Haku's eyes slowly opened as his mind regained consciousness. The first thing he saw was smoke. Choking clouds of smoking, suffocating the air and completely smothering the area. Haku remained laying down as he clutched his forehead which was throbbing with pain. With a few moments of rest, he sat back up and saw the formerly peaceful forest setting.
"W….what happened…?"
The entire area was destroyed. Smoke rose from torched ground, covered in ash. There was an enormous trail of destruction cutting across the earth and ended at a huge crater which completely devastated the land. Haku could only stare in astonishment.
After looking around, Haku noticed the burnt and destroyed body of Zabuza laying several hundred feet away.
"Zabuza-sama!"
Haku struggled to stand and began running toward Zabuza's fallen body. "Geh!" As Haku ran, blood shot out of his mouth. The strange thing that Naruto did earlier with his gauntlet had done a great deal of damage. Still, Haku ignored the pain and continued to dash toward Zabuza, ignoring Naruto who was lying on the ground sleeping.
Haku reached Zabuza's side, his body on the brink of failure. He coughed up more blood but tried to keep strong. "Z-Zabuza-sama, are you…ok? How are you feeling?"
Zabuza was somewhere between death and life; his mind was straying from consciousness and unconsciousness. After hearing Haku calling his name, he stirred and one of his eyelids slowly lifted.
"Haku…..We lost, didn't we…."
Tears started flowing from Haku's eyes "No, Zabuza-sama. We're both still alive. We'll live to fight another day. This is just one loss of many; remember that he lost to you many times already."
Zabuza painfully shook his head "No, he let me win those times. He has surpassed me already. I can tell from his chakra, from the evil taint that traces it. There are only 9 beings that can possess a tainted chakra like him. That boy, without a doubt…he is a…"
Before Zabuza could finish, he coughed out blood and started shaking violently. Haku immediately comforted him and managed to restrain him. Quickly, Haku began assessing the amount of damage and how to treat the wound. Haku had some training in medical ninjutsu, though nowhere near as proficient as a medical ninja, he could still at least fix some of the damage.
Haku formed a one handed seal and closed his eyes in concentration. After focusing for a moment, his hand glowed green from healing chakra, and he gently placed it on the burns covering Zabuza's body. This particular medical ninjutsu was used to clean the wound and speed up cellular growth so skin could be grown again, sealing the wound. If used in a certain way, it could heal most burns, but Haku was no medical ninja, he only knew enough to heal just a small portion.
"Haku…just leave me… I'm going to die soon anyway…"
"No, Zabuza-sama! I won't let you die! Don't worry, I can fix this. I can do it!"
Despite Haku's best efforts, Zabuza's condition worsened rapidly. His heartbeat was dropping and his mind constantly fluttered in and out of consciousness and unconsciousness. Haku, franticly put more effort into his healing, refusing to accept that the wound was much too much for someone of Haku's level to heal.
"Zabuza-sama! I won't give up!" Haku redoubled his efforts, but he simply wasn't advanced enough to treat such a wound. Soon, Haku's already depleted chakra was drained next to zero and he could no longer keep on the strenuous chakra draining healing technique. Haku could only scream as his healing jutsu sputtered out and died once the supply of chakra ran out.
"No! Come on! Damnit, don't fail me! Come on!" Haku screamed and tried to mold more chakra but it was no longer there. He was completely drained. Chakra depletion was beginning to take its effect and he was on the verge of collapsing but he continued to force himself to mold chakra. If he continued, he would most likely die.
It was at this time that Naruto appeared, walking toward the frantic Haku. After defeating Zabuza, he just dropped to the floor and fell asleep in a moment. He was completely exhausted from the fighting, but just a few moments sleep would rejuvenate his energy.
"Move."
Naruto simply said and roughly shoved Haku out of the way, who no longer had the energy to retaliate. Naruto formed a chakra channeling hand seal and then placed both of his palms on Zabuza's injury. Naruto's touch caused pain to shoot up in Zabuza's abdomen, and he groaned as hands came in contact with his painful wound.
"Stop it! You're hurting him!" Haku tried to stop Naruto, but he could barely lift his fist off the ground. Naruto ignored Haku and Zabuza's groan, and began focusing his chakra. Within moments, his hand began glowing in a strange yellow-greenish color instead of the healing green. With this, Zabuza's wounds rapidly began healing, to the extent that not even a scar would be left.
Haku stared in amazement as Naruto healed Zabuza. The wounds rapidly healed, as if 20 years was being fast forwarded within 10 seconds. Soon, all of Zabuza's wounds were completely healed. It was almost a miracle, something that only the best medical ninjas could hope to accomplish.
"What…what was that? W-what kind of medical ninjutsu was that?" Haku stuttered. Naruto finally spoke.
"I don't know a thing about medical ninjutsu. In fact, I didn't even know what I was doing." Haku would've slapped Naruto if he had the strength. "All I know is that if I modify the way I mold chakra, I can heal almost any wound. Call it some ability or something."
A bloodline? Then what was that chakra blast thing he unleashed earlier? Haku thought. This blonde was really quite a mysterious being. But he chose to leave those questions for later; his attention was focused on Zabuza right now.
"He's all right now." Naruto stepped back and Haku crawled to Zabuza's side, who weakly lifted one of his eyelids.
"H-haku…will you…leave me here?" Haku gently smiled. His face was that of an angel. For a moment, the Demon and the Angel looked at each other. One was smiling, while the other struggled to live.
"No, Zabuza-sama. I won't leave you, because you never left me."
------------------------------------------------------------------Flashback-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Country of Water
As the name suggested, the Country of Water was located next to the ocean and included several islands, upon which the Hidden Village of Mist was located. Mizu no Kuni or the Country of Water, was a conflicted land, that had seen many senseless civil wars. Hundreds and hundreds of people were exterminated for the worst reasons, with battles breaking out everywhere.
It was in this troubled land and era when Haku was born. Born to a poor peasant family, Haku lived a simple rural life at first. Loved by nearly all the townspeople, Haku was known as a innocent cute child. Life was simple.
But in one day, everything changed.
Mizu no Kuni was undergoing a genocide. People with bloodline limits were persecuted everywhere. They were publicly tortured and then executed. Those days, people feared everything strange and unknown, which included bloodline abilities. The Hidden Village of Mist had recently executed thousands of civilians on a false account of them being spies for other villages. With people fearing nearly everything, they turned to a small minority in order to vent out their own feelings.
On a normal day, Haku was out playing. He had expected the day to be just like the other days, living a carefree life. Until that moment, life was normal and the Earth had continued spinning.
Until that moment.
Before Haku knew it, there was a giant block of ice in front him. He had only followed a whim, and followed a strange feeling in his mind. In a place where there was nothing but space was now a giant block of ice. Haku stared in amazement at the ice he believed he just created. For the next 2 hours, he experimented, trying to replicate the feeling.
Eventually, he finally discovered the secret. He could create a small ball of ice in the palm of his hand whenever he wanted, wherever he wanted. At first, he thought it was a dream. But with every time he created more ice, he began to believe this was reality.
The first thing the child Haku did was to show his father. As a child at that time, naturally, Haku would turn to his parents to show them his neat little trick. He walked up to his father, and formed a ball of ice right in front of him. That was when Haku's halcyon days ended. That was when his life changed forever.
