Well, this is out earlier than anticipated. That can only be good for you guys. I still haven't decided if I'll divide this chapter up to make the ending longer, or just make this chapter the ending, but I think I may go with the former.
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Disclaimer: I don't own it. I never will. Let's get to why you're here.
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Chapter 14: The AftermathIt was in the forest that Orochimaru found a sluggish and tired Kabuto, and he was pissed. He watched as the medical-nin slightly jumped at the intrusion of the five individuals only to be scarred shitless after seeing who it was. He quickly tried to form a response. "O-orichimaru-sama! I'm sorry, but there is a good rea-…" he was cut off as a punishing blow was delivered to his diaphragm, causing him to be out of breath.
"Kabuto, why have you failed me?" the pale man's voice may have fooled people that he was calm, but hidden underneath the velvet covering were dozens of poison-covered blades, all begging for the blood of the one who made their wielder so irate. Even though it was not directed at them, the four behind him shivered.
"Orochimaru-sama, I apologize, but I encountered interference that caused me to put all my attention on them. He took me by surprise and-…" the glasses-wearing man was once again cut off, this time by a kick that sent him into a tree.
"A single man should not require all your attention to deal with. Because of your lack of involvement, we were forced to retreat when reinforcements arrived. Tell me, how can you fix this?" he was about to strike again when Kabuto held up his hand.
The white-haired man smirked. "Please, Orochimaru-sama. I had a contingency plan implemented just in case of this event. By tomarrow, you will be pleased." Kabuto was picked up by his neck and slammed into a tree, but the smirk never left his face.
Orochimaru came in close and growled into his face. "For your sake, you had better be correct in your assumption." He was then released as Orochimaru turned his back on everyone. "Come. We must make haste if we are to return to base without detection." And so they were off.
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It was a few hours later, and the hospital was packed. It was lucky that the Hokage had his own private room. It was here that Yagura stood with Konjyoyaki and several ANBU around the Hokage. "First off, I must thank you, Mizukage-dono. Thanks to your sacrifice, our village was able to fend off the invaders. You are in our debt."
Yagura waved off the praise. "Think nothing of it."
"But how did you get so many people to follow you into battle with the civil war currently going on in your country?"
"Well, not to long ago I began peace talks in my village, explaining that it was a mistake with the purges. They may still not trust me- no, I know they don't trust me completely, so I was hoping we may start an alliance, considering your village is full of Kekai Genkei, to prove what I meant."
The Hokage put on a contemplative look. "Really now? Konjyoyaki, ANBU, could you leave us?"
A coursed, "Hai." Was heard, though it took a nod from Yagura for Konjyoyaki to leave. As the room emptied, the blonde turned to the old man. "Now then, shall we discuss the details?"
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As Naruto traversed the crowded hallways of the hospital, he finally reached a specific room. He entered and was met with the sight of a conscious, black-haired girl, who turned to see who entered. Her face lit up when she saw who it was. "Naruto-kun!"
The blonde just walked over to the girl and embraced her. At first, she was shocked, but the reciprocated the action. As he rubbed her back, he quietly whispered in her ear. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" the girl honestly didn't know what he could be apologizing for.
"For being so violent. I never should have mislead you, intentionally or not." His voice was soft, letting Haku know that every word he spoke was true. He continued, "I promise not to maim anyone else, unless they harm you."
"Naruto-kun." Haku broke the embrace, leading Naruto to believe he did something wrong. He was surprised when she planted as kiss on his lips. She then just hugged him, as he slowly wrapped his arms around her again. All seemed right in the world, and for the almost fourteen-year-old, this is all he would ever need.
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While the blonde jinchuuriki and his girlfriend thought that life couldn't be any better, that was not the collective mentality throughout the village. Even a few doors down, someone didn't think that. Sasuke was still unconscious, but that didn't mean nothing was happening in his head.
