A Brother's Return

Ch. 23

Speaking: normal

Thoughts, flashbacks, com-link, and notes: italicized

Jutsus, summons, Witch language, demons: bold

Summons's and demon's thoughts, ect…: bold italicized

(): author speaking

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Lee would be able to use Ninjutsu.

Sakura and Sasuke were indeed surprised. Never in their wildest dreams did they think Naruto would ever request for their deaths. Sakura took a shaky step forward and said, "How could you do something so heartless? I thought we were your friends!"

Naruto scoffed as he spat on the ground. "I thought I made it clear that I was never friends with either of you. To be quite honest, the two of you are a disgrace to Konoha and should never have been allowed to become shinobi."

He then turned his attention over to Sasuke and began drawing on Kurama's chakra. "Take off that hitai-ate, Uchiha. A power-hungry, traitorous bastard like you has no right to wear the symbol of Konoha!"

Sasuke arrogantly smirked as he said, "Don't speak to me as if you're better than me. Everyone knows that it was the Uchiha who helped create Konoha."

Naruto tapped his hitai-ate before pulling out a kunai. "That may be true, but what you don't know is that the symbol of Konoha was a gift from Uzushio. I refuse to let you traitorous bastards disgrace my legacy by wearing those headbands."

Sasuke scoffed as he pulled out a pair of shuriken. "You should consider this as a privilege, dobe. I'm only wearing this because I've decided to acknowledge you as a worthy opponent. In truth, you are actually the closest thing to a friend and rival that I've ever had."

Naruto activated his Rinnegan as he began to walk on the air in Sasuke's direction. "You are neither my friend or worthy of being called my equal, Uchiha. In my eyes, you are nothing but a rabid animal that needs to be put down. Even if you do manage to kill me, and I promise you that you will never get the chance, you won't gain the Mangekyou Sharingan."

Sasuke gasped as his eyes widened in shock. He never would've guessed that Naruto knew the secret behind the Mangekyou Sharingan. "Dobe, how exactly do you know about the secrets of the Sharingan? Someone outside of the Uchiha Clan shouldn't have that kind of knowledge."

"Oh, spare me your elitist bullshit," Naruto countered. "We of the Uzumaki Clan are the record keepers of time. That being said, I'm about to erase you two from the annals of history. Hinata-chan…"

Hinata gave an unnerving smirk as her boyfriend called her name. "Do I finally get to kill the harpy, Naruto-kun? You promised that I would get to put her out of my misery."

Naruto blew Hinata a kiss before saying, "I never go back on my promises, Hinata-chan. Just be sure to leave her head in one piece so I can take it back to her bitch of a mother."

As Hinata advanced on her target, Naruto continued his walk over to Sasuke. "In order to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan, a friendship has to have been mutual. All I feel for you is contempt, loathing, and a deep-seated hatred. It's time to face the cold reality of life, Sasuke-teme. You don't have any friends and you will die here without anyone missing you."

Kirigakure~

Mei Terumi kept a blank face as she stared at the man before her. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't melt you for selling us out to Yagura," she said with no amusement.

Zabuza groaned as he said, "Mei-chan, I'm not the one who spoke to Yagura. It was that idiot Kisame who sold us out."

Mei scoffed as she twirled a strand of her hair. "Give me one good reason as to why I should believe anything you say, Zabuza Momochi."

Suddenly, a familiar voice said, "You should believe him because it really was me who went to Yagura."

The rebel army turned around to see Kisame standing directly behind them. "Mei-senpai, Zabuza is innocent in all of this. The blame lies with me and me alone in the disaster that happened. Still, there's a piece of the puzzle that you're missing."

Choujiro, Mei's personal guard, sneered as he gripped Hiramekarei's handle. "You sold us out to that tyrant, framed Zabuza-senpai, and nearly crippled the rebellion! I personally don't want to hear another damned word come out of your mouth!"

