Good day fellow readers! Sorry it took so long but I had severe nasty cases of writer's block. Without further ado, here's the next chapter!
Disclaimer: Fan of Fanfics21 does not own Naruto or Final Fantasy XIII
Coming out of the door to the Rift, Naruto had a smile on his face as Lightning looked at him, with some sort of guilt on her conscious. She shook the thought off as Naruto started training on forming his Rasengan and attacking the tree. She can't help but feel like something bad is going to happen, something that would threaten time and space if what the other Naruto: Highwind said was true. "I'll have to keep an eye on Naruto and make sure if there are any doors to the Rift are open. I'll have to close them at once." She thought as the week of Naruto's training began to fly by.
*One week later*
"Naruto-sama! Lady Éclair! Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya are being attacked by Orochimaru!" Jaken shouted as he ran towards the two L'Cie. The two looked at each other and nodded, they ran towards the outskirts of town, following the sounds of battle. When they got there, they saw Tsunade paralyzed by blood on her as Jiraiya was having a hard time with Orochimaru on top of a giant snake that was trap inside of some sort of giant swamp. Shizune was fighting a boy that Naruto recalled from the Chunin Exams. "Kabuto…so you're in league with Orochimaru huh? Should have seen that coming" Naruto said with his eyes narrowing as he gained Kabuto's attention as the boy pushed his glasses back.
"Indeed, and I see you had a wardrobe change as well. Much better than your eyesore orange jumpsuit." He replied as Naruto had an eye twitch, why does everyone always dis the orange? "Well then, looks like Lord Orochimaru will get his revenge on you after all." He chuckled as Naruto raised an eyebrow. "He's still on the whole invasion failure thing thanks to me?" he asked as Kabuto nodded. "Indeed, and I am quite curious about your transformation as well." Kabuto replied as his glasses gave off an evil glint in the sunlight. "I'm going to enjoy dissecting your body so learn all about it." He said giving Naruto chills down his spine.
Suddenly, Naruto ducked just in time to avoid being skewered in the head by a sword from Orochimaru as said man landed right besides Kabuto as Jiraiya came to Naruto's side. "I'm not sure what he's planning, but it isn't good if he was holding back on me." Jiraiya warned. "Well Naruto-kun, it is a pleasure to see you again." The Snake Sannin chuckled giving Naruto goose bumps for some strange reason. "I must say, I will enjoy taking my revenge on you for ruining my plans. And what better way than with these!" he shouted as he flipped through hand signs and slammed them onto the ground as 4 coffins came out, one had First, Second, Fourth, and the last one had a whirlpool symbol on it.
Jiraiya's eyes widened at those coffins, "He didn't…" he said with sudden dread in his voice as Naruto slowly began to draw out his own Blazefire gunblade. Suddenly, the one labeled fourth sank back into the earth again. "Looks like that one is a failure it seems." Orochimaru muttered as the other coffins opened up revealing their contents as the eyes of Naruto, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Lightning widen in shock. The first two were easily the First and Second Hokages right off the bat, but the third one made Naruto's blood boil in anger at Orochimaru. "That bastard…he will pay!" he thought darkly as the mysterious black fox C'ieth inside his mindscape agreed with.
That beautiful long bright red hair that went past her waist, those blue eyes, that face he remembered that the fox showed him through that vision of what happened that day that ruined his-no, every life of every Naruto Uzumaki in existence. What he saw was his own mother, Kushina Uzumaki, resurrected by Orochimaru to kill him as the snake threw kunai knifes with weird talismans into their heads. That alone had earned Naruto's absolute hatred of the snake Sannin. "Orochimaru…" Naruto growled stabbing his gunblade into the ground as he began to slowly put his hand on his Hitai-ate which was tied onto his left arm as the air suddenly became tense. "…You made the worst enemy by defiling my mother's grave and soul." He growled as the Hitai-ate was slowly being untied.
That alone unnerved Lightning, she knew he never takes it off unless he was going to be truly serious. It was like last time, and as he said in the Rift of how he became a heartless, killing machine with no remorse for whom he killed, a monster she unknowingly created. Orochimaru had just opened the proverbial Pandora's Box. The minute the Hitai-ate was untied and fell to the ground, Orochimaru ordered the resurrected Kages and mother to attack, only to be blown away by an invisible force as a pillar of light pierced the heavens as the earth shook in fury. It originated from Naruto as Jiraiya noticed some weird technology inside the headband and noticed how this power must be the "magic" Lightning explained to him, but this much power didn't go unnoticed by others.
Everyone in the area felt it, its uncontrollable power skewered forth like a geyser, the entire area shook from the shockwave as the surge of power died down as everyone there looked at Naruto. His eyes were overshadowed by his hair as he slowly lifted it up to reveal blank, cold, dead, ruthless eyes that had no life in them and that alone sent chills up of most of the people there. Naruto's hand slowly went for his gunblade again as he took his stance, quietly waiting for the first move. "Jiraiya, Tsunade, take the First Hokage. I'll deal with the Second Hokage. Shizune, deal with four eyes over there." Lightning ordered as they all nodded.
"What are you waiting for? Kill them!" Orochimaru barked as the First and Second Hokages dashed towards Naruto as time began to move slowly. Faster than anyone can see, Naruto beheaded the two Kages and made his way towards Orochimaru only to be blocked off by Kushina. "Let's see what you can do…Mother." He said quietly with a small, sad smile as Kushina had a lone tear strolling down her cheek, showing that part of her was still in control of the resurrected body.
As the First and Second Hokage's heads regenerated, Lightning tackled the Second Hokage: Tobirama away from his brother Hashirama with the Zantetsuken blades. "Let's dance water boy." She taunted as she held her blades in front of her elegantly while Jiraiya and Tsunade begin their fight with Hashirama Senju. Tobirama began flipping through hand signs, "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" he shouted as a dragon made of water appeared out of thin air with its jaw open as it charges towards Lightning.
"Watera." She said calmly as she combined the two Zantetsuken blades into one and threw her right hand out as a ball of water flew out and collided with the water dragon, creating and explosion of water as Lightning twirled the Zantetsuken over her head and swung it creating a Razor Gale that hit Tobirama's side as he began to regenerate. She quickly casted Libra on the man and discovered the weakness. With a strategy in mind she ran towards him with her Zantetsuken with a Flourish of Steel and did a spiral spin jump with her blade, performing Skyward Swing (A/N: I don't know how come Lightning didn't have this one or Seismic Strike in Dissidia 012.) and leap in the air and swung the massive blade onto her opponent's head (Seismic Strike), revealing the talisman in his head as it was beginning to regenerate.
"Dispel!" she shouted as she casted the spell onto the talisman as the writings on it turned blank as the Second Hokage turned towards her with a smile. "Thank you for freeing me." Was all he said as the body turned to ashes. "Disappointing, not even a challenge…Now to see how Tsunade and Jiraiya are doing." She muttered as she looked around to see massive trees twisted and distorted from fights and massive craters and fissures from Tsunade's infamous punches as she just delivered a nasty uppercut to her grandfather, sending the First Hokage sky high. "I wish I had chakra to pull off the punches like she did." Lightning muttered quietly, amazed at how strong that woman who was in her 50s is.
She observed Shizune's fight and she's on a standstill with Kabuto at the moment, but Lightning had a feeling this boy was hiding his true potential at the moment. "Cunning as a black viper…that kid might be able to take me down if he was going all out." She thought as she turned to observe her student Naruto who was wielding his own Blazefire Saber and Gladius while performing an elegant dance of death while weaving and slashing at both his resurrected mother and Orochimaru with his Kusanagi as both were blocking his blows as he dodges them, making it a standstill at the moment.
She knew better though, he was still rough around the edges and his massive stamina and chakra reserves were the only thing keeping him alive at the moment. Now she was in a conflict, should she help Naruto, Tsunade and Jiraiya, or Shizune? She shook her head, Shizune can handle herself fine and the other two aren't called the legendary Sannin for nothing, better help Naruto. And with that, she exchanged her own Blazefire with her Omega Weapon, the one she created from her Lionheart gunblade and charged on through.
Naruto was angry, no angry isn't what he was feeling at the moment, he was consumed with desire to kill. Orochimaru had resurrected his mother from the grave in order to kill him, hoping to use his own emotions to lead to his downfall. No, he knew he would die if he wasn't serious; the only choice was to remove his headband, the very symbol of his humanity. In order to survive, he will not rest till the snake is brutally killed by his own hands, no mercy to any servant that shields him, and not even his fellow Konoha ninja will stop his wrath. "That's it King…let it out. Show him our dark power…" a mysterious voice whispered in his head.
"Are you…my C'ieth other?" he thought as he felt the creature laugh at him. "Indeed, I am part of you. You are the righteous angelic persona of the soul, I am the unholy demonic persona born from your suppressed hatred, anger, malice, and despair. Orochimaru has angered both of us, King. Defiling our mother's grave, he must be punished! Let me lend you my power King, but this will only be once. When the time comes, only one King will be standing." the creature warned as Naruto knew what he meant.
