Another update! I take a lot of vacations from this, don't I? Don't worry. I wasn't dead or anything. I did receive a death threat for writing this story, though. Who knew fanfiction was such a serious thing? Is the story that bad? Read and judge for yourself.

The Kitsune in the Leaves

Chapter XXVIII: Demons of Pain

"I love you, Hinata!"

Those four words struck Hinata deep into her heart and shook her to the core of her very being. She stood there, stuck in a state of frozen shock.

Naruto. What did he just say? She misheard him. It had to be. Her ears were still ringing from gunfire and explosions. She was still dizzyingly weak from blood loss.

"Nar-"

Before Hinata could take another breath, Naruto grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her in for a deep, huge kiss. Hinata's gun slipped out of her loosened fingers and clattered to the earth. Sparks flew and spiraled around them, blown around by the raging winds . Flames danced like mad around them. The air was heavy and scorching hot. They were both drenched in blood and sweat. Hinata's hair was filled with the strong scent of gunsmoke.

Naruto didn't mind that at all.

Hinata's eyes lit up and glowed. Not the harsh battle ready glare of the Jyuuken warrior. It was more of a soft shimmer. Her chakra coils relaxed and flowed freely. Her eyes closed. Hinata was swept away form the burning, blood soaked battlefield to a silent snowfield years ago. Naruto and Hinata met in that place.

Deep in her mindscape, she saw the taijitu spinning before her, swirling and burning with green flame, larger than life. Hinata was Yin. Naruto was Yang. All the pain and exhaustion melted away. Pale wisps of light from her chakra emanated from her wounds, healing her wounds.

"Naruto-kun…," she finally spoke. "This is all so sudden."

"I know," Naruto said. He glanced away, cringing a little. "I suck at things like this. I don't know this stuff so well. I never really learned-"

"I know. And it's okay, Naruto-kun. I know we're doing things in a weird way. And that's okay because we-"

"We're weird?" Naruto asked.

"I-I would never call you weird, Naruto-kun. I was going to say that it all feels so real. That's what's most important. With you, Naruto. I know everything is real."

"Yeah?"

"I love you too, Naruto-kun. And…" saying that brought tears gushing down her cheeks. Hinata almost collapsed to the ground. She forced her voice to stay with her, to keep the blood from rushing way. To stop fainting for once. She stood up straight with her shoulders back. "I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun. I should've said that to you a long time ago! I love you, Naruto-kun. Why did I wait so long to say that?"

Naruto caressed her soft cheeks, wiping away her tears. "No worries, Hinata. It's all cool. We've both been through a lot. That day when we were both pulled apart by the dimension rift, I was thinking about you a lot. Every day. Now here we are. Together again. Maybe now's just that right kind of time, dattebayo."

Dattebayo? He hadn't used that tic in a while. He must have been feeling really light heated.

"What does all this mean for us, Naruto-kun?"

"Right now? You just saved my butt and nailed Pein! He never saw it coming. I'll tell you that means!" Naruto slammed a fist into his palm. "It means that we're bringing down Pein down together. I want you, Hinata, to help me. Can you do that?"

"You want me to... fight by your side?"

Naruto shoved his finger right into Hinata's face. "You're goddamn right, Hinata! There's no one I'd rather have with me right now! You're insane with that gun! Maybe I should pick up one of those. What do you think is my kind of gun?"

"For you?" Hinata never dreamt that Naruto would be asking her something like that. "I, um, think you would like assault rifles. The HK416C is very much recommended. Tails-kun could customize something special for you. He's very good at that."

Naruto laughed. "Man, what a team we all make. We are so gonna make Pein take us seriously. We're gonna win this, Hinata? You believe it, right?"

"Yes!" Hinata's stutter went away. "Yes. I do." She pulled another gun clip from her hip. It clicked into place. She was locked and loaded.

"Wait." Naruto lowered her arm. "One more time." He leaned forward and kissed her again. A white hot explosion burst out right behind them.

"Time to go," Naruto said. The sparks swirling around them seemed to guide the way, pointing to the smoke and shadows where the enemy awaited.

"Naruto-kun. Wait. What about Tails?"

"Shit!" Naruto slapped his forehead. "Forgot all about him. Yo!" Naruto called out as loud as he could. "I need some toad help!"

There was a rumbling sound as Gamaken crashed to the ground beside him. The red horned toad was covered in burn marks. Blood seeped out of deep lacerations all around his thick hide.

"What the Hell happened to you?" Naruto asked.

"Pein's crazy hell beasts," Gamaken said. "The guy's got a whole army of critters. You can tell we're in a tough spot since the most ungraceful of us showed up first. Ears work well, though. So what do you need?"

"Can you watch over Tails?" Naruto asked. "We're going after Pein."

Gamaken scooped up the sleeping fox and hid him behind his sakazuki shield. "Yeah. The kitsune's in good hands."

Together, Naruto and Hinata stepped over the lifeless body of the Human Path. The Rinnegan eyes were wide open, dead and empty. The godlike eyes staring at nothing. Naruto nudged the body, making sure this Path of Pein was good and dead. It was a perfect clean shot through the forehead. Hinata was a scary deadeye. That left just two those Paths out there.

"Pein!" Naruto called out. "Come on! I've been preparing for this fight for over three years. Quit being chicken shit!"

