Opening - Chase the World by May'n

"Hey, fleshbag? Are you all right down there?" Shukaku shifted his massive weight slightly, making the building he stood in creak and shake. "Fleshbag?" Gaara continued to ignore him in favor of staring silently at the pile of ash left behind by his sealed father. The Bijuu knew that Gaara had the power to reseal him at will, so he treaded carefully rather than demanding his host's attention. "Gaara?"

The boy's head snapped upward, but he didn't turn to face Shukaku. "I... I'm fine, thank you for your concern," he said calmly. "I just never expected to feel this way, that's all."

"You hated him. I've been with you your whole life, kid, so if I can't understand, who can?"

"Are you really trying to show me sympathy?" Gaara asked, almost but not quite coldly. Instead, he sounded slightly confused.

"I'm just saying I get it, that's all." Shukaku shifted again, uneasy. "He tried to kill you six times, which means he was trying to kill me too. But now you feel bad about this, don't you? I get it. I don't feel the same way, and sometimes you fleshbags feel weird things that I can't wrap my head around, but I understand sadness. I understand grief." The young Jinchuuriki couldn't see it with his back turned, but Shukaku began to smile sadly. "I had a father too, once. I was there when he died, and I grieved."

Gaara turned to face the demon, who saw that his host's eyes were glistening. He hadn't yet let the tears fall, probably because he wasn't sure if he should. "...We can talk about this later, but... thank you, I suppose."

"Like I said, I get it. The two things you're feeling right now are hate and grief. I've felt those two, and they don't fit together, not when you feel both for the same person." The sand demon audibly sighed. "We don't have much time. Seal me back into your sword, in case you need your 'Bankai' again later. I've got maybe a minute's worth of chakra left here."

"Right." Gaara drew his sword, and triggered the seal on the blade. The delicate line of fuinjutsu script glowed bright red, and the black sand making up Shukaku's body flowed back into the seal. After several seconds, Shukaku's body was safely stored, and Gaara let the seal fade to black. Naruto and Hinata were fighting Kages as well. Let's go see if they're still fighting and need help.

You want my advice? Release me as soon as you see one of 'em. I'm not just saying that 'cause I want out again, though. Something tells me you're gonna get your ass handed to you unless you use our contract.

I'll keep that in mind. Gaara sealed his own black sand into the guard of his sword and sheathed it, then leapt toward the edge of the massive forest nearby. This forest was created by a single shinobi's kekkei genkai, he noted. It's not that hard to believe that I'll need your power to face him, so I'll take your word for it.

Fleshbag, have I ever lied to you? The demon paused for several seconds, then imitated Karura's voice. Actually, forget I said anything.

Gaara made no response. Instead, he jumped through the trees with his arms loosely folded over his chest as always. The only sound in the forest came from far ahead of Gaara, where the echoes of crashing rocks, roaring flames, and splashing waves could be heard. He kept his eyes open, however, for enemies and allies both. Shukaku... is it possible that Naruto and Hinata already won their battles?

Or maybe they lost, the demon replied grimly. Either way, of course it's possible. You beat your old man already, didn't you?

Gaara was about to reply, but then he caught sight of Naruto. His fellow Jinchuuriki was facedown and unconscious on a tree limb below Gaara, who jumped down and crouched beside him. "Naruto." he gently pressed two fingers against Naruto's neck, checking his pulse and confirming he was alive. "Naruto, you have to get up." He let out a brief, quiet sigh when Naruto failed to respond, and asked Shukaku, do you have any suggestions on how to wake him?

No idea. I'm a demon, as is everyone I've related to until now. I've never tried waking an unconscious human before.

Gaara frowned. Then... what am I supposed to do here? "Naruto. If you're here, unconscious, then it means Hinata might have lost her fight as well. Or was she with you when you were knocked out?"

Hinata...?

He's right, kid, Kurama threw in. Get up off your lazy ass and go help her.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly. "Ugh... what the hell happened?" he crawled upward into a sitting position, clutching his head. "Gaara? Did you beat that guy you fought?"

"Yes," the sand wielder replied shortly. "Let's hope Hinata managed as well."

