Disclaimer: I don't own either Naruto or Bleach
"Hmm…."- Black Zetsu, Bijuu, Shinigami
"Hmm…."- Seikatsugakari
"Hmm…."- Flashback
AN: I welcome all, whoever is left that is, to the final chapter of Ascension! And with that, the final closing to the The Turn of a Hero for good. That's right, all questions will be answered today or tonight depending on where you are. The final! Also, I'd like to thank those who stayed till the end in advance. It really does mean a lot, even if I don't say it often. But enough from me. Here it is, the final chapter. Hope you all enjoy.
Chapter 16:
Men Amongst Gods
"It certainly has been a while, hasn't it? Many things have certainly changed since the last time we spoke."
One Uzumaki Naruto growled in barely restrained anger as he gazed at the man standing before him. The two found themselves in the empty black void that existed deep within Naruto's subconscious. With Kurama, his other self, and the Juubi all having been gone a long time ago, there was no one else left that existed within the former blond's mind. It was all empty. Save for the being in front of him who penetrated his mind at times. But that hadn't been the case in a very long time.
"You…..I actually never expected to see you again….."
The man known as the Rikudo Sennin let out a small chuckle as he took notice of the irritation within Naruto's voice. Not that he entirely blamed the Uzumaki for what he was currently feeling right now.
"I must imagine that you're not too pleased with me right now…."
Naruto snorted. "What gave you that idea? The look on my face that practically says I'm pissed at you? Or my voice which practically screams at you that I want to rip your head off right now?"
The Sennin did sigh at hearing that. "We're basically the same person, you know. So in all technicality, you're threatening to take your own head off."
Naruto merely gritted his teeth, his rinnegan activating subconsciously. Seeing this, the Rikudo Sennin turned serious, all humor having left his face. He knew he shouldn't be tempting Naruto too much right now.
"Calm yourself. Your anger is misplaced."
"I highly doubt that," Naruto retorted. "I'm pretty sure that if you had bothered to show your face, Anko would still be with me. Not to mention that I wouldn't have been tricked so easily by that bastard either. Or am I wrong?"
The Sennin was quiet for a few moments. Finally, he replied, "I don't know about the second part. As I said, you and I are the same person. I'm pretty sure that you've already figured out that, since I didn't tell you anything about this so called Watcher in the past, that I didn't know who and what he truly was. And you'd be right. I was fooled as much as you were."
"And that makes me feel better how?"
The god of shinobi shrugged. "It's not supposed to. I'm only telling you the truth. That being said, you shouldn't blame me for the mistakes that you committed, Naruto. You and I both know that it your being stuck in the past was a major factor in Anko's death. You drove her away. Just as you were starting to do the same with both Kushina and Fuka as well. But that woman believed in you till the very end. It's why Ken is with you now. Through him, you have Anko's support."
Naruto sighed, his rinnegan deactivating. His eyes reflected the great sorrow that was coursing through his soul at the reminder of Anko and the mistake that he had been dwelling on for the last thousands of years. He also knew he hadn't been right on trying to blame the Sennin for all of that. His frustration was simply getting the better of him.
"Just…..what do you want? Why are you showing yourself now after your recent disappearance?"
"To leave you with one final advice."
Naruto's eyes shot towards the Sennin's in an instant. "One final advice? Just what do you mean by that?"
The Sennin smiled slightly as he said, "Before you ask, no, I'm not going anywhere else. I've always existed within you, no where else. Something which the Shinigami didn't take to too well in the past. But that's not important right now. What is is the fact that this will be our final conversation. Forever."
Shock ran throughout Naruto's body at hearing that. "Why? What's going to happen to you?"
"Not what will, what has already happened."
Naruto slowly shook his head. "I don't understand."
The Rikudo Sennin closed his eyes before he began to explain. "From the very first moment that I showed myself to you all those years ago, our two essences began to combine into one again. It's been a very slow process due to me, mainly because I didn't want you to be overwhelmed with all the knowledge all at once. But then, after you brought the end of the Shinobi world, I had intended to make the process faster so that you could lead the world into a new era. Unfortunately, that didn't go as planned since you…changed." And that was putting it mildly too. "You were no longer the same person. The fire that had driven you before began to dim. You no longer possessed the same will as before. So I decided to stay longer, to see if you would change. But that didn't happen either. And while I could control the process in which we became one, I can't stop it altogether. Which was why, even though I had the process at the slowest as possible, the time of my existence would soon come to an end. The final part of my essence was being taken into you. It was then that I decided to take a page out of your father's book. I left just an amount of my energy behind, so that I could deliver this final message to you. It's also after this that you'll soon become conscious of all the knowledge I have as well as my memories. Think of it as when a shadow clone dispels. But don't worry. You won't be overwhelmed by all of this knowledge. Like I said, I already eased both of your mind and body into it. It'll just take a while for you to process all the information. With how hectic things are right now, I'd suggest you do it afterwards, though."
Naruto, who had been quiet throughout the explanation, couldn't find anything to say. He now understood why the Sennin hadn't been able to do anything when all of this started.
"I don't really know what to say….."
The Sennin chuckled. "That's simple. Just promise me that you won't go back to what you have been all these years after you come out of this like I know you will. That'll make us even."
Not finding any words, Naruto simply settled for a nod.
The Sennin also nodded in satisfaction. "Good. But before that happens, I still have something which I want to tell you."
"And that would be?"
"What Kami desires."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at hearing that. "What do you mean by that?"
The Sennin shook his head. "Don't tell me you haven't found all of this strange. Me getting the rinnegan I mean. And how my father was the first human to use chakra. Just why would Kami bestow this power to humans? What were his intentions when he did?"
Naruto slowly shook his head. "Unfortunately, I couldn't began to fathom why he would. As you probably already know, Kushina was confronted by this woman who proclaimed to be the goddess Izanami."
The Sennin nodded. "Yes. It was a good thing that White Zetsu had been present."
Naruto sent him a suspicious look. "You know of her?"
The Sennin nodded again. "Yes. While I've never met her personally, the Shinigami did tell me about her. And his past dealings with her as well as with her former husband, Izanagi."
"So she really is a goddess….."
"She is. And while she doesn't possess the powers she once had because of the Shinigami himself, she's still dangerous in her own right. The good thing, though, is that she only cares about getting her revenge on Izanagi for his betrayal to her. So as long as you don't interfere with that, she won't have a problem with you."
Naruto put that little information in the back of his mind, already thinking of ways that he would use that to his advantage.
"To what I was saying before, now that I know that she really is who she said she is, then that means everything that she told Kushina was true." Except for the part of him betraying Kushina. No way in hell was that true. He had no idea where the goddess had come up with that.
"Your point?"
"My point is that if Kami would let all the other gods meddle in the world he created, then he might not be the brightest being out there. Like Izanami said, religion has been one of the major sources of conflict in this world, in the past more than now. But many people have died because of it. Just why would he let something like that happen? I can't think of anything else other than that he just doesn't know what he's doing. Unless you have something else that you would like to share with me."
The Rikudo Sennin shook his head. "I don't. I just have a hunch. Something which was brought up by the Shinigami since he too believes that his brother is planning for something. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to figure out just what that something is. But now I have a second chance. Through you."
"Except that I don't think that he is."
"Don't let your stubbornness close your mind, Naruto. If there's one thing that you should have learned from that silver haired man who was once your sensei is to look underneath the underneath. With all that's happened, there has to be a reason for it all. I'm sure you know it as well. You just don't want to admit it."
