[A/N]Here comes Chapter 5. Well, so much for it taking a lot longer for Guren to come out… ^^; Once again, if you're going to review, PLEASE make an account so I can properly reply to you. They're free to make, last I checked, so you don't have to pay for anything. ^_^ [A/N]
~~~DEAD CENTER OF THE FOREST OF DEATH, IN A SMALL CLEARING~~~
Naruto had gotten up to stretch his legs. As he took a step toward a tree, he felt a familiar twinge of pain in his ankles. Wincing and drawing a hissing breath, Naruto pressed his left hand to the tree ahead and took several deep breaths.
"Is everything alright, Naru-kun?" Hinata asked, worried for her husband's health. Naruto looked over his shoulder and smiled.
"Yeah, I'm fine. My ankles are flaring up a bit… I need to find a proper way to repay Sasuke for that one…" Naruto said, taking another hissing breath in between each sentence to clear his mind of the pain.
Hinata jumped up and walked over as Naruto slowly lowered himself onto the grass and leaned his back against the tree. She noticed that he did this in such a manner that left him a decent view of the crystal formation ahead of them. He was making sure they were ready, should Guren come back out.
Without a second's hesitation, Hinata's hands flared with a bright green chakra, which she quickly passed over his ankles to soothe his pain. Naruto sighed deep in relief as the burning sensation in his feet quickly fled.
"Th-thanks, Hina-chan…" he said, gaining a slight, pink blush. He didn't like to admit it, but some things Hinata did still made him blush. The one thing he didn't want her to know MOST was how the sight of her in an apron in the mornings made his face go beet red. Although, he had to admit that he was quite certain she'd figured it out some time ago and only continued to do it to see his face in the mornings.
She looked up with a smile and, noticing the addition of pink to his cheeks, grinned mischievously.
"That's a cute look for you!" she giggled, "Not quite your "Mornings with Apron-clad Hinata" blush, but it's still a cute look!" Naruto's blush grew far deeper and he covered his face. Hinata laughed innocently as she playfully wrestled with her new husband to take his hands away from his face. The escapade ended several minutes later when, quite to Hinata's surprise, Naruto got into it and tackled her after she'd pushed him onto his back. Now, with him looming over her, she flashed him a playful smirk.
"Now, Now, Rokudaime-sama…" Hinata cooed, a small blush creeping along her cheeks, "What could you possibly be planning to do? You have an innocent young woman pinned down beneath you, after all…" Naruto picked up on the subtle hint and smiled back, lowering his face down to rest mere inches away from hers.
With a pondering look on his face, he said, "Hmmmm… I'm not entirely sure, my dear Jonin captain! Perhaps I should contact your superior officer and ask if I can… kidnap you for the remainder of the day?" He winked playfully, making her blush beneath him. He was Just about to reach down to kiss her when he heard a loud cracking sound.
"NO, NO, NO; YOU CAN'T BE DOING THIS NOW!" shouted a female voice from the crystal structure. Naruto and Hinata jumped to their feet and watched, readying weapons and activating their eyes, as the crystal began cracking rapidly. Soon, it was cracked all throughout, and with one mighty explosion that missed the married lovers entirely, Guren revealed herself. She gasped several times, revealing that she'd willed the technique to end on her own.
Naruto paled a bit, but still managed to flash a twisted smile, while Hinata gasped at the horrific degree of damage Naruto had managed to inflict on the crystal-manipulating kunoichi.
Guren's torso had a large, half-healed hole in it from the gun blast, while both arms looked mostly immobile due to the multiple smaller burns and welts along them. In terms of Naruto's stronger attack, the damage was mostly concentrated on her head. Naruto's massive technique had forced her to take on a military-style chop, only the impromptu haircut didn't seem to end there; Guren had only one fringe-like bang remaining, which, along with her mostly bald head and her circular ridge of hair that connected to the two sideburn locks along her ears, made her look like a mountain-borne monk.
However, the damage didn't seem to stop there; blood had begun to flow from multiple sources when Naruto struck with the larger attack, and, and the two Konoha shinobi could see, Guren was missing the skin form the crown of her head. Naruto could have sworn he'd seen solid white. Blood still flowed from her wounds, only it flowed over dried blood that had formed long, scabbed lined from her ears and the corners of her eyes all the way down to her neck, where it seemed to vanish into her dress… or whatever was left of it.
