A/N: I've broken this one up into two chapters because it felt way too long to be one.

Please enjoy.

- XXVI -

The Crossroads of Destiny I

"Hurry it up!"

"Get inside! They're coming!"

"It's over! It's over! We're all gonna die!"

The pouring rain fell over the crowd at the base of Hokage Rock. A lucky few were already inside, but most of the village was still rammed at the entrance, a wave of stampeding feet trying to fit through the opening only fit for two. Cries echoed as people were crushed in the fervor. Some who were injured in the attack fell under the weight; some didn't get back up. The smell of blood filled the air. Chaos was the only appropriate word.

In a way, Ino was glad that she and her mother were at the back of the crowd, away from the heart of the cluster; in another, she was terrified.

Every few seconds she turned her head back over her shoulders, waiting for an orange cloak to arrive and bring her death to her. For the past little while there was a man surrounded by an orange glow who paraded over the rooftops, using his scythe and the light he emanated to wipe out the village, and she knew it was only a matter of time until he came towards her. The anxiety, the anticipation; perhaps it would have been better to have been crushed by the other villagers.

But though the cold of the rain and the wind and the fear threatened her to give up every bit of hope, a small glimmer of light kept her going.

He would come back.

He had to.

Suddenly a hand grabbed her: it was her mother's. "This way, dear," Noriko said, a nervous pain in her eyes. Trying her hardest to find a lane for her and her daughter or to make one herself, the same thought occurred to her as last time: even if she didn't make it, there was no chance her daughter wouldn't.

They came up empty. The crowd was too dense. The fear of death rolled in like clouds over the shore.

Ino once again turned her head, and there it was: the one she had been waiting for.

An orange cloak appeared on top of the Hokage Building.

It was only a second before the man found the crowd below him and leapt down the base of the mountain. Every face seemed to freeze at once, every flailing limb to cease. Slowly, the villagers turned to see their enemy.

Ino had a front row seat. There was nothing but wet ground between her and the fox mask that stared her down.

"Ino," her mother whispered, voice shaking. Noriko's hand frantically clutched for her daughter's, and Ino held tight.

For a moment the world seemed to stop as she found her eyes taken in by the white mask. A fear greater than death took her over a sinking feeling came into her stomach:

He was not coming.

The orange cloak suddenly brought his hands up in front of him, a litany of signs bursting from his fingertips. As he finished, tiny flickers of blue light began to dance around his hands before growing into a full current. Ino could feel its heat from where she stood.

With one motion the man swung his arm towards the middle of the mountain, above the doors to the bunker, and the lightning shot out.

KKRRAAAOOSSHH!

BBBOOOOOOMM!

The loudest bang that Ino had ever heard, and the rock tore apart and fell to the ground. All she could do was watch in horror as the screams pierced her ears and the side of the mountain came crashing down on the people below. Her mother hugged her tightly as the dust blew from beneath the crash, and those nearby began to run.

For a moment she only saw the darkness.

Chaos.

Complete chaos.

Soon, the world settled, and she opened her eyes to the rain falling onto the blood that sept outwards from beneath the landslide.

Though they had nowhere else to escape to, many fled. Many, like Ino and her mother, remained stagnant out of shock, in disbelief that their last ray of hope had been taken from them. The bunker was no more. All that was left was to be slaughtered.

Slowly she turned around to face the enemy.

"Surrender," said a slithering voice from behind the mask. "Give up now, and I promise I won't hurt you anymore." A small, wicked laugh. "My bloodlust has been satisfied for the day, ha ha!"

Ino's mind screamed at her to run away, but fear kept her feet planted to the ground. Noriko's grip was tight on her arm, and though she knew her mother wanted to protect her, she knew that she was scared, as well. And why not? Ino knew for certain that her mother had the same voice in her head at that moment that she did.

"You are going to die."

Ino had the thought for the second time that day that she should have become a ninja; but it meant nothing. She knew that there was nothing she could do. And despite her reluctance to admit it, she knew that this time, Naruto wasn't coming to save her.

