Riptide

Naruto was blond again, his dyed hair changed by a hair manipulation jutsu Jiraiya had taught him.

The thought of his old master was like black ash on his tongue. He wished the man would have understood his actions, but he was Konoha through and through. No matter how he described it, the man would never trust him again. Always, he would talk of him in the same breath as he did with Orochimaru, and wasn't that terrible feeling enough? No, the world said, cutting him from the toads, from that first real step into power he had given him. Jiraya wasn't the best teacher, but still, he meant a lot to him, taught him all he could. For all he wasn't, all he couldn't be, he was at least that to him. Another one he cared for gone.

He was holed up in an abandoned countryside home, rotting wooden walls and moss-covered paint. Nothing here was worth much, except the shade. He had to flee Lightning after his encounter with Ni. She was strong, but less so that him. It was encouraging, to say the least, that he was able to take out two S-ranks like that, without a single scratch on his body. Addicting was one word he would use to describe that feeling, of domination, of power over someone else, the ability to decide between their life and their death and to take it anyway.

Soon, he thought, he would start his homebound revolution. He had spent enough time running, enough time training. He needed a single breakthrough of impossible strength more, and he would be unstoppable. That was his win, his journey's end.

He sat in a lotus position once more.

And reached into the depths of his mind.

He pulled his body from calm, serene water. In front, like always was darkness. Yet, the beast's eyes were smaller, lower.

He sprung a light from his hand, metaphysical and bright, blue and cool, sending it forward into the sell so he could see what he had accomplished. A sharp smile grew on his sharper face, as it revealed a snarling, orange fox, the Kyubii no kitsune, but smaller, the size of a mere horse, ill-fitting his once apocalyptic nature.

"Come to gloat, human?" It said, hatred and fury mere words, not doing the depths of his antagonism credit.

"Yes, in fact, I have. A few weeks, maybe, and you will be reduced to nothing. I, Uzumaki Naruto, will have done what no other man can, destroyed the 9 tailed beast."

It snarled. "You are pitiful. You thirst for power for no gain, destroy only for your ego! You betrayed every single one of your friends, who will never consider you theirs again. You spat on your idiot father's legacy yet continued with it like a hypocrite. You thirst for power yet claim you have it, lust for other women despite your desert dwelling lover, and the worst of it? You think in all of this you are the good guy, the hero.

You are nothing, Naruto. Barely even human, yet far below even the level of my weakest siblings. Not in power, but in self."

The smile had been replaced with a bored expression.

"You done yet?"

It scoffed. "Don't try to deceive me. I am in your mind, I know all you think. I know those words struck a chord, as you say. You believe them, believe me. Why did you betray your Temari's trust?"

The jinjuriki's face turned to hate. "I didn't! She… I love her, but she isn't here. I can't love what isn't there. I can't betray it either."

"You think she betrayed you."

"No, I… I wanted her to come, to follow me. But she didn't. And I can't know she will be there when I come back. I can't sacrifice everything for her when I don't even know if she loves me anymore."

A deep laugh rang out behind the bars. "There it is. Pitiful, like I said, but you will earn no pity from me."

Then another laugh, from the man this time. "Well remember Kyubii, I won't give you any pity either." He said, a sadistic smile on his face, as a torii slammed down through the beast's spine, eliciting a pained and anguished roar.

"Take that as a lesson, beast. I am your master now."

The roaring grew even louder, as Naruto walked out of his own mind.

Same was right. Despite Kakashi's ego and self-loathing, he was a good commander. They had managed to reach the second jinjuriki following a number of discussions held in shinobi towing bars and trade road gossip leading them after some scarfed brunette. He changed appearances but the general shape stayed the same. And always, he strayed away from them, from Konoha's hunter nin. Day after day they compared his movements to that of the pursuit, and it was almost eery how he moved around them perfectly each time. Kakashi bet if he asked when they had caught the clone, it would line up with the exact day he moved.

It was a lead, and only that of course, but it was more solid than anything else they had gotten over the last 3 years. It led them to Ni, who one of his ANBU overheard talking about the man who had saved her.

How he had spikey hair and blue eyes, and tanned skin, used a spiralling ball as a jutsu, and was strong as hell. He was taller, sure, but Kakashi expected that. The clones were as short as his 15-year-old self, it made sense he would grow in that time.

They followed even more, faster and further, until the entire squad was searching for the suspected Uzumaki. They still went covered though, cloth and disguises and casual clothing.

Except him. He hadn't taken off that mask since starting his hunt 3 years ago. He hadn't stopped training either.

Kakashi knew the thought was cruel, but he was going to stab Naruto in the heart with a Chidori, and this time it wouldn't miss.

Naruto was meditating. The leaves were blowing, the air was flowing, rivers running. He knew all of it. Sometimes, the feeling was enough to make him cry.

These days, he knew the planet was living. The leaves were its hair, the air its breath, rivers its veins. It had chakra, even. He had never known anything not living to have chakra. Even seals, as unmoving as they were, were living shifting thinking beings.

