Chapter 7: Sixth Circle – Heresy

Synopsis: Heresy is the sixth circle of hell to which it is home to those who were heretics in life. These people are ones who turned their back on the higher path or chose to believe is something much less divine. But in this circle the beliefs of a particular shadow ninja is going to be tested in which he will have to face an old foe from the past.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto franchise or characters associated with it. I also do not own any part of the 14th century Italian divine comedy Dante's Inferno.

"talking"

thoughts

~9th Circle – Treachery~

Hinata sat quietly on the edge of the void thinking about all that had happened thus far. She had just tried to assault the love of her life, hurt all of her friends, and had attempted to kill Sakura. After this incident a few thoughts began to jumble around in her mind. The first thought was why Naruto always chose Sakura over herself. Was it because of her body? Her personality? Or simply he just didn't like her as a woman? But as these thoughts swirled around in her head something important made itself known to her subconscious.

"What have I done?" thought the Hyuga heiress as shock began to settle into her features. At thinking it over she had just harmed the people closest to her and by her perception everyone who even cared she existed. Hinata then clasped her hands over her face at what she had done. Then slowly tears began to leak out as soft sobs can be heard.

"I have to fix this" said Hinata as she wiped the tears off. She then stood up and was about to go to her friends. But unfortunately she was a little too late to go anywhere.

"And where do you think you're going?" said the master as it gripped a hand over Hinata's throat. In retaliation the young kunoichi attempted to burst the chakra points in the master's arm, but unfortunately it was to no effect. The fallen deity soon lifted the Hyuga off the ground while still maintaining its hold.

"It seems there is still a bit of light inside of you. But no matter I'll snuff it out soon enough" said the master as Hinata was once again was consumed inside the darkness hell.

The fallen deity released its grasp while folding its arms in. "I can't have you running off yet. You're still needed for their grand appearance here. You'll be the one to finish off your friends." The master then licked its lips. "What a delicious moment that'll be"

~6th Circle – Heresy~

The remnants of team Naruto were still recovering from the attack they just encountered. But it wasn't the hoards of demons or the evil vibe of this world which wore down the Konoha ninjas. Instead it was the attack by the very person they came here to rescue. Naruto and co. had not yet gotten over being attacked by Hinata. Even worse, her attacks had left wounds to which no soldier pill or healing technique could recover.

As they walked, Neji had a slight frown on his face at remembering what his cousin had just said to him moments ago. However he quickly shook his head at the thought. "No, Hinata-sama would never say such things." Since the two year gap that Naruto had been away the Hyuga heiress and her father have done much to make him feel more like family then a slave. But it was with much difficulty as some of the main branch still treated him otherwise. For Neji knew that Hinata, the real Hinata would never say such cruel things. However he could not deny that there was some truth behind his cousin's words.

"Hinata" thought Naruto for he was at a loss of reason to what he should do. The guilt that the blond ninja carried had now seemed to have gotten heavier to witnessing to what have become of the Hyuga heiress. "How can I make this right?" thought Naruto over and over again. Not only has he been hurting Hinata heart with his lack of resolve, but now she was stuck in this horrible place because of him. Back within the City of Dis the Hyuga heiress had made herself quite clear at how long and how much she had wanted him. But at this point in time Naruto could not concern himself with such a thing as his primary focus was just to save her. He then patted his stomach, "I just hope this holds up." Naruto then pictured the old Hinata in his mind, "please come back to us"

But out of the group a certain pink kunoichi was taking it the hardest. The words Hinata had said cut her deeper than any weapon or jutsu could ever do. She along with many other people had always known how Hinata felt about Naruto. But what really put the icing on the cake for her was what she did in order to take Naruto off of Sasuke trail. "I really am a horrible person." But a moment later their thought processes was interrupted as the shadow nin spoke up as they approached the sixth circle of hell.

"We've arrived. Stay alert who knows what we'll encounter here in this domain" said Shikamaru

Now after taking the final step they crossed into the threshold of Heresy. If they thought Greed and Wrath were hot then this place was scorching. The entire domain seemed to be lit in flames, and the only area which wasn't on fire was the bridge they stood on. However just standing around began to cook their feet from right under. As the group glanced around, the relative structure of the place resembled that of a catacomb with a near infinite number of tombs accompanied by a near infinite number of damned burning within them. However another defining thing about this circle was the intense smell of burning flesh. The odor would make even the strongest stomach individual want to vomit. But there was no time for that as the group had more important things to do.

