Chapter 9: The Greatest Twist.
Orochimaru's hideout…
Yakushi Kabuto, the snake sannin's right hand man… was beginning to tense. Why you ask? Because his master, the snake sannin himself, was even more tense, and that is not a very common thing.
"Orochimaru-sama, why are you so tense…? And why was that stop really necessary?"
Flashback…
Orochimaru, Kabuto and Sai were currently passing towards sannin's base, when he suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong, Orochimaru-sama?" Kabuto asked.
The sannin waited a few seconds. "You both… Take all your clothes off, now."
Sai raised both eyebrows and Kabuto… blushed. "Right here, Orochimaru-sama?! We could at least wait for until we return to base!" The medic stated.
Orochimaru growled. "Not that, you fool!" He paused. "I need to check on something…"
End flashback…
"So, as I was asking, what have you checked on?"
Orochimaru twitched… due to some unpleasant memory no doubt. "I was checking if you have any… unusual seals on."
Kabuto furrowed his brows. "What seals if I may ask?"
"Tch…" Orochimaru scowled. "Tell me, Kabuto, do you know why Uzumaki is still not here?"
Kabuto tried to look smart. "It's because we lost him." The sannin cut him off.
"No, you idiot!" He yelled in rage. "First, he let us go. Second, you're wrong. He will be here any moment… That's why we must evacuate this base immediately."
Kabuto rubbed his chin. "That still doesn't explain why the sudden stop…" Orochimaru interrupted him again.
"You're really stupid, are you Kabuto? If you had his seal on you, then he would've already been here, the three of us would've been dead right now, and he would have my…" He stopped in mid sentence after taking a quick glance at Sai. "He is not here right now because of only two reasons. He had to follow us to our base and at the same time keep at least some appearance in front of his Konoha… friends." He said, this time receiving a quick glance from Sai. Then the three of them entered a large room with a huge snake statue in it.
"You're late…" Someone said in a calm manner. Three newcomers turned their look at the bottom of the statue, where a young man's silhouette was sitting.
'Uchiha Sasuke…' Sai thought.
Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "We're evacuating the base."
Sasuke opened his already Sharingan activated eyes. "Why?"
This time Kabuto spoke. "Apparently your Konoha friends are coming for you…"
Sasuke's look hardened, eyes starting to spin. "Then let them come." He said. His voice still calm with only a hint of rage. "I'll show them the futility of their attempts." With that he left the room.
Orochimaru gritted his teeth. "Stupid arrogant fool!" He hissed.
Kabuto readjusted his glasses. "Maybe we should tell him…"
Orochimaru shook his head. "No, Kabuto. I want him to confront Uzumaki and see for himself…"
Kabuto's eyes widened. "B-But what if Uzumaki kills him?"
The snake sannin chuckled. "No, he won't…"
"Why?"
"Because of Itachi…"
Now Kabuto was completely confused. "What does Itachi have to do with this?!"
"It's a long story and we don't have the time. Come…" Orochimaru turned around and started to walk away.
Meanwhile Sai's head was in complete disarray. 'What were they talking about just now?!'
With Naruto…
Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchuriki of the great Kyuubi no yoko… was extremely frustrated. It wasn't enough that his so-called team leader got himself injured. Oh no. He also took longer time to heal due to his… abilities. Now Naruto was not the impatient type, but healing one leg for two hours? Everyone has their breakdown.
'Damn! Is she really Tsunade's apprentice?!' He thought. 'I must not let him get away…' The black clad shinobi clenched his fist hard. 'No, not this time!'
"There." Sakura exclaimed happily. "It's done!"
"Thank you, Sakura." Yamato said.
"Finally!" Naruto raised his arms sarcastically.
The jounin got up and stretched his just healed legs. "Alright. My moku-bushin was able to locate Orochimaru's hideout. Let's not waste any more time." With that he ran off with Sakura and Naruto following. "And Naruto."
"What?"
"Don't rush into things again."
The jinchuriki narrowed his eyes. 'No!' He tried to calm himself down. 'I can kill him after I do what I need.'
