Curse of a Hanyou, Love of an Angel

by Saemon

Cursed mere hours after his birth to wander the world as a Kitsune Hanyou, Naruto Uzumaki is forced to find light in a cruel world. Is it possible to live life as a half-demon and earn the acceptance of those around you. If so, is love also possible?

31. Chapter 30: A Debt Repaid

-SUPER IMPORTANT UPDATE- MANGA ADAPTATION!

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A rather large chapter this time... Large even for me. O.o

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Chapter 30: A Dept Repaid

They say the worst thing you can see in life is your loved ones killed before your eyes, that it tears at your very soul for all eternity, eating away at you till there is nothing left. There are those who suffer in the dark and eventually swept away by that same darkness. Then they say there are those that are able to see past the soulcrushing pain and grow stronger, they use there pain to ease the suffering of others and seek to better themselves. Then there are those trapped between the two extremities, not able to fully let go and not able to fall into the darkness. They are stuck forever, cursed by there own mind, and never able to recover from there loss. Those people usually tread the path of an Avenger, living there life to forfill one purpose: To destroy those who killed there loved ones, and avenge those lost to them.

Kurenai had never been one to allow herself to fall into the darkness, but she had never fully been able to let the memories of her family go. Looking over at her two brother's she was confused on what she should feel. One part of her wanted them dead, removed from existence and her family avenged, but another part of her just wanted to forget. She had been plagued by the memories of her family for years, and while she made sure it never impacted her advancement as a Shinobi, it had always stopped her from moving on with there deaths emotionally. And she just wanted it all to end, to forget everything.

Her confusion was broken when she heard Idakai laugh cruelly, she had grown rather quickly to hate his laugh. "Well, looks like Hidoukai has his hands full. That is an interesting brat you have sister, but he looks like he resembles more of a wild animal then a human. You have no control over him and he looks like more of a danger to you then to us." The insult to her student was typical of Idakai, his words were always cheap. Kurenai did notice that Hinata wasn't too impressed by what he said however, the young Hyuga Heiress actually looked to have taken offence to what was said about her hanyou boyfriend.

"H-He may be dangerous when he is l-like this. B-But he would never hurt any of us! He isn't a-an animal!" Hinata shouted out, quite uncharacteristically. Even Shino showed visible signs of being surprised by her outburst.

"Hmph, please, the boy may have some powerful chakra and some weird fox-like appendages, but he is no match for Hidoukai. There are few alive who could possible beat him once he gets a thrust for bloodshed. But it is so adorable to see his little girlfriend stand up for him." Idakai mocked back in response. He didn't like this strange pupiled girl. She reminded him too much of his sister when she was young.

A large explosion was heard a little ways off, followed by the sound of several large trees crashing down. A wave a murderous chakra pulse from behind them, followed by several more explosions. Idakai knew his brother well, and he knew that he didn't have any jutsu that cause explosions, was that brat seriously still alive?

"Alright, its about time we finished this Kurenai-imouto, too many years we have been looking forward to finishing you off. Ever since we found out you survived being sliced open and left to rot we have been looking forward to this day. As I'm sure you have too. So? Shall we finally see which of us is stronger?" Turning his gaze back from the forest surrounding the village to his sister, Idakai slowly began to step backwards, his figure starting to dissolve into thin air.

"Takashi, brother, take care of the pupil girl and the bug obsessed freak then go find Hidoukai and make sure he isn't having any problems dealing with that fox brat. Oh, Kurenai you might want to be quick, wouldn't want me to get bored waiting and kill a few of these villagers for fun now would you?" Idakai continued to dissolve into the air as he kept walking backwards, the last thing visible of him was his mouth, curled into his signature cruel and mocking smirk.

Kurenai ground her teeth when her brother finally disappeared, her training forced her to consider carefully on whether it was worth following him. She knew it was always dangerous to follow an advisari to a battleground of there choosing, but she knew her brother well enough to know that trickery in that sort of form would not be a display of his prowess.

"Hinata, Shino, I have to stop Idakai. You are both two of the strongest Genin I have ever seen, I know you two will be able to defeat Takashi. But please be careful, I am a terrible sensei to leave you two to fight on your own, but I am certain you will do fine." Placing a hand on her two students shoulders a smile of pride formed on her face as they nodded back to her. She knew it was a lot to ask of them, but somehow she just knew they would be fine.

"I'm sure you will both be fine, but if you need help you know what to do. Even if I can't help right now, as your sensei I wont allow either of you to be hurt. I will see you again soon." And with that said Kurenai stepped back from her two students, a look of worry plaguing her face as she disappeared in a swirl of pink pedals.

Hinata and Shino instinctively turned together to face there opponent, there nerves were obvious, this would be there first real fight, but they both knew they would be fine. They had each other to look out for the other, they were a team, and would fight like one.

The third brother, at last reveal as Takashi, stepped forward to face the young teens, a cruel smile on his face as he drew back his cloak revealing his bald head and hard features. "You two, will not leave here alive. Mere children could never hope to defeat me. My jutsu will crush you both!"

In response Hinata and Shino stepped forward into there clan's respective fighting stances, Hinata's Byakugan blazing brightly while Shino's Kikai flew up from his coat beginning to encircle them both in a black fog-like cloud.

A loud explosion, followed by the cracking sound of many trees breaking was the only warning sign before Hidoukai went flying through the forest, slamming and breaking straight through each tree as his body flailed around each time. Slamming harshly in the ground he finally came to a stop as his body formed a crater where he landed. Groaning in pain and pulled himself up from the earth, using his sword to support him as he struggled to stand.

'What the hell is this boy? That murderous chakra! That gargantuan strength! The bloodlust in his eyes and voice! He is impressive! I will enjoy watching his blood run rivers!' Leaping from the crater with suddenly renewed energy Hidoukai dashed forward while wiping the blood from his face. Looking at himself as he headed back to where he had been 'forcefully blasted from' he took note of the damage the boy had already done to him, deep claw marks dripping blood, torn and tattered clothing, and a constant sting in every location he had been touched by the boy: burns from the red chakra that blasted from the strange teen.

Approaching the clearing he had fought only moments ago, Hidoukai prepared himself and lowered his blade as he increased his speed, the boy was fast, and that only made the fight more and more entertaining.

Naruto's ears twitched at the sound of his enemy approaching, and in an instant spun round and used his claws to catch the blade that would have cut him through. Looking into Hidoukai eye's he snarled in response, stepping forward before forcing his hands apart, his claws snapping the blade from sheer strength alone.

Recoiling at the lose of his blade, Hidoukai had too little time to react and could not dodge out of the way of the raging teen's clawed slash. Feeling the claws slice straight through his chest plate and deep into his chest Hidoukai howled in pain and rage. He reached out to grab hold of the brat, to hold him for a moment before striking him back, but just as fast as he reached out one of the boy's 'tails' wrapped around his wrist and held it back. The next thing he realised he was sailing through the forest again, the boy's follow up punch to the chest winded him completely and blasted him back just over 30 meters, once again being stopped by the hard ground.

"Ugh… I'm going to kill you you little fox brat! Your blood will run between my fingers when I'm finished with you!" Hidoukai yelled out in rage, cursing Naruto in all manor of ways as he struggled to sit up.

The boy's chakra was very easy to identify and Hidoukai could feel him approaching fast, smirking to himself despite the pain it caused him, Hidoukai flashed through a set of handsigns, grinning when three copies of his broken sword formed next to him.

Naruto burst through the trees and leapt high when he saw where Hidoukai had landed, ready to slam a devastating punch directly into him while he lay almost motionless. He growled darkly when he saw him sit up, and reach for two blades that stuck out from the ground. Moving slightly to prepare himself to knock the weapons away he was completely unprepared to have them suddenly sail towards him. The two blades easily pierced his skin, stabbing right through him and sending him in the opposite direction from the force they flew at him.

Crashing harshly into a tree, the blades piercing him pinned him to it and he yelped loudly in pain. Starring at Hidoukai, watching as the murderous man pulled himself from the crater, Naruto growled before using two of his tails to pull the blades from him. He yelped again in pain at withdrawing them, but the pain quickly ebbed away as the Yokai chakra flowing through him quickly healed the deep wounds.

Turning towards Hidoukai Naruto's tails flicked out, throwing the blades back at him while taking the opportunity he willed the dark chakra to his hands, focusing it with several handsigns his hands erupted in a brilliant display of bright blue flame. Seeing Hidoukai forced to dodge the blades Naruto dashed forced, quickly launching his jutsu.

