Drifting

by AlphaDelta1001

Naruto is many things; troublesome, wild, unpredictable, adventurous, untamable, unique. But there's a benefit to being wild and unpredictable; no one has the faintest idea what you're going to do next. NarutoHarem

44. Land of Demons Arc-Conqueror's Nightmare

Author's Note: A quick update this time, because I'm a nice guy and everything, and it's a holiday. :)

Looks like I've got a lot to live up to.

Anyhow, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.

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NARUTO

Drifting

A Conqueror's Worst Nightmare

Sprinting through the woods in the biggest hurry he'd ever been in his life, Naruto continued following the phantom trail left behind in the wake of his shadow clone. Remembering every step, every jump and every hop his doppelganger had made across the landscape, the jinchuriki made sure not to stop for anything, as he was determined to get to the last place his clone had ended up in before he was dispelled. It wasn't just the fact that his copy went up in the first place that he was in such a hurry; it was what had transpired from his doppelganger's point of view that terrified the blonde the most.

Panting rapidly as he pushed through the undergrowth and trees as hard as his body could carry him, after two minutes of trekking through the thickest woodland he'd ever come across, bingo. The Jonin eventually arrived at the very clearing, hidden within the thick of the dense forest, where his shadow clone had made its last stand.

There he found laying on the ground, still and peaceful as if she were asleep, the priestess of the Land of Demons Shion. With blood leaking out of her mouth, notable burns dotting her form from head to toe, and eyes closed in a deep and serene slumber, the priestess lay there in the earth and grass, with her body turned and facing the canopy high above. On first glance she appeared to be alone. However, lying several feet away from her spot, with their body burnt even worse than hers and a shocked gaze slapped lifelessly across their muddled face was the mangled, pink-haired form of Kusuna.

These two bodies were positioned well away from one another. Not to mention standing guard over the priestess herself, adorned in a blue vest and with a sad gaze fixed squarely upon the fallen angel beneath him, sat an enormous orange toad. Naruto wasn't at all surprised to see the large amphibian there, nor was he surprised at the sight of the bodies. Recalling his clone's last moments of existence, his doppelganger had managed to summon his companion to this plain at the last moment before all hell had broken loose.

It was obvious a very quick exchange had taken place. However, the results of their skirmish were glaringly obvious and the jinchuriki didn't need to be recounted in its entirety.

Catching his breath, Naruto approached the area and saw the toad look up at him. When he stepped into the rays of sun breaking into the clearing, the shinobi looked over the battered form of the princess with a momentary gleam of defeat. However, after a few seconds of staring, his attention then turned to his battle companion and he spoke in a low, hoarse voice, "Good to see you again, Gamakichi."

The giant toad looked back at the blonde with a small smile, "Likewise, bro."

Naruto, acknowledging his partner with a gentle nod, once again locked his gaze on the fallen Shion and continued to speak, "I assume from the bodies that you guys won?"

"Yeah," the toad replied, before looking across at the enemy shinobi's corpse lying smoldering several meters away. "It was a messy win… but we got the guy in the end."

"Uh-huh."

Cringing slightly at his friend's dry response, Gamakichi continued on while gesturing to the one that was formerly their adversary. "That freak was about to cut this girl up when your half-dead clone summoned me here, and I was able to jump between them to stop the bastard. However, the pink-haired shrimp was quick and managed to get around me when I tried to take him out." His eyes then turned to the girl's broken form in front of them and his expression saddened once more, "But then this pretty little thing responded by attaching paper bombs to the fucker when he got too close and set them off. She ended up frying both herself and him in one hit."

Absorbing this information, the blonde quickly processed what he'd been told and surveyed the scene for a few minutes longer. Taking in the sight of the battered Shion as well as the man she managed to bring down with her before he could finish her off, Naruto balled his hand into a fist and nodded in understanding. "Good. That's good." He then turned and began to walk away from the kill zone, his pace set on slow and his voice unsettlingly level, "I mean… one less for us to worry about… right?"

"B-Bro?" Gamakichi murmured, watching quietly as the blonde staggered to the other end of the clearing. From the toad's tone of voice, you could hear the exact amount of worry he was feeling for his partner and friend from the hidden leaf.

Of course, he didn't have time to really delve into the conversation and ask how the blonde was doing or how the fight on his end had gone. That's because the moment the jinchuriki reached the edge of the clearing, he immediately put his fist through a tree straight through to the other side. The sharp thump followed by flying splinters brought a dead silence to the entire area, at the same time scaring a few birds out of their roosts.

Panting and gritting his teeth in frustration, Naruto gave a low snarl through a clenched jaw and expressed his anger in the most subtle way he could at the moment. After which he removed his fist from the trunk and looked back at the body of the priestess lying in the center. Staring at her lithe form for several moments in thought, the boy then shut his eyes tightly and snapped his head away. A look of sadness then fell upon him a little while later.

"I fucked up… I fucked up big time." Clenching his fist again, the Jonin rapped it a couple of times against the bark and turned to face his battle companion once more, "I was too focused on going for the head of the snake… trying to find the brain behind all of this… when I should have been focusing all of my attention on keeping Shion safe."

Concerned for his compatriot's emotional status, Gamakichi rounded on him and gave the kid a firm look, "It's not your fault, bro."

"Yes! It is!" Naruto snapped, eyes fixing on the toad for a second time before he yanked them away out of grief and frustration. "I spared those two fuckers to try and find out where Moryu was… but they came back to try and kill Shion instead. Though I knew they would come after us eventually, I never expected them to come back swinging the way they did." The group used powerful steroid shots to increase their chakra reserves, allowing them to fight for extended periods and at completely different levels. Despite how big of a shortcut that was, it'd still been an effective, albeit dangerous way, to fight.

Not even Neji or Shikamaru could have seen that one coming, not without first fighting them for a couple of rounds.

"It was a calculated risk and I screwed it up… because I got cocky," Naruto said, stepping further into the clearing with his head lowered in defeat.

Gamakichi, taking in a deep breath to compose himself, then gave the Jonin a half smile, "It's just you, bro. Stuff like this happens every day and no matter what you try to do to stop it… sometimes you can't help it. What's done is done. There's no turning back."

Coasting to a halt beside his summon once again and staring down at the priestess lying peacefully in the grass, Naruto slowly assessed the words that'd been shared with him, before his expression sunk to a whole other level. "Well… I can tell you this… that's the last time I'm ever going to leave an open window for anybody like that ever again. That's it. No more." Glancing across at Gamakichi to see the giant toad nod his way, the blonde then acknowledged his firmly spoken remarks and fixed his sights squarely on the other end of the clearing, "Since I was the one who screwed things up and let this happen… I'll bury him myself."

"I told you so."

A female voice suddenly breaking into the area, Gamakichi and Naruto looked around to see stepping out from behind the safety of one of the enormous red woods, an alive and perfectly healthy Shion. Though the sight of her would have left anybody else questioning what the hell was going on due to the fact that there was not one but two priestesses, one of which was lying on the ground between them, the sight of her reappearing didn't faze the two companions one bit. Instead, the giant toad just watched as the teen approached them from the perimeter and the Jonin furrowed his brow at the girl when she eventually pulled up alongside her lifeless counterpart.

"Taruho knew what he was doing. He was adamant in taking my place," Shion stated, her brow creasing when she glared down at the body double lying in the soil. "No matter what I said… I could not dissuade him."

His own eyes falling upon the twin, the jinchuriki also frowned in a displeased manner, "He sacrificed himself, not just to take down the enemy, but to protect you as well." Fixing briefly on the well dead Kusuna, the blonde then knelt down beside the transformed Taruho and placed a hand atop his forehead. Even though the young soldier had permanently transformed himself into an exact body-double of the priestess, a process that was pretty much irreversible, the blonde still saw the same, spirited young warrior that he was behind the physical veil. It was a face he would never be able to bring himself to forget; just another soul he could add to the dozens of people he'd already seen come and go in his life. "Though I respect him for what he did… I only wish it didn't have to turn out this way. I could have saved him from this."

"But you didn't," Shion replied her eyes turning to the Jonin to see him narrow his gaze on the fallen comrade in response to her harsh retort, "I told you before… no matter what you do, you can't change fate. I saw Taruho die… and that's exactly what happened to him. You are a fool for believing you can sway destiny… and he was an even bigger fool for coming with us."

It was this statement that had Naruto's shoulder jerk before the blonde turned his ire towards the priestess. From the look in his eyes, you could see the offense burning, even when Shion turned her back on him.

"Death was his choice. There's no need to mourn the idiot."

Muscles tightening, Naruto jumped to his feet with a look of outrage and anger flashing into view. After which he then pointed down at the defeated Taruho, "Is that so? Well, maybe you've forgotten who he gave his life for!"

"BE QUIET!" Shion suddenly screamed back at him before taking off, sprinting into the woods, "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Balking at her unexpected reaction, the jinchuriki quickly gave chase.

"Hey! WAIT!" The Jonin barreled into the bushes after the girl, leaving Gamakichi behind to watch over their fallen friend.

Shion ran far and fast, following a random path through the forest that wasn't even a path at all. She sprinted through shrubs, pushed passed branches, ran around trees and climbed, climbed, climbed. Hell, the jinchuriki following after her shadow believed she didn't even know where she was going. It was obvious from the directions she was taking that she wanted to get away from him and away from the scene as fast as possible. However, after what she'd just said, Naruto wasn't going to let her get away so easily.

What with all the crap he'd had to put up with and in the wake of probably his biggest screw-up since his fight with Orochimaru's henchmen all those years ago, he'd had enough. This time, he wasn't going to let the priestess out of his sight, nor was he going to let this sit quietly.

"Where do you think you're going, huh?!" Naruto yelled, purposefully lagging behind as the girl ran on. Keeping within distance of her, the Jonin made sure the priestess could hear every word he had to say as they continued running up the hill to where the latter was going, "Taruho gave up everything for your sake! He threw his life away… ALL FOR YOU! And you have the nerve to shrug off his sacrifice?! You can't even shed a single tear for him?! Are you seriously that cold hearted?!"

Eventually, after what felt like hours of running, Shion stopped. Planting her hands against the side of a tall standing tree, the priestess kept her head lowered and back turned, even when the jinchuriki stopped behind her. The shinobi held his position, glaring at the girl's shoulders as she remained where she was, catching her breath from a hard sprint and shutting out everything else around her. But in the end, she couldn't lose him.

She would now have to take her tongue lashing, whether she wanted it or not.

"It's bad enough that I let this fucking happen. But not only do you turn your back on him, you also tread on his sacrifice; a man who spent his entire life looking out for you," Naruto said, at the same time starting to walk towards her, "Don't you feel anything for him?"

Her breathing ceasing, Shion allowed one of her arms to drop to her side before, in a voice shaking and quiet, she answered in kind, "How can I not be heartbroken…" Clenching her teeth and shaking her head, the girl then let fly the tears she now had pouring down her face, showing the world just how she really felt with one loud and decisive holler, "WHEN SOMEONE SO CLOSE TO ME IS GONE!"