"Hinata." Naruto glanced around for his sword, and found it laying several yards away. He retrieved it and sealed it into his ring. "Before the First Hokage made this forest, I saw Hinata-chan fighting the Second somewhere over there." he pointed to his left, into a section of the forest that was now silent. "Let's go."

Gaara nodded, and watched Naruto immediately begin jumping through the trees toward her. He noticed that the blond boy was stumbling frequently and clutching the back of his neck where it met the base of his skull. He's injured. He shouldn't be jumping around like this; he's going to fall at this rate.

Obviously, Shukaku muttered. But do you really think pointing it out is gonna accomplish anything? He's one of those humans who cares about someone so much, his own life is meaningless by comparison. And you went ahead and pointed out that Hinata might be in danger, or dying as we speak. That was stupid.

Naruto missed his next jump entirely, and fell. Judging from the fact he hadn't even cried out, he had probably passed out already. Gaara's eyes widened, and he drew his sword rapidly. "Stain, Kuroshi!" he sent a stream of black sand to catch Naruto, but before the sand could reach the boy, Hinata shot out through the foliage and caught him, landing on a tree limb far below with him in her arms.

"Naruto-kun?" She heard Gaara land on a branch above her, and looked up immediately. "Gaara! Is he all right?"

"His life doesn't seem to be in danger, but he's in no condition to fight," Gaara summarized, leapt down to Hinata's side, and spotted a forming bruise on her jaw. "You've suffered a similar injury."

She nodded. "I don't think I was knocked out for that long, but I've been moving slowly. If I go too fast, I lose focus and stumble."

"I can carry both of you with my sand," he offered, "but if both of you lost to the Hokages..."

"...Our Hokage-sama is now fighting both of his predecessors, along with Orochimaru." Hinata silently activated her Byakugan, giving her a slightly angry appearance. "I can see them. He's still fighting, but he's out of breath. He's mostly focusing on evading their attacks," she noted grimly. "I don't think he can keep up much longer."

"Then we'll go help him. Stain, Kuroshi." Gaara unsealed much more sand from his sword, and shaped it into a platform which he stepped on. A branch of sand also split off from it to gently lift Naruto and place him on the platform. The host of the Nine-Tails was slowly, groggily waking up again. "I can engage our enemies directly, but you two need to maintain your distance. In theory, your injuries shouldn't interfere with ninjutsu."

Hinata nodded, and stepped onto the platform. "I'll keep myself and Naruto-kun safe inside my Guardian Sixty-Four Palms."

"That should work. Let's go." Gaara lifted the floor of sand beneath them, and began carrying them over the treetops toward the sounds of battle.

X

That little punk is trying to use Sage Mode against me...

Manda growled in frustration, feeling the currents of natural energy passing over his scales as Jiraiya pulled it into his body. I don't think so. He hissed, and pulled the energy back, storing it in his own body and robbing Jiraiya of a potential advantage. There's not enough natural energy left here for me to use my own Sage Mode, but now you can't use yours...

The colossal snake increased his speed, slithering toward his prey and crushing countless buildings as he did. Jiraiya. You should have known better than to draw my attention like this. I can tell you don't have the chakra to summon Gamabunta, which means you're at my mercy!

The snake boss opened his jaws and roared, rearing into the air and lunging over several streetsto set his sights on Jiraiya. If he had eyelids, he would have narrowed them when he saw the team of shinobi gathered around the Sannin. "You would've had a better chance if you turned and ran away, Jiraiya. Not that I'm unhappy with your decision; it just means I have more to eat."

Tenten stepped forward. "You'll be the fourteenth snake today who thought he could get away with eating me."

Manda chuckled, and coiled upward. "Unlike my subordinates, I happen to enjoy cooked food from time to time." He drew in a breath, and tensed his entire body.

Jiraiya's eyes widened. Oh Kami, he's going to use ninjutsu. "Everyone, scatter!" He blurred his hands through several seals, and roared. "Earth Release: Earth Wall!"

Manda laughed at the wall of stone that rose between himself and Jiraiya, then released his jutsu. "Lightning Release: Lightning Bullet." He opened his mouth and a ball of crackling yellow light formed between his jaws. Jiraiya saw the flash of light pass the edges of his Earth Wall, and he began retreating when he heard a thunderclap, but it was too late. The house-sized ball of lightning chakra slammed into his defenses and tore it to shreds.

