Sakura was temporarily out of the fight. After receiving a kido spell which almost left hole on her chest, she had retreated to the ground, intent on watching Ichigo and Aizen fight in the sky, whilst she thought of a plan to lure Aizen into a trap. He seemed to be growing more powerful each time. He had already undergone the third fusion, his hair now longer and eyes with purple sclera. He had improved immensely in speed and agility, even healing naturally. Sakura knew that she was nowhere near his speed and only Ichigo seemed to be able to keep up with him as he had used what he called Bankai. But even that wasn't enough as he quickly reverted back to his original form after a few minutes fighting with Aizen. It had to do with the Hogyoku, she had thought.
Naruto had joined the fight recently after temporarily dismantling Katsuro. He was also struggling to keep up with Aizen. The two bright-haired boys fought side by side, giving their all into defeating Aizen. The pink-haired kunoichi eyed the male Shinigami warily. Even though Aizen seemed to be fine, Sakura knew that he wasn't any better than Naruto and Ichigo. The only thing that kept him going was the Hogyoku. She eyed his wounds with a medic's eye. He seemed to be tiring and was becoming more reckless. She had a theory to confirm and hoped that Naruto and Ichigo would buy her enough time.
He activated Sage mode, growing more furious by the moment. He couldn't a meaningful hit on him. He only managed to land a few blows. He had to end this quickly. Forming a massive Rasengan which he was sure Pervy Sage would have been proud of, he jumped into the air towards Ichigo and Aizen who were fighting. 'Strawberry can barely keep up with him,' the blonde jinchuriki thought. Ichigo sensed Naruto coming behind and commenced to create a quick distraction that would distract Aizen, if only for a few seconds. He swung Zangetsu towards the brunette's neck and Aizen countered by crouching low enough to avoid the zanpakuto. He immediately stood up and swung Kyoka Suigetsu in a vertical direction.
Ichigo caught the zanpakuto with his hands, closing his bleeding palms tightly around it. 'What is he trying to do?' Aizen thought as he struggled with the orange-haired Shinigami who seemed intent on holding his zanpakuto. "Let go you imbecile," he sneered as he pulled his zanpakuto from the Kurosaki. "N-No," he gasped, obviously being hurt by the zanpakuto but deciding to hold on nonetheless. At that moment, Aizen's Shinigami senses picked up a movement behind him and he turned a second too late to see Naruto flying towards him. The Rasengan hit him squarely in the chest and sent him barreling into the ground, creating a large crater where he had crashed.
Naruto staggered onto his knees, physical and chakra exhaustion already weakening him all the more. Ichigo was beside him, his whole body propped up by his zanpakuto. "Are you okay?" he asked the Shinigami. He nodded in return. The two watched Aizen struggle to stand up, his chest blackened due to the force of the Rasengan, the Hogyoku glistening slightly. "You think a weakling like you can defeat me?" he said, his teeth tainted red with blood. He refused to admit that the Rasengan had hurt him more than he had expected. They could not defeat him; they could never defeat him. He was Aizen!
"A weakling who couldn't even bring his friend back?" he taunted, opting to manipulate the blonde. The first fight had been a nasty one. He had severely underestimated him, leaving him bedridden for two days. He had heard reports saying that there was a kid who went around killing Hollows in a single blow. After some digging and a brief investigation by Katsuro, he had come to know the blonde as Naruto Uzumaki whom Katsuro had teleported here by accident. He was a jinchuriki, Katsuro had told him. He harbored a demon called the Nine Tailed Fox and decided to test the 'jinchuriki.' He had gotten more than he bargained and swore to defeat him the next time he saw him. A mere sixteen-year-old like Kurosaki could not defeat him, could never defeat him.
