I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

Friendly Faces

"You think it's them?" Yugao asked.

Ryu was silent for a long moment. "I don't like it."

Yugao nodded and left. Ryuu and Fu turned, heading for the main gate, walking faster, but still not rushing. Ryuu couldn't shake the feeling he was missing something, and that there was more danger than there should be, even if Sora was a would-be assassin. Just as they stepped onto a street that headed straight toward the main gate, it began. There was a loud collision from outside the village and a signal passed through the shinobi instantly. Attack. And yet, something felt off still. The security force went to engage the attackers, but as the sounds of battle continued, the security force clearly could do nothing to stop them. Finally, Ryuu and Fu reached the gate, flying up to the top and landed on either side of Genma, Ryuu standing to his left, and Fu crouching on the right, watching four people approach through the bars of the railing. They weren't Akatsuki. They wore cape cloaks, and had wide, flat, circular hats tipped forward to hide their faces, rather than the Akatsuki's sugegasas.

"Who are they?" Ryuu asked.

"I don't know," Genma said. "But they've been obliterating us."

Ryuu watched as one of the shinobi set a foot down as several kunai sped toward him and a wall of stone shot up, blocking them. The next step, the ground was suddenly a massive chasm, the stone wall falling in, along with a dozen Konoha shinobi. Then, the man's next step, the ground slammed closed.

"Kekkei Genkai?" Ryuu mused. "No. Something else. Pull the security force back. They can't handle this threat."

"Right," Genma nodded, signaling the shinobi.

Other Chunin and above landed on top of the gate with them and they all waited in silence as the shinobi reached the gate and stopped, one woman unrolling a scroll, beginning to form hand seals. On the scroll, Ryuu could see a topographical map, one that he recognized as Konoha.

"Barrier Defense Shield Jutsu, Eight Gate Lockup!" the woman shouted, slamming her hands into the scroll.

Instantly, four massive temple-like structures rose around the village, one for each cardinal direction, the southern one rising directly in front of the Main Gate.

"What is that?" Kotetsu asked.

"It's a seal to keep up in," Ryuu said, Sharingan staring at it. "We're trapped inside our own village, but those four will be able to travel in and out of the barrier freely."

As soon as all four structures were done rising, the barrier formed, a multicolored dome appearing around the village, the colors shifting constantly. Ryuu picked up a stone and hurled it through the barrier, the stone igniting and burning away to ash as it passed through.

"Inform Lady Tsunade that we're trapped," Ryuu said. "And tell her that I'm at the Main Gate."

A shinobi nearby with a flashlight passed the message just as a blinding light began to shine from just inside the gate.

"We are four individuals made one by the common resolve to pursue the cause of the Land of Fire," a voice spoke from the light. "It is this indominable resolve that has brought us here. Lend us your ears for but a brief moment, for there is not much to say. We have only one purpose. The greater glory of the Land of Fire with the Feudal Lord supreme." Suddenly, the four invaders appeared inside the gate, a seal tag in one of the four's hand burning away. "The existence of the Hokage and this village poses a lasting threat to the supremacy of the Land of Fire's Feudal Lord! There can only be one true king. Don't you understand!? There is no longer any reason for this Hokage of yours to exist!"

Ryuu glanced at Fu, the two being the only two still on tp of the wall, and she nodded, both dropping off of the wall and falling toward the four invaders. However, just shy of them meeting them, a massive wall of stone shot out of the ground at them. Ryuu's Gale Armor roared to life just in time to obliterate the rock, but the impact sent him crashing into Fu, both flying to the semicircle of Shinobi around the invaders. Both flipped and landed on either side of Genma again, Ryuu letting his armor fade, as the man who had been speaking continued.

"We didn't expect your approval," the man said. "Nevertheless, you will help us achieve our purpose. Even when you're no longer alive!"

"You have a reanimation jutsu, then," Ryuu said. "I've seen a few of those. One requires a sacrifice, one requires an incredible amount of chakra to sustain, the most terrifying one of all was a Kekkei Genkai wielded by a friend of mine. So, which do you have?"

