Chapter 10: Treachery

Synopsis: The end has finally come to which the truth will now finally come to light. But why is it that the master of inferno has taken much interest in keeping Naruto away? In addition why does it hate the Uchiha clan so much? There are still a few surprises left around the corner. But if they are good or bad depends on the individual.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto franchise or characters associated with it. I also do not own any part of the 14th century Italian divine comedy Dante's Inferno.

"talking"

thoughts

As the former team seven made their way down silence was the only thing that existed between them. Sakura was still quite shaken for her experience within the hall of truth. Sasuke was still focused on his primary agenda. Naruto was steeling himself for the worst to come.

"Only a bit further now . . . . Just hold on Hinata I'll be there soon"

Sometime after, the teen ninjas found their way into the final decent. An afterlife to where only the cold and darkness awaited. A place where only the most wicked of souls is sent. The final and last circle of inferno to which all hope is lost, treachery.

As they walked into the final domain, freezing could not even define how cold this place was. But it was indeed a site to see. The world before them was like a kingdom of ice as the structure appeared in the form of a castle with many archways. But if the ice were the bricks then the souls would be the mortar. Even though they were frozen they were all quite conscious enough to know of their suffering.

Pitiful it was to see such a thing. But there was no time for them to gawk as the cold was getting to them. The three ninjas quickly made their way through wishing to remain as inconspicuous as possible. However there seemed to be very little point to that since the master should have been well aware of their arrival.

"I guess it wants to deal with us directly" said Naruto to which his companions agreed to with a nod

But little did they know that someone was watching them who had their own interest with the group.

Sakura got a creepy feeling that they were being watched and turned back to look. However no one was there. Naruto and Sasuke didn't sense anything as they continued moving.

More time passed as the trio began to feel their bodies stiffen at the cold. But there was no turning back now as everything gambled on an all or nothing chance.

The pink kunoichi still couldn't shake the feeling that someone was stalking them. So every so often she would randomly look around to ease herself of this paranoia. But her beliefs were confirmed as some ice formations broke nearby.

"Did you see that?" said Sakura

The group stopped as the lead boys noticed the presence as well.

"Should we run for it?" asked Naruto

"We don't even know what it is. So we're better off facing it here and now then needing to deal with it during a crucial moment" stated Sasuke bluntly

At that note the trio went back to back to see what could possibly be out there. In their current position they were surrounded by many large ice spires to which whatever it was could easily hide. Tension began to build as it became clear that something was indeed there.

"What the hell is it?" said the blond shinobi under his breath

"Just shut up and keep looking" replied Sasuke

Sakura's eyes rolled back and forth trying to spot the enemy. Just as the recent structure fell she managed to glimpse a large scaly tail swoosh right by. Hearing another crash, Sakura turned around to finally see who has been stalking them all this time.

"Oh no!" she thought as she turned around and pushed the two boys away

Both Naruto and Sasuke were surprised as they fell on their stomachs and slid a few feet away. Upon looking back their pink compatriot was no longer standing there.

"Sakura?" said Naruto as he looked around. "Sakura?"

A sudden rumbling could then be felt as the duo got onto their feet. With a quick deduction the two ninjas jumped apart from each other as the enemy emerged beneath them with Sakura in hand.

"No way . . . ." said Naruto as he looked upon who it was before them. The monster that appeared had a large snake tail in the place of his legs with two snake arms and several other snakes swarming off his back.

Sasuke looked angrily to the monster as he went to grip his katana.

"My, my, is that any way to greet your master?" said the snake like monster

"Heh, master? You used me the same as I used you. But I got the better end of the deal" Sasuke answered

"Ku ku ku, But now I'm here to collect in what you owe to me" said the snake monster

"Over my dead body Orochimaru" replied the rouge ninja

"That can be arranged" he smirked.

"You snake bastard! Let Sakura go!" yelled Naruto

Orochimaru turned to look at the blond jinchuriki with a smirk. "If he surrenders his body to me then I don't see why not"

"What good does it do you? You're dead already!" exclaimed Naruto

"Ku ku ku, true and thanks to that I finally understand the true essence to immortality. But it doesn't do me much good knowing it here. But with the use of a living body and all the gates opened above I can become the greatest ninja as I had always dreamed to be. So in part I suppose I should thank you for coming here" smirked the snake sannin.

Naruto cringed at that reply.

Sasuke dashed in with his lightning infused sword intending to kill his former master. At seeing this action the former sannin moved Sakura in front of him as a shield which did not deter the young Uchiha from his attack. However a young Uzumaki did.

"What the hell do think you're doing?" said Naruto

"She's in the way and I have not time for inconveniences" replied Sasuke

Naruto then grabbed him by the hem of his top. "You bastard! If you kill her I'll make sure you follow right after!"

Sasuke punched him in the face as the two separated just as one of their opponent's snake limbs came crashing down on them.

