Thank you for the support.

Sorry for the late update, started a new job few weeks back and it's been a roller coaster ride since then but far better than the last one.

Music Recommendation: Epic Build Up Music-The Storm (Youtube)

Chapter 43

Cycle of Hatred


Magnificent.

It was the only thought that came to his mind as he watched the Third Raikage unleash his full power making the very skies roar with a cacophonous lightning rumbling. Every hair on the dark skinned man's body was standing upwards defying all gravity, his entire body coated in an armor of lightning that most attacks wouldn't be strong enough to pierce, and his killing intent enough to terrify even the most battle hardened shinobi.

He had faced Biju's in his life alongside many strong opponents but after Madara Uchiha, he found himself intimidated by someone else's sheer power.

"You may not be a tactician, Raikage. But you are worthy of being a Kage" thought Naruto begrudgingly,

"Many say you are the fastest shinobi of this generation. Since you are also the last survivor of the Namikaze clan, the rival of my own clan- it is fitting that I kill you in battle" threatened the Raikage menacingly,

The dark skinned man was also gauging his own opponent carefully, after all the young man had dodged the very first level of his speed without any difficulty, a feat only a few in the Cloud Village including his own son A were capable of.

"Tactics won't help you here, Mizukage. Only strength will" challenged the Raikage in a mocking way,

"There is only one man in this world against whom my tactics won't work. You are not that man" answered Naruto without a flinch,

"Then who is?" asked the Raikage, out of curiosity.

"Madara Uchiha"

The Mizukage enjoyed the minor tremor that passed through the Raikage upon hearing that legendary name. It only further showed that a reputation like that was needed alongside the compassion of Hashirama Senju if one wanted to unite the world. Words and weak hearted men alone could never unite humanity.

"Madara is not here to affirm your claim. So it's pointless" said the Raikage finally, earning a cold smirk from the blonde.

"Then you'll die as ignorant as you were always"

The Raikage's eyes widened when his opponent's previous red gaze transformed into a mixture of yellow and green with a hint of red still present. His impressive power now flaring even more, reminding the Kumogakure leader of another man whom he had once seen wielding this power.

"You're a Sage, just like Hashirama Senju" he commented in surprise,

"Yes. Thanks for chatting so freely and allowing me the time to gather my power" replied Naruto with a cheeky smile,

The Raikage clenched his fist even more bitterly as he realized the boy had intentionally kept him talking, all the while gathering Sage chakra during the pause in their battle. Crafty bastard...

"I told you, tactics no matter which form always are useful" teased Naruto,

The next moment he had to dodge as the Raikage launched himself at him with a murderous roar, this time going at speeds even the Uchiha wouldn't be able to discern with their Sharingan.

If any of their supporters could see them, they would only catch multiple lightning and dark flashes happening all across the skies.

The Third Raikage was getting more and more aggressive as his opponent dodged the plethora of strikes with a speed he had never seen in any shinobi. Deciding to increase the tempo, he launched a roundhouse kick which made his opponent teleport a few meters backwards only to find another Raikage materialize out of a flash of lightning and already aiming to pierce his chest.

Once again, the Mizukage vanished.

"He's fast. Speed alone isn't his strength, he's a skilled sensor who uses Sage powers to detect any of my nature based attacks or even my own presence before I can deal the devastating blow. I'll have to try something else" thought the Raikage begrudgingly, as the younger Kage appeared several hundred meters behind him.

But how was he teleporting without any conduit? In the earlier ground battle, he had used his three pronged kunai's to transport tailed beast balls away from his army. Yet he hadn't used any of those weapons in this battle and was still able to teleport?

"Lightning Style: Thunder Storm!"

The sky roared once again upon the Raikage's command as large thunder storms of murderous lightning raced towards the Mizukage from all directions.


As the two Kages waged war in the skies, their armies had began their own gruesome battle on the ground.

