Deva returned to the ground 'My power won't be recharged for some time after that. I'll need to be careful.'

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From within the smoke, the hero had arrived, and he brought backup.

Naruto, now in Sage Mode, looked around "Wait I don't get it, where are we?"

"Where's the enemy we're supposed to face?" asked Bunta.

"Pa!" then Shima showed up.

"What's going on Ma?" asked Fukasaku "Why did you summon us to the Hidden Leaf like we asked you to?"

"I'm afraid I did, this is the Hidden Leaf Village." this caused them all to freeze.

"I don't understand, what the heck are you talking about Granny Shima?" asked Kichi.

"Just take a close look around."

Naruto looked ahead, and through the smoke he could see the Hokage Monument "There's no way…"

"It's obvious to me who did all this, I sensed the same energies as when we rode atop Jiraiya-boy's shoulders."

'So it's him…' Naruto gripped his fists 'It's time to end this.'

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One of the ANBU cleared away the rubble "Lady Tsunade, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine-" then Tsunade froze when she saw the wreckage "Wh-What is all this?" her thoughts flashed to Pain "Damn you, you will pay! This is unforgivable!"

"Yes, it is." then the ANBU noticed something 'The mark on her forehead is gone, she's already released her Mitotic Regeneration jutsu and given her chakra to Lady Katsuyu to protect the villagers from Pain's jutsu, so now she's powerless.'

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Mizuki emerged from the protection of one of Katsuyu's clones "Ow…"

"You alright Mizuki?" one ninja knelt down beside him "Talk to me."

"I'm fine…" then he looked down at Iruka's body 'Iruka…'

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Ino quickly pulled Danzo out of the rubble "Are you alright?"

"This carnage…" Danzo muttered "It's unforgivable."

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"Konohamaru!" Asuma pulled Konohamaru and Ebisu out of the rubble "Are you alright?"

Konohamaru coughed a little "Yeah, we're fine."

"I see. Good." then he looked at Kakashi's body and hung his head 'Kakashi… rest in peace my friend, I did the last thing you asked of me.'

"Thank you."

Asuma looked back, but saw nothing, and he stood "Stay here."

"Where are you going?" asked Konohamaru.

"I'm going to end this myself." and he leapt off.

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Shikaku met up with Shikamaru "You okay Shikamaru?"

"Well I'm still alive." Shikamaru pointed out "But I think my leg is broken."

"Then I think you should count yourself lucky if that's all you suffered in that attack."

"Yeah but think about it, they possess a jutsu this powerful but they didn't use it when they first attacked the village. That means that they had a purpose in coming here, and now that they've finally fulfilled that purpose so they changed their approach from gorilla hit and run tactics to an all out offensive on the village as a whole."

"You got an idea of who?"

"I can only think of one thing. The Akatsuki."

"Sounds about right, so that means that their target must be…"

"Yeah, Naruto. I sure wouldn't survive if I relied solely on luck, but I was lucky to survive that."

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Deva stepped forward in front of Naruto and the toads "Good, now I don't have to hunt you down."

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The Naraka Path was quick to use his ability to summon King of Hell and have it repair the Asura Path.

The Animal Path was when launched towards where the Leaf Village once stood, while Konan promptly dissipated her Paper Clone.

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"Summoning Jutsu!" Animal summoned the other four paths, and they all landed alongside Deva in the crater.

Then Tsunade appeared in the crater, barely able to stand "I am… the Fifth Hokage… how dare you trample upon the jewel… the dreams of my predecessors… I won't forgive you! I'll settle this now, as the Hokage!"

"It appears you understand a little about pain." Deva noted "However, I have no need of you right now."

Asura shot forward "My business is-"

"WITH ME!" a green blur suddenly appeared out of nowhere and shattered Asura with one sharp kick to the back.

"I've gotta hand it to you Bushy Brow." Naruto suddenly appeared beside him "You're a hell of a lot stronger now than last time I saw you."

"Same to you, I can see you've mastered Sage Mode."

"Yep, but what's your deal?"

Lee touched the white markings around his eyes "Oh these? Three words. Leaf. Dragon. God."

"But that's a gigantic tornado, how'd you get this from that?"

"The Leaf Dragon God involves channeling the energy and projecting it outwards, this is what I've gained by containing it within my body. I call it Dragon God Mode, it increases my physical strength and speed several times over and channels the energy into my physical attacks. The only problem is that keeping that much power in my body could tear it apart at any moment, how long can I hold out for I wonder?'

"You never cease to amaze me Bushy Brow."

Tsunade froze when she looked at Naruto, seeing silhouettes of Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage beside him 'Naruto…'

"There's no need for the Hidden Leaf's Hokage to bother herself with the likes of them. You just sit back and sip some tea Granny Tsunade, Bushy Brow and I can handle this."

"So you are Naruto Uzumaki." Deva noted "And that would make you Rock Lee, the one that Kisame warned me about."

"You're damn right we are, now we're gonna settle this here and now!"

'Deva's power won't be recharged for quite some time, and there's two of them, so in this case that means…' Deva arranged the Human, Animal and Preta paths in front of him while Naraka stayed behind.

'Bushy Brow took one down, so that means there are five left. Gamakichi!"

Then Kichi came down "What's up?"

"I want you to take Granny Tsunade somewhere safe."

"Let me take care of that." then Asuma showed up "I'd like to help you guys but I doubt I'd be much help in something like this. Just be sure to win."

"Right. And Asuma-sensei?"

"Yeah?"

"Keep the rest of the village out of this, Bushy Brow and I will take over from here and we can't be worrying about everyone else, especially not during a fight like this."

"Sure, but here." he took two Katsuyu clones from his vest "Just take these, she'll definitely come in handy. She's got intel on all of the Pains."

Naruto promptly hid Katsuyu in his clothes, with Lee doing the same "And one more thing Asuma-sensei. I probably shouldn't bring this up right now, but now that I've mastered nature energy I have the ability to sense everybody's chakra."

"Really?"

"And I can too." Lee pointed out "When Tatsu gave me access to my chakra back on Mount Koryu, he gave me a little of his sensory abilities."

"Nice."

"So that brings this up." Naruto continued "Are Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei on missions away from the village or something?"

Asuma said nothing.

"I see. Anyway, remember not to let anyone interfere."

"Right. And Naruto? Lee?"

"Yeah?"

"Win." then Asuma took off with Tsunade and Gamakichi.

"We will."

"Summoning Jutsu!" Animal summoned a gigantic Rinnegan rhino and sent it charging forward.

"I've gotta say Bushy Brow, you taking that one down with one kick was pretty impressive. So how about this?" Naruto grabbed the rhino by the horn, stopping it with ease, and threw it high into the air.

"Summoning Jutsu." Animal summoned a Rinnegan ox and multi-headed dog.

"Geezer Sage."

"Right!" Fukasaku and Shima leapt into the air "Sage Art: Frog Song!" they trapped the animals in genjutsu.

Naruto charged in and formed a single clone, who then formed several hand seals "Wind Style: Vacuum Blast!" he hit the summoning animals with sharp blasts of wind, sending them into the air "Chief Toad! Gamaken! Gamahiro!"

"Right!" the toads charged upwards.

"What's with this one?" Naruto looked at the Preta Path.

"According to Asuma-sensei's intel, this one is capable of absorbing chakra so ninjutsu is useless against him."

"Looks like this is your guy then."

"Looks like. I was gonna use Frog Kumite, but I guess you're up."

