(A/N: I took a bit from VFSnake's story 'Will of an Uzumaki' to start off this story. I give credit where it is due as well as ask for permission to use these segments when I do. Plus I changed key details so that it isn't exactly the same as the original story…)
They say death is the next stage of life. That it is a natural part of us and the Universe as a whole. I can see that to some extent. I really do. If the death of a person were in fact one of natural causes. Mine...was not!
(Konoha-13 Years after Kyuubi's Attack)
It was raining heavily in Konoha. It was an angry rain. An angry storm. The Heavens themselves lashed out village with lightning and thunder to further show its displeasure of the events transpiring below. For within the village, in the place where the execution square was located, a beaten, bloodied body with blonde hair, blue eyes, and whisker marks was forced to his knees. In front of him was Sasuke Uchiha, wearing a sling on his arm for the arm that was broken by Naruto when they fought at the Valley of the End, and had a smirk on his face at seeing the Jinchuriki before him was in such a position.
"Uzumaki Naruto, for your crimes against Konoha, and being a threat to the village as a whole...I sentence you to death by Chidori to the heart by Sasuke. Anything you would like to say before I give the order to kill you?" said Tsunade with Naruto looking up at her and scowled.
"Yeah. I do, but I doubt you would let me say them because deep down you're a fucking arrogant old hag," replied Naruto before he was struck in the face by Tsunade who had a look of utter fury on her face.
"You will respect me brat. Even before your death, I won't allow such disrespect," said Tsunade with a hint of anger in her voice.
"Respect? You demand respect, yet don't give it where respect is due. Such a hypocrite. Of course, what would you expect from someone who won't get his hands dirty directly and spends their life wasting away drinking and gambling because of a simple few bad memories? The things that I have had to face in my entire life dwarf any and all of your so called horrible memories tenfold and yet I still didn't break and become a sniveling arrogant cunt such as you have become," remarked Naruto before he was hit again by Tsunade again with much greater force.
"Enough! Kill him before he says something that displeases me even further than he has already," replied Tsunade before giving the order for Sasuke to perform the hand signs for the assassination jutsu and end his life.
Behind and all around them, the crowd watched with anticipation. With glee. With joy! They were finally going to see the demon brat die. For them, it was a long time coming, and not a moment too soon in their minds. They had been calling for this day since the time of the Sandaime Hokage, and only now with the Gondaime did they get their greatest wish.
"You think this will end me Granny? Well you better pray that it does. You better pray to Kami and the Shinigami that they can keep my spirit locked away. Because if they can't, I will do everything in my power to come back to Konoha, and see to it this place burns to the ground with all the power of the rage in my soul!" stated Naruto with Tsunade glancing at him with a look that showed a slight amount of fear.
"Unlike my Hokage predecessors, I believe when you die, you will stay dead, and spirits have no power over the world of the living," remarked Tsunade with Naruto smirking at her.
"Is that why you constantly fear your own death? You obviously do since you are always hiding your true age behind that Genjutsu since your real appearance is ugly as sin," mocked Naruto with a chuckle despite the pain it caused him.
"Kill him," commanded Tsunade coldly while the Sasuke had finally finished charging his attack. He charged forward and pierced right through Naruto's chest, puncturing through the heart and making his death all the more certain. And to Naruto's slight horror, by killing him Sasuke's eyes began to bleed slightly as his Sharingan morphed into the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Don't feel so bad dobe," said Sasuke with an evil grin on his face as he saw Naruto look at him in horror for that split second, "with your death you can honestly say that you did something worth something in life by helping me achieve the next level with my Sharingan. I win dobe."
"No," coughed out Naruto as he felt his life bleed out from him at a rapid pace, "I did since even though you had all the training while I had the bare minimum, I was still able to beat you and drag your weak ass back to this village. I'm only in this position due to others torturing me to get me in this state. Even though you have the power you sought after, the memory of your defeat will forever haunt your mind until the day you die and with that fact alone, I can die happy knowing it will cause you nothing but rage since I am stronger, even in death." And with that being said, Naruto laughed with the last of his strength and slipped into the darkness that was death...
And so ended the tragic story of Naruto Uzumaki, but as I said before, death is the next stage of life…
As the cold embrace of death enveloped him, Naruto thought about how the people of Konoha turned on him so easily on the Hokage's command. Not just the usual people either. But those Naruto knew like Anko, Ibiki, Iruka, the Clan Heads, the Jounin senseis, and the Rookies sans Hinata.
