Chapter 85 : Twenty Seconds (4)
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Gaara.
Sasuke stopped laughing.
Even Anko could feel the dark chakra building up behind the Uchiha's left eye.
Words that weren't his own found their way onto his tongue. Sasuke whispered his technique, letting the winds carry his voice off in the distance.
"Amaterasu…"
...
Sitting atop Gamahiro alongside his godfather, Naruto was suddenly hit with the darkest chakra he had ever felt. When the sounds of a roaring Bijuu hit the ears of the shinobi, everyone turned to the direction of the sound.
The village was just about clear of enemies, and Naruto just sat down next to his sensei, spreading his senses over the village. Sasuke and Gaara were outside of the village, but he was able to feel Sasuke very clear right now.
Such sinister darkness… so it finally happened, then.
Jiraiya saw his godson smirk, and then disappear, obviously curious of what happened. He knew he'd be alright by himself, so he continued his game of slice 'n dice with Orochimaru's summon's.
...
After exchanging powerful blows, the two S-ranked shinobi came to a standstill, observing the fatigue of their opponent. Hiruzen was classified as an SS-ranked shinobi in his prime, but his age forced him into the S-rank category again. He was still a powerful opponent, but it was obvious that Orochimaru was faring better than his sensei.
The snake Sannin smiled. It was time to add insult to injury.
The tiled roof between them distorted, a fourth coffin rising. Hiruzen's eyes widened. Why did he believe there would only be three coffins?!
He gripped his powerful staff, readying himself for whoever was being resurrected to fight him. When the coffin opened with a sickening screech, Hiruzen almost dropped his weapon.
"B-Biwako-chan?" he whispered, his heart in a mixture of emotions.
...
Black.
That's all Sasuke was able to see, to feel. The black in his heart, the pain of losing his family climbing out of his soul that he tried so hard to bury greeting the pain of losing his only hope. The black in his eyes, atop the bloody red, the same color coming from that hope he wanted to protect.
The black of his soul, tainted with the Curse of Hatred. The black of the burning, screaming Bijuu behind him, crumbling from the world's most lethal fire technique, named after the sun goddess herself. The black of his hair, shrouding his cursed eyes from the world.
Black.
"Sasuke." That was Naruto's voice.
"S-Shishou…" he whispered back, knowing the Bringer of Hope could bring the colors back. He knew his friend, his greatest friend, his only friend, could get rid of the black. He… he was terrified of the black.
"That is not Sakura." And just like that, color found its way back into the world.
"What?" he asked. He raised his head to look at the body within Anko's arms. He caught a glimpse of the smirk on Naruto's face, before witnessing the pink-haired girl disappear in a puff of smoke.
"All the genin and chunin are guarding the evacuation center." He put a hand on the startled Uchiha's shoulder. "Sakura is at the Monument," he smiled, "She's safe."
Again, intense anger welled up within the raven-haired boy. He lashed out at the blond with a sloppy, predictable strike.
"Why?!" he shouted.
"Why would you do that to me!" He… he trusted Naruto! He put his trust into someone again, after swearing to never do that very thing. Continuous sloppy strikes were thrown at the Kamikage, and each one was dodged with little effort.
"To give you the power to protect the very person you thought was lost!" Naruto finally shouted, delivering a punch to the Uchiha's gut. The air in Sasuke's lungs left him, saliva forced out with the impact.
The raven-haired boy looked the blond in the eyes, seeing the steel in them.
"I told you, Sasuke, that I was going to help you acquire the power, the eyes, to protect what was precious to you."
Naruto's eyes flickered to Anko. "You're never stronger than when you're fighting for those you love," he helped his student to his feet, "And Sasuke," he brought his attention to the now falling sands that once made up a Bijuu .
"You just proved that you have something, someone, precious to fight for, not only to me, but to yourself."
He smiled. "I helped you gain the eyes that you should only have gained with the loss of that precious person," he knew Sasuke understood, he had to, "And she's still alive, Sasuke. Sakura is still breathing, and now, with those eyes, you can make sure she stays that way, forever."
Sasuke allowed the tears that he tried to hold back to finally fall, not caring that someone other than Naruto was near. Sakura was alive, so there was still hope. He had the Mangekyo Sharingan now, so he could make sure that hope stayed safe.
A small smile found itself on the Uchiha's face, but right before he could thank his Shishou, grunts of pain were heard.
The three shinobi turned, looking at the exhausted form before them.
'Ah well,' Sasuke thought, 'Naruto doesn't need words to know the truth
...
A short while after, Naruto, Sasuke and Anko found their way back into the village, and immediately, Naruto's heart seemed to stop.
"J…Jiji?" he whispered, both Anko and Sasuke hearing the fear in his voice. He placed his hands on both Sasuke and Anko, and the three of them vanished in a gold flash.
When they appeared next to Jiraiya, Ro-Han, and the ANBU who had watched the battle against Orochimaru from the beginning to end, surrounding a still body, everyone froze. No one knew if they wanted to be this close to the boy right now.
