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The first thing Naruto felt was pain. It was pure, unimaginable agony. Had processing conscious thought been on his list of things to do, he might have likened the feeling to being flayed alive. His mind was blank. His nerves were so ablaze that he couldn't think at all. The Kyuubi sensed Naruto's pain, but now that it had started, the only choice Naruto had was to endure it.
Hang on, kit.
*dattebayo*
While fighting the remaining sound ninja, Yamato had felt an enormous rise in chakra that could only be Naruto fighting. The captain had noticed in the past few days—and especially during the fight with Kabuto—that Naruto's chakra was so massive, even without the Kyuubi behind it, that, if you could sense energy at all, Naruto was a beacon.
Not a minute later, he felt an even bigger surge, but that time it had been the Kyuubi's chakra, not Naruto's. Yamato dived under his final opponent's guard and drove a kunai into their right lung. The ninja coughed blood, and Yamato silenced him by ramming the knife up to the hilt into an eye socket. He left it there, and as the ninja crumpled to the ground, Yamato bolted towards Naruto, hoping he wouldn't be too late to stop Naruto from hurting himself or anyone else.
What Team Kakashi's current captain did not notice was the absence of Sai, who unbeknownst to everyone else, had slunk off with a captive Sound shinobi in search of Orochimaru's lair.
When Yamato arrived at the battlefield, he saw the deserter, Sasuke Uchiha, with blood leaking out of his left eye. Both eyes now possessed what had to be the legendary Mangekyo sharingan. Instead of three black tomoe, there were three wicked red ovals intersecting at Sasuke's pupils. The irises were jet black.
Standing in front of Sasuke was Naruto. How he was actually staying on his feet, however, was a mystery to the anbu. What was left of the blonde's skin was shredded and hung in tatters. His clothes were torn and burned. Blood dripped from his fingertips as his arms hung loose. There was a similar trail of crimson dripping off his chin and the tip of his nose. Yamato's panic button went on override and he prepared to step in, but then halted. Naruto had started shaking. Then there was a pitiable whimper. Suddenly, blood spattered out as Naruto let loose a primal scream of agony, fisting his bleeding hands in his hair desperately, as if he wanted to tear his own scalp off.
Yamato had been assigned to this mission, essentially, for the safety of its other members. If the Kyuubi's chakra went out of control, he was supposed to keep it from endangering the team or Naruto. He'd be damned if he didn't do something. He almost stepped forward again, but once again stopped in his tracks. Naruto was screaming like a tortured beast, but the chakra that seemed to just radiate from him now was…incredible. Naruto's chakra had been a raging maelstrom before, and it had been that chaos that had drawn Yamato. Now, the power was flowing off the genin in waves so thick that they'd become visible to the naked eye—bright pulses of purple energy that constituted both the most beautiful and most terrifying thing that Yamato had ever seen.
Then Yamato noticed something else. There was something…off about Sasuke. The last Uchiha had a fearful look in his eyes, but at the same time looked expectant, almost glad, if it could be believed.
Weighing these factors, Yamato decided to wait it out. His wandering eyes caught Sakura's unconscious and injured form on the base of a tree. He quickly entered the battlefield, unnoticed, and retrieved the medic to hide in his original position. He put together a course of action. He would step in if Naruto succumbed to his current…ordeal, but only if. The captain was not devoid of sympathy. If Naruto wanted to fight his best friend, he'd have no interference. After all, the Uchiha traitor—actually both of the Uchiha traitors, if you thought about it—had tried to kill Naruto. He had the right to this fight.
*dattebayo*
Orochimaru was perplexed. He had completed defeated Naruto, had been attacked by his teammate with the pink hair, and had knocked her out as well. Then the blonde child had gathered the impertinence to stand against him again, unleashing killing intent unlike anything the Sannin had seen since his days among the Akatsuki. Then he'd started thrashing, screaming in what sounded like mortal agony, and giving off even more energy than he had before.