His father discovered that Haku's mother carried the Hyoton bloodline, the bloodline gifted with the ability to manipulate water element and wind element to form ice. Without warning, his father and a mob from town stormed Haku's home, and caught Haku's screaming mother. Then before Haku's eyes, his father beheaded his mother. Right before him, her head fell to the ground before him, her glazed dead eyes staring into Haku's for all eternity. Forever in Haku's mind, the image of his mother's dead unseeing eyes would be blazed in his memory.
Then his father turned on him. His father raised his ax, poised to kill Haku with the same weapon that ended his mother's life. It was then when Haku lost control. He didn't know if it was anger or sadness of his mother's death. He didn't know if it was revenge that drove him to do it. He didn't know if it was the feeling of betrayal and anger of seeing the faces he grew up with curse at him. One moment, Haku was whimpering for his life. The next, his entire house was destroyed, the mob ripped to shreds, and a giant field of razor sharp icicles sticking from the ground. Bloodied corpses were impaled on the icicles, with blood leaking down the cold substance. Haku was in shock, for the only thing that was left of the mob was bunches of meat, red and bleeding, no different than the carcass of an animal.
In was in that day that Haku's world had stopped spinning.
-
For one whole year, Haku drifted from town to town, place to place. He had no home to go to, no place to stay. He drifted like a ghost, people looking straight past him. Everyone ignored him, no one noticed him. It was as if he was a ghost. Haku felt like a ghost, weightless, useless, and doomed to wander the world until the end would come.
Namelessly, Haku trudged the long road. He lived off the scraps in the trash, slept under what little shelter he could find. He was reduced to living like an animal, begging for his food, and surrendering his last shreds of humanity just to live a little bit longer. He had not used his bloodline since the day his mother was killed.
Soon, Haku was on the verge of death, wandering around on a poverty-stricken town. It was then he met him. A man exactly like Haku. He had no name, no home, no place to go. He lived like an animal, fighting and killing to survive just a little bit longer. All he was, was a killer, a tool. He only killed and killed, basking in the blood of his enemies.
He was Momochi Zabuza, former shinobi of the Mist. He had been exiled for his failed attempt to overthrow Akatsuki's control over his village. For years, he had been on the run, drifting from town to town just like Haku. He kept himself alive by working for various officials, hiding under a fake identity.
"Hey kid. What are you doing here?" Zabuza had asked Haku that day. Haku remained silent.
"Don't you have a place to go? Where are you parents?" Haku simply shook his head. Zabuza immediately knew what his answer would be.
"I see. No place for you to go, just like me. If you stay strong, you just might live." Zabuza sighed "So why is it that you are wandering around, talking to trash like me?"
Haku didn't respond in words but in actions. He didn't know why, but he felt as if he could trust this man. This man wouldn't turn him in. He instinctively knew that this man wouldn't persecute him just for having a bloodline nor hate him for it. It was as if somewhere deep in his soul, he was connected to this man. They were the same, Haku and him. Always running, no place to go, no home to return to.
Haku formed a ball of ice in his hands. It simply formed out of nowhere, from thin air. Zabuza's eyes widened in shock for a single moment before returning to its harsh glare.
"I see. You carry a bloodline." Haku nodded while Zabuza chuckled lightly. "To carry such a powerful ability and not to be used, what a pity."
"You see, kid, shinobi exist as tools. They are nothing more, nothing less. We do what is necessary to complete our mission. We do not feel, we do not have emotions. That is the life of a shinobi. I don't care what you are, what you have done, and what you want to do. All I want is power." Haku listened on with rapt attention, drinking in every word that Zabuza said.
"And you have power. Kid, do you want to keep wandering around for the rest of your life? Do you just want to live with no reason? I can give you a purpose. Join me and fight for me as a tool. You won't have to walk around anymore knowing that you have no purpose in life nor a reason to live. What do you say?"
It was in that moment Haku already knew what his answer was going to be. He nodded.
Zabuza smirked and held out his hand. Haku shook it. "I'm Momochi Zabuza. From now on, you will fight as my weapon and in return for your abilities; I will give you a place in this world."
It was in that day, Haku no longer had to just drift aimlessly for the rest of his life, searching for a place to go. He had found a place in the world as a shinobi. There was a reason for him to exist now. He would exist only for Zabuza, and live only for him. His life was now just one of Zabuza's weapons. Somewhere deep inside, he knew it was somewhat wrong, but drifting around aimlessly from town to town, to know that he was not needed in this world was one of the greatest pains he ever felt. But now, Zabuza would need him. He would need his bloodline ability. That in itself restored Haku's will to live.
In that day, Haku's world began spinning once again.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------End Flashback
Tears started flowing from the angelic face of Haku as he cradled Zabuza's head. Zabuza had fallen unconscious again. "I'm sorry, Zabuza-sama, I wasn't able…I wasn't able to protect you or do as you wished. I failed, Zabuza-sama."
"Oy, are you still crying about losing to me?" Naruto called out. He was lazily lying on the branch of a tree. His calm disposition and seemingly unmarked body had made it seem as if he hadn't just been a major fight.
Haku glared at the blonde "Shut up. How can you be so relaxed? You should be dead by now!"
"Ah well, I've always healed pretty quick." Naruto shrugged. "But you know, that guy could've killed me a long time ago if he just took the time to make sure I was dead. It's his fault that he was careless and let me survive."
"Shut up! Don't say things about Zabuza-sama like that! He cut nearly cut you in half; of course he thought you would be dead!"
"Wow, you really love this guy don't you?"
"Shut up!" Haku stood up angry and pissed. He would try to attack the blonde but he had next to no chakra and could barely stay awake with his injuries. So he took a different approach. "And what about you? What happened to that little friend of yours that I beat?"
"What? Inari? Oh right, where did he go? I haven't seen him in a while." Naruto looked around, finally noticing that Inari wasn't there. In fact, Naruto had completely forgotten about him. Haku smirked and whispered under his breath "Idiot."
"Oh well. Let's get back to town." Naruto turned around and started walking. Haku stared at him in confusion.
"Who are you talking to?"
"Why you of course. Who else do you think I'm talking to? The birds? Anyways, I'm sure they can treat your wounds better at town."
"Why are you trying to help us? Aren't we your enemies?"
"Ahh….not really. Weren't you guys just hired by Gato? And since Gato is gone, there's no point in fighting me if you get no money. So you guys are just free agents now. So, do you want to go to town or not? Of course, you're free to just sit there if you like."
Haku stared at the blonde for a moment longer before kneeling to pick up Zabuza. He slumped the body over his shoulder and began following Naruto. His logic did make sense after all.
"Need help?" Naruto offered. Haku shook his head "No."
"Well then let's get going! Oh wait, Inari isn't here…" Naruto forgot Inari once again. After a moment of intense thinking, Naruto grinned and just returned to walking "Well, he knows how to get back to town. We'll see him soon."
------------------
Inari stood before the slain body of Gato with his fists shaking in fury. After waiting so long, after beating himself up every day for so many years just for this moment. Then to have his prey snatched before him. He couldn't stand it.
