A/N: First, I want to say sorry for the delay. I recently started a new job and it's kicking my ass, with the little downtime I get spent more on relaxing and reading than anything else. Add in a few personal issues that cropped up, and not only did my muse die for a while, but it also shriveled up like a mummy before starting to scare away all possible sources of inspiration. I'm starting to get a handle though so hopefully the updates should speed up.

And now onto the regularly scheduled notes…

BWAHAHAHA! Yes, I am EVIL! And yes, what I did last chapter was a dick move. Unsurprisingly, most of the comments were about Naruto unknowingly killing off his family, while most of the rest were about me being an asshole for either having that happen or my update speed (my fault, I totally admit that).

Please be aware however, that this is something I planned back when I first started this fic. This is necessary, not only to make sure that there was nothing holding Naruto back from returning to the EN, but also to help explain his future actions and personality.

This also seems to me to be something that Mercer would do. He knows that he can't beat Naruto from what he's seen of him, so instead of beating him physically, he went after his heart. He's sadistic enough from how he went after Heller's daughter in the game, as well as all of his other actions. Plus, the Mercer in canon is the virus that gained human intelligence after Consuming the corpse of Mercer (that's why he had no memories at the beginning). This Mercer never died, and is the same one who in canon decided that if he was going to die then he'd take everyone with him and smashed the virus containers.

Some of the questions as to how Mercer got Naruto's family will be answered in this chapter.

I don't own Naruto or Prototype. I also don't have a snappy comeback or catch line right now, so move along.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Demon/Summon Speech"

'Demon/Summon Thoughts'

Jutsu/Skills

Chapter 7: Kill Your Maker

-The Hideout-

Heller walked into his base of operations inordinately pleased with himself. He had just neutered Project New Templar, which was quite ironic now that he thought about it, by killing the scientists responsible for working on it. At first, before he knew what the project was about, he had planned on 'rescuing' the scientists and then consuming them to get at their research. However, after picking them all up, during the helicopter ride he found out what the true purpose of the project was.

Using a virus to sterilize the poor and immigrants.

After finding that out, he didn't want to go near the memories of those sick fucks, so he took the helicopter to maximum altitude and then bailed. With no one at the controls, the helicopter quickly spiraled out of control and crashed with an amazing fireball.

Heller snorted at the idiocy of the scientists. When they found out exactly who was piloting the aircraft, they quickly tried to deny the purpose of the project, suddenly stating that it was for a new type of Velcro. Then they tried to get him to spare them by having him 'think of the children' and warning him that he would be crushed by guilt.

For some reason, he didn't think that either one of those reasons would be an issue for him.

Heller's mood however quickly settled down when he saw the others inside the base. The mood inside the store was still somber, just like when he left earlier.

"I take it that there's still no word from Maelstrom?" he queried calmly. The look on the other's faces answered that question for him.

"It's been three days since we heard anything from him!" Dana cried out. Even though they had all only met him once, they still felt responsible for him. After all, despite everything that he had managed to do, and all of the battles he had already fought, Maelstrom was still a child. And they had sent him out to the battle field. "After he took out all of the Whitelight facilities, he just dropped off of the grid! Who knows what happened to him?"

"Now, now Dana," Father Guerra interjected, "I'm sure that he's all right. We haven't heard anything about Blackwatch managing to capture or kill him from their communications, so I'm sure that wherever he is he's holding out fine."

"But what if it's not Blackwatch that got him? What if it was Alex?" Dana questioned them. Indeed, they had nothing to counter that argument with. If Mercer managed to beat him in a fight, to either end up killing him or turning him into some sort of experiment, there would be no way for them to find out. Blackwatch would have no knowledge of the fight, so no news of Maelstrom would pass through their communication channels.

"Well, if Mercer did kill Maelstrom that he would've already found out where our base is. The fact that he hasn't shown up yet is a sign that at least Maelstrom is still alive." said Heller.