"Right." Lee charged in and thrusted a kick.

Preta dodged it, only to gain a deep cut across his cheek and be sent tumbling back until he hit the rubble with a loud thud.

"That's how it's done."

"How'd you pull that one off?" asked Naruto.

"Oh I just subtly channeled wind style chakra into my fist and combined it with the properties of the Leaf Dragon God, it's an attack that he can't absorb because he can't see it coming." he looked up to see the toads finish off the Rinnegan summons "Well that's done."

"And we can't waste any more time. Let me finish this with my new jutsu." he formed a single Shadow Clone.

"I see, so you've become a Sage." Deva finally spoke "Then you've mastered the same jutsu as Jiraiya-sensei."

"Jiraiya… hold on, you called him sensei?"

"That's right. I also learned jutsu from Jiraiya, he was once my master as well. That would make us sibling students, since we share the same sensei we ought to be able to understand each other. Our master desired peace."

"Just shut the hell up already!" Naruto formed a large, blue, spiralling shuriken.

Lee blinked "Hold on, Naruto isn't that-"

"Everything you've done here, all of this destruction, what part of any of that could possibly be peaceful?!"

"You simply cannot see the forest for the trees." Deva retorted calmly "You're not able to comprehend the true meaning of peace or what I'm trying to accomplish. Just allow yourself to be captured, surrender and your death will lead to peace."

"I already told you to shut the hell up! Sage Art: Water Style: Rasenshuriken!" he launched a water Rasenshuriken forward 'Looks like that secret Rasenshuriken training I did back at Mount Myoboku is really paying off.'

The paths jumped out of the way, with Human stopping to throw Animal out of the way.

'Now for the finisher!' Naruto closed his fist "Expand!" the Rasenshuriken expanded even further and exploded, obliterating the Human Path.

"Summoning Jutsu!" Animal summoned the gigantic Rinnegan bird.

Naruto leapt over the bird and landed back on the ground beside Lee.

"It appears that Deidara and Kisame were right, these boys clearly do not listen."

Naruto looked back to where where toads were struggling against the multi-headed Rinnegan dog "Sorry Chief Toad!"

"Naruto!" Lee snapped him out of it by dragging him out of the way of the Rinnegan bird, then drew his nunchaku to stop Animal's black receiver "Naruto, snap out of it!"

"Right, sorry."

"You're really beginning to slow down." Deva noted "It seems that your Sage Jutsu is rapidly starting to wane, did you use up your Sage Jutsu chakra with that last move of yours?"

'Dammit, my Sage Mode is going to run out. Before it does I have to bring down at least one of these guys-'

"Now!" Shima leapt into the air "Sage Art: Wind Style: Sand Dust!" she fired a stream of wind from her mouth, creating a massive dust cloud.

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Next thing Animal knew, she was shrouded in darkness, a mysterious figure attacking her with a rapid barrage of punches and kicks.

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Deva looked around but couldn't see 'Where are they?'

"Gamabunta, now!"

"Right!" Gamabunta opened his mouth.

Lee's Shadow Clone emerged holding Animal with his nunchaku, and the real one kicked Animal into the air "Dragon Style: Primary Lotus!" he slammed Animal into the ground with a Dragon-powered Primary Lotus, creating a mid-sized crater as the markings around his eyes suddenly disappeared 'Dammit…'

"Nice work." Naruto appeared next to him, the markings around his eyes having disappeared as well.

"So you've both exhausted your power." Deva noted.

'Even in Sage Mode, I can only manage 2 Rasenshuriken each. And by the looks of it, Bushy Brow can't hold that power inside of him for any longer than I can maintain Sage Mode.'

"Finally, here's my chance." Deva charged.

"Bushy Brow, I need you to cover me for a second."

"What are you going to do?" asked Lee.

"I'm out of Sage Mode right now, I can fix that problem but I'm gonna need a minute. Cover me." and he ran off.

Lee stood in front of Deva "You'll be dealing with me for a moment." he ran alongside Deva as he drew his nunchaku to stop the black receivers.

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Naruto prepared to use the scroll on his back to enter Sage Mode 'I can replenish my Sage Mode two more times, meaning that I can only produce four more Rasenshuriken. I'm a lot better with fire and wind than water.' he slammed his hand down "Reverse Summoning Jutsu!"

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"Die." Deva thrusted forward a black receiver.

Lee found his nunchaku shattered 'Dammit!'

Then Naruto appeared and shattered the receiver using his Sage Mode chakra, then sent Deva flying with a kick "Thanks Bushy Brow, but I'll take over from here."

"Actually, I just finished storing up enough strength." Lee regained the white markings around his eyes "We're on equal ground again."

"Nice."

"But forget that right now, how did you get your Sage Mode back?"

"I prepared a few Shadow Clones before we left Mount Myoboku and I have them building up my Sage Mode chakra, then I just have to summon Mount Myoboku and dispel them, and then I've got instant Sage Mode."

"Only you could come up with something that creative."

"Yeah well bite me." Naruto summoned another Shadow Clone and prepared to fire off his second Rasenshuriken "Since water only got one, fire should get too. Take this! Sage Art: Fire Style: Rasenshuriken!" he fired a Rasenshuriken "It's over, you're mine!"

However, that was when Preta suddenly reappeared and absorbed the Rasenshuriken.

"What? No way!"

"Don't forget, that's his ability after all." Lee pointed out "That one can absorb any ninjutsu."

"Yeah but I thought you took care of him, you kicked him square in the face."

"Yeah- Hold on, look over there." Lee pointed to where Naraka stood, the King of Hell having been fully summoned.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"According to Asuma-sensei and Master Jiraiya's intel that Pain is the key player in this battle, the one that has the ability to bring the dead back to life. That's why that one took the back when they all lined up in formation. The Pain on the left is the most dangerous though, he can repel all attacks and pull things toward him."

"Like a magnet."

"Exactly. According to Lady Katsuyu though, he hasn't shown his full power yet. Maybe he can't use it for some reason though."

"Well whatever the case, the first thing we have to do is get rid of that guy at the back." he formed a Rasengan in each hand "Hey Bushy Brow, do you have any smoke bombs on you?"

"A few, why?"

"Use them. Now."

"Alright." Lee threw one to the ground, and from the smoke a Rasenshuriken was hurling towards the Pains.

"It's useless." Preta stepped forward and attempted to absorb the Rasenshuriken.

However, the Rasenshuriken disappeared and Lee appeared in its place "What you tried to absorb was actually a transformation!" he kicked that Pain into the air.

"Tricky bastard."

Then Naruto hurled a Wind Rasenshuriken from within the smoke "There's no time for you to dodge this one, you're through!"

"Almighty Push." waiting until the last possible second, Deva's power was finally restored and he dissipated the Rasenshuriken with ease "Well it seems my power has finally returned."

"Maybe, but it's not over yet!"

"That's right!" Lee suddenly blitzed in front of Naraka "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he summoned 5 clones that all kicked him into the air and blitzed through him with a fierce barrage of swift attacks "Dragon Style: Hidden Lotus!" the original ended it by slamming him to the ground with a fierce kick, shattering him beyond recognition, and the clones dissipated "That's four down, two to go."

Deva stared at Lee and Naraka 'Back then, this one had already leapt into the air under the cover of the smoke.'

"Now Naruto, finish that one!" Lee charged at Deva.

"Right!" Naruto prepared to punch Preta's lights out.

'Just in time! Almighty Push!" Pain sent both Naruto and Lee flying and tumbling to the ground.

