Chapter Twenty-Six: Dust to Dust
Ansei cocked his head. "You should stay out of this," he growled at Boruto.
"I actually agree with him," Naruto muttered.
Boruto sighed deeply. "Can't you two work this out without trying to kill one another?"
Ansei shrugged and relaxed his tails, but didn't drop his chakra cloak. He felt that Naruto didn't either. He didn't know Boruto's father. They had only one encounter prior to this mess and all Ansei really remembered about it was a lot of yelling. He also remembered that Boruto had been angry at his father, and had thought poorly about him. Through their two encounters, Ansei couldn't say he blamed his friend for hating his father. He seemed like a power-hunger, control freak that seemed to have a god-complex.
Like we don't have a god complex? Ansei scoffed.
"Well, this has to end," Naruto said. Had Ansei been able to see, he would have seen the control freak with a god complex reach out his hand in a truce, mostly for the sake of their shared interest standing in the middle of their landscape-changing battle. However, Ansei could not see because his eyes had been taken and given to Akuryo, and in that very moment, that shared interest stumbled back and collapsed onto Ansei due to the blood loss from the amputation that Ansei didn't know had happened. In that moment, with Naruto's poor choice of words, and the concerned tone that Ansei mistook as annoyance with his son for lack of experience with concern, Ansei believed that Naruto had gone through his child in order to attack the black-chakra Jinchuuriki.
Ansei gripped Boruto's unconscious form in his arms and turned his eyeless gaze to Naruto. "You monster!" Ansei shouted, holding Boruto to his chest.
"Wa-wait! What?!" Naruto gasped. Ansei kicked Naruto away from them and backed away from the flames he had created. He only had a moment before Naruto came back. He placed Boruto near a tree and gently handled him so that he would wake up and be able to get out of there. He lifted his head and howled, morphing as he did so.
Naruto hit his head on a tree and rubbed it. "What the heck just happened?" he moaned. Ansei's sudden change in demeanor haDust d completely caught him off guard. "I thought we were ending this."
He is blind, Kurama pointed out.
I didn't do anything! Naruto snapped as he stood. The howl rang through the forest and Naruto lifted his head as a black and white Kyuubi appeared, slightly transparent. "Are you kidding me?! He can do that?"
Well, this just got interesting.
Interesting isn't the word I would use here. Naruto wasn't eager to figure out what else that child could do. Guess we have no choice. You ready?
It is about time, Kurama growled. Naruto sighed and clapped his palms together. Suddenly he was engulfed in a giant yellow fox, matching Ansei's black and white one. He honed in on Boruto's chakra.
We have to move this away from here! He created a shadow clone to go after Boruto and get him away from this battle and to inform the other children to get as far away as they could. He and the fox turned to their opponent once the clone vanished with Boruto. Naruto swallowed hard. Often he had faced an opponent that he could imagine himself becoming had he made the wrong choices in life, but this was the first time he was truly facing himself.
Naruto directed the fox to make several large strides away from the base where he had left the kids before spinning around. Ansei had taken the bait and was running at him at top speed. Kurama stood on his hind legs and grabbed Ansei's fox as he lunged at them. He was lifted off the ground and rolled. Don't cause too much damage! Naruto berated Kurama.
Sure. I will try not to destroy any more trees.
When did you get the jokes? Naruto snapped, annoyed. They turned as Ansei came for the again. The black fox grabbed Kurama and bit down on his neck, causing the yellow beast to howl. Naruto grimaced and clenched his fist, aiming Kurama's claw to punch Ansei's fox in the side, but he didn't release his death grip on them. Kurama clawed at his assailant. He dug his claws into the beast's back. The fox gasped and backed away with deep score marks in his back. The foxes glared at each other, growling. Naruto shook his head.
"Give it up, pup!" Kurama growled. "You cannot win this! End this now before we are forced to kill you!"
The black fox laughed. "You have no real power here!" he growled, clawing a trench in the ground.
"I warned you." Kurama opened his mouth and chakra condensed in front of him. One Bijuu bomb and this fight would be over. Naruto bit his lip. He didn't want to use that, but he knew Kurama wasn't going to make a full-fledged one. A small one would end this without hurting more the landscape around them. The black Kyuubi cocked his head in mere curiosity, watching the ball of deadly chakra perform.
I don't like the way he's not concerned, Naruto told Kurama.
