Previously…
The figure met his gaze, and before Naruto could scream out a warning, he raised a pistol, and aimed square at Sakura's face.
Naruto heard a bang, and felt his world end.
The next several seconds were a blur as Naruto's rage and shock took over. His vision went red, and he felt a powerful surge of Kurama's chakra, though the Bijuu wasn't trying to escape or manipulate its host. Naruto himself tapped into the reserve, and when he finally came to his senses, he was standing in the center of the atrium, and the corpses of the man and the people who had entered with him were but mangled remains. A bloody mist clung to the air for several seconds before dispersing, and the walls were blackened and scarred. I wasn't fast enough to save everyone, he thought numbly to himself as he saw the bullet-riddled corpses of all the shinobi and civilians who had been in the atrium at the time.
Sakura… He stared at the bloody, mangled remains of his wife's head, sobs trying to work their way past a throat as tight as if it were being strangled. Already the faint sounds of an invasion were reaching his ears, and in one heart-wrenching moment, he realized that it was coming from the direction of the wall, where Ame was staying with Shizune and Hiroshi again.
"Quickly, son, hide in here," Shizune told Hiroshi as she opened up a false panel underneath her bed. Hiroshi quickly crawled in, following the tunnel it led into, and Shizune called for Ame to get in. The girl was huddled at the end of the hallway, her eyes wide with fear as she stared into Shizune's room. "Ame, please!" Shizune called, frantically looking out the window as she heard the front gate being broken. The little girl shook her head, and Shizune swallowed hard. I shouldn't abandon my son, she thought to herself even as she got up and ran to where Ame was cowering. The door was bashed in as she lifted the girl up onto her back, and as she ran toward the tunnel, three men ran into the hallway, spotting them instantly.
Each fired a shot, and in a heartbeat she was sprawled on the floor, unable to move.
Hot blood poured from the hole the first man's bullet had put in her right shoulder. The second round had just missed her, but the third round had entered straight into her spine. Shizune's eyes were almost completely white with fear when she realized that Ame wasn't moving on top of her. The little girl made no sound to indicate that she was breathing, and tears poured from her eyes as she realized that her negligence had resulted in Ame's death. The last man entered the hallway as the man who had fired the third round strode forward, intent on finishing the job. He pulled a large-headed tomahawk from his belt, a frenzied grin on his face, and Shizune closed her eyes, waiting for oblivion.
Her eyes jerked open as she heard the sound of shattering glass, and she watched as Naruto broke through the window, rolling as he landed. As he came up, he lashed out with a long, jagged piece of glass, slicing open her would-be murderer's throat. A second later the man's tomahawk was in the Assassin's hand, and Naruto lay about him in a wild-eyed frenzy, hacking and slashing until there was a small pile of limbs and torsos in her hallway. "Are you alright?" Naruto asked as he knelt by Shizune, gently lifting Ame off of the woman. Shizune opened her mouth to respond, but Ame spoke.
"Daddy?" she murmured, tears pouring from her eyes. "Daddy, I'm hurt. I…I can't move. It hurts so bad!" she screamed, tears pouring from her eyes from the agony. "Daddy, I'm hurt and I'm cold, make it stop!" Shizune paled as she saw that the bullet that had pierce her spine in the center of the back had gone through the girl first, completely shredding her abdomen and the organs located there. Naruto's own eyes began to shed tears as he saw that the girl's wounds were obviously fatal.
"Sweetheart," he murmured, gently setting her on the floor and casually moving so that his body blocked Shizune's line of sight. "Daddy's going to make the pain stop, okay? Just… just close your eyes. Close your eyes, and think of something sweet. Remember that puppy you wanted Daddy to get you? Think about him." Shizune nearly vomited when she heard the almost-silent sound of the Hidden Blade ejecting.
When the young girl's body jerked, she did.
Kakashi roared in a mixture of fury and fear as he slew another assailant. Anko quickly followed him as he ran, holding little Sakumo to her chest as they went. Several lower-ranked Assassins joined them, and Kakashi's shouts would double when they fell one by one beneath the onslaught of the attackers. "I'm running out of ammunition," he murmured to himself as the seventh wave fell. His .45 sidearm needed a fresh clip soon, and he was down to his last two. The sword in his right hand would last, but against superior weaponry such as firearms, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he and his family were killed. "Anko, listen to me," he told her, grabbing her shoulders. "We're not going to make it at this rate. If I can get to the rooftops, I can draw their fire and – "
"No!" she shouted, lurching free from his grasp. "I won't lose you! I love you, Kakashi, and I can't… I just can't." Sakumo started to wail, and Kakashi cringed as he heard a shout that meant the invaders had heard. Raising the gun, he prepared for yet another ambush. Instead, he was met with the sound of the men screaming in terror before their cries were suddenly silenced. Several seconds passed, the only sound that of the people and explosions far away, before Naruto appeared around a corner, holding a girl of no more than two to his bare chest, blood dripping from a tomahawk in his left hand.
