Rosuto Rakuen (Lost Paradise)

XXVIII. And It Opens…

By: Datenshi No Uzumaki (aka Kat Lee V)

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The doors of the grand hall slammed open, and three of those ugly flying things from outside came swooping in to the throne. "Daimaou-sama! It's those persistent mortals. They have went through the barriers, and are heading straight here!" The four became alert at the news.

Kiyoshi stood up straight and threw out his hand forward. "Set out the first two waves of Youkai now! I want them stopped in any means possible!" He shouted in demand.

Naruto neared Kurama. 'It's Orochimaru… I just know it… The prophecy… it's coming sooner than I thought…' The blonde was nearly hyperventilating.

The red haired woman placed her hands on the boy's upper arms, and squeezed them. 'Don't worry, Kit…' She didn't know what else to say to her charge, but pray that everything will be all right for the boy.

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Black and red fires rose to the darkened sky. The sounds of metal and cries echoed through the black lands. Surges of powers were thrown at every direction, and explosions were set off one after the other in random locations. The smell of war was in the air, as the two sides clashed against one another. Dead bodies littered the floor of all types of species from both mortal and demon realms. Hovering over the scene of chaos was a giant black dragon, with three tiny figures standing on its head.

Narrowed golden eyes watched everything below, with a small glint in it. A smirk was painted on his pale lips. Glancing over to the side was his faithful servant, Kabuto. The young man held a glowing red stone that spun dangerously fast and emitted a black aura that was cold to the touch. At the other side was a man in a black cloak with a red-clouded pattern. The man's face was shadowed, but you can see the man's piercing crimson eyes. This was the Akatsuki leader, and he held out his arm, holding on to a black cord. Hanging off the black cord was a glowing miniature sculpture of some strange and unknown demon. Orochimaru closed his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest. "Gentlemen… witness the destruction of the all powerful demon realm." He lifted his head, chuckling. "This will prove that mere mortals can be just as powerful as these fools."

"It was a bold move on your part, Orochimaru, to attack the demon realm to find the Gate." Said the Leader of Akatsuki in his low and deep tone.

The snake man smirked. "Yes… but remember, I have my scheduled appointment with Konoha, and after finding that Gate and taking its power, I will finally see its destruction, and then the destruction of all cities of Soldiers." Kabuto glanced at his master, and hid a small frown. Something glinted in his dark eyes, but the young man turned away, concentrating in controlling and focusing on the stone that he held.

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A small rip in the planes appeared, and three figures walked out into the darkened area. When the gate between the mortal and demon realm disappeared, the two figures looked around their surroundings. The pink haired young woman shivered. "This place is really creepy…"

The red headed teen glanced at his twin sister. "What do you expect? It is the place were Youkai and Yajuu originated."

"Hey! The demon realm wasn't always like this." The Namikaze twins turned their heads to see a tiny kitten with two tails appear close to their feet. It was white with scars on its body, and the tips of its tails were black. Its eyes were golden and narrowed. It was glaring up at the two, with an odd pout that the cats would do.

Gaara raised a brow. "This is…?"

Sakura smiled, and picked up the kitten, and rubbed her cheek against it. "This is Nibi no Nekomata!" She chirped. Gaara stared at the white kitten, as it struggled to get out of the female teen's snuggling and giggles.

The kitten looked at the curious red head, even though he doesn't show it, it could see the curiosity in his eyes. That's one of the perks of being the tenant of the pink haired girl that was the twin sister of said red head. "I'm out, because this is the demon realm, and I'm needed to keep you two out of trouble and from being turned into Yajuu." The kitten said, and jumped out of the pink haired girls grip. Then the kitten glowed, and its form changed into that of a young girl. She had long white hair with full bangs. She had her cat like ears, and her two tails swinging behind her. She still had her golden cat-like eyes, and whisker marks on the side of her face. Her long hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. She wore black and white robes. The girl brushed back a few of her bangs from her face. "Just like the Kyuubi is to your baby brother, I am able to keep a form, but I can't use my chakra, unless I have permission from my vessel." She glanced over to Sakura.

The pink haired girl smiled. "He's going to help guide us through here, and hopefully we can be able to find Naruto-chan as soon as possible." Gaara nodded. 'Wait… he? That's a guy?'

The Nekomata raised a brow at the red head that stared hard at it. Then the three turned their heads as a big explosion set off at a distance. Sakura furrowed her brows, seeing smoke rising and flashes of colors over the horizon. "W-What's going on?"

Nibi shook his head. "I'm just as clueless as you are on that. It's been a while since I've last been in my old home." He said. He then turned around and pointed out straight. "Our destination is over there."

"What's there?" Questioned Gaara.

"The Daimaou of the demon realm." Said Nibi, and the two followed the Nekomata.

