Chapter 38: Chapter 38: In the Midst of Despair Part I
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
"Hmm…."- Bijuu
Chapter 38:
In The Midst of Despair Part I
Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration the moment that his eyes set sights on Nori's smiling face. The giant room that they were now in, though, wasn't the throne room that Naruto had first encountered Nori. Instead, it reminded the blond of the other room in which he had fought Miyuki while he had traveled to Kumo. It was nearly identical.
"Welcome, Asura-kun," Nori began, his smile still in place as the five women that had ambushed Naruto before stood around him. "I knew you would accept my most gracious invitation tonight."
"Cut the crap already," Naruto said in response. "I'm not here for games. Where are Aika and Haru?"
Nori chuckled as he shook his head. "Ah, but that's not how this works. I'm sure my messengers never told you that you would get to see them. Or that you would be able to free them yourself."
Naruto took a step forward, his eyes narrowed. "If you harm them, I swear I will-"
"Now see," Nori cut in with a mocking look, "this is what I don't get about you, Asura-kun. You preach about peace over and over again. And yet, here you are. Threatening me."
"There's a difference between protecting those you cherish and senseless violence," the blond retorted.
"Is there?" Nori asked as he turned his back to Naruto. He began to walk to the other side of the room as he spoke. "As I see it, there is no difference. Just as the one you call Nagato began to gather and kill the jinchuriki for the bijuu in the name of peace and justice, so are you standing here before me claiming the same thing. Humans can twists words around to suit their ambitions just fine. And it is within that, that the cycle of hatred you so much wish to abolish lives in. After all, hatred can exist within protection and justice. Isn't that the most prominent issue within the shinobi world today? Hmm?"
Instead of bursting out in anger again, Naruto simply chuckled this time as he closed his eyes.
Hearing this, Nori turned around to face the blond again, a small frown on his face. "I fail to see what is so amusing in that."
"No, I'm not laughing at that," Naruto replied as he opened his eyes again, looking straight at Nori. "I'm laughing at you and your sorry existence."
For the first time since they had met, Naruto saw an annoyed look appear on the man's face. The blond could already tell that this guy did not take well to being disrespected. But Naruto wasn't one to respect just anyone. It was something that was earned. And this guy hadn't earned that. Not even close.
"You sit here, preaching all of this while bitching about the world," Naruto continued with a shake of his head. "That's just sad. Especially since you have the power to do something about it. But instead, you only choose to focus on the negative and not work for a better future. I am here because I believe that a better world can be created. Not a perfect one, but one where true justice thrives and the tyranny of those that wish to exploit those that they believe are underneath them to be extinguished. And no matter what nonsense you try to spew at me, it won't change my mind."
"Oh, I know that," Nori said while waving his hand in dismissal. "You're a person of action, after all. That is why I have arranged this little bypass to this game."
Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.
Nori smiled. "I'll be letting you on in a little secret, Asura-kun. As we speak, a combined army of Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri shinobi are infiltrating Uzu with the intent to burn it to the ground."
Naruto's world stopped spinning for a moment at hearing this. "What?"
Nori continued to smile. "That's right. I'm not doing anything wrong here. I'm simply letting humans do what they do best: destroying each other."
Naruto growled as he took another step forward before the rage of all nine bijuu within him came out in full force. To any normal person, this would have felt like they were being suffocated to death. Unfortunately, Naruto's opponents weren't normal people.
Nori raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Oh? It looks like I've managed to push all of your buttons."
"I don't really have the time to play games with you right now," Naruto growled out, his eyes changing again as he absorbed more and more sage chakra. He could teleport back to Uzu when he wanted since he already had a Hiraishin marking in his room. But first, he still needed to make sure whether Aika and Haru were somewhere around here or not. And if they were, to rescue them before returning to Uzu and crush that invasion.
Nori chuckled as he faced away from the blond. "My personal guards will give you some entertainment in my absence. Defeat them and you'll be allowed to return to Uzu as you so desperately want. But don't have too much fun. Either one of your friends could escape first if you do. And if that happens, then they'll be in even more danger. Or they could just as easily be killed here."
With that, another portal appeared before Nori to which he calmly walked into, the portal disappearing a moment later.
The woman with crimson haired took a step forward, a smirk on her face that was matched by the others.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves, Asura," she began. "I'm Wrath."
The one with blue hair tiptoed on her spot as she proclaimed, "I'm Sloth!"
The one with purple hair went next while licking her lips. "I'm Lust."
"I'm Greed," said the one with yellow hair with a grin.
"And I'm Gluttony," said the final one with orange hair with an air of indifference.
Naruto on the other hand was looking at them with blank looks. Normally he would be trying to figure out just why the hell their names were so weird. But right now, that didn't matter. Still…..their names were weird.
