An: I'm back, and so is hunter-X. Here's chapter 4, longest chapter yet. Read and review. Point out any mistakes I may have made and I'll correct them as soon as possible.
The man's skin was a dark shade of brown, tanned like hide left in the sun. Even under the ceremonial robes, Naruto could see the man's rippling muscles. His face was that of a gentle soul, a sleeping dragon no doubt. His black hair was braided into hundreds of strands, and at the end of each braid hung a small delicate silver bell that chimed and ringed in the breeze. What was most curious about the man was the silver blindfold he wore over his eyes.
'So this is the infamous blind kage.'
"Looks like a wuss to me." Naruto shifted his feet so that he was in a more defensive stance, and gripped his kunai tighter. In the silence that followed, not a single noise could be heard, not even from the restless crowd of angry shinobi behind the Raikage. Then, a clap. The foreign sound interfering with the silence came from the Raikage, the echoing clapping of his palms making the stillness even more eerie and uncomfortable
"Well done Naruto-kun, or should I call you hunter-X? After all, that is your nickname."
The man's voice held amusement, yet also a touch of coldness rivaling that of arctic snow. Naruto raised an eyebrow underneath his mask as he watched the man's underlings shift uncomfortably.
"You know my name; it is only common courtesy to give me yours." The man continued smiling as he listened to the boy's droning voice.
"I suppose I should shouldn't I?" He bowed mockingly towards the blonde. "My name is Kaji Katsuragi." He straightened back up. "Kage of the lightning village, pleased to meet you." Naruto stayed where he was.
"How did you find me?" The Raikage nodded is head at the question.
"Well, under normal circumstances, with your stealth, and the villages lax in security," here, he stopped to scowl slightly before smiling again, "you would have gotten away with destroying the Hyuuga's body. Most unfortunate for you, I reside in this village."
Naruto continued staring at his adversary from his defensive position.
"As you know, I was born blind." the Raikage continued. "Without sight, one may wonder how I became a shinobi, let alone Kage." The man stopped for a moment to bask in his own glory. "Well you see, not being able to see has sharpened my ability towards sensing chakra. Anyone can sense chakra at the jounin level or above, but very few are capable of distinguishing low chakra levels. I couldn't help but notice how a certain stray had a bit too much chakra output." The blind man smiled again. "I figured it was someone under henge. Very few would have the guts necessary to sneak into an enemy village without planning, especially from a village with such a caring Hokage." His smile had turned into a sneer.
Naruto stood up and kept a firm grip on his blade. "And why did you not stop me?" The Raikage gave a chilling laugh that seemed to lower the room's temperature.
"Truth be told, I don't really give a crap about the Hyuuga's." His upper lip curled into another sneer. "Those breathing fossils are still living in a past where the Hyuuga's power ruled. But I, I like to think myself a man of the future." Kaji smiled and jabbed his finger at the young hunter-nin before him. "And you my friend represent the future."
Naruto felt a shiver run down his spine and frowned uneasily. "Homo alert. Wait I take that back. Homo pedophile alert."
"You are everything that represents the future power of the hidden villages! Blood limits are a thing of the past! Now, the village with the most powerful demon vessel will rule! Your power is already famous in the shinobi line of work. You hunted down fugitives like dogs at the age of eight when most those whelps were still clinging to their mother's skirts. And now twelve, you hold a reputation rivaling that of the most powerful ninjas in the world." The blind Raikage seemed to gaze sightlessly at the blonde. "Join me Naruto, leave behind the village that scorns you so, and together let us build a better world; a world with no discrimination or prejudice!" Here, the man seemed to give a truly insane smile. "You would like that wouldn't you?"
Naruto stood stock still, staring at the man who offered to give him the chance to make a difference. A chance to change the world so that people like him will never exist again. "Yes I would like that." The kunai flew straight at the Raikage's exposed face, but the man sidestepped casually. Some unknown shinobi in the background gave a yell of pain as the crowd burst into angry chatter. "But I have to decline your generous offer." Naruto's voice dropped ten degrees. "I make it a rule not to work with others if possible, especially the crazy ones."
"What about that sister of yours? I wouldn't call her sane"
'Kyuubi, do me a favor and shut up.' The demon silenced itself.