"Cyclone Scythe Jutsu!" Temari countered, hoping her elemental advantage would be enough to deflect Manda's attack. With relief, she watched her blades of wind cut into and push away Manda's lightning, saving Jiraiya's life.

"I'll cover us," Zabuza declared, and formed a hand seal. "Hidden Mist Jutsu." The air thickened into a supernatural white fog, enough to surround Manda as well as his opponents. "We're safe in here, unless he has the right Wind Release jutsu."

"And how are we supposed to attack him?" Sasuke asked angrily. "I can't even see through this with my Sharingan active."

"I can fly us above the fog to attack him," Temari replied, "then we can dive back in to hide from his strikes."

Haku glanced to his left. "There are Oto Chuunin approaching us. It's almost as though they can see us."

"Echolocation?" Tenten suggested. "Oto-nin use a lot of sound-based jutsu and equipment."

The ice wielder nodded. "Whatever they're using, I'll deal with them." he vanished into the mist, already reaching into his pouch for a handful of senbon.

Zabuza dodged a Lightning Bullet Manda had wildly fired into the mist, pulled his signature sword off his back, and turned to Temari. "How many people can you fly with at once?"

"I've never tried carrying anyone before," she answered, "but if I had to guess, I'd say my fan could support me and two passengers."

"That'll be me and you then," Asuma threw in. "Jiraiya uses the Earth Release, so he should stay on the ground."

"All right, get on." she whipped her fan off her back, unfolded it, and jumped into the air to perch on it. Asuma and Zabuza joined her, and she used her wind chakra to float upward with some extra effort to account for the extra weight. She stopped and hovered at the top of the mist cloud, where they could faintly see Manda''s head through the fog. "So what's the plan?"

"First, let's just try attacking him." Asuma glared down at the top of the giant snake's head. "He doesn't know we're up here; he doesn't know what to expect." Manda fired several weaker blasts of lightning into the mist, and growled angrily. "See? The thought of us being above him hasn't even crossed his mind."

"So what jutsu should we use?"

"I'll use my Ash Pile Burning to start us off, then you can follow up with your sword," Asuma gestured to the massive blade Zabuza held. "Score a few deep cuts, then get clear of the ash cloud, and I'll continue with my secret weapon."

"Secret?" Zabuza chuckled. "You expect me to believe you have some high-ranked jutsu you didn't use against me in the Land of Waves?"

"I didn't have it then, but yeah," Asuma replied seriously. "Don't worry, you'll get to see it in a minute or so."

Zabuza shrugged. "Fine. Let's do this."

Asuma performed his favorite hand seal sequence, and quietly called, "Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning." he opened his mouth and blew out a thick stream of grey and black ash. It filtered through the white mist until it reached Manda, who glanced around with confusion and suspicion, that only increased as the smoke thickened into a full cloud of dark grey to replace the white mist. "Now."

Zabuza vanished from where he perched on Temari's fan, startling the wind user herself. Asuma merely blinked, recognizing the jutsu from his battle with Zabuza in the Land of Waves. Neither of them saw Zabuza reappear on the back of Manda's neck with Kubikiri Bouchou in his right hand.

The larnyx, spine, and jugular vein, he recited silently, are three of the eight points targeted by the Silent Killing, clustered together nicely in the victim's neck. Let's start with the spine. He raised his sword and swung it down with all his might, aiming to sever Manda's spinal cord with a single blow.

Instead, his sword all but bounced off of Manda's scales, leaving only a shallow cut. In response, Manda roared and bucked Zabuza away. "What the hell!?" he cried out in disbelief as he landed. Fine. If Kubikiri Bouchou won't cut him by itself, then... Water Release chakra flared up along the massive blade, starting at the hilt. It appeared as a thin layer of shining blue water over the blade.

With his weapon ready, Zabuza charged, projecting his killing intent as a genjutsu-esque image of a demon's head looming behind him. Manda snarled, and projected his own killing intent, then roared, "Lightning Bullet Volley!"

Six balls of yellow light, each ten feet wide and shedding countless forks of lightning, shot from Manda's mouth in succession. Zabuza dodged with his version of the newly-named Empty Wind, and continued to close in with Kubikiri Bouchou in hand. When he got close enough, he flash-stepped to where Manda's upright belly met the ground, and hacked across the thick black scales guarding it.

