Chapter 16: Unleashed

Kentaro stood gaping at the demonic creature before him, able to feel the immense power and hatred emanating from it in waves. Despite being a newly transformed demon himself, he felt a small amount of fear. It was ridiculous. He was far more powerful than he was before, and yet the demon fox in front of him made his powers look insignificant.

Naruto crouched on all fours and growled at Kentaro. His three tails were swaying slightly from side to side. The fox's hate filled eyes trained on him.

Suddenly, before he could even blink, Naruto appeared in front of him and delivered a powerful punch in his face. The next thing he knew was that he was smashing through buildings and then trees before skidding to a halt. The mage looked up to see that the town of Lupinus was now a faint outline in the distance. The blonde was that powerful?

Then, he saw the demon fox bounding toward him at unbelievable speeds. Kentaro was ready for him this time. He encased his fist in dark magic. Once Naruto was within striking distance, Kentaro launched himself at the blonde demon and slammed his magic enveloped fist into his gut. He followed it up by opening his mouth wide and shouting. "Demonic Roar!"

A huge wave of dark magic shot from his mouth and blasted Naruto backward. Naruto slammed into a few trees before getting back up again on all fours and growled at Kentaro. He seemed unhurt and unaffected by the two attacks. He only looked angrier.

"Interesting, who would have thought that you held such evil inside of you?" Kentaro said. "How does it feel to have all of that power inside of you? I can feel your rage and hatred. Why fight it? Why not show your true self? After all this is who you really are."

Naruto didn't respond. He kept his feral eyes trained on the other demon n case he made a move. His claws were digging into the ground and his whole body was tense.

"You know, I should be thanking you." Kentaro continued. He needed to stall for a bit to gather his energy. "If you hadn't broken the dagger, I would have never attained this power. We always thought that the Devourer of Souls was sealed away in the ziggurat itself. We never imagined that the demon was sealed inside the dagger all along. Now thanks to you, I have been granted with the demon's powers and you shall be the first to taste it!"

As quick as a cobra, Kentaro thrust out both of his hands and a gigantic beam of dark magic shot toward Naruto. "Death Cannon!"

Naruto was hit with the full extent of the attack. He was blasted backwards and landed a few meters away. Even with the Kyuubi's chakra cloaking him, a small portion the attack managed to pierce through it and hit his left shoulder. Pain shot through his entire left arm and now it hung limp at his side. Naruto got back on his feet and bared his fangs at Kentaro.

"You still want more? Very well," Kentaro shot up into the air and hovered a few meters above the ground. He raised his right arm above his head and gathered an immense amount of magic. Kentaro thrust out his hand in front of him and a dark magic circle appeared. "Hell bringer!"

A dozen beams of dark energy shot toward Naruto. The blonde jinchuuriki saw them coming and dashed toward his right to avoid them. Unfortunately, the beams seemed to be following him.

Kentaro let out an evil chuckle. "I'm afraid that's not going to work."

Naruto managed to evade one of the beams from hitting him. Instead it struck the ground and created a huge crater. Naruto ran on all fours and zigzagged, hoping to confuse the homing attack. He managed to avoid another two but one of them hit him square in the back, making him falter.

Then the remaining shots managed to close in on him and find their mark. There was a huge explosion that followed and Kentaro landed on the ground. A large cloud of dust obscured his view. When it cleared, a massive crater had formed and in the middle was the crumpled fox. Naruto lay broken and battered in the center of the hole.

Kentaro smirked and decided to take a close look. That was a big mistake.

When he got closer, Kentaro stopped as he heard a crunching and cracking sound. He then realized that it was coming from Naruto. Thanks to the fox's chakra, his injuries were healing at an alarming rate. His broken bones mended, his cuts closed, and his bruises faded. Naruto slowly got back on all fours and he glared at Kentaro.

The demonic mage couldn't believe his eyes.

"How are you still alive? What is this power?"

Naruto roared and a huge blast of wind erupted from him. The gusts were so powerful that it made Kentaro stagger backward. Suddenly, Naruto stretched out his hand and a long orange claw grabbed Kentaro. The massive hand wrapped around Kentaro's torso and wings. The blonde jinchuuriki raised his hand high in the air and then brought it back down.

The hand holding Kentaro followed his movements and the demon mage was hoisted high into the air before slamming back down head first into the ground. The impact stunned him for a moment before he was tossed into the air again and brought back forcefully into the ground.

Then, before he could get back on his feet or even sit up, Naruto leaped on top of Kentaro's chest, pinning him to the ground. Naruto cocked his hand back and unleashed a barrage of powerful swipes at Kentaro. With each blow, they both sunk deeper and deeper into the ground. After, ten minutes of nonstop pounding, Naruto backed away.

