Chapter 10: The Fourth Hokage

"Hello...Naruto."

Hearing his name, Naruto snapped out of his reverie, mouth opening to poise a question.

"If you're going to ask how I'm here, it's rather simple: I worked it into the seal so that, if you ever sprouted your eighth tail, I would appear in your consciousness and stop you." Looking over his shoulder at the Kyuubi, he continued. "I wanted to avoid it, since I NEVER wanted to see you again, Nine-Tails."

The creature growled, but Minato wasn't finished. "However, since I get to see my son all grown up..." Turning back, he flashed Naruto a bright grin. "I guess that makes up for it, huh?"

Naruto was still too stunned to form a coherent sentence. "...Son? Wait, how does the Fourth Hokage know my name? I never told you it."

A growled warning interrupted them. "Yondaime...don't you DARE do what I think you're about to. Know that I will tear you to pieces should you open your fat mouth once more!"

Minato, for his part, completely ignored him. "Why wouldn't I know your name? I'm the one who gave it to you. It would be rather weird if I didn't know your name...my son."

A snarled roar echoed through the tunnels of the sewer system, but it fell on deaf ears. Shell-shocked, Naruto stood stock-still, not believing what his ears had heard. "Son? Then...I'm..." Tears quickly formed at the corners of his eyes, and feel freely as Naruto began to laugh softly in disbelief.

A crashing noise finally got Minato's attention, as the Kyuubi had slammed itself against the bars of its' prison. "YONDAIME! COME OVER HERE, SO I CAN TEAR YOUR HEAD OFF! YOU SPRY LITTLE SHIT!"

Minato shook his head, turning back to Naruto. "He's such a noisy fellow, isn't he? How about we go someplace a little more quiet, hm?"

Snapping his fingers, the area around them immediately changed, albeit Naruto didn't seem to notice, his forearm over his eyes as he tried in vain to wipe away the onslaught of tears.

"The Sandaime didn't tell you much about your lineage, did he?" At Naruto's lack of response, he continued. "I'm thinking the reason behind that was because he knew that if word got out that you were my son, every single enemy I'd made in life would be chomping at the bit for your death, to get revenge on me from beyond the grave."

Naruto still didn't respond, so while curious, Minato continued. "He also wanted to keep information about the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki a closely guarded secret, so he probably forbade anyone speak of it in public, should they already have prevalent knowledge on the subject."

"Tou-chan..."

"Hm?"

WHAM

The air left Minato's lungs in a flash, saliva flying from his mouth as he nearly doubled over from the haymaker to his stomach. As it was, his knees threatened to give out on him as Naruto exploded.

"WHY THE FUCK DID YOU SEAL THE GOD-DAMNED KYUUBI IN YOUR OWN FUCKING SON?" he roared, tears now flowing unobstructed once again. "DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD MY LIFE HAS BEEN? EVERYONE LOOKED AT ME WITH CONTEMPT, WITH HATRED AND SCORN AND BARELY RESTRAINED RAGE! YOU MADE MY EXISTENCE A FEARFUL, PITIFUL, SAD, AND LONELY EXCUSE FOR A LIFE!"

Minato NOW dropped to his knees, head down as he heard the hurt and anguish in his son's voice, untold sorrow clawing at his throat as he fought to hold back the tears. He knew he'd been condemning his son the moment he sealed the Kyuubi inside him, and he had been privy to everything Naruto had gone through in his short life, but to hear it from the man himself, his very son's ragged voice that spoke of pain even HE'D never experienced...

It broke his heart.

"I wasn't able to make ANY friends, and everyone refused to acknowledge me! I was an outcast, a pariah, a leper! Parents kept their children away from the 'beast', the 'demon'! I JUST WANTED PEOPLE TO ACCEPT ME FOR WHO. I. WAS! NOT WHAT THEY BELIVED ME TO BE! I worked SO hard, trained for hours, days, weeks, months, YEARS, and STILL people didn't accept me!"

Tears fell against Minato's will, his shoulders trembling as his son continued his tormented rant. "Only when I met Iruka-sensei did I get my first real friend. And then I got Sakura-chan, and Sasuke-teme and Kakashi-sensei. Ero-Sennin, too. And I was happy! Happy because they not only made me stronger, but made me feel like I was WORTH something! Like I wasn't an outcast, a beast, or a demon. Like I was really human."

"But then because of the Kyuubi, I was targeted by Akatsuki. I had to train harder, get much stronger, but STILL my friends ended up dying because of me! It's ALWAYS been because of me! Just...just why? TELL ME WHY?"