The blond shinobi flipped back onto his feet thinking about how to rescue Sakura while keeping Sasuke from killing her in the process. Meanwhile the said kunoichi was struggling to free herself. However it proved to be pointless as her current strength was just barely keeping the snake head from snapping shut on her.

"Tsk" said Sasuke. The last thing he needed was killing Orochimaru and then having to deal with Naruto right after. It was becoming rather troublesome that he couldn't just kill the snake bastard without inadvertently killing his former teammate at the same time. So at this he had no choice but to cooperate.

"How entertaining" said Orochimaru as he launched several of his serpent heads at the remaining ninjas. With each attack Naruto and Sasuke had no choice but to run. Although there were opportunities were it appeared vulnerable, his hostage would immediately be maneuvered there to inhibit their attack.

"Damn it!" said Naruto as he tried to get closer again only to have Sakura placed in front of him

"Attack the heads!" commanded Sasuke

"Why?" Naruto called back, but then he understood as some of the heads were looking right at them. "Those other snakes control the body too!"

The rouge ninja using his amazing speed cut right through three snake heads. But due to mid air suspension it left him open for the remaining heads to attack. However his blond teammate utilizing his clone jutsu generated a human rope and pulled him away before getting caught up in the attack.

Sasuke smirked as he landed on the ground with all the other bushins dispelling on the spot.

"You thinking what I'm thinking" Sasuke nodded to this. "Alright, I'll go right you take left"

The two boys then sprinted forward and soon peeled off at their destination. As they reached their appropriate points they both jumped up and commenced to cut off as many snake heads as they could. Sasuke began cutting off heads as he avoided attacks while Naruto using his wind element and several bushins began his side of the work.

After a few decisive blows the two boys landed in front of the monster pleased to see that the only heads it had left were his arms and his original.

"Alright, now to save Sakura" said Naruto

"Ku ku ku"

"What's so funny?" asked Sasuke

As if to answer his question all the heads they had just cut off all grew back and looked quite angrily at them. "What the hell?" exclaimed Naruto

"It is so entertaining to be playing with little mice" said Orochimaru. "Ku ku ku, but I'm afraid play time is over" to which his snakes began to attack more quickly and viciously then before.

"Move you idiot!" yelled Sasuke as he was dodging giant snake heads left and right

"What do you think I'm doing!" Naruto yelled back mimicking the same action

Four snake heads still remained on the monsters back as they watched the opponent's movements carefully. After a moment the four snakes opened their mouths as four different chakra elements were now shooting at them.

"Ahh crap!" exclaimed Naruto as they now also had to evade compressed chakra blasts of fire, lighting, wind, and water. "There is no end to this!"

Sasuke taking his chances activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and burned two of the artillery snake heads. However the strain became too great. So the young Uchiha immediately shut his eyes before he could take out the other two. Unfortunately his efforts were in vain as the other two heads bit off the damage before it could spread. As soon as they were decapitated they were immediately replaced with new heads to which they began their attack once again.

"Shit! I should have gone for 'his' head" he thought. But unfortunately his attack was predicted to why the snake sannin moved his hostage in front covering his main body.

"Sasuke! Watch out!" called Naruto

But due to his eye strain the rouge ninja was far too paralyzed in pain to move quick enough to avoid the attack from an oncoming snake head.

"Sasuke!" called Naruto again. However due to his lack of attention he too was struck forcing him back several feet.

"Ku ku ku game over" sneered Orochimaru

"Get up! You have to get up!" cheered Sakura as she attempted to increase her focus in order to escape.

"Too late!" as two snake heads were sent to capture them. As their jaws opened to swallow their victim, the attack stopped just as their mouths were about to snap shut.

"What is this" said the former snake sannin as his main body trembled

Sasuke and Naruto looked up to see that all that all the snake heads had stopped moving followed by Orochimaru's main body as it tensed up and convulsed as if it were fighting something.

"Careless"

"You! Why are you here?" stated the snake man

"Just taking care of something I should have done the moment we got here . . . "

"No! Stop! Stop! Ahhhhhh!" and with that Orochimaru's body began to break down as he was reduced to an intangible spirit form. With this transition Sakura slipped out of the hold and returned to her teammate's side.

A few minutes later, the ground began to shake as thick vapor began to cloud the vision of the former team seven. As they watched, the snake man's body began to grow smaller and smaller until his entire form resembled that of a single white snake. Behind the thick wall of mist a silhouette of a person appeared as he raised some kind of container. At that action the enemy that had plagued them was no more as he whimpered in defeat while being sucked into the raised item.

The silhouette person fastened his tool back to his hip while sheathing his sword. The three ninjas looked on in awe and shock to what had taken place. The same questions raced through all their minds on who was this person? What was their intention? Why did they help them? And the biggest question was if this person was friendly? If someone could defeat a monster like that without any trouble at all it was better to be safe now then sorry later.

