Sorry for the overdue update, but I've been too busy over "break" with finals, the holidays, and starting my Senior translation project to really find any time to write.
This chapter, like others before it, had to be cut in half because the first half of its outline went longer than originally expected. If I don't have to do anymore chapter-splicing, I foresee only four more chapters with a small epilogue of sorts attached to the last. So don't worry about this story ending too soon yet.
Oh! And big thanks too all my wonderful reviewers last chapter! Your comments always make me want to get a new update to you as soon as I can.
Warning: Lots of violence and gore. This chapter probably warrants an R-rating, but I'm not going to change the overall rating of the story just for it. You've been warned.
Chapter Ten: Unleashed Demon
For a moment, it as difficult to say who was more surprised: Akatsuki or Naruto's friends and comrades. Everyone stared at the possessed boy in ill-contained horror and disbelief. From where he still lay bound by ninja-wire on the ground, Sasuke saw several Akatsuki's S-class ninja exchange startled glances, their high-collared cloaks not enough to hide their expressions. Even Itachi, standing several yards away, looked momentarily taken aback.
Kyuubi - in possession of Naruto's body - chuckled darkly, his fanged teeth bared in a demonic grin. The dancing firelight of his nine-chakra tails threw his features into dark, back-lit shadows. "At last…" he chuckled, flexing his clawed fingers almost experimentally. "After fifteen years I'm finally free…"
He chuckled again, the unholy sound echoing across the courtyard of horrified ninja. His slitted red eyes gleamed in the chakra-light, the same color of freshly spilt blood.
"Itachi," Kisame whispered, snapping around towards his partner, "what happened? Why wasn't the fox-demon pulled out of the brat's body?"
"I don't know," Itachi hissed. Even from a distance Sasuke could hear the angered confusion in his brother's voice. "This wasn't suppose to happen. The boy must have still been trying to fight the Seal Breaking. He must have been fighting to keep the fox-demon inside him, but been too weak to keep it from taking over his body."
"So much furtive whispering…" Kyuubi purred, glancing at Itachi and then sweeping his eyes around at the other S-class Akatsuki ninja. The corners of his slitted red eyes narrowed, his lips curling into a devilish grin. "I believe I owe you thanks for helping free me from the Fourth's prison. The boy's will to keep me sealed was proving harder to overcome than what one would originally expect from such an unimpressive kit."
The Akatsuki ninja shifted uneasily under Kyuubi's gaze, clearly unprepared for how to deal with their fifteen year old captive's demonic alter-ego.
"Then you must know why we released you," Itachi said, his Sharingan warily eyeing the possessed boy.
Kyuubi's grin slowly morphed into a contemptuous scowl. "Yes…" he murmured, drawling the syllable out between his teeth like a long strand of sugar-coated poison. "You plan to seal me away again so you can use me as some kind of tool for your organization's own profit."
"That was more or less our intent," Itachi replied.
The fox-demon's eyes narrowed. A low growl rumbled inside his throat like the first echo of an impending earthquake. "As grateful-" he spat the word out like it tasted foul "-as I am for your assistance in escaping, I do not plan to so willing exchange one prison for another. The lord of the bijuu is not meant to be captured, caged, or controlled. I will be slave to no mortal being."
"We already have six bijuu in our possession," Itachi said, slowly taking a step closer to Naruto's possessed form. "What makes you think you'll be any different and escape us?"
Kyuubi snarled, his chakra-tails lashing the air like fiery whips. His eyes flashed. The air around him suddenly grew hot and seemed to literally vibrate with the fox-demon's wrath. "You dare threaten me, human?" he hissed. "I will tear you in two before you ever come close to sealing me again."
"We'll see about that," Itachi smirked, his Sharingan spinning.
Sinking into a low battle-stance, the older Uchiha brought his hands up in front of his chest in an unfamiliar hand seal. Chanting under his breath, his hands flew into a complex series of seals, synchronized to the archaic words flowing from his lips.
Before anyone knew what was happening, bands of bluish chakra appeared in the air around Kyuubi and drew tight, lashing his arms down against his sides. The fox-demon howled in rage, his chakra-tails whipping back and forth and leaving black scorch marks where they struck the ground. With a monstrous roar and fiery surge of chakra, Kyuubi broke the chakra rings, his arms flailing free.
