Vignettes

The Showdown For The Dawn

Naruto wished he paid more attention in the academy as he trudged through the bleak marsh. Maybe then trekking through an unknown land by moonlight wouldn't be so impossible.

The Village Hidden in the Waterfall was said to be the most beautiful of all shinobi villages on earth. Its titular waterfall was one of the natural marvels of the world. The rare paintings illegally crafted against village security regulations showed it spanning a monstrous cliff that could hold all nine tailed beasts. A dozen rainbows filled the sky as if the gods have drafted this place as paradise on earth.

But all that water had to go somewhere. And so did the rest of the country earn its name: the Land of Swamps.

Naruto cursed as he felt another coating of slime squish into his sandal. He kept pushing on and finally reached a grassy patch of land that almost shined in his mind. He crawled up the surface and shook himself as dry as he could. No good, frigid water clung to his clothes and skin. What he wouldn't give for a drying jutsu.

The grass grew denser the way he wanted to go, at least he hoped it was. The trees were looming, it was hard to catch the stars. If only he'd been a little faster he'd have reached his destination before sunset. Naruto marched forward and only hoped he was on the right path.

Up ahead he saw a light. A few hundred yards away at best. He froze. This swamp was purposefully in the middle of nowhere, a no man's land. The closest settlement was a small fishing village a dozen kilometers from here, he'd checked at least three times. Bandits? They stayed near the main roads looking for unguarded caravans of refugees. They wouldn't be this far from the main routes. It could be some remnants of the Grass Village in exile…

No. He knew who it was.

Naruto pulled out a kunai and steeled himself. His heart threatened to revolt, it pounded like a snare drum. He pressed forward as proudly as he could. No stealth, he issued this challenge. He would not hide and go for the easy kill.

The cold didn't seem so troublesome now. Something far worse was ahead. The grass gave way as if parting for his entrance. He rounded a tree and then he saw him.

The man was hunched over a flame searing a pair of fish. He wore ancient red armor from a bygone era he'd never truly left behind. He didn't wear the spiraling mask, his hair had grown long since the start of the war and trailed down his back like a spiky waterfall. He grasped a twig with a scarred hand to prod the flame. The manual labor seemed beneath the legendary man.

"You can come out. I know you're there."

Of course he did, the man was so aware he seemed inhuman. Naruto walked out from behind a tree and tried to match what he thought was the other man's guard, "Madara."

The man turned. His sharingan and stolen rinnegan glowed, "Naruto."

Naruto quickly looked away to avoid any genjutsu. He kept his eye on Marada's shadow, ready to respond to the slightest motion.

"No need to fight just yet. We've both had a long journey. Come, we should eat."

A meal? Whatever Madara was playing at, he wasn't buying it, "You think I'll trust you? You could have poisoned it to paralyze me."

Madara was not amused, "You came to meet me on the battlefield as warriors. When I defeat you, it will be in battle as warriors." Madara motioned to the fire. "Dry yourself and eat. We deserve to fight at our best tonight."

Naruto eyed Madara cautiously. The great ancestor turned back to the fire and added another log for the hungry flames. He showed no concern for the enemy behind him with a kunai in his hand.

The red armor stopped just below the neck, he could see the vertebrae protruding ever so slightly. If he was quick he bet he could strike before Madara could react…

No, that was wrong. Madara had agreed to a fair fight. One on one. He wouldn't end this war with a cheap trick.

Naruto strolled past the last Uchiha cautiously and kept him in the corner of his eye. Madara's only response was to prod the flames again. Naruto took his seat adjacent from Madara so the fire wouldn't be between them. They stared into the flames with each other only visible in their peripheral vision.

Madara moved, making Naruto flinch. He grabbed the sticks skewering the trout. He offered them to Naruto. "Pick one, if you still think they're poisoned."

Naruto looked the man over cautiously while avoiding his sharingan. If the man was deceiving him, he hid it well. Then again they said Madara was a master of falsehood and lies.

"Look at me." Madara commanded.

"You know that won't work."

"Look at me." Madara said again.

Naruto narrowed his gaze, "I'm not falling for your illusions."

"I know. That's why I'm asking you to look."

He couldn't understand why Madara was being so insistent. He felt his curiosity outweighing his caution. He quickly glanced up but was prepared to look away in a flash.

Madara stared back, his right eye was black. He looked sad, but Naruto hadn't the faintest why. He held the fish out a bit further.

Naruto was startled to see his sharingan concealed. He felt guilty. Madara met Naruto exactly where he'd agreed, alone and without backup. Most of what Naruto knew of Madara came from the old stories, he'd never spent more than five minutes with the actual man. He didn't know what to expect when he actually met. But it seemed Madara was a man of his word.

Naruto and Madara sat silently while their eyes met. He reached out and accepted the fish. Madara kept his own and together they ate in silence.

Halfway through his fish Naruto felt like he should return the gesture. He reached into his kit and pulled out the last of his rations. A bit of jerky and dried grains. It wasn't much, but it was all he had to offer. He put half into a travel dish and offered it to Madara. "Take it. It's better than it looks."