The C'ieth other and himself are competing for control of his body, only one "King" can rule it. "Very well then, since it's for mom's soul, let's go…Magatsu Arashi (Corrupted Storm)." He mentally called the creature as it smiled sinisterly. "Give it up Naruto-kun; you don't even have the skills to beat both me and your mother." The Snake Sannin chuckled as he suddenly dodged an attack from Lightning. "Lightning," Naruto spoke calmly as he blocked Kushina's kunai with his Gladius and impaled her chest with Blazefire and tossing her to a great distance between them, "Leave Orochimaru to me, because let's just say I'm going to annihilate him with that form." He finished as the Master L'Cie looked at him with surprise.
She wanted to say no but when he's serious and also decides to use that form, she'll have one headache from this later. But she understood, she would have done the same thing if Orochimaru did that to her parents in his place. "Fine, I'll deal with your mother then." She replied as they swap opponents, with Kushina using Chakra Chains at the sight of her, signaling a dangerous opponent. "It's been a while Kushina, but I will promise you he's in good hands." Lightning said to the undead mother as the two began to clash for supremacy.
*With Naruto and Orochimaru*
"You really are a fool, challenging a Sannin on your own." Orochimaru laughed as Naruto got into his stance. "…" "What's this? Cat caught your tongue boy?" he taunted as he wielded Kusanagi in his hand. "…No, you're just annoying." Naruto replied coldly as he shifted to Commando and charged at the man. "You have no sense of honor, just a twisted little boy who wants to become god because he lost his parents…pathetic." He continued as he locked blades with Orochimaru who snarled at that info. "What's wrong? Is momma's boy going to cry? Oh wait, she's already dead." Naruto finished coldly as he kicked Orochimaru in the stomach and swung Gladius at him which was blocked by his Kusanagi. But that didn't stop Naruto from stabbing the Sannin's stomach with Blazefire though.
That was then Orochimaru's mouth extended as a pair of pale hands came out of the mouth as Orochimaru delivered a punch to the face causing Naruto to skid back a bit. "Think boy, a mere dropout like you could ever become Hokage? What a joke, only those born with talent are capable of becoming Hokage. Those with natural talent and even the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan can become true shinobi; you're nothing but a reject." Orochimaru taunted as Naruto had a blank face. "Actually no, you forget something Orochimaru, the universal rule to humans-even gods are bound to one thing…no one is perfect. You seek perfection by medicine and drugs, experiments and exchanging bodies. You're nothing but a parasite struggling to stay in the body of your host. You can strive for that perfection but you will never be the "perfect being" no matter how hard you try." He replied.
"Shinobi nowadays are pathetic in the least, focusing on flashy jutsu and bloodlines, they become flawed and arrogant. Me, I have my flaws too, but I refuse to give up my hopes and dreams as I defy the rules of this system. Call me a dead last, a loser, an idiot, whatever you want; but to be a true shinobi in this twisted version of the ninja world is having the guts to never give in to anything. So don't ever say that it's impossible for me to become Hokage. I'm not sure if I might not make it because of my brand, but I refuse to give into despair. I will fight my fate and create my own path, I will become Hokage, and I will make the impossible possible. For I am Naruto Uzumaki, proud Genin of Konoha and the Legacy of Lightning!" he declared as Orochimaru began to chuckle that then turned into full blown laughter.
"What's so funny you filthy snake?" Naruto asked calmly as the Snake Sannin looked at him. "You really are a fool like Jiraiya, very well then…" the Sannin replied as he held Kusanagi out in front of him. "I will crush your hopes and dreams here, with your death!" he shouted as he and Naruto charged towards each other. Their blades clashed as a shockwave erupted as Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise at how much power Naruto had in the swing of his blade as he nearly forgot about the second blade he had in his other hand which he dodged. "I say, you are quiet amusing Naruto." Orochimaru said as his tongue licked the air in a snake like fashion. "But I will enjoy torturing you, finding you Uzumaki's and using them for experiments will be quite amusing. Will they be stubborn like you, or will they be screaming for a death that will never come? Hmhmhmhmhm…" he chuckled darkly.
Orochimaru really was pushing his luck and Naruto began to chuckle quietly getting his attention. That chuckle turned into laughter, one filled with deranged insanity, bloodlust, evil desires, and absolute power in it. This laughter gained the attention of everyone there as Naruto put his gunblades away as a twisted, malevolent grin appeared on his face. "You know…we will enjoy killing you bastard." He replied as a second voice overlapped his. That was then his L'Cie brand glowed ominously as his torso began to look deformed as the familiar red chakra of the Kyuubi began to cover his body as the L'Cie brand and the fox's chakra began to merge their powers into one.
Naruto's torso became more deformed and demonic as his limbs were covered in clawed greaves and gauntlets made of black crystal with glowing red veins on them and his head was engulfed by a black substance that began to mold itself into a black mask of a demonic faceless creature with white hollow eyes and a jagged pumpkin grin with fox ears as a four tails erupted from the tail bone area that was red as blood. Lightning and Kushina saw this and inside their own hearts, pure dread and horror filled them. The fox like creature roared to the heavens as an explosion rocked the area as a newly formed crater, the miniature C'ieth Kyuubi was seen with a red aura outline on its body, giving off pure malice that burnt the very air around it. Orochimaru was lying on the ground on his stomach with a smile on his face. "This boy…never ceases to amuse me." He chuckled while his tongue dangled out of his mouth.
"It can't be; Naruto's L'Cie powers and the fox's chakra are resonating and combining to this degree? His C'ieth mode is dangerous enough but now at this level it could destroy him." Lightning muttered as she dodged an attack from Kushina's chakra chains as her mind connection with him began to go hazy as she felt the mindless killing instinct inside of him, as if he's losing his mind. She began to realize that the C'ieth influence had gotten even more powerful in Naruto. "This is bad…if this keeps up Naruto might lose every bit of his humanity!" she said out loud causing Kushina to freeze in her tracks at the words. "N…Na…" the mother began to silently say getting Lightning's attention. "Na..ru..to…" she said as her body started to shake as she grabbed her head in pain, probably trying to break through Orochimaru's influence with the Edo Tensei. Unknowingly in Valhalla, the goddess Etro is watching this and in her grace, began to help the poor mother break free from her forced torture, hoping to at least reunite the boy and mother for one last time.
*with Super C'ieth Naruto and Orochimaru*
The two shinobi-no, monsters to be precise looked at each other with no movement, waiting for one to make a move. The first one was Orochimaru as he stretched his mouth in a snakelike way as thousands of snakes came out slithering towards Naruto as blades erupted from their mouths. Naruto stood on his hind legs as raised his arm in the air and slammed it into the ground creating a destructive wave of magic and chakra that erased all the snakes in an instant while creating a massive shockwave that shook the entire city nearby. Orochimaru looked impressed by this power, maybe keeping the boy as a test subject to create new types of loyal ninja with these kinds of powers will be…very interesting.
The C'ieth fox slammed its hands into the very earth as Orochimaru, by instinct, leapt away from there as to massive arms of crimson chakra bursted from the ground where he was just standing a few moments earlier. The demonic C'ieth smirked as an extra chakra arm bursted from the other one chasing the Snake Sannin relentlessly. Tired of dodging, Orochimaru used his Hidden Snake Shadow Hand jutsu as a massive snake wrapped itself around the chakra arm, only to be burnt away as the corrosion was heading towards Orochimaru.
He looked surprised at that before smirking. He opened his mouth as another Orochimaru flew out, like a snake shedding its skin as the "shed skin" disintegrated into nothingness. The Sannin slithered towards the snarling abomination and delivered a punch to the face, which resulted in a chakra manifestation of another foxlike creature as it slashed Orochimaru in half from the waist with a smirk. "Got ya, you filthy bastard." The creature said with a smile which quickly disappeared when Orochimaru reattached himself with the help of multiple snakes as the man fixed his back with a loud crack.
*in Naruto's mindscape: The Seal*
"Damn it, nothing's working on him!" Magatsu Arashi swore. "Indeed. Every time we cut him up, he'll keep regenerating…" Naruto agreed while nodding his head and cupping his chin in thought. "Got any ideas?" the C'ieth asked as Naruto pondered for a while. "Well my spells are weak against someone like him even with our combined powers of chakra, magic, and the fox here-"he said gesturing to the Kyuubi "and we don't have a technique that's a one-hit kill…do we?" he asked looking at the fox with a blank face that was creeping (even if the fox refused to admit it) out. "There is one technique…the Bijūdama (Tailed Beast Ball)." The fox replied as Naruto, who had a calm face at the mention of the name of the technique as the C'ieth looked like a grinning kid at the candy store and had just hit the jackpot.
"Well, let's do it then. I doubt even a L'Cie Master, or a member of the Legendary Sannin could survive an attack like that." Naruto replied recalling the vision of the past as he saw the devastating power of that thing. "Yes lets…" Magatsu Arashi agreed with a grin and a mad laugh.
*Real world: Same time*
The demon stood proud and tall, and with a savage roar, orbs of black and white chakra bursted from its body and floated in the air like little lanterns. Orochimaru's eyes widened in surprise of that as the tails of the C'ieth curved towards its face as it arks its back as the orbs of black and white chakra began to gather as the wind swirled around from the power as it turned into a black sphere the size of its head, and began to compress to the size of a jawbreaker.
Leaping towards the edge of the crater, Orochimaru smiled. "That looks pretty dangerous. If something was to be hit from such dense chakra…even I couldn't survive that." The Snake Sannin admitted as the C'ieth swallowed the ball and sank into the ground like something heavy was dropped onto it. Now Orochimaru smirked at the sight, wondering how the boy could move from swallowing such dense chakra. The answer happened when the creature's body swelled up as steam escaped from the edges of its mouth.
