Kaibunkage
Arc II
Chapter XVI
"I don't know if I'm actually the Child of Prophecy or not, but I will try to obtain peace as a shinobi and as Hokage. And if I fail, then I will pass on the goal to my son, and he to his son until true peace is achieve. That, sensei, is my dream."
- Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato
Inari was angered. His home was being attacked again. But this time, the threat seemed to be less hostile as he gave everyone within the entire village time to escape. One of the strange men explained what was going to happen there real soon though. Uzumaki Naruto, a powerful force to reckon with, was on his way up here to battle all six men. Inari thought the idea was foolish, but then remembered who Naruto was. Naruto did a lot of foolish things that seemed to work to the majority's favor.
"Inari," Inari's eyes trailed to his mother's. Since the death of Tazuna by Dōsame's hands, her eyes held a certain grief that he had not seen since Kaiza died. "We must get to safety soon."
"I'm tired of our home being in the crossfire of war and never being able to defend ourselves." Inari responded.
"I know, but what can you do?" his mother asked.
Inari thought for a moment. His village, his country, was subjected to this kind of things lately. Danzo attempted to use them for the front lines. The Mizukage just rushed through without any regards of boundaries. And Dōsame… That bastard killed Inari's grandfather. And what did Inari do all three times? Nothing. He gave word to Kemuri and let them handle it, despite breaking Wave's agreement with the Hidden Leaf.
Fingering the hat on his head, Inari gave an angered huff that sounded almost like Tazuna. He was tired of being stepped on, trampled on, and walked over. He was done running to Naruto every time something went wrong. It was time to put an end to it.
"It's time to resurrect the ninja of former Whirlpool," Tsunami's eyes widened at her son's declaration. "And turn them into shinobi of Wave!"
Tsunami could only stare at the teenager. Was this really her son or some reincarnation of Kaiza? Was Inari really the next hero of Wave? She didn't know those answers now. But what she did know was that there were two men she had to thank, and blame, for Inari's new dream. They were her dearly-beloved, Kaiza, and one Uzumaki Naruto.
Sakura watched as Shiori played with one of her friends from the Kurama Clan, Inala. The two girls laughed and giggled, chasing one another around gardens at the Kaibunkage Estate.
"I know that look," Sakura didn't give Tsunade a glance. She hardly cared about what her former mentor was going to say. "It was the same look when he first left."
"I'll be fine, shishou." Tsunade rolled her eyes, something her three escorts, Shikamaru, Neji, and Chojuro, caught.
"You're worried about him." the Rokudaime Hokage stated. "You might as well admit it now. You wouldn't want to end up like me, now would you?"
Sakura remained silent, her eyes watching how happy Shiori looked. The girl always had a smile on her face, regardless of the world going on around her. Yet somehow, Sakura could tell just how sad Shiori was now. Her father's departure was heavy on the young priestess and Mei being swamped by war preparations only added to the grief. Ranmaru was currently unable to stop by due to his injuries, Sayuri was trying to perfect a nearly impossible technique, and Jakken was currently finding the safest spot to hide Shiori during the war where the girl won't be uncomfortable. This left Sakura as Shiori's only trusted guardian at the moment and thus the only one that could make Shiori happy.
"I never knew why you did it." Now Sakura looked at the blonde woman, her brows knitted in confusion. "Why you killed those innocent people back then. Civilians even." Sakura looked to see Shikamaru and Neji was curious as well. "I know you, Sakura. Why would you do that to those people?"
"Pain…" Sakura said quietly. "I wanted them to feel the same way I did. My parents are my parents. Team Seven was my family. And I lost them." Tsunade nodded a bit, understanding what Sakura must have felt. "And at the time, I believed that nothing could cure that pain unless they both returned and lived their dream. Sasuke would kill Itachi and restart the Uchiha Clan. Naruto would surpass Danzo and become Hokage. And that pain inside of me that drove me to do what I did would end."
"Do you still feel that pain?" Sakura flinched before smiling.
"No." Sakura said. "There's a new feeling now." Tsunade raised a questioning brow. "And it's l-"
"Sakura-chan!" Shiori said running to the group, interrupting Sakura's last word. "We're hungry. Can you make some of your special spicy ramen? Please?"
"Of course, Shiori-chan." Sakura said giving the girl a small pat on the head. "Chojuro, could you take them to wash their hands?"
"H-hai," Chojuro replied. "Come on Lady Shiori, Inala-san."
"Come on Ina-chan!" Shiori called before the two girls raced into the large home.
Sakura looked at Tsunade.
"I'm not worried about Naruto returning alive, Tsunade-shishou. I know he will win." Sakura proclaimed. "You of all people should know that the best cure for pain is love."
Sakura disappeared into the estate, leaving Tsunade with her two escorts from Konoha.
"So," Shikamaru said. "Does this mean that you love Jiraiya-san?"
Neji prepared his Byakugan. Not to dodge any blows, but to keep track of Shikamaru's body after Tsunade sent him airborne with a chakra-infused punch. Instead, the blonde just laughed.
"Let's go eat." Tsunade said while still laughing a bit.
Neji and Shikamaru watched their Hokage walk in-between them and into the mansion. The two men just stood there for a brief moment before Shikamaru looked at the clouds with a sigh.