"Idiot," Kurama said, stepping in. "It seems like this Nori guy is even more of a joker than we first thought. Whoever or whatever these women are, it's obvious he named them after the seven deadly sins."
"Yes, but there are two missing," Gyuki added.
"You don't think that they're….."
Naruto didn't need to hear the rest of what Matatabi had to say, already putting the pieces together on his own. And that only made him realize that Aika and Haru were really in danger. But he realized that finding them wasn't going to be easy since he still couldn't sense the Hiraishin marking on the kunai that he had given Aika. Not only that, but even in sage mode, he couldn't sense their chakra. But how?
"This guy has teleportation ninjutsu that surpasses your father's," Kokuo stated in his mind. "Given all that we have seen that he can do, it wouldn't be surprising if he's somehow blocking your Hiraishin jutsu. Or even more likely, that he has them in separate dimensions."
"He's probably right," Kurama said. "For right now, we should focus on defeating these opponents in front of us."
Knowing that they were right, Naruto refocused back on his attackers only to see that bones were sprouting out of their arms.
'Oi, that's-!'
Wrath smirked as she appeared in front of the blond in an instant, two bone blades in hand. Already knowing what they could do, Naruto dodged her well executed attacks. Even in sage mode, Naruto knew that getting hit by one of those would still hurt.
Wrath t'ched at seeing that the blond jinchuriki wasn't having that much trouble dodging her sword strikes.
But before Naruto could get too comfortable, he narrowed his eyes when he sensed Sloth coming in from behind him, two swords on hand as well.
"Oi, it's time to let us have some fun," Shukaku said with a grin. "Use my chakra, brat!"
Naruto grinned as well, not attempting to dodge either women as they closed in on him. Both Wrath's and Sloth's eyes widened in surprise when sand emerged from Naruto's kunai pouch, effectively creating a sand shield that blocked both of their attacks.
Narrowing her eyes, Wrath looked at Naruto. "How do you have sand? There isn't any of it here!"
Naruto hmph'ed, not bothering to answer her as the sand grabbed a hold of her arm as well as Sloth's before flinging them to the other side of the room.
The two sisters twisted in mid air in order to land on their feet, both t'ching as they looked at their opponent.
Lust, Greed, and Gluttony also observed this confrontation with careful eyes. It reminded them of the fact that Naruto had all nine bijuu within him. And as such, he could use all of their abilities.
Unfortunately, though, Naruto could only use them one at a time unlike that time when he fought the Raikage on the beachhead.
But just like Wrath had asked, all five sisters were wondering just where the sand that the blond had used in order to block their attacks was coming from.
Wrath narrowed her eyes as she observed Naruto's kunai pouch, which was where all the sand was coming out from. It had to do with the pouch all right. She just didn't know how.
Naruto, still in Sage mode, observed all five of his opponents, all the while already planning his next move.
"Heh," Shukaku said from within his mind. "So you're going to use the Hiraishin already?"
'Yeah. But I only have one with me,' Naruto replied. 'I left the rest with Ma and Pa.'
"It'll have to do for now," Kurama stated. "But don't let your guard down. Since these are his personal guards, there is no doubt in mind that they must already know how the Hiraishin works."
"You should try to tag at least one of them, though," Matatabi added. "That will catch them by surprise. After that, they'll be expecting it."
Taking all of this into account, Naruto ended their intense staring contest as he shot two different tendrils of sand towards each group of women.
Gluttony h'mphed as she instantly stepped forward, bringing her hands down to the ground. Naruto narrowed his eyes at seeing this, already knowing what was coming. And true to his guess, a giant bone sprouted from the ground, which the sand collided with effectively shielding all three sisters.
As for Wrath and Sloth, they jumped back to the wall behind them, running up to the ceiling. But Naruto's control wasn't so poor as the sand went after them without missing a beat.
But Naruto wasn't able to keep his focus on them for too long as Lust appeared behind him, licking her lips again.
"I do wonder how well you taste, Asura-kun."
Naruto t'ched, getting more and more annoyed by the second at being called Asura.
Lust's eyes widened as Naruto bent down in a flash, sending a well executed kick to her gut that had the effect of sending her flying back and through the wall.
"For the last time," Naruto began with narrowed eyes, "my name is Uzumaki Naruto."
Wrath chuckled at seeing this, the sand from before still behind her and her sister. Bringing her hand forward, she grinned as she shot a wave of bone bullets for the blond, trying to hit him from his blind spot.
But thanks to Sage mode, Naruto was able to sense this as another wall of sand sprouted around him, shielding him from the bullets.
This had the effect of making Wrath begin to get frustrated with all of this damn sand.
Next to her, Sloth sensed this as she dropped down to the ground, letting her older sister be the diversion for her.
Seeing his opportunity, Naruto directed his attention to her as a shadow clone poofed into existence behind him.