Then, as fast as it had begun, the fit had stopped, and the boy was now hugging himself like a toddler in a thunderstorm, uttering something between a whimper and a deep growl.
Orochimaru's eyes widened even further, blood still staining the left side of his face. He couldn't be…
*dattebayo*
The pain had finally subsided. Finally coherent, Naruto thought Fox, what the fuck did you do?
Now, usually, when Naruto tried to contact his demon, he'd have to go into his mindscape for them to communicate at all unless he was using its chakra, at which time the fox's voice seemed to originate from the chakra itself. This time, it was neither. The voice seemed to come from inside his head, almost as if he was hearing himself think.
I saved us, kit. Neither of us could kill that prick with your weak, human body and my restrictions inside here, so I merged my chakra with your own. Essentially, our chakra networks are linked. And since chakra is the energy that gives life, your life force is now interlaced with mine. I should be able to speak to you more easily, and you to me, and you may be a little…um…foxy. But aside from that you should just be a hell of a lot more dangerous. Congratulations, kit. You're a hanyou, a half-demon.
The last sentence hit like a ton of br—no, that'd be the understatement of a century. The last sentence hit home like a fucking planet. This was…he didn't have the words. There was know time to find them, though.
Naruto stashed his questions and amazement in the back of his mind. He'd worry about that after he uncorked a world-class ass-beating on the pedophile with the reptile fetish.
Okay, he attempted to sum up, I'll probably look a little different, you're not just in my stomach but also my head, and I'll be more of a badass then I was before, is that right?
Yeah, that's about how it is.
Doesn't sound that bad, actually. But look, tall, mean, and fuzzy; we are so talking about this later.
Fine. Just get out there and kill him. He insulted our power…TWICE! Then he pointed a blade at your vixen? Are you going to let him shit all over you like this? The Kyuubi no Kitsune was nothing if not crafty. Rage was a very good motivational tool.
No. No, I'm not. With that, Naruto cut the conversation.
Naruto noticed two things. First off, the conversation with his tenant hadn't wasted any actual, chronological time. So, even though he couldn't go to the mindscape, he could talk to the fox without distracting himself from battle. Weird, but good. The second thing was that the aching and burning from his open wounds had disappeared. In fact, his skin had grown back completely. He raised his head to see Orochimaru looking at him with a very uncertain, and rather fearful expression. Naruto let go of himself and held his hands in front of his eyes.
They seemed normal up until the tips of his fingers, where his fingernails had been replaced by inch-and-a-half-long claws. Unlike the claws he acquired when he normally used the fox's chakra, which were plain—if thick—constructs of keratin, these glinted like polished steel. Naruto flexed his hands in amazement.
His gaze then traveled to his arms, which were bare due to most of clothing having been shredded during the course of the fight. Thick golden fur—complete with bright red highlights, and about an inch long—grew on the bottom half of his forearms. Naruto wondered if the hair on his head was the same. He plucked out a strand and saw that it was.
The now half-demon looked down at his legs to see that they had received the same treatment as his arms: his calves were covered in fur, twice as long as that on his arms, and his toenails had been replaced with claws; just like the ones on his hands, but a bit longer. He felt the back of his neck, where an unbelievably thick mane had sprouted, all gold with scarlet tips. Had he a mirror, Naruto would have seen a line of fur following his spine to his lower back and ending at his waist.
He felt around with his tongue and very nearly cut himself. His incisors had grown and sharpened like they always had, but his canines were practically little daggers inside his mouth. In fact, all of his teeth were sharper.
Orochimaru stood stock still. He'd guessed before, when the boy's chakra had changed, but now he was sure. The Kyuubi had forced an internal merger with its host. He smiled at bit at the implications that had for Akatsuki. Extracting a demon was—supposedly— significantly more complicated if it was merged with the host on that intimate a level. It didn't matter, though, he realized, because he was going to kill the boy anyway.