Leading the Kiri attackers were the infamous Seven Ninja Swordsmen who were the top commanders and trusted aides of their Kage, not to mention the strongest warriors of their army. Having fought beside their new Kage in many battles now, they had developed his trait of leading from the front and setting an example for their men against impossible odds.

Mangetsu and Haku had displayed that trait admirably as they unleashed their village's famous Hidden Mist technique across the hills in an impressive display of power. Their own forces were by now well versed in fighting under such situations, so they led the 212th legion alongside the Shock troops made up of this nation's disgruntled natives in a valiant charge on the enemy's left flank.

"Zabuza and Ameyuri, take the center with the 47th Legion! Kisame- deal with the Jinchuuriki and the right flank with your special forces!" commanded Mangetsu,

A few months ago his comrades would have not been too keen on taking such orders from him considering he was the youngest among their group, but now after proving himself in their nation's civil war, he was appointed as Second in command of their entire army.

An honor he intended to repay with the blood of his enemies.

It was why he was leading from the front in the Mist and was the first to catch sight of the disarrayed enemy troops trying to form a defensive line to meet the onslaught.

Mangetsu roared a fearsome warcry before jumping in the air and bringing forth his holy sword-Kabutowari.

The hammer glowed with the chakra its wielder had shared before crashing down right in the middle of the enemy's formation and directly on one of the officers organizing the defense. The man was reduced to a speck of gore on the ground as a devastating shockwave sent three dozen Kumogakure shinobi flying in all directions, their internal organs completely crushed or crippled which would lead them to a very slow and painful death.

The enemy vanguard was decimated but the remaining ones zeroed in on the Kiri Commander that had broken through their ranks and dozens launched themselves at him.

A hail of Ice needles rained from the skies to skewer everyone of them without mercy to the point that not a single enemy shinobi managed to reach anywhere near Mangetsu as Haku joined the melee.

He grinned when his oldest friend unleashed her own holy sword-Nuibari towards the remaining enemy that had not yet perished in their attacks.

The needle like sword cleaved through them one after another, before Haku smirked and unleashed the dead or wounded shinobi right towards the enemy reinforcements coming to the aid of their dying comrades. The tactical course of action would have been to ignore or cut down their defeated comrades but it wasn't as easy and many ended up trying to catch the dropping wounded or dead out of sheer reflex.

A minor delay that costed them dearly.

For the two Seven Ninja Swordsmen were out for blood and joined forces together.

"Water Style: Water Bullets!"

"Ice Release: Thousand Needles!"

By the time, the 212th legion and the native Shock forces climbed up the hill- the enemy's frontal lines were completely decimated and their two commanders were driving the remaining defenders back fiercely in a deadly dance of death.


Zabuza and Ameyuri on the other hand were not meeting the same amount of success as their comrades on the left flank.

For the enemy knew their center was crucial to their survival, a position which the Kumogakure Second in Command was personally intending to defend to the death.

"Give them hell!" yelled an injured Dodai without hesitation,

Dozens of Kirigakure shinobi were blasted down the hills with hundreds of lightning bolts launched by the defenders, some were completely electrocuted by creatures of lightning that pounced on them, while few were struck with traditional weapons as they tried to evict the enemy from their fortified trenches and well defended positions.

The sheer ferocity of the enemy's counterattack and the losses suffered in the first wave of assault made the remaining forces of the 47th Legion hesitate. That was until Ameyuri growled furiously.

"Fuck this! Do you want to be picked on one after another? We outnumber them!" she chastised mercilessly, making their shinobi flinch in shame.

"Come, you wimps! Do you want to live forever?" roared Zabuza furiously

The two swordsmen charged forth fearlessly with Ameyuri taking the lead by raising her twin swords-Kiba high in the air while Zabuza protected her from the brunt of the enemy attack by creating three dozen water clones that bore the full wave of the jutsu and projectiles that the enemy sent her way.

"Thunder God!"

The female swordsmen launched a powerful wave of lightning with the help of her holy swords into the raging skies which in turn lead to several humongous lightning spears to crash upon the Kumogakure positions. The attack had been enough to hurt the monstrous turtle-Genbu during their previous battle, and against humans made of soft flesh the results were even more devastating.