Naruto dissolved into sobs at this point, and Minato stood shakily, before reaching out and wrapping his son in a hug. Naruto was shocked for a moment, but soon relinquished control to the sobs that wracked his body.

Minato held him close, tears running down his cheeks as well. "I am SO sorry, Naruto. So sorry...I never meant ANY of this to happen to you." He squeezed him slightly, before letting go and drying his eyes. "Naruto?"

He sniffled and went back to wiping his eyes with his sleeve. "Yeah?"

"How old are you now?"

Rubbing his eyes fiercely, he willed them to stop watering. "S-sixteen."

Minato smiled softly. "Wow...sixteen, huh? You sure are grown up...Naruto, I'm sorry. I know that you've gone through so much, and quite frankly, I don't suppose I have the right to say I'm sorry, ne? After all, I was the one who put you through all of it, so it's my fault you've been through so much to begin with."

Naruto finally managed to stop the waterworks, and stared at the glowing yellow floor. "Nah, it's...it's okay. I'm the son of the Yondaime, right? I can handle it."

Minato smiled. "Like I said, I don't really have the right to say this, but I'm proud of you. So, SO proud."

Naruto couldn't help the grin that spread over his face.

Minato continued, the mood sobering slightly. "I sealed half of the Kyuubi's chakra into you for a very special reason, Naruto. I believed you could control it's power, something no one else has done before you. Sure, they've been able to seal it, but never has anyone utilized it's power before."

"Also, there was one other reason. When the Kyuubi attacked Konoha sixteen years ago, it was not of its' own choice. The Kyuubi was forced to." At this, Naruto's eyes widened. "He attacked our village once, and I believe he will do so again. He was a member of Akatsuki. The one with the mask."

Naruto remembered clearly the funny man in the orange-spiraled mask, the kook that could make himself incorporeal at will, and had the ability to make himself, literally, disappear.

"He had the ability to read every single one of my moves, dodge all of my attacks, and could shift through matter at will. He's...no ordinary ninja. In all honesty, he's probably just using Pein." Naruto made to argue this, but Minato put up a hand. "I know what you're thinking. Pein hates Konoha, as we were one of the villages that destroyed his village. Yet this masked man knows this, and is using that hatred to control him."

Naruto looked down at the floor once again. "Pein asked you a question. This question is easy to ask, but difficult to answer. Even I don't know the answer to it."

"But if someone like Ero-Sennin and the Yondaime Hokage don't know, then how the hell am I supposed to know? I'm NOT smart, I'm NOT a good ninja, and-"

A hand clapped onto Naruto's head, and he looked up to see the Yondaime's smiling face. "Because I have faith in you. I believe that YOU will find the answer both of us could not."

Naruto's eyes widened. "...Really? You...really believe I can do it?"

Minato grinned. "Even if I didn't, a parent is obligated to believe in their child, ne?" Reaching down, he put his hand on Naruto's stomach. "I can rebuild the seal, but only once." With a twirl of his fingers, the seal was fixed, Naruto's grunt of pain nonwithstanding. He then stepped away, causing Naruto to step forward. "Wait...where are you...?"

"My chakra's fading. It's time for me to go."

"But..but I still have so much more to ask you! I still have so much I want to talk with you about!"

Minato began to fade even as he spoke. "Remember this, if nothing else: I have FAITH in you, Naruto. Jiraiya had faith in you. That's why he entrusted his mission to you, as do I. I...no, WE are counting on you...son."

And with that, he faded into the light.

Naruto stared for a moment, then nodded. "Thanks...Dad."

Pein stared at the nearly-complete Kyuubi, the creature roaring and snarling and seething with unbridled rage and hatred.

"What tremendous power. Such is the power of the Kyuubi...I never imagined a power quite like this before." He raised his hand in the direction of the Chibaku Tensei. "No matter, though. I will simply need to make the technique larger, then-"

POOF

Blinking, Pein stared at the large hole in the giant ball of rock, small chunks falling from its' edges as the smoke dissipated. Pein's eyes actually widened. "W-where...?"

Staring intently, Naruto's visage could be seen, his feet planted on the ball as he stared down at the ground below, Sennin Mode already activated.

Staggering, Pein clutched his head, his vision blurring as he nearly fell to his knees. Immediately, the ball of rock floating in the sky began to tremble, shuddering violently before crumbling, massive stones falling to Earth like hellish confetti as they began to pepper the crater they'd come from.

Startled, Naruto managed to leap from boulder to falling boulder, easily making his way safely back to Earth; as he landed, he finally noticed his increased senses and reflexes.

