Do I Have A Purpose Anymore?
Chapter 16: "Desire and Temptation"
When Naruto emerged from the portal he took a look around, eyeing the terrain warily or rather the lack of it.
The portal shrank to nothingness behind him and he found himself standing atop a cliff, before peering down over it to behold a rolling black sea with waves crashing against the rocky shore casting a salty spray into his face.
Behind him was but a rocky plain, nothing to be seen for miles on end.
Rain poured down and thunder crashed in the pitch-black cloudy sky, followed by lightning moments later and he looked up and closed his eyes. Naruto let the water wash away the bloodstained filth of his clothes, his hands hanging loosely at his sides, water beading off his mask and into his face, as the gore was washed away from him.
Grasping his blade, he suddenly noticed that it felt lighter.
Looking down at it he arched a surprised eyebrow, as his blade seemed to have changed somehow, although he was not aware of when that had taken place.
It was still quite large, but not nearly so much as before, it was sleeker in comparison.
It now resembled an oversized butcher knife, and the handle had no guard whatsoever was grasped firmly in his hand, its handle wrapped tightly in cloth, the end of it trailing loosely in the sharp breeze of the approaching storm.
Jamming its tip into the ground, he looked over it.
The serrated edge was now a bright shimmer of silver, while the tip and the upper half of the blade was pure black. As he was examining his newly transformed Zanpaktou a voice rang out in his mind.
Shout Zangetsu…..
Zangetsu,the name resonated in his skull and he realized that must be the Shikai name for his blade.
You are close Naruto, very close…
Nodding, Naruto could now distinguish the voice as male, as its deep bass undertone gave it away.
"So you're my Zanpaktou."
It has taken you quite some time, but I'm pleased to finally have a chat with you.
"The feeling's mutual, now what is that the extent of the Shikai power?" Naruto asked, as he swung his new blade around to get a feel for it.
Shout, Getsuga Tenshou as you swing the blade towards that boulder.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and with a fierce yell cried out.
"Getsuga Tenshou!"
As Naruto swung the Zanpaktou towards the massive rock he was amazed at how light it felt despite the fact that it was nearly as large as before when Zabuza wielded it. However, even more shocking to the blonde Jinchuuriki was seeing a wave of blue light engulfing the blade, before moments later the wave shot out in a crescent shape traveling onward and impacted the mighty boulder with tremendous force obliterating the stone into dust. As the dust and debris from the blow began to settle, one could see steam seemingly rising from the blade and a wicked grin worked its way up the blonde's face.
"Impressive, what was that?"
Getsuga Tenshou, or in your terms, Moon fang piercing the Heavens.
Again Naruto swung, now calling out the name of the attack and was rewarded with another wave, then another and another, as he swung again and again wildly into the air.
Suddenly stopping, the Jinchuuriki looked down at his blade in reverent awe before asking.
"Where does this power come from?"
It is the power that dwells within you. At the instant you make a slash, your spiritual pressure or what you would call chakra is absorbed and then releases highly condensed spiritual energy at the tip of the blade, magnifying the slash attack and flying forward. That is Zangetsu's power in Shikai form. With me, there is NOTHING you cannot cut.
"Anything, huh?"
The prospects and potential of that pleased Naruto greatly. A chuckle escaped his lips, and then soon twisted into a confident laugh, as he felt new power course through him, his head thrown back as he basked in the blue glow of his strength.
"Let my enemies beware! With this, I shall tear all my enemies asunder!" Naruto roared to the heavens in the cold metallic echo of a voice his mask produced.
As he held his blade high, the lightning in the sky attracted to the metal shot down at him arcing towards his prone form.
"Perfect." He hissed, already going into a full bodied swing as the power coursed through his blade which glowed blue, but was also built up by his chakra and was then amplified ten times over.
"GETSUGA TENSHOU!" Naruto roared, and with a massive two-handed left to right swing, he thrust a massive blue crescent at the bolt of lightning and split it clear in half like a hot knife through butter, as the chakra-powered reaitsu went on and on until the lightning had been totally torn asunder.