To the shock of the snake boss, his weapon slid through Manda's armor and cut deeply into the flesh beneath, drawing blood like a fountain. "That's better," Zabuza noted with satisfaction.

"You actually cut me," Manda growled, surprise and anger eminent in his voice.

"When I decide to cut something, I cut it. When it's in my hands, nothing can withstand the edge of Kubikiri Bouchou."

"Then I'll have to deal with you before you can cause me any real trouble," Manda replied, and swatted Zabuza away with his tail. "Now where are the rest of you hiding? Come out here and let me eat you!"

"Careful what you wish for!" Zabuza glanced upward to see Asuma crouching atop Manda's head. He was just barely visible through the thick ash cloud, but Zabuza could see that he was stabbing two bladed weapons into the top of Manda's snout.

He pulled the weapons free of the snake boss's head, and Zabuza noted that he was using his Flying Swallow chakra flow to extend sword-like blades of chakra out of his trench knives. "Zabuza," the wind user called, "Tell Jiraiya to use his Swamp of the Underworld!"

"Sure," he answered, and disappeared into the smoke and mist. After a few moments of struggling to remain atop Manda's head, Asuma noted the giant snake's body suddenly drop downward.

"And that's the signal. Fire Release: Hellhound Flame Armor."

Zabuza's eyes widened slightly, and he nodded in approval of the massive explosion that engulfed Manda. "Hey... wait a minute," he thought aloud after a few moments, "Did Asuma just blow himself up?"

"Nope." Using the Body Flicker, Asuma reappeared next to Zabuza, wreathed in crimson flames. "This aura protects me from any kind of Fire Release jutsu, including my own. I used it to set off the Ash Pile Burning's explosive powder."

"So Kiba taught this to you?"

"I helped him develop this jutsu, actually," Asuma clarified. "But since I'm not an Inuzuka, I can only use the basic level of it."

They were interrupted by Manda roaring and lunging forward into the mist, forcing the Konoha-nin to scatter. His scales were blackened and burned in several places. "Little pests!" he snarled. "That hurt, damn you!"

Tenten unsealed three kunai and held them loosely between the fingers of her right hand. "Keep hitting him!" she called, and threw the blades at Manda, detonating them as they bounced off his scales.

Manda glanced down, unimpressed, at the new black mark on his scales. "...Was I supposed to feel that?" he laughed. "You'll need something more powerful than that, you little snack!"

"How about this!?" Sasuke appeared in midair, in front of Manda's throat with a Chidori in his right hand. It crackled and hummed deeply, and let off sparks of black and white electricity as opposed to the usual blue. With his face covered by the Cursed Seal and split with a bloodthirsty grin, Sasuke stabbed forward with his strongest jutsu.

Manda twisted to the right, and the Chidori tore a shallow, wide gash along the side of his neck rather than piercing his throat. Furious at being wounded, Manda swung his head around to knock Sasuke out of the air. The Genin wheezed as the wind was knocked from his lungs, and he was sent crashing through the roof of a building nearby.

"H-Holy crap," Temari spoke up, "Is he-"

"He was wielding senjutsu," Jiraiya answered. "I think he'll make it, but I can't be sure. Either way, we can't do anything for him in this situation." He used a few quick hand seals, then called, "Keep fighting! Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

X

"Aren't you ready to die, Sarutobi-sensei? Just let it go." Orochimaru spoke with an almost friendly tone. "You've already lost, so there's no shame in accepting it."

"The only thing I will accept is your unconditional surrender," The Hokage replied. "And I told you before! Don't call me Sarutobi-sensei!"

Orochimaru chuckled. "I should have known better than to think you'd accept." He tightened his grip on the Sword of Kusanagi. "Kill him," he commanded his Edo Tensei servants.

Hiruzen scowled, and retreated into the forest, panting. I'm almost out of chakra, I'm far more injured than he is, and I'm outnumbered. "Enma... I've never felt this old before."

The staff in his hands audibly sighed. "I feel it too. You and I are all but done with this world. And yet..."

Hiruzen nodded. "And yet, I can't die now. I need to give my final orders before I'm allowed to leave the village behind."