'I'm in Sage Mode? But...wait...the transformation into the Kyuubi must have disrupted my chakra. That probably caused my clones to dispel...which would explain the influx of Senjutsu chakra.'

Looking around, he began to break out into a cold sweat as he saw the barren wasteland around him. 'Please, no...please tell me I didn't...' Barely daring to do so, he closed his eyes and stretched out his senses. A feeling of relief so strong it nearly took the strength from his knees swept over him, and he chuckled despite himself. 'They're okay...somehow. I guess Pein took the fight away from Konoha, for whatever reason. Maybe I forced him to, I'm not sure. Either way...I'm so glad.'

Opening his eyes, he saw Pein staring back at him, seemingly composed and aloof.

"So, you've managed to tame the Kyuubi? I'm not one to give out compliments lightly, but I must say that I'm impressed." A chakra rod slid into his hand. "Although, it won't do you much good, even if you HAVE tamed it."

"Take me to the REAL you."

Pein's jaw nearly dropped, so taken aback by the blonde's left-field request. The effect was barely noticeable, however. "Hn, so you've managed to figure it out. First Jiraiya-sensei, now you. Konohagakure sure does live up to its' reputation as producers of capable shinobi."

"Quit with the fancy words, Pein. I know you're not the real one; my Sennin Mode makes that obvious to me. However, I cannot pinpoint your exact location, which is why I want you to lead me there yourself. I have something I wish to speak with you about."

Pein merely stared. "The time for speaking is long since passed. No more words need to be shared between you and I. The only thing left is for me to capture you, and end this pointless debacle once and for all."

Naruto slanted his eyes to the left, a thousand yard stare taking hold of his features. Slowly, he brought his hands up and formed his infamous cross seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

One clone poofed into existence, and Pein raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He watched as the clone merely nodded to the original before disappearing in a shunshin.

Naruto turned his attention to Pein. "If you would be so kind, I'd like exactly 30 seconds to prepare myself. The least you could do is grant me that request."

Pein let a small grin form on his face, quickly dismissing it as he schooled his features. "Hmm...I suppose that wouldn't do any harm. I'm not sure what you're planning, Jinchuuriki, but it'll do you little good. Nothing you or your little friends can do will stop me from taking what I need to complete my plan for world peace.

15 seconds had passed, and Naruto quickly glanced over at the horizon, already knowing he'd found what he'd been looking for.

He glanced back at Pein, as the latter continued. "You may as well use this precious time I've given you to pray to whatever god you believe in for mercy, because this god will show you none."

20...25...Naruto stretched out his hand, and as Pein looked on...

Sakura was doing all she could to mend Revan's wounds, but it was slow and arduous going: Not only had she been stabbed in the stomach, but she'd been stabbed in the heart, as well, and it was taking all she had just to keep the woman alive.

She was startled when Naruto suddenly appeared, kicking up dust from his most recent shunshin. She looked up at him, but he didn't even glance her way; instead, he was frantically looking for something, something that was apparently very import-

He'd apparently found it, though, because he wasted no time in tearing bits and pieces of rubble aside, and his grin could have lit up the sky when he came up with a silver cylinder in his hands.

That grin died a horrible death when his eyes landed on the three, Shima looking away as Sakura's eyes fell to Revan. She was deathly pale, almost corpse-like in appearance. Daring to sneak a peek, Sakura wished she hadn't when the utter devastation that filled Naruto's face became visible.

It was gone in an instant, but there had been enough time for her to see it, and she could honestly say she never wanted to see that look on his bright, cheery face ever, ever again. He turned, but not before addressing her.

"Sakura."

She couldn't help but continue to notice the obvious lack of -chan at the end of her name, and it still pained her to hear that.

"Yes?"

"...Please...do all that you can for her. That's...all I ask."

"I will. I promise."

He flashed her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks." Turning, he cocked his arm back, and hurled the cylinder as hard as he could, before revealing he was nothing more than a clone, as he dispersed in a puff of smoke.

...caught the metal object that had seemingly gravitated towards his hand. Pein blinked, as the object had, quite literally, come out of the bloody sky. But how-

It hit him. The clone. He must have sent it off to retrieve this object, but for what-

The memory of his Animal Path's demise resurfaced in his mind, and he glared at the object, even as it snapped to life with a hum, an angry red blade hissing as it seared the very air around it.

"30 seconds. Just like I'd asked. Now, since you don't want to lead me to your original, I suppose I'll just have to take what I want by force."