Again Naruto laughed, as he held his smoking blade, its steel now hot to the touch.
If even lightning fell before him, then what chance did his enemies have?
Clapping was heard and he whirled about eyes sparking dangerously, yet not attacking.
It was then Naruto heard a low, sultry, and very sexy voice through the fading steam, as the silhouette of a woman appeared.
"Good, I can see why you passed Shunsui's test."
A flash of lightning lit up the sky revealing the mysterious woman. Lightning flashed again and Naruto got a good look at her in the dark. Her bright yellow honeysuckle eyes shone in the dark, as did her pearly white teeth.
"Impressive, you actually made it this far?" She purred, and it sent a shiver up his spine, as the air about her seem to shimmer from her power or a trick of the eye, he could not be sure.
The lightning lit up her form once again and Naruto could see her long violet hair cascading over her back. The woman had a voluptuous body he had to admit, as she seemed almost like a tan goddess, straining against the narrow confines of her outfit. Her clothing consisted of a basic black tank top with no back or sleeves, and long spandex pants that were also strained taught against her form.
Her arms were not bare, but each was wrapped in a tan material from her elbows to her wrists, as purple crisscrossed lines set upon the fabric of her cloth armguards.
The purpose of such a thing, as well as the tan scarf worn round her neck made no sense to Naruto, but then he surmised that they might be training weights of some kind. Lastly, she wore long tan boots that ended in tight purple shoes.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"The name's Yoruichi Shihoin and you are?" The woman answered, as she walked towards him her supple hips swaying with each step
"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze." The blonde Leaf Jounin replied, as he stood his ground before biting his lip, as her hips brushed against his whilst she walked past him.
Naruto then felt her breath hot on his neck blowing against him, as her voice took on a more seductive quality.
"Can you remove that mask so I can see who I'm talking too?"
Naruto hesitated a moment before deciding no harm could come from revealing his face to this woman and he lifted his mask off of his face.
"My, my, I've never had such a handsome guest before." Yoruichi cooed as she walked around the blonde Jinchuuriki looking him over in a lascivious fashion.
Naruto's body was stiff as a board, as the tan seductress before him reached up to stroke his cheek, as Yoruichi stared intently into his carefully guarded eyes. Her hand caressed his face, as her fingers tenderly stroked the whisker marks there before saying so soothingly.
"And your eyes, I've never seen that deep a sapphire blue before."
Try as he might, Naruto was unable to tear his gaze away from the woman before him, as his mind and body seemed paralyzed by her.
Yoruichi hands traced his jaw line before she suddenly gripped the back of Naruto's head and placed one of the most soul searing kisses one can imagine onto his lips.
A clearly shocked Naruto quickly succumbed to the pleasurable feeling now coursing through his body as he wrapped his arms around Yoruichi. Lost in the moment, Naruto began to open his mouth and moaned when he felt Yoruichi tongue lick at his lips asking for entrance. As Naruto began to comply with her wishes, an image of Hinata flashed through his mind and summoning his waning strength of will he placed both of his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her away as he said:
"Don't."
Smirking, she suddenly spun round, her hand moving incredibly fast before stopping inches from his face.
"You didn't attack." She stated, her face betraying nothing but mild amusement despite the passionate kiss she had just given him.
"I don't hit girls, even when they try to tempt me like that." Came his easy reply, for the latter was true despite the fact that the kiss had badly shaken him.
"A noble and chivalrous answer Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, but it's ultimately foolish action on your part to do."
Yoruichi then got into an attack stance, her cat-like eyes glinting mischievously, as she took several steps away from him.
"But this time I'm not going to stop, so you had best defend yourself."
Naruto reached for his mask and pulled it back down, while assuming a more aggressive stance. He loosened the wrappings upon his hilt then slowly began to wind Zangetsu about, until it spun from his right hand in a steady hum.