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"Please let me help!" Naruto ran after Kurama, who was walking briskly through the halls of the castle. "Orochimaru only wants three things: The Gate of Darkness, the destruction of Konoha and me! Please… I need to do something!"

The red haired woman stopped in her tracks and turned around to face her charge with a frown. "Naruto… you facing him now is suicide. This is what he wants you to do. He causes terror to rouse you into thinking that it is your fault he is doing all of this. Then you'll go after him, and then he'll take you. You going out there to face him is like handing yourself to him on a golden platter!" The woman yelled.

The blonde froze in place, staring with wide eyes at the Kitsune. Kurama's expression fell, and she placed her hands on the boy's shoulder. "Please understand Naruto. I don't ever want anything to happen to you. You are like one of my kits… I don't trust Orochimaru… and I definitely don't want you to be given away that easily. Please… please just listen to what others say. Many people care about you. You say that they don't understand, and you think they are going against you, but we're not. We care for you, and for once, just be selfish and think about your self."

"Okaasama!" The two turned to see Kano running up to them. "Okaasama, Kiyoshi has called on our brothers and sisters to help in the battle. They are all coming here."

Kurama's ears perked up. "Really?"

The boy grinned in a fox-like manner, and nodded his head. "Yes! And I think Kiyoshi is going into the battlefield already."

The red haired woman widened her eyes. "He's what?"

Then the two flying demons swooped into the hall through the open windows. "Kano-sama, Kyuubi-sama. It seems that there are guests here with the Nibi no Nekomata."

Kano tilted his head. "Nibi is here? But I thought he also disappeared from this realm."

Kurama smirked. "But it seems that he is here with his vessel." She glanced at Naruto. The boy widened his eyes, and then ran to the entrance of the castle. Kano glanced questioningly at his mother.

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Sakura fidgeted while staring at the flying Youkai that stood tall, overshadowing her. Nibi was standing up straight, with his chin held high, his piercing gaze looking around the dark castle blankly. Gaara was standing beside his twin, with his arms crossed and eyes closed. The pink haired girl glanced at the castle, and could see a bright dot running over to them from the large entrance doors. Her eyes brightened, recognizing the bright figure. "Naruto!" She ran past the flying Youkai, and automatically embraced the boy tightly in her arms.

"Neechan…" The blonde pulled back, and was instantly met up with a hit on his head. The boy gave a whimper, while holding on to his throbbing head. "Nee~chan!"

The pink haired girl was frowning deeply, her emerald green eyes narrowed. "You idiot! What the hell are you doing in this place?" She yelled.

Naruto cowered from his sister's rage. "I'm sorry… but it's just that… um…" He bowed his head. The boy froze seeing a pair of shoes that were recognizable. He slowly looked up and saw his also mad brother. He bowed his head again. "Please understand that I came here just to find things out. I really wanted to find the Gate of Darkness… and try to do something… and…"

Gaara frowned deeply. "We told you… if you are to do something that concerns your title as the Ten'yo, then you have to tell us." He said deeply.

"And that you can't do things without us." Sakura said, nodding in agreement with her twin.

The blonde looked up, with a fallen expression. "I'm sorry… but you two have already done so much for me. I'm not a baby anymore and I wanted to do things for my self for a chance." He pressed his lips into a line. "I can take care of my self. I don't always need you to protect me, neechan, niisan."

The twins stared at their baby brother, and then glanced at one another. Sakura smiled lightly, her expression softening. "We know… but we can't help but be your brother and sister, Naruto-chan. We do these things, because we love you, and we don't want to lose you." She placed her hand on his shoulder, and squeezed it. The blonde gave smile at his older siblings.

"So…" The three turned their heads to see Nibi, who broke their little comfortable silence. "Mind telling us what is going on, and what is with those surges of chakra and explosions?" He pointed over to the horizon, where there were flashes of light at the distance.

Naruto frowned. "Orochimaru… he broke through the barrier between realms, and has declared war on the Youkai until someone tells him where the location of the Gate is."

Gaara frowned. "And then once he opens the Gates, he'll go after Konoha." The blonde nodded.

Sakura turned to her brothers. "So what are we going to do?" The blonde blinked his eyes, slightly tilting his head. "Well… you came here to do something about that Orochimaru, right? Well, Gaara and I are going to help you."

Naruto slightly widened his eyes, and them smiled at them. He placed a finger on his chin. "We'll have to ask the Daimaou if we could go with him to confront Orochimaru… He said he will make some kind of deal, but won't tell where the location of the Gate is. He doesn't want there to be anymore chaos in the realm… or else the Youkai will go against the mortals." The two nodded. They then walked into the castle, following the blonde's lead.

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"Do you think that it's a good idea to have this deal with Orochimaru?" Sakura turned slightly to the red haired woman, standing next to her baby brother.

