Naruto looked down at his body with a distant gaze and a thoughtful expression on his face. The water around his waist didn't even seem to make him feel anything, and his thoughts returned to the necklace the soldiers had taken from him. The last reminder of his father had been taken away, and with all the events after that, he didn't even have time to care about that object.
It made him frustrated, but it wasn't as if he had the luxury of worrying about something so... trivial. After all, it is just an object.
He still has the scars from that day, so, in a way, those memories were branded into his flesh.
Shaking his head, he takes some water and splashes it on his face, feeling some small cuts burn on contact. Too small to leave any marks after they heal.
Turning his head slightly to the side, he faces Sasuke. Now that he stopped to notice his companion, he realized that he was quite different from him.
Sasuke's body had fair skin and almost no scars in sight, Naruto's had tanned skin and was covered with scars, some quite grotesque, and others eye-catching, like the scars on his cheek and eye.
-... You don't even look like you're a warrior.
He commented, and Sasuke turned around, facing him with an arched eyebrow.
- What do you mean?
- You barely have any scars.
Sasuke looked down at his body, shaking his head.
- Courtesy of Orochimaru's special treatment, I guess.
Sasuke said, diving into a deeper part of the lake still wearing those prison pants.
- You, on the other hand, have too many scars.
Tayuya said, sitting on the shore of the lake with her head resting on her arms, which were resting on her knees. Sakura was right next to her, sword stuck in the dirt and arms crossed.
- I still can't believe you survived being impaled by a sword.
The redhead said, pointing to the huge scar on Naruto's chest, where this sword had stuck itself weeks ago.
- You and me both.
He said, running his hands through his wet hair, noticing the intense gaze on him.
- And that scar on your cheek? Obviously from a beast, three sharp claws.
Sakura mentioned, leaning on the handle of her sword.
- It happened when I was much younger. A wounded mountain lion.
She arched her eyebrows, clearly curious.
- Really? And you managed to escape?
- I killed it.
The two women looked at each other and were silent for a while, until Tayuya shrugged.
- I should have known. You were never really normal, were you?
The question makes Naruto snort, and he strides toward the shore, uncomfortable with the pants sticking on his legs.
- You know, - Sasuke caught his eye, also running his hands through his wet hair as he stepped out of the lake. - The first time I saw you, I thought you were not normal. That hair of yours really caught my attention.
Naruto arched an eyebrow, staring at him.
- It's a very exotic color, I've never seen golden hair.
Sasuke said, sitting down next to Tayuya.
- Sakura's hair is exotic too.
Sasuke laughed.
- Well, genetics is a strange thing. When I first saw her, I thought she was different too.
Naruto grimaced.
- What's with all this hair talk? What's the big deal?
he asked, crossing his arms.
-... An unnatural hair color, different from dark, brown and such is only brought out for two reasons. The first, a genetic luck, and the second, experiments.
Naruto arched an eyebrow.
- Experiments? Like, the same ones you went through?
- Precisely. In Sakura's case, she was born this way, something extremely rare and impressive. When I saw your hair, your strength, and your resistance, I immediately imagined that you had been through something in your childhood. Let's face it, you're not normal at all.
Sasuke said, leaning his arms on his knees.
- I agree. Extreme strength, a strong body, golden hair, blue eyes... everything indicates that you were a victim of something in your childhood. - Tayuya said, shaking her head slightly.
- Well, sorry to disappoint, but I wasn't anyone's test subject. I grew up in a mercenary camp.
He snapped the bones in his neck and watched Sasuke stand up next to Tayuya.
- Well, if you weren't a lab rat in some experiment, then I guess the gods blessed you with this body.
Sasuke said with a sideways smile, and Naruto rolled his eyes.
- Again with that bullshit.
- Haha, I can't help it, in a way, I'm a believer. It's even on my armor.
Naruto arched an eyebrow, picking up his sword from the ground and walking right behind Sakura.
- Is that why the armor of your band has a skeletal shape? Because of a god?
- Yes. Susano'o, he-
- Oh, spare me the childish story, please.
Tayuya laughed lightly.
- He's more real than you think.
Naruto rolled his eyes again.
The group walked through the forest with calm but slightly hurried steps. Their eyes occasionally turned to the road beside them, on which soldiers from the army of sound often passed.
