REVIEW! I WORKED MY ASS OFF ON THIS CHAPTER! ASSKICKING! DRAMA! ACTION! EPICNESS! YOU WILL FIND IT HERE! I'll be starting classes again soon, so i'll try to keep everything updated, but this is my final story to be published after my surgery. as I can't be using a computert too much cuz of the surgery... This is one of those what if scenario's, and don't worry, character death will be...minimal.
(That Which We Hold Dear)
From the quiet shores of Wave to the stormy peaks of Iwa, the second coming of the Rinnegan could be felt around the globe. Men, women, children and shinobi, nameless individuals hailing from times long since forgotten, all of them gave pause. Many of them dismissed it as nothing, and would continue on in blissful ignorance. Others, would stare into nothingess for what seemed like an eternity, so enraptured were they by this sudden spike of light.
And a chosen few, would listen. Some would smile as they tilted their heads in idle wonderment. But the majority of these individuals were not content to simply bask in afterglow of this power. These cruel and wicked fiends desired this power, and they would go to any length to make it their own. They would begin to chuckle and they would laugh, as they tasted the raw eet undercurrents of pure chakra and the boundless energy it contained.
They would begin to lay their plans and make their wicked schemes in the dark. They would look ahead to the day when their plans would come to fruition, and they would wait with unrelenting desire as they lusted after the power that now receded into the distance. Uzumaki Naruto had no way of knowing it at the time, but he'd inadvertantly spat into the eye of some very influential individual and some would not take kindly to his outlandish (if not unintended) taunt.
Indeed, every shinobi, kage, missing-nin(not to mention those who were neither this nor that) had been made aware of him. If not his identity, then they would soon know. For as the very last glimmer of chakra faded over the horizon, the wheels began to turn. And only one man was aware of this new fate that had been so violently thrust upon the bijuu container. That man exhaled softly and took one last puff from his pipe before removing the piece from his mouth.
"So Naruto did have the Rinnegan." The words birthed a small cloud of smoke into the air, laden with despair. They were far too loud in the confines of the spacious office. The walls and the portraits of his predecesor's pressed down on him as he turned away from the desk and the paperwork that had commanded his full and undivided attention moments before. Swiveling in his seat, it was all the great 'God of Shinobi' could do to meet the fourth portrait and not flinch away from its eternal gaze.
"Is this what you wanted for him, Minato?" The words were as bitter as the tobacco against his tongue. "Is this what Kushina sacrificed herself for?" The photograph did not reply, and Sarutobi chided himself for thinking that it might. Not even Minato could defy death. Instead, the Yondaime's face remained frozen in an easy smile and stared back at Hiruzen Sarutobi. That complacent visage looked on as Hiruzen reached into the desk drawer and withdrew a small pack.
Despite himself and the dire situation into which they had all been thrust, Sarutobi smiled as he lit the cigar. The lighter caught at the first switch, and under the silent reproach of previous Hokage, he placed the cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply. Even though Sarutobi knew it to be folly, it truly did feel as though his predecesors were chastising him for taking a smoke. Perhaps even punishing him for his indulgement, as he began to cough and hack violently as the fumes invaded his lungs and throat.
"Ghack!"
How on earth did Asuma smoke these?
His eyes began to tear against the thick smoke and it wasn't long before he was forced to remove the cigar. Still battling a small and embarassing cough, Sarutobi snorted into his fist as he ground the cigarette out into a nearby ash tray. He knew he'd be nagged about it if he was caught, but smoking had always been an inescapable addiction for him. Just as Naruto's inevitable "Dattebayo!" after nearly every sentence.
For some reason Sarutobi found this to be incredibly funny, but before he could laugh and draw further attention to himself, a sharp and sudden pain exloded against his ribs. Eyes shooting wide, the cigar fell from his fingers. One hand shooting to his chest, he had to force the fingers to unclench from the claw they had made around the his heart, and wait for the agony to eventually abate in time as it always had.
It did not.
"Lord Hokage!"
Damn.
His favorite pen clattered to the floor and rolled for nearly a meter before it was struck down by the door. Flung open by an Anbu whose name escaped him at the moment, the wooden frame collided with the wall and did not close. Sarutobi waved them man away and refused assitance as the red haze slowly, slowly began to trickle away from his vision. Accepting the proffered tissue, he loosed a sharp and rasping cough into the paper.
That episode had been a great deal morre painful than the last, as he regarded the bloody phlegm he'd retched into the tissue.
'I really am getting old...
Discarding it in the nearby bin, he willed his spine to straighten.
With a tired sigh, he forced himself out of the chair.