Ao, Mei's second guard, whistled in both awe and shock at Choujiro's bold demeanor. "Well, color me impressed. I didn't think he could be that outgoing."

Mei nodded and replied, "Still, something tells me that Kisame knows something that I should hear. Choujiro-kun, stand down and let him speak."

Instead of simply doing as he was asked, Choujiro pulled the large blade from his back. "Not this time, Mei-sama. Kisame's betrayal dealt us a heavy blow. I think that removing his head and mounting it on a pike is a more than fair punishment!"

However, everyone was forced to their knees as a heavy dosage of KI flooded over them. Zabuza grunted out a laugh as he said, "It looks like Yamikage-sama wanted to personally make sure I got the message out about Yagura. Mei-chan, when this pressure lifts, stay exactly where you are. My new boss only does that when he's seriously pissed off."

A young but hard voice quickly said, "I'm glad you remembered that, Zabuza-san. Now, someone tell me why I'm not going to kick everyone else's asses today before I change my mind."

When the pressure lifted, everyone turned to see a white-haired Cairo in his Kage robes and hat. Ao laughed and said, "Listen kid, go back to the playground and let your elders handle things here."

Zabuza turned to Mei and said, "Shut him up before my boss decides to kill him. Yamikage-sama is not one to be taken lightly and doesn't tolerate when people insult his age."

Mei Terumi almost doubled over in shock when Zabuza announced Cairo as the Yamikage. She wasted no time in saying, "Ao, shut up before I kill you. You're in the presence of a Kage and should act with some professionalism."

She then turned her attention to Cairo and said, "I apologize for what just transpired, Yamikage-sama. I am the rebel leader, Mei Terumi. The moron I'm about to kill is one of my personal guards, Ao."

Cairo held up a hand to stop her. "I already know about everyone here, Mei-taichō. After all, my spy network runs deeper than Jiraiya's own. Plus, your boyfriend is one of my Anbu."

Before Zabuza could reply, Haku elbowed him to remind him that Cairo wasn't finished talking. The Yamikage turned to Choujiro and said, "I can't let you kill Kisame. While it is true that he sold you out, he only did it because he was lied to by a man named Madara Uchiha."

Kagegakure~

Dylan Wesker was looking over the charts of his two sedated patients. His first patient, Kimimaro Kaguya, was suffering from a disease that was slowly killing him. His second patient, Rock Lee, was born with an illness that deteriorated his chakra coils to the point of not being able to use it outside of his body.

The teenager sighed as he made seven clones and began moving them into position. "Why does Cairo-sama always drop these simple cases on me? I ask for a challenge and he gives me something that I could literally do in my sleep. Oh well, I'm just glad that I'm getting paid for this."

Otogakure~

Kabuto paced his room as he waited for the results of the blood tests. While he had already known and confirmed that Karin was an Uzumaki, he still had to wait on Tayuya's test results to come in. "It's these kinds of days that make me wish I weren't in the medical field. Cairo-sama asked me if I wanted to be a combat shinobi and I said no," grumbled Kabuto. "I must've been diseased with a severe case of stupid."

He then smirked as he remembered the other order that was given to him. Cairo had ordered him to stall for enough time to force Orochimaru to take on a different host. The Yamikage had also been smart enough to have Guren out of the way so that Orochimaru didn't try to use her as his next body.

Speaking of Guren, Kabuto needed to make sure that she knew that her time in Oto was rapidly ending. Cairo had made it clear that the two of them would be escaping Oto under the guise of a kidnapping. The only real problem would be in the act of the actual rescue.

While it was true that Cairo was powerful, not even he could just waltz…right…in…

"Stop the presses," Kabuto slyly thought. "That actually might be the best course of action. Now, let's go check in on Dylan and his patients."

Kiri~

Cairo casually strolled forward and stopped in front of Choujiro. "So, you're the new wielder of Hiramekarei. I must politely ask that you step away from Kisame. He has a specific task to perform for me and won't be able to do that if he's dead."