Thirty five minutes later…
Our hero's team was nearing Orochimaru's hideout. Let's see what thoughts they had in that moment…
Sakura – 'Somewhere out there… Sasuke-kun is!'
Yamato – 'Orochimaru… I wonder if we have to fight him again…'
Naruto – '…Hm hm hm hm… hm hm… hm hm, can't touch this… hm hm hm hm… hm hm… hm hm, can't touch this…'
Suddenly, Yamato stopped. "Okay. Here is the plan… We separate and go in…"
Naruto had to resist the urge to slap his forehead. 'Yeah! A GREAT plan! Definitely ANBU caliber!'
Yamato continued. "Do not, I repeat, do not under any circumstances engage Orochimaru in combat if you meet him. Do I make myself clear, Naruto?"
The jinchuriki made a serious face. "Yeah." He really didn't feel like arguing right now.
"Good. Everyone has their orders… Oh and if you encounter Sai, try to capture him. Alive if possible."
"And if not?" Sakura asked.
ANBU member narrowed his eyes. "Then you know what to do. Disperse!"
Three teammates ran away in different directions.
With Sakura…
"…Not here!"
World's only pink haired kunoichi slammed the door of an empty room shut.
"Where are you, Sasuke-kun!" She ran in desperation through the narrow tunnel of Orochimaru's hideout, seeking for her true love!
"Not here either!" Sakura said, running away from another empty room. "Wait just a little more. I will definitely find you!" She continued to run through the tunnel until…
A loud explosion echoed through the area.
"That way!" The kunoichi screamed and without hesitation ran towards the explosion area.
With Yamato …
Hatake Kakashi's replacement silently appeared from the wall with the help of his mokuton abilities.
'Silence is the key.' Yeah, unlike our favorite excuse of a kunoichi, Yamato knew better to keep silent on the enemy territory… and he also never liked to talk to himself.
'I have to try and end this mission without encountering Orochimaru. I know the chances are slim, but I will try at least…' The jounin encouraged himself, until…
"Kukuku… Hello my dear experiment. How are you feeling today?" A low voice hissed behind the jounin, madking him want to slap himself.
'Perfect! Just my luck!' Yamato thought. "Orochimaru…" He wanted to attack without warning, like a real shinobi should have, but, being in ANBU, a protocol was in order. "In the name of Hokage, you're under arrest! Surrender immediately and you'll live!" Well, the answer on that was exactly what he had expected…
"Hahaha!" Orochimaru laughed hard.
'Damn!' Yamato cursed. 'He must be thinking I'm a total idiot right now…'
"Did you actually think I would surrender?!"
"No…"
"Then why did you ask?"
Yamato hesitated. "Be-Because…"
"Of protocol." The snake sannin finished for him, making his eyes widen. "Oh, don't look so surprised." Orochimaru smirked. "I'm from the same village after all."
'He's right. Well then…' "Tell me where Uchiha Sasuke is!" The ANBU member demanded.
Orochimaru tensed. His face changed, smile dropped. He visually prepared for battle.
'What's on his mind right now?' Yamato thought.
"I have a better question…" The sannin countered suddenly. "Where is Uzumaki?" He asked, preparing to attack any second.
"Uzumaki? You mean Naruto?"
Orochimaru growled. "There is only one… Or at least I hope so."
Yamato took a battle stance. "We separated…"
Although Yamato hasn't finished, Orochimaru didn't need to hear anything else. 'They separated… And I encountered the experiment. That means…' His eyes widened. 'I have Uzumaki alone inside my base! Even though I retrieved that just after I returned here, there is still Sasuke-kun… I have to finish this quick!' Without any warnings, he set on the attack…
"Senei ta Jashu!" A few snakes flew from sannin's right arm towards his surprised opponent.
"Shit!" Yamato cursed as snakes took a hold of him.
A smirk appeared on Orochimaru's face… only to disappear next second, seeing as his snakes crushed a wooden dummy.
"Mokuton techniques again, eh?" The sannin asked.
'Techniques?' A sudden question appeared inside Yamato's head. "What were the blast and the flash of light for? You could've escape by much easier means."
