-INSIDE-
Brat.
Naruto floated in the darkness, his awareness closing down around him. His vision was going ragged around the edges. Vaguely, in the background, he heard screams and the sound of fighting but drowning it all out was a sense of permeating cold that took his breath away.
Brat!
Something was beating on his consciousness like a migraine headache, demanding to be noticed.
BRAT!
"Whoa, what the hell-"
All of a sudden his feet touched the ground, splashing into shockingly cold water. Jolted to full awareness, he spun around, trying to get his bearings.
He stood in a shadowed room before an immense cage. The sound of water resonated throughout the area, slowly dripping from some unknown location. The walls of the jail in front of him were vast, but behind him was what appeared to be a dome of abyssal blackness. There was just nothing at all back there. That same blackness filled the inside of the cage in front of him, and Naruto felt a moment of raw panic. He knew, somehow, that this cage was meant to hold something truly dangerous, but all of a sudden he was uncertain whether he was outside the cell looking in or on the inside with whatever was trapped there.
This was a very, very crucial distinction.
Just as his panic reached a crescendo, there was movement on the other side of the bars. A lip twitched aside to reveal mottled gums and the tip of a monstrous fang. An eyelid lifted, revealing the baleful red gaze underneath. Like a veil being pushed back, a slight motion from the titanic beast caused the shadows to recede just enough to reveal orange-red fur and the barest hints of a predator as large as a mountain. As Naruto's eyes widened in shock, an inhumanly deep voice resonated throughout this nowhere-space.
Curb your uselessness and stop gawking.
"Holy shit! What is… You're the Kyuubi! You've gotta be!" Naruto exclaimed. "Oh god, is this a dream?! Is this real?! Is this where you break free and kill everyone? What the hell's going-"
SILENCE!
The great beast roared, its mouth opening in a snarl that made the hall shake, waves cresting on the thin layer of water that covered the floor.
This is no dream, brat. Do not test my patience. This is the cell where you humans have condemned me to rot. I will not tolerate any inane prattle from you when we both know how this meeting will go.
Somehow, when the demon spoke, it did so without making sound or moving its mouth, the words arriving directly in his head as if by magic. Its deep voice sounded superior, insulting, intelligent, and murderous. Reacting automatically to the smug attitude, Naruto scowled and stepped forward, returning the monster's horrific stare with one of his own.
"What makes you think you know anything about how this is going to go, huh?"
I know enough. Your friends are in danger, and I can feel in your heart just how much that pains you. You're far away from both home and from help. You're going to die frozen like a little insect caught outside in the winter. Pathetic.
"Okay," admitted Naruto, "Maybe I do need help, but not like this. I know what you want. I'm not stupid."
The demon growled slightly, indicating its feelings on the matter.
"You're not gonna convince me to let you out and kill everyone around me just because I might be dying!"
Ignorant whelp! I said I had no time for prattle. I already know how this is going to go, but it seems I overestimated your meager intelligence. Your friends are out there right now fighting the menace that defeated you. I can lend you my power as I have done before, but without my help they will die, and then so will you.
Naruto winced. "Yeah, sure. I know that. But that guy said he wasn't going to kill everyone."
The demon scoffed, the noise sounding like a bomb exploding.
You should feel foolish for believing that. Humans never amass such power by refusing to kill and control those around them. No, you must take my power or leave yourself at the mercy of a killer. In the end, what choice is there?
"What the hell do you care about it? You got a crush on someone out there or something?"
Again, the Nine-Tails roared, shaking the room and shattering flakes of ice down from unseen heights.
"Hoo, boy. Did I hit the mark?"
A mortal like yourself can have no understanding of my motivations. I could speak to you of the cycle of disincarnation and reincarnation that would occur upon the death of your body, but it would have no meaning. I could teach you pain beyond your comprehension but you could fathom only a miniscule fraction of it. Suffice it to say that I would find your death unpleasant.
