Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach
"Hmm…"- Black Zetsu, Bijuu, Shinigami
"Hmm…."- Seikatsugakari

Chapter 14:
The Story of Two

The UNO guards in charge of the main entrance had no idea what had hit them. One moment, everything had been just fine. All the members of the international conference had shown up, safe and sound and without a commotion. Not only that, but they were positive that no one was stupid enough to target one of the most heavily guarded buildings in the world in this day. But then, in a matter of seconds, all of that peace and tranquility had left the building when an unknown individual, covered in what appeared to be lava, began massacring them left and right. He was too fast for any of them to take any proper aim, and the few shots that a lucky few had been able to get in were melted in an instant by the lava surrounding him. Even their combat vehicles had been rendered useless.

And it was here where one of the last remaining officers in charge stood, taking covered behind one of the destroyed vehicles as his men around him continued to shoot at the old man who didn't even seem to breaking a sweat.

"Yes, that's right. A man covered in lava-no, I'm not making this up, goddammit!" the man cursed in French as he filled his superiors that were inside the building as to what was taking place out here. But apparently things weren't going so well in there either. The world leaders had disappeared. But that didn't concern him right now. All that mattered was getting the remainder of his men to safety.

"We need backup out here! Otherwise we won't be able to hold the entrance!"

Although, somewhere in his mind, the officer did know that it was pointless. Since whoever was attacking them had already gotten inside the building somehow, guarding the entrance was a fruitless exercise. They were fighting for their lives now. And running away wasn't exactly an option at this point. The men still alive had already seen what had happened to those who had opted to retreating earlier on with that wave of lava from before. The officer didn't know just how this could be taking place, but he didn't get paid to think above of what was given to him. Simply to follow orders.

It was then that the man on the other side of the transmission went dead. It could only mean two things: either there was something interfering with their communications, or, in a more likely scenario, the man was dead.

Cursing, the officer focused on ordering his men to keep on firing, joining in as he did so. They were cut off now. Screw orders. They needed to survive now.

It was then that a miracle happened. Out of nowhere, a horde of black SUV's came to halt around the street and them, creating a perimeter. And out of the cars came what appeared to be Watch operatives.

'So we did manage to get some reinforcements, after all.'

Admittedly, they weren't the reinforcements that he had been counting on, but he wasn't about to argue. As that American phrase said, beggars couldn't be choosers. He would take them anytime of the week rather than nothing.

His thoughts about being able to turn this around were dashed, however, as moments later, all around the man covered in lava, white individuals began to sprout out of the ground. The officer, along with his remaining men, could only watch this with wide eyes, their shock large enough that they had even stopped firing. The men from the Watch corporation, however, continued marching towards the old man and his new companions who didn't even look human.

'What the hell is going on here!? Who are these guys!? And are they even human!' Somewhere, the man already knew the answer to that last question.

"Finally!" the crowd of White Zetsu clones screamed as they completely sprouted out of the ground. They all had massive grins on their faces. "We can come out and join in the fun!"

The UNO forces didn't even know what to describe the battle that began to take place in front of them after that between the Watch forces and the weird white things. It was otherworldly. Not that the whole fiasco that the weird old man had been doing wasn't weird to begin with. But still. This day took the notch out of the word weird. One thing was certain among the surviving forces, though: they hadn't been paid enough to deal with this crap.

The remaining officer gulped, sweat dripping down his face. And it wasn't because of the remaining steam either. He had a call to make here. Looking around, he did a quick count of whatever men he still had left, which turned out to be around ten. After that, he knew just what he needed to do.

"Fall back! All of you! We need to regroup!"

The men didn't have to be told twice.

Son Goku watched the fight in front of him which was turning out to be pretty even. It didn't take long for the men under the Watcher's command to realize that their guns had no effect on the clones. So they resorted to their fists. And the clones being as weak as they were, it was a pretty good countermeasure.

'Is that all that I needed to do…?' he wondered to himself before taking notice of the retreating men. It seemed that a few were still alive. It wasn't long before Son Goku knew what he was going to do. After all, he had been tasked with dealing with the UNO forces. And those men fell on that category. Basically, it was his mission to take care of them before they managed to escape. And that was exactly what he was going to do.