Which meant that they were close to a camp, or a town taken by Orochimaru's men.
After some more walking, they crouched down, still in the forest, when they saw a large movement in what appeared to be a prison in the middle of the road, near a bridge.
- This is the blood prison.
Sakura mentioned, almost in a whisper, and Naruto grimaced.
The Blood Prison was known for holding the worst kind of prisoners, or so the rumor had it. The truth was that many of the prisoners sent to that prison were innocent or had committed crimes of a not so large scale. People who discovered the rot of the kingdom, people who opposed the laws that harmed the minority and helped the rich, people who tried to fight for a more just kingdom.
He had only heard rumors, but they all involved torture of their prisoners.
- I am quite sure that if the rumors were right, all prisoners there were taken by the sound army and are being used to get information.
Sasuke said, sitting up on his legs and resting his arms on his thighs as he ran his eyes around the place.
- No way around it?
Naruto asked, earning a strange look from Sakura.
- I thought you liked to fight.
- I do, but please, look at what we're wearing. We barely have any weapons... I prefer to avoid a conflict when I can.
Naruto replied.
- Well, I would like to say yes, but, we are in the south of the fire country. The north is located on a huge island, the other bridges there must surely be guarded as well. Except that the other points are much busier and more important, and few people pass this way because of the prison.
Tayuya replied, putting her hands on her waist.
- That's great.
Naruto leaned his sword on his shoulder and put his free hand on his waist, looking at the guards in front of the gates, and the guards guarding the bridge.
- No soldiers are crossing the bridge. Looks like we will have to go through the inside of the prison.
Sasuke mentioned as he saw a convoy standing on the bridge, some soldiers with their helmets at their feet, talking something animatedly.
- And how will we do this? I know the prison is a bit far from the bridge and the entrance is not visible to the convoy, but we can't go through the front door.
Naruto said, and after Sasuke stood for a few moments in silence and thoughtfulness, he turned to the two women.
-... Naruto will certainly scare them both, I'll be recognized on the spot... but if we tie something on Sakura's head, she could pass herself off as a lost woman who lost her home in the war.
Sakura blinked a few times, before mumbling and sighing.
- Are you serious? I'm going to have to seduce enemy soldiers now? Why not Tayuya?
- Because she has a physique too similar to that of a soldier, you, despite having an excellent physique, are more geared towards an ordinary woman.
Naruto replied, crossing his arms and leaning on the tree beside him. For some reason, men were extremely stupid when a woman was involved in any subject. Stupid when they couldn't control their desires.
Sakura stared at him for a while, until she sighed again.
-... Okay, fine...
She said in mumbles, and Naruto tore off a part of his pants, leaving his thighs showing, and handed them to the pink girl, who began to tie the fabric around her head, hiding the pink threads.
Tayuya crouched down and picked up some dirt, rubbing it over Sakura's body and making it look dirtier and shakier.
- We won't be far away. Just distract them for a while, we'll be there soon.
Sasuke said, and Sakura nodded.
The four of them started moving left onto the now deserted road. They waved to Sakura, and the woman began walking toward the prison at a leisurely pace, feigning fatigue.
Sasuke and Naruto stood with swords in their hands as they snuck around the left side of the forest, where the convoy on the bridge had no view even if they walked down the road, and practically facing the prison gates.
- Hey, Naruto.
Tayuya called out to him, standing right next to him.
- Can I have the sword?
He arched an eyebrow.
- You know you don't need it, as much as I hate to admit it, I don't have your brute strength.
Shrugging his shoulders, he hands the sword to her and faces the situation again.
As soon as Sakura got close enough, they moved. The two soldiers in front of the prison gates walked up to her and they started talking. And despite the cold and rather rude way they talked to her, it was obvious that they were trying to take advantage of the situation, which only made Naruto roll his eyes when he saw that he was right. Men get stupid when they can't control their own desires.
As they got close enough through the soldiers' blind spot, Sasuke and Tayuya took action. The redhead drove her sword into the neck of the first soldier while Sasuke jumped over her body and pierced the skull of the second, holding his body soon after and dragging him away from the gates.
Naruto took the other body and did the same, throwing the two guards into some bushes at the side of the prison.