He had found Gato's dead body as he took off from the battle scene at the bridge once he saw Naruto had defeated Zabuza. He didn't want to rush off so unexpectedly, but he was eager to find Gato and exact his revenge. But he didn't expect to see the dead body of Gato, with a gaping hole in his chest and one arm ripped off. After so long, the once feared tyrant lay dead like some beggar in the street, his luxurious clothes dirtied and soiled.
He bristled with absolute anger and fury. His teeth clenched and his hand shook the grip of his sword hard. Finally, he let out a loose roar and raised his sword. He began beating down on Gato's body, letting his overflowing emotions into his strikes. He continuously sliced Gato into pieces, not letting up on his furious blows. Within moments, Gato's body was reduced to a pile of flesh, torn to ribbons. Still, Inari refused to let up on his blows.
Soon, Inari's weary muscles cried out for him to stop. His weak and injured body was only held up by his sheer willpower. All his energy had left him, and blood leaked out from his reopened wounds, but he refused to stop. He couldn't stop. His mind, almost in a dreamlike state, could hardly see anything else except for the blood flying out everywhere.
For what seemed to be an eternity, Inari sliced the corpse up into something that people would only recognize as some sort of animal carcass, not what used to be a living human being. Finally, the young boy collapsed as his muscles completely gave up and shut down. For nearly an hour, Inari lay next to the pile of flesh, crushed bone, and blood, breathing deeply as his body finally received the rest it so desperately wanted.
It was over. Everything. His revenge, the only thing he lived for, was now stolen from him. He had worked so hard for it too, but everything seemingly was snatched from him. Inari could only curse his fate, his cursed destiny that forced him to lose everything that kept him going.
He looked up into the sky, resting his arm over his forehead. It was a cloudy grey sky, full of sorrow. Inari lightly chuckled and let his arm drop to his side. It was the same sky that he stood under 3 years ago with his dead father. The skies looked no less dreary or tragic as it had that day than today.
After a moment of blank staring, Inari reached into his pocket and pulled out the scroll that he had found Gato holding. What compelled him to keep the scroll was what sealed it together. The seal of Akatsuki, 9 all-seeing eyes that seemed to pierce into your very soul and make your worst fears true. He slowly unfurled the scroll and read the contents, which was only full of one single cryptic message.
Inari stared at the scroll for a moment before letting his hands drop back to the blood soaked ground.
Inari's face was blank and unreadable as he said to himself.
"I see…."
----------------------Several Hours Later-----------------
Flames erupted from the wrecked building, and a huge pillar of smoke rose into the gray overcast skies. People stood around the house in a circle, each of them carrying torches. After hurling the flames into the burning building, many began cheering and jumping around for joy.
The first thing Naruto did after returning to town battered and weary was to explain that Gato had fled the island with his forces almost completely demolished. Gato never had that much of an army in the first place, usually relying on the powerful Zabuza and his men to maintain fear in the village. Naruto had to do quite a lot of convincing to let the wounded Haku and the near dead Zabuza rest in the only hospital in the whole island. Many hated them, as they were Gato's best men.
Naruto, now worshipped as the hero who defeated Zabuza and overthrew Gato, then rallied up the townspeople with an inspiring speech (involving ramen for some strange reason) to rise up against the last remains of Gato's regime. The townsfolk took up arms, grabbing whatever they found from pitchforks to kitchen knives, and charged Gato's many estates. Without the support of Zabuza's ninjas, the hired thugs were easily overwhelmed.
Now, the house of Gato burned away, as if the flames were melting away Gato's influence forever. People danced merrily around the blaze, shouted raucously and gleefully celebrating their new found freedom.
"It's over…it's finally over…" Tazuna's form slumped to the ground next to Naruto, tears leaking from the corner of his eyes. "Thank you, Naruto-kun…thank you…"
"Uh-hum." Naruto cleared his throat with a cough and remarked "Well, since I singlehandedly got rid of Gato though Inari did most of the grunt work, I think some rewards are in order."
"Reward?" the townsfolk turned and glared at the blonde.
"Yes….The thing I want is the number one most important thing in the world, a treasure that cannot be matched. A thing that all men seek after and desire for their lives. An object so precious, so wonderful…" Naruto dramatically declared. The men glanced around in fear, as they knew they stood no chance should the blonde get pissed that the island had nothing to offer to him, besides the treasures they found in Gato's vault. Though they planned to use it to rejuvenate the island's economy and restore life to the people, they knew they could not keep it should the blonde desire the riches.
"Please, Naruto-sama, that treasure is…" one young man begged. The others followed suit.
"Shut up! I get what I deserve for all of this hard work!" Naruto yelled and the people cowered in fear.
"Then…"
"That's right, right now, your town will give me all of it's…."
The tension in the air was immense….
"RAMEN!"
-
Inari dragged himself back to town once he bandaged his wounds. After resting for a few hours, Inari found the strength to stand up and leave. He left the bloodied remains of Gato for the numerous vultures flying in the air, their eyes gleaming at the sight of the meat.
He dragged his sword behind him by the chain he had installed in the sword, leaving it drag behind him quite a distance. His kept his face downward and his eyes hidden. He was at the outskirts of town, which was now abandoned. There was giant bonfire in the town center where the population of Wave had gathered for their celebration of their newfound freedom.
"Those idiots, do they seriously think that they can overthrow a Shugaki without consequence?" Inari bitterly spat "those fools. They're going to die soon."
Inari slowly arrived at the celebrations. There he found the townsfolk eating and drinking to their heart's content, taking what little the island had left. People were dancing around the bonfire and singing. He saw Tsunami and Tazuna glance around anxiously, probably worried about him. He also saw the forms of Haku and Zabuza, bandaged up, laying in the cots in the dirty pavilion which served as the town's only hospital. And there, he saw that annoying blonde sitting with an engorged stomach feeding on bowl after bowl of ramen noodles.
Inari growled dangerously and then spoke up in a loud voice "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
The people turned their attention on him. Many squeaked in fear as they saw the boy which many of the town feared. He exhibited an aura of pure annoyance, as he seemingly looked down upon the villager's attics with distaste and disgust. Tazuna and Tsunami looked relieved, while Naruto continued to shovel food down his throat.
"Yo, Inari!" Naruto grinned "Nice of you to join us. Gotta give a celebration for the town's hero, right? Let's have some ramen!"
"What the hell do you think you people are doing, especially you?" Inari glared at Naruto. "Acting like some little kids on their birthday, what's gotten into you?"
One bold man retorted "Shut up, brat! We haven't had reason to party for more than a decade! Don't try to take our fun away because your some kid who's experienced some hardship. We all did you know?"
Tazuna also spoke up "He's right, Inari. This is a day which we should celebrate. Where were you?"
Inari snorted "Celebrate? Oh I'm sorry, congratulations on your freedom…" Inari's words were laced with sarcasm.
"Amen to that!" Naruto yelled in a drunken matter, oblivious to the atmosphere.
"Oh, and to tell you, Gato is dead. He's being eaten by a few birds just 3 miles from the bridge." Inari sneered. Many people looked surprised, while some were disgusted. "So, it's all over now. The good guys win, the bad guys lose and we all live happily ever after."
Some people relaxed at his words, but he suddenly exploded "DON'T FUCKING KID ME!"
