CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE – Present Day, human world, village of Konohagakure
(this page is discolored for having been stuck to a previous one and then detached)
Two titans of power stood diametrically opposed, both physically and in alignment. Arashi, the fourth hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaf, stood several feet from Kenzo, progenitor of clan Uzumaki and the king of foxes, with the latter's son in a one-hand clamp grip around the neck. The young blonde jounin pounded against his father's arm, clawing at it even, in a desperate attempt to break the vise-like grip, but despite his demonic strength, the Yondaime knew every pressure point in the neck that would limit Naruto and would not release them. In the assailant's other hand held a kunai magically coated with spells that would make any demonic flesh burn at the mere touch. All he had to do to follow through on his prior threat against Kenzo would be to decapitate the young jounin, a simple matter for a hokage. Kenzo stood surprisingly firm, seemingly unaffected by the turn of events. His animal fur pants stained by the blood of Akatsuki members and leaf ninja alike, his torso bearing the sealed whirlpool mark of all Uzumaki clan members, he looked quite the imposing figure. For any shinobi—much less a human—to stand opposite him without fear meant something to him.
"I will not say it again after this time," Arashi repeated himself. "You either surrender the artifact to Orochimaru," he waited a few seconds, and, like he anticipated, the snake himself arrived.
"Arashi!" the serpent ninja shouted. "We are soon to be victorious!" He regarded the king of foxes with only minor apprehension.
"..Or, your son will die," the hokage finished, motioning the blade back and forth in front of Naruto's neck. He believed that he knew of his foe's course of action. Kenzo would sacrifice his son and attempt to destroy the artifact, in which case Yondaime knew his plan. He would utilize hiraishin to move so quickly that he struck the artifact from the demon's hand so that Orochimaru would grab it. Then it was a simple matter of keeping him busy until the serpent ninja could flee to do the ritual. Upon such an occurrence, all their plans would come to fruition...all he had to do was wait for Kenzo to attempt to crush the artifact. He merely waited for the squeezing pressure.
"You think I would fall for such a threat, Arashi?" Kenzo predictably responded, holding the artifact with his right arm fully extended. "I will simply crush this stone, and your organization will not have any way of unsealing the power of the Earth!" He clamped hard on the stone, and appeared to begin applying pressure.
Soon enough, Arashi noticed, waiting for just the right moment. Any sooner than just before the crushing force and he'd get caught in his movements.
Tears streamed from Naruto's eyes. No, father! he screeched. No! The horrible realization of it all struck him. So it was all a lie. My fa...I mean, Arashi didn't love me, he only pretended. And now, my real father cares only about those who are a threat to his power. Does anyone love me? He would have shouted obscenities if his breath wasn't cut off.
Yondaime noticed something weird...the stone wasn't breaking.
What?! he thought to himself. But wait, surely Kenzo has the strength to break the stone! Or is it that powerful? A realization hit him. Wait, is he...is he actually refusing to break the stone?
As Kenzo's grip stagnated, Yondaime began to laugh.
"Oh, my! This is certainly an unexpected chain of events! Uzumaki Kenzo, the great king of fox demons, doesn't want to destroy a simple artifact so he can save his son! Wow. I certainly didn't believe this was going to happen."
Arashi's shout drew an angry look from the king of foxes. "Why should I care about him? I didn't get a chance to know him. Besides, I've lost sons before, so what is this but another one?"
The Yondaime drew a teasing smile. "Then DO IT. Show me of your lack of compassion, great taker of life."
Kenzo tried to squeeze but feelings he'd never felt before wouldn't allow him. He bowed his head in admission of things he himself didn't want to believe. "You simply can't do it, can you, Kenzo? Ha ha ha! Run a rampaging journey through hell killing hordes of demons, yet you can't allow your son, who grew up hating you, to die. I simply can't believe this." He stared at Orochimaru, ignoring Yondaime's rant.
"I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, serpent." He tossed him the artifact.
Orochimaru caught it with ease. "Arashi! Our time has come!" He ran off, in a northernly direction to activate the spell.
"And now," Yondaime uttered, "I shall take this time to flee!" With that, he and Naruto were gone via hiraishin. He dragged the young jounin with him for hostage reasons. Kenzo weighed the emotions he was feeling but cast them aside, and prepared to head off Orochimaru so that the spell could not be uttered and Arashi's power remain sealed.