"Eyyyerrr!" A loud scream echoed in the clouds above. Jiraiya came hurtling down. He smashed face first into the earth by Naruto's feet, kicking up a cloud of dust and rubble.

"Damn, he's strong. Stronger than ever," Jiraiya said. He lurched to his feet and hacked out a bloody cough. He hunched over, his back weighed down and run through with a dozen black spikes. "Thought I could finally get him in a genjutsu. Nothing else was working. Took too long."

"Ero-Sennin!?" Naruto reached a hand to pull one of those black blades. "What did he do…?"

"Don't touch those," Jiraiya growled and jerked away."I might bleed to death." He stumbled across the rocky terrain. The sound of Jiraiya's creaking bones made Naruto wince.

Jiraiya and pulled one of the blades out on his own. Blood poured out of the gash on his backside. "Not quite as bad as I thought. Still might bleed to death. Listen, Naruto. I know I'll never convince you to to run away, so stay and fight this out if you want, but do me a favor and don't die. It would be such an embarrassing way to go, especially after declaring your love to Hinata. You guys need to come out of this alive and make some cute babies one day."

Naruto went red in the face. "Don't confuse me about things like that! What should I do about Pein?"

"Try to go long range on him," Jiraiya wandered over to a smoldering crater where Fukusaku and Shima lay, bleeding and barely conscious. "You and Hinata watch each other's backs. The Byakagun will be your most useful tool. You'll need to be fast. Don't leave any blind spots. He can practically teleport. Hopefully, Kakashi can-GAH!"

A spear flew out of the smoke. It sank into Jiraiya's shoulder, tore through flesh and bone, and came bursting out the other side with a hot splash of blood. Jiraiya crumpled back to the ground. His head hang low.

"I've never seen you so beaten and broken like this." Pein strode through the smoke and flames calmly. His cloak untouched by fire. "Tell me, sensei. Have I shown you true pain yet?"

"No. There are worse things," Jiraiya sneered. "You know what the worst pain would look like? When I see you dead...and the realization of what a failure of a sensei I was will hit me hard. That will be my truest pain. That will be bottom of Hell for me right there."

"Then you'll just have to settle for dying right here. That will be pain enough."

"Dying now would feel good," Jiraiya said with a grim smile. "There are some very nice ways to die. Did you know that there is a secret hidden frog song that only I know? A technique as powerful and deadly as it is beautiful. The ultimate erotic genjutsu. Listen to this song and it will transport you to an eternal paradise. Imagine Heaven where the most sublime, perfect set of soft, succulent plump tits await your groping hands. You lose your very soul in ecstasy as you reach out to take those forbidden fruit, and with your puckered lips you-"

"Shut up, Ero Sennin!" Naruto shouted and smashed his fist over Jiraiya's head. "Nobody gives a damn about your stupid forbidden frog-boob-jutsu."

"It was just a distraction, you idiot!" Jiraiya shouted right back. "You were supposed to attack him already."

"Oh…"

A ghost of a smile formed across Pein's face. "What a coincidence. I was also making a distraction."

A cloud of smoke exploded behind him. The other surviving Pein appeared and clapped his hands. A flock of giant demon buzzards flew out of the summoning cloud, shrieking and baring their razor sharp drilled beaks. They circled the sky, beating their massive wings, casting a storm of wind and ash. One in particular cast its eye on the ground. It let out an ear piercing shriek and dove down, sailing right past Naruto, ignoring him. It had a different target.

"Tails…"

Gamaken kept Tails concealed in his hand. He saw the bird swooping in, but too late. With its enormous claws and talons, the beast bird tore right through him. The toad's shield and thick skin shredded like rice paper, severing his arm from the shoulder. Gamaken let out a low grunt. He kept a cool, detached expression, even as hot blood gushed out of the ragged hole where his arm once was. The bird opened its twisted beak again and lunged once more. Not for the toad this time. It wanted Tails. Its massive beak opened wide and clamped down on Tails's two tails, then flew off it into the sky with its prey.

"Forgive me. I was too ungraceful…," Gamaken grabbed his shoulder. Blood continuously spilled out, soaking the dry earth with blood and rotted feathers.

"Gamaken!" Naruto shouted. "Tails! Oh, shit! That damn buzzard!" Naruto gritted his teeth. He was pissed. He launched himself into the air after the kidnapping bird. As Naruto came closing in with a Rasengan in hand, the bird shrieked again and dropped dozens of golden colored eggs that exploded in the air. The blast killed his Rasengan and flung Naruto wildly into the wind where a storm of exploding eggs waited for him. The blasts tossed him around like a ragdoll in the sky until one giant egg bomb detonated into his face and sent him careening back to the earth. Gamaken broke his fall with his remaining arm.

"I'm sorry," Gamaken said in a low grumble as he lowered Naruto to the ground. "I lost the kitsune. I was just too clumsy." With his head hung low, the red toad vanished in a puff of smoke.

Naruto stumbled in a daze. The blast rang in his ears. He picked up the giant sasamuta that Gamaken dropped. The thing was too huge and unwieldy to do him any good. He anxiously looked up to the sky. Tails was like a little orange dot. "How am I gonna get him back now?"

"You can't."

Naruto swerved around in the direction of the voice. It was Pein. He spoke in a voice so soft and measured, but deeply cold. The Deva Path walked through the mists, making soft splashes as he stepped through the rivers of blood. He made one swipe of his sword. There was an instant flash of light before Naruto's eyes. The heavy steel sasumata split in two and clattered to the ground.