Choujiro gave Cairo a dark look as he gripped the blade's handle even tighter. "I don't know or give a damn about who you are or think you are. If you're going to try and protect that traitor, you can die with him."

Cairo smirked as he snapped his fingers. In only a mere second, Choujiro was surrounded by three members of Cairo's personal guard. Jade pushed the tip of her Sai into Choujiro's throat and said, "Be lucky that it's us holding you in place. If it were anyone else on our team, your blood would be painting the ground right now."

Cairo slowly turned to Mei and gestured a hand to her guard. "Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't have him torn to ribbons. After all, threatening a Kage is a highly offensive act and I have very little patience at the moment."

Zabuza tensed as his boss looked Mei in the eye. He had known Cairo long enough to know that if someone didn't provide a decent answer; Choujiro wouldn't be left in enough pieces to even cremate.

With a heavy sigh, Zabuza quickly said, "Cairo-sama, killing him won't solve the current situation with the rebellion. We'll still have to deal with Yagura and we need every ninja we can spare."

Cairo took one look at Choujiro and said, "Zabuza wants me to show you mercy. Therefore, I will say it again. Lower your weapon or I will personally erase you from the records of time."

Almost instantly, Zabuza's eyes widened in shock. The last time Cairo had ever said that to anyone was when a group of thugs tried to kidnap Starfire. He quickly turned to Choujiro and shouted, "Drop the damned sword, you idiot! He's a master of Jikukan Ninjutsu and he really can keep good on his promise!"

Final Valley~

Sasuke took the initiative by lobbing a hail of kunai at Naruto. Sadly for him, the kunai all bounced off of some transparent bubble-like barrier. The Uzumaki smirked and said, "You'll have to do a lot better than that to beat me, Sasuke-teme. After all, you're currently fighting to keep your life intact."

Naruto then made a string of handsigns and shouted, "Ninpo: Kuchiyōse no jutsu!"

From inside the smoke, Naruto had summoned a large wolf that howled once before transforming into an o-katana. Naruto twirled the blade in his hand and pointed it at Sasuke. "Now you will be torn apart by the Wolf's Fang."

Sasuke just readied a kunai as Naruto rushed him. He barely had time to put up a guard as the blonde brought his blade down. The force of Naruto's blow had Sasuke reeling back in pain as the kunai was cut clean through.

As the Uchiha scrambled to regain his bearing, he noticed that Naruto's movements were beginning to slow down. Naruto looked at him in disgust and said, "You dare to flash those eyes at me in superiority, Uchiha? Your Sharingan might've fully evolved, but I will still kill you before the day is over. Fūton: Renkūdan."

Sasuke was able to avoid the brunt of the attack, but the backlash threw him off of his feet. "Damn it," he thought, "he's still stronger than I am. I guess I'll just have to show him who the superior fighter is."

With his mind full of rage, Sasuke allowed his Juin to enter the first stage. Naruto growled as Sasuke gave into the seal's influence. "If you want to use dark chakra, I'll show you dark chakra," was Naruto's comment.

As Sasuke moved in to try for a close range attack, Naruto dispelled his summon and grabbed Sasuke's wrist. He then pulled the Uchiha forward and kneed him in the nose. It was then that Sasuke realized that Naruto's eyes were red with slit pupils. "What in the hell are you?"

Naruto punched the Uchiha in his stomach and backhanded him across the water. "I…am your executioner."

Kiri~

Choujiro turned to Zabuza and shouted, "I don't care what he knows. He's made his choice to die with the traitor."

Cairo huffed in annoyance before lashing out with a speed that even Mei had trouble following. Before anyone could blink, the Yamikage had taken Hiramekarei and slapped Choujiro away with the flat side of the massive blade.

He then stabbed it into the ground next to Choujiro's head and crouched down to his eye level. "The next time you decide to be that stupid, I'll lock your soul away into a dark void and use your soulless husk of a body as a training dummy!"