Sakura stood forward surveying the surrounding area. "This is the circle of Heresy. This place is where heretics are sent after they die." The pink kunoichi then looked to a nearby sinner. "However in their case their body is sent with them to forever burn within the flames of their sin"

"Well we better hurry out of here or the heat will cause us some major problems. Naruto which way?" said Shikamaru

The blond ninja then pulled the compass out of his pocket and took a look at it. But without even looking at the guiding tool it seemed rather pointless as there was only one path which headed straight for the other gate not to mention that it was right in sight although very far away. But Shikamaru being Shikamaru was not willing to leave things to the most obvious conclusion.

"It's just straight ahead" said Naruto as he put the compass away

"Alright let's go" said the shadow nin to which everyone began racing down the bridge to hurry and exit this circle. But as they raced down the structure the entire hall appeared to be like a museum of heretics. As they ran by Konoha ninjas saw names inscribed on every casket they passed. Although there were a few names that once belonged to prominent people in history, it didn't really matter as getting out of this circle was far more important than viewing historical celebrities as they were burning a few feet away from them. But finally after what seemed like an eternity of running they reached the gate to the other side. However they would not be crossing as easily as they believed.

"There's no guardian here" said Tenten as she looked over the area. "How strange"

"This might be a trap. Stay on your guard" said Neji as he too began to look around.

Naruto who was also on guard began to look around as well. "There is no way it could be this easy. What do you think Shikamaru? . . . . Shikamaru?" said Naruto as he looked to the team strategist. But upon appearance it seemed the shadow nin was shaking. "Is there something wrong?"

"It can't be!" he replied. Naruto then took notice of what he was looking at to which it appeared to be an empty casket. However the name was still clearly written on it. The blond then took a closer look to only be just as shocked as Shikamaru was to whom the name belonged too.

~9th Circle – Treachery~

"How interesting" said the master as it watched the spectacle that was about to unfold in heresy. But its attention was soon cut short as more urgent news came in.

"Master, the intruder from earlier has safely crossed the outer ring and is beginning to cross through the middle ring. In a matter of moments he'll reach the center and cross through to the eighth circle" said a shadow servant as it kneeled

"Is that so" said the fallen deity as it waved its hand changing the view to violence.

~7th Circle – Violence~

The intruder having just left the outer ring began making his way through the middle ring. However such a task was beginning to become rather troublesome as the ring was composed entirely of a forest. But the forest itself was not composed of plant life; no instead it was composed of human souls who took their own lives while still living on Earth. This place was known as suicide forest where humans who had taken their own lives must stay as they grow in the form brushes and trees while each day harpies eat away at them.

"Annoyances" said the intruder as many of the damned were grabbing him and begging him for sweet release from this world. But in response the intruder pulled out his sword and severed any branches that dared touch him. At such an action, blood began to spill forth from their wounds which gave an example for every tree along the invader's path not to get in his way as he would only make them suffer more rather than kill them.

~9th Circle – Treachery~

"So this is the human that came here first" said the master as it smirked with interest. "But I can't have him coming here just yet. I sense a former connection between him and the other humans. But I also sense deep malice directed at them." The master then had an intriguing idea. "I want to see them meet, but we'll first have to keep him occupied"

The dark one with another wave of its hand searched through infinite for the right soul to keep the previous intruder at bay. Momentarily it found the perfect soul to do just that and saw how delicious it would be for this damned to keep the intruder occupied. So with a flick of its fingers that soul was revived and ready to fight.

"Listen well slave, for there is a human closing in on your area. Since he is the reason you are here in the first place this would be the perfect opportunity for retribution" said the master

The blond man having heard those words could only smirk at the idea of revenge. "I'm going to enjoy this"

~6th Circle – Heresy~

"I thought that guy was immortal?" exclaimed Naruto as he rubbed his eyes to make certain that was the name written on the coffin

"There's no mistaking it. He's here" growled Shikamaru

Immediately a high pitched laughter can be heard as a corpse began climbing his way onto the bridge. Although the being before them had no identifiable marks or a face to speak of, Shikamaru knew who this man was simply by looking at his eyes. The shadow nin's body then started to tremble with rage at seeing his ugly hide again.