The Sannin smiled as he pricked his thumbs with his fangs, "Here it comes…" he muttered, preparing for the worst. In perfect sync, the C'ieth fired the Bijūdama just as Orochimaru slammed his hands onto the ground as summoning runes appeared beneath his palms. "Summoning: Triple Rashomon!" he shouted as three giant gates appeared and then everything was engulfed by a bright light after the Bijūdama made impact with the first gate. When the light died down, Orochimaru was seen lying on his back as the C'ieth became alert and cautious, as if feeling something bad was going to happen. It was true, as Orochimaru's body bulged as 8 giant serpents with 8 tails that had scales pale white as the Snake Sannin himself as it towered over the C'ieth with its eight massive heads.
Many people have witnessed it as Lightning was currently helping a free Kushina Uzumaki recover from breaking free of her control as they saw it. "What the hell is that?" Lightning and Kushina asked in sync.
With Jiraiya and Tsunade, they had recently destroyed the talisman that animated the Slug Princess' grandfather who bid her farewell and a heartwarming advice before returning to the afterlife saw the giant multi-headed serpent. "Looks like Orochimaru has added a few things to his snake themes. That thing is even bigger than Manda, the world's colossal serpent!" Jiraiya exclaimed in disbelief as Tsunade shook her head. "No, he's transcended from Snake…to Dragon God." She replied with wide eyes. "That thing reminds me of the monster in the legend of Susanoo, of the ferocious dragon, Yamato-no-Orochi." She finished as Jiraiya gulped and nodded his head recalling that legend as well.
With Shizune who was exhausted as Kabuto was without a scratch on his body noticed it as well. "My, my, first that massive explosion and light show, and now Lord Orochimaru using his Eight-Headed Serpent Jutsu…He must be pushed to a corner to use it." He mused as he looked at Shizune who was panting. "I'm afraid I will have to take my leave. After all, I wouldn't want to be within their crossfire at the moment." He finished as he ran off as Shizune finally left to go to Tsunade to see if she's alright.
*With Naruto and Orochimaru*
"Well, well, well…You even gotten uglier now. A good reflection of your soul." The C'ieth mused as the multi-headed snake roared and their heads aimed to devour it. The C'ieth jumped onto one of the heads and proceeded to run over it as it tricked another head to bite another one as the C'ieth clawed out one of the eyes of another head causing it to roar in anger. Another few heads bashed their heads together right into the C'ieth who used a Sonic Roar to destroy them…only for the heads to regenerate. "Dark Thunder!" the C'ieth shouted as it threw its arm out and a Thunder spell coated in dark energy hit the eye of one of the serpents causing it to roar in agony as parts of it started disintegrating from its poisonous nature as already half of its face is nothing but bone.
The C'ieth then created ethereal blades as it landed on one of its heads and started running down its neck with its blades dug inside the creatures flesh, creating a trail line of burnt flesh as the C'ieth leapt away from another head that tried to eat it as the C'ieth threw one of its blades right in between the eyes. The C'ieth then leapt away from the giant multi-headed serpent as the parts it damaged started to regenerate again, inwardly cursing the creature for not staying dead.
That was then one of the heads opened its jaws as half of Orochimaru appeared while the C'ieth landed a good distance away from him and his form. "Ah ha ha ha! Now witness the power of the immortal Orochimaru…the powers of a god!" the deranged man declared as all eight heads opened their mouths as white chakra gathered in front of him into a sphere that made the C'ieth widen its eyes in shock.
*Mindscape*
"That fucking bastard! Imitating our Bijūdama, he must die!" the Kyuubi roared in anger from its cage as Naruto and Magatsu Arashi looked exhausted. "We need to counterattack it with something equal to power of that attack." Naruto panted. "Yes, but in doing so, it will undo our united form. And the body will be severely exhausted and weakened from this much power we're using." Magatsu Arashi replied. "If you have a better suggestion, tell me." He replied sarcastically while being monotone and having a blank face. "Use the Imari (Menacing Ball), a weaker version of the Bijūdama that is faster to form than the Bijūdama itself." The fox suggested. "Hmmm, I'm going to take this gamble. All or nothing." Naruto replied as Magatsu Arashi looked at him angrily, "Are you nuts? What if it fails as we lose this form after using it?" he demanded as Naruto looked at his C'ieth other.
"If I get lucky, I might summon an Eidolon that will help me out before I face it in a trial for control of it." He replied calmly frustrating the C'ieth making it wonder if Naruto was serious or joking but leaning towards the former since he doesn't have his headband on. "Fine…but you better win this King or I'll shred your soul to shreds if we die!" Magatsu Arashi yelled as the three began to use their combined powers for one last time.
*Real world*
"Yonbi Imari! (Four Tails Menacing Ball)" The C'ieth roared as it formed a small sphere of chakra similar to the Bijūdama but faster and fired it at the same time Orochimaru fired his bastardized version of it. The two forces of chakra collided, not giving in to each other as the explosive energy engulfed all in a bright light that consumed all. When it died down, Naruto was back to his human form while lying down on his back, completely exhausted from using both his C'ieth mode and Kyuubi's Chakra to this extent. "Note to self: Don't try this again anytime soon." He depanned as a familiar Hitai-ate was flying in the air as he reached out and grabbed it. "I'm surprised this thing came out intact…" he muttered as he weakly tied it back on his forehead again, feeling the technology Lightning had embedded in it take effect on him.
Looking around, the entire place looked like a giant meteor came and landed here as a weak chuckle escaped his lips. "Damn, did more destruction than I expected." He admitted sheepishly looking to see if Lightning, Tsunade, Shizune, or even Jiraiya were still alive. He felt Lightning's mind connect to him again and was thankful she called. "Naruto, where are you? We had to escape from the blast zone only to see a massive crater in its wake." She asked as Naruto sighed tiredly. "I'm at ground zero Light, and I put my Hitai-ate back on again." He mentally replied as he closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of whatever was left of nature as one noise disturbed him…The sounds of tunneling. As if by instinct, Naruto immediately rolled to his left just as a sword popped out from where he was laying as Orochimaru's head came out in a snake like form as his whole body came out to.
"Why can't you just stay dead? Is it that hard to ask?" he sarcastically asked Orochimaru who chuckled at the boy as they both stood up. "Because I will be the one who will transcend the boundaries of humanity and discover the secrets of the world, I will become the ultimate ninja!" the Snake Sannin replied as Naruto coughed up blood as he flinched in pain. "Damn it, the use of both C'ieth mode and Kyuubi's chakra to this extent…I won't be able to survive this fight for 5 minutes tops! Hurry up Light!" Naruto thought as he drew his Blazefire in sword mode. "Looks like you're at your limit boy don't worry though…" Orochimaru said while licking his lips in a hungry way, "I'll take care of your body when I kill you."
"Great, now all I need now is therapy, because this guy creeps me out in many ways I don't even want to know." Naruto thought as his left hand was over his heart, where his L'Cie brand was located with the desire, will, and resolve to destroy the Snake Sannin forever. "I need power …Power…Give me power…!" he mentally swore as his willpower awoken something in his L'Cie brand. "You seek power...Prove to me your resolve…Make the impossible possible…and lead this Fantasy to its conclusion…Descendant of Cipher." A mysterious voice rang in his hand as weird runes and symbols appeared around him causing Orochimaru to leap back, wondering what else the boy had up his sleeve.
Naruto wondered what was going on until he heard a voice, the voice that he heard the first time he entered the Pulse Vestige and heard Lightning's gunblade call out to him, and the time he gained Highwind's black summon stone. It was the voice of the Goddess Etro herself. "By grace of Etro, let destruction herald your awakening. Come forth, Lord of the Rifts. A name in blood, a pact of dragons. Shinryu shall rise, his bond eternal and unyielding." The voice spoke as a massive dragon with an unearthly glow escape from his L'Cie brand and was captivated by its unnatural beauty. When the glow died, the dragon's true appearance was revealed. Its scales were as if they were made of silver crystal with its underbelly and the linings were as if they were made of golden crystal, blood red eyes and magenta hair on its head as the massive wyrm flexed its two arms and unleashed a savage roar.
Orochimaru looked at the massive creature with, shock, awe, terror, and lust of power in his eyes as he felt the aura of this magnificent creature in front of him. "My, my…You sure never stop pulling the impossible out of nowhere do you Naruto?" he mused as he looked at the boy before sighing. "It was fun, but I'm afraid I'll have to leave now. Even I'm not suicidal to take on Shinryu (A/N: Divine Dragon or God Dragon when translated), farewell Naruto-kun." The treacherous snake said as he sank into the ground, leaving the area with Kabuto following his master, completely forgetting about unsummoning Kushina. That was then Shinryu turned to Naruto as he sighed. "Here we go…" he muttered painfully.
Shinryu's mouth opened as a mysterious light left it and entered Naruto's own. As Naruto felt his body good as new again as he realized the massive wyrm healed him from the double-edge effect from his C'ieth Mode Level 2. "Looks like dragons do have honor, very well then…" Naruto replied as he got into his stance with a smirk. "Let's rock!" he shouted as Shinryu casted Doom on him, creating the countdown that would decide Naruto's fate.
