True Path of a Jinchuuriki Ch 13: The Final Seal Part 2

(Italics: Thoughts / Flashbacks / Dream sequence. Bold: Title and Kyubi's / Demon's / Inner Characters's Speech. Underline: Time Skips)

Garra and Sasuke faced off, their gazes narrowed and locked with one another's, a dark cloaked shinobi named Kazuma casually restraining the movements of Kankuro, Temari and the countless ANBU positioned atop the roof of the temple, the a simple flick of Kazuma's wrists Temari and Kankuro retreat to a good distance. "How many years has it been since we last fought last of the Uchiha? No matter, do not think you are the only one to increase in power." Garra said in an emotionless tone, extending both his forearms, causing the ground beneath them to tremble violently. A pillar of solidified sand protruding upwards from the ground, instantly impaling the figure of Sasuke, a sinister grin on his face as his form vanished in a cloud of smoke. When the hell did he do that? Garra thought to himself, gazing upwards as Sasuke's shadowed form leaped above him, nothing visible but his sharingan eyes as he quickly performed a few hand signs. "Fire Style! Flaming Arrow Jutsu!" Sasuke announced, the incantation echoing as he appeared to hold an invisible bow, pulling back as an arrow of fire based chakra manifested where the tip of the arrow would be, and released it all in a single, graceful movement.

As powerful a blow and even with as much strength Sasuke possessed Garra's shield was just too quick for him, a shield of sand manifesting instantly, absorbing the blow and unfortunately for Sasuke leaving the Kazekage unscathed. The split-second Garra's sand gathered as a shield to absorb Sasuke's technique another form of Sasuke appeared behind Garra in an incredible burst of chakra-enhanced speed. Slamming his fist into the back of Garra's head, sending him barreling down the stone steps of the temple, crashing into the ground below. A moment later the form of Garra absorbed into sand, a dome of sand surrounding Sasuke as Kazuma leaped backwards to a safe distance. The dome constantly contracting as the shell of sand grew smaller and denser. A form of Garra standing atop the temple roof extended his arm outward and clenched his fist, a pulse of chakra emitting from his clenched fist. "Sand Coffin!"

Garra announced, the incantation echoing throughout the surrounding area as the contracting dome of sand concentrated at one point. The force of the attack sending a burst of wind as the powerful pulse of energy disrupted the air flow. Garra breathed heavily from fatigue. Is it over? The young Kazekage thought to himself silently. Suddenly a dark, sinister laughter echoed from all around him, answering his question. When Garra looked up Sasuke appeared before him, standing atop a nearby tree with a satisfied look on his facial expression. But How!? The Kazekage thought, suddenly the memory of his eyes locked with Uchiha's resurfacing in his mind. Of course his eyes... This was all an illusion how could I be so careless? Garra thought as he placed his hands together. "Release!" Garra announced, the illusion dissolving as well as the Kazekage's previously failed technique, the sand returning to the urn on his back.

"Very impressive Garra of the sand, you are indeed a worthy opponent... However playtime is over now, time to get serious!" Sasuke roared, a black Chidori charging in his hand at an alarming rate. Charging forward in a burst of chakra-enhanced speed Sasuke nearly cleared the distance between him and the Kazekage instantaneously. Striking his palm forward as he discharged a powerful current of electrical-based chakra right through the center Garra's chest, the form of Garra grinning in response as he got Sasuke's right arm in a death grip, chakra-saturated sand wrapping around his wrist from the center of the sand clone's chest.

Sasuke tried with all of his might to retract his hand from the depths of pressurized sand but it proved useless after several failed attempts to free himself. "You've underestimated me Sasuke Uchiha and for that you will pay the price." The Kazekage's voice said from all around Sasuke in an emotionless tone. As Sasuke looked upward the form of the Kazekage stared down at him with a fierce gaze, the twilight bathing and illuminating his form as he extended his arm forward and expanded his palm, balling his hand into a tight fist as a pulse of chakra emits from his palm. "Sand Coffin!" Garra announced, the incantation echoing all around causing Sasuke to cry out in pain as his arm was forcibly ripped apart from his shoulder-bone, tearing the limb apart, after the dramatic scene a dark look became written across Sasuke's facial expression.

"Got you!" the form of Sasuke said as he vanished in a cloud of smoke. Garra's eyes widened as he stared into the space Sasuke's figure had been a split-second earlier. Impossible! The Kazekage thought to himself. "Naomi now!" Sasuke's voice called out into the proceeding darkness. A few moments later the ground beneath the temple began to shake violently as countless bodies dressed in degrading shinobi armor protruded upward from the ground, surrounding the Kazekage as Kazuma, Temari, Kankuro and the rest of the sand shinobi present watched helplessly, feeling powerless as even their own basic motor skills became a weapon for their unique enemy. Garra had a dark look on his facial expression as his eyes became blank, an unstable aura of chakra radiating from Garra's body.