Cairo then stood up and flashed next to Mei. She couldn't even react as Cairo roundhouse kicked Ao to the ground and stomped on his chest. "I might only be thirteen, but I can and will put you in a shallow grave if you ever bring up my age in a derogatory fashion again."

He then turned to Mei and gave her a warm smile. "I'm sorry you were made to see that little stunt. People assume that they can simply walk all over me because of my age."

Cheshire nodded behind her leader and said, "He's not a Kage for nothing. Cairo-sama does not deal with fools and he has very little patience for them."

Mei simply waved the two of them off and led them to the table where they were planning a strike. "We don't have much to work with and his fortress is heavily guarded. At the most, we can only reach the Mizukage's office before his guards start pushing us back."

Cairo looked over the battle map before saying, "I have a plan that should help. Mei-taichō, I need you to call for a temporary retreat so that my soldiers can sneak into position."

Mei gave him a confused stare. "Are you sure that will work, Cairo-sama? After all, Yagura will have his shinobi watching everything that happens."

Cairo smirked as he bit his thumb. "That may be true, but answer a question for me. What are the first things that people see in the skies so often that they pay them no heed?"

Mei thought about his question before answering, "I believe you are speaking of bats, Cairo-sama."

Cairo smirked as he ran his bloody thumb over his palm. "Mei-taichō, I always knew that Zabuza loved you for more than just your beauty. Now, this is what I have in mind."

Final Valley~

Hinata yawned as she stared at Sakura's fallen form. "You're even weaker than I ever recalled you being. Sakura, it's time for you to face the reality that's been trying to wake you up for so long. Following behind Sasuke-san like a lost puppy will only get you killed in the long run."

Sakura sneered as she pulled out another kunai. "Don't try talking down to me like you're my better. I already know that you're only dating Naruto-baka to make Sasuke-kun fall for you."

Hinata rolled her eyes before turning to the viewer audience. "Please tell me that I'm not the only one who sees that this girl has lost all reason."

(Hey, quit breakin' the fourth wall!)

Hinata gave a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry about that. This girl is just…"

She was cut off by the kunai that whizzed by her left ear. Sakura had apparently gotten to her feet and tried to take Hinata by surprise. Sadly, she forgot about the concept of the Byakugan and didn't even have a back-up plan.

The Hyūga simply dusted off her haori before saying, "Well, that was a complete fail. I hope you have another plan because you just pissed me off."

Meanwhile…

Sasuke's fully evolved Sharingan combined with his Juin was proving to be enough to keep him on a somewhat even footing with Naruto. Even still, the blonde was determined to snub him out and gave the boy no time to get an advantage.

Soon enough, Sasuke had enough sense to roll under one of Naruto's punches and put some distance between them. He then charged up a chidori and thought, "The idiot will most likely have a way around this attack. However…"

He took one look at Hinata's fight and smirked. If he couldn't get rid of Naruto, he'd do the next best thing and break him down. With that thought in mind, Sasuke rushed directly past Naruto and aimed down his sights on Hinata.

Naruto watched in horror as Sasuke rapidly closed in on his target. He swore that whatever mercy he might've considered giving the Uchiha had just been thrown aside. For now, he had a girlfriend to rescue.

The blonde pumped as much chakra into his feet as he could and skated across the water's surface in hopes to get to Hinata before Sasuke did. Sadly, as he reached his destination, he knew that he wouldn't make it in time to pull Hinata out of the way.

As Sasuke got in range of Hinata, the girl realized that she didn't have time to put up a defense. She had braced herself for impact when she saw something that almost destroyed her.

In his determination to keep Hinata out of harm's way, Naruto had tossed a kunai in front of her and substituted himself with it at the last second. This course of action led to him having a chidori plunged through his right shoulder.