Kurama closed her golden eyes. "No… but we'll see what will happen." She crossed her arms, and shifted her weight to one side.

Nibi raised one brow. "If anything, wouldn't you want to nab those Stones of Tengoku from that Snake Man?"

Naruto nodded. "But… we don't want to go head on, and just try to fight him for them."

"We have to wait after the Daimaou talks to Orochimaru." Said Gaara, who stood slightly behind the blonde boy.

The five were standing on the edge of a tall cliff that oversaw the whole battlefield. They were watching at a distance, and could clearly see the damage done to the area below. There were still explosions and casting of jutsu and powers between the two sides. Fires were burning down everything, and the smoke was rising to the black sky.

Sakura bent down to her knees. "Are… are those Yajuu fighting against the Youkai?"

Kurama frowned, glancing over at the giant black dragon that carried Orochimaru and two other men. She could make them out as Kabuto and the Akatsuki Leader. Both men that stood at each side of Orochimaru were holding a glowing object. "It seems like he has control over the Yajuu with that stone that man has."

Then there was a loud roar, and they shifted their gazes to see giant recognizable demons. They were swiping their claws to the smaller Youkai, and pounded their tails to the ground. Nibi and Kurama widened their eyes. Naruto turned to his tenant. "What's wrong?"

Gaara widened his eyes seeing a recognizable tailed beast. "Shukaku…" Sakura and Naruto looked over to where their brother was looking at, and saw the Ichibi no Shukaku.

"That means… Orochimaru has the power to control the captured Biju and Yajuu!" The pink haired girl gasped. "Plus, there are the ancient spirits that he has on his side from those Stone of Tengoku. That's not good… and things will be worse if he opens the Gate."

Nibi furrowed his brows. "Yes… he'll be able to have full control over the whole demon realm, with the Youkai too."

"We have to stop him then!" cried out Naruto.

Gaara frowned and looked at his baby brother. "Unfortunately, we don't have that kind of power to match Orochimaru's. We could die instantly."

"But the Daimaou and his army are on our side. We have to stop him." The blonde said.

Kurama shook her head. "We have no chance, Naruto." The blonde bowed his head, his hands clenched into tight fists. Sakura's expression softened, and she placed her hands on his shoulders. 'Naruto…'

Suddenly there was a big explosion in the sky, and the shockwave of the power nearly knocked them down. Sakura held on to her brother, feeling the surface below them shake lightly. They all looked up in alert. "Kiyoshi!" Shouted out Kurama to her son.

The dragon that carried the Daimaou and his close allies pulled back from the bigger dragon that had Orochimaru and his two allies. There was an attack cast towards the giant black dragon, but it got deflected to the ground, making another explosion. The shockwave pushed the dragons, gliding in the sky, to different directions. "What's going on?" shouted Sakura.

"Looks like their deal didn't go as planned, and Orochimaru is fighting the Daimaou." Said Nibi.

"Fool! I want the location of the Gate!" Raising his hand, Orochimaru released a dark jutsu at the overseer of demons.

Kiyoshi jumped off from the dragon, dodging the blast of power. It hit the dragon, making the Youkai crash to the ground. Staying afloat in the air, the silver haired Youkai narrowed his eyes, and charged at the intruder of his lands. He then yelled in a foreign tongue of an attack. The giant blast of power soared towards the Otokage.

Raising his hands again, Orochimaru let his attack collide with the Daimaou's power. The two strong attacks were pushing against one another, causing friction between the two. Black surges of lightening emitted from the two attacks, crashing to the grounds, and reaching out at any direction. A long current reached out to the cliff, and stuck on the earth between the Namikaze siblings and the Biju that stood behind them.

Suddenly the ground that the Namikaze siblings stood on shifted down, crumbling below them. The three widened their eyes, and the Biju froze in shock. Gaara hurriedly pulled his brother and sister in his arms, and they held on tightly, as they fell down the side of the cliff. The two Biju tried to grab them, but they were too late, hearing the loud scream of the pink haired girl.

Gaara opened his eyes, seeing the tightly closed ones of his brother and twin. He furrowed his brows, and concentrated hard, feeling that they were very close to the surface below them. They would have died instantly by being squashed to the ground, but Gaara's control of sand cushioned their fall, a few inches from the ground. The three separated, breathing out a sigh of relief. Then they heard the large rocks above them coming down. Sakura quickly went to cover her baby brother, but Gaara looked up, with an arm raised towards the stones, and a shield of sand blocked them from being crushed by them.

"Thanks, Niisan." Sighed out Sakura, checking over her two brothers. "Is everyone alright?" The two male Namikazes nodded to their concerned sister.

Naruto looked up at the side of the cliff. "That is one high cliff." Sakura nodded, and then glanced over at her twin.

