INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the back to the Chronicles of the Seventh. As always I like to begin by stating that I do not own Naruto.

THANK YOU

A special thanks to those who reviewed my previous chapter: Diamond Man; xDARKNESS; FoxSage19; InARealPickle; airnaruto45; Kushina's Truth of Hell; charles cdv; MyHikari; ZeroTail29; Ryan L. Spradling; tdwtfan1899; theshreedshrew; The Flying Lion; hideki411; Sikai; hothead11; Sasuke K and SofiaCullen22

RESPONCES

Diamond Man - Ha! I told you had a few surprises up my sleeve! As for who survived read this chapter for those answers.

FoxSage19 - Great! That's exactly where I want you to stay till the end of my story.

InARealPickle - Bwhahahhahahaha! :D Er...oh!...sorry. I kinda let that slip. Anyway things are only going to get worse my friend!

airnaruto45 - Ok...wait...no. Lol! As they say: "Bonnes choses viennent a ceux qui attendent."

Kushina's - Well, we're all entitled to a bad day once an a while. And i'm glad you've stuck around so long. As for Sai, I find him to be a compelling character and I wanted to show some light on him as well. I'm glad things worked out so well as far as his reception. As for Sasuke and Naruto, they will have thier moment. Trust me.

charles cdv - Thanx

MyHikari - LMAO! No it's not about the KibaIno thing. I promise this was my plan for a long time. Sorry, I don't get the HP reference, I don't like that story.

As for "the Curse" I have...no comment...yet. Lol! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

ZeroTail29 - Thanx.

Ryan L. Spradling - Huh? Well...ya never know what I may do. Lol!

tdwtfan1899 - Naruto is already with Sakura. Please refer to chapter 22.

theshrewedshrew - Well, I do admit I am taking a few cues from the manga to formulate my story. But I have done this before. But i think you'll find as things go on that my war will be quite different in the end.

The Flying Lion - Well, it's nice to know you enjoyed the fight. But I never said it was over.

hideki411 - Thanx.

Sikai - Thanx. Hope you continue to enjoy.

hothead11 - Lol! Well, I'm glad you appriciate all the hard work and thought I put into the plotting and pacing of this story. And if you like that you should check out another ongoing fic i have for Bleach. It's on hiatus until I finish this one but I think you'll like it. As for the personalities of the characters one of the things that was most important to me at the beginning was showing older, more mature characters that still seem very close to canon. I think for the most part, I've nailed it so far. Sorry for the spelling errors. I re-read these chapters 3 times before releasing it but sometimes i miss one or two.

Sasuke K - I know the rapid scene change can be a bit problematic. But to me it's the best way to convey all the things that are happening simultaneaously.

SofiaCullen22 - Thanx.

MESSAGE FROM THE AUTHOR

Ok, so here is chapter 25. I hope you enjoy and please remember to leave a little review on your way out the door. Thanx!

******Konoha – Many years ago******

He can remember it like it was yesterday. In a dark, cavernous meeting hall far below the bustling streets of Konoha, where the ignorant masses went about their lives, unaware of the people and actions that went about around them for their safety, he found himself on one knee as his master, the one man he had been programmed to obey above all others, addressed him.

"I've arranged it so that you have been assigned to Team Kakashi," the old man said. "You're not just around the same age as Uzumaki Naruto; you're stronger than anyone in your generation in the village and more than anything…..your artistic mind is simply amazing. From this day on, until the mission is complete, your name…..is Sai."

And so it was, in this darkness, where is seemed only death could thrive, Sai was born. Before then, he was nothing but a number. Just another nameless face in a nameless crowd. He never knew his mother or father. Where they dead? Where they alive somewhere, believing their son dead? Was he even born of Konoha citizens? Was he kidnapped from some far away village? He didn't know. And to be honest, he couldn't remember the last time he even questioned it. It wasn't his job to question things. One of the first lessons he ever learned was "weapons don't ask questions." And that's all he was…a weapon. To be used and discarded at the whim of his master.

