Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Again, not really much to say, except thanks for all the reviews. The fight against Hachi continues, and things will pretty much be harder than the Gaara fight in the anime/manga. And I should have clarified this, but when I said Hachi's ear was fin-like, I meant something close to Kyuubi's ear.

On another note, I'm amazed no one commented on the Corpse Dolls. I mean, isn't it significant that Orochimaru can't summon the First and/or Second Hokage? Eh… enough of that. And in regards to Hachi, when the speech was normal and bold, he was alternating between his voice and the Hachimata's. And Hachimata is male.

"Blah" - human speech

"Blah" – summon/demon speech

'Blah' – human thoughts

'Blah' – summon/demon thoughts

'Blah' – summon/demon thoughts inside human head

Answer to reviews:

Naols: If this were in Naruto, it would probably be a movie, not a filler. Mainly 'cause it's too graphic for a filler episode.

Peter Kim: Just wait; there'll be a startling new twist to this.

SuzukaTamashii: Further down, you'll see the reason why I killed off Sasuke.

The Gemini Project: The reason I called it a Summoning Technique was because unlike Gaara, who used the surrounding dirt and sand to create Shukaku's body, Hachi had to take all the protons and electrons in the air to create the body of Hachimata, using his own body as a literal sacrifice to bind himself to Hachimata. But he still can't fully release Hachimata, because Hachi's own body was used as the base of the whole thing, and releasing Hachimata would cause him to die, and take Hachimata with him.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Chapter 9: Power of the Dragon! Triple Village Combo Attack!!

Sarutobi couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. He had lived a full life, fathered a son, and a grandson, and was pretty much the oldest person in the village.

But age has its downfalls. He wasn't as fast or strong as he was in his prime. And he distinctly remembered the Kyuubi attack. And he also remembered Yondaime's last words to him.

"Please… Sarutobi. Please… tell the villagers to treat the boy as a hero… for each day he lives… the Kyuubi stays locked away… he is a true hero of Konoha… and I regret… not being able… to see him grow…"

"I'm sorry, Arashi," muttered Sarutobi to himself. "These people you left are a thick-headed bunch. Only a select heed you, and right now, we could use your wisdom."

Orochimaru was staring at the immense dragon that appeared. 'Damn it all… It's worthless staying here. The last Uchiha in Konoha is dead, and Itachi-san is far too strong. Not to mention that they are out for my blood.'

Both leaders at this point had the same exact thought on their minds: 'What do we do now?'

vvvvvvvvv

Rewind:

When he opened his eyes, he felt no pain. Nothing at all. When he looked down, he saw his unmoving form. "What now?" he asked no one in particular. "Where do I go from here?"

"Back," came a voice.

When he turned around, he saw a younger version of himself. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Back? What do you mean, back?"

His younger self shrugged and said, "Back to your body, baka."

He snorted. "And how, pray tell, am I supposed to do that?"

"Just go down into it," said the younger. "But I would like to talk with you, first."

Grumbling, he sat in midair and crossed his arms. "Well?"

"I think you should rethink your priorities.

He was about to protest when the other him waved his hand. "I may be little, but hear me out. All you concentrated on was killing aniki. You never tried to think beyond that."

"I didn't need to," he growled. "It's easy: Kill aniki, rebuild the clan, and then die happy."

The younger shook his head. "How will you gain the power to kill aniki?"

He was silent, but then he said, "I'll gain power to kill aniki, even if I have to sell my flesh to the devil to do it."

"And that is the problem," said the younger, pointing a finger at him. "All you thought about was gaining power. Now I ask you: Even if you do kill aniki, what woman would want you, after you sell your flesh?"

He was about to say a name when it hit him. He had remembered how his teammate was treated, and he had recently found out why. And then he thought about the hypothetical treatment that would befall him as well. Sighing, he knew his younger self was right. "What do you want me to do, then?"

Grinning, his smaller self said, "Me, I would switch the order. You can wait until you're older, but you can try to revive the clan, so you will have purpose to kill aniki. After all, Sakura-chan is kinda cute."

Blushing lightly, he shook his head and stood. "Arigatou," he muttered, then moved downwards. Just as he was about to enter his body, he looked up and asked, "Who are you, really?"

Grinning, his younger self grew, until he was an exact replica of himself. "I'm your long forgotten other self. And you might want to get back in. It's already been four minutes."

Nodding, he descended, and the other version of himself disappeared, back into the depths of his mind.

vvvvvvvvvv

Fast Forward:

Neji watched as the immense dragon let lose a roar to the sky. The sky itself was now similar to that of one that was ready to have a severe thunderstorm. The clouds were dark, and every time Hachimata roared, a bolt of lightening flashed.

Hachimata roared again, and cast its gaze at the village before it. It glared down at the stone-still shinobi before slightly opening its mouth.

Neji watched the electricity dance in the teeth of the dragon, and when the dragon opened his mouth further, he yelled, "Down!! NOW!!!"

vvvvvvvvv

Jumping off the building, the ones on there were star-struck to see the building be blown to pieces by the bolt of lightening that came from Hachi's mouth. In its places was falling pieces that fell to the ground like meteors, and a large crater.

And then everything went to hell from there. Hachimata thrust forward one of his arms and demolished a building, the sheer force behind it causing an explosion of dust and rubble, and the remains falling upon hapless shinobi.

He then thrust a tail forward, the appendage falling upon Leaf, Sand, and Sound shinobi without prejudice or feeling. The tail also took out a building or two, causing those to fall to the ground in clouds of dust and rubble.

The shinobi that managed to avoid the tail was struck with horror when the end of it rose up, twisting and contorting. The curved spike lengthened to overlap the end, and change from horn to flesh, until the entire end of the tail was a smaller replica of Hachimata's head.

