Herald of the End Chapter 38: Man Creates Monster, a naruto fanfic

You guys are fantastic!

Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, but it is a different genre than I'm used to writing. I'm still not completely satisfied with it, but I'm not sure how to improve it without a complete rewrite.

On a positive note, it seems that most of you guys want the 'spark' event to be just enough to get things started, so that will be happening after the Mist arc finishes. However, if you wish to see a potentially darker future, the poll is still up. I will be closing the poll when chapter 39 releases.

And without any more delay, here's the next chapter. Chapter 38: Man Creates Monster...

Naruto stepped from the water onto the white sandy beach. Glancing back, he realized that the mist was kind of like a barrier, stopping praying eyes from looking at the tropical paradise. Now that they had reached the island itself, the mist was almost non-existent on the island itself. Slowly spinning around, Naruto noticed that the trees and foliage were vibrant and deep green. The air was clean and fresh. Leaning back a little to look up past the trees, Naruto noticed that there seemed to be an inactive volcano in the center of the island. The mountain rose above the treetops like some sort of eternal guardian, protecting the land from any that would wish it ill.

Reaching down, the blonde Uzumaki scooped up a handful of sand and let it slowly sift through his fingers. The sand was fine and perfectly white, almost impossibly so. Turning his head to watch his girlfriends, Naruto couldn't help but smile. It was good to see them marveling at the island, rather than their poorly hidden expressions of guilt and confusion. It was hard to not ask how he could help, how he could shoulder the burdens they felt. But Hinata, Sakura, and Haku had all asked him to let them work through it on their own, each girl wanting to make sure that the incident never happened again.

The group of four headed inland, each one marveling at the beauty of the island. The wind blew gently through the leaves, the healthy green vegetation rustling gently in the breeze. The path wound its way through the trees, the dirt hard enough to provide traction, but soft enough to not hurt the feet. The soothing sound of gently running water filtered in, and the fragrance of the flowers pleasantly wafted through the air. An aura of peacefulness seemed to envelop the entire island.

"How," Naruto privately wondered, "Did no one know about this island before now?"

Hinata couldn't help but let out an awed whisper as she gazed at the beautiful landscape around her. She had never seen such a perfect sight. Everything was colorful and healthy. Closing her eyes, the Hyuga activated her bloodline, wanting to see the place only as a Hyuga could. She slowly opened her eyes and beheld a wonder the likes she had never seen before.

Chakra was everywhere. Each plant pulsed with it, and rocks emanated it. It swept through the trees like a warm breeze and glowed within the sands. Slowly raising her hand, Hinata pressed it against a tree trunk, feeling and seeing the warm chakra from the tree flowing around her own. A feeling of peace flowed through her when her fingers brushed the bark. Feeling a small content smile forming, Hinata pulled her hand back and turned to the others. "This entire island is seeped in chakra." She smiled. "Everything is so...alive."

"What…" Sakura raised an eyebrow, "Exactly does that mean?"

Hinata quickly explained her discovery to her friends, attempting to describe it in ways they could understand. "Normally all living things possess a slight amount of chakra, it's how they are alive. But here, everything is filled with chakra."

"But…" Sakura's brow furrowed as she attempted to unravel the puzzle that she now faced, "If this place is so filled with chakra, why didn't Captain Sencho know about it?" Tilting her head she considered the matter further. "However, it isn't logical to believe that the Captain and his crew lied to us, given that they are still very thankful for what we accomplished in Wave."

Sakura unconsciously gestured as she worked her way through the logical progression of that line of thought. "And if they truely didn't know, that means that the island suddenly appeared. Given that we now know that it is filled with chakra, that makes this island special." She turned back to stare at the mountain that rose above the trees. "Which makes the real question this: Why did the island suddenly appear just as we were passing close by? And who made it reappear?"

Casting their eyes around, the paradise around the foursome didn't seem quite as peaceful as before. That slightly odd feeling that they had brushed off before came creeping back, and this time, it was much harder to brush off. "The birds…" Naruto channeled chakra to his ears, "I can't hear them." He blinked in realization. "I never heard them. Not since we arrived on the island."

"That's…" Sakura paused before finishing her thought. She had been about to say 'impossible', but she had known Naruto for far too long to consider just writing off a situation as 'impossible'. "...very disturbing." Hinata instantly surged chakra to her eyes. Haku loosened her stance, readying herself. Naruto brushed his fingers against the hilts of the sheathed swords on his back.

"And if Hinata can't spot anything small due to the chakra interference, that means that..." Sakura pushed herself to think harder; to figure it out faster, "...This would be the perfect place to experiment with something related to chakra." She tilted her head as she thought, even as her eyes glanced around looking for threats, "And if that is the case, it would explain why the island was hidden." She nodded to herself. "But that still doesn't explain why the island reappeared."

"Hinata?" Naruto didn't take his eyes off of the area he was watching, nor did he stop channeling chakra to his senses. "Thoughts?"

"I don't see anything, and I can't detect any chakra influxes." The kunoichi reported.

"Haku?"

"The temperature hasn't changed." The ice user stretched out her senses as much as she could, "And I can't sense any abnormal water sources nearby."

"Sakura?"

"If someone wanted to attack us, they would have logically attacked us while we were still relaxed."

"Well then," Naruto grinned, "Let's figure out what's going on with this island."

The four shinobi set a course for the center of the island, reasoning that it was the most likely place for a base. After they had traveled for close to fifteen minutes, Hinata snapped up her hand, signalling to stop. The group instantly halted.

"It looks like the ruins of a watchtower in the distance." The Hyuga reported, "About 500 feet out." She glanced at the rest of the party. "Due to the sheer amount of chakra producing objects, my visual range is reduced to 500 feet, give or take."

"Let's get closer." Naruto whispered before carefully ghosting forwards, the three kunoichi following. Reaching the treeline just before the ruins, Naruto carefully peeked out from behind the tree.

Four rusted steel beams jutted upwards from the ground like skeletal fingers, and surrounding them was six bodies, flesh and organs seemingly stripped away. Carefully moving closer, Naruto moved towards the corpses, his senses on high alert. Reaching the bodies, he realized that they were all skeletons, and if he didn't know better, he would have guessed that they had been that way for an extended period of time.

Reaching out to touch one of the skeleton's arms, Naruto jerked his hand back as the bone crumbled into dust. "What the hell…" He trailed off. Glancing back, he turned to the medic nin in the group. "Sakura-Chan, is there anything that could cause brittle bones?"

"There is things that could." The young medic nin made her way to another of the skeletons, "Such as extreme calcium deficiency," She unsealed a pair of medical gloves, "And several diseases, such as Osteogenesis Imperfecta or Vrolik's Syndrome, can also cause brittle bone disorder." Sakura slipped on the thin gloves and then carefully grasped the skeleton's jaw, tilting it slightly so she could look at it's teeth. "However, judging by the teeth of the deceased, they were not suffering from calcium deficiency." Her intelligent eyes assessed the body. "And given that brittle bone diseases have almost died out due to several world wars, I find it almost completely improbable that all of these ninja all suffered from brittle bones."

"Naruto-Sama." Haku called, "I think you should check their weapons. Each one I am finding is rusted, so much so that it's unusable." The ice user coated the kunai she was holding with a thin layer of ice. All it took was a single light blow to shatter the ice and the weapon.

"Hmmm…" Naruto carefully pulled one of the skeleton's swords out of their sheathe, "You're right. Judging by the quality of the blades and the sheer amount of rust on them, my first instinct would be that they have been laying here for a very, very long time." The blonde Uzumaki tilted his head in thought. "But that wouldn't make sense. The island just suddenly appeared. They would have to have died when the island wasn't in it's current location." He scratched his head. "It mean, it's possible, but this only gives us more questions." Dusting himself off, Naruto stood and addressed his girlfriends. "Let's keep heading towards the center of the island."

As they proceeded towards the center of the island, the landscape began to slowly change. The proud trees began to slump slightly, their leaves dulled and sickly. The grass snapped and bent under the shinobi's footsteps. The water trickled and crept over barely covered stone. The air grew dryer and tasted rotten. Occasionally a human skeleton was sprawled across the path, black mold infesting them. Soon, the sound of moving water faded, and the eerie silence was broken only by the sound of footsteps on the dried leaves and dying grass.

Naruto's hands flexed and he strained his senses; his internal caution alarm blaring. Something was very wrong here, and he would not be taken by surprise.

The air was...wrong, Haku decided. Water, normally so easily accessible in the air - water that she used in conjunction with her bloodline - was almost completely absent. The trees and plants looked sick and pained; the tiny amount of water still in them was stale and flat. There was an unnatural aura to the area, and some part of her screamed caution. Concentrating, the ice user crafted ice senbons, preparing to defend those she cared about.

