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The Fall of the Dogs of War	By : dolphina23 Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 927 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Author�s Note: No
special warnings for this chapter except that it�s about to get very messy, the
kind of mess that would require a CSI team in reality. Thanks to all that
reviewed. They are greatly appreciated. And, again, thanks to Cupricanka for
her lovely additions. Please, review more. Seriously, I want to hear from more
of you.

Oh, and another song recommendation for you all. You don�t
have to listen to it while reading, I�m probably the only one who sometimes
uses them to bolster my imagination and excite my muse. But, you might enjoy
listening anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gzhVmJvLjE

Realm of Shadow, Shades of Hell

�� After barely
an hour of fruitless searching, Kakashi and Hinata had run a length of perhaps ten miles. Whoever had taken Naruto knew how to
cover their tracks better than most ninja, even the higher level ones. Blowing
out a breath in frustration, Kakashi listened to the wind moan through the
trees ominously and looked up to watch them sway back and forth, as if they
were laughing at him. And, why shouldn�t they? He�d lost track of one of his
closest friends. Well, to be fair, Kakashi had never really considered Naruto
in such a way, rather more like a nephew. One he had promised himself to watch
over, if only because of the connection Naruto had to his beloved teacher. Of
course, Naruto knew nothing about any of his family. He�d heard that the
Sandaime had cooked up some lie when Naruto had turned six and began asking the
old man why he was the one to visit
Naruto in the village�s orphanage instead of hopeful couples. He�d wanted to
know where his parents had come from and why they had disappeared. If they had
been ninja, considering the orphanage was sponsored by the Academy for the
children of those members that had fallen in battle, his surname would have
been among the registration lists. Apparently, he�d broken into the Sandaime�s
office to check.�
�� Kakashi
snorted and motioned for Hinata to halt. There was no point in continuing to
track in their condition. They both needed rest and medical attention to
alleviate the chakra exhaustion he knew had to be running through both their
bodies. Reinforcements or a full search team would probably be necessary to
capture any hint of a trail. He cursed silently as he watched Hinata sink
slowly to the ground, shoulders slumping in dejection and fatigue. Her lower
lip had begun to quiver and Kakashi felt his heart lurch and then slow
painfully. He had failed them all again. Sakura was forever lost to the village
along with all her medical prowess. Sasuke, who he�d heard had been a part of
the battle and had possibly been fighting Pain alongside Naruto, was nowhere to
be found.
�� His clones
had informed him that most of the injured and dead had been moved within the
village gates. Gaara and his ninja had accompanied them, some of them having
been wounded and the others wanting an audience with Tsunade to discuss any
repercussions or actions that might need to be taken against those that had
followed Pain. He only hoped the council would authorize a proper search,
despite the loss of perhaps a dozen or so ninja from Konoha. If Kakashi was
successful in gaining even just two teams from his own village and perhaps a
few from Suna, he felt certain they would be able to pick up the trail again.
He cursed his own lack of strength silently. It wouldn�t even be necessary if
he hadn�t wasted the last of his chakra on Chidori; he could have been using
his nin-dogs right now. Sighing, he picked himself up from the crouch his
aching body had automatically gone into.
�� Let�s go,
Hinata. We�ll return to the village and gather reinforcements for the search.�
He watched her nod and crawl shakily to her feet and, together, they made their
way back home. Kakashi, as tired as he was, took care to mark the spot before
they lost it to time or the elements.�

�� Hiroku stared
down at his prize hungrily. The strange red chakra that had trailed them,
connected to his prey and leading back toward Konoha, had long since
dissipated. He had heard that the Jinchuuriki of Konoha could access the demon
inside of him in order to use its power. That
demon. . .
�� Hiroku curled
his fists tightly while he sneered down at the boy. So, this must be that man�s
son. It was almost poetic, for the strongest of their number to sacrifice his own flesh and blood so the rest of them could keep
playing at being human. He probably spouted some garbage about �only doing what
was best for the village� or �protecting all that was important to him�. And
yet, this boy had probably suffered more than any of them combined. It was all
so worthless. He turned to spit onto the ground, gnashing his teeth together
until they almost cracked.