But it was a harsh lesson to learn. For it is a child's nature to ask why. And every time he did, he was punished….severely. It was one of the many memories he was glad to have blocked out. As was the tears. They were always bitter. To be child, dreaming of his mothers embrace. Or for a father to tell him things were going to be ok. Praying for someone, anyone to comfort him. Yet no one came. No one ever came. No one ever cared. He was alone. To them he wasn't a child. Or even a person. All he was to them was Root Cadet 732. It was a harsh existence. One without happiness or hope. For what would a weapon need with such meaningless things?

Other boys were there as well. All of them scared. All of them alone. With the only thing to look forward to was the work. The training. And the fear that the next training would finally kill you. None of the other kids talked to each other. Doing that would mean severe punishment. None of the other kids played with each other. Not that any of them even knew how to play any way.

For Cadet 732, this was life. He came to believe this is what life was for everyone. Until he met Cadet 649. Cadet 649 was a few years older than him but unlike the other children, he seemed unafraid of the punishment for speaking. Cadet 649 was the first one who noticed his artistic ability and gave him the confidence to improve upon it.

Art quickly became cadet 732's refuge. It was the one place where he could do something just for him. Art was his. Until, like all gifts a child was born with, it was taken and turned into a weapon. His gift, his refuge, was perverted just like everything else. And he hated them for it. Hate? Was that right? Hate? To be honest Cadet 732 wasn't sure if what he felt was hate but according to what the books he'd read had stated on the matter, what he felt was close enough.

Then, over a year later, Cadet 649 came to him with news. First he was given a name for use in the outside world, Shin. Then he was informed of the final test required to pass and become a full fledged member of Root. The test was to kill the person closest to him. And it was decided that that person, was Cadet 732.

But before this was to ever happen, Shin was killed during a mission. From that day, what ever little light there was within him died. And with all things that was once his now gone; he truly became a tool of Root. That was, of course, until that day. When he was given his name and his mission. When he met the idiot savant, Uzumaki Naruto. Everything Naruto did, every way he acted seemed so illogical and against everything Sai had been taught. Naruto was reckless, didn't think, he was far too emotional and cared about things a ninja should not.

He was….so much like Shin. And that, for the first time since he could remember, made him smile. So Sai decided to go against his training and everything he'd been taught. He began to care about people and want to make friends. He wanted bonds and to smile. And in time, he had come to care about his comrades. And they cared for him, until of course; Danzo decided to revolt and took the title of Hokage by force.

At first Sai wanted to fight back. He wanted to do what ever he could to stop Danzo. But Tsunade came to him with another idea. Sai was trusted by Danzo. Sai was on the inside. He could be the perfect person to get the information necessary to bring Danzo down. So Sai agreed. Anything to stop Danzo, he thought. Even if it meant being hated by the very people he'd come to care for. So he chose to be shunned by his friends. He chose to be alone. Again.

But this time, he had more than just some mere mission, he had a purpose. A purpose far greater than himself. And knowing that comforted him during those lonely days and nights. He was no longer a tool for Danzo, but for his friends, for Konoha, for Naruto.

His purpose was to fight for his comrades. And now, those comrades were burning below him. He could smell their flesh as it turned to ash. He could feel the heat of the flames that rose from carnage below him. It felt like he had betrayed and failed his purpose. And more importantly, he had failed all who believed in him. And the very man responsible for it stood laughing as he admired his work.

It was then Sai felt something he hadn't felt in years. It was then he knew that what he had felt all those years ago was indeed hate, because he felt it now. For the first time in years, the emotionless blade, felt rage.

Naruto: Chronicles of the Seventh

Book III: End of Innocence

Chapter XXV: Rage of the Emotionless Blade

******Land of Fire – Now******

Suigetsu laughed as he stared down at the massive fires and destruction far below. He had just implemented the ingenious trap thought up by Madara. Several weeks before the beginning of this mission, Madara had sent several ninja into the Land of Fire covertly and under the cover of night created a large hill which would mask the large explosive tag that Madara had created.

And things had gone off smoothly. Konoha had just suffered a crippling attack and all that was sacrificed as a few hundred of their own soldiers. Not a bad loss at all. Now there was one more task to be done. Suigetsu turned, lifting his blade. It was now time for the Great Beheader to prove its name.