As he stood, his bones ached with a pain that warned of more than old age. Though it the light of spring and summer danced all around them, it was as though that warmth had been stolen away and in its place, they had been left with the bitter chill of winter. Painfully, he forced himself through the agony, turning his eyes downward toward the bustling populace below.
for just a brief blink, others for what would seem like an eternity. In that endless moment, some would tilt their head to one side, and still others, would listen. There was no sound to be heard, but many of them would stiffen, as though a sudden chill had passed through the air. Others would frown as the, stiffening as a sudden chill would crawl across their skin, or manifest itself in some other nameless expression of much as felt, but sensed, as the immense pillar of red chakra could be seen
"Call the council, bring everyone together."
"Sir?" The Anbu's face could not be seen behind his ceremonial mask, but his tone projected confusion. "I'm afraid I don't-
"There is no need to." Sarutobi dismissed the man with a wave of his hand. "Tell them it concerns the matter of Naruto's...heritage."
(Currently...)
It was no tbrought about by the death of Sasuke Uchiha. Nor was it activated by the heinous actions of Gatou. Though each of these indivuals and their actions held an especially painful significance to Uzumaki Naruto, neither were to blame for the abrupt awakening of his eyes. He may not have known it at the time, but his Rinnegan was not a representation of his anger like the Uchiha's Sharingan, nor did it signify an inner peace as the Hyuuga's Byakugan.
Enough.
It had simply chosen to manifest itself in response to a dire and pressing need.
I will...put a stop to this.
That need, that reason, that desire, was what drove Uzumaki Naruto to fight. To take up Zabuza Momochi's blade. To wipe all emotion from his mind. To hurl himself against a small army. To swear that he would never let such a tragedy befall anyone around him, ever again. It was for these reasons and so many many more, that he fought. And he would continue to fight until he'd crushed every man and woman who dared to replace Tazuna-san's peace with Gato's tyranny.
I will...crush them.
It was for this purpose that he curled the energy around him and heaved it forward.
"Shinra Tensei!"
With a violent shove of energy, the bridge imploded. At a loss for words and for chakra, Hatake Kakashi propelled himself off the nearest piece of scaffold and flew backwards in a hasty retreat just as the wooden supports decided to give way beneath his feet. Zabuza was of a like mind, having stooped down to scoop the stunned Haku into his battered arms. Too late, he detected that sharp crack and the splintering of stone and wood, just as the wide fissure spread between them and the remainder of the Konoha squad.
Whatever power he had used before, this was on a far larger scale. A wide section of the seabed had simply been blown away, and a number of Gatou's men could be seen pinned amidst the muck. It was only a matter of time before Naruto brought the waters crashing down around them again, and with an impudent flick of two fingers, he did just that.
'So that's the Rinnegan...huh?'
Naruto made no move to express concern for either side, despite the fact that he had placed his allies in as much danger as his enemies. Ordinarily such an outlook would have alarmed the Copycat, but these circumstances dictated that Kakashi express a bit of lenience in regards to the Shinobi Code. That, and there was simply no way to reach the boy. The harsh field that erupted from his body every few seconds was a sure-fire deterrent as Hatake watched an unfortunate mercenary detonate upon contact with the shimmering aura.
'To think that Naruto would actually posses a bloodline of his own...
Haku chewed at her lower lip whilst her mentor and the others marveled at the legendary Dojutsu. But it was not awe and amazement that held her enrapt with attention. Though he would have killed her without hesitation if necessary, she could not help but feel a stabbing pang of sorrow for him. Certainly not for Gatou. Nay, her heart cried out for the boy who rained fire and brimstone down upon the eccentric tycoon and his band of misbegotten fools.
"That boy...
She knew next to nothing about Uzumaki Naruto, and yet she continued to experience the strange squeezing sensation inside her chest. It was painful, but pain was something to which she had long since adapted and she bore with it, held witness to the swift and ruthless extermination of Gatou's once unstoppable army. Though they were not without skill themselves, these men simply could not hope to withstand such a battle and expect to survive.
As the blade swept through flesh and bone, Haku felt every stroke of its streamlined surface. Whatever zanbato and that invisible force did not claim, the red chakra was eager to devour. She shivered and shuddered at the memory of it, that dark chakra, and how easily it had destroyed her technique. There was not the slightest doubt in her mind that it was powerful. But as this thought slipped into her mind, so too, did another, clearing her mind of the poison that had been her fear.
If he had been able to summon that power at will, knowing that it would crush her defenses, than why had he not done so at the outset? Had he been restraining himself? No, the look in his eyes had not been anything but that of a desperate man. No shinobi was willing to let their comrade die solely for the sake of saving face. The pain and loss in his eyes had been all too real. Someone so young had no hope of fabricating such an excessive display of sorrow.
Meaning...
She had answered her own question.
Uzumaki Naruto was not inherently cruel.
But he had felt so...lonely.
"I was always alone, too."
