The Ninth Sekirei Pillar

by Arthain

The Elemental Nations are in ruins, the villages are destroyed, and the last of the Shinobi are on the run. Naruto's last ditch effort to stop Madara lands him and his last companion in a new world. A world in which a brutal tournament is taking place and the prize could mean the total destruction of both this new world, and his old one.

43. Chapter 42: Star Fall

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Sekirei, all characters, thoughts and ideas that exist in this story that were taken from the original works belong to their specific creators, Masashi Kishimoto and Sakurako Gokurakuin. Only original thoughts and or characters created in this story are my own.

Author's Notes: This chapter… has an example of something that looked really cool in my head, but didn't turn out nearly as cool on paper. I kept it though because I didn't have a better alternative.

I also decided to tie up a small loose end in this chapter, by introducing a Plot Hole! It is just a small one so don't ask, just accept. *whistles innocently* Please?

So a bit of mixed news… I just finished writing the last chapter. All that's left now is the Epilogue. LE GASP! On the good side, it basically means this story WILL be finished! It won't be abandoned like my last one! Yay! Sad news is that it'll be over before spring. Once I finished the Epilogue I'll be posting chapters every weekend. It'll end up being a total of 51 Chapters, 49 core, 1 Prologue and 1 Epilogue.

So yes, this does mean Naruto does pull a victory out of his ass without relying on a Dues Ex Machina despite the cards all being stacked in Orochimaru's favor. It's not even a BS ending, it's something that Naruto has been working towards, and will continue to work towards in future chapters.

Review Responses: I got quite a few reviews last chapter about Kurama x Naruto. Some are happy I didn't do it, a great many others were disappointed. I'm not changing my mind, just so you know. To be honest I don't even see how a giant chakra construct even HAS a libido in the first place. That's usually connected to, you know, hormones, which chakra constructs don't have. Besides, Naruto has more than enough females already, he doesn't really need Kurama.

Chapter 42: Star Fall

"… And that's everything that's happened since you were fully absorbed," Naruto said as he finished explaining everything that Kurama had missed.

"So that stupid snake is still alive," Kurama spat out in disgust.

"Yes, I'm not particularly fond of the thought either," Naruto agreed, "What's worse he's had ten-thousand years to get stronger, I'm not looking forward to fighting him,"

"But you will anyways, it's what you do."

"Yes," Naruto agreed. A sigh escaped his lips and he pointed at Kurama, "Your wing…"

One of Kurama's eyebrows began to twitch in annoyance, "I don't understand how you humans can deal with this," she said as she wrapped her wing around her body again. It took conscious thought to keep it in place. Every time her mind wandered or her emotions got heated she would forget to conceal herself, "I miss having fur, it was so much easier then, this whole modesty thing is such an inconvenience."

"You get used to it," Naruto said.

"I shouldn't have to get used to it."

"Hmmm…" Naruto said as he eyed Kurama up and down.

"What?" Kurama asked curiously, "Is something wrong with my wing?"

"No, not that… just wondering what we should call you," Naruto mused.

"I have a name, it's a good name," Kurama said with a deadpanned expression.

"Well, ya, but Kurama was the name you were given as a nine-tailed fox, a male one at that. Now you're neither a fox nor male. Kurama seems rather masculine for you," Naruto said.

"No! We are NOT changing my name. The sage gave me my name and I'm keeping my name. You're not changing it!" Kurama said with a finality that broke no disagreement.

"Kurina, that sounds feminine," Naruto said after a moment.

"NO!"

"Maybe Tenshi…"

"You are SO not calling me Tenshi!" Kurama protested vehemently.

"You're right, Tenshi is too cliché, Kurina sounds fine," Naruto agreed.

"You're not calling me Kurina either!"

"Kyoko?"

"Stop with the female names already! I am Kurama! It's a perfectly good name and it doesn't need to be changed!"

"Alright, alright, I won't call you Kurina, it's not even a real word anyways. Kurumi it is," Naruto said as he decided on a name.

"NO!" Kurumi shouted at him, "You can't just change my name like that!"

"Sure I can, Kurumi. I just did. Now you have a name to fit your body," Naruto said with satisfaction.

Kurumi just gaped at Naruto in total shock. Just like that her name, one of the few things she had been proud of for centuries, had been whisked away on a whim by her container. If it wasn't bad enough that she had lost her original magnificent form and had been forced into a sexy female body, she just had her awe-inspiring name ripped away and replaced with some weak feminine sounding name.

"You… I… but…" she tried to come up with some retort, some response, but nothing would come. She was struck speechless.

"I understand, it'll take some time to get used to it," Naruto said comfortingly.

"What about my religion?" Kurumi whimpered as she tried to grasp at something, anything, to protest the name change.

"Now you can have two," Naruto said as he beamed a smile at her.

"…"

"Well Kurumi, I should get going. I need to get a few hours of actual sleep before I wake up otherwise I'm going to be dead on my feet tomorrow," Naruto said as he climbed to his feet.

"…"

"Talk to you soon, Kurumi!" Naruto said as he waved farewell and faded away.

"… I am so going to get you for this," Kurumi vowed.

x~X~x

"Is something the matter Naruto-kun?" Miya asked as she paused inside the doorway of the workroom. She leaned against the doorframe, holding a long white house robe closed with one hand, it was always a little chilly this early in the morning. "You got out of bed pretty early."

Naruto looked over his shoulder at Miya and gave her a genuine smile, "Actually, I got some good news last night, I got Kurumi back," he said happily.

"Kurumi?" Miya asked in confusion. She didn't know anyone that went by that name.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I never did tell anyone else," Naruto said apologetically to Miya. He had only mentioned to Hanabi about the Sekirei and what bonding with them had done to Kurama. He didn't want to make them feel guilty.

"Tell us what?" Miya asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Orochimaru didn't bring the Sekirei with him to Earth to be used as power sources, not at first anyways," Naruto started. He looked back down at the sealing circles he had been analyzing earlier, "You were brought here for a different reason initially."

"Oh, what might this reason be and why did you not mention this before?" Miya asked archly.

"Because I didn't want to tell my Sekirei that they were a trap designed specifically for me," Naruto whispered.

"Explain," Miya demanded. The thought of her feathers being turned into power sources was bad enough; she couldn't stand the thought that she and her Sekirei had caused Naruto undo harm as well.

Naruto moved to the side and pointed at the three sealed Jinki on the table in front of him with his thumb. He had the first, third and the eighth. Naoki was holding onto the second until he completed his end of the bargain. "These Jinki, didn't always look like this. They were converted into this form somehow, I don't know how. What I do know however is that when I came to this world Kurama, my friend and companion, was a two-hundred foot tall nine-tailed fox, like you saw on television. However after I arrived on this world Kurama's chakra began to be absorbed into what you see here, a small silvery orb. It was slow at first, and the Jinki was proportionally small, but it grew in size as it absorbed more of Kurama's chakra. With each additional Sekirei I winged, the conversion rate increased exponentially. Kurama and I, we didn't realize what was happening before it was too late. By the time we figured the Sekirei were a trap designed to rob me of Kurama and convert him into a Jinki, I had already winged Chime."

"So the Sekirei…"

"Exist to purify the chakra of a tailed-beast," Naruto finished for her. "I doubt that's their only purpose, but that is one of their primary purposes."

"Why would he do that?" Miya asked.

"I can make a few guesses," Naruto mused.

"Which are?"

"Tailed-beast chakra is normally corrosive. It takes the Will of the creature to control it so that it doesn't harm whoever uses it. There's no way the tailed-beasts would go along with anything that Orochimaru planned so he would have had to come with an alternative method of using their power. Which is what this is," Naruto said as he waved his hand at the Jinki's, "if you were to change that chakra so that it becomes something else, something pure…" he left it hanging.

"You think this Orochimaru is after the purified Kurama inside you?"

"Yes. A lot of things don't make any sense, but with it being Orochimaru you can assume there's always a reason, one that doesn't have the continued good health of anyone save himself in mind," Naruto said.

"I see… so who is this Kurumi?" Miya asked again.

Naruto's head jerked, "Oh, I never explained that did I," he said with a chuckle, "She's why I'm happy. I realized the Jinki are more like prisons. I cracked open the one inside me and pulled Kurama out of it."

"I take it Kurama underwent some kind of transformation," Miya said.

"Yes, 'he' became a 'she,'" Naruto said, "A nine-winged angel to be precise. I've taken to calling her Kurumi."

"I can't imagine that she took it very well."

That's an understatement…

"She'll get used to it," Naruto said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Not before I make you pay…

Naruto blanched slightly but didn't respond to the voice in his head.

"So why were you staring at the other Jinki?" Miya asked as she glanced at the three Jinki trapped in Naruto's seals, specifically at her own.

"I was trying to figure out a way to pull them out of their prison," Naruto mused as he stared intently at the Jinki.

Unfortunately he hadn't figured anything out. There were a number of differences between these Jinki and the one that had been inside him. The greatest difference was the crystal encasing around each of the Jinki. It prevented Naruto from being able to manipulate anything inside it and he had yet to figure out a way of cracking it open. He wasn't about to try and brute force it, he didn't want to risk doing irrevocable damage to them.

"From your expression I take it you can't."

Naruto sighed and turned back to Miya, "Ya, I just don't know enough about their construction to do anything at the moment," he said, "The eighth Jinki belongs to you, right? Do you know anything about the crystal encasing?"

Miya shook her head, "I do not, it wasn't in the encasing when I arrived, it happened after I had presented it to Takehito-san."

"And Orochimaru probably took it from Takehito and encased it," Naruto said with a sigh, "Well, I guess that was too much to hope for, I'll figure something out, eventually."

x~X~x

Early evening found Coren and Miko laying side by side, panting from the exertion of their love making. Or rather Miko was panting, her body slick with sweat and her bosom heaving as she gasped for air after the rough and passionate sex.

Coren was perfectly fine, he hadn't broken a sweat despite doing most of the work.

"You're getting better," Coren said with a light smile on his face. His finger glided across her face, tracing an old scar she had received from her ex-boyfriend. Someone she had broken up with long ago.

"I have you to thank for that," Miko replied after she managed to catch her breath, "No man can compare to your endless stamina and..." her eyes trailed down his body and stopped between his legs, "girth."

Coren grinned at her and gently patted her cheek, "flattery won't get you a second round," he said with a mischievous smile. He pushed himself up off the bed and headed for the pile of clothes near the door. Miko hadn't even let him get to the bed before she had him stripped.