Kentaro was now unrecognizable. His face and body was broken and deformed. His wings were snapped like a twig and now bent in odd angles. He now lay unmoving.

"This isn't over…" Kentaro managed to choke out. "My guild… is…far more powerful…than you…can imagine…"

Kentaro then somehow managed to move and was trying to get up. Naruto wasn't going to let him though. He formed a glowing blue sphere in his right hand and it was fueled by the kyuubi's chakra. Vermilion Rasengan.

Naruto slammed the orb into Kentaro's chest and the demon mage gave a grunt of pain before he felt nothing else and lay still.

The blonde jinchuuriki stepped back from the corpse. He reared his head back and gave a loud roar of triumph.

Meanwhile, the townspeople of Lupinus gathered at the edge of the forest as they waited for the battle to end. They heard massive explosions and shouts coming from the town before they were met with silence. It has been quiet for over an hour and they were getting anxious.

Alexa stood next to her father while holding onto her brother. "Is it over?"

Saburo frowned for a moment. "Honestly, I cannot say."

"Don't worry. Naruto-san will win. We just have to have faith." Lance said. Toby barked in agreement.

Alexa was silent for a moment. "I hope you're right."

Then suddenly, a twig snapped in somewhere behind them. The citizens tensed and some of the capable men held their makeshift weapons at the ready. Saburo stepped in front of his children and Alexa clung to her little brother tightly. It could be the demon from the town square ready to destroy them.

After a few moments, a man stumbled out of the tree line looking confused and disoriented. The crowd let out a gasp of surprise. They knew him. He was once a merchant that sold fresh fruits in the market square.

"Papa!" A young girl squealed and ran toward the man. The little girl was followed by her mother who looked like she was seeing a ghost.

The man looked startled and disoriented as his daughter tackled him with a hug and cried. His wife also wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. He blinked the confusion out of his eyes and returned the hug. He pullee his family even closer to himself as his wife and daughter sobbed in relief.

Then, more people began emerging from the woods, looking just as confused. They were all greeted in open arms as each of there loved ones ran over to the person they thought was dead. Among the crowd of people, Alexa spotted the one person who she thought was gone forever. Her mother, Cassandra stumbled out of the woods with a disoriented look on her face as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

Alexa ran toward her mother with her father and brother following closely behind her. Alexa wrapped her arms tightly around her mother's neck and sobbed. She couldn't believe it, her mother was back in her arms and she never wanted to let go of her again. Not only her, but it looked like everyone that had been used as sacrifices were also returned from the dead. For the moment, she didn't care as long as they were together again.

Saburo also wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter, while Lance clung to her mother's waist. The small family basked in each others presence and warmth. None of them could stop the tears from flowing.

"We've missed you so much." Alexa said softly. At this point, Cassandra lost her momentary confusion and smiled as she returned her family's tight embrace.

"Shhh, it's okay now." Her mother said soothing words to all of them. It was a long time before all of them separated from their family hug.

"Darling, I'm so glad that you're back but I have to ask… how?" Saburo wasn't complaining. He had never been more overjoyed in his entire life to have his wife back and have his family whole again. Still, curiuosity got the better of him and he had to know how this came to be.

His wife cast him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry darling but I honestly don't know. I am still wondering about that myself."

In fact, all of the now brought to life citizens didn't know either. They all just found themselves stumbling through the woods.

"Perhaps, I can shed some light on that." A new voice spoke up.

Saburo turned to the speaker and his eyes widened as he recognized the woman walking towards them from the woods.

"Haruka, is that you?"

The old woman smiled. "It's been a long time brother. Now, allow me to explain…"

Naruto has a new problem. The magical poison that he got from his previous encounter with the Tartatos mages was still running through his system. It was causing the kyuubi's chakra to become more potent. He couldn't seem to reign himself under control as he began smashing trees for no reason. Now that he didn't have an enemy to focus all of his rage, he wanted to destroy everything he saw.

At some point after the battle, Kentaro's corpse began to release a huge amount of strange energy. Ghostly humanoid figures erupted from the dead body of the demon and disappeared. Whatever it was seems to have been the source of his new power and demonic form. Now that it was gone, the mage was reverted back to his human form. It was all he noticed while he was starting to lose control.

Naruto swiped at another tree and broke it in half. His bloodlust felt unquenchable as he destroyed several more trees. If he couldn't stop the flow of the Kyuubi's chakra, he could destroy everything within a three mile radius.

He willed his chakra to stop flowing but the poison was interfering and he can't cease the flow of his chakra. Naruto started to panic a little bit as he was heading toward the direction of Lupinus. The last thing he wanted was to hurt and endanger innocent people. His desperation was growing by the minute as he frantically tried to stop himself.

