Child of Gods, Reject of Men

by Ronin2106

Forced to pay for the sealing of Kyuubi into his siblings, Naruto slowly dies after sealing. However,Shiva, God of Creation and Destruction, witnesses what happens and decides to save him. With his wife Parvati and Izanami, he saves Naruto, by making him more than man. How will Shinobi world react to a Child of Gods? Eventual OP! Naruto, Eventual Name!Change! Sequel is in works.

15. Chapter 15

It was the most subtle thing that first warranted attention from Uzumaki and their Shikigami, as well as Amagi, Yoruichi, Akagi, Kaga and Izumi, along with Naruto and Akeno. The smallest, tiniest shift in the flow of natural Chakra that was spread out all around them, and in a single moment it suddenly shifted. For those who practice Onmyodo to a certain extent and Yokai, this was the sign that something was about to happen and it was about to happen immediately and it will be big. Disruptions or changes of natural chakra flow were very rarely caused natural reasons, and most often it was the interference of someone in the natural chakra that created such shifts, which in turn created rippling effects for those attuned with Sekai's energies.

Yokai were connected to the very core with Sekai so it was understandable that they were the first to notice that ripple, while Uzumaki were not far behind them, given their practice of Onmyodo. Since the Uzumaki Nation was the birthplace of Onmyodo and Onmyoji, it was naturally the very place where it was developed and studied on mass level, as even normal populace had a certain level of understanding and utilization of Onmyodo.

It was expected of the Uzumaki warriors to also study and develop their Onmyodo skills to complement their abilities and enhance their strengths and talents, and Clans did make it their priority to have their leaders and strongest warriors well-versed in the art of Onmyodo. There were those that studied the art on a more dedicated and deeper level, such as Onmyoji themselves, and they were regarded as scholars, priests and so of the Uzumaki Nation, capable of wielding great powers and communicating with Yokai on a level that was very hard to obtain by even normal Uzumaki.

And then there were also specially trained Uzumaki that acted as a bridge between normal Uzumaki warriors and Onmyoji, serving to preserve and safeguard the realm they lived in, acting as it's mostly unknown defenders and taking care of trouble that most people of the world wouldn't even dare to fight against. These warriors are known as Demon Slayers, for they were exactly that, those that hunted demons, Ayakashi and Yokai that dared to threaten the stability of the world and safety of humanity. These warriors were always few in numbers, but in skill and powers they were beyond exceptional and powerful, as these were Uzumaki's finest men and women, sent to fight against even Kijins and Gods of other realms when they dared to invade Sekai. Many of them carried blessings of various Gods that Uzumaki worshipped, with most being blessed by Lord Kartikeya, the very person who inspired the creation of the Demon Slayers.

Though they were few in numbers, they still fought with courage and valiantly defended the Uzu, laying down their lives to safe those few that they could. It is safe to say that now there is only a handful of the Demon Slayers left, a little more than a dozen, maybe less or more. However, one of them was currently in Konoha, right in the middle of the crowd, and he was the first one to sense that ripple through the nature Chakra. And he was the first one to recognize what that energy shift meant and what was going to happen exactly next moment.

"Everyone, ready yourself and shield up yourself and children! NOW!" Date Masamune roared through the stadium and without a second's hesitation, the Uzumaki obeyed the order and immediately put up their Onmyodo defenses, shielding themselves and the Uzumaki children in the process, who were a little scared and confused.

This proved to be the right decision, as in the very next second, an invisible fog spread throughout the entire arena, instantly knocking out the surprised and confused Konoha's populace, putting them into a deep slumber, without the way of awakening them. Only Uzumaki, their children and those that also followed the command of Date Masamune remained awake, along with Yokai that were present in the arena. It took only a fraction of a second for most Uzumaki veterans to shed their cloths and don their armors, through the use of their Sealing arts, before grabbing their weapons and preparing for the fight, which came to them in the next instant.

Date Masamune was the first one to sense the danger coming from behind, as he unsheathed his two swords and spun around, immediately blocking and deflecting a powerful slash. Masamune looked at his opponent and saw the mutated and grotesque form of a Yoki, a lower class Oni that inhabited the realm of Yomi and served as the bulk of its demonic army. Though considered to be a weak enemy by Uzumaki standards, any Oni, starting with Yoki, is a dangerous and powerful opponent for anyone who has no idea on how to deal with them. Their bulky red frames, seeming lack of intellect in their yellow eyes and bestial instincts didn't detract the fact that they were as smart as humans and could easily overpower any normal human or even Shinobi without much effort, partially due to the fact that they could absorb chakra, like most Yokai do.

If Date Masamune was your regular, run of the mill Shinobi, he would be in mortal danger from just one of these creatures, but he was the Dragon of Fujiwara and a Demon Hunter, trained exactly to hunt down and destroy these creatures. Just as he had deflected the blow with his right blade, the left one came out and sliced the Yoki from where its navel was supposed to be to his neck, killing it. Wasting no time, Date Masamune pushed the body of the Oni aside, before decapitating in a single motion a Gaki that tried to jump on Masamune, followed by a slashing strike on another Yoki that was coming to strike Kojuro from behind, while he was busy climbing on top of a giant one-eyed Oni and slicing off his head.

The giant bulk of that body fell and crushed at least half a dozen of Gaki beneath it, as Kojuro jumped off the falling demon and joined his lord and best friend in clearing the way. The limited space they were working didn't allow them to move as freely as they would've liked, but it did let them funnel their enemies into tight corridors and defeated them either one by one, as they were doing right now, or, as Kojuro was preparing to do, deal with the monsters in one fell swoop. He channeled energy into his sword and just as it glowed with bright green, he unleashed it, sending a ghostly wave at the demons and destroying or damaging them, before they were mopped up by Masamune's own blue waves, as they ensured that the enemies were done for good.

While those two were holding off the attack from one side, there was battle raging from all sides, giving no rest for Uzumaki and no room for failure. They were surrounded from nearly all sides, attacked by all manners of Yokai and Ayakashi, and now they needed to form up and establish a safe area for their children. Uzumaki's paternal and maternal instincts were the first ones to kick in when this battle started, as some took up weapons began slashing their way through the monsters, while others were leading the children away and into the center of the forming area.

---

Tachibana Dosetsu and Akai Teruko and a handful of other Uzumaki warriors were taking care of waves of Yoki, with the children and those unable to fight escaping away. The two legendary Uzumaki warriors were no strangers to Oni and Yokai, and have already racked up an impressive head count of over a dozen each as the fight started, with seemingly no end to the incoming beasts. Dosetsu, though an old man by even Uzumaki standards, moved akin to a liquid lightning, a flash of light in constant motion, as his sword, Raikiri, reaped the lives of monsters without any mercy. One second his surrounded by at least seven Yoki, and in the other all of them lose their heads as Dosetsu leaps away and then lands with a vertical slice that splits in two another Yoki. He looks up to one of the members of his Clan and gives out the orders.

"We need to establish a defensive perimeter, so we need set up barriers of our own. Grab a couple of our men and start working on the sealing arrays from the rails to that wall, got it?!"Dosetsu didn't need to hear the answer to know that his order was relayed, nor was he going to, as he spun around to take down another Yokai that wanted to slice him up.

But he wasn't able as Teruko finished that monster off without delay with her naginata, before taking down another with a horizontal slash across the Yoki's face. The Strongest Warrior Woman in the World lived up to her title, as she pierced another Yoki in his chest and pushed him down, using it to the kick in the eye and crush the skull of another Oni, followed stepping down and retrieving her naginata and cutting up one more monster, before spinning around with her blade and slicing apart up to five monsters. The next moment she was forced to evade multiple attacks coming from her left and once Teruko was in the clear for a second, she looked up and noticed who her attacker was.

A Magatsu, a higher ranked Oni than Yoki, who possesses four arms and each held a weapon in them. Horned, towering above their hunched lesser brethren, they stood over three meters tall and could pose a challenge even for an experienced Uzumaki warrior, as they were typically considered to be commanders or elite troopers of Oni armies. Possessing a higher than most Oni intelligence and ferocity that rivaled that of dragons, they were an extremely dangerous enemy for anyone who hasn't been properly trained to fight against them. And this particular Magatsu was not runt either, as Teruko noticed from his scars and size, indicating that this one was a veteran.

He was the first one to attack Teruko, moving forward and trying to slice her into two with his lower sword, before upper ones moved to finish her up in a downward motion. The speed at which the monster moved was higher than that of Yoki, and Teruko decided to play on that, as she sprinted right towards him, before diving down underneath the monster, sliding in between his legs. Stopping herself from falling by hitting the rails with her legs, Teruko quickly rose up and jumped on top of the monster, and before he could recover, she sliced off his head with naginata.

And just as Teruko was about to jump off the dead Magatsu, another one tried to claim her head with his four swords, but he was stopped from doing so by Dosetsu, as he moved with blinding speed and sliced off all four arms, before finishing the demon off with a vertical slice, resulting in him being vaporized in lightning. Teruko jumped off of the dead Magatsu and nodded to the old man, taking a second to recuperate.

"Whoever has decided to attack us is definitely not a simple Onmyoji, or even a higher demon." Teruko stated to Dosetsu, who agreed with her. "The sleep inducing fog, an army of demons and even Magatsu… Which deity did we anger this time? Izanagi?" Teruko asked, knowing that the Uzumaki people do not hold the God of Creation in high regard and do not worship him.

"Maybe, but this isn't his style. No, this is the work of someone I think I know." Dosetsu stated, as he readied himself, just as another wave of the monsters started to make their way to them. "Notice how all of Konoha's people are left alone and unharmed? This is a direct attack on Uzumaki here by one traitorous bitch, Aiwa Minamoto." Akai Teruko knew that name and she knew it quite well.

"This makes no sense, she isn't that powerful and could never command anything more powerful than a Yoki and…" In that next moment, Teruko deflected a giant spear, sent towards her by an Enki, a giant monkey Ayakashi, armed with spears and making its way to them.

Wasting no time, Teruko decided to go on the offensive and went straight for the monstrous animal, as she brought up her naginata ready for the strike. Evading a piercing strike from Enki, she then sliced the monster in an upward strike, slashing his entire torso and throat, before severing the head. Before the beast fell down, Teruko spun around and sliced open the belly of a one-eyed Oni, who materialized behind her, causing it to roar, before being disintegrated by Dosetsu's lightning. The old man came up to the woman and nodded to her, looking at the incoming wave of monsters and deciding to win them some more time, needed for the Uzumaki behind them to set up barriers. With a single motion he sheathed his blade and then summoned up his Shikigami- Raiju.

Terrifying and powerful Yokai, spawned from thunder and lightning, this ferocious and powerful Yokai usually takes the form of a big wolf with a blue spiky fur, with lightning literally running through his entire body. Lightning made manifest, these Yokai were terror incarnate for the people of the past, as they would destroy houses when they struck, and they struck in the form of lightning. These Yokai are most often servants to the deities that represent thunder, storm and lightning, with God Raijin being their primary master and even progenitor. The Uzumaki have several stories of their warriors squaring off against Raiju and defeating them, but more often than naught, it was Uzumaki that that were defeated by them, as these beasts are terrifyingly fast and powerful, and only select few could ever claim to have made a Shikigami contract with Raiju, and Dosetsu was one such person.

His Raiju had been with him for ages now and has been his most trusted ally and friend, having helped Dosetsu and Tachibana Clan survive throughout the hardships, and although it wasn't a hereditary guardian spirit of the Clan, it was as important as it was powerful. With a mental command to his companion, Raiju let out a fear inducing cry and then took form of a living bolt of lightning. He rushed towards the Oni and moved past them like they were nothing, frying and disintegrating the beasts with extreme prejudice and power, moving through dozens of them. In less than half a minute the wave was practically exterminated, with Raiju returning back to Dosetsu's side, before disappearing from sight, having received other orders.

"Impressive, though I am surprised that you have Raiju as your Shikigami, since I was certain it was this blade that had sliced into two a Raiju." Teruko reminded to Dosetsu about the story behind his blade.

"That was a different Raiju. This one had joined up with me later on." Dosetsu simply answered to her, already seeing another wave forming up. "If we don't set up barriers around our safe area, we will be overwhelmed and destroyed, but even barriers and holing up strategy will only get us so far."

"We need to find where Aiwa is and take the fight to her." Teruko turned her head to the ring and now noticed something that caused her no amount of concern. "Dosetsu, the ring…"

"Argh, damn it! Should've known she'd be smarter than just that!" Dosetsu cursed, as he looked at the barrier covering the entire ring and making it impossible even to look inside. "Her target aren't the Uzumaki, but Naruto. She uses these monsters as a distraction and forces us on the defenses, while she or demons finish off Naruto. We need to break this barrier and get Naruto and Nobuna out of there!" Dosetsu decided to try now and channeled his power into his blade before unleashing it on the barrier.

The golden colored energy, compressed into a bolt, struck the barrier, before bouncing off of it and then flying right back towards Dosetsu. Before it could strike him, Teruko sliced it in two and dissipated it, before looking at the barrier and finding it intact and as strong as it was. After that she looked upwards and found the sky obscured by the barrier, as it was only now that she noticed the obvious thing- they were trapped in the arena without any way out.

"She's not taking any chances with us." Teruko commented, with Dosetsu nodding to her.

"We best get back to the others before…" At that moment, the two heard a woman's cry coming from the upper level of visitors' area, making him and Teruko look up. "There's someone who's managed to stay awake?"

"You go back, I'll be right back with whoever this is." Teruko quickly moved up the rows and ended up in the highest observer area.

Once there, she saw a large group of Yoki and Forsaken, a lower class Ayakashi, formed from the souls of evil people and transformed into grotesque mix of Oni and men. These usually made up the cannon fodder of the Oni armies and didn't possess exactly as much power as even Yoki or had as much intelligence, but there were a lot of them and they were fearless and mindless. And pressed against the railing and fearing for fall was none other than Kurenai Yuhi, the young woman that Teruko was seated next to earlier. She wasn't aware of how exactly the woman had managed to stay awake after the fog covered the area, nor was she going to find out, as she decided to do her duty.

Moving with the swiftness afforded to her by her physical prowess, Teruko stuck her naginata like a pole and launched herself into the group, crashing her feet into one of the Forsaken and forcing him to fall. Wasting no time, she moved the naginata and swung it to the right, decapitating another Forsaken and then moved it to slash in a circular motion the enemies. Spinning it around with ease and mastery not seen by most, Teruko dispatched the monsters without wasting time and in a matter of a minute, only three remained, which she finished off by sending a kunai in between their eyes. Once it was done, she let out a sigh, before turning to Kurenai, who looked terrified and unable to talk.

"Were you hurt? Hey, are you alright, did they hurt you?!" Teruko tried to ask the girl.

"I… They… Who… What…" Kurenai rambled on, until she received a slap on her cheek from Teruko which quickly brought her back to her senses. "What… No, they didn't, I managed to escape, but they were just coming for me. None of my Genjutsu worked on any of them and I couldn't even pierce of hurt their hides… What are these creatures?"

"Demons, Yokai, Ayakashi and everything in between. How did you manage to stay awake?" Teruko asked the next question almost immediately.

"I-I don't know, I just sensed something off in the air and that is it. I swear, I didn't have anything to do with it!" Kurenai immediately stated to Teruko.

"I believe you. Stay close to me, I'll get you to safety. Don't stray away or run off without my say so." Teruko commanded to Kurenai, who nodded to her and understood what the woman meant.

Just as they were about to leave off to join the other Uzumaki, Teruko decided to take a look from the elevated position that she was on, surveying and seeing the Uzumaki fighting off an incoming army of Oni, Ayakashi and all manner of demons, standing as if an island in the raging sea of chaos. But this was not what had caught the eye of Teruko, as her trained sight had observed a specific pair of spouses making their way into the special area, reserved for Hokage and other such dignitaries. Teruko instantly recognized Minato and Kushina, with Mito being brought by them towards that area against her will… Where the figure of Aiwa Minamoto was standing and observing the entire thing happening and was clearly waiting for the trio to make their way to her.

If what Teruko thought of was true, then there will be a hell to pay for Minato and Kushina. She now needed to get this information to the man she swore her loyalty to, to Date Masamune, and hope that there will be enough time to stop this madness once and for all. The longer this fight went on, the lower the chances of Nobuna and Naruto were of getting out of that trap alive, and the higher were the chances of Kushina, Aiwa and Minato in succeeding with their plot. And this was something that Teruko wasn't going to allow to come to pass.

---

The Uzumaki weren't the only ones to have responded to the threat and began to put up resistance against the incoming demonic infestation. In the other part of the Arena, Tomoe and Amagi were now also engaged in a battle for their lives, as Yoki, Gaki, Enki and all other sorts of creatures were coming towards them. Tomoe's Onimikazuki sliced off the head of one Yoki, before it went straight into the mouth of Enki who tried to pierce her with that monstrosity of a spear he wielded. Slicing the head into two with an upward slash, Tomoe then moved her blade in downward slash when against a Gaki, before continuing to slice and dice the little monsters with her blade.

