Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Toriko.

"Naruto" – Speech

'Toriko' – Thoughts

Naruto – Flashbacks

Toriko – Titles and Jutsu

*This chapter was practically forgotten. But I saw that you still loved it so I am going to try at it again. I may have already forgotten the hype so please let me know about this chapter.*

Of Dragons and Tigers

The Darkness Within the Bloody Waves

Previously on Of Dragons and Tigers;

"What is this…? How did I do all of this?" Naruto muttered out loud until he felt like something was trying to squeeze the eyes out of their sockets and saw that among his whisker marks, the one thing he received from his parents giving birth to him, grow thicker and bulged like blood veins. "What is this madness?" Naruto asked and the answer he got that day had changed his view on mankind ever since.

XXXXX

Years later, no one noticed. Never noticed the missing boy. No ever noticed he was there to being with is it was to be expected; it was still a horrible thing. That a village who was proud of its 'Will of Fire' that stated friendship and love are the key to peace. That is why they attracted some many legends and made some of their own but all that is nothing but a dull edge on a spear made of rotten wood; the owners still didn't want to replace it because of their pride and stubbornness.

But we are not going to talk about Konoha anymore, we zoom in to a hulking swordsman who is spying on a medium sized group headed in his direction. There was a huge sword on his back that looked like it thirsted for blood. Once this group of his targets got close enough to see the whites of their eyes, he reached for his sword but instead he felt an incredible pain in his hand.

"I am sorry but I can't let you kill them. I need them for a later time but your bounty seems handsome compared to how you are Zabuza Momochi." A dark voice cut through the very air itself and when the swordsmen turned to complain, he lost the words in his throat once he saw who was staring down on him.

"Y you…" For someone so menacing, it was frightening to think that he will now cringe and shake in fear like a mouse to the eye of a cat. But Zabuza never got the chance to say anything else when he felt another great pain, one that knocked his lights out and landing him in front of the group of the man's targets.

"Hello Akauzu (Scarlet Whirlpool), I never thought we will actually meet." Kushina got on her guard when another man had landed near Zabuza like predator hogging his prey to himself from another predator. She had seen his face in the Bingo Books of bounties and heard of his actions through every single one that had survived an encounter; they all had at least one thing from their bodies missing.

"Kuro Tentei (Dark God). You have come to kill, didn't you?" That was the last thing Kushina ever said before the meeting of darkness begun. Now it will take luck that the Kuro Tentei wasn't in the mood for killing and that can actually make it through his merciless attacks.

"Talking to me like I committed murder…" The cloaked hunter himself replied. The Kuro Tentei (Dark God) was a massive figure, with a cloak and showing trousers that were loose; making gender very difficult to determine from first glance. But it was easy to tell all the tools and weapons underneath the cloak, lined up on a jacket. Finally, the figure's face was hidden underneath a thick hood and behind a menacing mask with a strange breathing apparatus.

"Typical for a once famous Kunoichi. One who has decided after too long to be out holding a sword. Not that it will be any good with all that rust I can smell a mile away." Kushina may have been out of the field for a while, but being a mother had done wonders to her infamous temper; she will never let anyone know that they got under her skin.

Unfortunately,

"Hey! Don't diss my mom! She is tons of a Kunoichi better than you!" Iina decided to be brave, or better yet fearlessly foolish. Yet the Kuro Tentei barely made a chuckle,

"Of course. I am not a Kunoichi." So that dreadfully deep voice wasn't faked; nobody could say that this good. "And neither are either of you."

"YES, WE ARE!" Both Mito and Iina screamed and also charged for the figure in all black when they were held back by their mother and teacher. "Kaa-san (Mother)…." Before they could complain after moaning out that name,

"Stay and keep quiet." Kushina usually is like the burden of the world had left her shoulders in front of her daughters. Not anymore, and especially not in front of a man in a cloak like now.

"Your heirs are not even close to my expectations, Wife of the damn Yondaime." Kuro Tentei mocked them and almost smirked to see the two girls struggling to keep this anger in check.

"Just what do you have against our Tou-san (Father)!?" Mito didn't let her temper blow but this was too strong to keep silent. "What did he do to you!?"

"A lot." Mito was shocked, she certainty didn't expect an answer immediately. "Your bastard of a father has done a lot to a lot of people, giving them plenty of reasons for him dead. I know because I know." Kuro Tentei continued until he became even more ominous, to the point of being hard to believe. "I had to witness a good boy run to death because of your Hokage's weakness."