The foursome journeyed deeper, and the surrounding area continued to change as they moved closer to the center of the island. The leaves lost their green color and they drooped low, brown dryness creeping upwards. The brown grass grew shorter and shorter, unable to sustain growth. The stones grew dry and brittle, water no longer flowing over them. Tree trunks dotted the ground, having fallen after being unable to support their own weight.

Letting her hand carefully brush a fallen tree as she activated the diagnostic jutsu, Sakura was dismayed to learn that the tree had died to combination of lack of air and a complete lack of nature chakra. While normally plants didn't have much nature chakra, all living things had at least a tiny amount of nature chakra sustaining them. However, her diagnostic technique revealed even something more disturbing as the medic nin continued to concentrate: the tree's nature chakra had been slowly leeched away by something, until there was nothing left to sustain the tree.

"Naruto-Kun," Sakura took a few quick steps forward to walk next to her love, "All of the nature chakra was leeched out of these fallen trees over a period of time."

Naruto turned to the pink haired girl, instantly noticing the worried tone in her voice. "Are we in immediate danger?" Snapping closed fist up, the Uzumaki halted the group. He opened his still raised hand and then rotated his wrist, silently signalling Hinata to scan the area with her bloodline.

"Not as far as I can tell." Sakura's pink hair swayed slightly as she shook her head, "It was a slow process, so we should be fine as long as we don't stay in place for a long time."

"Everything is dead." Hinata's shocked voice put everyone on edge, "The trees...the plants...everything is dead; no life left in them." She paused as she increased the range of her Byakugan. "There is something else...It looks like a rusted metal door set into the rock of the mountain range." She strained her eyes. "No clan or village symbol on the door. It looks like the door is blocking my vision."

"Okay." Naruto's demeanor shifted into one of focus and drive, the mental mask he used for missions dropping onto his face. The kunoichi beside him invoked a similar change in themselves, the mental masks suppressing their emotions. "This is no longer an exploration of a strange island. It is a mission to figure out who is here, and why they nearly caused our ship to crash."

"Rules of engagement?" Sakura questioned, her mind already sifting through all available information they had gathered since reaching the island.

"We are unsure of their intentions." Naruto spoke, his voice was calm as he settled into the mission mindset, "And we should avoid attacking preemptively. However," Naruto's hand flexed slightly, "If you feel you are even in the slightest amount of danger, lethal force is authorized."

The kunoichi murmured quietly their acknowledgment of the mission parameters. A moment later the group of four shinobi moved forward, intent on finding out what was inside the base. As they moved forward through the 'dead' section Hinata had mentioned, they noted that everything had expired seemingly a long time ago. Most of the trees had fallen, their bark turned dull grey. The leaves had long since fallen off the few trees that still stood, the naked thin branches stretching outwards like skeletal fingers. The grass had wilted into non-existence, and the bare ground was barren and cracked. A dozen corpses dotted the area, their bleached bones all that was left of them.

The square angles of the massive door stood out in contrast to the dark stone curves of the mountain. The rust stained metal had once been shiny chrome, but now it had faded into a dull grey. Veins of brightly colored rust snaked across the outer edges of the door. Moving forward, the Uzumaki noted that in the center of the door, there was what looked to be a complex combination lock that looked remarkably free of rust.

Studying the lock closer, Naruto noted that the lock was a purely physical one, a rare occurrence when seal locks had been proven to be much more secure. "Hinata-Chan," Naruto peered at the lock, noting the odd cross-like shape the keyhole was fashioned in, "There is a physical lock on this door. It requires a key with a cross shape end. Do any of the corpses have that key on them?"

"One moment Naruto-Kun." The Hyuga kunoichi rapidly scanned the bodies, searching for the key. "Yes. The third guard on the left has it."

"I'll get it." Sakura volunteered, "Can you cover me, Hinata-Chan?"

"Of course, Sakura-Chan."

The pink haired kunoichi quickly headed over to the guard Hinata had indicated, noting as she knelt down that the guard had seemingly died at his post. Finding the key in what looked to be a tattered pouch, Sakura reached into the pouch to retrieve the key. The fabric fell apart at her touch, and she was able to retrieve the surprisingly unrusted key without issue. Moving over to Naruto, Sakura handed him the key.

"Thank-you, Sakura-Chan." Naruto smiled at his girlfriend before turning to face the lock once more. Carefully inserting the key into the lock, Naruto gently applied pressure and pushed on the key. The key slid soundlessly into the lock, and stopped when all of the cross-piece had disappeared into the lock. Naruto slowly twisted the key to the left. His sensitive ears picked up several dull thuds as the internal door bars retracted. With a soft sigh, the door hissed open. Blinking, Naruto beheld what looked to be an lobby area, the brushed metal floor glinting in the sunlight that streamed in through the door. Dust danced in the sunbeams, and the distinct smell of industrial cleaner clung to the air.

"The interference is still blocking my Byakugan. " Hinata reported promptly, updating the mission leader on the current status of her bloodline.

"I can't hear, see, or sense anything." Naruto reported, every sense he had pushed to their maximum. "Let's proceed. I'll go first." It went unsaid that if there was a trap, he preferred if he triggered it than one of his precious people triggered it.

After reaching the lobby without incident, Naruto motioned for Hinata to try her bloodline again. A moment later the Hyuga let out a startled gasp of shock and surprise. At the sound, Naruto's hands flew to the hilts of his swords, and Haku and Sakura drew their favored weapons. "I-I can't see beyond this room." Hinata's normally composed voice was slightly shaky, "This is unheard of. I can't see anything beyond what my eyes already can see!"

Signalling Haku and Sakura to keep watch, Naruto instantly pulled the distraught Hinata into a hug. "It's alright." Naruto comforted, "We can use other methods to avoid walking in blind." Seeing that his words didn't make her feel any better, Naruto tried again. "I'll keep you safe Hinata-Chan."

"I-It's not that." Hinata whispered, "It's just that…" She attempted to push down the feelings of inadequacy, "Who am I without out my eyes? Who is Hinata Hyuga without her bloodline?"

Naruto tightened the hug. "No matter what, you will always be Hinata-Chan to me." He smiled warmly down at his girlfriend. "I believe in you. Not because of your bloodline or because of your clan; I believe in Hinata-Chan because I know something." He grinned slightly at Hinata, who felt her mood lift slightly, despite the thoughts running through her head. "Do you want to know what it is?"

Hinata nodded slightly, curiosity written across her face. "What is it Naruto-Kun?"

The blonde Uzumaki grin widened and he leaned closer. "Hinata-Chan is awesome." Hinata blinked before refocusing as Naruto continued. "She's kind, smart, knowledgeable, wise, and beautiful." He smiled at the flushing girl, "Not to mention she is skilled at taijutsu, two elements, and she even figured out how to add an element to her taijutsu, becoming the first Hyuga to ever do that." Naruto flashed another smile. "Hinata-Chan sounds pretty awesome, doesn't she?"

"Yes." Hinata felt her confidence surge back to normal levels after a few moments, "She does, doesn't she." Stepping back from Naruto's embrace with only the barest traces of her reluctance to leave his hug showing on her face, Hinata quickly mastered herself. "I'm ready to continue." A pause. "Sorry for worrying everyone."

"It's alright Hinata-Chan." Sakura smiled at her friend, "I know how much your clan told you that your Byakugan was the only thing that mattered." Haku nodded as well, likening it to how she would feel if she couldn't control ice anymore. "But now you believe the same thing we have known for some time: You are so much more than just your bloodline."

"Thank-you." Hinata bowed her head, her heart overflowing with gratefulness towards her friends. "How can I deny them happiness with Naruto-Kun?" A moment later she pushed the thought away. There was a time and a place for such distracting thoughts, and it was not on a mission.

Crisis resolved, Naruto looked around the lobby. Brushed metal floors and walls covered the entire room. The ceiling was white and looked to be made of some smooth, easily washable material. There was an reception desk in the center, and the chair behind it was empty. Other than that, the lobby was entirely featureless, empty, and sterile. In the back of the lobby there was two doors. Above the door to the left was a sign that said 'Crew Bunking and Crew Supplies'. Above the other door was a sign that read 'Specimen Processing, Creation, and Storage'. Leaning over the reception desk, Naruto scanned the deskspace quickly. The desk was bare, and a few of the drawers were still open, seemingly as if the person who had opened them was too busy to close them again. He quickly checked the remaining drawers, but found that they too had been cleaned out.

Moving past the desk, the ninja team quickly headed for the 'Crew Bunking and Crew Supplies' door. Trying the doorknob, Naruto was slightly surprised when it turned easily. Pushing the door, Naruto had to apply a degree of his strength in order to move the door. The hinges protested the motion with a loud creaking noise that echoed in the lobby, the sound echoing over and over. The four shinobi tensed at the sound, waiting to see if there would be any reaction. They waited several minutes after the last sound died down, but there was no movement from any part of the base. Turning back to the crew area, Naruto moved inside.

