Sorry ladies and gents. I've got some personal problems going on at home, and the story got sidelined completely. I honestly wasn't planning on uploading this chapter this week, but I couldn't leave you hanging any longer. Apologies for that.

I greatly appreciate everyone who continue to support the story, despite my lack of updates. Thank you!

Reviewers:

GoToHornyJail: Sorry if I disappointed you with that chapter. I hope the rest of the story is more to your liking!

Ficsion: I hope you'll read this review. All the questions, or doubts hopefully will have been answered once the story is finished..

Nithi velu: I could never ever live up to the scale or perfection that is the Lord of the Rings. But as long as you and the other readers are entertained, that's what matters most.

The-Tobi: I'm sorry for the late update. To make it worse, this isn't a big chapter. Mainly because this originally was a part of the last chapter. Next one will be much much longer. Enjoy regardless!

Beresith490: Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it. Unfortunately though, no Zetsu clones, that I will spoil ;p

KingYamYam: Naruto has been getting his ass handed throughout the story. Enjoy the chapter ;)

Prewishjay: I'm glad you understood what I was going for with Naruto's behaviour. Anger makes people think irrationally. They tend to ignore the logic behind it. To make it worse, he has been 'bullied' throughout his life, it takes its toll on him. Enjoy the rest of the story!

Roswelll: And it's officially started ;) enjoy!

Gamesdean1: What do you mean:) that's Madara! Enjoy the chapter!

Snowblinder9: I really really hope that excitement will have you read to the ending. I think it will make you rethink your opinion.

Mando-Vet: It was a joy reading through your reviews to see your reaction to the chapters. I am glad you are enjoying this story so much. I hope I can keep that up until the ending!

Enjoy the chapter, lad/lass (I'm a lad ;) )

Alexiania: And I made it even worse with the incredibly late update. I am so sorry!

Kitsune019: I sometimes think if I didn't make portray them as naïve or as an annoyance too much. Ah well!

So during the early part of the story people were obsessed with Naru/Hina pairings and it started weighing on me a bit too much and I let the readers decide at the time. It was a stupid decision. Once I came back, I just decided that I was going to stick with the original pairing, which was Naruto and Micheru.

It's always a gamble to have established characters pair up with OC's. I hope with Micheru, it worked out.

Enjoy the chapter!

Enforcer209: I'm glad you're enjoying it! I just hope I can live up to the hype :)

NancytheKoala: I laughed when I read your first review. I am very impressed to have you read the entire story in only four days.

Chapter 37 was definitely one of the more emotional chapters and it was honestly one of my favorite chapters to write. In fact, the battle for Suna was my favorite arc to write overall. I loved the 'grittiness', the desperation…just everything hehe.

To answer your last question: Micheru and about 90% of all the hunters are a original character that weren't based off any anime or game. Only Hawke was (slightly-ish) originally based off a character in Dragon age 2, which not so coincidentally shared the same name.

Rex Rogers: I'm here, sorry for the delay. I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

Guest: sorry my man, had some troubles. Enjoy this one!

So, it's a short chapter, the next one will make up for it. I promise. I will also try my best to have the next update be within 2 weeks, I just can't make any promises. My life is a bit of a chaotic mess at the moment.

Chapter 60: A parting gift.

Hinata Hyuuga could practically hear her sister's heart pounding in her chest. She sympathized with her, but could do little to help her nerves, She was a wreck herself.

Staring down the Reaver horde was an absolute terrifying prospect. She turned her eyes from Hanabi back to the small group conversing with the two Reaver representatives.

"You think Kenpachi is going to show?" Sakura asked, leaning towards Hinata.

They couldn't hear the conversation, but it didn't look like it was going their way. "I don't know…" She murmured.

She saw Naruto push past the crowd, joining Tsunade and Hawke. She remembered the conversation they had about Irosa. Despite everything, the reason behind it, she still felt conflicted. It hadn't changed her view of the blonde, but it had caused confusion.

"You think that even with Naruto's help, Kenpachi will show?" Sakura wondered.

"Probably. He's got a personal interest in Naruto." Shikamaru voice his two cents. He had done extensive research against the man, helping Naruto's squad where he could.