'What happened?' He thought as he took in his surroundings. It appeared as if he was in a void, surrounded by a thick, grey fog.
'You blacked out.' Sasuke whipped his head around only to see… himself. Though he seemed different. His head hurt too much to place it.
'Who are you?'
'It doesn't matter.' The figure seemed to gaze off into space for a second, before regarding Sasuke again. 'Heads up. We have company. And with that, the fog slowly seemed to disperse as Sasuke woke up.
His eyes snapped open, and he was met with the sight of a strange man hovering just above him. He was on guard the moment the man spoke. "Uchiha Sasuke?"
The man had green eyes, white hair that was in two braids at the sides of his head, and dressed in a simple kimono. What drew his attention the most though, was the fact that he had two orange dots on his forehead. "Who wants to know?"
The strange man bowed, catching Sasuke off guard. "Forgive me, Sasuke-sama. I have been sent to retrieve you. Please, come with me."
'What the hell?' Sasuke was caught off guard as a voice made itself apparent in his head.
'I say we listen to him."
'You again? What do you want?"
'Just listen and do as he asks. You will be rewarded in the end."
"Sasuke-sama?" he was broke from his musings by the strange man. He obviously didn't have a choice in the matter. So, with a sigh he reluctantly agreed to follow the man.
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Back in Haku's room, Naruto was filling her in on what had happened after she had blacked out. It was then that she asked an unexpected question. "So, how's Sasuke?"
Naruto took pause. He didn't know how the black-haired boy was doing, so he answered as such. "I don't know."
"Well, maybe you should go check on him. He is your best friend, after all."
"I suppose." With that, Naruto got up and, after one last kiss, went out into the hallway. He saw a nurse, probably on her rounds, and approached her. "Hey, do you know where Uchiha Sasuke is?"
The nurse looked up. "Hmm. Oh, he should be down the hall, ninth door on the right."
Naruto nodded to her. "Thanks." He continued on his way. As he walked, a burning sensation made it's way into his head.
'So, how do you intend to keep your vow to Haku and Jashin-sama at the same time?'
'Jashin-sama doesn't require a sacrifice as long as I use myself regularly. Besides, I will kill those who harm her.'
'That may be, but be careful. Do not forsake your god. And when are you going to train with my power, exactly?'
'Don't worry, I'll get around to it.' with that, he tuned the Bijuu out and continued on his way. When he reached the door to Sasuke's room, he didn't bother knocking, opting just to barge in.
So, he was shocked to see an empty bed and an open window. When he looked out it, he could vaguely see two figures making there way to the horizon. 'What the fuck is going on?' so, without a second thought, he proceeded to follow the figures.
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Konjyoyaki was wandering around outside the hospital. Why? Well, originally he had been headed over to Zabuza's room. But, he was confronted by a nurse who, after seeing he was smoking, told him to leave. So, now he was searching for what he thought was the right window. Hell, he might even drop in Haku if he had the time. He could start being the uncle he should have been from the start.
He also had a lot to think about. First off, how had the Kiri troops been signaled? He had instructed his team to specifically wait for him, and quite usually, they waited for him. So, what caused them to use the signal? And then there was Taiki. Lately, it seemed as if something was off about him.
However, when he saw Naruto pass over above him, his curiosity became piqued, and he forgot about his questions. 'Hmm, now where his he headed off too?' and so, off he went. Zabuza was a big boy, he could wait. And so could his questions.
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After a few minutes of traveling, the mysterious man had Sasuke stop. By now, they were in the forests surrounding the village. The man turned to him and made a very strange request. He pulled a small, brown pill from his robe and said, "Please swallow this."
Really, seeing no other option, he swallowed the pill. Then, he saw a barrel. 'What's that for?' he didn't get to think for much longer, as soon his body was racked with pain. Before he knew it, he was placed in the barrel, and it was sealed up. All Sasuke was left with was pain and darkness.
