Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and VIZ Media, with the elements of Brutal Legend being the property of Tim Schafer, Double Fine Productions, and Electronic Arts (EA). I do not claim any of these characters or elements as my own, and am only writing this story as a leisurely past time and because I am a humble fan of both these universes. This story is rated "M" for safety, due to cursing, violence, suggestive themes, alcohol reference, and more gore than you can swing an axe at!
STOP!!! Before you read any further and then leave a review asking why it took me so long, or when I'm gonna update again, or one that contains outcries of "Update soon," pleas hop over to my story, "A Collection of Future Tales," to get the full rundown of why it takes me so long to update, why I haven't been around in about a month, and why it might take me long to update in the future. Go on, do it. The story will keep, in fact, we'll wait right here for you.
INTERMISSION OF METAL.
Okay, everyone's up to speed now, right? I've got life to deal with, college to deal with, work to deal with, parents who breathe down my neck about college and work, I'm getting stuck in a rut as far as this genre (i.e. Naruto) goes, and I'm trying to get my own works published. Hopefully you all understand some of what's been going on now, and what will continue to go on in the future. Believe me, it's not like I want to lose inspiration for fan-fics, but I've got my own dreams to follow and I've made a pact to follow them. Besides, whenever I start stories that look like they continue on forever like this one and do as well as this one, I feel more like I'm obligated to write it and then fan-fiction becomes… Well, it becomes less fun for me as an author. No worries, I'm not trying to deliberately harp on you guys, trust me, I just want you to try and be a little more lenient on me in the future and understand why it takes so long to update at times, okay?
Anyhow, I've vented long enough. Time to get the metal and the carnage underway! Naruto has just received his gift of power from Ormagodden, and things are about to get as heavy as Heavy Metal can get. So just sit back, relax, and crank up the Heavy Metal, because this is gonna one Hell of a show, baby!
Soundtrack for this Chapter: (1) Mob Rules by Black Sabbath (The Dio Years), (2) Eruption by Van Halen.
Chapter 2: Mob Rules.
"I've said this before… You're future, is death!"
Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan, elite jounin and former ANBU Black Ops captain of Konahagakure no Sato, proclaimed this prediction darkly as he stared down his foe, Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Mists, formerly a top assassin of Kirigakure no Sato (the Village Hidden in the Mists). This man had gone from the most respected shinobi in Kirigakure to an A-Rank assassin in the Bingo Book, and all because of delusions of grandeur and power, because of his own black ambitions. And now, it was those very ambitions that helped a ruthless yakuza boss hold a struggling, poor nation in his grasp, those evil desires that placed the lives of his students in danger, as well as the life of the man he had sworn to protect as part of his mission, Tazuna the bridge builder. It was because of that man that Zabuza was here, trying to kill him under orders of that same criminal kingpin, because of the bridge he was building and the trouble it would bring for the mobster's 'business.' Even now, as he stared angrily at the man before him, held in place by the tight grip of the fanged maws of his ever faithful ninken (ninja hounds), this former shinobi made him sick right down to the pit of his stomach. The fury of his emotions bled into his chakra, increasing the intensity of the lightning of his Raikiri (Lightning Blade) as it coursed around his open palm, the small arcs snapping and hissing greedily in the air, as though hungry for the blood of this sinful man.
"The man you're trying to kill," growled the Copy-nin furiously, his one visible eye, not hidden by his headband like his Sharingan transplant, glaring deep into the man's black soul, "is the very heart and soul of this island. The bridge he's building is the result of his dream and the dreams of his people. I will not allow you to defile them like this, that's not the true shinobi way."
"Feh, spare me your pathetic, near-sighted take on philosophy, Kakashi," snapped Zabuza maliciously, the bandages over his mouth stained with his own blood as it had come to his mouth, at testament to the extent of the injury to his internal organs, a souvenir of the battle. "All of these useless people, with their petty little dreams, why the Hell should I care about any of them? I have a dream of my own."