Dozens were simply vaporized at the point of impact whereas several more were blasted away in different directions like ragdolls. The Kumogakure ninjas were strong enough to survive attacks from their native chakra element, but not for one launched by one of the Seven deadly blades of Kirigakure and the raw power of nature gathered in the skies.

Cohesion broke instantly and the two swordsmen tore through the crumbling frontal line, Zabuza's terrifying blade-Kubikiribocho cleaving men and women to pieces as Ameyuri shrouded the entire area in heavy mist making them both unleash their full murderous potential.

He took great pleasure in bisecting a surprised young and cocky kunoichi from head to toe as Ameyuri's lightning blades cooked the hearts of those she struck all around him.

The 47th Legion had regained their courage after watching their leaders storm through the enemy and now descended upon the remaining enemy lines with a ferocious brutality.

No quarter was given as the Kirigakure shinobi took great pleasure in stabbing, clubbing, dissecting each and every unfortunate Kumogakure ninja that came in their way. Even those that tried to surrender were laughed at and murdered in screaming agony.

Dodai could only helplessly watch as the morale of his forces started to break against the enemy's savagery and sheer numbers that were now overrunning their positions. He still encouraged his men to fight for the sake of their nation's future but all that most of them saw were the two deadly Seven Ninja Swordsmen carving their way towards them with demonic laughs in the Mist and the nightmarish screams of their dying comrades.

"SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!"

"PREPARE FOR YOUR DEATHS!"

The demonic voices of the two swordsmen echoed all around them in the heavy Mist and yet right beside them at the same time. He was mortified when a few of his men broke ranks until they turned into dozens followed by the center of their formation beginning to crumble.

"Fight! There can be no retreat!" he yelled at his men,

Only a few listened to his desperate call- veteran shinobi and few idealistic young ones, but the rest were terrified of the impending death coming towards them from all directions in the form of two murderous swordsmen and thousands of savage Kirigakure shinobi who were finally allowed to unleash their brutality in full force.

He launched a flare high in the sky in order to call for any reinforcements from either of his flanks but doubted they could send him aid in time, if any at all. Maybe if he was lucky then the Raikage could get here in time...

"Who am I fooling? This is the end. Fukai, we were foolish in assuming all our men were prepared to die brutally for the sake of their nation. In face of such butchery and overwhelming force, their resolve crumbled. If only I had a few hundred warriors like the Spartans with me..." thought Dodai regretfully,

Those Uzumaki children had faced an end even more brutal and terrifying, still they had charged to their deaths with a bravery that he could not forget to this day. If only his men had even half of that bravery and loyalty towards their cause instead of being scared for their own lives.

Yet he had a mission of his own which he would fulfill even if he met his end today.

Dodai waited as the last of his men started engaging the thousands of Kirigakure forces now coming from all sides as the two bloodthirsty swordsmen now flanked him with savage grins.

"Ready to die?" asked Zabuza with a wicked smile,

"Yes. Atleast I'll meet my end defending my nation...unlike you two fighting blindly for a traitor to your own people" mocked Dodai with a satisfied smile,

It was clear to him now that this battle would most probably not end in their favor, unless their Raikage won. In that event, he had to lay the foundation for his nation's survival by weakening the enemy's own.

"You'll die screaming for that! No one insults the Mizukage!" said Ameyuri furiously, and gripped her blades more tightly when Dodai only laughed.

"Mizukage? You're even more blind than I thought. He's not even one of you! He's a Spy who infiltrated your ranks and fooled your entire nation by becoming its leader. He's a former Uzushiogakure shinobi, a Spartan Blackops Captain to be precise. One that I failed to kill a decade ago" said Dodai mockingly,

He took great pleasure in seeing the anger it generated in Ameyuri who charged to murder him only to be stopped by Zabuza who looked at him suspiciously but didn't launch an attack right away, and even held back his murderous comrade.