"The kitsune is mine now," Pein said with his black blade pointed in Naruto's face. "There is nothing you can do about that." He glanced over to the Animal Path. They exchanged nods. Then Naruto heard the hungry growling and gnashing of teeth in the mist.

"Crud," Naruto said. "The hounds again, huh?"

Before Naruto could see a single beast, he heard the clanging of steel against bone. The giant toads Gamabunta and Gamahiro launched attacks with their great swords against the hounds. They held the horde at bay while Jiraiya painstakingly worked through his hand seals.

"Pein's trying to thin out our numbers," Jiraiya said. "He's trying to overwhelm us with sheer force. Kind of like you, Naruto."

"How do we stop him?"

"I'll immobilize Pein and his attack dogs for as long as I can. Hinata will use her handy gunslinger skills to go after Tails. While I hold Pein down, you'll land the killing blow."

"You'll do nothing of the sort," Pein said. You're already-"

"Shut up, Pein!" Jiraiya shouted and slammed his hand to the ground. "Doton: Yomi Numa! (Earth: Hell Swamp) The black, cracked asphalt beneath their feet melted into thick brown sludge. The dogs howled like mad as they were dragged into a rapidly sinking mud pit. The mud reached Deva Pein's feet pulling him down into the swamp.

"I've got him trapped. Now's your chance. Get him now!"

"Hm." Pein gave a slight look of annoyance. "You cannot drag the gods down into the sinking Abyss." The other surviving Pein, the summoner, clapped his hands together. A giant chameleon appeared by his side. It opened its mouth and out slid a long, slime coated tongue covered with pearls.

Shinra Tensei," Pein manipulated the field of gravity and propelled himself out of the hell swamp. He landed on the very tip of the chameleon's tongue. The creature retracted its tongue and pulled Pein into the darkness of its mouth. Then the giant chameleon itself vanished into thin air.

"Shit! We'll lose him," Jiraiya growled.

"I'm not going anywhere, sensei." Pein's voice echoed in the shadows. The battleground was engulfed in thick clouds again.

"More summons?" Jiraiya asked. "These creatures of yours are nothing but mindless beasts."

"You're the one who is going to be losing his mind, sensei."

Animal Pein clapped his hands once more. The earth rumbled as his eyes smoldered with the Rinnegan's power. Dark, purple flames snaked across the ground, carving out a circle with the Animal Path in the center. A web of mystery sigils formed within the circle that radiated an eldritch divine energy.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Junishi!" (Summoning: Twelve Animals of the Zodiac)

A storm cloud erupted. Thunder boomed and lighting flashed all around. Pein ripped open a portal in time and space. A black iron gate rose from the flaming circle. It was like a massive Rashoman gate, towering over a hundred feet, carved with beastly depictions of the twelve animals. The gate's massive chained doors swung open. Creatures came pouring out. First, a wave of Pein's hell hounds leapt out, followed by a swarm of giant rats, then giant dire tigers. Giant boars with blood drenched tusks huffed with rage in their eyes. Naruto saw there were even more summoned animals pouring out of the gate from realms unknown. Besides the Rinnegan eyes, Pein's animals all had a more grotesque and fearsome look to them.

"What kind of move was that?" Naruto asked.

"The most powerful, forbidden summoning jutsu," Jiraiya said. "In one technique, it summons a legion of all twelve animals from the zodiac."

"The Zodiac?"

"You should know them well," Jiraiya said. "We use them in all our hand signs. The dog, the rat, pig, ram, ox, tiger, snake, rooster, monkey, horse, rabbit, and-"

"What? Rabbits and chickens? That's stupid-"

"Shut up! These aren't normal animal summons. Besides, you didn't let me finish. The twelth animal in the Zodiac is-" The portal shut with a crashing explosion, sending a massive shockwave that blew down everything in its path. A long, dark shadow, monstrous in form cast itself over Naruto. Pein hovered above them all, riding on the back of a colossal, fire breathing red dragon.

"...The Dragon," Jiraiya finished. The twelfth animal is the dragon."

From high above, Pein fixed his gaze on his old sensei. The red dragon beat its ferocious leather wings and flashed its menacing claws. Four more dragons flew out of the gate and circled around them. They all bared scales of different colors, blue, green, black, and white. All were brimming with elemental power that hissed from their tooth filled maws and danced around their claws. The air grew dark and dense. It rumbled with the powers of lightning, air, water, earth, and fire. They clashed and collide together. Pein sat calmly in the center of the elemental hurricane. Amidst the chaos, he spoke in a clear, commanding voice.

"Bow to me, Jiraiya. Bow to your God that you created, and accept a graceful death."

Jiriaya lowered his head. "So you are a god," he admitted. "All right. I'll acknowledge you as a god." His head snapped up and he glared at his old pupil. "The god of fools. The god of madness and destruction. The god who has been gifted the divine Rinnegan, the all seeing eye that watches the eternal wheel of the cosmos, and you used it to bully one little fox and his friends? And then send the world hurtling into darkness? You're blind, Nagato. You are nothing but the insane, raving, blind idiot God."

"Way to tell him, Ero-sennin!" Naruto shouted. "That should get him to back down, right?"

Pein narrowed his eyes and his face darkened.