This time the little bastards weren't afraid of her blade and seemed to throw themselves at her with an enthusiasm of a suicide bomber. This was different from the last time Tomoe had to fight the supernatural enemies, but she could clearly sense the hand of Aiwa Minamoto in this, and this time, Tomoe was going to make that woman regret her actions. Seeing that she was getting nowhere with individual combat, Tomoe unsealed almost a hundred of kunai and then, using what she had learned under Amagi in Onmyodo, she directed them with her will and sent them all flying towards the monsters. Each kunai that struck exploded with natural energy, destroying each monster it struck and those that were near it, another useful skill that Tomoe had learned while trained under Amagi. In one minute, she had managed to clear the area, while Amagi was finishing things up on her end, which allowed them to regroup and convene, so as to discuss things.

"This… This is Aiwa's doing. I can practically smell her damn stench in the air!" Tomoe growled out, as she took a look at the dome of the barrier that covered the ring. "She cut us off from Naruto and I can't even use Hiraishin to get to him or get him out there. It's like there's a damn wall in between us!"

"Yes, the barriers surrounding the ring and Arena are a whole different level, and even the chakra flow of Sekai in here has changed." Amagi told Tomoe. "She even weakened me through her manipulation of nature Chakra… Something is wrong. This doesn't make sense, Aiwa was far too weak and she had been affected by Kurumi Tokisaki's ability, and without that, she would still not be so powerful as to do all this… It feels like we are missing something important."

"Whatever it is that we are missing, we can worry about it later. Right now, our priority is getting Naruto and Nobuna out of that damn ring. How long will it take you to break this barrier?" Tomoe asked of Amagi, who looked at the barrier in question and sighed.

"Far too long, and with all the new incoming Ayakashi, we would end up overrun and killed. It was definitely designed to stop even someone of my level from breaking it. I can't even see what's going on inside, but they are in the same spot as we are, if my senses are telling me right. Akagi and Kaga are there with Naruto and Nobuna, so they should be able to hold off the attackers." Amagi told Tomoe as a whole new bunch of portals started opening up, revealing new enemies to fight. "Tomoe, we can't keep fighting them indefinitely. We need a plan."

"I know… We need to get to the Uzumaki. They would be able to give you cover and allow you to safely break the barriers." Tomoe and Amagi started to move upstairs so as to gain a higher ground against the enemies, while the path is clear there. "If breaking the barrier won't work, we'll take the fight to Aiwa. She has to be somewhere nearby."

"She is, I can sense that she is within the arena's grounds, but where I can't say for sure." Amagi told Tomoe, before launching a wave of blue fire ate the incoming crowd of Yoki, burning them to the crisp. "I'll cover your back. Make us the way to the Uzumaki." Amagi looked at the pathway being clogged with Yokai and monsters, with Tomoe nodding to her.

While her friend was busy holding off waves of enemies that were coming from back there, Tomoe swung her blade and channeled nature Chakra inside Onimikazuki, forcing it to glow intensely with red hue, indicating that its power was now unleashed and ready. This was one of the first things that Tomoe had learned about her primary weapon of choice after she started studying Onmyodo, that it was capable of absorbing nature energy and use it to create a death field of sorts that negated abilities of Yokai and Ayakashi. While all of them could be hurt through physical means, they have a resilience and certain amount of resistance to simple attacks, and so to negate it, Uzumaki had learned to coat their blades with the Onmyodo magic. Onimikazuki doesn't really need such enhancement, but it is still very useful if you need to make the blade go through most enemies like blistering hot knife through butter.

With the enhancement in place, Tomoe rushed towards the crowd of enemies at her full speed, running off the floor and running on the wall, evading the first strike and effortlessly slicing a Yoki's face, killing it. She ran a few more meters, cutting up three more Oni with her blade, easily going through their bones, skin and whatever else they had in place, before first jumping to the ceiling, and then dropping down onto the floor right in the middle of the enemy crowd. Just as she did so, Tomoe unleashed a powerful energy wave that cleared a small area around her, either knocking away the Yokai or by disintegrating them outright. This allowed Tomoe to recover her bearings and then proceed with taking down her enemies, first carving a path for Amagi to link up with Tomoe.

Just as Tomoe was done clearing that path, she had to maneuver so as to not get crushed under a powerful fist of a giant one-eyed Oni, whose eye was already primed towards Tomoe. As she evaded, she then jumped on his arm, cutting it off and then moved for the kill when she sliced off half of his head and eye. Jumping off of the corpse, Tomoe then landed on another Oni of same kind, imbedding her Onimikazuki in his skull, killing it and using the dead body to crush the enemies further. Once the enemy crashed down, Tomoe removed her blade out of his skull and went on to slicing a small horde of Gaki that were moving towards them, shredding them to pieces, before she was forced to jump back so as to not get smashed into a pancake by a new Ayakashi.

This one looked like a giant crossbreed between a bull and man, a bull's head with a giant, 4 to 5 meter bulking body of a man with hooves for legs and armed with an equally massive spiked mace for a weapon. Tomoe recognized it as a Gozuki, a bullheaded Demon, serving as a tormentor in Yomi and someone who is in charge of making souls of criminals suffer. These demons are known as vile and cruel sadists, equally as evil as those that they are in charge of punishing, and Tomoe knew that well, thanks to Amagi.

For its large and imposing size, the thing was scary fast and it recovered from the miss quicker than Tomoe had wanted and already swung the club at her, making the lithe woman jump to the ceiling to avoid being smashed. But this was of little use, as Gozuki roared and tried to pierce the woman with his horns, scraping and breaking the ceiling. Tomoe managed to avoid them and actually used this as an opening, as she jumped off there and towards Gozuki, before imbedding her sword right where his neck connected with the spin. With an ear-piercing roar from the demon, Tomoe slid down on to the ground, opening up his back with the blade and showing the inhuman spine. With the massive wound inflicted, Gozuki fell down right before Amagi, who nodded to Tomoe, and the two began to move towards Uzumaki.

They were almost half way through the waves of enemies and monsters, when they've encountered something that caught their eye. They saw how Fugaku and Itachi Uchiha were trying to hold off the monsters that were coming towards them, while Mikoto was stuck in between them, holding the sleeping body of Sasuke. The numbers of Yokai closing in were going to be enough to overwhelm the Uchihas and even their famed Sharingan and Fire Style was doing very little to stop the monsters. Deciding not to ask questions of how they were still awake, Tomoe and Amagi instantly went on to help them, with Amagi conjuring up balls of her blue fire, while Tomoe made a sequence of intricate signs, before inhaling.

"Fire Style: Imperial Phoenix Flame." Tomoe mentally made the command and breathed out a giant flame that shaped itself as phoenix, which flew directly into the formation of the enemies.

Imbued with both her Chakra and nature Chakra, not to mention Yin chakra, this was not an ordinary A-rank Jutsu, but an S-rank capable of leveling small villages if the wielder wished, or wiping out a small army of Yokai. The blue fireballs were sent flying towards one side of the attacking horde, while the other immediately received a full helping of Tomoe's Jutsu, which flew right towards them incinerated them all, before turning them to ashes, before continuing its flight to the already burning half of the horde and taking them out. Tomoe noted that Amagi was starting to look a bit winded and that her attacks were not having as much effect as she would've hoped, but before proceeding with that line of thought, she turned her attention to the Uchiha family and went to them.

"Fugaku, Mikoto, are you alright?" Tomoe immediately came to them and checked all four of them for injuries.

"We are fine, but Sasuke and everyone else… We can't wake them up! I've tried everything that I could think of and nothing seemed to have affected them! This isn't normal Jutsu." Mikoto was clearly on the verge of panicking, with Tomoe putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, they are all just sleeping. We've passed through rows and rows of the folks and they are all knocked out. The Oni and Ayakashi seem to leave them be and only focus on those that are just awake." Tomoe noted, before noticing something very important. "Wait… Where is Akeno?" She suddenly asked, when she realized that none of the sleeping nearby people were the girl in question.

"She… When these things started showing up, a couple of them went straight towards her. She fell into the ring with some unknown dark skinned woman jumping right after her, just a second before this barrier set in." Itachi told Tomoe and Amagi, who looked surprised and shocked at that turn of events. "What are these things? They don't look human and those weren't any normal summons… Who or what could've even done all this?"

"Tomoe, these things… You don't think they could be…" Fugaku asked the question of Tomoe, who simply nodded to him, making him come to an unwanted realization. "Then Naruto was telling the truth all along… The Yokai are real, and those were them, right?" Itachi and Mikoto looked with surprised eyes at him and Tomoe.

"The things that are attacking us now are called Oni, Ayakashi and demons, but yeah, generally…" Tomoe noticed that a new wave was starting to come towards them, as the portals already started getting formed up. "Vishnu save us, there's no end to them… We need to get to the Uzumaki, they've probably already started to set up defenses and established a perimeter."

"No, we need to get to Lord Hokage and defend him. The enemy might be after him and the rest of the leadership of the village." Itachi suddenly argued back, as he prepared to move towards where Minato was, before he was stopped by Tomoe. "Lady Tomoe, even if you are not a Shinobi, you still have a duty to fulfill."

"Itachi, are you really going to abandon us right here? Minato could already be dead for all we know, and these monsters are going to keep coming." Mikoto addressed her eldest son. "Tomoe is right. We need to move towards the Uzumaki and link up with them."

"We don't even know if they are awake or not, and even if they are, as a Shinobi of Konoha, I have my duties and orders to fulfill, and in case of Village being invaded, it is priority for any Shinobi to protect Lord Hokage and leadership of the Village." Itachi argued back.

"Kid, how many of those things did you manage to kill until Amagi and I got here?" Tomoe simply asked of Itachi, and he didn't answer to her. "Those are not humans, they are beings of an entirely different realm of existence and reality. You want to know why your fire or Sharingan didn't work on them? They can feed off humans' chakra in most forms it is expelled, including Fire Jutsu you used, and they can survive blows and cuts that would kill most humans. And there is going to a whole lot more of them coming, and they all will be different and just as dangerous. You can stay with us and make to safety with your family, or you can go and die senselessly and without any real purpose. Choice is yours, kid."

"But Lord Hokage…"

"Isn't the target of this attack and is most probably knocked out just like all the rest of them. Look, I can't explain everything, but I know who is behind this attack and I know who she is after, and it isn't Minato, Kushina or even the twins. It's Naruto, and right now, he is right there and I am here, arguing with your stupid ass!" Tomoe practically shouted at Itachi making him shake out of fear a little. "So listen up, Boy Scout, you are going with us to Uzumaki, or else I'll knock you out and will have your father carry your ass there."

"And if I refuse to comply?" Itachi suddenly dared to ask, before receiving a strong punch in the face from Tomoe, which knocked him out.

"Tomoe!" Mikoto shouted at her in shock, while the woman in question handed the boy to Fugaku, who had managed to compose himself.

"We were wasting time doing nothing, and he was clearly not listening to his betters. We need to get a move on…" Tomoe had barely had enough time to hand over Itachi to Fugaku, before grabbing her blade and slicing in half a Forsaken, before moving to pierce another one.

The new wave of Yokai and Demons was here and they were practically all over them and Tomoe couldn't waste time with just simple hack and slash style, so she switched to what she knew best in area of mass destruction. Without even a sign, she unleashed a Fireball from her mouth, before turning it into a tidal wave of fire, which engulfed the incoming monsters, burning them. Turning her attention to what was right behind her, Tomoe moved to defend that flank, while Amagi was covering their rear, with Fugaku not able to contribute due to holding his eldest son. Tomoe's frame appeared right in front of an Enki, disemboweling the beast and then kicking it off the railing, sending it to die by immolation from contact with barrier.

Next came a Yoki, who found himself missing half his head after Tomoe was done with him, and after him angry and stressed out woman decided to release all the pent up tension inside of her through a destructive way. Not even a sign made and another destructive wave of fire was unleashed from her mouth, burning and turning to ashes all that were caught in it, or at least that seemed to be the case at first. Before the fire had dissipated, Tomoe was suddenly punched in the gut and sent flying in the opposite direction, right to where she came from. She landed on her back and hard, before spitting out some of her blood, but able to rise up and looking at who it was that had attacked her. The attacker took form of a massive, human-shaped, hollow mass of ashes, fire and smoke, with holes in it showing the hollowness in it.

An Enenra, a Yokai created from fire and smoke, and generally a rather peaceful and good spirit without any ill intent, but there are some exceptions to that rule, especially when said creatures are twisted and corrupted by malignant intent of humans or by Youjutsu. Fire and wind were basically of now use against them as they were made of that staff, and Tomoe knew that, she had to use something that was going to leave a lasting make on it, and she knew her elements good. Enenra decided to attack her with a wave of smoke and ash, which Tomoe managed to evade, before responding with a series of signs and unleashing an Onmyodo empowered water wave from her mouth at the monster.

But monster had managed to evade being struck by as he changed his shape and turned into a cloud, which flown right towards Tomoe, intending to suffocate and kill her by overexposure to ashes and smoke. Just as Tomoe had begun to suffocate, Onimikazuki suddenly glowed with bright crimson and sent out a pulse, which immediately affected the Enenra and forced him to revert back to its humanoid shape and leave Tomoe out of its prison. The moment it did so, a large white ethereal Dragon had struck the monster and torn it to shreds, just as Tomoe was recovering her strength and getting back on her feet. A hand came to her vision, offering her help to get up, which Tomoe accepted and rose up, to see the man that had saved her life.

"Nagao Tamekage?" She asked, as she coughed out some more ashes and smoke.

"Minamoto Tomoe, it is good to see you." Tamekage responded, as he helped Tomoe sit down on the railing and healed her with Onmyodo. "Take a moment, clear your lungs of the ashes and smoke. Enenra are a dangerous enemy even for an experienced warrior of Uzumaki origin."

"Not much of challenge for the Dragon of Echigo, though." Tomoe noted, as her lungs have finally been cleared of the smoke, and she saw that a group of Nagao Uzumaki were clearing up the area. "What are you doing in here?"

"We saw the Uchihas that weren't knocked out and fight off the enemy. I took some of my men and went here to retrieve them, but we ended up fighting several waves of Oni and even some Magatsu, so we were delayed." Tamekage told Tomoe. "By the time we got here, you were already here and in a need of help."

"I owe you one for that save." Tomoe told him with gratitude in her voice, as she rose up and regained her bearings. "Are the other Uzumaki still in the fight?"

"Yes, and we have already started to establish a perimeter around the area were seated before this mess had started." Tamekage confirmed to Tomoe what she had wanted hear. "We have got to hurry up and move back there. The intervals between new waves are irregular and they can get her in any moment. Best we not be here."

"Yeah, that was the plan originally…" Tomoe told him, but before she was able to get a move, she suddenly stopped when she saw something that completely changed up her plans. "Tamekage, get the Uchihas and Amagi out of here. I'm not coming along."

"What?! Tomoe, have you gone mad?! Even if you can kill them like you do, there is no way you can survive against all of them coming at you just like that." Mikoto had tried to talk her out of it. "You said it yourself that we need to get to Uzumaki, and now you are changing your mind? What is going on, Tomoe?"

"Mikoto, Fugaku, trust me: this is more than I can explain in a few words, so you best just trust and do as I say." Tomoe cut her friend off, before turning to Tamekage, who too wanted an explanation. "Get them to safety, and if you can spare anyone, tell them to make it to VIP area of the Arena."

"I will, but why there?" Tamekage asked of her.

"Because that's where Aiwa is." That alone was enough to convince Tamekage, and he didn't argue with Tomoe as he could clearly see that she was telling the truth to him.

"May Kali guide your blade, Tomoe." He simply told to her and left with his forces and Uchihas, while Tomoe began to plan how to make it to the place.

"You should've left with them. You aren't at your full power." Tomoe noted to Amagi, who remained behind.

"And you are 20 centuries too young to start giving me commands." Amagi noted back with a bit of snarky attitude, before her expression returned to a serious one. "Are you sure that Aiwa is there?"

"I just saw how Kushina with Minato led Mito there, with the latter struggling and trying to get away from them. Aiwa is there, that's the fact, and that bitch has made her move with Minato and Kushina's knowledge." Tomoe gripped her sword a little tighter. "When I get to them, I'll disembowel that self-righteous bastard with my own hands, before I make that red haired bitch regret her life's choices."

"Which one of them?" Amagi asked of her.

"Both of them." Tomoe told her.

"Last time, Aiwa nearly killed you and barely managed survive through subverting reality. She won't give you a second chance to get close and strike at her like you did. And with Minato and Kushina, the odds will be further not in your favor." Amagi simply told Tomoe. "I'm coming with you. Even if I am weaker than I'm supposed to be, I can still make her work for the victory, and there is something that I need to confirm about all of this for myself."

"You can confirm all you want, Amagi, but her head is mine." Tomoe told Amagi, before the two headed towards the VIP area.

---

Before any of the hostile Yokai, Ayakashi or Oni have made their appearance, before any of the barriers went up, in the moment when the ripple through the nature's chakra was created, that was when Naruto had sensed that there were trouble brewing. And not just that, he could sense how the flow of natural chakra changed and was now more focused, directed and forced into forms and patterns, put under a command of someone's will. The connection Naruto had with the Sekai had strengthened while he was in coma and retraining, that it was as simple as breathing air in and out of his lungs to sense that there was going to be trouble. And those were going to big and serious ones, far more than he possibly thought at the start.