"We just got rid of Gato, congrats, but there's a bigger problem to deal with! We took out a Shugaki! Do you seriously think that Akatsuki will let this ride? Do you think that they'll just let us free? Do you seriously have time to just laze around here happily and be this merry? You may have won freedom, but we have just forfeited our lives for it!"
The entire center became as silent as the grave. Even the small children and babies had frozen. After what seemed to be an eternity, a man who obviously thought he was smart arrogantly replied.
"So? As long as they don't know Gato is dead, we'll be fine! Only tax collectors come here, so we can just get someone to fake as one of Gato's men, and give them the taxes. Akatsuki wouldn't care or know the difference at all! Wave country's really important anyways."
Inari laughed at that "Gato may not be a shinobi nor has a strong army, but he was still a Shugaki, one of Akatsuki's administrators. It won't work. Plus, you seriously overlooked one thing. I was not the one who killed him."
There were loud audible gasps of surprise from the people. Whispers ran through the crowd. Some people were stunned, as everyone knew Inari's vendetta.
"As much as it sucks to admit it, I didn't kill Gato. No, the chance was taken away from me."
"Then who killed him?"
"See for yourself."
Inari pulled out a scroll and lightly tossed it to the people. They caught it and gingerly opened it. The people read it. Once they finished, their eyes widened in horror and their bodies shook.
"N-no way…."
"That's…That's the seal of Akatsuki….and the symbol of the Shugaki." The man pointed out the 9 eyed symbol with dragons sprouting from each eye representing Akatsuki and the kanji character written in blood red representing the Shugaki
Some people screamed, some fainted, while some fell to the ground in a daze, their minds unresponsive due to the shock.
"Hmmm?" Let me see." Naruto finally stopped eating ramen and grabbed the scroll. He read it with a confused expression on his face. The scroll only had one phrase.
"Akatsuki no Shita, Akatsukiyami wa Agaru." Naruto read aloud. People cringed as they heard the phrase. Underneath those words was the kanji for the words Hokuto or the Northern Star. "What's this mean?"
People froze, as if no one wanted to explain to him. After a long moment of silence, Inari spoke "Underneath the Red Moon, a moonless dawn will rise." Inari intoned "that is the message Akatsuki sends to each town before an Akatsuki member comes to visit that place."
"Visit? Like an inspection?" Naruto curiously asked. It was not unheard of for an Akatsuki to visit a various area for inspections. Though it was rare, it did happen on rare occasions once an Akatsuki got bored or something.
"No,they only send that when Akatsuki personally annihilates a town." Inari said his face serious. "In other words, one of the Akatsuki will come to destroy us personally."
It was a thing that all people feared. Akatsuki members who got bored or bloodthirsty or simply just wanted to kill would send that letter with the phrase written in it to whatever place they want destroyed. Within some time, that place would have vanished off the face of the world forever. Normally, most of Akatsuki's forces would just destroy the town and let the people go. But if an Akatsuki decided to annihilate someone, they left no one alive. Not even a corpse would be left, as the Akatsuki would thoroughly eliminate everything. The letter was merely a formality, a technicality that would allow people time to flee in order to quell dissent from the people. But usually, by the time people finished the letter, Akatsuki would've already attacked.
"W-we're going to die…" people muttered. Soon there was a panic as people started running around, panicking and scrambling to find a way out of town. Inari stood with his eyes closed as Tsunami and Tazuna tried to make him move, but he stood like a rock. Soon, the once cheery town center was devoid of all people except for the silent Inari and Naruto, who hid his expression by looking down and allowing his bangs to cover his head.
"Aren't you going to run?" Inari asked in a dead voice.
"Nah." Naruto calmly said.
"Heh, well, it's useless to try anyway. We're already doomed." Inari said. Then there was silence between the two. For a blissful moment, all was peaceful. Then, the explosion came.
-
The explosion rumbled the earth, causing many of the fleeing people to fall down. Tremors violently shook the earth and fire with smoke rose into the air. Ashes were sent everywhere, leaving little bright orange sparks hanging in the air. The fleeing people stood aghast, staring at the horrible scene of destruction before them.
The bridge, the only method of entry and exit from the island had been blown up. Completely. It was incinerated. Metal rods were melted into sloppy globs, while some stood out like twisted spikes, ready to impale whatever poor thing should land on it. Concrete fell into the waters below and melted cables soon followed. The entire bridge had been destroyed.
A desperate man threw himself into the water, intending on swimming back to the mainland. A mistake, as the water suddenly changed itself in the form of a Suiryuudan and swallowed the man, drowning him within its depths.
"No way… we can't get out!" one woman panicked. On the distant bank, shadowy figures could be seen, preparing a jutsu should someone else try to swim across the river. The coast was full of shinobi, preparing to kill any who could cross the waters.
It was then that Tazuna knew, they were doomed.
-
Naruto sat, and for the first time, chose not to touch the ramen sitting before him Inari sat across from him, along with Haku. Zabuza laid on the cot placed next to the table the 4 were gathered around.
"So, what do we do now?" Naruto spoke, breaking the icy tension.
"There's nothing we can do. Akatsuki will come, whether it be today or one week from today. First, they'll surround us and starve us out. Then they'll come in and kill us all, men and women, old and young." Zabuza spoke in a gruff tone, trying to avoid looking at anyone. Zabuza, who onced worked for an Akatsuki official was quite knowledgeable on the matter.
"Then, why don't we work together here? We might all survive then." Naruto cheerfully said, grinning widely.
"Shut up. Why the hell would I work with you?" Both Inari and Zabuza said angrily. Haku didn't say anything but glared at Naruto.
"Well, think about it. You guys don't work for Gato anymore, so you have no reason to fight us."
"True, but we have no reason to fight with you either."
"If you fight with us, you guys might be able to live."
Zabuza pondered over it for a while. Haku gave him a nod to signify that he had no issues with it at all. Plus, the blonde's words were true. There was no apparent downside and no reason for them to not work together. After all, if the boy could beat him, he would be a great asset to escape, or even a diversion if things got too hot. At last, Zabuza sighed and said.
"Fine. I'll help you guys get off, but that's it."
"Excellent! Then we should devise a plan to get off the island." Naruto looked pleased "Any plans?"
"First, the only time for us to escape would be the exact moment Akatsuki decides to annihilate Wave, so we could slip out during the confusion. So we just wait until they attack and sneak out. Inari-kun you…" Haku spoke up this time but was quickly interrupted.
"I'm not doing anything. Who said I'm part of your group? I'm sorry to say, but I don't really want to work with you guys. I fight alone." Inari declared and stood up to leave. Holding his sheath at his side, Inari calmly walked away from the group with his eyes partially closed.
Naruto called after him "Hey! Didn't we just fight together? You sure you don't want to work together?"
Inari, without looking back, responded "No, we didn't. I fought my guy and lost, and you fought your guy and won. That's it. We didn't work together to win, we just fought our own separate opponents. And to answer your second question, I don't need your help so no, I don't want to work together… There's no reason for me to fight with you guys."
Silence ensued after Inari left. The 3 sat around, staring at each other. Zabuza summed up all of their thoughts in one statement. "What the hell is his problem?"
Naruto shrugged "He's always like that. Don't worry about that."
Haku interrupted him and finished off the explanation of his plan.