Entering the large common area, he counted fifteen sets of bunk beds in half the room, and the other half had neatly piled boxes labeled with everything from cleaners to blankets. Unconsciously falling back on habits from his years on the streets, Naruto mentally marked the location of the supplies in the mental map he was building in his mind. The shinobi spread out, checking the bunk beds for anything important.

Standing up on her tiptoes to properly see onto the top bunk, Haku noticed a journal resting against the pillow. Carefully snagging it, Haku cracked open the cover and read the first entry.

Journal Entry 1

I'm finally here! I was actually picked! The Company came to my village just the other week just to find me, and then asked if I could join them.

To be honest, I was skeptical at first. But once they explained their noble goals, how could I refuse to help them? We are going to change the world for better, and I, Naoko Tenjinshi, will be a part of it. I have to cut this entry short because my shift starts in six hours and I need to be as rested as I can.

Flipping to the next few entries, Haku noted that Naoko's enthusiasm never abated, but he also never mentioned any specifics of what exactly he did, or what 'The Company's' goal was. The ice user paged forward until the middle of the book before picking an entry and reading.

Journal Entry 105

We did it! After so many failures, we finally did it! Everyone said that it couldn't be done, but we did it. Granted, the specimen doesn't look like it's going to last very long, but we did it.

Mark this day, 15/6 of Era 4 Year 266, as the day we challenged life itself...and won. For the first time in human history, we created something new.

I've got to try to sleep even though I'm far too excited to even feel tired. Tomorrow we have dozens of tests to run, and I want to be there for each one!

The next two dozen entries were filled with some kind of advanced medical drawings that Haku couldn't even begin to decipher. After that, most of the entries mentioned the creation more 'species', but nothing was elaborated on. Then the first word on an entry caught her attention…

Journal Entry 146

Tragedy struck today. The one Wolfenbears got loose today. Shinkeo had been apparently making fun of it and it decided it wanted to him to not do that anymore. It stopped him alright. Stopped the shit out of him. Permanently. Apparently the raven part of the Wolfenbear remembered where Shinkeo needed to hit on the wall to open the door and just rushed past him to block the enter/exit seal. After that, it just tore him into pieces.

We had to put it down, as we don't want any of the other Wolfens' getting any ideas. On a positive note, we have successfully spliced the first set of genes for the Ultimate.

Until next time.

Haku quickly flipped to the next page before blinking. The next dozen pages had been ripped out, leaving just the final page.

Journal Entry 200

I haven't updated in awhile, but I have a good reason. We finally are ready to awaken the Ultimate. Tomorrow we will be attempting to awaken it from it's slumber. Soon we will able to put an end to the chaos and bloodshed caused by the warring clans.

Soon we will have peace.

Flipping the page, Haku stared at the blank page. "What had happened when they tried to awaken this 'Ultimate'?" Snapping out of her thoughts, Haku called for the others and quickly explained what she had learned.

"Hmmmm…" Sakura pondered what she had learned, "On the surface, it sounds like they were attempting to splice two different creatures together. Aside from the fact that no one has ever done something like that before, the rest of the journal doesn't make sense. How could a single new species, no matter what two creatures that are spliced together, hope to end warring clans?"

"Plus that still doesn't answer why they picked this chakra-rich island nor does it explain what this 'Ultimate is." Naruto pointed out. "We didn't find anything else, so let's head back to the lobby and see if we can get into the 'Specimen Processing, Creation, and Storage' door." The four shinobi headed out and quickly reached the lobby once again. Unlike the other doors, the door to the Specimen areas was locked with a seal lock. It was a six-wheel seal lock and would have kept out many potential invaders. Unfortunately for them, Naruto happened to be an Uzumaki.

Roughly five minutes later Naruto unlocked the seal. "And once we connect this line to this one…" Naruto carefully swiped his ink brush from one line to the next, "And after that just place a symbol here…" He drew the symbol for 'All', "The door should be able to be opened by anyone." Resealing his sealing equipment, Naruto placed his hand on the outer ring of the lock seal and rotated his palm to the left. In response, the door gave a loud click and slid open, exposing a hallway. "Let's go everyone. Keep your weapons at the ready. We don't want to be caught off guard by any animals...created or natural."

Entering the hallway, Naruto quickly realized that after a short hallway, it opened into a four-way intersection. Above the hallway to the right was a sign that read 'Species Creation'. The sign above the hallway directly opposite read 'Species Processing'. The hallway directly in front of the ninja 'Species Storage'. The sign above the lobby hallway read 'Lobby'. After a moment of deliberation, the foursome headed to the right. Locked reinforced doors with small rectangular windows lined the hallway, and each of the lights inside the room were dark. At the far end of the hallway was a set of double doors, and white light shined out from behind the door's windows.

Carefully straining his senses as he approached, Naruto could hear shuffling from inside the double doors. "Sounds from the double doors ahead." Naruto whispered to the others as he continued to listen, "Sounds like a single creature. Large and heavy. And I'm also getting...feathers?" There was clear bafflement in his tone. As far as he was aware, birds couldn't be as heavy as he was hearing, and if they were, they wouldn't be able to fly.

Ghosting up to the double doors, Naruto slowly stood up and peeked in the window. A large, bearlike shape stood in a corner, occasionally shifting back and forth. The Uzumaki guessed that the creature stood at about 8 feet tall and weighed about fifteen hundred pounds. It looked like three other similarly sized creatures were in the room, but they had been torn apart in what looked to be a savage frenzy. Dried blood pooled around the corpses and had splashed the walls, painting them a macabre dark red. Naruto peered closer at one of the corpses, and almost jolted back in surprise.

While a majority of the creatures was obviously from a bear, the head was of an owl. Large eyes stared vacantly up at the ceiling, and the large beak was caked in dried blood. It's claws were long as a bear's, but resembled the deadly talons of an owl. Unconsciously placing his hand on the door, Naruto leaned closer to try to attempt to figure out what had killed the other creatures...these owlbears. From what he could tell, it appeared that they had been ripped open by some large claws or talons. Large chunks of flesh had been torn away, and given the lack of meat elsewhere in the room, it was easy to surmise that those parts had been devoured. Suddenly a sound that was half way between a demented hiss and a strangled growl echoed in the room. Snapping his gaze back to the living owlbear, Naruto watched as it slowly turned around.

Tufts of feathers poked out each side of the owlbear's head like horns and it's front was caked with dried gore. Upon spotting Naruto though the window, it let out a demented growl of fury and it's yellow eyes bulged with bestial madness. Charging the door, it slammed into the door with a screech. Naruto leapt back as the door shook under the creature's weight. Slowly backing up, Naruto pulled a kunai out and readied himself as he heard the owlbear back up to charge the door again.

BANG! The door shook.

BANG! There was a hint of a dent in the door.

BANG! The dent was now the size of a man.

BANG! The door was now straining at the hinges.

BANG! The metal squaled and buckled.

BANG! The door cracked.

CRASH! The door gave way, slamming into the ground in a shower of sparks.

The owlbear made it three maddened steps before Naruto's kunai buried in it's skull, the speed and strength of the throw buried the weapon up to the hilt. It staggered five more steps before it's body began to droop. Two more and it sank onto the the floor with a muted growl. It crawled another step, bestial maddeness still burning bright in its bulging eyes. The owlbear's massive beak clacked slightly as it finally succumbed to the massive trauma and it's glare didn't fade even as it breathed it's last.

"That was...uh...unnerving…" Naruto didn't take his eyes off of the creature, "Perhaps we shouldn't check any other doors in this hallway." The three girls murmured their agreement and they carefully walked back to the hallway intersection. Choosing to avoid 'Species Processing', they made their way to the 'Species Storage' door, reasoning that the 'Ultimate' would be housed there. Had they looked back at the broken door that had failed to hold back the owlbear, they would have noticed part of a scratched off seal that had once been on the door...

The lock was once again a seal lock, but it was quickly defeated by Naruto's prowess in sealing techniques. Pushing open the door, Naruto froze as he gazed at the contents of the room. Rows of glass tubes lined the walls filled with a pale pink liquid and each tube was filled with a different type of summon, each summon floating lifelessly in the liquid. Cycling chakra through his limbs, Naruto edged his way into the room. "What happened to all of the things inside the tubes? The tubes were unbroken...but who knows what abilities the created creatures could have?"

Motioning, Naruto directed the rest of his team to spread out and search the area for intel on 'The Company' or information on what happened to all of the summoned creatures. He launched himself onto the ceiling, gaining line of sight on all areas of the room. There was doors to the back left and right. The left door had a sign that simply read 'Summoning Area'. And the double doors to the right proclaimed in bold lettering 'Ultimate Summon'. Now that he could see the tops of the liquid filled tubes, the blonde Uzumaki realized that the tubes were sealed, leading him to wonder how the summons could have been killed.