Nobuna, though not attuned to the natural chakra nor had the ability to sense and see Yokai, also noticed how there was now something wrong. She saw it in the eyes of the Uzumaki and Date Masamune that had observed them and clapped, yet in a single moment the clapping slowed and then stopped, though those Uzumaki on the younger side continued to clap. Though her sister and friends were cheering for Nobuna and Naruto, her eyes were on Date Masamune and then Nobuna saw it in his eye. That look, a single glance telling volumes by itself, telling that there was a storm approaching and they were about to engulfed in it.

And in the very next second, Date Masamune shouted out his command, and Naruto didn't hesitate and grabbed Nobuna, pulling her in a protective hug, forming a barrier of Senjutsu energy and shielding the two of them from the energies of the fog. Nobuna didn't resist or obstruct him, instead holding on to Naruto as close as possible, due an instinct that she thought long gone from her past. It took half a minute for Naruto to fully shield Nobuna with a sustainable shield, before he let her go and he looked upwards, seeing a barrier up in the sky, obscuring colors and lights. Nobuna too looked up in there and was confused at what she saw.

"What the hell is this?" She asked out loud of Naruto, before turning to him. "Naruto, what's going on? You and Masamune, you both sensed some kind of threat, didn't you? What was it?"

"It was… It was a massive Youjutsu spell, meant to knock out an entire army. There was a shift in the natural currents of Chakra, and then the spell became active." Naruto told Nobuna, who looked with shock at him. "Such a spell could only be made by an Onmyoji, and a really powerful one at that. And this thing above us? That's a barrier, made from the same energy."

"A barrier? Onmyoji? But… But who would think to do it, and why?!" Nobuna was honestly starting to get pissed off at the fact that she didn't know what was going on. "I know what Onmyodo is, but a real life Onmyoji is like super rare! Rarer than a pacifistic Shinobi, and almost all fully trained ones had died during the invasion. I heard that from my father, and there's not one who came into Konoha with us."

"Then it has to be someone who both survived the invasion and didn't come to this Village, because this Onmyoji has also just turned the entire the entire visitors' area into a slaughter house, filled with Yokai, Ayakashi and all manner of Oni." The pair instantly turned their eyes to the voice of Yoruichi, who walked to them with Akeno. "And here I was hoping it would a simple showing off of your skills and putting down the twins, but no… This has to have turned into a trap."

"Akeno, Yoruichi, are you alright? Wait, how did you end up in here?" Naruto asked of them.

"We are fine. When the spell was activated, Yoruichi shielded me, Fugaku, Mikoto and Itachi, but right then all sorts of monsters and demons started to pour in. Some tried to kill me and I ran to the ceiling and then fell down, but Yoruichi caught me and we landed here." Akeno told them, looking up at the barrier. "Lucky that we didn't get caught in it. That feels like a really nasty barrier."

"Yeah, it's brimming with Youjutsu energies, so it's meant to kill those trying to intrude inside or outside." Naruto looked up at the barrier and noted, having sensed it. "And whoever put it up really is no pushover. I feel like I've just been cut off from the rest of the world, because I can only now sense natural energy and chakra, as well as emotions and living beings, right in here, in this very ring."

"I think more appropriately would be to say that the Onmyoji who put it up knew what he was dealing with. Or rather, what she was dealing with." Yoruichi said with a tone that spoke about knowledge, which didn't escape Naruto.

"Yoruichi, do you have a clue about who it might be?" Naruto asked of her.

"No, but I know two conspicuously dematerialized Kitsune, who can explain to us who has decided to attack us." Yoruichi said with a sterner voice. "Akagi, Kaga, time to spell the beans. If you don't tell him, then I will."

"Tell him what?" Akeno asked of Yoruichi, just before Akagi and Kaga materialized in their physical forms.

"Inari, why did it had to come to this… Naruto, while you were in coma, literally on the same day you were put in it, there was an attempt on your life. An Uzumaki Onmyoji tried to take you, using summoned Ayakashi and Oni to get you." Akagi told Naruto. "Amagi and Kaga with me stayed to protect you, but Tomoe had to fight the Onmyoji off on her own. We've managed to drive her off, but not without the help from your divine grandmother, Izanami. But we've also recognized who was the attacker- Aiwa Minamoto."

"Aiwa Minamoto?" Naruto asked again, before thinking about it. "Never heard that name in my life. Is she supposed to be someone I know?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes, because… Naruto, Aiwa is Kushina's mother and wife to Date Masamune." Kaga revealed to Naruto, who looked at her with shocked eyes, while Nobuna had a look of realization in her eyes.

"The Traitorous Witch… She's the one who is responsible for destroying Seiwa Genji line of Minamoto and weakening of the defenses of Uzu." Nobuna told out loud. "There were no worse traitors to our people than her, as my father told me. The crimes she committed before she was even found out are atrocious, and that her name is associated with the Three Great Calamitous Yokai. She's not a woman or even an Uzumaki, she is a monster."

"Why didn't you tell me about it? Why did Amagi and Tomoe did not say a thing about her?" Naruto asked of Kaga and Akagi.

"We… We thought that there was time and we could defend you. Amagi said that in the state that she ran away, she wouldn't appear for at least several years. This is way too early for her to attack, and all this power… She must have some help." Kaga said, before letting out a sigh, which she stilled with she sensed how the energies around them shifted suddenly. "Akagi, Yoruichi…"

"We noticed. Get ready everyone." Yoruichi pulled Akeno behind her, bringing her closer to Nobuna, who brought up her sword, while Naruto readied his naginata, while Akagi and Kaga shifted into their Kitsune forms.

In the next second dozens of portals started opening up all over the ring and Oni, Ayakashi and demons began to pour out of there, with Akeno and Nobuna being frozen in shock, while Naruto having steeled himself to a certain point, but even he was fearing for his life. The sheer numbers alone were enough to warrant a certain amount of scare, but these were also Oni and Ayakashi, Demons and Yokai that feasted on humans, the very worst of their kinds. And they were all now coming towards them.

"There's a lot more of them than there used to be, and there are not just Yoki or Gaki among them…" Kaga spoke up, as she produced her blue flames. "Kids, stay behind us. We'll try and hold them off."

"Are you kidding us? There's a ton of them here and just, what, five of us. They'll just snowball you and then get to eating us up!" Nobuna told with a raised tone.

"Hey, I am also here!" Akeno shot to Nobuna a glare.

"You don't count, since you can't even hold a sword or do any Jutsu." Nobuna answered back.

"Nobuna, Akeno, now is not the time to argue with each other or call each other names! Nobuna, give me your sword for a second." Naruto asked of her, with Nobuna giving it to him. "Okay, let's see if I've learned that spell correctly." A small chant and series of signs, and Nobuna's blade shined with an ethereal light, before he handed it to her.

"Okay, what did you do?" Nobuna asked, with the wave of enemies closing in.

"Made it better against them. Yokai can take blows that are mortal for normal beings." Naruto answered to her, before turning to Akeno. "Akeno, give me a sec and I'll fetch you a weapon of…"

"Naruto, look out!" Akagi cried out, as a large, mutated spider suddenly materialized nearby and rushed at Naruto, before jumping to ensnare him…

… before it was fried to a crisp by a powerful lightning bolt, which caused it to fly away and crash into the crowd of Yokai. All heads turned towards the one who unleashed that bolt, who turned out to be Akeno, whose hand was outstretched and her black wings were out. Of all the reactions that she saw, the most pleasing to her was the one that Nobuna gave to her, which was a look of utter shock and disbelief, as well as amazement. Even in this death and life situation, Akeno did enjoy one-upping Nobuna in front of Naruto.

"I think I'll be fine on my own. Thanks for the offer, Naruto." She said, before looking at Nobuna. "Now, you were saying?" Akeno's smug look said it all, and Nobuna had to consent that lost this one.

"Correction, there is now six of us here. A full on suicide squad…" Nobuna let out a sigh. "What's the plan?"

"Survive." Naruto simply said, as the Yokai finally closed in and went into the attack.

Akagi and Kaga immediately jumped into fight, their fire, fangs and claws ripping to shreds their enemies or leaving them burning, while Yoruichi remained in her humanoid form and went on to fight in an acrobatic, maneuverable stile, using her limbs to smash and crush her enemies, with lightning flaring up around her. Akeno's wings carried her into the air and she began to conjure up more of her lightning, leaving Naruto and Nobuna on the ground, ready as they could ever be against such an enemy. They would've been better off against an enemy that was like them, but this… This was not what they were ready against, but this was what they got.

A single glance and nod from both was enough to again reaffirm their commitment, as their first enemy came to them, a Yoki, who was swinging a giant black iron axe. With a roar he tried taking their heads, with Naruto evading it by moving back, while Nobuna jumped into the air. Just as the monster had swung his weapon, Naruto rushed to him with his naginata and imbedded it where his lungs were supposed to be, not passing between his ribcage, but breaking them. The Yoki cried out of pain, but was still alive, at least until Nobuna's blade hadn't pierced his skull and brain, killing monster. Their first real kill was not a human, but an Oni, and although he was not a creature worth pity or worry, it was still a living creature, and under normal circumstances, the two would be trying to recollect themselves, but now was not the time for it, as they were in mortal danger.

Naruto pulled out his naginata and Nobuna did the same before jumping off the dead Yoki, joining each other and standing back to back, ready to defend each other. Naruto sensed how two more Yoki tried to flank them from opposite sides and swiftly moved to stop them, as he augmented his speed through Senjutsu and slashed his Naginata across the chest of one of the Yoki as he was bringing his blade for the strike. Before he was done, Naruto sent the opposite end of his polearm into the groin of the monster, smashing whatever reproductive organs he had there, foregoing morality and fighting code in favor surviving. The two cried out and were more enraged than just hurt, and were prepared to reap their rewards, until the one with crushed tentacles got hit by a lightning bolt, sent by Akeno, leaving Naruto with only one to deal with. Summoning Senjutsu to augment his strength, he swung his naginata and slashed off a leg off the remaining one, forcing him to fall on his stomach, before piercing the top of his head, killing him. Naruto was about to pull out his naginata, but then he sensed how a danger was coming to him, and he had to jump away to the left. Had he not done so, a giant sickle would've sliced him onto two, whose wielder was something that had left Naruto with no amount of surprise at seeing.

Kiryoki, a demon transformed from a human into a horned giant black monkey-like creature after he kills too many Oni or Yokai, having absorbed their negative energy and was corrupted into becoming one. Otherwise, they are created in Yomi from souls of men that had tormented and hurt innocent Yokai out of pure malice and desire to see them hurt. Either way, these beings aren't just dangerous but also intelligent and powerful, not to mention fast as hell, especially with these glaives that they were using.

A specially designed glaive, capable of rotating it's blade and make it either a polearm like Naginata, a scythe, or fold the blade, whichever form and position the user wished, it would take it. This particular weapon was an Uzumaki invention, created over 15 hundred years ago, and has since been one of their more signature weapons, and given the fact that Uzumaki were the primary group of people to hunt evil Yokai… It was almost certain that Naruto was facing off with one of his kin, and it would be best to set him free.

Not giving Naruto time to get over his surprise, Kiryoki swung his blade at him and forced the boy to maneuver away, but the monster wasn't going to let him attack, as his swings continued to come. In a matter of a few seconds, Naruto was pushed up to the wall, but them an idea came to his head and just as the next swing came, it only pierced the stone. Naruto ran up the wall and then jumped back starting to fall right behind the Kiryoki, while he was preparing to seize the chance and capture him.

But his attempt was a little too late as Naruto conjured up one of his chains, sending it down to the earth and then pulling himself down, just as the monster swung and left an opening for Naruto. His first plan to catch him off guard was a failure, so he had to improvise, which he did when he rushed right towards the monster and literally ran on his torso and head, before getting on top and jumping away. The very next moment, ten exploding tags that were placed on him went off and blasted his front to smithereens, killing him. Naruto has been no stranger to fighting against larger opponents, and a good and sound strategy against them was always to surprise them with something unexpected. Tomoe could attest to that, as well as the fact that Naruto was a very creative person, especially in department of new and inventive ways to catch the enemy off guard.

While Naruto had his hands full with Yoki and Kiryoki, Nobuna had her own problems to contend with, which included a large group of Gaki ganging up on her and trying to overwhelm her. She was a girl of a stronger stuff, but the sight of these creatures, looking like malformed babies straight out of hell, which in was actually accurate, was unnerving them, with their shrills and cries, along with smell and the way they wobbled. Though they seemed unable to move fast, that was a deceptive notion, as two leapt at Nobuna and tried bite her, but she managed to swing her sword around cut in half one of them. The other one managed to reach her and grabbed on to her, almost sinking his sharp teeth in her neck, but a well-timed fireball from Kaga put an end to that notion and the burning husk of that creature dropped, with Nobuna moving away from now charred corpses of Gaki to the white furred Kitsune.

Their next opponents were not as numerous, but they were a far more capable breed from the last ones, as a group of Forsaken was making their way to them, accompanied by, much to Nobuna's surprise, several skeletons, armored and armed with rusty weapons and armors. Though not as knowledgeable of Yokai, Senjutsu and Onmyodo as Naruto, Nobunaga was aware of the fact that skeletons and the dead could also be raised to do someone's bidding through Onmyodo. And, surprisingly, the sight of relatively humane creatures actually helped Nobuna steel herself and concentrate, as she was far more inclined to smashing and slicing things that looked like her, even if remotely.

With a savage looking grin, Nobuna brought up her blade for an upward strike, and when Kaga rushed towards one of the bigger Forsaken, tackling him onto the ground, Nobuna followed the ferocious Kitsune and jumped onto the monster, before bringing her blade down on him and splitting his mutated head in two. Kaga jumped off of the body and spammed fire spells on the enemies from one front, while Nobuna had to contend with three skeletons ganging up on her, deflecting and parrying a couple of their attacks, before finding a chance to step back and make a one handed series of signs, before smashing her palm on to the ground. In the next second the ground beneath the skeletons turned into mud and they were dragged down there, before they sunk up to their upper torso. Using this opportunity, Nobunaga went on ahead and decapitated one, kicked off the head of the second, and simply smashed the third ones' head, before she was grabbed by her cloak and tossed aside.

She managed to steel herself and land without any injuries, but not on her feet, forcing her to waste time getting up, and when she was on her knees, she saw a giant axe coming down to chop into two. Rolling quickly from the way, she noticed that she was right underneath a particularly large Oni, a Yoki or something resembling it, and he was about to stomp her. Without much thinking and realizing where she was aiming, Nobuna simply sent her katana in between his legs and the next sound that came was a cry of utter agony. Thinking not about what she had done, but what she should do next, she quickly crawled from under him and then ended up behind him, with her bloodied blade in hand. With quick motion, she pierce his spine, severing it and forcing the monster to fall down, with Nobuna nearly falling over from the weight of the monster. She let out a sigh of relief, before noticing that she was standing in the shadow of something, or someone, before she heard a snarling sound and saw that figure bringing down a club to smash her.

But a flash of deathly light lit up the area and the Oni was fried up in one second, before falling down on to the ground, with Nobuna barely escaping the fate of being turned into a pancake. She looked upwards and saw Akeno floating near her, letting out a tired breath and wiping sweat, yet still able and ready. That one was a close call, and Nobunaga knew it, and she could've died right there and then, with Akeno intervening there with her lightning. Despite how much she disliked admitting that she needed help, Nobunaga was not stupid, and she wasn't ungrateful, which she showed by nodding to the girl. Akeno returned the nod with her own, before she was suddenly enveloped in a gooey, sticky substance and then pulled down, her wings caught in that thing with her body.

Hitting the ground, Akeno found herself being surrounded by what looked like crossbreeds of spiders and met, with faces and heads of spiders, additional appendages, black body and fur. She had heard of these beings, Tsuchigumo, an Ayakashi that ensnarls its victims with a web and then devours it, and Akeno couldn't free herself from the webbing. The Tsuchigumo that surrounded her suddenly moved aside, as an absolutely monstrous, twice as big as those Ayakashi, creature stepped in their place, with an upper body of woman wearing a kimono, and lower half of a spider, her face covering multiple eyes and hands looking like insectoid claws. Akeno's eyes widened in fear as she recognized that thing as Jorogumo, the female Ayakashi that devours young men like a black widow that eats it's mate after conception of her little ones, but this one appeared to have the taste for young girls like Akeno, as she grabbed her and brought her closer to her.

Just as she opened up her mouth and prepared to snack on Akeno, the monstrous Ayakashi shrieked in pain and nearly let Akeno fall, as she felt something pierce her hide right where her spider abdomen met with humane torso. Turning her head to who was it that dared to do so, she then received a powerful punch in her jaw from Nobuna, who them drove the blade deeper and turned it, getting a cry of agony from the creature and making it drop Akeno. Seeing the opportunity, Nobuna let go of her sword and jumped off the giant spider, before grabbing Akeno in the air and landing with her in hand. With a quick thinking and what limited training in Onmyodo she actually had, Nobuna freed Akeno by melting the web around her with the help of Yin chakra. Once freed, Akeno stood up and looked at Nobuna.