However, before he could carry this out, something beat him to the punch. Or rather, someone did.

The remaining men didn't even know what happened in the next few moments. They had been running for their lives under the pretense of regrouping somewhere else. But just as they had been making their way down the deserted street and away from the UNO building, a huge pillar of fire came crashing down upon them, incinerating them in an instant. And this wasn't done by Son Goku either.

Said bijuu merely stood there, a stupefied expression on his face. The clones and the men also stopped fighting, their eyes fixated on the pillar of fire that stretched all the way to the sky and beyond.

Both Black Zetsu and the original White Zetsu appeared on the ground next to Son Goku, the two still attached to the other.

"So, he's finally here…."

Son Goku turned to him at hearing that. "Him? What do you mean by him?"

White Zetsu had his famous grin as he answered, "One of the most powerful gods in existence. Izanagi."

"Izanagi?" Son Goku repeated in confusion, turning to look at the pillar of fire again. "What's he doing here then if he's a god?"

"You don't have to worry about the details right now. But he's the real reason why Naruto placed you here. He wants you to stall him until the final guest arrives."

Son Goku's eyes widened in realization. He knew that there was just no way that Naruto had put him out here to deal with some simple guards. His skills were a lot better than that.

"But still, that's quite the flashy entrance."

White Zetsu laughed. "Hahaha! I like it better this way! I'm sure that it'll prove to be even more entertaining than the shinigamis' battles all right."

"We should get out of the way first, though…."

Just as Black Zetsu said that, the tremendous pillar of fire died down as well as the cloud of smoke that had gathered around. And in the center stood none other than Izanagi himself in his battle armor. If he knew that he had just been responsible for the deaths of some of his brother's creations, he didn't show it. Instead, he was focused at the building in front of him, his eyes narrowed.

'For some reason, I wasn't able to get inside the building. There's a barrier around it…..but one powerful enough to where even I can't penetrate it? Who could be responsible for this?'

His gaze then traveled to the audience that he had captivated, his eyes narrowing even further. He sensed the power of his brother's underling coming from the men dressed in the black suits. He immediately knew that they weren't normal humans anymore. He then focused on the clones, recognizing them to be a by product creation of the damn Juubi. Except for that black one anyway. His gaze finally settled on the red haired man. Just like with the others, he was quick to tell that this was a piece of the second Juubi's power that Uzumaki had freed. Interesting.

The Watch forces didn't stay idle forever, though. They quickly assessed that the new arrival was a bigger threat to their master than the others. So they needed to focus their power on bringing him down first. Almost as if a silent command was given, all of them took off sprinting towards Izanagi whose attention returned to them when seeing this.

Snorting, the god crossed his arms in front of him as fire appeared around him, raging in a violent manner as if it had a mind of its own.

"You dare try to take me own? Fools. You will pay for your ignorance with your lives."

The men heading towards him paid no mind to what he had just said. Needless to say, it proved to be fatal. Just like with the UNO forces before, they too were scorched with fire courtesy of Izanagi himself. The god didn't even bat an eye as the men before him were burned alive thanks to his fire. They had been contaminated with the fool's weak power anyway. And anything related with that man needed to be destroyed. It didn't need to be said that it brought Izanagi great pleasure at being the one to do it. Even if he was going against what Kami had allowed him to do here.

The fire around him continued to blaze as he turned to look at Zetsu, Son Goku, and all of the clones who didn't know what they should do right now.

"You, right there," Izanagi said as he pointed at Son Goku, "you're a piece of the Juubi, are you not?"

Son Goku growled at hearing that. "No, I'm not! I am Son Goku. I no longer have any sort of attachment to the Juubi! So don't you dare insinuate that again!"

Izanagi smirked. "Uzumaki's trickery, eh? No matter. Even if you try to deny what you are, it doesn't change a damn thing. I can feel the familiar power of the beast in you, even if it is a lot weaker. Oh well. It'll still bring me great pleasure when I kill you!"

