Chapter 9: Limits Reached

Naruto continued to stare at his hands, watching the blood trickle down them as Pein continued his speech. "You claim my vision of peace is fake. That is entirely possible. It could very well be fake. And yet I would argue that, in this cursed world, there is nothing more fictional than a peace where people could TRULY understand one another. It's merely a lie brought on by wishful thinking."

Naruto growled, his eyes moving upwards to stare at his captor. "Ero-sennin believed that just such a day would come. Are you to tell me his beliefs, your master's beliefs, were nothing more than wishful thinking?"

Pein ignored his question. "They are merely empty words. What could he do when he couldn't even back up his answer? What can YOU do, for that matter? In the end..." A chakra rod slipped into his hand. "All you are good for is handing over the power of the Kyuubi to me. You're only a means to an end, nothing more. As I had said earlier, your death will be a stepping stone that will allow me to usher in true peace."

Bringing the chakra rod back, Pein readied to deliver a non-lethal blow that would render him unconscious. "I suppose we've wasted enough time talking about trivial matters. Sleep now, Kyuubi. You will wake up when we begin the extaction of-"

Leaping backwards, Pein just barely dodged a red saber that was hurled through the air, his chakra rod sliced in twain. Looking over, he spied Revan charging forward, calling her thrown weapon back to her hand as she barreled down on him.

"You're not getting him that easily, asshole!"

"Noisy wench. You're interfering with my plans once again." Pein ground out, truly irritated with the way Revan kept interfering over and over again. Raising his hand, he invoked his jutsu, but was surprised when Revan through her own hand out, both forces colliding and cratering the ground.

'She has a gravity attack as well? Wait, no...it's not that...it's something else. She's not using any chakra, but she IS using energy of some sort...Zetsu never informed me of this detail. I'll have to reprimand him when I return.'

"So, you've still got a few tricks up your sleeve, and have managed to wait until now to use them. I'll give credit where credit is due. I'm truly impressed. However, you've no hope of winning. Gods strike down mortals all the time; why should you be any different?"

"Because I have something to fight for, and I'm NOT about to let you take it away!" She roared, pulling a shuriken out and flinging it at him. Forming several seals, she utilized one of the few jutsu she both knew and could pull off. "Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!" Instantly, the one shuriken became one hundred, and they cast a shadow as they soared towards the Deva Path.

"How futile. Shinra Tensei!" All of the shuriken, one after the other, ran into an invisible wall, clanking noisly as they struck one another and fell to the ground.

"Not quite."

"Wha-"

Pein barely dodged another swipe, the sleeve of his cloak shearing off with a hissing noise as the lightsaber burned through the cloth with ease. He ducked another swipe and backflipped. He avoided several thrown kunai, and threw his hand out again, his technique tearing up the landscape. Revan retaliated, throwing up a Force Wall of her own.

The two techniques collided, and both combatants were blown back slightly, the force causing the ground to cave in once again. Pein shot forward, chakra rod in hand as he stabbed Revan-

A spinning heelkick to his face shot him across the crater, his body skipping a few times before he flipped and landed on his feet. Looking at his rod, he saw no blood, but DID see an afterimage disappating.

'Clever.' he thought. As Revan charged again, he continued to dodge her swipes, occasionally losing more pieces of his cloak from near-misses. She was starting to get the feel of his reaction times, and that was not good. She had to be stopped, but how? She could repel his Shinra Tensei with an equal but opposite force, rendering the attack null and void, something that had never happened before.

Chakra rods were also useless, as those swords of hers could shear through them with ease, something his late Animal Path could attest to. Should he lose a limb to one of those weapons, he was as good as finished. Worse yet, she showed no sign of slowing down, as if she'd regained her energy during the time he and Naruto had fought. EVEN WORSE, she could hurl the blasted things, which made range attacks just as dangerous as mid and close ranged assaults. She had herself well covered, and it was making Pein's brain hurt trying to think of a way to get around her defenses.

A thought came to him, and he figured that, since he didn't have any other ideas, it was worth a shot. Leaping away, he landed several yards from her, and held his hand out. Revan beat him to the punch, and threw a Force Push, the rippling air his only indication of attack as he rolled out of the way. Throwing his hand up again, he cried, "Bansho Tenin!"

