Chapter 28 – The end of … Naruto?

Kakashi panted heavily as he stood before the body of his opponent. He had received a deep gash on his right shoulder and a number of smaller cuts, but none of them were fatal. His left hand glowed softly as he quickly stopped the bleeding. Thank God Tsunade sama insisted that every one take a course in the basics of healing.

Just then, a wave of chakra washed over everyone. Kakashi barely had time to rip of his mask before he bent over, retching. Kabuto lay writhing on the ground, feeling as if someone had twisted him inside out. All the sound and lead ninjas in the vicinity felt more or less the same way.

Gods! Is that the kyuubi? Kakashi stood frozen with terror for a few seconds. The evil in the chakra had been overpowering, to say the least. No, it couldn't have. Jiraya sama himself had double checked Naruto's seal many times since he had come. Then what …A howl shattered the night, just as he saw Naruto running like the devil was on his heels. A couple of moments later, his pursuer appeared, not running, but walking. He was a short man, with grey skin and red hair. His skin was covered with what looked like sores and his fingers ended in claws. But what

"Naruto! Get back here!" he howled and the same chakra that had caused him to throw up moments ago flared around him, though the effects were much subdued. It was like a volcano that had blown its top and now was simply pouring out lava at a steady state. Kakashi stared at that man. He had sounded almost like … like Sasuke. He looked carefully and let out a small asp as he made out the symbol of the Uchiha clan on the back of his shirt.

The cursed seal … Kakashi went cold as realization hit home.

"Kakashi sempai" he turned back to see the other members of his team, or those who were able to stand. The sound ninjas had been neutralized.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"Uchiha Sasuke" Kakashi replied wearily. Collective gasps were the only response he got.

"So …. What do we do?"

"Uzumaki Naruto is in here somewhere. Find him and capture him. Break his legs if you have to but get him"

"Isn't that a bit … excessive!"

Kakashi shook his head. "His regenerative abilities will prevent him from getting seriously hurt. But on no accounts can we let him escape. The Uchiha compound borders the forest. If he were to enter …" he left the sentence hanging there.

The others quickly sped away to find Naruto before he stumbled into the forest and into the traps it held. Kakashi stood there for a moment, his head down and eyes closed. Forgive me Obito. A lone tear escaped his eye as he made his way to his former student.

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Kabuto worked feverishly to finish the seals for the portal, even though he had a sinking feeling that he was simply wasting his time. Sasuke had released his cursed seal and how! He had reached level 2, which should not have been possible without assistance. Now he had no chakra source to draw upon to successfully activate the portal. He was low on chakra and he had already consumed two pills while getting here thanks to the damned forest. Any more pills would prove fatal.

Stupid insane Uchiha he thought bitterly as he flung the brush down in disgust. The amount of chakra needed to open this portal was sizable, chakra which he could barely spare even in his peak condition. That is why he had hoped to leech Sasuke's chakra to open the portal correctly! Yes, correctly, for even with the bare minimum chakra, the portal could be activated, but there was no telling where they would land up. They might land in Suna, in Ame, in the deepest part of the ocean or even the Hokage's bathroom. They might even end up landing right in the middle of the forest which had nearly shredded his squad to pieces. But Sasuke had chosen this very moment to go ballistic and what a way to do it. Level two!

Now all I have to do is grab Sasuke, activate the portal and hope that we land somewhere that is not too unpleasant

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"Get back here, you spoilt brat!"

Me, spoilt! Naruto huffed indignantly as he raced through the Uchiha compound. Three jounins were hot on his tail and had no compunctions about using him as target practice. They regularly threw shuriken and kunai at him, which made it difficult for him to try and use the kage bushins as a distraction. As it was, he had nearly been hit quite a few times. It was only his training kicking in at the last moment that had saved him each time.

Damn, but they are persistent!

Naruto jumped back with a startled oath as a mud wall suddenly rose out of the ground to block his path.