"Oi, oi, this is getting bad," White Zetsu muttered. "I don't think Naruto expected Izanagi to actually want to destroy the Yonbi."

"It's all the same," Black Zetsu muttered back. "He would have tried to destroy the Yonbi regardless when he tried to stall him. Naruto took that into account. Not that it matters. The Yonbi isn't meant to defeat him. He's only meant as a diversion until the other one arrives since Naruto doesn't want anyone to interfere with his fight with the Watcher."

Son Goku gritted his teeth in anger at being taking lightly. Bringing his hands together, he was instantly covered in his lava armor.

"I'd like to see you try!"

Izanagi didn't bat an eye as a large wave of lava sprung into life behind Son Goku, quickly covering the entire area. Zetsu had to retreat as well, lest they be caught in the attack since it appeared that the bijuu wasn't concerned about anything other than taking down the being in front of him. The clones quickly followed along.

Izanagi grunted in slight annoyance as he saw the lava wave gain in altitude in an instant as it approached him. Raising one of his hands, a pillar of fire materialized in front of him as it clashed with Son's attack. It was like the lava presented no barrier to the god's fire as it repelled the lava back.

"Is that the best you can do?" Izanagi questioned as he put more pressure into his counterattack. "Even for a mere piece, I expected a bit more out of you."

His eyes widened a fraction as out of the fiery clash came Son Goku, his armor still present. Izanagi smirked as the bijuu neared him with a punch aimed at his face. But much like how he had arrived, a column of fire surrounded him in less than instant which sent Son Goku stumbling back.

It seemed that the god's fire was too much for him, even with his lava armor surrounding him completely. Regaining his balance, Son Goku made to try again, his anger at the god refusing to admit defeat no matter what. But he was caught unprepared as Izanagi appeared in front of him in an instant, sending a kick to his stomach which had him crashing into the UNO building.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest again, Izanagi sighed in more annoyance as Son Goku tried to stand up after the impact. The whole area was also covered in flames from the brief confrontation between the two.

"Enough of this, you incomplete trash. You stand no chance against me. You aren't even in my league, nor are you my target. Just surrender yourself to me, and I'll make your end quick and as painless as possible."

"I will not let my father down…." Son Goku muttered in retaliation as he finally found the strength to stand. His lava armor from before had disappeared, however. It had already been made clear to him that it was pointless to keep using it.

Scoffing in even more annoyance, Izanagi replied, "As you wish." He had lost the slight excitement from before, seeing that the part of the Juubi in front of him wasn't worth it. He was about to attack Son Goku again before he stopped as red chakra began to engulf said being. It looked as if he really wasn't going to give up.

Jumping forward, Son Goku roared in anger as his true form erupted into life in an instant, destroying even more portions of the already damaged building. Not that it concerned him in the least.

While seeing the true form of the beast might have frightened many other people, Izanagi wasn't one of them. Instead, a small smile did appear on his face. He could have a bit more fun with this one it seemed. The burning hatred he felt for that abomination sprung back into life at this sight.

Son Goku roared in more anger as Izanagi looked at him without a hint of anger in his face. He didn't hesitate a second as he charged at the god, trying to squash him for all he was worth. And to the bijuu, that was nothing at all. The end result was him running into one of the other nearby buildings as Izanagi had disappeared without a trace, stumbling for a few moments.

Regaining his balance, the bijuu looked around, trying to find the so called god.

"While your size may intimidate some, it doesn't have such an effect on me."

Son Goku was quick to look up, coming face to face with Izanagi who was now flying thanks to a pair of wings made completely out of his own flames.

Izanagi looked down at the beast as he created an arrow made out of his own flames in his right hand. "I've had enough of this little game. I have more important matters to attend to than you, Yonbi."

Before Son Goku could say or do anything, Izanagi brought his arm back before throwing the arrow forward at an amazing speed and precision. Needless to say, Son Goku didn't have a chance of dodging, mainly due to his gigantic size.