The shadowy figure then redirected their attention towards them as it began walking towards them. "I see that you all made it here."

"That voice?" said Naruto as a shocked expression came about him

"It can't be . . . ." then said Sasuke as an equally shocked expression was plastered on his face

Sakura looked into the mist and slowly as the figure emerged she too was at a loss for words for who it was. "Itachi!" Of course she was on guard for what the man used to be when he was alive. But after remembering the truth she learned she relaxed herself just as her other teammate's did.

As the former Konoha and ex-Akatsuki ninja emerged he still had the exact appearance he did just before he died. However his body was looking a bit bluish due to the extreme cold he had to endure in addition to the ice chunks that had begun to form on him. Furthermore his eyes seemed to have been wrapped in cloth. But blood seemed to have been leaking down from both sides of his cheeks.

"Nii-san! Why are you here?" demanded Sasuke

"Hmph, I get it. So you're here to attain 'that' power aren't you Sasuke?" said Itachi ignoring the earlier question. "That's a fool's errand. You shouldn't have come here for that."

"Whoa, hold on. What is going on here?" questioned Naruto. "What power are you talking about?"

"The master of this world has it" answered Itachi as he turned his head towards him. "If an Uchiha can capture even a slightest bit of its aura then we can use our forbidden technique without limit"

"Forbidden technique?" then asked Naruto

"Izanagi . . . . ." sighed Itachi. "This technique virtually allows us to manipulate reality to the extent of playing god with not only our own life but as well as others"

"But what does capturing the master's aura have anything to do with that?" asked Sakura

Itachi looked down at that question. " . . . .You don't know who the master is do you?"

"What should that matter?" then asked Sakura

"It's a death wish for any Uchiha to face the master due to our connection to it" said Itachi "Sasuke, you probably didn't even know this yourself. But I'm going to make myself clear to you . . . . You know the names behind the three sacred eye techniques of our clan correct?"

Sasuke face scrunched at having his question ignored. If it were anyone else he would've kill them for their insolence. But for now, decided to play along. "Of course, they are Amatersu, Tsukiyomi, and Sussano."

"Correct" said Itachi. "Our techniques were inspired by the three great deities born under Izanagi within the Shinto system who made life possible for us humans. But this is why the master despises the Uchiha the most"

"I don't understand" said Sasuke. "What does this have to do with what I want?"

"Wait! You can't mean . . . . !" said Sakura

Itachi nodded his head in knowing Sakura understood what this meant.

"What is it?" asked Naruto

"There was an old story about how a god traveled into this world to retrieve his beloved wife. As he reached the final level he became horrified at what he found and fled from her. The goddess grew enraged by his betrayal and hunted him down throughout inferno. But he managed to escape while sealing Inferno in the process forever damning his wife to this existence" said Sakura.

"Was does that have to do with anything?" then asked Naruto as he rubbed his head trying to understand the relevance of it all.

"That god was Izanagi and the wife/goddess he came to rescue was Izanami. So . . . . " explained the pink kunoichi

"The master of hell is Izanami!" said Sasuke conclusively

Itachi nodded his head to this. "That is why our clan has taken the bulk of her wrath during our stay here"

"Everyone else is here too?" said Sasuke

"They were going to betray Konoha and send the village into a civil war." Itachi paused a moment before continuing. "I too was most likely going to end up here as I would either have had to betray my home or my family".

"But they deserved it! Konoha was the reason our clan ended up like this! They are the ones who should be here!" exclaimed Sasuke.

But at his remark the young Uchiha received a sharp punch to the face by his brother. "You fool . . . . Do you honestly believe such a thing as this?"

Sasuke rubbed his face. "Of course! They're the reason why our clan was forced to rebel! If they didn't push us into the corner then none of this would have happened!"

Itachi sighed as he placed his hand to his head. "Such a damned fool . . . . Who do you really think started this cycle of hatred?"

"Konoha! The elders, the ninjas, the citizens, everyone is to blame for what happened!" exclaimed Sasuke hatefully

"Then your eyes are still too clouded to see clearly then" stated Itachi. The Uchiha paused for a moment before continuing. "I know you met with Madara and the reason why I gave you my Amaterasu was to keep him away from you. I knew you would have allowed that man to poison your mind with his foolish beliefs"

"Madara allowed me to see more clearly than I ever thought possible. That man showed me the truth!" said Sasuke

Itachi becoming irritated picked Sasuke up only to punch him down again. "That man manipulated everyone! He was the one who casted suspicion on us by setting the Kyubbi loose in Konoha! Then from there it was just biding his time and manipulating the scene until he got what he wanted! In the end he got you!"

