A Demon in the Shadows

by Kuro Tamashi

Minato seals the Kyubi's power inside his two sons, but something happens which makes him commit a great mistake. Naruto is abandoned, to be hated and despised by the villagers. Until one day Naruto gets a power that could help him to take revenge against those who caused him so much pain. [Dark/Naruto Harem]. Revision in progress. (Bio for the uncensored version) Translation

43. Chapter 40: Hatred

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE STARTING THE LECTURE.

Okay, I decided to post this because it's been a while and my beta reader is having some difficulties because of school. So, not to wait another year, I decided to publish this chapter. Please be advised that this chapter was not revised; there may be grammar errors (though I did my best to fix what I could).

If you don't mind this, go ahead and continue the lecture, if you do, you'll have to wait till I delete this message.

Now, there's a poll on my bio, go and vote! (It's important)

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Human talking, "This has gotten out of control."

Human thinking, "It can't be."

Nonhuman talking, "You are dangerous."

Nonhuman thinking, "I was wrong."

Jutsus / unknown names. "Genshi (Atom)."

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.

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Chapter 40

On the outskirts of Konoha - Moments before

The Yakuza convoy was returning to Nami's base to do a recount of their forces and continue their work.

Bonnie's car was leading them; inside, Sophie was beside her, Alfred was driving, and Hajime Saito was sitting in front of the sisters.

None of them could feel the pressure in the air, except for the swordsman. This feeling made him feel uneasy.

He looked at Konoha's direction, wondering what that was. Whatever it was, it couldn't be a good thing, and he felt that it would only get worse.

"Alfred, stop the car." The worry gave him the impulse to go and investigate.

The conversation between the sisters stopped, and the driver stopped the march, as well as those behind them.

The General opened the door, went to the car's rear and opened the trunk, looking for something in there.

The sisters, as well as the soldiers behind them, intently watched what the enigmatic man was doing.

When he finally found what he was looking for, he grabbed it and replaced it with the Katana on his waist.

The soldiers instantly recognized the object, and the vast majority whispered as they saw Saito returning to Bonnie's car; he didn't get inside, he just walked to the driver's side.

"Go ahead; I'll go back to Konoha." He looked at Alfred, who nodded before turning on the engine and continuing his way forward.

The sisters turned to him, and it was then when they both saw the sword that he now had in his sheath. "Onee-san, is that...?" Sophie asked in amazement.

"It is, Sophie-chan. What's going on in that place?" She paused and this time looked where Konoha was. "Kyofu-sama..."

Meanwhile, Saito lit a cigarette and gave it a drag as he looked in that direction. "Looks like I will finally have to kill you. If you're unable to fulfill what you promised me, you're no longer useful to me." A feeling of uneasiness pervaded him. No, it wasn't that, it was fear.

He had never felt anything like this before, not even when Naruto tried to intimidate him with his Killing Intent.

No, this was something different, and he would have to put an end to it before it was too late.

Konoha - Now

When a person felt impotence, despair wasn't too far away. Even more so for the Shinobi, who put their lives in constant danger, and sensations like those reflected an inability at their duty, which could be a predicament in a threating situation.

With Konoha's current situation, what else could these individuals feel? He was an enemy who seemed to be invincible and who possessed an unlimited power, who showed no weakness and only gave off a feeling of terror.

Their hope? A blond man who was doing his best not to lose concentration as he was protected by the men who were doing their best so that the light of hope didn't fade.

They were grateful to the already faded clone of the man who had been of great importance in this battle, as he gave them enough time so that they could use their means to protect Minato.

Jiraiya and Kakashi had used several Rock Walls and put them around the Yondaime, Itachi's Susanoo was around them and Bee in his Hachibi mode was around the Susanoo.

The attack had been powerful, but the perseverance of the man who was no longer there had been even greater.

Kyofu went all out; he sacrificed many people so that the barrier could have more consistency; he had to resist until the original clone returned.

Despite his efforts, the power in the epicenter had been so much that Kyofu's clone could no longer sustain the barrier with his limited power, which made the others inside the barrier suffer the rest of the impact, each of them to a lesser extent, Bee being the one who received the most damage.

Some of his ribs had broken, but he was already healing them. Itachi suffered several lacerations that were bleeding slightly.

Jiraiya and Kakashi had crashed into their own walls, but fortunately, Minato was the only one to receive no damage.

All of them coughed because of the thick dust, but they didn't lower their guard and approached Minato to protect him again.

"Humans..." They suddenly heard a voice that intoned a lot of annoyance, but above all, pure hatred.

Fear and despair invaded their hearts, their bodies trembled, and they even felt the need to cry. They couldn't understand it, what had Naruto become? How was he able to transmit such a frightening sensation?

They knew that Naruto was terrifying in his own way, but he had always given off a human sensation. This, however, didn't feel like anything in this world.

They raised their hands to try to use defensive Jutsus in case they were attacked, but their efforts were futile as the tremors prevented coherent movements.

A strong gust of wind hit them, one that completely dissipated the dust that covered the village, revealing the devastation along with it, but more importantly, the entity that was floating a few meters away from them.

He looked imposing and terrifying, but in a way, also magnificent. He was looking at them as if they were the most insignificant beings in this universe, even inferior to a single-celled organism.

They unconsciously stepped back as they watched him descending slightly, stopping to utter, "Insignificant and whimsical humans, clinging to an idea without meaning. The 'hope' that you desperately cling to only validates your weakness and trifle..."

He descended even more to reduce the distance between them. "Your existence is nothing more but a mere whim, an impertinent whim to which I shall put a deserved end."

The Shinobi stepped back when he touched the ground, opening their eyes in shock when he had disappeared and instantly appeared right next to Minato, pointing his hand at him as a ball of dark energy formed in his palm. "You are at my mercy, and for your blasphemous behavior, you shall receive your deserved punishment!" The ball became larger and brighter, even so, the Yondaime showed no disturbance.

The others closed their eyes in resignation, or so they did until they heard someone's growl. They looked toward the source of the sound and saw Kyofu falling from the sky as he approached his fist towards the face of the enigmatic individual, who received the powerful blow on his cheek, which sent him several hundred meters back.

Kyofu fell to the ground, unable to recover the balance since he had almost used all of his Chakra in that last blow.

Minato said nothing but smiled since he knew that the original Kyofu wouldn't stand still with crossed arms.

The other Shinobis ran toward him, watching him standing up with difficulty after the impact.

"Bastards..." the masked man whispered in annoyance, looking at the people who were now surrounding him. "What do you think you're doing?" he continued, looking at each of them, and each bowed their heads; they felt embarrassed.

The Yakuza grunted and raised his right fist. "I already told you... Get your shit together!"

Those words almost felt as if someone had slapped them.

"As long as one of us is still standing, as long as one of us still has the eyes open, as long as one of us continues to breathe, luck will be on our side! So get your shit together, damn it!"

It was true; there was a lot at risk and there was no time to hesitate, they had to try it until the very end.

They all took defensive stances, with the exception of the wood clone, who approached Bee to place a hand on his chest.

Everyone looked there curiously, wondering what he wanted to do. Moments later, those present saw the Kumogakure ninja staggering to his knees, and Kyofu didn't move his hand away.

"Bee! He's absorbing your Chakra!" the Hachibi warned.

"Y-Yeah. I've noticed it, Bakayaro, Konoyaro…" There wasn't concern in his voice, as he knew that he was doing it because he needed it. Though Bee found it incredible, he would allow him to take as much Chakra as he needed.

Everyone had come closer, but none had said anything about it because they all shared the same thought. How could he do something like that? Frankly, nobody knew, except for Jiraiya; he sensed that he was using the Rinnegan.

Bee surrounded himself with his Chakra cloak so that he wouldn't end up sucking up all of his Chakra and ended up killing him, and Kyofu thanked that action in silence.

"Why do you fight when you know you have no chance?"

The masked man turned his head to his right in shock and saw that his original had suddenly appeared there.

Sweat came down from his forehead as the others stepped back, but the clone knew he couldn't show weakness, if he did, everything would be over; he had to give his father more time.

"Who are you?" the Yakuza asked, but this individual didn't seem to mind his question as he looked up at the sky.

"Who am I? I no longer have a name, but a mission..." He turned to the clone, watching him standing up after recharging his energy tanks.

Kyofu approached him, setting his eyes on his father as he thought. "How much time do you still need?"

"Five minutes." The Hokage knew it was a lot, but he couldn't do anything about it. Using the Sage Mode for the second time in a day took eight minutes, and time gradually increased each time he used it.

He didn't know why; his Sensei didn't have that problem, but he thought it had to do with the amount of Chakra he needed to collect to access this state.

Naruto almost growled, but he couldn't do anything but resist. "What is your mission?"

"Your questions wear me out, human. I no longer..." A black and shiny chain that had curled around his mouth interrupted him.

The clone, who used his adamantine chains, didn't wait any longer and flew as high and far as he could in order to give some valuable seconds to his father.

Everyone saw him getting lost on the horizon; therefore, they seized the moment to come up with a plan as they protected Minato.

Meanwhile, the clone thought, "This guy, what's wrong with him? He could have easily dodged all of my attacks, but he only receives them. Do you think I'm no threat?" He felt offended, upset, and angry.

"I am unable to understand you…" the clone suddenly heard, so he stopped in shock when he saw that individual appearing before him. "You are just like me, what are your incentives to continue such a futile battle? You are weak, but with me, you can become strong."

Kyofu clenched his fists, his lips and nose twitched, and his brow furrowed. "Don't make me laugh," he grunted. "Me, weak? Who's the bastard who has lost his mind and is now being controlled by a wimp, huh, boss?" He took off his mask and revealed such mockingly smile that the Berserk couldn't help frowning.

"Just look at yourself; you're a joke. Speaking so presumptuously, believing that you are such a great thing, but the truth is that you don't even have control over your own body. Now, who is the weak one, you bastard?"

Inside the original, Kurama —in his cage— had been screaming all sorts of expletives to the shadow that had suddenly appeared to surround his container.

After that, neither the original nor the shadow had moved, they didn't even react to his insults. However, when the clone used his true personality, Naruto had moved his fingers slightly, while the shadow that surrounded him remained unfazed.

The Bijū got an idea of what was going on but remained silent to hear up the clone.

Kyofu put on his mask again and chuckled as he floated in circles around him. "Why are you making that face? I'm just telling the truth."

He stopped in front of him and brought his hands to his cheeks, pressing them firmly. "Listen to me, you fucking bastard. We have too many plans for you to spoil them. So wake up!" This time he aimed his fist at his face, but the hand of the individual intercepted it.

"I have had enough of this conversation, human. I have given you the opportunity to become something better, but you are nothing more than human trash, after all." He grabbed him by his neck and pressed it strongly. "Be gone." He pressed his fingers to blow him..., in a puff of smoke.

In the village, Kyofu received the information from his shadow clone and asked while looking at his father. "How long?"

"Three minutes."

The Wood Clone sighed and turned to the others. "Let's resist as much as we can!" He exclaimed while doing hand seals before placing the palms of his hands on the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Gigantic creatures appeared. Three-headed dogs, chameleons, toads, bulls, and birds of all kinds.

The others watched in surprise as each of these animals sprinted toward the individual that was approaching in the distance.

"They'll distract him for at least a minute. In the meantime, let's do this..." He paused as he watched a shocking scene.

His summoning had suddenly burst, creating tides of blood that had quickly vanished into puffs of smoke.

Kyofu wanted to growl, but he had to warn. "Get down!"

Everyone followed his order without question, dodging several chains that had spread hundreds of meters in their direction.

"Jump!" He ordered again when feeling the enemy's intentions, dodging several chains that came out from under the ground.

In the air, Naruto's clone crossed his fingers and created hundreds of shadow clones to use them as a distraction. "At this rate, I will have to use the Chibaku Tensei."

Kurama opened his eyes in surprise. "Are you crazy? You are just a clone, you can't do it; you will disappear. Hell, even the original has problems."

"I have no choice, the Hokage needs those minutes; he's the only person who can cope with the boss," the clone replied while flying as high as he could.

The Bijū said no more, he just looked at his container clasping his hands and activating his Rinnegan as he whispered. "Chibaku Ten..."

"Enough, human. I have had enough of your puny efforts," the Berserk spoke, appearing before him and grabbing him by his neck.

The clone chuckled. "You're still a joke, a bad joke with a lot of power. You're so weak, so incautious, so easy to read. Tell me, what does it feel to be deceived by a mere clone?"

The Berserk knew what he was hiding behind that mask, and he couldn't tolerate the mocking of a human being; he hated him.

Why did he do it? Why did he fight so hard? They were the same, and for that reason, he should be able to understand his feelings towards humans. What was more, he knew he did it, but why did he not cooperate?

He just needed to finish him off, then they would be one forever, and together they would fulfill their goals. For that reason, he tightened his fingers, feeling Kyofu placing his hands on his arm, just to say as he laughed. "I-I mean... Tell me, what does it feel to fall for the same trick twice?"

Kyofu disappeared in a puff of smoke again, and the tall individual turned around in pure rage to try to locate the original clone. Before he could attack, the Shinobi and the shadow clones finished their hand seals.

Each one of them released different types of attacks, from Elemental Jutsus to Bee's devastating Bijudama.

The sky tinged with yellow, while a blinding light and a powerful wind gust forced those present to cover themselves to keep themselves from tumbling away.

Only one minute remained for the Hokage to obtain the maximum power. The Shinobi Elite looked at the Yondaime before looking back at the great energy ball in the sky.

"You're a mess," the clone telepathically communicated with the original. "You should know better than anyone else that shadow clones are my specialty, there is no one better than me in this jutsu. However, you keep falling for the same trick. You disgust me…"

He paused and his smile his twisted. "I will get that power on my own; I don't need the help of a good for nothing like yourself."

Inside the original, Kurama had noticed that Naruto's fingers had moved again.

"I see," the Bijū concluded with a smile but was unable to pronounce his deduction due to the following.

"Enough!" an angry yell darkened the sky, thundered the clouds, and shook the ground.

The enigmatic being was there, unharmed and with a furious expression, taking flight and raising the palm of his hand to the height of his chest. "Your sins shall be purged and your souls purified. By the one who created me, feel his wrath... Genshi (Atom)."

The thunders increased in intensity as a small black ball —with smaller balls of different colors that moved around the center— appeared in his hand.

The wooden clone opened his eyes in shock. "Impossible! That technique was just an idea, how could he? Damn, and the amount of Chakra he's using is ridiculous."

It had only been an idea that he didn't think he would be able to achieve, combining the Rasengan with the Bijudama, and different types of Rasengans moving around it.

However, he had shown him that it wasn't not only possible but that it was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

With visible nervousness, the wood clone looked at his father. "Hurry up!"

The Yondaime frowned, trying to collect the Natural Energy a bit faster.

"Turn into ashes," the Berserk whispered and dropped the technique, which fell heavily to the ground as it turned around its own axis at a tremendous speed.

"I have no choice," the clone thought, standing where the technique was falling and raising his hands skyward. "I will absorb it."

He no longer cared if he turned into stone as his father had warned him, he was willing to do it if that would give the Yondaime more time to achieve that great power.

He activated his Rinnegan, whispered the name of the Petra Path and got ready to absorb the technique that was already in front of him. However, to his surprise, he saw a three-bladed Kunai appearing right in front of him before disappearing along with the incredible ball of energy.

The sky had lit up and the earth had shaken. All those on the ground had to protect themselves against the powerful wind gust that threatened to sweep everything in its path.