Without hesitation, Itachi's hands flew into another series of hand seals. More bands of chakra appeared around the raging fox-demon, once again drawing his limbs tight against his sides. The other Akatsuki ninja instantly followed suit, adding several dozen more chakra rings to Itachi's. Kyuubi was now a snarling, spitting whirlwind of uncontrolled rage. Random cyclones of fire flared in and out of existence around him as the demon wildly thrashed against his attackers' jutsu.
As Sasuke watched, one of the other S-class ninja conjured a chakra band around Kyuubi's ankles, forcing the fox-demon to his knees. Another presence suddenly appeared by Sasuke's side and cut the wire holding him with one quick swipe of his kunai.
"Kakashi," Sasuke gasped as the copy ninja helped him to his feet, "what are they doing?" He stared at Akatsuki and his demon-possessed friend, unable to look away as the Akatsuki-nin conjured more crackling blue rings around the raging fox-demon.
"They're trying to Bind him," Kakashi replied. His uncovered Sharingan shined in the chakra-light as he followed his student's gaze. "They're trying to use a jutsu that will put Kyuubi under their control."
"What?" Sasuke demanded, his head snapping towards his former teacher. "How can they do that? Even with all of them working together they can't possibly be strong enough to control Kyuubi. The Fourth Hokage himself died trying to seal it. There's no way they can control it."
"I know…" Kakashi murmured, "but it seems they're going to try anyway. I hate to think they might somehow succeed though. If they really do have six other bijuu, then they may be able to control Kyuubi after all…"
Sasuke stared at Kakashi, his blood running cold at the jounin's words. Could Akatsuki really be that powerful? Could they really have at some point over the last few years found a way to control the nine-tailed fox? The thought sent an icy chill down the Uchiha heir's spine. If Akatsuki really could control Kyuubi and harness its strength, then what hope did Konoha or any of its allies have of ever defeating the cloaking-wearing crime organization?
Kyuubi by now was almost completely bound. His arms were pinned down against his sides and his legs tightly lashed together from his knees to his ankles. He snarled and snapped his teeth as he thrashed against the bonds, but did not seem able to break them. His tails continued to viciously whip the air like an angry bunch of snakes, but did nothing more than leave blackened scorch marks across the ground. Unable to do anything else, Kyuubi glared at the cloaked ninja, his hatred almost tangible.
Gradually, Akatsuki's chanting died away.
Itachi chuckled as he stepped closer to the Bound demon-fox, a superior smirk plastered across his face. "That was it? That was all the great nine-tailed fox had to offer us? I was expecting so much more from you. If that is truly how strong you are then maybe Akatsuki needs to reevaluate how important you really are to us."
Kyuubi gnashed his teeth, his eyes flashing. "Watch your tongue, mortal…" Promised death rumbled off every syllable.
Itachi actually had the audacity to laugh. "Forgive me," he said with mock deference. "Perhaps you are only so weak right now because of the pitiful body you possess. The boy is, no doubt, in no condition to channel so much energy."
"Yes…" Kyuubi growled, glaring at the older Uchiha, "I know what tortures you put the child through. As much as I hate him for being my jail keeper, I do not appreciate my vessel being harmed."
"Then you will not resist us when we take you back to our headquarters and properly extract you from the boy. His body may eventually recover, but he will never be able to unleash the full potential of your chakra. This body is only dampening your true strength."
Kyuubi's eyes narrowed, his aura of killing intent thickening. "I already told you, human: I will be slave to no one. I will not be used as your tool."
"Unfortunately," Itachi smirked, "you are in no position to make such claims. You belong to us now."
If possible, Kyuubi's eyes narrowed even more until they were only two red slits of hatred. A dangerous growl rumbled deep inside his throat. "Is that so?" Kyuubi hissed, sparks of chakra crackling off his possessed form. "You really think you are strong enough to claim to be my master?" He bared his teeth in an ugly snarl. "Well I must inform you, you are gravely mistaken…"
Then with a violent surge of chakra and demonic roar, Kyuubi suddenly stood, the chakra-rings holding him captive disintegrating into a cloud of sparks. Everyone cried out and shielded their eyes from the frightening explosion.