"Kenzo!" Kyuubi uttered, still entrapped in her spell circle. "Where are you going?"
He looked at her as if she were an idiot. "I need to prevent Orochimaru from unlocking the power!"
"Surely the man I married wants to take care of the man holding his son captive, especially after the display I just saw!"
He clenched his fist. "Dammit, Kyuubi! You do not understand the power of the Aura of the Earth as I do! I MUST prevent its unleashing!"
Kyuubi began crying. "Kenzo, throughout all the crap you ever put me through, all the sons I saw you turn into murderers, the bloodshed and the endless wars you wrought, I never cried, and I never begged you for anything. Well, 'great taker of life,' I'm begging you." She fell to her knees. "I beg you, Kenzo, please rescue our son! It's the only thing I have left!"
Kenzo looked at her in astonishment. She's...crying. He could do nothing but stare. The woman he went into combat with (mostly she against her will), who provided him with children whom he gave his training to, who had seen the worst of demonkind along with him, was both crying and begging. Were it a random anybody he'd have slaughtered them on the spot for this behavior. But...his mate; it was his mate that was crying and begging. He'd never seen that before from her.
Hundreds of yards from the woman he pretended to care about, he and Naruto stood apart. He watched as his son cried and angrily shot glances at him. "You bastard!" Naruto would shout. "We were a happy family! We had everything! Everything a person could want! And my mother, she felt as though she'd have the perfect life with you, Arashi! Why'd you have to throw it all away for power, for Orochimaru? WHY?" And yet, to this, Arashi only glared.
"My dear Naruto, you fail to understand. My first priority has always been this village. You think I am a pawn of the serpent? Pshaw. I am the fourth Hokage. He thinks I am his pawn, yet he doesn't know that I plan to use him as a sacrifice to unlock the power! That's right, the aura requires a human sacrifice! So the moment he activates the spell, he dies, and I get the power. This village will rule supreme over all, and my power will be absolute!"
"That's what YOU think, you piece of shit!"
Arashi whirled around to see the source of the outburst, and extended his left arm, catching...Hiashi of clan Hyuuga?..! What was this?
He threw the man to the ground, who quickly got up. "I knew something was up, Arashi."
Naruto glanced at the head of Hyuuga main house. "Hiashi-sama? What the...?"
Hiashi took up a defensive jyuuken stance. He did not turn to glance at Naruto. "Naruto, I want you to forgive me. I did not complain to the committee to get you made into my servant...your 'father' here told you that so you'd be distracted."
Naruto glanced back at Yondaime. "Huh?"
"It's true, Naruto," Yondaime answered. Then he turned back to Hiashi. "So you want forgiveness before you die?"
"You told me Naruto was to be kept busy, my lord, you never said it was because you were helping Akatsuki obtain the key to this world's annihilation! I never would've gone through with making Naruto a house maid if I knew the truth!"
Naruto attempted to piece together the truth. "Arashi...you...you did that as a ruse to distract me?"
"SO the cat's out of the bag, Hiashi! Big deal! In a matter of moments you and my young blonde friend here will be dead, and the committee will award me for killing those who are inciting a revolution against this village! Your entire clan will be executed for your actions, Hiashi!"
Hiashi grinned. "Not if I kill you first."
The Yondaime rushed forth, much faster than the Hyuuga, and impaled him through the torso. He drew the dying Hiashi close to him. "You aren't fast enough." He then shoved him to the ground, releasing his blade from the man's body. He sheathed it on his back. "And now, dear Naruto, it is time for you to die."
Just then a mountainous figure dropped immediately in front of Naruto. "Not quite," Kenzo boomed. "Naruto! Go take Hiashi back to my wife, Kyuubi so she can heal him. I'll deal with the trash here."
"So the mighty king of demons is defending his son. How touching. I almost want to gag."
Kenzo ignored Yondaime's insult. "Many an opponent has died at the hands of the mighty king of fox demons," he reminded. "But today, you aren't fighting him. You're fighting a father angry for what has been done to his son."
"Don't give me your sentimental rubbish, fox demon."
"HEY! You've toyed with my wife's and my son's emotions for years as though they were toys. Now the time has come for you to pay the piper. My name is Uzumaki Kenzo, and you've made my son cry. Prepare yourself for the oblivion."