Pein sneered, all traces of composure gone. "You think that blade can help you, when it did SO much for that pathetic woman? You know no-"

A shin slammed into his face, his nose breaking as he was sent hurtling backwards, slamming bodily into the crater wall. His head rang fiercely as his sense of orientation was taken for one hell of a ride. He slumped to a knee as he tried to regain his bearings, but wasn't prepared for the foot that suddenly entered his vision, coming up at him from below.

He dodged it, the sole of the sandal scraping lightly against his nose, indicating how close it had come to-

A fist connected with his temple, and he spun end over end sideways, before a knee to his back catapulted him forward into the air.

Suddenly, feet and hands and knees and elbows were hitting him from all sides, never giving him a chance to recover as he was tossed and batted about like a pinball. His head was ringing, his back smarting, and every hit caused another spot on his body to ache terribly. He could tell that it was leading to some sort of climax, a finishing move of some sort, but he was currently powerless to prevent it from happening, as the attacks were coming from all sides, and at such a disorienting speed that he couldn't even use his arms to block, let alone his Shinra Tensei.

"U-" "ZU-" "MA-" KI-"

Looking up, he barely had time to see Naruto, yellow eyes blazing as a rather large and...imposing Rasengan was held aloft in his hand. He reached out to stop it, but Naruto had already brought it down, slamming the senjutsu-enhanced chakra ball into his unlucky foe.

"CHOSENGAN! (shortened version of Cho-Oodama Rasengan (Super/Ultra Big-Ball Rasengan)"

The explosion as the enlarged chakra ball struck paydirt was massive, sending columns of dirt and earth and sand high into the air, as another smaller crater was hollowed into the ground.

Naruto landed a small distance away, unclipping Revan's lightsaber from its' spot on his waistband, igniting the blade as he stared at the slowly-dispersing cloud of dust.

As he'd expected, Pein strode from the cloud uninjured, cracking his neck as he stared impassively back at Naruto. "Is that all you've got, Jinchuuriki? Surely that's not the best you've got? The Kyuubi hits MUCH harder than you do, and I came out no worse for wear from those attacks. Your dull and cheap imitations of Jiraiya-sensei's techniques are both hardly impressive and an utter waste of my time."

He reached out and invoked his technique. "Bansho Tenin."

As like before, Naruto was drug forward by an invisible force, Pein's chakra rod speeding forward to greet him. As the rod impaled his stomach-

POOF

"Wha-?"

Spinning around, Pein spotted the Rasenshuriken screaming out of the very dustcloud he'd just left. With 3 seconds to go until he could reuse his technique, he was theoretically screwed, unless-

Two clones shot out from their hiding places in the rubble, making a grab for Pein. Shooting a second set of chakra rods out from his tattered sleeves, Pein stabbed both in the shoulder, before using the lot as a springboard, catapulting himself up and over the advancing Rasenshuriken.

And not a moment too soon.

The technique sheared through his chakra rods like a hot knife through butter, continuing on behind him as it carved a path of crushed rock, shattered stone, and sliced boulders, before crashing into a particular mound of debris and exploding like a firework, turning the mound into pebbles.

Mid-air, Pein was not expecting a SECOND Rasenshuriken to come screaming at him. Fortunately, he was just in time. The technique impacted his own, and the two canceled one another out, his barrier dissipating as the jutsu was torn apart by the absolute defense.

'He can only use TWO of those shuriken jutsu before he runs out of senjutsu, and this was his second one.' Pein landed on a small platform of rock that had been sheared smooth by the first Rasenshuriken. 'It's over, he's mi-'

Chaos suddenly erupted around Pein, as literally HUNDREDS of puffs of smoke turned rocks into Kage Bunshin, each leaping straight towards him.

Pein couldn't friggin' believe it. "He turned THIS MANY CLONES into rocks?"

Each clone was cocking a fist back, and Pein was looked around, seeing two clones next to the original Naruto, the latter panting heavily as he was helped by the two clones to remain standing.

Turning back to his rather...dire predicament, Pein was literally counting the seconds as they passed. "3...2...1..." The closest clone swung his fist, chakra visible behind the attack. "ZERO!"

Time stood still for a millisecond, then all of the clones were blown backwards, shouts and cries followed by puffs of smoke as dozens of clones were immediately destroyed by the technique.

Pein kept his hands held out, pouring more power than he should have into the technique as he viciously repelled every last one of the clones, their cries of pain drowned out by the multiple pops and puffs of dispersing.

"Someone like you, who doesn't even know the answer to my question, has no right to continue fighting! JUST GIVE UP!"

As the last of his power ebbed from his hands, his knees gave out. Pein slumped to the ground, panting heavily as he looked out over the dispersing smoke.

And there he was.

Still standing there.

His two remaining clones by his side.

