I honestly didn't think I would actually post this story up. I did it a while ago when boredom literally drove me somewhat insane. Since this is the first chapter I don't have much to say. I know for a fact that some of the characters are OOC. Most importantly, Naruto is 22 in this fic. And the beginning is a bit supernatural as well. The 4th Great Ninja War took a span of 4 years rather than in the manga where it progresses like hella fast. BTW, there won't be that much Kyuubi bashing in his fic. Oh, I need a beta reader that is good in explaining the way the FF characters talk. Trust me, when you see the way they talk, you'll know what I mean. Well, that's it for this rant, hope you enjoy and please REVIEW!

"…"-Dialogue
'Italics'-Thoughts
Bold – Kyuubi
Underline - Jutsu/Spell

-Prologue-

On a barren battlefield, two lone ninja remain. One is the most hated man on the face of the Elemental Countries and the creator of the notorious group, Akatsuki. His name is Madara Uchiha; former leader of the once mighty Uchiha clan and co-founder of Konoha no Sato. Standing across from him is jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko, legacy of the Yondaime Hokage, and number one knuckle-headed ninja of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki. Throughout the course of the 4th Great Ninja War, the Joint Shinobi Army suffered untold losses. Among the casualties included the elderly Tsuchikage, Onoki, and the legendary copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake. But with the will and determination to end the war, the shinobi army was able to defeat the resurrected ninja Kabuto summoned and eradicate the army of Zetsus. The task was difficult and many lost the will to fight. After 4 years of pushing back what remains of the Akatsuki, the Joint Shinobi Alliance was finally able to corner Madara. Feeling the upcoming battle to be too destructive to be contained, Naruto was granted permission to fight Madara alone. Now the time has come for the greatest traitor of Konoha's history to pay for his crimes.

Both ninja have stood there for a good ten minutes and not a single word has been spoken. There was no sound, no wind, nothing. Naruto could only feel anger and hatred for the man standing in front of him. He remembered how the bastard killed Kakashi-sensei after using the Tsukiyomi on him. Naruto wanted to kill him immediately and end the mindless bloodshed that resulted after 4 gruesome years of war.

"Impressive. I never thought you or your pathetic friends could actually destroy all my years of meticulous planning. And now you stand here alone, believing you can defeat me." Madara stated.

"I know I can defeat you. But I must thank you, for giving me the power necessary to wipe you off the face of the earth!" Naruto said.

"Oh, really? What would this so-called power be then?"

Naruto's right hand reached for the katana on his back. He slowly pulled it out of its sheath and Madara felt untold amounts of chakra fill the air. The immense pressure almost forced him onto one knee, even with chakra channeled into his legs. The katana had a red grip and a token attached to the end on the handle. The blade itself was gray and silver and had 10 unique gems resided in between evenly divided portions of the sword. Each gem was a different color of the rainbow and each was powerful in its own right.

"And what can a pathetic sword like that do?"

"Allow me to demonstrate."

It happened in an instant. Even with his remaining Sharingan eye, Madara couldn't see what hit him. The injury was a mere cut on his left arm, but being able to wound him when he had the ability to dematerialize his body was unheard of. Looking at the blond shinobi's sword, he noticed something that should have been impossible.

"That chakra…how is this possible?"

"Before I destroy you, I guess you should know." Naruto started. "On the day you tried to suck the Kyuubi out of my body, you thought I died like all the other jinchuuriki. In reality, I was dead, but as the statue absorbed the Kyuubi, you also absorbed my very soul."

"You lie. The jutsu shouldn't have taken anything but the chakra of the nine-tailed beasts."

"That is where you miscalculated. Before you captured me, the Kyuubi and I made a pact, intertwining our souls into one. Since the statue only contains the bijuu, I was able to destroy the barriers and seals from the inside out. Why did you think you Moon's Eye failed when you attempted it?"

"So you were the reason my plan failed. It explains why you're still alive."

"The reason I can hurt you now is because of his sword's unique ability. Rather than letting the bijuu roam free without any sense of control, I offered them the opportunity to have a new container."

"Then t-that means?"

"Correct, this sword is the container of the nine-tailed beasts. Persuading them to agree was easier than learning how to walk on water."

"DAMN YOU!"

Madara had enough of this farce and charged at Naruto full speed. He drew his fan and proceeded with a downward strike. But his fan only sliced through air, leaving Madara in shock. Naruto had teleported using the famous, Hiraishin no Jutsu. Madara performed several hand seals and screamed Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu. The fireball raced towards Naruto, but he didn't even flinch and began to weave hand signs of his own. He finished in an instant and smirked confidently.