"Kitsune Art: Fox Fire Jutsu!"

The mythical blue flames burst forward from his hands, a cone of searing heat and destruction was launched right at Hidoukai. The flames quickly engulfed him, and Naruto could only grin at his enemy's screams. His chakra surged forward as Naruto continued to power his specialty jutsu, the cone just continuing to grow hotter and hotter till he begun to noticed nearby trees were catching on fire from the temperature alone. But in his rage his mind was clouded, his actions were delayed, he wanted only to destroy the disgusting man who had hurt his Angel.

In an instant Naruto's jutsu stopped, his eyes shooting wide as his body registered pain, and a lot of it. Slowly looking down, he saw three swords sticking through him, each at a different angle. Looking upwards he saw Hidoukai appear before him in a burst of smoke, perfectly unharmed by his jutsu. Partly from the surprise of the attack and the shock of abnormally intense pain, Naruto could only buckle before him.

Hidoukai smirked when he saw his genjutsu take hold of the fox brat, the blades were his specialty, blades made from his genjutsu that induced ridiculous amounts of pain to whoever they struck. Apart from that he could also mix in his own real swords at random, forcing his enemies to dodge each sword just incase it wasn't a genjutsu. But being able to randomly make the blades appear in thin air made his jutsu even more deadly and confusing. Taking this opportunity to attack he quickly unloaded a volley of quick strikes on the boy before blasting him away with a chakra enhanced punch.

Not wanting to let his assault finish so quickly Hidoukai quickly performed the handsigns for his specialty genjutsu, forming 8 blades hovering in the air around him. Bringing his hands together the blades shot forward, seeking there target.

Using his tails for balance Naruto flipped backwards and landed on his feet, the blades that he struck through him had vanished into nothing, and even his current clouded mind could somehow understand they were genjutsu. Quickly noticing the oncoming blades Naruto roared in rage, blasting huge shockwave of chakra from his body, the Yokai easily dissolved the illusion. But to Naruto's surprise, two of them didn't vanish, and sailed straight through him.

Yelping in pain Naruto thrashed in a rage as he pulled the blades from his body viciously. He would have charged forward, his intent to kill his opponent was there, but his body quickly begun to feel 'heavy'. His movements slowed and the world around him seemed to drift and blur before his eyes. Exhaustion flooded his body and against his will his hands dropped the two swords, his eyes drooping as his whole mind begun to spin. His whole body started to ache and deep within him he heard a cruel and dark laugh.

'Heh heh heh, foolish boy!... You can't just keep taking MY chakra and expect me to be ok with it! Your body is too weak to resist using my chakra!... But I won't allow it! IT. IS. MINE!'

Naruto only had the 'pleasure' of meeting his prisoner a few times, and each time it whinged and bitched about how he was taking its chakra. But this was the first time Naruto had ever felt the fox having this sort of control, it was as if the flow of time itself was reversing, all of Naruto's energy seemed to just be drawn within him, being locked away from his use.

Falling to the ground in a heap, Naruto's blood red eyes reverted back to his usual blue with red rims. Blood dripped from the sword through his stomach, and his healing rate returned to normal and as such the wound did not heal immediately. Having such a huge amount of power forcefully taken away from him was beyond painful, and Naruto knelt to try and keep himself from fainting. His eyes shot wide though when his ears picked up on a sound, pure fear clutching at his heart. He was defenceless, unarmed and unable to move before an enemy, would this be his end?

"Well it seems your wonderful chakra has finally stopped! I have no idea how you have such a powerful, bloodthirsty chakra but I will make sure to pay you back a thousand fold for each time you hit me while using it!" Hidoukai said while stepping through the forest into the small clearing, quickly grabbing the fox brat by his throat he was surprised at how 'limp' the boy felt. But it was a detail that didn't bother him, for here was where his fun would start.

Hinata and Shino watched there opponent carefully, studying him while he simply stood motionless smirking at them. Shino used the silence and lack of battle to carefully hide a number of his insect companions in the ground beneath them, it wasn't a difficult task to do, he simple had them burrow directly behind him the length of his coat providing the cover they needed.

"Well well well, I would have never thought I would have ever had the opportunity to fight not one but two of the clans from the 'great' Village Hidden in the Leaves. A Hyuga, and an Aburame. Both well known for there prowess in combat and for there resistance to genjutsu. The Hyuga's Byakugan Eye allows them to simply see through all illusion, while the Kikai of the Aburame clan filter out foreign chakra from there host." Takashi seemed to take a sort of amusing pleasure in seeing the slightly surprised look on the two teen's faces.

"Oh don't look so surprised. Both of you should know that your clans are well known outside of your village, the Shinobi of other lands would be foolish to not be able to recognise the traits of powerful clans. Particularly if they possess a Bloodline trait like you do… 'Hinata' was it? Yes… I shall enjoy crushing you both. I can easily destroy you both without the need for Genjutsu, and after I do, I will take those eyes of yours Hinata. For a genjutsu master to be able to dispel and dissolve any Genjutsu just by sight is a gift too great to pass up." He mocked with a cruel smirk before slowly stretching his muscles.

Hinata was a little shocked by what he said, it was true the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan Eyes were most sort after, it was the reason the Branch family had the Curse Seal on them. So that when they died in battle the Seal would activate and seal there Byakugan so it couldn't be taken from there corpse. However, the Main House was never suppose to lose in combat, and so as a sign of superior skill the Main House was never given the Curse Seal. But without the Curse Seal, it meant that the Main House was often targeted just so someone can get there hands on the Byakugan.

The thought of someone removing her eyes from her was a horrifying one, and it took her back a bit that this opponent would be fighting to kill her, eager for her eyes.

Takashi noticed the look in the young Hyuga's eyes and dash forward, it was the precise effect he was hoping it would have on her. Quickly covering the distance between them in a flash, he stopped just before the two teens and smashed the ground with a surprising amount of strength.

"Earth Style: Shards of Earth Jutsu!" Takashi called out as his fist struck the ground. In an instant the earth before him shattered and hundreds of small sharp pieces blasted up towards Hinata and Shino.

Hinata may have been unnerved by his statement, but her eyes had seen the chakra within him being manipulated, and was more then ready for his jutsu. As the rock shards flew towards her she simple struck each of them down, and Gentle Fist burst of chakra easily shattering them all before they could hit her.

Shino was a little less prepared but it was relatively easy for him to dodge them or deflect with a kunai. His Kikai aided him by flying under and around the shards, enough of them enabled them to alter the trajectory path away from there host.

After the volley of sharp rocks had stopped Hinata and Shino quickly took the offensive, running forward Hinata was first to approach Takashi, and quickly struck out with fingered Gentle Fist strikes, she had seen the way he manipulated the chakra for his jutsu, and while it was surprising to see him use an Earth Style it wouldn't last long as she knew exactly how to shut off his chakra. Her two initial strikes were simply pushed aside, with surprising force by one hand that almost overbalanced her. But using her superior flexibility she quickly spun around and underneath his arm and followed through by slamming her open palms solidly into his chest. But instead of the expected effect Hinata was surprised when he grabbed hold of her arms.

Shino struck straight after his teammates strike, a few quick taijutsu punches followed by a roundhouse kick aimed at the head. But Takashi simply halted the punches with his open hand before catching Shino's leg.

Having caught both of the Genin he stepped back before using his amazing strength to hurl them away like they were nothing. Hinata and Shino crashed hard into a nearby merchant cart, destroying it completely from the force they were thrown at it. While the pain was excruciating they both were up as soon as possible, knowing that Takashi would attempt to strike while they were down.

Sure enough Takashi appeared before them in an instant, his large body appearing a lot bigger then it had just shortly before, his muscles seemed to be bulging and constricting, literally growing before there very eyes. In a swift strike he swung downwards, only barely missing the two Genin when they were lucky enough to dodge out of the way of his huge fist.

The ground where he struck literally exploded, shards of rock and debris flying everywhere barely missing Shino and Hinata. When the dust cleared it showed Takashi standing in the middle of a huge crater just looking at them mockingly. Shino and Hinata had used the time waiting for the dust to clear to get some distance, and Hinata was able to safely analyse her opponent with her Byakugan.

She watched in awe at the way the chakra in his body circulated, its flow was warped, pumping throughout his system like nothing she had ever seen. It was flowing so fast that she could barely see it moving. Far faster then she had ever seen Naruto's flow. And it all seem to be injecting into his muscle tissue, strengthening and growing them at exponential rates. Such a thing should have been impossible! The brain would limit such chakra abuse as it was extremely damaging and dangerous to the body! It was then that she noticed the chakra around his brain, there was the usual present chakra, but there was also another source. The source it was 'controlled' and specific in function and was similar to how one would be affect if they were under a genjutsu.