As if anticipating Kakashi's thoughts, two of his ninken, a German Shepherd named "Tengu" and a Shiba Inu named "Yami," decided that the assassin had said enough. With remorseless ferocity, they bit down as one with all their strength on the part of his legs they'd been simply restraining until now, his knees. With a sharp crunching sound akin to knuckles cracking, the dogs' jaw strength shattered Zabuza's kneecaps in a single bite. Inhuman pain wracking every fiber of his body, Zabuza Momochi howled in agony as the full weight of his body collapsed on his splintered knees as he fell to the ground, his brain feeling as though it would explode in response to that much anguish and raw pain.
"Ah, but to have a dream, you first need to have a future," added Kakashi blackly, not even batting an eye at what his dogs had just done, though he made a mental note to give Tengu and Yami a special treat as a bonus later on. Gearing up for his final attack, the lightning about his hand began to glow even brighter as it reached white-hot intensities, the chirping sounds of the electrical energy superheating the air growing louder as he spoke. "You, however, don't have one. You're future's all used up, Zabuza Momochi."
With speeds far above those on an average human being, the Copy-nin charged the assassin, the energy of his Raikiri scorching ugly, black burns into the pavement of the bridge as he surged forward, embodying the lightning that he now wielded. With an incredible amount of force behind his attack, Kakashi's hand struck true, and plunged itself deep into the black heart of the once fabled Demon, obliterating the vile organ within seconds. Zabuza uttered a cry of pure agony and pain as he felt the electrical power course through every nerve and muscle and artery in that moment, then fell silent as he slumped lifelessly against Kakashi's arm, still embedded in his chest. Pulling his hand free of the man's chest fluidly and powering down his Raikiri, Kakashi allowed the criminal to fall to the ground, grimacing at the sight of him, as though he had just touched something unclean.
The Demon of the Hidden Mist, was no more.
Staring at the sight of Zabuza's death in breathless awe, Sakura and Tazuna couldn't help but be amazed at how much power Kakashi had put into his attack, and how quickly the assassin had been destroyed. For a moment, it felt like not only Team 7, but the entire Land of Waves, could breathe easily now. Its master now dead, the mist began to clear away from the group, as if withdrawing from this world in tandem with Zabuza's soul as it departed for the bowels of Hell. With the thick condensation vanishing, Sakura's thoughts returned to Naruto and Sasuke, whom she had last seen in the grip of Haku's Makyou Hyoushou (Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors). Peering anxiously through the dissipating mists, she could vaguely make out the shape of someone standing to his feet, and from the looks of the person, it wasn't Haku, which put her mind at ease. Seconds later, the figure of Naruto Uzumaki, that gullible, knuckle-head ninja himself, could be seen. That fact alone made her breathe a sigh of relief.
"Naruto!" she yelled out over the space between them, waving to try and get his attention. "Naruto, over here!"
'Sakura-chan,' mourned Naruto sorrowfully as he saw her smiling face, remembering the great loss his team had suffered this day. Seeing her so happy that her was alive made him feel horrible, far worse than he'd ever felt before. 'Damn it... Damn it all to Hell.'
"So, you and Sasuke-kun are alright?" she asked hopefully. Sadly, she got her answer a moment later, when she looked past the silent, morose Naruto to see Sasuke's prone form lying so still and so... lifeless on the ground a couple yards behind him. Sorrow and fear washing over her at the sight, she stifled a pained gasp as tears already began to well up in the corners of her eyes. "No... no."
Tazuna, seeing her pain and anguish at the loss of the boy she had acted so affectionately towards, his instincts as a parent and a father took over. Turning to her with understanding and comfort in his eyes, he knew what she would want to do, what she would need to do. "Let me take you to him, Sakura," he offered in a heartfelt voice, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder for what it was worth. "As long as we stick together, you won't be disobeying your sensei."