What the …

A wall rose to his left and before he could get his bearings together, a wall had risen to his right.

"There is no escape now, Uzumaki. Come with us peacefully or we will take you back after breaking your legs!"

Naruto's head shot up to see three jounins, each standing on a wall.

How the hell did they get here so fast?

"I never thought I would be picking up tricks from kids!"

Naruto whirled around to find the same three jounins now behind him, spread out as to cut of his every avenue of escape.

Shadow clones

His stomach tightened with realization.

The lead jounin chuckled at the boy's expression.

"Yes, shadow clones! As I said before, this is something we picked up from you. I have to hand it to you kid, you have taken the shadow clone technique and made it into a completely devastating art."

Here we go again Naruto sighed as he formed the seals to summon more shadow clones. The next instant, the whole area was filled with around thirty clones who prepared to dash of in different directions.

He yelped as two shuriken bit into his shoulders, while the unmistakable popping sounds told him that all his clones had been destroyed.

"No more games, boy!" the jounin said, clearly irritated as he slowly advanced towards Naruto.

Naruto almost wept. Just two hundred feet to his left was the wall that separated the Uchiha compound from the forests. Two hundred feet, this would have taken him two seconds to cover. Now he would be going back in shackles, all because of two seconds. It just wasn't fair.

Bestial howls rang, freezing everyone in their places. The jounins went cold. The howls sounded too much like the things they had fought back at the gates.

Gods, let it not be those things, the jounin leader prayed as he turned towards the direction the sound had come from.

Unfortunately for him, whatever deity he had prayed to chose to ignore his prayers as about six nightmarish creatures appeared in view.

What in heaven's name are those things? Naruto thought as a shiver ran down his spine. It was as if the boundaries between earth and hell had blurred and these creatures had simply crossed over. In fact, he wasn't sure if even hell had such horrible things. Then as the creatures charged, he found himself dodging massive claw swipes. Despite its bulk it was fast, very fast.

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"Good evening, Kakashi sensei!" Sasuke greeted his former teacher with a big smile on his face.

Kakashi frowned. Something was wrong here.

"You've come to wish me luck, haven't you sensei!" Sasuke continued, oblivious to Kakashi's frown. "See, I've just gained a whole lot of power. First I will kill the demon, then I will go and punish Itachi for being a bad boy" Sasuke giggled like a giddy school kid.

What's wrong with him? Has he lost his mind? Kakashi was seriously worried now. An angry Sasuke was better than an insane Sasuke, especially with the cursed seal radiating power at full blast. He could reason with an angry person, but no one could reason with a madman.

"Wait .. what demon are you talking about?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke's laugh was shrill, his madness barely concealed. "Why Naruto, of course! Sandaime was also a bad boy for keeping the demon alive."

"How do you know of such things Sasuke?" Kakashi snapped. If he got his hands on whoever had talked, he would be spending the next few months in the loving care of Morino Ibiki..

"He told me" Sasuke whispered.

"He who?"

"He told me everything, how Naruto was able to defeat me, how he would help me achieve my goals."

Kakashi's eyes flew wide open at the last part. Orochimaru! But how? That would explain how Jiraya's seal was no longer sealing off the cursed seal.

"I will make you proud, sensei"

"Eh?" Kakashi was jolted out of his thoughts.

Sasuke's face was comically serious as he spoke "He killed them, you know!"

Kakashi's mind was in a whirl. "Err … killed who?"

Sasuke leaned forward conspiratorially "Obito's family"

Kakashi's frame tightened in rage. Even after all these years, that name could provoke all sorts of emotions in him.

"But you don't have to worry, Kakashi sensei. I will punish him. I will make him apologize to you, then to mother, father and everyone he hurt. Yes, bad boys have to be punished, yes …." Sasuke's voice trailed off as he broke into another fit of giggles.

Now Kakashi was convinced that Sasuke had completely lost his mind. Something must have gone wrong during the process of transforming, or perhaps Sasuke was crazy to begin with.