Due to the frontal assault, Guren's clothing had been torn away, leaving what could barely even be called a RAG. As it stood, there was barely anything standing to guard her sensitive bits from the eyes of ANYONE. Hinata felt a little nervous seeing how little clothing Guren had left, but her worry soon passed.
'Don't worry, Hina-chan,' Naruto's voice said, the gentle, calming tone ringing through her mind, 'I closed my eyes as soon as I saw her clothes. I'm not going to open my eyes for this fight. I promised I wouldn't look at other girls, and I intend to follow through on that promise.' Hinata smiled a bit and nodded, activating a hidden filter in her eyes and linking her mind to his. In seconds, Naruto smiled along with Hinata, and the two stood ready, waiting for the first attack to be thrown.
Naruto kept his eyes tightly closed, knowing full well what Hinata had done: using the shared nature of their chakra and abilities, she'd filtered out Guren's lack of clothing and shared images of a completely clothed, but still injured, Guren, directly into his mind, which then travelled as electrical signals to his retinas. He didn't need to open his eyes to know where his foe was now, and he certainly wasn't going to let her get away.
However, neither husband nor wife was prepared for Guren's first action.
Taking a step forward, Guren inhaled deeply and then bellowed, "WHY DO YOU TWO THINK YOU DESERVE PLAYTIME IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE? WHAT ARE YOU, BRAND NEW ACADEMY STUDENTS? THIS IS A BATTLEFIELD, FOR KAMI'S SAKE! JUST BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO HEAL DOESN'T MEAN YOU GET TO BE PETTY LITTLE BRATS WHO SETTLE DOWN FOR NAP TIME WHEN THEY THINK THE ENEMY'S UNTOUCHABLE!"
Hinata winced a bit, but found herself once more in awe of her husband.
Without warning, Naruto shot forth, stopping just in front of Guren to lift her off the ground by her throat with his left hand. The green-haired woman's legs began kicking in the open air while her fingers pried helplessly at his hand. As the seconds past, Guren found her strength failing as the oxygen supply to her lungs became scarcer. The entire time, she stared down, terrified, into Naruto's azure blue eyes, watching as they gained a thick ring of murderous red around the pupils, which soon transformed into a sort of cross. He'd activated his Kyuubi Chakra and turned on Sage mode, causing his pupils to become bars with long, feline slits.
"YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO LECTURE ME?" Naruto demanded, his grip on Guren's throat tightening slightly, "YOU THINK THAT AFTER CRASHING MY WEDDING, KIDNAPPING MY BRIDE, HOLDING HER HOSTAGE, AND TRYING TO KILL HER, THAT YOU GET TO PLAY THE "ADULT LECTURING LITTLE CHILDREN" CARD? GROW UP, WOMAN!" Naruto moved, throwing the heavily injured woman to the forest floor several yards away.
"WE WERE LESS THAN THREE HOURS AWAY FROM OUR HONEYMOON! OUR HONEYMOON, DO YOU UNDERSTAND? We were going to leave for a few months and be happy, and then come back home and live our lives together! YET, YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING TO WALTZ IN, STEAL MY NEW BRIDE AND TRY TO KILL HER? HOW ABOUT I SHOW YOU WHAT YOU'VE REALLY BROUGHT UPON YOURSELF! BECAUSE THE NEXT TIME YOU ACTIVATE THAT BLASTED CRYSTAL SHIELD, I'M GOING TO RIP IT OUT OF THE GROUND AND SMASH IT TO PIECES WITH YOU IN IT!" Naruto shouted, forming a massive orb of spinning Chakra and stars in each hand.
Hinata, knowing what Naruto was planning, did the only thing she could think of: she teleported to their pocket dimension to wait out the results.
Meanwhile, Guren was weighing her options. While inside her crystal coffin, she'd been all but dead to the world. Sure, she was unconscious and verifiably comatose, but she was still able to sense and hear everything outside of her supposedly impenetrable shield. She'd listened, with an almost morbid fascination, as the man and woman who were lauded as the "World's Most Powerful Duo" and "The Indestructible Lovers" had sat back, talking back and forth, sharing in reminiscence of the blonde man's life.