They spotted a glint of metal, and a second later, the male reaver dropped to the floor, his head cut clean off.

"Kami, did he just?-"

"He did." Sasuke grunted.

"He's provoking them. That's one way to get his attention." Shikamaru muttered.

They watched as the group ahead quietly waited, motionless.

Hinata was about to speak up, when she felt the words get stuck in her throat. She felt her knees buckle and dropped to one knee. "W-what is this?"

She tried looking around and was shocked to see the majority of the shinobi struggle as much as she did

"I-it's him!" one yelled.

"Its Kenpachi!"

"K-kami, we're screwed!"

'It's his killer intent, how is this even possible?!'

As sudden as it had appeared, the pressure vanished. Gasping for breath, Hinata climbed to her feet. "I've never felt anything like this." She turned back on the group and saw Kenpachi standing there, his claw around Naruto's throat.

"We should do something!" Sakura urged, pointing to Naruto.

"It's not in his nature…I think." Shikamaru said doubtfully.

They stared as their conversation continued, with Kenpachi eventually letting go off Naruto. There were a few more words before both parties turned around and walked back.

Micheru, Itachi and Madara pushed past crowd and met with them. They could hear Micheru speak up. "Did he go for it?"

"He did."

Tsunade's voice turned them away from their eavesdropping. "Defenders. Move forward and engage the enemy!"

A horn behind them sounded, startling a few. As one collective being, everyone started moving.

"This is it…" Ino whispered, reaching for Shikamaru's hand.

In turn he gave her a comforting squeeze. "Trust in the troublesome blonde."

She gave a nervous nod. "Trusting in the class baka…I never thought it would come to that…" she let out a half-hearted chuckle which only made her come across as a nervous wreck.

"Look after each other, work as a team!" she recognized the voice of her old classroom teacher, Iruka Umino.

They started nearing the centre of the field, just as the Reavers were and they slowed down once more.

A deep loud voice echoed over the field, unsettling Ino more than she already was. "Soldiers of the elemental nations. I bow to your bravery despite overwhelming odds. Are there any last words?"

Their leader gave a response. "Just one last act of defiance!"

A flare popped in the air, and off to their right enormous clouds of smoke appeared. "Nani?"

"What is going on?" Tenten asked as she watched with wide eyes.

"Those are Jiraiya-sama's allies. His toads!" A chunin to her right exclaimed.

"Time to squash some bugs!" a voice boomed, originating from one of the large toads.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

More smoke popped above them surprising them with even more allies. "Did anyone know about this?" Hinata asked, a smile tugging on her face.

Shikamaru wisely kept his mouth shut, but did lock eyes with Ino for a moment.

"It's starting!" Lee yelled, hopping up and down.

They all turned their attention back on Naruto, who was now surrounded in dark chakra. They could see Kenpachi do the same, both blasting chakra in all directions, their clothes flapped wildly.

Hinata looked down at Hanabi who's mouth was ajar, watching their transformation with both fear and awe, her Byakugan was ablaze. "I-I've never seen such terrifying chakra before…Naruto doesn't stand a chance."

She wrapped an arm around her sister, pulling her close. "We have to trust him." As she said that, she could see Naruto look over his shoulder, his eye roaming around the crowd for a few seconds before locking on hers. He gave her a nod.

She smiled at him and he turned back around. "For everyone we lost along the way." His voice rumbled.

With a small gasp she watched as Naruto, followed by his team charged forward.

"Good luck everyone!"

"Never give up!"

"Keep fighting, no matter the cost!"

More words of encouragement were shouted as everyone prepared to charge forward as well, waiting for the final order.

They saw how Naruto's claw slammed against Kenpachi's, a wave of chakra bursting from it.

"Gar-Gar!"

"Attack!"

Both armies rushed forth, both sides letting out their emotions with loud roars and screams. One side to relieve the fear and desperation. The other because of excitement and intimidation.

Hinata couldn't help but join in, activating her own Byakugan along the way, her gaze flickered to Hanabi. 'I need to keep her save. No matter…'

Ghost stared at his claw, still connected against Kenpachi's, sparks of chakra bursting from the contact.

Kenpachi materialised a blade in his other hand and swung it down. Letting a kunai drop from his sleeve, he blocked the blade with a heavy grunt.