"What are we going to do now?" She asked. Gaara helped her up from the ground, as Naruto just bounced up with ease. She then looked up to the ledge of the cliff. "Nibi and Kyuubi are still up there." The three froze as a big and dark shadow loomed over them. Gaara was the first to turn around. His eyes slightly widened, but narrowed into a glare. Sakura and Naruto turned around, and gasped at the huge figure looking over them.

It was the infamous Shukaku, with a giant claw hovering above them. "Well, well, look what I found." Gaara glared, and the demon raccoon just chuckled in response. "Time for you to die, pesky humans."

"Explosion!"

A blast of fire hit the Tanuki, pushing the demon slightly back from the three Namikazes. They looked up to see Kurama and Nibi leap from the cliff and into the air. Nibi extended a hand towards the demon and shouted out his attack. It was a dark attack, pushing the demon further away from the cliff side. The red haired woman looked down at the three teens. "You better find somewhere safe to hide." She shouted loud enough for them to hear.

Sakura grabbed Naruto and Gaara's hand, not questioning or going against the Kitsune's command. "Come on!"

"But we need to find a way to get those stones from Orochimaru!" Said the blonde.

"First we need to survive down here." Said Gaara, spotting a few Youkai fighting against Oto Soldiers and Yajuu a few feet away.

"Darkness Wave!"

The Namikaze siblings stopped on their tracks as they saw an attack heading their way. Gaara immediately moved in front of his brother and sister, and raised his hand, as a shield of sand went up to block the attack. When he lowered his hand, as the shield went down, an Yajuu appeared, its clawed hand ready to strike. Naruto released his controlled wind to push it back. Sakura stepped up and encased the Yajuu in her light element, disintegrating it into black dust.

Gaara turned around, and saw some more Yajuu coming their way, along with Oto Soldiers and a few Youkai that think that they are with the enemy humans. "Come on." He ran through the black forest with his brother and sister trailing behind him. They fought their way through anyone that stood in their way: Yajuu, Soldiers and Youkai. They fought with their controlled elements, making their way to where Orochimaru and the Daimaou still fought.

"Should we even be," Sakura heaved a shard of ice right through a Soldier, "heading towards where Orochimaru is at?" She looked up at the sky, and saw the two great powers still fighting. Their powers could be felt even as they were on the surface.

"We need to get the stones, right?" Gaara crushed a few Yajuu within his Desert Coffin attack. "We can hope and wait for the Daimaou to defeat him, and then we can take the stones."

Naruto jumped to avoid the blast from a Youkai. The blonde turned around and froze the three Youkai that were chasing them. "It may be a cowardly thing to do, wait until the person is defeated and steal the stones, but it's the only way, to avoid conflict with Orochimaru." The blonde looked up at the black sky. "I hope he hasn't no- GAH!"

The twins stopped in their tracks and turned around to see their baby brother missing from sight. The two looked all around frantically. They noticed that the forest they were in was dense, and there was a high wall of rock formation nearly surrounding them. The sounds of war were muffled, and there was no other being around but them. "NARU- AHHH!" Gaara turned his head and saw Sakura fall into the ground. He was not able to catch her, but suddenly he fell in too, into the dark void.

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"Tousan!"

Blinking his pale eyes, the young man turned around to see his daughter clapping her hands in delight, repeatedly calling him with her tiny chirps. Yuka was already eleven months old, and it was almost nearing her first birthday. He and Gaara already left the planning to her aunties, seeing as they were 'horrible' in planning for parties. The girl was smart for her age, seeing as she was born from two geniuses. Though her vocabulary count was almost ten words, she could speak them clearly, but with a little baby lisp. She was also understandable. It slightly frightened everyone that her some of her favorite words were 'blood' and 'die fool'.

Neji put down the paper he was reading for the absent Hokage, and walked up to his daughter that sat on her highchair. It looked like she was done with her breakfast. He gave the girl a playful frown, and placed his hands on his hips. "Look how messy you are, Yuka-chan." The girl giggled in response, and clapped her hands. She raised her hands up, to get out of the chair.

"Water!" She chirped. Another strange thing for this baby was she loved taking baths, being anywhere near water. Sakura thought, that since she has some Namikaze blood within her, she might control the element of Water. Neji chuckled and picked her up. The girl pushed back slightly, giving a questioning look. "Kaasan?"

Neji's expression slightly fell. "Your 'Momma' isn't here right now." The girl gave a puppy dog frown. It was usually Gaara who took her baths, not really Neji. "He's busy right now. He went to go help your Uncle Naruto." The girl perked at her blonde uncle's name. The pale-eyed male chuckled, knowing that the girl had an attachment to the petite blonde. "Don't worry. Kaasan will be home very soon." Neji silently prayed that the red haired man would come home to them.