Thirteen years ago, Minato Namikaze who was the Fourth Hokage at the time had sacrificed his life to seal away the Kyūbi into his newborn son, Naruto. Before his death, he told his predecessor to treat Naruto as a hero for holding the powerful Nine Tails Demon Fox inside his little body. However, nobody listened to his pleas and soon, Naruto became the most hated person in the entire Village. The blond child was treated as an outlet for the many Civilians and Ninja who lost loved ones during the Kyuubi's destruction all those years ago. All the Civilians fully believed that Naruto was the Demon in human form while some Ninja knew the truth about how seals work, yet they still use Naruto as a punching bag to let out their pain of losing their families and friends without caring about the truth.
Naruto's life began a literal hell for him as he is the target of the entire Village's scorn. By the age of four, he was kicked out of the orphanage he was staying, in the middle of winter and was forced to live in the cold streets for two years until the Hokage; Hiruzen Sarutobi finally found him and gave him his own apartment. Not like it was anything good with its crumpled wallpaper, weak and unstable floorboards and ratty furniture.
He was forced to buy instant ramen for almost every meal since shops won't let him buy food and f they did, they overpriced it or it was mostly rotten. The same thing can be said about the clothing stores who only sell Naruto bright orange jumpsuit with the hopes of him dying while on a mission.
As every other child celebrated their birthdays in cheer and joy, Naruto spent his in anxiety and fear. Every year on the tenth of October, everyone would celebrate the day that Minato Namikaze defeated the Nine Tails. It was also the day when a majority of the Villagers would get drunk and become braver on finding and causing untold pain to Naruto. Whenever they find him, they beat him, cut him, burnt him, choked him, electrocuted him, drowned and even buried him alive on a few cases. Only at that moment when the Villagers are about to finish the job did the ANBU assigned to protect him intervene on his behalf. They would then drop Naruto off to the hospital which was full of doctors and nurses who weren't afraid to drug him in his sleep. Funny how the cause of his suffering was the reason why he was still alive since the Kyuubi's Chakra was the only thing that healed Naruto's wounds and eliminated all the deadly toxins that may find themselves in his veins.
Even through all of the years of literal torture, Naruto never broke from it. He fought on, continued his dream on becoming Hokage and hopefully gaining the respect of the entire Leaf Village.
When Naruto found out about the Kyūbi being sealed inside his body, he didn't break…
When Naruto's childhood crush continued to reject his confessions and even beat him for them, he didn't break…
When Naruto's sensei ignored him in favor of training the arrogant Uchiha, he didn't break…
When everyone ridiculed Naruto and mocked him for having no chance against fighting Neji in the Chunin Exams, he didn't break…
His will never broke, even after all the many hardships he has gone through in his life…
Not until the Sasuke Retrieval Mission did his will finally snap…
Sasuke Uchiha had left the Village in favor of going to Orochimaru who promised the young avenger power that would allow him to kill his older brother Itachi and avenge his fallen Clan. Sasuke didn't even think twice when he left and ran off towards Rice Country for the chance of power. The recently named Fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju sent a team of Genin and one Chunin to chase after the rogue Uchiha and bring him back to the Village. The team consisted of Neji Hyuga, Choji Akimichi, Kiba Inuzuka and finally, Naruto Uzumaki. They had all met different types of resistance in the form of the Sound Four but they all succeeded in the end. At the end of it all, Naruto was the only one who made it to fight against Sasuke.
(Valley of the End)
"CHIDORI!" roared Sasuke who was currently in the second level of his Curse Mark which Orochimaru had kindly given to him during the second portion of the Chunin Exams. Sasuke's skin was now dark-grey and his hair was now longer with a new shade of dark-blue added to it. Web claw-shape wings stuck out of his back and was helping him to fly towards Naruto with his Curse Mark enhanced Chidori that was poised to strike through Naruto's chest.
"RASENGAN!" roared Naruto in his One Tail state. His once blue eyed were now blood red with foxlike slots for his pupils. His whisker marks have Borden darker and his canines have grown slightly larger and sharper. Surrounding the blond is a cloak of red Demon Chakra that has taken the shape of a fox. A single tail of Chakra swings as Naruto leaps at Sasuke with his Kyūbi-enhanced Rasengan.