"Why are you here?" demanded Shikamaru

The corpse laughed as parts of his body began to regenerate. However most of his body still looked like a rotting corpse with several flames still lit on him. "I was never alive or dead in the first place. As I gave my soul to Jashin I exist now as a true immortal in both this world and the living world. Now that you're here I can fulfill my promise by sacrificing your soul to the one true god!" said Hidan to which a huge demon covered in fire and darkness materialized right behind the zombie man. Hidan then turned to his deity, "My lord, please be patient I shall serve his soul to you along with his blood and carcass to accompany it"

"It would be wise to work together on this one" suggested Neji. "We don't know what he is capable of and should hang back to see what he does"

Everyone nodded to this idea. However Shikamaru had other plans.

"Stay out this! This bastard is mine!" stated the shadow nin as he pulled out his kunai

"This isn't the time for stupid male bravado. We need to work together on this one!" said Sakura

"No! I want this creep all to myself! And I don't want any of you to interfere" snapped Shikamaru

"Shikamaru-kun" quietly stated Lee

"This is just something I need to settle. So please let me deal with this" he then said as he stood forward ready to take on the ridiculous odds before him.

Now the rest of the team knew this was just straight up suicide to fight something like that in a disadvantage place like this. But they understood that there some things people needed to settle alone. So it was agreed upon by everyone in the group that if things got too dicey for the team strategist then they would all step in to help out. But only in the event that Shikamaru was no longer combat capable.

"You honestly think you can win you s**thead!" said Hidan. "You barely managed to hold your own when you last fought me. Plus you don't have the time now to set up any stupid traps. Although it doesn't really matter as there is no way I can be defeated now that Jashin is personally watching over me."

"So that's his f**ked up god" he said as he gave the giant a look over as it was still standing within the flames.

Shikamaru already understood he was at a few other disadvantages from the get go. First was the fact that the bridge was so narrow, so avoiding his opponent's attacks would be far more difficult. If he used that technique again he would be dead for sure. But the bigger problem was the make-up of the terrain. The fact was the entire sixth circle was painted in fire which meant that light covered the entire area in every direction. This meant that his shadow techniques maximum range has been effectively crippled.

"This is going to be a lot more difficult than I thought" thought Shikamaru. "But let's first see what my opponent is capable of"

The shadow nin began by throwing multiple kunai. However Hidan didn't even bother to move or defend as the attacks connected with him. The walking dead just simply smirked while pulling the blades out. "Do you really think such a sissy attack like that can hurt me" to which a demonic version of his original scythe began to materialize in his hand as he raced forward ready to turn his opponent into ribbons.

"Damn" he thought as he ducked and weaved from every slash. However sustained movement began to become more difficult due to the intense heat of the room. He then leaped over his assailant only to be sandwiched between him and his twisted god.

The monster roared as his fist came crashing down onto him to which he managed to barely jump out of the way. However the monstrosity would not give him enough time to recover as it followed up by breathing fire at him. Shikamaru immediately got up wanting to get as much distance from it as possible. But in doing so he was heading right into three familiar scythe blades.

Shikamaru at the last moment managed to evade it by dropping to his knees and slide past the zombie freak only for him to be caught up in his deities attack. The intensity of the situation had now begun to make the shadow nin sweat profusely. But things were only getting worse as his sandals were beginning to cook on the bridge they stood on. The only thing that was keeping his feet from catching on fire was the use of chakra repulsion. However that was beginning to become rather draining as he felt his stamina slip away.

"My lord if you wish to have this impudent heretic for yourself. Then I offer my vessel to you to cleanse this non-believer from your sight" smiled Hidan sinisterly. Soon enough Jashin turned into a cloud of black smoke as it jumped into his follower's body. A moment later Hidan turned around only to appear in his black skin look with red eyes and flames insignias covering every inch of his body.

But instantly the hybrid disappeared only to reappear in front of Shikamaru as he grasped him by the neck lifting him off the ground. "So you are the human who dared to defy me" said Hidan in a demonic voice.

"Shikamaru" yelled out his team as they were prepared at that moment to jump in and separate the two. But he had it under control as he stabbed his kunai right into the monsters face. Jashin yelled in pain as he backed away releasing his victim in the process. "That shouldn't have worked. How were you able to make me feel pain!" demanded the twisted god.