Revan was caught off-guard, flying forward as Pein met her in the middle, his fist digging its' way into her stomach. The combined force was enough to shatter ribs, but she cushioned the blow with the Force, having layered her stomach with it prior to his attack. Still, the crack of ribs was made prevalent, and she knew that while she'd avoided some of the damage, she hadn't avoided all of it.

Grabbing her wrist, he squeezed it hard enough to force her to drop one of her sabers, the cylinder clanking as it struck the ground and deactivated. Kicking it to the side, he grabbed her other wrist as it brought her saber in for a decapitative strike, halting the red blade mere inches from his neck.

He kicked her in the stomach once again, causing her to double over in agony, before his foot connected with her face and sent her spiraling into a pile of rubble, her other lightsaber hurled from her grasp.

"REVAN!"

Pein looked over to a panic-stricken Naruto, his eyes wide with fear as he watched his captor beat his girlfriend senseless. Pein looked back over in time to dodge a Force Push, the ground where he had been standing tearing itself apart. He was caught off-guard, though, when HE was yanked forward by an invisible force, a fist burying itself in HIS gut, causing him to vomit saliva and blood. He was then axe-kicked into the ground, rock and dust flying as he buried his face in the floor.

Panting heavily, Revan went and retrieved her sabers, walking over and igniting one, shearing 2/3rds of the chakra rod from the remaining piece keeping Naruto pinned to the ground. "Sorry...I took so long. Ran into a problem or two along the way."

Naruto smiled, before yanking his hands off of the remaining rod, cursing as he did so. "It's fine, Rev. I'm just glad you're ok-"

SQUELCH

Silence permeated the area, as Revan looked down to see a chakra rod sticking out from her stomach. Blood pooled in her mouth, and she coughed, blood flying from her lips as, looking back up, she was greeted with Naruto's horrified expression.

"Na...ruto...I..."

"You're in the way. Move."

She was unceremoniously hurled aside, skidding across the gravel before she impacted the ground. She didn't get up. She didn't move.

Silence. Piercing, penetrating, all-consuming. Time seemed to stop...then he spoke. "It was just like this. My parents were killed before my very eyes by the very same Konoha shinobi you so desperately tried to protect. Out of love, the desire to protect is born. Sacrifice is born the exact same way. Hatred follows, when those that have something to protect FAIL to protect it. Through this loss, we are able to know pain. Through this hatred, pain becomes a reality."

Striding over, he stood above Revan's unmoving body, his chakra rod poised above her.

"Know pain."

SPLURT

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

The world exploded.

Shima was hurled backwards, as blood-red chakra shot skyward. Thick, moving, twisting, living. It enshrouded and curled around Naruto, even as Pein watched.

"Do you hate me?"

A roar was his response, Naruto's clothing shredding as his skin peeled away, blood quickly filling the chakra shroud surrounding him as he stood, his body morphing grotesquely as he continued to roar in anger. Flinging his clawed appendage outwards, a huge gust of wind quickly turned into a wind devil, then a small tornado, heading straight for Pein.

Crouching, he activated his technique, creating a barrier of repulsive energy around him to protect himself from the violent winds. They buffered against it, but could not penetrate the absolute defense and sheared away against it, disappating.

Pein barely had time to recover when massive chunks of the ground began shooting skyward, chakra arms ripping them from their foundations as he looked on.

The Four-Tailed Kyuubi began hurling large chunks of rock at him. Pein responded with a battle cry, shearing through several incoming projectiles before blocking them when they became too numerous. The rocks split and shattered upon impact, flying harmlessly off to either side of him.

As the dust settled, Pein lowered his arms, and he was quickly rewarded with a house-sized boulder to the face, his whole body impacting the massive stone as he was sent flying. Suddenly, the rock exploded, showering debris as Pein emerged from the wreckage, only to be struck dead on by a red, chakra-enhanced fist.

His whole face went numb, and the flesh rippled from the hit as he was struck. Hit with such force, he spiraled through the air, his shinobi training saving him from further damage as he turned the roll into a backflip, springing high into the air to land on one of the raised chunks of ground.

He was given no time to recover, as he leapt from the structure, a chakra tendril slicing it in half. Landing on the ground, he began to run as he saw two chakra hands grasp half of the broken rock. He didn't get far, as the hands slammed the rock onto his head, bashing him over and over and over, each time burying him further into the ground.

Once the dust settled, Pein's eyes were rolled back into his head. The Kyuubi roared in rage as they suddenly rolled back into position, seemingly coming back to life from what would normally be certain death. Even to the logic-stripped mind of the Kyuubi-fied Naruto, this shouldn't have been possible, which made him all the angrier.