Not knowing what the blond was planning, Sloth smiled widely as she began to arch her arm back, intent on throwing one of her swords at Naruto.
But before she could, her eyes widened as she caught sight of a Hiraishin kunai emerging from within the sand before it shot straight towards her. In a desperate attempt, she twisted her body to the side in midair just as the kunai grazed passed her. For a split second, she thought that she was out of the woods until her senses picked up someone appearing out of nowhere from behind her.
Sloth craned her neck to the side as she was able to see the clone from before grinning at her as he brought a Rasengan straight towards her abdomen, the Hiraishin kunai in hand.
Sloth screamed out in pain as the jutsu came in contact with her, sending her spiraling down to the floor as an explosion occurred after she hit the ground.
Wrath t'ched as she jumped back to stand with Greed and Gluttony, the sand that had been following her before shooting back towards the original Naruto.
The Naruto clone looked down at his handiwork, seeing Sloth down for the count. It seemed that even they couldn't handle a direct hit with a senjutsu enhanced Rasengan. Their technique wasn't as strong as Miyuki's, that was for sure.
Naruto took a small breath in as the sand around him began to gather back inside his kunai pouch.
Wrath narrowed her eyes again at seeing this, once more wondering just how he was able to store a large amount of sand like that. It irked her since she didn't know.
'Thanks for the help, Shukaku,' Naruto said as his clone walked up to stand next to him.
"Heh."
The blond took the grunt as a "you're welcome."
"It seems that you really have been practicing well all these years," Wrath spoke up, bringing Naruto's attention back to her. "Shukaku's power as well as the Hiraishin…..you combined them well. But it won't work a second time."
Before Naruto could reply, they turned their heads to the wall that Naruto had kicked Lust through to see said woman walking through the hole that she had created while coughing and groaning.
"You really do need to learn how to treat women better, Asura-kun."
Naruto closed his eyes as he grabbed the Hiraishin kunai from the clone's hand, said clone disappearing a moment later.
Wrath was instantly on guard, wondering what else the blond could be planning as Lust walked up towards them in order to rejoin them.
'Is he…..waiting for something?' she thought to herself, wondering just why the blond had closed his eyes while Greed and Gluttony stood in silence.
But then her mind clicked in realization. But she was too late as Naruto suddenly appeared behind Lust who was already standing next to them.
'He had already placed a mark on her from before!'
Lust's eyes widened in shock as she looked at the Hiraishin kunai pointed at her neck. Both Greed and Gluttony also took a step back, equally as shocked. While the Uzumaki gave off the impression of being a total dunce, when he was serious, it was frightening. Specially his speed.
"Don't think that I've been doing nothing for these past four years," Naruto stated as Kurama's chakra cloak exploded into life around him. "You underestimated me too much. And now you're going to pay the price."
Wrath gritted her teeth as she made to rush at the blond. But before she could, Kurama's tails sprouted into life around Naruto, knocking her, Greed, and Gluttony back.
Lust tried to use this opening to her advantage as she turned to face Naruto again, intent on staining her bones with his blood as her bones emerged all around her arm.
But the blond hadn't forgotten about her as he jumped back, pocketing his Hiraishin kunai as he formed a Rasenshuriken in his freed hand.
Realizing that she wasn't going to make it in time, Lust gritted her teeth in frustration as her eyes began to glow.
"Senpo: RasenShuriken!"
Wrath and her remaining two sisters watched as the powerful technique collided with Lust, sending her rocketing back to the other side of the room before the jutsu exploded into a bigger explosion than before.
'Even in stage two, she didn't have enough time to block it,' Wrath thought to herself, shielding her eyes from the explosion.
A few moments later, Naruto emerged calmly from the smoke, his Kurama cloak still active.
"Heh, it looks like you're not going to go easy on us, huh," Wrath spoke up, focusing all of her attention to the blond.
Gluttony sighed as she ran a hand through her orange hair. "It looks like we really have to try with this guy. Sloth and Lust made this difficult for us now."
Waves of indifference continued to rolled off her, making Naruto wonder for a moment just why she was here to begin with.
Greed chuckled in anticipation, though. "It's been a while since we've actually had to tried, though. So this will be fun!"
Gluttony sent her a look of annoyance. "You're just like Sloth sometimes."
"I hate to interrupt your little bickering," Naruto said, speaking up. This had the desired effect of making all three women turn their attention back to him. "But I'm not in the mood to play around with you guys."
Wrath chuckled as she shook her head, her eyes beginning to glow the same color as her hair. "It's not like you have much of a choice here, Asura. If you don't defeat us, then you'll never be able to leave here. It's that simple."
Both Greed and Gluttony followed her example a second later.
The blond Uzumaki narrowed his eyes, feeling their chakra starting to become much more powerful than before. It was something that he had felt with Lust as well before he had hit her with his Rasenshuriken.
