Okay, picking up from where we left off. Orochimaru just gave Naruto the pounding of his life.
The chakra cloak receded. Without its healing properties, blood began welling from Naruto's face. He nearly choked as it clogged his nose and mouth. His jacket was torn, and dotted with dirt and blood.
What used to be Sasuke's mouth split into a smug grin as Orochimaru released the Earth Fist technique on his hands and feet. He lifted the blond from the ground one-handed by his jacket and laughed in his face.
"After all this time, you still aren't fit to lick Sasuke-kun's boots. You certainly aren't fit to lick mine."
Naruto tried to force a growl from his throat, but it came out as a whimper. I…can't move at all. After all that, I couldn't hurt him…I have to do something, or he'll kill me for real.
He knew that any more demon chakra could cause serious damage to himself, but whatever was going to happen couldn't be worse than dying. Besides, what other options did he have?
"You're useless," Orochimaru chirped, letting go of Naruto. He turned when he didn't hear the sound of the genin collapsing like a boned fish. Somehow, Naruto had enough strength to land and right himself on his own two feet.
Fox, I need more, he pleaded. He wasn't in his mindscape, but since he'd been using its chakra recently, he hoped the fox could hear him.
To his relief, there was a deep, gravelly response. Do you know what you're asking for, Kit?
I'm asking for your help. We're a team, that's what we do.
Your chakra coils are overloaded! You can handle up to three tails without my permission or help—if you maintain control! You lost your head, and my chakra started eating away at your chakra system!
Please…I'm not strong enough without you.
You're a suck up, kit…don't bitch at me later. This is gonna burn.
For the second time that day, a primal roar of power erupted. This time, though, it was a dark red pillar of chakra piercing the sky, not a cluster of red bubbles. It was more compressed, more powerful, and more hateful. Naruto's mental blocks broke. The chakra burned his skin away, and he was covered by a wretched mixture of blood and chakra. His eyes were bright white circles.
Naruto Uzumaki had taken on the look of a little demon fox. And then, with a roar, the little demon fox attacked.
Orochimaru's gullet constricted. Then, quick as a striking snake (pun totally intended) the Sword of Kusanagi emerged and the Sannin gripped the hilt and swung down two-handed. The jinchuuriki caught the blade. Then they disappeared. They came in and out of existence, crashing together in flashes of silver and crimson. A snake latched onto Naruto's arm—it disintegrated.
Orochimaru began using his jian like a jutte. He struck at the genin to crush, not to cut. The sharingan darted back and forth. If not for its properties, Orochimaru suspected even hewould have been in great danger.
However, Naruto had entered a jinchuuriki's second stage—Version 2—and he was almost tireless. He fought through the strikes, striking at the Sannin with claws, fists, feet, and tails. Neither Naruto or the Kyuubi had control. The jinchuuriki's body was running on pure, motorized instinct. Now it was the fox pushing back the snake, though neither seemed to actually have the upper hand, with Sakura, the only onlooker, praying for it to end. Relief seemed far away, however, as the two opponents sought to rend each other's souls out of existence.
After several minutes of the harsh stalemate, Naruto screeched and hurled back his opponent, expelling both demonic and regular chakra from his body. Orochimaru's face had been a picture of concentration, his grin dissolved, but now he took on a look of pure ecstasy.
"Yes, finally! I've been waiting for a real test! So test me, be the first victim of my sharingan's true power!"
With that, Sasuke's eyes changed. Naruto's demon-influenced mind comprehended three sharp ovals intersecting in the center of his opponent's eyes. As the jinchuuriki watched, the chakra he had expelled gathered in front of his face.
The two chakras condensed into a fist-sized ball that the jinchuuriki swallowed. He then began to swell like rising dough. Meanwhile, Orochimaru began laughing like a madman, and swallowed Kusanagi, a long tongue lolling between his fangs.
Naruto's body looked like a giant red bowling ball. Putrid gas began to leak between his fangs.
Orochimaru raised his eyebrows just before Naruto's body compressed back down.
There was an electrical zoom as the chakra shot out of Naruto's mouth in a condensed beam. Orochimaru splayed his fingers out and placed them on either side of his eye.