Itachi used Naruto's shoulder as a stepping stone and jumped over. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"

Kenpachi pulled his claw back and let the attack impact against it, before he reached for Itachi's outstretched leg, throwing him towards his new incoming threat who shared his last name.

That left Kenpachi exposed to Naruto's follow up.

"Rasengan!"

The attack crashed against his chest, sending him flying back. Naruto straightened his back and briefly looked to his teammates, while addressing his foe. "Don't expect the same end result Daghar."

Daghar came walking back, glancing at his passing subordinates who were now crashing their forces into the shinobi's, surrounding them with clashing fighters. They were ignoring what was happening, neither side intervened with their fight and instead passed around them.

"Because you hit me with a mediocre attack?"

"No, actually because of Micheru."

"The girl? I'll disintegrate her." He was about to dash forward, but found himself unable to. "What is this?"

"Kagemane no Jutsu…complete." Micheru grunted from the back, her hands clasped together, her shadow connected with Kenpachi's. The voice of Shikamaru echoing in her head.

'The kagemane no Jutsu is meant to immobilize. But it's only as powerful as the user. If your opponent is stronger, he can figure out a way to break free. Normally we wouldn't consider giving out our clan jutsu. But desperate and troublesome times cause for even more troublesome measures.'

She watched as her teammates wasted no time and charged forward. Naruto aimed his katana at Kenpachi's chest, while Madara held a Gunbai and had it sent swinging to his neck.

Itachi was already forming another series of hand seals in preparation.

They could see Kenpachi widen his eyes in surprise as he tried to break free of the Micheru's jutsu. "You will have to try harder than that!"

With a mighty roar he broke free of the jutsu and parried madara's attack with his own blade. With his free hand he pushed down against the blunt side of Naruto's blade and let it continue, piercing his armour and into his side, where it hit nothing critical.

Recognizing it as his own counter during his clash at Suna, Naruto tried jumping back but Kenpachi grabbed his outstretched arm and pulled him close, ramming his claw against the side of his face. He smashed into the snow-covered grounds and didn't get up.

"Katon: En'yari!" Itachi hurled a spear made out of fire towards Kenpachi.

Forming a cross guard, the attack sent the Reaver skidding back, leaving a snow trail behind.

Naruto pushed off against the ground and did a backflip, creating distance. He grimaced as his hand touched his face before looking at it, noticing it was covered in blood. "He's certainly not pulling any punches."

Micheru looked at Naruto, biting on her lip to refrain from showing concern. This wasn't the place for it. His glowing eye locked with her.

"That was a good attack. I didn't expect him to break free that easily."

"I was worried he would. The jutsu is against a normal enemy, not for someone like Kenpachi."

Naruto's eye widened with a fraction before he aimed his claw at Micheru. "Chakra push!"

The two both got sent flying away, crashing into the people around. A mere second later, Kenpachi appeared out of nowhere, his blade aimed where the two had stood.

Madara's voice roared above the fighting. "Katon: Bakufū Ranbu!" A spiral of fire engulfed Kenpachi who was forced to expel a large amount of demonic nucleus, blocking the attack. He countered by forming a spear in his hand and threw it towards Madara, who simply let it phase through him.

Kenpachi stared at him for a moment. "Interesting technique." He leaned back and let Naruto fly past him, grabbing his limb and twirled around, hurtling him into Itachi. Snapping his claw out, a blaze of fire and red nucleus crashed into the two, sending them even further away.

Micheru flipped over Kenpachi and aimed her short blade at the imposing figure, who easily dodged it. He grabbed her by the throat and pulled her close. "Insect!"

"Go to hell!" Micheru grunted, sparks of electricity emerging from her body. Too late to react, her body discharged a powerful current, electrocuting Kenpachi who froze in pain and shock.

Madara dove from above, his gunbai slamming against the side of Kenpachi's head who stumbled back, letting go of Micheru in the process.

"Reform!"

Immediately they reformed their diamond formation, across from Kenpachi. They all appeared slightly out of breath and only sporting minor wounds.

"It seems you have your teamwork down and actually managed to hit me. Now that I've seen how you fight. It's my turn."

The four tensed up, lowering themselves in a defensive stance. "Ready yourselves." Itachi whispered to the others.

