Hello, everyone! I introduce the new chapter of FHDFHR!

Disclaimer: Naruto and Negima ain't mine.

Chapter 9
Approaching Hell

Itachi slowly stared at Kushina and said, "Kushina-senpai…I'm surprised to see you're alive. I was led to believe that you died during Kyuubi's attack."

Kushina replied, "I was in a coma since then, kept hidden by Sarutobi from everyone. Not even Jiraiya and Tsunade knew about it."

He narrowed his eyes and said, "I see…"

Kisame grinned. "Uzumaki Kushina, the Crimson Reaper…she'll be a good test for Samehada."

Kakuzu interrupted. "Do not get ahead of yourself, Kisame. Since she's alive, it means that her bounty is now live. Do not kill her."

Fate suddenly stepped forward. "And the only thing that stands between you both is me."

Hidan grinned. "I like your guts, kid! Jashin-sama will enjoy the sacrifice!" He drew his scythe and dragged his tongue across the top blade. Negi and his group shivered.

Fate summoned his sword and brandished it. "Come at me individually or simultaneously. None of you will even score a hit that will be severe."

Kisame, Hidan, and even Kakuzu laughed. Itachi merely raised a brow.

Hidan shouted, "OH YES! JASHIN-SAMA WILL ENJOY THIS SACRIFICE!" Without further provocation, he suddenly appeared above Fate, scythe at the ready.

Fate blurred to the side before kicking him away. Following through, he dashed towards Kakuzu, sword at the ready.

Kakuzu drew a kunai and blocked Fate. Pushing him away, he threw that same kunai, which suddenly had an explosive tag. Fate parried the kunai upward, where it exploded, removed his right hand from its pocket, and pointed a finger at him, where his Kudo Senkou charged up. Without even two seconds passed and Fate fired it at high speeds.

An attack like that could kill one of my hearts. Kakuzu clapped his hands, after forming some seals, and slammed it to the ground, saying, "Doton: Juko Doryuheki (Double Thickness Earth-Style Wall)!" A very thick slab of earth burst from the ground and took the impact of the Kudo Senkou. As he lowered the wall to join Kisame and Hidan in their onslaught of Fate, the younger members of Gaara's retrieval team were itching for a fight.

Pakura, for her part, was enthusiastic to fight with this unknown person for an unknown reason and to fight Akatsuki to test herself, the same reason as Kotarou, Asuna, Setsuna, and Kaede. Yukizora and Izumi want to help their Onii-sama, same as Negi. Sasuke wishes to combat his brother after a long time. But…who would want to interfere in an intense fight between four powerful ninjas?

Fate kicked Hidan down to the ground and struck at his left, blocking the attack of Samehada. Then, he moved Samehada to the side to punch Kisame right in the face, its enhancement sending him flying. Following through, he substituted himself with a rock to quickly appear above his attacker, Kakuzu, and slam his heel down on his head, saying, "Tsutenkyaku."

As Fate jumped away, the three Akatsuki regrouped to glare at Fate.

Kakuzu said, "You're no ordinary shinobi. To be able to land hits on three Akatsuki members, even at our 30% is no normal feat. Who are you?"

Fate summoned another blade in his stance of dual-wielding. "I am Fate incarnate, the one who decides and decrees the ultimate end." Then, he charged, his two swords at the ready.

He raised his right blade to strike at Kisame, who blocked it and was dragged backwards due to the strength of his attack. As soon as Kisame fixed himself, Fate slammed his other blade down on Samehada, causing Kisame to crash to the ground from the impact strength.

Kisame gasped out. That was just like Akebino Jinin's attack!

Following through, Fate performed a frontal flip, aiming his heel at Kisame's head, but almost failed when Hidan and Kakuzu appeared at his side, their respective blades aiming on cleaving him in half.

Fate performed a Shundo, making him appear above the blades as well, his heel still outstretched. He stayed in the air as the blades passed harmlessly below him and their respective owners looked at him in shock before Fate uttered, "Tsutenkyaku." His foot finally connected with Kisame's head and the area was smothered in a cloud of debris that sent both Hidan and Kakuzu away.

The cloud that came with it slowly dispersed to show Fate walking away from the crater that housed someone else with an Akatsuki cloak. He said, "It seems Akatsuki is more of a coward than I thought."

The three Akatsuki narrowed their eyes while the Gaara Rescue Team looked shocked.

Sakura asked, "Who is that?"

