Chapter Thirty-One: Buck Rogers Time Is Over!

Buck Rogers Time- To have an especially long prison sentence.

Tuesday at dusk, the earth trembled. Windows rattled in their frames. Crockery shuddered in their shelves. Wind chimes tinkled even though there was no wind.

At the start of the evening rush hour, when many people were on their way home from school or work (which, by the way, excluded chakra or magic of ANY kind), an all-news radio suggested that an earthquake was to blame for the sudden disturbance. People living near Hozuki Castle or in the immediate vicinity were advised to take care, and evacuate if they could. The cause of the earthquake was unknown, and there had been no casualties so far.

Inside a sleek silver car, Koharu Utanane barely felt the earth move. She and her old friend Homura were on their way back from visiting with Danzo (though 'visiting' might have been too plain a term for it. 'Bribing him for their freedom' was wordier, but truthful. It was amazing what one could fit inside an apple pie tin). Being in a moving vehicle at the time of the quake, they didn't feel a thing.

In fact, they were only aware of the quake when they turned into their street, and a wailing woman nearly ran into their car. "Jesus!" Homura cursed, jerking to a stop. Koharu winced and clutched at her neck. She wasn't as young as she used to be. Her body ached more than she cared to admit these days.

"There's been an attack!" the woman screamed, slamming her hands on their windshield. Instantly Koharu knew it had to do with Danzo- there wasn't a figurehead as entirely hated as their former classmate. The doors of their car flew open and the two elderly ninja were at the woman's side instantly, on alert.

"What did you say?" Homura asked urgently, lightly gripping the woman's arms. She didn't even seem to notice. "An attack?"

She nodded wildly, hair whipping back and forth. "An attack on the prison!" she screamed, practically sobbing. She seemed to almost collapse in on herself then, and suddenly Homura struggled to hold her up. Koharu yanked the woman to her feet with a sudden strength.

"Get yourself together," she snapped now, "what happened?"

"I-it m-must be t-terrorists!" the woman blubbered, "the prison has exploded!"

Koharu and Homura's eyes met. Danzo, that gaze seemed to say, and suddenly everything was clear. "Koharu, take care of this woman," Homura said briskly, "I'll go and check on Danzo."

Koharu shot up like an angry tiger. "Like hell you will! I'm coming with you!"

"Now that," Homura said, "is the Koharu I've known and missed."

Gently leading the woman out of the road, the ninja returned to their car, and swung back around, and sped back the way they had come.

It was time to kill Danzo.

XxX

When Itachi Uchiha received orders that he and the rest of the Akatsuki were to all simultaneously go the bathroom (previously known as the 'church'), he knew the prison was about to be destroyed. The Uchiha had known it was coming for some time, and as such was unsurprised. The others, however, were bewildered. As he relayed this message to the other members, he was met with incredulous 'Are you fucking kidding me?' (Hidan), 'What the hell…?' (Kisame), and numerous 'Okays' (Zetsu, Sasori).

As he did so, his mind flickered to his damaged younger brother. I can only hope that you make it out in time, he thought, Sasuke, I have not been good to you, but I have done what I can. Without blowing his cover as an Akatsuki member, he amended hastily. He had manipulated Naruto and Sasuke like puppets, tugging on the strings of emotion and vulnerability for quite some time now, until his disturbed little brother wandered into the jinchuriki's path. He had ensured his brother's survivability in prison…but had he ensured Sasuke's survival out of it?

It disturbed Itachi that he, normally close to omniscient, had no idea.

If what he guessed was really happening, then Sasuke was front and centre to the action. And that was a seat that Itachi did not want his little brother to have.

There are other jinchuriki there, Itachi. Han, Roshi, Gaara. Not all of them are as impulsive as Naruto Uzumaki. They have control over their demons. And there are other good ninja there, too. Kakashi Hatake, for one.

There was little he could do now, except for hope for the best. As the members simultaneously got up and filed towards the bathroom, Itachi spared a moment to think of Izumi. She had been younger than him, but in many ways stronger; she had possessed a kind of vitality that Itachi himself never had but craved. Perhaps that was why he had found himself gravitating towards her, despite knowing her feelings for him.

'You're so good,' Izumi had whispered to him that night, 'and kind. That was one of the things I'd liked best about you, Itachi.'

But he didn't feel good or kind right now. As he and the others scurried towards the bathroom, Itachi felt almost…cowardly. In a way, he almost felt like he deserved to perish alongside those who weren't aware of what was going on.

Perhaps not, his inner self argued, you can't protect Sasuke and the Leaf if you're dead.

That was true. Perhaps now, for Sasuke, he would live.

"Are you all right, Itachi?" Kisame was looking at him oddly. Itachi drew himself out his thoughts and regarded his sharklike friend. Despite the somewhat frightening facial features, Kisame was a good man. Blood-hungry, perhaps, and impulsive, but he was good nevertheless. Loyal. A quality that Itachi valued more than anything else, and one that had been hard instilled in both himself and his late 'brother', Shisui.