Naruto let his gaze travel to the side, not agreeing or disagreeing with the man. "For the sake of argument, let's say that I do believe that. Then what? What exactly am I supposed to do then?"
The Rikudo Sennin laughed as he shook his head. "That's not for me to answer, Naruto. You're the main character in this little tale. It's your role to decide what to do from then on. Just like you have up to this point. Just don't cast out the ones that you care about. That will only bring more unnecessary suffering to both them and you. They're here to help you with whatever they can. I'm sure that you don't want to lose them in the same way that you lost Anko. You'll be the only one left alone in the one darkness that even you can't stand: solitude. That, Uzumaki Naruto, is my final advice to you."
Naruto hmph'ed at that, a small smile befalling his face. "Yeah, you don't have to lecture me too much, ya know. I've learned from my mistakes. And it won't happen again. While I still can't believe that both Kushina and Fuka haven't turned their backs on me, I won't squander the faith that they've put on me. Or their love for that matter. I promise you that much, Sennin. I'll also bring your dream into reality. Consider that my thanks to you for all the help you've given me. Even if I haven't been deserving of it."
The Rikudo Sennin let out one final laugh as his form began to disappear. It would seem that the small amount of his energy that he had left behind was already depleted.
"Remember, Naruto, you are my true heir. Use the rinnegan to the best of its ability. I wish you luck, son….."
Naruto merely let the smile reign on his face as the Rikudo Sennin disappeared completely. The man who had created the Shinobi world was no more. Well, that wasn't entirely correct. He would still live on through Naruto himself.
Naruto smirked as his rinnegan sprung back to life.
'Yeah, don't worry. I'll make of our second life something better than our first. Something everlasting. Something complete. A place that we can all can home.'
Kurosaki Ichigo glanced to purple haired girl standing beside Naruto. He knew for a fact that she was aligned with the man who had tried to kill him at his house weeks earlier. And he wasn't too forthcoming on trusting her either.
As if feeling his stare, Violet turned her eyes to look at him as well. "Is there something that you want, Kurosaki?"
Ichigo frowned. "Yeah, there is. You were with him when he took my sisters. Which makes you my enemy as well."
A small smirk appeared on the girl's face. "Oh, don't worry. I'm no longer your enemy. I no longer work for that guy. In fact, I want to help you in taking him down."
The orange haired teen sent a quick glance to Naruto to see if he disagreed. But the rinnegan wielder didn't seem to acknowledge the conversation between the two of them.
"Besides," she continued, which in turn brought Ichigo's attention back to her, "I don't have your sisters. He does. Nor do I know where he has them. But he does." A small lie certainly didn't hurt anyone. Besides, Violet wanted to fight alongside Naruto. It was her strongest wish ever. Well, besides having sex with the immortal shinobi anyway. And she wouldn't let anyone stand between her and that goal, not even Ichigo.
There was still some suspicion on the teen's eyes. At least, that was the case until Naruto spoke up.
"I understand where your mistrust is coming from, Ichigo. Hell, I feel the same way. But let's deal with that after we take care of the little impostor standing in front of us, ne? Afterwards, if she's lying to you, I'll help you in kicking her ass and getting your sisters back. Sound good?"
Ichigo couldn't help but grin at the laid back tone in which Naruto said that. He made it sound so easy. Bringing his Zanpakuto forward, Ichigo decided to follow Naruto's lead. For the moment anyway. Good thing that he had sent Rukia out to check on his father. Knowing his old man, Ichigo knew that he was probably overdoing it like always.
"I'll hold you to that, Naruto. But just in case you plan on tricking me somehow, do know that I'm not the same person I was when you last saw me."
A small smirk tugged itself on Naruto's lips as he felt the power that Ichigo started to let loose. The orange haired teen wasn't kidding about that alright. Not that it mattered anyway. For once, Naruto did mean what he had said. After all, he had to deal with Violet as well. But first….
Naruto's attention focused back to the Watcher, the spheres around said man forming into a shield shaped object in front of him. He had an annoyed look on his face at the moment.
"To think that I've been pushed this far by mere brats…."
Naruto snorted at that. "I'm pretty sure I'm way past a brat at this point."
"You forget how old I am, Uzumaki. Compared to me, you're nothing more than a hatchling. You also act like one too. If anything, experience and maturity come from age. But instead, you've hidden all these years like a lost little kid. If anything, you were closer to maturity when you started on your vengeance quest. At least then you weren't so…..pathetic."
Violet glanced at Naruto, trying to gauge his reaction. Instead of anger, the girl was surprised to see a blank look on the rinnegan wielder's face. No grin, smirk, or anything.
In a similar fashion to the Watcher, ten bijudama appeared all around him, floating in midair. Seeing this, the Watcher t'ched in anticipation. It seemed as if Naruto wasn't in the mood to talk any longer.
But surprisingly, Naruto wasn't the one to charge at him first. No. Instead, it was none other than Ichigo. Seeing this, the Watcher turned his attention to the teen, the bijudama shield shooting out towards him in a horde of rods.
Ichigo seemed prepared for that, though. In a quick show of his great reaction time, the orange haired shinigami disappeared in a blur as the rods came down at this previous position. The Watcher growled in anger as he came face to face with a determined looking Ichigo now in midair a distance away from him.
Before the once servant of Kami could continue his attack on the teenager, a sudden explosion of a very familiar chakra hit his senses and blinded the entire room for a few seconds.
"I'm not one to be left out of things!"
A staff composed of the bijudama energy materialized itself on the Watcher's hand again in an instant as a giant gold glowing claw appeared in between both him and Ichigo and headed towards him. Gripping the staff tightly, the Watcher brought it in front of him, twirling the staff at a blindly speed which clashed with the claw. The rods from before reshaped themselves back into their original bijudama balls and headed back towards their owner.
But they weren't fast enough. At a speed that would even impress Yoruichi, Ichigo appeared right behind the struggling Watcher. The Watcher didn't even flinch, however, as Ichigo's Zanpakuto made contact with his back. There wasn't even a wound left behind.
This only served to confuse the orange haired teen. But Ichigo wasn't able to ponder this any longer as the bijudama balls came crashing on him, sending him tumbling to the ground below.
Violet t'ched as she saw this, noticing how the Watcher's demeanor changed from panicky to calm. 'So that's his game….' It was then and there that the girl realized that they had been tricked.
"Time to end with these theatrics….." One of the bijudama balls floated in front of him, reshaping itself into a plain black shield like surface. Said shield dove right in between Violet's chakra claw and the Watcher's staff, repelling the claw a second later.
Down on the ground, Ichigo looked up at the floating man with his anger rising. "Why didn't my attack work, dammit!"
"None of our attacks worked," Violet remarked calmly as she tried to assess the situation. 'He was tricking us…..he was trying his hardest to make it look like if we landed an attack on him, it would damage him. But all along, it was the exact opposite. He just wanted to keep that detail a secret. Clever. I guess I shouldn't have expected any less of the powers of the Juubi's jinchuriki. Then again….' She glanced behind her, seeing Naruto with the same look as before as he simply stared at the floating man. 'He too has the same power. So he must know what his weakness is….'
But that wasn't what was bugging the teen at the moment. No, it was the fact that she hadn't known the fact that none of their attacks would work on the Watcher once he was in his jinchuriki form. Shifting her gaze back to said man, the girl frowned.
'Did he prevent me from finding out? But why would he do that? Did he know I was going to betray him from the beginning? Better yet, how come my attacks worked on Naruto before when he too has the power of the Juubi?'
It was then that the girl realized another fact: Naruto had never used the bijudama balls on her during their previous confrontations, nor had she actually caused him any lasting damage. But the latter she had assumed because she wasn't really trying to kill the Uzumaki. It seemed as if she wasn't as right as she thought she had been.
"So you finally realized it, Violet."
The girl locked eyes with her former teacher. Said man was currently looking down at her, his eyes reflecting the arrogance he was feeling.
"You can't defeat me. Even if you have the power of the Kyuubi, it won't help you now that I'm in this form. Nor will your powers that I gave you. They will lock each other out. The same goes for you, brat."
Ichigo gritted his teeth as the Watcher turned to look down at him.
"Your shinigami powers are useless now. They are nothing compared to the power that I now have!"
"You really are an annoying bastard, you know that?"
Both Ichigo's and Violet's eyes widened as they each felt a hand on their shoulder. Looking behind her, she saw Naruto standing before her. Or rather, it was one of his shadow clones. Another one was behind Ichigo as well.
The original Naruto chuckled as he stepped forward to stand beside Violet. "No one is invincible. Not you. Me. Or even Kami for that matter. There are always ways to exploit that will cause one's downfall." A shrug. "I've just happened to be lucky enough to not have met the bastard that's cunning enough to take me down yet. But as for you, well, you're looking at yours right now."
On the other side of what couldn't really be called a room at this point, Ichigo looked down at his hands as he felt a new source of power mixing in with his shinigami ones. It felt odd. But it also felt very good.
Violet was currently thinking the same thing too.
The Watcher snarled in anger as he realized what Naruto was doing. "Are you stupid or what, Uzumaki! You're making your own enemy stronger! You-"
"I'll worry about that when the time comes."
The Watcher's eyes widened as Naruto's voice came from behind him. Spinning around as quickly as he could, he brought his staff forward as well as his nine bijudama balls, the tenth one still being a shield in front of him.
"You're not the only one with that trick!"
The Watcher wasn't quick enough to react to Naruto's own bijudama balls, however. Said orbs shifted into elongated spears as they reached the floating moan, piercing his entire body. The Watcher gasped in pain at this.
"Oi!" Naruto turned to look at Ichigo. "Time for your payback!"
Ichigo grinned as he understood what Naruto meant. His Zanpakuto began to glow once more as the orange haired teen poured his own energy into it as well as the one that he had received from Naruto's clone.
"Getsuga Tensho!"
The bijudama shield quickly shifted its position to try and block Ichigo's attack. But it was moot. The shinigami agent's attack ripped through the shield like it was nothing before doing the same to the Watcher himself.
As he landed back on the ground, Naruto watched in satisfaction as the Watcher screamed in agony the moment that Ichigo's attack landed on him, creating a large cloud of dust and debris.
"Sorry, but I used all the power you gave me in that one attack," Ichigo said as he landed beside the rinnegan wielder. "And I don't think that'll be enough to stop him."
"You're right," Naruto replied as the cloud of dust and debris began to disperse. "Not as long as he has that regeneration factor of his. So all we have to do is take his bijuu powers away."
Ichigo looked at with a confused look. "But how are we supposed to do that!?"
Naruto smirked. "They should be getting here right about now….."
Before Ichigo could ask him as to whom he was referring to, Isshin, followed by both Yoruichi and Rukia, came jumping down from the destroyed rooftop. They also had the unconscious forms of Yugito and Bee with them.
"Miss us?" Yoruichi said with a playful grin as they landed beside Naruto and Ichigo. Said orange haired teen looked at them in surprise.
"You guys-"
"We brought you the two jinchuriki, just like you wanted," Isshin cut in. "Now what?"
Ichigo looked at Rukia for an explanation, but said girl merely shook her head, basically telling him that she didn't know what was going on either.
Naruto glanced at him. "You'll know soon enough."
Before Isshin could respond, the Watcher's voice cut in from the now visible crater. "Do you really think that if you absorb the power of those two beasts that you'll be able to defeat me, Uzumaki? You're more naive than I thought."
Naruto grinned as the Watcher came floating from the crater that Ichigo's attack had created. His clothing had been shattered in several places, namely around his left shoulder. He no longer had a sleeve. He also had a large cut embedded on the left side of his face which was in the process of trying to heal.
"Ha, do you really think that I would save something like that as my trump card? Please. I already know that it wouldn't work. But that's also why you're going to lose. You underestimate us too much."
Before the Watcher could retort, Kushina, along with Mikoto and Fuka, came rushing in through the destroyed doorway from behind Violet. They too brought the jinchurikis that they had defeated. But that wasn't what concerned Naruto. No, instead, for the first time so far, the Uzumaki was completely shocked to his core as his eyes landed on Mikoto. And he wasn't the only one either.
"YOU!" The Watcher screamed as he noticed Mikoto. "How are you here!? You're supposed to be dead!"
Mikoto sent him a smile as she and the others stopped beside the unmoving Violet. "Oh, it's nothing for you to worry about. Although a certain death god did tell me to give you his regards." She locked eyes with Naruto for a split second, but it was enough. They could talk later.
"Yo, I'm not late to the party, am I?"
Naruto grinned as Ken, alongside Black Zetsu and Son Goku, appeared in a vortex in the middle of the room between the two groups, the White Zetsu clone still attached to him. He had the unconscious Han over his shoulder as well.
"You're just in time to see the end of this."
The Watcher t'ched as his ten bijudama balls floated back to him, forming a ring as they floated behind him.
"All of this changes nothing! I'm still going to be the one to emerge victorious today and bring about a new world! A utopia!"
"I already told you what you are," was Naruto's calm response as his Susanoo sprouted around him. Ichigo and his fellow shinigami stepped back when they saw this. The bodies of the jinchurikis began to glow, including that of Son Goku's.
"You're nothing more than a failure that's going to die here today!"
Kushina looked over at Fuka. "We should get out of the way of this."
Fuka simply nodded, but not before sending a glance to the silent Violet. Seeing as the girl wasn't going to attack them, the two redheads began to make their way out of the room. Except for Mikoto. The female Uchiha merely sent a wave to the retreating Kushina.
Said redhead was about to stop before she changed her mind. She had an idea as to what her best friend planned on doing.
"Let's move. You're not going to want to be a part of this. Oh, and leave the Gobi's body here too."
Ken looked at Black Zetsu before nodding. He had learned to trust the plant man. The two disappeared in the same usual vortex. Only Son Goku remained. But he knew why they had left and what was about to happen.
Ichigo turned to look at his father who had placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's time for us to fall back."
"But then-"
"Only Naruto can do this," Isshin interrupted. "He can get this lunatic out of our way. And then we can focus on finding Karin and Yuzu."
"He's right," Rukia cut, already seeing how Ichigo was going to protest. "This is right up that man's alley. Not yours or ours. And if he doesn't cooperate with you afterwards, then you know that we'll have your back in finding your sisters."
Ichigo struggled for a few more seconds before nodding, albeit reluctantly. Rukia sighed in relief at that. Ichigo turned to look at Naruto one more time as the other three jumped back up to what was left of the roof and to the streets outside.
'Don't fail me, Naruto.'
With that, he followed the others.
