Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Leaf in the Desert ❯ Chapter 26

Chapter 26

 

The Fox was breathing heavily as Kohaku and Yuushuu approached on top of the huge snake. Red eyes regarded the trio warily, and for good reason- it was already significantly injured from Haru's thorns, evident by the copious amounts of blood falling from its fur to splatter onto the arid ground below.

 

The two shinobi exchanged a brief glance before Kohaku deftly dismounted, allowing Yuushuu to continue her mission alone. Her eyes shifted to Sharingan mode and Kyuubi immediately went on guard, teeth bared and all nine tails lashing.

 

“You know these eyes, don't you?” Yuushuu murmured. “First Madara, then my uncle, Sasuke… and now me.”

 

Kyuubi growled and the ground trembled. The snake shifted its serpentine body accordingly so as to not disturb its mistress riding on its head.

 

Yuushuu focused her mind on the Fox and sought the Bijuu's consciousness. Darkness consumed her and abruptly she stood in a dark, dank labrynth. The irregular drip-drip from somewhere unseen echoed throughout the silence. She glanced around, unsure of herself in these strange surrounds.

 

A flicker of blue light caught her eye and she quickly moved through the ankle-high water toward it. A deep sense of foreboding washed over her as she ran down the corridors. She turned a corner- and skidded to a halt.

 

An immense pair of barred doors- cell doors- loomed in front of the female Uchiha. She blinked, stunned, as she saw a paper seal at the juncture of the doors. A seal?

 

Two eyes opened from the darkness beyond the cage… bright blue eyes that were familiar- and downcast. “…Why are you here, Yuushuu?”

 

“I… I am here to try and control the Kyuubi, Hokage,” she replied as Naruto stepped closer to the cage's bars. “I didn't think that you…”

 

“No,” Naruto interrupted, his entire demeanor radiating frustration, “you didn't think. Kohaku is out there facing this damned Fox by himself, while your mind is in here with me. And if you leave and he finds out I'm still in here, he won't do what he's supposed to do.”

 

“Do, sir?”

 

“Kill Kyuubi, of course,” the blonde-haired man replied, his eyes resigned. “But if my son knows I'm alive in here, he won't do it… and then Suna and Konoha and everyone will be destroyed by the Fox's rampage.”

 

Yuushuu looked slightly confused. “But the Uchiha clan has the ability…”

 

“To control Bijuu. That's right. But this isn't just a Bijuu anymore- he's taken over my body and transformed it and sealed my own soul inside its mind. I don't think there's any way to control Kyuubi anymore.” He sighed. “That's why I told Kohaku to kill it as soon as Iwa and Kanaye were defeated.” His gaze pierced her from his position on the other side of the bars. “Which I'm guessing has been accomplished, since you are here.”

 

“Yes, sir. Kazekage Gaara took care of the Tsuchikage personally.”

 

Naruto grinned, momentarily looking like his normal cheerful self. “I knew sand-breath wasn't finished kicking some ass. Wish I could've seen it.”

 

His expression turned grim once more, and Yuushuu's chest clenched. She hadn't known the Hokage for long, but she knew him to be an optimistic, if somewhat immature, person and knew that this defeatist attitude was as much unlike him as pink skirts would be on her Uncle Sasuke. And although that image disturbed her, Naruto giving up was more distressing.

 

“I'm giving you an order, Taichou,” he said, his eyes hard and his face stern. “You are to leave this place, return to my son and make sure that he kills Kyuubi. Do not tell him that I'm in here- tell him only that you were unable to control the Fox's mind from within. Am I understood?”

 

“……Hai, Hokage, sir.”

 

“Then farewell, Yuushuu Uchiha.” He gave her a small, toothy smile before he returned to the inky darkness behind him. “Tell that teme uncle of yours… to take care of Sakura for me. Or I'll come back and kick his ass!”

 

“I'm sure he's looking forward to it, sir.” She smiled as Naruto vanished from her sight. “Believe it.”

 

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Kohaku jumped nimbly out of the way of one huge furred tail as Kyuubi brought it down on him, attempting to crush the youth into oblivion. He noticed Yuushuu stirring from her stance atop her snake's head and he quickly used his grandfather's technique to flash step over to her.