Kaji shook his head slowly with a sad expression on his face. "We would have made a good team you know." Grabbing his robes with his left hand, he tugged on it, yanking it off to reveal shiny chrome steel plate body armor underneath. The armor had three glowing circles in the front and the back, and a number of other symbols carved delicately into the tough material. The Raikage allowed the ghostly robes to float out of his hands and onto the ground.
The crowd's bloodlust jumped a few notches as the Raikage faced the blonde. "For disturbing the peace of my village, you are to be executed." A blur of movement, and Naruto found a knee buried in his chest. Flying backwards, the blonde flipped himself in midair, rebounded off the wall he was headed towards, and lunged at the Raikage with his right fist cocked back.
Feeling his punch go through an afterimage, the blonde landed and pivoted on his landing foot while lashing out with his other leg, only to feel it being caught in the iron grip of the Raikage. "Too slow boy."
A kick to the chin sent him flying headfirst through the wall and into the street full of shinobi. A great cry sounded through the crowd as many drew their blades. "Stop." A silence fell through the street and the only sound that could be heard was Naruto coughing as he struggled to his feet. "I will personally kill him myself," declared the Raikage. "Nobody interferes." A murmur of unrest swept through the crowd, but was silenced when the Raikage faced them. "Do you defy me?" The calm expression betrayed a torrent of anger and a promise of pain. The streets emptied as the shinobi leapt for the building tops to watch the upcoming battle.
By this time, the hunter-nin had managed to stand up once more and was now facing the Raikage. The man smiled again before making twelve hand seals. "Lightning style: static fist!" Energy surged throughout the Raikage's body before ending up in his hands. The electricity jumped and danced about at random intervals. "Now you die, boy!"
Dashing forward at an incredibly fast rate, the man lashed out with his right hand. Naruto blocked, but winced as his blocking arm went numb due to the contact with the Raikage's charged fist. Kaji swung with his left, but this time Naruto leapt back to avoid contact. The Raikage disappeared, and reappeared behind the boy, delivering a shocking blow to his back. The blonde's entire body jerked at the contact as his eyes widened a fraction underneath his mask. A kick sent him down to kiss pavement. Blow after blow of static enhanced punches rained down on the boy's exposed back as he lay there gritting his teeth in pain.
After finishing the beating, the Raikage stepped away from the crater that housed the unmoving Naruto's body. He raised his fist in victory as the shinobi in the surrounding buildings cheered their leader. "This is what happens," Kaji spat, "to those who stand in our village's way!" A great roar of approval met his boisterous statement. "Konoha and all of the elemental nations will crumble before out might!" The blind man turned around in confusion when he received no cheers or applause. Turning his senses towards the crater, he was astonished to discover there had been no drop in the boy's chakra levels.
The lightning shinobis watched in shock as Naruto stood up and dusted himself off. The back of his vest was ripped up, and a bit of blood stained his long golden locks. Yet no real injury could be seen on his body. 'Kyuubi.'
"About time you stopped playing around." The blonde clenched his hands together and gritted his teeth as he felt a rush of foreign power enter his body. He bent over slightly as he began summoning his chakra. A rush of blue mingled in red gushed from his body, destroying the ground around him. Kaji raised his arms to cover his face as dust blown away by the Naruto's chakra blew in all directions.
'Incredible.' He thought. 'His raw power rivals my own!' The man's body tensed as he felt his opponent's chakra spike behind the screen of dust and dirt.
"Forbidden art: Unchaining the demon." Even through the clouds of dust, the Raikage's chakra senses could make out translucent chains of chakra appearing around the blonde's body. The thick coils were wrapped around his wrist, ankles, and neck. All of the sudden, the transparent chains snapped and broke into hundreds of pieces before vanishing from sight. Naruto stared at the tense form of Kaji as the dust settled around them. "This is where the real fight begins."
There was no indication of movement, no hint of his speed. One second he was there, the next, he had his fist in the Raikage's armored abdomen. The man flew backwards nearly thirty feet before being halted by a building in his path. Naruto took the chance to form the hand seals necessary for his fire jutsu. 'Fire spell: Dragon Blast!' A geyser of flames erupted from where his mouth should have been, and took on the form of an enormous dragon, covering the last seen location the Raikage.
The watching ninja's gasped, stunned at the sheer level of destruction the twelve year old was capable off. The crumbling building was now a smoldering blackened pile of ruins. There was no sign of movement among the burned remains of the building.
A crack appeared between the blond hunter-nin's feet, and a fist burst out aimed straight for his chin. Naruto jumped up and tilted his head back slightly, and was grazed lightly from the Raikage's underground sneak attack. Both fighters landed and stood up to observe the other.
The blindfolded Raikage tapped his dirty chin in thought. "That was a very interesting technique. After you did your little demon release spell, your speed and strength both nearly tripled." He let out a small chuckle. "Fu, fu, fu, this is getting interesting."
Without warning, both combatants burst into a string of hand seals, racing to finish before his opponent. They both finished at the same time and released their spells, hoping to overpower the other.
"Earth spell: Moving Earth River!"
"Lightning spell: Static Dragon!"
A river of mud gushed at the Raikage even as a huge electrical dragon discharged from the man's hands. Kaji sunk up to his shoulder in the mud as the crackling dragon reached his target. Naruto put both his hands up, and a great vortex of wind materialized in front of him, dissipating the giant electrical dragon. "Wind trumps lightning every time."
Kaji struggled to get himself out of the now solid mud, but not before Naruto managed to get off a set of hand seals. "Earth spell: Moving Tectonic Plates!" Slamming both hands into the ground, a miniature earthquake formed as the Raikage screamed in pain due to the ground smashing into his trapped body. A puff of smoke and a log was all Naruto managed to kill. 'Kawrimi!'
"Behind!" roared the demon.
Dozens of shurikens accompanied by a shout of, "Ninja art: Shadow Shurikens!" grazed into the blonde as he jumped out of their path. Naruto winced as he felt his shredded skin trying to stitch itself back together. Not a pretty sight.
The Raikage tossed his head back and laughed as he clapped his hands together in delight. "Your reputation does you no justice Naruto-kun! This is the most fun I've had in a good long time." The blind man's smile morphed into a grim expression. "But all good things must come to an end." He bit his thumb and swiped the blood across the front of his armor.
Excited muttering swept through the watching shinobi. Whispers reached Naruto's sensitive ears.
"He's going to use it!"
"This is going to be good."
"That kids toast!"
"I don't like the sounds of this" rumbled the Kyuubi in his mind.
'Agreed.' The Raikages's armor shined like the sun, and a lightning bolt dropped out of nowhere striking the Raikage dead on. Naruto winced at the sound, and shut his eyes against the blinding glare. When he finally reopened them, the Raikage had a humming war hammer in his hands.
"Meet your executioner Naruto. Her name is Silence. And when she's done with you that will be all that remains!" The hammer glowed as if in response to the Raikage's statement. Kaji leapt up in the air and swung the vibrating hammer at Naruto before the blonde could even react.
The hammer missed by inches, but the resulting shockwave after it struck the ground sent the deafened Naruto flying backwards completely stunned and disoriented. A vicious kick interrupted his flight backwards, and a nearby building collapsed due to the backlash wave the hammer had caused. Lightning shinobi scattered knowing that anyone who got in the way would be cut down along with the blonde.
Naruto landed on the ground and rolled twice before slamming into a stature of the first Raikage. He groaned and tried to get to his feet only to have a foot send him back down into the ground.
"That's the difference between a boy and a man. Good-bye Naruto-kun." Kaji raised the glowing war hammer above his head. The hunter-nin under his foot turned his head so that he faced the Raikage.
"Good-bye." He exploded, sending the shocked Raikage stumbling backwards. From above the head of the first Raikage, the real Naruto dropped down and slammed his chakra enhanced fist into the blind man's face. The pain caused him to drop his hammer as he skidded into the ground from the force of the blow. Quickly reorienting himself, Kaji rolled to his feet.
"Here's your hammer." A bone crunching blow from his own hammer cracked his chest plate armor as he was sent flying backwards from the combination of the blow and shockwave. Rolling gingerly onto his feet, the man stumbled off the tree that had halted his flight.
"Impossible! How could you lift it? The gravity field can only be counteracted by the electrical charge on my armor! It weighs nearly a ton under the gravity field!!" The demon host gave the hammer an experimental swing.
"Doesn't seem that heavy to me. The demon chakra must nullify the gravitational field as well." Dropping the war hammer onto the ground with an earth shattering bang, the blonde kicked it over to the Raikage. "Here, you can have it back."
"What?" The blonde snorted under his mask.
"It is of no use to me. That weapon is obsolete." The blind man picked his war hammer and let out a snarl of rage.
"Obsolete?! I'll show you obsolete you little ingrate!!" Raising it over his shoulder, the Raikage charged towards the unmoving Naruto screaming nonsense at him. The blonde raised his right hand in front of him as the rushing man closed in.
"Like I said," Kaji swung his hammer and the head fell off as it passed over the blonde's outstretched hand. "Obsolete." A hissing sound swept over the two stock-still combatants as a great wind blew and surrounded the blond hunter-nin. "Just like you." The wind condensed, and a visible sword composed of wind appeared in Naruto's extended hand.
Thrusting it forward, he managed to slice into the Raikage's armor and a few inches into his flesh before the man jumped backwards. Kaji clutched at his wounded left shoulder and tried to move his arm. It twitched, but didn't give any other noticeable reaction. The braided man gritted his teeth into a menacing smile. "Fu, fu, very good, a wind sword. You are full of surprises aren't you?"
The blonde spread his feet out into an offensive sword stance, and gripped the shifting blade with both hands. "Ninja Art: Flying Tiles!" At Naruto's command, hundreds of nearby tiles leapt off the roofs and flew towards the armored man like shurikens. Kaji ducked and dodged, moving all over the place, wincing each time a ceramic tile made contact and imbedded the sharp shards into exposed flesh.
He cursed as he felt something slash through his armor and bite into his exposed back. Ignoring the warm, blood running down the wound on his back, the Raikage spun about in a 180 kick, catching Naruto on the shoulder. Stumbling back, the hunter-nin caught his footing only to have a fist connect with his chin in a picture perfect uppercut.
The ghoulish mask was ripped from the blonde's face, and for the first time, the surrounding shinobi could see his true face. Crystal blue eyes flashed dangerously as the blonde stood up, wind sword still in hand. Adorned across his right cheek was a scaled down version of his trademark X shaped scar that was a vivid red. The boy's skin was a delicate white due to lack of exposure to the sun. His mouth lifted into a small smile that sent shivers through all who could see it. Handsome women would call him, but equally dangerous as well if not more so.
"It's been a long time since anyone has managed to forcefully remove my mask."
"You were what, 9? And wasn't it Anko?"
'Yeah it was.' The unmasked blonde brought the wind sword up into an attack position.
"You will not live to tell it." The Raikage had enough time to twitch before the blonde was rushing towards him.
"Dance of the crescent moon!" A gust of wind blew behind the charging blonde, and he split into four different individuals. The one in the center continued charging while one went left, and another right. The final Naruto leapt into the air, and now dropped down towards his target blade first.
Kaji lashed out twice and managed to destroy the clones to his left and right while dodging the one charging head on. He missed the one in the air. A scream of agony ripped through the quite village night as the wind sword removed the Raikage's useless left arm. For a second, it seemed to be an illusion. The clone disappeared after doing its job, and gouts of blood sprayed out of the blind man's missing arm socket.
His wails died down as he gritted his teeth and made a few half seals with his remaining hand. Right hand burning with flames, Kaji slammed it into his bleeding shoulder, incinerating the flesh and forcibly stopping the bleeding. All throughout this, the Naruto stood calmly watching impassively.
"You have lost Katsuragi-san. Now let me leave, or forfeit you life."
The agonized expression on Kaji's face shifted into pained amusement as he pulled his burning hand from his smoking armless shoulder. "Lost?!!" There was a hind of madness in his voice. "We haven't even started fighting!!" The blonde's expression did not change as he listened to the blind man's rant.
Electricity built around the Raikage and began to solidify around his right hand. "Don't be a fool. Wind trumps lightning." Naruto raised his wind sword as if to prove his point.