Izanagi watched in satisfaction as the bijuu began to howl in pain the moment the arrow pierced him. It wasn't long before the bijuu's whole body was engulfed in flames which said beast couldn't put out.

The god landed on the ground as if he had no care in the world as Son Goku's form changed back into his human one after the flames that had engulfed him began to calm. What remained was a badly wounded man with most of his skin damaged as well as what remained of his clothes.

Izanagi hmph'ed at the sight as he began to walk towards the downed bijuu, intent on finishing the job. At least, that was his intention until two White Zetsu clones sprung from the ground underneath him. Their intentions were made known fast as they each clung to one of his shoulders like their lives depended on it. Which, if they thought about it, it did. But it was also a huge mistake on their part. Let it be known that the clones weren't the brightest of the bunch out there, though. At least, in most cases.

"Sorry," said the clone to the left with a grin, which gave the idea that he wasn't, "but we can't let you kill him. There's no telling what Naruto would do to us if you did."

But Izanagi wasn't paying attention to that. Instead, another particular detail caught his eye. "You dare lay your hands on me? The most powerful of gods!?"

The sky above them began to change into a fiery red. The two clones thought this to be weird as they noticed this. But that was the last thing that they were able to think of as they were burned to a crisp in an instant.

"Fools," Izanagi muttered in extreme annoyance. He turned his attention to the downed man again but before he could do anything it was Black Zetsu that appeared in between the unconscious bijuu and the even more annoyed god.

"It's your turn now, eh?"

"You already know why."

Izanagi merely hmph'ed again as he was about to get rid of yet another obstacle that had appeared before him. But he stopped dead in his tracks as he heard a very familiar voice that he hadn't heard in ages.

"It seems you're still the same arrogant bastard that I last saw all those years ago."

Izanagi remained frozen for a few more moments before he slowly turned around, coming face to face with the last person he had expected to see in this day. Or ever. Izanami.

The goddess sent him a smile that was anything but warming. "Aww c'mon, my dear husband, don't tell me you've forgotten about me? The woman who you swore to spend the rest of your immortal life with? I'm pretty sure that must ring a bell to you."

Izanagi couldn't comment, still frozen in his spot. He still couldn't believe what he was seeing. Behind him, the original White Zetsu, who appeared next to Black Zetsu, took the opportunity to get the injured and unconscious bijuu out of the increasing tough situation. Besides, he had completed his objective.

Black Zetsu simply stared at the new arrival, evaluating her. Even though he had heard about her from his counterpart, this was his first time seeing her. If he were to judge on appearance alone, he would say that Izanagi could wipe the floor with her easily. But he knew better than that. The way the woman carried herself with such confidence carried a whole different message. Not to mention the fact that she had been able to sneak upon everyone. He also considered the confrontation that she had had with Kushina. Finally, there was the fact that Izanagi was still rooted in his spot. All in all, Black Zetsu knew that he was about to witness quite an interesting confrontation.

Just as he was about to retreat back into the ground so that he could witness the fight from a better and safer position, another individual made her presence known as she landed directly in front of him.

Black Zetsu's lone eye widened in complete shock as he stared at the woman. "YOU! But how…..!?"

His outburst didn't deter either Izanagi or Izanami as they continued to stare at each other for a few more moments. Finally coming out of his shock, Izanagi narrowed his eyes at the woman in front of him.

"How are you still alive!? I thought my brother had killed you during the war!"

Izanami chuckled at that. "Finally able to speak, are you? But you're wrong on that account. You know as well as I do that the Shinigami despises you. And vice versa. So of course he wouldn't kill me if he knew that it would one day screw you over. Today is that day."

Flashback: Start!

Izanami was screaming in anger as she paced around the room, tears streaming down her face without her consent. Outside of her room, she could hear the sound of a battle as her so called husband battled his way out of the Shinigami's realm. Considering that he was here without his brother's consent, he couldn't just teleport out since the Shinigami was blocking him.

'How dare he!?' she thought in outrage. She wished with all her heart that she could go out there and finish Izanagi off herself. But unfortunately, the Shinigami had made that completely impossible as he used his powers to keep her locked up in this room in his castle. Izanagi had probably only been able to get into the room because the Shinigami had allowed him to. To see her new appearance. Her new hideous appearance. Despite that, though, her rage was completely directed at Izanagi since it was obvious that he was abandoning her because she was no longer beautiful.

"Well, seems like I was right in the money. Wouldn't you agree?"

Izanami quickly turned around as the Shinigami appeared in front of her out of nothingness. But being used to that particular detail, she paid it no mind. Coming face to face with him, however, also made her rage transfer from Izanagi unto him.

"You bastard! Why did you do this to me!?"

"To prove a simple point," was the death god's immediate answer. "I have already told you how Izanagi simply viewed you for your beauty. Not for yourself. But you didn't want to believe me. So I took the necessary steps to assure that you would."

Izanami looked at him with pure hatred in her eyes, the tears continuing to stream down her face. "Fine! You've made your point! Now change me back!"

"No."

"What!?"

The Shinigami didn't look frightened at all as Izanami's face was filled with pure hatred directed at him.

"I said no. I'm never going to change you back. Nor are you ever going to leave this place. At least, not until I allow it."

"You can't do that! As soon as Kami knows of this, he'll-"

"He will do nothing!" the Shinigami interrupted, raising his voice as well. "He's too busy trying to protect his little creations from this war even though they don't deserve it in the slightest. But he's always been soft like that. Besides, even after all of this is over, I'll keep you well hidden in my domain. And in the off chance that he does find you, he'll be too late. Unless he wants to fuel another war which could finally be the end of his petty creations since I would have no mercy on them."

Gritting her teeth in rising frustration, the goddess could only ask one question. "Why? Why me? I have never done anything to you. Why would you do this to me?"

"You've done nothing? Please. You were the one that supported Izanagi's stance on bringing down Juubi. Considering just how much you loved him, it wasn't surprising. But because of you two trying to convince the other gods into taking action, Kami wasn't left with much choice. Lest there be a civil war that could be even worst than this current one that is. Even if they can't harm him directly. You must know what I'm talking about."

Of course Izanami knew. It was exactly what Izanagi had been hoping for. Not to mention that he had also been one of the most active gods in trying to take down the Juubi. The only reason he wasn't there now was because she had been captured by his brother who now stood before her.

"Just what do you hope to achieve here, Shinigami? You know that your little underlings aren't strong enough to stop Izanagi from escaping. Not to mention that you're supposedly neutral in this war. If you go out there and fight him, Kami will surely strip you of your powers."

The Shinigami chuckled at hearing that. "Don't underestimate me, Izanami. You already did once, and now you're paying the price. But you're right. I'm not dumb enough to engage Kami out right. I'm not your husband. I have brains. I know he's more powerful than I am. It's why I'm giving the impression that some of my followers decided to stage this little abduction. Hence, the commotion out there and why I'm not trying to kill Izanagi. I only happened to impede his quickest way of retreat after I found out that he had trespassed into my domain while I confronted the woman he loved oh so much. It's a great cover up story."

"Do you really believe that the other gods will actually buy the fact that I was beaten by a few of your men?" Izanami said in much surprise.

The Shinigami shrugged. "We both know that anyone, no matter how powerful they are, can be taken down quite easily if their guard is down. It's how I was able to capture you so quietly, after all. Because you let down your guard down around me. I'll just tell them the truth. While skipping out a few of the details of course since not even Izanagi knows that I was the one who abducted you personally."

Izanami began to realize just how helpless her situation seemed. "Do you really care about the Juubi so much? Is that why you're neutral in the war?"

The goddess had always assumed it was because the death god just didn't feel the need to get involved when every other god was already in it. But now, she began to suspect that that wasn't the case. And that her former husband must have known all along.

The Shinigami was silent for a few moments, the commotion outside fading into the distance as Izanagi got closer and closer to the gate that connected all of the realms together.

Finally, he said, "That doesn't concern you in the slightest, Izanami. Especially since you are no longer aligned with Izanagi. Just know that if you hadn't been the lovestruck woman that you had been, you would already know the answer to your question. Then again, I don't think we would be having this conversation either."

It was then that Izanami realized everything. The Shinigami did care for the Juubi. Not surprising since the beast had been the only one to ever been openly invited into the Shinigami's domain. But in the past, the goddess hadn't paid attention to such a detail. Why? Well, the god of death had already answered that. Because she had been hung up only on Izanagi and what he did. Izanami now also understood just why the Shinigami was doing this to her. It all made perfect sense. Izanagi had been the one to push forward this war, which would undoubtedly take the Shinigami's only friend with it. Realizing this, he plotted on taking someone just as equally as important to Izanagi: her. Or more accurately, her beauty.

Seeing that Izanami now understood his reasoning behind all of this, the death god turned away from her. "Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. My hatred isn't directed at you. Nor do I care if you come to hate me. Just know that Izanagi and I are almost equal in strength. If he really wanted to, he could have freed you from this prison. But like I told you, he only cared about your beauty. Nothing else."

With that, the Shinigami disappeared without a trace in the exact manner that he had appeared. But Izanami was no longer paying attention to him. Her mind was processing what the god of death had just told her. Which she knew to be exactly true. The man she had thought that had loved her with all of his heart was all trickery. He had only desired her for her beauty which was said to have match no other goddess out there. But now that it was gone, he saw no reason to be with her.

It was through all of this that her hatred began to be directed to her former husband. As well as plotting on how to repay him one day.

Flashback: End!

Izanami recalled it all perfectly, the memory of that day imprinted into her mind as if it had just happened to her yesterday. And all the hatred that came along with it. It had all come perfectly together too. The object of her vendetta was standing before her, after all.

Izanagi for his part scowled at this. "Do you honestly think that you can defeat me? Even if you are one of the strongest goddesses out there, you're still no match for me. Even when you were in your prime. What makes you think that you'll have a chance of defeating me now that you're simply an old hag?" He ended it with a sneer too.

But Izanami didn't rise up to the bait. "Again, you're still the same bastard as ever. But don't worry. Your attitude won't bug anyone else ever again. Not after today." From within her sleeves, a sword suddenly drop itself into her hand.

Izanagi took notice of this. Less than a second later, a sword materialized itself into his hand as well. His, however, was covered in flames.

"Just why are you helping that boy anyway? I thought you wouldn't be interested in Kami's plan," he questioned, having already recognized the fact that Izanami was the one responsible for not having been able to teleport into the building. And since he sensed the Watcher was still in the building, he guessed that no one was able to teleport out either.

Izanami shrugged. "I'm not. I just knew for a fact that if Kami's messenger retreated out of here, you would follow. And I in turn would have to too. I'm merely tired of chases. I'm ready for the confrontation. It was just an indirect effect that Naruto would also benefit from it. Not that it matters to me. No. I'm only interested in killing you."

Izanagi scoffed as he readied himself. "I would like to see you try."

The two beings eyed each other for a moment longer before they charged at each other, their swords pointed at each other as they prepared themselves to cut the head off of one another.

Away from the two but quite aware of the battle that was now taking place, Black Zetsu continued to stare in shock at the woman in front of him. Said woman had an amused look on her face. After all, she knew for a fact just how difficult it was to shock Black Zetsu. Or shock him hard enough for it to show on his face.

"J-just how…..I saw you die on that day. How are you still alive!?"

A small chuckle escaped her lips at the bewildered tone of the former spy of Akatsuki. "I don't want to bore you with the details. Especially with what's taking place here right now. Just know that I can't let you interfere with this battle."

Taking control of his shock, Black Zetsu replied, "What makes you think that I want to stop this?"

The woman raised an eyebrow. "I saw how you told the Yonbi to battle Izanagi. Most likely Naruto told you to stop him here. But as to how he would think that the Yonbi would be enough to stop the god is beyond me."

"You're wrong about that. Naruto knew for a fact that the Yonbi wouldn't be enough to defeat Izanagi. But it was, however, a good enough distraction that gave Izanami the time to realize that he had arrived before he could interfere with Naruto's battle with the Watcher."

