Warning: CHARACTER DEATH. So, grab tissues, a drink if you're legal aged, and whatever you need, since there's gonna be severe waterworks.

Chapter Fifteen

The Unfolding - Part One

It felt like déjà vu all over again when the loved one who was transformed forever didn't recognize her loved ones, even as they demanded what happened to her. Sasuke hated to say it, but - "Don't waste your breaths. It's not Tsunade anymore; it didn't respond to Naru last time." Only when he fixed his attention on the white half...

"...Ji...raiya. Orochi...maru."

It seemed time stopped altogether for all of them, including Black Zetsu who was attached to the speaker. And Kaguya looked like she was going to cut her own "creation" in half, as she suspected he'd turn on her in this moment. White Zetsu was not done as he looked ahead at the Knights, who didn't relax their stances but instead gazed with disbelief. No one ever saw that coming especially since the previous night.

"Neji...Gaara...Hinata..." White Zetsu was saying their names without trouble now. "...you all I recall before last night...Neji and Hinata since you were very young. Gaara - the outsider who found a place where he belonged." And then he turned his attention to Sasuke who felt his heart weaken little by little beneath the protective shell. "Sasuke, you were a bad boy back then, and you would have been mutilated if you didn't get your act together." Shit, thank you so much for bringing up what I'd rather forget. "Naru..." A quivering smile broke out on that face, revealing the horrifically rounded teeth just as that yellow-green eye lightened up, if not shining with tears as it wasn't human anymore.

"...you still wear that crystal Jiraiya, Orochimaru and I gave you when you finished school."

Sasuke was convinced his teeth all but shattered to pieces in his jaws. His girlfriend's furious tears were all the more reason to begin attacking the evil fiend before all of them.

"Y-you remembered," Naru croaked, covering her eyes. "How did - how did you remember a thing at all?!"

"I...don't know," White Zetsu answered, that lost look on his face. "It's all...coming from my empty brain, now that I see you all together, and just hearing the name 'Tsunade' - if I have a brain." He forced out a humorless, nervous laugh before flinching visibly as Black Zetsu fired back. "Are you stupid?! You dare to go against Mother who MADE you?!"

White Zetsu then snarled, lips curling back and making him look like a feral creature, then strained as he jerked to his side in an effort to pull from the other half. "You shut up! She made me into something else, erased who I was before - took everything from me!" And right then and there, he used his only hand to operate, ripping the line between himself and the other -

- and brutally tore the black substance off the entirety of his body, throwing the now-formless muck with all his might towards the "mother of all chakra" whose eyes started in horror and fury, face contorting in a monstrous way when Black Zetsu landed at the feet of his mother. The sight was enough to make Sasuke inwardly chuckle, the others trying not to laugh themselves. Serves you both right.

"How does it feel knowing you are outnumbered, Almighty God?" Gaara called out to Kaguya who jerked her intense eyes back to him and the others. "Someone whom you made into one of your personal army, separate from the others, has at last turned on you. You never saw it coming, did you?"

You could just see the vein protruding from Hinata's forehead, near the red rhombus in the middle of her forehead. "This is what happens when you mess with one - you mess with ALL of us!" she shouted, chakra gathering into both her fists.

Sasuke drew out his sword from behind himself, coating it with lightning and baring his teeth. He was itching to get on with it now.

White Zetsu then moved to stand in front of Naru as if to protect her when he had no special abilities of his own. She stared at the back of the green head with tears before shaking hers and growling at the one responsible. "You let my guardians go before we all turn you into a shish kebab - or worse," she seethed. "You took one from me; you won't take the final two."

"...just as you are not gonna take everyone else the same way you took Tsunade," Sasuke finally burst. "My brother, our old enemies and others who aren't involved in this - they won't become any more White Zetsu."

All their words finally pushed Kaguya over her edge.

"Then, you meddlesome termites...I shall erase all of you here!"

It seemed as if the atmosphere had shifted around all of them - and next thing all of them knew, they were falling. Sasuke heard himself harshly gasp as he assessed their surroundings: they were no longer on the grounds of their world, but someplace else entirely. He heard Jiraiya shout, almost scream like a little girl as he and Orochimaru clutched onto each other. Or should he say, the old man clutched onto his friend?

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! HOW DID WE GET HERE?! OH, I'M STILL TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"

"Jiraiya, shut it!" Orochimaru shouted. "Stop yelling in my ear! You're not helping!"

Next thing they both knew, they were rescued by none other than Gaara's newly enhanced sand, but wherever they were now, it appeared they were inside what might be a volcano. The high, never-ending rocky walls descended downwards to lava which boiled and churned, but this didn't seem to be a genjutsu. It felt like a real place.