Shinryu then roared again, creating a portal to the Interdimensional Rift as Naruto was being sucked into it as Lightning and Kushina were seen running towards him as they leapt after him into the Rift with Shinryu right behind them as it closed behind it. "Mom?" Naruto asked, looking surprised at his undead mother smiling at him while they were free falling. "Hello Naruto, it's been a long time hasn't it-ttebane?" she asked as Naruto looked surprised at her "ttebane" line. "Well it's a nice reunion and such, but we have a fight remember?" Lightning snapped at the two as all three landed on the ground as Shinryu looked at him.
"Your right, time to tame an Eidolon!" Naruto shouted as the trio got into their fighting stances, preparing to face a powerful summon as the Dragon of Ruin unleashed a roar as the area around them was swallowed into a ring of fire. Naruto and Lightning quickly casted Libra on Shinryu and frowned at what they had to do.
Shinryu: - Yields to those who amass chain bonuses, Yields to those who heal the wounded, Yields to those who defend against and endure attacks.
With that in mind, they noticed fire dancing from in between the dragon's maws as their eyes widen as they Paradigm Shift to Twin Shields and endured the scorching flames. "It…burns…!" Naruto cursed as the stream of flames stopped as they both looked to see Shinryu's jaws closed by chains as they saw Kushina looking at the creature with an angry look on her face. "Don't you dare hurt my son you bastard-ttebane!" she shouted as she grabbed the chains and with inhumane strength, swung the massive dragon down onto the ground with a massive crash as dirt kicked the air.
Using this as an advantage due to the raw power it had Naruto and Lightning Paradigm Shifted to Double Dose and started healing each other before shifting to Slash and Burn. "Let's go!" Lightning shouted as Naruto was with her and charged. Lightning focused on Commando as Naruto started using a barrage of Thunder and Water spells on the dragon. With a swing of its tail, it knocked Naruto high into the air as it broke the chains and chased after Naruto with its jaws wide open. "I'm not dinner tonight pal!" Naruto shouted as he casted Fire and threw it right into Shinryu's mouth.
It was suddenly swallowed up by Shinryu as Naruto flipped in the air and slashed at it with Sparkstrike right in the forehead, causing the dragon to roar in anger as the fiery dimension blazed in fury with the massive wyrm's own wrath. Naruto landed safely on the ground thanks to his Grav-Con Unit as he looked up to see Shinryu charging up an attack in his mouth as the flames look even hotter than the last time. "Shit!" he cursed as he shifted to Sentinel just in time as Shinryu used its Atomic Breath aiming at him. The attack hits him as a massive explosion shook the area he was at as he was badly burnt from that attack and was panting heavily.
"This guy…isn't holding back anything." He panted as Lightning came to his side. "Yin & Yang" he ordered as the two shifted into their roles. Lightning started healing him as he charged at Shinryu who was hovering at the ground waiting for the boy and he let out a Sparkstrike, Aquastrike, and Fire as Shinryu's eyes glared right into Naruto's own, causing him to become Petrified (Evil Eye). Lightning casted Esuna on him and he broke free from the ailment and continued his assaulted as he noticed the ring of flames began dancing and he felt a resonance with it.
"Strange, why am I resonating with the flames…unless…" Naruto thought as he felt Shinryu resonate with the flames as well. "He must be resonating with the flames to use that Atomic Breath attack!" he realized as he began to change tactics. "Light, Dualcasting! Aim for the rings of flames!" he shouted as Lightning complied as the two began to focus on attacking the rings of flames with Naruto's Water and Lightning's Watera. "Mom, keep Shinryu busy!" he shouted as Shinryu as about to charge at the L'Cie only to be held by Chakra Chains from Kushina. "I hope you know what you're doing son!" she shouted back to him as she began playing tug a war with Shinryu.
The two L'Cie unleashed their barrage of water spells on the flames, causing them to die out as a massive surge of energy was released and crashed itself into Shinryu as it was blown back and crashed to the ground looking dazed. "Now keep him held down mom, me and Light will work it from here!" he ordered as Kushina applied more chains to restrict the dragon's movements. The duo began their assault on the dragon as it began to struggle out of its bindings as it unleashed another roar as the dimension shook and they noticed that it became cold now.
A snowstorm blew, rending their view as Shinryu used this chance to break out and slash Kushina with its claws not caring if she regenerated from the Edo Tensei and soared into the sky as the wind blew relentlessly as pillars of ice erupted from the floor. Shinryu looks from the top of the highest ice pillar and began channeling his powers as Naruto and Lightning cursed the weather for being cold. Kushina noticed Shinryu charging up and tried to warn the two L'Cie, but the wind of the blizzard cut off her voice as Shinryu unleashed his next attack: Ice Storm.
Without warning, Naruto and Lightning were pelted by ice shards from left and right, confused as they tried to endure the cold weather as the wind died down a bit for them to see. "Destroy the ice pillars!" Lightning ordered which Naruto complied with, they used their Fire spells as they tried to destroy the ice pillars only for Shinryu to come down and attack. Lightning charged at the wyrm and hit it head on with Flamestrike right below the chin redirecting it upwards as it spiraled towards the main pillar as Naruto was seen running up it with the help of his Grav-Con as he swung his blade right into its underbelly.
Shinryu expected this and wrapped itself around Naruto like a snake and began crushing the boy as Lightning launched Thundaga on Shinryu trying to force it to let him go but it shook it off. It then heard a cracking noise as it noticed Kushina and her chakra chains wrapped around one of the ice pillars and she did not look happy at all. "Let go of my son you bitch!" she snarled and with another display of inhuman strength only Tsunade was known for, tossed the ice pillar right at Shinryu forcing it to release Naruto to avoid getting hit.
That was all Naruto needed as his gunblade was in gun mode as he aimed directly at the center of the main ice pillar and fired a bullet at it, switched it into sword mode and followed that bullet. Once the bullet hit dead center, Naruto's blade followed suit, and then the main pillar began to crack multiple times in different areas as it started to crumble and fall. As it crumbled, another surge of energy erupted and Naruto was hit with it dead on, in fact he absorbed the energy inside of him as his Blazefire Saber glowed eerily from the amount of power he had unknowingly absorbed. "What the hell was that?" he asked himself as he got away from the crumbling pillars as they melted, then it started to rain.
"What the-" was all he could say as Shinryu began attacking Lightning by breathing a purple haze which he realized was poison. "What else is he hiding? A roulette table?" he asked sarcastically. He knew this must be a water based attack pattern the Eidolon must be using and since water was weak to electricity…he shuddered at the thought of Lightning going overkill with her Thunder based spells with dread. He heard the sound of electricity crackling from his blade as he looked at it, wondering what was wrong with it as he didn't do anything to it as he heard Lightning shouting "Heads up!" causing him to duck by instinct as Shinryu crashed behind him from a good distance with electric wounds which made him pity the dragon already. "Scary…She launched a dragon of that size from all the way over here...I'm terrified if she decides to go all out when training…" he thought ominously with a sense of dread that only a man feels when they might die.
He looked up to the top of his head, 12 minutes and 42 seconds left before the Doom spell claims his life. "Here goes nothing." He sighed as he shifted to Ravager and began charging up his Sparkstrike, which seems to have more power in it for some reason, not that he noticed. He leapt high in the air and swung it as hard as he can as the roar of thunder was heard when he hit the dragon square in the chest, not only did it injure the dragon more, his Blazefire Saber…broke in two. "What?" Was all he could say in mild shock before being knocked back by Shinryu's tail and sent flying into the air. Shinryu then charged at the Shinobi L'Cie and they both crashed into the ground, knocking up dust from the impact as Shinryu soared in the air as its eyes glowed ominously as the world shook.
Naruto weakly got out of the crater, half of his jacket was torn and the cape that was on the left shoulder blade was gone in shreds as he looked to see a giant wave heading towards him. "Great, now I need is a surfboard." He muttered, half-jokingly and half-sarcastic as the massive wave was getting closer. "Geez, leave you alone to do something idiotic…But then again, you always have a knack for trouble." Lightning said dryly as she appeared by his side and was slowly walking towards the massive wave. "Uh, Light? What are you doing?" he asked, looking unnerved with the look in her eye. "Even if I'm no longer Etro's Champion, I can still pull off a few surprises without her blessings." Was all she said as she held her original Blazefire to her side as she slowly raised it over her head.
That was then Naruto noticed the flow of power inside of her being channeled around her blade like an enhancing aura of power. With a dignified shout, she swung her blade down, creating a powerful wind-slash that tore the ground as it split the Tsunami spell in half, dispelling it completely. Naruto's jaw was wide open at the display as Lightning sighed. "Once again, I cut a worthless object…" she muttered causing Naruto to face-fault at the line. Meanwhile in another dimension, a certain samurai warrior wielding the original Zantetsuken felt like someone was using his trademark line and had a small smile on his otherwise stoic face.
"Uh, that's it Light. No more Lupin the Third for you…" he muttered, as he began healing himself as he noticed he was running out of time. "Shit, better beat this guy fast Lightning." Naruto said as he got up and drew Gladius and Edged Carbine in both hands, activating his default ability that Lightning was surprised he had at the start of his journey as a L'Cie. Duel Wield, only those of Ninja class can use this ability, but Naruto's original ninja way wasn't the true Ninja Class like Edge or Shadow. "Then again, this is Naruto we're talking about so he has a knack for defying logic and common sense like they don't exist." Lightning mentally mused to herself as the air around them changed.