"Okay, yeah talking about that does sound like a waste of time. Then why don't we just get this over with. You wanna give me more power like we've done before? Sure, I can take whatever you've got."
Now, the Fox rose slightly from his languid rest.
Then we shall keep this simple. I shall grant you a fraction of my immortal power that would make even a god tremble, and you will not waste my time further. Drink deep, young one, and show this new world the weight of my miracles.
Sasuke stared across the distance at the stern figure of the Admiral. After Naruto had been frozen, every attack he had launched had been rebuffed and the only thing Sasuke had to show for it was frost-burn and bruised limbs. Nothing he had done had convinced the man to move from his spot beside his best friend's form.
The last clone that Naruto had left on the battlefield stood beside Sasuke as the standoff continued. With an uncomfortable grimace, the clone spoke to him. "Look, Sasuke, in case this doesn't turn out well for me, I... I wanna make sure you get out of this alright, ya know? Just surrender if it comes down to it. This guy's a monster, and you shouldn't-"
Sasuke interrupted him, "Yeah, I get it, okay? I'm not done yet!"
One last attempt, then it was time to try the Tsukuyomi. The Admiral was even now trying to avoid eye-contact, something he clearly wasn't used to, but Sasuke was convinced he could get enough of a glimpse to use that technique. He had no illusions that he'd be able to defeat this monster of a man even with the advantage the Mangekyou would afford him, but maybe with three days to talk things over he could at least convince him to let Naruto live. Sasuke was livid at the thought of being toyed with like this, but he could bow his head and plead if it was for his best friend.
The young Uchiha opened his mouth one last time, preparing to shoot a jet of flame to melt the ice, praying that Naruto's preternatural toughness and healing would let him survive the experience. With a disapproving click of his tongue, Aokiji disappeared, crossing the fifty or so feet between them in between breaths. He slapped one hand over the Uchiha's mouth, and when he removed it Sasuke's lips were sealed by a patch of solid ice. Grunting, Sasuke quickly stopped gathering his chakra, not wanting flames to shoot out of his nose.
With the same hand, Aokiji grabbed Sasuke by the throat, lifting him up into the air. An instant later, his other fist shot out, erasing the last remaining Naruto clone without effort.
Sasuke, who had already been breathing heavily, gasped and took a panicked breath through his nose. This man was ridiculous. The lanky Admiral was so incredibly long-limbed that even being held in one outstretched arm he was still almost four feet away- far enough that he wouldn't even be invading his personal space. Except for the whole choking thing.
Aokiji nodded, apparently to no one, still avoiding eye-contact. "Relax, kid, I know what I said about killing you guys, but I'm not out to exterminate you two in particular unless I have to. In a way, you and the Straw-Hats are lucky. I've actually got some backup arriving who'll make sure you all get taken into custody alive." He paused for a moment, and Sasuke choked down some more air.
"Though, I'm sorry to say that we're not letting you go. We absolutely need to know more about this Akatsuki group, and you two are the only ones around who might have anything more to offer than speculation. Like I said, your bad luck for getting involved with the Straw-Hats, I suppose."
Sasuke's eyes flicked over the man's shoulder to glance at Naruto. Streams of red, malevolent chakra were twisting and coiling about him. That was both worrying and relieving. Naruto drawing on his inner demon didn't happen often, but when it did things got dangerous rather quickly.
At least Naruto was alive.
Aokiji took Sasuke's worried glance as one of concern for his friend. "He'll be fine, kid. At least, he'll be fine if I help melt him out of there. And I guess that depends on if you're ready to talk or not. What do you say- will you come with us?" The Admiral's grip loosened a fraction, but in the next moment things changed.
In an instant, all of the ice surrounding Naruto flashed to steam. He was pissed. Naruto's eyes were red, his facial markings were more pronounced, and he was surrounded by a thin red cloud of mist. Roaring, he launched himself straight at the Admiral, covering the distance in a single leap. Aokiji barely had enough time to drop Sasuke and start to twist in place before the enraged boy swung his clawed hand, striking the man's wound with titanic force.
