Chương 8: Take everything
N-Naruto, where are you going?!" Magik yelled out, running after the blonde man as he walked towards the elevator door.
As the blonde pressed the down button, he spoke, "I'm going to save Herald." As he spoke he kept his eyes in front of him, looking at the closed elevator door.
When it opened, he stepped inside, turning around to face Illyana as she spoke, "And if he's dead already?"
"If you don't want to come, stay here and make sure Gabrielle is safe. If you are, then get in."
With a ding, the door began to close. Just as the door closed fully, Illyana's hand stopped it just in time. Pushing the door open, the blonde haired woman looked Naruto in the eye, "What about Gateway? He'll only be here for another day; after that you'll have to wait for years for your next shot home."
Naruto looked Illyana in the eye, hesitating for only a moment before saying, "I've been trying to get home for nearly four years, and in those four years I've stopped giving a damn about anything else. I could have left a Shadow Clone here, I could have taken them out of the city when I met them, I could have stopped this rebellion the day I got here. But I didn't. I didn't give a damn about this world or these people." Closing his eyes, Naruto said, "I've been so busy trying to get home, I never realized to think about what happens after. After I go home, after I see for myself the destruction my absence has caused. After I come back, a man without a home." Opening his eyes, he looked Magik in the eye once again, "It's time I started giving a damn."
Illyana stared into Naruto's eyes, seeing his unwavering will and determination. With a sigh, Illyana walked inside the elevator, "Fine. I'm going with you." Smirking at Naruto she said, "Someone needs to get you outta there if shit hits the fan."
Nodding, Naruto crossed his fingers in a cross hand sign. In a puff, a perfect replica of Naruto appeared, "Stay here and take care of Gabrielle until we return. Help her pack up her things, we're leaving as soon as we can." As the clone left, the elevator door closed, with Naruto pressing the button for the bottom floor.
When the elevator began going down, Illyana said, "So…what can you do exactly?"
"I can control the elements, magnetism, and an energy called chakra. I can also fly, clone myself, and can cover myself in multiple levels of a chakra shroud. Going all out, I have the powers of what you might call a god." Naruto said with a straight face.
Illyana's eyes were twitching as she gave a sideways look at the blonde man, "…is that all?"
"I used to be able to summon sentient toads, but I haven't been able to since coming to Earth." Suddenly, the sound of an explosion ripped through the elevator, sending vibrations all around the metal box just as the elevator reached the bottom floor. Stepping outside into the lobby, Naruto could see through the window that the building a block over was on fire, with several soldiers and revolutionists fighting it out, a good number of them lying dead on the ground.
In a brisk pace, Naruto walked out into the street. Reaching into his reserves, Naruto began to leak his power out into the world, causing an intense pressure to press down on everyone within the city of Aniana. The fighting before him stopped, some passing out from the strain that was Naruto's chakra, others looking at the source in fear.
Speaking in Symkarian, Naruto said, "Drop your weapons." Seeing that the men were still stunned by his show of power, Naruto spoke with steal in his voice, "Now." With that, the guns in the soldiers' hands flew towards Naruto before stopping several feet in front of him before each of them began to bend into themselves before eventually becoming softball sized clumps.
"What the fuck?!" One of the Symkarian soldiers shouted in shock, "Who are yo-"
Naruto interrupted the man, "I have no business with you. Leave." With another burst of his chakra, the men began to leave, only for Naruto to appear in front of the three revolutionists in a burst of speed, "Not you." The blonde didn't allow the three to say a word, instead kicking one in the stomach with a Spartan kick, back handing the second across the face, and then grabbing the third by the throat hard enough that the man nearly passed out before Naruto relaxed his grip enough to allow the man to speak, "Who were the men you sent into that building?" He demanded as he pointed towards the building he and the Valids had been staying.
"I-I-I don't know!" The man coughed out, "Please, I-"
"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Naruto shouted, his grip causing the man to make a struggling gurgle, "If you lie to me again, I'll kill the other two. If you lie after that, I'll snap your back in three different places. And if you lie a third time, I will throw you out of Earth's orbit into the vacuum of space." He threatened, his voice a vicious growl.
The soldier fought uselessly against Naruto's grip, trying with all his might to pry the blonde's hands from his neck. Seeing he was trapped in the Shinobi's grasp, the man choked out, "The-their names were Sergey and Dm-Dmitry! Prime Minister Limka gave the order!"
"Who were the other two, the ones that were in charge of the questioning!" Naruto asked, loosening his grip as the man began to talk.
"I don't know! I don't I swear!" The man screamed out.
"And where do I find Prime Minister Limka?"
The man looked around before pointing west, "He's staying in a camp several miles outside the city limits."
Naruto, sensing that he was telling the truth let the man go. Looking down at the still recovering men, he then looked back at the man he had just interrogated, "Leave the city. If I run into you again, I'll kill you. Understood?" The three men nodded their heads as quickly as they could, stumbling up as they did, before running away.
"So what now?" Illyana asked as she walked up to Naruto.
"We see the Prime Minister. Can you take us outside the city?" Naruto asked.
Putting her hand on his shoulder, a white energy disk appeared bellow them. As they sunk into the disk, they landed in the middle of a wheat field, rows of wheat stocks surrounding them. Looking east, Naruto could see Aniana in the distance a couple miles away. Taking in the Natural Energy of the area, Naruto allowed himself to enter Sage Mode.
Extending his senses outward, Naruto searched the area, "I found them. The camps a could miles west, a couple hundred people there at the least."
"A couple hundred?!" Illyana asked in shock, "The man's got a legion of men with him! What are you going to do, knock?"
Naruto nodded, "Something like that." With that, he began his trek towards the revolutionist camp site.
"But what's the plan here?" lllyana asked, "We can't just walk in and confront this Limka guy. These revolutionist are freaking fanatics, they'll shoot first ask questions later if you even look at them wrong, just imagine what they'll do when we go after their leader, on their home turf!"