Both Jutsus clash in the center between the two large statues and a few moments later, their Chakra surrounded each other and joined together to form a black dome that suddenly explodes in a blinding white light. In the light, Naruto and Sasuke were still competing for dominance over each other. Both pulled back their respective arms with their deadly A-Rank Jutsus on hand for one last strike against one another. Sasuke's aimed straight towards Naruto's chest or more importantly, his heart.
Naruto on the other hand, wondered if he should go for Sasuke's chest or his forehead. Deciding to finish the fight in one go, he throws his Rasengan towards Sasuke's chest. Sasuke's Chidori barely scraped off Naruto's clothes before the blond leans his body away from the lightning hand. While Sasuke's Jutsu missed, Naruto's hits dead on into the Uchiha's chest. Sasuke screamed in pain as the spinning ball of Chakra grinds into his chest, violently. With one last battle cry, Naruto pushed harder and launches Sasuke into the statue leg of his ancestor, Madara Uchiha.
Naruto waited for Sasuke to get back up and continue their fight but with all of his Chakra and energy spent, Sasuke isn't getting back up. Realizing that the fight is over, Naruto pulls back his head and roars out into the sky with enough force to shake the very ground he is standing on. In Naruto's fit of excitement, he doesn't notice an extra tail of Chakra that is swinging alongside his other one.
What else he doesn't realize is that not only is everyone in a fifty kilometer radius feeling his power but so is another being, one that has waited countless centuries for a soul like his to arise…
(Leaf - Prison)
Deep underground in the Leaf Village, where only the worst of the worst are held prisoner is a familiar blond thirteen year old who is currently shirtless with the only piece of clothing he has on being a pair of tattered orange pants. He has chains wrap around his wrists and is hanging off of them. With no shirt on, there is nothing to hide the many deep scars that adorn his skin and flesh. The worst one being a fist-size scar that is near his heart.
"Shizune, Kakashi, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Sasuke, Ino, Choji, Yugao, Genma, Iruka, Ayame, Teuchi, Anko, Konoha-..." he mutters to himself while thinking about all the people who he hopes to die a painful death.
Just a day ago, he had returned to the Village with Sasuke with him. He expected some sort of greeting or celebration for him bringing back Sasuke. After all, he is the last Uchiha after all, other than Itachi of course. What he hadn't expected was to be immobilized and quickly knocked out by ANBU. Earlier on, he found himself in his current position with no shirt, headband or the necklace that he won off of Tsunade. That's when Jiraiya and Tsunade decided to grace him with their presence and that is also when he found out about everything.
They never cared for him…
They were in reality using him!
Turns out that both Sannin were his godparents, who were supposed to take care of him if something happened to his father and mother. That didn't happen because Jiraiya thought of Minato as a son while Tsunade thought of Kushina as a daughter so when they both died to protect their child that held the cause of their deaths, the two Sannin didn't see a reason for taking care of him. It went well since Hiruzen wanted a way to use him as a weapon for them to use, in case of another Village attacking during their weakened state.
For thirteen years, Naruto believed in everything the old man said. How he should learn to forgive and forget. How he should try his best to become the Hokage. All the while, laughing at the thought of having him wrapped around their fingers like an obedient little puppy.
Tsunade told him of how she told everyone his status as a Jinchuriki and like she expected, the populace were on their feet, demanding for his death, especially after bringing back their rogue Uchiha in his beaten state, and how she was going to grant their wish in an attempt to allow Sasuke to gain more power from his death. She even allowed his former friends to visit him in his cell to do as they pleased towards him.
They weren't too happy to see him, to say the least…
They all looked at him with such hate that Naruto was wondering if they even thought one second that he was their friend. They mocked him, spat on him and even the fewer brave ones like Kiba and Tenten throw a lunch or weapon his way, not like the ANBU guards even cared. Even his supposed sensei came to visit him but all he did was mock him and what made it worse is that he did it without even looking away from his Icha Icha book.
What truly hurt is how Jiraiya laughed at his idea to become Hokage and gain knowledge meant for who he is. To make it worst, he summoned the old toad, Pa and asked him to wipe Naruto's name off of the contract. The old toad didn't even think twice when he did it, making the pain all the more intense.
