Disclaimer: This story started with a kiss in a hospital, and it has evolved into Naruto surviving an assassination attempt on his life. I promise not to leave any readers on a big cliffhanger in this chapter. This is the longest chapter so far, but I feel like you all deserve this creation. Let's get this show on the road!
She Makes Miso Happy
Chapter 5: Innocence Lost
The wind tore through the broken skyglass window. A cascade of silvery moonlight illuminated Naruto. He stank of coppery-iron blood, sweat, and smoke. He removed shards of glass from his knuckles and cracked his neck. "Even if you kill me, you won't get away," Naruto said to his four assassins. Naruto stared at the approaching four shadows. He slid his sandals across the broken glass-covered rotten floor. "I understand wanting to kill me but leave out the Ichiraku's! They are good people and have done nothing wrong."
The four assassins stopped. The one in front of Naruto was bald and had a slashed Kiri Hitai-tai. They wore a black trench coat and had sparkling silver eyes. With a smirk the assassin in front of Naruto said, "You are right. They don't deserve to die and neither do you."
"Wait. Really?" Naruto said in surprise.
"Hahahaha! My name is Chabi," Chabi said with a widening smirk. "Many people don't deserve to die, but we received a contract. A black sacrament, a blood mission, and even though I don't want to kill you. I must. Your ramen friends aren't part of the contract, but Miki wants you to suffer. Making you suffer is part of the black sacrament."
"Black sacrament?" Naruto repeated as he tightened his grip around both kunai in his hands. His hands turned white, and his crimson eyes grew more malicious causing his assassins to take a step back. "Who created the contract? Who wants me to suffer?"
"We can't say. It's part of our code. When we receive a black sacrament, we must follow the guidelines until the very end. Even if the black sacrament is to rape, make someone suffer, and then burn them alive. We will follow it, until the end." Chabi explained as he pulled out chains from the sleeves of his trench coat. "Rules Naruto, without them we are no better than animals."
"Rules were made to be broken!" Naruto shouted back at Chabi so loud that his voice echoed off the walls of the abandoned factory. "If your rules guide you to rape, murder, and cause suffering! Then those are shitty fucking rules!"
"You're a funny kid… Being a shinobi is no laughing matter when you get in deep. Shinobi of all nations have committed far worse sins than us Black Jesters. The only difference between you and I is that you will die," Chabi replied while swinging his chains like lassos at his side. "Enough talking!"
One of the assassins rushed Naruto from behind. This assassin had clawed gauntlets over their giant fists. Naruto ducked and rolled backward causing the assassin's hood to become undone. Naruto realized his assassin was a man with a badly burned face and their Oto Hitai-tai was slashed. All four assassins stood next to each other. Two of them jumped to opposite sides of the factory and made a dozen hand signs.
Naruto had no time to respond to them because the clawed Oto Black Jester rushed Naruto. Naruto ran inside of a giant rusty steel pipe once used to ventilate smoke. Loud echoing footsteps made Naruto's ears vibrate as he ran through the pipe. The metal-clawed Black Jester was chuckling not far behind him.
"Are you scared?" The Oto assassin asked while dragging their clawed hands against the rusty walls of the pipe.
Orange and yellow sparks whizzed from the metal claws of the assassin's blades as they chased Naruto down the pipe. Naruto tried to formulate a plan, but his mind was running into walls. Naruto was about to exit out of the pipe only for him to see Chabi waiting for him in front of the exit. Naruto growled. He was trapped.
The two Black Jesters on either side of the factory finished preparing their jutsu. Their voices sang out, "Denki Saku (Electric Fence)!"
All the walls and exits of the factory became encased by a soft humming yellow barrier. Goosebumps rose from Naruto's arms as he felt the electric flow in the air. Naruto watched the clawed Oto-nin closing in. He realized he was trapped not only in the rusty pipe but also in the factory! The Oto-nin rushed forward their razor-sharp metal claws outstretched ready to skewer him.
Naruto turned to face the Oto-nin. From behind him, he heard Chabi say, "After what you did to Beniyo I thought you'd put in more of a fight!" Naruto roared as the Oto-nin approached him. The roar turned into a scream as the assassins tore Naruto in half with his three long claws in his right hand.
Poof! The Oto-nin fell forward face first in the rusty pipe as he realized he had only attacked a shadow clone. Chabi looked at his fellow assassin confused and disappointed. "Why do I even bother helping you out?" Chabi rhetorically said to the Oto assassin.
"Chabi, Naruto Uzumaki is here!"
"Then where is he?" Chabi asked turning around at the pipes exit only observing dust, rats, and rusty metal sheets. "Time is running out. There are already shinobi closing in around the Underground and they'll find Yasuo's body."
Before Chabi and the Oto-nin could say any more words. Chabi caught a blonde-haired boy jumping from the rafters of the factory onto the other side of the rusty industrial pipe. Before Chabi or the other two assassins could do anything. Naruto was making a series of hand signs. His crimson Kyuubi eyes blazed into their minds as Naruto finished with the horse hand sign.
"Netsu Kemuri (Hot Smoke)!" Naruto yelled causing Chabi to dash out of the way.
The Oto-nin got up and rushed towards Naruto with his clawed hands dragging sparks against the rust. Only to stop in his tracks and run in the other direction as a plume of tar-colored smoke shot forth from Naruto's toes at breakneck speed. The Oto-nin tried running out of the pipe but he got swallowed by the plume of erupting smoke. Naruto smiled as his new jutsu finally got tested out on the battlefield. It still needed a few tweaks to get Koga's theory right, but the jutsu worked!