After everyone was rescued - Gaara had Jiraiya and Orochimaru safely in his hold, Naru in Six Paths Sage Mode had a clone of her own to help Hinata, Neji and White Zetsu, leaving himself and his girlfriend's real self on a platform by one of her truth-seeker orbs - he told everyone his suspicion. "She summoned an alternate dimension. We're in another place of her choosing."

"She thought to finish us all off like this without trouble," White Zetsu said through his teeth, eyes widening with childlike horror which soon faded into a confident, toothy smile. "But you all have the power of the Sage of Six Paths, so you can get her."

It sounded so easy, but she was right there in front of them, and they hadn't even seen her full extent just yet. So much she hadn't shown them. Kaguya was far above their heads and at a great distance, intently watching them and awaiting their next moves. Black Zetsu was nowhere to be seen, but perhaps he was hidden somewhere in her confines, just like the cowardly troll he was.

They were in her world now, away from her tree she refused to be harmed, so they had no choice but to do it her way. But if either he or Naru - or both of them - fell right here and now, Itachi and everyone out there would end up as Tsunade was now, as white shadows of their former selves. Hagoromo would die in vain. Their friends behind them...who knew what would happen.

With my Six Paths Power of the Shadow and Naru's Power of Light, we can seal her away here and now, but would that take us back to our world?

"Keep everyone safe, guys," Naru told Gaara and the Hyuuga cousins. "You all know what to do." They all grunted and nodded in acknowledgement.

At this time, Kaguya's Byakugan materialized in the outer sides of her eyes. Sasuke saw it coming even then: her hair elongated and broadened, the thick silvery locks releasing all these senbons which aimed at him and his girl. She shouted that this was their chance, prompting him to activate Susano'o's shield to protect all of them at once, and Gaara's absolute defense - otherwise known as the great sand shield - automatically seeped and wrapped around its user and the others without incident, though taking brunt damage from the needles which made the sand crack in several places without shattering.

During their training, when Gaara's shield came to be, he called it a manifestation of his own heart to protect his friends and loved ones...and this caused Hinata to tear up a little.

Kaguya calmly seethed at the sight of their improvements. "No matter having the Great Power, ALL chakra belongs to me and me alone." She surged forward then, going right for Naru who had her Sage Mode fist up, the impact colliding with the woman, causing a blinding light to momentarily paralyze everyone's vision but not disabling their defenses. She sent back Naru, making her spin round and round uncontrollably. This made Sasuke snap, bringing the full Susano'o to the attack, wings spread and sword ready to strike her down.

Damn it, he didn't get her, because she was surrounded by all that chakra. They could throw all the physical punches they had this way, but they needed an opening - a diversion to divide her attention, since they all knew she was frightened of being sealed away.

Sasuke lost control of gravity, his protection vanished and his entire body going through what Naru was - only to hit her back with his. She regained herself, levitating and holding onto him, lending him one of her orbs as a platform for him to stand upon. "We've GOT to think of a way to lower her guard," he growled under his breath for her to hear. "Even Susano'o doesn't work on her!"

Her lips curled, before her expression shifted in horror. He followed her glance and gawked, too, seeing the spatial time portal the goddess opened up, going face forward in, but where -?

"NARU! SASUKE!"

They whirled around at the in unison shout of Hinata and White Zetsu. Kaguya materialized right behind all of them from the cavern wall they were "safely" against - only for a powerful invisible force to knock them all away from Gaara's sand grip; he lost control of that, too. Everyone was at the mercy of Kaguya Oosutsuki now as she unleashed more of her needles...with the deadliest of intent in this moment and with the simplest method possible.

It didn't stop there: when Naru had several shadow clones going in all directions to help Gaara rescue everyone, one of the clones got the brunt of the nightmare which was Kaguya's palm opening wide...and shooting out what appeared to be a bone. Sasuke assessed all of it, unable to believe what it was. She hardened her own bones to the point where she projectiles it from her hand, aiming right for a target she can choose - in this case, she might not care who as long as it is someone - and when it hits a living person, it makes their entire structure rot from the inside to the outside on a molecular level!

Naru's clone turned into a terrible gray-white and crumbled to ash before everyone's eyes, the others in ice-cold awe like their owner. There was no getting around this technique once they were struck; the same would go for the other Knights and the ones they were protecting.

"Oh, God, NO!" Hinata cried again, and this time was towards two different reasons, but for some reason, Kaguya chose to hover and watch the show for her own amusement, Black Zetsu leering from within her sleeves.