Pein's taunts did nothing to help ease his rage. "Do you hate me? Do you loathe me? Do you wish to kill me? I invite you to try, Nine-Tails."

The Deva Path dug itself out of the ground, bones popping as they were put back into place, muscle and tendons realigning themselves.

Suddenly, clouds began to form overhead, and a large ball of reddish-black chakra slammed into the Kyuubi, quickly absorbing into its' body. Bones began to sprout from its' body, a skeleton forming on top of the flesh, the skull surrounding the head as two more tails sprouted from its' behind.

Pein seemed to speak to himself, now, unaware or uncaring that Naruto couldn't or wouldn't respond. "Do you still think that people can understand one another? Are you still determined to bring your version of peace to the world? Do you deem your actions justified? All of this may be. All of it may come to pass, who are we to know? But know this...my pain...IS FAR, FAR GREATER THAN YOURS!"

Saying this, Pein reared back and punched straight into the ground, water erupting from the hole created by his fist. All around them, spouts had begun erupting from the ground, quickly filling the new crater that had been caused by their battle.

Face set in a determined expression, Pein muttered a quick, "Let's go!" and shot forward, intent on ending this as quickly as possible. Using his affinity for gravity manipulation, he reduced the air resistance before him, allowing his speed to greatly increase. It would be needed, as 6 chakra hands shot out of the water, each grasping for him, yet failing to grab him.

He ducked and dodged, forced off his original course, and began circling around one of the newer formations. He leapt over a chakra hand trying to trip him up, and barely avoided another that shot past him, his cloak singing as it touched the corrosive chakra of the Kyuubi.

Using the arm as a springboard, he shot over to a nearby island; as he did so, he was clipped by a chakra hand, and sent spiraling towards it, ending his roll and activating his technique. No sooner had he done so then several balls of searing hot chakra shot towards him out of the mist, each skipping off of his barrier and impacting the ground and water, eradicating the rock and vaporizing the water.

The shots continued to come, and Pein was forced to keep his barrier up, knowing the longer he did so, the more time it would take for him to recharge. Each shot against his barrier was making his arms that much number.

After 15 seconds, the last shot impacted his barrier, and Pein was able to lower his barrier, starting his recharge. "Is that all you've got, Kyuubi? I was expecting better from-" A single shot flew towards him, and Pein couldn't bring his barrier up to deflect this one, as only 10 seconds had passed. It impacted the island he was on, turning it into molten slag and sending Pein careening into the water, his body skipping like a stone across its' surface.

Sliding to a stop, he shook the embers from his cloak. "Not bad, Kyuubi. Figured out the timing, I see."

The Kyuubi took a step forward, but was suddenly engulfed in a bright green light, tendrils snaking out and wrapping around its' tails, arms, legs, torso, and neck. It roared in anger, and struggled valiantly.

Pein blinked, taken aback by this sudden turn of events. "...A...is that a fuinjutsu? To further restrict the Kyuubi?"

He watched as the creature plunged its' hand into its' chest, tearing out a bright green crystal. It pulsed with power, clearly the source of the seal. Growling, the Kyuubi exerted a tremendous amount of pressure, and finally overpowered the seal, crushing the crystal in his fist.

Immediately, like a switch had been flipped, the tendrils vanished, dissipating as the seal was broken.

"He broke it."

Pein watched as the creature then turned towards him, growling softly. "Here he comes!"

Tensing, the Kyuubi vanished, a shockwave throwing up waves.

Blinking, Pein looked around wildly. "Wha-where did he go? He disappeared?" Sensing movement to his right, he turned and saw a rapidly speeding red blur, dragging a huge wave behind it. "H-he's fast!"

He deflected several chakra arms that shot towards him, ignoring the burning sensation of touching the corrosive chakra. One arm slammed into the rock he was standing on, shattering it and plunging him into the shallow water.

"Shinra Tensei!"

The water parted like Moses with the Red Sea, Pein in the center of the circle with his hands clapped together, strain on his face as he kept the barrier up-

A red hand slammed into his face, grasping it harshly as it seared his skin. All around him, red stakes of chakra shot up out of the ground, and the Kyuubi emerged from the water, struggling valiantly against the strong repulsive force.