He hadn't been entirely bent on destruction after all, Haku realized. She recalled the milisecond before he had smashed her mask. That brief instant before the blackness. She seen the furious tears in his eyes just before he'd barreled into her. This was a black fury true, but it was also a pure and steadfast one. His power stemmed from the pain of loss, holding a comrade and witnessing their final breaths as they faded from this world.
That, was what surged from the warrior below them. This was not an inexperienced genin and not a boy who spoke with his mouth and could not back it up. This was a hardened veteran of battle, the likes of whichi batted experienced men and women aside as though they were mere fledglings. He was making fools of those who should have been able to pick him apart. So how, how was this even possible that Uzumaki Naruto possesed such untapped potential?
This was...what was he?
She beheld Naruto and the way he so callously dispatched the mercenaries. Like the oncoming tide they crashed upon him and like a rock, he did not break. As they retreated, he opened his eyes, that brief pulse of energy exuding from his form as he landed amongst the small riverboats. Though he had never learned the art of water walking, the boy stood upon the frothing waves as though he had all the experience of a trained shinobi.
An arm restrained her when she tried to edge forward.
"Haku-
"But...!"
Zabuza shook his head, a slow and deliberate answer, and for the first time in her life, Haku disobeyed a direct order and shrugged off her mentor's arm. Taking advantage of his disbelief, she shuffled the first small step forward. Wincing as her ankle spasmed in protest. As she neared the precipiece, she was greeted by a harsh gust and would have been catapaulted across the bridge in an instant, had not her father-figure been there to catch and steady her.
'This Jutsu is...!
They shared the same expression of disbelief as the once placid waters were whipped into a furious frenzy a second time.
"Ushi." Naruto began solemnly.
There was no mistaking the technique in question, as Naruto began what should have been an impossible for a genin.
"Impossible." Zabuza hissed. "Even if he has those eyes, there's no way he should be able to...
"Saru." Right hand palm down and left hand palm up onto his right hand. "U."Forming a gun with his right hand and sliding the left hand's pinky finger over the barrel of the gun. "Ne."Clasping his left hand around the first two fingers on of his right and holding the signal out in front of him. Four fingers on the left facing away and able to see the last two fingers on the right hand. "I." Curling the tips of his fingers to the top of his palms. Bringing both hands and touching the curled fingers to each other with wrists rotated and hands pointed toward the floor.
Even without his Sharingan, Kakashi would have recognized it at once.
"Tori." Placing the tips of his thumbs together and pointing them toward his chest. Folding them down and curl his first and third fingers on each hand. Touching the tips of his second and last fingers to one another. Forming a steeple with four fingers hanging down curled and either thumbs pointing at his chest. Gaining speed with every sign, Naruto's seal weaving eventually dissolved into a blur of tan and red, the likes of which even his Sharingan was unable to discern.
"Ne." Naruto folded and unfolded his hands and then moved onto the next symbol. "Tora." Clasping his hands as though to pray and interlocking two fingers straight for but a moment. "Inu." With a sudden burst, his hands were lost in the red chakra which swelled around him as he dreged up an insane amount of the chakra that was as large as it was malevolent. "Mi. Ushi. Hitsuji. Mi. I. Hitsuji. Ne. Saru. Tori- Tatsu. Tori. Ushi. Uma. Hitsuji. Tora. Mi. Ne. Saru. U. I. Tatsu. Hitsuji. Ne. Ushi. Saru. Tori. Ne. I...
Naruto stiffened suddenly, his lips parting for a single command as his fingers clenched around the symbol that represented a Bird seal.
"Tori!"
Ox → Monkey → Hare → Rat → Boar → Bird → Ox → Horse → Bird → Rat → Tiger → Dog → Tiger → Snake → Ox → Ram → Snake → Boar → Ram → Rat → Yang Water → Monkey → Bird → Dragon → Bird → Ox → Horse → Ram → Tiger → Snake → Rat → Monkey → Hare → Boar → Dragon → Ram → Rat → Ox → Monkey → Bird → Yang Water → Rat → Boar → Bird. With the afforemention seals completed, Kakashi was left to bear witness as a mighty beast rose from the waters, for its very body was that of the sea itself.
A gleaming golden eye regarded Gatou and his feeble little fleet with keen intelligence. Far larger than any creature of its kind should be, a long and serpentine dragon, yes a dragon, loomed over what remained of the brige and all those beneath, ready to devour everything and anything in an instant. Dimly aware of the reaction his kyuubi powered jutsu had ellicited, Naruto slowly pushed his fingers together for the final time.
"Suiton:" Naruto gave name to this technique with just the slightest flicker of satisfaction in an otherwise blank visage. "Suiryūdan no Jutsu."
Kakashi felt a terrible shudder stiffening in his spine. Slowly, muscles screaming from strain, he forced himself to turn toward Naruto and the massive monstrosity crafted from bijuu chakra. Naruto spared a brief glance toward his sensei, who in turn stared into the chakra cloak that housed his student. Dripping and bubbling around its host, the cloak continued to shift and roil about in the shape of the one tailed form, a constant shade of movement.