Suigetsu turned and saw Sai kneeling down and staring at the ground. "I guess you have no more fight left in you huh," Suigetsu said as he walked up to him. "That's fine then. Let's end it I guess." He placed his blade over Sai'd head and lowered it so that his head passed through the hole in the center of the sword. It was then Sai finally raised his head so that his eyes could meet Suigetsu's. There was a look in his eyes that Suigetsu had seen before many times. Blind Rage. It amused Suigetsu however. To this point, this bastard's face was always the same. He never showed fear, surprise, sadness or even pain. It was like fighting a living statue. Finally, he could see some emotion on his face. Now he was going to carve it off.

"Wow," Suigetsu said. "It looks like you're pretty upset huh? Are you going to give me some boring speech now about how you're going to kill me?"

Sai glared at Suigetsu. His eyes were as black as coal with only the light of the flames reflecting in his eyes. "No," Sai said. "No speeches. The only thing I want to do….is make you hurt."

"Tch," Suigetsu said. "Just die!" Suigetsu pulled on his Kubikiribocho slicing cleanly through Sai's neck and his head flew into the sky. But much to Suigetsu's surprise, Sai's head and body turned to ink and the ink landed in Suigetsu's face, blinding him.

Sai then appeared behind him and sliced Suigetsu in the shoulder, burying his tanto deep into his flesh and shoulder bone causing Suigetsu to scream in pain and swing out behind him. Sai dodged the attack and seemed to disappear. "Damn you," Suigetsu yelled has he tried to locate Sai through his blurred vision.

Sai then appeared in the air above him and swung his tanto down at Suigetsu's head but Suigetsu quickly raised his sword and blocked the attack. Sai disappeared again, shocking Suigetsu. His speed, Suigetsu thought as Sai appeared to his left. Again Suigetsu moved his blade to block the attack but this time Sai was too fast, slicing Suigetsu in the side of his chest.

Before Suigetsu could react, Sai appeared below him and sliced him in the stomach. If not for the armor Suigetsu was wearing he would have been disemboweled on the spot.

Enraged, Suigetsu blindly began to swing his sword and cut Sai deeply across the chest, forcing him back. Sai used his free hand to cover the wound as he fell to one knee. He was hurt badly and his previous wound had reopened as well.

But Suigetsu was now similarly hurt and was staggering back and forth as his legs threatened to give way. Finally, Suigetsu got the ink out of his eyes and screamed, "That's it you son of a bitch! I see you now! I was going to kill you quick but now I'm going to hack you up!"

Suigetsu sprinted towards Sai, howling like a wild beast at Sai. Sai quickly got to his feet and ducked under Suigetsu's attack. But Suigetsu was ready for that. He quickly enlarged his free hand and punched Sai in the chest with a massive amount of force, knocking him back and sliding across the metal floor.

Suigetsu, wasted no time, sprinting towards Sai again, intent on finishing things with the next blow. Sai rolled backwards and on to his feet and readied his tanto. He removed two smoke bombs from his belt and threw them to the ground. They exploded, causing a massive amount of smoke to blind Suigetsu.

Suigetsu swung his blade, hoping to catch Sai but he was already gone. He then suddenly felt as though something was grabbing him from below. As the smoke cleared Suigetsu saw he was standing in a small puddle of ink. And out of the puddle were dozens of ink snakes rising out and wrapping themselves around him. Suigetsu looked up to see Sai, slowly limping towards his special scroll.

"You pasty bastard," Suigetsu yelled after Sai. "You think this can hold me you dumb fuck?"

Sai ignored him as he picked up the scroll with his blood stained hand. He quickly began to draw as Suigetsu cut through Sai's trap. Finally he was free and grinned as he raised his blade and ran towards Sai again. "No more tricks this time," he yelled. "Now you're mine!"

Sai was forced to dodge the attack and accidentally let go of the scroll causing it to fall over the side of the shuriken. The pain became too great for him and it forced him to trip and fall backwards and he then came face to face with Suigetsu's sword. "Well," Suigetsu said as he stood over him. "This is it. It's over now Pasty."

Suddenly Suigetsu noticed that the entire area became covered in an inky blackness. He lowered his sword as he looked around in amazement. It seemed like they were now encased in a dome made of Sai's ink. And then a large figure rose up from the side of the launcher.