"What the-!" Deidara cried as he and the other Akatsuki ninja leapt away. "How did he break the Binding Jutsu?"
But he never got an explanation.
Before anyone could react or even understand what was happening, Kyuubi rushed the startled Rock-nin and slashed his claws at the blond man's throat.
Deidara's head fell backwards, blood spraying from the shredded remains of his throat. His body crumpled to the ground - twitching slightly - before finally laying limp at Kyuubi's feet.
Dead.
For a moment no one moved or even seemed to breath. Everyone stared at Kyuubi in horror. Even Akatsuki's other S-class ninja seemed unable to comprehend the scene they'd just witnessed. Never had anyone defeated a S-class ninja - especially one of Akatsuki's top assassins! - so easily as if he were nothing but a helpless gennin. It was just unthinkable!
But as they watched - as if in emphasis of the terrifying fact that even S-class ninja were vulnerable to the nine-tailed fox-demon's wrath - a puddle of blood began to form underneath Deidara's motionless corpse and seep into the thirsty brown sand.
Shreds of bloody flesh dangling from his claws, Kyuubi slowly turned towards the other Akatsuki ninja, his face speckled with blood and twisted in a demonic snarl. There was no longer any hint of intelligence or rational thought in the fox-demon's slitted eyes. Sasuke couldn't help but feel he was now looking into the eyes of a mindless killing machine.
A strangled cry of outrage shattered the horrified silence of the courtyard.
"You bastard!" Hidan screamed. His giant three-bladed scythe was clutched in between his shaking fists as he glared at the possessed demon-boy. "No one kills a member of Akatsuki and gets away with it. I'll kill you!"
"Hidan, no!" Kakuzu yelled. But it was already too late.
Sinking into a battle-stance, Hidan gripped his scythe tighter as a pentagram-lined circle suddenly appeared on the ground beneath him. As Sasuke and the other Leaf ninja looked on in awe, Hidan's skin turned jet black with white patches and lines that crossed his face and body and gave him the eerie appearance of a living skeleton.
"May the gods of pain and death show you no mercy on your way to Hell, demon," Hidan hissed. "I have no doubt your final moments of suffering will be the most exquisite pleasure I have ever felt when I sacrifice you to my god…" Then spinning his scythe above his head by a long chain attached to the end of its shaft, he threw it at the nine-tailed fox demon.
Kyuubi dispassionately watched as the giant scythe sped towards him. But just before the razor-sharp blades could come anywhere close to cutting him, Kyuubi suddenly slashed his claws at the incoming weapon and watched as it harmlessly clattered to the ground in several different pieces.
Hidan could do nothing more than gap in disbelief at his shattered weapon before he looked up to find Kyuubi suddenly standing directly in front of him, his lips curled away from his teeth in a deadly snarl and his eyes flashing with uncontrolled bloodlust.
With the same ease of punching through an empty cardboard box, Kyuubi's clawed hand shot out and disappeared into the silver-haired ninja's chest with a slurpy crunch.
Hidan weakly looked down and stared at the point where Kyuubi's forearm disappeared into his chest. He stood there stalk-still, his expression one of dazed surprise as if unsure how such a thing had come to be. A thin trail of blood ran down his chin from the corner of his mouth.
Sasuke waited in a morbid state of suspense for the ninja's eyes to flutter close and his body go limp in death.
But no such thing happened.
Instead, as if shaking himself out of some sort of daze, Hidan gave a gurgled chuckle.
Kyuubi's eyes narrowed as Hidan slowly looked back up at him and gave another laugh.
"What do you find so funny, human?" Kyuubi snarled.
As if unbothered by the arm running through the center of his chest, Hidan smirked and leaned forward until his nose was mere inches away from Kyuubi's own. "You can't kill me so easily," Hidan chuckled, wiping the trail of blood away from his chin with the back of his hand. "Because of my religion, I am as close to being immortal as any human can be. Nothing less than the fires of Hell itself can kill me."
"Is that so?" Kyuubi purred, also leaning forward so his demonic eyes stared straight back into Hidan's. "Then your transition from this life to the next will be a smooth one…" He grinned at the uncertain look that flashed through the ninja's eyes. "I was born of the same fires you speak and wield them like my own chakra. May you burn in them forever…"
Then, like a small sun suddenly flaring to life around the Jashin-following ninja, Hidan's body disappeared in a pillar of crackling orange flames. Hidan's agonized screams echoed out of the fiery mass as the faint outline of his arms and legs wildly flailed and pin wheeled around Kyuubi's arm still holding him in place. The smell of burning flesh filled the courtyard. Several had to cover their noses against the sickening stench.