Hinata moved close to one of the tubes with a dead summon in it. Activating her bloodline, Hinata noticed that there was a seal on each of the bottoms of the tubes. Tilting her head slightly, the Hyuga kunoichi's eyes widened as a second seal appeared, hidden from sight unless view from a specific angle. "Is that...some kind of lightning trap?" Whatever it was, it was devoid of chakra. Hinata wished they had more time to study the seal, but she was on a mission. Turning away, the kunoichi continued her search for clues on what had happened in the base.

Sakura approached a small table that was partially hidden by two tubes. As she grew closer to the table she noticed a pile of papers and a red book laying on the stainless steel table. Quickly leafing through the loose papers, the medic nin quickly realized that they were genetic blueprints for creatures. Even more oddly, there was strange formulas covering half the page. The formulas didn't look like genetic information. "These almost look like...some kind of sealing arrays?" Sakura shook her head in confusion. "What was their goal here? Why go through all this trouble to create new species?"

Setting the papers down, Sakura picked up the book. Upon closer inspection, she realized that thecover of the book was not merely red, but a deep mahogany color. Seals were etched in the surface of the cover, their arrays designed to keep the book free from wear, dust, blood, and water. Carefully cracking open the cover, Sakura read the first entry.

Entry #1

I am starting this book to document and explain what we are doing here, should the worst come to past.

My name is Hireko Nokiama. I am the current leader of The Company. We are embarking on this project dubbed 'Second Creation'. It may be a bit on the arrogant side, but it perfectly describes what we hope to accomplish here. Step One: We are going to work on combining different species of creatures. Once we succeed, we will move to the second phase of our plan.

Step Two: We will start capturing Summon Creatures that roam this chakra-filled island. If you are unaware, this island is permanently partially phased in the Summon Plane. The Summon Plane is where all shinobi summon creatures reside when they are not summoned to our plane of existence. Once we have replicated the Step One results with Summon Creatures, we will move onto Step Three.

Step Three is how we will save the world from the warring clans and all of the bloodshed they cause. We are going to create a new creature; an Ultimate Summon. It will be able to absorb chakra and other summon creatures, gaining new abilities with each absorbed creature. With it, we will be able to force the ninja clans to stop killing each other. We will have peace. There has been far too much pain, loss, and suffering caused by the ninja.

This plan may seem mad or foolish, but I care not. For if we do not dare to dream of a better world; a world without violence or hate, how can we change the world for the better?

Sakura blinked as she finished the entry. "The Warring Clans? Could they be talking about the Warring States Era?" She shook her head, "The Warring States Era ended over a hundred years ago. All of the journal entries from the other journal implied that it wasn't something that happened a very long time ago. Not only that, but the theory of time manipulation states that it requires a tremendous amount of energy even if you want to affect a small area…"

The pink haired kunoichi flipped the page and read the second entry.

Entry #2

We have finished our base. We were able to persuade an Uzumaki to join us. While she isn't a combat kunoichi, she is one of the foremost experts in specialized sealing techniques including spatial manipulation and time/space manipulation. Given what we hope to eventually accomplish, the knowledge she knows will be necessary.

We had to divulge quite a bit of information on how to manipulate natural forces of nature in order to secure her help with this project, but I am confident that the Uzumaki Clan won't use the knowledge for ill.

The Uzumaki's name is Honoka Uzumaki. She is quite excited to help us complete our goal for world peace. In other news, we have started preliminary testing of the animals we brought with us.

Sakura flipped forward to a new section of entries.

Entry #36

I am truly saddened to report that Shinkeo Kowi has been tragically killed. One of the wolf/bear hybrids got loose somehow and killed him. However, his legacy will live on. We are establishing protocols to avoid any future incidents. I will detail them below.

Stage 1: Containment. We will seal off the area that contains the creature(s) and then flood the area with knock-out gas. Once the creatures have been subdued, we will recapture them and study them to find out why they rampaged.

Stage 2: Local Sterilization. The creature(s) have been deemed too hostile for continued research. The direct species will be killed and their area sterilized.

Stage 3: Area Sterilization. All creatures within a given section are compromised or considered hostile. All creature(s) within the section will be killed and the areas sterilized.

Stage 4: Base Sterilization. The entire base is compromised. After evacuating personnel, the entire base will be flooded with highly concentrated poison gas. Once it is verified that all creature(s) have been eliminated, we will reclaim the base and sterilize it.

Stage 5: Base Destruction. The creature(s) have proven to be too strong for poison gas. Once all personnel are evacuated, I will detonate the massive exploding seals buried underneath the base. I will stay inside the base to ensure proper detonation. The surviving members will be able to signal for help from passing ships..

Stage 6: Time Displacement. If Stage 5 fails for any reason, we will be forced to activate the special time displacement seals that Honoka is designing. Given the raw power required to power them, we will have to drain the chakra from the island itself. Any personnel or summoning creatures that are outside the base when activated will instantly be drained of all chakra. However, we should be fine inside the base for the week that we planned on staying inside the time barrier. We have enough supplies for three months without restocking for all current personnel. During that week, all creatures will be unable to enter leave the time barrier, which will tear them apart given the competing energy lines.

I pray that we will never have to use any of the Steps, but Shinkeo's death serves as a reminder of our goal. Peace must be accomplished before the world perishes!

On a positive note: Our new janitor is working out rather well. His attention to detail is beyond exemplary. He doesn't talk much, but he seems to be rather interested in what we are doing. It seems like he will fit in with our group without any issue.

Sakura flipped to the last page, her heart sinking as she read the final entry.

Entry #200

Today we awaken the Ultimate Summon. Tomorrow we will change the world. We will have peace.

"Did you find anything, Sakura-Chan?" Sakura took a deep breath and informed the rest of the group on what she had learned and her suspicions.

"Well," Naruto considered, "If they had to activate Stage Six, it would explain why all those guards died so suddenly. It would also explain why things had less and less chakra as we grew closer to the base." The blonde Uzumaki's eyes suddenly widened. "You don't think that we are stuck in the time barrier do you?"

"We shouldn't be." Hinata assured him, "I would have detected a massive chakra barrier like that. Plus I'm fairly certain that we would notice such a barrier."

"I wonder if the researchers are still alive." Naruto pondered, "Given that it's supposedly been only a week."

"Even if they activated the time barrier one day before the Warring States Era ended, that was one hundred and three years ago. If you use the formula ratio given in the book…" Sakura did a quick calculations, "That means for them, it has been at least several months for them."

"Let's see if we can't figure out a way to rescue them." Naruto decided, remembering what it was like to starve and feel trapped.

Moving to the doors that lead to the Ultimate Summon, the team quickly realized that the door had another of the specialized locks on it, and they didn't have the key. More importantly, the door was dented outwards, as if something was trying to bash its way through the door. "Naruto-Sama," Haku knelt down by the lock, "If I had enough water, I could freeze the entire lock and open the door."

"How much do you need?" Sakura joined the ice user at the door. "I can create as much water as you need." The two kunoichi quickly collaborated, seamlessly working together to open the door. Within two minutes, the lock was almost open.

"Naruto-Sama," Haku stood up as she maintained her concentration, "I can open the door when you would like me to."

Naruto readied himself. "Everyone ready?" The nodded. "Open it." Haku twisted her hand, the movement gentle, but inside the lock, the ice she commanded was relentless. It crept into every centimeter of the lock and shoved the delicate pins out of place with uncaring unstoppable strength. The lock clicked. The doors shuddered and slid open a crack then stalled. A grinding noise began to admit from the frame surrounding the doors.

Guessing that the dent prevented the door from moving, Naruto shoved his hands into the crack and gripped each side of the doors with his hands. Straining, the Uzumaki pumped chakra into his arms and shoved. The metal squaled as the doors slowly were pulled apart. Grunting as he continued to push the doors open, Naruto stared ahead as the next room was revealed. The stench of rotting corpses assaulted him as he leaned forward. Roughly twenty people lay sprawled in the next room.

With a final grunt, Naruto shoved the doors open. Almost gagging at the smell of the dead, the blonde Uzumaki quickly wove his hands through the handsigns for a directed area wind technique. Sucking all of the terrible smelling air from the room, Naruto dispersed the foul air into the larger room that held the tubes. It wasn't going to smell very pleasant, but it was better than gagging in the small room with the bodies.

Stepping into the room, Naruto clenched his fists before crouching down and pulling up the shirt of one of the dead. All it took was one glance to confirm his suspicion. "He asphyxiated." Standing back up, the Uzumaki attempted to piece together what had happened to all of the people. Several of the bodies were huddled together, while several more lay just on the floor.

