Just a quick note before we continue to the thrilling confrontation ahead, Naruto is going to be unveiling some new moves! And they're new jutsu that he created using his demon chakra that he learned to utilize. Now I couldn't find anything in cannon where such a term would of existed for a Demon Release. Now there's Fire Release, or Katon. Earth Release, Doton, so and so forth. So I created my own. I had a few terms to choose from as Japanese has a couple for demon. Oni is about as straight forward as you can get, referring to a demon. Akuma is also a term for demon, though it's literal translation is Evil (Aku) Devil (Ma).
So I chose to use just Ma, so when you see Maton, it's a direct translation for Devil Release. I liked it more than Oniton. Could I have just skipped the term and just have him use the ability? Sure. But this is more fun. I also note that my knowledge of Japanese is juvenile at best, so if anyone is fluent with the language and I've just committed a terrible atrocity towards the language, I do sincerely apologize.
On a final note, this chapter is going to once again earn the M rating, so don't read it if you're a kid. Unless you were a slick little shit like I was when I was thirteen (so many years ago) and read the NC-17 stuff on fanfiction. Then just don't rat me out to your parents.
Without any further ado, welcome to the thrilling conclusion of the Konoha Invasion!
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The first thing Hinata was able to recognize was the sound of crying. Her eyes fluttered open, as her consciousness came back to her slowly. It was dark, save for a few electric lights that hung from cords every ten feet or so above her in the corridor. She looked around, confused, as she tried to remember exactly where she was. She saw many civilians all huddled around each other along the corridor, some crying and others looking catatonic from fear. A few ninja walked along the rows of civilians, offering what looked to be rations or water. She tried to recall the last thing that she could, but only remembered Naruto taking her to the medic's office then –
Her thoughts stopped cold, as she recalled the warm smile of her father as he died. She bit her lip, trying to banish the sorrow that rose from within her.
"Hinata, are you okay?" Shino asked, noticing his teammate begin to stir. They hadn't been in the shelter long, and hadn't run into any more pursers either.
Hinata looked over, and breathed a small sigh of relief from seeing Shino sitting next to her, glad to see a friendly face. She then noticed that Shino had removed his glasses at some point, and couldn't help but notice how attractive he looked without them. "I'm okay. But, where are we?"
"Inside the shelter within the Hokage Monument."
Hinata thought back, remembering in the training drills they went through in the academy about this place. She somewhat recognized it too, as they had been given a small tour of the inside. It was a shelter comprised mostly of intersecting tunnels with larger supply rooms towards the back. It was built in mind for a last point of defense, able to withstand a long siege or able to lose enemies within due to the numerous twists, turns, and ascending and descending tunnels.
She looked to either side of her, starting to feel worried. "Shino, where's Naruto-kun?" she asked, not seeing their boisterous teammate. Shino broke eye contact with her, looking away. "Shino?" Hinata asked again, her mind already conjuring up the worst thing possible.
Shino watched as her eyes began to widen and grow fear-stricken, and he shook his head. "He's not dead. Don't think that." he spoke, then waited until he saw her calm down somewhat before continuing. "Kurenai-sensei ordered us to take you to the shelter, and escort any civilians we encountered on the way here. We're to now defend the cave until told anything further."
"So Naruto-kun is here?" Hinata asked, breathing a sigh of relief.
Shino frowned, as he tried to lie to her and keep her thinking that was the case, but he couldn't find the strength to do so. He could never lie to her. "No." He started, noticing the instant change in Hinata as she was hanging off his reply, "On our way here we. . ." Shino paused, thinking back to the terrifying glare in Naruto's eye. "We encountered a group of enemy ninja who were killing civilians, and they began to chase us. Naruto stopped, and faced the group head on."
"Is he okay?! We need to help him!" Hinata shouted, leaning forward, already starting to stand up.
Shino reached forward and sat her back down, not having to use much force due to her hurt leg. "Calm down, he was fine when I last saw him. I wanted to stay and help, but he told me to make sure you got here okay."
"But he -"
"Hinata!" Shino shouted, interrupting the girl, who looked at him as if he had slapped her. With a silent grunt, Shino continued, "Sorry, but we have to stay calm! I don't want to leave him out there anymore than you do but it is beyond dangerous out there and we have a duty to protect these people in here!" Shino felt his exhaustion begin to set in from the day, and his face reflected it. "He's my friend too, you know?"
Hinata felt ashamed at herself for acting the way she had, seeing Shino's face and realized how much he had gone through while she had been passed out. She sat back against the wall, hanging her head low.
Shino pursed his lips, looking towards his teammate. "Are you hungry? I'll go get us something to eat, see if I can't find someone to give us our next orders."
Hinata nodded in reply, remaining silent. Shino stood, giving one last sympathetic look before walking off further into the corridors. Hinata could only stare at the ground, her body and mind numb as an invasive feeling of being useless took hold of her. She couldn't stop herself from imagining Naruto all alone, covered in terrible wounds and surrounded by the enemy. Her eyes began to tear up, and she hugged her knees close. She just lost her father, she couldn't lose Naruto!
"Excuse me, miss?"
Hinata tilted her head over, seeing a middle aged woman holding her two young children. Both were holding onto their mother's yukata tightly, weeping quietly. The older woman gave an uncertain smile, asking "Forgive me but, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation just now. That blond boy, he is your team mate?"
Hinata wiped away her tears with her thumbs and nodded. "Yes. His name is Naruto Uzumaki."
"Naruto Uzumaki." She repeated, then looked down towards her children. "Did you hear that? That was the name of the boy who saved us."
Hinata watched with slight awe as the two children looked up towards their mother, eyes puffy and red. "Naruto Uzumaki?" they both repeated slowly, each no older than four years old. The mother nodded, her smile now bright. "Yes. We'll have to make sure to find him and thank him properly, won't we?" The children both nodded, their crying subsided. The mother looked back up towards Hinata, "He truly is a hero. Those horrible ninja were just. . . so many people were dying. He stopped the entire lot of them with one swing and stared them all down as we ran. Please, when you see him again, let him know that I thank him from the bottom of my heart. My children are safe thanks to him."