Shikamaru then opened his hand to reveal a sutra paper wrapped around the hilt. "Looks like even you're weak against something like this" he said. "But the way things are now I'll most likely have to blow him a part just like last time"

He then pulled out several kunai and shuriken labeled with a few explosive tags. "Don't mock me boy. Such a level of attack like that can't possibly hurt me" But regardless of the tip he threw them anyways as a few landed blowing up chunks of the bridge while causing some injuries to the deity only for them to recover seconds later. But then out from the smoke debris Shikamaru launched several explosive tags blowing off the demon god's leg, arm, and a section of his torso. However the deity simply used his other arm to knock him away as the once severed and missing parts dissipated only to reappear connected to his body again. "You take me far too lightly boy. If you thought you could defeat me the same way as you did my subject then you are going to pay dearly for it"

The shadow nin having seen the latest ability of his opponent needed to revise his plan. After a quick moment of thinking he came up with an idea that could theoretically work. But this all depended on the one thing his team needed for the rest of the journey down.

"Tenten, do you have any more sutra seals left?" asked Shikamaru

The weapon mistress shook her head. "No, the only ones left are the ones currently in everyone's possession"

Shikamaru face cringed a bit since there was no other way by short of a miracle. "I need the sutra papers you all have left, and I need it now!" and without question they quickly handed it over as he stored it away in his pack.

"Don't be ignoring me now. We're going to have the rest of eternity to spend with each other as I make you one of my devout followers" said Jashin as he swung away at his opponent.

Shikamaru still continued to dodge the best he could, but he could tell that this monster was only toying with him as his attacks were beginning to pick up speed. But by the way things were looking he was running low on kunai and explosive tags. So the next few moments were going to be the difference between winning or eternal damnation with this freak of nature.

"It's now or never!" thought Shikamaru as he pulled out the last of his arsenal and made a last ditch effort to defeat the god before him. As he began his retreat maneuver he launched every kunai he had with explosive tags attached. However some of the attacks missed as they flew past Jashin as most of them didn't even detonate.

"You must be becoming weary now human. Your aim wasn't this terrible moments ago" said the dark god mockingly. The shadow nin began to breathe heavily as the entity was right about his condition. The extreme movements in addition to the harsh environment had completely stolen his stamina. At this point in time he was pretty much at his adversary's mercy.

Shikamaru scoffed at the current conditions he was looking at. "It looks like this is pretty much the end now".

Jashin then gave a wave of his hand to which he was then lifted into the air. The demon god then began to laugh as he prepared for his final move. "I could have finished this long ago mortal. But you have proved yourself to be an amusing mouse". The dark deity then gave a wave of his hand as Shikamaru went flying back smashing into the gate rattling his body to the core. However his pain was only getting started as another wave of the demon gods hand sent him flying into the nearby catacombs forcing him to crash through multiple coffins as he was being dragged through many of them. At this point all Shikamaru could do was endure until his opponent got tired of this.

Now after a short while Jashin brought the battered and half baked ninja onto to the bridge while still keeping him suspended in the air. "You're quite resilient for a human." Jashin then gave a sinister smile, "If you swear your loyalty to me I shall make your death swift and also allow your friends the same fate after you." But the only response the monstrosity got in return was a load of spit in his face.

"You can take your crappy religion and shove it. You'll never crush my will of fire" coolly smirked Shikamaru

The god scowled at this. "Very well human, you shall face a horrific fate as will your friends" Jashin's shadow then connected to Shikamaru and soon enough the demon began to cut himself to which damage began to reflect on his victim.

"Ahhhh" screamed Shikamaru as a gash was formed across his chest

"Shikamaru!" exclaimed Naruto as the entire group immediately raced in to save their companion. However is proved futile as it appeared a barrier repelled them as they tried to get closer. But soon enough none of them were able to move as they too were lifted into the air.

"What is this?" said Lee as he began to try and struggle but to no success

"It's no use, we're trapped" then said Tenten

Jashin began to laugh maniacally at the predicament the humans were facing. "If you all wish to die together I have no qualms with that"

"I guess its game over" said Shikamaru as his eyes began to become shadowed

"Indeed it is" replied the fallen deity with an evil smile. But his flow was immediately disrupted when he started to hear his opponent laugh. "Does your imminent demise humor you that much boy?"