"Sarutobi-sensei..." Hiruzen whirled, and slammed his staff against Orochimaru's sword. "That choice isn't yours to make!" He laughed, and attacked his former teacher with a further barrage of kenjutsu strikes. "And this village will be burned to the ground by nightfall!" Sarutobi blocked most of the attacks, but a few slipped past his guard and nicked him.

Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, and an eigh-foot-long python leapt out of it, slamming into the Hokage's chest and knocking him to the ground. "Finally!" the Sannin called, and lunged forward to stab the older ninja.

"Bankai."

A stream of black sand moved between Kusanagi and Sarutobi, deflecting the sword harmlessly. Orochimaru turned to see Gaara perched atop Shukaku's head, glaring down at him in a rare display of emotion. The Sannin snorted in amusement. "Tobirama, defeat and capture Gaara." He glanced to his right, narrowly dodging a Wind Scar from Naruto, who was protected inside Hinata's Guardian Sixty-Four Palms. "Hashirama, kill Hinata and capture Naruto." He smirked down at the Third Hokage. "That leaves you and me alone, Sarutobi-sensei." The Hokage climbed back to his feet and resumed fighting his former student.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Horde!" The Second called, and breathed out five fully formed water dragons that immediately wrapped around Shukaku and held him in place. The Bijuu opened his mouth to form a Tailed Beast Ball, but Tobirama created another water dragon and shot it into Shukaku's mouth, destroying his head entirely.

Gaara jumped away from what was left of Shukaku's head, and swung his sword calling, "Second Incarnation, Plague!" A wispy cloud of black sand floated forward and surrounded Tobirama. "Sand Coffin!" Gaara added, and the cloud condensed, crushing Tobirama. Shukaku finished reassembling his head, and brought his right fist down on the black sand already holding the Second.

A geyser of water and mist shot fifty feet into the air, obliterating Shukaku's arm and revealing Tobirama within. The water wielder blurred and vanished with the Body Flicker, and reappeared behind Gaara to knock him out with a simple punch. Gaara collapsed, and the Second turned his attention to Shukaku.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata were trying to hold off the First Hokage with a barrage of wind and water jutsu, but his Wood Release attacks slowly advanced closer and closer.

Then, without warning, he formed a hand seal sequence and called loudly, "Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees!"

Naruto's eyes widened in horror, and at the same time his Rinnegan flared over them. A sizable wave of thick, sharp-limbed trees rose out of the ground and grew at an unnatural rate toward Hinata. "Shinra Tensei!" Naruto called, and shattered the first wave, but a second soon followed. It touched Hinata's dome of water and chakra, and absorbed it in an instant without slowing down.

Naruto snarled, and threw himself into the path of the attack, grasping the central trunk of the tree aimed at himself to slow it down. The various limbs and branches stabbed into his arms and hips, but missed his vitals. "Naruto-kun!" Hinata screamed.

"I'm all right," he answered immediately. "At least I will be," he added, and tightened his grip on the tree. "Preta Path." Hashirama blinked as the tree began to wither and die. The bark crumbled away, the limbs and branches shattered, and the trunk began to dry up and shrink as Naruto sucked the life from it.

"You've got the Rinnegan?" Hashirama questioned, then paused briefly. "I guess I should have spotted the pattern in your eyes. Even with it deactivated, there's still a black ring in each eye... Since you just used the Preta Path, I'll have to start using ninjutsu that contain more chakra than you currently have. That's the only counter to the Preta Path... get ready."

Naruto raised his right palm and aimed it at Hashirama. "Don't bother. Shinra Tensei."

Hashirama couldn't see the attack coming, but he knew what it did and he could counter it. "Wood Release: Houbi Jutsu." A dome of living wood grew upward around him and shaped itself into a stylized dragon's face. The blast of repulsive force from Naruto's jutsu was deflected upward harmlessly by it, and it split down the middle to reveal that Hashirama was already making more hand seals.

