A/N: Hey all! Sorry this chapter seemed to take so long. With how short it is I know it's not that fair but in all honesty it was a helluva lot bigger…but I didn't like it and decided to break it up. What does this mean for you? In one week, you will have another update, promise. You may commence in the celebrations now (stands by as you all wave your hands in the air and dance). Now a couple of you actually were concerned with the standoff between Naruto and Tsunade and what that would entail. As always, there is a reason for that.
Whateverdontcare: 1st- Yes, in this fic Kurama did love Kushina. Not in a "romantic" kind of way but in a "two hurt souls finding solace in one another" kind of way. I will be shedding more light on their relationship in the future so no worries there. 2nd- The fight for Kurama's chakra will go much differently compared to cannon. 3rd – As my idol and writing sensei, Brent Weeks, has taught –let the good guys die. Let them fail in their plans. Let them not see a huge blind side coming. Why? Because it makes them more human and at the same time really builds the suspense. Will they stop the attack? Will they find out in time? It leaves you the reader caring a lot more about what will happen next. Things don't always go according to plan. 4th – Relax, you were taking the "Naruto being the 1st reincarnated" a little too seriously. Lol. It was a joke at Naruto's intelligence, nothing more.
Hektols: I agree whole heartedly with you about having Neji and Renge not break into the prison. However, I was trying to portray the reckless and impulsive streak the Uzumakis seem to possess. Lol.
Bookwarnedbookworm: It's all good, I planned on doing that as well. Just not to that extreme. Karin is an Uzumaki after all.
Lastly, to the guest that left a anonymous review regarding my update time frames. While I'm ecstatic to hear that you love this story, I'm afraid I can't accommodate to your demands about a regular update. My life is extremely hectic and constantly fluctuating. I firmly believe in quality over quantity, so I'm sorry to say that I would rather take a longer period of time writing something great instead of updating frequently with crap. Other than that, I hope you continue to enjoy!
Chapter 28: The Demon's Demons
The raging winds were the first clue that Naruto was upset.
They shook Kurama from his troubled nap and instantly put him on guard. The next hint was the sudden tug on his chakra, not much at all, but enough to give only a slight boost in power. This had Kurama confused as to what was happening outside. He was about to stretch out his senses to find out when something else caught his attention.
From all directions a sudden ethereal shout faded in and out over the raging winds. The dark clouds overhead began to twist and turn until they were finally moving slowly in a circle some distance away. That was all the giant fox needed to see to realize what took precedence.
Jumping to his feet, he took off in the direction of the strange cloud formation. But the entire way there, in the back of his mind Kurama felt a dark presence slowly building. Slowly growing stronger the closer he got.
When Kurama finally arrived the clouds overhead were swirling fast enough to be a tornado. Stalking to the edge of the tree line, his eyes widened in shock at the pure malice that emanated from the clearing. But to his surprise there was nothing there. Or at first glance it looked that way at least. It wasn't until Kurama caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned did he see something peculiar that he couldn't exactly explain.
Trickling along the ground leading towards the clearing was a trail of oil that seemed to have the viscosity of water. It glistened and shimmered in the low light and that's when the fox realized it was everywhere. It was dripping out of the trees, seeping out of the ground, and even condensing from the air. It was then, Kurama noticed, that there was something in the clearing.
The ooze was slowly coalescing together to form puddle, which was steadily growing larger and larger by the minute. And from that puddle a strange ambiance was being given off. Kurama would have sworn that there was no such thing as black light, but looking at the clearing now –it was the only way he could describe it. It pulsed out in unsynchronized patterns, and leached all color within its grasp turning it to some hue of black. It was concerning, worrisome, and above all, unnatural.
Returning his gaze to the black rivers, Kurama hesitantly took a single claw and laid it across the strange liquid. The ooze flowed up his claw as if to go over the obstacle, but just as it reached its peak it suddenly halted. Kurama watched in odd fascination before suddenly jerking back in a mixture of shock and pain as the sludge shot up his hand and then seeped through his fur and into his skin. Letting out roar of anguish, Kurama thrashed around in pain, clawing furiously at his infected hand. The feeling of magma running underneath his skin while being stabbed repeatedly was the only way he could describe it.