He could only imagine the sinister purpose of those chakra talons. If Naruto were to perceive him as a threat and turn on him...it would be over. Kakashi had garnered quite the illustrious reputation for being able to predict his opponents, but this coat of chakra held no pattern. Whenever Naruto moved, so too, did the chakra. Lengthening his reach, burgeoning his strength, contracting to defend any lingering vulnerability his fleshy form might leave behind...
Kakashi did not approach him. He held no fear for the jinchuuriki cloak, but it was the look in the blonde's eyes that told him to keep his distance. Not long ago, there hadn't been a doubt in Hatake's mind where the intentions of his student were concerned. Sasuke- the boy was either already dead or slowly dying- had become the catalyst for the sudden reversal of Naruto's persona. To witness death in front of your own two eyes was painful enough in-and-of itself, but to hold your friend close and watch as they passed...
In your arms...
That was a bit much to ask of any greenhorn. It was also the reason Genin fresh from the academy were always assigned D-rank and C-rank missions. To witness death, to drive your weapon into an enemy and watch the life fade from his eyes, that, was the way of the shinobi. A genin needed months and months of field experience, maybe even more than that, before they could be considered for anything remotely resembling the B-rank assignments.
Especially Naruto. Kakashi didn't particularly believe in favoritism, but some small part of him sympathized with the boy. Naruto was loud and obnoxious, brash and downright stupid even, but this, too many times had he seen death in the field, and thought himself numbed to it. Watching Naruto now, as he systematically exterminated everyone of Gatou's men, was an eye-opener. Word could not hope to reach him in this state. To have finally made a friend, only to watch them slip into the next world...
It was enough to break a grown man.
Naruto, having lost the one person who just might have been a friend to him someday, had fallen into madness. He was going to kill Gatou. He was going to kill everyone and everything that was even remotely associated with the entrepenuer, until the demon in his stomach was satisfied. Although he was not fond of such senseless slaughter, Hatake Kakashi knew that sometimes total obliteration was necessary for the greater good.
This went far beyond a simple kill order.
With a terrifying snarl that both shook both the bridge and what little resistance the men had left, the dragon threw itself into fleet. Kakashi knew the look on his face was one of disbelief, but he still risked a glance over his shoulder all the same. He was rewarded by a small snort, as Zabuza defiantly jerked his gaze away. Kakashi shook his head. Even in the thick of things, the man was still just as prideful as before.
Shrieking in fear and disbelief as the massive dragon roared over them, Gatou and his band of rogues were violently hurled into the churning waters. Naruto watched them dissapear amidst the boiling waves he had summoned, and frowned. With that calculating expression still in place, he offered an upturned palm to the sky, arm raised high. In that instant, Kakashi had a sudden epitome. He knew, he just fucking knew that the carnage wasn't going to end until his student had been sated.
He was going to hit the bridge again.
Dreading what was to come, Kakashi darted toward Sasuke and had just begun to shoulder the boy when the aftershock struck the bridge. Amidst an ear splitting screech that could not be mistaken for anything other than the dismayed cry of a young girl, the last of the pulleys and supports gave way overhead. A massive metal beam slammed into the bridge and everything swayed. Though he might have been able to evade such an obstruction alone, Kakashi was forced to consider Sasuke's safety and skip backwards lest it crush them both.
"Kakashi-Sensei!"
Naruto wasn't going to stop until the Kyuubi was satisfied by the destruction of Gatou's empire to be satisfactory.
Mininmal though the delay was, Kakashi knew at once that he'd failed. Even as he cleared the obstruction, he saw the bridge crumble away and saw Sakura. His student was too frightened to move away from the deteriorating guardrail and completely unaware of the massive . With a last and desperate surge of chakra, he flung himself forward, and heard only the sound of the bridge falling apart around him.
The sudden abscence of confused shouting likely spelled the end for Gatou and his men.
'At least that turned out alright.'
This thought did little to lessen the sickening sensation of dread that swallowed Kakashi's stomach as the rusted railing abruptly gave way. He couldn't find the words or the chakra for any sort of jutsu as Sakura pinwheeled at the edge, emerald green eyes becoming large and stricken as she fought to maintain her balance. Too late, another quake seized the bridge and dragged Sakura forward. For all his speed and ability Kakashi could already see what was to occur, and knew that he had no chance of making it to her in time.
He watched as the table-sized sheet of metal came flying free from its restraints and rammed into Sakura from behind. With her full attention on the battle, she never saw it coming. Instead, her eyes grew wide with surprise as she staggered three steps forward, clutching at her side. Kakashi experienced both relief and disbelief as one. Had she tried to turn and leap out of the way of the shrapnel; the piece of steel would have torn Sakura in half.