Worked it did, for the Oto-nin cried and gasped. Naruto's smile disappeared as he heard the Oto-nin screaming, "Nooo! It hurts, it hurts, mommy! Mommy!" The smoke smelled of tar and burned flesh. The crying quickly died out causing Naruto to realize he had taken another life. He had no time to process it because one of the other assassins from the walls was falling from the ceiling.
Naruto sidestepped away and jumped onto the rusty pipe. Down below him was a woman. She pulled down her black hood revealing beautiful red hair and vibrant green eyes. Her Hitai-tai was slashed with the insignia of Kiri. She looked up at Naruto and smiled seductively. "I don't like killing genin, especially cute young boys like you." Naruto stood petrified as the woman continued giving him an alluring look. "Naruto, is it? My name is Keiko. I want you to remember me."
Chabi and the other cloaked figure were watching from steel platforms on the opposite side of the factory. The platforms were four stories high. Naruto looked at the two other foes out of curiosity. He felt their chakra and found them to be just as curious as Naruto.
"You want me to remember you? Shouldn't that be the other way around?" Naruto rhetorically said knowing her true intent.
"This thing of ours," Keiko said only to pause.
"This thing?" Naruto said back.
"I was a honeypot. Honeypots are forced to seduce targets. We did it to blackmail, influence, and sometimes assassinate targets, but it mostly was all blackmail. When I passed the Academy and killed my best friend to become a genin. I thought I'd go on missions and adventures. I thought I could make a name for myself in Kiri. They took everything from me! I had no right over my body. I was forced to sleep with strangers and do things against my will. I always wanted children, but they took that from me too… shinobi are slaves to their nations." Keiko stopped talking and looked at Naruto this time oddly. "We are the same Naruto."
Naruto looked back at her in fear. He wasn't sure what she was rambling on about, but this allowed him to heal up and grow a bearing on how to fight everyone. Naruto saw Keiko's pain in her eyes and understood why she was talking to him, "You were a weapon." Keiko nodded. Naruto looked down then said, "I understand."
"Jinchuriki and prostitutes are one of the same. We are called names behind our backs. Even when we do it for our nation, they treat us like shit. Society hates us, yet they want us to go back to work. If you survive, I want you to remember me. Remember that us weapons deserve respect!" Keiko proclaimed with tears in her eyes. She made a dozen hand signs and yelled, "Suiton: Mizu Deppo (Water Release: Water gun)!"
Naruto backflipped and somersaulted as a hail of fast-moving missiles made of water fired from over Keiko's head. The water missiles were smaller than the size of Naruto's hand but dozens of them crashed into the rotten factory floor. The floor exploded into splintery wooden shrapnel. Naruto kept flipping back until the missiles started backing him halfway across the factory. Naruto took refuge behind a rusty wooden shack only for the final assassin to fire five flaming fireballs at it. Naruto jumped out of the way.
The fireballs weren't large. They were smaller than the fireballs from Sasuke's Phoenix jutsu. Heat rose from the flames. Orange and yellow flames rose high from the burning remains of the wooden shack. More fireballs flew towards Naruto who jumped over fifteen stacked steel pipes. Naruto saw the final assassin take off their Black Jester hood revealing a silver shining Konohagakure Hitai-tai. Bright beams of moonlight fell over the figure revealing an old man with white hair and crow's feet around his eyes.
Chabi swung his metal chains on the pipe causing Naruto to be shocked. Electricity flowed from the chains onto the pipes causing Naruto to jump off again. Blue volts still wrangled his body midair revealing his skeleton as he heard the final assassin making hand signs.
"Katon: Shokyaku Suru (Fire release: Incinerate)!" The final assassin raised his hands in the air as a twenty-foot swirl of flames began forming above the assassin.
Naruto dodged more fast-moving missiles made of water from Keiko as he ran between stacked wooden boxes. Out of the corner of Naruto's orange glinting eyes, he saw the mass of fire growing. Chabi was following him from above. Slashing the boxes with his electric chains. Naruto zigzagged through the maze of rotting boxes. Wood exploded and splintered around him.
He was completely outmatched. All three of the assassins were higher-ranked shinobi before they defected. Naruto made it to the end of the factory, but he saw the electric barrier Keiko and the mysterious Konoha Black Jester made. A giant flaming orb burst and rained down fire at the maze of wooden boxes.
Chabi, Keiko, and the final assassin watched from the other side of the factory as the entire other half of the factory exploded in flames. They could feel the heat. Massive flames rose as high as the ceiling. Black smoke turned the inside of the factory into a haze. All three assassins watched the flames dance and swirl in sheer fascination. They had killed the Kyuubi jinchuriki.
Out of the flames came a red chakra-cloaked Naruto with his eyes emblazoned with fury. Keiko made hand signs and shouted, "Suiton: Mizu Deppo (Water Release: Water gun)!" Hundreds of water missiles rushed at Naruto. He avoided the attack by body-flickering in midair.
"Raki Run!" Chabi screamed, but it was too late. Chabi turned his head as he watched a red chakra claw slash through Raki's left arm.
Raki kicked the quick-moving Naruto square in the face. Raki brought his left foot to the ground only to gasp in pain. Even though he was covered in the Kyuubi's chakra cloak, Naruto's basic Academy Taijutsu hadn't improved. Naruto stabilized himself with both slaws slamming to the ground. His nails scraped through the wood causing him to scream, "That's all you got!" Naruto looked at Raki who was clutching his gushing wound.