"Naruto is going to fight this Pain, eh? Glad I'm not around to witness it." Neji nodded in agreement. "However, if Naruto does lose, you do know what that means for us, right?"
"I don't think Naruto will lose." said the Hyuga. "Whether it's destined or not, he will return alive."
The Six Paths of Pain looked around the area. They were currently inside of a village within Wave Country waiting for Naruto's arrival. The sky was covered by heavy clouds, rain pouring over the entire village. He could sense that there were a few of the civilians still escaping, some actually hiding instead, but no Naruto. Not yet at least.
"He lives up to his reputation for never being on time." Deva Path muttered.
Suddenly the six bodies tensed as their target came closer towards them. Soon Naruto stood in front of them in his kage robes, his hat absent from his head. However, he wore a black Smoke hitai-ate around his forehead proudly.
"So you came." Nagato spoke through Deva Path. "I wasn't sure if you were or not." Naruto stood silently. "Do you feel it, Kyubi? Do you feel the tears raining on you? The pain of losing you has already affected the heavens. Your death has already been fortold!"
"I don't know if the heavens are crying for me or with me." The six reincarnated corpses were all confused by his words. "But either way, I will kill each and every one of you. You will all pay for what you did to me!"
"Do you hate us for orchestrating Shion's death?" Naruto growled at the question.
"Yes!"
And with that, the young Kaibunkage charged at the six. Deva Path held his palm towards the blond before using the Shinra Tensei to push him away. Naruto crashed into a house, the tension around the area growing in his absensce.
"Good shot." All six paths were thoroughly surprised that Naruto was behind them now. "But now it's our turn!"
From within the rubble of the destroyed house, thousands of Naruto clones shot out and came for the group while the real one came from behind. It was then that the Animal Path sprung into action with multiple hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
While Naruto dodged a bird that shot for him, his clones met an assortment of animals, including the demonic dog, a large rhinoceros, and a large panda.
"We got you, you stupid mutt!" Naruto could hear one of his clone's shout. "Rasengan!"
The attack landed, only for the dog to split four ways where the four clones hit it.
"Ranmaru was right." Naruto said to himself before catching Human Path moving for him. "Shit, which one is this one?"
Backtracking, the Kaibunkage made a hand seal and inhaled. He exhaled a powerful rush of white flames at the attacking man (Fire and Wind Release: Searing White Stream). Naruto was certain that the attack would land until a larger man jumped in front of his target and raised his hands. Seeing his attack being absorbed, Naruto noted that this was the Preta Path.
Ending his attack, Naruto grabbed a few of his special kunai and ran for both Preta and Human Path. He spotted the large strange bird coming for him again and tossed one of his kunai in the air before tossing the last three towards the two men. In an instant, Naruto vanished from view, causing the two reanimated men to stare in disbelief. Naruto reappeared in front of the large bird, Rasengan in hand.
"Eat this!" Naruto shouted. "Rasengan!"
The attack landed, or would have landed, but Animal Path dispelled the bird just before impact. Now completely exposed, the Asura Path took its chance, pulling its arm out of its wrist to reveal the plentiful missiles attached to the cord that kept its hand and arm connected. With perfect aim and patience, it fired said missiles at the real Naruto in midair (Flaming Arrow Missiles). Using his father's signature Hirashin once more, Naruto vanished to one of his other thrown kunai, in-between Human and Preta paths. Grabbing their wrists quickly, Naruto spun and launched the two away from him, their bodies colliding into a food stand down the road.
Naruto only had a second to catch his breath before he felt and saw the large rhinoceros charging for him. Channeling more of his chakra, Naruto held a hand seal before holding his hands in front of him. The large beast charged directly into his Space-Time Barrier. Once the rhino had been completely absorbed, Naruto pointed above the remaining four paths and summoned the rhinoceros in midair above them. Once more, Animal Path dispelled the creature before summoning against.
"Okay," Naruto said to himself as another clone dispelled. "I can't kill the dog or any other summon. That means I have to take out the one who is summoning them."
"I'm growing bored with these clones." Deva Path muttered. "Fight me Kyubi!"
With that statement, the remaining Shadow Clones as well as a few homes were blown away by Deva Path's Shinra Tensei. This caused Naruto to look at the nine canines, rhinoceros, panda, and the regrouping Six Paths of Pain.
"You're outnumbered, Kyubi." Deva Path announced. The man was angered when Naruto began laughing. "What's so funny?"
Red chakra began to surround the blond man who was still laughing.
"What you called me. Kyubi. I find it funny that you want something, yet you don't even know its name." Naruto said. "If you somehow survive this, I'll tell you. But he won't allow that to happen."
Asura Path took off, using its Chakra Propulsion to rocket it across towards Naruto. Behind him the rhinoceros came for Naruto again as well. Naruto stood calmly before acting on the last minute. An orange tail sprouted behind Naruto, slapping Asura Path away from the kage before two more grew in, wrapping around the large rhinoceros and lifting it up.
"It seems as if you've finally tamed your beast." Deva Path noted.
"I wouldn't say that," Naruto said before squeezing the rhinoceros until the beast literally exploded, sending a shower of blood everywhere. "But he likes me a hell of a lot more than you."