"I'm fine," Itachi said quietly. But the side of his mouth twitched, and Kisame picked up on it right away.

"Is something happening?" he whispered, "something…big?"

"I would say so," Itachi said cryptically. It was imperative that whilst the rest of Akatsuki was free to hear, nobody else did. He knew his workmates were listening; he could tell by their rigid poses, their too-smooth faces. Even Hidan was presently wearing a brilliant poker face.

"So it begins," Sasori said in his breathy, whispery voice, "the end."

"I assume we have orders?" Kakuzu asked Itachi directly. The Uchiha nodded, ever so slightly. "Good," he said, sounding smug, "I can begin turning a profit on the ruins of this place."

"What the hell would ya make a profit on?!" Hidan was back to his normal self. He glared at Kakuzu. "Ya can't start talkin' about money already, ya old geezer!"

Kakuzu glared right back. "Shut up, Hidan."

Luckily for them all, they reached the bathroom. As usual, Rock Lee and his lackeys were there, bible-thumping and whatnot. "Ah, the Akatsuki!" Lee said, his voice forcefully cheery, "what a wonderful day it is to see you!"

Kakuzu clamped a big hand over Hidan's mouth, swallowing the man's retort. "Give us space," he ordered, "now."

Lee's smile faltered. "But of course!" he cried, "anything for the Akatsuki!" He and his lackeys scarpered at the sight of all of them there at once. Though they'd lost a fight to Naruto, the Akatsuki were still a formidable group. They filed in, doing their best to look inconspicuous.

It was only under the harsh light of the bathroom that Itachi realised truly how bad things had gotten at Blood Prison. One would assume that since they were rogues and hence lived a life on the run, that the Akatsuki would be in poor health; but what Itachi saw now made him realise that there were, in fact, new lows.

Quite lean naturally, Itachi could now see each rib individually, poking against his skin. His bones, which used to ache on and off, now ached frequently. The hand that rested inside his collar was now almost skeletal. His hair was thinning slightly, and he almost thought he could see his heart fluttering in his chest.

Looking at his fellow members, they were in bad shape as well. Sasori, of course, didn't age, and as such showed almost no wear…except there were scuffs and dints in the wood that had never been there before. Deidara of course was still recovering from the fight with Naruto. His nose was fixed, though still swollen, and there was a peppering of bruising around his eyes. Kisame's skin seemed too big for his skeleton, and he often complained of back problems. Kakuzu was noticeably thinner, and Hidan looked almost as bad as Itachi (though whether he could actually die from starvation was debatable). Zetsu…well, he looked…fine, actually.

"So why the hell are we here-" Hidan began, but a rustling noise cut him off. Itachi frowned and looked towards the noise. In the corner of the room, a bunch of paper was beginning to rise and twirl in some non-existent breeze. They whirled and whirled, forming a kind of paper vortex, until a face began to form.

It was a familiar face.

It was Konan.

"The prison will be destroyed soon," the apparition told them. It looked like Konan and sounded like Konan, yet the kunoichi was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly it all became clear to Itachi. He was amazed that he had not seen it before.

She has been able to use chakra all this time.

"It is up to you to escape by any means necessary. We have acquired information that the chakra suppressant is not, in fact, infinite, and will fade with time. We estimate you will be able to use your abilities within a week of escape. Escape and reforming the Akatsuki takes priority over all else. Obey the word of God, and you will be rewarded. We will send a signal when we are ready to regroup. Any questions? You must be quick."

Surprisingly, Sasori spoke up. "My puppets," he said quickly, "where are they?"

"And my clay, yeah?"

"I ain't going fucking nowhere without my scythe!"

Konan's face was perfectly blank as she replied, "We have already organised transport of your weapons from blood prison. Kakuzu, your contact, Zangei, has arranged for them to be deposited at a secret location. The coordinates will be released to you upon your escape." Her eyes glittered ever so slightly, and Itachi noted her intelligence. As the only woman in the Akatsuki, many underestimated Konan's sheer shrewdness. But even now, in prison, she was delicately placing them in a rock and a hard place- as a boss should. You escape, she implied, and we reward you with freedom and your gear.

Even though he despised the Akatsuki, he admired the hell out of Konan.

And the apparition faded without another word. They all stared at it in stunned silence for a few moments before someone finally spoke.

"Huh. So she's been able to use chakra all this time," Sasori said slowly. His doe-like eyes squeezed themselves shut briefly, and opened them again. "So all is not what it seems." It was nearly impossible to tell, but he almost sounded impressed.

"So we don't get out stuff until we escape?" the white half of Zetsu asked. Before anyone could reply, his black half replied, "Of course not, idiot."

They let that sink in for a moment. It was clear that some of them (Hidan, Deidara) weren't happy with that arrangement, but it was what it was. "What's the best way out of here?" Kisame asked, and then, after a moment, said, "South takes us through the main gate."

