A.N. Here is the continuation of Part 2 of the Anime Cinematic Universe! Here, we see Jack Maguire face off against the biggest and baddest shinobi of the Elemental Nations! Will he triumph? Will he survive? Let's find out!
Let'sgetiton!
Disclaimer: OCMixmaster27 does not own any of the franchises represented in this story apart from original characters. This work is made for nonprofit entertainment purposes only.
"Hello there!": Speech.
'This is gonna be fun': Thoughts.
[All systems are go!]: Mechanical Speech
{Welcome to Japan.}: Foreign Speech
"How Dare You!": Monster/Demon Speech, Special Technique
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An OCMixmaster27 Production…
Sentinel: Odyssey
Chapter 2: Fall of the Akatsuki
Location: Unknown Cavern, Cell
Date: June 28th, 2016
In the darkness, a lone figure sits shackled in the corner of his cell, staring out blankly into the shadows. His rag-covered form is scrawny and malnourished, his skin is pale from lack of sunlight, and is once vibrant golden hair is dulled.
It's the boy's face, however, that shows the most change. That face used to be almost always set in a smile, bright and cheerful, and his two blue eyes were filled with hope and devotion. Now, his face is blank, devoid of any emotion. As for his right eye, the one that isn't milky and scarred, his icy blue orb is cold and empty.
How long has he been a prisoner of the Akatsuki? How long has it been since he was cast out from his "home" and left out for the wolves by his "comrades"? How long–
"Naruto-kun."
The boy known as Naruto tiredly turns his head to regard the black-eyed man gazing at him from outside his cell.
Itachi. The man who captured him.
"We're leaving," Itachi states as he enters the cell and approaches the blonde. He frees the boy's shackles from the wall but leaves the shackles themselves locked. He then raises Naruto to his feet, with Naruto flinching at the physical contact.
As Naruto is led out of the cell and down the hall, he gazes blankly at the man escorting him. Of all of the Akatsuki, Itachi was the least cruel to him. Ironic, given what the man did to his own family, especially his little brother. In a way, Itachi was partly responsible for Naruto's cruel fate.
Naruto shakes his head. The amount of people responsible for his suffering can literally fill an entire village.
'Is this really my destiny? To suffer until I die?' Naruto thinks to himself.
The boy's internal lamenting is interrupted by the sound of fighting in the chamber ahead, along with voices.
"Okay, cunts, who's next?"
"I am. Shinra Tensei!"
Naruto and Itachi finally enter the main chamber, where the entirety of the Akatsuki looks on as a fight appears to be drawing to a close. Naruto idly notes that Hidan is down on the ground, his face bloody and beaten, while Kisame is standing back up on his feet, nursing his sore jaw.
It's the unknown person at the other end of the chamber, however, that has Naruto's full attention.
It's a young man who looks only a couple of years older than Naruto, with auburn hair and emerald eyes full of energy. His face is more rugged than most people's, and yet quite handsome. The young man's upper body is exposed, revealing a toned body fit for a fighter.
Despite the situation, Naruto can't help but blush at the attractive teenager.
Unfortunately, said teenager is in the grip of the worst possible individuals.
"We are Pain," both individuals speak simultaneously. "We are the leader of Akatsuki, and you have answers for us."
Kisame gives a dangerous grin. "Hehehe. You're in trouble now brat."
The gruffer orange-haired man approaches the teenager with his arm extended as both of the Pains say, "You will give us answers."
Naruto turns away and shuts his eyes hard. He's seen what happens next before, and he doesn't want to witness it happen to the poor young man in front of him.
Naruto hears the other teenager cry out. "Get away!"
'Please,' Naruto begs internally.
"Fuck off!"
'Just make it quick.'
Naruto braces himself for the screams of agony.
He's unprepared for what happens next.
"I SAID FUCK OFF!"
FSHWOOOOOOOOOOM!
Naruto sees a flash of orange behind his eyelids and feels a surge of heat right above him. Naruto looks up and is shocked to see twin beams of orange energy shooting above him and digging into the rock wall behind him.
After a few moments, the beams dissipate. Naruto shakily turns his head to find out where the beams came from.
He gets his answer as he sees both Pains fall to the ground lifelessly, their heads burned off of their shoulders. Next to them, the very teenager that was in their grasp is now standing above them, his once greens eyes now glowing orange with energy. So much energy, in fact, that the young man is rubbing them with a pained expression on his face.
Naruto's once emotionless face is now frozen with shock, confusion, and some amazement.
'H-How…how did he–'
"GRAAAAH!]
Naruto's eyes widen further as the strange young man gives out a scream, his voice becoming more…artificial. That strangeness, however, is nothing compared to what happens next.
Naruto sees metal appears to ooze out of the teenager's back and torso. The metal travels up and down his body, covering him from head to toe and turning him into a thrashing metal statue. The metal doesn't stop there, though. It continues to expand, causing the statue to grow bigger and bigger. The statue eventually stops thrashing about and halts its expansion at a height of 12'. The metal then appears to solidify and smooth out along its body and limbs. Finally, an opening forms at the face of the statue, revealing a glowing orange orb that appears to serve as the statue's eye.
The result is a colossal metal cyclops bearing its massive eye down at everyone in the room.
[SENTINEL EMERGENCY MODE ACTIVATED.]
Naruto flinches when the cyclops speaks in a mechanical version of the stranger's voice. He idly notes the terrified voices nearby but is too focused on the metal giant in front of him to discern the details.
[BEGINNING SCAN OF COMBAT ENVIRONMENT.]
Naruto fearfully watches as an orange light shines from the cyclops' eye and sweeps all around the room, passing over every object, feature, and person in the room. Once it makes a single pass around, the light shuts off.
[SCANNING COMPLETE.]
Naruto feels Itachi tense as he, along with the other Akatsuki, appear to be marked by orange laser beams.
[TARGETS IDENTIFIED.]
Another beam shoots out of the eye. This one lands on Naruto, who freezes in terror.
[CIVILIAN IDENTIFIED.]
The lasers shut off as the cyclops crouches down and clenches its fists, appearing as if it's about to pounce. All around Naruto, the Akatsuki brace themselves for a battle as they see the orange eye glow with power.
[INITIATING OFFENSIVE PROCEDURES. DESTROY ALL TARGETS!]
Location: Unknown
Jack Maguire bolts upright and looks around with wide eyes. He quickly stands up and gives himself a check over, noting that he doesn't have a single scratch on him. With that done, he looks around again to fully analyze his surroundings.
The first thing that hits him is the warm orange glow that fills the sky above him. The next is the vast amount of emptiness all around him. It appears that he could clearly see miles ahead of him in every direction. The feeling of metal beneath his feet causes him to look down. He sees himself looking back at him, his form reflected perfectly in the smooth-as-glass metal below him.
He's so busy admiring his reflection, however, that he fails to notice a metal blob rise up from the floor behind him.
[Greetings, Master.]
Acting on impulse, Jack turns around and raises his arm up for a punch. He pauses, though, as he fully takes in the thing speaking to him.
It is a large metal cylinder with a rounded head and an orange light emanating from a slit in its front, like a singular eye.
Jack only takes a moment to analyze the cylinder before recognition appears in his eyes.
"You. You're that metal orb, aren't you?" Jack asks.
[You are correct, Master,] the cylinder confirms. [I am The Sentinel, a symbiotic cybernetic organism.]
Jack looks around the vast expanse around him and asks, "What is this place?"
[We are currently located in your mental landscape, or mindscape for short. You were experiencing a severe mental breakdown due the events you experienced in the past two hours. I pulled your consciousness into your mind so that you may recover without disturbance, Master,] The Sentinel explains.
