CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – present day, human world, village of Konohagakure
(there are a series of tears making this page more tape than not)
Naruto, moving through the trees at a high velocity with an injured Hiashi in tow, found it difficult to balance the overwhelming variety of emotions eating away at him. He had just found out that his entire life had been a lie, that his arch-nemesis—a heartless murderer—was in fact a father who actually cared, unlike the man he'd called father for twelve years. The life of a shinobi always had these kind of twists in them, but such a dramatic change he could scarcely have imagined just a short time ago. The man he carried, who had previously worked him as a slave, it turns out was merely a pawn in a much larger game.
"Naruto…" Hiashi sputtered, coughing. A smidgen of blood stained his mouth and chin. "Please forgive me…I wish I'd investigated my suspicions…"
"Don't talk, Hiashi-sama," he advised, jumping rapidly. "I forgive you; you were just a puppet being manipulated," he tried, in vain, to fight off the tears pouring, "just like me."
Kyuubi had freed herself from the trap set by Akatsuki. The spells utilized were nothing short of absolutely amazing, but she was the second strongest fox demon in existence. ; Naruto! ; she shouted into the trees. ; Are you okay? ;
Naruto descended from a tree and laid the Hyuuga on the ground. ; Don't worry about me, mother, he's the one to tend to. ;
Kyuubi began tending to his wounds. ; These will take a bit. Is your father taking on Arashi? ;
Naruto nodded. He switched to English. "I'm going to find Hinata. Are you going to be fine?"
"Son, I keep your father in line. Next question?"
He grinned at her spat, then disappeared in a plume of smoke.
Orochimaru had gathered both halves of the artifact and began the ritual of putting the two halves together. He was halfway through the first half when a foot kicked one of the ceremonial stones into his face. The figure standing opposed to him, he hadn't expected. "Well, if it isn't Hyuuga Hinata," he uttered, grinning. "I didn't think my opposition would be this easy." He immediately pulled a sword from a snake inside his mouth, drawing it and slashing at her torso. She ducked to his right, avoiding the blade. Utilizing her byakugan, she pressed a point in his left arm, disabling his chakra flow to that point. However, he managed to take advantage of the impact by slashing at her abdomen, which managed to catch her. It wasn't terribly deep, because she dodged, but blood flowed.
"You're not good enough to fight me, child," he said, licking her blood from his weapon and tossing it aside. "I can defeat you with my ninjutsu and taijutsu alone." In a remarkable and terrible display of speed he delivered a twelve hit combination starting with several kicks to her stomach and ending with a rising knee to her head, sending her sailing to the ground several feet away. He gathered chakra in his right palm and prepared to surgically attack her neck muscles. She rolled to the right of his leap and used her own blood to wash off several weighted symbols she used to train with, increasing her speed.
She leapt towards him and left herself just open enough that he would draw chakra into his fingertips and slash at her. She took several nasty gashes to her arms and legs, and her forehead, but used his being wide open during the onslaught to deliver a trademark Hyuuga combination. Her final blow, to the chakra points in his chest, sent him several feet backwards.
"Uggh, you…you BITCH!" he screeched, vomiting up blood and struggling to his feet. He went for her head and nearly sliced her outfit to ribbons as he gashed her chest. Even as a youkai, it would take several minutes to heal from such wounds and she wouldn't be able to press the attack. He bounded forth, reached for her neck, and lifted her into the air.
She began to cry as she closed her eyes. I'm sorry, Naruto, I wasn't able…to be strong enough.
"Now…DIE!"
Thwap.
"eegghhhh…"
Hinata opened her eyes after falling to the ground. She was alive, but what she saw surprised her. Orochimaru was on his knees in a headlock, with an arm over his head and a hand clamped down on his neck. Blood flowed from several points as fingers dug into his neck.
"RAARRRGHH!" Naruto gave a loud fox roar as he dug his nails in and ripped out the snake's throat. He faced Hinata, and instantly his mood turned. "Hinata, are you okay?…! You've been injured!"
"I'll…be fine…Naruto-kun…"
He ran his fingers through her hair. "You did damn well; I'm proud of you." He brought her up to face level. "Arashi is still unimaginably strong; my father might not make it. So if we die here, let me say something: I love you." He leaned in and kissed her.
She began to cry. "I love you too, Naruto-kun." She reciprocated his action, drawing him in of her own will.
On the other side of the forest, two beings of power the likes of which could reshape the foundations of order in the world, clashed in fiery displays of what they were capable of. The king of foxes, drawing upon his anger and skill, prepared himself for a ferocious attack on his foe, the devious and maligned Arashi. Both had seen more intense battles than anyone else in this world, and of all beings they had the greatest power of all. It seemed here that the true power of the once-a-hero Yondaime would be drawn out by his most significant opponent ever.