- They don't have the keys.
Naruto whispered, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. Still crouching, he walked towards the gates and knocked twice on the metal bars.
- Hide yourselves. - He whispered, using the flat surface of the wall next to him as momentum to jump up and dangle above the gates with his sword still in his hands. Naruto and Tayuya hid to the side, and though confused at first, Sakura stood still in front of the gates.
Two other guards looked through a gap at the woman, and made confused faces.
- What... who are you? Where are the guards you were talking to?
a male voice asked, slightly muffled.
- They're the ones who knocked on the bars, said I could come in. Please, I-
She was interrupted when the soldier closed the small window, and Sakura muttered an "asshole" between her teeth.
The gates were opened, and three guards approached her.
As soon as they got close enough, Sasuke let himself fall on top of one of the soldiers, at the same time Naruto and Tayuya moved. The dark-haired man kicked the soldier's head to the ground and drove his sword through his enemy's back. The other soldiers freaked out, but before they could scream, Tayuya slit the throat of one of them and Naruto threw himself on top of the other, knocking him to the ground, covering his mouth and violently breaking his neck, making his head literally turn the other way.
- Damn, none of them have a decent weapon.
Naruto grumbled as he picked up a halberd. Although a long weapon, it was not heavy enough and the blade was too small to compensate for the size of the wooden handle. Throwing the weapon aside, he decided it was better to stick with one of those swords anyway.
- No, but they have decent armor. We got our disguises.
Sasuke said, dragging one of the bodies to the side.
Naruto focused his eyes on the man he had just killed and grumbled. It wasn't going to be comfortable, but it would be good enough.
After a while, they hid the bodies in the bushes and put on their armor. Naruto felt awkward in that dysfunctional thing, but at least the helmet hid his golden hairs and part of the scar on his face.
The worst thing even seemed to be for Sakura, because of her small physique, she seemed to be even more uncomfortable than he was.
- So the plan is to get to the back of the prison, and swim under the bridge to the other side?
Naruto asked, snapping his neck.
- Pretty much. We can't go under the bridge.
- What if they come to us?
- Let's hope we're on the other side if that happens.
-... This plan sucks.
- Hey, I said it's a plan, not that it's a good one. Haha, just kidding, they probably have some boats, no chance of swimming through.
Sasuke smiled and Naruto rolled his eyes. He had no better plan anyway.
They went through the gates and into the prison. The dimly lit corridor had a few doors leading to other soldiers' rooms. Some rooms were empty, probably the room from which the soldiers had come out.
The soldiers present were talking among themselves on various subjects, from a visit to a brothel a week before to Orochimaru's recent plans.
Naruto looked at this with a certain curiosity. That place wasn't appropriate for reviewing strategies and such, but he didn't think they acted that way, almost as if they weren't fighting a war. It was then that he saw the eyes of some soldiers down the corridor he was passing, those same black tomes.
It wasn't all of them, which meant that a large part of those soldiers were originally not part of the army of sound. Of course, by the way they acted, civilians in a hypnosis that made them unaware of the gravity of the situation, probably. They were quite different from the soldiers in front of the gates.
After walking for some time, they reached the door that led to the place where the cells were.
The place was lit by several candles, but because there was no window, the darkness was still very present.
The bad smell invaded their noses and they heard moaning-like noises all over the place.
-... The back must be that way.
Sasuke said in a low voice, covertly pointing to a metal door at the end of the cell room.
Walking through the metal platform, they descended the stairs and the distinctive smell, as well as the groans, became more intense.
- That's...
Sakura tried to say, but fell silent when she saw the inside of one of the cells.
There was a woman with her arms tied on top of her head, her body suspended in the air, her legs spread and tied by ropes that left her totally exposed while a man moved between her legs, making the sound of skin against skin echo with her moans. Her face had an expression of pleasure, mixed with the bruises across her cheeks, her purple eye and a cut on her lips, clearly made by blows.
Her body was in a similar situation, only with uglier and larger bruises and whip-like marks.
They were startled at first, and as they walked along, they realized that she was not the only one in that state. Several other women were in similar situations.
What caught Naruto's attention however, was seeing some women with a bulging belly, clearly pregnant, lying on beds with a table full of food beside them.
- What the...?
