Inuyasha: Man…This is cool! To think you guys are about to face off with Shao Khan of all people. A warrior that nearly defeated a damn god! This is so awesome.
Naruto (Reaper): This doesn't feel so awesome Yasha.
Sango: Stop being insensitive Inuyasha. It will be ok Naruto. I bet things will get better.
Inuyasha: Better? Feh, stop trying to raise their hopes.
Sango: Inuyasha!
Forged in Hellfire: Lost Soul Reborn
Chapter Twenty-Six: Fate of the World Part One: Konoha Vs Shao Kahn
Ruins of Tanzaku Town
Team Konoha (With Itachi)
"How did you do this sorcerer?!" Kitana shouted with fury in her voice.
Standing amongst the group of Konoha stunned shinobi were the enraged forms of Kitana, Princess of Edenia and Hasashi Hanzo, known as Scorpion while the amused form of Cassie Cage, defeater of the Fallen Elder God Shinnok stood beside them.
"I merely showed your compatriots who you three really were behind your reincarnated bodies," Shao Kahn explained.
"I think you made a mistake then," Cassie said with a glint in her eye. "You gave us back our original strength with changing us back."
"Oh you silly girl," Shao Kahn chuckled out. "I am not foolish enough to do that. I am merely revealing your true selves through an illusion. You are not in your real bodies."
"But why? What do you have to gain by doing this?" Kurenai questioned.
Shao Kahn merely smirked and raised his right hand. "To sow chaos amongst your ranks," he said before he snapped his fingers. All around the shinobi, a sphere of images appeared around them and on the images showed the various past of Scorpion, Kitana and Cassie.
Kakashi, Anko, Sasuke, Haku and Sakura looked at an image of Scorpion, who was currently engaged in fierce combat with Sub-Zero in what looked like hell.
Kurenai, Kiba and Shino watched in image of Kitana standing beside Shao Kahn with an emotionless expression on her face as she watched an opponent's soul being taken by the powerful warrior.
Asuma Ino, Shikamaru, Karui and Chōji watched on as Cassie Cage battled Kitana in a fierce battle, with various wounds on their bodies.
"Konoha shinobi, these are the three you are loyal to. The three that have hide their true identities from you. From a ruthless clan leader of the Shirai Ryu turned hellish Specter, to an assassin and princess of Outworld, to a cocky blonde that lucked her way into defeating a god. Do you want to form an alliance with a trio of liars?" Shao Kahn asked.
"These images…" Sakura noted, turning away from Scorpion taking off the head of Quan-Chi. "These are true, aren't they? You really did those things?"
"They are and I did," Scorpion confirmed.
"How did this happen?" Sakura asked.
"On the bridge…I had died. Killed by your hand to save Haku's life. I met with my soul. Something like this wasn't supposed to happen. In order to save both of our souls, we combined into one," Scorpion explained.
Sakura stared into the shinobi's eyes and while they were bright white, there was something familiar in them. Something that made her feel safe and warm.
Sakura walked forward and placed her hand on Scorpion's chest, right where his heart lay, much to Team 7's and Haku's surprise.
"I had a feeling something was different about you," Sakura said. "But to know that your soul was combined with someone so vicious and admittedly, it scares me to know you are capable for something so violent…"
Sakura then gave him a bright smile "But despite this, I can see you through this image. I can still see the goof ball blond that caused pranks and caused massive chases in our village. I can see the shinobi that saved our lives on the bridge. I can see the shinobi that saved Wave and Hisako from danger. I see you, Uzumaki Naruto and that is all that matters to me."
"Sakura…" Scorpion whispered.
"Well…That was a rather impassioned speech," Kakashi said with a chuckle. "I must say, this has thrown me off but that doesn't change anything for me either."
"Thanks Kakashi-sensei," Scorpion replied.
Anko licked her lips and turned to Scorpion and said "Whew, seeing you bathed in the blood of enemies has got me all hot and bothered. To think, you have that as a past life. Only shows me how much of a catch you'll be in the future, Gaki."