"It looks like they have more tricks up their sleeves," Kurama said with narrowed eyes as well. "It looks like they've just been testing us this whole time."
Naruto t'ched at this, not exactly in the mood to play around with these guys. Especially with Nori. The whiskered blond knew that this was exactly what the man wanted. And it was starting to irritate him to no end.
But before either side could do anything, Naruto's senses picked up another chakra arriving in the area. And it was a familiar once. But for the first time, Naruto was glad to see her.
Wrath sighed in frustration when a portal, just like Nori's, appeared next to Naruto. But instead of it being their master, it was none other than Miyuki herself.
"You never could learn to stay out of our way," Wrath commented with an annoyed look, one that matched Gluttony's. Greed was simply looking at their new guest with glee.
"And you can never stop causing me headaches," Miyuki replied dryly with an irritated look as she stepped out of her portal.
"How did you even get in here?" Gluttony asked. "The master was sure that he had blocked you out unlike last time."
"Your master isn't the only one knowledgeable in space-time ninjutsu," Miyuki countered.
'So, Hagoromo must have helped her,' Wrath thought, knowing that that was the only logical conclusion.
"We need to get you out of here," Miyuki stated, looking at Naruto. "I wasn't supposed to interfere, but this isn't-"
"I don't have time for your excuses right now," Naruto interrupted, closing his eyes. "I'll have my talk with super gramps later. But right now, I only care about leaving this place."
Miyuki simply nodded, already knowing that it didn't matter what she said right now. Naruto didn't want to hear any of it. It reminded Miyuki of how the Uchiha had reacted thanks to Nori's meddling. It made her wonder if this was what the man had wanted all along. To make both Naruto and Sasuke turn against them. And if it was, it was working.
Wrath t'ched, taking a step forward.
At least until Miyuki turned to face her. "Don't move. Even in stage two, you can't defeat me."
Wrath grinned. "Don't overestimate yourself. Not even you know all that we can do."
Miyuki chuckled. "True enough. But I don't think your master will risk you dying here today." Another portal instantly appeared behind her.
"What about the others?"
Miyuki looked at Naruto who was already walking towards the portal. She didn't say anything, though. That gave Naruto all the information he needed.
As he placed his first step into the portal, however, Naruto paused a second at noticing that the three women weren't trying to stop him. Which made no sense. They were the ones that brought him here to begin with. And now they were letting him go just like that. Even the blond was quick to realize that there was something wrong with that.
But he knew that he had to shake it off for now. Aika and Uzu were waiting for him.
He had an invasion to stop.
"You really do know how to meet expectations."
Miyuki closed her eyes as Nori appeared between his guards. The portal behind her had already closed.
"I can see why Hagoromo kept you around."
"Just what did you hope to accomplish here?" she asked. "You should have known that not even your lackeys could have stopped him."
"Perhaps," Nori replied as Wrath and the other two tensed in anger. "But they didn't reveal all their cards either. However, their purpose was never to bring him down. But simply to stall him for the inevitable future that's to come."
Reopening her eyes, Miyuki glared at Nori with as much force as she could muster.
But the immortal shrugged it off. "I'll be waiting as the rest of this drama unfolds."
Haru knew that he was in trouble. He didn't how it had happened, but someone had attacked him and his father inside their own home. To the boy, that was improbable. He was inside Uzu, after all. There was no infighting within the clan. No violence. No murder. And yet, the entire kitchen had somehow blown up.
Coughing, Haru stood up as he tried to regain his vision through the smoke that was gathering all around him.
"Haru…..get out of here…."
Haru's eyes widened when he saw his father down on the ground with debris of what had once been their kitchen wall on top of him, squishing his lower body to bits.
'That's right…..father pushed me out of the way. That's how I….'
Unlike his normal self, Haru didn't consider logic as he ran up to his father's fallen form, looking around to find a way to remove the debris.
"My, my. It looks like you're just another useless worm, after all."
Haru turned around to see a woman with dark green hair walking through the giant hole in his house, the flames around her giving her an even eerier look.
Haru instantly knew that she had been the one to cause the explosion. Not only that, but he knew for a fact that she wasn't any clan member of his. Which only made him wonder just how she got inside Uzu to begin with.
But he pushed that aside when his ears picked up the soft groans from his father's unconscious form.
He gritted his teeth as his bow appeared in his hands in an instant, making the unknown woman's eyes flash in amusement.
"Oh? So you're not even going to try to question me? How odd," she said, her eyes never losing their amusement. "And here I thought you were the most calm and collected of the three. But then again, you're still human. Seeing your father in such a pitiful state has made you lose reason. How very…..human."
Haru didn't respond as he stood up, reading his chakra. He didn't have any actual arrows with him. But that didn't mean much of anything to him anymore. He had worked hard to master the secrets of the sentient bow. And while he was sure he hadn't unlocked all, he had already mastered a few.
