38. Masakado's Rage

"I am Uzumaki Masakado, the chosen apprentice and successor to Uzumaki Kanji. I am the Sandaime Uzukage of the ruined village of Uzushiogakure!" The man shouted angrily as he gripped the pen in his hands tightly. "… And as Uzukage, I declare the three of you, the children of traitors, guilty of treason yourself! I sentence the three of you to your own personal executions!"

With those words, Masakado charged directly towards the three cousins.

"Earth Style: Stone Fist Jutsu!"

Without making a single hand sign, Masakado's right hand became completely encased in stone. The stone hand grew in size, matching the size of his own body. He continued to rush forward at Naruto, Tayuya, and Karin attempting to land a punch with his stone fist. The three Uzumaki cousins managed to jump away just in time and slide back, placing distance between them and the elder Uzumaki. Tayuya took this moment to pull out her flute while Naruto and Karin pulled out kunai knives.

"Wh-Why are you attacking us?" Naruto demanded. "We're family! What have we done to you?"

Ignoring his questions, Masakado quickly released his jutsu, returning his hand to normal. He then reached into the sleeve of his jacket, pulling out a kunai with an explosive tag on it. The tag's seal, however, had an addition made it: an infinity marker around the center. He then tossed the kunai with the tag towards the trio. Naruto, Tayuya, and Karin, once again, jumped out of the way and the kunai made direct contact with the ground. Masakado then made a singular hand sign.

"Fūinjutsu: Continuous Explosion!"

Instantly, the explosive tag began to tear itself apart into fifty smaller pieces. These pieces floated in the air and proceeded to fly directly at the three Uzumaki cousins. Their eyes widened in fright. Tayuya and Karin were about to jump away from the papers, but Naruto reacted first and began rushing through a series of hand signs.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

The blonde Uzumaki quickly breathed out a large gust of wind just before the pieces of paper would have reached the trio. The papers, upon making contact with the wind, simultaneously blew up, creating fifty large explosions in the air. The resulting explosions started to cause parts of the ceiling of the room to fall down, creating more sunlight and illuminating the battlefield more.

Parts of the ceiling directly above Naruto, Tayuya, and Karin started to fall apart as well, causing the trio to have to jump away to avoid being hit by debris. As they landed on the ground, however, they were met by Masakado. The man's right hand was, once again, completely encased in stone that rivaled the size of his body. He delivered a punch that managed to hit all three shinobi at once. The trio was sent flying head-first into a wall and, after making contact, hit the ground with a loud thump. Each of them winced in pain at the impact as they struggled to get up, barely holding onto their weapons.

'Heh. Quite the unfortunate spot in the room for them to land.' Masakado smirked to himself as he noticed what wall they hit. Their resulting collision with the wall revealed a seal that was buried within it.

With a singular hand sign, Masakado triggered the seal on the wall: "Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Hurricane Manifestation!"

As Naruto, Tayuya, and Karin managed to pull themselves off the ground, they were greeted with the sight of the seal glowing a green color. Their eyes widened, once again, as they quickly jumped out of the way of the seal.

Almost instantaneously, a giant tornado-like wind storm developed directly in front of the trio. They managed to avoid getting hit by the full-force of the storm. The edge of the wind still managed to cut into their arms, however. Karin screamed in pain while Naruto and Tayuya winced, trying to resist screaming as well. Each of them were bleeding heavily. Masakado then began charging at the trio, his fist encased in stone once again.

'Pull yourself together Tayuya! If this continues at the rate it's going, we're all going to be fucking dead!' Tayuya mentally scolded herself. She then brought her flute to her lips and played a note as quickly as possible. 'Demonic Flute: Phantom Sound Chains!'

Upon hearing the note from her flute, Masakado stopped charging and the stone around his right hand collapsed. He became motionless as a far-out look appeared in his eyes. In his mind, he felt his body become fastened to sturdy ropes. He was also bombarded with images of his skin melting in front of him.

"Alright, that'll buy us some time. He'll probably break out of that genjutsu fast, so let's hurry up and get ready for him!" Tayuya informed her cousins. She brought her index finger to the part of her bleeding arm and coated it in her blood. She then made a series of hand signs before slamming her palm onto the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

A poof of smoke filled the area. Once the smoke cleared, three large, muscular creatures appeared directly in front of her. Each of them had a few unique characteristics but shared some demonic features. One wore a dark green body suit with hair that covered its entire face and carried a club. A second one was bald and shirtless that wore a headband that covered its eyes and ears. It had a thorn-like weapon attached to its hand that resembled claws. The third was a creature that had its entire body covered in bandages with no arms. All three creatures remained motionless and appeared lifeless.

"T-Tayuya-nee… What the hell kind of summoning technique is that?" Naruto managed to ask. He looked disturbed as he stared at the creatures.

"Can we do this later? Right now's not the time to start talking about our jutsu!" Tayuya chided him.

"For what it's worth, those creatures are called 'Doki'. You can look them up when you have some spare time in Konoha." Kurama commented within Naruto's head.