Jack nods, not fully understanding the pillar's words. He then glares at The Sentinel.
"What did you do to me?" Jack demands.
[I have bonded with your form on a cellular level. In other words, we have combined into one organism. My strength, my durability, my intellect, all of my abilities and assets are yours to command, Master,] The Sentinel responds.
Jack raises an eyebrow. "Master?"
[Correct. I have chosen you to wield my power, therefore, you are my master,] The Sentinel states evenly.
"Yeah, I'm not having any of that. Call me Jack," the young man orders.
[As you wish, Jack,] The Sentinel says.
"And The Sentinel is a bit of a mouthful," Jack continues. "I'll call you…Sen."
[As you wish, Jack,] Sen responds. [Are their any other alterations you would like to make to make yourself more comfortable?]
Jack gives the pillar a once over. "Yeah, can you look like anything other than a dildo?"
[Yes, Jack. This is your mindscape. Simply think of a form for me to take, and I will transform into that form,] Sen explains.
Jack puts his hand to his chin as he thinks of a form for Sen. It only takes him a few seconds to think of a form, the thought of which puts a smile on his face.
Immediately, Sen transforms. The metal pillar is replaced with a human. The human form is a tall, muscular man with a tough, Austrian face and short brown hair. The man wears a black leather jacket over a black shirt, black jeans, black boots, and black shades over his eyes. (A.N. Anyone who doesn't recognize him, shame on you.)
Jack laughs with delight. "Fuckin' perfect!"
"Thank you, Jack," Sen responds with his now deeper, more human voice. "Out of curiosity, why this form in particular?"
Jack approaches Sen and pats the larger figure's shoulder. "This man represented a cybernetic organism in the most brilliant way possible!"
Sen gives a small nod. "Interesting. I will have to research this person thoroughly."
Jack gives a nod himself, before looking around the vast emptiness. "So, can I change all of this around me, too?"
"Affirmative. As previously stated, this is your mindscape," Sen confirms.
Jack closes his eyes again, picturing a familiar landscape in his head. When he opens them, the flat expanse is replaced with rolling hills, grass, trees, and a lake to his side. It's not a complete imitation, due to the orange sky, but it's close enough.
"I take it that this landscape also has personal significance?" Sen asks.
"That's right. This is Central Park, a famous landmark back home–" Jack explains, before shaking his head and glaring at Sen. "Wait a damn minute! I've got questions for you, you metal bastard! For starters, why the hell did you kidnap me?!"
"If you are referring to your transportation to the Elemental Nations, my protocol stated that I would return here once a suitable host was found," Sen states.
"Elemental…" Jack pauses and sighs with frustration. "You know what, start from the beginning, and just explain to me all of the necessary fucking info I need to know! Preferably without drowning me with extra bullshit!"
"As you wish, Jack," Sen says, before beginning his explanation. "I was created approximately 942 years ago by Hamura Ootsutsuki. At the time, my purpose was to assist Hamura and his older brother, Hagoromo, with defeating their mother, Kaguya, a goddess whose power caused her to become mentally unstable. After her defeat, I assisted the two brothers with bringing stability to the land their mother once ruled, which is now known as the Elemental Nations, due to the fact that they are named after the elements of nature. Hagoromo taught the people how to use chakra, the power that was bestowed to the people by Kaguya, in a practice known as Ninshu, which evolved into Ninjutsu."
"Ninjutsu? You're saying there are ninjas roaming around here?" Jack asks incredulously.
"The correct term is Shinobi, and yes," Sen explains. "My creator, meanwhile, left the Elemental Nations and formed the Brotherhood of the Forge, an organization that created weapons to protect humanity. Hamura eventually returned and died of old age, but not before sealing me into a dormant state. My last instructions from him were to stay dormant and wait, until a suitable bonding candidate was found."
"Wait a minute. Are you saying that I'm the only one you've bonded to in a thousand years?" Jack asks.
"Exactly," Sen confirms.
Jack is taken aback by this. "Damn. Must have been lonely for you."
"Negative. I am unable to experience loneliness," Sen states evenly.
Jack massages his temples as he processes this information. He then asks, "So, why me? I'm sure there are better candidates besides yours truly."
"Negative," Sen answers quickly. "My creator's instructions were clear; I would only bond with a person with a strong body, a kind heart, and a pure spirit. When you approached my dormant form, I observed that you were physically strong. During my subsequent mental probing, I discovered that you were a person who treated the innocent with kindness, and though you were prone to violence, it was only truly due to the need to protect yourself and others, thus proving that you contained a kind heart. When you risked your life to protect the other human in the museum, despite the strong amount of danger you were in, you demonstrated your purity of spirit, thus passing the final parameter. All that was needed was a biological link, which you provided with your blood. With that, I could begin the bonding process."
"You know, I've also beaten people up in competitions for trophies," Jack points out.
"…No human is perfect," Sen states.
Jack chuckles at this, then asks, "So, what are we supposed to do now?"
"Hamura stated that I would be bonded in order to save humanity from a great threat," says Sen.
"What threat?" Jack asks.
"Unknown," Sen responds, "My creator did not specify what that threat would be."
Jack ponders to himself what the "great threat" would be.
'Maybe it has something to do with those cultist bas–'
His previous memories hit him like a ton of bricks. "AH SHITE! Those Akatsuki bastards! I can't believe I forgot about them! What happened to them?! The last thing I remember was–"
Sen interrupts, "We are currently engaged in combat with them as we speak."
Jack blinks. "Come again?"
"Observe."
The sky shifts above the two, allowing Jack to see the outside world.
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
FSHWOOOOOOOOOOM! FSHWOOOOOOOOOOM! FSHWOOOOOOOOOOM!
The Akatsuki scatter as multiple orange beams attempt to cut them down. Konan hovers in the air using wings made out of paper to avoid the beams, while Deidara flies around on a white clay owl. Kakuzu reluctantly helps Hidan avoid the attacks, the latter still recovering from the beatdown he received earlier.
Itachi dodges one of the beams, only for another to come straight at him. Thankfully, he's saved by Kisame, who blocks the beam with his weapon. The heat from the beam burns the bandages off of the weapon, revealing a large mass of blue scales with a mouth on top. When the beam stops, the weapon appears to be glowing red hot at the point of impact, but otherwise undamaged.
Tobi appears to be comically dancing around the beams, narrowly avoiding being vaporized. He then notices a beam approaching a still frozen Zetsu.
"Mr. Zetsu! Watch out!" Tobi calls out as he tackles Zetsu out of the beam's path. Both landing unharmed, Tobi tries to snap Zetsu out of his shock. "Mr. Zetsu! What's wrong?!"
"Tobi! We need to get out of here right now!" Zetsu yells with fear in his now normal-sounding voice.
"What? But we're the Akatsuki! We can beat this guy!" Tobi declares with childlike innocence.
"No, we can't! That thing is a god-killer!" Zetsu's demonic voice cries out.
Tobi gasps with shock at Zetsu's claim. He turns and looks at the metal cyclops bracing itself for the Akatsuki's counterattack.
Konan is the first to attack. She launches a barrage of paper shuriken at The Sentinel, but the weapons merely bounce off the metal body, leaving not a single scratch.
Itachi and Kisame run to either side of The Sentinel and attempt a dual attack. Both of them quickly flash through handsigns.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball." Itachi cups his hand around his mouth and spits out a massive fireball.
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet!" Kisame spits out a large stream of water out of his mouth, which reforms into a large shark-shaped bullet.
Both attacks shoot straight at The Sentinel.
