Underground Fish Projection Technique!), he waited for the inevitable carnage.
Though he had to admit, Iruka had some semblance of stamina. After being struck twice in the same wound and being smashed with a blunt kunai, that fool was getting back to his fucking feet. Of course, it was useless, as with a mangled leg, even a weak Kyuubi could slaughter him. Heh….judging by the look on its face, he was already salivating at the prospect.
Mizuki did have to be somewhat surprised how it all had fallen into place. He had two foes to deal with: a furious Kyuubi and Iruka. It could've been a disaster for him, had the two realized the actual gravity of the situation, but all that had gone out of the water with an incredibly simple strategy, which had worked perfectly, and some part of luck.
Iruka was already against Kyuubi, and making him cannon fodder for it should give him enough opportunity to quickly retrieve the Forbidden Scroll and put some distance between Kyuubi and himself. Though, if Kyuubi decided that it wanted to play around with Iruka, well…
He'd be out of here without breaking a sweat.
Iruka was about to gain his bearings and get into a proper combat stance, but Kyuubi wasn't having any of that. It simply charged in, smashing Iruka's chest with a head butt.
Ouch…that looked really nasty. Kyuubi's chakra was pretty powerful to put in so much power in a weak head but.
But anyways, he wanted Iruka to at least partially occupy Kyuubi's attention. Throw a damn smoke bomb or something, you pushover! Something, anything that would allow him to get away with that scroll. After that, Iruka could roll on the ground and sing for all he cared.
Iruka promptly threw in a smoke bomb, and tried to get away.
Is he lucky, or what?
Obviously, a mangled leg messed up whatever plan for escape Iruka might've made. Out of any combat situation for since Kami knows when, Iruka was rusty, and it was showing here.
Though, he had other things to do than worry about than Iruka's lack of recent combat experience.
Taking a circular route around the battlefield, Mizuki neared the place where the scroll lay.
He never reached that damn place.
A scream of terror reached his ears instead. A long, terrible, drawn-out cry of misery that made him stop and made his hair stand on end. It was clear that something was very, very, very wrong here. The cry was so plaintive, so full of desperation that even the unconcerned Mizuki had to take notice.
It was Iruka's end.
The brave never meet death but once. Unfortunately for Iruka, that one meeting was enough to take him through a world of pain and slam into him the ultimate reality: he was going to die, and the unenviable end didn't even come in the glory of taking his opponent down with him, or dying an Iruka's death.
It was more like a cat eating a mouse. Complete, utter domination of predator over prey, culminating, as it does more often than not, in a vicious, bloody end for the prey.
Iruka was dead, as immobile and cold as anyone dead ever was.
The Kyuubi, was of course, the killer. With a crazed, frenzied look, finding glory in the mad carnage around him. With an entire bloody fuckin' arm going right through Iruka's chest. Probably through chakra usage.
Kyuubi looked happy. That damn demon was reveling in the blood that had spurted out from Iruka.
And then he laughed.
A crazed, mad, haunting laugh that seemed to echo even when it didn't. Laced heavily with killing intent, it was enough to make anyone piss their pants.
Mizuki grabbed the scroll, and simply ran.
The laugh turned to a racking snort, mixed with pants from exertion.
And turned to a scream.
The candle flickered, and with a final flare, extinguished.
So did Kyuubi.
With a final flare of mind-numbingly terrifying chakra, Kyuubi collapsed.
It was not really anyone's fault. Everyone had some part in some of the mess. Orchestrated by Mizuki, of course.
Naruto was lead by his emotions. Never looking back to see what exactly was happening, he paid the price for mindlessly charging in. He was tricked by Mizuki, believed Iruka was against him, and succumbed to the Kyuubi.
The Kyuubi recognized the situation was one its host couldn't handle. Deciding to take his own course of actions, it pumped Naruto's body with chakra when he was emotionally weak, increased his recklessness and destroyed his judgement. Reveling in madness, the Kyuubi augmented the disaster that could've happened.
Iruka jumped to decisions quickly. He was galvanized into making an incautious decision by his earlier opinion of Naruto, and the concern of the seal breaking, that was always present in his mind.
Hell, it was everyone's fault, then.
But was going to happen would happen.
One thing was for sure.
Naruto was fucked.
Author's Notes: Hola. After a long time, an update. Sorry for that. We start moving forward from the next chapter, Reverberations and all that. As always, reviews are very appreciated.