From the brief look of shock on Aokiji's face, it was clear that he had expected to turn into ice at the moment of impact. That didn't happen.
Letting out a strangled scream, the tall man shot across the terrain, bouncing and tumbling along the ground until he came to rest among a thin patch of snow-covered trees hundreds of feet away.
"Naruto," winced Sasuke, once he had ripped the ice from his raw and bleeding mouth, "Good to see you, man. We need to get out of here, now."
"No way," growled Naruto, "Not while he's still around to follow us."
Dammit. It was impossible to deal with him when he got like this. Before he could be stopped, Naruto dashed off to chase the fallen form of the Marine Admiral. Far in the distance, Aokiji was already getting to his feet, grimacing in pain. The strike that would have disemboweled an ordinary man had torn his jacket apart and exposed the wound, which had reopened and widened considerably from the assault.
"Oh my, that's going to leave a mark," he muttered, then his face hardened. Naruto arrived, lunging in at superhuman speeds. With a quick pivot, Aokiji dodged the attack and snatched the boy out of the air as if he were a misbehaving cat, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. Naruto had one moment to panic before the man had him in his grasp.
[DEEP FREEZE]
Sasuke could only scream as Naruto froze solid and dropped to the ground with a final, heavy thump.
BRAT!
"Aw, shit," cursed Naruto. The sinister surroundings of his inner prison were now breathtakingly cold, frost creeping in down along the walls. Icicles were forming before his eyes, somehow defying gravity and growing upwards like stalagmites. That couldn't be good. He found himself shivering almost immediately.
You're back here in record time. Are you really so useless? You're supposed to take better care of our body.
Naruto glared at the demon fox inside its cage. "Well, gee, I dunno, jackass, but despite receiving 'immortal power that makes even the gods tremble' or whatever, it didn't actually seem to help me one goddamn bit, now did it?"
The fox roared, the vibrations cracking ice and sending Naruto to his knees.
BRAT! Stop being WORTHLESS and listen! You are dying. Your heart is being frozen at this very instant. Any normal human, no matter how tough they were, would be dead right now. Remember how I said that I didn't want to get caught in a dying body just a few moments ago? That is still true.
Naruto gradually uncovered his ears. "Okay, so give me more of that energy. If your power isn't enough to beat him then I'll use it to run instead."
MY POWER IS ENOUGH TO REDUCE HIM TO ASH, HUMAN. Listen to me! This is not a problem that can be solved with just a little more chakra fed to a human worm. YOU. ARE. DYING.
"I'm not gonna let you out even if I am dying, you nine-tailed pain-in-the-ass, so shove it. What else can we do about this?"
Such small-mindedness. No compromise. Even the last Jinchuuriki drew upon my power more often than you.
"You... You remember my mom?"
Now something else entered the demon's voice. Not fondness, or nostalgia, or familiarity, nor even the tone of recollection. If anything, it just sounded like someone shrewdly grasping an opportunity that had been handed them.
Remember her? Hmm... I was inside her for barely an instant in the grand scheme of things. I'm sure I couldn't possibly recall her name...
Naruto winced at the demon's phrasing, but decided against bringing that part up. "You don't even remember her name? Like, really? It was Kushina."
And why should I have cared about something like that?
Now the demon shifted, lifting one claw to point to Naruto.
You have far more pressing concerns than names to worry about, human. Your kin at least knew the wisdom of drawing upon my power when in need, and now is as dire a need as you have ever faced.
"Hey, can you blame me for being careful? My teacher told me that until I was fully trained, drawing on too much of your power would make me go crazy and start killing my friends."
Then I shall make it simple for you. If you do not let out my power, then you will freeze to death. Accept, and you risk harming your friends. Refuse, and you will all certainly die.
