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Act I - Beyond The Horizon
Chapter 7 - Force Without Balance
The two monsters faced one another, a thick silence caught in between them.
"Shinobi."
His teeth buzzed unpleasantly, and his bones vibrated as the Kyuubi's voice reached him. The very air around him seemed to coalesce into something vicious and angry as the two titans remained still, not so much as twitching.
"You are but a mewling mortal."
Her voice fell over his mind like a mountain, slamming with all its loudness and largeness. Even outside, its sheer power sent shockwaves across the prison. Reality itself seemed to whimper, willing to bow to every word that came out of her ruby lips.
The fact that all of this was happening despite the seal holding her back was not lost on him.
"Return," she smiled, slightly cocking her head, "before I make you."
"No can do. I seem to have lost my way," the Master mocked, his voice ringing in sardonic defiance to the beast before him. "I've waited a long, long time for this meeting, great Fox." Twirling his hand forward, he mockingly bowed. "Unfortunately, I will not be persuaded so easily."
Naruto felt the Kyuubi's gaze upon him. "Tell me, boy, what will you do now?"
It took all he had not to splutter foolishly in front of the not-woman. Just what did she think he could do? Against the Master of all people? He may have chakra, but he was a mere child without training, without any jutsu. Hell, the very first time he'd even used chakra was moments before he found himself here. And it was the very same Master who forcibly made him feel it.
Still, chakra wasn't the only tool in his arsenalā he had his mind. The problem was, the Master was probably leagues ahead of whatever plan he could concoct.
"You made that other one burn up," Naruto replied, appearing helpless and fearful. It wasn't difficult. "Can't you do the same thing?"
The Kyuubi threw back her head, her crimson hair swaying with the motion, and laughed. It was a silvery sound, one that shattered the stillness of the night. Scorn rang in that laughter, alongside the cold, alien amusement of an incomprehensible creature.
Even in the midst of potential death, Naruto couldn't help but scowl. His question was logical, all things consideredā it was only natural that he receive a proper answer instead of being mocked.
"You really are a helpless baby bird, Warden." The ear-splitting laughter still rang in his ears. "That shinobi won't be caught up in the same act twice. There is little I can do while shackled by this prison."
"Thenā¦" Naruto murmured, feeling frustration sink into him. Seeing the Master reminded him of the helplessness he had felt in his presence back when things wereā¦ real? Did that mean this one wasn't? Wait, this was inside the Seal. Not the real world. That changed things.
Didn't it?
By how much? That bit still needed figuring out. The question wasā what would he do till he had the answer? What could he do?
"You are the Warden," the demon in human form coaxed. "Should you desire it, I will be forced to share my own chakra with you."
Naruto could feel the energy emanating from her, oppressive and heavy as if it had its own physical presence. A nauseating wave of cold flooded through him, the dark power diverging from the prison and spreading all around like clouds of smog. And somehow, he knew that with the barest of thoughts, all of this energy would instantly converge.
Onto him.
And yet, it felt oddly convenient. Much like how Konoha, Uzushio's ally, had been utterly unaware and unable to send aid while the rest of the Elemental Nations attacked on Uzushiogakure all at once.
His history books were filled with interesting anecdotes like that.
"And if I agree, will it set you free?"
"Not without outside intervention. Or your authorization."
"Outside intervention?" he wondered aloud.
"It means me," the Master smirked. The demonic glint in his eyes told Naruto he was greatly enjoying this discussion, for whatever reason.
"And," Naruto gulped, "I could take this energy and use it to fight theā um, him?"
"You are the Warden."
The tendrils of energy hissed and oozed through the air, as if sheer malice had been distilled into an ever-spreading mist. "And I canā¦ just safely use your chakra? Without any problem?"
"You are the Warden."
"Kami, this is bad," he cursed. There was no doubt he was in a world of trouble. Thisā¦ this chakra, if it could even be called that, was a great, big, ugly weapon of death and destruction. That much was clear, even to someone like him who knew next to nothing about being a shinobi. And if the Kyuubi was to be believed, accepting it into himself would give him the ability to stand up to the Master.
But then what?
The enemy was at the gates, and a superweapon was on the table. One perfectly capable of obliterating the enemy. But there was no way the Master wouldn't know about that bit. Lord Orochimaru was nothing if not thorough.