Close to the dented doors was a dozen corpses and what looked to be busted and broken metal furniture. Even more disturbingly, the backside of the dented doors was splattered with dried blood. At the opposite end of the room, three more bodies lay propped against another door, the shattered remains of a wooden table scattered on the floor. Like the dented doors, blood splattered the single door, but it wasn't dented. Long scratches marred the formally smooth metal surface of the door.

"Haku-Chan, can you check to see if that door over there," Naruto pointed to the single door, "Is locked?" He heaved out a sigh. "Sakura-Chan, can you check the huddled bodies and see how they died?" Another sigh. He was fairly certain of the result, but he had to be certain. "Hinata-Chan, can you check the hands of the corpses near the dented door?"

"Of course Naruto-Kun." The kunoichi moved to their assigned tasks with grim determination, any joy stifled by the morbid scene they found themselves in.

"It's locked Naruto-Sama." Haku reported, her voice soft as she gazed at the dead. "They couldn't get out."

"They died of Hypercapnia." Sakura was next, "There wasn't enough clean air and they died from the extreme amount of carbon dioxide." She paused before continuing, "It looks like they passed out long before they expired. It was mostly a painless death. She wasn't sure if she was attempting to comfort the others or herself with the added knowledge. "Perhaps it's for all of us."

"Their hands are broken." Hinata quietly reported, the horror at what she was realizing almost breaking through her emotionless mask. "They tried breaking the door down with the furniture, and when that broke, they used their hands." If it wasn't for the trials she had already gone through, Hinata was certain that she would have broken down at the revelation.

"Let's get that door open." Naruto's voice was quiet and resolute. "The Ultimate Summoning Beast is beyond that door, and it's going to pay for all of the pain it caused. When we have killed it, we'll give these people a proper burial." His fists tightened. "And if Hireko caused this...he's going to wish that he had died with them."

The fire rekindled in Sakura's, Hinata's, and Haku's eyes. "Right away Naruto-Kun." Sakura quickly made her way over to the ice user. Working together, they quickly unlocked the door. Once again readying themselves, Haku twisted her hand, forcing open the lock that had damned so many. The door slid open on soundless gears.

Naruto spotted the well dressed legs of a man and he started angrily forward. "Hey! Just who do you think you are, locking those people...Oh." Naruto's rant trailed off when he fully faced the figure and realized that it was a corpse. Seemingly preserved, the body's throat had been slit. Judging by the bloody kunai still clutched in the figure's hand, it was easy to surmise that someone, presumably Hireko himself, had slit his throat. There was a paper resting beside the body. Naruto bent down and picked up the paper, reading what was written down on the paper; the final confession of a dying man.

I'm sorry. I am so sorry.

We dreamed of a better world. In our arrogance, we believed that we could create new life. And we succeeded. But we did not create a noble creature who would usher in a new era. No...we created a monster. It's hunger is unending, and it will devour the world.

If you are reading this, it means that the island has reappeared and the monster we created will soon be released to feed upon the world. I ordered Honoka to activate the time seals. I lied to her and told her that all of the personnel who survived the Ultimate Summoning Creature's violent awakening were safely evacuated. They are not. By my own hand, the base is going into lockdown. All living creatures on outside this base on the island will die, their chakra absorbed to power the time seal. All of the other summoning creatures we have will die within a month, given that they will not be fed.

Over time, the time seals will consume all of the chakra in the phased portion of the summoning realm. Eventually the island will fall out of phase and revert to our realm. From there, it will consume all chakra on this island. Once there is no chakra left to be found, the time seal will break. I pray that I have brought enough time for the world.

The Ultimate Summoning Creature has several abilities you must know about. First, it can absorb chakra. Secondly, it can absorb other summoning creatures and gain their biological advantages. Next, if it absorbs a shinobi, it gains their chakra elemental affinity. Currently it only has lightning affinity, but it cannot be allowed to absorb other chakra affinities. Lastly, it's tail contains a powerful paralyzing poison that also preserves the body upon death. I can personally confirm it's potency.

I can already feel my legs going numb. I write this message in hopes that future generations can stop the sin created by our arrogance. I cannot risk the knowledge how to create more Ultimate Summoning Beasts being somehow extracted from my mind.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

"Damn." Naruto wasn't sure how to feel. On the one hand, Hireko had betrayed everyone who trusted him...but on the other hand, he had done all he could to stop the creature he had created. "If I was in his position, what would I have done?"

Passing the paper back to Hinata, who was the closest person, Naruto carefully moved forward his eyes searching for the barrier of the time seal. The reddish orange light coming from the volcano in the background provided more than enough light for his needs. Spotting what looked to be a tiny distortion, the Uzumaki tilted his head and pulled a kunai from his pouch. He then promptly threw in a straight line in front of himself.

The kunai flew unhindered for five feet and then ricocheted off of what appeared to be thin air. "There you are…" Naruto didn't pretend he understood the mechanics of how exactly the time barrier worked, but he knew enough to guess that nothing could enter the time barrier, given that it didn't exist in the time period within the barrier. He also steadfastly ignored the growing headache from thinking so much.

Tossing a few more kunai, Naruto worked out a rough outline of where the barrier ended. It was a massive dome, and at the center of it was an enormous water filled sarcophagus that had its top removed. If he had to guess, the blonde Uzumaki would have estimated that the sarcophagus was roughly sixty feet long and thirty feet wide. "What to do...what to do?" Naruto pondered how exactly he could eliminate the Ultimate Summoning Beast. Concentrating, he created five clones. "Find the seal points for the barrier."

"Right Boss." Four of the five saluted and headed off, intent on completing their mission. The fifth lingered.

"Hey Boss."

"What is it Forty-Four?"

"I think we should crack the time barrier and beat the thing to death." A dark look flashed across the clone's face. "It's the reason they all died." It's gaze hardened as it looked at the massive sarcophagus. "They deserve vengeance."

"But that happened in the past." Naruto tilted his head at the clone, "We can't change the past. We'll stop it from hurting anyone else, but vengeance? What's the point of that?"

"But…" The clone ran a frustrated hand through it's blonde hair, "It's supposed to work like that. You get hurt and then you take your bloody satisfaction." At his creator's uncomprehending look, Forty-Four shook his head. "Never mind. I'll go look for one of the seals."

"...You...do that." Naruto scratched his head. "What was Forty-Four talking about? I didn't know these people. They weren't my precious people." He shrugged. Just as the blonde Uzumaki starting to turn to his team, he caught a flash of red out of the corner of his eye. "Huh?"

Six months and three days. Hokona scratched another line on the wall. When she had first activated the time seals, she had marked the passage of time by diligently scratching a line each day using her sleep cycle. Over time her diligence had lessened, and now she marked the passage of days at some point during her awake hours. "Two months of rations left. I pray that this buys enough time for the world and especially my clan."

The Ultimate Summoning Beast was resting, just like it had been for the last six months. It was slowly changing into what Hokona assumed was its mature form. It had fallen into a deep sleep after consuming and killing when the researchers had awoken it for the first time. "I should have said something when it was being created. Something felt wrong, but I held my silence." Hokona knew intellectually that what happened wasn't her fault, but at the same time…"I never spoke up." Still, Hireko had promised that most of the personnel had escaped and would work to figure out how to defeat the Ultimate.

"And then there was my failure to stop it in time." She sighed before mentally giving herself a shake. "The past doesn't matter. I will stop the creature from harming anyone else." She nodded with determination and returned her gaze to the Ultimate's resting form.

A flash of movement caused her to jolt out of the lull she had fallen into. Honoka couldn't help but stare as she watched the door to the chamber slide open and a blonde haired ninja storm through the now open door. He halted and then bent down to retrieve the paper Hireko had written shortly before he had killed himself. The time barrier distorted her vision slightly, but the red headed girl was surprised to see a variety of emotions flash across the blonde's face. "What had Hireko-San written in that note?"

Belatedly aware that she had been in the same clothes for the last six months, Hokona stared down at her clothing, attempting to readjust it to a more respectable and proper level. It wouldn't do, after all, for an Uzumaki to be improperly dressed. Adjusting her sleeveless blouse so that the fabric lines were straight, she then tightened her the wide cloth belt that held the kimono styled blouse together.

A quick glance directly down verified that the mesh armor she had underneath her outer clothing was still relatively clean and unrusted. It took a slight twist to move the seam of her white skirt back into proper alignment of the rest of her outfit. Running a hand through her hair, the Uzumaki kunoichi readjusted her white headband. Satisfied with her appearance, Hokona stepped forward into the light.

A girl stepped into the light, her red hair shifting behind her. Naruto blinked. Her hair was red. "Honoka Uzumaki?" Stepping forward, Naruto spoke out loud, voicing his question again out loud this time. "Honoka Uzumaki?" Strangely, it seemed like he was talking directly to a wall.