Orochimaru actually looked confused. "I beg you pardon?"
"I'm talking about that explosion back at Heaven and Earth Bridge." Yamato continued. "What was that?"
The sannin raised an eyebrow. "Why are you asking me? That was Uzumaki." He answered casually.
"What? B-But he said…"
"He said it was me?" Orochimaru interrupted. "Clever… very clever."
"But… If it was him, then why didn't he say so?"
The snake master chuckled. "You, on the other hand, don't seem too clever. It was to escape unnecessary questions…" But just after he finished the last word a loud explosion echoed through the area.
"What was that?" Yamato asked.
"Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru answered. 'I wonder who he encountered. Hope it's not… him.' "I'm sorry my dear experiment, but we'll have to cut this up short." He said and attacked instantly.
With Naruto…
"…A base… an underground base…" The black clad shinobi sighed. "You know, when I said about hating caves, that's not what I meant…"
Our hero slowly walked down some random tunnel, looking for…
"Now where is this stupid thing?! And why am I talking to myself?!" He said in frustration and opened some door. "I wonder where this leads."
To his disappointment it was only an empty room.
"Oh, how sad…" Then he gave a room some closer inspection. "Stone… how much stone… stone floor, stone walls and… STONE BED?! What imbecile actually lived here?!" The jinchuriki closed the door and continued to walk down the same tunnel. "Damn! No wonder Orochimaru got nuts, living in a place like this…" He opened another door… only to come face to face with another empty room… the absolutely same looking empty room. "Show me the man who decorated this place, and I will hit a nail into his head." Naruto exclaimed, slamming the door shut. "I guess I'll just head directly to the end of the corridor…" He said and did just that.
"Damn this place is long!" Naruto stated, finally arriving at his destination. "Well, let's see what's in there…" He opened the door to see… something akin to a laboratory. His face immediately lit up. "Now we're talking!"
The blond genin started to explore the room… until he found a large journal. "Hmm, a journal…" After opening it, a wicked grin appeared on jinchuriki's face. "Jackpot! Must be Orochimaru's personal journal!" A black substance erupted around said journal and soon it disappeared along with the substance. "I'll explore it later, now I need to…" Naruto looked around and didn't found what he was looking for. What he did find however, was a large computer with a shining display.
"Oooh! Shiny!" Naruto pushed a few buttons. "Now tell me your secrets…" What he didn't expect was…
"Error! Unable to proceed with the request. All data have been deleted."
Naruto didn't need to hear more. "Son of a bitch! Oh no, you won't get away this time!"
Suddenly a large explosion echoed through the area.
Naruto smirked. "I guess it's my wake up call!"
With Sakura …
"…That's Sai's chakra!" The pink haired kunoichi fastened her pace. "There you are!" She added, when she saw light in the end of the tunnel… along with Sai.
Sai was standing in the opening, silently staring somewhere upwards, when…
"I've found you! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She screamed as Sai watched her in surprise.
"Is that Sakura?" Someone said from above.
Sakura's eyes widened in shock. 'That voice!' She slowly turned her head towards the source of said voice and then noticed…
"S-Sasuke-k-kun…" Her body suddenly stopped to response. She could not think of anything else. "I-Is that really you?"
Sasuke said nothing and Sai drew his sword.
"Sai?" Sakura exclaimed… and then narrowed her eyes. "So that is your true mission! To kill Sasuke-kun?!"
Sai kept emotionless face. "Yes… it was…"
"Was?" The kunoichi sounded confused.
"The order doesn't matter anymore. For the first thing in my life I want to think and act for myself. Naruto-kun and Sakura-san have reminded me what it's like to feel. That's why I want to know the reason they chase after you with such passion. In order to prevent their bonds with you from breaking… In order to keep them intact, they're doing everything they can. I still don't have a very good understanding of it myself… But you, Sasuke-kun should know why…"
Sasuke finally had enough. "Sure I did know… and that's why I severed them." He said, looking absolutely impassive. "I have other bonds I carry… fraternal bonds, forged through hate… Having too many bonds causes one to lose focus, weakening their strongest wish… their greatest desire."
