Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Ruroni Kenshin, or Bleach.
Chapter 13: Release
When Naruto whispered the words to release the power of his sword, he was engulfed in a tower of blue energy that reached to the skies. Danzo struggled to rise to escape but couldn't do so since the power the blonde displayed kept him pinned to the ground. He tried channeling chakra to his body to boost his strength but it didn't work, except to make it easier for him to breathe and nothing else.
After a few seconds, the tower of blue energy begun to disperse to reveal a sight that made the old warhawk gasp in fear.
In front of him was a different Uzumaki Naruto.
Instead of a kimono and hakama, he now wore black shirt and pants, with a silver belt holding the latter in place; a black trench coat reaching down to his ankles covered his inner clothing and completed by black steel-plated boots. The demon mask was replaced by a black face mask that covered him from the nose down. The katana he used was now transformed into a nodachi with a 5-foot blade and a foot for the hilt. It was pure black and seemed to exude an unearthly glow that sent a chill down his spine.
However, what scared Danzo the most was the existence of a third eye embedded in the center of the blonde's forehead. It still had the swordsman's natural eye color, blue, but the pupils were black slits, similar to that of the feline species.
"Thank you for waiting, Danzo." said Naruto in a voice devoid of any emotion.
"What are you?" asked Danzo in fear though he was able to stand now since Naruto let his Reiryoku levels die down. He might have promised to kill Danzo but he wanted it to be a fight to the death since there was no entertainment to be had killing a crippled opponent.
"This is the true form of my sword and the release of my power." Naruto said while giving the old warhawk a look that spoke volumes. He raised his left hand and beckoned for the man to attack him. "Come."
Growling, Danzo immediately channeled Fuuton chakra into his kunais turning them into literal wind blade before dashing towards the blonde at Jounin-level speed. However, he disappeared before reaching Naruto but appeared behind him to slash at the blonde's exposed back. He was flabbergasted when the nodachi was deftly maneuvered to block the blow. Naruto didn't bother turn to face his opponent.
Trying again, Danzo disappeared for the second time and appeared a few feet in front of Naruto before thrusting a kunai towards the swordsman's heart. Before it could reach its target, however, it was stopped when a powerful grip caught Danzo's wrist.
"Is that all you can do, Danzo? Pathetic." Naruto murmured without emotion causing the old warhawk to growl in anger. Naruto released his hold with Danzo taking advantage of it to jump back and give himself some space. He started going through hand seals for his next technique.
"Fuuton: Vacuum Great Sphere."
A giant sphere of wind appeared fired towards the now-transformed blonde swordsman who calmly raised his nodachi with its tip pointed at the incoming projectile.
"Seki." said Naruto, a circular shield appeared from the tip of his blade that easily repelled the attack back to its caster who immediately dodged to avoid getting hit by his own technique. Danzo noted that the blonde's normal eyes were closed except for the unnatural third eye who was keeping him in its sight.
Naruto, deciding that he gave the man already too much leeway, lunged forward with the blade at his side. His first slash was blocked by a chakra-coated kunai, its owner grunting at the sheer strength behind the swing. Danzo immediately broke the stalemate and attacked with both of his wind blades in hopes to incapacitate or kills the blonde. Without opening his eyes, except for the third, Naruto danced around the attacks, parrying and dodging lazily causing the old warhawk to lose his composure.
Seeing that his rather frenzied attack was useless and easily countered, Danzo smirked and disappeared only to materialize behind the blonde. He was shocked, however, when the blonde turned lazily and slashed him from shoulder to hip when he appeared. With blooding running down the side of his mouth, he couldn't help but ask.
"How?" Danzo gasped as he tried to stem the flow of blood from the wound. "How did you know where I was going to appear?"
Naruto simply looked at the man with his natural eyes, face devoid of any emotion though Danzo was sure that there was a hint of boredom there that infuriated him.
"When I released my swords true form, I gained a few abilities that came with it. Aside from the obviously cosmetic changes, my released form gave me a doujutsu (Eye Technique) of sorts." Naruto pointed at the third eye on his forehead with a finger. "The Jagan, the Third Eye of the Devil, gives me the ability to see five seconds into the future. When its gaze lands on its target, in this case you, all of your movements and strategies are for me to see and counter. Not even your famed Izanagi can fool the Jagan."