The man that was apparently the leader grinned wickedly. "Fudo!"

"Yeah," the big guy with the Earth Style jutsu said, stepping forward. Then, he jumped, forming hand seals rapidly. "Earth Style, Impermanence!"

Ryuu grit his teeth. He'd heard about Impermanence. It was a pain in the ass. The ground in front of the man began to break apart and rise, the ground an odd purplish color with what Ryuu could swear were pipes sticking out. And it was spreading toward them rapidly.

"Get back!" Genma shouted, everyone retreating, Fu and Ryuu both doing the same.

The debris spread to cover hundreds of meters before stopping. However, as Ryuu landed behind the first line, he watched as pale hands broke out of the ground, grabbing the shinobi's legs. They were pale, almost blue, and looked like they might be rotting. And then, there were corpses breaking out of the debris, all of them Konoha shinobi, though not only the ones they had killed on the way in.

"Earth Style, Ultimate Revival Jutsu!" The leader said. "Soil Bodies! Rise fallen Shinobi! Rise and live again!"

"So it's that one, huh?" Ryuu mused. "Could be worse."

The leader began to laugh as Ryuu walked forward, push-kicking a corpse that was getting close to one of the other shinobi and sending it crashing along the ground. "Our army of fallen shinobi! That's the enemy you face!"

"Genma, keep everyone back," Ryuu said, forming a dozen clones. "I'll deal with this while Shikamaru comes up with a plan. Fu, you hang back too."

Fu and Genma nodded.

"Eyes open Ryuu," Fu said.

"You too," Ryuu said. "There's something else going on."

Then, Ryuu turned back to the front and he and his clones began to calmly walk forward, drawing their tantos and beginning to tear into the corpses. It was...disappointing. The corpses were slow, and even relatively minor wounds resulted in them bursting into thin dust clouds that had faded into oblivion before they even hit the ground. Ryuu stopped, calmly watching as his clones calmly and easily pushed the undead back. Even with such a small number of clones, the corpses were slaughtered quickly. None were able to get close to one of the Ryuus without being destroyed. They were simply too weak.

Ryuu's eyes rose to the four standing on top of a massive debris pile, all four watching him in silence. Ryuu started to head toward them, carving his way through the undead as he walked.

"You're rather useful," the leader of the group said. "What's your name?"

"Ryuu Uchiha," Ryuu said calmly. "And you're not welcome here."

He vanished just as an undead swung its arms downward at him, then reappeared behind the leader, slashing at him with his tanto, only for the leader to spin, a black khakkhara with a gold tip blocking Ryuu's blade.

"You're fast," the leader said. "You're going to be trouble."

"More than you can handle," Ryuu growled. "I don't know what your plan is, but if you die, it ends. So I'm going to end you here and now."

"I wish you luck," the man said, shoving with the khakkhara, only for it to suddenly pass through Ryuu as he flickered.

Then, Ryuu slashed downward. The man leapt away, but Ryuu's blade tore the front of his shirt open all the same. He swore loudly, the other three moving to stop Ryuu, only for three more Ryuus to step out of the first, drilling a punch into their faces, sending them blasting through the undead. One of each Ryuu walked after the others.

"What the hell is this!?" the leader demanded. "Some kind of genjutsu?"

"Oh I'm very real," Ryuu said. "And I'm going to kill all four of you here and now."

"Scatter!" the leader shouted.

However, when the four of them turned to leave, they found four more Ryuus waiting. All four slammed a palm strike into their chosen targets, a dozen paralysis seals instantly racing over the four intruders' body before several layers of chakra suppression seals joined them. Then, Ryuu ended the Body Flicker Technique, allowing the four to collapse to the ground. All at once, the debris covering the village faded, along with the corpses, and the bursts of lightning that had been going off in the streets around the power station ended.

"You did it!" Tayuya shouted, staring in wide-eyed wonder. "Awesome!"

"It's not over," Fu said. "There's something else."

"What?" Kiba asked.

"Where's Sora?" Ryuu asked.