Thunder clouds were rumbling as Shinryu began to absorb massive amounts of electricity into its body as he began to growl at the two L'Cie as Naruto had a bad feeling all of the sudden. This feeling alone also started to unnerve Naruto as he saw Lightning develop a grin so wide that it looked like it would split her face in half. "Uh, Lightning…you okay?" he asked nervously as she chuckled, "I'm going to show that overgrown lizard up there who is the true master of the Thunder spell series." She replied in a sing song tone that sent chills up his spine. "Yeah, you do that while I uh…go find mom?" he said weakly before dashing off like his life depended on it. Not noticing Lightning's mad laughter and Shinryu's savage roars as Thunder spells were launched in a form of madness that he did not want to be in.
Once he got away from a good distance from the Thunder spell showdown, he found his mother sitting down on the floor watching the fight as she waved to her son. "Hello son, care to explain to my why you aren't trying to tame that summon of yours?" she asked as he chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, let's just say I'm letting Light have her…fun so to speak." He replied as he turned to see Shinryu have one of its wings temporarily from Lightning's Thundaga spell as she had a grin on her face, which to him was extremely out of character even for her. "…She has issues when people try to outdo her with Thunder spells." He spoke to her as she nodded, knowing from experience.
"Yeah, though I wonder why she's only using all the way up to the third tier Thunder spells…" he muttered, getting Kushina's attention. "I'm not sure about asking this, but is there a fourth one she has?" Kushina asked with a raised eyebrow and a sense of curiosity in her tone. "Yeah, apparently after an incident, her Crystarium System mutated and evolved, allowing her to use spells she didn't have before when she first started out as a L'Cie." He explained as Kushina was in a loop, what has her son gotten into since she died? "…He didn't…" Kushina thought with disbelief as a sense of déjà vu happed all over again.
Naruto looked at the thunder clouds as all the electricity collected into one huge ball of energy as he began to cower in fear to the sight of it. "Thundaga is bad, but that one…I do not want to be hit by even as an enemy." He whimpered as he hid behind Kushina who was wondering how terrifying a ball of electricity can be. "So basically, her powers mutated and she learned some new killer moves? Please do tell me." She said as Naruto looked at the ball of light like it was some sort of evil. "She has access to all third tier spells she didn't have in her arsenal, but her trademark Thunder spells have reached the fourth, and final tier form which is the most powerful version you do not want to mess with. The name of the spell is…"
"THUNDAJA!" Lightning roared as the biggest barrage of thunderbolts rained onto Shinryu and all was consumed in a thunderclap. Shinryu knew something was wrong with this incarnation of Lightning, she was originally a Red Mage, but somehow she's a Red Wizard, and he sensed the energy of the Cipher on her. "It must be the Cipher's doing. He unknowingly mutated this warrior's Class Rank and made it evolve into a Red Wizard rank. From the looks of it, he doesn't have a clue he was involved with her new rank and powers…Wait a minute…" the dragon thought as he looked at Naruto who was watching him with his mother and sensed the familiar energy inside of him and his mother's womb. "It's THAT boy…I must admit it has been eons since we last met, though he has lost all of his original memories it seems…Perhaps I should give him the initial wake-up call again." It thought as it noticed the boy's countdown was down to 5 minutes. With that, the dragon charged towards the Uzumaki duo.
"Uh-oh, time to get to the fight again mom." Naruto spoke as he stood up with Gladius and Edged Carbine at his side as Kushina looked at the gunblades warily, recalling those blades years ago and started wondering what has happened to the world since she was dead. Did technology grow in advance over the years? She felt a headache coming with all of the complicated lectures of how to work things now. Naruto charged at Shinryu and noticed the wind was starting to blow strongly as the thunderclouds disappeared. Checking with Libra, Naruto's eyes nearly popped out at the name of the next attack Shinryu was using: Maelstrom. "Ironic, he is attacking me with…well me." He mentally chuckled since his name meant Maelstrom as well.
The winds gathered as Shinryu's injured wing healed and started flapping both wings and took off into the skies, making Naruto curse himself for not making it in time as hell was unleashed onto the field. "Everyone, get down!" Kushina shouted as Lightning came towards them and they huddled together as Kushina used her chakra chains for form a dome as the chains were pinned to the ground. Then it happened, like an angry god, a storm brewed and unleashed its holy wrath upon the battlefield, picking up debris and annihilated everything in its path, all except the barrier of chains made from the love of a mother.
Not waiting for them to make a counter attack, Shinryu gathered a massive amount of power into himself to unleash a devastating attack that was difficult even for a L'Cie to block: Flare. Unleashing the explosive power, it destroyed the chain barrier as Kushina was forced by the Edo Tensei to regenerate from the damages as Lightning and Naruto were knocked around from the shockwave and the burning sensation of the Flare spell. Lightning was doing well against the attack but Naruto's turtleneck shirt was destroyed as he had burn marks all over his torso. "Times up…you lose." Shinryu stated as Naruto looked up and his eyes widened in horror as the countdown reached zero.
"Naruto!" Lightning and Kushina screamed out as Naruto screamed in anguish as his life force was taken from him as his body fell to the ground dead. "He has failed his trial, may his soul forever rest in Valhalla like all who came before him…" the dragon calmly spoke as it sent everyone back into their dimension with Shinryu following them. They saw Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune and even Jaken running towards them only to gasp in horror at Naruto's dead body. "No…not again…Please not again…" Tsunade muttered as tears began to form in her eyes as she ran towards his body and tried to heal him. Jiraiya had felt as if he was stabbed in the heart with a sword of fire, one that would not go away. "Minato…forgive me for not saving him." He silently muttered as he turned to glare at Shinryu with hate in his body. Jaken was crying with sadness in his heart at the failure of protecting his master and claiming that Naruto is indeed one of a kind in this era.
Kushina…she was devastated, her son, her precious son she had hoped to raise in love and with a family was gone. She wanted to talk to him about so many things, how he's been, has he been eating healthy, did he fall in love, did he had any friends? She would never get the chance to speak with him now. She already sees the strange gate opening up to claim his soul to Valhalla. A place she couldn't go. "No, not my son…not the only thing I had left in this world to watch over…" she cried silently as she put her son's head on her lap as the tears began to fall on his face.
Lightning looked down, her eyes overshadowed as she recalled others before him that had died from suicide, turned to C'ieth, or killed by someone else. But this…this was different for her. It felt as if a part of something she had cherished long ago was lost forever…
Certain people in Konoha felt it, Sakura jolted from her gaze at Sasuke as she felt something terrible went wrong as Sasuke's voice called out to Naruto in a way as if he lost a close friend. Kiba and Akamaru became stiff as they sniffed the air as Akamaru let out a sorrowful howl as Kiba subconsciously punched a tree bark in anger. Hinata looked to the skies as a lone tear fell from her eye making her wonder why her heart hurts. Shikamaru noticed something was wrong with the clouds as it took on the shape of a skull as Choji stopped eating his snacks as his stomach was no longer alive.
Ino was in her family's shop as a vase of flowers she was tending to suddenly wilted and died. Kakashi, still in a nightmare world felt something even worse as his own heart was pierced by something sharper than any of Itachi's blades that were currently stabbing him…losing someone close. In another room at the hospital Neji, Lee, and Tenten knew something was wrong. Neji heard the wind cry while Lee who was bedridden in the moment felt something beyond words hit him like an elephant; Tenten had noticed it by the sudden cracks in her weapons which were the signs of an ill omen.
*Unknown Realm*
Fog…it was all he could see, lying face down on the ground Naruto felt the fog was consuming him. Was this it? Was this the end of his journey? At the hands of a powerful opponent...His eyes were slowly closing as he heard someone walking towards him. "So Praetor, do you think this is where the curtain falls for you?" the voice said, Naruto noticed it was a female's voice as his eyes opened up to see a woman of short stature. At the height of 145 cm, she was in a red ballroom dress with the lower part of the skirt translucent, letting him see underneath the dress much to his embarrassment. He also noticed she wore knee high golden grieves. Her blond hair and emerald green eyes gave off a beauty of aspiration as she had an ahoge (T/N: anime antenna hair for those you don't know what it means in anime/manga world) at the top of her head and long hair tied in a bun.
"I remember back then you didn't give up on life, you had a drive didn't you?" she asked as she tapped her foot patiently, waiting for his reply. "I…don't remember you." He replied as the girl who gave off the vibe of a valiant man in crimson scoffed at this. "Hmph, well you have lost all of your original memories so I shouldn't be surprised Praetor." She said dryly as Naruto felt confused. "Lost all of my original memories…?" he thought as he heard another set of feet coming towards him. He couldn't get up with all of his strength gone, but this new girl would have been one of Jiraiya's characters in his lame books.
She was wearing a bright blue erotic kimono with separate long blue kimono sleeves, indigo socks that went up to her thighs, and black geta. She had a beautiful face with long pink hair tied in pigtails with a blue ribbon and yellow eyes, but something told him this girl was not human. She had a pair of bright orange fox ears and a light orange fox tail, Naruto felt like some sort of irony was with him at meeting someone who had connections to foxes besides him. "She does have a point my dear Goshujin-sama…But not to worry! We'll help you get out of this place in not time!" she said in a cheerful, energetic voice. "Even if you've forgotten us, we could never forget you. Once you get your memories back, we can go back to pranking people again, tehe." She giggled as Naruto had a weak, small smile on his face for the mentioning of pranks.