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Naruto heard a scream, the voice he recognized quite well. "Shit, what the fuck is going on?" he just kept going as fast as he could it to the forest.
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Konjyoyaki heard the scream, he saw Naruto's panic, but he still wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Sure, he could stop everything right now, but the longer he kept this going, the more he would learn. He just hoped that he wasn't making a mistake.
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After some hours of traveling, the barrel on the white-haired man's back began to shake with a dark power, as thick, foul purple chakra seeped out of it. The man was forced to place the barrel down and back away, or else risk harm to himself. Suddenly, the barrel exploded.
It was at this time that Naruto arrived on the scene. The thick smoke that came with the explosion obscured his vision, but he could see two silhouettes as they began to move once again. He wasn't about to let them.
He rushed into the smoke as it started to disperse, making his presence known with a shout, "Oi! The fuck you think you're goin', assholes?" he could here a voice come from one of the figures.
"Keep going in this direction, Sasuke-sama. I will delay him." one of the figures seemed to nod as they took off. Naruto attempted to go after him, but was stopped by the other man almost bisecting him.
The smoke finally cleared as he got a good look at the white-haired man. In the trees, so did Konjyoyaki, though his attention was drawn to the orange dots on his forehead. Right now, he was beginning to regret letting this go on longer than it should have.
The two charged at each other, becoming entangled in a deadlock. It was unfortunate when the man pulled another white blade from his arm and attacked wit that. Naruto just managed to jump away, but got a deep gash on his leg as a result, cutting tendons and making it useless for a while as it healed.
The man kept up his approach as Naruto sat there. He braced himself, but was surprised when a tall figure landed in front of him, blocking out the sun and making it quite impossible for him to know who it was, the voice gave it away though.
"Continue on, Uzumaki."
"Konjyoyaki?" Naruto asked in a questioning tone, not really expecting the man to help him with much anything that didn't involve Haku or that organization he worked for.
The man grunted as the two broke the deadlock. The man turned his head to him, and in those orange eyes of his, all he saw was a promise of pain if he didn't obey. "I said go!" his eyes and voice then softened a margin as he said one last thing before returning his attention to the white-haired man. "And tell Haku I'm sorry for all the pain I've caused her."
Naruto was confused by the last request, but rushed off in the direction he saw Sasuke head regardless. The green eyes of the man bore into Konjyoyaki's orange. Both got into there own stances.
Konjyoyaki broke the silence. "You are a Kaguya, correct?" it was more of a statement then a question. The man nodded his head."Kaguya Kimimaro. And you would be?"
"You may call me Konjyoyaki." And with the pleasantries over, the two resumed their attack.
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Naruto had finally caught up to Sasuke. He was grasping at his head, seemingly in pain, in a clearing a few miles away from where the other fight was going on. He slowly approached the younger teen. "What's going on Sasuke? Why did you leave?"
The black-haired teen looked up, pain obvious in his dark eyes. "The voices. They won't stop. They keep pushing me on. Oh god, make them stop!" his voice was heavy and he began to sweat. Suddenly, power seemed to burst from him as he screamed in pain. He seemed to start to transform.
His skin took on a greyish tint, along with his hair. A black cross-like symbol appeared on his face, stretching from the top of his forehead to the bridge of his nose, and from cheek to cheek. The sclera of his eyes turned black as his Sharingan activated, though it was gold instead of crimson. And finally, from his back burst wings, in the shape of giant, webbed hands.
His scream of pain turned into a laugh of insanity. Naruto said one thing as the transformed teen flew towards him. "Why am I always fighting the crazies?"
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Back at the hospital, Zabuza was lying in his bed. He was wondering where Konjyoyaki was. He thought they had sort of reconnected, and was expecting him to at least visit. A thought came to mind at that moment. 'Bastard probably got kicked out for smoking.'
It was at that moment that the last person Zabuza expected to see walked in. Yagura had just finished the negotiation with his counterpart. Sure, he still had a few more meetings to smooth things over, but things were going rather nicely.