Then, as suddenly as the pain started it vanished. But with it came all the emotions he had tried to bury for the past two decades, slowly bubbling to the surface.
A flash a red hair. A melodious laugh. A reckless grin and a pair of twinkling, defiant, violet eyes smiling. A strong voice full of convicted words.
"We'll always have each other…You'll never be alone…I promise…"
"You lied to me…Kushina…" Kurama muttered out as his strength left him and he slumped to the ground. "You left me."
The pain he felt now was nothing the physical type could ever match. The despair and hopelessness he felt was something he had been trying to avoid for the past sixteen years. How could she do that to him? She promised. She promised they'd never be lonely. And now all he had was himself, trapped in a hell that constantly reminded him of what he lost. An empty shell with a hole where his heart once was. Another roar ripped from his throat, but this time it was one of sorrow as he lowered his head and began to weep.
All was quiet until a soft voice broke the silence.
"Kurama…"
The demon's head snapped up so fast he nearly broke his own neck. Looking towards the spot where the voice had come from his eyes widened in shock. The clouds were gone and the foliage was beginning to bud again as green life started to sweep through the once dead clearing. The black goo was gone with no traces to be found. But what he did find standing before him nearly stopped his heart.
"K…Kushina?" He asked in disbelief.
Standing in the center of the area, barefoot and smiling, was the woman that caused him so much pain and loneliness. Her magnificent red hair flowed slowly in a nonexistent breeze and she held out a soft pale hand to him.
"Kurama," She said softly with a radiant smile, "it's been so long."
"How?" Kurama asked in confusion as he stared at the woman. She looked exactly like she did on the night she had died nearly sixteen years ago –as if nothing had ever happened and it was nothing more than a bad dream.
"Come here Kurama, I've missed you so much." Kushina whispered with a sad smile.
Kurama didn't remember getting up. Nor did he remember slowly moving towards the woman he held so close to his heart. Before he knew it he was within feet of her out stretched hands though. But all he could do was stare into those violet eyes that he remembered were always so warm and loving –full of understanding and joy that always made him feel at ease.
And yet, as he drew closer and closer something in the back of his head became restless. It started out as uneasiness but by the time he was a few feet away from her his instincts were practically screaming at him. It was these instincts that made him waver when he was just out of reach.
"What's wrong, Kurama-kun?" Kushina asked taking notice.
"How are you here?" Kurama asked slowly.
Kushina gave one her laughs that always made him smile and irritated him at the same time. One that said she was laughing at you but only because you were doing something cute or adorable. "I'm not really sure, but does it matter? I'm here now aren't I?"
Kurama wasn't convinced, even when she gave him a smile that nearly made his chest burst from all of the painful memories it dredged up. But regardless, he was still cautious. Nearly a hundred years spent sealed away made him that way. It paid to be cautious.
"I watched you die, Kushina. There's no way you should be here."
Kushina's face flickered briefly to irritated, before instantly changing to sadness. Pulling her hands back to her chest she spoke quietly.
"You…You don't want to see me?" She asked unable to hide the pain in her voice.
"No, it's not that! I'm just saying I don't understand!" Kurama said quickly.
Kushina turned slightly away from him, tears becoming present in her voice. "Have you already forgotten about me?"
"Kushina I would never forget about you!" Kurama tried to reassure as he took a step forward.
"Then why are you staying away from me? Come here Kurama, please. I've missed you so much! I've been so lonely…"
Kurama hesitated and Kushina turned to him. But when he looked in her eyes he froze. Tears were threatening to spill, but they weren't normal. They were black, just like what he had seen earlier.
"There's…something wrong with you." Kurama said taking a half step back. "You're not right."
"Please, Kurama." Kushina said as the ink like tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Come here." When the fox didn't move her face suddenly snapped to one of rage and the black liquid burst from her eyes like waterfalls. "I SAID COME HERE!"