However Shikamaru just looked up with a smirk and gave a twitch of his fingers. "Boom"

Immediately several shadow needles shot from the ground picking up the kunai and explosive tags that didn't go off and attached themselves to their target. A moment later a detonation occurred completely blowing the god a part. However the chain event wasn't over yet as Shikamaru clasped his hands together rearranging all the left over kunai on the ground. At this point the fight was over.

The shadow nin gave a smirk as he soon collapsed to the ground. "Shikamaru" screamed his teammates as they raced to his side to help him up.

"Be careful he'll soon regenerate!" exclaimed Tenten

However Shikamaru gave chuckled to this. "Don't worry, that bastard won't be getting up anytime soon" as he pointed to what was left of his opponent

As the debris began to clear everyone was shocked to what they saw. The seemingly invincible god was nothing more than several bloody dismembered parts scattered all over the ground. But what they didn't understand was why Jashin wasn't regenerating even though he was clearly still alive as he was still yelling at them the very question they were thinking.

"What have you done to me you impudent human?" screamed Jashin as his head laid on the ground looking at them

Shikamaru gave a slight chuckle at this. "I kicked you're a** obviously. You could have killed me at any time. But because of your excessive toying it gave me what I needed to beat you"

"But how did you do it?" asked Naruto

"Look closely around him" Shikamaru simply said

After a quick look everyone immediately understood what had just occurred. "These aren't bomb tags. They're sutra seals" said Sakura

Shikamaru gave a nod to this. "It was honestly a gamble in which I didn't know if this would work on an opponent as strong as this. But in the end I guess I was lucky"

"But how did you arrange them? Your shadows couldn't work with all this light in here" said Tenten

"I was counting on this freaks ego. In order for the plan to work I needed to be point blank for the shadows to initiate" he explained. "If Jashin was anything like Hidan he would want to go face to face with me just to gloat. But that was the moment I needed to arrange the explosive tags to attach and detonate on a delayed timer. Afterwards it was just rearranging the remnants to generate a sutra net to keep this bastard from coming back"

"Boy! You'll pay for this! I'll make you suffer an eternity of pain for this humiliation!" screamed Jashin

The shadow nin scoffed at this. He soon got up while taking out the last sutra paper scrunching it up in his hand. "You really need to shut up" said Shikamaru as he stuffed the paper in the defeated god's mouth. He soon turned around to face his friends. "Sorry I had to use the last of the sutras. But I'll need them here to keep this pile of crap subdued." Everyone nodded to this. They understood it couldn't be helped due to the opponent they were facing.

"Well get going I'll maintain things here" said Shikamaru

"Let me heal up your wounds first" then interjected Sakura

However he stopped her from doing so. "No, you guys need to conserve as much chakra as you can. Things from here are only going to get harder and soldier pills aren't going to cut it anymore. Besides I've got some medical supplies so I can easily stop the bleeding and take care of the burns on my own". He then closed his eyes before opening them again. "Be careful going down. You need to make sure you stay one step ahead on everything else down here. But furthermore you're getting closer to the end and things are only going to become increasingly dangerous. So conserve as much as you can and maintain your sanity because there are some things here that human eyes should never have to see"

Everyone understood and took his words to heart as they began to exit into the next domain of hell. But just like always, "Stay safe Shikamaru and try not to do anything crazy" said Naruto

Shikamaru smirked as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "What a troublesome person." He then looked up to Naruto, "Go rescue Hinata, she's waiting for her prince to come"

Naruto gave a slight blush to this but then broke into a smile. "We'll bring her home. You can count on it" and soon the group left to the circle of violence.

But as soon as they were out of sight the shadow nin fell to the ground unable to do anymore. He then looked to Jashin whose eyes looked like they were bulging at him. "I guess I pushed myself a little too hard. But I can't die yet. I still need to make sure they get back" and soon Shikamaru grabbed his opponents scythe and stabbed it into the ground keeping the gate open.

"Hurry back guys" was all he could say as he soon passed out waiting for them to return giving the news of their success

Author's notes: Well I hope this chapter was an entertaining piece to read. But at this point in time it'll start to probably take longer to update due to my current schedule. So anyways the only characters left to fight are Neji, Lee, Tenten, Sakura, and Naruto. But also keep in mind that another soul decended with Jiraiya to aid the Konoha ninja, but this person won't be revealed until the time is right. Furthermore they are going to meet the person who had trespassed into hell first. I believe it should be obvious who the person is. However why he is here won't be revealed until later chapters.

So I thank you for your time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.