"Too risky," Kakuzu said bluntly, "while Konan can use chakra, we can't. You feel like taking a bullet for one of us?"

"Can't say I'm a fan of the idea," came Kisame's snarky reply. "North, then."

"Into the water?!" Hidan screeched. "You're fucked! I ain't going in there!"

Kakuzu's hand swung out and seized the immortal by the throat. "Shut up, Hidan," he growled, "you'll go in there, or else I'll personally rip your head off and shit down your throat. Got it?"

Hidan scowled, but blessedly, said nothing. "Then it's settled," Kakuzu said triumphantly, "we're getting out of here."

Hidan sighed. "Fuck me."

Despite his dislike of the immortal, Itachi couldn't agree with him more.

Then their world exploded.

XxX

"Hey, what's in the bag?" the pimply kid with the big nose asked Zangei now. They were driving through a forest, the road bumpy and rocky in this joint, and the curiously-shaped bags in the hearse were rolling around in the back. Some of them made noises that made the kid sick to his stomach.

Zangei grinned. In the dying light, his bald head shone, and the scar above his right eye looked worse than ever. He was driving, and a toothpick made its way lazily from one side of his mouth to the other. "Nothin' you need to worry about, kid."

The bags were human-shaped, and it was damned more than likely that there were bodies in there. Zangei was no stranger to bodies or collecting bounties, not with his close relationship with the Akatsuki, but the kid was just a hired hand.

Zangei couldn't lift bodies and puppets on his own.

"But…you sure this isn't contraband?" the kid was fresh out of one of the Forts, Zangei noted, probably the Leaf Fort, judging from his self-righteous attitude. Zangei immediately decided he was going to kill this kid when the job was done. Or, he grinned, 'quietly' hand him over to the Akatsuki. He reckoned they'd probably want to take out their frustrations on someone from prison…and this kid would do it.

Zangei was a bad man. But, he thought, as he drove a hearse filled with dead bodies, puppets, and weapons, he wasn't the worst.

The worst was well behind him now.

He'd seen the apparition that morning when he was brushing his teeth. The beautiful paper apparition of Lady Angel had appeared, and told him he had a job to do. He was to move the Akatsuki's contraband to an unspecified secret location, and if he did it without being caught, he would be greatly rewarded. "You will be allowed to return to your bounty station," Konan had said, "and there will be a monetary reward, of course."

Plus he'd be in good with the Akatsuki, which was worth more than anything.

"Of course it's contraband," he snapped now at the kid, "what didja think it'd be? You know Hozuki buries their dead, right?"

"So we have bodies in there?" his voice rose to an annoying shrill, and Zangei was briefly reminded of Hidan. The immortal wasn't wimpy like this kid, but his voice had the same headache-inducing effect. I have to deal with him soon, too, he inwardly groaned.

Zangei pulled the car over, and leaned over to the kid. "'Course we do, and if you spill ya guts, ya a dead man, got it?" His teeth glinted cruelly in the poor lighting. The kid gulped, nodded. "All right, then," Zangei said cordially, and they drove on.

The Akatsuki was going to rise again. And Zangei was the driving force behind it.

XxX

Getting the sedatives had turned out to be stupidly easy. Sasuke had left the instant the conversation at the table had ceased, and he'd hurried to the infirmary. As he did so, he thought of ways he might be able to convince Rin to give them to him.

It turned out he didn't need to. His freshly-prepared speech died in his throat as he gently pushed the doors to the infirmary open. Rin was nowhere to be seen. He could see several dark lumps on beds. One of them had to be Zaku. Sasuke felt a twinge of guilt at what he had done to the Hidden Sound ninja.

But if Zaku was bad, Zabuza was worse. The hulking swordsman was unconscious on his bed. His legs were splintered from the knees down. His actual kneecap looked like a salt-dome. One that had been crudely smashed and pieced back together. His pallid complexion was peppered with bruises and swelling. Both eyes were swollen shut. Zabuza Momochi would never be a ninja again- indeed, he'd be lucky if he ever walked again.

That's the power of a demon, a doubtful voice told him, and you, my friend, are in the presence of SIX of them. If they lose control, you're gonna end up like Zabuza. Or worse.

"That's what these are for," Sasuke muttered, hardly aware he was talking aloud. He moved over to the cabinets, and began rummaging through them. He knew what he was looking for, but didn't know where they were. He was very aware that Obito, Rin, or someone else could walk in on him at any moment. Sucking in a mouthful of air and expelling it nosily, he rustled through bottles and packets of medicine, aimlessly, sure that finding what he wanted was akin to a needle in a haystack.

He worked like that for several minutes, until his eyes lit upon a vial, when-

"What are you doing in here?" a voice asked sharply. Sasuke jerked, accidentally hitting his head on the cupboard door. Gritting his teeth, he turned- to see not just Rin, but Obito AND Rin.

Well. He was fucked.

He'd already forgotten the speech he'd prepared.