Instead, as the bloody piece of steel clanged acrosss the cement and plunged into the sea, she'd managed to only get a rather deep gash along her ribs. But though Sakura might have been spared the horrors of bifurication today, she was not so lucky as to escape death a second time. Although she had survived her brush with death, crimson rivulets leaked between her clenched fists, and the ground was made slick beneath her feet.
To her credit, Sakura did not so much as glance at the wound. Instead, she rounded on a speechless Tazuna and violently pushed him out of the way with both hands. Shoved him away from the edge and toward the intact portion of the bridge. The bridge builder stumbled as his foot caught on some timber and pitched forward to land in Kakashi's path.
'No!'
Acid coursed through Kakashi's thighs and calves as Sakura stumbled from this her selfless and toppled face first into the rain slicked floor. A loud and sickening crack spread throughout the mist as her head met the unforgiving concrete and left her stunned. Slipping into unconciousness for a moment Sakura lost her grip on the railing and crumpled to her knees in agony. Realizing at once that there wasthe ground was not a good place to be, the kunoichi was quick to bolt to her feet again. Alas, this this act of self preservation sealed her fate.
Sakura turned slowly, ever so slowly, as the weight holding the bridge down pitched in protest, the iron hooks bent back against her waist. Snagging on her hair. Sakura didn't even have the chance to scream as she was hauled over the edge and dragged down into the depths. Aghast at the sudden loss, Hatake Kakashi stumbled to an uncontrolled stop. A wordless sound of disbelief and sorrow buiT inside the blackness of his throat.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Naruto spun around, his hand twisting into a downturned and crooked claw. He beckoned furiously, his fingers grasping at empty air. Kakashi felt a sudden pull tugging against the scaffolding, and just as he began to wonder what had happened Sakura Haruno collided with his knee. Though she was shivering and all but mute from her close scrape with death, the kunoichi looked as though she'd live to see the end of the day. Noting that, Kakashi could only shake his head upon realizing that Naruto had simply yanked Sakura out of thin air and retrieved her from her plunge into the frigid waters.
'He can attract and repel objects at will?'
Naruto opened a palm and Sakura landed on her butt, embarassed, but very much alive. Naruto glared at the drenched kunoichi with an expression of intense displeasure. As Sakura shied away from his frigid gaze, she quietly placed a hand to her badly shredded hair, which now ended in a ragged mop of pink just below her shoulders. Up to his ears with questions, Kakashi was left to scratch at his head in wonderment.
The Rinnegan...
This was going to be a problem. Not that he held Naruto accountable for the sudden awakening of his doujutsu, it was just...incredibly ill-timed. The Rinnegan had long since been considered a myth, a rumor, a legend, even. Possesed by the Six Path Sage who had first preached the way of Ninshu, that which became Ninjutsu. Now, the son of Minato and Kushina had inherited that terrifying doujutsu for which Kushina's clan had once been infamous.
This...was going to get ugly. Very ugly. Surprisingly, Kakashi felt a small part of himself yearn for the conflict that was to come. The chance to test himself against those that would seek Naruto's power and prove that he was indeed worthy of keeping his promise to Minato-sensei. Let them come. He wouldn't let Orochimaru or any other villain lay so much as a finger upon his students, either of them.
be after Naruto from this day onward.
"Hatake!"
The hoarse scream plucked Kakashi from his musings.
"Hatake!" Zabuza was bellowing furiously from the undamaged portion of the bridge. "The boy's your student, isn't he? Tell him to stop before he destroys the bridge!" Kakashi gave a noise of disbelief and was about to explain to the nukenin the incredible risks involved with reasoning Naruto out of his madness, when he felt the next tremor. Warily laying Sasuke down, he watched those who serve Gato be spilled back onto the bridge as Naruto's Universal Pull violently hauled them out of the water.
"There is no need." Naruto's flat and emotionless voice rang out across the bridge as he set upon them in slow but calculated earnest. "I've nearly completed my task." Even Zabuza, knowing next to nothing about the genin, frowned at the apparent lack of emotion in the lad's voice. Suddenly Kakashi's attention returned to the boy once again, and not an instant too soon. For he beheld a sick and strangely satisfying sight.
Cutting down the last of Gatou's men, Naruto lashed out into the crowd, a large hand of red chakra extending from the cloak. Growing larger by the second, it reared up above Gato and those whom still dared to guard him, covering everything in its shadow. Naruto appeared content to wait for a moment, even as his target scrambled to safety. Kakashi forced what little chakra he had left to either of his feet and braced himself for the impending impact.
"Get down!"
Too late, Naruto slammed the massive claw into the bridge, and as the smoke was violently dispelled, he had him. Hefting a thoroughly soaked man by the collar. His claws carving a deep and furious trench into the man's stomach. Dribbling blood as they reached forward to heave him upward.