Nothing was happening. Determination alone wasn't enough. Now what? He couldn't contact the Kyuubi to see if he could help him stop the flow of chakra. Naruto was slowly moving forward as he struck down anything in his path, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. He needed help. Anyone…

I believe in you, Naruto.

An image of a tall blonde man wearing a long white coat and flak jacket appeared in his mind. His light blue eyes stared at him and Naruto felt like he was looking in a mirror. If it weren't for his whisker marks, the man in front of him would look exactly like him. The man gave him an encouraging smile.

It is the duty of a parent to have undying faith in their child. That's why I know you will find the answer someday.

It was his father. More importantly, he believed in him.

Naruto gave a long drawn out shout as he began to exert a ton of effort to close his energy pathways. At first nothing happened, but after a few minutes, he felt one of his passageways close and then another. It was taking a huge toll on him, but he managed to close the last pathway and ceased the flow of chakra in his system.

The Kyuubi's chakra cloak disappeared along with the most of his strength and energy. He collapsed on the ground and panted heavily. He was completely exhausted. Naruto was lying face first on the forest floor and breathing heavily. He felt like he ran a marathon with ten ton leg weights.

After a few minutes, he groaned as he pushed himself off the ground and got himself braced on one knee. His muscles screamed in protest as he did so. Frankly, he was ready to hit the sack right now but he had to get back to Lupinus and make sure that the people were okay.

It took a huge effort to stand and an even greater challenge to just walk. It was slow going, because he had to stop and lean on a tree for support and rest. He returned the flow of his chakra and felt a little better. The poison was starting to lose effect and Naruto could feel it being expelled from his body.

He thought about the man he just saw earlier. He had no doubt in his mind that the man he saw was his father.

Naruto smiled as he turned his gaze skyward. "Thanks, dad,"

After a while, he began to see the outline of the town. He had been walking for half an hour now and he was glad that he finally made it back. He stumbled out of the forest and a huge surprise awaited him.

"There he is!" A voice shouted among the masses as a huge gathering of people began making their way toward him.

His eyes widened as the number ranged into hundreds. The last he checked, there were only a few citizens of Lupinus left. Where did all of these people come from?

He was tackled in a hug and he realized that it was Alexa who had wrapped her arms around him. Soon he was surrounded by the mob and Lance came up to him and hugged his waist. Toby was barking happily while running around in circles.

"Thank you so much." Alexa said.

Saburo stepped forward along with a woman that looked familiar. They held each other's hand and it dawned on him. The woman was his wife and Alexa's mother.

The girl pulled away from the hug and turned to look at every single one of the faces of the people gathered around him.

"No way, you're all…" Naruto trailed off. He couldn't believe that all of the people that had been sacrificed were alive and breathing.

Saburo smiled at him. "Naruto, we can't even begin to express our gratitude toward you as of this moment. You have no idea. Thanks to you, all of our loved ones have returned to us. We will always be forever grateful to you."

Then, Saburo and his wife bowed deeply to the young man and after a few moments everyone else followed suit. The entire population bowed before him and to be honest, it was making him uncomfortable.

"Please don't do that, it was my job to help you anyway." Naruto said while scratching his head embarrassedly. He was never one for praise much. He was just fine with being acknowledged.

"Anyway, how are you all back?" Naruto asked.

"Well, Haruka explained it to us." Saburo said.

"Wait, you know Haruka-san?"

"Yes, she's my sister." Saburo answered.

Naruto was slightly surprised by that piece of information. But when he thought about it, it made sense. No wonder she looked so familiar. Looking at the man in front of him right now and comparing it to the woman who healed his injuries in the forest, there was no doubt about their status as siblings.

"As I was saying," Saburo continued. "My sister has always been an excellent healer and has travelled all around Fiore studying all she can about magic and medical practices. She was said to rival the talents of Porlyusica from Fairytail. In her travels, she encountered reference to a demon known as The Devourer. This demon was said to claim souls and use it to fuel itself from their energies. The Devourer was a creation of Zeref and I have no doubt in my mind that we encountered this very demon tonight."

Naruto really did not like this Zeref person. He was glad that he died a long time ago. If his creations were demons like Lullaby and Devourer, he didn't want to know what other monstrosities he could whip up.

"The demon's powers come from the very souls he claims so the more he takes the stronger he becomes. However, the souls he claims are very much alive but they are trapped within the demon as long as it breathes. Haruka can only theorize that after defeating it, you released the ones trapped within the demon."

Naruto sighed in relief. "Does that mean everyone who died is back now?"

Saburo nodded. "And it is all thanks to you."