It grabbed him with its' other arm, and he knocked them both away before kicking the creature in the face, causing it to squeal in displeasure. It started to fall back under the pressure of the attack, but then somehow stopped its' retreat, and began to bear down on Pein again.

Pein was shocked, as he felt the effects of his own Shinra Tensei being turned on him. "I-impossible! He...he w-withstood my Shinra Tensei?" The Kyuubi lunged forward, and the force became too great. Pein was catapulted away from the beast, shooting through the water at a tremendous speed, before he rose to the surface and continued to fly, skipping and bouncing across the water like a smooth stone strapped to a firework.

End over end over end over end, skipping, bouncing, sliding, dipping, cartwheeling. He had no control over his body at this point, and as water gave way to land, he continued to spin, impacting and smashing through several boulders before he impacted a wall, shearing straight through it as he continued his wild ride. Up ahead: the canyon wall. Pein barely had time to brace himself before he impacted it head-first.

Every muscle, every tendon, every bone, every FIBER of his being screamed in agony, as his 100-mph flight of fancy went to 0 in the space of a second. Surprisingly still conscious, Pein could feel every bone in his back break, his spine snapping like a twig as his skull caved in and his neck broke into several pieces, his spine snapping and breaking along each vertebre.

His collarbone practically disintegrated, broken and fractured into so many pieces. His shoulders had blown out, his arms hanging limply by his side as his body finally sagged, crumpled as it was.

Unfortunately, his punishment was not over yet, as the savage impact had jostled loose every stone that wasn't connected directly to the wall, and they all came crashing down on him, burying him in an avalanche of stone and debris.

Like a shark who'd struck its' first blow and was waiting to strike the second, the Kyuubi's ears poked out of the water, followed by the top half of its' head, cruising slowly through the water as it watched the cloud of dust and debris, keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of its' foe. Truthfully, it believed him to be dead, as the Kyuubi had yet to meet anyone (save Orochimaru), who'd been able to take a hit like that and come up standing...or come back up at all, for that matter.

Still, seeing as his foe had proven his resilience multiple times, that in of itself was a feat worthy of recognition. The Kyuubi would honor this man's stubborn will to resist, and grant him a death worthy of the archives of ninja history.

Propping himself out of the water, the Kyuubi let both his and his host's chakra escape from his body, the tiny orbs of clear blue and blackish red chakra floating lazily into the air, before coalescing together into an ever-growing orb of black chakra, the Kyuubi growling as it focused on the ball's formation.

Suddenly, two hands shot out of the ground, slapping together as a cry was heard, and Pein emerged from his premature grave. "Bansho Tenin!"

A massive piece of the wall broke away from itself, soaring high into the sky before reaching its' peak and dropping, literally, like a stone. The Kyuubi was unable to move, as it had to stay still to keep the ball's cohesion from destabilizing, and as such, was crushed by the massive rock. Seconds later, the rock burst into flame before exploding, the Tailed Beast Bomb going off prematurely and shattering the rock into pebbles.

Then the explosion, free of the rock's confines, expanded rapidly, filling the sky as it erupted into a massive ball of flame. The shockwave was so intense that it pushed the now-freed Pein backwards into the hole he'd dug himself out of, parts of the canyon wall shattering and spraying across the land as the eruption of flame and force tore part of the wall away and obliterated it as easily as a child would crush a cracker in its' hand.

As far away as Konoha, the shockwave could be felt, and the massive plume of flame and smoke could be seen for miles around. Sakura, who had gone to assist Naruto, Revan, and the Elder Toads, unheeding of the warnings thrown her way, was nearly blown off her feet by the shockwave.

"W-what was that? Don't tell me...that chakra I felt..."

Hastening her arrival, she found a grim scene: One of the Elder Toads, Fukasaku, was clearly dead, blood pooling around his torso, the hole dripping with gore.

Realizing she could do nothing for the Elder Sage, she turned to Shima, who was shaken, but otherwise unhurt. "Are you okay, ma'am?"

Shima nodded, then turned her gaze to Revan. "But that girl..."

Sakura turned and gasped. "Revan-chan!" She rushed over to the older woman's side, gasping again as she saw the hole in her stomach, not unsimilar to Fukasaku's mortal wound. "Hang on, I'll close this in a heartbeat."

She immediately began to apply her chakra to the gaping wound, the flesh slowly knitting together as she strained to stop the bleeding at the same time. What worried her the most was that Revan didn't respond. Looking at the pool of blood she was kneeling in, she figured she'd lost at least a fifth of her volume, which didn't make things any better.