But the Master knew that Naruto had a superweapon at his service, and still went with thisā¦ charade, something else was going on.
The question wasā¦ what?
"Iā¦. I don't thinkā"
"Do not THINK!" the demon growled. "Simply accept it. My chakra will be your chakra. My will shall be your instinct. My rage shall be your reason to survive."
And the crescendo of convenienceā as Mr. Yakushi would have phrased it ākept rising.
"Why waste time with insipid weaklings, great Fox?" the Master's persuasive voice slithered across the chamber as he sauntered forward. "Allow me to enlighten you, young Namikaze. That beast is fooling you. If you use its chakra, it will completely overwhelm you. Make you into its puppet."
Naruto cast a quick glance at the bijuu in question. The Master may be against him, but his words were sound. Even now.
"Oh?" The Master's lips twisted into a haunting smile. "You didn't know? Being exposed to bijuu chakra will drive you insane. Make no mistake. If you go through with this, that beast will own you."
"Better being my puppet than being killed by your hands," the Kyuubi growled. "Choose, Warden. Your nemesis draws near."
Manipulation through truth? That was sneaky. Then again, foxes were sneaky little things. Maybe he had underestimated the game being played here.
"Nemesis?" the Master chuckled, taking another step forward. "You do not understand Namikaze as I do, great Fox. I have raised him. Taught him what little he understands of the world. I know him, inside and out."
Naruto felt the man's gaze settle on him. He didn't want to comment on how the Master's words were more boasts than facts. Needless antagonism never helped and only exacerbated the problem. Besides, he had quickly learnt that he'd not get any answers from the people vocally. Naturally, he had to turn to other avenues to get his answers.
But he wasn't going to comment on that either.
"I can give you a swift, painless death, Naruto. Quicker and easier than falling asleep. The demon over there," The Master gestured towards the bijuu, "will turn you into a ravaging psychopath. You will spend the rest of your life killing and killing and killing, leaving nothing in your wake but death and destruction." His voice lowered to an ominous whisper. "Is that preferable to you?"
Naruto looked at him, schooling his face to look adequately horrified.
That seemed to do the trick.
The Master stepped forward. "I know you, Namikaze. You are not a killer. You do not have the capacity to end another's life. The burdens of a jinchuuriki are not for you. But fear not, I can set you free."
"By killing me?" The sentiment came in clear, without any reservations.
"What greater freedom is there than death?" the Master asked, his hands outstretched.
"WARDEN!" Kyuubi's stern warning flooded through him. But Naruto paid her no mind as he stood transfixed. The Master was slowly stalking towards him, like a ravenous wolf approaching a cornered rabbit. This wasā this wasā
A badly scripted play, he told himself. Part of him wanted to keep going with the charade, but unfortunately, the Master's intentions to kill him were quite real. At least, given his own experience back in the castle. His only way out was the Kyuubi, who seemed too ready to share power, which raised flags in his mind, unless he was really missing something.
Monsters never share powerā as the Third Raikage was fond of saying.
And yet, there wasn't a third option on the table. Choose Death, or embrace something he didn't know? The Master had told himā and the Kyuubi confirmed itā that the Power would make him a killer, an animal, a beast.
And yet the Master was assured that he wouldn't choose it. Why? Because of his reactions with those dying shinobi earlier?
Possible, but that didn't mean he was willing to die.
But Tayuya would be disappointed.
But I don't want to die. Being alive must count for something, right? Plus Tayuyaā
Naruto froze.
Tayuya.
The Master had told him that Tayuya was going to be killed and buried with him. Back then, he had been too shocked by the events to register that. But nowā
Tayuya. Smiling at him. Dead.
Tayuya. Sleeping in his lap. Buried.
Tayuyaā
Naruto opened his mouth. Had he been any less tense, he'd have noticed his words coming out as a strangled hiss. "Isā is Tayuya still alive?"
The Master aimlessly shrugged, as if the question wasn't even worth thinking about. "I haven't the slightest idea. Guren should have cut her down if she tried getting to the first floor."
His fists were tightly clenched. He unclenched them. Anger would not help. Logic would.
"So you don't know for sure if she's dead."