Kushina slowly said, "That's Ikumo Hachiro. He's an A-Rank missing-nin of Kirigakure, infamous for inciting a rebellion against the previous Mizukage and left the village, vowing never to serve it again, no matter the Mizukage."

Asuna said, "But…how did Akatsuki managed to change that fishguy to that guy?"

Fate answered, "It's because Hoshigaki Kisame was never fully Ikumo Hachiro." At everyone's looks, he continued, "There are certain jutsus that allow someone to pose as another person and act like him, like a doppelganger. The Akatsuki before you are nothing more than cheap imitations of their real selves."

Hidan shouted, "Don't fuck with us! We can still kick your ass, even if you kicked Kisame's!" He charged again with a yell coming from his mouth.

Fate didn't even look back as he suddenly appeared behind Hidan, muttering, "Too easy." Suddenly Hidan's head was detached from his body from Fate's blades, which held no blood whatsoever. And as his head fell to the ground, Fate raised his finger at it and said, "Kudo Senko." And the head was disintegrated.

Pakura, for her part, watched in horror as Fate began dodging Kakuzu's attacks easily. He's a monster! For all my time in Sunagakure and outside it, I've never seen someone kill a person so emotionlessly! Even Yondaime-dono and Godaime-dono killed with slight emotions in their eyes.

Fate calmly ducked under Kakuzu's overhead thread attack and slammed his fists on the ground on either side of him, summoning a multitude of earth spikes that hit all eight of Kakuzu's vital points and five hearts.

Kakuzu gawked as he said, "I-Impossible!" His face reverted to an unknown jonin before he fell to the ground. The spikes returned to the ground and Fate stood, dismissed both blades, and stared at his last opponent, putting his right hand in its pocket.

Itachi said, "Impressive. To be able to defeat the third strongest Akatsuki pair and my partner, the Kirigakure no Kijin, is no laughable feat. However, you might find that I am beyond their league. Should you strike me, I will not hesitate to use the slightest opening against you."

Fate grunted before turning around and saying, "Sasuke, you take him. This…is not my fight."

Everyone was surprised. Sasuke said, "What?"

"You heard me. I dealt with the three first so that you can handle Itachi without distractions. Do what you will."

Sasuke swallowed saliva before stepping forward.

As Fate walked back to his team, he ignored their stares, focusing on the Uchiha brothers.

Izumi, ever the kind girl, asked, "Um…are you hurt?"

Fate shook his head. "That was nothing to me, even in my held-back state."

Sasuke and Itachi were silent. Even the wind seemed to quiet down in their presence.

Itachi said, "So you know." It was no question.

Sasuke slowly said, "For years, my eyes are only intent on killing you. That has been my sole drive, to make you suffer for killing the Uchiha clan, for making me relive them." Negi's group gasped. "Now, that I found out the truth, I don't know what to do. To find out that the clan was wrong this whole time and that you were only saving the village…I was lost. However, after much thinking…I found my new drive. I will return the clan to its former glory…starting with you. Like Naruto before me, I will return you to Konoha. I will bring you back, even if I have to break every bone in your body!" He drew his sword and charged at Itachi, his Sharingan blazing.

Itachi gave a small smile that was unseen by all but Fate, Kakashi, and Kushina before he drew a kunai and began clashing with his younger brother.

Negi said, "W-was what Uchiha-san said true? Did his brother really kill his clan?"

Kakashi replied, "Uchiha Itachi performed a clan massacre because the clan planned a coup d'état on Konoha. If the coup happened, then the Uchiha's rule will be short because the other three villages will use that opportunity to attack Konoha, wiping one village from the map. That is why the elders and Hokage ordered Itachi to kill his clan."

Fate finalized, "Using whatever means to prevent a great tragedy. That's what it means to be a shinobi of the Elemental Countries."

Sasuke slashed and hacked at his brother but can't seem to find an opening. Jumping away, he formed a single handseal and breathed out a fireball, saying, "Katon: Gokakyou no Jutsu!"

Itachi easily jumped over it and Sasuke appeared in front of him, his hand coated with lightning. "Chidori," Sasuke shouted as he tried to reach Itachi. But Itachi grabbed his hand and threw him to the ground. As he landed, he threw a handful of shuriken at him before hurling small fireballs at him.

Asuna exclaimed, "Whoa! I didn't even see him make those seals!"

Kakashi nodded. "That is what makes him a prodigy. Even when I fought him three years ago, I couldn't catch the speed of his seal-making."