"Blaze Style: Infernal Eclipse." A burst of jet-black flame shot from Orochimaru left eye. It swirled and condensed, forming what seemed to be a black hole ten feet across in front of Orochimaru. The tailed beast ball struck it and was absorbed, with no damaging effects to either Orochimaru or the surrounding landscape.
Orochimaru grinned devilishly. "Amaterasu is a fire capable of burning anything. It can never be put out. Once I unlocked the technique I made a few adjustments." The demon ninja cocked his head to the side.
"I've created a vortex of destruction! Anything that touches the eclipse, even pure chakra, is destroyed, sucked into a well of nothingness! Do you see? I'm perfect! With these eyes I shall master all the jutsu in the world, and no one will ever be able to use ninjutsu against me! I'm invincible!"
Naruto stared at his opponent, unable to comprehend speech. The most lethal trick in his arsenal had just been neutralized, and his human form could not hold more demonic chakra without permanent, irreversible damage. The current situation would likely screw up his chakra coils enough. He did the logical thing in such a situation. Just as blood began leaking out of his opponents left eye, he charged. Then he fell on his face.
Orochimaru had demonstrated his new-found power. He had been momentarily stung by the after-effects to his eye, but he could have still taken on this genin for several hours. Then the boy runs at him, and falls? This was his moment of glory. Now the boy's demon cloak was receding, revealing a lack of skin; just charred, bleeding muscles. Disgusting. Destroying a collapsed, bleeding child brought no glory. The Sannin ground his teeth in anger.
"This is a jinchuuriki's limit?" Orochimaru said, enraged. "This is the limit of a future Hokage? Is this your limit, Naruto Uzumaki?" Orochimaru scoffed at the unconscious genin and spat in his face. He looked at himself.
"Look, you ruined my shirt, what an accomplishment." The Sannin ripped said garment off, exposing pale, unmarked skin. "You're pathetic, Naruto-kun," he breathed, dragging a pale finger down the blonde's cheek. He reached into his mouth and withdrew the sword of Kusanagi. "Now perish like the useless fool we both know you to be."
Watching from a distance, her eyes overflowing with tears, Sakura had seen everything. Had seen Naruto willingly give into his primal side to kill Orochimaru, had seen the most intense amount of chakra she'd ever seen stopped almost effortlessly by the killer of the man she had loved. Now she saw her best remaining friend, a steadfast teammate and companion, about to be killed by the same murderer. In Sasuke's body. She knew, without a doubt, what she had to do. It's what Naruto was trying to do. It's what Kakashi would do were he there. It's what Sasuke would have wanted done.
Naruto…you've always been there for me. You've protected me, supported me, comforted me. You care for others before yourself, never thinking about consequences as long as they're you own. I haven't repaid you, cannot repay you for everything you've done for me. That's why… I can't let you die!
Sakura crisply slapped her hands together in a tiger seal and commanded "Lightning Style: Zeus' Fist."
Her hands began glowing blue and purple. They crackled with rapid electric bursts. Sakura leapt from her hiding place and charged Orochimaru, who was standing over Naruto with his sword raised. She drew her hand back and thrust it forward, sending a bolt of lightning at Orochimaru's face before he could deliver the killing blow to Naruto.
The Otokage batted the electricity harmlessly into the sky with his sword. He turned to the new threat, an almost bored look on Sasuke's handsome face.
"Don't you touch him!" Sakura yelled. "You've taken Sasuke but you won't have Naruto!" She closed the little remaining distance between her and the Sannin and started swinging with every ounce of strength her body and jutsu could generate. Orochimaru lived up to his moniker of the Snake Sannin, however, and dodged with astonishing flexibility, moving like an elastic band.
After a full minute, Sakura's arms dropped. Orochimaru stood in front of her, not winded in the least. Sakura, on the other hand, panted heavily.
Orochimaru cocked his head to the side. "You're weak" he stated simply, then landed a crushing knee strike to her stomach, catapulting the medic into a fallen tree. She spat blood and went limp. The Sannin was now severely disappointed and very, very bored. Time to do away with this Hidden Leaf trash.
"You had to interfere, little girl. Now, Kusanagi shall cut your throat as well." he said. He inched towards Sakura, an emotionless expression on his face.