"But first, I have to go kill Naruto". Sasuke started walking towards the direction he had seen running off to.

"Sasuke, wait … " Kakashi reached out to grab Sasuke, but a scream froze him in his tracks. He cursed as he recognized the source of the scream. A moment later, a minion came lumbering towards him, frothing at the mouth.

How did those things get inside? "Sasuke wait!" he shouted frantically, but to no avail as Sasuke simply continued walking. The very next moment, it was attacking him and Kakashi was fighting for his life.

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"Will we reach there in time, Jiraya sama" a worried Shizune asked the toad sage.

"We have to Shizune, we have to, otherwise …" Jiraya's voice choked off. They were currently racing towards the Uchiha compound on the back of a massive toad after they had received a transmission that Naruto was in there.

Why Naruto, why are you doing this. Though it was not apparent, Jiraya was sick with worry. His first encounter with Naruto had shown him how much pain and suffering the boy had gone through, pain that might have been avoided had he been there for him. When Kushina was pregnant, she and Minato had asked him to be Naruto's godfather, a duty in which he had failed miserably. If anything were to happen to the kid now, he didn't know what he would do.

His heart leapt as he saw the walls of the Uchiha compound getting closer and closer. With a massive leap, the toad cleared the wall and they were in the compound. What greeted them were dead bodies of ninjas.

"Shizune, check if any of our people are alive"

"Right away" Shizune leapt of the back of the toad and rushed to check the prone ninjas wearing leaf headbands. As she moved around, she had to summon every ounce of her will power not to throw up. Some of the bodies had been torn apart in ways she would not have even imagined were possible.

What kind of monster could have done this, she asked although she suspected she knew the answer. Orochimaru and his experiments! The first two she checked were dead, but she caught a faint pulse in the third. Heaving a sigh of relief, she set to close up the deeper wounds, ignoring the smaller ones. The hospital could take care of the rest.

Meanwhile, Jiraya was running towards what sounded like another battle. His heart was literally in his mouth as he prayed that Naruto was hiding somewhere safe and sound. As he got closer, he could make out Kakashi and a minion battling. The way Kakashi's chest was heaving clearly told him that the jounin was exhausted and wouldn't last long without help.

Kakashi bit of an oath as the claws scraped against his ribs. His chest felt like it was on fire and his limbs felt heavy.

This is bad. I spent too much energy on those Sound ninjas. I can't stand much longer. He gritted his teeth as the creature lunged once more, this time faster than before. Kakashi jumped back again, but this time, he was not fast enough as the claws sank into his shoulders. He screamed as he felt his left shoulder bone break as the creature squeezed, a hungry grin on its face.

Is this … the end? Kakashi thought wearily as the grinning face inched closer.

The face vanished in a spray of blood and gore. Kakashi was so stunned that for a moment or two, he could only gape. It was only when the body began to sag; digging the claws even further that Kakashi grabbed them and wrenched them out of his body.

"Are you all right?"

Kakashi lifted his head to see Jiraya standing over him. He nodded wordlessly, feeling totally drained.

"Where's Naruto?"

Kakashi weakly raised his hand to indicate the direction he had last seen him running off to.

Jiraya nodded. "Shizune will be here in a few minutes. Rest yourself. I will go after Naruto"

Kakashi shook his head. "Sasuke … "

Jiraya frowned. "Don't tell me that idiot is running around here as well."

Kakashi nodded. "He's gone mad. He managed to activate his cursed seal."

Jiraya went pale. "That's impossible!"

"I saw him. He said he was going to punish Naruto. He was also rambling about Itachi and the Sandaime being bad boys …" Kakashi winced as he shifted, the pain in his injured shoulder flaring at the movement.

"But why is he going after Naruto?"

"Orochimaru told him about Naruto being the Kyuubi container!"