"I'll clear a path," Naruto said, his voice cold and detached. Kakashi noticed two scrolls tied to his hip, one labeled 'Corpses,' the other labeled 'Wounded.' When Kakashi saw the look in Naruto's eyes, his blood chilled, and he made a silent prayer for Sakura and Ame. "Shizune is paralyzed, but I ought to be able to fix her spine. Hiroshi made it to the tunnels, so Kiba will be able to keep him safe." Sai appeared next to Naruto, his augmented arm slick with blood, Tenten hot on his heels. Naruto handed the child off to the woman, before switching his tomahawk to his right hand, drawing a Desert Eagle in his left (AN: Heh). "Check your ammunition," Naruto said, inserting a clip. "We're going to move hard and fast, providing a distraction as the civilians escape through the tunnels to the forest rendezvous point.
"I'm out of ammo," Sai said, tossing his Barrett M107 sniper rifle to the side. "I have a bow and some arrows though. I'll take the high ground and provide stealthy cover fire." Naruto nodded, and Sai disappeared to the rooftops.
Kakashi reloaded, holding his pistol in his left hand as he sheathed his sword, before switching it to his primary hand. Naruto tossed him a ballistics knife, and the older shinobi switched it to a proper grip, thumb hovering over the eject button for the blade as they moved toward the edge of the building. Anko held Sakumo tightly, making sure the boy was quiet as she sent a few snakes slithering out ahead. The serpents made it five feet before they were riddled with bullets, and Naruto leapt around the corner, firing rapidly in the direction of their attackers. They charged, sending a storm of bullets, blades, arrows, and in Anko's case, fire jutsu flying at the enemy as they ran.
Temari adjusted her seat in the cart rolling over the grassy trails in the forests several miles outside Konoha. Kya bounced in her seat as she excitedly watched all the trees and flowers pass by, talking nonstop about how excited she was to see her daddy. Kya wore the red silk kimono Naruto had sent her in advance for her birthday, while Temari wore a matching dress with a see-through pink shawl. The dress had a small diamond cutout at the abdomen, showing off the toned stomach she had worked hard to regain after her pregnancy, while she had also let her hair down, the blond locks falling in jagged waves.
"Kya, try and stay just a little bit still, okay? You don't want to upset the pretty horses pulling the carriage, do you?" The little girl shook her head, plopping down onto her seat, and Temari went back to reading, engaged in The Count of Monte Cristo. Minutes rolled by, and as she read the tale of Edmond Dantes, Kya frowned, then fidgeted, then started bouncing in her seat again. Temari rolled her eyes in exasperation, but remained silent until the cart stopped. When she looked out the window, her heart leapt to her throat.
A long line of people walked past the cart, most covered in blood and dirt. A few carts rolled through, but she could see that almost all were on foot, and her heart stopped when she saw Naruto's Assassins interspersed in the crowd. She searched for her former lover, unable to see him. Ordering Kya to stay put, she exited the cart, moving past the men speaking with her driver. "Naruto!" she called, searching for his black Grand Master's robes. "Naruto!" She saw a large cluster of men escorting three men bound and gagged in a transport cart, and Naruto suddenly appeared from amongst the throng, his eyes cold and dead. Running up to him, she put her hands on his shoulders, stopping him. "What's going on?"
"Konoha was besieged. There's nothing left for us there. With your permission as a Representative for the Kazekage, I as Hokage request temporary asylum for my people." Temari quickly granted it, before ushering him into the carriage as it turned around, accompanying the refugees back to Suna. "Kya," he murmured as he sat across from his daughter. "You look more beautiful every time I see you." Kya beamed, jumping up to hug her father, and after several moments' hesitation Naruto embraced her lightly, before quickly releasing her, much to the girl's displeasure. "Sakura and Ame… they're gone," he choked out, and Temari gazed at him in shock as his shoulders shook, revealing the effort of holding back his tears.
Several minutes after dark, Naruto strode through the camp they had set up, slipping between fires, hidden always in shadow. Not a single soul saw him, until he stepped into plain sight next to the prisoner cart, Kiba and Sai straightening even more. "Mentor," they said, bowing in the Assassin manner.