"Th-thank you, Tazuna-san," she managed to stammer out, her hand impulsively finding his, as though she were a little girl once more. Making haste, they both ran towards Sasuke's body, though it felt as though it took a millennium to cross that space inbetween them. As they bolted past him to see the love's body, Naruto felt one of Sakura's hot, passionate tears fly from her eyes and strike him on the cheek. In that moment, it was as though he could feel her sorrow, her remorse, her pain flow through him.
Watching Sakura and Tazuna run towards Sasuke's body, Kakashi couldn't help but hang his head in grief. Though he hid his feelings like a true shinobi, he mourned for Sasuke's death as well. That boy, that stupid, arrogant child, was more than just his student. He was a reminder of the other he made to his friends all those years ago, to his sensei. He'd sworn that he would never allow anything like this to happen ever again, not to his students nor his comrades in arms. After losing Rin and Obito... he couldn't bear to have that happen again. And now, he'd failed them both, but Obito most of all. Now, his clan was truly dead. Ears still tuned from the action he had just endured, he felt them perk up the sound of soft footfalls that grew closer until they stopped at his side. He didn't even need to look up to know that it was Naruto, the rage emotional tension rippling through the air indicating that the boy was keyed up and out for blood.
"Naruto," he said firmly, keeping his emotions in line to keep his voice from shaking in response to his own rage and remorse.
"Kakashi-sensei," replied Naruto darkly, fists clenched at his sides quivering with anger as he imagined breaking Zabuza's or Gato's face with them, though the former was now an impossibility. Still, why go after the minions when the boss is still alive and kicking? If you can't kill the Hydra by beheading it, then you go to its heart, rip it out, and then you crop off the heads like fucking dandelions to make sure it's dead.
"How did it happen, Naruto?" asked the Copy-nin morosely, not exactly sure he wanted to know the answer, but still knowing he would learn the truth anyhow.
"I'm not sure about all the details," admitted the blonde sincerely, his voice unwaveringly dark. "One of Haku's attacks knocked me for a loop, and when I came to, Sasuke was standing over me, arms spread out to protect me, even though he was already full of needles that were meant for me." Remembering this made Naruto clench his fists even tighter, and somehow, Kakashi began to feel an intense amount of chakra emanating from the boy, so much so that it was almost inhuman. It was this sensation, this grim and powerful miasma that he had sensed only moments earlier that broke Kakashi from his thoughts and drew his attention to Naruto, causing him to double-take at the sight of the boy's strange new appearance.
"N-Naruto!" exclaimed the Jounin in disbelief, surprised by not only his student's physical transformation and the bizarre weapons attached to his back. "What the Hell happened to you?!"
"Heh," chuckled Naruto grimly, a slight smile playing on his otherwise dour visage as he remembered his talk with Ormagödden. "Well, that's kinda hard to explain fully right now, and it's hardly the time to, given what's just happened. But, let's just say I had a visit from an old friend in there, someone who showed me how to do stuff I couldn't before." At that moment, both Naruto and Kakashi winced visibly as Sakura began to wail and cry as though her heart had just been torn from her chest, which given what had just happened, it truly had. "But... Too little, too fuckin' late. I couldn't do anything to save Sasuke, and now-"
"Don't," interrupted Kakashi firmly, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezing tightly, just enough to let the boy know he was there. "There was nothing you could do, even with your new gear, if that's all your friend gave you. Sasuke did what he thought was right at that time, and we need to honor his sacrifice. We will grieve for him, yes, but there is a time and place for that." As he said this, his voice trailed off for a moment, a sudden movement at the opposite end of the bridge linked to the island catching his eye. "But right now, it looks like we've still got a mess here that needs to be cleaned up."
