Raiden: A Deal with the Devil
"While we are free to choose our actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of our actions."
Stephen R. Covey
Naruto's POV
As soon as Sasuke performed the summoning jutsu, which was said to be able to defeat Madara, I felt his chakra drop drastically. As my eyes examined his stature I noticed his body starting to slacken and, upon instinct, my body dove to save his from the hard impact that was certain to come otherwise. I must have been more exhausted than I thought because when my arms reached Sasuke my body failed me and I had to rotate myself in midair so that my back could prevent more injuries on both of our bodies.
I immediately got up and lifted Sasuke to his knees so that I could have a better look at his face. "Teme, what's wrong with you?!" I screamed the question as I lifted his head with my left hand so that we could see eye to eye. When my eyes met his they widened considerably. Sasuke was the type of guy who could, no matter the situation, put an expressionless mask on and never reveal what he was really thinking or feeling. Although his eyes never revealed how he felt about different things people could always tell that, albeit small, there was still some life in the body of the young Uchiha. This Sasuke was weak, he was too vulnerable. I didn't like this Sasuke.
I was panicking. My best friend looked like he was dying, if he wasn't already dead, and I had no idea what to do. I was exhausted and Kurama still hadn't recovered from having most of his chakra being taken by Madara to revive the ten-tailed beast. Lending all that power to Sasuke took everything Kurama and I had. I could barely stand and help was too far away from the battlefield. Most of the shinobi around were either dead or just waiting to die. It hurt to say it, but I was helpless. There was nothing I could do for my brother.
I suddenly felt shockwaves and debris coming from all directions. I acted as fast as I could in my condition as I grabbed Sasuke and jumped to the side with Sasuke under my arm. Rocks came flying at speeds that would kill a normal shinobi, but Sasuke and I were anything but normal. Small rocks kept hitting my back like raindrops. I had no problems with pain, for a while it was my life, and the injuries I was receiving was minor compared to injuries I had received in the past.
I started to push myself up when I felt that the area was clear of falling rocks, but then I suddenly felt a huge weight on by back. My body went crashing down on Sasuke as the weight was too much for me to handle in such a weakened state. I could hear myself scream as I felt the bones in my legs and back snapping for what felt like an eternity. When I finally gathered enough strength, I turned my head only to see a rock as big as a Giant Rasengan. There was no way for me to survive this without help.
"Kurama, are you able to help me?" I asked with a pleading, yet panic voice.
"I sometimes wonder where you would be without me," came his response complete with an arrogant tone and a growl like voice. "I've recovered enough of my essence to allow you to recover and use most of your techniques." I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding as I immediately started to form a small Rasengan in my left hand since it was the weaker of the two.
When I gathered enough strength, thanks to Kurama, I pushed my body upwards with my right hand. The force of my push was strong enough to make the massive rock levitate for a brief second, but the brief second was all I needed as I rotated my body clockwise to get a good shot in on the middle of the rock. Once I found the spot, I instantly launched my left hand, which held the minor Rasengan. The enormous rock collided with my Rasengan and was able to resist for a nanosecond before colossal rock immediately started cracking as it flew a couple of miles away.
As Kurama's chakra flowed through my system I could feel power returning to my body and my bones starting to come back together. Having a giant fox made of chakra inside you certainly has its advantages. As I turned my ocean like eyes in Sasuke's direction to see if he was alright, I realized that I was not the only one who was not able to come out of the situation unscathed. His legs were distorted and it appeared like he had more blood outside of his body than inside. If he was alive before, he certainly wasn't now. But there was hope and I don't remember one time where I ever gave up on something, especially not on Sasuke. With speed I never thought I had, I reached for his chest and started to infuse some of my chakra into him. In a matter minutes, with Kurama's healing abilities, Sasuke's wounds showed considerable improvements.
As I was working I reached for his wrist to feel if he still had a pulse. When my fingers reached his skin, my arm, acting on instincts, rapidly recoiled itself. His skin was as cold as ice and there was no pulse. Sasuke was dead.
My body stopped moving when my mind registered that train of thought. Tears escaped my eyes as I forced my body to start giving him more chakra. I wasn't giving up, not now that I was so close to bringing my brother home.
"Come on, Sasuke!" I screamed as I increased the amount of chakra that was entered his body. "Are you really giving up now?! I thought those bastard Uchiha were supposed to be strong!" I continued as tears fell from my eyes and my arms came back to rest at my sides. My efforts were worthless, Sasuke wasn't getting any better and he was most certainly not getting back up. For the first time in my life I felt true failure. The feeling you feel when you failed a loved one.