His enemy first looked to him, then to the dish. He too waited a moment to decide if he should trust Naruto. "I'm a man of my word too." Naruto said.

Madara's expression didn't change. But he accepted the dish. Naruto took his half and picked what was left of his trout and put it in his own bowl. Madara watched him do it before doing the same. They went back to eating, enjoying what would be one of their last meals.

Naruto finished and set his bowl aside and noticed his clothes were drying out. He felt more anxious and wondered if Madara would attack now. He pressed the inside of his arm to his thigh and felt the kunai up his sleeve. He was ready just in case of a surprise attack.

Madara made no motion to attack when he set his dish down and went back to prodding the fire. The wood had turned to charcoal during their meal. Madara grabbed more wood from the pile next to him and threw a few logs on the embers. The flames climbed them and the fire came back to life.

Naruto waited for Madara to finish before he spoke, "What's going on, Madara?"

"I was hungry, I thought you might be too." Madara mused, "I'm surprised you came alone. I expected an ambush."

"So did I. I thought your army would be hiding around somewehere."

"I do not need an army to defeat you."

Naruto huffed, but internally he felt a rush of excitement. Madara was overconfident. Perfect. "So why don't you defeat me already?"

"I wanted to talk." Madara said simply.

If Naruto had still been eating, he might have choked, "Talk? Why the hell would you want to talk to me?"

Madara laughed softly and looked a bit sadder, his right eye reflecting the void,"Maybe I shouldn't. I was always the fighter. The champion. My brother was the talker. He tried to end conflict with words."

"Was that before you stole his eyes?" Naruto asked with a dash of venom.

Madara shook it off, "I never stole them. He gave them to me." Madara's lips twitched in the shadow of a smile, "'Take them, brother. Watch me change the world. I don't need my sight, I have my voice.'" Madara quoted, and then whatever happiness was in him vanished, "And then he died. The Senju slit his throat."

Naruto didn't want to believe it. All stories he'd heard of Madara made him the villain. How he stole his brother's eyes to save his own sight, how he betrayed the First Hokage and tried to destroy the fledgeling leaf Village, and how he'd turned on his own clan when they refused to rally behind him...all that made it easy to paint Madara as the world's enemy.

But there was no faking the tragedy in those eyes.

Naruto bowed his head, "I'm sorry about your brother. I think I would have liked him."

"Izuna found the best in people. Even a depraved soul such as myself." He paused, "I see much of him in you."

It felt so uncomfortable being complimented by a man he knew would try to kill him. Naruto was about to say something, when Madara continued, "I want to honor Izuna's memory. I want to end this peacefully, if we can."

Diplomacy? Was this really something the two of them could talk over? This was a world war, putting all that to bed with an after-dinner talk over a campfire seemed unlikely. There were the minor villages sided with Madara's army and their demands, and the agendas of the Daimyos and the Kages. But all that paled before Madara's Moon's Eye Plan.

But Naruto still wanted to talk as well. Neither he or Madara really believed they'd get the other to bend, he thought. Then again tonight was full of surprises. Maybe...at least he could find out why. "And what's your version of peaceful, Madara?"

"You come with me willingly, I extract the Kyubi, and you die peacefully. The last death on earth. Then I use the powers of the tailed beast to complete my plan and take humanity to paradise."

Naruto scoffed. He wasn't afraid to die, he was prepared for it. But the Moon's Eye Plan was unacceptable to him, no different from slavery. He looked to Madara, "Okay, here's my vision: you come back to camp with me, give up on your plan and we negotiate a ceasefire, one that can lead to peace for everyone. Then we create a paradise here on earth."

Madara chuckled, like a grandfather would at their descendant's excited chatter, "It appears we're at an impasse."

"Why? Isn't that what your brother wanted?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes accusingly. "Why are you only speaking with me? The Kages will listen if you come with me. We can start a dialogue! No one else has to die." Naruto said firmly.

"The Kages have nothing to offer me." Madara said. "You are the key, the last key I need to unlocking our prosperity. I say this for you, so you can avoid pain before the end."

"That'll never happen, Madara. I want my friends to live free. Everyone on my side has rejected your version of the future, they want to shape it themselves. And thousands have fallen fighting for it. I'm here so no one else has to die."

"Friends like Sasuke?" Madara said. Naruto froze, trying to look like it hadn't affected him, but he'd already given himself away, "Yes, I know. I never expected an avenger to die defending a friend."

The wound was still fresh in his heart, and Naruto knew Madara could see right through it. He couldn't hide it, so he let it fuel him. "I've had people dying for me this entire war. I've watched the bodies pile up taking attacks meant for me. I can't even remember all their names. I tried!"

Naruto stood and placed his hand over his heart, he was nearly screaming. All the pain and guilt he kept buried inside sprang forth, "I know they didn't do it for me, they did it for the thing inside me! All my life, that's been the thing that defines me! Well no more! Today I fight for them! I fight for their futures, for their right to realize their dreams! I fight so that we don't have to fight anymore...today, I'm ending the cycle of pain!"