 

“What happened?” he demanded as the snake took off, slithering as fast as it could to avoid the Fox's attacks. “The entire time you were doing whatever it was you were doing, it was trying to kill me! I thought you Uchiha people could control Bijuu!”

 

Yuushuu wouldn't look him in the eyes and instead focused on the huge Beast. “I failed,” she said simply. “You will have to obey the Hokage's orders and kill it.”

 

He jerked slightly, then narrowed his gaze at her. “No one knew about my orders to kill Kyuubi except my father and me.” His teeth clenched. “You met him inside there, didn't you. And he told you to make sure I kill him.”

 

“It's not like that,” she protested, even though, in truth, it was. “He's concerned about the fate of our village, our friends, our families. He sacrificed himself to protect all that. Since I can't control Kyuubi in these particular circumstances, we have to kill it. There's no other way!”

 

Kohaku practically snarled as he turned towards the huge Fox, whose red eyes were locked on him. He flash stepped off the snake and onto Gobi's back, where she guarded Suna from the other Bijuu. Gaara blinked in surprise.

 

“What happened?”

 

The orange-haired shinobi was so deathly serious that Gaara nearly took a step backwards. “Yuushuu failed. So I have need of Aunt Gobi.”

 

“NO. She cannot-“

 

“I will help.” Gold eyes regarded him knowingly. “And in return, you must promise us that you will not do anything foolish.”

 

“If this doesn't work,” Kohaku replied, making a hand seal to gather chakra, “then I'm counting on you, Uncle Gaara, and Yuushuu to kill the Fox in my stead.”

 

“You are going to do something stupid, correct?” Gaara sighed.

 

“Probably. Let's hope I live to tell about it.”

 

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A dry wind swept across the barren ground, stirring the long orange strands that hung over Kohaku's bright blue eyes. He stood atop a rocky outcropping and regarded the Beast his father had become.

 

I know you told me to kill you, Dad… but I just can't do that.

 

Without moving his eyes from the Fox, he began to make a series of hand seals that hadn't been used since the Sandaime Hokage fought with Orochimaru nearly 30 years before.

 

Yuushuu, from her perch on the other side of their quarry, recognized his movements and immediately cried out. “Uzumaki, you can't! That jutsu requires a living sacrifice- you'll die too!!”

 

Kohaku's expression grew even more determined. “If I don't, the whole world could be destroyed.” He finished the seals and gazed at the snarling Fox. “Bijuu Fuuin Jutsu- Kyuubi.”

 

“Uzumaki!!”

 

Gaara saw movement on one side of the young man's stance- and knew he was too far away to do anything. “Kohaku- look out!”

 

Pillars of stone emerged from the rock and reached up to capture the Hokage's son. In the blink of an eye, he vanished…

 

…And stood behind a bruised and somewhat bloodied Kanaye.

 

Gobi growled. “What in the name of Inu…?”

 

“Substitution jutsu,” Gaara muttered, irritation and concern warring inside him as he stood on the huge Dog's back. “Instead of replacing himself with an inanimate object, he used one of his subordinates as a sacrifice.”

 

“Selfish bastard.”

 

“I must go and assist Kohaku.”

 

Gobi shifted her weight and whuffed negatively. “No. We cannot leave Suna unprotected. Haru is at his limit- an attack from Kyuubi at this point would destroy his plant shield and risk the entire village.” She flicked her golden gaze to Kohaku, who now held Kanaye in an arm hold to prevent his use of further jutsu. “This is his fight now.”

 

The Fox roared, sensing that its prey was distracted enough for it to turn its attention to more important matters. It turned around, lashing all nine tails, and bared its fangs at Gobi.

 

She snarled back, her own tails whipping around strong enough to create a sandstorm. “We must hold Kyuubi back long enough for Kohaku to deal with Kanaye- for I believe he is the only one strong enough to defeat the Fox in this battle.”

 

“As you wish, my love,” Gaara murmured, summoning up huge waves of sand amidst the raging sandstorm. “If we die, at least we die together.”