"What?" he replied

"Madara set up everything. That was why I planned for you to kill me so that you could go back to Konoha as a hero to clear our name with the village. But you foolishly allowed yourself to be ensnared by him and worse off became the enemy of the world" said Itachi as his irritation began to visibly show

"Why were you so reckless with your life? What in the world were you thinking?"

"Then why did I have to kill you just to do it!" screamed Sasuke as tears for the first time in a long time began to form. "It isn't fair that no one had to pay for what happened to you!"

Itachi was slightly taken back at that rebuttal. "Sasuke . . . . The cycle of hate had to end somewhere. I honestly believed that with my sacrifice everyone could have been saved and lived peacefully. But it was too idealistic with someone like Madara still running around. But please understand Sasuke that you have to let go of your hate and live your life the way it should be."

"It's already too late for that! There is no going back anymore!" replied the flustered Uchiha

A soft expression then appeared on Itachi's face. He then approached his brother and poked him on the forehead as he used to do when they were young. "There is always time. All you need to do is look back." Itachi then bent down on his knees to look at him face to face. "Now go with your friends because they need your help now."

Sasuke turned his head and grunted as a show of obliging.

Itachi smiled as he stood up to face Naruto. "Listen, I know that you came here to rescue Hinata-san. But be careful. Izanami has become quite bitter about love due to her own betrayal at the hands of Izanagi. Your best chance is just to retrieve Hinata-san and escape immediately."

"But why would she have it out for me?" asked Naruto

"You do love Hinata-san don't you?" asked Itachi

"Well . . . . uhh . . . . I . . . ." stuttered Naruto as he didn't really know what to say

Itachi chuckled at this, "I see." He then returned back to his serious expression. "But because of your connection to Hinata-san, she has grown spiteful that a lowly human would come rescue her while a god refused to do the same. So her hatred for you is just as bountiful as it is for us."

He then handed the blond jinchuriki an unusual mirror. "This weapon was attached to my Sussano. It has the power to reflect any attack away from the user. It should be helpful for your encounter with her".

"Why are you giving him that nii-san?" asked Sasuke as he was standing now

"There is not much a blind ninja can do to help. My sword will do you no good without the gourd since Orochimaru is already occupying it" said Itachi

"What are you talking about? What about your eyes?" then asked Sasuke

"I don't have my eyes anymore" said Itachi as he removed his eye cover. As he removed it, the former team seven was shocked to see that in the place of his eyes were two gaping black holes where his eyes should have been.

"Did Izanami do this to you?" asked Sasuke as he started to feel his anger rise again

"Yes and no. I willingly gave them to her" he said.

"But why?" asked Sakura still shocked at the elder Uchiha's appearance.

" . . . . mother did not belong here. She had no choice but to go a long with father's insane plan. So with the payment of my eyes mother was allowed to leave this world" explained Itachi as he rewrapped his eyes.

"Nii-san . . . ."

"This is the last thing I can do for you now" as he took the hands of the three teen ninjas. As he held on they began to feel better. At viewing themselves their injuries began to disappear along with their fatigue.

"Nii-san, the gates above are opened now. You can leave this place" said Sasuke

Itachi smiled as his body began to disappear. "I cannot Sasuke. Although I could I am still guilty for killing our clan and family while forcing this burden onto your shoulders. But don't be sad we'll meet again someday in another world if I can find enough forgiveness to leave this place".

"Nii-san!" called out Sasuke

"Now do me this last favor and help them rescue Hinata-san" smiled Itachi as he dissipated before them

A moment passed in silence as they absorbed what they had just learned. Naruto placed his hand onto Sasuke shoulder only for him to brush it off. "I'll cooperate for now. But after this is over we go back to the way things were."

"That's fine. I understand" said Naruto. He didn't expect his old friend to turn over a new leaf just like that after hating Konoha for so long. But it was a good start to go on as he felt a more resolved atmosphere emanate from the guy. "Well let's get going then."

The three ninjas began their trip across the cold plains seeing many frightening things along the way. But before getting too far in, the group encountered giants who were easily the size of a thirty story building. Luckily the team managed to get by without notice as they proceeded further in.

Treachery was indeed the last circle. However, it wasn't simply one domain, but four. After nerve wrenchingly getting pass the giants they arrived in the first section of betrayal known as Caiina. It was here that those who betrayed their kindred would reside. Sasuke found this area to be rather painful for it was here that his brother stayed. As they crossed a particular section, it was certain that the elder Uchiha was confined there until breaking out recently. So although Itachi still stayed in the ninth circle he was no longer bound to it.

The next area of betrayal was Antenora. It was here that Sasuke looked upon his family and clansmen as they were incased in ice. Antenora was for souls condemned for betraying their homes and country. As they walked, no words were needed as Naruto and Sakura could feel the hateful eyes of the Uchiha that glared at Sasuke as he walked by. Of course they could only assume why, but it most likely because Sasuke was the only one to survive. It was also here that Orochimaru most likely escaped from.