The head roared and fell upon the awestruck shinobi, its jaws opening and closing among them, coming up with screaming Leaf, Sand, and Sound shinobi in its jaws before biting down, severing arms, legs, and various body parts hanging out of the dragon's jaws and putting an end to some of the screams, while causing others to rise in pitch.

The ends of six other tails did the same, contorting themselves into dragon heads, and falling upon the village, some breathing fire, others breathing lightening. In a short while, smoke rose from various spots in the village. And an observer from far away could see the glow of the fire, the smoke of the fire, and the yellow glow of Hachimata's eyes.

Hachimata threw back his head, and let loose a roar to the sky. In turn, the seven dragon heads let loose their own roars, higher in tone, but terrifying nonetheless. The sky was dark with the smoke from the emergence of Hachimata, the smoke from the fires of the village in the process of being destroyed, and the roars and cries of the heads of the dragon.

vvvvvvvvv

Iruka and the Konohamaru Corps watched as Hachimata raged in the village. "Good freakin' lord," said Iruka, as Hachimata let loose another stream of fire from his main head, causing an explosion and making smoke rise up.

"I-Iruka-sensei," stammered Moegi, clutching Konohamaru's arm. "Wha-what is that thing?"

Iruka only said, "I'll tell you all inside," and ushered them into the shelter before Hachimata could see them.

Once inside, he met up with Anko, who had helped supervise the evacuation of the Academy, and several of the other sensei's, along with the students.

"Well, Iruka?" asked Anko, crossing her arms. "What's going on? Are we beating back Oto and Suna?"

News to him that was, but he had to tell them. Sighing, he braced himself for the outcry. "We are being attacked by another one."

One of the sensei's raised an eyebrow, and voiced what everyone else was ready to ask: "Another what?"

"Another Bijuu," said Iruka, willing himself not to crack.

That made the instructors and Anko stiffen. But one of the students asked, "What's a Bijuu?"

"A tailed beast, and a powerful demon," said Anko morosely. "Like the Kyuubi no Yoko that attacked the village 13 years ago."

That sent everyone into a panic. "Another Kyuubi!? It must be coming to finish the job that the other didn't!" yelled a horror-stricken instructor.

Konohamaru yelled out, "It ain't no fox, it's a giant eight-tailed dragon!!"

Anko was the first to recover from the initial shock that gripped everyone. "Fuck me sideways with a foot-long cock," she muttered. Fortunately, the only one who heard her was Iruka, and he just sent a glare at her. "Is there some higher force at work here?" she asked aloud. "Did Konoha do something to piss God off?"

"As long as we're in here," said Iruka, "we have at least some chance at survival."

"B-but Iruka-san!!" exclaimed one of the instructors. "What about the parents of the children!?"

Iruka held up his hand to stem the wave of agreements coming at him. "Look at the whole picture. We haven't fully recovered from the Kyuubi attack from 13 years ago, and worse yet, the Uchiha's were wiped out, except for Uchiha Sasuke. We may put up a good fight, with the shinobi we have now, but we will lose, more than likely. And with our main shinobi trying to stem the flow of the enemy, we can only hope to save the future, and avoid total destruction."

Anko nodded. "Umino's right. Nonetheless," she walked towards the exit, "I'm going to aid in anyway I can."

"Good, I'll go, too," said Iruka.

"Wait! Iruka!!" shouted one of the instructors. "Why are you going? You're the most accomplished instructor we have, you can't go!!"

"Yeah, but I've seen more combat than any of you have," said Iruka, without turning around. "And I took an oath to serve my village when the time came. And that time is now." Turning to his students, he finished with, "You all are the future of Konoha, and it was an honor to instruct you in our ways." With that, he followed Anko, painfully aware of the cries of "Don't go, Iruka-sensei!!" 'Stay safe, children,' he thought, as he and Anko left the monument. 'You, too…' he thought, looking at the roaring dragon, '… Naruto.'

vvvvvvvvvvv

Said blonde was dodging a dragon head that came at him from above. 'Damn that bastard Hachi!!' he thought angrily. 'Why the hell did it have to be a dragon!?'

Elsewhere, Sarutobi watched as Hachimata turned his magnificent head towards them and raised his right arm. Holding out his giant hand, he put it in the imitation of a gun; thumb out, index finger straight out.

"Click-click," growled the dragon, flexing his draconic thumb. "Raiton: Teppoudama (1A)" he growled, as a oval-shaped lightening ball shot from the finger and flew towards the Kage and the rogue Sannin.

"Kuso!!" shouted Orochimaru, as he and his former sensei, as well as the remainder of the Sound Four, leapt off the building to avoid destruction. The building wasn't so lucky, as it had the upper portion of it blown to pieces.

"Damn," said Kidoumaru. "How we got stuck fighting an insane, talking dragon with a god complex is beyond me."

Orochimaru was thinking along the same lines, but more so on Sasuke's unfortunate demise. 'That damn dragon… he screwed up everything. The only way that I see that retribution can be made is in blood.' "Sarutobi," he said. "It seems as though we now have a common enemy."

"It would seem so, Orochimaru," he replied. "Perhaps a temporary alliance is in store?"

"Only temporary," said the Hebi-Sennin, narrowing his eyes at his former sensei. "As soon as that dragon's dead, you're next, along with this village." With that, he jumped backwards into the air, and biting his thumb, spread blood across the tattoo on his arm. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he yelled, and out of the smoke that followed came a giant purple snake with horned scales on the sides of its head.

"Orochimaru," it asked, its voice deep and silky, "Why have you summoned me?"