Little did they know, just outside of the island, 20 hooded figures had arrived at the bridge. 20 figures with a kanji character written in blood red on their backs. The Shugaki
------
"Kakuzu-sama, we have arrived." The leader of the group of Shugaki bowed before the Akatsuki member, averting his eyes to stare at the edge of the man's black cloak.
"Report, Saito." Kakuzu emotionlessly replied. He locked his glowing eyes on the man and the bowing Shugaki behind him. They all looked slightly scared and very tense, as if Kakuzu was ready to pounce and kill any of them at any moment. And they knew they could not resist either.
But at any rate, they were safe for now. Kakuzu was extremely impulsive, and at the very moment he felt a need to kill, he would kill anyone from little children or babies to old fragile people to his men or even his comrades. He had even killed some of his fellow Akatsuki members, just at a whim. However, at this moment, Kakuzu felt no need to kill.
"Sir, we have completely surrounded the island. Boats prevent them from leaving, and the bridge is completely destroyed. No one will be able to escape. Give us the word, and we shall obliterate this town." The man seemed to bow lower, and for the first time, an eager edge could be heard in his words.
"No." Kakuzu simply said. The man looked up quizzically. "I don't feel like killing anyone right now. Rather, you realize that Wave is poor and suffering greatly? There has been a recent drought, and they completely rely on a daily supply drop."
The man nodded his response.
"Then we will wait. For one week, we'll make them suffer and starve." Kakuzu evilly smirked and grinned in a bloodthirsty manner. That grin sent chills running down the nearby shinobi's spines "In one week, we will strike. And by then, they will beg for me to end their pitiful lives."
--------- One Week Later--------
It was the waiting that Zabuza could not stand. As a shinobi, he had been taught patience. Patience in a hot situation was essential to the survival of any shinobi. hotheadedness or impatience or even too much anticipation could lead to the downfall of any shinobi, especially in a hostile situation with no understanding of what could happen.
But all of the shinobi basics were forgotten in the face of an Akatsuki.
Every day, people waited for the inevitable death. Some took the time to build up some sort of defence, but their great resolve quickly crumbled as the island received no supplies or imports. Without food, many had lost their will to live in the oncoming fear of Akatsuki. The overwhelming tension could be seen everywhere, on the streets, on the faces of people, in the very air.
It was what drove Zabuza crazy. It was as if every second of the day was spent in waiting. Waiting for the impending doom brought upon them.
Of course, there was one person who wasn't scared at all.
Uzumaki Naruto proudly walked the streets, smiling as if there wasn't a care in the world. He cheerfully made small talk with people, his ever present grin sticking out in a crowd of endless frowns. He ate the sparse food left on the island without restraint, and acted as if nothing could ever happen. Sometimes, Zabuza wondered whether the boy was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.
Of course, he shared this sentiment with half of the town's populations.
Currently, Zabuza and Haku were lazing around outside, calmly relaxing. The townspeople, though reassured by Naruto, distrusted the two greatly as they were Gato's former men. Naruto himself was off somewhere, chatting with some of the townsfolk. Inari…well, no one had really seen him except for Tsunami, Tazuna, and occasionally Naruto would whenever he ate at Tazuna's home.
"Maaa….today sucks again…." Zabuza commented. The weather was perfect and the sun was shining, but Zabuza always hated that type of weather. It didn't suit him, the Demon of the Mist. "When the hell will Akatsuki get here already? I'm fucking tired of waiting."
"But Zabuza-sama, if Akatsuki should attack, we will most likely die."
"Heh, I couldn't care less. If they want a fight, I'll give them one. But they're just keeping us here like some animal in a cage. That just pisses me off." Zabuza growled. Haku didn't even twitch. For the last week, the pair had usually been lazing around. They ignored Naruto's suggestion that they train. Plus, the blonde didn't even bother to train as well. Their conversations were always the same. Zabuza loudly complained about something that pissed him off such as waiting to die, Naruto, weak shinobi, Naruto, weak Shugaki like Gato, kids with blonde hair who likes to eat ramen, living a normal peaceful life, Naruto and some other stuff. Haku of course, remained silent and would only offer a few words every now and then.
It was a normal day, annoying and boring as usual. It drove Zabuza insane. It was like the calm before the storm. Little did he know, the storm was coming.
----
Dressed in long black cloaks, the 20 Shugaki patrolled the coasts, making sure no one attempted to escape the island by water. Small boats patrolled the waterand various instruments were scattered around the area.
Each of the Shugaki were elite shinobi, high level jounin with the exception of Gato, who was simply a cruel businessman. They were waiting for the creator of their organization and their leader to arrive.
Their leader arrived so silently, that not even the most elite shinobi noticed despite it being broad daylight. "Are the preparations ready?" The gruff voice of Kakuzu sounded. Immediately, the shinobi jumped up in shock and started bowing down.
"K-Kakuzu-sama. We are ready! Give us the signal and we will…" The man was interrupted by Kakuzu.
"Shut up. Just say you are ready. I'm not in the mood to listen to your mindless chatter."
"Y-yes, Kakuzu-sama!"
"Now then, here is what you will do. When I give the word, you will attack the town and kill everyone. Start by surrounding the town, and then work your way through. After that, sweep through the island and kill any survivors. Be sure to look for any hidden shelters." Kakuzu calmly said and turned to leave.
"Kakuzu-sama, what will you be doing?" the Shugaki leader quickly asked.
The Shugaki commander ignored his question and formed a hand seal. To the surprise of everyone, hundreds of threads shot from his sleeves. The numerous threads bound themselves together and fixed a connection between the destroyed bridges, and formed a new bridge of sticky black threads.
"Commence attack."
-----
Explosions rocketed the island. Debris was strewn about the ground, and fire torched the earth. People panicked and screamed, all of them attempting to flee for their lives. A few found hiding spots, but it was useless. Black clad shinobi rushed through the island and the town, slaughtering and cutting down person after person. It was so sudden, so hidden, that even the most prepared civilians were caught in the confusion.
The shinobi had stealthily sneaked into key positions around the town, dropping powerful explosives along the way. In unison, they set off the explosions. In the confusion following the blasts, the shinobi sprang from hiding, slicing any people they saw. They burst into homes, and cut up anyone they saw before blowing up the building completely.
In the confusion, Zabuza and Haku sneaked past the lines of shinobi, who were busy killing people left and right. They quickly ran toward the bridge, where they knew Naruto, the rest of Zabuza's squad, and whatever townsfolk they could find would be waiting.
Suddenly, one of the twenty attackers appeared and blocked the way. Zabuza, without hesitating or stopping, jumped forward and launched a punch. The ninja jumped back and avoided the hit. Since his sword was destroyed by Naruto, Zabuza had no choice but to resort to taijutsu.
"Heh, things are getting interesting now. I'll take him, Haku." Zabuza grinned. Haku nodded.
The masked shinobi said in an arrogant voice "Hmph, are you sure you even have a chance to beat me without the aid of your partner?"
"Oh I'm sure!" Zabuza roared and charged forward, sending a flying sidekick. The Shugaki sidestepped the swing and aimed a kick at Zabuza's exposed opening.
The moment the kick came in contact, Zabuza's body turned into water. It was a water clone. The shugaki didn't even seem surprised. He spun on his feet, hurling a few shuriken as he finished his spin. The shuriken sliced through a nearby bush, where Zabuza hastily leapt out of as the shuriken cut down Zabuza's hiding place to shreds.