Perhaps it was that admittance that lifted her arms; perhaps it was the regret, or the fear that something terrible had happened to him; perhaps it was just her wanting to prove that she wasn't as helpless as she felt at that moment.

Whatever it was, as her bright blue eyes shone through the rain towards her enemy, Ino's hands met in front of her and formed a sign. Her thumbs touched and her first two fingers on either side crossed over each other slightly.

"Ino!" her mother yelled quietly. "No! You can't!"

But slowly, the frame her hands created rose to eye level; through it, the fox mask that glared at her. Her stomach dropped, and her breaths staggered.

Really?

This is all you have?

This is all you can do?

At the moment, the answer was yes. It was a long time since she even attempted the jutsu, let alone pulled it off; but the only other option was allowing that fox mask to sink its claws into the rest of the villagers, and though the fear was clenched tightly around her heart, that was hardly even an option at all.

"O-ho," the man teased. "So you wanna play, huh, little girl? Fine then!" Chakra rose to his hands as the lightning took shape once again, each burst crackling over his arms.

"I'll show you what real power is!"

Her mother screamed for her, and the others behind her just screamed, but Ino heard nothing except the voice in her head saying that, for once, she should protect something for herself.

Mind Transfer Ju—!

"Hyaaaaahhh!"

Ino froze. Out of nowhere, a man arrived from her left and tackled the orange cloak to the ground with a thud and a splash. Her hands dropped.

Who in the world…?

A closer look, and she and her mother nearly collapsed to their knees. A long, dark blonde ponytail swung with the man as he rose over the enemy. He raised a fist into the air and brought it down upon the mask, shattering it as blood broke out from his knuckles. Soon the other hand came up as he delivered another punch to the face beneath the mask; then another, and then another, all the while shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Don't you dare—lay one finger—on my family!"

POW!

One final punch, and the orange cloak stilled. The blonde man, dressed in Konoha's grey prison robes, slowly rose to his feet, panting. He turned around gingerly, afraid of what he might see behind him.

But as he laid his green eyes upon the people he thought he had lost for good four years ago, he realized there was nothing to fear.

Ino and her mother both had tears in their eyes.

"Dad…?"

"Dear…? Is…is it…?"

Inoichi allowed himself tears of his own.

"Ino…Noriko…I'm here."

The three of them were taken by a force stronger than gravity as they rushed into each other's arms. Finally, the Yamanaka Family was together again.

Ino could not stop her sobs. "Dad…I…how did you…?"

Inoichi took a moment to compose himself before turning to his daughter. He made sure his face was bright.

"Ino. Naruto is here."

The last thing he expected from his daughter was a look of pain in her eyes. "I know…I saw him…but…" She sniffled back her tears. "I'm afraid…he told me he would come back, but—!"

Ino was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the wet ground. A second later, a group of five orange cloaks appeared around the side of the Hokage Building. They stopped when they saw the crowd, but then continued with a confidence in their step.

Noriko saw the look in her husband's eye as he noticed them. She had seen that look far too often before to be surprised by it, but still it scared her.

"No, dear! Don't do it!"

Inoichi slowly released him arms from his wife and daughter and turned to the enemies. He stood taller than he did a moment before.

"Ino…he told you he was coming back, right?"

Ino looked up at her father curiously. "Y-yeah…"

Inoichi, seeing the fear in his daughter's eyes, did the only thing a father could think of doing: he smiled.

"Then believe in him, just like you did before."

Turning from his family, he brought his hands up in front of him, forming a rectangular frame between his thumbs and index fingers.

"Now come on, you bastards!"

Inoichi took a step forward before firing his jutsu, and the battle began. Ino watched from a distance as she held onto her mother and cursed herself for being able to do nothing to help her father. Just his being alive was enough for her now, but still a helplessness filled her.

Because her father had only returned for a few seconds before he helped her twice: once by saving her life, the second by speaking only a few words:

Believe in him.

And somewhere behind those scared blue eyes, Ino came to believe it.