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Itachi blinked open his eyes, and peered through the trees to see his twin brother doing a few exercises in the middle of the Uchiha Forest. He sighed. Since Naruto went to the demon realm, Sasuke has been brooding and kept on training from the break of dawn up until the brink of exhaustion. Itachi tried to reprimand his brother, but Sasuke was too stubborn. He threatened the younger Uchiha that he would strap him down if he didn't rest for a few hours a day. But there was no response, just a simple grunt.

"Itachi!"

Dog like eyes twitching, and blinking his eyes from his thoughts, he looked down to see the familiar Shugorei of his master's sister. He raised a brow, and jumped down from the tree. "Sai."

The shorter haired male gave a small smile. "You busy?"

Itachi shook his head. "Bored?"

The younger teen shrugged. "Hungry?"

The older Uchiha glanced at his twin, and then turned to the younger teen. "Why not?" Sai then latched on to the older teen's arm, and they made their way towards the city. Sai closed his eyes thinking about his Senmin. 'Sakura-san… I pray to the Gods you are safe where ever you are...' He then squeezed the older teen's arm.

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"I'm home!"

Hinata turned her head and smiled widely, seeing a recognizable figure. She put down the statuette down carefully back in the box, and got up to greet the person at the door. She walked into the foyer and smiled gently. It was her soon-to-be-husband, Kiba. He had in his arms bags of groceries that he bought in the store for their dinner. The young man looked up, and grinned toothily. Akamaru pushed his way through Kiba, and barked happily at the petite teen. Hinata knelt down and gave a gentle scratch behind the big dog's head. "Welcome home."

The young woman stood up, and walked with her fiancé into their small apartment that they just moved into. They walked through their small and comfortable living room, with boxes still scattered about neatly. "Sorry I didn't come home sooner. I thought I was going to help you in putting up our things."

Hinata shook her head. "It's okay. You're busy with missions. Getting us dinner is already enough."

Kiba put down the groceries on the counter, and the two helped each other in putting away the bought food. "Do you want me to make dinner tonight?"

Hinata shook her head, giving gentle smile. "No. It's okay. Why don't you go and rest. Take a shower while you're at it. I'll make dinner tonight."

The brunette man smiled at his fiancée and gave a small peck on her temple. "Okay."

The dark haired girl smiled to her self and looked out the window. 'I wonder if Sakura-san will be okay… I pray to the Gods that they will come home safely…'

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There were a few groans of pain. It was dark all around. And Sakura had a hard time seeing through the dark. The light above them was very faded, and it didn't emit enough light from wherever she was. Something shifted from beneath her, and she froze, shaking with fear. 'Oh Gods… what ever that is, I hope it won't eat me!' She tried to keep still and very quiet, as the thing below her was nearly pushing her off balance.

Not taking it anymore, the girl jumped off, and produced a ball of light upon her palm. The place was illuminated with a dim light, and the girl could see that there was her blonde brother on the ground, rousing from unconsciousness. "Oh my Gods! Naru-chan!" The pink haired girl rushed to her brother, her light still in one hand. "Are you okay? What happened?" She then looked up and looked around. "And where are we?"

There was another groan, and the pink haired girl pointed her light towards the source of the sound. "Niisan!" Gaara sat up, with a hand on his head.

He looked up and saw the very small light above him. "We fell pretty far…"

Naruto sat up, shaking his head. "Agh… my head…" Sakura placed a hand on the boy's head and her hand glowed in a blue aura. Naruto's face fell in to relief. "Thank you, Neechan!"

Gaara shook his head as Sakura offered to heal him. The eldest Namikaze stood up, and tried to look around with narrowed eyes. The one light in the room was the one that surrounded the three that Sakura held, because of her control of her element. "Sakura… can you lift up the light so that we can see where we are?"

When the pink haired girl obliged, the area they were was lighted up brightly. Opening his blue eyes, Naruto looked up and widened his eyes in shock. There in front of them was a giant black door with carvings on it. Gaara and Sakura stared in shock as well. "Is that… is that the Gate?" gasped the pink haired teen.

Gaara shook his head in disbelief. "It can't be… We couldn't have just found it that easily, and accidentally."

Naruto ran towards the huge double door, that stood as tall as the black castle of Daimaou. Compared to the doors, the three were just like ants. 'I can't believe we found it…' He craned his head up to try to look at the top of the doors. Then he looked straight ahead of him, and raised his hand. He touched the door, and felt a freezing feeling as he touched it. The blonde quickly pulled back his hand.

Sakura and Gaara neared their brother, and stood beside him. "So… what are we going to do now?"

The blonde turned his head to his sister. "We should try to protect this door from being opened by anyone."

The red head frowned slightly, and furrowed his brows. Sakura raised a brow, and tilted her head slightly. "Something wrong, Niisan?"