The girl's outcry had Naruto stop dead in his tracks and look at the priestess in astonishment, "Y-You're actually…"

Sobbing silently, the nation leader clenched her hand against the bark and shut her eyes, "I can't allow myself to cry. It would only desecrate the memory of the many… who've given their lives for me."

Confounded by the priestess's admission, Naruto's expression steeled and he gave the young woman his undivided attention, "But why?" He had a feeling he knew what she was talking about. However, as he wasn't too sure, he lent the girl his ears to her plight.

Shion slowly looked up and faced the tree she was leaning against, at the same time allowing her sadness to flow freely when she opened her heart to the shinobi standing behind her. "Foresight… is the power that ensures the life of the priestess of the Land of Demons. When she perceives her death, the soul leaves the body and shows the past self the image of her demise, as well as the people who are near her in that final moment. The priestess then reveals this vision to her attendants, who believe they must take her place to prevent her death. That is how our foresight works. In the end, the future death of the priestess is replaced by the one who will sacrifice their life for her… so that she may live." Her fists clenched at this, "So that I may live."

Watching the princess sit upon the ground and bring her knees up to her chest, at the same time wrap her arms around them to hide her face, Naruto remained standing where he was watching, listening, and processing everything the girl was saying to him.

Now it all made sense.

Shion's arrogant, spoilt nature, her supposed disgracing of her subordinates' sacrifices and her disregard for the concept of change, it was all because of her powers. All of her poor social behaviors and attitudes in front of others was just a front for the 'cameras', a coping mechanism for her, something that ensured both herself and the people that served her that things were going to be alright, and that life could carry on as per normal. Though that last part may have been a bit of a stretch to believe, Naruto figured that this was something Shion had been doing ever since she became conscious of her own voice and thoughts.

Concealing both her loneliness and sadness behind this mask of a priestess, one who'd seemingly trampled upon the lives she'd left behind, but in reality had been grieving for them the entire time.

That was a weight the jinchuriki knew was impossible to live with. After all, he had his own demons too… and so did Shion.

"I think I get it," Naruto spoke, stepping forward while placing a solemn stare on the poor girl, "These visions are a warning that the priestess' life is in danger… and that she must act in order to prevent them."

Shion nodded and closed her eyes, once again obscuring them from sight, "So many times I thought to myself… that maybe I should leave this world and be done with it. But I can't. If I die… there will be no one left to seal Moryu away… or anymore of his kind should they suddenly appear. Our world will be lost. No matter how much pain or sadness I swallow… more will die so that I can live!" Choking on another body racking sob, the priestess shook her head and whimpered, "I just… don't know what to do."

"That's just ridiculous," Naruto said loudly before throwing his arms out in exasperation, "How come it's the people of the Land of Demons that has to sacrifice?"

The priestess then looked up, her eyes brimming with tears and anguish, "It's just how it is for us. No matter how unjust; we endure." Her gaze then morphed into one of anger, "It's my people's fate… and mine."

At that, Naruto stared long and hard, his expression becoming stone solid as his sapphire blue eyes remained transfixed on the girl sitting on the ground. After silence reigned over the pair for what felt like an eternity, the jinchuriki decided to ask his final question, "And you… you're okay with that?"

Shion, eyes shimmering, turned away and started to cry again, something that had even Naruto close his eyes and avert his attention.

All this talk of cruel fate and such…

It really… really sucked.

OOO

Many hours later…

Elsewhere…

Sitting upon a throne on top of a raised platform lit by torches and surrounded by a battalion of a hundred stone soldiers, the pale form of Yomi was currently in a deep state of silent meditation. His form bathed in the orange glow of flames flickering from the posts on either side of him and his hair waving on the wind passing him by, the man remained steadfast and still in his position. With the number of troops protecting and watching over him, it was apparent he had little to fear of an assassination attempt, and with the powers he had at his disposal he had a strong backup plan too.

However, judging from the dark circles under his eyes and the way the muscles in his hands were starting to twitch, it appeared as though he was reaching the limits of his endurance.

He had Moryu's spirit sealed safely inside of him. Even so, the demon's chakra was not an easy thing to contain. Even with all his knowledge of dark medical ninjutsu, his body's natural strength, and the fact that it was his clan who had been bred to hold the soul of the great conqueror, the demon's energy was so potent that even in an ethereal form, it was causing his insides to rot. That pretty much meant the man had more to worry about dying from the power dwelling inside of him then of any outside forces that wished to interfere with his plans.

It was for that very reason he held on, waiting for the right moment to make his final move on the sealing shrine.

Until the priestess was destroyed, his master's plans for world domination would only be half-complete. There was nothing else for it.

But then, just as the man was in the midst of calming yet another muscle spasm from the potent chakra disintegrating his body from the inside out, Yomi's head snapped upwards when he suddenly sensed a disturbance on the ether. Gaze turning towards the horizon, the man gauged the issue properly for several long moments, before an irritated snarl escaped his lips. Clenching his fist, the dark haired man expressed his displeasure with both his expressions and his voice.

"So they failed," the shinobi mumbled, at the same time focusing on the soldiers in front of him. "Damn it. I thought those worthless scum would put up a better fight."

"We cannot wait any longer," the disembodied voice of Moryu echoed in on the wind, drawing Yomi's gaze in its direction, "I sense the priestess is approaching. Get me to the sealing shrine now so that we may begin the ceremony."

"Y-Yes… my lord," the shinobi bowed, at the same time instructing his guard of rock warriors to move.

With a thunderous stomp, the battalion proceeded onwards. Just as a couple of them approached the podium and prepared to lift the man's seat to carry him to their next destination, the demon's voice flooded over the field once more. This prompted the warriors to stop and for Yomi to again address the spirit with his attention.

"Once I have returned to my original body… I will take care of the priestess myself; her and the mortal rats following in her wake."

"Moryu-sama?"

"I sense a group of powerful presences nearby. We must hurry."

And so they did.

OOO

Meanwhile…

Back in the clearing, Naruto, Shion and Gamakichi were long gone. Having taken Taruho's body and buried him far away from the area where he'd made his last stand against the enemy, the Jonin leader of the assignment and the one charged with the protection of the priestess then sent his fighting companion and summon back to Mount Myoboku, before carrying on with his client alone. After giving her all the time the poor girl needed to calm herself down and mourn over the loss of her closest bodyguard, the blonde then set their sights on the final step of their mission.

Before long, they were well on their way to the sealing shrine.

Because of all the chaos that had ensued the group and the quick passing of time, the hidden leaf shinobi had ended up leaving Kusuna's body behind as well, having found no use in dragging it along with him. He'd just left the man there to lie well into the late evening, with the only acknowledgement being spared for the rogue ninja being a few furtive glances and words regarding the brief battle that'd been fought there. However, this meant that the pink haired ninja's corpse had also been left out in the open for the whole world to see.

It'd also been left out for somebody in particular to find.

Having been tracking the priestess's party for the past couple of days at the behest of his master, the form of a silver haired man carrying a large, triple-bladed scythe on his back dropped down into the clearing to investigate the body lying in the middle of it. Adorned in a black, hooded cloak with red trim underneath, as well as sporting the usual attire of a shinobi, the man covered in stitches, with purple eyes and a snarky grin on his face approached the smoldering remains of the Gang of Four squad leader, and absently kicked at his sandal to see if he could coax any life out of him.

Much to the man's disappointment however, the guy was long gone.

"Man… that's a fucking shame," Hidan exclaimed as he took a quick look around at the woods surrounding him. Adjusting the enormous scythe strapped to his back and slicking his hair with his palm, the shinobi then gave a tired sigh and shook his head, "All this time I spent tracking these motherfuckers, and somebody's already gone and done them in. That's just swell."

In spite of acting his usual, cheerful, murderous self, complete with profanities and all, the man was actually there on a mission to oversee the progress of a certain operation. In other words, he was there to ensure that everything for the priestess was as right as rain.

His orders were simple; the priestess needs to get to the sealing shrine of Moryu's body in one piece. It didn't matter who else died on the trip over there. As long as the girl successfully manages to seal away the great conqueror or destroy him, whichever one came first, the scythe-wielder could consider his mission over and done with.

"Ridding this world of that demon is all well and good, but why does this mission have to be so damn boring?" Hidan groaned, looking up towards the trees and letting out a loud whine. "I want to kill somebody already! If I don't, then Jashin-sama is going to have a fit."

Hence the main reason for his displeasure.

However, just before he could get into the full swing of his misery, the assassin and follower of the genocidal faith then had his gaze turned towards the canopy above him. His senses picking up the sounds of twigs snapping, the man with greased-back silver hair then spotted two unknown figures standing on the branches above. Both of them adorned in black outfits and masks aligning them to the ANBU Black Ops of Konohagakure, it took a moment for the hunter to really identify the two people who were staring down at him, before an excited grin spread across his lips.

Reaching up and gripping his scythe, the man turned to face the figures glaring down at the clearing, "Well, well, well… what do we have here? Are you guys after the priestess as well?" Receiving no response except for a slight head movement from the shinobi when they looked at one another, Hidan drew his scythe and slammed the tips of his blades into the ground. The sharp ends burying into the soil was the only clue the pair needed to know that this man was out for a fight, "Heh. It doesn't matter either way. Since nobody else is following the girl, I don't have to worry about keeping up with her tight little ass anymore. For now I can just kick back and have some fun… and I think I'll start my lunch break by lopping the heads off of you fuckers and sacrificing you to the good lord up high."

Hearing this blatant threat prompted the ANBU with the Neko mask and brown hair to draw the sword from his back, while the other, red-haired one wearing the Kitsune mask, unclasped the holster on her leg.

Seeing the two react brought a more menacing grin to Hidan's face, who then licked one of the stitch-works on the corner of his mouth before bringing his scythe up to run the same tongue over the end blade.

In spite of the weapon being a new one, it was still his accessory of murder.

"You want to play with me as well? Alright then… come and get me, ass-wipes!" Hidan cheered, before springing into the air and flying towards the two ANBU with his characteristic battle cry, "ORAAAAAA!"

This day just kept on getting better and better.

OOO

Elsewhere…

Night… and all was quiet across the Land of Swamps… for the most part.

"Wow… what a depressing place," came the sarcastic remark from an obviously unimpressed Naruto as he looked across the rocky hillsides down toward the base of the enormous mountain that was their final destination. With Shion supported comfortably on his back and his arms occupied in keeping her up, the jinchuriki continued looking from one flat of the region to the next before his eyes rested on the very place they'd spent the past two days trying to get to, "Couldn't the guys who built this make it look, I don't know… more good looking… or at least cooler so that people know that it's actually a shrine?"

The blonde haired girl sitting on his back frowned, "This is a holy place and a domain of one of the greatest evils to have ever walked the earth. It's not supposed to be good looking."