Too cocky for his own good. The ball formed and Kurama fired it at Ansei and his fox. Naruto watched, but to his dismay, the black beast in front of him swiped his tails and the bomb was redirected into the sky, where it exploded, bathing the dull grey morning in brilliant orange and white light. The black beast lunged at Kurama and pounced on top of the yellow fox. Kurama roared angrily and the two massive beasts clashed like titans, clawing and biting in order to incapacitate the other.
Eventually, Ansei's fox broke away and curled his tails. The sky was still glowing with the faint orange light. "A Bijuu Bomb will not help you here! Give up this foolishness!" Kurama called.
"Too cocky for your own good!" the fox howled. He rocked back on two legs and put his hands together, forming hand signs. Both Ansei and the fox took in a large breath. Naruto's eyes widened as they released a massive fire attack on the other fox. Flames shot not only from the fox' mouth, but his tails as well. Kurama threw his front legs up in an X shape to avoid major damage from the attack, but the surrounding forest was not as fortunate. The landscape was set ablaze as fire rained down upon the dry foliage. It ate hungrily at the plants. Kurama howled, but before he could counter the attack, Ansei's fox was upon them, lunging through the firewall it had created.
"We have to end this, Kurama, or we'll take out the entire countryside!" Naruto screamed. He hadn't been expecting Ansei to put up as much of a fight and Naruto was no longer going easy on him. Kurama swiped at the beast, but it redirected the attack. Naruto had never seen a Bijuu use a gentle-fist fighting style and he was no less than shocked. What is he?!
"You just didn't know when to leave well enough alone…"
Boruto's eyes snapped open and he sat up. "Big brother!" Himawari gasped. Sarada smiled in the orange light and Mitsuki turned to them.
Boruto groaned and rubbed his head. "What happened?" he groaned.
"You passed out from blood loss," Mitsuki answered simply. "It wasn't exactly your smartest idea to get between your father and Ansei."
"Are they still fighting?"
Mitsuki nodded. "And this is a fight you should not get involved in, though I fear it will not last much longer."
Boruto's eyes widened. "I have to stop them!" He struggled to his feet, but was stopped by Sarada and Mitsuki.
"You must rest."
"He's right," Sarada agreed. "You are in no condition to do any fighting. You're body's still recovering from the amputation."
Boruto narrowed his eyes. "I'm fine! I have to stop them before dad kills Ansei!"
"I doubt Lord Seventh would kill Ansei," Sarada reasoned. "He's a kind man."
"I know that!" Boruto snapped. "But Ansei wants my dad dead!"
"I highly doubt that is a problem," Mitsuki said with a shrug. "There is no way that Ansei will be able to kill your father, and Lord Seventh is not the kind of man who would kill someone simply to save his own life."
"I know that!" Boruto repeated. "But Ansei won't stop until one of them is dead!"
Sarada blinked and then seemed to realize the problem. "So he'll kill himself before surrendering. Lord Seventh will be forced to kill him to stop him."
"Exactly!" Boruto pushed passed his friends.
"It is not advisable," Mitsuki said. "Boruto, in the end, is Ansei really worth all of this?"
Boruto stopped for a moment. "What are you saying?"
"Is his death really something that we should be concerned about? Would it not be better for him and everyone else if he does die?" Boruto clenched his fists. He knew Mitsuki wasn't doing it to be mean. Mitsuki had mostly gathered all the data about this situation and had come to the logical conclusion; Ansei was a threat and had to be eliminated.
"It's more complicated than that, Mitsuki."
"Is it?" Mitsuki asked.
"I'm not having his conversation."
"You will die," Mitsuki pointed out. "You are in no condition to stand between titans!"
Sarada sighed and pulled out a pill. "Here."
"Sarada!" Mitsuki snapped. Boruto took it.
"Was is it?"
"A soldier pill," Sarada said. "It won't fix the problem, but it'll keep you awake long enough to do your thing."
Mitsuki narrowed his eyes. "Why are you helping him?" he snapped.
"Because he's going to go whether or not we agree with him. We might as well give him a fighting chance."
"Will he be okay?" Himawari asked.
Boruto smiled as he downed the pill and turned to his sister. "I'll be fine, Hima-cha! Don't worry, okay?" He patted her head and offered her a wide smile. "I promise."
He turned and took off running, though he knew Mitsuki was angry. He liked Mitsuki. They were best friends, but Ansei was someone he had to save. Mitsuki didn't need someone else. He was a strong individual that didn't need saving. Ansei wasn't that person. He was someone who needed other people
Boruto ran towards the battle of titans, clutching his hand to his chest. His heart pounded, working to pump what remained of his blood through his body. His heart had never fully recovered from their fight six years ago. He shook his head. Ansei had to give this up. He couldn't let anyone die!