"Darn," Miko said with a pout as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and opened a small secret panel on the side of her night table. "Here's your bill, make sure to settle things with The Lady, before you leave, we don't want a repeat of the first time you were here do we?" she asked as she pulled out a piece of folded paper and handed it to Coren.

"You don't have to worry about that," Coren said dryly as he accepted the bill from Miko.

He had only tried to skip without paying once, only once. Never again would he do that. If Coren didn't know better he'd have thought The Lady had the ability to teleport. That women could move, and move fast. It didn't matter where you tried to go, she'd hunt you down like a blood hound. He wasn't going to discount the possibility that somewhere down the line one of her ancestors DID indeed mate with a bloodhound.

He had barely managed to get away with his hide intact by apologizing profusely and offering twice the amount he had owed.

"Next week, same time?" Coren asked hopefully.

"I'd accept you all week, all the time," Miko said playfully.

Coren snorted, "I'm sure you would," he said with a smile and waved farewell.

He opened the bill and nodded at the price found therein. It was reasonable, actually more than reasonable if he thought about it. Most of the women here charged more than what Miko charged him. Guess she liked him. He was a repeat customer after all, he'd been coming here same day, same time, every week for a while now.

He pocketed a small USB stick tucked inside the bill and quietly left the room. Heading down stairs he made sure to pay The Lady at the front desk before making his way out the back door. Things had mended between the two of them, him and The Lady, but her cold gaze still sent shivers down his spine.

He doubted she would ever forget how he had tried to fuck and run his first time here.

How she ever managed to see through his transformation he'd never know. Although perhaps he shouldn't have found it that strange, she was blind after all. She probably smelled him down.

Whistling quietly to himself he made his way down the back alley towards the street on the other side of the block. Even if he was transformed, it didn't mean he could be careless, he'd keep his transformation until he got to his safe house and then he'd contact Boss.

Hanabi didn't know about Miko and both he and Boss felt it was best to keep it that way. Kaito wasn't his only contact, he was simply his primary, and the one he used to connect with Naoki. Naruto had many contacts throughout the city.

Miko heard things, lots of things. People talked when they were in the heat of passionate love making, even more so when they fall asleep afterwards thanks to a well brewed concoction. Not only did she hear what her customers said, but what the customers of the other girls said as well. They all gossiped like old housewives, although little they said ever actually left the building. Most of the girls couldn't even remember what they did the week before.

Miko was different however, she had a photographic memory, she never forgot. Naruto used her to get information and the best way to secretly pass it along to him was to actually engage in sexual activities. It would raise too much suspicion otherwise.

When presented like that Naruto was sure Hanabi would accept it, although his Sekirei would not. And it's not like the real Naruto ever actually slept with Miko, it was always the clone.

But it was best not to say anything, there wouldn't be any hurt feelings that way.

"Ah, Naruto-san, it's been a very long time," said a voice from the darkness.

The clone instantly went on guard, crouching low into a fighting stance, his senses stretched to their utmost limits as he searched his surroundings. There should be absolutely no one who knew who or even what he was.

That was when he sensed an impossibility. There was a Sekirei there, in the shadows, almost on top of him and he hadn't noticed it until now. What's worse was that he 'recognized' that Sekirei. She shouldn't be here, she had already been dealt with. She hadn't simply been terminated, but outright killed, by Hanabi.

Hanabi wasn't one to make that sort of mistake.

"Where are you? And why do you have Himeko?" Coren called out.

"Ah, my apologies, Naruto-san, I am so used to concealing myself it's become second nature," the voice said.

Suddenly there was someone right in front of him.

Coren's eyes widened in shock. It was impossible, there's no way 'he' could be here. It just didn't make any…

Actually, it made a lot of sense now that he thought about it. He was never actually killed, only trapped. It only made sense that after ten thousand years someone would have found him. The only question was how he managed to get to Earth.

Coren doubted he'd divulge that sort of information though.

"You brought Himeko back to life," Coren said tersely. "And you've mellowed out a lot." Naruto had never actually 'met' this person, but he recognized him from the descriptions his old friends had given of the man. He had also been a raving lunatic back then, which he obviously wasn't now.

"Eternity is quite lonely, and it teaches you many things," the man said with a sage like smile on his face.

"You turned out far better than Orochimaru," Naruto noted as he looked the man up and down carefully.

"There are many different forms of insanity," the man replied as if that simple statement said everything.

"So, will you stand on the rooftop and tell everyone what you found out here?" Coren asked.

"Of course not, I have only ever cared for one thing, exposing you would only make you an enemy, and my desire more difficult to achieve."

That was good, half good anyways. It was good that he wasn't about to be exposed, but that man's desire has never really been the most healthy of goals, for him or anyone else.

But that was something for Boss to deal with later, instead he was more interested in how he had brought Miko back. Boss himself was trying several different methods of resurrecting the dead and was having rather limited success. "How did you bring her back?"

The man gave him an amused looked, "Jashin is always looking for more followers."

x~X~x

Naruto picked a certain Hirashin seal in his mind. There was someone he wanted to check up on, he hadn't heard anything from her in days. With a flicker he disappeared from the basement of Epsilon and flashed across hundreds of miles in an instant.

And he almost froze just as quickly.

He had somehow missed his target.

"I'm an idiot!" Naruto shouted as he sunk four feet into a massive snow drift. The cold air whipped around him, freezing his skin and dragging his body temperature down to dangerous levels.

It had been so warm in Shinto Teito that he hadn't thought to wear a coat, or dress warmly at all. He was regretting it now because it was cold at the Alpine Snow Pass.

Before he could flash back to Shinto Teito something latched onto his foot. With a yelp he was pulled under the snow. The snow closed in overhead, cutting out most of the light as well as the cold and wind.

Snow was actually a very good insulator; it was almost always warmer under the snow than above it.

Naruto would have been far more worried about the situation, being dragged several meters under the snow, if he couldn't sense chakra. As it was he wasn't too worried because he could sense the familiar chakra of Akitsu just below him. So instead of being worried about his predicament he simply relaxed and enjoyed the unique experience.

A moment later he broke through the ceiling of what appeared to be an ice cavern. It was then that he came face to face with several peculiarities.

The first one was that it was warm here, far warmer than it should be. Naruto was aware that Akitsu could cool down her surroundings, but warm them up? That was not something he was aware that she was capable of.

The second peculiarity was the light. It was bright in here, almost painfully so. Considering he was now several meters below the surface of the snow it should be the opposite. It was almost brighter down here than on the surface. He couldn't figure out how it was being done until he noticed a series of ice mirrors than seemed to be reflecting light into the cavern through a series of small tunnels in the snow.

Now that he was in an open area he could see what it was that had grabbed him. Encircling one of his ankles was a collar of ice attached to a long chain. His eyes trailed along the chain, tracing it back to its source.

"Hi Akitsu," Naruto said as he eyed the chain that she held in her hands nervously.

"Naruto-sama, your clothing is not proper," Akitsu chided him.

Naruto blinked in surprise. Did Akitsu just berate him? That wasn't something that happened very often, or at all for that matter. "Ah, sorry, I forgot," he said apologetically as he scratched the back of his head.

"You will wear proper clothing next time."

Naruto's eyes almost bulged out of his head. Akitsu was giving 'him' a command? This was coming from the Sekirei that would do anything he asked of her without question?

His eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Who are you and where is my Akitsu?" he demanded, completely forgetting for the moment that he could feel the connection with the Sekirei standing in front of him through the bond he shared with her.

"I am Akitsu," Akitsu said in confusion.

In a burst of speed Naruto suddenly appeared beside her. In a single swift movement he knocked Akitsu's feet out from under her and slammed her onto the ground, "Where is my…" he stopped as he noticed something for the first time.

"Akitsu... where are your panties?" he asked, there was a deadpanned expression on his face and a large sweat drop rolled down the back of his head.

"Ah, I didn't bring any," Akitsu replied, completely unperturbed by Naruto's actions towards her.

"Why am I not surprised?" Naruto said with a sigh and let her go, that statement right there convinced him more than anything else that this was the real Akitsu. Only Akitsu would walk out into a winter-wonder land such as this without any panties. This unfortunately meant that his most loyal and devoted Sekirei was finally starting to question his actions and call him out on them.

Should he be happy that she was starting to break out of her shell and be more assertive? Or worried that he had hit the point where she felt the need to.

Naruto took another quick look around the cavern. It wasn't very large, a round half-spherical enclosure not much more than twenty feet in diameter. In the middle of the cavern was a tent Akitsu had set up, all of her supplies were located within there. At least Naruto assumed they were, Akitsu had a tendency to 'forget' the oddest of things.

"I like it," Naruto said approvingly as he took in everything.

There had been several suggested methods of living while she was out on the mission. Only half of them had her living on the land and none of them consisted of her living UNDER the land. Akitsu had decided to go with her own method and Naruto had to be honest, he was impressed.

Still there was something that bugged him about the whole setup.

"How do you see anything while being down here?" Naruto asked.

"Mirror," Akitsu said as she pointed at the ice mirror.

Naruto moved to the ice mirror that Akitsu pointed at, curiosity shining in his eyes. The mirror looked exactly like the other ice mirrors Akitsu had set up around the rooms, mirrors that Naruto had assumed were used to provide Akitsu with light this far underground.

He realized he was very wrong when he peered at the mirror up close. It did indeed redirect light into the underground enclosure but it was also so much more than that. From most angles it didn't show anything but if you look right at it, up close, you could actually see outside. This mirror in particular allowed Naruto to see the large way station at the top of the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route.

"This is awesome! Do all the mirrors do this?" Naruto asked as he watched a bunch of tourists get off a bus in the mirror.

"Almost all of them," Akitsu said, she hadn't finished setting all of them up yet, and she was adding more every day.

Naruto reached out and trailed a finger down the side of the mirror, "It's cold, how do you manage to keep the mirrors cold and this place so warm?" he asked curiously. As far as he knew Akitsu had absolutely no control over heat, just ice.

"Ah, I make the cold stay over there," Akitsu said simply, pointing at the walls and mirrors as she spoke.

"That's it?"

"Yes."

Naruto stretched his senses out and assessed the density of the air within the cavern. The air in here wasn't thin, that meant she wasn't just sticking the cold air to the walls. She was actually transferring the cold from the air particles into the snow/ice particles that made up the walls of the cavern. That meant a transfer of energy and heat between the ice and snow and the air.

It's quite possible that if Akitsu honed that ability even further she could use it to produce ice and fire at the same time, potentially even combining the two together despite being total opposites.

That was still a far way off if she could, but it was definitely something within the realm of possibility.