When the effects of the powerful technique finished, Kyofu turned towards the person who had thrown that Kunai. "What are you doing?!"

The Yondaime, in his normal state, stood up as he shook his garments. "I already told you, you can't absorb his techniques."

The masked man grunted and clenched his fists. "What the hell does it matter?! I was giving you time to get back into that state, but you totally wasted it!"

Minato shook his head. "No, it would have been in vain. You would have been unable to absorb that amount of Chakra; you would have exploded or become a stone before you did it. I had to send it elsewhere; I had to contain much of the explosion in another dimension. If I hadn't done that, the Land of Fire would have disappeared."

The Hokage clenched his fists as the images of his two children crossed his mind, especially Naruto's.

"At this rate, we will all die," Minato stated, dropping to his knees and placing the palms of his hands on the ground.

The pessimism in his words discouraged the Shinobi of the Leaf. Kyofu, however, came closer and picked him up, grabbing him by the collar of his haori. "Listen to me very well!"

The Yondaime looked into the eyes of his mask, listening to him continue. "I've already said it... As long as one of us is still standing, this won't end. If time is what you need, I'll give it to you. But don't you dare say that there's no chance!"

He seemed to be on the verge of beating him; he didn't do it as he saw his father nodding and changing his expression to a serious one. "Okay, I will," he spoke confidently.

The Shinobi near them smiled and approached to formulate a plan. Before they could, the strange creature had suddenly appeared among them. "I shall not allow you; your intermittency has tired me," he coldly spoke, holding Kyofu and Minato by their necks.

"Minato!" Jiraiya shouted, jumping there just like everyone else in an attempt to stop him from taking them away. They failed to do so since they had hit an invisible shield that pushed them back.

"You have been a stone in my shoes; erasing your existence at this precise moment would be the most appropriate decision. However, you both will help me in my crusade."

They didn't know what he meant, but they knew the meaning wouldn't please them. There was no need to inquire, as the enigmatic individual continued, "You, who have committed evil actions for mere whims, shall become my flesh."

Father and son opened their eyes in surprise when seeing that the same particles that had disintegrated the villagers were coming out from his body.

Both tried to free themselves from the grip, but it was so strong that they looked like children.

This time, the Berserk had demonstrated something else besides his serious countenance, and that was a smile comparable to Naruto's.

The particles were about to make contact with the 'prisoners'. However, the voice of a new person forced the Berserk to look back. "Bastard! What do you think you're doing to my Oto-san?!"

The Berserk saw his 'brother', who was approaching a gigantic ball of energy to his face.

"Odama Rasengan!" The impact was strong, and 'Naruto' went flying back as a large energy dome surrounded him

Those captured and Menma fell to the ground, and the latter rubbed his nose and spoke with a smile. "In your face!"

Minato, in shock, turned to him and saw him along with his teammates, Hinata, and Shikamaru. "Menma?! What are you doing here?"

Itachi had also asked something similar to his brother, who replied that it was because of Menma.

"Well, I came to help Nii-san and you," the young boy replied.

Minato wasn't happy with his answer. "This is not the place for children to play. You have to get away as far as you can; this place it's not safe!"

Menma wanted to dismiss his concern, but his godfather had knelt before him. "It's true, Menma. The enemy we are facing is out of our league, there is nothing we can do. The only one who can beat him is your father, and that's why you have to leave this place. If you are here, you will worry him and he won't be able to defeat the enemy."

It was so unusual to see the 'Perverted Sage' so serious that the young Namikaze found no words to refuse. "Okay; I will go. But you must promise me that nothing will happen to my Nii-san."

"Of course," his father replied before looking at Kakashi. "Please take them away as far as you can. Take Gai-san too; he's no longer able to continue fighting." He didn't have time to get sentimental and detailed with his son; he had to make sure that nothing bad happened to him.

The Hatake nodded and ordered everyone to follow him as he helped Gai to get to his feet, listening to his complaints about his 'lack of youth'.

Sakura and Shikamaru had no problem in accepting that order, but Sasuke was undecided; Itachi was all he had left to avoid madness, to avoid becoming Naruto; the young Uchiha didn't want to lose him.

Itachi noticed his indecision, so he promised him that everything would be all right. Sasuke ended up accepting, so he joined the others, who would follow Kakashi to the outskirts of the village.

Menma, with the intent of joining them, turned his head one last time to say goodbye; confused, he saw him with a look of terror.

He wondered why but was unable think about it as he bumped into something that made him fall to the ground.

Those around Menma stopped and turned to him, stepping back due to a nonexistent pressure. The imposing individual was there, now holding Menma by his neck and looking at him with absolute contempt.

Dismayed, the Yondaime shouted the name of his son as he ran in that direction. Kyofu tried to stop his father, but the Hokage was already too far ahead of him.

However, an invisible barrier that wouldn't yield to Minato's attacks appeared out of nowhere.

The masked man stood beside him. "You can't do anything about it; the only thing you can do now is to make sure that the situation doesn't get worse. Get serious," Kyofu spoke firmly, watching his father falling to his knees.

The Berserk, upon hearing the conversation, approached the edge of the barrier and looked at the Hokage with contempt. "Your judgment has been that of a foolish man; you have committed crimes that you shall not be able to pay in this life or in the other one. For the power granted by Meifu Ō-sama (the King of Hell), the one who clouded your judgment shall pay for your actions."

"Don't do it!" Minato exclaimed, standing up and striking a Rasengan against the invisible barrier, but with no result.

Kyofu didn't care, the only thing he would regret was the fact that he would have to wait for Kurama's power to regenerate, or maybe he would get lucky and it would return to him on its own.

Menma turned his head and saw his father shedding tears as he continued his desperate attempts to destroy that impenetrable barrier. The young man then looked into the cold and dark eyes of the one who was supposed to be his brother. Looking with regret, he whispered, "I am sorry," before closing his eyes.

Just then, hairy, creepy, and whistling insects came out of the pores of the dark being, moving around his whole body.

The young Namikaze opened his eyes, only to close them again when he saw the insects.

When it seemed that his end would come, an unknown voice declared, "Lowering your guard after catching a mere brat. Oversights like these can cost you your life, now and always..."

They all looked to where the voice came from, and they saw a tall man approaching with a shiny Katana in his hands. "Uzumaki Naruto, your head is mine!" the man shouted, raising his Katana and pointing it at the head of the dark creature.

"Saito!" The wooden clone recognized him, watching him cut through what had seemed an impenetrable barrier.

Surprised, the Berserk released his hostage to protect himself, but it had already been late since the 'Lone Wolf' had pierced his head with the tip of his Katana. The force of Saito's impulse was such that he pushed the enigmatic enemy several dozens of meters back.

The General finally extracted his Katana from his head and stopped while the original Naruto crashed into the Hokage Rock.

Most of those present watched him with astonishment as he sheathed the Katana that had a strange blue color, with black and white dots that moved around the sword.

Minato shook his head and approached his youngest son, who was coughing to catch his breath.

Kyofu, meanwhile, waited until Saito approached, and this one looked at him with an expression of doubt. "I see," it was all he said as he lit a cigarette.

"So you're using the Katanagatari, do you want to kill me?" the clone telepathically asked.

"Yes, I came to that. But it seems that I have failed since you haven't disappeared."

A smile appeared on the clone's face. "I really thought you'd kill me." He became serious and continued, "But let's put the chat aside. We have to return him to normal, and if it isn't possible, kill me."

"Don't worry, I came to do just that," Hajime replied as he puffed out the smoke.

The clone turned his head and looked at his father, who was still comforting his son.

With a grunt, Naruto caught his attention. "Who are you waiting for?! Get on it!"

The blond man looked at him, and knowing that he was right, he told his son to go away.

Kyofu had come closer after hearing that. "Wait, you can't leave."

Minato looked at him in disbelief as he sat on his knees on the ground; he couldn't say anything as the Yakuza continued, "In case I need Chakra, I will need to absorb his. Bee-san no longer seems capable of holding out much longer, and if I continue absorbing his Chakra, he will die. However, your child is the person with the greatest amount of Chakra among us. I could use his help. I'm not saying that he can join the fight, but I want him to stay around in case I need more Chakra."

The Hokage's face said it all, but his son stepped forward. "I will, I also want to help."

Kyofu added, "Very well," not giving time to his father to protest. "Saito and I will give you the time you need, Hokage-dono. Those who won't bring anything to the table, just back off."

He looked at the Yondaime and saw that he was already collecting Natural Energy. Then he looked at the scared Genins and told them to leave.

The young ones nodded and followed Kakashi, who carried Gai on his shoulders to take him away.

Once they left, Saito and Naruto took a few steps forward, while the others, exhausted, surrounded the Hokage, who remained silent, but very nervous due to the presence of his younger son; he didn't want that anything bad happened to him.

"One last thing, Hokage-dono," the clone continued, seeing that the original Naruto was teetering as he tried to stand up. "You should close the seal in your son's stomach; that will surely return him to normal."

He didn't know how true that statement was, but it was just an idea. He knew that his current state was due to the different types of Chakra inside him, and he guessed that suppressing Kurama's Chakra would help.

That wasn't the idea he had mentioned to Kurama before returning to the battlefield, it was just something he had deduced. His idea had been to absorb Bee's Chakra, and now with Menma, he would be able to take a greater advantage of that idea.

Minato nodded and continued collecting the Natural Energy.

Kyofu then looked at his comrade and exclaimed, "Let's go!" before running to the Berserk's position.

The General unsheathed his infallible Katana and ran in that direction along with the leader of the Yakuza organization.

Meanwhile, the one who seemed unstoppable, unbeatable, and indestructible, reflected pain and irritability. What happened? How could an inferior being be able to harm him?

He didn't feel any special or inexplicable power within that human; he was infinitely weaker than the blond man who had fought him in his previous form, but still, he had managed to cause him harm, not physical but spiritual.

How was that possible? What was that weapon that was able to penetrate a place that no normal human being should be able to touch? His mind clouded itself with rage, his eyes turned red and his mouth released a toxic-green steam.

He stretched out both arms and opened his fists, creating two tiny black balls before running towards the people who had already made him suffer enough humiliations; he would kill them no matter the cost.

Noticing his intentions, the Yakuza looked at each other and nodded. The Jinchūriki slowed his pace while the swordsman accelerated his, standing in his fighting stance called 'Gatotsu'.

"You fool and insignificant human! You shall fail and die!" The Berserk yelled with unbridled fury.

Saito didn't flinch at the dangerous and deadly threat; he continued his pace in an attempt to replicate his initial action.

Both opponents were face to face, the expressionless man directing the tip of his katana to his enemy's head, and the choleric being approaching his palms to his opponent's arms.

The intention of maddened Jinchūriki was clear; however, a fleeting memory of the pain he had felt crossed his mind, enough to cause the unthinkable: he stepped back.

Saito, to prevent a counterattack, backed away and sheathed his Katana, staring blankly at the angry red eyes of his opponent, who was feeling an unbearable shame.

It was time to put an end to this absurd battle, the time to end the lives of these humans and start his real mission. He looked into Saito's eyes, grunted and crossed his arms as his body glowed, increasing in intensity each passing second.

People behind them opened their eyes in shock once they recognized the attack; he had used that same one to destroy the village.

Several of them sighed in resignation because they didn't have the energy or methods to protect themselves from the impending explosion.

The Berserk, eager to see the desperation in the eyes of the man in front of him, gave him a look. However, he couldn't help feeling exasperated when he saw him lighting a cigarette and smoke it calmly.

He decided to ignore that to continue concentrating enough energy to make sure that any of his plans failed.

With a grin, he opened his arms and looked at the sky as exclaimed, "Your sins shall be forgiven; your souls purified. Accept justice of..."

He was unable to finish his sentence, as someone had grabbed his ankles and dragged him to the ground. "Doton: Shinjūzanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique)!"

The Berserk, who now only had his head visible, looked with pure hatred at the masked man who emerged from the ground.

He was about to get out and finish him off, but after looking forward, he saw his former opponent's Katana at millimeters of his neck.

The head came off and it bounced on the ground.

"Did they defeat him?" Itachi asked; he couldn't be sure because he still felt an invisible pressure.

Saito sheathed his Katana and spoke while Kyofu got closer. "You were right; attacking his soul won't work anymore."

"He has adapted," the clone thought, looking at the headless body that released a disgusting black liquid.

In the Jinchūriki's subconscious, the Bijū heard both Naruto and the silhouette grunting. "Why? Damned humans," both of them spoke as they walked back and forth.

Kurama noticed that both were moving in perfect synchronicity: Naruto and the spiritual body around him.

The Kyūbi wanted to try out something, something that he had concluded after observing recent events. "Hehehe."

'Naruto' ignored Kurama's laugh and continued wandering around his mindscape, which the fox anticipated. "What's going on, Naruto? Are you so weak that you can't even get rid of your own clone?

Naruto and the figure turned to him and Kurama ended with a serious expression. "You disgust me."

There he saw it; there he found an answer to his questions. This time, they hadn't moved in synchrony; they had made the same expressions, but the small difference was that Naruto's body had clenched one of his fists milliseconds before the silhouette around him did.

Kurama smiled to himself, as it gave him an idea of what to do to return everything to normal, but it could be a risky move because, if he was careless, the silhouette could realize what was happening.

Outside, Kyofu picked up the head and shook it as he approached the swordsman. "There's nothing here, perhaps in the rest of his body." He was talking about his soul, trying to feel it with his Human Path.

However, the truth was that he couldn't even feel his Chakra; it was as if he had vanished from the face of the earth.

Saito nodded while expelling the smoke from his cigarette. "Then we'll destroy his body. Get it out of there, I'll cut it into small pieces and then you'll destroy them with a fire jutsu."

"Let's do it." There was doubt in Naruto's answer; they had to seize this opportunity.

He made an Earth-Style Wall below the headless body and removed it carefully, noting that his blood melted everything that it touched.

The swordsman didn't lose any second, and as he had promised, he quickly turned the massive body into tiny pieces, which the masked man cremated and obliterated with a powerful Katon Jutsu.

"T-They defeated him… Nii-san? Menma spoke.

Minato didn't think so, indeed, he sensed that the situation had become much more dangerous. So much that he had sweated unconsciously. It didn't take long before he could get an answer for his reasoning.

"Hokage-dono, how much longer?!" They heard the nervous yell of the businessman; it seemed that he had also noticed the impending danger.

"Three minutes," he replied, maintaining his composure, but the sweat continued pouring from his forehead.

An unfavorable answer and Kyofu couldn't do anything about it; he could only hold on a little longer.

He looked at his comrade, who despite feeling a little nervous, kept his cold and calculating look.

Both looked down at the ashes, which dissolved in a thick and black corrosive liquid that transmitted a putrid smell.

They stepped back and covered their noses, looking at each other when they heard a spooky voice filled with pure hatred. "Humans…"

They looked around, wondering where the evil voice came from. They looked down at the ashes, as they thought that perhaps the sound was coming from there.

The voice continued, "Why do you cling to such an unreasonable ideal when you know that the result shall always be the same?"

Both Yakuzas heard the voice right behind them, and after turning around, they felt that something invisible had hit them, causing them to fly horizontally.

"Your constant humiliations make my blood boil!" the invisible person exclaimed, and just then, a figure took shape.

He had materialized out of nowhere, with an angry expression that left the earlier ones in shame. He was frowning, his eyes were red, and he was breathing heavily while green steam came out from his mouth.

Not only that, the weather had become stormy, cold, and dark. The same characteristics as moments before.

However, something was different: the Berserk was smiling in almost a twisted way, which looked a lot like one of Naruto's smiles.

