Chapter 26: Ancient Malevolence

Chapter 26: Ancient Malevolence

Naruto opened his eyes blearily as he felt the person carrying him come to a halt, a few moments later he was thrown as he landed on the hard floor causing the dust to rise. He coughed as he felt a shot of pain run through his broken arm and bruised body. He focused his vision as he struggled to sit up coming into contact with the yellow eyes of the criminal standing a few feet away from him.

"You have awakened." Zetsu continued to stare at the shocked jinchuuriki with an expressionless visage.

Naruto shook his head as he took in the appearance of the Akatsuki member. He looked around the dark atmosphere trying to understand his location. There were several rocks scattered, the ground was mostly even and the ceiling had sharp edges pointing out. "This…is a cave."

"Indeed." The voice made Naruto snap his head towards its bearer who was staring at him with crimson eyes.

Naruto's face instantly turned into one of anger, "Madara!" Before he could attempt anything he was punched across the face by Zetsu, sending him to the floor.

Madara laughed at the genin, "There's no use in fighting. You're depleted of chakra."

Naruto gritted his teeth as he felt fresh blood protrude from his mouth. He looked at the Uchiha who was visibly in terrible condition due to being on the receiving end of his most dangerous technique. He turned to his side taking a closer look at Zetsu, realising that he was the one who interfered before he could finish the criminal. He held his arm trying to subdue the pain as he addressed the leader of the Akatsuki, "Why are you doing this?"

The orange haired criminal replied calmly, "It is destiny."

Naruto became angered with the vague answer, "What the hell does that mean?"

Madara looked back at the jinchuuriki momentarily before performing hand seals. The ground began to shake violently as Madara smirked. A few seconds later, a huge statue rose from the depths to become visible to the jinchuuriki. Naruto stared in fear at the abomination, his eyes wide, "Nani?"

As everything settled Madara jumped to the top of the statue's head before taking a seat. He brought his right knee to his chest and rested his elbow on it before speaking to the astonished blonde below, "Can you feel it…the power from this statue? Where else have you felt such a force?"

Naruto looked at the eight open eyes on the statue with only the one in the centre remaining closed, "Kyuubi."

Madara nodded, "Eight bijuu and their strength combined puts them on par with the Kyuubi…"

Naruto removed his eyes from the statue and set them on the figure of the Uchiha, "What is that?"

The criminal placed his left hand on the statue's head, "The King of the Underworld…Anima…an Uchiha's destiny."

Naruto tried to remain awake as he felt his chakra slowly leaving him, "Uchiha's destiny…what are you talking about?"

The leader of the Akatsuki remained silent for a few moments before answering, "Such a lack of knowledge..." He adopted a serious demeanour as he resumed, "…The Hyuuga are very prideful and their eyes fuel their arrogance and superiority complex over others…a millennia ago, a child was born into their clan who was the first of his kind."

Naruto listened intently, "He had the sharingan."

Madara shook his head, "No…all he had was a defective form of the byakugan leaving his eyesight weak and his skills even worse. As it was the first time such a thing had happened, the Hyuuga saw him as an abomination and a curse upon their glorious clan." He spoke the word glorious in contempt.

Naruto tried to understand what he was talking about, "What does this have to do with the Uchiha?"

Madara glared at the jinchuuriki, "…Everything…as an outcast he travelled the world in search of a place to belong, his hatred towards his clan, his home and this world increasing. Eventually he came across the one who would give him power…" He pointed to the statue he was seated on, "…him."

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the gesture, "Nani?"

Madara smirked, "Anima was sealed and needed a vessel. The hatred within my ancestor was strong and hence it caught his attention. A pact was made between the two…Anima gave him a gift with which he could complete the required tasks to perform the final ceremony…the sharingan."

Naruto stumbled as he heard of the statue, "…but he failed. That's why he's still sealed."

Madara closed his eyes, continuing, "There were two powers bestowed upon him by Anima, the power to suppress bijuu's when they are within a vessel using his chakra and the sharingan. The hate within him made him worthy of receiving Anima's chakra however in order to perform the final ceremony; he needed to ascend past the sharingan and achieve the Mangekyou. This was a test to prove that he wasn't bound by petty things such as the love for another person. He returned to his home where he quickly gained the respect of the people when he humiliated the prideful Hyuuga leader. Eventually he fell in love and had a child…the time arrived when he had to prove himself by killing them and taking the next step…but his love for acquiring something which he longed for from the beginning stopped him; the feeling of belonging."