"W-Wait! Your using a g-genjutsu on yourself!" Hinata cried out, quite in surprise having never seen anything so strange.

"Impressive isn't it?" He asked while flexing his arms, which had been turned into huge bulging muscles. "This is my creation, a genjutsu that influences oneself, affecting and tricking the mind into releasing its restrictions on the chakra network. Its similar to the techniques used by Taijutsu masters where they open the Eight Chakra Gates, only my gates stay closed while my mind and chakra network is 'released' from its restrictions whereas with the Eigh Gates their body and chakra is released. It allows me to force chakra around and to various parts of my body like no other!" Takashi boasted, laughing mantically while flexing his still bulking body.

Hinata would be terrified if there opponent was also able to open the Eight Chakra Gates, because while he was able to 'release' his brain from the restrictions it holds on such dangerous chakra manipulation, he hadn't increased his chakra itself or released the restrictions on his muscles. That was only something the Eight Gates could provide and while it would probably do extreme damage to his body, if he was able to utilize the Eight Gates also then this battle was over. The one useful piece of information though was that without the Eight Gates, his chakra was the same levels as any other Shinobi. Meaning her teammates beetle companions would be very helpful in disarming there opponent.

The other major problem was he was an Earth Style user too. The reason her strikes hadn't done anything to him was because he had encased his entire body in a thin but strong layer of rock.

"Hinata-san, what do you see. What is he doing?" Shino asked urgently, he could see the worry in her eyes and knew already from the very instant there opponent used an Earth Style Jutsu that they were outclassed. They needed a plan, and fast or they would not survive.

Hinata looked at her teammate in slight worry, but resumed her families stance while watching Takashi approach, not wanting to reveal to the enemy what she had discovered she passed on her information through signal handsigns.

'Hmm… interesting. That is a dangerous thing to do to ones body, but if what Hinata-san says is true we might still have a chance, we just need to figure out how to get passed that armour.' Thinking quickly to himself he spoke to his companions within him, instructing them with a future set of instructions. He only hoped they could survive long enough to break that armour, otherwise there was nothing they could do.

After her instructions were relayed she nodded to Shino for confirmation and at his nod they both charged forward again.

"Oh? Still willing to try and take me on? You two have guts I'll admit that, but you are also both fools. Nothing can stop my jutsu!" In a show of strength and superiority he flexed his muscles before them, laughing with insanity when they only grew once more. Seeing the two genin rush for him he quickly moved his hands together flashing through a series of quick handsigns. "Die tiny genin! Earth Style: Mud Vortex Jutsu!"

Sharp eyes darted quickly through the forest foliage. Carefully analysing and watching for any signs of movement. The slightest uncaught feature, the smallest missed detail can very well mean death for a high level shinobi battle. It was times like this when Kurenai would appreciate the assistance of her students. While she herself was more then capable of such high level fights, have the ability to see for miles around her, or hear and smell her opponent, or deduce his location with insects that searched for her would be a great boon.

But alas she was not gifted with such traits, instead her talents all lay in the genjutsu arts. And while not good at finding an advisari, they were incredibly useful for 'luring them out'. A quick flash of handsigns and the world around Kurenai rippled slightly, before returning to normal, it was a small flicker at most, but its affect would be monumental.

She had thought of perhaps performing a few others but this one she felt suited the situation. Taking a quick glance around Kurenai smirked when she felt her brother's presence. He may have advanced since there last encounter, but she was the one who would be the victor here, she would avenge her family.

A multitude of bright sparks erupted through the trees followed by the distinct sound of metal against metal. The moment Kurenai took a step forward after her genjutsu she had been being bombarded by more Kunai they she could ever imagine, the whole floor was covered with them. Kurenai on instinct had withdrew a kunai and had begun to deflect what she could, but even then the sheer magnitude of the waves of kunai was immense, and she could never block such an amount.

Hundreds and thousands of Kunai hailed down upon her, and dozens struck her and sunk deep in her flesh, the pain was immense, each blade hurting like they were piercing down to the bone. Not caring stop the rest Kurenai just placed her hands together and in an instant the kunai flashed and changed to cherry blossoms. Changing from a hail of death to a veil of flowers.

"You will need more then that brother!" She called out, her wounds caused by the fake kunai disappearing as they did.

"Oh? I don't have to try much more, that was only the beginning." Idakai's voice echoed loudly around her, and seemed to carry a darker undertone even for him.

In a flash Kurenai spun around, sparks flying as her kunai clashed with her brothers. He had appeared behind her so suddenly and when she met his gaze she couldn't hold back the shiver from the bloodlust she could see within, his gaze was the epitome of sickening.

Attempting to rid herself of the sight of his face, she struck out with her fist, and quickly following it up with a roundhouse kick when he caught her hand. But as her kick struck, his body turned into mud, which quickly erupted and wrapped around her, holding her in place.

Idakai appeared infront of her in a flash, quickly retrieving a kunai from his holster he ran up to her and in an instant slashed the blade through her throat. Blood poured from the fatal wound, and Idakai momentarily lost himself in the morbid fascination of watching his sisters blood run. But it didn't last forever, as the blood that fell from her quickly disappeared into this air when Kurenai's body simply dissolved into a volley of pedals.

"This is starting to get repetitive imouto! Don't you have better ways of fighting?" In response to his aggravated demand she appeared behind him, her leg whipping out and slamming into the side of his head. She had not been prepared for the side of his head to have turned into long knife however, and she resisted the urge to scream in pain as the genjutsu knife cut straight through her leg.

She recoiled from the attack, and lent to the side to relieve the pain surging through her leg. It was all false pain, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.

"Come-on imouto! That was pathetic! You should have known I would be ready for such an attack!" He mocked with a displeased scowl. He had thought his sister was better then this. He wanted a REAL fight! Not this disgustingly pathetic one! How would he prove to her who was better when it was so obvious?

Kurenai just glared at her brother before undoing the damage of the genjutsu by simply dispelling it from her system. But, what she made sure her brother didn't see was that she added a few more handsigns to the dispel, the same set of handsigns she had been secretly sneaking in since she arrived in the forest.

"I did know you were ready, I expected such a result. Now, let us finish this!" Kurenai yelled as she reached for her kunai and charged forward, an action mimicked by Idakai.

She would avenge her family, one way or another, she would kill her brothers this day.

Naruto tried desperately to struggle against Hidoukai as he was lifted up by his throat, the grip was strong, far stronger then anyone had ever held him before, Hidoukai was literally crushing his throat, he couldn't speak, he could breath, and worst is he couldn't even stop him. He tried to force his tails ups, for any of them to reach up and grip the hand that were crushing him and force it to let go. But alas they didn't move, his most powerful and strong limps were dead to his will, nothing of his body worked, his body was completely drained of any energy he had never before felt so… 'empty'.

'Curse you you bastard fox! You ruined my life! And killed so many! You will NOT kill me!' Naruto screamed within his mind, but his only reply was the foxes deep chuckling.

"So, any last words fox brat?" Hidoukai yelled mocking as a sword materialised in his hand, and Naruto could tell this one was real. "You put up quite the fight but it seems your wonderful chakra was the only reason you could do anything! And that seems to have some drawbacks too! I will enjoy making you bleed before me!" Hidoukai Screamed with an insane laugh, clearly enjoying this turn of events far too much he drew his blade high ready to strike and slice Naruto's head clean off.

Time seemed to slow down around Naruto as his keen eyes watched the blade approach, his mind drifted to many things in those short seconds, to his childhood remembering all the harsh treatments of the villagers, to when he first met Hinata, to images of his mother and of his sisters. Images of Sarutobi, of the village, of Teuchi and Ayame at his favourite ramen stand, of his time with his friends at the academy, to his first missions in the village. These images flashed before his eyes quicker then Naruto could comprehend, and in those split seconds of life before his death, a tear shed from his face when he realised he would be leaving behind the one he loved, he would be leaving his Angel alone.