Up in the air, the Watcher eyed the glowing bodies of the beings that were once his mindless followers that made his Nine Pillars. His mind finally clicked in the pieces as to what Naruto intended to do. He had to grit his teeth in frustration at the troubling realization.
"I see…..so that's your scheme, Uzumaki!" he screamed in outrage as he turned to look at Naruto who was still within his Susanoo. "But you won't be able to accomplish it!"
His declaration was quickly followed by him soaring straight to Naruto, intending on breaking through the Susanoo defense. But before he could reach the male Uzumaki, another Susanoo arm came crashing down on him.
Naruto looked to his side to see none other than Mikoto standing beside him, her Susanoo flaring into life. She had a small smile as they made eye contact for a second time. "Seems like you could use some assistance."
Naruto merely smiled back, even as his mind tried to understand how she was back and able to use the Susanoo as well.
"What am I? Chopped liver?"
Naruto shifted his gaze to Violet who stood in front of him, her form still engulfed in the Kyuubi's chakra.
"Well, technically, we're still enemies," Naruto replied drily.
Violet chuckled but didn't turn to face him. "We'll deal with that small detail later. But you might want to give some of that special chakra of yours to the Uchiha if she wants to be of any use in keeping this guy at bay," she finished as the Watcher picked himself right back up.
Naruto didn't reply. Instead, his Susanoo hand clasped the hand from Mikoto's Susanoo. The Uchiha smirked as she felt the Juubi's chakra merging with her Susanoo.
"Now get back, Naruto-kun, I'm about to show you a little trick that you haven't seen in a while."
Naruto was about to respond, but before he could, Mikoto's Susanoo began to flare up before growing in size and changing forms at the same time. Naruto was indeed impressed as he looked up to take in Mikoto's perfect Susanoo form, his own Susanoo paling in size at the moment. But he wasn't one to be outdone.
"You're not the only one who can do that, Mikoto-chan."
Said Uchiha merely smirked as Naruto's Susanoo followed in line beside her, transforming into its perfect state.
The Watcher growled in frustration at the sight. He wasn't expecting this at the least. Everything had just gone so wrong. But now he had the Uchiha woman to deal with before he could even think about stopping Naruto's ritual. But things just didn't stop there for him. A moment later, chakra began to engulf Violet's form, taking on the form of Kurama in her own bijuu transformation.
Violet glanced back at both Naruto and Mikoto. "I'm not one to be outdone."
Mikoto grinned. "I could learn to like you alright." Her expression then changed to normal as she shifted her Mangekyo eyes back to the angry looking Watcher. "You certainly must be afraid if you haven't attacked us yet. Once Naruto finishes completely freeing the rest of the bijuu, it's all over for you, you know. Your last chance at victory is right now before he has the chance to do so. Then again, you also have to get pass us. And that's not happening."
"Woman, you," he growled. "Even if you have the sharingan, its power is nothing compared to the Rinnegan or the Juubi!"
Mikoto shrugged as her Susanoo unsheathed its sword. "Do you want to test that theory?"
Having reached his limit a while ago, the Watcher lost all reason as he charged at the towering Susanoo. "Size means nothing!"
Mikoto smirked as her Susanoo swung its sword forward. "In this case, it does!"
The Watcher was sent flying back out of the building, crashing through multiple more before coming to a stop somewhere in the city. The city of Geneva began to shake as her Susanoo began to walk forward.
"Showoff," muttered Violet as she too charged forward in her complete bijuu transformation, albeit a lot faster than the Uchiha. Behind the two women, Naruto had his eyes closed as he concentrated, his hands clasped together in the ram seal as he concentrated his chakra. It wasn't long before he began to feel the pull he was looking for.
Crouched down beside the downed form of the Gobi, Son Goku smiled as he too felt the pull.
So it was time.
Naruto found himself in the same place he had been all those years ago before he had erased the Juubi's presence from within him all those years ago. All of the bijuu were around him in a circle too, save for Kurama.
"What is this," muttered Kokuo.
"Have we finally been freed?" asked Isobu, confusion evident in his voice.
"Yes," answered Son Goku from his spot, making every other bijuu look at him. "Just like me, all of you won't be in the control of that bastard anymore."
"But how!?" Matatabi asked. "We've been trying since the beginning! What's changed?"
"That would be me."
It was then that the bijuu took notice of the other non-bijuu being in the plane who was standing in the middle of the circle they had formed.
"It's you!" said Kokuo, recognizing Naruto as the person he and Son Goku had fought all those days ago in front of the Watch Tower. "You're the one who could lift that blasted chakra away from the Yonbi and I!"
"Please," Son Goku said with disgust, "that's not my name. I'm Son Goku, not 'Yonbi.'"
Saiken began to laugh. "Hahaha did you give yourself a name now or what?"
Son Goku shook his head. "Not me, but him."
The bijuu once again turned their attention back to Naruto.
"Why would you do that?" asked Gyuki. "Why would you give him a name?"
Naruto shrugged. "Because he deserves one, just like all of you do and not just the title that humans once gave you."
"Humans didn't give us these titles," retorted Shukaku. "It was that bastard outside! If I could just get my sand on him, I would end his existence!"
Naruto chuckled. "Well, Shukaku, you'll now get that chance."
Shukaku looked down at him in confusion, his voice carrying a bit of hope despite the obvious tough front he was trying to put up. "What did you just call me?"
"Shukaku," Naruto repeated before shifting his gaze to all of the remaining bijuu, reciting their names in order. "Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, and Gyuki. Those are your names. Do well to remember them from now on."
All of the bijuu, save for Son Goku, shared looks among each other. Finally, it was Chomei who spoke. "Why are you naming us now too? Just who are you?"
Naruto took a deep breath in as he began to explain, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I guess you could say I'm your father in a way since I was the one who created all of you originally."
The bijuu took this with confusion.
"But the bastard-"
"Is a copycat is all," interrupted Naruto. "Well, not like I'm not grateful to him for what he did. I had thought that you were all gone forever."
"And what is that supposed to mean?" asked Matatabi. "This is the first time we're meeting you."
Naruto chuckled. "I guess you could say that. But in the past, there existed another one of each one of you here. They were exactly like you. The only difference being that you don't have their memories."
Shukaku exploded in anger. "You better start making some sense right now, you damn brat!"
"I concur," added Gyuki, albeit calmer than his brother. "I don't understand what you're trying to tell us here, boy."
Naruto raised two of his fingers. "There have been two Juubi in existence. The first one was split up into nine pieces, those pieces being all of you. This was done by myself a long, long time ago since through a set of circumstances, my father was made to release it." He wasn't about to go into the whole reincarnation business with them for now. He could explain that in much more detail later. "After my father died after the immediate destruction that befell the planet after the Juubi had been freed, I was bestowed with a gift, the Rinnegan." To add to the dramatic effect, his rinnegan flared into life. "It was a gift from Kami who was the one who also created the Juubi for his own reasons. It was through the powers that the Rinnegan gave me that I was able to defeat the Juubi, creating all of you in the process. It was then where I gave you all your names as well. Following that, the chakra era followed where humans could control and use chakra freely, which you are all made of. After that, I reformed the Juubi for my own reasons once again, mainly that I needed its power. However, you were all still your separate beings. And I planned on keeping it that way. That was the case at least until I was forced to destroy the Juubi's will by absorbing all of your power through a special sword of mine. It was then that all of you, at least, the ones created from the first Juubi, perished forever."
All of the bijuu, including the Shukaku, listened intently.