The swamp was silent save for the cicadas chirping in the night. Fireflies were circling the rising smoke into the treetops above. Madara held the young man's gaze. He did not flinch at the blonde's ferocity. "You won't succeed."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked roughly. "We're more united than we've ever been. After this, we finally have a chance at peace."

"It's not that simple." Madara shook his head, his hair shifting like a tail, much like Jiraiya's used to…

"We thought the same when we formed the villages. The battles became less frequent, but more massive than we could have ever imagined. This is the fourth great shinobi war, and it will not be the last. Maybe someday we'll move beyond the endless cycle. But how many will suffer before we reach that point as a species? And what happens if the scale of war increases? Our people grow stronger every generation. Look at what Nagato was capable of. If such destructive potential became the standard, the world would not survive. My way offers peace to all, until the end of time. And all I need is one life. Yours."

"I don't believe that." Naruto said, "This is a future we've dreamed of for generations. The toad sages, Jiraiya, my father, all carried that dream. Now it comes to me! And I'm going to realize that dream!"

Madara smirked, "Even if you have to drag anyone who is unwilling? Tell me, if you have to force people to follow your dream of peace, how are you any different from me?"

"Don't compare me to you," Naruto leered, his heart pounding in his ears, "We're ready for this, people put aside their grudges to fight this war. We're ready to end the cycle."

"The minor villages at my side disagree. Or will you slaughter them all like Grass to achieve your end?" Naruto visibly flinched at the mention of the Grasscutter incident. Madara closed his eyes and sat still for a moment. Then he stood and stared into the fire. The flames were nearly out, but he did not feed it more wood. "But you have passion. And hope." Madara sighed, "We're done talking. We handle this my way now."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. He kept his senses alert for Madara's attack while he drew in sage energy. But Madara gave him time, he wanted to defeat Naruto at his best.

The thought made him smile at his enemy who had been completely different from the villain he'd imagined. He had to remember Madara was human too, "You know, if things were different we might have been friends."

"It's pointless to think that way," Madara sighed. "Don't use your tailed beast."

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he began backing away, "What? Why bring that up?"

"Because if you do, I'll use the eight in me to crush you."

Naruto felt his spine freeze with fear, "You have all the other beasts sealed inside you?!" Even the eight tails...*

"Yes, and soon the Fox will join them. With their power, my Infinite Tsukuyomi will last forever." Madara explained, "I do not need them to defeat you. Come. Take the first blow and you will see how pointless your struggle is."

"No," Naruto said without hesitating, "You wanted a fair fight. So do I. No freebies."

Something flashed through the eye Madara could still call his own. Something resembling respect, "So be it."

The world's fate rested on the shoulders of a legend and a dead last.

The fire devoured the last of the carbon in the wood. The flames flickered and died, leaving only embers glowing in the darkness.

It began.

Naruto dashed at the rogue Uchiha. His feet hammered off the ground to match the drumbeat of his heart. He had two advantages: Madara's overconfidence, and that he needed Naruto alive. Naruto was under no such restraint.

Madara raised his hand and looked past the blonde with his stolen almighty eye, "Almighty push!"

An unseen power blasted across the land lifting earth, root and tree into the air along with the blonde. Naruto felt himself blown into the air, flipping twice and just catching himself with his hand and springing to his feet. He reached into his pack and pulled out a mini-fuma shuriken. He flicked it to release the blades and threw it at Madara.

The Uchiha deflected the weapon to the side and reached out again, "Universal pull!"

Naruto gasped as he was pulled forward, flying through the air straight at his opponent. Madara reached for his bladed fan and prepared to strike. Naruto grit his teeth and formed a hand seal before disappearing in a puff of smoke. In an instant he swapped places with the shuriken he'd just thrown, appearing right beside Madara.

Madara cursed and brought up his fan to shield himself from the shuriken. Naruto pushed forward and lunged at the Uchiha. He held his sage chakra at the edge of the palm of his hand, just as Hinata taught him. 'Juken!'

His palm touched the back of Madara's armor and pushed his chakra through, but it would not pass through the armor.

Dammit, Naruto thought. No good, this armor held some property that prevented chakra from penetrating it. Hurry, plan B. Go for the eyes! No sharingan means no moon's eye plan!

Naruto quickly leaned away as Madara swung the fan behind him and formed his cross seal. Two shadow clones appeared on either side of Madara and grabbed his arms to pin him. Naruto pulled out the kunai up his sleeve and jabbed it at Madara's eye. It still hadn't been five seconds!

Madara spoke lowly, "Asura path."

Two mechanical arms emerged from Madara's shoulder. One stopped his arm, the other grabbed his throat. Together they dragged him into the air and over Madara, sending him flying across the battlefield.

Naruto landed just as Madara slashed his two clones with his fan to destroy them. Madara turned and his two false arms opened, revealing an array of micro-missiles he'd encountered only once before.

'Shit!' he thought. Madara held his two arrays high and launched a barrage. Naruto turned and ran, he didn't need to watch to know where they'd land.