The more she'd heard, the more she had begun to realize that she might be in well over her head. In fact, at this point, watching the man add another three spinning spheres around each of the ones in his hands, while all eight spheres gained a gold-and-crimson hue, she fully realized that if she tried ANYTHING now, she'd be deader than dead. As it stood, she'd wind up so badly destroyed that any celestial being that found her remains would leave her there, complaining about her being "the hardest jigsaw puzzle ever seen".*
For that reason, Guren sighed in defeat and held up her hands, silently declaring her defeat by Naruto's hands.
Naruto knew he should have just destroyed this woman for what she'd done, but he could feel his focus slipping. It had been several hours, and dusk was approaching. He had been up all the night before, nervous about his wedding earlier this day, and he knew that even if he managed to strike her down, he more than likely wouldn't survive. Even if he did, he'd need almost a year of recuperation and recovery before he'd be able to assume active duty again.
With that, Naruto willed the outer spheres into non-existence and dropped the gold-and red chakras from the two in his hands before slamming one into a tree next to him. Guren heard the noise of wood splintering and looked up to see Naruto still holding one Rasengan in his right hand.
"GET UP," Naruto demanded, "And turn your back to me with your hands behind your head. I'm keeping this one at the ready; you even THINK about forming a hand seal, I'm going to slam this right into your BRAIN." Guren nodded, knowing she was completely defeated, and did as told. Hinata stepped out of the sub-dimension at that time and smiled before walking over to her husband.
Moments later, after a couple stumbles on the blonde man's part, Hinata was supporting him with her shoulders, making sure to keep a steady stream of chakra flowing from her right hand to his to ensure his threatening Rasengan stayed active.
Naruto nodded, and, as they walked, mused, "Well, since this fight's basically over, I might as well continue with my story… I think I was just about at THAT point…"
_
CHAPTER 5: INNOCENT PLAY & THE TRUE AWAKENING
OP: "SOUL DYNAMITE" - ACCESS
~ At the time, I didn't understand what was happening. I remembered intense pain, and then everything went black. When I next opened my eyes, I was floating in an endless traverse, with no definitive end in sight. That was, until I spotted the bars of a familiar cage in an unknown room. ~
"Where am I?" Naruto thought. He'd only been floating along in white space for a couple seconds, but now found that he was standing in a small room with a large cage built into one wall. Looking around the room, Naruto found it was all the same: brown walls with long orange streaks of color in random places. When he turned his gaze back to the center of the room, he noticed a couch that hadn't been there before.
"HEY! It's been a while, huh Boya?" said a familiar voice. It was only then that Naruto noticed three sets of hair rising from the couch: Naruto recognized the head of orange hair, but when it came to one full of blonde hair, and another with tomato-red hair, he could only draw a blank. The three heads of hair turned, revealing two men, one of whom was Kozue, and a woman. Naruto's face lit up.
~ Kozu-kun was only too easy to recognize; I didn't know anyone else with his hair color. However, it was only when the red-haired woman spoke that I realized who she and the blonde man were. ~
"LOOK, OUR NARU-KUN IS HERE!" The red-haired woman yelled, vaulting over the couch to embrace the blonde boy in a second. The boy took two seconds to realize who she was. The two broke down, crying into each other's shoulders.
Kozue, with his eyes closed, "looked" at his blonde companion and said, "So, Mina-kun… why aren't you going in there and joining them?" The messy-headed blonde man smiled, a single tear coming to his eyes.
"It's best to give them their space for the time being. I'll have plenty of time to go all emotional over him soon enough, just you wait," The man said.
Chuckling a bit, Kozue looked at his blonde friend again and said, "Really, Minato-kun? I have a hard time picturing YOU, of all people, going emotional. Guess it just doesn't fit in with that "Yondaime Hokage" image you've set out for yourself, huh?" Minato smiled.
"I guess you have a point… But, you know what they say," Minato said, "Appearances can be deceiving. I mean, look at Ku-chan. She doesn't look like much at first glance, but make her mad and she WILL destroy you. I'm lucky I was spared from the same fate as anyone who was ever stupid enough to piss her off!" Minato whispered to Kozue. The orange-haired blind man nodded in understanding. The two cousins had rarely agreed on much, but when it came to Minato's wife, they were in total agreement: stay on her good side, or get digging a shallow grave FAST.