"I don't get how we stumbled into here." He turned around, and crossed his arms. "I don't even remember crossing any sort of genjutsu that could have protected this place from possible intruders."

Naruto blinked his blue eyes. "I don't care. At least we found the Gate."

"So…" The pink haired girl turned away from the door and started to take playful steps away from it. "We're just going to stay in here and make sure on one else will come in here?"

The blonde nodded. Gaara just shrugged. "Let's go scout the area and see what else is there in here." Sakura nodded, and the twins walked away from the Gate and their blonde brother. Naruto stayed by the gate, watching his older siblings walking around at a distance. He raised a hand and lit up a small flame upon it.

"Boy…"

Blue eyes shot wide, and the blonde turned around to face the black door. 'What…'

"You desire power, don't you?"

Naruto backed away from the door as it started to radiate that chilling and black aura. He shook his head vigorously. 'It can't be… it's not calling for me… it's my imagination.'

"Your heart seeks it… that darkness that is dwelling beneath it. It wants power… it desires greatness…"

'No… no it doesn't!' He shouted in his head. He was still backing away, staring with wide blue eyes at the door. He could have sworn the carved figures on the door were moving, their eyes glowing red.

"You cannot lie. The darkness with in you is calling out …"

The blonde stopped, and stared at the giant doors, that was radiating in a dark aura. A wisp of that darkness crawled out towards Naruto, and reached out to wrap around his ankle. The blonde froze, an icy feeling creeping up from his leg. 'No… I…'

"Boy… we can give it to you… that power… you will easily defeat all your enemies…"

Naruto tightly closed his eyes, feeling that coldness sink into his heart. It was swelling with emptiness, and something within him wanted to burst out. He tried to shake it away, but it wouldn't let go. He shot his eyes wide open, opening his mouth to call out to his older siblings. But no sound came out. It was like something tightening was blocking his vocal cords. 'No! I don't want it! Let me go!' His body trembled uncontrollably; his limbs have gone numb.

"You want it… your heart desires it… give in… we can help you…"

'Niisan! Neechan! Kurama! Help me! Sasuke!'

The earth above them exploded open and two figures came falling into the dark. The dim light from outside poured into the underground chamber. Gaara and Sakura turned around and looked up at the crumbling earth that was falling down above their baby brother. The pink haired girl widened her hands, and reach out her hand towards the blonde. "NARUTO!" Gaara ran with great speed to the blonde, extending out his arm. Sand shot out around the petite boy, and pulled him away before the rubble could crush him. When the blonde was with the two, Sakura immediately threw her arms around the boy protectively. The pink haired girl knelt down on the ground, holding the boy. "Naruto… are you okay?"

The two looked down at the blonde, and saw his unblinking, and blank eyes. They furrowed their brows. "Naruto?" The blonde didn't respond.

The fallen pile of stones and earth was pushed away with a big blast of power. There standing in the center was the recognizable snake like man. He was facing the Namikaze siblings. He was surprised to see them, but then his expression became smug, and he smirked. "Well, well, well, look whom we have here. It's the infamous Namikazes." Orochimaru said slyly, with a small hiss. "What are you three doing here?"

From the side, a piece of rubble was pushed away, and a figure stood up from the debris. It was the Daimaou, recovering from the fall and his out of control battle with the Snake Sennin. The young looking lord of the demon realm opened his eyes and saw Orochimaru, and also his mother's charge with his siblings. He then turned his head, and widened his eyes upon the giant black door. 'No! It's the Gate of Darkness… They have found it.' The Kitsune narrowed his eyes, seeing the black aura that was trying to get out from its locked doors. It was reacting oddly. 'Why?' He quickly turned his head, and saw the still form of the blonde. 'It knows… the Ten'yo is here… and it's calling for him.'

The Snake Sennin turned around, and widened his eyes in shock. "It's here…" Then he threw his head back, laughing out loudly. "I finally found it, the Gate of Darkness! And now the power is all mine!"

"No you will not!" Kiyoshi threw attacks at the man, which Orochimaru dodged with fluid grace. The Sennin tried to counterattack with the elements he had in control from the Stones he had in his possession. The place that they were in was shaking from the forces, and more rubble came into the chamber from above, falling down upon them.

Gaara and Sakura took their brother and moved to the side, to avoid being caught by the two great beings' fight. Sakura held the blonde protectively close to her, while Gaara wrapped his arms around his two younger siblings, his sand circling around them as a shield. The pink haired girl looked down at the unresponsive blonde. "Naruto… snap out of it. What's wrong?" The blonde was still; his eyes were blank. The red head Namikaze frowned.

"Shockwave Darkness!"