"That doesn't mean they can't dress it up a little and put up warning signs telling people to stay away," Naruto shrugged before nodding down the field they would be traversing in the next few seconds, "I don't see a banner anywhere saying 'humans keep out'. Do you?"

"The entrance to this mountain is hidden from sight and is well out of the way of any known human settlements in the region," Shion shot back, at the same time scowling at the Jonin looking back at her. "Besides, if any travelers should happen across this area by chance, they would know not to trespass on these grounds."

"Relying on people's instincts to stay away?" Naruto murmured and frowned distastefully, "That's just asking for all kinds of trouble."

Shion's eyebrow twitched as a result, "Well, I'm sorry. But my people couldn't be bothered erecting a temple for every piece of Moryu we had scattered across the continent. Why would we? A monster like that doesn't deserve even the comfort of a tombstone."

"Well… I agree with you on that bit," the jinchuriki shrugged while scrunching his face up in disapproval, "The first bit, not the second bit. Come on. Even a demon of absolute malevolence and destructive power deserves a home."

"Thanks brat," the voice of the fox spoke up from below, a red eye cracking open to stare through the bars of his cell, "That means a lot."

"Don't mention it."

Scowl tightening, Shion looked away with a huff, "You're such a weirdo."

This comment brought a grin to Naruto's face, "I know. But don't worry; my kind of weirdness has a habit of growing on people."

"Ugh. Just get us down to the shrine already," the priestess grumbled while tightening her hold around the boy's shoulders, "I swear, if I keep talking to you for any longer, I'm going to end up with the worst brain tumor ever."

"Well excuse me for being such an annoyance, your highness-ness," Naruto responded in a snarky tone, shaking his head and crouching low, "I'll make this quick. That way you won't have to listen to my insufferable ramblings any longer and I won't have to listen to yours. Deal?"

"Hmph. Deal," Shion responded, at the same time turning her gaze elsewhere. She was obviously still showing a continuing disapproval toward the young Jonin's roguish way of talking, especially since she'd had to put up with the rugged shinobi the entire time. They were practically stuck with each other, day in and day out.

Believe it or not though, but only after a couple of days of hanging off of the orange wearing clown's shoulders, she was actually starting to get used to the routine of speaking with him, even if he was a tad bit irritating. However, the feeling was mutual and the two of them admitted to rather enjoying their frequent verbal feuds. It helped them to kill the silence.

And so, their trek down the valley road began. Hopping down from the cliff, Naruto led a full on charge against the shrine's entrance while at the same time avoiding the hundreds of boulders lying about the valley. It was only a few seconds in the jinchuriki then noticed how many of the giant rocks were actually lying around, which made him question the purpose of their positioning and the reason that they were there in the first place.

About a minute of leaping across the valley later, the Jonin stopped dead in his tracks, right in the middle of a whole mass of boulders. The expression he wore at that very moment conveyed a sense of surprise and realization, "Oh…"

Shion, blinking in confusion, looked at her protector in concern, "What's wrong?"

The boy then glanced over his shoulder, "Sneaky bastards. I knew there was something wrong…"

Before the girl could question him about his sudden redirection of attention, a low rumbling followed by the sounds of rock exploding drew their gazes toward the collection of boulders surrounding them. At first baffled by the sights of the many hundreds of rocks going up in a shower of smoke and debris, the pair then saw an army of soldiers dressed in battle armor rise up from out of the shells. Dispersing of the gravel covering them, the terracotta warriors made their presences known with a flash of their eyes and a drawing of their weapons.

The sight had Naruto recoil, "Okay… now that's something you don't see every day."

"Th-The ghost army?" Shion murmured, her eyes darting around the army of enemy troops she could see starting to gather around them. "If they're here… then that means Moryu is somewhere nearby."

"Heh. That's comforting to know. The guy must have brought at least five battalions with him for protection," Naruto replied with a frown, at the same time watching the dozens of rock men in their area begin to advance on them. When he saw them raise their weapons for an attack, the jinchuriki clenched his teeth, "Alright, we're going through these guys. Hang-WHOA!"

Before he was even ready to start, he leapt straight into the air, avoiding a terracotta soldier popping up out of the ground directly beneath him and thrusting a spear up at him. The result was the blade barely chipping the Jonin's leg, but startling both teenagers, especially Shion, who lost her grip on her protector and fell free from his back high above the ground. Naruto spun to try and grab her, but the priestess had already fallen too far and was now plummeting over the side of the cliff.

Expression reflecting her shock as she felt the air rushing around her and saw the cliff passing her by, Shion closed her eyes and braced. Her hair whipping at the sides of her face and the bell on her jacket chiming loudly, the priestess allowed herself to curl up while she continued to plummet further from the precipice. It was a sensation that was all too familiar to her, yet at the same time new and terrifying.

She knew what was coming. But then again, she was praying for a different outcome.

"Will I… will I be saved again?" the priestess asked, wondering if at this crossroad she would once again have someone put their life on the line for her or whether death would finally come and claim her. It was a question she had asked herself many times in the past and each and every time she'd gotten an answer, it'd led to the deaths of many who were closest to her.

It was then, as the chiming of the bell on her collar echoed into the farthest corners of her consciousness, the girl's eyes flew open in realization of her position. Turning in her fall, the girl faced the level that waited for her far below. While the rock wall continued to pass her by in bullet time, the sight of a lake pooling at the base of it came into view, growing closer and closer with each passing second. The sight was one that she marveled at and at the same time opened her arms to embrace.

"M-Maybe… if I died here…" the girl continued, at the same time gripping the bell on her collar between her fingers, "Naruto… and my people… won't have to give their lives for me anymore." She had to save them. She wanted to save them. Save them from the fate of having to sacrifice their lives for her. If she was to leave this world, then she would be able to free them of that horrible burden.

However, just as she was about to accept her fate, Shion was caught completely by surprise when, just milliseconds from crashing into the ice cold lake, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her and Naruto's face appear alongside hers. Looking across at him in bewilderment, the priestess saw the grinning young male turn their bodies so that his back was aimed towards the water's surface, before they both hit it a split second later. The splash was high and the ripples from the impact reached the banks, and for the next few seconds there was no sign of them.

Eventually, the surface of the lake was once again broken by the reappearance of said jinchuriki and his charge, the Jonin cradling Shion carefully in his arms as he made his way back onto shore. His sandals making a loud squishing sound with every step, he eventually set the equally soaked girl at the base of a tree, before standing upright and doing a full-body cringe. He then turned around… slowly, and staggered to the lake side while attempting to rub his stinging shoulders.

"Ngh… oh man… back flap," Naruto groaned, slowly adjusting to the agony and glaring up at the cliff.

Due to the nature of the girl's fall, the jinchuriki had had to course correct prematurely and use his Tsubame no Koto (Soaring Swallow) to catch up to her. Unfortunately, since they were so close to the water, he couldn't pull up in time, lest they wind up crashing through the trees of the surrounding forest. He was going to have to work on proper repulsion over water-based surfaces by the time he got back to Konoha. That was just embarrassing.

"Stupid stone soldiers," the blonde cursed and waved a fist, "I'll show them! Nobody throws me off a cliff!"

"You shouldn't have saved me," Shion suddenly spoke, interrupting the Jonin from his tirade and causing him to freeze in place. With her eyes cast downwards and her body drying off under the veil of night, the priestess brought her knees up closer and continued to speak, the moisture glistening off of her deliciously smooth skin. "If you'd have just let me go… you wouldn't have to die." The girl then lowered her gaze further in distaste. "Well… at least… not until Moryu gets around to destroying the world."

Processing her words carefully, the jinchuriki gave a light chuckle and removed his jacket, showing off the impressive, athletically toned muscles on his back. Upon squeezing out the water from his top the good old-fashioned way, he then flung it over his shoulder and went on to removing his headband, which had also come loose in the fall. Scrubbing his hair, the Jonin waved his head to rid his locks of the excess water, an effect that threw up a spray around him and showed off his dazzling debonair visage from the side.

The sight of the blonde drying himself off by the lake had Shion stop and stare at him in awe. Her heart literally skipped a beat when she got a good look at his dashing face, framed by both his wild, golden locks and the water flying off of him, drawing a stifled gasp from her throat. This was really the first time she'd ever considered him so intently before. It drew an almost primal response from within, one that she concealed behind a silent gaze and red cheeks. Her heartbeat eventually returned to her, only at a more erratic pace when she saw the healthy young male slick back his hair, unwittingly flex his arm, and move to tie his headband back on.

She eventually managed to return to their plain of reality. But when she did, it ended in her balking in surprise and looking away with a glowing red face.

"But… I tell yah what," Naruto murmured, at the same time tightening the knot on his headband, "I'm not dying."

"I-It's useless," Shion replied, unable to hide her inadvertent stammer.

Turning back around, the Jonin smirked at her, "It's not useless."

The priestess growled, "That just means I'll be the one to go!"

"Screw that! I'm not letting you die either."

In response, Shion gritted her teeth and shut her eyes angrily, "One of us will be dead it's just a question of who!"

"Don't give me that!" Naruto responded, slipping his jacket back on and adjusting it at the collar. After which he placed a hand on his hip and grinned brightly, "The future isn't written yet. We can still change it."

Still looking away with her eyes shut, the girl stubbornly shook her head and held her ground. They were arguing again. Why did it always come down to this? The guy was so annoying! "For the hundredth time! You can't-"

"I'll protect you," Naruto interrupted, his face suddenly appearing directly in front of the priestess and startling Shion out of her sentence, drawing a sharp inhale from her.

Feeling her breath catch in her throat, the girl stared back at the smiling mug of the handsome young man hovering directly in front of her. With her cheeks starting to redden once more, Shion quickly turned and faced the tree, meekly placing her hand against its side and beginning to tremble. Her response had Naruto tilt his head in surprise, but he continued to listen to her as she spoke in a quiet tone.

"How though… it's impossible…"

At this, Naruto smiled, "Trust me."

Her body continuing to shake as her heartbeat quickened, Shion shut her eyes and shook her head, "W-Why can't I look at him?" She'd never felt anything like this before. What was this sudden inability to look the boy in the eyes? Was it because he was so unbearably irritating, because she couldn't rid her mind of his dashing smile and face? Was it the conviction in his voice that he spoke with? What was it?

"Trust you?" Unable to answer these questions, the girl looked back at the Jonin, where she saw him beaming and crouching down beside her. Her eyes widening at how close he was, she then watched Naruto cock his head and give her his usual, characteristic grin, before speaking up in earnest.

"Hey… tell me; what was this vision you saw of me?" the blonde asked, surprising her yet again before he rested his arm across his knee, "Did you see me dying tonight in a dark, smelly old cave in the middle of nowhere? Or tomorrow? Or on a beach on a distant island? How about in a field of flowers? Where did you think you saw me die… and how?"

Mouth moving but no sounds coming out at first, the priestess then gulped before speaking quietly, "I… I saw you die… in lava and fire… in a fortress above the skies."

"Uh-huh. And when?"