Now, he waits for his coming future. Tsunade has been in a cheerful mood so she was happy enough to explain her plans for Naruto. Her great, yet sickening plan was to have Sasuke execute him so as to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan. With that, she believed that they would become the most powerful Village for generations to come. To soften him up for Sasuke, they gave him to Anko, who Naruto had thought would be on his side since she knew that she is ostracized as well because of the Curse Mark that Orochimaru gave her. He was wrong in this case, since Anko found sick joy in burning and whipping the blond Jinchuriki with the best of her abilities. It turned out that by doing so, she was gaining the respect of her fellow citizens in the Village so she was willing to make one in a similair position suffer just to make her own life a little easier.
With that future to come and Anko's daily tortures, the Leaf Village finally did the impossible…
They broke Naruto Uzumaki's will…
"...Neji, Lee, Guy, Shino, Kurenai, Hin-"
"I love you!"
Naruto's cold dead blue eyes gained a slight spark to them as a memory resurfaced. Just a few hours ago, the very first person, let alone a girl, told him that she loved him. Of course, he shouldn't have believed her but with the way she said it with so much conviction, there was no was no way he could deny the truth in her words. To further prove her declaration, she even kissed him. Him! The Demon child that none loved.
"Hinata..." said Naruto as he felt the darkness completely consume him as the memories ended.
"You've met with a terrible fate haven't you," said a voice that caused Naruto to open his eyes and see that he was floating in an endless void of darkness. He wasn't sure where the hell he was since there was nothing there to gain any form of insight of where he could possibly be.
"Who's there," shouted Naruto as he heard his voice echo off into the distance. And out of the darkness came a figure unlike anything he had ever seen. It was a demonic looking skeleton with horns. He had rings on each of his fingers and a backpack on his back as well as a large belt that kept his tattered pants from falling off him. "Who are you?"
"I have gone by many names throughout history boy," said the creature, "in this age I am known simply as the Shinigami."
"So you are the Shinigami," asked Naruto, "you are the one responsible for all that has befallen me."
"That title was given to me by humans who summoned me through means that I had at that point of time unheard of. My real name is Vulgrim and unlike what the legends say about me, I have no true power over life and death as people have said I do over the years. I am nothing more than a merchant of death that trades in souls."
"If that is true then why did you seal the Kyuubi within me?"
"As I said, I deal in souls. Many a man has summoned me throughout time to barter their soul for various things. And if is within my power to do so I grant them whatever it is they desire and collect upon their soul when the time is right."
"So where am I going since I'm dead?" asked Naruto with a sigh, "to hell where everyone from my village said I belonged, or maybe Kami has seen fit to cut me a break and send me to heaven since my life has been nothing short of a living hell since the day I was born."
"You are wrong about many things my young soul," chuckled Vulgrim as he clicked his fingers together as he smiled, "the spiritual plain is in an order of disarray and has been so for many years."
"How is this so?" asked Naruto in shock, "where are the gods to keep things in order as is in their job?"
"There are no gods in the world," said Vulgrim, "they died in the war of Armageddon long ago and there has been none since."
"So how is there balance of any sort if there are no gods to keep it? Is there even a heaven or a hell to speak of?"
"There is both a heaven as well as a hell. And Kami does exist, but he is no god, but only the purest soul to ever exist that ascended to heaven and became a beacon of sorts for those with souls not fully corrupted by sins. Those souls take the journey and find heaven on their own while those who can't feel the beacon of heaven endlessly roam the spiritual plains until the end of times. For while there is a hell, no one can enter it."
"And why can't anyone enter hell? I'm pretty sure that there are souls that are pure evil that would make a beacon to attract dark souls like them."
"While that may be true," said Vulgrim as he thought about that, "there is no one to process the souls themselves to send them to the proper area of hell that they shall remain."
"So if I'm not going to neither heaven nor hell," asked Naruto in curiosity on where this conversation was going, "why are you here in the first place since I died by Chidori to the heart and no one summoned you with a jutsu."
"I have come to make you an offer that I highly doubt one such as you will refuse. For the world needs someone like you to help regain the balance it once had."
"What exactly do you me by 'someone like me'?"
"I have searched for a soul like yours for many years. A tormented soul that would know the true feeling of Death itself since you have felt its cold embrace more times than any human has ever or will ever have in their lifetime."
"You set this up in some way," growled Naruto in anger, "you eagerly helped my father seal the demon within me knowing full well that I would become hated by many and suffer as I have done all my life, all so I would become this soul that you wanted, and for what?!"