As I continued reprimanding myself, a shadow came over me. I felt a powerful chakra behind me, a power only one man possessed, and I then realized that I still had to deal with the wretched Uchiha, the man who had brought so much misery to the Shinobi world, and the man that had killed Sasuke. At the last thought, a huge amount of anger came over me and I entered my nine tailed form.
As I felt the familiar sense of power wash over me, I began forming one of my best techniques. "Because of you Sasuke's dead!" I growled, with a tinge of Kurama's aggressive voice mixed in, "Because of you, many of my friends are either dead or hurt." I turned with a speed fit for a Kage level shinobi, Rasengan Shuriken in hand, aiming to kill Madara. Just as the powered up Rasengan was about to meet the figure a hand wrapped an iron grip on my wrist, effectively stopping my deadly technique. As I took a peek at the figure, I realized that the beautiful man in front of me was not Madara. The Rasengan dissolved itself back into wind as I met the man's dark eyes.
"Who the heck are you?" I asked, suspicion in my voice. The man calmly let go of my wrist and started walking around me to get to Sasuke, completely ignoring me. I could tell that this guy was strong and that even if Kurama was at his full strength it would be impossible for me to beat him. But I'd be damned if I let that stop me, I wouldn't let someone with such a dark aura hang around Sasuke.
"I asked you a question and until you answer you're not getting any closer to Sasuke!" I exclaimed as I quickly put myself between the man and Sasuke. I caught a flash of annoyance cross the man's eyes as he stopped in his tracks.
"I am called many things, some call me The Fallen An—" I could tell that this was going to be long so I immediately cut him off.
"Look dude, I asked for your name, not a freaking speech!" The man must have been pretty angry for being interrupted because you could see veins popping out of his forehead.
"You can call me Lucifer," the man answered as soon as he composed himself.
"What do you want with Sasuke?" I asked as I examined the man in front of me. His giant wings were creeping me out.
"Sasuke was the man that summoned me to this world to finish Madara, giving up his soul in the process," Lucifer responded with an emotionless voice.
"What do you mean giving up his soul?!" I yelled as my face got closer and closer to Lucifer's. Lucifer wasn't intimidated in the least.
"I mean that he is dead and he is not coming back," Lucifer answered with finality in his voice as he moved me out of his way with a slight push. I was so dazed by the last sentence he uttered that I didn't even register the action. I wanted to deny it, to say that he was lying, but even I knew that it was true and there was nothing I could do about it.
As I came back to my senses I saw that Lucifer was holding Sasuke with one hand while the other was holding some kind of vial. "It doesn't matter if he's dead, I won't let you take his body without a fight!" I growled as I charged at the man. Lucifer seemingly teleported in front of me as his elbow met my stomach. The blow was so strong that I fell to my knees, unable to get back up.
"I still have plans for this boy and to make sure these plans come to fruition I will need his body," Lucifer said as a dark portal appeared in front of him. I forced myself to get up as Lucifer passed through the portal. When I finally got up I immediately dashed in the direction of the portal, intent on getting Sasuke's body back. Just as I jumped in the air, the portal disappeared and my face met the dirt.
I was angry, angry at myself for being so weak. I thought I had finally become strong enough to protect my friends, strong enough to bring Sasuke home. I was wrong. Madara would have killed me if Sasuke hadn't intervened when he had and now that Lucifer guy just took me out with one blow.
"Naruto this is no time for self-pity, I can no longer feel Madara's chakra and that really bothers me," Kurama started as I came back to my senses.
"I know what you mean but Sasu—" Kurama interrupted me before I could continue.
"But Sasuke is dead and there is nothing you can do about it. You should focus on what needs to be done and worry about the rest later. You need to go and see what happened to Madara." I knew that Kurama was right. I still needed to check on the rest of my friends and prevent Madara, if he was still out there, from taking any more lives.
I pushed myself up and quickly started running to where Sasuke and I had fought Madara. Once I got there I noticed many shinobi huddling around something. I pushed myself through the celebrating crowds of people to see what got so much attention and I was presently surprised. Madara was down and he wasn't moving. Once I got a better view I also realized that his body was slowly disintegrating. As his body turned into dust I looked into his eyes. When my eyes met the now empty eye sockets, I started to panic, fearing someone took what was said to be the most powerful eyes in existence.
I turned to the shinobi beside me. "What happened to his eyes?!" I asked, panic lacing my voice.
"Th-the man who defeated Madara took them," The man spurred, fearing for his life. I then realized what was inside the vial Lucifer had in his hand. Only one question came to my mind as I gazed at the rising sun. 'What is Lucifer planning to do with Sasuke?'