~ It only lasted a few moments, but I felt like my kaa-san understood all of my pain. I didn't realize how much she hadn't witnessed until a little later. ~
Minutes later, the red-head let go of Naruto, prompting the blonde man to lead Kozue over to the two before placing his hand on his son's head and saying, "Hey, Naruto-kun. You've grown up a bit, huh? When I last saw you, you were barely even a foot tall!" Minato ruffled the blonde boy's hair a bit; this had the effect of making Naruto give a beaming smile.
Kozue stepped closer and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Hey, boya, I think it's time to introduce you to your parents. The blonde man here is your tou-san, Minato, while the red-head is your kaa-san, Kushina. And boy oh boy, do we have a lot to get to!" Kozue said, pointing in the direction of the couch. The three others nodded and walked over, Minato once again leading Kozue by the hand.
~ Only then did I remember a healing technique I could use to let him have his eyes back… even if he was just a spirit in my mind. After all, the mind makes everything you experience within it as real as anything outside you experience on the outside. ~
Seeing this, Naruto stopped the group and said, "Hang on, tou-san, can you help Ko-kun down to my eye-level?" Minato was a bit scared, but nodded and helped his cousin down. Naruto flashed through a set of hand seals and, with a slight greenish glow forming over his hands, Naruto passed both hands over his cousin's eyes.
Moments later, when he felt something in his sockets, Kozue opened his eyes, albeit with a bit of care and worry, only to find he could see. He looked Naruto in the eyes, and the blonde boy smiled.
"I thought it wouldn't be right to let you walk around without your eyes, so I gave you your old brown ones back. Although, they don't have the powers you gave me anymore… The medical ninjutsu I used is only useful for restoring body parts you've lost, nothing more or less," Naruto said. Kozue stared at him.
"If you knew that move… why didn't you use it back in the forest?" Kozue asked. Naruto shook his head.
"As far as I was told, your injury was caused by a poisoned blade. The ninjutsu wouldn't have been able to do anything about the poison; the only thing I could have done with it is heal the cut, but that would have sealed the poison in you and killed you anyway. That and… I wasn't exactly thinking straight at the time…" Naruto said as his face turning into a low frown. Minato shook his head and squeezed his son's shoulder gently.
~ It still hurt a bit to realize that even though I'd known the technique to begin with, I had still frozen enough to forget how to use it. It hurt knowing I could have possibly done SOMETHING to help him survive even a bit longer… ~
"Don't blame yourself, Naruto-kun. There wasn't much you could have done to save Ko-kun. Though, I can't help but wonder how you managed to learn that move in the first place?" the older blonde man asked. Naruto nodded.
After the four sat down, Naruto on the floor with the three adults on the couch, he said, "After I was picked up by Jiji, the villagers thought that just because I wasn't given tou-san's surname, I had been "taken over by the demon". Before you ask, don't worry about telling me; the Kyuubi took care of that on the night before I was taught that technique. You see, every year on my birthday, the villagers, minus the kids, would get into a mob and chase me around town until they got me cornered, then viciously beat me. I've always hated my birthday for that reason, as most of the day is spent running for my life, while the rest of it is spent in a hospital bed recovering."
~ Everything I told them was the truth. Many of the other children were only afraid of me and wouldn't step in to help because their parents had drilled into their heads that I would hurt them severely should they ever try to help me. It was clearly a bold-faced lie, but everyone has something that is similar to gospel… and to a growing child, the threat of someone hurting you is gospel enough. ~
Naruto took a deep breath and continued, "When I turned five, the villagers decided to get especially nasty. Just before they left after the beating, several of the men decided tear me up so the doctors wouldn't have enough of me left to heal. I was… stabbed repeated, had my ears, nose, and tongue ripped from my face, and my eyes were torn out. Regardless of the fact that the Hokage Mansion wasn't too far away, Jiji met me at the door before I could open it, and screamed for me not to die on him. He did most of the healing himself, putting me in JUST good enough of a state that the doctors would have an easier job of caring for me. After that, he put out a decree that ANYONE who attacked me in any way was to be immediately executed, unless I felt I should show my attackers what it felt like. The day after, the doctors and nurses spent the day taking turns teaching me advanced medical ninjutsu while the ANBU hunted down anyone who had been involved in my near-death the night before. In all, fifty men and twenty women were executed that day and made an "example" of."
