Chapter 10

Broken Spirit

WHAT THE CRAP WAS THAT?!?! TWO REVIEWS?!?!?! WHAT THE CRAP?!?! God...I was about to not post this chapter.

DISCLAIMER: WHY THE CRAP WOULD I OWN NARUTO?!?! I LIVE IN THE US FOR GOD SAKES!

Naruto's eyes fluttered as the sun rose, announcing the next day. With a grunt, he sat up and looked at the seal on his shoulder. There was still a trickle of blood where he had cut, and he had to fight the urge to wipe it away. "I miss Sakura-chan…" he muttered, averting his thoughts elsewhere. "I've got to find away to get Kuroki out of me…"

The blonde's thoughts were interrupted as the wind blew, but also blowing off the blood on the seal. Oh crap…he thought in his head as he realized what had happened. "Wonderful…" Kuroki's voice entered Naruto's mind. "Arigatou to the wind."

A sharp pain blew into Naruto as once again the evil presence tried to take control of his entire body, already taking half of his mind. "I will not give up…I swore to protect everyone when I became Hokage…I never go back on my words…" the Hokage grunted, struggling now to keep control. "That is my way of the ninja."

"What can you accomplish? You're already losing the battle." Kuroki challenged, clawing deeper into Naruto's mind. "You are pathetic. You are a weakling. Konoha is foolish for allowing such a Hokage."

The words stung Naruto, and he flinched back. Is what Kuroki said true? …I am pathetic…a weakling… The words dug deeper into his soul, zapping it. …I let Konoha down…Gomen nasai… More and more, his spirit slowly cracked, releasing all of his feelings. Gomen nasai…gomen nasai…

"Time to end this, fool!" Kuroki shouted, but was halted. Something wouldn't let him pass. "What the…"

"I found a loophole." Naruto chuckled. "You need a spirit to take over, right?" Kuroki remained silent, and listened to the words of the blonde. "Well, if I have no spirit, you can't kill me, or destroy Konoha."

Kuroki became panicky, and he screamed, "Don't you dare boy! If you release your spirit, you will be-"

"I don't care." He spat, his spirit still sinking away. "You took away all of my fighting spirit."

"NO!" the evil presence roared, but suddenly he fell silent. All of Naruto's spirit had been drained, and there was nothing left over.

Slowly, Naruto looked up, his eyes a hollow gray. "You can't destroy Konoha now." he said, emotionless. "Without a spirit, your jutsu is useless."

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Sakura looked outside, the sun almost straight above, beating down its powerful rays on the village. Her mind wandered to Naruto, thinking about their last meeting. He seemed unsure of something, but even so, she knew that he would come back. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her chest, making her clutch her vest. After a while, the pain vanished, leaving a shocked kunoichi. "W-what was that?" she stuttered, scared. Her hand slowly fell as her mind drifted to Naruto, realizing what had happened. Something drastic had happened to Naruto, and Sakura was feeling a pain in her heart telling her that something was wrong. Quickly, she became alarmed, and ran out of the apartment in pursuit of the Hokage.

Tears were almost flying behind her as she struggled to control them, running through the village. Naruto…what happened? She thought in her mind, running faster. Sakura halted as she saw a huge crowd in front of her, and she sighed, annoyed. To avoid the pack of villagers, she jumped up on the roofs of the houses, and jumped from one to another, trying to reach the village gate.

When the large green gate doors came into sight, Sakura jumped down, immediately running through them heading for the direction she remembered when she saw the blonde ninja last. After all, the wire wasn't there for her to follow anymore; she was on her own. Running to and fro between the trees in the dense forest, she took a huge leap up to a branch of one and proceeded, going at a faster rate.