Finally, after what felt like forever to the on-looking group of ninja, Hidan's screams began to taper off and his limbs cease their frantic spasms. The aura of flames around him disappeared, and they were once again able to see the scythe-wielding ninja.
Sasuke felt his stomach clench and come dangerously close to losing the remains of his dinner at what he beheld.
Nothing but a twisted, flame-blackened skeleton hung from the end of Kyuubi's arm. Grinning, Kyuubi shook his fist free from the skeleton's ribcage and stepped back as Hidan's charred remains fell to the ground in a cloud of ash and heat-shattered bone. Hidan's blackened skull rolled over the ground once, twice before finally coming to a stop near Kyuubi's feet. With deliberate slowness, the fox-demon lifted his foot and brought it down on the charred skull, chuckling as it cracked under his weight with a hollow crunch.
Cries of horror broke out across the courtyard and more than a few ninja shrunk away in fear.
"The fool…" Kakuzu swore, staring at the dusty pile of his partner's remains. "He deserves that for attacking so recklessly.'
"Nevertheless," he hissed, turning pupiless eyes up towards Kyuubi, "he was still my partner. I cannot let his death go unavenged." With a sharp flick of his wrist, his cloak went sailing to the ground, exposing his thread-stitched arms and neck underneath. "You are too dangerous to be left unsealed or free to kill. You must be destroyed…"
"Kakuzu, don't be a fool and throw your life away like your worthless partner did," Kisame said. "Even in that brat's body, he's too strong for you to take on by yourself."
"Don't worry," Tobi said, stepping forward. "I'll help him. Deidara-senpai was my partner. Kakuzu and I must both avenge our partners' deaths."
With a quick series of hand seals, four black, white-masked creatures suddenly torn themselves from Kakuzu's back. Like hulking monsters they spread out behind the missing Waterfall-nin, tendrils of black thread sprouting off their bodies and ungulating in the air like hundreds of grasping tentacles.
Tobi took up position beside Kakuzu and his four mask-creatures.
Itachi and Kisame made no move to join them. Sasuke wasn't sure if it was because the two didn't feel it was their battle to rightfully fight, or they somehow sensed what power still remained hidden behind Kyuubi's human façade and had no desire to die by the fox-demon's hands like their other two comrades.
Kyuubi snarled, gnashing his teeth together as he turned to face the Akatsuki ninja. His chakra-tails viciously lashed the air, haloing him in fiery light as if he stood before the very gates of Hell.
"If I were to take this boy's body away from you, you are basically a creature made of living fire and hate," Kakuzu said, sinking into a battle stance. "So to defeat you, I will have to use a water element to neutralize your attacks…" He motioned to one of the creatures off to his side - one with a turtle-like mask.
The creature lumbered forward, the black threads that trailed off its body dancing in the air like dozens of charmed snakes. Kakuzu's hands flew into a complex series of hand seals. A blue aura of chakra surrounded the turtle-creature as it lowered its head in Kyuubi's direction and a tremendous surge of chakra thumped the air.
A mass of swirling blue energy suddenly formed in front of the creature's face before coalescing into a solid looking ball. It hovered there a moment in front of its mouth. And then, like being fired from some kind of high-powered canon, it shot towards the red-eyed demon.
The chakra ball hit Kyuubi with a sizzling explosion. Sparks, flames, and roiling clouds of steam - the result of water and fire coming together in a titanic clash of power - enveloped the fox-demon. A roar of pain echoed out of the steamy mass. As the steam slowly began to shift aside like thin curtains of gossamer, Kyuubi was once again visible.
Blisters and reddish patches covered Kyuubi's face, neck, and arms; every inch of his exposed skin scalded by the intense heat that had just surrounded him. But even as they watched, the injuries began to heal in front of their very eyes until Kyuubi looked exactly the way he did no more than several moments ago - his skin once again smooth and unblemished.