"Look in front of you, Manda," said Orochimaru from his spot on his summon's head. Manda, the boss of the snakes, saw the dragon that turned to glare at him and hissed, "So you want me to fight Hachimata, the Insane One? Very well, but when this is over, I demand sacrifices."

With that, Manda was attacking like a true serpent; he slithered around the dragon, avoiding the dragon heads that were striking at him, and struck, burying his massive fangs in the dragon's shoulder, then withdrawing and striking the dragon's wing. He withdrew upon seeing the dragon heads streak towards him, and hissed angrily when two shot fireballs at him.

Jiraiya, from his vantage point on the giant toad with the two katana's, saw that Orochimaru summoned Manda. And as much as he knew Gamabunta wasn't going to like this, he knew he had to. "I guess it's time that I break out the big guns as well," he muttered. Looking down on the toad, he said, "Hey, you mind letting my apprentice take over for me?"

When the toad rumbled its assent, Jiraiya called Naruto up, despite the roars of Hachimata. When Naruto arrived, he had Hinata and Hanabi with him. "Ero-Sennin, what's going on?"

Deciding to forego that remark, Jiraiya pointed at the giant purple snake that swayed in front of the dragon. "That is Manda, the boss of the snakes. For Orochimaru to summon him means that he's getting desperate. I need to summon Gamabunta, so you can take control of this one."

Grumbling, Naruto nodded, and Jiraiya was off. Leaping into the air, he performed the seals, and yelled, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

In the puff of smoke that came, Jiraiya appeared on the top of Gamabunta's head. Said toad boss said, "Jiraiya, you'd better have a damn good reason for this…" Trailing off, he saw Hachimata, who now turned his attention from Manda to him. "Why is it always the Insane One?" he muttered, and drew his blade. "Well, you've piqued my interest, Jiraiya. What now?"

"Oil," said Jiraiya.

Gamabunta knew what that meant. Puffing out his cheeks, he sent a stream of oil at the dragon, who shielded himself with a massive wing. "Now," said Jiraiya, as he inhaled, then exhaled a stream of fire, yelling, "Katon: Gamayu Endan (2A)!!" The oil lit on fire, turning the stream of oil into a stream of fire, which enveloped Hachimata.

Shielding his eyes from the blast of heat, Naruto said, "Cool attack. Wonder if I can do that?" Deciding to test that theory, he tapped the toad below him. "Can you spit out some oil, too?"

The toad complied, and spat out a wad of oil. Naruto then did the seals, inhaled, and exhaled, yelling "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!!" When the Grand Fireball hit the airborne ball of oil, it transformed into a giant flying fireball.

Hachimata swept aside some of the flames that surrounded it, just in time to see the giant fireball coming at him. Without the time to even blink, the fireball collided with Hachimata head-on, causing a magnificent explosion and the dragon to roar.

From their vantage point at arriving next to Kakashi, Kurenai, Gai, and Asuma, who by this time had leapt to a nearby roof when one of the dragon heads entered the open roof of the stadium; Iruka and Anko surveyed the inferno that was Hachimata.

"That was a nice move," said Anko from beside Kakashi. Kakashi nodded. "Naruto got stronger, and he is proving it right now."

Anko then turned morose. "Did you hear the news? The last Uchiha is dead."

That sent everyone listening into shock. Kakashi was the first to recover. "Wha… what? How?"

Anko pointed to Sakura, who was with the other Genin and Ibiki, and was struggling to not let tears fall. "Pinky over there said that that Hachi kid was a Jinchuuriki, and he killed him."

Kakashi lowered his head. He had failed his own teammate, and he had failed his student as a sensei. Looking up, he narrowed his visible eye and said, "Where is he?"

Kurenai then said, "Kakashi, killing that Kumo-nin won't bring Uchiha Sasuke back from the dead. And beside…" She was cut off by a loud roar.

They all looked to see that the raging inferno that was Hachimata dispel the fire, by use of a chakra pulse. The poisonous yellow chakra pulse slammed into Manda, causing the snake to fly backwards and slam into a few buildings, collapsing them. Manda groaned, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The chakra pulse then slammed into Gamabunta, who crouched under the strain of that raw power. Then Hachimata sent a dragon tail at Hanta-Hebi (1), the toad Naruto, Hinata, and Hanabi were on. The toad leapt backwards, but he was caught in the air by twin dragon heads. Disappearing in a puff of smoke, Naruto performed Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He was able to get Hinata and Hanabi down, but then something went wrong.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the dragon tail coming. He was unable to dodge it, so he found himself wrapped around in it, like Hinata and Hanabi had been earlier.

"Naruto-kun!!" yelled Hinata, seeing the dragon take away he lover like it had done to her.

Naruto found himself staring death in the face, with death being Hachimata, the Hachibi no Ryu. Struggling, he knew that he was screwed. But as he was about to create a diversion that he knew would probably kill him, he was caught by surprise at what came next.

Hachimata began to speak, without opening his draconic maw. "…Your willing self-sacrifice astounds us… Uzumaki Naruto…"

Everyone heard the voice of the dragon, they were terrified of the voice of the dragon, but wanted to know what it meant by that. "What the hell are you talking about?" said Naruto, as he felt the tail around him tighten just a little.

"We mean… despite that you have done nothing to warrant their hatred… except be born and blessed with the power of the gods… you are hated. …And yet… here you are… trying to save those that hate you…"

"You're insane, you know that? I didn't ask for this!!"

"I'm sane enough… at the moment…" said Hachimata, and a growth appeared on the end of the dragon's snout. It formed itself into the upper body of Ryunosuke Hachi, who had his head bowed. He looked exactly the same he had been when they had first found him, when he had revealed that Naruto was the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. When Hachi looked up, his eyes were pure yellow, and the voice that spilled forth from his mouth was a combination of his own and Hachimata's, and it reverberated throughout the village, letting all present hear every word he spoke..