"Akitsu… you… have absolutely no idea just how powerful you have become, do you?" Naruto asked as he stood up and turned to look at her.

"I will be as powerful as you need me to be Naruto-sama," Akitsu replied.

Walking over to the ice Sekirei he pulled her into a tight embrace, "I'm sure you will be," Naruto said with a smile. He brought his lips to hers and gave her a deep passionate kiss.

Akitsu wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and returned the kiss with equal fervor. Behind her a pair of brilliant ice wings burst out from behind her.

"I'm not wearing any panties," Akitsu said when their lips parted.

"We already covered this," Naruto pointed out.

"I'm not 'wearing' any panties," Akitsu repeated, placing greater emphasis on a particular word.

"Oh..." Naruto said as it clicked. He let out a small chuckle and rubbed his nose against hers, "Well, I suppose I have some time to spare, I never did specify how long it would take to check up on you. I really should do a thorough check, just to make sure you're healthy."

A genuine smile lit up Akitsu's face as Naruto picked her up and carried her into the tent.

It took Naruto almost an hour for him to thoroughly check Akitsu's health. Certain areas had taken longer to fully explore than others, requiring a more 'delicate' touch to check. He had taken it easier on her than usual; he didn't want to completely exhaust her while she was on a mission.

The two of them sat together in the middle of the tent. Naruto sat straight with his back up against the rolled up futon while Akitsu sat in his lap, facing him with her arms wrapped loosely around his neck.

"I don't know what it is about you and the others but the more I have of you the more I want," Naruto murmured softly as he slowly rubbed his fingers up and down her back.

"You can have as much of me as you want, Naruto-sama, whenever and wherever you want it," Akitsu said.

His erection came back in full with that single statement. He very much wanted to take his Sekirei up on that offer but there was something building in him that he needed to take care of first.

"Maybe later, Akitsu," Naruto said as he tried to get up.

Akitsu wouldn't have any of that and forced Naruto back to the tent floor.

"Akitsu?" Naruto asked in confusion. It really was starting to build.

"I want more," Akitsu said.

"I will, but later, I need to go," Naruto said as he tried to push himself up off the ground.

"No." She pushed him back down.

"Akitsu…" Naruto drew out her name and sighed. He didn't want to say it, but if it got Akitsu to let him go he would, "I need to take a piss."

It wasn't the most manly of thing to say, or even very romantic considering the situation, but he really needed to go and there wasn't any toilet here. He could have teleported her back to Epsilon with him but that would defeat the purpose of having her travel out here for her mission. He wanted her to get used to these sorts of things since more of them were possible in the future.

"And?"

That wasn't what Naruto expected Akitsu to say. A large sweat drop rolled down the back of his head, "Umm, Akitsu, there's no toilet here, and in case you noticed, I'm still inside you," he tried to point out.

"So?"

"So… if you don't let me up I'll end up…" he couldn't finish that sentence, it was more than a little mortifying, even for someone like him who had done a lot of embarrassing things over the course of his life.

"I'll take everything Naruto-sama has to give," Akitsu said.

"Ummm…"

"Everything," Akitsu repeated.

Even if Naruto wanted to protest more, it was too late. Even if Akitsu got up now he wouldn't make it to the bathroom in time. With a sigh he rested his forehead on her shoulder, "You're impossible sometimes, you know that?" he said as he let go the last of his restraints.

He felt an immediate sense of relief as the pressure he held back rushed out of him and into Akitsu.

Akitsu let out a soft sigh, her eyes rolling into the back of her head, as she accepted everything Naruto had to give her, "I love my Naruto-sama," she said.

"I love you too," Naruto said as he kissed her, "Although I never thought you'd be into this sort of stuff, I shouldn't be surprised."

Akitsu tightened her arms around Naruto's neck, "Rooftop next time, and then the park…" she started

"Ah… Akitsu, those are…" Naruto tried to interject. Those were all public places, Akitsu wasn't honestly trying to tell him that she wanted to…

"…Then the train, then the back of a taxi, after that…"

She really was listing all the public places she wanted to have sex with him. He knew he'd end up complying, there was no way he'd deny her something like this, but he would be putting insurances in place. Some clones in the right places to make sure no one saw anything untoward. Akitsu was his and he wasn't going to put her on display for the world.

"Akitsu," Naruto said, interrupting her by placing a finger on her lips. "Mission first, then we can explore your exhibitionist side."

"Yes, Naruto-sama," Akitsu said and glanced down at where they were joined, "Are you almost finished?"

A sweat drop rolled down the back of Naruto's head. She sure seemed eager to get back to her mission now. He let out a long sigh, "Almost Akitsu… almost."

x~X~x

"You sure took your time, bro," Chime said as she leaned against the door to the laundry room. There was a knowing smirk on her face as she took in her Ashikabi's dishevelled appearance.

Naruto paused at the bottom of the stairs and gave Chime an innocent look, "I had to make sure she was in good health. It's her first time on her own for so long, you know how forgetful Akitsu can be," he said. He glanced past her into the laundry room. He could hear the soft hum of the dryer in the room beyond, "Laundry?"

"Someone has to do it and no one else seems to be all that interested," Chime said with a shrug of her shoulders. "Chiho's been bugging me about it for the past couple days." The look in her eyes changed as worry crept in, "How is Akitsu doing?" she asked.

"Better than I thought, although she's obviously lonely," Naruto said as he started for the door, beckoning Chime to follow, "I left a couple clones with her to keep her company. It's not the same as me being there but it'll at least give her someone to talk to."

"Will Akitsu-san be coming home soon?" Chime asked hopefully as she followed Naruto into the hallway outside the command and control room.

"I'm not sure, hers was the mission with the most unknowns," Naruto said. "She's well setup, if Haku appears anywhere in the vicinity, Akitsu will know."

"What if Haku-san doesn't appear?"

"If Haku hasn't shown up in two weeks then it means the information was wrong, or Haku was redirected elsewhere. If that's the case I'm aborting the mission and bringing Akitsu home," Naruto said.

Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. The more Sekirei they took out before the final assault on MBI, the better their chances, and the less collateral damage that would ensue. However he wasn't going to leave her there indefinitely. If Haku took more than a couple weeks to get out there, all the better. They'd be moving on MBI by then and her being out there instead of in Shinto Teito was as good as being eliminated.

Better, even, since once Orochimaru was dead she should deactivate and that would give Naruto time to undo anything the snake may have done to her. If she was 'his' Sekirei, then Naruto was certain that he had done extra modifications to her. He wouldn't have any time to address that while he was fighting Orochimaru.

Even Hiashi, whom he and Hanabi had already decided they'd free, was to be sealed up until they had time to focus their full attention on him.

"That's good, I don't like the thought of Akitsu-san being out there all by herself for so long," Chime said softly.

"She'll be fine, she's strong," Naruto said.

"Boss!" A voice called out from behind him.

Naruto stopped and quickly turned to look back the way he came. Chime stumbled as she tried to stop herself from crashing into him. He quickly reached out and wrapped an arm around her, steadying her. Glancing back down the hallway he saw one of his clones, this one dressed as a regular civilian, come into the hallway.

"You have something from Kaiga?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," The clone said as he stopped just before Naruto and held out the slip of paper.

Naruto took the slip and unfolded it. There wasn't a lot written on it but it said everything that needed to be said. He saw Chime's head tilt to take a peek at the paper as his eyes scanned it.

'09112022 - Alpha,green – 3/5. All the birds and groundlings accounted for and heading home: 2/2 – 23/36, 13/36, 0/36.'

To most the message wouldn't mean anything. But to Naruto it meant that two days ago the mission was completed and considered a success, however only three of the five hostages had been rescued. Everyone made it out alive, including Hanabi and Blanc. Thirteen of the thirty-six soldiers that had been a part of the assault had sustained injuries.

"What does that mean Naruto-kun?" Chime asked, her brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to make sense of the cryptic message.

"It means Hanabi and Blanc should be home soon," Naruto said, "The mission was successfully completed two days ago without a single loss of life, on our side at least."

"Does that include the soldiers?" Chime asked.

"Yes."

"That's great! I can't wait for Hanabi-san to come home, she shouldn't be out there while she's pregnant," Chime said.

That brought up another unpleasant thought Naruto didn't want to think about. Hanabi was rapidly approaching the point where she'd have to retire or risk harming their child. Hanabi wouldn't take that well especially since she was going to start hunting for her father the moment she got back from her mission.

Naruto knew he could force her to stand down, for the sake of the child, but that wasn't a conversation he was looking forward to. If this war became protracted, even a little, Hanabi would have to be sidelined. He may side line her anyways, just to be safe.

He shook his head, pushing those thoughts to the side for the moment. He let Chime go and stepped back. He held the slip of paper to the side and shredded it with a blast of wind chakra, "Speaking of Hanabi, if the mission is finished and they're on their way home…"

"You can pick them up," Chime said with a smile on her face.

"Yes I can, I'll be right back," Naruto said and disappeared.

~o~

"Are we almost close enough for you to signal Naruto?" Blanc called out as she raced through the forest behind Hanabi. The two of them had been running nearly non-stop since the assault. They had stopped only to sleep a few hours. They ate and drank on the run. Blanc could only marvel at how fast Hanabi was in the forest. The lithe woman was fast, faster than even her despite the burden she was carrying. What's more Hanabi seemed to be able to instinctively move around the branches of the tree whereas she simply bulldozed through them. This was one of the few times she was actually thankful that she was so short, less branches to run into.

Blanc had offered to carry it for her but Hanabi had declined, citing personal reasons for wanting to take her back. She had refused to explain any further so Blanc had simply shrugged and let her have her way.

It certainly didn't appear to have any impact on Hanabi's ability to outpace her at a moment's notice. Blanc was certain that Hanabi could have left her behind if she had wanted to. She seemed more at home here in the forest than she did back at Shinto Teito.

"We'll be close enough by this evening," Hanabi called back. "We can rest for a moment if you're tired."

"No, I'm fine I just want to get home. How are you not tired from carrying her all this way?" Blanc asked.

"I'm using my power to lighten her, she's as light as a feather," Hanabi said.

"Oh."

Well that explained things.

"Are you alright Blanc-san?" Hanabi asked the petite blue-haired Sekirei. Hanabi had noticed that she had been down ever since her battle with Noire.

"It's nothing Hanabi," Blanc said.

Hanabi half-turned to Blanc and looked at her speculatively, still slipping around the branches as if she could see them, "You don't need to keep it a secret, maybe I can help," Hanabi said. She knew Blanc was lying; that whatever it was that got her down was not 'nothing.' It was something, something rather important.