The Sentinel responds by throwing its right fist at the fireball, punching through the flames with a force that dissipates the fire. Its head then turns around in an inhuman fashion, allowing it to face the shark. Its eye shoots out a massive laser, destroying the shark, which falls to the ground harmlessly as water.
This seemingly leaves The Sentinel's back exposed, which a now recovered Hidan exploits by charging right at the giant and swinging his scythe in an attempt to slice a chunk out of the one who knocked him out. Unfortunately for Hidan, The Sentinel appears to anticipate this move, as another orange eye appears to form on the cyclops's back. The eye shoots out a beam of energy that hits Hidan's arms, incinerating them from the elbow down.
"FUCK!" Hidan cries out as he falls to the ground in a heap, literally disarmed as his weapon lands beside him with a clang.
"That's what you get for rushing in, idiot," Kakuzu states teasingly.
"Screw you, you decrepit mummy!" Hidan yells with pain and rage in his voice.
Kakuzu shrugs off the insult as he forms a handsign. "Lightning Release: False Darkness."
A spear of lightning shoots out of Kakuzu's mouth and straight at The Sentinel's head. To Kakuzu's shock, The Sentinel responds by clapping its hands together, catching the spear between its hands. The lightning disperses and travels across the cyclops's form, which appears to absorb the energy.
The Sentinel's sole eye now crackles with electricity. It shoots an orange beam straight at Kakuzu, this one having electricity mixed in. Kakuzu barely dodges the beam, which utterly destroys the wall behind him.
The Sentinel is about to attack Kakuzu again, only for ten clay spiders to land on its head and shoulders.
"Art is an explosion!" Deidara calls out before forming a handsign. "Katsu!"
All ten spiders explode simultaneously, obscuring The Sentinel's form with smoke.
Deidara laughs with triumph. "Hahaha! I hope you appreciate my art, un!"
FSHWOOOOOOOOOOM!
Deidara's gloating is cut off by an orange beam that he narrowly avoids, though it burns off his ponytail in the process. The blonde looks shocked as the smoke clears, revealing The Sentinel completely undamaged.
From a distance, Naruto is hidden in a corner of the chamber, completely unharmed as all of The Sentinel's attacks appear to avoid him. He watches with shock as the metal cyclops fights off the most powerful shinobi in the land with apparent ease.
Location: Jack's Mindscape
"Holy shite! We are kicking arse right now!" Jack cries out with delight as he watches The Sentinel shrug off all of the attacks.
"When Hamura created me, he included a process that allows me to physically adapt to attacks and energies, thus creating a natural immunity to them. Because of this, our body has been hardened to withstand not only physical attack and explosions, but also Elemental Ninjutsu, especially Lightning Release," Sen explains. "That being said, the longer this battle continues, the greater a chance there is that our opponents will find a tactic or technique that could defeat us. Therefore, I recommend that we finish this fight as soon as possible."
"Fine by me," Jack says. "I want to get out of this hellhole!"
Sen focuses the view on Deidara, who appears to be molding some white material in his hands as he glares at The Sentinel.
"What's that in his hands?" Jack asks.
"It appears to be a material similar to clay that has explosive properties when triggered," Sen states.
"That sounds a lot like C-4," Jack says. At Sen's questioning look, he continued. "My uncle told me about this stuff. C-4 is a type of plastic explosive that detonates when you apply an electric shock to it." Jack pauses as a thought occurs to him. "Do you think that his explosives work the same way?"
Sen looks towards the blond bomber with an inquisitive look. "Perhaps."
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
Deidara flies his owl towards The Sentinel, the mouths in his hands quickly molding a large mass of his clay into another bomb.
"How about a bigger sampling of my art, you bastard!" Deidara shouts as he prepares his attack.
From a distance, Tobi watches his fellow Akatsuki member charge at the cyclops. He notices that the cyclops' hands are crackling with electricity.
"Senpai! Watch out!" Tobi call out with concern in his voice.
"Shut up, Tobi!" Deidara shouts, oblivious to the danger.
Just as Deidara is about to launch his bomb, The Sentinel throughs his hands out towards the bomber, causing streams of lighting to surge from its fingertips and across Deidara's body, along with his owl's body.
Deidara grits his teeth as he feels the electricity course through him. 'This lightning…feels heavy…like it's laced…with chakra!'
Deidara's eyes widen as he looks down. He sees his clay mount, the clay in his hands, and the clay in his sack all react to the chakra-laced lightning. He knows from experience what's about to happen next.
Despite the pain, Deidara smiles. "What a way to go."
KA-BOOOOM!
Location: Jack's Mindscape
Jack's eyes widen in horror as he sees a man explode right in front of his eyes.
"Did…did we just…" Jack mutters.
"He has been terminated," Sen confirms.
Jack suddenly feels woozy and struggles to stand. "I…I just killed a man."
"He was attempting to kill you, and so are the rest of the people in this group. Your aversion to killing other humans is respected, but they have no such aversions. My priority is our survival, and if they survive this fight, they will likely continue to attempt to destroy us," Sen states matter-of-factly.
Jack glares at Sen as he gathers himself. As much as he hates to admit it, Sen has a point. These Akatsuki will probably hunt him down to the ends of the earth if they survive.
Jack pulls himself up straight and tells Sen, "After this fight, no killing other people unless I say so. That's an order."
Sen stares at Jack for a moment, then responds, "Understood."
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
The Sentinel watches as the smoke from Deidara's explosive death dissipates, leaving not a single bit of the blonde bomber left.
[TARGET TERMINATED,] The Sentinel says in a robotic tone.
It then pauses as it feels something on its body. The cyclops looks down and sees countless sheets of paper covering its form. It struggles to remove the paper with its hands, but it's useless. Eventually, the paper envelopes every square inch of its body, including its eye.
From a distance, Konan grits her teeth as she manipulates her paper into trapping the cyclops.
'I just need to contain this being for just a few minutes. Then, when Pain returns, he can–'
Konan's thoughts are cut off as she sees smoke coming from under the wrappings, which soon begin to glow red with heat. Her eyes widen with shock as her chakra-enforced paper begins to smolder and burn, while The Sentinel curls up into itself, as if something is building up inside of it. The Sentinel suddenly throws its arms up, and a burst of heat erupts from its body, turning its paper prison into ash.
'Impossible! Only a powerful fire Jutsu can destroy my paper like that!' Konan screams internally as she flinches from the wave of ash. She recovers and sees The Sentinel's body radiating with heat. Her fear intensifies as the orange eye levels its gaze at the blue-haired woman. She prepares to fight for her life as the cyclops walks towards her.
Tang!
The Sentinel stops as it feels something impact its leg. It looks down and sees Hidan grabbing his scythe by his teeth of all things and swinging it wildly at the cyclops's knee.
"FUCK! YOU! MOTHER! FUCKER!" Hidan yells through clenched teeth with each of his haphazard swings.
Location: Jack's Mindscape
Both Jack and Sen's faces are deadpan.
"…So…he's an idiot," Jack states.
"Affirmative," Sen responds.
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
Hidan's assault is interrupted by a giant hand grabbing his neck. Hidan lets out a scream of pain as his throat is enveloped by red-hot metal. He's lifted up to eye level with The Sentinel, its glowing orange slit staring straight at him.
Hidan, despite the pain, smirks. "What the fuck do you think you can do to me? I'm immortal, dumbass! I've been stabbed, drowned, burned, had my limbs cut off, and I still survived! No matter what you'll do, I'll always…come back…"
Hidan trails off as he sees the orange glow intensify and the cyclops's eye focus right on his face.