Once he achieved the desired momentum, he tossed the blade far out onto the stony plane, where it landed with a metallic clang, as it was embedded point first in the rock, safe from the possibility of falling into the stormy sea below.
"Why did you do that?"
"Because, you are unarmed, therefore I had an unfair advantage."
"I told you before, you're chivalry is misplaced in this situation." The Neko-woman stated, as an aura of white flickered about her, whilst a familiar red silhouette crept up Naruto's form.
Thunder rumbled, and lightning lit up the sky in a bright light, as a geyser of a twister formed in the distance and set upon the foreboding sea.
"Here...goes!"
Suddenly, the thin white aura around Yoruichi exploded into a blazing white aura of energy that lashed out at anything within striking range. It's cutting power so fierce it easily carved large furrows into the stone face of the land.
It even rivaled the lightning, shooting up into the clouds in haphazard bursts and occasionally lashing out at Naruto, who nimbly sidestepped each blast, while focused on Yoruichi the whole time.
Momentarily, Yoruichi controlled the chaotic kidou and the orange jacket she wore was shredded to pieces by its energies, as the torn shreds of cloth were caught up in the winds and then torn to nothingness.
Gritting her teeth, she let out a loud shout, and then the area around her exploded into a 10-foot crater, which Naruto leapt back from.
As the dust cleared, Yoruichi sported a wicked wild grin, as her violet hair somehow still bound in its hair-tie, whipped about her chaotically. Her arms, formerly held out at her sides, were now held before her in her traditional fighting stance, as stones rose from the earth beneath her and then were crushed into nothingness by the sheer pressure of her energies.
"Shunko!" (Flash release)
Naruto just laughed, and crossed his arms before him in an X.
"You think that's special?"
The air shimmered about him, tearing at the cape he wore and shredding it away, much like Yoruichi's jacket.
"Let me show you something!"
Crimson crept across his blue eyes, staining them ruby red, as his pupils dilated, now black slits against his red demonic eyes.
Yoruichi arched her violet eyebrow, and stood her ground as the Kyuubi cloaked enveloped Naruto. Twin tails of red chakra formed behind him, and were swaying slowly back and forth in the wind, as his red eyes bellied the ferocity that now gripped his very soul.
'What the...'
Naruto slowly gnashed his teeth together in mild pain, as his canines elongated, slowly changing into wicked fangs. A wicked laugh rose from his throat causing Yoruichi to give pause and think.
"That is truly unique." Yoruichi murmured to herself.
Flexing his hands, Naruto could feel his fingernails sharpening until they could no longer be called such, and were now more like deadly claws, which were more than capable ripping out a throat in a matter of moments if he chose to do so.
Clenching them into fists, he pierced the skin of palms, pain coursing through him as he left puncture marks behind that healed almost instantly, despite the blood dripping down upon the stone
Two red ears of fox chakra finished the cloak and fully enveloped Naruto, as the changes neared the final stages.
The whisker marks upon his face deepened changing from mere slits, to large deep furrows upon his face, his eyes narrowing dangerously, his heart rate quickening with a sickening rush of adrenaline.
Naruto's short blonde hair...roughened, for that is the best way to describe it, as it warped from spiky tame hair to something wild and unruly sticking out in every direction behind his mask.
The earth seemed to quake beneath him in fear, as the storm raged above them. A raw testament to the power he was building up.
His voice once calm and collected was now filled with wrathful fury. Now fully powered by the Kyuubi, Naruto looked Yoruichi stunned face as she surveyed the changes, he had wrought upon himself.
Somehow, the surprise his opponents faces of his transformation, never got old for him.
However, the odd thing here was-
That she was smiling, not a single trace of fear shown upon her lovely tan face, as she spoke.
"That's an unusual technique, but something tells me there's more to it than just a fancy light show."
Naruto gave a chortled a laugh, but its tone was dark and sinister.