'Heh heh heh… foolish boy… such a pitiful life you have and to remember so much of such a terrible existence in such a short time… but you don't have to worry about leaving your precious 'Angel'. I don't want to die just as much as you! So get rid of this weakling! It's an embarrassment to have my jailor so weak and pathetic that he can't even defeat such a worthless human…'

Naruto hated that he could hear the bastard fox, usually he had to be in his own subconscious to converse with the beast, but hearing his cruel and vicious tone echoing in his head was torture. But when the fox finally shut up Naruto felt a surge of power return to his body, it wasn't the fox's yokai chakra, just his own normal chakra network returning to his control.

His natural strength having returned once more he was able in a solid quick movement turn his head, catching the blade skilfully with his powerful jaw he easily snapped the blade clean through with his sharp fangs. Before Hidoukai even had a chance to respond Naruto quickly used his tails to pry the bastards grip off his neck before lunging forward.

"This is for Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled with vengeance before slamming his fist into Hidoukai face's. A sickening crunch was heard when the sheer strength of the punch literally shattered his checkbone. But Naruto was far from finished. The tail still wrapped around his hand pulled him back, halting him from flying back from the impact of the punch and straight into Naruto's clawed strike, severing straight through his throat.

Naruto landed and coughed up a little blood, the blade that was still lodged in his chest had moved slightly after his attack and hurt almost like it was his own throat that got ripped open. Yelping and whimpering in pain, Naruto carefully removed the blade with a tail, and used another two tails to snap the thing in half. The wound began to heal, but Naruto would definitely have wanted it to heal faster.

But it didn't matter, he had won, he had defeated his first real opponent and as the realisation of that accomplishment set in, a smile of pride appeared on his foxy face. He turned his head slightly and attuned his ears, they twitched every slightly while he scanned for sounds of battle. He had over time learnt to paint mental pictures of his surroundings just by sound, and so he could tell that his team wasn't far. Although he couldn't hear any sign of his sensei.

A secondary sound that he wasn't particularly listening for caught his attention, and Naruto barely had a second to dodge the blade that flew straight for his head.

Immediately focusing his attention back to his local area Naruto scanned for Hidoukai. The 'body' lacking a head had seemingly turned into a log with its top half removed, telling him that Hidoukai had used a substitution at the last second. And only a few meters from the treelines Hidoukai stood. But this time he had a different look on his face, gone was the crazy and murderous persona and in its place a man a solid steel will stood before him.

"You brat! No one has forced me to take such close measures just to save my head from be ripped off my shoulders! It's an insult that a mere genin is able to get close to besting me! I wont allow it!" Screaming at Naruto in unbridled hatred and rage, Hidoukai flashed through a rather long series of handsigns, and from his sleeves six blades appeared. They began to rotate and twirl around him, and after a few more handsigns six more blades appeared around him.

"You have no doubt already noticed that my blades can be both real or genjutsu. One I control with a Puppet Master ninjutsu, while the other is illusion. One will slice you open, while the other will trick you into thinking you got sliced. Either way, you have to dodge all!" In a burst of speed and superior skill, Hidoukai disappeared from sight and reappeared infront of Naruto. Three of the blade spinning around him swung at Naruto, who quickly on instinct batted them aside with both tails and claws.

But as soon as the three swords were swatted away another three filled there stead while two spun around and tried to slice his legs clean off. Knowing he couldn't knock them all away Naruto jumped back swiftly to get distance, but when he did another blade struck him as he jumped, slicing deeply into his shoulder.

Landing with a skid Naruto grabbed his shoulder and yelped in sudden pain. The blade had cut deep, and he could feel his arm become partially unable to respond to his will, indicating either it was a genjutsu or a ligament had just been sliced. Either way the blood the ran from the wound was enough to bring him back into reality that he had to stay focused.

Listening with his sensitive ears Naruto leapt high into the air, dodging Hidoukai and his spinning blades from cutting his head clean off. Digging down deep Naruto quickly willed his darker chakra to his control and flashed through the necessary handsigns.

"Too slow bastard! Take this! Kitsune Art: Tornado Fox Fire Jutsu!" Breathing in deeply Naruto exhaled a gale of majestic blue flames. They exploded outwards and turned into multiple streams of fire. Those streams quickly bound together and began to spin rapidly, forming a huge tornado of blue fire that surged towards the ground where Hidoukai stood. The flames plunged into the ground, covering a wide area and incinerating everything it touched.

Hidoukai was easily able to dodge the flames, and had leapt back a number of paces to avoid the jutsu. But it came to his complete surprise when the tornado of blue fire spun rapidly along the round, following him as he tried to dodge away from it.

Naruto landed with a focused Ram handsign, controlling the flames from a distance hoping to capture his target within them. Naruto could see Hidoukai was beginning to panic as the flames chased him, ever encroaching on him, and it would only be a short while before they caught up to him. The jutsu wasn't able to forfill its purpose however, as his concentration was broken again by a sword piercing straight through his chest.

The surging yokai chakra in his system from using one of his Kitsune Arts caused the sword to vanish quickly however, signifying it was only a genjutsu blade. But his concentration was still broken and grabbing hold of his darker chakra was not particularly easy right now, the fox was obviously still in a mood.

The jutsu dissolved soon after, leaving only a trail of incinerated ash as the ground it travelled along. Hidoukai appeared next to him soon after, a flurry of blades spinning around and striking at him. Naruto could do nothing but dodge some and use his tails and claws to knock away the rest. But it was not an easy task, and quite a number of times the blades nicked and pierced his skin. Some of the times even cutting slightly into his tails.

This attack continued for awhile, Naruto was left completely on the defensive and couldn't even hope to get close enough to counter attack, cause as soon as he blocked and/or knocked a blade away it had already spun around and begun to attack again. The constant pain from the cuts and the slices that would follow every slip up were effecting him harshly, and he could feel his body begin to slow from the exhaustion.

Knowing he needed to do something, anything at all to get some distance, Naruto forced a huge concentration of chakra to his feet, skyrocketing him backwards.

"Oh no! You won't get away from me you little fox brat! My blades will bath in your blood!" Hidoukai just copied suit, and lunged forward with a burst of chakra.

He had hoped to get enough distance to think of a counter attack but Hidoukai had already begun to rush forward towards him. Hoping to get more distance away with a jutsu Naruto quickly prepared another fox fire jutsu.

"Kitsune Art: Explosion of Fox Fire Jutsu!" Unlike his other techniques that were employed from his hands or mouth, this one formed all around him, like an aura of blue flame surrounding his body. In a pulse of power the fox fire literally lived up to its name and exploded in all directions. Sending a powerful and destructive wave of blue flames blasting away from him. It was a chaotic jutsu that practically could not be used in any team situations, as the fire held no bounds as it pushed outwards.

Hidoukai was forced to dodge back several meters, and upon noticing that the flames refused to cease there pulse outwards, incinerating everything that touched, he was forced onto the defensive and resorted to a simple barrier jutsu with his blades. "Ninja Art: Barrier of Puppet Blades Jutsu!" The six real blades, as well as a handful more that appeared from his sleeves, broke into a thousand pieces. And quickly formed together infront of him as a single huge shield with spiked edges. The metal disk quickly began to spin at increasing velocities and Hidoukai shifted himself behind it, the shield folding the flames away from him with it spins.

When the flame passed Hidoukai disgruntledly threw away the shield upon inspection. It had been super heated and melted beyond use. It was a waste of several of his real blades, but it had saved him from getting roasted alive by the strange blue flames. He noticed that his genin opponent seemed significantly worn out from that jutsu and decided it was about time to end this drawn out fight. Summoning more blades from his sleeves and creating more genjutsu blades, he charged forward with the intent to end the brat's life.

He stopped suddenly though when something caught the corner of his eye. Knowing to be always aware of his surroundings he paused to make sure it was safe, to both his and Naruto's surprise a small girl hurried out from the underbush, stepping onto the charred ground.

"Naruto-Fox!" The little girl called out, completely unaware of the danger she was putting herself in. Most young children wouldn't understand the situation, it was not there nature to know such things.

Hidoukai despised children, and having one interrupt his fight fuelled his anger. He would have dealt with her later but he saw the sudden fear appear in the fox brats face. He knew that look of fear, it was the fear of danger to a loved one. This girl obviously meant something to him. Usually it was above him to toy with his enemies in such a manor, but imagining the pain it would bring the genin was just too much an opportunity to pass up.

"Foolish girl! Die!" Hidoukai yelled loudly, spinning around and launching five real blades straight at her. He only smirked at the look that appeared on the fox brats face.

"KIKYO!" Naruto's mind kicked into overdrive seeing the blades fly towards the little girl who had taken a liking to him, the world seemed to shift into slow motion as he felt himself just act. His body moved completely on its own accord, rushing towards the girl. But seeing the world in slow motion revealed that he would not be able to reach her in time, the blades approaching her far faster then he was moving.