It was impossibly tall, easily several stories taller than even the launcher they were standing on. Its skin was made of the very ink Sai used and its eyes glowed yellow and was menacing. It was a thin, human looking male with waist-length, black hair, four arms and one sword in each hand. The two on the left seemed to burn with ink colored flame while the other two seemed to crackle with electricity.

"My ultimate art," Sai said. "Futsu-Nushi-no-Kami, the God of War." Suigetsu turned back to Sai who had disappeared. The great deity then sliced down with its flame of blades at the stunned Suigetsu who quickly tried the leap clear. The flames burned him as the blow landed and though he had dodged the attacks the force of the hit took him off his feet and caused him to drop his sword.

Suigetsu looked up with a look of pure terror on his face as Futsu-Nushi-no-Kami's other swords came crashing down. I only have one chance, Suigetsu thought as the blade came crashing down and Suigetsu screamed in pain.

A moment later the dome of ink broke and the ink fell to the earth far below. The Deity too was gone and only Sai remained. Sai stood motionless as he looked up at the sun. It was almost noon and the sun was almost directly overhead.

Sai looked over to where Tsume and Kuromaru's bodies where and they were gone. He could see streaks of blood and knew they had dragged themselves away and most likely climbed down the launcher during his fight. Good, he thought. Futsu-Nushi-no-Kami would have killed them too if they had remained. Sai began to walk to the edge of the shuriken and he looked down at his wounds. Both were leaking blood profusely and he knew he had little time left.

It was then he heard a familiar laughter coming from behind him. Sai looked back, showing no sign of shock, to see Suigetsu standing behind him. His armor and clothes were nearly completely burned away and he had horrible burns and scars on his skin and he was barely holding on to his sword. "Nice….hah….try…hah," he said. "But Lighting can be absorbed by water. All…..I had to do….was transform."

Sai looked away and stared at the damage far below. "I know that," he said.

"What," Suigetsu asked.

"I said I knew that," Sai responded. "I knew you would transform to water. I planned on it."

"You planned to fail," Suigetsu asked as he lifted his sword.

"The ink I used has an explosive in it remember," Sai said. "And like you said. You were able to absorb it."

Suigetsu's eyes widened as the realization of what that meant dawned on him. He quickly tried to run after Sai to cut him down. But absorbing the attack had weakened him to the point where he could barely run. "Damn you," he said. "You Pasty fuck!"

"Sai," Sai said as he looked back at Suigetsu with a false smile. "My name is Sai."

Sai made the hand sign and Suigetsu's body exploded with such force it launched his Kubikiribocho high in the sky. Sai closed his eyes as the water Suigetsu was made of rained down upon him. Suigetsu's sword finally hit the ground, clanging as the two metals struck each other giving things a sense of finality.

Sai opened his eyes and looked out across the blue sky. "My name is Sai," he whispered before he collapsed.

******Meanwhile******

Yamato moaned as he held the small knot on his head. He slowly got to his feet and helped Shino up. "Are you alright," he asked.

"Yes," Shino answered. "What was that?"

"Some sort of explosion," Yamato answered before looking out and seeing the destruction far below. Both men stared dumbfounded. "Oh no," Yamato whispered. "That was the trap he was talking about. Some sort of bomb."

"What do we do," Shino asked.

"We should head down and see if there are any survivors," Yamato responded. Just then they heard a deep, animal-like growl come from behind them. There was fire and smoke behind them from the explosive tag they had planted and in the center of it they could see a large, hulking figure. As it stepped out of the smoke they were startled at what they saw.

They knew it was the ninja they were facing before, but now he looked completely different. His entire skin had turned dark grey and various added appendages protruded from his back, arms and face. His eyes were yellow and black and he had a feral, deranged look to him. "I am going to devour you both," he screamed. "I am going to rip your limbs off one by one and feed them to you!" Jugo then slammed both his fists into the ground causing the entire launcher to shake violently.

Yamato and Shino looked on in horror at Jugo's raw strength and were surprised to see the large shuriken they were all standing on began to crack. Jugo again, slammed his fists into the ground and that was enough to split the shuriken in two and the entire launcher began to collapse.