About ten minutes later, she reached the familiar castle, still standing and looking as menacing as ever. Carefully, she pushed the doors open and peered inside. It seemed empty, like it hadn't been used in months, though it was used within a day's time. With her heartbeat increasing, she stepped inside, but she thought she felt another presence. Within and instant, a group of people jumped down, all of their eyes glowing a blinding red. "Are you Haruno Sakura?" one of the people asked, his eyes scrunching.

Sakura backed up nervously. "W-who are you?" she stuttered, her voice a little too high. "What do you want?"

One of them stepped out, laughing coldly. "We're here to pick you up." He answered, and took a step closer towards Sakura. "We are called the Akai Akki."

Sakura lost her nervous expression, replaced by a well-doesn't-that-figure look. I swear, everyone has something to do with demons here… "The Akai Akki?" she repeated in a careless tone. "And why is that?"

"You'll find that out as time progresses." The man next to her answered. "For now, it's time to go to bed." Sakura coughed up blood as the mysterious man punched her in the gut, knocking her unconscious. He picked her up, and looked back to his comrades. "Kunoichi apprehended. Phase One complete."

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Naruto walked slowly away from his campsite, moving on. His eyes were still a hollow gray, and he had a frown across his face. Kuroki was silent, for indeed his jutsu was useless now that Naruto had no spirit, or in a sense of that. Even though the blonde Hokage had no feelings anymore, he sighed, grateful that he no longer had to worry about the annoying presence inside of him, and now he could return home.

Quick movement caught his eyes, and as he whipped around he saw black cloaks flying into the trees. Naruto's gaze drifted to strands of pink hair floating gently in the air, freely. "Haruno-san…" he said as one of the strands landed on his hand. Coolly, he flipped the strand off, and shot after the people in black cloaks that flew past before. They seemed far ahead, but many traps were situated all over the place. Many times, Naruto almost fell into bomb traps, trip wires, anything.

Quickly, he whipped out a kunai and flung into the bushes, hearing a screech as the projectile hit the target. Naruto walked up and looked behind the bush, and saw one of the black-cloaked people lying on the ground with a kunai lodged in his neck. He bent down, and swept the kunai out of the man, wiping the blood when it completely came out. More pink hair strands were on the black cloak. Naruto shook his head, disappointed at the mysterious man lying dead on the ground.

Standing up with a sigh, he shot off again, following the pink lines floating in the air. Gracefully leaping behind another set of bushes, he landed on one of his targets. "Tell me where Haruno-san is," he growled, holding a kunai to the man's neck. He could feel the shudder the black-cloak sent as the man shivered. "I will kill you."

Struggling franticly, the man cried out, "She is going to our base in the Fyuki Country."

Nodding his head, Naruto put away his weapon, and knocked the man unconscious. He muttered an "Arigatou" as he flew off after Sakura.

Luckily for him, even though he had no emotions, Naruto still had common sense, and it was natural for him to save one of his comrades, as it was for the entire village now that he was Hokage. All in all, Naruto still wants to protect Konohagakure, but he just doesn't show deep emotion at all. As a sigh escaped the blonde's lips, he jumped off after Sakura, glancing around at his scenery. Getting back on subject, he returned his gaze ahead, looked for any pink stands hanging in the air. Haruno-san…

I got this idea from another story, and I thought of a way to twist it and make it even more dramatic. Now Naruto refers to Sakura as 'Haruno-san', rather than 'Sakura-chan'. How will Sakura react to this, and where is the newest group taking her? Find out in the next chapter! NOW REVIEW-YOU BETTER OR ELSE!!!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! For Christmas from you, I WANT REVIEWS!!! Good, perfect, detailed reviews! And in return, I'll give you one hell of a story with a twisted plot and ending!(the third book for those of you who want to know) That story will be out in probably by the end of March! OOH! Even better idea! The first chapter of Book 3 will be a double-feature, and it wil be on March 29! That's my B-Day!!!! PERFECT!!!! And again, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Yamahato Yokimoko-san

Please, please review! With a Pop-Tart on top!

Yamahato Yokimoko-san