No one could see that expression because the Berserk was giving them his back, and the Yakuza were too far away to see it.

In the distance, both members of that powerful organization stood up, aching, stunned, and above all, confused. What had happened? How had he hit them?

"That thing seems to be immortal." Saito pointed out, shaking his head and thrusting his Katana to the ground to use it as support and stand up.

The clone mimicked him. "I think he has adapted. Although you may be right. I have no idea what the boss has become. All I know is that we must stop him before it's too late."

"Adapted?" The 'lone wolf' drew his sword out from the ground and sheathed it as he looked at the enigmatic enemy.

"It doesn't matter anymore. We just have to keep trying." Both of them stood in defensive stances, seeing the enemy bowing and running towards them at high speed.

His race stopped soon because a flock of crows appeared in his way, revealing Itachi with his Sharingan turning rapidly.

The Berserk didn't care about the interference and just held the Uchiha's head with his big hands. Without further ado, he pressed his fist and the head of the Uchiha burst into a torrent of blood that stained much of the uncontrolled Jinchūriki's body, but he quickly absorbed it, just like the rest of the Uchiha's body.

He would have smiled on another situation, but he was so angry that his face wouldn't leave that expression face under any circumstances; he wanted to kill those two who had made him suffer enough humiliations.

The Berserk thought he had ended with the dark-haired man's life, but something had suddenly held him tightly. He looked down and saw a red spiritual hand that was trying to clench its fist.

The Berserk turned his head one hundred eighty degrees and saw the Uchiha surrounded with the Susanoo and with his eyes bleeding in substantial quantities.

The dark enemy grunted and stretched out his arms, destroying the spiritual hand before giving a powerful punch to the Susanoo's torso, instantly destroying it.

Itachi had no time to react; the only thing he felt was a powerful kick to the top of his head, followed by another right to his stomach that sent him in the direction where the shocked Shinobis of the Left were watching.

Meanwhile, the Berserk looked back toward the source of his martyrdom and ran toward them. He could only advance a few meters because the 'nuisance' had once again appeared before him in a flock of crows.

The Berserk growled and attacked, believing he had killed him this time. However, the Uchiha had reappeared in another flock of crows.

The uncontrolled Jinchūriki continued killing him, but Itachi continued reappearing, which only increased the fury of the dark being.

"You look at what you cannot see," the Uchiha finally spoke, receiving a blow that blew him up in a flock of crows.

The Berserk grunted and turned around as he felt him reappearing behind him. "You hit what you cannot feel," Itachi continued, feeling another blow that blew him up before reappearing again.

"Despicable human! Disappear!" After his cry of war, he went on the attack again.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Itachi was staring into 'Naruto's' eyes as some of the fighters stood beside him. Among them, the Yakuza, and the Kumogakure Shinobi -Jiraiya was still close to his student.

"Genjutsu," the businessman spoke, smiling to himself. There was no doubt that the original had tremendous power, but for some reason, he didn't know who to use it effectively.

Itachi didn't respond since the minimum loss of concentration would disrupt the Genjutsu. The amount of Chakra he was using to keep him within his illusory world was absurd, and he was close to reaching his limit.

The wood clone noticed his lack of energy, and knowing how much time there was left for his father to obtain the maximum power, he decided to give a boost to Itachi's soul. "Just one more minute; you can do it."

The Uchiha felt relieved; he would hold that long; he would do it for his brother.

In the illusory world, the Berserk had enough; his wrath was about to reach its limit. "Enough!" he exclaimed and destroyed the fake Itachi, but the 'nuisance' had reappeared behind him.

He turned around and looked at him with an expression that was on the brink of madness. "This time... This time you shall disappear," he whispered.

People within the illusory world saw him floating up to about ten meters high as his body started to bubble, almost as if it were boiling inside.

The Berserk exploded in hundreds of particles similar to those that had threatened to consume the entire village. This time, they were larger, moved faster, and what was worse, the height between them was shorter.

The moment he craved would finally come; he would finally end the lives of those who had humiliated him so much.

Those particles descended, and no barriers could protect anyone, the reason why everyone ended up being consumed.

The fragments returned to their starting point and quickly took the shape of that entity, who smiled at the thought that everything was finally over. However, he noticed something strange. "Why? Why am I still the same? Why did nothing change?"

He was talking about his power; if he had actually assimilated them, then there should have been at least a small difference, but everything was still the same.

He looked down and finally noticed what was happening. Everyone was down there again as if nothing had happened.

He clenched his fists and shouted so loudly that he broke the illusory world. When he returned to the real one, everyone there stepped back.

"Enough!" he yelled, holding his head because of the hatred, especially due to the laugh he could hear in his head.

The Kyūbi was doing it; he really couldn't believe what was going on. "You're a joke! A charlatan! How could you fall into something like that?!"

"SHUT UP!" Another strange reaction, this time, his Jinchūriki's voice had been louder, but in the end, both voices were balanced.

Kurama stopped smiling just to put on a serious look. "You don't understand it, do you? You've made a grave mistake. You might have a brutal power, but you did something rash, and you will eventually notice it. But believe me; it will be too late for you when you do it." The Bijū's suspicions grew stronger.

Naruto and the silhouette looked at him with hatred; 'they' didn't understand what he meant, but they wouldn't pay more attention as their priority was the people in the outside world.

Minato only needed thirty more seconds to collect the necessary natural energy, but the odds seemed to be against the defenders.

Despite the adversity, they made their best to get into defensive stances as they watched the enraged creature looking at them with an expression that made them step back.

The words of encouragement from Kyofu suddenly rang in their heads, giving them some confidence to face such a formidable opponent.

Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, taking advantage of the fact that the enemy was distracted by the hatred that had clouded his mind.

"Tsukuyomi!" the Uchiha exclaimed, summoning a world where the sky was red, while objects and people were black and white.

The mighty enemy was in a cross, and Itachi was standing before him with a katana in his right hand. "How long will you endure this?" the Uchiha asked with a cold voice as he stabbed one of his ribs, seeing a blackish liquid coming out of the wound.

The 'Jinchūriki' showed no pain, which gave Itachi a bad foreboding, but he trusted in his powerful illusory technique. "I control the space and time in this place and for the next seventy-two hours..."

He stopped when he heard a sinister growl coming from the enemy on the cross. "You negligible human... Do you think I will fall into something like this again?! Your boldness shall cost you dearly!"

The world created by Itachi shone, and before the Uchiha could know what was what was happening, he noticed that he was on the cross.

"Flimsy human; your arrogance shall be your ruin." His whole body bubbled and large pores had opened, revealing those hellish insects that disgusted the Uchiha.

"Experience true terror." The Insects moved around the Berserk's body before they jumped over the Uchiha, completely covering him.

His heart raced exceedingly, and panic quickly invaded his whole being as he felt the horrible sensations and frightening images that he saw in his current condition.

A powerful cry escaped from his throat, which was quickly silenced by the insects that got into his body due to the new opening.

Only seconds had passed in the real world, and everyone had turned around in surprise when Itachi gasped and fell to his knees, completely pale and on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Menma intended to run to help the help brother of his best friend, but a nauseating Killing Intent froze him in his place.

The Berserk had finally moved, specifically, one of his lower limbs. He took it back and then forward to kick Itachi's waist, sending him at tremendous speed toward the Hokage Rock and crashing him into it.

"Damn it," Kyofu thought frustrated, thinking about what to do in the next fifteen seconds that his father needed to get that great power. "I have to do something," he continued, turning around when his original body looked at his father, and those in that direction instinctively stepped back.

The masked man turned his head toward his General and raised his hand as he thought. "Get ready."

He didn't need to say anything else because Saito understood his intentions. The Lone Wolf unsheathed his katana and stood next to his 'boss', who closed his eyes shortly before opening them and whisper, "Banshō Ten'in."

The invisible force field surrounded the enemy, but this one didn't flinch. That didn't surprise the Uzumaki, but it had bothered him since he was running out of ideas.

There was only one option left: rely on his own instincts. "If there is indeed something of Naruto Uzumaki within you, you won't attack that man!" He sent the message telepathically.

The hand of the dark being had stopped a few centimeters from the blond hairs of his father, who didn't open his eyes despite the situation.

The Berserk slowly pulled his hand away and turned to the man who did nothing but bother him. Even so, a part of him wanted to hear his words.

He remained silent, while the others stood frozen, although they felt curious to know why he had stopped.

The Berserk looked at the masked man with pure hatred, but he didn't dare to attack because that unwanted part of him was growing at an unsuspected speed.

"You feel it, don't you?" the clone continued, stepping forward under the watchful gaze of those present; they sensed that both were talking—Saito knew how.

The Berserk remained silent, watching the clone of his former self coming closer to stand in front of him. The clone looked up, and the Berserk looked down.

"That burning desire to prove yourself, to prove how far your power can reach, how much you're willing to sacrifice for a mere whim. You want to prove that you're not a coward; you want to fight." A smile crossed the face of the masked man, one that the individual in front of him could perceive.

That made him growl, but he couldn't attack, even if he wanted to. What was he feeling? A strange sensation, one that sickened him. Was he agreeing with a human?

It was unthinkable, inconceivable, but somehow, exciting. Why was this? What was driving him to hear the words of such a sickening person? He didn't know the answers to these questions. But, could he just give in to his strange impulses?

He couldn't! He had to fight against that impulse! He had to fulfill his mission; he couldn't fail to his master; he couldn't take the slightest risk!

For these reasons, he turned around and approached his hand to the only man who was capable of interfering with his objectives. Once he assimilated him, everything would be over.

The wood clone cursed and tried to bring him closer with his Deva Path ability, but he failed. In a desperate attempt, he pulled out as many of his adamantine chains to try to stop the advance of his original body.

It looked like a vain attempt at stopping the inevitable; however, everyone saw Kyofu performing an unthinkable feat: he actually stopped him.

The others didn't know what really happened, but the clone did. He knew he couldn't stop him with his own power, not even in the slightest; the original had stopped on his own.

The reason? The wood clone didn't know it and had no interest in knowing it; he had to seize this opportunity to secure the final seconds that his father needed.

Before Kyofu could start his next move, the enemy spoke through gritted teeth. "I..." He gritted his teeth even tightly, not wanting to finish his words. "I want to fight." A hint of sanity; everyone felt that in the middle of his statement.

Many wondered if Naruto was coming back to his senses, or if they heard wrong. They didn't think much about it, since they saw the dark enemy pulling his hand away to stand firmly, ignoring the black chains that were around his body.

The Berserk slowly turned around, glaring at the person who made him pronounce such nauseating words. Such person was smiling behind his mask, amused by the sudden turn of events.

The rest was relieved, but they didn't let their guards down; they had to be ready for any kind of scenario, although their chances of success were minimal.

In the meantime, Bee went to see Itachi; there he saw him unconscious, pale, and above all, badly injured. He carefully picked him up and quickly took him to the Hokage Rock's shelters, as he thought that doctors would be there.

The Hachibi's Jinchūriki found some of them and told them what had happened to the Uchiha, but he didn't wait to hear the diagnosis since he quickly returned to the battlefield.

There, everyone but Kyofu and Saito had taken a safe distance in case the enemy changed his mind.

The adversary was now with crossed arms looking at the only person capable of spoiling his mission.

"At last..." the clone thought, watching his father opening his eyes, which had turned yellow again, while his garments suffered the same changes as moments before.

"Naruto..." the Yondaime whispered as he stood up, staring at the dark and angry eyes of his child.

His 'son' son stepped back and stood in a combat stance. "That person is just a memory. Now I am here, and I shall be the one to put an end to your tale." He sounded angry; he was still upset for doing this, but a part of him also wanted to enjoy an intense battle.

His father shook his head and cut the distance with a lot of confidence. "Then I just have to beat you as I did before. Do you think I didn't notice it?"

He was talking about the moment when his skin melted down because of his punches. Although Minato didn't see the precise moment when he almost lost his transformation, he knew why he had absorbed so many people; it had been a desperate attempt to not return to his 'former self'.

The Berserk growled and moved so swiftly that no one but Minato could see him approaching his right fist to his face.

The Yondaime stepped back slightly and prepared his left fist to intercept the enemy's hand.

The reaction was instantaneous; a powerful explosion cracked the ground and created a powerful wind gust that drove the crowd back.

Minato gritted his teeth, a bit surprised at the difference in power between his old form and his current state. He also felt curious when he noticed that wasn't any negative reaction after making contact with what had been a very corrosive skin until a few moments ago.

The blond man didn't lose concentration and applied more strength in his fist in an attempt to oust his wild child. This didn't happen since both had applied such force that it pushed them back at the same time.

Both recovered their balance and rushed in a straight line to throw punches and kicks that created powerful shock waves that further deteriorated the already devastated landscape.

Meanwhile, the Shinobi who were pushed back by the previous wind gust had regained their balance, coughing due to the dust that had risen, and panting due to the damage they had received.

They could hear the impact sounds that both fighters generated with their punches, but they were unable to see the battle because of the dust, which slowly settled down.

Their eyes widened once they witnessed the formidable battle, one that they were unable to see that well because of their amazing speed.

Those with better sight could see flurry figures of black and yellow color moving from one side to another, crashing against one another, creating craters and wind gusts. Those who didn't have a privileged sight or weren't used to battles of high performance —like Menma— could only see the craters appearing everywhere.

Those who were responsible for this extraordinary battle continued their fight using Taijutsu only, blocking each other attacks before they could hit their targets.

Despite the intensity of the battle, Minato maintained a serene expression, which infuriated his opponent. He couldn't accept the fact that a human was so comfortable in front of someone like him, it almost was as if he didn't see him as a threat.

The Berserk stopped abruptly and jumped at a safe distance, crossing his arms as he looked at the Hokage with a grimace of annoyance. "Your power is an anomaly, human. A dangerous inconsistency in this earthly world."

"The only inconsistency here is your presence. Get out of my son's body before I make you do it!" the Hokage demanded.

The Berserk growled. "Human, your demands are fruitless; I shall show you how terrifying I can truly be!" His eyes lit up because of the rage, and because of that, he apparently threw a punch into nothingness.

Minato looked puzzled; perhaps the blood had already gone to his head, the reason why he was acting irrationally.

However, before the Berserk's arm had completely spread, a small black portal had appeared in front of it.

"What?!" the Hokage thought, turning around when he felt a sudden presence appearing there.

It was his opponent's fist, which he barely blocked, but he could do little to block the next ones, as they constantly appeared at a devastating rate.

It was a frantic, furious and vicious assault. He was so angry; he wanted to kill him with his own fists, he wanted to enjoy the warmth of his blood on his hands.

The wood clone paid close attention in case he saw an opening to give his support.

Even though he was unable to see those rapid attacks, he could feel and follow his father's Chakra. He concluded that maybe his father was testing his enemy; he would surely start his assault in the next few seconds.

The blonde man, tired of his blows, expelled something that resembled a wind gust from his body, which destroyed the endless portals.

The powerful enemy grunted before throwing another punch through one of his portals.

This time, Minato held the fist with ease, and the next one after the first attempt had failed.

The dark being tried to pull back his fists, but the grip of the Yondaime was strong.

"I'll end this once and for all," the Yondaime muttered, creating a shadow clone without hands positions—it was something that he could only make while in Sage Mode.

The clone quickly approached his fingers to the Seal of the Eight Trigrams, but before he could make contact, the Berserk's red cape completely wrapped him.

Minato's clone growled and created a Rasengan to try to break it and continue with the plan. However, the cape had spread and taken the form of dozens of sharp spikes that hit the clone, who could do nothing to avoid them.