"You can't," Blanc said tersely.

Hanabi sighed and let the subject drop. She knew that tone of voice, she wasn't going to be able to get anything else out of Blanc. She'd just ask Naruto later what it was all about. Naruto would be able to get Blanc to talk; he could get mutes to speak if he really wanted to.

And speak of the devil…

"Yo!" Naruto said with a smile on his face, his hand raised in greeting, "Hana-BLURGH!"

"Naruto-kun!" Hanabi yelled out in surprise as she plowed over Naruto. Hanabi had still been half-turned towards Blanc so she hadn't been able to stop in time. Her shoulder slammed into Naruto's chest and knocked him over. Hanabi quickly shifted the burden in her arms to use it to break her fall as the two of them went sprawling to the forest floor.

"Are you two okay?" Blanc asked as she slowed and stopped just before them.

"I've… been better," Naruto groaned from the bottom of the pile, "And whose ass is this? I don't recognize it," Naruto said as he squeezed the soft pliable flesh. He brought his nose up and sniffed a couple times, "Smells familiar…" he stopped. He was wrong, he did recognize that ass.

His eyes dilated.

Naruto let out a very unmanly yelp as he shot away from the pile of bodies, "I'm sorry Sakura-chan! Please don't hit me!" he cried as he curled up against the base of a tree. His arms were held up over his head as if to ward off a blow.

A sweat drop rolled down the back of Blanc's head at her Ashikabi's unusual reaction. She hadn't even been aware that his voice could go that high, and the speed at which he moved was usually only reserved for emergencies.

"I had forgotten about that," Hanabi said with some amusement as she picked herself off the ground. She grabbed Sakura's body and hoisted it over her shoulder again.

"Forgotten about what?" Blanc asked, "That our Ashikabi screams like a girl at the first sight of a dead woman?"

"Sakura-san and Naruto-kun had an… odd relationship," Hanabi explained, "Needless to say Sakura-san used to always beat Naruto-kun into the ground the moment he stepped out of line, which was often. It got better as he grew up but it had left some pretty deep scars on him."

Sakura had been able to keep Naruto in line single-handedly. She made sure he walked the correct path and didn't do anything too crazy. However in Hanabi's opinion her methods were too heavy-handed and extreme. Hanabi didn't agree with everything Sakura had done, the scars left behind on Naruto was proof that she had gone too far. Teaching discipline was one thing, instilling a fear so great you can never recover from it was too much.

At least so long as it wasn't 'her' that was instilling the fear. Naruto should fear her and no one else.

"Naruto-kun, Sakura-san is not going to hit you," Hanabi said.

"She's not?" Naruto asked as he peeked around his arms. He eyed the prone body hanging limply over his wife's shoulder. Realization dawned in his eyes. "Oh, I ah… can we forget that just happened?" Naruto asked with a sheepish laugh as he stood up, brushing some leaves from his pants as he did so.

"No," Blanc and Hanabi said in unison.

"Damn… I'm never going to live that down am I?"

"It's alright Naruto-kun, that's just one more episode added to the long list I already have," Hanabi said with a grin. The grin widened when Naruto's shoulders slumped in despair. "Regardless of the details of your 'heroic' arrival, why are you here?"

"I'm here to pick you up," Naruto said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "On a more serious note though, I got a message from Naoki about the results of your mission. Since you hadn't contact me yet I figured you were still a ways away and decided to come and pick you up."

"So you're frickin telling me I could have just waited patiently in a hotel room instead of busting my ass off getting to Shinto Teito?" Blanc demanded, more than a little annoyed that at the thought of the entire run being pointless.

Hanabi shook her head, "No, Blanc-san, we had to leave Osaka. There's no way Orochimaru would sit quietly after losing two Sekirei. Osaka, and the surrounding area, would have been immediately locked down and searched. That's why we had to leave."

"Oh," Blanc said, her annoyance draining away, "well when you put it like that, I guess it's alright."

"Hanabi is correct, besides you got to run wild and free in the forest for two days, I'm kind of jealous," Naruto said.

Blanc remembered how easily Hanabi moved through the forest during their run back to Shinto Teito. It was like she had been born and raised in the forest. Even now Hanabi and Naruto both looked far more at ease than she could ever remember seeing them.

"Well you two may be nature loving hippies but I like the city," Blanc muttered bitterly. Despite her superhuman durability she was certain she had splinters all over her arms and legs.

"There, there Blanc, a little fresh air from time to time will do you some good," Naruto said cheerfully. He turned to Hanabi and eyed Sakura's body nervously. "Out of curiosity, why exactly 'do' you have Sakura's body?"

"Because I'm NOT going to let Orochimaru," Hanabi practically spat the name out, "play around with her a second time!"

"Oh, ya, that's probably a good idea," Naruto said as he warily made his way over to Hanabi. He peered at Sakura intently hoping she wouldn't spontaneously jump up and hit him, "Is she deactivated or dead?"

Hanabi sighed, "I killed her, it was too risky to simply deactivate her. We don't know what Orochimaru has done to her, for all we know he could activate her on a whim." There was also the fact that she hadn't been able to go easy on Sakura. She had been too powerful for Hanabi to be choosey about how she ended her.

"I see," Naruto said, not sounding all that disappointed, "We'll put her somewhere secure until I have time to bring her back to life."

"Wait? What?" Hanabi said, "What do you mean bring her back to life?"

Naruto swallowed hard, he forgot, Hanabi wasn't aware of what he was doing on the side, "Ah… well… it's not import—"

"Yes it IS important!" Hanabi said, interrupting him. "Are you trying to become like Orochimaru?"

"What? No! Of course not. I have no intention of enslaving anyone I bring back," Naruto said, his hands held up in protest.

"Enslavement isn't the only issue here! You're trying to circumvent death! Aside from the moral implications of such an act what do you think will happen if people find out you can bring people back from the dead?" Hanabi demanded.

"Well they would… they… ah crap."

"Crap doesn't even come close to covering it!" Hanabi snapped at him. "Those soldiers KNOW Sakura-san is dead, they've seen the hole in her chest. What do you think would happen if they suddenly start seeing her walking around alive and well? All it takes is one of them to say the wrong thing at the wrong time."

Naruto had to concede that maybe, just maybe, Hanabi had a point. It was kind of hard to keep something like that quiet, not without killing a lot of people in cold blood, and he wasn't going to go there. If word of his abilities DID get out, and it eventually would get out, things would get real bad, real quick. Right now the Sekirei were a novelty that many wanted to exploit. Foreign nations wanted them, but they weren't willing to step too far out of bounds to get them. The Sekirei simply weren't worth the risk.

Raising the dead was something else entirely. That was one step away from immortality and there were people out there that would sacrifice the world to obtain it. If those same people found out he had obtained that ability…

He was powerful, yes, but he wasn't going to be able to fight off the entire world. They would come for him, all of them. And if they couldn't get him, they'd go for those he cared about, his wife, his Sekirei, his children, or anyone else he cared about.

Then he'd have to take steps to make them aware of his displeasure. He could only imagine the international fallout of such an incident. There would never be any rest for him or his own.

"Alright, I guess I'll drop that course of research," Naruto said as he acceded with his wife's wishes, "I just thought it would be nice to have to bring the people I care about back if they were killed, like you."

"If I die, leave me dead," Hanabi said shortly in a tone that broke no argument, "Bringing the dead back has never come without a sacrifice of some sort, I refuse to be brought back at the expense of someone else, and that includes you, am I clear?"

What scared Hanabi the most wasn't that he would succeed, because he would, or even that he could find a way to bring her back without sacrificing anyone or anything, because she could see him achieving that as well.

No, what worried Hanabi the most was the path he would tread, the dark places he would have to peer into, to achieve those results. What he would be forced to do, and be forced to give up, to reach that point. The only way Naruto could develop a method beyond simple theory was to use people, real people, as test subjects. And that was not a path she ever wanted to see Naruto walk down. He was already scarred enough as it was.

"Yes dear," Naruto said meekly. He could understand her concerns, to be honest that area of research and development had seen the least amount of progress of all the areas he had stuck his hands in. This world just did not like people messing with the dead.

'He' had only managed to do it by breathing life back into the fading embers of someone who had died but hadn't quite passed on yet.

On that note though Naruto realized he had better keep his other projects a secret from her. If she reacted this badly to him trying to bring back the dead, there was a very real chance she'd react even worse to some of the other areas he was extending his reach to.

"Good, now let's go home," Hanabi said as she grabbed a hold of one of Naruto's hands.

Naruto held the other out for Blanc. The blue-haired Sekirei quickly grabbed hold and a moment later they disappeared.

~o~

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that," Blanc muttered as they arrived at Epsilon, shaking her head to clear the dizziness. They had appeared on the first floor on the seal that Naruto had engraved there.

"I can spend a day just teleporting around to help you get over the dizziness," Naruto offered.

"There's no damn way I'm going to suffer this for an entire frickin day!" Blanc protested as she held her head in her hands. She did not like the prospect of spending an entire day dizzy and nauseous.

"Oh it'll be fine, everyone else has gotten used to it," Naruto said.

"No!"

Naruto chuckled and turned to Hanabi, "What do you plan on doing with her body?" he asked as he looked at Sakura's body in Hanabi's arms.

"We're going to bury her, out back beside Musubi," Hanabi said as she laid Sakura's body on the floor, "You don't have any other plans for today do you?"

"Wouldn't matter if I did," Naruto said as two clones appeared at his side. "You know what to do," he said to the clones without turning around.

"Yes boss!" The clones saluted him and took off to find the shovels.

Another clone appeared beside Naruto. This one immediately disappeared as it teleported to the ruins of Izumo Inn. It would transform itself into a random civilian and go shopping for a headstone for Sakura's grave.

He could do the carving himself with his chakra later.

"Thanks Naruto-kun," Hanabi said.

"No problem!"

"That reminds me. Naruto-kun, what caused all that pain two days ago?" Hanabi asked.

"Oh ya!" Blanc shouted, she had completely forgotten about that during her run back to Shinto Teito. Now that Hanabi had brought it up however, all the memories came rushing back, along with the pain. "I should hit you for making me go through that!" she growled at him.

"We would like to know as well," Miya said with a concerned look on her face as she walked into the hallway. Yume and Chime followed closely behind.

"Ya bro, I was there and I still don't understand what happened," Chime said.

"Sorry, I don't exactly know what happened either," Naruto said apologetically. "I went to the base of Mt. Fuji with Chime to check to see if I could enter Sage Mode. I can't here in the city because there isn't enough natural energy."

