Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Never will, don't want to. But it's fun to dabble!
Chapter Nine: Fall of the Red Moon Part Three
Last chapter we saw Naruto and Gaara escape from the prison cell, killing two of the Akatsuki in the process. Meanwhile their friends found the location of the Akatsuki base and with the help of Shikamaru's tactical abilities and some teamwork managed to defeat another two members.
Naruto and Gaara then confront the Akatsuki leader, who has a startling revelation – like them, he is a vessel for an ancient demon.
"Now my brothers," the man who named himself Akatsuki spoke "Join me! We have been apart far too long!"
Behind him the aura of a demon flared, almost visible in the darkness of the cave. The pressure was incredible, almost forcing back Naruto and Gaara. The two missing-nins to the sides of the demon-man bowed their heads – not quite in fear but not quite in respect either.
Naruto forced himself to smile. "Think you're clever, do you? Well you're not the only one with tricks."
With a deep breath the Leaf-nin brought his own demonic energy to the surface. The cave filled again with an energy so immense it seemed it might burn the flesh of those it touched within. And behind Naruto the impression of a malevolent demon with nine tails was formed, seeming so real that those in the chamber could almost feel it watching them with eyes of red hate.
The black chakra and the red chakra fought, pushing back against each other for dominance. For a moment it seemed as if neither could win, but then a snarl came from the throat of Naruto and suddenly the red chakra overwhelmed the black, devouring it whole. And for a second the black, elongated pupils of Naruto's demonic eyes shone darker.
"Brother Kyuubi, your power is everything I remembered it to be. The ultimate chakra indeed. And you, brother Shukaku? You have nothing to show me?"
Gaara's response was to stretch out one hand and form a fist. "Your death." Sand flowed from the gourd to surround the form of this other demon vessel. "Desert Funeral," Gaara said softly, and the sand condensed.
But the Kazekage's eyes flared with surprise and anger and just a second passed before the sand shell burst outwards, revealing a second, black layer inside. And then that black covering moved, revealing the smiling face of the Akatsuki leader as the wings of black chakra stand behind him. They flap once with incredible power, and he rose smoothly into the air.
"Magnificent!" He cried. "Truly magnificent. You are my brothers indeed."
Above the surface, the teenage ninjas recognized immediately two of the three great powers unleashed.
None of them knew what the first had been, and that had scared them. No one had admitted such, but they all felt it.
The second chakra had been scary as well, but it was Neji who spoke up first. "That is Naruto's power. I remember it from the Chuunin Exam." Team Save Naruto (and Gaara) were almost relieved, though the new knowledge of the Kyuubi still had most of them shocked.
The third power, though weaker, made Temari and Kankurou smile. They would recognize it anywhere.
Upon sensing Naruto, Hinata had redoubled her efforts at cracking the genjutsu. Scattered on the ground around her were dozens of scrolls with hastily drawn seals and designs, and sweat poured down her face in droplets. Finally she could sense how close she was. She could almost taste it; picturing her Naruto-kun gave her strength to continue.
With one last flourish in the air it was done. Hinata had unlocked the doorway to the home of the most dangerous men and women in the world. But nothing would intimidate her now.
"Yes! Yes yes yes!" Hinata shouted out. "Yes! We're in!" In a flash Lee was with her, holding the kunoichi in the air and crying joyfully. "Haha! Now nothing will stop us from saving our brave companions!"
The others all congratulated Hinata in their own way as she garbled about keys and pathways and other technical terms.
Kiba tossed Hinata a soldier pill, which she gobbled down. At once her body was restored somewhat, and the familiar feeling of chakra flowing through her inner coils comforted the Hyuuga girl. She calmed her shaking nerves and performed the final seal, releasing the genjutsu.
In front of them came into form a stone stairway, leading deep down into the earth. It had been carved intricately with otherworldly designs. Some were strangely beautiful while others were horrifying. They depicted terrible beasts destroying entire countries and killing thousands. Hinata gasped when she found one of a nine-tailed fox, while Temari sighed at the one of the giant tanuki.