With a staggering speed, Kenpachi charged forward. He feigned an attack, aimed for Naruto, only to disappear in flashstep, appearing behind Madara. Red chakra exploded from his claw, striking him in the back.

Madara was sent flying, crashing into the crowd of Reavers, far away.

Naruto followed with his own flashstep and body slammed into Kenpachi, sending them stumbling to the ground, with Naruto on top. His fists connect again Kenpachi's face as he repeatedly struck him with as much force as he could put behind it.

Kenpachi's claw grabbed him by the hair and yanked him away, ploughing him into the ground. Because of the strength he put into the attack, Naruto's body literally bounced, which the Reaver used, kicking him and sending the blonde into the fighting crowd.

Itachi and Micheru both let out a flurry of attacks, managing to connect a few. Grabbing both their heads, he banged them together and sent them flying after the blonde with a nucleus discharge.

With a groan Naruto pushed his head up from the snow, his vision hazy. All he could see were bodies on the floor, or of the crowd around him. He spit out a mouthful of blood and slowly climbed to his feet.

His body protested by providing him with sharps jabs of pain but he ignored it. He watched as Itachi and Micheru both got struck and sent towards him, landing in a heap in front of him. "Are you two okay?"

They disentangled and climbed to their feet, with the help of Naruto.

"My head is killing me." Micheru muttered as she held the side of her head, but quickly deduced that she didn't have a combat-hampering injury.

Itachi let out small whimper but straightened his back. "It seems he's no longer holding back."

"You got that right," Naruto turned to Micheru. "Keep in reserve and only attack if you see an opening. We can't have him take out our medic."

Micheru gave a curt nod. "Got it. Let me check our injuries, Naruto?"

He understood what she was going to ask and held up his hands in a seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Dozens of clones appeared, forming a perfect column, waiting for the order.

"You know what to do."

His copies all gave a confirmation and sprinted forth, towards Kenpachi.

Micheru immediately went to work, her hands glowing bright green. "Naruto, you've got a cracked rib and a large cut just above your hairline. I can't do anything about the bruises, unfortunately."

"It's okay. You can fix the rib, right?"

She briefly stared at him, a shiver running up her spine as she briefly became aware just how imposing Naruto himself was looking.

His hand that was transformed into the gruesome claw was slowly opening and closing, as if he was trying to keep a good blood flow. The red glowing eye looked at her with interest.

"Micheru?"

"Y-yeah that's no problem, it will be weaker than the others. So try and not get hit there."

"You're funny."

"I'm hilarious Naruto-kun." The fear she felt disappeared, a small smile on her face.

"Again with the jabs, I'll remember that."

Micheru quirked an eyebrows before she turned her attention on Itachi. "Itachi, follow my finger."

A series of puffs of smoke indicated that his clones were being wiped out, and fast.

Itachi's red sharingan eyes slowly followed her finger, but found it difficult and shook his head, only earning him an extra wave of pain.

"You've got a concussion, a mild one…I lucked out apparently."

"Can you do something, Micheru?" Itachi asked.

She shook her head. "No and to make it worse, if he hits you again it will only increase in severity. All I can really do is give you these to numb the pain." She rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a pill, similar to a chakra-pill.

Accepting it with gratitude, he quickly swallowed it, ignoring the bitter aftertaste it had.

"I hope Madara is okay." She said as he she looked towards where the masked teammate had disappeared to.

"I have severe bruising to my back, including burn marks." He appeared behind them in a swirl.

She quickly ran over, turning him around. Ignoring the stare he gave her as he looked over his shoulder. "quickly, pull off the robe."

He listened to the order and removed it. Because of the attack, the back of his clothing was severely damaged. It was unfortunate but irrelevant.

With glowing green hands she started going to work. "I can fix the burn marks, but not the bruises. Take some painkillers to ease the pain."

He reached inside the robe and pulled out a small leather bag, grabbing one of the painkillers. It was the same one Itachi received from Micheru.

"Okay…done!"

And not a moment too soon. Kenpachi came rushing back, now holding a large axe, looking none worse for wear.

"Itachi, let's go!" Naruto yelled as he met Kenpachi straight on, holding his Katana in a horizontal block, With Itachi close behind.