"We don't know," Lee said. "Is he in danger?"

"He..." Ryuu trailed off, turning slowly toward the main gate, the others all staring past him.

There, framed by the now wide-open gate, stood Max and Lena. Both of their bodies had cracks spreading over their skin and their skin was pale, but they were both there, both watching him in silence. He sank to his knees, feeling the fight drain out of him as tears welled up in his eyes and fell, old memories that he thought he had laid to rest flooding him, making him feel like he was drowning. His Sharingan watched as both began to walk forward, tears rolling down their faces as well as grief shone from their eyes, but their faces remained emotionless.

"Who?" Ryuu managed to choke out.

"Orochimaru," Max said. "His spies sent him word about this group's plot and saw it as the perfect opportunity to get you back. I'm sorry Ryuu. I can't hold back this time."

"Please stop us," Lena said, voice broken as though she were sobbing, despite the fact that her face was as emotionless as ever. "Please Ryuu. Please set us free."

"I...I can't!" Ryuu sobbed. "I can't kill you again! I can't!"

"You won't," Lena said. "We're already dead. We're just puppets now. You can't hurt us. Please, we just want to be able to move on."

"I can't lose you two again!" Ryuu sobbed. "Please don't make me kill you!"

"You don't have to," Fu's voice said softly as she stepped in front of Ryuu. "I'll do it."

"No!" Ryuu said, eyes wide with horror. "You can't! You can't beat him!"

"Don't worry about it," Kiba said as he stepped up beside Fu, all of Ryuu's other friends doing the same. "You don't have to do this. We'll handle it."

"You don't have to hurt anymore," Tayuya smiled. "Let us help you. Let us take the pain away."

Ryuu stared at them as they all turned toward Lena and Max, who were actually smiling now.

"You have friends," Max smiled. "I'm so glad."

"We were so afraid you wouldn't be able to forgive yourself," Lena smiled. "We were afraid you wouldn't be able to move past us."

"I'm sorry for what we're about to do to your friends," Max said, tears beginning to fall down Lena's face all over again. "Please forgive us. And please find the strength to move past this again."

He raised his hand and Ryuu felt his entire body begin to vibrate. Then, his body was off like a shot, reacting entirely on autopilot. One Ryuu appeared in front of Max, shoving his arm upward as another Ryuu tackled the entire line of his friends to the ground. Then, a massive blast of pure light exploded from Max's hand, taking off that Ryuu's head as it shot skyward before exploding in the middle of a cloud, the concussion clearing miles of the sky and kicking up a cloud of dust around them.

Everyone stared at the Ryuu at Max's feet as blood poured out of its neck for several long seconds before it faded, turning transparent and disappearing in under a second. Ryuu stood in front of his friends, hand pressed against his throat. He had felt that. That had been him. He hadn't used a clone. It had been his Body Flicker Technique. And yet, even though one of his two after-image clones, what should have been him, had their heads taken off, he was completely unscathed. And he had felt it. He had felt his head being erased by Max's jutsu. And yet, he was fine.

"What...how did you do that?" Fu asked. "You were in two places at once! You were literally in two places at once!"

"I don't know," Ryuu said. "Now leave."

"What?" Fu asked, brow furrowing.

"You can't fight them," Ryuu said. "None of you can. They're too strong. He can control any kind of energy, literally, to create attacks and weapons. Kinetic force, chakra, light, sound, even potential energy. And she can reanimate corpses to fight for her."

"Then let us help you," Kiba said. "You can't beat them both. Especially if you don't have it in you to kill them."

Ryuu stared at the ground in silence for a long while before inhaling slowly. "I have to do this. I have to be the one to beat them. Because it was my fault they died."

The others all looked around at each other unsurely.

"Go and help Naruto," Ryuu said. "He'll need you. I don't know for what, but he'll need you."

After another few moments of hesitation, the others all began to leave until only Fu and Tayuya remained.

"I'm not leaving you," Fu said. "Don't even try to argue it."