Sakura's eyes started to water. "You… you can't mean that, Sasuke-kun. I…" But she wasn't allowed to finish, as Sasuke in a blink of an eye already stood right beside her.
Sasuke smirked and decided to mock his ex-teammate a little… but before he could open his mouth, a very familiar voice sounded from behind…
"Oooh! I see you're already at it… Do you want some privacy?" It said.
Sasuke slowly turned his head and came face to face with another ex-teammate of his… hands in pockets, smirk on face…
"Naruto…" The Uchiha heir let go of Sakura. "You're here too I see…"
Naruto chuckled. "Hmhmhm… it only took your Sharingan to notice me, haha… or not."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. 'He's right, I didn't even sense him… still.' In another blink of an eye, he had a hold on Naruto, similar to what he just had on Sakura.
Naruto's face lit up. "Oh! I knew you liked me better!"
Sasuke scowled. "How much have you heard?"
Naruto chuckled again… this time however it was more dark… more hollow. "I've heard enough. One question though…" He still stood absolutely relaxed. "Why didn't you kill me back then?"
Sakura gasped and Sasuke smirked. "I didn't kill you…" He began. "Because I simply didn't want to give him the pleasure of seeing me attain power by submitting to his plans."
Naruto bit his lip very hard. The desire to laugh Sasuke right in his face was just too much. 'His plans?! HAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! Haven't heard anything more funny in years! But, calm now. I can laugh all I want later…' "What do you mean?" 'That's right. Keep a low profile…'
"There's no need for me to tell you… Still the one thing I can say to you… is that back then… I chose to spare your life at nothing more than a whim of mine…" Now that made Naruto's smile flatten a little. "Come to think of it, isn't becoming Hokage a dream of yours…?" Naruto answered nothing, so Sasuke decided to push harder. "If you had the time to go around looking for me, you would have been better off training… Don't you think, Naruto?"
"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura didn't know what to think right now.
Then Sasuke continued. "That's why this time…" He drew his sword. "You're going to end up loosing your life, all at a whim of mine." Sasuke finished impassively.
A sudden smile appeared on Naruto's face, but he still said nothing.
Sasuke had enough. He went for a sword strike… but Sai got in his way, grabbing his striking arm.
"Your choice of defense… quite correct." Uchiha concentrated for a second. "Chidori Nagashi!"
"Guh!" Sai and Naruto flew backwards, each to his side.
'Ahh… that hurt.' Sai thought.
'Pathetic!' Ran through Naruto's mind as he managed to shake his sunglasses off his face during his short flight. 'If that's all he got, then his plan of killing Itachi is as good as my day without cola… mmm, cola…'
Meanwhile, Sakura stood nearby with wide eyes. Then a memory flashed through her brain. 'Next time I'm going to help too!' Her eyebrows furrowed, resolve gathered… "Sasuke-kun… I'm going to stop you with my own power!" She lunged at her crush.
Naruto, who was silently witnessing the events lying on the ground, raised an eyebrow. 'Chakra through a sword? Going to kill the poor girl, aren't you Sasuke? No matter. Time to act!' A kunai appeared in his hand, and he threw it right in front of Uchiha's face… missing by a few inches. 'Look into my eyes, you piece of trash!'
Sasuke slowly turned his head towards his ex-rival. "Lost your target, eh dobe?" He said, superiorly looking down on the blond jinchuriki… and then noticed his red eyes. "Hmph." He said and concentrated a little.
'Yyeesss…' Naruto tried his hardest to scowl instead of smirk…
Inside of Naruto's mind…
Naruto stood relaxed in front of the great demon's cage, hands in pockets.
"Naruto?" Kyuubi exclaimed noticing his host's presence. "Well what a surprise…" The demon smiled. "You haven't been down here for a while. You want my power, don't you?"
Naruto said nothing…
"So…" His chakra started to materialize outside of the cage. "Tell me…" Now the chakra took the form of demon himself. "Who do you want to kill…?"
Still nothing…
"What's wrong?" The demon asked. "Why hesitating?"