 

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Kanaye struggled against the younger, stronger man's hold, seething in fury that his last attack had failed. It had taken the last of his chakra to perform that jutsu- and now he was at Kohaku's mercy.

 

“You just couldn't stay dead, could you?” Kohaku muttered.

 

“I could say the same thing about your old man, boy,” Kanaye retorted, spitting blood. “Just can't bring yourself to kill the old fox now that you know your father's soul is still in there, huh?”

 

Sparks shot from Kohaku's eyes- and he smiled, almost cruelly. “I don't need to kill anyone.” He focused his chakra and the ghostly outline began to form behind them. “I will simply seal you both away.”

 

The underworld demon began to grow more solid as it reached out a clawed hand towards Kohaku's back. He quickly turned Kanaye around to face the fearsome creature, never relinquishing his hold on the Tsuchikage.

 

Kanaye screamed in terror as the demon's hand slipped unhindered through his stomach and out his back. Kohaku grimaced but maintained his focus as the hand continued through his own midsection- and extended from his back, heading towards the fighting Bijuu.

 

Gobi saw the demon's hand and knew this was their one chance to end this once and for all. Bloodied, bruised, and on the verge of collapse, she darted under one of the Fox's lunges and grabbed hold of its throat with her powerful jaws.

 

Kyuubi made a strangled howling sound and frantically fought to release itself from Gobi's fangs. The Dog, however, held fast, her eyes focused on the demon's hand and her strength fighting to keep the Fox from moving.

 

The hand lifted up and sunk into Kyuubi, earning an unearthly screech in return. The demon's hand gripped the Fox's soul- and quickly dragged it across the burning sand towards Kohaku and Kanaye.

 

As the Bijuu's soul entered his body, Kohaku screamed in pain, almost losing his grip on the Tsuchikage. Kanaye's body stiffened as the underworld demon's grip shifted- releasing the Fox's soul and ensnaring his instead. His eyes grew glassy as his soul was pulled from his body and into the awaiting maw of the demon. The sacrifice had been accepted.

 

Kohaku and Kanaye's body both collapsed to the dusty ground as the demon vanished from sight. Gobi stared, confused, as the Fox's body vanished, leaving only a human body behind. Gaara jumped down from her back as she returned to Safaia's form, still bloody and injured, but whole. Safaia watched as Gaara ran over to the body's side- and grew still.

 

There, on the bloody desert sand, lay the Sixth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki.

 

Gaara knelt by his old friend's side, feeling for a pulse and breathing. Safaia limped over, holding her injured arm. She rested a hand on her husband's shoulder in silent question.

 

Yuushuu and her snake slithered up to the couple, bearing the Tsuchikage's body and Kohaku's unconscious form. Safaia joined the young woman as the snake lowered the bodies to the ground near Naruto's.

 

Lying face-down in the dust, the black seal was evident on Kohaku's back, right between his shoulder blades where his shirt had been torn in a ragged circle. He had used Kanaye as a living sacrifice to seal the Kyuubi inside himself, just as his father had been host to the Fox.

 

Kohaku was now a Jinchuuriki.

 

Safaia turned her attention away from the young man to check on her husband and the Hokage. She knelt down beside Gaara and put her arm around his shoulders. “Gaara?”

 

Tears had slid down the sand-master's cheeks, but other than that he showed no outward emotion. “He is dead,” he replied in monotone. “Naruto Uzumaki… is dead.”

 

Safaia enfolded her husband in her soothing embrace and allowed herself to cry, now that all the danger had passed. “He still lives, my love. He lives on in his son- who sealed Kyuubi inside himself selflessly. He is as much a hero as Naruto Hokage was… and we must promise to watch over Kohaku in honor of his father.”

 

Fresh tears emerged from Gaara's aquamarine eyes, but he still didn't change expression. “Hai. We… will all… honor Naruto. And Kohaku. They… have saved us all.”

 

.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.oOo.

 

Bijuu Fuuin Jutsu- Kyuubi: “Tailed-Beast Sealing Technique- Nine-Tailed Fox”