With that, Naruto slammed his three tails onto the ground, causing it to quake and trembled greatly. Cracks and fissures raced towards the other five paths while Asura Path attempted to regain its balance after the burning slap from one of Naruto's tails.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto grunted once he saw the group saved by the large bird.
The kage's attention was then turned towards the demonic dog coming to him, seven of the nine beasts joined together to form one large seven-headed beast while the other two ran towards Naruto at quicker speeds. With a hand seal, Naruto used the Smoke Hide Jutsu to cover most of the area in a dark thick cloud of smoke.
"I can't see him." Animal Path stated as the five leaped from the bird and landed on a roof of one of the remaining buildings.
Our of the smoke, the large multiheaded dog and the two smaller, single-headed ones flew out of smoke and collided with buildings and trees around the area. The smoke slowly cleared to reveal Naruto standing on top of Gamabunta, Gamahiro and Gamaken behind him. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu stood in front of their father, while Ma and Pa rested at Naruto's sides.
"Naruto-boy, using that foul chakra already? You should know better!" Ma chastised.
"It's good to see you two. You look even younger than last time." Pa rolled his eyes as the compliment worked and his wife's previous anger about Naruto's usage of the Nine-tails's chakra disappeared. "Now, on to business. My opponents have the Rinnegan. I'm sure you know about them."
"Hey Pops, that's the guy that Ranmaru was after." Gamakichi stated.
"I know. Ranmaru used me to escape." The large Toad Boss responded.
"He's brought back-up." Human Path commented.
Deva Path gave Animal Path a nod, the former Fuuma hopped down into the streets, running through hand seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"Let's go!" he ordered as a large ox charged at the group of toads.
Gamaken leapt for action first, using his shield to slow the large ox down before sending it flying into the air with his sasumata. Gamahiro went after the large ox, slashing it with his blades before landing in front of Gamaken.
"Bunta-san." Naruto said creating a clone.
The large toad nodded before taking his tongue and wrapping it around the clone. The Six Paths of Pain were curious as Gamabunta swallowed the clone before Animal Path spoke.
"Get out of the way!" Animal Path ordered.
Gamabunta fired the clone towards the rooftop that five of the six men stood. The six were completely taking by surprise when the clone collided into the building and exploded (Suicidal Toad Bomb).
"Nice shot Pops." Gamakichi remarked before a large centipede shot forth from underground, its body wrapping around Gamatatsu.
"Matsu-kun!" Ma called. "Hold still!"
Before Ma's tongue could slice the large bug in half to free Gamatatsu, the large rhinoceros made its way towards the group, knocking Gamabunta backwards. The large toad recovered quickly, Naruto flipping off in time to protect Ma and Pa.
"Can you guys handle the animals?" Naruto questioned.
"Go!" Gamabunta told him, now attempting to shove the rhinoceros backwards.
Naruto nodded before running towards his six opponents. Like before, Human Path and Asura Path came for him as well. Naruto timed his attack perfectly, creating a number of clones before having them spread out. He knew that if he could somehow defeat them by dividing them. He just had to get to the Animal Path first.
"This use of clones is starting to become cliché." Deva Path muttered as the real Naruto ducked and dodged both Human and Asura paths.
Two clones engaged Asura Path and Human Path in close-range combat while Naruto and the other clones continued to attack the main group.
"Come on, Kyubi. Show me your power!" Deva Path said blasting the area with a powerful Shinra Tensei. To his surprise, Naruto and his clones vanished before being hit. "What…"
"Take this!"
Never in history has Deva Path been struck so hard. Naruto's chakra-shrouded fist buried into his face, sending him rocketing into one of the last few houses in the area. Preta Path moved to absorb Naruto's chakra in a tight grip, only to be stopped by the remaining Shadow Clones.
"My chance," Naruto said swinging for Animal Path. His swing was stopped by the Naraka Path. "Damn it! Die!"
Naruto swatted the three paths away from him with his tails. His anger was slowly rising, something Kurama commented on in his head. He was not about to be taught a lesson in maintaining composure from the most malevolent biju of all.
A screech caused Naruto's eyes to turn upwards momentarily, seeing the summoned bird dropping its explosive eggs. With a hand seal, Naruto used his Space-Time Barrier to absorb the eggs and send them elsewhere. In the distance, small explosions were heard from the eggs being summoned there.
"We're definitely outnumbered…" Naruto muttered to himself before dodging a swing from the Preta Path, who had absorbed the chakra from his clones and dispelled them.
"Naruto-boy! Look out!" the call from Ma caused Naruto to glance over his shoulder in time to see the large wave of water moving for him.
Bracing himself, Naruto was hit by the large wave, along with everyone else in the area. He felt his body being pushed away from the original battle field, the debris from the fallen houses and small shops floating along with him. Moving onto the surface, Naruto looked around the now marshy area to see the large toads coming to, Gamahiro and Gamaken still defending themselves from the multiheaded dog, Gamakichi and Gamatatsu fighting off the large centipede, and Gamabunta fighting off the large rhinoceros. Naruto frowned remembering another summoned creature was missing but could not remember it until he could literally feel danger behind him and dodged the large panda's paw.
After flipping back to his feet, Naruto launched a sphere of wind towards the panda (Wind Release: Compressed Shockwave). To his surprise, his attack landed, the large bear being sent backwards. His victory was short-lived as another summon, this one being a crustacean of some sort, attempted to grab Naruto from the depths of the waters.