"You are… one of us, Uzumaki… one of the Nine… Why do you deny your given power? You and us… we're not so different… We are both… the proverbial gods amongst men…"

"I'm not a god!! I'm human!! And I'm not the Kyuubi either!!" shouted Naruto at Hachi. "And I'm nothing like you, you evil bastard!!"

Hachi tilted his head. "Evil? What is evil? You humans… You say one thing and do another… You claim that to kill an innocent child is evil… and yet… you will readily slaughter an innocent who has been blessed by the gods themselves with the power of the Kyuubi…"

vvvvvvvvv

Konohamaru fell on his butt. He, Moegi, and Udon had snuck out to see what was going on, and they had heard every word that Hachimata said. "Naruto-nii-san has the power of the Kyuubi?" asked Moegi, her eyes wide.

"But why didn't oji-san tell us?" asked Konohamaru, knowing that he was going to confront his grandfather and Naruto later.

vvvvvvvvv

Rewind:

The rubble from the collapsed building shifted.

That shouldn't be a cause for concern, normally, but in the Shinobi World, what is normal?

The real cause for concern is that this particular rubble pile was basically tons of mortar and metal. If there was anything beneath it, it would have surely been crushed.

However, our attention goes to the girl who was currently fighting off two Oto-nin about a hundred yards away. She was Saiyuki Sara, a Genin who wasn't able to go to the Final Matches, but she was now faced with two leery-eyed Oto-nins.

"Do you know what I like best about Shinobi villages?" said one of the Oto-nin.

Her back against the wall, Sara spat out, "The fact that you'll only be jacking off to Kunoichi outfits?" But her blood ran cold when his partner said, "I like little girls."

They were upon her before she could blink. One was holding her down while the other tore her shirt apart. "You know what they say," he said, dipping a hand into her shorts. "Old enough to kill, old enough to fu--"

He was cut off when a fist-sized fireball hit him in the throat, throwing him backwards. His partner-in-crime was up, bringing shuriken to bear, when a giant fireball slammed into him, throwing him in the air and causing him to land away from her.

By some stroke of luck, she was relatively unharmed by the fire, and she stood shakily to her feet. When she heard a voice ask if she was alright, she turned to reply that she was, when she saw her rescuer. Her words caught in her throat, and she stiffened at the sight before her.

Her rescuer tilted his head, and was about to ask her again, when they felt the chakra pulse that ripped through the village, and heard the roars of the dragon. "Get in your house, and stay there," he ordered, and she followed without a second thought. The task at hand complete, he jumped onto the rooftops, heading toward ground zero.

'I'm coming, and none of you had better die…'

vvvvvvvvvv

Fast Forward:

"What's that dragon talking about?" asked Chouji as he, Ino, Shikamaru, Shino, and the rest of the Genin stood with the Jounin.

"It's talking about us," came a voice, one the Chouji recognized as his father's. Appearing beside them, the original members of the Shika-Ino-Chou Group appeared, brows furrowed.

"What do you mean, Chouza-sama?" asked Kiba.

"Every year, at the Kyuubi Festival, members of our village would seek out Uzumaki-san and try to end his life, because they felt that they owed it to those who lost their lives against the Kyuubi," said Shikato. "It shames me to see those so overcome by grief and refuse to let go their hatred."

"In blatant disregard of Yondaime-sama's last wishes," finished Shino. He had seen this coming, and now, Konohagakure was at the mercy of the second most powerful member of the Kyuu no Bijuu.

Mercy that he was sure would not be shown.

In the meantime, Hachimata, speaking through Ryunosuke Hachi, continued his tirade against humanity. "Heh heh heh… that look on your face… You ask how we know these things… Our answer is that the Eyes of the Dragon see all… and that we have asked around… you would be surprised at how many people would do anything to have you dead and gone…"

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, and silently promised himself that he was going to have a nice, long chat with the council when this was over. 'If we make it through this…' he thought bitterly.

Hachimata continued. "It is our view that Man is the one creature that will willingly betray their own… should the occasion call for it... Man who claims to follow such attributes that they put out… such as the value of Life…"

Hachi lowered his head, then grinned. "There is only one human though… that I respect… He was one… that earned it."

"It was long ago… long before you were a gleam in your father's eye… We were sealed away in a god-forsaken statue in a god-forsaken shrine… But we could see through the eyes of other dragons… And one of our mortal dragon brethren… waylaid a group of Leaf-nin… that were on assignment… to destroy a Stone-nin outpost… They were caught by surprise… and almost lost their lives… But that man… he managed to slay one of our dragon brethren."

The massive dragon closed his eyes, then opened them. "Such a feat… accomplished by a mere flesh-rat… is worthy of honor amongst the dragons… However… his efforts… which saved the lives of his companions… also doomed their mission… His companions… who should have rewarded his valor… turned their backs on him… as did the village you protect… In the end… he lost his honor… and his life when he sought to regain that honor… After this village is destroyed… he will be brought back… and attain the honor that was stolen from him…"

Here, Hachimata glared down at the village. "And who is this man, you ask? This man who was betrayed by the village he protected? This man who sought to regain his lost honor?" His next words chilled everyone to the core.

"This man… his name was… Hatake Sakumo."

Kakashi had to fight to keep the cry of indignation down his throat. His father, Hatake Sakumo (2), had never given him the truth of what had happened that day, but he had slowly degenerated after his disgrace of the failed mission, until the day came that he committed seppuku (3). His death turned Kakashi into the rule-follower that he was until the death of his teammate.