Sakura lead the way inside, the location jutsu guiding her once more. The group darted through underground caves and over subterranean rivers. The powers of the Byakugans possessed by Neji and Hinata showed the Leaf and Sand-nins the correct paths, avoiding the most dangerous of routes.
"Hold up," Akamaru yelped. His voice was low and guttural but understandable all the same. Inuzaka dogs were not normal in any way, but even so only the most gifted learned human speech. Kiba would often tell his friends proudly that Akamaru was the most talented dog their clan had raised in many years (though few of them actually believed the boy).
Akamaru growled some details to Kiba who related them to the rest of the group. Up ahead were five ninjas. Five very powerful ninjas.
"Kill them."
The Red Moon sat back in his throne and closed his eyes. It was never clear exactly what he had meant or whom he had been talking to.
The Akatsuki members, however, clearly believed that their leader wanted the other two demon vessels to die. Or at least they acted as such. The Rain-nin performed a set of seals calmly, and a small black cloud appeared in the air of the cave. The Stone-nin at the same time ran toward Gaara at speed, chakra collected in his fist.
Like clockwork at the same moment the Stone-nin's fist impacted with the sand shield, tiny droplets of black liquid formed like spears in the air and flew true towards Naruto. But with a bestial roar and a swirl of red chakra the sharpened black drops were forced away. Gaara and Naruto exchanged a private look of acknowledgement.
Naruto put it into words. "You'll have to try harder. We both have the ultimate defence."
Naruto formed a familiar seal and split into dozens upon dozens of clones, running at the Rain-nin as one. As they ran half of the clones transformed into other weapons – some shuriken, some kunai and a few swords. The remaining clones took their Henged counterparts and armed themselves.
One Naruto advanced first, eyes flashing crimson. He held a kodachi like an expert, and slashed at the standing Rain-nin. The missing-nin bent backwards at an impossible angle, the sword-bunshin only slicing through his robes. From behind he dodged again as another Naruto tried a kick.
The battle raged on with the Naruto's gaining ground slowly. Though the thin ninja could dodge so much faster than humanly possible, even he was no match against an army of Naruto's and their ability to transform at any moment. A Naruto would throw a hail of shurikens, only for one of them to change shape in mid air and hurl the others towards the enemy.
But what the Narutos did not notice was the black cloud still floating above them. The moment the Rain-nin felt he was losing the battle, he performed a seal with his left hand, and again the tiny black spears formed in the air - each hunting out a different Naruto and destroying it in a puff of ninja smoke.
Gaara's battle was going better. No matter his opponent's strength, it was not enough to penetrate the barrier of sand surrounding the Kazekage. The shield of sand had not been enough, but the cocoon was impenetrable. Still, it was taking all of Gaara's defensive might to hold him back. It left little for offence.
Strands of sand bound themselves around the wrists of the ninja, razor sharp edges slicing in vain the chakra-hardened skin of Gaara's foe. As if he was in fact made of stone, the sand blades merely scratched his flesh – he didn't even appear fazed by the attacks. But all the same, he saw the futility in his efforts and decided to change tack.
He plunged his hands into the stone of the ground as if it were water, and immediately a chasm formed beneath Gaara's feet like the sea being parted.
Gaara reacted instinctively. His sand shell only dropped an inch before it flowed out to span the gap, but that was all the Akatsuki member needed to strike. His fist - again charged with chakra - plunged through the barrier of sand as if it were paper, striking Gaara clear in the face.
The Kazekage of the Sand flew backwards from the blow, the sand not saving him before he could fall down into the chasm.
With a smirk on his face, the Stone-nin plunged his hands back into the stone and closed the chasm above the tanuki boy, trapping him beneath the ground.
"NO!" Naruto screamed. He rushed towards the Stone-nin with Kyuubi chakra flowing through him. But turning his back on the Rain-nin was a mistake, and demonic power wasn't enough to stop the Akatsuki's black liquid blade from piercing his chest. The fox boy cried out, and before he could heal his wound, the black-cloaked ninja channelled his own chakra through the dark sword and pinned Naruto to the ground.