Interesting.

"The Kinkaku forces were shit scared of him and called him Biju Killer before running away during our mission to assassinate your previous Daimyo. Kisame told me about that..." whispered Zabuza hesitantly,

"You can't be falling for his lies, Zabuza! Naruto saved our lives countless times!" rebuked Ameyuri disappointedly,

"Only the Spartans from Uzushiogakure had access to Winged device and Kunai launcher technology which was lost when they died. It's strange that you have access to the same technology now without ever having formal diplomatic relations with Uzushiogakure. Hell, you have an Uzumaki mercenary among your ranks. Have you even heard of such a rogue shinobi before from those lands? Those redheads keep a tight circle and eliminate any rogues before they become a menace" argued Dodai fiercely,

He had to dodge the next moment as Ameyuri screamed in murderous rage and smacked Zabuza away before charging towards him.

He hoped the seed he had sown would someday bear fruit even as he prepared to meet his fate at the hands of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.


Naruto panted harshly and yet had a grin upon his lips as he was pushed to his limit by the relentless Raikage whose ferocious attacks never seemed to end.

"You are nothing but a selfish and broken man! One that would destroy this world" taunted the Raikage,

"And you are any different?" retorted Naruto harshly,

"Yes. I fight for my people and my nation's future. I am one of them and would fight and die for them. You are just using the Kirigakure shinobi as disposable pawns to further your own ambition. Just as the Uzukage used and sacrificed you Spartans!"

For the first time, he saw a brief crack in his enemy's persona as the blonde's cocky smiled faded in an instant. The Raikage pressed on...

"For humanity's future? If only your men knew that they are dying right now for the sake of one broken man's dream...a man that isn't even their countrymen. That you're nothing but a spy who was fortunate enough to climb so high. Naruto-The Great? Perhaps you are the greatest liar of them all. One who lied to his comrades, his own nation and ultimately himself. You betrayed everything you stood for...just as the world betrayed you completely. What a miserable existence" mocked the Raikage without any mercy,

He was more than pleased when he saw the young Kage's earlier confidence shatter as his own deception was laid out flat to his face.

"You're right. I am a selfish and broken man. Everyone I ever loved is mostly dead, taken away by this cruel world and by Kage's like you. The burden of duty and honor crushed me, costed me everything in my life. Maybe I am lying to everyone...but I truly believe in this dream of mine. To create a new world where my loved ones can once again be reborn and live in peace alongside a united humanity, even if it means becoming the demon. I took my first step towards hell long ago, Raikage. Maybe there will be a reckoning for me someday or even in the afterlife, but you won't be around to see it" said Naruto without hesitation,

The Raikage flinched when an inhuman killing intent was unleashed by his opponent.

"Never break a man so much that he sets the world ablaze in vengeance and laughs as those very flames consume him and everything else"

As memories of everyone he had lost flooded through his heart, a frightening anger overtook every other emotion inside his body. A black rage akin to a god's wrath unleashed his power across the skies making the clouds roar monstrously.

The Mizukage unleashed his prized blade-Muramasa and his adversary was more than shocked upon seeing the weapon's metal getting tainted black as the dark emotions of its caster merged with its own power.

"This is no ordinary weapon. I can feel the sheer hatred in that blade, the fact that he can control such a monstrous power is a testament to his will. Still, I must use my own weapon to even stand a chance" thought the Raikage swiftly, as he summoned a large white colored fan with red colored strips at its end. A weapon of the Sage of Six Paths himself.

With his Sage mode and impressive sensory powers, the Mizukage had nearly destroyed any possibility of speed or a surprise attack being enough to finish him. This had to be settled the old fashioned way...

Naruto felt Muramasa trying to seep deep into his thoughts and greatly increased the power at his disposal, the more he surrendered to its will. The monstrous weapon made him remember everyone he had lost which in turn increased his hatred and thereby spreading its grip over the young Kage's conscious.

"Lightning Style: Laser Circus!"