Ryuu sighed and nodded, then drew his tanto, handing it to Fu, along with his trench knife. Then, he held his hand out to the side, forming a Wind Rapier. Max held his hand out a little from his side and pure white light began to condense into it, spreading outward into the same double-edged light blade he had used when they fought before. Then, both shot forward. Ryuu pushed his Sharingan, shifting it into Mangekyo and twisted out of the way of Max's blade as he slashed at him. Sure enough, as before, Max's blade sliced through Ryuu's with ease, barely missing Ryuu. Then, Ryuu twisted, hardening his left fist and adding a repulsion seal, drilling it into Max's side. Max rocketed away from Ryuu instantly, exploding up through the top of the Main Gate, sending it flying skyward as a massive cloud of debris. Then, as Ryuu landed and turned to Lena, he bent backward, lying horizontal to the ground and bending his knees to get even lower, a pair of bone blades flashing over his head. He leapt backward as the skeleton standing between him and Lena began to grow spikes from every bone in its body.

"Kimimaro," Ryuu growled. "So Orochimaru found it after all."

He shot forward, forming a Wind Rapier and deflecting one of Kimimaro's blades, slipping past him and slashing at Lena, only to be yanked back at the last second, Kimimaro's finger bones all spiked along the insides, shredding his ankle and lower calf muscles. Then, Kimimaro turned, hurling Ryuu away from the village. Just as Ryuu bounced off the ground once, Max appeared in front of him, a blast of electricity hitting him in the chest, launching him backward even faster, sending him exploding through multiple trees. Ryuu flipped, slamming his feet into the ground and skidded to a stop, glancing down at his leg as it finished mending itself.

"This is going to be trouble after all," Ryuu sighed. "Not that that should surprise me."

He vanished just as all of the trees around him exploded, bits of wood flashing through the small clearing he had ended up in, lightning bolts following. A moment later, Max slowed to a stop in the air over it, lightning flashing out of his shoulder blades, arcing to the ground like massive, shifting spider legs. Ryuu appeared in front of him, wings extended and a Wind Rapier in each hand, paralysis seals streaming constantly through the blades.

"I remember teaching you those wings," Max said, smiling. "They're so beautiful."

"Yes they are," Ryuu said. "I always thought my wings would be a symbol of my freedom, but they're not. They're you two. They're our friendship."

Max's smile grew, even as he exploded forward, forming a pair of blades and beginning to slash at Ryuu rapidly. Ryuu grit his teeth, dodging and weaving around and away from the blades, slashing back when he could, but Max simply cut through the blades. Max slashed horizontally at Ryuu and Ryuu flipped over it, kicking downward at Max. Max spun out of the way, beginning to rise, only for Ryuu to flip, slashing downward at Max with his left hand, then around at him with his right, throwing a kick from the opposite side, a repulsion seal on his feet. Max shot backward, swiping a hand and sending his blade flashing at Ryuu as a disk. A second Ryuu appeared off to the side, just in time for the first to take the hit, a spray of blood shooting out of his back before that Ryuu faded, the first wincing and glancing down at the rip in his shirt, though he had no injury. Ryuu shook his head, exploding forward instantly. Max formed a sword from lightning and when Ryuu's blade hit his, a blade of transparent energy, looking more like a distortion of heat waves, formed in Max's other hand. Instantly, Ryuu's Gale Armor exploded into existence just in time to take the hit. A sound like an explosion went off and Ryuu exploded down into the ground, plowing through it for a hundred yards before flipping out of the trench and instantly being clotheslined by Kimimaro's skeleton. He shoved himself backward along the ground just as Kimimaro drove a bone blade down into the ground, then stood, spinning and swiping a hand, sending a Beast Wave Palm through a tree behind him. Instantly, Kimimaro fell away and when the tree fell, Lena staggered forward, catching herself on the tree and smiling as her body began to fall apart at the split, transforming into paper and ash. However, before it had even spread much, the falling paper and ash rolled back on itself, reforming her body in a wave, leaving her whole and uninjured. Ryuu's eyes widened as the full gravity of his situation began to set in. He was fucked.