'Kyūbi? You're here? … Wait, of course you're here. You're always here.' Naruto shook his head. 'Anyway, if you heard that, you know what kind of trouble I'm in! I need some chakra and fast to help with this fight. At least enough to maybe summon one of the stronger toads!'

"I don't know why you bothered to ask. Thanks to Kokuō's container, you know how to take chakra from me." The fox rolled his eyes in response. Before Naruto could respond, the fox then started to release chakra, causing the blonde's body to be encased in red chakra. "This should be enough for now. Surely you can summon an acceptable toad with that."

"I can. Thanks." Naruto responded aloud with a smirk. He, like Tayuya, swiped his index finger against the cuts on his arm to obtain a blood sample. He then made a series of hand signs and slammed his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

A large magenta-colored toad with black markings on his body appeared directly in front of Naruto. The toad wore a black kimono with a white sash and had mesh armor underneath. It wore a shield tied around its back and had a sasumata in his hand. After being summoned, the toad quickly turned his head and faced Naruto.

"Hmm… are you the new Toad summoner that Jiraiya talked about?" He questioned.

"You bet I am! The name's Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto introduced himself. "… Not to cut the introduction short, but I'm going to need help."

The toad looked away momentarily towards Masakado. He nodded in understanding.

"My name's Gamaken. I'm a little bit clumsy, but I'll do what I can to help." He replied modestly.

"Any help is appreciated!" The blonde commented cheerfully.

"Um, guys…" Karin mumbled. Her eyes were focused solely on the other Uzumaki in the room. "He's getting out of the genjutsu…"

As if on cue, Masakado broke himself out of the genjutsu. The shinobi shook his head angrily.

"Fucking genjutsu." He cursed to himself. Now that he was free from the technique, he looked around the battlefield and noticed Naruto's and Tayuya's summons. His eyes narrowed immediately. "So we got a couple of summoners here, huh?"

"You're outnumbered. Badly." Naruto spoke up as frown developed on his face. "Come on: just let us talk to you for a little bit. We can avoid this fight. We don't mean any harm!"

"I don't care what you all have to say!" Masakado hissed in response.

Karin stiffened at his words. As a chakra sensor capable of discerning emotions from fluctuations of chakra in a person's body, she could sense the emotions of the people around her in detail. Masakado, at this moment, was radiating nothing but rage. She had never experienced meeting a person capable of feeling such anger.

'It's consuming all of his rational thought. There's no way he's capable of rational thought.' She realized. '… We won't be able to talk him out of anything. He's going to come after us until he dies…'

"If you don't care what we have to say, then fine. We'll beat some fucking sense into you!" Tayuya retaliated.

"I'd like to see you try!" Masakado taunted.

Tayuya immediately blew a note on her flute, signaling the three Doki summons to charge forward Masakado. The elder Uzumaki's right hand went to his back and pulled off the bronze shield attached to it. He then gripped it tightly in his hand as he prepared for the first strike of the Doki.

"Hyah!"

Gamabunta and Choropū engaged each other in direct combat with each other. Gamabunta's dagger made direct contact with Choropū's sharpened claws, blocking each other's attacks. Choropū proceeded to try and swipe at Gamabunta once again with the claws on his other paw, but Gamabunta jumped out of the way into the air.

"Water Style: Gunshot!"

"Earth Style: Rock Bullets!"

Gamabunta unleashed a barrage of massive bullets of water. Choropū, in response, dug his claws into the ground and flung large chunks of earth upward. The two jutsus collided with each other, causing water and rock to fall to the ground and canceling out the other attack. The two summoned animals continued with their jutsus, trying to land one of their attacks on the other.

Jiraiya, while Gamabunta was distracting Choropū, moved around the battlefield stealthily to behind the giant mole.

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"

The Sannin breathed out a massive fireball launched directly at the mole's back. Choropū managed to notice the attack, however, and proceeded to dive underground to avoid the attack, creating a hole. Jiraiya quickly rushed over to the hole, making hand signs. Gamabunta moved to the hole as well. Oil was starting to spill out of the Toad Boss's mouth.

'Gamabunta had the same idea as I did, it seems. Seems like he got even more oil than I had intended for.' Jiraiya commented as he prepared for another oil-fire hybrid. "Fire Style-"

"Earth Style: Fissure!"

Before Jiraiya or Gamabunta could react, the ground beneath their feet caved in completely. Both proceeded to fall down within the earth amongst the debris of the jutsu. The Sannin and Toad Boss managed to find large chunks of debris to land on and proceeded to jump upwards to avoid falling down further. Just as they landed back on solid, stable ground, however, a paw emerged from under the ground and grabbed Jiraiya's leg.

"Fuck-"

Before Jiraiya could react, he was pulled back underground. He was then dragged downward as Choropū continued to tunnel further downwards into the earth. The mole's claws were deep within Jiraiya's leg. Furthermore, with each second as he was dragged underground, his face and body collided with various rock and stone that Choropū intentionally hit him against. The Sannin was starting to extensively bleed all over his body.

'Can't… let this continue much longer. Must… change the battlefield.' Jiraiya realized as he ran through hand signs, ignoring the sharp pain at all points of his body. 'Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld!"