"Katon, Hosenka no Jutsu!"
Forming a long string of handseals, Zabuza's opponent sent several balls of fire at Zabuza, who started running to avoid the blasts. He ran in a giant circle around his enemy, as fireballs blew up within feet of him.
"Katon, Karyu Endan!"
Yet another string of handseals. This time, the Shugaki exhaled a incredibly long hot stream of fire similar to a flamethrower. The stream followed the movements of his head as he directed his gaze towards Zabuza.
Acting quickly, Zabuza jumped toward a nearby pond, the smooth surface disturbed as Zabuza's chakra-filled feet supported him on the water. He formed a handseal.
"Suiton, Suijinheki!"
An enormous barrier of water formed from the water in the pond and surrounded Zabuza. The stream of fire came into contact with the barrier and immediately sizzled into steam. Zabuza's barrier, after some time, fell back into the pond from where it came.
"Not bad." The Shugaki said from behind his dark mask. "But it won't be enough to beat me I'm afraid."
Zabuza grinned and laughed sinisterly "Haha! Not enough? I've already beat you!"
"What?" The Shugaki muttered, his eyes darting around looking for anything he could've missed. He glared angrily at Zabuza "What do you mean?"
The swordsman laughed and said "Your feet."
The shinobi looked downward and saw both of his feet encased in a giant block of ice. "Impossible! When?"
Haku stepped out, with his hunter-nin mask down over his face. With the emotionless mask, eerily haunting, Haku's gaze penetrated deeply into the other shinobi's gaze.
Zabuza laughed once more "Haku can form ice so well, that you won't even be able to feel it. You were doomed from the very start."
"You..." the Shugaki growled "You said for him to step back. This was a fight between us. You cheated."
"Cheated? You were stupid enough to fall for my deception. It was not cheating." Zabuza gave a hollow laugh as the bloodthirstiness in his voice deepened "We are shinobi! This is how we fight! The one who lets down his guard is the one who will lose their head!"
Zabuza charged forward and swung his kunai. The sick sound of metal slicing through flesh echoed through the air as the head of the Shugaki fell to the ground with a thump. The body soon toppled to the ground as well, once Haku got rid of his ice.
"Heh, that was fun." Zabuza carelessly tossed away his bloodied weapon. "Let's go, Haku."
With a silent nod, the two were off again, dashing as fast as they could toward the coast closest to the mainland. Another Akatuki official down...
----
Naruto was in deep trouble. He knew it. It had started when the attack started. Instead of fleeing like he had planned, his first priority was to help the townsfolk escape. He and several shadow clones had led as many as he could through series of underground tunnels, which he had built in the last week by using thousands and thousands of shadow clones while no one noticed. He knew Akatsuki would find them, which was why he depended on his second plan; escaping the island and attracting the attention of his pursuers. If they found out that someone had escaped the annihilation, than he knew Akatsuki would focus their efforts of pursuing him, rather than making sure they finished the job.
Hopefully, he would manage to run a giant loop around his pursuers and go back to Wave Country and eliminate any enemies there before they did a body count and notice that there was a large majority of supposed corpses missing. Then, he would lead them to a hiding place he knew of. If he was somehow killed before he could reach them...well he hoped Inari would be able to protect them.
So that was how he was surrounded by 4 Shugaki, all of them bearing various weapons. Naruto knew he couldn't just take them on. There was no time for that. He knew he had to go all out and get rid of them as fast as possible.
Naruto took a deep breathe and closed his eyes as if in meditation. He lifted up his gauntlet-covered right arm. Using his left arm, he unclasped the gauntlet...
-
Naruto quickly left behind the smoldering corpses that was left of the 4 elite shinobi. The attack that he launched had greatly exhausted his chakra and cut it by at least a quarter. But it was necessary if he wanted to get off the island in time. As the sounds of destruction raged on in the background, Naruto dashed toward the coast where he and Zabuza were supposed to rendezvous.
Luckily, he managed to avoid any more of Akatsuki's men.
After several long minutes of solid running, he finally reached his destination, slightly out of breath. Zabuza and Haku were already there. They were waiting impatiently. Zabuza glared at Naruto dangerously.
"You're late.
"Ah sorry! I kinda ran into a little trouble..." Naruto sheepishly said while rubbing the back of his head with his hand. They were currently at the burned remains of the old bridge connecting the mainland to Wave country.
"Whatever, lets hurry the hell up and get out of here before it's too late." Zabuza nodded toward Haku.
Forming a chakra-gathering hand seal, Haku took a deep breath and reached deeply into his chakra stores. It was essential that Haku conserve his chakra as they made their escape from the town, as his ability to create ice was the very thing that could get them out of this island.
Haku molded his chakra and slowly, the moisture in the air slowly gathered into a sphere of water. Suddenly, the sphere of water transformed into ice, which molded itself into the shape of a bridge, connecting the the twisted remains of the old bridge toward the other wreckage on the main island. As soon as the bridge was formed, Haku fell to his knees, breathing deeply as his chakra was depleted by half.
"Sorry, but we don't have time to rest." Naruto said and helped Haku onto his feet. The trio then leaped onto the bridge of ice, quickly dashing across the slippery ice using chakra to increase traction on their feet.
As soon as they reached the other side, the ice bridge collapsed into giant chunks of ice as Haku's chakra gave up on holding it together. It fell into the water with a giant splash.
"Now let's hurry before they catch on." Zabuza gruffly said and looked around. The coast was clear. The three started to move...
"Where do you think you're going?"
A deadly pressure, beyond anything any of the trio ever experienced pushed down on their heads. Terrifying killer intent drenched the air and made it nearly impossible to breathe. Anything living nearby froze in place, just from sheer fear emanating from within. It was a feel whatever presence beyond any of them. It was the presence of a tremendous killer, who slaughtered thousands and thousands without remorse or hesitation.
Zabuza and Haku, their eyes widened and body shaking in fear slowly turned their necks to see the source of the voice. Naruto stood frozen, as if he knew who was behind him without even having to look. Only a few ninja could exhibit such a cruel aura of horror.
Standing behind them was the 6th member of Akatsuki and the official Treasurer of Akatsuki, Kakuzu.
He was wearing the dreadful Akatsuki cloak, of blood-red clouds over pure blackness. His head was covered with white cloth while he wore a face mask covering his nose and mouth. He had a pair of strange glowing green eyes, which seemed to strike fear in the heart of anyone who dared to look upon the eyes. Even with the mask covering his face, one had to just stand in his presence to feel Kakuzu's sheer aggressiveness, and his desire to spill blood, his need to bring despair upon others.
"Answer my question, where do you think you're going." Kakuzu said quietly and deadly. He looked relaxed wearing his long black cloak and his masked face betrayed no emotion whatsoever. He seemed to curiously observe the three who managed to slip past his men. They said nothing as a feeling of complete fear engulfed them.
"Very well. If you wish to die that quickly." He raised his hand bearing the ring with the kanji for north to shoulder height. Suddenly, the hand shot out, propelled by hundreds of black threads.