"I'm sorry Ryuu," Lena said, holding out her hand. "You can't win this time."

Bones began to fly past her, reforming into Kimimaro's skeleton, adorning her body like a suit of armor, the skull enlarged to fit around her head. Before she could do anything, however, Ryuu launched himself to the side, Max hitting the ground with the full force of his kinetic energy and former potential energy, instantly sending up a dust cloud and sending Ryuu exploding along the ground to the Main Gate again. He flipped, extending his wings and stopping himself just shy of the gate, watching the trees in silence.

"Ryuu!" Fu shouted.

"Stay back!" Ryuu snapped. "They can't die! They just reform!"

"It's known as the Impure World Reincarnation," Kabuto said, stepping out of a side street. "Their bodies will endlessly regenerate. The only countermeasure is to seal them, or to force the jutsu caster to end the jutsu. Even killing Orochimaru would simply make it permanent."

"Dammit!" Ryuu snarled. "I don't have any seals that strong!"

"You'd better think of something," Kabuto said, eyeing the mushroom cloud in the distance.

Ryuu nodded just as a massive beam of pure heat erupted out of the trees at him, Ryuu instinctively exhaling a Pressure Damage, barely fending off the blast. Then, he swung his arms forward, his wings flapping once and sending chakra feathers streaking into the trees, explosions beginning to go off rapidly, trees being blown apart. Then, Max stepped out of the explosions, which wrapped around a space a few inches off his body before curling back together behind him. He held his hand out to the side, the explosions, which had yet to actually end, any of them, forming into a sphere a few inches from his palm as a dozen of the unexploded feathers floating into the air around him. Ryuu swallowed hard, allowing his wings to fade and holding his hands at his sides, a pair of spheres of Wind Chakra forming in each. Then, as Max swung his hand forward, the sphere of flames launching itself at Ryuu, Ryuu swung his arms forward, the spheres connecting and exploding into a massive tornado of razor-sharp wind, blowing out the flames only for the feathers to explode against it, igniting the Wind Chakra and allowing Max to take control of it. He swung his hand around his body, the flames following, only for Ryuu to appear in front of him. Except, Max had moved as well. Max now had a light blade through Ryuu's abdomen, and Ryuu had a fist embedded in Max's.

"Ryuu!" Fu shrieked, sprinting forward.

Ryuu staggered backward, the light blade fading as dozens of chakra suppression seals spread from the hole in Max's abdomen, only for Max to hold his hand out, pure chakra flowing out of the seals to his palm, the seals falling away as ink. Then, the chakra in Max's hand transformed into a blade. Ryuu fell to his knees as Fu reached him, only for Lena to appear, punting Fu in the face and sending her crashing into the wall.

"Fu!" Ryuu shouted, appearing beside her, his abdomen finishing sealing.

"I'm okay," Fu promised, standing and wiping a trickle of blood from her lip. "You can't fight them both, but she's not that strong."

"She's resisting," Ryuu said. "She's holding herself back."

"I'll fight her," Fu said. "Be careful with him."

"I will," Ryuu nodded.

Fu stood and blood red chakra, too thick to see through, erupted over her entire body, six wings made from the same chakra spreading from her back before she took off, slamming a punch into Lena's crossed forearms instantly, sending her exploding backward, then chasing her. Ryuu turned to Max again as Max gripped his chakra sword with both hands, the chakra transforming into a pair of glowing spheres around his fists. Ryuu formed his Gale Armor, compressing it around his hands and feet, then took off, his fist exploding into Max's, the ground below them cratering before Ryuu's foot swung around, crashing into a kinetic energy shroud that was encasing Max's own foot, the ground cratering again. They began to trade blows, Ryuu extending his wings as they hovered there, their blows growing faster and faster. Except, the faster they moved, the stronger Max grew. Finally, as his foot met Ryuu's for the hundredth time, there was an explosion of raw force and Ryuu shot backward, Max rocketing after him.