"What" Jiraya shouted

Kakashi shook his head in puzzlement. "He has been in contact with Ororchimaru for only God know how long. I am sure it was he who circumvented your seal."

"By the Gods above!" Jiraya exclaimed as he rushed towards the direction pointed out by Kakashi, for he had just sensed a spike of the Kyuubi's chakra. Given how reluctant Naruto was in using that power, a spike could only mean that he was in terrible danger.

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Naruto could only watch in utter disbelief. The chakra beam that had blasted Sasuke away like a rag doll had only made the horror in front of him stagger back a few feet. Almost instinctively, he went through the seals for the shadow clones and soon, about thirty odd clones were grappling with it. Naruto took advantage of the momentary break to take a look around. All the leaf ninjas were busy fighting. A small ray of hope filled him. This was his chance!

He leapt away from the fighting scene, summoned another few dozen shadow clones then made a mad dash for the wall. However, as he took two steps on the wall, a clawed hand came into view.

No, no no no no! Not these things again! He felt like screaming as a few more hands came into view, followed by heads. Cursing, Naruto summoned a few more clones and leapt back away from the wall and towards the row of buildings.

I've got to find another way out. Maybe the map will show me an alternate route out of the village. His mind raced as he ran towards the shelter of the houses that stood abandoned. He was halfway through, when out of the shadows, emerged Sasuke. Naruto stared in utter disbelief at the boy who now looked like a miniature version of a devil. Bat like wings spread out, each wingspan roughly three feet. His hands ended in claws, his skin was red and his eyes were black, with a white center. But most frightening was the amount of blood lust radiating from him, blood lust that he had never felt before, not even from the abominations he had fought a minute ago.

Seeing his prey in front of him, Sasuke launched himself at Naruto with a howl of triumph. Naruto desperately summoned all of his chakra to launch a beam at him. To his horror, it only sent him back a few feet instead of blasting him away like before.

"Tee hehehehe" Sasuke giggled, clenching and unclenching his fingers. "Your tricks don't affect me any longer. But let's see how you stand up to a few tricks of mine"

Sasuke held out his right hand as chakra began to gather with a crackling sound. Naruto's eyes grew wide as he saw a chidori coming to life, but not just any chidori. This one was black, black not due to the absence of light, but as if it was eating all the light around it. With a roar, Sasuke leapt high in the air, then dived at Naruto, propelled by his wings. Pushing as much chakra as he could, Naruto leapt away as the Chidori plunged into the ground.

So great was the force of the blow that the street began to crumble and fall away. As the sounds of the chidori died away, a new sound could be heard, that of a flowing river. It was one of the many minor tributaries that fed the Hisoi river, the main source of water for a large part of the Fire country. This one had been, over the years, forgotten by all and as a result was not shown on any map.

Sasuke giggled as he charged Naruto again. This time, Naruto could not keep up and screamed as Sasuke punched right through his stomach. Cackling madly, Sasuke began to flap his wings as he carried a struggling Naruto higher and higher.

Naruto began to feel dizzy from all the blood loss. No matter how much he struggled, Sasuke refused to release his death grip on Naruto. His vision began to blur as his struggles grew weaker.

I don't want to die, not now, he silently screamed as his life began to ebb. His mind began to shut down as his thrashings began to die down. Dimly, he could hear Sasuke's laugh filled with malicious glee.

I don't want to die. Someone help me!

"I don't want to die" The voice within him roared as blood red chakra began to spill out of him, halting the flow of blood. Gathering this new found strength, Naruto let loose a chakra beam with everything he had. Sasuke was flung back with a howl of rage at being denied his prey once again, as Naruto began to fall. But even as he fell, his wounds continued to heal. Naruto was jerked back to full consciousness as he saw the river rushing up to greet him.

Shit! He swore as he plunged into the icy cold river.

Sasuke flew back to hover above the spot where he had seen Naruto falling.

"Come out, you filthy demon spawn!" He screamed with all the hatred burning through him. His face split into a horrifying grin as he saw Naruto break above the surface of the water, clutching a pile of rocks to keep himself from being washed away.