Honoka watched the blonde ninja step forward and say something. "What?" The Uzumaki kunoichi blinked as she suddenly realized how foolish her question was. He couldn't answer her. The soundwaves his voice generated couldn't pass the time barrier, given that they never existed in her time. And any sound waves she made would be far too scattered by the time it passed through the barrier. Unless...Cupping her hands in front of her mouth, Honoka formed a small hole in the her hand, limiting the the size of the initial sound wave. Taking a deep breath, the Uzumaki kunoichi began to explain to the blonde ninja why he should take his team and leave…

"Hmmm…" Naruto pondered, "It's like the sound isn't getting past the barrier. Perhaps it's because the sound doesn't exist in the past?" Naruto blinked as a sudden thought occurred to him. "But in that case, why can she see me? The reflections of the light shouldn't penetrate the barrier."

"Can you hear me?" A woman's voice suddenly eliminated from the barrier, the voice sounding tinny and out of focus, "Please nod if you can hear me. Sound waves can't penetrate the time barrier from your side." Naruto nodded, an idea starting to form in his mind, "Good. Now please listen carefully. Your very lives depend on it." Honoka's voice grew urgent, "There is a very powerful creature sleeping in this barrier. When the barrier falls, and it will fall given time, the creature will awaken. When it does, it's hunger will be insatiable and it will try to devour everything." Desperation bled into her tone. "Please, I beg you, take this message to your clan leaders. The world needs to unite in order to fight this beast. Please! I beg you."

Naruto grinned at her before slowly mouthing, "Are you Honoka Uzumaki?" Confused, it was the Uzumaki kunoichi's turn to nod. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto continued to mouth, making sure to slowly form the words to aid in lip reading, "And an Uzumaki never leave another behind."

"You must leave!" Honoka felt her heart leap at the sight of another Uzumaki clan member. She hadn't been forgotten by her clan. "Please. I do not want to watch a clansman die."

"Who said that I am dying?" Naruto felt confidence running through him, "I still have too many things to do. I can't die right now." Directly meeting Honoka's gaze, there was no hesitation as he promised, "I'll get you out of there." Spinning on his heel, Naruto called out to the clones scattered around the room. "So what are we looking at?"

"Well," Eighty-One reported, "It's a quad layered seal array." He pulled up a diagram of the four seals, "The first two are obviously some dimensional/time seals. The third is much like a high input chakra absorbing seal, but but seems to be absurdly efficient and has some strange seals that look like signature seals." The clone scratched it's head. "But here's the odd part. The fourth seal is a single bar power seal." He held up a diagram of a circle with a single bar running through it, "Even more oddly, there is traces of ink left scattered, almost as if there was a different power seal at some point."

"That is weird." Naruto agreed, "Why would they put something so easily broken under other vastly more complex seals?" After a few moments shared contemplation between himself and Eighty-One, Naruto shrugged and refocused. "We can figure that out later. But for now, this should be easy to break."

It took only two minutes to prime the alterations to the single bar power seal. Naruto's plan was to have each bar power seal loop back into itself. Given the nature of the barrier, if each power seal - all twelve of them - were simultaneously interrupted, the time barrier would instantly fail and avoid any destabilization issues such as ripping a hole in reality...which would be extremely bad.

"Everyone ready?" One by one each clone confirmed their ready status. They would all activate the alterations to the bar power seal at the same time, and the time barrier would fail. The bar seal was never designed to have chakra running in more that one direction simultaneously and would almost instantly burn up, permanently disabling the time barrier. And more importantly, they wouldn't explode.

"What are you doing Naruto-San?" Honoka frantically questioned, having seen her clan member's clones performing some kind of alteration to the seals that powered the time barrier. She was surprised and proud that he could create so many clones, but at the same time, very worried that he would get himself killed and doom the world. "You can't risk it. I'll be alright."

"You've been alone long enough." Naruto's eyes met Honoka's and for one brief timeless moment, she saw into his soul. She saw how lonely he had once been, and he knew how much being lonely hurt; the soul crushing pain of feeling abandoned. You could lie to yourself, telling the lie that you were alright, that it didn't hurt. But that lie...it hurt. Being so alone hurt. "You don't have to be alone anymore." He smiled a sad smile that showed just how deep the scars ran. "Would you let me save you?"

Hope. Sometimes it's the spark we need to remember how to live again.

"Yes." Honoka whispered, "Please save me. I don't want to be alone anymore."

Naruto's smile shined bright in the dark room. "I will save you." Dropping to his knees, he brought his hands to hover over the power seal. "On the count of five."

"One." Blue chakra began to surge.

"Two." The blue chakra began to glow.

"Three." Bright blue chakra flickered around his hands.

"Four." Around the room each version of Naruto tensed.

"Five." Their hands slammed down.

SHAWWWAAAAA! The barrier flicked, an almost unearthly scream ringing out as time fought itself. Then, with the softest of pops, the barrier faded into non-existence. Honoka stared at the barrier, unable to true comprehend; barely able to hope.

"Hello Honoka." Naruto smiled as he extended his hand, "I'm Naruto."

Hope. Sometimes...just times...it is rewarded.

"Now then." Naruto grinned, "Let's show this 'Ultimate' just how normal it really is."

"But...It's a monster." Honoka tried to explain, "I was barely able to seal it temporarily before. And I still had to activate the time barrier to keep it sleeping."

"Don't worry." Confidence shone in Naruto's eyes, "This isn't the first monster I've faced, and it won't be the last." The blonde Uzumaki turned to Sakura, Haku, and Hinata. "The creature absorbs chakra. I could pump it full of chakra until it explodes, but there is a chance that would destroy the island and everything on it. Haku-Chan and Sakura-Chan," The two kunoichi straightened to attention, "Work together to create plenty of ice spears or something that you can attack with from range. Physical attacks should still hurt it. Hinata-Chan," The Hyuga kunoichi snapped to attention, "You need to keep watch with the Byakugan on the environment. Let us know if anything starts to change as a result of the fight or if the volcano starts to do anything."

"What are you going to do, Naruto-Kun?"

The son of Kushina Uzumaki grinned, a hint of his mother's impish grin shining through. "If I can't use chakra on it," He reached behind his back and pulled pulled out his weapon scroll, "I'll just have to settle this the old fashioned way." Concentrating, Naruto surged his chakra. White smoke blasted out, covering the entire room. Slowly the smoke dissipated, revealing the army Naruto had summoned...an army of himself.

The Uzumaki tossed the weapon scroll to the nearest clone. "You know the drill. Pick a weapon and pass the scroll on. I want five squads of weapon throwers and two melee units. After that, everyone else can pick whatever position they prefer."

Sixteen tapped the scroll and pulled out the notched sword it had gotten in Wave. It handed the scroll to Seventeen who pulled out a dozen kunai. On and on the scroll was passed, the army arming itself for the fight ahead. "We're almost ready Boss." Forty-Four called as it bounced the crowbar in it's hands, the beginnings of a bloodthirsty grin starting to spread across it's face. "The last weapon thrower squad is arming themselves now." Tilting it's head to the side, Forty-Four shifted it's shoulder, allowing it to see behind it. "Never mind. We're good to go." Any more words from the clone was drowned out by a sound that echoed in the chamber.

BA DUMP. The sound of a heartbeat echoed in the chamber.

BA DUMP BA DUMP. "It's awakening." Honoka snagged a kunai from one of the weapon throwing squads. "If you are fighting it, then I will fight too."

BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP. The water on the massive lidless sarcophagus began to ripple as the creature inside began to stir.

BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP. "Who are you?" Honoka couldn't help but ask the blonde Uzumaki, "Who are you that you would willingly face such a monster without hesitation, knowing full well that so many others have tried and failed?"

BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP. "I told you. I am Naruto Uzumaki, Head of the Uzumaki Clan...and I am not going to allow anyone else to die today."

BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP. Giant grey colored hands shot out of the water. The fingers gripped the sides with crushing strength, cracks instantly spider webbing away from the point of impact.

BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP. Naruto slowly drew his swords, the metallic rasp echoing in the chamber. "Get ready."

BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP. Sakura and Haku began to cycle their chakra, focusing on the battle plan they agreed upon.

BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP BA DUMP. The giant fingers flexed and tightened.

With an explosion of water, the Ultimate Summoning Beast emerged from it's watery cradle. GRRRAAAAAWWWWWWW! It's growled roar blasted out, echoing in the room. Hurling itself from the massive sarcophagus, it's feet slammed into the ground, granting all those present a clear view of the creature. Standing fifty feet tall, the creature was horrifying to behold. Two massive elongated eye were set in the creature's equally massive triangular shaped head. Numerous small tentacles writhed and coiled around it's mouth. It's long, plated torso housed a secondary mouth that had terrifyingly giant teeth. A muscled tail snapped and quivered behind it, the stinger dripping potent poison. Two leathery wings rested snugly against it's back. Taking a step forward towards those on the ground, it roared again.