Lena crashed to the ground and flipped, skidding to a stop before ducking out of the way of Fu's fist, stabbing at her with a bone spike on her right hand. Fu twisted out of the way and a third arm erupted from the chakra covering her face, slamming its fist into Lena's head, sending her bouncing backward, the skull protecting her head cracked. Lena grew spikes from her feet, stabbing them into the ground and stopping herself before swiping her arms, bone spikes firing from her skeleton, drilling through Fu, only for the chakra to be sucked into a crack in the ground. Then, a fist exploded out of the ground below Lena, crashing into the underside of Lena's jaw and launching her backward again, the skull shattering. Lena bounced once before Fu's arm extended, swinging around at Lena from the side like a whip. Lena flipped, forming a massive blade from her left arm, slashing the arm before it could reach her, severing it. However, just as she landed, the severed hand exploded, sending her crashing along the ground again. Fu streaked around, getting into her path, her left fist expanding to the side of Lena's body, only for Lena to flip, a massive bone shield forming almost instantly, blocking the fist.

Lena skidded backward and Fu lunged, punching at Lena again. However, Lena deflected the punch off of her shield, twisting and driving a bone spike through Fu's left shoulder, barely missing her heart. Fu's arm exploded into the ground, launching her backward off of the spike. Within seconds, the Tailed Beast Chakra had healed her wound and then sealed, but Fu didn't charge again. Instead, she opened her mouth, a sphere of pure chakra shooting out of her mouth, exploding into Lena's shield and shattering it. Lena exploded through a tree before flipping, swinging her arms and sending finger bones streaking through the air, the bones slamming into Fu's chakra but failing to break through, instead throwing Fu backward into a tree, cratering it. The moment Fu had stopped flying through the air, a red-tinted Pressure Damage exploded out of her mouth, the tree she was against cratering further as the force of the jutsu shoved Fu backward. Lena slammed her hands together, a massive shield forming, only to be blown apart. Pieces of Lena's skeleton flew in every direction and pieces of Lena fell around the ground. However, after a moment, her body reformed and she swung her arms forward, the bones all returning and reforming her skeleton, skull and all, before she grew a pair of short bone swords. Fu held her hands out, chakra forming into a pair of short blades in her hands before hardening as Fu shot forward, their blades clashing, throwing off bone chips and chakra sparks, but failing to get through each other's. Then, they began to slash at each other rapidly, their blades clashing again and again as they struggled to land a hit, blocking and dodging as often as striking.

Ryuu crashed into the ground, bouncing once before Max appeared in front of him, slamming a kick into his chest, blood spraying out of Ryuu's mouth. He flipped, landing on his hands and feet and skidding backward, the flesh on his hands being shredded, before stopping just in time to launch himself backward, Max exploding into the ground. The energy he had collected from his kinetic and potential energy exploded, sending massive boulders flying in every direction. One crashed squarely into Ryuu's chest, shattering his already broken ribs before Ryuu slipped under it, landing on the ground. A second later, blood sprayed out of Ryuu's mouth in place of a scream as Max slammed into his chest, knees first. He flipped off instantly and shot high into the air before swiping his arms downward, spears of pure light forming and flashing down into Ryuu's limbs, three per limb, pinning him to the ground. Then, he dropped, landing on his feet over Ryuu, feet on either side of Ryuu's torso, another light spear forming in his hand.

"Thought...Oro...maru...wanted...me," Ryuu choked out around his own blood.

"Only your Sharingan," Max said. "You're too much a threat. I'm sorry Ryuu. You did well, but I can't die this time. Hopefully we can be together again in the afterlife."

Then, Max drove the spear downward, blood beginning to soak the ground instantly. Just as he did, Lena and Fu crashed to the ground, Lena flipping backward and landing on her feet as Fu bounced away, rolling to a stop before looking over to Max and Ryuu.

"Ryuu!" she shrieked instantly, beginning to sob. "No! You can't! You're not dead! You bastard! You said Orochimaru wanted him!"

"His Sharingan," Max said. "He's given up on Ryuu. I'm so sorry, Fu. I never wanted this."