Yamato and Shino began to fall and Yamato quickly grabbed Shino and yelled, "Hold on!" He made several hand signs and a large tree began to sprout up from the ground far blow. The rubble from the launcher began slamming and cutting into the branches, forcing Yamato to force the tree to continue growing and both he and Shino reached out to grab branches to slow their fall.

Finally, both men landed on the ground and saw they were surrounded by rubble, broken large shurikens and flames. Then they saw Jugo atop the rubble. "Break you," he yelled. "I am going to rip you both apart!"

******Meanwhile******

Naruto's clone dug himself out of the rubble and coughed as it looked around in shock. All there was as far as the eye could see was death and destruction. As it got to its feet it felt a sudden tremor within it. Damn, it thought. I'm almost out of chakra. I'll disappear soon.

The other clone had succumbed to the explosion and had disappeared. This clone began to walk around desperately hoping to find someone alive. As he made his way around he could see the bodies of Konoha and Akatsuki ninja everywhere. None were alive. It was then he saw movement and he rushed over. There was a body pinned under a fallen tree and as Naruto got closer he recognized the person. It was the young boy, Katsu.

The clone lifted the tree off of him and quickly kneeled beside him. "Katsu," he yelled as he looked at the boy. Both his legs were broken and horribly twisted and blood was trickling out of his ears and nose. He was gasping for breath and was clearly trying to talk.

"It's alright," Naruto said as he tried to comfort him. "Don't talk. It's going to be ok." Naruto began to look around and desperately began to yell, "Help! Can anyone hear me! Help!"

Naruto looked down at Katsu who raised his hand weakly as if he were reaching, pleading for help. Naruto began to tear up as he again desperately looked around for someone to help him. "Please," he pleaded. "Someone! Anyone! Please!" He then heard Katsu made a gurgling noise and he went limp and Naruto knew it was too late. Naruto remained silent as he stared into Katsu's now vacant eyes. It was then he heard Shikaku's voice calling out to him.

Shikaku, leaning on Choza's arm for support came up. They were both bloodied and dirty. Behind them were about two dozen ninja, including Choji, Konohamru, Iruka and Guy. Everyone was injured from minor to severe. "There you are," Shikaku said. "Here I thought both of your clones would have been destroyed." As they finally arrived and saw the young boy, everyone grew silent.

Naruto remained frozen, staring at Katsu. "As long as we live, we have hope," Naruto said. "Those were the words I said to him. And now, what hope does he have? I failed him."

Iruka limped up and kneeled next to Naruto and said, "Naruto, true hope come when things are at their worst. You can't give up now." Naruto slowly closed Katsu's eyes and remained silent. In the background they could hear the voices of other Konoha ninja who were arriving. Many were from the medical division. And they quickly began to treat as many as they could.

Shikaku said, "Don't treat us here. There could be enemies nearby. We need to move back!" Just then they heard a massive explosion and saw one of the launchers crumble. As it finally fell, Naruto, with a look of determination rose to his feet and began to walk towards it.

"Naruto," Iruka asked. "Where are you going?"

"To fight," he said. "As long as there is hope, we can fight."

******Meanwhile******

Shino's body slammed into a large nearby boulder. He quickly grabbed his chest in pain. He knew at least two of his ribs were now broken. He then saw a shadow over him and as he looked up he saw Jugo in the sky. His right arm was now even larger with a piston where his elbow should be. Jugo was falling right over Shino, ready to strike.

Shino moved as quickly as he could, leaning out of the way. "Argh," Jugo yelled as his arm crashed through the large boulder Shino was leaning on. The force of the blow was like a miniature explosion with threw Shino to the ground.

Shino raised his hand and a mass of bugs flew out of his sleeve and covered Jugo. Jugo began to swing at them and yelled, "Get these things off of me!" he then stopped and stared at Shino through the mass of bugs and growled. Again he screamed and released a massive amount of chakra, incinerating the bugs. Jugo began to slowly walk towards Shino when he was struck by a miniature landslide that threw him into a pile of nearby rocks and rubble. Shino looked around to see Yamato.