Sasuke parried all shuriken before slamming his hand on the ground, summoning a lightning cage around him, "Chidori Kago (Thousand Birds Cage)!" The fireballs all fizzled upon contact and Sasuke thrust his hand through the open bars, this time, shouting, "Chidori Mure (Thousand Birds Flock)!" The lightning cage formed into birds that charged at Itachi, who raised a brow, at being blocked sight access to his brother by the flashes of the birds. And when the birds scattered around him, he found no Sasuke.

Itachi spend his time looking around the birds. Finally, all seemed to converge on him, slicing and piercing his body all around and finally…

STAB!

His eyes widened slightly and looked down at the blade protruding from his torso. His brother whispered into his ear, "Itachi…heed this. I will no longer follow your commands, your whims. From now on, I will take my own path. This is merely an opener, being that you are not the real Itachi."

Itachi smirked. "I look forward to it…Sasuke." His face reverted to its host before Sasuke slowly walked back to the group, sheathing his blade.

Chiyo gasped at the fallen Akatsuki's face. "That's Yura, a Sunagakure jonin! I thought he died along with the other gate guards."

Kakashi looked around. "Akatsuki has been busy. I'm seeing Iwagakure too."

Fate turned around and said, "They are of no consequence. The longer we wait, the shorter Sabaku no Gaara's life becomes."

They were quite disturbed by Fate's apathetic behavior towards four dead people but knew that Gaara will not last long if they stay there. They jumped off at high speeds before a figure stepped out from the trees. It was Zetsu.

He said, "So…Uzumaki Kushina is alive. So her being in a coma…. That's highly unlikely. That albino kid is dangerous too. He took down Kisame, Kakuzu, and Hidan. Granted, they were at 30% each but they are still powerful. Leader-sama will want to hear of this. But first…"

Zetsu turned to the nearest jonin and knelt down before he began chewing on the corpse!

Later that night

Fate stared into the forest ahead while the others set up their sleeping provisions.

Kakashi noticed that Fate wasn't doing anything. "Fate, aren't you sleeping?"

Fate answered, "To me, sleep is trivial and temporary. My energy is limitless and not in need of replenishment."

Chiyo said, "Nonsense. Even the most hardened of ninjas need sleep."

"If what I assume is true, then Akatsuki is not sleeping at this moment, in favor of sealing Ichibi from Gaara to wherever they want." Chiyo became silent. "Sabaku no Gaara's life is constantly along the thread of death. While we rest, he suffers."

Kushina reasoned, "But we are tired. If we continue on in our current state, we won't be alert enough to combat Akatsuki."

"Then sleep," Fate said. "Like I said, I have no use for sleep. I will keep guard for the whole night."

Izumi was about to argue when Negi said, "Don't bother, Izumi-san. I've had countless of arguments with Fate and he always wins in it. He only has a handful of lost arguments."

With that, everyone but Fate slept.

Fate waited until midnight, when everyone, even Mahora, was asleep, before he said, "I believe I told you before to continue your training. What are you doing here?"

Golden eyes opened in darkness. "Forgive me. My curiosity won over my cautiousness. They flew past me with the Godaime Kazekage on their backs and haven't sensed me yet."

"That is beside the point. You need to increase your capabilities for the inevitable. Where are the others?"

"They are hiding, as per your orders, Fate-sama, and are training vigorously, not wanting to displease you."

Fate nodded. "What else do you need to do before you return?"

"I have to redo my bunshinjutsu. The previous one was dispelled due to chakra exhaustion."

"Then do so immediately. I did not save you only for you to be killed in the far future."

The golden eyes gleamed in a slight flinch before it bowed. "I understand. If you'll excuse me…" The eyes vanished from the darkness, leaving Fate alone with his sleeping comrades.

Akatsuki base

Zetsu's spectral form fizzled back into the group, allowing Leader to gaze upon him.

"Do you have something to report, Zetsu?"

Zetsu said, "No. Itachi and the others must have told you the necessary information."

Leader nodded. "Now that we are all here, we can focus on extracting Ichibi from its jinchuuriki."

A few hours later, the red wisps of chakra that left Gaara became faster and larger.

Leader said, "It's entering the final stages. Do not waver or our efforts will be for naught."

Next day

The Gaara Rescue Group once again jumped through trees. Finally, the group landed in front of a trench. Everyone looked down to see a large, red arch in front of a larger boulder that is set up with a seal.

Kushina said, "That is a Gofu Kekkai, meant to protect the inside from any kind of outside attacks. We must spread out and find the other four seals."