Naruto was able to dodge the attack, only for Human Path to emerge from the waters and grab him in a tight hug.
"Your soul is mine." the man muttered.
Naruto felt his life being completely drained from him. Concentrating as much as possible, he stabbed the Human Path with one of his three formed tails, the man gasping.
"Get off of me!" Naruto shouted slinging him away. Naruto rose on wobbly legs, only for Asura Path to knock him with a powerful uppercut.
The Kaibunkage flipped in the air, thinking that this must be how Neji felt when he used the same tactic years ago. Naruto landed on the water, wiping a bit of blood away from his lips and eyed the paths of Asura, Human, and Preta in front of him. With one feral roar, the young kage slapped the water with two of his tails causing the water to form a massive and powerful tidal wave. The force of his tails slapping along was enough to put a trench in the earth beneath the water.
Naruto knew his attack was going to land, until Deva Path literally appeared from nowhere. The corpse raised his hand and shattered the wave as if it was glass. Naruto watched as a tongue wrapped around Deva Path and he vanished once more.
"What the hell?" Naruto questioned himself before seeing Preta and Human Path on the attack again. Naruto revealed his red trench knives. "Why won't you guys just die?"
Naruto charged at the two with the intent on using his blades to slash their heads off. His charge was delayed as multiple rockets flew for him again. With the skills and grace that he had obtained throughout the years, the blond flipped and twirled around the missiles, making sure to not even be touched by the projectiles. Once that was cleared, he was blasted by a spray of bubbles from the crustacean dodged earlier.
"Damn crab…" Naruto said after being blinded by bubbles.
Naruto regained his vision in time to see the giant crustacean seconds from snapping him in half with a claw. That is until it was halfed by Pa's Fighting Tongue Slash.
Thankful, the son of the Yondaime Hokage held his two palms upwards in front of him, creating a ball of wind and fire. Combining the two elements by pressing his palms together, he thrust his right hand in front of him, palm towards his opponents, sending a dragon of white flames at the three paths on the water's surface (Fire and Wind Release: White Dragon Flame Bullet). As planned, Preta Path emerged to absorb the technique. Naruto formed a Shadow Clone underwater, the clone moving quickly and quietly before Human Path disappeared beneath the surface.
"Got him." Naruto said ending his flaming technique with a smirk. His smirk died once he received the information that his clone was dispelled by an invisible attack.
Instead of showing his anger by the failed attack Naruto used the Smoke Hide Jutsu once more, trapping his opponents in the thick haze. He used the time to prepare him for the second half of the fight. He felt the three tails slowly disappear meaning he was making great progress at the moment. Yet, with the large bird coming from above and Asura Path moving for him, he knew that he was cutting it close.
"Naruto-boy, get out of there!" Ma ordered him as the now six-arm man emerged from the smoke.
Asura Path came down on Naruto, intending to smash the young man with all six fists at once. It was quite surprised once Naruto swung one punch at it. One quick and precisive punch had launched the large Asura Path airborne.
"His eyes. They've changed." Human Path noted.
"As well as his chakra." Preta Path added as Naruto leapt for Asura Path, three clones being made in the process.
"U-"
"Zu-"
"Ma-
"Ki!"
As Asura Path was punched and kicked by the clones of theSage Mode jinchuriki, the real Naruto was descending upon him with a heel arched.
"Uzumaki Barrage!"
Ma and Pa cheered as the kick landed, the result was a huge wave followed by water levels lowering more as another crater was made in the earth beneath it. Naruto landed on the water with his clones, his eyes showing the mixture of Sage Mode and his jinchuriki transformation.
"…" While using Kurama's powers gave him limited empathy due to not being completely bonded with the biju, Sage Mode gave Naruto even more tracking abilities. This allowed him to see the invisible chameleon a few feet behind Human Path. "I can see you now."
Asura Path sprung from the water in attempt to attack Naruto from behind whilst he and his clones were looking elsewhere. However, Naruto with his new speed enhancement quickly spun, adding natural energy to his trench knives. When Naruto finished his slice, he continued his spin and landed a strong kick in Asura Path's chest, the body of the corpse flying backwards while its head flipped into the air before landing on the water. Naruto stopped his spin and glared at where Preta Path and Human Path stood.
"He killed one!" Ma exclaimed.
"But the wrong one." Pa noted as he saw the other toads struggling with the summoned creatures.
Lightning lit the dark sky above the area as Naruto revealed two eight-pointed shuriken from his pouch and one of his special kunai. Dispelling his clones, Naruto held his weapons in his left hand while holding his right hand high above his head. Preta Path and Human Path watched as a small sphere of rotating wind was created by Naruto. The sphere then appeared to grow into a large Fuuma Shuriken with the sphere being the core of the weapon.
"Let's see you absorb this one." Naruto said before tossing his signature Wind Release: Rasenshuriken at the two visible paths.