Naruto grabbed the offending arm and forced it out of his shoulder before thinking, "Kurama, the kid gloves are off. I'm going to make this bastard suffer before I kill him."

Kurama let out a vicious roar as he flooded Naruto's chakra network with his yōkai. "Your body won't be able to handle an extreme amount of my chakra for too long. However, one tail should be more enough to tear this traitor apart."

Naruto growled as he felt himself slipping into a chakra-induced rage. "Give me more of it, Kurama. I need more chakra."

Sasuke quickly moved away from the blonde as the hole in Naruto's shoulder rapidly closed. He was then forced to shield his eyes as Naruto was enveloped in reddish-orange chakra.

Hinata slowly came up to Naruto and pushed her way through the chakra field. Although she felt like she was burning, the chakra did not do any damage to her hand. She gently placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and said, "Naruto-kun…"

As Naruto's eyes focused on his girlfriend, the kunoichi quickly hardened her gaze before saying, "Make sure you gouge the bastard's eyes out before you kill him."

The moment Hinata moved away, Sasuke pulled out a kunai and shouted, "You little bitch! I'll show you not to insult an Uchiha!"

Sadly, Sasuke found a chakra-covered fist launching him backwards at an alarming rate. Once his body managed to accommodate itself, Sasuke looked up to see that the chakra cloak had taken the form of a one-tailed fox.

Naruto suddenly crouched down as if to walk like a fox before vanishing. It only took him a second to cross the water and knock Sasuke into the air. He then jumped over the Uchiha before hitting him three times in the face and sending him crashing back to earth.

Sasuke shot a massive ball of fire at Naruto's falling form, but the blonde took a page from Shukaku's book and destroyed it with a blast of air. He then extended his chakra to swipe at Sasuke with a large claw.

The Uchiha jumped over the claw and skated across the water before being grabbed by a second chakra hand. Naruto reeled the claw in before using his other hand to send Sasuke flying onto the shore.

Sasuke struggled to his feet and said, "I can't lose to you, dobe. I will not be beaten by some low-class street urchin!"

From the sidelines, Hinata had kicked Sakura away from her and used her Suishōgan to see that Sasuke's Juin had gone into its final stage. She then watched as Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the face and slammed him into the statue of Madara Uchiha.

Naruto was about to deliver the final blow when something knocked him across the waterfall and into the leg of Hashirama's statue. When the dust settled, Naruto could see that Sasuke's skin had turn a dark grey, his lips had become black, his black hair had grown longer and turned blue, and there were two hand-like wings protruding from his back.

Sasuke stood up from his crouching position and laughed. "I told you that compared to me, you are less that insignificant. This power of mine outclasses yours by leaps and bounds, Naruto."

Kurama roared in anger at being indirectly insulted. "Naruto, teach that little shit whose power is the strongest! Make him forever fear the name Naruto Uzumaki as you drive his soul into the burning pits of Hell!"

Naruto let out an unearthly roar as his fangs seemed to sharpen even more. He then held out a hand and allowed his yōkai to rotate and compress into a perfectly formed rasengan.

Sasuke gripped his wrist as a chidori sprang to life in his hand. He then moved his hand into a striking position as the blue chakra turned blackish-grey.

As Sasuke jumped into the air and used his new wings to carry him through the sky, Naruto used his gravity manipulation to propel himself at the traitor with his rasengan at the ready.

Hinata watched from her spot on the water as the two attacks collided. The only sound made before the explosion was Sasuke shouting Naruto's name and Naruto shouting, "Go to hell!"

She then watched as the exploding chakra wrapped itself into a black sphere. With her Suishōgan, she could see that Sasuke tried to stab Naruto. Sadly for him, Naruto knocked his hand out of the way before snatching off his hitai-ate and shouting, "I thought I told you to die!"