He would come back again.

- XXVI -

The wet rooftop was cold on Naruto's cheek, and the rain that fell on him was the same; but through his fluttering eyes, in the distance, far away from Konoha, he thought he saw the clouds begin to part a bit, and a sliver of sunlight shone through to the forest below.

It looked warm.

He grit his teeth. His body screamed at him as he moved his arm, reaching for the sword that had fallen away. As he grabbed it, he moved his hands beneath him and pushed, his own weight near proving to be too much; but with a long grunt of pain he lifted himself up, first to his knees, and then slowly to his feet.

His breaths staggered, and his legs were heavy—but his blue eyes, shining with fire, stared forward unflinchingly as his raised sword cut through the rain.

"Good…" Pain stood across from him on the other side of the rooftop, lavender eyes fixed straight ahead. "That's the look I want to see."

Anger flooded Naruto, but he did not lose himself. Though his rage threatened to overtake him, he was sobered by the memories that came roaring back:

It was Pain.

Through his fatigue, Naruto managed to summon the last bit of his available chakra and sent it through his sword. The glowing blue light that surrounded the blade began to catch the rain around it, and it soon swirled with luminous water, a beacon under the dark clouds.

"You're gonna pay…you're gonna pay for what you did!"

As always, Pain showed no reaction; but there was a look in his eyes as he watched Naruto, as if he was trying to see the extent of the boy's suffering.

"Five years ago, when we met on the coast, my memories had gone, too. I'd forgotten who you were…but still, I knew there was something special about you. Only later, when I remembered myself, did I realize: you are the only one…the only who has ever slipped through my fingers…the only one I let get away."

Naruto felt a weight to Pain's words that he couldn't comprehend, as if there was something larger than the two of them present. Was it the stupid prophecy again?

Pain reached into his cloaked and pulled out a kunai. Slowly, he raised his other arm across his chest as his hand clenched into a claw. "All this time I've regretted not killing you. Today is the day I correct that mistake."

Naruto's sword moved with his breaths as the anger grew.

"Such sad eyes," Pain said, "but still…" His open hand turned towards Naruto, and the ringed eyes widened.

"You will never understand the depths of my pain."

SWWOOOSSSHH!

Naruto was pulled forward immediately. Though it was just as disorienting as the first two times, the sword was gripped tighter now—and as Pain made to stab the kunai through Naruto's chest, the blonde brought the blade up to block, and the metal clanged off the whirling chakra. Released from the invisible force, Naruto fell to his feet as the kunai in Pain's hand broke. It was quickly tossed aside, and Pain brought both his hands up and tensed them.

Naruto charged, sword of water slicing through the rain; but each time he thought he would connect, one of Pain's hands was always there—and somehow, they parried the blade of chakra away without so much as a scratch.

"I see," said Pain upon one of his deflections. The sword went further than Naruto expected, and Pain delivered a heavy fist into his gut that sent more blood to his mouth.

"So this is all you have…?"

POOWW!

A spin kick sent Naruto flying back across the rooftop with a splash. It occurred to him that Pain was using a micro version of his powers to deflect each slash away.

Fine, then!

Quickly, he staggered to his feet and charged again as his energy only seemed to increase. The exhaustion didn't matter. The aching didn't matter. The battle below didn't matter. Even the people he cared about the most, at the moment, didn't matter.

All that mattered was beating those eyes to a pulp.

The clang of each attack rang out in the rain. The sword of water shone across the rooftop, as did the lavender orbs that faced it. Naruto would strike, and Pain would dodge or release a small repulsive force to defend. Slowly, the black-cloaked man moved to the centre of the building, and Naruto leapt back and forth like a white fox, each deflection only causing him to go faster. His rage grew, and every time the fire in his blue eyes threatened to go out, it seemed only to grow stronger.

But the ringed eyes that waited for them burned eternal.

Naruto, accepting that his slashes would never work, finally went for a stab towards the chest; it was only as he got too far to stop his approach that he realized he had made a mistake.