"…AH, FU–"
FSHWOOOOOOM!
Hidan's screams are quickly silenced as an orange beam of energy envelops his entire head. The others in the room watch in horror as the beam incinerates the former scythe-wielder's head completely. When the beam dissipates, Hidan's carbonized head is permanently etched in an open-mouthed scream of pain.
[TARGET TERMINATED,] The Sentinel states evenly as it drops the body to the ground, the blackened head shattering like glass.
Location: Jack's Mindscape
"A little overkill, don't you think?" Jack asks as he cringes at the headless body.
"His arms were incinerated, yet he did not enter shock or suffer any other adverse effects. This led credibility of his claims to be immortal. Carbonizing his brain was the only way to guarantee his termination," Sen explains.
"If you say so," Jack says, before noticing something on the viewing screen. "Sen, watch out!"
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"
The Sentinel quickly grabs the darkened fist before it can try to pierce his chest. It focuses its gaze at the hand, which appears to be attached to the attacker's body with grey threads. It follows the threads to the masked giant of the Akatsuki who launched his own hand.
"You have no idea how eager I am to claim your heart as mine!" Kakuzu declares with excitement in his voice.
The Sentinel's response is to pull hard at the strings connected to Kakuzu, causing the shinobi to fly towards the cyclops. The Sentinel rears its fist back, readying a mighty punch.
"Heh, foolish," Kakuzu mutters, smirking behind his mask.
Just before The Sentinel can throw its punch, thousands of tendrils burst out of Kakuzu's body and wrap around The Sentinel's upper body. Kakuzu lands on the cyclops's chest, watching with triumph as The Sentinel thrashes about futilely.
Location: Jack's Mindscape
"Okay, this is getting really fucked up here," Jack says, before turning to Sen. "What are you waiting for? Burn the threads like you did the paper!"
"Negative. The threads are more resistant to heat. It would be futile," Sen explains.
Jack throws his arms up with frustration. "Well, I'm open to suggestions."
"This opponent has five hearts in his body. If we can destroy them all simultaneously, then he will likely be terminated."
"And how do we do that with our arms tied up?"
"Observe."
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
Kakuzu rears his hand back, his dark fist hardened to penetrate the metal giant's body.
"Your heart is mine!" Kakuzu declares as he punches into The Sentinel's chest, aiming for its heart.
Sploosh!
Kakuzu's eyes widen both at the relative ease at which he pierced his foe and the fact that he feels nothing but liquid. He looks at his fist to see that it has been submerged in what appears to be liquid metal.
"What the–"
Kakuzu's shock grows as the metal seems to churn around his fist. Before he can react, five tendrils of liquid metal quickly travel up his arm and shoot into his chest. Kakuzu grunts with pain as the metal tendrils force their way deep into his chest, bypassing all of the threads inside his body until they reach his hearts.
Squelch!
"Urk!" Kakuzu spits out a glob full of blood as five metal spears erupt from his back. Four of them penetrate the four masks attached to his back, while the fifth one emerges from where Kakuzu's heart would be. The four masks separate from Kakuzu's back and form four beasts made of threads, but they quickly disperse as the masks shatter, revealing four destroyed hearts.
"I-Impossible," Kakuzu grunts as he feels his life slipping away. "I'm not supposed…to die…"
The tendrils attached to Kakuzu's body go limp as his form slumps lifelessly. Now freed, The Sentinel retracts its tendril, allowing Kakuzu's corpse to fall to the ground.
[TARGET TERMINATED.]
Location: Jack's Mindscape
"Wait a second! We can turn liquid?!" Jack cries out with surprise.
"Affirmative. Our form is malleable, allowing for parts of our body to shift from solid to liquid upon command. This allows us to form bladed weapons, such as knives and spikes, as well as bludgeoning weapons, such as hammers. This also allows us to disguise ourselves into other forms that are roughly equal to our mass," Sen explains.
"Fuckin' hell! We really are a Terminator!" Jack exclaims.
Sen gives an inquisitive look. "I am unfamiliar with that term."
"I'll explain later," Jack assures his new partner.
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
Konan stares wide-eyed at the body at The Sentinel's feet. Kakuzu was one of the most powerful members of the Akatsuki. His Earth Grudge Fear technique allowed for him to not only survive multiple fatal attacks, but also unleash devastating attacks of his own from the hearts he took into his body. For him to be defeated so swiftly by this metal being that came out of nowhere is unbelievable!
Suddenly, a hand grabs her shoulder from behind her. "Konan."
Konan snaps out of her shock and quickly turns to see a man with long orange hair and piercings all over his pale face.
Konan breaths a sigh of relief. "Pain. Thank goodness you're here. Now we can–"
"We're leaving," Pain interrupts.
Konan looks shocked at this declaration. "What?! But with you here–"
"This being has already destroyed my two most valuable Paths," Pain explains. "Not only that, but three of our members are dead, and this battle has lasted only fifteen minutes. It's pointless for us to fight any further."
"B-But Nagato…" Konan tries to argue, using her leader's real name.
"Come with me, Konan. The situation has drastically changed. You and I need to leave to Amegakure and plan our next move," Pain says with authority and a hint of care in his voice.
Konan takes one last look at the being that completely derailed their plans for world peace within a span of minutes, before giving a somber nod. Both Pain and Konan disappear into the shadows, leaving their comrades and prisoner to fend for themselves.
Unaware of this abandonment, Kisame slams his hands together as The Sentinel marches right for him.
"Water Release: Five Feeding Sharks!" Kisame calls out before slamming his hand down on the puddle of water beneath him from his previous attack. The water forms into five sharks that charge right at The Sentinel.
In response, The Sentinel's right arm morphs into five sharp tendrils that slice through the sharks effortlessly. Kisame barely has time to regard how his attack was so easily countered before he has to block another beam attack with his sword. Once again, the weapon holds off the beam with only a hot spot on its body. If anything, the weapon appears to be satisfied for some reason.
Kisame laughs at this. "Keep it coming! You're only satisfying Samehada's hunger!"
Location: Jack's Mindscape
"What did he mean by that?" Jack asks Sen.
"His weapon appears to be absorbing the chakra from our energy attacks, fueling his own chakra reserves. I theorize that a similar effect will occur if we were to make physical contact with the weapon," Sen explains.
"So, we can't touch it, and we can't keep hitting it with beams," Jack summarizes. "So, what now?"
"Perhaps sound is our best option," Sen suggests.
Jack raises an eyebrow. "Sound?"
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
Kisame readies his blade for a swing at the cyclops but stops when a circular opening appears on its face where the mouth would be. He puts Samehada in front of him for another block.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
But Samehada provides no protection against the sonic waves that slam right into him.
"AAAAGH!" Kisame screams as he drops his weapon and covers his ears to try and block out the sound. Unfortunately, the piercing sound of grinding metal still penetrates deep inside his ears.
The Sentinel's opening shrinks down, focusing the sound right at Kisame's form and increasing its volume, causing Kisame's ears to bleed from the damage to his ear drums.
Location: Jack's Mindscape
Jack gives his partner an impressed look. "Seriously, is their anything we can't do?"
Sen responds, "We cannot shrink our body past your human form, we cannot transform into anything involving complex parts or chemical additions, we cannot run past 100 miles per hour, we cannot–"
"Alright, alright, I get it! It was a rhetorical question!" Jack interrupts.
Jack and Sen suddenly stumble and clench up in pain.
"What…is this?" Jack grunts out.
"We are taking damage from multiple areas on our body." Sen says, his monotone voice laced with pain.