. . .

. . .

It was IMPOSSIBLE...and yet...

'5 seconds. He can't close the distance in that amount of time. He can't. All of his long-range jutsu are used up. He's got nothing left.'

"You..." His head jerked up, eyes wide as he saw both clones swinging the original around like a ragdoll, letting him fly as they dispersed. Saber in hand, Naruto brought it back, over his head. "You need to give up...ON MAKING ME GIVE UP!"

BTTTHZZT

Crouching in front of Pein, Naruto let the saber clatter to the ground, the blood-red blade hissing as it deactivated with a SNIP-CLICK. Putting one hand on his knee, Naruto's vision blurred as he hit the ground, his back hitting the crooked slate of rock hard. Still, it was a smooth surface, and he was grateful for that, at least.

His eyes went dull for a moment, then refocused once more on the stationary form of Pein.

Arm outstretched, he'd thrust a chakra rod forward in a last-ditch attempt to impale Naruto, but to no avail. The blond had easily skirted the tip of the rod, and brought the saber down in an overhand arc, slicing clean through the rod, as well as...well...

A dull thud echoed slightly, as Pein's left arm rolled to a stop a foot or so away from him, the severed chakra rod still clutched in its' grasp. As for Pein...a fine, nearly invisible line had been made, starting from his mid-right collarbone and ending at the middle of his left ribcage.

Somehow, the Deva Path managed to turn its' bloodshot Rinnegan onto Naruto. "I...congra..tulate you...Uzumaki Narut..o. Howev..er, you...will never...find the r...eal me...not with t..his Path gone."

Sucking in a large breath, Naruto exhaled and reached forward, grabbing the severed arm and removing a chakra rod from it, before stabbing it into his arm, much to the Path's surprise.

Far away, Pein (the REAL Pein) gasped as he felt a foreign chakra enter his coils. Instantly, he knew what had happened. Using the mortally damaged Deva Path, he confirmed that Naruto was using his Sennin Mode, the orange pigment appearing over his closed eyelids.

"So, he's managed to reverse-engineer it so that he could follow the wisps of chakra back to its' original source, and find me. Very clever, Uzumaki Naruto."

A female voice spoke. "Nagato, does he know where we are?"

Pein, now identified as Nagato, nodded. "He does, Konan. He'll come here, for sure. Be on your guard."

The woman, Konan, nodded.

Naruto yanked the rod out of his arm, and tossed it aside, picking up Revan's saber and hooking it to his waistband. As he began to walk, a hand shot out and grasped his.

Sensing no killing intent, Naruto didn't react more than turning his head to regard the owner of said hand. The Deva Path spoke, even as its' body finally began to show the true nature of the damage that had been done, the top half sliding sideways as gravity took hold. "I...await...your arri..val...container...of the Kyu..ubi."

With that, he let go, and his parts separated, landing on the ground with a soft thud.

Naruto nodded, and used a shunshin.

He was gone in a second.

I know, I know. Short chapter, and for some reason or another, people are irked that I'm still doing this flashback. I've said it once, and I've said it twice. I've said it three times, and I'll say it again: If you don't like it, don't bloody read it. No one is forcing you to, and no one is going to think less of you if you don't continue. Lord knows I won't.

Someone commented that my work is some of the only decent fanfiction on the entire bloody site, and while I'd like to agree with him, to do so would be rather haughty and arrogant of me. I'll admit that I think my material is good, but since I'M the one writing it, I'm hardly an unbiased judge of penmanship. Still, I like to consider my work well-thought out and detailed.

Very. Detailed.

Some people like details. Some don't. Back to the point at hand, this is, without a doubt, one of my favorite fights in all of Naruto fandom. Some have commented that, "it's been done before." I completely agree with that. I would like to add, however, that I hardly doubt that it's been done like this before, with attention to detail almost an absolute, and an almost perfectionist attitude towards correct grammar and spelling. Trust me when I say that while I pride myself on very little, my vehement grasp of the English language is one of my prides, and I'd like to see people top it.

I really, truly, honestly would.

Mostly because, if you've even taken a passing glance at the current work on this site, most of it is rather broken, ugly versions of the English language, and it looks like a 6th grader could have done better.

So, with my rant complete, I'll leave you all with this: I write this not only for you, but also a little for myself. It helps to pass the time, when I have nothing better to do, and it gives me a little sense of satisfaction, knowing I've done something constructive with my spare time, and that people are enjoying reading it. Don't like where the story's headed? That's fine. You can voice your opinions, but do so in a constructive manner. Anything else is bitching, and I won't stand for it.

-Sgt. Assassin