Now going into the next section, they arrived in Ptolomaea. This place was where betrayers of guests and friends were sentenced too. In this cavern of ice, faces were plastered everywhere like pictures on a wall. Although it was disturbing to see there was no one here that the three ninjas knew.

Then finally in the last section of betrayal was Judecca. This area is where people who betrayed god are sent too as they are completely encapsulated in ice unable to see, hear, or speak to which they are only allowed to feel as the sheering cold and empty loneliness ate at them at every passing second. It was this state that they shall stay until the end of time. But like the last area, they did not know anyone there.

After some walking they arrived at a giant hole which appeared to extend for miles as they could see no bottom to it. It was here that led to the final area against Izanami the master of Inferno and the one thing that kept the group from saving Hinata.

"Down this way will lead to Cocytus where Izanami is waiting for us" said Sakura. "Are we ready for the final battle?"

The two boys nodded their heads as they stared back into the void. "We're here now Hinata, just a little longer" thought Naruto. "Alright let's go!"

The former team seven with their resolve jumped into the chasm not knowing what will await them. But truthfully they were fighting a goddess. An immortal being without weakness with powers that would make them seem like fleas in comparison. So to be realistic they really had no chance in winning. Even with such overwhelming odds they would not allow such a thing to deter them. They have come too far to be stopped now, not when they were so close.

As they free fell, their approach began to slow down as they reached the area below. Looking down there appeared to be a perfectly circular pillar of ice below them. On the surface of the ice were rings that overlapped the other followed by many unrecognizable insignias. But looking back at them was the master of Inferno, Izanami. As she looked up a vicious smile appeared on her as she could barely contain her excitement of having new toys to torture for the next few millenniums.

Now as the former teammate's landed their attention was completely focused on the enemy before them. Even though she appeared in the form of a fragile woman that was far from the truth of what they felt from her aura.

Naruto stepped forward, "Give Hinata back to us or we'll take her back by force!"

"Is that so" replied Izanami as a strong gust of wind began to blow at them.

The three ninjas were blown back and almost off the pillar. As a response they used their chakra to anchor themselves down from the preemptive attack. The moment the wind ended Naruto found himself lifted off the ground by the neck as Izanami held him up easily with one arm. "And who are you to demand anything from me"

At seeing Izanami standing right next to them, Sakura gave the goddess one of her legendary punches. As her head flailed to the side it instantly flickered back as she backhanded Sakura breaking her neck and killing her in the process.

Sasuke charged in with his katana. As he was about to pierce the deities body his arm spontaneously combusted followed by the rest of his body. Naruto eyes widened in shock at seeing his two friends killed so easily. Izanami smirked as she punctured her thumb into the blond shinobi's neck. After a moment of struggling he died without too much effort.

Naruto's eyes popped open. As he looked to his sides Sakura and Sasuke were checking themselves over at what happened. "Was that an illusion?"

"Fu fu fu, I am the goddess of life and death. As I can kill you a thousand times I can easily bring you back a thousand times" taunted Izanami. "It wouldn't be much fun if you all died this easily."

The blond jinchuriki was speechless at the incredible difference in power between them and her. Even with sage mode he was pretty sure that wouldn't even come close to denting her. But this was the one battle the group couldn't afford to lose no matter what. So with their resolve the former team seven charged in with all they had.

But it proved to be in vain after so many countless attempts. With each technique and strategy the group tried they would always end up dead only to repeat the process over again. After dying for the nth time they were feeling rather dishearten from fighting anymore.

"It's hopeless" said Sakura as her body shivered from being brought back to life moments ago.

Sasuke body also shook after recovering moments ago. His Sharigan eyes confirmed he definitely died all those times. On top of that his deaths were extremely painful each time he attempted to use any of his Shinto god techniques. Tsukiyomi didn't have any affect. Amaterasu didn't come out as he had that eye plucked out each time before getting decapitated. Using Sussano was a battle of will power since Izanami would physically peel his battle avatar away only to kill him the moment she did.

Naruto was also in pretty bad condition. Although his body was OK his spirit was feeling the stress of it. Just as Itachi warned Izanami really didn't like him for his connection to Hinata. Each time they crossed paths the fallen goddess would rip out one of his organs each time to ensure maximum pain but not death. His most recent death was having the evil deity stab her arm into his chest as she very slowly crushed his heart making sure he felt every moment of it before it was a pudding in her hand.

"Fu fu fu, this will be the last time we fight" smirked Izanami. "When you die this time you'll be placed into the eternal darkness below to eternally fall there. But don't worry I'll take you out once in a while to play with."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura got back onto their feet. Even though their chances of dying again were high they were sure as hell as going to make her work for it.

"But I think I have a far more interesting way of killing you this time" said Izanami. Out from her shadow appeared the girl they came to rescue.