"You think a few animated corpses can match the true power of a Jinchuuriki!?" Garra roared in a twisted, demonic tone as a powerful pulse of bright, crimson chakra disintegrated the circle of corpses, their decayed armor falling to the ground and crumbling to dust before it even reached the ground. "You destroyed my dolls that's quite impressive... For a mere human that is." With those words said a tall, dark haired figure of a woman stepped forward from the shadows, her beautiful womanly features clear but slightly hidden by a full-body black robe, but the most displayed feature was the look of sadistic pleasure written across her facial expression.

Garra's blank gaze locked on her as the sand from the Urn on his back cloaked his entire body, two enormous claws manifesting where his arms had once been. Launching the demon arms toward the sorceress, a crater and dust-cloud forming due to the impact. Garra roared out into the night with all of his might as the let the demon within him take absolute control. making a full demon transformation as all the sand from the surrounding desert became magnetically drawn to his form, an enormous demon racoon composed of sand manifesting in front of the temple, blue runes running down it's entire body.

The runes began to glow as Garra roared out of rage in a twisted, demonic tone. Slamming his fists downward into the ground directly in front of him, Sasuke, Kazuma and the sorceress narrowly dodging in time as the place they had been mere moments ago was reduced to an enormous crater. As they landed on a barely visible desert island of sand rock Sasuke threw his arm outward. "Kazuma, Ayumi you have done enough, now go release the final seal, besides Kazuma looks like he hit his limit." Sasuke informed his subordinates as Kazuma was visibly weak, his grip on his prey beginning to slowly slip from him as he dropped to one knee as fatigue and chakra exhaustion overcame him, coughing up a little blood and wiping his mouth in response. "Forgive me Sasuke." Kazuma said to Sasuke. "Nonsense, that Kekei Genkai of yours is very useful, disabling and controlling people's nervous systems must take an enormous quantity of chakra, concentration and chakra control. Now follow my orders and we can finally get our hands on that forbidden power." They were interrupted from their conversation as a partially transformed Shukaku's fist slammed downward, Kazuma and Ayumi swiftly moving into the temple interior to release the final seal

as Sasuke quickly gathered chakra into the soles of his feet, launching himself directly upward, his eyes closed in concentration as a rush of wind filled his senses. His eyes snapped open suddenly as the curse mark on his shoulder began to radiate a bright crimson and cover his entire body. Demonic wings suddenly sprouting from his shoulder blades as he flew high upward, hovering a good distance above his enemy as he quickly performed a few hand signs. Gathering a concentrated orb of chakra within his palm as he made a final hand sign with his free hand.

"Fire Style! Grand Meteor Jutsu!"

Suddenly the orb of condensed chakra in Sasuke's palm lit aflame, expanding to an enormous size as Sasuke flew downward at high speeds, slamming the ball of flame into Garra's giant racoon armor composed of sand, the entire form glowing a bright crimson as it came in contact with the inhuman temperatures. Garra's unconscious body falling downward and crashing into the ground below as the shell of Shukaku behind him became a glossy texture and then crumbled to shards of glass. Sasuke struggled to get up, first degree burns on his right arm searing madly as he gazed upward, the familiar stream of light shooting upward connecting the skies to the heavens, Sasuke waited a few minutes expecting something grand to happen, however the minutes of patience proved to be of no value so Sasuke decided to escape, the unharmed sand shinobi failing to catch up to him as he vanished without a trace, heading for the rendezvous point.

Twenty Minutes Later...

Sasuke jumped from cliff to cliff as he became lost in thought. I released all the seals now where the hell is the Frozen Flame!? As Sasuke neared the rendezvous point he felt a spike of chakra behind him, Sasuke came to a sudden halt and without turning around to face his stalker. "Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you this very moment." Sasuke said threateningly. A dark cloaked figure emerged from the shadows and gave a short bow. "You are wondering why the path to the forbidden power has not yet revealed itself to you correct?" Sasuke merely remained silent to communicate he was listening, if not skeptically. The mysterious man received his answer from the silence. "It is because there is a Seventh Seal, although this seal is quite different..." The mysterious cloaked figure said. "Different how?" Sasuke asked, a hint of rare, genuine curiosity in his voice. "This seal is within a human being, and only a member of the Uchiha Clan who possessed the sharingan has the means of breaking it." The mysterious cloaked figure continued. Sasuke grinned to himself darkly. "What did you say your name was?" The cloaked figure grinned darkly in return beneath his hood. "Call me... Madara."

The Next Day...