As the large orb exploded, Hinata saw Sasuke fall to earth and Naruto float down while charging his hand with lightning chakra. The blonde readied a fully-powered Chishio chidori before looking at Sasuke's near unconscious form and saying, "This is where I remove you from the records of time. As your wretched soul is cast into the burning pits of Hell, know that your death will forever be celebrated in Konoha."

However the moment Naruto ran to deliver the final blow, a Kinship appeared from the sky and grabbed Sasuke and Sakura with its chains. Naruto flew up to the ship to see none other than a bandaged Orochimaru standing there with a grin on his face. "I apologize for this intrusion, Naruto-kun. However, I can't in good faith allow you to simply kill Sasuke-kun."

Naruto refueled his chidori before saying, "Orochi-teme, I don't care about you any more than I do those two. This just gives me the chance to kill three annoyances for the price of one."

Orochimaru simply smirked as the sky was filled with light again. From the newly parted clouds, a large armor covered reptilian monstrosity with wings descended to the water's surface and said, "Orochimaru, take them away from here. I will deal with this pest."

The former Sannin bowed before saying, "I issue you a challenge, Naruto-kun. If you can survive this little ordeal with Sapentia, I will give you any one request that does not involve my death or the death of these two. Until then, do try not to die."

As the kinship flew into the clouds, Sapentia gave a condescending laugh. "So a pair of children dare to believe that they can do battle with the likes of me. It will be my honor to sacrifice you both to Jubileus."

Naruto, who was beginning to feel the loss of chakra, quickly flew over to Hinata and said, "I can't go on anymore and expect to live through this, but I can at least use my last bit of energy to buy you enough time to get away from…"

Hinata quickly turned Naruto to face her before slapping him as hard as she could. "Don't you dare think for a second that I'm going to let you fight this thing alone! I chose to fight by your side and I refuse to leave you. If you die here, I will die here right alongside you."

Naruto smiled as he placed a kiss on Hinata's cheek. "Well, let's make sure that we go out with a bang. From what Cairo-nii told me about this particular beast, it's one of the Cardinal Virtues and had weak spots along the legs. I'll draw its fire while you go for the assault."

As Hinata prepared to rush in, she suddenly remembered something from her training in Kagegakure and said, "Naruto-kun, I want you to know how sorry I am about this."

Before the blonde could reply, Hinata jabbed a nerve in his neck and knocked him out. She then bit down on her thumb to draw some blood before shouting, "Ninpo: Kuchiyōse no jutsu."

From within the blast of smoke, Vergil appeared with his blade at the ready. "Vergil-san, Orochimaru has set a Cardinal Virtue on us and I can't face it alone."

The son of Sparda turned to Hinata and shook his head. "That is only a False Virtue. Still, even a copy can be a hassle. Yamato and I will try to make short work of this."

Kiri (sunset)…

As the sun faded from the sky in Kirigakure, the bats had taken to the sky in their usual outing. Nobody in the area paid the slightest attention as random bats split from the group and flew into the Mizukage's tower. To them, it was just an ordinary night.

Inside the office, Yagura looked out the window as he noticed that the rebels had begun to recede. He was preparing to call for a forward strike when he started hearing dull thuds in the hall.

Before he could send anyone to investigate the noise, a pair of Sais slid against his throat. A young voice from behind him said, "Yagura-dono, call off the feud and step down from the position of Mizukage. Your refusal might only result in your immediate death."

The Mizukage dissolved into a pulled of water before reappearing at his desk. "I don't know who you are, but you are either very brave or an idiot to challenge a Kage."

Cairo smirked as he appeared in a swirl of bats. "Yagura-dono, I am the Shodaime Yamikage and I challenge you to a duel. If I win, you will end this war."

Yagura simply removed his staff from the wall and said, "Well Yamikage-dono, you are a trespasser and all trespassers must be dealt with. Suiton: Suiryūdan no jutsu!"

As Cairo jumped out of the window to avoid the large dragon, he noticed the tomoe resting at the edges of Yagura's eyes. "I was afraid of that," Cairo thought. "Madara-teme really has him under his control. My job just got harder and I still have things to do."