The Raikage launched hundreds of bolts of black lightning from the legendary weapon of the Sage of Six Paths himself. In response, his enemy flexed his own demonic blade making a wall of darkness materialize between himself and the incoming attacks.

The wall comfortably absorbed each and everyone of the lightning attacks even as its caster used the Raikage's momentary surprise to teleport right in front of the man to launch a vertical slash.

Bashosen.

The legendary tool of the Sage of Six Paths himself, a prized weapon of their village that only the Raikage's and the Kinkaku brothers had been able to wield till now due to the large amount of chakra it consumed to give its wielder mastery over all types of chakra nature. Many had even died trying to use this weapon...

The Raikage raised the holy weapon in his defense and watched in horror as Muramasa cleaved right through it without hesitation and took away his left hand in a painful slice. The Bashosen was swarmed completely in a wave of darkness unleashed by that cursed blade and fell from the skies only to disappear into nothingness.

"This is bad. I need to-"

The Raikage swiftly chopped off his entire left arm as the corrupted chakra of that sword tried to swarm through his body and soul from the wound he had suffered. Even a faint contact had shown him what the weapon truly was.

"A Cursed Sword" whispered the Raikage with a painful grimace,

"I was never able to truly wield this blade or realize it's full potential, even hated it. Until now" confessed Naruto in a dark and chilly voice,

"How are you able to bear the sheer hatred and malice from that sword?" asked the Raikage in disbelief,

"When a man learns to love, he must also bear the risk of hatred. It's not easy to control this weapon but not impossible either if the despair and hatred in one's heart surpasses it's own power. I couldn't wield its full power because I was different, because I had..." whispered Naruto hesitantly, sadness present in his voice.

He tried to remember Ino's smile and could only recall a faint memory, when he tried to recall what her voice felt like- he was further anguished when he came up with nothing. It was much worse for his parents, his brother and the Spartans...

The worst was for his unborn child for whom he would never get any memories.

"You have lost hope in this world"

The Raikage's prophetic words elicited a faint yet bitter smile from the young Kage before him.

"Many still consider me a hero, maybe I was at some point in time- but not anymore. You were right, I am the devil now. A monster who betrayed everything he stood for once and yet I must keep moving forward until all my enemies are destroyed and this rotten world turns to ash. I have my own vision of peace for humanity and I will shed any amount of blood for it to become a reality. A paradoxical argument but it is what it is, so the only way to stop me is to fight and kill me. If my convictions and vision are wrong or weak then I shall lose, otherwise I shall lead mankind to a new era whether it wants to or not" answered Naruto calmly,

"What gives you the right to choose mankind's fate?" asked the Raikage furiously,

"I don't. You still assume that there is a right or wrong side when in reality we each only have our own agenda. To gain my own freedom and dreams, I shall take away the one possessed by this shinobi system that has only caused pain and misery. No matter what you or anyone else says or feels, this long march won't end. My armies won't stop until the shinobi system and those supporting it are crushed completely. The only thing you can do is Fight" challenged Naruto,

The Raikage clenched his only remaining fist as he looked his opponent right in the eye.

"Then there is nothing left to say"

"There never was. You only realized it just now"


Kisame had been leading his nation's Special forces on the enemy positions across the hills on the right flank. In a way, he had been extremely lucky as Mei Terumi's tailed beast bomb attack had struck here in full force instead of the enemy center which had been the original target due to the Raikage's urgent intervention.

Hundreds of shinobi had been simply vaporized in a blaze of inferno, hundreds more including the Eight Tails Jinchuuriki were tossed down or across the mountains leading to more deaths or mortal injuries thanks to the shockwave that followed after the blast.

Even so, the few hundred that survived did not take even a single step backward as thousands of Kirigakure Special forces descended down upon them. Most of them were veteran Anbu and Jounin's who had seen the horrors of war and knew the importance of this battle for their nation's future.

It was why they never wavered even when two flares were fired one after another in the skies.