"It's here where the bastard from outside comes in. He was able to recreate the Juubi and thus recreate all of you in the same way that I once had. Still, you're all still the same ones that once stood by me, just like your brother, Son Goku, does now."
The other bijuu looked at Son Goku for confirmation, to which he merely nodded.
"Just what do you want to do with us?" asked Chomei, suspicion clearly present in his voice. Just like the Chomei from the Shinobi era, he wasn't too trusting that easy.
"To give you all the freedom that you all crave," Naruto answered without hesitation. "Son Goku can attest to that. I want you all to stand by me, help me to recreate this world into what it needs to be, a better place. To stand by me and become part of my family. That is what I desire. But in order to do that, I have to take care of the bastard that made you all into his slaves. To accomplish that, I need your help."
Naruto extend his arm to them. "Will you help me?"
None of the bijuu responded for a few moments, all of them having their own thoughts on the matter.
"You saved that woman," Kokuo began, making the others turn to him. "That day, when you and I fought and she went out of control. It was the last thing I was able to see before I was dragged away. Do you care for her?"
"I do," Naruto replied with conviction. "You could say it's one of the few things that I've never been able to change, no matter what course of action I choose. I always care for those who are close to me. To me, they're my family."
"Then I will help you," was his response. That took the others by surprise. After all, from the way they had been treated since their creation, there was just no way that anyone would ever try to save them for the reasons that Naruto was giving them.
"Are you serious?" Chomei asked him. "Are you willing to risk being enslaved by this man?"
Kokuo looked at him. "We're all enslaved. So in the off chance that I am wrong, then I lose nothing. But I know that I am right. Besides trusting my instincts, I have Son Goku here to prove to me that what he says is true."
Son Goku grinned at hearing his name being said for once.
"I'm in on that too," added Shukaku. "If I stay in the position I'm in right now, then there's no hope of me getting out. But with this, I have the chance of some payback! Now, that's what I want, baby!"
Next to him, Matatabi sighed. "You're still the same whack you've ever been, Shukaku."
"Did you just-"
"That's right," Matatabi said. "After all, that is your name, brother. And hopefully I'll be allowed to call you that from now on."
Shukaku merely nodded, not knowing what to say exactly.
"With all of you getting in on this, it's definitely getting me to want to see how things turn out to be too," commented Gyuki.
"There's nothing stopping you," replied Isobu before he turned to look at Matatabi. "But you've certainly bought me with the names….." He then focused on Naruto. "You have my support, Naruto."
"Count me in too!" exclaimed Saiken, speaking for the second time since the conversation had started. "I don't know why, but I can tell that you're not lying to us. At the very least, I finally have a name of my own. And I'm happy with that."
The bijuu finally set their gaze on Chomei who hadn't given his response yet. The bijuu was looking straight at Naruto, trying to find deceit in the Uzumaki.
"Do you really mean what you say?"
"I do. I promise."
For reasons he couldn't explain, hearing Naruto say that he promised calmed the bijuu down.
"Then I too shall see what awaits us with you."
Naruto grinned. "Thank you. None of you will regret this."
Violet panted heavily as she looked around her, the center of the city now being completely destroyed thanks to the battle that was currently taking place. If there had been any authorities left in the city, then they had most likely fled by now. And even if one of the other nations planned on sending any type of military force to the city, it would already be too late.
Turning her attention back in front of her, she scanned the humongous entity that was Mikoto's perfect Susanoo. It was certainly menacing alright. And it had the power to back it up as well.
'So this is the power of the once grand Uchiha clan…..' she thought. But in all of the history of the Uchiha, only four members had ever achieved this power. And Mikoto was the last one alive.
'For now anyways,' the girl mused for a moment before shaking her head. She would deal with that later.
Looking down at her opponent with her arms crossed, Mikoto had a grin as she gazed at the outraged look on the Watcher's face.
"How can this be possible!?" he screamed, his mind trying to process just how he was being pushed back by the Uchiha. "My power should be supreme!"
"Unfortunately for you, you were never meant to have this power," Mikoto stated with a chuckle. "And I can see why. You don't know how to use it. You're way out of your league here, messenger."
The ground all around them began to shake once again, making Mikoto grin. "You sure did take your time, Naruto."
From behind her and Violet, Naruto's Susanoo began to make its way towards them. Seeing this, the Watcher knew that it could only mean one thing: Naruto had freed the rest of the bijuu. And that didn't spell anything good for him.
His anger began to dissipate, replaced only by fear. At least, that was the case until his arrogance came back full force. 'No! This is the day that I've been waiting for so long! I won't let some mere failure stop me now!'
"I WON'T LET IT END LIKE THIS!"
Mikoto t'ched as she saw the Watcher release even more chakra from the Juubi than he was before. She had pushed his buttons too far. But she couldn't help it. She had missed the thrilled of battle for so long. But now it cost her.
'And I don't have much chakra left either…..' While she didn't show it, keeping perfect Susanoo was starting to take its toll on her. She's still wasn't used to it yet. After all, the Shinigami had just activate her mangekyo for a few days ago.
"Violet!" Naruto shouted as his Susanoo stopped next to Mikoto's. The Uchiha also took notice how all the jinchuriki from before were now all riding on the shoulders of the Susanoo. No, they weren't just mere jinchuriki anymore. Her sharingan was telling her that much. The bodies had finally become one with the chakra from the respective bijuu. In other words, the chakra was now wearing the bodies in a sense.
From her spot, Violet smirked as she already knew what Naruto wanted from her. Her bijuu transformation began to disappear. A moment later, she appeared on top the head of Naruto's Susanoo in an orange spark.
"Let's do this!"
"I WILL NOT LOSE HERE!"
Mikoto gritted her teeth before she turned to Naruto. "Whatever you're going to do, do it now! The bastard is losing control!"
But before Naruto could do just that, the Watcher began to form an actual bijudama in his hands before he fired it straight at Mikoto's Susanoo. Seeing this, Mikoto pushed all of her remaining chakra into her Susanoo for defense. Next to her, Naruto narrowed his eyes as he saw how Mikoto's chakra began to waver as the bijudama hit her Susanoo, causing an explosion from the impact that sent his own Susanoo tumbling back a step.
'I don't know how you're back, but I'm not going to lose you again!'
From on top of the Susanoo's head, Violet simply watched how Naruto pushed his chakra into Mikoto from his Susanoo into hers. It was only thanks to that that Mikoto's defense was able to hold up. A moment after the explosion died down, however, Mikoto's Susanoo began to disappear. Said Uchiha panted as she began to descend down to the ground until Naruto caught her in the hands of his Susanoo.
"You've done enough already, Mikoto," Naruto stated. "Now, just watch how this ends."
"Even if you say that," Violet cut in, pointing at the Watcher, "just how are you going to hit him with all of our chakra with his defense on and his quick movements?"
Naruto did have to frown at that particular detail. But the problem was quickly resolved for them as out of the blue, Kushina appeared in midair out of a spinning vortex.
'Ken!' Naruto realized.
The Watcher was taken back by the sudden appearance of the redhead. Using this to her advantage, Kushina was quick to make her attack, knowing every second counted. Pushing whatever Juubi chakra that she had left into her chains, the redhead Uzumaki wielded them around the self proclaimed god.
"Only this will work on you, won't it?" Kushina said with a small grin as the Watcher struggled to free himself from the chains. Looking behind her, she merely nodded to her son. Seeing this, Naruto couldn't help but smirk.