That was also something that no one could deny. Had Mercer consumed Maelstrom, then he would have gained his memories of their hideout. With no reason to spare them, and every reason to get rid of them, he would have then proceeded to have them wiped out, either by sending in Blackwatch, or by sending countless waves of infected and Evolved at them. While there was a good chance Heller would survive, given who and what he was; Guerra, Dana, and his daughter would most likely die.

Given that they're all still alive, it was a good indication that Maelstrom still lived.

"Still…" Dana let out softly. Likely to be alive or not, not hearing any news about him was still worrying. Despite the fact that they barely knew him, and that he didn't really trust them, he was still a comrade. Not only that, but he was still a child as well. Worrying about him was a given.

Heller let out a sigh.

"Look, I'll head out and start to search for him. I should be able to find him eventually and figure out what to do from there." He assured them. "If he needs help, I'll give it. If not, I'll find out why he disappeared and let him do whatever it is he's doing."

Relieved, Dana gave him a small smile and thanked him. With a nod, Heller walked out of the base and started his search.

Surprisingly, it didn't take Heller long to find Naruto. In fact, he was only a few blocks away.

He was also in a liquor store surrounded by empty bottles.

Heller could easily smell the booze that was wafting through the air. It looked like the miniature blonde had gone through all of the stock in the entire store, and was sitting against the counter just staring off into space. He walked up to the boy and just waited for him to say something.

"Did you know that we can't get drunk anymore?" Naruto asked Heller. "Our bodies Consume any organic material that comes in contact with it as longs as it's not too big, or it's a liquid. Quite a few inorganic materials too as long as it's not too much at once. Since almost all alcohol comes from grains or fruit…" Here, he just trailed off and then let out a sigh. "Fucking virus."

Heller just looked at Naruto carefully. Something happened to him to cause him to act this way. Since he wasn't sure just what, he played along.

"Wouldn't the alcohol just kill off the virus?" he asked.

"Heh. Even cleaning products designed to kill germs, viruses, and bacteria only kill 99.99% of them. You really think that the Blacklight wouldn't fall under the 0.01% that wouldn't die?" Naruto drawled.

Heller just snorted. "No, I guess not." He continued to observe Naruto carefully. The way he was acting seemed familiar to him. It was almost like when he… With that, the former soldier managed to put the pieces together.

"Maelstrom… Naruto, who died?"

Naruto just looked at him with dead eyes before turning away. After a few moments, he weakly began to speak.

"… It was my family. Somehow, Mercer found out who they were. He grabbed them, infected them, and made me kill them." Ice filled Heller's veins at this admission. To think that Mercer would sink so low… Not only that, but when he killed them, he most likely got their memories as well. So see himself killing them from their own perspective… He didn't have much time to ponder the matter before Naruto continued.

"I got them killed!" Naruto cried out, hot tears of rage and self-loathing once more filling his eyes. Heller attempted to calm him down.

"It's not your fault." He began, but Naruto was having none of it.

"It IS my fault! I must have left some clue for him to find them! Hell, he only went after them because of ME! If it wasn't for me, if I hadn't fought him, he never would have gone after them in the first place! I got them killed!" he cried out. Heller could easily see how heartbroken Naruto was, and it was now that he could see just how young he really was.

Naruto was just a kid, a young boy. Despite all of the power he has, despite all of the knowledge he's gained, in the end he was just a ten year old boy. And now, he was a ten year old boy who just lost everything that ever mattered to him.

After a few minutes, to allow Naruto to let the edge of his grief pass, Heller kneeled in front of him and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. When he looked up, Heller just looked him in the eyes, and spoke bluntly to him.

"I know what it's like to lose someone. Even though I got my daughter back, I still lost my wife. I'm not gonna lie to you, it sucks. It hurts so bad, that you don't want to feel anything, so long as it stops the pain. Nothing matters more than that." At this, Heller paused to think about how he was going to formulate his next words. "Some people are gonna say that the pain goes away after time passes… That's only half true. The pain never goes away. The edge gets blunt, and you learn to live with it and move past it, but it will stay with you."