Red light mixed with white, illuminating the space between them pink in color, as the earth under them began cracking and crumbling under the combined pressure of their powers.
"Then prepare yourself."
Swaying from side to side and grinning, Yoruichi waved him forward and quipped.
"Enough chit-chat fox-boy let's do this."
Each took a step forward, and then blurred out of sight before reappearing in the center, tightly clasping each other's hands hard enough to draw blood, their eyes narrowing, mouth's set in a grim line, a power struggle now in the works.
Naruto smiled first, exposing his canines and his opponent mirrored him, as a shout worked its way up their throats, and ripped its way out of their mouth's, their respective aura's flaring bright in response.
Lightning crashed through the sky, as the ground buckled further from them.
Naruto was the first to release and Yoruichi winced, as three lines of blood appeared upon her face, set on her left cheek from his wickedly sharp claws. However, moments later he doubled over from a vicious kick in the gut, one that collapsed his stomach inward, before he disappeared from sight, now coming from behind her.
His fist passed through air, as he hit an afterimage, which soon faded away.
'Damn, she's fast!'
Cursing, he too dissolved as Yoruichi phased behind him, her midair spin kick slicing through a translucent version of him as well. Yoruichi just smiled, disappearing as Naruto slashed down where her chest would have been, had she not used an afterimage.
'Good, the gaki can at least keep up with me to some extent.'
This game of cat and mouse or rather cat and fox seemed to go on endlessly, each one hitting a left behind image of their foe, so on and so forth. Finally, Naruto came in from above, his hands intertwined, and he swung downward hitting her solidly on the head, and knocking her to the ground. Only for her hands to slap out, thus breaking her fall, and allowing her to pivot and swing her left leg into his neck in a violent jarring kick that snapped his head to the right due to the impact, whilst his face twisted in pain.
Again they vanished from sight, leaving white and red shockwaves in their wake, moving too fast for the naked eye to see their clash.
But this was no mere battle, no simple contest of wills. This was the battle of a lifetime.
Reappearing briefly, they each cocked a fist back as they shot towards each other and when they connected with the fist of the other, a dome of pink light spread out, driving them apart, and back into the ground.
The two titans were all smiles as they skidded backwards, but Naruto slowed his skid early via digging his claws in, and upon grinding to a halt, got down on all fours, laughing aloud.
"Not bad, Neko-san, however….."
The very earth seemed to cry out in fear, as a third tail burst forth behind him shaking the stones around him violently, as his feral features progressed further until he could barely be recognized as a human being, yet still bore the appearance of one.
"…I'm just getting started!"
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When Shunsui stepped out of the portal into Yamamoto's residence, he clearly was not expecting to encounter two beautiful young women who suddenly took up battle stances at his sudden appearance. And when his eyes fell onto Hinata his breath hitched in his throat and he immediately flash-stepped in front of her. Before Hinata had time to react, she suddenly found her hand being kissed, as Shunsui kneeled before her and waxed poetically.
"Oh radiant dark-haired beauty, there is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. So I beseech you my fair-maiden, will you please grant me such happiness!"
Hinata was bewildered momentarily by this strange straw-hat wearing man kneeling before her when a stern shout rang out.
"Shunsui, stop making such a fool of yourself and conduct yourself properly as a Gotei 13 Captain! Why must you always lose control in a front of a girl? "
"But ol' Yama, she reminds me so much of my Lisa-chan and Nanao-chan."
"I don't care who she reminds you of behave yourself. Besides that young woman's heart already belongs to the man you just recently encountered."
"Naruto-sama has captured your heart! Oh what a lucky man he is to have such a beautiful treasure in his life."
"Th-thank you." Hinata nervously replied.
"Just who the Hell are you?" Yugito angrily questioned.