Naruto looked at Magik, "I'll be the distraction, you pick up Limka. Take him somewhere secure, then come get me."
"You make it sound so easy."
-x-
"So…what now?"
Naruto and Illyana were standing in the tree line half a mile away from the revolutionist camp site. The site itself could fill up a football field, with several tents varying in size scattered around the area. Littered around were various tanks, all-terrain vehicles, and a few bi-planes for some reason. The entrance to the camp was guarded by four men, two on each side of the dirt path leading in, all four checking any vehicle or person that came in. In the center was a massive tent, like a firework tent almost, with a couple dozen guards walking the area keeping out anyone not wanted. This monster tent was obviously the camp headquarters, so it was safe to say Limka was inside considering he was in charge.
Naruto looked up at the setting sun for a moment as he said, "It's about 6 o'clock. I was going to say we wait till night fall, but we don't know if Limka stays here at all times of the day, or if he has his own personal quarters. It's still light out, so I'd say he's still at work in the camp headquarters, but if not it would be hard for us to find him at day time, let alone night. Do you know what this guy looks like?"
"No, but I can." Illyana said. Pulling out her phone, the blonde began to pulled up the search engine on her phone before she began typing, "Here we go." She said before showing Naruto her phone, the picture of a middle aged man, with a…circular physique, and balding blonde hair with a thick mustache.
"Alright. It's time."
Illyana gave Naruto a confused look, "What does that mean?"
Naruto didn't answer, instead, he began to walk down the dirt path towards the camp site, his Sage Mode active as he began to gather his chakra. It had been awhile since he'd decided to actually go all out. Sure, he'd used his Chakra Shrouds, he'd used some heavy hitting jutsu, but he'd never actually pushed himself. He'd just gone for the insta-kill moves and went on his way, not bothering with actually putting any other effort into it. But today? Today he'd use everything he'd needed to get to this guy. He needed to be aggressive, but still subtle enough to not outright kill Limka in the aftershock. So that meant no Rasenshurikens, no Tailed Beast Bombs, no Truth Seeking Balls.
"Naruto, what's the plan here?" Kurama asked.
"You can sit this one out Kurama. I'll only need Sage Mode for this." Crossing his fingers, Naruto created three clones each scattering to the distance to gather the necessary Nature Chakra for when their creator needed the boost.
"But do you have a plan for after this? There were two others in that room, two others who could have nothing to do with these revolutionists. What if that boy is dea-"
"If he's dead, I'll kill them all."
"And if SHIELD were involved in this somehow? You and I both know of their interest in the people with out of the ordinary abilities."
"And if SHIELD is involved…I'll kill them all."
"Even Clint?...Natasha?"
"They wouldn't-"
"You and I both know that they would!" Kurama shouted in his head, "They do whatever Fury or their council asks! Kill, steal, spy…seduce."
"Clint or Natasha wouldn't do that. She wouldn't do that to me."
"Naruto, I don't want to ruin what you have with this woman, trust me I don't. But you can't look at them with preconceived sentiment just because you like them…or even love them." Kurama said softly.
"Now really isn't the time for this." Naruto thought just as he began to get near the camp. The guards had taken notice of him as he made his way up, all four pointing their rifles in his direction.
"Leave now or we will put you down!" The guard that appeared to be in charge shouted, his trigger finger itching as he spoke.
Naruto didn't say a word, only raising his hand up and out in front of him, his index finger pointed outward towards the lead guard, his hand in the form of a gun. Channeling wind chakra to the tip of said finger, Naruto continued his stride.
"Turn around now! I will not repeat myse-" He was interrupted by the fact that a bullet made of wind drilled through his skull from the place between his eyes.
The bullet zoomed out of the man's skull and lodged itself into the guard behind him, flying through his shoulder as he cried in pain. As the dead and wounded guard fell to the ground, Naruto disappeared in a burst of speed, appearing in between the guards that were still standing. Slamming his foot into the back guard's knee cap, snapping it in the process, he pressed his finger at the back of the last guard's nape, the wind bullet leaving his finger in a silent swoop, causing the front of the guard's neck to explode in a gush of blood, flesh, and muscle. As the man with a hole in his shoulder began to get up, Naruto shot him in the face without looking as he grabbed the now crippled man by the collar of his flak jacket.
"Where's Limka?" He demanded as he pressed his finger against the man's temple.
The man was grabbing his shattered knee cap, his face filled with agony as he whimpered out, "The big tent in the middle of camp!" He screamed.
Naruto nodded, "Does he have a personal tent, somewhere he sleeps or goes for privacy?"
The man shook his head, "I don't think so!" Those were his last words, as Naruto blasted a wind bullet into his skull. Then, without looking, Naruto reached out and caught something just as it was about to hit him square in the head. Looking at it, he saw that it was a clicking hand grenade, the clip pulled out.
BOOM!
A fiery explosion lit up the area, sending clumps of dirt and human body parts flying everywhere. Covering his face was the man that threw the grenade, having heard shouting at the entrance of the camp, he went to investigate only to see a man kill one of his comrades with his finger. Without thinking, the man threw the grenade he had clipped to his belt, seeing as how the man hadn't seen he was there. To his surprise the man caught it without looking, only for it to be for naught considering it blew up in his hand. The debris having settled, the revolutionist looked over to see the smoldering crater, his four dead comrades mutilated bodies sprawled out in random directions, but it was the fifth body he couldn't find. His thoughts were interrupted by pain, as the feeling of a thousand volts of electricity entered his body just before a hand covered in lightning burst out of his chest.
Naruto, stood behind the now dead man in his arms, his hand sticking clean out of his chest, "Thanks for the move Sasuke." He muttered as he pulled his hand out of the guy's chest.