The Namikaze twins widened their eyes, and already knew how powerful this attack would be that Orochimaru released from the use of the Stone of Darkness. Gaara encased his sand around him and his siblings. Sakura set up three shields outside the sand to help in blockading the dark attack. They held on to each other tightly, as they felt the power hit against their shields. Sakura struggled to hold up the first three shields, but they cracked, and the power went through, beating against Gaara's ultimate defense of sand.

"Niisan!" Sakura cried out, feeling her brother struggling in keeping up his sand. He was gritting his teeth, concentrating hard to keep it up. He held on tightly to his younger siblings. The pink haired girl feared for her brothers and herself. The power was too much. 'Is this going to be it…?' The girl clutched on tightly to her brothers. 'Hinata… Sai… Lee… I'm sorry… and I'm sorry Naruto…'

Gaara closed his eyes tightly. Beads of sweat were forming. 'I… I can't give up…' He pulled his brother and sister closer to him. 'I can't let go… my family…' He saw the smiling faces of Sakura, Naruto, Tsunade, and his parents. There were sounds of ripping and grinding, as the strong force was pushing its way through the thick wall of sand. Then flashes of Neji and Yuka came into his mind. A pair of teal eyes widened open.

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Kurama fought back, after the Tanuki tried to strike her with its sand. From behind, Nibi unleashed some of his dark attacks, and landed on the branches of the trees. The Nekomata jumped away in time from getting crushed by one of the Goubi's five tails.

The Kitsune growled, irritated in fighting, not only one Biju, but also five others. Once Nibi and Kurama decided to fight Shukaku, when the Tanuki went to hurt their tenants, the Akatsuki leader turned his attention to the two Biju, and sent the other captured ones after them. The two may be strong, but they weren't in their full original power in the forms that they were in, unlike the six other Biju they were fighting against. Plus, their charges disappeared from sight, and their use of borrowed chakra from their tenants were running out.

"I don't think we can take any more of their attacks." Said Nibi, as he landed next to the Kitsune, hiding in the black forest from the giant Youkai.

The red haired woman nodded. "You're right… and we need to hurry and find the Namikazes. I feel that something is not right."

The white haired boy nodded in reply. "I also feel that Sakura is in danger." The two dodged the attack from the Sanbi, and exploded into a cloud of smoke. The two then went on running in quick haste in their tiny false animal forms. They were hard to spot by the Biju, and that gave them the advantage. 'Let's hurry!' Said Kurama. The Nekomata nodded, and let the ex-Daimaou lead the way.

Suddenly there was a big explosion, and a giant figure erupted from the ground before them. They jumped away from the flying debris that went up with the giant form that came from underground. They cursed thinking it was a Biju that could have found them. They strained their necks to watch the smoke clear. Up in the sky was a long white dragon, with a dark power reach out to them, but it stopped short, missing the dragon's tail.

Kurama's ears perked up in recognition. 'That's… that's the Hyuuga!' Nibi turned his head with wide eyes and confusion.

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Opening his green eyes, Gaara looked up to see that he and his siblings were no longer in the giant chamber where the Gate was. They were in the black-clouded sky. The sounds of battle could be heard below them, and gusts wind blew against them. Sakura slowly pulled up her head, and blink her emerald green eyes in confusion. "What…?"

Gaara blinked his eyes, feeling a familiar presence. He glanced down to see a white scaly surface. "Neji…" He murmured softly.

A big dragon head moved to the three figures upon its body, and looked at them. 'Gaara-sama… you called. Are you alright?'

His eyes softened, looking into those pale lavender eyes. There was a tiny smile forming upon the red headed teen's lips. But then it turned into a small frown. "Who is taking care of Yuka?" Gaara asked in a deep monotonous voice. Sakura sweat dropped. 'That's just like them… not able to publicly show their affections for one another. I don't get them.' She shook her head.

The pink haired girl looked up at her brother-in-law. "Neji-nii… what are you doing here? How can you be here? And," she looked around at the big form that the teen had. It was unlike the last time she's seen him in his animal form before, which was slightly bigger than Hinata's.

The giant white dragon blinked his eyes. 'I don't know how…' He glanced around. He then thought to himself. 'I guess the bond that Gaara and I have has done this… and allowed me to be in this realm, to protect him…' He stared at his 'wife'. Feeling his husband's gaze, the red head turned and locked gazes. Sakura smiled to herself at the two.

Neji then landed somewhere safe from the big fights between the Youkai and Oto. When they touched ground, Kurama and Nibi greeted them in their tiny forms. 'Thank goodness you're safe!' Said the Nekomata. The kitten jumped into Sakura's arms. Gaara carried Naruto on his back, with Neji, back to himself, standing beside his spouse.

Kurama frowned slightly. 'What happened to Naruto?'

Sakura shook her head. "We don't know. We found the Gate, and when Orochimaru and Daimaou crashed into the place, Naruto was like this the whole time." She glanced at the dull form of her brother, whose eyes were still open and blank.

