Yo people! No, this isn't the holiday special I had promised on Fox with a Dog's Fang. This is just a One-Shot that has been stuck in my head for the longest time. Shoot, if people like it enough, I just might make this into a full story. After all, I always did want to try making a story based on the concept of the nine Jinchuuriki getting together. But, we'll just have to wait and see. Well, I hope you guys enjoy this One-Shot!
I don't own Naruto, nuff said.
I never imagined that the decisions I had made in the past would lead me to where I am today. So many sacrifices, so many extra burdens to carry on my shoulders to get where I am now. The other's have theirs too, and they have accepted them just as I have. After all, it was necessary to accomplish our goal. It isn't world domination, not revenge on those who had wronged us, used us as weapons. No, our goal was simple, it always has been and forever will be.
We wanted to be free.
Free from the world of lies that proclaim that we are the tools that can bring forth peace to this world of constant bloodshed. No, we never were bringers of peace; only for war and chaos. Yet we chose to believe these lies, thinking that maybe, just many, we could be more than just weapons and someday be accepted by this world. Looking back now, I can't help but laugh at how naive I was in believing in such a world. A world that will never come, for our kind at least.
Now, standing before me, are five shrouded figures, each one garbed in white robes and kasas, with each one brandishing their own respective village. Me, well, I'm sitting on a granite thrown in front of them, while behind me are eight other thrones with four on the left and right sides of my own. Despite being unable to see them, I can tell that the other's are displeased with this turn of events. I couldn't blame them, I wasn't too happy about this either. But, I figured that the best way to deal with them was to see what they wanted. I was positive I knew the reason, as no Kage would come all the way here just to speak to them about trivial matters, nor would all five of them be here at the same time.
If my guess was right, which I'm sure it was, then I already had my answer for them.
After several moments of tense silence, a young looking woman, who he assumed to be the Mizukage, cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention towards her, as she spoke. "We are very thankful for you providing us with an audience, we will attempt to make this as brief as possible."
I could hear both the Hokage and the Tsuchikage scuff as the woman finished the brief introduction. Clearly, both of the individuals were not too happy to be here in the first place. I didn't mind, since we weren't too happy to see any of them either.
"And what, exactly, do we owe this pleasure of having the great five Kage's among us." Asked a man to my left and I felt my lips twitch upward somewhat. Leave it to Utukata to be a wise ass at a time like this.
"Watch your tongue you brat." Growled out the Tsuchikage as he glared heatedly at the young man seated behind me.
A frown now adorned my features as I glared at the man before me. Who exactly did he think he was dealing with? Maybe the old fool was delusional or simply overconfident that they could stand against us. If this situation wasn't so serious, I more than likely would have burst out laughing.
"I would suggest you that you heed your own warning, old man." Spoke another of the eight behind me, which startled me somewhat. Han hardly ever spoke, so sue me if I'm surprised whenever he does choose to speak.
The said old man merely glared at the man behind me before adjusting his kasa to block out the piercing glare I send back at him. Or, maybe it was to hide his embarrassment from being silenced like some Genin with superiority issues? Either way, I turned my gaze away from him, and addressed the other four with a nod, not really feeling necessary to speak at the moment. To be honest though, I did it just for the drama effect that it held.
After all, how often do you get to act the way I am now against people who are renowned as the strongest shinobi of their county?
Clearing her throat once more, she made a quick glance over at Utakata, then back at me before continuing. "Our purpose of this audience is rather simple; we are in need of assistance. Akatsuki is expanding far greater than we had anticipated. We were able to eliminate at least two of their members howe-"
"Only two?" Questioned the monotone voice of none other than Gaara.
"Do not mistake us as weak, Sebaku no Gaara. These individuals are Kage level missing ninjas, each one deadlier than the last."
"We are aware of this." Spoke the collect and calm tone of Yagura. "The fact that you have waited up until now to retaliate against them simply baffles me. "
"Quite a point, why act now when it could have been dealt with years ago?" asked the ever lax Roushi. "It didn't concern you when they were our problem, but when they start acting against yourselves you quickly want them eliminated."
"Are you insinuating something?" asked the Hokage while glaring at the man with his only revealed eye. "Konoha had dispatched some of our best shinobi to eliminate them the moment we were aware, yet all of them ended with negative results in the end."
"Hence why we are here now." Spoke the Raikage finally, his eyes often glancing over at the individual who is seated closest to me on the right side. "We wish to form an alliance, both among the Elemental Countries, and you all as we-"
"We refuse." Was the simple, yet firm, statement from Yugito, who's cat like eyes narrowed at the Raikage with barely repressed hatred.
"I do believe the young man before us is the one who ultimately makes this decision." Replied the Kazekage, who's slightly familiar voice cause Gaara to avert his gaze from the Raikage, and towards the said individual.
"It don't matter if he says so or not." Replied the gruff voice of Kirabi as he adjusted his sunglasses. "Besides, Yugito already voiced his answer for him."