The Kyuubi focused his gaze on Naruto again.
Make your choice.
Naruto closed his eyes and gave this some thought as the room grew colder and colder. Soon, it became too difficult to think through the cold, his teeth chattering against his will.
"Alright, let's do it," he said, reaching out to the cell. All of a sudden he stopped.
What is wrong?
"Wait- I told you my mother's name, but what's your name? Is it just Kyuubi, or…?"
The demon growled in irritation.
STOP DELAYING! Now is not the time for your delusions!
"Sheesh, alright, alright..."
Sasuke screamed as he saw his friend fall once more, his life force fading away in his sight.
"NARUTO!"
Aokiji watched the frozen boy with a wary gaze. Concentrating for a moment, he turned the wounded part of his abdomen to ice. Fighting with a frozen side would limit his mobility, but it was better than bleeding out. The child's brutal assault had definitely forced open his wound further, and there were very few people in the world who could say that they had done that to an Admiral.
Naruto was now frozen down to his very core, but it was worth being cautious. He took a step back before turning to the other ninja.
"So," he called out to the distant boy, "You want to explain to me what just happened there, or...?"
"FUCK YOU, YOU COLD-HEARTED BASTARD!"
"Yeah, I thought not. Sorry, kid, but that's what happens when you push the authorities too far… Hmm?"
Sensing a disturbance beside him, the Admiral turned to look at Naruto's body. Eyes opening wide in shock, he leapt backwards hundreds of feet, immediately putting some distance between him and the mysterious transforming teenager.
His worries were well-founded. Just as swiftly as Naruto's life had faded, Sasuke saw the pathways of his chakra flare up as the Kyuubi began dumping more and more energy into his frozen body.
The chakra ripped out of Naruto's form, a primal scream echoing through the air. Ice flashed once again to steam, but this time it was happening so quickly that the deep freeze wasn't melting evenly. In seconds, the ice began breaking off of his body taking frozen chunks of his skin with it.
Soon, Naruto was surrounded by the aura of chakra that had sustained him earlier, forming a thick shroud that now also sprouted a single tail of energy from his back. His face was being even more strongly affected now, his lips turning black and his whisker-like markings growing more and more pronounced.
Naruto roared, slamming the earth over and over with a power that shook their bones.
Aokiji watched with awe in his eyes. "Oh my, my, my... What is it with you ninjas and your tricks? Though, I suppose this is a bit much to call it just a trick..."
Ripping a tremendous chunk of the frozen ground from the earth itself, Naruto flung the massive projectile and immediately charged in after it. Before it could strike home, a wicked fang of ice the size of a small ship speared forward from the ground, impaling the thrown object in mid-air. With another motion, the Admiral summoned a series of winged ice birds that accelerated to nearly sonic speeds, each one soaring straight for Naruto like a living missile.
Naruto dodged wildly back and forth to avoid several of them, but when the first one struck him it melted and then re-froze on contact, slowing his limbs as it wrapped itself around his body. Once slowed, a dozen more added their mass to his bindings until he resembled something more like a frozen, spiky boulder.
Vibrating and screaming, the ice cracked and steamed from the acidic heat emanated from his body until he finally broke free. Seeing this, the Admiral altered his tactics, summoning different birds to continue the attack. These ones didn't melt, but instead drove into him as solid, unyielding ice that slammed the young man back with each sonic impact and tore deep into his body. Each gash and slash began healing right before their eyes, the blood mixing with the cloud of chakra around him until it seemed to thicken and turn a darker red.
"What the hell is with you people?!" exclaimed Aokiji as he continued his artillery bombardment, "Are you all just free to make up whatever powers you want?! Give it up, kid! I don't want to hurt you!"
Naruto roared his frustration as the cloak of bloody energy slowly thickened from the continued onslaught, and soon a second tail of energy began to emerge to join the first. Aokiji watched this with an exasperated sigh, then he raised both hands to the sky. Four walls of thick ice erupted from the ground around Naruto, topping off with an immense frozen boulder that crushed Naruto down into the dirt.