In a flash Kushina swiped at his throat. It was only because of Kurama's instincts that her hand only grazed by, but in that instant everything changed. The world that surrounded them faded away to reveal the dead clearing. There was now a collection of the black substance the size of small pond in the center and standing there in the middle of it was Kushina –or at least what used to be her. Kurama watched in horror as the woman slowly began to bleed the black liquid from every orifice of her body and her skin paled to a deathly white as her clothes rotted away. It was like watching a corpse in fast forward and it scared Kurama to no end. But that wasn't the worst part. The moment Kushina's hand had touched his throat the pain from before came back in full force.
Stumbling away, Kurama felt something running down his face. Confused he looked down to see the same black substance falling from his own face. Panicking, he brought a hand to his face and felt the substance coming from his eyes. A sudden tickling in the back of his throat sent him into a coughing fit until it finally ended with him hacking up a huge glob of the same black liquid, and just like before, once the substance hit the ground it began to make its way towards the ever growing collection in the center of the clearing.
"W-What the fuck are you?" Kurama asked looking up at the being before him in utter shock and horror.
With an unearthly wail the thing that was once Kushina imploded in on itself and the collection of black ooze at its feet.
All was silent for a brief moment before there was another shriek and it exploded outwards again. This time bearing no face –or form for that matter. It was simply a blob of black liquid, constantly morphing. It had a head and two arms, as well as a chest, but after that it just melted down into ground where the pond was, constantly feeding itself with the dark matter that bubbled up around it. The amebic creature turned its head towards Kurama and let out another shriek before launching its arm at the fox which extended to an unnatural length.
But it didn't matter. Kurama was already on the move, putting distance between him and that…that thing the second he saw its true form.
Once he was a safe distance away, Kurama drug himself over to a stream and looked at his reflection. The black substance continued to run from his eyes and before long it was dripping into the stream only to be washed away.
"Okay." He said after a minute of silence. "Looks like I'm gonna have to talk to him." His gaze shifted up to the sky, where almost a mile away the clouds were spinning viciously in a circle and a strange light was radiating up into them.
Karin didn't remember the trip to Naruto's apartment. In fact, she wasn't even conscious when they arrived having succumbed to her emotions. Naruto and the others wordlessly moved through his apartment when they arrived and went straight to his room. Laying her down on his bed, Naruto moved to his closet and grabbed a spare track suit before setting it down next to the red head.
"Can you clean her up and look after her for a bit?" Naruto asked quietly looking towards Renge.
"Of course." Renge whispered with a nod and smile. "Leave a clone though; there are a few things I need to look into soon. That way if I have to leave I can let you know."
Naruto nodded and motioned for Jihibiki to follow him out of the room to give the two women privacy. Once they made it to the living room Naruto made his way towards the kitchen to make some tea.
Jihibiki said nothing as he watched the blonde move through the kitchen, quietly getting everything together. Silence was the only thing between the two and it was becoming increasingly stagnant. For ten solid minutes, Jihibiki stood there staring at Naruto's back as he stared at the pot waiting for the tea to be done. The quietness of the room increasing in volume until it was booming in their ears. When the tea was finally done Naruto flinched hard, the sudden screeching shrill feeling like it nearly ruptured his eardrums.
With a shaky hand Naruto picked up the pot, but the jostling was so hard that he didn't even attempt to pour it. He simply stood there, quivering in place until Jihibiki's voice broke the silence.
"Naruto…"
"…It really got heavy back there didn't it?" Naruto whispered setting the pot down. He didn't turn around though, keeping his back turned to his grandfather.
"Do you regret what you said back there?"
"Never."
"Are you scared?"
Naruto bowed his head. "Hell yes."
There was a pause between the two before Jihibiki spoke again. "Don't worry, Tsunade-chan won't do anything too bad."
"That's not what I'm afraid of." Naruto whispered causing Jihibiki to look at him strangely. The blonde caught it out of the corner of his eye and chuckled. "I know, I know: any sane person would be scared of her. But that's not what scares me."
Turning around, Jihibiki was met with the fierce conviction of Naruto's gaze. "What scares me is that I meant every word I said."