"The world as we know it is not the way that it started very long ago. In the beginning, there was nothing but the Void, and out of the Void came a creature of vast power that became known as the Creator. The Creator made three separate realms to keep balance between the various races that would inhabit them. While only two became occupied, the third was meant for them to come together and live in peace. But that is not how the world played out."
"Why are you telling me this," asked Naruto as his anger never left him since he didn't like to think that his life had just been one big scheme for a demonic entity
"All in good time young soul, now where was I? Oh yes! The first realm became known as Heaven and was the home to the creatures that became known as Angels, yet these angels were bred of war and battle instead of the angels the world believes they are like in the modern day. They used technology far beyond your own to their advantage and used it well to make weapons and armor to help them with their everlasting war with the beings of the realm that was their polar opposite.
"And by polar opposite you mean hell right?"
"Yes I do. Not stop interrupting me so that I may finish this story. The second realm became known as Hell and was the home to vile creatures that only lived to sow misery and destruction wherever they would dare to go. These became known as Demons, and unlike the Angels in the realm above, they used brute strength, greater numbers, as well as far more powerful magic then the angels were ever able to accomplish alone. The war between Heaven and Hell waged on through the ages, and as it did, the Creator was heartbroken that all that he had tried to accomplish was being undone. Yet new hope bore fruit within him as he saw a new form of life be born from the constant fighting, like a flower on the battlefield. These new creatures became known as humans and while they weren't strong or as intelligent as the demons or angels surrounding them, the Creator saw a bright future ahead of them. But the angels and demons saw them as a threat in the distant future and sought out to kill them before their lives had truly even begun. So by sacrificing his own life energy, he made the Charred Council, three rock like entities with the power to mediate the realms themselves. And so humanity was given their own realm while the angels and demons stuck to their own. And yet during the war, some angels and demons had somehow found themselves attracted to one another and mated. The children born of their forbidden union became known as the Nephilim, and their power was great. They had the intelligence of the Angels and the brute strength and magical know how of the demons. Soon their numbers were great enough to conquer anyone of the realms they chose, and yet they chose the realm of man to make their own. Soon the slaughter of humanity had begun, and there wasn't a force that could stop them. Yet within the bloodshed of humanity, four of the Nephilim became distraught at what their kind was doing and fled the battlefield and made their way towards the Charred Council for guidance. They were offered the chance to gain the powered needed to fight off their own kind, but in doing so they would forever serve the council. They accepted these terms and became known to all as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They then set out and slaughtered the rest of the Nephilim as ordered, thus saving the remainder of humanity from extinction. And sending a message to the angels and demons to remain within their own realms until the time where the seven newly minted Seals of the Apocalypse were broken. Each seal would become broken when the event engraved onto it as prophesized came to pass.
"So where are these Nephilim that you speak of, since the world is still here and the Apocalypse hasn't happened?"
"That is where you are wrong since the Apocalypse has already happened many years ago, way before. You see with power breeds corruption, and the Charred Council was no exception to this fact. Soon they set things in motion so that they would be able to recreate the realms in their own way instead of the way it was meant to be. They started the process by first falsely summoning War to the realm of man by making him hear the call of Apocalypse, when in fact the Seventh Seal had not been broken. Because of their actions, humanity died out completely without a trace, for Hell won the war and the soldiers of Heaven were scattered into small pockets of resistance. Yet the story of humanity did not stop there, for War's brother Death set out to prove his brother's innocence, and set out to bring back mankind to free him. In his travels, he learned about how his brother was falsely accused and was going to confront the Charred Council with the rest of the horsemen, and yet before he could he was forced to sacrifice himself in the ancient object known as the Well of Souls to bring them back. Yet luck was on his side, for shortly afterwards, War, with the help of an angel, broke the Seventh Seal and called forth Death from the Void that he had hurled himself into all for the sake of freeing his brother. Once called, the truth of what the Council was known to all, and instead of them fighting one another, they formed an alliance and attacked the Councils so that it would never happen again. The war was long and bloody, and most of the alliance fell to the Council's power, and yet with the combined might of the Horsemen, they were able to defeat them once and for all. But the damage had been done and had become too severe for them. As they lay dying from their wounds, they all smiled in the fact that at least the world has a chance to be reborn. For within the war, the entirety of the race of angels and demons had been wiped out, and the world was without gods to help it along. With their dying breaths they summoned me to do one thing for them. They each handed me an item infused with their power, so that just maybe, there would be a Horseman in the future who could stop the world from destroying itself once more."