[ICE LOCKER]
The scream from the inside this makeshift prison was now almost completely inhuman. As the sound washed over the island, the walls that restrained him shook and rattled, and then the ground cracked as everything within a hundred feet of it suddenly collapsed, freeing the demon as the cage caved in.
The two-tailed beast screamed again and then shot forward on all fours, finally reaching its target with claws bared. It attacked with incredible ferocity, but its mindless, bestial attacks were finding the battle-hardened Admiral a tough opponent to land a hit on. Still, it's very difficult to fight a berserker when you're trying not to kill them.
"Hey! Quit it! Goddamnit kid! Stop fighting! Wha-?!" Aokiji ducked and dodged to avoid the beast in close range, and then a third arm of red energy formed from its back, forcing him to block the unexpected slash. The Admiral's skin burned and blistered where the attack made contact.
Sasuke could only watch in horror as the superhuman battle continued. Was that really Naruto? He could barely imagine his best friend as this kind of horrific monster. The Admiral and the Kyuubi were fighting at ridiculous speeds, the wide landscape shattering, freezing, and burning in their wake.
Entranced, it was a moment before Sasuke noticed someone approaching from behind. A heavy impact accompanied Luffy's arrival as he landed from a long jump. The captain was clearly wounded, his skin cracked, red, and bleeding in numerous places from the onslaught of cold he had sustained. It looked like he'd just jumped into the hot water and let it burn the ice off of him.
Still, he was there, standing beside Sasuke as they watched this horrifying fight. Sasuke looked at him in shock. He had already seen Luffy risk his life for his crew, but he couldn't fathom what had brought the man back to fight the Admiral when he and Naruto were the only ones left out here.
"That's him?" asked Luffy. "That red beast thing?"
"Luffy, why are you here?! Get back to the ship! You can't just fight everything you see and hope to get away with it! Your crew needs you!"
When the bloody captain turned his way, Sasuke took a step back in surprise. Luffy's eyes were burning, his face grim. Sasuke had certainly seen more frightening displays of emotion before, but never one so surprising as finally glimpsing the core of steel beneath this man's whimsical and quixotic exterior.
In the background, Aokiji erected a tremendous wall to gain some breathing room. The Kyuubi's claws struck the ice like cannonfire, tearing the wall into broken pieces with a series of horrendous impacts that shook the entire island.
Luffy didn't even blink at the carnage. "I know my crew needs me," he said, "That's why I'm here. We don't leave our crew behind, Sasuke."
"You... What?!" Sasuke could barely believe what he was hearing. "Luffy, this isn't the time for jokes! We've barely been with you for two weeks! Is this just about you wanting ninjas on your crew? Is that it?"
"You're already part of us. You just don't know it yet."
"No! Naruto and I are members of Konoha's Team Seven, and-" Sasuke stopped.
That wasn't true, was it? He wouldn't be going back to Konoha ever again. But the instant he accepted becoming a part of another team, Naruto would know that his best friend wouldn't be coming back with him.
Was this really going to be his great disappearance strategy? This would be how he'd evade ANBU? He'd just wander around with a bunch of notorious pirates wanted by the World Government? What would Itachi think of this?
Somehow, he was reminded of his brother's smile.
"You're leaving home, aren't you?" asked Luffy, interrupting his thoughts. "I saw it in your eyes. I can tell Naruto doesn't know yet, and I'm about ready to kick your ass for not telling him. But all that doesn't matter right now, cause you're both with us, and that means we're gonna get him out of there. End of story."
Off in the distance, Aokiji continued retreating from the fight, erecting a series of walls between him and the rampaging beast.