Naruto smiled, "He made the right choice."

Madara began to laugh, "He delayed the inevitable…he was bound by an oath and such a thing is not easily broken. As time went on many would come that would try to accomplish what he couldn't but they would all fail. Either they would die by the hands of the bijuu they tried to capture or they would stop themselves from gaining the Mangekyou. Soon enough, the history of the Uchiha and their birth was forgotten."

Naruto contemplated over what he had been told, "Then how do you know all this?"

Madara opened his eyes staring directly into the sapphire orbs of the leaf-nin, "Thanks to a certain jinchuuriki…Uzumaki Yasuo."

XXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke and Kakashi stared in awe at the sight in front of them. The black haired teenager walked to the end of the valley walls as he looked at the devastated state of the environment. "What happened here?"

Kakashi observed the carnage as the decimated parts of the statues floated in the water, "It seems like we missed the fight."

Sasuke made his way to the bottom of the valley as he looked around for any signs that Naruto had been here. Kakashi looked towards the small dog to his side, "Can you track his scent Pakkun?"

The dog sniffed the air before responding, "Barely…there is another scent here…" He stopped sniffing looking at his summoner, "A very evil one…and it bares a resemblance to that kid." He nodded his head in the direction of Sasuke.

Kakashi began to think of what that could mean while Sasuke reappeared next to him, "I found this."

The ex-Anbu took the pouch off the Uchiha as he examined it. They both turned to where they had come from as they felt two chakra signatures approaching them fast. Sasuke placed his hand on the hilt of his kusanagi as they revealed themselves.

The frog hermit brushed his clothes, "I spent an extra hour searching for you two and then I realise you've already gone ahead."

Kakashi looked taken aback, "Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya grinned, "Who else but the legendary sannin who hails from the greatest shinobi village and with his exploits has brought fame to all leaf shinobi."

Sasuke ignored the raving man as he looked at the kunoichi to his side. Sakura remained silent as she thought of Naruto. She was initially overcome with worry and angry with the blonde for not only lying to her but taking off on his own. However she put aside her feelings to focus on bringing him back no matter what the cost.

Jiraiya looked over the valley, "He had a great battle…"

Kakashi handed Naruto's weapon pouch back to Sasuke as he addressed the legendary sannin, "He's still alive…"

Jiraiya nodded, "This is a good sign, it doesn't seem like he was forced to use that jutsu…which means he could've won. We can bring him back."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, curious of the hermit's words, "What do you mean by that jutsu?"

Jiraiya faced the three shinobi, "There's no harm in telling you now. 2 years ago while we were on our training trip, we took a short break in Grass Country. While I was busy with…" He waved his hand resuming, "…research, I left him to complete the exercise I planned. During this however, he was confronted by another shinobi who was a S-class missing-nin. Naruto and him fought but the criminal specialised in taijutsu and genjutsu. Naruto was easily beaten and he took it hard. I returned to find the two and stopped the fight by knocking out the criminal."

Sakura listened as she asked her question, "What happened?"

Jiraiya folded his arms, "The guy wasn't exactly bad so I let him stay with us and help out with Naruto's training. He taught him how to defend against genjutsu but Naruto recognised that his progress wasn't enough to defeat Orochimaru or Akatsuki. His desperation made him go to the Kyuubi."

Sasuke looked at the legendary sannin, "What do you mean by that?"

Jiraiya gave a heavy sigh, "They came to an understanding and formed a pact. A suicidal technique which would use all of the Kyuubi's chakra to execute but the strain on Naruto's body would leave him near death also."

Kakashi scratched his head, "Kyuubi agreed to this? It doesn't sound like something a demon would do…giving up his own life."

The author of the Icha Icha series nodded, "I found it strange as did Tsunade…I believe he knows something about what's going on. What matters is that Naruto didn't do it so he's still alive."

Sasuke turned to take off, "We shouldn't be wasting time…we need to go."

Pakkun ran in the right direction as Jiraiya spoke for the final time, "Don't let your worry overcome you…focus on the task at hand. I still have an ace up my sleeve as well."

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto froze as he heard the name, "…Uzumaki?"

Madara sighed, "Of course you wouldn't know, Itachi informed me of how they stopped teaching the history of Konoha with your birth."

Naruto listened to the Uchiha, desperately wanting his next question to be answered, "Who was this Uzumaki Yasuo?"

Madara tilted his head, "I'll start from the beginning…Konoha was a land built on war…the village was formed when the clans of the Fire Country were forced to defend against invading forces. Their main weapon was a jinchuuriki who later came to be named Uzumaki Yasuo by the man who took him in as his own son…the Shodaime."