Amusement was clearly present in the woman's eyes again as she now understood Naruto's plan. "I see. And just how did he know that we were coming?"

Black Zetsu narrowed his eye at her. "We didn't know that you would be here. But Izanami made the mistake of allowing White Zetsu see her when she confronted Kushina a few days back. The idiot can't keep anything from me. And considering what he later learned from his…..contact, we knew that Izanami would show herself when Izanagi arrived to try and stop this fiasco and hog all of the glory. Which he didn't want."

The woman took notice of just how Black Zetsu had said contact, almost as if there was another meaning to it. But it also brought forward a new set of questions to her. Just who was this contact? What was his relation to all of this? And just how did he know what Izanami had been planning on doing? And better yet, just how did he know that Izanagi would show himself here today?

But the woman pushed those questions to the back of her mind for now. She could ask Naruto after this was all over. Turning towards the battle, she realized that now all she had to do was watch Izanami complete her vendetta before she could go join Naruto and the others.

Black Zetsu merely sunk back into the ground, deciding on following through with what he had been planning earlier: to simply sit back and watch how this story ended.

Izanagi was quick to discover the fact that Izanami wasn't the same person that he had once known. Excluding both appearance and attitude of course. No, he was more concerned with the fact that her skills with a sword seemed to have increased a helluva lot more since the last time he had seen her. Which, respectively, had been millions of years ago. But to a god, it wasn't that much of a concern.

His observation was further proven as he found himself being pushed back by Izanami. Grunting, he looked down at his arms to see that, despite his wearing an armor, there were still cuts from Izanami's sword. But that wasn't supposed to happen.

Looking at her, he narrowed his eyes. "Just how can your sword pierce me!? My armor is made out of my own power. A weaker being like you shouldn't be able to-"

"I'm not an idiot, Izanagi," Izanami interrupted with a calm tone. "But if you think that I'm going to explain to you how I'm going to kick your ass, then you're certainly mistaken. I know you're strong. I'm not going to take any chances."

Growling in anger, Izanagi charged towards the woman whom he had once claimed that he had loved. His intentions were clear and simple: kill her.

Using his anger as an advantage, Izanami swiftly dodged all of Izanagi's angry swipes at her head with his flamed sword. She knew that one hit and it was all over for her. But she wasn't about to let that happen.

One careless swipe from Izanagi was all she needed. Before he could understand what had happened, Izanagi found himself on the ground on his back, his sword having been forcefully removed from his grasp courtesy of a blow from the goddess.

Gritting his teeth in growing frustration, his whole form was consumed in flames before Izanami could follow through with her offensive.

Izanami jumped back before Izanagi could catch her with his flames. Landing softly, she looked at her former husband as he sat back up, his flames still raging around him.

"I admit it," he growled out, "you certainly have gotten better with your sword. But that's still nothing. My powers still outweigh yours. Even if my dear brother placed some of his own power in your blade, it won't be enough to pierce my flames."

If the goddess was surprised at Izanagi finding out that particular detail, she didn't show it. She also knew for a fact that the god was right. Her own powers wouldn't be enough to match his. Not that she had them anymore. At least, all of them. But that was something that she wasn't about to let Izanagi know. And that was the fact that, along with having changed how she looked forever, the Shinigami had also taken away most of her former powers. He had done it with the intent of making sure that keeping her locked up in his domain would be a lot easier and not cause a commotion with Izanagi who had long since believed that his brother had killed her after discovering that she was in his domain.

But in the back of Izanami's mind, she knew another reason why the Shinigami had done what he did. A reason that she had long since come to try and deny. But as she glanced at her partner who looked back at her with a smirk, she knew what she had to do. As well as another interesting detail.

Izanagi suddenly found himself getting weaker for reasons he couldn't understand. His flames started to die down as well. Looking at his hands in confusion for a moment, he immediately knew what was the cause as what appeared to be White Zetsu started to grown all over his body.