As he got closer to the battle, the forest was consumed in flame. Boruto covered his mouth and plunged into the inferno, running until he came across the massive clearing the two foxes had created in the forest. Boruto watched in awe as the two beasts wrestled each other, clawing and howling.
He waited for the perfect moment to get between them and it came when Kurama broke away from Ansei's fox and backed away a few steps, shaking his head to clear it. Ansei's black fox opened his mouth and prepared another attack, but Boruto ran in between the fighting foxes. "STOP!" he screamed, holding his remaining hand towards Ansei. He heard Kurama gasp behind him and watched as the black fox sniffed the air for his chakra. "Ansei, please!" Boruto yelled to the fox. "Please stop this! You don't have to fight anymore! It's over!"
The beast cocked his head and growled. Boruto gasped as Kurama's yellow paw came over him protectively, holding him like a cage. Ansei's fox howled angrily, clawing at the ground in agitation.
"Dad! Stop!" Boruto shouted at his father. "I need to do this!"
"Foolish pup! There are no more words for this beast!" Kurama growled angrily. "Step aside, child! I do not want you to get hurt, Boruto!"
"Please, daddy!" Boruto called, ignoring Kurama's warnings.
There was a tense moment where the two foxes stood in a stalemate, growing at each other, mentally claiming the boy between them as their own like two dogs would fight over a bone.
"Enough, Kurama," he heard Naruto say. The shock went through both Kurama and Boruto.
"Are you insane?" Kurama growled.
"I trust my son," Naruto answered. Kurama growled, but didn't argue further. The paw covering him was moved and the fox receded back into Naruto. The man landed gently on the ground with his hand on Boruto's shoulder. "You've got this," Naruto whispered. Boruto nodded and turned back to the fox while Naruto backed away gently.
"Ansei!" Boruto called again to the boy and the fox. "Ansei, I know this is a mess! This is all messed up, and you probably feel like you have nothing left, but that's a lie! You have me! You have your family, Ansei!"
The fox growled. "He has no one! He has nothing!"
"Maybe it feels like that, but it's not true! Ansei, I promise! I will never leave you alone here again! You never have to be alone again!"
"You cannot promise that!" the fox howled.
"I can! I will stay here if I have to!" The fox lowered his head to face Boruto. The boy stood in the wake of the scrutiny of the giant beast. He felt wind as he sucked in air, sniffing his chakra. Boruto reached out and the fox snarled angrily.
"Boruto," Naruto warned, but Boruto ignored his father's warning. If he showed he didn't trust Ansei, then he would never gain Ansei's trust.
Boruto rested his hand on the black beast's nose. His small hand was nothing more than the tip of a needle to the creature, but even he felt the shiver that went through the titan. It exhaled deeply, sending a strong wind to wash over Boruto, but he held his ground. "Ansei," Boruto started, "this is over. I want to offer you a home. No more schemes, no more weapons. You can make a life for yourself, Ansei! You can put all this behind you."
A soft sound came from the beast, but it was not an angry growl. It was a soft rumble, almost like a purr. The beast receded and as it did, the black bijuu cloak remained. Boruto's hand was left in Ansei's warped hand, palm to palm. "Can you promise that?" Ansei asked meekly.
Boruto looked at him with sad eyes. "No, I can't." Ansei hissed softly. "I can't promise you that you will have a good life, Ansei. I can't guarantee that there will be no more hardships for you, and I can't promise that you will be happy. Our world is as unpredictable as yours. What I can promise you, though, is that it will be your life."
Ansei turned away from Boruto. "That sounds perfect, but you know that I can never be forgiven for what I've done. I just… I can't even understand why you are here, Boruto. Why do you care so much? I killed you!"
"I know you did," Boruto answered calmly. "And I know what you've done here."
"Then you know I can't be forgiven!" Ansei snarled. "I'm a monster, Boruto! Look at me!"
"I am," Boruto retorted evenly. "I see a lost boy, but I don't see a monster. A true monster wouldn't care, Ansei." Ansei turned away. "And I do forgive you."
Ansei flinched as if he had been slapped. "Why?" he growled weakly.
"Because we're brothers," Boruto answered.