"Sorry about that Caster, but first he needs to relearn what he's lost before you both go out to a prank spree again." A male voice rang out. He appeared out of nowhere and wore black skin tight clothing under a red coat and he had a calm look on his face. He had white hair, grey eyes, and dark skin and he looked at Naruto straight in the eye. "What's wrong with you? You look like you've picked a fight with a dragon or something." He said sarcastically as Naruto chuckled weakly. "Yeah…pretty much did." He replied. "Once an idiot, always an idiot." The man sighed as the sounds of three more people walking towards them, making Naruto wonder how do they see in this fog.
Like the girl in red, these three girls were spitting images of her but a bit taller than her though. But they had this incredible beauty he had never seen, one in a blue ballroom dress with breastplate and armor, wielding a sword with unworldly beauty at her side. The other was in white, her hair was tied up differently and her dress like armor resembled lilies in bloom, her sword was different too, for it looked more like a sword for kings. The third one, donning black armor, had pale skin and yellow eyes, her hair looked like it was bleached as her gaze gave him chills down his spine. Her sword was pitch black with red circles, as if corrupted by some sort of…evil entity.
The one in blue spoke, "Tell me, what is true strength to you?" she asked, "…To protect…those you…hold dear." Naruto coughed out as the lingering pain from Shinryu's attack lingered in him. "Fighting, for what you believe in, your bonds with others, no matter how mighty, or strong the enemy is." He replied. The one in blue looked at him directly in the eye and Naruto felt that if he could move right now, he would be bowing to her presence; it was like she was some king!
"What do you do when there is an evil you cannot defeat by just means? Do you stain your hands with evil to destroy evil? Or do you remain steadfast and just even if it means surrendering to evil?" causing Naruto to look confused at the riddle. "No matter what I would do, evil remains. It's a paradox, one that mankind cannot escape. But if I were to choose…I would commit evil to destroy the greater evil." He replied as the woman in blue and her white and black counterparts looked at him. "While I can do things righteously, there are times I must stray from my path in order to move forward. But true heroes, they know right and wrong. They are willing to get their hands dirty with blood of others, not for glory or honor, but for protecting the things they cherish most." He finished as the three nodded their heads.
"You have chosen a path of twilight, neither light nor darkness, but a balance of both…you haven't changed one bit Naruto." The woman spoke with a smile as her black and white counterparts turned into orbs of lights matching their colors as they flew inside her. It made him wonder who she was and why is she so familiar. "It is time; can you hear the voices of the bonds you have forged? They want to help you." She said as she and the others vanished. Leaving him alone for a bit as Sasuke appeared in front of his body.
"Hey, Naruto…" Sasuke started and trailed off, "…I can't believe I'm saying this, but you were my rival in a way." He admitted looking away a bit sheepishly. "You were the class clown, the dead last, yet you out did me, a genius of our generation in so many ways that I was…jealous of you." He said making Naruto weakly look at him with surprise. "We had different backgrounds, but even though you were lonely, you found happiness in those times while I sought solitude and focused on my vengeance on my brother." He said as Naruto chuckled weakly. "Trust me, solitude is bad man. That's what having friends are for, we help each other out. Like that time we worked together against Itachi; I would have let you dealt the finishing blow since it was your right, not mine. So try not to push people away." He replied as Sasuke chuckled mirthlessly as he vanished. In his place was Sakura with her head down in guilt.
"Naruto…" she said in guilt. "I'm sorry for what I've done to you. I was so focused on trying to win Sasuke's love that I didn't care to considerate your feelings. But now you're cold to me and the others. I'm sure you won't forgive me but please…be part of the team again." She begged as she stifled her tears. "I'm sure I won't be forgiven, but one day I will work hard enough to earn your trust again!" she said wiping her eyes as she looked at his still body. "I'll work to become a great ninja, so I won't be left behind the two of you. Watch it, one day I'll be the one saving you or Sasuke!" she declared as she had a firm resolve in her eyes. "Thanks Sakura…You are blooming into a new flower, one that will bloom into one so beautiful that will be remembered by all who see it." He whispered with a small smile, one that she heard as she smiled.
She faded away revealing Kakashi reading his orange book again, only for him to close it and look at him. "Yo! Sorry I'm late, I was at a café as a missing ninja disguised as a waitress tried to assassinate me by poisoning so I beat her and had to go to the hospital and perform surgery to my ruined kidney." He lied with a straight face as Naruto laughed weakly at that. "Nice try sensei, but that lied is…ridicules on a level that even clowns could frown at." He replied as Kakashi sighed and put a hand on his chin. "Well…looks like I'm going to have to work on new lines then." He said thoughtfully out loud. "So, anything else you want to say to me?" Naruto asked as the silver haired man looked at him. "I guess this one I'll be saying next is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I neglected you and Sakura for Sasuke. But I didn't want to have him so absorbed into his revenge against his brother that he would turn his back on others." He said with guilt in his voice.
"No problem, but next time plan things out for us when you want to train Sasuke. You were being a hypocrite with the whole "teamwork" thing you know?" he replied as Kakashi eye-smiled at him. "You know…you have a point, once we get back together, how about some elemental affinity training?" he asked as Naruto had a smile on his face. "Maybe if I do come back alive of course." He replied as Kakashi chuckled. "Naruto, knowing you, you would come back and defy the logic and rules of the universe in order to learn something new. After all, I believe that you can surpass the Fourth Hokage." He said as he vanished.
Kiba and Akamaru appeared, looking down at Naruto with a pissed off expression on his face. "What the hell are you doing Naruto?" he demanded. "Are you telling me that you've given up on life? Some Hokage you are! If you can't be Hokage, then I will!" he declared. Naruto snorted at that, "Dream on you crazy dog, I'm not giving up by a long shot!" he shot back as Kiba and Akamaru vanished, as Hinata appeared while pressing her index fingers together shyly. "H-high Naruto…" she greeted shyly, "I-I wanted to thank you for saving me that time in the Finals against that Sand ninja…but now I won't be able to thank you properly now that you're gone…" with that, she had her head down. "I'm not done yet, I promised to change the Hyuga clan's ways after becoming Hokage. And how am I supposed to keep that promise if I'm dead?" he asked as he felt some of his strength returning. "You stay strong, you and Neji can change it slowly but surely, right Neji?" he asked as said boy was besides Hinata. He nodded his head and he had a look of gratitude on his face.
He and Hinata vanished as Rock Lee and Tenten appeared in their places. "Greetings Naruto! It has been some time since we last met and I must say you are the most youthful person besides Gai-sensei and myself!" Lee shouted as he did his trade mark Good Guy Pose ™. "Heh, wouldn't have it any other way Lee." He replied as Tenten looked at him. "You know, you are something else. Not only did you beat Neji, you also have an interesting collection of weapons at your disposal…" she trailed off with a gleam in her eyes. "Would you like to spar with me once you get back?" she asked as Naruto chuckled. "Sure, let's make it one to remember." He answered as they vanished.
Three more people appeared; it was the Ino-Shika-Cho trio Team 9. "What are you doing lying down there you lazy ass? Get moving!" Ino ordered as Shikamaru sighed. "Don't be like that Ino, he looks peaceful like that. Mind if I join you Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. "Yeah and how about we snack on something good while lying down?" Choji the fa-I mean Big Boned Guy (Hurray for big boned people!) asked. Ino sighed with annoyance. "Geez, why am I stuck with you guys again?" she asked as Naruto, despite still being in pain, laughed from the floor. "Hey, how about when I get back, we go have some barbeque?" he asked the trio who nodded in agreement. "That would be great, but first you got to deal with that troublesome lizard you brought out, talk about a drag." Shikamaru replied dryly as Choji nodded his head. "You better get back home alive Naruto or else!" threatened Ino as they vanished.
The next person to appear was…Gaara. "It's been a while Naruto Uzumaki." The Suna Jinchuuriki greeted as he looked down at the fallen Shinobi L'Cie. "You had taught me many things after that fight, and for that I wanted a better connection with the people of Suna, starting with my siblings. But over time, one day I will become Kazekage, so I can connect to all of the people of Suna." He said as Naruto looked at the red haired boy with a smile. "That's great Gaara, and remember…protect those you cherish with all of your heart, and you will acquire an existence and power unimaginable. Through that, you will know what love truly is." He said as Gaara nodded and vanished.
There was one more presence there, and it moved towards him slowly through the fog to reveal a girl around his age that was the spitting image of his mother, but she had faint whisker shaped birthmarks on her cheeks…just like him. This girl confused him, he didn't recall this girl at all from his memories, but at the same time it was like he knew her for a very long time. "Who…are you?" he asked as the girl gave him a small sad smile. "Hello…big brother." She greeted, causing his eyes to widen in shock at what she just said. "Big…brother…?" he asked, surprised at her as she nodded as she pointed towards her heart that was beating in a beautiful rhythm, with his heart was also beating the same rhythm as well as his eyes widened in realization.
P.O.V.