"Thanks." Akeno told her, before feeling a little wobbly, with Nobuna helping her stand.

"Yeah, don't mention it." Nobuna told her, before turning and seeing the earlier Tsuchigumo moving in to surround and prepare to web the two girls. "Okay… Can you fly, or run."

"Sorry… Something in that web is making me feel dizzy… Run, I'll only… slow you down." Akeno told Nobuna.

"Don't you start pulling that cliché on me! Oda Nobunaga doesn't abandon her friends when they are in danger!" Nobunaga told Akeno, forcing her to chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"You just… called me a friend." Akeno revealed to her, with Nobuna admitting that she did.

"Yeah, well… You are now, after saving my life, Princess." Nobunaga and Akeno moved a little bit back as the monsters were starting to move in closer. "When we make it out of here, do you want to go shopping?"

"Hah… You realize what you are asking?" Akeno told her with a tone that made her sound incredulous. "But, if we do… Yeah, I'd like that. No boys, though."

"All-girls shopping spree, just the way I like 'em. Now hang on for a sec." Nobuna told Akeno, before deciding to let her go and then made a quick series of signs. "Fire Style: Fire Bullet!" A torrent of fire spewed out of Nobuna's mouth and engulfed the smaller Tsuchigumo, making them shriek and cry out of pain and agony, before dying.

But the very next moment the two were covered head to toe in slimy web, disabling them from moving entirely, with Nobuna and Akeno immediately falling down onto the ground, looking like worms. The next second they were then surrounded by even more of the smaller spider Ayakashi, before their brood mother had made her way to the prey and grabbed them with her monstrous appendages. The Jorogumo had managed to somehow pull out the sword from her back and was now legitimately livid at Nobuna, which she indicated by roaring at the girl, spitting her saliva on the girl and preparing to kill her.

Yet it seemed like the fate smiled twice on Akeno and Nobuna, as at that very moment Jorogumo suddenly froze up with a look of shock and fear frozen upon her face. Little twitching followed after that, as Nobuna and Akeno saw an ethereal looking arrow sticking out of her head, before dissipating and with that the claws of the monstrous Ayakashi gave way and she let go of Nobuna and Akeno, who fell down onto the ground. Akeno was the first one to see and hear how the enrage brood of now dead Jorogumo began to move towards them, intending to devour their mother's not eaten meal. But them she also noticed a figure that had jumped into the air, holding the long red bow and pulling the bowstring back.

Naruto's aim was as good as he could ask for with his Dhanush, as the arrow he sent towards the Jorogumo hit right where he intended. The arrows produced out of his energy and chakra, unaffected by wind, gravity or any other obstacle, always landing where intended, a superb weapon indeed. The strength to pull that bowstring though was a bit on the harder side, but it was enough for Naruto to handle the Dhanush, and after he had practiced with it and did some experimenting, he found out he could make this bow do wonders with his chakra. Like, for instance, turn a singular arrow into a clustered one, like he was doing now.

All it took some concentrated thinking and enough energy, and now Naruto released the bowstring, letting the ethereal projectile fly into the air. The moment that arrow had reached the point where it was directly above Akeno and Nobuna, the arrow suddenly turned into a dozen, which scattered around the two girls, hitting the Tsuchigumo and killing them. Once that was done and Naruto had landed he rushed towards the girls, enhancing his speed as much as he could. The moment he got to them, he burned off the web and freed them, before using Onmyodo skills to destroy the poison inside their bodies.

"Hold still, their web is poisonous and it makes those ensnared by it sluggish first, before paralyzing victims completely. I need a few seconds to get it out of your systems, or else it will continue to plaguing you." Naruto explained to the girls in rapid succession, just as he was pushing his Yang energy into them, coincidentally while also touching their chests.

"Pft, sure, whatever you say, pervert." Nobuna commented, with Naruto getting red after he realized where he was touching them. "Wishing you had the direct access, are we?" Nobuna decided to tease a little.

"This is only because the healing energy will travel faster through your Chakra and blood." Naruto defended himself.

"Sure, sure…" Nobuna said in teasing manner.

"Don't take it seriously, Naruto. We are just happy you've got here… and you have surprisingly soft touch." Akeno blushed madly, before she widened her eyes and shouted. "Naruto, behind you!"

Before Naruto could turn back, a giant Oni smacked Naruto away, like he was smacking a fly off, sending him flying and crushing into the wall, before sliding down. Hissing from pain, Naruto looked up he saw a towering figure of an Onryoki, an Oni being, created out of malice and desire of vengeance, a restless spirt of a man that had been corrupted and turned into a monster. Over 5 meters tall, hulking and massive beast of red skinned Oni was big enough to easily swallow Naruto a whole.

He moved to the boy and prepared to smash him with his giant fists, and Naruto was too much in a pain to move away, as he was currently going through pain-induced stress that seemed to have numbed his body. This was the sensation he was experiencing for the first time in his life, and he has had some rough beatdowns delivered to him by Tomoe, and she was no stranger to not holding back on him, but this was far worse. He was actually feeling lucky he could still feel his limbs and move them to certain degree, but that wasn't going to save him.

Just as Onryoki had finished bringing up his fist, his entire body suddenly became covered in cuts, with wind swirling around them. It was as if the air itself was cutting the monster up, before a lightning bolt came down and fried the brains of that beast, making fall down and the moment it did finally die, its killer was revealed in form of Yoruichi, who crouched down and helped Naruto to get up on his feet.

"Had fun molesting those innocent cute girls?" Yoruichi asked teasingly of him, as she helped Naruto, with his arm around her shoulders. "I can bet you've especially liked Akeno's, given that there is already something to hold on to."

"Do I really need to explain why I did what I did?" Naruto asked of her, as they moved to the girls, who were already up on their feet, with Yoruichi simply smiling to him, before his expression turned sour. "We can't keep fighting them like that. They just keep coming and coming… I killed almost a dozen of Yoki and twice as many Gaki, but they just keep coming… We need to stop it."

"If you are looking for a hopeful advice or some kind of clue on how to break out, then I am sorry to tell you, but we are stuck here." Yoruichi told him, as she glanced at the barrier. "The bitch really knows her stuff, if she had managed to put up a barrier that prevents even me getting out of here. And breaking that barrier will take way too long, even for all of us pulling our weight. Our best hope is for Uzumaki or Amagi to breach this barrier and save us, but if they are too fighting for their lives…"

"Then we are in serious trouble… Yoruichi, what does Aiwa want with me?" Naruto suddenly asked of her, surprising her a little. "I never even met her, never heard her name before now, nor did I even think I had a grandmother, aside from Lady Izanami. What's her problem with me?"

"I wish I knew, Naruto. All I can say is that she is as cruel as they get, if not even more." Yoruichi simply told him. "Anyone who delves in darkest aspects of Onmyodo and Sekai's energy, and dares to even use Yomi's energies is bound to end up going mad from corruption and power. Maybe she simply sees you as a threat, or a source of power… But I think there is more to it than that." Yoruichi's look said enough to Naruto, as did her emotions.

"She and my parents are in league?" Naruto asked out loud, with Yoruichi not responding. "This isn't something that Minato would do, but Kushina… she purposefully weakened the seal on the twins. She wanted them to kill me. They were even going to go after Mito afterwards."

"Guess now we know in whom Kushina went so cuckoo." Yoruichi commented, as Naruto finally finished up his healing and moved on his own, joining the girls and Kitsune sisters, as they've finished up mopping up the remaining Yokai and Ayakashi. "Looks like we caught a lucky break, however long it may last."

"Yeah, but how long can we hold continue to hold off these monsters?" Akeno asked out loud.

"Hate to say it, but we were fortunate to get through this one so relatively unscathed… By the way, Naruto, where's Medusa?" Nobuna suddenly asked of him, noticing that the dragon wasn't with them, before she materialized from Naruto's body.

"I was providing Naruto with enhancement and replenished his Chakra and drew more natural chakra inside, as well as healing him." Medusa stated, with Nobuna nodding to her.

"Having Shikigami sounds like a dream. Damn shame my Yokai decided not to show…" Nobuna let out a sigh, before she turned her head and spoke up. "Guys, I think our break is over. Look." She pointed towards the fallen twins, and all looked towards them.

Left previously untouched and alone by the Ayakashi and demons, the twins were now again active, as their bodies were suddenly convulsing and strange torrents of energy were entering their bodies. In a second's time, they opened up their eyes and cried out in inhumane screams, as deep crimson red energy expelled from their bodies and covered their forms, transforming them and changing them, elongating their bodies and limbs, growing fangs and claws. In a minute's time, the metamorphose was done, and they now looked like a mix between them and the beast that sat inside of them, with three tails behind them, hunched and with eyes looking like slits of the beast, their faces perturbed forward a little from where they previously were, forming a grotesque look of beast and man combined into one being.

Just as they were finished with their transformation, new portals opened up and more Yokai came from them, ready to slaughter those that stood against them. Naruto looked at his former siblings and now sensed only bestial instincts and unnaturally powerful and absolutely all-encompassing desire to kill him. Their powers were amplified to an all-time high and there was no doubt in his mind that he was in for a fight of his life for certain. Unsealing another sword for Nobuna and casting a purifying spell on it, Naruto gave it to his friend spoke one word that came to his mind, before the monsters rushed towards all of them.

"Dhanush." And the red longbow materialized in his hand and he pulled its string back, aiming his arrow at what was once Natsu.

---

The chaos was raging in the arena, with Uzumaki and what few awake Konoha's Shinobi holding off the invaders, and all the while that was happening, Naruto and his friends were now fighting for their lives in the ring, all while the mastermind and creator of all this was observing and watching things unfold. With a chuckle, Aiwa's crimson eyes surveyed the endless waves coming towards the Uzumaki in their area, as they've grouped up their children and were finally through organizing a somewhat proper defensive perimeter, with sealing barriers in place and reinforced through Onmyodo. She had expected nothing less of them, having been one of them in the past, and knowing that their leaders and strongest warriors were nothing to scoff at. Just Date Masamune alone was more than enough to warrant Aiwa to take this entire matter more seriously, and she would've done so, had she been the same one that he faced off against so many years ago.

After her initial fiasco in taking Naruto for herself, she had been defeated and weakened to the point where she was practically defenseless and powerless against almost anyone, even those that weren't even capable of seeing the Yokai Realm. Long has it been since Aiwa had been in such poor state, and she will never forget or forgive that creature, Kurumi Tokisaki, for reducing her to that pitiful form, and she will repay her in full. Normally, it would've taken Aiwa years to recover her youth and power, patiently and steadily building up her might from the rock bottom, but it would seem that fate was smiling upon her.

As it turned out, she had underestimated the worth and very nature of Naruto, having initially suspected him to be simply gifted in terms of his abilities, but what she had learned later was more than enough to change her opinion of him. Son of Shiva and Parvati, grandson to Izanami, adopted by them and given life and power… This had changed everything for Aiwa and only further enhanced her desire and ambition to get him, and now she stood far closer than before, and despite the presence of Uzumaki, Amagi and Tomoe, Aiwa was in far better position of power this time, all thanks to a certain benefactor.

This same benefactor has not only restored Aiwa's body and power, but had greatly enhanced her already mighty abilities to the point where she was now able to command entire armies of Yokai and demons. Such gift could only have come from someone of the divine nature, and as it happened, Shiva had enemies among other deities, those that saw him as an upstart and not worthy of his divine status and power. Personally Aiwa too had despised Shiva and his divine family and wish to hurt him, and what better way there was than to take the most precious thing from him, his very flesh and blood?

And so, after she had formed the partnership with her new benefactor, the same one who had informed her about Naruto's nature and origin, Aiwa reached out to her daughter Kushina, and the two have formed the plan. Though Kushina was not aware of all of its details, after she had heard the truth, or what Aiwa had presented to her as the truth, Kushina was prepared to see Naruto not just defeated but killed and erased.

Always malleable to others' influence, this was one of the reasons why Aiwa loved Kushina and cherished her, as she could be certain in the fact that her daughter will never turn against her. Aiwa already knew that the twins will fail in their mission, even after she had enhanced them a little bit in their initial fight, and so she was already setting in motion her real plan, which was unfolding before her eyes, although with some setbacks.

The Uzumaki were able to stem the tide of enemies and defend themselves well enough and protect their children, and now this was going to be a fight in their favor in short term, but for Aiwa, she was still holding the advantage of endless demons coming to them. And as for Naruto, she was honestly surprised at the fact that he had managed to endure and persevere through the first wave of attackers.

Though Aiwa probably should've accounted for his Yokai friends and those two girls, she was still quite confident enough in her eventual victory, and when one adds up the newly empowered twins, whose beings were now infused with Kyuubi to a certain degree… It was safe to say that Naruto and his friends were not going to last too long. All she had to do was observe and wait for the things to unfold, and also expect her daughter with her family. Speaking of which, they've finally made their way to Aiwa. She turned to look at Kushina and Minato, as well as their daughter Mito, the name that nearly made her flinch, for it brought up painful memories.

"Ah, Kushina, so good of you to finally join me with your family. I was beginning to think you've lost your way in all this mess." Aiwa spoke in a tone that didn't indicate any concern or worry, as she looked at confused Minato and worried Mito. "And so wonderful of you to bring your husband and daughter along. It is long due time that we've been made acquainted to each other." Aiwa stepped closer to them.

"Kushina, what is going on? Do you know who this woman is, and what in the world is even going on in there?" Minato pointed towards the visitors' area. "Why did you even bring us here? I need to get back there and help the people of my village."

"I wouldn't be leaving with such haste, if I were you, my dear son-in-law." Minato widened his eyes after heard it from Aiwa. "Besides, I can assure you that there is nothing out there that poses a threat to your people, and the only ones that my minions are going after are enemies of both of us. Does that set your mind at ease, Minato?"

"Who… Kushina, is this woman…" Minato, shocked and unable to fully comprehend what was going on, turned to Kushina.

"Minato, this is my mother, Aiwa of House Minamoto and rightful ruler of all of Uzumaki. She had been ostracized and made into a monster by those very same Uzumaki out there that have denied me and our children the recognition of our seniority and power." Kushina told him. "And not only that, they've even dared to lie to us about their reasons for coming here. They aren't here to help Konoha or to protect its people. No, they are here to protect a spawn of their Gods that had dared to rob us of our son!"

"What are you talking about? What Gods and their spawn? Kushina, this… This doesn't make any sense!" Minato shouted at her, while Mito was simply silent and trying to quietly back away from the incoming storm. "All I see there are monsters that are trying to kill the Uzumaki and a barrier that is holding our children prisoner! If you are the one that is responsible for it, then I demand that you put down that thing down, before I make you!"

"It is honestly amusing, the fact that you actually think you can make me do anything. But, it is clear that you do not fully realize the whole magnitude of what is happening here. So, I shall enlighten you about it all, my dear." Aiwa said in a graceful manner. "Those monsters that you are my summoned army of Yokai, Oni, Ayakashi and all other creatures that obey me. Yes, those very same creatures that Naruto believes in, they are most real and they are all around you, existing in the plain of reality that is beyond most mortals, accept those that can use Onmyodo, or someone like Naruto."

"What is so different about our son? Why would he be able to see them?" Minato asked, with Kushina shooting him a powerful glare.

"That thing isn't our son, Minato! All these years, we have been forced to raise a changeling, a spawn of Gods that had dared to take the soul of our baby and put inside his body a soul of one of their own!" Kushina shouted at him, with Mito getting scared in the instance, before she tried to make a run for it, only to be stopped by ethereal chains, produced from floor by Aiwa.

"Don't think I've forgotten about you, my little dear. Now, you just sit tight there and I shall return to you in a moment, after your mother and I have dealt with Minato." Aiwa told scared Mito, with the former turning to Minato and beginning to speak. "It is true, Minato. All these years, all this time, you and my dear daughter have been raising not your own child, but a child of Shiva and Parvati. Remember, how the Shinigami had branded your child and was taking away his soul back when he was born? This was part of the plot by Izanagi, the wicked Goddess of Death and grandmother to Shiva, to sow the seeds of destruction into this world. And that seed is Naruto."

"But… But how…"

"He at the death's doorsteps when he miraculously returned to health, yes? And what about his golden eyes, eyes that none else had inherited, so bright and unimaginably perceptive… Those are the eyes of Shiva, eyes of the God of Destruction." Aiwa continued. "You and Kushina both have felt that he was much different from your true children, never able to connect with them or you, withdrawn and aloof, yet also so strange… You've felt that he wasn't your own, didn't you?"

"Minato, we had been made pawns in the hands of malicious gods, who forced us into their games, but we can put an end to it today, if you let my mother do it." Kushina spoke up again. "Naruto is the key to their plan of destroying the world of Shinobi and all that we cherish. If he dies to today…"

"Wait, all this… You knew about this invasion?! Kushina, those monsters are about to kill your father and his family, your brethren and they…" Minato was interrupted by Aiwa.