Naruto drunk in Heller's words like a man dying of thirst in the desert. They weren't comforting words, not meant to take away the pain he felt, or make him think that everything was going to be OK. If they had been, Naruto probably would have rejected them. He didn't want everything to be OK. That would have meant that his family meant nothing to him, that losing the people who saved him from the hell that is loneliness was just a stumble on the road of life.

That was something that he would never have accepted.

Heller shifted so that he was sitting next to Naruto and continued. "After getting my daughter back though, I realized something. Even though the pain of losing my wife is still there… I can still care for my daughter. I can still feel relief. I can still live a good life… and that's something that my wife would have wanted for me. She's probably happy that I loved her enough that I mourned her, but… in the end; she would want me to live my life. And I can live without her. It sucks, but I can move on. It'll hurt forever, but I can find love again, or at least be happy again."

Heller let out a sigh. "I'm really the last person to talk about shit like this. Talk to Guerra. He's a priest, he could probably put it better." He stated. After a few moments, he added, "The only thing I'll say that Guerra wouldn't… well, probably anyways… is that, when all else fails, make the motherfucker who took them pay!"

Naruto looked at Heller with wide eyes, slightly shocked that the man had come out and swore in front of him, given how hard he had tried not to before. It seemed that Heller had now accepted him as an adult… kinda… despite his age. After a moment, Naruto leaned his head back against counter, looking upwards at the ceiling. Wrapping his head around what he had just heard, he closed his eyes as he thought about his family's last message to him.

Three people, a man and two women, were locked together in a small, plain room. They huddled together, shivering, not from cold but from the obvious sickness that they all shared. Their skin was pallid, with deep shadows under their eyes. Their brows were slick with sweat, and all of them seemed to be exhausted from their illness.

This was the remaining members of the Raven family.

After an unknown amount of time huddling together in silence, the young blonde named May spoke out. "Dad… I don't think that we're going to make it…"

The father of the group stayed silent for a moment. The last member of the family that was present took this as an opportunity to speak.

"Dear… we've been infected now. Even if we escape, or Naruto rescues us… we don't have much more time now." Mary spoke calmly, but with a deep sadness in her voice. Her heart was breaking, not at the thought of her own death, but knowing that her family's time was being cut short.

Never would her daughter find the man of her dreams and walk down the aisle to him. Never would her husband have a chance to see both of their children grow into the fine adults they were already showing signs of becoming. Never would she have a chance to bounce her grandchildren on her knee.

The thought that hurt her most however was the thought that her son would once again be alone in the world, losing the loving family that he had managed to find after so long without it.

"… I don't think so either." Jim admitted to them. It was obvious to the others how much it hurt him to admit that. He had always seen it as his job to protect the family, despite Naruto's strength and abilities, and this perceived failure cut him deeply. "I've been thinking about it, and Naruto's going to blame himself for this, no matter whose fault it is. I think we should each leave him a message, just in case."

"Yes." Mary agreed. "We should each make sure we let him know how much we love him, and how it isn't his fault."

"How though?" May asked. "It's not like they're going to let us write a letter to him. How're we going to pass on anything to him?"

Jim hesitated for a moment before answering. "I think they came after us in the first place because they found out about our connection to Naruto. If they're using us to get to him, it's because he's too strong for them to fight directly. So the best way to hurt him…" he trailed off.

"Would be to kill us in front of him?" May tried to finish his trail of thought.

"…No." Jim concluded. "If that was the case then they wouldn't have infected us. But since we know that those infected turn extremely aggressive… they most likely want to force him to kill us himself."

Mary looked at him in horror. "Oh, God no! Please, no!" was all she could stammer out. How much more was Naruto going to have to suffer? Just why was it that he couldn't catch a break? She knew her son well, despite the short time he spent with them, and knew that her husband was right. This would break him… no, it would utterly destroy him.