"What was that?" the Hokage thought surprised; he didn't know his cape could do something like that. He was still holding his opponent's hands, but he released them after felling a burning sensation in both hands.

He jumped back and shook his hands because of the slight burns. He looked up, and because he lost concentration for a brief moment, he couldn't see the moment when the Berserk stood in front of him and carried his right fist toward his nose.

The Yondaime flew backward at breakneck speed, shocked, confused, and above all, hurt.

That blow was nothing like the previous ones; it was as if he were dealing with someone else.

Minato shook his head and took his fingers over his sore nose, noting that some blood remained on the tip of his fingers.

He was about to recover his balance, but a blow to the neck and a kick to his back prevented him from doing so.

The Yondaime went flying to the sky, and there he attempted to recover his balance, but this time two fists hit his stomach, which sent him plummeting to the ground.

He couldn't touch the ground because hundreds of punches hit his body, which suspended him midair.

The Shinobi were looking the ruthless attack at the sky, but no one but Minato was there. Therefore, they looked down and saw the Berserk throwing punches into his portals at breakneck speed.

He was totally exposed, defenseless, but no one would dare to try something. Except for the two Yakuza, if there were an opportunity, they would take advantage of it.

They looked at each other in an attempt to start the attack, but the red cape had noticed their slight movement, the reason why it spread itself several dozen of meters and went towards them.

"Humans, I shall put an end to your constant interruptions. I shall blind the light of your souls," he sentenced, trapping everyone but Menma because Kyofu had pushed him aside at the last second.

When Menma looked up, he saw that the cape had divided itself into four parts, catching his godfather, Bee, the man with the strange mask, and the tall and long-limbed man.

"Ero-sennin!" the young man cried out, standing up and grabbing a Kunai with the intention of cutting the portion of the cape that was holding the Sannin.

"No, Menma! Get out of here! Go with Kakashi!" his godfather nervously yelled as he saw that the cape was slowly turning black.

What could be that strange and unusual reaction? Obviously, nothing good, and the captives shared the same conclusion: they had to free themselves quickly.

Menma shook his head, and Jiraiya was about to order him to leave.

However, Kyofu spoke first, "Hey, brat. If you want to be helpful, use your most powerful Jutsu and attack that thing."

"You can't be serious, he's just a kid," the Sannin replied.

"Shut up," Kyofu interrupted before looking back at his brother. "Do it now, we don't have all day."

"Hai!" The boy exclaimed, crossing his fingers and creating dozens of shadow clones. He also wanted to be helpful.

"So you are going to use that attack," the wood clone thought, observing the clones jumping at an optimum height. Half of them raised their hands and the other half approached theirs, thus creating large energy balls in the hands of the first half.

"I hope it's enough. I just need a little bit of space to use my Chakra chains." Kyofu had been trying to use his chains for a while, but the cape was holding him so tightly that he couldn't use them.

He could only wait for his brother to do something that would turn the situation around; that was why he had pushed him aside when the cape had attacked them.

The half of the clones that had charged the Chakra in the palms of the other half were the first ones to plump themselves to the ground to protect those with the Rasengan.

The Berserk had noticed his intention since the beginning, but he didn't do anything; he allowed his cape to do the job since he was busy throwing endless punches to a sore Yondaime Hokage.

The cape, which was close to becoming entirely black, split again, and the divisions ascended and struck against the clones that were forward.

The clones in the frontline disappeared in puffs of smoke that covered part of the battlefield, blocking the view of the clones in the rearguard.

Without a further alternative, the remaining clones plummeted to the ground, hoping that the smoke could be enough to distract the enemy.

Things didn't go as planned since the cape went through the smoke and hit all the clones, making them burst into puffs of smoke.

"Your useless gimmicks shall fail," the Berserk whispered through gritted teeth as he continued moving his fists at breakneck speed, close to complete the process that would assimilate the people that his cape had captured. Even though the Berserk could do it faster, now it was impossible because he was busy dealing with the Hokage.

Jiraiya and Bee looked with nervousness at the black substance that slowly approached them, while Saito and Kyofu remained calm, for some reason.

The reason revealed itself when the ground cracked right below the Berserk.

"I can't believe it," the wood clone thought with a smile. "You really make me sick," he ended with an expression of disgust, sending the message to the head of the uncontrolled Jinchūriki, who heard the voice but chose to ignore it.

His only goal, for now, was to weaken Minato and assimilate him later, since he couldn't do that if his opponent wasn't weak.

He decided to end the battle, to put an end to the humiliations he had suffered to continue the mission that the King of Hell had entrusted him.

He intended to divide his body and use the copy to assimilate Minato as he continued punching not to give him any chance to escape.

His body began to bubble and the bubbles slowly separated from his body. However, before he could finish the division process, he heard that the ground beneath him cracked.

He looked over there and saw someone's fist covered in a red cloak approaching his unprotected chin.

"What?" He could only say that before receiving a punch that didn't cause any harm but that made him lose control over his cape, enough for Kyofu to pull out three of his chains.

The Berserk looked at Menma with an annoyed expression; this time, he was ready to kill him. That was why he sent one of the fragments of his cape toward Menma, who could only dodge the first wave before stumbling and falling to the ground.

The Jinchūriki backed away using his hands, but he knew he couldn't escape. He covered himself as much as he could, hoping that his Chakra cloak would be enough to absorb the impact.

Moments later, nothing had happened, so he took his hands away and caught a glimpse of a shiny black chain barely holding the sharp fragment of the cape that was trying to move forward.

The young Namikaze looked at the creature and saw that two identical chains were holding his wrists, which stopped his attack abruptly.

He growled like never before, while veins that seemed about to explode appeared around his body. With a war cry, he proceeded to destroy that which prevented him from advancing.

Before he could complete his action, Kyofu shouted, "Now!"

A three-bladed Kunai appeared in front of the enemy, and it revealed the Yondaime Hokage with a gigantic Rasengan in his right hand. "Senpou Chou Odama Rasengan!" He slammed him with the energy ball, pushing his arm as much as he could so that the force could push him out of the village.

Kyofu immediately released his chains not to be dragged away along with him, and thanks to the Hokage's last action, everyone had been freed, making the Shinobis sigh in relief. On the other hand, Saito lit another cigarette, and Kyofu looked at the gigantic energy dome on the horizon.

After hearing multiple smoke explosions, the masked man looked up and saw that his father had covered the sky with his shadow clones, and they raised their hands to create the same technique that the original one had used moments earlier.

"That technique," Menma whispered.

"Looks like you've inspired your father," Jiraiya spoke, now calmer since it seemed that the situation had turned around.

Menma smiled just when his father shouted the name of the technique. "Senpou Chou Odama Rasen Tarengan!"

"Wow..." the wood clone whispered, and just then, the ground shook while a wind gust almost blew his hat away, but he had put his hand over his head before it could happen.

The rest covered their eyes before seeing a great light source in the distance.

Right in the center of the extraordinary attack, the Berserk was grunting, but not in pain, rather due to the mocking laughter he could hear in his head.

"You're a phony! Hahaha!" the Bijū laughed as he hit the ground with his fists.

"Bastard!" the silhouette and Naruto yelled simultaneously.

The Jinchūriki was still unconscious, but this time there was a remarkable difference, one that even the silhouette could see: Naruto had pointed his finger at the cage, while the silhouette had not.

Kurama smiled darkly. "Hehehe, you've already noticed it, eh? This farce will end soon," the Bijū stated with a serious expression at the end.

Naruto finally lowered his hand and earnestly stated, "Only a human sympathizer would believe that. You're the one who doesn't understand it. Naruto can't return. We have become one; now we share the same goal."

Kurama didn't believe it, but in the unlikely case that it was true; he would give the Yondaime some time to finish this.

However, why did Kurama think it wasn't true? A very simple and obvious reason: the wood clone. His presence indicated that Naruto still had some consciousness.

"How did you manage to control him? Even I wouldn't be able to achieve it."

The silhouette and Naruto slowly raised their right palms before they pointed them at the cage. "Just take a look..."

"Damn it," Kurama cursed, knowing what was coming... a Genjutsu.

Everything around him had changed. Now he was in a grim and gloomy place, but the Bijū thought it looked nice.

He couldn't see anything, but he could hear some whispers. Some were raging, others cursing, and others lamenting.

The Kyūbi didn't know where he was, but he thought that it was hell or purgatory, or perhaps both.

He tried to move, but it was impossible. He stood still, bored, as it seemed that nothing would happen, or so he thought until he saw a pair of giant yellow eyes glowing in the dark.

"Creature..." he heard a powerful and husky voice filled with hatred and resentment, which came from the yellow eyes that were now looking down at something that looked like a fog of flashing colors.

"I've created you with a sole purpose..., to stop this man," the voice continued, showing an image of Orochimaru.

Kurama raised an eyebrow, curious after seeing Orochimaru; he was also curious about the voice whose yellow eyes glowed in the dark. The Bijū remained silent, now interested in the story.

"You are the reincarnation of my hatred. The hatred and contempt I feel for those who were called 'humans', but especially for this despicable man." The figure of Orochimaru appeared again.

"Now go, Nikushimi. Your mission is to kill this man and the carriers of his mark." The images of the Sound 4, Kimimaro, and Anko appeared this time.

"Nikushimi?" Kurama thought, recognizing the meaning of that word. "That name means hatred. I see."

He kept thinking to himself. "What did that guy do?" He thought of Orochimaru. "And why are those who bear the Cursed Mark involved? Does it have to do with the fact that fragments of his soul are sealed inside these people?" This time, he looked at the gas figure that was now shining slightly, as if it were nodding to the words of a mythical being.

The Bijū then looked straight into the yellow eyes of the figure, and something in them looked familiar, but for some reason, he couldn't remember.

The voice continued, "You're still young and inexperienced; you will venture in an unfamiliar place, a little different from what you've seen so far. You will adapt, learn, and grow. For this, you must find a host, one who is safe, strong, intelligent, and above all, one who shares the same hatred that you feel."

The fog seemed to nod, which made the voice continue, "Find this man and stay close to him." He once again showed a picture of the Snake Sannin.

"He will take you to your 'host' and provide the means for you to get inside, although he won't know it. Wait until that moment, and then take control of your host. Now go and fulfill your mission, Nikushimi."

Among the thick darkness, Kurama saw a pair of gigantic and decrepit hands with long and sharp nails being clasped before being separated. The action revealed a portal that showed the outside world, specifically, the place where Orochimaru was looking at some of his experiments.

The gaseous figure didn't wait longer and passed through the portal, becoming invisible when entering the outside world.

The portal slowly closed itself, and Kurama could see that Orochimaru had turned around, perhaps because he had felt some disturbance. However, the Sannin dismissed it and continued observing his experiments.

There was a slight change of scenery, and this time, the Bijū was in the Forest of Death, the place where Naruto and Orochimaru were fighting. The gaseous figure was near the Sannin; it seemed anxious, almost as if it were waiting for something to happen.

The Bijū didn't need to wait long to know why since it moved at the exact moment when Orochimaru bit Naruto, entering his body through the Kanji 'hell' of the mark.

The Genjutsu ended there, and the figure continued, "Do you understand now?"

"I could understand how you got into Naruto's body and that someone created you to kill Orochimaru and his minions. The reason? I don't care. However, that didn't explain how you managed to control Naruto."

"I'm an entity created from Meifu Ō-sama's (King of Hell) hatred," his words intoned a lot of respect.

Kurama's eyes widened slightly at the name, remembering the Rikudō's mentions about the entity he was able to summon thanks to his Rinnegan.

Naruto's expression contorted, and the silhouette continued, "For this reason, I feel such amount of hatred that living being or entities like yourself wouldn't be able to understand it."

He still hadn't answered the Bijū's question, which was already bothering him, but he would rather have him speak and lose time than continuing the fight in the outside world.

The look on Naruto's face softened slightly, and the silhouette continued, "Adapting myself to Naruto wasn't that difficult because of the hatred in his heart; he was the perfect 'host'. I learned a lot thanks to him, especially how despicable humans can be."

The fox agreed with the last part but remained silent as the silhouette added, "Then I realized, although I had managed to get into his body, I wouldn't be able to 'fuse' with him if I didn't make him aware of my presence. Luckily, I found the opportunity when he used the Cursed Mark for the first time."

The day when Naruto mixed the Chakras came to Kurama's mind, but he said nothing about it.

"After that incident, he was always thinking about me. Why did you think his temperament started to deteriorate? He was already aware of my presence and he knew that I was influencing him. That's why he sought out a method to get rid of me. He found the technique of levels of the mind; he intended to use it if this were to happen. And thanks to his master, I could see how it worked and I managed to adapt myself before he could use it against me."

Kurama growled, not because he had 'adapted', but because Naruto had never told him what was going on.

The Berserk knew the reason for his annoyance. "Do you find yourself angry because he has hidden information from you again? You should already know it; he's a human, as despicable as any other."

"So despicable that you fused with him," the Bijū countered, showing his big and sharp teeth.

The silhouette, through Naruto, maintained a serious expression. "It's true, but I need him. I need his intellect and especially his body to have physical access to the human world. Without him, none of this would be possible."

He heard another growl, but the Berserk didn't let him continue. "And you asked me how I managed to control him. First, I learned and could adapt myself to what he planned against me. Secondly, he was so emotionally weak after hurting that human girl that he could no longer resist the idea of getting my help. He did his best to ignore me for a month, but fortunately for me, he was unable to do it when it really mattered..."

He paused, and this time, he smiled so darkly that it looked like those Naruto did when he was close to committing one of his calamities. "My hatred had finally managed to overcome his."

Kurama raised an eyebrow, surprised at the statement. Was he talking about that specific feeling when he said that Naruto was 'emotionally weakened'? Nonsense.

He didn't get the chance to ask because the figure continued, this time with an expression of pure hatred. "I, a being created from the hatred of one of the most important entities in the universe, had to deal with the fact that a despicable human had a greater hatred than mine. That fact made my hatred grow. Thanks to him, I was able to improve. And when the moment of truth had come, I could start with the first phase of my mission; control his mind."

Kurama growled. "That your hatred overcame Naruto's? Don't screw with..."

He couldn't finish as the silhouette raised his voice. "Enough! I've finally realized what you're trying to do. But…, it will not work."

"What do you think I'm doing?" the Bijū killed more time.

"Distract me so that the humans in the earthly world can have time to finish me off. Nevertheless, it will not work; I have learned enough of this world to notice your desperate plans."

"Learned enough?"

The silhouette and Naruto groaned since the beast continued with his questions. The silhouette was aware that time passed to a lesser extent within this plane of existence. Still, Kurama's questions bothered him.

"Yes, as Meifu Ō-sama (King of Hell) stated, I had to learn and get used to the human world. I've been learning from them all this time, and I finally feel that I've learned enough."

Perhaps that meant that Kurama's plans had a less chance of working, but the Bijū concluded that it was too early to give up due to the next statement.

"Although I must admit that you and his clone made me really angry. However, all you people achieved was increase my hatred, and thus, the control I have over his body." He clenched his fists, wincing annoyed.

Kurama felt completely relieved, so much that an involuntary sigh escaped his lips. There was still a chance, he just had to make one last push, and he had the exact words that would do the work.

He was unable to do it since Naruto and the figure raised their right hands and continued, "And I have also learned this. Now I will put an end to this charade, and you will help me to achieve this."

A torrent of red Chakra came out from the Bijū's body, making him feel exhausted, almost as if he were on the verge of death.

"Don't worry, I will not kill you. I am aware of the consequences of your death."

