Devil From The Heavens

Chapter 4: Flint and Steel

Kakashi turned to the cave entrance with a heavy feeling in his gut. He could see, just barely, the missile heading right to them. It would be seconds before it hit.

'Damn it all!' Thought the shinobi when he brought his attention back to his allies who were seemingly oblivious to their impending doom. "We need to run!"

Sakura tensed to move but a vice grip on her upper arm stopped her. "Wha-!" Faster than she could react, the copy-cat ninja grabbed the kunoichi and Chiyo. He flung the two out of the cave with the last of his remaining strength to their protests.

Sakura rose from the ground with a snarl. The man had too little chakra to be pulling 'heroic' moves like that! That's when she felt the heat. A roaring ball of condensed fire raced past her, the force of its movements ruffling her hair and clothes.

There's no way she was going to reach him in time. There was no way he was going to move out of the way in time.

"Kakashi!"


He looked back at the child as an explosion rocked the mountain where the battle began. He hated how pleased he was. It wasn't from some misplaced sense of morality, he would've done this voluntarily regardless, but because he was being forced to fight by Madara's orders.

He braced himself against the massive red hand that slammed into his form. Its fingers wrapped around his torso and they burned him. As he twisted his body, the appendage separated from the rest of the limb before disintegrating into a fine mist. A mist that he breathed in.

Contact with whatever the boy was made was to be avoided. That was the rule he made for himself as he staggered back at the sudden pain in his chest. It felt like something was eating away at his lungs.

A great roar shook him as the four tailed abomination lunged at him. He reached out, a semi-formed blob of ki in his hand, and forced it between its eyes. The Saiyan pushed through the blast to follow up with a right hook to the thing's face. His knuckles met resistance for but a moment before its head seemingly exploded.

He wasn't prepared for the sudden absence and fell forward as a new head formed next to his fist. 'What!' Broly thought as he was squashed between the ground and the boy's claws.

He swiped at the hand to cut it off but three more joined its place to pin his arms and torso. His skin felt like it was being torn apart by a thousand knives all across his body. His vision blurred from the pain. He had never known such agony was possible before.

Its face hung in front of him, its blank eyes saying nothing. Four tails rose up, their points directed at him.

'I still have a man to kill! I won't die now!' Broly brought forth all the power at his disposal. It wasn't much but it'd have to do. He released it all at once just as the tails descended upon him.

Its eyes widened as its arms were suddenly blown away and a wall of green overtook the beast. The earth shook violently from the outburst of energy. A shining emerald painted everything around.


Kakashi blinked away the haze that had settled over his vision. A high pitched ringing in his ears deafened him as he tried to take stock on the situation. He was alive for starters which was always a good thing. The residue of the Nine Tails's chakra weighed heavy in the air.

That blast was headed straight for him and he knew he didn't make a move so that had to have meant that someone had saved him. It couldn't have been Sakura or Chiyo since he made a point of tossing them out of the way so who could it-?

"KAKASHI! IT'S TERRIBLY UNYOUTHFUL TO JUST LAY ON THE GROUND LIKE THAT!"

Ah, that makes sense.

He sat up with a groan; his body hurt all over from fighting Deidara. "Guy, it's good to see you." The eccentric man gave Kakashi a smile that was just a little too bright for him if the sudden headache said anything.

"The feeling's mutual, my friend! Are you all right?"

"Never better." The Copy-Cat ninja quipped as he rose to his feet. His student and the advisor from Suna were nowhere to be found. Nor was the mountain they had originally arrived at apparently.

"Sakura and Chiyo?"

"Safe with my team," He paused. "Though I am not sure how long that will last."

"Let's find them then."

Kakashi went to move but stumbled. His balance was still recovering it seemed. Guy put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?" The silver-haired man sighed. "Not until I see my team," He glanced at Guy. "But I'm good to move if that's what you mean."

His response was met with an overly wide grin from the spandex clad taijutsu specialist. "Ha! It's good to see the flames of youth still burning bright within you, my eternal rival!"

"...right."

Moments later, the two were reunited with the rest of their teams.

Rock Lee was the first to notice the two. "Guy-sensei!" He cried out before he ran to Guy followed closely by Neji and Tenten.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're alive!" Sakura ran over to him and caught him before he fell over. looked like she wanted to hug the man but resisted the urge, instead putting a glowing green hand to the man. "From what I can see, it looks like there's nothing that's gonna kill you in the near future," She paused. "Except for the severe chakra exhaustion, how are you still standing?"