Again nothing…
Kyuubi growled. "What's the matter?! What are you waiting for?!" The great fox already started to lose patience, when… "You're…" A hand appeared in front of chakra-Kyuubi's face.
Naruto tried hard not to smirk. 'This is what I've been waiting for, you jabroni… now only one thing remains…' He glanced at just 'arrived' Uchiha. 'Be my guest, Sasuke-kun…'
Meanwhile, Sasuke started conversation with Kyuubi…
"Ahh… so you're an Uchiha… Allow me to congratulate you for making it this far…" The great demon stated in a booming voice.
"Now I'm able to see. So this is the source of your power. I knew you can't be this strong by yourself." The Uchiha exclaimed.
Now Naruto couldn't suppress his smirk. 'Oh! You have no idea… but you will have soon enough. Now stop talking and do what I want!'
"Impressive that you're able to see me, here inside Naruto… Such is the power of that accursed Sharingan… and your forsaken ancestry…"
"Well, it would appear… this isn't the first time you gazed into the eyes such as these… which would make you… Kyuubi, the nine-tailed demon fox, no doubt…"
Now Naruto wanted to slap his forehead. 'This isn't the first time you gazed into the eyes such as these… Imbecile! Anyone with the eyes could say it's the Kyuubi!'
"Eyes with such power and chakra even more sinister than my own… not at all unlike what I once saw in a certain Uchiha Madara…"
Sasuke smirked. Naruto also smirked… but in a much more sinister way. 'Good, good boy… Show me you're a real Uchiha… Come on… come on… COME ON!'
Next thing everyone knew, Sasuke took a hold of Kyuubi's chakra and in one quick motion tore it apart. "And you expect me… to know this person?"
Naruto sighed smiling and closed his eyes. 'Finally…'
"Unbelievable… to think you'd even be able to suppress my power… I may not see you again… but… I… warn… you… don't… kill… Na…ruto… you'll… end… up… regretting…"
Naruto couldn't take it anymore. "HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA! Don't worry, you definitely won't see him again. And as for him killing me… don't worry either… he can't already…"
Sasuke turned his head… only to receive a shattering kick to the side, which sent him flying into a wall.
"Guh!" The Uchiha heir spat some blood from the impact. 'Damn…' He thought and looked up… only to see Naruto… running as quick as he could inside demon's cage.
'What is he doing?' Sasuke wondered.
A bright green flash later his wonders came to a complete stop… due to a piercing scream that erupted from the cage. "GRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
"Aaahh!" Sahuke clutched his ears in pain, and next moment…
Outside world…
…Sasuke was already out of Naruto's mind with wide eyes. "What the hell just happened?!"
Sakura, who stood nearby, raised both eyebrows. 'It should be me asking this!' She thought… but her train of thoughts was interrupted by a black energy that suddenly erupted from Naruto's body. "What is happening?!"
Sasuke answered with still wide eyes. "You tell me!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Now it was Naruto's scream echoing through the area… but soon it died down, as black energy covered his body completely and started to create a large dome around him.
"We need to get out of here!" Stated recently recovered Sai, jumping off the crater. Not being stupid… or better yet, having no time to complain, Sasuke and Sakura followed his example.
With Yamato and Orochimaru…
"Kukuku… You disappoint me my dear experiment. I expected more… more." Orochimaru mocked heavy panting Yamato, when suddenly…
"What is this?!" The jounin asked in slight fear at the amount of power that was being released.
Sannin's eyes widened and he stormed off. 'Please let it not be what I think it is!'
"Wait!" Yamato shouted, following suit…
Outside of the crater…
Sasuke, Sakura and Sai wordlessly watched the dome getting bigger and bigger. This was where Orochimaru came in…
"What is this?!" He shouted, pointing at the dome.
After a few seconds of silence, Sasuke finally found a tongue in his mouth. "I-I don't know! I used my sharingan to… to get inside of his mind and suppress Kyuubi's power, and then… this happened. What is this, Orochimaru?!"
"Oh no…" The sannin began, but was interrupted, with the dome disappearing just as suddenly as it appeared. Without any words, he jumped towards the enlarged crater…
At crater's edge…
Orochimaru, the famous snake sannin, was the first to arrive. He looked down… only to see… Naruto… exactly how he looked when they met several hours ago.