"What is this 'Sage Mode' that you speak of?" Miya asked curiously.

"Ya! And did those froggy eyes have anything to do with it?" Chime asked. She still remembered the moment when Naruto opened his eyes after Ramen had deposited them back at Epsilon.

If she had to sum what it looked like in a single word, it would be 'creepy.'

"They're toad eyes, and yes, it did have something to do with Sage Mode," Naruto said.

"Sage Mode is a state of being where an entity becomes one with nature by drawing nature into his or herself," A voice picked up from the staircase leading to the second floor. A moment later Yuuchi appeared as she turned the corner. Her eyes were focused on Naruto as she slowly made her way to the group, "By becoming one with their natural surroundings a Sage will enjoy several benefits including, but not limited to, increased durability, endurance, speed, strength, reflexes and sensory abilities."

"That seems like it was taken straight from a text book," Naruto commented.

"That's because it was," Yuuchi said. "Many sages came and went after your time. How to become a sage, the benefits and the consequences, were all very well documented. Although there has not been a Sage since the mystical creatures died out."

Naruto frowned, "Summons can't die though."

"Not by natural means, no," Yuuchi agreed, "but the mystical creatures are essentially massive chakra constructs. As the amount of chakra in the world dwindled, so too did the mystical creatures. Their size and number slowly decreased until there was simply no more left. Theirs was a slow extinction, a precursor to what would happen to us if the world was not restored."

"Well I think it sounds like an amazing ability!" Chime said cheerfully.

"It has its downsides," Naruto said, "It requires a lot of natural energy to work correctly, at least for me anyways. And then there's the problem that would arise if I don't concentrate and keep the ratio of natural energy to chakra balanced inside me."

"What problem?"

"I turn into a toad statue," Naruto said simply, "Alive and fully aware, but forever frozen in stone form for all eternity. There's no way to reverse the effects."

"Oh… that… would suck," Chime said as she stared at the floor in consternation. "You're not going to spontaneously turn into a statue on us are you?"

"No, you don't have to worry about that, it only happens when I draw too much and in this world it's the opposite I have to watch out for," Naruto said as he gave Chime a comforting smile. He had explored the capabilities of the earring a little since Ramen had given them to him. While he was able to draw natural energy through it, he wasn't able to draw an unlimited amount. In fact it wasn't possible to draw enough to be harmful.

Ramen was probably consciously limiting the amount that he could pull through the earring.

"That doesn't explain what the pain was all about," Hanabi said trying to bring the conversation back to its original point.

"I don't really know," Naruto said with a shrug, "I drew upon the natural energies of this world but…" he grimaced as memories of the pain returned. Instead of pushing them aside like he had every other time he remembered he fought through the pain and tried to make sense of what happened. "This… world is in pain. The humans of this world are… despoiling? the planet and it's causing her great harm. When I drew upon the energy, the… I don't know, the Will? of the planet came along for the ride. Her pain, her suffering, her emotions, all rushed into me with the energy. I guess it's very similar to what happens when I drew upon Kurama's chakra as a child. His Will came along and my emotions were adversely affected by it. This was similar, except different emotions, and far more intense."

"So Sage Mode is sealed," Hanabi said with a frown.

"Not quite," Naruto said as he drew upon the natural energy within the earring.

"What the hell just happened to your eyes?!" Blanc said as she pointed at him.

"Ramen severed my connection with the world, then she gave me her earring," Naruto said as he brought a hand up to the accessory dangling from his ear. "This allows me to draw the natural energy from her instead of this world."

"That's interesting!" Hanabi said as she stared at Naruto's earring with her Byakugan active, "I can't see it with my Byakugan? Well I can, but I can't. It's… I don't know." She sounded completely baffled and intrigued at the same time.

"I know what you mean, my eyes just slide right off it. I know it's there, I see it, but it's like my mind can't recognize it," Naruto said, his eyes reverted back to normal as he let the natural energy drain from his body. "I can't even describe what it feels like when I touch it, only that it's warm."

"Our world favors you above all others," Yuuchi murmured as she, too, tried to analyze the earring in vain, "that is a priceless gift."

"Yes, I'll have to find some way of thank—"

Naruto was cut off by the sound of a ring tone. Everyone looked at Naruto and he coughed in embarrassment. Feeling the vibration of the phone in his pocket he quickly reached in and pulled the phone out. Looking at the number he recognized it as Minaka's.

"Seems like Orochimaru is giving us a call," Naruto said as he flipped the phone open. The screen on the inside turned on and Minaka appeared on the screen. He was sitting imperiously on his throne inside the Imperial Palace.

"Why do you still have that phone? Can't MBI trace the call here?" Chime asked worriedly. The last thing she wanted was for MBI to raid this place.

"No, it's a wide-area broad-band signal," Blanc said as she sidled up beside Naruto to look at the video connection, "So long as the phone has no GPS capabilities, and Naruto doesn't send back any sort of response, MBI can't track the phone's location."

"It appears this is a video message sent to everyone," Naruto said as he held the phone out for everyone to see.

"I would like to congratulate everyone who has made it this far in the Sekirei Plan!" Minaka's voice floated up from the phone. His voiced practically oozed superiority and arrogance.

"I really want to hit him," Blanc said with a deadpanned expression on her face.

"The Third Stage is over! The Jinki have all been distributed! Now it's time to move onto the Fourth Stage," Minaka crowed. The image on the phone shifted. The image of an island appeared. Naruto recognized the island instantly; it was Kamikura Island, "The fourth stage will take place here! An island owned by MBI: Kamikura Island. As only those that possess a Jinki are still active, you are all invited here for the next stage of game. If you could all gather at the waterfront, helicopters will be there shortly to take you all to Kamikura Island."

The island on the screen grew larger and larger. As it came more into focus everyone noticed something rather peculiar about the island. There were two giant inflatable dolls, almost fifty feet tall, blowing in the wind caused by the movement of the Island. One of them was a large nude Minaka, bent over an equally large inflatable table. The other doll was of Takami, the wind made it look like she was giving it to Minaka from behind using a strap-on.

The image changed a moment later back to Minaka sitting on his throne. He didn't look nearly as pleased with himself as he had a few moments earlier. "It seems that one of our participants decided to go ahead and vandalize the island," Minaka said in a tightly controlled voice.

"Naruto-kun… what was that?" Hanabi asked quietly.

"Ah, well, Takami didn't like me celebrating Yume's recovery so I sent my clones elsewhere…" Naruto said hesitantly.

"Takami is going to kill you," Blanc said.

"It was her idea!" Naruto protested.

"I don't recall Takami-san asking you to create a giant inflatable version of her giving it to Minaka-san from behind," Yume said with a little smile on her face.

"Well, maybe not in so many words, no, but she did tell me to send them elsewhere, where no one lived. What did she expect them to do? Play cards?" Naruto asked as he tried to defend himself.

"Isn't that what normal people would do?" Chime asked as she tried unsuccessfully to stifle a laugh.

"I regret to announce that the Fourth Stage has been delayed slightly while MBI personnel work on cleaning up Kamikura Island. The helicopters will arrive in three hours, do not be late," Minaka said and cut the connection.

"I think you upset him, bro.".

"For some reason I can't seem to care," Naruto said.

"I wonder why," Chime said with a wry smile on her face.

"Are we going to participate, Naruto-kun?" Yume asked worriedly.

"I said it before, I'm going to end the Sekirei Plan. He wants a fourth stage, I'm going to make sure he never gets it," Naruto said, all traces of humor and cheer gone from his face. "It's time to send a little message to Orochimaru. I am done playing around."

"Is Naruto-kun planning on re-arranging Shinto Teito yet again?" Miya asked in amusement.

"That's a possibility," Naruto said, his voice hard and without any trace of humor. Miya's no longer looked as amused as before, she had asked in jest.

Naruto glanced over at Blanc and Hanabi, "You two don't need to come along if you don't want to, I know you're both probably tired from the run back here," he said, his voice a little softer than before.

"There's no frickin way I'm missing this!" Blanc protested.

"I have to agree with Blanc-san, I'm going with you," Hanabi said.

"Alright, everyone, get ready for combat, we leave within the hour," Naruto said. As everyone headed away to prepare Naruto put a hand on Miya's shoulder, "Can I speak with you for a second?"

Hanabi paused, looking between the two curiously for a moment, before resuming on.

"Is everything alright Naruto-kun?" Miya asked curiously.

"How do you feel about Kamikura Island?" Naruto asked.

"I feel nothing for it, all that's left there are memories, most of which I would be happier without," Miya said. It was true that she first met and fell in love with Takehito there, but those were the only good memories of that place. Aside from those few memories of her time with Takehito all she had were memories of experiments and war.

"That's good," Naruto said with relief.

"What are you planning Naruto-kun?" Miya asked suspiciously.

"You'll see."

Miya sighed in exasperation, "Just be careful," she said and headed up stairs to her room.

"Are you expecting trouble?" Yuuchi asked after Miya had gone.

She hadn't left like the others to prepare for battle. Whether that was because she didn't need to, or had no intention of joining him, he didn't know.

"It's a definite possibility," Naruto admitted, "Although the probability is low. Orochimaru would know that no matter what Sekirei he brings to bear, unless he comes himself, it's not going to stop me. I get the distinct feeling he's not ready for a direct encounter yet, despite my little… jab."

"Are you not worried about disrupting the plans you and this Naoki have set into motion?" Yuuchi asked.

Naruto shook his head, "No, if anything Orochimaru seeing me out there with all my Sekirei will actually put him off his guard. Speaking of which…" A clone popped into existence beside him. The clone concentrated for a moment and then disappeared.

"Bringing Akitsu here?"

"Yes, I have two clones there to keep watch, they'll let me know if Haku shows up," Naruto said, "By having Akitsu here, visible, I may actually be able to make Orochimaru, and by proxy Haku, believe that she is free and in the clear to do what she needs to do. That may bring her out into the open for Akitsu to deal with."

Haku was very good at concealing herself, and very capable, more so with Orochimaru feeding her information. After what had happened in Osaka it may be very well be that she had gone to ground until she received the all-clear signal from Orochimaru. By having all his Sekirei here, at his side, in Shinto Teito, he might be able to feed them a false sense of security.

It was true that he was breaking his earlier intent of having Akitsu get used to being out on an extended mission but this changed things and he wouldn't be a good Hokage if he didn't adapt plans on the fly to take advantage of changing situations.

"I think I will follow along, I am curious as to what you will do," Yuuchi said.