Sasuke's POV
I groggily sat up as I took in my surroundings. My body felt like crap and I had to wait until my eyes adjusted to the darkness before I could decipher where I was. As my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness I noticed that my vision was, for an unknown reason, much sharper than before. Before, with my Sharingan, I could see better through darkness than with normal eyes, but now I could see everything perfectly. It was almost as if I could see through walls. I could tell that I was in a big room which was occupied by some kind of throne. The seat was pretty big, like it was made for two people and, for whatever reason, I could see that the seat had a huge malicious aura around it.
I suddenly felt a portal opening up in this dimension. I turned my eyes to the portal and I saw a tall silver haired figure stepping out. The figure was pretty muscular, and if that didn't intimidate you then his dark analytical eyes certainly would. His pale skin made him look like he was not really there, he seemed more like some kind of ghost. He also had two white wings coming out of his back; but what really got my attention was the power that this being was emitting. He had a dark, monstrous aura around him that would make even Madara shiver; it was no wonder even his throne had some of his power around it.
I was not intimidated in the least, in fact I felt ten times stronger than before and I had nothing to fear, my soul already belonged to the man. "So you must be Lucifer, The Fallen Angel of Heaven." If the man was surprised that I knew him he didn't show it. He had what it took to be called an Uchiha.
"Yes Sasuke Uchiha, you are correct," he said as he walked towards his throne. He sat down and stared at me before he continued. "I'm sure that you're wondering about what you're doing here in your physical body." It was more of a statement rather than a question. I was silent as I met the man's eyes.
"Yes, that would be a wonderful place to start, wherever 'here' is."
The man was silent, seemingly contemplating what to tell me. "Right now you are in my domain, hell, the place for the corrupted and those who gave up their soul to the Devil in exchange for a request," Lucifer stopped as we continued our stare off, apparently waiting for me to deny the accusation. "As for why you're here," he continued as soon as he accepted that I knew the consequences of my actions. "As you know, the Juubi is a powerful immortal creature who can neither be contained nor killed. Even with my power it is impossible to completely destroy the beast," he stopped, analyzing my reactions to everything he said.
I was slightly surprised that not even he could defeat the beast and it made me wonder if Madara truly witnessed the real power of the ten-tails. However, as if he read my mind, he answered my next question. "Lucky for you and your world, Madara was not qualified to use the power of the beast, not even one-fourth of it."
I stayed silent, disguising my interest in the conversation. "You see Sasuke, the beast only reveals her true appearance to those who she deems worthy of her power. And until that someone can be found she will be a mindless killing machine unless she is sealed." I knew where he was going with this and I wanted no part in it.
"Are you planning on sealing the beast inside me? Because if you are then you are mistaken if you think I'll willingly go along with it."
"Who said you had a choice?" Lucifer countered. "Your soul belongs to me and I'll do with it as I please." I stayed silent, my fists betraying my frustration, knowing that what he said was true. "And besides, it's already sealed inside you." Lucifer finished as my eyes widened in surprise, finally breaking my emotionless mask.
"You couldn't wait until I regained conscious to do that?" I exclaimed as an enraged expression came upon my face.
"Would you have preferred if I left the creature to do as she pleased to your world? To do as she pleased to your precious friend?" he questioned with a calm tone, not the least bit surprised by my actions. I quickly regained my composure as I realized that he was right, the idiot wasn't killed because of him.
"Is that why I feel so much more powerful now?" I questioned, changing the subject. Instead of answering my question Lucifer snapped his finger and a large mirror started forming in front of me. He nodded towards the mirror, signaling for me to take a look at it. As I looked at the mirror I didn't even bother worrying about my lack of clothes; what really got my attention was the eyes staring back at me. A red set of Rinnegan eyes stared back at me, except that these rinnegan eyes contained tomoe like patterns in every circle.
"How?" I questioned, the surprise evident in my voice as I continued looking at my new set of eyes.
"I removed your eyes and replaced them with Madara's. At the level of power you contained before there was no way that you could even sustain the ten-tails, much less controlled it which is what we're aiming for. With those eyes, every sharingan technique will be at you disposal, you may even surpass the first sharingan user, Indra." he answered, his tone still dark emotionless.
"Turn around," he commanded after a few moments. As much as I hated it, I had no choice but to obey the man. Once I turned around Lucifer signaled me to look at the mirror. When my eyes reached my back I found a black cross that covered my whole posterior with four circles around it. "That is the seal that prevents the ten-tails from taking over your body. Unlike the seal that marked your friend, however, that seal you possess will never disappear and cannot be removed, not even by me, it's creator. The chakra will still be able to leak out and you will take different forms with every level of tails, you will only be able to controlled it if you're on level two or lower." I turned around to have a better look at Lucifer.