Somehow, Obito didn't look nearly as imposing as he had when Sasuke had first walked in here; the older Uchiha looked more tired than angry. There were bags beneath his eyes that were visible even beneath the terrible scarring. He hadn't drawn his gun- his arms were folded across his chest.

In many ways, Obito reminded Sasuke of his late father. It was an uncomfortable comparison.

"What are you doing here, Sasuke?" Rin asked, stepping forward. Despite Obito's obvious sternness, her face was kind. "It's not time for your sedatives just yet, sweetie."

"I'd like them early," Sasuke blurted out, mirroring Obito and folding his arms across his chest. "It's kind of an emergency."

"Now, Sasuke, nobody understands your pain more than Captain Obito and I-"

"It's got nothing to do with that!" Sasuke burst out, scowling, "It's got to do with-"

"Yes?" Obito asked, pushing Rin behind him and stepping up to meet Sasuke. Obito was older than both Sasuke and Itachi, and actually managed to tower over them both. His hair, which had been cropped short when Sasuke had arrived, was beginning to lengthen. Sasuke guessed that he might actually resemble Itachi more if he let his hair grow. That, too, was an uncomfortable realisation. "I'm listening."

Obito couldn't use chakra, of that Sasuke was certain. Nevertheless, he felt like he was under some sort of jutsu, the way Obito's eyes were watching him. He felt like he was not only being x-rayed, but that Obito was probing his entire being. Long underestimated and sometimes forgotten, there were no defying the legendary Uchiha stare. Even the worst of the best (Obito) had a fearsome glare.

Sasuke hesitated. He had had a hard time trusting Naruto, and then the others (some of which he was still wary of). Could he trust Obito and Rin? Truthfully, Rin had never laid a finger against him, and by reputation she was the kindest person Sasuke knew. But could he trust Obito?

Fuck it.

"You won't believe this," Sasuke said to them both now, "but we're getting out of here."

Obito barked a laugh. "Sure, kid, sure."

"I'm serious!" Sasuke insisted. "If you'd listen, you'd understand!"

Obito started to say something else, but Rin put a hand on his arm and said, "Let him speak, Obito." There was a definite warmness in that touch, and in that instant Sasuke knew he could trust them both. Romance was forbidden in Blood Prison. So he wasn't the only one keeping secrets here…

So Sasuke told them everything.

XxX

Koharu's apple pie was amazing. Even without the fat wad of money underneath it, Danzo could admit that much. She was one hell of a cook- one heck of a cook, he amended.

The taste of the pie essentially dictated whether Koharu and Homura stayed out of prison. So far they'd been successful.

Danzo leaned back in his chair, feet on his desk. The apple pie was a pleasant surprise in a time where there had been more lows than highs. He was clinging onto the control of his prison by the flimsiest of threads. Naruto was proving to be a bigger pain than he had ever envisioned. The Akatsuki were likewise proving to be a thorn in his side.

And Yagura- could there have been a feistier jinchuriki than the former Mizukage?

I am lucky I have Obito on my side, Danzo thought, shoving another spoonful of pie into his mouth, otherwise the prison could have collapsed the day Yagura lost control.

Yagura was one of his most powerful inmates, of that Danzo was now absolutely certain. He was, perhaps, only a shade weaker than the infamous Nagato Uzumaki himself. That was why he had placed them together. Besides…if Yagura loses control in there, I'd be killing two birds with one stone. He smiled around his mouthful of pie. He had attended to Nagato's other 'bodies' personally. He had had them placed in body bags and had them driven far away, where he planned to have them weighted down with rocks and thrown in the sea. Nagato was crippled as it was; let's see him try to control his bodies from under the sea!

It was almost laughable. Almost as laughable, as, say, the fact that his source of power for Hozuki Castle was in the very same room as him. A secret compartment, of which Sai and Shin guarded, and inside of which was a portal, a shimmering slice of air, to a place that he called 'Convexity'.

Danzo had only glimpsed inside that world, not being dead himself, but it was not a place he wanted to ever visit. It was a great wasteland, filled with steaming cracks in the ground, fallen castles and fortresses, and a constant storm rumbling overhead. Wisps of light sometimes zoomed around Convexity, passing through the lost souls left behind (or trapped, in this case). Skeletal horses sometimes ran through the fields of barren wasteland, neighing and whinnying soundlessly.

There were apparently other sections of Convexity, but if they were anything like this one, Danzo didn't want to see them.

The shimmering slice of air that led to Convexity had several runes around it in this hidden compartment in Danzo's office, and they glowed with a power Danzo had learnt to despise. Chakra. By harnessing his own chakra, he had been able to soul trap those he had murdered, and place them in this slice of Convexity.

But he hadn't been able to do it alone. His own chakra, whilst proficient in most other jutsu, wasn't strong enough.