Jiraiya heaved a weary sigh. "Sorry, Naruto. I made him really mad now. This guy's going to live up to his name. It's going to hurt very very badly. You'll need to fight through the hordes to get Tails. Good luck to you."

"Ero-sennin, what about yo-"

Pein's red dragon opened its mouth wide. Its massive teeth dripped with flaming spittle. It lunged downward, casting its massive shadow over Jiraiya. He closed his eyes and waited. The dragon snapped its jaws shut over Jiraiya. There was a gulping sound as Jiraiya disappeared, sent down into the dragon's gullet.

"The Hell? Spit him out, you damn dragon!" Naruto shouted and charged at Pein's dragon. Behind him, Gamabunta and Gamahiro sprang out of the smoke behind him. A stream of fire and smoke trailed behind as they lunged at Pein.

"Snakes beats toad. Jiraiya taught me that," Animal Pein said. He commanded two giant green snakes to lash out with lightning speed and wrap around Bunta and Hiro. The snakes were huge Manda-sized serpents. Their strength overwhelmed even the toad bosses, throwing them down to the ground. Their coils squeezed their arms to the breaking point, forcing the toads to drop their giant swords.

Naruto turned his head this way and that, confused as all hell. "Damn, there are so many things going on here! How am I supposed to deal with all of this?"

Hinata came running up towards Naruto. She was wrapped up in even more artillery. Now she brought out the big guns. "I'm here, Naruto-kun. I'll help you."

"Hinata, how good are you with those things?" One look at her and he already knew the answer.

"Pretty good. Shadow-kun trained me. He was very harsh and strict, but effective."

"Shadow the Hedgehog, huh? Yeah. I'll bet," Naruto said. He watched as Hinata armed herself with a new and polished M4 Carbine assault rifle, all clicked into place. A Remington 870, pump action, 12-gauge shotgun was slung across her back. Naruto was by no means an expert in guns, but it looked like powerful stuff to him. There was a fiery glint in Hinata's eyes as she raised her assault rifle and took aim. The way she carried herself with those guns, it was like she was born into the world armed with guns blazing.

"You get Tails, Hinata! I'm going to tear Pein a new one! Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The flames in the streets swirled and sparks scattered everywhere when an explosion of white blue light brought in hundreds of Naruto clones, all with pulsing Rasengans in their hands. They screamed in a berserker rage and charged at Pein's army of monsters. The hundreds of screaming shadow clones collided with the hordes of beasts. All the Rasengans exploded together, erupting into a massive hurricane of blinding blue light. The force of the blast pulled the earth part, kicking up jagged chunks of rocks and metal. Pein's beast army went flailing into the screaming winds.

A smaller crew of Naruto clones flew towards Gamahiro an Gamabunta. Thye were both pinned to the ground, having the life constricted put of them by giant snakes. Naruto's crew flung their Rasenshurikens at the snakes, slicing through their scaly hides, dicing them into thin slivers. Gamahiro and Bunta threw off the bloody mass of snake carcasses, picked up their swords, and rushed into tempest, joining Naruto on his rampage. One tiger raked its claws across Bunta's face. A boar plunged its tusks into Hiro's ribs. Still, the toads stood their ground, their swords cutting own bones and claws. For Bunta, it just meant more battle scars to grace his rough hide.

The combination of Naruto's myriad Rasengans and the Toad Bosses swordplay cut through Pein's forces. It was a storm of pure chaos. Amidst the blinding light and and howls of the beasts, Naruto could barely see what was going on. That had to be Pein's strategy. Overwhelm his enemies with his crazy Six Path Jutsus and leave them confused and blind sighted. He needed someone with the right eyes to counter that Rinnegan.

Good thing Hinata had her Byakagun.

忍者

Over a dozen demon birds circled in the ashen, smoke filled sky. Hinata's target was Pein's big one, flying highest near sun, lurking behind the columns of smoke. The one carrying Tails, whose beak and talons glistened with blood.

She pulled the trigger. There was a sonic crack as the bullet soared upward. It cut through smoke and haze, sailing past the flock of demon birds. The bullet struck the big one dead in the eye. The bird's skull burst wide open. Bone fragments and brain matter scattered into the wind. The wings flapped chaotically, then went limp. Its jaws loosened and dropped Tails. Both went hurtling down back to the ground.

The other buzzards screeched and howled. They dove downwards, dropping egg bombs that burst through the air, raining down fire. Hinata rolled out of the way of the explosions while firing more rounds. She was doing a good job keeping those buzzards busy while Naruto caught Tails in midair. The dead buzzard crashed into the pavement behind him in a cloud of dust.

Naruto glanced behind him to see the remaining demon birds flapping themselves into a shrieking mad frenzy. They exploded towards Hinata with blinding speed. Hinata's rifle flared and blasted their hides with a round of slugs. The beasts dropped dead instantly. Their bullet ridden carcasses crashed into the earth by Hinata's feet, littering the streets with blood and feather covered entrails.

Hinata reloaded as she ran and dodged the bombs. Another clip locked into its magazine with Hinata not taking her sight off the birds for even a split second. They were coming in for the kill. The egg bombs dropped, screaming down from above. Hinata swatted them away with her free arm, shooting them back into the gaping mouths of the enemy birds. Hinata ducked and rolled low to the ground. The ensuing explosion blew the buzzards apart from the inside. Flaming body parts came raining down all around, showering Hinata with sizzling gore.