Naruto was shocked to know that the man that had found favor with Hachimata was the dead father of his sensei.

"You call us evil? What is evil, we ask again. The truth is… there is no good… and there is no evil… There is only POWER… power meant to be used by those who grasp it…"

"Hachi, you stupid bastard," snarled Naruto. "I've went through my entire life knowing that power comes at a price! The price of the Kyuubi in me was nearly half of the village, and the life of Yondaime! And everyone's been beating that into me my entire life!"

"Heh heh heh… Like we said… those that can grasp the power given to them are the strongest… The strong live and the weak die… that is the way of things… You, us, and that kid Sabaku no Gaara… we are the gods amongst men… we are the strong… But Sabaku no tried to eliminate us to confirm his existence… he has suffered for it… and now… We are offering you a proposition…"

Shifting his tail so that Naruto could look down at his home, and at the gawking Suna-nin, Oto-nin, and Konoha-nin. "You have seen the truth… they all want you dead… I know that they have made you suffer… but you can return your vengeance full-fold…" Here, Hachimata's voice echoed throughout the village. "Join me… and together… we will reshape this world… into our own image…" Looking at Naruto in his eyes, Hachimata's own began to glow as he exerted some of his influence. "It is your duty as the Strong… and it is your true destiny…"

"Fuck," said Kiba as he fell to his knees. "That bastard wants Naruto to join him, so they can destroy the world. Though I can't say that I didn't see this coming."

"What do you mean?" asked Ino, her eyes on the dragon.

"Think about it; your entire life was a living hell because people are too thick-headed to see the real you, and you've been pushed to the edge. Wouldn't you take any chance to turn the favor onto those who made you suffer?" said Shino.

"B-but, Naruto-kun wouldn't do that…" said Hinata, glancing up at Naruto.

Buki had left the arena and gone over to see if Orochimaru was alright. Sadly, at least for him, Orochimaru was anything but alright. When Manda had disappeared, the buildings he was lying against had collapsed even further. Buki found Orochimaru with his arms pinned beneath the rubble. One look, and he knew that Orochimaru's arms were beyond his skill. His arms were crushed, and looked ready to be torn from his elbow joints. After prying Orochimaru-sama loose, he looked up and said, "If Naruto-kun joins the Hachibi, we're royally screwed."

Naruto was currently swimming in his own thoughts. His mind was a haze, the only thing he could hear was Hachimata urging him to except the offer. He could faintly hear Kyuubi, but it was a haze as well. The images of his youth bombarded him, he saw himself beaten into unconsciousness, he saw himself thrown out of restaurants and stores, and he saw himself after failing the Academy. No one had bothered to aid him, besides the Hokage.

"Why… are you doing this?" he shoved out. "Is it for Kumogakure? So they'll have… an edge?"

Hachimata, through Hachi, shook his head. "No. As far as Kumo knows… they only have one Jinchuuriki. We are doing this on our own… and we have our own to look after… and with you with us…" he stopped, exerting more of his influence over Naruto, "we will reign supreme… And we cannot be stopped… with you with us…"

He was about to respond to Hachimata's offer, when he saw something. His head lowered, he saw Hinata gazing at him, hope in her eyes, and her hands clasped together. He knew that he'd be betraying his new-found lover if he joined the dragon, and he didn't want that.

"I've got your answer, Hachi."

Kakashi lowered his head, so Naruto was going to join Hachimata. Then there was no hope for the village.

Sakura was about to yell out to her teammate not to, when everyone listening heard his words.

"I'd rather die the bane of the village than join you, Hachimata."

That caught Hachimata completely by surprise. It was seconds later when he realized the implications of what the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki said, he was pissed. His little mind exertion trick had failed, and the Kyuubi brat was still loyal to the village that treated him less than trash. Now royally pissed off, the dragon speaking through his vessel snarled, "So you would willingly throw your life away for these ungrateful creatures… these creatures who do not appreciate your being!?"

"There are some that do," he said, looking down at Hinata and Iruka, who had appeared beside her. They smiled up at him, and he would have to, if not for the fact that the dragon tail began squeezing him.

Relishing the gasps and cries of pain that he was causing Naruto, Hachimata grinned darkly as he squeezed his tail around the Jinchuuriki. "I gave you the choice of… joining me willingly… but you have elected… the way of death…" The body of Hachi glared down at the watching shinobi. "When you die… you're precious village is next… Sayonara… Uzumaki Naruto…"

Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, just when it seemed that nothing could save Naruto at this point, everyone heard the sound of chirping birds.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "It can't be," he breathed.

"What is that sound?" asked Kiba looking around.

"Look!" said Hanabi, pointing to the sky. Looking up, everyone saw a winged something trailing a black and white ball of lightening. Where it was going… the tail of Hachimata.

Hachimata didn't see it coming. One moment, he was crushing Naruto was the ending segment of his tail, and the next, that segment was cut completely off. It fell to the ground, uncoiling as it fell, with Naruto separating from it. Hachimata then roared in pain as he thrashed his injured tail into the ground, the severed piece falling before him, and disintegrating into lightening.

In the meantime, the mystery creature caught Naruto under the arms as he fell, and spoke to him. "Oi, dobe… you can't die before I beat you…"

Dropping his shock like a nuke, Naruto grinned and said, "Get in line… Sasuke-teme. And thanks."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and said, "Don't mention it. Ever."

Landing on the rooftops, the two teammates turned to see the other Genin and Jounin approaching. Naruto then took the time to look over his teammate.