"Those very same brethren and family that you speak about have long abandoned Kushina and me, and they are not here for Konoha or any of your people. They are here to help and protect Naruto, to help him destroy the Shinobi world, the very same world that had destroyed their little paradise." Aiwa revealed to Minato, shocking even further. "What Kushina and I are trying to do is to put a stop to their plan and not just restore peace to Konoha, but to make it greater than ever before. With Naruto gone, with the Uzumaki gone, there shall be nothing to stop me for making your Village the very center of the world. Your children will be the ones to inherit the very world that you so wish to preserve, Minato. Together, with my help, they shall be the ones to rule it, after Naruto is gone and…"

"Is this how you justify your invasion and plan to commit a murder of who is effectively your grandson, though it is clear that at this point you don't even care about it." Suddenly, Tomoe Minamoto made her presence known, as she ascended the steps to the VIP area, blade in hand and covered in blood of the enemies she had to slay in order to get here. "Aiwa Minamoto, you should've stayed in whatever hole you've crawled back in June. This time, I'll make certain your head falls off your shoulders, without any troublesome phoenixes to regrow it."

"You are most welcome to try, my dear, if you think you can actually take it." Aiwa dared Tomoe, who began to step towards her. "But you may wish to reconsider your actions, that is… If you don't want anything bad to happen to poor little Mito here." Just as she said that, the chains around her little body became much, much tighter, and she started to choke.

"No, Mito!" Minato looked with scare at his little girl, while Tomoe stopped and looked with concern towards her. "Release her, now!" After seeing that Tomoe had stopped in her tracks, Aiwa eased the chains and let the girl breath.

"You've said that you were only going to change her mind, not hurt her like that." Kushina told Aiwa.

"Whatever the damage I've done I will undo, and besides, it did serve its purpose." Aiwa simply dismissed what had happened. "Besides, we have something far more important to attend to."

"I had expected something like that from here, but you, Kushina… Just the fact that you can look at it like that makes me think that I've misjudged you." Tomoe said with disgust to Kushina, who sent an equally disgusted look back at her. "Change her mind, ready to slaughter people and just prepared to turn your own children into monsters. A daughter worthy of her mother, indeed."

"You are one to talk, Mito's little favorite." Kushina spit it out. "She always set you up as an example, always stated that you were the only one who understood what it meant to be the real Jinchuriki. And what about me? She just stated that I wasn't ready, not able to control the beast or its powers. Never will be able to do so as well, and what had happened, hm? Was she able to control the beast to save her life when I've poisoned her last meal?" Kushina revealed with a sickening smile, with Tomoe's Sharingan activating.

"I was already going to kill you for all that you've done, but after hearing this… You'll regret your choices in the belly of a Shinigami." Tomoe then mentally activated the seal she placed on Kushina, but nothing had happened. "Figures... You've had mommy dearest remove it for you."

"But of course, how could I simply leave my dear child with such an awful thing on her?" Aiwa chuckled, as Tomoe glared at her. "But I will admit, that you've made quite a powerful seal, and a very intricate at that. Such elegant and precise work… You truly are a prodigy, just like Mito was. It's a shame that you weren't lucky to have been born from my womb."

"I would've slit my throat if I had a mother like you." Tomoe answered back, as she gripped her blade.

"Minato, this woman had trained Naruto, made him into what he is now. She and that Kitsune are conspiring with the deities to destroy this world. You must help mother and me. Kill her, stop her before it's too late!" Kushina urged her husband, yet all could clearly see that he was lost and unable to decide.

"I don't… I don't know…" With all that was happening around him and with the air of mystery, Minato was feeling like his mind was slipping out and he was losing his grip on reality.

With a disgusted look, Aiwa waved her hand and sent Minato flying into the opposite wall, slamming him and knocking him out. She had long determined that he wasn't going to be of any use to her and Kushina and right now it would've been better if he was just out of the way for them. Yet just as Aiwa had done so, her chains holding Mito were suddenly destroyed by blue fireballs, freeing her and letting the girl run right behind Tomoe, until she was pulled behind Amagi, who made her presence known. Aiwa turned and faced now her two opponents.

"And here I was asking myself, where did that annoying Tenko go? I was certain I hadn't weakened you enough for those imps to kill you. Very nice of you to finally join us, Amagi." Aiwa stated to her.

"Mito, what are you doing? Get back here!" Kushina had tried to move to take her daughter back, but one glare from Tomoe and the sharp edge of her blade stopped her from it.

"One move to her, and I'll end you." Tomoe simply told her.

"Izuna, guide Mito out of here towards the Uzumaki perimeter. We'll handle these two." Amagi ordered the white furred Kitsune to appear and she then guided the little girl out of here. "No more leverages or traps. Just you and us."

"You realize that she will most likely die in there, right?" Aiwa asked of Amagi. "No matter, though. I will simply create a new one for Kushina and Minato, a much better daughter, worthy of them."

"And you realize that Izuna and other Kitsune like her excel at hiding from most sights, even those that can see far more than normal Yokai. As a former Tenko yourself you should remember it." Amagi said with the narrowed eyes at Aiwa, with Tomoe turning her eyes towards her friend. "I should've realized it the moment I first saw you. It would've explained how a model aspiring Onmyoji had become a monster overnight and turned against her own people, how she had gained knowledge and power that couldn't be obtained by normal means. How long have you inhabited this body?"

"Amagi, what are you talking about?" Tomoe asked of her, with Kushina having the same question in mind.

"Oh ho, so you've actually managed to see past this mortal shell. Bravo, Amagi. You've grown into a quite excellent Tenko." Aiwa, or rather, the being that possessed her, clapped to her. "But do you actually think that it changes something for us right now, my dear little sister?"

"It changes little, yet also much, Tamamo-no-Mae." Amagi's eyes transformed into Kitsune slits, with Tomoe's eyes widening after she heard that name.

"Tamamo-no-Mae… One of three most destructive and evil Yokai to ever exist, the only Tenko Kitsune to willingly turn away from Goddess Inari and challenge her. You were supposed to have been destroyed over a millennia ago by Seimei Minamoto." Tomoe stated with shock, realized who it was inside Aiwa Minamoto. "How in Gods' name did you survive?"

"Yokai are not so easily destroyed as regular mortals, Tomoe. After losing their physical shell, they can be reborn through their connection with Sekai, unless destroyed through Onmyodo, but with beings that have divinity in them, they can survive even without Sekai, for they are now connected to the cosmic plain and are now entirely different in terms of living." Amagi told her. "Tamamo, much like me and Inari, can't be simply killed and even Onmyodo won't work on her. It will only weaken her, but not kill for good."

"And Seimei had tried that oh so many times, yet he failed every time. All he had managed to do was to seal my spirit and soul away in stone, which, much to my delight, millennia later his descendant had found." Aiwa answered on the question of Tomoe. "And now, here we all are…"

"Oh, but he did far more than just that. Seimei had stripped you of most of your powers, Tamamo, never to be reclaimed. Yet just after Tomoe and Kurumi had nearly ended you, you've came back with all this… You've found yourself a new patron deity, someone who would want to see Lord Shiva humiliated and defeated." Amagi stated with knowledge. "Izanagi." Was the conclusion to which Amagi came to, knowing that this was the deity that hated Lord Shiva the most.

"Mother, what does this all mean?" Kushina asked of Tamamo, unsure of what to think of all this. "Does this mean that I…"

"Oh, my dear Kushina, you are still my daughter, and you have in you the potential for true godhood and absolute power. You may've been born from the womb of Aiwa Minamoto, but you are the daughter of Tamamo-no-Mae and Date Masamune…" Tamamo assured her daughter, before she was interrupted.

"That woman will never be my daughter, not in spirit and soul. Not when it was spawned by you, accursed fox." Date Masamune came, his swords in hands and bloodied, his singular eye glaring at Tamamo in the body of his wife. "She inherited only your malice and spite, and none of me or Aiwa, safe for looks."

"Ah, Masamune, it has been too long." Tamamo said with a false care in her voice. "Do you still miss our nights filled with passion, my dear husband?"

"The only thing I miss about you is the opportunity to kill you when I had the chance." Date Masamune stated with fury in his voice, as he took up the fighting stance. "A mistake I'll rectify today."

"Room for two more?" Tomoe asked.

"As interesting and exciting it may be to fight you all, I think I'll even the playing field a little bit." With that said, Tamamo's eyes glowed, as she used all of her powers to send an invisible wave to push Amagi out of the area, before closing it off with her strongest barriers. "This should give us some privacy. And now… Kushina, I believe it is time that you've had your wish granted to you. Today you will kill Tomoe."

"I have waited this day for a long time now." Kushina stated, as she unsealed her katana and drew it out.

"You've never could even defeat me in a spar when you were in your best shape, and now you think you can kill me?" Tomoe actually chuckled at the fact that Kushina thought she could kill her.

"Oh, but this time my dear daughter will have some much needed help. Won't she, Zuikaku?" And as Aiwa had said it, a flaming bird, similar looking to the earlier encountered Suzaku, yet looking like a crane, appeared and flown into Kushina, merging with her.

The next second, Kushina cried out of surge of power that entered her, before her body adjusted and began to change. Her hair became a flaming mane, two almost ethereal looking wings sprouted from her back, while her eyes started to emit fire from them and her entire form was engulfed in a powerful aura. Tomoe could sense that now Kushina was much, much more powerful that she ever was before, and that she was in an entirely different league than her.

"What… What is this?" Tomoe asked out loud.

"Merging." Date Masamune simply answered. "When a Shikigami and Onmyoji merge, their powers combine and rise exponentially, with the Onmyoji taking traits of the Shikigami he merged with."

"And as it happens, now Kushina is merged with the very Suzaku that once belonged to dear old Mito. Ironic, isn't it?" Tamamo chuckled. "Now, Kushina, why don't you show us just how much more powerful you've become?" And with that said, Kushina dashed off towards Tomoe with her sword drawn, her speed unreal.

Just barely Tomoe was able to dodge the first attack from Kushina, with her Sharingan almost not being able to keep up with Kushina as she is now, and the merged Kushina wasn't giving any room for Tomoe to exploit the opening. Next moment after she made her first attack and missed, she delivered a powerful kick to Tomoe into the abdomen, sending her flying towards the railing and making her land on them.

Letting out a pained grunt, Tomoe brought up her blade to block the incoming attack from above by Kushina, as she attacked her and tried to strike her, with her sheer power and strength being simply incredible. The heat emitted by Kushina was making hard for Tomoe to concentrate and even with the barrier she managed to conjure up with her Onmyodo, she was still on the back foot, and none of her Genjutsu seemed to make dent, as she sent at least five already and all failed. It was starting to become clear that Tomoe was running out of options and she needed something to turn the tables against Kushina.

Kushina grinned madly, as she was pushing her enemy down and preparing to kill her, with Tomoe unable to do anything in return. Just a little bit more and she would be able to finally rid herself and the world of Tomoe for good. Deciding to ramp up the pressure upon Tomoe, Kushina began to emit far more fire form her aura, starting to burn up her opponent in places where they were closest. Just a little bit more… Yet it seemed that fate wasn't willing to give up on Tomoe, as a powerful energy blast suddenly struck Kushina and she was sent away from her down enemy. She glared at who was it, and saw that it was Date Masamune, her genetic father, who then looked at Tomoe, who was recovering her bearing. She was already looking worse for wear, as her clothing had burned up in places, with some of her skin exposed and also red or singed, with several burns also present on her face.

"Stay out of it, father!" Kushina shouted at him, as she conjured up and sent a powerful fireball at him, which he dispelled with a single strike from his shorter blade.

"All is fair in love and war, as they say. And I'll not let you kill Mito's daughter, Kushina." Date Masamune turned to Tomoe, who looked at him with a tired eye. "Looks like you could use some help."

"Yeah, wouldn't mind to have some, to be honest." Tomoe admitted, before she looked at Kushina. "She is too powerful for me, way beyond me at this point. Normally, I would kill her with no problem, but with that merging… She is a bit much for me."

"Then let's even the scales in your favor." Date Masamune told her with smirk. "Zuikaku wasn't the only Shikigami that Mito had formed a bond with. And she had more than one Suzaku on her. Shoukaku, time to set your sister straight again." Near Date Masamune, a white colored copy of Zuikaku appeared and then flew towards Tomoe, merging with her and healing all of her injuries.

In the moment's notice, Tomoe's body had undergone similar changes as Kushina, but she didn't cry out of pain or from discomfort, as Shoukaku had far less trouble merging with Tomoe, even though the woman never was trained in this sort of thing. This stemmed from the fact that Tomoe was Mito's adopted daughter, Shoukaku and Zuikaku's now deceased partner, and due to that and the link that Tomoe had with Mito, the merging when without any trouble.

In fact, Tamamo and Kushina both had noticed that unlike with Kushina, Tomoe's aura was blazing with much greater power, with her white ethereal wings being far more concentrated and stronger, along with the white glow coming from Tomoe's eyes being much stronger. Powerful currents of wind gathered around Tomoe, as her partner was a Suzaku that actually had a stronger alignment with Air than with fire, a rare thing to happen for a predominantly Fire Yokai. The tables have now turned, as she swung her blade and adjusted to her new powers, spreading her wings and now aiming at Kushina.

"Round two, bitch." And with that, now Tomoe went on to the offensive at Kushina at a speed that surpassed even the one that Kushina had achieved earlier.

Frozen with surprise and shock, Kushina wasn't able to move away and instead brought up her blade to block Tomoe's attack, yet when it came, Kushina had to hiss out a wisp of pain, as Tomoe's blade collided with Kushina's and the ground beneath Kushina broke and crushed, rippling from sheer might of Tomoe. A one-handed attack and push from Tomoe were proving to be enough to overwhelm Kushina, as her knees buckled and barely held up to the pressure, while she herself was had to flinch out of fear when she saw Tomoe's eyes, with Sharingan being no longer present in them.

There, in her flaming eyes, Kushina saw something that she didn't think she'd see again in Tomoe. In those eyes, all of mercy, humanity and simple humane tolerance was gone, all that held her back was replaced with the singular, all-encompassing command and desire, just like in the days of Third Shinobi War. It became clear to Kushina that she wasn't facing a broken shell of a great warrior, or a soft-hearted fool that she always thought her to be.

No, she was facing Tomoe Minamoto-Uchiha, daughter of Mito Uzumaki and granddaughter of Madara Uchiha, and now, Tomoe was about to kill Kushina. Without even breaking her sweat, Tomoe pushed Kushina back, disconnecting the two and forcing her on the back foot. Stepping back and regaining her footing, Kushina decided to go on the offensive and tried to strike Tomoe with her blade. However, Tomoe's blade simply met Kushina's and deflected it away, before striking back, slashing her stomach and causing the woman to cry out in pain.

Though the wound began to heal quickly enough, the pain was enough to render Kushina unable to respond, with Tomoe following up her attack with the second, third, fourth and fifth attacks, striking all the vital areas in the torso that she could reach. Speed and power of her attacks were far too much for Kushina to withstand and even with her regeneration, she was nearly forced down on her knees, but she managed to recover and flew up in the air, her injuries almost healed up. Once there, she gathered up her power and send a volley of fireballs at Tomoe, hoping that it would hurt, if not kill her. Tomoe waited for the fireballs to come, before she literally swatted them away with one of her wings, along with sending a wave of compressed air at Kushina, which reached her in the next second. The air wave was powerful enough to cut through stone, concrete and steel behind Kushina, cutting off the section of the roof, not to mention going through Kushina's torso and severing in two for a second, before Zuikaku's powers kicked in.

"Wh-what's the m-matter?" Kushina asked, reeling from pain. "I-I thought you were going t-to k-kill me... Y-yet y-you can't even do any damage to me. I'm invincible, Tomoe. M-must be d-disappointing, not being able to make any lasting d-damage."

"No." Tomoe replied with a chillingly even tone. "That is by far your most endearing quality now, Kushina. Now I can just hurt you in every way I've wanted." With that said, Tomoe suddenly disappeared from Kushina's sight.

And in the next second, Kushina's arms were sliced off and then thrown towards the barrier, burning them away with the sword. Before she could even cry out of pain, Tomoe appeared behind Kushina and delivered a powerful kick at Kushina's back, sending her flying towards the barrier, before adding up to her speed by sending a combined air wave. Kushina crushed into the barrier, feeling how the energies of her mother's construct were hurting and burning her, and even Zuikaku's regeneration couldn't help her deal with it. The air waves pinned her down to the barrier and forced her as close to the barrier, hurting her far more than she would've wanted.

Tomoe wasn't satisfied with it and she bolted right towards Kushina, crashing into her and smashing through Tamamo's barrier, pushing Kushina out of the VIP area and flying right behind her. She then grabbed onto the regenerated arm of Kushina and after a fast enough spin, she sent her crashing down, before she descended down onto Kushina, smashing her further into the stone. A small crater formed up, which began to expand as Tomoe began to deliver punches to Kushina, literally punching her further and further down, before breaking the floor and ceiling beneath. Yet before Kushina could fall, Tomoe grabbed on to her and tossed her out of the hole, with Kushina making a rough landing onto the floor.