"M-Many… many months from now…"

"And was this Moryu bastard anywhere to be seen?"

Shion's eyes widened and shimmered in astonishment, before she shook her head, "N-No."

This drew another grin from the Jonin, who then reached up and pushed some hairs out of her face, a gesture which drew an even deeper shade of scarlet from the girl, "Do you know why?" Shion shook her head once again, "Because the world doesn't end today… nor does it end tomorrow… because I'm going to destroy this bastard and send his ass straight down to hell." He turned and showed her his back, extending his arms out and signaling Shion to 'climb on'. "I'm not going to die either. I have a plan… and I want you to be there with me when I see it through."

Staring at him for up to a minute, looking at his back, taking in the sight of the shinobi's broad shoulders and the way he faced ahead of him without fear or hesitation, Shion quickly came to a unanimous decision. Curling her fingers, the girl produced a smile and rose to her feet, before allowing her body to drape over the Jonin's back. There was tenderness in her actions as she openly accepted him as the one who would carry her over the rise. She brought her face close to his and wrapped her arms completely around him, embracing the warmth that was his strength.

When he stood up, with the girl held securely on his back, Shion whispered, "Naruto… do you swear?"

The blonde haired young man nodded, "Of course. I swear on my ninja way… and that's a promise."

OOO

The earthly constructed ghost army under Moryu experienced very little to no action following their intended targets 'croaking early' and plummeting over the side of the nearby cliff. This pretty much left hundreds upon hundreds of stone soldiers walking around the now deserted valley not knowing what to do or what to make of themselves. All they did was just stand, walk around, and keep watch over the region, making sure that nobody else crossed them and entered the mountain via the small entrance at the base of it.

For the next few minutes it was all quiet across the valley and the thousand-man battalion present and at attention continued to hold their ground. However, when it seemed like silence would once again become the dominant force in the area, their gazes were eventually drawn to a nearby ridge overlooking the plain, where they saw Naruto reappear with a perfectly alive and well Shion on his back. The two blondes stood before the attention of the army with a steadfast grin on one of them and a nervous look on the other. Upon securing a comfortable spot on the precipice, the jinchuriki then began taking count of the enemy's numbers, just to see what he was up against.

"Let's see… I'd say there's… just over a thousand stone soldiers down there," Naruto murmured, before his head gave an affirmative nod and he readjusted his stance, "Yeah… this'll do just nicely."

"H-How are you going to get through them all?" Shion asked, shirking uneasily when she saw the regiment on the levels down below turn to them at the same time, their footsteps shaking the ground with its single about-face.

Bringing his hand up, the Jonin looked down at the center of his palm and flexed his fingers. Testing the waters for a moment or so, he then grinned at the nervous girl behind him and formed a fist, "This jutsu isn't complete… but it should do the trick." Upon warming up his muscles, he then held his left hand up towards the sky and began focusing his chakra. In that instant, a devilish smirk formed on his face, "Time to send the world a message."

Shion was puzzled. Her protector sounded so confident and sure of himself. Even when facing down an entire army of a supposedly indestructible force, he was unshaken. However, there was something about what he'd said and how he'd said it that eased the priestess somewhat. With a front row seat to what she was expecting to be a fierce battle against an impossible military, the blonde haired ruler of the Land of Demons sat in silence as she watched the jinchuriki get to work and execute his newest jutsu.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto went for it, "Fūton: Hikisakutenku Shinkūgyoku!" (Wind Release: Sky Tearing Vacuum Sphere) The second he spoke the incantation, the air around them began to stir.

A hurricane wind suddenly picked up, kicking dust into the air and carrying it into a twister that circled around the jinchuriki, who stood at its center. The breezes cutting across the valleys quickly transformed into gales and those gales grew in ferocity, building and building until the howl of the weather became deafening and the trees started to bend like bows under the invisible forces ripping through them.

Above the noise and the raging storm, Shion watched on in amazement as the clouds in the night sky above suddenly started to rotate and spin, transforming into a vortex with an eye that had a clear shot to the cosmos above. This cyclone formation itself continued to stir the atmosphere around it and grow, with the twisting, hundred mile-per-hour winds expanding even more so before they suddenly started to converge on the eye. The gusts of powerful winds hitting the countryside then began to pull inwards, sucking up dust, debris and leaves and carrying them all up into the sky towards the eye, where an enormous ball of wind began to form.

Shion, sitting directly underneath the anomaly with her guardian, stared up at the unnatural formation in disbelief as the ball of wind grew to an unimaginable size, dwarfing even a small village. This glowing white sphere of energy soon became the epicenter of the tempest and, within moments, began to suck everything into it like a vacuum cleaner. The priestess looked on in silence as the fierce squall ripped trees out of the ground by their roots, crumbled tors as big as buildings and boulders, and carried their remains up into the sky. She then proceeded to watch as the entire stone army in the valley far below, once desperately fighting against the high speed slipstreams, was also picked up by the nor'easter before all of them started to get pulled up towards the eye, following the path of the currents with no signs of slowing down.

Naruto, with his hand still extended towards the enormous sphere, along with Shion, then watched closely as thousands of stone soldiers caught in the up draught spun around the entire valley and into the enormous, moon-like ball. The moment the first dozen warriors crashed into it, they were ground into it and crushed into dust, the spinning anomaly of wind transforming them into mulch. Soon enough, the rest of the terracotta soldiers joined them and their bodies were instantaneously mashed into nothingness one group after the other.

The glowing white sphere of wind wiping out the entire force of soldiers under Moryu was one of the most spectacular sights Shion had ever seen. The sheer size of the technique was biblical and the glow lit up the entire countryside. Her hair also being caressed by the winds, the priestess spared a momentary look up at Naruto, the one who was bending the weather to his will. Seeing his face as it was framed by his wild hair and his grin fixated on the amazing technique he'd conjured out of nowhere, brought a look of awe to the girl's face once again.

"Naruto…" the blonde murmured, a small smile forming on her lips when she heard the young man laugh, "You're incredible."

OOO

Meanwhile…

Across the nations in the direction of the Land of Fire, way out of the way of the amazing calamity taking place in the Land of Swamps, the sprawling, industrial village of Amegakure sat silently, held up in their little piece of land. The infrastructure and constructs making up its entirety stood like a metropolis in the heart of a country forever plagued by the veil of rainclouds and winter. To the people who resided in that village, it was home.

To another resident however, it was a base of operations.

Above the main streets and overlooking the country that was under his protection, the leader of Amegakure's forces and chief overseer of the community could be seen perched on the rim on one of the many balconies of the village's central towers. With the villagers bustling in the streets below and going about their daily lives, this particular individual sat as both a spiritual figure and the town's unquestioned ruler, who oversaw everything from one edge of the hidden village to the next. Considering he not only wore the colors of the Akatsuki organization but also carried eyes of a legendary figure that'd pretty much ascended into myth, his powers, sense of awareness and perceptive abilities were all of an incredibly high level.

With his cloak and spiky orange hair trailing on the breeze drifting across the skyline, the man with pale skin, ripple patterned eyes and black piercings dotting his body, gazed across his village in a meditative state. At first only paying attention to what was going on in his village, he then decided to extend his senses a little to the rest of the shinobi nations to see how the chaos and strife was doing beyond his borders.

It then came as an apocalyptic shock to the man at what he sensed next.

Eyes widening when the jerk of a power surge yanked on the back of his neck, the orange haired leader of Akatsuki stared ahead of him in momentary shock.

Picking up a sudden change in her companion's mood, the blue haired woman, also wearing the colors of the Akatsuki and standing close to the man's shadow, stepped toward her teammate in concern. Though her expression said otherwise, her actions said more than words ever could. "What's wrong, Nagato?"

Ripple-patterned eyes shimmering in disbelief, the leader's gaze then narrowed and looked over his shoulder, with his unnerving stare fixing on the distant horizon. Through his incredibly sharp gaze, he was able to make out the thick clouds over that region moving across the mountains and towards a land far beyond their own in an irregular manner, indicating that something otherworldly was taking place in that direction.

It was a sight that had the orange hired individual scowl.

"What the hell is that?" His senses were fluctuating like crazy.

There was an enormous concentration of chakra… more than he'd ever sensed in any of the other members of his group that was for sure. Whoever's signature was registering on that level however, he had no idea.

OOO

Back in the Land of Swamps…

Seeing that all of the soldiers had been dispatched, Naruto decided that he'd used his technique long enough. Slowly releasing hold of his chakra, he and Shion then watched as the storm above them faded. The winds died down, the clouds dispersed and started to drift normally once again, and the entire area was showered by dust and a light hail of debris, which were the powdered remains of the once indestructible ghost army.

Well, considering what had just happened to them, to call them indestructible now was probably a bit of an overstatement. It sure as hell made an impact on the priestess that was for sure.

"Wow…" Shion murmured.

Rubbing his hands down, Naruto once more looped his arms under the girl's legs to support her. With a smile still in play, he looked back at the princess to see her gazing across the now empty valley with astonishment reflected in her eyes, before nudging her to get her attention, "So… what do yah think?"

"W-What do I think?" the blonde teen gulped while glancing around, before her focus turned to the jinchuriki once more, "Well, you destroyed the army… just like you said."

"Yeah," the jinchuriki laughed brightly and gave a shrug, "That technique I just used takes hold of the vectors in the atmosphere and compresses them into a spiraling ball of wind. That sphere then transforms into an element capable of generating a vacuum powerful enough to wipe an entire battlefield and countryside clean of enemy soldiers." That was pretty much what had just happened and what the two of them had just witnessed. However, that enormous ball didn't just bend the weather and take out all of Moryu's forces in the region; it'd also ripped an entire forest out of the ground, toppled tors and turned once proud hills into flat stretches of valley. Looking around for a kilometer in every direction, all Shion saw was a flat stretch of landscape that had practically been reshaped.

The only thing Naruto didn't destroy was the mountain, even though it had large chunks taken out of it.

So… this was what a Jonin with full mastery over their wind element was capable of?

"Amazing," Shion murmured.

Smiling at the girl's continuing disbelief, Naruto shouldered her further up his back and took flight, beginning his trek down toward the shrine's entrance, which was now clear of all guards. With the gateway still miraculously intact due to the precise yet destructive nature of his jutsu, the Jonin set his charge of charge back to her feet and crossed the threshold into the place that contained the other half of Moryu's being. Ignoring the sealing rope, the two of them slowly and cautiously made their way into the bowls of the earth and, by extension, the heart of the mountain via its long stretch of caves.

For the next few minutes they walked in silence, with Naruto slipping his hands into his pockets and beginning to hum a jaunty tune. It was this little song he started to compose that drew the priestess's gaze and brought a little smile to her face, his voice calming her nerves and filling her with a sense of hope. His presence alone was enough to make her feel like everything was going to be alright and as they started to approach the orange glow at the other end of the causeway, the princess hadn't even realized she was walking just a few centimeters off his side.

Deciding to mess with him a little more, the priestess sniffed and stuck her nose in the air, "Honestly… do you have to make such an annoying racket?"