Upon completion of the jutsu, the ground that Choropū was moving through began to change shape. The mole let go of Jiraiya's leg and was forced upward as the ground turned to a liquid that rose up in the ground. Now free, Jiraiya jumped upwards as well. Both he and the mole managed to return above ground and were greeted with a new terrain: a muddy swamp.

"Quite the interesting technique, I must say." Choropū commented as the mole tried to move its body. His legs, however, seemed to be stuck to the mud of the swamp. "… Quite interesting indeed."

"One… of my favorites." Jiraiya replied, breathing heavily. 'That mole is ruthless… I need to be more careful.'

'I'm at their mercy in this swamp. I need to break free.'Choropū noted to himself. He brought his paws together, causing his claws on each paw to collide with each other. 'Let's see if this jutsu can withstand this!'

Seeing that Choropū was attempting something, Gamabunta proceeded to jump towards the mole. He raised his dagger and prepared to cut directly at the mole. Just as he was starting his descent on to Choropū, the mole dug his claws deep within the mud of the swamp.

"Earth Style: Drill Run!"

Gamabunta landed before Choropū finished his technique and delivered a cut deep within the mole's back. Choropū winced in pain, but seemed to ignore the pain to continue with his technique. His claws moved at a rapid speed in a circular motion that managed to pierce through the mud of the swamp. Immediately, Choropū dived head first into the hole, using the force of his technique to pull his legs out of the swamp.

'He broke free?' Jiraiya shook his head in frustration.

Choropū proceeded to keep digging underground, having his claws reach the surface. The claws proceeded to dig through the mud, mixing it with the natural dirt underground. In a matter of seconds, the mole had completely filled the swamp up with dirt as if the mud had never been there.

'I've never seen someone do that to the swamp. That's rather genius.' Jiraiya mentally praised Choropū's idea.

The Sannin proceeded to jump towards Gamabunta's head. Almost immediately after, Choropū emerged from the ground exactly where Jiraiya was previously standing with his claws extended forward.

"At the rate he was moving and with his claws as sharp as they are, that would have pierced me." Jiraiya commented with a sigh. He had avoided a potentially fatal injury.

"The moles are dangerous summons, Jiraiya. Especially this one." Gamabunta informed him. "You should stay on my head for the rest of this battle. Fighting him on the ground is to your disadvantage."

"Yeah, I can see." The Sannin admitted. "… Still, we have to finish this battle as quick as possible. We need to find some way in to that temple to help out Naruto and the others!"

Gamabunta did not give a verbal response to his summoner. Instead, he strengthened his grip on his dagger once again and prepared for his next attack in their battle against Choropū.

"Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Impenetrable Defense!"

With a singular stroke of his pen onto his bronze shield, Masakado created four, large golden shields of pure chakra that surrounded his body. The three Doki struck at the man, but their attacks did not scratch the shields that protected him.

"What… the…" Tayuya's eyes widened, seeing her summons not do any damage to their target.

"Is that all? Heh. You brats aren't in my league." Masakado taunted as he made another stroke with his pen on the shield in his right hand. "Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Unstoppable Offense!"

Instantaneously, the four golden shields of chakra changed shape to form four, sharp golden spears. The spears impaled the three Doki, sending them flying backwards into the wall with a large crash. Three of the spears remained impaled in the Doki, keeping them from moving away. Masakado then charged forward at Tayuya, the fourth golden spear remaining by his side.

"Dammit…" Tayuya grumbled as she started to plate a different note: the note she used in her genjutsu.

To her surprise, however, her technique didn't slow down Masakado and he continued to charge her. The girl quickly jumped out of the way, barely avoiding being impaled by the golden spear.

"Nice try, traitor, but you hit me with the same genjutsu twice." The Sandaime Uzukage continued to taunt.

He was about to charge her again, but was stopped as Gamaken proceeded to strike at him with his sasumata. With a quick stroke of his brush, Masakado quickly changed the shape of his spear back into a shield and blocked the attack. He then made a gesture with the shield in his right hand, causing the golden shield to push back against the sasumata in an attempt to knock Gamaken over. The toad, however, retaliated by pushing back himself. Gamaken managed to push past the shield, moving it backwards into Masakado and sending him to the ground. The shield dispersed immediately.

Naruto, seeing an opportunity, made a singular hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

After a poof of smoke filled the area, fifty clones of Naruto appeared. Each of the clones ran towards the elder Uzumaki.

Masakado, upon pulling himself off the ground, was greeted with a punch to the face by one of Naruto's clones, knocking him further backwards. A second clone attempted to land another punch, but the elder Uzumaki managed to fully recover and block the attack with the shield on his right hand. He then quickly drew another line on his bronze shield, recreating the golden spear. The spear moved quickly around in a circular pattern, skewering every Naruto clone around him. In a single second, the fifty clones were dispersed.

'How did I let that toad knock me off balance? How did that blonde traitor even land a single hit on me?' Masakado questioned to himself. '… Choropū was right. I am getting old. Much too old. And it's been way too long since I last fought anybody. A lot of my natural strength and senses have drastically weakened.'