"Where are Deidara and Sasori?"

"Hopefully dead but we've got a bigger problem at the moment." Chiyo looked in the direction where the battle between Naruto and the mysterious Akatsuki seemingly end with a bang. "The Kyubi's chakra is gone."

A sudden dread enveloped the group. Kakashi's voice, severe in a way that accepted no argument, cut through the silence.

"We need to move. Now."


His body was launched from the epicenter of the explosion, smoking and covered in burns, the protective cloak of the Kyubi's chakra gone.

The shinobi barely registered crashing through the canopy of the forest or the tearing of his clothes. Every inch of his skin cried out in agony even as it was healed by his resident's power.

He lost control. That much was easy to see what with the ruined landscape and his lack of any memories. Smoke blocked out the sun.

Despite his pain, Naruto clenched his fists in frustration and guilt. He was too late to save Gaara and he flew off the handles. He thought he was better than this but seeing Gaara...he grit his teeth.

He could see everybody now yelling at him that he threw his life away in a pointless fight. It wasn't like he would be able to defend himself in his state.

Not that he would let that fact stop him.

His attention was suddenly drawn to the sound of twigs snapping. Broly's form could be seen limping through the trees.

Naruto struggled to his feet, exhaustion permeated his entire being. He wouldn't just lie down and take it; death was preferable to just giving up.

"Back," His ragged breaths stopped him momentarily. "For more?"

The Saiyan scowled at him before a disoriented look came over his face. The Akatsuki member stopped to support himself against a tree. He could feel his energy fluctuating; whatever coated the boy just moments ago was seeping into his skin. Broly put his hand on one of the angry red marks all over his torso.

"That...fucking...hurt."

Naruto wanted to smile, the knowledge that he hurt the man responsible for Gaara's death brought him some pride, but he didn't. The man was still breathing and still capable of potentially capturing him.

"You actually talk, huh? For a minute there, I thought you were mute."

The man seemed surprised at the acknowledgement and quickly palmed the marking on his forehead. "So I can..." The uncertainty in his voice was obvious even to Naruto.

"Why do you sound so confused? Wouldn't you be the first person to know if you could?"

A million thoughts were racing through Broly's mind. The masked man said that his ability to speak was blocked; there was no reason to tell him that if that wasn't the case. Something was interfering with the hold that bastard held over him. Something loosened the hold.

Was it that red stuff that was seemingly burrowing into him? No time to dwell on it now.

It was just his voice from what he could tell. He would have to appeal to the boy's compassion if he were to have a chance at escaping Madara's clutches.

A task which would have been much simpler if he didn't kill the kid's friend.

He raced at the boy; the compulsion to continue fighting him was still beyond resisting. The kid dodged his punched by fractions of a a second before it would connect. "I probably don't have much time before Madara realizes there's an issue." The anger on the boy's face was replaced with surprise and it urged him on. "I'm being contr-Hngh!"

It felt like something clamped down on his throat. He could feel his energy stabilizing. Whatever was affecting his system was quickly fading.

Naruto retaliated with a punch of his own that connected to little effect. It felt like punching a tree trunk. "You're being what?" He asked, a curiosity building within him.

The Saiyan swiped at him, the attack passing just over the shinobi's nose as he fell onto his back to dodge. He raised a boot but the knucklehead ninja rolled out of the way as he brought it down.

Broly struggled with his words. "Jin-hnn- g-gengetsu! That'swhathecalledit!"

"Gengetsu?" It took a moment before the dots connected themselves in his mind. "Oh, genjutsu! Wait, you're being controlled by genjutsu?" The skepticism there was obvious.

It took every ounce of his remaining will to nod before the genjutsu full reasserted itself.

"How do I know you're not trying to trick me?!"

'Damn it, now he grows a brain?!' The man yelled in his mind as he stalked towards the ninja.

"Well, it looks like the newbie is having trouble with Kyubi Jinchuriki, yeah."

Naruto turned to the origin of the voice to see the feminine man from earlier jump off a giant clay bird along with the hunchback. Judging by the marks on their skin and the strong smell of ash, the two had seen better days.

"We barely escaped that little attack of his ourselves, yeah."

"I would say to just leave him but..." Sasori paced around Naruto and stopped when the Akastuki had formed a triangle around the blond shinobi. "This is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki; we're not risking his escape."

The puppet wielder looked to Broly. "Good job tiring him out; it'll make this much easier."