"Your questions are pointless, Namikaze," he waved off. "After today, I won't even need Guren in my service. With the body of an Uzumaki, the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox, and my own arsenal of jutsu, I will ascend and become the Kami of this world."
The Master bared his teeth towards him. "Tell me, boy, what does that mean to you? Your beloved is dead. What will you do?"
Thatā¦ rankled. Was this man just going to take everything away from him because he could? Naruto knew he was nothing in front of the Master. Even if heā and that was a big Ifā if he used the Kyuubi's powers, he would still be an inexperienced fighter. No, it would be more correct to say that he'd become a beastā lashing out by its instincts.
The Master had to know that something like that would happen. And yetā yet he was dragging this entire thing. It was as if he wanted Naruto to choose that option.
Why?
His eyes became moist. His body was shaking. Strange. Was this what anxiety felt like? He had seen Tayuya behave similarly, especially after difficult missions.
"Let me make it clear," the Master proclaimed. "Even if she's not dead, the first thing I'll do is kill her. No, Naruto Uzumaki shall kill her. She'll die at the hands of her beloved, with his hands wrapped around her neck. Breaking it. She'll stare into your blue eyes as she draws her last breath. Poetic, isn't it?"
Naruto's nails dug into his skin. He could feel something moist on his fingertips.
"Tell me, Namikaze," The Master, noā Orochimaru āreplied. "Do you hate me now?"
The shaking stopped.
His fists unclenched. His fingers hung free. Lifeless.
He'd made his decision. There was not an ounce of logic fueling it, but logic tended to take a backseat whenever Tayuya was concerned. Besides, it wasn't like Naruto had any better ideas.
He looked back up.
"You know," he slowly began, meeting Orochimaru's gaze, "every morning, I woke up at daybreak and rushed to the balcony, just so I could see the sun rise into the sky. I was always jealous of how it hung above us, free like the clouds, without a care in the world."
He exhaled, his shoulders relaxing. He knew what was about to happen. He wasn't going to like this. He wasn't going to be the same after this. But he had no other choice. He had to do this.
"Tayuya always told me that freedom was nigh impossible, that its price was too high. In this war-torn world of shinobi, it always has been."
For his dream.
For his freedom.
For Tayuya.
"But if accepting her chakra," he thumbed at the monster-woman behind him, "means returning to Tayuya, then that's a price I'm willing to pay."
Space splits.
Or is it his senses? They feel everywhere. He can sense himself. His bodyā Human. Mortal. Hu-mortal? Mor-human?
Or is it the Wrath? Chakra? Primordial purpose? Memories. Events. Impressions. Kyuubi. Memories of a Purpose given form. Memories of a human child. Memories of a creature shunned by all existence. Memories of fire. Of corrosion. Of wrath. Ofā
Cracks appear. Cracks diffuse. Cracks get larger. Brighter. Cracks converge. Diverge. Shatter. Reform.
His mind devolves.
Instinct arises.
Instincts of a human. Instincts of a demon. Instincts from a family he cannot remember the name of. Instincts fromā
Chakra arises. Yin and yang. Physical and spiritual.
Chakra merges. Earth. Lightning. Wind. Fire. Water. Tainted by affinity.
Chakra fades. Corrosion. All returns to nothingness.
There is no pain. The cognition of pain no longer matters. He is swallowed by his injury. By his senses. By information. By Purpose. By Power. By Instinct. Byā
He falls into a swirling maelstrom of pain.
He doesn't know where he is.
He doesn't know who he is.
He doesn't know what it means.
It doesn't matter.
He can see it now. It's like a large maze. An endless surge of ways. What is a maze? How does it surge? What is seeing? Information? Information assimilation? Where would that be? Why would that be? What doesā
The complexities of what he is seeing increase. They twist. They bend. They form shapes that he knows shouldn't exist. Shapes he also knows have always existed. Three-dimensions. Ten-dimensions. Matrix. Lattice.
His vision narrows.
What is vision?
The world expands.
He concentrates on something needless. Why? Because he knows he will split in half if he doesn't. But how?
Doesn't matter.
Power coalesces within. The Power is too big for this small body. The gargantuan monstrosity's instincts are too large for this soul. The Spirit is too grand to be hidden within this shell.
Yet the Power converges.
Yet the instincts fall in line.