Hiruzen put some distance between himself and Orochimaru, and glanced around. Gaara was defeated, Shukaku's sand body was falling apart, Hinata seemed to be out of chakra or almost so, and Naruto was severely injured. Orochimaru followed his former teacher's gaze, and smirked. "That's right, Sarutobi-sensei. Once I finish you, I'll kill all three of these children. Hinata will be the first to go, then I'll have the One-Tail and Nine-Tails extracted from those two. They'll die in the process. Maybe I should only give one to Akatsuki, and keep the other-"

"Be silent," Hiruzen commanded, forcefully enough that Orochimaru was startled into obeying. He set down the staff that Enma had transformed into, and formed a long string of hand seals. "None of them will die today, I'll make certain of that."

"Oh? And what jutsu are you going to use, with so little chakra left?"

Sarutobi replied, "Fuinjutsu: Reaper Death Seal."

Orochimaru blinked, and looked around. "Was that supposed to do something impressive? Or were you bluffing?"

The old man said nothing, instead he simply vanished and reappeared in front of the First Hokage, then proceeded to rip his soul out. A brief moment later, he repeated the act with the Second Hokage who stood victorious over a hill of steaming black sand.

The two Edo Tensei bodies fell almost at the same time, and Hiruzen moved on to Orochimaru himself. He grasped his former student by the shoulders, only barely feeling the sword Orochimaru had stabbed him with instinctively. "I don't have enough chakra and time left to seal your entire soul," he stated calmly, "but I can take these." Orochimaru screamed as his arms stopped working up to the elbow, and felt as though lava ran through their veins instead of blood. "You may even find this a fate worse than death, Orochimaru: You will never use a ninjutsu again, for the rest of eternity. Neither here, nor in the afterlife. Suffer for what you've done to my village!"

Hiruzen released the Sannin, who fell to his knees and howled, curled over his agonized hands and wrists. He pulled the Sword of Kusanagi from his chest almost disdainfully, since his ability to feel pain had already been taken by the Reaper floating behind him. He stepped toward Naruto, who watched him approach with wide eyes.

"Naruto, take this," he said quietly, and reached into his pocket to produce a white scroll marked with the fire kanji in bright red. "Deliver it to Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utakane, but not Danzou Shimura. Never let Danzou touch it." The boy nodded numbly, and took the scroll. "Whatever you do, don't try to use Rinne Tensei on me. You'll die, and my soul is about to be sealed beyond your reach anyway." Naruto nodded again, still not fully comprehending what was happening.

"Both of you," he addressed Naruto and Hinata, "Keep the Will of Fire burning strong in my absence."

"R-Right, jiji." Tears began to drip down Naruto's cheeks, as he realized that the Hokage was dying. "We'll remember." He stepped forward and wrapped Sarutobi in a hug, then whimpered quietly. "Goodbye, jiji."

"Goodbye, Naruto. And... good luck..."

"J-Jiji?" The old man said nothing, and his body went limp in Naruto's arms. The boy set his grandfather-figure down gently, and began to sob.

The barrier containing the forest vanished, and the two remaining Genin jumped at the sound of deafening thunder from an exploding lightning jutsu. The sound was enough to remind them that the battle wasn't over, and Naruto stopped crying. For the moment, his misery was buried under cold determination. He had other loved ones elsewhere in the village. They were still alive, and they could still be saved.

He tried to stand, but his injuries and blood loss were too severe, and he collapsed back into a kneeling position. Kurama, he called, I wanna try 'Plan B' now.

You do realize that might put you in a coma, or even kill you, right?

I wanna do it. Even if I could do without your chakra, I need your healing abilities. Otherwise me and Hina-chan are sitting ducks surrounded by Oto-nin who would love to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuuriki. We have to try.

All right, kid, I'm with you. Naruto nodded shakily, and pressed his palms against the rooftop he knelt on. "Summoning Jutsu." His eyes widened with hope as lines of fuinjutsu radiated from his palms, showing that he'd finally unlocked the Animal Path. His intent was to teleport a portion of Kurama's chakra out of the Eight Trigrams Seal, manifesting a smaller version of the Nine-Tails. If all went well, Kurama would be able to use his demonic chakra's healing abilities as a sort of medical ninjutsu surrogate, repairing Naruto's body so they could fight together.

Instead, three of the eight sealing points on Naruto's belly were ruptured, and his eyes went even wider. He screamed in pain as the Rinnegan turned from purple to blood-red, and the whisker marks on his cheeks blackened and thickened. His wounds healed in an instant, and the pain faded over several seconds to a pulsing ache.