Hinata could only nod slowly, feeling a strange sense of happiness and pride as she heard someone praise Naruto as such. He needed to be able to hear this, that people were looking at him as a hero. Then, she grit her teeth, feeling shame at how Naruto was risking his life all alone, and all she was doing was sitting in a cave, crying. If Naruto had been in her place, he would of already been out the door long ago. Grabbing onto the wall for support, she lifted herself up, the pain now seeming so far removed that it was gone entirely.
"Miss?" The woman asked, watching Hinata stand.
Hinata smiled down at the older woman, thanking her silently for helping her inadvertently find the strength she needed. "I'm going to find my hero, I won't let him fight alone." She walked away briskly, heading towards the entrance.
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"Shit!" Naruto cursed, as he barely blocked another incredibly strong punch from Shukaku. The blow knocked him back a foot and he stumbled to regain his footing. His enemy had been attacking with a zealous ferocity that was only fueled by the Bijuu's insanity. He had never felt attacks so vicious before, the strength behind each one shook his body when he blocked it.
Shukaku burst forward as Naruto stumbled with a loud cackle and thrust out his arm with a strong uppercut, catching the boy in his solar plexus. Naruto's breath left him in a violent rush, as the punch sent him soaring into the sky. As he tried to straighten himself in the air, he caught a glimpse of Shukaku right next to him. The Bijuu spun and slammed his sand scaled tail into Naruto, knocking him towards a nearby building.
Naruto hit the wall with terrible force and broke through it, soaring though someone's living room. Hitting the carpet, Naruto rolled and slammed his foot down, trying to slow himself as he crashed into the wall behind him.
He had no time to rest though as Shukaku was already through the hole in the wall and cocking back another punch. Naruto cursed again and rolled to the right, the massive punch breaking through the wall where he had just been. Shukaku turned with the punch and wrapped his tail around a nearby chair and threw it as he spun towards Naruto, who saw it coming and slashed with his zanbato, destroying the improvised projectile.
Shukaku burst forward again, but this time Naruto had enough time to get ready and parried the first punch Shukaku threw at him with his sword. The Bijuu was infusing his fists with sand, causing his limbs to be easily three times the size of a normal humans. Naruto grunted in pain, as he could feel his arms shake hard every time he countered a punch. Not just that, but Naruto saw his sword wasn't damaging his opponent at all. For every dent he made, sand automatically repaired Shukaku's armored hide.
Shukaku roared out, frustrated as he winded up a hard left straight. Naruto caught the telegraph however and was able to sidestep it. Switching his sword grip as he did so, Naruto pulled back his right fist and charged it up with as much demonic chakra as he could in a second. Remembering the technique he had developed over the month's training he exclaimed, "Maton: Demon King Punch!"
Now charged with the black and red chakra that emanated like fire from his arm and fist, Naruto thrust his fist with as much force as he could straight into Shukaku's chest. The demon chakra exploded with terrifying force and Shukaku was sent screaming away towards the other side of the room and the wall didn't slow his speed at all as he shattered through it.
Shoving his foot hard into the apartment floor, Naruto kicked off with a chakra enhanced jolt and caught up to the Bijuu in mid-air and slammed his feet into the demon's chest. The force of the attack caused both fighters to slam into the side of a nearby building, with Naruto ontop of Shukaku. Naruto leaned into Shukaku, keeping him against the wall and grinding his body face down as he rode him towards the ground. With a grin and chakra enhanced kick, Naruto kicked off the Bijuu just before he hit the ground and sent him into the building with a loud crash as Naruto flew across the street towards an adjacent building, catching himself on the side of the wall, the force of his impact leaving a small crater.
Looking up from where he crouched onto the wall, Naruto smirked, as he felt his adrenaline flowing full force. He didn't feel even the slightest bit exhausted, and realized he was calling fully upon the Kyuubi's chakra, so much so that he felt as though he had full access to an endless supply of chakra.
"You little shit, that hurt!" Naruto heard Shukaku scream from inside the burning building he'd sent his opponent into. Before he could return any banter, he heard Shukaku scream and more sand spikes than he could care to count shot out of the building and around the building, straight for him.
Jumping off his vertical perch, Naruto spun mid-air and briefly landed on one of the rushing spikes, before having to nimbly kick off it and continue the process as the spikes kept trying to impale him and causing him to gain altitude with every one he dodged and jumped off of. Now up almost thirty feet and getting too close to the black smoke, Naruto began to deflect the spikes with his sword, shattering them with hard slashes. After destroying five of them, turning and rotating mid-air with each one he destroyed, Naruto launched himself off the sixth and away from Shukaku and going around the building, seeing the spikes finally stop as he got out of his range.
Not allowing his blond opponent to have a moment of reprise, Shukaku emerged from the building through the other side, smashing through the wall in a shoulder tackle. Naruto reached the end of his leap and hit the ground rolling, Shukaku hot on his tail. "Cocky little fucker! I'm gonna squash you like the bug you are!" With a loud roar, Shukaku threw his arm up in a wide arc, and at the very apex his open palm expanded a hundred fold, dirt rushing forth from the ground below and forming a gigantic hand the size of a building. "Stand still and die like a good boy!"
Naruto grit his teeth as the hand came down way to fast to dodge and he cocked his fist back again. Channeling demon chakra into it again as he had before, he re-used the same technique and met the palm with his attack and hit it hard enough to stop it's fall and send it flying back up.
Shukaku grinned and released the technique, the accumulated dirt and sand becoming loose again and falling towards Naruto. "Sucker! Sand Coffin!" Shukaku screamed, borrowing his hosts killing technique. The falling dirt and sand quickly collapsed towards Naruto, covering him in a perfect sphere. With a sadistic grin from Shukaku's half-face, he exclaimed "Sand Burial!"
The sand collapsed and blood exploded from small openings in the sand sphere and Shukaku began laughing with mad glee. "You fucking idiot! I hope you have fun being DEAD! Bwhahaha!"