"Hey, I don't sense anything ahead of us," Naruto shrugged before grinning across at the girl he was escorting, "Even if I was being quiet, I doubt anyone down here wouldn't have heard the commotion going on upstairs. That jutsu I just used could be seen and heard for miles."

Shion maintained a haughty posture, but then looked back at the Jonin and gave him a more cheerful grin, which he returned with gusto. Eventually, the peace of their moment was interrupted when the pair finally exited the tunnel they were following and into an enormous chamber right in the center of the mountain.

Well, Naruto initially thought it was a mountain. But as soon as the two of them entered the chamber and got a good look at the expanse in every direction, he now knew that the ground they were intruding upon was volcanic. A maze of open, winding pathways could be seen stretching across glowing-hot, molten surface of lava, which bubbled and sizzled away, lighting up the entire room with an eerie, orange aura. It was almost like stepping into a colander. The image that immediately came to the minds of both individuals was that of hell, the fires burning and falling upon them in the form of heat.

The scent of brimstone perforating the air was so thick; they could almost choke on it.

The jinchuriki especially, who waved his hand in front of his face and coughed on the fumes, "Damn. Who copped the big one and died?"

"Welcome… dear guests…"

Speak of the devil, the guilty party had just shown up.

With Shion stopping in place, the two teenagers glared across the stretch of smoldering rock towards the center of the mountain, where they saw a man sitting slumped atop of a mobile seat positioned at the base of a platform. His face concealed by his long, black hair and form draped in sinister dark robes, the physical body of the one responsible for this whole mess emerged from the darkness, greeting the newcomers with a leer and a smile.

The sight sent a chill coursing down the priestess's back, while Naruto just stared with an expression that was a mixture of curiosity and boredom.

Shion gulped, "Y-Yomi…"

"I trust you two had no problems getting down here," the bearded shinobi continued speaking, his exhausted voice bouncing off of the chamber's many walls and echoing towards them.

While Shion brought her hands up and braced them together nervously, the jinchuriki decided to step forward and admire the dwellings more carefully. Giving the place one more go over from top to bottom, assessing its condition as well as the room's space, he then gave a slight nod before pointing towards the man barely able to keep himself upright where he was stationed, "I gotta say man… you really know how to throw a party. No food… no drinks…" He then expressed a careless shrug and smirked, "and the other party guests just 'left'."

Yomi, chuckling weakly, grinned across at the pair, "My sincerest apologies. I was… so eager to see the priestess I couldn't concentrate on preparations for the bash."

"Well… at any rate, we're here and ready to kick your ass, so clench up, pal," Naruto spoke and waved his hand towards the priestess behind him, "Okay, your worshipfulness. Do your thing."

The incredibly dismissive tone he used managed to smack Shion out of her nervous reverie and had her scowl at the blonde's back. Answering the call nonetheless, she pushed his arm out of the way and glared at him, "Would you please stop calling me that?!"

"What? What's wrong with me calling you your worshipfulness, your highness-ness?" Naruto asked teasingly.

The princess quickly returned her disapproval, "If you're going to call me something, at least call me by my name." Shaking her head at the shrug she received as her answer, Shion quickly turned heel and began leading the 'charge' toward the center stage. Watching her spearhead their last leg earned an admiring twinkle from the jinchuriki who, shortly thereafter, quickly fell in step with her for their final stop.

Remaining where he was, his face pale, wrinkly and sweaty, Yomi watched the duo approach his position with a smile. As they did, he began to speak again, "Ah… this takes me back." Breathing in deeply, he then waved his hand and beckoned the squad of stone soldiers he had surrounding his spot forward. The armored warriors did as they were told and lumbered towards the pair slowly. "Long ago, your mother Miroku stood in the path of my clan's ambition. I wonder if you remember that day, my dear priestess… the day we summoned Moryu to our world to usher in the dream of a thousand year kingdom. The new world… our utopia… it was within our grasp." A harsh chuckle then escaped him as his head dipped forlornly, "If only your mother hadn't been there to ruin it."

Seeing the soldiers box them in on separate paths, Naruto and Shion stopped in their tracks and looked between the two approaching pairs respectively. While one stood nervously, trembling like a leaf, the other had a calculative look on his face as he gripped the sword at his side and thumbed the handle, pushing the base of the blade out of the scabbard so that the steel flashed threateningly.

However, just as he was readying to draw his katana to slice the four cumbersome soldiers down, the second they came within range of him a shot of pink light from the side stopped Naruto dead when he suddenly saw streaks of lasers cut the armored troops down. Watching the terracotta warriors fall to pieces and scatter across the floor, the blonde turned to look at the priestess, where he saw the bell she was currently wearing on her jacket glow brightly for a second until its light faded altogether. Looking from her surprised face to her accessory a couple of times, the also slightly bewildered jinchuriki relinquished his sword and gently harried the girl forward, while taking notice of the scowl upon Yomi's visage.

"The surprise on your face… is it possible that you're unaware of the power you possess?" the dark shinobi murmured as the pair closed the last remaining distance between them via the winding causeway. "This is certainly surprising. As old as you are, have you really learned nothing?"

Shion, glaring at the man talking down to her, shot back at him a courageous stare, "Everyday I've prepared for this moment… I've mastered…"

"The sealing jutsu? Have you now?" Yomi chuckled, closing his eyes and gesturing to the array behind him, "Then by all means… seal me away… if you can." Quietly, he watched Shion approach the stage with her loyal bodyguard dead on her heels. When the girl walked up to the podium, keeping a wary eye on him at the same time, the shinobi also noticed Naruto hold back, one hand in his pocket and the other on his sword, at the same time glaring across at the boss. The sight of the pair and the positions they'd taken up drew another snicker from the tired villain, "Just so you know… it's actually impossible for me to kill the priestess. By the same token, she doesn't have the power to eliminate me either. We're one in the same after all; two halves of what used to be a single entity."

His words stopping the girl at the edge of the circle, Shion spun around and stared at the demon spirit's host. Seeing his snide smile, the priestess snapped, "Liar!"

"What reason do I have to lie?" When he saw the girl grit her teeth and turn her back on him, Yomi closed his eyes and continued to speak, "The truth is… the seal's sole purpose is to join you and I into one. Miroku, your dear mother, accepted that…" He then snickered when he felt the princess coast to a standstill again and listen, which filled him with a sense of amusement, "Yes. That's right. Your mother… exists within me. In order to prevent ourselves from abusing our great power, the original entity split into two pieces; two hearts, two beliefs… and thus have lived forever at odds, staring each other down. Although somewhere down the line… one of those two halves became the evil Moryu… and the other… the priestess of the Land of Demons, Miroku."

"You know… I don't know where this feeling suddenly came from, but I have this sudden urge to chop this guy's head off," Naruto said, using his thumb to push the blade of his katana out while he grabbed the handle, his muscles tensing for another shunshin kill.

Shion, hearing this, turned to the young male with a warning look, "No. Don't. You can't kill him like that. Let me handle this." When her firm gaze met his in a momentary stare-off, the Jonin eventually relaxed out of his battle-ready position and nodded concedingly toward his charge of charge.

With that alarming matter sorted, the princess quickly returned her attention to the engraving in the floor and started the ceremony. Bringing her right hand out to the side, the girl began drawing signs with it, at the same time reciting each individual seal before throwing her hand skyward. The moment she did so, the area around her was lit up by four glowing balls of pink light, which suspended themselves in separate corners of the ring. Naruto watched on with silent intrigue as the priestess then proceeded to levitate off the ground and the entire seal at her feet light up with a bright, ethereal light.

The circle surrounding her also illuminating, Yomi allowed a sick smile to pull across his lips and opened his eyes to the feeling tugging on the back of his neck, "A barrier, eh?"

Hearing this drew Naruto's focus toward the slumped shinobi, still sitting on his movable throne. The blonde's gaze narrowing upon the host of Moryu's spirit and listening to him chuckle, the jinchuriki's sapphire eyes then averted back to the platform. Seeing the priestess flow through the motions one after the other, at the same time speaking the incantation that he figured was the sealing ceremony itself, the boy's eyes quickly cut back to Yomi. Again, he saw the man chuckling, his body trembling painfully with every heave of his lungs and shake of his shoulders, which had Naruto's glare tighten.

It was only after a couple more glances, hearing Shion speak another series of signs and seeing parts inside of the sealing circle itself begin to rise up from the ground that the Jonin suddenly realized what was wrong.

Fuck! It was sitting right in front of him!

At that exact moment, Yomi's laughing ceased and the man threw Naruto his most cruel, manic grin he could muster, his eyes dilating to reflect his nature.

Instantly disappearing in a flash of orange, Naruto's form shot towards the dark ninja like a lightning bolt, covering the distance of ten meters between them in the bat of an eye. However, the second he moved, so did Yomi, the man's form disappearing in a black blur and flying straight through the energy barrier directly behind him. As a result, the jinchuriki's sword ended up slicing through air, his katana's blade hitting nothing when he slammed on the breaks immediately upon passing the seat and glaring back towards the podium.

"Motherfucker!" Shion's terrified scream echoed out across the chamber shortly thereafter, which immediately had Naruto's eyes widen and the young man reel towards the barrier, "SHION-CHAN!"

He knew that there had been something wrong the second he got close enough to see the heart of the shrine. When he saw Yomi just sitting next to the stage, unable to move from what he suspected to be strain, alarm bells began tripping inside of his head. He then spent the next few minutes after that questioning why the man hadn't just gone on and unlocked the seal for himself when he had the chance. The guy had obviously gotten there earlier and knew the exact mechanics of the technique binding the demon's body down.

So why the hell hadn't he just gone on and opened it? That's when it clicked for Naruto…

He'd been waiting for Shion to intervene. He'd been waiting for her!

Snarling, Naruto cranked back a fist and slammed it into the barrier standing between him and the priestess, his knuckles slamming into an invisible wall followed instantly by a shock of electricity, which repelled him in a shower of sparks. Glaring through the shield, he saw Shion lying on the ground, staring in terror at the body of Yomi now lying several feet away, his eyes hollow and showing them all that he was dead.

Though the man was gone, the jinchuriki still sensed the presence of the demon, which had both him and Kurama glowering, "You son of a bitch! This was your plan all along!"

"Be careful, brat," the fox warned inside of him, having sensed the problem as well and responded in kind.

A moment later, the chamber was filled with the deep, echoing laugh of the head honcho himself; the real boss. As if rising from the depths of hell itself, the spirit of the entity from another world spoke to his guests in a voice reflecting nothing but a condescending tone, "You were too hasty, young priestess. You should have waited until this one was dead before you raised your barrier."

Shion, shaking from head to toe, looked up from the body to where she could see Naruto, who was staring back at her from the other side of the purple wall of light. "H-He killed him… to get inside the barrier." It was then she realized that the tomb holding Moryu's body had been raised and her eyes snapped towards it. Without even a second thought, she rushed towards the stone block and leapt on top of it, covering the doors with her body.