"Hinata" said Naruto breathlessly. The girl before him now was dressed in dark armor and tattoos. Furthermore she was far more paler then her usual appearance. As she approached them her face maintained an emotionless state as she appeared not to recognize them anymore.

"If a god couldn't rescue me then how can a pitiful human rescue her?" she said with animus eyes.

The Hyuga heiress extended her hand forming a large evil chakra blade as she then dashed forward in a joust. "Hinata! Stop!" called Naruto as he moved away

Sakura then jumped in an attempt to restrain her friend. "Hinata, you need to snap out of it!" But the words did not go through as she threw the pink kunoichi off and countered with a cross slash. Sakura managed to pull back enough to only receive a shallow cut along stomach area.

Sasuke wanting to end this quickly went for a quick attack from behind. Although Hinata was not herself she was still the owner of the Byakugan and easily saw him coming. The two individuals duel it out with their swords. However Sasuke was at the disadvantage with how incredibly strong her sword was. But as the young Uchiha was at a standoff with his opponent, "that idiot definitely won't let me hear the end of this one". As soon as the swords were cleared he let loose Amaterasu. The soul was an immortal existence right? So attacking to kill should be fine as long as the opponent is exhausted in the end.

Hinata anticipated this as she dissipated her sword and body flickered away from the attack. The Sharingan user shut his left eye as he looked around with his right to where his target ran off too. Then sensing killing intent he turned around and let her have it at full. Upon impact the target disappeared the moment Amaterasu touched her. "Shit! A clone!"

His realization came too late as Hinata was now point blank behind him and unleashed her Jyuken on her target. "Damn it! She sealed my chakra!" as Sasuke landed on the ground from the attack. He then rolled himself over to see the Hyuga heiress ready to finish him off. But thankfully Naruto tackled her away before she could land her hit.

The blond ninja mounted her waist as he pinned her arms to the ground. "What do I do?" But his thoughts were cut short as Hinata unleashed a shockwave forcing him off. Naruto then formed hundreds of clones as Hinata summoned her sword back.

The corrupt girl swung away as she cut through all those who approached her.

Naruto did everything he could not to hurt her. But by the way things were looking she was more likely going to hurt him. "What do I do?" he thought again. Words no longer had any meaning as the Hyuga heiress was like a machine doing as she was ordered. Furthermore her aura gave no signature that the Hinata he knew was still in there. Naruto's face tightened as he didn't know what he should do now. Even by some chance that they could subdue her Izanami wasn't going to just let them walk right out of her domain. "Shit! What do I do?" as he looked down.

Then realization dawned on him as he might have a possible solution for this dilemma. "I guess this is all I can do" he chuckled as he dispelled all his clones.

Hinata saw as all the duplicates disappeared just leaving the original standing before her. At seeing her target, she dashed forward intending to stab her opponent. But strangely enough to her battle instincts her enemy was not moving as he just stood there with open arms. As her blade punctured through his chest followed by her arm the boy coughed up blood, but still offered no resistance. The next thing confused her as she then found herself in a hug and felt the boy smile on the side of her face.

"Release" chanted Naruto with a specific hand seal. With that move the toad sage's mark lifted off his body, and at that action he swiftly slammed his hand onto the floating insignia towards Hinata abdomen electrifying her in the process.

"Ahhhhhh!" she screamed in pain as the holy seal affected her current state. However she could not move away as the blond boy hugged her tightly keeping her from escaping.

"It's my turn to save you now . . . . Hinata" said Naruto as he could feel his strength slip away.

Seconds passed as the seal began to peel the armor and tattoos away followed by her sword. After some time her soul was now completely purged of evil as she was once again radiating her light and warmth. As she relaxed into Naruto's arms she looked up to see his smiling face.

"Naruto-kun . . . ." said Hinata as tears began to form in her eyes. "You came! You really came and rescued me!" as her arms swung over his neck hugging him back.

"Ha ha ha, of course what did you think I would do" he smiled. But soon after blood shot out his mouth as he could no longer hold back the pain.

Hinata gasped as Naruto leaned on her. She then laid him down using her lap to rest his head. "What have I done . . . ." as she started to feel choked up with sorrow at remembering her last action.

"Tsk" remarked Izanami. Her stomach twisted with disgust at viewing the act of love before her. Using her powers she lifted Hinata up and began to drag her back towards herself. "I will not allow such a revolting thing to occur before me! You will all suffer for this!"

But before any further action could occur the twisted deity found herself in a tight grasp within a giant red chakra arm. "Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried out at seeing her lover get up. Before her and the deity's eyes, his wounds were regenerating as they closed up leaving no injury behind.

Hinata was released from Izanami's hold. As she made her way back, Naruto looked to her with yellow slant eyes instead of his usual baby blue.