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
Kisame opens his eyes as the sonic barrage stops. His eyes widen as he sees black fire erupt all over The Sentinel's body, actually damaging parts of its body. Kisame smiles and turns to Itachi, whose red eyes are focused intently on the thrashing metal giant.
"NICE ONE, ITACHI!" Kisame yells out louder than usual.
"Hurry, Kisame! I can only use Amaterasu for so long!" Itachi yells to his partner.
"WHAT?!" Kisame cries out, cupping one of his damaged ears.
Itachi sweatdrops at this.
Location: Jack's Mindscape
Jack and Sen struggle to stand as they endure the burning sensation surrounding them.
"Why does it…hurt so much?" Jack grunts through the pain.
"The black flames…are somehow able…to overcome our natural defenses," Sen explains.
"We have…a plan for this…right?" Jack asks.
"If we use…our adaptative procedures…we can modify our body…to handle the flames."
"THEN FUCKIN' DO IT ALREADY!" Jack cries out.
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
Itachi's hands glow green as they hover above Kisame's ears. After a few moments, Itachi pulls away his hands, allowing Kisame to pick at his ears.
"Thank Kami for your Healing Jutsu, Itachi!" Kisame says with a big grin on his face.
"One of us had to be mindful to learn about it," Itachi states before turning to the still burning cyclops. "Now hurry up and end this, Kisame."
Kisame gives a deadly grin. "Don't worry. I can take him down with just a few swings," he says as he approaches The Sentinel with Samehada in hand. "Time to feast!"
[INITIATING ADAPTATIVE PROCEDURES.]
The synthetic voice stops Kisame in his tracks. He and Itachi watch with worried intrigue as The Sentinel stops thrashing and moves into a power stance, with its feet shoulder-width apart and its fists clenched in front of it. Their worry turns to fear when the black fire is absorbed into The Sentinel's body through tiny openings in its skin. When the last of the fire is taken in, The Sentinel's body begins to pulse, and its damaged form begins to slowly repair itself.
FWOOOM
[ADAPTING.]
FWOOOM
[ADAPTING.]
FWOOOM
[ADAPTING.]
FWOOOM
After the last pulse, The Sentinel rises to its full height, its body now fully repaired. The bright orange glow in its eye has been replaced with a deep black color, yet still burning with energy.
[ADAPTATION COMPLETE.]
Kisame's eyes are wide at the pristine state of his opponent. "Impossible! He survived Amaterasu?!"
"I believe it's far worse than that," Itachi mutters, equally shocked, though his face hides it better.
The Sentinel then turns its darkened gaze at the two shinobi, making them tense up. Another beam shoots out from its eye, causing Kisame to instinctively raise up Samehada in defense. In his haste, however, he fails to note that instead of bright orange, the beam is deep black in color.
This proves to be a grave mistake, as upon making contact with the weapon, the black beam turns into black fire, which quickly surrounds Samehada. The weapon screams with pain as the fire overwhelms its scaly defenses.
"SAMEHADA!" Kisame cries out in panic, fearing for the wellbeing of his trusty sword. He turns to his partner. "Itachi! Do something!"
Thinking quickly, Itachi uses his red eyes again, this time snuffing out the black flames. When the fire fully dissipates, Samehada is revealed to have third degree burns all over its form, the pink innards of the blade fully revealed as many of its scales have been completely destroyed.
Location: Jack's Mindscape
Jack, now recovered from the painful burning sensation, gives a triumphant laugh.
"HAHA! HOW DO YOU LIKE THAT, FISHFUCKER!" Jack cries out.
"Your taunts are useless. He cannot hear us in the mindscape," Sen states, causing Jack to give a huff.
"I know that! It still feels good sayin' it!" Jack says, before giving Sen a look. "By the way, when am I taking control again?"
"Until the fighting has completely ceased, and all targets have been terminated, it would be best if I remain in control," Sen responds.
"Then what are we waitin' for?! Let's wrap this up already!" Jack exclaims.
"As you wish."
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
Itachi covers his now bleeding right eye with a pained expression on his face, while Kisame looks at his mutilated sword with horror.
"Samehada…" Kisame mutters, trembling with rage, before glaring at the cyclops in front of him. "You bastard!"
The Sentinel begins approaching the duo, its eye now glowing orange again, ready to finish the fight as soon as possible.
Tink! Tink!
Two kunai bouncing off its head halts its approach. The Sentinel turns and sees Tobi with more kunai in hand.
"Hey, you big bully! Tobi is a good boy who's going to take you down!" Tobi declares childishly.
This appears to get The Sentinel's attention, as it now begins approaching Tobi. As it draws closer, it shoots a beam at Tobi, who squawks as he drops his kunai and dodges the attack. Several more lasers shoot at the masked shinobi, who avoids each of them with exaggerated comical poses.
This proves to be a distraction, however. After dodging a beam above his head, Tobi finds The Sentinel right in front of him, its right arm formed into a blade and thrusting right at him.
Shunk!
The blade easily pierces the earth behind Tobi. Tobi, however, appears to be completely unharmed as the blade goes right through his body.
The Sentinel pauses as it appears that Tobi's body has phased out around its arm.
"Something the matter, Stranger-san?" Tobi asks with a teasing tone.
The Sentinel pulls its arm out of the ground and away from Tobi's body. It then quickly swipes its blade at Tobi, who remains unfazed as the blade glides through his body without damage. The Sentinel continues swiping at its opponent, appearing to analyze this new development.
After another thrust, Tobi phases his body over the blade and lands on The Sentinel's arm.
"It's time to end this," Tobi says with a deeper, more serious tone, all childishness gone in his voice. He gazes at The Sentinel with his right eye, which glows red behind the hole in his mask.
Immediately, The Sentinel's body appears to slacken. It drops to a knee and its bladed arm reforms into a hand, with Tobi standing on its palm. The orange glow in its eye dims significantly.
"Hmph. Not so tough now, are you?" Tobi gloats.
Location: Jack's Mindscape
Jack looks around with slight panic in his eyes as the sky around his mindscape darkens.
"Woah, woah, what's going on?" Jack asks his partner.
"Our opponent has used his Sharingan to trap us in a Genjutsu and paralyze us," Sen states evenly.
"Sharingan? Genjutsu?" Jack questions.
"The Sharingan is a powerful Doujutsu, or eye technique, that gives the wielder a variety of abilities, including the power to cast powerful illusions, or Genjutsu. Our opponent has an advanced form of the Sharingan, allowing his body to phase out of our dimension and avoid damage from physical attacks. The other dark-haired enemy has a similarly advanced Sharingan, which allows him to produce those black flames," Sen explains.
"We can break out of the illusion, though, right?" Jack asks.
"Already done," Sen says as the sky brightens up again. "Our connection allows us to easily overcome Genjutsu. The issue now is how to defeat this particular enemy. Our physical attacks and energy beams are useless, and he can quickly avoid our sonic attacks."
Jack ponders to himself any possible ways to beat Tobi when an idea hits him.
"Sen, is the Sharingan sturdier than regular eyes?" Jack asks.
"Negative," Sen answers. "They are vulnerable to damage similarly to regular eyes. In fact, their visual prowess makes them more susceptible to damage from bright lights and physical objects such as sand."
"Does his phase shifting affect his sight in anyway?"
"Not from what we have observed."
"Do you think he can dodge something at the speed of light?"
"Not if he is unprepared for it." Sen gives Jack an inquisitive look. "Why all of these questions?"
Jack gives a deadly grin as he remembers the special procedure his friend Steve went through to no longer need glasses.
"You ever heard of corrective laser surgery?"
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
Zetsu slowly approaches Tobi, who is still standing triumphantly on top of The Sentinel's palm.