Sasuke's skin had gone a dark grayish brown, and his hair had grown and cascaded down his shoulders, to his back, and was colored a pale gray. The whites of his eyes had gone black, and he had his Sharingan activated, with three tomoes instead of the two that he remembered. A four-pointed star centered itself on his face, and his nails had lengthened into claws, like Naruto when he had used the power of the Kyuubi. In addition, a pair of hand-like wings came out the back of his one-piece outfit.

"What the hell happened to you?" asked Naruto as he used the Kyuubi chakra to give him a tail.

Sasuke was about to answer when a kunai thrown made him jump back a little.

The kunai had come from Hanabi, who now yelled, "Get away from Naruto-nii-san, you monster!"

Before things could get out of hand, Naruto stood in front of Sasuke with his hands in front of him, going, "Ora ora, is that any way to greet someone back from the dead?"

At this, everyone was speechless, except for Sasuke, who coughed lightly. And then, he suddenly found Sakura in his arms, sobbing into his chest. Reluctantly, he put his arms around her, silently willing her to stop crying.

Ino was the first to speak. "We-we thought you were dead?"

Sasuke waited until Sakura quieted down, then he began. "It had something to do with Orochimaru's Juuin Fuuin. I was dead, but then I woke up, and my body was a mass of power. I was dead for four minutes, but when I woke up, I felt the power that that bastard Hachi was giving off, and I knew that whatever was going down wouldn't end well."

Sakura had been quiet until he finished, then she said, "Wh-Where did you get the wings?"

Sasuke flexed the wings on his back. "I wanted a faster way to get over here, and they sort of grew."

Anko furrowed her eyes. 'So, Orochimaru-teme perfected the Ten Juuin he used on me. From the way it sounds, when the Uchiha died, the Juuin Fuuin reconfigured his body so he could take the power that came with the Juuin Fuuin. But he can't keep it like that for too long.'

Their thoughts were cut shout by Jiraiya's "Head's up!!" Looking to Hachimata, they all jumped to other roofs at the sight of a giant fireball coming at them. Sasuke had grabbed Sakura around the waist and pulled her into the air, and Naruto had leapt to the side, with Hanabi in his arms.

Hachimata closed his gigantic maw and snarled. "Damned Uchiha, I killed you!! You took a Rairyutsui to the chest… why are you still alive!?" he roared, as he sent a dragon head at the airborne Sasuke.

A red hand grabbed the neck of the mini-dragon head, and arm it was connected to stretched to a grinning Naruto, who showed off two chakra tails. "Kyuubi Hang… success!!" he said, and drove the claws on the hand into the dragon's neck.

The dragon hissed and another came out of nowhere to bite the red chakra arms, but Naruto let go and the dragon ended up biting the neck of the other. The two hissed and roared, but turned their attention to the retreating arms.

Sasuke landed behind Naruto and said, "What now, dobe? All you did was piss them off."

"Heh," said Naruto, as he drew his hands inwards. Spreading quickly, he sent a wave of red at the dragon heads. "Kyuubi Wave!!"

The dragon heads were able to avoid the wave of red, but Hachimata had forgotten about one other thing. That one thing voiced Hachimata's negligence in the form of: "Katon: Gamayu Endan!!"

A stream of fire came at the dragon who countered it with his own blast of fire. The two beams of fire collided and fought each other, until the spot in the middle of the dueling flames exploded, sending a heat wave in all directions.

"This is a freakin' battle of the titans!!" exclaimed Kiba as he shielded himself from the blistering heat.

Gamabunta was weary of this fighting. The last time he remembered fighting this hard was when the Kyuubi attacked. Hachimata, on the other hand, was fresh. He reared back, and threw his head forward, shooting a giant fireball surrounded by lightening.

Knowing that that would probably mortally wound him if it hit, Gamabunta put his ginat hands in the Ram Seal and yelled, "Suiton: Teppoudama (3A)!!" From his mouth, he shot a giant ball of water. When it hit the other ball, there was an explosion of water, steam, and lightening that gave off the impression of a hot rainstorm.

"That's it Jiraiya… I'm done. I put too much chakra in to stop that from doing serious damage."

"That's okay, 'Bunta," said Jiraiya jumping to a roof. And like that, Gamabunta disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"How utterly noble of the old toad to try and stop us," said Hachimata, in a mock-tenderly tone. "But we… are the strongest…" He then started moving his throat, and when whatever was there moved up, Hachimata thrust his head forward and shot something out of his mouth. Out of reaction, Naruto stretched forth a chakra arm to catch it. Catching it, he was surprised to feel nothing. When he withdrew his arms, he saw what he was holding, and dropped it out of surprise.

"G-Gaara!!"

Before him lay the drool-covered form of Sabaku no Gaara, and unconscious to boot. He had never found out what had happened to Gaara, only that Hachi ate a scroll that apparently had him in it.

Temari and Kankurou appeared out of nowhere, and Temari cradled her little brother in her arms. "How did… When?"

"Listen well… all you shinobi. One of… your strongest… has fallen… If this is the best… that the Shinobi World has to offer… then you are all doomed…" With that, Hachimata threw his head to the sky, the sky that had gone dark with the smoke from Hachimata's emergence. Opening his jaws, Hachimata sent a stream of lightening to the dark sky.

"Raiton: Ame no Rai (4A)" roared Hachimata through Hachi, and bolts of lightening rained down from the darkened sky to the village below. The yellow bolts of lightening struck the village at random spots; one was the center of the arena, another was a spot in front of the Hokage Tower, and another was the Forest of Death. Every where that the bolts struck, there was a shinobi casualty. Sand, Sound, Leaf… the bolts did not care what they struck or where they struck.

"Good freakin' lord," said Kankurou, shielding his eyes from the brightness of the lightening bolts. "If this keeps up, then we're all gonna die."