"Thanks?" Scorpion said with confusion.
Sasuke remained silent for a moment, staring at the image of Scorpion training his student Takeda. "I can't believe this guy is you dope but if that is the case…I can somehow see it as well." Sasuke then chuckled and said "I wonder what other secrets you could have."
Scorpion chuckled before he looked to Haku.
"I agree with Anko-san, you are certainly sexy both as Naruto and Scorpion. She was also right that you are a catch," Haku said. "I don't have some sort of speech like Sakura-san or blatantly horniness like Anko-san but seeing you overcome your past mistakes to be who you are now makes me realize that you are so much stronger than I thought before."
"Thank you Haku-chan. All of you, it means a lot to me that you guys see me for me and not for who I used to be," Scorpion said. "But still, he is crafty to throw this our way. He's trying to break us apart to make it easier for him to defeat us."
Kakashi and Anko nodded in agreement. "Then we should beat his ass," Anko said with a determined smirk.
Scorpion smirked as well.
Meanwhile Kitana stood in silence as Kurenai, Kiba and Shino stared at her. "So this what triggered your change," Kurenai said. "You awakened your other part of your soul."
"That is correct," Kitana replied. "It happened when we found my fans."
"I had a feeling the fans were the catalyst for your change in behavior," Shino noted. "But for this to occur. It certainly turns my life upside down."
"Dude, seriously. How awesome is this?!" Kiba exclaimed. "Naruto's a badass Shinobi from hell. You're a princess and an assassin and the cute blonde over there defeat a fallen elder god, whatever that is. We are so going to win this battle!"
"You don't care if I am like this?" Kitana asked him.
"Fuck no! You're like my baby sister," Kiba said with a smile. "I couldn't be mad at you even if I tried. Besides, are you seeing your past here? You're totally badass. I can't hate on that!"
"Kiba-kun," Kitana whispered.
"I agree with Kiba," Shino said. "Princess of Outworld or whatever it is named or Princess of the Hyūga clan. It matters not. You have been our friend since we were children and to be fair, we are worse than friends. We're family and we look out for one another."
"Shino-kun," Kitana said.
"Well, looks like I was beaten out in speeches. You're still Hinata in my eyes. Stronger, faster and with a lot more refined but still our Hinata," Kurenai finished with a smile on her face.
"T-Thank you," Kitana said as she bowed to the three.
"There's our Hyūga Princess!" Kiba said with a grin.
Meanwhile with Cassie, she was currently flexing her muscles as Ino watched with large eyes, a blush on her face. "Take it all in baby. This is all me," Cassie said with a grin on her face.
"Wow, you're simply amazing. So what is an Elder God and how did you defeat one?" Shikamaru asked.
"Well, from what Ray-Diddy. That's Raiden, god of Thunder, told me, The Elder Gods are the supreme omnipotent deities of the universe. Whereas other Gods only have jurisdiction over a single realm and typically represent an element, the Elder Gods are more ethereal and have power in all realms and universe. Shinnok was a salty ass scrub who got booted from the elite club. He decided to throw a bitch fit and try to take over all the realms. My parents defeated him."
"They sound very strong," Karui said.
"They were…" Cassie said with a soft smile. "They were the best. My mom says I take after my dad a lot. The famed actor Johnny Cage or as many of opponents knew him as, Talk McNutshot."
"Why did they call him that?" Ino asked.
"You'll see when we boot this wanna-be god," Cassie said with a wink. "Years later, way after I was born, Shinnok came back and tried his stupid plan again, nearly killing us all. Kitana was a part of that gang…Me and her, had a shit ton of battles. She nearly killed my ass last time but I won out, beat the fuck outta Shinnok and saved my world."
"That is awesome!" Chōji exclaimed. "You must be super strong then to defeat a fallen elder god."
"Eh, my dad liked to think so. He actually decided to retire from being a fighter. Same with mom…Too bad I couldn't live up to their expectations…" Cassie said, her voice become softer.