"My turn," Naruto stated. He inhaled deeply and released a fireball 5 times the size Madara's own fireball. Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!

Madara's eyes were wide in shock and barely had any time to dodge the incoming attack. Sliding to the right, he felt something that he has never felt before, fear. But rather than panic, he smiled from behind his mask; only once before did someone excite him this much in battle, the first Hokage of Konoha, Hashirama Senju.

"You truly live up to the name of being unpredictable, Uzumaki. For that, I compliment you and now I will use all my power to destroy you and revive my Moon's Eye."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Naruto replied as he got into a battle stance and pointed the katana towards the Uchiha.

The final battle had officially begun.

-Outskirts Surrounding the Pillar of Cocoon-

All was quiet in the morning and the sun was beginning to rise. Not being able to sleep, former sergeant of the Guardian Corps, Lightning Farron, decided to take a morning stroll. Looking around, she saw tents and some PSICOM soldiers patrolling the surrounding area. The citizens were currently staying in tents until an official base was finished being built, which should be done within the next week. Turning around, her gazed shifted to the towering pillar of crystal. The crystal was the once lively planet civilization of Cocoon, where she too once resided like the rest of the refugees situated around it. Two months ago, she and her fellow l'Cie embarked on the mission that changed their lives. She remembered every detail clearly and couldn't help but feel mournful for the sacrifice her friends, Fang and Vanille, made so that everyone else could live. Lightning swore that she would find a way to bring them back no matter what, but so far that plan has been futile. Immediately after awakening from crystal stasis, she rushed towards the pillar in hopes of finding the Pulsians. After hours of searching, she finally found them, but both remained in their crystal forms, holding each other's hand. Both seemed happy with their decision to become Ragnarok and save the fall of Cocoon.

'If only you two were here than everyone would be happy,' Lightning thought. Suddenly, she noticed a hand waving up and down in front of her face. She hadn't realized that she completely spaced out whilst looking at Cocoon.

"Hello~, earth to Lightning."

Lightning recognized the voice and turned her head to the right to see her one and only little sister, Serah Farron. Recently, Lightning was finally able to accept Serah's relationship to Snow Villiers, her soon to be brother-in-law. Everything was tense in the beginning, but like all problems, it was resolved after their adventure in fighting the Fal'Cie of Cocoon. Snow proved he was capable to taking care of Serah, no matter what hardships they have to endure. Serah turning into a l'Cie would've changed anyone's opinion of her upside down. Thankfully, Snow loved her to point where he would actually help her finish her Focus.

"Oh, sorry Serah. Did you say something?"

"I was wondering if you have any free time, because I need your help in finding something."

"Well it's still early and there isn't much to do today, what are you looking for?"

"Actually, it's more of a someone than a something."

"Let me guess, Snow?"

"No, he's still sleeping. It's Hope; his father came to me and asked if I saw him anywhere. From the look on his face, I could tell he was worried. He told me that he hasn't seen Hope for the past 3 days."

"What! Why are you telling me this now?" Lightning panicked. Ever since the beginning, Lightning had supported Hope like an older sibling cares for the younger ones. With her help, he became strong, brave, and a lot more sociable. And then out of the blue, he goes missing. "Serah, where was he seen last?"

"I heard some soldiers say they saw a teenager go into the pillar. When I heard them say silver hair, I knew it had to be Hope. But that was 2 days ago."

"Alright, I'm going to check the pillar. Are you coming?" Lightning asked.

"Yeah, I want to make sure he's alright. I can't imagine how Mr. Estheim would feel if his only son is…." Serah had to stop herself from saying the last word.

"Let's not think about that and just focus on getting to the pillar."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

And so, the two Farron sisters, raced towards the Pillar of Cocoon, hoping to find the teenager before anything terrible has happens. But Lightning felt something was wrong. She didn't know what, but it kept her on edge and she increased her running speed.

-Barren Battlefield-

The destruction surrounding the area was truly devastating. Craters from explosions could be seen everywhere and smoke from the fires made it hard to see anything. Both shinobi were exhausted and they had no energy left. Madara fell first due to all the wounds he suffered from Naruto's blade and depletion of his chakra. Approximately 15 feet away, Naruto was on one knee, using the blade as a support. He too was exhausted from the battle; even with the power of the nine-tailed beasts on his side, Madara had managed to fight on the same level as him. Taking a few deep breaths, Naruto forced himself to stand and began walking towards the Uchiha.

