CHAPTER THIRTY THREE

Sacrifice, Part-2

Konohamaru opened his eyes to find himself outside in Kaguya's courtyard. Struggling to get on his feet, his mind went back to his last memories before he blacked out. He had fought Isshiki in an attempt to save Sasuke, he remembered. Predictably the Otsusuki was way out of his league, and he didn't last long against him but he hoped his effort allowed Sasuke to escape.

As he slowly made his way in the direction of where he last remembered Moegi being, he took in the scale of the destruction around him. The courtyard bore all the signs of fierce fighting, and in his heart he hoped all his friends were still alive.

As he made his way towards Moegi, a pained groan drew his attention to something a few metres ahead.

"Hanabi!" he exclaimed as soon as he was close enough to recognize her injured self sprawled out on the ground.

"Hanabi, are you okay?" he knelt beside her , checking her for injuries. Hanabi winced in pain as she tried to get a better look at him.

"Konohamaru….you're alive" she smiled weakly at him.

Konohamaru discovered she had a broken leg, probably gotten from a fall. He looked around, trying to check if any threats were still active as he thought of something to do. Eventually, he decided to take her towards the direction of Moegi.

"Don't worry, I'll get you to help" he declared, taking her hand in his as he helped her get in a seated position. Squatting in front of her, he showed her his back, waiting for her move.

"What are you….", Hanabi asked, confused.

"Get on, we'll be faster this way than with me hobbling along with you in your condition"

Hanabi shook her head, refusing his offer. "No, I might be too heavy"

"Don't worry about it, just leave it to me"

She continued to refuse and tried to move away but a bout of pain all over her body led her to reluctantly wrap her arms around his neck from behind, giving him the signal to gently carry her on his back and head towards help.

"Is everyone else okay? What happened" Konohamaru asked his girlfriend on his back.

"A lot" Hanabi replied. Bowing her head, she recalled her encounter with Mikasa in the mansion. "The serial killer from home is here and she is a threat." She paused before adding, "Sakura is badly hurt…"

Konohamaru felt his heart sink with her words, but he kept on going. "We're almost there, just hang on tight okay?"

"Okay"

As he pushed onwards with Hanabi, Konohamaru could only hope that the rest of the team was fine. He had little hope that Tenten was still alive and news of Sakura being potentially out of the fight scared him.

"We can still do this, we just have to keep fighting" he said to himself, getting closer and closer to his destination with each step.

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke next to Sakura's lifeless body, his breath coming in ragged gasps. His mind went to Hinata, who lay unconscious behind him and he started to feel himself lose his composure. The rage he felt was overwhelming, threatening to consume him entirely. Across him, Mikasa stood defiantly, a cold, unyielding expression on her face. She was speaking to him, but in that moment, Naruto didn't care. Her words sounded incoherent to him, all he wanted was vengeance.

"Kurosaki…..what have you done?" Naruto's voice came out in a deep growl, chakra flaring around him in a violent, fiery aura. Feeling a tear build up in his eye, he clenched his fist until his nails dug into his palm and spoke to her.

"I swear on my life, I'll make you pay."

Mikasa's eyes narrowed as she smiled. "You think you can defeat me in your state, Naruto? You're as foolish as yo-"

She never finished her sentence as without another word, Naruto launched himself at her, moving with a speed that she had no chance of reacting to. His fist connected with her face, sending her crashing into the main entrance. Rocks and debris exploded outward from the impact, but Naruto was relentless. He followed up with a barrage of punches and kicks, each one infused with the his wrath. Watching Mikasa crash through a wall, Naruto put his hands together to perform his signature jutsu

[Multi shadow clone jutsu]

In puffs of smoke, 7 of his clones appeared and immediately went to work, each wielding a Rasenshuriken which they promptly sent slicing through the air towards their target.

Mikasa raised her hands, summoning dimensional portals to absorb and redirect his attacks. However, Naruto anticipated her moves, teleporting behind her with a flash of yellow light and delivering a powerful kick to her back. She staggered forward but quickly recovered, her Jougan enhancing her perception to parry his follow up punch.