You're weak. Kusanagi…your…too…You won't have Naruto! "Sakura-chan?" Naruto raised his head, only to see the woman he loved with the jian of legend leveled less than six inches from her lovely neck. "So long…" Orochimaru said, bringing Kusanagi up for a final swing.
"NOOOO!"
An ear splitting scream of pain and rage cut through the air. Orochimaru turned around. His eyes showed fear for the first time. Naruto was standing. His jacket and pants were shredded and burnt. Half of his skin was still missing. Blood dripped freely from his body. His hair was matted and dirty. The genin looked half-dead, that is, until you reached his face. The teeth were pulled back into a defiant snarl. The eyes were of the purest cerulean, but they were scarier than crimson had ever been. These eyes showed no outright malevolence, no insanity. They showed one thing: death.
A breath escaped Naruto's teeth. "I'll say it again," he said, "you're going to die here."
Naruto sunk inside his mindscape, entering a dark, wet sewer, with the only recognizable thing being an enormous cage containing the most deadly power known to the current ninja world. Outside, time stood still.
The fox felt Naruto's anger, the internal pain and horror that had actually turned them into friends over the years. Sure, he was an incarnation of evil, but a kitsune was bound by his honor. He was pretty responsible for the kid's harsh life, so he would always try to ease his pain.
He had done his best to aid the kit during the fight, though he had limits to what he could do. However, he knew of no enemy that'd been born since the rest of the Bijuu that could stop even an imperfect a Tailed Beast Ball, and it had become clear that his tried-and-true policy of kick ass, kick some more ass, get some ass, sit on my ass, rinse and repeat, would not work against an enemy who could cancel out demon chakra. That, in itself, was a power Kami himself would envy. He did have one option left, but it would involve some serious pain and even worse hurt than the kit had ever endured. However, the kit's life had been some piece of smelly horse shit on the road up until about two years ago. He could handle it.
So when Naruto approached his tenant's cage he found the fox ready with a plan. This, time, the ambitious genin had no tears left to shed. His face was an expression of determination. For once, the knucklehead ninja had gone steely calm. If he was sentimental, The Kyuubi would've pitied his host's victim.
The old fox spoke first. "Your vixen's in a bad way, kit. And it's pretty obvious my fighting style is useless. Yours isn't much use either, because without me bolstering your physical abilities, he'll mop you up. And he's only now getting serious with us."
Naruto had to force himself to stay composed. Though he wasn't going to deny a thing the Kyuubi had said, his bad side's pessimism wasn't good. If the Kyuubi no Kitsune didn't think it could kill something, then that was generally the time to drop your pants, bend over, and kiss your ass goodbye. However giving up was in the "not an option" bin today. This was one fight Naruto could not afford to lose.
"I'm standing aren't I?" he said. "As long as I can stand we can fight! He's scared, too! I'll outlast him. There's no way he has more chakra than me. Look, if Sakura dies, I die. I won't lose. I don't have a choice."
The fox sighed. "Kit, you can stand because my chakra is giving you the strength to. Right now I'm using all I can spare to regenerate your skin. The only reason the snake is spooked is because you look like you could kill a dozen puppies and smile about it. Believe me though, guts alone won't get you through this."
Naruto threw his arms in the air. "Well, then, great and almighty douchebag, how do we win this?"
The Kyuubi grinned. "Well, kit, you have one option. However, it's never been attempted before, will likely be extremely painful if not fatal, and is batshit insane."
"Okay," Naruto said, without hesitation, intrigued. "What do I have to do?"
"Absolutely nothing, kit. Leave it all to me. Just close your eyes and pray." With that, the fox's form became intangible. He walked through the bars of his prison, straight at Naruto.
"Whoah, what are you doing?" Naruto asked, extremely startled. That cage should've held the fox forever!
"Don't shit yourself, kit." The Kyuubi said, more affection in his words than Naruto could ever remember hearing. His vessel had no parents, or any family at all for that matter, so it fell to a demon to care for this child. It was truly a sad story. The most deadly creature in the universe thought this as his spectral form melted into the mental image of Naruto Uzumaki.
Please Review. I need to know if this story is any better than the last, or if it's any good at all. In all honesty, I think I suck.