Raki had only a nub of his left arm still connected to his shoulder. Raki screamed, "My arm! My arm! It's fucking gone!" Tears fell from Raki's orange eyes. The fire was growing in the factory.
Naruto felt empowered watching Raki shake and scream while holding his bloody nub. He needed to save Ayame! Time was running out and now he was finally getting back. It felt good. Almost like he wasn't just fighting for his life, but for once fighting for himself.
Raki's bronze face was losing its color, and Naruto felt so alive. Raki coughed out blood in front of Naruto. Naruto grinned, he was going to kill another, and another, and another, until everyone was dead. "I'm not losing Ayame! If you three stooges want to die that's fine! But I've had enough of being hunted and hated for what I carry! My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I'm just a genin, but I carry the King of the Damned inside of me! So, if you three want to die, then so be it!"
Fear.
That was the only look Naruto saw in their eyes. Chabi was furthest away from Naruto. Even though Chabi stood petrified he was observant… almost mesmerized and even impressed. Naruto watched Chabi raise his chains into his cloak. Keiko made two dozen hand signs and slammed her hands on the rotten wooden factory floor. Naruto rushed at Raki while powering wind chakra in his crimson chakra claws.
"Suiton: Suneringuu Otau Ippu (Water Release: Snaring Water Whips)!" Keiko shouted as three giant two-story high waves rushed from her toes towards Naruto.
The waves were in the form of giant snakes. They moved and tore through rusty metal sheets and the rotten wooden floor. With so much of Kyuubi's chakra surrounding his body, Naruto saw the fast-moving water snakes coming at him from what felt like a mile away. So much wind chakra was forming around him. Naruto's crimson chakra claws were cutting through the air causing him to smile as all three waves snaked their way towards him.
The three waves slammed and crashed where Naruto was. The water enveloped the rotten wooden floor and even extinguished some of the roaring flames from Raki's Incinerate Jutsu. Keiko was frowning as she slowly walked towards Raki. She was terrified and even sad. The Kyuubi jinchuriki couldn't be dead from that?
Steam mixed in with the haze of the factory. The air smelled of fungus, ash, and burning smoke. Keiko stood still. She couldn't see anything from the smoky steam haze of the abandoned factory. Out of the haze came a red chakra-cloaked Naruto who was right in front of Raki. Naruto's crimson eyes made Keiko petrified for several seconds before she started making hand signs. There was no stopping this thirteen-year-old jinchuriki. Nothing was going to stop the horrid killing intent leaking from Naruto's body.
"Akai Shi (Red Death)!" Naruto screamed as he appeared in front of Raki.
Naruto was smiling wide with his canines fully grown, appearing more beast than man. Naruto's crimson eyes flashed brighter. Raki and Keiko screamed as they saw Naruto's smile widen. Naruto never appreciated the Kyuubi's chakra or how great it felt. Initially, when he acquired some of the Kyuubi's chakra he felt sick and uncomfortable. It always felt icy cold and magma hot, but this was different. He never felt more alive with the Kyuubi's chakra flowing throughout his body.
Raki saw Naruto appear before him. For a thirteen-year-old boy, he looked terrifying with furious crimson eyes and a demonic fox hue. The red chakra of the Kyuubi felt horrible and he wasn't a sensor. Raku knew he was going to die so he simply raised a kunai with his right arm. There was no point fighting the inevitable.
Naruto's clawed chakra hands rushed through Raki's body like a hot knife through butter. Blood. So much blood flew in the air that by the time Naruto's clawed chakra hands returned to his body there was a twenty-foot diameter of blood, guts, organs, and barely anything left of Raki. Keiko screamed! Chabi watched curiously at the end of the room.
"Suiton: Suijinheki no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Formation Wall Technique)!" Keiko screamed as a twenty-foot wall of water formed around her.
She wasn't crying, but she wanted to. Keiko kept her jutsu active as the wall of rushing, churning, and bubbling water surrounded her like a shield. Two large crimson chakra claws tore through the walls of water around her causing her to scream. As the hot, icy, hands grabbed her legs she was dragged through her walls of water. Her fingernails dug into the rotten and burned wooden floors. Not that it stopped her from being dragged closer to Naruto.
She lost three fingernails as she continued screaming for her life. Chabi stayed still as he watched Naruto dragging his friend, comrade, and the one woman he could rely on to her doom. As the redheaded woman got closer to Naruto, she unsheathed a half-foot-long dagger from her back. She tried stabbing Naruto but was out of reach. Naruto simply punched his left Kyuubi chakra-infused fist through her torso.
Keiko didn't scream or shout. She simply smiled as chunks of her flesh flew from her back. Naruto's chakra cloak died down, but he still had Kyuubi's chakra coursing through his veins. His left fist was covered in warm, sticky, and dark crimson blood. He pulled his arm out of Keiko who fell to her knees. Naruto stared at the dying woman completely baffled and torn over what he had done.
"Thank you, thank you so much," Keiko croaked out before falling onto her back. "I left Kiri enraged. I was a slave to the mission. It always was the mission. Following commands and doing things that I hated. I was so entrenched in that life that I couldn't leave it behind. Thank you, Naruto."
"Why are you thanking me?" Naruto said with tears in his eyes. Why was she being so nice after everything he had done? "I'm sorry, I didn't want to kill you!"
"I'm happy that you did," Keiko said before coughing out blood. She smiled warmly at Naruto and raised her right hand towards him.
