[A/N] It has been… so very long, my dear friends. I'll probably give this same spiel in my other stories whenever those get updated, and I really hope that's soon. But I doubt it. I realize I haven't posted in a while and I apologize for that. Outside of my own original writing, I just don't have much spare time in the day.

Looking back at Insanity and Nightmare of Time, for anyone that remembers those, that does seem to be a trend once I get really invested in these. I get into them, and then everything else gets in the way. I'll figure it out and work through it though.

I was going to work on I Chose Rapture and get a chapter out for that first, but I'm having trouble deciding what to do with it at the moment. I know where I want the story to get to, but getting there is just causing me some trouble. And I really don't want to quit with it as I did with Insanity and Nightmare of Time. I've learned from my mistakes and realize that if I take it down until I'm ready to keep going, it will most likely sit in my folders untouched. I don't want that for these stories.

If anyone would like to become a beta reader or maybe take on some sort of ghostwriter/cowriter position for any of my stories I would be appreciative. I say ghostwriter because I still know what I want to do with these stories and have no intention of putting them up for adoption. I'm mostly just looking for help with doing the writing and editing, not do it all for me. If this sounds like something you might be up to, send me a message and we can talk it out.

Anyways, I'll get on with it.

To the Guest reviewer PersonNInjaLux: The bold and italics at the start of every new scene comes from just after my first fanfiction, The Price of Your Betrayal. I originally only used *break* to separate my scenes. After that first fanfiction, I started using the bold and italics instead of *break*. And since I never used the editor on this site, it was a long time before I learned how to add line breaks. Even after I learned how, I decided to still keep this.

The Guest Reviewer blazeddud3: I think you mean number 8. That would be Kuromori. Number 7 was Hydrus, the electric eel.

To Shaggy the Kidd: I'm glad I could come up with something to help. As I said in the first chapter, I was so disappointed to find so few of this crossover. As for the Trico, I'm not sure if they'll make an appearance. IF they do, I have some ideas about how they would show up, but I'll burn that bridge when I get to it. I like burning bridges.

On with the show.

Naruto stood among the wreckage as the warehouse began collapsing around him. His summon's wings shook the supports left standing as it towered over the thugs and mercenaries.

"This place is coming down," the shaman said. "Secure the rest of the cargo while I handle the cursed one. Get the shipment out of here, now."

"What do we do about the summon?" one of the mercenaries asked.

As if in answer to the question, spears of ice were launched at the summon. It's wings folded in, the iron armor coating them protecting it from harm.

"Let the tool handle the bat. Get to work."

Sasuke stood on a branch, looking out into the distance. He watched another explosion blow from the warehouse, threatening to plunge the structure into the ocean. He tried to leap forward and save his friend only to be stopped by Kakashi again.

"I know this means a lot to you, but remember my order. I have to stay with Tazuna, so if I dispell down there, you get out while you can," Kakashi said. "We can't lose you both."

"I won't leave him behind!" Sasuke shouted, reaching up to grab his head as a migraine threatened to take over.

"Sasuke-"

"I will not leave him behind," he said coldly. He turned to Kakashi, glaring at his teacher as the Sharingan burned in his eyes.

Ice tore through the ground, launching up at the bat. It's wings folded in, guarding against the waves of ice. It shattered against the metal-clad wings, bathing the warehouse in light as it poured in and reflected through the cloud of ice.

"Tetsukōmori, you alright?" Naruto asked, stepping between his summon and Haku.

The bat's wings opened again, revealing a twisted grin on Tetsukōmori's face. "Do you really need to ask?"

Naruto shrugged. "Who else is gonna look after your health old girl? You certainly don't." He turned his attention to Haku. "You and me now, willing tool. Just you and my collec-" He cut himself off, throwing his arms up as he blocked a heavy punch from the shaman.

'So powerful,' Naruto thought. 'The impact is making my arms go numb.'

"You should have stayed in your cage, cursed one," the shaman said, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Naruto from behind the mask.

"And you should have stayed on your knees at your mistress' feet." He shifted his weight, reaching forward, and grabbed the shaman's arms. Pulling sharply, he slammed him into the ground.

The shaman pulled his wrists free of his grip, lashing out at Naruto's legs. He forced Naruto's feet out from under him as he hit him in the shins. Twisting his body, he jumped back to his feet and stood over Naruto.

Pulling a kunai, Naruto stabbed at the shaman's legs, digging the blade in deep.

"Worthless cur!" the shaman shouted, bringing his knee into Naruto's face and putting him on his back.