Thack Thack Thack
Naruto was forced to take a step forward from the force of getting pelted by gunfire, his jacket beginning to shred and tear but his skin otherwise fine. Looking over, he swiped his hand up, causing the guns in the men's hands to fly in the air. The men surrounding him then going for their side arms, but Naruto wasn't having any of it, pointing the guns at their owners before opening fire, shredding them.
Dropping the guns, Naruto began to fly threw a set of hand seals. Finishing on the Tiger seal, Naruto took a deep breath as he thought, "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!" His mouth puffing out slightly, he bent backward before releasing his breath, a thick stream of fire leaving his lips as he did before extending out to form a wide wall of intense flames. While not as powerful as Madara's, it was still strong enough to wipe out every living creature in front of him, engulfing everything in its path causing whatever that was swallowed to disappear completely. Naruto made sure that the wall of fire only passed over the right side of the camp, leaving the left and center areas relatively untouched.
Releasing his breath, Naruto watched as the fire began to settle, with the only thing left behind was the fire itself and the melted bodies the attack created. Naruto then ejected the kunai stashed in his sleeve, grabbing it as he flipped it into a reverse grip. Using his mastery of chakra, he mixed the elements of Fire and Wind into the edge of his kunai blade. The sharp wisp of fire and wind extended three feet outwards from the blade itself, creating a blade, "Fire and Wind Combination: Scorching Blade."
He then charged forward towards the sea of men in front of him. Some saw him coming, others were more preoccupied with the fact their friends and comrades were nothing more than black smoking husks. It didn't matter either way, as he was indiscriminate of who he cut down. Decapitations. Bifurcated. Amputation. Disembowelment. Bisection. The brutality of Naruto wasn't lost on the men, some trying to run away in fear, only for another Naruto to appear and cut them off, or a wall of earth to rise up and keep them where they were. Those that were brave or stupid enough to fight back, whether with their guns or their hands, were stunned at the agility of the blonde, the man jumping, twirling, and flipping around the area, each step with a purpose.
Naruto, having just completed a triple back flip, sprang up from his crouch to find three men in front of him. Without blinking Naruto once again flipped the kunai into a reverse grip, swing his arm from shoulder out, hitting the man directly in front of him with a scooping cut, the fire blade driving all the way through his naval before swinging out, his blade coming out of the guy's side. Naruto wasn't finished, driving his Sage Mode enhanced fist into the man's cheek, snapping his neck from the power of Naruto's punch. It was then that Naruto's Sage Mode faded, his eyes returning to normal. He didn't take much notice to it. Using his Magnetic Release, Naruto connected to the guns the other two men's hands before pointing them away from him and instead towards each other, before having the gun's fire, the two men lighting the other up with their own guns.
He then took that moment to create a Shadow Clone only to have it explode in a puff of smoke, signaling the clones gathering Nature Chakra he needed a hit. As he dived towards another victim, Naruto could feel the power of Nature enter him, and just in time too, as one of them managed to get a lucky shot off, the bullet smacking him right in the forehead. Other than his head jerking back slightly from the force, he didn't show any sign of injury, only looking at the fool who dared shoot him in the first place. Forming a Rasengan in his hand, Naruto threw it at the man, the ball of spinning chakra hitting him in the sternum, sending him flying into several other people behind him just as the Rasengan couldn't contain itself any longer, expanding out in a miniature hurricane of energy.
BOOM!
The ground next to Naruto exploded, sending him flying as it did. Tucking his body in, he rolled as he landed, eventually coming to a crouched stop as he looked for the source of the explosion only to see three tanks heading his way, each of their barrels pointed in his direction. Clapping his hand together, Naruto began to gather Earth Chakra as he flew threw a set of hand seals before slamming his hands down on the ground as he shouted, "Earth Style: Great Moving Earth Core!"
"What the fuck?!" One of the revolutionists screamed as the ground beneath them began to shake and break apart just as a ground beneath the tanks burst upward, sending the tanks into the air, flipping them on their back just as they landed on the ground, squashing anyone unlucky enough to be underneath them. Naruto then created three Shadow Clones, each jumping high into the air, all three forming massive Rasengans the size of the tanks themselves in their hands before slamming them into the massive war machines, the resulting explosions wiping out any bystanders.
Naruto looked around, seeing that there were only about 30 soldiers left. The blonde was about to continue his massacre when a disk of energy appeared next to him before Illyana jumped out.
"Na-Naruto…dear God, are you okay?!" She asked, seeing the blood covered man in front of her. The man was literally dripping with it, from head to toe, some had dried over, most was still fresh as it shined in the setting sun light.
Naruto nodded, "I'm fine. Is Limka secure?" He demanded.
Illyana was taken aback by Naruto's brushing off of her question, nodding none the less as she said, "Yeah, I got him. All of his guards left when you burnt down half the camp. You weren't lying about the elements thing."
"Take me to him."
Illyana didn't hesitate, flicking her hand out in front of her she created another portal, allowing Naruto to jump in first. Following after him, Magik found herself once again in the middle of a small ranch house. The house was very Spartan, with a very small living room and an even smaller kitchen and dining area. The stairs led to a hallway that held two doors, both small bedrooms with a single twin sized bed in each and nothing else.
"Where are we?" Naruto asked.
Illyana turned towards him, the blonde man looking around the small cottage, "We're in Great Britain, this cottage belongs to my mother's family."
"And where are they?"
"Out of town…I think." Illyana said.
Naruto didn't respond, only walking over to the sink in the corner of the kitchen. Looking himself in the mirror, the Jinchuriki could hardly recognize himself with the blood caked all over himself.
"Are you sure you're alright? The adrenalin should be wearing off soon…are you sure some of that is your blood?"
"Trust me, I'm fine." Naruto said weakly. He jumped as he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Jerking his head over, he saw Illyana looking him in the eye, worry marking her face.