Suddenly, a smooth voice chimed out, "Cairo-san, are you really worried about this damned turtle?"

Cairo chuckled as he thought, "You know that I'm not worried in the slightest, my friend. I just don't have time for this crap."

The voice went silent for a moment before saying, "Let me deal with him if you don't want to do it."

The Yamikage laughed in his head as he said, "You must be insane to think that I'm gonna let you have control of my body again after the Kusa incident. I just finished paying the bill you left me with."

The voice chuckled before saying, "If you're so busy, why not have Guren-san take care of it? After all, she's proven to give you a run for your money when you use three tails."

Cairo smirked even harder as he made a cut in his palm. "Yorubi, you are a genius. What flowers should I put on your grave when Guren kills you for this?"

The voice identified as Yorubi laughed as he said, "Flowers are too cliché and overrated. Leave a bottle of Kagegakure Moonflower Sake in front of my headstone."

Cairo shook his head in humor before thinking, "That was the entire problem!"

Naruto (Inner world)…

Naruto snapped awake to find himself laid out in a white void. As he took in his surroundings, a cold and sharp voice said, "Get to your feet, Naruto Uzumaki."

The blonde quickly jumped to his feet and locked eyes with his brother. Before he could make a remark, Cairo slammed a fist into his jaw. "Look at you, Naruto. Hinata-san is fighting that beast to protect you while you're laid out like road kill."

Naruto growled and wiped the blood from his chin. "What the hell is wrong with you, bro? Hinata knocked me out and went off alone…"

"…and you didn't do a damned thing to try and stop her," finished Cairo with a snarl. "If you can't help her, you don't even deserve to be with her…"

"Shut up," whispered Naruto.

"…you don't deserve to be a shinobi…"

"Shut up," Naruto said with more authority.

"…and you could never become the Hokage!"

"I said shut up," shouted Naruto.

He quickly tried to elbow Cairo, but the Yamikage grabbed his arm and slammed him into the ground. Cairo then turned away from him and said, "Come to think of it, you couldn't even save me when I needed you the most. I can't stand to so much as look at you and I hate the fact that we share the same blood."

Naruto growled as he found himself in tears. Just when he thought that Cairo's betrayal couldn't run any deeper, the young Kage said, "In truth, you're no better than Sasuke Uchiha."

Without warning, Naruto summoned his katana from out of thin air and stabbed his brother in the heart. "How dare you accuse me of not trying to help her? I told her to run and I was fully prepared to die for her sake and safety if it came down to it!"

Cairo coughed out a glob of blood and said, "You talk a big game, but you are still lacking a sense of will. Do you love that girl as much as you say you do? Are you truly prepared to lay your life down for her? Could you do that for all of Konoha, our parents, or even me?"

Naruto pulled the blade from Cairo's chest and said, "Are you trying to say that I'm not strong enough to defend what I care about?"

"I'm asking if you have the will to truly become a sacrifice when something you cherish is in danger!"

"Of course I do! I'll use every ounce of my power to protect my loved ones," shouted Naruto.

"If you have the energy to argue and stab me, you can fight Sapentia and walk away from the battle alive. Now, get out there and show that thing why the Uzumaki clan is not to be trifled with!"

Suddenly, Naruto's blade was covered in Umbran seals and began to emanate a cobalt blue yōkai. Cairo placed his hand over Naruto's and said, "This blade was forged from the same metal as your guns and contains the soul of a demon whose power grows when you cut down Lumen angels. If you combine the blade's power with your own will, even Jubileus would fall if she crossed your path."

As Naruto observed the blade, he saw that it was made of a black metal with two glowing blue veins stretching along the length of the blade. "Does it have a name?"

The Yamikage only shook his head as he began to fade away. "That," Cairo said, "is for you to decide. Just know that to know the name of a blade will truly make it yours."