So he had killed his old friend, Kagami Uchiha, and his son, Shisui, and stolen their eyes. The Uchiha were gifted chakra-users, so Danzo figured that having their eyes was almost the same. Not willing to take out his own eyes (and not trusting anyone to do it for him), he had implanted them in his arm. He hadn't done it perfectly, and had caused the skin to die around his arm, turning a pallid white. So he had wrapped the arm up, and everybody had chalked it up to him simply being old.

And so, through Convexity and the trapped souls of the Uchiha he'd killed, he'd managed to create an infinite source of power for his prison.

Whilst mostly flawless, there was one small problem.

His contraption could be destroyed by simply moving the runes out of place. That was why he had killed Katsuro, why he had poisoned Nori; they had come far too close to discovering the truth.

I should have killed Nori and his sister when I had the chance, he thought scathingly, and then recanted. The Lord would not approve of such awful thinking. He was a man of God, after all.

He needed to act like one.

"Danzo, my old friend," Kagami's voice floated out to him from the portal, "you know this wrong. I know the old Danzo Shimura is out there. I know he is."

"Please let us go," an Uchiha woman pleaded, "we have suffered enough. Please let us rest."

"Don't hurt Tani," Shisui said, "She's a good woman. She hasn't wronged you, and nor have I."

"You all have," Danzo said sharply, sitting up and slamming the pie down on his desk, "by using chakra, you have all wronged me!"

"Danzo…" Kagami whispered, "This isn't right. Put the wrong things right, I beg you, please…"

"ENOUGH!" Danzo hurled his bible at the closed door to the compartment. "ENOUGH OF YOU!"

Through a crack in the door, Danzo saw Shisui's face swim into view. The handsome Uchiha's face was taut, a smirk playing at his lips.

"You're going to die today," he said.

XxX

It felt strange to Kankuro to imagine a future where he wasn't the 'go-to' guy at Blood Prison. It felt weird to think that he might again be the Kazekage's advisor- his brother.

He had smoked nearly half a packet already today. He smoked more when he was nervous. When he'd first been a freshie at Blood Prison, he had smoked like a goddamn chimney. How he hadn't contracted lung cancer or some shit already was beyond him. When he became the 'go-to' guy at prison, he had smoked less. Not much less, but enough that he didn't smell like smoke all the time.

Now that Naruto and the others were close to turning- hell, Utakata looked like a white sausage squeezed into a uniform!- his smoking had picked up again. He knew Gaara hated it, knew that Temari would beat the shit out of him if she saw, but for Kankuro, smoking had become his crutch. When the shit hit the fan (like it was now), smoking like a sailor was his only respite.

They were in the exercise yard now, and the sky was dark. Clouds had obscured the sun like the nicotine was obscuring Kankuro's lungs. Truth be told, he had been feeling a little wheezy lately. He hoped it wasn't anything too horrible.

They wandered around the yard, shooting the shit and talking about god knows what. Kankuro answered only when he was spoken to, giving his brother a wide berth, and first stamping out one cigarette, and lighting another. Gaara seemed to understand, because after the first time, he stopped reprimanding Kankuro.

Kankuro watched as the Akatsuki stood still, and then all at once left the yard. He watched without much interest, his mind on the demon inside his brother. Shukaku was a bastard. He had been shoved inside Gaara literally the second he'd been born, and he'd killed so many people. Their uncle, for one.

Shukaku was a mean old bastard, and he liked to pick fights. Kankuro was sure as shit glad that Kakashi and Iruka were around to help out if things went bad. He knew that Kakashi at least had experience in sealing demons away.

So they might be okay.

He might also die before he had a chance to contract lung cancer.

A cloud shifted. There were suddenly small patches of light on the ground. Their party was bathed in sunlight.

Kankuro collided with Gaara, Han, and Roshi, whom had all stopped suddenly. Kakashi flung out an arm to stop Kankuro, Iruka, Kiba and Shino.

Kankuro could see Naruto's silhouette. He had gone rigid. Then his limbs began to shake.

"Oh, my-" Han gasped, "He's transforming! He isn't safe!"

"Where's Sasuke?" Kiba asked.

Ignoring his question, Kakashi said, "Get back. Now."

But Kankuro couldn't step back. Gaara was next to Naruto. Now he, too, began to shake all over. Like he was having a seizure. Kankuro leapt forward, but Kakashi caught him around the chest and threw him back.

"Leave him to me! Get back- NOW!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. Naruto's head was lengthening. So was Gaara's. Their bodies were lengthening, stretching, the skin growing to accommodate new skeletons-

Their shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on their bodies, on their faces and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Iruka was backing away, his face fearful-

As the demonic fox reared, snapping its long jaws, Han and Roshi disappeared from Gaara's side. They fell to the ground, snapping and snarling themselves. Purple fur burst out all over Roshi's body. Teeth slid past his lips, to his chin. Han screamed, his own face lengthening and turning equine.