�� Minato Namikaze, the supposedly
benevolent fallen leader of his former home. Hiroku could never forget that
name. Minato had taken everything from him, so he would take all that was
Minato�s; his village, his son, just as he had taken the man�s wife. It should
have happened sixteen years ago, the day that wicked demon had dared to try and
toy with fully trained ninja. Suddenly, a humorless smile pulled his features
up grotesquely. There was no need to become so emotional. Everything would be
avenged, in the end. His family would know peace. Then, finally, finally Hiroku
could leave the accursed life that being a �tool� of old, arrogant men had
given him.

�� There was
nothing to see but black, black and more black. Good God, have I gone blind? Naruto�s fuzzy mind had little time to
reconnect with what he could, or couldn�t, see of the world around him before
he felt a sharp sting to the side of his head. Someone had just hit him. And,
man, had it fucking hurt. Everything hurt. His arm was burning and he was so
sure that his head was splitting along his temple he fully expected to find
brain matter in his hair; except he couldn�t move his hands. Well, he was
pretty sure his left arm was broken badly, it certainly felt that way. His
right arm, the one not burning with pain, felt strangely numb and smelled of
slightly charred meat. Naruto gasped as a crushing wave of pain broke through
his semi-conscious state. His left leg wouldn�t obey him, even though he
concentrated what chakra he could form on that side. For one terrifying moment,
he believed it was no longer there, until whoever had hit him brushed a hand
down that side. Bolts of pain ran through his hip and halfway down his thigh. Okay, not gone, but definitely broken,
he thought.
�� He gasped
again, finding it hard to take in air without pain knifing through his ribs.
Fear clawed at his stomach. This was not Konoha and he was seriously,
critically wounded. His friend was dead and he had no idea where Kyuubi was.
Ignoring the heavy breathing from the person above him, Naruto delved into his
mind in search of the God-beast. He knew that Kyuubi still lived. For him to
die, Naruto would have suffered the same fate. As bad as his situation seemed,
he knew that hadn�t happened. Well, he was pretty sure anyway. People didn�t
have physical bodies, physical pain, in hell, right?
�� Deep inside
the hollows of his own mind, Naruto sighted the cage, the golden bars and the
stronger, newer seal that had appeared there when he and the Kyuubi had made
their pact. Sighing, he slowed down. He could feel the pulse of Kyuubi�s
chakra, though it was muted. Perhaps he had poured more of it into the healing
power he had granted to Naruto before the young man even knew himself.
Exhausted beyond anything he�d ever experienced, he managed to remain upright
until he reached the bars. There, staring out at him, were those eyes, so
unnatural, so unlike anything a human could, or should, know.
�� Naruto,� the
fox rumbled. �You must leave this place.�
�� Naruto
blinked up at him, the white of Kyuubi�s fur brushing along his chest through
the bars.
�� I don�t
understand.� His mind wasn�t altogether able to function, even at the somewhat
lowered capacity it usually did. He could see that. He saw many things, now,
things that he hadn�t been able to, or couldn�t allow himself, to see before.
�� Leave this
place,� Kyuubi replied, growling.
�� Leave? Here?
But . . . ,� Naruto was having trouble breathing again. His chest hurt, his arm
and hip resounded with pain sharply. Naruto felt himself begin to shiver, or
maybe he was shaking. He knew what was out there. He didn�t need a name for it,
though he knew it. He had almost no chakra; it still hadn�t had time to recover
from all the battles. He was injured, mortally so. How could he . . . ? How
could the fox . . .?
�� Leave, now!
Or we both die!� Kyuubi bellowed. A rush of power and wind, sharply tinged with
chakra hit Naruto squarely in the chest. Sucking in as much air as possible,
Naruto managed to twist his body around to land on his feet a fair distance
from the cage.� Hitching his breathing to
make allowance for all the pain the hit had generated, he glanced back at the agitated
God-beast. The fox paced restlessly in his prison for a few moments before
settling at the back of the cage to growl warily at Naruto. He could feel the
anger, tinged with bitter fear, crackling in the air. It was not like Kyuubi to
show such a thing. In his realm, in his past, it had almost always meant death.