Jim just nodded solemnly. "I think so. If that's the case however, then that at least gives us the opportunity to pass on a message."

May looked just as stunned as her mother. However, she was able to push past the absolute panic that still seemed to grip Mary. "Just how is this going to let us pass on a message Dad? From the news, we'll be just like zombies! We won't think about anything other than killing Naruto, much less tell him how we feel!"

Jim just sighed. "Think about it. Usually, when he kills someone, he Consumes their corpse, gaining their memories and skills along with their biomass. Even if we aren't ourselves when he kills us, our brains are still there. Any memories we have would still be there for him to find."

"So, we what? Just talk to each other as if we were talking to Naruto?" she asked.

"Pretty much." Jim confirmed.

By this time, Mary had managed to bring herself under control. "So, how do we do this?" she asked.

"Gather round, we'll each take turns… I guess as his father I'll go first." Jim stated. The three of them huddled up, taking comfort in the presence of the others, even if they knew that it was a false reassurance that they felt.

"Dad?" May asked.

"Yes?"

"Can I go first instead?" she asked him.

Jim took a closer look at his daughter, and came to a sad conclusion. Being just a young girl, she was smaller than the other two, even if she was starting to come close to her full size. This meant that the virus had less work to do to transform her. Her time was ending, and she knew it. She just wanted to go first to make sure that she got a chance to tell Naruto everything she wanted to.

"… Sure sweetheart. Go ahead." He softly told her.

She nodded before pausing to organize her thoughts. She wanted to make sure that she passed on exactly what she wanted to say. "First of all, it's not your fault that we died. Know that no matter what, I… WE… love you, Naruto." She began.

"I know you little bro. You'll be beating yourself up about this, more than anyone else ever could. Don't. Really, please don't. I know that you love us, and that you'd die for us if you had to. That's why, please don't blame yourself. We're the same way." May paused here for a second, grimacing a bit as the pain that wracked her body seemed to increase.

"I know that telling you to be a kid… isn't going to happen. Not anymore. So listen up! Even if you can't be a kid, you can still have fun! Watch some movies, read some books, hang out with some friends, anything. Just please… live a life that's worth living. I love you little bro." With that, she slumped against her father, lacking the strength to continue any further.

Seeing that their daughter was finished, the two parents looked each other in the eyes, and silently communicated for a moment. Then, with a nod from her husband, Mary began her message for her son.

"Naruto…" she started. "Don't be a fussy eater… eat a lot and grow up to be a strong man! Take your bath every day… go to bed early and sleep well! Make friends… it doesn't matter how many… just make sure they're real friends… people you can trust… even a few is enough!"

"And do well in your studies! I was never very good at them, but you are, so don't slack off. Everyone has things they're good at and things they're not… don't feel bad if you can't do it all… although with your skills I guess you can. Make sure you listen to others, they can give good advice just from having a different point of view."

"And remember to avoid those three vices of shinobi you told me about. Don't borrow money if you can help it, save what you earn. No drinking alcohol until you're twenty one, and don't overdo it or you'll ruin your body… I think you will anyways, not sure if your body can get ruined."

"And as for women… well, I'm a woman so I don't know what to say, but there are only men and women in this world, and you'll want a girlfriend someday… just try not to pick a weird one. Try to find someone like your mother…"

Mary paused for a moment. Tears started welling in her eyes at the thought of Naruto's future, and everything he was going to have to go through.

"Naruto… you're going to experience a lot of pain and suffering… remember who you are! Find a goal… a dream… and don't stop trying until it comes true!"

At this point, the tears she had held back started freely streaming down her face. As much pain as her body was going through, it was nothing compared to the anguish her heart was experiencing.

"There's… there's… there's… there's so much more that I want to say… to teach you about. I want to stay with you. I love you." She cried. Freely sobbing at this point, she turned to her husband.