The chakra emanating from Naruto was different than a human's or a demon's. It wasn't as repressed as a human's, or as corrosive as a demon's, but more concentrated that either one. With his Sharingan active, Orochimaru also deduced that it wasn't blue or red, but a mixture, forming a purple hue so bright it was almost uncomfortable to look upon.
The boy's physical features were further evidence. His shock was so great he could neither utter a word nor make any movement while the genin inspected his new body.
Naruto decided he'd finish admiring himself later. He had a job to do. He first took a look around for Sakura and didn't see her. He panicked momentarily, but then caught a whiff of her scent nearby, alongside Yamato's, and calmed down. Good job, captain.
Naruto dropped into a crouch, pumping chakra into his legs. He saw Orochimaru's hands come up, and the Sharingan start swirling. He leapt. By the time the sound of dust kicking up reached Orochimaru's ears, Naruto was right in front of him, hand drawn back, fingers half-clenched.
For Sasuke, Naruto thought, as he slashed his claws across the Sannin's chest.
*dattebayo*
Sai entered Orochimaru's hideout cautiously. His timing, it seemed, had been absolutely perfect. He had felt two enormous chakras. One was clearly Naruto and he guessed the second was Orochimaru. If that was true, his biggest obstacle was absent. Even so, he was being careful out of both principle and necessity. His tanto was pressed against his captive's throat.
The man spoke slowly, nervously. "Okay, this is it. Like I said; no tricks."
The Root member fake-smiled. "Thanks," he said. "you've been very helpful." Then he slashed the Sound ninja's carotid artery in one quick movement, careful to get no blood on himself. He cast a quick genjutsu to shield the corpse from prying eyes, then stalked down the hallway, his tanto held at his side, still dripping crimson.
Come on, Uchiha. Get out here.
*dattebayo*
Then first strike had caught Orochimaru by surprise. Naruto's claws had shredded his flesh, carving four bloody furrows into his pectorals that bled and stung. Orochimaru had recovered and struck back, trying to get the time to cast a jutsu, but Naruto wasn't giving him enough leeway for even a substitution.
Orochimaru brought Kusanagi back into play and swung hard at Naruto, attempting to remove his head. Naruto ducked, and spun like a break dancer, landing two kicks to Orochimaru's ribcage. Orochimaru winced as Naruto's claws carved two more sets of shallow, but wide cuts into his flesh. He retaliated with a high kick to the blonde's face, which landed and drew blood from Naruto's nostrils, but then as he attempted to strike down with his sword, he felt Naruto's fingers close around his calf. Naruto used that grip to yank Orochimaru back and drive his foot into the Sannin's gut.
The sword stroke stopped, its owner's forearms having landed harmlessly on Naruto shoulder. Orochimaru was thrown back, winded and wincing, before having to retreat further to avoid a fistful of shuriken. He re-swallowed his sword and set into a fighting stance. His quick mind, the thing that had kept him alive for all this time, began analyzing potential weaknesses, labeling openings. He was a Sannin, a genius, and a Kage, damnit! He wasn't going to let himself lose to a child high on demon chakra.
He was forced to abandon his thinking, however, when the Leaf ninja charged him with renewed ferocity.
Orochimaru quickly shot through a set of seals and commanded "Water Style: Hydro Saw." A thin line of water shot from Orochimaru's mouth to shatter several trees. Naruto just barely dodged a fatal hit. The jutsu ripped his shirt and cut the left side of chest. If he hadn't dodged just as he had, the high-pressure water jet could've cut him in half. Naruto flinched at the minor injury, and Orochimaru whipped his head to the side, along with the water. Naruto's quick reflexes were his saving grace, as he leapt over the saw just before it took off his legs, or bifurcated him.
"Hidden snake hands." Five massive pythons launched out of Orochimaru's forearm and constricted Naruto, sinking their fangs into him and squeezing with enough strength to break any normal ribcage. "Die, you child!" Orochimaru hissed, his voice carrying more toxin than the reptile that was his moniker.