"Bring it!" Naruto shouted, "You aren't killing anyone else today." He snapped his arm forward to point his sword at the Ultimate. "All squads attack."

The thrown weapon squads, Haku, and Sakura instantly responded, sending kunai,shuriken, ice spears, and ice senbon whistling through the air. Individually, the Ultimate would have hardly noticed a single weapon due to its thick hide. It noticed, however, getting hit by a hundred of them. A moment later the thrown weapon squads unleashed the second volley. Roaring now in pain, the Ultimate waved it's arms clumsily as it attempted to ward off the countless weapons. Having counted on the creature still being unused to it's mature form, Naruto's plan was working.

Unleashing their seventh wave of weapons, the thrown weapon squads noticed that they had fully attracted the Ultimate's attention. "Boss! It's open from the ground!" The ground squads surged forward, charging the beast. The sudden movement attracted Ultimate's attention and it's head snapped down to look at the army charging towards it. Raw lightning chakra began to crackle between it's tentacles as they began to straighten, pointing directly outwards like conducting rods. A bright white light began to surge in it's mouth. It took a deep breath.

BWARRRRRAWWWW! A beam of continuous lightning blasted out of it's mouth, instantly boring a hole into the side of the chamber. Sweeping it's head to the side, the white beam instantly vaporized a column of clones. The clones kept charging, undaunted by their fellow clones' annihilation. The Ultimate began to slowly sweep the beam across the floor, destroying column after column of the army. The beam neared Naruto's squad of melee combatants.

"Oh no you don't." Sakura snarled as she wove her hands through the required handsigns for the water dragon. Surging her chakra, Sakura slammed her hands into the ground. Inspiration and determination suddenly blazed through her. Snapping her left hand away from the ground while leaving her right hand planted on the ground, still channeling her chakra, the pink haired kunoichi rapidly wove through the handsigns for a earth dragon with her free hand. Opting to forgo the handsigns for stability or direction, the kunoichi instead added the signs for 'Attraction' and 'Armor'. Holding the final final hand seal, Sakura slammed her left hand on top of her right. Grunting in exertion, she shoved more chakra into her new technique.

The ground rumbled and the water roared. Water shot out of the ground, forming a dragon. Stone wrapped around it, coating it's form like armor. The newly formed dragon let out a soundless roar and rocketed towards the Ultimate. "Now Haku-Chan!" Sakura shouted, "Freeze it now!"

"Right." Haku snapped out her hand, mentally seeking out the water dragon. Finding it, the ice user's chakra spiked. The ice dragon covered in rock armor slammed into the Ultimate with the force of a battering ram. Staggering back, the Ultimate's beam gouged a trench in the ceiling as it attempted to regain it's balance. It's back slammed into the side of the sarcophagus and one of it's arms landed back into the water, causing a wave of liquid to splash in all directions.

Sprinting forward, Haku slammed her palm into one of the newly created puddles on ground. Ice shot towards the sarcophagus following the trail water. Rapidly moving up the wet sides, it touched the water. The ice user shoved enough chakra into her technique to make her ears ring. The water in the sarcophagus snap froze, trapping the Ultimate's arm in an icy embrace. "Naruto-Sama! One of it's arms is trapped!"

Honoka hurled herself forward as she surged chakra into her hands. "Naruto-San, I will restrain it's other hand. The time to attack it is now!" Slamming her hands onto the ground, Honoka pushed all of the her accumulated chakra into her prized technique. Five chakra chains erupted from the ground under the Ultimate's right hand. The seal for 'Restrain' flashed into life on each link, and the sealing chains wrapped around the hand, pulling it back. Immobilized, all the Summoning Beast could to was roar in pain and confusion as Naruto's squad charged in.

Driven by the ancient instinct to survive and the overwhelming hunger it has known all it's life, the Ultimate's mouth convulsed and the tentacles around the mouth suddenly surged forward. Grabbing one of the surprised clones, the tentacles retracted, jerking the clone off it's feet and into the salivating maw located on the Ultimate's stomach. The clone only had time to give out a shout of confused distress before the toothed maw snapped down with a crunch. The clone promptly dissipated from the damage, leaving the Ultimate confused and angered by the lack of meat. Still, the unending hunger drove it to seeking out a new target to feed itself.

"No you don't." Forty-Four slammed into it's head, "You're not hurting Boss. Not now, not ever." Hefting the long side of it's crowbar, the clone drove it directly into Ultimate's unprotected eye. "How's that feel, motherfucker? Huh?" Pulling the weapon out only to plunge it back in again, Forty-Four felt the bloodthirst start to edge into it's mind. The clone didn't resist. "You don't like it do you?" The quiet chuckles began to issue from Forty-Four's mind even as the blood and body fluids began to splash it's face. "Just die."

The coast now clear, Naruto and his squad closed in. Leaping onto the monster, they hacked and cut into it's flesh, seeking the vital organs underneath. The Ultimate screamed in pain as it thrashed, pain overloading it's chaotic mind. Finding the rough approximation of the center of it's chest, Naruto plunged his swords into the creature, burying them up to the hilt.

Ignoring how the Ultimate's cries of pain grew louder and the faint sound of distant crazed laughter, the Uzumaki surged chakra into his arms, increasing the strength he possessed tenfold. Slicing out of the creature's body, Naruto finally pulled his swords free in a shower of blood, leaving a massive gash in the monster's chest.

Agony. Never in all of it's relatively short life did Ultimate feel such pain. It blotted out the unending feeling of hunger that had been present since it had awoken so long ago. The pain gave it strength and it tugged on the ice binding it with the desperation of an animal knowing that it's death drew near. The ice began to crack. The Ultimate roared again, desperate to avoid it's demise. Instincts began to shift within it, brought on by it's desperation. Lightning began to crackle and writhe around it's form. Naruto, feeling his hair stand on end, hurled himself back from the beast.

With a thunderous BOOOM lightning blasted outwards from Ultimate's body, electrocuting the melee squads that was still hacking away at it's body. The bloodlust left Forty-Four, and the clone only sighed, aware of it's approaching demise. "I really need stay aware of my surroundings." A moment later the voltage slammed into it, instantly vaporizing the clone. The Ultimate screamed as the crowbar, still driven deep in it's eye, conducted the voltage directly into the eye. The eye quivered, then bubbled before bursting as it cooked from the immense heat.

Staggering back, the Summoning beast clutched the charred hole that had once been it's eye, not noticing or caring that it had snapped Honoka's sealing chains. Stumbling backwards, it moved nearer and near the cliff that overlooked the heart of the mountain itself. It's heel hit the cliff edge, and it's arms automatically wheeled forward as the Ultimate instinctively attempted to restore it's sense of gravity. The cliff, unused to the weight, began to crumble. Sensing the danger, Ultimate took a step forward. The cliff gave way, sending the Ultimate Summoning Creature plunging towards the lava below.

For the briefest of moments the ninja believed that the creature had been defeated. Then they heard it. The sound of mighty wings. Rising to the cliff's level, the Ultimate roared in triumph as it beheld the ones who caused it so much pain. "Naruto-San." Honoka moved to stand beside Naruto, "If I can hold onto the Ultimate Summon, I can restrain it long enough for it to fall into the lava." Having decided to make sure that none of her clan died today, Honoka was prepared to do what it took to kill the beast. She had wanted to see the curved walls of Uzu again, but she would not let Naruto Uzumaki die.

"But that would kill you." Naruto didn't understand why she wanted to do that.

"Yes it will." Honoka acknowledged, "But I accept that, knowing that I have allowed a fellow clan member to live on." She smiled at the fellow Uzumaki, expecting him to understand.

"That's crap." Honoka blinked at Naruto's words. "I was once told that I'm not allowed to sacrifice myself if there is another way. And if there is no other way, then I was to make another way."

"Damn straight." Sakura confirmed, with Hinata and Haku nodding in agreement.

"So here's what you are going to do." The mental mask of the Uzumaki Clan Head slipped down onto Naruto's face, "You are going to stay here with Sakura-Chan, Hinata-Chan, and Haku-Chan." Glancing over at the Ultimate Summoning Beast, Naruto started to rapidly form an idea of how to take it down.

"Sakura-Chan. Haku-Chan. When it tries to breathe out that lightning beam again, work together to freeze it's mouth shut." He blinked, focusing on the organs that peeked out behind the Ultimate's ravaged flesh. "Honoka-San, I need you to use one sealing chain to keep it in place for a moment. You should be able to do that from here. Hinata-Chan, I need you to be ready to create a triangular wind shield to protect everyone here from any lightning attacks."

"What are you going to do, Naruto-Kun?"