"D-Damn it!" Kurama cursed, slumping and snarling due to the feeling of weakness. He hated this feeling, he didn't want to experience it ever again, but he didn't foresee this situation.

Naruto and the figure closed their eyes as the Kyūbi's power surrounded them. "Yes, with this power, everything will end in an instant," both rustled.

In the outside world, only a few seconds had passed; Minato was at a safe distance from the explosions while the Berserk was right in the middle of them, still grunting.

However, his expression suddenly became peaceful, and he stood up as if it were nothing. He wiped the dust from his body, cracked his joints and finally moved forward.

Minato opened his eyes when he felt someone's back against his. He tried to turn around but couldn't because he felt his body heavy, not because he was losing energy, but because something was giving him a bad feeling.

"Human... Let's finish this."

"Shi..." Minato could only think of that before the enemy hit him with his forearm.

The blow was so formidable that Minato went flying back, spitting blood and feeling that his jaw almost broke.

Aching, he closed his eyes briefly, opening one of them to look up. This time, he saw his opponent above him, looking into his eyes before lowering his right fist toward his face.

The Hokage made a cross with his arms to protect his face, but he received the blow in his stomach. The Yondaime spit more blood as he crashed into the ground, creating a massive crater that shook the ground and raised a lot of dirt and dust.

"Oto-san!" Menma exclaimed.

He tried to run to his aid, but Jiraiya grabbed his arm. "Just wait, Menma. Your father can still keep up; I'm sure of it." It was a lie, and everyone could tell. However, what else could he say? Minato was their only hope.

In that crater, the Yondaime was almost unconscious. A blurred silhouette was in front of him, one that slowly moved back and floated about two meters high.

"Human, what you just saw was a small part of my magnificent power. Feel honored, because now I shall teach more of it." He spread his arms wide and floated again, this time about fifteen meters high.

Minato had finally reacted; he stood up with difficulty, stumbling and panting as he carried his hands on his aching stomach. He fell to his knees, and this time he spat a lot of blood. "You've got to be kidding me. Some of your power? Were you holding back all this time?" Now he looked up, and he saw something that had terrified him.

A red and bubbly aura surrounded him, which quickly turned black while a viscous substance flowed from his body, giving him a new and frightening appearance.

This time, the sky and clouds turned red; the wind was blowing hard; the animals no longer ran, since they knew they no longer had a place to flee.

Humans cried, trembled, prayed, others ran or just slept... forcibly. This time, it wasn't as if heavens were furious, rather it looked as if Kami-sama himself was about to impart his righteousness.

"No, no, no, no!" Minato exclaimed in frustration, seeing that Kakashi had landed next to him after leaving Gai and the Gennin in a safe place. Jiraiya and the others came along with him.

"Wh-What is it, Sensei? C-Can't you defeat him?" the Hatake asked, looking up with his Sharingan exposed, watching the black mass in which that hellish creature had become.

Minato turned around, and this time, he saw the look of desperation in each of those present. Well, except for Saito, who although was a little nervous, he sensed that something positive could happen. Kyofu also felt something like that.

The Yondaime realized that his words would only make things worse. He couldn't give up just yet. If he couldn't defeat him, who would?

He put on a serious expression and looked at his student. "I do, I can still defeat him. It's my trump card, but I didn't want to use it." There was no need to ask since they saw the black spheres behind his back moving towards the palms of his hands.

"Kuro Rasengan..." Minato whispered after combining both spheres, slightly increasing its size. In its center, they could observe a slight white glow that resembled a normal Rasengan.

"I'll finish this..., even if I have to kill him," he stated, looking with a serious expression at the dark mass that was floating at a considerable height.

"K-Kill...?" the young Namikaze tried to continue, but Saito's serious voice interrupted him.

"How do you plan to do that? Even if you destroy his body, he will keep regenerating."

The Yondaime turned his head toward him, watching him smoking and looking toward the ball that compressed itself slowly. "I've noticed that if he receives considerable damage, then his regeneration becomes a non-factor. This technique won't give him time to regenerate."

He couldn't waste any more time, so he looked toward the mass, bent his knees and jumped toward his enemy.

"Wait!" Kyofu tried to warn, but the Yondaime had already left.

The Hokage heard the shout of the masked man but decided to ignore it. If he stopped now, then he would lose the courage to attack his son with his ultimate technique; it wasn't the time to hesitate.

"If you don't survive, I can only say I'm sorry, son," Minato thought with a sad expression before changing it to one of determination, bringing his palm forward to make contact with the mass.

Much to his chagrin, a barrier had become visible, preventing him from making contact with the dark mass. Fortunately, his technique didn't explode because Minato could control the moment of the explosion.

Kyofu growled; he had tried to warn him, but he had been hasty. The wood clone couldn't blame him either because the situation required doing things fast.

His father didn't look as if he were going to surrender any time soon since he continued pushing his hand in an attempt to break what seemed to be an unbreakable shield.

"There's no other option," Kyofu concluded before looking at the Shinobis who were at his side. "We must help him; we're going to need sharp attacks to try to create an opening."

They all nodded without looking at him; they all knew they had to do it.

The first one to move was Jiraiya, who made his hair grow considerably until it surrounded him.

Kakashi made hand seals and made his Chidori glow brightly.

Bee used six tails of the Hachibi to try to force an opening with them; he intended to use them as lances, and once there was an opening, he would force it open wider when pulling his tails in opposite directions.

Menma stood still; he didn't have such techniques, nor did he want to do something that would end up worrying others.

The masked man turned to his General, who had his hand on the handle of his katana, ready to start his attack.

"Let's do it..." the Uzumaki spoke, pulling out four of his chakra chains.

In that instant, everyone attacked, the fastest had been Saito, who jumped and used his Gatotsu, creating a small opening at the shield before jumping back to land on the ground.

Then Kakashi followed him, using his Chidori to hit the same place and increase the size of the small opening.

Bee slammed it with his pointy tails, followed by Kyofu with his chains. Once they had increased the opening's size so that the tips of their weapons could enter, both placed them on the edges and pulled in opposite directions.

The force that both exerted caused the opening to open in a vertical direction. Jiraiya used the space to attack the target with his Hari Jigoku (Needles Hell) until the opening became large enough for Minato to sneak inside.

The Yondaime thanked their efforts in silence; he couldn't do anything else since he was still pushing his "Kuro Rasengan' to force the opening, which was reaching the size of the energy ball.

"Saito, one last push!" the clone yelled, a little worried because the wind was blowing more strongly than before, and the clouds flashed like never before.

"I know," the swordsman replied, jumping towards the shield as he placed his Katana horizontally to perform a horizontal cut.

Bee and the clone put one of their weapons aside just when Saito performed the horizontal cut to the vertical opening.

The opening turned into a cross, four extremes, which Bee and Kyofu secured and pulled hard almost immediately.

Saito spun in the air and gently landed on the ground, hearing both Jinchūrikis grunting as they pulled each of the four corners.

"Just a little longer," the General thought as he lit another cigarette and smoked it.

Minato thought something similar when he noticed that his hand was about to enter, but not only that limb, but also his entire body since the Jinchūrikis were increasing the size of the hole considerably.

"That's it!" Minato exclaimed, making one last push before the barrier yielded to the pulls and his push.

Although he had been suspended on the air for several seconds, the Yondaime didn't lose his pushing power, so he reached almost instantly the place where the unprotected dark mass was.

"This will be the end," Minato thought with a sad expression, one that he changed almost instantly. "Eat this!" He shouted, throwing the Rasengan toward the mass.

He quickly moved to a safe place, not wanting to receive the effect of his technique because it could end his own life.

On land, Kyofu thought as he put his chains back inside. "Will this really be my end?"

At that precise moment, the sphere struck the mass, wrapping it in a powerful and brilliant explosion that spread at least twenty meters.

It looked like an ordinary explosive technique, but those present noticed that it compressed itself rapidly while multiple explosions occurred inside it; they were so many that Kakashi couldn't see them all even with his Sharingan.

The dome of energy compressed itself so much that some of those present barely could see it, which made them wonder if this finally was over, especially as the sky slowly regained its characteristic blue color and the wind died down in intensity.

The dome of energy finally disappeared, leaving no traces of the black mass that wrought havoc on the climate and dread in the hearts of living creatures.

"Then, is this over?" the Sannin asked with some relief. He had reasons to feel that way: the weather looked peaceful and he could no longer feel the presence of that thing.

"I-It seems so," the Hokage replied in a broken voice.

Kyofu, confused, looked at his hands. "No, if I'm still here, then that means..." he tried to turn around, but his body suddenly felt so heavy that his hands and knees stuck to the ground; he was breathing hard, his limbs were trembling, and he was sweating profusely.

Naruto OST - Yogensha

The clone turned his head sideways, noting that everyone had the same reaction to him. "This feeling. He will appear soon... Damn it," he cursed as he stood up, staggering just like the others.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, or so it was until the landscape became so dark that it became difficult to see beyond their noses.

Their hearts turned upside down when they heard the mournful whistle of the wind that transmitted a gloomy sensation; it felt as if death itself was whispering in their ears.

They looked at their sides but were unable to see anything beyond their shoulders because of the thick darkness. They looked ahead, this time to face the furious wind blow that forced them to channel Chakra on the soles of their feet to avoid being dragged away.

They groaned at the powerful gust of wind that was now accompanied by loud thunderbolts that fell dangerously close to them.

They quickly walked away, barely dodging the luminous objects that now fell with such intensity that the sky seemed to be crying.

The light of the thunderbolts allowed them to observe the large pieces of rock that slowly floated skyward; remaining suspended about twenty meters high, protecting the Shinobi against the lightning that wouldn't stop falling.

It was then when they saw the black mass reappearing among the rocks, increasing its size without any control.

A devastating explosion flashed through the minds of all those who were able to see the unstable mass of pure energy.

The thought of an explosion disappeared when the mass decreased in size and took the shape of a humanoid being of two meters tall. It had no face or defined muscles; it looked like a mere dummy.

"This can't be happening," Minato thought in frustration. "Despite having this power, I was unable to protect the village; I was unable to protect my children. All I can do well is fail. I should have died that night and then none of this would have happened." He clenched his fists tightly.

He shook his head, gritted his teeth and his expression changed to one of determination. "I must keep going until I win. This won't end as long as one of us is still standing." He repeated Kyōfu's encouraging words.

He tried to move forward, but a dark voice made him stop. "At last!" the 'dummy' shouted as its body bubbled rapidly, stopping at a sudden and slight explosion that revealed impressive changes.

The Berserk now wore what appeared to be a skeletal armor, with pointed ends at the shoulders, elbows, and knees. He seemed to have 'wings' that didn't finish developing since they only had the skeletal part.

He wore a skeleton belt that had a small skull with horns and sharp teeth in the middle. The muscles in his body were fully visible, but they were of the black color that already characterized him.

The scariest part was his face; his skull was fully visible; he had a terrifying and bloodcurdling smile and yellow eyes that glowed in the dark.

His cape was no longer present, but they assumed that the wings were the replacement.

"I'm sorry for the delay, but accessing to this transformation was difficult because my 'host' did not meet one of the requirements. Therefore, I had to use an external power to access this level. Although it is a small fraction, it will be enough to kill you all. Then..., it's time to put an end to this tale." The way he expressed himself now was different.

Nikushimi looked down and saw Minato trying to walk forward while the others stepped back.

The Hokage couldn't walk too far because he stumbled due to his wounds and the exhaustion. "I thought so..." the dark being muttered.

"I could kill you all in the blink of an eye. But I'll end this with the same technique that you used to attack these people; it is my token of appreciation for the body you have given me, Naruto," Nikushimi thought, thinking of the moment when Naruto attacked the audience at the stadium.

He closed his eyes and tried to look for information to use the Bijudama, but as much as he sought, he couldn't find it. "Strange, did you block that section of your memories?" he thought as he opened his eyes.

He closed them again and this time tried to find other of his techniques, but he only found some that were not that powerful or were simple ideas. "So, did this boy manage to block that part of his memory even when he was losing his mind? Interesting, but not so important. Anyhow, I'll end this with one of your ideas... Genshi (Atom)."

He opened his eyes and formed two 'atoms', which slowly grew in his hands. He smirked and ascended a little more.

People on the ground knew they couldn't do anything about it; almost everyone had given up. If Minato had problems in diverting one of these spheres, what could he do with two of them? What was worse, he was too hurt as to try anything else.

The wood clone cursed in his thoughts; this feeling of helplessness was eating him away. He had to do something before a catastrophe happened.

He didn't care about himself, as he was just a mere a clone. His only concern was the women he loved; Naruto didn't want them to suffer just because he had been unable to deal with himself. No, he didn't want them to suffer damage under any circumstances.

"I only have one option left." He crossed fingers with the intention of using his shadow clones to send them where his girlfriends were and use the Hiraishin to get them away from the place that soon would be history.

He looked up one last time and thought with a look of hatred, but also determination. "Boss, you're a bastard!" He sent that information with such anger and contempt that the one who was controlling the former member of Root couldn't help smiling.

The exhausted Bijū that resided inside of the original could hear his words, a beast who felt a slight boost when hearing the last words of sanity of his container.

He got on all fours and staggered to the bars of his cage, watching Naruto and the figure in a position of victory, both with triumphant smiles.

"You..." the Bijū whispered.

'Naruto' heard that but didn't pay much attention because he was close to his victory.

"What could you know about hate?" Kurama questioned with an angry expression.

That bothered the receiver of the message, but he didn't intend to give in to his 'obvious' provocations.

The beast wasn't aiming for that since he was just expressing his true feelings. "You're just a pathetic creature who believes he understands the meaning of something as powerful as the word 'hate' just because someone told him that's his purpose. Don't make me laugh!" he stated with a look of hatred that popped out the veins in his eyes.

Unable to contain himself, the figure turned toward the wretch who dared question his creator and his motivations. "Silence! You're nothing but a creature demoted to be the pet of the despicable humans! Do not try to lecture me!"

"Fool!" the Bijū furiously countered, getting energy from the hatred that grew within him. "It's for that reason that you will never know the true meaning of the word hate! That's why your hatred will never be greater than my hatred! And it is for that very reason your hatred will never greater than Naruto's!" He was furious; he wanted to get out of his damn cage and give him a lesson, but he was weak, and what was worse, there was no way he could get out.

The creature was about to contradict him, but the rage that Kurama transmitted silenced him; it was a feeling he had never experienced before, and it made him feel nervous.

Kurama didn't notice his behavior since his body and mind just wanted to unleash all the accumulated rage. "Listen to me! Neither you nor I nor anyone else in this world is able to feel the same as the boy feels! No one has a greater hatred than Naruto Uzumaki himself!"

"Hahaha!" the silhouette and Naruto laughed mockingly. "Do you not understand it?" he continued, this time having the confidence that he would be able to turn the discussion around.

"It's ME who is in control of this body. That means my hatred has imposed itself upon this human! I've already explained it! Hahaha!" He laughed mockingly again, but also with some disdain, disdain for a creature he considered a hopeless fool.

However, his laughter came to a sudden end after feeling a heavy pressure that once again made him back away. "Is that true, Naruto?! Are you really this pathetic? Are you?!" he paused for a moment and hit his cage. "Is that true?!"

The furious expression made 'Naruto' step back again, but in the end, it made him smile since there was nothing else that the Bijū could do. "Are you done? Understand it. I won; the human lost."

He turned around and walked toward his initial position. "This is over..."

Although he had tried to move forward, he suddenly found it impossible. He tried to force Naruto's body to continue moving forward, but all his attempts were useless. "What does this mean?" he nervously asked, growling because now it was almost impossible to move his own spectral body.