The woman smirked as she looked at lightning flaring around the bow in the boy's hand. Getting into a defensive stand, she said, "I guess I won't mind playing with you for a bit before I finish you off and watch the rest of this village burn."
Not knowing what she was talking about and not really caring either at the moment, Haru instantly moved into a firing position as three lighting-arrows materialized where the normal arrows should be.
The woman simply continued to smirk as Haru fired them towards her at lightning speed. In retaliation, the woman jumped back before a sword made out of her own bones sprouted from her arm, which she used to block all three arrows.
Haru watched as his lightning-arrows were blocked with ease. But he was more shocked at seeing the sword in the woman's hand.
'Did she just use her bones!?'
"Now, I hope that's not all you're willing to show me," she said as she chuckled, twirling her sword in her hand.
Haru t'ched, quickly trying to calm himself. Getting even more worked up than he already was was not going to help him here. This woman was an unknown and a potential threat to his home. No, she was a threat. He just didn't know how much of a threat she was.
But as he began to think things through, Haru started to see a big problem at the moment. Just where were the Uzu shinobi that were patrolling this area at this time? His house was in one of the outer and smaller districts of the village, something that his father had told him had been per his late mother's request. But still. Not only that, one of his neighbors should have already heard what was happening and reported this to the clan head. But none of that was happening.
As if reading his thoughts, the green haired woman spoke up in an amused tone, "If you're expecting help from anyone, then don't count on it. Right now, the village leaders are trying to repel an invasion that they have no way of defending themselves against. Not with the barrier already disabled."
Haru's eyes widened in shock at this. "What…..?"
The woman chuckled. "That's right. If I hadn't killed the nearby patrol before coming here, I'm sure that your father would have been informed of it by now."
Haru's hands clenched at hearing this. "Then…..you also…."
The woman continued to twirl the sword in her hand as she answered, "Ah, yeah. Those weak Uzumaki that lived in this area…..they're already dead too. They didn't even put up too much of a fight. It was disappointing really. But I guess that's what happens when you enjoy peace too much. You become unaware and relaxed. Your clan has depended too much on that barrier over the years. And now that it has been broken, there's nothing you can do but roll over and die. Then again, putting up a struggle would be much more amusing. Not that it matters anymore."
Haru shook his head. "You're wrong! And even if what you're saying is true, there's still someone here that can stop this all by himself!"
The woman grinned. "Ah, Asura. He would. But even he can't protect you all. Not against this. He will probably survive. But as a cost, he will have to step over your dead bodies!"
Haru took a step back as the woman began to laugh as loud as she could.
"I can already imagine the look on his face! But that will be for later. For now, I have to take care of you."
"Me?" Haru repeated in slight confusion. "Why would you target me?"
"Don't worry about that," she said. "There's no reason to explain anything else to someone who's going to be dead soon."
Narrowing his eyes, Haru prepared more chakra to attack her once more.
But she didn't give him that chance. "Oh, no you don't!"
Haru's eyes widened as she charged towards him. The boy was able to bring his bow forward at the last second, shielding himself from being stabbed by the sword.
"So, you still have some fight left in you, eh?" she said as more bones began to sprout from her arms.
Guessing what was going to happen, Haru pushed her back before he jumped up towards the ceiling as a barrage of bone bullets shot from her arms and all around the destroyed house.
Looking down from the ceiling, Haru gritted his teeth as he looked at his father's still downed form. At this rate, the house was going to collapse before he had the chance to get him out of there.
But he was too distracted with his thoughts that he wasn't able to react fast enough to the woman tackling him through the roof and out of the house onto the outside world.
Haru grunted in pain as he felt blood dribble down his mouth as he fell down on the ground on his back. He felt his entire body ache with pain. And it wasn't because he had just been rammed through a roof. While that was part of it, it was mostly because of the force behind the tackle. If he didn't know any better, the young Uzumaki would guess that she was made out of metal or something.
The green haired woman chuckled as she landed on the ground, her eyes never leaving Haru's form. "It looks like your father's incompetence forced you to get careless there. Not that it would have mattered. You can't defeat me."
Haru didn't respond as he struggled to stand back up, only to grunt again as another wave of pain coursed through his body as a result of the woman appearing on top of him with her foot placed harshly on his chest. The boy coughed up some more blood as he looked up at the woman.
"It looks like toughing up the density of my bones was too much for you to handle," she commented like it was nothing. And to her, it wasn't.
"W-what kind of jutsu is that?"
She chuckled. "Don't worry about that. Even if I explain to you how my technique works, it wouldn't make a difference. I'm not as easy of an opponent as those radical zealots you faced before."
But Haru no longer cared. Instead, his eyes went to his house, knowing that his father was still in there.