"Are you sure?" She emphasized.
"Those people…they were so evil. I could feel it. I could feel just how vial so many of them were, the things they'd done just because they could. But…I still feel terrible. Back home…back home I always tried my best not to kill, only as a last result. But back there, I just lost it. I didn't care."
"You're not a monster Naruto. You may have killed those men, but they were the monsters." Kurama said.
Illyana looked away for a moment, perhaps in thought, before looking Naruto in the eyes again, "I can't say I understand, because I really really don't. But I don't think you're a bad person. You're just a guy trying to do the right thing...even if how you do it is a little wrong."
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle a little, closing his eyes as he did. Looking back in the mirror he said, "Thanks…I guess."
"You're welcome…I guess."
"So where is he?" Naruto asked, "Limka I mean."
"He's upstairs, I knocked him out and tied him up."
Naruto nodded, "Is there a shower anywhere?" he asked.
"Yeah, over there." Illyana then pointed over to the door next to the kitchen.
The blonde began to take off his ruined jacket, "I'm gonna wash this blood off, bring him down here and keep an eye on him, it'll just be a minute." He didn't wait for a response, having already entered and closed the bathroom door. Peeling off his shirt, he looked at both articles of clothing to see that they were torn, and bullet riddled, with the blood of multiple men having crusted over all along them. Reaching behind his back, he pulled the gun given to him by Gabrielle out from his pants. Looking at it, Naruto couldn't help but feel a wave of guilt wash over him once again.
"What if they had this? Would things be better? Worse?" Naruto thought.
"Probably worse. And that's if they would've even had time to get it, and if they had, it probably would've only led to both of their deaths. I doubt the soldiers would've taken too kindly to the fact that their targets had a gun."
"Maybe." That thought aside, for the moment, Naruto set the gun on the sink with a 'clink.' Taking off his pants he could say the same thing. Now completely naked, Naruto turned the shower on. Immediately after stepping under the soft jet of cool water, blood began to swirl calmly down the shower drain.
-x-
Stepping out the shower, Naruto came out wearing the ruined shirt and jeans, having nothing else to wear otherwise. Looking over at the dining table, Naruto could see Illyana sitting down, her attention on the man sitting to her left. Said man saw him enter the room, anger clearly on his face, "Who are you…people?! Do you know who I am?! Huh?"
Naruto made his way over to the table, sitting down next to Limka, facing him completely as he spoke, "We know who you are. That's why you're here."
"Why exactly am I here?" Limka demanded, "Who are you dammit!"
Placing the gun given to him by Gabrielle on the table in front of him with an audible 'clank,' Naruto spoke, "I'm the one that killed most of your men. I'm the one that destroyed your tanks, and burnt down half of your camp. I'm the one that was staying with the Valid family." Naruto said calmly.
"Who? I don't kno-"
"Contrary to my recent actions, I'm not much of a fan to the concept of killing. In my entire career, I've somehow managed to keep out of situations where murder, intimidation, and torture were needed. I knew that it would happen. Eventually. It's what I was trained to do since I was five years old after all. Today I killed more people than I have in my entire career as a Shinobi, and I will come to regret their deaths. Eventually. But right now…right now I have little patience for you people. I will do whatever I have to do to get that boy back."
Limka was beginning to sweat, the man loudly swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, "I don't know what boy you're talking about."
Naruto closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head as he did, "Yes you do." Looking Limka in the eye, Naruto said, "If you lie to me again, and I'll know when you do trust me, you'll regret it."
"And what exactly would you do to me…that's to say if I were lying." Limka said tentatively.
"I won't kill you if that's what you're wondering." Naruto reassured. As a look of relief graced Limka's face he continued, "I will end your rebellion by the end of this night. I will slaughter your soldiers. I will draw and quarter your political compatriots. I will level this city, and plunder this country of all things it holds dear. And after I find the boy and as everything you love is good and gone, after you watch as I destroy your very ambition, then and only then will I release you to wallow in the despair that is your life." With each word Naruto said, he leaked out killer intent that grew thicker and thicker, all pointed at the man sitting next to him. By the end of Naruto's speech, Limka began to see visions of the very things Naruto spoke of. His city, his country…gone. All by the monster that was Naruto.
"I-I…I had nothing to do with the taking of the boy." Limka said, "When my men told me about you, she was there. She demanded that she send some of her men along to apprehend you. The-they…they were like you." Stealing a glance at Illyana he said, "And her."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Like us how? As in they had powers?"
"Yes." Limka said, "She…she has a whole group of them working for her."
"Who is she?"
"Monica Rappaccini, Scientist Supreme of AIM."
Naruto was surprised to see Illyana's face grow pale, "Did you say…Monica Rappaccini, of AIM?"
"Do you know her?" Naruto asked.
Illyana nodded shakily, "She's the one I thought you worked for. That woman has been hunting me for years now, it's the reason I never stay in one place for too long. She's in charge of the science division of AIM."
"And what's AIM exactly?" Naruto asked, "Some kind of SHIELD off-brand?"
"Kind of. The Advanced Idea Mechanics, aka AIM, are a covert group of soldiers and scientist, all dedicated to discovering the secret behind the "Metahuman" and the overthrowing of world governments to help fund and support their operations. Rappacini is in charge of AIM as the acting Scientist Supreme, and has dedicated herself and her organization to discovering how to give humans super powered abilities through scientific means. She's the bane of all Inhumans, her torturous experiments infamous in our society."
"That's explains why they took the kid. Anyone else would've just killed him after making those two guys' heads explode." Kurama muttered.
Naruto looked at Limka, "So this Rappiccini has him?" he asked. Seeing Limka nod he continued, "Where are they?"
"They took him to their base in Sokovia, they're currently funding the rebellion going on there."
"Busy people." Naruto said. Looking at Illyana he said, "If you don't wanna go I understand. Just drop me off and I'll meet you back here."