'Wait! You found the Gate of Darkness?' Nibi questioned in disbelief. 'And Orochimaru found it! We have to make sure it doesn't open!'

"…Stop… him…"

Gaara blinked his eyes, and glanced at his blond brother. He saw the boy's lips slowly moving, his voice small and barely loud. "Naruto?"

"…Need to stop… him…" The blonde was moving around, wanting to be put down from Gaara's back. The red head allowed him, and helped him in standing up. When Naruto moved away, he nearly stumbled forward, but his older brother helped him.

"Naruto? What's wrong?" Sakura had worry in her eyes, afraid for the blonde. 'Something isn't right… Naruto is acting strangely… what happened when we were in that place with the Gate?'

The blonde moved sluggishly to the giant opening to where the Gate was in. He staggered slightly in his steps, and he swayed, as if he was in a trance. They followed the blonde, confused in the boy's actions. 'Naruto…' Kurama called out, but there was no response.

When they stood at the edge of the hole, they could feel the tremors of powers that were pulsing out from below. Daimaou and Orochimaru were still fighting, and dangerously close to the giant black doors of the Gate of Darkness.

"…Power… to stop… him…" Muttered Naruto, before he closed his dull blue eyes, and leaned forward into the hole. The group around him all cried out, as he fell in, not able to catch him.

"Naruto!"

The dark aura around the door blared out from the edges as Naruto stopped mid air, in front of the doors. That black aura sailed towards the blonde, and encircled him. The people at the ledge above widened their eyes. "What… what's going on?" Cried Sakura, her heart race in fear.

'He…' Kurama shook her head in disbelief. 'No…'

Daimaou looked up and saw the ball of Darkness that floated at the center of the doors. He turned his head, and dodged the attack of the Snake Man. He growled, and turned away from the Snake Man. "You're no longer my concern." He then jumped up high towards the ball of black aura. A sword appeared in his hand, and he raised it up high to strike the ball. "I will not allow you to open the Gates!"

"No, Kiyoshi, don't!" Cried out Kurama to her son.

Daimaou stopped in the air, and looked up at his mother incredulously. Then the darkness blared out from the ball, pushing back the Daimaou. The force surged out from the hole, pushing down the group that was at the ledge. 'No! It's opening!' Shouted Nibi,

Gaara looked at the Biju with wide eyes. "What?" He said in shock.

Sakura shook her head. 'No… no it can't be… Naruto's isn't the one who would open the Gate… I can't loose him to the Darkness… No!' The pink haired girl crawled towards the ledge and shouted out for her baby brother. "NARUTO!"

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((GAH! Don't kill me! I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! I swear, I think I accidentally signed up for hard classes this quarter! Too much work!

I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with this chapter. I think I made like 4 different versions for this chapter. And I still don't really like this one. Anyways… surprised that Naruto was the one that is going to open the Gate of Darkness? The prophecy never did say who would open it. When I originally wrote the prophecy, I was thinking in my head that Orochimaru would open it, or the leader… but then Naruto popped in my head. Oh great… there will be a lot of drama and angst after the opening of the Gate. No! What have I done now?

Anyways, in the other versions of this chapter, I was debating on who would come and save Gaara, Sakura, and Naruto. Originally I was going to make Sasuke appear, but that's very obvious. Plus I was like pointing directions towards Neji and Gaara. Wanted some moments between the two, and also show a bit of KibaHina pairing. There is a little hint of ItaSai in there.

Oh that reminds me! The Itachi pairing poll will still go on. You can still vote who you want. I think I'm going to rule out Kyuubi, since she has already a mate and has lots of children (thanks for the explanation from Kaname Natsumi). So choose between Deidara, Kisame or Sai. You can still pick! I really like you reasons as to why Itachi should be paired with whom. Most of them are really convincing, and I have yet to decide. But then again, it's up to you! So keep on voting, yeah?

I'm not sure of how the Nibi no Nekomata should appear. I tried to follow the information that I found in ( forums. narutofan showthread. php?t =57918). I guess I'll continue with some of the information about the Biju from there.

Well… what will happen next? Will Naruto be shrouded in darkness? Is the world coming to an end? Is this fic coming to an end? And where is Sasuke? So many questions! I guess you'll just have to wait for the next chapter. Hopefully I could update sooner than this. Thanks a lot for all your reviews! I'm so happy that you are still there, following with this fic! I have already three ideas for some fics, but I won't start until I finish this one… and also my first one (which I have yet to update . ). Anyways, please review! It's what helps me to continue this fic! Until next time!))

EDIT 2013: Fixed the usual stuff, and corrected the Nibi's looks to the updated current one found around. And the Akatsuki Leader, I left him nameless and faceless. No, he is not Pein/Nagato or Yahiko. The Leader will always be face less!