Naruto rolled away from the shaman, throwing several kunai. As the shaman lept away, he unsealed the Kubikiribōchō. Taking a moment to steady himself, he took a wide stance. His hands gripped close to the blade.

"That blade seems a little large for you, cursed one," the shaman said.

Naruto tried to keep a straight face, though his lips pulled into a gin. "That's what she said," he chuckled out. "I'm sorry. You made that way too easy."

The shaman grit his teeth and charged in once more. He twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the swing of Naruto's sword. Landing on his hands behind Naruto, he pushed himself back into the air. The back of his foot caught the boy in the back of the head as he came back down, sending him face-first into the ground.

Securing his footing again, the shaman stood over Naruto. "Go to sleep, cursed child!" He raised his foot to stomp on his head.

"Naruto!" Tetsukōmori shouted, turning to the shaman.

A wall of ice sprouted in front of the giant bat as Haku blocked off any hope of helping Naruto. Her wings thrashed outward, slamming into the ice and shattering it. As the ice went flying she heard a violent scream.

Haku fell back, creating platforms of ice to land on. She turned to see the shaman tackled to the ground. Recognizing Sasuke, she watched in stunned silence as he began wildly smashing his fists into the mask.

His voice cracked as he let out another cry of rage. Blood poured down the sides of the mask, as much from Sasuke's hands as the shaman's face underneath. His Sharingan burned furiously, glaring down into the eyes of the shaman with malice and hate. He ignored the pain for as long as he could, finally stopping as one of his hands crumpled against the unyielding wood.

He looked down at his hand, falling silent. His eyes were transfixed by the blood. By the wound he never felt through his rage. The world had gone mute for Sasuke. The rampage going on around him blurred away.

Haku shook herself of her shock, launching herself back at Tetsukōmori. She created several spears and sent them flying.

Tetsukōmori wrapped herself in her wings again, her iron wings swinging open to shatter the ice and batter Haku away.

The shaman reached up, grabbing the collar of Sasuke's shirt. He pulled himself up, slamming his mask into the boy's forehead. Throwing Sasuke to the side, he quickly lept back to his feet.

As the world came flooding back in, Sasuke's mouth went wide in a silent cry. He curled into a ball. With what little strength he had left in him, he grabbed his wrist tightly, trying to numb the pain.

"Worthless cur!" the shaman yelled, kicking Sasuke in the back. He breathed heavily, looking down at the boy. "I never did sense any magic in you, but maybe our queen can make use of you."

Pain ripped through his chest a moment later as the shaman looked down to see an ethereal chain tearing through his cloak. He turned to see the chain extending from Naruto's palm.

Without words or even an expression on his face, Naruto jumped into the air and pulled the shaman with him. The chain unraveled around them in wide arcs. Waving his arms back and for, he bound the shaman tight.

"Tetsukōmori!" Naruto shouted, pulling the shaman close.

Haku turned to see Naruto diving toward the bat with his opponent in tow. She heard the wind howling before being battered to the side once again by the ironclad wings.

Tetsukōmori stretched her wings wide as Naruto came in close to her chest. "Within this beast of ore, we shall swallow your screams and agony in our embrace! Needle Jizō!" she called out. The fur on the inside of her wings grew long, wild, and sharp.

Chakra flowed from Naruto's body as it swirled around him and the shaman. "Collaboration; Iron Maiden!" Naruto yelled. He detached himself from the chains, launching him into Tetsukōmori's chest as he was still wrapped in chains.

The shaman spat up blood as his body was impaled on the fur. He reached out at Naruto one last time before the wings closed around him. There was a scream cut short as Tetsukōmori's wings sealed together.

Naruto landed near Sasuke, looking down at his friend. He turned to see Haku staring at him from across the wreckage. His eyes finally returned to their light blue as he created a clone.

The clone knelt down, lifting Sasuke over its shoulder.

He watched from the corner of his eye as the clone lept up into the rafters and disappeared, his gaze never leaving Haku. As he stepped forward, Tetsukōmori opened her wings and dropped the shaman's body at his feet.

"Thank you, Tetsukōmori. The rest of the children, if you would?"

Without a word, the creature took off, tearing away the rest of the roof with it.

"Just you and I now, willing tool," Naruto said. He took a knee, pulling the mask from the shaman, a look of disappointment on his face as he realized the cloak was completely destroyed. It took a moment to shake away most of the blood. "He won't interrupt us again. You said that Zabuza gave you purpose. But when you become a broken tool, one he casts aside, would you serve any willing to give you another?"