Tayuya, noticing an opening, proceeded to blow another note on her flute, directing her three Doki summons to attack. Despite the fact that they were still impaled against the wall and unable to move, the three Doki opened their mouths, releasing a worm-like creature with many mouths composed entirely of spiritual energy. The three worms flew through the air directly towards Masakado.

"What?" Masakado gasped at the sight of the technique.

Immediately, Masakado created a stroke with his pen against his shield, transforming the golden spear of chakra into a shield once again. The shield blocked the approaching worm-like creatures, but they continued to move and crawl past the shield towards Masakado. The Sandaime Uzukage cursed and was forced to jump backwards. One of the worms, however, managed to move fast and struck at him before he could move away. It bit him in the leg, absorbing some of his physical energy. Masakado's eyes closed as he winced in pain from the attack.

'Tsk… those creatures aren't attacking my body. They're hunting my own energy. That's almost worse!' The man growled. He put the pen in his left hand away and proceeded to pull out a kunai with a seal tied to it. 'Those creatures need to be eliminated!'

The worm-like creatures flew towards Masakado once again. In response, the Sandaime Uzukage tossed the kunai directly at the three physical bodies of the Doki that were still impaled on the wall. He then made a hand sign, causing the seal on the kunai to illuminate a green light.

"Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Hurricane Manifestation!"

Immediately, the seal released a powerful tornado-like wind storm that completely encircled the bodies of the Doki. The wind cut deeply into the creatures, cutting off their body parts and destroying them piece-by-piece. Within seconds, the Doki, completely destroyed, disappeared from existence. With the physical bodies gone, the worm-like creatures disappeared as well.

"That's better-"

Masakado's words died on his lips as he noticed Karin toss a kunai with an explosive tag directly at him. The Sandaime Uzukage proceeded to catch the kunai by its handle. He then quickly made a hand sign and tapped the seal of the explosive note. Karin made a hand sign to trigger the explosion, but no explosion resulted. Her eyes widened in response.

"How is that possible?" She mumbled to herself.

Immediately after, Gamaken jumped towards Masakado to strike him. The Sandaime Uzukage rolled out of the way his strike and proceeded to toss the kunai directly at the toad's back. Gamaken winced in pain. Masakado then made a hand sign, activating the seal. The resulting explosion sent Gamaken flying. The toad flew in the direction of Tayuya. She was unable to move in time and was sent backwards with Gamaken. The two hit the wall hard.

"Erk…" Gamaken grumbled to himself as he fell down hard.

"Ugh…" Tayuya hissed in pain. She was slowly starting to feel her consciousness fade.

"Tayuya!" Karin gasped as she rushed over to her cousin. She noticed the wounds on her cousin's body and her fading consciousness immediately. Karin quickly positioned her arm directly against Tayuya's mouth. "Bite me."

"Hmm?" The former Sound Four member mumbled, still feeling dazed. She was slowly starting close her eyes.

"You know what this can do. The life-force within me can heal you." Karin stated sharply.

She then forced Tayuya's mouth open and caused her to bite down on her arm. Karin winced in pain, but didn't allow the girl to stop biting. Slowly, Tayuya's body started to regenerate as Karin's life force began to enter her body and heal her. Her wounds began to clear up slightly and she felt her consciousness return.

Masakado, who had been about to charge at the two, looked on in awe as he witnessed Karin's healing prowess.

'That's… the healing capabilities of the Shodaime Uzukage. She has Rei's life force! Is she… a direct descendent?' He questioned in his head. 'B-But that should be impossible! She's the descendant of traitors! There's no way that could be possible! She can't be one descended from the Shodaime!'

The Sandaime Uzukage was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he stopped paying attention to the battlefield. As a result, he didn't notice Naruto create five more clones. He also did not notice the blonde, along with his clones, approach him. The first clone delivered a punch directly to his face. Three more of the clones proceeded to then kick him up into the air.

"U-"

"-Zu-"

"-Ma-"

"-Ki!"

The original Naruto jumped up into the air, directly above Masakado's body. The final clone remained on the ground, directly below Masakado and the original Naruto. The clone then started to make hand signs.

"Naruto…"

The original Naruto proceeded to kick Masakado downward in the face, directly towards the final clone. The clone had finished his hand signs and used the Great Breakthrough, releasing a massive gust of wind upwards and forcing Masakado's body upward back towards the original Naruto.

"… Continuous Barrage!"

Naruto proceeded to kick Masakado down, once again. The clone creating the Great Breakthrough was now joined by the other four clones. Each clone released another massive gust of wind, keeping both Masakado and Naruto in the air. This created a seemingly endless loop as Naruto kept kicking Masakado downward and his clones kept forcing him back up to receive another kick by the original Naruto.

'Dammit Masakado! Pull yourself together!'

With his mind clear and focused once again, Masakado, upon getting sent back into the air by Naruto's clones, reached out with his left hand and grabbed Naruto's leg just as he was about to kick him. He then tossed him downward, causing him to crash into his clones, dispelling them. Masakado landed on the ground, directly on top of Naruto's back. Naruto gasped in pain, causing him to cough out blood.