'NO! NO! IT CAN'T HAPPEN AGAIN! WHY CAN'T I PROTECT HER? WHY CAN'T I EVER PROTECT ANYONE?' His mind was rushed as he carried on moving towards her, to move her, or intercept the blades, he didn't care! He just had to stop another person that was precious to him from being killed infront of him.

Images of his mother flashed before his mind, images of her smiling, of her speaking to him with a kind face. They tormented him, he saw her die, he had seen her pass from this world and he could of stopped it had he been able to smell the chakra metal earlier. But he had been too weak then to stop it, and because of that weakness Hitomi, his surrogate mother, was killed. And now, even now he was too weak, he wasn't fast enough, and now Kikyo would die too.

'DAMMIT! WHY AM I ALWAYS SO WEAK?'

The world before him seemed to ripple slightly, and for a second he had to wonder if time itself had just stopped. Closing his eyes he desperately tried to rid his mind of the haunting images, knowing that when he opened them again he would be seeing Kikyo dead at his feet made him feel like keeping them shut forever.

But that suddenly changed and his eyes shot open when he heard a vicious, cruel and booming voice of evil echo around him.

"Foolish boy!... You can't hope to save everyone, the mortals of this world all have to die eventually, sometimes things happen that cause those deaths sooner for some. Even you yourself have ended someone's life shorter then it was supposed to be. This little girl will just have her life, cut very short indeed… Heh heh heh…" The fox seemed pleased when its jailor glared up at it with eyes of pure hatred and rage, it was those emotions that it was most known for, and he relished in causing his host such emotions.

"SHUT UP! What the heck do you know about life you bastard fox? You just sit around all day inside me doing nothing but making my life hell! Even when you were free you made many other's lives hell! Your nothing but a heartless monster!" The words didn't particularly seem to sting the fox, more just attack its pride.

"Don't you DARE try to insult me you foolish brat! I would feast on your marrow if I could break these damn seals!" Naruto in his anger at the fox and his unwillingness to accept he would see another death had missed a detail about the fox just now and earlier. Every other time he had 'visited' his prisoner the fox had been 'tired and worn out', but this time he spoke with a more powerful tone, and he was able to stand and even glare at him through the great iron bars.

Looking around him he noticed the usual wisps of red chakra floating around the room, but unlike every other time he had been here, they weren't flowing towards him, instead they were being drawn towards the seal on the cage. Naruto had known that since the fox had forcibly taken its chakra back that it had been uncooperative to let him use its chakra, but looking around the wisps of red chakra were also being drawn from the tunnel leading out of the sealing room, the fox was stealing HIS yokai chakra!

"You bastard fox! What are you doing? This chakra is mine!" His last attempt at getting the fox to speak had just annoyed it, but this time he had really managed to piss it of.

"SILENCE! This chakra is MINE! You have been stealing it since I was sealed inside your wrecked body! You body was changed originally when I was sealed, and it has been producing more of my chakra as you have grown, but. It. Is. Still. MINE!" Naruto just growled defiantly at the fox in return, his tails waiving menacingly in a fashion similar to how a young fox would rebel against its elders.

Walking up to the cage Naruto barked aggressively at the fox before slamming a palm down on the paper seal over the cage, his other hand forming a half-handsign. "I never wanted YOUR chakra! But if you try to take mine then I will only take it back!" In his mind Naruto pictured the same access method to his yokai chakra as he would if he was preparing one of his Kitsune Arts.

In an instant a huge flood of red chakra burst from down the tunnel and surged into the sealing room. It flowed around the whole room in a torrent, before rushing towards Naruto and entering him. His body quickly changed into its more feral state as he felt the wave of power surge through him, holding his position he opened his eyes again to glare up at the fox with blood red slitted eyes, watching it as it slammed against the gates in rage at what Naruto was doing.

"For causing me so much trouble it is you who should be giving me chakra as rent for living in my body!" Following the same method to access his own yokai chakra, Naruto shifted his thoughts to the fox, and using the same method willed it to be drawn to him.

The fox roared and slammed against the cage in incalculable rage, demanding that Naruto stop or it would ripe his soul apart.

"Stop this! STOP THIS! NARUTO!" Naruto had never heard the fox refer to him by his name before, and that only spurred him on more. Within moments red chakra began to seep from the bars of the cage, and filtered out into the room. Unlike his own yokai chakra which was red wisps. The fox's was a red bubbling goo. He willed the foxes chakra too him, and his own yokai flushed out and grabbed hold of the foxes chakra, seemingly battling it as it pulled it towards him.

Huge amounts of the Fox's chakra was pulled from within the bars, and Naruto's eyes flashed a pure white momentarily when the chakra converged on him, being drawn into his body. He howled in pain from the heat of it, but he was use to the power from using it several times so the pain wasn't overpowering. Feeling enough of it enter his body after a few minutes Naruto took his hand off the seal and ceased his focusing.

Stepping back slowly his blood red eyes starred into the cage, seeing the fox laying down and breathing heavily, just as it always use to. "This chakra is mine you bastard fox! So don't take it! You owe me it for living here and causing my life to be hell!" Naruto's only answer was a tired but still powerful growl from within the cage.

Satisfied that he taken back his yokai enough of the fox's to help him Naruto closed his eyes and willed himself to wake, leaving his subconscious before hearing the fox's words.

"You will pay for this… Naruto…"

His eyes snapped open and he was greeted with the slow world he had left not even seconds ago. Time didn't seem to pass while he was in his subconscious. In an instant Naruto felt a surge of power flow through him, the yokai mixing with his normal chakra and coursing through his system. His eyes turned blood red and his features became more wild and pronounced, while his claws grew slightly and sharpened. The same transformation that occurred every time he tapped into the fox's chakra.

Except… this time it was different. He hadn't tapped into the fox's chakra subconsciously through sheer rage. This time he had forcibly taken some of it. The power was the same, and it pulsed through him the same, but this time, it didn't cloud his mind. He could feel no anger, no hatred, no rage, no bloodlust. Just power. He would admit it wasn't even half the amount of power when he was tapping into the fox's chakra through rage, but this was more then enough for what he needed it for.

Kikyo had been overwhelmed with joy when she had found her foxy friend, she had been looking for him ever since he went to leave her village, she had heard a rather loud bunch of sounds that had scared her away from her play area and luckily she had been able to sneak away while her mommy was distracted by the loud sounds. She knew if she found Naruto he would keep her safe from the sounds.

Being but a child she had no idea how to find him, she just wandered in the direction that felt right, luckily, or unluckily in this case, she could feel his weird 'presence' easily and just followed it. At times she thought it felt really angry and scary, but other times it was a calming presence.

She had somehow found her friend, he was in a strange clearing in the forest, staring at a scary looking man, and she called out to him with joy. But the events that followed was confusing, one minute the scary man was yelling at her, the next her friend stood crouched over her, a shocked look on his face. But even at her age, she could tell that the five large spikes protruding from his chest and stomach, and the blood that dripped off him was not a good thing.

Naruto stared down at the little girl he had bonded with during that short stay at the village, she was looking up to him in both surprise at his sudden appearance and child-like worry for the blood she saw.

"N-Naruto-fox? Are y-you ok?" Kikyo asked in a trembling voice, unsure of what had just taken place.

"I am now. You are safe Kikyo-chan… I… GAH!" Naruto yelped loudly in pain as the blades were twisted sidewards, cutting deeper into him before they were harshly withdrawn from his body, pulling him back slightly. He would have stumbled, had he had the energy to even move, the world felt… cold? He could not even remember closing his eyes before the world went black.

Hidoukai howled in murderous and insane laughter seeing his opponent fall down, unmoving. It was the final moments that always made killing someone so much more wonderful!

Turning to the little girl that was staring at the boy's body with wide shocked eyes, he could only manage a smirk while slowly walking towards her, deactivating his jutsu and genjutsu knowing that she wasn't a threat. He would probably prefer to kill her with his own bare hands anyway. But a voice calling from the forest caught his attention, it was the voice of a woman.

"Kikyo-san? Kikyo-san? Where have you gon- oh! There you are Kikyo-san!" From within the forest stepped the most beautiful woman Hidoukai had ever seen. And he had seen A LOT of women.

She was tall, almost as tall as him and her body was long and slender to match, but had the perfect hourglass curves. Her skin was as pale as a fresh winter snow and her hair a contrasting deep brown reaching down to her mid-back. She had a rather generous bust size that had immediately grabbed his attention, but it was her face that struck him.

