CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Pain of Neglect vs The Pain of Torment!
XXX
Utakata's pale golden eyes slowly crept open as the light of the sun's rays snuck through the willow's thick foliage and hit them with an incredible intensity. He'd fallen asleep on his cottage's roof. He could tell he wasn't used to having so many visitors. His body felt sore, and his mind drained. But for once, it wasn't in a bad way. He wished he'd had more time to socialise and hang out with the other jinchuuriki. Perhaps in another lifetime, he'd have been born in another village. A village that didn't wipe him off their records. A village that didn't forget he even existed. Perhaps…
The little trickles of light piercing through the willow's canopy were blotted out.
Utakata gradually lifted his head to stare at the ominous figure standing over him. He was frozen in fear. A young woman. Dressed head-to-toe in a black coat with red clouds. She looked sinewy and frail with orange hair, ringed greyish-purple eyes, and a countless number of rods along her cheeks and nose.
How had he not sensed her?
She reached out for him.
Utakata leapt back and off the switch he'd been sleeping on to trigger his trap.
Before the young woman could react, a series of tags lit up to release chains that wrapped around her petite body and locked her in one position. An out-of-breath Utakata channelled his chakra through the chains, tightening them to the point where they were digging into her soft pale skin.
She stared at him. Nothing behind her eyes. No emotion. No intent. Just emptiness. Who was she?
"You gave me a fright there," Utakata was willing to admit with one hand on his heart. "I've never had someone sneak up on me like that, so congratulations. Then again, I've never had someone send a kunoichi after me. I mean no offence, but how would you even have carried me back to whoever sent you? You don't seem to have the strength to pick me up while I'm conscious. And whoever sent you, I'm sure, told you that Saiken has the unique ability to dispel poisons, so it's not like you could have weakened me that way. What were your intentions."
This whole time, Utakata had made the mistake of not paying attention to the woman's attire. His eyes were firmly locked onto hers. They were a pale greyish-purple with three rings around the pupil. Was it some kind of kekkei genkai?
He placed his hand on her chin to lift her head slightly, "Oi! Aren't you gonna say something?"
Utakata's eyes widened.
He knew.
Han and Yugito, who'd heard all the commotion, climbed up the ladder to see Utakata pull his hand away from the woman in shock. Whilst Yugito rushed to Utakata's side, Han took note of the orange-haired woman's black trench coat with red clouds.
"She's Akatsuki."
"Utakata! Utakata!" Yugito tried to shake some sense into the thinly man, but he was trapped. All he could see were her grey ringed eyes.
"Get her out of my head," he yelled, throwing himself off the building.
The chakra running the chains ceased to flow. The woman yanked on them before ripping them away.
"Get down!"
"Summoning Jutsu!" she slapped both hands down on the cabin's roof, allowing two separate seals to spread across the wooden structure.
Naruto was awoken by the cabin exploding, throwing him out of the building and into the stream. He stumbled around the clearing for a second. He was grabbed by Han, who dashed away and out from under the willow's protective covering. He'd managed to grab Naruto and Hinata whilst, hopefully, Yugito had grabbed Gaara and Fuu.
"Wake up, kids. We've got a fight on our hands."
If Naruto wasn't awake before, he was definitely awake now. Standing before them, between them and Yugito, Utakata, Fuu, and Gaara, were two massive beasts. One, facing towards Naruto, Hinata, and Han, was a giant ox. The terrifying creature was covered in brown fur with huge horns that curved the point forwards and could skewer all six jinchuuriki like they were nothing. Silver robs jutted out of the beast's fur and forehead, and its eyes were grey rings, much like its summoner. The other, facing away from Naruto, was a winged rhino of similar proportions. It was huge, with the same silver rods jutting out of its thick, bumpy skin.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
One last burst of smoke delivered a giant snake-tailed chameleon. The giant reptile resembled its smaller counterpart, aside from a pair of torn wings on its back and equally damaged horns lined with black rods just behind its head. The creature opened its mouth to reveal a bumpy pink tongue. The orange-haired woman stepped onto the tongue and was pulled back into the creature's mouth.
The chameleon disappeared.
The battle was on.
The ox charged Naruto. The rhino charged Yugito and the others.
Each step shook the earth as they showed no signs of stopping.
Han went through the hand seals, "Vapour Style: Unrivalled Strength!" He covered himself in a layer of boiling chakra and rushed the ox. In the battle of strength between jinchuuriki and ox, Han came out the tragic loser. He was sent flying through the forest.