Naruto shook his head as he heard this. He couldn't believe that his own ancestor was a jinchuuriki also, "You're lying…why would you know all this…and if this was true then why wasn't I told of my past?"

Madara laughed at the blonde causing him to seethe in anger, "The reason why I know is because I was largely behind the formation of Konoha."

Naruto was struck with disbelief, "You…founded Konoha?"

Madara nodded, "Along with my best friend, the Shodaime and his younger brother, the Nidaime."

Naruto thought over what he had been told, "I don't understand…how did he help you learn of the Uchiha's history?"

Madara moved his elbow from his knee before letting it hang off the end of the statue, "When the war happened, clans were left injured and devastated…the main reason being because we couldn't defend against the force that was Yasuo. When the village was formed and the Shodaime took him in, I didn't forget the carnage he had caused. At first I wasn't alone and my clan agreed with me along with a few others but as time went on they all began to accept him, this same child who killed many of their friends and family. For the first time in my life I felt an immense hatred towards these people and their ideals…towards Yasuo." He smirked, "And that's when it happened."

Naruto asked with his voice full of curiosity, "What happened?"

Madara rose from his position and stood, "Anima came to me…the hatred and anger which flowed through me awakened the chakra of the King of the Underworld…" He pointed at the mouth guard in the statues mouth, "…Inside that is the scroll depicting the Uchiha's history and the contract which was forged between Anima and the first of our kind…I learnt it all…and I embraced it."

Naruto stared at the mouth guard, "So, you'll fail like all those before you."

Madara jumped off the statue to the ground, "Fool, do you not see the significance? I am different from all those who came before me. Unlike the first who was born with hate and yearned to be loved, I was born with everything yet when the time came I gladly chose this path …I am the chosen one, I will accomplish what all those prior to me couldn't…and everything I have been through these past 50 years is evidence of that."

Naruto's mind drifted back to his ancestor, "What about him?"

Madara turned to face the statue of Anima, "I killed him."

Naruto felt his anger build, "Bastard!"

Madara faced the blonde, "Would you like to see?"

Naruto remained silent as the Uchiha approached him and bent down in front of him as they came eye to eye. His crimson eyes changed to take on a different pattern as the black circles twisted and joined. Madara stared directly into his oceanic eyes, "Tsukuyomi!"

Naruto's eyes went wide as he found himself in a different location. He looked around him at the plain which had a river running through it.

"This is what will come to be known as the Valley Of The End." The voice of Madara made the jinchuuriki turn to face him.

Naruto gritted his teeth, "Why are we here?"

Madara walked past him, "This is a world wherein I control everything…you wanted to know about Yasuo…watch and see."

Naruto turned to his left as he saw a man with long black hair and armour walk towards the river with a body across his shoulders. He threw the body on the ground as it rolled and landed at the edge of the water.

"The one standing is me…and the one unconscious is Yasuo." Naruto looked at the appearance of Madara in the illusion before turning to face the one who had brought him here; there was a drastic difference between the two. He focused on the boy at the edge of the river who looked to be a bit older than he was at the moment. Yasuo had brown hair which reached his shoulders and blue eyes just like Naruto.

Naruto turned his attention to the opposite of the river where another figure arrived, "The Shodaime..."

Madara looked on at the two conversing figures of himself and his best friend as there was no audible sound coming from them, "I lured Yasuo away from the village…he was too innocent for his own good and easily manipulated. The Shodaime was informed of him missing and tracked us down and confronted me."

Naruto turned to face the orange haired criminal, "He trusted you and you used it against him."

Madara walked forwards taking a closer look at the two figures of himself and the Shodaime, "He fulfilled his destiny."

Naruto didn't have time to make a reply when the Shodaime and Madara of the past began to fight ruthlessly across the plain. He stared, amazed at the battle as they exchanged numerous ninjutsu and fought hand to hand. As they continued, the plain changed in shape as it slowly turned into a valley.

"His love for the boy was his downfall…" As Madara said this, his past form quickly grabbed the unconscious form of Yasuo and held it threateningly.

The Shodaime stopped his assault as he got on his knees. Madara smirked as he saw this and looked towards Naruto, "I'll let you hear this part…it was amusing."

Naruto diverted his attention directly to the Shodaime as he heard him speak, "Please Madara, I beg of you…let him go."