"Bushy Brow, you doing alright!" Naruto got back up on his feet.

"I'm fine, what about you?" Lee got back to his feet and rejoined Naruto in front of Pain.

"I've been better."

"Now!" Gamabunta, Gamaken and Gamahiro all charged at Pain at once, only to miss.

"What was that jutsu he used just now?"

"Looks like his gravity manipulation powers have recharged themselves." Lee noted "I wasn't here when it happened, but if I had to guess then I'd say that was the jutsu that Pain used to destroy the village."

"Anything else?"

"The more power he uses, the longer time period before he can use it again."

"So that's why he couldn't use that repelling jutsu until just now, so what can we do? I can't use ninjutsu or taijutsu on him."

"Well according to Asuma-sensei's intel, our minimum time is about 5 seconds so we'll have to target and strike in that time."

"Only 5 seconds?"

"Then perhaps our best hope is to trap him with genjutsu." Fukasaku suggested.

"But we both suck, we can't pull off genjutsu to save our lives."

"We'll do it for you Naruto-boy, Lee-boy, just like back when Jiraiya-boy fought Pain. It was going to be our means of escape."

"Alright, I'm counting on you guys."

"We've got you cornered, there's nowhere for you to run!" Gamabunta and the other toads cornered Deva and prepared to finish it.

However, Deva leapt into the air and held out his hands "Almighty Push!" he sent them all flying with one blast, sending them tumbling out of the Leaf's borders.

"Chief Toad!" Naruto looked in the direction they were thrown, then quickly turned his attention back to Deva.

"Naruto." Lee let out a gulp.

"This is gonna be a lot harder from here on out Bushy Brow, I can sense that the one with my awesome hairstyle is the most powerful of them all."

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Ino looked out at the carnage of the battle "What's going on down there?"

"Naruto and Lee are down there fighting Pain at this very moment." Katsuyu told her.

"They're what? All by themselves?"

"Yes, and they've asked that no one interfere in this battle."

"Then I guess all we can do is have faith and trust Naruto and Lee to win this battle and defeat Pain."

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"Chief Toad and the others, they were blown away so easily." Naruto muttered.

"Naruto-boy, Lee-boy, listen." Fukasaku spoke up "This genjutsu that Ma and I are about to cast requires an enormous amount of Sage Jutsu chakra, so it's going to take a little bit of time before the jutsu really gets going."

"Alright, Bushy Brow and I are gonna go for that five second interval so just start the genjutsu when you guys are ready."

"Remember, you only have one Shadow Clone left that can make Sage Jutsu chakra for you Naruto-boy. Once that one is gone you won't be able to use Sage Jutsu chakra since you can't stay still during a battle to build up more and your Sage Mode will only last another 5 minutes."

"I know."

"We've already beaten four of the Pains." Lee pointed out "The only ones left are the one with the gravity manipulation and the one that can absorb jutsu."

"Yeah, I know."

"I must say that you're both truly strong Naruto Uzumaki, Rock Lee." Deva praised "This is the farthest that Pain has ever been pushed. But now more, it's over. Universal Pull." he quickly pulled Naruto towards him, allowing the Preta Path to restrain him "We're going to end this right now.

"Naruto!" Lee attempted to rush to Naruto's aid, only to notice while he was running that his markings had disappeared again 'Dammit!'

Deva grabbed him and slammed him to the ground, then promptly pinned him to the ground by stabbing his hands with a black receiver, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Bushy Brow!" Naruto found himself unable to break free of the full nelson.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you. After all, you are a precious jinchuuriki."

"Get real, did you really think you could hurt me with this move? Underestimating Sage Mode is a really bad idea, and now it's my turn to-" then he suddenly froze.

"Yes you're right, Sage Mode is indeed troublesome."

'What's happening? I'm losing power! Wait, I get it. This guy's ability, he's sucking all of the Sage Jutsu chakra right out of me.' then he paused in his thoughts, staying as still as he possibly could.

"The Kyuubi has now been captured."

Naruto looked up "Not yet, I'm not done yet."

"You're quite the stubborn one aren't you?"

Then Naruto smirked 'That's it, not being able to move right now would be just perfect.' so he paused, the Sage markings reappearing around his eyes.

"It seems you've accepted your fate."

Then the markings disappeared and Naruto's eyes shot wide open, and Preta began turning into something akin to a frog "I guess you didn't know about this, but nature energy is really hard to control."

Deva's eyes narrowed and he watched as Preta turned completely to stone "What is this?"

'I force fed the Pain holding me in a full nelson too much Sage Jutsu, and now he's turned into a stone frog.' with some strain, Naruto broke free of the hold, but now he was out of Sage Mode chakra.

"Sage Jutsu chakra, seems it comes with his fair share of risks."

"Alright, now we're finally down to just you. I've just gotta free Bushy Brow and summon my last Shadow Clone.'

"Well unfortunately, that's not correct."

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"These pains are only puppets." Lee told him through the pain "According to the data that was gathered by Asuma-sensei and Shizune, there is another that's manipulating this Pain and the others from a distance, from the shadows, the real Pain?"

"The real Pain?"

Then Fukasaku and Shima finished gathering Sage Jutsu chakra "Alright we're ready now, let's do it ma."

"Universal Pull." Pain pulled Fukasaku towards him.

"Geezer Sage!" Naruto attempted to stop Pain, to no avail.

"I've had enough of that genjutsu." Pain drew a black receiver and promptly stabbed Fukasaku through the chest, killing him.

"You bastard!" Naruto formed hand seals "Wind Style: Air Bullets!" he breathed out several blasts of air.

Pain easily dodged them then threw Fukasaku at Naruto "Universal Pull." he pulled Naruto forward and slammed him to the ground, then pinned him to the ground by stabbing him with a black receiver the same way he did to Lee.

"Dammit…" Lee rasped out.

Pain knelt down in front of both of them "So tell me, has this tamed you at least a little Kyuubi?"

"What the hell are you?" Naruto snarled "What do you want? Why the hell are you doing all of this?"

"You ask me why? Sometimes things happen randomly, and the reason only becomes apparent afterwards. These circumstances, well perhaps I can try and explain it to you." he stared hard at both Naruto and Lee for a moment "You asked me why I'm doing all of this, but even if I told you why I doubt very strongly that the knowledge would change anything at all, but let's say I take the time to explain it to you. What do you think would happen then?"

"I have nothing to say to you."

"My goal is to fulfill the dream that even Jiraiya-sensei was unable to achieve. As I said earlier, what I want is to create peace and bring about justice."

"Create peace? Bring about justice?" Lee growled "You can't be serious! Don't think you can fool us for a second!"

"You think I'm trying to fool you?"

"What you're saying is absolute bullshit!" Naruto snarled "You killed my master, you killed both my teachers, you hurt our friends, you destroyed our village! After all of the horrible things that you've done, don't you dare even think you have the right to talk about peace or justice or anything of the sort!"

"Then tell me, what goal do the two of you strive for?"

"First we're gonna kill you, and then me and my team will all bring true peace to the entire shinobi world!"