Kankuro could only stare. Utakata gasped and clutched his chest. He appeared to be swelling. His uniform burst-

As Kurama tried to free itself from the renmants of Naruto's uniform, Shukau barrelled forward. As the fox wrenched itself free from its manacle, Shukaku seized it around the neck and pulled it backward, away from the group of ninja, towards the middle of the yard. By now, the yard was filled with terrified screams of the innocent, of guards shocked to their core and readying their weapons.

This all happened within seconds, of course. But in Kankuro's mind, those seconds felt like forever.

The two demons were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other. "We have to stop them!" Iruka shouted desperately, "they're supposed to be getting out of here, not fighting each other!"

Kankuro couldn't stand it any more. Marching forward, he said, "Hey!"

They paid no attention to him. Louder now, he screamed, "HEY!"

Incredibly, the two demons stopped and stared at him. "Kankuro…?" Shukaku asked. Kankuro smirked.

"Yeah it's me, you asshole," he said. "Quite fighting Kurama and get us out of here, you dipshit."

The gigantic demon looked back at the fox, who was also quiet. "Escape…" he said finally, "yes."

And with that, the demons howled and bounded straight towards the wall.

"Hey-" Kankuro said, but it was too late.

They started ripping the place to shreds.

XxX

Nori Hayashi had seen many horrible things in his lifetime, but seeing a gigantic demon fox eviscerate a man in half was probably the worst. Having just come out of the bathroom, tiredly wiping his mouth as he left, he was totally unprepared when the guy in front of him was suddenly in two halves.

Nori just sort of stood there, now wearing blood and scraps of flesh. His hair was wet. Dimly he raised a hand (the one that didn't ache as much), and touched his hair. It was wet, and his fingers brushed against something…squishy. He blanched. He pressed the squidgy object between two fingers and peered at it. His grey eyes stood out in sharp contrast against the blood, which looked like gory warpaint.

He was holding a piece of brain.

Nori shrieked; he flung the gore away from him and immediately pelted away, legs pumping. He had to find his sister, make sure she was okay.

The exercise yard was filled with screaming ninja and snarling beasts. The offending fox who'd killed someone right in front of him was now pouncing on another unsuspecting guard; the poor bastard barely got a scream out before he died. The raccoon-like creature was summoning swirls of sand, wearing away part of the walls and structures; any guards attempting to shoot were promptly flung out of the way. There was a giant slug immobilising bullets and weapons with bubbles that issued from its mouth. There was a demonic monkey, smashing walls with its fists; tentacles swiping and pushing, and a horse-like creature cantering around. There were a couple of prisoners riding on its back, Nori noted.

There was a huge rumble, and the earth trembled again. Nori stumbled and steadied himself. Something was roaring…underground.

Yagura…no, Isobu, he realised, and skittered out of the way, only moments before the ground beneath him split open. Skidding on the pavement, and landing firmly on his ass, Nori watched in horror as a gigantic turtle-like creature crawled out of the earth.

It had spikes all over its body, with three shrimp-like tails. It pulled itself out of the earth- where the isolation cells were, Nori realised- with a pair of muscular, humanoid arms. It stared straight at him with one visible eye; it stared with the intelligence of something far smarter than Nori could ever be.

"Please don't kill me," he choked out. The demon stared at him for several moments, before making a deep, rumbling noise, and its whole body shook violently. It took Nori several moments to realise that the demon was laughing.

"I have no intention of hurting you," it said. Nori was appalled at the complexity of his language, but then he realised that whilst Yagura's body was not visible, his MIND was still in control. He was speaking to the former Mizukage. "Run."

Nori didn't need any more encouragement. He got to his feet shakily, ignoring the pain in his tailbone, and got the hell out of there. He began to notice that the demons were more focused on destroying the fortress, rather than actively hurting guards. Those that didn't aim to shoot were spared. It was only the guards that were trying to kill people that were killed themselves.

"Tani!" He shouted. The wind caught his voice and threw it back in his face. He tried again. "TANI!"

No reply. To his dismay, from the female side of the prison, two more monsters erupted, a giant flaming cat, and what looked like an enormous insect. Dust and flames coated that side of the prison, and there were fresh screams.

As if that wasn't bad enough, a giant tentacle slammed down, crushing part of the castle. There was now nothing barring the exercise yard from the swirling sea below. Nori was completely unsurprised to see several prisoners take advantage of this and fling themselves from the cliff to brave the icy waters below. It took Nori a second to recognise some of the prisoners.

The Akatsuki.

Shortly after the last man, Sasori, had leapt off the cliff, an angel zoomed across the sky, carrying a corpse on her back. Wings spread out behind her, and tiny white objects flew around her, whipping and slicing.

Konan, he realised, Lady Angel.

"Hey!" he shouted. She spared him a second of her time. Amber eyes met grey, and she placed a lacquered finger to her lips. Don't tell, or we kill you, that gesture seemed to say.

Not that Nori was in any place to stop that, anyway.

He had to find his sister. "Tani!" he shouted again, dodging claws, tentacles, slime, and bullets.