He was gasping for breath and terribly injured. His left arm was clearly broken and his legs were shaking. "Get….up…Shino," he said. "We need to come up with something to stop this guy." Shino got to his feet and made his way next to Yamato. Just then they heard movement coming from the pile of rubble and then Jugo broke free, sending rocks and dirt flying into the sky.

"Shino, how many more bugs do you have," Yamato asked.

"Several thousand," Shino responded.

"Our only shot is to reduce his chakra down more," Yamato said. "Have them ready when I tell you understand!"

Jugo sprinted towards them, both his arms now transformed into large rams with jets protruding from the upper shoulder. Yamato then said, "Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!" His arm then transformed into trees and then they began to extend, forming many razor sharp branches.

Jugo stopped and was forced to back away as the branches continued to stretch towards him. He began to punch the branches, breaking them, but more continued to take their place. Finally one broke through his defenses and stabbed him in the upper right shoulder. "Argh," he screamed as he punched the branch to break it. He then pulled the large, sharp end out of his shoulder and dropped it to the ground.

"Gotcha," Yamato yelled as he stopped his jutsu and made several more hand signs and slammed his hand to the wall. "Wood Release: Four Pillars Prison Technique."

Four large walls made of incredibly thick wood rose out of the ground surrounding Jugo and quickly encased him. "Alright Shino," Yamato said. "I left a small hole for your bugs to get through. Send them in there to drain his chakra. And hurry, this technique won't hold him for long."

Shino raised his sleeves and a large mass of bugs flew out and into the prison. Yamato and Shino could hear Jugo screaming and beating against the walls. Each time Jugo punched the walls they would reverberate and little cracks would appear.

"He's weakening but not fast enough," Yamato said. "Alright Shino call your bugs back. I planted explosive tags on the ground where he's standing before this."

Shino called the bugs out and once gone Yamato activated the bombs and the entire wooden prison shook from the severity of the blasts. Once the explosions stopped there was nothing but silence. "Did we do it," Shino asked.

Suddenly they could hear a massive banging against one side of the prison. Again and again they heard the banging, until finally the prison collapsed and broke apart. "Kill you," Jugo yelled as he stepped out of the rubble. Jugo was badly wounded with many deep burns on his face body and legs. His clothes were tattered and singed and he stank of burned flesh.

"Impossible," Shino said as he and Yamato stared in disbelief.

"Kill you," Jugo screamed. "I'll kill you both!" Suddenly Jugo moaned weakly and fell to one knee.

"He's weakened," Yamato yelled. "We need to finish him off now." Yamato and Shino each drew a kunai and ran towards Jugo who struggled to his feet. A large wing with talons grew from Jugo's back and blocked Shino's strike as he transformed his left arm into an axe and sliced Yamato across the chest.

Just as Jugo got to his feet a sword was stabbed into his back and came right through the other side. Jugo stared in shock before turning to see Ibiki behind him. "Time to die you bastard," he said as he pushed the sword deeper into Jugo.

Jugo roared and the next wing grew from his back, knocking Ibiki away and slicing his arm. Ibiki crashed to the floor and grabbed his injured arm. Jugo tried to reach back to pull the sword out but couldn't reach it and screamed out of frustration.

He then raised his arm, ready to slice Ibiki in half, when he was kicked in the side of the head and was thrown into a pile of rocks. Everyone looked up to see that it was Naruto. I don't have much chakra in this clone left, Naruto thought to himself. I was planning to come up here to destroy that last launcher but I may have to use the last of my energy on this guy.

Jugo got to his feet slowly. Naruto could tell he was weakened. "Guys," Naruto said. "I don't have much chakra left. I can create one Rasengan. But I need you to keep him occupied long enough."

"Right," Yamato said as he, Ibiki and Shino stood by Naruto. "We'll do our best."

Naruto's clone began to focus his energy into his palm as Ibiki, Yamato and Shino each picked up any knife or sword they could find scattered about. Once armed they each sprinted at Jugo from different sides.

Jugo began to dodge and block each and every attack. He's not transforming his body anymore, Yamato thought. His chakra must be too low to do it. We can do this!