The missiles peaked and descended in a downpour, blasting the earth, shattering rocks and filling the air with the echoes of explosions. Naruto avoided most of the impact area, but a few had been aimed outside that perimeter. He looked over his shoulder and saw a few aimed at him, too close to completely avoid.

Naruto turned and flipped through some hand seals and called, "Wind style: Hurricane Palm!"

Naruto thrust his palm at the oncoming missiles. The air in its center began to spin quickly and violently, extending into a tornado that reached above the trees. The missiles were blown off course by the violent winds and crashed across the earth.

What now? Any jutsu he used could be absorbed if he used the Preta Path. He could try getting in close again, but one legend about Madara he was sure was true was his skills in a melee, he couldn't risk confirming them. Not yet. All he had on his side was Madara's hubris…and he planned to use it!

Madara lifted his hand to attack again, but Naruto turned and jumped into the trees and away from their battlefield. "You will not retreat!" Madara hissed and gave chase.

His hands barely touched the branches as he skimmed through them at top speed. He hoped this was the right direction. It should be, but if he got it wrong he had no idea where he'd end up. But if he was right, and he was sure he was, he could set a trap for Madara that could end this fight!

"There you are."

Naruto turned, Madara's face was inches from his own. How could he move so fast?!

Madara swung his fan and hit Naruto with the flat front. The young man toppled through the trees and crashed into the ground. He hit his shoulder hard and he swore he heard something crack.

Madara landed gracefully as the blonde tumbled across the forest floor. "You would run from your own challenge. Disgraceful," he sneered.

Naruto knelt with a hand on his knee. He could hear it. He could hear the river!

"If this is all you are capable of, I'll end this quickly." Madara said and flipped through a few handseals. "I need you alive. How alive does not matter."

Madara finished his seals and raised his hand. A single thin flame emerged from the end, a rope made of fire. "Fire style: demon chain."

Madara cracked his whip of flame, it lashed across the forest floor. Leaves were incinerated at its touch, grass wilted and trees scarred from the intense fire. Naruto lay flat on the ground to avoid the strike. He felt the heat as it flew above him, and smelled a few of his hairs incinerating.

Naruto pushed himself up and dodged to the side as the whip came crashing down. He turned and bolted to the river. So close! He'd see it any second now.

"Shadow clone jutsu!" he called to summon five clones. All he needed was a short distraction. Just long enough to get there!

The five clones attacked. Madara circled the glowing whip over his head. With a flick of the wrist he sent it spiraling into the squad. One clone was hit in the head, which melted before it dispersed. The whip kept going and struck a second clone in the side.

The remaining three pressed on. The two in front grabbed a boulder from the earth and hurled it at Madara with the strength of true sages. Madara flicked his wrist and brought the whip down on it. The fire melted the boulder in two, each part passing harmlessly on his either side.

He released the whip and formed more seals, "Fire style: great firewall!"

He breathed a line of fire into the ground. The flames rose high into the sky, setting the tree canopy alight. The clones stopped their advance and were cut off. But Madara was not done.

He took his fan and fueled it with his chakra. He slashed the broad side of the fan against the flames. His mighty fan amplified the strength of the fire. It screamed and grew ten times its size, exploding outward and enveloping the clones. The trees were incinerated to ash.

Naruto could feel the heat at his back just as he saw the river. He slid down a hill and onto the rocky beachhead just as Madara emerged from the fire. He was unburned.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" He called as he leaped below.

Naruto reached the water. He felt it shifting under his feet as he water walked. His salvation.

He turned to his opponent. "Madara Uchiha."

Madara approached as the hunter cornering its prey. "You're a disgrace to your family name," he spoke in disgust.

"You don't know a thing about my family."

"I know everything about your inbred excuse of a clan. Be thankful they are not here to see the scum that remains." Madara was boiling with rage. "Your end will no longer be painless."

Madara brought his hands together. Their movements were familiar to Naruto, "Fire style: great fireball jutsu!"

Madara's chest puffed with burning chakra before he lunged forward and released it, spitting fire that grew until all Naruto could see was brightness.

Now! Now was his chance!

Naruto formed his own seals and seized it, 'Water style: water formation wall!'

His secret practice with Kakashi had paid off. The water around him began to swell and rise to protect him from the flames. The fire broke over his shield and filled the plains with steam.

Naruto focused on the source of the fire, trying to follow it to its source. Then aimed just a little above and to the left. 'Water style: water severing spear!' A single trail of water rose from the river no wider around than his arm. The end slanted until it was as fine as a needlepoint, and pushed through the wall, puncturing the flame.

Naruto didn't need to see his attack to know it hit. Madara's scream confirmed it.

The fire died, and with it Naruto released his water jutsu. Madara was on his knees holding his face. Over his left eye. Where his rinnegan used to be.

No! He hit the wrong eye!

Madara gave up stemming the flow of blood from his destroyed eye and was livid, "I had no idea you mastered water style. An excellent deception! But now, you will receive no mercy from me!"

Mercy? Since when had mercy been on the table?

He took out his rinnegan, that means Madara also lost access to the six paths. His jutsu could work again! He had to get moving, he knew where to go next. But Madara was too fast, he'd never make it that far in time. He needed another distraction. Time to put those chakra reserves to use! Burn it all!

