Chapter 27: Darker

"Shit," Deidara cursed as he fled further into the large forest, trying to escape what could only be described as a demon. He fed his hands some more clay as he prepared to make another clay bird that had been taken down when he had tried to flee the first time. 

'Sasori-senpai was broken into a thousand pieces!' Deidara thought to himself as he threw the clay forward and hopped onto the bird, trying to replace his arm with the extra clay he kept in a sealing scroll he carried in his pocket. 'I can't even imagine what he's going to do to me!' 

"Running away? How boring do you get?" A monotone voice spoke from behind Deidara's ear as the bird exploded, hurling Deidara through the air as he crashed into the dirt, scuffing up his Akatsuki uniform, the black cloaks with red clouds now torn to shreds with giant burnt marks on the fabric. 

Deidara scanned the area and scowled, throwing off his cloak to reveal a blue outfit with a fishnet shirt underneath. "Show yourself, you bastard!" He shouted, his voice echoing in the vast sea of trees, the leaves above providing a shade that shielded his eyes from the shining sun above. 

"You know," The same voice spoke again seemingly coming from every direction Deidara could possibly think. "I almost killed you last time, I mean, seeing you sit on Gaara's body was unforgivable. However, apparently, you kamikazed yourself trying to kill Sasuke, you failure." 

"Grgh," Deidara growled from his grit teeth as he suddenly found his right arm being separated from his body as he let out a small scream of pain before a foot hit him in the chin, knocking him back onto the ground, his back hitting the dirt with a loud thud. 

He tilted his head forward and saw a figure with a sword in their right hand, a hood draped over their head, the only part of his face that he could see were the vermillion red eyes with elongated pupils going vertically. 

"Where'd your loud mouth go? Art is an explosion, that's your catchphrase, right? You said it a lot as I took Sasori apart piece by piece. For a duo your teamwork kind of sucked, how come? You train right? Or did your arrogance believe that you were strong enough to live in a world where the strong eat the weak alive?" The figure said. With a swipe, the sword cut through Deidara's legs and making Deidara now limbless as he screamed in agony. 

The figure took two steps forward and bent down, resting his elbows on his knees as he hovered over the Iwa missing-nin. "But I digress, art is an explosion, right? I disagree. Art is not eternity like Sasori's version or large explosions like yours, in my humble opinion, art is fighting an opponent and dominating them completely until you get the watch the life leave their eyes. I don't enjoy killing people I don't know just as much as I do to the people I do. And guess what Deidara?" 

A sword pierced Deidara's stomach, going into the ground beneath the blond bomber. "I know you pretty well, probably more than you think. I'm going to enjoy this," The figure held up a hand as it began glowing a bright blue. "Don't worry, it'll hurt a lot and then you'll die." He shoved his hand into the man's chest, it slicing into him like a hot knife through butter. 

Deidara's eyes widened as blood immediately erupted from his mouth. His blue eyes widened as he met those demon-like red eyes and his eyes slowly got dull before his head fell back down, the life leaving his body. 

"Now Gaara is safe," The figure said as he slowly took the hood off of his head, revealing spiky blond hair. Naruto looked up at the sky. "Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, and now Deidara. He glanced at Deidara's deceased body and took his sword that was protruding out of the bomber's body. 

"Your filthy blood doesn't deserve to wet my blade," Naruto spoke with disgust lacing his tone. Sheathing his blade, Naruto turned around. "My mission is complete, I think my training trip is over now. Time to go back home," He let a small smile grace his lips as the red vermillion eyes faded to bright sky blue. 

Tsunade took a sip of her sake, cursing the amount of paperwork sitting on her desk. She quickly stamped her name on another document. She read through another piece of paper before the sound of her door opening. 

"What is it now Shizune?" She asked without even looking up. "I don't have enough time for another appointment, schedule it for next week." 

"Drinking and signing important documents that affect the welfare of the village doesn't sound very Hokage-like granny," Naruto stated nonchalantly as he peered over the Slug Sannin's shoulder. "Maybe it helps suppress your slowly advancing dementia?" 

Tsunade's head shot up, her golden-brown eyes widening as he stood up from her desk and whirled around to see Naruto grinning cheekily at her. "What's up?" 