"Do not be foolish. How can a pawn speak on behalf of a king?" Asked the Hokage with a frown.
"Because" I said, propping my head on my open palm. "She, along with everyone else behind me, are considered equals. That and we have no purpose nor reason to join forces with you. It's your war now, not ours."
"Do you realize that, should Akatsuki become the dominant power among the Elemental Nations, that they will soon hunt for you once more?" Asked the Mizukage, who was now scowling at the blonde before her.
"Then we will leave; find a new place to call home. I hear River County is actually quite nice this time of year."
"This is not the time to be ignorant!" Shouted the Raikage in outrage as he stepped closer towards me. "You can aid us, you all can fight against Akatsuki on even grounds, and end this threat once and for all! You know that as well as any of us! The situation that is before us now is the sole purpose for being what you are!"
The room went deathly quiet with this outburst. The Jinchuuriki behind me were left speechless while Kirabi was left shocked. I, however, was far from shocked by what the man had said. I knew from the moment they had arrived that this would happen, that someone would be stupid enough to mention their curse. This action merely proved my point that this world merely looks at us as weapons, not people who wish, dream, bleed, sweat, and cry the same as they do.
It's a pity really; Kirabi had spoken so highly of his brother in the past. Guess desperate times change people for the worst.
Before anyone had even realized it, I was standing in front of the bulking man, who easily towered over me in height and muscle mass, with my fist dug deep into his abdomen. It had taken the man a few moments to realize that the person he had been speaking to was no longer sitting down, and not long after that to realize that he had been hit.
Hard, really fucking hard.
The man in question was taken completely off-guard by this and thus, was left kneeling on the floor clutching stomach in severe pain. Needless to say, the other Kage's reacted to this rather quickly. Both the Mizukage and the Tsuchikage began flashing through seals, while the Kazekage quickly grasped a hold of the fan strapped to her back, and the Hokage quickly rushed towards me, unsheathing the hidden blade that resided within his cane.
Unfortunately for them, the Jinchuuriki reacted just as quickly as the Kage's did. As sand suddenly encased the Kazekage's legs before slithering up her body and encasing it in a cocoon of sand while a jet of water and steam shot out towards the Tsuchikage, causing the man to cease his seals and dodge the attacks. The Mizukage was currently stuck inside a large, chakra reinforced, bubble with Yagura's, hook tipped, sword positioned by her neck which had somehow managed to go through the bubble without it bursting. The Hokage, who was mere six feet away from reaching his target, stopped dead in his tracks when his blade was, literally, cut to pieces via Kirabi's lightning swords, while Yugito had a firm hold on the man's wrist with a kunai in positioned by the man's neck and Fuu was crouched down below the man, her leg outstretched in front of the man's back leg with a dagger just inches away from piercing the man's abdomen.
If I wasn't so pissed off at what the Raikage had said, I more than likely would have thought that this was the most awesome moment for us. We, the outcasts, the demons, the human sacrifices, had managed to subdue all five of strongest shinobi that the five great countries had to offer with such ease. It was a shame I couldn't savor this moment, because I had more important matters to attend to. Mainly, delivering my….no, our message to not just these people, but to all elemental nations as well.
In one swift motion, my hand was wrapped around the Raikage's neck, and actually lifting him up a bit off the ground until his knee's were no longer touching the floor. I could feel Kyuubi's malevolent chakra slowly beginning to creep out of the seal, and I allowed it to do so freely. Being with other Jinchuuriki had helped me control the beast's demonic chakra considerably. I'd hate to imagine what my life would be like right now if I hadn't learned to control it to this degree.
He could feel the changes occurring with each passing second that I glared at the man before me. The enlargement of my fangs, my fingernails extending into sharp claws, my hair growing more feral looking, my whiskers becoming more pronounced, my eyes shifting from sapphire blue to scarlet red, all of this just felt so natural to me now than it did when I was younger. Then again, back then, I was nothing more than a confused child. Now, I'm a man who has long since realized what I truly am. But, those were thoughts for a different time, right now though, I have to put these people in their place.
"You know, I could have just said no all this to begin with." I growled out to the man, who was currently staring at me wide-eyed. "You know, this whole meeting thing. I could have said no, could have made you suffer on your own and let Akatsuki rid the world of you trash. But, I didn't. I wanted to see if you all truly deserved our help."
The grip I had on the man's neck tightened, but not enough keep him from running out of air. I didn't need him to die midway through this speech. Besides, I knew he wasn't going anywhere. After all, he might have had a brother with the second strongest Biju sealed in him, but none of the Biju beat Kyuubi in the killing intent department. And, since the guy was right in front of him, that made the effect much more powerful than it already was so it was safe to say that the man was more than likely scared out of his wits right now.