No words were spoken at first. Moving at speed barely imaginable by anyone else, they collided in a fiery display of fists flying. The fourth hokage drove an open palm strike at the massive chest of his opponent and found it shoved away by a left hand deflection and responded to by a thrust punch to the upper chest of him. Kenzo's attack did not land as his younger foe ducked and came up with a twirling uppercut, only to be dodged by a simple lean-back. The fox king shifted rapidly aside an elbow strike and attempted to drive his knee into the gut of his opponent but his enemy leapt above it, rolling and jumping to his feet. He had such speed in doing so that he drove a side-kick up towards the head of his opponent only for it to be caught by one of Kenzo's massive hands, who shoved him in a circular motion and drove a thrust punch towards his enemy who flip-leapt backwards to avoid it.
"Not bad, demon," Arashi beckoned. He drew himself downwards into a more proper fighting stance; he dared not underestimate his foe by utilizing an inferior technique. He planned on his most powerful style, lest he find himself crushed by the dinner plate-sized palms. He let loose within himself barriers upon his chakra use, releasing a glowing blue aura about him.
"You're the strongest weakling I've ever tangled with," Kenzo boomed, his deep baritone carrying for dozens of feet. He unleashed more of his chakra, the hurricane-like red winds that burst forth tearing limbs off trees and nearly unseating the hokage from his position. He hadn't utilized this much of his power since the great king of snakes down in hell.
Yondaime blasted forth, pumping chakra into specific parts of his muscles ala Tsunade, and augmented his already significant strength, colliding a mighty fist with the fox demon, throwing him backwards into a tree. Teleporting via hiraishin to immediately behind him he kneed his foe in his broad, muscled back to instantly reverse his flight and increase his momentum. Moving again he appeared above his foe mid-launch and kicked him to a kneeling position. With a furious barrage he opened a huge onslaught on the torso and head of Kenzo, battering the massive body of the king of hell and drawing blood from many points. Each blow had the strength to level a concrete wall a meter thick, and had the speed of the winds inside a tornado. He ended the combo with a powerful kick, and gathered a rasengan in his hand and propelled forth, slamming it into the upper chest of his enemy, drawing more blood and shooting him into a mess of trees.
"Now you see the true power of Arashi, demon scum," he gloated. "Should you have had a chance to strike, you'd have felt the hopelessness of feeling your blows barely scratch me."
"FATHER!" Naruto screeched, smashing a flying kick into the back of Yondaime, knocking him to the ground. He furiously attempted to stomp on the hokage's head, but he whirled aside, leapt to a standing position, and immediately clamped a hand on his son's neck, on pressure points so he couldn't move. "Yo…you…ba…bastard…"
Yondaime drew his right hand above his head, pooling chakra for another massive rasengan. "Sorry, Naruto…it's time for you to die." He clenched his muscles. "YAAAA!"
; NARUTO! ; screamed Kyuubi, flying in for a kick. She knew she'd be too late.
"RAARRRGH!"
SLASH. Distinctly was it heard: the sound of claws tearing through flesh.
"Aaaaaaaggghhh!" yelled Yondaime, as Kenzo's claws sliced as clean as a katana through his right forearm, causing fifteen inches of forearm, as well as the hand with the rasengan, to fall to the ground. Right below where the arm was sliced, a vine protruding from the ground had shot up to wrap around.
"O…Otowano?" Naruto yelled. He could scarcely believe his eyes. His genin squad had shown up.
Otowano pumped his fist in the air. "HOOHAAAAAAA!"
Satoshi grinned as he'd thrown a dagger to catch in the hokage's other arm to release Naruto from the goozle. "It looks as though we can help after all, Naruto-sensei!"
"YOU PIECES OF SHIT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!" Yondaime shouted, drawing his sword with his remaining hand.
"I DON'T FUCKING THINK SO!"
Yondaime found a massive hand around his neck. With one smooth motion, the fox king hoisted the man above his head. "You attempt to enslave the world, you put my wife and son through hell, and you're not even smart enough to finish off an opponent you knocked down? Such ignorance, Arashi!" The hokage shoved his katana through the gut of his foe; it had no effect. "I've had enough of you; you're not even a true Uzumaki. Just a weak look-alike." The hokage attempted to slice at Kenzo's neck. He knocked the sword aside.
"Please…I…"
"NO GOOD, ARASHI! KENZO OF CLAN UZUMAKI DOES NOT SPARE HIS FOES!" He raised his left hand high above his head, flattening his hand and tilting it so the flat end was parallel and the thin side was down for chopping. "RAARRRRR!"
"Nooooo!" Arashi closed his eyes.
One vicious smack of Kenzo's hand's thin edge and Arashi's head burst wide open, the bones splintering like wood. Blood and brain tissue splattered over several feet, covering the ground and some of those present. He tossed the corpse forth. "It's over…my son."
Naruto fell to the ground; with his emotions raging inside his head, he seemed nearly comatose.
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A/N: We're near the end, folks! It's been a long time since this story began!