A black flare from their left flank signalling its complete collapse or annihilation and a red one from their center indicating its own crumbling state in the face of overwhelming enemy force.

The Kumogakure Anbu leading the right flank had seen that and could have ordered his heavily outnumbered force to retreat now that the battle was truly lost, instead he did something that earned him Kisame's respect even if it made his job more difficult.

"Hold your ground till the last man! We cannot allow our center to be massacred by getting pincer attacked from both flanks. Buy enough time for as many of our comrades to retreat so they could fight another day. It was an honor fighting beside you all. Fight hard, die proud!"

For a passing moment, Kushina saw a shadow of Nagato in the enemy Anbu when she looked at the resolve in his determined gaze and the strength of his conviction that flew across his nervous comrades and strengthened their own resolve to fight till the bitter end for their nation. Just as her Spartan comrades had done...

Her eyes widened when a badly wounded dark skinned man appeared beside the remaining defenders and placed his only remaining hand upon the Anbu's shoulder.

"Let's teach these Kiri scum what true sons of Kumogakure are made of!" roared Fukai murderously, as he started to transform.

The paltry Kumogakure force roared in unison and clashed with their enemy with a frightening courage as their Jinchuuriki gave a bittersweet smile.

"Eight Tails! You are free-"

Fukai coughed painfully as a chakra chain emerged from the ground beneath his feet and pierced clean through his chest as a foreign force entered his body to instantly subdue the tailed beast he was trying to set free in order to wreck havoc upon the enemy.

More and more chakra chains emerged to tear apart his hands, legs, torso until he was completely rendered immobile.

The strength of the chakra invading his body was akin to a mountain being dropped upon a single piece of rock forcing it to accept its iron will. He collapsed to his knees much to the horror of his comrades who were being slaughtered mercilessly with Kisame Hoshigaki taking his own sick pleasure in the task.

A redhead kunoichi appeared behind him with the chakra chains restraining him coming from her own body.

"Spartan..." he whispered bitterly, even as his conscious started to fade due to sheer amount of blood he was losing from his numerous wounds. Unable to even make a hand sign or form a connection with the tailed beast inside of him which had gone silent.

Such was the power of her chakra and willpower as she looked at him mercilessly.

"How did you know who I am?" whispered Kushina icily,

Fukai smirked.

The next moment he screamed in agony when the chains piercing his body became so hot that his own blood started to boil. His bones started to tremble and muscles started to get charred from the inside.

"Dodai..." cried out Fukai out of desperation and agony,

The man passed out seconds later making her curse outloud before sealing his unconscious body into a storage scroll. After all, he was one of the prizes that Madara had demanded for an alliance and for bringing her Spartan comrades back to life.

Maybe the man was not so important but the beast inside of him certainly was.

More importantly, there was someone inside the enemy's ranks who knew her real identity as impossible as it sounded. She couldn't take that risk and instantly charged towards the center of the enemy hoping to find and end the man whose name the Jinchuuriki had confessed under extreme agony.

She cursed profusely when Kumogakure Anbu's threw themselves at her to prevent her from reaching their crumbling center after watching her easily defeat their Jinchuuriki.


The Third Raikage took in a deep breath and silenced every emotion within his troubled heart. The future of his nation would live on in his own son's leadership and the iron will of his people. To give them that chance, he had to take down the devil in front of him.

The Fourth Mizukage was the strongest opponent he had seen ever since Hashirama Senju.

Defeating him with ordinary powers was not possible, but there was still a force even he could not defeat completely.

The skies roared once again as the Raikage's entire body was wrapped in a blinding coat of lightning. He relished the brief look of horror that arrived on the blonde's face as he realized what his fellow Kage had just done.

"I heard Inoue Namikaze, your mother used a similar jutsu to repel an entire Invasion force from my nation in the last war. Albeit at the cost of her own life" taunted the Raikage,

"You're..." whispered Naruto in disbelief, as he watched the Raikage literally turning into lightning right before his eyes.