"So what does this story have anything to do with me in any way?"
"I have searched long for a soul like your own to pass on the mantle of a Horseman. One of the four and if I was correct in my actions you will become the new horseman of Death."
"And what makes you think that I would become a pawn in your sick game?"
"I thought for certain that you wouldn't pass up a chance at revenge for the actions the villagers," chuckled Vulgrim.
"How would it be possible for me to take revenge against them if I am dead," asked Naruto who at this point not truly buying into whatever Vulgrim was selling him.
"When the seals of the Apocalypse were intact, the Horsemen were forbidden from entering the realm of man due to the barrier that only could be breached once they were broken. The seals have been broken for a long time and there are no more Makers to forge new ones, so the barrier that would hinder you has never been resurrected."
"Alright," said Naruto who now understood that with this promised power, he would be able to bring balance to the world with the death of his old village, "you sold me. So what happens now? Do you give me this power that you mentioned yourself?"
"Oh no," laughed Vulgrim as he pointed behind Naruto towards the door that had just materialized behind him, "I can only send you through the doorway, it is up to you to pass the test of the Horsemen and claim their power for your own. But as I said before, you are the perfect spirit to embody the Horseman of Death and that is why I am offering you this chance in the first place. Now good luck young spirit, and may our paths cross once more in the future." Vulgrim then disappeared as if he had never been there to begin with. Naruto turned around and saw a massive set of doors with a skull split down the middle.
He walked up towards them and pushed it inwards with all his strength, since the doors weighed a ton each. Once he did, he walked in and the doors slammed shut behind him. Inside was a large room with four statues that perfectly resembled the Horsemen that had perished long ago down to the finer detail and in front of them was the coffins that held their deceased bodies. In the opposite corner of the room there was a shrine that contained various weapons unlike any he had ever seen in his lifetime. Unsure on what to do here, he walked towards the weapons on the opposite side of the room, but he only made it halfway to is destination before he was stopped in his tracks by a set of runes that appeared below him, the force of which caused him to fall to the ground in pain as a power beyond his own description entered him and prodded through his memories as well as his very soul. The pain was immense and he felt as if his very being was on fire, but shortly after the pain started, he felt a cooling sensation start to creep up from his feet until it reached his head. He looked at himself and saw that his spirit had solidified into a flesh and blood body. He flexed his muscles and felt the raw power that now had become his own. His skin had become far paler then he wanted, but he was just happy to have a body once more.
"You have passed our tests young Horseman," said a voice, that soon materialized into the spirit of Death. Along with him also arose the spirits of the others, War, Strife, and Fury.
"Like his fellow Horsemen, Death is of a race known as Nephilim – among the most powerful beings in the Universe. When Mankind was given the prize of Eden, Absalom – leader of the Nephilim – led his armies against Heaven and Hell in an attempt to steal it back. For this crime, the Charred Council condemned the Nephilim to destruction. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were granted a reprieve from this fate on the condition they aid the Council's victory over their kin. The Horsemen accepted, but it was Death who bore the greatest burden of guilt for the near extinction of his race. Donning his iconic mask to represent his role as executioner on the day he slaughtered his brethren, he has not removed it since." Whispered an echoing voice from out of the blue…
"You are the perfect candidate to embody the mantle of Death," said Death, "For you have tasted death itself far more than any other human has ever done so in their lifetime. Not even torture victims have gone through as much as you have. It is for this reason that I grant you my power as well as my title. Let the world fear the name Death as they have in the past once more." And as he said that, Naruto felt his hand surge with power and solidifies into a sharp clawed gauntlet, as well as two scythes once wielded by death itself flying forward and attached them onto his belt.
"You have known fury for so long against those who would hurt an innocent soul for their own sinful gain are worthy of my power, until the time where the perfect candidate of Fury can be found." Said Fury as her blade whip wrapped itself around his waist like a belt. "Now go forth and seek out the one worthy of becoming the Horseman of Fury."
"You have known great strife after learning the truth behind the lies that have been told to you your entire life," said Strife as his twin pistols Mercy and Redemption fastened themselves to Naruto's belt in their new gun holsters that materliazed to hold them, "until the time where the perfect candidate of Strife can be found, wield my weapons as well as my power. Now go forth and seek out the one worthy of becoming the Horseman of Strife."