Shino was finally able to land an attack, stabbing Jugo in his side. Jugo punched Shino in the side of the head and launched his body back. Preoccupied with Shino and slowed by his injuries, Jugo wasn't fast enough to block Ibiki, who was able to stab him in his shoulder, inches from his heart.

And Yamato was able to stab Jugo in the back with a large kunai. Truly enraged and desperate, Jugo stretched out his wings and swung them around wildly as he screamed. The razor sharp talons on the wings slashed into Yamato and Ibiki, forcing them both back.

Again Jugo fell to one knee as he fought through the pain, his vision was becoming blurry and at the very edges of his vision, darkness was setting in. It was at that point he caught the hint of a light. He then looked up to see Naruto standing several yards away with a ball of glowing energy in his hand.

Jugo forced himself to his feet. He could feel the heat of his anger boiling in his head. As always, in this time, all he could think about was killing and causing pain. He wanted others to feel the same pain he felt when his own parents discarded him as a child; the pain of being spat upon and hunted as a monster. For years he did his best to never show his pain, to try to be happy when deep down he wasn't.

For years he forced the pain away, never acknowledged it and tried to ignore it. Until one day, as another mob set upon him to destroy him, he finally snapped. He doesn't remember what he did to them; he can never fully remember what happens when he loses control. All he remembers was waking up in a pool of their blood, surrounded by severed body parts and heads. It was on that day Jugo of the Scales was born and he forced to live his life in seclusion. From that day, he never again knew peace.

But as the enraged beast stared at the spinning ball of energy, he felt warmth coming from within it. There was a peacefulness he could see within the glowing torrent of wind and chakra. And as Jugo sprinted at Naruto and Naruto ran towards him, he could feel a sense of calm enveloping him. And just as he leapt at Naruto, ready to strike, he suddenly knew where he belonged.

"Rasengan," Naruto yelled as his attack slammed into Jugo's chest. Jugo screamed as the power caved his chest in and launched him back into a large boulder. Jugo's body crumpled to the floor and lay motionless.

Naruto stood as he watched Jugo as Shino limped up to him. Yamato was leaning on Ibiki as they came up as well. "You did it," Yamato said as he sighed in relief. "You beat him."

"No," Naruto said. "I didn't. He had me. He was fast enough to cut my head off with that axe. But at the last minute, he stopped." Naruto then looked at his hands and saw they were beginning to fade. That's it, he thought. This clone body is out of chakra. He then walked up to Jugo and saw he was still alive but his skin was no longer grey and his eyes no longer like an animal. He just looked like a normal man, with a peaceful smile on his face.

Jugo sat still, his body broken. He looked up to see Naruto standing there. "You have to stop him," Jugo said as a small bird flew and landed on his finger. Jugo smiled at it and then said, "His anger will see this entire world in darkness. You have to stop Sasuke. He's lost his way. There is no way back."

"Why didn't you stop him if you knew what he was doing was wrong," Naruto asked.

"I was too weak," Jugo said as blood poured from his mouth. "He was one of my only friends. It was a bond I never wanted to break. So I followed him. I….I went against what my heart told me because I wanted that bond. I….I know what you are to him. Don't make the same mistake I did."

Jugo watched the bird until it finally flew away and then he looked at Naruto and said, "Thank you." Jugo then closed his eyes and died.

Naruto then turned to the others and said, "You guys should get out of here. You're hurt and need medical attention." Naruto's clone then disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Just then, one of Shino's few surviving bugs returned and landed on his hand. Shino looked at it for a moment before saying, "There is a large Akatsuki force headed this way. Thousands of them. They're about a mile back."

"Damn," Yamato said. "They were holding back the majority of their forces the entire time. We have to get down the hill and warn everyone to retreat and regroup. C'mon!"

Ibiki, Yamato and Shino then slowly made their way down the hill. They could see movement at the base and they were happy that there were at least some survivors.

As they continued their descent Yamato looked to the remaining launcher and stopped. "You two go on," he said. "I'll be right behind you."

"Are you sure," Ibiki responded.

Yamato nodded and walked away. A few minutes later he reached the base of the massive launcher. He could see a large streak of blood as if something was being dragged as he walked around he found Tsume sitting up against the launcher. Kuromaru was there sitting next to her as she scratched his head. She was pale and seemed very weak.