However, the second she threw herself upon the coffin, Yomi's body ruptured and a blackish-purplish mass of cloud flew towards her. When it landed in front of Shion, it blew her off with a powerful gust of wind, sending her fragile form and the soul's previous host body across the platform. While the corpse of Yomi simply slipped through the barrier, the priestess's body slammed up against it, a cry of agony escaping her lips when she was zapped by electricity before being tossed back to the ground.

While Naruto gritted his teeth desperately from the other side, Moryu's laughter filled the air, "Once the barrier has been raised, there is no escape for either of us. Not until one consumes the other… and that will be decided by our chakra!"

"LIKE HELL!" the jinchuriki on the other side shouted, bringing his hand around and instantaneously creating a spinning ball of blue chakra. As soon as the enormous ball appeared, its streams waving about like whips, he pulled it back and slammed it into the pink barrier, "Rasengan!" (Spiraling Sphere) His attack ground into the fluctuating wall for several glorious seconds before the energy ball exploded and sent him blasting backwards. Skidding to a stop and dropping to one knee at the edge of the island, the young male looked up and cursed, "Oh, so you want to play rough, huh?"

Moryu, seeing the man struggling to get through the wall, snorted confidently, "You're wasting your time, boy. That barrier is pure chakra. Your pathetic shinobi ninjutsu will never pierce it."

At that, Naruto grinned widely, "Challenge accepted!" Clenching his right fist again, wind began bellowing around his limb like a tornado before the end where his knuckles were formed into a point. The drill of wind then grew to a gargantuan size, kicking up dust behind him and vapor trails spiraling with the rotation of his next attack, "If ninjutsu alone doesn't work, then how about nintaijutsu?!" Without another word, the blonde exploded from his spot and rocketed towards the chakra barrier at speed; his wind coated fist pulling back until he was within range and ploughed it straight into the wall.

With the sound of a thunderclap, his attack collided with the energy barrier and caused it to warp inwards at the point he made contact with it. His wind chakra blasting off of his arm in the form of a tornado, his fist eventually managed to push through till it was sticking out the other side. As soon as he'd gained entry, his chakra faded, and the blonde grinned back at the astonished Shion and the sifting mass of smoke on top of the tomb that was Moryu's spirit.

"See! I got through," Naruto stated with a proud grin.

That grin faded seconds later when the electric barrier began to vibrate against his arm and try to seal the hole shut. The muscles in his limb developing an immediate pins-and-needles feeling, the Jonin threw his head back and gave a wail of pain, which echoed throughout the chamber as the chakra shield attempted to expel him.

The sight of the young man continuing to keep his arm stuck through the barrier had the currently faceless Moryu give him a deadpanned look. "Sticking your arm through a vortex of energy? Are you some kind of idiot?" It was then he heard the Jonin's screaming stop… a split second before the young man spun around and decided to shove his entire head and upper body through the barrier face-first.

Hearing the man's pained roar had the spirit of Moryu balk in shock, while Shion just stared at the blonde being toasted by electricity in astonishment.

"N-Naruto… what are you doing?"

With a mad grin on his face as electricity coursed over his entire body, the boy leered across at Moryu's cloudy form, which looked back at him nervously and leaned away at the dangerous look he was being given, "Ninjutsu might not break this… but I can still reach through with physical attacks!"

Moryu's ethereal form fluctuated, "Insane buffoon." A chuckle then filled the chamber once again, "So… what do you plan on doing now, human?"

His grin widening even more so along with his eyes, Naruto threw the demon specter his most terrifying smile yet and snarled, "Easy… I'm going to rip you to pieces and scatter your ashes to the winds… THAT'S WHAT I'M GOING TO DO!" With one final roar, the boy forced the rest of his body through the barrier, the resulting breakage causing the entire thing to overload and shatter. The instant he was through, the jinchuriki immediately collected Shion up in his arms and high-tailed it out of there, leaping across the lava flats and heading for the exit in a shunshin.

Frustrated, the phantom form of Moryu opened up the tomb beneath him and quickly slithered inside, reuniting with his body, "You will do well not to underestimate me, boy. I'll show you the true depths of my darkness!" At that, the gates behind him shut and, moments later, the ground began to shudder.

Managing to get some distance before looking back, Naruto held Shion bridal style in his arms and set his sights back onto the heart of the volcano. Standing by the entrance, the pair then watched on with unblinking stares as the ground began to shake and the entire mountain started to rumble. Moments later, they saw the shrine rupture in several places and masses of purplish-blackish smoke shoot up into the air. Well, at first glance it appeared to be smoke.

Overlooking the entire center of the chamber as it filled up with the stuff and began snaking through the air; the two teenagers were then presented with the full form of Moryu himself. The withering masses of thick, liquid smoke taking shape and growing in size comparable to that of the Kyuubi, the pair saw several dragon heads form on the ends of the enormous tendrils, and the eyes of each and every one of them turn in their direction. As soon as the two of them fell within sight of the multi-eyed entity, the heads gave out respective cries and hisses, and began to writhe around more erratically as they spread themselves out across the space provided.

Eyes reflecting nothing but pure horror, Shion wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck more firmly and murmured, "I-It's him… the monster… Moryu."

Blinking a few times, Naruto then pointed up at it with a thoughtful look on his face, "I had a nightmare that started out just like this before… only the dragon heads were made out of ramen and not weird, black smoke." He then looked across at the princess to see her staring at him strangely, which had him grin and shrug, "I'm just saying." Turning their gazes back toward the snarling beast with the many heads, the blonde narrowed his gaze and frowned, "Anyway… I'm going to venture a guess that most of that story he just told you was a complete load of horseshit."

Shion, eyes shimmering, nodded her head, "My mother and Moryu were always separate entities, yet they shared the same strength and chakra." She then looked up at him, "Many years ago, he once walked this plain as a mortal priest doing good for the people… but his desire for power corrupted him… and he became a demon. That beast you see standing before you is a byproduct of that man's desire for power."

"Oh, good," Naruto breathed out before smiling wryly, "For a second there, I thought that your mother actually was once a part of that thing. I mean… considering who I've been protecting this entire time…" He was then punched in the chest by the girl, earning an audible 'oof' from him, which then led to the Jonin looking toward the priestess scowling in his direction, "Ow. Okay. That was a low blow."

Seeing his grin up close had the girl blush and look away, "Idiot." However, their eyes were once more pulled towards their main concern… and that was the humungous dragon bearing down on their position. "W-What are we going to do now?"

"Don't know," Naruto cringed, glaring at one of the serpentine being that was now steaming at the mouth. "From what I can sense, this guy's chakra is even greater than Kurama's. I was gambling on that sealing technique to be the thing to finish him off, but since it didn't… and I assume you don't have any priestess-style-ninjutsu that can get us out of this pinch, it looks like I'm going to have to beat him the old-fashioned way."

This earned a startled look from said teenager, "You're going to fight him?"

"Of course."

"But you can't," Shion followed up while shaking her head, "Nobody can…"

"Hey… what did I tell you?" Naruto asked, staring at the girl and seeing her recoil at the warm smile he sent her way. Remaining silent for a moment to allow his question to sink in, he then showed his teeth and gestured to himself, "Trust me."

With Shion giving the boy her most awe-filled stare, the pair was soon drawn back to the immense form of Moryu towering over the chamber. Both of them fixing their sights upon him, they saw the multitude of heads curl through the air, before several of them suddenly reared back and opened their mouths. When they did, balls of pink energy began to form in their jaws, the spheres growing in size at an exponential rate and alerting the Jonin to danger. When they saw the heads take aim, both blondes' eyes widened in alarm before the dragons reeled forward and unleashed the charged up energy blasts at them in a torrent of raw energy.

Freaking out at the sight of the approaching lasers, Naruto, still carrying an equally terrified Shion, sprinted off to the side at flash like speed, avoiding the barrage of energy that ripped apart the cave wall behind them and carving through the entire volcano. The attacks were so powerful they actually shot straight out of the side of the mountain to strike the surrounding countryside, bringing down lines of trees and carving through other nearby edifices. However, the jinchuriki didn't know that. All he did know was that the attacks blasted the fuck out of a wall of rock and he wanted to stay the hell away from them.

The dragon heads tracking the fast-moving shinobi and his baggage across the room, the demon gave a loud hiss and fired off more bolts of energy, chasing the Jonin with salvo after salvo of lasers.

Sprinting several laps around the inside of the mountain, leaping over countless gaps between pathways and not stopping for even a second, Naruto continued retreating at a ridiculous speed, staying well ahead of the hail of lasers chasing after him. Making a variety of hilarious, panicked sounds as he ran in the funniest manner imaginable, he was miraculously able to stay ahead of the rounds and keep himself and Shion out of harm's way.

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't voice his complaints.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Lasers! I fucking hate lasers!" Naruto shouted with every step he leapt while the walls behind him exploded one after the other from the bombardment that was meant for him. "This is so unfair! Why the hell does this only happen to me and nobody else?!"

This was the third time he'd run into someone who could shoot lasers. More specifically; this is the third time he'd run into someone who was able to shoot lasers at him!

Why couldn't somebody else take the heat for once? Like Sasuke?

"Fuck off, already!" Naruto shouted, starting to run up the cave wall as the laser bolts flying at him at a machinegun rate continued to pepper the area.

With Shion giving a terrified scream as the lasers came barely within a couple of feet of them, the Jonin then kicked off of the wall and spun to the ground. Flipping several times, he then landed firmly on two feet, looking up with a glare to see the enormous, multi-headed Moryu charge up another attack in the form of electricity, which coursed over his entire form, before he unleashed a hail of lightning straight towards the pair.

However, instead of running, Naruto gave a wide grin and held his ground. The electricity then struck him like a tsunami, tearing apart the rock and ground at his feet and pretty much toasting everything in sight. In spite of the tremendous show of power however, the lightning didn't even touch him or Shion, as the bolts were literally stopped by an invisible barrier appearing around the boy. With his Hero's Wind coming into play, the jinchuriki was able to neutralize the lightning style chakra and deflect it completely, rendering the attack useless.

Seeing his attack fail and his two targets still standing amidst the smoldering area untouched by his efforts, Moryu gave a loud snarl and sent one of his many heads flying forward. "You little pest!" Without even needing to wind up, he fired another onslaught of fire bolts that blasted the hell out of the chamber floor.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto leapt into the air and performed an acrobatic flip, dodging the blasts that reduced the area he'd once been standing in to rubble. Leaving the fiery blasts well behind, the blonde looked back at it and clicked his tongue.

"Alright! Enough of this ring around the rosy!" Landing flat on solid earth, the jinchuriki turned to face the demon. When he saw the massive entity round on him, he then looked down at the priestess he was cradling in his arms, "Hang on tight! We're going for a ride!"

Shion, seeing the fires of determination burning in the blonde's glare, nodded affirmatively, "R-Right!" And that's what she did.