"Minato is not weak!" Kushina screamed like a banshee. "The only boy that left was an eyesore! A mistake! Should have been taken care of from the start!" To an average person, those words hurt. But Kuro Tentei appeared to have taken Kushina for a woman that has lost her mind or otherwise, trying to hide something; and rather poorly by the stray tear that didn't escape his eye. "…And it's bad enough that you were following us and now you stole our prey…!" Kushina had ranted the whole time until her guts started to beg her to stop or else.

Then it happened. When the earth creaked, and cracked; like an old wooden floor with a sudden burst of pressure. Which was a good way of describing the feeling, that something in the air is pressing into the ground and onto the group. "My prey, Konoha scum." Kuro Tentei said simply. And then walked past the group, dragging Zabuza like a loose sack of potatoes. "Now if you don't mind, this head will be good pocket change 'til I go after the fatter target. Chao." With that said, both the hunter and his prey vanished in a spiral of dark energy; one that practically scorched the earth from which Kuro Tentei was last seen standing.

XXXXX

"Kaa-san…" Mito spoke up, finally breaking the uneasy atmosphere. Tazuna had gotten his bearing back and thankfully had a spare set of pants after he wet himself; he could comfortably lead his 'bodyguards' to his house, for further discussion. "Just who is the…Kuro Tentei?" Kushina looked from her silent sorrow to answer, with an ominous tone.

"The Kuro Tentei. The latest and youngest S-rank wandering Shinobi to appear recently." Kushina started off. "He started off as a simple bounty hunter to make ends meet. But in that same year he joined the profession, Kuro Tentei received notoriety throughout the entire Elemental Continent. It was because he, literally, crushes his targets as well as any and all opposing; or anything that gets in his way."

Kushina stopped to rub away tears that didn't seem to stop following from her eyes. "We call him Kuro Tentei not only for his attire in all black. But because he deals with his foes like a sadistic love for blood and his godly presence. Like what he just used to take Zabuza away, justly confident that we couldn't stop him."

"S-s-s-s…S-rank? L-like H-hokage-s-s-sama?" The girl turned to the third Kunoichi on this team. One that has been a real mess since they arrived in Wave and met up with the man in the black cloak. Her name is Hinata Hyuga.

As a Hyuga, Hinata possesses the Byakugan, giving her featureless white eyes. She has dark blue hair that she keeps in a hime-cut. Hinata usually wears a cream-coloured hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper sleeves and fur around the cuffs and hem. Along with this she wears navy blue pants and keeps her forehead protector around her neck.

"I am afraid so, Hinata-chan." Kushina answered. "That was why I was able to tell it was him and I didn't want any of you trying to challenge him…" That ended with a glare to both Mito and Iina; they cringed, about to tear up to see their beloved mother stare them down like the devil. "It was because I witnessed his power, he is the reason Kakashi-kun had to be out of action. Minato-kun himself told Kakashi to spend several months to heal up the damage."

"Wait!" Mito suddenly shouted. "I thought that Kakashi-san was ambushed wolves and bears! That was to be why it looked like his arms, legs and ear were eaten!" Kushina told her to use her indoor voice. Kakashi Hatake was a real prodigy within the Academy and out on the field, graduating at the age of six and becoming a full-pledge Jonin at thirteen. And the girls were his most adorable fans, they thought he can do no wrong; this could prove them wrong.

"Yes students. I don't know if it is a Chakra-based ability but Kakashi-kun was hired by some shady men, later we arrested them, in order to take down the Kuro Tentei." Kushina continued. "It was when I felt a signature that was as big as the Kyuubi that attacked the village years ago, I saw that it was near where Kakashi-kun was going to arrive. I requested some of Minato-kun's ANBU to check it out." That was an ominous hint for sure; nobody asks for the ANBU unless it is a case worse than even an ambush of Rogue Shinobi.

"That was where I first saw him, only as a blur, the Kuro Tentei leaving for his real prey." Kushina delivered that better than the punch line to a good joke. "Kakashi-kun was the Shinobi going to succeed Minato-kun one day. But to the man in black, he was just another distraction, an annoyance and something in the middle of his path." The Kunoichi were more horrified, with each passing word.

"We had no way to tell where he went, and the real problem was the state Kakashi-kun was in. It was awful and like you said, Mito, he looked like some kind of animals took bites out of his flesh. Then there were several of his bones, they looked they were crushed from within." Kushina never forgot it, she even watched as every single one of the Medicinal Shinobi tried to fix the damage without making the condition worse. Tsunade Senju herself was baffled by the level of damage and had to spend hours, trying to fix the 'crushed' bones; she still wasn't finished with just one of Kakashi's legs.