"You took Sakura from me!" Naruto growled, his voice echoing with the Nine-Tails' power. He formed dozens of shadow clones, each one charging at Mikasa with lethal intent. Mikasa's eyes darted, assessing the threats, and she began to counter with deadly precision. Her hands moved in a blur, striking pressure points and utilizing her chakra rods to impale several clones.

But Naruto was always one step ahead. As Mikasa destroyed the last clone, the real Naruto appeared above her, descending with a massive Rasengan in hand. She barely managed to form a portal in time, redirecting the attack, but Naruto's assault didn't end. He spun mid-air, launching a barrage of Rasenshuriken that exploded around her, creating a whirlwind of destruction.

Mikasa gritted her teeth, using her chakra to create a protective barrier. The barrier held, but Naruto's relentless fury began to crack it. He landed, his eyes blazing, and summoned the power of the Tailed Beasts. Burning chakra enveloped his limbs as his cloak turned pure white, surprising Mikasa.

"This power…. I've felt it before" she said to herself as memories of Hinata healing him came back to her.

Then it clicked for Mikasa.

Was she infusing him with her power?

She didn't have time to reach a conclusion as Naruto had successfully shattered her shield, forming a mini tailed beast bomb in his hand and smashing it where Mikasa stood in an explosion.

As the explosion died down, Naruto discovered that Mikasa wasn't there anymore. He hissed, his voice carrying the weight of his pain and anger. "Kurosaki!"

Detecting chakra manifesting several hundred metres away, He bolted to its location in an instant.

Mikasa stepped out of her portal, panting with exhaustion. "Damn him, that was close" Sensing a presence suddenly appear behind her, she froze.

Mikasa spun around, swinging a dark staff but hitting nothing, as Naruto ducked under her attack and struck back with a fierce uppercut, sending her into a distant pile of rubble.

Naruto, you need to calm down

"How…..how can you even say that?!" Naruto shouted at Kurama in their mind plane. "She's killed so many, she-she killed…..Sakura" his voice trailed off as he angrily wiped away tears from his eyes.

It's tragic, the loss of your friend, Kurama replied. But you can't let your rage overcome you

"It's easy to say" Naruto said. "But I can't bring myself to think rationally right now, not when she's still alive"

Kurama sighed and leaned closer to him.

Your partner the Hyuuga, she sacrificed a part of herself to lend you this power. Giving in to your rage and allowing your enemy to take advantage of it would only serve to invalidate her sacrifice

Naruto paused to think over Kurama's words. The fox was right, he thought. Mikasa was still a formidable threat, and try as he may, he simply couldn't beat her to death even though he wanted to, more than anything. She had centuries to live at the very least.

When you fight the enemy, you shave off portions of her chakra with each attack, Kurama noted. It must be an ability you obtained when your partner infused you with her chakra

"So I should keep on fighting her to lower her chakra output, good. But how does that help me kill her?" Naruto asked with an impatient tone.

That will come later, Kurama replied. But for now you need to weaken her first, but do not be reckless about it. She is still dangerous

Taking slow, methodical breaths, Naruto tried to calm himself down. Images of Sakura bleeding out on the ground and Tenten's lifeless body came in his mind, but he fought to maintain a calmer state of mind. As he struggled to maintain his sanity, he remembered Hinata's words from earlier.

Give it your all okay?

Naruto opened his eyes, determined to finish the job. "I swear….I swear on everything, I won't allow your sacrifices to be in vain"

That Hyuuga bitch, she gave him her chakra!, Mikasa cursed in her mind as she picked herself up from the rubble. Scanning her surroundings for Naruto, she readied herself as she detected a streak of light making it's way towards her. Anticipating his Naruto's attack, she quickly opened a portal in front of him and watched him evade it in the nick of time.

[Rasengan]

Naruto's jutsu slammed into Mikasa's back, sending her flying forwards into the terrain.