Preta Path move to do just that while Naruto tossed his kunai towards the Human Path. Holding a hand seal, Naruto used the Shadow Shuriken Clone Technique on the kunai, creating thousands in an instant. Human Path moved towards his left, putting more space between him and the others. Naruto inwardly smirked before using Hirashin, appearing behind Preta Path. The mainly defensive path was having trouble absorbing all of Naruto's first attack and was unable to stop what Naruto did next. Tossing one of his two shuriken at the Human Path, Naruto made the bird hand seal. The Human Path attempting to put space between the blade and himself, but it was futile. Naruto activated his Reverse Eight Trigrams Shuriken and absorbed Human Path into an abyss before creating a clone to knock Preta Path away from him.
"Two down…" Naruto said to himself before sighing. He could feel the end of his Sage Mode coming due to the use of both the Rasenshuriken and Reverse Eight Trigrams Shuriken.
Naruto looked towards the other battle to see that the large rhinoceros and centipede had been defeated. The toads were now figuring a way to defeat the plethora of demonic dogs that continued to attack and multiply.
"Hold on guys." said the Kaibunkage before spotting the invisible chameleon moving towards the floating headless body of the Asura Path. "This can't be good!"
Naruto made an attempt to stop them only to be met by the tired, yet still dangerous, Preta Path. The reincarnated body of the deceased Kusa Nin began throwing powerful blows at Naruto. Being the more agile of the two, Naruto was able to duck and dodge all of the blows before throwing one of his own. Preta Path moved its head, seeing the red blade coming for it. However, still being in Sage Mode for the time being, Naruto used the natural energy around him and struck Preta with a blow that knocked it stumbling away from him. While his larger opponent was momentarily stunned, Naruto was able to land a direct punch in the stomach of the Preta Path, sending it further away from him.
Taking in a deep breath, Naruto had a split second to dodge a blast of chakra meant to completely obliterate the Kaibunkage. Thankfully, Naruto was able to use Hirashin to dodge and was able to see that the attacker was a revived Asura Path. Behind it stood Naraka Path and a large demonic head being beside it (King of Hell).
Naruto's eyes narrowed in thought. "I see… The reason why he hasn't attacked me much is because his ability is to heal the others." The kage smirked a bit. "That would sure come in handy instead of hearing Rin-chan or Sakura-chan tell me how reckless I am."
Pushing his humor aside, Naruto fired two Compressed Shockwave spheres at the Naraka Path. Naruto noted at his opponent barely dodged them both, it being the slowest of all the paths. With that in mind, Naruto pushed to eliminate Naraka Path. However, he was interrupted by the six-armed Asura Path. Weaving and dodging the strikes of blades and drills, Naruto spun around the reincarnation. With a clear shot at the back of its head, Naruto was prepared to decapitate the being again only for the head of Asura Path to turn, revealing a more angered face.
"Holy-" The initial shock took more time than needed and the blond was swatted away by one of Asura's mechanical arms.
Naruto rolled on the water's surface, quickly rolling to his feet and sliding a few more yards to a complete stop. He panted, realizing that Sage Mode had now ended due to him using a temporary shield of natural energy to cushion the blow he took from the Asura Path. With only a minute to catch his breath, Naruto was put into another taijutsu battle with Preta Path, avoiding being touched by the chakra-absorbing being.
The taijutsu battle proved as tough as Ranmaru said it would due to Naraka Path keeping track of Naruto's movements. This allowed Preta Path to be able to dodge a blow, even from its blind side. Playing to his strengths, Naruto created a Shadow Clone that instantly dragged Preta Path underwater before tossing another of his special kunai towards the Naraka Path.
With his mastery of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Naruto summoned a clone at the marked kunai instead of teleporting there himself. The move caused Naraka Path to backtrack, the remaining Six Paths of Pain being thrown off by Naruto not transporting himself. The brief moment was enough for Naruto to mentally connect with his second of three remaining clones at Mount Myōboku to dispel and transfer the natural energy to him while he was still.
Powerful arms grabbed Naruto and he felt chakra leaving his body.
"You again…" the kage muttered beneath his breath. "You want my chakra? Then take it!"
Asura Path dispelled the clone before turning to see what was going on. Slowly but surely, the Preta Path's arms and face were turning into a toad-like creature.
"He's turning to stone…" Animal Path stated, safely hidden in the chameleon along with Deva Path.
Naruto looked down to see several cuts and openings on the hands of the Preta Path and realized that his Rasenshuriken did more damage than he thought. Soon the hands became completely stone as well as the rest of the man. Breaking free of the grasp, Naruto landed a spinning roundhouse kick to the side of the statue's face, completely shattering it.
"Like I said," the Kaibunkage stated. "Two down." Naruto's eyes scanned the area until he found the invisible chameleon. "Now on to you."
Naruto removed his dirty, blood-stained robe, letting it float on the water for a moment before sinking.
"Kurama! Let's go!" Naruto shouted before sprouting six golden tails, the color differentiation from earlier coming from his blend of Sage Mode.
Naruto ran towards the invisible chameleon, now running on all fours. He spotted Asura Path using the chakra propulsion in his feet to interrupt Naruto's attack on the slower chameleon. Using a tail, Naruto executed the Great Breakthrough causing a strong gust of wind to push the Asura Path backwards. Now with a clear shot, Naruto used a simple Shushin to move behind the chameleon and grab its tail. The chameleon's snake tail and focused more of the Kyubi's chakra there. He listened to the snake hiss in agony as he was literally burning it with a simple touch.