"S-so w-what s-should w-w-we do a-about the m-mission…?" Hinata spoke up again and before Kushina could speak, they were given an answer from someone else.

"You don't do nothing! Onii-san (Big Brother) will save Wave Country!" It was a young boy that wore clothes of his age, under ten. And his eyes were shaded by the hat he was wearing, giving them the impression that the boy hadn't slept well in days. "You got in his way once. Do all of us a favor and go home!"

"Inari! They're still out guests." Next to the boy was a very beautiful woman with wild blue hair that was not bound in any fashion. Her clothes were that of simple housewife, with the colors and pictures of the sea. "Sorry about my son. My name is Tsunami and I thank you for helping out my father."

"It's our pleasure. Wave is next door to our country so we can't just ignore any trouble that happens here." Kushina said and then Inari blew into her face again,

"Yes, there is trouble! But by the dinner time, Nii-san will free this village and you can just scram!" Kushina couldn't tell if Inari was talking like a spoiled brat or a boy extremely dedicated to his 'big brother'. But she knew better, anything she could say will make it worse. Now if only her children can have that level of common sense,

"Why should we go!? We were the ones that wanted this mission after days of shit chores in a village filled with the lazy, good-for-nothing civilians. We are not going anywhere!" Iina shouted out but Inari only twitched one of his eyebrows,

"Oh, grandpa's bridge. If that is all you are going to do then you really have nothing to do until Onii-san kills Gato." Inari spoke rather calmly for someone of his age. "He promised and he never breaks his promises."

"And what the hell do you mean!? We are not weak!" Mito spoke up, not really getting what Inari met; after all, Gato will use every yen he owes to make sure that his monopoly on Wave Country has no opposition. Which includes a new bridge to the mainland.

"Yes, you are." Inari then said, with a glare to boot. "You can't take on an army. Your mother maybe but Onii-san is a thousand times stronger than any of you." And Inari decided to show himself out of the room, while Mito screamed in frustration; she wanted to break something and bad. That would explain the sound of wood and paper shattering shortly afterwards.

XXXXX

Later, in the forest around the cabin,

"I can't believe that little, rude, stupid imp! Where does he get the right to tell me how to see that loser Naruto!?" Mito initially ran past the trees until she lost her way but was still too angry to care. Now she is feeling exhaustion from the sprinting and the ranting so Mito is at a walking pace. Close behind was her twin sister, clearly shaken by the behavior of Mito; so Iina will just keep her sister in sights until Mito will calm down and return to the lodge.

Only to hear Mito scream of bloody murder, Iina ran off to see what's wrong. And she tried her best to keep her own screams to herself. There was a man, down on the ground, and covered in blood. What's uglier is the large chunks missing from his arms and upper torso that is visible out of the bloody bush.

Then the man moved and barely got up, at least moving his head to face the two girls the least. Mito and Iina moved to help him but the man sneered and growled at them. "Those…headbands…of a…damn leaf…that shithole…Konoha…" Mito and Iina were confused, they didn't recognize this man and yet he immediately addressed them as his enemies simply because they were from Konoha. "All this…and the…ones before…IS ALL YOUR FAULT! BARRGH!" The man roared like a violented animal before he coughed up blood from his mouth, enough to make a small pond at his lips; he was dead, as a doornail.

"O-onee-chan (Sister)…" Mito stuttered a lot like Hinata and faced Iina, "C-can you S-smell it? T-the b-blood a-and d-dead bodies?" This spooked Iina and realized that Mito had seen a lot more than a single man moments from death and a bush covered in his blood. Hurrying over the bush, Iina then saw something that was the icing on the horror cake; the man in the bush, was cut clean in half!

Cutting to the chase, Iina ran blind through the large bush, hearing Mito finally chasing after her. Once both girls had gotten on the other side, they witnessed what could only be the aftermath of a massacre. The field was barren, scorched, stained with blood and littered with several men in their own death puddles. Not a single one even twitched to the occasional cold wind that cut through the girl's clean and sharp.

After what felt like forever, the girls screamed and ran back into the forest, hopefully they can find Tazuna's cabin. But after a while, they did come across the house only for the smell of blood and the sound of bodies falling to the ground dead flooded their senses. And it all came from the other side of the house.

Hurrying over, Mito and Iina saw Tsunami and Inari embraced tearfully. Around their feet were a couple of bandits, both with their throats eaten out along with a few random parts on their bodies; just like at the field of bodies.