Yet the Spirit stays pure. Bound. Forged. Fused.
He is being repelled. He can't be repelled. He is reaching it. He can't reach it. He shouldn't reach it. Not reaching it will be unforgivable.
He is reaching out.
He is reaching out.
He is REACHING OUT.
His eyes are burning. His brain is burning. His extends his arms and they extend and extend and extenā
SCREECH HHHH!
GET THEREā
GET THEREā
GET THERE RIGHT NOWā
"Haāagāgag!"
His eyes are focused now. They are dripping blood.
Right and wrong. Black and white. Colorful and grayscale.
He is opening his eyes. He is human. He is Kyuubi. Not human. Monster. His perceptions blur. Dim and bright. Darkness and blood-red. His neck is elongating. Yet it isn't.
He flares his maw. His tails move. Raw power flares from within. Chakra he cannot use in a thousand lifetimes feels natural. His ears and ears block all reception from his senses. He has no eyes. He has no ears. And yet, he does. He bares his fangs.
Tails explode from behind.
One. Two. Three, four, fivesixSEVENEIGHTNINEEEEEEEEā
Power surges around him. Unbridled. With it comes Hate. Chaos in flesh and blood.
Rage without restraint.
Force without balance.
He isā
āI am
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Orochimaru observed as Naruto lurched backwards, his eyes widening in shock and confusion. His body shook in a non-existent breeze, in the calm before the storm. His hands, lifeless and cold, fell on both sides. And finally, he fell down to his knees, gasping in anguish. Rich, crimson blood oozed from his ears and nose, from under his fingernails.
"Whatā" the word came out as a mix between a scream and croak as the boy choked on saliva and blood. His eyes had lost their innate brightness, now bulging outwards with an unpredictable lunacy, as if they were trying to tear their way out of his face. Copious amounts of chakra leaked from his body in waves as he scratched at the floor, unable to control his own actions.
"Whaāscreechh! ā hat is happeānnninnggg?"
What an interesting noise! The grating sound from his throat was utterly inhuman, like dragging rusted iron against smooth glass. His body continued to spasm like the victim of a lightning discharge, crackling and squelching sounds peppering his form.
A truly gruesome sight.
"That, I believe, is your body trying and failing to get used to the Kyuubi's chakra," Orochimaru patiently lectured. "After all these years of being sealed, the beast's chakra is rushing through your body, claiming it for itself. And destroying it in the process, of course."
His lips morphed into a twisted grin. Killing the boy had been the original plan. But now that he'd come face-to-face with Minato after all this time, Orochimaru wanted more than just results. He wanted victory. He wanted Minato to suffer.
"I can't say I am displeased with this outcome."
After all, what greater suffering was there for a father than watching his own son slowly perish?
That was exactly what was about to happen.
The flower-loving pacifist, the son of one of the world's most famous murderers, was now howling like a demented beast, the demon Fox's chakra rushing through his veins. His pupils sharpened, becoming thinner, and his eyes were alien and crimson in color. More chakra than Orochimaru possessed in his entire body was being thrown around haphazardly.
A Demon was being born.
It would only be a matter of time before the Kyuubi's chakra completely overwhelmed Naruto and deleted his very existence. He knew it. The Kyuubi knew it. And he knew the Kyuubi knew he knew it.
And yet it went ahead with the idea. An idea that would reduce its jinchuuriki to a mindless husk. Doing so would only make things easier for him. So why?
Because it hates Minato's guts? That could be it. For all its shapeshifting, it is a demented beast. Whether it be himself or Narutoā the Fox would stay imprisoned either way. There was simply no reason for it to 'help' Naruto.
Was this just some elaborate hoax between the demon and him, one that twisted its warden's perceptions into accepting an unfavorable offerā its power? If so, why?
He was perfectly willing to kill Naruto. A neat and tidy option.
Unlessā¦
Well, it's a beast. Tidiness is probably not part of its constitution. Just look at the condition of this Seal. No doubt from the passive influence of having a demented beast inside it.
In the end, it didn't matter. Trying to read the mind of a monster was far beneath him.
For he was Orochimaru. Far greater and grander things awaited him once his business here was complete, like taking over the vacant space left by the lack of Naruto's soul.
His Ryujin seal would handle the rest.