"...I see, that is indeed noble of you and that would indeed be justice. However, what about my family? My friends? My village? They suffer the same fate as this village at the hands of you Hidden Leaf ninja. How is it fair to only let you Hidden Leaf ninja preach about peace and justice?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Once, the Land of Fire and the Hidden Leaf had grown too big. To protect their national interests, they forced feudal clans to wage war against each other, and they even profited from it. Otherwise the people from the villages would have starved. As it happened our little nation and its villages became a battlefield where the Great Nations waged their war, and each time it happened our nation was ravaged and laid to waste. After many such battles the Great Nations stabilized, but our smaller nations suffered and it barely recovered. You and I are both seeking the very same thing, we both want to achieve the peace that Jiraiya-sensei envisioned. You and I are the same, we're both motivated by our desire for peace and justice. The justice that I have delivered against the Leaf Village is no different from what you are trying to do to me. Everyone feels the same pain of losing something dear. You and I have both experienced that pain. You strive for your justice, and I strive for mine. We're both just ordinary men who have been driven to seek vengeance in the name of justice, and if one comes to call vengeance justice then such justice will only bring further vengeance and trigger a vicious cycle of hatred. Right now you live in such a cycle, I know the past and can foretell our future. It is the same as our history, so we believe that human beings simply cannot understand each other and they never will. This shinobi world of ours is ruled by hatred and hatred alone."

Naruto reflected on a conversation with Jiraiya about how the day would come when people would understand each other and live in peace.

"So Naruto, how would you confront this hatred in order to create peace? I want to know what your answer is."

"...I don't know. I don't have an answer."

"But you see? That is why I formed the Akatsuki, to break the cycle of hatred. I can put an end to it, but I need the Kyuubi. I must have his power in order to achieve that goal. I will use the power of all nine Tailed Beasts to create a Tailed Beast weapon many times stronger than the one that flattened this village, strong enough to wipe out an entire nation instantly."

Naruto's head snapped up, the same with Lee "A Tailed Beast weapon?"

"I'm going to show the world what true pain is, and stop all war with the terror that pain will inspire. I shall lead the world down the road to stability and to peace."

"But if you do achieve peace through those means then it isn't true peace!" Lee protested.

"Human beings are not the most intelligent of creatures, this is the only way that peace can be achieved. Of course, after several decades that pain too will naturally fade with time. It will no longer act as a deterrent. Humanity will return to war again. This time they themselves will use the Tailed Beast weapon against one another and reconfirm what true pain is, and then for a time peace will briefly be restored again in the course of this endless cycle of hatred begetting more hatred. This unbearable pain will give rise to momentary peace, that is my dream and my goal. Peace is now within our grasp. You argue that my vision of peace is merely a lie, but in this cursed world a peace where people truly understand each other is nothing but fiction."

"But Pervy Sage believed that one day people would come to truly understand each other and live in harmony!" Naruto protested "You're the one who's wrong!"

"Empty words, you don't even have an answer for how you'd achieve peace." he drew a black receiver "Your only option now is to give me the power of the Kyuubi for my own use, and then after that, as I told you, your death will lead to peace."

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The rest of Team Guy was rushing back towards the Leaf.

"You two, stop!" Neji activated his Byakugan and leapt atop a tree.

Guy followed him, along with Tenten "What's wrong Neji?"

"Take a look." Neji pointed to where Gamabunta lay in front of them "That's Lord Jiraiya's summoning toad."

"What?!"

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Pain stabbed Naruto in the shoulder with another black receiver, having already pierced him with several more throughout his body "There."

Naruto felt his chakra was being disrupted 'Pain's chakra is getting inside of me.'

"I've avoided any vital spots and kept them shallow, but you will no longer be able to move on your own."

'Dammit!'

"Snap out of it lad!" Shima croaked "No matter what he says to you, you must not listen to any of it! You're the Child of Prophecy, the saviour of this whole world! Jiraiya-boy and Pa risked their lives for you because they believed in you! No you're not allowed to lose Naruto-boy, if you give up now then I won't ever forgive you! You hear me?!"

Pain promptly shut her up with an Almighty Push 'No amount of divine powers will be able to fix my ears after hearing all of that squawking and croaking.'

"You bastard!" Naruto snarled.

"Enough talk, it's time we were on our way."

"Gentle Fist!"

Pain was forced to retreat back to avoid a blow.

Hinata stared at where Naruto and Lee were bound 'How cruel, restricting Naruto and Lee's movements with those rods. I won't let you hurt Naruto anymore!"

Naruto wasn't exactly grateful, he was more pissed "Hinata why did you come out here?! Just run, you can't win!"

"No. I'm just being selfish now."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean? Hinata don't put yourself in danger like this, just go!"

"I'm here because I want to be, this time I'm going to save you Naruto."

"...As much as I hate to interrupt this sweet moment, you are aware that I'm still here too aren't you?" Lee pointed out.

Hinata just ignored him "I used to be such a crybaby, always giving up before I even got a chance to start. I almost took the wrong path so many times that I lost count, but you helped me find my way and take the correct path Naruto. I always chased after you, wanting to catch up with you, wanting to walk together with you for so long. You've changed who I am Naruto, your smiling face was what saved me Naruto. That's why I'm not afraid to die here if it means I can protect you." she looked back at him and smiled "That's because… I love you, and I always will."

Naruto's jaw dropped 'Hinata…'

"So she finally told you?" Lee guessed "It's about time, I haven't been this frustrated waiting for a relationship since Robin and Starfire on Teen Titans."

"Who and who on what?"

"Not important."

"...Hold on a minute, you knew about this?!"

"...Are you really that stupid? Literally EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the entire village knew about this."

"Are you kidding me?!"

Hinata smiled softly at this, then turned back to Pain 'I will protect Naruto.'

Pain drew a black receiver from his robe 'The Byakugan, so this one is a Hyuga.'

Instead of attacking, Hinata broke one of the black rods binding Naruto.

"Almighty Push." Pain stopped her from breaking the other rods by sending her tumbling back with an Almighty Push.

Hinata charged.

Pain sent her flying with a sweep of his hand, then stood between her and Naruto.

'I can't get close to Naruto like this, but I have to do something. I know, I can still use that technique.' she channeled chakra into her hands, forming two blue lions 'I can't let it end like this, if there's even the slightest chance of reaching him then I have to take it! Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists!" she charged in with her new technique.

Pain easily dodged almost all of the strikes, but lost his concentration for a brief second, allowing a blow to connect.

'Now's my chance!' Hinata managed to destroy another black receiver 'One more time!'

"Almighty Push." Pain sent her flying into the air.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried out.

Hinata hit the ground with a loud thud.

"Hinata! Hinata! Hey! Dammit! HINATA!"

Dreaming of when Naruto once saved her, Hinata slowly regained consciousness when she had heard Naruto calling for her 'Naruto…'

"Hinata!"

Slowly, Hinata struggled and climbed back to her feet, and slowly limped forward, only to collapse. But she bravely stood and continued on.

"Just stop, please just stay away."

Hinata just continued on, reflecting on how Naruto supported her during her match with Neji in the Chunin Exams, and how he said that he liked people like her, until she collapsed again. Even as her legs failed her, she bravely crawled forward.

"Why?" Pain finally spoke "Why would someone as weak as you try to resist? Why would you fight me when you know you'll only die?

Hinata gripped the black receiver, feeling the presence within it "Because… I never go back on my word… because that's my nindo… my ninja way…"

"...I see. In that case, I shall allow you to die knowing that you stayed true to your ninja way to the very end." Pain levitated her into the air, then slammed her down to the ground with a loud thud.

Naruto could only stare in horror, with Lee just as bad 'Hinata…'

Pain then proceeded to stab her with a black receiver while they watch "It was just like this when my parents were killed right before my eyes by shinobi of the Hidden Leaf."