"Sasuke, Sakura, can you two still move?" Naruto called

"Yeah we can still move" Sakura answered as she was still working on getting Sasuke's chakra channels working again.

"I will buy you some time. So take Hinata and escape with everyone else" as more of his tails began to grow in.

"Are you stupid? We can't leave you behind like this!"

"There is no more time for debate! I won't be able to control the Kyubbi's power for long!" During this time, Izanami kept destroying his body as he repeatedly regenerated with the demon foxes power.

"No! I won't leave you behind!" screamed Hinata. "All that you sacrificed for my sake I can't leave you like this!"

Naruto turned his head as he smiled towards them. "It's OK now, this is what I decided to do." The blond ninja gave a slight chuckle. "I guess I won't be able to give you my answer huh"

"Don't ignore me!" yelled Izanami as her evil aura shrouded the entire area. Naruto collapsed to his knees as he attempted to keep more tails from forming. But alas the stress was too great as a mass of demonic chakra shot from his chest and formed the Kyubbi's head. "I guess this is all I can manage."

"Naruto-kun!"

"Naruto!"

"You idiot!"

In that instant several chakra spiked chains appeared on the blonds body at it shot out and wrapped themselves around the evil youki pulling back towards it owner. "What is happening to Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata at seeing the incredible display before her.

The moment the demonic chakra was pulled in those same chains appeared around the evil goddess as it shot up and wrapped around her anchoring her in place. In that exact same time a red-haired woman seemed to have literally walked right out of Naruto. The instant she appeared she dashed towards the goddess in her fighting stance. Izanami seeing the incoming attack blasted the red-haired woman creating a smoke screen. But it did not stop her as she was now point blank to her. Now within zero distance she struck the goddess on the stomach marking her with a familiar spiral seal.

"Amatsu souzousha fuin no jutsu" said the woman as a spiral with several insignias appeared on the goddesses stomach. Izanami attempted to blast her away, but nothing happened. "What have you done to me?"

The red-haired woman smirked at her handiwork. "You can thank Izanagi-sama for it. He helped me design the seal that would put a lid on your powers."

"Izanagi!" she screeched as she began to struggle against the chains.

Hinata immediately rushed towards Naruto helping him to his legs as he was still recovering from whatever the heck just happened to him.

"How are you doing kiddo?" asked the red-haired woman as she was now standing before him.

"I'm OK now I guess. Whatever you did seemed to have quieted the Kyubbi down." Naruto then looked up to see the woman's face. "Wait, I saw you. Back in the last circle, you were in the reflection right next to dad. Who are you?"

The red-haired woman gave a slight chuckle to this. "My name is Kushina and to cut long stories short I'm your mom."

"What?" said everyone, even Sasuke as he was caught up in the moment.

"My chains won't hold for long and Izanami still has a good deal of power left. If we're going to win this then we better do this now" said Kushina "We can talk about everything else later"

Sasuke taking his cue activated his Sussano and crashed its fist right onto the former divine being. However a low rumble was created as Izanami barely picked the giant's fist up. Her body then began to mutate into a grotesque form between rotting human flesh and an amalgam of several different demon body parts. As her mutation finished she grew to the equivalent height of Sasuke battle avatar as the two began to exchange punches. But Sasuke was losing more power as Sussano had to endure the energy hits Izanami shot at it.

"Sasuke! Take this!" called Naruto as he threw Itachi's mirror at him. The avatar grasped the mirror as it started to take shape as a shield on its forearm. The two giants were now equally paired, but the young Uchiha was still at a disadvantage for how much power it took to keep Sussano there.

"I'm going to back him up. So join in when you can" said Sakura as she ran in and entered Sussano to maintain Sasuke's health and chakra reserves.

"I better get going then" said Naruto as he was about to run off.

However Kushina stopped him from going any further. "We need to end this battle in one move. Although I sealed her powers she is still a goddess and will eventually overcome it."

"Then what do you think we should?" asked Naruto

Kushina got into her thinking pose and immediately got an idea. "We're going to use your Rasenshuriken."

"How do you know about that?"

"Long story, but that technique should be enough to finish her off"

"But this world quickly eats up sage mode. I won't have enough time to make it before I time out!" said Naruto

"Then we'll just have to split the work down between the three of us" said Kushina as she looked towards Hinata to which she reacted with surprise.

"But neither of you know how to prepare to move!" said Naruto

"Trust me, just leave the form for me to handle. So you'll just need one bushin to handle the manipulation while you take care of powering it. Hinata-chan, if my intuition is right your element will help too in this final grand attack" said Kushina.

"Ehh!" stuttered Hinata, "are you sure about this Uzumaki-san?" The Hyuga heiress was not only surprised about being included on this plan, but also the fact that her crushes mother was talking to her.

Kushina winked at her, "You'll do great kiddo. You're the kind of girl my son needs in his life right now."