Anko saw Mei and the other two kunoichi that were with her the night they all synched land next to them, sad looks on their faces.
Jiraiya had the look he used as the legendary Sage of Mount Myoboku. He was Jiraiya of the Sannin right now, not Naruto's godfather, friend, and fatherly-figure. "Naruto-"
That didn't matter though, because he wasn't just Naruto right now, he was the Bringer of Hope, the Kamikage. "What happened?" He cut Jiraiya off, not wanting to be spoken to like a child, even though he was only twelve. He deserved the respect of every shinobi, even someone like Jiraiya.
Jiraiya looked to the ANBU who had witnessed it all. The obvious Captain spoke. "When you left, Hokage-sama engaged Orochimaru in a fierce battle of Kenjutsu. Shortly after, though…" He clenched his fist, a rare sign of emotion, even if that emotion was anger.
"Orochimaru had a fourth coffin prepared…" Naruto's face was emotionless. "Orochimaru summoned Sandaime-sama's wife, Biwako-san."
Naruto's control slipped for a fraction of a second, revealing the enormous chakra he was building up within his coils, causing most of the shinobi, even the ANBU to whimper. Jiraiya was the only one who showed nothing at this, but only because he had felt stronger bursts than this in the past.
The ANBU continued, if hesitantly. "Hokage-sama was struggling emotionally to fight his own wife, but was eventually able to subdue her," he shook his head, "That's when Hokage-sama was stabbed through the back with Orochimaru's blade." Naruto's breathing kept a slow rhythm.
"He knew he couldn't finish the fight, so to make sure Orochimaru couldn't continue the invasion, Hokage-sama used the Shiki Fujin. For some reason, Orochimaru was not sealed, but his arms seemed to petrify."
Jiraiya stepped in. "He probably couldn't take the entire soul with him, so cut off the use of his chakra." He sighed. "Hiruzen-sensei's gone, Naruto…"
The blond was silent. His face did not betray anything about how he was feeling. His posture said nothing, almost like he was no longer in his own body.
No one spoke, not wanting to interrupt whatever the Bringer of Hope was thinking. That is, until Sasuke put a hand on his Shishou's shoulder. Naruto turned to face the Uchiha, his eyes meeting a smirking Sasuke. He gave his friend a look, and nodded his head in an understanding manner.
"You once told me two things that made me respect you more than anything." Sasuke began. "You said that, for the Hokage, for the God of Heaven, you'd fight the Shinigami itself." He smirked again, chuckling. "I didn't believe you, not until you told me the most important thing about you."
Naruto smirked, surprising the other shinobi around him.
Sasuke and Naruto uttered the words at the same time.
"I never go back on my word, that's my Nindo, my Ninja Way."
"I never go back on my word, that's my Nindo, my Ninja Way."
Sasuke gave the biggest smile he'd given since he was a child, mirrored by Naruto.
"Naru-"Jiraiya called out, hoping he was wrong about what his godson had in mind.
He couldn't finish the sentence though. The Kamikage had already sped through the hand-seals.
Snake, Boar, Ram, Rabbit, Dog, Rat, Bird, Horse, Snake
Naruto clapped his hands, pumping both Yin and Yang Natural Energy into the jutsu. Usually, only the person the technique is being used on and the user can see the Death God, but with the powerful Natural Energy flowing through it, everyone could very clearly see the terrifying form of the Shinigami.
"Shiki Fujin." Naruto whispered.
The blood of everyone present froze, even Jiraiya's. This was an actual god, staring at his godson with expectant eye. Those cold, dark eyes that every man, no matter how powerful fears. The air became cold, the entire village silent. Naruto… he was about to make history.
Sasuke smirked. "The god's finally meet… one mortal, the other spiritual…"
Anko and Mei looked at the Uchiha with crazy eyes. How could he be so calm in a situation like this?! The… the god of death was literally among them!
And then it hit them. Sasuke was able to smirk because Naruto was smirking. Sasuke knew that, while Naruto was around, nothing could hurt them.
"You can't have him." The Uzumaki said calmly.
The Shinigami just looked back at its newest summoner.
"I said," Naruto flared his monstrous chakra, the sheer size of it shaking the entire village, "You can't have my Jiji!"
Naruto rushed the Shinigami, slamming his open palm into the god's gut. "GIVE HIM BACK!" As he pulled back, a thin, blue silhouette followed, attached to a gold, transparent beam of energy.
The Bringer of Hope was doing the impossible, and his feat made the Shinigami's eyes widen. The god immediately wrapped his own hand around the blue form, pulling back. "YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!" The voice of both Naruto and Kurama screamed, pulling back with greater force.
Suddenly, Naruto's chakra spiked. The shinobi present went to their knees, unable to stand the powerful presence around them. Again, it spiked, even more so than the first. It became hard to breathe, and Naruto wasn't done yet.
His chakra tripled with the next spike, this time the distinct feel of Bijuu chakra joining it.
He wasn't done yet.
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