From the black cloud and another one-handed seal came more of the strange water. It amassed in his hand in a sphere before twisting shape into a coil of barbed wire, which snaked out around Naruto's screaming body and held it tight. The barbs bit through his clothes and into his flesh. Bright red blood poured out onto the stone floor.
Not far away, Akamaru howled softly. "Blood," he said. Kiba sniffed the air in turn "Naruto's blood."
As one Team Save Naruto sped forward, burning chakra for precious speed. In seconds they were in the great throne room and in seconds they were in action.
"Where's Gaara?" shouted Temari to the others. Neji pointed at the ground where the chasm had swallowed her brother. "I see him under there. He is safe inside a cocoon of his sand for now."
"Right!" Sakura shouted. She flowed chakra perfectly into her fists and as she brought them down on the ground released. The impact shook the cave and destroyed the ground above Gaara. The rippling of stone made the Stone missing-nin wince, and for a split second he was forced to remove his hands from within the ground.
Hinata and Lee charged the Rain-nin head on, combining their attacks. His uncanny dodging ability was not enough against the two Taijutsu masters, and he took several blows head on. But when he tightened his grip on Naruto, causing the demon boy to cry out and even more blood to seep out from him, Hinata gasped and lost her concentration, and that was when the Rain-nin struck with more of his deadly black spears…
…only for them to be blown away once more by a white whirl of motion and chakra. "A Hyuuga is not so easily distracted," Hinata smirked. "You would do well to learn that lesson in the moments you have left to live."
The ninja's dark eyes widened as time appeared to slow down. Hinata's open fist came ever closer to his heart. But it would not reach.
Sakura was by Naruto. She had sliced away the wire and begun work on removing the sword, but she couldn't finish.
Lee too had been about to strike the master of the black rain.
Kankurou was attempting to save his brother from the rubble with the aid of his puppets.
Tenten had unleashed a torrent of blades at the Stone nin, aided by the wind gusts of Temari..
Kiba and Akamaru had performed their Beast Human jutsus in preparation to attack.
The Ino-Shika-Chou trio huddled together in hopes of concocting a sure strategy, the bulk of Chouji guarding them.
Shino's bugs swarmed towards all three enemy ninjas.
Neji rushed the Stone-nin. His hands flashed with chakra spikes.
But none of them got to do anything past that. Because with a surge of black chakra every one of the Leaf and Sand ninjas were pushed back to the edges of the room as the Red Moon rose into the air once more.
"Intruders," he began, eyes black with hate. "How dare you! This is the sanctum of the Red Moon! Only my brothers and my servants may stand here!"
His wings flapped powerfully in the air and gusts of chakra-enforced air buffeted the group terribly. "You will all die now for your sins."
It started as a low moan and grew. From a moan to a growl to a cry to a howl. Monstrous demonic chakra burst forth from Naruto's form like a hurricane, and the boy rose to his feet like he was possessed. With his own hands he drew the sword from out his chest and held it, though it was a poor fit for his clawed hands. The wound healed almost before the black weapon was out of his chest.
Through fanged mouth and animal fury he uttered five words.
"You. Will. NOT. HARM. THEM!"
As if on cue, a howl of pain came muffled from the rubble, and it began to melt. The stones melted into grains of sand from which rose the Kazekage triumphant. Gaara stood on a platform of sand with his hands outstretched.
"Release them. I will not say it again."
"Brothers, do not fight me. Your place is at my side." The Red Moon smiled madly at the two.
"Gaara?" Naruto's foxlike form faced the tanuki boy.
"Naruto?" Gaara replied.
"NEVER!" they cried together.
"Hurt our friends, and…" Naruto started.
"… your pain shall be known as legendary throughout the world." Gaara finished.
"Hmm, not quite what I was going to say, but I guess it'll do." Despite his demonic visage Naruto grinned.
