Yo..
It's September and I've decided to start updating again. The difference is that this story will receive updates at a slower pace than before, kind of like 3-4 (At the max 5) chapters a month. The only reason for this decision is my intention to complete this story before June 2015 or by the end of December 2015 at the most.
I've got nothing else to say...
Chapter 90
At least with Sorrow
In the forest outside Konoha, two warriors were currently standing in front of each other. One was standing on top of a giant nine tailed fox, while the other was floating all alone in the sky.
No words were said, no movements were being made. It was the deadly silence that reigned the atmosphere.
Inside the barrier hundreds of Konoha shinobi and Blacklight members watched with awaited breath, as their strongest warrior was about to begin his battle with the most dangerous man of the world.
A battle that would determine the faith of Konoha, and the world...
There was no doubt in their minds, that if Naruto fell then there was slim to no chance of Konoha surviving this invasion. Madara was not only extremely powerful, but also had the strongest Biju under his control.
So, far Konoha had suffered bearable losses. Several houses were destroyed, and around 80 ninja were dead with couple of others injured. If not for Naruto's interference, they would have suffered even greater losses.
The boy had taken the Biju away from Konoha along with Madara saving them from complete annihilation.
Meanwhile, Madara keenly observed as Naruto's gaze was fixed in another direction. He looked around and saw the boy's gaze fixed on the destroyed Communication base.
"Yuna..."
The boy's broken voice surprised Madara, as a small tear slipped from Naruto's eyes. He then remembered the young blonde girl whom Iwashi had tried to save, but he doubted any of the rookies had survived that blast. They simply couldn't have enough time to escape...
And judging from the pain in Naruto's eyes, it didn't take him long to realize the girl was someone precious to Naruto.
"Was she your sibling?" asked Madara, his voice devoid of any malice. It was just a simple question...
"Yes"
"Do you have any more siblings?" questioned Madara patiently, as Naruto looked at him with regret visible in his eyes.
"I'm one of three. Well, there used to be three of us...and now I'm the only one left" said Naruto sadly,
"I see..."
"Did she-"
Naruto was stopped when Madara gave him a firm nod, it surprised him that despite being his enemy Madara was the only one who truly understood him.
"Quick and painless. If it's any consolation, she fought with every ounce of her strength to protect this village. It was end worthy of a shinobi..." said Madara truthfully, as a few more tears slipped from the young boy's eyes.
After a few moments of grieving for his last sibling, Naruto wiped his tears and casted one last glance towards Konoha.
The village for which so many of his friends and family members had died, and it seemed Madara understood the turmoil in the boy's heart which brought a sympathetic smile on his face.
"It is said when two shinobi of equal strength fight, then they can really feel the other person's heart. It's strange, but I can feel the pain in your heart. You have to make a choice tonight..." said Madara seriously,
"I know..." said Naruto calmly,
"Revenge for your siblings or saving the dream for which they gave their lives. You can only do one of them, it's your choice..." offered Madara,
Instead of getting angry, Naruto did the opposite. He simply closed his eyes before making a very familiar hand sign...
"Mokuton Bunshin"
Around 20 wood clones were formed from the boy's body and they quickly jumped towards the barrier protecting Konoha.
Madara gently shook his head in disappointment, before creating around 100 giant fox clones from the tailed beast, while Naruto looked at his wood clones that had formed a protective formation around Konoha.
"The barrier won't survive several attacks from the Biju. Prevent these fox clones from breaking this barrier at all costs, buy me time to finish this once and for all..." commanded Naruto, and received faithful salutes from his wood clones.
"Yes, Sir!"
Madara slowly broke the left side of his mask, revealing his other sharingan.
"So be it, in the end your love for your siblings is greater than the hatred in your heart. An honorable trait but worthless..." said Madara insultingly,
Naruto was about to start his attack when he froze on seeing the sharingan in Madara's left eye changing and taking the shape of a Mangekyo. Seeing the shock on Naruto's face, made the Uchiha chuckle.
"You seem surprised?" asked Madara with a small smirk on his face,
"How?"
"The victor is the one who can gaze into the future. I am Uchiha Madara, the one who fought against Hashirama Senju. The world knows everything about me, and yet knows nothing at the same time. So, what's my real truth?" asked Madara mysteriously,
Naruto noticed the shape of Madara's new Mangekyo was different from the one in his right eye. This new eye was cross shaped...
"With the power of these eyes, I will create peace and it starts with your death, Naruto" announced Madara, but was surprised when the boy just smiled.