Her face was the perfect mixture of playfulness, regalness, dangerous, sharp, intellectual, yet soft and delicate, a refined beauty. Her lips bright red and her face beautifully constructed, set amazingly alight by bright sapphire blue eyes. It was almost like someone had grabbed the best qualities of half a dozen gorgeous women of various temperaments and personalities and melded them together to make this one goddess of a woman, if it wasn't for the ugly village drabs she wore, Hidoukai would have mistaken her for Amateratsu herself!

The woman smiled brightly having found the young girl she was looking for, but that smile quickly change when she noticed the young leaf ninja boy that had come to the village lying on the ground mere feet from Kikyo, bleeding openly on the ground.

She would have screamed, she would have screamed for help and attempted to grab Kikyo and run, but the strange man she had noticed near Kikyo vanished from sight, appearing behind her and held her mouth shut with his hand.

"Now now Beautiful. Can't have you screaming for help, I don't want to have to kill such a fine lady… yet that is." He finished in a low tone almost whispering in her ear before licking the side of her neck, the woman froze at the sudden events and hundreds of thoughts travelled through her head in an attempt to figure out something to do, she had just come to find her friend's daughter, not get grabbed and touched inappropriately by some random!

Freaking out at the situation she tried to struggle free, but Hidoukai just held her tight, before pushing her to the ground. He loved a woman that struggled. She fell on her back and he quickly moved to hold her down in place, this was going to be the best day ever! He killed a whole gang of bandits, a woman in the village, a stupid fox brat, and how he was going to have fun with the most beautiful woman he had ever seen! The perfect way to end any killing spree!

Advancing on her and holding her in place, he could see the fear in her eyes as she struggled again, she would have screamed, but something told her if she did she wouldn't be alive long. Tears began to fall from her eyes, and she begged him not to do anything to her, to just let her go.

"Sorry Beautiful, your mine now." Moving down and holding her harshly he went to steal a forced kiss from her. But that kiss never came, instead he felt a strange warmth around his neck, looking down as best he could he noticed it was furry and fluffy, just like one of the brat's tails. Quickly looking back at the woman under him he immediately noticed her wicked grin. His limbs were quickly held in place by the rest of the woman's tails and he was restrained completely, mere centimetres above her.

She leaned forward with a wicked smile, and whispered gently into his ear. "And this, if for hurting my sensei." Wasting no time the beautiful woman thrust her hand through his chest, having claws sharp enough to cut through metal made it easy to pierce right through, piercing and rupturing his heart.

His eyes widened in surprise and shock at the sudden attack, and it was visible with plain sight to see the life quickly leaving his body. In his very last moments his eyes changed though, shifting from there insane, madman look to one of gentle sorrow and regret, a look completely out of character on his face. Looking down at the 'woman' he had been fooled by he noticed her cheeks had the same whisker like marks that the brat did, he had been tricked by some sort of transformation jutsu. But in a way, he was glad.

"Thank you… I am free…" With his last, yet ominous words, the last lights of life faded from Hidoukai's eyes, and he collapsed, dead.

The woman used her tails to move him off her, and stood up looking down at him with a confused stare. Raising her hands and holding a small handful of reeds high a light flashed around her before her form and shape started to shift and reshape, eventually changing form entirely, and in her place, Naruto stood, still looking down at the dead brother of his sensei.

In a flash of red and orange light a strange symbol appeared like fire above Hidoukai's head, and a similar chain-like symbol on his forehead appeared and began to glow. Naruto was intrigued by the mark and stepped closer to inspect it, but just like they had appeared they vanished, the mark disappearing after the image changed to a broken chain.

Content that this time Hidoukai was dead, Naruto turned back to Kikyo, only to find her laying down on the burnt ground, a slow rise of her chest indicating that she had somehow fallen asleep. Next to her though, was a pitch black crow, said crow was staring at him intently before suddenly flapping a frenzy and flying off.

Naruto ignored the bird and gently lifted the little girl up, and turned to rush back to the village. He needed to get back to his team as quickly as possible and so pumped as much chakra as he could into his legs for the boost.

Covered by the shadows of the treeline, a pair of red eyes with three tomoe marks inside them spun wildly as they watched carefully from the sidelines. The figure the eyes belong to nodded to himself before turning away, a pleased smile appearing on his usually calm and collected face.

"Well done Naruto-kun, you have gotten much stronger."

The ground itself seemed to scream with pain as another volley of sharpened rocks exploded from beneath the soil, another cry of madness echoing around the border of the village.

Takashi stood in the centre of yet another crater, his hulking body of muscle was even visible through the thick clouds of dust from his destructive earth jutsu. "Still going foolish genin? Can't you see you are outmatched? Your clan's gifts are prizes in themselves, but are useless against my jutsu!" He cried while laughing boisterously. He had seemed to Hinata and Shino to be the quietest and most level headed of the three insane brothers. But as time and the battle went on, his mind seemed to get more and more unhinged. And Hinata had to wonder if it was the genjutsu he was using on himself.

"Take this! Earth Style: Thousands Shards of Piercing Earth!" The earth he had just shattered suddenly begun to rise up, and thousands and thousands of tiny needles formed by the rocks breaking down and sharpening. With a clap of his hands the needles flew forth, targeting through the dust at Hinata and Shino.

Looking at the sheer number of tiny needles and watching them carefully with her Byakugan, it was times like this that Hinata curst her inability to perform the Gentle Fist: Rotation. She had far superior flexibility then her cousin Neji, yet her mastery over her Byakugan and chakra points didn't allow for her to perform it like he could. She shifted her stance in preparation to deflect as many as she could, she couldn't outrun them, so this was the next best bet.

The needles honed in on her and caused a literal explosion of dust on contact. Thousands and thousands of tiny rock needles converging on her at once. She had been prepared, but there was no way she could have dodged them all, yet, when she opened her eyes, she realised that she didn't feel any pain, and Shino stood over her, his body a literal pin-cushion to thousands and thousands of needles.

She feared for a moment that he had just shielded her, throwing himself into harms way for her, but her fears were put at ease when his body exploded into a black cloud of Kikai, showing that it was only an Insect Clone that had protected her.

Knowing to not remain still in this battle too long Hinata charged forward, the cloud of Kikai circling around her while she guided herself through the dust clouds with her Byakugan. Finding Takashi within the centre of the cloud she attempted to strike at him with several Gentle Fist attacks, aiming to either shatter sections of his armour of disable a few chakra points.

Shino had been tracking his teammate through his insects and rose up from under the ground just beside her, having hid himself underground to escape the needles he now assisted her in the surprise attack against there opponent.

They attacked in sync, one attacking from behind while the other the flank, Hinata struck Takashi's earth armour in multiple locations, which huge bursts of chakra in efforts to break it or atleast crack it. While Shino took the more direct approach and utilized a set of Taijutsu strikes while instructing his insect companions to cover Takashi and find a way to break down the armour and drain his chakra.

While having not expected them to even be alive after that jutsu let alone counter attacking so quickly, Takashi was completely caught off guard by there surprise attack and did not have the time to block any of the attacks. He could of attempted to dodge or maybe even block, but instead he purposely chose to take each and every hit they could deal him.

They surprisingly kept attacking him for awhile, weaving around him and striking quick and hard. He had to admit he admired there attempt, but that all it was, just an attempt as they didn't even scratch his armour. Suddenly growing tired of them he reached out with his hulking arms, and caught them both, one in each hand.

"Fools! When will you learn that my armour is invincible? Nothing you can do can break such a high density of earth!" Instead of waiting for a response he just used his ridiculous strength to hurl them both away, Shino was sent crashing into the village wall, cracking it severely with the speed he impacted it with. He gave a cry of pain as at least one of his bones cracked from sheer force.

Takashi wasn't someone who couldn't learn from past mistakes, and instead of assuming that wouldn't return he chose to follow Shino and take him out.

Hinata landed fairly gracefully, having been able to right herself in mid air with burst of chakra. But she had been thrown too far away to help Shino in time. Instead all she could do was watch from a distance as Takashi quickly approached her teammate, his huge arms preparing to crush him with a fierce punch.

Shino looked up through now broken sunglasses and actually smirked momentarily when he saw Takashi approaching him. Raising one hand Shino quickly formed a single handsign and pulsed his chakra slightly. Shino hadn't been wastefully attempting to break there enemy's armour with just physical combat, and since he knew that physical assaults weren't the answer he had placed three Explosive Tags on Takashi in there sneak attack.