And thenā¦
"It's terrible you refused my offer, Minato," Orochimaru sighed. "You tried so valiantly to keep me from killing your son, and now he suffers as he slowly kills himself. And with his death, I shall become the new jinchuuriki. My ascension isā¦ inevitable."
The young Namikaze opened his mouth in a soundless scream as his neck twisted, broke, and then snapped back into place. He yelled, he roared, and then he howled, his voice louder than ever before and thrumming with power.
His fist hit the floor.
Space distorted.
The entire floor was drowned by the sound of howling winds as the air between his punch and the stone floor rippled, sending a shockwave of invisible force hurling omnidirectionally. It leapt through the space that divided them as the deafening sound met the cavernous walls of stone around them andā
Stone gave away.
Fissures spread like intricate spider webs at an alarming rate, only growing worse with time. Crevices the size of footpaths emerged across the walls' surface, with the ocean of crimson liquid blown away in all directions as the floor shattered. The walls themselves finally buckled, collapsing under the immense pressure.
And in the middle of it all, was Naruto.
"All these years, I instructed Kabuto to teach you how to control your emotions." Orochimaru slowly shook his head. "And yet, mere words bring you to such a state."
Splaying his hands outwards, he took a step forward.
"ARE YOU LISTENING, MINATO?" His words resounded across the endless space. "I WAS RIGHT. YOUR SON DOESN'T HAVE IT IN HIM TO BECOME A SHINOBI. HE'S TOO EMOTIONAL. TOO WEAK." His lips twisted into a sneer. "What a waste of materials you are, Naruto Namikaze!"
The boy's eyes pulsated with rage, chakra spilling out of him by bucketloads. Namikaze was clearly no more, and in his place was a destroyer. A being wholly specialized for the obliteration of life. It had no purpose save for choosing a target and attacking it with relentless, unquenchable fury until it was nothing more than splatter across the ground, and then choosing another target, and then another, and another, and another.
Until there was nothing around it but death.
Endless death and destruction.
The boy turned towards him, and then he spoke.
"You're right. I'm not a shinobi."
Orochimaru found his gaze pinned by Namikaze's own. His crimson slits were reforming, enlarging, becoming brighter. His eyes morphed, becoming softer, flickering between crimson and blue.
"Impossibleā¦"
"Now here's where you're wrong."
He stood up on both legs, his knees wobbly. A bluish aura flickered into existence around him. Unlike before, the corruptive chakra didn't seem to engulf it. Rather, it was the one engulfing the sinister crimson chakra into itself.
It was slowly becoming something else.
A single tail, carved out of rich crimson and layered with an aquiline shade, exploded out of Naruto's back. Chakra gathered around him, touching him, caressing him, protecting him. Like a living, breathing, ever-changing shield.
"My emotionsā¦ They make me STRONG!"
And somehow, despite everything, Orochimaru found himself grinning from ear to ear.
"Very well. Let's test your convictions, shall we?"
A single clash of metal on metal. Then, they separated.
Three seconds later, another clash.
Two seconds.
One second.
Half a second.
One. Half. Two. Half. Two. Half. One.
The skirmishes ended as rapidly as they occurred. A swoosh here, a spat there, as the two fighters fought up and down the area. Sparks scattered like small geysers of fireflies as claws met kunai.
"HAA!"
Naruto shoved his chakra-claw into Orochimaru's stomach, only to find himself piercing through empty airā
CLANG!
The snake-like man's kunai came from his right, smashing against a hastily raised chakra wall with a tensile strength that defied belief. The kunai snapped in two, but before the chakra-wall could remold itself into claw and gut the Sannin, he vanished into thin air.
Naruto half-panted half-growled. For someone who had never so much as practiced a kata in his entire life, it was a miracle he was trading blows with the mighty Orochimaru, a man unparalleled in the art of killing. Instincts he wasn't familiar with guided his movements, making him more than a match against one of the most feared men in the Elemental Nations.
His senses felt different. His perception was heightened in places, yet dulled to non-existence in others. And with it came a whole new approach to existence. This power, this rage, this endless insanity that churned inside himā¦ it felt right.
Killing was easy. Killing was fun. He hungered to kill.