Naruto turned to go meet his fate. He only hoped if he was to fall that he
could drag the other one down with him.

�� Naruto�s next
bout of consciousnesses brought more pain, an impossible amount. He could hear
grunting and the same heavy breathing from before. Rough cloth covered his
eyes. He could feel it bite into his forehead. Sharp pains in his abdomen now
joined all the others, melding together in a roiling furnace that spread into
his entire body. The man was pushing a sharp kunai into his stomach mercilessly
and repeatedly, digging in and up through the muscles of his abdominal wall
until the blade struck against the bone of his ribcage. Sucking in a breath
through his clenched teeth, Naruto tried to move away from it.
�� Oh no,� a
man�s voice whispered close to his ear. His fetid breath made Naruto try to
recoil again.
�� No, no. You
aren�t going anywhere. I haven�t even started the party.�
�� Who the hell
are you?� Naruto gasped out between waves of pain and pressure.
�� No one you
know. No one you will ever know. But, I know you, murderer.�
That didn�t sound right. The man�s voice rang in his ears
dully. Sure, he had killed before, in battle, to protect his teammates and his
village. But, what this man said, or how he said it, was so full of venom and
hate. If he didn�t know this man, than where had all that hatred come from?
Naruto grunted, trying not to scream as the blade dug in again, this time on
his left side.
�� That�s it.
Feel that? I�m going to keep it going until you beg. Beg for your life, like I
begged for his.�
�� What? It was
so hard to think. Naruto had enough trouble trying to keep his breathing from
causing anymore injury to his aching lungs, trying to keep himself awake until
he could form some kind of plan, a way out. The kunai left him, the blindfold
was lifted and Naruto was assaulted with light. It hurt his eyes and continued
even when he shut them tightly. Squinting narrowly, he tried again to open
them. Bright sunlight filtered through a gap in a crag of rock to his left,
streaming right into his face.
�� Better?�
�� Naruto turned
his head at the sound. His hands were secured above him to the rock face by a
length of chain bolted to the wall that ran down to cuffs at his wrists. The
cave he�d been taken to was like most caves; darkening past the edge they were
situated in and full of nothing but grey, grey rock, grey walls, grey floor,
all grey. Well, it was better than black and a hell of a lot better than being
blind. A man sat near the mouth of the cave opposite Naruto. The white hair and
lines around his face might mean he was as old as Tsunade or Jiraiya, but
Naruto knew that was no sure indicator of age. Cold grey eyes glared at him. It
was the same look Sasuke had tried on him at the Valley of the End. The thought
of Sasuke brought him back to their conversation during the battle with Pain.
Naruto shuddered. He didn�t think he�d have any luck trying to convince this
person to give up. Instead, he twisted his wrists experimentally in their
bindings. His feet had been left unshackled. Though, what little comfort that
would offer, seeing as how he had at least one shattered hip, several broken
ribs that he could feel shifting inside of his body and a broken right arm, he
couldn�t tell. His left side, face and arm burned. Taking a quick glance at the
parts of himself he could see clearly, Naruto sucked in yet another breath.
Burns littered his left side and he could feel them reaching up to his left
cheek. It twisted unnaturally behind him and there was a lump of what was
probably bone pushing against his tattered jacket.
�� His heart
began to beat faster as the full realization of his position hit him. He was
going to die here. Chained to a rock wall, a madman in front of him and no hope
of getting out of it without compromising his already horrific injuries; he was
going to die here. The man�s face twisted and split into a ghastly smile.
�� Figured it
all out, did you?�
�� Who are
you?� Naruto asked again. He didn�t expect the man to answer. It wasn�t as if
the little time it might buy him would do him any good, anyway. But, Naruto had
never been one to give in without exhausting every option and a few others no
one had ever thought of besides.
�� The man
sighed heavily.
�� Now, why would
someone like you bother with something like that? It should make no difference
to you who I am. You�re a ninja, after all.�
�� Suddenly,
without warning, he reached across the space between them and slashed at Naruto�s
face with the bloody kunai. How had Naruto missed it? Naruto could both smell
and feel the blood dripping toward his chin and down onto his already saturated
jacket.