"Hinata, watch!" Naruto threw himself at the woman and rolled her out of the way. The ox lumbered passed them, carving an opening in the trees. Behind it, Utakata's weeping willow and the cabin built around it, came crashing down in a cloud of dust. The tree hitting the floor sent shockwaves through the island as its roots cracked the earth and rose above the battlefield.
It, rolling over, prompted Naruto to jump over the roots and make a beeline for the ox's thin tail.
"Ninja Art: Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The charging ox was suddenly surrounded by hundreds of clones. They grabbed its tail and dragged it to the ground. Its horns hitting the earth and flipping it over, allowed it to immediately turn and decimate a section of the clone army.
"Oi! Your target is me, remember!" Han came down from above. He missed.
The ox leapt into the air.
This time Hinata came diving in to save the day. The ox destroyed the earth beneath it, sending most of the clones flying through the air. The real Naruto slamming into a tree, dispelled all his clones.
"Two can play that game," Han said before covering himself in steam. The ox kicked at the cratered earth beneath its feet before snorting. "Kokuo…"
The horse-whale of five-tails emerged from the steam to clash with the ox. Head-to-head. The ox turned its head. Drilling a horn into the tailed beast's side.
Kokuo blasted it with steam, melting its fur, then its skin. The ox stumbled back before dispelling in a cloud of smoke.
Kokuo dropped to her knees.
Matatabi landed next to the tailed beast to check on it. "Are you okay, Han?"
"… I'll live."
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A fourth cloud of smoke. Before the creature was even revealed, it blasted both tailed beasts with a jet of soapy water, sending them crashing onto the beach and rolling into the ocean. A giant red crab rushed out of the cloud and snatched Hinata before pinning her against a tree.
It applied pressure.
She let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"Rasengan!" Naruto came to the rescue.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
… At least, he would have been it not for a giant panda, whose skin was hard as metal, appearing between him and the crab. It basically absorbed his jutsu. The Rasengan, used to grinding up even rocks and boulders, was slowed to a halt by the thickness of its fur.
Sand exploded from below. Separating Naruto from the panda and crushing the life out of the crustacean before it could crush the life out of Hinata. Shukaku towered over the battlefield. Naruto gave it a thumbs up as his sand carried him a safe distance away from the bear.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Shukaku was brought to his knees by a ravenous three-headed hound which exploded out of the next burst of smoke with a ferocious look in its eyes. It dug into the tanuki's sand and tore through it until it got to Gaara's body.
Saiken headbutted it away.
Choumei grabbed it by the back and lifted it into the air before dropping it.
Kokuo stepped on one of its heads as it landed.
"I hate mutts," Matatabi said, emerging from the water.
"Don't be a stereotype," Kokuo quipped. The three-headed separated into three one-headed dogs. "Shit," the dog, Kokuo, had trapped under her hoof, further separated into two dogs. The horse-whale collapsed as they slipped out from under her.
Four dogs for five tailed beasts. Seemed easy enough.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Shukaku exploded as a hard-beaked bird drilled through him, slicing him clean in half. As the bird flew around the battlefield, its terrifying speed lifted trees, rocks and water into the air behind it.
Matatabi had no time to mourn Shukaku exiting stage left as two hounds descended on her. One went after Saiken. The last one went after Kokuo. Before Choumei could do anything, the bird came back, making a beeline for him. Gaara crawled out of the sand pile Shukaku had left behind.
"Will someone please find that damn chameleon!"
That's where Hinata came in.
Veins welled up along the sides of her face as the Byakugan activated with a single hand seal. "I've found her," she said. "Naruto! This way!"
The blonde hopped back, away from the giant panda and gave the Hyuuga heiress a thumbs up. He dodged a few wild swipes before nailing it in the chin with a backflip kick.
No effect… other than him almost shattering his own foot. The panda grabbed him by the ankle and slammed him into the earth.
Hinata rushed in but was slapped away. She hit a tree and instantly bounced back into the battle. It swiped. It missed.
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!" her technique was gentle enough to not hurt herself but powerful enough to knock the chakra out of the giant bear.
It swiped again. She swung around the creature and nailed it with an Air Palm from behind.
It dispelled.
"Can you get up?" Hinata wondered, already breathing heavily. Naruto did a kip-up to get back onto his feet. He nodded. "Then follow me," she commanded before jumping up into the treeline. Naruto did as was instructed and followed her lead.