Naruto formed his cross seal, "Multi-shadow clone jutsu!" he cried. The river was covered in a cloud of smoke. Before the smoke had dispersed fifty Narutos emerged and sprinted off in different directions.

Madara screamed his furor and formed his own cross seal, creating four clones. Far fewer, but he didn't have the reserves of a lifelong jinchuriki. The five split up and dashed after the clones, intent on hacking them to pieces until they found the original.

The real Naruto continued to follow the river. If he followed it, he was sure he would reach where he needed to be. Ten kilometers, that's how far he needed to run. But if he could reach there, he was certain he could win!

Naruto felt his clones being destroyed one by one. The first five were killed quickly, but the killings were spaced out as the clones spread further apart. He kept following the winding river long after his sage mode had ended. Keep moving, he told himself. Don't stop for a second, not even for more sage chakra. He wouldn't need to worry about that once he reached the forest.

The river split apart into a series of distributaries like roots to a tree. The lands between distributaries were covered with small white leafless trees. He made it. And with ten clones to spare.

A powerful strike in his back smashed his spine. Naruto went hurling down the cliff and slammed against a rock. He coughed blood.

Madara was breathing hard. "Enough chasing." He seethed and loomed towards Naruto.

He tasted warm iron. His world was twisting like he'd been spinning in a chair too fast. Naruto shook it off as best he could and crawled to his feet. He was shaking, but still alive. He turned and ran towards the nearest tree. If he could just touch it-

Madara appeared and slapped him sideways. He crashed and rolled along the ground, certain he must have cracked a bone this time.

"How long will you run from me?" Madara seethed.

'Just long enough…' Naruto gasped and crawled towards the tree. Its root was so close. If he could only touch it…

"You would crawl even now? Coward!" Madara cried and stepped on his spine, pushing him into the dirt.

Naruto ignored him and reached. His arm was straining. Just another inch…

His finger brushed against the bark of the root. In an instant the tree shriveled and died, and Naruto's sage mode returned. He threw Madara off and dived at the man, burying his fist into his armored gut. The blow knocked the air out of Madara's lungs, and Naruto gave him no time to recover.

Of course he had run, to his next plan! These were no ordinary trees. These trees soaked the bountiful waters that streamed from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall. The waters were alive with chakra. These were the trees used to create the paper shinobi used to discover their elemental affinity. They were soaked with energy! All Naruto had to do was touch it and steal its energy, and in a flash sage mode returned!

The tides had turned. Madara was strong, possibly the strongest, but Naruto held nothing back. He did not spare his sage energy like before, every blow was rich with power. When he ran low, he need only touch one of the many trees to recover.

Madara grabbed his fan and coated it in flaming chakra. He swung and attempted to sever the boy's arm. But Naruto caught the blade, his natural energy shielded him from the heat. He pulled it in and bashed his elbow into Madara's arm and heard a crack at the wrist. Naruto took the fan and threw it far, too far to reach, and continued his assault.

Madara couldn't keep up. He could barely breathe. His blows glanced off the boy as if they were insect bites! Naruto hit with the power of a bull. He could feel his armor beginning to rend from the unrelenting force.

Naruto unloaded a flurry of punches on Madara's chest, pushing Madara into one of the trees. Naruto leaped on him and grabbed the tree on either side, soaking in the energy before slamming his head into Madara's. His headbutt crushed Madara through the shriveled remains.

Madara slid to a halt a few meters away. He writhed as Naruto pressed forward. He wouldn't give him any rest.

But Madara had had enough. "No more!" He cried. His eye flared and began to spin, a mass of chakra working through the eternal eye. "Susanoo!"

Naruto was blasted back by the explosion of chakra. Waves of thick blue energy radiated through the air, scorching the trees and charring the land black with death. The chakra began collecting around the source of the blast, gathering at the base before climbing onto itself like the flames of the campfire. The chakra began to take the form of a giant shrouded in cloaked armor with two expressionless red eyes.

To form a Susanoo of this size with a single sharingan was a testament to Madara's legend.

The giant towered over the forest. Madara rested at its heart, clearly visible through the glowing mass of power. His visible sharingan eye was bleeding to match his destroyed rinnegan. "Naruto, I'm ending this battle!"

Naruto stood against the radiating chakra. The clothing rippled in the wind, the tails of his headband snapping behind him.

This was it, Madara's strongest technique. If he could break it, the battle would be over!

"Bring it on, Madara!" Naruto roared.

The giant chakra construct reached into itself and unsheathed a giant long sword. It reached high to the stars before it came crashing down like a meteor from the sky. Naruto created a clone to throw him out of the way. The sword smashed through the earth, sending earth and trees flying.

Naruto created another clone while the construct recovered. He worked with the clone to manipulate the shape and nature of his chakra into his most destructive jutsu. "Rasenshuriken!" He called and threw the howling disc at his foe. Madara raised susanoo's shield to absorb the blow. His attack smashed into susanoo and burst into a whirling sphere of wind shearing apart its armor. Naruto turned away and ran to the next tree to absorb its energy.