Naruto kneeled at her side. She placed her right hand on Naruto's cheek and smiled wider. Naruto didn't know what was going on. Chabi didn't move, he simply watched. Naruto looked back at Keiko's pale face who looked almost happy to have his attention. Tears welled up in his eyes as he saw Keiko's smile grow.
"I always wanted to have a son. The Kiri council took that away from me. A pregnant woman can't work. Even after I defected from Kiri, I couldn't leave the battlefield. I was always fighting and killing because I… I loved it, I loved killing! I loved the thrill of battle. Now that I'm dying, I feel relieved. I've been waiting for this day for decades. You finally set me free. To die a good death at the hands of a jinchuriki is an honor that no words can describe. I can't thank you enough," Keiko said before closing her eyes. Her face became paper white. Her smile was wide, but Naruto listened to her final words. "Don't forget me, Naruto Uzumaki."
"I promise," Naruto said as he cried over his assassin's corpse. "I promise Keiko."
The barrier jutsu quickly vanished and Naruto realized that Chabi was approaching him. More tears fell from his eyes. He was finally coming to terms with everything he had done. He was a murderer. Beniyo, Yasuo, the Oto-nin, Raki, and now Keiko were all dead because of him. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins along with the Kyuubi's chakra giving Naruto a high unlike any, but that didn't stop the tears. He wasn't a boy anymore. He felt like a beast. A monster that didn't deserve such sympathy from Keiko.
"Black Sacrament be damned," Chabi said above Naruto. Naruto looked away from Keiko's cold corpse and saw a teary-eyed Chabi standing above him. "I want you to go and kill Miki and Emon. Emon was the man who fired that arrow through your chest. You are a genin, right?"
Naruto nodded. He got up and faced Chabi.
"You have already killed two ex-Jonin shinobi and three ex-chunin level shinobi. You have a lot of potential, Naruto. I find it sad that a shinobi of such potential is stuck as a genin for a village that won't ever appreciate him," Chabi explained with a smirk. Chabi crouched down and touched Keiko's cheek then looked up at Naruto's crimson Kyuubi eyes. "She died happy because of you. She fought so long and so hard all these years. I thought she found her purpose, but now I think she fought so long waiting for this day."
"W-what are you talking about?" Naruto asked while wiping his tears away. "She didn't have to die! She could have surrendered or fled! I didn't want to kill anyone… I just wanted to see Ayame-chan!"
"Keiko wanted to die. You gave her what she wanted. A good noble death at the hands of a jinchuriki. You Naruto are a good soul. Embrace that you gave her what she wanted most," Chabi gloomily said, his eyes focusing on the burning fires surrounding them. "Keiko was never this happy, you gave her a few minutes of happiness and hope before her death… I don't have it in me to fight you. You have already proven that you're capable enough to kill me if you want to. I need you to survive the night and for you to save those ramen chefs."
"Why?"
"You wanted to spare my life and I accept the offer. A life for a life. It's an old Black Jester rule that if spared from a target. You must help the target and preserve their honor," Chabi explained. He turned to the white moon high above. "The moon is out tonight. Makes for good hunting." He then looked at Naruto and smiled with his eyes closed. "Keiko, she wanted to die… you showed her mercy. The blood on your hands and the mercy you have shown me won't be forgotten. Naruto, you have earned your honor and respect this night."
"Chabi, I need to know. Who put out the hit?" Naruto was almost begging to know. He needed to know. "Was it Konoha?"
Chabi remained still for several seconds. He then looked Naruto in the eyes. Chabi's amber eyes were watery as he nodded.
"Yes, I can't say who put it out," Chabi said gloomily with his head down in shame. "You were betrayed by your homeland. Konoha wants you dead for having the beast inside of you, but I think they're scared."
"Scared?" Naruto repeated furiously. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. People in his village wanted him to suffer so much that they not only targeted him but his most precious people too! Naruto growled and said, "I did nothing wrong?
"That's often the case, isn't it?"
Naruto said nothing.
"Naruto, time is running out. Your friends might already be dead, but if you run you might be able to catch up. Naruto, this isn't goodbye, this is a see you later," Chabi said with an outstretched hand.
Naruto shook the bald man's hand. Then he ran, he ran so fast out of the burning factory that he didn't dare to look back. Gaining speed and pumping chakra into his legs. Naruto rushed fast to Ichiraku's Ramen. He was hopping from rooftop to rooftop. The wind brushed his blonde locks back and his crimson eyes narrowed in at where the ramen stand should have been. Instead, Naruto saw a bright orange flare down below and black smokestacks rising high to the sky.
Naruto crashed down onto the pavement in front of the restaurant. The entire street was deserted, but that didn't stop Naruto from running inside the burning restaurant. He saw Teuchi knocked out behind the counter with an arrow sticking out of his back. A burning body was anchored into the wall with four butcher knives opposite where Teuchi had passed out. Naruto grabbed his Teuchi by the shoulders and carefully dragged him out of his burning restaurant.
Smoke rose and covered Naruto's face as he felt the cool ground of the road. He watched his favorite place in the whole world burn down right in front of him. Naruto was shaken to his core. He lost his innocence and the one place he considered a refuge. Ichiraku's Ramen was his second home. Teuchi groaned in Naruto's arms.
"Naruto, is that you?" Teuchi asked in Naruto's arms.
"Teuchi! You're alive, I'm so relieved, and yes. I'm here to save you and Ayame," Naruto said with tears in his eyes. "Where is she?"