As soon as his parcel was secure, Naruto leant down and blasted forward as fast as he could, heading straight towards the demon in an orange flash. Moryu however saw the boy approaching and reacted accordingly, charging up another attack with two of its heads and launching a barrage of concentrated beams that decimated the ground ahead of the jinchuriki. The blasts created a barrage of concussive explosions, sending rubble, debris and smoke flying in all directions.

However, in spite of the impressive onslaught, the blonde haired Jonin was undeterred. He zipped around the blasts of flame in a blur, flickering from left to right utilizing his shunshin abilities before springing high into the air. Soaring above the multi-headed dragon, he was soon targeted by another barrage of energy balls that rocketed towards him in a hail. The blonde gracefully dodged each and every one of them, going so far as to even kick one out of the way before colliding with one of the dragon heads when it tried to devour him. His feet slammed into the back of its head, causing it to shudder to a stop before springing off of it and onto the neck of another head.

When another one of the dozen reptile mugs dove towards him with its mouth wide open, the jinchuriki kicked off of the one he was on and spiraled to the ground, the dragon ending up biting itself when it missed. The demon screeched in pain, at the same time Naruto managed to get directly underneath it and draw his katana.

With a single-handed grip, he immediately slashed through the neck of one of the fleshy pillars, easily cutting it free from its host and sending it toppling to the ground. When the disembodied head crashed into the floor of the chamber, it exploded in a shower of purple and black smoke, before dispelling completely. Ignoring it, Naruto proceeded to battle the demon when its platoon of giant serpents converged on his position, biting, snapping and diving for him this way and that.

Despite Moryu's best efforts to try and consume and drive its attacker off, the jinchuriki skillfully danced around it, dodging its fang-lined jaws and countering each of its strikes respectfully. When one of the heads overshot its lunge, Naruto cut into its side, causing it to cry out in pain. Another attempted to flank him, but the blonde leapt over it and sliced the head off, making that two-nil in favor of the jinchuriki. He then jumped high when another dragon attempted to get him from behind, landing against the length of another and expertly springing off of it. He then barreled across the ground with Shion in hand and skidded away, drawing his sword back and glaring up at the monstrosity.

When he saw its remaining heads come about to glare at him, he then noticed the sections he'd managed to cut off wiggle up to join the remaining entities, before the two heads he'd removed suddenly grew back. The two dragon heads jutted out of the stumps with a pop and a shriek, causing the pair to look up at the demon in morbid surprise.

"That… might be a bit of a problem," Naruto murmured, expressing astonishment at the lightning fast regenerative abilities of his opponent. He then gritted his teeth and brought his blade up defensively, "Alright. Plan B."

Shion, also shaking her head, looked across at the blonde, "You had a Plan B?"

The infuriated Moryu gave a loud roar, before two of its heads morphed into tails and the wielder flung them straight down at the jinchuriki. Its enormous appendages slammed into the ground at the same time, fracturing the floor and causing a shockwave that blasted sections of the surface upwards in a shower of rubble, which flung the jinchuriki into the air. Managing to correct his fall, the Jonin then spun towards the dragon heads now converging on his airborne position and began lashing out at them with lightning fast strikes of his sword. His blade streaking through the air in a series of lightning fast flashes, the heads ending up getting turned into mulch the second they came within range of their target.

Blood and smoke flew in all directions when four more heads were diced up by the spinning top that was Naruto and his weapon, before the jinchuriki eventually landed.

Sword out and a frown on his face, the Jonin then looked down to check on Shion, only to see the girl's head was dipping from side to side woozily, and her face was green and sweaty. Showing signs of nausea and fatigue, Naruto then realized he must have discombobulated her from all of his extreme acrobatic maneuvers and cringed apologetically, "Oh. Sorry, Shion-chan."

Unfortunately he didn't have time to offer her compensation for her air sickness, as another dragon head suddenly came around and tried to devour them. Rolling right out of the way, he then brought his sword around and sliced it at the neck, decapitating another one, before seeing five more dive straight towards him. Thinking fast, the boy looked down at Shion to see her staring up at him in awe once again, which drew from him a grin.

"You're going to hate me for this."

"W-What?" Shion murmured, only to suddenly give a cry of shock when Naruto chucked her straight into the air. "AAAAAHHHHHHH!" Flying towards the ceiling, the young priestess's arms flailed about as she soared out of reach of the enormous form of Moryu, allowing Naruto to temporarily battle him on his own.

Jumping out of the way of the five dragons, the blonde avoided being taken out when the heads crashed through the ground, decimating the area. The moment he avoided the attackers, the jinchuriki threw his arm out and cast a length of wire with a kunai attached to it from his gauntlet, managing to wrap it around one of the dragon's necks. As soon as he was hooked, he swung around the head and threw himself through the air, slashing out with his katana, taking off another head on a pass, and sheathing it in the blink of an eye. He then landed against the cranium of another and sprang off of it, flipping through the air and catching a screaming Shion when she started to fall back towards the ground.

With the priestess safe in his arms again, he hop skipped and leapt from one dragon head to another before then dropping back down to ground level. Managing to get some distance from the demon, the jinchuriki turned around in the midst of an epic power slide and glared back at the multi-headed entity he'd been facing off with, where he saw another pink ball of energy waiting for him. The beam shot towards him like a spear, drawing another cry of terror from Shion while Naruto threw his hand up.

"Jet Hand!"

In a flash of light and a clap of thunder, the boy caught the beam and deflected it with his palm. Sparks and bolts flew everywhere as he was pushed back along the ground by the attack, his feet digging trenches into the earth beneath him as he was forced towards the edge. Managing to stop, the jinchuriki bit and held against the blast attempting to take him out, before reflecting it back with his own chakra and causing the attack to split into several beams, sending them shooting off in all directions, carving into the walls and floor, and decimating the landscape outside.

The stream eventually stopped, freeing Naruto from the strain of having to hold it back. When Shion eventually looked to see what'd happened, she saw the Jonin was still standing with his hand extended and smoking. At first the jinchuriki remained perfectly still and upright, a glare miring his face and a battle-ready composition painted upon his visage.

Seconds later however, the boy's expression scrunched up into one of pain before he gave a loud howl and pulled his hand back. He started blowing on the face of his palm, which was currently on fire, a sight that had Shion watch on fearfully before he started skipping on the spot like a whimpering child.

"AAAAAaaaahhhh! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Naruto repeated over and over, looking about momentarily for some water before dropping down to his knees and burying his hand into the dirt, smothering the flames. Once he'd put out the fire, he sighed and looked up towards the ceiling in relief, "Ahh… that's better."

Staring at his pleased face for a moment longer, Shion then stifled a laugh before beginning to giggle, earning a grin from her courageous protector.

Their joy was short-lived, because they were interrupted once more by the still intact dragon heads of Moryu's form rearing back and unleashing a torrent of purple fire straight towards them. The blast of flames formed into a raging inferno that charged the pair down like a herd of enraged animals, which prompted Naruto to take action.

The jinchuriki brought his singed hand forward and, without needing to focus, quickly formed a ball of spiraling wind chakra. The ball was small at first and didn't seem like much, but as soon as the purple wall of flames crashed into the pair, engulfing them and seemingly disintegrating the pair in a spectacular end, the flames suddenly got pulled into the wind and drawn towards the spot where the jinchuriki had created the spinning orb. Moryu continued feeding the fire with all of the air in his lungs until he realized something was wrong and stopped, where he then proceeded to watch the fields of hellfire get sucked into something like water in a drain.

Within seconds the airspace was clear and it was revealed that the inferno that was his attack had been sucked into the helix of spiraling wind, which continued to suck in air and dust from inside the chamber. The end result was the Jonin holding not just a ball of wind chakra, but a ball that contained all of the fire Moryu had breathed on him.

"Fūton: Shinkūgyoku!" (Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere)

While Shion gazed in astonishment, Naruto grinned.

"Hey, bitch! Catch!" the Jonin shouted, before cocking the ball of wind back and 'throwing it' forward.

A crack of wind reverberated throughout the cave, followed by an earsplitting howl as the flames and wind he'd sucked into the vacuum orb exploded outwards all at once. He returned the blast of fire to the dragon-headed Moryu tenfold as the entire chamber in front of the jinchuriki was lit up. The demon's entire form was racked by the torrent, the demon letting out screeches and cries of agony as he was toasted by his own attack.

Grinning widely as the wave of death leaving his palm ended, Naruto stepped away and took Shion into two hands again. Admiring the burning floor ahead of them and the purple flames reaching up to the ceiling of the mountain cave, the Jonin then glanced down at the girl and nodded toward his burning foe, "Fire release techniques would have been a big problem for me two years ago… but not anymore."

He'd transformed fire release techniques from a big weakness in his fighting style to a strength he could now use against his enemies.

Upon witnessing the feat Naruto had been able to accomplish, Shion was speechless.

Any moment of conversation however was sadly placed on the backburner moments later when the firewall before them parted violently and the scorched form of Moryu made his grand reentrance. Giving a loud roar of anger, the multiple heads of the demon appeared before them, bathed in the glow of his toxic breath. The pair proceeded to look on from that point onwards as the heads and body parts the entity had lost from all the damage it'd taken from the blonde regenerated at an alarming rate, the fires coating him extinguishing and being replaced by freshly healed skin. Within seconds, the gargantuan evil spirit was back to his previous state, with even more heads suddenly appearing from its central body to join the others.

The sight had Naruto curse, "This guy is unbelievable. His body just absorbs everything I give him… and no matter how much damage I inflict, he just keeps getting stronger." His chakra level was just climbing and climbing. If it kept growing at the rate it was, something bad was going to happen.

Setting the priestess back to her feet and moving her behind him, the blonde then formed a hand seal and produced a clone, which immediately stood protectively at her side. After which, the jinchuriki tugged on the cuff of his jacket and cracked his neck, "If I'm going to kill him, I'll need to take him out in one shot."

Granted that attack he'd used would have done a tailed beast a wicked amount of damage, this guy's powers went far beyond that. He was going to need a bit more kick if he was going to kill this freak permanently.

Shion, though under guard from the clone, stepped forward with a concerned look in play and eyes shining with worry, "Naruto… I…"

Looking back at the princess, the Jonin smiled at her and gave the country ruler the thumbs-up, "Don't worry. I've got this, alright?" Watching the dragon heads throw off the rest of the flames and extinguish the affected areas surrounding him, Naruto crouched forward and gripped the handle of his sword. Ensuring that he had a tight grip on it, a smirk pulled across his lips. "Watch me."

The priestess, her eyes fixing on his shoulders and the way he was currently facing off against one of the greatest calamity's to ever exist in their world without a hint of fear or hesitation in his face, then gave him a smile and a nod of acknowledgement.

"Go, Naruto-kun."

Feeling his spirit lift at the girl's utter of encouragement, Naruto focused his chakra at his feet, which caused a blue aura to start radiating off of his legs. Then, upon taking aim at his foe and digging his soles into the ground, he attacked. "You thought I was fast before… well watch this! Iaido: Senkō Dantō!" (Iai: Flash Beheading) He then vanished in a crack of wind.