The amount of injuries, lacerations, burns, torn and broken bones with muscles was so high that not even Zuikaku could fully heal it all, and it was starting to become clear that Fire Suzaku was running out of energy. Tomoe flew out of the hole and appeared right before Kushina, walking towards the woman who was now trying to crawl away from Tomoe. It was useless, as Tomoe had caught up to Kushina and grabbed the woman by her hair, before tossing her down onto the ground with Kushina facing Tomoe, before pinning the redheaded woman with the two broken pieces of fittings, which Tomoe grabbed on her way out of that hole, piercing Kushina's legs and deep into the concrete.

Crying out pain, Tomoe silenced her with a powerful punch, which now led to Kushina spitting out blood, indicating that she was on her last legs when it came to energy reserves. Tamamo apparently believed that Kushina would be quickly done with Tomoe, so she didn't include in energy support, which now cost Kushina everything. Tomoe was about bring up her fist up again, when she suddenly heard a voice inside her head.

"Tomoe, wait!" It was a voice of the young girl, but Tomoe recognized it as voice of Shoukaku. "You will only keep wasting your own time if you just keep punching and hurting Kushina like that. She will continue to regenerate her damage, and even if you manage to kill her, you will also kill my sister, Zuikaku! Please, Tamamo captured her and made her a slave to her, she would never serve that vile creature out of her free will."

"Then what should I do? Is there any way to get Zuikaku out of Kushina?" Tomoe mentally asked of Shoukaku.

"Place your hand on Kushina's head, and let me do all the work." Shoukaku shared with her new partner the mental image of what she was about to do, and Tomoe decided to trust her.

Placing the hand on Kushina and closing her own eyes, Tomoe's merging ended as Shoukaku went from her into Kushina. The woman cried out of pain and the sudden surge of power, before wincing starting to convulse as a struggle and fight ensued inside her. But the battle was not a long one, as from Kushina's body emerged the flaming crane form of Zuikaku, followed by the white crane of Shoukaku, before the flown in a dancing manner around each other. Tomoe observed it happen with a sigh of relief, sensing that the two were alright and Zuikaku was free from the enslavement. The two Suzaku then flown closer to Tomoe.

"Free! Finally, I thought I was never going to be able to fly free again or see my sister!" Zuikaku chirped happily, waving her wings with enthusiasm. "Ugh, just let me get my wings on that mad fleabag…" Zuikaku started to say all the things she intended to do to Tamamo.

"Thank you, Tomoe. You and Masamune have helped me regain my sister and half of myself. Mito wished for us to join you after she had passed away, and we would consider it a privilege and honor if you would accept us as your Shikigami." Shoukaku spoke in a polite and grateful manner, with Tomoe simply nodding to her. "Then we shall be in your care, Lady Tomoe. Please take good care of us, and… What shall you do with this woman?"

"What will I do indeed?" Now Tomoe finally turned to Kushina, whose eyes were filled with fear and pain.

"T-Tomoe, y-you c-can't just… Please, I-I know I had done bad things…" Kushina was trying to plead, but Tomoe cut her off.

"You had poisoned the woman that had raised and loved me as her own daughter. Your mother had crippled her, and you finished her off, all so you could take what never was yours. You and your mother took away my son from me, an innocent child that had nothing to do with our feud." Tomoe listed the crimes that Kushina had committed against her. "You've turned away from Naruto and Mito in favor of your arrogant, spiteful, bile-filled Kyuubi spawns, because they were generators of fame. You've hurt Naruto and Mito more than anyone, you've abandoned them, and now you have conspired with your mother to have Naruto killed and Mito turned into a mindless puppet of yours."

"I-I didn't… My mother, she had…" Kushina continued to try to plead, but that fell on deaf ears. "I-If you kill me, th-then all of Konoha will turn against you. Minato will have you executed, and not even Uzumaki will be able to defend you! You can't do a thing against me, Tomoe, or else…" Tomoe punched Kushina across the face, shutting her up.

"You, your children and your mother have effectively conspired against Konoha, the Uzumaki will state that, and as for Minato, the man is weak and doesn't possess the needed stuff for him to be a good leader. He will simply go with the flow and you will be called a traitor to Konoha." Tomoe simply said to her, before she unsealed her Onimikazuki. "But you will not be there to see it happen. Consider this my final mercy to you, because you deserve far, far worse for what you had done. May your soul suffer eternally, bitch." She brought up her blade, with Kushina struggling to get out, yet unable to move.

"No, TOMOE!" And with those being her last words, Kushina's life had been cut short, when Tomoe's sword severed the head of Kushina Namikaze-Uzumaki.

Years of suffering at the hands of this woman, losses and pain that she had brought to Tomoe… She wished she could've made her suffer far more than she did, for such a swift death, even with all that she done to her earlier was far too easy of an end to her. But at this point, after all that had happened to her and those that she cared about, Tomoe was just satisfied with the fact that she was able to avenge her mother and son by taking out one of their murderers. And the fact that she paid Tamamo with the same coin as she did to her all those years ago felt good for Tomoe.

Deciding that she had enough of the relishing, she decided to go a join Masamune, but the moment she stepped away from the body of Kushina, a powerful earthquake suddenly erupted and forced Tomoe on her knees. She couldn't understand the origin of it, but the moment she raised her head and turned to the barrier surrounding the ring, all she had saw was a pillar of light that broke through the barrier.

And then Tomoe sensed those that were transported by that pillar inside the ring…

---

Just as Tomoe and Kushina had restarted their engagement, all pretenses were dropped between Masamune and Tamamo, and the Demon Slayer went at the monster in his wife's flesh with the power that was appropriate of the man bearing the title of Dragon of Fujiwara. His blades flew swifter than wind and struck harder than storm, yet Tamamo's shakujo was able to withstand the flurry of strikes, as she used it to deflect and block the incoming attacks with equal power. Outside of select few Uzumaki warriors, Masamune begrudgingly had to admit that Tamamo was now on par with him in terms of strength and speed, amplified by the insane amount of Onmyodo she was using. Had this battle taken place before Izanagi restored and empowered her, there would've been a clear advantage in the hands of Masamune, but now… Now it seemed he was facing off against a beast worthy of his skills.

Fourteen attacks deflected and blocked in a span of a blink of an eye, and Tamamo decides to turn the tables on Masamune, as she summons the chains from the ground to pin him down. Six portals open up beneath the man and the chains from them manage to catch him, restraining his movements and keeping him in place, but only for a moment. Before Tamamo has time to properly respond, Masamune's Shikigami makes its presence known by revealing itself behind its partner and opening its jaws, unleashing a stream of concentrated energy from his mouth. Only the appearance of her own enslaved Shikigami, the Minamoto's Suzaku, saves her, as it unleashes the flaming stream of energy. The two streams collide and explode, with the shockwave being large and powerful enough to destroy a good chunk of the VIP area. For a moment, it seems as if the two opponents were caught in the explosion and took each other down.

Yet the next second is when the smock disperses out of sheer power of Masamune and Tamamo colliding their weapons, trying to gain the upper hand against one another through sheer brute force, while their Shikigami are battling above them, neither giving way for the other nor getting any advantages. With the grunt, Masamune decides to gain the upper hand, as he absorbs a great amount of natural energy and uses it in one singular push against Tamamo, breaking the deadlock and opening up her defense for a split second. A small, narrow and already closing window, but for a warrior like Date Masamune, this is enough to land the killing blow…

And yet when he draws one of his blades for the strike, his hand flinches and he misses, and instead of taking Tamamo's life and the head of his wife, he simply grazes her neck and slices off a part of the cloth that covers were face. Seeing an opening, Tamamo sends a bolt of purple energy at Masamune, which hits him squarely in his chest and sends him tumbling back, yet not falling. In a mere moment, he regains his footing and reinforces the barrier around himself, which had absorbed most of the damage from that attack. Tamamo rises up and also regains her stance, but with a chuckle getting out her mouth.

"Ah, Masamune, I truly did miss you. Or rather, this crippling incompetence that you possess when it comes towards me." Tamamo laughed at him, as Masamune gripped his swords tighter. "You've had the perfect opportunity to kill me, to end the greatest threat to all of your existing brethren and future generation. A single chance to kill me… And yet you've missed. How typical of you, my dear husband."

"Do not call me that." Masamune growled, before charging up his blades and sending four energy waves from them towards Tamamo.

With an evil chuckle, Tamamo simply tanked all four of them without even bothering to move away and instead simply bolstered the power of her barrier. Date Masamune knew that his attack wasn't going to do much if anything, but he simply did to shut her up, even if it was not going to be for long, as Tamamo spoke again.

"How many times have we fought like this, Masamune? Five, ten, fifteen?" She asked of him in rhetorical manner, before answering herself. "Ah yes, seventeen. This is our seventeenth fight, and just like in all those previous ones, you purposefully let the chance of ending me slip away. It did vex me somewhat that you would not be able to end me after so many fights we had, letting me live… But now I understand why you did all this, my poor little foolish husband."

"You don't understand a thing about me, or about what I want." Masamune retorted, with Tamamo chuckling.

"Please, Masamune, don't lower yourself to lies and deceit, and don't tell me your memory is failing you already. Remember, I have been your wife for over 7 years. I, not your precious Aiwa, have given you the happiness you desired and a child you yearned for. I know your heart and your mind, and there is little you can hide from me." Tamamo decided to press on their past. "You can't let go of the past, because deep down inside, you know and understand, that for all those decades you had spent with Aiwa, all she had given you was nothing but a barren wife and loss, whereas I have…"

Tamamo wasn't allowed to finish her speech, for Masamune has had enough of her words and sound of her voice, as he enhanced his body to the maximum capacity and launched himself at Tamamo with a roar, forcing her to bring up her shakujo and defend herself. The moment their weapons connected, her staff nearly broke, as the floor beneath her shattered and nearly crumbled, for the might of Dragon of Fujiwara was as great as his wrath towards Tamamo. Using the momentary sign of confusion and fear in her eyes, Masamune's foot goes up and delivers a powerful kick in the abdomen of Tamamo, sending her flying towards the wall. She crashes into it, breaking it behind her back, yet recovering, though not without a hurt pride and a little pain, as Masamune begins to walk towards her.

"You have given me nothing but shame and pain, hidden under veil of illusions and lies!" Masamune shouted at her, rushing to Tamamo, his right katana drawn up for the strike, with Tamamo barely escaping his attack, as she moved away. "All you did was just take what Aiwa has given me and use it for your own twisted gains!" But just as she had managed to move away from that attack, Masamune struck her with his left blade and severed her shakujo, with Tamamo barely managing to catch onto the yellow stone that was attached to it, before it fell.

"Aiwa gave my life meaning and purpose, you only gave me an unyielding desire of vengeance!" Next attack and Masamune's blade reaches her abdomen, actually cutting it and causing Tamamo to jump away from him, as her magic already began to heal her. "Aiwa was more to me than you could've ever become, she is my soulmate, my wife and my life! AND YOU'LL RELEASE HER!" With the roar, Masamune bolted towards Tamamo, with his aura flaring up in blue, as he intended to knock her out.

But Tamamo was not without her own tricks up her sleeve, as her Shikigami flared up and teleported her out of that spot, with Masamune ending up only destroying the wall that was behind Tamamo. He turned around and saw the flaming flare and Tamamo reappearing in that place, as she looked at the man, before speaking up.

"You still have hope that you will be able to reclaim your precious wife, Masamune? Allow me to share a little secret with you: Aiwa has long since lost hope and hasn't even made herself known to me for over a decade." Tamamo stated to him with a chuckle. "Don't you realize what it means? She has long since relinquished control and reigns over her body. She is now nothing more but a spectator inside this shell, a ghost in the shell, if you'd like."

"The only ghost, or rather a parasite, I see is you." Masamune regained his fighting stance, preparing to reengage Tamamo in a battle, with Tamamo summoning another one of her staffs and also preparing herself, until she suddenly shifted her attention away from Masamune and towards the barrier that was over the ring.

"Ugh, those incompetent brats! I've given them all the power they could need, and yet they still can't defeat them?!" Masamune instantly understood that Tamamo was speaking about the situation on the ring, before she turned to him. "It would seem that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself, as always. Well then, my dear Masamune, until next time." And with that, Tamamo opened up a dark portal and stepped into it, leaving Masamune and the VIP area before he could do anything meaningful to stop her.

"Damn it!" Masamune cursed out loud.

"Cursing at your weakness will not accomplish anything useful or meaningful, Masamune." Masamune's Seiryu spoke to him. "We must break through that barrier, and since Tomoe has just destroyed the barrier surrounding this area, we can now go and finally help your grandson."

"Yeah, that's now the plan, Watatsumi." Masamune let out a breath, before sheathing his swords and running out of the area, and once out of there, he saw Tomoe engaging with Kushina, but paid no mind to it.

Instead, he noticed Amagi, who was using her magic against the barrier over the ring. Seeing that this might just be his best chance at getting inside the barrier, he ran up to her and spoke up.

"Amagi, Tamamo had just teleported out of the VIP area. She must've went directly to ring." Masamune informed her.

"Yes, I already noticed it. She is inside, engaging Kaga and Akagi…" Amagi stated with strain on her voice, for using her magic and casting spells was taking a toll on her. "I've been trying to break this barrier, but all I did was manage weaken it, but not enough to punch through it. This thing is designed specifically so that not even someone of my level would be able to break through, not to mention preventing even the gods from looking inside from their cosmic plane." That last comment suddenly gave Masamune an idea.

"But is strong enough to withstand the power of an actual deity? Someone on the level of Trimurti?" Masamune suddenly asked of Amagi, confusing her a little, before she realized what he meant.

"You mean… You wish to get them involved in this?" Amagi asked of him, with Masamune nodding to her.

"Naruto is their son, and if they still care for us and him, then they will come. This is our only chance now, or else we'll lose." Masamune told her, with Amagi agreeing to it. "Can you break that masking spell on the barrier?"

"I could, if I were at my full power, but in a state that I am now, I can only weave it away a little by little, not just destroy it completely." Amagi told Masamune, as he put his hand on Amagi's shoulder and began transferring power directly into her being. "This power…"

"Don't gawk, use it!" Masamune commanded her, with Amagi focusing her efforts on the new task at hand.

"Almost through… Oh Inari…" Amagi breathed out of shock. "No, no no… Masamune, there is…"

"JUST BREAK THAT SPELL THIS INSTANT!" He roared out a command at her, with Amagi crying out pain, as she used one of her spells and distorted the barrier, removing its masking charm.

The moment she did so, the two of them were blown back by the shock way that came from the barrier, with Masamune and Amagi landing on their backs. They didn't know how long it would take for the deities to respond, but the very next moment, a pillar of incandescent light tore through the outer barrier of the arena and then completely destroyed the barrier over the ring itself. The ground shook underneath them, as the power of the very world began to respond to this new development, with Demons, Yokai and Ayakashi summoned by Tamamo all freezing up in terror and absolute fear, for they were the first ones to know what had just happened, with Uzumaki and Masamune being the next ones to understand what it was.

And the only response that Masamune could produce out of himself at that moment was a smile, for now he knew for certain, that the battle was won, and that the Uzumaki haven't lost the favor of their gods.

---

Running with all the speed he could muster, Naruto jumped up on to the shoulder of a Yoki, before using it to jump high up in the air, turning his frame towards the ground and his pursuer, who happened to be Narumi in her more bestial and less cognitively active form. Drawing the bowstring of Dhanush and producing an arrow, made out of his Chakra, Naruto sends it flying towards her. The mutated Narumi is hot in her pursuit of him, nearly catching up to him, before she is struck and with the arrow and then sent flying, once the powerful explosion erupts and produces a powerful shockwave. Unfortunately, Naruto is also caught in the shock wave's range and is sent flying away, before violently crashing into the ground and rolling on it, his torn up uniform getting scrapped and torn even more, while the body underneath serves as a recipient of bruises and cuts.

With a painful groan, Naruto gathers his bearings and pushes himself off of the ground standing up, before jumping away as a particularly large Yoki attempts to behead him with a large axe. Before Naruto can get far enough from him, the monster is suddenly frozen in place and is made an easy target for Naruto, as he pulls the bowstring and kills the monster with a single shot. Once he is killed, Medusa reveals herself from behind the monster, her head nodding to him, with Naruto nodding back to her, thankful to her for using her special power on that Oni. But before they can exchange any words, portals open up around them and more Oni and Ayakashi exit it, all moving towards Naruto. Dispelling Dhanush, he instead summons up twin katana into his arms, seeing that he now had nowhere to run away from them.

With a mental command to Medusa, Naruto runs towards the gathering crowd of the monsters, with Medusa following closely behind, freezing with her gaze as many as she can, before she suddenly transforms into the energy wave and splits into the two, each going into one of the blade. Both blades flare up with the purple and golden colors, powerful auras engulfing them and empowering the weapons. The first enemy that Naruto runs up to against is an Onryoki, much like the same that had nearly ended him minutes past, only this time, he is prepared for a fight with one like him. Summoning a chakra chain and sending it towards his shoulder, Naruto uses it to propel himself closer to the monster, dodging his arms and then imbedding his blades in his head. In a single motion he then moves them out the dead monster, before jumping off him and then spinning in the air, unleashing waves of Medusa's energy, striking Oni and Ayakashi alike.