Shunsui turned his attention to Yugito and noticed her appearance
Yugito had long, straight, blonde, hair bound with taut bandages and dark eyes. She wore a short-sleeved black and purple blouse, black pants both of which were very torn and tattered leaving very little to the imagination of the woman's supple body. Shunsui could also sense she held a tremendous amount of chakra within her. Just as the straw hat wearing Gotei captain was about to introduce himself, he was interrupted.
"His name is Shunsui Kyoraku and he is the proctor of the first trial Naruto must go through, he is also one of my very first students." Yamamoto announced.
"If he is here, does that mean something has happened to Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in a slightly panicked voice, while shielding Nel from Shunsui.
Yugito shot a glare at Hinata when she heard the Hyuga girl use a suffix with Naruto's name before quickly looking away. This did not go unnoticed by Shunsui, but putting his observation aside for the moment he answered Hinata's question.
"Naruto-sama is fine, I am merely here because I wish to accompany Naruto on his quest and he has graciously given me permission to do so."
'Great another freaking weirdo to join the party, and I'm sure this guy is probably a bad-ass as well!' Daisuke thought to himself.
"Thank Kami Naruto is alright. You see Nel; you don't have anything to worry about. Your Naru-chan will be back soon."
The little green-haired girl merely looked up and smiled at Hinata's words before pumping her fist in the air and yelling.
"Yaaaaaaayyyyyy, Naru-chan will be back toon, BELIEVE IT!"
"An Arrancar!" Shunsui exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes an Arrancar Shunsui, but she poses no danger. Now, since you are here am I correct to assume that young Naruto passed the first test and is and has already begun the second trial."
"Yeah, he should already be there. By the way ol' Yama what is the second trial anyway?"
"The second trial is of desire and whether or not he can resist it."
"Interesting, who'd you get to handle that test, Rangiku, Soi-fon? I know there's no way you could have gotten Urohara to do it."
"Indeed, no, the individual who is running that test volunteered for the assignment. She is one who enjoys the hunt more than the possible reward."
Shunsui thought about what his mentor had just said for a moment before his eyes lit up and he stammered.
"You, you don't mean its Yoruichi running that test!"
A single nod from Yamamoto answered the question before Shunsui slapped his hand to his forehead and exclaimed.
"Oh brother, Naruto doesn't stand a chance against resisting her!"
That statement made both Hinata and Yugito a bit nervous, before they both released some killing intent towards the straw-hat wearing captain and asked with a bit of edge to their voices.
"Who is this Yoruichi?"
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Author Notes: Well I know it has been quite awhile since I updated this story, which unfortunately was a casualty of not having a functioning computer for nearly four months. However, I'm back now and I'll do my best to get a few more chapters revised and posted for your enjoyment over the next couple of weeks before I have to return to my main story. In fact I just posted the latest chapter to that story a couple of days ago and if you haven't checked it out yet, I urge you to do so. Anyway, here is chapter 16 and I'm very curious to see what everyone thought about the chapter. My thanks again to everyone for your continued support, now onto the news and something I could really use your help on.
News:
For the past few chapters I've alerted my readers to a couple of polls set up on each of their accounts by the fine authors brown phantom and Zentary asking the question.
Who is the best Naruto fanfic writer on this site?
Zentary's poll has remained open and is still active.
Regrettably, brown phantom has ended his poll on this question. However, he has started a new poll asking,
Which is the best Naruto fan fiction story on this site?
So I humbly ask if you feel I'm worthy of being one of your 10 picks to please place a vote for me in Zentary's poll. And if you feel this story or any of my stories are worthy of nomination in brown phantom's new poll. I thank you in advance for your support and the links to the profile pages for both brown phantom and Zentary are listed below.
brown phantom http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/1634435/
Zentary http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2022054/
End of News:
I'm still very pleased that this revised story seems to be a hit with most people. I also want to thank those readers who take the time to leave a review for the tale. They're very helpful in letting me know how the story is progressing with all of you. And they really do assist an author out in knowing what people like about a story. Thanks again to everyone for all of your support.
Take it easy and be good!
Kingkakashi