"Are you two okay?" Mito tried to ask their client's daughter and grandson but they turned with eyes of fear and fury.

"Yes! We are okay!" Inari said forcefully, like he will rather vomit up his lunch than answer to the two girls. "And no thanks to you or your team! Onii-san saved us while your mother and teammate waste their time at the bridge!"

"B-but…we were just in the forest…and found a field of dead people!" Iina tried to get those words out of her mouth in the face of this development. Tsunami and Inari looked at each over before they fled back into the house, kicking the bodies off their porch first of course. Still, this left the girls confused for a split moment until they remembered what Inari said, about the bridge.

"We need to see about Kaa-san and Hinata!" Mito and Iina shouted at each other in a creepy unison, although they ignored it. And they sprinted off from the cabin towards where the unfinished bridge was. All they saw on the bridge were their teacher, their teammate, the old man and a midget lying on the bridge.

"Kaa-san…" All they could say was to get their mother's attention. And when Kushina and the other present company turned to the two heirs, it was like they had their souls drained.

"You two girlies sure took your time. Everyone else had already left to ransack the little bastard's place. And the badass in black sure did spook us on how bad he did in to Gato." Tazuna spoke up. "Now I need to check up with the rest of my family before we join everyone tonight. And don't be late again." With that said, Tazuna showed himself off the bridge and out of sight.

Nobody said another word, the two twin heirs just walked past their teacher and teammate, at a snail's pace, to see what has happened to the man/tyrant that was once known as Gato. Unlike the ones before, the bodies in the forest or Kakashi from ages ago, this midget barely had any flesh left on his body; most of what to be seen was bone and clothing. The bones were burned and mostly broken, like an army had a slugfest with this guy, using torches and hammers. No wonder nobody could say a word about what happened that foggy day on the bridge, in the Land of Waves.

XXXXX

And while everyone was celebrating the night away, one Shinobi wandered away from the parties. It was Kushina and she looked like this was going to be something big and yet secret. After all, she was spending a lot of energy to make sure that she wasn't followed or seen by anyone.

After an hour of looking over her shoulder every five seconds, Kushina made her way to the newly created bridge (which hadn't been named yet). And she stopped at the middle when the atmosphere was cut like a hot knife through butter, "You're late."

Kushina gasped and turned to see the Kuro Tentei in fully glory, casually sitting on the railing of the bridge. "If you were going to make me wait then I should have given up on this crap. I am needed back in the capital and I don't have the patience to explain how a would-be-mother had delayed me."

"It's worth the wait, I promise!" Kushina couldn't believe how she was acting. She was so desperate, begging for a man to give her the time of day; she was still a proud Kunoichi, for crying out loud! "Please, just tell me about my son! I won't be able to live if he was dead!"

"About those brats, that you call daughters? Or that murderer you call husband? Is your wayward son mean more to you than any of those monsters?" Kuro Tentei answered with his own questions. And Kushina couldn't even bring herself to make a peep. "And I already told you that whatever son you may have popped out is dead. End of story."

"Please! I want to make up for it! Minato-kun will never let me see my friends or children again if he finds out that I am even talking about my son! About Naruto!" Kushina broke down into complete tears. This time, she didn't sound like a desperate and broken woman wanting more drugs or more indecent attention. Kushina looked like a mother worried about what she did to her 'dead' son. "Just tell me what you know! Anything will help! Anything!"

"Shut up." The man in the cloak cut through the atmosphere, worse than when the two first met in Wave. And Kushina was silent, for a moment that felt like an eternity; and she was used to be as impatient as she was loud and hotheaded. "Fine. I will tell you what I know about the boy that gave me reason to keep living. To become what I am now, no longer bound by hatred and darkness." Kushina didn't say a word. "He freed me from my prison. I am nobodies slave anymore. I am my own man. And I owe a favor that I may never fulfil."

Kushina could feel the man's eyes stare down on her back, from behind that mask. "So, if you help me with this thing holding me back, I will help you. Do you understand? I don't give favors to anyone else."

Kushina then felt like she was flying through the air and released her emotions with fresh tears following on the bridge that see pressed her forehead into. "Yes! I will! I will!" Kushina looked up to Kuro Tentei, trying to hide the tear strains.

"Then listen up, I am not going to repeat myself."

End of Chapter 2.

*I will be trying these old stories before continuing with my recent chapters. I would like to update my stories with the completed ones comfortably at the bottom of the list. After a close a gap between two finished stories, I will get back to recent stories. Read and Review, Ciao!*