"Tsume," Yamato yelled as he ran up. "You're alive! Great! C'mon, I'll help you down to safety!"

Tsume laughed and opened her flak jacket revealing the large wound. Her entire chest was soaked in blood. "Sorry Tai-cho," she said. "My mission ends here."

"Tsume I can get you medical attention," he said desperately.

"It's too late and you know it," Tsume said with a smile. "But there is one thing I can do. I covered this thing here with enough explosives to level this entire hill. The least I can do is take some of those bastards with me."

"Tsume," Yamato said sadly.

"Ah don't look at me like that you dumbass," she said. "Just hurry up and go before the enemy gets here or else I'll have to blow you're ass up too. But you should go and get Sai first. He may still be alive." Yamato hesitated. "Didn't you hear me," Tsume said. She coughed several time. And with each cough blood spurt from her wound. "Get going!"

Yamato took a deep breath, nodded and turned away and began to walk. "Do me one favor," she said. "Tell my kids that I love them. And tell Hana….she leads the pack now."

Yamato looked back and said, "I will. Thank you Tsume-chan" He then turned and left.

Tsume scratched Kuromaru's head and said, "You should go too. You're wounds can be healed."

Kuromaru remained motionless. He looked up and said, "A Ninja Dog must remain with its companion through to the end Tsume-chan. What kind of companion would I be if I abandoned you now?"

Tsume laughed, causing her to cough more blood. "You really are a stupid dog Kuromaru." Tsume's smile faded and she said, "Thank you." Kuromaru didn't answer. Both Tsume and Kuromaru sat in silence for a long time until Tsume's eyes closed.

She wasn't sure how long she was asleep, she wasn't even sure if she was still alive, until she heard Kuromaru growl and bark. Tsume opened her eyes and saw she was surrounded by hundreds of Akatsuki ninja with hundreds, perhaps thousands more passing by, marching towards Konoha.

Kuromaru barked and lunged at the closest one. The ninja sidestepped the attack and drew a spear from his back and stabbed Kuromaru, pinning him down to the ground. Kuromaru yelped in pain and fell motionless, staring at Tsume.

Another ninja drew a sword and walked up to Tsume but was waived back by yet another ninja who walked up and kneeled next to her. "You are about to die," he said. "I don't think there is anything I can say to convince you to give us any information about your comrades huh?"

Tsume's gaze remained transfixed on Kuromaru who stared at her as he slowly died. "Go to hell," Tsume said.

The ninja laughed and said, "It won't matter either way. The power of Akatsuki is infinite. All of your comrades will die."

Tsume smiled at Kuromaru and then looked at the ninja. "Akatsuki will be destroyed because it's full of people like you. People who can't see the truth even when it's right in front of them."

"And what truth would that be," the man asked with a smirk. It was then the man noticed an explosive tag next to Tsume's head and then another and another. He then looked up to see that the entire launcher was covered in dozens of them.

Tsume smiled and said, "The Will of Fire can never be extinguished you son of a bitch."

The ninja tried to run but he and hundreds of his men were suddenly engulfed in light.

******Meanwhile – Elsewhere******

Hana was making her way through the forest with her three canine companions when they stopped and began to howl mournfully. Hana stood in silence as they howled and before she could question them she heard more howls coming from all parts of the woods. Every canine companion of the Inuzuka clan began to howl in mourning. At that point Hana knew, and bowed her head in silence.

While dozens of miles away, in the hospital in Konoha, Akamaru sat beside Kiba's bed. He sat up and began to howl which woke Kiba up. "Hmm, Akamaru," he said groggily. "What are you…?" Suddenly Kiba was silent as he heard the mournful howl. And in the distance he could hear other dogs howling as well.

Kiba looked down at his legs and placed his hand over his face to force back the tears that began to flow. But there was no point to it as he began to cry pitifully. He cried because he knew. He mourned as Akamaru now mourned.

The leader of the pack has fallen.

End of Chapter Twenty Five

Next Time: Destiny of the Hyuga

"Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of thier minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity..."

The Curse...is coming.