�� You�re not
all that good with genjutsu, are you? I can tell.�
�� The man
shifted again, bringing his hands up to form seals. Naruto had no hope of
gathering enough chakra into himself, even with the help from his Toad
training. He could not possibly hope to remain still enough to draw on natural
energy, so he let the illusion overtake him. Hopefully, this man was not as
good at them as he seemed to be at torture.

*�� *��
*�� *

�� Red light
covered every inch of ground Naruto walked on. From what Kakashi had told him,
once, while laid up in the hospital after Itachi�s genjutsu attack, this was
how the Uchiha usually presented his illusions. It didn�t matter. All Naruto
had to do was survive it and get out. Of course, he then had to find a way
free, but perhaps if he were to visit with the Kyuubi again . . . Naruto knew
that the monster, for all that he was just as lethal and merciless as before,
would not let him suffer. Something in the God-beasts� regard for him had
changed. Naruto shivered and rubbed his hands on his arms. The pain had receded
here, but an aching cold had forced its way into his bones. His fingertips were
already going numb from it and his breath ghosted out in light puffs of visible
air.
�� Traversing
the gritty dirt, Naruto came upon a home blackened and crumbling from a recent
fire. The light changed and the sweeping landscape became a city or town. Naruto
recognized the gates at the west end as those of Konoha. So, the man had once
been one of us? Did something happen like what had been done to Sasuke�s
family? Naruto had never really understood why no one had been searching for
Itachi in all the time Sasuke had been in the Academy. He was sure if they had
been that Itachi would have been found and dealt with. Hunter-nins and ANBU
were trained for missions such as those. A stale wind blew past him as Naruto
made his way through empty streets. For a genjutsu, this seemed nothing like
the one Itachi had put him in or even the ones he�d heard could drive a ninja
to catatonia or worse, kill them outright.
�� An eerie calm
had settled over everything and it put Naruto on edge. Suddenly, a flurry of
motion and color flew past his vision and off to the right. More motion and
screams came from the right side, and then the left. It was everywhere.
Townspeople and Genin ninja were fleeing in the direction of the caves behind
the Hokage Mountain.
�� Hurry! The beast is at the outer wall!�
�� Get all the
children in front. We need to keep them protected!�
�� The shouts of
his fellow ninja, whether this was some kind of past event or twisted illusion
of what this man had planned for them, were like a cool sea wind or hot meal after
a long day of training. Home, this was his home.
�� And then,
Naruto heard it; that familiar, quaking roar that jarred his very bones. The
Kyuubi, the Kyuubi was here. Then, this must be the day of the attack but as
this man had seen it, or lived it, whatever. Naruto turned in the direction he
thought it had come from and set off as fast as possible. Reaching a tall
three-story structure Naruto had never seen before, he waited. The Kyuubi
crested a hill just outside the gates. His breath came faster than ever as a
toad Naruto recognized as Gamabunta appeared in a cloud of smoke. Blond hair
and blue eyes shining with the kind of determination he saw in himself every
morning and a long white jacket, the symbol of the Hokage. This, this was the
Fourth Hokage. The man he had idolized and wanted to be most like since he had
learned the word ninja. He . . . he looks
so much like me. An idea was trying to burrow its way into Naruto�s head as
he caught sight of the squirming bundle in the Yondaime�s arms. That was
Naruto; that was him, it had to be.
�� And, then the
scene changed. Whirling Naruto into a room darkened by closed shuttered, a bed
sat in the middle of the room covered in white sheets. A woman lay beneath
them, moaning and twisting her hands in the crisp linen. Her bright red hair
was drenched in sweat and splayed across the pillow. It moved restlessly as she
tossed her head from side to side. Naruto held his breath as he caught the
muttering coming from her lips.
�� Minato . . .
you have to . . . you have to come back, for Naruto.�
�� Was this . .