He charged again, as soon as she got back to her feet, his fists moving faster than the eye could see. Each blow landed with incredible force, but Mikasa did her best to deflect or evade most of them. Seeing an opening she sent several rods flying into Naruto's side as she evaded a punch from him. Clenching his teeth in pain, he swung with his other arm at Mikasa, but she was was quick enough to shield her head with her forearms, nullifying most of the damage.

Focus Naruto! Kurama barked at him in his head but Naruto ignored his warning, charging at Mikasa.

She watched him come at her and tried to counter with her dimensional powers, but she found herself exerting more effort than usual to open a portal.

Hmm? Why am I finding it harder to use my ability?

Narrowly evading his kick, Mikasa tried to use her chakra rods to impale him again but Naruto's sheer speed and power overwhelmed her. He drove a knee into her gut, doubling her over, then grabbed her by the hair and hurled her into the sky.

Naruto followed her, appearing above her in an instant, and brought his fists down in a hammer blow. Mikasa plummeted to the ground, creating a massive crater upon impact. She struggled to rise, blood streaming from her wounds as her healing factor kicked in, slower than usual.

He's not just draining my chakra, he's damaging my ability to harness it

She hastily studied her environment, but Naruto was already there behind her before she could react to counter him. He knocked her backwards with a quick left jab, weaving between her responses and dealing four more blows in quick succession, finalizing with a fierce right hook that sent her spinning to the ground.

Mikasa hurried to open a portal beneath her but Naruto was faster, grabbing her leg and swinging her into the mansion with incredible force. As he watched her crash into the building, the form of Kurama engulfed him, a burning bright ball of chakra in it's mouth

[Sage Art: Black pull]

Naruto launched his jutsu at the mansion causing a large explosion. The blazing energy of the blast expanded shortly, before rapidly retreating into a dark mass at it's core, sucking in the entire building with frightening power into a single condensed spot. Once the destruction subsided, Naruto made his way to the dark crater the mansion once stood in, searching for signs of Mikasa.

Be more careful not to hurt your comrades! Kurama cautioned him, but Naruto knew his friends were safe from damage. He had carefully calculated how much chakra to use in his attack and made sure the mansion was empty.

"Where are you?" Naruto growled, his voice a low, dangerous rumble, feeling his anger rise as he found no trace of Mikasa's chakra. He clenched his fists in anger, growing frustrated that he let his opponent escape when the sound of his name drew his attention.

"Naruto!"

He turned to find Konohamaru calling for him in the distance with a tired looking Hanabi on his back.

Anger replaced with sympathetic concern, Naruto hurried to their sides.

In a dimension separate from ours, a portal opened in mid air, producing the form of Mikasa Kurosaki.

She fell to the ground, wincing in pain as she made contact with the surface.

"Damn him….that jinchuriki" she cursed under her breath, struggling to pick herself up. Her wounds healed as she moved, but at a much slower rate.

Mikasa raised an arm, trying to mold chakra into it as she observed with her Jougan. After studying for a few minutes, she discovered the root of her problem.

He's damaged my chakra network…..and I can't seem to recover it

Slamming her fist into the ground in rage, she took deep breaths to calm herself down, thinking of a solution to her problem.

Slowly, she rose to her feet, most of her injuries healed. "Engaging him in this state will be dangerous…..but maybe I can try to defeat him through another way?" She considered her options.

"I can't proceed with my plan with Naruto still alive, confrontation with him is inevitable" she gritted her teeth, lamenting her situation. Naruto had grown too powerful for her to reliably defeat in combat, and there was simply no way he'd just let her fulfill her objectives if she ignored him. It was starting to look like a dead end for Mikasa.

Then she got an idea.

"Maybe, I can hurt Naruto through….other means?" She looked into the distance, deep in thought. A few moments later, she reached a decision.

Very well, it was going to happen sooner or later anyway

She stretched her hand in front of her to open a portal.

"I'll just have to skip a few steps and proceed to the next stage of my plan" she said to herself, a mischievous smile beginning to spread across her lips as she stepped into the portal taking her to her destination.

Konohagakure.