As they hopped through the dense forest, jumping from branch to branch, the echoes of battle rung through. They couldn't focus on the massive battle ranging overhead though, they had their own task to complete, knock the summoner out and the summonings will fall with her.
"Eight Trigrams: Air Palm!" Hinata sent a column of chakra out. It destroyed a tree. Naruto could see it. Barely. The trees would distort as it moved in front of them. If only he had her eyes. "Watch out!"
Naruto was knocked out of mid-air by a tongue to the chest. It pulled him closer. He could see the orange-haired woman inside its mouth.
He formed a cross with his fingers.
A second Naruto grabbed the original's hand. He launched himself off the tongue and into its mouth to tackle the woman.
The original was slammed into a boulder, breaking through it.
"Rasengan!"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The chameleon's cheeks expanded. It burped up a trail of smoke as it reappeared. It slowly opened its mouth to reveal two new figures. Both males with orange hair. The one on the right was tall with long hair that reached his shoulder blades, whilst the one on the left was chubbier with short, slicked-back hair.
All three of them stepped out of the chameleon's mouth.
The woman got caught. A spear through the heart. Her body tensed up as she reached for the stick. Pinned against a tree, she fell limp.
"Ultimately Hard Absolute Attack: Spear of Shukaku," Gaara announced the technique before falling to his knees and grabbing his side.
Explosion after explosion. The dogs disappeared. The shrieking bird that had been wreaking havoc on the tailed beasts vanished in a cloud of smoke. Matatabi breathed a sigh of relief. She was exhausted.
All three tailed beasts dispelled, reverting to their normal human forms.
"Where did he come from?" the long-haired man wondered.
"All our eyes must have been on the Hyuuga," the chubby man said. "No worries. He's on his last legs. Take him out."
The long-haired man rushed the downed Gaara.
Naruto came flying in to staple his foot against the man's face. Hinata came to the One-Tails' defence too.
"Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" a massive ball of blue flame lit up the clearing, burning through any tree it came into contact with on its way to the chubby man.
He didn't flinch. He just held his hands up and absorbed the technique. The long-haired man adjusted his chin as he returned to his chubbier teammates' side.
Han helped Gaara to his feet as Fuu joined the battle. "Nice one, Gaara."
"I created it using the hardest materials I could find under the earth. No matter how strong she is, she's not getting back up from that."
Naruto, now feeling a certain layer of confidence, thanks to the numbers being in his favour finally stopped to ask, "By the way, before we kick your asses, you might as well tell us what your names are, dattebayo!"
They both remained silent.
"We both know your members of Akatsuki. We know what you're here for," Yugito said, "In fact, we know a lot more about you than you think we do. We know there are only ten of you. Well, nine after what happened to your little teammate there."
Fuu paused for a moment. She started counting them. One. Two. Three.
Utakata rushed into the battle, "Everyone! I just realised something. The girl! She's dead!"
One. Two. Three.
Han chuckled, "You're a little late to the party on that one."
One… two… three?
"No, I mean…"
Fuu finally voiced her complaints, "Didn't you guys say they travel in pairs?"
A missile landed right next to the group. It had their names on it.
The missile lit up.
The explosion tore through rock and earth, its flames eating away at trees, and throwing all six jinchuuriki back, as well as Hinata, sending them deeper into what little remained of the forest.
Two shadows flew overhead.
Naruto's blood dripped onto the grass below him. He ran his fingers across his lips. They were dripping with blood. He looked up. Everyone got caught with that one. Han was struggling to breathe. Utakata, who'd taken the brunt of the explosion, had his robes drenched in blood. Fuu's body was riddled with shrapnel, blood leaking from every orifice. Gaara, whose sand would usually come to the rescue, was out cold. Yugito was in a tree. Hinata was barely able to get up.
What on earth had they just experienced.
"Deva. Naraka. Preta. Human. Asura. Animal." Six figures emerged from the trees to stand on a boulder overlooking the scene. "All in attendance, the Six Paths of Pain."
Naruto looked up. The woman. The Animal Pain. She was alive. More than alive, she was perfectly fine, walking as if she hadn't just been through combat. Was this some kind of genjutsu?
.
.
.
"What do we do?" Naruto whimpered.
"Run!" Utakata yelled.
Han grabbed Gaara and disappeared into the forest. Yugito jumped down and picked Fuu up, before draping her over her shoulders. She vanished into the trees with Hinata by her side.
"What?" Naruto didn't get the memo.
Utakata charged the six of them.