"I'm sorry Jim. I took all our time…"

"It's okay." He reassured her. Sometime during Mary's speech for Naruto, May had fully collapsed. She was now only being supported by her father, so he leaned down and gently set her on the floor. Rising up again, he looked into Mary's eyes, and prepared to say his final words to Naruto.

"Naruto… this is your Dad. Listen… to your motor-mouth mother." He ground out through the increasing pain, yet still managing to maintain a small smirk at the end.

With a groan, both parents collapsed around their daughter, their final words of love spoken for their beloved son in the hopes that they would reach him.

Opening his eyes, Naruto looked at Heller with renewed strength, or at least determination. Giving Heller a nod that indicated that the message was received, he got up and straightened himself.

"Let's go kill our maker." With those words, Naruto walked past Heller to the exit. For Mercer truly was their maker. Because of his actions, both Naruto and Heller gained the abilities they had. Because of him, both of them experienced loss, transforming them into the people they were today. At the moment however, neither of them were dwelling on their losses.

There would be plenty of time later to mourn. Now was the time for vengeance.

It had taken another two days for Naruto and Heller to narrow down Mercer's general location. After that, the two proceeded to flush him out, killing every infected in a sweeping pattern throughout the area. It wasn't long after they started this that they managed to find him.

The two Prototypes landed on top of a large building, with a wide open area. There, across from them, stood Alex Mercer, the cause of all of the destruction and death around them, along with his remaining Evolved standing behind him. He just stood there with a smirk on his face, although that smile faded for a moment when he saw the youngest of the three Prototypes. Still, the hooded man was nothing if not confident.

"Well, well. Look at what the cat dragged in." Alex started. "And here I thought that I had managed to-"

"Heller, stay out of this." Naruto interrupted. Mercer scowled a bit at not being able to continue his monologue. Naruto noticed this but didn't care. "He's mine."

The words came out so coldly that even Heller took a small step back, surprised at the sudden ruthless tone that came from the blonde, especially considering that he was only a child. Mercer however only narrowed his eyes momentarily, before smiling coldly back at him and stating, "What? You didn't like the present I left you?"

Naruto growled at Alex, his fists clenched while his body shook with rage.

"Here I thought that you would have enjoyed having a little family reunion. After all the trouble I went through to track them down after all… well, not track them down specifically, but any hint about you." Mercer continued.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Naruto screamed at him, shifting his hands into Claws.

Sensing that Naruto was nearing his breaking point, Alex continued explaining as the two began circling each other.

"Once I knew you were in the city, I took it up on myself to learn everything about you that I could. Using Blackwatch credentials, I had my Evolved search through security footage all over the city, trying to back-track your movements. That's when one of them who had a bird watching habit saw your trick with shifting into an owl. Here's a hint, next time you change into a bird, pick a local one instead of one only found in Maine and Canada."

Naruto growled with rage and self-loathing. He himself was the one who led Mercer back to his own family. If it wasn't for him, if he had just been more careful, they would still be alive. If he had just stayed out of the city, left NYZ to fend for itself, they wouldn't be dead. Seeing that he was teetering on the edge of losing it, Mercer continued to twist the knife.

"Going through security footage all over Main for the last three months eventually led me to them. You're a lucky guy kid; they wouldn't give up any information on you, no matter what I did. Even after letting some of my men have some fun with them, they still refused to give me anything. So I figured I'd let you see them… after I gave them some gifts first of course." He chuckled.

Now blind with rage, Naruto attacked viciously, swiping simultaneously at Mercer's throat and groin. He had the memories confirming what Alex told him, so he wasn't unaware of just what they suffered, but seeing the bastard making light of it, laughing at what he did to them… that pushed him over the edge.