"T-Tobi, get away from that thing!" Zetsu calls out with fear in his voice. "You have no idea what it's capable of!" He adds in a demonic tone.
"Relax, Zetsu. It's completely restrained," Tobi says with confidence in his voice. "Not even a being as powerful as this can overcome the illusory prowess of the Sharingan." He turns away from the cyclops as he addresses Zetsu like a leader addressing a subordinate. "Now then, we need to regroup with Pain and Konan and modify our plans. We've been dealt quite a blow in manpower thanks to this thing, but once I can fully control it, it will more than make up for our losses. In fact, I believe that with this being at our command, no force in the Elemental Nations can stop us."
Tobi's so caught up in his plotting and gloating that he fails to notice The Sentinel's eye glowing brighter again.
But Zetsu doesn't. He points at The Sentinel and cries out, "Tobi!"
Tobi snaps out of his revelry and turns to face The Sentinel's eye. This is a fatal mistake as a small beam of orange light immediately shoots straight into Tobi's Sharingan.
Like a high-powered laser pointer, the 300-milliwatt beam quickly begins destroying the retina, causing permanent blindness. The beam also tears apart the internal structures that stabilize the Sharingan, thus deactivating the Doujutsu for good.
All of this occurs before Tobi feels the blinding pain in his eye. By the time he registers what has happened to him, it's too late.
"GYAAAAAAH!"
The remaining Akatsuki look on with shock as Tobi falls off The Sentinel's hand screaming in agony, his hands covering his now mutilated right eye. They're so busy taking in the sight of their comrade writhing in pain that they fail to notice The Sentinel's fingers sharpen into knives.
"MY EYE! MY EYE!" Tobi shouts out. "IT DESTROYED MY–"
Squelch!
Tobi's suffering is halted as he hacks up blood under his mask. He blindly grabs the metal hand piercing his chest and tries in vain to push it out of his body. He feels The Sentinel stand up and lift his body up into the air. His struggles lessen as his strength slowly leaves his body.
Tobi knows from watching Hidan's demise what's about to happen to him.
"…Rin…," Tobi mutters quietly.
FSHWOOOOM!
[TARGET TERMINATED,] The Sentinel states as it drops the headless body of Tobi unceremoniously to the floor.
Itachi and Kisame stare with stunned silence at The Sentinel's latest kill. Both of them have worked with Tobi for years and have seen the power and cold ruthlessness that he wielded behind his childish persona. And that man was defeated in mere minutes by this newcomer.
Zetsu, however, is taking Tobi's death even harder. Zetsu had known Tobi since the latter was a child and had helped shape him into the ultimate shinobi. Tobi was supposed to be the perfect agent to bring peace to the land.
And now, all that hard work is ruined!
"Obito…" Zetsu mutters with sadness in his voice as he looks at the headless body, before glaring at the one that killed Tobi. "YOU MONSTER!"
Several large tendrils made of wood suddenly sprout out of Zetsu's body. These root-like tendrils grow to a massive size and rush straight at The Sentinel.
The Sentinel responds by forming its hands into large axe heads. The Sentinel also uses fire chakra to heat up the axes, causing them to glow red-hot. It swings one axe-hand and chops through several of the roots with ease. The cyclops then destroys some other roots with its energy beams, before chopping through more with its other hand. The Sentinel alternates between chopping and lasers as it cuts through the attacking roots and slowly approaches Zetsu.
Kisame growls and moves to attack The Sentinel as well, but a hand on his shoulder stops him.
"Kisame. Don't," Itachi says to his partner.
Kisame narrows his eyes at the black-haired man. "Itachi, after what that thing's done to us, you really expect me to–"
"It's because of what that thing has done that I'm stopping you," Itachi interrupts Kisame. "Pain and Konan have left, Zetsu's about to be destroyed, the rest of the Akatsuki – including Tobi – is dead, and Samehada is too damaged for you to wield. If you continue to fight, you'll die. I choose to live. What about you?"
Kisame stares at Itachi for several moments before giving a tired sigh. "I suppose I'll go out with glory some other time." Kisame says with a grin.
Itachi and Kisame head for the exit as quickly and silently as possible while The Sentinel is distracted. Just before they leave the chamber, though, Kisame finally notices Naruto, who's still huddled in the corner watching the fighting with wide eyes.
"What about the brat?" Kisame asks.
Itachi looks at the blonde boy for a moment, then replies, "What about him?"
Kisame chuckles quietly. "Cold bastard."
With that, the duo exits the chamber, leaving Naruto and Zetsu to their fates.
Meanwhile, Zetsu begins to panic as despite his best efforts, The Sentinel continues to advance towards him. In desperation, Zetsu creates a wall made of wooden roots to form a barrier against the cyclops. This proves to be useless as The Sentinel cuts the wall down with both of its axes. Zetsu trembles under the cyclops's intense gaze.
"No…No! I can't die here!" Zetsu cries out.
The Sentinel pauses its approach as it observes the black half of Zetsu's body become an inky fluid mass and separate from the white half.
White Zetsu turns to the now fully separated Black Zetsu with shock on his face. "Wait! Where are you going?! Don't leave me!"
"I have an important duty to fulfil, one that doesn't require you." Black Zetsu responds coldly as it slithers away.
White Zetsu looks at the retreating mass with betrayal on his face, before a bright orange glow shifts his expression to terror. He slowly turns to regard The Sentinel aiming its eye right at him.
"Um…can we talk about this?" White Zetsu asks nervously.
FSHWOOOOM!
White Zetsu's plea goes unanswered. He can only scream for a second before he's completely incinerated by the massive beam of orange energy.
[TARGET TERMINATED.]
The Sentinel then turns its attention to Black Zetsu, who's already sunk halfway into the ground.
"You haven't seen the last of me, you monstrosity!" Black Zetsu declares before fully disappearing into the earth.
The Sentinel stares at the spot Black Zetsu was for a moment, confirming the creature's departure, before looking at its surroundings. It notes the five bodies lying across the floor in various states of destruction, the three other enemies that have left the vicinity, and the lone civilian hiding in the corner.
[NO TARGETS REMAINING.]
Location: Jack's Mindscape
"Fuck yeah! We won!" Jack whoops with joy. "We kicked some major arse!"
"Affirmative. It was a successful test of our combat abilities," Sen agrees.
Jack gives a sigh of relief. "I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty worried for a few moments there. Especially with that black fire."
"But now, thanks to our enhanced physiology, we are now better equipped to achieve victory in future battles," Sen states.
Jack turns to regard his partner. "Well, in the meantime, I can go ahead and take back control of my body now, if you don't mind."
"Are you sure you want me to relinquish control now? The four enemies that escaped may return in the extremely near future," Sen suggests.
Jack's smile morphs into a frown as he regards the being in front of him. "Sen, we agreed that once the battle was over, I'd get control of my body back. The battle's over, nobody's trying to kill us anymore, and I want out of my own head. Right. Now."
"As you wish," Sen relents.
Location: Unknown Cavern, Main Chamber
Naruto's blue eye stares with shock at the undamaged metal giant standing in the center of the room triumphantly. Even after the fighting has stopped, the blond boy's mind still needs a few moments to fully process the events that just occurred.
This being just defeated the Akatsuki. It accomplished in thirty minutes what the rest of the Elemental Nations failed to do in almost two decades. This group of S-Class criminals was so powerful that not even the strongest shinobi in the most dominant of the Elemental Nations could beat them. And yet, this thing not only beat them, but it emerged unscathed.