"But!" Cassie perked up. "I am back now and I get another shot to make things right and with help from those two over there, we will beat Shao Kahn without anyone dying or die trying."
Asuma narrowed his eyes at her and said "I may be seeing the proof but I still can't believe a fighter such as yourself saved your…Realm."
"Believe it or not, I don't give a fuck," Cassie said. "You're watching me do it now and you will again in a sec."
"It is truly unbelievable that you three are from a different realm," Itachi said, his voice catching the attention of all the present shinobi. "However, I believe we need to save all the talking for later."
The sphere of images faded away, which also caused Scorpion, Kitana and Cassie's images to a fade away, revealing Naruto, Hinata and Tayuya once again.
And while the group was glad to see these three again, they also became on edge when they saw Shao Kahn's amused expression. "So hearing all of the responses, I assume you all are willing to die with these three?" Shao Kahn questioned.
"Sorry to disappoint you but there is no way in hell we're turning our backs on these guys!" Kiba shouted.
"Took the words right outta my mouth kid," Anko replied.
"We're all in agreement then," Kakashi said. "My apologies Shao Kahn."
Shao Kahn chuckled and with a flash of crimson energy, he appeared in the middle of the group.
"Holy shit, he moves fast!" Anko shouted.
"A pity…I do sense a ton of potential in all of you. Such a shame to cut that short," Shao Kahn said before he twisted his body and aimed his blade towards Sakura but Naruto pushed her out of the way just as the blade was going to cut her and clashed his blade with Kahn's.
"You have to be quicker Firefly," Shao Kahn stated before he pushed Naruto's blade to the side and kicked him in the chest, sending him skidded past his teammates and into a stone pillar.
Shao Kahn then twisted his blade and block Tayuya's energy covered fist and smirked. "Nice try," before he pushed her hand away and aimed a palm at her chest but with a burst of green energy, his hand stopped inches from hitting her chest.
Tayuya then smacked the hand away and landed a hard fist in the middle of Kahn's face but to her shock, he chuckled against her fist.
"You must do better Cage. I am far stronger than that old corpse Shinnok," Shao Kahn said before he smack the hand away, grabbed her by the head and threw Tayuya in the direction Naruto had been kicked.
He then turned around to shield himself from the Hinata's edenian fans before he dashed towards and tried to cleave her in half but Hinata rolled to the side and leapt up to aim a knee to his head but Shao Kahn caught her knee and smirked.
"You must be stronger my daughter. Your quickness can only get you so far before someone faster and stronger comes along," Shao Kahn said before he pushed her knee away and punched her hard in the face, sending Hinata crashing to the ground before he reared his leg backwards to kick her.
With a flicker, Kurenai appeared in front of Hinata and caught the leg while Anko and Kakashi flickered in the air on his sides and aimed a kick at his face but Shao Kahn let out a roar, causing a powerful wave of crimson energy to explode from his body, sending the four away from him.
Kakashi and Anko landed in a crouch before they dashed forward, kunai drawn in each hand while Kurenai helped Hinata to her feet.
"Are you alright?" Kurenai asked.
"I will be once we kill him," Hinata muttered angrily before the two dashed after Kakashi and Anko.
Asuma went to give chase after the four but he was stopped by a large wave of lava that seemed to reach the sky.
Asuma, Itachi and the rest of the genin turned their heads and looked to Rōshi, who said "Sorry, your fight is with me."
Ruins of Tanzaku Town
Konoha Shinobi Vs Shao Kahn
"Doton: Dosekiryū (Earth Style: Earth Dragon)!" Kakashi shouted as a Dragon made of mud and stone exploded from the ground and towards Shao Kahn, who smirked and used his blade to cleave the dragon in half.
Anko flickered in front of Shao Kahn and aimed a kick at his head but the large warrior allowed it to hit the side of his head, a smirk still on his face. "Weak," Shao Kahn said then grabbed the leg and twisted his body and slammed her into the ground, hard enough to cause spider webbing cracks against the ground.