The dark skinned man's body merged with the sheer amount of energy he was drawing from nature itself. His skin vaporized as did his blood followed by his bones turning to dust as his very essence became lightning itself.

"I shall die here but I'll take you and your army with me! THUNDER GOD!" roared the Raikage one last time,

Naruto's eyes widened in shock when the very sky released a wave of lightning energy that spanned the entire land and was descending rapidly not only towards him but towards his army on the ground.

The sheer scale and the power within that attack would vaporize every living thing if it reached the ground which was exactly what the Raikage wanted in order to save his nation.

He swiftly raised Muramasa high in the air and used it as a conduit to unleash his own counterattack.

"Lightning Release: Raging Waves!"

The cursed sword channeled its own dark powers with the lightning jutsu released by its caster to make the entire attack become pitch black.

The clouds burst apart from the sheer clash of the opposing lightning attacks, a wave of blue and dark chakra colliding viciously with each other.

Naruto was sure he had lost his hearing temporarily atleast from the sheer noise that followed in the aftermath as the clouds were simply vaporized away before they could drown the lands in a torrential rain the likes of which this nation would have never seen before.

To his disbelief and horror, his counterattack crumbled against the sheer force of nature that the Raikage had become. The man's wrath and sheer hatred present in every crack of lightning.

"Conquer your fear, and one day you'll seize the world!''

The words of his instructors from his Spartan training came back in his heart, a conviction that had helped them become the finest warriors of their generation.

He imagined his brother must have felt a similar fear when he had charged towards his death, and yet Nagato had not wavered for a second.

The deceased Spartan's chakra came swirling instinctively all around him for his protection as the Raikage's lightning monstrosity destroyed the Mizukage's counterattack and struck him mercilessly.

Naruto had raised his left hand to absorb the sheer magnitude of raging nature chakra that came crashing down upon him. He could have used teleportation to dodge but it would have resulted in the very same attack crashing to the ground and destroying his army.

As such, he was forced to use his ability that originally got him selected for the Spartan Program.

Chakra Absorption.

A silent scream escaped from his lips as he tried to absorb the humongous attack raining down upon him, all the while the Raikage's wrath laced lightning tried to pierce through the Ash like chakra protecting the Mizukage's other vital organs.

Now that their powers were connected, he could feel the actual source of this endless nature energy.

His eyes widened in shock when the skin across his left arm simply burned away as it tried to absorb the entire sky's lightning aiming to pierce through him and then continue destroying Kirigakure's armed forces on the ground.

The Raikage's consciousness had vanished when he sacrificed his life to merge with nature, but he had left his wrath and desire to destroy his nation's enemies in the very energy itself.

As powerful as he was, the Mizukage simply didn't have enough strength to overwhelm nature itself.

"If I hold it any longer..." thought Naruto painfully,

"Crush the Land of Lightning and I will bring all your Spartan comrades including your beloved younger brother back to life"

Madara's promise from that fateful day came back in his heart and gave him strength as he remembered standing in front of an empty cemetery all those years ago back in his homeland.

It had been his responsibility to protect them all, to bring them back home- dead or alive...and never leave anyone behind.

He had miserably failed in that sacred duty and it was time to correct that failure.

He clenched Muramasa tightly in his right hand before thumping it once over his chest in a salute that was dear to him.

"For you, we give our heart"

His pained whisper would never be heard or seen, even as he sensed the source of the enemy's energy through their shared connection due to the fierce clash.

He raised Muramasa with his right hand, the cursed sword's frightening power flaring fully as its wielder accepted his fate and the dark emotions within his heart merged with its own power once again.

"CHARGE!"

He could hear Nagato's voice from his final attack in his mind as he flew higher in the sky, all the while holding the sheer lightning energy of the sky with his left hand that was now burning away his entire arm right before his eyes.

But he could not stop...he would not stop.


Kushina had been watching the unreal events happening across the skies, the sheer scale of which had brought the fighting between the remaining enemy forces and their own to a strange halt as each shinobi tried to comprehend just what they were seeing.