"Your voice... Your voice is annoying... Kurama." He heard a hoarse voice that intoned exasperation.

Kurama and the silhouette opened their eyes in surprise after recognizing the familiar voice. One of them looked straight ahead, while the other one didn't have to since he was surrounding the owner of the voice.

There he was, Naruto Uzumaki, with eyes that showed great annoyance.

"You've finally come back to your senses." The Bijū released a sigh of relief.

The Jinchūriki disregarded the reason for his relief. Instead, he looked sideways and noticed a dark shape around him. "How do I get this thing off?" he asked.

"Human!" the silhouette exclaimed, unable to control Naruto's body and his own. "What do you think you're doing?! We made a deal!"

"Shut up..." the Jinchūriki interrupted, sighing at the end.

"No! You're the only one who will shut his mouth! I will now control your..."

"Shut up, damn it!" he interrupted tiredly, tired of him being attached to his body, tired of him continuing controlling him in the real world.

The reddish Chakra gushed out from Naruto's body, reacting to the negative feelings that flowed from his heart. "You really make me angry," the Uzumaki continued, gritting his teeth so tightly that it seemed he would break them.

The expression on Naruto's face reminded Kurama of the good and bloody times: the days of the Relentless Crimson Demon.

"Human…" The silhouette tried to speak amid grunts, but a nasty Killing Intent and a suffocating pressure made him silent. "W-What i-is this?" he thought terrified, incredulous that a human was capable of producing such a sensation.

"That your hatred is greater than mine?" he asked in a whisper, ducking his head and trembling because of the anger he felt. "Don't make me laugh!" He raised his head, revealing those nasty yellow eyes that were accompanied by a look of absolute anger and hatred.

Kurama's eyes widened with concern at the sight of those eyes, as he thought that the silhouette would try to control Naruto again.

However, he was unable to see and feel the dread that the silhouette was feeling since he didn't have facial expressions to convey his feelings.

He wanted to run away, escape from the beast that was around him, but even he didn't know how to separate from Naruto.

He could only imitate the movements of the Uzumaki, who raised his right fist and clenched it so tightly that blood came out of it. "Someone who has never experienced happiness and sadness; pleasure and disgust; trust and betrayal; acceptance and abandonment, never, never would be able to comprehend what hatred truly means!"

Memories of his childhood came to his mind. From the happiness he felt when Hiruzen took him away from the orphanage to the wrenching sensation of betrayal he felt when the Ichirakus handed him over to these men.

"You, who have never experienced any of those feelings, would never be able to understand what Kurama and I feel! You're nothing more than a spoiled and angry child who had one of his toys taken away. So let me tell you one thing... ADULTS HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS THAN BE WORRIED ABOUT FUCKING TOYS! SO DISAPPEAR AT ONCE!" he yelled, expelling a lot of red Chakra that created a powerful wind gust in the mental landscape.

In the outside world, people had seen the berserk suddenly stopping and canceling both techniques in his hands.

Kyofu stopped before creating the shadow clones, looking very carefully because the pressure was gone... monetarily.

The pressure that this time appeared felt different from the previous ones. This time it felt more humane, but it felt much angrier. A sudden burst of red Chakra and a bloodlust that increased uncontrollably accompanied it.

"This feels like... Boss?" Kyofu wondered, looking at the berserk bending slightly as he carried his hands near his head, as it seemed that anger would make his head explode.

"*Hah* You *Hah* really..." An erratic voice that echoed one person that everyone already knew.

Menma and Minato stood up, just when the Berserk stood straight and stretched out his arms. "Disappear right now!"

The yell was so loud that the people on the ground were knocked down, while the ground itself cracked as the dark creature created multiple shockwaves every time he exclaimed, "What would you know?"

"This feeling...," the Hachibi whispered.

"What are you feeling?" his Jinchūriki inquired, curious due to the tone of concern in the voice of his partner.

"This... This is what I warned you. That brat has finally gotten angry. If someone doesn't stop him now, the landscape will change radically."

Bee swallowed; if what had happened hadn't been enough for his Bijū to speak out, then what was coming now?

In the mental landscape, Naruto's yellow eyes glowed with more intensity, his skin peeled off as his rage increased, and his veins seemed about to burst. All of this because the silhouette didn't comply a single demand: disappear.

He couldn't do it as he didn't know how to; he didn't even know if it was possible.

The Bijū looked concerned, unsure of what might happen if Naruto continued getting angry while he was in that transformation in the real world.

Meanwhile, the silhouette felt terrified and weak because his existence was fading, all because of a feeling that he thought he had in control, but he just discovered how wrong he had been.

What appeared to be the beginning of another catastrophe suddenly stopped, since Naruto fell to his knees and placed both palms on the ground. "What could you know about hate if you've never hated yourself for hurting someone you loved? Sorry, Karin-chan, I'm really sorry..." he thought, wrinkling his face because of the guilt.

Kurama became calmer, while the silhouette thought it was a sign of weakness that he could take advantage of. "You are weak, human. So weak that I could now take possession of your heart without any..."

"Shut up...," Naruto interrupted through gritted teeth, standing up while taking his hand into his bag ninja to pull a scroll out of it.

The silhouette was about to add something until he saw him unsealing a paper with a very threatening Kanji that said: "Suppress."

"Human! Don't you dare!" he exclaimed, knowing what would happen if he were to use that seal.

The Uzumaki gave a wry smile at the tone of desperation in his voice. "Go fuck yourself," Jinchūriki stated, sticking the seal on his forehead.

The reaction was immediate, Naruto squirmed a little bit and expelled Kurama's Chakra from his body.

In the outside world, everyone watched the Berserk making strange gestures as he shouted, "Damn it" repeatedly.

The sky returned to normal, the wind died down, the ground stopped shaking and cracking, and the most impressive difference, the Berserk had returned to his previous form, which made the Shinobi open their eyes in surprise.

"What the hell is going on?" Jiraiya asked as he watched the enemy panting after losing much of his power.

"It's my Nii-san!" Menma replied, and everyone turned towards the young Jinchūriki. "He's finally fighting back," he ended with a confident smile.

The Sannin agreed. "Minato," he spoke while looking at his student. "You better get back to Sage Mode."

"Impossible," his pupil replied while shaking his head. "It would take me too long, and we no longer have time. We can only wait that Naruto's will prevail."

His teacher had no choice but to accept his words, waiting for a result that would favor everyone.

In the mental landscape, Naruto looked somewhat exhausted after extracting so much Chakra from his system. He was panting but had enough energy to keep going. "God damn it. Why the hell are you still here?" the Uzumaki asked amid sighs, noting that he still had the black shadow around his body.

"Bastard..." the silhouette spoke in the same way. "Don't think that your efforts will be rewarding. You and I can no longer be separated."

Kurama and Naruto looked surprised, although none of them said anything about it since Nikushimi continued, "And although you have removed the power that I extracted from your partner, I still have enough strength to destroy all the humans on this planet. All you did was prolong their extinction," he stated with a slight smile.

"Heh..." A chuckle escaped from Naruto's lips, one that quickly turned into laughter. "Hahaha!"

The silhouette growled. "What's so funny, human?"

"Heh... I thought this would be already over, but it seems this is not my day. It's been a while since I had such bad luck. That amuses me," he replied as he put his fingers on his forehead and shook his head, trying to hold back the laughter.

Then he took his hands away and put on a more serious expression. "I guess I don't have another choice." He closed his eyes and raised his right hand as he concentrated.

Kurama paid attention until he remembered the day when Naruto woke up from his coma.

Worried, he hurried to express his opinion. "Hey, Naruto! Don't tell me you're thinking about using that."

"I don't have another choice," the Jinchūriki replied with closed eyes while an intense golden glow appeared in the palm of his hand.

The Bijū's concern only increased even more. "Don't be stupid! You're exhausted and I am too; you won't have enough energy! You will die!"

"So be it..." It was his reply before opening his eyes, revealing the circular artifact that illuminated the mental landscape.

The silhouette only now understood his plan. "No... Don't you dare, you damn human!" The tone of his voice carried a lot of fear, fear of what Naruto was going to with the artifact. He recognized it due to Naruto's memories, not because he had prior knowledge of the sphere.

That human chuckled as a dark smile appeared on his face, one that reflected his intention. "What's going on? You were showing a lot of courage just a few minutes ago, enough as to try to control me."

The silhouette grunted but said nothing since that intense glow frightened him excessively.

The Uzumaki put on a serious expression again. "Not only you dared to control me while I was weak, but you also dared to put in danger all those who are important to me. And what's worse... You dared to try to change my plans to meet yours, and that's something I can't forgive! So, get out of my sight..."

He started to issue the order to the sphere, but he paused due to a desperate cry. "Wait!" It was Kurama, who had tried to reach the Uzumaki with one of his arms but was unable to do so because of the cage.

"There must be another way," he continued in a soft tone, almost weak, which didn't reflect the fatigue he felt, rather the sadness at the chance of seeing a good friend leaving for good.

Naruto sighed. "There's no other way, Kurama. Do you know any other method?" he seriously asked; he would use any other method rather than this one, but the Uzumaki didn't know it.

The Bijū made his brain work a mile a minute, but he couldn't find the answer. "I-I... I don't know. But please, don't do it." His right leg was still trying to reach an unreachable Uzumaki, who was looking at him with an expression of apology.

"I'm so..."

"Naruto!" Kurama interrupted, grabbing the bars of his cage with both hands and avoiding making eye contact with his Jinchūriki. "Damn... This is really hard." He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, shaking his head slightly.

The Uzumaki knew how he felt and how hard it could be for someone as insensitive as Kurama to say those words.

"I, an entity full of hatred, feeling something I shouldn't be feeling." He shook his head.

He raised his head and met Naruto's eyes, which caused a lump in the Jinchūriki's throat. "If I had hated you, if I had ignored you, if you had not become my friend, then I would have already been free!" He hid his head since his eyes became watery, and he didn't want to show it.

This unusual behavior made him feel embarrassed. The last time he felt this way was when his father died, but since then many things had happened, which made a hatred like no other spring up in his heart.

However, despite all that hatred, he had been unable to hate Naruto. Moreover, he had become his only and best friend, and although he would be too ashamed as to admit it, he didn't want to lose that friendship.

The Uzumaki didn't need his companion to explain his feelings, as he understood them without the need for words. Instead, he approached the cage and spoke with a half-smile. "Don't worry, Kurama. You'll soon be free. Hey, and don't worry, now that you're as small as a tadpole, the Elementals Nations won't lose their time looking for you, they might not even find you, hehe."

Kurama smiled slightly and looked up as he dried his teary eyes. "You'll never stop your stupid jokes, even when you find yourself on the verge of death."

They shared a laugh, which stopped at the serious expression of Kurama. "Boy, if you really die, I can only say it was nice to meet you. I couldn't have had a better Jinchūriki, and above all, a best friend."

Naruto saluted with his fingers but couldn't say anything because the silhouette spoke, "Despicable. And do you really believe that your hatred is greater than mine? Don't make me laugh! You both are nothing more than a pair of sentimentalists!"

"It's true; we are both a pair of sentimentalists...," Naruto replied, giving his companion a farewell glance before changing it to one of soberly. "But those are the feelings that have shaped and polished the hatred in our hearts. You, who have never experienced this, will never understand us. That's why..." He made a short pause, which the silhouette took the chance to release a grunt. "I will put an end to this."

"You damn human!" the silhouette exclaimed in the last attempt of stopping him. However, the brightness of the artifact in his hand intensified and it wrapped the Uzumaki's body.

When the brightness faded, Kurama saw that the body of his container had become golden, almost as if he had turned into a gold bar. The bright color, however, wouldn't be permanent, as it slowly stored itself inside the artifact.

"Is he sealing him there?" the Bijū asked himself, noting that Naruto's body returned to normal in the places where the golden glow had already disappeared.

Kurama smiled, thinking that this would end soon; however, two facts worried him. First, what he could see of Naruto's hair had turned white, and the second was that it was taking him too much time. "No... He's not going to make it. Dammit! I have to do something," the Kyūbi thought with frustration.

He could give Naruto some of his Chakra, but Nikushimi could use it in his favor to return things the way they were before.

He had to take a decision, but worsening the situation mortified him. His concern increased due to the following statement. "Do you really think this is over?! I will make sure that you fail! I will kill all those who are important to you!"

Kurama didn't understand the meaning of his words since he thought that Nikushimi had already lost control over Naruto's body.

A weakened and increasingly 'old' Naruto Uzumaki understood its meaning, but not only that, he could also feel it. He could feel that he had lost a fragment of the control that he had regained over his body in the real world, enough for Nikushimi to be able to move at will.

In the outside world, the Shinobi saw Nikushimi descending quickly, striking the ground strongly and creating a crater of considerable size.

"This... will... end... here... and... now..., humans." The berserk panted.

"D-Did N-Nii-san lose?" the young Namikaze asked, not wanting to believe that the will of his brother had lost.

The Berserk looked at Menma. "You!" He spat his rage.

That face reminded him of a person he learned to hate in a matter of minutes; he wanted to tear it apart.

Menma stepped back, while his father and godfather stood in front of him to protect him.

The berserk stepped forward to start the final attack, but he stumbled because his knees trembled uncontrollably.

It was due to the lack of energy; in addition to the Chakra Naruto had extracted with the seal, he was using much of his energy so that the artifact couldn't seal him so quickly.

"Damn you, Naruto Uzumaki!" he yelled the reason for his problems, hitting his legs to try to put the numbness away.

In the mindscape, Kurama noticed that his container wasn't progressing as intended; therefore, he had been unable to stay with crossed arms, the reason why he sent a lot of the little Chakra he had left towards Naruto, ignoring the possible consequences of his action.

The changes were immediate; the red Chakra combined itself with the golden color around Naruto, while his hair and skin regained some of their traditional features.

On the other hand, the silhouette had to make a quick decision about what to do with the extra energy he received. He could use it to counter the efforts that Naruto was making to seal him or use it to gain strength in the outside world.

The first option would make him defenseless in the exterior, leaving him vulnerable to possible techniques that could extract more power from him. With the second option, he had the potential of mentally weakening Naruto if he murdered his loved ones, which would facilitate his work inside.

He chose the second option, and although he didn't have as much power as before, now no one would be able to stand up to him; he also noticed that Minato had lost his Sage Mode, which would only make things easier.

Moments earlier, the Shinobi on the battlefield heard the enemy's cursing yell.

Kakashi took the word. "Did you hear that?"

Jiraiya nodded. "It seems that there's still hope. If the boy is fighting, we have to give him more time."

Minato pulled his hands away from his ribs and added, "Try to contain him so that I can lock the seal on his stomach. This is our chance." The blond man looked at the masked man, who understood the meaning of his gaze.

Kyofu didn't wait any longer and sent several of his chains to hold him firmly. There was no resistance since the enemy had suddenly stood still.

The masked man raised an eyebrow at the strange behavior; until a few moments ago, he had been screaming uncontrollably, but now he was calm, even serene.

"This reminds me of... Damn it!" the clone thought, exclaiming at the end due to the sudden peak of Chakra.

Instinctively, he pulled the chains away and looked at the Shinobis to his side. "Get away! Now!"

They didn't question the reason for the sudden warning; they complied without quibble. When they were far enough, Minato looked at Kyofu for answers, but he couldn't ask because, this time, even he felt the sudden peak of Chakra.

They heard a battle cry and felt a gentle wind gust that a slight explosion of red Chakra generated. The responsible for this was a few meters away, expelling all the extra power that he had just obtained.