He whispered, momentarily losing himself in that situation.
- Women capable of bearing children with chakra are brought here. As I said, they serve to give birth to the children of various men... until the moment of their death.
Sasuke said in a whisper, his face impassive, always looking forward.
Naruto widened his eyes for a moment and then gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. His chest tightened and he hoped that Ryuzetsu would not meet the same fate, otherwise...
He should have tried to take her with him when he had the chance... hmpf, that was the point, he didn't had the chance.
Not that it made that feeling of guilt go away.
He pushed those thoughts away, this was no time to lose focus.
- Konan...
He heard Sasuke whisper, and turned to where he was looking.
A blue-haired woman was in the same situation as the one before, with a tall, slightly muscular man between her legs, her expression filled with pleasure.
- Who is she?
Naruto asked, just before they started walking again.
-... Yahiko's best friend and girlfriend.
He answered with a cold tone. Naruto stared at him for a while, until he looked away.
They walked as fast as they could until they reached the metal door, which fortunately was open.
They then reached the prison yard. It was covered by a newly built roof, since it was not yet completely finished. The floor also seemed to have been recently renovated and there was a faint smell of paint in the air.
Next to it was a room still under construction, taking up half the space of the courtyard.
They stared at it for a moment, before facing a stairway that led up to the top of the walls and up to a tower at the far end of the courtyard. From there, it should be relatively easy to reach the river, or if necessary, to jump to it. But that would not be necessary; at the base of the tower, there was a door.
With quiet steps, the group walked to the tower, but before they got close enough, a shiver ran down their backs, and they widened their eyes as they felt the surrounding air suddenly become cold, with an overwhelming presence around their bodies.
- Now, now, I confess you ran away faster than I thought you would.
Yahiko's voice made Sasuke click his tongue in frustration, and the four of them turned to him.
The man was without a helmet again, his dark armor coupled with his height emphasized his slightly intimidating appearance, if not for his orange hair.
His expression was neutral, but there was something different in his eyes. Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion, he swore that that man's eyes were not like that when they last saw each other.
In fact, he had never seen eyes like those... purple eyes with ripple patterns outlined by black circles. A purple that seemed to glow through the darkness of the place.
- Sasuke, you see, if you had been a good boy, Orochimaru probably would have taken you back. - He walked a few quiet steps toward the group, now, weapons in hand. Yahiko stopped a few meters away from the group and stared at Naruto, who, wanting or not, felt intimidated by those eyes that seemed to watch his soul. - I can't say the same about your friend... he would certainly be killed for the things he has done.
Yahiko raised his hand slightly, and Naruto noticed a ring on his finger.
- Although, I must admit that for a human, you are extremely capable. I guess it's no surprise, what didn't awaken in Minato, did in you.
He said, and Naruto narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth and clenching the hilt of his sword.
- Sorry, asshole. I don't know any Minato.
Yahiko's eyes flashed in a strange way, until he let out a nasal laugh.
- No, there's no mistaking that hair. Impressive to survive all this time. We received information that your mother was killed while you were still in her belly. But Orochimaru thinks you are too dangerous to be kept alive.
Naruto was about to ask something, but Yahiko raised his hand, and unconsciously, the blond man shut up. There was no pressure, there was nothing that had forced him to shut up, his body simply seemed to have lost its voice.
- You have a chance, Sasuke. Come back, and maybe Orochimaru-
- Shut up, you moron.
Naruto said almost in a growl, angry at that situation, angry at that place, angry at that guy, and most of all angry at his own body for not obeying him.
- I don't want to hear any bullshit from someone who doesn't care about seeing his woman being fucked by another man.
Naruto said, his eyes wide with blazing blue and a cold tone of voice.
Yahiko stared at him, eyes equally open and in a threatening glare, fists clenched, causing Naruto to snort.
-... Right.
His voice seemed to change, it became deeper and seemed to echo through the courtyard. Yahiko raised his arm toward the group now in battle position, and the whole place began to shake.
The surrounding walls seemed to melt and take a different shape, still the same color. The ground turned black and a noise similar to screams from deep within a deep cave began to echo throughout the place.
The sky turned black and Naruto's eyes widened at that change that should have been impossible to happen.