'Somehow….I have to save him!' Looking towards his bow, Haru was about to call out to it until the woman added more pressure to her foot that was currently on his chest.
This caused Haru to heave even more as he felt all the oxygen being pushed out of his lungs.
"That won't work against me," she stated. "It can't help you anymore. Unfortunately for you, you had to face me before you could fully mature. Oh, well. The shinobi world is a cruel place. But don't worry. What you have to look forward to will be much more…..entertaining."
Without another word, the woman rammed her sword through Haru's heart, ending the boy's life with one quick strike.
'Uzumaki Haru…..your life belongs to my master now…..'
Aika didn't know what was happening. One moment she was walking home. The next, she was stuck in a place she did not recognize. The girl did not know how to describe it other than that it was barren and dark. Nothing to be seen. No people, no landmarks, no buildings. Nothing.
"I guess this will do for us….."
Aika narrowed her eyes as she quickly pulled out a kunai from her pouch, taking a defensive stand as she looked around the dark world that surrounded her.
"Show yourself already!" she exclaimed. "Who are you!? And what do you want!?"
There was a sound of someone humming. "I'm surprised. I was sure that you would pull out the kunai that Asura gave you. Not that it would have made a difference."
'Asura?' Aika repeated in her head. 'Who is Asura?'
Sensing the girl's confusion, the voice laughed. "My mistake. I forgot just how ignorant you are of the person whom you claim to love."
Aika gritted her teeth. "Just what are you talking about!?"
Expecting the voice to give another annoying response, Aika was surprised when a woman with violet hair appeared before her out of nowhere. There was a stoic look on her face as well.
"So, you're the one responsible for this, are you?" Aika sad, her eyes narrowing again.
The woman shrugged. "In a matter of speaking. This is all part of my master's plan."
"And just who is your master?"
The woman shook her head. "That's not how this works. Besides, there's no reason to explain any of that to someone who will soon forget."
"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Aika asked with her eyes still narrowed. None of this was making any damn sense to her. And it was starting to irritate her.
The woman glanced at the world around them. "Right now, you're in between worlds. It's a specialty of my master. He can travel to any dimension that he wants. And you were caught in his jutsu."
Aika instantly felt the kunai that Naruto had given her in her kunai pouch, already knowing that if she used that, the blond would appear and get them out of here.
But the woman could already tell what she was thinking. "I already told you: that won't work," she stated with a small smile. "My master's jutsu trumps that of Asura's. He can't get to you here."
Aika t'ched. "I don't know any Asura. So-"
"Oh, that's right," she cut in, "I forgot again. I guess you would know him as Naruto."
Aika looked confused. "Then why would you call him Asura?" It didn't make any sense to her. Unless Naruto's real name was Asura.
The woman chuckled. "And this is what I'm referring to. You know nothing of him. Instead of helping him, you're only hindering him."
Aika narrowed her eyes at this. "What?"
The woman began to walk around her like a predator stalking a prey. "You heard me. You insist in helping him accomplish his goal. Why? Because of your pride. You don't like to think of yourself as a hindrance. But that's exactly what you are. The shinobi world is a big place. There are many fishes in the pond. And you're just a small one. But you can't comprehend this. Or rather, your pride won't let you. But instead of admitting that, you cover it up with the word 'love.' How delusional. But humans have always been this way. Always trying to justify their actions as just when in fact it's the exact opposite. And you're no different, Uzumaki Aika."
Aika t'ched. "You seem to think that you have me all figured out, don't you?"
The violet haired woman shrugged. "Are you saying I'm wrong?"
Aika looked down at her feet, the kunai still in her hand. "Yes, I am prideful. I know that. I like to handle things on my own because I believe in getting help from others is a sign of weakness. That's what I've always believed in…."
The woman began to smile again until Aika spoke again. "But that was before I met Naruto. Through him, I learned that leaning on those you call your comrades isn't a sign of weakness but a sign of strength. Why? Because you can admit to yourself that you can't always do everything on your own and can overcome that. But the idiot forgets that too many times. He doesn't want any of us to get hurt. As such, he feels the need to try to deal with everything on his own and protect us at the same time. Well, just like he taught me to lean on others, I will keep reminding him that he can do the same with us. Even if I'm helpless now, someday I will be able to stand next to him fully, knowing that I can attribute something to what he wants to accomplish. That is my goal."
Aika locked eyes with the woman, her gaze intensifying her conviction behind those words.
It was something that the woman picked up on. For the first time, a small smirk appeared on her face. "I guess this will be more interesting than I thought, girl. It seems that Asura has managed to change your life as well. But in the end, it doesn't matter. The world will only teach you that your words and conviction mean nothing. In the face of despair, your ideals will crumble to dust. That is a fact."
Aika h'mphed as she got into a defensive stand again. "Well then, why don't you try it?"