He then slammed his foot against her chest, making her gasp in pain and lifted up his blade only to turn it downwards, a smirk on his face.
"And the first one falls," Kahn said but Naruto's hellfire infused knee slammed into face, whipping his head to the left while Anko simultaneously grabbed the warrior's foot and used her chakra to push him off of her, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Doton: Doryūheki (Earth Style: Mud Wall)!" Kakashi shouted, causing a mud wall to explode from the ground Shao Kahn laid on, sending him into the air.
Hinata leapt into the air and used her Edenian magic to bounce diagonally through the air until she was above the large wall and with a shout, she slammed both knees into Shao Kahn's face and used her magic to propel her body, sending them both through the wall and slamming into the ground.
Hinata flipped off of Kahn's body and pulled out her fans but Shao Kahn grabbed her wrist and swung her off of him and into the ground above him, causing spider-web cracks against the ground.
Shao Kahn swiftly rolled onto top Hinata and picked her up off of the ground and landed two brutal blows to the right side of her body before releasing her wrist and landed several blows to her face and torso before finishing it off with a hard kick to the chest, sending her flying backwards into Kurenai.
Kurenai caught the kunoichi and immediately began to heal her while Naruto and Kakashi dashed past her, Kakashi with his Chidori in his right hand while Naruto with hellfire in his right.
The two shouted and launched their respective attacks to Shao Kahn but to their shock, he caught both hands.
He smirked.
"You both must realize it's going to take a lot more than this to top me," Shao Kahn taunted before he pulled their bodies forward sharply while simultaneously releasing their fists, only to clothesline them both, sending their bodies into the air before they crashed to the ground.
Shao Kahn then leapt up and landed hard on their chests, causing them both to wheeze out in pain before he leapt up again to repeat his actions.
But without warning, a shout of "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Sen'ei Tajashu (Summoning Jutsu: Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)!" reached his ears, and soon found his body wrapped by pale red snakes coming from out of Anko's jacket sleeves.
"Got you!" Anko shouted as she pulled Shao Kahn away from the two downed shinobi and towards her, where he fell onto his knees. "Bite his ass!" Anko commanded.
The snakes opened their mouths, their fangs giving a brief shine before biting down on Shao Kahn's skin, causing blood to dribble down his body but he still held a cocky expression on his face.
"Puny reptiles can't hold me back," Shao Kahn muttered.
Anko smirked and then took a deep breath and shouted "Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu (Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu)!" She blew out an intense fire that covered the snakes and flowed down to Shao Kahn, encasing his entire body in flames.
"Fire proof snakes. They never see it co-" Anko's gloating quickly died in her throat as Shao Kahn roared from the blazing fire around him, causing crimson waves of energy to explode from his body, evaporating the snakes that bound him and snuffing out the flames.
And there was not a single mark on his body.
Shao Kahn quickly dashed to Anko and clotheslined her hard, sending her body to the ground where he then wrapped his hand around her head, picked her up and twisted his body to slam her into the ground hard, causing the earth to splinter and rise from the hard impact.
Shao Kahn lifted Anko off the ground and released her before he reared his left arm back then whipped it forward but before his uppercut could strike her, Naruto flickered in front of her and blocked his fist with his forearms
"Firefly…" Shao Kahn said with a cocky grin. Naruto sneered and pushed the fist down and slammed his right fist against the warrior's face, tilting his head back but Naruto could feel Shao Kahn's smirk against his fist.
Naruto reared his hand back and aimed another fist at the man's torso and followed it up with a punch to the left side of Kahn but as Naruto aimed a hellfire infused punch to his chest, Shao Kahn caught the hand.
Shao Kahn then whipped his head forward and head-butted Naruto hard, making the shinobi stagger back but he managed to shake off the blow quick enough to duck a jab from Kahn and retaliate with a knee to the man's chin.
Naruto then twisted his body and landed an elbow against the top of the man's head but Kahn grabbed the front of his jacket and turned his body and slammed Naruto into the ground, causing the earth to rise around him.