"Neither did I."

All three whipped their heads around to the side where Ryuu staggered out of the trees, the holes in his arms and legs just finishing sealing, and his torso rippling and cracking as his ribs reset and his organs mended themselves. Blood coated his chin from his mouth, his entire body was coated in blood from the multiple wounds he had suffered and healed during the fight, and there was a wound in his forehead that was just starting to seal, though it looked to be shallow, despite the blood flooding out of it and into his eyes, the blood running out of the corners of his eyes like tears, making his eyes burn.

"That was too close," Ryuu said. "Whatever this new jutsu is, it's exhausting. And it's fucking hard to use when I'm in pain, or pinned down."

Fu shot across the clearing they were in, grabbing Ryuu in a hug and spinning. "I thought I lost you!"

"The fight's not over yet, Fu," Ryuu said. "No throwing out death flags yet."

Fu set him on his feet and nodded, turning back to Lena and Max. Lena held her arms out to the sides, growing a pair of bone swords and stepping forward, only to freeze, entire body beginning to tremble.

"What's going on?" Max asked. "What are you doing?"

"Fu, watch out for him," Lena said, taking another step but shaking badly with the obvious strain of resisting, though Ryuu wasn't sure how.

"I will," Fu said. "Always."

Lena nodded, face contorting in effort as the cracks in her body began to deepen, a white aura enveloping her body. Then, all at once, it deconstructed, a corpse falling out of it, and left a glowing, transparent Lena behind.

"I've heard so much about you, Fu," Lena smiled as she began to rise. "I was so afraid that he would be alone after Max and I died. I'm so happy he still had you. Please, stay by his side. I may never be able to have him, but as long as he has you, that's enough."

"I will," Fu nodded.

Lena smiled. "Good."

"How did you regain control?" Max asked, his body forming a light sword.

"I refuse to hurt Ryuu or the person he loves anymore," Lena said. "I wanted to test her, to see if she was willing to do whatever it takes to be by his side, and was also capable of it. And now that I know she is, I won't be controlled anymore."

Max smiled, crouching and raising the sword. "I see."

Lena faded and Max shot forward. Ryuu moved to meet his charge, ducking around the blade and drilling a punch into his jaw, throwing him backward.

"Lena always was the best of us," Max said, his body regenerating a little slower than before. "I can't take control like her."

"I know," Ryuu nodded as Max stood. "We'll find a way."

"Thank you," Max said.

"Fu, I need you to talk to Chomei, see if he knows a way to force Max's soul to return to the afterlife. I'll deal with him while you do."

"Okay," Fu nodded. "Please be careful."

"I can't promise that," Ryuu said. "Hurry."

Fu leapt backward and Ryuu shot forward just as Max finished regenerating. Light encased Max's fist as Ryuu's Gale Armor encased his own. Their fists exploded into each other's twice before Ryuu blinked and felt ten punches explode into his torso, sending him streaking backward. He instinctively activated his Body Flicker Technique and extended his wings, stopping himself as Max streaked toward him, the world around them seeming to be frozen. Ryuu shot forward, brusheding Max's punch aside and Max spun, swinging a windmill kick at Ryuu. Ryuu ducked under it, flipping forward, his feet swinging down at Max from above. Max blocked them with one hand, then drilled the other fist into Ryuu's back, breaking his spine. Ryuu flipped and spun away, his legs completely numb. After a moment, he managed to stop himself right-side-up, and shot forward, shouting in agony as his back cracked loudly, resetting and beginning to heal. Max's right fist began to all but shine and Ryuu focused, ducking to the side just in time to avoid the punch, the Gale Armor on his right fist turning blue and growing into the same demonic hand that Sora could form, the one Ryuu had been unable to form before. Ryuu slammed the hand into Max's chest and it exploded outward, expanding into the full-size version before hooting outward for a dozen feet before exploding, sending Max blasting backward along the ground, slowing down at the same time as Ryuu allowed his Body Flicker Technique to end, head spinning as his wings faded, his body falling limply to the ground. He crashed to the ground on his back, vision swimming for a moment before returning, allowing him to see Max falling toward him, right fist shining. He grunted in effort, rolling up onto his shoulders and focusing whatever chakra he had left into his feet, forming Gale Armor around them one last time before kicking upward. His feet met Max's face and the Gale Armor exploded upward into a massive tornado of Wind Chakra, obliterating Max's upper half. Max's body flipped end over end as it fell, crashing down just above Ryuu.