Finally he saw her, standing just as he had, gun limp at her waist, staring in horror at what was happening around her.

"Tani!" he shouted, overjoyed. She turned, and relief was written all over her face.

"Nori-" she started, and that was when there was a sudden bang, and the back of Nori's shirt was wet.

Sister, I love you, he had time to think, before he went away.

XxX

There was an unholy war going on outside. Danzo had barely finished his pie when the screaming began. While used to the screams of inmates and the trapped souls, these were different screams.

These were the screams of people.

Danzo leapt to his feet. Sai and Shin were by his side in an instant. "What's going on, Master?" Sai asked, showing for the first time some sort of conscious beyond the jutsu. "Why are people screaming?"

An explosion rocked them, and all three ninja had to steady themselves. "The Man in Black has come," Danzo said, crossing himself, "I should have known, as soon as that wretched boy stepped foot in here that he was the equivalent of the Antichrist."

"The Antichrist?" Shin asked sadly. Kagami barked a laugh from inside Convexity.

"Antichrist? That boy is our saviour!"

Another explosion, this one closer, made Danzo leap for his gun. It was custom-made for him, one that only needed one hand to use. "I have to put a stop to this," he muttered, staggering out of his office, "Sai, Shin! Follow me!"

The two boys followed Danzo obediently, though they looked apprehensive.

Obito and Rin damn near ran into them. "What the hell is going on?!" Obito shouted, red in the face. Rin was tearful, wringing her hands. When Danzo put his eyes on her, she cringed away from him. Danzo scowled.

"War!" he shouted, and pointed the gun at Obito's heart. The Uchiha paused, eyes trained on the gun.

"Danzo," he said, "what is this?"

"You think I didn't know?" Danzo asked, voice deadly, "That you and Nohara here-" he gestured towards the cringing nurse "- were conspiring against me this whole time?"

"There is no conspiracy!" Obito protested.

"Then what is this?!" Danzo bellowed, flinging an arm at the battle around him, "What is this then, Uchiha?!"

"I…I don't know!" Obito screamed back, veins standing out on his neck, "I haven't got a fucking clue what's going on, Warden!"

"P-please don't shoot!" Rin wailed, "W-we won't have a chance at saving Hozuki Castle if you shoot your loyal followers!"

Danzo paused. The finger on the gun twitched. "Very well," he said finally, lowering the gun, "I need you two on board with me. We'll take back Hozuki Castle from these wretched beasts. Captain Uchiha, can you do this?"

"I can," Obito insisted, face stern. Danzo searched his face for several long moments, perhaps checking for genuineness. When he was satisfied, he nodded, and flung open a heavy door, to reveal madness.

XxX

"You all right, Sasuke?" Kakashi bellowed over Kokuo's whinnies. Han cantered around the prison, kicking down walls, snorting steam at guards who stood in their way. The Uchiha clung onto Kokuo's mane at the base of its neck desperately, face frightened. "Gave you a bit of a scare, eh?!"

"You could say that," Sasuke shouted back. He wound a hand around Kokuo's mane more securely. He felt like he could be shaken off at any moment.

"I'm not going to let you fall," Kokuo said calmly, perhaps sensing Sasuke's fright. The demon was just as calm and polite as its host, and seemed to be a pacifist at heart. "It's quite all right."

"You still got the meds?" Kankuro bellowed, farther up Kokuo's mane. He too seemed nervous about falling off, though he didn't show it. His cigarette left a tiny stream of smoke behind him.

Sasuke nodded, realised Kankuro couldn't see it, and screamed back yes.

Kokuo turned. The demon horse was making a beeline for the entrance to Blood Prison, the long, winding driveway which they had all came. Kokuo cantered and leapt over the arch that still remained, and began making its way down the driveway. At their approach, the guards fled their towers, and either ran down the road, or else braved the ocean below.

"Freedom is here," Kokuo said happily, "I do miss it."

Sasuke couldn't agree more.

XxX

Danzo saw the Hayashi twins before anyone else did. Nori was speeding towards his sister, looking stupidly happy despite the pain he must have been in.

All at once Danzo was certain who had been working against him. It all made sense now. The constant inquiries, the tattling, the inconsistencies- it all boiled down to Nori Hayashi.

He was the traitor.

He had let the demons in here.

Danzo raised his gun. Rin seemed to realise what he planned to do, because she snatched at his arm, but she was too slow.

He fired.

Danzo relished Tani's horrified expression for a mere second before he felt a sudden pain himself. He looked down, to see the tip of a throwing knife sticking out of his chest. His fingers touched the blade lightly. Polished ebony. Only one person he knew had knives like this…

"Obito," he whispered, "You. You did this."

The Uchiha pointed an identical knife at Danzo's face. "That was the last person you will murder, Warden," he rasped. His face had taken on a hard, ugly look that Danzo had never seen before; he wasn't the mindless oaf he'd hired before. What was staring at him now was the all-too familiar steely gaze of…

…An Uchiha.