"Goodbye Firefly," Shao Kahn said as he released the hold and shot a crimson colored orb at Naruto's chest and fired it.
Naruto caught the orb but the force behind it was so strong, it caused Naruto to skid across the ground before he rose out of the ground and into the air.
Naruto let out a yell and managed to push himself out of the trajectory of the orb just as it exploded, sending him soaring down to the ground at quick speeds and slammed into the ground hard.
Shao Kahn turned around to face the still downed Anko but Kakashi flickered in front of her, his Sharingan revealed and shouted "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu)!"
A large ball of flames engulfed Shao Kahn's body and flew up into the air where it exploded but floating within the smoke, Shao Kahn's body was seen floating within the smoke.
"Fuck off with that," Kakashi said before he formed seal and shouted "Kage Bushin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"
Four clones of Kakashi appeared beside him and the four quickly formed several hand seals.
"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu)!" The first clone shouted
"Doton: Dosekiryū no Jutsu (Earth Style: Earth Dragon)!" The second clone shouted
"Raiton: Ikazuchiryū no Jutsu! (Lightning Style: Lightning Dragon Jutsu)!" The third clone shouted.
"Kaiton: Hiryū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Fire Dragon Jutsu)!" The fourth clone shouted.
"Fūton: Kaze no Ryū no Jutsu! (Wind Style: Wind Dragon Jutsu)!" Kakashi shouted.
The five dragons shot out from the mouths of the respective owners and flew towards Shao Kahn.
The five Kakashi then formed several more hand seals and shouted "Danketsu: Genso Ryūjin no Jutsu (Unity: Elemental Dragon God Jutsu!) The five shouted in unison.
The five dragons combined into one large dragon that took the size of a hurricane, its eyes flowing ethereal blue as the five elements swirled around its body.
"Dragons…More like worms beneath my feet!" Shao Kahn shouted as crimson energy flowed from his body like mist before forming into a solid orb around his body.
Shao Kahn let out a roar as he dashed down towards the large elemental dragon. The Dragon roared and flew towards Shao Kahn and then the two forces clashed in the sky, causing a massive explosion that seemed to shake the earth.
But to the shock of Kakashi, the dragon began to glow crimson before it exploded, revealing Shao Kahn's body, which was charging straight towards him.
The five clones instantly stepped in front of Kakashi and leapt into the air to slow down the orb but the clones seemed to evaporate upon contact with the orb, leaving Kakashi unguarded as the orb rammed into him and into the ground, causing the earth to splinter and then explode around them.
Kakashi let out a yell as crimson electricity streaked across his body repeatedly as the orb pushed him further into the ground before grinding across the ground and slamming into three destroyed buildings.
Shao Kahn dashed out the orb and landed on his feet and watched as the orb, with Kakashi wrapped around it, flew higher into the sky but then an emerald ball slammed into the crimson orb, causing it to push the orb away from Kakashi and explode in the air.
"Not finished yet asshole!" Tayuya shouted as she dashed towards Shao Kahn, emerald shadows following behind her, and slammed her elbow into his stomach.
The emerald shadows then collapsed into Tayuya's form, each one doubling and then tripling the power of her blow until the last one melded into Tayuya, sending Shao Kahn skidding backwards against the ground.
Tayuya then delivered a side kick, her emerald shadows following suit but Shao Kahn stepped to the side to avoid it and then raised his arm to block her elbow before he tugged her elbow back and slammed his forearm in the middle of her face, sending Tayuya to the ground.
Tayuya flipped to her feet and ducked a jab from Shao Kahn only for Hinata and Kurenai to leap over her and deliver a drop kick to Shao Kahn's face while Tayuya slammed her shoulder into his stomach, which made Shao Kahn skid against the ground briefly.
Naruto then flickered behind him and wrapped his arms around the man's waist and yelled as he picked the man up and slammed him down onto the ground backwards, slamming Kahn onto his back.