Shima's voice snapped her attention forward. "Naruto-chan...he lost it when Revan-chan got stabbed...he transformed..."

Sakura blanched. "Into the Four-Tailed Kyuubi, right?"

She was taken aback when Shima shook her head. "No...there were SIX tails...and this horrible skeleton surrounding him...the pure EVIL that radiated from his being...I've never felt such power."

Sakura's blood drained from her face even as it ran cold with fear. 'SIX tails? He went four facing Orochimaru, and the sannin barely escaped with his life. Not to mention the utter devastation that riddled the surrounding landscape. If Naruto uses a Tailed Beast Bomb here...' she shook her head, erasing those thoughts from her mind and concentrating on aiding Revan. 'Naruto...just be alright...'

Once again ripping himself from another pit, Pein shook his head, clearing the slight disorientation out of it as he stared at the chakra tails shearing rock away from where the Kyuubi was buried. "The power of the Kyuubi...such wondrous power, and yet..." Turning, he began to run as the tails ripped and shredded the stone, the Kyuubi emerging from the debris growling as it took off after him.

Using his gravity manipulation once again, Pein accelerated to tremendous speeds, skirting around the edges of cliffs and valleys with precise ease. Sparing a glance behind him, he was not surprised to see the Kyuubi matching his pace, the tremendous speed with which he had shot from the water-filled crater causing it to follow him, drawn by wind of his passing.

Leaping from a rather high cliff, Pein soared downwards, plunging a thousand feet downward before deftly springing atop several stones in a river, speeding onward as the Kyuubi followed, crashing down mere seconds after he'd shot forward, water cascading down the cliff and overflowing the river.

Ducking and weaving several water tendrils that shot out of the river at him, Pein darted suddenly to the right, soaring through the treetops with the ease of a bird in flight before landing on a fallen log, having temporarily eluded his persuer.

Slapping his hands together, Pein began to concentrate heavily. 'Tendo is close enough now. I can utilize THAT technique.' Striding quietly over to a hollowed-out tree, he looked around before slipping inside. In the gloomy interior, he began to sweat as he focused intently on his ultimate technique, a tiny black ball of chakra ringed with white forming in between his clasped hands. Putting as much power as he dared into the technique, he then let it free like a bird into the sky, the tiny ball floating upwards out of the hollow.

Two balls of flaming chakra streaked out of the foliage, impacting and turning the hollowed tree into shrapnel. Even so, Pein had managed to leap out of it in time, and somersaulting backwards, landed upright, hands still clasped together.

"Chibaku Tensei! (Planetary Devastation)"

As the tiny ball soared into the air, it began to grow in size, until at just the right angle, it began to eclipse the sun, a harsh golden light covering the landscape as the ball shone briliantly.

Suddenly, chunks of the ground began tearing themselves up, rock and pebble and stone floating upwards as the gravity attack began to affect the landscape, trees shuddering as the pull began to increase.

Pein held his hands apart, almost imparting the ground to free itself and fly upwards, the rock complying as whole sections of ground began to tear apart, slowly hovering upwards as they began to coalesce around the black orb, packing themselves together in an ever-growing ball of rock.

Trees, boulders, shrubs, grass, and even animals began to float upwards, the attack's gravitational pull increasing exponentially with each second that passed, getting stronger and stronger as it amassed more and more matter.

The Kyuubi shot out of the shuddering forest, speeding across the breaking ground as it attempted to attack the caster. Pein thrust a hand out with a cry, and his Shinra Tensei struck home, wrapping the Kyuubi in several chunks of debris as it rolled backwards. Suddenly, a white-hot beam of red chakra shot from the boulder, carving up the landscape as it headed towards Pein.

A chakra rod shot out of his remaining sleeve and into his hand, using the metal as a deflector and shooting the laser beam back at the Kyuubi, the rock surrounding it exploding as it screamed a shrill cry. Suddenly, the foundation it was crouched on shuddered and broke away from the earth, carrying the Kyuubi with it as the beast remained perched on top of the stone.

Larger and larger chunks of earth were slamming into one another now, the ball growing from the size of a car to the size of a trailer home. Pein cried out loudly, slamming his hands together as he poured more power into the attack.

As such, entire MOUNTAINS began to tremble, shuddering before breaking apart and adding their mass to the collective, the ball quickly growing in size. Now a house. Now a building, now a square city block. More and more and more earth began collecting together, as mountains shattered, ground crumbled, and trees snapped like toothpicks.

The Kyuubi was growing tired of playing these games, and shot another beam at the ground, destroying a small mountain as it was turned into molten slag. This did little to slow down the growing ball of earth. Trying to strike the castor yet again, the Kyuubi fired another laser at Pein, who simply used the earth around him as a shield, the rock vaporizing but leaving him untouched.

Almost like a warped game of Tetris, rocks the size of houses began to slam into slots around the half-moon-sized ball of stone. Each rock sliding almost easily into its' appropriate slot. The Kyuubi was halfway ascended when it turned its' attention to the affronting mass, firing another laser at it. A large chunk of the right side exploded in a ball of flame, but quickly repaired itself with more rock coming from the surface.

The Kyuubi tried again, and again, and again. Each time the stone would repair itself, making the Kyuubi's efforts for naught. Suddenly, the rock it was holding on to shattered, as Pein poured EVEN MORE power into the attack, sweat pouring down his face profusely as he pumped nearly everything he had into the attack.

Shrieking, the Kyuubi struggled to grasp onto something, ANYTHING, to stop its' ascent. Finding nothing of purchase, it slammed into the giant ball, compressed heavily against the gravity orb. Struggling, the Kyuubi's resistance was met with a large chunk of rock slamming on top of it. Then again, and again, and again. Like bullets from a gun, the remaining rock that was rising to the orb began to pound into the spot where the Kyuubi had been plastered against.

When the final rock slammed into place, the giant ball was the size of an entire mountain range, spanning several hundred miles wide and several hundred long.

Panting, Pein finally let his arms drop to his side, a satisfied smile on his face. "It...is done...I've finally...captured...the Kyuubi."

Inhaling deeply, he exhaled and strode forward to inspect his work. He couldn't help but frown slightly. "Pitiful. I can only do this much? The Rikudo Sennin was said to have created the MOON with this technique. My version doesn't even come close in comparison."

Sighing, he was nevertheless pleased. He'd finally captured the Kyuubi, and was one Bijuu away from completing his dream...Yahiko's dream.

Inside Naruto, his mindscape was in turmoil, the chamber where the Kyuubi was kept a sinister red, as the sewer water bubbled and hissed. Naruto was on his back, floating on top of the unusually-high water.

"Why...why did it come to this? Why?" He remembered Pein's question, and felt even more despair seep into him. "How should I know the answer to a question like that? How does anyone expect me to know that. It hurts...it hurts so bad...I hate this..."

Seeing Revan's surprised visage, blood pouring from her stomach and mouth as Pein hurled her aside, her lifeless body crashing into the ground, brought him to his knees, clutching his head in agony. "What am I supposed to do? What do I know? I don't know ANYTHING anymore!"

Wrapping his arms around himself, he began to rock slowly, his mind falling apart. "Someone, help me...anyone, please...someone...tell me what to do...PLEASE, GIVE ME THE ANSWER!"

A booming voice echoed through his mindscape. "Destroy." Startled, he looked up, into the blood-red eye of the Kyuubi. "Destroy everything. Erase everything that hurts, everything that has hurt you. Destroy the ones who have wronged you, the ones who have taken from you. The ones who have caused you grief, pain, and suffering."

The Kyuubi continued, as Naruto stared raptly at him. "Give me your soul, Naruto. I will save you from your suffering, and protect you. I will keep any and all harm from you, and make sure you NEVER hurt again."

Naruto cried out as his coat tore open, his mesh undershirt tearing as his seal became prominent on his exposed torso, the markings melding into a gaping, black circle. An ink-like substance began to pour from it, filling the water around him as his eyes took on a blank look, going from sky-blue to blood-red in a flash.

"Yes...yes, you're doing just fine. Keep going, boy." The Kyuubi praised as Naruto stood up, the black ink staining his pants as he began to shuffle forward, heading towards the Kyuubi's cage. "That's it, keep coming. Come over here and tear this accursed seal off this accursed cage. Free me, so that I may protect you forever."

Yamato sped through the forest, his hand screaming in pure agony as the symbol burned against his flesh. He'd been on a scouting mission with Anko and Sai, helping to locate the elusive Yakushi Kabuto. Sai had just succeeded in finding their quarry when his pain shot up his arm, his hand feeling like it was set ablaze as he turned it over and gasped in horror. Upon his palm read the kanji for 6, indicating the amount of tails Naruto had sprouted.