In front of him, the ground began to crack, a hole began to open and the screams of agony became even louder. A fire-like light came out of the hole, and soon, the head of a huge humanoid creature appeared.
Purple eyes, similar to Yahiko's. Sharp teeth, pale skin, and skeletal. On top of its head, a crown with a Kanji meaning "king".
- What the fuck is this?
Naruto growled as he felt a black hand come out of the wall grabbing his arm, but he cut it off with a quick flick of his sword, watching wide-eyed as the armor of his arm marked with the hand of whatever that thing was.
Sakura did the same with a hand that tried to grab her leg, and she stood with her back to Tayuya.
In front of them, the humanoid creature opened its mouth, and another giant bird-like creature seemed to come out of its throat. An elongated yellow beak with black stakes in its nose, purple eyes like Yahiko's, long and large body, larger than a horse's. Grayish feathers and claws the size of daggers.
Sasuke opens his eyes and a wave of energy spreads out, preventing the place from changing completely and weakening part of Yahiko's apparent powers. As a consequence, a huge discomfort in his eyes.
- The King of Hell seems to have taken a liking to my eyes. I must thank Madara for this. If you had stayed with us, Sasuke, maybe this pathetic barrier of yours would have been of some use.
Yahiko said, and a huge broadsword appeared in his hand. Bigger than the sword of Naruto's father, and certainly heavier.
The humanoid creature went back into the hole and disappeared, just before the huge bird roared and attacked the group.
They jumped to the side, and Sasuke drove his sword into one of its feet, causing it to be dragged along with the creature.
- Sasuke!
Sakura shouted, running towards him.
Naruto turned toward the pink woman, but soon, his instincts screamed, and as he turned, he defended himself from a swift attack coming from Yahiko in full reflex. A strike strong enough to throw him violently to the side.
Tayuya threw her helmet aside as it was more in the way than the help, and attacked Yahiko quickly, but he simply defended the attack with his sword. The two blades couldn't even be compared, since Yahiko's was as big as he was.
Forcing his arm, Yahiko made Tayuya stagger to the side and raised his sword intending to cut her body in half. However, Naruto was faster and attacked him, attempting a horizontal strike with his blade.
Yahiko realized this and quickly parried his attack, blocking Naruto's blow. But the blond didn't stop there, and turning his body to the side, he punched the man in the unguarded face.
But to his surprise, Yahiko just grabbed his fist with his hand, and the pupil in his purple eyes seemed to dilate as he looked at the blonde.
Tayuya quickly attacked him, but before she could hit him, Yahiko lifted Naruto with both arms and hurled him toward the girl, who was thrown to the ground with the strong impact of the blonde's body.
- That punch, hit on a normal human, is certainly dangerous. It's a shame that Minato was a failure. So much potential wasted.
Yahiko brandished his sword towards Tayuya, who dodged backwards as Naruto jumped over her body and attacked Yahiko. However, he defended the attack with his sword and threw Naruto aside, trying again to attack Tayuya.
The woman dodged by leaning her torso back, and quickly attacked with a piercing blow towards the man's chest. Yahiko dodged and tried to counterattack, but could only defend against a blow coming from Naruto, strong enough to drag him backwards.
Yahiko raised his sword and threw it at the standing Naruto. The blond man's eyes widened, and as he threw his body to the side, he grabbed the hilt of the sword still in the air. But the force with which the man threw his blade was so strong that Naruto was dragged backwards, but recovered.
- Thank you for the sword.
Naruto said, wielding the sword with ease and smiling as he saw the twinge of anger in his opponent's eyes.
Yahiko ran toward him, and Naruto brandished the huge sword at great speed, spinning his body as he knelt with his left leg.
Yahiko's pupils again dilated, and he leaped the blade at great speed, startling Naruto.
The man then, still in the air, spun his body around and kicked Naruto in the face, sending him into the wall. Naruto grits his teeth, but recovers quickly, being able to dodge Yahiko's punch that cracked the wall behind him.
The blond then hits a headbutt on Yahiko's nose and kicks him hard in the stomach protected by his armor, but hard enough to make him take a few steps back.
Tayuya appeared at his side and landed a punch to the side of the man's face, giving Naruto the chance to strike once more, hitting Yahiko with a left uppercut, and finally pressing the man against the wall.