"That woman she tried to kill Ayame! That man in there tried to kill me too. Damned fucker didn't expect me to be a retired shinobi. Got the fucker good," Teuchi explained while groaning in pain. "This arrow in my chest is but a bite. Ayame ran north towards the Hokage Monument. I'll live, but I need you to protect Ayame! She's special. Ayame is my only child. Without her I have nothing… I need you to save her she's the last of the Sen…"
"Teuchi! Teuchi!" Naruto screamed with the old ramen chef passing out in his arms. "Come on Teuchi don't you pass out on me!" Naruto started shaking Teuchi, but it was futile. Teuchi passed out cold and was losing blood fast. Naruto made the hand sign for his favorite jutsu and yelled, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Two white puffs of smoke appeared around Naruto. He looked at his two shadow clones in worry. "I need you two to take Teuchi to the hospital!" Both clones saluted their boss. They grabbed Teuchi around both his shoulders and jumped off with Teuchi in between them. Naruto watched the burning ramen stand in awe. His one refuge from the mobs, predators, and even bullies was burning to the ground before his eyes.
Naruto looked at his bloody hands. He noticed his torn and burned clothes. Everything was ruined except for Koga's bandana. His best memories, his precious people, and everything he held dear were burning away. He lost Sasuke, Sakura, Team Seven, and the Ichirakus. Now he was going to lose his most precious person. Naruto snarled but looked away from Teuchi's burning restaurant.
"There is no time for tears. I will avenge you," Naruto said to Ichiraku Ramen.
He jumped away leaving smoke and flames to dance in the night sky above Ichiraku Ramen. His childhood refuge was collapsing to the earth as the flames grew higher and uncontrollable. Naruto looked back and saw the burning ramen stand out of the corner of his eyes. It made him jump and dash toward the Hokage Monument faster. He was scared. Scared of losing everything. Naruto felt guilty, he had brought so much pain to Teuchi and Ayame.
If he didn't exist, then this wouldn't be happening.
Tsunade watched over Konoha from the large windows surrounding her office. She felt a horrid almost evil presence in the air. A dark sinister chakra that once shook the foundation of Konoha. Her honey-brown eyes scanned over the city. Fires were spreading across Konoha. First, it was the Underground, then it was the abandoned Hydraulic Factory, and now several more. She could even see the fires from her office.
Shizune came in through the doors of the Tsunade's office carrying Tonton in her arms. Tsunade turned her gaze from the fires outside her window to her faithful assistant. The serious and dreadful look in Shizune's onyx told Tsunade everything.
"Tsunade-sama, it's horrible! There's been a report of three fires starting around The Strip. Ichiraku Ramen has been reported to be burned down and… the body we recovered in the Underground revealed the culprit to be a Konoha-missing-nin," Shizune reported grimly with her hands clutching Tonton harder.
"Where is Naruto?" Tsunade asked in worry. She was Hokage, but the reports of a red-eyed Naruto roaming Konoha on the night of these attacks made her worried. "Have all the Anbu divisions been notified of my new order? Finding Naruto is to be made a top priority!"
Shizune nodded. Tsunade closed her eyes and screamed with her mouth closed. Shizune settled Tonton to the ground. Her pet pig nuzzled their snout against her ankles, but it did little to calm the blonde-haired Sannin. Tsunade screamed again with her mouth closed and smashed the wooden clock on her desk with one smiting punch.
It exploded in a shower of splintering wood.
Shizune walked closer to Tsunade. She noticed the last Senju hadn't opened her eyes. Shizune softly said, "Naruto will be fine! There is nothing to worry about. The Anbu had a major meeting tonight and a changing of the teams. They're working as fast as they can." Tsunade opened her honey-wheat eyes revealing doubt, pain, and torment. "Naruto is strong!"
"I knew your uncle Dan was strong. My brother Nawaki was strong too. They both wanted to be Hokage and wore that damned necklace before their deaths. I thought Naruto broke that damned curse…" Tsunade said softly as tears fell from her eyes. She had a feeling that these attacks across Konoha involved Naruto. It was too early to tell, but she rarely ignored these premonitions. "Naruto is the Kyuubi jinchuriki. He's the last Namikaze… he can't die. He just can't!"
Shizune's eyes widened in surprise at the revelation.
Silver rays of moonlight shined across Konoha from the parting clouds above. Ayame was gasping for air as she ran up the Hokage Monument. Her father protected her. He gave her a window to escape, but Ayame clutched her head. Tears welled out of her honey-brown eyes as she continued her ascent up the mountain. Owls hooted, wolves howled, and crickets chirped.
More tears fell from Ayame's eyes as she heard her assassin closing in from behind her. Branches broke and leaves shuffled in the wind from above.
"Can't run from me forever sugar tits," Miki said in a booming echoing voice. Ayame crouched behind a mossy boulder, she twisted her head in all directions searching for that voice. "Your papa is burning alive. Your favorite customer is dead."
More tears fell from Ayame's eyes. She didn't want to listen to that horrible voice, but it kept repeating the same things to her for the past half hour. Naruto was still alive! He had to be, right? Wiping the tears from her eyes, Ayame rushed out of her hiding spot. An electric ball of energy zapped and cracked the mossy boulder where she was before.
"Did you love him? Did you love that pathetic, stupid, demon? I want you to see him again. A reunion would be so romantic," Miki taunted out in the open. Her Siren genjutsu was at work, but Ayame was doing well at resisting the powerful jutsu. "Wouldn't you like to see Naruto again?"
"He's not dead! He can't be! I don't believe you!" Ayame screamed as she ran higher up the stone monument. "Naruto would never go down without a fight!"