Sensing his teacher's already dwindling chakra flare up again, Naruto snapped himself out of his funk and followed Kakashi's gaze towards their new objected. A few yards ahead of them was a large group of people, and from the looks of them, they were all criminals of the worst caliber. Bandaged limbs, missing teeth, grungy clothing, wild and unruly hair, a couple of missing fingers here and there, eye-patches, and a vast assortment of bladed weaponry categorized this bunch. These guys were all blades-for-hire, criminals and outlaws the whole lot of them, selling their skills to the highest bidder. What they fought for was money, and they didn't care who got in their way or who they had to kill to get it. And it was because of people like them that this island was suffering and that Sasuke was now dead! Just looking at them made Naruto grit his newly sharpened teeth in anger as his face contorted into an enraged snarl. At the forefront of this group of ragtag miscreants was a short man with frizzy black hair, dressed in a black suit with white pin-striping, his right arm cast in a sling, his beady little eyes shaded by a pair of tinted glasses. As he walked towards them at the head of the mob, he took notice of the two of them for a moment and raised an eyebrow, then his gaze fell to Zabuza's corpse and a pleased smirk came to his lips.
"Heh, looks like Zabuza was nothing special after all," chuckled the little man arrogantly, his sentiments echoed by the snickers and chortles of the other mobsters behind him. "'Demon of the Hidden Mist,' he looks about as demonic as a drowned kitten. Ha-Ha!" Having had his laugh at the mercenary's expense, the yakuza turned his attentions back to Naruto and Kakashi, as nonchalant as you please. "Hey, either of you two see what happened to that Haku-kid that was with him? I owe the little bastard one for what he did to my arm."
"That all depends," answered Naruto darkly, his own chakra flaring up with a hellish pressure to it as he roughly slapped away Kakashi's hand from his shoulder and started forward at a slow walk, an almost demonic grip playing on his face as his bloodlust and battle-hunger came to the foreground of his mind. One way or another, Sasuke's murderers would be dealt with today, and he was going to be the one to take 'em down. "Are you Gato?"
"Yeah, I am," answered the man as he stopped a few feet from his henchmen, tapping his cane on the ground in front of him to signal for them to stop and await further orders. "What's it to ya?"
Gato's answer to that question came only micro-seconds later. Spinning through the air with incredible speed, its dual-bladed form singing like a buzz-saw as it cleaved the very winds themselves in two, Manowar flew straight for the little man so fast it was like time itself were standing still. One moment, Gato was standing there sizing up a pathetic-looking blonde kid who barely registered a blip on his radar, and the next he was staring down the edge of the Grim Reaper's scythe. He only had time for his eyes to widen in horrified realization at what would come next, and for his mouth to open in a futile attempt to scream in terror, the lit cigar falling from his mouth to fizzle out on the wet pavement of the bridge. The battle-axe struck true, embedding itself in the full of the midget mobster's head, right between his eyes, killing him instantaneously as it severed the connection between the two hemispheres of his brain and snapped his spine in one blow. It was too good a death for him. Naruto wanted to make this sickening little freak pay for what he had done, slowly, and painfully. However, he knew that with Kakashi, Sakura, and Tazuna here, there was a risk of them getting hurt, and he didn't want to lose any more friends, not today.
SKLUTCH!!!
A fountain of blood erupted from Gato's head on either side of the axe's blade from where it had buried itself in his skull, spraying in a wide arc as he fell to the ground dead. As he lay there, his extremities twitched every few seconds or so. Immediately, the other mobsters backed away from the corpse in revulsion, staring at the bloodied remains of what had been their employer in shock and disturbed horror.
Kakashi looked at Naruto in surprised disbelief. That throw had been so fast that not even his Sharingan had been able to see it, and yet it was so accurate! Watching his student shift back from his throwing stance (which made him look like a professional baseball pitcher), the Copy-nin noted a serious change in the boy, besides that of his physical appearance. Naruto had become a different person somehow, more savage and yet more mature. Even though his eyes were facing the mass of criminals now, Kakashi could tell that they held the depth of someone who had stared into the abyss like he had and came out stronger than before. This was not the Naruto they knew. Sure, he seemed the same, and outside of a situation like this, he would probably act the same. But still this was not their Naruto that he was looking at right now, something had changed about him.