"Fool."

Pain dodged with a quick turn of his body, allowing the sword to pass him. As he did so, he kept an arm raised and delivered an elbow to Naruto's face, stopping the boy in his tracks; and his chest was wide open. Pain brought a hand to it and his power of repulsion blasted Naruto off the building. He landed with a thud and a splash on the adjacent roof, the sword falling out of his hand as the chakra on it dispersed and the water fell.

Pain, instead of jumping over, appeared to lift himself through the air, and he landed softly on his feet. Naruto picked up his blade and struggled to his feet one more time; but though he still felt the rush of adrenaline, a somber realization began to set in…

"All this time," began Pain as he approached, "I've been waiting…regretting my failure…"

Naruto, the weight of his eyes finally hitting him, swung his sword desperately; but it was easily pushed to the side and knocked right out of his failing hands. Weakly he tossed a punch forward, but Pain caught it, and their eyes met once again.

"To think I once believed that you could be the one…"

Pain swung Naruto against the wall, and the last of his energy vanished. It took every fibre of his being working together just to keep him on his feet.

"As I thought," Pain said. "This world has no need for heroes. Once, I feared that you may be the one to bring the prophecy forward; but now I see the truth…"

Naruto threw up blood as Pain's right hand delivered a crushing blow to his gut. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head, but still he saw Pain move in closer, and the deep voice whispered into his ears.

"You are no one."

The energy finally evaporating form his body, Naruto collapsed to his knees, limp, before Pain grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. Slowly he took him to the edge of the roof and hung him over the road below.

Now, as he faced the end, Naruto's eyes turned to the dark sky above, and he felt the rain on his face. Too tired to even struggle against the choke Pain had on him, Naruto found himself turning inward, and found for the first time that he had no fear. He thought of nothing: not of his home, not of his parents, not even of Itachi or Ino. Only one thing was on his mind as Pain held him over the road: the light behind the dark clouds.

He wondered what it was.

"Do you see now? My pain has turned me into something far greater than you; and I will use that suffering to unite this world."

One final time, Naruto saw the light of the heavens shining on him.

"Goodbye, Naruto—Agk!"

Naruto fell. Pain's grip vanished as his hands rose to his head; and for the first time, he was in pain.

It was a moment before Naruto hit to the ground, and through the rain and his half-open eyes, he saw the mountain on the north end of Konoha.

CRRAASSHH!

He felt the weight of the world in his body as he landed in the ruins of a destroyed building, and his head tilted up towards the sky, watching it cry.

And as the light left the world once again and the feeling of the rain on his skin stopped, Naruto thought of Ino.

On the roof above, Pain pulled his hand away from his head. There was a thick red liquid on it. Slowly he reached for his cheek, and some more appeared on his fingers.

The eyes of god were bleeding.

Slowly, Pain turned and noticed Naruto's sword on the floor beside him. With a stomp he crushed it beneath his foot, snapping the blade in two.

His eyes fell on Naruto below and gazed for a moment. Pain's voice was deep and righteous; it was as if the heavens themselves were passing judgement.

The word lingered in the rain.

"Weak…"

- XXVI -

"Well…this is a surprise…"

Sakura wasn't sure why she was standing up for what felt like the millionth time. Her head was still pounding from the explosion earlier, her legs threatened to give out beneath her, and the rain felt heavy on her shoulders. Still, even through her heaving breaths and her beaten eyes, she gave off the look of someone who wasn't quite done.

Kiba, the gash on his leg only larger after the battle, and Shikamaru, with a busted shoulder, watched from the ground behind her.

"No, Sakura!" Kiba yelled. "Stay down!"

Her sword raised anyway.

Konan looked down on her from the air. Wings of paper, like an angel's, sprouted from her back and kept her afloat. Even from her face, slips peeled off every so often and flew in the rain around her. Sakura couldn't help from wondering how they never got wet but knew that she had bigger problems at the moment.

"Your friend is right, girl," Konan said. "I don't want to kill you."