"What a pain," he said, "I'm not going to put up with this shit any more! My motto is 'Lazy Justice,' not 'Fight Demons For Fun!' You two! Straw-Hat and whoever you are! You'd better get this boy to stop fighting me, or else I'll kill him for real and damn the consequences! I'll destroy this entire island if I have to in order to beat him, you and your crew included! Consider this your final warning!" With those words, he melted back into a nearby ice formation, disappearing from view entirely. The Kyuubi raged as it looked around for its missing opponent.
Sasuke swallowed a lump in his throat. "Luffy, I don't-"
"Usopp's the Sniper," interrupted Luffy, speaking with complete certainty, "Sanji's the Cook. Chopper's the Doctor. Robin's the Archaeologist. Nami's the Navigator. Zoro's the Swordsman. Naruto's the Entertainer. And Sasuke, you're the Lookout. The Straw-Hat Pirates won't leave a single member behind, no matter what."
Sasuke had no words. Gazing off towards the two-tailed demon, Luffy cracked his bleeding knuckles.
"Come on, Sasuke. We have to get our crew member back."
Ahead, the Kyuubi started slicing every ice formation larger than a boulder into tiny pieces.
"Damn you!" shouted Sasuke, confusion suddenly replaced with anger, "What's wrong with you?! What can we even do to stop that thing?! What can we do that that monster of a man couldn't? We-"
Then Sasuke remembered.
-Weeks Earlier-
-The Mind's Eye-
In the evening the cicadas played their song, and two brothers watched the setting sun with their feet dangling in the still waters of the pond.
"So you're friends with the Nine-Tails brat?" asked Itachi, smiling an unusual smile. "That's kind of surprising."
"I wish you wouldn't call him a brat," chuckled Sasuke, moving his feet idly through the water, "That feels weird. He's as old as me, for one thing. For that matter, I think we're both just a bit older than you were when you died."
Itachi laughed softly. "I hope you never become as old as me, Sasuke. Still… Uzumaki Naruto, huh? All I knew about him was that he was an annoying little kid who couldn't stand not being the center of attention-"
"Yes, that's right," agreed Sasuke.
"I see," he chuckled, "So nothing's changed, then. Good."
"Good?"
"I imagine he's made life fun for you."
Sasuke couldn't stop himself from laughing. "You could say that." He paused, thinking for a moment. "I remember one time we were on a mission to spy on some shinobi from Sand. We were supposed to uncover some weapon caches they were storing at the border, so we'd tracked some of these shinobi down to a tavern and wanted to listen in on their conversations."
Sasuke paused, and Itachi nodded for him to continue.
"Sakura and I transformed into some bland-looking people in the corner where I could read their lips, but Naruto had the bright idea to switch himself out with a village tanuki statue that had been standing nearby their table so that he could get himself set up right behind them. Then, a bunch of their friends came in and started drinking, so our targets decided to stick around for a lot longer than we thought they would."
"Alright, so?" asked Itachi.
"Well, half an hour later I look over and Naruto's starting to lose control of the transformation. It's kind of his weakest skill, which is why he normally goes for non-human things if he can." Sasuke paused, suddenly uncomfortably aware of both where this story was going as well as that he was telling it to his stoic brother. "Tanuki have these huge... Well, you know, they're known for their..."
"Balls," said Itachi.
Sasuke choked a little bit on his next words, then laughed. "Uh, yeah. Balls. So, I look over and the wooden statue's balls are twice the size they started at. Over the next ten minutes they just kept growing and growing."
"No," said Itachi, a slight grin on his lips.
"Suddenly everyone starts making a fuss and a couple of ladies start screaming. They're all pointing and gasping, and his balls just keep growing larger and larger! Then some old men start talking about it being a sign of an ill omen, so they start praying to it!"
Now, Itachi was snorting, resting his head in one palm.
"Finally the Sand shinobi got spooked and decided to check up on the hidden cache, so Sakura and I followed them right to it. To this day Naruto still insists it was all part of his plan."
Itachi burst out into laughter, and Sasuke joined in.