Tayuya raised her sword and swung it towards the man's head, however, Yahiko recovered quickly and landed a strong punch to Naruto's face, deflected Tayuya's blade, hitting her with a kick to the stomach, causing her to drop her sword.
Yahiko grabs the hilt of the blade still in the air and hurls the sword at Naruto, who dodges it by rolling his body to the side.
As he gets up, however, Naruto takes Yahiko's huge sword and spins his body around, slashing the side of the leg of the huge bird that flew past behind him with Sasuke and Sakura hanging on his body.
Turning around again, Naruto uses his sword to defend himself from his opponent's kick, but he dropped the blade in the process due to the strong impact of the blow.
They both began a hand-to-hand fight, and despite Naruto's tremendous speed, it was clear that Yahiko was superior.
Trying to land a punch on his opponent, Naruto growls as he sees Yahiko holding his arm tightly and not letting go, countering with a strong punch to his face.
Tayuya tried to help him, but still holding Naruto's arm, Yahiko deflected the blade of the woman's sword with the armor on his arm and hit her with a kick to the stomach. Turning to Naruto again, Yahiko hits him with a punch to the stomach, further tightening the arm he was holding.
Turning around, he dodges a sword attack again, and kicks Tayuya in the leg, bringing the woman to her knees, finally, he hits a strong kick to her face, sending her backwards.
Naruto then dodges Yahiko's next punch and hits him with a hook to the chin, followed by another punch to the center of his face, causing the man to let go of his arm. Spinning his body around, Naruto tries to land a kick on his opponent, however, Yahiko was quicker, stepped to the side and kicked the only leg supporting Naruto's body, causing him to go to the ground.
Tayuya jumps up and lands a strong punch to Yahiko's face before he could do anything to Naruto, giving the blond time to get up.
As soon as they got up, however, they were again forced to throw themselves backwards, dodging an onslaught coming from the huge bird.
Sasuke and Sakura fell to the ground right in front of them, and Naruto grabbed Yahiko's huge sword as soon as he got up.
The man and the hellbird attacked at the same time, this time against different opponents.
Sasuke dodged Yahiko's first attack and counterattacked with his sword, imitating the same movement as the man only at a slower speed. Yahiko dodged, but Sakura acted quickly and hit him in the shoulder with her sword, making Yahiko close his eyes slightly when he saw the red in Sasuke's eyes.
- Heh, Sharingan, huh?
He punched Sasuke in the face and kicked Sakura in the chest, advancing towards the brunette soon after, seeing, at a glance, Naruto dodge an attack from the huge bird and cut his leg open.
Tayuya jumped on Naruto's sword, catching momentum on the blade and throwing herself towards the huge bird with her sword.
However, the creature flung itself aside and tried to swallow the woman, but Naruto was faster and threw the huge sword towards the monster, making it bite the blade.
Tayuya spun her body still in the air and landed gently, running towards the bird and sliding her body across the ground, slicing the side of the beast's leg, which roared in pain, dropping the sword from its mouth.
Naruto grabbed the sword still in the air and made a quick slashing attack on the side of the beast's body, being surprised to see that it was not enough to make a deeper cut.
- This beast's feathers are tough!
Naruto growled, and his eyes widened as he saw the creature spread its wings and a shower of laminated feathers shot towards him. Snapping his tongue, Naruto put the huge sword in front of him and deflected most of the feathers, feeling them hit the side of his armor that was becoming more and more mangled by the force of the feathers' impact.
His instincts scream, and Naruto ducks down just as the huge bird finished its attack, dodging a Sasuke that was thrown violently in his direction. As he ducks, Naruto takes advantage of the momentum of his movement and brandishes the huge sword at Yahiko, who was running towards Sasuke and stared wide-eyed as he saw the blade heading towards him at great speed.
However, to Naruto's surprise, the sword stopped inches from Yahiko's body, as if it had hit an invisible wall. In front of him, the sound of a violent wind formed, and Naruto could see something like a wind barrier where the sword had hit.
Yahiko then raised his arm toward Naruto, and before the blond could do anything, Naruto's eyes widened and he groaned as he felt his body suddenly being thrown backwards, as if he had been run over by a moving horse, only times stronger. His armor was destroyed with the impact of whatever that was, and Naruto spat blood as he felt his back collide with the wall of the tower at the far end of the yard.