"Move!" Naruto shouted as he jumped out of the way. Zabuza jumped too, but Haku was completely frozen in place. With his chakra exhausted from creating the bridge, he couldn't help but get caught frozen in the deadly glare of Kakuzu's glowing eyes. Kakuzu's fingers wrapped around the boys neck...
"Come on, snap out of it!" Naruto yelled as he grabbed Haku and pulled him out of Kakuzu's grip before his fingers could tighten and snap Haku's neck. Haku seemed to snap out of it, and he regained control of his body as he looked around in confusion.
"Hmph." Kakuzu retracted his hand, which reattached itself to his arm without leaving even a small line.
"What do you want from us?" Naruto angrily hissed.
"I just wish to see who was the one who removed Gato from power, that is all." Kakuzu simply stated, his unblinking gaze never flinching. "That is why I used some members of my Shugaki to attack, even though I could perfectly well kill everyone on this island; it was to test their strength."
"Well, you could say that I'm the one who got rid of Gato." Naruto arrogantly said, despite the slight feeling of nervousness gripping his mind.
"I see...well I'll make an offer to you. Take Gato's position as a Shugaki and I'll let you live and even work for me." Kakuzu said, raising his ring-bearing finger. "It is too troublesome for me to find someone else to take the position. Besides, I was planning on...replacing Gato anyway."
"That's a good offer." Naruto said, pretending to think it over "but I'll have to refuse. You see, I despise Akatsuki and I'd rather die than work for you." It took nearly all of Naruto's willpower to say that while looking into Kakuzu's eyes, with his face defiant as ever.
Kakuzu's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't push it, kid. I'm offering you a chance to live."
"Well I say that you take your job offer and go to hell with it." Naruto fearlessly said, though adrenaline pumped through his mind and he readied for another attack. Zabuza and Haku exchanged glances and then readied to run at a moment's notice, clearly nervous.
"Fine then. If that's your answer..." Kakuzu glared at him and raised his arm to shoulder height "Then there is no reason for you to live."
Black threads shout out of his sleeve and rocketed toward Naruto, who jumped up into the air and avoided them. The razor-like strings bore tiny holes in the ground. If he was hit, Naruto was sure those threads would pierce his body as if it was nothing.
Hundreds of the dark threads shot from Kakuzu's sleeves. Naruto jumped from place to place, avoiding a painful death with every movement he made. Haku and Zabuza tried to flee the area but then encountered several of Kakuzu's Shugaki.
"You're not going anywhere." The leader of the 6-man squad stood before Zabuza. The elite jounin glared at the fellow jounins.
"As if I'd listen to weaklings like you!" Haku and Zabuza charged forward, and soon the battle was on.
-
Naruto carefully scanned the area for any unknown threats. Kakuzu stood before him, relaxed and calm. He seemed to be enjoying to toy with his prey. Naruto stared at him and then reached his hand back into his shuriken holster, pulled out 3 shuriken and hurled it with great speed and accuracy.
Kakuzu moved his arm and effortlessly caught the 3 out of the air as if they were just toy balls that little kids played with. The 3 shuriken rotated on 3 of his fingers as he twirled them around.
"Not bad. That was a good throw for someone of your age, but..." Kakuzu suddenly disappeared from the spot.
Naruto gasped and whirled on the spot, searching for his enemy. "Where did he go?"
"You're sorely mistaken if you think this attack could possible affect me in anyway." Kakuzu's voice came from behind Naruto, making the hair on the back of his neck stand. Naruto's eyes widened and he spun around, bringing out a sharpened kunai and slashed at the spot where he heard Kakuzu's voice. No one was there. Naruto slightly relaxed.
Suddenly, a powerful elbow thrust came in contact with the backside of Naruto's head. The immense force behind it sent waves of unimaginable pain through Naruto's body, as well as sending him rocketing through the air at speeds no human body should reach. The sheer power behind the blow was amazing, and would've killed any lesser or normal shinobi or civilian instantly, and would've at least permanently injured even the strongest jounin. But, Naruto was no normal shinobi.
He crashed into the forest of trees nearby, reducing numerous trees into splinters as his momentum finally stopped. His body was covered in numerous bruises, deep cuts, and lots of his own blood. He gasped for air. Naruto supposed it was due to his inner tenant that kept him alive and conscious. Otherwise, he would've died or been knocked unconscious.
As shock waves of pain echoed through his body, he fell to the ground. Almost instantly, he felt his wounds closing and healing. The enormous bleeding hole at the spot where the blow struck had healed over quickly as if there had been no injury. Must be its power...it works almost seven times as fast when I'm near death Naruto thought as pain started to leave his body.
He slowly stood up as he felt less pain. Eventually, his body was completely healed, leaving nothing but smudges of dirt and exhaustion. Kakuzu observed him with a very calculating gaze. He was deeply serious, as his glowing eyes stared at him in deep concentration.
What kind of healing ability is that? That should have at least knocked him out . This kid...is not normal...he may not even be human... that was certainly no ability any human could possess. Kakuzu's eyes narrowed as he prepared the three shuriken that Naruto had thrown at him. I must see the extent of this power.
Kakuzu lazily swung his right arm, and three shuriken hurled at Naruto at lightning speeds. 3 deadly blurs whistled through the air and Naruto barely dodged them by diving to his right. Kakuzu was beyond most normal shinobi or human with his superhuman strength. The sheer momentum of the shuriken tore through surrounding foliage as if it was paper.
Thousands of black threads shot from the long sleeves of Kakuzu's Akatsuki cloak. Naruto dodged again and again, barely keeping up with the thousands of attacks that Kakuzu shot at him. Naruto grabbed a small smoke bomb and tossed it to the ground, temporarily hiding him from his enemy.
"Why delay the inevitable? Why bother to even dodge my attacks?" Kakuzu's deep bloodthirsty voice echoed throughout the area "Surely, you know you stand no chance against me. Stop struggling against the inevitable and accept a quick death from me."
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto said through the dense smoke, completely ignoring whatever Kakuzu just said. After an instant, the smoke cleared away to reveal Naruto behind a group of 3 shadow clones, which stood protectively in front of him.
"Useless!" Kakuzu's razor sharp thick threads pierced through the first clone, and two more shot towards the other two.
Naruto quickly leaped onto the backs of his two clones and crouched, gathering as much strength to his legs as to spring him for his next movement. The two threads stabbed straight through the clones on the way to the back, dispersing the shadow clones.
Suddenly, twin explosions rocketed the earth, and Naruto used all of his gathered strength and chakra in his legs to launch himself high in the air in the same instant as the explosions. The force and shock wave from the twin explosions blasted him straight through the air – right at Kakuzu.
What Kakuzu hadn't seen were two exploding tags attached to the backs of Naruto's shadow clones. Just as the threads pierced their backs, the tags triggered, blowing all of the surrounding area to hell as well as blasting Naruto forward toward Kakuzu. Naruto had realized that he had no chance in far-range combat, but couldn't get close enough to Kakuzu to engage in close-range battle. Therefore, he had to devise a way to make Kakuzu's attacks to propel him forward instead of having Naruto just charging forward into a wave of sharp spikes.
He put himself in danger with those explosions...just to get at me! What kind of idiot would do that? Kakuzu thought as he got into a battle-ready stance. As Naruto rocketed toward him, he sent a few more threads at him. At this high velocity, there was no way for Naruto to dodge the threads.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted and two clones formed behind him. Both grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up, completely avoiding the deadly threads. Using the last of the chakra, the two clones hurled him forward and disappeared in clouds of smoke.