The Sandaime Uzukage then proceeded to pull out from his sleeve a seal tag: one marked with the kanji for fire with an elaborate, precise design surrounding it. He slammed the tag onto Naruto's back, kicked him away, and proceeded to make a singular hand sign.

"Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Inferno!"

The tag released a bright blue color, signaling that it was activated. As Naruto began pulling himself off the ground, the tag released a massive blue fire that started to slowly cover his body.

"AHH!" He shouted in pain as he tried to put out the fire. His efforts, however, seemingly failed.

Within seconds, Naruto succumbed to the pain and fell back to the ground. The fire began to travel further up his body, burning into his clothes and his skin.

Karin had finished fully healing Tayuya when Naruto started to scream in pain. The two Uzumaki cousins, along with Gamaken, looked towards the blonde Uzumaki with fear in their eyes.

"Naruto!" Karin shouted.

"NO!" Tayuya yelled out.

"No…" Gamaken mumbled, shaking his head. 'I can't have failed him. Am I really that clumsy?'

'… And that's one down. Two more traitors to go.' Masakado told himself as he turned away from Naruto's body.

"You… YOU BASTARD!" Tayuya hissed. "I'm… I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

"Heh." Masakado let out a humorless snort as he walked towards the two cousins. "You seem to understand my rage: understand my fury about your ancestors leaving me and the rest of the Uzumaki clan to face the invasion of Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri alone! The village was destroyed because of your ancestors!"

"They didn't betray anybody, dammit! FUCK YOU!" Tayuya hissed. "If anything is to blame for Uzushiogakure being destroyed, it's YOU!"

Masakado immediately stopped walking forward as his eyes widened at the statement. He didn't say anything in response, prompting Tayuya to continue with her rant.

"You said it yourself: you're the Sandaime Uzukage, right? You were the successor that Uzumaki Kanji was talking about in his log. We read the fucking scroll in the building! You were walking on a seal to keep enemy shinobi out of the village out, but you didn't finish it in time. You were supposed to be done by the day of the attack, but you were unable to finish it!" She yelled loudly. "I'm not to blame, Karin isn't to blame, and Naruto isn't. And neither were our parents! You don't know why the fuck they weren't in the village! But what you do know is that you didn't finish that goddamn seal and weren't able to save the village!"

"Sh-Shut up! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Masakado shouted loudly as he pulled out a kunai with a new sealing tag attached to it.

Tayuya didn't flinch at his action. "You keep calling us traitors and claiming our parents or ancestors were involved with destroying Uzushiogakure, but that's bullshit and you know it. You're trying to place the blame on us because you can't accept that you are partly the reason the village was destroyed!" A malicious glint then developed in her eyes. "But the funny thing is that I think, unconsciously, you do accept it. You do know that it's all your fault. For some reason, the only scroll left in the Uzukage's office is the one that details your plan to create a seal to keep Uzushio safe. I think you kept it safe and protected as a reminder. Because deep down, you know your belief about 'traitors' is full of shit. Because deep down… you know it's all your fucking fault!"

"I… Y-You're…" Masakado began to mumble. His mind was running rampant, processing Tayuya's words. "Th-That's…"

The words on his tongue died as he felt a massive wave of chakra burst through the area. The Uzukage, along with Tayuya, Karin, and Gamaken, turned their heads toward the direction of the chakra burst and noticed Naruto standing up from the ground. The blue flames that had surrounded his body were completely gone and the seal was destroyed on the ground. Instead of the blue flames, however, Naruto's body was surrounded completely by red chakra. His physical features had changed: his teeth resembled fangs, his fingernails were sharpened into claws, his eyes developed a red tint, and his whisker marks became more pronounced. There were also three tails of chakra sticking out behind him, swaying back and forth.

"Wh-What… the…" Tayuya's eyes were widened. "N-Naruto…"

Karin's eyes were as equally wide as Tayuya's. A jolt of fear traveled down her spine at the sight of him, however, as she felt the essence of chakra. "It's… that chakra feels… so dark…"

"No… That's not possible." Masakado mumbled to himself. "IT CAN'T BE! YOU CAN'T BE HER CHILD!"

Naruto was seemingly unaware of Masakado's screaming. He remained near-motionless, trying to concentrate on breathing.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Kurama questioned the boy in his head.

'… Yes.' Naruto replied after a few seconds. '… I'm… trying… to get… used to this… chakra.'

"We may be pushing it, giving you three tails of chakra, but I wanted to make sure I gave you enough chakra to overcome those flames. I know you haven't trained with this much of my chakra yet, but if you're careful and think rationally, you won't succumb to the power." The Kyūbi informed him. 'Not that I would care if you did… It would probably be better for me if you did.'

'I'll… try and think as rationally… as possible.' Naruto informed the fox as he took a deep breath. He recalled all of Han's advice as he tried to prevent the chakra from clouding his mind.

"You do what you need to do, brat. Just fight this man and kill him before he does any more damage to you or your precious cousins." Kurama advised.

"… Right." Naruto responded out loud.

After making that statement, Naruto lunged directly at Masakado.

"Hold on tight, Jiraiya!" Gamabunta informed his summoner.