The result of his chakra pulse was all three of the tags exploded instantly. The explosion restirred the dust up once more, completely covering there battlegrounds and shacking the earth around them. Shino watched intently through the dust, carefully monitoring it for any sign of Takashi emerging. Needing to see quickly what the results of the tags were, Shino ordered his companions to remove the dust.

A huge swarm of Kikai collected together within the dust cloud and as a whole they began to fly like a tornado, and increasing in velocity they were able to quickly clear the area and return vision of the field to there host.

Takashi stood in the centre of where the dust had been, his hulking back half hunched over from the blast, but nothing. Not even a scratch could be seen.

"Ha... haha... Hahahaha! Is that all you can do? A simple Explosive Tag wont be enough to stop me!" Stretching and flexing his hulking body to prove his point Takashi just continued to laugh in a mocking manor. But Shino wasn't paying attention to his opponents mocking, he was surprised to his a very small crack near Takashi's neck, the exact location he had placed one of his tags.

Knowing that Takashi wouldn't take long to attack, Shino had his insect companions assist him to stand. He just smirked again when Takashi's hulking body started shacking the rather destroyed landscape as he charged forward predictably.

Waiting till just the right time Shino signalled for Hinata. "Hinata-san now! 97 degrees!" Takashi would have paused his assault, had he been able to. His body was far to large to stop at such short notice and therefore had no time to react to Hinata appearing only a few meters from him.

"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!" Hinata had been watching everything thought the cloud with her Byakugan, and Shino had been using the cover of the dust to communicate with her with instruction handsigns and so she knew what he was doing. Following his orders she released a stream of chakra bursts to simulate a large amount of forceful air, and expelled it from her palms. And while Takashi's body was heavy in its current state, the force of the Air Palm was enough to send him flying enough in the desired direction.

Shino watched carefully as Takashi was blown aside by his teammates jutsu, and waiting for the sign from his insect companions that everything was ready he activated another Explosive Tag, but this time, one that he had hidden in the ground.

Takashi could do nothing to prevent himself from being blown away, but what he really didn't expect was to land just above another Explosive Tag, that detonated just as he was in reach. His body was flown and blasted back by the explosion, and despite his armour, the shockwave itself was almost enough to wind him. But it seemed the attack wasn't over as he heard the bug brat yell out a similar order as before.

"54 degrees left!" Just like before Hinata responded by blasting Takashi aside with another chakra powered blast. The Air Palm a technique she had only just learnt from her father, and something he would be proud to see her using so well.

This assault continued for seven more times, each time Hinata was instructed on a direction to blast him in, and each time Shino would detonate one of the Explosive Tags he had set. When the final tag was detonated and Takashi left be, whatever was left of the landscape was now just a litter of smocking craters and broken earth.

Hinata and Shino stood together, side by side in there respective stances, waiting for Takashi to emerge from the dust that had once again appeared. If he emerged at all. There response was just a manatic laughter, before he sped through the cloud towards them with almost inhuman speed. Hinata had caught his movements with her Byakugan, she had seen his shift of chakra through his body, from strength to speed. He was preparing to take one of them out. She had been able to watch him through the dust, but Shino had not, and so was unprepared when Takashi burst forward from the dust cloud almost directly infront of him.

Hinata had seen it, and her eyes could tell her that if Takashi's raised fists struck Shino like this, then that would be it for him. The amount of chakra surging through Takashi's body right now would mean almost instant death from sheer force alone.

She didn't know why, or how, but her body just moved on its own accord. She didn't have confidence in this fight, she had been fearing all along that they were outmatched. But she just couldn't let her teammate die. He was her friend, and she could never let him die infront of her. She was always a kind hearted person, but recently she had been adopting more of Naruto's desire to protect.

Moving in front of Shino in a flash she had no defence against his attack, if only she could perform the Rotation, but she couldn't... all that chakra control yet she still couldn't master that technique that her cousin could perform so easily. Seeing Takashi's strike approach she decided to atleast try to hit him also, but from her angle to move infront of Shino it would be hard to get anything but a swipe across his chest.

'Remember Hinata-chan, this is only chakra theory. While I think its good that you are working on it, I don't believe it's possible to make anything from it apart from improving chakra control. But, to help you you can try to focus everything that the scroll told you but into a single point at a time, that way it will be easier to concentrate on.'

Her sensei's voice echoed in her head as she made her strike, she and her sensei had worked alot of that night on the strange chakra manipulation techniques, and while they hadn't succeeded in anything it had given her some ideas. And despite the fact even the scroll said it was probably impossible she still believed it could be done.

She could try? What had she to lose? Takashi's attack would kill her when it struck so she had might as well prove everything wrong about the manipulations techniques as one final proof that she wasn't weak. Following the scrolls instructions she focused the chakra and 'bladed' it then extended it from her hand. She could feel her chakra move but it wasn't right, the bursts would ruin it so she decided to refine it and focus it to just the very centre of her palm. Forcing every ounce of chakra she possessed into her palm she could feel a pull in the very centre, but as her hand passed infront and over Takashi's chest she felt nothing happen.

She expected to feel immense pain, but instead nothing came, looking up at Takashi she saw him literally frozen in place, his eyes wide in absolute shock almost like he had been run through with a blade. Her eyes searched for any reason to his stunned silence, and her answer came when she saw a fine but deep and long gash across his chest, cutting straight through the armour and deep into his chest, so deep infact that blood literally began to pour from the gash.

While she had been too shocked by the sudden change in events, Shino was not, and immediately ordered his insect companions to enter through the break in Takashi's armour and drain him of his chakra. They did as he instructed, knocking there prey to the ground with force and using the break to crawl under the armour and all over his body, eating and draining all of his chakra.

As more and more chakra was drained Takashi's 'bulging' body began to fade, and he started to quickly look more like a gaunt old man. Normally the Kikai cannot drain enough chakra from a human to kill them, but Takashi had been abusing his genjutsu and his body was suffering majoring from the heavily detrimental chakra usage and so having his chakra drained in such a rapid manor his life started to fade, something that Hinata was the first to notice.

Looking up to the two genin infront of him he couldn't comprehend what had happened, one minute he was about to pound the bug brat into dust then the next minute it felt like his entire chest had been ripped open and sliced apart.

As with Hidoukai he suddenly gained a forlorn look over his face, not that you could see much of it being covered in insects and his armour was breaking off. But he looked up at the two genin again, and Hinata noticed a tear running down from the corner of his eyes, she could plainly see that something had come back to him, a memory? But either way it had severely affected him to almost completely change his personality in his final breaths.

"You two... will do well... thank you... for... releasing me..."

Shortly after his words his head fell to the side, the last slithers of life leaving him completely. Shino's companions noticed the lack of chakra on there target and returned to him, vanishing up his sleeves.

Shino turned to Hinata and placed a hand on her shoulder, he noted she seemed a little 'lost' and figured it was an after affect of the battle. He would have thanked her for saving his life, but both he and his teammate were distracted by the sudden appearance and glow of a strange 'chain-like' symbol appearing above Takashi's unmoving head.

If someone was to see Kurenai and Idakai fight that would have just seen both of them standing in a meditative stance mere meters apart. Unmoving and unblinking. But they were both high level genjutsu masters, as so they fought not physically, but in there minds.

In there worlds upon worlds of illusions Idakai stood balanced on a single rocky platform suspended on molten magma while Kurenai was not in sight. Turning around hearing a hiss he placed his hand up and caught the 'lava ball' that flicked up at him. It burnt his hand to catch but that feeling quickly vanished as he removed that small genjutsu.

Suddenly he heard a loud roar from beneath the lava and before even having time to move a huge serpent made of slightly cooled lava sprung up from below, bringing with it a huge wave of lava that threatened to engulf him.

Dispelling the wave he focused his chakra and altered the genjutsu around him. Where it was once a heated pit of lava it was now a dark pit filled with spikes and Idakai watched with a sickening amusing smile as his sister fell from her place in the lava, onto a litter of spikes. The sight of watching them impale her was marvellous, and he was actually a little disappointed when she turned into a volley of pedals.

Turning around to catch her ankle as she attempted to kick him, he noted that his genjutsu was already overruled and they were back at forest. Only this time he was surrounded by hundreds of copies of his sister.