.? Was she . . . his mother? Taking a few steps further into the room, Naruto
dragged his unwilling body forward. She looked nothing like the woman in the
picture Sandaime had showed him when he was small and had finally badgered the
old man into letting him see it. The hospital staff had apparently wanted to
have something to give him should he ever ask, even though the couple had told
the doctors they had no intention of taking Naruto with them. They already had enough
children to feed, they had said, and didn�t need more. According to Sandaime,
they had died from starvation caused by famine that had meant no fish for the
little village by the sea where they had lived and worked. Now, now, Naruto
inched closer to this stranger who had uttered his name.
�� Somewhere in
the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn�t trust everything in this place, even
if all illusions needed to have some base in fact for them to work. Just as he
knew he could do nothing to help her when he suddenly spotted the growing patch
of red where her legs came together. He wasn�t so stupid that he had missed her
swollen belly or what that had to mean. Well, so what if Shikamaru had had to
be the one to explain it to him? It wasn�t like he�d had anyone to give him
lessons beyond anything ninja related. That thought brought a twinge to his
chest and he rubbed at it absently as he was passed by a ghost of a nurse. He
shouldn�t have felt her shoulder, but the part of his brain that registered
this as an illusion had begun to get confused.
�� Suddenly, the
scene switched again and the woman, no longer moaning but still obviously
pregnant lay peacefully in the same bed. Naruto could now hear the commotion of
the battle he assumed had been carried over from the start of the illusion.
Something was roaring in the distance and the sting of Kyuubi�s chakra on his
skin, like no other, confirmed it. Naruto nearly jumped at the sound of the
door opening swiftly. But, it was neither a nurse, nor a doctor that entered.
Instead, Naruto was greeted with the swift arrival of a much younger version of
the ninja who now sat across from him - or across from the real Naruto, at
least. He was wearing a ninja headband from Konoha, the leaf proudly etched
into the metal tied across his forehead.
�� Kushina, how
are you feeling?�
�� The woman,
Kushina he had called her, shifted and her eyes cracked open and then blinked
to regard the man owlishly. Such a pretty blue color, the like of which Naruto
had never seen. She smiled in Hiroku�s direction which meant Naruto�s as well,
and Naruto felt his knees nearly give out. His mother had smiled. It was
something he hadn�t even known he�d been missing in his life, a smile like that
with her face glowing all on its own.
�� I�m feeling
much better now that I know my husband is still out there. He�ll keep this
place, and our child safe, though it might mean his life.�
�� Naruto
couldn�t even register fully that he was crying until he felt moisture drip
onto the hand he had unconsciously lifted out to her.
�� That�s
good,� the man said. Naruto watched as his eyes kept flitting around the room
to the window and the door, as if he was expecting an attack at any moment.
Kushina had seen it, too.
�� Hiroku, you
have nothing to worry about. That monster won�t ever do anything to harm
another soul again.� She had reached her hand up to his and squeezed it, but
Hiroku turned away from it. His hands had begun to shake and his shoulders soon
followed.
�� Your family
will not be forgotten. That demon will suffer through decades of imprisonment
inside a human, his most loathed enemy, for what he has done.�
�� Hiroku shook
his head and turned moist eyes to Kushina.
�� You are
right, though it won�t be the human you and that bastard had in mind.�
�� Suddenly he
snaked an arm out and the flash from the muted overhead light on metal caught
Naruto and Kushina�s attention. Naruto called out trying to warn her,
forgetting the fact that this had already happened. Kushina made no sound at
all. She simply looked up at Hiroku, an utterly pitying expression painting her
pretty features.
�� So, you have
let yourself become just like that thing?�
�� Hiroku
frowned at her. Reaching down, he gathered the sheets together in his hand and
pulled. They fell and Naruto could see where the man�s kunai had split
Kushina�s abdomen from breastbone clear to where her thighs met. The fact that
he was seeing his mother naked and bleeding sickened him. The fact that this
man meant more harm made him want to scream. But, he couldn�t breath. Hiroku
plunged his other hand into the wound and moved it around as if searching for
something. Naruto wondered belatedly why no one had registered a problem.