Jihibiki said nothing as he walked over to Naruto and poured two cups of tea. Handing one to the blonde he then smiled at him. "I'm glad to see you so dedicated to this family. However, I can't help but feel there is a 'but' coming soon…"
Naruto peered into his glace and stared at his tiny reflection. "…But a Hokage is supposed to look after everyone in this village, no matter what. It's their duty. They can't pick and choose who and what they'll protect when it's convenient for them."
"You're right." Jihibiki said bluntly causing Naruto to scowl and glare up at him. "But answer me this. Do you believe that Karin-chan is a good person?"
Naruto was quite for a moment. He didn't know her. Hell, he didn't know anything about her. Her likes, hobbies, habits, none of it he knew. All he knew was that she had worked for the Akatsuki in the past. But the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced she was a good person. The way Neji insistently defended her and the tears she shed on the way home were more than enough of an answer. He didn't know why or how, but it just felt right in his gut.
Looking at Jihibiki with certainty he nodded. "Yeah, I do think she is."
"Then you already said it yourself." Jihibiki said with a shrug. "It's true that a Hokage can't pick and choose what works for them, but you also said that it's their job to defend each and every person in this village. If you truly believe that Karin is a good person, and undeserving of what they were trying to do to her, then it's the Hokage's duty to step in and stop it. If it means the entire village turns against them and ends up burning, so be it."
Taking a step forward, the old man raised a fist and thumped the side of it against Naruto's chest. "Never lose your conviction, Naruto. You've spent your entire life living with and by it. Don't give it up now. The Hokage doesn't bend to the wills of the evil just like the sun doesn't submit to the night." Stepping back, Jihibiki gave him a grandfatherly look and added softly, "Good people don't deserve to suffer. That's why these villages were formed in the first place."
Naruto took a deep breath and then let it out before nodding. He was right after all, an innocent person never deserved to suffer. Although Karin may have had a shaky past, he truly did believe deep down she was a good person. If he was the only one that ended up defending her then so be it.
The two continued to drink their tea in comfortable silence until the sound of Naruto's bedroom door shutting drew their attention to Renge as she stepped into the living room.
"I changed Karin-chan and cleaned her up a little. It looks like she'll be out for awhile." Renge answered as she moved to them and grabbed herself a cup of tea. "What will you do now?"
Jihibiki looked at Naruto. The blonde looked back at his grandfather before raising a hand to his arm and focusing.
"Return to base." He pulsed with his chakra through the seal.
"We're going." Naruto said as he set his cup down and placed a hand on Jihibiki's shoulder. "I believe the Night Angels have a village to protect."
They were silent for a moment before all three of them grinned at the same time. That reckless grin spreading across their lips as mischief shimmered in their eyes.
"Give 'em hell." Renge whispered.
In a flash of light the two disappeared from the room, leaving Renge alone with nothing more than a cup of tea and grin that was threatening to split her face.
They were back.
The Uzumakis were back.
Now it's common knowledge to the world that there were such things as "bad days." However, Kurama learned long ago that there were bad days, and then there were legendary bad days. And if he had to be honest with himself, it was definitely shaping up to be one of those.
Standing before the fox was that thing. That black, sludge like being that he thought he lost back in the clearing. Somehow it had managed to sneak up on him while he was trying to recover, and now he found himself facing off against it once again. However, Kurama was done playing games.
"I don't know who you are, or what you are for that matter, but you've seriously managed to piss me off!"
The ground began to tremble as Kurama drew himself to full height, his size increasing drastically until he was towering over the oil based shape shifter. With an angry roar, Kurama raised his clawed hand and brought it down on the strange entity, smashing it into the ground mercilessly. He could feel the thing pop underneath the ferociousness of his attack, splattering in a satisfying way that caused a grin to spread across his muzzle. That was until the pain happened again. But it wasn't just pain this time. This time, he also felt a tug on his chakra as well.
Wrenching his hand back, Kurama snarled at the spot where the creature had been. Slowly, he watched as it reformed itself –trickling back together into a blob until if finally took on its' humanoid shape once again. Only this time it was bigger. But not only that, the presence it carried had become stronger, larger, darker. It confused Kurama until he noticed his hand was dripping the black sludge, seeping from his skin in globs and feeding the monster in front of him.