Han returned to snatch him by the back of the collar and run with him through the forest.
"What's going on?" Naruto wondered. His heart was racing at a hundred beats a minute.
"Apparently, Hotaru's prepared a boat for us to escape in."
"And Utakata?" Naruto asked. Han didn't say anymore. He just jumped through the trees with Gaara in one hand and Naruto in the other. The silence was painful. Nothing but the sound of everyone's harsh breathing as they manoeuvred through the jungle. "No… no, wait! We just got here! The battle was only just beginning! We can't…"
XXX
Utakata loaded himself up with chakra, but a well-timed punch to the gut knocked the wind out of him. The Asura Pain had rushed up to him so quickly he didn't have time to comprehend it. The Preta Pain tore through him next, draining him of the chakra he was about to use to transform.
"Bansho Ten'in."
Utakata was pulled in. Deva Pain grabbed him by the neck and slammed him onto the boulder before taking a step back and allowing Naraka Pain to drop onto him with all his weight.
Utakata was breathing heavily.
"Your diversionary tactics are futile. We'll catch up to them," Deva Pain explained.
Preta Pain and Asura Pain were giving chase.
Both of them were stopped in their tracks by two tails breaking out of the earth beneath them and wrapping around their ankles.
Deva Pain looked down at the jinchuuriki before them, "You're a cunning one." A tail wrapped around his ankle too, allowing Utakata to get up.
He was crushed from both sides by Naraka Pain and Human Pain. Animal Pain came from behind to Spartan kick him in the chest.
Utakata spun in mid-air to chase after the Asura and Preta Pains.
Animal and Human Pain chased after him.
It was a race to the sea.
Han and Yugito pushed through the forest. Asura Pain and Preta Pain were right behind them. Utakata was right behind them. Animal and Human Pain were right behind him.
Two chakra hands extended out to grab the leading Pains. One picked up Preta Pain, the other Asura. A column of deathly red chakra came down from the heavens and engulfed Utakata, turning the orange-red chakra arms into solid limbs. Utakata pulled them both closer.
"Acid Flower!"
He blew bubbles of acid at them, but Preta absorbed them all.
"Acid Spit!"
The same conclusion.
"Acid…" Utakata was picked up by thin air. A chameleon appeared, towering over him. Its tongue was wrapped around his body. As he was lifted over the tree line, Utakata could see the jinchuuriki, led by Hotaru, hopping onto a boat and moving away from the island.
Success.
Asura Pain detached his hand from its forearm to reveal a line of missiles. He aimed at the boat and let loose.
The sand along the beach began to gather. It grew. Clumping together. Reaching up and out. It expanded until it formed the upper torso of a woman with her arms extended outwards. The missiles were lodged in this sandy woman's torso. They exploded.
Karura's Will. The last technique Gaara could muster before passing out.
"It's not an issue. We've managed to walk away with the Six-Tails, at the very least," Deva Pain said, joining the mix, "We've won this battle."
"Have you?" Utakata wondered.
Deva Pain plunged a black rod into the jinchuuriki's side. His eyes widened. "Explosives?"
The whole island lit up
This was Utakata's last stand.
Martyrdom.
XXX
Utakata's island went up in flames. The jinchuuriki made sure to go out with a bang. In a systematic series of explosions, tags around the island went off in a calculated sequence, that continually sent shockwaves out into the ocean until 90% of the island was underwater.
Everyone was worse for wear. Yugito was at the back of the boat, consoling a broken-down Hotaru. Hinata and Fuu were in one corner, licking their wounds. Han was in another, laying down some blankets for Gaara to rest on. All Naruto could do was stand there and watch Utakata's island slide into the ocean. If only they knew then what they knew now, perhaps they could have done something. It felt sickening to watch. "I still think we could've done something," Naruto said, breaking the silence.
"There's no use crying over spilt milk. We knew things like this were going to happen the moment we stepped foot outside of Yugakure," Yugito said, leaving Hotaru to her own devices, "We're at war now, Naruto. And unfortunately, when it comes to war, people die."
As another sharp crackle echoed out from the fallen island, Naruto couldn't help but think what if there was no happy ending? What if this was it? What if there was paradise? What if the Hidden Villages win? They'd just lost the Six-Tails jinchuuriki… what if Utakata's death is all in vain?
Han placed his hand on the Uzumaki's shoulder. "Don't stress about this, kid. When it's our turn to avenge Utakata's death, we'll do so tenfold."