Sakura just grit her teeth and kept her green eyes straight ahead. "Tell me…who are you? What are you doing here?"

Konan stared at her for a moment, intrigued by the look on her face: angry, fearful, sad. "I told you already. Pain has come for Konoha."

Pain, Sakura thought. The one with the eyes. Her mind led her to the one memory she had of him; in the scene, a blonde boy her age was on the ground in front of him.

Truth be told, she didn't know anything about Naruto, other than that he was a runaway, and that the village blamed him for that attack five years ago. If word were to get out that he was here for this one, too…

Well, maybe he did have something to do with them.

But there was another part of her that returned to the times just after he left when Ino would come to her and cry because her friend had gone; and though she joined ANBU because she wanted to help Konoha, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if the village really was wrong about Naruto.

She shook her head of the thoughts. This wasn't the time. Win this, she thought, and then find out for sure…!

But it was easier said than done.

"This is your last chance," said Konan. "Stand down…or I will kill you."

"Do it, Sakura!" Shikamaru said.

"Don't be an idiot!" Kiba yelled. "Let it go!"

But the rain was too loud in her ears, and Sakura didn't hear any of them.

She charged, battle cry piercing the air. With a wave of her arm, Konan brought down a wall of paper on her, but she sliced through it; a second later though, that same paper circled back around and formed a giant fist that sent her reeling backwards to the ground.

Sakura dropped her sword and brought her hands in front of her. After a few hand signs, she reached for the ground, and it began to rumble. Suddenly a dozen pillars of earth shot out in front of her and headed straight for Konan—but the paper lady dispersed into a thousand slips and reformed in front of the departing attack. Soon she was in front of Sakura, and with a crossing of her arms in front of her, her paper grabbed the pink-haired girl by the arms and fastened her to the ground.

Konan's wings dispersed, and she fell to her feet. As she walked over to Sakura, Kiba and Shikamaru yelled for their friend; and though both attempted to rise to their feet, or even to crawl over to her, neither of them had the energy left to do so.

Sakura's deep green eyes looked up at the woman standing over her. Konan noticed just how much could be found in them: anger, fear, sadness, pain—but there was something more…

"Your eyes," the paper lady said, "they remind me of myself…"

A chasm formed in Sakura's stomach as Konan raised her hand high into the air. "I can tell that there are things you want to protect…"

The paper from around Konan gathered above her hand and slowly sharpened into a thick spear; one that could tear through Sakura in an instant; one that was pointed right at her…

Kiba and Shikamaru yelled in unison, but to no avail. Sakura thought of Sasuke as she watched Konan's amber eyes narrow.

"But there are things I want to protect, too."

Konan's hand dropped, and Sakura closed her eyes…

But nothing came.

When she opened them again, all she saw was Konan with a shocked expression on her face. The paper beside the purple-haired woman softened and dispersed before gathering back onto her body.

Suddenly, Konan turned around, and Sakura followed her eyes. There under the dark clouds, finally ascending towards the top of Hokage Rock, was Hidan.

Pain followed closely behind him.

Konan only watched for a minute before beginning to walk away. Soon she stopped, and the paper around Sakura's arms returned to her, the girl falling over to the ground.

"I'll leave you alive this time," she said, "but you should get out of here…before you give me another reason to kill you."

With that, the wings once again formed on her back, and she flew through the air to join her partner.

Sakura, Kiba, and Shikamaru were left in the middle of the road, nothing but shock on each of their faces. It all happened so fast that it seemed to not even happen at all—but Sakura knew.

If Pain was alive, then Naruto was…

- XXVI -

The sounds of the battle began to die out across the village.

Kakashi, for the first time in a while, was nearly at his limit. Standing across from Kakuzu, his dark eyes peered into the green ones opposite him, as both enemies hunched and regained their fading breath. It was the end of a fight between two who were even in every respect—at least, that would have been the case, if not for…

Kakuzu snarled. "I must say, I'm disappointed…this is all the great Kakashi Hatake has to offer, is it?"

Though he could see the clouds begin to part outside of the village, the rain still fell heavy on Kakashi. His silver hair drooped in it, and his eyes narrowed to see through it. Still, his voice was calm. "I'm not too ashamed…you look like you're at your limit yourself."

A small laugh escaped Kakuzu. "You may think so…" And then, as if changing the topic, moved his eyes off of Kakashi for a moment to peer around. Though the mask still covered his face, Kakashi knew he was smiling.

"But how many more of your comrades are you going to let die to push me past it?"

From a distance, the battle may have looked even; but scattered on the ground about Kakashi were the bodies of dozens of Konoha ninja, some in green vests and some in the ANBU uniform.

All of them dead.

Kakuzu laughed, louder now. "I suppose you don't get to be the greatest ninja in Konoha without letting a few of your friends die!"

Kakashi's dark eyes were unwavering. He had come face-to-face with death far too often to be shaken by words like that.

Slowly, his arm raised in front of him, his chakra pooling into it. Soon the sound of a million chirping birds filled the wet air as a current of lightning formed into his hand; and in a moment, his fist was dancing with a bright, electric blue.

"Same old tricks?" Kakuzu teased. "No matter…" He lifted his hands in front of him and turned hand signs with his fingers. "This is how you die, Kakashi!"

Kakashi charged, the weight of the lightning dropping his arm to the ground, and the attack nearly formed into a blade as it screamed through the earth. Though he was fast, Kakuzu had ample time to react; but just as he was about to release a jutsu of his own, something grabbed him from behind: a ninja of Konoha, wrapping his arms around his back.

"What!?" Kakuzu growled.

"Do it, Kakashi!" the man yelled.

KKKSSSSHHHEEEEEEEEE!

The blade of lightning pierced through Kakuzu and the man who gave himself up to hold him down. Soon the chakra vanished, and Kakashi quickly pulled back his hand, letting the two of them fall to the ground, lifeless.

Slowly, he walked over to the ninja who had helped him and watched the blood pooling below him. Even if he had twice the skill he currently had in medical ninjutsu, Kakashi could do nothing for him; and just as it had as he watched his other comrades fall, his heart began to ache.

"I'm sorry," he said to the man.

"N-no…i-it…it had…to be done…"

Kakashi had come face-to-face with death far too often to be shaken by words like that.

But they still hurt.

"Thank you," he said, and the man left this world.

"Well…isn't that touching?"

Kakashi's lazy eyes burst open as he began to hear the sound of someone getting to their feet. Slowly he turned to see Kakuzu, with a hole in his chest, standing before him as if unharmed.

"Y-you…what are you…?"

Kakuzu's green eyes turned fierce.

"I'm immortal."

Kakashi could only watch exhausted as Kakuzu began to take off his orange robe. There was something beneath it that he was certain he wouldn't want to see—but he had to. He had to fight. He had to keep going…keep moving forward…for their sake…for…

The energy left his body, and Kakashi collapsed—but just as he was about to hit the ground, another ninja in a green vest arrived and caught him. Kakuzu took the chance to strike, but before he could connect, the man flickered away, leaving him to swing through nothing but the rain.

Kakashi's eyes opened slowly as he hung off the arm of the man who helped him. They turned slowly towards him.

"Asuma…I have to go back…"

Asuma's eyes were on the village around them as they hopped over the rooftops, carefully avoiding the fading battle. Orange, green, and black uniforms fell all around them or else were already on the floor, and only the strongest and the weakest remained. Asuma himself had dirt on his face, sticking to the blood that flowed down from the crown of his head.

"You're in pretty rough shape, pal," he said. "I think you're done for now. We need to regroup…hit them again."

"No…"

Asuma's eyes went to his friend.

"I failed…" Kakashi said. "They died…for nothing…"

The rain almost seemed to be slowing as Asuma turned away from Kakashi.

"You idiot…don't be so arrogant."

I held off on this one to publish at the same time at the next because it's really one big chapter, but I've broken it up for ease.

Next one is out now. Please enjoy.