He stopped when the muscles of his legs recovered their strength; he slowly stood up and stared at the last vestiges of human resistance. "Five seconds, five seconds is enough to kill all the humans within this area. Then I'll take care of you, Naruto. This is over," he thought with a slight smile.

He was ready for the attack, so he clenched his fists and divided his cape into enough parts to finish off the Shinobis that were in front him.

"This is over!" he shouted, lunging in a straight line, with his right fist extended toward Minato's face, while the fragments of his cape pointed toward the others.

He wasn't as fast as before; almost everyone could see him. However, their bodies didn't have the speed required to react in time and get out of the way.

Their thoughts were quicker than their own bodies, so they managed to curse just when the enemy and the fractions of his cape were a few centimeters from their faces.

Kyofu had managed to raise his hand and point it toward his original body since he had predicted his intentions before he could attack. He had one option: use the Shinra Tensei.

He managed to utter the first word of his technique, but Naruto realized that he wouldn't be able to pronounce the last one because one of the fragments of the cape was about to touch his mask.

He closed his eyes, thinking that he would finally vanish and that this would be the end of everything.

He kept his eyes closed for a moment until he heard a familiar and lazy voice saying: "Mendokuse..."

He opened his eyes in surprise, and his sight caught Shikamaru, Shikaku, and the rest of the clan Nara using their shadows to stop the advance of the enemy and the fragments of his cape. Behind them were the rest of the Shinobi forces, ready to engage in combat.

"Shikamaru!" Menma exclaimed with eyes opened wide in surprise.

Said person, making considerable efforts along with his clan, replied with a tired smile as a drop of sweat fell from his forehead. "Could you hurry up? This is harder than it looks."

"Damn humans! Do you really think something like will this stop me?!" the berserk yelled as he looked back, ready to take off those pesky shadows.

He couldn't do it because a giant, who had appeared out of nowhere, had crushed with his giant hands.

"Of course it will!" Chōza Akimichi yelled.

"Da...mn," the Berserk thought achy, and above all, tired.

He had to stop them quickly, or otherwise, his objectives would fall apart. He made an inhuman effort to stand up, but this time, the giant had stomped him, which left him completely stunned.

His head spun, his limbs felt weak, his breathing became erratic, and cold sweat flowed through his body. The blows of the giant that continued beating him didn't cause these symptoms; it was due to the human he despised the most.

"Stop it...," the silhouette growled in the mental landscape, feeling that his strength was almost gone.

There was no response from the Jinchūriki, who now showed much of his face, legs, shoulders, and arms, while the rest was still bright as gold.

"Why? Why are you doing this? If you hadn't put resistance, then I would have helped you to achieve your goals. I would have helped you to kill all those people who made you suffer. Why the hell are you helping those whom you hate?!

"I-I'm n-not helping them," the Uzumaki replied with narrowed eyes due to the fatigue, revealing physical changes that concerned his Bijū.

"Then why do you...?"

"D-Did you really think I needed your help? Did you believe that I wouldn't be able to fulfill my goals on my own? D-Don't make me laugh," the Jinchūriki interrupted with a sharp look that conveyed a wrenching danger.

"You…"

"I don't need your help; I can meet my goals on my own. You're just a nuisance, a pathetic creature who can't even help himself. So, how did you think that you would be able to help me?" A slight smile crossed his face, but he couldn't hold it for long due to the extreme fatigue.

His eyelids closed, his breathing went down, his heartbeats decreased. However, there was still something to be done, and he wouldn't stop even if the very God of Death appeared before him to claim his soul.

He frowned, gritted his teeth and clenched fists, filling himself with determination to exclaim his last desire. "Disappear once and for all!"

Nikushimi felt fear and uncertainty; what would be of him once he was inside in the artifact? How would he escape? And more importantly, how would he fulfill the wishes of his master?

He had no way of knowing the answers since no traces remained of him after the Uzumaki had uttered those last words.

The Bijū sighed relieved when seeing that his container was still standing; he looked tired, his hair was white, and his skin had aged a bit.

However, the Kyūbi didn't feel he had to be worried about anything.

"It's finally over. For a moment, I thought I would make a grave mistake if I gave you my Chakra. But it seems I made the right decision." He praised himself with a smile.

He stopped smiling and looked at the eyes of his Jinchūriki. "Right, Naruto?"

There was no answer; said person simply remained standing.

"Naruto?" he repeated his name in a concerned tone, moving forward to have a closer look and stopping due to the bars of his cage.

This time, the Uzumaki gasped and fell to the ground with his left arm extended toward the cage.

"Naruto!" the Bijū exclaimed, stretching out one leg to try to reach his hand, but it was impossible because of his small size.

The Jinchūriki breathed heavily and spoke in the same way as he tried to look at his partner. "I-I'm s-sorry, Kurama. I-It seems that this is as far as I can go." He chuckled and stopped to catch a breath.

"Shut up, idiot! Save your energy. Wait, I'll give you some of mine and you'll be fine."

He was about to do it, but Naruto whispered in a voice that was growing lower. "K-Kurama, don't think I haven't noticed it. If you do that, y-you'll die. You no longer have Chakra either. I-If you die, I'll do it as well. So don't bother. Let's just... let's just enjoy this relaxing... silence."

"Bullshit!" Kurama exclaimed, not wanting him to enjoy any kind of silence; he knew what would happen if he did it.

Although, what could he do? As always, Naruto was right. He couldn't do anything but see the prediction of his container becoming true.

The Bijū closed his eyes tightly and looked away as he didn't want to see the last moments of his partner, not like this.

"H-Hey, Kurama..." he heard his faint voice, the reason why he opened his eyes.

He remained silent to hear the last words of his Jinchūriki. "Do you still want to be free?"

"What do you mean?" he asked ruefully. Even in that state, he still wanted to fulfill his promise.

Naruto smiled and grabbed the artifact that he had dropped. "I-I'll set you f-free using this. I'm sure it can do it."

Kurama's eyes widened and he lunged at the bars of his cage to stop him. "You moron! There's no way you can use it. All you'll accomplish is accelerate your death. Don't be stupid."

"Heh, you know me Kurama, a promise is a promise," he added, squeezing the sphere with the little strength he had left, causing it to emit a faint golden glow.

"No!" Kurama used a tone of command, a voice that he hadn't used in a while.

The Uzumaki turned his head and opened his eyes slightly at that stern expression on his Bijū's face. "You won't do anything reckless. You and I will die here."

The Jinchūriki smiled. "O-Okay." He didn't dare to contradict him since he was exhausted and didn't want to have a verbal fight, which he would clearly lose in his current condition. "J-Just promise me something..."

Kurama softened his expression since he could hear his heartbeats and breathing decreasing. He swallowed and tried to speak as earnestly as he could, but inevitably, his voice came out a little broken. "W-What?"

"T-That... you... won't...seek... problems... once... you're... free. Stay… away... of... us... humans ... as much… as you can..." He didn't get the chance to say goodbye, as his eyes grew heavy, his body cooled down, and his beats finally stopped.

Kurama closed his eyes tightly. "I promise." He opened them back and looked at the lifeless body of his companion as he recalled the good moments that they shared, feeling his existence vanishing along with Naruto's.

Moments earlier, in the outside world, Chōza continued attacking the angry Berserk, who couldn't resist any longer; he had to hurry before it was too late.

Without another alternative, he turned his body into hundreds of those horrid creatures that emitted those creepy sounds.

"W-What's that?!" A disgusted Shinobi exclaimed when seeing those insects approaching them.

Even the Aburames didn't know their species; it was the first time they saw something like that. However, they were certain of something: it wouldn't be good if they touched them.

The Hokage shared the information. "Don't let them come near you! Attack them with everything you've got!"

The Shinobi nodded at the order and all attacked in some way. Some of them used Elemental Jutsus, other used their clan attacks, and others just threw Ninja weapons.

Each one contributed to killing those creatures that were at least a thousand.

Even though they were able to hit them, the creatures regenerated and continued their intentions of absorbing the Shinobis to give the Berserk some of his powers back. It was all he could do, and he had to be quick because time was running out.

When the Shinobis saw that their attempts were unsuccessful, some of them chose to stay away and come up with something else, while others decided to keep trying.

The last ones made a bad decision, and they soon realized this when the insects jumped on them. The vast majority had instantly died, some of them melted, others exploded, another bunch screamed like crazy before dropping inert on the ground, while a few of them started fighting against their own comrades.

The death of those who lost their reason was inevitable, which caused silent cries in their comrades.

The insistence of insects decreased gradually, giving the Shinobis time to catch their breath and composure.

When their fears calmed a little bit, everyone noticed that the creatures had suddenly stopped their advances and retreated along with the fragments of Shinobis who had died because of them, all of them to a point in common.

They took a known shape, one that revealed a creature that was far from that imposing individual who had terrified them.

He was currently fighting against his own power, unable to keep it because of the events in his head. He crawled on the ground, grunting in pain, panting as his body melted in a viscous substance.

No one dared to approach; they even had to move away because of the repellent smell. The only ones who did it were those who had been fighting against him from the beginning as they had become used to that putrid smell.

"Looks like you won't need to close the seal on his stomach. This is over," Jiraiya spoke as he looked down at the beast.

Minato nodded but couldn't express his opinion due to the laughter of the defeated creature. "Do you really think this is over? Someday, I will return, and when I do it * cough *, nothing and no one will be able to stop me. Not even this * Argh * stupid human. A-All of you will be judged for your sins. * Cough * It's only a matter of time," he stated, spitting out substantial amounts of black liquid.

Minato stepped forward and knelt before him, ignoring the warnings of his Sensei about the dangers of his action. "What makes you think that you'll be back?"

He wanted an answer to avoid a similar situation in the future.

The Berserk, now inert on the ground, turned his head to the Yondaime. "Y-Your son b-believes t-that he's d-defeated me, but h-he w-will realize that won't be able to fight against his own hatred. As long as that feeling exists in his heart, I-I'll return," he replied with a dark smile that showed his blackened teeth due to that viscous substance.

It was a worrying revelation, but Minato didn't care. "Then I'm lucky. I will make sure to remove the hatred of his heart," he earnestly stated as he stood up.

What a naïve and fanciful man. Nikushimi questioned whether this man really believed in his statement.

Even he, a creature with almost zero knowledge of human behavior, understood how great Naruto's hatred was, and how absurd the words of the man standing before him sounded.

He didn't feel that his words were a threat since he was certain that Naruto's hatred would never diminish, but quite the opposite.

He tried to laugh, but he felt a sudden and excruciating pain that made him grunt while his body creaked.

Knowing what was coming, he hastened to say a few last words as he looked at the Hokage. "H-Human, don't lower your guard, b-because you could be unable to stop what might happen next," he ended with erratic laughter before convulsing and vomiting black liquid.

Those present took a safe distance since his body bubbled and swelled uncontrollably as if it were to burst.

Concern and fear led to the vast majority of the Shinobi to do hand positions in case those hungry particles appeared again.

When they were pronouncing the names of their techniques to protect themselves, the body stopped swelling and it became smaller.

Minato knew that Naruto would finally return to normal, and he understood that it would be impossible to keep what happened a secret.

He didn't give much importance to his last thought, so he approached his elder son, who was recovering his normal features, but with alarming physical changes that the Yondaime soon noticed.

Kyofu could feel it, a sense of exhaustion that it could only be felt when a clone was about to vanish.

He looked toward his father and his original body, noting that the latter was naked, his skin was pale and wrinkled, with white hair, and he was so thin that his bones could almost be seen with the naked eye.

Miraculously, he didn't vanish yet, since the original was unconsciously using the little Chakra he had left to keep him 'alive'.

He heard the desperate cry of his father as he watched him kneeling and approaching his head to the original's chest to hear his heartbeats, seeing him doing another reaction of concern.

The younger son, seeing that his brother was in trouble, decided to run in that direction, but he couldn't advance much because Kyofu grabbed his wrist.

"What do you think you're doing?!" the Namikaze exclaimed while moving his arm to loosen the grip.

The masked man, making an extraordinary effort to hide his fatigue, earnestly spoke, "Your brother will die within a few minutes, if you don't want that to happen, I need your help; you are the only one who can save him."

In the end, an involuntary sigh escaped his lips; he was so exhausted he could barely stand up. If he didn't fell to the ground yet was because he was using his brother as support, which the younger Jinchūriki hadn't noticed because of his hot-heated state.

Menma looked at his brother, seeing that his father shouted for the help of the Ninja Medics, but nobody had done it. The doctors stayed away, staring with utter contempt at the young man that laid on the ground

Noticing the risk, Menma looked back toward the masked man, seeing that Kakashi, Jiraiya, Saito, and Bee had stood behind him. "If what you say is true, then I'll gladly help. Let's go."

Menma didn't wait for his response; he just ran as fast as he could in that direction after Kyofu let loose his hand.

The masked man, meanwhile, looked back. "You should better stop those guys. I have a feeling that this will get ugly." He meant the Konoha Shinobi.

He could feel their evil intentions; their hate, bloodlust, and the thirst for revenge that their bodies gave off. The fear was long gone from their systems, now there only were those negative feelings, especially now that the 'demon' was in a weakened state.

Some had put their hands into their Kunai holsters as they slowly walked towards the weakened Jinchūriki. They couldn't advance much because of Shikaku, Inoichi, among others, noted their intentions and stopped them from doing something reckless.

In that precise moment, Jiraiya and the others stood in front of Minato to protect Naruto while Kyofu started up his idea, the last one had advanced as fast as he could.

When Minato noticed that he had stopped at his side, he turned his head and sawn kneeling slowly, almost as if the mere fact of moving was a privilege for him.

There was no need to ask what he was doing since Menma had already told him about his intentions; he could only trust this man, at least one more time.

"Come closer," the clone spoke, making hand signals to Menma, and squinting because his vision had diminished considerably

The young Namikaze stood beside him, and before he could ask for further instructions, Kyofu continued without looking at him. "Show me your abdomen."

The blonde kid nodded and pulled up his battle kimono to reveal his skin.

Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Bee knew his intentions, the last one more than the others did because he had experienced it firsthand. However, how would he use that skill to heal Naruto? He would just wait for the answer.

"Very well... Here we go. Hold on a little more, boss," the clone thought as he turned toward his brother and took his right hand to his stomach.

He raised his head and tried to look at the younger Uzumaki. "Ready?"

Menma had no idea what he wanted to do, but he just nodded.

"All right, here we go." He sighed one last time and activated his Rinnegan before placing his right hand on the abdomen of his brother and the left one on the stomach of the original.

"Gakidō," the clone thought, ready to subtract the Chakra, but his world had suddenly turned dark.

"What? What happened?" the clone asked, trying to figure out where he was; he was sure that he didn't vanish.

The darkness around him slowly lit up, revealing something that he didn't expect to see. "Kurama?" he asked confused, seeing a giant fox looking at him with interest, even more so because he knew his name.

"Human, how do you know that name?" Yin Kurama, the fox who resided inside Menma, asked.

The clone quickly understood what was going on. "I can't believe it. So there are two Kuramas?" He didn't analyze it anymore since time was running out.

Knowing the temperament of the Kurama who lived inside him, he bent slightly. "It's an honor to meet you, Kurama-sama, the great Nine-Tailed Fox."

The Bijū smiled slightly but said nothing since Kyofu had raised his head to continue, "As you have probably seen, I am a man with good connections, and one of them has informed me of your name. You should know him since he is your Jinchūriki." He pretended to believe that he was the Kurama who lived inside Naruto.