Landing on his feet with the grace of a cat, Naruto releases Medusa from his blades and she returns back to her Dragon form, before going on a rampage at the frozen enemies, while Naruto's blades find its own targets in form of Yoki that were trying to gang up on him. With all his speed, he maneuvers around them like a mercury, his swords slashing their brutish forms and tear them to shreds, killing up to four of them in a span of a minute, before a much larger Oni, a One-eyed one, appears and tries to kill smash him to bits. Naruto maneuvers away, with the monster opening himself for the attack by Medusa, whose teeth imbed themselves into his throat and tear it open. The monster roars, but still lives, at least until he is set ablaze by both Kaga and Akagi, who appear before Naruto. They look like they've been through hell, but one could say that about all those that were currently in the ring.

Yet they are not offered a reprieve, as both Kaga and Akagi put themselves before Naruto, creating a magical shield, which is then destroyed by the powerful Bijuudama, which sent both of the Kitsune flying away. Next second, Naruto's form flying to the different direction, as he was punched by one of the twins, before landing on his back, hard and nearly breaking a couple of his vertebrae, with only his inhumane resilience and endurance keeping him alive. Before he can even breath in air, demonic Narumi lands near Naruto and gets to him in a blink for an eye, before punching him in the face hard enough to slash skin off his cheek and make it bleed, along with making Naruto spit blood right in his eyes. Using the momentary distraction of the monster, he gathers up Onmyodo power in his fist and sends it into Narumi's face, sending the monster flying away from him and landing with a roar of pain.

As Naruto used the opportunity to rise up and gather up his strength, he had to admit that now his siblings were far more dangerous than they were before. Every physical attribute and characteristic has grown exponentially, their demonically bestial appearance reflecting their inhuman power. Their new hides were strong enough to absorb plenty of damage, and the fact that they were engulfed in Kyuubi's chakra, enhancing their already incredible powers and providing even more protection was making this an uphill battle for Naruto and his friends. Hell, they were able to fight against Kaga and Akagi with ease, and just one of their Bijuudama was enough break through their shielding. So far, only Onmyodo and large amounts of concentrated Chakra attacks have proven to be effective against them, as it was the only thing to hurt them and even that was temporary, since they seemed to be able to recover from almost everything. In short, Naruto was steadily running out of options on how to deal with them and if this kept going the way it did so far, then he and his friends were done for.

Narumi recovered quicker than Naruto had wanted and hoped, but he couldn't do anything about it, so instead of complaining, he concentrated, gathered his strength and summoned Senjutsu into his arms and legs, before launching himself straight towards Narumi, who too was going towards him at full speed. With his swords lost, Naruto had only his fists and legs to rely upon against her, and he was going to make it count, and he bet everything on the first strike, which he had managed to land, as he jumped and connected it with Narumi's jaw, nearly breaking it.

Her response was a slashing blow by her claws, which Naruto managed to block with his armored gauntlets, before going at her torso with a series of quick punches. Narumi seemed to have not noticed them, as she unleashed a flurry of attacks on Naruto the second she recovered, several passing through his defense and deflections, until Naruto had managed to stop her by grabbing her arms and then jumped up and kicked the girl with both his legs. Managing to land on his arms and pushing him up on his legs, Naruto quickly summoned up two of his chains, sending them towards the still flying form of Narumi, catching her and then pulling her back. Once she was enough in range, Naruto then delivered a powerful uppercut to her jaw, sending her flying again.

Then he caught her with his chains and pulled her back, before delivering an uppercut again with even more force than before. The third time he caught her mid-air with his chains, Naruto send a powerful wave of Youjutsu energy, which stun Narumi and caused her to cry out of pain, before he then sent her flying downwards, crashing in the land and creating a small crater. Dispelling his chain and catching breath for a second, as well as healing his cuts and wounds, Naruto just barely had managed to evade an attack from a Magatsu, before he was caught up an Onryoki. Crying out of pain from being crushed to death, Naruto was desperately trying to come up with a way to get out of that spot, when suddenly a loud noise ripped through the air and the Onryoki released him before falling dead. Then came a series of said noises, and nearly all of the monsters that had surrounded Naruto fell dying or dead. And it was then that he finally heard the person responsible for these deaths.

"Ara ara, what a subversion of stereotypes we have here. A damsel saving the dashing hero from the clutches of a monster at the last moment, guns blazing." Naruto looked up and saw a girl in black and red Lolita dress, with one red and one yellow clock eyes, while she looked at him and offered him a hand, which he accepted. "My deepest apologies for running late for the tea party, but I have had to make sure I would be able to present myself in only my utmost best, since this is our second meeting, and our first date in which you get to actually see me."

"First date, second meeting? I'm afraid you've lost me on that one, because I'm fairly certain I've never met you before." Naruto admitted, as he used his Onmyodo magic to heal the damage done to him.

"My, where are my manners? I've forgotten, that you were in a more non-responsive state, so to speak. Shall we make this a more proper then?" The girl made a curtsey before Naruto. "Good day to you. I am Kurumi Tokisaki, Lady Izanami's personal executioner and your bodyguard, at your service and most eager to further our acquaintance. As for our previous meeting, it happened on the day you were put into a coma, and when your troublesome grandmother has decided to pay you a visit. Safe to say she had far less success than she appears to be having now."

"Lady Izanami had sent you here? If she did, then the other deities know what is happening here?" Naruto asked of Kurumi.

"Unfortunately, they do not, and Lady Izanami only noticed that something was off when the number of her servants from the ranks of Oni suddenly started to drop akin to flies. The rate of their eviscerations and deaths could only indicate that a certain group with very special skills was killing them off, and the Uzumaki happen to be the best pest controllers in Sekai when it comes to dealing with Oni infestation." Kurumi replied, as she grabbed her guns. "Once that was established, Lady Izanami has ordered me to get here, which I did. Admittedly, I did have trouble getting inside this ring, which is quite a worrisome thing, to be honest. Aiwa never did have much success keeping me from a tea party, but this time she almost stopped me in my tracks. Fortunately, I am a very persistent and dedicated girl that can't miss such events."

"Well, feel free to enjoy yourself. I and my friends here have had our fill of fun, so to speak." Naruto told Kurumi, noticing how Narumi was getting out her crater on far side of the arena. "Can you teleport us out of here?"

"I fear cannot do so. The barrier prevents me from doing so." Kurumi told him, before pointing her gun towards one of the recently spawned Yoki and shooting it in the head, killing it. "But I can provide support in erasing this infestation. Although your primary concern should be dealing with these two abominations." Kurumi pointed towards Narumi, who already managed to get out of her hole and was now making its way to Naruto.

"Yeah, but nothing that I've got will even make a dent against her or Natsu, not while Kyuubi is supplying them…" Then an idea came in Naruto's head, and a plan began to form in that moment. "Kurumi, do you have any restraining techniques or spells? Chains, ropes, handcuffs, that sort of thing?"

"Ara ara, asking such improper questions of a young innocent lady, and on their first official date no less? How naughty of you, Naruto." Kurumi said with false indignation, before answering. "But to answer your question, I do have something like that in my arsenal. A girl this days must be prepared for all kinds of things, even quite the racy ones at that. What do you need of me to do?"

"Can you stop Narumi or slow her down? I need some time to regain to my chakra and power. Used up way too much already and now I'm running mostly on fumes." Naruto told her, as he let out a tired sigh, until he suddenly saw Kurumi pointing one of her guns to him. "Kurumi, what are you?"

"Trust me, you are about to feel yourself like you just entered this arena. Zaphkiel. Dalet." Kurumi said, before a red energy mass went into the gun that was pointed towards Naruto, before she shot him.

In the single instant, his body was healed of all cuts and bruises and his chakra and endurance were back to before he had even entered this fight. Even his clothes were restored to pristine order, which surprised Naruto, as he looked with quite the shock on his face at Kurumi.

"Kurumi, what was it?" Naruto asked of her.

"Aren't we curious? A girl must have her secrets, mustn't she? Now, where were we?" Kurumi turned to see Narumi already jumping towards Naruto and readying herself to slaughter him. "Ah yes, now I remember. Zaphkiel. Zayin." The energy went into another gun and Kurumi fired at Narumi, who was mere two meters away from them, suddenly freezing her in mid-air, again surprising and shocking Naruto.

"She's frozen in mid-air… You can manipulate time?" Naruto asked of Kurumi, who had an innocent smile her and blinked innocently. "You are definitely not a human, nor a Yokai or Oni. You are something else entirely."

"And I believe that to be one of the better parts of my alluring persona. But let us save flirting for a later date, when we are alone. You may now go ahead and do whatever you wish with her. I'll lift the spell at your command." Kurumi told Naruto, who nodded to her and went to Narumi, before more portals opened up and Yokai started coming to them. "Ara ara, what a rowdy crowd of guests we have here. Looks like you are eager for some well-deserved punishment." And with this, Kurumi began to fire at the Yokai, keeping them off Naruto while he did his deed.

Naruto, with his revitalized body and restored chakra reserves, made a set of signs, mixing in Chakra and some of the nature energy as well, as his fingers on his right hand began to glow with purple fire. The twins newly acquired hide was capable of withstanding nearly all that Naruto could throw at it with his simple chakra, and only Onmyodo skills made a dent on them, and then it was only temporary. However, Naruto knew the basics of anatomy and how chakra operated, and Kyuubi's chakra was no different, as it traveled through the pathways from its center, which was the belly. Natural energy also concentrated around the same area and then spread throughout the pathways, so if one were to be able to somehow disrupt the flow or even stop it completely, then the used would not be able to utilize chakra.

And fortunately for Naruto, he had just the thing to stop the chakra flow inside a person's body, and given the fact that Narumi and Natsu had Eight Trigram Seals on them, this made his work a little easier. Having studied Sealing Arts under Tomoe, Naruto had also studied that seal and how it worked and operated, as well as how it could be subverted against the one it was put on. The Eight Trigram Seal was directly connected to all the chakra pathways inside the body from the source, a feature needed to safely transfer Kyuubi's chakra inside the person's body, but also a flaw that Naruto was going to exploit. If another seal, one with an odd number of symbols used in it, was applied above the even numbered seal, it would create a disruption within the pathways and dramatically decrease the amount of chakra one could use, and in case with Kyuubi's chakra, effectively close it off for the wielder. And Naruto knew one such seal.

Having shortened the distance between him and Narumi, along with having completed the preparations for applying the seal, Naruto then moved his hand towards where his sister's abdomen was and applied it, using the Onmyodo to better connect the seals. Once the Five Element Seal was applied, Naruto signaled Kurumi and she released Narumi from her spell, forcing her to fall on the spot she intended to land on, convulsing and crying out of sheer pain. The metamorphosis started to reverse itself and her human form began to return, with her cries as the pain she was experiencing was simply far too much for her to handle, forcing Narumi to pass out just as the transformation back into a human was complete. Naruto's idea was a success and his theory was correct, and now was the time to apply it on Natsu…

"ARGH!" The cry of pain sounded throughout the arena, a voice of a girl that Naruto knew and held dear to him.

---

Just like with Naruto, Nobuna too was not having fun and was most definitely running out of gas, as she was forcing herself to even stand up straight, using her will, determination and focus to remain in the fight. Fortunately for her, she was at least with Akeno and Yoruichi, the latter of whom was really saving their hides here with her blazing speed and lightning attacks, while Nobuna and Akeno were trying to stay alive throughout this entire chaos, despite the fact that it was starting to become increasingly harder. Especially given the fact of Natsu having taken an interest in specifically killing them, with Nobuna now trying to scare him with her attacks, which weren't going anywhere.

In her tired state, Nobuna overextended herself and that gave Natsu an opportunity to strike, which he did when he grabbed one of Nobuna's hands and the smashed his fist into her face. Only Oda and Taira Clans' bloodline had prevented Nobuna's jaw from shattering and allowed it to withstand the attack, but it did knock her off her feet. Landing hard on her butt while also losing her sword, Natsu wasted no time in closing in the distance to finish off Nobuna, but he wasn't allowed to proceed by Yoruichi, whose foot landed on his snot and face, pushing him away at a great speed and power.

A momentary confusion out of pain befalls Natsu and Yoruichi doesn't waste time, as she summons all the lightning she could and absorbed it, becoming a near embodiment of living lightning, as her claws, tail and ears have manifested itself, making her a pseudo-Raiju. With a roar, she strikes Natsu with one of her clawed hands, actually piercing his hide and sending him flying to the air. In a blink of an eye, Yoruichi is already above the monster and drop kicks him back to the ground, giving him not a chance at recovering, and after that comes the time of suffering for Natsu. She moves with a near light speed around Natsu, striking him, cutting up his body, hurting him in every way she can, using whatever energy she has left and the window of opportunity she possesses at the moment to do as much damage as possible.

For an average eye, it seems like only a second had passed when Yoruichi once again returns to the view of others, but for her, it felt like an hour of endless delivery of hits, with Natsu's form looking absolutely torn up and battered. Whatever Yoruichi had done to him, it was enough to actually knock him, as he fell down on to the ground and not move, which allowed Yoruichi a chance to let out a sigh of relief and dispel the energy around her. Yet the moment she did so, sent flying through the air when a massive hammer collided with her, before crashing in the wall behind her. With the hammer propelling her to that wall, it nearly crushed her ribs and made her innards into a paste, Yoruichi let out a pained gasp, before the hammer returned to an Onryoki, who now was coming to surround her with a large group of Yoki and other demons. Spitting out blood, Yoruichi realized that she was in serious trouble now and couldn't now help out Akeno and Nobuna, who too saw what happened to her.

"We've got to help her. We can distract them and…" Nobuna tried to stand up, but then hissed out a gasp of pain, as she nearly fell, only to be caught by Akeno, who looked with concern at her. "Just… Just give me a second, I'll…"

"As brave and courageous as it may seem, you going at them like you are will only get you killed, and I'd actually you doing that." Nobuna looked with a bit of a surprise at Akeno when she said that. "Naruto likes you, a lot, and he is happy with you as his friend, and I would hate seeing him hurt if you die. I may not like you budging into our lives, but I'd hate it even more if Naruto was to be hurt if you go and die."

"You know, Princess… I might just start to get to like you, if you continue being like that. Heck, I might even allow Naruto to keep you around as a concubine once we are married." Nobuna let out a weak laugh, trying to come off as being in a joking mood, while Akeno helped her to get up. "But seriously, we can't keep going on like this. Where the hell are the Gods when you need them?! Even I have been praying to them for all this time, and they still dare to leave us like that?!"

"You say that like it matters that it is you who is praying to them." Akeno noted with a tired look.

"I'm a well-known delinquent when it comes down to respecting deities and some of our traditions." Nobuna answered to Akeno, before she went to get her sword, noticing something really troubling. "Oh for fucks sake…" She said, as she saw Natsu's body start rapidly regenerating and him regaining his conscience, as he groggily rose up and started to move towards Nobuna and Akeno.

"We need to run. Nobuna…" Akeno tried to go to Nobuna, who then pushed her back, as she regained a fighting stance.

"You go and fly away. Imma stay and give you a chance at doing that, because with his speed, he'll catch up to both us if we run." Nobuna explained, turning for a second to look at the concerned and frightened Akeno. "Get a move on, Princess!" She commanded, pushing her even further with both her hands.

Once she did that, Nobuna turned back to face Natsu, who was incoming towards her with full speed, and she decided to slow the guy down a little, as she used what precious chakra she had and made a series of signs. Once she was through, the ground beneath Natsu turned to mud and slowed him down, before Nobuna unleashed a stream of fire from her mouth, setting the monster and the ground beneath him. Yet it seemed to do nothing, as Natsu simply leapt out of the inferno and backhanded Nobuna, sending her backwards, before grabbing her by her hair and then delivering a punch to her gut.

The sheer might of the attack was enough to cause the red haired girl spill out blood, but the monster was not done, as he then smashed her face first into the ground. Too weak to move way, yet still clinging on to life, Nobuna tried to crawl away, but then Natsu stomped and broke her right hand, nearly causing her to cry out of pain, suppressing it with all she could. He was about to stomp down on her head and smash like a watermelon, when a powerful lightning hit the monster and made him cry out of pain.

But that bolt of energy was not enough to hurt him for good and just as it ended, the enraged beast turned towards the producer of that attack, Akeno, who didn't run or fly away as Nobuna had ordered her. In truth, she was far too weak for it and couldn't maintain flight even if she wanted to, but she did manage to gather what little strength she had and hit Natsu with the lightning. She knew it was foolish and utterly useless in the long run, but she couldn't let him just go and kill Nobuna, so she attacked him and diverted his attention from Nobuna to her.

And Akeno was about to regret it, as the monster roared and ran towards her, smashing his fist into her face, breaking her nose and forcing the girl to fall. Once she did, Natsu stood above her and barred his teeth, his animalistic instincts taking over his more rational and human thinking, and he showed that he had become more animal than man, when he reached for the leg of crawling way Akeno, lifting her up… And then sinking his fangs into her, biting off a piece of her flesh. The amount of pain that course through Akeno was unbearable and all she could do was cry out of suffering and agony, and it was that cry that Naruto heard. And just as Natsu was about to take another bite out of the poor girl, he was sent flying backwards, as the chakra arrow smashed into him, with Akeno falling down onto the dirt.