"Find a table no one wants, then bring it over to my campfire at the edge of the field," he ordered. "Once done, pick the most disposable of this lot and send them along as well. Sai, you and Tenten will escort the man, and stay during the following interrogation." The men saluted, shouting orders to the other Assassins, and he disappeared into shadow once again. They did not leave him waiting for long; within ten minutes he was sitting across from the small fellow as he regained consciousness.
A large crack of fire caused him to glance at the torch he had lit from the fire, the item just a foot away so as to cast adequate light. Turning back to his captive, he snapped his fingers, pointing at Tenten and Sai. "Hold his arms down next to each other," he said, and they slammed him down on the table, holding him in an iron grip. As the man came to full consciousness, Naruto drew two of his throwing knives from his pauldron, setting them on the table. Next he drew the tomahawk he had taken from the man he slew, setting it on the table as well. Picking up the two knives, he stood, holding them near the blazing cinders at the bottom of the torches' brazier until the steel blades glowed red. Ignoring the man's whimpering, he pulled the blades from the fire.
With one swift motion, he stabbed the blades deep into the center of the man's hands.
"Steel to cut, and fire to cauterize," Naruto said calmly as the man screamed in agony. He casually held the blade of the tomahawk over the fire, watching as the sides of the steel began to glow. "I won't have you bleed out on me before I'm done with you. Next I remove your hands at the wrist. Afterward, your forearms go at the crease of the elbow, followed by the remainder of your arm at the shoulder. After that, I will have my subordinates hold you in place while I remove your feet, followed by your leg below the knee, then your entire leg at the hip."
"You monster!" the man screamed out, spitting on Naruto's face. The Mentor sighed, before his right hand flashed, bringing down his father's katana on both his wrists with one swift move. Before the man could scream, Naruto pressed the glowing side of the tomahawk against the stumps, cauterizing the wounds instantly.
"If I haven't got the answers by then, I'll carve your nose from your face. After that I will take your chin. Then I will burn your eyes closed, making sure that the last thing you ever see will be cherry-red steel melting your eyes like jelly."
"Mercy!" the man whimpered, tears pouring from his eyes and snot running from his nose. Naruto remained silent as the man blubbered, staring at his severed hands. Finally losing his patience, Naruto grabbed him by the chin, wrenching his face around so they stared into each other's eyes.
"Who were you working for?!" he demanded, pressing the edge of his tomahawk into the crease of the man's elbow.
"Orochimaru!" he screamed, thrashing against the Assassins holding him down. "I swear, it was Orochimaru! Please… mercy…" Naruto's eyes narrowed, before he hefted the tomahawk, still glowing dimly.
"Here's your mercy," he said, and with one powerful stroke he severed the man's head from his body.
Hours later, Naruto sat in the fork of a tree, staring down at the fires below him, listening to the sounds that drifted on the wind. Ame, he thought to himself, whispering her name into the wind. The cruel element instantly snatched it away, erasing all existence it had ever been there. Naruto felt the tears begin to fall, and he listened as Kiba, Sai, Tenten, and a number of drunken Assassins sang around a fire.
"Red! The blood of angry men! Black! The dark of Ages past! Red! The world about to dawn! Black! The night that ends at laaaaaaaaasssstttt!"
Naruto continued to cry, hearing the spirit they still held for the fight, before he sang his own, quiet version of the song.
"Red… a daughter now is dead… Black… my soul is in despair… Red… my wife's blood on my hands… Black… my world without her there…"
A woman walked through the remains of the Hokage Tower, observing the destruction the Assassin's Mentor had wrought. The blood runs strong in him, to be able to use his Demon's power, she thought to herself. She came to the body of her servant, observing the burns and mauling he had taken. "You certainly angered him," she said, crouching down to look at the remains of his face. "What exactly were you hoping to gain from such an action?"
The corpse shifted, before the chest split open and Orochimaru slithered out, covered in the slime and liquids he always wore when using his method of Substitution. "Psychological crippling," he said, getting his feet on the ground before beginning to clean himself off. "Naruto believed that he was able to protect everyone, that his bloodline and his skills always had him one step ahead of the Templars. His people loved him, hell, they nearly worshipped him. Make God bleed, and the people will lose their faith."
"You should have killed him," the woman said harshly. "You vowed yourself to me in exchange for all the power you were searching for. You will not have your immortality until you do as I have ordered you to do!" Orochimaru glared at her, opening his mouth to speak, but she silenced him, before continuing. "Desmond Miles had the highest concentration of First Civilization DNA in the world before his annihilation. With him gone, Naruto Uzumaki is the only threat left."
"If you want a ninja to die, you have to let a ninja handle it. Don't worry, you'll have your corpse… Juno."
Well, a shorter chapter this time, but I hope you guys liked it. Review, tell me how I did.
-Zeratide, out.