Naruto takes a moment to regard the bodies strewn across the chamber. He can easily say that he won't mourn them in any way, shape, or form. They locked him up for years and regarded him as nothing more than an object to be used for their ambitions. A few of them even took pleasure in torturing him when he tried and failed to escape or rebel. Hell, Itachi was the only one to treat him with an ounce of mercy, and the black-haired man just abandoned Naruto and left him for dead.
Naruto's musings are cut off when he sees The Sentinel drop to its hands and knees. It then begins to shrink before his very eyes, until the being is the same size as a human. But it doesn't stop there. Naruto's eyes widen with surprise as the metal skin begins to retract, revealing human flesh underneath. The metal leaves the arms, legs and head, and pools at the back and torso, before sinking down and disappearing into the skin.
Until finally, all that remains is the flesh and blood teenager that Naruto saw when he first entered the room.
Jack gasps as his emerald eyes open wide. He looks around the room frantically and takes in the scene around him. He gives his head a quick shake to clear the mental cobwebs, before slowly getting on his feet and standing up straight.
"Well, that was a fuckin' experience," Jack mutters as he rubs his temples, trying to gather himself and plan his next move.
From a distance, Naruto sees the auburn-haired teenager rise up and begin recovering from his transformation. Naruto decides that now would be a good time to leave. Though this stranger didn't attempt to attack Naruto, the blonde doesn't want to take any chances with his newfound freedom.
Naruto slowly stands to his feet and tries to sneak away. Unfortunately, he only gets three steps in before his weakness overtakes him, and he falls to the ground. He winces as he slowly rises up to his hands and knees, trying to find the strength to keep moving.
"Need a hand, boyo?"
Naruto's eyes widen with fear at the voice right next to him. He slowly turns his head and sees the redhead standing above him.
His fear taking over, Naruto falls onto his butt and quickly backs away from the redhead, trying to get as much distance from the walking weapon as possible. Unfortunately, he only gets ten feet away before his back hits the wall. He looks on with horror as the stranger steps closer to him, until the stranger is standing just inches away. Green eyes stare intensely at the cowering blonde.
When the stranger bends down, Naruto tightly shuts his eyes and braces for any pain that'll come his way.
'Please…make it quick,' Naruto pleads inside his mind.
Naruto instinctively flinches when the hand makes contact with the top of his head. But instead of the painful pulling he expected, all he feels is comfort.
"There, there. It's alright. Everything's alright now."
Naruto's eyes slowly open as the calloused hand ruffles his hair and gently rubs the top of his head. A pleasurable chill goes through his body at the foreign sensation. Naruto doesn't know how to process the situation, and he decides to simply enjoy the petting for as long as he can. Eventually, the petting stops, though the hand doesn't leave his head. Naruto slowly lifts his head to look at the person in front of him.
Jack gives the blond boy a warm, comforting smile. "You're safe now, boyo."
Naruto blushes at the smile.
Jack lowers himself to one knee to examine the blonde more closely. He frowns as he sees the weak and tortured state the other teenager is in. His anger increases as he focuses on the milky-white left eye.
"What the hell did those cunts do to you?" Jack growls under his breath.
Naruto tenses when he sees Jacks' angry expression. Jack notices this and reins in his anger. He gives the blonde another smile, then gently grasps the back of Naruto's head and brings their foreheads together. This causes Naruto's face to turn red from the contact.
"Don't worry," Jack says softly. "Those bastards won't be hurtin' you again. Not on my watch."
Naruto's shocked by the soft declaration from this stranger, before a worried look forms on his face. He's heard similar words before from people he's known far longer.
"…Promise…?"
Jack lifts his head away to give Naruto a questioning look. "Pardon?"
Naruto slowly looks up into Jack's emerald eyes with trepidation.
"Do you…do you promise?" Naruto softly asks, his voice hoarse from lack of use.
Jack smiles and gives a firm nod. "It's the promise of a lifetime."
For the first time in years, a flicker of hope lights up in Naruto's blue eye. His hands cover his chest, where a warm feeling begins to grow. Maybe, just maybe, this stranger will be different from them.
Jack notices the shackles around Naruto's wrists. "Let me help you with those."
Naruto tentatively offers his hands to Jack, who grabs the right shackle and tries to pull the restraint apart. The shackle gives quite a bit of resistance at first.
'Sen! A little help here!' Jack yells internally.
Jack's fleshy arms instantly turn to metal, and with a mighty tug, the shackle breaks apart, freeing Naruto's right arm.
Both Jack and Naruto stare at the former's metal limbs.
"I seriously need to read the instruction manual for this shite," Jack mutters.
"Pfft."
Jack looks up and sees Naruto trying to contain his laughter with a small smile on his face. Naruto stops laughing when he realizes he's being watched. He quickly covers his mouth with his free right hand, and a fearful look forms on his face.
Jack gives a cheeky grin. "You've got a cute smile, you know that?"
Naruto's face turns bright red, his blush is so strong.
Jack chuckles and moves on to freeing Naruto's other hand. After breaking that shackle, Jack moves on to the ones securing Naruto's feet. Once those are broken, Jack claps imaginary dust off his hands, which revert back to flesh. Naruto, meanwhile, rubs his tender ankles to massage some of the pain away.
"Well, now that that's taken care of…" Jack says as he bends down.
Naruto's too busy with his ankles to notice the arms moving underneath him. He lets out a yelp of surprise when he's lifted off of the ground and into a bridal carry. Naruto blushes as he finds himself in his savior's arms and against a solid warm chest.
"Let's get out of this hellhole!" Jack declares. He looks around the chamber and sees the numerous corridors heading out. "You have any idea how to get out of here?" Jack asks the boy in his arms.
Naruto takes a moment to recall the last time he attempted to escape the base. He got close that time, close enough to see the light of day. But Pain was waiting for him, and…
Naruto shakes his head to remove the terrible memory and points to a passageway to Jack's right. "That way. Straight through."
"Perfect," Jack says as he heads for the corridor with Naruto in his arms.
The walk down the hallway is slow due to Jack making sure that there aren't any traps left behind by the Akatsuki, as well as making sure that the blonde is comfortable and not having any injuries be aggravated by Jack's hold.
It's also a quiet walk, since both young men are taking the time to process their situations. Jack is busy planning his next move. Once they leave this cave, they'll have to find the nearest town and get some rest and supplies. After that, Jack will begin the likely lengthy trip back home to New York. Along the way, he'll drop the boy off at his hometown. No doubt, the blonde's family and friends are missing him dearly.
Unless, of course, they're all dead. Or worse, they left the poor blonde for dead.
In that case, Jack is going to have an unexpected companion on his trip back home.
Naruto is also thinking about the future, but his thoughts are more uncertain. A big part of him had given up hope that he would leave the Akatsuki alive, if at all, so he hasn't really considered what he would do if he escaped. Now he has little to no idea what to do with his newfound freedom.
Returning to Konoha is a definite no. Naruto was considered an outcast in their eyes since he was a baby, long before they outright cast him out. There's no way in hell that he would ever be their tool again.
There are some other nations in the world that Naruto feels would welcome him due to his history with them. Maybe he can find a new home amongst them. Of course, there is the worry that Konoha would try to claim that he's their property and take him back by force. Now that he thinks about it, once word gets out that he's roaming around again, every shinobi village will be coming after him, or more accurately, what he contains.
And this is all considering the idea that Naruto will part ways with the redheaded stranger once they leave the cave. There's still the worry that the stranger is just as bad as, if not worse than, the Akatsuki. Part of Naruto fears that this young man is just "rescuing" him, only to lock him up again and subject him to even more pain and manipulation. The blonde knows his heart and mind couldn't handle such a scenario.