The faces of Itachi, Yuna, Iwashi and many others flashed before his eyes. Indeed, he was burning with revenge but he just couldn't let their deaths be in vain. It was a choice between revenge and family...
And he always chose family...
"Itachi, Yuna...I won't let your dream be destroyed" thought Naruto with determination, as chakra started flowing across his body again.
Madara was a little startled when a maniacal look appeared in the boy's eyes, that even unnerved the battle hardened Akatsuki leader.
"I am expendable, a mere pawn. And I won't let you destroy their dream, MADARA!"
The very next second Naruto started performing his own set of hand seals, while Madara also mimicked the same sign but just a single hand.
"Katon: Goka Mekkyaku (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation)!"
"Katon: Goka Mekkyaku (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation)!"
A Tsunami of fire was unleashed by the two warriors that completely burnt through everything that came in their path. While the fox clones charged towards the barrier, where the wood clones of Naruto were waiting to defend the village.
Naruto was alarmed when the clashing fires were absorbed in a pocket dimension, and just as they disappeared he saw a giant Bijudama headed straight towards him, courtesy of a pissed of Kyuubi.
Utilizing the power of his lone Mangekyo, he was able to pass through the massive attack but was alarmed when he realized the real meaning of the jutsu.
He quickly turned around and saw the Bijudama heading straight towards Konoha...
"An attack of this size would destroy a large portion of the barrier, allowing the fox clones to break inside the village. The casualties would be too great..." thought Naruto expertly, and focused his ocular powers in the attack's direction.
Genma had almost shit his pants when the massive Bijudama was about to strike the barrier protecting Konoha, only to be absorbed in a black hole at the very last second.
Sighing in relief his gaze shifted towards Naruto who had defended the village from the attack, but froze in fear...
"Behind you, Commander!" yelled Raido urgently,
Hearing his Blacklight comrade's warning made Naruto turn around, only to see the giant claws of the Kyuubi inches away from his heart. In the last second, he was able to divert himself towards the right side, evading the lethal blow.
But it was not fast enough to stop the beast from plunging one sharp claw into his shoulder bone...
Madara smiled when he saw Naruto coughing up blood, before detaching himself from the Biju's claws leaving a giant hole in his left shoulder. The attack had did quite a lot of damage, as the entire hand had almost went limp despite Naruto's cells trying their best to heal the wound.
"The funny thing about Kamui is it exhausts you very fast, and to stop a Bijudama of that size must have taken quite a lot of energy. No wonder your reflexes were not fast enough..." chided Madara, for his part Naruto just remained stoic never showing any emotion on his face.
The Blacklight soldiers were left speechless when they saw their strongest soldier being pushed back...
To think that there was someone who was stronger than Naruto...
"So, this is Uchiha Madara. The true leader of the Akatsuki..." said Kurenai in fear,
She flinched when Naruto painfully regained his fighting stance, despite the blood leaking from his wound. At this rate...
Naruto performed several somer-saults in the air as the Kyuubi fired several of his tails around him. He was thankful to his Mangekyo that was allowing him to predict the numerous incoming attacks.
Not only were those tails giant in size, but they were also made of poisonous chakra. One hit and his fighting capacity would be decreased even further...he could still remember his fight with Kushina, and was well aware of the Kyuubi's powers.
Not to mention the lethal wound he had suffered...
"He's stronger than me..." thought Naruto honestly, while evading another tail attack from the beast.
"You can't attack me and keep on defending Konoha at the same time. Eventually it will come down to your survival or that of the village..." replied Madara, while his Mangekyo spinned once again.
"Kamui Shuriken"
The giant black colored shurikens emerged from Madara's pocket dimension and headed straight towards Naruto, but were instantly engulfed in black flames as Naruto used his own ocular powers to defend himself from the incoming attacks.
Just when Naruto thought it was over, he sensed a massive spike in Madara's chakra as both of his Mangekyo spinned quickly.
"Amaterasu Goka Mekkyaku"
In a sheer display of raw power, two extremely large wall of black flames were formed on Naruto's flanks. The attack didn't stop there, as Madara focused his attack towards the boy as the black walls dashed towards Naruto from both sides.
The Uchiha warrior chuckled when Naruto used his teleportation skills to disappear inside his pocket dimension, thereby saving himself from the fatal black flames.
Reacting on his battle instincts, Madara grabbed his battle fan with his remaining hand and turned around.
He was proved right when Naruto appeared behind him, and fired several exploding tags towards his head. But it only brought a small grin on Madara's lips, as he positioned his battle fan in front of him and the incoming exploding tags.
"Uchiha Reflection!"
The entire blast that had appeared from the exploding tags was reversed and sent straight towards a shocked Naruto, who had just finished arriving from his pocket dimension.
BOOM!
The scream that echoed from the boy's throat could have sent shivers down any normal person's heart. But Madara had seen far worse, but still looking at the burns on Naruto's body and the blood leaking from every spot made him feel more excited.
Only Pein had the ability to last this long against him, perhaps even Orochimaru. But Naruto was younger and far less experienced than those warriors, even if he was a former Blacklight special ops commander it was simply beyond his powers to fight against Madara and defend the village from the Kyuubi's continuous onslaught.
And the boy was well aware of these facts, but was still fighting with every ounce of his strength.
Deciding not to give any advantage to Naruto or Konoha, Madara made a hand seal as the Kyuubi raised all of its tails in Konoha's direction.
"Biju Daiken Suidanha (Continuous Tailed Beast Bullets)"
Naruto who had collapsed on the ground saw thousands of monstrous chakra bullets being fired by the tailed beast, the attack was so powerful that it entirely covered all of Konoha's sky in bright orange color as the chakra bullets started descending towards the barrier.
"This much chakra, I have to stop it right now!" thought Naruto urgently,
Utilizing a large chunk of his chakra, he quickly performed a set of hand seals.
"My Kamui can't stop these many number of attacks at the same time, in that case I shall..." thought the former Blacklight commander seriously, while slamming his hands on the ground.
"Mokuton: Moku Joheki (Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall)"
The people of Konoha watched in shock, as giant wooden walls rose from the ground and covered the entire barrier from all sides. But it also blocked them from seeing what was happening outside, since the sudden wooden fortress was in the way.
Just before the bullets could hit the wooden fortress around Konoha, Naruto focused his Mangekyo towards the sky.
"Kamui"
Madara was stunned when a large chunk of his attack was absorbed in Naruto's secret dimension, but it was still not enough as hundreds of chakra bullets bombarded the entire wooden barrier.
The force was so powerful that it sent tremors across several kilometers, but in a clear testament to Naruto's power and his will to defend the dream of his siblings- the wooden fortress was shielding Konoha from almost every attack.
The few that had been able to crack through the wooden fortress were being blocked by the barrier which Jiraiya had formed...
"To think, he was this strong. Using Kamui to absorb half of the chakra bullets, while protecting the barrier from the attacks by creating this strong wooden fortress. You truly are impressive, Naruto...in that case, I shall also unleash everything I have" thought Madara respectfully,
He quickly raised his hand towards Naruto and performed a single hand seal, this should do it...
"Mokuton: Sashiki no Jutsu (Wood Release: Cutting Technique)"
Madara fired several wooden spears from his hands, and launched them straight towards Naruto's back. It was a cheap trick since the boy's entire power was focused on defending Konoha, but then again they were ninjas.
And Ninjas were always known for deception.
"Victory at any cost..." thought Madara seriously,
SLASH
Naruto's eyes widened in pain and shock, when a sharp wooden spear pierced his back, another struck his right leg while another struck in his elbow. He looked behind and saw Madara continuing his attacks...
So, the man had finally decided to get rid of him once and for all...
"If I abandon my position, and use Kamui to save myself the Kyuubi's attacks would tear the barrier apart. I can't divert all the energy I am using to protect Konoha..." thought Naruto calmly,
He could still not use his Mokuton and more than one of his Mangekyo powers at the same time. He cursed his young age for this, despite having massive amounts of chakra he could only wield a specific amount at a time.
And right now he was at his limit...
Madara was indeed right, he could only make one choice. And he had chosen the dream of his siblings and friends...
The Uchiha grimaced as his wooden attacks struck Naruto several times, making the boy collapse on his knees, but he still continued to shield Konoha from the last remnants of the Kyuubi's attacks.
But the injuries Naruto suffered, indeed had side effects as his wood clones started disappearing. He was quite impressed that 20 of them had been able to eliminate almost 40 fox clones...
However now due to Naruto's lethal wounds, they had been reduced to a mere 7 man squad. And 20 fox clones were about to devour them...
"HOLD THE LINE!" yelled Naruto painfully, while coughing up blood violently.
"Fox clones, advance!" commanded Madara, as the hypnotized Kyuubi clones charged ahead.
"Fight till your last breath, if you fall the enemy will break through" shouted Naruto in panic,
The bullet attack on Konoha's barrier was finished, so Naruto refocused all his chakra and engulfed nearly 10 fox clones in his Amaterasu flames.
"I've had enough of this!" shouted Madara furiously, and raised one of Kyuubi's paws before sending it straight towards Naruto.
In a rare display of determination, the beast's paw was cleanly pierced by a giant spear that had formed from Naruto's left hand. Madara had to regain his balance, as the beast swirled violently while roaring in pain.
''AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
With great force, Naruto sliced of the lower portion of the paw making the Biju scream in pain, before it crashed on the ground with a ear shattering thud.
Naruto saw his vision darkening, and the pain from his wounds was becoming unbearable. If not for Kushina's and Hashirama's cell implants inside his body, he would have fallen dead long ago.
The Senju clan head's cells had so far done a remarkable job in sustaining his wounds, while Kushina's cells had allowed him to fight with great stamina. After all, he was probably the only human after Rikudo Sennin who could have literally slammed a Biju with his bare hands. Perhaps, this was the only advantage he had against Madara, while the over strong Uchiha not only had his own strength but that of the Kyuubi on his side.
That thought made him chuckle as he again collapsed on his knees, this time he was not sure he could get up again.
He had known from the very beginning that he had very little chance of defeating Madara, much less the giant Kyuubi. But still, he fought with everything he had and protected Konoha for Itachi and Yuna's dreams...
But he couldn't do it anymore...
His knees lost all strength, as he fell straight on the ground. His shirt had been completely ripped off, and there was not a single area on his chest, back, hands, legs that was not injured.
Blood was flowing like an ocean from his body, his breathing had become rough and his vision clouded.
He saw his wood clones destroying the last fox clone, before shattering into millions of pieces. At least, they had done their job...
Naruto weakly raised his hand towards the cracked wooden walls that had defended Konoha, and as they crumbled the chakra left in them was transferred to the barrier increasing its strength by approximately 4 times than before.
Gathering his last traces of chakra, he raised several wooden spears that pierced all across the fallen Kyuubi's body efficiently trapping the beast in what appeared to be a strange maze.
The sound of someone grabbing a sword was heard, and he saw it was none other than Madara who appeared beside him while summoning a sword from his pocket dimension.
The Akatsuki leader raised the sharp metallic weapon right over Naruto's heart, and gave him a final glare...
"Naruto...you're finished"
"(cough) Just...get...it...over(cough)...with...Madara" replied Naruto harshly, his ragged breath making him struggle with each passing second.
Both of them looked each other in the eye, and what Madara saw in the boy's eyes made him feel a little regret.
"(cough)This...is...a...fitting...end...for(cough) (cough)...me"
"None of this is going to change anything. The village and your friends will continue to resist the Akatsuki even after you die..." said Madara confidently, but was surprised when Naruto shook his head in disapproval.
"There is no one strong enough left in the village, (cough)...they won't fight someone as strong as you" replied Naruto in a tired voice, but this time it was Madara who disagreed with the assumption.
"You don't know the love they have for you, they will fight and lose their lives in vain. So, I'm asking you one last time...join me" offered Madara, but still held the sword over Naruto's heart.
Alas, the hope in the Uchiha's eyes was squashed when Naruto averted his eyes from him...
"It's impossible..."
"WHY?"
"I'm (cough) no longer...the person you knew (Cough)"
Madara glared his sharingan in Naruto's eyes and in that moment he knew why it was all over...
"Maybe if I can protect the village, I can keep my little brother and my sister safe"
"I don't have a single sibling left, I don't have anything more to protect..." said Naruto sadly, making Madara close his eyes in defeat.
"And I won't participate in your plan, no matter what!"
That was the final nail in the coffin, which destroyed any hope or patience left in Madara's heart. Sensing the decision made by the Uchiha, the young Namikaze calmly took one final breath.
Finally, Madara plunged his sword...
...and then everything went silent.
Author's Notes: End of chapter.
I have removed all the AN, and update notices from this story. As such the number of chapters have reduced from 92 to 89.
Now, since FF has this weird policy which I was unaware of. Those of you who had reviewed chapter 89 before, won't be able to review through your account as FF does not permit reviewing the same chapter twice.
So, if you still want to review then you can do it as a guest. (If you do, just write your pen name...so if you have any questions or doubts, then I will send a Pm to your account)
For those who hadn't reviewed in this number (89) chapter in the past, you can review with your account.
Quite a strange policy of FF, I must say.
Have a good day,
Blackwolf501