Ayame rushed faster up the Hokage monument until she was on top of Hashirama Senju's head. Ayame screamed as a shuriken grazed her right shoulder. Blood flowed out of her wound like a leaking faucet. Ayame screamed in pain as she flipped in the air avoiding half a dozen more shuriken only to be stabbed in her chest by an electric charged kunai.
She writhed on top of Hashirama's stone head in agony. Her head knocked against a stone as her screams got louder. Her skeleton flashed in the silvery moonlight as the electricity coursed through her body. Smoke rose from her internally fried body. By the time it stopped, Ayame could barely clutch herself back onto her knees. Blood was pooling below her feet and her face was losing some of its color.
Miki was before her. Miki was once a black-haired beauty, but now had graying hair and a slashed Konoha Hitai-tai. Crow's feet surrounded her dark chestnut-colored eyes. She stood above Ayame wearing a black cloak with two kunai in her outstretched hands. Ayame gulped in fear.
"I once had a husband. He died during the Kyuubi attack along with my little girl. They both never hurt a soul… and to hear the Hokage say that demon deserved respect! Naruto deserved to die!" Miki said furiously with so much hate it made Ayame cry harder at her feet. "Soon my associates will be here with his dead body. You're a pretty young thing… did Naruto love you?"
Ayame cried harder. She couldn't believe this was all happening. Her father and Naruto too! She rose to her feet and started making hand signs only to be kicked in her wounded chest. She flew ten feet backward. Ayame landed on a soft mossy section of Hashirama's head. Several trees had grown around her, most likely due to neglect.
Ayame clutched her wound and pulled the kunai out of her chest. More blood pooled down her chest and skirt. She looked down and observed her wound. She wasn't hit in a vital spot, but if she didn't get medical attention soon, she'd bleed out in the next few hours. Miki appeared before Ayame in a quick flash. Ayame screamed and crawled away. Her hands grew dirty with dirt, blood, and clunks of sediment.
"You're not getting away from me sugar tits!" Miki screamed in glee as she made dozens of hand signs before yelling out, "Sairen no Akumu (Siren's Nightmare)!"
Ayame clutched her head in pain. Her screams turned into broken gasps of terror as her whole world became bloodied. She saw Naruto's bloody corpse on top of her body. His face was mangled and broken, and he was missing one of his sapphire eyes. Blood dripped from his open socket onto her face as she felt men grabbing her legs. Ayame screamed, begged, and cried before Miki. Her screams were like sweet delicate musical notes.
Ayame felt more hands restraining her arms and spreading her hips. Naruto's corpse anchored her chest in place. Ayame saw the faceless men laughing at her. It was so sickening she'd rather die than experience what was about to happen to her.
Miki laughed as her most terrifying and powerful genjutsu was taking its full effect on Ayame's subconscious. Miki made this genjutsu personal. Her husband and daughter were taken by the Kyuubi. Ayame's suffering was evident by how many more tears flowed from her puffy pink eyes. "No, stop! I'm sorry! Just let me go!" Ayame's screams made Miki laugh in pure joy. "Kill me! Just fucking kill me already! No, please no!"
Miki was dancing around the screaming brown-haired beauty. Ayame's agonizing suffering and every terrible bone-curdling illusion made Miki feel content. She had waited thirteen long years for this day, and she was going to enjoy every satisfying second of this torture.
For three minutes Ayame screamed, writhed, and suffered under the genjutsu. She kept praying at the back of her mind that someone or something would kill her. She shifted and hit her head on a rock causing the genjutsu to break. Ayame gasped with tears still flowing from her sockets. Naruto's corpse wasn't on top of her. She wasn't being raped by dozens of disgusting men. The genjutsu felt so real, and the images of her sexual assault flashed before her eyes. Ayame bit her bottom lip and shook her head silently.
She saw Miki dancing and laughing in the moonlight. Her honey-brown eyes narrowed in on that evil dancing bitch. Ayame growled and gritted her teeth. It was just a genjutsu, but a horrible one. She felt a surge of powerful chakra enveloping her body and she screamed to the moon.
Miki turned her head, shocked, and awed that the ramen chef broke her genjutsu. She growled back at Ayame and attempted to move only to hear dozens of wooden spikes shooting out of the ground. Miki screamed. Blood dripped from her lips, and she looked down at her body. Four long razor-sharp wooden spikes had punctured her chest. One of the spikes punctured her left lung, causing her to lose her breath.
Ayame stood across from Miki shocked by what had happened. Did she do that?
"H-how? Y-you hurt me?" Miki said to herself. Her chakra was depleted, and she couldn't move. "Who are you?"
"Ayame Ichiraku, I'm a ramen chef and a Special Reservist Kunoichi!" Ayame said while pointing a finger at Miki. "Why me? Why did you go out of your way to do that to me?"
"Because… Naruto needs to suffer. Fuck the genjutsu! We were supposed to have his corpse... you were supposed to experience all that, and everything was supposed to go as planned," Miki gasped out with her color leaving her face. "I'm going to hell, aren't I? At least I made you suffer. Even if it was for just a few minutes… at least I did that."
"You're evil! To do that to another woman… you're worse than any fucking demon in existence," Ayame screamed back at the impaled witch. What she experienced was worse than death. She felt violated, tormented, and broken. Even if it was just a genjutsu illusion, it felt real. "Naruto didn't kill your husband or your daughter! You are a fucking psychopath! My Naruto-kun is alive, isn't he."
"He is." Said a voice.