One bird swooped down close enough to rake its talons across Hinata's back. She let out a sharp cry of pain as she dove for cover behind a pile of flaming rubble. The bird shot up back into the sky carrying the tatters of Hinata's jacket in its blood stained claws. She winced as warm, fresh blood trickled down her back and soaked her shirt.

"Just a flesh wound," she reminded herself. The bird swooped down again, hungry for more blood. Its claws were aiming to slice her abdomen wide open. Hinata planted her feet firmly into the ground, tightened the grip on her rifle and plugged away, firing relentlessly. The bird screeched, thrashing wildly. Molted green feathers scattered in the air and the creature dropped dead at Hinata's feet.

Hinata wiped the blood and sweat from her face and groaned. She leaned on her empty rife, giving her aching muscles a chance to rest as she glanced around the battlefield to survey her work. The rest of the flock was dead on the ground. Lifeless green bodies twitched. Blood leaked out of smoking bullet holes and pooled into the earth. Those Rinnegan eyes were as lifeless as the other dead Pein bodies.

Hinata was breathing heavily. Her ears were ringing a little less now that the demonic shrieking died away. The hot sun beat down on her exposed back. Sweat and blood mingled together making her feel gross and sticky. Still, mission accomplished. Tails was safe and sound in Naruto's arms.

Pein's Animal Path stepped forward through the swirling orange smoke.

"Look out, Hinata," Naruto warned. "He's gonna summon another bunch of stupid animals."

The strap that held Hinata's Remington snapped. The shotgun fell into her waiting hands. She aimed it right in Animal Path's face. She didn't miss a single target yet. She would not miss this one.

"Stay away from Tails-kun," she warned. Hinata surprised herself by not stuttering at all in the face of the Akatsuki Leader's gaze. Her shotgun, heavy as it was, stayed firm and steady in her hands.

The Animal Path gazed deep into the barrel of the gun and raised an arm. The horde of summoned beasts halted and went silent. The dragons perched themselves at the top of the highest buildings. Deva Pein sat above it all. Resting his chin on his arm, he watched and waited.

"They're yours now, Konan."

The wind picked up. The morning sun scattered bright rays across the streets. Up above, a majestic figure floated in the sky, bathed in the ruby light of the morning sun. Rays of sunlight gleamed off the shining paper armor that covered her skin, giving her an ethereal otherworldly look. Konan extended six massive wings, razor sharp and metallic in appearance. Their wingspan was huge, covering the streets in dark shadows. The flapping of her celestial wings sounded harsh, but soft at the same time, almost lyrical. She arrived at Pein's call as his angel - the Seraphim - those who served before the Throne of God in the highest echelons of Heaven.

"Precious time is running out," Pein said. "My summons are wasted on this filth. I'm trusting you to get the kitsune and put an end to this. I believe you have a score to settle with the Hyuuga."

"Bah! This is nothing to get worked up about," Bunta said, sheathing his tanto. "Her paper jutsus will be worthless once drenched in oil. Then you just light her up with a little fire and this paper fairy is done and gone. Just watch this."

"Gamayudan!" (Toad Oil Bullet)

Bunta's mouth puffed up as the chakra gathered within turned to oil. He spat out a blast of thick oil towards of Konan. The angel wings swiped at the air, slicing right through the stream. Beads of oil scattered everywhere.

"That's not going to work this time," Konan said. "I've studied Jiraiya's moves . I know all his little toad secrets. My paper has been hardened with chakra. It's impervious to your precious oil."

Konan beat her massive wings, releasing a deadly storm of paper shards. Thousands of glinting blades rained down across the battlefield. Gamabunta braced himself as they stuck deep into his flesh. The hail storm of blades continue to rain down, puncturing the hides of Bunta and Hiro. The force shattered their great swords to pieces. They struck Naruto's entire army of shadow clones down next. Pillars of white smoke blanketed the streets like in a thick fog.

"Naruto..." Gamabunta said in a raspy breath. "We've reached the limit. The paper blades punctured the lungs. We gotta disperse, unless you don't think-"

"No," Naruto said immediately. "You guys go. I'll take that bitch down myself."

With that, Bunta and Hiro disappeared into the clouds. Naruto turned his steely gaze towards Konan.

There was only a handful of clones left. Konan eyes them carefully. Most of them were readying the next attack, but one them was oddly out of place. That was the one she wanted.

"There," she found the Naruto in the rear end, keeping Tails curled tightly to his chest.

A paper sword, hardened into metallic, platinum finish protruded from Konan's sleeve. She rushed in slashed at Naruto, grazing his forearm. Tails fell out of his arms and into Konan's grasp.

"Got him," Konan announced as she lifted Tails by his neck and retreated back to the air. She looked at Tails's unconscious face. "Now we can finally end this."

"You're getting ahead of yourself," Tails said.

"Eh?"

Tails's eyes flashed open for an instant and smiled. His body went POOF and transformed into Naruto.

"A decoy!"

"Damn right!" Naruto headbutted Konan, cracking his skull into her face. Konan staggered back. Shards of paper broke from her face. A line of blood ran down her forehead into her eyes. The Naruto clone poofed away, leaving her empty handed.

"You might know everything about Ero-sennin's moves," Naruto said. The real one shouted at her from below. "But you don't know mine."

"You're giving me a headache, brat."

"Like I care? You're supposed to be an angel, right? Go play some soothing harp music or something."