~ It hurt to see my kaa-san crying; it hurt worse than anything else did. However, to see Kozu-kun sitting there looking like he was getting ready to rise from his grave and raze the village to ashes was scarier than any mob of ignorant villagers. ~
Minato was stunned. He looked at Kushina, who'd broken down into a hysterical heap on his shoulder, and then at Kozue, whose eyes were bent into an angry glare. Minato fought to hold back the urge to break down and join his wife in hysterical weeping.
Biting back the tears, Minato asked, 'So, did the villagers stop coming after you?" Naruto laughed.
"HARDLY…" Naruto said, "As it turned out, the execution only served to make them come back worse than ever. Only they took to injuring me in ways that couldn't be easily detected. Sure, they broke a few bones now and then, but internal bleeding and bruises ON TOP of preexisting bruises soon joined everything else. Just before the day Kakashi-san and I found you, Ko-kun, Jiji had gotten the ANBU involved in actually taking care of my every-day activities, planning everything for me and making sure that I had enough food and clean clothes. Aside from Kakashi-san and… I think their names were Anko-san and Yugao-san… Anyway, those three specific ANBU have made sure my life's been rather easy over the past year or so. I owe all three of them so much..."
~ It was always funny watch the three of them drop out of nowhere and use any of the villagers in the mobs as examples of the repercussions of the group's actions. The stunned faces on those people's faces as they realized, or in later cases, remembered, that I had ANBU backing me was just TOO priceless. ~
Kushina smiled at her son. She felt relieved that he had people to depend on for protection. Minato sat there, holding an arm around Kushina's shoulders in comfort; he was pleased he'd managed to befriend members of the ANBU. Meanwhile, Kozue's face remained locked in an angry stare.
After a few minutes of silence, Kozue shook his head and looked at Naruto.
~ This was it: Kozu-kun was going to educate me on my eyes and the various powers they granted me. The day I'd been waiting for was here. ~
"Naru-kun, I told you a few months ago that I'd inform you of the full scope of your powers when you got to Genin. Well, you're a Genin now, so allow me to explain," Kozue said, "Basically speaking, the power of our clans eyes, called the Hoshigan in its earliest stage, comes in five stages. First is the Hoshigan, the basic form. This is identified with a star pattern over the pupil. In this base stage, the user is able to use low-level Jutsu without the need for hand seals by channeling the jutsu into the eyes, where they are shot out as a beam or wave. Wave-type attacks are diluted area of effect and hit LARGE areas in ALL directions, while Beam-type attacks are concentrated direct attacks that can be manipulated by sight. It also allows you to call upon the stars themselves to attack and defend; At best, with basic chakra control, you can summon and use small stars as projectiles or instant shields.
"The next stage, called the Hekihoshigan, or Piercing Star Eye, allows for slightly higher-level jutsu to be used with the eyes, and allows for greater control of the stars, to the point where you can form small weapons from them. This stage can only be attained through three straight days of control exercises where you are forbidden to eat, drink, or sleep at all. Next is the Kajouhoshigan, or Spiral Star Eye, which allows for rapid-fire use of all jutsu of Jonin-level jutsu and below, as well as the ability to call down groups of stars at once. The difference from the previous callings is that instead of summoning two or three at once, you can call as many as twenty stars at once. The weapons and eventual armor you can form with this are stronger than ever.
"The fourth stage, which is the last one before you hit the ultimate level, is called the Bakuyaku Hoshigan, or Explosive Star Eye. This version allows you to fire off Hokage-level and higher jutsu with little backlash, and call entire constellations down from the skies, for various purposes. They can be used for bombing attacks, to form weapons and equipment, or even to summon the beings depicted in them for super-special attacks. However, the fifth and final level, which you should NEVER use, is fittingly called the Saigohoshigan, or Final Star Eye. With this version, the only attack you're capable of is a single, omniscient blast of energy formed of all the chakra you have in your body, which will strike in a spherical formation fifty square miles in all directions. Anything and EVERYTHING caught in the blast will be destroyed, without fail, including the user, whose body becomes the center point of the devastation. Not one single member of the Namikaze clan, minus your tou-san because he never got the eyes, has ever been able to figure out how to perform the attack remotely, without being inside the attack at the time of activation. Maybe… one day… if you're brave enough to try, you'll be able to figure it out and be the only member of the clan to ever do it," Kozue finished. Naruto sat there, silent, as he tried to filter through this information.