Seeing this girl in front of me, what she said, and the rhythm of our hearts in perfect harmony…I realized who she was. My twin sister…the one that did not leave mother's womb due to the masked man's attack and the release of the fox. No one knew she existed because she was hiding behind me in our mother's womb, sharing the same heartbeat. She died inside mother and at the same time, resurrected by the help of that treacherous snake's Edo Tensei. Her soul was resonating with mine, allowing us to finally meet for the first…and final time. I was sickened, I was wronged by people for someone else's doing and had lost my parents and my own twin sister in one night, leaving me alone…to suffer the pain of solitude and hatred of Konoha.
I hated it, that masked man claiming to be Madara Uchiha will pay with his life. Not only because he had the Kyuubi attack Konoha as the village hated me for being its vessel, but that man was the source of my pain and agony from the day I was born. Creating a cycle of hatred and pain from within…he will pay. I will make sure that man suffered a fate worse than death. My own sister had her right to live taken from her…but I will find a way for her to live. One way or another, and I don't care even if I have to cross dimensions looking for the knowledge to give her a second chance. I wanted her to live a happy life, not one as painful as my own…
She helped me stand on my own two feet, and…I felt stronger than ever. I realized that our souls and the massive power within them were resonating and combining into a new form of power. Our chakra was combining, and then I recall one chakra lesson I thought was pointless and the same time useful from Iruka-sensei long ago. When two similar chakras are near each other, they resonate and combine, creating more powerful attacks than any jutsu in existence. The requirement was that only family members are able to perform it, and it was rare to see it since families hardly work on the same team and use any usual chakra techniques like the Rasengan to work. I couldn't find anyone with similar patterns like mine to confirm I had a family member, until now…
"Ready brother?" she asked me with a sweet smile, as I smiled back to her, I hugged her. "Ready…*****." I said as she smiled at the name I gave her. Then everything was consumed in light as I realized I was returning to the world of the living with my sister helping me. It's time to show Shinryu not to mess with the Uzumaki-ttebayo!
P.O.V. end
Naruto's eyes opened up, looking around to see he was out of the crater that was currently being filled with rubble as he noticed the Chief Toad and two others just as big as him beaten and unconscious, "What the hell happened when I was killed?" he thought as he heard Lightning's trademark Thunder spells roaring in the crater. At his side, he noticed the Gladius and Edged Carbine near his side and used his Dual Wield ability to use them both. "Let's go…" he muttered as he leapt into the crater, finding Lightning worse for wear along with Jiraiya who was near the edge of death as Tsunade was healing her own wounds. Kushina was currently on top of Shinryu and was trying to trap the massive wyrm in her chakra chains.
Shinryu broke through them and tossed Kushina into a wall, and was prepared to use its Atomic Breath when Naruto launched Ruin right in its face from the side, getting everyone's attention as their eyes widen in surprise at him still being alive. "What's wrong?" he asked, "It's like you've seen a ghost." He finished sarcastically. "Impossible, you were killed by the Doom spell…how can you…?" Lightning asked, shocked at what she was seeing while Jiraiya looked extremely happy to see him as Tsunade felt like a miracle happened. But Kushina, she had tears of joy in her eyes as Shinryu slowly made its way towards him.
The Shinobi L'Cie and the Dragon of Ruin looked at each other, eye to eye, showing their resolves deep within them as a massive surge of pressure hit the area, and most of the people minus the boy and dragon were heavily affected by it. They then realized that this pressure was from both Naruto and Shinryu as they noticed him mutter something as his blond spikey hair turned smooth and red as it went past his shoulders and his eyes turned a beautiful shade of purple as time began to move slowly. Then, in a red flash, Naruto swung Gladius right in the chest where he struck Shinryu with an enhanced Sparkstrike from his broken Blazefire Saber and the dragon was thrown into the wall of the crater, clearly surprised by his strength.
"Let's settle this, like a ninja of Konoha!" Naruto shouted as he twirled Edged Carbine in the air with magic as it turned into a buzz saw disk made of magic. "Eat this!" he shouted as he threw it at Shinryu who literally ate it breaking the Edged Carbine gunblade in its mouth, only for the second energy disk from Gladius to appear right behind the first one forcing Shinryu to block it, effectively destroying Gladius. "That boy is back, but now without any weapons he cannot make a move…Its over!" the dragon thought noticing the rubble moving as they disappeared in puffs of smoke.
*Naruto Shippuden Soundtrack: Heaven-Shaking Event*
"What!" the dragon spoke in shock as millions of copies of the now red headed L'Cie appeared and all were charging at him. "He created clones and hid them in the rubble?" Shinryu thought in shock as he folded his wings and gathered wind in them. They were close to him and he wasn't going to let them touch him. Stretching out his wings, he unleashed the Maelstrom spell causing the clones to stay in midair, trying to contain it. It was pointless at first when more clones than he could count popped into existence and contained the blast as the wind died down and all the clones headed right for him to deliver a barrage of punches.
It hurt, as they were destroyed by Shinryu's Chaotic Deluge as the energies of Discord aided him. "You little brat…!" he roared as he used his Atomic Breath on Naruto who touched an icy blue crystal in his necklace. "Snow Jr.!" he shouted as a hunk of ice appeared, and in icy blue light, it broke to reveal another Naruto dressed up in Snow's old outfit using Steelguard in front of him. "Hey Storm, taming an Eidolon too?" he asked with a grin. "Yeah, just focus on defense right now." Naruto-now Storm ordered. "You got it, though it would be nice he could just…chill out!" Snow Jr. replied as he launched Blizzara at Shinryu's face, forcing it to flinch.
"I'll teach you not to mess with me you pathetic hatchlings!" Shinryu shouted, clearly angry at the moment as it used Chaotic Deluge at the two L'Cie. "Paradigm Shift, Twin Shields!" they shouted as they blocked the attack and were knocked back a bit. Shinryu felt exhausted now as it wearily looked at the two. "Grr…I used to much power…" he growled as looked at the leader of the two. "Paradigm Shift: Chousen…" Storm muttered as his crystal aura turned clear-colored. That was then his right hand was outstretched with the palm facing upwards and was creating a royal blue/elegant purple swirling sphere. "Snow Jr. Get ready to launch me…" Storm whispered to his frosty counterpart. "You got it bro." he agreed as he grabbed Storms left arm.
"It's useless for whatever technique you're about to use…" Shinryu growled as it began to gather energy into itself. "You don't stand a ghost of a chance…Give up!" he shouted. "YOU GIVE UP!" Storm shot back as Snow Jr. threw him like a missile much to Shinryu's shocked surprised. "Give up trying to make me…GIVE UP!" he roared as he slammed the spiralling sphere right in the chest, causing Shinryu to open its jaws in agony and arch forward as streams of energy erupted from the sphere as the entire crater was rumbling from the power. "Where is he getting this power from?" Shinryu thought as it noticed people right behind him. They were resting their own right hands on top of Storm's own hand that was currently grinding the miniature typhoon into it as the dragon realized that they were people the Cipher knew in its life that he cherished.
"I see…the powers of Cipher come from the strength of ones bonds and friendships…a power that transcends Space and Time themselves…I have lost this battle from the start then…" Shinryu thought as it closed its eyes as it was consumed by light. With a final roar of defiance, Storm gave his attack one massive shove, launching the dragon out of the crater and into Tanzaku Town, but the path of uprooted earth followed it as it crashed into the towering castle. Shinryu's body was still as it left an imprint on the castle before falling off with the castle soon following it, burying it under a pile of rubble.
*Heaven-Shaking Event: End*
Storm began panting heavily with exhaustion evident in his body as Snow Jr. looked at him. "You okay? That must have been one hell of a fight to do this much damage." He asked as he gestured to the crater they were in. "Nah that was from fighting Orochimaru." Storm replied as Snow Jr. whistled at that. "Now I wished I was called earlier, it would have been a clash of the titans!" This made Storm chuckle at that. "Trust me, with your speed. You wouldn't survive." He replied dryly recalling how fast Orochimaru's attacks were while in his second stage of his C'ieth mode.
The earth shook as the two L'Cie were alert, getting into their stances, Storm realized all of his gunblades were destroyed as Shinryu broke out of the rubble and descended towards the two. He noticed something different about it; it…acknowledged him as his master. He was going to say Gestalt Mode when another word entered his mind. "Armored Gestalt Mode!" he shouted as he leapt into the air with Shinryu following him as the wyrm began to glow as they became engulfed by a bright light. Lightning, Kushina, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune and Jaken who were watching from afar and Snow Jr. shielded their eyes from the light as it died down.
When it died down, it revealed Storm in some sort of exoskeleton like armor that resembled Shinryu's appearance as the Shinobi L'Cie descended to the ground, his feet lightly touching the ground as he landed, and his wings stretched out in an elegant arc. "What is this?" Lightning asked as she and Kushina walked towards Storm who looked at him. "Armor Gestalt Mode." He replied, "A new type of experimental powers for Eidolons that allow them and their summoner to become one and wield their Eidolon's powers as if they were the Eidolon themselves. An idea Etro thought of for some time while you and the others were sealed into your weapons Light." He explained to her.