Deva Path and Animal Path moved out of the creature's mouth seconds before Naruto sent it flying into the air. Deva Path and Animal Path watched as Naruto vanished with Hirashin again. They looked around only to receive visual of him from the large drill-beak bird and chameleon. He was in the air, drilling the chameleon with a Giant Rasengan from above it. The chameleon's body shot for the marsh beneath it, Naruto continuing to push his attack into its back. The two collided into the ground, the water receeding more as another crater was made. Once Naruto rose, the water was now at his ankles, the splits in the earth that were draining the water now seen.
"Nowhere to hide." Naruto said forming a Rasenshuriken above him. "And this time I'm going to make sure you can't summon anything else!"
Deva Path and Animal Path prepared to dodge the attack, already analyzing it from earlier. If it hit, there was no way they would survive. Animal Path's eyes widened once the Asura Path picked up on clones of Naruto appeared behind him. While Deva Path was able to dodge the Shadow Clone attempted to grab him, Animal Path was not so lucky.
"Eat this!" Naruto shouted throwing his attack towards Animal Path.
Naruto was slightly peeved when Asura Path was able to sling Animal Path out of the way, taking the attack itself. But with Animal Path in the air, calling its large bird for assistance, Naruto tossed his second eight-pointed shuriken towards it and held the bird seal. Activating the Reverse Eight Trigrams Shuriken, Naruto was more than pleased once Animal Path and its summoned bird was absorbed by the attack.
Deva Path looked around as the multiheaded dogs disappeared along with the other down summons that the Animal Path had conjured up. Naraka Path moved behind Deva Path, the two staring at the panting Kaibunkage.
"You manage to take down four of us. That is impressive." Deva Path stated. "Jiraiya hardly managed one."
Naruto growled deeply in anger. Due to Deva's voice, it was hard to tell if he was mocking Jiraiya or congratulating Naruto. Regardless, the statement still pissed Naruto off.
"Naruto-boy," Ma said hopping onto his shoulder and then yelping in pain. "Ouch! Do you think you should be blending the fox's chakra with natural energy like that? It could kill you!"
"Quit whining. He needs the boost if he's going to beat this Pain." Pa responded on Naruto's right shoulder, Ma occupying the kage's left one. "I hope you have an ace up your sleeve because this one won't go down easily."
"I do. But I need you two to get away from me when I do it. I don't want you hit in the crossfire." replied Naruto.
The two toads nodded before wishing him luck and dispelling along with the other injured toads.
"This 'ace' of yours," Deva Path said. "Is it what Itachi gave you? Do you really possess the eyes of a god?"
Naruto chuckled, taking off his shirt to reveal the seal on his stomach.
"You wish." Naruto said holding his left hand up, his fingers letting off a bright white aura. "Seal of the Nine Tomoe: Unseal!"
Naruto took his left hand and slammed it against his father's Eight Trigrams Seal that was used to contain the Nine-tailed Fox. The two remaining Paths of Pain were curious when Naruto removed his hand, his seal glowing now with nine tomoe amongst the swirl. The patter of the tomoe made both paths' eyes widened.
"The Jyubi…" Naraka Path muttered.
"Itachi gave me his memories, his knowledge, and most importantly, his Yin chakra." Naruto said, his chakra rising more and more. "But above all, he gave me the opportunity to use this technique without fail! Susanoo!"
The large exo-skeleton rose around Naruto, it being a light grayish color. The "helmet" that Naruto's Susanoo wore resembled that of a fox's skull, shading most of its face but its two yellow eyes. In its right hand, it held a large shield-like mirror. The mirror bore the pattern of Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan on it. In its left, it held a long dark chain. The large guardian deity gave out a roar that resembled that of the Kyubi's.
"So… Itachi's last act of betrayal was giving you the ultimate technique of an inferior eye." Deva Path said holding his hands out towards Naruto. "It won't make a difference! Shinra Tensei!"
Naruto covered and braced himself. This one was more powerful than the earlier ones the Deva Path used, and Naruto's body was in more pain than it needed to be. Using Kurama's chakra still burnt every now and again, but adding natural energy and the two forces battled within himself as much as he used them to battle others. That, plus using Susanoo, a technique that harmed his body by itself, caused him more agony.
This was going to hurt.
Naruto actually felt his feet rise off the ground a bit, sliding backwards even with Susanoo in play. Once the attack was over, there was a large trench in-between Naruto and the two remaining paths being filled with mud, water, debris, and blood.
"My turn!" the kage said before the exo-skeleton tossed the chain in its right hand towards Deva Path.
Attempting to rest after the extraneous push, Deva Path jumped backwards as much as possible. Yet, the chain was still coming. Before all hope was lost for the path, Naraka Path jumped in the way, the chains wrapping around his body instantly and clinging to his flesh.
Naruto growled. He was getting tired of the others protecting Deva Path from his attacks. He soon realized that Naraka Path was the one that revived the Asura Path earlier, and thus, more important in winning the battle. Having his Susanoo pull Asura Path towards it, Naruto's eyes went from the blood red it was to a pure white as he tilted his head back, mouth opened. Deva Path was confused by this until he saw the large manifestation now had a sphere of- what appeared to be- chakra forming at its mouth. When Naraka Path was a few inches from the mouth of Susanoo, it was blasted by a powerful beam of chakra (Tailed Beast Ball).