Konan readied her sword to fly down there and lop off his head, but she was too late. When the blood that obscured her vision was wiped away, Naruto was already gone. He flew in behind her. The winds raged in fury when he formed his Rasenshuriken. He flung it hard into Konan's backside. The wailing scream of the jutsu's winds shredded through her wings, showering the air with sparks. Konan cried out as blood shot out of her mouth. The full brunt of the Rasenshuriken's screaming winds ground up her paper armor into dust and sent her shooting down like a meteor into the ground. Konan got up seconds later. Her once pristine angelic wings were now twisted and malformed. They creaked with every disjointed step she took. Yet she stood up amidst a cloud of dust, alive and well.

"No way! How are you still standing?" Naruto stared in disbelief. His hand still moldered with smoke and heat from his jutsu. No way was he going to fire another Rasenshuriken in time.

"You should've aimed for the front," Konan said. She attacked, just as fast as ever. She lashed out with her hand and caught Naruto in a neck hold. With freakish strength, she lifted him up. Her fingers extended into clawlike points. She started to squeeze.

"Now you're dead, you worthless apprentice of a horny old toad."

"Wow, lady. You're cold," Naruto said through choking gasps.

"You've defied the will of God long enough. Now accept your judgment," Konan said.

There was the swift pump action of a shotgun and something thick and hard pushed firmly on Konan's head. From the corner of her eye, Konan saw Hyuuga Hinata emerge from her blind spot, pressing the muzzle of her shotgun to the back of her head.

"Get your bloody claws off Naruto-kun, you cunt!"

The loud crack of her gunshot echoed through the city streets. Hinata blasted a slug into the back of Konan's head. She reeled back violently. Paper shards scattered. A trickling line of blood ran down her face. Konan regained her footing and wiped the torrent of blood out of her eyes once again.

"Fine," Konan said. "You die first."

Hinata fired another round. Konan took a direct hit to the chest. Keep firing, Hinata thought. The shotgun was an extension of her will and chakra. She was in flow with the rhythm of the gun and its dance. Pump and shoot, pump then shoot again. Embrace the recoil, pump and fire again. She was wearing Konan down, blasting away bits of paper armor with every explosive shot. Konan flapped her wings desperately. A well aimed round of buckshots blew one of her wings completely off her shoulder. Another blast clipped Konan in the shoulder. Paper started to crumble and burn into ashes.

Konan grunted in pain. Good, Hinata thought. She tried to kill Naruto-kun. Enraged, tightening her fingers on the trigger, Hinata's eyes hardened and surrounded with bulging veins. Her chakra exploded into an intense blue aura. It surged down her spine and into her fingertips. Her next shot came with a fiery burst of chakra that knocked Konan off her feet. Two angelic wings were blown away into a fine silvery powder. The force of the blast flung Konan twenty feet back and crashed into the side of a nearby building.

"So the timid Hyuuga girl is quite strong," Konan said. She was back in her feet in an instant, launching a volley of paper shards that cut into Hinata. It was an attack Hinata had seen before. She flipped back, guarding her eyes and neck the closest, dodging and deflecting as many as she could. Now it was Konan's turn to wear the opponent down. Hinata braced herself for the hail of daggers that sliced her shotgun in two and slashed her skin, making deep lacerations in her limbs and torso.

What remained of Hinata's tattered clothing was completely torn asunder. Hinata's shirt and pants were shredded, leaving nothing left to cover save for her bra and panties.

Hinata closed her eyes and focused. It didn't matter if she was naked, stripped of almost all weapons. It wouldn't even matter if she was stripped down to her very bones. Naruto-kun was there with her, watching her. It was all the strength she needed to win this fight. The lost weight after all, gave her an extra advantage. Blood loss made her dizzy, but the cuts were so sharp, they barely hurt at all. Hinata moved faster than before. Closing in on Konan, her arm was sharp as any blade. In one fluid motion, Hinata sliced through the angel's remaining wing. Hinata's bones bent and snapped. Her fingers ran red with blood. She swerved and thrust her fingertips through Konan's chest. She stabbed right through and cracked it open. Konan was sent reeling where she splashed face first into the muddy hell swamp.

Without a second's hesitation, Hinata leapt right into the mud, bringing all her weight down onto Konan's ribs. There was a harsh cracking sound of bones breaking as Hinata's knees dug into her chest. Konan's emotionless facade was violently torn away as she cried in pain, blood pouring from the mouth. She reached for her sword, now concealed in mud and slashed in a wildly wide arc. It was a thoughtless move, but she still managed to cut a gash across Hinata's abdomen. Konan took the opening and punched Hinata right between the eyes. The two kunoichi grappled each other and wrestled in the mud.

Konan lost her wings, her armor, and her cloak, but Hinata had pretty much nothing left at all. They threw each other down in the midst of the swamp. Hinata heaved her big breasted chest on top of Konan, forcing her down. The two blue haired koniochi rolled around and around in the mud, punching and clawing at each other relentlessly. Hinata stabbed at Konan with her fingertips laced with blue chakra. Each jab stung like mad as they shut down her tenketsu points. Konan felt her consciousness slipping further away with every blinding blow. In one desperate move, Konan pulled Hinata by the hair, bringing her down. Strong hands groped for Hinata's neck, shoving her face deep into the mud and grime.