"It's as if a divine god is battling a demon" whispered one of the few remaining Kumogakure Anbu,

He lost his head for that remark not a moment later as she dared his dozen remaining comrades to try and attack her if they wished. Kisame and the presence of hundreds of his men now surrounding them alongwith the fateful battle in the sky paused that action temporarily...it was as if an unspoken truce had settled between their forces as they all knew the leader who won the skies would decide the victory on the ground.

Still she could not stop the contempt for these warriors from burning in her heart for their holier than though attitude.

"It's you Kumogakure bastards that gave birth to that 'demon'. You butchered his clan, threatened his nation, killed his comrades. Your hatred and unending ambition to rule this world created this monster of yours and he won't stop until he returns the hate that you gave birth to" said Kushina angrily,

Kisame narrowed his gaze at the redhead mercenary's sharp outburst that made many of their enemies flinch and even tremble as a wave of darkness started consuming the raging lightning across the skies as a lone figure soared higher and higher towards the mass of lightning.

The Uzumaki woman's words were turning prophetic much to the disbelief and horror of the crushed Kumogakure survivors which brought many down to their knees.


"FOR COMRADES!"

Dodai blearily opened his eyes upon hearing that familiar warcry thunder across the skies and was horrified upon seeing what was happening, even more so than upon seeing his body dismembered in half courtesy of Ameyuri's rage and brutality in response to his provocations towards her leader.

"Lord Raikage, don't join me...until you kill this monster"

He was heartbroken when the wave of darkness just kept consuming his Kage's very essence and power mercilessly.

"FOR CLAN!"

As his vision started to fade once again, he still remembered these very words yelled by that young Spartan that had defeated his forces all those years ago. Only now, that warcry was being unleashed by a devil set on destroying Kumogakure instead of a patriot sacrificing his life for his nation's survival.

"FOR COUNTRY!"

The wave of darkness clashed against the mass of lightning unleashing a devastating explosion across the entire sky that blinded each and every shinobi.

Zabuza couldn't look at the skies but he did read the words upon Dodai's dying lips before the man's eyes closed forever.

"If only I had killed you that day..."


The last thing he remembered was the inhuman scream unleashed by the mass of lightning energy as he plunged Muramasa straight into its core, the cursed sword's tainted power alongwith his own chakra absorption ability overthrowing the Raikage's last gamble.

But it had came at a heavy price.

His left arm was gone.

Simply vaporized bearing the sheer energy of nature that had been thrown at him. His torso covered in scorch marks that were bleeding profusely if not scarring him forever.

What worried him the most was that he was only able to see from his right eye as his whole face was dripping with blood as he barely managed to descend from the skies and looked at the remaining enemies- most of whom had lost the will to fight and were looking at him in horror.

His own men seemed shocked, many even seemed fearful and many mortified beyond belief.

"Your Raikage is dead"

His ice cold gaze looked at the remaining enemies and saw the sheer hatred in their eyes for him as he confirmed what they had already seen.

Seeing them still clutching their weapons despite knowing they were completely finished was a feeling he had experienced himself at the hands of this nation.

"If they have stood their ground instead of running away like their comrades, despite knowing they were doomed..." he thought with a begrudging respect,

There was only one way to honor that courage while making them experience the same pain that his comrades had felt at the hands of this nation.

His gaze met with Kushina who looked horrified at his state but was also the only who would understand his next order more than anyone else on this battlefield.

"Kill them all"


Author's Notes: End of chapter.

Hope you guys liked it.

What do you guys think about the path chosen by our favorite blonde and his beliefs? What would you have done if placed in his situation? Would you stick to a Path of Honor and continue protecting from the shadows while getting destroyed themselves like Cannon Itachi?

Or would you choose a Path of Duty to bring a different change even if it means becoming the devil you hated once?

Let me know your thoughts on that and other impressions on the overall chapter, and any future predictions/requests.

Hope you now understand the final part of the story synopsis.

Until Next Time,

Blackwolf501