Mercer dodged back quickly, before darting forwards and throwing a Musclemass enhanced punch at Naruto's chest that connected. Due to his light weight, Naruto went flying back to the other side of the building, but quickly picked himself back up… just in time to see Mercer absorbing the last of his Evolved, adding their strength to his own.

Naruto forced himself to calm down. He knew that if he gave himself over to his rage, he'd either give Mercer a chance to escape… or he'd end up leveling all of NYZ. Neither of which were acceptable in his eyes. His father had taught him better than that. No matter how short the time he spent with them was, Naruto was determined to engrave all of the lessons they imparted unto him into his very soul if he had to.

Taking a few deep breaths, he lowered his center of gravity before shooting forward at a speed that surprised even the two other Blacklights.

Switching his right arm to his Musclemass power, he used it to smash through the block that Alex threw up at the last second and sent him flying back. Chasing after him, Naruto then thrust his claws forward, intending to pierce right through his opponent. Alex seemed to sense his intentions however, and used Whipfist to grab hold of a nearby antenna and used it to change his direction, saving him from the attack.

Upon landing, Mercer then dashed forward and sliced at Naruto with his Blade. Naruto blocked it with a Shield, and then used his own Whipfist to grab Alex around the waist and then send him up and over to then smash him on the ground.

Mercer just shook it off however, and got right back up and charge in with a Blade held ready. Naruto flipped over both the attack and Alex, shifting to Hammerfists in midair, and upon landing slammed both fists into the base of Mercer's spine. With a cry of pain, Mercer went flying. However he still had the presence of mind to shift an arm into Whipfist and lashed backwards, smacking it into Naruto who was caught by surprise by the maneuver.

One again showing the resilience of those infected by the Blacklight virus, Mercer quickly got up and dashed forwards again, ready to continue the fight.

This time however, Naruto decided that it was time to bring out the big guns. Focusing his chakra, he quickly flipped through a string of hand signs to further his control and shouted, "Raiton: Gian (Lighting Release: False Darkness)!", before unleashing a stream of lightning that was vaguely shaped like a spear at the incoming Mercer.

His eyes widened at seeing the incoming attack, before dodging the attack as he kept moving towards the blonde. A smile began to form on his face as he reached Naruto.

"You know, the military has given each of us a codename!" Mercer shouted, bloodlust clearly showing in the grin on his face and in his voice as he slashed his Blade at the blonde's throat. "Especially since they had no information on you at all!" Ducking under the swipe, Naruto spun his body so that he was facing up and back flipped so that his leg smashed into Mercer's face, sending him back.

"And just why should I care?" he growled at the man who took everything he cared for from him. Breaking off to regain his balance, Mercer just gave him another half-smile.

"It's just that I couldn't help but notice just how apt the codenames were for us." Lifting his Blade, he pointed it at Heller. "You they named Poseidon, the Earth Shaker! Considering just how you prefer power attacks that let loose shockwaves, it kind of fits, wouldn't you say?" Then he lifted is other arm up to his chest. "As for me, I'm Hades, Lord of the Underworld, and King of the Dead! Since most of my operations are underground, and anyone who became infected is basically dead to the world, I think that codename's perfect." Then he turned back to his opponent, a frown now showing on his face.

"You, they named Zeus, the King of the Gods, armed with lightning. Considering your attack on Project Orion and just now, I can't imagine a more fitting title for you. I still haven't been able to figure out just how you managed to do that, you know. Even after consuming some trace DNA I found of yours after a fight, all I got was a small strength enhancement." He stated with annoyance clear in his voice.

Unfortunately for Mercer, the secret to Naruto's power lied not in his DNA, but in his training and skills. All human beings had chakra, although only humans in the Elemental Nations knew how to access it. Thus all Mercer got from consuming Naruto's DNA was better baseline stats. Being from a long line of ninjas meant that Naruto body was naturally stronger than most, since ninjas with naturally weak bodies died faster and were thus unable to pass on their weaker genetics.