The Toad Boss leaped forward towards Choropū, gripping his dagger tightly while Jiraiya did his best to remain standing upright on the toad's head. The mole, in response, proceeded to dig underground. He got his whole body underneath just before Gamabunta managed to swing the dagger at him.

"He's going to probably try that trick again with the fissure." Jiraiya commented.

"That's what I'm expecting." Gamabunta replied in agreement.

In expectation, Gamabunta jumped in the air. As expected, the ground where they had been standing split open and a large fissure appeared, causing the earth to fall in.

"I have an idea on how to smoke that damn mole out." Gamabunta mentioned as he started to collect water in his mouth. "Water Style: Rampaging Water!"

The Toad Boss released a massive stream of water out of his mouth at rapid speed into the giant hole in the ground. The water quickly rushed through the ground through all of the holes in the earth. A moment passed before Choropū was forced out of the ground. The mole's body was completely drenched and he was breathing heavily.

"… I hate getting my fur wet." The mole declared in irritation.

'Heh, I have an idea that'll warm you up then.' Jiraiya mumbled to himself as he made a series of hand signs. "Toad Oil Bullet!"

The Sannin spat out a clump of oil that surrounded Gamabunta's dagger. The Toad Boss shared a knowing look of approval with his summoner before he jumped again towards Choropū, preparing to strike him with his dagger. The mole proceeded to block the dagger with his claws, getting some of the oil on his paws as well. Jiraiya proceeded to make another series of hand signs.

'Fire Style: Flame Bullet!'

Jiraiya released a giant fireball out of his mouth directly at Gamabunta's dagger before Choropū could move away. The dagger's blade, covered in oil, was now entirely covered in flames. The fire then spread to the traces of oil that were on Choropū's paws. The mole recoiled immediately.

"Erk!" He hissed in pain as he rubbed his paws against the dirt, putting the flames out quickly.

With the mole's guard down completely, Gamabunta swung his fire-covered dagger straight at Choropū's stomach. The cut was deep, causing him to bleed. In addition, the rest of the stomach, due to the dagger's flames, was lit on fire. Choropū wailed in pain, both from the cut and the burns.

'Umph… I suppose it wasn't just Masakado-sama who should be concerned about fighting due to old age. I should have taken my own advice…' Choropū mentally scolded himself. 'This… This is bad.'

"Time to end this." Jiraiya mentioned to Gamabunta as he held out his hand. An orb of fast, rotating visible chakra began to develop in his hand. He then jumped directly at the mole and slammed the orb directly into his skin at the wound from Gamabunta's fire-lit dagger. "Rasengan!"

The force of the attack sent Choropū spiraling backwards at a rapid pace. Choropū continued to move backwards until he made direct contact with another nearby building. The building, subsequently, tumbled over and the once-standing bricks and stones crashed directly onto the mole's body. He struggled to get up, but felt himself fall to the ground almost immediately after. His body was in too much pain.

'I… can barely move. I can't fight like this… I'll need to heal myself.' Choropū realized, shaking his slightly. It was the only real movement he could do at the moment. 'Masakado-sama… I am sorry.'

With those words, Choropū disappeared in a poof of smoke, returning to his homeland. Jiraiya and Gamabunta, seeing this, sighed in relief. The human jumped off the toad's head and landed on the ground.

"Glad that's taken care of. God, fighting a mole is a bitch. I can only imagine what it would have been fighting that old mole back in his prime." Gamabunta grumbled to himself. He then gave Jiraiya and inquisitive look. "Is that all Jiraiya? Or you need anything else?"

"… I could maybe use help. I need to get into that temple to help Naruto and the others in their fight with Masakado." Jiraiya declared.

The Toad Sage quickly rushed forward to the Uzushiogakure Temple and got as close to the entrance as possible. His eyes were focused solely on the seal above the entrance while his mind was running rampant, trying to come up with a potential way to get past the 'Uzumaki Blood' seal.

"There has to be. Think Jiraiya, think!" He told himself as pulled out a scroll to begin his own fūinjutsu work. 'Come on kids, I'll be in there as soon as I get past this. It won't be much longer. Just please… stay alive. Please!'

Seeing the approaching jinchūriki, Masakado quickly replaced his kunai with his ink pen. He drew a symbol on the bronze shield in his right hand. "Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Impenetrable Defense!"

Instantaneously, the Sandaime Uzukage was surrounded once again by four large, golden shields made of pure chakra. Naruto attempted to claw through the shield, but was unable to break through. Upon failing the first time, the blonde Uzumaki jumped backwards and made a hand sign. Smoke filled the area and he was now surrounded by one hundred clones of himself.

Each clone charged forward again at Masakado, attempting to strike at him. The man's shields remained stable, knocking the clones backward and preventing him from taking damage. The combined, continuous onslaught from the clones, however, managed to put a small scratch in the shield. Masakado's eyes widened immensely at the sight.

'I-Impossible! How can that be? Even with a bijū's chakra, someone would be able to damage my defense…' His eyes were focused solely on the Uzumaki. 'Is he… no, he can't be. I-It can't be!'

