The flames of the forest rose rapidly around the pair, growing in a hot darkness. The trees crackled in the flames, sparks flying upward through the trees.
Naruto lunged forward. "Whirling Bullet!"
Kūkyo vanished. Her body blurred as the Whirling Bullet blurred through the air.
"You're wrong, too!"
Kūkyo's eyes narrowed.
"You're underestimating the power of will."
Kūkyo's eyes narrowed.
"All those advantages you're talking about, they're meaningless. Before the power of will, all that—"
"What? Dissipates?" Kūkyo made a small noise deep in her throat. "You're an idiot."
"Rather, all of it's meaningless. The one with the strongest will has the strongest chances of winning!"
"Heh." A mad grin crossed Kūkyo's face. The hammer lifted.
"And despite your power, I can see it quite clearly your will's corroded! If it wasn't you'd be fighting seriously right now! HAH!" Naruto grinned broadly.
Light poured downward.
The air glimmered.
Golden light slammed downward.
"Too naïve!" Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "Are you attempting to tell me that a simple soldier, untrained, unlearned, can strike down a monarch? If their will is strong enough, if they somehow desire to kill the monarch more than the monarch wishes to live? What kind of fool are you?! TOO NAÏVE! As charming a naïveté as yours is, I cannot permit it!"
Light slammed downward.
Kūkyo vanished. The hammer spun around. "And furthermore, it is not the kind of thing that would attract my brother's attention. Don't disappoint me in this!"
"You're afraid!"
Kūkyo's eyes widened.
"You're afraid of killing me. Afraid of dying. Afraid of keeping or losing your friends!"
The air glimmered.
"Keep talking."
"Furthermore, you fail even to understand the nature of the conflict between us."
Wind blew upward across the ground.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "You shouldn't keep talking when you don't understand the nature of the world around you! Maybe I don't get it entirely either, but I'm more correct than you're giving me credit for. I'm more correct than you!"
Waves of pressure slammed downward.
Naruto's eyes blazed.
"Your strength does not even compare to mine. How is it you are so certain of winning?" Kūkyo's eyes narrowed.
"A king is not king because of his power. He is king because of his will to remain king." Naruto lifted his hand.
"Interesting! I think I'm starting to like you now!" Kūkyo's lips curled upward in a grin. "Since that's the case, you'll have to forgive me."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"I always beat the hell out of men I like." Kūkyo's lips curled upward in a grin. Her hand drew backward.
Naruto's eyes widened in shock.
The hammer spun around rapidly.
Naruto took a step backward. Whoa! What a weird ability.
The air glimmered.
Light poured downward.
"I'm starting to get interested." Kūkyo's lips curled upward.
How utterly bizarre.
Energy poured downward.
The air glimmered.
Her will to fight gets stronger depending on her emotions?! Naruto tensed. I've never felt a heart anything like hers. Naruto gritted his teeth. I can't hold anything back! Maybe I should talk to my tenant— He closed his eyes, focusing his energy inward.
"Don't bother."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"We shinigami are the only natural enemies of Tailed Beasts, so she's not butting in in this fight."
Naruto tensed. His body shook.
"Well. It can't be helped, since they are the embodiments of 'life' and we are the embodiments of 'death'."
"You keep talking about shinigami this, shinigami that. I'm not scared of death, lady! How can I be when I still have to become Hokage?!" Naruto shouted.
"Heh. Play dead, Opossamu!"
Waves of golden energy spread from Kūkyo's feet.
The hammer spun around.
A wave of energy plastered the trees.
Naruto gasped. He fell backward, motionless. His breath stopped. Eh? A heavy weight fell on his body.
"My weapon captures the simplest nature of that sort of thing." Kūkyo lowered her hammer. "You'll be 'dead' for five minutes."
Naruto gasped tightly, his hand falling to the ground. The body shook. Sweat poured down the face.
Kūkyo sat down. "Temporarily, you see, it's an ability that allows me to 'die' or 'kill' someone. Death comes unexpectedly. For everyone, it's an aspect of separated existence. It's not only difficult to understand, it's difficult to realize when it's occurred. My sword makes this world a reality. My hammer ends such things in a varied instant. You realize through my sword. You understand. You know the difference between yourself and this world. It is a simple truth that everyone dies."
Naruto tensed.
"I also have to say with an attitude like that one you've just demonstrated, you're not suited to becoming Hokage. Mind you, I don't mind that simple fact. I think I like you more because you will not attempt that."
Naruto's eyes widened. He indignantly stared at the figure.
"I know what you'd like to say, certainly. In truth, that power of yours is quite remarkable. But it's not about will or whatever, even if you'd prefer that. To become Hokage, you have to enforce the laws, those laws that put those with low will or so on above those with high will. Those with the fortune to be high born gain power, and those without do not. Simply put, the power inherent in the Hokage—to give one example—is reliant on the laws of 'destiny'."
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
"And you can talk about changing it or whatever, but that's impossible within the framework of a village. If you really want to change things, you have to destroy the structures. Get rid of villages, and all that." Kūkyo chuckled. "Well, that's the original goal I started Akatsuki with. Maybe you could say that you'll go into office and change it. If my guess isn't wrong, that's what my brother's been attempting these past one hundred fifty years, and he hasn't so much as changed the robes of office." Her eyes narrowed. "Having said that. You're pretty arrogant. I suppose if you're here, you're quite prepared for the results of your actions." She stood up. "I must be leaving now. Remember my words."
Naruto forced himself upright.
"If you attack again, I'm not going to hold back." Kūkyo's eyes narrowed. "If I do that, you'll probably die. Are you okay with that?"
Naruto's eyes widened.
Waves of pressure spread around the body.
Damn. But, if I don't fight back, how can I possibly stand up before my opponent?! No, more than that, how can I ever call myself Hokage?! Naruto forced himself to his feet, his hands shaking.
"Heh."
The hammer swung around rapidly, slamming into the face.
Naruto flew backward through the air. His body hit the ground.
Kūkyo smirked. "Well, as I promised, you're 'dead'. Let's meet again later, when you're stronger. I'd like to see what kind of existence it is that you become when you're old enough."
Wind blew upward across the ground.
Naruto's body shook. Sweat dripped down the face.
"See you round."
The body vanished.
Naruto gritted his teeth. Damn! Damn, damn! If I were stronger, if I were stronger! I wouldn't have to worry about this.
The flames fell through the sky.
A person like this, I wouldn't have to be concerned about them! I could rest peacefully in the knowledge that I was undoubtedly strong enough! Without a doubt, without a doubt! A simple truth, was I such a fool?! Could I have been such a fool! Come on! COME ON!
Water crushed downward.
At that point, Naruto did not consider the implications of Kūkyo's words. That would happen far later down the line. He instead fell still, gritting his teeth with rage.
Akatsuki
The flames rose upward. Energy released, a wave of pressure shaking the ground.
Sasuke ducked rapidly. Her body hit the ground in an instant.
Soyokaze drew in a deep breath. She ran sideways, attempting to evade the blast sphere.
The bomb impacted a large tree. A wave of pressure spread from the impact, blasting outward and engulfing the surface of the earth.
Gekido growled. "Damn! You people are too quick on your feet! Stay still so I can slaughter you!"
Sasuke glanced at Soyokaze. "I may need your help," she conceded reluctantly. She lifted her fist. "Do you have any attacks that can penetrate that chakra shroud?"
"One. I'm slightly damaged." Soyokaze raised her arm. The blackened, tattered robe shone at one side.
"Good enough." Sasuke raised her arm. Her face grew stern. "Here's the plan." She whispered into Soyokaze's ear.
Soyokaze's eyes narrowed. "I see."
Gekido opened his mouth. Energy gathered into a ball in front of the mouth.
Sasuke grinned. Her hand drew back. "Here goes nothing."
"Anubis." Soyokaze's body blazed. Flames rose across the surface of the robes.
Gekido's eyes widened.
For a moment, the image of a jackal head appeared over Soyokaze's body, wreathing from the flames.
Is she like me?! Gekido drew in a deep, shaking breath. He growled. Still, that's not good enough! His mouth opened wide, accepting the Tailed Beast Bomb. He ran forward at an angle as Soyokaze charged.
Soyokaze's eyes widened.
"Got you." Sasuke's hand crackled with lightning. "Chidori." She ran forward. Her arm drove into Gekido's side.
Gekido gasped. Lightning ran up and down his side. Convulsing, he collapsed.
"Did that do it?" Soyokaze questioned nervously.
"Course not." Sasuke sighed heavily. "I've seen the recuperative abilities of jinchūriki first hand. At best, he'll be down for a few minutes, maybe less. In that amount of time, we need to locate that woman and capture her, assuming she hasn't already crossed the border of Hidden Cloud. At that point we can't do anything more." She sighed tightly. "Let's rejoin the others."
The pair hurried back toward the smoking clearing, covered in the blood of the mighty bear.
Akatsuki
Moonlight poured downward through the sky. The clear river reflected the heavenly image, a perfect orb silhouetted above the heavens.
Chinmoku staggered across the river. His foot splashed into the water, disturbing the image reflected there. He assisted Deikōgi with one arm, his expression serious. "Hah. We made it. We finally passed it." He drew in a deep breath, falling to one knee. "Sage Mode takes a lot out of me, these days."
Deikōgi scowled. "Then you shouldn't take on fights that by all rights you should have lost, yeah," she commented unsympathetically.
"As usual, your acid tongue hasn't changed in the slightest," Chinmoku remarked, grinning slightly. He looked upward.
"We'll handle her transport from here on out."
Chinmoku stared at the figure, his expression shocked.
Itachi adjusted his straw hat. He glanced upward, studying the moon. At last, he stared at the flaming forest beneath the river. "It seems that there was quite a lot of damage down here. Your doing?" he questioned, regarding Deikōgi with a raised eyebrow.
Deikōgi groaned. "I'm the one who requested we didn't kill anybody on the way, yeah!" she protested with her hands raised. "Besides, it'd be a damn sight prettier if I'd done it, yeah."
"Your point is taken." Itachi yawned. His crimson eyes narrowed. "Did you join recently?"
"Yes." Chinmoku bowed his head. "Deikōgi can confirm that shinigami approved of it."
"Very well. In that case, let's not waste any time." Itachi glanced over his shoulder briefly. "Kisame-san elected to stay out of this one. I'll approve of his decision, given the lack of need for dismemberment." He turned away, walking into the darkness of the forest beyond the river.
Deikōgi followed, her expression growing steadily darker.
A/N: As promised.
Kūkyo's Shikai: In general, in this universe, Shikai represents the outer appearance and nature of someone. More details on this will appear in later chapters, but essentially the Shikai represents the person's worldview and apparent nature. For Kūkyo, the world is a cruel and unfair place. Anyone can die at any time without warning. Opossamu reflects this worldview.
Commentary on Hokage: Essentially, at this point, Naruto has not really considered what being Hokage actually means. To some degree what Kūkyo says is true. It's not entirely accurate, but it reflects a lot of what's actually involved per the job description. Hence, this discussion is important to get him thinking about what he wants. Sure, he wants to be Hokage, but he also wants to change things about how it works. How is he going to do that?
Soyokaze's Abilities: These reflect the abilities of monks within Hidden Sand. Basically, the power produces a sheath of chakra around the body, protecting people from certain damages and damaging others. Again, more details in a later chapter, and this isn't the limit of her powers, but that's some of it.
Deikōgi's Personality as opposed to Deidara's: The main point of the changes was to emphasize that Hidden Stone is not a good nation. As portrayed, a 'military state' exists there. There'll be more on this in the author's note, but for the most part it further emphasizes that the Hidden Nations are not necessarily good, as portrayed here.