"N-No! Please don't kill me!"
Zabuza arched a nonexistent eyebrow.
'Oho? On second thought, leave him be...
Five seconds having elapsed, the blond now held a squirming Gatou by the scruff of his neck. The stout businessman was a mere shadow of his former self, his expensive suit soaked with water and made heavy with oil. His glasses had been lost in the flood, leaving those beady slits of hideous shit brown to dart this way and that beneath the blonde's baleful glare. Once Gatou finally understood his dire , only then did he begin to beg and whimper for mercy.
"D-Don't kill me! I'm begging you, don't kill me!"
"Don't kill you?" Naruto asked aloud. He backhanded Gatou. It was almost ridiculous. Gatou practically flew from the force of the blow. He sprawled in the puddle and got up slowly, his hands and knees badly scrapped and bleeding from the impact. He made little whimpers in the fog, and Naruto paid no heed as he stalked after him, heel shooting out from the fog to catch the tycoon between the ribs and stomach.
With a wheezing squeal, Gatou was launched across the ruined bridge for a second flight.
"I have not yet decided on your fate just yet," Naruto lowered his foot and curled one hand purposefully about the elongated hilt of the Head Cleaver. "But now that you mention it, I suppose I do owe you some thanks for the opening of my eyes." The blade's massive weight meant nothing to him and it came free with ease, much to everyone's disbelief. Dragging it behind him, the blond stepped one pace over a corpse, before his invisible energy decided to blow them away altogether.
With all of his guards either dead or dying, Gatou skittered backward as the demonic blond trapsed after him. His tattered jacket swung open from his shoulders and blew wildly amidst the powerful gale created by Kyuubi's tainted chakra. His hair had become longer, but incredibly so, as it billowed out behind him in a ragged curtain of platinum blond. Those strange rippling eyes saw through him and laid Gatou's every sin bare for judgement.
"W-What the hell are you!"
Naruto did not answer.
Instead, he continued to drag the blade against stone, and allowed it to recreate that horrible screech of protest. With a slow and deliberate gait, he stalked across the sea of fallen corpses that lay between him and the sniveling buisinessman. And still, the blade grated against the gravel, leaving an eerie symphony of screams and other unnatural sounds in his wake. Those few who did not have the time or strength to clear away from him, were summarily cut down or burned to death.
It sprayed sparks onto the thick pool of gasolie and ignited the fires.
"Katon:"
Naruto didn't even bother to name the fire jutsu as he raised two rigid fingers and flicked them toward the approaching figure from behind. Kakashi, having set Sasuke down in order to draw nearer to his charge, threw up an arm as the wall of heat and flame snarled between the two of them. The posessed blond spared him a brief glance over the shoulder, and slowly shook his head in an warning as the Jonin stood back from the geyser of fire.
Rinnegan met Sharingan.
"Because of you, I've come to understand something, sensei."
Naruto purposefully eaned forward and away from Kakashi, to drag Gatou to his feet. For the final time. Hoisting his bulbous frame into the air. Gatou gasped and wheezed as he was dragged/lifted off the bridge and into the mist. His stubby little legs falling short as he struggled to find purchase against the concrete and buy his lungs some oxygen.
"The Shinobi world is ruled by hatred." Naruto tilted the zanbato to its tip so he could bring Gatou face to face. "Because people like him cause suffering, and thus start the chain of hatred. That is what we know as history. And from it, we learn that humans are often times incapable of opening their eyes; of understanding each other. However," Those rippling eyes tensed as Zabuza's Kubikiri Houcho found the pudgy fellow's throat and drew the first drop of blood.
"I was born for the very purporse of stopping this chain of hatred." Naruto began softly. "Simply put, I am the one who will bring an end to the hatred that all shinobi are fighting against. For as long as we shinobi bind ourselves to the current system, this hate will give birth to pain, and from that pain war and death and suffering will rise." His arm trembled visibly with the effort required to restrain his body, as though he would tear into Gato at any moment.
Haku was strongly inclined to believe that Naruto would carry out his silent threat. She held no love for Gatou, but unlike the Konoha shinobi, she could not bring herself to look away. For she had been stricken by his words but like the rest, she was held captive by his words.
"Even I know that hatred is spreading in the world of shinobi." Naruto had begun to shake his head. "I know I want to do something about it but unfortunately I don't know what to do yet. Love and forgiveness can't be bought just woth pretty words, I know that too, but still...I...
He grit his teeth.
"I want peace."
Naruto paused, his flat and blank glare narrowing as the tremors slowly subsided and the mist began to clear. Zabuza watched that massive zanbato gleam with the blood and the steam as the very first ray of sunlight stabbed through the clouds. Gatou whimpered and shied away from it, but Naruto welcomed the warmth brought by the sun. Opening his eyes, he turned away from Kakashi. Their discussion was at an end.