The past form of Madara threw the still figure of Yasuo into the valley before executing a fire jutsu towards him. The Shodaime jumped from his position grabbing hold of his precious person and hence avoiding the incoming attack. However, the distraction gave Madara the opportunity to appear behind his greatest rival and utter the last words he would hear, "You were always a fool…Shodaime."

Naruto's eyes went wide as in the next instant he saw the Shodaime be on the receiving end of a kunai through his back and throat which nearly decapitated him completely. He saw the bloody corpse of the Shodaime fall to the valley below as Madara quickly adjusted himself, grabbing Yasuo and landing safely.

The orange haired criminal walked past him as he spoke, "That was how I obtained the Mangekyou."

Naruto looked on in shock as his insides ached before the scenery changed completely to that of a shadowy ambience where he stood a few feet away from the King of the Underworld statue. Madara stood next to him, "I brought Yasuo for his judgment here."

Naruto looked towards the base of the mighty statue where Madara had Yasuo gripped by his throat and was staring directly into his eyes. All of a sudden a terrified and pained scream filed the air as Yasuo struggled in the grip of the Uchiha. Madara laughed as he saw his past, "I made him witness the death of the man he called a father…repeatedly…"

Naruto turned to face the criminal with a shocked face before resuming staring at his ancestor. Madara walked behind him, "Do you know how much that must've hurt…to see the one who gave you your life…that happiness…killed in front of you remorselessly and by his best friend no less."

Naruto's eyes began to water as he heard the cries of the jinchuuriki. His heart ached as he relived the experience of the leader of the Akatsuki and what he did to Yasuo. The image changed completely before he found himself back in the cave next to Zetsu.

Madara looked at the tear marks adorning his cheeks before rising and walking towards the towering statue, "After I psychologically destroyed him, I did the extraction process and then returned to Konoha with the body of the Shodaime. Considering whom I was, it was easy to convince them that Yasuo had killed him. I never stayed long…I left a legacy behind just in case I was to fail and wrote the history of the Uchiha in a scroll before leaving Konoha to complete my quest."

Naruto looked at the ground, the screams of Yasuo fresh in his mind, "You failed."

Madara closed his eyes, "Yasuo housed the Hachibi…that left 8 other bijuu for me to capture as quickly as possible…since after the first sealing Anima can only hold the power for a year…in that time you can awaken him before he is complete or the bijuu will be set free and you have to start again." The Uchiha opened his eyes as he stared at the statue, "It is a test of strength…I captured all of them except the Kyuubi. For my ambition I can't have anything standing in my way…like I told you before…8 of them combined makes them as strong as Kyuubi so without him I would always have a weakness."

Naruto glanced to his side to find Zetsu with his eyes fixed on him, "You lost."

Madara folded his arms, "I found him and we fought…I was foolish for thinking I could take out the greatest of the tailed beasts…the battle left me on the verge of death with two of my limbs missing. I escaped to a small village where I was treated for a year before I was feeling well. By this time, all my previous efforts didn't matter since the bijuus I captured had all been released and some of them had already been sealed by other villages like the Ichibi. In my state, I was incapable of anything so I delved into the science of the anatomy. I needed to acquire a new body and after 30 years of tiring research, when I was nearing the end of my life, I finally figured out a way to move my soul from container to container."

Naruto recognised the familiar thinking, "You're like him…Orochimaru…"

Madara turned to face him grinning, "…I've been doing it since…I got this body from a prodigy in Kumogakure and I've had it for 15 years now…of course leaving my original body had it's disadvantages since I can't use the sharingan as often…" The Uchiha resumed, "When I transferred my soul to a new container…I wasn't able to start hunting the bijuu due to the fact that a war had started. This time around, I decided I would get help so I formed Akatsuki. I had a total of 5 members before the war ended and the Yellow Flash became a name known to all across the shinobi world. What intrigued me was the fact that he was a master of seals…the departure of Orochimaru from Konoha also reached my ears. I knew this was an opportunity I couldn't miss…his ambitions for immortality could easily be granted by me so I offered him a deal…in return for joining me and completing a certain task involving Kyuubi, I'd help him climb the final step in achieving immortality."

Naruto's eyes widened, "You made him attack Konoha."

Madara glared at the blonde, "Partly…Kyuubi is a proud demon and doesn't like to see a battle go unresolved…Sasori and Orochimaru merely confronted him and made him chase them to Konoha…once there, the demon probably let loose his thirst for destruction. I waited to see whether the Yondaime would be capable of sealing him since I have power over all jinchuuriki and Kyuubi being sealed would guarantee the success of my plans."