"You have known War at such an early age," said War.
"But I have never been in a war in my life," said Naruto as he was confused about that.
"War takes on many forms," explained War, "and you have been in a war of survival since the day you were born. Against all odds you have survived to continue the fight. Until the time where the perfect candidate for War appears, wield my power and turn the tides of War against those who seek to control the world itself." And on Naruto's other hand appeared one of War's gantlets, but it was far too big so it shrunk to the point that it looked like a metallic sleeve to Naruto that covered up his arm up to his elbow.
And with their power and weapons passed down to the newest Horseman, the Spirits of the former ones were finally at peace and faded from existence. Naruto felt the power within himself surge once more and as it did, his body became clothed in a jet black Cowl that he used to cover up his now gray hair wit jet black tips as well as his shoulders, with the rest becoming encased in a gray skintight muscle tee that showed off his newfound muscular body with bulging abs t helped cover the large scar where the Chidori had struck his heart, a permeant reminder on how he had acquired his power as well as to remind him on his new goals were. He walked forward and grabbed the only remaining item on the shrine, Death's mask and donned it on his face. Once he did, a sense of being complete washed over him like a river. He then turned around and left the chamber, which itself faded from existence once he left. Once out of the chamber, a raven landed on his shoulder and cawed in happiness that his new master had arisen, as well as a rotted looking horse engulfed in green flames appeared before him.
"Dust, Despair," said Naruto in a deeper, darker voice as he mounted his horse, "we have work to do." And with that, a portal opened and they rode through it to begin resetting balance in the world…
(3 years later)
In the last three years, Naruto had been busy in his endeavors. Being the only thing of both Angelic as well as Demonic origins (Vulgrim excluded) with the power to mold heaven and hell since there was no countering force to stop him, made it all the more simpler to forge heaven and hell into an appropriate setting. Heaven was formed into a corridor of long hallways that held doorways into different rooms, each labeled with a name of the one who would come to inhabit it in the future. Within each room was a blank space that would solidify into whatever it was that the owners of said room's greatest desires were for all eternity. And if said person was tired of paradise like that, they could leave the room at any time and hang out in the many gathering points or even join up and become one of Heaven's angels the protectors of the realm. Once the realm was formed into a heav3en worthy of the good souls, Naruto helped enhance the aura that Kami himself sent out to summon forth the souls worthy of it. Out of the many that arrived, he chose a few who wanted to help and had them do the paperwork to allow said souls in, for even in heaven people needed guides so as to understand where things were located.
Hell was a different matter entirely, since Naruto had to make sure that those sent there suffered for all eternity until the last shred of their spirit was crushed, then they would become a mindless demon that would torment the future souls that would come to inhabit the realm after them. But to make it extraordinarily cruel for the damned souls, there was only one line to get into hell and once in line, you were stuck in it until you were processed by the single gatekeeper that filed the paperwork for all dammed souls for all eternity. The name of this soul? Sarutobi Hiruzen… Naruto had found it quite hilarious as well as a perfect form of poetic justice to do this to Sarutobi. He had to claim the soul from Vulgrim himself who also laughed at Sarutobi's newest hell and didn't even want a trade for it. At first Hiruzen didn't understand why he was forced to do this, but then Naruto revealed his face as well as his newest title and saw the color wash away from his face entirely. He had tried to attack Naruto, but chains forged from the darkest pits of hell sprung from the ground and held him in place. They forced him to sit down behind the desk he was assigned and begin the never-ending stacks of paperwork alone. From Naruto's account it took about four to six hundred years to become processed into hell. Then the real torture began. Naruto had found many souls that were pitch black, who he knew that hell would seem like heaven to them and offered them a position of power within hell itself as demons to torture the souls for an eternity. They accepted this amazing offer without hesitation, and while Naruto himself didn't like those types of people, they still had their uses in hell. He even came upon the soul of Zabuza Momochi and offered him a spot as Overseer in hell as well, which he took with a hearty laugh. And for the past three years he has been right at home torturing the damned souls of Hell with his most demented of methods. Naruto had also found a few souls with excellent weapon smithing skills in both heaven as well as hell to help forge copies of the weapons he knew that he would have to give up once the other horsemen were located, and while they weren't as powerful as the originals, they would suffice quite well. He had traveled to the now destroyed land of the dead, and it was here that he found the shattered remains of a tool wielded by death long ago called Interdiction, which allowed him to command 3 separate souls. And with the help of the smiths in heaven and hell, they were able to fix it so that he could use it once more. And the first thing he did with it was call upon the spirit of the Kyuubi itself that had perished in his body, but the rest of it remained in his father's spirit. Now he wielded the power of Kyuubi once more…