The woman shook her head. "Oh, no. I'm not here to fight you. Instead, I'm here to warn you about what's happening in your home right now."
Aika didn't say anything to that.
The woman tilted her head to the side, a look of indifference appearing on her face. "It seems that you're not too concern."
"My clan is strong," Aika stated. "There's nothing that we can't handle."
"Such pride," the woman commented. "I'm going to love proving you wrong."
Aika tensed when she felt the world around her start to change.
"Go. Go to your father," the woman said as she began to disappear. "Go to him and see just how cruel the world really is, Uzumaki Aika."
Aika stumbled for a few moments as she regained her bearings. Holding her head as she looked around, Aika realized that she was back to where she had been before she had been "abducted." But the streets weren't so quiet now. Many of her clan members were running around in disarray. Not only that, but some buildings were already up in flames.
'What's going on!?' she screamed to herself in her mind.
She tried to stop one of the civilians that ran past her, but it was no use. They were in too much fear to pay any attention to her.
"Go. Go to your father. Go to him and see just how cruel the world really is, Uzumaki Aika."
Those words came back to haunt her. But not knowing what else to do, the girl took off running towards her house.
Naruto's anger rose ten fold as he sensed all the destruction happening in the village through his sage mode as he stepped out of the portal and into the same spot where he had been ambushed before. Naruto didn't bother to release his Kurama cloak either, knowing that keeping his secret right now wasn't something that should concern him that much.
"I guess the bastard was telling the truth," Kurama muttered.
His fellow bijuu didn't say anything, already sensing Naruto's rising anger.
The blond closed his eyes as he sensed Aika's chakra as well as the Hiraishin seal on the kunai. She was…..at her house. But she wasn't alone. This chakra…..it was-
"The shinobi here are only the start," Son Goku said, sensing the same thing as Naruto. "You can tell, can't you? There is an entire army heading straight for us."
Naruto could indeed sense that. It seemed as if in they were on board ships. But how? Sasuke had decimated Kiri's fleet in the last war. But right now wasn't the time to worry about the details. He had to deal with a certain someone before that. Especially since it seemed that Aika was fighting him.
The blond Uzumaki disappeared in a yellow flash, all the while forgetting the fact that he had not been able to sense Haru's chakra.
Hiroshi paid no mind to the smoke coming from the other parts of the village that he had once considered his home. Instead, he stood before his house with Danzo and a team of Root anbu with him.
"So, she's not here," Danzo commented with an indifferent tone. This search for the man's daughter didn't interest him in the slightest. Not only that, but he had to move soon so that he could capture the clan head's daughter before the main invasion force arrived. Once it did, it would be utter chaos. The shinobi currently in the village were only the advanced unit.
Hiroshi closed his eyes in frustration. Of all times for his daughter to be out, it had to be now. Talk about horrible timing. Now, he would have to find a way to negotiate with Danzo to give him more time so that he could get out of Uzu with his daughter before the main invasion force arrived.
"Dad!"
Hiroshi turned around to see his daughter running towards him, only to stop short when she caught sight of Danzo and his men.
The man sighed in relief at seeing her. "Aika, you're finally here. I was worried that you had been caught up in this violence."
Aika's head tried to figure out what was going on here as she looked between her father and the mysterious man. "Dad…..what's going on? Who is this man?"
Hiroshi took a step forward with a pleading look. "Don't worry about that, Aika. Right now, we have to get out of here before things get even more hectic in the village."
Aika took a step back as a confused look appeared on her face. "Leave…..but we're shinobi! We're supposed to be trying to protect our home!"
Hiroshi shook his head. "No, we are not. This place has betrayed us, sweetie. It's no longer our home. There is no reason for us to try and protect a place that took your mother away from us!"
Aika was finally able to realize what was happening as a shocked look overtook her face. "You…..you deactivated the barrier…..that's why this is all happening….."
Before Hiroshi could reply, Danzo stepped forward. "Smart daughter you have, Hiroshi. She would have made a great shinobi if things had turned out differently."
Hiroshi only looked at Danzo with a questioning look, not knowing what he meant. But his answer came quick as he felt a sword pierce his chest.
Aika's eyes widened at seeing one of Danzo's men stab her father from the back. "DAD!"
Hiroshi could only look at Danzo with wide eyes as blood began to gush out from his wound and mouth.
"You didn't actually think that I was going to let you walk away, did you?" Danzo said with an even tone. "You would be too much of a loose end. You will die here tonight alongside the rest of your clan."
Hiroshi looked at his daughter as the Root anbu retracted his sword, mouthing the word run to her as he fell down to the ground face first.
'Such ignorance,' Danzo thought to himself as he looked at the now corpse of Hiroshi. 'But it's because of his ignorance that I was able to get here today. So I should be thankful.'
"YOU MONSTER!"
Danzo merely sighed as one of his men appeared before him, blocking the girl's feeble attempt to kill him with a kunai.
