I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.


True You

Ryuu sat one the small circle of ground in front of the water fall. Naruto had finished ridding himself of his inner darkness and Killer B had agreed to train him to control the Nine-tails. While he did, Ryuu had decided to see if he couldn't handle his own inner darkness. He had a feeling it was a bad idea but, hey, what was the worst that could happen?

He closed his eyes and a moment later everything beyond a few hundred feet of himself faded away. Ryuu stood as an unsettling yet familiar laugh rang out. He looked toward the waterfall and saw a silhouette standing just behind it with a pair of glowing red eyes. He took a step back, reaching for his tanto but hesitated.

"What's the matter?" the silhouette asked, voice still strangely familiar but not processing in his head. "You look scared."

The silhouette stepped forward, breaching the waterfall and stepping into view, revealing themselves as a second him with black sclera and glowing Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Ryuu drew his tanto and Fu's kunai and the second him laughed moving his hands out from behind himself, his right hand bearing the same bladed sleeve Ryuu had come to hate and the left holding both Itachi's head and Fu's head by the hair. Ryuu staggered away, forming the seal he had been shown to return home but went nowhere.

"Careful," the other him snorted. "No telling where you'll end up if you go into that white void behind you."

Ryuu glanced back then back at the other him as the other him set the two heads on the circle of land then drew the tanto Ryuu's brother had given him in his left hand. Ryuu winded, remembering perfectly that it had been his mistake that got the blade broken in the first place. Ryuu sighed and darted forward, slashing at the other him. The second Ryuu blocked the first's slash and slashed back. Ryuu ducked under it and ducked into a foot, being blasted back, the void retreating from them, creating more room for them to fight. As it did, the second Ryuu slammed his palm into the surface of the water and smoke filled the area. When it cleared, Ryuu was looking at every face, every person he had ever killing. Even Fu and Itachi were there.

"You thought going to Heaven removed your guilt?" the second him laughed. "Oh my poor deluded friend. You've never been more wrong. How many of them did you see there?"

Ryuu's face fell and he stared at his feet. He was right. Almost none had been present. In fact, he doubted he had seen any of them. The dark Ryuu seized on the chance, letting the others all fade and springing forward, slashing at Ryuu. Ryuu blocked it, activating his Sharingan for the ability to copy jutsus and the ability to read the other Ryuu's movements. Aside from that, he didn't need his Mangekyo. He knew the other Ryuu's moves. He just needed to tell which it would be before he used it. Dark Ryuu slashed at him but Ryuu blocked it, both tanto shattering on impact. Dark Ryuu staggered back, growling in frustration before slashing at Ryuu with his sleeve. Ryuu blocked it with Fu's kunai and then stared at the knife. Memories of Fu flooded into his head, soon turning to memories of her death. He sank to the ground and Dark Ryuu leapt forward, slashing at him. Ryuu made no move to dodge it and the blades slashed him across the chest, matching wounds appearing in reality. Ryuu pushed himself up, taking a few steps back before looking up at Dark Ryuu. Dark Ryuu grinned, charging again. Ryuu looked to Fu's head and memories of talking to a part of her in Heaven flooded into his head. He drew her other kunai, staring down at them then looked up at Dark Ryuu.

"Are you ready to try yet?" Dark Ryuu smirked. "I'm bored."

Ryuu sprinted forward, slashing at Dark Ryuu. Dark Ryuu blocked it before Ryuu shoved the gauntlet up and slashed Dark Ryuu across the chest. Dark Ryuu jumped back and a Ryuu clone stepped forward, slashing him across the back. Dark Ryuu shouted in surprise and spun, slashing him as another clone exploded out of the ground and grabbed him by the leg then simply exploded, a technique Ryuu had learned from Itachi. Dark Ryuu shouted in pain as he landed, badly burned. Then, he healed himself, Ryuu doing the same, and stood, forming his Susanoo. Ryuu looped up at it then down at Dark Ryuu again.

"Die," Dark Ryuu growled, his Susanoo opening and firing green chakra needles at Ryuu.

Ryuu grinned and darted sideways then sprinted forward, skidding to a stop just before reaching the Susanoo. Just as it began to turn toward him, a second Ryuu appeared behind Dark Ryuu and drove a Lightning Blade into the Susanoo's back, barely breaking through.

"Chidori Stream!" the Ryuu clone shouted, the Lightning Blade shooting off of his hand and over the Susanoo then along the ground inside and up Dark Ryuu's legs.

Dark Ryuu shrieked in pain, the Susanoo fading as Ryuu stepped forward, slashing at him again. Dark Ryuu caught his arm and glared at him, their Mangekyo Sharingan meeting.

"You can't get rid of me," Dark Ryuu snarled. "I'm all you've ever known."

"Then it's about time I tried something new isn't it?" Ryuu growled, creating a Flame Sword over his fist and impaling Dark Ryuu with it.

Dark Ryuu released Ryuu's arm and Ryuu healed the burn. After a moment, the flames went out and Dark Ryuu began to laugh hysterically.

"You think you can kill me just like that?" Dark Ryuu laughed.

"No," Ryuu admitted. "But I learned a thing or two from Sasori."

Dark Ryuu blinked, not remembering learning anything from Sasori. Ryuu pointed at his palm and when Dark Ryuu checked his own, he saw a scratch that was turning black around it. Dark Ryuu shouted in surprise and Ryuu laughed.

"Don't waste time trying to remove it, blood makes a complete circuit once every fifty seconds," Ryuu snorted as Dark Ryuu began frantically sawing at his own wrist with a kunai.

Sure enough, the rest of Dark Ryuu's body began to turn black and Dark Ryuu doubled over, coughing up blood.

"I should thank you," Ryuu smiled. "Without you, I never would have taken the time to actually accept what Fu told me. So as thanks, I'll make it nice and painless for you."

Ryuu drove Fu's kunai into the sides of Dark Ryuu's head and suddenly he was back in reality. Just as he appeared, Samehada, now with scales sicking out of the bandages at random and with Kisame's upper body, now grey and covered in spikes, extending from the edge of the bandages in place of Samehada's tip. Ryuu caught Samehada by the handle, growling in frustration.

"You're interrupting Kisame," Ryuu growled. "Bad move."

He snapped Samehada like a whip, launching Kisame out of it, leaving Samehada as its old scale sword self again and sending Kisame crashing into the trees beside the waterfall. He tossed Samehada into the air as Killer B stepped out of the waterfall and caught it then looked sideways at Kisame, who looked terrified. Ryuu walked over to Kisame, setting his right hand on Kisame's forehead, feeling Kisame draining his chakra through the contact. He grinned, beginning to pull back, using his Hashirama DNA to do so. After several seconds, the chakra began to reverse direction, flowing into Ryuu until Kisame collapsed, emaciated and unable to move but still alive.

"One Akatsuki member, gift wrapped and ready for shipping," Ryuu stated stepping back as Aoba walked over. "Careful, he absorbs chakra."

Aoba nodded and placed a chakra disruption tag on Kisame, keeping him from absorbing chakra then began to access Kisame's mind. While he did, Ryuu sat against the wall, holding one of Fu's knives in his hands and staring at it, smiling slightly for the first time since the beginning of the mission.


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