"Do you really think you can defeat me so easily?!" Kyuubi screamed, his eyes filled with mindless rage. "Elemental chakra means nothing to the lord of the bijuu! I will kill you!"
Snarling, Kyuubi lunged at the turtle-creature. The creature moved to defend itself, but was no match for the faster demon-boy. Kyuubi slashed blood-stained claws at the thread-monster's face. An unearthly scream pierced the air as the turtle-creature reared away, its white mask shattering into several different pieces. The creature collapsed to the ground in a mass of twitching black threads. Its limbs spasmed once, twice, three times before slumping and laying there in a motionless black pile.
Kakuzu screamed and clutched his chest, breathing heavily as if in some kind of tremendous pain. "Damn you," he swore, struggling to form coherent words. "You just destroyed one of my hearts…" He glanced at his other three mask-creatures. "I'll make you pay for that." With another series of hand seals, the other three monsters began to move towards Kyuubi, their thread-tentacles ungulating in the air.
Together, the three attacked at the same time, their thread-tentacles shooting out to wrap around Kyuubi's limbs and body. With hardly any effort, Kyuubi twisted in place and sliced the strands holding him hostage and lunged at the nearest mask-creature - a smaller monster with an eagle-like mask. With a surge of chakra from Kyuubi, the creature was engulfed in a mass of roaring flames. The eagle-creature thrashed and screamed, uncontrolled wind-chakra surrounding it before its flailing body finally fell to the ground and lay beside the turtle-creature in a pile of smoldering ash.
The other two creatures - a lion and ox-masked thing - rushed Kyuubi. They, like their two predecessors, were no match for the fox-demon and fell victim to his claws and boundless wrath like leaves caught in the path of a raging forest fire.
Kakuzu, by now, had collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath as he clutched his chest. "My hearts," he wheezed. "You destroyed my hearts… They're all gone…"
"Just like I'm going to destroy the last one still beating in your chest," Kyuubi snarled, wheeling around towards the fallen ninja. His eyes flashed like two pools of molten fire. He began to stalk towards Kakuzu like a demonic harbinger of Death. But before he could get within ten paces of him, a sudden lightening bolt of chakra struck the ground several inches in front of his toes and forced Kyuubi to leap backwards to avoid it.
Kyuubi's chakra tails lashed the air as his head snapped up in the direction the attack had come.
"Please don't forget about me," Tobi said, stepping forward. "You still have to pay for killing my partner, Deidara-senpai."
"You dare challenge me?" Kyuubi snarled, turning to face him. "You are doing nothing but hastening your own death."
"Perhaps," Tobi replied, "but at least I will die trying to avenge my partner's death."
Kyuubi smiled. Or at least what would pass for a smile on the fox-demon's face. It was more like a grotesque snarl made by peeling his lips up away from his teeth. There was no hint of happiness or warmth in that expression like the boy whose body Kyuubi possessed used to always make. It was now only an expression of madness, carnage, death, and sadistic bloodlust.
With this demonic grin twisting his face, Kyuubi rushed Tobi. The two met in a titanic clash of crackling blue chakra and fire. The masked Akatsuki-nin moved with unforeseen speed and skill; dodging, blocking, and counterattacking almost every swipe of Kyuubi's claws. Chakra choked the air around the two as they continued their immortal dance of death. Chakra flared, flesh collided in bone-rattling blows, and tongues of fire blinked in and out of existence. Tobi and Kyuubi spun and clashed in almost perfect harmony, as if they had somehow practiced their deadly routine before.
With a set of hand seals almost too fast for human eyes to follow, Tobi suddenly sent a mass of chakra racing at Kyuubi. The jutsu hit the fox-demon full in the chest with a deafening explosion. Kyuubi roared in pain and disappeared in the resulting flash of light and billowing cloud of smoke.
For a moment, no one could see. Sasuke blinked his eyes, trying to drive away the spots burned into his retinas.
A thick cloud of smoke hung over the area where Kyuubi had disappeared. Tobi stood several yards away in a tense ready stance, staring at the smoke-filled area with his hands held in front of his chest, ready to send them flying into another jutsu at a moment's notice.
The smoke began to clear, drifting away on the night breeze in wispy tendrils, only to reveal-
"Where is he!" Tobi exclaimed, his startled voice echoing across the courtyard as he stared at the now empty area of sand where Kyuubi should have been. He frantically looked around. "Where did he go?"