"Think I'd really fall for that twice?!"
Shukaku turned around at the last second to catch a glimpse of the edge of Naruto's zanbato slamming into his head, screaming in pain as his sand defense didn't allow for a fatal blow but sent him soaring away, only to be caught again by another Naruto who caught him with a powerful chop to his mid-section.
As the sand had collapsed around Naruto, he substituted with a Suna-nin's corpse that laid behind Shukaku, and summoned a shadow clone immediately after.
As Shukaku regained enough of his senses to look towards Naruto the blond had already caught up towards him, currently in mid-air with both his legs cocked back. With a roar, Naruto drop kicked Shukaku directly in the center of his chest and once more sent him careening away.
Naruto hit the ground and rolled to his feet, breathing heavily as he watched Shukaku hit the ground and tumbled further back to come to a sudden stop as he hit a burning crate. The burning object collapsed onto him, but the Bijuu made no move as if it overly concerned him as he stood back up, his head down. Naruto's muscles were in a constant flux. As they begged for him to stop how hard he was pushing himself, the Kyuubi's regeneration power was working at full speed to repair the damage to his body and keep him in top form.
Naruto tensed his body, ready to move again, trying to figure out how in the hell he was going to kill this bastard when he heard a voice yell out from behind him.
"Gaara!"
Turning, he saw the Suna genin Temari standing few feet behind him, along with two other Suna ninja, Temari looking as if she had seen a ghost. Naruto cursed and moved so he could keep both threats to his sides. But it didn't seem as though Temari even looked at him as she began moving towards Shukaku. Her two escorts on the other hand, began slowly advancing towards Naruto.
"Gaara! You're alive?!" she cried out, starting to run towards him, almost laughing in joy.
"Stop! He's not your brother anymore!" Naruto yelled out, moving towards her. As he did so however, he heard two shuriken cutting through the air towards him and he had to lash out with his sword to deflect them. While he had no love for the girl who belonged to the nation of his enemy, he couldn't just let her get murdered by Shukaku. Her rage and grief still echoed in his mind, her tears proof of how much she had cared for her brother.
Temari ignored Naruto and ran up to Shukaku, who was growling and stomping towards Naruto whom was fighting off the two escorts Temari had with her.
"Stop it you idiots! This isn't the time!" Naruto exclaimed as he dodged a slash from a katana. He tried to look back towards Temari, but another swipe of his enemies steel forced him to focus on the fight.
"Gaara! It's me Tem-" she was cut off as her mouth and neck were covered by Shukaku's grotesque left hand. She tried to scream out, only for it to be muffled by the hardened sand appendage.
Shukaku looked over at the girl he picked up off the ground, enraged at the human filth that dared approach him, but then grew a wicked grin. "So you're the that girl that Gaara kept talking about inside his mind." he spoke, looking into Temari's eyes.
Temari tried to reply, her muffled response sounding like 'what?' Shukaku chuckled as he brought her closer to bear. "You have no idea how fucking annoying it was having to listen to him when he thought I couldn't hear him. He adored his 'nee-chan', always saying how glad he was to have a sister as cool as her. That is, until I had my way with him and finally got him to shut up." Shukaku laughed with vile mirth, his grin speaking louder than words could.
Temari almost stopped breathing entirely as she looked horrified at Shukaku. "Oh, right. You wouldn't have known really. The elders who sealed him away in me were rather sloppy in the process. Their seal was pathetic and all it took was the boy to experience trauma in any way for the seal to weaken enough to allow me corrupt his mind."
Shukaku began laughing, as he watched Temari's eyes widen and her pupils shrink. "What, did you really think that he was some kind of psychopath?! Bwhahaha! You stupid bitch! I had him half inside my cage, both of us fighting for dominance for YEARS! It wasn't until that brat killed my disgusting host that his soul was released and I was able to completely shatter the seal! Soon I'll be able to shed this form entirely and regain my beautiful body!"
Temari began to kick and scream under Shukaku's grip, now fully understanding this monster was no longer her little brother. She looked into the half of the beasts face that still contained her brother and saw that even though he was long deceased, his face spoke of a grief none could understand. Shukaku grinned as he grasped onto Temari's legs and raised her into the air above him. "Don't worry! You're gonna see him in hell real soon! SHOW ME SOME BLOOD BABY!"
Shukaku pulled as hard as he could, intending to tear the girl in half, but an inhuman roar of sheer rage exploded from in front of him. "What?!" Was all he was able to get out as a massive swing tore through both his arms and caused the sand limbs to disintegrate and dropped Temari unharmed.
Temari yelled out in shock, and felt herself get caught roughly by the scruff of her shirt and thrown backwards. As she hit the ground and looked back up, she felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw Naruto standing in front of her, his entire arm and sword covered in a dark fire. His body radiated a translucent red sheen across his body that faded in and out of reality.
"Get the hell out of here! Run, before I change my mind and tear you apart for what you've done to Konoha!"
Temari tried to think of a response, to say anything as she stumbled to her feet, but the two escort ninja grabbed onto her arms and ran at full speed away from the fight. All Temari could do was stare at Naruto's back as he advanced towards Shukaku.
"You son of a bitch." Naruto growled. He had heard the entire thing. Just as he decided it wasn't worth messing with the two ninja and was going to attempt killing blows, he heard Shukaku describe what he had done to Gaara. Of how the demon enjoyed toying with human lives as if he had some right to. Something clicked inside him and he felt even more of the Kyuubi's essence meld with his own. Taking his sword in both hands, he charged towards Shukaku, who was preparing to finish off his deceased host's sister. He felt the chakra go from his body and channel into his sword, causing the previous red and black void that covered his sword to explode into the same chakra that he was able to project and gave it enough strength to cut through Shukaku's arms.
Shukaku hit the ground screaming, looking down at the bloody stumps where his arms once were. "Oh god, my arms, my arms!"