Naruto looked towards the ground as he heard all the information from the Uchiha, "He was sealed…in me."

Madara took on a contemplative look, "That is what I don't understand…Sarutobi wasn't the Hokage at the time so the decision for who would bear the burden would fall in the hands of the Yondaime…I wonder why he chose you." He laughed, "It's ironic it ended up being another Uzumaki…though I thought your blood would have died out quicker."

Naruto grinded his teeth as the anger built within him, "What does it matter…bastard, it's all your fault."

Madara smirked as he saw the pained jinchuuriki, "Stop crying…this is your destiny, when you were chosen as the container of the Kyuubi…your fate was sealed."

Naruto looked up as he shouted, "I control my own destiny!"

Madara ran a hand through his orange hair, "I have controlled your destiny and many others…you would have been taken at birth if it weren't for the complications created by the seal used on you. The contract with the Death God prevented me from trying an extraction process so I had two choices…either kill you and hope that the Kyuubi would also die or wait for the demon to weaken the seal in hopes of escaping. It's a good thing I chose the latter since the seal has weakened enough for me to perform an extraction. 6 tails I believe can break through according to what Zetsu saw…that means the seal has only a third of its original strength remaining."

Naruto's mouth was open as he heard the analysis by the sharingan wielder, "How?"

Madara shook his head at the idiocy of the genin, "I told you how important the Kyuubi is to my plan…do you think I wouldn't be kept informed of the progress you were making?"

Naruto remained silent as everything sunk in. His mind drifted to the thoughts of Itachi, "You said it was an Uchiha's destiny…then what about Sasuke's brother…why did you let another join you?"

Zetsu spoke for his leader, "I was the one who found Itachi on one of his missions…out of our group, I am the only one who knows the true identity and abilities of our leader…when I saw that the young boy possessed the sharingan, I thought Madara-sama would be interested."

Madara laughed, "And I was…especially when I saw he had already awakened the chakra of the King of the Underworld. I was even more surprised when I found out he was my descendant. With the Kyuubi sealed and me gaining immortality…there was no longer a need for the Uchiha's to exist. I took in Itachi and trained him in the use of his sharingan…eventually I told him the secrets of the Uchiha and how to obtain the Mangekyou…his hatred for his clan was good enough for him to wipe them out. He swore allegiance to me and I accepted…not everything has gone smoothly though. Orochimaru, discovering the secrets of the sharingan, planned to take over Itachi, unfortunately for him, he wasn't strong enough and was forced to run from Akatsuki or he would've faced death."

Zetsu kept an expressionless face as he spoke, "He wasn't the only one that couldn't be trusted though."

Madara nodded, "When Kisame informed me of the encounter with Itachi's younger brother, I knew that his plans weren't simply to help me achieve my goals but maybe to try and become the container for Anima himself. However, his skills paled compared to mine…hence he left his brother alive so he could test himself against another Mangekyou user before he confronted me…"

Zetsu looked at Naruto, "When you fought against the younger Uchiha at the Valley Of The End…I was there…if he had killed you…I would've killed him. He let you live and didn't obtain the Mangekyou…so there was no need to kill him."

Madara laughed maniacally, "Do you see what happened to those who dared oppose me? Itachi and Orochimaru are now both dead and I am still alive, weeks away from completing what took me 50 years to prepare. These people…they are children compared to me…I have been alive for over a hundred years and gathered vast amounts of knowledge and gone through hell to get to where I am. Nothing will stop me from achieving my destiny."

The hard shot of failure ran through Naruto as he heard the Uchiha. He spoke in a defeated voice, "What do you plan to do?"

Madara sighed, "The world is changing…there are few who are true shinobi. These ideals of forgiveness and mercy have made them weak…with the power of Anima…I am going to destroy these pathetic civilisations and begin anew with my own…and it will all begin in this city." He turned to address Zetsu, "Throw him in a cell, I need to recover…tomorrow, we'll begin the extraction. Be prepared, with only four of us, it will take over 14 days."

Zetsu moved towards Naruto grabbing him by his broken arm and causing him to cry out in pain, "What about Deidara and Tobi?"

Madara looked at the statue, "I need them for the extraction…they won't be able to stop once it's begun anyway…so I'll kill them right after."

Zetsu nodded acknowledging his plans, "I understand."

Unbeknownst to Naruto, he wasn't the only who was shocked by the plans of the leader of Akatsuki.

Tsukuyomi - God Of The Moon