"Please, an imitation of the Shadow Clone Jutsu? Or have you perhaps even mixtured a few real clones in? That could be tricky, but I don't think you would risk leaving your chakra that low sister." Throwing her leg aside he struck out and thrust his blade through her stomach, the illusion simply vanishing. He was starting to get really tired of this game of 'hide-and-seek' they were having but that's how fights went when two genjutsu experts fought so he knew he would have to put up with it.

The 'clones' around him all charged forward the instant he had moved. Idakai would have attempted to fight them all, but this was a battle of illusions so he simply made a huge explosion appear that blasted everything around him and incinerated the landscape. He was left untouched, but a heat behind him suggested he best move.

A huge fireball flew past him as he dodged to the side, quickly flashing through more handsigns he himself turned into a fireball and he blasted towards Kurenai who had appeared from the ground.

Determined to end this properly she dispelled all of her genjutsu and dispelled his with her specialty genjutsu remover again adding the same set of extra handsigns onto it like she had been doing to all her genjutsu this fight. Having removed his genjutsu of a return fireball she found him sailing towards her in person, a kunai knife ready to end her life with.

Spinning up to face him she stopped his strike with her own kunai and attempted to kick him before her could touch ground. Her kick was blocked with his arm however and he simply pushed forward as he landed, hoping to push her off balance. It worked, and she began to fall backwards against her will. More the willing to take the opportunity he flashed his blade out and sliced it across her mid-section, feeling the blade sink true and slice across her he smirked. But he was not ready for her to shift to the side, allowing the blade to cut her a little deeper but also allowing her to slam her fist into the side of his head.

He flew back from the force of the hit and landed harshly, his blade flying from his hand and disappearing into the forest. Kurenai smiled to herself seeing her brother lose his blade from her attack, looking down at her stomach she smiled again seeing only an ever so slightly cut that was barely visible. She had used a genjutsu to make it seem like she was closer then she actually was. Giving her the surprise she needed.

Her victory was short lived however when Idakai recovered from the strike and dashed forward to challenge her once more. "This fight is pointless imouto! Why do you even bother? We are no wear near evenly matched!" To prove his statement Idakai used a genjutsu that affected her instantly, a genjutsu that paralyses the opponent with fear. In particular he chose a the exact fear one feels when they are about to see someone they love die before them.

Dashing forward noticing the effect it hard on her Idakai thrust his kunai straight into her gut, smiling devilishly when her eyes shot wide in sudden pain. He knew she was not really here though, it would be just another genjutsu so he waited for her to vanish. But she did not, her body remained where it was, blood dripping from the clean wound in her stomach. He was genuinely surprised to realise it was really her, and it caught him so off guard that he was completely unprepared from her to punch him fiercely across the face, her petite size betraying her from her strength was impressive, easily enough to send him flying away from her.

"Oh? You are that sure brother? Then let me show you how wrong you are!" Ignoring the blood that dripped from the wound in her stomach Kurenai flashed through a long chain of handsigns, her chakra spiking tremendously as she released everything she could muster.

Plant's seemed to burst to life around her, huge trees and vines suddenly forcing themselves up from the earth, growing in such size and rate that within mere moments they had literally become the size of a two story house.

The vines and trees stopped when they reached that height however, and they slowly began to merge with her body and she started to disappear into the great trees and vines. The clump of flora starting to disfigure and 'mutate' quickly after that. It started with just a few odd blunges but within seconds a multitude of vines erupted from her body, they weaved and tangled amongst themselves and grew in thickness as more grew out from her.

Eventually the vines began to come together, binding tightly and growing in particular forms, shapes began to quickly emerge and eventually formed into a large vine-like Tortoise creature, its huge bulk and four legs were the first to form, then quickly sprouting from its body a huge, long neck of vines grew. The head formed after that, its huge maw a giant venus-flytrap.

The creature stumbled a few times, almost like it had difficulty moving after just appearing. But its stumbling stopped when half of Kurenai's body appeared from the top of his head.

Idakai looked up at the giant creature before him, it was easily 40foot high, and such a powerful genjutsu to create something so lifelike. But he was envious of this genjutsu, it wasn't one taught by his clan! This was a genjutsu she possessed that he did not! And it infuriated him to no end!

In an attempt to remove it from his sight he pulsed out his chakra at the exact frequency needed to get rid of it. But, to his surprise the genjutsu did not vanish, nor did he feel it dissolve even the slightest. He attempted again, and again to dispel it, but it still didn't vanish.

"Where did you get such a genjutsu? Why can't I get rid of it? THERE ISN'T A GENJUTSU IN ALL OF OUR CLAN THAT COULD NOT BE DISPELLED!" He demanded while dodging a sudden strike from the creature, a huge vine that had swung at him, but his answer came in the form of a giant foot attempting to crush him.

Dodging the giant foot was difficult and it shook the very ground as it landed. But Idakai didn't have any time to move to much more as another huge vine swung at him as he tried once more to dispel it.

"You three spent all of your years murdering senselessly with a jutsu you stole. Whereas in Konoha, I have been developing all kinds of genjutsu that you will never possess! Now die!" To illustrate her words she quickly ran through a sequence of handsigns, causing the vine-tortoise like creature to shift and thousands of vines erupted from its 'shell'. They started out all bent and scraggly, but quickly straightened and sharpened to deadly points. In an instant they pointed towards Idakai, and thrust outwards, Idakai's eyes widening in unbelievable and indescribably pain as thousands of vines pierced straight through his flesh.

Idakai screamed to the heavens as he felt his body literally shredded to pieces, the pain was fake, but this amount was inhuman, he couldn't even begin to describe it. It was like ten thousand years of hell was condensed into one split second and unleashed upon his entire soul.

The vines within him split apart, thousands of even smaller vines splitting and disintegrating his body. The pain was unbearable and no matter how many times he attempted to dispel it, the genjutsu never vanished.

Kurenai grew out of the ground next to her brothers body, and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "You are the weak one now brother. I overtook you years ago, I surpassed you in every way. Oh, and if you were wondering why you couldn't release the genjutsu, its because I developed a special genjutsu that works as a trigger-copy. Whenever a certain action is done it triggers, I set dozens of them up to do one thing: trigger when you attempted to dispel this current genjutsu, and simply recast it. I have been setting them up all throughout our fight. And you never noticed."

Kurenai wasn't the type to torture her opponents, but seeing the look of hatred in her pain filled eyes from knowing how he had lost she somehow found amusing. She didn't want to cause anyone any unnecessary pain and so reached out with her kunai and simply slit his throat, an action that was done for real.

Idakai's eyes shot wide in pain, but it was nothing compared to the current pain that wrecked his body so it didn't affect him too much, and as life started to leave him Kurenai noticed an odd look in his eyes, a look she remember long ago, it was the eyes of her brother, and not a madman.

"Tell mother... father... I'm sorry..." He chocked out with his last breaths before falling silence forever. Kurenai stood up and ended all the genjutsu around them and she found herself standing next to his real body in a pool of blood in the centre of the forest not the swamp that had been the last genjutsu he cast. She didn't comprehend his words, they made no sense, and his voice was so calm yet full of regret, and she could see that tears had started to form in his eyes.

Stepping back from her brother she looked up to the sky, a cool breeze sudden blowing around her, a sense of complete calmness surrounded her and she could feel tears falling from her eyes as a relief of many years of built up regret flooded her system. She felt peace, a complete and total peace in both body and soul that she never even knew was possible, she was finally free of her past, she was finally free of one of the brother's that had killed her family.

"You are free mother, father... you can both rest in peace with our family. I have avenged you." So overcome with her own relief and emotions, Kurenai didn't notice the chain like symbol appearing about her brother's head.

Many miles away, a shadowed figure clenched his head in sudden pain, almost like a piece of his mind had been forcibly ripped out from him.

"My lord? What's wrong?" Called a dark feminine voice beside him.

Turning to his right hand guard the cloaked man looked up at her slightly, seeing the worry in her eyes he felt it best to answer, even if he truly didn't care.

"It seems three links of the chain were broken, I have had those three in my services for years, I had never thought they would be defeated so suddenly." The aged man replied, his voice deep and commanding despite his obvious pain. "Don't worry, they were only pawns, there death's are truly meaningless."

The cloaked man stood up from his seat and left the main hall, ignoring the glances he got from his subordinates, the pain wasn't much, but it was enough to distract him from his thoughts. Although, it mattered little, everything he had been planing for many years had finally started to come together, so the lose of three rogue ninja was no loss.

"Soon... the time is soon to break the chains is almost here." He spoke to himself in a dark tone, before breaking out in maddened laughter as his steps echoed down the dark corridor.