~ I was floored for a little while, but thanks to my brain's enhanced ability to filter information, I got the gist of it quickly. ~
"So, basically, as I progress, I'll be able to use more difficult jutsu without using hand seals, except for the ones pertaining to the star-type techniques, right? And if I hit the final version, be careful NOT to use it unless I'm sure I'll be able to get out before the attack starts OR activate it from a remote location, right?" Naruto asked. Kozue nodded.
"Exactly; however, I only know about the final attack, "Hoshiton: Saigo no Ten"*," Kozue said, "is because I saw it twice growing up. My grandfather used it against an invading nation and obliterated their entire army at the cost of his life. Then, a few years later, with a similar situation, my mother and father left the family village to take on an entire invading force by themselves. Their twin version of the attack was large enough to span the distance from Konohagakure to Sunagakure, and left a hole in the earth that was several hundred feet deep." Naruto nodded. He'd have to ensure he never reached that point.
~ The thought of being the FIRST one to ever perform the Saigo no Ten without killing myself was the first thing that set me off. However, I didn't know what else would end up driving me. Around the time I awakened the Fifth Level, I'd entirely forgot. ~
"Naru-kun…" Kozue asked, "Have you ever heard of or used the Kage Bunshin?" Naruto nodded.
"I've read ABOUT it, but never the method of using it. Although, with access to Kyuubi's chakra, I'm pretty sure I could train my Hoshigan to extreme levels in a short period, considering the nature of the technique and how much chakra it uses… I could probably make a small army of clones and train until sundown," Naruto said. Kozue nodded.
"That should help. In the end, the more training you get in within the three days it takes to hit Level Two, the better your chances are of shooting straight past it to Level Three, or, if you're EXTREMELY lucky, Level Four," Kozue said. Naruto nodded.
"Plus, the more clones I train with, the better chance I have of figuring out how to remote detonate the "Saigo no Ten", right?" Naruto asked. Kozue nodded. Minato decided it was time to step in.
~ Tou-san was next to share a secret with me. ~
"Naru-kun, you've already said you know about the Kyuubi being sealed inside you. However, do you know the true nature of the sealing?" Minato asked. Naruto shook his head.
"Strictly speaking," Minato said, "When I sealed the Kyuubi away, I used the Shiki Fujin seal, so in effect, I sealed half of its chakra inside myself and the Shinigami. However, the Kyuubi had two types of chakra at the time, so I was forced to take one portion. I took all of its negative Yin chakra, and sealed its remaining positive Yang Chakra within you. With that kind of power, you're able to do things I never could."
~ Hearing all this was impressing, but it wasn't nearly as impressing as what I heard next. ~
"INDEED HE IS, MINATO-SAN!" a feminine voice said out of the clear blue. All four occupants of the room looked up as a ring of golden light heralded the arrival of…
"KAMI-SAMA," Minato, Kushina and Kozue said together as they bowed in reverence, "To what do we owe the honor?"
"Settle, settle. I'm not here to take you back yet. You haven't even used up the maximum time limit yet," Kami said, "As it happens, I'm here to grant young Naruto a portion of Heaven's collective power." Kushina's jaw dropped, while Minato's eyes exploded from his head and Kozue looked like a deer caught in headlights. Naruto, on the other hand, looked indifferent.
"What does that mean… exactly?" he asked. Kami nodded.
"Simply put, due to combinations in your elemental alignment, you have the ability to summon the beings of heaven to your aide. You will be granted the ability to heal nearly any wound, neutralize any poison, erect holy barriers that can defend against every, and I mean EVERY, type of attack, and even return the dead to life. Well… with the exception of anyone who's given their life with my sister's technique," Kami said. Naruto frowned.
~ I thought for sure we were finished. However… Rarely does life work that simply for me. ~
"NOT ENTIRELY TRUE!" another voice, slightly deeper in tone but just as feminine as Kami's, said from nowhere. Everyone watched as a ring of blackness opened in the floor and the Shinigami rose up from beneath.
"Ah, sister Yami, the boy has the potential for your power also?" Kami said. Yami nodded, and then looked Naruto in the eyes… at least, with the way her ragged black hood hung over her face, at best, she LOOKED like she was looking at him.