"Enough! It's obvious the two of you are not aware of your true selves. You need education, both of you. Allow me." With a fluid gesture bolts of black energy flew towards Gaara and Naruto. Gaara's sand formed a protective barrier, and even though it still penetrated it was slowed enough for the Kazekage to dodge.
Naruto, on the other hand, was not so lucky. His bolt hit him dead on between his eyes, and without a sound he fell to the ground cold, the black liquid sword clattering to the ground out of his reach.
"Well, one is not bad. At least once Kyuubi awakens he will join me for certain."
"Uzumaki Naruto will never join you," Gaara said, his eyes narrow. "But just to make sure, I will kill you before he awakens."
The ground of the cave began to shift subtly. A tiny layer of the stone became infused with chakra and broke down, turning solid stone to grains of sand.
Gaara reached out and this sand swallowed the Red Moon whole. But instead of crushing him, the sand glowed a yellow-brown and patterns of black formed over it.
"Desert Seal," whispered Gaara.
At once the effect was obvious. The black chakra holding the other ninjas dissipated. One and all they were released from the Akatsuki's hold over them and ready to fight once more.
"Kill the others. I will handle this one alone." Gaara's voice echoed authoritatively as only a true Kage could.
Within the Desert Seal the Red Moon struggled. His demonic power was being blocked – kept out of reach of his mortal form. How he cursed the day he had been sealed inside such a pathetic, useless child. He could remember so clearly when he had been one of the greatest of all the Youmas. With every moment that passed he could feel the power slipping away.
Meanwhile the Sand and Leaf nins fought well. Hinata and Sakura tended Naruto, but everyone else fought on.
Lee exchanged blows with the Stone-nin. His first was light, testing the man's defence. Suitably impressed, he reeled off a super fast combo of sharp, powerful blows against his chest. "Strong," said the Stone-nin. The first words any of them had heard him utter. "But not as strong as me."
He made a grab for Lee's bandaged arms with his powerful fist, but Lee was too quick and dodges effortlessly. "Perhaps I am not as strong as you," he replied, "but you are not as fast as me."
He made another grab for Lee, but the Proud Azure Beast of the Leaf simply spun and ducked, sweeping at the Akatsuki ninja's legs.
"Perhaps you would even beat me if we were to fight alone," Lee continued. "The power of hard work is not invulnerable. But I am not alone."
And with that came the attack. Kunai danced in the air and from the ceiling leapt the lithe figure of Tenten. With one hand she expertly threw two kunai, and with the other she wrapped wires round the missing-nin's legs precisely where Lee had damaged them. The ninja had a moment to see exactly where the kunai were headed, and he had the perfect view for the split-second before they pierced his eyeballs.
"Even someone with skin as hard as yours has his weak points, no?" Tenten grinned, her hand in a victory sign.
"I won't be beaten that easily, you young idiots!" His hands free, the Stone-nin plunged them back into the surface of the rocky floor, and Tenten sank into the ground as if it were mud. No matter how she tried, to her it was as hard as rock. "Lee-kun!"
"Do not worry my love, the shining purity of our hearts will prevail!" Lee had jumped into the air the moment he felt the chakra flow into the ground, and with his bandaged hands grabbed onto the wires Tenten had left in the ceiling. Though it cut into him, he whirled around and used the momentum to fly to safety.
"Hey eyebrows. You're really getting pushed around there." Kankurou smirked at Rock Lee.
"Oh? At least I have been fighting."
"Hey! I was just poisoned against Sasori of the Red Sands. A living legend in the Hidden Sand! But now that you mention it…" he flexed his fingers. "Maybe I will join in the fun."
Lee stood firm on the liquid ground, using chakra to keep himself aloft, and Kankurou's puppets launched towards the Stone-nin.
The Rain-nin was not faring well against his opponents. He faced Neji, the unstoppable genius of the Hyuuga, and Temari of the Sand. Assisting them were the Ino-Shika-Chou trio, though the three Chuunin were running low on chakra. None of them was truly exceptional in fighting skill save Shikamaru and his strategies, and the other ninjas had already been filled in on what he wanted them to do via Ino's mental jutsus. Chouji had wanted to use his pills, but using the Multi-Size was too dangerous in such an enclosed space, and Shikamaru had forbid Chouji ever to use the third pill again.