"If I were to kill you here and now, it would change nothing." A rimmed eye leveled upon Gatou with terrifying numbness. "It would only be for my own satisfaction. By killing you without due cause, I would be bringing more pain into this world, and giving birth to a bitter chain of events as your benefactor will doubtlessly make an attempt upon my life upon hearing of your death. Additionally, I may be bringing attention to myself for the events that have trasnpired here."
"Do you understand?"
"It is through understanding that my peace will be achieved, not pain." Naruto continued as the blade pushed against the man's jugular. "Today, I have seen the path that will lead to that peace. And it is not through the untold suffering of the weak and the powerless. It is through empathy, compassion, and it is through mercy that this peace will flourish. You have opened my eyes, and I have seen the paths that will lead to true peace."
"Wa-wa-wait! You don't have to do this!"
"Perhaps you're right." Naruto replied, his grip inexplicably slackening. "Sasuke lost his life because of your schemes, and Haku wasted hers because of you. By all that is good and holy, you should rot in the ninth circle of hell for your crimes." Here, did Naruto lower his gaze. "Still, killing you at this point wouldn't do anything to lift the burden off them, nor will I feel any better by doing it."Gatou forced a wavering smile at these words.
Was this kid actually going to let him go?
"Then...
"But."
The sage's next sentence crushed that seed of hope and turned its fruit to ash.
"...I have to make an example of you."
"!"
"Say, Zabuza-san." Naruto did not bother to turn as he continued. "How many lethal openings does the human body have again?" Haku felt her mentor visibly stiffen beside her, but he made no other outward reply other than to slowly hedge half a step to the south. Personally, she felt no such fear. If Naruto had wanted them dead, they would have been dead by now. That they were still amongst the living could only attest to his willingness to keep them alive, to protect them.
...Seven." The nukenin replied, albeit warily.
"Can I ask one thing, then?"
...Sure."
Naruto did turn then, his face slowly appearing over his shoulder as he curiously regarded the once fearsome missing-nin behind him. How was I ever afraid of them? A look of complete and disbelief just flashed through and filled his eyes as the realization dawned upon him, and the two recovering nukenin behind him. They're...just trying to survive. Strengthened by the sudden resolution, he turned his back to them and levered Gatou up into the air by his throat, the knife in his hand clanging harmlessly to the floor.
Ignoring the protruding slit in his shoulder, Naruto blinked slowly.
"I see," he said, leaving his back turned as he pulled Kubikiri Houcho back out from its place in the stone. "So you still think that you can—"
"W-Wait!" Gatou began to sweat profusely as Naruto hauled him back into the air. "Calm down!" He grasped at the hand that held him and stared into the raw and terrified face that was his reflection in the bloodsoaked blade. "Listen to me! Spare me! Please spare me!" Naruto's had already closed his eyes when Gatou desperately played his last card."M-M-Money! I'll give you all my money! Do you hear me kid! All of it! Don't you want to be rich-
Too late, the sudden spike of killer intent warned Gatou of his third and final mistake.
"Like I'd give a damn about that!" Naruto's serene visage twisted into a furious snarl. "Your money means nothing!" In that instant; his blade, silently singing for death, chose to descend. Gripping the hilt tightly, he released his hold upon Gatou, and allowed the entrepeneur on final glimpse of the two handed zanbato scything down to the earth. Everyone shivered against the bloodcurdling scream given in that last instant of existence, even Zabuza and Kakashi.
At first, there wasn't any blood. Naruto might have missed altogether, with his blade wedged into the stone at Gatou's backside. But there could be no mistaking the thick spurt of red. It was a fine cut, so fine in fact, that there had been no explosion of gore. Just a red mist that showered across the boy's downturned head, staining his blond hair a fierce and wild crimson. Long and silken already as a result of the transformation, this new change left the boy even more imposing to behold.
'He looks just like...
Completing the arc, Naruto brought the blade back around with a sharp tug of the handle. With it, came the head of Gatou, his face forever frozen in a silent scream. Headless, Gatou's body staggered three steps back, wobbled at the edge, and pitched back into the briny depths of the sea. Naruto watched him sink into the water and inclined his head. Closing his eyes in a soft exhalation, he swept the around, celaring it off blood.
"Done." He declared solemnly. "Kakashi-sensei."
With a dull thunk, Naruto slammed the blade into the concrete. He turned his attention back to the others, gauging their reactions. Sakura refused to meet his gaze, and Kakashi appeared to be of a like mind. Zabuza regarded him warily, and Sasuke remained on the ground, dead to the world. Therefore when Haku, Haku, dared to take that small step toward him, Naruto was taken aback. Some base instinct caused him to grip the hilt tightly, but he made no move to dissuade her.