'Naruto...,' though the Copy-nin in amazement as he watched the boy start towards the mobsters once more, 'what in the world happened to you in there?'
"That, was a warning shot," proclaimed Naruto confidently as he continued forward, raising his hand dramatically as he reached out with his mind to Manowar, calling upon the ancient powers that flowed through every fiber of his being. With a sudden jerk and spray of gore, the dual-headed battle-axe wrenched itself free of Gato's skull and sailed end over end through the air, stopping only when Naruto caught the medieval weapon by the handle and dropped into a combative stance, ready to charge the group. "If any of you have any sense in those thick, burnout skulls a' yours, you'll turn tail and run and never look back. If not-"
"Get the brat!" shouted one of the criminals in a rage, furious that their employer had been killed before they'd even seen a cent from this lame-ass job. United in that sentiment, the rest of the crowd of mercenaries roared as one and surged forward, brandishing swords, spears, tridents, knives, kunai, and even gardening rakes as they came to kill Naruto, each one wanting a piece of the kid that had cut off their chances of getting paid. (1)
"Heh, fuckin' idiots," smirked Naruto as he reared back, then dashed forward at full-speed, low to the ground with his axe-wielding arm drawn back and ready to strike. With his free hand, he reached back behind his head and placed it on Steppenwolf'sneck. A simple stroke of the finger was all it took to make the guitar sing, the deep resonating tone shuddering through his body like a personal earthquake. 'Perfectly tuned. Now all I need to do is get in the middle of 'em, and it's all but won... But first, I think I'll show these light-weight bastards why no one fucks with a Konoha-nin and gets away with it Scott free.'
As both the surging mass of criminals and the single shinobi reached the point of collision, Naruto launched himself forward into the air, tackling the first mobster head on and slamming him hard to the ground before slamming the pike between the axe-head into his Adam's apple as he hit. Rolling with the hit, the blonde shinobi flipped himself over the corpse with the prowess of a tumbler and planted his feet firmly on the ground, bringing the axe down like an overhead guillotine to split another criminal's head in two, tearing it out once more to commit a similar act to another man who attempted to drive a spear into the boy's back, the young genin's heightened senses picking up on the assault beforehand.
As he proceeded to cut a bloody swath through the sea of murdering scum who had been bleeding this island nation dry of hope and freedom, Naruto couldn't help but feel some strange release, like this was something he had been missing all his life. Not so much the mindless slaughter, but the destruction of evil for the good of the people. From within his mind, he could almost hear Ormagödden agree with him, that the power of true Metal was to be wielded for the people and to be the anthem of their freedom. As his face was sprayed with a shower of blood and gore wetted Manowar's blade, the champion of the Immortal Fire Beast couldn't help but smile manically.
He felt so alive!
"HARRRAAAAAHHH!" With a powerful roar intermingled with a shout of jubilation, Naruto leapt high into the air with a single jump, splintering the concrete beneath his feet before takeoff. As he came plummeting down towards the unfortunate mobster in his landing space, the man's eyes wide with terror and fear as he descended, the whiskered-boy swung his battle-axe with all his might, putting a spin on things as he came down. In short, Naruto had turned himself into a human buzzsaw. The man had no chance in Hell. He was killed instantly as he was split from gullet to groin by the boy's axe.
Leaping from the man's prone form, Naruto tossed Manowar high into the air, landing on his hands as he then caught the massive axe by its handle between his feet. Allowing gravity to take control, Naruto then proceeded to introduce the mobsters to the new and deadly art of break-dancing, spinning his feet around and around to slash at his opponent's legs and take a couple of them off at the ankles, causing the men to fall to the ground, screaming in agony and horror as they realized that they were beginning to slowly and painfully bleed out. The few of them who were smart enough to figure out that they too would meet a similar fate as their now legless comrades immediately jumped back and put some distance between them and the spinning blade. Just who the Hell was this kid?! Finally allowing himself to slow down, Naruto flicked his ankles upwards to send the axe flying again, rising to his feet as the weapon sailed into the air. At his full height, head lowered, Naruto's hand flashed out and caught the blade singlehandedly, fluidly sheathing it in its holder on his back as his left hand pulled Steppenwolf free from its own spot on his back, spinning it swiftly by its neck for a moment before allowing it's strap to wrap itself around his frame, causing a shudder to pass through his body as its motion was suddenly arrested.