"What is this?" The snake sannin asked. "I don't understand."
Naruto, who was on his knees at crater's bottom, tried hard to stood up. His legs shook, and his eyes were closed… but he was still smiling.
"What happened?" Sasuke and everyone else, including recently appeared Kabuto, arrived at the scene.
"Hmhmhm…" Naruto gave a dark chuckle. "Hmhmhmhmhm…" Another dark chuckle. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! SUCCESS! TOTAL SUCCESS!"
Everyone looked confused.
"What is he talking about?" Sakura asked, but no one answered.
"FINALLY! WHAT A FABULOUS FEELING! All those plannings, all these humiliations, all those drawbacks… But in the end… finally…" Naruto continued. "Could be less painful though… but that was a small price to pay…"
"Pay for what?!" Orochimaru interrupted, but Naruto paid him no mind…
"Hmhmhm… I wonder what my new powers are…"
Now that really scared everyone… even Orochimaru… Still, the one who took action first was Yamato, who jumped down and landed near Naruto.
"Naruto! What have you done!" Yamato demanded.
Naruto only chuckled in response.
Yamato's eyes narrowed. "Naruto, this is an order. An order from your superior. Now you will tell me what you did just now!"
Naruto turned to his 'superior' with a smirk on his face and still closed eyes. "Sorry, taicho,but it seems like your orders have just lost all their… priority, haha…"
Yamato gritted his teeth. "Uzumaki Naruto! By the order of Godaime Hokage, you are to be executed for treason!"
"WHAT?!" Sakura screamed.
Sasuke looked shocked. Sai was just surprised. And Kabuto… smirked. But no one saw that.
"Oooh? Found me out at last, didn't they? But you see… it's already too late." He finally opened his eyes, only for them to be… completely black. No pupil, nothing!
Shocked by the sight of Naruto's eyes, Yamato spaced out only for a moment… which proved to be the moment of his life.
Fire flashed in Naruto's black eyes, and next second he disappeared in a burst of flames, reappearing behind the unfortunate jounin.
"Han-oni tsupari!" Theblond man shouted as he tore right through Yamato's ribcage with his right hand.
"Gah!" Yamato gasped shocked, stumbling to his knees.
"Amateur…" Naruto stated. "How could Tsunade send such an amateur to eliminate me? This is quite insulting you know…"
Naruto's recent actions had different reactions from the observers. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, Sakura squeaked, Sai looked surprised, Kabuto still showed nothing and Sasuke…
"Why does this guy have a hole in his chest, and where the hell is Naruto?!" He asked… Needless to say, everyone looked at him as if he was crazy.
"Sasuke-kun…" Kabuto said. "Naruto-kun is down there."
"What? But why I can't see him then?!"
Orochimaru's eyes widened immediately and he quickly turned to his late apprentice… His guesses were right.
"Sasuke, turn off your Sharingan! Now!" Sasuke quickly did as he was told, and surely, Naruto WAS down there… his hand inside of his own team member's chest.
"What the…?" He immediately turned Sharingan back on, and Naruto disappeared again. "I can't see him with my Sharingan!" The Uchiha heir screamed unbelievably.
Orochimaru gritted his teeth. 'Damn!' He thought.
"I've had enough of you." Naruto suddenly said, tearing his arm out of Yamato's ribcage, making jounin's already lifeless body fall on the ground with a thump.
"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled. "What are you doing?!"
Naruto chuckled darkly. "I'm doing what I intended a looong time ago."
"What are you talking about?!" The kunoichi asked.
"Ahahaha…! For such a smart girl you actually are quite stupid, you know…"
"He meant that he was never on your side to begin with." To Sakura's complete shock, the statement came from Orochimaru. "And it looks like we all have just played into his hands…"
Now Naruto didn't chuckle… he laughed hard. "Bravo!" The blond clapped. "Very true! The third was right about you, Orochimaru. You really are too smart for your own good, haha…"
"What?!" Sannin's eyebrows furrowed.