Sai and Shin, Danzo now saw, had obviously leapt to the Warden's aid, but were now lying on the ground, unresponsive. "Did you kill them?" Danzo wheezed. Weakly he tried to pull the knife out.

"I'm not a murderer," Obito snapped, "when you die, these poor kids will be free from your disgusting jutsu."

"You…knew?"

"Of course we knew," Obito replied, "you underestimated me, Warden." He smiled darkly. "That was your first mistake."

"You are my Captain!" Danzo shouted shrilly, "You were my dog! You do what I tell you to do! You're not supposed to think!"

"I'm not a captain," Obito said, "I'm an Uchiha."

Rin smiled.

Her smile grew even more when Danzo Shimura died, and the two boys who had been mindless for so long sat up and asked, "What's going on?"

XxX

Koharu and Homura arrived at Blood Prison just in time to see a giant horse (there really wasn't any other word for it), leap over the front gate and begin trotting down the driveway like it was any other day.

"What the hell?" Homura muttered, parking the car at the end of the driveway and staring up at the beast slowly approaching them. "Are you seeing this, Koharu?"

"What the shit?" was Koharu's response. "I guess somebody got to Danzo before we could."

"I guess he doesn't keep demon horses in his prison," Homura said. His voice was strained and it sounded like he was trying not to laugh. "What the actual fuck?"

They looked up at the horse as it came closer. It actually NODDED to them as it went past, as if this was totally normal.

"Nice day for it, don't you think?" it said.

The two elderly ninja looked at each other and laughed.

They did not stop laughing for a very long time.

XxX

Something that Naruto had imagined for so long was surprisingly over far too quickly. Kurama had taken over his body, but his mind was intact; he cringed when Kurama killed people, when the blood splashed against the walls. Perhaps sensing his distress, Kurama focused his strengths instead on destroying the prison.

Finally, thankfully, there was nothing left to destroy, and people stopped shooting at them. Naruto saw Kokuo leap over some rubble and make his way down the driveway, Sasuke, Kankuro, Iruka and Kakashi holding on for dear life.

It might be time to go, Naruto, Kurama said, you ready?

I am SO ready! Naruto cried.

The demonic fox carefully stepped over bodies, rubble, and weapons. The other demons were also beginning to make their way to the exit. They'd briefly considered going the same way as the Akatsuki (the ocean), but, upon learning that Sasuke and Han could not swim (nor could Kokuo), they'd decided to go the old-school route.

Plus it was kind of ironic, leaving the same way they'd come in.

Naruto saw Rin fussing over a pair of guards, one female, one male. The male had been shot, and the female was weeping, her face on his chest. He could hear her cries even over everything else.

Too bad, Kurama noted, that was the guard that nearly caught us out, too.

You can't do anything? Naruto asked. The fox shook its head.

No. I can do a lot of things, but when someone's meant to die, they die. Sorry, Naruto.

There wasn't much Naruto could do except wish the guards all the best. They had Rin with them, so they had the best help they could get.

Kurama sauntered over the same rubble that Kokuo had leapt over. Naruto sighed in relief as they went down the driveway. There was a car at the end of it, and Kokuo was waiting for them.

They were all laughing.

Chomei and Matatabi landed beside Kokuo, humming with excitement. The pink-haired girl was on Chomei's back, alongside a dark-haired Hyuuga, a brunette with twin buns, and a blonde with a long ponytail.

Girls! Kurama said, leering, and Naruto scowled inwardly.

Quit it, he snapped, and felt his body ripple.

Aw man, already?! Kurama cried, and all at once Naruto was himself again. He was clothed, thankfully, although they were ripped and bloodied.

"How did you do that?!" Saiken exclaimed, "Have such control over your demon?!"

Naruto ignored the questions. He walked down the remainder of the driveway, towards the pretty pink-haired girl he'd been conversing with. Upon him reaching him, she slid off of Chomei's back and stood expectantly. He thrust his hand at her, which she took.

"Hey, I'm Naruto," he said.

~ END.~

A/N: Hi everyone! Happy New Year! So we've finally, FINALLY, come to a close with EFBP! This story was my everything; my absolute baby. I started this gem way back in 2016, after being into Naruto for years. I wanted to create a story that I liked to write, and people liked to read. I wanted to explore what these characters would do in an unfortunate situation; prison was it. It made me wonder, what would they do if they COULDN'T use chakra? What if ninja were 'illegal'?

This story was my attempt to explore that, but it was many other things as well. I have fallen in love with this story world that I have made, and I hope you have, too! I will be writing a sequel at some stage dictating what happens to each character, so if you want to see that, please let me know! I would love share more of this story world with you!

Thank you all for sticking with me for the longest time, for putting up with my long hiatuses- I love you all dearly!

Please let me know what you thought of this by leaving a review so I know what you think! It would honestly mean the world to me. Wishing you all the best in 2018 xx