"I was wrong, so terribly wrong about all of you. You come begging for our help, yet you still refuse to accept us as humans, only as weapons to fulfill your own desires. Hell I'm even willing to bet that, once we had taken care of Akatsuki, you would toss us aside once more, like the very tools you make us out to be. Do you think we like being treated as fucking bloodthirsty animals who live only for war!?"
With Kyuubi's chakra still pouring out of the seal, my killing intent spiked even higher than before. Though, at a distance I'm using only one-fifth of it but, up close, the effect just about equaled to how three fifths of it would feel. I still haven't been upset enough to go full blast with my killing intent, and I don't intend to anytime soon. Because it doesn't just scare the other Jinchuuriki and their Biju, but it scares me as well. It might sound stupid, but it just shows how vast the difference in power there is between Hachibi and Kyuubi.
"Well, I have news for you Kage, we are human. We bleed, we break, we sweat, and we cry. We had no choice in the matter of how we were born, and for you to tell us, that are purpose from birth was to live our lives as tools, doesn't sit well with me nor any of us. So, I want to make something very clear to you, dearest Kage."
With a fanged grin, I released my hold I had on the man's neck, before grasping his face with his hand and, in an amazing amount of strength, tossed him down as far back as I could. I was left smirking in satisfaction at the sight of his giant form, twirling through the air, his body crashing into the granite floor of the chamber as he went before coming to a skidding halt along the ground.
"We are no longer your little pets that you can just use and toss away anymore. We are free to do what we want, live how we want, and fight for our own reasons."
Not far away from me, I could hear the Hokage growl in anger at my speech. Well, screw him too. It had taken me all day to get this speech down pat the way I wanted to. As I said before, I knew what they wanted, I knew my answer, so I figured that this would be the best way to get my point across. I could have done this without injuring Kirabi's brother, but somebody needed to be made an example of.
I just hope the failed rapper doesn't hold it against me too much.
"You will pay for this Uzumaki." Snarled out the Hokage as he glared heatedly at me. "Do you even realize that you had just been made an enemy of the Five Great Nations?"
"Oh, I know I have." I had replied while grinning at him, Kyuubi's chakra still flowing through my veins. "The real question is can your armies stand up against the wrath of the Biju?"
I forced myself not to sneer at the man in question; instead I calmly made my way back towards my seat. Upon sitting down, I gave a lazy gesture for the others to stand down, which they did before making their way back to their respective seats. When everyone was back to their original seating arrangements, the Raikage was already back on his feet and glaring at me with barely suppressed rage. I settled with simply giving him a bored glance, while flaring my killing intent once more. Needless to say, this meeting was over, regardless of what any of the Kage's had to say about it.
"Leave us, and don't bother coming back. We'll be long gone before you can even send in the first wave."
I was pushing my luck, but I just couldn't help myself. I simply watched as the great five shinobi left the chambers, the slamming door echoing throughout the room as they left. Once it was it clear that they had gone, I slumped a bit in my seat, tired from dealing with those people. Chakra wise, and physically wise, I was fine. Mentally wise, not so much. Just the sight of a different Hokage had brought back memories of the old days. Days, when I dreamed of being in those robes, wearing that hat, and being considered the strongest amongst the village.
But, those were days long past, and I really needed to forget those times. Less I start to feel guilty for abandoning my home years ago.
"Sorry about what I did to your brother Kirabi." I said, turning my gaze towards the Hachibi vessel with a tired glance in an attempt to rid my mind of those memories.
"It's strait." Was his reply, as usual, while giving him a small reassuring smile.
"Was that really the best course of action Naruto-san?" asked Yagura with a raised eyebrow. "You did create more enemies for us to deal with."
Of course I knew what I was doing. The whole reason I had done that was to get that point across. If that meant making enemies than so be it. Besides, there was all sorts of places that they could go outside of the nations. Hell the fucking map didn't even cover the whole world! So of course they could find somewhere else to go, far away from where they were now.
"The Raikage was referring to us as weapons Yagura." Answered Fuu sadly. "You know Naruto-kun hates people like that."
"Besides," continued Roushi, causing everyone to glance over at him. "We made a pact the day all of us banded together."
I couldn't help but frown a bit at that. The pact, how could he have forgotten that? After all, he was the one who had made it up at the time. I guess, with all the issues going on these days, I'm starting to forget these kinds of things.
"One day, the Kage's and Daimyo will cry out 'save us'." I began, as though it was the first time I had ever uttered the words. Around me, I could hear the other's voices, saying the exact same words as me simultaneously. "And together in one voice, we will whisper-"
"No."
Ok, for the sake of Fandom, lets just say that Yagura wasn't the Mizukage, but was just a member of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. Please, don't give me too many issues with this matter. Oh, and I'm not going to say how many years this takes place from the cannon. Simply because I plan to keep this a secrete encase I do end up making this into a ongoing story. I hope I made Naruto realistic enough yet still showing the mature side of him. Well, R&R and keep an eye out for my Holiday Special people!
Peace!