Hinata winced at the sound of an explosion nearby. "But what can we do?"

Kiba shielded his eyes and ears, from the flash of light and resounding explosion from a lightening bolt. "Not much. From what Kaa-san said about the Kyuubi attack, a hell of a lot of people died then. And from what Shino said, nothing can beat a Bijuu except another Bijuu."

Kankurou winced. He could here the screams of dying Suna-nin. "The only one here that can even remotely do that is our Gaara. But it doesn't make any sense, Shukaku should've come out by now!"

Sasuke, who at this point had gone back to his basic form out of exhaustion, looked up from his spot on his knees, and asked, "What the hell is Shukaku?"

"Suna no Shukaku," said Shino, who was quiet up until that point, "is the Ichibi. Shukaku was said to be the Spirit of the Desert, with power over the sands, and at the full moon, he could destroy the entire of Konoha within a night."

Temari and Kankurou gaped at Shino, while Kiba said, "That's our Shino!!" Just then, Baki appeared beside them. "Where the hell have you been?" he said, but then he saw Gaara and Naruto's feet. "What did you do with our Gaara!?"

"He was eaten," hissed Naruto, pointed a clawed finger at Hachi. "By him."

Hachimata roared into the sky, and the seven dragon heads roared into the sky as well. The sky was nearly black with the smoke, and fires were all over the village, along with smoke rising from the fires, giving off the illusion of hell. Hachimata was the ruler of this hell, and all of the people in this village would soon feel the Wrath of the Dragon.

"Where is that damned Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, then?" said Baki, fear evident in his visible eye. "You Konoha-nin have him as a weapon, use it!"

"That's what started this whole mess," intoned Shino. "Since Gaara appears to be younger than… our Jinchuuriki, you must have sealed Shukaku into him at birth, yet intentionally made a weak seal for the Ichibi to break free when Gaara sleeps."

This time, Baki was the one who was gaping. "Ho-how did you know all that?"

"One: You just told me. Two: I'm Shino."

"He's right," said Shikamaru. "Gaara himself told me and Naruto that he had Shukaku sealed in him at birth, by order of the Kazekage, his own father. But the why didn't make sense until now, with… our Jinchuuriki and Hachi."

"So now, what do we do?" asked Kiba, keeping a wary eye on Hachimata, who at that moment, picked up a handful of Shinobi, threw them in the air, and promptly devoured them with the eight heads.

Naruto, at this point, had been quiet. 'Yoko… isn't there something we can do?'

Kyuubi was silent for a little while, until he spoke at last. "There is one thing you can do… but you're not going to like it."

'Will I die?'

"Possibly," said the Kyuubi. "But at this point, it's the only option. And Hachimata isn't at full power, much he wants to believe. This way, we could destroy that insane bastard, but we might die in the process."

'… Just as long as Hinata-chan, Hanabi-chan, and Iruka-sensei are safe, and I can kill that dragon.'

"Okay…"

While Naruto was conversing with Kyuubi, Sarutobi appeared. "Glad to see you up and about, Sasuke-kun." Turning to Baki, his gaze went stern. "You and I are going to have a long chat when this is over."

Hinata, seeing how silent Naruto was, touched his arm. Right there, he snapped out of his trance, drew her to him, and kissed her right there. Everyone watching either said, "Get a room!" , or "This ain't the place or time for that!" In the case of Jiraiya, he filed it away for future use.

When he let her go, Naruto looked down into her lavender eyes, and whispered, "Sayonara… Hinata-chan." Taking off his hitai-ate, he put it in her hands, and jumped off the roof, and was gone.

"Naruto-kun!!" she cried. She watched as he, already in Kyuubi-Naruto form, with two chakra tails raced towards Hachimata. Activating her Byakugan, she saw a third tail begin to form, and through his back, she saw the seal. And in the seal, she saw the Kyuubi, who looked at her, and gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"What the hell is he doing?" yelled Kiba, as he helped Hinata up. "He's gonna get himself killed!"

"Where's Naruto?" asked Kakashi. He had been with Asuma and the other, with the Hokage, who had given the idea of using the same sealing process that Yondaime used on Naruto on Hachimata, but that plan was shot down.

"That dumbass went to fight Hachimata alone!" snarled Kiba as Hinata cried into his shoulder.

Kakashi stiffened. He had already lost one of his students, but gained him back, and he wasn't about to lose this one. Ignoring Asuma and Kurenai, he jumped down, and began chasing after his student. 'I shouldn't have just paid attention to Sasuke! Now, I'm going to lose one of my students, and the very person who Arashi-sensei wanted to be seen as a hero!'

Naruto was aware that Kakashi was following him, but it didn't matter in the long run. He had three chakra tails, and he knew that Hachimata knew that he was coming. Hachimata had looked down and was now moving his other seven heads around the main one. "Now, Yoko!!" Naruto shouted. "Do it now!"

"Alright, kit. And don't worry, I'll stop it when he's dead, and you'll still retain some of yourself while in this form."

"Heh, thanks." Those were the last words Naruto had time to say. As the fourth chakra tail grew, everything changed from thereon in.

vvvvvvvvv

Jiraiya was the first to feel it. "Sweet son of a monkey's ass," he breathed. Only to be hit on the head by both Asuma and Sarutobi.

Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi all felt the chakra pulse given off, but it was different than Hachimata's. It was… more powerful. More malevolent. Activating their Byakugan, they saw a sight that would stick with them for the rest of their lives.

Naruto was enveloped in red chakra, with four tails trailing behind him. Almost as if he knew that he was being watched, he turned his head a little, let a flash of blue enter his eyes, and mouthed "I love you, Hinata-chan." Then he fell on all fours.