Shao Kahn rolled backwards and landed on his knees but Kurenai's left met his face, sending him skidding backwards.
Shao Kahn rose to his feet only to catch the feet of both Naruto and Tayuya but it left his torso open for Hinata to aim a strike at his stomach but Shao Kahn lifted up his leg and blocked the strike with his left knee.
Shao Kahn gripped the legs of Naruto and Tayuya and swung Tayuya down to the ground and then slammed her into Hinata, sending the two flying to the side before he launched Naruto into the air and shot a small crimson orb at him.
Naruto disappeared in a burst of Hellfire and then appeared behind Shao Kahn and slammed his fist against the man's spine but Shao Kahn turned around and punched Naruto in the face but Naruto instantly retaliated with an hellfire infused uppercut.
Shao Kahn staggered backwards and side stepped two jabs before catching the third jab and pulling Naruto close into a knee strike to the gut before pushing Naruto back and kicking him in the chest, sending Naruto flying backwards.
Naruto recovered however and pulled out a kunai and stabbed it into the ground to slow his flight down and fell to one knee, blood dribbling down his lips.
"This guy is very strong. His blows feel like their striking me," Kyūbi said with a frown on her face. "You guys are throwing everything you have and yet he doesn't have a scratch on him."
'Yeah…Not only that, he's very quick as well. Back then, he was slow but could absorb a lot of damage. Perhaps the body he is in now is faster…Damn it. There must be something we can do!' Naruto exclaimed as he rose to his feet.
"Overload him," Kyūbi replied.
'Overload him?' Naruto questioned as he stared at the man, who was currently dodged every blow Tayuya, Hinata and Kurenai was throwing at him.
Naruto summoned several clones and motioned for them to help the three kunoichi while he stayed behind to listen to Kyūbi.
"You sense his power. It is enormous but each blow he takes is chipping away at it. After Anko's and Kakashi's jutsu, it took a large chunk of his power. It's slowly been dwindling. If we can override that power, we may have a chance to actually start hurting him," Kyūbi explained.
'That is a heavy thing to ask. Its dwindling but I still can't see the end to his power all the same. I still don't have all of the abilities of my specter self and even if I did, I would need more power to dent the iron that is his power,' Naruto thought.
"I know...I know what must be done for you to achieve not only the power of your past life but the power to defeat him but it comes with a cost…" Kyūbi said softly.
'Which is?' Naruto asked.
But Kyūbi remained silent for a moment, as if she was afraid of answering him but the moment passed with her sigh. "The last time you became angry, you became at risk of losing your soul to it but behind that anger, your power skyrocketed. You need to be brought to that point."
'But how can that happen?' Naruto asked. 'The thing with the Sandaime will not bring me back to that level.'
He could feel the sadness coming from Kyūbi when he said this and at that moment, he felt a strong sense of foreboding.
"…I wish we could have trained you sooner to do this," Kyūbi said with a regretful tone.
'I know…How long will it take to do what needs to be done?' Naruto asked her.
"It will take some time…But I can get it done," She replied emotionlessly.
'Then…I will give you that time,' Naruto said but when he tried to stand up, he found himself unable to move.
'Kyūbi…Why can't I move?' Naruto asked her but he only received silence. 'Kyūbi? Kyūbi?!' Naruto shouted, panic beginning to fill his heart.
"Kyūbi!"
Naruto (Reaper): Oh my god…Oh no, no, no, no, no….This is not good.
Sango: *covers mouth in horror* Oh my god…
Inuyasha: *stares at screen with popcorn in hand, mouth wide open*
Kate: No! Naruto-kun! You don't see what that horrible demon is doing?! God please help him!
Ron-Pool: Well…I think I know how this is going to turn out. Oh! I note from Rain. *clears throat* Hey everyone, Rain here. This battle with Shao Kahn and the big R will be two more chapters and be warned. The deaths will beginning in the next chapter and shit is going to look really dire by the third chapter of this battle. So I hope you guys are ready. Until next time!
Mario: Mama Mia! See you next time!