Madara sneered as he felt Naruto's jutsu reaving his construct's armor. "I've had enough of your pathetic resistance!" Madara turned to the forest of trees. Without it, Naruto would be powerless! "Amaterasu!"

Black fire erupted across the forest. White trees turned to ash in seconds from the unholy flames and spread with unnatural speed. Naruto threw another rasenshuriken at the construct and ran deeper into the forest. He weaved between the flames and found a tree still standing. Madara and his Susanoo followed, slashing the earth and nipping at Naruto's heels.

The wetlands were consumed with destruction. Black smoke blotted the sky and covered the stars as the land turned to ash. One of Naruto's attacks missed and flew off into the forest, blasting into the side of a mountain in the distance. But otherwise Naruto's aim was true. Rasenshurikens clashed with the construct in a challenge to its might.

Susanoo reaved the land with its blade. Naruto leaped off a tree to dodge, but Madara shifted the direction of the strike into the earth. A blast of dirt and stone rushed to the air and crashed into Naruto, sending him hurling through the forest. Naruto slid through the dirt, the pain was intense. But he picked himself up. His attacks were chipping through Madara's defense, he could see his heavy breathing. Just keep pressing, he can't hold out forever!

Madara changed tactics. He reached out and gathered the black flames lingering in the dying forest. They burned across the earth, killing it all and encircling Naruto in a wall of fire. The flames closed in and burned the last living trees. Naruto acted fast and took out a scroll from his pocket, one of three he'd prepared for this battle. He unrolled it and exposed the intricate sealings covering the paper. After a few hand seals he called, "Fire sealing method!" The fire was drawn into a vortex that circled over the seal and was drawn into the paper. The paper burned hot from the energy. Naruto rolled it up and bound it tight, securing the black flames.

Madara was molding more chakra to maintain his construct. Now was his chance!

Naruto formed a clone and crafted one last rasenshuriken. With the last of his sage chakra he used his clone to throw himself at Madara. His defenses had been worn down by his barrage. One last blow up close would breach it!

"Rasenshuriken!" he cried and slammed his attack into Madara's construct. The resulting blast focused forward, but Naruto still felt the backlash from his attack tearing apart his arm. Keep pushing! Madara was one foot in front of him! He could finish this now! Madara's armor was cracked, the rasenshuriken was tearing through his armor to his flesh, he was straining, he-

But then Naruto made a fatal mistake. He looked Madara in the eye.

"Tsukuyomi!"

The world stretched and color faded away. Naruto stumbled into the unknown world in shock. This place felt wrong. The landscape was endless in all directions, completely flat. It reflected the sky, a blank red canvas with black stars.

Two black spears rose from the darkness and impaled his arms. Naruto cried as Madara emerged from the ground. "You've seen this technique before."

Naruto grit his teeth and tried to resist. His mind flashed back to a chance meeting four years ago, his first encounter with Akatsuki. Sasuke pinned to the wall, his screams like a knife.

"You will feel this for seventy-two hours. I will break you." Madara promised. His sharingan was pouring blood like a leaking faucet.

The black flames returned and consumed Naruto. His flesh melted, but his nerves somehow survived and made him feel it. Whatever resolve Naruto felt was shattered from the overwhelming pain. He cried incoherently, not for mercy, but from a base instinct to feeling pain.

The flames vanished and his body magically healed. Naruto cringed and opened his eyes. Madara still stood there, unmoving.

"Seventy-one hours, fifty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds to go."

A great hand of Susanoo rose from the depths, clasping him and crushing in into mush. Naruto screamed.

Naruto hit the forest floor hard. He felt numb, the torture had all blended together. He could barely feel his body. He lay unmoving on the ground, as if he'd forgotten to move.

Madara dispelled Susanoo and dropped to the ground. He heard panting, using all three eye jutsu so frequently had strained the man's body to its limits. "It's over Naruto."

He wanted to reply, but he couldn't find the strength.

"You were a greater foe than I imagined. I applaud you for that."

Naruto groaned into the ground. He was drooling. He wanted to get up and fight, but he couldn't...he just couldn't...

"I remember something about you. A girl. Hinata, that is her name?"

Naruto choked at the mention of her. He fought to raise his chin, looking Madara in the eye.

"You planned a future with this woman."

Naruto felt a small warmth when he remembered the long nights he'd spent training with her, ending with the two of them lying on the grass and looking up to the stars. They pictured what a post-war world would look like. One of peace, unity, a time to grow and prosper. He first said he loved her under the night sky. They dreamed of a home someday, a young couple in love in dark days where the future was never a promise. A house with a view of the forests and the mountains, a cozy living room filled with the smell of cooking food, the happy cries and patter of tiny feet…

"Boruto...or Himawari..." Naruto whispered to himself as he remembered the names they'd decided on. He found the strength to smile and couldn't resist.

"Good names." Madara spoke softly. "I imagine they will live in her dreams. With you, once my peace is realized. That dream will live on."

Madara began approaching him. This was the end.