The next thing Moryu knew was every single one of his dragon heads freezing in mid-lunge, before all of them slowly turned to see Naruto, who'd once been standing about thirty meters in front of him, standing directly behind him on the other side of the chamber. Sword about half-way drawn from its scabbard, the jinchuriki remained locked in position, looking as though he'd just stopped from a blindingly fast dash.

Eyes closed, Naruto gradually looked up and, exhaling sharply, pushed the remainder of his sword back into its sheath with a loud 'click'. The instant the metallic sound echoed across the room, two flashes of white light suddenly flew through Moryu, before the necks of every single one of its heads were sliced through in two separate places, like tree logs cut into thirds. Having been decapitated twice in one hit, all twelve of the dragon heads flew into the air before dropping to the ground in segments, the demon's smoke-like blood flying through the air.

As soon as he'd removed the top half of the demon, Naruto spun around and formed his cross-fingered hand seal. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Mass Shadow Clone Technique) A wall of white smoke exploding all around him, it was quickly parted by an army of shadow clones sprinting out of it and scattering across the chamber. With all of them leaning forward and running at full speed, the forward group continued on gallantly while the platoons in the rear leapt into the air, all of them suspending themselves around the decapitated form of their enemy.

When the battalion of copies converged upon Moryu's stricken form, they all threw their hands back and each formed a Rasengan in their hands, before the spinning balls of chakra grew to gargantuan sizes, till it looked like their target was surrounded by blue suns. All at once, the attacks closed in on the headless but still alive demon as a spinning wall of death, howling winds ripping out in all directions and threatening to bring the entire mountain toppling to the ground.

"Chōōdama Rasen Tarengan!" (Many Ultra-Big Ball Spiraling Serial Spheres)

However, just when it seemed like the demon would be taken out by the onslaught, the necks that were still intact suddenly morphed together and formed into a massive tail, which suddenly whipped through the air in a spin and collided with all of the attacks head to head, taking the blow in place of the central body. The dozens of enormous spinning balls of chakra collided with the enormous dragon appendage and ground into it, the shadow clones doing their best to compress the giant demon into a fine paste.

Several seconds of struggling later, with the entire chamber being subjected to gale force winds that nearly threw Shion out of the mountain were she not being protected by a Naruto clone, the stalemate ended with an enormous explosion. A shockwave cracked every wall in sight when Moryu was bombarded by combusting chakra spheres, his tail getting ripped to shreds while the army of doppelgangers was dispelled. The blasts of wind and smoke concealed the immense dragon form behind a dense layer of cloud, only for it to be blown away by a second shockwave when Moryu and his dozen regenerated heads remerged with a roar and a shriek.

The instant he appeared though, he was immediately set upon by another platoon of shadow clones zipping around him at an insane speed. Like a colony of ants, the Naruto clones assaulted the enormous demon from all sides with kunai and wind blades, cutting into the demon and occupying his flanks. The multi dragon heads snapped out at the 'bugs' surrounding it, attempting to get rid of them but finding extreme difficulty in this chore.

One bold shadow clone leapt down from above and shoved its hand into the corner of the serpent head's mouth, using his momentum to pull it down and spin around it. When he swung to the other side, he landed against the back of its neck and pulled, snapping the dragon head's neck and causing it to crash to the floor dead. Another shadow clone dove into the gaping jaws of another and decapitated the serpent while it was going down its wind pipe, freeing itself from a premature demise.

Through use of another one of its tails, Moryu attempted to throw off the shadow clones in one shot, slamming his appendage into the ground and causing a shock blast that sent a squad of the hapless clones into the air and dispelling them. However, with the sting of blades still cutting into his body all over, the demon knew that writhing about wouldn't be enough to defeat this stubborn adversary.

Snarling agitatedly, the intact dragon heads curled back and, after several seconds of charging, let out a loud howl that sent a telekinetic wave reverberating outwards. The attack throwing all of the shadow clones off of it, Moryu was able to relinquish himself of the pests clambering over him and effectively defeated the assault. The army of Naruto doppelgangers vanished with a cry of shock and a puff of smoke, once again clearing the entire chamber and allowing the demon a moment of reprieve. With his open wounds closing at record breaking speed and all of his heads regenerating at the same time, the demon began making a plan to defeat this insolent shinobi once and for all.

However, just as he was in the process of seeking out the original, the demon was caught completely by surprise when all of a sudden, golden chains of chakra suddenly appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around him at light speed. With the strange chords flying out from beneath the floor to not only bind his heads but his body as well, Moryu then felt himself get yanked closer to the floor and his ethereal form become enveloped by a powerful seal.

Red eyes glowing furiously, the demon looked about in alarm, "What?!" His gaze tracing the chamber, he then saw another party of shadow clones scattered around him leap out of the crevices of the footpaths making up the room's floor. When they appeared, he saw that each of the copies had produced a chakra chain from their arm and was holding onto them with both hands, the Naruto shadow clones concentrating hard and focusing on keeping the multi-dragon-headed beast from moving.

"You're mine, pal!" a copy of the jinchuriki shouted, clenching his teeth hard as he fought back against the sheer strength of the would-be conqueror of the world.

Having not expected to get blind-sided by such a strategy, the demon gave a loud snarl and began thrashing about violently to free his body from its confines. It was at that moment the Naruto army pinning him to the ground and Shion watching on from the sidelines got the surprise of a lifetime when they saw the golden chains start to burn and dissolve, as Moryu's toxic chakra started to bleed out of his skin and dissolve the powerful seals restraining him.

Judging from how the chakra was bubbling and starting to snap, it would only be a matter of moments till the serpent broke free.

However, Naruto was not about to give him that chance. The instant Moryu started to rot his way through the chakra chains, a feat not even the all-powerful Kyuubi was capable of, a bright blue light unexpectedly fell upon him, drawing the demon's gaze upwards where he saw the real jinchuriki descending towards him with his katana sheathed at his side and his hand held high over his head.

It was there, spinning like a top directly above his palm, sat a glowing blue ball of chakra; a Rasengan. However, not only was this blue ball of energy coated in a strange white light, it was also being orbited by spinning white rings, giving the attack a disk-like shape very similar to the planet Saturn. With the attack giving a loud screeching sound as it cut through the air like a buzz saw, the jinchuriki then gave a loud roar before chucking the wind disk straight down towards his temporarily incapacitated foe, the attack flying at blinding speed.

"Futon: Rasenringu!" (Wind Release: Spiraling Fear Wheel)

The sphere ring slammed into the tightly bound Moryu with a clap. A split second later and in a blinding flash of white light, a tornado suddenly exploded around the enormous demon and engulfed him in a vortex of death. This large tornado, shredding the rock and ground beneath it, grew to a preposterous size and width, reaching the very top of the inside of the mountain and nearly taking out the ceiling. The whole of the volcano, for the second time that fight, was engulfed in hurricane winds that ripped apart the ground and took out enormous chunks of the surrounding landscape, with Shion giving a cry of terror when she and the clone were nearly blown off their feet, forcing the copy of the jinchuriki watching over the priestess to take her up in his arms and shield her, turning his back to the tempest.

However, just before the technique could reach complete critical mass and wipe the demon off of the face of the earth, there was another flash of purple light and a shockwave, which blasted the slicing winds off of the demon and nearly split the mountain in two. Smoke bellowing out of the crater that had formed the demon Moryu also emerged and, with a ball of pink energy glowing between its many mouths, launched a blast of energy straight towards the priestess.

Shion, seeing the attack coming in at speed, gasped and shut her eyes tightly, the shadow clone quickly repositioning her to evade.

But then, just as the beam was about to take them out, the real Naruto teleported in front of them and drew his sword. With a deafening clang, he intercepted the laser with the tip of his weapon, splitting the attack as it pushed him back several feet. The blast continued to rip into Crow's sword, causing the bolts to scatter and cut through the walls of the mountain around them, once again decimating the landscape outside the sealing shrine. Eventually, Moryu cut off the flow of chakra to his attack and stopped, leaving the jinchuriki standing at the end of the trench the blast had formed, sword still extended and still holding a firm stance.

Though it looked as though Naruto had been able to stop the attack perfectly, the result of it had indeed left its mark on him.

The powerful laser, which would have taken out the entire half of the mountain they were in, had managed to damage his sword. As he continued to hold out Crow's katana with his unwavering stance, the jinchuriki saw the blade crack and splinter, which had him grit his teeth nervously. Shion noticed his uneasiness and, when the shadow clone stepped away, she too moved forward out of concern and fear.

"Naruto. Are you okay?"

Examining the blade momentarily, Naruto's face twisted into scowl and he nodded, "I'm alright. Don't worry."

Laughter suddenly falling upon the group, the Jonin and the princess looked up to see the badly scarred up form of Moryu emerge from the crater the blonde's attack had formed. When the dragon heads managed to whip the cloud of smoke out of the way, they saw the ridiculous amount of injuries he'd sustained heal and his chakra level once again make a drastic increase.

"Pathetic!" Moryu exclaimed, his many dragon heads coming about to leer at his opponent, "Your pitiful ninjutsu won't be able to harm me, only the priestess has the power to do that. Unfortunately for you, her chakra is nothing compared to Miroku's. So there's no way you'll ever be able to defeat me." A loud hiss came from all of the heads, prompting the jinchuriki to rise up to full height and bring his sword around. "You might as well give up. If you surrender now, I promise your deaths will be swift."

Frown deepening, Naruto sheathed his sword back up and brought his hands around. When he took another stand, his chakra flared and he rolled his shoulder, cracking his neck, "Save your breath! I haven't even started yet!"

Moryu, scowling back at the jinchuriki as he felt the blonde's chakra rise to compete with his own, gave a loud snarl before preparing himself for another bout. His heads converging around a single spot again, the demon began gathering chakra for a final blast, "Very well then. You've decided your fates." Opening its mouths, pink chakra began to swirl and gather in front of them, a singular orb shaping to take out the demon's adversary's as well as a portion of the land behind them.

However, just before Naruto could prepare to intercept the attack and continue the fight, a barrage of fire balls suddenly flew past him and bombarded the demon from above with murderous precisions. Its heads writhing and a loud screech escaping the dragon, the jinchuriki and Shion blinked in surprise before looking over their shoulders, where they saw, standing beside the entrance, two figures dressed in black cloaks with red cloud patterns on them.

With one wearing a facial mask and a scratched out Takigakure headband and another, a young woman, wearing a white hood and sheets that fanned out around her, stood firmly upon the path leading into the cave and staring across at the multi-headed abomination in the center. The former having raised his hand to attack the serpent with a fire release technique, Kakuzu slowly lowered it to his side and relaxed, while Misora flicked her hair back and placed her hands on her hips, grinning ecstatically.

"Ta-daa!" the kunoichi sung, at the same time striking an alluring pose.

Oh boy…

TO BE CONTINUED…