How many dead had rested on the earth of this great living thing? How mountainous and horrifying was it every thought, every guilt filled cry of anguish mistook for an earthquake. Naruto thought, how terrifying it would be to be a planet, to be that massive, to see battles taking place on your skin, the world that is you destroyed bit by bit by its inhabitants.

But then, Naruto thought, if you were that powerful, why would you care? About the death, about the pain, about anyone but yourself?

Power, Naruto realised, was everything. He shifted his head to the side, avoiding a sword by seconds, perfectly.

A clone spawned behind him, snapping the ANBU's neck with one movement, taking the blade, and launching it at his partner. Naruto himself body flickered into the air, launching 3 wind blades, killing 3 foes, before smashing into another, rolling both over, taking out a kunai, then stabbing it into his heart. The man shifted into a log though, as the substituted man fell onto Naruto from above, the sword piercing through, but only revealing smoke, as his body was cut to ribbons, the jinjuriki midair, form hidden by the midday sun.

There were still 50 left, his senses told him. He spawned 1 clone for each, 10, himself rushing through the ground using earth chakra closer and closer to the strongest men. As he thought, they had a sensor, noticing him travelling towards them. One of them tried to skewer him with spikes, surrounding his body with chakra, but Naruto was more powerful, rushing much more chakra right back through the pathway, blowing his arms to pieces.

Then, he burst from the ground, looking for the least surprised one. A blonde, with a hawk mask, which he killed in a single moment, effortlessly by thrusting his hand through her chest. The next went down by a single kick, the next thrown into another, both killed with a fireball.

It was almost too easy to dodge an overhead and bury a rasengan into the man's stomach. Man after woman, death after death, it was effortless. Too easy. Was this all it took for him to slaughter so many of his former allies?

He was snapped out of that thought by a number of his clones popping, soon after another, though with no apparent cause. Maybe he had made a mistake? He didn't order them to dispel, so why did they?

More and more popped, until soon there were none left, and a single signature rapidly arrived. Naruto spawned yet more clones in preparation, until he felt space distort somehow, pulling him rapidly in. Panicking, he switched with a clone, who he dispelled soon after, the void in space ending soon after. That was enough to distract him though, as an ANBU slammed his lightning covered kunai right into his chest. It didn't dig deep enough to kill though, the markings around Naruto's eyes telling of his transition into sage mode, making his body too durable to cut by any normal means, reducing the Raikiri into a small stab. Still, Naruto's hand went up, stopping it.

He looked at the ANBU, his gloved hand still trying to force the blade into his body, and saw that hair, the type he would recognize anywhere.

"Kakashi?"

The masked man looked up, then dodged back, pulling the blood splattered kunai from his body. It hurt a little, and blood still leaked out the body, steam flowing out as the wound repaired itself slowly.

"Traitor! Killer! You do not get to call me by that name."

Naruto scoffed.

"Really? You come after me? Not Sasuke, the real traitor?"

"One backstabbing student at a time."

The wound had nearly closed, Kakashi noticed. Naruto still stared right at him.

"I never stabbed anyone in the back, just defended myself. I needed what was mine, can't you see that?"

"Forgive me if I am blinded by your attempted murder of your teammate."

Naruto laughed, sadistic almost.

"And what about Sakura, huh?"

"Oh, the student that stayed? She is doing quite well for herself, on track to becoming the best kunoichi in the village. I guess she has you to thank for that."

The jinjuriki sighed.

"You know, I never wanted it to come to this. All I wanted was what I was owed. That position was mine the moment my father put the 9 tails inside me, the moment the village hated me! The damn moment you lied and failed me time and time again."

Kakashi stood up straight, shook his head. "That is true. I failed you Naruto. I let you become this thing, this monster. So, let me make up for it."

He said, charging up a chidori.

Naruto, still angry, snarled, charging a rasengan.

They ran at each other, smashing their attacks into one another. Piercing lightning crackled, spiralling ball grinded. The medley of chakra infused destruction built up more and more pressure.

Until it exploded.

A/N: I am back. I was busy writing for a collaborative writing project with a few friends. It was really fun, and I will probably continue to write for it in a higher amount. I decided to come back to this when I got a review, so thank you all for your reviews.

On another note, this is the first part of a 2 part-er I will finish whenever. Possibly tomorrow, it depends.

Kakashi and Naruto confront one another. Naruto has the brute strength, but Kakashi has the skill and year's experience. I wanted to convey how much these two hate each other and how incompatible their views are. Naruto hates Kakashi because he feels he failed them, and Kakashi agrees, but it is because he feels he is accountable for Naruto that he feels he has to kill him. Both are wrong btw, Kakashi is a small part of why Naruto is the way that he is now.

Oh yeah, Naruto also kills like 30 people. I did this to show how far he is willing to go for himself, that he would even betray his home in such a display of violence whilst still thinking it as his village, his people. As he sees it, he must do anything he can to regain control, even if he has to burn it to the ground. It is incorrect, like a lot of things about this Naruto, but he doesn't care.

Also, Kurama is losing control. Soon, he will be nothing but Naruto's. What will be that final push though (you can guess btw, it is probably more obvious than you think.)

Anyway that's it from me for now, remember to review and thanks for reading, have a nice day.