Naruto was more focused on the blood pouring from Hinata.

"Because of the existence of love, sacrifice is born as well as hate. And one comprehends, one knows pain."

Naruto's eyes turned to red slits, and he was enveloped in dark crimson chakra.

"Do you hate me now?" the only response Pain received was a roar 'The power of the Kyuubi.'

Naruto's skin began peeling.

"Rage summons him forth."

Naruto shattered the black receivers restraining him and immediately burst into his four-tailed form, unleashing a small twister.

"Almighty Push." Pain nullified it with his Almighty Push.

Naruto looked at Lee and easily slashed off the black receiver restraining him with one sweep of his tail.

Lee stood "Naruto, is that still you under there?"

"Fraid not kid."

"Wait, is that you Kurama?"

"The kid let his anger take over, now the big bad is in charge. Anyway, I'm gonna give you a little boost." he placed a hand on Lee's shoulder, instantly enveloping him in a Version 1 chakra cloak "Now hurry up and use the Eight Gates."

"What? But I can barely control the energy inside me as it is, if I unleash the Eight Gates then it might kill me."

"This will protect you from that and absorb the damage, now stop whining already and do it!"

"Well against the Rinnegan, what choice do I have? Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate of Joy: Open!" he opened the Sixth Gate, unleashing the blue vapor.

"Unleash your Asakujaku first."

"Right." Lee blitzed in front of Pain and kicked him into the air, then suddenly blitzed up in front of him "Fire Style: Asakujaku!" he hit Pain with a rapid barrage of punches, sending him crashing to the ground.

Pain landed on the ground just in time to avoid an onslaught of debris that Kurama was constantly chucking at him.

Kurama then slugged Pain straight in the face.

Pain rebounded and retreated back atop the rubble summoned by Kurama's attacks.

"Got you!" Lee kicked Pain into the air "Primary Lotus!" he slammed Pain into the ground, with only his head sticking up.

For good measure, Kurama slammed him further into the ground by repeatedly slamming a piece of rubble on top of his head.

"Do you hate me now?" Pain just got back up like nothing happened "Do you still think people can ever truly understand each other?"

Naruto's body suddenly transformed further, unleashing six tails and gain a miniature skeleton of Kurama surrounding his body.

"Very well then, as you wish. But know this. My pain, IS STILL FAR GREATER THAN YOURS!" he then destroyed the ground beneath them, unleashing the water hidden below the surface in an attempt to was Naruto and Lee away and enveloping the battlefield in a thick layer of steam "Let's go." he charged across the wet surface.

Kurama-Naruto shot forward several chakra arms.

Pain swiftly blitzed across the surface of the water, easily sliding along the chakra arms.

Naruto shot forward a barrage of Continuous Tailed Beast Balls.

"Almighty Push." Pain used his Almighty Push to deflect the oncoming barrage "Is that all you've got?"

"Wind Style: Dynamic Entry!" Lee suddenly shot out of the smoke and slammed his foot straight into Pain's face, sending him tumbling back.

Pain stopped himself on top of the watery surface "Not bad." he leapt back and started pushing out Almighty Push blasts from his hands, bringing the rubble down on Naruto and Lee in an attempt to crush them.

Naruto burst out of the top, dragging Lee with him.

Pain fired off a black receiver.

'Now!' flaring the blue vapor surrounding his body, Lee fired a rapid barrage of Asakujaku outwards in an attempt to completely free themselves.

Then Naruto was suddenly bound by blue chakra threads wrapping around his body.

'What's that? What's going on?'

Naruto suddenly forced his hand into his chakra enveloped chest and ripped something out, revealing a certain object.

'Wait, is that… Yes, that's the First Hokage's necklace! I remember reading that the First Hokage was able to subdue Kurama, this necklace must have a sealing jutsu infused with his chakra.'

Naruto slowly held it out to Lee "Hurry… take… now…"

"You want me to take it?"

"Yes… take… keep safe…"

"Alright." Lee took the necklace and stuffed it in his pocket 'So Kurama's influence was too strong for the seal.'

"Fight… win…" Naruto suddenly blitzed out.

'Alright, time for round 3.' Lee followed his movements and blitzed away.

'Here they come.' Pain waited for them to make their move.

Naruto and Lee charged at him from both sides.

'They're fast!' Pain managed to use his bare hands to deflect the chakra arms and fire fists being thrown at him "Almighty Push!" he soon found himself overwhelmed, but he managed to repel the attacks with an Almighty Push.

Then Naruto suddenly charged through the water being pushed up by the blast and grabbed Pain by the face.

Pain deflected the arms and kicked Naruto in the face.

Naruto remained unfazed and extended his chakra arm to grab Lee and pull him back forward again.

'Impossible, he withstood my Almighty Push!'

"Wind Style: Dynamic Entry!" using the wind style chakra to clash against the pull of the Almighty Push, Lee burst forward and kicked Pain straight in the face, sending him tumbling back and slamming into the cliffside head first, only to be crushed by the falling rubble immediately after.

Naruto slowly emerged from the water, pulling Lee back and keeping him behind him with one of his tails as he slowly gathered chakra for a Tailed Beast Ball.

"Universal Pull!" Pain shot out of the ground and used his Universal Pull and summoned a gigantic slab of rock to crush Naruto in an attempt to counter the Tailed Beast Ball, the collision resulting in an explosion that shook the entire battlefield.

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From where he and Anko were on a mission away from the village trying to track Kabuto and capture him, Yamato suddenly winced 'What's this?' he looked at his palm 'What? No, it can't be…'

"What is it? What's wrong?" asked Anko.

"Don't tell me, he undid the sealing jutsu? 6 tails, that's just insane." Yamato stood "There's an emergency, I'm sorry but I have to get back to the village right away!" and he took off as fast as his legs would carry him.

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The battle raged on.

Pain burst out of the ground, his headband gone and his robe shredded "The power of the Kyuubi, it's magnificent."

"Naruto!" Lee leapt back to down to join him.

"Back… away…" Naruto suddenly sent out a shockwave.

Pain was forcefully pushed back by the shockwave, and once he recovered he began retreating away.

Naruto charged after him.

'I get it, he's trying to force Pain to move the fight away from the village so nobody would be caught in the crossfire and Hinata could be taken away safely.' Lee quickly formed a hand seal and summoned a Shadow Clone "Hurry and take Hinata to Ino so she can be treated, I'll go provide Naruto with backup. This is one fight he can't win alone." and he took off.

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Pain charged through the forest, only to see Naruto running alongside him 'He caught up with me so easily…'

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Lee pulled up on the other side.

'So he's caught up too.' Pain continued fleeing, jumping down cliffs, across streams and through a forest until he finally stopped 'Good, I'm finally close enough.' he hid behind a tree and slammed his hands together, then formed a small black sphere and sent it into the air.

Naruto suddenly fired a barrage of chakra blasts as he and Lee appeared before him.

Pain leapt out of the way of the blasts, his hands still clasped firmly together "Planetary Devastation!" he began raising debris and rubble out of the ground.

"Naruto wait!" Lee tried to stop Naruto from charging in.

Naruto quickly pushed Lee out of the way before he was caught in a ball of rock and debris.

"Naruto!" Lee found himself in a ball of debris as well, both of them being carried up into a large moon-like ball of rock and earth in the sky 'Dammit, at this rate I'll have to use the Seventh Gate.'

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Naruto found himself in front of Kurama in his subconscious 'Why? How did it ever come to this?'

"Stop screwing around you idiot!" Kurama barked.