"I hope you're not forgetting about me now, Naruto."
'Why, I would never.'
The Seikatsugakari appeared in his hands in an instant. "Everyone, give me your chakra now!"
The bijuu and Violet did as they were told, knowing it was now or never. Bringing the sword forward, Naruto lunged out of his Susanoo and towards Kushina and the Watcher. Behind him, Violet grinned as the Susanoo began to diminish as well. But she quickly reactivated her own bijuu transformation again, catching Mikoto along with the other bijuu.
The Watcher screamed in anger as he saw Naruto heading straight towards him.
"Let go of me, Uzumaki Kushina!"
"It's all over for you and your plans," was the redhead's response just as Naruto was on top of them both. The last thing the Watcher saw was the point of the blade heading towards him.
The area was soon covered in a blinding light.
Naruto let out a groan as he opened his eyes, trying to figure out just what had happened. One minute he was finally ending the whole ordeal he had to deal with for the past few weeks, and now, he was in the middle of nowhere. A groan next to him shook him out of his thoughts. Said groan belonged to none other than Kushina.
"Kushina," Naruto said in surprise as he stood up. Violet eyes opened slowly, coming in contact with his.
"Naruto….." she began slowly, "is it morning already?"
Naruto rolled his eyes at hearing that. "C'mon now, you can't mean that you forgot what we've all been doing for the whole day," he replied as he got her to stand up.
"Oh yea," was her intelligent response before she looked around. "Then where are we?"
Naruto shook his head. "I don't know. The last thing I remember is stabbing that bas-"
"Merith."
Both Naruto and Kushina spun around in instant, coming fact to face with a man dressed in white robes. He had a small smile on his face as he looked at them both.
"You never did learn his name, did you? Well, it was Merith. I thought it was better than just calling him 'bastard' and whatnot."
Naruto and Kushina glanced at each other, not quite sure what to make of this.
"And just who might you be?" Kushina asked, keeping her guard up as well as Naruto.
"Hmm," the unknown man hummed for a moment. "I guess the name you would know me best as is Kami."
Two sets of eyes widened at hearing that.
"Are you serious!?" Naruto exclaimed in shock.
Kami simply nodded.
"After all this mess is over, you finally show yourself," Naruto commented with a small shake of his head. "You sure have damn good timing. So? Did me and Kushina finally die somehow so you're coming to pick us up or something?"
Kushina's eyebrow twitched at the calm way that Naruto just said that. As for Kami, the deity shook his head in amusement. "No, that's my brother's job, not mine. You've already met him as well. You two were good partners in the past, weren't you?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow at hearing that. He hadn't paid too much attention to it when the Sennin had commented on it. "Oh? Are you two really siblings?"
Kami nodded. "Yes. Along with Izanagi, whom you know about." There was a hint of sadness in the god's tone before he moved on. "But I'm surprised that you're accepting all of this so calmly."
Naruto shrugged. "Considering what we've been through, you can't expect anything less. Besides, I have a feeling that you're not lying to us."
Kami raised an eyebrow at that. "And why do you say that?"
"Your energy…it's familiar. That's all."
'Very interesting,' Kami thought, glancing at Kushina to see if she had anything to add. But by the look on the redhead's face, she didn't.
"So?" Naruto said, bring Kami's attention back to him. "What's the point of showing yourself after so long?"
Kami smiled at the question. Ah, finally the good part. "Because, at long last, things are finally beginning to approach its end. Everything that you wanted and what your former self wanted is finally going to become a reality. It's only saddening that it had to come at the sacrifice of so many."
Kushina frowned at hearing this. "Your messenger…..Merith or whatever. Why didn't you stop him yourself from the beginning? Or was he really able to trick you until it was too late?"
Kami sighed at that. "You're not the first one to ask me that. But to keep it simple, it was all to accomplish my dream that is now going to be a reality."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at that. "And what dream is that?"
Kami shifted his gaze to him, amusement present in his eyes. "Tell me something, Naruto, haven't you always wondered why I wanted gave humanity the power of chakra? Why it was your former self that received the Rinnegan? Why his father was the first individual ever to be able to use chakra?"
"The million ryo questions," Kushina muttered. Of course, Naruto had wondered. Hell, Kushina, Fuka, and even Anko had wondered all of this after he had told them everything that had transpired after they had crushed Konoha.
"It's all because of your dream," Naruto replied slowly, not sure where this was going to lead.
Kami nodded. "Yes. But the most problematic variable in this whole thing was free will. It is a gift that I gave to humanity, a gift that I never intend to take away as well, something that many other gods berate me for. Including my own brother, Izanagi. But why shouldn't they be able to have the same gift that we gods have? Simply because they didn't have powers like we did? So I sought to rectify that. This is when I created Juubi. I wanted to see if it was possible to create a being that would be able to be receptive to chakra. After all, that's exactly what humans can do. Believe it or not, it's similar to the energy that we gods use. Except ours is much more…..potent? I guess that would be the best word. Mine more so than any other god's. But Juubi went beyond my expectations. He was a god unto himself. Of course, it wasn't long before he became corrupt with power. Some saw this as the chance to finally be able to have a being under their possession that could finally damage me. After all, Juubi was the only one capable of this. Quite selfish, don't you think?"
Both Naruto and Kushina had to agree. But they had already seen this sort of selfishness before. But to think that even gods had these problems…..and they were the so-called "higher beings."
'What a joke,' thought Naruto.
"It was because of this that I instead chose to seal my very first creation into the world that belonged to my newest creations. It was my domain. There, no one would ever be able to try anything without causing another war. And after having fought Juubi, the other gods weren't in the mood to try and risk it. But again, this is where the unpredictability that is free will comes into play."
Realization hit Naruto like a ton of bricks. "You never intended for humans to ever discover where the Juubi was sealed, did you!?"
Kami smiled. "You catch on fast." He then sighed. "But you're right. I never intended for the outbreak of Juubi to happen. But my creations evolved at a faster rate than I anticipated, just like with Juubi. Dr. Newman, I particularly gave him a stronger affinity for chakra than any other human at the time because I planned to make through him and his descendants the proper steps to ensure my dream. He had the correct mindset for it, but most of all his soul wasn't tainted with the corruption of the times. He was perfect. But he too went beyond my expectations. His knowledge went beyond than of what I had imagined. He was able to somehow actively tap into his chakra, unsealing the gate that held back Juubi."
"And he was able to do that because he had been blessed directly by your power," Naruto finished.
Kami nodded, surprised yet again at how quickly Naruto grasped concepts. "And just like I had imagined, he gave birth to a son that had even stronger chakra than he did. Seeing this as well as Juubi rampaging on the world I had created, I knew I had to act fast. It wouldn't be long before Juubi would try to make his way back into our realm and enact just another war. So I decided to give Newman's son some of my power to deal with Juubi through Merith. Of course, by this point it seems as if Merith had already been planning his revenge on the gods."
"So you didn't know it at the time?" asked Kushina, cutting in. "And what do you mean by revenge on the gods? Was that what he was really after?"
Kami nodded. "Yes, he felt he was belittled. That he deserved more. That he deserved to be the strongest god ever to be. As I'm sure Violet has told you, Naruto, Merith collected the chakra that Juubi left behind during the war between him and the gods. The reason for this was because he knew of how I did things unlike with the rest of the gods. Merith knew how Juubi was just plain chakra. And if he harvested it, he could be able to create another Juubi of his own. Since none of my other brethren, not even my own brothers, knew of this at the time, I wasn't concerned by it."