"Alright then," breathed the blonde genin with a fanged smile, chilling the very souls of those mobsters left alive and with their limbs intact (there were still a good number of them left). As he spoke, he slowly raised his right arm so his hand was facing the sky, as if reaching out to touch the heavens. Upon further inspection, a few of the criminals were able to see a small, black guitar-pick held deftly between his index-finger and thumb, with the word 'Destiny' etched on its shimmering frame in silver letters. "Now that I have your undivided attention, how 'bout a preview of what all you dumb fucks are in for... On your final march to Hell?!"
(2) Hand descending like a symphony conductor's intent on beginning a show, the pick struck the metal guitar-strings with a raucous, echoing sound like that of thunder, blasting a shockwave of pure sound through the entire area, and blowing away the mist that blanketed the bridge so that all would be able to bear witness to the carnage that was about to take place, even as the very air around the boy became thick, heavy, and hot. It was like a sauna for everyone present, save for Naruto, who's blood had been intermingled with that of the creature who had cremated the skies themselves with its majesty. Ignoring the stares of the ignorant criminal element and the awestruck wonder of his friends and sensei as they watched, Naruto continued to play a death song on his guitar as the air pressure around him became more and more intense. All of a sudden, the whole world exploded into flames in a massive blast of heat, fire, and brimstone.
KRA-THOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
Those criminals and mercenaries who were nearest to Naruto were lucky. They were incinerated in an instant, flesh and muscle flayed from bone with a heat so intense that it immediately turned the marrow to ash and blew any trace of their existence way in a blast of hot air. The others were not so fortunate. From the lapping, fiery tongues of the conflagration that looked like a miniature Hiroshima, bolts of fire and brimstone that looked like tendrils of lava shot forth and strafed through the remaining crowd, engulfing all they touched in fire from head to toe. The slightest touch was enough to turn men into human bonfires, skin and sinew peeling off within miliseconds. Those who tried to run were quickly mowed down by the tentecles, gaping holes burnt through their chests so that one could look right through them. Their screams pierced the otherwise still morning atmosphere, almost adding to the savage beauty of the music as it continued to play over the noise and outcry of panic and fear, a new song for the ages. As the solo came to an end, the massive firepit that had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, began to dwindle and weaken until it simply vanished in a singular wisp of candle-flame. At the epicenter of the blast stood Naruto, untouched by the flames, though acrid wisps of smoke were rising from his fingers and from Steppenwolf's strings.
"Ironheade Solo #66: Funka (Eruption)," declared Naruto solemnly, holstering the guitar on his back before turning to stare at his hands like they were alien to him, as if he were in a living dream. This power, this incredible sensation coursing through his veins like molten lava and through his nerves like a continuously pulsating stream of lightning, it was like nothing he had ever felt before, like he were infused with the blood of one of the Amatsu-Kami themselves! He felt like he could do anything! However, the cold of the sea cutting into his skin like a thousand knives, he felt it as a grim reminder of his own mortality, of the great loss he and his friends had already suffered at the hands of those who fight for injustice. Sure, he had made them pay for what they'd done, but it was still not enough. Sasuke was still... 'Damn it. What's the point of having these powers, this dream, if I can't even protect those people who matter?'