"As it stands, due to similar combinations in your alignment, you can call upon my powers as well: The powers of HELL," Yami said, "You'll be able to call upon the powers of pure hellfire, exude corrosively toxic gasses from your skin, and summon the beasts of Hell's deepest pits to attack your enemies. In addition, you, and YOU ALONE, have the power to bring back from the dead any who have ever used the Shiki Fujin."
Minato, hearing all this, thought it over a moment. Soon, his blue eyes looked at the two deities skeptically.
"If Naru-kun has the ability to use BOTH of your powers, then does that mean…?"
~ Surely, you would think that we'd be finished here, right? Once again, it seemed life had it in for me, because it decided to throw me ONE MORE CURVEBALL. ~
"Indeeeeeeed…" drawled a deep, commanding voice. Seconds later, a gaseous being formed behind the two sisters, taking a barely human form as it "stood" and stared at Naruto with non-existent eyes.
"Brother Kon!" Kami said, stepping aside as her sister said, "Why are you here? Don't tell me…"
"Aaaaaas I said, INDEEEEEEEED he does. The young Namikaze is capable of harnessing the powers of true chaos. Aaaaaas he bears both your powers in his body, he is able to combine them to form my own. Iiiiiin the case of my powers, boy, the power of chaos is quite simple. Uuuuusing my powers will allow you to completely invert and reverse your target's natural elemental alignment; thus, you will be able to make their strongest power their greatest weakness. Iiiiiin addition, their weakest alignment will be made even weaker, forcing them to rely on physical strength alone, as before the powers of chaos, genjutsu is completely eliminated,"Kon said. Naruto stared.
~ I couldn't believe it… All that power and it was all because of my lineage and my eyes. It was overwhelming. ~
Kushina looked at her son and smiled.
"I always had a feeling you'd grow up to be a great shinobi, Naruto! Now we know just how great you're going to be!" she said happily. Naruto nodded.
After what felt like a few more hours, Naruto felt something pulling on him.
Shaking his head sadly, Minato said, "I guess it's time to go for now. Don't worry though; you can see us again any time you're sleeping. Just call for us, alright?" Naruto smiled and hugged his father. After hugging his mother and high-fiving his cousin, Naruto regarded the two deities and their gaseous brother.
With a single deep breath, he said, "Is there anything I have to do to fully obtain your powers?"
"Actually, yes," Kami said, "You have to sign a pair of contracts from each of the three of us… in blood. We can save that for a later date, though; you should go now." Naruto nodded and waved goodbye as his body faded into nothingness. ~
Guren nodded silently to herself as Naruto dictated more of his past to his new wife, all the while unaware and seemingly uncaring of whether or not her blonde captor had noticed her listening. The more she heard, the more she realized whom she was dealing with. If this man had really taken down Orochimaru, her old master, as he was reported to have done, she understood how little chance she stood. After all, Orochimaru had once been a higher-than Kage-level shinobi, one of the three legendary Sannin, and, of course, had a staggering list of mastered techniques.
For this man, as a young man, to face him down, not once or twice, but THREE times over a five-year period and make him flee until his downfall, proved her captor's superiority. She almost considered changing sides, hoping she'd be able to learn something useful from him. However, Orochimaru entered her mind once more, and she remembered her purpose.
She had a mission to complete… and she'd be damned to hell if she failed before she was sent to meet her old master.
Little did she know exactly WHAT she was getting into.
~ THE END… FOR NOW… ~
Hope you liked it! ^_^
* - A box of cookies to the first person to tell me who first used the line about "The hardest jigsaw puzzle ever seen". As a hint, it's not a politician; the person who first used this was a certain comedian whose last name rhymes with "TACK", as in "sharper than a tack".
For those wondering, the technique Naruto almost used is:
Hoshi Senpo: Kyuubi no Wakusei Rasen Tarengan=Star Sage Art: Kyuubi's Planetary Spiraling Serial Spheres (Or, for the gamers, "Star Sage Art: Planetary Kyuubi Rasengan Barrage"): a pair of standard grade Planetary Rasengan enhanced with Naruto's special Star Chakra. Normally, the simple addition of Naruto's star chakra would add a heightened level of cutting power, but with the addition of sage chakra AND Kyuubi chakra to the mix, the sheer destructive force of the attack would be enough to level a fifth of the planet Earth. As it is, Naruto didn't use it, not because of the damage it would have done, nor because of what happened in this chapter… but because he was tired and didn't have the concentration he needed to hold the attacks together without having them go off on HIM.