The man turned to look at her to see tears streaming down her face as she looked at him with intense hatred.
"A shinobi should never show emotion in the heat of battle, girl," Danzo stated with a cold look. "They are only a hindrance at the end. That is why your clan will fall tonight. Because your father couldn't control his. He betrayed those who called him comrade. Such is the uselessness of emotions to a shinobi."
But Aika didn't want to hear any of that. The girl screamed in rage as her gold chains erupted from her body, catching Danzo completely off guard. But the man was able to jump back at the last second before they could touch him. His anbu wasn't so lucky, though. The Root member was pierced by the chains in a second, killing him with ease.
The rest of the squad quickly jumped in front of Danzo, their swords drawn as they looked at the girl.
Danzo narrowed his eye as he looked at the girl. 'This girl….there's definitely more to her than I first thought.'
Not caring that she had committed her first kill, Aika screamed in anger again as she rushed towards Danzo and the remainder of his men.
But Danzo h'mphed as he appeared behind the girl faster than her eyes could follow. "Like I said, a shinobi should always keep his emotions in check."
Aika's eyes widened as she felt something poking through her chest. Looking down, she saw that it was a tip of a sword.
"Otherwise, you lose sight of everything," Danzo finished, as he pulled back his sword in an instant.
Aika fell down to her knees as she felt pain spreading throughout her body. 'Is this it…..?'
"AIKA!"
Danzo's eye widened as a new individual suddenly appeared between him and the fallen girl in a yellow flash. The man wasn't able to react fast enough as a fist collided with his face, sending him flying back into a nearby tree.
The remaining anbu saw this with surprise, not having sensed anyone else near them. But they quickly rushed to their leader's side.
Naruto, still in his chakra cloak, looked at Danzo with immense hatred in his eyes. But that hatred left him when felt someone touch his shoulder. Turning around, Naruto quickly caught Aika in his arms as the girl tried to stand.
"Aika-chan, I'm so sorry I wasn't here in time," he began, tears forming around his eyes. "If only I had been-"
"It's not your fault," Aika interrupted with a smile as blood appeared all around her lips. "None of this is your fault."
Naruto shook his head. "But it is! I promised you that I would protect you! That I would be with you! But instead-"
"Don't say that," Aika retorted as she brought one of her shaking hands to the blond's cheek. "You know that you couldn't have helped this. Y-you're only one person."
Naruto's body shook in sadness as the girl in his arms began to cough even more blood.
'KURAMA! DO SOMETHING!'
But Kurama was silent, knowing that he couldn't do anything. That rang true for the rest of the bijuu. They didn't have enough time to come up with anything. And unlike before, they couldn't combine their chakra together. That had only been a one time thing.
'If only I hadn't wasted it then…..' Kurama thought.
Also realizing that they couldn't do anything, Naruto could only look in helplessness as the girl in his arms died.
Also knowing this, Aika nevertheless continued to smile. "N-never lose that smile, whiskers. And never give up on your dream. O-one day, I'm sure that you will b-be able to accomplish it. I-if only I had been t-there to see it with you…."
Naruto closed his eyes as his tears began to openly flow out of his eyes.
"I love you, whiskers….."
And with that, Uzumaki Aika took her last breath.
Danzo looked at this with indifference as he stood back up, his cheek still stinging with pain.
'Weakness everywhere,' he thought to himself as he looked at the newcomer, his Root anbu still around him. 'But this one is different…..this chakra is intense…..'
"Danzo…."
Said man focused on the boy who looked at him with a raised eyebrow. How did this boy know his name?
Standing up, Naruto had his eyes closed still, his whole body shaking in anger. All this time, he had believed that maybe there had been room for discussion. For compromise. A solution where violence wasn't necessary. But Aika's lifeless body proved him wrong. Some people didn't change. Some people didn't want to change. They did whatever they thought was right, not caring whom they hurt along the way. That was Danzo. He was the one behind all of this. He was the one that was tearing his whole clan apart. He was the one responsible for all of this death. He was responsible for Aika's death.
Danzo, along with his anbu, took a step back as red chakra began to gather around the blond Uzumaki. Not only that, but his form started to change as well into something more...ghastly.
"Brat, don't-!"
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
All throughout the village of Uzu, civilians and shinobi alike stopped as a pillar of red chakra shot up to the night sky.
In his dimension, Nori observed this with a calm smile alongside all seven women.
'I did warn you, didn't I, Asura-kun? Reality isn't a kind place. Even when you think you see a glimmer of hope, it brings you back down to show you that it was all in your head. This is what is happening now. You believe that understanding can be reached. That people will be able to get past the violence. Well, now you should know that that is only a fool's errand. Humans crave violence. That is inevitable.'
He chuckled.
'Now, experience despair to the fullest.'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone