Chương 1467: 57
Chapter 57
The Broken Seal
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
One of the Pains—the one with long hair tied into a ponytail—slammed his hands on the water. A seal appeared before smoke erupted from beneath him. Naruto had already leapt back when the group charged in, so he was able to avoid being pulverized when a massive creature suddenly raced through the smoke. It charged on four legs, had a number of piercings on its body, the same ripple eyes the Pains had, and small wings on its back. The horn emerging from its head made the creature's origins an obvious.
"This guy has a summoning contract with rhinos?!"
No one answered Naruto as the rhino charged at him with reckless abandon, running along the water's surface with ease.
Naruto had no intention of letting this thing ram him. Creating a shadow clone, Naruto dove underneath the water's surface and made a hand seal. The clone above him raised his hands and, as the rhino barreled into him, caught the creature by its horn. The clone skid along the water for several meters, muscles bulging, but he managed to stop the beast in its tracks.
At that exact same moment, Naruto launched himself upward, wind chakra shooting from his feet, and emerged from the water. He was underneath the rhino. He extended his hand.
"Rasengan!"
Wasting no time, Naruto slammed a Rasengan into the creature's soft underbelly. His jutsu tore through the creature like it was made of paper. Blood and guts splattered all over the place, but Naruto ignored that as he put more chakra into his technique, drilling straight through the rhino, which split in half as Naruto shot through its body and emerged from its back.
Now dead, the creature disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Futon: Rasengan!"
While Naruto dealt damaging punishment to the rhino, one of his clones had emerged from its hiding spot and tried to attack the Pain that had done the summoning. He appeared behind the Pain and thrust a Rasengan at his enemy's back. Yet before he could actually do hit the man, one of the other Pains leapt into the attack.
This one also had long hair, but it wasn't in a ponytail. It was long and unbound. The Naruto clone's Rasengan drilled straight through the man, ripping him apart with an almost wet splatter.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Smoke engulfed the field once more as the Pain who summoned the rhino summoned something else. Naruto narrowed his eyes when his clone dispelled. He couldn't see what had killed it, but then the smoke cleared seconds later to reveal two very different animals.
The first one appeared, at a glance, to be a normal ox. However, not only did it have a number of those strange metal rods piercing its head and legs, it was also massive. A rippling body covered in brown fur. Muscles bulged as it scuffed its hooves along the ground. Two large horns, blacker than obsidian, jutted from its head, though one of its horns had snapped.
While the ox charged at Naruto, the second creature, a large dog with brown fur that had a giant rod sticking through its head, growled as it took a more scenic route around him. Naruto watched it from the corner of his eye, but he focused most of his attention on the ox. It was clear they were trying to attack him with a pincer tactic.
"Tsuin Senpuken!"
Naruto charged as much wind-natured chakra through his fists as he dared. Then he unleashed two powerful thrusts, first with his right hand, and then with his left hand. His first fist-shaped wind jutsu slammed into the ox's face, halting the creature in its tracks. The second struck its left front leg. Naruto couldn't hear the bone snap from this distance, but he saw how his attack bent the creature's joint at an angle it wasn't supposed to go.
Even though the ox went down with a great splash, Naruto was unable to finish it off because the dog with strange wings on its back was closing in. He saw it coming up behind him thanks to one of his clones dispelling.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto didn't hesitate to spin around and slam a Rasengan into the monster's muzzle. He thought that would pulverize its face, but then the creature suddenly split into two. Shock shot through him. However, Naruto quickly prepared himself for their counterattack—or he would have if something hadn't grabbed him from behind.
As someone twisted his arms behind his back, Naruto turned his head and received another shock. The Pain that his clone had killed was standing behind him. What the hell?! He'd seen this man get pulverized by a wind-naturedRasengan! There was no way he should have still been alive!
The two dogs quickly charged in to attack Naruto. Before they could, Naruto suddenly found himself standing several meters from where he had been. He barely had a moment to contemplate what happened before memories that were not his own appeared before him. Naruto saw his own death flash before his eyes, but it wasn't his. It was one of his clone's.
Replacement.
Not wanting to waste this chance, Naruto created two clones and had them attack the two dogs and the man who'd somehow miraculously come back to life. The clones rushed forward. One created a Rasengan in its hand, while the other began helping craft and mould nature chakra into it. A loud shrieking soon echoed all around the battlefield as four points like a shuriken spun around the Rasengan.
"Futon: Rasenshuriken!"
The two clones slammed into the Pain and the dogs. The entire area around them became engulfed in a giant dome of swirling, torrential wind chakra. Waves swelled as the jutsu pushed the water away. Naruto and the others had to stop fighting and leap away from the attack as a shockwave crashed into them.
Staring into the swirling dome, everyone could see what the attack was capable of. Numerous glowing blue needles of chakra were stabbing into the Pain and dog summons that had been trapped inside of the jutsu. Even the other five Pains could do nothing but stare in silence as the powerful jutsu sliced into their comrade.
"So this is what the Rasenshuriken can do when used on a person," Fukusaku murmured from Jiraiya's shoulder. "I remember seeing the results on a log, but it feels completely different being able to see what kind of damage it does to a body."
"It really is impressive," Shima mumbled as she gazed in awe from Jiraiya's other shoulder. "Its an elemental attack of the highest caliber. The Rasenshuriken can slice through almost anything, but once it collides with something it can't slice through, it detonates, producing an incredible vortex of wind in the immediate area. Look at that! Look at all those wind blades that are being created! There's so many I doubt even a Sharingan would be able to count them all!"
"That's not even the best part," Jiraiya said with a grunt as he held his shoulder. Blood dripped from the wound and splashed into the water. "The wind blades damage anything within the vortex on a cellular level, attacking the chakra circulatory system to such a degree that no amount of medical ninjutsu can heal it."
"A truly fearsome technique," one of the Pains—the one with spiky hair—said. "I can see now how this boy managed to defeat so many of us. This is all the more reason why we must capture him here."
"Bansho Ten'in (Heavenly Attraction of All Creation)."
Pain raised his hand and suddenly, Naruto, who'd been standing over a dozen meters away, suddenly felt like something had yanked on his chest. He yelped as he was lifted off his feet and sent sailing toward the spiky-haired Pain.
As if to make matters worse, the Pain that shot the strange missiles appeared before the other Pain. He threw off his cloak, revealing that his body was more machine than man. He had six arms that sprouted from his shoulders and two faces. A folded, serrated blade-like sash wrapped around his waist and acted like a tail. The strange-looking Pain leaned over like an animal preparing to attack.
"Oh, no you don't!" Jiraiya shouted as he leapt into the air and created a massive Rasengan over his head. "Senpo: Cho Odama Rasengan (Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Spiraling Sphere)!"
The Rasengan was gigantic, easily larger than Jiraiya's body. As he fell forward, he prepared to slam the Rasengan onto the machine-like Pain—but then the thicker pain, who seemed somehow fatter than the others, appeared before Jiraiya and held out his hands.
Jiraiya cut the jutsu. It disappeared before it could touch the fat Pain. Now falling without the Rasengan, Jiraiya crashed into the Pain with a powerful downward punch.
A massive shockwave spread out from the point of impact as Jiraiya's fist crushed the Pain's head. His attack drove that Pain straight through the water, sending him spiraling deep into the lake as a geyser of water shot up all around them.
While Jiriaya's attack distracted everyone, Naruto, still being yanked toward the two Pains, channeled wind chakra into his fists and attacked the machine-like Pain.
"Tsuin Senpuken!"
Unlike the time where he attacked the summon, Naruto launched his fists forward at the same time. Each punch was aimed differently. The first attack knocked the serrated tail away, the metal becoming twisted, bent, and warped. The second attack slammed into Pain's head, causing it to snap backward.
This didn't seem to kill it. Several missiles were launched from its wrists and traveled toward Naruto, but he spun around and generated more wind chakra, which pushed the missiles away, sending them into an out of control tailspin. The missiles struck the lake instead of him, detonating and sending up small geysers of water.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto landed on the ground in front of the machine Pain, cut the wind chakra he'd been generating, and slammed a Rasengan into the man's chest. Loud shrieking emitted from around him. The Rasengan ground the machine Pain's skin apart, revealing the man's metal insides beneath the skin. Seconds later, the machine-like Pain was lifted off his feet and sailed backward like one of those rockets it launched from its wrist.
Wearing a grin, Naruto looked at the spiky-haired Pain. "All right! Now it's time for—what the shit fuck?!"
Before he could even think of attacking the spiky-haired Pain, four giant dogs suddenly attacked him from all sides. Naruto leapt into the air to avoid being mawed apart like a chew toy. The four dogs ended up slamming into each other, but instead of turning into a pile of limbs, they amalgamated, becoming one dog with four heads.
"Damn it! I thought I killed this thing!"
Naruto felt a snarl tear from his throat as the dog leapt at him. Grimacing, he flipped around like an acrobat and channeled wind chakra into his heel.
"Go. Away!"
Using a technique similar to what Shizuka could do, Naruto sliced straight through the dog summons like it was made of wheat and his foot was a scythe. However, once again, his attack didn't seem to hurt it at all. Instead of being killed, the dog split apart into four again. All four landed on the water at the same time he did, surrounding him again.
Damn it! What the hell is going on here?! Why won't these things die?!
Naruto had never heard of a summon like this before. No matter what he did to it, no matter which attack he used, nothing seemed to work. Even the most powerful attack in his arsenal, the Rasenshuriken, had done nothing more than cause this beast to multiply.
Maybe I shouldn't be attacking the summon? If all it's going to do is make the monster multiply, then perhaps what I should be attacking is the summoner.
Jiraiya was currently keeping two of the other Pains busy—the one with long hair and the one that looked like more machine than man. Meanwhile, the spiky-haired Pain was just standing there like a statue. There was one other Pain behind him. That one also had spiky hair, but his face was thicker. He had a bigger nose and more masculine jawline.
Where's the summoner?
Using wind enhanced punches and kicks to push the dogs back, Naruto leapt into the air and glanced around before spotting the long-haired summoning Pain several meters below. He was standing away from the battle proper.
Creating three shadow clones, Naruto had the first one dispel. The other two created a Rasengan in each hand and began attacking the dog summons. While this was going on, one of the Naruto clones that he had first created and had hide across the battlefield appeared behind the summoning Pain. It emerged from beneath the water and slammed a Tsuin Senpuken into its back.
The attack was powerful enough that the Pain was launched forward similar to how Naruto had been pulled toward the two Pains by that strange technique, Bansho Ten'in. Naruto angled his descend, and then flipped around as he extended his leg. A green aura appeared around it as he generated more wind chakra.
"Kazekatta (Wind Cutter)!"
Naruto's heel drop struck the summoner on the head, and then, infused with the cutting power of wind chakra, it split the head open like it was an overripe fruit. The Pain who could summon fell forward. He struck with water with a splash. Meanwhile, the dog summons disappeared in a burst of smoke.
Landing on the water, Naruto stood to his feet and turned around, prepared to help Jiraiya.
And that's when it happened.
"Chibaku Tensei (Heavenly Body Bursting from the Earth)."
Naruto couldn't figure out what was happening. A bright light emitted from overhead, rays of light that shone down on the lake and Amegakure no Sato. Then, all of the water turned into streamers that were pulled into a black sphere that hovered above them. It wasn't just the water either. The buildings along the edge of Amegakure no Sato, the ground beneath the lake, all of it crumbled apart and began slowly being drawn toward the sphere.
Doing his best to move away from the strange jutsu, Naruto began running across the water, but the water was getting pulled into the sphere. It wasn't long before the water underneath his feet left the ground. He leapt from the water. A massive chunk of land suddenly appeared before him. He landed on it and tried to find an escape route, but numerous other chunks were floating all around him, blocking him from escaping.
In that case, I need to make my own escape route.
He'd been hoping to save this for when he was certain he could defeat this Pain character, but it looked like he had no choice.
Naruto activated his yokai form.
There was nothing special required in its activation. All Naruto did was release every limiter that kept his chakra from overflowing.
A soft clicking noise echoed throughout his mind, like a lock being undone, and then a powerful chakra suddenly flowed through his body like a storm. It leaked out of his skin. Wisps of purple chakra that looked almost like miasma wafted from his body. The ground beneath his feet cracked from the overflowing power. While he couldn't see his transformation happening, Naruto knew his hair was growing longer, that his eyes had become purple, and that his hands and feet were turning into claws.
The transformation didn't take more than a second. Once it was done, Naruto held out his left hand. A swirling sphere of purple chakra appeared in front of him. It looked a lot like a Rasengan, but it was more chaotic. Chakra leaked from it like water leaking from the cracks in a vase. Naruto narrowed his eyes and focused his will, condensing the sphere further, until it was no more than a tiny pinprick.
"Rasenite (Spiral Shooter)!"
Naruto growled out the name of his technique as he slammed his fist into the tiny sphere. All of the condensed chakra suddenly erupted from the condensed Rasengan, but instead of creating a massive burst of energy, it fired off a condensed beam that sliced through the rocks around it. Naruto controlled the beam's angle, making it swerve around and cut more. The rocks around him suddenly broke apart like fragile glass.
"Kaze Bakufu (Wind Blast)!"
Slamming his hands onto the ground, Naruto summoned a massive blast of wind that spread outward like a powerful shockwave. The rocks, already broken apart from his previous attack, were blown away in all directions.
His path now clear, Naruto leapt away from the strange technique as more and more rocks, buildings, and water were pulled into it. He landed on solid ground. It seemed odd at first, but then he looked around and realized what had happened.
The lake was gone.
All of the water had been pulled into the now giant sphere, which looked like a strange globe of the planet. Water mixed with land to create oceans and continents on the sphere. Meanwhile, the land around Naruto had become deformed. Chunks of earth were missing, numerous buildings in Amegakure were gone, and all of the water in the lake had been sucked dry.
"I did not expect you to be able to escape from my Chibaku Tensei," a voice said. Naruto turned around to find the six Pains standing a distance of several meters from him. The one who had spoken was the spiky-haired man. "You are truly a powerful foe… and that unique transformation of yours… I have never seen anything like it."
"Yeah, well, what can I say? When you're as awesome as me, it's only natural to have super cool transformations like this."
Naruto's long hair shifted as he turned his head slightly to look away, always keeping at least one eye on the man. He frowned when he spotted no one else aside from these six. It looked like the dogs were gone, which he had first assumed was because he'd defeated the one who summoned them, but that man was standing right in front of him again as if he'd come back to life.
I don't understand. I'm sure I defeated that guy several times, and not just him. Ero-Sennin and I have killed at least two of three of these guys. How do they keep coming back to life?
One of those six must have been able to use a powerful revival ninjutsu. It was the only explanation that Naruto could think of. The question was: Which of those six was the one who kept reviving the others.
"If you are looking for Jiraiya-sensei, then you shouldn't bother," Pain said again. "You might have been able to escape from my jutsu, but he was not so fortunate."
"What?"
It took Naruto a minute to figure out what the man meant, mostly because his brain simply couldn't comprehend it. Jiraiya had been sucked up by that thing? There was no way. It wasn't possible. It just wasn't. And yet…
"I can see that you don't believe me, but it's true." The Pain who seemed to be the spokesperson for the others spread his arms. "Look around you. Do you see Jiraiya-sensei anywhere? No, you do not. That is because he was unable to escape from my technique."
Naruto couldn't say anything. His throat refused to open as a series of denials rang out inside of his mind. Impossible. Jiraiya might have been a pervert, but he was also strong. He should have been strong enough to escape from a technique like that.
"I am surprised that you were able to escape from this technique." Pain regarded him with a calm, steady gaze that pissed off Naruto more than he thought possible. "Chibaku Tensei was a technique created by the Sage of Six Paths, the Rikkudou Sennin. It was said that he used this technique to create the moon. My power is nothing compared to his, but this jutsu is still one of the most powerful in my arsenal."
Even though he heard the man speak, Naruto couldn't respond. He stared at the massive sphere floating in the sky. Jiraiya was in there, according to this man. He was stuck inside that thing. Naruto had no idea how this technique worked, but even if his sensei hadn't been crushed to death, he would suffocate before long.
"Ero-Sennin!
Chakra flared from Naruto's feet as he launched himself into the air and crashed into the giant sphere.
"Rasengan!"
The Rasengan drilled into the rock, but it must have been condensed more than he thought. His attack barely scratched it. Gritting his teeth, Naruto channeled wind chakra into his jutsu.
"Futon: Rasengan!"
The wind-natured Rasengan did a slightly better job of cutting through the rock, but he was unable to maintain the jutsu for long. It eventually started slicing into not only the rock but also his hand. Naruto howled as he withdrew his hand and then summoned an even bigger Rasengan, one that emitted a loud screeching sound as four pointed blades spun fiercely around it.
"Futon: Rasenshuriken!"
Naruto didn't hesitate to slam the Rasenhuriken into the massive sphere. In most cases, his attack would have sliced through the rock with ease. That didn't happen this time. His jutsu, unable to even pierce the attack, exploded the moment he slammed it into the sphere.
Naruto was blasted off his feet. The wind howled around his ears for several seconds as the sights blurred past him. Then, all at once, the oxygen was blown from his lungs as his back slammed into the hard ground.
He stared up at the still floating dome, which not even his Rasenshuriken had been able to penetrate. All that he had to show for his jutsu was a little chunk that had been cut away.
"It is no use," Pain said. "Your jutsu cannot penetrate my Chibaku Tensei. Are you upset? Do you feel the pain of losing your sensei? This pain that you feel has been felt by others for a long time, longer than you or I have been alive. This pain is the same pain that your village has inflicted on smaller villages like Amegakure ever since the formation of the hidden villages. Do you understand how we feel now? If you do, then you are one step closer to reaching enlightenment—not that it will help you in the long run. I am going to take the Kyuubi away from you. Your sacrifice will help further my ambitions."
The words felt like they were coming from far away, from across a vast distance. They were distorted. Naruto heard them, but they barely registered as he continued staring at the sphere. Jiraiya was in there. Was he alive? Was he dead? Naruto didn't know. He was uncertain, and that uncertainty caused kernels of fear to fester inside of him. Like the vines of an insidious plant, they spread throughout his body, until every positive emotion he'd ever felt was snuffed out.
"Are you angry?" a seductive voice whispered.
"Yes."
"Do you want to take revenge?"
"I… I do."
"Then let go. I'll destroy this man for you."
Naruto listened to the voice, which told him that it could help him get revenge for his sensei. He listened and let himself go. He gave in.
"RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
"!"
Chakra exploded from Naruto's body. The ground around him burst, exploding in all directions.
Five of the six Pains scattered to avoid the flying debris, but the one with spiky hair held up his hands and created a barrier. Large rock chunks slammed into the barrier. The man's feet dug into the ground. Cracks spread as each flying piece of debris crashed into him.
Naruto climbed to his feet, body shaking, back hunched. His arms dangled uselessly in front of him as the chakra, more black than purple now, gushed from his body like a tempest. The very air around him sizzled. As if gravity had suddenly become unstable, large chunks of the earth were ripped from the ground. They floated around him for several seconds before breaking apart.
Before long, the chakra swirling around Naruto gathered. It condensed along his body, covering it like a layer of armor. His skin became a dark purple bordering on black, though several purple lines, brighter than the rest, appeared along his body like strange seals. His pupils disappeared. There was only white. Similarly, when Naruto opened his mouth, all that could be seen was a white maw. Fingers extended, elongating and growing sharp. His feet did the same.
Then it happened.
A tail sprouted from behind Naruto. It was just a single tail, but then the tail split into a second tail. Not long after that, the two tails split into four tails, and then four became eight. They seemed to stop at eight.
"Something is not right." Pain frowned as he narrowed his eyes. "This chakra is far denser than a human's, but it does not feel like the Kyuubi's chakra. What is this?"
Perhaps it was his words, or maybe it was his simply his presence, but the demonic-looking Naruto turned to him. It glared at him with white eyes. Then it opened its mouth—and unleashed a roar that shattered the barrier he'd put up and crashed into him with a force that was even greater than his own Shinra Tensei.
Pain was lifted off his feet and sent flying.
XoX
People screamed as explosion after explosion tore apart the city of Amegakure. While some unease had spread after Pain used Chibaku Tensei, it as nothing compared to the chaos taking place in the streets now. Over here, a woman was screaming as she ran with a crying child in her arms. Over there, an old man was nearly trampled as dozens of younger people pushed and shoved to get away from where the destruction was occurring. Everywhere Konan looked, people were suffering.
"Everyone remain calm!" Konan shouted over the screams. "Do not push as you make your way toward the city exit!"
Konan had lost Naruto at some point during their battle, and then the boy had become engaged in combat with Pain alongside Jiraiya. Fighting the two of them at once had been far too much. Even Pain, easily the strongest person she knew, couldn't seem to land a decisive victory over the two, and they had torn through his paths with ease. It was only thanks to the Naraka Path, which had the ability to completely rejuvenate the other paths after they had been destroyed, that Pain had lasted for so long.
Had the battle continued, Jiraiya and Naruto would have discovered the secret to the reviving paths. Konan was sure of it. Pain must have known that as well. That was why he had used Chibaku Tensei, to put an end to the fight.
More explosions rocked the village. They hadn't reached this part of Ame yet, but the battle was steadily moving inward.
The numerous detonations caused many of the citizens to scream, though Konan did her best to keep everyone calm and orderly as they rushed toward one of the exits that would take them out of the city. She never thought they would have to do this.
Konan had several dozen paper clones spread throughout the city. They were also helping evacuate the civilians. A few had been destroyed, but all of them had been able to safely evacuate the people from that area before harm could befall them.
As she looked at the area where the detonations were taking place, a grim expression settled over her face.
Nagato…
XoX
The first thing Naruto did after that strange chakra exploded from his body and made him transform was attack the Naraka Path. He seemed to understand how Pain had kept reviving his paths, or maybe it had been sheer luck. The Kyuubi's jinchurikki fired off numerous spheres of condensed chakra at the path, though Deva had appeared to block the attacks—not that it had done much good. Several tails had suddenly speared out of the ground next to Naraka and skewered him.
He fights like an animal.
Deva narrowed his eyes as Animal summoned the Drill-Beaked Bird and Giant Centipede. The two summons tried to attack Naruto. They never got even close.
Naruto opened his mouth, dark chakra gathering inside, and then he fired off a massive beam of destruction that engulfed the two summons and Animal. The connection that all the paths shared with Animal was suddenly cut. When the giant beam attack dissipated, there was nothing left.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Deva held out his hand and used his repulsion attack to send Naruto flying, or he tried to. Even he couldn't stop the shock from coursing down his spine when, rather than find himself being lifted off his feet and sent across the dry lake bed, Naruto dug his hands and feet into the ground to somehow remain in place.
Perhaps acting on instinct, or maybe even just malice, Naruto's head swiveled in Deva's direction. Another beam of energy was fired from his mouth. This one was condensed. It was much smaller, but there was a lot more chakra packed into it, evident by how the ground melted simply from its passing.
Hands raised, Deva erected a barrier. The beam slammed into the barrier. Deva gnashed his teeth together as his feet slid across the ground. It was incredible. Even though he was using chakra to keep himself from moving, the force of Naruto's attack was pushing him back!
Is this the power of the Kyuubi? Deva wondered, and then shook his head. No, this chakra is very dense and powerful, but it is not the Kyuubi's chakra.
What made the boy's power so shocking was that this was not the Kyuubi's power. It all belonged to Naruto. Still, he had never felt a chakra this powerful from a human before. It was thick and dense. If other people's chakra was like water, then this was like sludge.
While Deva was blocking the powerful beam attack, Asura pulled off his arm to reveal and fire a cluster of segmented missiles. Each one targeted Naruto. However, the boy didn't move from his spot. Even as the beam fizzled out, the massive aura around the boy, which looked like purple flames so dark they bordered on black, became even more dense. The missiles struck the aura and detonated.
The powerful explosion that engulfed Naruto was blown away when the boy raced through it. Asura didn't even have time to dodge before Naruto grabbed the path with his clawed hand and proceeded to crush his face. Metal squealed as the face slowly crumbled and caved in.
Asura's tail rose as though to try and skewer Naruto, but before it could get even close, the boy created a Rasengan and slammed it into the path's chest. Pain had seen this attack several times already. He knew how it worked. However, unlike what normally happened, this jutsu didn't grind anything away. The moment the Rasengan touched Asura, the body of his path exploded. Parts scattered in all directions. All that remained was the head, gripped fiercely in Naruto's hand, until he crushed it completely.
Three of my paths have been destroyed.
The thought left a bad taste in his mouth. It only grew worse when Naruto vanished in a burst of mind-blowing speed. Deva could track him, and he did not hesitate to use his attraction ability to pull the boy toward him. He was forced to cut the power off, however, when Naruto created several vacuum blades that nearly cut through him.
Now free from the attraction jutsu, Naruto appeared before Human, a path that had very little power on the field of battle. Human tried to defend himself using taijutsu. His hands were cleanly removed by a swipe of Naruto's claws. Not even a second later, one of those same clawed hands speared through Human's chest.
Down to just his Deva and Preta paths, Pain tried to figure out what he could do to turn this battle around.
Going on a hunch, Preta rushed toward Naruto and reached out a hand. He clasped the blonde's wrist and began absorbing chakra. It was overwhelmingly intense. A massive wellspring of energy surged through the connection shared by the path's and the one who controlled them. It filled them with more chakra than they'd ever had.
It was Pain's hope that Preta would be able to absorb most of Naruto's chakra, but, sadly, those hopes were dashed when their opponent unleashed an enraged roar and tore Preta's head clean from his body. As the path fell to the ground, Deva found himself standing alone.
XoX
"Ha… ha…"
Deep within Amegakure, in a building with no windows and no exits, Nagato sat on his chair, though the massive contraption that wrapped around his lower half to keep him upright could hardly be called as such.
"Ha… agh…"
He breathed heavily, his voice raspy. The power that had flowed through the Preta Path, having been absorbed from Naruto, was doing weird things to his body. It felt like he was being healed and destroyed at the same time. It was not a pleasant experience. At the same time, he did his best to control the Deva Path, which was still facing off against Naruto.
"Nagato," a voice said before a figure appeared from the entrance to the darkened room. Blue hair, amber eyes, and a flower on her head. Konan walked over to him in concern.
"Konan…"
"I believe the situation is… lost," Konan said hesitantly. "We should leave."
"Not yet," Nagato muttered. "If nothing else, I must capture the Kyuubi's jinchurikki. He is too dangerous to leave alone. If we do not capture him now, we may not get the chance."
Even lost as he was in the darkness, Nagato could still tell when Konan was agitated. Her face clearly said that she wanted to convince him to leave, that she wanted to force him to abandon this place, but that same face, filled with resignation, also said she knew that wouldn't happen. After a second, the conflicted expression disappeared. The woman walked over and stood beside him.
"You should probably leave," Nagato said.
"I am staying right here."
Nagato knew better than to order her to leave. She almost always listened to what he said, but there were some things she wouldn't budge on.
"Have the people been evacuated?" he asked.
"They have."
"Then I guess I should try to end this now."
If the people had been evacuated, then it meant he could fight without restraint. Amegakure would be destroyed. However, he considered that a fair exchange in return for capturing the most powerful and troublesome jinchurikki.
XoX
The battle continued.
Naruto was like an animal, attacking Pain with nothing but base instincts. He charged at the final path, the Deva Path, with little thought.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The repulsion jutsu slammed into Naruto. It halted him in his tracks. Naruto's face, which seemed oddly elastic, flattened as the beast-like jinchurikki struggled to rush forward. He lifted one clawed foot, brought it down, and then lifted his other foot. Inch by inch he moved. Deva's eyes became narrowed slits as he put more chakra into his jutsu.
"Ha!"
The chakra Deva exerted was enough to lifted Naruto off his feet and send the boy flying.
They had made their way into the city by this point. Their battle had destroyed many buildings. Towering skyscrapers had crumbled to the ground, small structures had exploded in gouts of fire and plumes of smoke.
Naruto slammed into one of the already broken structures, sending a large spray of fragments flying everywhere. Deva couldn't see what became of the boy, but the massive skyscraper behind the building Naruto had slammed into suddenly teetered. Cracks spread along the bottom as it leaned over, broke, and then crumbled to the ground.
The building's destruction caused a massive cloud of dust to billow through the streets. Deva kept his eyes focused and tried to find out where Naruto was. He didn't doubt for a second that the boy was still alive.
Just then, a massive beam burst from the dust cloud. He raised his hand and blocked it, channeling chakra to his feet to stick to the ground. With a furious shout, he manipulated his barrier, angling it away from him and force the beam to rebound off it. This made it much easier to deflect, though the beam itself sliced through several buildings as if they were made of cheese.
While the beam eventually died off, several sphere-like projectiles of negative chakra shot toward him. Deva moved his arms faster than ever before. They were practically blurs as he smacked the projectiles away.
Naruto burst out of the dust cloud seconds later. Deva prepared to send him flying again with Shinra Tensei, but the jinchurikki was on him before he could even get the words out.
The taijutsu battle that began was more furious than any fight he'd been in to date. Naruto was an animal in every sense of the word, clawing and attacking with reckless abandon. If that were all, the Deva Path would have probably been enough, but on top of having completely unpredictable attack patterns, Naruto also possessed bone-shattering strength.
Deva raised his arms in a cross to block Naruto's punch, a shockwave exploding from the impact, lifting Deva off his feet. Naruto leapt after him, continuing his furious assault. Deva blocked his attacks. Small shockwaves erupted from each attack and counterattack as the two traded blows while in mid hair.
"HA!"
Unleashing a powerful burst of chakra, Deva sent Naruto soaring backward. The boy landed on the ground, crouched on all fours, and fired off another one of those beams from his mouth. Deva blocked the attack with another barrier. Even so, he could feel the heat singing his hands as he was pushed higher into the air.
Holding out his hands toward Amegakure no Sato, Deva inhaled a deep breath and channeled far more chakra than normal for his next jutsu.
"Shinra Tensei!"
The attack struck Naruto dead on. This jutsu, which allowed him the ability to manipulate repulsive force, sekiryoku, acted like a giant hammer slamming into the earth. Naruto was crushed beneath the attack, which quickly spread further. Buildings were pushed away before shattering into so many fragments as a massive crater about fifty meter wide formed in the village of Amegakure no Sato.
Deva narrowed his eyes as he slowed his descent and landed on the ground. Standing at the lip of the crater, he surveyed the destruction he had wrought, though his eyes slowly focused on the writing mass of purple chakra buried underneath tons of rubble. As though affected by gravity, his lips slowly morphed into a frown.
Naruto's chakra had not diminished in the least. Not only had it not diminished, but it seemed to be growing more powerful with each passing second. What made it even more unbelievable was that this didn't seem to be Kyuubi's chakra at all. It was still Naruto's.
Where is he getting this power from?
There was no one who could answer his question—certainly the one who his question was about wouldn't answer, even if he could.
A massive explosion sent plumes of fire, smoke, and fragments of the ground and buildings sky high. Naruto stood up. He appeared unharmed. Deva could not see a single wound on his body, which looked more monster than man, covered as it was in demonic-looking purple chakra armor.
It seems I have no choice.
Deva looked at the results of his Chibaku Tensei, still hovering in the air. Focusing on it, he raised his hand and channeled his chakra.
"Hnnn!"
Sweat beaded on Deva's brow as he yanked the massive sphere of compressed earth and water down. It fell toward Naruto, who raised his head. A beam fired from his mouth, but though it carved a large chunk from the sphere, it could not destroy it. The satellite, which was easily over thirty meters in diameter, slammed into Naruto, crushing him once more.
That won't hold him.
Knowing this, the Deva Path placed his hands together and summoned more chakra. A small orb slowly formed between his hands. It looked white at first, but the core soon became pure black. Raising his hand, he sent it into the air as though making an offering to the gods. The tiny sphere slowly ascended into the air, seemingly harmless.
Just as the sphere stopped moving, the satellite that had been created from his previous Chibaku Tensei cracked in half. The two halves fell away from each other. A figure leapt from the crack and landed on one flattened half. Of course it was Naruto, still transformed into that monstrous form.
The beast looked around. It was like Naruto's head was on a swivel. However, slowly, almost mechanically, Naruto eventually craned his neck to look at him. He opened his mouth and gathered chakra around it. No doubt he was preparing another one of those beam attacks.
It was too late.
Deva clapped his hands together.
"Chibaku Tensei!"
He had never used this technique twice before. In fact, due to the chakra requirements, he tried his hardest not to use it at all. The strain it put on his body—his real body and not the Deva Path—was immense. However, thanks to the chakra the Preta Path had stolen from Naruto before it was destroyed, he had enough to use the jutsu again—stronger than the last time.
All the buildings around him cracked and crumbled as they rose into the air. The ground ruptured as if something from underground was rising to the surface. Abrasions appeared as the streets and rock swelled, broke, and rose into the air as well, all traveling toward the small gravitational sphere.
Naruto leapt off the hemisphere he'd been standing on as it also broke apart and was sucked toward the new Chibaku Tensei. However, Deva sent a powerful burst of chakra toward him. Naruto slammed into the ground as the earth enclosed around him, though it didn't remain that way for long.
A beam of energy blasted from the enclosed sphere of rock. Deva raised his hand to block the attack, which seared his fingers, and then sent a portion of that attack back at Naruto. It didn't seem to injure the boy. However, it did distract him. The ground that he was standing on rose into the air.
"HHAAAA!"
Deva clamped his hands together and sent more chakra into his technique. More buildings were ripped from the ground and became part of the satellite. Even with the state he was in, Naruto must have realized the danger of this technique. Beams struck the satellite, destroying large portions, but Deva merely summoned more chakra, pulling more and more of the ground from the earth and using it to repair the satellite. Soon, Naruto slammed into the the satellite's surface, and then Deva decided to finish it.
"HHHNNNNGGGG HA!"
Before Naruto even had a chance to lift his hand, Deva applied so much chakra that the pieces of debris floating through the air shot forward like kunai and slammed into him. Over and over. More and more. Deva forced the satellite to compress further, to become more dense, then sent more debris into it and compressed it again. He did this several times. Finally, with one last application of chakra, the jutsu was complete.
A satellite three times larger than the one that had defeated Jiraiya now floated in the air.
XoX
The underground bunker that housed Nagato and Konan was now visible. The Chibaku Tensei had ripped most of the ground around them apart. The building they'd been underneath was no more.
Konan stood before the gaping chasm that allowed her a glimpse at the world outside, staring in shock at the massive satellite floating above the now destroyed village. Behind her, Nagato's heavy rasping created staccato echoes around the space.
With a worried look on her face, Konan turned back to Nagato, who's emaciated form was more visible now that their room had been exposed to the outside world. Her friend was hunched over. Bony shoulders and arms extended at his side, stuck into a pair of large cylindrical devices that were further connected to a massive structure behind him with wires. She could see his ribcage. The stark shadows cast over his body revealed all of his deformities and nearly skeletal appearance.
Nagato had never looked more pained than he did now. His face was lined with exhaustion. Bags hung under his eyes. The strain from using Chibaku Tensei must have physically damaged his brain because blood was running from his nose.
"Why did you push yourself to make it that large?" she asked.
"That boy is far stronger than Jiraiya-sensei." Nagato took several deep breaths. "Even without the Kyuubi's chakra, he is far more powerful than anyone I have ever faced. A normal Chibaku Tensei would have never worked."
Grunting, Nagato lifted his head and gazed at the satellite visible through the gaping hole in the ground.
"The Rikkudou Sennin was said to have created the moon," he said without humor. "This is nothing compared to that." He looked back down. "Regardless… with this, I have now captured the Kyuubi."
However, as if seeking to prove him wrong, an explosion suddenly echoed all around them. Nagato and Konan looked up as red flames became visible through the cracks in the Chibaku Tensei. More explosions rang out. Plumes of fire from inside of the satellite blasted chunk after chunk away.
Several limbs speared through the satellite. They were tails. However, they were not physical tails. They were merely constructs made of condensed chakra. The tails were soon followed by a set of hands, which clawed apart the rocks and building fragments, allowing a figure to emerge.
It was Naruto. Though he retained his bipedal form, he still looked nothing like a human. His hair had become a dark red the color of blood. It hung around his head like a thick mane. His eyes were still pure white with no pupils, and when he opened his mouth to release a beam that struck the ruins of Amegakure, the inside was also white.
Observing all this from inside Nagato's room, Konan's eyes widened. "That's…"
"I never imagined he would be this powerful." Nagato stared at the emerging Naruto as he clawed his way out. "I have no idea how a human can be like this, nor what that form of his is. The tails seem to represent the Kyuubi, but I can feel none of the Kyuubi's chakra being used."
Konan whirled around to face Nagato. "What are we going to do?"
"I do not know." For the first time, Nagato expressed uncertainty. "I never imagined that I would be forced to expend this much chakra. I do not have enough to create another Chibaku Tensei. I do not even know if I have enough to continue fighting." Nagato's eyes narrowed in frustration. "His chakra hasn't diminished in the least."
Konan heard those words and stumbled back as though struck by fear. Her horrified gaze turned back to Naruto.
"What kind of monster is he?"
"I do not know."
Nagato had no idea what he was going to do, but it wasn't like he could just give up either. He had a bit of chakra left. Maybe he could somehow pull off a miracle and defeat this creature.
As he was preparing to begin the battle once again, a soft glow caught his attention. He looked down to find the skin around his collar bone glowing. With a frown, he continued watching as the glow slowly condensed and gained shape. It became… a necklace? It was an innocuous-looking necklace made out of a simple gemstone that glittered in the light. He'd never seen anything like this. Where had it come from? What was it doing around his neck?
A loud roar shattered his concentration. He looked up, expecting an attack, but what he found was far different, and far more confusing.
Naruto was clutching his head as he knelt on the surface of the Chibaku Tensei satellite. His mouth was split open to unleash a scream filled with rage and pain, a tortured scream that seemed to encompass humanity's most negative emotions. However, beyond the anger, beyond the pain, another emotion seemed to resound from the scream, an emotion that resonated with Nagato and caused him to unconsciously clench the necklace that had suddenly appeared around his neck.
"What is going on?" Konan wondered out loud. However, Nagato didn't answer her as he continued to look at Naruto, who seemed almost like he was in a fight with himself.
The emotion that he heard in Naruto's scream, which kept him from speaking, was sorrow.
XoX
Naruto recognized the street he was standing on, the buildings on either side, the tower several hundred meters away, and the massive monument looming over everything behind it. A sense of familiarity surged through him. This place, which looked exactly like Konoha, was, in fact, a replica created by the seal that kept the Kyuubi—Akane—locked away inside of him.
How did I get here?
He had been trying to enter the seal for over a year now with no luck. Why had he entered the seal now?
As he walked along the deserted streets, his feet taking him to where he knew Akane resided, he tried to figure out what he was doing here. He'd been fighting again Pain alongside Jiraiya, and then—
Ero-Sennin…
Naruto gritted his teeth as he stopped walking. He struggled to hold back the emotions pouring from him, to keep his sorrow in check.
"That's it," a voice whispered to him. "Just like that. Let your sorrow, your anger, your rage flow through you. You want to take revenge, right? You want to destroy the person who killed your sensei, right? Then just give yourself to despair. I'll do the rest."
It had been a long time since he'd heard that voice, but not long enough that he had forgotten it. Feeling a jolt race through his spine, Naruto quickened his pace, racing through the streets before, eventually, even those faded away to present a wide, open space.
The last time he had visited this place, Akane's seal had been a small house—a one-story building with no outstanding features other than the numerous seals surrounding it. Inside had been a single room. Big enough for one person, the room had many comfortable amenities, including a bed, a dresser, and several other pieces of furniture that the house's resident never actually seemed to use.
That was gone now.
The house was gone.
In its place was a stone pillar with a height of at least four meters and a width of two. It emerged from the ground like a stake set to skewer the sky. Wide at the bottom, it grew more narrow the further up it went, ending in a sharp point. What's more, there were numerous seals scribbled onto the rock's surface, and in the center of those seals was—
"Akane!"
Tied to the pillar with dozens of chains, Akane's body hung limply, her feet dangling, toes canted. Her arms had been wrapped above her head. One set of chains wrapped around her beasts as if the person who'd tied her up was a pervert.
At the sound of his voice, Akane lifted her head up. Her eyes widened slightly as she locked onto him. Naruto ran toward her, but she shouted at him.
"Don't come any closer! It's a trap!"
"What?"
Naruto had barely spoken those words when something slammed into his stomach with enough force that he was lifted off the ground. All of the oxygen was violently expelled from his lungs as he flew through the air. He struck the ground seconds later and nearly swallowed his tongue. Struggling to get to his feet, Naruto looked up as several mocking claps rang out.
"I'm impressed. Despite having barely any forewarning, you managed to mitigate the damage my punch would have given you at the last moment by traveling with the hit. You've become even more skilled as a ninja, but then again, so have I."
Naruto did not recognize the man standing above him. Spiky red hair traveled down his back like mane. The dark red hair bordering on crimson somehow complimented the person's pale skin, which was white enough that it almost seemed translucent. He wore only a pair of pants, meaning his body, which was covered in strong but lithe muscles, was on display. His hands and feet were clawed. However, what captured Naruto's attention the most were his eyes. The area that would normally be white were black, and the pupils were a bloody crimson.
"W-who…?"
"What's this? You don't remember me?" The man placed a hand against his chest in feigned agony. "I'm hurt, brother. Has it really been so long that you'd forget about me?"
Naruto recognized the voice, of course, but he couldn't match up the figure before him with the person the voice belonged to. His dark half. That person had looked like a carbon copy of Naruto. Save for their eyes and the other Naruto's feral appearance, the two of them had looked exactly the same.
"You're… my other half? No way…"
"Call me Yami," his dark half said. "I prefer that name to 'dark half.' You and I might be two sides of the same coin, but we are most definitely not the same person, as you are about to witness."
As Naruto stood on shaking legs, Yami made several hand seals, finishing on the bird seal. The moment he did that, the seals on the pillar started glowing. At the same time, Akane screamed in agony and writhed within the chains.
"What are you doing?! Stop that!"
"Ha ha ha! Why should I stop?! This bitch is only getting what she deserves!"
Akane continued to scream and struggle. Naruto tried to rush over to her, but several chains sprouted from the ground and wrapped around his arms and legs.
"Ah ah ah. I can't have you going to her. That would mess up my plans. Just wait there for a minute. This will be finished shortly."
Unable to do anything, all Naruto could do was watch as Akane's screams echoed around them, as the woman writhed in pain, as her body shook and strained against the bindings. Red chakra leaked from her body. Like a streamer drifting in the wind, the chakra drifted over to Yami, entering his body and engulfing him in bright red flames. As he watched, Naruto noticed that Akane no longer had nine tails. She had eight. Even as he looked, the eighth tail disappeared.
I see. That seal must be absorbing her power. He's stealing her power.
Naruto didn't know how that was possible, though he had some theories. Right then, however, Naruto had no intention of trying to determine whether those theories were correct. His other half, Yami, had clearly become a dangerous individual.
"Ah… I feel so much better now," Yami muttered as he felt the power flow through him. Clenching and unclenching his hands, Yami stared at them for several seconds, as though marveling at his newfound power, before he finally looked at Naruto. "And now that I'm feeling good, lets enjoy our time together, brother."
Naruto wasn't given a chance to say anything as Yami suddenly appeared before him. Stars exploded in his vision as something powerful struck the underside of his chin. His feet left the ground. The chains wrapped around him all shattered as though they were made of brittle twigs.
Flying through the air, Naruto did his best to rotate his body so he would land on his feet, but he still tumbled along the ground for several meters before landing in a crouch. He looked up to try and spot Yami. However, he was unable to see the man. There was nothing in front of him. Frowning, he looked left, and then right. Still nothing. Yami had all but disappeared, which meant…
Acting on instinct, Naruto rolled forward across the ground. A loud crash echoed behind him. Landing on his feet, Naruto turned around to see that the area he'd been standing on had become a small crater.
Yami retracted his foot from the crater and looked up at Naruto.
"Your instincts are pretty sharp, I'll give you that. However, it's hopeless. There's no way you can keep up with me."
As if to emphasize his point, Yami suddenly vanished before Naruto's eyes. Even though he had no idea where his opponent would strike next, he knew that he needed to react, so he leapt out of the way. He was just in time. Barely a second had passed before the area was destroyed. Yami had fallen from the sky and slammed into the ground with the fury of a hurricane.
"You really do have some sharp instincts," Yami complimented as he stood up. "It's too bad those won't save you."
What soon began was a game of intense cat and mouse. Yami would disappear and attack Naruto, who did his best to defend against the onslaught of incredibly fast and agile attacks. Each attack barely missed. Naruto could feel Yami's punches, or rather, he could feel the displaced air that was pushing against him every time Yami threw a punch. Several of his attacks were so sharp they cut Naruto's cheek as they passed.
Naruto was unable to counterattack Yami, who relentlessly attacked over and over at speeds he could barely follow.
In their previous battle, he and Yami were almost even in terms of ability. However, with Akane's power fueling his strength, Yami was currently in a league of his own.
Naruto avoided a leg sweep by shuffling backward. However, he was shocked when Yami raised himself into a handstand and launched a powerful mule kick. Nothing seemed to happen at first. Then, without warning, an invisible wall slammed into Naruto, who was unable to do anything as he was thrown across the ground.
Lying on his back, Naruto tried to stand up, but before he could even so much as sit, a foot slammed into his chest and pinned him to the ground. Despite this, Naruto still tried to remove the foot. However, when the heel ground into him, digging into his flesh, he could do nothing except throw his head back and scream.
"This is pathetic," Yami mumbled. "To think you had been giving me so much trouble for such a long time. Well, now that I have all of Akane's power, you're nothing more than a nuisance. I hope you've enjoyed the time you spent on the outside because now it's my turn. I might not be able to kill you, but I'm going to lock you away into the deepest, darkest recesses of our mind—just like you did to me."
Naruto groaned as he tried to move. He grabbed at the foot pinning him to the ground, but it wouldn't budge.
Is this it?
Gritting his teeth as he struggled to get up, Naruto wondered if this was the end.
Am I really going to disappear here?
Naruto didn't want that. He had far too much that he needed to accomplish. There was still so much that he hadn't seen.
I don't want to vanish here… I can't.
"Welp, it's been fun, brother," Yami said with a grin, "but I'm gonna have to ask you to disappear now."
Naruto gnashed his teeth together as the helplessness of his situation sank in. He really couldn't do anything. This man, this Yami, was far too powerful for him to confront alone and defeat. With Akane's chakra combined with his own, he made for an incredibly powerful opponent.
Yami raised a clawed hand as though getting ready to impale him. Naruto bared his teeth as he glared at his other half.
"That's a good look for you. Now, goodbye, Naruto—OOOOFFFF!"
Naruto could do nothing but blink as a foot suddenly slammed into Yami's face. The other boy's cheeks seemed to cave in for a second as the foot pounded him, but then he was lifted off his feet, spinning around like a top before slamming into the ground.
"Get your hands off my Naruto," a female voice said.
Gasping as the pain from having a foot digging into his ribs was removed, Naruto sat up, groaning, and looked toward the source of the voice.
A woman stood before him. Her long red hair swayed gently in an unseen breeze. Naruto only had a glimpse of her profile, but he could make out fair skin and bright blue eyes. The green dress that she wore complimented her figure. It was sleeveless and had straps tying it together from the back, making Naruto think of an apron almost. Underneath her green dress was a sleeveless white shirt.
"You… you are…"
The woman glanced over at Naruto and gave him a grin that was oh so familiar. He recognized that grin. How could he not? It was the same grin he often gave.
"Naruto, I know this might seem a little weird, but my name is Kushina Uzumaki… and I am your mother."
"M-my mother?" Naruto was startled, but he stood up and looked at the woman. "A-are you really?"
"Yes." Kushina smiled at him. However, a surge of chakra made them both snap their heads toward Yami, who had stolen another tail's worth of chakra from Akane. "I'm sorry. I would love to talk with you some more, but now is not the time. Let's take care of this guy first."
"R-right."
Naruto winced as he stepped up to stand beside the woman claiming to be his mom. Yami was glaring at them both, though his eyes flickered with uncertainty when they landed on Kushina.
"Hmph. You must be a chakra imprint left behind by the seal," he said. "I see now. When the Yondaime Hokage sealed that bitch inside of us, he also left a portion of your chakra with us."
"That's right." Kushina adopted a fighting stance, feet spread apart and hands raised in a guard. "I'm a chakra imprint left behind to act as a guardian to the sealed Akane. In the event that the seal ever came lose or broke, I would become active and act to repair the seal." She paused, then took a shuddering breath. "It was also done so I could see my little boy at least once, to talk to him at least once."
"Like I care about why you're here! You're just getting in my way… Mother!"
Yami burst forward, disappearing like he had done last night. However, while Naruto had trouble keeping track of him, Kushina didn't seem to suffer from the same problem. Six chains erupted from her back and speared the ground in front of them, creating a thick wall. Yami reappeared as he slammed into the wall of chains, bouncing off them and tumbling to the ground.
"Come on, Naruto!"
"I'm right behind you!"
The chains retracted as Naruto and Kushina rushed forward. Yami stood to his feet and prepared to attack them both, but Kushina was in his face before he could.
A taijutsu battle began as the two traded numerous punches and kicks, each attack sending shockwaves across the seal. The two seemed evenly matched. Kushina was more than capable of blocking Yami's attacks, and she dished out just as much punishment as she gave. Naruto was in awe. However, he didn't want her to be the only one working.
"Rasengan!"
Naruto moved in from the side and tried to plunge a Rasengan into Yami's ribs. It didn't work as planned. Yami leapt away from his attack and stuck out his foot to trip Naruto. However, just before his legs could hit Yami's outstretched foot, Kushina's chains wrapped around Yami's arm and pulled him forward, forcing him to retract his foot and ground himself.
Spinning around, Naruto kept his Rasengan maintained and slammed it into Yami's stomach, thrusting his jutsu as far into his dark half as he could. Yami screamed as he was lifted off the ground. Unable to right himself, he struck the floor and rolled for several meters.
That hardly ended the battle, though. It seemed Yami's durability had grown along with his power and chakra. With a ferocious roar, he slammed his hands onto the ground.
The Earth split. Naruto had never seen anything quite like it. It was as if the ground was swelling like a tidal wave. He and Kushina leapt out of the way, but they had to split up, and Yami used their sudden separation to attack Naruto.
"Hygk!"
Bone-shattering pain flared in his arms as he tried to block Yami's punch. He skidded across the ground as steam wafted from his damaged arms, which were throbbing with a dull pain.
"Don't think having our mom on your side means you've won!" Yami rushed up to him. "I'll kill you! I will kill you!"
"Not on my watch, you won't!"
Before Yami could get within two meters of Naruto, several chains wrapped around his arm and yanked him back. Yami stumbled as his left arm became stretched. Seeing this as an opportunity, Naruto created a Rasengan as he darted forward. The Rasengan soon increased in size, until it was about twice the size of Naruto's head. Lifting it over his head, he bore down on Yami and slammed his jutsu right on his other half's head.
"Oodama Rasengan!"
Leaping back as the massive explosion engulfed Yami, Naruto placed a hand on his still bruised ribs and waited on baited breath to see if his attack had injured his opponent.
"Is that really all you've got?"
Naruto felt a sense of dread crawl up his spine as the smoke cleared. Yami stood there, completely unharmed. Even his clothing looked fine.
"I'm disappointed in you, brother. You really are weak. It would be better for both of us if I was the one in charge."
As if to dispute his words, Kushina walked up to stand beside Naruto. Her glare was fierce as she stared at Yami with an expression like a mother who'd just seen her child do something disappointing.
"Don't talk like you're any stronger than Naruto. The only reason you were able to withstand his attack is because you drained Akane of her power. That power isn't yours. That strength isn't yours. You're just leaching power off of Akane."
"Shut up, woman!" Yami snapped. "It might have been hers at one point, but it's my power now! Mine! I claimed it for my own!"
Kushina shook her head. "You deluded brat. It seems mom needs to give you a spanking."
"Then come and try it!" Yami screamed, spittle flying from his mouth.
"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you!" Kushina rolled up imaginary sleeves. "And don't start crying when I spank your ass so hard it becomes red!"
Naruto felt a sense of surrealism come over him as the woman claiming to be his mom talked about spanking his dark half. It was enough to make him wonder if all this wasn't a dream.
"Hey, Naruto," Kushina whispered. "Despite my words, Yami is actually way stronger than I am. So here's the plan. I'm going to hold him down, and then I want you to finish him off."
"How can I do that?" asked Naruto. "You saw what happened when I attacked him with that Oodama Rasengan. I didn't even scratch him!"
"True, but that's only because you haven't used your full power." Kushina looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Don't you have an ability that lets you maximize the amount of chakra you can use? Use that. I'll give you enough time to transform and charge up a powerful attack."
Before Naruto could even say something, Kushina darted forward and engaged Yami in another round of taijutsu combat. Of course, it wasn't just taijutsu that was used. Yami seemed to have grown impatient, and so he'd begun using some really destructive jutsu. The ground was sliced to ribbons as he generated vacuum blades, the earth shook as his wind attacks demolished the ground, craters and pockmarks began appearing with regular frequency. Throughout it all, Kushina wove around and dodged the attacks as she fought back with a combination of seals and her chakra chains.
Naruto understood what Kushina wanted from him. Her words came back. She wanted him to use his yokai form to defeat Yami.
Taking a deep breath, he shunted the pain aside and tried to focus, to reach deep inside of himself, where his power was safely locked away. He closed his eyes and blocked out the sounds of battle. Delving deep into his psyche, Naruto reached the spot where his power was stored.
The sound of a key slowly turning echoed in his mind as Naruto unlocked his power. He could feel it rush through him. His fatigue faded, the damage done to him by Yami healed, and his mind became clear. Were he to look in a mirror, Naruto knew he'd see someone who no longer looked fully human.
A loud explosion made Naruto open his eyes. The battle between Kushina and Yami was heating up. Kushina fired water bullets that seemed like a normal jutsu at first, but when Yami destroyed them with chakra infused fists, the water exploded and wrapped around him, quickly transforming into water chains. Before he could do anything, Kushina unleashed a wind technique similar to Naruto's Senpuken, which snapped Yami's head back.
However, if that was all it took to defeat Yami, then they wouldn't have been having this problem to begin with. Yami broke the chains with sheer brute force. Then he unleashed a powerful wind jutsu that ravaged the ground. Kushina protected herself by creating a dome with her chains. When the jutsu ran its course, she then launched the chains at Yami, who destroyed them with vacuum blades.
"You old hag! Don't think I'm going to let you defeat me!"
"An old hag, am I?! I'll show you not to disrespect your mother, you brat!"
Several droplets of sweat trailed down Naruto's face as he listened to the insults the two were hurling at each other. However, he knew not to let himself get distracted. Slapping his cheeks, Naruto put his game face on and raced across the ground.
Kushina saw him coming and quickly launched more chains at Yami. They were destroyed easily. However, several more chains sprang from the ground and wrapped around the boy. He tried to break him, but then numerous seals lit up on the chains.
"Ha!" Kushina barked as she pointed at Yami. "How do you like that?! You see those seals? They were specifically designed to seal away the Kyuubi's power, and since you're using the Kyuubi's chakra, all that power you felt so proud of is useless!"
"What the—you fucking hag! Release me!"
"Fuck no! Do it now, Naruto!"
"Right!"
Naruto created a shadow clone, and then had it help him create a Rasenshuriken. The familiar bell-like screech filled the air as Naruto raced forward. The clone dispelled. Holding the Rasenshuriken aloft, Naruto closed the distance between him and Yami before slamming his jutsu into his other half.
"Damn you! Damn you both!" Yami's enraged and agonized scream echoed over the howling wind as Naruto's technique exploded against him. "Don't think this is the end! I will defeat you! I will not let myself disappear again!"
The dome of white wind chakra expanded as Naruto and Kushina stood there. Naruto held his now damaged arm, which slowly healed thanks to his yokai form. He tested his hand and wrist to make sure it worked properly, then turned to Kushina.
"Mom… I…"
Naruto was unable to continue as Kushina hugged him.
"I'm so glad I was able to see you." She leaned back to stare into his eyes. "I wish we could talk more, but there's something we need to do."
"Something we need… like what?"
The moment this question left his lips, the earth around them began to rumble. Naruto looked around. His eyes bulged when several cracks appeared in the sky. It wasn't just the sky either. Cracks were appearing all over the place. It was as though the world were being slowly shaken apart.
"Because Yami destroyed the original seal in order to steal Akane's power, this place can no longer maintain itself," Kushina explained. "And because the seal is gone, I can't repair it."
"Then… what can we do?"
"I'll show you. Come on."
Kushina turned toward Akane, who was still chained to the pillar. Suddenly realizing that she was in danger, Naruto raced past his mom and ran up to the other redhead, who gazed at him with a forelorn look.
"Akane! Are you okay?"
"Why do you care?" she asked, and though her words were belligerent, her tone was filled with sadness.
"What are you talking about? Of course I care! Do you know how long I've been trying to speak with you?"
Akane bit her lip and nodded. Then she looked away. Naruto would have asked what was wrong, but Kushina had walked up by this point.
"You two can talk about your lovers spat later," she said. "Right now, we need to remove the seal binding Akane to this pillar. It's draining her chakra. Naruto, you should understand enough about sealing to create a counterseal that can get rid of these. Help me remove them, quickly."