He was wondering the halls when he saw a certain swordsman lying in a bed. He decided to drop in. "Hey Zabuza." The Mizukage took a seat at the side of his bed. The injured man looked up.
"Mizukage-san? Why are you here?"
"Eh, I saw the door was open. I decided to drop in, see how you're doing."
"I see." Suddenly, Zabuza had an idea. "Hey, have you seen Konjyoyaki?"
Yagura seemed surprised by the question. "Hmm, I expected him to drop in on you. In that case, he's probably with his team."
"Yeah, probably." Zabuza agreed.
Suddenly, a voice ripped its way through his head. 'So, you really don't remember what I showed you, do you?'
'What do you mea-…' suddenly, it came back to him. Yagura quickly stood up, eyes wide. He ran out of the room, the shout of, "Shit!" carrying with him down the hall. Zabuza just wondered what the hell was going on.
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"Damn." That was all that Konjyoyaki could say as he fought Kimimaro. The Kaguya was obviously an accomplished kenjutsu specialist, and his Kekai Genkei was better suited for it, while he had more experience and his abilities did help him in the battle.
However, he had just fought Kisame a few hours earlier, and, if it weren't for his control, he would have run out of chakra a while ago. As it was, he was running on his last dregs and he couldn't make his blades as durable as usual.
It was obvious that he wasn't going to win in a straight-out fight. This battle would take more cunning. It was a blow that came at him that may have saved him. With a well-placed Kawarimi no jutsu, he appeared in the forest a few yards from his opponent.
Hiding behind a tree, he worked hard to control his breathing. It didn't help that years of smoking had ruined his lungs rather badly. He quickly found his pack and opened it. He was disappointed to see only a few cigarettes left. 'Shit. I need to end this fight.' He searched around in all his pockets, and, in the end, all he found was a chakra pill, a yard of wire, and a few smoke bombs.
In his head, he went through all the information he knew about his opponent. 'Let's see. He can control his bone density and form them into weaponry. All breaks will heal almost immediately. And, from the few hits I got in, he has a layer of bone armor under his skin.' Looking back at his items, his mind quickly worked on a plan. As risky as it was, it was his only option.
With a heavy sigh, he swallowed his resolve and the pill and did what he had to do.
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'Fuck!' Naruto was once again in pain and healing slowly. The transformed Sasuke stood over him, a maniacal grin on his face. 'Kyuubi, I could use some help.'
A loud roar made its way through his head. 'YOU IGNORANT PIECE OF SHIT! DID I NOT ADVISE YOU TO TRAIN?!?'
'That fight was only a day ago! How could I effectively train with you in that time frame?!?'
'That's not the point! If you had at least tried, I would have been more lenient. You disgust me and are on your own.' With that, the connection was broken, and Naruto's eyes widened as he felt his injuries stop healing. He was then batted across the field.
He lay there, motionless, the pain wracking his body making thinking straight neigh impossible, let alone movement. Sasuke saw this and moved in for the kill. Suddenly, he stopped and clenched his head in pain. "NO! I WON'T DO IT!"
'WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!? YOU'RE GIVING UP ULTIMATE POWER!'
'Your power isn't ultimate. It's not even yours.' in his head, a representation of Sasuke approached the transformed one.
'FOOL! YOU CAN'T DESTROY ME!'
Chains appeared from nowhere and tied up the transformed Sasuke. By now, the normal one was a few feet from him. 'It's my mind and mine alone. I can do anything I want here. I am Kami.' With that,he thrust his arm through his dark counterparts chest, as it screamed in pain. His body began to dissolve as Sasuke said one last thing before returning to the real world. 'I prefer my humanity, and I'll destroy who created you.'
Naruto watched as changes began to happen to Sasuke. His complexion returned to normal and seemed to glow with an internal light. His hair turned stark white and his eyes returned to normal, though his Sharingan was a luminescent blue. His wings began to bubble and sprout white feathers.
The transformation lasted for a few seconds before he returned to normal. He approached the downed blonde and began to speak. "Naruto, you need to trust me. As your best friend, I beg you to hear me out. I need to do this on my own, so don't follow me. I promise I will return one day, but until then, forget about me. Goodbye." And with that Sasuke continued on his way.
Naruto, as injured as he was, just lied there for a while. He finally attempted to move, and winced. He didn't stop though. He would prove that he didn't need accelerated healing, if only to himself. He would reach the village two days later to a few relieved people and some sad news.
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Konjyoyaki was finally prepared. He was in a tree a few feet behind his opponent. With a deep breath, he leapt towards him, creating a blade. Kimimaro turned and shot a few bone bullets from his fingers. Konjyoyaki tried to alter his course, but the projectiles hit his shoulder, resulting in a burst of smoke.
Kimimaro's eyes widened as he turned around. 'Kage bunshin?!?' he scanned the area around him as he searched for the real one. He never knew he died as his head rolled around on the ground and his body dropped, blood showering from his neck.
Konjyoyaki smirked. 'It worked.' What had exactly happened? Using the wire, Konjyoyaki had tied the smoke bombs to his arm, then, using the extra chakra gained from the pill, had created the strongest blade he could, allowing him to slice through the bone armor.
Now, here was a rather obscure fact. Smoke bombs were a rather powerful impact explosive when used in the right way. Konjyoyaki weakly looked down at the heavily bleeding stump that used to be his right arm. As he scanned the area, he couldn't find it anywhere.
Grasping his stump, Konjyoyaki made his way into the forest. He eventually found a river, where he knelt down to both clean out his wound and take a drink. He then flared his chakra, taxing his already strained reserves. It didn't take long for someone to find him.
"Konjyoyaki-san."
"Taiki." Sure enough, the man was slowly approaching him. He was looking at where his arm was supposed to be
"Don't worry, everything will be fine soon." Konjyoyaki's eyes narrowed at that. Taiki was the type that would freak out at seeing this. He barely moved in time as a knife slashed its way through the air. He wasn't fast enough, as the knife caught the right side of his face, more importantly, his right eye. He grunted in pain as the knife soon found itself in his liver.
He coughed up some blood as he leaned up against his killer. "You're not Taiki."
"Really? What gave it away? Truthfully, he's been dead for a few months now. In fact, it was around this spot that I killed him. Now isn't that ironic?" Taiki soon found himself going numb and looked down.
Through his stomach was a blade. Konjyoyaki then whispered in his ear. If I'm going down, you're coming with me." With that, both fell in the river and disappeared into the water's depths.
It was minutes later that Yagura arrived. He knelt down and punched the ground. 'Damnit! I was too slow!'
'When will you learn that you can't change the future?'
'Shut up. Damnit, I know a few people are going to be devastated by this. Might as well go tell them.'
With that he left. A couple hundred meters away, Zetsu emerged from a tree. "Hmm, this was the last place I felt his chakra." He looked around and, soon enough, spotted an arm. Upon closer inspection, he found a ring on its index finger. "Shit, the fucker died." "What a shame, he was a good friend." "And now he'll make a good meal. Part of him, anyway. Come on, we have to report this." Without another word, the man fazed into the ground with the last piece of evidence Konjyoyaki left behind.
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Oh my god, I killed Konjyoyaki… and Kimimaro… and Taiki… again. The truth is, this was his purpose from the start. I never intended for him to play such a big role. Oh well, one chapter left.
Next time… well I really don't want to give anything away, but you'll probably hate me. Also, sorry if I seem to make Naruto seem so under powered, but really, if you were immortal, wouldn't you be lazy and find no need to better yourself. Fear not. In the sequel, he will be more serious. Well, see ya in about two weeks.