(Part One Of Act One's Finale. Expect much longer chapters for both.)
Chapter Fourteen: Kuo Kuana Under Siege!
"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven, or hell."
-Buddha
{Kuo Kuana Hospital.}
[1:10pm]
"What is a Jinchuuriki?"
That question hit Naruto with the force of a hammer. He sat there, deaf, and dumb to the world due to it. He took a moment before looking down. He sighed before smiling slightly before raising his head back up to look them in the eyes. He figured that this would come up sooner, or later. Taking a minute, Naruto saw the inquisitive looks they were giving him. It made him hesitate before he finally answered.
"It's what I am, and what I will always be, until the day I die." Naruto told them before looking away. "I amended the truth about myself just a slight bit, everything I've told you is mostly true. Mostly because I was scared of being rejected again."
"Naruto…what do you mean rejected again? Is it because of the whisker, or…is Jinchuuriki what you people call your faunus?" Ghira inquired, confused on why Naruto seemed so much smaller now, defensive even. "You can tell us anything, we won't judge you."
"You've done nothing showed us kindness, who are we to show you bitterness?" Kali questioned him before noting the struggle on his face. "You've told others, but never told us, haven't you?"
"Truth be told, I didn't think I was gonna make it. I thought I was going to die out there, in the desert, perhaps it would've been a fitting end. All alone out there, to waste away in the sands, it's no different than being alone surrounded by people. At least it's silent." Naruto bitterly answered before taking a deep breath. "It's why I connected with you all, because your whole nation of outcasts it seems from what I learned. I saw myself in you, I just wanted to be apart of something again, because I'm scared that all I ever will be is just a prison."
"Don't you mean in a prison?"
"I know what I said, please don't try to intrepid what I'm saying. It's something that you guys will never understand, because you aren't from where I am from. Those monsters, The Bijuu, aren't like Grimm once so ever. They're smart, they know what they do, and they hate humanity for whatever reasons." Naruto gripped his hands before taking a deep breath. "Sometimes I understand why, because I've been dealt with the same fashion as they were treated by humans. It's better to lock the monsters away, let it be someone's problem other than theirs. Oh, but asking for common decency is out of the question, because that person becomes that monster to them."
Kali looks on as he struggles more, and more before taking a deep breath. "What is it exactly, Jinchuuriki?" She softly asked whilst bringing a hand to his. "We're not afraid of you, tell us your story."
"Yes, please, tell us the true story of Naruto Uzumaki." Ghira reassured him before getting up, and closing the door. "It's just us in here, these doors are solid, and thick."
Naruto sighed before taking a deep breath. "Okay, well, here it goes I guess. I'll try make it to where you can understand it, but it's even complicated for me sometimes." He admitted before biting his lip. "I'm going to tell you the full truth, and if you wanna just walk away from me, you can. I wouldn't blame you…you wouldn't be the first." He said as tears stained his cheeks.
"What in the Gods did they do to you, Naruto?" Kali wondered whilst seeing the bright ball of sunshine being eclipsed by an ever consuming dread in his soul. "This is what I've been catching onto, some inconsistencies in your storytelling because it felt omitted some way or another."
"Okay, so I'm gonna start at beginning. I'll tell you all that I know, all that was told to me by Old Man Hokage, although it very vague." Naruto took a deep breath, and smiled sadly before looking at himself in a nearby mirror.
"I was born October Tenth…"
{Naruto's Story.}
[Time Nonexistent.]
"I was born October Tenth, at ten in the evening. My mother, and father, were shinobi. That's all I know about them."
A blonde-haired woman screamed out in pain as she pushes. With a final cry of agony, a baby's whines filled the air. A blonde-haired man with blue eyes came over. Clipping the umbilical cord whilst cleaning the amniotic fluids before wrapping the child in an orange blanket. The name of the child was on said blanket as the baby was handed to the man's wife for nursing.
That's when the first rumbles hit the hospital, blowing out all of the glass in the room.
"On the night of my birth, The Nine Tailed Fox attacked our village."
Hundreds of shinobi all clad in green vests, and green outlines ran toward the mighty red colored beast. It's fists towered over them, slamming down, causing the earth itself to rumble! Those hundreds dying in troves, with every slam of a fist, or tail, dozens more would be in the graves. The mighty beast roared, declaring a premature victory.
A blonde-haired man with his wife ran toward the fox. They both tried to do their best, but were completely overwhelmed, and died when the mighty monster fox unleashed a jet of fire from it's maw. It killed them instantly, burning them to ashes.
Only having been parents for around ten minutes.
"My parents reportedly died defending the village. It's what I know, and I hope it's true. However, that isn't what made me a Jinchuuriki."
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, dropped into the nearly destroyed hospital room. He saw the baby laying on the floor. He picked it up, noting the name on the blanket. He nodded his head before running out of the hospital room, out onto the street.
"Lord Minato, what are you doing?" The Third Hokage asked when he dropped next to him. "Whose baby is that?"
"The son of loyal shinobi who perished in the fight. I must end this, Hiruzen, and I have to end this with a great sacrifice."
"Bijuu are immortal, they can't be killed, they just reform. If Minato Namikaze killed The Nine Tails, it'd just come back after a few years. The only way to surely to contain the threat, was to literally contain the threat."
It wailed to the top of it's lungs, the poor child. Surrounded by candles as he rested upon an altar. A fresh flow emanated from his stomach. The swirling seal took the shape of eight trigrams as it locked. Minato Namikaze, who was injured in the battle with The Nine Tails laid dying near the baby.
He gently stroked the blonde-infants hair before smiling. "You'll carry inside of you a great burden, and I'm so sorry that it had to be you. I hope that the village honors your sacrifice, for you didn't have a choice." Minato's last words left him before limply laid his head near the altar.
On the baby's face three whisker marks formed on both cheeks. They glowed for a moment, searing a pain into the child that it would long never forget. The baby's wails filled the night sky. Only to be found by The Third Hokage, who took it up into his arms.
"Let's get you somewhere warm, Naruto."
"From that day on, since I was born, I was a curse! People were scared of me, and for the longest I didn't know why!"
Why?!
Why couldn't they just look at him differently? All those hateful glares, the little boy ran through the streets. People actively avoiding him as he traveled. No human contact once so ever, no one greeting him with pleasantries as they would with other children. He went by, unremarked, and mostly unnoticed save for the glares.
This kept going, with the boy actively getting older as he ran down the street. His clothing shifting from simple shorts and t-shirts to an orange jumpsuit. He continued running, but this time he was getting followed by a man with a scar on his nose.
"Screw that class, I'm not going!"
"You get back, Naruto Uzumaki!"
"I found almost two years ago. The night I was tricked into stealing a scroll, a very valuable scroll full of our village's greatest techniques. Mizuki, that bastard…I hated him, and I still do!"
Mizuki laughs as he stalked Naruto. Throwing kunai, and shuriken lazily at the blonde student. He watched as the boy cowardly scurried about the woods. Only for Iruka to suddenly come in, and save him after Naruto couldn't retreat fast enough.
"Why did you save him, he's nothing more than a vessel for that fox that killed everyone years ago?! That boy is a demon, he's no different than the fox sealed in him!" Mizuki screamed out at Iruka, who lay bleeding out on the forest ground. "Why did you force me to kill you, Iruka, you were my friend!"
"I'm no friend with a traitor." Iruka coughed up as he glared right into Mizuki's eyes. "That boy isn't The Nine Tails, his name is Naruto Uzumaki…and he's a part of this village! So, of course I will protect him, no matter what!"
"Iruka…sensei…" Naruto sobbed from a tree, clutching the scroll tightly. "He said I'm a part of the village I have to fight!"
"From there, it seemed like everything was going to be a little better."
Naruto was walking with two other children, a ravenette, and pinkette. They were being led by a white-haired man in a mask. Soon they were joined by others, then many others. Naruto was smiling, bubbly, but the ravenette boy began to walk away from the ground.
Not wanting his friend to go, Naruto chases after him, reaching for his hand. "Sasuke, wait up, where are you going?!" He called out to his friend. "Hey, hold on, come back!"
"Get away from me!" Sasuke suddenly lashed before stabbing Naruto through the chest with a chidori, the blonde-haired shinobi coughed up a wad of blood before falling into water below the scene as it played on repeat. "I have to kill you, my best friend!"
"It all came crashing down, because whilst I was finally becoming happy, I failed to see the misery in one of my friends."
Naruto and Sasuke clashed over a body of water. Both of them danced around each other, red charka circled around Naruto whilst dark marks crept up Sasuke's body. Both smashed fists into each other's faces. With the Jinchuuriki forcing him to fight his best friend, but the said best friend having no compunction in trying to kill him.
Sasuke managed to throw his friend off a cliff, and then slammed him with grabble headfirst into the stones below. Only, the younger pre-teen then suddenly rise into a more demonic form. Sasuke once again put on the backfoot as water kicked up around them.
With a roar of rage, Sasuke himself took on another form. Mutated dragon wings sprouted from his back as he flapped them. He formed a chidori that was both white and black, it's black lightning crackled as it was formed with darkened chakra.
"Naruto!"
"Sasuke!"
They both flew toward each other. After they clashed, a dark rift formed, and without much choice Naruto saved Sasuke but sacrificed himself! Falling into the dark void, only a single tear was shed when he heard Sasuke screaming his name.
"My whole life, up until I met you guys…"
{Kuo Kuana Hospital Room.}
[Right After The Story.]
Kali was close to sobbing as she looked at Naruto who seemed darkened.
"My whole life, up until I met you guys was just me trying to be accepted. So, when you two took me in, I felt no strings attached to what you were offering me." He said softly before sniffling as he looked down at his hands. "I have seen terrible things, I have had terrible things done to me, but I always tried to go through it smiling. Because, I read somewhere, that if you can smile you can live! That's why I never take anything too seriously, because I'm just lucky to even have a roof over my head half the time."
Ghira was shaking as he saw the boy, no, the young man briefly lose that warmness in his eyes. The shinobi took a glance up at him, and Ghira himself felt the coldness in those eyes now. Slowly, Naruto took a deep breath before Kali jumped up from where she was as they both saw his eyes turn red.
They were bloody crimson, his pupils having become foxlike. "This is me, well, this is me drawing on The Nine Tails power inside of me." Naruto told them before flexing his clawed hands. "I can do it, and I can control it slightly, but…sometimes I can hear him and feel him take little chunks of emotions away."
"Naruto…"
"Are you scared of me, because I understand why. You have nothing like this in your world, and for the longest time in my world, I was called "The Fox Boy" because of it. I never understood what it meant, and then one day, it just kind of makes sense." The Jinchuuriki took a moment before looking into Ghira's eyes. "Right now, he's laughing at you two, because he knows that your scared of me…and I know it too."
"We're not…"
"Don't lie to me!" Naruto yelled as he felt tears go down his face. The screen on the machines attached to him flickered, as did the lights. He saw the fear in their eyes from where he lashed out, and then retreated with his knees to his chest. "Lying to me right now, when I'm at my most vulnerable, and trying to tell you everything about me is just going to make me angry. I'm not mad at you, I'm just…I'm so…" He started to sob a little bit before deactivating the initial form. "I'm scared of losing whatever friends I've made, and being hunted down, no different than a rabid fox. It's okay to be afraid of me, I've lived with that all my life, but at least you now know the full truth about me."
Kali and Ghira were silent before watching Naruto bite his lip. They wanted to say something, anything, but slowly they found themselves heading toward the door. Naruto lowered his head before taking a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, I…" Naruto took a moment to look away before the warmth left his eyes again. "I know I'm not okay, because I see how you all act around one another, and Dr. Vista told me about mental health. What am I supposed to do, how can I run from this, or lock this away? It's better that I'd just died the night of my birth, because nobody deserves to be a Jinchuuriki. No one deserves having their own body to be a vessel, to be opened and closed at other's whims. It's why Gaara was so messed up in the head, and I told you how he was barely saved, and I was lucky enough to be saved from falling into that hole."
Kali stopped Ghira by tugging on his sleeve. They both turned around to see Naruto just sitting there, not the warrior, not whatever a Jinchuuriki was, but a child. A child who was broken hearted, and vulnerable, a child who had just opened himself up fully for the world to see. Kali took a deep breath, walking over to the chair next to his bed.
"Are you always in control?"
That question caught Naruto off guard a little bit. "Not always, but he can only control me if I get really angry, or if I can't control my emotions beyond just being sad." He admitted before looking at his hands. "The first time I ever used that power, I thought my friend had died, and all I wanted to do was rip apart the person who had killed him…and then I realized that same person was also someone I called a friend."
"Haku," The matriarch of The Belladonna family realized from his story. "That boy who was your enemy, but also someone you thought was genuinely a good person, just on the wrong side."
"It's easy to say that it's all about control, but when you've never had real control over who you are, whose truly in the driver's seat of your life? From the day I was born, up until I fell into the void, my life was always putting the village first. I wanted to be the leader, but the more I realized why, the more I realized my ambitions were just a selfish need for someone to love me." Naruto replied whilst turning back towards his reflection to see the child he used to be. "I still wanna be a good person, I always wanted to be a good person, and without this power…I would've died and so would've the others."
Ghira took a moment, and then stepped away from the door. He walked over toward the bed, and looked Naruto in the eye. "This one time, only this one time, you get by lying to us. Never, ever, lie to us again about anything." He demanded as he placed a rough hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Because you deserve full honesty from us, and yes we're scared of what you said, but we aren't scared of you perse."
"It still doesn't matter, you're scared, and fear always leads to anger." The shinobi sagely stated before crossing his arms, looking away. He took a moment, sighing before turning back to them. "I'm not always perfect, but I did tell the truth about everything else. I do love you guys, you're the closest people to me in this world, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you all day one. Just understand it from my perspective, if I had, what would've been the guarantee that I wouldn't be beaten in the streets, mocked, rejected, and having nowhere to call home."
Kali whimpers when she hears these words. "I'm so sorry that is the way you were brought up." She apologized. "No one should go through that, nobody."
"I did, and it's why I so desperately grab onto things. I'm scared of being alone." Naruto admitted before taking a deep breath. "I'm scared of one day finding love, and telling them about this, then they just run out."
"You're not alone though, we can be here for you." Ghira stated whilst looking at him. "I promise."
"It's good sentiment, really it is, but what if one day you see me fight in that form? What if one day you see me kill someone in that form? What if one day, one horrible day, I lose one of you and I can't control myself?" The young boy took a moment to bite his lip to keep from crying. "It was so much easier saying in when I thought I was going to die, but now that I'm going to live, I have to live with the prospect with the ideas of losing people that I love over this."
"We're still here." Kali reassured him, whilst looking at him in the eye. "As long as you call us friends, or family, or whatever the hell you want. We'll be here."
"They know, I think they know, and they knew before I joined." Naruto told them before looking toward the door. "I think Sienna Khan somehow knew about me, and I got tricked into joining something because I wanted to belong."
"There's no way she could know about this, unless you told someone prior." Ghira told him before crossing his arms. "Did you ever tell Cloud, Blake, or even Adam on a whim?"
"No, I never did, and honestly I hope I never have too." The boy replied before leaning back on the bed. "Still, I'm sorry that I lashed out earlier, that was uncalled for."
"You're in pain, it something that you don't talk about because it hurts. I get it, really, I have my own little horror stories. Nothing compared yours, yours is definitely taking the 'most tragic' cake of all time." Ghira tried to play lightly before noting the slight smile on Naruto's face. "See, look, you gotta smile on your face. You know what you just said right, a smile on your face, you can make it through the day."
"Yeah, you're right, I can make it through." Naruto agreed with a smile before taking a deep breath. "Hey, do you hear some knocking?"
Kali got up, walking toward the door. She opened it to see several White Fang soldiers standing outside. She balled her fists up, seeing Sienna Khan among their ranks. Had she overheard them? No, it didn't seem like it, otherwise she'd just barged in. Blake, however, was noticeable staring off into the wall.
Had Sienna said something to her?
"What is it, Sienna?" Kali asked.
"I have terrible news, it's for your husband." Sienna told her before looking into the room right at Ghira. "The monster isn't dead, it's risen back up from the quicksand basin in The Deep Dunes."
Naruto shot forward, and growled. 'What?!" He exclaimed before looking at the IV line. "Okay, seriously, I need stuff off me! That thing isn't to be messed with, it's super strong, even for a Grimm!"
Ghira went stark white, and fidgeted. "How long do we have?" He asked Sienna.
"We got two days at most, this thing on the way, and it has mutated." The Leader of The White Fang answered. She looked towards Naruto, and then grumbled. "I would advise that young Uzumaki get some clothes, and report to his commanding officer, Bjorn, by the end of the day."
"Are you serious, he just woke up!" Kali protested.
"It doesn't matter, we need all hands. If we don't prepare, we will lose Kuo Kuana." She stated matter-of-factly before turning on her heels. "Recruit Uzumaki, I can trust that you'll be reporting to the barracks soon, correct?"
Naruto shot her a glare when she turned around. The entourage leaving with her. Blake meanwhile sat there, absently staring at the wall. She struggled to hold in something, and then got up before walking toward the door. She smiled nervously, and held up her hand.
"I…forgot to get some money for the ramen, I'm sorry." She told them before sighing, seeing the fresh tear stains on Naruto's face. "Are you okay, Naruto?"
"I'll be fine." He replied before taking a moment to gather himself. "Well so much for any kind of break, gotta go kill huge monster, again."
Blake found herself chuckling at that for some reason, but then stopped herself before sighing. "Maybe Sienna can let you come with us today, you need to rest, right?" She pondered openly, but noted the look in Naruto's face. "Naruto?"
"Blake, I'll be fine, I promise. Your mom, and dad, are hungry I can hear their stomach growling. I'm good, I can get something later to eat, okay?" He said with a smile, actually manifesting the bright foxlike grin, and sunny disposition. "Go on, get outta here, all of you. Go eat some ramen for me, okay?"
Ghira, and Kali started heading for the door. However, Blake just stood there, looking at him. She saw the light fade from his eyes ever so slightly. When her parents walked past her, she just stood there for a little bit longer. Trying to search for anything to say, to let him know, but still couldn't come to find anything.
"Hey, are you okay, Blake?" Naruto asked her, noting the several bandages on her arms. "You got hurt again, ya know."
"Oh, um, yeah. Me, and Adam were training whilst you were missing. I got a little too into it, and I unlocked my aura. He gave me a katana called Gambol as gift though!" She answered him before grabbing the sword in question and unsheathing the blade, it was slightly longer than she would be used for a minute. "What do you think of it?"
"It's looks cool, definitely gonna have to ask Aurum to upgrade my weapon as a favor, ya know!" Naruto laughed before both of them stopped. He looked towards the door, noting that Ghira and Kali were waiting for her. "You should go, c'mon, I know your hungry too."
'Yeah…you're right." Blake started to walk toward the door before turning around. "Hey, could you promise us something? Please don't go missing again, or wind up getting yourself killed. Cause, I know my mom and dad love you, and…you are my best friend…ya know?" She tried his catchphrase, which elicited a foxlike smile to spread across his face. "I really wanna hear more stories about where your from."
Naruto blushed at that, and then chuckled.
"I promise, I'll come back, and I'll fight like hell doing it, ya know!"
{Kuo Kuana City Hall.}
[The Next Day. 1:15pm]
Sienna Khan had turned the city hall into makeshift command center for all of Kuo Kuana. People armed with rifles, automated weapons, and shotguns moved about. She was sitting with her personal entourage. Fjall was to her right, and Bjorn to her left. Amongst the tables, Naruto Uzumaki sat as well. He was dressed in new achkans of orange, and golden colored pants with a red sash on them.
Bjorn was looking toward his way, nodding his head. "Amongst our table, we have a brother returned. Hail Uzumaki, for his fangs of tasted combat, and he's no longer Recruit Uzumaki. Given light to his achievements on the battlefield, and the burden of responsibility placed upon him for tomorrow, I hereby grant him the rank of Specialist." The commander of The Black Cats stated as he turned a page in the book. "In forty eight hours, we will be engaging with a Grimm known as The Girtablilu. This massive monster is something out of legends."
"Oh, so we're going to kill a fairytale Grimm?" Grisha joked a little bit, but then stopped himself. "I'm sorry, just making small talk, sir."
"Cut it out then, Grisha." Fjall warned him before crossing his arms. "This thing isn't to be taken lightly. This isn't some superpowered Alpha Grimm. We will be engaging a monster, well, some of us will."
"Some of us?" The legendary warrior inquired.
"Me, Vanilla our backup medic, Fjall, and Naruto will begin the attack on the monster. It's army is ahead of it currently, they'll make contact with the line of defense near the passage's cliff face roads." Bjorn brought up the local map, showing the defensive line marked in green. "The monster will be near the rocky sand. In that sand, we can plant explosive to shred a chunk of it's Grimm army as they advance."
Naruto nods before taking a deep breath, finally voicing his opinion. "I'm not going to lie, ya know. This is not a good plan either way, but it's all we got, right? If that thing gets past us, Kuo Kuana is dead. It's poison alone can kill people, and I'll gladly hold it off as long as I can, maybe even kill it." The shinobi took a deep breath before crossing his arms. "It's not gonna easy fight, even with me there."
"Yes, not an easy fight indeed, but an impossible one." Bjorn pointed out the method of attack. "We will be dropping in, and Naruto, we need to do those little bomb things on it. That explosive tags, whatever, just do everything you can to hurt it or kill it."
"I'm not letting get into Kuo Kuana, not on my life." The shinobi stood up spoke with passion "I swear to defend Kuo Kuana as best as I can. That monster will not get into this city, it will not get into my home without me dying first, or giving it my all."
Fjall laughs before shaking his head. "Such big words, we thought you killed it, and I actually wanted to believe it too. However, you can make up for it by actually killing it this time around, boy." The mountain of a faunus man glared down at Naruto. "Regardless of how you feel personally about everything, you're still a soldier."
"That's another thing, after this I want out." Naruto said much to the shock of everyone in the room. "I was led to join under false assumptions. I'll kill the monster if I have too, but I want out after this."
"Everyone out!" Sienna yelled to the top of her lungs, watching as the people left the building in a hurry. She waited until the room was cleared before glaring daggers at Naruto. "How dare you demand anything, you're lucky that we even brought into the White Fang."
"Is that before, or after, you started classifying me as weapon?!" Naruto slammed his fist onto the table. "I trusted you all, I bled for you all, and I'd gladly save Aurum, Kihana, and Luna again if I had too! You cannot sit there and tell me that you let me join because I wanted to help! You were planning on using me!"
"And if we were, so what? You are not a citizen of Kuo Kuana, or any village in Menagerie! You are nobody, you are no one, but a tool for us to use!" Fjall yelled at Naruto before slamming his large fist on the table and breaking it. "You will carry out your duty without complaint, or you will face consequences!"
"Enough!" Bjorn suddenly screamed out as he stood up. "Do understand that without this young man here, we would've lost three other incredible operatives! He deserves at least to be heard out!" The commander of The Black Cats sat back down. "I'm not trying to against you Lady Sienna, but this is madness to treat him as mere weaponry. He could've left them behind, and we would've none the wiser, instead he helped get them out at great personal risk to himself. If he can kill this monster, if he can save Kuo Kuana, then perhaps we should entertain his request."
Sienna felt her ego deflate a little bit when her lefthand man challenged her authority on the matter. She took a deep breath, and sighed. "I'm not saying that he doesn't deserve a reward for such, after all we gave a position of Specialist. Others have to strife for that, years even. Still, Bjorn, you do bring a considerable point up. This Grimm nothing like we've faced, odds are even he will not succeed." She crossed her legs before folding her directly on top of each other, looking down at Naruto. "If you manage to actually kill the monster, and keep it from going into Kuo Kuana I'll sign your release papers myself."
Fjall stared at Sienna, shaking his head. "My lady, that's not fair to the rest of us! This boy has to serve his time, he signed his life to The White Fang for the three years." He argued with her.
"And now I'm the leader of The White Fang." Sienna corrected him before smirking. "He has certain qualities that may benefit our kind as a whole unchained. That's if he survives, which is unlikely. Still, that human doctor came with serum to the monster's poison mist using his blood. Something I failed to mention earlier, oopsies."
Naruto glares at her, confused, but then backs down. "Alright then, consider that thing toast, ya know." He said cautiously before looking at the table. He knew he was getting played somehow, he just didn't know which way it was. "What made you change your mind?"
"Three lives, three lives could've died. Bjorn lays it perfectly, a life for a life, and we owe you three. Consider your possible freedom, and citizenship a more than justified award for that service. One reward for each life saved, and oh, wouldn't know it…you have one more favor." Sienna hinted before reaching down toward her glass, and taking a drink. "Consider it an apology for…misgivings, after all how can I expect a child to rationalize what they signed into."
"So, that's your game, isn't it?" Naruto grimaced before taking a deep breath. "Yes mam, I understand the terms, and as a shinobi I accept this mission. The Girtablilu will be dead before it can even reach Kuo Kuana, and if doesn't die then I'll die fighting it to the bitter end…I will not retreat."
"Yes-yes, of course, after all that's why you joined. To be helpful to people." Sienna looked around the table before crossing her hands together. "After this, Naruto, you'll probably hailed as hero. Someone to look up to, but I guess since we're alone…that one favor you might as well call in now."
Naruto saw the screen change to where his picture was on the screen. His red eyes shining on the picture. Sienna smirked, Fjall smiled, and about half the table wore mixed expression. Bjorn was confused, but knew from Naruto's reaction that it meant that there was some truth to him hiding that kind of power. The shinobi took a deep breath, and shook his head.
"Please don't release that picture." He said before looking into Sienna's amber eyes. "That's my final favor, please don't release that picture, because I have no good answer for the red eyes you see there."
"Secrets-secrets everyone has them. We are force of secrets, everyone has some, some more disastrous than others. Am I right, Fjall?" Sienna inquired, and for once Naruto saw the mountain pale as he turned his head toward Sienna. "Good, now that we're on the same page, let's discuss the order of business."
"The killing of a monster."
{Belladonna Estate.}
[One Day Later. 11:23am]
Ghira, and Kali were sitting in as they looked at their guards packing things up for them. They roamed their house, which could very well be for the last time if everything went wrong. Blake was sitting with Adam, who was looking at her with frustration.
"For the last time, Blake, no." He told her whilst crossing his arms. "Your father would kill me."
"Then what I have I been training for? Hell, my birthday is only four months away. I can fight, what's the difference?" Blake demanded as she crossed her own arms. "I'm not some weak, little girl anymore, I have my own aura!"
"You're not some weak little girl, you're the daughter of Kuo Kuana's chieftain. You cannot be allowed to the front with something like this going on." Adam retorted before getting up. He scoffed when she rolled her eyes at him. "What, don't like what I got to say, well I don't care. You're going to evacuate with the rest of your family. Do not argue me on this, I wouldn't be able to fight properly if I didn't know you were safe."
She sighs before looking away. Adam, however, just ground his teeth together. Kali was watching from the banister up top, seeing her daughter and her beau having a row. Ghira was busy organizing people before walking over toward Saber. Saber was coming in with a map by the looks of it.
"Chief Ghira, Ino Kai has agreed to take our refugees. Argenti of Ino Kai has sent boats this way. I would recommend that when they get tomorrow afternoon that you, and your family get on them. Rumor has it that you'll be on the last vessel out?" Saber inquired whilst readying himself for any answer given. "My guards are mixed in with the civilian volunteers, and White Fang soldiers. We cannot keep this place guarded for long."
"Don't then, I'll be on the last ship out. I plan to run as much I can before I'm forced my city." Ghira answered him before looking over toward Blake. "My daughter is vehemently stating her desire to fight for Kuo Kuana, if I was younger man, I would stay and fight as well."
"Live the fights to us youngster, yatty-yatty-yadda." The Captain of the Kuo Kuana guard chuckled a little bit. "Some light humor, my friend, this might be the last time we see each other."
"I shall remember your service, Saber." The chieftain of Kuo Kuana gripped the man's arm. "Fight well, my friend."
"I shall fight to my last breath, and until my body is dry." Saber swore before releasing his grip, curtly nodding, and walking away. His guard followed him, leaving The Belladonna family with their house guards, Adam Taurus, and themselves.
Ghira walked down the stairs. Coming toward Adam, and Blake who were still arguing about her wanting to stay to fight. A sense of unease filled the room as Ghira saw Adam roughly grab Blake's arm. He went to stop this, to interpose himself between the two before Blake suddenly pushed him away.
"I'm not arguing about this, Adam, I want to help!" Blake yelled at him looking him deep in the eyes. "I want to help because I care about you, and my home! I can't be expected to lead one day if I'm just running, right?!"
Adam growls before throwing his hands up, and looks over at Ghira. "Oh, thank the brothers, sir, please talk some sense into her." The redhead faunus pleaded. "She's not listening, where I'll be fighting is near the front, she has just unlocked aura. Yes, she's much faster and stronger than before, but this isn't the kind of battle where rookies belong!"
"Blake," his daughter looked at him. Ghira took a deep breath, as much as he was angry at Adam for grabbing her. He couldn't address right now. "Adam is right about you going to fight, you can't. I know you want to help, I know you want to protect our home. Your day will come, my little flower. Today is not that day, nor will tomorrow be that day."
Blake shook her head, "but father I- "
"No butts, buts never anything but sit down when it mattered." He joked with her despite the seriousness of the situation. He turned to Kali, seeing as masses of people walked by the estate. "We must go, we need to get onto the last ship out."
Their daughter sniffles before taking a look at Adam. She runs up to him, and hugs him. "Please, don't die, okay. Do me a favor as well, can you please look after my friend out there too, I want to see you both after this, okay?" Blake sniffled out before feeling Adam's hands pull her into a hug as well. "Please, Adam, don't die."
"I can't promise anything, Blake, I'm sorry." He apologized to her before walking away. Leaving her standing there before she started to cry as her family ushered toward the front door. "I'll do my best though, don't do anything stupid, alright?"
"I'll do my best, I can't promise anything, Adam." She replied before watching him walk away. Blake looked at her mother, and then looked off to the side. "Mom, I love you and dad, but please let me fight."
"No sweetheart."
"It's not fair, what Naruto, why is he fighting? He's a child too, right, like me. I mean I get it, his life…his stories, they're horrible to listen to sometimes. He's a seasoned fighter, and I know that, but why is he being made to fight that thing coming our way." Blake took a deep breath before biting her lip. "I just want my friends to be okay, mom. I don't to come back home, and place another memorial in the garden, I could barely stand it last time…that's why I'm needing to fight."
Kali walks over to her daughter, bringing in close for hug. "Oh, my sweet girl, I understand how you feel, but like your father said. Today is not your day to fight, come now." She beckoned her to follow. "We need to go."
Cloud came walking toward them, and gave a curt nod. "All preparations are complete, we're getting the stuff loaded onto the cart. Chief Ghira, please, allow to lead the front of your escort." The young guard offered whilst smiling softly.
'Alright Cloud, lead the way."
{Makeshift Civilian Evacuation Center: Ino Kai.}
[10 Hours Later. 9:00pm]
Ino Kai was bustling much more than it ever had. The makeshift Civilian Evacuation Center was full of new arrivals. Few bullheads to spare, the evacuees mostly came by boat. It was a nine hour ferry trip from Kuo Kuana to Ino Kai. The coastal village was currently doing their best to house the refugees from Kuo Kuana in lieu of the battle tomorrow morning.
Ghira was walking with Kali off a ship as they saw Ino Kai's chief walk up to them. He reached his hand, taking Ghira's firmly as the cool fall winds blew over them. "Chief Ghira, welcome to Ino Kai. I know it's been awhile my good friend, my people will do our best to feed the refugees." The chief of Ino Kai greeted Ghira whilst getting straight into the subject matter.
He stood shorter, much shorter than Ghira. However, he was older. Silvery hair fell down behind his back, and silver fox ears adorned head. He also had a green circlet as well. An emerald at the center, his tan skin glistened with sweat from the still humidity of Ino Kai. Though, he was still a chief, and Ghira bowed in respect at being inside of his village.
"Thank you, Argenti." Ghira thanked the man before looking over at Kali as the sun started to go down. "This'll be last evacuation ship until the morning. All bullhead traffic is for supplies only, or an emergency need to head back to Kuo Kuana."
"I know that, we spoke about the plan. Where is young Lady Blake? Hah, it's been a little while wee girl." Argenti asked as he looked at Kali, his fox ears standing straight up. "Oh, bloody hell, sounds like a few people having a tizzy in the center. Ducking right time, ain't it?"
"Argenti, actively not trying to curse, what is the world coming too?" Ghira humored whilst looking over toward his wife. Trying to reassure her with an upbeat appearance. "Yeah, Blake and we had an argument the night before we all left. She wanted to stay and fight."
"Did you let her?" The chieftain of Ino Kai inquired.
"Of course not, she's twelve, and besides she's out daughter." Kali answered her husband, watching as people exited the boat still. "Where is she, she needs come on, because they'll hold for no one. That was my husband explicit orders."
"Lady Kali, Chief Ghira!" Cloud suddenly came sprinting from the boat. "Forgive me, I was only gone about five minutes before departure because Lady Blake wanted to change in privacy. She's gone, there's no sign of her on the boat!"
"She's what?!" Ghira and Kali screamed out at the same time.
"She must've dove near the shoreline to get back. Oh, foolish girl, damn it all, I got the other house guards scouring the ship, but I doubt she's there." Cloud was breathing as he clutched his head. "Damn it, I was supposed to make sure you all were okay, that was the promise I made to Naruto before he went with others to fight that monster in the morning."
"Hahaha!"
All three turned to Argenti who was laughing with his face clutched by his hand. "Oh man, well, that's a twist. She really is a combination of you two. Stubborn like her father, and just as bullheaded. Yet, a sense of duty like her mother. Gods above, you two created such a firecracker didn't ye?" The chieftain of Ino Kai pats Ghira's shoulder. "I'm not downplaying this, if it was my kid, I'd wear their little ass out when I got ahold of them. However, this is a serious situation, but unfortunately we can't spare any Bullheads till the morning."
Ghira felt his fists tighten. "Our daughter, knowing her, she's gone to help the stupid boyfriend of hers!" He pinched his nose before looking at Cloud. "What did she say to you before you left the room?"
"She asked me if you all were proud of her." Cloud told them as he rubbed his arm. "I should've seen it coming when asked that, but everything has been so charged lately, it's been nuts. Then there's whole revelation with…well…you know who."
"Of course, were proud of her!" Kali yelled as she gripped her head. "Ah gods, we need to get there as soon we can Ghira, ever since she got that sword from Adam, and unlocked her aura she's been reckless about things!"
"We will, my love, we will."
{Barren Wastes: Near The Western Mountains.}
[The Next Morning, 9:00am]
The Girtablilu marched past the dunes, and saw The Western Mountains. It felt all the fear, anger, and hatred emanating from a human settlement just past them. It's eyes moved about individually and scanning area, with the four additional eyes it had grown along with the hindlegs of a locust meant that it was readying itself for a mighty battle.
It moved forward, it's massive legs falling onto the rocky sand. That's when it contacted something, knocking it over with a casual movement from it's legs, it failed to notice the wires attached to it. Grimm minions around it scattered about, running even right under it. The object in question had wires on it, and was ticking.
Tick-tick-tick-tick.
RIIIINNG!
BOOM!
The object exploded, releasing flechette into the Grimm around the massive monster. It felt one of it's legs buckle, making it crash face first into the rocky sand as it's minions were scattered into pieces, black smoke coming from their dead bodies. It saw it then, around four aircraft hurling toward them, and launching something from under them.
It passed over it, but slammed right into the many other smaller Grimm behind it. It's deathstalkers all screeched out in pain, and those who weren't burrowing themselves down, found themselves scattered to pieces from these vermin's technology.
A few other explosions echoed out from the front as it's Grimm army surged over it, and met other traps. It got up, roaring out in frustration before it's top eye saw it. Dozens upon dozens of orange dots in the air. Having came from the aircraft, along with a few other different colored dots. The beast roared out as it began to form the barbs along it's armor.
"Oh no you don't!"
It's eyes snapped open upon hearing that damned voice! It roared out as he saw the dots start right towards it. Those dots were Naruto Uzumaki, who was currently reaching behind him to get a pouch full of paper bombs, along with his clones. They attached it to a kunai, and then it was thrown as hard as they could before flattening their bodies out to create wind resistance to slow them down.
The Girtablilu brought it's humanoid bone armored arms up, growing extra bone around it. The pouches impacted it's arms, and body as they metal clanged off they created sparks. Those sparks ignited the paper in the pouches, and then the rapid series of explosions started!
Boom-Boom-Boom-Boom!
The explosions echoed over the rocky desert as the beast roared out in pain. It's bony armor stressed under each series of explosions. Naruto, and his clones paired up with each other. One would hold out their right hand, whilst the other channeled and rotated chakra into it. Soon the screeches of dozens of small blue balls of energy filled the air as the black smoke from the explosions cleared.
With a roar of surprise, the massive Grimm winds it's hind locust legs up before suddenly leaping to the side! Naruto, who was unprepared for this found him, and his clones landing on the desert rock. The rumbling from the massive landing around a couple hundred meters away made him stumble a little bit!
"What the heck?!" Naruto yelled out as he saw the massive beast in the distance. "He wasn't able to do that before…"
Bjorn came running up next to him as he saw some of his clones engaging Grimm that came close. He spun his two battle axes around his hand, stepping next to Naruto as the chains connecting the axes rattled. The much larger man took a moment observe the battlefield layout.
"Too much open land, this thing has the homefield advantage that's for sure." The commander observed before smirking, and looking down at Naruto. "Are you rattled?" He questioned him before spinning his axes around. "You know why we're here, right?"
Naruto smirks before taking a deep breath. "We're here to take that piece of crap out, ya know!" He charged forward with a bunch of his clones. The others stayed behind, helping Fjall, and Grisha battle some of the larger Grimm. He was focusing ahead when he failed to notice Bjorn coming along his right flank. "Whoa, when did you get so fast?!"
"It's my semblance, boy, don't focus on that. Just focus on the task at hand. We're one hundred meters away from reengagement!" The commander told Naruto as they continued running forward, with him looking toward The Girtablilu as it started to stump it's massive legs toward them. "It's one smart Grimm, I'll give it that!"
"No kidding, but we'll take him out! I don't know exactly where to strike first!" Naruto yelled out as his clones started packing closer, running in a column formation instead of being scattered.
"Go for those hind legs, limit it's mobility! Make it work for it's defense instead of just running away!" Bjorn commanded as he suddenly saw barbs coming toward them, he spun his axes via the chain. "Oh, hell no, I won't let you, you overgrown bastard!" He screamed out in rage as he leapt upward.
The shinobi watches in amazement as Bjorn deflected dozens of the barbs with his axes. Sparks flying across the morning sky as Naruto, and his pumped chakra into their legs as the first volley of the barbs ended. Naruto took a deep breath, leaping upward!
"Eat this, Rasengan Uzumaki Barrage!" He shouted out as they dived forward with the rasengan extended out!
However, unfortunately, they were too slow as the massive creature leapt backward away from the attacking shinobi and his clones. Naruto slid on the gravel before being forced to us his rasengan to block several barbs that would've impacted him that the beast had launched during it's retreat. His clones mostly blocked theirs, but some weren't so lucky.
"Damn it!"
"Those hindlegs weren't obliterated in your bombing. That means they're made with some type of bone armor as the rest of that things body. Hate to say it, but this thing is perfectly suited for fighting against us!" Bjorn stated as they both took off running toward it, his axes dragging by their chain as he moved to get in front of Naruto. "We need a way to lock it down!"
Naruto slid to the right before dodging a large bony spear! A Spear-Tail, a large one, leapt up from a nearby dune shooting another spear of bone right toward the blonde shinobi. Bjorn successfully intercepted the spear, knocking it out of the sky before slinging his axes forward via their long chains. With a yank, they slice right through the massive Spear-Tail's head, killing it instantly.
The young shinobi smirked before turning around. Deciding to save the chakra, he deactivates his rasengan as his clones did the same thing. All of them seeing the beast now charging toward them. Naruto, and his clones all charged at once to meet it! His clones, and he dodge as barbs flew forward from the beast, impacting the ground where he had been!
"ROOOAR!"
"C'mon!"
Naruto and the beast roared out to each other before both launched a full attack. The massive beast reared up, launching four of it's forelimbs at the boy whilst the shinobi did his best to avoid them. Kicking off the first one, he ran along the second a few feet before massive spike tried to jut out and impale. Leaping from the second leg as the third one fell down! He got a shuriken out and wrapped wire into it.
He threw the shuriken as hard as he could! Watching as it wrapped around the forth one that was still high into its arch. Pulling the wire to make it tight, he yanks as hard as he can, launching himself int whilst still having hold of the wire. That's when he noted the beasts newer eyes, and tsked when the one on top of it was locked onto him.
"What are you looking, ugly!" Naruto screamed out at it as he got his weapon out from behind back. He grabbed his wakizashi just in time to block the first barb that flew out at him. "Yeah, right, like that's gonna work!" He taunted the beast before yanking and plummeting down. "Alright, time to lock you down!"
On his descent he formed shadow clones, each already quickly trying to form a rasengan! The mighty beast readied it's large hind legs before Naruto's clones that were freed up from forming the new rasengans started throwing shuriken with wire on it. They pulled as hard as they could, dying where they stood as spikes jutted up to kill them from the bony armor.
Luckily, a few of them managed to get through, and impacted the left hind leg just as the beast jumps! Naruto, and his clones all watched as the loosely hanging hind leg flops off from their combined efforts. He recoils when that said leg nearly falls on top of Fjall, who punches it away.
"That's guy's got some scary strength! Need to focus, this isn't even close to being over with!" Naruto looked toward the head of the beast, and ran toward it. The red eye locking onto him as he did, and saw malformities in the armor beginning to form. "Oh crap, this guy is like Gaara and also that bone guy too!"
"I should already know this, why didn't I make the connection earlier?!"
The blonde shinobi yanked his hand forward, launching himself backward from the wire he still had on the beast's back leg. He landed on the leg, jumping off a second after he started to feel something pressing against his sandals. He slid along the main body of the armor, letting the wire go as they began to descend.
"No matter what, I can't let this thing get past us, it'll kill everyone!" The dueling duo locked into each other's gaze. A form of challenge rising between man and demonic beast. "Kali, Ghira, and Blake are counting on me! Kuo Kuana is counting on me!"
He noted that they were now much closer toward the defensive lines. Was this thing trying to get to them faster?! Didn't matter now, Naruto had disabled one of the legs, meaning that it couldn't jump like this again if even would try! He resolved himself as he slid the wakizashi back into the scabbard on his back.
"No matter what I can't ever stop, I have to keep moving!" Naruto rolled onto the beast's large back as he got up to run, he took a deep breath. Running forward, fully intent to start gouging some of the beast's out. "Just like with Gaara, his strength lies in defense, but just like that bone guy his own body is it's weapon!"
"I have to give it my all!"
As he felt more spikes starting to form under his feet, Naruto jumped off the back just as the beast landed. Forming clones that blocked the barbs that were soon fired off toward him. Dozens upon dozens of clones dying in troves, but filling the sky with white smoke. Naruto uses the smoke to his advantage, diving out of it while the beast was focused on the clones creating other clones midair.
He began running toward the bottom of the beast, smirking as he noted that it wasn't focusing on him. He formed several clones of his own, out of the eight formed, four of them began to have a rasengan generate into their right hands.
They all sprinted forward! Each targeted a leg in two-man teams from the back. Leaping up, Naruto slammed his into the back of the hindleg first, with another clone slamming into it as well. The shrill screech filled the air as the beast lurched forward, slamming face first into the rocky sand as the shinobi kicked away from the leg.
Flipping backwards a few times, he slid to a stop on the rocky sand. Smirking a foxlike grin, the shinobi stood up. "Got ya, didn't I, monster?" He asked the open air as he watched as the beast grunted before slowly climbing back up onto it's legs from where it fell forward. "Oh c'mon, will you just stay down!"
"As much I like to think I did something, I was at least trying to break it's legs. I didn't do it, so this thing is still fully capable of fighting me. Here it comes, it's weird though, why hasn't used it's- "Naruto didn't get to finish the thought before one of the massive tails suddenly lashed, nearly stabbing him with the stinger on it. "There it is, wait, is that…"
The stinger suddenly opened up and spewed out violet mist, catching Naruto full on as the shinobi hadn't expected it! He had been breathing it in, briefly, but managed to get out of the growing cloud before sliding to a stop. He gripped his throat as black veins began to spread along his arteries. He quickly reached down, into his left pouch, getting a serum syringe out before stabbing it into his neck.
A shrill breath escapes his lips as he fell onto his knee. "Damn it that was too- "
He didn't get to finish before he heard the beast leap toward him! His eyes widened when he realized that even with one of the locust hindlegs, it was still able to leap! Naruto rolled backwards before leaping back just as the massive beast crashed down where he had been! Naruto tumbled on his landing, feeling the remnants of the poison in his system. Breathing hard, the blonde shinobi formed shadow clones as barbs were launched at him.
His clones died screaming as he slid across the sand before stopping and getting up. He leapt up, forming the hand seals he needed. "Alright, I'm going all out! Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto declared as hundreds of puff smoke erupted around him. "Remember this ugly?!"
"RAAWR!"
"Guess he does, screw it, I'm not going down until I'm bone dry in the tank!" Naruto and his clones started grabbing onto each hands to ankles. Each swinging multiple whips of orange straight down, adding as much force as possible! "Take this, Uzumaki Rope Ladder Barrage!"
The makeshift rope ladders of clones mashed into the beast anywhere, and anywhere they could. Puffs of smoke filled the air again, but judging by the massive beast shrugging with each blow, they were at least keeping its attention to where the defensive line needed it be.
It screams out as it formed wrist blades on it's humanoid arms, slashing and slicing through hordes of clones. Naruto took a deep breath before clapping his hands together, and smirking. He formed dozens of more clones, who all began to pair up and form rasengan. Naruto took a deep breath before launching himself upward, and flipping forward as he himself had a clone form a rasengan in each of his hands.
"Super Rasengan Barrage!" Naruto declared his jutsu as they all fell down from the sky.
Right before impact the beast surprised him by widening the blades out and slashing whilst quickly spinning on all of it's legs. Naruto's clones were obliterated, although some managed to impact the wrist blades, and crush them. The young shinobi used both of his rasengan in a barrage as he targeted the front foreleg.
The twin rasengan in both of his hands spun in different directions, shredding through the bone armor before blowing up! Naruto was sent flying as the piece of leg came off, but not the leg itself. Already, he could see the black smoke starting to form a plated spike on it as he tumbled through the air. Slamming into the rocky sand, Naruto coughed up a wad of blood before looking up at the sky.
"This thing is like Gaara's tailed beast, what was his name…Shikaku…Shukaku? I really need to remember his name, he was a tough fight." Naruto laid on the ground, taking a brief breather. "This thing isn't like other Grimm, it evolved its tactics to perfectly counter me it seems…clones don't' work, my rasengan can barely do anything!"
Gunfire reached his ears as he turned his head toward the line. He saw the black dots of Grimm getting engaged with gunfire. Gripping his hands into fists, the blonde-haired shinobi slowly leans up. "I can't just keep laying on the ground, no matter, even if I have to lay my life on the line!" He got to his knees watching as the beast started marching towards him. "Even I die, I can't let get there, no way in hell am I going to let him do anything to the people I care about!"
"Because I never go back on my word!"
Naruto got up before clapping his hands together. Drawing from The Nine Tails' chakra, but not enough to begin getting influenced by it, Naruto takes a deep breath before his blue chakra turns to orange! He sees the beast beginning to charge, but with a scream he sprints towards it as well.
Woosh!
He appeared about the beast but then realized his mistake. His mistake stared right back at him, just as the spikes formed. He barely rolls out of the way as they fly up at him. He lands on the back of the beast, only for a spike to suddenly drive itself right through his shoulder. Gasping for air, Naruto barely got out in time before several more went for the kill.
In his retreat, though, he left behind an explosive tag. It went off, forcing the beast to lay flat on his abdomen! Naruto was breathing as he landed, blood dripping from the hole in his shoulder. He growls as he felt rage boil inside of him. Feeling The Nine Tail's influence starting to seep in, he took a deep breath to try and fight it back.
"Not yet, I can't let it bring him out yet, not with others around!"
"So, are you having trouble?"
Naruto's eyes widened as their azure color changed to a crimson red. His pupils becoming slitted as he grew longer canines, and claws upon his hands where his fingernails had been. Red chakra began to swirl around him as he shakenly stood up as the wound on his shoulder steamed and closed with wet sounds of flesh reattaching and stitching itself together sinew by sinew.
"Now is not the time to be picky, after all, if that thing beats you here…they'll all die."
"I can't let him talk me into-"
"I guess you are that selfish, aren't you? Scared of them all knowing you are a Jinchuuriki?"
"Shut up!"
"Yes, I saw the way Kali looked at you when you telling your story, she had fear in her eyes."
"Shut up!"
"So did Ghira, your two precious friends in this new world…hmph, pathetic."
Naruto moved to the side at blistering speeds as he dodged the stinger again. He grabbed it this time, almost tackling it to the ground before using his enhanced strength to yank it! The Girtablilu screamed out in pain, but Naruto didn't let up as he started to walk forward.
The Jinchuuriki roared out as red charka poured out of him, and took the shape of a transparent fox. He glowered at the beast behind before turning around and forming a clone. He, and the red-eyed clone ran together to where cracks had formed along the tail's armor. He leapt up as the clone helped him form a rasengan, which he slammed down into it with a roar!
"Nine Tails' Rasengan!"
The tail was split from the force, falling off the body of the beast. It roared out in pain, lashing out with the other tail, and firing barbs towards him. Naruto took a moment to scan the barbs with his foxlike eyes, watching as they came toward him. They were much slower now, or his reflexes were so much higher than before it seemed as if they were.
With a grunt, he ran forward, weaving his way through them. His clone following him as well as black smoke leaked out of the blown apart stump where it's tail used to be! Flipping forward with a leap, Naruto and his clone cocked their fists back together before roaring out together.
"Fall!"
Crashing into the plates on the back, their fists indented the armor whilst making the beast lurch downward again. Naruto saw lumps forming along the armor, and leapt to the side as spikes jutted out. Grabbing one of the spikes, he broke it off and ran forward. His clone wasn't so lucky, it had gotten impaled and dispersed! Savagely, the Jinchuuriki focused on the right side of the beast's head, and sprinted with all his might. A red streak scurried across the beast's back, and though it tried to slash him with a wrist blade it formed with it's humanoid arms. Naruto dodged it whilst leaping up, and then sliced across the three eyes on the right side of the massive beast's face!
Naruto smirked, almost laughing as he felt the sinister delight of causing pain onto this creature. In his cockiness, he failed to register the left of the beast coming at him. He only remembered when it full wrapped around his small body, and began to squeeze!
If it wasn't for his quick reaction of holding out his limbs for leverage, Naruto would've been crushed immediately. He struggled against the grip of the humanoid's hand whilst it began to squeeze harder and harder. It brought it's right hand up as well, adding pressure that caused some limbs on Naruto's body to pop under the stress.
The massive creature seemingly cackled as it bright it closer to his mouth. Naruto couldn't risk trying to jump away, but he couldn't stay here! A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, especially when he heard The Nine Tails' laughter and goading.
"You're going to die. All that effort to just be food for this thing, what a truly pathetic life!"
He kept struggling as he watched the beast's maw open. Within moments he'd be shoved in there, and swallowed at best, chewed at worst! He screams out as he struggles to try to bring more chakra of his own out, but only increased the usages of The Nine Tails' chakra.
"I'm sorry, guys, I'm so sorry…I broke my promise, I can't do this!"
"Hehe, such a pathetic cry out for a savior. Merely retreat into your mind, and let me handle this!"
"Someone, please, I can't hold it back much longer!"
A mighty battle cry sounded from just below them. The beast's set of left eyes widened as a chained wrapped around its left forearm. A powerful yank managed to loosen the grip just enough for Naruto to jump away. Landing into the sand, Naruto was breathing hard as red chakra wisps around him.
"Are you- "Bjorn stopped himself when he noted Naruto's change in appearance. "What is that, Naruto?"
"It's a long story, Bjorn, but we ain't got time. You just gotta trust me!" Naruto yelled in reply before crisscrossing his clawed hands. "It's getting ready for it's breath attack!"
The Girtablilu spewed forth the violet mist, but as it got closer, Naruto roars out as he slams his hands to his side. A wave of pressure scattered the violet mist away as growled. Without a word between them, Bjorn and Naruto both moved at once. Bjorn spun his chain axes around before hooking them onto the spiked foreleg that had recently healed. Naruto ran up another leg as they aimed to take the beast's head!
"Go for it's head, don't stop!" Bjorn yelled his command as he slung himself toward it's head. "Jump!"
Naruto leapt upwards, creating a clone to form a rasengan. The red spiraling ball of energy screeched to life as the Jinchuuriki careened toward the beast's head. Bjorn wasn't too far behind on his side either, both roaring war cries as careened toward it. The beast roared out, bringing it's hands up, palms facing toward Naruto and Bjorn.
Bjorn, having the wherewithal, saw it coming as the blade shot from under it's wrist instead of above it this time. Though, he watched in horror as the left palm pointing toward Naruto lined up perfectly. If the kid didn't move he'd be killed! Bjorn took a deep breath, and moved in reaction. He whipped the chain out before yanking himself upward as the axe chain wrapped around one of the horns atop the beast's head.
He could see the bony blade starting to emerge, whilst Naruto in his rageful stupor kept focused on the head. "Naruto, look out!" Bjorn screamed as he flew toward him, angling himself to shoulder charge Naruto out of the way. "Move it, kid!" He continued to order just as the bony blade exploded. "No!"
Naruto's crimson eyes widened as he slowly turned around. Time seemed to move slower as he felt the shift, and in horror, he saw the bony blade merely a couple meters away. Midair, there was no way he could dodge, and dispelling the rasengan would take a few seconds. Those few seconds he didn't have, and he watched as the blade came toward him.
He prepared himself for death to follow.
Death for Naruto Uzumaki would not come this day, however. A mighty crash sent him flying away as he saw Bjorn. That bony blade should've stopped by the man's aura, but he noted that it was shimmering around him. He looked off to the side, seeing several large Grimm that had been killed earlier.
Time stopped, Naruto felt tears fill his eyes as he reached out for Bjorn. The tip, that's all it took, but it sunk into the middle of Bjorn's chest despite him trying to angle himself out of the way! Naruto watched in horror as he was briefly skewered on the bone blade, watching as the man in defiance to his situation yanked hard on his chain axes and ripped one of the horns off the mighty Grimm's head.
It roared out, throwing him off the blade, and sending him clattering to the ground. Naruto landed with a slide on the ground. Rushing over toward Bjorn, blood was starting to stain the rocky tan sand. He slid onto his knees next to Bjorn as the beast stumped about in pain, he looked at the commander.
"Why?"
That was the only word he could manage. Tears were falling from his eyes. Bjorn coughed up a wad of blood, and then looked at Naruto before smiling softly. He raised his hand up, shakingly, and weakly. Placing it onto the boy's shoulder with his eyes closing. Bjorn took a deep breath, blood flowed more from his lips when exhaled.
"I…don't care what you are, please…just save our home. Like you saved my men, save…my home, please…" Bjorn grabbed Naruto's right clawed hand, squeezing it as the man let a few tears out. "Please, I don't care…just…save…our…home…my friend."
Bjorn went limp as the beast stopped it's tirade of roaring whilst holding it's head. Naruto looked down at the body of Bjorn, seeing it unmoving. He shook with absolute rage. Tears spilled from his eyes as he gently laid Bjorn's hand onto the big man's chest. Naruto felt anger rising in him as he glared right into the good eyes of The Girtablilu.
"I'm gonna…"
The red chakra exploded around Naruto as it began to collect into bubblelike blobs. It swirled around him as a foxlike cloak of energy formed around him. One energy tail sprouted to life as it swayed back and forth before Naruto's lips turned black and he gained black rings around his eyes. He felt The Nine Tails' laughing at him, laughing about Bjorn's sacrifice.
Laughing at his friend's death!
"I'm gonna kill you!"
With the roar leaving Naruto as the air practically exploded into a shrill screech as a second tail formed. Naruto screamed out in utter rage as thunderous booms echoed from the earth lifting off from his chakra exploded around him. It rose like a burning, crimson, pillar of flame as Naruto was on all fours now. He growled animalistically, and took one last look at Bjorn's corpse.
Upon turning his gaze back toward The Girtablilu, Naruto careened toward it, a red comet upon the desert floor!
{Defensive Line Near The Cliff Passage Road.}
[Ten Minutes Earlier.]
The soldiers they managed to recruit, and give basic firearms training were lining the front. They were watching from a distance as The Girtablilu was fighting dozens upon dozens of little oranges dots. An aging man, with gray hair, looked down the old age bolt action rifle handed to him.
"Here we go, that team out there, The Black Cats mustered to go and kill that thing are engaged. I am your squad leader, Adam Taurus, inside of your ranks are trained White Fang soldiers. Do not hesitate to listen to them, all that have volunteered to be here, I humbly ask that you fight till the retreat is given." Adam Taurus spoke with reverence as he marched up and down the lines with the personal entourage of several other trained soldiers. "Fear attracts Grimm, we are all afraid, but we must hold firm. Our families, our loved ones, and those lives of innocent bearing lay beyond to our backs."
"Sir, I-I-I don't know if I can do this, I am just turned sixteen!" A young man suddenly whimpered out as fumbled with his rifle. "We got old age junk. we need bigger weapons!"
"We don't have anything else to spare, besides our forefathers used those very same weapons in the revolutionary war. I wouldn't count them out so easily, and- "Adam's eyes caught something as he saw several people carrying crates, some of them noticeably young, slightly younger than him. "Please just focus, and remember, there are far younger people here who have volunteered. This is meant to mitigate what comes to The Eastern Wall. Trust in that team we sent out to kill the monster there."
"Y-yes sir!"
The young lieutenant gnashes his teeth as he walks past the complainer. He looked at his entourage. "Go, and inform Fuego, Misty, Vern, and Joshua that their groups are getting ready to see heavy combat, get to your assigned stations. Wait for the flare, if it's red, immediately retreat, if it's blue hold the ground, and if it's green…fighting retreat." Adam instructed his men, who all saluted and ran to their stations.
He stormed away, nearly jogging over to a White Fang member wearing mask. Grabbing their shoulder, he makes them drop the crate, and spins them around. Ripping the mask off their face, his sky-blue eyes narrowed in anger. The girl behind the mask, with fearful yellow eyes, and nervous shuddering of her lips went to apologize.
"Do not say a damn word, Blake." He dragged her over, and away from other people. Anger clearly in his voice as he roughly pushed her toward an outcropping. "What the hell are you doing here?!" He demanded as he pointed at her. "Do you know where you're at, are you insane?!"
"Adam I just wanted- "
"I don't give a damn what you want, why are you here?! You should be five hours south from Kuo Kuana, let alone outside the damned wall!" Adam screamed at her as she fidgeted slightly before focusing hard. "What?!"
"I wanted to help! Adam, I wanted to help you, I can't just leave you and all the people that I know out here to fight! You, and I both know that this is a crappy plan!" Blake retorted whilst shifting her gear around. "I may not be a seasoned fighter, I may not be nothing than a novice, but I want to help! I want to fight to next to you!"
"Oh, gods damn it!" Adam kicked the ground before turning back to her. "You're too young!"
"I'm not too young, Naruto out there fighting, why can't I?!"
"Because you're not a freak of nature!" Adam exclaimed before stopping himself in realization. Seeing the hurt filled Blake's eyes slightly, and then she focused. She didn't cry, not shedding one tear. "You're the closest thing to a princess. I'm sorry, but your excuse is crap, and as for your scapegoat for it. He's not from our world."
"Adam, please, don't send me out. Please, let me fight." Blake pleaded with him before looking at her scroll. "I unlocked my aura during my training sessions with you the other day, you know that I'm much better with it, please…at least let me do something other than sit on my hands."
The redhead just growls before pacing back and forth. "Do you have any idea how much at risk you are?!" He roared out at her before taking a deep breath to calm himself down before both heard a very loud boom in the distance. Both turned around to see that a massive wave of pressure was heading right for them.
Blake watched as a single dot now flew around and began attack the massive Grimm. She watched as the massive beast recoiled with each hit! She felt her hands tighten into fists. Watched as something flew on a distant dune, away from the fighting. It was a red flare, and his heart sank with it. He turned to Blake just as he heard the first roars in the distance, and saw Grimm cresting over the dunes in droves.
"Blake, now listen to me, you want to fight. Well, I need someone on my flank, and we're going to be doing an active retreat up the cliff path. Do not fall behind, here." Adam shoved an SMG into her hands. "It's my own backup firearm just in case something happened to Wilt and Blush. Do not lose it, because now is not the time to be disarmed."
"R-right…what does that red flare mean?" She asked, feeling her heart sink. "Is it…bad?"
"Worst case scenario, either the team sent out was wiped out, or they can't kill the monster." Adam told her before turning around, and only drawing his sword in time to slash a jackal in half as it got too close to them. "What in the- "
"Adam!" Blake screamed whilst unsheathing Gambol, and slashing upward as a jackal almost tackled him midflight. She managed to kill the beast as it soared exactly right over her. That's when her eyes caught where they were coming from, a deathstalker was burrowing right past their line! "Adam, they're coming from that burrow!"
"Aw damn it, everyone retreat, now!" Adam screamed out to anyone that could hear him, getting out his own flare and shooting it into the air. "Retreat, fight and retreat!"
A great panic began, especially when the troops across the line saw The Girtablilu smack down the red streak that had been assailing it. Blake brought her hand up, hearing the loud boom from the impact, scrunching her face up for a moment before resolving herself as she saw Grimm coming toward some of the retreating soldiers.
She followed Adam as they went to defend the retreat, only falling slightly behind him.
{Near Bjorn's Body.}
[Five Minutes After Death.]
Fjall was checking over the fallen man, his brother in arm's brown hair bloodied from his wounds. He lay motionless, his armor sundered, and torn. The wrist blade that The Girtablilu had tried to kill Naruto with had down it's job too well for anyone to hope for his recovery.
Still, Bjorn's face wasn't that of pain, he had a smile on his lips. He had just been alive long enough to give Naruto a tearful goodbye. Fjall, and the others have never seen such a rage explode from a person. The painful roars of agony, and hatred, still echoed in the bear faunus's mind. Within those moments though, he saw the glimmer of hope that Bjorn's sacrifice had wrought, whatever he had said to Naruto had worked wonders to make the boy fight harder than ever.
Grisha walks up next to Fjall, kneeling down to look at the man who laid dead on the sand. "Naruto's deflecting the army of Grimm away from this location, but it's not looking too good. That thing mutated right in the middle of their fight, and has begun countering." The legendary warrior states before placing his hand on Bjorn's unmoving chest. "What are we to do with him?"
"What do you mean, we take him back with us." Vanilla stated before gently picking him back up. "If anything, all we can do is honor him in his sacrifice."
"No time for sentiments, those get you killed, like this young man caring for a weapon." Fjall stated with malice as he looked on at the battle, seeing the red streaks appear and weaving through Grimm. Colliding with the massive monster that was source of the red streak's anger. "All this for some demonic brat."
"You shut your damn mouth!"
The trio turned toward Aurum, who was driving a vehicle toward them. Anger was in the golden-haired man's eyes as he pulled to a stop. "I should just leave all of you bastards, how dare you say such things! That demonic brat is fighting for us! He's bleeding for us! He'd die for us!" Aurum screamed to the top of his lungs as he got out. "You will respect that! You will give Bjorn to me, and maybe you will get out of this damn desert! However, while you're running away he's still fighting!"
He stumbled from his injuries still, breathing hard. "My daughter is older than him, yet she is safe in an evacuation zone, yet you stand here and mock a child who is fighting tooth and nail to ensure you live." Aurum grabbed Bjorn's body from Vanilla gently, stumbling over to the vehicle which was some sort of four-by-four buggy with a back. "You bring shame to what is supposed to be The White Fang."
"Listen here, Corporal Aurum I will not tolerate- "
"Then kiss my ass, Fjall, I am done! My career ended after I came back, and suffered too many injuries to fully continue it. Now either shut up, and get the damn buggy, or stay here. I don't care which, be Grimm food for all I give a damn!" Aurum yelled back at him before placing the body of Bjorn softly down, patting his hand on the broken chest plate. "You did good, your sacrifice will not be in vain…your friend will succeed."
Grisha purses his lips, and shrugs. "Can't really argue with that kind of emotion, I felt it to. C'mon, Vanilla, we need to go, now. Fjall! Fjall! Quit your glaring, and c'mon, lets go." The warrior told the much larger, mountain of a man, as he hopped into the back. "Wonder how he heard Fjall."
"Your communicators on auto, I heard you in the local range, now shut up and get ready." The garbled voice of Aurum sounded in their ears causing Grisha to look down in shame.
Fjall grips his hands into exceptionally large fists, glaring one last time at the red streak before turning away.
{Mountain Passage Entrance.}
[Five Minutes Later.]
Naruto's red cloak shimmered as the two-tails swayed to and from a he dodged to the sides as the barbs impacted where he had been. Spear-Tails were targeting him, launching their spikes in front of his movements. Naruto managed to dodge them with ease, but was finding himself forced to cover the retreat of others as Grimm encroached on them.
He was struggling to maintain control as he landed on all fours. This monster had gotten much better at following his movements, and it's not because it was not only learned. Naruto noted that instead of two eyes, the beast now had regrew six new eyes around its head, and another one on top. Those seven new eyes gave it nearly a full range of vision, and the only place that wasn't covered by vision was getting covered by that violet mist from it's mouth.
Dodging to the side after dozens of Spear-Tails launched their spikes at once. Naruto appeared above the group, only to be forced to block a massive hind leg strike from the locust-like hindlegs of The Girtablilu. Naruto careened into the desert sands, just below the passage entrance where the defense forces were retreating.
Coughing up a wad of blood, Naruto got back up, growling before roaring out as chakra exploded around him again. "I won't let his sacrifice be in vain, you hear me!" He screamed out at the beast whilst rearing him to charge again "This is for Bjorn, you bastard!"
Naruto ran full tilt, creating a trail of red behind as he ran right toward the giant Grimm. Instead of engaging him the beast reared it's hind legs and leapt to the side. Just as a bunch of shrikes came swooping down. Naruto obliterated them by running through them, but this led to him nearly getting swallowed by a death worm that emerged up in a coordinated strike. Dodging backward, forming a rasengan vermillion in color. Naruto rushes forward, destroying the massive wormlike Grimm by tearing it half with the vermillion rasengan! He slid to a stop before seeing The Girtablilu had formed that black lightening net, and launching it in quick succession! Naruto didn't dodge in time as it impacted him, making him spasm as he felt backwards through the air, slamming into the sandy dunes just below the cliffs leading up to the passage between the mountains.
He struggled to get up and resorted to using a charka arm to pull himself up toward the cliff wall. The shinobi stuck to it using chakra. Breathing hard, Naruto took a deep before focusing on the encroaching smaller jackal Grimm hordes. Forming two rasengan, one in each hand, he leapt down whilst dodging the barbs from the massive Grimm and impacted the mountain walkways with the Grimm hordes on it to block their most direct root of travel.
A death worm launches itself up from the sands below, launching acid that washes over Naruto. The blonde shinobi's red eyes widened as his cloak blocks it. He ends up falling into the beast's small, but not before forming a hand seal. The beast though it had won, only to suddenly swell up as hundreds of Narutos exploded forth from it's body, each engaging a Grimm and killing before the foul chakra off the two-tailed cloak dispersed it!
Clouds began to cover the battlefield from his clones dying as they killed their targeted Grimm. Naruto was breathing hard, searching around for his target, and he didn't have to guess for too much longer. A large shadow appeared above him, and he dodged to the left in time before the massive beast crashed down where he had been. The resulting shockwave knocking back a few dozen more meters and tumbling through several different Grimm.
No, Naruto was sure of it now, this thing had grown in power since they began their bout!
Naruto rushes forward, attempting to get above the creature, but only had brief moments to start dodging barbs at him. Forming shadow clones to create smoke screens, he got his lucky shot by slamming downward, destroying the upper eye which caused the massive beast to scream in pain. Using the momentum, he bounces upward, and flips backward.
"I have to end this, now!" Naruto screamed mentally whilst gathering all of his cloak's chakra into his right hand. A massive ball of vermillion colored energy began to form, much like it had before. The beast looked up, but instead of dodging, it cocked it's locust hindlegs back before leaping to meet him! Naruto launched his attack early, and it seemingly began to work when the thing briefly paused it's leap upward.
However, that's when he horrifyingly realized that this thing wasn't falling either! It's massive body hugging the cliff that led up to the passage. Naruto gritted his teeth as all of The Nine Tails' chakra he had been using left him and went into the one attack that had worked before!
It wasn't working now, and the beast not only pushed past it, but the explosive force was also instead merely pushed right back onto Naruto himself! The blonde's eyes widened in pain as he felt him get blasted upward from the backblast, and only survived the fall back down by forming clones to catch him.
Landing in a crumbled-up mess, Naruto spat out a wad of blood before falling to knee. He hit the ground, screaming out in frustration before feeling his nose trickle with blood as he formed hand seals. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto screamed out as he sent waves of clones off the cliff's crest, trying to delay the beast as much as he could.
Still, he didn't notice the Spear-Tail that had snuck behind him on the passage's cliff wall. It reared up, but suddenly a blade lashed out, severing it's tail! It screeched, only to have the same blade stab into it's head as the girl wielding it roared out, sliding down the cliff with the beast skewered on her katana.
She saw another Grimm, a jackal, running right at Naruto's left flank. Upon landing at the base of the passage, Blake ran as fast as she could and speared the Grimm with charging stab right into it's chest whilst roaring out in both terror and rage! She got it onto the ground, slamming the blade down over and over again!
"Die-Die-Die!" She screamed, fear gripping her heart as she saw more Grimm coming. "Naruto, we've got to go!"
"I can't!" Naruto screamed back at her, and then he did a doubletake. "Blake what the hell are you doing here?!" He roared at her before rushing over towards her and delivering a flying kick to an alpha jackal that tried to sneak her. "Behind you!"
Blake watched as the flying kick he sent into the alpha Grimm made it fly off the cliff. She was breathing hard as she stood next to his side, watching him forming clones again. She noted his battered form, and bruises along with whelps forming across him. His eyes had regained their azure color instead of the crimsons she had seen on the drone footage just minutes ago.
"Are you okay?!" She called out to him before reaching on her beltline, grabbing the SMG she had pilfered and began to lay down suppressing fire in burst against any Grimm trying to overflow on their flanks. "Naruto?!"
"He's gone!" He screamed at her as tears spilled from his eyes as he kept forming clones. "I couldn't save him, he saved me, and I couldn't save him! Goddamn it, why won't it die! Just fucking die!" The Jinchuuriki raged as he felt his clones getting destroyed in rapid succession from the violet mist. "Shit!"
"Couldn't save who, Naruto?!"
"Bjorn! I couldn't save Bjorn! Damn it all, Blake, why are you here?! We need to go! I can't focus on anything else but creating clones!" Naruto stated in a panic whilst he began to breathe heavily, feeling something dripping down his nose lightly. He felt tears well up in his eyes as he nearly fell back, only to get stopped by his own ability to balance himself. "Blake, it's coming, we've gotta go!"
Blake felt her lip quiver, but she found rage inside of her heart as she roared out whilst releasing a full auto volley onto larger Grimm trying to come up the flank. She empty the magazine into it, killing it. She discarded the empty magazine, slamming a fresh one in before going back to laying down fire with some help with others from atop joining in.
Naruto was about to turn around, and grab her to run up the cliff before a massive rumble made him stop. Blake's eyes widened as she backed up, dropping the SMG when it ran out of ammo. She shuddered in fear, backing up continuously as the massive Grimm finally met her gaze in person for the first time.
It didn't give either of them a chance, and violet mist overflowed both of them just as Naruto moved to shield her with his own body. Naruto put his back to her just as one of the forelegs of the beast launched forward, impacting him, and slamming him into her! Blake yelled out as her newly awakened aura shimmered on her body. It blocked the damage, but it didn't block the pain!
Naruto's blood, however, splashed on her arm as she felt tumble over her midair. Both flying toward the eastern wall at breakneck speeds. She only had the briefest wherewithal to bring her arms up to break landing just as best as she could.
She could only watch in horror as Naruto slammed into the ground mere moments before she did, unconscious, and unmoving!
"Naru- "
She didn't get to finish before she herself slammed into the ground!
{Near Kuo Kuana's Southern Entrance.}
[Around the same time.]
Kali and Ghira were flying inside of bullhead when she suddenly felt her heart sink. She gripped her chest, breathing hard as she saw the mass evacuation of Kuo Kuana taking place. Their little girl has been missing now for around ten hours, and obviously she knew where their daughter had gone. Blake was always stubborn, stubborn in her belief that any aspiring defender of Faunuskind was meant to fight!
"Kali, dear, we will find her."
Her husband's words filled her with hope, but she felt this feeling only thrice in her life. Once when she heard about both of her parents dying in a mining accident in Vacuo. The other was when Blake was born without a heartbeat after a ridiculously hard labor, and then when they thought Naruto had died. Now, she feared that she had lost both!
Tightening her hands into fists, she struggled to hold herself together. "Ghira, she's hopefully down there somewhere, but knowing her…she's with Adam at the front." Kali felt tears sting her eyes as they flew over the mass of people running, or hopping onto trailers. "Our baby girl is in a literal warzone, and she got there because we weren't paying attention."
"No," that one single word from him cut deep. "We were doing everything we could, but she chose to run into the storm. Kali, we will find Blake, I know we will. I have faith that if she isn't anything else, she's our daughter. She's too stubborn to quit, but has the sense of duty that has nearly drove me into the ground several times over." Ghira brought his arms around Kali, and held her close. "I have faith that she is fighting tooth and nail, as well as the fact that our friend is watching over her."
Kali sniffles as she holds her husband's arms, and bites her lip. "I hope that's enough, my love, I really do." She shuddered before seeing the flashes of gunfire on top of the mountains leading down into the passage. "Those monsters are at the doorstep it seems, could they really be stopped this time? What of Mistral, and Vale, are they on the way?"
"Mistral's detachment ran into a fall storm. They're delayed from I heard. The other Chieftains and Chieftainesses confirmed that Vale's detachment will be here within twelve hours." Ghira took a minute to reason with himself. "By that time, unless the wall holds miraculously, Kuo Kuana will be overran with Grimm."
"Mountain Glenn, just us this time." Kali shook out as she looked at the city, remembering that disaster that the much stronger Kingdom Of Vale suffered not even three decades ago. "The casualty rate from that was almost absolute from what I heard."
"It was, but that won't happen here." Ghira clutched her closer, reassuring her as he stared forward as their pilot got them closer to the wall. "We will find a way to win, and get our daughter along with our friend."
"I pray that you're right, my love."
{Near The Eastern Wall.}
[Around The Same Time.]
"Lay down suppressing fire!"
"Fire The Hanji Missiles! Delay that bastard!"
"My legs, I can't feel my legs! Ahh!"
"Grimm, Grimm on the passage top!"
"Cut them down! Fight! Fight!"
"Fighting retreat, do not falter, make them pay for every inch!"
"The monster has full cleared the cliff, it's coming towards the wall!"
"Where's The Black Cats?! Anyone got eyes on that kid?!"
"Negative!"
"Anyone got eyes on Blake Belladonna?!"
"No, sir, we don't!"
Naruto's fluttered open as he felt blood drip down from his heard. The little communication device, the earwig, laid away from him. His head swam as he heard yelling, and screaming around him. What had just happened? His azure eyes were struggling to keep up as he looked down. His armor that had been provided to him was shredded, and a deep gash was pouring blood out as he struggled to heal from it. The explosions filled the air, making him turn his eyes off into the distant passage as The Girtablilu successfully marched past the entrance of the passage.
He slowly got up, only to stumble to his knees as he sat upright once. Breathing hard, he realized that some of the purple mist had gotten into his lungs. Falling over to the side, he clutched his chest as black veins began to travel upward. He spat a wad of violet laced blood, and then he felt The Nine Tails chakra enter his system to try and flush it out!
Then a thought, hurryingly crossed his mind, where was Blake?!
He heard a cough not too far behind him, and turned around to see the girl in question doubled over. He got up, fighting against the pain he felt. Rushing up to her, he saw black veins traveling up her neck. Grasping at the pouch to his left he pulled out a single syringe. He fumbled around for another, and found none, he looked at his own hand before closing his eyes.
"Hang on, Blake, this'll hurt a lot!"
He jammed downward, getting the girl in the heart since her aura was drained in failed attempts to fight the poison off. He pressed down on the plunger, watching the clear liquid disappear into her. Her yellow eyes shot up as she let out a breathless scream, clutching at his arm to push it away on instinct, but he held firm.
"I know, I know, it's almost done, I promise!" Naruto pleads with her before watching her weakly give up as he finished the injection. "You're really a knucklehead, ya know…c'mon…gotta get you…" His heart began to rapidly before he collapsed onto his side, throwing a mixture of violet and sick. "Urraggh!"
Blake weakly looked over at him as he began to grow claws, red energy coming around as the black veins stopped near his neck, beginning to recede. So, was that what he was talking about? In the gardens, with her parents, about him not being human? She felt something in her eyes form, liquid, tears? She felt them slide down her face as he vomited up some blood with the poison miasma he had tried to shield from before both got knocked away.
"Na…Naruto." She struggled, crawling over to him, using her chin for added movement. She got to him just in time to watch collapse onto his side breathing hard. "Naru…to…use the other syringe…Naruto…"
She reached over, checking his pouches, hissing when she cut her hand on something broken. Horrifyingly, she saw the remnants of the other syringe, and all it's broken horror. Had he just really used the only syringe he had left for her?! He couldn't be dying, not for real, not this time! She saw him struggling to rid himself of the venom, and reached over to her katana, Gambol, placing it in his hand.
Remembering him talking about the way he got rid of a poison attacking during his first mission, she gritted her teeth. With a fluent motion, and a had pull upward, she sliced open his palm! Blood dripped in midsized gushes onto the ground from it along with the poison. The smell was horrendous, she did her best not to hurl herself as saw his breathing began to become more relaxed.
"Bl-Blake, run, Adam should be nearby…" Naruto breathed while laying on his side, and she heard the rumbling. She looked up to see the monster having finished off the troops forward to them. "Blake…" He struggled as he tried to get up, and only succeeded in getting to his knees. "Please, I…I can't fight like this, I…can't lose anyone else…"
She saw his hand near his abdomen, where the tear in his clothing revealed his seal. It swirled about, obviously something malevolent was happening. The way she saw it move, counterclockwise, the way something if it was…loosening. She then realized that he was in daze, and she got to his front, noting the absent look in his eye.
"Naruto!"
She noted the shuddering, the shaking, tears falling from his eyes. He was afraid, scared, terrified at what he was seeing…or doing. She saw his hand slowly move toward his stomach, and then saw his pupil disappearing. Red slowly replaced his entire eye as his hand got closer, and closer to the seal. His eyes glowed, shining, as if flames filled them.
"Naruto, stop!"
Blake Belladonna only ever did what she did with one other person besides her family. She grabbed, and yanked his away from the seal on his stomach. Not caring that the rumbling was getting closer, and biting her lip out of her own fear. Blake took him into her arms, trying to pick him up. Naruto's eyes slowly began to change back to normal as she struggled to run with him.
"I'm not letting you just throw away your life!" She screamed as she continued carrying him toward the wall. Her steps stumbling, and then she tripped onto her knees, skinning them. She hissed in pain before getting back up. "You saved my life. You have always put others before yourself! I'm not letting you keep doing that, you deserve to grow up like me! You deserve to have the friends you made here! you deserve to live! So, please, don't give up on me!"
Naruto limply hung on her left shoulder as she tried to run with him more. Listening to all her words as he heard The Nine Tails continually trying to tempt him. All she was managing to do was make The Girtablilu take it's time, torturing it's prey, him. Naruto's eyes felt moisture enter them for the fourth time that day, and he watched as it slowly started to grow barbs on it. Realizing what was about to happen, Naruto found it in himself to speak despite the pain in his throat.
"Look out…"
Blake turned around and brought Gambol barely up in time to block the barb that flew out at them. a resounded clang filled the air as the force knocked her off balance and threw Naruto from her shoulder. She whined when her head smacked the rock, tumbling over on herself as blood slowly drippled down her headwound.
Naruto struggles to get up as he looks at her. Breathing hard as the massive Grimm was only a few hundred meters around from them. When it launched another barb Naruto's eyes snapped up he grabbed Gambol from the ground, brought it up to defend Blake. He gritted his teeth as it forced him back a little bit.
"Naruto," she got up before watching fall to a knee after blocking another long-range barb. "Stay away from him!" Blake screamed whilst slashing another barb, tears of fear filling her eyes. "Stay away from us!"
The shinobi watched as his friend continued to defend him. Finally, a few tears broke loose as he watched a second barb fly this time in succession. He got a kunai out, standing next to her, and blocking the one she couldn't. Both gritting their teeth as they were pushed back. Both blocked another few barbs, and then watched violet mist began to leak down the beast's mouth.
It would soon spit it their way, drowning them in the miasma.
"Are you going to let her die for you, such a waste! Just summon forth my full power, your life isn't worth all of these people!" Naruto felt The Nine Tails speak to him. It's angry voice rumbling deep in his head as he began to think. "You're just a weapon of war, be useful, and release me as you were always meant to do!"
"That's the role of a Jinchuuriki, to be walking time bomb!"
Naruto felt his heart race as he felt his blood down his hand still. He saw his kunai covered in it as The Nine Tails withdrew it's healing powers to force his hand. The shinobi found his vision growing as more tears found themselves pouring out of his eyes. The demon was right, if Blake stayed here, she would be good as dead!
She had a family!
She had people who loved her!
She had every reason to run!
Yet…she stayed by his side, fighting on his flank. Doing her best, and with no hint of hesitation in doing so. Blake Belladonna was going to stand next to him, as his friend, and ally until it was lights out! Until the moment their final gasps left their bodies, and that monster trampled over them.
Till the moment The Nine Tails broke loose from his despair.
"Bring forth my power, summon me! Don't be a coward when it counts the most, weren't you always willing to die for those you care about?! Your precious people!"
Blake was one of his precious people.
"Summon me!"
She was going to die if she stood next to him!
"Bring forth my power! Let me burn this battlefield to ashes!"
He knew that he couldn't do this, no matter how powerful he was! He was just a shinobi, a Jinchuuriki, and he had used every trick of his in the book! His mind was racing a million miles a minute, trying to produce every possible, realistic, answer! Any answer that meant to not make the situation worse, to make it to where Blake got out alive!
She roared out, breaking his mind away from listening to The Nine Tails. The fog lifting ever so lightly as he saw the next barb that flew out at them fall into pieces on his right side. Blake was proudly roaring out in defiance, no longer losing ground as another, and another barb flew toward them.
Where had she summoned such defiance?
Summoned…
"He could get stuck here, like me. I…" Naruto watched as Blake stumbled backward after blocking the last barb. She was breathing hard, and he heard Adam on top of the cliff passage yelling out to her. Naruto Uzumaki made his mind up, and when the next barb flew out he grabbed Gambol and blocked it. "It doesn't matter!"
"I gotta get over myself! I must fulfill my duty! I am a shinobi!" The raw reinforcement he gave himself was causing The Nine Tails power to enter him, but he was controlling it more now! He focused on not falling into it's control as a cloak of red formed around him. "If I have to use everything I got left in the tank, then I'll do so, be damned the consequences!"
"I'm not letting her die!"
Naruto clapped his hands together, flowing chakra all around him, his cloak of red disappearing and turning orange as it all gathered toward his hands. "Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram!" He screamed out with each hand seal formation, and at the end even Blake heard the confirmation of his chakra synchronizing up with what he needed it to do. "Blake, hold on to me!"
She leapt up, grabbed, and wrapped her arms around his midsection as she felt him bend down rapidly. Lifting her feet off the ground. She closed her eyes in a silent prayer as she saw the monster rear to charge, having sensed it's prey trying something that actually could threaten it!
"Set your heart ablaze, no matter what, never give up!" Naruto felt the ground on his palm and felt her around him. "You got people who are counting on you, no matter what, never give up!" His chakra created a pattern of kanji across the ground, a large pattern. "Because you got people you love that need you, and that they want you! So, don't ever throw yourself away! Fight, use everything!"
"SUMMONING JUTSU!"
A massive explosion of smoke filled the passage. Adam who had been sliding down the cliff face to reach Naruto and Blake suddenly felt a rush of air lift him up! This massive plume of smoke was every bit as big as The Girtablilu!
Adam's blue eyes widened when something came from the smoke, some type of giant polearm with two prongs! It slammed forward, though not breaking through the monster's armor, it sent it careening backwards. He watched as it tumbled backward, banging against the passage's walls at it did so.
The young lieutenant landed down on something…soft? He looked down to see some sort of fabric with some unknown language on it. He saw Naruto, who still had his hand down, but now resting on that fabric instead of the ground. Blake was clutched around him. Adam felt a pang of jealousy, but stopped himself, just being thankful that she was alive.
He felt that thing they were standing on shift, moving around. This fabric, dark in color, shifting about as the being angled enough to where Adam had to grab to stay on. Just below him was some sort of yellowish plate, so large that it might as well be a small house!
"This is eerie, I was just drinking with you, Jiraiya."
Naruto's own eyes widened when he saw, instead of a flat head appear from the smoke, two horns. He also noted the skin color, magenta instead of the dull rusty red he was used too! Blake saw through the smoke much easier than both, noting that the monster that had been charging them down was now hundreds of more meters away than before.
"Still, such a clumsy thrust, so if Jiraiya is back home." The voice softly boomed as the trio it felt on its back and they watched as it spun the staff, slamming the butt of the weapon into the ground with a large rumble. "So, please tell me your name, my summoner."
The smoke cleared, revealing a tall magenta toad with a wide body. He stood similarly to Gamabunta in height. Slightly shorter, a little less wide. However, the dark haori it wore fluttered from the winds going through passage as it stood vigilant of the dark creatures coming down the passage, along with the giant creature getting up.
Mostly unharmed, save for being dazed it seemed.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto screamed out as he ran forward with Blake on back still, not knowing that Adam was there. "I've never met you before, but I know Chief Toad, Gamabunta! Please, listen, we can't move backwards because there is a large village there called Kuo Kuana! I need your help, no, we all need your help, please!"
"Naruto…Uzumaki, the dead kid?! Hmm, the fates haven't changed like old man said, ha!" The giant magenta colored toad laughed boisterously before looking up to see Naruto there on it's back with someone on his. "Who is the female, and why do I sense cat from her?"
"This is Blake, she's my friend!"
"I see, well who is the other fellow crawling up my back toward you?" The toad questioned.
Naruto and Blake turned around to see Adam. Blake saw him, and smiled before sniffling. "Adam!" She yelled out in joy, glad that he was alive.
"Yo, Adam!" Naruto greeted him, happy to see that he was alive as well. "Did everyone get out?!"
"Yes, they got out, but we lost a few…I'm sorry." Adam legitimately apologized, and he saw Naruto bite his lip before seeing the much younger warrior focus. "What is this thing?"
"I am not a thing, brat. I am toad warrior from Mount Myōboku. Sorry, my mood is bit clumsy since I'm slightly drunk." The massive toad apologized lightly before grunting as it saw the creatures coming towards them in droves. "It's weird, I don't sense really much chakra from those two, this world is filled with natural energy, however. How strange indeed, and I feel something trying to lock me here, not exactly succeeding too mind you."
"Oh crap, I was afraid of this." Naruto grimaced before letting Blake down, forming two shadow clones to help secure and Adam onto the toad's back. "Hey, I'm sorry, I really I was really down to either this…or…"
"Releasing The Nine Tails?"
"Y-yeah, I was desperate, and if it weren't for Blake helping me find my nerve I'd lost myself! So, please, I know I'm not supposed to demand anything from you guys because I'm just a minion under Chief Toad! I just don't want to lose my friends, my precious people!" Naruto pleaded his case to the massive magenta toad, who nodded it's head to his words. "What do ya say, you wanna throw down with me on this guy?!"
They felt the toad shuffle, bringing it's free hand to it's chin. Hearing it grumble a little bit, they all felt his chuckle under his breath before slamming his staff down. The force made the cliff passages next to them rumble slightly, with another slam of the staff the trio felt him reach behind with his free hand. He took hold of the golden yellow plate, tying the sash attached to his free hand.
It was a massive shield!
"Very well, but I must warn you that I am very ungraceful. As for I ask in return for this service, as someone who loves to drink, I must insist on some alcohol from this place called Kuo Kuana afterward. My tavern back on the mountain could use some extra stock!" The toad declared before pointing the staff out towards The Girtablilu. "Hear me foul creature!"
Naruto, Blake, and Adam with the latter two being held affirmed to the toad's back by his clones felt their hearts swell in joy. Naruto in particular was close to crying as he turned to Blake with a sniffling smile, and then refocused back toward the fight at hand. He gathered up his chakra, taking deep breaths before charging himself up.
"I am a toad warrior from Mount Myōboku! My kind for eons have defended out summoners to the bitter end! I am not to just battle you! I am to make war with you! For my staff shall be brought clumsily down into thunderous union with earth, as I declare out to heaven a mighty victory for these souls upon my back!" He declared thunderously before raising his staff up. "For my summoner is the student of my friend, Jiraiya Of The Three Legendary Sanin!"
"For I am Gamaken, I say to you, come and let us dance! "
Chapter End.
Trivia.
Though The Rasengan can cause internal damage, it has to be able to breach a defense in order to do so.
This marks Blake's first fight in the series, and kills in the series.
Kihana's sisters play on flowers, Aoihana, and Akahana respectively means blue and red flower.
Gamaken is Jiraiya's summon from Shippuden, and is slightly weaker than Gamabunta.
Sasumata his staff, and sakazuki his shield are both massive.
Gamaken does indeed on a tavern on the mountain, per one of the data books.
This marks Gambol's first appearance.
Naruto's inner encouragement was written whilst listening to Solar Halo Dragon Head Dance.
Gamaken's theme is Tanjiro's Burning Bones Scorching Skies theme.
This chapter was written in reverse, as were the last other chapters.
Cloud was originally planned to be killed in the place of Bjorn.
Menagerie's Government is that of Chieftains. Each settlement has a chieftain, and thus they're technically their own individual nation. It's more beneficial for each village/town to work together than to fight one another. This is known as The Conclave of Chieftains. Menagerie as whole only true military force is The White Fang, with local guards being the contingent for civilian forces.
Since Naruto doesn't know about Kushina, or Minato being his parents, his images for his parents are heavily skewed. Hence why he imagines them both blonde, and blue eyed.
Argenti means silver in Latin. His last name is Vulpes.