Sasuke and Kakashi both weaved through the crowd of Reavers, fighting side by side as they cut down the legionnaire horde that tried to kill them.

Both their sharingan were ablaze, watching their every move, as if it was in slow motion, calculating and acting accordingly.

"Chidori!" plunging his piercing attack into the man, exploding out the back. Sasuke kicked him away and with his jutsu still active, backhanded a man who came charging in from behind.

Four more jumped the Uchiha and tackled him to the ground, lifting their weapons to pierce him. Struggling, he tried to break free, but their sheer amount made up for their lack of skill.

A slab of stone flew into the group, instantly clearing Sasuke. Looking over, he saw Sakura with an outstretched hand, standing next to a hole in the ground. "Arigato, Sakura-chan."

The three formed up and stood back to back as they continued to hold off the horde of monsters. "Naruto better kill the teme fast!" Sakura grunted as she ducked underneath a wild haymaker.

Sasuke countered with jab, downing her opponent. "Just keep- fighting!"

Jumping overhead were two humongous toads, ploughing their weight into the Reaver army below, swiping their massive weapons over the ground, creating trenches all along the way.

A wave of water jutsu spewed barely over their heads, landing just ahead. In retaliation, large red waves of chakra flew over, scorching heat could be felt as it passed.

Sasuke kicked away the feet from underneath the Hastae and followed up with a deadly swipe, his kunai slicing the woman's throat.

More jutsu roared past them as they crashed in the approaching Reavers, creating a temporary break.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he watched as there was a shuffle in the Reaver line. ~We need anbu on my position. We have Praetorian's approaching.~ He tossed a red smoke pallet up in the air.

~We'll send two anbu squads to support, but be aware, we can offer little to nothing else. All upper tier defenders are already engaged.~

Two praetorians appeared on his side. He lifted his arms to block the high kicks they threw his way, barely able to block them. Countering with a low kick of his own, he put one out of the fight for a moment, before continuing his momentum and shoulder-slammed into the second one, sending them both to the ground.

Fists connected with the downed Praetorian, but he retaliated by pushing Kakashi away with his legs. A wave of red chakra emitted from his hands and surged to the grey haired Jonin, who put up a cross guard to block it.

Sasuke decapitated Kakashi's foe before he could follow up. Turning to the second one, his hand already at his mouth. "Katon Housenka no Jutsu!" multiple blasts of fire connected.

The Reaver screamed in pain, but blasted forward regardless, his face covered in extensive burn marks.

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as he tried putting up a defense, but he had no time.

The claw swiped at his face, and were it not for the sudden intervention of Ridou, Sasuke would've been dead.

"Ridou?"

Grunting he smirked, blocking the attack with two kunai. "F-Finish him!"

The Reaver tried to flashstep away, but got kicked to the ground, where Sasuke finished him off with a well placed kunai to his heart.

"Arigato, that was close."

"We're not out of it yet!"

New Praetorians arrived and with gritted teeth, the two engaged, being supported by Kakashi and Sakura.

It was obvious that their teamwork was leagues ahead of the Reavers. In fact, the only teamwork their foe used were their numerical superiority. Crashing wave after wave of glowing 'mutants' into their enemies.

They managed to negate that advantage by creating chokepoints during the battle of Konoha and Suna, and even to some extent at the battle of Kumo. But here, they didn't have to advantage. It was one of the reasons the Reavers agreed in the first place. There were no traps that could be laid out, no bottlenecks to be created.

The arrival of the two anbu squads gave them a wave of relief. Sasuke changed his grip on his kunai as he charged along with the Anbu. 'You better hurry up, Naruto…'

The fight was unlike any of the battles they had fought before. There wasn't a front. It was everywhere, stretching as far back as the village of Yaika, where the fight was inside the buildings, on rooftops and in streets.

It was messy and chaotic. It seemed that the Reavers weren't careful anymore. They were jumping over the 'front of the fight, to land in the middle, to break open the battle.

Hinata watched with dreaded pale eyes as Naruto and his teammates were clashing against Kenpachi. Waves of chakra rolled over them as their fight knew no bounds. They paid little mind to the people around them, often pushing past them, just to reach one another again.