Naruto gave him an evil smirk. "Oh? You never wondered why he didn't make you the Hokage? Daddy was not the only war hero, wasn't he? Your accomplishment wasn't so openly showed though…"
Orochimaru scowled. "He thought the brat would be…"
"…Easier to control, yes." Naruto finished for him. "Well, it's not actually all. That's only the top of an iceberg. The lies he surrounded himself with is kilometers deep below the water!"
Sannin's fist clenched. "How do you know that…?"
Naruto's smirk widened. "Oh, you have to know your enemy, right?"
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "I knew it… even there, in the forest of death… it wasn't you, was it?"
Naruto chuckled. "Hehe… Guilty…"
'I'm stronger than him!' Sasuke took action. He jumped down and drew his sword. "That's bull shit, dobe! You wanted to be Hokage all your life! You're worthless loser who can't compare to an Uchiha! I said that I'll kill you, and I'm going to keep my word! DIE!"
"Of course you are, hehe…" Naruto's smirk disappeared. "I've had enough." He stated emotionlessly.
"Sasuke, no!" Orochimaru screamed, but it was already too late. Sasuke ran at Naruto at the top of his speed and swung his sword down at him… only for it to be blocked by a strange black metallic clawed gauntlet that suddenly appeared around Naruto's right hand from his fingertips right down to his elbow.
"Oh! A part of my new power. Want to have a closer look, Sasuke?!" With that Naruto grabbed the last Uchiha by the throat with his left hand.
"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura screamed, jumping down. Everyone else followed suit.
"I'm tired of playing with you, Konoha trash!" Naruto said, all playfulness gone. "Orochimaru! Give it to me, or I'll kill this pathetic fool!"
Sasuke felt Naruto's grip on his throat tighten. 'Damn! He's not joking! A little harder and…' He thought.
"Naruto!" Sakura shouted. "What are you doing?! Let Sasuke-kun go…"
"Shut your mouth, Sakura. Now, I won't repeat again. Give me what I want, or Uchiha dies!" Naruto answered.
Orochimaru scowled. "You can't kill him right now, or you will never find Itachi."
As Naruto gave a low growl, Sasuke had a sudden thought. 'What does he have to do with Itachi?'
"Grrr…" A growl escaped Naruto's throat… but then he relaxed again and smiled. "Yeah, I might need him alive for now… but I sure as hell don't need his little red eyes anymore, so…" He placed his gauntlet hand in front of Sasuke's face. "Give it to me… or I'll cripple your next body…" With that the black clad man started to slowly shorten distance between his metallic fingertips and Sasuke's terrified eyes.
The Uchiha heir tried to struggle against Naruto's grip, but it was seemingly unbreakable. 'Shit! Just how much power did he hold back?!'
"Naruto, stop!" Sakura screamed again.
'Fuck!' The snake sannin thought. 'If I don't give it to him, then Sasuke's Sharingan will be lost not only to me, but to everyone! But if I do… then only God knows what he'll do with it…' Then he noticed Naruto's hand almost millimeters away from Sasuke's terrified eyes. 'Shit! No choice…' Orochimaru already placed his hand in his pocket to retrieve what Naruto 'oh-so-desired', when…
"Gah!" Naruto dropped Sasuke on the ground and clutched his own head instead. "What the hell is…?! AAAH!" The gauntlet disappeared and he grabbed his head with both hands, shaking violently. "What is this?! I haven't predicted… AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" He gave a piercing scream and disappeared in a burst of flames.
No one moved for over two minutes after Naruto disappeared. Then…
"Orochimaru…" Sasuke said, still lying on the ground and staring at the place his former best friend was in. "What just happened?"
The snake sannin held a pause. "I don't know, Sasuke… But I think, this was just the beginning…"
Sakura stood motionlessly, replaying resent events in her head… One of her teammates was dead. The other escaped, but then she noticed…
"Sasuke-kun!" She ran towards her love interest.
Sai said only. "I… I don't understand…"
"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said again. "Are you hurt? Don't worry, I'm here!"