Smiling triumphantly, Hiroku dragged his hand, now bloody from wrist to elbow,
back out of Kushina�s body. With it came an organ or a sac that moved and was
still connected to Kushina by a thick cord. Kushina still made no move to
scream for help or fight him off. Instead she smiled and it threw Hiroku off
his task for a moment.
�� You won�t
win. Not now, not ever. If Minato doesn�t bleed you dry, I�ll find some way to
rip your soul right down to hell even if I have to do it from there.�
�� And, then,
she threw her head back and screamed long and loud. Hiroku, sensing the
urgency, moved faster. Drawing the organ to the bed, he slit it open and
grabbed hold of whatever was inside. A wriggling, red, squalling infant came up
from the dark. Hiroku nearly dropped it as he grunted in the effort to hold it
and cut the cord still connecting mother and son. Naruto felt beyond sick. The
appalling sight of his own birth, how it had come about, his mother . . . oh
god, his mother, it all made him sick. Just as the doors finally burst open to
emit a medical ninja and nurses, Hiroku shot through the closed window, the
newborn held tightly in his arms.
�� The scene
twisted and changed again. Naruto grew dizzy from it all. Everything he had
seen, everything that was happening. He wanted nothing more than to escape it
all. But, the scream threatening to rip his insides out never came. He gasped
at the sight before him. He was now in the Hokage�s private office, one he�d
been in countless times before. It looked different. The colors were all
different and there were many, many more scrolls lining the walls. The
instruments, too, seemed to be more for astronomy and star-gazing than ninja
work. Though, Naruto supposed the scrolls were probably all detailing some kind
of jutsu or technique. The Yondaime sat with the Elders and a few advisors,
some of whom Naruto recognized.
�� Naruto had
never before seen a picture of the Yondaime, though he knew one had sat in this
very office while Sandaime had held it. Tall, blonde and with blue eyes very
like Kushina�s, or Naruto�s own, he reclined behind the desk, feet splayed out
in front of him. Something about him was commanding, almost regal, despite his
relaxed posture. He was currently rubbing his fingertips along his temples and
frowning.
�� What do you
propose I do then, Fugaku? The child we had already intended to use is dead. If
we�d had more than a cryptic warning from you and sooner than a few days ago
that Madara was planning . . .�
�� The Yondaime
suddenly stopped speaking. Naruto wanted him to continue, always continue. His
voice, so rich and mellow, reminded him of Sasuke but was altogether different.
Naruto turned to look back at whoever he�d been speaking to. The ninja behind
him was black haired and dark eyed and seemed familiar. Naruto cocked his head
to the side to try and remember when Hiroku, struggling bundle still in hand,
broke into the conversation through a cloud of smoke.
�� What the
devil? Hiroku! You know that that technique is only warranted when the Hokage
is in imminent danger! How the hell did you manage it with me in the office,
anyway?�
�� The
Yondaime�s taut features were stressed and stretched to their limits as he
faced the intruder. But, the screeching cry coming from the cloth bundle halted
the tirade. Minato blinked.
�� Hiroku, what? What is that? What are you doing?�
�� This, my
dear fearless leader, is your son.�
�� Hiroku�s twisted
grin was back. Demented laughter reached the ears of all present, breaking the
tense silence that had followed his words. Minato sat gaping at him until the
one called Fugaku had managed to come from behind and attack Hiroku using three
shuriken and a kick aimed at his legs. Hiroku had dodged them all easily while
still managing to keep hold on the stained and tattered remnant. Fugaku�s
features were tense as he prepared for another run and Naruto thought he heard
the man mutter something about �trying to keep the child safe, he was already
about to lose so much�, but shook his head clear of it. He turned to watch
Minato again, saw the lightly tinged skin bleed white and the brilliant blue
eyes fill to brimming with tears.
�� What have
you done? My God, man, what have you done?�
�� The last part
had been drawn out in a desperate plea that no one in the room had missed.