"I never expected…you to…defeat me." Madara uttered while coughing out blood. "But do you…have what it takes…to finish me?"

"I've made it this far, I'm not stopping now."

Madara started to laugh and his Sharingan began to spin uncontrollably. "Try and kill me, if you have what it takes."

"What are you talking about?"

"When I killed your sensei, Kakashi, I stole his Mangekyō Sharingan's ability to send objects to another dimension. If I die, then everything within a 10 mile radius will get sucked in along with my body." Madara explained. "So I ask you again, do you have what it takes to finish me?"

Naruto remained wide eyed from what Madara had just said. How is he going to kill the bastard without killing himself? He tried to think of a method but no matter what came up, the wormhole would just intervene.

"Just face it, if I can't have them, then no one can!" Madara yelled.

Naruto.

'Kyuubi?'

You don't have any options here. Even if you kill him now or later, you won't survive. The other bijuu and I have accepted that fate, it's about time you did too.

'How am I supposed to accept that? Didn't all of you agree to help me kill Madara?'

Yes, but this is the only way to destroy him. We both know that us bijuu can't release ourselves unless you're wielding the blade.

'But I can't just leave everyone behind!'

You swore to us that you would kill Madara, no matter what the cost may be. I understand that you don't want to die, but there is nothing else you can do to change our current predicament.

'Kyuubi, I have never seen you so weak. Listen to yourself, you're the mighty Kyuubi and you want to die killing this madman?'

Shut up brat! Did you think is an easy decision for any of us? Why don't you think about the countless others that sacrificed themselves just to get you this far! Everyone else has made a sacrifice for you, now it's time you repaid them.

The Kyuubi's words rendered Naruto speechless. Throughout this entire war, every other person gave something up just for the sake of peace. Whether it was money, freedom, or even their lives, people across the Elemental Countries have lost something dear that could never be replaced. Realizing how selfish he was, Naruto knew the Kyuubi was right and that there is no other way to end the war.

'Are you sure about this decision? Once I stab him, all of us are going to die.'

For the past 3 years, us bijuu have accompanied you because we wanted Madara dead for the crimes he committed. Once that was finished, we expected to break free from your control and rage upon this world once more. Never in our wildest dreams did we anticipate ourselves feeling regret for our past actions. We always saw the human race to be pathetic and weak. But the Hachibi's words have convinced us otherwise.

'So even demons feel regret. I understand how you feel with your decision.'

Before you kill him, the bijuu and I would like to thank you for helping us, despite what troubles we caused to your race. No matter what you think, we are grateful you volunteered to be our final jinchuuriki.

Naruto smiled, knowing that he was able to save the Elemental Countries and befriending the nine-tailed beasts. He slowly raised his swords, pointing at the sky. On the floor, Madara could see what the blond shinobi was about to do. He tried to move in an attempt at escaping, but his body was too weak and it became futile to try.

"DON'T YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR PRECIOUS AGAIN UZUMAKI?"

"I do, but as long as they are happy and living peacefully, then I will sacrifice even myself."

Sliding the katana into a reverse grip, Naruto remembered all the good times he experienced for the last 22 years. He thought about everyone in the village, and how they would be happy after all of this ended. Focusing what little energy he had left into his blade, he held the katana right above Madara's heart.

"YOU WOULDN'T DARE!"

"AAAAARGHH!" Using all his strength, Naruto plunged the sword into Madara's chest. All that's left is to wait for the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to activate.

"Sayōnara mina," Naruto said.

An instant later, a gigantic black sphere emerged, sucking up everything inside. Once it disappeared, nothing remained except for a huge crater.

-Pillar of Cocoon-

The Farron sisters ran towards the pillar's entrance. The entrance was usually guarded but for some strange reason, there wasn't any PSICOM patrolling the area. During the past 2 months, PSICOM had cut through the crystal in order to find anyone stuck in between. Rather than wasting energy in using the airships, a specifically designed lift was placed inside the base of the pillar, connected directly towards Eden. Lightning and Serah reached the top and step foot in Cocoon for the first time since the fall. Looking around, they saw only the crystalized remains of the once bustling city. They continued walking in silence, as to seeing some people being the trapped the crystal was truly frightening.

"I guess some of them weren't lucky enough to escape like we did," Lightning said.

"This is terrible," Serah added.

"You see Hope, Serah?"

"No. I've looked everywhere and I haven't seen a single trace of him."