Naruto blinked and shook his head a few times to snap out of it "Kurama…"

"Look, sorry about this but we're gonna have to go for eight tails if we wanna get out of this jutsu. Only thing is, he'll end up finding out about that fail safe.'

"Is that really the only chance? That means I might end up losing control even further and you could break loose."

"I'll keep myself in check, now stop whining! Your bushy-browed friend out there is about to unleash the Seventh Gate, at this point he's gonna kill himself!"

"...Fine, eight tails but no more."

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Yamato noticed the 8 symbol appear on his palm 'Eight tails?! This is bad, this is really really bad!'

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"Eight Inner Gates: Seventh Gate of Shock: OPEN!" despite the tremendous amount of pain he was already feeling, Lee opened the Seventh Gate.

With a furious roar, Naruto burst through the surface of the Planetary Devastation, now almost completely transformed into Kurama "Bushy Brow…"

"Naruto… Naruto is that you in there?"

Naruto looked down at him "I don't know what I look like to you right now, but my mind is perfectly clear. Listen to me, you've gotta let the energy of the Leaf Dragon God out of your body."

"What? Naruto that's the only reason I've been able to keep up with you and Pain during this battle."

"I know, but if you keep it in any longer while the Seventh Gate is open then it's going to kill you. Nobody wants that, you've got too much to live for."

"...Fine." Lee initiated the upward spin kick "LEAF. DRAGON. GOD!" with a furious roar and incredible strain, he unleashed the Leaf Dragon God, the tornado dragon destroying at least half of the Planetary Devastation.

Pain marvelled at the power they held "I can't believe they're this strong."

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Naruto was now on his knees clutching his stomach "Okay, now it hurts."

"Just bear it a little longer, we're almost through this."

"I know, but the pain…"

"Are you really going to give up like this?" a firm hand clasped Naruto's shoulder "Are you sure you're my son?"

Naruto looked beside him and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head "The Fourth… Hokage?"

"Naruto!"

He looked to see Lee suddenly drop out of the air "Bushy Brow? How the hell are you here?"

"Don't you remember? Tatsu set up that mental link back when we became Team Dragon, but it only works when we're close enough." then he looked at the Fourth "Is that-"

"Yeah. It's the Fourth Hokage."

Sure enough, before them stood the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze stood before them both and smiled "Hi."

"How- When- What?!"

"I worked it into your seal spell so I'd appear in your psyche if it ever happened that the seal unravelled to the point where you had sprouted the eighth tail. Truth be told, I had hoped that it would never get this far, but I'm actually kind of glad it did. I was actually looking forward to seeing the man that my son had now become. You've really grown up, haven't you Naruto?"

"Wait, you called me Naruto. You know who I am? But why? Why in the world does the Fourth Hokage know my name?"

"Simple, I know because I named you. You see, the truth is that you are my son."

Naruto froze "Did you say… your son? Seriously?"

"That's right, like I said before you are my son."

Naruto's jaw dropped slightly, and he managed a small smile, tears falling from his eyes.

"You know, this background kind of clashes with what we're talking about, let's take this somewhere else." Minato snapped his fingers, and then he, Naruto and Lee were surrounded by a white void, void, void.

Naruto wiped the tears from his face.

"Lord Third Hokage never told you anything did he? Well I guess he wanted to suppress as much information about Kurama as he could, if people had found out about my son then you would've been in danger."

"Dad…"

"Yes?"

Naruto then slugged Minato in the gut as hard as he could, tears now freely streaming down his face again "Why the hell would you ever want to seal Kurama inside of your own son?! Do you have any idea what I went through because you did that?! All of the grown ups just looked at me with contempt or with fear, and I couldn't make any friends! I just wanted people to accept me or at least not hate me, so I trained really hard to become as strong as I could! Then I met Tatsu, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei and Pervy Sage, and I was happy because they all helped make me stronger! But just when things were looking up, a group called the Akatsuki came after me so then I had to train even harder than I did before! I got stronger but I couldn't stop the Akatsuki from killing my friends, and I just- I mean I- I don't even know what I'm saying anymore! Dammit, am I supposed to be happy or mad?! I don't even know!"

Minato stayed silent while Naruto was ranting, and he smiled slightly "Naruto, how old are you now?"

"16…"

"I see, you're 16 already. It must've been hard for you Naruto, I really am sorry, though I suppose that's little consolation if I apologize now after having put you through all of those hardships."

"No, it's fine." Naruto wiped away his tears and looked away "After all, I'm the son of the Fourth Hokage. I'll deal."

"Since you asked, I sealed half of Kurama's chakra inside of you because I truly believed that you could master this power. I did it because you're my son." then he turned serious "There's a reason I went through the trouble to do this, and it's a big one."

"It's because Madara Uchiha attacked the Leaf, right?" Lee guessed "You told Tatsu about it and he mentioned that part to us."

"I see. Actually, you're exactly right about that, uh…"

"Rock Lee."

"Right, you're right about that Lee, and I believe he'll attack again at some point."

"But the entire Leaf Village has already been destroyed." Naruto muttered sourly.

"Yeah I know, I saw from inside your mind."

"Wait hold on, you saw that?"

"Yeah, and I know about Jiraiya-sensei too."

"So is Pain connected to Madara somehow?"

"Yeah. Madara is most likely the mastermind behind the Akatsuki, he's the one who wears that mask."

'Mask…' his mind flashed to Tobi "Wait, you mean that guy?"

"Yeah, and when we fought he saw through every single one of my moves. It was extraordinary, I fought alongside Kuroga Kamikaze, Tatsu's father, and he killed him without so much as batting an eye."

"But Tatsu is insanely strong!"

"His father never did master his Tenseigan to the fullest extent. Anyway, I think that Madara is the one using Pain."

"No way, you're wrong! Pain has a grudge against us! He said that the Hidden Leaf ruined his village a long time ago!"

"That's exactly right, and that hatred is being used."

"He's really being used? Someone as strong as he is? And what about this masked Madara? What's he up to? Why is the Hidden Leaf always a target?"

"As long as a shinobi culture exists, there can never be true peace and order. Pain queried you about peace, but finding the solution is difficult. In order to try to protect something that you hold precious, wars are waged. As long as there is love in this world, there will also be hate, and some will take advantage of that hatred. As long as we have this ninja system, this monster known as hate will live and will give birth to more like Pain. Pain may have actually killed Jiraiya-sensei, but if you looker deeper than one could even say that this disordered shinobi world created Pain and killed Jiraiya. To be a ninja means that you must confront hatred, and every one of us must battle against that hatred. Jiraiya-sensei bequeathed to you the quest for the solution that would end this hatred."

"But how can I when I can't find a way to forgive Pain? There's just no way, I just can't."

"I know."

"Fourth Hokage, please tell me, what should I do?"

"You must find that answer for yourself, because even I don't know it."

"But if you and Pervy Sage don't have a clue about the answer then how am I ever supposed to figure it out? Everyone expects too much of me, I mean look at me! I'm not smart, I'm not a great ninja, I'm just me! And how the hell is a guy like me supposed to-"

Minato cut him off by placing a hand on his head and ruffling his hair "I'm certain that you'll be able to find the answer Naruto, because I believe in you completely."

"...You do? You really think I can?"

"Well the duty of a parent is to have unconditional faith in their children. Now then, I'm afraid that it's time for me to go. My chakra is starting to fade."

"What? No, don't go!"