"So when did you figure out his plan?" asked Naruto, curious to know the answer.
Kami chuckled. "Ironically enough, it wasn't me that did. It was my brother, Shinigami. I trusted Merith with my life. I would have never imagined that he would ever betray me. Maybe that was why I was blind to this plan in the beginning. But my brother had never been trusting of Merith, nor was he too please with me or the rest of the gods for having had sealed Juubi away and then having his power split. My brother was the only true friend among the gods that Juubi had. After this, he began to take measures into his own hands. He approached you, Naruto, or well the past you, under the guise that it was one of the powers under the Rinnegan. But he already had a goal in mind."
"To revive the Juubi," Naruto guessed.
Kami nodded. "Yes. He knew how we had stripped Juubi of his rationality. He also knew how the Sennin would never agree to try and revive Juubi. So he decided to wait. While doing so, he kept tabs on Merith. But all that Merith was doing at the time was watching as well. He was curious as to how things would end with humans at this time since they were learning to harness chakra for themselves. It wasn't long before he was disgusted with it. And to some degree, I must agree. Free will is both a gift and a curse. And then came Uchiha Madara and everything changed. My brother knew that he had finally found someone who could revive Juubi once and for all. But he was also aware of what I was planning. With you, Naruto."
"And that is your dream, isn't it." Naruto knew that already. It was why Madara had done what he had done.
Kami nodded. "Yes. My plan had been brought to a halt for some time because of what had happened with Juubi and humanity's early introduction to chakra. So my brother instead decided to use Madara for a different purpose: bring you around to a different way of thinking. And I must say, it worked. You took a different turn, and thus led a different life. But my brother still failed. Why? Because you still took down Juubi instead of completely releasing him. And what's worse is that you took Juubi's power as your own as well."
No wonder the Shinigami hadn't been too fond of him from then on afterwards. Now, Naruto knew why. "But the Sennin, he told me that it had been the Juubi's plot from the beginning….."
"Because it was," answered Kami. "While my brother didn't know it, Juubi had learned to reason once again after the Rikudo Sennin became Juubi's jinchuriki. So Juubi came up with a plan of his own. The two just didn't know of the other."
"Then the Sennin-"
"He didn't know anything about me or my brother or anything of the sort. At least, at the time. Later, after you enacted your vengeance on your village, I began to communicate with him and tell him. That's when he decided to conserve his energy before telling you what he did for one final time, namely about my brother Izanagi and Izanami."
Kushina bit her lip at that. She had kept that from Naruto. And the worse part was that it could have caused them a helluva trouble had Naruto not known about the two beforehand. The redhead knew she would have to apologize about that later.
"Then how was he able to to communicate with me in the first place?" asked Naruto.
Kami smiled. "The Rinnegan is a fascinating set of eyes. Since they're a part of my power, I simply let it for the Sage's soul to be passed down the line of whomever activated the Rinnegan. Without my brother's consent of course, something he wasn't too fond of. But he didn't try to rectify it because he knew he could use it to his advantage as well. Of course, I only allowed it for the Sennin's soul to be able to speak to you and not Madara. But to the Sage, he thought it was something of his own doing."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Which brings me to my last question…..just how did you know that I was going to activate the Rinnegan? From what I understand and what Madara and the Sennin told me, this wasn't the path that I was originally meant to walk in. So then, how?"
"And why would you even allow for the Shinigami to mess around like he did?" added Kushina, something which had been bugging her.
Kami chuckled. "Once again, the bitter sweetness that is free will. For your question, Kushina, when I found out what my brother was attempting on doing, my first reaction was to put an end to it. But then I saw the implications that could occur if what he was doing happened. And one of them was-"
"-us being here right now and under these circumstances," Naruto finished for him.
Kami nodded, once again impressed. "Yes. It all depended on your choices of course. If you refused, then you would have still walked down your 'original' path. But if you accepted it, then there was a chance that this would occur. So I decided to take a gamble. And it seems to me that it has paid off, wouldn't you agree?"
Naruto and Kushina were speechless. All of this had happened….on a gamble! Nothing more! It was quite the shocker.
Kami laughed lightly at seeing their impressions. Although, he supposed he shouldn't be too surprised at that. The world was about to take another drastic turn, and it had happened because one god had taken a gamble through the choices that is life.
"Finally, we get to the end of our discussion…..just what my dream is exactly."
Kami took a deep breath in. It was finally the moment of truth. "Like I told you, I was criticized by my fellow brethren for given humans the freedom of free will. So I sought to rectify that. By giving humans the same power as us, I hoped that one day humanity would become the same as us. Walk alongside us. Live alongside us. Basically what I'm trying to say is-"
"You wanted humanity to be considered the same as gods," Naruto realized, his mind working overtime right now.
Kami nodded. He had been doing that a lot. "Yes. And during the so-called Second cycle, this almost became a reality. But unfortunately, humanity wasn't ready yet. Instead, it transformed itself into the Shinobi era that Merith came to loath. But now, the Fourth cycle is just on the horizon. And with it, this realization of mine, humanity united as one and considered as equals to gods, can become a reality. It's what I've been wanting for my creations since the beginning."
Naruto chuckled at hearing this. "I see. That definitely does sound like a better alternative to what the bastard was planning alright." His mind was already planning on how to accomplish this as well. Even if it wasn't too...nice. But he had learned that humanity was corrupt, just like gods were. It was the risk that occurred when free will was brought to the equation. Darkness was everywhere. So in order to counteract that, Naruto knew he couldn't be all about love. It was why the Sennin had chosen him as his heir and not his two sons, after all. One couldn't just be all about love or force. He had to have both. It was the only way things could ever work.
Kami looked on expectantly. "So does that mean…?"
Naruto smirked as he brought his arm around Kushina's waist, pulling her close to him.
"The Fourth Cycle is upon us, and I, Uzumaki Naruto, shall be its creator."
Violet sighed as leaned against one of the many damaged buildings in the now burning city of Geneva. Never before had she been so tired. Looking over the where she had helped Naruto kill the Watcher, Violet couldn't help but frown. A few minutes before, the light had died down. But before she could do anything, Mikoto, along with the bijuu, had disappeared. And she didn't know where to, which irritated her. After all, she was already planning on taking down Mikoto and the others. They were nothing more than hassles now. And as far as she was concerned, they needed to be destroy.
"Fancy seeing you here."
Violet sighed as Ichigo's voice reached her ears. Looking to the other side of the street, she saw Ichigo in his shinigami outfit standing in the middle of the street.
"Where's the rest of your gang?"
"They're around," was the vague respond that she received.
"What do you want, Kurosaki?"
Ichigo began to walk towards her. "You know what I want. And since that old man seems to be dead, then you're the only one who can give me what I'm looking for."
She really wasn't in the mood for this. "Before you try and slice my throat off, I know where they are. And you can have them too. They don't matter to me. They never did. The only reason we abducted them was because my old boss wanted to kill you before this all began. Of course, Naruto crushed that plan."
"Where are they?"
Violet rolled her eyes. "The Watch Tower in Tokyo. They're in the holding cells. And don't worry. I put them before coming here. So they've only been there for a few hours. But you before hurry up before the building is torn down or something."