Deva Path watched the power fade, the area around Naruto completely sunk from the pressure of the attack. As for the Naraka Path, not even its cloak survived the attack. It was completely obliterated. Then Deva Path saw something that piqued its interest. Naruto's Susanoo was now decaying a bit, the "skin" on its arms melting away.
"I see." Deva Path said before clapping his hands together.
Naruto, despite growing tired with the strain on his body, still shot his chain out for Deva Path. Deva Path moved, dodging the chain and running towards Naruto. Seeing this, Naruto put the shield of his Susanoo in front of him. Deva Path stopped as he saw his reflection become surrounded by darkness and a red moon.
"That's right," Naruto said with a small grin. "I can't do genjutsu, but this mirror puts my opponent inside of one, as soon as their eyes meet their reflection."
"…" Naruto was pleased that the Deva Path was frozen. He could now put this fight away. "You're an idiot." The blunt statement made Naruto angry. One, because none of the Six Paths of Pain seemed like the type to use that language, and two, well, because his opponent just called him an idiot. "The Rinnegan is an advance form of the Sharingan!"
Naruto was stunned at that revelation. Itachi had stated that only blood-relatives could break Tsukuyomi. Since Naruto gained this power through Itachi, that meant that Nagato, the wielder of the Rinnegan, must be of Itachi's family line.
"Now Kyubi, prepare to lose." Naruto was brought back to reality as the Deva Path released the black sphere in-between his hands in the air above Naruto (Chibaku Tensei).
Naruto was slight confused until he felt the gravitational pull coming from the small black sphere. He began to slide, trying to keep his footing as the earth around him began to fly towards the sphere. Naruto realized that the sphere was compressing the debris and large pieces of land into a larger sphere. Trees were soon uprooted and pulled into the ball, making Naruto compare this into a formation of a small planet of some sort. His body began to give out to the pull, unable to just stand any longer. And just when he thought he could somehow pull through, the ground that he stood on rose into the air and pressed him into the large globe.
Before a large tree obscured his vision, Naruto spotted an abonormally large and thick tree in the distance. He remembered what Ranmaru said and let out a quiet laugh. Ranmaru said that he knew that the bodies were being controlled through the rods. Now Naruto knew how. The six bodies and summons only had two things in common; the Rinnegan and the piercings. The Rinnegan gave them shared vision, but the piercings controlled them. That meant that they were actually chakra receivers, and like any good receiver, the source had to be at a high enough point for better transmission.
"Son of a bitch…" Naruto muttered, coming to terms that finding Nagato and killing him would have been much easier than killing all six paths.
And then, he was crushed by several trees and pieces of earth.
"I can't believe it… I failed…" Naruto muttered to himself, lying on the floor in front of Kurama's cage. "Kurama… Forgive me…"
The fox growled. "You baka. You aren't dead yet, but you will die if you don't move!" Naruto ignored the fox's rant for a moment. "I will not die by this man's hands!"
Naruto sat up. "What can we do? Susanoo failed. Sage Mode failed. Even your chakra failed." Kurama's eyes narrowed. "We're stuck."
"If you die now, Shiori is doomed for." Naruto's head dropped. "I honestly don't care too much for your daughter, but if that's the only way I can restore your will, then so be it. Fight for Shiori!" Naruto slowly rose. "Damn it Kit! Shion died due to this bastard! Shiori was kidnapped by Akatsuki! They want to enslave me!"
Naruto laughed a bit. "Your well-being has always been your ulterior motive, hasn't it?" Naruto then looked up at the large nine-tailed beast. "Thank you, Kurama."
With that, Naruto began to focus his chakra to his remaining two clones at Mount Myoboku. He may have ran out of ideas and his body still hurt like hell, but for the sake of Shion and Shiori, as well as his village and the others affected by Akatsuki, he would not give up until Nagato and all Six Paths of Pain were defeated.
Moving closer towards Nagato's locataion, Deva Path could feel more chakra. That was great considering that this was nowhere near the power of the Sage of Six Paths.
"The Kyubi is defe-"
Before the corpse could finish the statement, a hole appeared on the side of its small replica of the moon. Deva Path actually sneered at the sight of Naruto slowly pulling himself out. He could sense that Naruto had gone into Sage Mode, the new and powerful chakra being too familiar to Nagato.
"Give up!" Deva Path called.
Naruto glared down at the man before the right arm of Susanoo formed around his right arm. Holding his arm forward the chain of his Susanoo shot for the ground and dug deep beneath the ground. Using this chain, Naruto formed the left arm of his Susanoo without shield and began to pull himself out of the sphere.
"Why?" Deva Path let out. "Why won't you die?"
The only response Deva Path received was Naruto throwing a kunai before performing the Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu on it. The array of kunai sprayed everywhere, some sticking to the sphere and others falling onto the ground.
"You will die!" Deva Path said holding both palms out towards Naruto. "Shinra-"
"Rasengan!"
It happened in a split second. Naruto had used a mixture of his Shadow Clone Jutsu and Hirashin, summoning the clone behind his opponent and striking it with a well-sized Rasengan. This caused the large sphere to deteroiate, large chunks of rock, full grown trees, and other harmful debris falling around the area.
The clone dispelled, while the real Naruto moving towards the down, but not dead, Deva Path.