Realizing he wouldn't last much longer under the immense pressure, Naruto strained and expelled a violent burst of wind chakra from his body, shredding the reptiles binding him into bloody ribbons that fell around the hybrid like crimson hail. Gobbets of flesh in his hair and snake blood covering his body, Naruto growled like the beast he felt like and attacked again. The time he had taken to kill the snakes, however, had given Orochimaru time to form several sets of seals, and so Naruto's charge was met with a wave of ninjutsu.
To Orochimaru's credit, he did not make the mistake of underestimating Naruto again. It was very clear from his attack that he intended to incinerate the hanyou along with a good deal of the battlefield. Streams of flame, dragons of water, a small earthquake, an arc of lightning, and snakes met Naruto. To make matters worse, behind it all was massive gale-force wind.
No way in hell I can dodge them all, he thought. Out of options, he threw bird and snake, concentrating as hard as he could.
"Wind Style: Tornado Shield!"
A twister surrounded Naruto. All he could now do was grit his teeth and take the hits. The earthquake jarred his teeth, and the lightning fizzed out within ten feet of his wall. The snakes were ripped to pieces. The water might have tickled. None of that was a problem. The last two hit home, though.
Naruto momentarily forgot his training on elemental relations, and was not expecting Orochimaru's wind jutsu to fuel the flames and just about double their strength. The twister that was his armor became his prison, a raging wraith of flame. With a burst of chakra—and some luck—he escaped, but the fire had scorched his chest and arms, taking his jacket and a pant leg into the wind and charring his skin.
The snake wasn't letting up. He charged, Kusanagi drawn. Naruto looked back and saw that a ring of snakes, all with swords protruding from their throats, had him surrounded.
He slammed his hands into the snake seal.
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough." Usually, the jutsu expelled a gale in front of the user. However, Naruto had used a lot of chakra on this one. An omnidirectional shockwave exploded from the blonde, killing the snakes and hurling them into the sky. The blast caught Orochimaru full-on in the chest and hurled him across the—now flat—expanse of land they fought on, where the trees were felled in a quarter-mile radius.
Orochimaru landed and slowly skidded to a stop, then slammed his left hand down on the ground, sending out a small shockwave. Orochimaru raised his head, hair soaked in sweat. With dirt, grime, and blood matting his face, he growled out "Summoning Jutsu".
Naruto clenched his teeth and gathered his chakra just as a massive white smokescreen blocked his view. He formed his favorite seal. The snake shit wanted to fight with numbers, huh? He didn't even know the kind of mistake he was making.
With a cry of "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto was also hidden from sight as another smokescreen erupted.
When the cloud cleared, it was no longer a battle of individuals. It was a battle of armies. Clones vs snakes. Fifty Narutos—give or take—vs 5 gargantuan summoned snakes.
Orochimaru, standing on the center snakes' head, panted heavily, then leveled his sword in the direction of the clones. No more fancy speeches. No more rants about feelings. This was over.
"DIE, UZUMAKI!" Orochimaru screamed. The snakes charged, hissing filling the air. The first snake made a beeline straight for Naruto. When he stopped the titanic reptile bare-handed and smashed its face into the ground, he finally began to realize how much the Kyuubi had changed him. As his clones assaulted the snakes, being felled left and right, he raised a hand to form a Rasengan. The chakra sphere was colored an inky purple to match Naruto's new chakra. He barely noticed at all. Without a thought, he executed the snake with a Rasengan through the head.
Blood and scales caked Naruto's face. He heard a final *pop*, and then nothing. He looked up. His clones had managed to kill two more of the snakes, leaving a grand total of two left. The one without Orochimaru on its head charged, mouth open. Naruto tried to stop it, as he'd done to the last one, but this snake proved stronger and swallowed Naruto whole.
Ugh, not again, he thought. These things really need to brush their teeth.
"No." Orochimaru commanded. "Spit him out. I will be the one to kill him!" he declared, triumphant. Just as the chastised summon opened its mouth obediently to vomit out its victim, all hell broke loose.