Sasuke stood up just as Naruto's body crashed into the wall, and before he could even say anything, he was forced to dodge a punch coming from Yahiko, followed by several blows at extreme speed.
Sasuke's red eyes watched each of the man's blows, and at a certain moment he manages to block one of his attacks and open up an opportunity to act.
With his sword, he begins to repeat the same movements as Yahiko, who, like him, had begun to dodge his attacks. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke attempts a diagonal cutting blow, but Yahiko deflects by leaning his body to the side and counterattacks with a punch towards Sasuke's face.
The brunette's red eyes widened, and he saw the blow approaching quickly even with his eyes activated. Holding his breath, he felt blood trickle down his face and bother his eyes just before he moved swiftly to the side and, with one swift movement, severed Yahiko's forearm.
The man's purple eyes widened, and he soon groaned as he felt his body being thrown backwards, and a punch hit his face shortly after he recovered, sending him to the ground.
Tayuya swings her sword at the huge bird's foot as it prepares to attack Sasuke, and then deflects a sharp blow from one of the beast's claws.
- I see... you have awakened three tomes...
Yahiko's cold voice seemed to echo through the place, and Sasuke watched the man stand up as if nothing had happened.
- Not very impressive... Madara had awakened something beyond, something he called Mangekyou, compared to him-
Yahiko was interrupted by a strong blow from a huge sword that threw him violently backwards, causing him to crash into the wall.
Sasuke's eyes widened and he looked at Naruto, who immediately hurled the huge sword at the giant bird, driving the blade into the side of the creature.
His armor was broken, leaving visible the tensed muscles of his torso. His angry blue eyes seemed to glow in contrast to Sasuke's red ones.
- I told you to shut up.
Naruto said with a low but cold tone, watching Yahiko who stood up with blood dripping from his mouth.
- Persistent bug. If I had control of this eye, you wouldn't stand a chance.
Yahiko said, wiping the blood with the back of his one hand.
- Hey, Sasuke... I noticed that he fights differently against you.
Naruto said, standing right next to Sasuke and snapping his bones, caring little for the blood dripping from his mouth.
-... My Sharingan can keep up with him. He's not very-
- Whatever, let's go!
Naruto cut him off, running towards Yahiko with extreme speed. Sasuke was surprised at first, but did the same.
Naruto tried to punch the man, but he dodged it by throwing his body to the side and countered with a punch from his right arm, which was now his only way to attack. Naruto ignored the pain of the punch, however, and countered with a hook to his chin, causing Yahiko to stagger backwards.
Sasuke moved forward quickly and attempted a side slash with his sword, but Yahiko recovered quickly and tried to move away, only to be hit by a kick from Naruto, forcing him to the side and enabling Sasuke to penetrate Yahiko's armor with his sword.
Behind them, Sakura cut off one of the huge bird's fingers, causing the beast to roar and a strange energy to emanate from its body.
Behind the two women, the several feathers that had fallen to the ground began to move, and the two turned as they saw that they were returning to the huge bird, but attacking them as they moved.
Both women deflected the feathers as best they could, and as they turned, Tayuya gritted her teeth as she was thrown upwards by the beak of the bird, which now opened its mouth to devour her.
Sakura however, stuck her sword into the side of the creature's foot and ran underneath it, taking momentum on her other foot and leaping upwards, grabbing onto the handle of the huge sword that was stuck into its body.
The huge beast moved violently, trying to throw Sakura away, who just held on tighter to the blade, just before being thrown along with the sword to the side.
Tayuya landed on the back of the huge bird, which soon spread its wings and threatened to take off. However, the woman ran behind its back and drove her sword into the neck of the huge creature, which roared and staggered backwards in an attempt to get the woman off its back.
Tayuya held on to the hilt of her sword stabbing at the bird's neck as best she could, however, she soon went wide-eyed as she felt the creature's tail strike the side of her body like a huge, heavy whip, destroying the stricken part of her armor and throwing her to the side. The woman groaned as she felt her back hit the wall.
The bird then focused on Naruto as the blond was thrown towards him and crashed into the side of his body, so hard it made the creature fall.