Minato placed his hand on Naruto's stomach "I will rebuild the seal, but I'm afraid this will be the last time." he quickly rebuilt the seal "The Hidden Leaf can be rebuilt. Naruto, you can do it. I have faith in you." then he turned to Lee "You're Guy's student aren't you?"

"Yes I am." Lee bowed "It is a true honor to meet you."

"Please, the honor is all mine. And please, take care of my son. Good luck you two, I have faith in you." and with that, he finally faded away.

Lee placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder "Come on, let's go. We've still got a battle to win."

Naruto slowly nodded "Right. Thank you, dad.'

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Pain watched as Kurama and the Leaf Dragon God squirmed around "They're actually digging themselves out of the Planetary Devastation. What incredible power. I'm going to have to increase its size, and then-"

Then both Kurama and the Leaf Dragon God disappeared in two puffs of smoke.

"The Kyuubi and the Leaf Dragon God, they both just disappeared? How?" then he looked further and saw something.

Naruto stood there, Sage Mode restored "You ready Bushy Brow?"

Lee stood right beside him, now reduced to the Third Gate "Ready as I'll ever be."

'Their doubt has been erased.' Pain realized "What's happened? Has he mastered it? Does he now control the Kyuubi?" then he paused, realizing that Nagato, his original, was losing strength, and now the Planetary Devastation was crumbling."

Naruto returned to the ground, with Lee following "Hey Bushy Brow, how exactly are you holding up right now?"

"Right now I can't go any higher then the Third Gate." Lee told him "What about you?"

"Well that transformation into Kurama disturbed my chakra and it made me lose my last Shadow Clone at Mount Myoboku, so now I can only use the Sage Mode chakra that I have left inside of me, and after that I'm done."

"Well then we'll just have to finish this fast."

"Right."

Pain studied Naruto intently 'He's already in Sage Mode, he's truly strong. I had to confirm the extent of the power of the Kyuubi, but I never imagined that Planetary Devastation wouldn't stop him.' then he looked at Lee 'And that one's master of the Eight Gates is truly remarkable, I never imagined he'd power up to the point where he could rival eight tails.'

"Hey Bushy Brow."

"What's up?" asked Lee.

"Over there." Naruto looked over to where the smoke was billowing "That's over where the village is."

"That was thanks to our combined assault on Pain when I used the Sixth Gate and you unleashed six tails."

Naruto froze 'Hinata! Don't tell me, did I kill Hinata and all the people in the Leaf Village?' he paused and managed to sense her 'She's alive, I can sense Hinata's chakra!'

"Don't worry, I had a Shadow Clone carry her to safety and nobody aside from Pain was hurt in that assault. We were lucky on that one."

Naruto breathed a long sigh of relief "Oh thank goodness, you don't know what a relief that is to me."

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Hinata lay wounded, only one thing on her mind 'Naruto…'

"Lady Hinata!" Neji finally showed up with the rest of Team Guy.

"Her injuries don't appear fatal, but she needs treatment right now." Tenten told her.

"Guys!"

Guy looked to see Asuma approach "Asuma, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine but the village is-"

"I know, Lord Jiraiya's summoning toad told us everything on our way back. Lee was the first to realize that something was wrong and rushed back here ahead of us. I just didn't think things would be this bad."

Asuma knelt down and picked up the body of Fukasaku "I know. Anyway, let's take Hinata and get her over to Ino for treatment right away."

"What are the casualties?"

"Lady Tsunade has fallen into a coma because she used too much chakra. Among the KIA were Shizune and… Kakashi…"

Guy hung his head, appearing crestfallen "I see…"

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"The time has come for us to end this." Pain declared "Do you finally comprehend pain? Unless you come to know the same pain, you cannot truly comprehend someone else, and even if you comprehend it you still may not ever agree with them. That is the truth."

Naruto stepped forward "I've had just about enough of this, I want you to hurry up and take me and Bushy Brow to where the real pain is. I want to talk to him face to face now."

"...So you figured that part out did you?" Pain drew a black receiver "First Jiraiya-sensei and now both of you as well. You Hidden Leaf ninja really are quite impressive, but our discussion is over. Further conversation will change absolutely nothing."

"There's just something I want to discuss with him."

"You're in Sage Mode now, I believe you are limited to generating only two of those bothersome chakra shuriken at a time. Isn't that so? And that causes your Sage Mode to run out."

"I guess there's no other choice but for us to fight you huh?"

"If both of your shuriken should miss then the only possible outcome is that you shall both lose this battle. You have no more chances, I shall take you almost to the point of death and haul you off!" Pain charged forward.

Naruto stepped forward, motioning for Lee to stay behind him "Well that's too bad, I guess I'll have to find the real Pain myself then."

"How exactly do you plan to do that?"

"I've got an idea, just let me take it from here Bushy Brow." Naruto leaned to the side and grabbed Pain's black receiver, then kicked him into a boulder. Then he stabbed himself with the black receiver, allowing him to pinpoint Nagato's location "There, I found him!"

Pain climbed back to his feet, clearly beginning to lose his temper "You bastard!"

Naruto ripped the black receiver out of his shoulder and tossed it away, then summoned a single Shadow Clone as he formed a Rasenshuriken "Bushy Brow, smoke bombs!"

"Smoke bombs!" Lee slammed some smoke bombs into the ground.

Pain readied himself 'Here comes the first shuriken.'

"Sage Art: Fire Style: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto fired off a crimson Rasenshuriken.

"Almighty Push!" Pain used his Almighty Push to nullify the Rasenshuriken, only to see the second one, this time water natured, coming straight at him 'He already launched the second one using Shadow Shuriken Jutsu?'

Naruto felt his Sage Mode run out 'The window is 5 seconds. We can do this! Bushy Brow, now!"

"On it!" Lee sent two Shadow Clones towards Pain, one on each side.

'So that's the plan.' Pain stabbed both clones and pushed himself into the air, allowing him to avoid the water Rasenshuriken '4 seconds to go… They had already prepared and hidden those two Shadow Clones… only 3 more seconds until I can launch my next jutsu… But two shots both missed. It's over now.'

Then the rubble around him was engulfed in smoke.

"What is this?"

"It's not over until we say it's over!" Lee suddenly blitzed in front of Pain and kicked him into the air, and two dozen Shadow Clones appeared "We've still got two seconds left, hurry up and go!" they all charged.

'The rubble, it's all his Shadow Clones!'

The all cornered Pain.

'1 more second!'

"Supreme Hidden Lotus!"

"Almighty Push!" Pain fired an Almighty Push at the last possible second, dissipating all of the clones and sending Lee tumbling back.

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Neji stared down at Hinata's unconscious form "Why on earth would she do something like that?"

Ino was silently healing Hinata's injuries 'Hinata… so you really are in love with Naruto after all… all this time I thought it was just worship, but I was wrong… I was so so wrong…'

"Everyone." Katsuyu spoke up "Naruto was able to suppress the Kyuubi."

Asuma's head snapped up "How?"

"I can't be certain, but I believe Lee may have had a role in it, and now they're about to go up against the final Pain, 2 on 1."

"Guy, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Guy nodded "Yes, we're going to go back up Naruto and Lee. Let's go."

"Right."

"No wait, please don't." Katsuyu told them "You'll both only end up getting in their way if you do."

"But Pain was an enemy who destroyed the entire Hidden Leaf Village, as strong as Naruto and Lee might be there's no way they can do this alone."

"Naruto and Lee have a plan that they intend to follow, I think that we should put our faith in them.