"Are you sure?" Naruto asked in concern. "There's a good chance Orochimaru doesn't know of your existence." Right now Yuuchi was a trump card that Orochimaru wasn't aware that he had, at least Orochimaru had yet to make any indication that he knew.

"Oh, I never said I would stand at your side, just that I wish to see what you will do," Yuuchi said, "I am quite certain that whatever you have in mind will be quite distracting. I will not draw undue attention to myself, I will escape notice."

Naruto nodded his head, "Alright, you've obviously thought this through, and I probably couldn't keep you here even if I wanted. I've learned much from you but you can still break my seals like they're nothing."

Naruto's clone reappeared. At his side was Akitsu who looked as ready as ever. She had an impassive expression on her face, what she thought of being taken away from her mission and brought here Naruto didn't know. For something like this she would accept it without question or judgement.

There was one thing Naruto needed her to do however before they headed out.

"Akitsu, I need you to go put on some panties," Naruto said. "No complaints, and no taking them off midway to our destination. What I intend to do will generate a lot of wind and I don't want you flashing the world, you are mine to look at and mine alone, understand?"

"Yes, Naruto-san," Akitsu said. She turned and quickly headed downstairs, hopefully to get fully dressed.

Now all that was left was to wait for everyone to return.

x~X~x

"Naruto-kun, over there," Yume said, pointing into the distance.

Naruto followed her finger to a pair of individuals, one male and one female, standing at the edge of the break wall looking out into Sagami Bay. Emperor 'Minaka' had instructed everyone to arrive at Shonan Port, a small harbour on Enoshima Island at the very southern edge of the Shinto Teito metropolitan area. Naruto didn't recognize either of them but he could sense the Sekirei core within the female.

Naruto had read the results of the final round of the third stage and knew that Seo had taken two of the Jinki. That, then, would make this Sekirei pair the owners of the last Jinki Orochimaru had handed out.

He would have to see about taking the Jinki from that pair of individuals soon. The Sekirei seemed like a weapon-based Sekirei, judging from the long staff she held loosely in her hand. The male looked like your average citizen, a regular civilian by all accounts.

He'd have a clone approach them after he finished what he was doing here. He was almost certain that they'd be more than willing to give their Jinki up to him without a fuss if he made a few veiled threats if they didn't.

It was possible they may give the Jinki to him just make him go away after he dealt with Kamikura Island, no threats needed.

"I see them," Naruto said as stopped on the rooftop of a medium sized building shaped like a U, "There's no reason for us to get any closer, this is fine."

"They have their Jinki with them," Hanabi said as she landed beside him. Her Byakugan was active as she stared at the pair in the distance.

His other Sekirei landed near him, fanning out to either side to keep watch. Blanc and Yume went to one end of the U shaped building while Akitsu and Chime went to the other. Miya and Hanabi stayed at his side at the bottom of the U shaped building.

"I figured as much," Naruto said, "They still think the Sekirei Plan is going to continue as planned. With any luck they'll hand their Jinki over quietly after what's about to happen. I'd rather get it without any further conflict."

Normally he wasn't one to forcefully take from another, it wasn't really his way of doing things, but the Jinki weren't really 'possessions' that should be owned. They were living entities. They were better off with him than anyone else.

He intended to free them once he figured out how, that pair of individuals didn't even know what they were, and probably wouldn't believe Naruto even if he tried to explain it to them.

"No violence this time Naruto-kun? I'm surprised," Miya said with a chuckle.

"No, Miya, no violence this time. I'm not a blood thirsty murderer," Naruto said dryly.

"Oh, your actions thus far have shown otherwise," Miya said with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes.

"Is that really the way it looks like to everyone else?" Naruto asked, more than a little worried.

He had never gone out of his way to destroy anyone. Not really anyways. Yashima had just been self-defence of his wife that ended with two incredibly brutal deaths. The battle at the arboretum had been an attempt to rescue Kusano and the attack on Mikogami Hayato afterwards had just been the natural follow-up. He had simply come up with the plan that had the highest chance of success, which caused a Civil War and a massive body count. The whole incident with Uzume hadn't really caused any deaths directly, aside from the devouring of two Sekirei, the multitude of heart attacks and vast destruction of public property. Then there had been the attack on Higa Izumi and the way he dealt with Sanada of the West…

"Oh…" Naruto said rather dejectedly, his shoulders slumped. "I guess I can understand why others would see me like that."

Hanabi gently patted his shoulder, "Don't fret too much. We know you had the best of intentions," she said as she tried to comfort her husband, "Most of the time anyways."

"Gee, thanks, that makes me feel so much better," Naruto said sarcastically.

Hanabi opened her mouth to respond but stopped. She suddenly whipped around and stared north into the distance, "We have incoming."

"Who?" Naruto asked, instantly on high alert, scanning the north as well.

Hanabi was silent for a couple seconds before she relaxed a little, although she still held her self at the ready, "It's Seo and his Sekirei, he'll be here soon."

True to her word it was only a couple minutes later when Seo appeared in the distance, carried by the bustier of his two Sekirei as they jumped from rooftop to rooftop. As Seo noticed them he pointed in their direction and he and his Sekirei changed directions.

"Hello Miya, it's been awhile," Seo greeted the former land lady of Izumo Inn as he landed on the rooftop a few meters away.

"I'm afraid I don't have any food for you," Miya said as she placed a hand on her cheek.

"Ah… I'm not really here looking for food," Seo said. He turned to Naruto, a lascivious grin crossed his face "So how is she?" he asked, jerking a thumb towards Miya.

A large rock slammed into the side of Seo's head, knocking him off his feet. Before he hit the ground a second rock hit him in the back of the head, slamming him harshly into the ground. A moment later a bolt of lightning lanced from the sky and electrocuted him.

Naruto looked back and forth between Miya and Hanabi. The two of them looked completely innocent but he knew better. Whenever they got that look in their eyes he always had to suppress a chill.

"I think I'm going to refrain from answering that," Naruto said as a large sweat drop worked its way down the back of his head.

Seo raised his head a coughed out a puff of black smoke, "Can I get some help? My legs are all tingly," he asked.

It took a couple minutes but his Sekirei finally managed to get him upright, dangling him between the two of them with his arms around their shoulders.

"I take it you got the same message I did?" Seo asked.

"I did."

"Tsk, I was hoping I didn't have to fight against you, I know what this round is going to be," Seo said in annoyance.

"This round won't even begin, I'm here to see to that," Naruto said with a cold look on his face. "I will be taking your Jinki from you as well. I figured I'd let you know, as thanks for helping Miya out in the past."

"What makes you think I'll just hand them over?" Seo asked.

"You will," Naruto said and turned his back to Seo. He wasn't afraid of anything Seo could do, Hanabi and Miya would make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

He moved away, heading to the edge of the rooftop overlooking Sagami Bay. He could see Kamikura Island in the distance. It had halted its approach twenty-two miles out. The shoreline was out of site, hidden by the curvature of the planet, but he could see the upper portions of the island just fine. That was all he would need.

Kurama, are you ready? Naruto asked his friend.

So I'm Kurama now am I? I thought I was Kurumi? The response came from deep within his mind.

I was just playing with you, you'll always be Kurama to me, regardless of what you are.

…You're impossible sometimes, you know that right? Kurumi asked, there was a hint of exasperation and annoyance in her voice.

You don't actually 'like' Kurumi do you? Naruto asked in disbelief. What about the whole 'I AM KURAMA! Speech you gave me?

It's not about what I like or don't like, it's about what is and isn't. The Sage of the Six Paths gave me my name when he formed me. That form is no more. You are responsible for the creation of this form, and thus the name you give me is as binding as the one he gave me. Kurumi explained.

Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion. That didn't make any sense to him and he said as much. So you are Kurumi because I said you are Kurumi? But Orochimaru is the one that caused your transformation.

I am NOT letting that snake name me. Kurumi's voice thundered in Naruto's head. I'll take any name you give me over his any day, even if it was given as a joke. And like it or not you are at least 'partially' responsible for this condition. If you had kept your dick in your pants I wouldn't have to suffer these… things hanging off my chest.

That's so not fair, I never went out of my way to collect the Sekirei! Naruto protested.

That doesn't matter anymore. Kurumi said, you named me, you'll take responsibility for naming me. Now let's show that damn snake just who it is he's messing with.

"It's time to begin," Naruto said aloud.

"Begin what?" Seo asked suspiciously as he let go of his Sekirei, having recovered enough to stand under his own power.

"Naruto is going to end the Sekirei Plan, right here, right now," Hanabi said.

"End it? How?"

"We don't know, he's been keeping it a secret."

Naruto made a hand sign, normally he didn't need to make the sign or shout out the jutsu but when he was making this many clones it helped his concentration. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto shouted.

Three thousand clones appeared around the building. They already knew what they had to do. Three dozen clones quickly positioned themselves in triplets along the edge of the island, equidistance from each other. The rest either ran off the island or teleported away.

"What are those for?" Seo asked as he watched Naruto's various clones take off.

"They're to make sure there's still a Japan after I finish doing what I intend to do," Naruto replied.

"Ah… I don't like the sound of that…" Seo said nervously taking a step backwards.

Naruto gave his clones twenty minutes before he went onto the next stage of his plan. He drew upon the natural energies in the earring. The pigmentation around his eyes changed and his pupil shifted to become a wide bar. His body strengthened greatly due to the influx of natural energy. He would need that strength if he were to survive this.

"Sage Mode," Hanabi said as she observed Naruto with her Byakugan. She had to admit that she was more than a little curious as to what Naruto was going to do.

"It's time Kurama," Naruto said as he drew upon the power within him.

To be honest he didn't know what was going to happen. He and Kurumi knew that he could still draw upon it, that much was certain, but they had no idea what type of effects would come about. Naruto hoped he would gain some of the benefits from before. The near instantaneous regeneration was what he desired the most here.

It's Kurumi now, Naruto, you better remember that, Kurumi said as she channeled her power into her host.

That was more for the audience, Naruto replied.

Naruto was engulfed in a pillar of white light. The light swirled around him, momentarily concealing him completely from sight. Hanabi had to shied away and momentarily turn off her Byakugan. While the light was painful to look at normally, it was downright agonizing with her bloodline ability.

The brilliant white light lasted only a moment and then it was gone. In its wake was a transformed Naruto. There were many similarities with his previous chakra cloak. His body was covered with lines and tattoos but instead of an open circle around his belly button there was an Uzumaki symbol in the center of his chest. His cloak was there, billowing out behind him, complete with the ring of magatama's around the collar. However unlike the previous version it wasn't ragged and tattered, but complete. His entire form was still ethereal, but what had been yellow before was now blue and where once before his eyes had taken on slits akin to that of Kurama, his pupils now took on the shape of an eight-pointed star. The bar like pupil from Sage Mode represented the horizontal points.