---

The moment Natsu regained his footing and looked at who it was that attacked him, he saw Naruto, with Dhanush in hand and ready to send another arrow at him. In the eyes of Naruto, there was no longer any mercy or consideration for the life of Natsu, only simple and utter desire to hurt him. The color of his chakra also changed, as the arrow now was of the red color and appeared to be far more stable and stronger. Unknown to most, safe for Naruto, this was another aspect of his divinity activating and revealing itself. This was the gift of Kali, the Goddess of Death and Destruction and another aspect of Parvati, and this aspect was a special one, for it not only enhanced Naruto even further, but it also deprived him of any sense of shame, pity or mercy towards monsters, creatures so perverted and abominable that they had abandoned their nature in favor of worst of vices and sins.

And Natsu was one such creature now, having tasted the flesh of another and consumed it, succumbing to instinct of a beast inside of him and becoming an abomination. Kali had no tolerance for such monsters, seeking them out and destroying them, taking their heads as trophies, and her son was now devoid of weaknesses. Naruto felt how all of his mercy, all of the remaining moral restraints, whatever familial affection he had towards Natsu, had left him, with an overwhelming demand and desire to kill him taking control over him.

This was not like he was possessed or made a puppet of someone, but instead he sensed that his very being and soul abhorred the monstrosity and his soul called for its destruction. Tolerant for all creatures, even Naruto couldn't forgive what Natsu had become, and he saw that there was no stopping him or reverting him. Far too much power was already used up by him, far too great was the change and even the seal on him was in shambles. Kurama was already taking over control, a beast far too dangerous to be allowed freedom, and Naruto knew that, and his being also knew it. Only one thing remained now for him, and that was to kill Natsu, put him out of his misery and free his soul from the cage his body now became.

Letting out a breath and focusing his vision on Natsu, Naruto released the arrow and sent it flying towards the advancing Natsu, who was coming back to Akeno, intending to finish her off. The red arrow pierced the hide and flesh, going inside his stomach and piercing organs, causing the beast to roar out of pain, but not slow down, instead accelerating. A second arrow appeared and Naruto sent it towards Natsu, this time it imbedded itself into Natsu's chest, making the beast stumble and nearly fall, but he still continued his course towards Akeno. And just as he was ready to grab onto her bleeding foot again, came the third arrow… straight in between Natsu's eyes and piercing his skull in two. In the next second, the dead body of the monster stumbled back and then fell down, the monster's body starting to disintegrate right after that, half of Kyuubi's soul that inside Natsu now free, as it disperses to later reassemble itself in full power.

The Kali mode, as Naruto had called it in his mind, lifted itself off his eyes, and dispelled Dhanush, running straight towards Akeno and Nobuna, already his hands glowing with powerful energy of Onmyodo. Using a combination of Yang and nature Chakra, Naruto immediately goes to heal Akeno, carefully holding her leg and pushing the healing energy into it. She hisses out of the sensation of flesh restoring itself and tissue growing itself back, before there was not even a sign that she had just had part of her leg bitten off. Nodding to him that she was alright, Naruto hurries to Nobuna, but he is unable to reach her, as he suddenly restrained and paralyzed by dark chains that came from the ground completely stopping him and even blocking his access to Onmyodo.

In the very next instant, Tamamo teleported right next to Naruto and came close to him, caressing his cheek and speaking to him.

"Naruto, what a troublesome child you are. Now why couldn't you just lay down your arms and surrender? Instead you went on and killed your own brother." Tamamo told him with a mock shock and concern. "Don't you know that kinslaying is one of the worst crimes any Uzumaki can commit, and that Lady Kali herself usually comes for kinslayers and their heads? Or do you think that you will be exempt from punishment, since you are her son?" Tamamo mockingly asked of him.

"Brother or not, that thing was no longer Natsu or human, and you saw to that by making him that thing, Tamamo!" Naruto snarled at her, surprising the fallen Tenko. "You may have the body of my grandmother, but I can see your vile being and form. I can sense Aiwa inside, and how you are actually trying to push her back inside." Just as he said that, Tamamo slapped Naruto, silencing him.

"Enough of you and your insolence! You cost me my daughter and my grandchild, but now… Now you are all mine." She was prepared to teleport him away, when a powerful bolt of lightning and a hail of bullets hit her, breaching her outer barrier and nearly injuring her.

"Ara ara, what an impolite form, to ignore your guests and just hog all the fun for yourself." Kurumi stated with a sadistic glee present in her eyes, as she cocked her flintlocks. "Now step away from him, or else I'll get very, very angry at you, Aiwa."

"Release him, you witch!" Yoruichi, saved previously by Kurumi and having been restored to her top condition, ordered Tamamo, who simply glared at the two.

"I have no time nor patience to deal with you!" With this, her eyes glowed and she sent a powerful spell at Yoruichi, which hit her and caused her to cry out of pain, as her very body suddenly stopped listening to her. "Deal with this Spirit." Tamamo commanded and Yoruichi, forced to do Tamamo's bidding due to the spell, attacked Kurumi, forcing the girl to focus on defending herself from a powerful Nekomata.

Though this was not a success, this was still a good enough distraction for others, which they needed to close the distance and attack Tamamo, with Medusa being the first to attack him, as she struck Tamamo with her tail and forced her to step away from Naruto. Yet before the second attack could come, Tamamo unleashed another one of her spells and forced Medusa to return back into Naruto, sealing him inside with an Onmyodo spell and Seal, with Naruto being unable to get her out. But this was not the end of trouble for Tamamo, as she had to shield herself from Kitsune fireballs, sent to her by Kaga and Akagi, actually hurting Tamamo, as Aiwa's body sustained several burns. Hissing from the pain, she summons dark chains and restrains the two Kitsune.

"I've had enough of meddling in my plans today!" Tamamo roars out in fury, before she casts a spell on the two Kitsune, suddenly transforming them into masses of natural energy, and then trapping them in the golden stone, which glowed intensely as it happened.

"What… What did you do?!" Naruto cried out in anger and rage, when he saw Akagi and Kaga were suddenly gone, with Tamamo turning to him and answering.

"Your dear adopted mother has deprived me of my daughter and two of my slaves. And while I can forgive her for killing off Kushina, but releasing my servants… That is an affront I can't forgive or forget, and so I now in need of new servants, and what better candidates there could be than my very own little sisters." Tamamo states to Naruto, enjoying the look of sheer shock and horror on him. "After they've been re-educated, I am sure they will make for most excellent replacements of my now freed slaves."

"Release them! Release them, you wicked wench!" Naruto demanded, trying with all his might to get out of the restrains and failing, as Tamamo laughed at him. "I'll kill you, you hear me, Tamamo?! I will not just make you into a spirit, but I will fucking find a way to end you! I will destroy you if you do anything to them!"

"Oh ho, very brave of you to say, but do not fret, my dear." Tamamo said, as she came to caress his cheek against his will. "Soon enough you will not have to worry about anything…" Tamamo told him with a sadistic glee, preparing to open up a portal… before she was suddenly forced to dodge from the portal opening up.

The moment that portal opened up, Tamamo already knew who it was and why he was here, knowing that the terms of their deal have now become null. In the next moment, from the portal stepped a powerful looking man of immense stature, with long grey hair made into a mane behind him, with golden eyes and a beard. He was dressed in regal looking robes of white color, holding in hand a naginata, and he stepped with a grace and power that was simply far too beyond for any mortal. Naruto needed only one moment and a single glace to know who this was, for he knew that this was not a mortal or human.

This was God of Creation and Life, Izanagi.

"Izanagi, why have you come? I told you that I would deliver this boy to you myself, in exchange…" Tamamo tried to speak to him, but instead of answering, she was blasted away by a wave of cosmic energy, severely hurting and weakening her. "T-traitorous…"

"Our agreement has outlived its usefulness, child of Inari. You've failed to finish this without attracting attention of other deities, and you've failed to kill Date Masamune and his Uzumaki brethren, yet for delivering this child, I shall allow you to live." Izanagi told Tamamo, as stepped towards Naruto. "Now leave." He commanded, as he looked down on Naruto, dispelling the restrains around his body.

"Izanagi, God of Creation and Life, creator of Sekai and husband to Lady Izanami." Naruto stated, as he looked in the eyes of the god. "And a traitor to both his wife and your own creations. If you expect me to bow and thank you for appearing, you can go and take a hike." With that said, Izanagi grabbed Naruto by his throat and lifted him up.

"I did not ask for you to speak, spawn of Shiva, nor will I be subjected to insults by you." Izanagi simply stated him, until he started absorb life straight out of Naruto, forcing him to cry out of the greatest pain possible. "Your mere existence is an affront to me. Your father and Izanami think they can just subvert me and create you? I will not stand for that upstart of false God making a fool out of me, and you shall be the punishment for his arrogance." Izanagi told Naruto, as he almost through taking the life energy of the boy, when suddenly his cheek was struck by a golden chain, forcing the God to stop the process and to look at Tamamo, and see not her crimson eyes, but powerful purple orbs of Aiwa Minamoto.

"Don't touch him!" Aiwa told him, though her form was battered and weak, and she only managed to regain control of herself from Tamamo due to the latter's weakness, but she was ready to make the God pay for hurting Naruto. "What kind of God kills an innocent child, to heal his wounded pride?!"

"A God that will end you, Uzumaki spawn." Izanagi momentarily forgot about Naruto, preparing to unleash all his power upon Aiwa, as he released Naruto and let him fall.

The moment Naruto's body touched the soil, a pillar of most powerful light tore through the skies and barriers, hitting the ground and enveloping Naruto, forcing Izanagi to again look at where Naruto was. With a furious look, he brought up his Naginata and went to strike at where Naruto previously was, but was unable to reach Naruto, for his divine Naginata was stopped by another weapon, and then he was forced back.

The moment he was, a figure came out of the pillar, carrying Naruto in the arms akin to a child, while eight other hands held weapons, all pointed towards Izanagi. A Goddess with skin seemingly made out of gold and pure sunlight, dressed in red warrior garments, with golden ornamentations, her eyes blazing with red, as her hair was crimson red and waved like fire. She stood as tall as Izanagi, and exuded near as much power as he did, and there was fear in Izanagi, for before he was no simple Goddess.

The Goddess of Protection, Warrior Goddess and Queen of Uzumaki, Bane of Demons and mother of Naruto, Durga, the Warrior aspect of Parvati, came to defend her child.

"Durga, step away from this spawn, or I shall strike both of you down!" Izanagi threatened her, but Durga did not relent.

"You will not lay a finger on my child, Izanagi. Not today, nor ever again!" Durga clutched Naruto closer to her, as she brought up her weapons.

"Insolent girl! Have at thee!" And with this, Izanagi sent his Naginata down to cut both Durga and Naruto in half.

But Izanagi was never able to accomplish the intended, for the moment his naginata descended down, another figure appeared right in front of Durga and Naruto, with his trident intercepting the blade of Izanagi and locking it in place. And in next moment, Izanagi's eyes were filled with shock, fear and horror, for he now looked not in the blazing eyes of Durga, whom he could hope to defeat and kill, but at a being that was her husband.

Shiva, The God of Destruction and Husband to Durga, One of Trimurti, Father to Kartikeya, Ganesha and Naruto, was here in person, his skin blue and all of his golden eyes opened, directed towards the being that had dared to raise its hand against his son and wife.

"Izanagi, you have tried to kill my son." Shiva's voice was akin to thunder that stilled the skies, spoken as he released Izanagi's weapon, making the God step back in fear. "I've allowed much to happen against my descendants, let you carry out your plots against my people, but my patience has ended. You have dared to attack my son, and for that, you shall be punished."

"N-not even you, Shiva… N-not even you can destroy me! I am God of Creation, I am the very nature of life itself! I will not be threatened by a half breed who sees himself as center of all cosmos!" Izanagi shouted Shiva, before stilling in fear as he saw the third eye of Shiva blazing.

"You've forgotten, Izanagi, that I am not a center of cosmos." Shiva spoke to him, his voice seemingly calm, but hiding rage and anger that could end worlds. "I am the soul of very cosmos and universe that gave you your life. Creation, Destruction, Rebirth- I am all of it. I am beyond time and space, and you are not beyond me and my wrath." And with those words uttered, Shiva unleashed his power and fulminated Izanagi with his gaze.

Not even a sound was uttered by Izanagi, for Shiva unleashed a power that was enough to destroy not just everything and everyone, but one that left nothing in its wake. Worlds were destroyed when faced with it, Gods and Demons fell by dozens and hundreds, life ended in entire realms- this was the power that Shiva held as the Soul of Cosmos and Universe. Izanagi was one of Gods of Creation and Life, a powerful and mighty deity that had created realms and life in them, with several Gods and Goddesses having been born from him, but not even he could withstand the one who came to embody the will of Universe.

In one moment, Izanagi's body was gone, turned into emptiness, not even ashes remaining and his being cast out of life and death, sent to into a plain of nothingness and void. And with but a single blink of an eye, Shiva destroys all of the Yokai, Ayakashi, Demons and Oni that had been summoned by Tamamo. All of them, safe for Tamamo, who miraculously had escaped when Izanagi was distracted by Durga, were gone and barriers fell. The battle was over, and Shiva closed his eye and reverted back to his more human appearance, with Durga doing the same, transforming into Parvati.

"Shiva." Parvati called her husband, with him turning to her, before noticing how his son's eyes slowly opened. "Naruto, it's alright now. We have you, you are safe." She held her son closer to herself, akin to holding a newborn infant in her arms.

"Mother…" Naruto's voice was weak and quiet, while his eyes first looked upon Parvati's face, before they slowly shifted towards the concern visage of Shiva. "Father…" With what little strength he has left, Naruto raises his hand to touch Shiva, with his father catching it before it could fall, letting his son touch him and assure himself that this was not a dream.

"Yes, Naruto." Shiva confirmed to his son, as his face relaxed a little and smile came upon his visage. "I am here, my son." His voice softened, and a tear came from his eye, as the father looked and held his son for the first time in many years.

And in the arms of his mother and with his father at his side, Naruto allowed exhaustion and powerlessness claim him, as he drifted into the embrace of unconsciousness, yet feeling safe and loved. For his father and mother, Shiva and Parvati, were here with him.

---

Phew… This… This is officially my record. Never before had I made the bigger, more impactful, more action packed chapter than this! And I did in record time too, heck I could make two or even three chapters from this one alone. But I decided not to, I decided that I will finish this one and post it because you guys, all of you deserved to learn what was going to happen next, how the fight will take place and all that will happen. And I did it! I could stretch it out even more, try and milk you for more desire, to give you just enough so you would ask for more…

BUT NO! I did the best thing and I made this chapter as whole as I could, putting all of mine and making it as well as I could! And I hope all of you out there can enjoy the last piece of fanfiction I will be posting in this year. All 30K of the thickest, juciest and impactful chapter I've written. Consider this my early New Year present to all of you, my readers, who have been the inspiration and fuel for my progress. To all of you, I wish only the best and I wish for all of you to have a much better year. For me, I truly hope that next one will be better, but even now, as the last one ends, it still finds a way to remind you just how shitty it is.

But enough about that, let's talk about the elephant in the room- Tamamo-no-Mae. Oh yes, I bet that NONE of you were expecting that one, and I know that for many of you she is a prime waifu from Fate/Grand Order, and I must admit that she is also one of my favorites from there, being in my personal top 10 from that universe. However, that doesn't mean that she is decidedly nice or kind, because according to Japanese Mythology, Tamamo-no-Mae is stated to be one of Three Most Evil Yokai in Existence, and while also being the one who did probably most of the damage to Japan.

For to pass up on such an opportunity as to include Tamamo in this story was impossible, and so she is now the main villain. Also, yes, Aiwa is still alive inside her own body, but she isn't fully capable of regaining control, and do know that she doesn't work together with Tamamo. Tamamo is controlling her body, using it as a vessel for her soul and power, and as for why she didn't die when she was defeated, it's like I stated, Yokai like her can't simply be killed off that easily. They are connected to Sekai and even if their physical form is destroyed, they will come back to life again because of their connection to Sekai and nature. Deities are the same way immortal through their connection to Cosmos and Universe, drawing power and life, and if their souls are intact, they can just revive themselves later.

As for Shiva, I have read more than a couple of reviews and PMs where people weren't too happy with his origin story, so I am expanding it to make it closer to the source material, so to speak. I repeat, expand, not retconning it. In short, I have been communicating with one of my readers, who has been an immense help in understanding Hindu Mythology, and who explained to me that Shiva is, as far as I understand, the soul of Universe, the power and energy of it. Without him, there cannot be anything that exists, not even such deities as Brahma and Vishnu (apologies if I am mistaken, this is how I understand Shiva's role), and so I decided to incorporate this into my story. It will be further expanded upon in next chapter, which will actually be the last one in which we spend time with Naruto before the canon story.

The next Chapter will be out in the first days of January, around 7th to 9th of January, but after that, I am afraid that I will be forced to take a long break. My exam session starts in January 20th and will last until February the 7th and I will not be able to post before, during, and sometime after it. Apologies for the inconvenience. Until then, feel free to review, ask questions, make suggestions and so forth.

Next time: Consequences.

See ya all later and Happy New Year to you all!