First, Jiraiya took one of the senbons into the middle of his stomach, but it had first passed through his right arm which was his prized limb for writing. He grimaced in terrible pain since he wasn't enhanced by chakra. White Zetsu and Orochimaru both gasped in shared panic, but the dread amplified a hundredfold at the other person who took much more serious injury and wasn't going to last.

Neji had been struck right through his heart.

~o~

They had just learned Kaguya could weaponize her bone structure and propel from her palms.

To gaze upon the horrendous act of the bone coming into contact with the target - if Hinata hadn't been pushed to her limits enough, she was ready to murder Kaguya Oosutsuki herself if not for the fact her power alone against the Rabbit Goddess would result in her demise. Sasuke's god shield and Naru's monstrous strength solo were also useless against her...and then the witch took all of them by surprise by opening her space-time portal to show up behind all of them, even striking Gaara's sand into releasing them in scattered directions.

Hinata never knew this much power would make you lose control of gravity; if not for Naru's shadow clones and Gaara getting himself together again, they all would have fallen into the lava below. Thank you, both of you.

However, her first chance to heal someone with medical jutsu couldn't have come at a more horribly opportune time, with two targets hit by Kaguya's needles despite Gaara's shields: Jiraiya through his right arm which he prized for his writings, which in turn wound up being his stomach if not being fatal enough to kill, and her own cousin right through his heart! She'd heard herself scream upon seeing the man who was almost like a real brother to her all their lives...

Nonononono! It can't be!

"Jiraiya, just hang on!" Orochimaru shouted when he saw his lifelong friend injured, mildly but still worrisome. That and her cousin put Hinata in a monstrous position, where she was being forced to choose who to heal first, knowing Neji - a vital member of their group - would die if she did nothing.

White Zetsu looked on Jiraiya - was Tsunade, what was left of her, heartbroken and fearful for the man she still loved but could no longer be with the way they used to? - and reached out, grasping that injured arm, afraid to even try taking out the needle in his stomach. The trio were held by a couple of Naru's clones, the rest surrounding all of them, leaving Hinata and her man with her dying cousin, her decision having been made.

"Hold on, Neji. I'm gonna -" Time to apply her healing techniques. She mustered all the chakra to her palms, taking care to gently yank the needle, but each time she tried and paused, Neji's grimaces were a sign that she was just gonna make it worse instead of better. But she HAD to keep going.

It was a terrible thing to think about, but here he was as the odd man out, in that he'd lost Tenten while his cousin and their friends had each other to love. She was trapped with the others in the Infinite Dream, making Hinata wonder if she was fantasizing what she'd wanted with Neji.

I've learned to heal sick and injured animals during training, but some of them died beyond repair. If I give too much chakra, it'll render the patient comatose because of disrupted circulation...Neji...

"H-Hinata," he croaked, looking at her with dull, straining eyes, "it's okay. You all can worry about yourselves and the world."

"No, we need you!" Gaara insisted, on the verge of breaking himself, his shell cracking. "And not only that, but you're our friend! Your cousin and Tenten need you!"

Neji grunted, unintentionally at the jabs in himself, almost forcing Hinata to break concentration and make the greatest mistake of her life. Her man was right; Neji might not be afraid to die, but they all needed him, as did the world - and Tenten who might wake up and learn he'd been killed, lashing her into cruel reality.

His smile was forced. "I know all of that, but...it's happened. You don't have to waste your chakra on me, Hinata. Gaara, you can keep me safe - keep my body safe while you seal her away. Just let me go and keep fighting. Tell Tenten that I love her and just want her to be happy, and do whatever you have to...keep my memory alive. You'd better save yourselves and the world..." He coughed then and there, body shaking. He looked around them all one last time, saving Hinata for last.

Sasuke's face was of silent fury while Naru's twisted in a snarl, eyes obviously glazed even if you couldn't see in her Sage Mode.

Gaara was back to his stoic sadness, but his irises were heavily shining.

Jiraiya was on the verge of crying like a baby himself, Orochimaru's jaw twitching as he fought back a flood of his own, leaving White Zetsu - or Tsunade - with squeezed eyes.

"...I love you all."

Neji rasped out his last breath, dying right in front of them all and with Hinata's chakra-consumed palms still over his heart, automatically leaving his corpse and numbly falling to her sides. It felt like her world was over, before she burst to life as Jiraiya needed her attention. Her best friend didn't deserve to lose another guardian, this time to death.

Go in peace, my brave cousin. We'll see each other one day.