Ayame clutched her head and felt her world shake. Miki did the same too. They both saw a red-headed boy floating between them. He was facing Miki. His eyes and emotions were hidden beneath an elephant trunk gasmask. He breathed loudly causing both women to shake in fear at his very presence.
"Naruto should be here any second now," Spoke the floating boy. He raised his right arm at Miki. His spec-ops jacket was so large that the sleeve curled below his pointing index finger. "You have a lot of hate in your heart. You wanted to watch this beautiful woman getting raped and tortured. Now she'll watch you suffer what was supposed to be her fate!"
Ayame felt the pain in her head go away. She watched Miki scream on the razor-sharp wooden spikes. Miki's blood-curdling wails for the boy to stop and show her mercy were met with the boy raising his hands in the air. Miki's screams grew louder, which only made the red-heading floating boy laugh. He hovered closer to her and said, "Now die!"
A black orb of chakra formed between the floating boys' outstretched hands. Ayame watched in awe as it condensed into a void of pure spherical energy. Light blue electricity danced around the orb as it fired like a cannon at Miki. The orb blasted through Miki tearing her body in half. Blood rained around them.
The floating red-headed boy twisted around in the air. He was now facing Ayame. She closed her eyes in fear. All she heard was the boy breathing through his gasmask. She opened her eyes and saw his head tilted to the side. He was examining her like a scientist looking at bacteria through a microscope.
"Please, I'm sorry if I did anything to you… just please let me go," Ayame gasped out. She was expecting the worst to happen, but the boy simply continued to stare at her.
"Don't be afraid. I promise not to kill you. I'm not here to kill anyone, except for her," the floating boy said while pointing his long-sleeved left hand at Miki's scattered remains. "Her heart was filled with nothing but hate. The world is already better off without her."
"Thank you!" Ayame sincerely said to the boy.
"Don't start thanking me yet," the floating boy said sadistically. "He is here."
Naruto appeared on top of Hashirama's stone head. He came out of the forest only to see a blood-splattered mess leading up to the very top of the First Hokage's stone monument. There were dozens of sharp wooden spikes leading up to the very top. A burned trench of blood, guts, bones, and sinew was at the center of the spike-covered grounds. Naruto jumped over the trench and landed in front of Ayame.
"Ayame-chan!" Naruto shouted as he saw her standing near the edge of the cliff.
Strong windy gales brushed Naruto's sweaty golden locks to the side. Ayame didn't turn around. He noticed her clothes were covered in blood. He approached her uncertainly, his crimson Kyuubi eyes emblazoned with worry. As he placed his tanned hand on her shoulder Naruto felt his mind tear.
Flashes of what had happened before he arrived bombarded Naruto's psyche. He took his hand off Ayame's shoulders and frowned. "Ayame-chan! I've come here to rescue you! Ayame-chan?" She didn't move. Naruto turned her around and saw the wound in her chest.
Her chest was moving up and down, but her normally bright and soulful honey-brown doe eyes were gone. They had an odd glaze as if she was on another planet. Naruto embraced his lover. He hugged her gently with his right hand on her neck pulling her towards him.
Ayame pushed Naruto away. He fell back and looked up at his girlfriend in shock. In less than a second a floating boy appeared above Ayame. He had red curly hair that went down to his shoulders. He wore a spec-ops uniform three sizes too big and was completely barefoot. The boy looked younger than Naruto. The boy couldn't have been more than twelve years old.
"W-who are you? What did you do to Ayame-chan?" Naruto asked, feeling a powerful energy emanating from the hovering boy. The boy had an elephant gasmask over his face hiding his facial features, but it only made him appear creepier. "Are you here to kill us?"
"I don't have a name," said the floating boy. "Your girlfriend is under my control. Her mind fell quickly after she experienced that horrible genjutsu."
"Please, let Ayame go! S-She did nothing wrong. She's gravely injured and needs to go to the hospital," Naruto pleaded while getting back up onto his feet. "Just let her go, please!"
Ayame turned around. Her back was facing Naruto, she took a step forward toward the edge of the mountain. Her honey-brown hair swirled in the wind as she edged closer to her doom. Naruto ran to her, right as he was within arm's reach of her body, Naruto flinched. He couldn't move! Naruto cried as he tried clawing towards Ayame only to be pushed back by an invisible force. He flew ten feet back before crashing into the ground.
The floating boy tilted his head curiously. Ayame stopped walking forward, causing Naruto to look at the boy in fear. He never experienced a force like that. It wasn't wind chakra or anything of that sort. The floating boy breathed loudly from his gasmask and said, "Naruto Uzumaki, I've been awaiting this moment for so long." Naruto stared from the ground curiously unsure what the floating boy meant. "If you want to protect your lover from her death, then you will have to show me the Kyuubi's power!"
"You must be with the assassins then?"
"WHAT? I didn't come here to kill you!" The floating boy shouted in disbelief as if Naruto was accusing him of the worst crimes imaginable. "Never put me in the same boat as those monsters. I'm here to test the power of the strongest jinchuriki on the planet! You, Naruto, are far more powerful, gifted, and much more intelligent than your village would ever acknowledge!"
"Thanks for the compliments, kid, but I think you have me mistaken for Sasuke Uchiha. I was dead last at the Academy. I'm not gifted or intelligent. I'm just a stupid idiot whose own village wants him dead," Naruto gloomily said to the floating boy. "Why do you want to fight me so badly?"