Now both of them were worried even more, what's worse is that they don't have any clues as to where to start. Lightning observed the area and noticed something that shocked her beyond words. Tapping on Serah's shoulder, she asked, "Do you see that?" She was pointing at what appeared to be a giant crystalized web. The color is a slight variant of magenta that shined even more than the blue crystals surrounding Cocoon. The web is circular in shape and had a center that was a bluish purple. Something about that one particular crystal sent a familiar feeling into the Farrons. Both Lightning and Serah glanced at each other and nodded. Both of them ran towards it, not caring what the familiar feeling was, they rushed as fast as possible.

Approaching the center of the web, they saw something that instilled happiness and sorrow at the same time. The center resembled a beautiful flower, and in the middle of it were Oerba Yun Fang and Oerba Dia Vanille. Lightning remembered the day they destroyed the fal'cie Orphan and how Fang and Vanille transformed into the mighty Ragnarok, just to sacrifice themselves to save the people of Cocoon. They had smiles on their faces, meaning they should be happy. But deep down, Lightning felt somewhat guilty as to what happened to the two Pulsians.

'Look who showed to the party.'

Lightning and Serah heard the familiar voice in their heads, and quickly turned towards Fang's crystal. They didn't believe for a moment they heard her voice.

'Come on. Don't tell me you've forgotten all about us already.'

"Vanille? Fang?" Lightning managed to say.

'Who else could talk to you like this?' Fang said.

If Lightning could hug the two Pulsian warriors, she would strangle them like crazy. Unfortunately that isn't the case. "It's nice to hear your voices again. But we can save this conversation for later. It may be a stupid question, but did you see Hope pass by here?" Lightning asked. "His father is getting worried since he's been missing for a while now."

'Oh, Hope's right there.' Vanille said cheerfully.

"Where is 'there' Vanille?" Serah questioned.

'Look to your right. There should be crystal with him inside.' Fang explained.

Serah went to go check, while Lightning remained where she stood. "First off, you said he was in a crystal. Care to clarify?" Lightning asked. From her tone, the Pulsians could sense her suspicions.

'Well…let's just say he…wandered off?' Vanille began, obviously lying.

'Vanille, this is Lightning, I highly doubt that would throw her off.' Fang said.

"Seriously, why is he here?"

'Might as well. Vanille and I needed to see you immediately.'

"If you wanted to see me, why didn't you use your telepathy?"

'Our telepathy can't go that far anymore. The kid was the closest one to this rock.'

"Then why is he in a crystal? I thought our l'Cie days were over."

'She has a lot questions doesn't she, Fang?'

'That she does. When he came here, some behemoths attacked him. Since he didn't have the brand anymore, he was pretty much screwed. So Vanille and I used all the magic we had left to preserve him into a crystal until you came along.'

Lightning didn't know whether to feel grateful or angry at the two l'Cie. Protecting Hope was necessary but forcibly turning into a crystal and leaving him there for his father to worry was a bit much. A few minutes of silence passed by until Serah returned with the white-hair teen. He looked exhausted and a bit spooked; most likely from coming out of crystal stasis a second time.

"He's alright, but I think we should take him back and get him a check-up," Serah suggested.

"Hey, Light. I swear I didn't mean to get lost in here." Hope said timidly, obviously scared of what Lightning's reaction would be.

'Whoa! Before you go, you have to hear what Fang and I have to say!' Vanille exclaimed.

"We have to make sure Hope is alright before anything else," Serah retorted. The sisters began to walk Hope back to the camp without a second thought.

'But this is extremely important. It involves all of us l'Cie!' Fang replied. Hearing that stopped them in their tracks instantly.

"What do you mean 'us l'Cie'?" Lightning looked back.

'It means exactly what I just said.' Fang answered. 'To start, we have some good news and tons of bad news. But since you're worrying over the kid, go get him fixed up, but make sure you bring the other 2 knuckleheads with you back here.'

Hearing Fang with a serious voice was a rare sight indeed. Heeding her words, the trio headed back to camp with all possible haste. On the way to the pillar, Lightning already had enough concern for one day, but Fang's last comment just set a whole new bar of anxiety. Nearing the camp, all she focused on was Hope's wellbeing and waking up Snow and Sazh to either surprise or shock them. But little did they know, all the l'Cie were in for a brand new adventure.

A/N: I forgot to mention this up top. If you want to see a picture of Naruto's sword, go to my profile and click on the deviantart link. The artwork is from a good friend of mine. I'm also using it for my other fic so check it out if you want to.