Ichigo kept his eyes locked with hers. "If you're lying-"
"I'm not," snapped Violet. "I would gain nothing from it. And like I said, they never interested me in the beginning. Neither did you for that matter. The Shinigami simply brought you in as insurance."
Ichigo didn't respond. Instead, he kept his eyes locked with hers for a few more moments before disappearing.
"And there goes my fellow disciple," she muttered.
"Aww, don't be sad now. You won't be lonely for too long. After all, you'll soon be joining your former boss."
Violet snapped back into defense as Mikoto, Ken, and Fuka appeared in a vortex a few feet away in front of her. Violet grinned at seeing them, not worried at the least.
"Well, if it isn't you three. And here I thought you had disappeared or something."
"We're just here to see you off," Fuka said with a small grin. "After all, you've been such a great host to us all. It's only decent of us."
Next to her, Ken sighed as he scratched the back of his head. 'I've gotten involved with really dangerous women,' he thought. Then again, that had been the case with Anko as well. And in some ways, the purple haired woman had been worst than either Fuka or Mikoto.
Violet chuckled as her eyes began to glow. "And what makes you think that any of you has what it takes to beat me?"
Fuka smirked as a small black orb appeared in her hand. "Perhaps you haven't been paying attention this whole time, sweetie. But that isn't going to work on us any longer."
Violet's eyes widened, now a small amount of fear preset on her face. "That power….."
"That's right," said Mikoto. "It can negate yours. And Fuka here can easily give it to either of us at any time. But I wonder if you could even handle anyone of us at your present state without having to resort those powers that you don't deserve."
Violet gritted her teeth in frustration. "What do you want?"
Mikoto's sharingan sprung to life. "You have something within you that doesn't belong to you. And I've been thinking about giving it to Naruto as a gift as a token of our reunion. I'm sure he's going to love it, wouldn't you agree?"
"But if you do that-"
"You die," finished Fuka with a small shrug. "We figured that. But you haven't exactly had qualms about trying to kill us. And don't think that we don't know that you were only helping us in taking down that bastard for your own benefit."
"I sensed your killing intent a mile's away," added Mikoto. "Now then, I'd rather not lose any more time with you. You're through, Violet. You lost everything and gained nothing. You're nothing more than a girl who thought that she could be something that she was never meant to be. In some ways, you and the so-called Watcher are perfect for each other."
Violet screamed as the Kyuubi's chakra engulfed her. "You will NOT TAKE ME!"
"Let's see how well your master taught you about genjutsu," was the Uchiha's calm response.
Her world went blank.
The world leaders that had been present at the conference were currently scared shitless. Things had just happened too fast for them. Not only that, but they had no idea about what to make of the few things that they did understand. Looking around the vacant room, the men and women could only wonder just what was going to happen to them from now on.
"Welcome, my great leaders."
Oddly enough, every representative was able to understand Naruto as he walked into the room. Or not oddly enough as the White Zetsu clones translated everything into their respective language. Standing next to the Uzumaki was both Kushina and Black Zetsu along with the rest of the tailed beasts, the Seikatsugakari strapped to his back.
It was the President of the United States who was able to speak to him. "Do you really think that you'll be able to get away with this? You've practically kidnapped the United Nations! You'll be marked with death! There's no where on Earth that you'll be able to hide!"
"A funny one this one. I'm definitely going to enjoy this alright."
Naruto chuckled. "That should be the least of your concerns right now, my dear President."
"And why is that?"
Instead of answering him, Naruto turned to Black Zetsu. "So you're sure that White Zetsu was able to get a copy of every single one of them?"
Black Zetsu nodded. "Yes. They're on their way as we speak. We just need a good cover story about all of this. But I'm sure some of Mikoto's genjutsu can easily fix the whole ordeal."
Looking back to the President and the group of world leaders behind, Naruto sighed before turning away from the man.
"It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
With that, he, followed by the rest, walked out of the room. The President and the others looked at each other, confused. They were trying to understand just what had happened. But they weren't left to ponder this for too long as the whole room exploded into flames, engulfing every single person in the room.
They were all dead within seconds.
Violet hadn't wished for things to end the way they had. Nor was it what her visions had told her. In her visions, she had seen herself and Naruto crowned together as god and goddess of the human race. They were meant to rule together for an eternity. But instead, she now laid beaten in a burning city by the people that she had been trying to get Naruto away from. Maybe the whole thing had just been a dream, something that her powers had shown her since she wished for it so bad.
Fuka was panting heavily off to the side as she stood on one knee. "I really need to get back into practice alright."
Mikoto chuckled from her spot next to her, beads of sweat falling down her face. "Hahaha it's not just you. But I didn't think that she could force the Kyuubi to dispel my genjutsu for her. Not only that, but we also just came out of some tough fights of our own. So it's understandable that we had a bit of a rough time."
Ken merely shook his from his spot away from the two women. "You two are just crazy, you know that right?"
'Bitches be crazy!' screamed the White Zetsu clone in his head.
Fuka t'ched at him. "Says the guy that didn't help."
"Because you rejected my help, remember?" retorted the former CIA operative.
The redhead merely t'ched again. "Whatever."
"You all seem to be having fun."
The trio turned their attention to the newly arrived Naruto and Kushina who appeared in a dark flash.
Mikoto sent her best friend a dried look. "Trust me, fun doesn't even come close to describing what a pain it was to take down this girl."
Naruto's eyes were locked to Violet's downed for. Walking forward, he stopped at her side in order to kneel next to her.
"So this is it then, Violet…."
Violet weakly moved her head to look at him. "It's still not too late right now. We can still become the god and goddess we were meant to be."
Naruto shook his head. "You just don't get it, do you? Whether you're a human or a god or whatever, it changes nothing. All you can do is strive to be the best in wherever you are. You strove to be something that does not exist. And that is a perfect being. Just like the Watcher did. I guess some of his teachings did get into your head. Which is too unfortunate."
"And what about you? Are you certain that this will lead you to what you want?"
Looking around him for a moment and seeing all the faces of the people who stood by him, Naruto knew his answer. Naruto locked eyes with Violet's fading ones. "Yes. They're my family. And no matter how selfish it may be, I'm not letting them go. Even if we're far from perfect, we're happy. And that's all that matters to us."
"I see….."
Before the light could completely fade from the girl's eyes, however, Naruto placed his hand on the girl's head, searching for what, or rather who, he was looking for. A few moments later, he had to smile at the familiar familiar.
'Welcome back, old friend.'
"And here I thought I was your old friend. You're really going to make me cry."
Naruto merely rolled his eyes at the sword's comment, both knowing that it couldn't very well do that. But he would worry about talking to his once lost friend later.
"So what happens now?" asked Ken from behind him. It was a question that the others, apart from Kushina, had as well.
Standing up, Naruto looked up at the sky and beyond the burning city.
"It's time to commence the Fourth cycle. From here on out, man shall walk amongst the gods."
Well, damn, that really took me longer to update than I thought. I'm really sorry about that. But life got in the way unfortunately. Also, I almost decided on splitting this chapter up to add a bit more detail to the end but I thought 'to hell with it' and here ya go! Hope you enjoyed it.
One thing, though, before anyone asks: just how was Kushina able to stay in air when she had the Watcher in chains? Well, because the Watcher was floating, and she didn't want to bring him down so she merely let the man float all happily in the air with her catching a ride for free. That's all.
Anyway, once again, I hope you all found this enjoyable. If you have any questions left, just ask. Now, all that's left is the sequel. That won't take too long I hope.
Till then.