And yet, there's another part of him that feels that this stranger's kindness and selflessness is genuine. That the auburn-haired teenager does care for Naruto and would continue to care if Naruto decided to stay with him. That Naruto could one day find real happiness with this completely unknown young man.
Jack breaks the silence by turning to the blonde in his arms and saying, "My name's Jack, by the way."
Naruto snaps out of his thoughts and regards the redhead's name. "…Jakku?"
Jack chuckles at the blonde's pronunciation. "We'll work on that. What's your name?"
Naruto considers whether he wants to tell Jack who he is, before considering the fact that the redhead could just force the name out of him if he really wanted to. Besides, there's still the part of Naruto that wants desperately to trust Jack.
Eventually, the blonde relents.
"My name is Naruto."
"It's an absolute pleasure to meet you, Naruto," Jack says with a bright smile on his face.
Naruto finds his face and heart quickly growing warm again at the sight of that smile. In a sudden burst of shyness, he quickly buries his face into the hard, exposed chest of his savior.
Strong. Brave. Handsome, yet modest. Merciless to his enemies, yet kind to strangers who need help.
Naruto smiles to himself. He wouldn't mind belonging to a guy like Jack.
Jack, meanwhile, gives the blonde shyly hiding in his arms a small, kind smile. He's glad that whatever the Akatsuki bastards did to the boy didn't break him completely. Jack can see the physical and mental damage a mile away but has faith that the boy can and will heal from the trauma, though he definitely won't be the same boy he was beforehand.
Jack sees the poorly hidden smile on Naruto's face. The blonde certainly has a cute smile. Jack feels like Naruto once gave a smile that could light up the entire world. Jack hopes to see it for himself.
Jack smiles to himself. He wouldn't mind falling in love with a boy like Naruto.
Both young men snap out of their thoughts when they see a light right in front of them. It looks like they reached the exit.
"Close your eyes," Jack warns Naruto.
Naruto quickly shuts his eyes, not wanting to be blinded by the harsh light.
Jack takes several more steps, and Naruto feels a warmth cover his body.
"You can open them now. Slowly," Jack says with caution.
Naruto slowly and steadily opens his eyes, allowing the sole functioning right eye to adjust to the sudden brightness. He lets out a small gasp as he sees the outside world for the first time in years.
The Akatsuki base appears to have been built inside a large hill, as Naruto can see a vast expanse of forests for miles on end, with numerous rivers crisscrossing each other through the trees, and several rocky outcroppings popping up here and there. The blue sky is clear, not a single cloud in sight, and the midday sun shines brightly over the entire land and all the creatures that roam it.
Naruto smiles and takes a deep breath. He's missed the smell of fresh air, the feeling of the sun on his face, and the sound of grass moving underneath him.
"Breathtakin', isn't it?" Jack asks the blonde.
Naruto gives an eager nod in response.
"Yeah, breathtakin' for me, too," Jack says in agreement. Being a city kid for most of his life, Jack's never been truly surrounded by nature until now. In different circumstances, he wouldn't mind being literally lost in the woods.
For now, though, Jack has different priorities. He begins scanning the area around him, looking for any civilization, praying to God that the Akatsuki didn't completely isolate themselves.
Thankfully, God appears to be smiling down upon the two young men, as Jack spots something in the distance.
"Over there! About five miles away!" Jack calls out as he gestures with his head towards his front left side.
Naruto turns towards where Jack is facing and squints his eyes to see across the expanse. Sure enough, in the distance, there's a clearing in the forest with several pillars of smoke rising from the spot.
Meaning that there's a town nearby.
"Haha! Thank you, Jesus!" Jack cries out with a triumphant laugh.
Naruto gives Jack a questioning look. "Iesu?"
"I'll tell you about him later," Jack says as he braces himself to begin the long trek to the town.
Then he remembers that he's not entirely human anymore.
'Hey, Sen, we need to get to that town over their as soon as possible, but I don't want to hurt Naruto or freak him out. Think you can help a fellow out?' Jack asks the entity bonded with his body.
'Affirmative,' Sen responds.
Jack gives a startled yelp as he feels a powerful sensation run through his body, as if his entire being is energized more than a double shot of espresso. He also feels his arms and legs strengthening themselves instantaneously.
"Woah! What a rush!" Jack cries out. He mentally thanks Sen before saying to Naruto, "Alright, boyo, hold on tight!"
Naruto quickly wraps his arms around Jack's neck and buries his face into the redhead's shoulder. He unintentionally takes a whiff of Jack's scent in the process, and Naruto quickly decides that it's a scent he likes.
'Definitely wouldn't mind belonging to him,' Naruto thinks to himself.
With Naruto secured, Jack looks out towards the town with fiery determination. He then lunges forward with a burst of speed that takes both boys by surprise. Jack quickly adjusts to his newly enhanced speed and rushes into the forest, intent on making it to the village well before sundown.
'Don't worry, Ma! Your boy's comin' home!' Jack yells internally as he effortlessly zips through the trees, with two new companions in tow.
A.N.: And cut! Whew! A lot of action in this chapter!
Anyways, let's talk about what went down.
First, I sincerely hope that the big showdown between The Sentinel and the Akatsuki was to your liking. Battle scenes have always been more difficult for me to write than other scenes, but I feel like I did a good job despite that.
As to The Sentinel's victory, some of you may be wondering how a lot of the Akatsuki members went down so quickly. This is due to several factors.
Firstly, only Zetsu fully understood how powerful and dangerous The Sentinel really is due to past experience. For the rest of the Akatsuki, The Sentinel is a completely unknown entity with a completely unknown set of abilities hellbent on killing them. By the time the group truly understood how powerful The Sentinel was, half of them were dead.
Secondly, Sen's brain is essentially a supercomputer, meaning it can process information at an extremely high rate, even during a fight. This allows for Sen to not only analyze opponents in the blink of an eye, but also to formulate strategies to defeat opponents in another blink. It also helps that Sen has battle experience from fighting a world-ending monster almost a thousand years ago.
Thirdly, during a lot of superfights, especially in anime, the heroes tend to get so caught up in the act of fighting that they forget their goal of actually defeating the villain. Some of them even give their opponents a sporting chance due to pride or a sense of honor amongst warriors. Jack and Sen, on the other hand, had two goals in mind; beat the bad guys as fast as possible, and get the hell out! Therefore, the two of them, especially Sen, are going for the killshot immediately.
Fourthly, heroes aren't the only ones who fall victim to hubris. Villains in anime tend to severely underestimate their opponents, which usually results in their demise. The Akatsuki, a group of S-Class criminals with an arsenal of forbidden techniques and godlike powers, were especially prideful and arrogant. This ultimately led to their canonical defeat against the heroes, who, more often than not, powered through the Akatsuki with extreme amounts of out-of-the-blue techniques, Deus ex Machina power-ups, and the typical RNJesus. This type of behavior from the villains is dangerous against The Sentinel because all it takes is one slip-up, and you're dead in such a way that you can't come back.
Luckily for the Akatsuki, several members gained sense and managed to escape. They'll be back to cause trouble for Jack and Naruto in the future.
Speaking of Jack and Naruto, they are not a couple yet by any stretch of the imagination. The seeds have been sown, and there is obvious attraction between the two teenagers, but it'll take a little while for the two of them to get to know one another enough for a proper relationship to start. It'll be especially difficult for Naruto to trust Jack due to the sheer amount of betrayals the former has encountered. Jack definitely has his work cut out for him.
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story so far, along with the other stories being written in Phase 1. Stay tuned for my next update!
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