Naruto awoke the next day in a daze, the events of the other night replaying in his mind over and over again, it felt so real yet at the same time it all felt like a dream, if it was actually a dream he'd honestly believe it was a cruel joke from god. He was interrupted from his mind-altered thoughts as he heard sounds in his kitchen along with the smells of various breakfast foods, including ramen of course. Naruto got out from his bed to find himself completely undressed, fortunately his clothes appeared clean and folded right in front of him. Naruto smiled to himself as he got dressed and entered the kitchen. Naruto's facial expression suddenly became blank as he took in the sight before him. Various pots and pans filled with overcooked and burnt foods, Hinata wearing her same clothes from yesterday struggling to make her ingredients edible. "Hinata-chan were you making breakfast for me?" Hinata jumped because she hadn't sensed him in her panic. "N-Naruto-kun I-I'm so s-sorry..." Hinata said in between small sobs. Naruto smiled and pulled her into an embrace. "It's alright Hinata-chan you're forgiven, but can you help me clean this up?" Naruto asked as he looked around at her failed cooking experiment.

Twenty Minutes Later...

Naruto sighed in relief as he and Hinata finished cleaning up Hinata's mess. "Naruto I'm really sorry about this, can I make you something else?" Naruto merely grinned at her. "Lets go out for ramen!" Before Hinata could even respond Naruto grabbed her hand and they were out the door with his placed locked behind him within thirty seconds. "N-Naruto-kun slow down..." Hinata said. Naruto came to a halt, Hinata tripping and falling. Naruto caught Hinata bridal style, she merely grinned slyly at him. "Wow Naruto so smooth." She said sarcastically. Naruto merely grinned at her in return. "I try." He replied in a similar sarcastic tone. Hinata smiled and quickly kissed him on the lips, swiftly hopping down to her own feet and immediately regaining her balance. After about ten minutes of travel through the market district of Konoha they arrived at Naruto's favorite location to eat: Ichiraku's Ramen. Naruto drooled just at the very thought, staring upward at the sign stupidly. Hinata giggled to herself. There are some things about you that will never change, huh Naruto-kun? Hinata thought.

As they entered they found it surprisingly empty, but then again it was only Ten in the morning, the Lunch rush didn't begin for at least another hour. Naruto and Hinata sat in a cozy seat in the corner, Naruto eagerly awaiting his order to be taken with the patience of a small child. A minute later Ayame appeared in front of their table, she was wearing a beautiful red Kimodo covered by her work apron. "I'm sorry for the wait Naruto-kun, what can I get for you?" Ayame asked casually with a beautiful smile. Naruto smiled back. "Fourteen bowls of Miso Pork please, and what do you want Hinata-chan?" Hinata blushed slightly. "I-I'll take one bowl of the same order please..." Hinata said in a polite yet embarrassed tone. Ayame finished writing down their order with her pen and pad in hand. She smiled and winked at Naruto and Hinata. "Coming right up for the happy couple." Ayame finished with a smile and a wink. And with those words she disappeared behind the counter in order to give the order to Teuchi. Naruto sighed and leaned his head back impatiently. Hinata smiled at him and just gazed in admiration. Naruto noticed her looked and gave her a skeptical look. "What's wrong Hinata? Is there something on my face?" Naruto asked confused. Hinata just smiled at him and shook her head. "It's nothing Naruto-kun don't worry about it." Naruto gave her another skeptical look. "Are you sure?" He asked. She merely smiled and nodded. "Well if you say so..." Naruto said as he gazed outside the window and stared off into space almost as if falling into a trance.

Fifteen Minutes Later...

Teuchi and Ayame came out with Naruto and Hinata's meal(s), rolling them out on a tray to assure the food doesn't spill even if there wasn't enough room on the table. Naruto smiled and thanked each of them deeply and proceeded to devour his first bowl, Hinata smiled at Naruto's boyish charm and took her own bowl as she thanked Teuchi and Ayame politely and began to eat her bowl slowly. After about thirty minuted Naruto finished his fourteen bowls, piled in two stacks on the tray, the money on the counter as well as a generous tip. "You ready to go Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked her with a smile. Hinata smiled back and nodded, as they walked toward the door Naruto turned around. "The money's on the counter, thanks for the meal old man!" Naruto called out to Teuchi. "Anytime Naruto!" Teuchi called back as Hinata and Naruto headed for the exit. The moment before they could enter the doorway Kakashi appeared in a small cloud of smoke. Before either of them could say a work Kakashi got right to the point. "The Hokage has summoned both of you." Kakashi said in serious tone. Naruto turned to Hinata and met her eye, their facial expressions reflected seriousness as they nodded to one another. "Very well take us to her."

A/N: Shit this story is going places, my stats are unbelievable for a story this young, not even 3 months old, over 100 reviews and more than 20,000 hits! I hope everyone enjoyed the Garra and Sasuke fight scene, it was very fun to write trust me. Very easy compared to the lemon in my opinion. I hope everyone is enjoying the plot and character developments, I believe that is truly what makes a great story, a good storyline, development between the realationship of the characters, light romance, action scenes, and of course uncensored fighting and speaking! Anyway sorry to ramble on about my thoughts. Please Review if you care! Next chapter: The Seventh Seal

Peace! - DL555