Naruto focused as hard as he possible could. He didn't want to try his luck at escaping the way he had in the Forest of Death. This snake was both bigger and stronger, and there was no telling what amount of clones it would take to make it explode. He freed reserves of power that he didn't even know he had. Unbeknownst to him, he was about to give birth to something extraordinary. His natural affinities for wind and lightning combined with the Kyuubi's affinity for fire to create something entirely different.
Outside, Orochimaru noticed his summon begin to gag. That was normal enough, it was trying to vomit, after all. He became nervous, however, when a bright purple glow began emanating from the snake's throat. Then there was a sizzling noise and a scream.
"RRRAAAAAAGGHH!"
The snake's gut exploded in a blinding flash of light. It burned a hot white, but flickered orange and red at the end.
The burst engulfed Naruto and burned straight through the snake that had swallowed him, effectively cutting it in half. As the lifeless serpent fell, Naruto flew at the final snake, burning with white-hot energy. His claws plunged into the snake's flesh before it or its summoner could react, and then he ripped them outwards, ripping through it. The smell of burning meat filled the air. Orochimaru leapt off of his dying summon, realizing that he was now by himself.
Naruto landed on the other side of the hole he created, and as the snake hit the dirt, Orochiamaru landed directly in front of him. The power was still flickering. Naruto didn't know what it was, and he didn't care. He just knew that he felt goddamned invincible.
They stared at each other for a second. Red Sharingan eyes met cerulean irises with slit pupils. No words. A hidden understanding passed between them. One would die, but they respected each other's strength, if nothing else.
They charged. Kusanagi came down hard on Naruto head. At any other time, the blow would have neatly split him in two. The power was still with him though, and he blocked with his arms in an x-guard. The heat around his arms intensified, holding back the steel blade a hair's breadth from the genin's skin. Naruto yelled, and pushed back as hard as he could. It was then that Kusanagi, the jian of legend, and the sword that could cut diamond, broke. The last 15 inches of blade went spinning like a boomerang into the air. Naruto's claws, still pushing outwards, slashed Orochimaru's upper arms halfway through, incinerating flesh, bone, and tendons. He screamed.
The power faded then, as Orochimaru fell forward out of pain and exhaustion, and Naruto barely managed to stay standing. He wanted this thing to know why he had to die. He wanted the murderer inside to see itself for what it was.
"It should have been the Third's place to tell you this, Orochimaru, but since he's no longer here, I'll say it." Naruto took a deep breath. "You've fallen so damn far. You were once one of the most powerful and respected ninja in existence, and now you've been reduced to a disgusting, murderous, inhuman piggy-backer who can't realize just how deranged he really is. You took my best friend's body, and now I've taken his arms away from you. Now I'll kill you, and Sasuke can get the funeral he deserves, and the world will finally be rid of you." Naruto squatted to look the traitor dead in his stolen eyes, now without the strength to activate the Sharingan.
"How does it feel, snake shit?" he asked. "How does it feel to know that a genin, who also happens to be a just a demon brat, has reduced you to crawling on your belly like the snake you are? You have the Sharingan. You're the genius. You lost because I was the better fighter, the better shinobi, and the better person."
"Sasuke was my brother. The Third was my grandfather. The Leaf is my home. You've assaulted everything I care about, and no you'll get what you deserve."
A purple Rasengan formed in his right hand. "This is for every wife, husband, sibling and child who lost someone because of you. I hope your screams never end, even with time itself."
The chakra sphere came down. Dust flew into the air. There was a howl of anger and frustration. When the dust cleared, Naruto was standing over a splintered log.
The Kyuubi spoke for the first time since the fight had renewed. Sorry, kit.
Naruto couldn't believe it. He'd let the prick escape. He'd let him ESCAPE! All he could do was utter a quiet "I'm sorry, everyone…" before his exhaustion caught up with him, and he collapsed.
He hadn't won. The snake had slunk away again. Now he was completely spent in the middle of a destroyed forest in the Rice country.
I swear on heaven and hell, snake shit, this is not over.
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