Why was he telling him this? Was this Madara's way of being kind? And the worst thing was that it was working. He found some satisfaction knowing Hinata would experience their dream. Would she be happy like that for eternity? I could be a pleasant thought…

No.

Don't think like that.

It would be him with her, their real children at her side. Not a dream! He wanted to make that dream a reality. That's the only way it will mean anything! He wanted to hold her and know she was really there in his arms. He wanted to see a better world and know it wasn't just a lie. He wanted to reach those dreams the right way!

The future. He wanted a real future!

This was his will of fire. This was the strength he found!

He watched as Madara grew closer. Just a few steps away and he would be in his grasp. But he saw his opening. His attacks had worn through the armor. He could see his bruised stomach beneath ripped cloth.

Back to plan A.

Naruto took a deep breath and steadied his trembling body. It wouldn't be for long, just long enough. A few seconds to form a sliver of sage chakra. That was all he needed.

Now focus it into your palm. Remember how Hinata taught you to do it.

Wait for your chance…

It came when Madara reached for him, his eyes too full of victory to see.

The course of the world can come down to a single moment in time. Sometimes its no longer than a breath, a blink. That moment changes the world forever.

Naruto pushed up and brushed his fingers against Madara's stomach. "Juken..." Naruto collapsed on the ground.

Madara grunted from the contact and took a step back. "That was a Hyuga technique..." Madara mused, then went cold. "What is this..."

Madara began to fidget. He groped his stomach and felt his chakra. He looked worried. "What did you do to me?"

Naruto lifted his head. He grinned wearily. "That's the power of a sage you're feeling."

"A sage..." Madara said as realization dawned. "You mean..."

"Yeah...it's over. Soon you'll be stone."

Madara, the man who always stood alone against the world. But now the power of the world coursed through his body, and it was his undoing.

Madara was silent as he took this in. Naruto wondered what he would do. Lash out and kill him as his last act of vengeance? He could, there was no way Naruto could resist.

But then Madara laughed. Not a chuckle, but a full belly laugh. He threw his head back and laughed into the early morning sky. He found this hilarious. "Of all the ways to meet my end!" he doubled over, laughing must hurt after such a hard fight.

Naruto was surprised to see Madara behave like this, but he'd seen many people die over the six months of the war. Everyone had their own way of going. "It'll take some time. What will you do?"

"Really..." Madara rose and looked off into the distance to think. "I think...I'll watch one last sunrise."

He turned to Naruto and picked him up. Naruto was too tired to resist. "And you're coming with me. I'll not die alone."

Naruto chuckled as Madara slung his arm over his shoulder. "Will there be fish?"

"Fresh out." Madara smiled contently and began to walk across the blackened earth. The land of their final battle was scarred, black flames had killed the land and sealed the rivers. Nothing would grow here again. Forevermore this land would be known as the Land of Death.

He climbed the highest hill and set Naruto down before sitting next to him. The sky was lightening, and a few strands of light could be seen on the horizon.

"It's beautiful, isn't it." Naruto said.

Madara nodded, "I only wanted to make it better."

"I know that now." Naruto said. He wished it didn't have to come to this. He wished they could have settled this another way.

Madara stared at his hand. It was becoming webbed. "A toad statue. What an undignified way to go."

"Death is rarely dignified."

"You're wiser than you let on." Madara said and ignored his growing deformity. "And so my plan dies with me. The world remains a savage place."

Naruto shook his head, holding his knees to his chest. "You're wrong, Madara. The world and the people are going to grow stronger from this. This war is the war to end all wars. We've formed new bonds and forgotten our old struggles. We will move past them and into a brighter future."

"As Izuna believed." Madara said sadly, "I could never believe that. Old wounds will return, and new ones will be made so long as we form these bonds. But..." Madara whispered, "When you come to the pure world, you tell me if humanity has changed. I will hold out hope for you to succeed."

Madara's words sparked something inside him, an ember that had been fueled by similar word and dreams from his masters and father. It gave him hope. "Thank you. I will."

"If anyone can change the world for the better, though I believe no one can, I suspect it's you." Madara said. Naruto turned to look at him. His features were noticeably toad-like. Undignified indeed. "It seems I'll miss the sunrise." Madara lamented.

Naruto turned back to the horizon. The sun had yet to peak, the sky furthest was still a lovely shade of aqua. "Yeah, I guess you will." he paused, "I'll tell you about that too, when I see you again."

Madara hummed and turned to the blonde. If he was capable of warmth, this was the closest he would get. "Until then, Naruto."

Madara's body began to harden from the core outward with audible shifting of stone. His body finished its metamorphosis as the stone spread. "In the end, I could only be an obstacle. I was never meant to free the world. I could never live up to what you should have been. Izuna, forgive your foolish older brother."

The shifting stopped. Madara was gone.

A single tear trailed down Naruto's cheek. He stood up and stared into the sky. The glowing blue above the mountains hinted at the coming dawn, while the rear was still full of twinkling stars. Change was on the horizon.

He killed so many with this war, and now he added another body to that list. It had to be worth it. All that sacrifice, all that pain had to mean something. He would make it mean something if he had to. The world would never return to the cycle of pain. He would make sure of it. He would dedicate his life to it!