And now he was here in his clan's homeland known as Whirlpool. He felt the souls of his clan gathering towards him since in their desire for revenge they were tethered to this land and could not move on to the next life. Naruto had made a deal with Vulgrim to never rip power out of him like he did before again for an amulet that was capable of wielding the souls of those who perished near him, for his master plan was to revive his fallen clan as the newest generation of Nephilim so as to keep the peace in the world. But for every soul revived once soul must be used to harvest its life force and revive another soul. So that was why he was here now, to gather up his clan's souls so that one he had enough he could bring them back to life once more. Once he told them of his plan, they surged forward and entered the amulet he held in his hands. With this done, Naruto then mounted his horse once more and made way to Suna, for he felt a disturbance there that needed to be corrected and a friend that most likely needed to be saved…
(Konoha)
Hinata sat in her room. Tears fill her eyes. She wanted to die. She wanted to take a kunai and slice herself across the neck to defy the life that awaited her with Uchiha Sasuke. And of all days to pick for her forced wedding it had to be on the third anniversary of her true love's death! Tsunade felt it would be perfect for Sasuke to get married on this day and to Hinata of all people since the Hokage knew how the girl felt about Naruto like everyone else in the village did. It was to dishonor Naruto, hurt Hinata, and basically make Sasuke happy so he would keep public support in her favor all wrapped up in one neat little package. Sasuke was only interested in her because one, she was a strong kunoichi since Hinata had trained constantly after Naruto's death, and plowed through many a Hyuuga in the spars given to break her down. And two, Sasuke also knew that she loved Naruto and wanted to stick it to him by claiming the one girl who loved him.
'I could do it. Just to see the look on their faces. On my Father's face. On Sasuke's face. On Tsunade's and Jiraiya's faces. But that would be the easy way out. The coward's way out. Their way out of things. Besides, I doubt Sasuke would weep tears at my death, and just call me weak like Naruto for doing it,' thought Hinata, as she looked at the wedding dress she was given earlier to wear to tailor it for her, so that when Sasuke returned from his mission in Suna they would be wed, and hated the idea of wearing it for the Uchiha.
There was only one man she'd wear it for and he was no longer among the living.
It wasn't long before a group of female Branch Family members entered her room to prepare Hinata for her wedding with Sasuke in the near future. However, from what the Branch Family members saw from the look on the Hyuuga woman's face, they would think she was getting ready for her funeral, and burying someone she loved.
In a sense...Hinata was doing just that!
"You look wonderful Hinata-sama. A Goddess fit for any man," said Neji entering the room to see Hinata in her attire.
"There is only one man I want to be with and he's not here," said Hinata while looking in the mirror.
"We've been over this. Your infatuation with the demonic monster has to end before the wedding starts. The only reason Hokage-sama hasn't ordered Yamanaka Inoichi to simply remove your memory of him, is because Sasuke wishes you to keep those memories, and I think your dislike of the Uchiha has been misplaced," stated Neji with Hinata suddenly turning her head and glaring at him.
"I know why the Uchiha wishes me to keep Naruto's memories and it's hardly out of the goodness of his heart or even his souls since he is lacking in one. Sasuke wants to have a victory over Naruto in every way and he wants me to know that by using my body knowing he'll have it instead of the one man worthy of being my husband," Hinata stated coldly with Neji frowning at her.
"I warn you Hinata-sama. This will not be tolerated forever. Do not push it," Neji told her before leaving the room.
'Naruto-kun, if you can hear me on the other side...know that my mind, body, and soul will always be yours no matter what they do,' thought Hinata, as she looked herself in the mirror, and for the briefest of moments pictured the wedding she wanted with Naruto.
And for that brief moment...Hinata smiled while holding onto that moment with all the strength her soul could muster.
She was going to need it… And in her grief, she failed to notice a Raven fly from the windowsill to return to his master…
(I apologize for having to repeat some of the fist chapter, but Vulgrim had to explain the story to Naruto)