"Once you get to where I'm sending you, one of the circles around the cross will disappear allowing a creature, which is called an Exceed, resembling the ten-tails to appear. I want you to take care of the creature and protected like it's your own life." I wanted to speak out, to refuse to obey his orders but I knew that it would be a waste of breath. I had no choice in the matter.
"Where are you sending me? Some other part of hell?" I asked, still with a stoic expression on my face.
"Unfortunately not," he started as an annoyed look came encroached on his usually calm demeanor, "You see, as much as I hate letting a soul free, I'm afraid that for you an exception will be made," he finished as I took in what was just said.
"So you're returning me to my world? Giving me my freedom?" I asked, a ray of hope underneath my disinterested voice.
"Hell no!" he exclaimed, a bewildered look on his face as if what I just said was the dumbest thing he ever heard. "Although I was required to return you to the world of the living, it was never specified where," Lucifer finished with dissatisfaction in his tone.
"So where are you sending me? Why can't I just go back to the shinobi world?" I asked, curiosity lacing my voice.
"I won't be sending you back to your world simply because my reputation as a merciless King would be officially ruined," Lucifer answered waving his arms around for dramatic affects. This guy was an idiot, almost as dumb as Naruto himself. He was simply putting on a façade before. "As for where you going," he continued as his arms came back to his sides, "There are many worlds besides your own and I'll be sending you to one such world, a world that uses magic power, also called Maryoku, instead of chakra to perform magic instead of jutsu. This world goes by the name of Earth Land, the world of mages."
I was overwhelmed by the amount of information. "Do you expect me to just know their language? Their culture? Their magic?" I questioned as I gave him a 'you must be kidding me' look.
"Yes, I'm afraid so," he said as he got up and walked until he was face to face with me. "Learning the language shouldn't be a problem with your Sharingan and Rinnegan as they absorb information extremely fast. As for culture, well I suggest you enter a guild." When he noticed my questioning eyes he immediately specified. "A guild is a group of mages that come together as a team under one master and perform different tasks in exchange for money. Since they travel a lot, not joining one would be extremely stupid of you." He pointed out as he started walking around me.
"Your powers are going to become your magic in Earth Land. They were greatly improved because of the Rinnegan and the ten-tails's chakra, making you capable of performing countless high level jutsu without feeling the restraint of falling low on chakra. It also increased your physical prowess, making you far stronger and faster than you ever were. By having the ten-tails inside you, your injuries will heal extremely quick and," he paused in front of me looking at my expressionless face, "prevent you from aging." To say I was surprised by the information I was receiving was a understatement, I was almost as surprised as when I discovered the truth about the massacre of my clan. "Although time won't kill you, who's to say that a deadly enough attack won't?" he finished.
A dark portal suddenly appeared beside Lucifer. He nodded his head towards the portal, signaling for me to go through. I hesitated. "Can you at least give me some clothes and my sword before I go?" I asked, hope in my tone; I still had my pride.
"Are you really asking this of me after letting your soul free?" he asked, an annoyed look on his face.
"Hell yeah, do you expect me to just go naked? I'll never live that one down," I retorted, an annoyed look crossing my own features. Lucifer muttered something about some stupid Uchiha before he snapped his fingers and my body began to glow.
The light was capable of brightening every inch of the overly dark room. Once the light died down, I looked to the mirror to see that my body now harbored a familiar uniform. I had a black under armor that reached up to right under my chin with metal gray armor on my upper chest and on my forearms. I sported dark gloves on my hand that reached to right above my elbows, red bandages decorating the end. The pants were the typical ninja pants, except darker, holding a small bag with red bandages around it, most likely holding my ninja tools. Besides the toes, my new dark as night ninja sandals covered my whole foot. The biggest difference my new clothes had then the typical ANBU armor was the long blood red scarf that was around my neck. I also noticed that my Kusanigi was strapped on the back of my waist, the handle pointing towards my left hand, making easy for me to reach it if the situation called for it.
Once I was sure that I had everything I was going to need I turned to my side and started walking towards the portal. Once I passed the portal I decided to ask one more question before I officially departed to another world. "Lucifer, why are you doing this? What's in it for you?" I questioned as I turned my onyx eyes in his direction. I caught a look of surprise crossing his features as he immediately hide it.
"Let's just say that even a Devil has his debts to pay," he answered as the portal closed in my face.