Fate interrupted, "No need." He bit his thumb, touched it with his index and middle finger, and pointed the bloodied trio towards the boulder. Instead of the usual blue color of his Kudo Senkou, now Fate's attack was a pure white color and was spinning wildly around his three fingers. "Kakashi," he started, "prepare your strongest Doton wall." Kakashi nodded and began his seals. "Summon it when I fire." His attack whirled more before he said, "Ouritsu Kudo Senkou (Royal Hollow Flash)." A bright flash blinded everyone else and Kakashi immediately slammed his hands down on the ground, shouting, "DOTON: JUKO DORYUHEKI!" The same double-thick wall appeared above them. The impact occurred and everyone, save for Fate, had to crouch down so that they do not get blown away.

Kakashi returned the wall, which has decreased to ¼ of its original thickness, to the earth below and everyone gazed upon the destruction: a large, gaping hole in the middle of the trench wall.

Every ninja were shocked at his power. I knew he was powerful, Kushina thought, but I never expected it to be this much!

Fate calmly walked towards the gaping hole where he saw the Akatsuki artists waiting for them, with Deidara sitting on Gaara's dead body.

Kakashi cursed. We're too late.

Pakura softly and coldly whispered, "Kazeage-sama."

Sasori said, "That took quicker than I expected. The albino brat is more powerful than Itachi said."

Deidara smirked. "I wonder how strong he is. Itachi didn't exactly give specifics."

"Be careful. To be able to destroy Leader's barrier is no easy feat."

"Don't worry too much, Sasori-danna. Artists must push themselves to their limits to get the greatest art."

Sasori turned to him. "You call those explosions art? Art is something that lasts an eternity, not those abominations."

"I respect you but true art is an explosion, something that lasts but a moment."

Kotarou snarled, "Don't ignore us, bastards!" Then, he summoned a fuma shuriken that he learned to use from Kaede and threw it at them.

Without even looking, Sasori's tail shot out and parried it towards the cave wall.

Asuna said in shock, "He didn't even look."

Chiyo frowned. Like in the past, he uses puppets so masterfully.

Sasori continued, "Are you trying to anger me, Deidara?"

"Not at all," Deidara grinned, "I'm just saying that my art focuses on explosions, completely different from your puppet shows."

Sasori twitched and tried to attack Deidara with his tail but his newly-summoned clay bird got him to its head. The bird also got Gaara in its mouth and flew towards the mouth of the cave. "I suppose I'll go on ahead, Sasori-danna."

But before he could leave completely, multiple earth spikes appeared along the cave mouth and decimated the clay bird, making it dispel and drop Deidara and Gaara.

Deidara stood back up and glared at Fate, who did the same and retracted his hand. "Bastard," he gritted out.

Fate coldly said, "None of you will leave this place." Negi and Fate's Ministra could tell that Fate is angry.

Sasori shed his Akatsuki cloak and dropped to an all-fours position with a mechanized left arm, a demon mask on the back with the tail coming from its mouth. "Using Doton without seals or prior jutsu names…you are an interesting specimen. I wonder if I can have all of you join my collection?"

Negi's group and the young members of Team Kushina and Team Kakashi looked confused.

Deidara said, "Oi, oi, oi, don't hog all of them, danna!"

Sasori ignored them as the whole cave was covered with a heavy pressure from his Killing Intent. "First, I'll drag out your entrails. Then, I'll rip off your skins before I drain you of your blood." Aforementioned ninjas looked disgusted. "After that, I will make it so that you won't decay and put it with the rest of my collection. Heh," Sasori removed the cloth on his mouth, showing a puppet's mouth, "that is my art: the art that remains eternal."

Negi shuddered and shakily asked, "What is he talking about?"

Chiyo answered, "Akasuna no Sasori is one of puppetry's greatest prodigies for one sole purpose: Hitokugutsu, Human Puppets."

Their eyes widened. Evangeline's eyes gleamed in madness. 'Interesting…I wonder if I can get his mind for extraction.'

"No one knows how he did it but he has started researching on it during his time in Sunagakure and must have finished it after he left. And since then, only he knows its secrets. Even the multitude of notes that I managed to recover in his old workplace didn't help much."

Kotarou said, "That's disgusting."

Sasori said, "That is the world of shinobi, kid."

Deidara added, "Even if you are strong enough to be sent to fight us, you are still just a brat."

Fate said, "Kakashi, Kushina, your teams will take on Deidara. The Suna-nin and Negi-kun's group will handle Sasori."

Kakashi and Kushina nodded and took their teams and faced Deidara.

As the remaining group faced Sasori, Chiyo said, "Youngsters, there are a few things to note when fighting Sasori. First thing, in front of us is just his puppet. I'm sure you noticed."

Asuna asked, "So where's the real guy?"

Chiyo answered, "Inside it." Everyone stared at her. "Puppeteers are always vulnerable when controlling their puppets. Hiruko is specifically made to destroy that weakness. Inside it is a small space where Sasori manipulates the puppet. Now, the second thing is that Sasori's main weapon is poison. Everything that he uses is filled with poison, like with Kankuro back in Suna. Even a scratch is fatal. I'm not sure if you children have ever faced a full-fledged puppeteer before but you need to know the mechanisms of a puppet and you need to have a perfect reaction time to avoid and attack it before it releases another attack."

Setsuna said, "So we need both smarts and speed. We have speed in spades, Chiyo-san. And you have the smarts."

Chiyo smirked as she removed her headband. "Then, we can beat him. We need distractions and attackers."

Kotarou and Kaede grinned. "We can do that."

Chiyo nodded. "Then, follow my lead." She took out a line of kunai connected by a string and threw it at Sasori, whose puppet's tail blocked it.

Then, Asuna and Setsuna ran at him. Hiruko's mouth opened and began firing senbons at high speed. The girls' eyes flashed and they began dodging them with even greater speed.

Sasori was surprised but quickly recovered and fired Hiruko's left arm towards the duo. However, before it could fire, Pakura released a very powerful fireball at it, destroying it in the process.

Sasori cursed and sent Hiruko's tail at them. Kaede suddenly appeared and slapped a seal on it, making it fall to the ground due to the seal being a temporary Mahi Fuin (Paralysis Seal). Asuna and Setsuna took advantage of that fact and stabbing their blades at the conjunctions in the tail to make it stick there. And Negi and Kotarou finalized the combo by charging at Sasori and slammed their fists down on Hiruko. A figure in ragged robes jumped out of the debris and landed a fair distance from them.

Everyone smirked as the assumed form of Sasori stood up straight. Sasori said, "I underestimated you children. However, that just makes me realize not to do so again." A pale hand emerged from the robe and grasped the head and pulled it off, revealing the true Sasori underneath, making Chiyo and Pakura gape in shock…for Sasori was revealed to be nothing more than a redheaded teen with brown eyes, looking at them with blank eyes and a dark smirk on his face. "But that just makes it much more fun, doesn't it, Chiyo-baa-sama?"

Chiyo muttered, "Impossible…"

Asuna said, "What? Isn't that Sasori?"

Pakura answered, "Akasuna no Sasori is supposed to be in his adult years by now. But he hasn't aged a day since he defected from Sunagakure."

Kotarou replied, "So he's immortal?"

Sasori suddenly added, "The correct term is ageless. True immortality has yet to be achieved by anyone." A scroll descended from his Akatsuki sleeve and he unfurled it, showing a kanji for three. "Let's move on to the next round. Now that you've destroyed my favorite puppet, I'll introduce you to my next one." A cloud of smoke temporarily blocked view but when it cleared, Chiyo and Pakura paled and gaped in horror as a puppet with black hair and fur robes was at Sasori's back.

Chiyo said, "Sasori…you didn't-"

Sasori's face showed dark humor, despite showing nothing on it. "Children, may I present the Sandaime Kazekage?"

That ends the newer chapter of Fate He Defied, Fate He Revived.

I hope you enjoy it.

Read and Review.

Also, I would like to include a little preview about a new story that I'm planning, a BleachXStar Wars Crossover.

Preview

As captain and lieutenant walked towards the First Division Barracks, Aizen Sousuke's mind wandered.

How long has it been? How long has he walked this earth, away from those he held dear? Millennia…he's counted millennia since his appearance into this world. And he's already done much since then.

However, Shinigami…that is beyond his capabilities. The corruption is set too deep to be removed…even far deeper than his previous conquest. To change them, he must do something large and meaningful in their eyes. Only then will he anticipate change.

Entering First Division area, he frowned in his mind. How sad that no one has seen the true face of Aizen Sousuke, not even the ever-sympathetic Unohana Retsu or the sly Ichimaru Gin.

To the Shinigami, to his enemies, to his colleagues, he is Aizen Sousuke.

But to himself and himself only, the only important perspective, he will always be Revan, former Dark Lord, turned Jedi Master…Master of the Force.

Preview End

Let me know what you think.

Thanks!