Illyana nodded slowly, "I'm not going anywhere near that woman…but I'll drop you off I suppose." She said reluctantly.
"Now wait a minute!" Limka said getting up from his seat, "Are you going to let me go or not? I told you what you want to know!"
Naruto shrugged, "Sure. You can go." Limka looked at Naruto with strong suspicion in his eyes, only for Naruto to look back at him with a face as straight as a ruler. Taking a few testing steps back, he slowly picked up his pace to a frantic walk towards the door, "But before you go, there's something you might want to know."
Limka stopped right at the door, his hand on the knob as he spoke softly, "And that would be?"
"From the moment I attacked the camp, to now, I've had a score of Shadow Clones fighting your men in Aniana. I've also had them killing off any politicians that were backing your upbringing, and have talked to your king and given him the proof that it has been youin charge of the rebellion all along." Naruto spoke in a calm matter, leaning back in his chair as he looked at Limka over his shoulder.
Limka's face began to grow red, hoarse with rage as he spoke, "You…YOU BASTARD!" The man then charged at the seated Naruto, with the blonde extending his leg out at the last minute, his foot slamming into the charging man's crotch, causing the man to slump over in pain, clutching his package as he fell to the floor.
Getting up, Naruto spoke, "See yourself out Prime Minister whenever you wish, my friend and I must be leaving." With that, Naruto made his way to the door, Illyana hustling after him.
As the door slammed behind them, Limka got up from the floor, tears forming in his eyes, "Everything…He took everything from me. My men. My rebellion. My country…My pride." Slamming his hands against the table top he sobbed, "I have nothing!" As his hands slammed into the table, the gun clinked and clanked as it rattled from the vibration. Looking up, Limka saw the gun in front of him, the silver steal gleaming in the light. Reaching a shaking hand out towards it, he picked the gun up and brought it up to his face for further inspection. Twisting the gun around, tears continued to flow as he looked at the small hand gun in his hands. His face relaxing into one of absolute acceptance, Limka pulled back the cocking handle with an audible 'click.' The gun shaking in his hand, he placed the barrel of the gun under his chin, the bottom of the gun resting on top of his quivering Adam's apple. Slipping his finger against the trigger, he took a moment before firmly pulling down on it.
Click
"Huuugh!" Limka breathed out shock, nearly dropping the gun after hearing the sound of the gun not going off. Hurriedly pulling the magazine out of the gun, Limka was shocked to find that the magazine was empty.
"No…" Throwing the gun away he screamed, "NO!"
-x-
Naruto and Illyana were standing in the mountainous countryside of Sokovia, the two looking down at what looked to be a military base/research facility, with a fifteen-foot barbed wire fence keeping out anyone not wanted, and several guard towers sporting lookouts and searchlights littered all along the fence line. Several living barracks were littered throughout, along with a good handful of vehicle garages. The research building was three stories tall, and was the size of your average high school. Several people were walking in and out, most wearing strange hazmat suit-esc attire that was yellow in color and covering their entire bodies from view. Even the visor going to the masks were tinted a dark blue, keeping you from looking anyone in the eyes. At first Naruto thought these guys were all scientists, that was until he saw the various assault rifles most of them were sporting.
"So…what's the plan?" Magik whispered, the two crouched down behind a massive boulder, keeping them out of view from the soldiers below, not that they'd be able to see them considering night had just befallen the area, "Please tell me you're not gonna pull the same stunt as last time."
"Don't worry, this will be way more subtle." Naruto said calmly.
Illyana smiled nervously, "Are you even capable of subtle?"
"Not really." Naruto shrugged, "Worth giving it a shot though."
"Alright well I'm out of here. This place gives me the creeps." With that, Illyana sunk into one of her white portals, "Good luck." She said just as she disappeared.
"Right. Thanks."
Getting up from behind the boulder, Naruto put his hands up behind the nape of his neck. With a slow, calm walk, Naruto made his way towards the base. As he came into view, it only took a moment for him to be spotted, the crack of gun fire splitting the air as the ground in front of him exploded in a tiny burst of dirt and grass. The spot light had shifted on his being, covering him in a thick beam of white light, forcing him to cover his now squinting eyes with his hand.
"Halt!" The man in the guard tower shouted out in Sokovian, "Do not move, I will not miss twice! This place is off limits to all civilians, state your business or you will be placed under arrest!"
Naruto, not able to speak Sokovian quite yet just understand it, shouted out in English, "I've come to surrender myself! My name is Nathan Ulrickson!"
The guard looked at Naruto for a moment, obviously understanding him from the lack of confusion in his face after hearing a language he hadn't spoken earlier, before pulling on the radio strapped to his vest and speaking into it in a hushed voice. It only took a moment before someone responded, with the man lowering his gun as he spoke, "Stay there!"
With a loud rattle, the double fence doors opened up, with four men all dressed in the same yellow hazmat suit marching out towards him in a simple diamond formation. The man upfront made his way behind Naruto, grabbing his wrists aggressively before slapping a pair of hand cuffs on, clamping them tightly, the metal digging into the blonde's wrists. One of the men then began to pat him down, checking for any weapons he may have had. His hands making their way to his wrists, he quickly found and confiscated his concealed kunai. Pocketing them the man that searched him gave the squad leader a nod.
"Move." The man behind Naruto ordered, pressing his gun into the Shinobi's lower spine.
Naruto obliged, walking forward at a fast enough pace so that the gun was no longer in his back, but slow enough that the man wouldn't pull him back if he got too far ahead. The walk was brisk, the five of them heading straight towards the research facility. Walking inside, Naruto had to squint his eyes at the florescent lights as the temporally blinded him. His vision cleared, the blonde made sure to keep track of each twist and turn the five of them made towards the destination, his eyes sharply collecting as much info as he could.