Danzo disappeared with Naruto doing the same. When the ROOT leader materialized, Naruto did so under his guard and impaled him easily with his blade. Danzo disappeared again though Naruto remained in place thought he blonde simply slashed to the side catching the old warhawk and cutting off his arm.
"I told you, I know what you're going to do before you're going to do it, Danzo." said Naruto in a bored voice. "Eight down, two to go."
Danzo growled in anger before disappearing. He materialized on a branch on top of the blonde and immediately went on the defensive. No blow came. He looked down at his opponent and gasped when lightning pierced his chest where his heart was supposed to be. He saw the blonde pointing the large blade at him with its tip smoking and glowing with energy. Another shot was fired piercing him on the head before disappearing.
"Nine down, one to go." said Naruto as he lunged forward and slashed, catching the warhawk from shoulder to hip for the second time when the man materialized. "Ten down and no more Izanagi for you."
Growling, Danzo disappeared and materialized a few meters away from the blonde to give him some breathing wroom while doing hand seals and slamming his hand on the ground to execute one of his most devastating combo. He just hoped that his summon was still alive to assist him with its completion.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Baku."
Baku materialized with Danzo on top of its head though it was obvious that Kurama's attack wounded it deeply. The summon's body was littered with burns and the bandages on its head was no longer there, revealing singed fur and skin. Some parts were even showing bones. Despite its wounded state, it was still ready to follow its master, to the death if need be.
"I don't know why you brought your summon out considering the state its in." said Naruto while giving Baku a curious look.
Danzo didn't bother with a response, sent out a mental command to his beast. Baku opened his mouth and started using wind to suck anything into its mouth.
Naruto raised an eyebrow when he saw the wind-powered black hole the summon creature produced and couldn't help but admire its tenacity to assist its summoner. He immediately channeled chakra to his feet and reinforcing it with Ki and Reiryoku to keep him in place. He already knew what Danzo was trying to do and couldn't help but chuckle in amusement for such a useless act.
"Ah, I see what you're trying to do, old man. Well, since your summon wants to eat me then it's only fair that I accommodate it." said Naruto with a determined glint in his eyes. He gripped the newly-transformed Kenshin with both hands and positioned it in front of him, perpendicular to the ground. He started gathering Ki and Reiryoku into the blade causing red and blue energy to materialize around the blade, growing brighter as it was fed more energy from the blonde swordsman. He raised the blade above him and executed a downward slash while releasing his hold on the technique.
"Souru Uebu! (Soul Wave)"
A wave of red and white energy flew from the slash and cut Baku into two, effectively killing the summon before it could return to its plane. Danzo, who clearly saw and felt the power of the technique, jumped off before sharing the fate of his pet. The wave of energy crashed into a dozen trees before dissipating. Silence reigned before Baku literally fell in half, showering the forest floor with blood and entrails.
But before the old shinobi could counterattack, Naruto appeared in front of him in mid-air and slashed his modified right arm cleanly from his shoulder. Danzo screamed in pain and loss. He landed on the ground with a thud, weakened and mortally wounded, blood gushing out of his shoulder. Even being under extreme pain, he was coherent enough to see Naruto walk towards him, blade on the side, in slow menacing steps preparing to end his life. Judging that it was time to use his last trump card, he painfully maneuvered his left arm and ripped the bandage off his covered eye to reveal an eleventh Sharingan. But before he could use any technique from it, it blew up. He saw Naruto pointing an index finger with its tip smoking, evidence that something was fired from it.
"As I said before, Danzo, I can see everything you do before you even do it. I know you plan to use your last Sharingan to put me under your control. Not only was it a useless act, it also spelled your doom. Any last words before meeting Yami in Hell?" said Naruto in a cold voice while raising his blade in preparation to cut off the old warhawks head.
"I-I have…nothing…to say….to…you. K-kill…me…and…be…done…with it." Danzo gasped out while glaring at the boy in front of him. Despite being soundly defeated, all his hard-earned techniques useless, he wouldn't succumb to death in fear.
"So be it." was all Naruto said before beheading Danzo with a single slash, throwing off the warhawks head to land on the ground with a small thud, the lone eye on the head opened wide to show shock and fear even in death.
"You want to relinquish your position and quit being a shinobi?" asked Sarutobi with regret in his voice.
The battle in the Forest of Death between Naruto and ROOT was over. He found the boy standing over the dead body of his former teammate. He shivered at the look of shock and fear on Danzo's face; even in death, the old warhawk was afraid of the blonde swordsman who soundly defeated him. He couldn't believe his former teammate would resort to such abomination, robbing the dead Uchihas of their eyes and grafting into in his arm with cells from the Shodai Hokage. He shivered at the idea since it was similar to what his estranged student, Orochimaru, was working on before leaving the village, becoming an S-rank missing-nin in the process.
"Yes." said Naruto in a cold voice though there was a hint of sorrow in the boy's tone that made the Hokage's heart ache.
"Are you sure of your decision, Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi asked his grandson though he already knew the answer to his question.
"Yes, jiji. I don't think I could ever live with myself if I take another life. The eyes of that boy that I easily killed were staring at me. I know I'll be plagued with nightmares because of it. I first took up the blade to protect. I first killed because I wanted revenge. I wanted to be a shinobi to make sure that whatever happened to Haruhis wouldn't be repeated. But despite all that, I became what I wanted to destroy. I killed a child and I don't want that to happen again." said Naruto with sorrow in his voice.
"I see." Sarutobi said with a nod before standing up and going to his clearly-suffering grandson in all but blood and gave him a heartfelt hug. This action caused whatever control the boy had to loosen, opening up floodgates of tears and wails that was the result of killing a child - a brainwashed child, but a child nonetheless.
Sarutobi cursed Danzo to the deepest pits of hell for putting his grandson through all that.
It took an hour for Naruto to regain his bearings though the aged leader could see the pain in the boy's blue eyes. He couldn't do anything for the boy except to just to be there for him in this time of need.
"Starting today, you are hereby removed from your position as Kage's Hand. You will no longer take any missions or be a part of the Konoha Shinobi force. Does this mean that you're no longer aspiring to be a shinobi in the future, Naruto-kun?" asked Sarutobi knowing that it was the boy's dream to become a shinobi.
"I don't know, jiji. Maybe I will but I'm not sure. I just don't want to kill anymore. I may decide to be a shinobi in the future. If I do then I will start at the bottom and work my way to the top. I know it is unavoidable to kill but if do become one in the future then I will make sure that no death will come from my hand. I promise you that." said Naruto with determination in his voice.
"If that is the case then I welcome you back to being a civilian, Naruto-kun." said Hokage before sliding a key and a piece of paper with an address on it across the desk towards the blonde. "Since your old apartment was already destroyed and your…clearing…is no longer salvageable. Here is a key to an apartment in the entertainment district. It was my home a long time ago and stopped using it when I started living in the Hokage Mansion when I took leadership of this village. I bequeath this to you. I will transfer all your money from the shinobi bank to a civilian bank owned by a close friend of mine. Unlike other banks, the owner of this one knows that you're not the Kyuubi so you wouldn't have to worry about your hard-earned money getting stolen. I hope this is to your liking."
Naruto took the key and paper before giving his surrogate grandfather a smile though his eyes were still filled with sorrow.
"Thanks, jiji. If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go home now and rest. It has been a long day and there are things I need to think about concerning the future." said Naruto before standing up and walked towards the door to leave the office.
Sarutobi didn't miss the fact that the blonde used the door and not use any of his techniques to exit the room. It would seem that his grandson was forsaking the life of a shinobi, much to his sorrow, though he was sure that the boy's skills would be called upon in the future.
He didn't know that the bijuu inside Naruto was also thinking of the same thing.
"Naruto, despite your vow to no longer kill and become a shinobi, circumstances are against you. Mark my words, deep in the future, you will have to take up the sword again. Until then, I'll be waiting." thought Kurama before cutting off the link and going into slumber, relishing the day that the boy would one day return to his former life.
Oni, the Hitokiri Battousai of Konoha, would disappear for years before revealing himself once again.
End of chapter 13
Date Uploaded: July 12, 2012
Please leave a comment or a review.