Kushina's words were followed by action. She began methodically creating seals using the fuinjutsu method where she used her chakra as a replacement for ink. Naruto watched her work for a moment, and then turned to one of the chains. She was right. It was a fairly simple seal, though because of how many seals were involved in this array's construction, it looked more complicated than it really was. Following his mom's example, Naruto's fingers glowed a bright blue as he began remove the seals.
With each seal they removed, the chains around Akane disappeared. The last chain to disappear was the one wrapped around her middle. When it did, she fell forward, but Naruto appeared there to catch her. He almost fell under her weight. So much of her strength had disappeared that she couldn't even hold herself up. Naruto lifted her into a princess carry, and while Akane complained about how humiliating it was to be held like this by a human, she didn't have the strength to break free.
"Well, it looks like this is it." Kushina smiled sadly.
"What?"
"The seal that kept Akane inside of you is gone. That seal was also what kept me here. Without it, I can't stay here anymore."
"Wha—no! But… what about our talk?! I thought we were going to get to talk more!"
"So did I." Kushina looked like she was on the verge of tears. "I wish things could be different. I'm sorry, Naruto."
"Da-damn it…"
Naruto knew there was nothing they could do about this, but that was what he hated. He despised that he could do nothing in this situation. He was powerless.
"Before I go, I have a few things to tell you," Kushina said. Naruto looked up. "Naruto… you're going to experience a lot of pain and suffering. Remember who you are! Find a goal… a dream… and don't stop trying until it comes true. There's… there's so much more that I want to say… to teach you… I want to stay with you… I love you."
Naruto didn't know why, but he felt like he'd heard those words before. He tried to stem the flow of tears that dripped down his face. He sniffled once.
A soft hand touched his cheeks and began wiping at his tears. It was Akane. He looked down as she touched his face, a complicated expression twisting her fair features, though she stopped and turned away from him the moment she noticed his eyes on her.
"Akane…" By this point, Kushina's body was translucent and disappearing fast. "I'm sorry you and I never saw eye to eye. I hope you can eventually forgive me… Also… I want you to be more honest with your feelings. I've been watching you mope ever since you locked Naruto out, and it's annoying. Stop that. Be honest with yourself. That's the only way to live a long and happy life."
"Pretentious brat," Akane muttered. "You're a thousand years too young to lecture me."
"I really wish I could stay longer." Just like with Naruto, Kushina's eyes were welling with tears. "But it looks like this is it. I love you, Naruto. I love you so much. Goodbye."
A loud cracking sound like shattering glass echoed all around them as the seal completely broke down. Kushina disappeared seconds later. Then Naruto and Akane's world became engulfed in a blinding white light.
XoX
There was no telling how much time had passed, how long he'd been stuck inside of that seal, but when Naruto came to, a scene of devastation presented itself before him. Once towering buildings were nothing but rubble now. Fire and smoke clogged the atmosphere. The heat from the numerous fires singed his skin.
A weight in his arms made Naruto look down. He was holding someone, a young woman with hair like fire and pale skin. She didn't have a stitch of clothing on. The gentle swell of her breasts, the lovely contours of her waist and hips, all of it was on display.
Her naked body was pressed firmly against his as he carried her like a princess, the large swell of her breast pushing into his chest. Akane. So the seal that had kept her locked inside of him really was gone.
It looked like she was unconscious right now, perhaps due to the backlash that came from leaving the seal. Even he didn't understand how this worked. Seals that were powerful enough to keep bijuu locked up were complicated. The one that kept Akane imprisoned was even more so. What's more, a situation like this had never happened before. A sealed bijuu being unsealed and the jinchurikki surviving the process? Naruto suspected the only reason he was still alive was because he was no longer human.
As much as he would like to ponder the situation more, Naruto understood that now was not the time. He looked around some more. He could not find a single trace of Pain, the group of six people he'd been fighting. What had happened while he was stuck inside of the seal? Naruto had no recollection.
He wandered through the destitute streets of the city he once called Ame. This place really was a wreck. Some buildings had been gutted, while others had been demolished entirely. Naruto sent chakra to his legs and jumped onto the largest piece of rubble he could find. Surveying the city, he almost cringed at what he saw.
Amegakure was destroyed. Demolished. Gone. He'd assumed maybe just this one section of the city had been damaged, but no, it looked like the entire hidden village was no more. Everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but destruction, destruction, destruction. The only odd thing about all this was that he saw no corpses amid the ruins. He hoped that meant the villagers had been able to escape.
In the center of the city sat a large sphere, similar to the one that Jiraiya had been captured in, but far larger. He'd estimate the size at maybe fifty or even sixty meters in diameter. Unmoving, it remained situated between several destroyed buildings.
Hopping back down from the rubble, Naruto waded through the city. First things first, he needed to find clothing for Akane. Holding a naked girl was awkward.
It took more time than he would have liked, but Naruto did eventually find a simple set of clothing, an overly large t-shirt and some shorts. Unfortunately, the shorts didn't fit because her tails kept getting in the way. She only had six. Naruto suspected it was because Yami had stolen the other three. Still, he had to forgo the shorts, which meant instead of carrying a naked fox lady, he was carrying a half-naked fox lady with no panties.
That didn't make him feel much better.
He wandered the ruined city a bit longer. He didn't know what he was searching for. Jiraiya's remains? Pain? That Konan lady he had been fighting? In either event, Naruto soon came to realize that there was no point in remaining in Amegakure and made his way out of the village.
Amegakure was surrounded mostly by flatlands and rivers. Naruto followed the path that he thought would take him back to Konoha via one of those many rivers, which wound back and forth in a curved pattern like a lazy snake resting on the ground.
He blinked once as his vision blurred, paused to shake his head, and then began moving again.
Akane rested in his arms. Her eyes were closed and her breathing even. She seemed to be sleeping. As he walked, her legs swung back and forth, dainty feet bouncing as he followed the winding path.
The sun overhead was setting, traveling down past a range of mountains, though he could barely see it thanks to the clouds covering the sky. He would need to find a place to stop for the night.
With a grunt, Naruto shifted the woman in his arms. He soon found a mercifully dry spot of land. It was underneath the shade of a large rock that jutted from the ground. Setting Akane down so she was resting against the rock, he reached down for his ninja pouch—only to grimace when he realized it wasn't there. His ninja pouch must have been destroyed or lost. That meant he had no supplies.
Just great.
Naruto sat down against the rock next to Akane, stretched out his legs, and looked up at the cloudy sky. He really hoped it didn't rain. He also hoped he hadn't jinxed himself by hoping it wouldn't rain.
As he continued gazing at the sky, Naruto nearly jumped when something landed on his lap. He looked down. It was Akane. She must have fallen over. Her head was now resting on his lap as she took several deep breaths, shoulders moving with the motion. He frowned as he reached out and carressed her hair. It was soft.
The longer he continued stroking her hair, the more Naruto became aware of his own aches and pains. His limbs were sore and stiff, his back felt like it had been repeatedly broken and healed, his mind was slowly dimming like a flickering light bulb on the verge of going out, and his heart ached as if it had been stabbed with a kunai.
His head drooped as his mind dimmed even more. He stopped stroking Akane's hair as his arm became too heavy to move. He lifted his head up, but then it fell again as darkness encroached on his vision.
Just before he lost consciousness, Naruto saw a pair of dark-skinned feet in shinobi sandals appear in front of him.
This chapter is longer than a good few of my latest ones at 14,000 words, which is why it took so long to write. I'm not sure how satisfied I am with it. I feel like there are a few things that are missing, but I can't for the life of me figure out what. In any case, that's the end of this arc. The next chapter will be sort of a chapter in between arcs. While my stories aren't the best written, I do hope you've been enjoying them.
I haven't done this for awhile because I didn't feel like it was right when I haven't posted that many chapters, but since I've updated several times, I hope you won't mind me shamelessly promoting myself.
I'm sure a lot of people know by now, but I have published several original book series. You can buy them from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and basically any online retailer. If anyone would like to support me outside of fan fiction, I hope you'll consider grabbing a copy of my books. I have quite a few out.
American Kitsune: A Fox's Love, A Fox's Tail, A Fox's Maid, A Fox's Family, A Fox's Vacation, A Fox's Mate, A Fox's Revenge, A Fox's Rescue.
A Most Unlikely Hero vol. 1-3
Arcadia's Ignoble Knight vol. 1-3
The Executioner Series: Succubus, Escape
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