From the other side of the courtyard, Sasuke saw a blurry figure suddenly materialize behind the masked ninja seemingly out of nowhere.
"Looking for me, human?" it said before he or anyone else could even call out a warning.
As Tobi spun around to face the voice, Sasuke saw the flash of razor sharp claws in the moonlight and then a misty spray of liquid in its wake. The masked ninja froze, his entire body going stiff. He didn't scream, he didn't cry out. He just weakly clutched his stomach, as if too startled to do anything else. Blood so dark that it almost looked black poured out between his fingers down the front of his shredded cloak. Wet, unidentifiable fleshy masses pressed against his frantically groping hands as he struggled to hold the sliced edges of his stomach together.
Tobi weakly staggered backwards away from Kyuubi, still clutching his middle, until his knees finally gave out from under him and he collapsed to the ground. A gurgled cough sounded behind his mask. His hands weakly groped at the slippery entrails seeping between his fingers until they finally stilled and his entire body went limp.
"Merciful Kannon…" Kakashi breathed, his mismatched eyes wide with horror as he stared at his possessed student.
Sasuke felt bile rise in the back of his throat, threatening to overcome his natural desensitization to gore.
Ignoring the gasps of revulsion and horror around him, Kyuubi slowly turned back towards Kakuzu, who still knelt on one knee where Kyuubi had left him, staring at Tobi's motionless corpse with unreadable white eyes.
The ninja's face was blank, but there was a sudden aura of grim understanding that seemed to surround him like a winter cloak. "You truly are a monster…" he murmured, slowly tearing pupilless eyes away from Tobi to stare at the chakra-tailed boy. "There really isn't any way to stop you, is there?"
Kyuubi chuckled, the corners of his slitted eyes crinkling with mirth. "Finally you understand the futility of all this," he said, his lips twisting into an evil grin. "You can never hope to defeat me."
Then, moving so fast that his body was nothing but a blurry afterimage, Kyuubi was suddenly standing right in front of Kakuzu. His hand shot out, disappearing into the ninja's chest much like he'd done with Hidan, and then reappeared, his fingers closed around the still beating mass of Kakuzu's last remaining heart.
The missing Waterfall-nin didn't make a sound as his lifeless body pitched forward and lay there at Kyuubi's feet, dead.
Kyuubi's face lit with manic glee as he slowly glanced at the last two S-class Akatsuki ninja there, and gave them a bloodthirsty leer. Itachi and Kisame both stepped back, their eyes narrowed at the blood-splattered demon-vessel. Chuckling under his breath, Kyuubi lifted Kakuzu's heart that was still clutched in his hand and squeezed, laughing outright when the bloody organ popped under the pressure and oozed down his arm.
"I believe it is time we call a retreat," Itachi calmly said, glancing at Kisame out of the corner of his eye. "I fear we underestimated our target and are no longer any match for him. I suggest we fall back and reevaluate our next move."
"Agreed," Kisame replied.
Then with a rapid series of hand seals, the two disappeared in twin clouds of smoke. The other Akatsuki ninja all followed suit and also puffed out of existence.
"Cowards…" Kyuubi hissed, staring at the wispy tendrils of smoke where Itachi and Kisame had just been standing. "They're only delaying the inevitable. It doesn't matter how far away they run, I'll still find them and tear them to pieces… At least," he smirked, slowly turning to scan the dozens of horrified Leaf ninja around him, "I wasn't left without some form of entertainment in the meantime…"
To Be Continued…
Okay, if anyone was confused at the parts concerning elemental chakra or Kakuzu's multiple hearts, it makes a lot more sense if you've been keeping up with the latest chapters of the manga. I also realize there's some discrepancies about the details concerning Kakuzu's extra hearts and what bodies they're actually housed in, but I don't care. I'm taking artistic licensing with those details.
Oh! And if anyone's curious, I was bored over my long hiatus and made a few hand-drawn illustrations from scenes of "Blood Stained Hands." So if you're interested, check out my profile for the link to them.
Any thoughts on this latest chapter? Sasuke and co. better get ready 'cause Kyuubi's coming after them next! Eep!
PLEASE REVIEW!