Sasuke paid her no mind. "Three years…what have I accomplished…?! What was the point of my escape, of my training…?!" He clenched his fist hard enough to draw blood. "KUSO!" He said as he hit the ground with said fist.
Sakura's eyes saddened… but only until…
"Girl…" A low voice hissed behind her. The kunoichi turned around and, to her greatest terror, came face to face with the snake sannin himself. "We need to talk." He said.
Unable to squeeze words out of herself, Sakura nodded her head.
Unknown location…
Naruto appeared in some cave in the same fashion as disappeared, in a burst of flames… and still screaming the life out of himself.
"AARRRRGGGHHHHHH! FUCK!" He shook violently left and right… until it became too much, and he fell on the ground with a thump, loosing consciousness.
Four hours later. Same location…
Naruto slowly opened his eyes and took a look at his surroundings. "A cave again?" He told himself. "Well, at least it's not my base." With that he put his right pointing and middle finger on his necklace. A few seconds later two silhouettes appeared before him… A large man and a woman again.
"Naruto-sama!" The man greeted. "You're contacting us early…"
"Does that mean?" The woman asked excitedly.
Naruto smirked. "Yeah… I did it. Soul Drain was a complete success. Kyuubi is no more."
"YEEES!" The woman squealed.
"Congratulations, Naruto-sama!" The man added.
Naruto sighed. "Don't be too hasty on your congratulations. That cost me much."
"What do you mean?" The woman asked.
"Well, for starters, it wasn't a very enjoyable sensation. Every cell in my body died and was reborn anew in a matter of seconds."
"Ouch!" The man said.
"Exactly… then something happened… something I haven't foreseen…"
"What was that, Naruto-sama?"
Naruto rubbed his chin. "Apparently, along with the power I also received Kyuubi's memories… all of them…"
"But that's great, right?" The woman asked.
"Well, not exactly… The thing is, I also received them in a matter of seconds… and there were hundreds of years of knowledge…"
"Ouch!" The man said again.
"Exactly. I couldn't remember it all, but it's returning to me rapidly. Almost every second I receive a piece of information. What I already received is priceless knowledge… Do you know that the Kyuubi sealed in me was not the original one?"
"Original one?" The woman asked. "I thought there was only one…"
Naruto smirked. "Nope. Hell, it wasn't even a fox in the beginning!"
"Really?"
"Yep… Then again I don't have chakra anymore. So I have lost all my ninjutsu and genjutsu skills… I wonder." He quickly disappeared in a flash of black and reappeared a second after. Then he looked at his shadow, and shifted it without moving himself.
"Hmm…" He exclaimed. "It looks like my control over darkness still remains… as my taijutsu and kenjutsu skills. Speaking of which…" In a flash of black, a sheathed sword appeared in his left hand. "Let's see if my guesses were right." He drew the sword with his right hand and channeled his newly obtained black energy through it. Needless to say, the sword melted in a matter of seconds. Naruto sighed. "Just as I expected…"
"Impossible!" The woman stated. "That sword was crafted by Kirigakure's best masters! It can channel any type of chakra!"
Naruto chuckled. "Hmhmhm… Indeed, any type of chakra… But as I said, I don't have chakra anymore." He extended his right arm, and the same black energy swirled around it. "I'm not a human anymore. I became, what I was destined to become… a demon! And demons have no chakra, they have yoki!" He lowered his arm and continued. "To compare chakra and yoki, is to compare water and lava. What you saw just now with my… ex-sword… was almost as if I tried to contain lava in a simple glass."
"Oh, sorry…" The woman said.
Naruto waved her off. "Nah, don't worry about it."
"So…" The man started. "Are you going to proceed with the Akatsuki destruction plan now, Naruto-sama?"
"Hmm… no?" Ex-jinchuriki answered.
"Why?"
Naruto smirked. "Because I need a new sword obviously…"
"But even if Kiri's best blade can't contain your yoki, then what can?!" The woman asked.
The blond demon chuckled. "I just simply need a demon sword…"
"That's good, Naruto-sama, but where can we find one?" The man exclaimed.
Naruto's smirk widened. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the legendary sword named… hmhmhm… Yamato?"