'So this is their doing!' he realized in anger, recalling the two White Zetsu clones who had clung to him earlier. But he had never thought that they would have had the chance of pulling a sneaky tactic like this. It was careless of him.

Growling yet again in anger, Izanagi focused his rage on the White Zetsu, his flames raging back into life and melting the thing off. Albeit, too slowly for his taste. His senses went off as well as he turned his attention back to Izanami who was now running towards him, her sword aimed at his heart. But his anger wasn't to be taken lightly.

Izanami t'ched as she saw Izanagi take off to the skies, his fiery wings spread out behind him. But she noticed him panting slightly. It seemed as if it was also taking a toll on him as White Zetsu was still clinging to his body and absorbing his energy as he did so. But that wasn't go last long as more of him started to be burned to a crisp by the flames.

Izanagi looked down at Izanami as the last of White Zetsu fell off of him, the red sky above him burning with as much anger as he felt. "You can't win, Izanami! It's pointless! Now, step aside and let me deal with that troublemaker. That way, you'll at least be able to live for a few more days."

Izanami sent him a calm smile as she looked back at him. "I know I can't win," she admitted with a shrug. That just served to confuse the enraged god. But she then added, "At least, if I took you on by myself."

That was what the Shinigami had wanted for her to learn. And she now knew that it was also the reason why he had even agreed to set free the soul of the woman who was now her partner.

But Izanagi didn't understand in the slightest what she meant until a woman he didn't recognize was in front of him in an instant, despite him still being in the air. But seeing her eyes, he immediately knew who and what she was.

"Those accursed eyes…..!"

Whatever else he wanted to say died in his throat as he found himself in a dark space with chains wrapped around his body. He didn't know what was going on for a few moments until his brain connected the dots. But realizing that he was in a genjutsu a bit too late, he came back to reality seeing Izanami in the woman's place, her sword in hand. This time, however, Izanagi wasn't able to avoid the stab to his heart, the blade easily piercing his armor.

He screamed in agony as he fell down to the ground, his wings disappearing with Izanami still on top of him as he landed with a thud on the ground on his back.

"Only the power of one of your brothers can kill you. Isn't that right, Izanagi?"

Said god looked up at the goddess to see a pleased look on her face. "H-how….."

"Because you only rely on yourself," was her answer. "Thankfully, I've managed to learn that one can't do everything for himself. Sometimes, having allies to watch your back can make the difference between life and death. Just like right now. If I had been by myself, I wouldn't have been able to defeat you. But I wasn't. Which is why I'm the victor."

"D-do you really think that you've won!?" Izanagi screamed despite the fact that he felt his life draining away from his body. Using the strength that he had left, he channeled all of his power into the flames that he sent coursing through Izanami's blade and into her body.

But Izanami merely smiled at this, knowing that she had accomplished her goal.

'Good luck to you, Mikoto…..'

Izanagi screamed one last time as he and Izanami both burned away into ashes.

Uchiha Mikoto didn't turn around as she already sensed the death of the god and goddess. The two who had formally been in love with each other, killed by each other's hand. It was an ironic fate.

Looking up towards the UNO building, Mikoto smiled as her sharingan spun back into life. She had completed her part of the deal. Now, she was free to do what she pleased with her life. And she intended to.

A moment later, one badly injured Yugito came crashing down in front of her, a seal placed on her forehead. Looking up, Mikoto saw a dark skinned woman looking down at the unconscious blonde woman. She smirked.

'Time for me to make my move…..'

Uchiha Mikoto was now on the scene.

And I'm finally back!

So yea, some of you might not have expected this chapter. But I wanted to get this out of the way first before I focused on the main battle. A little side story almost. But hopefully enjoyable. If not, then my bad. I'll just have to make it up next chapter with you guys. Also, before any of you ask, just how Mikoto was able to put Izanagi in a genjutsu despite him being a god will be explained next chapter.

And that's really all that I have for this time. Stay tune for the true finale! Although, I don't know if I should split the chapter up or not cause there's quite a bit that I have planned for it. Hmm…..I'll just have to see.

Till next time.