"Sixth Gate of Joy, Open!"

A glowing, green blur rocketed past Naruto and slammed into Deidara. The last thing the Iwa terrorist saw before being launched away was a crimson fist. As the forest in front of him was felled, Guy quickly shot off to Sasori who had brought down his tail to block the attack.

The taijutsu specialist's leg broke through the impromptu shield with ease before crashing through his puppet body.

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

Broly turned at the deafening exclamation to see someone's heel heading towards his face. The Saiyan leaned back to avoid the blow but it was a feint for a sweep to his legs. As the Son of Paragus fell, a pink haired woman jumped in front of him with a fist pulled back.

"Shannaro!"

Broly hit the ground hard, an intense sting on his cheek and a ringing in his head, and bounced through several trees before being stopped by a particularly generous boulder. Everything around him was spinning. He heard someone's muffled orders, something about splitting up, but he could't afford to care. That was too hard of a punch to not dwell on.

He thought with his energy stabilizing it would restore his strength but that couldn't be the case! There was no other reasonable explanation for his sudden weakness unless the burning rage monster he fought earlier was somehow weaker than this girl.

A weak groan escaped him as he pulled himself to his feet using the rock as support. The world soon stopped and came into focus.

It was just in time too as he dodged a palm by the skin of his teeth. That wasn't the girl. Broly countered the new challenger with a punch aimed for the teen's stomach but he gracefully spun around the attack.

"Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation!" The blank eyed shinobi yelled as he used his momentum to engage his clan's jutsu. The bubble of chakra that poured out of him threw the Saiyan through the boulder behind him as a knife with some paper attached to it flew at him. The paper spontaneously combusted and engulfed the sealed man in fire and shrapnel.

Broly had to remind himself, as he wiped the soot off his face, not to kill them right where they stood. They were the boy's allies and if he just ripped their heads from their shoulders, no matter how satisfying that would be, it would just put him deeper in the hole. He had just planted the idea that he was being controlled; it would be in his best interest to not ruin that.

Though the temptation only grew when he saw the ridiculous pose of the teen in front of him. "You're in the range of my divination!"

The hell he was! As the young man shot forward, the Saiyan put up a barrier of ki that stopped him in his tracks. The lack of any real reaction only solidified the Son of Paragus's next course of action.

He grabbed the front of the teen's robes and pushed before turning on the girl with the buns that had thrown that knife. "Neji!" She yelled impotently as the teen slammed into a tree and fell to the ground unconscious. She turned back to Broly with a mix of determination and fear before she pulled a massive scroll from her lower back and unfurled it. With a puff of smoke, two smaller scrolls appeared in her hands as she put the original back in place.

"Twin rising Dragons!" She leapt into the air, the scrolls unfurling and twisting around her.

It was almost impressive just how many weapons rained down on the Saiyan a mere moment later. He raised his arms to protect his face from the dozens of razor sharp weapons hitting him. While many left nicks in his skin, none could truly cut through his skin.

Broly leapt at the bewildered girl, his arm catching her by the waist, and they both promptly fell to the ground. The Saiyan made it a point to slam her through a tree branch on the way down.

With the two out of the way, it was time to go back to his...allies? Coworkers? He didn't know what to call those two freaks he spent the last few days with. That blond kid was the only one who could potentially help him and letting whatever the fuck this group was capture him would be detrimental.

He swiftly made his way through the forest he was knocked through only to stop as a hole in reality opened up in front of him. Madara stepped out and his own consciousness was forced back into his shackles.

"We're done here."

The two disappeared an instant later.


Sakura let out a held breath as Sasori metaphorically breathed his last. Exhaustion poured out of her very soul and it wasn't hard to see that Kakashi himself was on his last legs.

"Do you think he was telling the truth about the meeting with the spy?"

"I would take what he said with a grain of salt but..." He sighed once he slid his headband down over his eye. "But it's worth checking out regardless. I'll have to talk with Tsunade about it."

"We should check on your friends before anything else." Chiyo made gesture with her head. "I don't hear anything coming from their direction."

"No need to worry! We're right here!" Shouted Rock Lee as he and Naruto came out from behind a tree with Might Guy in tow. The Chunin's expression became serious. "Sensei needs help; the gates showed him no mercy."

Sakura nodded as she made her way to Guy with a glowing hand. The man fell into her as Lee and Naruto let him go. She swiftly laid him out flat on the ground as her hand moved along his torso. She shook her head.