Naruto kept his pace towards the demon steady, trying to burn a hole through his head with his gaze alone, his hatred for the demon enough to almost make it happen. Just as he was close enough to slam his sword down and impale Shukaku, the demon stopped his screams and thrust one stubby arm forward, a sand blade shooting out of the wound heading straight for Naruto.
Cursing, Naruto was able to jump back in time and avoid the attack.
"Moron! Did you really think that you could kill me?!" Shukaku taunted, as sand began forming new limbs almost instantaneously. "Fat chance sucker! Unless you can take out something important you ain't never gonna get close to killing me! And that ain't gonna happen!"
Naruto growled as he held his sword parallel to the ground at his side, glaring at his enemy. "I swear I'm going to shut that big mouth of yours for good soon, you fucking demon!"
"Bring it, you little snot-nosed shit! Play time is over!" Shukaku yelled before clapping his hands together in a seal. Naruto charged towards Shukaku, but was stopped half-way, as the ground underneath Shukaku fractured and lifted off the ground, creating a small floating platform, with him ontop it. Naruto gasped, watching his opponent take to the sky, cackling manically and saw hundreds of streams of sand and dirt flow from all over the village, enough to the point where it covered most of his view of the smoke and fire behind Shukaku. It easily had enough surface area to be the size of half the village!.
The Bijuu continuously rose until he was high above Konoha, a gigantic roof of earth overhead. Looking down through the smoke and fire, Shukaku's face shifted into insane glee as he raised up his hand. "Time to die Kyuubi brat! Sand Shower!"
From above, hundreds of sand spikes began to mold and form from the earthen roof above Shukaku. Then, as the Bijuu dropped his hand, they began shooting forth.
Naruto clenched his teeth, as he watched the incoming missiles fire in such a quantity they blocked his regular view of his opponent. Keeping an eye on his heat signature, Naruto jumped forward towards the oncoming projectiles.
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Anko tapped her foot impatiently as she stared up at the large purple cage that obscured her view of the fight between her old sensei and the Hokage. "Dammit. What's taking so long?! You'd think the ANBU would have no problem getting some explosives quick, but fuck!"
"Calm down Anko, they're having to move through a warzone out there." Kurenai replied. Though in truth she didn't have much right to tell someone to be calm. She hadn't been able to stop moving, constantly running between groups of shinobi to help set up a command center in the stadium. They had been able to successfully repel two assaults so far, and with it's location being near the front, it was ideal to be able to reorganize the chain of command and start forming an organized defense and counter-attack against the allied army.
She couldn't stay still. If she did she would probably die of a heart attack from all the anxiety for her team's safety. Though they had only been together a short time, especially Naruto, they felt like a family.
"The team is finally back!" A jonin shouted from the top of the stadium.
"About fucking time! Let's get it set up then! We ain't got all day people!" Anko roared out, already barking orders as she headed for the base of the tower. "Get those explosives set up around the main supports, this bitch is gonna- what the hell is that?!"
Kurenai looked over at Anko who stopped mid-shout and was looking up towards the sky. Kurenai followed her field of vision, and saw what looked like a gigantic plot of sand and dirt floating high in the sky across the village. With a quick succession of jumps, Kurenai arrived at the edge of the stadium's roof, where many other ninja were standing, looking in awe at the massive object.
Kurenai strained her eyes as she looked for the source of the floating ground, and saw someone or some thing standing on an earthen platform. "What the hell is going on over there?"
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Inside the sealed barrier, a fierce battle had been raging between legendary ninja. Orochimaru was using every last dirty trick he knew to avoid and keep hidden from the Hokage and Toad Sannin. His main goal of keeping them occupied and trying to exhaust them had only been partially working. While it certainly kept them from doing anything to escape, both were more than smart enough to know not to overexert themselves fighting mere copies and tricks. They knew that they could outlast Orochimaru, they didn't need to beat him out right.
Sarutobi swung in a wide arc with his adamantine staff. The staff was the transformed state of his personal summon the Monkey King Enma. Two more clones of Orochimaru exploded into mud, almost covering the Sandime with the intention of immobilizing him, but the old man had already jumped out of range, the mud hitting the ground harmlessly.
"Needle Jizo!" Jiraiya exclaimed, as he wrapped his hair around his body, causing Orochimaru's snake summon that attempted to slam into him to impale itself on his elongated and sharpened hair. The snake let out a small hiss, as it's body disappeared back into it's world. With a spin, Jiraiya disabled the technique and his hair returned to it's normal state. "Give it up already! I'm going to find you soon you snake, and then I'll do what should have been done a long time ago!"
Orochimaru chuckled, his voice seeming to come from everywhere, as his clones mimicked him, keeping him camouflaged within them.
"Jiraiya, it'll do you no good to get worked up right now." Sarutobi chided his student, knowing full well Jiraiya was in complete control of himself, but some habits would never die.
Just as Jiraiya was about to reply, he looked over and caught a glimpse of Shukaku's massive earthen dome. "What the heck is happening over there?" he asked, not allowing himself to take his focus away his enemies.
Orochimaru wasn't quite as concerned however, as he and his clones looked over. "Well well. It seems as though Suna's secret weapon was finally unleashed."
"Secret weapon?" Sarutobi questioned, seeing the outline of someone underneath it, floating mid-air.
"I'm certain you're familiar with the boy the Kyuubi Jinchuriki killed, yes?"
Sarutobi grimaced, as he recalled the fight between Naruto and Gaara of the Sand. He still remembered the feelings far too clearly he experienced that day, watching his protege's son flirt with death from that match.
Jiraiya was listening intently to the story, wanting to hear more about it.
"That boy was the Ichibi's Jinchuriki."
"What?!" Sarutobi exclaimed, looking back over towards the earthen dome, now able to make out the figure a bit better.
"Indeed. And due to the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki, the Ichibi was able to possess the corpse and gain a physical form. It had taken quite a few ninja and work to keep the beast pacified and under genjutsu long enough to unleash him onto Konoha."
Jiraiya grit his teeth, staring at the group of Orochimaru clones. "You bastard, I -" Jiraiya was cut off, as thundering explosions rang out from underneath his feet, and the entire fighting ground shifted and shook, causing all ninja to attempt to regain their footing.