"You asked why I couldn't die," Naruto said forming a Rasenshuriken in his right palm. "It's quite simple really. I promised someone special to me that I would return alive and I never go back on my word." Using his left hand, Naruto hoisted the man into the air. "This is the end for you."
Naruto tossed the Akatsuki member into the air before throwing his attack after him. When the two met, Naruto simply turned around and began running towards the place he knew Nagato was sure to be.
It was time to confront the man behind the pain.
All six paths destroyed by one man. All of his weapons defeated by a larger one. A god defeated by a mere mortal.
"Nagato!" Nagato was not surprised that Naruto had found him. It almost seemed destined that he would. "You bastard! Do you know that hell you put me through? And for what? For your damn insane ideas?"
Nagato looked at the blond who was still in Sage Mode.
"To think," Nagato said weakly. "We, members of the Uzumaki Clan, would destroy our ancestors' home."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Damn it! I don't care!" Naruto came to the man and literally ripped him from the machine he was attached to. "You killed the mother of my child!"
"Your and Shiori's deaths will make for a better world." This angered Naruto to the point that his left hand moved around Nagato's neck, choking him. "Peace… Can only… Be obtained… When the world… Can understand… Each other through… Pain…"
Naruto hesitated for a moment. Sasuke, Haku, Gaara, Ranmaru, he connected with them through one thing; pain. The pain of being alone and not having someone to count on. The pain of being hated for some unknown reason. It was the only reason he could understand them and their actions. So maybe Nagato was speaking some truth.
Then his mind turned to a certain pink-haired girl. Despite her always calling him some harsh name growing up, she, unlike every other Uchiha fan-girl, always called him by name. Of course she said "Naruto-baka" but it was better than Ino and the others. They hardly said his name unless completely pissed at him. And now that pink-haired girl had turned into a woman who radiated the same amount of beauty with ten-times the strength. No amount of pain could put him and Sakura on the same page, mainly because they acted two different ways. Naruto could take someone muttering the word demon under their breath or comment his failure on bringing Sasuke back. Sakura would go into a rage if anyone mentioned her forehead. But love… Love is where they connected.
"You're wrong." Naruto said, his grip loosening. "Peace can be obtained through something else. I should know personally as I am the Kaibunkage, a leader of a village formed by pain. People fled their native village for various reasons and came to Kemurigakure in hopes for a new life." Using his right hand to touch his hitai-ate, Naruto continued. "It wasn't pain that keeps us bonded. It's the passion and devotion we have for our village! It's the friendship and bonds we built with other clans and families that came to our home! It's our love that unites the Hidden Smoke and helps us rise above the pain!" Nagato's eyes widened. Love to conquer pain? How foolish. His love for Konan only brought him more pain knowing that she would never look at him like she did Yahiko. "Do you understand that, Nagato? Pain gives two strangers an understanding of each other, but a bond can turn a random civilian, a village pariah, and a member of one of the noblest clans into one single family."
"You lie!" Nagato shouted angrily. "I have loved one for years and all that was returned was pain!"
Naruto chuckled. "I guess we're not so different then, huh? I guess that can only come from being the student of that perv, Jiraiya."
"What are you talking about?" Naruto grinned.
"Her name is Haruno Sakura. I've loved her for years, even to the point where Shion could not truly replace her in my heart." explained the young kage. "I've experienced much pain from her during my life, physical and emotional, but I've always continued loving her."
"Why?" Nagato asked completely curious.
"Because the thought of her loving me one day was enough to heal any pain. And the thought of her waiting on my return to the village along with my daughter and friends is enough for me to bear any pain you can dish out." Naruto removed his right hand from his forehead and formed a Rasengan. "I'm sorry it had to come down to this, but your death is part of my promise to Shion. I will kill every member of Akatsuki for her death and the kidnapping of my daughter. You are no different."
Nagato did not even try to fight it, accepting his death to a superior fighter seemed fitting. It was the first time in a long time that he has actually felt physical pain. Fortunately and unfortunately, he knew that it would be his last time. Still, he had to smile a bit. Naruto was strong enough to break one cycle and actually end up with the woman he loved unlike Nagato and Jiraiya. Maybe he was strong enough to break the cycle of hatred?
Naruto laid Nagato's corpse on the ground and stared down at the man. He bent to close Nagato's eyes and said a silent prayer. Rising to his feet he looked inside the base inside of the large tree and sighed heavily.
"Time to go home."
With that, he vanished using Hirashin.
Sakura watched Shiori sleep peacefully. Despite her whining about not taking a nap, once Shiori actually stopped running around with her friend, she was out like a light. A smile came on Sakura's face for a moment before she registered a new chakra. Spinning around, she saw the bruised and battered Naruto standing with a smile. On instinct, she moved to hug him. Well, more like she threw herself at him and hoped he caught her. Unfortunately the two ended up on the floor with Sakura still embracing him.
"Naruto-kun…"
No other words were shared by the two as Naruto held her until he eventually passed out. He was glad that instead of Nagato, the last thing he saw before blacking out was a smile on Sakura's face. Like normal, it cured all sources of pain that he was previously feeling.
Author's Notes: Honestly, there is something missing with this fight scene, I just don't know what it is yet... Oh well, here's the latest chapter. Hope you liked it and review.