It began to regenerate slowly, the ashes slowly climbing from his wait to form his front half first, forming his face before beginning to spread backward, leaving Max lying with the top of his head pointed toward the top of Ryuu's, a few inches separating them. Both lay motionless, Ryuu completely out of strength, and Max unable to move while his body regenerated.

"You've grown so strong," Max said. "If I wasn't immortal, I'd have died a long time ago."

"If...you weren't...immortal...we...wouldn't be...fighting...because...you wouldn't be...being controlled," Ryuu panted.

"I suppose so," Max chuckled. "I'm proud of you. You were always stronger than I could ever hope to be. Even with my Kekkei Genkai."

"That's not true," Ryuu said. "You were stronger. You sacrificed yourself for us, even though it meant that you could never be with Lena. And you could have killed me a thousand times during our fight."

"I don't mean power-wise," Max said. "You were strong in ways I could never have been. If it had been Fu instead of Lena, and she were in love with someone else, you would have sacrificed yourself without a second thought. It's easy to sacrifice yourself for the one you love. But you were always stronger than me. Real strength. Not just physically. You were braver, more determined. No matter how hopeless it seemed, you never gave up. No matter how much what we had to do there tore at you, you never gave up. And you were never afraid of anything that happened there. You'd have fought Orochimaru himself if it had meant saving us and Fu. I could have never been that brave. Or that selfless. Even when I was sacrificing myself for you, it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to kill you. I wanted to kill you for being the one she chose. But I knew that if I did, I would cause her more pain than Orochimaru and his thugs ever could."

"I don't blame you," Ryuu smiled. "If I was ever strong, it was because of you and Lena. Even my strength now, being this powerful, it's all because of the two of you. I don't want to fail anyone. I can't. Not like I failed the two of you. Not again. Never again."

"You won't," Max said as his body finished regenerating and he stood, forming a light blade. "I guess this is it, then."

"Yeah," Ryuu nodded. "Just in time."

Fu appeared behind Max, placing a hand to his back. Instantly a seal flashed over his body and shone. Then, all of the ash and paper making up Max's body exploded off, the corpse collapsing beside Ryuu as Max's soul began to rise.

"Holy shit," Max said, staring at his translucent hands. "You found a way. How?"

"It's a seal that rips the soul from a person's body," Fu said. "It's the first half of how Chomei was sealed in his first host. It's meant to seal the soul away, but if I don't seal you, you can move on again."

"Thank you," Max smiled. "Ryuu, we'll be watching. Never give up who you are."

"I won't," Ryuu smiled. "I hope you can win Lena's heart while you're together."

Max smiled, shaking his head. "It's always belonged to you."

Ryuu nodded as Max began to rise faster, fading as he went until he was gone. Ryuu sighed and his vision began to swim again, darkness closing in rapidly.

"Stay awake," Fu's voice whispered from somewhere far away, Ryuu struggling to cling to it. "You need to stay awake. You've used up too much chakra."

He felt chakra begin to trickle into his body, drawing him back toward reality, and clung to it, forcing his eyes open, lights and colors dancing in front of his eyes. He could barely make out Fu, but that was about it.

"Just hang in there," Fu's voice again whispered. "Just hang in there. We're almost done."

He wondered for a moment who the "we" was, and also what they were doing. However, his mind was too exhausted to care, and before he could consider it for more than what felt like a moment, a second voice finally gave him permission to sleep. He fought it, however.

"It's alright," Fu's voice whispered, sounding further away. "Rest. I'll be here when you wake."

Ryuu sighed as he felt himself slipping away, drifting off into a dreamless sleep.

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