"Hinata-sama told you to fear the Hyuuga. I hope that is a lesson you have learned, because it will make your death easier." As Neji attacked with the Gentle Fist, Temari handled the black rain weaponry of the Akatsuki member with her fan-controlled gusts of wind. She had a great enough control to even direct them back towards the thin man, though he did not appear to take any damage.
Neji had connected with several critical strikes already, helped by the lack of a need to focus on defence. Without using his chakra for Kaiten he found that he could expend much more on power and speed, helping him catch the astoundingly agile ninja where it would not have been possible otherwise.
Kiba and Shino worked defence, covering for Sakura and Hinata, who were busy caring for the catatonic Naruto.
"wake up naruto wake up wake up naruto wake up wake up wake up.."
The voices seemed otherworldly, ethereal. It felt as if he was being called to by angels, though he knew no angels would ever care for a demon like him.
"wake up naruto wake up wake up naruto wake up wake up wake up.."
"Urhh.." Naruto groaned. His eyes opened slowly, as if a bright light was being shone into them. Above him he could see the tear-stained faces of Sakura and Hinata looking down. Sakura's hands were glowing with healing chakra and Hinata had his hand in hers.
He moved his own hand up to touch his face, which felt strange. There was something wet there on his cheek. Naruto locked eyes with the now-smiling Hinata.
And then…
And then… something happened. His blue eyes faced Hinata's white, and something inside Naruto's head burst. As if a mental dam had been holding back liquid fire.
He began to scream.
Everyone on the battleground took notice. They had never heard a sound of such anguish before, such pain. Many of them doubted they could bear whatever was causing it. And in truth they would have been right.
Images, feelings, sounds, sensations and experiences flooded Naruto's mind in a whirlwind, too fast for anything to remain solid, but too intense for anything to ever be forgotten. The memories burnt into Naruto like a Katon greater than any other. Countless millennia worth of them pushed into his brain in just seconds – memories of other worlds and places, of creatures greater than any imagining, of battles fiercer than any shinobi could know.
Of pain and deaths so many in number that there could never be any redemption.
The memories of the Kyuubi and all its centuries of twisted life and death.
In Naruto.
Hinata released Naruto's hand and stood. She turned to look at the Rain-nin, the one she knew had hurt her Naruto-kun. And black sword in hand, she ran at him. Neji had all but paralysed him with the Gentle Fist, but he had not yet dealt the lethal blow. That would be Hinata's task, as with the blade of black rain she impaled him just as he had Naruto.
He had no demon inside him to heal the wound.
As Tenten chipped away at the stone holding her legs, Lee and Kankurou marched forward. Kankurou's puppets attacked from all sides, and the Stone-nin flailed blindly at them, never connecting. Kankurou's fingers were too clever for him by far.
Seeing an opportunity, Kankurou detached the head from Karasu, and the poisoned blade pierced the Akatsuki's skull the same way Tenten's kunai had. The poison worked quickly, but even before it could kill him Lee finished the ninja. Using all his speed and strength Lee caved in the man's iron-tough ribcage and crushed his cold heart.
The moment that the two Akatsuki members died, an intense pressure came from within the sand of Gaara's Desert Seal. No sweat or emotion could be seen through Gaara's Armour of Sand, but his body language spoke lengths about the strain he was under.
Waves of heat burst forth from the sand shell covering the Red Moon and the sand began to crystallize. From within it the black-clad form of the Red Moon could begin to be seen, grimacing. He was covered in flames that melted the sand and formed glass. And once the glass shell was complete, he released a bolt of light which refracted through the crystal seal and into Gaara.
The Kazekage cried out in a short burst of pain, and the seal shattered. From inside stepped out the Akatsuki leader, surrounded once more by the dark corona of his demonic power.