Kid, are you all right out there!? Kurama called frantically.

...Yeah, I think so, Naruto replied, then repeated for Hinata's benefit, "I'm okay, Hina-chan."

Great. The seal's a mess in here, but I'm okay too. How much chakra did you get?

"Let's get going," Naruto spoke up, and stood hesitantly. Not much. Enough for maybe four Rasengan, but that much should keep me going for a while. The important thing is that I'm healed, so thanks.

Don't ever do this again, Kurama answered solemnly. You broke three sealing points with this little stunt. If that happens again, it'll only leave two, and with the seal that damaged, you'll probably die and I'll get thrown out of here.

I'll remember that. The Jinchuuriki turned in the direction of another thunderclap, and leapt up above the trees to see Manda firing Lightning Bullets with reckless abandon. "Hina-chan, come look at this!"

Hinata jumped up to perch next to him in the tree. "One of Orochimaru's summons," she murmured. "We should go help..." Naruto tensed and prepared to jump forward, but she grasped his hand, stopping him. "Wait, Naruto-kun." he turned to look at her, and she noted the blood-colored Rinnegan. "Are you...?"

"Am I okay?" he finished for her. "I'll grieve for jiji when I get the chance. Right now, whoever's fighting that snake," he pointed to Manda who continued to shoot lightning at an unseen target, "Could use our help. Jiji would want us to worry about the living before the dead."

Hinata reluctantly let his hand go. "...Okay. But stay close to me, Naruto-kun. I'm worried about you."

"I promise I will," he replied, then glanced back to Manda. "In fact, I have an idea on how we should take that thing down together."

X

Temari was struck by a piece of a wooden wall sent flying by Manda's tail, and joined her brother in unconsciousness. Kankurou had already been carried away by a team of medic-nin searching the battlefied for cases like his and Sasuke's; he'd been struck by Manda himself and received multiple broken ribs and a broken wrist.

Manda towered proudly over the remaining four shinobi. Jiraiya was almost out of chakra and had suffered multiple burns from Manda's lightning. Tenten was uninjured but entirely out of chakra, both thanks to her barrier armor. Zabuza's sword was chipped and scratched, he was bleeding and burned in several places, and was clutching his right side where he had been struck by Manda's tail. Asuma had escaped injury, and was still maintaining his fire aura, but he too couldn't keep it up for much longer.

Manda himself was also injured, though far less so. In addition to the long, wide rip in his scales from Sasuke's Chidori, Zabuza and Asuma had scored several more deep slashes into his flanks, and Jiraiya had burned him with multiple fire jutsu. However, because of his size, these attacks that would kill a human instantly were only a painful inconvenience to the snake boss.

"Of all the creatures beneath me on the food chain," Manda proclaimed, "Humans are by far the most resilient. You little morsels put up a respectable fight, so out of the goodness of my heart, feel free to leave me and Jiraiya alone. You can save me some trouble, and prolong your own lives."

Asuma snorted. "Look around, Manda. Oto's retreating. That means someone will get the chance to back us up, and soon." He bared his teeth in a half-smile, half-snarl. "So here's my counter-offer: get the hell out of Konoha while you can, and we won't chase you, hunt you down and destroy you for what you've done here."

"Why, you arrogant little-"

Manda fell silent, along with everyone else, when Naruto and Hinata appeared in the air before him. Naruto's left and Hinata's right hands were sharimg control of a Rasengan the size of a watermelon.

Manda knew from experience with Jiraiya that the Rasengan was a genuine threat, and one this size had the potential to kill him when aimed at such a vulnerable spot as his throat. That, combined with the Tailed Beast chakra he could sense from Naruto, and the fact that he had already sustained a broad collection of injuries, forced him to make a rather irritating decision.

"Odama Rasengan!"

He vanished in a cloud of white smoke, leaving only empty air for the Rasengan to tear through. It promptly exploded into a torrent of blue-white light and chakra, with wisps of pale vermillion running through it, that would have completely decapitated Manda if he'd stayed to take the hit.

The two Genin brought their hands apart and landed next to each other where Manda had been. "Is everyone alright?" Naruto called.