Growling in frustration, Kurama jumped back to put some distance between the two. "Fine! If I can't touch you then fine I'll just take care of you indirectly!"
With a swing of his tails blades of wind shot across the ground, slicing away wide swaths of land and debris. The creature made no move to dodge the attack and took it head on, splattering across the ground in a spray.
"Let's see you get up from that!" Kurama taunted with a malicious grin. "How do you feel now, you freak?"
For a moment all was still, until the black mass began to move and undulate once again.
"Okay, no." Kurama said having reached his limit. One second all was normal –save for the black anomally. The next second Kurama opened his mouth and the black being was met with a wall of flames that quickly engulfed and blew it away. For a solid ten seconds Kurama held it too, spewing the firestorm from his mouth to make sure there was nothing left of it. When he finally finished he had a satisfied grin on his face as he listened to the hissing and crackling of everything burning around him.
"Nice try." A familiar voice said from before, sounding like multiple voices layered over each other –fading in and out. It made his Kurama's skin crawl. Whirling around, he found the creature staring at him. Not only that but it had grown again, now reaching half of his size.
"But you're going to have to try harder if you want to get rid of me." It finished.
"How are you getting bigger every time I see you?!" Kurama asked irritated.
"Oh come now, you know the answer to that. You just don't want to admit it."
Kurama growled at the taunt. "I have a theory, but I guess I'll have to test it out first!"
Before the creature could react, Kurama opened his mouth and a dark ball the size of his head formed rapidly before compacting. Swallowing the ball, Kurama shot the creature one last grin before opening his mouth again and releasing a beam of pure energy that showered the surrounding area in light as bright as the sun. The condensed chakra's heat causing all vegetation nearby to burst into flames as the attack continued forward so quickly the creature didn't even have time to blink.
The massive explosion that followed when the attack struck home was satisfying to say the least. Even more so when Kurama found the splattered remains of whatever the creature was made of hissing and popping in the fires, slowly burning away into nothing.
"And Kurama knocks it outta the park." The fox said with a smirk.
"More like a swing and a miss." The strange voice said causing Kurama to look behind him in bewilderment.
"The fuck?" Kurama stated more than asked. Standing behind him was now a massive, shifting ameba the same size as him. "How are you still alive?!"
"Haven't you noticed yet?" The being asked with a smile in its voice. "I'm not alive at all. In fact, you've killed me multiple times now."
Kurama stared at the thing in confusion before it suddenly clicked. He thought he had sensed the thing's existence disappear multiple times before when he had landed killing blows, but it had always came back and he assumed that it just hadn't died. The truth was they had died, and more were just coming to fill in the spot.
"You're some kind of clone aren't you?" Kurama growled out.
"Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!" It said, throwing its amorphous arms in the air.
"Who and what are you?" Kurama demanded.
All was quiet for a moment before a dark chuckled started to come from the creature. Soon, the chuckling turned into a full blown maniacal laughter and the creature started to curl into a ball.
"My name is Menma." The now identified creature said. "As for what I am…well, I guess you could just say we're the same!"
Kurama watched as Menma shifted and churned, its body suddenly growing nine protrusions from its back end and taking the form of tails. Four more came down and took the shape of clawed limbs, and finally another came out towards Kurama and took the shape of his head. For a brief moment, the two gigantic foxes stared at each other –the only difference between the two being one was orange and the other black.
"How did you get here?" Kurama asked. His mind was going a mile a minute trying to come up with answers. He knew his best bet would be to just keep this Menma thing talking. Something he was starting to realize wasn't that hard. Hopefully Menma would let slip some answers. "There should be no way you could even get in here with the kind of seal that's on Naruto."
Menma threw his head back and roared with laughter. "Don't you get it? I've been here the whole time! Waiting in the dark, biding my time!" Gazing at Kurama with a menacing grin he finished, "I've been waiting in both of you, in the deepest, darkest recesses of your hearts."
"The darkness of our hearts?" Kurama asked confused.