"I can read minds! I can move objects and even people using telekinesis. I can even see the future. Our future is us fighting right here and now on top of the Hokage Monument! My abilities are far stronger than most shinobi. As you can see, I have your Ayame-chan fully in my control. If you don't fight me, then she'll take a leap of faith off this mountain," the floating boy explained. "So, what's it going to be? Your lover's death on your hands or do you have the balls to challenge me to a fair fight?"
Naruto looked down at his feet. It was a simple request, however, he needed more of the Kyuubi's chakra. His wounds had mostly stabilized and healed, yet he felt drained. Naruto took out a kunai. His crimson Kyuubi eyes reflected the moon's silvery rays.
Naruto dashed and disappeared. He swung his right leg in the air at the floating boy's face only to be pushed back by an invisible force. Naruto picked himself from the ground and tried to do the same trick again only to be pushed back yet again by an invisible force. He crashed twenty feet across Hashirama's stone head. Naruto's face was cut up by sharp stones during his crash, yet he felt the Kyuubi healing the cuts.
"Is that all you got?" Questioned the floating boy. "Show me your true power!"
"Kyuubi, I need your power!"
"You already have my power," Kyuubi said with a growl. "That boy is the most powerful psychic I have ever seen. Fighting him with your Taijutsu is already out of the question."
"Then what do I do? He wants to see your power and Ayame-chan is under his control. If I don't fight this kid, then she'll die… I need more of your power!"
"Fine."
Naruto became covered in a cloak of red bubbling chakra. Stones began to float around him as more and more of the Kyuubi's chakra flooded his system. The red chakra cloak surrounding Naruto started taking the shape of a fox. He felt one tail appear from the bottom of his spine. His fingernails grew tougher, his hair encased in so much chakra floated in a gelatin-like casing of pure sinister chakra!
Hashirama's necklace tugged at Naruto's chest like an iron weight, but Naruto ignored it.
Naruto watched Ayame get dragged by her Achilles' tendons towards the floating boy. Naruto didn't move, he simply watched carefully. He didn't want to press his luck. Ayame collapsed on the ground. Her eyes closed as the floating boy hovered closer to Naruto.
"She is safe. Now let us begin! Call me Psycho," Psycho said.
Psycho turned completely invisible, but Naruto used his sensory abilities to gauge where the floating boy was going. He appeared behind Naruto with a black orb of energy forming in front of him. Naruto swung his red chakra tail at the boy knocking him thirty feet to the ground.
Naruto growled! The Kyuubi's chakra was once again released over the sleeping city of Konoha. Civilians looked up at the monument in fear. Anbu black ops rushed to the monument. Even Kakashi was leading the charge to find his student. Naruto felt so many chakra signatures moving to his location that he didn't notice Psycho knocking him off his feet with that invisible force.
Naruto was in the air, but his red chakra claws stretched below Psycho's feet. Psycho watched in horror as Naruto fought against his telekinesis abilities. He needed to finish this battle fast. There was one thing he could do to finally test his strength.
Naruto sprang towards Psycho like a slinky rushing back to its original form. He was in front of the boy in a matter of seconds. Psycho had little time or ability to react to Naruto punching him in the chest with his right chakra claw. The boy screamed in pain as he flew into the air. Naruto smirked as he felt alive.
He landed on the Hashirama's head, his single red chakra tail swinging behind him.
Psycho appeared twenty meters above Hashirama's head and made twenty-hand signs. Naruto flew towards him but was too late. Psycho finished preparing his jutsu and screamed out, "Akuma no shihai no rensa (Chains of Demonic Influence)!"
Bright purple chains surrounded Naruto. The entire Hokage Monument began to glow purple. Naruto fell to the ground. He started clawing his way up. He felt his mind become murky. His connection with the Kyuubi was disrupted. Naruto crawled towards Ayame's collapsed body. The floating boy watched him make his way to Ayame curiously as his jutsu took full control of the situation.
Naruto opened his eyes minutes later. They were blurry and he felt Ayame's body in his embrace. Tears fell from his eyes as he remembered what he had done. He had killed so many people. He had unleashed the Kyuubi and all he wanted to do was cry. He heard voices but couldn't see a thing.
"He's cute, isn't he?" Said a feminine voice. "Yes, very cute and handsome… I like him already."
"Should we take him?" Psycho asked. "We have time before the Anbu close in."
"No, not right now. Now is not the right time. It would be better if he comes to us willingly," said the feminine voice. She sounded sweet and caring and she was close by. "I just want to look at him just a little bit longer… I've waited my whole life for this moment."
"He is powerful, but not strong enough to defeat me," Psycho said to the mysterious woman. "He's tougher than I thought. I can count on my hand how many people have touched me in combat."
"That is Koga's Bandana… wonder where he got it? That girl in his arms she's beautiful."
"Not half as beautiful as you," Psycho said. "We should get going I think they're almost here."
Naruto felt his head being raised off the ground. Delicate fingers were caressing his cheeks, and a pair of lips touched his lips. Naruto didn't say a word as he felt himself losing the battle to stay awake. Whoever was kissing him smelled wonderful like honey and a fresh loaf of yeasty bread. They were wholesome smells that made his belly swell in yearning.
"Goodbye Naruto. I love you so much! One day we shall free you from this prison called Konoha and you will be with me!"
Naruto blacked out. He opened his eyes to see Kakashi-sensei and dozens of strange, masked Anbu carrying him and Ayame off Hokage Rock. Naruto closed his eyes again, but before he did, he thought of one thing. He saved Ayame and Teuchi but at a cost.
He lost his innocence.