"He'll need a hospital to get him back to one hundred percent; I'd pass out of chakra exhaustion before I could fix everything."

Lee nodded gravely as Naruto's fists clenched. Sakura noted the anger on the blonde's face.

"What happened with Deidara?" Kakashi chimed in. "Did he escape?"

The two teens shook their heads. "Guy was able to defeat him. It seems the Akatsuki had relatively little in the way of close range techniques. With me, Naruto, and the Eight Gates behind him, once sensei got past his explosive ninjutsu, it was over pretty quickly."

"Where's Neji and Tenten?" Naruto asked out of the blue.

"Oh no!" Lee shouted in horror as he was reminded of his teammates. "They're alone against that other Akatsuki! We have to get them!"

"Let's go then!"

"Wait, Naruto! The two shinobi jumped to the trees before Kakashi could grab onto the blonde shinobi. "Damn it! Sakura, Chiyo, stay here!" The Copy-Cat ninja chased after the impulsive duo.

The three ninja arrived to what was a chilling sight at first glance. Tenten and Neji's bodies were unmoving and Broly was nowhere to be found. Lee quickly dashed over to the weapon specialist's form before letting out a sigh of relief.

"She's alive," He looked over to Kakashi who had rushed to Neji right after him. "Is he...?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Just unconscious though his breathing is ragged. Let's get them back to Sakura and see what she has to say."

As they picked up the remnants of Team Guy, Naruto thought back to his own confrontation with their opponent. This was all his fault. He failed against the Akatsuki and they were forced to face him. It was a miracle they were alive.

If only he was stronger, if he was faster, he could've prevented all of this. Bushy Brow's team would've been okay and Gaara would be alive.

'If you had simply accepted me from the beginning, they would all be okay,' The monstrous voice of the Kyubi spoke in the back of his mind. 'But you didn't and here we are.'

"Naruto!"

The jinchuriki snapped out of his thoughts. "Huh," He turned to Kakashi confused. "Yeah?"

He could see the concern on his sensei's face. "Are you alright?"

Naruto nodded without a thought. "I'm fine."

Kakashi stared for a few uncomfortable moments before he leapt off into the trees with Neji. "Come on then, it's time to go back to Konoha."

Naruto followed close by, his thoughts still back where he last fought Broly. The man was supposedly being controlled, he said as much, but was it a lie? He wouldn't put it past an Akatsuki to lie about something like that.

Pulling back, it didn't make sense in the first place. He was strong enough to be in the Akatsuki but couldn't shake off a genjutsu that he was aware of? From the sound of it, he (supposedly) didn't even know what a genjutsu was!

"Kakashi?"

"Hmm?"

"What are the odds of an Akatsuki not knowing about genjutsu?"

Kakashi shot him a puzzled look. "Nonexistent. You don't get to where they are if something like genjutsu escaped them. Why the question?"

"The man I fought, he said he was being controlled by genjutsu but the thing is he couldn't pronounce the word right."

Silence passed between them for a few uneasy seconds.

"It was probably just something to throw you off."

"He also mention who was controlling him. Some guy named Madara?"

Naruto almost crashed into his sensei who stumbled in shock at the name. "Naruto," Kakashi's voice was grave, not unlike someone recounting the horrors of war. "Are you sure you heard that name?"

A sudden nervousness overtook the blonde. "Y-yeah."

"We need to go back to the village."


Author's Notes

I gotta say, I kinda like how this chapter turned out.

A few chapters in and there's already big changes to the Narutoverse! Deidara and Sasori are dead and Gaara isn't coming back; funny how just one guy can make such a difference, huh?

Nothing much else to say except to leave a review and let me know your thoughts! Don't forget to Fave and Follow too!

Ent out.


Review Responses!

astral trinity: I wouldn't look at it as a punishment. A natural disaster seems more appropriate given how he just so happened to land on this particular world rather than countless others.

fightingchampion: Broly's intentions are gonna be a minor focal point in the Leaf ninja's discussions for sure. Especially considering what happened in this chapter.

Hawkcam1996: Oh, you know it.

coronadomontes: Gracias!

ash: It's up in the air whether or not Goku shows up later. I would like to hear y'alls feedback around this if that isn't too much to ask.

Fan: Thanks for the kind words!

Guest: Well, that wouldn't be interesting from a narrative perspective but don't worry; Broly will have his time in the sun someday.

Guest: I like to think whoever wrote the script for BvS saw the title to my fic and made the quote based on it. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.