As the multiple clones of Naruto charged at Masakado one more time to break his shield, the elder Uzumaki quickly made a new stroke on his bronze shield: a spiral that resembled the Uzumaki clan symbol.

"Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Spiral Rotation!"

Immediately, the shields of chakra changed shape once again. They merged into a singular, long open disc that surrounded Masakado. The disc proceeded to spin rapidly. The clones that had attempted to attack the man were sliced by the disc, cutting them in half and causing them to dissipate. The original Naruto, however, noticed the change of tactic and quickly the Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu. He entered the ground just as Masakado finished destroying all of the clones. The man proceeded to look around the battlefield for the boy.

"Where are you?" He mumbled frantically.

On cue, Naruto jumped out of the ground directly underneath Masakado's feet. The Sandaime Uzukage jumped backwards, avoiding a punch aimed for his jaw. Seeing Naruto no longer in the ground, Masakado, without a hand sign, covered his right hand, including his shield, entirely in stone and proceeded to try and punch Naruto at close range. Naruto, however, was able to side-step just in time and avoid the jutsu. He then swiped at Masakado with his right hand, using them like claws. Masakado used his left arm to block the strike. In response, Naruto performed a sweeping kick quickly. The Sandaime Uzukage was unable to get away in time, however, and was sent to the ground. Naruto then raised his hand, preparing to deliver a punch to the Uzukage's face.

Masakado quickly rolled backwards to avoid the attack. Recovering slightly, he drew a single stroke on the shield. "Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Unstoppable Offense!"

The golden disc that surrounded the two had changed shape: returning to resemble four golden spears. The spears flung towards Naruto. The blonde Uzumaki, however, jumped out of the way and avoided being skewered. He moved away from the position, putting distance between him and Masakado.

"… I must admit, your reflexes are a lot better." Masakado commented. "Your skill with your bijū is impressive."

"I've been training with the chakra." Naruto admitted. He was breathing heavily, seemingly still trying to control the Kyūbi's influence on him. "But it's working. I can control the Kyūbi's chakra well."

'The Kyūbi jinchūriki… he has to be her child-' Masakado quickly shook his head. 'No! It can't be! H-He's a traitor! He's a descendent of a traitor! THERE'S NO WAY HE IS HER SON!'

Masakado instantly slammed his left hand against his shield, signaling the golden chakra spears. The spears charged for Naruto once again. This time, however, they moved at a much faster pace. Naruto managed to avoid the first two, but the second two spears made direct contact with his shoulders. They forced the boy down to the ground and pinned him down. The two remaining spears were then directed into the boy's legs, keeping him in place. The blonde cursed in pain and could feel himself bleed deeply, despite the Kyūbi's chakra surrounding him and healing his wounds. He struggled to pull himself up, but found himself unable to move.

Seeing the blonde immobile, Masakado put away the pen in his left hand, leaving it open. He held it out and concentrated chakra into it. In a moment, his fingers were lit with a small purple-colored flame. He then charged forward towards Naruto, holding out his hand.

"This ends now!" He roared.

Naruto, seeing the approaching Masakado, decided to inhale deeply the air around him. He then started to channel a massive amount of chakra into his mouth. He waited just as Masakado reached him.

"Five Pronged Seal-"

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

Before Masakado could place the seal on Naruto, the blonde Uzumaki released a massive burst of storm-like wind from his mouth. Powered by Kyūbi's chakra and strength, the wind completely overpowered Masakado, sending him flying away and extinguishing the flames on his hand. He hit a wall in the room hard.

Almost instantly, an idea entered Naruto's head. Using the three tails of chakra, Naruto managed to reach for the spears and pulled them out of his body. He then tossed them to the side. Once he pulled them out and was completely free, he rushed over to Masakado's body and picked the old man up by the neck. He held out one of his claws towards the man's neck. The Sandaime Uzukage was looking at the boy with two emotions: rage and confusion.

"Why… Haven't you died yet?" He hissed in response.

The man noticed Naruto hadn't grabbed his hands, leaving him capable to perform a hand sign. He was about to use a jutsu and force Naruto to release him until the Uzumaki spoke up.

"Because I don't give up… ever. That's my ninja way, dattebayo." Naruto declared sharply.

Masakado's eyes widened at the word choice as memories filled his mind…

"Come on Kushina. You know it's going to take more practice." Masakado informed the young red-haired girl in front of him.

The girl, Kushina, sighed in response. She crumpled up the sealing paper in front of her and tossed it to the side.

"I'm trying. I really am. I just…" She sighed before turning her eyes. "I don't know. I don't like fūinjutsu. What's wrong with sticking with ninjutsu?"

"We're Uzumaki, Kushina. Fūinjutsu is what we are kinda known for me." Masakado informed her in a deadpan-like manner.

"I know that, but I don't care! I'm going to be the first Uzumaki shinobi known for her ninjutsu. And I'll be the coolest kunoichi ever!" Kushina declared excitedly.

Masakado sighed in response. He didn't know exactly what he was getting himself into when he accepted the request of Uzumaki Junko when she requested him to help her daughter develop in interest in fūinjutsu. He had not known just how uninterested in the art.

… If an interest was going to develop, she needed something that would interest her. Something she would think was 'cool'.