"What?!" The real Orochimaru yelled. Instantly, the building's inner shell that faced inside the stadium crumbled to pieces and the whole structure began to fall. Two of the ninja maintaining the barrier cried out, their side of the building falling and causing them to break the hold on the sealed cage as they fell and the jutsu was dispelled due to it. Within less than a second, numerous black shapes charged into the falling rubble.
Sarutobi and Jiraiya jumped away from the collapsing building, clearing the danger zone and landing onto the stadium floor below. Cries of "Hokage-sama!" rang around Sarutobi as ninja flocked to his side.
"I'm alright! There's no time, don't let Orochimaru get away!" Sarutobi ordered, coughing at the end from the cloud of dirt kicked up by the explosion.
"We've already assembled a search and destroy team Hokage-sama," One ANBU spoke, kneeling next to Sarutobi. "Special Jonin Anko is leading them."
Sarutobi nodded, knowing no one else could be better suited to finding him. "And what of the four ninja that had formed the barrier?"
"They should be already disposed of." The ANBU replied, referring to the ANBU who charged into the falling rubble.
"Good work, we need to –!" Sarutobi grunted out, beginning to fall to one knee, before he could, Enma revereted back to his normal form, catching his friend. "Hiruzen, are you okay?!"
"Pops!" Asuma yelled, ignoring formalities and rushing to his father's side. Jiraiya was kneeling by his old mentor, watching him with eyes full of worry.
Sarutobi coughed once, nodding his head and patting the arm Enma held him by. Looking over towards Asuma he smiled, "Never get old my son, it's not as fun as it looks." Asuma let out a small laugh, shaking his head. Sarutobi stood back up without difficulty, and looked up towards the sand dome, the edge just visible from the stadium. "Does anyone have more information about that sand dome?" Sarutobi asked, watching it.
"Hokage-sama! You need to come see this!" A sentry yelled out from the top of the stadium, holding a spyglass.
Sarutobi nodded, leaping towards the edge with many ninja following. As he hit the edge, he gasped seeing the dome firing off hundreds of small spikes, all focused on one point below him. Sarutobi knitted his brow, trying to figure out what the Ichibi was up to, he was certain it was going to be a large area attack, focused on destroying as much as he could.
"Hokage-sama," the sentry that called for his attention spoke. He offered him his spyglass, "Look towards where that thing is firing! I think it's been fighting someone!"
Grabbing the spyglass, Sarutobi focused the lens towards the impact sight and caught a flash of blonde through the brown and yellow spotted spikes. ""It can't be. . ." Sarutobi murmured.
"What, what is it?" Jiraiya asked, pulling out his own.
Sarutobi continued to try and track the blond flash he had seen, until it reappeared again in a less dense packed area of shooting spikes. Almost dropping the spyglass, Sarutobi's jaw fell. "Naruto!" he exclaimed, watching as the boy leaped and weaved his way through the onslaught, using the projectiles as platforms, gaining more and more altitude towards the Ichibi.
"Did you say Naruto?!" Kurenai asked, snapping her head towards the Hokage.
Sarutobi nodded, but then grew grim as he began to see the dark flames covering Naruto's arm, along with the strange red glow he emitted at times. "Jiraiya. . ." Sarutobi started.
"I see him." Jiraiya replied, his tone no more cheerful. He didn't have to guess what it meant, seeing the strange aura. "We need to get over there."
But before anyone could respond, a barrage of projectiles came soaring into view. "Enemy!" a Konoha ninja yelled, as another wave of the allied army came into view. Sarutobi frowned, grasping the re-transformed Enma. Hitting the first enemy ninja that came close, Sarutobi yelled out, "Stand firm children of Konoha! Show them the burning Will of Fire!" Looking back towards where he had seen Naruto, Sarutobi thought, Hold on Naruto, we'll be there soon!
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Hinata stopped, panting as she rested against a non-burning wall. She had managed to get by the guards at the entrance by lying and saying she was to deliver a message to her sensei. But she had to make as much room between her and the bunker in order to ensure no one tried to stop her and bring her back if they figured out she lied. As much bravado as she had summoned before, her body couldn't quite keep
up, her leg still not able to run at full speed. The gash on her side wasn't cooperating much either.
Grasping her kunai tightly, that she had pulled out in case she ran into an enemy, she started to walk forward again. She turned a corner carefully, keeping her hand over her mouth to avoid breathing in too much of the black smoke that was quite pervasive in the area due to being close to one of the original fire attack sites. As she scanned the area for any threats, she looked up and saw the Ichibi's earthen roof and the mass of spikes it was launching.
She gasped, seeing what was unmistakably Naruto currently mid-air and charging through the spike barrage. "Naruto-kun!" She exclaimed, before gritting her teeth and started to run as fast as she could manage towards his area.
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Naruto grunted in pain as he barely avoided getting impaled by another spike, it instead hitting his shoulder and crashed into another spike above. Naruto cursed as the blow caused him to lose his balance and he had to clumsily leap from the spike he'd just landed on. Keeping his focus higher than he had ever felt it before, he slammed his foot down on another projectile and shot himself forward. Spinning, he was able to avoid another two before landing on another sand spike. He'd been keeping this up now for what felt like way too long, but he was making rapid progress towards his opponent, finding less and less projectiles to dodge as he neared his opponents earthen platform. Enough to where he could see Shukaku's half-face contorted in rage as he seemed to be concentrating fully on sending out more waves of his spikes.
Naruto could tell that the roof from which he was drawing ammunition from was dwindling and exponentially so. He could also tell that he was high above Konoha now, even higher than the Hokage Monument, he had to be up more than a hundred feet easily. Kicking off another spike, Naruto saw he was above and finally in range of his opponent.
Shukaku roared out in rage, directing all projectiles to fire upwards towards Naruto. "Just die already!"