Finally, the five of them arrived at a pair of thick steel double doors, with the squad leader walking towards the panel to the side. Naruto watched as he put in the numbers 476-954 before the doors opened with a resounding 'whoosh.'
Walking inside, Naruto couldn't help but be a little disappointed by what was in front of him. Nothing. The large room was completely empty, with the only thing being a single woman. Suddenly, lights turned on, revealing the room to be some sort of arena. Inside the arena, Naruto could see a rather pretty woman with long thin black hair. She looked to be of Hispanic or Italian decent, going from her complexion, and had very womanly figure that was being shown rather well by her form fitting green dress. The dress itself didn't reveal any skin, completely covering her chest, shoulders, and arms, with yellow gloves covering her hands and forearms. The skirt to her dress went down to her ankles and was black in color, with her yellow boots peeking out from bellow.
"Hello Mr. Ulrickson. My name is Monica Rappaccini, it's quite the pleasure to meet you." Monica said, introducing herself with a kind smile, "I've heard quite a number of things about you."
"I'm sure you have." Naruto said, his face dead serious as he looked the woman in the eye.
Monica continued to look at Naruto for a moment before looking at the man behind him. Giving the man a slight nod, he then began to unshackle him. His hands now free, he gingerly began to rub his chafed wrists, even if the chafing had already practically healed.
Monica hadn't taken her eyes off of him, though she was paying more attention to his healing wrists now more than anything, "Self-Regenerative as well." Monica said, "My, aren't we just full of surprises? First that buffoon's men say you had control over metal and could melt the guns with your hands, and now you can heal yourself, even if said wounds were minor? Impressive." Walking forward she continued, "Almost as impressive as our friend Magik. Or the boy, Herald. Truly, those two's capabilities are endless. I can only imagine the things I would do if I had either one of their powers."
Naruto didn't say a word, allowing the woman to circle him, her eyes raking over him appraisingly, "I've always had an admiration for those gifted with such powers. The things I've seen that I once thought impossible. Pyrokinesis, Cyrokinesis, Telepathy, Trans-dimensional Teleportation, Flight, Aquatic Resperation. And don't get me started on these Inhumans, those that have figured out a way to gift themselves with superhuman capabilities, and are too selfish to share said knowledge with the rest of humanity." Now only a few feet away she stopped in front of the Shinobi, "So, if they will not share the next step towards evolution, I have made it my mission to find it myself."
"Even if that means kidnapping these Inhumans, and experimenting on them?" Naruto asked, "Even if that means kidnapping innocent children, who have no stake in your stupid bid towards power."
Monica's smile grew, "But of course. How else am I to discover how it is done? I need to see what it is that makes them different, the X-Factor that makes gives them their power. Once I find that, I can replicate it." Her smile then fell for a moment, "Believe me when I say that this was our last resort. All other methods have ended in failure and death. From trying to replicate the serum that created the Captain America, to trying to copy the method of which Bruce Banner became the hulking monster that he is now. We've even attempted to use cybernetics in an attempt to at least mimic superhuman abilities, both attempts while succeeding, failed in meeting the bar set by the Inhumans."
"Human experimentation should be a step at all." Naruto said firmly, memories of people like Orochimaru and Kabuto coming to the forefront of his mind, "What you've done is unforgivable in every sense of the word." His eyes narrowed as he began to leak out chakra, "If you've done anything to that poor boy, I will kill you."
"And how are you gonna do that, hmm?" With a snap of her fingers, four doors around the arena opened. Monica began to walk backwards as she spoke, "Allow me to introduce you to my 'Acquired.'" With a wave of her hands, a figure began to walk out of each doorway. The first to appear was a middle aged looking mad with combed back brown hair and a thin beard wrapped around his jaw line. The second was a woman that looked to be in her late fifties, her greyed hair tied back in a tight bun behind her head. Third was a girl that was in her mid-teens, her curly red hair reaching her shoulders. And finally, came out Herald himself, bags under his eyes and his pupils dilated and unfocused. All four were tight yellow body suits, the elastic material hugging their bodies tightly.
Naruto took a step towards Herald, "Herald! Hey-"
"He won't respond Mr. Ulrickson." Monica said. "Remember when I told you about our 'failed' cybernetic experiment? Well, while his body had become horribly grotesque and crippled, his mind is still as active as ever. Which is good, because his control over the mind is incredibly useful when dealing with our super powered…guests. Keeps them a bit more mild mannered then they would be otherwise, that and when you find a Metahuman, who better to capture one than another of their kind?" Looking at Herald she said, "This is your field test dear, so if you would, please sedate our friend."
"Yes ma'am." Herald drawled out. It didn't even take a second for Naruto to suddenly feel Herald break threw his mental barriers, entering his mind scape as he did. Naruto followed after him, finding himself before the caged Kurama, Herald standing just a few feet in front of him.
Naruto quickly tried to walk towards the boy, only for him to a sold force of psionic energy to his him in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards as it did. Looking up, Naruto said, "Dammit Herald, I'm trying to help! Fucking snap out of it!" Not wanting to attack the kid, Naruto hoped to get through to him mentally, "Your mom is worried sick about you Herald. Come on, let me help you. Let me take you home."
"Why should I, huh?! Because of you my daddy's dead! You-you could've taken us away; you could've done something!" Herald yelled out, his dilated eyes watering, "I HATE you!" With a yell, Herald threw his arms out, another blast of psionic energy heading towards Naruto's direction. The blast blew Naruto away, the force of it shaking Naruto's very mind scape.
"Dammit kid." Naruto muttered, getting up with a slight sway, "You're right. I should've done something to help you guys. Nothing I can do, not even saving you from these people, can make up for what happened to your dad. And if you wanna hit me some more, I'll let you. But dammit kid, can we please do it after I get you away from these psychopaths?!" He yelled out.
"No." Herald said, "I'm not going anywhere with you."