Orochimaru swooped in from the front, disappearing momentarily only to slash at him from behind. But the chakra wall still held. The man vanished again and tried a killing blow from atop, but was promptly rebuffed by Naruto's hand, now extended into claws covered by corrosive chakra. But before jumping backwards, the man slammed into him from his blind spot, a wave of ensuing kinetic force flinging him by several feet.
It was like being caught in the midst of a raging storm, surrounded on all sides, assaulted from every angle.
Details were lost amidst a swirl of imagery, solid information washed over by a sea of blurred pictures. His brain had long since shut down and reverted to the most basic levels of self-preservation. It was all down to muscle memory now, to reflexes and reaction times dedicated towards surviving in lieu of observing and thinking.
His surroundings became afterthoughts. His environment was a hazy blur. Everything became abstract, indistinct, muddled. And that included the man he was fighting against. His every attack felt like a broad brush stroke rather than a scalpel.
Yet, despite all that, all Naruto could feel was a strange sense of exhilaration.
Was this how shinobi felt? Was this what he had missed all his life?
Wrath and Hatred surrounded him like a cocoon, caressing him, protecting him, motivating him to push onwards. There were no doubts, no unnecessary questions plaguing his mind. Nothing.
Only simple, serene, comforting Hate.
And divine Wrath to help administer said hate onto his nemesis.
The Kyuubi's chakra acted like an extension of his own self, one that acted on its own free will, drawing on the instincts of a creator older than known history. He sensed Orochimaru coming at him from his left, and suddenly Lightning coursed through him, amplifying his reactions by several magnitudes. His body shifted, his hands went up, chakra shaped itself into claws and extended towards the Sanninā
Only to find Orochimaru's body dissolve into a dozen snakes that split apart and leapt towards him, their fangs baredā
Scorch Release flooded his tenketsu.
A whirling torrent of flames exploded out of him. Liquid magma condensed upon the reptiles, devouring them whole as it burned every inch with a viciousness Naruto had never seen first-hand. The river of blood all around him rose from the floor in concert with his chakra and blasted in every direction, carrying the vicious magma toā
It all stopped.
In mid-air.
Naruto's neck nearly whiplashed as it twisted around and found Orochimaruā four of him, in fact āpositioned in equal distances away from one another. Their hands were raised, a specific hand sign prominently on display.
"FOUR BLACK SNAKES FORMATION!"
A thin plane of dull black mist began to expand from each of them, meeting each other and forming a barrier around him. Four extensions of Naruto's chakra protruded outwards, shaping themselves into gargantuan mallets as they slammed against the barrier.
It shook. But it held strong.
THUD!
Again.
THUD!
And again.
Naruto tried over and over. But no matter what, the barrier remained firm. He bared his teeth, and pushed harder. The barrier swayed, but still held firm.
It disturbed the purity of his hatred. The Hate was calling out to him. He had no time for pointless distractions. He wanted Orochimaru to die, and yet the man was making him work for it. This was soā¦ unsatisfying. Annoying.
"YOU. THINK. THIS. CAN. HOLD. ME?"
Every single word was punctuated by an earth-shattering punch from his chakra-mallets. The Four Flames Barrier shook every time he hit it, but like a palm tree, it swayed and flickered but still held all the same.
Rage surged through him.
Lightning gave it speed.
Earth gave it direction.
Scorch Release gave it power.
Naruto gave them all an outletā the Barrier.
Blinding white heat exploded out of him. It slammed against the barrier with all the strength of a mountain and ferocity of a hurricane. By the end of it all, he was down on the floor, supporting himself on all fours as he panted, strangely feeling tired, as if such a thing were even possible.
The smoke finally began to part, leaving behind a dull black mist. Only now, it was thicker. More pronouncedā
"My, my."
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.
"I never thought you would be so helpful," came four synchronized voices. Their eyes glowed with malevolence, before the clones flickered and merged into one another, forming the real Orochimaru once more. "I assure you," the Sannin went on, his mocking tone grating against Naruto's ears. "Your contribution was most gratefully received."
Orochimaru formed another hand-sign.
And the barrier imploded.
Narutoā¦
The word pierced through the haze of pain that blanketed Tayuya's mind as she crawled her way upstairs. Ninabi, her name for The-blade-of-lightning-cuts-first, was a dangerous Oni to summon. Unlike her faithful and steady Zaraba, Ninabi was uncontrollable, malicious, and drenched with bloodlust. So much as calling forth that particular Oni made her feel like she'd just dipped herself into a vat of innocent blood.
Everything considered, it wasn't a bad comparison, considering how Ninabi's invocation usually ended with everything around completely slaughtered.
She felt Galika approach from behind. Galika, The-ocean's-whistle-remains-untamed, was an Oni that was supremely talented with Water. Even if Oni couldn't actually be called obedient, their corruptive influence wouldn't allow it at allā but if there was one she could call the most controllable, it was Galika.
The female Oni grasped her frail form, and Tayuya suppressed the urge to cry out in pain. Even the Oni's barest touch was an increase in the corruption that flowed through her. The closer they were, the more active they were, the more she lost a bit of herself to Moryo.
At least Ninabi was finally gone. She couldn't feel the Lightning Oni's presence anymore, which meant every other creature in the dungeon was either dead, or wishing they were. Knowing that crazy fuck was gone from this realm made her feel much better.
Naruto, she reminded herself, shaking her head. She'd have to stay sane for him. She couldn't afford to lose herself, not now. Not when he was still in danger.
Throwing her left arm around Galika's neck, Tayuya pushed herself up. Breathing hurt. Standing hurt. Even the smallest movements sent her into throes of agony.
She took a long stride forward.
"I'm," she growled, "I'm fucking gonna get to him, and then I'll teach fucking Orochiā" she withheld a wince, gritting her teeth, "Orochimaru a fucking lesson."
Still, she was at the bottom. And her friend was way at the top.
"Get me to the top," she wheezed, her throbbing head threatening to overwhelm her. "Justā fucking get me there!"
Galika seemed to understand. Half her body began to melt into water that entwined itself around Tayuya like a water bubble, before shooting upwards. The water moved with the ferocity of a stream, and before she knew it, she was already past the labs where the prisoners were experimented on.
Just a little more.
The castle was weirdly empty. Even the white-coats always rushing everywhere were gone. There were no sounds at all. Why did the fucker send them all away?
Tayuya's thoughts vanished as she approached a large, oaken door. Just a little bit more, and behind it would be herā
Her thoughts screeched to a halt.
Light erupted from behind the door, lashing out furiously at the corridor outside. It hit everywhere. The floor. The ceiling. Tayuya could barely feel Galika shroud her completely in a thick envelope of water before pushing her to the side and putting herself in front of her. The bright white heat burned and scorched its way out. Chaos ran rampant in the air. It howled through the tunnels as a tsunami of raw power thundered through the corridors.
And wherever it went, everything burned.
Hanging swaths of fabric burst into flames. The labs exploded. The trapped wraiths and souls in the castle walls shrieked and screeched in demonic voices. And when it touched the ceiling, the dark grey castle erupted with cold blue lights as fuinjutsu sigils appeared on every surface.
Tayuya could feel a surge of pressure as the castle's defenses pitted themselves against this terrible, nigh-omnipotent, power.
But they failed.
Pure, unrefined chakra exploded through the ceiling. Stone shattered to dust as the energy went through the upper floor, and even the roof, until it reached the outside and turned the pitch-black night sky into daybreak.
BOOM!
ā¦
Tayuya found herself on the floor, curled into a ball like an infant. Galika's water cloaked her body while the Oni herself took on the full brunt of the explosion. It shielded her from a lot, but there was only so much damage it could soak before getting vaporized into steam. Hot steam.
The stench of her own charred flesh hit her nostrils like a punch to the gut. Blackened flesh lined her left forearm, dragging from her wrist to the end of her elbow. Her right leg had charred all the way from her hip to her knee, while her leftā
Well, it was just a twig. One that barely resembled a leg anymore.
She couldn't move.
She couldn't stand.
She couldn't get to Naruto anymore. But it didn't matter.
She had lost.
"Naā Naruātoā" Tayuya croaked, tears making their way down her cheeks. The scream of pure agony that followed wasn't very loud. And definitely far from sounding human.
And in its wake, she finally broke.
She had failed to save the one person she cared about.
It was over.
Narutoā¦ her Narutoā¦ was dead.
Editor: Solo Starfish, the best goddamn starfish the world has ever seen.
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