"Yes, the darkness in your hearts. Slowly, ever so slowly, I've been absorbing the negative feelings inside both of you –growing ever stronger each day."
"So you're finally strong enough that you think you can take me on?" Kurama growled out.
Menma laughed and shook his head. "Oh no! I'm not nearly strong enough to take you head on!"
"Then why show yourself?"
A growl of frustration suddenly reverberated through the forest. "The boy has become increasingly difficult to draw negative energy from. Even more so over the last few weeks."
"You mean Naruto's family, Renge and Jihibiki. They've managed to make him happier. Happier than I've ever seen him." Kurama admitted.
Menma simply scoffed. "Please, those two old walking corpses could never be enough for him to completely find happiness. But I will admit they helped."
"Then who—" Kurama began before it all suddenly clicked. Only one word was needed. "Hinata."
"That fucking bitch has slowly managed to weasel her way into his heart!" Menma raged. "She ruined everything! All my planning! All my patient waiting! All of it! When I finally get control of this blonde headed idiot the first thing I'll do is make her pay!"
"I'd like to see you try." Kurama growled out dangerously.
"Oh, I have no doubt I will eventually." Menma said lightly, his attitude doing an abrupt one-eighty. "After all, there's plenty of darkness in you!"
"Plenty of darkness in me?" The fox echoed before suddenly being overcome with rage. "I am darkness! I am hatred! I am the very existence you claim to come from! I–"
"—Loved a human." Menma suddenly cut in stopping his counterpart in his tracks.
Kurama stared at Menma in shock before growling. "You don't know what you're talking about. Don't make things up."
"Is that so?" Menma asked with a glint in his eye.
Suddenly Menma's tails melted off and plopped to the ground. He shrunk down to his original height and then he as well as all nine puddles moved rapidly until they completely surrounded the giant fox. Then, slowly the puddles began to rise from the ground, their forms changing. Red flowing hair came from their heads, violet eyes greeted him warmly, and a cute grin on pale lips smiled up at him.
"Kurama," they all said in unison, "don't you love me?"
"Stop it." Kurama snarled.
"You said you loved me."
"Stop!"
"Did you…lie to me?...Kurama-kun?"
"I said stop it!" Kurama bellowed.
But the damage was done. He could feel it in his chest. It was like a dagger there, slowly sinking in and twisting. The memories came back, and hard as he tried he couldn't repress them. And with it, the black bile began to ooze once again from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
"Kurama promise me…" One of the doppelgangers said with a sad smile.
"Promise me you'll look after my baby if anything happens." Another finished.
"Shut up!" Kurama yelled squeezing his eyes shut and covering his ears. The memories were flooding his mind, sweeping him away and pulling him under. And in that despair he felt his chakra being accessed, pulled away from him, but he found that he didn't even have the strength to fight back.
"Please, watch over him. Don't let anything bad happen to my baby."
"Can you promise me that Kurama-kun? Can you promise to watch him?"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Kurama started muttering.
"I know I can trust you." Another clone said as she closed her eyes and smiled. "You've been with me since the beginning.
"I know I can trust you because…well…I love you!"
"SHUT UP!"
Kurama didn't remember running. One minute he was surrounded by those terrible clones of Kushina and the next he was underneath the giant willow tree panting like mad. The fox growled when he thought of what just happened. He wanted to destroy Menma for it. Make it feel the most excruciating pain before killing it slowly for bring back painful memories. But he couldn't, and he had no idea how to. So he ran. He ran as hard as he could to get away and now he was hiding like a small child. He hoped that Menma wouldn't find him here. He just wanted to be left alone.
Glancing up and through the willow branches his raged spiked and his lips curled back. It was back. Menma was standing just outside the branches, this time having taken the form of Naruto. The only difference between the two being Menma looked like a silhouette of the blonde, and his only outstanding features being his red demon eyes and a smirk that showed his white canines just poking out from behind his lips.
"Get the fuck away from me!" Kurama nearly roared.
Menma cocked his head to the side and took on a puzzled look. A slight frown appeared on his face for a brief moment. Narrowing his eyes he opened his mouth and said something –only nothing came out. Or at least Kurama thought so.