He just stared. Haku must have mistook his silence as something more than what it was, for she continued to make her way toward him. Naruto regarded her with increasing incedulity. What was she thinking? She was approaching the one who had been about to murder her. If he'd been so much as a centimeter off with that last punch, she would be a heap of bones at his feet. Yet still, she half-limped half walked across the dirty puddles that seperated them, until incredibly-
There.
She.
Was.
Naruto couldn't find the words to address her tears as she stared upwards at him. He could not bring himself to cry out in surprise as he staggered backward. Haku had thrown her arms around him and her tears were hot and burning against his tattered jacket. Incredulous, Naruto peered through his now red mane of hair and looked to Kakashi for some sort of answer. Unfortunately, the Jonin had none to offer his student as the wall of flames dissipated and died.
He was on the verge of tears himself, as Sasuke shakily sat up.
"O-Oi...you mean...you were only...
Zabuza just laughed, his battered body shaking with amusement. Kakashi exhaled softly and glanced about what ittle remained of the once proud bridge. Naruto's counterattack had not been without consequence, and he could see that it had been all but destroyed during his rampage. His could hear Inari and the other villagers approaching, unaware that the day had already been saved but in ex-change for their hopes and dreams.
Naruto followed his sensei's gaze and frowned as he wriggled out of Haku's grip very, very gently.
'I can do this.'
Hastily rubbing at his eyes, the red chakra roared back to life around was still time to correct his mistake. An idle glance at Tazuna's dismayed expression was all the answer he needed. Even with his rage abated, it obeyed his commands, stretching and rising into a pair of giant hands as they scooped down into the water. Veins pulsed and throbbed as his Rinnegan violently flared into exi-stence again and exerted his will upon the debris.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Impossibly, Naruto summoned the massive blocks of cement from their final resting place upon the ocean floor. They hung motionless before him, rapt with attention and awaiting his next command. With a swift flick of the fingers, he gave it and they rocketed forth as more debris emerged from the sea. Waving his arms as though he were a grand maestro and they his musicians, Naruto flawlessly directed the countless shards and fragments to do his bidding and seek out their place amongst the stone and cinder block.
"Shinra Tensei!"
With a sharp but focused thrust of his mind, every crack and broken seam snapped back into alignment. As flawless as it had been during the construction, so too was the bridge once again. Gasping for breath, Naruto waved their concerns away, and forced himself to straighten. Glancing about, he raised his hands and rapped them together once, twice, three times, the last clap being greeted by a loud and dull THUNK of a groan as the support beams snapped into place.
Haku would never forget that strange feeling of awe and wonderment as she marveled at him and his work. Not over a week or a month, but in a matter of moments, Uzumaki Naruto had done what hundreds of skilled craftsmen would require years to accomplish. He had rebuilt the bridge in a handful of seconds. Naruto had even left it unfinished, for the sake of the Land of Wave. Accepting that his work was finally complete, he finally turned toward them.
...D-Done." He panted, visisbly exhausted by such a monumental effort. "Now...
FOOL! The dark voice rumbled at him. You've exhausted your chakra!
...Uh?
His eyes rolled back and he had just enough time to witness Inari's sudden cry, before the world flared white around him. Pain stabbed at his eyes and stomach, leaving him as the bijuu chakra left his body and retreated into the seal. He staggered drunkenly and swayed forward. His legs turned to rubber beneath him, and had Kakashi not been there to catch him, the boy would have surely smash-ed his head against the concrete.
"Well done, Naruto."
Exhausted as he was, the boy managed a small smile as everyone gathered around the two of them.
He had no way of knowing it, but life was about to take a turn for the intriguing. He slipped into unconciousness as the Kyuubi loudly chastised him for overusing his chakra and his thoughts ranged to the future and the past, and somewhere in-between. The last sight he saw, as his eyes began to close, was of Sasuke. Standing over him, his left eye inexplicably bleeding in unison with the other. He had a strange look in his Sharingan.
Now, Naruto knew next to nothing about the powerful doujutsu, but apparently Kyuubi knew a great deal. If his venemous hiss was anything to go by. For as Naruto looked on, Sasuke's red iris was transformed into a strange and unrecognizeable star. The Uchiha flinched and clamped a hand over the two iridescent orbs, as though seeking to hide them from view. But Naruto had seen them, and he had heard the Kyuubi's black and condemnatory oath.
Mangekyo.
He had just enough time to wonder what the hell a Mangekyo was, before the blackness took him.
A/N: YES Sasuke awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan. YES Naruto looks like he's half dead but Sasuke doesn't know that. YES Naruto will still retain his core persona...somewhat. NO Sasuke is not going to go power crazy mad in this fic(at least not right away if at all) and yes, in case you havent noticed, I'm trying to keep everything in perspective and everyone in character.
REVIEW PLEASE!
~NZ