"… Kushina, let me show you something." Masakado requested.

Kushina gave the man her full attention. Masakado responded by pulling out a small piece of paper and a pen. She immediately lost interest.

"What kind of seal is this going to be?" She grumbled.

"You'll see." Masakado replied immediately.

It took him only a few seconds to create the elaborate symbols for the seal. Once he was finished, Masakado placed his index finger on the seal.

"Uzumaki Fūinjutsu: Hurricane Manifestation!"

Instantly, a giant tornado-like storm developed directly above the seal. Kushina's eyes widened at the sight of the tornado.

"H-How did you do that? With just some paper?" Kushina questioned.

"Some paper, ink, and a little bit of chakra." Masakado chuckled in response. "I have complete control of the power of the storm based on how much chakra I put into the seal. It's not a horribly strong technique right now. It won't even cut you or anything. It's safe to walk into… and do this!"

Masakado proceeded to push Kushina face-first into the tornado. The girl was immediately sent flying up the storm. The girl, at first, screamed in fright at the idea of entering something like a tornado. Immediately after she was inside, however, and was simply flying to the top of it, she started to shout in excitement. The breeze of the storm felt perfect to her. It was as if she was flying!

A moment passed by before the storm disappeared. Kushina was brought down to the ground safely on her feet. Her hair was blown all over and in her eyes, but she had an excited look in her eyes. With a large grin on her face, she rushed over to Masakado and tackled him.

"Teach me how to do that! TEACH ME!" She begged him.

"Why? I thought you didn't want to do fūinjutsu?" He taunted her teasingly.

"I don't care, I do now! That was awesome!" Kushina exclaimed.

Masakado laughed as he pulled the little girl off of him. He then took out another sheet of paper and a pen and held it out to the girl in front of her.

"We'll practice the basics, then we'll work our way up that. Okay?" He questioned. "Then, one day, you'll be able to be like me and create new fūinjutsu just like that!"

"You made that jutsu?" Kushina's eyes widened in surprise.

"Kid, I've made a lot of jutsu. That's just the tip of the iceberg." Masakado laughed cheerfully. "You can do so much fūinjutsu. There are so many opportunities."

"… Alright. I promise. I'll learn fūinjutsu. And I won't stop until I become a master!" She declared excitedly.

"Promise?" Her tutor questioned her with a smirk.

"I promise. I'll never give up, dattebane!" She giggled. "Thanks for showing me the jutsu, Masakado-sensei! You're a really nice guy. I like you!"

"Heh, thanks Kushina." Masakado chuckled in response. "I like you too!"

"My mom and dad should be more like you!" She declared.

The tutor's eyes widened immediately and he shook his head in embarrassment. "N-Now I wouldn't go that far. Y-Your parents are really nice people, Kushina."

Kushina's only response was to giggle, happy that she was able to fluster her teacher even slightly.

'There's no doubting it… he's Kushina's son.' Masakado realized.

Immediately, he stopped his preparations for his jutsu. His face became blank as so many different revelations began to hit him. He was no longer feeling enraged… allowing him to fully process everything that had been happening to him this day.

"Wh-Why are you attacking us? We're family! What have we done to you?"

"You're trying to place the blame on us because you can't accept that you are partly the reason the village was destroyed!"

Naruto's and Tayuya's words continued to repeat in Masakado's head over-and-over again. The man closed his eyes, as if he was in pain. The words continued to get louder and louder in his head until it became almost unbearable to him.

'I… I'm not a nice person, Kushina. What… What kind of man have I have become?' Masakado told himself.

Naruto, who was still holding on to the Sandaime Uzukage by the neck, had been preparing to deliver a final blow to him. He stopped himself, however, when he noticed something.

Uzumaki Masakado, the man who had tried to kill him and his cousins in an insanity-filled rage, was now openly sobbing. Tears were rolling down his eyes and his wailing could be heard throughout the room. Masakado, the man who was a competent, ruthless, merciless shinobi, was now reduced to the state of an old, frail man.

"What are you waiting for brat? Finish him!" Kurama demanded within Naruto's head.

'… The fight is over, Kurama.' Naruto replied dismissively.

"I already told you to not call me that name!" The Kyūbi hissed in response. "And no it is not! He's weak now. Kill him before he does anything!"

'No!' Naruto replied as he took a deep breath in. Immediately, he called back in the Kyūbi's chakra, forcing it back within his body. His physical features returned to normal as the red chakra that surrounded him completely disappeared. 'He's not going to fight… and I don't want to fight him anymore.'

The blonde Uzumaki made an effort to ignore the fox in his mind demanding for him to kill. Instead, he let go of his grip on the sobbing man in front of him… before passing out from exhaustion.

Tayuya, Karin, and Gamaken had been standing to the side, watching the display in front of them. Seeing Naruto use three-tails worth of the Kyūbi's chakra had kept them motionless as they watched the display. When Naruto was pinned down, they almost sprang into action, but Naruto had turned the tide on Masakado before they needed to react. Now, with the battle over, they rushed over to check on the combatants: an unconscious Naruto and a sobbing Masakado.