"Temari just got knocked out," Tenten answered, "But I don't think she broke anything." she gave Naruto a concerned look that lingered over his blood-red eyes. "You don't look so good yourself."

"I'll be fine, thanks," the Jinchuuriki replied, then glanced at Asuma. I don't think I can tell Asuma-sensei that his dad is...

You've got enough to deal with right now, Kurama pointed out, and so does he. It can wait.

Hinata spoke up, interrupting Naruto's thoughts. "Just about everyone here could use some medical attention, so let's all go together. Strength in numbers." After being answered with a collection of nods, she turned to Naruto. "Naruto-kun, can you carry Temari?"

He blinked, then nodded. "Sure." he moved toward his prone and unconscious ally, but with every step, his vision blurred further, he began to stumble, and his entire body felt numb. Kurama... what's going on...?

X

"Wake up, kid. Naruto. Naruto, I said wake up!"

Naruto gasped, and sat up to find himself in his inner world with Kurama. "...What the... why did you bring me here?"

"I didn't." the fox nodded to something past his Jinchuuriki. Naruto turned, and his eyes widened.

In all his glory, haori and all, Minato Namikaze stood behind his son with a Hiraishin kunai in hand. "Otou-san!?"

"Naruto," the Fourth began without taking his eyes from the Nine-Tails, "What did he do? You don't seem to have manifested eight or more tails, but the damage to the seal..." he gestured to the twisted and occasionally torn bars of the cage around Kurama. "It's absolutely catastrophic."

"I..." Naruto sighed, and stood. "I'm gonna have a really hard time explaining this, aren't I?"

"Hard doesn't even begin to describe it," Kurama threw in. "He's never gonna believe us."

"Not another word out of you," Minato commanded, and pointed his kunai at Kurama. "Let my son speak."

"Otou-san, he's with me," Naruto began, and gently laid a hand on the blade of the Hiraishin kunai. "I trust him."

The Hokage turned to inspect his son's face. "...Ah," he murmured after a few moments, and his expression softened. He lowered his weapon, and sighed. "Don't feel rushed, Naruto. Explain it all so I understand it clearly."

"His name is Kurama," Naruto gestured to the fox, rushing anyway. "He's on my side, and I used the Animal Path to try and summon him through the seal. Instead it messed up the seal and pulled some of his chakra through. I trust him with my life, Otou-san, watch." he stepped backward into the cage containing the Nine-Tails, and held his hands out at his sides. "Kurama. If you kill me in here, you'll probably get set free, but I'm asking you to wait until my dad helps us remove the seal properly."

Kurama nodded. "I can wait a little longer." he looked back to the Fourth. "Your kid's got some balls, ya know."

Ya know... Minato pondered this for a moment. "You two are working together? Naruto, what did you offer him in exchange for this?"

"I'm gonna arrange for him to be given a place to live outside the village, where no one will attack him."

"With the addition of asylum for any Jinchuuriki or Tailed Beast who wants it. Which is say all of them, most likely," Kurama added.

"Pervy Sage... uh, Jiraiya-sensei made me a deal," Naruto continued. "He'll give me the key to the seal if I can get you to tell me the name of the toad who has it."

"Gerotora."

Naruto blinked. "Uh... what?"

"The name of the toad is Gerotora." Minato smiled. "I trust you, Naruto, which means I trust you as well..." he hesitated briefly, "Kurama-san."

"Just like that?" Naruto grinned. "I expected to have a really hard time talking you into this! Thanks, Otou-san!"

"In a direct meeting of two or more minds, it's impossible to tell a lie. I know neither of you are lying." Minato paused for a moment, and sighed. "This is it, Naruto. This fragment of my soul is almost completely drained of chakra. The rest is up to you."

"H-Hey, wait!" Naruto stepped forward as his father's image began to crumble, and he hugged him. "Bye, Otou-san."

"Bye, Naruto. Now remember, I don't wanna see you in the afterlife for at least seventy years," he pretended to be stern. "Live a good long life, give me and Kushina great-grandkids, and keep the Will of Fire burning strong."

Naruto began to cry. "The Will of Fire... Jiji said that too! I won't let either of you down!"

"Good," Minato smiled. "I know you won't." Then he turned to dust, leaving Naruto to embrace the empty air.

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