He'd bid a hasty retreat, not giving an explanation other than, "It's an emergency." Anko had wanted to protest, but seeing the utter panic in Yamato's eyes, had let the man rush off. She'd never seen him run that fast, or that hard, for anything in his life.

On the way there, his hand had only increased in pain, and when he looked at it, he was horrified to see the kanji for 8 stamped on it. He'd doubled, no, TRIPLED his pace, the trees and shrubs and grass going by in a blur as he pumped as much chakra as he could into his legs.

Suddenly, he was forced to stop, as a crippling pain shot up his arm, causing him to nearly collide with a tree before landing. Dreading what he was going to find, he brought his arm up and nearly cried as the kanji for 9 stared him dead in the face.

"No...NO! I CAN'T be too late! Why? How? How...could this have happened? Naruto..."

Suddenly, the burning ceased, the kanji rapidly dropping from 9 to 8, then 7, then 6, continuing until it reached 1, and then vanished altogether. Yamato was stunned. Had...had Naruto died? Had he tamed the Kyuubi?

Yamato didn't know, but he sped off regardless, double-timing it to the village in the hopes of getting a much-needed answer.

Pein watched as the giant ball of rock glowed red through its' cracks, and he knew, just KNEW, that he'd spoken too soon regarding the Kyuubi's capture.

As if agreeing with him, one side of the massive structure exploded outwards, the body of the Kyuubi shooting through the hole as EIGHT tails sprouted behind it. Still trapped in the massive rock, the Kyuubi roared its' displeasure, and shot flame from its' mouth, igniting the falling debris and showering the land with what could only be described as small meteors.

The Kyuubi had undergone another transformation, this time growing in size considerably, and resembling the beast that it had once been, muscle and tendon now adorning its' body, even as its' tails flailed wildly from their respective holes in the rock. Teeth glistened in the sunlight, as the Kyuubi, missing only its' skin and fur, was near completion, roaring loudly as it spat flame in anger.

Pein stared at the monstrosity, as a foreign emotion crept into his being. He hadn't felt fear in ages, and yet he was feeling it now.

"I...I knew the Kyuubi was strong, very strong, but I never imagined it would be THIS powerful."

Somewhere deep inside Naruto's mindscape, a pair of blue eyes opened, gazing around for the first time in 16 years. Sensing trouble, he knew that he had been awoken as a contingency. He'd hoped that this day would never come, but people don't always get what they hope for. He could attest to that.

Reaching the cage, Naruto didn't move as the water beneath him began to spiral upwards, platforming him up to the middle of the cage, coming face to face with the seal.

"Yes, Naruto-kun...almost there. Just pull the seal off, and all your pain will disappear. You will never have to worry about being hurt ever again. I will...take care of you."

Reaching forward, Naruto grasped the seal, and began to pull-

A hand shot out and grasped his wrist, before a person grabbed him around the waist and pulled him away from the cage, away from the seal. Landing on his butt, Naruto's eyes reverted to their normal blue, and he stared at the person who'd saved him. Accepting the hand the stranger offered, he got to his feet and tried to peer through the gloom, to see the person who'd brought him back.

"You..."

Naruto stood in shock as he stared at the same face he'd seen countless times before...on the Hokage Monument.

"...Yondaime...Hokage..."

"Hello...Naruto."

AND THE CLIFFHANGER STRIKES AGAIN! DAMN I'm evil!

Okay, folks. Please bear with me, I'm almost done. I know a lot of you have questions, and I ASSURE YOU, that all of them will be answered. Heck, I'll even answer one right now: Yes, this IS a flashback. I'm going about this one in a...different manner, but given enough time, it'll make sense in the end.

For those of you who don't like this particular section of Naruto, think it's boring or stupid, I feel sorry for you. Not only is this the TURNING POINT in Naruto's fight against the Kyuubi's influence, but it's one of the most crucial moments in all of Naruto history.

To have me TYPE IT OUT IN DETAIL is something I would think you'd be grateful for, but I guess that's what you get when you try and appease the masses. There's always going to be a few sticklers in the bunch, and as the saying goes, you can't appeal to everyone.

Nevertheless, we're almost done with this flashback, so like I said before, hang in there.

-Sgt. Assassin