"Naruto! Everyone, I found him! Up here!"

Naruto turned just in time to see a giant fireball rise into the sky. A signal for others. A dozen shinobi from all different villages surrounded him at first, and hundreds more joined him by the minute. This must be the search party. It was massive!

"Naruto!" Finally, a voice he recognized. Sakura landed in front of him and looked him over. "You're suffering chakra exhaustion. You are suffering from chakra exhaustion! What were you doing running off by yourself?!"

Naruto didn't say anything. He just wrapped his arms around her. He was so happy to see her.

Kakashi landed on the other side, followed by Yamato and Sai. His friends in the rookie nine, team Gai and from across the allied forces surrounded him.

Hinata broke through the crowds and nearly tackled him.

"Naruto!" she cried as she grabbed him. Naruto wrapped his arms around her and the two dropped until they were kneeling within the circle of people. "I thought he took you...I'm so glad you're safe!"

"I'm okay." he said reassuringly. His world felt complete holding her.

Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder, "Naruto, what happened here?"

Naruto looked at him from Hinata's shoulder. He smiled, "I won."

"Won what?"

"The war." Naruto pointed to the statue.

Tsunade approached and looked to the statue. She paled, "You didn't..."

"I did. That's Madara." he said. He didn't mention the eight tailed beasts he contained. Best if those were lost forever, with him serving as the last jinchuriki.

The crowd went silent as they stared at what remained of the legend. "You couldn't have..." A muttered.

"But I did." Naruto and Hinata got up. Naruto pulled away and gave Hinata a reassuring look. They had time now. They could wait a little longer. He turned and looked over the crowd. "I couldn't have people dying for me anymore. So I finished this fighting once and for all. I secured the future!"

Naruto turned to the horizon and spread his arms wide, "And we decide what our future becomes. We can rebuild this world better than ever before. A world of peace and love and unity. And we'll reach it together. The future is ours to create!"

Naruto was too enamored with the possibility that he didn't notice everyone else was silent, too busy taking everything in.

The war was...over.

The war was over!

A cry went up, then another, until the entire crowd was cheering. Cloud shinobi hugged stone, mist hugged leaf and sand. People celebrated together and cried together. Madara Uchiha was dead. The war was over!

A slow chant spread like wildfire. The name of their hero. Their savior.

Naruto!

Naruto!

Naruto!

Together they watched as dawn rose on a new world.

Codex Entries

-Allied Shinobi Forces Official Report: The Loss of the Eight-Tailed Beast

Killer B and his bodyguard were ambushed by six resurrected members of the Akatsuki: Kisame, Sasori, Deidara, Kakuzu, Nagato and Konan, along with a battalion of Grass, Waterfall and Moon shinobi in the Land of Sound. B and his company of shinobi were en route from Fire Country Central Command Center to Joint Forces HQ in Lightning Country at the orders of Lord Raikage. They were ambushed shortly after entering the Land of Sound. Scouts report enemy forces hid in a previously unknown ruin, we suspect it may be one of Orochimaru's former hideouts. The Sannin is one of the few capable of constructing a site that shields shinobi from sensors. All ninety-three of B's guards were slaughtered, along with two hundred and eighteen enemy shinobi. Seals confirm that at least three resurrected Akatsuki were successfully sealed. Land scarring confirms B unleashed his beast, but was captured regardless.

The Raikage ordered a massive search party be sent after B. Lady Mizukage offered to lead the search party after a private audience with A, likely convincing him to have someone impartial lead instead of himself. Lady Hokage offered to serve as second in command. Naruto Uzumaki vehemently requested to participate but was rejected for strategic concerns. A doubled Naruto's guard over concerns he may be the last jinchuriki.

The search lasted five days. Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru managed to trace B's scent to a cavern in the mountains fifty kilometers off. The search party encountered no resistance. Inside the mountain they discovered another abandoned lair. It was deserted save for B, who was imprisoned in a cell. His condition was critical, but Lady Hokage managed to stabilize him at the scene. She diagnosed severe chakra trauma after having his beast forcibly removed. He was returned to the Village Hidden in the Clouds and was given extensive care. Lady Tsunade commented B was fortunate to have become a jinchuriki in his adolescence; any earlier and the Eight-Tails removal would have killed him. B is expected to make a full, if long recovery with proper therapy.

The consequences of this operation was the loss of one of the Allied Shinobi Forces only two remaining Tailed Beasts. Only the Nine Tailed Fox kept Madara from his plan. A responded by redoubling Naruto's guard and refusing to allow him outside of headquarters unless accompanied by a Kage or Mifune.

A/N

This vignettes stories will be stories in TRTP that I want to write, but don't necessarily fit into the chapter structure I have set up for the story. The next vignette will be in a series. Much shorter and succinct that this one. It will focus on the early years of John Shepard and his older sister Jane.

The part where Naruto is staring into the sky after Madara's death is reflected in the title image you see on both TRTP stories.

Let me know if you like these side stories, please review and tell me your thoughts. :)