Hinata was swallowed by a thick darkness as her face submerged into the mud. Out of breath and close to blacking out, she remembered. There was one last hidden weapon, just small enough to be concealed in her breasts. While Konan readied her killing blow, Hinata held her breath and reached a hand into her bra. She dug deep, deep down, and pulled out a concealed small snub-nosed S&W 625. Hinata whipped out her tiny gun in the same second that Konan lunged with her sword. She spun around and fired off that one lone bullet. It nailed Konan right through the chest, just a centimeter above her heart. Konan dropped her sword and clutched her chest, now flowing freely with blood. Her chakra reserves dangerously low, the sword dissolved into tiny slips of paper that fluttered harmlessly in the breeze. Hinata tossed the empty smoking gun away. One look told her that the fight was over for real.

Konana was shivering and moaning in pain. Hinata too, ached in every single muscle. She staggered out of the mud pit. Her bare breasts were slathered in mud, but they were the only part of her body not covered in burns and slash marks. As she stumbled out of the swamp, she regained her balance. The soreness and pain faded away when she saw Naruto running towards her. The breeze cooled the mud on her skin. She felt relieved, open and alive. She had won in battle against the angel of Pein.

"Oh, Naruto-kun, I…"

"You were great, Hinata," Naruto threw his coat off, wrapped it around Hinata and held her close.

Naruto was smiling. Not because he got a look at Hinata's perky tits. He covered those up as fast as he could. He was happy about how natural it was, holding Hinata so close. Everything felt like it was in flow. There was no discomfort. No worries of acting like an idiot with her. If it was Sakura or anyone, else, Naruto was sure he would get punched into the stratopshere for some stupid reason that he wouldn't figure out for weeks. Probably for staring at her tits, or for not staring at her boobs. Who knows?

Deva Pein materialized out of thin air. Naruto held Hinata a little closer as he approached, but Pein barely noticed them. He walked right by the two and knelt down beside Konan.

"Konan, you are injured. Do you have any chakra left?" he asked.

"No. I..."

"I see. What a pity." Pein placed the palm of his hand on her forehead.

Konan's eyes went wide and shook with fear. "Nagato. You…"

Konan never finished whatever it was she was about to say. Pein slowly, but harshly spoke the words Shinra Tensei. The force of gravity flowed out from his hand. Deva Path was able to focus his jutsu to work on the molecular level. The gravitational force pushed Konan's cells apart.

Right in front of Naruto and Hinata's eyes, Konan's body burst into a cloud of exploding flesh and blood. Their world went red as the blood and vaporized entrails splattered onto them. The disintegrated form that was once Konan was nothing but a sopping pile of blood and gore. A fine red mist hang ominously in the air.

Hinata froze in utter shock. She collapsed on the ground. She lost the strength to stand.

"As for you…" Pein looked at Hinata with killing intent. Speckles of blood dotted his face. He raised the black chakra sword, the sharp point hung a centimeter from her eye. The polished black blade glistened with blood in the morning's light.

"You will be a sacrifice," Pein declared. "Your body is a fitting vessel for the Paths of Pein. Just as soon as I remove those eyes."

"Hinataaaaaaa!" Naruto cried. He flew in between them fast. It made no difference to Pein. He continued the thrusting motion of his sword and ran it through his stomach. Pein twisted and pushed further. The blade tore through Naruto's insides until it emerge out of his back, then sank into Hinata's abdomen. Naruto and Hinata cried out together as the harsh, biting chakra surged through them both.

Pein retracted the blood soaked sword back into his cloak, leaving Naruto and Hinata to collapse into each others' arms where they fell in a blood soaked heap.

"What a senseless sacrifice that was."

Pein walked away and left them for the dead. One last thing caught his eye. A rolled up scroll slipped out from Naruto's coat. Pein picked it up and scanned the contents.

"Hmm…Most interesting."

忍者

Tails woke up to the sound of screaming. Voices he recognized crying out in pain. His nose rankled to the strong stench of blood and death in the air. Something bad happened while he was out.

"So you're awake," he heard a voice. "Good."

Tails barely got his bearings together when he found himself face to face with Deva Pain staring down at him.

"Ah! Get back!" Tails threw a kunai at Pein. It froze in mid-air, an inch from Pein's face. Pein flicked the kunai aside and stepped closer to the kitsune.

"Your companions tried to hide you and keep you safe. They tried to move you away from the action, but you can't hide from the eyes of God. There is where out battle comes to an end. Now there are more toads, no more tricks, clones, or guns. You're mine now, Tails."

"Naruto? Hi-Hinata? Where...What've you done to them?"

"This is it," Pein said. "End of the line, Kyuubi. It's time we sealed we you away for good."

Tails shrank back. His eyes were dull and downcast. He wasn't feeling very afraid of this guy anymore. Just sad and tired. Everywhere he looked he saw destruction. The city was drenched in blood, burning in fire, and filled with pillars of smoke.

"Why...why do you keep saying stuff like that?" Tails asked in barely a whisper. "I'm not that kind of demon. I'm just trying to help my friends. I just want to protect this world. I…" he surveyed his surroundings. Death hung in the air. "...I'm not doing such a great job with that, am I?"

"You should not be so surprised." Pein held up the scroll. "I found this on Naruto's person. It seems he was hiding it from you."

"What?"