The blonde once again rubbed the back of his head. Saburo then clapped him on the back and chuckled heartily. "Well, in light of the circumstances, I think this call's for a celebration. Come on, everyone, what do you say?"

The whole town cheered and began to head back into town with Naruto on top of their shoulders.

The party lasted the whole night and it didn't stop until the next morning. Everyone was in great spirits as they celebrated their freedom and glad that this horrible nightmare was over. Everyone got to spend their evening reunited with the people they lost. They all gathered around the tosn square disregarding some of the damages for now and parted like there was no tomorrow.

There was laughter, music, dancing, and good food. The citizens of Lupinus have never been happier as they could finally let go of the fear plaguing them every day.

Naruto was the star of the evening as everybody wanted to talk to him. He was dragged to so many tables that he lost track of his dinner. They all wanted to thank him and talk with him for a bit to get to know their hero better. He would spend only five minutes on one table before being whisked away to another. At one point, Alexa dragged him onto the dance floor for a dance that required a partner. He apologized repeatedly as he kept stepping on her feet and tripping over himself as he struggled to get in tune with the footwork and music.

That afternoon, the party started to defuse and it was time for Naruto to leave. Everybody came to see him off and they stood in front of the town.

"Here, take this." Saburo handed him a check. "You've earned it."

Naruto's eyes bulged as he saw the number of zeroes on the check. The reward had been raised to a pay of ten million jewels.

"Holy crap, that's a lot!" Naruto exclaimed and Saburo chuckled.

"I did tell you that the job was raised to S-class didn't I?"

Naruto slapped his forehead. "That's right, I guess I forgot. Are you sure about this? I mean, I can settle for the previous reward."

Saburo shook his head. "Take it. It's the least we could offer you as you've done so much for us. Whatever happens, you are always welcome here."

Naruto nodded. Alexa came forward.

"I'm sorry for how I acted when we met." She apologized. "I was wrong about you. And I want to give you something for saving my mother and everyone else."

Alexa then brought her lips close to his face and planted a kiss on his cheek. It was a small gesture but it still left him blushing up a storm. She giggled when she pulled back and saw his face had a blush.

"Don't be a stranger okay?" She said. Naruto nodded with a grin.

Lance came forward with Toby in his hands. He smiled up at his hero figure. "When I grow up, I'm going to just like you so I can protect my family too, right Toby?"

The dog barked in affirmation. Naruto smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "That's a good path to follow. Just don't give up no matter how hard life becomes and you'll be stronger than me someday."

"Really, you mean it?" Lance asked. Naruto nodded.

The blonde slung his rucksack over his shoulder and waved goodbye as he began to walk down the road. They all shouted their farewells and told him to come back soon. Naruto promised that he would someday and he never broke his promises.

Naruto saw her after walking down the road for thirty minutes. She stood there like she was expecting him and he walked over to her.

"I was wrong about you, Naruto." Haruka said. "You're different from other people. When a house catches on fire, most people would run to safety while people like you run back inside to see if anyone else was trapped."

"I wouldn't even think twice about it." Naruto told her. "It's just who I am."

Haruka smiled at him and took out a small vile of clear liquid from her pouch. She handed it to him. "Here."

Naruto stared at the small vile on his hand and couldn't help but wonder. "Haruka-san, is this, what I think it is?"

The elderly woman nodded. "This is a potion that will help you regain your lost memories. It is a very rare brew and it is difficult to make. This is the only one I have and I've decided to entrust it to you."

Naruto clutched the small potion like it was a lifeline. He couldn't believe it! All of his memories were in the palm of his hand. All he had to do now was drink it and…

"However, there is a catch." Haruka warned. "The potion is set on a timer. It is not ready to be consumed at the moment. The effect of the potion will activate at any given moment and you must drink it immediately."

The blonde frowned. "How will I know when I can drink it?"

"Trust me, you'll know." Haruka assured him. "Even I cannot say when it will be ready to be consumed. That is why you must keep it on your person at all times and when it is ready, you only have two minutes to consume it before it becomes useless."

Naruto nodded and carefully placed the vile in his pouch. "Thank you Haruka-san."

"I'm giving you a chance to do some good in this world." Haruka said. "We need people like you. I just wish I can do more."

Then, Naruto surprised her by giving the elderly woman a hug. He pulled away a moment later. "You have no idea how much you've done for me. Thank you."

"Good luck, Naruto and safe travels." Haruka called out as he began to walk down the road again.

Naruto waved back. "See you around, Baa-chan."

Haruka grew several tick marks when she heard that. She picked up a small rock and threw it at the blonde. "I'm not that old!"

The stone smacked Naruto at the back of his head with so much force that he stumbled for a bit before landing face first on the ground. "Ouch."