The Bijū easily took the bait. "I know that, but I'm not his Jinchūriki. However, it doesn't matter; I can see what is happening out there. You intend to absorb my power and give it to him, right?"

"You are certainly someone with an intelligence worthy of admiration. You are right; that is my intention. I hope you don't mind if I borrow some of your power."

Kurama felt flattered again. "I don't care, but I must warn you that it's a power difficult to control. I will try to make it not so toxic for you, but I can't promise that there will be no consequences."

"Any help is welcome." He bowed again.

Kurama nodded and literally sent a tide of his Chakra towards the wood clone, who remained standing to receive that power.

Back in the outside world, the clone opened his eyes when feeling the overwhelming power. "Well, Kurama wasn't joking about his power." The power was such that a Chakra cloak had surrounded him.

"Of course. I am the most powerful, but the rest of my power is within that brat. Now, hurry up." Yang Kurama replied; he had been unable to observe the conversation inside the head of Menma because Naruto didn't know he would go there, the reason why he couldn't reserve part of his Chakra so that the consciousness of Kurama could be there, which he wouldn't have done either way because he was short of energy.

Those present opened their eyes in surprise once the Chakra surrounded him, wondering how he could use that power, but after observing where he had put his hand, questions answered themselves. However, a few people only now found out that Menma was also a Jinchūriki — like Inoichi— as they hadn't been present at the stadium.

Others asked themselves how he could handle that power, but people like Minato were sure that he was an Uzumaki.

Menma had instantly felt weak, and his father had held him as he looked at the masked man, hoping that his idea would work.

Others, however, were upset, and they soon let it know. "Hey, sir. Let the demon die. Don't do that," a Shinobi from the crowd asked.

He and much of the Shinobi population immensely respected the businessman after his hard work to keep everyone safe, and they didn't want that respect to fade away so quickly.

Kyofu ignored his words and slowly sent the chakra to his original body. "If the boss had been someone else, then this would have killed him already. Fortunately, we have the same Chakra frequency." His voice still intoned some fatigue, but there was a slight improvement.

His work only increased the intensity of the complaints, which were slowly becoming violent, which led to some clans to interfere.

Minato didn't intervene, as he was holding Menma, who seemed to be on the verge of unconsciousness; his will was all that kept him awake.

When the Shinobis saw that the skin of Naruto had regained its tan, the collective fury increased to such an extent that some of them made hand seals. Fortunately, Kakashi was able to identify these individuals thanks to his Sharingan, the reason why he stopped them after creating some shadow clones.

The noise bothered Minato and some others, but there was one person who couldn't help smiling.

"Die? Don't make me laugh. I will not die until all of you are dead, damn bastards," the clone thought with a dark smile.

He liked the feeling of being hated by the villagers, and they finally had a real reason to do so. Naruto just wanted to give them more reasons to continue to do so.

He shook his head and slowly kept sending the Chakra; he couldn't send it all at once because it would overwhelm the original's Chakra Network, which could kill him or make him unable to use Chakra for the rest of his life.

His hair slowly regained its original dual color, giving the Hokage a sense of relief that he hadn't felt in a long time.

The time to amend his errors was near, in a way that, if he had another choice, he wouldn't do it. Nevertheless, the guilt was eating him alive, and if his idea would be able to mitigate that feeling even a little bit, then he would use it without hesitation.

At this point, the wood clone no longer felt that his existence was in danger; moreover, he noted that the original could regain consciousness at any moment.

No, the original couldn't wake up right now. It was risky; there were too many Shinobi, and he couldn't be sure that his original body would have the necessary strength to flee.

He might have to let himself be captured and then escape, that wouldn't be a problem. The Shinobis who were demanding his death wouldn't be a problem either because he was thinking of some words to calm them down.

He looked at his original body and asked telepathically, "Boss... Hey, boss. Can you hear me? If you can, don't open your eyes. Stay in this position."

He finally put both hands away from both Jinchūrikis and stood up to walk toward the angry mob.

Meanwhile, Minato shook Menma slightly to keep him from losing consciousness. The Yondaime asked him if he was okay, to which he replied yes but that he was a little tired.

His father nodded and helped him to get closer to his brother; both knelt down when they were near him and Minato carried him to take him to a safer place. Before leaving, he decided to stay to hear what Kyofu had to say.

The masked man stood before the crowd and floated slightly so that everyone could see him. "This was, without doubt, a tragic day for this village." He started his speech, shaking his head in sorrow.

Ninjas were silent, interested to hear his words.

"Days like these are the ones that get marked in our hearts for the rest of our lives," Kyofu continued, looking at the angry expressions of the Shinobi of the Leaf.

"It's true that you have lost important things, things that can never be replaced." He made a short pause when seeing that the angry expressions increased, while others bowed their heads when remembering their fallen comrades.

"But there is something that couldn't be taken away from you, something so important and unique that makes every day a new experience..., your lives." He closed his right fist before opening it slowly, moving it forward as if he were offering them something.

"From now on, you will be able to continue, and even forge, your own dreams and objectives without anyone threating to finish them again. And what better way of starting that with making an example out of the one who put the future of our children at risk?" He pointed to Naruto, who was in Minato's arms.

"What do you mean?" someone asked, intrigued.

"When a mouse that has been causing troubles dies because of a trap that we have placed, it is true that we feel relieved. However, when we see a cat chasing the same mouse, sometimes we feel the urge of helping the cat to catch its prey. And the satisfaction obtained for good hunting is better than that of an insipid death. Don't you think so?" Kyofu tilted his head in question.

"What do you propose?" another person asked, interested to hear the answer.

"Let him live, trapped, cornered, and desperate to find a way out for the rest of his life, fighting against the overwhelming feeling of being against the wall. Let him regret his actions for the rest of his life."

Minato opened his eyes in surprise. "What does he think he's saying?"

Menma had an equal reaction. However, none of them said anything since several in the crowd asked how they could do it.

"That decision is up to the Hokage," he replied as he turned around and pointed at him. "What happened today is also your responsibility. For this reason, I am sure that you will amend your mistakes by giving your 'precious' son the punishment that he deserves," he stated with a smile.

"That's right; Hokage-sama took many liberties with the demon," several people whispered.

The most loyal Shinobi could hear the conversations, and they didn't like the poisonous seed that the masked man was sowing in their hearts.

The Yondaime felt nervous, but not because he didn't know what to say —he knew —, but because he still disliked his own idea, but he had no other choice.

The expression on the face of Menma wasn't that different. He looked at his father to ask him what he would do, but he didn't have the opportunity to ask since the Yondaime had spoken. "Tenzō..."

He appeared kneeling before him. "Yes, Hokage-sama?" the Mokuton Shinobi asked.

"I need you to create a building with your Mokuton and then restrain Naruto. He will have a trial where I will decide his future." After that, the Hokage placed his hand on his son's chest and used a sealing Jutsu that left black marks on his body.

"Chakra Suppressing Seals? Good luck with that," the wood clone thought with a smile.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Tenzō replied before heading to a place where he could use his jutsu.

"Oto-san. What will you do?" the young Namikaze asked, now less concerned.

"Not now, Menma," he replied as he walked towards the direction the ANBU took, stopping to add, "There will be a public hearing after the days of mourning are finished. Everyone is invited."

People whispered again, some of them complained, and others had their doubts.

Kyofu just nodded with satisfaction. "I think it's time for me to leave this place," he thought as he looked toward Nami no Kuni. "I wonder if the girls are okay." He thought of Haku, Kin, and Karin.

He smiled at the thought of the 'fun' things he would do with them once he got there. Thrilled, he turned toward the Hokage to inform him that he intended to leave, but he knew his father would ask him to stay to ask him some questions.

When his eyes had made contact with his brother —who he was in the same direction as his father—, the clone saw something alarming on his left shoulder.

"Hey! Get that off!" Kyofu exclaimed, pointing at Menma's shoulder.

The fuss made everyone look over there, and what they saw made them cover their mouths while others repeated the masked man's warning.

Minato, meanwhile, tried to run there, but the unconscious body in his arms made it impossible.

Nervous because everyone was shouting, the young Namikaze looked at his shoulder. There he saw it, a disgusting insect that looked like a worm, but with hair that moved in a creepy way.

He was frightened because he recognized the source of the parasite, so he moved his hand toward his shoulder to push it away. However, the worm had already jumped toward his neck, clinging to it as if its life depended on it.

The young Jinchūriki instantly brought both hands to his neck to remove it, but it was so clung to him that he was unable to get it off.

Meanwhile, Minato had asked his Sensei to grab Naruto so that he could create a shadow clone, and the clone grabbed Naruto and took him in the direction that Tenzō had taken.

The Hokage then ran toward his son, but it was too late because the worm had moved around Menma's neck before releasing a black substance that created an opening in his neck, taking the chance to enter his body.

The young Namikaze released a piercing scream that chilled the blood of many of those present, especially his father, who felt his heart beating uncontrollably.

He reached his son's position just when he had fallen to the ground, writhing, screaming and breathing hard as he scratched the places where he could feel the insect moving.

The Hokage tried to hold him steady as he remembered the words of the Berserk before he had disappeared.

"Did he mean this? He asked himself. "I've screwed it up again," he continued, gritting his teeth as he fought the feeling of despair.

"Medics!" he exclaimed, turning to his Shinobis.

Several of them instantly approached, and they didn't need to ask to get down to work.

Four people, plus Minato, held him while one of the medics closed the wound on his neck with his Medical Ninjutsu, and the others put his kimono aside to find the worm.

Then they saw something unpleasant. Menma's skin had turned red, his veins bulged, and these seemed sickly. In addition, they observed black pulsating marks around his body. They looked like veins, but they couldn't be because they were in places where he shouldn't have them.

The pain Menma felt couldn't be compared to anything; it was even greater than the time when he had forced the opening of his Chakra points. This felt as if his body was eating itself.

The pain was such that he fell unconscious, which alarmed the desperate Hokage, but the doctors quickly asked him not to touch him.

Since the blonde-haired kid had stood still, the other doctors released him and examined his body to remove the insect.

When they found it, everyone shared the same reaction, one that drew the Hokage's attention and increased his concern. "What's going on?" he asked as calm as he could.

"T-This is serious. Menma-sama needs to undergo surgery. We won't be able to extract the invader with our Ninjutsu. We need to resort to the traditional way, but we're not sure if Menma-sama will survive," the current hospital director and best doctor in the village replied.

Minato's eyes widened, but before he could ask, the quiet voice of Kyofu asked, "What's wrong with him?"

"The invader has divided itself and housed in vital points. Forcible removal could cause irreparable damage or even death. It's something that requires a delicate precision, and honestly, I'm not sure I can do it," the same man replied. "In addition, we don't have the materials needed to carry out an operation of this type. The village was destroyed, and getting supplies would take at least a week; I don't think Menma-sama will resist more than a week in this state."

The Hokage fell to his knees on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Before he did, he saw the masked man's feet in front of him, the reason why he looked up and heard him continue.

"Give me a list of what you need and I'll bring it as soon as possible. It won't take more than thirty minutes."

They opened their eyes in surprise, and a female doctor questioned, "Thirty minutes? Really? We need an operation bed, a ventilator, a defibrillator among several other things. Do you think you can bring it all in such a short amount of time?"

"Hurry up, please. Every second lost is another second of suffering for Hokage-dono's son. Give me the list, now," the businessman replied.

The doctors nodded and one of them pulled out a scroll to write down everything they needed. Meanwhile, Kyofu turned to Minato. "As for you. Take your child to a quieter place. Hurry up."

The Hokage gingered up. He was right, every second was precious and he couldn't be wasting it.

The Yondaime approached Menma and disappeared in a yellow flash to appear where Tenzō was, asking him to make another building for the wounded people. He would thank Kyofu later; now he was so agitated that he couldn't think of anything else.

Meanwhile, the doctors finally ended the list and handed it to the masked man, who didn't waste any time and flew at full speed toward the Land of Waves.

Once he was a few hundred of meters away, his tenant's curious voice asked, "Why would you help that brat? If you let him die, maybe my power would return to me."

"You know me, Kurama. I want exciting fights, and I'm sure my 'brother' can give me one once he controls your power. That's why I can't let him die." It was a lie; it was because he discovered that another Kurama was inside his brother.

In the event that Menma died, then the plans to regain his Bijū's power would stagnate for who knows how long. That was why he had to do everything within his possibilities to help his brother. In addition, he would return him the favor of saving his own life.

Kurama was satisfied with the response; it was something that was expected but wanted to ask anyway.

Once Naruto was a few kilometers away from the village, he disappeared in a red flash to get Nami no Kuni as soon as possible.

---

Notes

Okay, sorry for the delay, but I decided to publish this chapter despite not being revised.

I don't know if the translation was okay, but I did my best. If you are reading this now, it's because you ignored the warning at the start of the chapter and read it anyway (just saying).

Now, as I said, there's a poll on my bio. Please, go and vote!

Depending on the results, I will make a decision that I will tell you guys in the next chapter.

Oh, if you want to be my beta reader and believe that you can truly do it, please, PM me.

Well, as you could see, the Berserk, although he had a great power, he was quite inexperienced because Naruto had blocked much of his knowledge. Then the connection between Naruto and that spirit grew stronger, which made the Berserk acquire more knowledge.

With "connection", I mean the Berserk could access Naruto's knowledge more easily, but this happened only because Naruto was regaining control over his body, and this weakened the blocks that had previously put.

As we saw, Menma "helped" on certain occasions. It wasn't much, but thanks to him, they didn't die.

Obviously, he was no match for the Berserk.

Another thing is that Nikushimi seeks to assimilate people. As you noticed, it is to increase his powers.

However, what is he really looking for? Does he only absorb people's vital energy? If so, why does he not absorb animals?

Because he assimilates the evil in humans' hearts, that's what makes him strong. As we all know, almost everyone in Konoha is evil as hell.

For the Berserk, Minato was the main course because of all the things he had done in the past.

We also saw who the creator of the Berserk was, but his reasons for creating him are still unclear. I will explain that later when a long-awaited meeting happen.

Now, the 'stable' Berserk has three transformations. Why three? Because the Naruto's Cursed Mark has three levels.

The irrational beast we saw at the beginning doesn't count because it was an unstable transformation (unbalance between Kurama, Naruto, and the Cursed Mark Chakras)

The first level is the entity that looks like Spawn. The second level appeared when he absorbed most of Kurama's Chakra (there will be an image on my bio).

He couldn't access its full power because he needed more energy, but he got the minimum energy to transform.

If he wanted to have more power, then he would have had to assimilate Minato. As I already mentioned, he gets strength from that, or Naruto should have unlocked the second level of his mark, but he still didn't.

We won't see the third level, for now, it will be long before that. Surely, we will hear more about Nikushimi in future chapters.

Oh, I'll put a picture of how the Berserk's looks in the second level (my biography, on fanfiction)

Naruto met Yin Kurama, but it was impossible to speak more quietly due to the events on the exterior.

Now that he knows this, will he tell Yang Kurama? Otherwise, how long will he be able to hide it?

Minato and his idea... What is it? Hmmm...

Finally, the Berserk was defeated, but who knows if he'll be back? We will have to wait.

Menma is now on the brink of death, and the doctors doubt that they can save him. I think you can get an idea of what is coming.

That would be all; I hope you've liked this super long chapter (despite not being revised).

I apologize for the possible grammar errors.

PS: The idea that the wood clone spoke of before entering the battlefield was to absorb Bee's Chakra to recover his energies.

PS2: The next chapter is ready. However, not revised. Therefore, go to my bio and vote!

Until the next time!