"Mom! Now's not the time!"

"Right, right OK mission start!" and on note Naruto activated his final sage mode and began preparing his Rasenshuriken. Just as planned, Kushina began forming the ball as Hinata and the clone invested their nature manipulation while Naruto supplied the power. As the technique began to form he could feel his hand getting colder.

" . . . . You've done great Naruto. Know that your father and I are proud of you" smiled Kushina

"Mom . . . ."

"Alright everything is complete. Now show that divine bitch what an Uzumaki can do dattebane!"

Naruto chuckled, "Alright dattebayo!"

"Sasuke! Sakura! Clear the way!" to which Sussano immediately deactivated as the two ninjas cleared the path. "Here I go, Hyoton! Rasenshuriken!"

"Do you think I'll allow that to touch me!" said Izanami at seeing the incoming attack. But before she could move chains sprang up bounding her body.

"Not so fast!" said Kushina as she formed a seal in front of her

As the attack connected a giant sphere of ice was created as it completely encircled the fallen goddess. Strike by strike Izanami's body began to freeze on the cellular level. After a few seconds the attack ended with the evil deity as an ice sculpture which signified the end to the ninjas long and hard battle.

"We did it!" cheered Sakura as she hugged Sasuke. But immediately broke off at how awkward it was.

"We won" smiled Naruto

"Thank goodness" smiled Hinata

"It's so great to be young" said Kushina at looking over the youths around her. "Well we better get going; your friends are waiting for you above."

"Yeah" replied Naruto. But just before they could leave an enormous quake was felt as Izanami began to shake.

"Impossible!" exclaimed Sakura

"Go now! The way back up is there! Hurry and escape!" said Kushina as she turned around and began wrapping Izanami in chains once again

The four teens began to run for it before Naruto stopped dead in his track. "Naruto what are you doing we have to go!" said Sakura

"My mom is still here! I let her to deal with this herself!" he responded

"She knows what she is doing! We have to go now!" then said Sasuke

"No! I have to stay and help!" Naruto rebutted

"This is no time for your stubbornness Naruto!" said Sakura

"Just go on ahead I'll be right behind you!"

"And where you go I go too" added in Hinata

"No! You go with them!"

The Hyuga heiress stood her ground as this was one decision she was not going to change her mind about. Naruto stared back but soon rubbed his head in frustration, "fine, just stay close then"

"Alright, well head up first so hurry up OK" said Sakura

"Got it" said Naruto as he and Hinata ran back towards the battle grounds.

"Why did you come back?" called Kushina as she saw the two rush towards her.

"We couldn't just leave you here to deal with this on your own" said Naruto

"Please Uzumaki-san, let us help you" said Hinata

Kushina sweated profusely as she tried to keep Izanami bounded. "If you're going to say that then give me any extra chakra you have left because this bitch is quite a handful"

"I will not be beaten by the likes of you!" said Izanami as she had just recently regained control of her head.

More chains began to appear as Naruto and Hinata poured any reserve energy they had into Kushina. But it did not stop her from rampaging as her powers began to randomly destroy to area around them. Unluckily she destroyed something that was most crucial for their escape.

"The exit!" said Hinata at seeing the path completely annihilated

"Tsk , so annoying" said Kushina as she finally stopped Izanami's rampage however the quakes still continued.

"What do we do?" said Naruto "That was the only way out of here!"

"Don't worry there is still one more" said Kushina as the center ring of the area began to glow. "Go over there! It'll take you away from here!"

"What about you?" asked Naruto

"Don't worry about me. I already have a way to escape. Your job now is to protect Hinata-chan right? So go, and don't worry about your friends I'll give them the signal to escape" answered Kushina

Naruto with a heavy heart turned as he grabbed Hinata's hand and made his way towards the center ring. As they both stood on it he looked back to see his mother smiling at him. Although he couldn't hear her he knew her final words were "I'll be seeing you later."

In one brilliant flash of light Naruto and Hinata were no longer in Inferno

~Place: Unknown~

"Where are we?" asked Naruto as he looked at the new surroundings. The place they were now was a definite improvement to hell as the area was like a lakeside forest which led towards a mountain that extended towards a brightly lit sky. He then looked down to the Hyuga heiress as he was still holding her tightly.

"Are you alright? Hinata?" asked Naruto. As he looked she appeared to be crying

"I'm so happy that you came for me" said Hinata. "But it is already too late."

Naruto's heart began to sink as whatever she had to say couldn't be good. "Hinata, what are you talking about? What do you mean too late?"

The Hyuga girl looked up as tears clouded her eyes. "I've already died Naruto-kun . . . . there is no way I can go back with you".

The blond ninja could only express shock at this news. "It can't be . . . ."

Author's notes: Don't worry it won't end sadly. I'll give it a happy ending. The last chapter will wrap everything up towards the final conclusion.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.