Ansei sighed and bowed his head. The black Bijuu cloak receded, leaving the eyeless Hyuuga standing and shaking. "Thank you…"
Not a second after the boy had spoken, he gasped and fell forward. Boruto caught him and then glared behind the boy. Zetsu stood with a smile on his wicked face. A long tendril came from his hand to Ansei's back. He yanked the tendril and Ansei screamed before going limp as the strand was yanked completely out. Boruto's eyes widened when he noticed that the tendril had a distinct fox face on the end before it vanished inside the black creature.
"No!" Boruto shouted, but he couldn't move before his father lunged at Zetsu. Boruto turned away from the fight and lowered Ansei to the ground, shaking him. He knew very little about the relationship between a Jinchuuriki and the Bijuu, but he knew enough to know that not one survived an extraction for long, and the only ones that had were Uzumaki, or Obito. Ansei wasn't either and his life had been cut off the second the fox was removed. He was dead.
Boruto looked down at the lifeless figure without fully believing that it had ended so quickly. Everything they had worked for was over in the blink of an eye. Nearby he could hear his father facing off with Zetsu, but suddenly that didn't matter anymore. He had promised Ansei that his life would be his own, and for a moment, the boy was free and then it was taken from him. He couldn't believe how cruel the world was.
Boruto shook his head and tilted Ansei's head slightly. Every ninja was trained in basic first aid and he was on a team with two medics. He knew a few emergency tricks. He put his lips to Ansei's and blew before moving and pumping his chest with his single hand. He would make this work. He would save the boy! Ansei didn't deserve this! He didn't deserve to die like this!
"Boruto?" The boy didn't react to Sarada's voice as he continued the CPR, though he was struggling with one hand. "Boruto, he's dead," Sarada said gently.
"N-no! He's not going to die like this!" Boruto gasped. He was already out of breath and was light headed, but he wasn't going to give up on the Hyuuga. He'd die with him if he had to.
Mitsuki grabbed Boruto's shoulder, but Boruto pulled away violently. "He's dead!" Mitsuki snapped. "Don't kill yourself for a corpse!"
"If you aren't going to help me, then leave me alone!" Boruto gasped angrily. He heard Mitsuki sigh, but ignored him. Sarada knelt on the other side of Ansei and put glowing hands on his chest. "What are you doing?"
"Helping," she answered. Mitsuki knelt beside Boruto. "He needs to know he did everything he could."
Boruto turned to Mitsuki for just a moment, pleading with him. Mitsuki sighed deeply. "I will help you, then. For you, but not for him."
"I'll take it."
The three children worked on the corpse for several minutes before Boruto finally bowed his head. Once he did, Mitsuki and Sarada stopped working. Boruto let the tears fall. "It's not fair!" he shouted. He lifted his head when he heard ripping. Mitsuki was tearing into Ansei's shirt and then he slit a hole in Ansei's side. Boruto had heard the story of how Sakura had saved his father's life after his Bijuu had been extracted. "What are you doing?" Boruto whispered.
Mitsuki put his hand inside Ansei's chest. "You are right," he said quietly. "It's not fair."
Zetsu didn't have to beat Naruto, he just had to evade him, and evade him he did. Zetsu stepped out of the wall in the base. "We haven't much time!" he said quickly. Akuryo turned to him. His eyes were uncovered and the room was still dim so that he would not be overwhelmed with the sights.
"Of course, Zetsu-sama." He walked to Zetsu and smiled. "Do you have it?"
"I do! All the pieces are finally in place!"
"So, the kid's dead, then?" Nikko asked from the doorway.
"Yes, Ansei is dead." He tried to keep regret out of his voice, but there was still enough of a hint for Nikko to grin. Zetsu narrowed his eyes. He didn't care. He had wanted Ansei to die, but it wasn't as satisfying as he had hoped. He had been with the brat for six years and he should be happy to be rid of the needy child, but he didn't feel happy. He felt almost regretful. Ansei would not be able to witness the fruits of their labor.
Akuryo studied Zetsu's face, but luckily for the creature, Akuryo was unable to read expressions. "Put your blindfold on," he told Akuryo. "There is another fox here that will be a major problem."
"Of course, my Lord," Akuryo said quietly. He did as he was told and then turned to Zetsu, ready to receive the final beast.
"Good. Let us go. We're almost finished here."
Author's note: Guess what! Merry Christmas! This fight was really hard to write. I had a perfectly clear image of what I was writing, but I didn't really know how to describe it! Hopefully t worked out well! I'm pretty sure this story will end on Chapter 30, but I hope you all keep an eye out for the next story! It's going to be awesome!