"Well, are you happy, Rabbit Bitch?!" Naru roared. "One of our greatest friends is gone, you hit the one that grew to care about you - never knowing until now that you took the woman he loved from him - and all so you can dominate the world for just power! You irredeemable parasite!" With the way she was now, Hinata was glad her friend spoke what was similarly in her mind, for she'd just make a reckless move and get herself killed as soon as Jiraiya was safely restored, that needle jerked out and thrown down into the lava, disappearing into brief flames. At his daughter's words, Jiraiya glared murderously at the goddess and then somberly back at the creature that was once his wife, who avoided him altogether out of shame.

Kaguya ignored those words - or so they all thought.

"I never meant to hurt you, Jiraiya." He grunted in response, refusing to talk to her. "And I said it was futile to make you all understand, but I suppose you should know this: there are two others from my clan who will come for me one day in the future. Hence I was amassing the White Zetsu army, and then more to add to the ranks. It's forbidden to attack your own kind. Therefore, you are all just depriving me of protecting what's rightfully mine."

~o~

She'd taken them into this world where they would have been erased in a heartbeat. She should have known that Naru and Sasuke would have "unlimited" power and fight against her, but thus far, they had not been able to touch her. If they wanted a fight, then she would give it to them. She would wear them all down until they couldn't take it anymore.

She cursed White Zetsu for turning against her. This was the first time such a thing had happened, and it was unforgiveable. What was left of Tsunade had come through due to being in the presence of her loved ones; how it happened was of no consequence. She still had Black Zetsu and always would. He was within her left sleeve and assessing everything as she was. He leered with excitement as she went on the attack - killing one of Naru's friends, Hinata's cousin, and thereby putting the Hyuuga girl in the most difficult position ever imagined.

Jiraiya had taken a strike through the arm, into his stomach. He wasn't in danger of dying, though, but needed immediate medical attention. Hinata has the power to heal, not only to fight. Her grief is just as great as the others, just as I see their hatred...

...but why am I still feeling...?

Why did she keep receiving that unwanted pang in her heart, looking upon the death of Neji Hyuuga and injury of Jiraiya - and the anger and hate from the others remaining? Especially White Zetsu who had the pained look on his face, no different than a person suffering loss, and Orochimaru who had no reason to ever trust her to begin with.

Why did she think telling them the truth would ever make a difference?

"You have the nerve that stretches across galaxies," Gaara seethed, calm and icy cold as always. "Justifying yourself after everything."

"That's right!" Hinata hissed, the symbol in the middle of her forehead pulsating like an angry vein. "I should kill you myself here and now! This man was like my own brother! You think that justifying will change everything you've done? In our eyes, you're still nothing but a disease that needs to be eradicated, so we're gonna do that." Her irises then widened a tad. "You also said...someone else is coming your way? Someone just like you?"

Kaguya lowered her gaze to the earthly fires. "Yes. Two members of my clan who are just as powerful as I. For millennia and further back, we've traveled planet to planet, harvesting the life sources of trees just like the Shinju. It is a vital source for our immortality...but eventually, all life will drain, and we move onto a new planet. All of that changed for me when I landed on this world long ago, thus my tale you've heard."

"So you lied about everything," Orochimaru growled, "and pretended to be one of us until this night. Just so you can drain us all like a parasite." White Zetsu looked his way without a word.

His glare along with Jiraiya avoiding eye contact with her was solidification that it would never be what it used to be, but she had no intentions. She'd been doomed for much of her existence.

"You weren't just lusting for power," Sasuke stated frostily. "You amassed White Zetsu so that they could just fight for you, because you wanted it all for yourself. That's a coward's decision." Kaguya bared her teeth at him.

Black Zetsu scowled at him through her confides. "Brats like you never understand what's beyond you. There's a law in Mother's clan that you can NEVER attack or kill a fellow member; the repercussions are severe, worse than death. They come here, they will do much worse than Mother has."

"And we're supposed to just bow down and say yes to you?" Naru raged. "We don't -" She halted then and there, upon hearing White Zetsu call out to her. All heads jerked in his direction.

Kaguya was unable to believe what she was hearing, from what used to be a human woman and had the audacity to rebel against her at the last minute.

"Then instead of fighting, why don't all of you call it a truce and go up against the incoming Oosutsuki together?"

Gaara's Shield of Sand was a product of his mother's love, in canon, but in here, it's brought on by love for his girlfriend, his friends and the world he's protecting. :'3

The end is here, so REVIEW! And stay tuned for the explosive finale, if this one didn't blow up enough.