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"Bushy Brow!" Naruto quickly stopped him.

"I'm okay." Lee formed a single Shadow Clone "Get ready."

"Don't worry." Naruto stepped forward, a Rasengan forming in his palm "Ready for our final move?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, now's end this." Lee grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and they leapt into the air.

"Right."

"You with no answers and no solutions, just give up!" Pain roared defiantly 'He can't throw that jutsu, I've got 5 seconds. This distance will keep me safe.'

"You give up Pain!" Naruto was launched forward "You can give up-"

'He threw him?!'

"-on us EVER GIVING UP! RASENGAN!" and with that, Naruto slammed one final Rasengan into Pain's gut, continuously pushing further and further and eventually managing to send Pain flying into a boulder behind him. Then he landed against a boulder behind him and skidded to the ground.

"Naruto!" Lee rushed up to him and helped him to his feet "Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"It's over. We won."

"No, it's not over yet." Naruto knelt down and pulled one of the black receivers out of Pain's body "These rods were how all of the Pains got their chakra." he then proceeded to pull the rest out of the body, leaving only the nose and ear piercings, and the studs on his bottom lip "There, that's all of them. Now that I've taken them all out, he shouldn't be able to move anymore."

"Naruto! Lee!" a new voice called.

Naruto looked to see Tatsu, Sasuke and Kazuma drop out of the sky "You guys, what are you doing here?"

"We were off on a mission in the Hidden Sand, we felt something off so we rushed back here as fast as we could."

"And I'm suffering from it." Sasuke clutched his heavily bleeding eyes in pain.

"Sorry but look on the bright side, you covered a 3 day trip in just under 6 hours. That has to be some kind of record. Anyway, we couldn't see the battle but we saw that last combo move you guys pulled off. Great job guys, you did awesome."

"Yeah…" Naruto stared at the black receivers.

Kazuma knelt down in front of Pain "What are these?"

"Chakra receivers, they're how Pain gets his chakra from the original. It's actually just a dead body with great hair."

"I see." Kazuma held out a hand over the body, his eyes turning from deep brown to blue with a white pattern, and generated chakra in his hand, causing the black receivers in Pain's face acting as piercings to crumble and scatter into the wind "Now there's absolutely no chance of him generating any more chakra."

"You seem pretty thorough." Naruto then stabbed himself in the hand, seeing Pain's memories, then pulled it out.

"You're going aren't you?" asked Tatsu.

"Yeah. Nobody follow me, I'm going alone."

"The hell you are. We're Team Dragon, we stick together."

"...Fine, but nobody else."

"Kazuma's coming too."

Naruto flipped him off.

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Neji watched anxiously with the rest as Hinata opened her eyes "Lady Hinata!"

Slowly, Hinata looked around "You're all here…"

Ino breathed a sigh of relief "Are you alright?" she helped her sit up.

"Thank you all. Especially you, thank you Ino."

"I'm just glad you're alright."

"Guys!"

Ino looked up to see Zaku, Kin and Izumi drop down from a gigantic hawk "You're all here."

"We heard what happened, are you alright?"

"We're fine, Naruto and Lee are off fighting Pain right now."

"Oh. Well where's Dosu?"

"Right here." Dosu emerged from underneath the rubble "I'm just glad you guys are okay."

"Same to you man."

"Everyone." Katsuyu got their attention "Naruto and Lee have both managed to defeat the final Pain."

Guy was now crying anime tears "I knew it, I knew my youthful prodigee would never let me down!"

"How are Naruto and Lee doing right now?" asked Asuma "Are they alright?"

"Well they're both very fatigued, but they should be okay."

'Such good knews.' Hinata wiped the tears from her eyes 'I'm so glad, Naruto…'

"So where are Naruto and Lee now?"

"They're going by themselves to where the real Pain is."

"Well we're going after them. Asuma, Neji, Tenten, let's go."

"Wait, Naruto and Lee said that they don't want any help."

"What?! They don't?!"

"I don't care, they've both done enough alone!" Neji protested "And besides, they're weakened right now. Lady Katsuyu, please lead us to Naruto."

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"Naruto! Lee!"

Naruto stopped his group and looked back to see Shikaku, Danzo and Inoichi catching up to them "What's up masters?"

"The fact that you're out here, does that mean that you've at last managed to defeat the final Pain?" asked Danzo.

"...It doesn't really matter who won or who lost at this point."

"Tell us, what happened between you and Pain?" asked Shikaku.

"I don't know, it's hard to explain."

"I don't understand, what do you mean by that?" asked Inoichi.

"It's not really important, we're on our way to see the real Pain right now. Please, don't try to follow me. I need to go on alone."

"I'm going with you." Lee said firmly "We fought this battle together, I'm sticking with you until the end."

"Fine, Bushy Brow but nobody else."

"You should take my brother with you." Tatsu told him "He's got abilities with his Tenseigan I could never even dream of."

"Fine, Bushy Brow and Kazuma but nobody else."

"Have you figured out where the real Pain is hiding?" asked Danzo.

"Yeah, when I was still in Sage Mode I pulled one of those black rods from Pain's body and then I traced his chakra."

"Yes I understand that, but why is it so important to go on alone?" asked Inoichi "What's going on with you Naruto?"

"There's something that I want to check out."

"Check something out? And what is that?"

"I want to talk to him, to the real Pain."

"What? You're just talking nonsense now Naruto. Don't get me wrong, we're all grateful that you defeated Pain, but just talk? No, it's too late for that."

"Then tell me, if we go and destroy the real Pain, all his minions, his village and everything else then would that settle things?"

"And what good will talking to him do? Pain is an enemy who destroyed the entire Hidden Leaf Village! We can never forgive him!"

"Yeah I know that, I feel the same way as you do! You think I'd forgive him? I want to crush him for what he did to our village and to everyone!"

"Then why do it?"

"Inoichi, that's enough." Shikaku held out a hand "Let's respect Naruto's wishes and just let him go on ahead alone."

"Shikaku, what are you-"

"Him and Lee are the ones who stopped the other Pains, so I think they have a right to speak to the real one. Besides, I'm sure he's got something special in mind for this meeting."

"Yeah, but-"

"That's enough Inoichi." Danzo finally decided to cut into the conversation "Naruto Uzumaki has the ability to turn his enemies into allies, it's very odd but it's also extremely useful. Perhaps he feels he can do the same with this Pain."

"I don't know if I can, and that's not really my plan." Naruto admitted "But thank you." and he took off, with Lee and Kazuma following him.

"Why did you both agree to let him go without us?" asked Inoichi.

"Because of my son." was the blunt answer Shikaku gave.

"What do you mean?"

"Shikamaru told me that Naruto has a way of convincing others to follow the same path that he does, and I know that he's going to be very important to the Leaf Village one day. Shikamaru rarely praises anyone but he said that to me. There really is something special about Naruto, I believe in him now. That's why we should put our faith in them, particularly Naruto."

"...Alright." then he turned to Tatsu "You, let's walk and talk."

"This is about Ino isn't it?" Tatsu guessed.

"This is about my daughter, yes." Inoichi led Tatsu back towards the village.

"He's screwed isn't he?" Sasuke guessed.

"Oh big time." was all Shikaku said.

A/N:

For the record, Dragon God Mode is inspired by Completed Super Saiyan Blue in the Dragon Ball Super manga.

I've been neglecting Lee ever since the Kazekage Rescue Mission, so I thought this would be a good chance to give him some spotlight.