"You think so?!" demanded Kaji. A blade of lightning formed and straightened in his remaining hand. "I am the Raikage! One of the five strongest shinobi in the world!! I will not lose to some wet behind the ears whelp!!" The man charged forward, blade held point first.
Naruto stood his ground and stared at the rushing man. The crackling blade came closer and closer, yet still the blonde did not move. The blindfolded man let out a howl of victory as he closed in. His mouth twisted into an insane smile. "You're mine!" He thrust the lightning blade forward, aimed straight at the hunter-nin's heart.
Naruto shifted at the last moment, allowing the blade to graze his chest slightly as it went by. The blind man slammed into the wind sword the blonde held in his hands. Unable to stop himself, his momentum carried his body straight through the blade up to the hilt. The Raikage gaped in astonishment at the wind sword growing out of his abdomen. He coughed and spat out a bit of blood as Naruto twisted the blade in the dying man's intestines.
"Game over. Pedophile: 0 Emotionally Damaged Child: 1"
With blood dripping down his lips, the Kaji gave his detestable little smile. "An eye for an eye" he gasped out with his dying breath.
The Raikage jammed his faltering lightning sword into Naruto's left shoulder. Naruto let out a yell of pain as the dying electricity shot through his arm, tearing muscle and cracking bones. The wind blade dissipated as soon as the blonde lost concentration and the Raikage fell, face forward motionless.
The young hunter-nin gritted his teeth as the electrical charge died down in his left arm. 'Kyuubi.'
"I'm trying kit, I'm trying." There was a tinge of worry in the demon's voice.
Naruto grinded his teeth together as hundreds of shinobi leapt down from nearby buildings and encircled him.He was surrounded. His left arm was torn to shreds, and dangled uselessly by his side. Multiple cuts crisscrossed his body, making bloody railroad tracks. His shirt was shredded to pieces, and part of his vest was missing. His mask was no longer in place; blood trickled down from his forehead, blinding him in his left eye. Naruto squinted out at his opponent with his good eye. A sea of blades and angry faces greeted him, but what was most prominent, was the fear. No matter how angry they looked, they all had a bit of awe and fear splashed onto their faces.
"So this is how it ends." The young shinobi snorted. He used his good hand to reach into one of the remaining vest pockets on his body. The movement caused many of the assembled shinobi to shift nervously, wondering what the boy was about to do. Many nearly dropped their weapons when he pulled out a lone cigarette. They stared in shock as Naruto put the cigarette in his mouth, and snapped his fingers, causing a small flame to erupt at the tips of his fingers. Putting the flame at the end of the cigarette, Naruto took a puff, and allowed the flames on his fingers to die out. Taking another deep drag, Naruto breathed out, allowing the smoke to rise from his mouth. He took a third drag, and allowed his conscience to fall into the deep chasm of his mind where he floated before the cage of Kyuubi.
"Give me more power." The great fox snorted as he rolled over in his cage.
"I have already leant you one tails worth of chakra. Anymore, and the consequences would be dire." Naruto smiled lightly as he looked up at the huge beast.
"It doesn't matter anymore. We'll die either way." The great brute of a demon rested his head on a great paw and stared at the boy before him.
"Kit, you know that I cannot give you more power then that of which your body can generate. Anymore, and your body may collapse, or you may just explode from chakra overload." The fox leaned in closer and peered down at the stoic boy before him. "Your power already rivals that of the two tailed demon Heero, and you have already defeated that annoying Raikage. Anymore and-"
The gigantic fox quieted down as he saw his host raise his hand. "I know what could happen if I take in more power then necessary. It's a risk I'm willing to take." The demon stared thoughtfully down at his host.
"So be it." The Kyuubi's eyes glowed red for a moment, and then a stream of red chakra seeped out of the cage and surrounded Naruto. The mass of power swept up his body, covering every part of him it came into contact with, until at last, it reached his head. The demonic chakra covered his face until only his eyes were visible.
"Fare thee well Kit, fare thee well." The chakra oozed into his line of vision, and a great rage filled his normally emotionless core. The rage spread quickly, taking over his mind, his control. It ate away at his very being, until darkness claimed him, and he knew no more.
An: Wanna find out what happens next? Too bad you'll have to wait, because I'm evil, and I like a good cliff hanger.