Naruto sighed, "Fine." Then, in a burst of speed, he appeared behind Herald before chopping him in the side of the neck, effectively knocking him out. Catching him just before he hit the ground, Naruto watched, remorse in his eyes, as Herald's mental avatar faded away. Looking over at the attentive Kurama, Naruto said, "I'll probably need your help in a bit."
"Right." Kurama said, standing at attention as he watched his battle partner disappear.
Snapping out from his mind scape, Naruto saw that barely a second had gone by outside. Looking over a Herald, he watched as the boy collapsed in on himself. Once again appearing next to him in a burst of speed, Naruto caught the boy. Creating a clone, Naruto put Herald in its arms, "Take him to his mother. Stay with them until I return." The clone nodded, hugging the boy tightly to his body before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Well well." Monica said, "You're getting more and more interesting by the second."
"I don't really care." Naruto said, his body straightening out as he looked Monica in the eye once again, the three Metahumans surrounding him in a triangle as he spoke.
"Firstly, you obviously have some sort of mental blocking ability to be able to keep a psychic of that boy's caliber out of your head and knock him out from the backlash. He had to keep him under constant sedation just for MODOK to get in his head. But just then, Superhuman Speed, Self-Replication, some form of Teleportation? Just what can't you do?" Monica didn't seem to care that this man had left with one of her acquired metahumans, only carrying about the fact that he showed more of his abilities, "I have to see just what else you can do. Perhaps you are the key." Looking at her three acquired she ordered, "I want you three to go all out, but don' kill him. Understood?"
"Understood." The three said at once, their voices echoing after each other's. Then without warning the three charged forward towards the blonde. The bearded man pulled his hand back, his hand enveloped by fire. The older woman didn't actually come at him at all, instead levitating upwards a couple dozen feet about them all. The girl was open him first, her body now completely enveloped by ice, her hand and forearm forming into a spiked club. Swinging her ice club towards his face, Naruto ducked the swing rather easily, sending a quick jab towards her face that she swerved out of the way of. Naruto was then forced to skip to the side to avoid the flaming fist heading towards the back of his skull. Giving a donkey kick back towards the fire guy, Naruto caught him in the stomach. Swiftly twirling around, Naruto caught the ice girl in his foot, sending her sprawling back. Naruto wasn't expecting however to be bum rushed by the flying bat, the woman flying him up, more than likely to give him a pile driver from up in the air. Naruto wasn't having any of it, cupping his hands together as he beat his hands into the woman's back like a drum, causing her to let him go from the sudden blow. Naruto, in midair, then gave a backwards kick into the woman's chin, more than likely shattering her teeth in the process. The woman officially knocked out, Naruto quickly grabbed ahold of her, steadying himself in the air as he did. Creating a Shadow Clone, Naruto handed her off to him.
"Take her away, then create a handful more of yourself and scour the building of innocents. When your done let me know." Naruto ordered, with the clone giving a mocking solute before Body Flickering away. The blonde was then force to dodge as a torrent of fire soon came his way, nearly swallowing him whole.
Looking down, he saw the fire guy was now completely covered in fire. The man began to gather more fire, probably gonna try and shoot him down again. Naruto, not wanting to play a game of fire tag, Body Flickered towards him. Now behind him, Naruto quickly went through several hand signs thinking, "Wind Style: Expanded Vacuum Sphere." Extending his hands out towards the fire guy, wind quickly began to surround and envelope the man, quickly rotation around him, creating a sphere devoid of all air around him, thus cutting off any oxygen he might need to breath or produce his fire. The man quickly losing the ability to breath, he quickly lost consciousness, and was quickly arriving on Satan's door. As the jutsu had been going on, Naruto was dodging around the arena, doing all he could to keep from being touched by the ice girl, seeing that everything she seem to touched froze on contact. Releasing the jutsu, the Shinobi created another clone to get the man before it too disappeared. Looking over, he saw that Monica hadn't left the arena for some reason, more than likely still wanting to see for herself what he could do.
"Fine." Naruto thought, "If she wants a show, let's give her a show."
His attention now fully turned towards the ice girl, Naruto allowed himself to enter his Six Paths Sage Mode, the shroud of chakra covering entirely. The sudden shift in his power level caused the wind around him to displace for a moment, and the ground bellow him to crack under the pressure that was his power. Seeing no point in running any longer, Naruto came to a stop allowing the ice chick to take a swing at him. The club of ice made contact, only it did nothing. The force of it, while usually strong enough to crack concrete, didn't even cause Naruto's head to budge an inch. And while usually, anything she touched froze over on contact, this time, she herself began to melt, her arm peeking out now that her ice armor had been melted.
"So you don't actually turn yourself to ice, you just cover yourself with it as an armor." Grabbing ahold of her he continued, "Then I don't have to feel bad about his then." With that, a blue ball of fire surrounded his hand, before in a quick burst in covered the girl completely, effectively melting the ice covering her and giving her a bit of a sun burn while he was at it. Then similar to what he did with Herald, Naruto gave the girl a swift knockout.
Creating a final clone, Naruto allowed it to leave with the girl. Turning around, Naruto saw that Monica was still there, a look of absolute admiration on her face.
"If only I'd known. If only I knew that I was in the presence of such a…such a superior being." Monica said, "This…this power is suffocating. I can barely stand it!" The woman finished her sentence with a mad cackle, an unhinged look in her eye as she looked at Naruto, "Just image what I could do with you!"
Once again, the feeling of someone trying to invade his mind was felt by Naruto, the being once again making its way to his mindscape, forcing him to return to confront this person. Once again in front of the caged Kurama, Naruto looked over to see a strange sight in front of him. The being before wasn't like anything he'd seen before, which was saying a lot. From what he could see, it was practically a massive body sized head with arms and legs. The head was covered by a strange helmet/armor, it's yellow motif matching that of what was worn by every AIM member he'd seen so far. The arms and legs were covered as well by a purple exoskeleton looking armor, with the only skin showing being the creatures face, which was a sickly greyish purple.