"What are you trying to pull?"
Menma's frown deepened. Taking the last few steps towards the willow tree, he stretched out his hands and tried to push aside some of the branches only for his hand to suddenly halt mere centimeters away for them. A strange rippling appeared in the air, moving away from where his hand was stopped. Tilting his head again, Menma spoke again and still nothing was heard by Kurama.
"What is this?" Kurama asked himself as he stared at where Menma was now forcefully trying to push through.
Kurama stood up and approached the dark being cautiously. Stopping on the other side of the branches, the fox slowly inspected Menma and where he tried to force his way through. Not only that, but the strange black bile that was seeping from Kurama had ceased to flow and now lay on the ground in splatters. On the other side though Kurama could see the trail he left was still slowly making its way towards Menma and being absorbed upon contact.
"This is some kind of barrier separating us." Kurama spoke to Menma even if he couldn't hear him. "Your power and influence can't reach me here, but how?"
The answer came to Kurama when Menma let out a silent shout of frustration and began punching the rippling barrier. A bright glowing red light suddenly emanated from behind Kurama and the fox turned around and opened his mouth in shock.
The four of them stood there in a circle in the dimly lit room. Three masked faces stared at the fourth, the masks shifting and billowing, never conforming to one shape.
"I don't know about this." Naruto muttered as he stared down at black void that was his mask. Retribution, the mask that could not be stopped. They were asking him to take up the reigns as the most powerful of the four. "What about Vengeance? That seems more suited to me."
"Sorry Naruto-taichou." The commander said shaking his head. "The tradition has always been that the leader would wear Retribution."
Naruto stared at the Anbu commander for a moment before nodding with a sigh. "I never really was one for traditions."
After one last pause of hesitation Naruto raised Retribution to his face. As soon as the cool wood made contact with his skin he felt a surge of power shoot through him, freezing him in place like an electrical shock. Naruto let out a grunt but said nothing else. He knew this was normal since he had watched the other three go through it already. But he was in awe at the power he felt surging through him. It was something that he could only compare to when he was using Kurama's chakra –minus the constant attempt of taking control. It tingled through him, bringing a rush he felt from the top of his head all the way to his feet. It was intoxicating with how good it felt, a rush he never experienced before. It was power. Pure, unadulterated power –and it was all his. However, he was torn from his thoughts when he felt something go wrong.
Kurama couldn't help but stare slack jawed at the tree. There, on the trunk of the great willow several meters up, was the eight trigram seal. The very one used to seal him inside Naruto.
Kurama stared at it in amazed awe. "That damn seal…is protecting me now?!" Turning back to Menma, he saw the creature gritting his teeth and staring hatefully up at the seal. "The seal is separating the two of us, and as long as I stay inside this seal you won't be able to draw on my chakra anymore."
Menma seemed to realize this after a moment and took a step back and glared at the fox with crimson eyes. And yet there was nothing the creature could do.
"I have all the time in the world to think of a way to stop you now." Kurama said with a feral smirk. "With no way for you to draw power, you're completely screwed!"
No sooner had the words left Kurama's lips did the world go straight to hell. One moment everything was still, the next –the earth began to shake and the very air began to vibrate. Looking around in confusion, the pair's attention was suddenly drawn to the north when a massive beam of bright purple light pierced through the clouds and slammed into the ground. Even at that distance, the shear amount and intensity of chakra that washed over Kurama was astounding.
"What the fuck is that?!" Kurama asked no one in particular. This was followed by another, more perplexing question. "And how can I feel it in here?"
All the questions swimming around in his head were quickly rendered irrelevant though when Menma slowly turned to look at Kurama –a sinister smile growing across his face in the process and a gleam shinning in his blood red eyes. It stayed there for a brief moment before he suddenly turned and bolted towards the light. The confusion that marred Kurama's face melted away as the realization dawned on him, his eyes widening and his stomach dropping like stone.
"Oh shit," was all the fox could say as he suddenly vanished from his spot, sprinting like hell to try and catch up.
There ya go! Please review and let me know what you think. AND REMEMBER, update in a week!