Leaping forward off three more spikes, Naruto finally found the ideal condition he had been looking for. As he jumped, he stabbed his sword through one of the spikes, causing him to head into a hand stand position on his sword, and used it to catch a spike that was soaring above him with his feet. Using his sword now weighed with the spike, he swung it, causing him to turn the spike he was riding around towards Shukaku.
Before the Bijuu could react, Naruto already jumped off the improvised projectile. Shukaku managed to control it and send it off before it slammed into him, but it gave Naruto a big enough window to close in on him, bringing his sword down with the spike still impaled on it straight into Shukaku.
Shukaku yelled out as the spike shattered onto his shoulder and Naruto's sword left a deep gash in his chest. The wound was enough to cause him to loose focus and the chakra holding the earthen roof above dissipated and the massive wall of dirt fell. Shukaku attempted to regain his control of it, but Naruto was already in melee range, causing him to focus on defense as the wall of dirt continued to fall. Once it reached Shukaku's platform, it was thin enough to barely serve as a distraction as Naruto continued to keep the Bijuu on full defense.
Shukaku barely dodged another swing, cursing as he did so. Naruto had him on full defense, close combat not being his strong suit, and his blond opponent was attacking faster and harder than he had before. "Enough!" Shukaku roared as he cocked his fist back and shattered the platform he had been levitating.
Naruto felt his stomach lurch up into his throat as both he and Shukaku began to fall. Looking down, he saw that they Shukaku had maneuvered the platform just outside the village, near one of the training grounds and saw a large lake. He would have to aim for that if he wanted any chance of not becoming a stain on the ground below. But before he could start falling towards it, he saw Shukaku falling towards him with a fist cocked back.
"Stupid bastard!" Naruto yelled as he blocked the fist with his sword, the force of the blow pushing him back. "Are you trying to kill us both!?"
Shukaku cackled as he continued his attacks. "Did you forget already? I'll be fine, my armor can take the hardest blow!"
Avoiding a swipe of Shukaku's tail, Naruto saw he was out of time. As Shukaku threw another punch, Naruto grabbed onto his fist, taking the brunt of the blow, and kicked as hard as he could against Shukaku. Naruto felt himself hit the water hard, knocking the air out of his lungs as he plunged into the lakes depths. Closing his mouth as quick as he could, Naruto started frantically swimming towards the surface of the lake, feeling his body already begging for air.
Breaching the surface, Naruto took a huge breath of air, coughing violently as his body forced out the water that had entered his lungs. Looking around, he saw Shukaku picking himself up off the ground, albeit slow. His sand armor was visibly cracked and missing, revealing other parts of Gaara's corpse underneath.
Shukaku, feeling the aftermath of the fall more than he thought he would, turned with a smirk on his face expecting to see the mangled and flattened corpse of his opponent. Instead, all he was greeted by was Naruto emerging from the lake, looking no worse for the wear. "No way. . ." Shukaku almost groaned. "What the fuck does it take to kill you?!"
Naruto chuckled, standing up straight and grinning at Shukaku. "Sure is gonna take a lot more than what you got that's for sure!" Putting himself into a stance, Naruto watching his opponent seethe, glaring daggers into him. Naruto narrowed his eyes as he tried to think of someway to nullify his opponents sand armor. He was going to have to do nothing short of tearing his opponent in half in order to put him down for good. A drop of water ran from his hair, down his forehead and dripped off his eyebrow to land under his eye, causing him to blink for a moment. Stupid water! Naruto growled in his head, not needing any distractions at the moment. And then an idea hit him like a bolt of lightning.
With a deep breath, Naruto knew that he had to try.
"You know Shukaku," Naruto started, as he dropped his stance. "I have to admit I'm impressed."
Shukaku's glare softened as he stared at his opponent. "What is this, trying to get chummy with me before I tear into you?"
Naruto shook his head, a large smirk growing on his face. "No, I just find it inspiring to see the Ichibi fighting so hard. Especially considering you're the weakest of the tailed beasts. It's like watching a child play at being an adult."
Shukaku almost exploded. Roaring out with enough force to shake the ground, his pupils dilated as he focused on nothing other than Naruto. "I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT YOU STUPID FUCKER!" Exploding forth in a flash, he pulled his fist back.
As his opponent had roared, Naruto threw up his sword and immediately formed the hand seals he needed. "Maton: Great Hellfire!" Naruto prayed his idea would work, as the black and red fire exploded from his lips in a massive fireball. It flew forward towards Shukaku, who could do nothing but stare at the fire in horror.
Emerging from the other side, Naruto had no time to jump for joy seeing his plan work. The fire burned hot enough that it melted and hardened the sand into glass. A muffled scream still echoed inside as the crystallized Shukaku came hurtling directly towards Naruto. Throwing his arms up, Naruto caught his falling sword by the handle. Time almost seemed to slow as he watched Shukaku come into range, allowing him to see the dead half of Gaara's face. Shukaku's taunting explanation of what he had done to Gaara came to him a flood, and Naruto closed his eyes. He knew that if things had been even slightly different, he could of ended up just like him, Gaara and he were one in the same.
I realize now Gaara, both of us were the same. You were corrupted and following your wrath in order to find if you were truly in control of your own existence.
Opening his eyes, he saw Shukaku in range, and he could hear him yelling, "Naruto Uzumaki!"
If things had been different Gaara, I think we could have been friends.
With a tremendous roar, Naruto brought his sword down and shattered Shukaku. His body turned into numerous small pieces of glass and sailed past him, hitting the earth and stopping there. Naruto turned, looking with an indescribable feeling of gloom as he waited to see if Shukaku would reform Gaara's corpse. The wind blew over the quiet and still battlefield, yet none of the remains budged.
Leaning on his sword, Naruto rested his hands and forehead on the handle of his sword, his exhaustion hitting him. He did it. He defeated Shukaku. As he began to smile and feel proud of himself, he felt his stomach hurt. Naruto yelled out in pain as he let go of his sword and it fell to the side, as he dropped to his knees and doubled over. It felt like something was almost gnawing at his core. Falling over, he wasn't able to contain his screaming as the pain intensified.