The blonde Uzumaki grinned. "I'm going to kill it." "Hey, Kurama?"

"Yes Naruto?"

"Could you control nine chains if I grant you access to that part of my charka?"

"I see." Kurama nodded in approval of Naruto's plan, "Let's kill it."

Closing his eyes, Naruto concentrated on creating the chains. Once he did so, he let that part of his mind drift, mentally allowing Kurama to control them. The nine chains snapped out and wrapped around the hilts of the different weapons in the area. The chains then swayed behind Naruto like flexible tails made of metal. Flexing his hands around the hilts of his swords, Naruto reached deep within himself, supercharging every cell with chakra. Adrenaline began to pump in his veins.

Ultimate, deciding that it wanted to utterly destroy those who hurt it, began to suck in a deep breath. In response, Sakura shot the largest water bullet she had ever created directly at the glowing light within it's mouth. Beside her, Haku readied herself. The water bullet struck and the ice user spiked her chakra.

Instantly the water froze, cutting off the Ultimate's attack before it started. An angry bellow shook the room as Ultimate attempted to rid itself of the intense cold hurting it's face.

"And...Now!" Naruto charged.

To the others in the room, it appeared as though Naruto streaked forward in a yellow flash, covering the distance in a single second. For Naruto, however, everything moved so slowly. The two hearts beating inside Ultimate's chest thudded like a slow drumbeat. The other various organs pulsed with life. The ice around it's mouth began to crack as the lightning beam's heat began to melt the cold. Honoka's sealing chain reached out and wrapped around the Ultimate Summoning Beast, holding it in place. Naruto reached the cliff edge. He leapt.

The Uzumaki slammed into the beast like a battering ram, driving his swords deep into the dual hearts of the Ultimate. The nine chains snapped forward, skewering the other internal organs that they could find. Blood sprayed outward as the Ultimate convulsed, it's death throes threatening to knock Naruto into the lava below. Pulling his swords free with a grunt, Naruto hurled himself off of the Ultimate with a chakra enhanced jump, landing back on the edge of the cliff. Still gushing blood, the Ultimate Summoning Beast dropped like a stone into the molten rock below.

Her task now complete, all of the stress and chakra fatigue caught up with Honoka at once. "Naruto-San," Honoka valiantly tried to stay awake, "I believe that I have run out of chakra." She lost the battle to stay conscious. Hinata caught Honoka before she could hit the ground.

"Perhaps it is better this way," Sakura mused to herself as she ran a hand over Honoka's body, "Since she won't have to see all of the dead bodies caused by activating the time barrier." Speaking up to address the rest of the team, she reported her findings. "Most of her chakra is exhausted and her blood pressure is elevated, likely due to stress. In addition, she is exhausted from not getting enough sleep in quite some time. She should be fine after a few days of rest."

"Uh guys?" Naruto's urgent voice shook Sakura from her examination of Honoka, "I think we should start moving. The volcano looks like it is going to erupt." The ground shook. "Scratch that. We need to run!"

They quickly sprinted through the complex as the ground shook and trembled. Smoke began to spew from the top of the mountain. Heat blasted the metal walls as the lava crept upwards. The group of shinobi burst through the open doors of the complex without breaking stride. Weaving their way through the trees, the ninja didn't look back as the now active volcano erupted with fury. The trees began to smoke and a river of glowing lava began to flow down the mountain.

Reaching the beach, Naruto and his team rushed towards the Wind Rose, running across the water as if it was solid ground. Sencho, seeing that the thick mist was starting to dissipate, and more importantly, the entire island was starting to catch fire, quickly ordered his men to prepare to leave as soon as Naruto and his 'wives' were aboard.

Naruto watched the forgotten island burn. The lava would eventually consume the entire island, erasing all research and evidence created by The Company. "And perhaps," Naruto considered, "It's better this way." Still, there was those who had sacrificed themselves to prevent the Ultimate from escaping, and so in their honor, he watched the island in respectful silence as the Wind Rose sailed away until the island was nothing but a dim glow on the sea.

Tomorrow he would have to break the news to Honoka about what had happened to the Uzumaki Clan, but for now...Naruto was content. He had saved someone, and for that...he was content.

So what did you think? Drop a review and let me know.

On Hinata's reaction to her bloodline not working inside the base: From the time she was born, Hinata had been told that the Hyuga bloodline was what made them great. Consciously, she was fully aware that she was more than just her bloodline, but subconsciously those thoughts still lurked.

On the time barrier: Technically light wouldn't have penetrated the time barrier, causing Naruto to never see Honoka. However, that would make things even more confusing for the reader, so I opted to simply...plan for another alternative. So rest assured that there is a reason why certain things didn't happen on that island, it just won't be revealed until another story arc.

On Honoka herself: Given that she doesn't even speak in canon, I'm carefully trying to create her own personality while still keeping within the framework of what canon gives us. Let me know if you disagree with how her personality is developing.

To my reviewers' direct questions:

setokayba2n: Well, that is a valid idea. However, in reality, quite a few people would take exception to having their minds read. Granted, as of yet there hasn't been any major terrorist attacks yet in Konoha, so most people want to keep their basic rights protected. Obviously if they could arrest someone they could check them, but most of the people belonging to the terrorist group are smart enough to not commit other crimes they could be arrested for.

Akutsu Junya: I'm planning on having a "Back in Konoha/other places" chapter which will focus on the side characters who have woven in and out of the main character's lives. Konon, among others, will be featured in that chapter.

Vanishing Raptor: You should see Jiraiya doing awesome spy mastery things within the next chapter or two, depending on how long some other things take.

Danget the critic: It most definitely would. But Inoichi currently trusts his clan (if that is good or not is still up in the air), so he's not going to just start accusing people. That being said, he is working hand in hand with Jiraiya, so when they do find the people who did it, Inoichi isn't going to be protecting them in the slightest. I plan on showing all of the "almost-but-not-completely-witch-hunt" for the people who attacked the girls next chapter or the following chapter.

Kairan1979: Well, in my defense, I have been hinting at something happening for quite a few chapters. Plus, you find out what a character is really made of when they are put under pressure.

Chewie Cookies: I'm sure you are aware at this point, but if not, it's basically the HotE version of the Episode "The Forgotton Island".

Animaman: From what I understand, and using basic psychology, Inner Sakura was created out of Sakura's self doubt and feelings of insecurity. However, in HotE, she became friends with Naruto early enough that that personality never developed. And yeah, I'm still working out how to smoothly write timeskips. You'll see Kakashi, among others, either next chapter or the following chapter.

magikiz2sick: Unlike in canon, the Hokage banned all knowledge of it before most of the village knew of it. And as such, when rumors spread about Naruto, they quickly were twisted into the false belief that Naruto was the Kyubi itself. They then chose to keep believing in the lie so they wouldn't feel horrible for hurting a child. As for the Hyuga, they chose to go along with the village's belief (Using the logic of: If that many people believe it, how can it be wrong?) about Naruto. However when they saw the Kyubi's chakra and Naruto's own chakra inside the same chakra coils, they realized that they had been wrong then entire time. If this explanation still doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll try to explain it in more depth.

Nin-Guest: I don't want to spoil anything, but Danzo is quite aware of the impending civil war, and is making plans for it when it happens. The funny thing is that I originally wasn't planning on pairing Yakumo and Lee, but there was quite a few awesome pictures of them when I was looking for references, so it just kinda happened. Side question: In what way was the fight between Haku, Hinata, and Sakura cringey? I'm fairly new to any lemony/limey scenes, so that could be it. If it was the fight, I'm honestly curious on your opinion on that. I hope that you enjoyed HotE's version of the Forgotten Island. I must confess that this is the first time I'm writing a straight up mystery(ish) type genre, so I'm still not sure I did the AU rendition justice. And yeah, my favorite stories to write/read are very much "Earn your Happy Ending". I don't know if we will touch "Living Forever is Awesome" territory, but solving the issue of pointless fighting would ensure that the average lifespan is greatly increased. That said, who knows what will happen in the future?

thor94: Well, when you think about it, Yakumo actually is very similar to Lee, just having been born into different circumstances. They understand each other in ways that few others could.

Nin-Guest: That has always bothered me about Naruto canon too. I mean, they talk about peace, but they still promote child soldiers. On the subject of Uzu, all I can currently admit is that it will be important in the future. I'm hoping to include Houma and Koharu in the "Back in Konoha" chapter. To be honest, I'm still not exactly sure what's going to go down in the Lost Tower Arc, but I can say that it definitely it will be happening. I have ideas about it, and several subtle hints were included in this chapter.

Nin-Guest: Well, I can tell you that your review (Review #3) gave me an awesome idea for part of the Mist arc. To avoid spoiling, all I will confirm is that Isaribi and Amachi will be included in the Mist arc.