Maybe he hadn't known his brother all that well, after all.
As things calmed down, Itachi tried to get things back on track. "Okay, so I was right. I'm glad you have him around, but there's something I should help you with. I know you'll be leaving the village, but the Kyuubi is a dangerous creature and you should be able to use my eye to help you suppress it in case of an emergency. You never know."
"Actually, Kakashi also tried to teach me something like this, but he admitted he really wasn't sure if it would work."
"Neither am I, to be honest. Or rather, I know it will work, but there's a difference between suppressing a tailed beast's chakra in theory and in actual combat. Here, let me show you..."
Remembering those three days with his brother made Sasuke freeze in place for a moment, the breath hitching in his throat. In the distance, the Kyuubi continued to shatter ice around it, a third nub of energy signalling the very beginnings of a third tail.
Sasuke turned to Luffy.
"You're right," said Sasuke, as he clenched his fists, "I'm never going back to Konoha. I don't know what I want to do with my life yet, and I'm not going to just join up with you guys just because you said so, but I'm done with doing missions for a village that wants me dead. Despite all of that, I'm not done with my friends."
Luffy nodded. "That's good, 'cause I'd hate your guts otherwise."
Ahead, the Kyuubi finally turned their way. Lowering its head, it began to snarl, the noise thrumming across their nerves.
"There is something we can do. If you're willing." Sasuke met the other man's eyes, and when the captain's hard gaze didn't waver, he continued, "I can get him back to normal. I just need him distracted for a minute."
Luffy's grin was nearly as feral and anticipatory as the beast that was now staring back at them. "I bet I can help with that," he said.
The Kyuubi roared, and Luffy roared back, then repeated the beast's earlier feat by slamming both fists into the ground, ripping out a massive chunk of frozen earth that was the size of a small hill and lobbing it straight at the demon. It was a display of physical strength unlike any other Sasuke had seen before.
Slicing the air with its claws, the Kyuubi cut the projectile into six pieces and shattered the parts that came his way, but by then Luffy was already into medium range.
He stuck with tremendous force over and over, each punch driving the beast back. Far from holding back to keep Naruto safe, Luffy was moving faster and attacking harder than Sasuke had ever seen him. Whenever his fists struck flesh Luffy's skin smoked and burned, but the man didn't waver. When the Kyuubi launched him away he bounced right back moments later, bleeding even more than before. Defying all logic, Luffy seemed to only be getting stronger and faster the more damage he took.
Sasuke knew what he had to do, and he hadn't wasted a single moment of Luffy's attack. Closing his eyes, he breathed deep, connecting to the well of his chakra. Then, he opened his eyes, his irises swirling from their normal blackness into the patterns of the Sharingan, finally ending when his left eye blossomed into the pattern of the Mangekyou.
Fixing his gaze on the beast, he winced as its horrifying chakra washed over him. It was like staring into a biting snowstorm, or smoke on the wind. As Luffy dodged and struck, the earth breaking from the fury of their clash, Sasuke focused on the creature's eyes. As it whirled around to catch up with the wildly evading rubber man, the Kyuubi made eye contact for the briefest of moments.
Sasuke gasped from the fiery impact of energy, forcing himself to keep it together. Even just an instant steeped in its power was enough to hurt him. Well, at least he knew what he had to be ready for now. Filled with resolution, he brought both hands together and focused his gaze once more on the beast, gathering chakra for one momentous effort.
With an overwhelming strike, the Kyuubi smacked Luffy out of mid air, sending him crashing into the earth to dig a trough a hundred feet long. Screaming in rage, it prepared to follow up the attack.
It was now or never.
"HEY! DEMON!" Sasuke shouted, half expecting to need to say something wittier- or at least more annoying- to get it's attention. His worry was unnecessary. The Kyuubi- still wearing Naruto's barely-visible form- turned to him with a quick twitch of its head. Sasuke locked eyes with the beast, and then the world became a tunnel of fire.