W-What the fuck?! Naruto screamed in his head, trying to see if Shukaku had hit him with something. Then, to his horror, he heard a familiar chuckle inside his mind.
I must admit that was quite the feat you achieved with MY chakra, boy.
Naruto's eyes widened as he heard the Kyuubi, a terrible recognition hitting him.
But now it's time to pay your due for replacing your chakra almost entirely with my own.
With a feeling as if he was being dragged from his body, Naruto screamed inside his mind and his vision changed. He realized that he was now being pulled into his subconscious, more specifically the Kyuubi's space within him. Before he could understand fully what was occurring, he stopped moving.
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Hinata continued her run through the forest, having kept an eye on Naruto and his opponent as they fell from way too high up. Naruto-kun, please be okay! She thought frantically as she continued faster, willing her legs to carry her as quick as they could. Soon, she heard the sound of some horrible beast roaring, and she headed towards it, praying it was the sound of Naruto fighting whatever it was.
As she neared a training ground she knew was nearby, she started to hear Naruto screaming out in pain. Ushered on by a sense of emergency, she headed straight for the sound. Breaking the final line of trees into the training ground, she saw Naruto lying on his side, looking as if he had passed out.
"Naruto-kun!" she yelled out as she knelt next to him. "Please, don't let me be too late," she whispered as she gently moved him onto his back and started checking for wounds.
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Naruto groaned as he lifted himself from the disgusting sewer floor trying to regain his senses. Looking around, he saw the Kyuubi grinning at him from behind the bars. He noticed the Kyuubi had an odd chain attached to it's neck, which ran back into the darkness of his cage through the bars. Naruto growled as he stumbled to his feet. "Goddamn fox, why did you bring me here?!"
The Kyuubi's malicious grin spread, as if enjoying a fine joke. "Why that's simple. Look around you."
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the fox, trying to figure out what he was up to, and then it hit him with clarity as he saw he was inside the Kyuubi's cell, with Kyuubi standing outside. "W-What. . . What the hell did you do?!"
The Kyuubi cackled manically as it had waited for this day for so long, and wanted to enjoy every second of it. "Stupid mortal. Did you truly think you could control me?! You are far too weak to even handle a fraction of my strength. Oh, how difficult it was to not laugh as I watched you jump with glee thinking that you were able to use my chakra without any ill effect."
Naruto felt nauseous as he began to feel his sense of the world crumble and break apart.
"But don't worry my little host. As much as I hate to admit it, the Yondaime's seal was far superior to the Uzumaki's original jutsu. I will only be able to play around for a bit. However, I promise to make as much of my time as possible."
"Y-You wouldn't. . ." Was all Naruto could mutter out, as his nightmare re-surged in his mind. The nightmare of where he had become a beast much like Gaara had turned into and killed everything precious to him.
The Kyuubi looked down at the boy, the shadows within seeming to further enhance his malicious grin. "Oh yes. And I can't wait to taste the flesh of the young Hyuuga heiress."
Naruto slammed against the cage, screaming, "Don't you fucking touch her, you goddamn monster!" he strained as hard as he could, trying to squeeze through the bars, but he couldn't.
The Kyuubi laughed, throwing his head back, in sheer joy of his hosts obvious torment. Then, a voice echoed in from the blackness, "Naruto-kun!"
The Kyuubi smiled as it looked back towards the sound. "Well well. It seems as though I won't have to search after all, the rabbit has come wandering into the fox's den."
Naruto went pale, as he heard Hinata's voice echo in, distorted somewhat, but he knew it was hers. He watched as the Kyuubi, with a perverse and twisted grin, walk off towards the exit, dragging it's chain behind it. "You goddamn fox, stop!" he yelled out frantically as he ran towards the chain, grabbing onto it and trying to hold the Kyuubi back. It did nothing to halt it's progress, as it continuously slipped out of Naruto's hands. Naruto tried as hard as he could, using all of his strength, but it was as if he wasn't even touching the chain. Still he pulled.
Seeing Kyuubi walk into the darkness, tears started welling up in Naruto's eyes as he roared after the fading image of the fox. "You fucking bastard, stop! Don't you touch her! STOP!"
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Hinata gasped, as she saw Naruto's eyes snap open and he sat up. "Naruto-kun!" she cried out. Then, she noticed his eye. "Naruto-kun, what happened to your eye?!" she asked, having not seen it before.
Naruto grinned, as he reached out and cupped her cheek, causing the girl to forget her question and she blushed. "N-N-Naruto-kun?" she stammered out, feeling her cursed stutter come back at the intimate touch.
"I wonder how that stupid that fool is," Naruto started. He moved his thumb slowly, moving it over her pink lips. "To simply ignore such a woman throwing herself at him."
Hinata felt her rational reasoning shut down as she couldn't process the thought of Naruto touching her the way he was, but not enough to miss what Naruto was saying. "W-What?" she asked confused.
"Yes, indeed," Naruto spoke as he moved closer to her, now running his hand down her neck, causing the girl to inadvertently shudder at his touch. Naruto moved his head to the opposite side of where he touched her, sniffing gently and breathing onto it as his hand continued down her arm. "You would certainly grow to be a beautiful woman fit for a sacrifice."
Hinata felt a weird sensation emerge in her as she felt the boy's intimate touch, the sensation of his breath on her neck causing a shiver to run down her spine. "Naruto-kun, what are you talking about?" she whispered, almost not caring about the weird things he was saying.
Naruto's hand traveled to her hand, and he grabbed onto her wrist. As Hinata started to blush from the contact, she gasped as he pushed her down to the grass below, moving her arm above her head.
Before she could speak, she felt Naruto straddle her and she started to feel as if something was wrong. Though she had only thought of something like this before in her 'bad' daydreams, she gently pushed against his chest with her free arm. "N-Naruto-kun, stop, what are you –"
Naruto roughly grabbed her other arm, pulling it up so he could use his right arm to hold down both her wrists. His grin warped, and turned malicious as he stared down at her with his cold eyes. "Stupid girl." he started. "Your Naruto isn't here."