Tayuya's eyes focused on Naruto for a few moments, before focusing on the ceiling. Although distorted, they were still in the yard of that prison, and the roof was not finished.
By coincidence, the wooden columns supporting the roof were cracked from the impact of bodies being thrown through the air.
- Sakura!
The woman shouted, pointing at the column.
Sakura's eyes widened and she held up Yahiko's huge sword. Gritting her teeth, she ran toward the column and struggled to wield the sword many times heavier than the ones she was used to using.
The blade crashed against the column, and something creaked. Tayuya ran towards the bird still on the ground and thrust her sword back into its neck while Sakura ran towards the other columns, also destroying them.
The ceiling creaked, the pink one ran for cover and Tayuya got off the bird, getting away from there as fast as she could.
Sasuke ran up to Sakura and pulled her away, barely escaping falling roof on top of the huge creature. The animalistic roar echoed through the place, cracking the black sky. But despite the weight on the beast's body, it was beginning to move, threatening to rise.
Sasuke ran towards Yahiko and Naruto took the huge sword from Sakura's hands, running towards the bird, leaping into the air and in one swift, ferocious motion, decapitating it.
The ground shook, Tayuya punched Yahiko in the face and Sasuke stuck his sword in his leg, finishing with Sakura who hit him in the head with a piece of wood that had fallen.
Naruto pulled away from the creature's body as the ground opened up, again the screams of agony and pain echoed through the place, as loud as before. The sound of intense flames mingled with the screams, and black hands pulled the body of the huge bird into the hole.
Yahiko recovered quickly, and raising his hand, he hurled the people around him away, and in front of him, the ground began to open up again.
However, Naruto acted quickly and threw the huge sword towards Yahiko, who cancelled what he was doing and dodged the blade.
The blond man ran towards him trying to punch Yahiko, however, he dodged to the side and using Naruto's own momentum against him, threw him backwards, getting up soon after.
Yahiko tried to grab his sword, however, Sakura hit him again in the head, but this time, Yahiko recovered quickly and spun his body, hitting the pink one with a kick in the stomach, followed by a punch in the face making her "fly" to the wall.
Tayuya attacked him with vicious blows from her sword, scratching his armor and making cuts across his face. But Yahiko reacted quickly, and grabbing the woman's right arm, he breaks it in one swift motion. Tayuya cries out in pain, but even with her arm broken, she acts, turning her body and punching her opponent in the face with her left arm, sending him reeling backwards.
Another wave of energy emanated from Sasuke, and the black sky cracked even more, weakening Yahiko's powers once again.
In one swift move, Naruto hit Yahiko's torso with the huge sword, destroying his opponent's armor and throwing him to the side.
Sasuke acted quickly, landing a kick to Yahiko's torso, turning his body and thrusting his sword into his abdomen.
Sakura landed another blow to his head, and with a sharp piece of the ceiling debris, she stabbed one of Yahiko's eyes. A scream of pain echoed through the place, and the black sky cracked even more, letting the sunlight pass through the gaps.
Tayuya landed a kick to Yahiko's face, Sasuke landed a punch, and before Sakura could attack him, a strong gust of vacuum causes him to throw himself backwards, moving away from the group.
However, as he does so, he widens his eyes as he feels his back crash against Naruto's chest, and before he could do anything, Naruto hits him with a powerful punch to the face.
Spinning his body and kneeling at the same time, Naruto brandishes his sword, and in one swift move even for Sasuke with his Sharingan activated, he decapitates Yahiko.
The black sky broke up completely, the distortions occurring on the scene returned to normal, the pressure was gone. Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and fell to his knees, breathing heavily and being helped by Sakura.
Yahiko's head rolls across the floor, and Naruto drives the huge sword into his skull, throwing his head to the side.
Taking a deep breath, he groans in pain and slightly bends his body, spitting out some blood. Broken ribs, damaged organs, and a piece of armor has stuck in his back.
- The ring...
Sasuke groaned.
Trying to ignore that pain, Naruto crouches down and picks up Yahiko's ring, just before he hears several voices approaching.
- Come on... let's get out of here.
He said in a slurred voice, walking in an equally slurred manner toward the door of the slightly cracked tower.
According to the author, we are coming to the end, the story should not go beyond twenty chapters. Sad.