There were other, subtle additions to the new chakra cloak. Whenever he moved his head, trails of blue chakra emanating from his eyes were left behind. On the back of the cloak, in the very center of it, was a new symbol. The symbol consisted of three concentric circles with nine wavy lines emanating from it, each one spaced equidistance apart from each other.

All in all he looked like an Avatar of a God and in a way he was.

The light emanating from Naruto drew a great deal of attention. The pair of individuals at the break wall hadn't noticed him before but they did now. They couldn't help but gape at his glowing ethereal form, not even noticing Hanabi and Miya standing near him.

"Naruto-kun!" Hanabi gasped in surprise. Last she had heard Kurama had been absorbed into the Jinki and was no more. The chakra cloak and all his abilities had been lost with him. "Is this...?"

"I'll explain later," Naruto said.

"Seo… I-I think we should do what he wants and give him the Jinki," Hikari said as she backed away from the light show in front of her in fear.

"That is sort of looking like a better idea," Seo agreed as he stared at Naruto nervously.

"If this is enough to shock you, what's to come will make you faint," Naruto said as he concentrated on the core of his being.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing?" Hanabi asked in concern. The amount of power rolling of Naruto right now was unbelievable. Between his own chakra reserves, the natural chakra he's drawing through the earrings, and what Kurama was providing him, he could do anything.

"Ending the Sekirei Plan," Naruto said as he crossed his arms in front of his face, "The Eight Celestial Gates, First Gate: Initial Gate – Open!"

"Wait, can you even do that with your chakra cloak?" Hanabi asked.

"Second Gate – Heal Gate – Open!" Naruto shouted.

"What is Naruto-kun doing?" Miya asked Hanabi.

"Third Gate – Life Gate – Open!"

"He's opening the Eight Celestial gates. It's like his version of a Sekirei's Norito," Hanabi explained, "Only it's far more powerful, and comes with far greater risks."

"Fourth Gate – Harm Gate – Open!" Naruto shouted.

Half the gates were open now and he had yet to feel any strain on his body. So far the combination of Sage Mode and Kurumi's chakra had negated all harm caused by opening the initial four gates. With those four gates open he could feel a massive surge in his chakra. The natural energy coming in through the earring had increased as well, to match the increased amount of chakra his body was producing.

Everything was going good so far, but he still had more gates to open.

"Fifth Gate – Limit Gate – Open!" Naruto shouted. He whipped his arms to either and clenched his fists tightly.

A powerful wind kicked up around Naruto. His cloak shifted color, going from a bright blue to a vibrant teal. The cloak billowed out as the wind tried to tear it from his body. The ethereal flames that licked his body grew larger and brighter as the wind fanned them to greater heights.

"What sorts of risks?" Miya asked as she looked on with slight trepidation.

"Pain, torn muscles, ripped fibers, snapped ligaments and potentially death."

"Sixth Gate – View Gate – Open!"

The ethereal flames that covered Naruto's body began to whip about more erratically as the wind began to surge around him faster and stronger. The entire building he was on began to shake under the force of the power Naruto was unleashing.

"Shouldn't we stop him?" Miya asked in concern. She didn't want to lose her Ashikabi so soon after gaining him because he wanted to send Orochimaru a message.

"Do you think he'd listen even if we asked?" Hanabi asked. It was a rhetorical question, and they both knew it. She wasn't too worried though, normally the Celestial Gates Technique was very dangerous to use, she herself would never go beyond the third, and she wouldn't even attempt to use the first while pregnant.

But for Naruto, who had a naturally durable body with increased regenerative capabilities, augmented to the ultimate limit through the use of Sage Mode which was then complimented even further with the chakra cloak from Kurama…

There was no doubt he could handle it.

"Seventh Gate – Wonder Gate – Open!" Naruto shouted.

His cloak was no longer able to contain the entirety of the power within as a massive blue and green aura erupted around him. The roof cratered and disintegrated around him, forcing Hanabi and Miya to back a few meters. The building rumbled and the island shook as the power continued to pour off him.

Are you ready Kurumi? Naruto asked one last time. If Kurumi was ready to catch him, he knew he could go for it. He could feel the strain, but his body was still far away from being physically harmed from opening the first seven gates.

Go for it! Kurumi replied.

"Final Gate – Death Gate – Open!" Naruto roared as he pushed his body to its utmost limit, and beyond.

The building beneath him disappeared in a massive flash of light as the force of the energy exuded from his body disintegrated everything beneath him. The aura around him grew to enormous proportions, reaching nearly a mile into the sky, concealing Naruto in a sea of vibrant blue and green energy. The gale force winds howled around him, throwing about everything that wasn't nailed down within the immediate vicinity. The island shook as shuddered beneath for the force of the power requiring some of Naruto's clones to divert their attention to dampening the shockwaves.

Naruto struggled with the enormous amount of power with every ounce of control he had. Opening the Death Gate wasn't like opening the others. He could feel his body threatening to tear apart at a moment's notice. If it weren't for Sage Mode and Kurumi working overtime to ensure he healed as fast as he was hurt, he'd already be dead.

And even with them he knew he couldn't keep the Gates open forever. He had five minutes at most.

Naruto arched back slightly as nine brilliant white ephemeral wings shot out from his back. They moved and flowed through the air like streams of pure light. They were both beautiful and awe inspiring all at the same time. Divine was the only word those unfamiliar with Naruto could use to describe him in that one singular moment.

The wings twisted and dove towards the ground. They pierced through the rubble of the collapsed building with no more resistance than if it had been water.

"No more!" Naruto growled as his hands flashed through a long series of hand signs. "I am going to end this! Right here! RIGHT NOW!"

"RYŪSEI!"

"Naruto-kun… please tell me you're joking!" Hanabi shouted at Naruto, trying to be heard over the wind storm his power had kicked up. There was a hint of panic in her voice as her eyes searched the sky for what she hoped wouldn't appear.

It was too much to hope for as the sky darkened for a moment before it brightened.

"The Rinnegan doesn't grant you the ability to do the impossible, it simply makes the improbable much easier to achieve," Naruto said through clenched teeth.

"Holy shit!" Seo shouted in terror as he stared up into the sky. His two Sekirei clung to him, quivering in fear. "We're all fucking dead!"

"Naruto-kun! This is not funny!" Miya shouted at Naruto.

"I'm not trying to be funny!" Naruto snapped back as he concentrated. If he slipped, even a little, they were all dead, because up there, in the sky, screaming down towards Kamikura Island at almost thirty kilometers per second, was a meteor.

It wasn't a small meteor, no, those would burn up on entry. This meteor was as large as Kamikura Island, the diameter at the widest point being almost two miles wide.

It was a meteor large enough to wipe out all of Japan and much of the Asian continent to boot.

Naruto wanted to make sure there would be nothing left of Kamikura Island.

The asteroid burned brightly in the noon-day sky, the outer edges of the dense rocky asteroid ignited from the friction with the atmosphere. The world seemed to pause as the meteor descended from the heavens. All across Japan people paused to gape as their impending doom fell from the heavens, a fiery ball of death and destruction.

The meteor struck.

A bright flash of light momentarily blinded everyone as the meteorite slammed into Kamikura Island with the force of ten thousand nuclear weapons. Kamikura Island was obliterated in an instant. The force of the impact carried the remains of the meteor deep into the bay where it cratered into the sea bed.

As the light died down they were greeted by a wall of water racing towards them, fifty meters high and climbing. Above the wall of water, rising in the atmosphere was a cloud of smoke and fire so enormous that it made the most powerful nuclear weapons to ever be tested seem insignificant by comparison. The mushroom cloud seemed to cover the entire breadth of Japan and reached far out into the Pacific Ocean.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Hanabi screamed at him, her face twisted in fear and terror.

"HE'S INSANE! HE'S FRIGGIN INSANE!" Seo screamed as he went into panic mode. He wanted nothing more than to run away and hide in the deepest darkest hole he could find, but that same fear that made him want to run, kept him rooted in place.

All of a sudden an unbearably hot wave of energy washed over them. It felt like they had been dumped into a pot of scalding hot water. For a brief moment there was the very real fear of being burned alive when an enormous tendril of pure white energy shot up from the ground, towering almost a hundred meters into the air, between them and the epicenter of the impact. Instantly the heat sunk to uncomfortable, but bearable, levels as the thermal radiation was absorbed by the tendril of energy.

All around Sagami Bay other tendrils of energy shot up into the air, eight in all, encircling the impact zone, and began to absorb the heat projected in those directions as well.

Then the shaking began. The earth seemed to ripple as powerful seismic waves began to rack the island. Car alarms went off, boats shook off their support beams, and buildings began to shake and sway. Richter scales began around the world began to go off as the earthquake quickly rose up to a magnitude 7.6 and continued to rise.

Across Japan a thousand clones went through a series of hand signs and slammed them into the ground. They channeled counter-oscillation waves into the earth, nullifying or dampening the effects of the seismic waves. The rating of the earthquake quickly dropped two points as Naruto's clones struggled to contain the vibrations.

"Uh oh," Naruto said as he noticed something he hadn't factored into his plan.

"NO! DON'T you DARE say uh oh after dropping a kami damned meteor on us!" Hanabi screamed at him through clenched teeth. Her hands shook with equal parts anger and fear. Right now she wanted nothing more than to strangle her insane husband and shake some sense into that empty head of his.

"I uh… well… I've accounted for everything… except that," Naruto said.

And by 'that' Naruto was referring to the hundreds of thousands of tons of debris that was currently hurtling through the air towards them at super-sonic speeds.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Naruto asked in a small voice.

Maybe we should have thought this out a bit more, Kurumi said from the back of his mind.

Madara's never broke apart like that! I didn't know it would do that! Naruto said in a panic. It was already taking a lot of concentration to keep the tendrils of energy up to absorb the heat from the thermal radiation. It wasn't getting any better, in fact it was getting worse as time went on.

I might have an idea to get rid of the larger pieces, Kurumi said.

I'll take anything you can give me, those things are getting awfully close real fast! Naruto sent nervously.

The tip of the tendril began to glow. A beam of energy shot out from the tip and blasted apart a chunk of debris the size of a small house.

Oh, good, it does work, Kurumi sent, I should be able to eliminate the most dangerous chunks of rock.