Survival of the fittest - the reason why ninja clans tended to produce superior shinobi over civilians.

Other than that, the things that Mercer received from consuming Naruto's DNA were a larger pool of chakra (that he was unaware of, much less able to use) and better vitality and stamina. The last two of which were useless to him, since the vitality and stamina of Prototypes were almost unlimited as long as they had access to biomass.

Naruto just looked at him, seeming to study him as if he was some sort of specimen in a lab. Up to now, Mercer had seemed to be just a bastard. A bastard that Naruto wanted to kill more than anyone certainly, but just an asshole that gained superpowers just the same. Now though… Naruto noticed how Mercer didn't really seem to care much about defending himself other than to prevent his attacks from slowing him down. He seemed to relish telling Naruto about his family's fate, and just now he seemed disappointed that he couldn't get new ways to kill from him. That… wasn't normal. He looked around at the city, and at the destruction that lay around them.

Turning his full attention back at Mercer he realized that the man didn't have some sort of grand plan or reason. Alex Mercer was a man who drowned in his own power, and only sought to bring death and pain to everyone else. All he was now was an avatar of destruction, seeking to dominate and destroy everything. He reveled in the misery of others, and gloried in their destruction.

This… thing… was no longer human in any sense of the word.

Up to now, Naruto had wanted to take his time with Mercer. He wanted the bastard to suffer. To realize that everything his did up to now was for nothing. To make him feel the pain that Naruto himself was currently going through. But no he realized that Alex would never experience that. Thanks to the virus he was too durable to really feel physical pain anymore, and he himself was no longer capable of feeling anything but bloodlust.

Mercer was now nothing more than a rabid beast that had to be put down.

"Screw this." Naruto muttered to himself. Activating Kurama's chakra fully, he transformed into the golden flamed version of himself.

Mercer's eyes opened wide at the sight. "Wha-?" was all he managed to get out, before suddenly Naruto was before him with two sets of Claws piercing through his head. With a roar, Naruto ripped Mercer in half, from head to groin, before consuming him to make sure that he was gone forever. Letting go of Kurama's chakra, Naruto turned to see Heller gaping at him.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" he yelled out after blinking a few times, as if not believing just what his eyes had told him.

Naruto just looked at him, and said "Get back a bit", before walking to the edge of the building. He looked out over the city, noting more or less where the greatest concentrations of infected were and matching that up with the memories he gained from Mercer. After a few moments, he crouched down in concentration. Suddenly, massive tendrils burst out from all over his body, growing and spreading throughout the city. Everywhere they went, infected people and structures were pierced through, with the tendrils Consuming them and using the added biomass to grow even further.

Finally, after a few minutes, Naruto had taken in the vast majority of the infected. He withdrew the tendrils, absorbing the biomass once again and adding the excess to his stores in the seal on his back. Once again he looked out upon the city, only this time it appeared to be clean. While there were still some small pockets of infected here and there, the city had finally been purged.

His task finished, Naruto finally allowed the tears he had been holding back to flow freely. He opened his mouth and let loose a massive roar that encompassed all of the emotions that he had been feeling. Grief, from the loss of his family. Regret, that he hadn't finished Mercer sooner. Rage, that the monster had dared touched what belonged to him. Relief, that the burden he had taken up for NYZ had finally been laid to rest.

Even through all of that however, he never let himself believe that everything was truly over. He knew better than to ever believe that. Nothing was ever truly over.

It was only the end of one chapter, before the start of the next.

A/N: Yeah, I just couldn't resist putting in Naruto's parent's final words from canon. Changed it a bit to reflect the current situation, but mostly kept it the same.

And before anyone asks, based on that last line, no, I'm not saying fuck it and ending the story here. I'm not starting a sequel for this either. Naruto still has to go to the Elemental Nations, and that will occur in this story. The next chapter will be an epilogue for this arc, followed by an introduction to the start of the Return to EN arc.

Please review and let me know what you guys think!