Hinata stared up, confused, "Naruto-kun, w-what -" she tried to ask again, only to be interrupted by a harsh back hand across her face. Hinata cried out in shock, looking back up towards Naruto slowly, her cheek red, looking afraid.
"You'll not call me that name, you stupid girl. Don't ever confuse me with that filthy human. I am The Kyuubi, and you will refer to me a such!"
Hinata had no idea what was happening, staring up towards the face of the boy she loved, now horribly twisted and warped beyond recognition.
'Naruto' grinned, seeing the confused reaction. "Oh that's right, he never told you did he? You've always been the thing he wanted to protect more than anything else in this world." he spoke, as he gently caressed the side of her face with his free hand, feeling the smooth texture of her skin. His hand traveled down her neck, coming to rest at the top of her vest. "It would be too long of a story, but to give you the short of it, that boy is the vessel the goddamn Yondaime managed to trap me within." Grabbing onto the zipper at the top of Hinata's vest, he tore it down violently and broke it exposing the fishnet shirt underneath and causing the girl to gasp out. With another quick tear, 'Naruto' exposed her milky white flesh and moved his hand under the destroyed fishnet shirt. "How I've longed for this. I've watched the boy suffer through his life, living a lonely existence full of pain. You've no idea how bad I've wanted to be the cause of some of it."
Hinata cried out in embarrassment, as she felt 'Naruto's' hand cup her breast and squeeze it. He continued his exploratory touches, as if to examine and study her body. "Please stop. . ." she whimpered, as she tried to move and resist, but her body was completely pinned, and she was still exhausted. She tried to register what the Kyuubi had told her, but too much was happening to her to fully understand what it was she had heard. But she understood this much, Naruto wasn't himself, it was something else entirely possessing him.
"Cry all you want girl. I promise you he can hear you, but there's nothing he can do." 'Naruto' replied, as he roughly grasped the girl's developing breast harshly, causing her to cry out in pain. 'Naruto' chuckled in response, feeling supreme pleasure at hearing the girl's discomfort. He let go of her breast and continued to move his hand down slowly towards her midsection.
"Naruto-kun, you can fight it." She spoke, looking towards 'Naruto'. If what he said was true, then she was talking to the Bijuu sealed inside him, and that Naruto was still within, somewhere.
Naruto' almost laughed as he slowly slipped his hand under the waistband of her pants. Hinata let out a shocked gasp as she felt him touch her most private part. "Stop!" 'Naruto' grinned as he continued his ministrations. "If you're reacting like this now, wait until the real fun begins." he spoke, as he slowly slipped one of his fingers into her underwear. "I'm going to ensure that before I kill you, you'll be begging for death."
XXXX
Naruto was beside himself with rage. He kept pulling at the chain and was screaming loud enough to burst his lungs. He could hear everything, and though he couldn't see, he somehow knew what it was the Kyuubi was doing with his body and how he was violating Hinata.
"I SWEAR TO GOD I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
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Hinata cried out, as the pleasurable sensation felt like a dirty thing, as the Kyuubi used Naruto's fingers to invade her most private area. Staring up at the twisted face of the possessed Naruto, she spoke. "Naruto-kun, it's okay. I know you're not in control of yourself. I could never hate you, please don't blame yourself for this." She spoke, feeling tears flow from her as she spoke from her heart. "I love you."
Before the Kyuubi could respond, she leaned up and kissed Naruto's lips.
XXXX
"I love you."
Naruto almost lost his grip on the Kyuubi's chain, as he looked towards the darkness ahead of him, hearing Hinata's confession. "Hinata. . . you. . ." he whispered, his jaw agape.
He had never heard those words from anyone before in his entire life. Three simple words that he knew to mean something far more than he had ever experienced. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed onto the chain once more and slammed his foot onto the wall, pulling as hard as he could.
"I don't care what fucking deity listens to me! I don't care what price I have to pay! Please let me stop this!" Naruto cried out. He would sell his soul if it allowed him to save the girl who even after hearing he was a demon, even after being violated by the Kyuubi, she would forgive him with no thought of what would happen to her.
He pulled with all his might, giving it everything he had and he felt it move. Unbeknownst to him, two ghostly figures grabbed the chain further back, helping him pull.
"Get away from her you goddamn freak!" He gave another hard yank, and the chain began to retract at an alarming speed.
XXXX
'Naruto' broke away from the kiss, looking enraged, and raised his fist towards the girl who looked him straight in the eyes with a smile. "You bitch, I'll-" 'Naruto' stopped, as he felt his stomach pull at his soul.
"What?! No, what is – Minato, you bastard!" The Kyuubi roared out as he knew instantly that something had changed within his seal, and knew who the culprit was. With a final yell, signifying the Kyuubi's retrieval, Naruto's body collapsed on top of Hinata.
Hinata rolled him off her and gently raised him up, praying Naruto had somehow managed to recover control of himself. Within moments, his eyes fluttered open once more.
Naruto weakly looked up towards Hinata, feeling as though he had lost all of his chakra at once, his body a wreck. He could barely feel his consciousness staying with him. "Hinata. . ." he whispered, his vision getting blurred. The memory of what he had done to her was perfectly clear, far more than what he had felt within the Kyuubi's cage. What could he say to her? "I'm –" he started, before he let out a sob, "I'm sorry, please. . .I- "
Hinata shook her head once, and hugged his head to her chest. "I will never hate you Naruto-kun. That wasn't you."
Naruto cried, as he feebly grasped at Hinata's vest, tears pouring from his eyes and staining her vest. "I'm sorry, Hinata. . ." was all he could reply with as he felt himself start to slip out of consciousness, his body no longer able to stay awake.
"You went through such terrible things all alone Naruto-kun, I won't ever let you be alone again." Hinata whispered, gently rubbing the back of his head.
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Oh god, please don't hurt me. If you liked anything please leave it in the review along with your bombs and death threats. I'll just be over in my secret bunker praying not to get killed.
Shinobi no Ryu
(PS: Next one is soon.)