The tips of the other eight tendrils began to glow like the first. Energy beams began to fire from the tips of each, annihilating the largest and most dangerous pieces of debris.

"I don't suppose I could ask you to help me shoot down the debris?" Naruto asked nervously. Kurumi could only do so much, there was simply too much for Kurumi to deal with alone.

"Naruto-kun… I think we're going to have to put some 'limitations' on what you're allowed and not allowed to do in the future," Hanabi growled in anger and fear. Her heart was pounding madly as she moved to the edge of the building to stare death straight in the face.

"I agree Hanabi-san, Naruto-kun is most definitely getting out of hand," Miya agreed as she unsheathed her sword.

"What the frickin hell!?" Blanc demanded as she landed near Miya. Akitsu, Chime and Yume appeared soon after.

"Bro, you're really starting to frighten me," Chime said as she stared at the oncoming disaster.

"This is very reckless of you, Naruto-kun," Yume said disapprovingly.

"Ah, it's very pretty," Akitsu said as she admired the view.

"Akitsu…" Hanabi stopped and sighed, "we'll talk about this later, everyone, if you can, take down whatever pieces of rock Naruto's colossal mistake has created. Yume and Blanc, cover the right side, Miya and Akitsu, you have the left. I'll handle the middle."

"What do you want me to do Hanabi?" Chime asked.

"Make sure no one tries to interfere with us," Hanabi said, there really wasn't anything Chime could do about the oncoming ejecta, not without getting in the way. Hanabi raised her hands and pointed them at the oncoming debris. Her Sekirei power rushed through her body as she drew deeply upon the core. "Get ready! Here it comes!"

Shockwaves rippled across the sky, smashing large chunks of rocks into pieces.

Large beams of energy tore across the sky, disintegrating the larger pieces of rock and debris that Kurumi missed.

Tiny balls of blue light flashed across the sky destroying many of the smaller pieces.

Barriers of ice began to form in the air, creating shields to impeded or halt completely the onslaught of ejecta.

Entire waves of debris stopped dead and dropped straight down into the water as Hanabi exerted more gravitational force upon the objects than their forward momentum was capable of overcoming.

"Watch out for the Air Burst! My clones won't be able to completely suppress it!" Naruto shouted.

You could see the air burst. The distortion was so great you could see the movement of the air and the displacement of the water as it rushed towards them faster than the speed of sound.

The second set of clones, another thousand, flashed through a series of hand signs. A massive wall of wind kicked up all along the shoreline of Sagami Bay and shot out towards the oncoming shockwave. A second wall of wind appeared and quickly followed the first out across the bay.

The shockwave didn't even seem to notice the first wall of wind as it plowed over it without weakening. It continued on and rolled over a second wall of wind, then a third and a fourth. The clones were only able to get a fifth one off before it made landfall.

Gale force winds slammed into them. Everyone had to momentarily stop what they were doing and hunker down or be blown off their feet. Even with their enhanced strength it was difficult for them to stay firmly planted upon the rooftop.

Windows shattered, doors blew in, trees bent nearly to their breaking. The building they were on shuddered and groaned. For a brief moment they feared it was going to collapse, it was already structurally weakened by Naruto's explosive increase in power.

Thankfully it held firm and remained standing. The clones had done their job, the air burst had been reduced from its original catastrophic level to that of a strong typhoon. The building had been built to withstand such punishment.

The tsunami arrived last. By this time the clones that had been delegated to neutralizing the earthquake and dampening the air burst were able to join the third, and last, set of clones. These ones had held themselves in reserve to deal with the oncoming tsunami. The other two sets were tired and exhausted by dealing with their respective disasters so their help would be limited.

As the tsunami approached landfall it sharply rose, towering two-hundred meters into the air, making even Kurama in all his glory seem small by comparison.

The clones weren't going to try and stop it however, that would be impossible. Instead they were going to redirect it, take control of its momentum and change it. As one, two thousand clones flipped through a series of hand signs and channeled their chakra. The tsunami wave bent and twisted, split and warped. It rose and fell at the same time as the water was funneled into two thousand different paths.

Kurumi, think you can help out? Naruto asked as memories began to pour in. Some of the more exhausted clones began to collapse and dispel as they ran out of chakra. The water they had been controlling fell

Yes, the thermal radiation appears to have died down, and all of the dangerous debris has been eliminated, Kurumi replied.

The tendrils of energy began to glow again. A wave of pure force erupted from each of the nine tendrils. The force slammed into the tsunami and knocked it away. With a thunderous crash trillions of tons of water cascaded back into Sagami Bay. The clones quickly shifted their efforts from controlling the momentum of the water to calming it instead.

How are things looking elsewhere? Naruto asked as he watched the water calm and recede. All things considered he felt he had handled the impact well. Little debris made it past, the air burst wasn't catastrophic, the earthquake had been reduced to a minor tremor and the heat had been almost completely neutralized. Shinto Teito would escape practically unscathed thanks to the combined effort of Kurumi and his Sekirei.

The rest of Japan however didn't have the luxury of powerful Sekirei knocking debris from the sky.

Better than you might think. It wasn't a direct vertical hit, the majority of the debris headed our way. A lot of debris did make it to land but nothing that was of any significant size. There's going to be some damage and a lot of stories but that's about it. Kurumi replied.

That's a relief, Naruto said

Let's not do this a second time.

I agree, in hindsight this probably wasn't one of my better ideas, even if it was necessary, Naruto admitted.

I would put it up there with quite possibly your 'worst' idea ever, Kurumi said.

Hey it wasn't that bad…

Tell me of another idea of yours that, if gone wrong, would have caused the end of the world as we know it?

What about that time back in the Elemental Nations when we wiped out Oto? Naruto replied.

Alright, this is your SECOND worst idea ever.

It was still necessary though… Naruto thought.

Doesn't mean it wasn't a bad idea.

The nine tendrils of energy slipped back into the ground as Naruto turned his focus on letting go of his built up power. He couldn't do it all at once, it'd probably kill him if he tried. There was the faint hint of crackling, like wires being crossed, as the tendrils of energy popped up from the ground beneath him and disappeared into his back. With that done he turned his attention to closing his Celestial Gates. With a grunt of exertion he forced the gates closed.

Naruto plummeted to the ground as the aura that had kept him aloft disappeared. With a flicker he disappeared and reappeared beside Hanabi. He almost stumbled when he arrived. With the loss of the energy from the Celestial Gates he felt exhausted. He had spent an incredible amount of chakra creating those clones, absorbing the heat and redirecting it into the earth, destroying the debris and neutralizing the tsunami. Although it was Kurumi that had performed the deeds, she had used the chakra he had provided. Even her immense chakra reserves weren't enough to accomplish all that.

But he couldn't show any weakness just yet. He had a golden opportunity right now and he wasn't about to waste it. There were many ways he could have destroyed Kamikura Island, but doing something so over the top had a purpose.

And it was to scare the others into handing over their Jinki without a fight.

"I will ask politely, once," Naruto said as he approached Seo. "I am collecting all the Jinki, they are sentient creatures and should not be treated as possessions. I intend to free them, will you please give me yours?" He stopped just before the Seo, "I would rather not resort to 'drastic' measures to retrieve them," he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder towards the now empty horizon.

"S-Seo…" Hikari stuttered as she fearfully hid behind her Ashikabi.

"Here, just take them!" Seo said as he pulled them out of his pockets and threw them at Naruto. The blonde shinobi deftly caught them in midair, "They're too much damn trouble anyways. I never intended to keep them in the first place."

"Thank you," Naruto said with a slight nod of his head, "if you ever need my help in the future, don't hesitate to ask, provided it's not something illegal."

"Ah, right, I need to go, I think you just unofficially ended the fourth stage," Seo said as he motioned for his Sekirei to take him away.

They didn't hesitate to comply. Seconds later the three of them were bounding over the rooftops, heading away from Naruto as fast as they could.

"Boss!" One of his clones called out.

"Yes?" Naruto asked as he glanced over at his clone.

"Here," the clone said as he held the fifth Jinki out to him. "They were more than willing to part with it after our little display."

"Good, we got all three Jinki without having to fight anyone," Naruto said happily as he took the Jinki and pocketed. He had them all now, all save the one that Orochimaru kept on his person.

Naruto would have to retrieve that eventually but that one would have to wait until after the operations were finished and they moved on MBI HQ itself.

Now it was time to address Hanabi and his Sekirei. Aside from Akitsu he was quite certain they were all going to have some choice words for him. Unfortunately as much as he would love to hear their complaints there was something a bit more pressing he needed to take care off.

"Everyone, I know you're concerned about what has just happened," Naruto started as he turned to face his Sekirei. Aside from Akitsu their faces were all the same, a mixture of concern, fear, and a liberal dose of anger. "I will be happy to explain my actions… right after I… heal my… ruptured… heart…" Naruto trailed off as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he keeled over.

"NARUTO-KUN!"

---

Author's Note: A note on the color of Naruto's cloak. In the anime/manga his cloak was yellow. That doesn't make a lot of sense to me since Kurama's chakra is Red and Naruto's is blue. However if you consider that Naruto's greatest affinity is wind (green) then it COULD logically make sense since red mixed with green = yellow. Of course I'm just grasping at straws but there's nothing else that really makes any logical sense. More than likely the 'real' reason it's yellow is probably due to some 'idiotic' reasoning like the color of his hair or because his father was the 'Yellow Flash' and Kishimoto wants to give some moniker to Naruto that's got 'yellow' in it like Minato.

Anyways what this boils down to is I tried to use logic to dictate this once more. Since Kurumi's chakra is now 'pure' or 'white' I decided to make the cloak blue. This is the color of Naruto's normal chakra. Because Kurumi's chakra is white, it doesn't affect the color.

Then it turned teal because green mixed with blue is teal. And green is the color of the sweat or whatever it is that envelopes the person when they unlock the fifth celestial gate.

Oh, and no, Kurumi is an angel, so no Bijuu bombs unfortunately, otherwise Naruto would have used that. I haven't decided whether or not I want to give Kurumi something else to replace it.

I also came to realize that Kishimoto really fucked up Madara's meteors. If they were 'real' meteors, they would have completely annihilated a large portion of that planet. Meteors of THAT size crashing down? Even if they weren't going at hyper-sonic speeds they still would have absolutely obliterated everything within a fifteen mile radius, no exceptions. I realized that halfway through this chapter and went 'oh crap, I can't just wipe Kamikura Island out with a meteor and call it a day.'

So the whole scene ended up being like half a page of Naruto being badass, and the rest of the chapter trying to clean up the mess of being said badass, which kind of dampened the badassedness.