Hiroku laughed again but didn�t pause as he through the screaming infant at
Minato and disappeared in another cloud of smoke. Minato�s eyes widened and he
collapsed to ground just in time to catch the falling child. The ninja
surrounding him had erupted in a flurry of motion calling for medic-nins and
for ANBU to start a hunt for Hiroku, but Naruto only had eyes and ears for
Minato. He watched, enraptured, as the older man brought the cloth to his face
and used one hand to peel back the edges. He cooed and hummed softly as silent
tears coursed down his cheeks. He brought his fingers down to run them along
the screaming child�s face and the tuft of blonde hair on his head.
�� Shhh, my boy, my beautiful boy. It�s alright now. You�re
safe. That nasty man won�t hurt you ever again. You�ll be fine.�
�� He�s so
small. She was barely twenty five weeks, Minato,� Fugaku said softly. He�d gone
to the man�s side when Minato had fallen to the floor, his feet jutting out to
the side and behind him.
�� I know. I
know. I�ll take care of it. I�ll take care of everything. Have the nurses clean
him up. I�ll be back. There�s something I have to do for him first. I need to
see the Sandaime. I�ll be back.�
�� Minato was
rambling, but Naruto understood. He had very nearly lost his son and had most
likely lost his wife, would still, perhaps, lose them both. The medic-nin that
took the boy looked sadly down at him and then up to Minato, begging.
�� I�m sorry.
Kushina . . . we couldn�t stop him, didn�t get there in time.�
�� Minato was
nodding but Naruto doubted if he had heard any of it. His heart hurt. He was
gasping for air and weeping constant streams of tears now. The laughter from
before had returned and Naruto could not get it out of his head.
�� A voice
shouted on the wind, �Now you know, you self righteous prick. You�ll probably
use him as a sacrifice, too, huh? You�ll still not have half my pain. To hell
with you, your son and that wench you called a wife!�
�� And, with
those last words ringing in Naruto�s ears, the scene changed one final time to
open up on the rock wall and Hiroku�s face once more twisted by insane laughter.
It was then that Naruto realized that he was indeed screaming.

*�� *��
*�� *

�� Hiroku pushed
Naruto further into the rock, twisting the kunai he had drawn and stabbed into
the boy�s chest cruelly.
�� That house,
did you see it?�
�� Naruto
nodded, if only in the hope that Hiroku would release some of the pressure
behind the blade.
�� That house
was mine once. I had a wife in Konoha, a job, as a
ninja. She bore me a son. My clan, my family,
was special. Maybe not as special as the Uchiha or the Hyuuga, but we had
power. My son was to take your place. But, he died. Your father and the council
orchestrated his death all so they would not have to relinquish control. It
happened because we were willing to raise him, to comfort him, to teach him,
when the time came, about the Kyuubi and his family ancestors, his village.
They sent fire out to my home and my clan�s district and burnt it all to
cinders. But your father, did you see him? He would hear none of my pleas for
justice. He said it was a product of the Kyuubi. Those hurricane force winds of
his had blown a fire clear across the village to my land. Of course, that�s
nothing compared to what he did to you, his own son.�
�� Again Hiroku
attacked. This time he swept the kunai across the flesh covering Naruto�s
ribcage.
�� Now, you
see? He sacrificed you. You were nothing more than a choice; village safety
over the life of his son. I would never have been like that, was never like
that. My son meant everything to me.� Hiroku twisted the kunai further and
Naruto screamed.
�� Hiroku
brought his face so close to Naruto�s it had the young ninja gagging and
clawing to get away.
�� I don�t have
much time left. My comrades went on ahead of me and I intend to bring along
your head so the Tsuchikage can have some fun with it. I�m sure he wants your
body, too, seeing as how you�re the last of the Jinchuuriki, something he would
prize, but I�ve other plans for it.�
�� Naruto could
do nothing to fight any of Hiroku�s attacks. The pressure from his advance was
actually pushing him further into the rock at his back. He fled, straight into
the waiting arms of another, hopefully more merciful demon.
�� The cage was
the same as before. The Kyuubi was still agitated, panting at the breech
between the bars.
�� I told you,
you need to go back.�
�� Shut the
hell up, asshole fox. You�ve done more than enough damage and I�m tired of it.