"You insects have defied me in my absence, I see. No matter. I shall deal with you as befits your kind." He raised a single hand, and black claws of chakra swirled into shape. He began to bring that hand down, but stopped sharply as a strange cry came from the lips of Naruto.
"What?!" The Red Moon shouted. "That cannot be!"
Naruto spoke again, sitting up. His words were in some language that none of the ninjas understood, but which caused them all to shiver down to their very souls.
"No! My brother!" The demon leader of Akatsuki looked worried. Ever scared.
Again Naruto spoke the demon language, and Red Moon backed away in fear.
" But I… But I did it all for you!"
Naruto spoke for a final time in this strange tongue, now standing. His friends were not sure what to make of this, but Gaara understood.
"I told you that Uzumaki Naruto would never join you, no matter what you did."
"Fine!" Cried the demon of the Red Moon. "Fine! I will have to kill you, though we are kin. And then I shall destroy this world alone."
Naruto spoke once more, but this time in words everyone could understand.
"You can try."
And he grinned his foxy grin as the chakra of the Kyuubi surrounded him. It formed armour of solid force, and powered his body far beyond its means.
Gaara called his sand to him, and it too became a form of armour befitting the tanuki demon within him.
Naruto leapt forward like a giant fox, and met the Red Moon in midair. Though he could not fly, his agility more than compensated for his foe's aerial advantage. Gaara attacked from long range with his Sand Shurikens and blasts of compressed air while Naruto fought up close with fangs and claws of red chakra. Akatsuki was not without his own powers though.
The battle went on for nearly an hour, and the other ninjas were held back by a swirling barrier of demonic chakras. Lee tried many times to penetrate it, only to be forced back every time. The mixtures of three different demon chakras was a volatile one it seemed, and not a friendly environment. It was only because of their power that the three demon vessels could survive.
The man who called himself the Red Moon surrendered completely to his demon, giving him power beyond that of Naruto and Gaara. But the two shinobi would not give in, and worked together. It was for that reason that when the cloud of chakra gave way and the three collapsed to the ground it was Naruto and Gaara who still stood while the Red Moon was prone on the stone floor.
They were breathing heavily, and bled from many wounds. Naruto had reached his limit of how much Kyuubi chakra he could channel, and so for once his wounds did not close immediately. His natural healing factor went to work fast, but even so he bled.
Gaara's tanuki armour had crumpled and cracked around him before falling in a pile to the ground, and there were deep gashes in his clothes from where it had just not been enough. His stamina was not as great as Naruto's though, and he was on his last legs. He tottered there and would have fallen had Lee not caught him with a swift burst of movement.
But Naruto stood. And he stood over the body of the fallen Red Moon.
He spoke.
"I don't know what hardships you've lived through. The pain you've felt… what it's like to live without purpose. I understand that. And to live like that… I can remember it too well. But there comes a time when I just can't forgive you any more. Gaara and I, we live to fight our monsters! We live to protect others from the evil inside us!
"I have seen the evil of the Kyuubi. I can remember the taste of blood on its fangs and the smell of roasting flesh. I can remember crushing entire villages with a single tail. I will never forget any of that, no matter how long I live. But I will never, ever stop fighting.
"I guarantee you this: even if I live a thousand years I will never become you."
"…please… I just… wanted… family…"
Tears in his demon-red eyes, Naruto plunged the Rasengan into the heart of Akatsuki, and he was no more.
Author's Note: Phew, remind me never to write large-scale fight scenes ever, ever again. That took forever.
I can't apologise enough about the severe lateness. I mentioned that I was going to be travelling for a few days, and because of transport issues that ended up stretching into a few more days and so on. And then yesterday when I was finally back I just ended up falling into a light coma from exhaustion and sleeping the entire day.
Still, it's done now, and I can go to bed. Where I will lay in pain from the headache I gave myself writing this. Argh.
I hope you all enjoyed it, no matter how late it was. And expect a new chapter tomorrow. A shorter one. Much shorter.
So, review review review. I want to see if I can top 100!
Good night my friends!