Snow Jr. then let out a low whistle at that, "Damn, I wouldn't mind getting that ability myself." He admitted as Storm looked at him, "I'm sure it's possible, after all, she said that she's working on the kinks with me testing it out." He replied. "Wait, Etro told you?" Lightning asked, looking surprised as the armored Shinobi L'Cie nodded his head. "Yeah, I was surprised at first when I heard her talking in my head. She's actually a nice person once you get to know her." Said Storm as Lightning nodded her head, recalling how kind Etro was to mankind, even though she sometimes creates trouble by accident through her actions.
Storm then looked at Kushina with a small smile. "Hi mom, looks like we can talk now without any issues ne?" he asked as his mother smiled at him. With that, Snow Jr. gave them a silent farewell so he wouldn't ruin the mother-son time and returned to his time with a smile on his face. "I thought you were dead…Don't do that again!" she said as she hugged him with tears coming out of her eyes as Naruto hugged her back. "I was…then I was saved by her." He replied as Lightning was curious who this person was. "Was it Etro by any chance?" she asked as he and Kushina broke their hug and shook his head no.
"No it wasn't the goddess, but…" he trailed off as they noticed a hint of sadness in his voice. "Who was it son?" Kushina asked as Naruto looked at her with an extremely sad expression on his face. "My…twin sister did." He reluctantly replied, surprising Kushina and Lightning at what he said. "H-how could there be-"she stuttered as Naruto beat her to it. "She had the same heartbeat as I did and was hiding behind me while inside your womb…she's still inside you mother." He said pointed to her stomach as she gently rubbed it. "Is there…some way to get her out?" she asked, saddened by what her son told her.
He shook his head no. "I wish I did, I would give anything just to give her a second chance." He said in a quiet voice. "Anything?" the voice of Shinryu rang out from the armor, startling the three. "There is a way to give this girl life, but everything has its price." The voice continued as Naruto was wondering what this summon was up to. "Alright I'll bite, what is the price exactly?" Naruto asked. "I need you to help me on my quest to destroy the machine called…Omega." The voice replied as Lightning got chills from the name of that machine. A soulless weapon that travels through dimensions killing all in its path, leave death and destruction in its wake, only a few are able to best the machine.
"Omega? Now that might sound like a challenge!" Naruto replied with a smirk ignoring the look on Lightning's face that said "are you stupid?" "Very well…I will need to extract your twin from your mother and you must give up half of your soul to sustain her life force." Shinryu explained as Naruto felt unnerved at that part. "Wait, half of my soul? Why? Wouldn't I die from losing a piece of me?" he asked. "First and Second: Because your sister's soul is fractured, since you two can resonate, it will be able to repair the damage. Third: Normally you would, but with your…shadowy friend wanting to help keep you alive you'll be fine." The dragon armor replied as Naruto rose an eyebrow. "Magatsu Arashi? Now that I think about it, he's an actual soul inside of me like the fox, but was created from my dark emotions…" he thought as he began to ponder what to do.
"Don't worry King, if you die, then I die. I'll help you stay alive but remember if I go down, then the rest of us will…" his C'ieth other warned as Naruto mentally nodded. "Very well, anything else?" he asked out loud. "Yes…your sister cannot stay in this timeline." The armor responded. "What? Why?" Kushina demanded as she felt an invisible entity looking at her. "Because while on my way here, I discovered that Serah Farron is trapped in an alternate timeline that is in stasis in this universe, it needs someone to fix it as the Naruto there which is really my master here-"now the mentioning of Serah got Lightning's attention. "Is meant to be dead, someone else has to take the journey instead, without the…fuzzy problem my master here has." The armor finished explaining.
"Wait, what are you talking about me being dead there?" Naruto asked completely confused. "You didn't know?" Shinryu asked, surprised. "From the data I collected while searching for you through these timelines, that…Snow Jr. you summoned, is a fragment of your own soul. Created by a powerful entity after your branding, your branding is different from that Highwind Naruto you met a week ago. You see, the minute you were branded, parts of your soul entered the other weapons of the L'Cie and in turn, they and your soul fragments were sent into different timelines with the same focus as you." The ancient dragon spoke as Naruto's eyes widened at the details.
"Whoever did this to the space-time continuum of this universe is a genius. Now Lightning's fellow L'Cie are trapped in different paradoxes with a fragment of your soul with the same focus, while the soul fragment in the timeline that your sister is being sent to is already dead and in Valhalla and is currently serving as Etro's Champion at the time being." Now this info dropped the bomb on the three at what they were hearing. Were they…incarnations of himself? "That's not all, while I was resting in the Void Beyond; I encountered one of your fragments with the powers of someone named…Caius Ballad." He finished as Naruto and Lightning got chills at the name of one of the most dangerous people in all of the 13 Legends. Kushina was confused and wondered who the man was.
"Great, just my luck." Naruto grumbled sarcastically while looking at Lightning. "Now we get to see the Chaotic Guardian and his apprentice soon from the looks of it." He muttered darkly as Lightning looked tense at the moment. "Wait, if my theory is correct…" Lightning started as she looked at Naruto, "Then both Serah and your twin will be trying to fix these anomalies while trying to get back to our timeline if she's sent there and awakens Serah. It's a repeat of what happened when I was erased from history once." She finished as Naruto nodded his armored head, recalling Serah's and Noel's time-traveling adventure from the stories he heard.
"Yeah…and maybe I could find out who I really am…" he spoke quietly, recalling those strange people in that foggy realm he was in. "What was that?" Kushina asked, hearing a little of what he said. "Nothing." He replied as he looked at his armored right hand and clenched it. "Let's get started then…" he said as the three nodded their heads.
Jiraiya of the Sannin was not in a good mood; in fact he was in a terrible mood. First, after Naruto "died", he tried to avenge his dead student by trying to slay the dragon. Lost badly even with the help of the three strongest toads he could summon and even his Sage Mode was defeated by it. Had severe injuries that are currently being healed by Tsunade, then Naruto came back from the dead and made the impossible possible by defeating it, claiming its power and transformed into some sort of Ryukishi (Dragon Knight in Japanese) and was currently talking with Lightning and his resurrected mother about something. He noticed that his armored glowed and Kushina's appearance changed, she looked…alive and well compared to her resurrected form by the Edo Tensei. This surprised those three over there as Kushina was jumping with joy while shouting that she was alive again. This made Jiraiya smile now that Naruto had family now.
"I knew that kid was unpredictable, but this is too much even for me." He grumbled as Tsunade looked at him. "I know what you mean; he always pulls something off that no one else could." She agreed as she bandaged one of his wounds that were bleeding. "Come to think of it, how come you're not paralyzed in fear of blood?" the Toad Sannin asked as Tsunade had a smile on her face. "Let's just say my grandfather and my Uzumaki relative there helped me get over it. Plus Dan and Nawaki wouldn't want me to be afraid of something trivial like blood; after all, I am the Fifth Hokage." She replied. "That's good news so-wait, what are they doing?" Jiraiya asked, noticing what Naruto was doing now.
"Ready mom? Because this is going to hurt you a lot." Naruto asked as she nodded. His armored hands glowed as they entered Kushina's stomach, and slowly, he pulled out a sleeping baby girl with red hair from her. "She looks just like you mom, just like the same way I looked like dad…" he trailed off as his Armored Gestalt Mode wore off as Shinryu returned to its proper form. Naruto's appearance reverted back to its spikey blond way and eyes turned blue again as his twin sister's fractured soul left him and returned to her baby body. "Now, for a piece of your own…" Shinryu began as with a tip of one of its claws, tore a piece of Naruto's own soul and placed it inside the baby. It was painful for Naruto, but he endured it, which was then, the baby girl opened her eyes and began crying.
"Hush, don't worry…your big brother is here." He cooed gently as Lightning smiled at this soft side Naruto had. "I promise, even when I'm not there for you physically, I'll always be in your heart, protecting you…" he whispered gently as he cradled the little girl in his arms as she calmed down, feeling peaceful in the arms of her brother. "Did she have a name you gave her son?" Kushina asked as Naruto looked at her with a small smile. "Yes, it's *****." He replied as Kushina looked at her son's younger twin in baby form. "*****, what a beautiful name you gave her." She replied. "Yes, but for now, she must take her own journey, and it hurts me to bid farewell to her…" he said as a lone tear left his eye.
With that said Kushina and Naruto hugged the baby, filling her with all the love in their heart, as she began to fade away, being taken to the alternate timeline where Serah is trapped in and complete her role in the universe. Naruto and Kushina were torn, sadden that a family member they never knew was gone, but had hope in their hearts as they knew deep down. She will come home.
21: That's a wrap folks! As you can see here, Naruto had a twin sister who is now sent to an alternative timeline, and the result…new Character Paths unlocked!
Serah, Noel, and Caius Paths unlocked.
Serah Role
Main Roles: Commando, Ravager, Sentinel
Weapon: Bowblade (Starseeker as default)
Noel Role
Main Roles: Commando, Ravager, Sentinel
Weapon: Duel swords that combine into a javelin (Flame Fossil as default)
Caius Role:
Main Roles: Unknown
Weapon: Great sword (Ragnarok as default)
As you can see, I created a new version of the Gestalt Mode called Armor Gestalt Mode in which a L'Cie and their summon combine into one through armor and wield the summons power as if it was their own. Since Naruto's is still a test model version, he cannot call forth all of Shinryu's power. Also I will make a fic featuring Naruto's twin and Serah going on an adventure through time and space, trying to fix the anomalies while traveling through time, trying to be reunited with the others trapped in paradoxes.