He saw Naruto stiffen immediately and knew he had found his mark. Katsuro had told him about the blonde's undying love for his fellow Uchiha teammate. "You cannot even bring Sasuke back so how can you defeat me?" he asked with a sickeningly innocent face. The atmosphere immediately began to tense. 'Is this the power Katsuro had been talking about?' he asked himself. "The famous Uchiha Sasuke who left his village in search of power. You vowed to that girl to bring him back, didn't you? Yet you have not yet brought him back," he continued. "Ahh, but what can I say? How could you ever bring back someone you love when an actual fact is that you have a demon inside you?" he said with a wicked smile. "Oh wait, you don't have a demon. You actually are the demon," he said and laughed maniacally.
The one thing he enjoyed the most was to show people how much of a demon they were. Each and every one of them had that demonic, evil side that they didn't want to embrace. He would help them to do that. "Aren't I right, jinchuriki of the Nine Tailed beast which killed your parents and many other citizens of Konoha?" he added. And that had been the final straw.
Raw power burst in the whole area around him. He saw Naruto on all fours being cloaked in red, what he thought was the beast's power. 'Yes, that's it!' he thought as he smirked. "Show me your true colors demon. Your true powers!" he said sadistically. "Don't talk like you know anything about me," the blonde growled in a very inhumanly voice. Before Aizen could bat an eyelash, the blonde was already in front of him. He only got a millisecond to study his blackened whiskers, red demonic eyes and long fangs before he was being face punched skyward halfway into the sky. But before he went more than a few kilometers, he received a swiping kick which knocked the air out of him and sent him plummeting into the ground. The force of the crash created a shockwave such that the Earth rumbled in return.
The pain came at him full force that he felt his eyes water before he forcefully pushed the tears back. He could not be seen crying. Every muscle of his screamed and burned in pain. He had never felt this much pain before such that he was surprised to still be alive. He remained motionless for a few moments, unable move a single muscle before the Hogyoku's power suddenly filled him and eased the pain somehow by a pitiful fraction. He staggered up to see his attire completely obliterated with only his lower half still covered. He saw the blonde struggling in what seemed to be an internal battle, the demonic features flickering on and off on his battered face. The pink-haired girl was beside him in an instant, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
She said a few words which he could not make out and was sure didn't care whether he heard them or not. He secretly hoped that what she said would calm the angry shinobi. He had suddenly had the feeling that he did not want to taste that power. She looked at the blonde in a hard yet determined expression, her eyes ablaze with fire. And the next moment, he knew whom his next target was. He had to end this battle quickly. He looked at his Hogyoku and thought he saw a crack before dismissing the thought almost immediately. He eyed his next and searched around for his zanpakuto whilst the two ninjas talked to themselves.
"Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura asked, her face soft with concern. "I'm okay. Don't worry Sakura-chan," he said in a reassuring tone. "Please don't scare me like that," she said in a soft voice. His heart broke at the sight. He knew her deep care for him and how she never wanted him to get hurt because of the Kyuubi. "I won't," he replied, his face saying all words could never express. "Leave the rest to me. I know how to defeat him," she said in a hard tone. "Let me help you," he said. "You've already done your part. Now it's my turn," she said. "But Sakura-" "Trust me on this one," she said and that was all he needed to shut up. He knew that she never wanted him to doubt her power and he wasn't going to start now.
"Don't you think it's time to wrap this up?" Aizen said as he stared hard at Sakura who was standing a few meters away from him. "I think it is," the kunoichi replied in a flat tone. 'I'm going to have to jump to the final fusion if I want to end this quickly,' the brunette thought. "Final Fusion," he muttered and immediately his body transformed. His forehead now hosted a third black vertical eye. The skin on his face had spit open and pulled back around the sides of his head to reveal a blackened demon-like skull. He had three vertical holes running down his chest, the Hogyoku at the center of the top hole. His feet had become single claws and his hands blackened. He had a set of six sheet-like butterfly wings with eyes upon the center, adorned with Hollow like skulls and trailing into tendrils. His musculature had become more defined and his powerful reiatsu charge up the air around them.
Sakura was the least bit fazed.
Chai, I'm done with this chapter. Had to write it in two hours very tiring. Hope you enjoy it. Sorry for the late update. Try reading my other story Back to zero. Read and review.
Tozoonana.
AfricanFire