Clever maneuver, using clones to help him move through air. Kakuzu mused as Naruto landed on the ground and dashed toward him. He's not bad for someone of his age. Too bad for him that I have to kill him now.
-
This is my only chance to kill him. If I miss or mess up, I'll be dead. This attack will end it all. Naruto started molding his chakra – all of it. He couldn't spare a drop for this next jutsu. He had never mastered it, due to the erratic behavior of his modified chakra which made chakra manipulation a pain in the ass. Despite this, his modified chakra made this incomplete jutsu powerful beyond any. Even if it wasn't complete, the sheer raw power of this attack would be more than enough to kill the Akatsuki member.
Focus...Remember, spin the chakra and sync it with your arm... concentrate. I can't mess up now... I only have one shot. If Naruto missed, he would die for certain. Even if he hit his target, the sheer blow back from this attack could inflict a severe injury.
Naruto roared and yanked off the gauntlet from his right arm, unsheathing the enormous amount of chakra surrounding his arm. Slightly weaker than usual from his earlier use on the Shugaki, the bright blue chakra was still powerful with intense energy. But there was something even more different.
Gathered in the palm of his energy emanating hand was a small swirling sphere of bright blue chakra. It was an amazing orb of chakra, swirling rapidly like the destructive force of a hurricane gathered within one small orb of energy. It was beautiful in a deadly sort of way; something about it seemed dangerous.
Naruto roared with all the volume he could muster. Squeezing out every last bit of air, he shouted out his determination to the skies.
"HERE WE GO! TAKE THIS!"
"BAKUSAI RASENGAN!"
Two enormous chakras mixed into one jutsu. Two ultimate destructive attacks became one. And the power of hurricane and the power of a thousand cannons all gathered into Naruto's right arm, which was now burning such an intense blue that anyone who looked at it directly would be blinded. Two jutsus with chakra perfectly synced as if it was only one jutsu. It was truly an awesome sight to behold.
Kakuzu's eyes widened as he recognized one of the two jutsus now mixed into one. It can't be! How could that brat...know that move! I cannot let him live with such knowledge! For the first time in the whole battle, Kakuzu was scared. He felt a feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time. Fear. He was faced with a destructive power that even he could hardly stand against.
That technique... its powerful but its only effective if I let him hit me! Kakuzu quickly thought and attempted to move out of the way from Naruto's attack. He may be able to retreat and then strike once more once Naruto's jutsu would eventually fade away as it drained the rest of the chakra from Naruto's reserves.
But suddenly he felt 4 arms gripping his. Panic shot through him as he turned around and saw two shadow clones. He momentarily wondered where they came from, but then quickly received the answer. Naruto had formed 4 shadow clones in the smoke bomb, not just two. And then they either henge'd or snuck around Kakuzu while he was distracted by Naruto's sudden charge.
Time seemed to slow as Kakuzu's reflexed kicked in. He had to get out of the hold that the clones had on him and avoid the attack. But how? He certainly couldn't let it hit; he doubted even he could withstand a direct blow from such a tremendous attack. But from what he could tell from the chakra patterns, Naruto would not be able to stand the attack as well and would receive enormous damage as well.
There's only one way to break out of this hold. There's no helping it. Jeez, for this kid to make me use my special moves... Kakuzu closed his eyes, covering the glowing green pupils. Moments before Naruto's attack would hit him, his Akatsuki cloak was torn to shreds...
-
A chakra explosion beyond anything anyone had ever witnessed tore up the horizon. A wave of pure destruction exploded outwards and engulfed anything within its enormous radius. The air crackled with the heat and power from the astonishing dome of bright light. All around the island, people could see a sudden burst of blinding blue light. It was at least 10 times more stronger than the chakra blast he unleashed on Zabuza days earlier.
Slowly, the after effects of the double jutsu diminished and faded away, leaving nothing but a giant ball of cloud and an enormous crater, spanning several meters in all directions. Large cracks scarred the earth like a thousand gashes cut across the earth as if a giant had unleashed an endless barrage of cuts.
Standing on the edges of one of the giant craters was a battered, torn up and exhausted Naruto. His clothes were more dirtied than ever, and were more rags than actual articles of clothing. He was breathing deeply and gasping for air as his chest rose and fell rapidly. Numerous bruises, cuts and burns scored Naruto's skin. In the aftermath of his attack, the once brilliant blue chakra covering his right arm had disappeared, revealing the secret that ran from his elbow to the tips of his fingers underneath the gauntlet and bright blue chakra glow. It was covered in thousands of tiny gray monster-like scales, and shone unnaturally in the harsh glare of the sun. Blue veins popped out of the skin and ran throughout the arm, with far too many than any human arm should have.
His palm was completely charred black and steaming. Red cracks ran through large patches of burnt skin and gave it a lava-like appearance. The immense chakra behind his jutsu was so tremendous, that it had actually burnt his skin.
His healing ability had yet to kick in. Naruto struggled to keep standing. For once, he seemed to have lost his tireless energy. Shit...that one hurt me a lot...if it wasn't for the Kyuubi's protection, that jutsu would've taken me with him. The Rasengan is powerful, but if you haven't mastered it, its far too dangerous to use. At least there's no possible way he could survive that...He has to be dead.
"I win!" Naruto shouted and laughed despite his weariness "It's over..."
"Yes, its' over." A ominous voice from directly behind him. "Die now."
Naruto's eyes widened, but even if he was fully rested and several times faster, he still would never have been fast enough to avoid the spike composed of sickly black threads that pierced the center of his back right through his heart.
Darkness took Naruto's eyes and he felt death beginning to claim his mind. Slowly, his eyes saw nothing more than the approaching darkness...
A/N
First of all, I want to apologize for the delay. No, I'm not dead, it's just that I was so busy lately that I had no time to write. My summer was hectic. This chapter is not really proofread either, so I'm sorry for any mistakes or if its not well written. It's just that I rushed to put this chapter out, because I probably won't have much time to write later. So my apologies. But at least its much longer than usual.
As for that technique Naruto used on Kakuzu, that was a mix between Rasengan and his Chakra blast. I'll explain everything in a later chapter, so don't hate me if it seems to random.
I also apologize for my Japanese. I sucks at it, so bear with me if I made any mistakes.
Oh here's some info on the last few techniques.
Chakra Blast - One of Naruto's abilities. His right arm is covered with chakra which is sealed by the gauntlet he wears. He can use this chakra to add explosive power to punches, or send a giant beam of chakra at his enemy. This ability will be covered in-depth in a later chapter.
Bakusui Rasengan - Blasting Rasengan, one of Naruto's original techniques. He combines the rasengan with his chakra blast, which he swirls in a direction similar to his rasengan, and does enormous amount of damage, though its very dangerous to Naruto. It's more powerful than Oodama Rasengan, but far below Fuuton Rasengan or Rasenshuriken. Naruto has yet to master the Rasengan, which will be explored next chapter, which is why this technique is so unstable.
Thanks for reading and sorry once again for the long wait/bad chapter. I hoped you enjoy it, and leave a review on your way out.