Just before fully vanishing, Cairo turned away from Naruto and said, "The real Cairo put me here to help you find your resolve. As I look at you now, I know that he would truly be proud of you."

Naruto slowly ran his hand along the blade and felt it pulsating as if waiting for something. He then twirled the blade overhead and said, "From now on, your name will forever be…"

Real world…

Vergil had just taken out Sapentia's second wing when Hinata said, "Vergil-san, his horns and the mask over his mouth are both pulsing on the same frequency. I think you need to attack his horns to break the mask."

Before Vergil could respond, Sapentia turned his attention to Hinata. "You are becoming a thorn in my side, child. I shall sacrifice your soul to Jubileus first."

Hinata prepared for an attack when a familiar voice said, "Try sacrificing this, instead!"

It was only thanks to her Suishōgan that Hinata managed to see Naruto appear on top of Sapentia's head. The Cardinal Virtue could only howl in anguish and pain as Naruto sliced through one of his massive horns.

Vergil turned to Hinata and said, "I didn't even see him move past us. Did he learn to use his father's Hiraishin?"

Hinata shook her head as she watched Naruto cut down the missiles that were launched at him. "I have no idea, Vergil-san. However, I do know that Naruto-kun will win."

From behind her, a strained voice said, "Yes…Naruto-taichō will indeed…emerge in victory."

The duo turned around to see the rest of the retrieval team and the Suna trio running up to them. Hinata looked at Neji's bandages and Chōji's chakra levels before saying, "Ino-san did a good job with stabilizing you both. As of now, the only thing we can do is wait and put our faith in Naruto-kun."

While the group watched on in silence, Sapentia called out a laser tentacle and said, "Your friends will be waiting for you in the afterlife, boy. Until then, you might as well tell them goodbye!"

As the laser charged to maximum power, Naruto remembered what the false Cairo told him. "When your blade's power syncs with your will, even Jubileus can fall."

Naruto used his own chakra as well as some of Kurama's yōkai to harmonize with the blade. "I cannot lose this battle. There is too much at stake. Share your energy with mine and help me strike down this menace…Koritsu!"

As the laser fired at its intended targets, Naruto appeared in front of the group and drew a demonic circle in the air. When the circle was complete, he slashed Koritsu through the seal and fired off a dark blue beam of energy that broke through Sapentia's laser and tore through his entire body.

Without warning, an Umbran seal appeared below Sapentia and began to drag him down. His final words to Naruto were, "May the creator, Jubileus, bless you."

Naruto huffed as he sheathed Koritsu. He then turned back to the group and said, "Let's get back to the village for a little R&R."

Kiri…

Cairo dodged a rather large ball of water before slamming his hand into the wall. Ninpo: Kuchiyōse no jutsu!"

In a blast of smoke, Guren appeared with a crystal arm blade ready to strike. Cairo kicked Yagura out of a window and said, "Guren, this is an S-Ranked mission. Chase after Yagura-dono and subdue him. I want him alive when the dust settles."

Guren nodded before following the Mizukage out of the window and down the street. Cairo quickly flashed to the rebels' main base and said, "Mei-taichō, Yagura-dono has been led away from the village. It's time to launch the counterstrike."

Mei nodded as Cairo flashed her away from their hiding area. When they reappeared, Mei looked at the entire rebellion and said, "Yagura-sama is gone and his personal squadron has been disposed of. When the gates open, we will take back our village!"

As war cries and cheers filled the skies, Cairo summoned three clones and had them all aim a rasengan at the gates. When the large gats fell, Mei turned to the rebel army and shouted, "Charge!"

The Kagegakure Anbu all joined Cairo's side as he stormed the village alongside Mei. Without any hesitation, Choujiro charged the Hiramekarei and formed an elongated blade that tore twelve Kiri-nin in half.

This action would officially mark the beginning of what would come to be forever known as the Battle in the Bloody Mist.