Its wrinkled face looked Naruto up and down before speaking in a raspy tone, "So…you are the creature Dr. Rappiccini is so fascinated with. From what I saw threw the Metahumans, you're much more powerful than we could have ever expected. It's a shame you will be forced to become that wretched woman's slave. Given your appearance and the gleam of attraction I got from her when I entered her brain, it wouldn't shock me if she forced you to mate with her." Turning towards Kurama he continued, "But perhaps just as strange is the creature you keep within you. Is he the source of your power, or merely a small factor? I can't seem to enter your mind, this being the final blocker. It's truly impressive that you've been able to keep me out the way you have, it truly is, but it's inevitable that you will fall under my power, for I am MODOK."
Naruto didn't say a word, only allowing one of his Truth Seeking Balls to extend outwards in the form of a spike, striking the creature in front of him directly between the eyes.
"That guy was annoying. He was blabbering like since he got here." Kurama grumbled.
Naruto chuckled, "I was honestly tempted to just open up the cage and let you go to town on the asshole."
"Now that would've been fun." The Biju said excitedly.
Opening his eyes once again, Naruto looked Monica in the eye, the woman obviously thinking MODOK had succeeded in his mind control attempt, "Good work MODOK. Send him to the Rehabilitation Room, oh and tell him to have his replications bring back the Acquired." Monica then got up into Naruto personal space, bring her hand up to his face in a gentle caress, "Such a handsome man." The woman was shocked however when Naruto then grabbed ahold of her by the neck, the air effectively knocked out of her, "AAAHck!"
"I want you to watch." Naruto growled out, his chakra causing the room to shake, the ground and walls to buckle and crack, and the observation glass to break. The lights above them began to burst, sending glass and sparks flying down below as the room was once again enveloped in darkness, the only saving grace being Naruto himself, his Chakra Shroud light the room in an eerie glow, "I want you to watch, as I burn this place to the ground. As I make sure, that your every ambition, that your every desire, becomes dust beneath your feet." Explosions began to rock around the building, followed by various screams and gunfire, "I want you to watch as I make sure that no one will be forced into your depraved experiments, you greedy, narcissistic, monster of a woman!" Then, with a burst of chakra, the two were surrounded by the avatar of a massive nine tailed fox. The two finding themselves in the avatar's head, Monica looked around frantically as the avatar straighten up, it's massive body having already destroyed most of the building upon arrival.
Looking at Naruto, her grip grew tighter, "Please Naruto, please! DON'T DO THIS! This is all for the good of man kin-"
"How did you know my name was Naruto?"
"Wha-what?" Monica asked in shock.
"How do you know my real name!" Naruto yelled, "The only person I told was Hera-" Realization struck Naruto, a dangerous look of rage on his face, "What did you do-"
Realizing where he was going, Monica screamed out, "We didn't hurt him I swear! MODOK found out when he entered his mind, he saw all his memories! That's all I swear!" Her voice was overrun with panic, preying the blonde believed her.
Naruto, sensing that she was telling the truth looked away, looking down at the destruction he had caused, "Good."
"You ready kid?" Kurama said, his voice booming over the sounds of the screaming soldiers below them.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah. Let's do this." The blonde had been meaning to try this out for a while but just hadn't had the chance. Well, might as well now. His face scrunched up in concentration, Naruto jumped out of Kurama's avatar head, Monica in tow. As he jumped out, he quickly began to levitate above Kurama, looking down at him as he spoke, "You good buddy?" He yelled down.
After a second, Kurama looked up at him, giving him a thumbs up, "It's official kid. We can fight separately now. We're gonna be so badass." He bellowed out, a large smirk on his face as he continued, "And I so know how to celebrate this achievement." Extending his arm out, two other arms sprouted from his shoulder and rib cage. His original arm forming a massive Rasengan, the other two began to channel a massive amount of wind chakra into it, "Better get back kid…Wind Style: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken!" With a heave, Kurama hurled the massive Rasenshuriken towards what was left of the AIM base.
BOOM
The massive explosion of wind and chakra completely engulfed the entire base underneath them. In classic Rasenshuriken fashion, it didn't take long for it to dissipate, leaving behind a massive crater the shape of a perfect circle, dust and debris still not having settled.
"I've always wanted to do something like that." Kurama said proudly.
"Thanks for the help Kurama. You can go now."
Kurama grumbled, "Yeah yeah, I'm going. Jeez, I'm only ever allowed out once a year nowadays, you'd think I'd be allowed to enjoy myself a bit longer." With that last complaint, Kurama's avatar flickered away. His partner now gone, Naruto slowly began to descend down to the ground, his destination crater his tenant had just created. Finally landing smack dab in the middle of it, Naruto allowed the still gob smacked Monica go, the woman falling to her knees as she looked at what was left of her life work.
"This isn't the first time I've ruined someone's life today, taking away their very reason for living. In fact, I drove that Limka to the point that he tried to take his own life. It didn't work obviously; the gun was nothing but a Shadow Clone transformed. And I didn't do it because I thought death was too good for him. I did it because that was something I wanted to take from him too. Took away his life, and I took away his death…if only for a moment." Looking down at the still form of Monica, he could see that she wasn't crying, or begging. She was just sitting there, staring down at the ground. Reaching into the back of his jeans, Naruto once again pulled the gun given to him my Gabrielle, "But you though…you treasure your own life. I can see it now, your trying to figure out how you can recover from this, how you can continue your great work." Looking down at the gun in his hand, Naruto pulled back the cocking handle. Pointing the gun towards Monica, his steady hand making sure that the bullet would go right between her eyes, his finger slipping up against the trigger.
"I won't let that happen."
Bang!
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