"Look at them go…" She said with a hoarse voice.

"It's insane…They aren't holding back in the slightest." Kiba said. He too had been watching the fight.

They watched as Itachi took a serious blow to the face, only to be replaced by Naruto who continued to put pressure on the Reaver.

A moment later, Naruto got jackhammered into the ground, disappearing from sight.

"Kami...Things aren't looking good." Said Hanabi, hand firmly balled into fists.

"I knew Naruto said they would win, but they aren't really showing it."

"We should assist where we can. We're just watching a fight while people are dying around us." Hinata said as she forced herself to look away.

Just as they turned, a body rammed through a crowd of people, landing at their feet.

"Micheru!" Hinata exclaimed as she quickly crouched down.

With a groan the Akatsuki agent opened her eyes. "H-Hinata?"

"Are you okay?"

Slowly she sat up, looking at the others. "I'm okay…my entire body just feels like its in pieces." She let out a painful chuckle.

"It doesn't look like you guys are doing alright." Kiba said as he helped her to her feet.

"Well we got a few good hits in, surprised him a couple of times as well."

"-Icheru are you good?" Naruto yelled as he came to a skidding halt.

"I should be asking you that question," she looked at his scorned clothing.

"I-" He pushed her out of the way and quickly formed a red blazing kunai, holding it up to block the swinging axe.

"Enough of this!" Kenpachi growled as he pushed Naruto's defense away and slammed his fist into his face.

Naruto went with the blow and twirled around, changing his kunai into a katana and swung it with a deadly slash.

Kenpachi parried it and formed a short blade of his own in his other hand and wildly swung, hitting flesh.

Naruto let out a scream of pain as he stumbled back, glancing down at his arm. A deep gash at his bicep had cut all the way down to the bone, ripping away muscle as if it was nothing.

"Naruto!" Hinata yelled as she ran to approach, but was cut off by Micheru as she charged past her, her boots snapped together as she planted them in Daghar's face, creating distance between them.

Breathing heavily, Naruto gave a nod of thanks to Micheru who quickly came running up with glowing green hands. "Hang on!"

"I don't think so!"

The two jumped back and barely dodged the next attack. A moment later, they were covered again by Madara and Itachi.

Micheru resumed her attempt, her eyebrows furrowed, ignoring the hammering of her own heartbeat. Naruto had been incredibly lucky. If the Kenpachi had been a few feet closer, he would've cut it off completely. "I, I can't fix this Naruto. He completely cut through your muscles. I can close the wounds and reattach the muscles and nerves, but without rest, they'll tear again."

"Kuso!" Naruto groaned. A wave of pain caused him to close his eye. "Okay…Okay do what you can, then we need to focus on the next part of the plan."

Micheru gave a quick affirmative and went to work, her hands glowing bright green.

Using his usable hand, with a bit of effort he managed to pull off the hand sign needed to create a dozen clones, who quickly sprang forward, assisting the two Uchiha.

She leaned closer, inspecting his arm before patting him on the back. "It's as well as can be."

"You know what to do, Naruto." Madara said as he came flying past them.

The blonde stepped forward and watched as Kenpachi approached once more, his hands both each held an axe, twirling around.

His usable arm shot up, having it aimed forward. "Grab on." Naruto ordered as his teammates quickly followed his order.

Kenpachi stamped forward, preparing to swing his blade.

"Banshō Ten'in!"

Kenpachi could do little as he suddenly got flung towards Naruto and grabbed by the throat. "How?"

Naruto ripped off the cloth, revealing his scarred face. The mauled eye socket that had been empty for a long time now revealed to contain a red glowing eye that in turn held a hue of purple. What was most surprising, was the ripple pattern. "A parting gift of wise man I admired."

He exhaled and stepped forward. Taking everyone with him.

Soooo Naruto and the Rinnegan. Something I originally did not have in mind. As I said before, I hate sudden boosts in power. I just couldn't ignore this though. Naruto in this story has always been with the same mindset, by any means necessary. That includes implanting the Rinnegan.

So yeah, Rinnegan ;)

Sorry for the short chapter. Initially this was on top of the previous chapter, it had two great moments for the conclusion of a chapter. So I decided to tweak it and make it into two chapters.

Until next time!