"This is a scroll that Naruto brought back with him from Myobokuzan. It's a written prophecy from the mouth of the Toad Sage himself. Its contents concern you. Right here at the beginning, it says that you will be responsible for Naruto's death. That will be followed by the deaths of billions. The fire cat and the silver hedgehog came from the future where these words already came to pass. So yes. You are "that kind of demon." All of you bijuu are like that. You and the others are living weapons of destruction. Nothing more. Akatsuki is the group trying to protect the world and bring it some sense of order. I am the Leader of Akatsuki. I am the salvation. I will take your power and use it for a more productive purpose. Then there will be peace."

"No," Tails stood up and tightened his fists. "I'm never going to let you seal me away and I'm not going to kill Naruto. You're the one who's doing that."

"You brought him here," Pein replied.

"I did..." Tails admitted, "but he wanted to come. Naruto's like a brother to me. He wanted to fight with me. He's not dead, is he?"

"You don't need to worry about his fate, or the future. I will change things for you. This is what happens now. You will be captured. Your demonic energy will merge with the chakra of the Outer Path. I will create my weapon to create peace in my world, and then I will spread that peace to all worlds. That's my prophecy for you. It begins now."

Pein slammed his hand on the ground. The Gedo Mazo returned.

"Ah!" Tails cried out. "Not again! It's that evil Groot-looking statue!"

A dark purple mist hissed out of its mouth. Black chains wreathed in violet flames lashed out and snared Tails by the arm. Under the power of Pein's Rinnegan, the chains retracted and pulled Tails in.

"No. Not again. Not ever!" Tails resisted. He summoned every last bit of strength and pulled back. He felt his bones snapping under the pressure. The cold, violet flames sapped away his strength. It burned him to the very core. Kurama's presence in his soul was slipping away. The imaqe of the demon fox was fragmented and distorted. The voice in his head was almost inaudible. Kurama too was writhing in pain. He had never seen the mighty demon fox so helpless.

"Heh," Kurama managed a laugh. "Again. That power. Now I see. That's where Pein gets it from. These are the cursed eyes of Uchiha Madara."

"Uchiha Madara?" Tails asked. He had heard the name before.

"The one who first captured me. Those hateful eyes belong to him. He summoned me. He forced me to obey him. Used me as a weapon. He saw as me as nothing but a mass of unstable power. Just like now. These detestable humans, they're all the same. That's why I chose you, Tails. You're the host that suits my needs. Help me finish this, Tails. Fight this and kill him."

"I'm trying...I'm trying so hard."Tails's head was swimming. He was dead tired, with no energy to stand, to move, or to think. Pulling his arm was like swimming through a wall of iron. He couldn't budge.

Another hand reached out and pulled Tails away from the statue.

"Naruto?"

Naruto held Tails's arm in a strong grip and pulled him back. His other arm covered the wound in his stomach.

Naruto grunted. He was hunched over. "Come on, Tails! Pull! You still got this!"

"Naruto," Tails's voice started to croak. One look at Naruto told him that he was in unimaginable furious winds blew his fur around like crazy. "I'm sorry I got you in to this. I'm sorry I nearly got you and Hinata killed."

"Tails…"

"I know about the Toad Sage's prophecy. Pein told me everything. I know I made your life a million times worse. I killed Sasuke! I got you messed up in all this. It looks like...we aren't gonna get to be brothers."

"Shut up, Tails!" Naruto shouted against the wind as he tugged Tails by the arm. "I don't care about that stuff. I know what you have to carry with you everyday. I won't let you bear it alone. We've gotten this far. We'll make it. I promise! Do you believe me?"

"I...I don't know..." They were drawing within inches of the statue's gaping maw, very soon to be swallowed up the blackness inside.

"Look at us," Naruto shouted. "We're soaked in each other's blood. We are brothers, Tails. We're blood brothers. I love you, little bro. We're with each other to the end. And if this really is it...if that statue's gonna swallow you up, then I'm going right in there with you!"

Pein flung his sword form his hand, sending it spinning through the air like a giant bladed shuriken.

"NARUTO!" Tails screamed. "Get out of the way!"

Naruto didn't take his eyes off Tails. The sword sliced through his arm. The world became a red swirling haze of blood for both of them. Naruto fell backwards. Tails went sailing into the statue's mouth. Naruto's severed arm still held on to him tight. Tails watched helplessly as Naruto crashed into the ground. He lay there motionless as blood from his arm and stomach pooled outward.

Naruto…," Tails voice gave out as he cried. He started to black out as sank deeper into the cold, misty innards of the Outer Path.

"It's done," Pein said as he bent down to retrieve his sword. He paused as his eyes picked up on something. A odd chakra signature wavering in the air.

Tails felt a strange sensation as the shadowy realm warped and twisted around him. An unseen force broke Tails free of his chains. Time and space swirled in a spiral that sucked Tails away.

"He vanished," Pein said. "That jutsu. I've seen it before...Kakashi. It looks like I forgot about him."

Pein closed his eyes for a brief moment in thought. With a wave of his hand, he dispelled the Gedo Mazo. The air was once again clear of dark chakra from the Outer Path. He stepped over the fallen forms of Naruto and Hinata.

"They will have to resurface in this dimension eventually. I will wait," he said as he crouched to the ground. "Well then. What do I do about the two of you?"

To Be Continued

All done. That was fun to write. Hope you enjoyed. Please read and review.

Next chapter will continue the battle against Pein. He's a really hard guy to kill, so this is building up to quite a long arc.