'Believe me, kid, second guessing yourself is the last thing you wanna do right now,' rumbled Ormagödden consolingly from within his mind. 'The moment you begin to doubt your mission, to doubt your dream to become Hokage, that is the moment you start heading down a path you don't wanna make it to the end of. Sasuke wouldn't want you to sulk like this. Remember what he told you, 'don't let your dream die'? Well, give him some fuckin' justice by not givin' up just because he's gone.'
'... Yeah,' sighed the blonde morosely as he considered the truth of the Fire Beast's words as he turned slowly on his heel to walk back towards his team, eyes seemingly fixated on his shoes as his hair cast a dramatic shadow over his face. He knew they would have a look of complete shock and disbelief on their faces at what they'd just witnessed, but at this moment, that paled in comparison to the carnage he wanted to unleash to ease the burden on his soul at the loss of his friend. Still, the Cremator of the Skies had a point. Sasuke wouldn't want him to hang his head in shame and doubt himself after pleading with his last breath that Naruto not give up on his dreams. He would want the boy to continue onwards, and to not let his death cast a shadow on his destiny like this. 'You're right. But... I just wish he didn't have to die, you know?'
"Naruto..." came a familiar voice from a few feet in front of him, weak and raspy, though still conveying blatant shock and amazement at the display of power Naruto had just put on. Immediately, Naruto's head shot up as he recognized the owner of that voice, eyes wide with disbelief and amazement as doubts at the impossibility of it being who he thought it was ran through his head. It couldn't be, it just couldn't be...
But it was.
There, only a couple yards away from him, behind Kakashi, being supported on the shoulders of both Tazuna and Sakura, weakly limping towards him with impressed shock on his blood-soaked face, was none other than Sasuke Uchiha himself.
"S-S-Sasuke?!" Naruto barely choked out the words as he stood stock still in the face of the teammate he thought was dead. "Y-Your alive?!"
"How the Hell did you do that?" the wounded Uchiha heir finished in awe, ignoring his wounds in the face of Naruto's incredible jump in power that seemed to come out of nowhere at all. No way in a thousand years could Sasuke have seen this coming, but it happened. Somehow, someway, Naruto had managed to gain a staggering amount of power in what could have been miliseconds! Even though he was seriously injured at the moment, he couldn't help but focus on this one thing alone. Just what the Hell had gone on while he was out.
On the other hand, Naruto couldn't care less about how much he had changed or what power he had amassed at the moment. The moment he saw Sasuke, his best friend and rival, was alive, none of it mattered right now. A hot sensation came to his face as tears of joy ran down his cheeks and a well-meaning, happy smile spread slowly across his face. Not even taking time to wipe the tears from his eyes, Naruto stepped past his sensei, past Tazuna, and came to a stop in front of his teammates, no, his friends. And then, without warning, he forcibly hugged the both of them as tight as he could, almost as if to ensure that this moment wasn't a dream and that his best buddy was really alive. The silky sensation of blood on his fingertips, the tensing of Sasuke's muscles in response to this unexpected and strange turn of events (Sakura's included), and the pulsating waves of chakra eminating from his body only further founded the fact that Sasuke was indeed alive. Miraculously, thankfully, alive!
"It's a long story, bro," sobbed Naruto with a smile as he held his friends closely, forgoing all thoughts of how weird this was for the moment. All that mattered right now, was that everyone he cared about was okay. Everything else could wait, but right now, his friends were alive, and that was all he needed to know.
AN: Well now, all's well that ends well, huh? Thank God and the gods of Metal that everyone made it out of this one alive, but there are still a lot of questions left unanswered. Now that he has these powers, what will Naruto do with them? How will he prepare Konohagakure for the oncoming war with Doviculus' forces? What will the Hokage and the Village Council have to say about this? How did Sasuke survive Haku's assault? All of these questions and more will be answered in future chapters, so don't leave here anytime soon. More will be coming soon, same Metal time, same Metal channel, so keep it here, True Believers! And don't forget to R&R! Please remember that constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and flames/trolls will be fed to the Immortal Firebeast as midnight snacks/sacrifices, okay? Thanks again for reading!