"Die, Naruto!" Mustering all the loathing and hatred he had for the boy who had defeated him, he let loose a gigantic fireball, his signature move. Only this time, the flamed were not yellow, but a sickly purple that promised a horrifying end for whatever it touched.

A scream rang through the air, high and terrible as the fireball made contact.

"No! Naruto!" Jiraya screamed as he saw his student being consumed by the unholy fire. He jumped into the river, but in the few seconds it took him to reach Naruto, the flames had already died down, leaving behind a pile of ashes, a few blood splatters and a twisted clump of metal. White hot rage began to bubble within him as the distant shrill laughter of Uchiha Sasuke reached his ears.

"Sasuke!" He roared as he leapt high in the air, a huge rasengan forming in his hand. Sasuke plunged down, the black chidori crackling in his palms. The shockwaves from the clash flattened everything within a radius of a hundred meters. Sasuke was sent flying by the force of the blow, his ribs cracked and his arm shattered. As he fell, a thought made its way into his mind.

I am still not strong enough.

Whether it was pure coincidence or the will of the Gods, but Uchiha Sasuke landed right next to the spot Kabuto had been lurking. His apparent relief at having found the troublesome brat and the roars of a raging toad hermit pushed away any questions he had in his mind as he grabbed Sasuke and activated the portal.

Please take us somewhere safe! Kabuto prayed as he threw Sasuke into the portal and plunged in right after. By the time Jiraya reached, the portal had closed.

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Two figures broke from the surface of the water, dragging a third form between them. The one on the right relinquished his burden and went ahead silently, taking care not to make any noise.

A few minutes later, he reappeared.

"There is a broken down cabin up ahead. We can take shelter there"

"Is it safe? What if the owner comes back?" The other one spoke up.

"We don't have a choice!" The first one replied as he looked upon the prone figure. "He will not last much longer unless we get him to shelter"

Between the two, they half carried, half dragged him to the cabin. Once they reached there, they quickly stripped him of his clothes and hung them in such a way so as to prevent any light escaping from the windows. One built up a fire while the other started rubbing his hands and feet to maintain circulation. They quickly retrieved the small scroll that had been wrapped in a waterproof case. The scroll, once activated, released all the supplies that had been sealed into it. A flask of brandy was forced down his throat. Few seconds later, he began to cough and splutter, his eyelids weakly fluttering.

"Shhh! Rest now. We are safe!"

At those soothing words, he sank back into blissful world of dreams.

As the colour returned to his cheeks, they heaved a sigh of relief. They had done it.

"It was a close call! He nearly got fried back there!"

"Good thing the river comes all the way out till here!"

They both sat side by side, using the wall as support.

"When do you think he will wake up?"

"I don't know, but he better not take too much time. We are not going to last longer as it is"

In the flickering flames, shadows danced upon his face as he slept peacefully.

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The chilling wind howled bitterly as Kabuto struggled to move the rock in place. He sank to his knees, gasping for breath as the rock finally covered the mouth of the cave, blocking the snowstorm that had been threatening to steal away their lives. A little behind, Uchiha Sasuke lay sleeping fitfully. The cursed seal had receded and Kabuto had been forced to use more of his already depleted chakra reserves to heal the most grievous wounds.

The small fire which he had managed to start provided little warmth. Not for the first time, he cursed the Uchiha with all his heart. He was in a place only God knew where. He was cold, hungry, and low on chakra and with no idea as to what to do next. All he knew that unless the Uchiha survived, he would not. Orochimaru had the uncanny ability to track people right to the end s of the world, if needed. Add the fact that he also had the ability to pull souls of dead people back into the world of the living, there was absolutely no escape.

Fortunately, his scroll had a few blankets which he now used for warmth. He lay long, thinking on how to get back to Orochimaru with his prize in one piece before sleep finally overcame him.