And that's were the transformation began.

Naruto's eyes turned white, and his flesh began to peel off of him. His blood exited his body through the wounds, and touched the chakra shell around him. The chakra around him was already in the shape of a fox, and the redness of his blood fusing with it nearly turned it black. He let out a roar, a primal roar that rivaled Hachimata's, yet was lower in tone and deeper in bass.

And then the shell exploded.

The explosion sent debris flying everywhere. Kakashi saw it coming from where he was, and knew he wouldn't be able to get away in time. So, clapping his hands together, he muttered "Doton: Doryuuheki!!" He lowered his mask quickly, and spat out a lot of mud, which grew and formed a barrier in front of him. Pulling his mask up, he crouched behind the barrier, as the shockwave hit.

vvvvvvvvvv

The shockwave sent red debris into the air, and the Genin saw it from were they stood. "What's happening!?" shouted Temari.

"I don't know!" shouted Jiraiya. "This has never happened before!"

Shielding his eyes and holding Sakura, Sasuke uttered a low, "Don't die, dobe."

Shielding themselves with their arms, Hinata, Hanabi, Neji, and Kiba took note of the amount of chakra given off. "This is monstrous," said Kiba, his eyes wide with fear. Now he knew for certain that he didn't stand a chance against Naruto. "Is this… is this the true power of a Jinchuuriki!?"

Hinata's thoughts on the matter were, 'Please don't die, Naruto-kun… Please don't die!'

vvvvvvvvvv

Hachimata caught the full blast of the explosion, but he was still too large to have any major damage done to him. However, the dragon heads that were the ends of his tails were sheared away by the force of the explosion, reverting them back to dragon tail ends. His whiskers had been singed, as well as his beard.

Hachi, the puppet that was Hachimata's liaison, had been pulled in. But when he came out, and surveyed the damage, his mouth widened into a fanged smirk. "Honestly… Uzumaki amuses us to no end…" he whispered to himself.

Before him was a crater. But in the crater was a crouching… thing. It had dark red, nearly black fur, and it had eyes as yellow as the sun. It had four swaying tails behind it, and claws on its feet and hands, and long fox-ears protruded from the top of its skull sweeping backwards. It's face had some barely visible human attributes, like a nose, but its jaws were the jaws of a monster. And from those jaws came forth a disturbing noise.

"… Ugghhh…"

Kakashi, who watched from behind his demolished earth wall, muttered two words: "Not good."

For his student was gone. In his place was the avatar of the Kyuubi.

Yonbi no Kyuubi-Naruto (4).

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Translations:

(1A) Raiton: Teppoudama – Lightening Element: Gunshot. A lightening version of Suiton: Teppoudama, except that it can be fired from a finger, or from the mouth. Thus far, only Hachi/Hachimata can use this move.

(2A) Katon: Gamayu Endan – Fire Element: Toad Oil Flame Bullet. Gamabunta spits out a large amount of oil, which is then ignited by the user. Jiraiya uses Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu to ignite the oil, as does Naruto in this fic. The sheer amount of oil Gamabunta is capable of spitting allows this jutsu to reach further and cover a much larger area than any other fire jutsu. Apparently, in this fic, the toad Naruto was on is capable of that move as well.

(3A) Suiton: Teppoudama – Water Element: Gunshot. User fires a ball of compressed water at the target from their mouth. Thus far, only Gamabunta has been seen capable of using this move.

(1) Hanta-Hebi – A ploy off of the toad that Jiraiya summoned during the Sound/Sand Invasion. Jiraiya said that that toad was a Snake Hunter, and so he was named Snake Hunter. In Japanese, of course.

(2) Hatake Sakumo – The father of Hatake Kakashi. He was said to have been more respected than the Sannin, but he lost it when he failed a mission instrumental to Konoha. He opted to save his partners, and didn't finish the mission, resulting in a great loss of life. Disgraced and shunned, his skills degenerated until he committed Seppuku to regain his lost honor.

(3) Seppuku – Ritualistic Japanese suicide in which the person doing it stabs themselves in the upper stomach with a blade, pulls it down, and sideways, while another person stands behind them and cuts off their head. Used as a way to regain lost honor. The last time Seppuku was committed, it was by Japanese officials after World War II.

(4) Yonbi no Kyuubi-Naruto – Four-tail Kyuubi-Naruto. The strongest version of Kyuubi-Naruto to be seen. If he was here, we'd be screwed. Royally.

One note: The technique Sasuke used to sever Hachimata's tail was Habataku Chidori (Flapping One Thousand Birds). Using the power gained through the level 2 form of his Ten Juuin Fuuin, the Chidori that Uchiha Sasuke was taught to use as a "blade" to protect his comrades is warped into a dark version of itself that is used to sever things (originally in the manga/anime, it was used to sever his ties with Konoha). In contrast to the usual chirping of birds that the Chidori is known for, this technique emits a noise much like that of a large number of birds taking flight. Its power far surpasses that of the normal Chidori.

Next time on Wrath of the Dragon: To save his home and the ones he loves, Naruto was forced to become that which he feared being. And to throw things into the mix, it looks like Gaara's waking up and mad as hell. And Hachimata has decided to stop playing around. Konoha's been trashed; what the hell is gonna happen now!? Next time on Wrath of the Dragon: Assault of the First & Last! Farewell, Ryunosuke Hachi!!

Man, do I hate Exams!! Such a perfect waste of three hours! Anyway, a bit of a double meaning behind the second title of the next chapter. And same stuff as always: Read, review, questions or comments go in with the reviews. And since it's three in the morning, time for me to go to bed. Good night…

((Rai Shunshin no Jutsu))