I�m tired of all of it. I�m tired, I�m injured and I�m dying. Let me do it in
peace.�
�� Naruto kept
his eyes slanted to the ground to keep from being caught up in that gaze. It
made him sick, all of it.
�� Go back!�
The roar surprised Naruto enough to look up. He could swear on what little time
he had left that the great Kyuubi, once God then demon, now God again, was
afraid. Anger burned in Naruto�s chest, fighting past the pain that had gutted
it not minutes ago.
�� What, you
want out so bad? You could have stayed out. I gave you the choice!�
�� Stupid! And, what about Sasuke? Your precious
village? Funny, I thought you always called yourself strong. So, you�ll
let some piece of rancid meat take all that away? You really think he�ll stop
at you? The village hurt him, not
just your father.�
�� Naruto gasped
as cold tendrils of fear made their way past the anger and his shaking hands
balled themselves into fists.
�� I can�t . .
. I don�t think I can . . . I hurt, this hurts. I don�t have enough left to
face him even if I were free.�
�� Yes, you do.
It�s just going to hurt like hell.� Naruto glanced up at the fox questioningly
who smiled down at him with all his teeth.
�� When he
lights it, use the wind, make the fire stronger and force it out at him. He
will fall and you will be free.�
�� Naruto didn�t
understand, but the fox was already pushing him out with his chakra. It felt
stronger than before. Naruto realized that not all the pain he felt was left
over from his earlier injuries. The Kyuubi really had been pouring out massive
amounts of chakra to help him heal the best he could.
�� Now he was
wet and he stank. Naruto looked up at Hiroku and something must have showed
through from his conversation with Kyuubi because the man pulled back,
hesitating. Naruto could smell the gasoline. It sank into his clothes and his
hair and burned his skin. Naruto smiled.
�� Go ahead.
I�ve got nothing to lose, right?�
�� Hiroku�s face
came dangerously close again and his madly twisted features bore into Naruto.
The sound of wood striking the rock caught Naruto�s attention and the smell of
sulfur held it. Gathering as much wind chakra as he could, he prepared himself.
�� As you wish.�
�� The moment
Hiroku let go of the match, Naruto fired out all the wind chakra he could
causing the flame to explode outward and straight into Hiroku. The blast had
shifted the rock to crumble at his feet and Naruto suddenly felt his hands
dropping to his sides. In no time at all Naruto had gone down on all fours to try
and roll away from the growing flames. Some of it had caught on his jacket
while he was still pinned and his chest and upper arms were awash in flames. It
was like no other injury Naruto had ever suffered. Frayed nerve endings, some
of which had already been at their limits from all the broken and torn flesh,
positively screamed. Every inch of skin that the fire had touched was nearly
melted away to the muscle beneath within moments. Naruto kept rolling until the
pain had him retching. It felt like forever before the flames had all been
snuffed out. His stomach empty and his chest and arms smelling of charred meat,
he struggled to breath. Looking back, he caught a glimpse of Hiroku still
battling the flames that had engulfed his entire body by now. The screaming
continued until Hiroku fell to the ground, writhing. Naruto covered his ears
and squeezed his eyes to try to drown it all out.
�� Suddenly, the
screaming stopped. Naruto opened his eyes only to lean over and vomit again
until he was dry heaving. The sight of Hiroku�s blackened body was terrifying
enough. The fact that Naruto could still see the chest rising and falling and
puffs of smoky air passing the cracked and torn lips made him want to be sick
all over again. Finally, both came to stop a few torturous moments later. He
had done that. That man had been insane, beyond reason, but Naruto had never in
his life desired any human to suffer so horribly. He wasn�t sure he�d wanted it
for this man, either. Using his aching, but relatively whole, right arm, Naruto
crawled away from the mouth of the cave to collapse on the ground not ten feet
away. He was lucky enough, in his current condition, to have crawled under a
massive oak tree by chance. It would help hide his seared flesh from the sun.
Naruto had one last moment to think of what it would be like to show up in
Tsunade�s office looking the way he did before he let sweet sleep take him as
far away as it dared. ��
- 7
- 8
- 9
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The Fall of the Dogs of War