"I oughta hit you into the Hokage monument and make whatever face print you make in the stone your statue." She deadpanned. Naruto chuckled. 

"Does that mean I'm getting the hat? I graciously accept the offer." Tsunade rolled her eyes. 

"In your dreams, brat," Tsunade said with a small smile as she embraced him in a hug. Naruto returned the hug with a smile of his own. As they disconnected, Tsunade rose an eyebrow. "Jiraiya said you gave him the slip a year back. What'd you do?" 

Naruto smirked as he plopped in the chair in front of her desk, kicking his feet up and yawning. "Ah you know, training on my own, killing bandits and four Akatsuki members, the usu." Tsunade gaped at the blond sitting across from her. She quickly took a seat and propped her elbows up on the wooden desk. 

"Explain." 

"I killed Hidan, Kakuzu, Sasori, and Deidara. The only person actually difficult to beat was Hidan, bastard just wouldn't die but damn was it fun to stab him fifty-seven times in the head, but you can't really function without a brain so I just smashed it against the dirt. Don't worry, I already collected the bounties." 

"How strong are you now?" She asked him. Naruto pondered it for a second. 

"Hard to explain, but I guess I'm close to my previous strength if I'm not at it now. Haven't really been able to go all out yet," He suddenly grinned, but not one of happiness, but a dark and scary grin. "Now I know that I can rip apart that masked bastard and save the world from the Infinite Tsukuyomi." 

"That's good," Tsunade said eagerly. "So should I promote you to Jounin or do you want to earn it?" Naruto rolled his eyes. 

"Promote me to Kage dammit, I'm the Seventh Hokage after all." Tsunade chuckled.

"As much as I'm tempted to leave those old fools for you to deal with, I'm afraid you'll just have to work with Jounin for now." She suddenly got serious. "Tensions are on the rise, there's rumors getting out about a man claiming to be a God hunting the Tailed Beasts." Naruto sighed.

"That would be Nagato, AKA Pain and the current leader of the Hidden Rain. He has the Rinnegan and for someone who wasn't born with it, he's pretty damn good at wielding it. We're lucky he's crippled or else things would get rough." He frowned. "Then again, that masked man could have the same complex as Nagato did, he has the Rinnegan as well." 

"What can the Rinnegan do?" Tsunade asked. "I've only heard myths that have been passed down by fools older than Sarutobi-sensei was." Naruto leaned his head back. 

"An invisible force that can push, pull, or manipulate any object, summoning large animals, absorbing chakra as well as jutsu, a path that can turn their bodies into mechanical weapons, removing souls and reading minds, one that can summon the King of Hell, and finally, one that can revive the dead." 

"Revive the dead?!" Tsunade gasped as she saw a darkened shadow shine over Naruto's eyes. She watched as his fist clenched slightly.

"That's how Madara came back, that stupid Rinnegan and its overpowered abilities." His eyes widened. "Wait," He met Tsunade's gaze. "I can get a pair of Rinnegan eyes and we can have that power too!" Tsunade gaped.

"Where? How?" Naruto's expression darkned again. 

"I'd have to go to the Hidden Rain and find Nagato. I'd have to kill him, which I'm not too particularly fond of because I know deep down he's a nice guy, but it's a resource we can't miss out on." He grimaced. 

Tsunade's eyes widened. "Can you do that? Sneak into an entire village and just kill their leader like that?" She had become aware two years prior that Hanzo the Salamander had died. There leader? An unknown person known as Pain, but Naruto had received her letters while on his trip and returned several back, explaining who Pain truly was as well as his motives and his partner Konan. "Can you fight a person with a Rinnegan?" 

Naruto smirked. "I beat Nagato with the help of Kurama while not in control and while using Sage Mode. I'm stronger than I was back then, and I know exactly what he can do. Intel makes half the battle, and I've already gone. Are you assigning me this mission, Hokage-sama?" 

Tsunade saw the look in his eyes, a shining anger that was now being released. She couldn't say no. "I do. Naruto Uzumaki, you are to infiltrate the Hidden Rain and steal the Rinnegan from their leader, Nagato. This is an official SS-Rated mission. Do you accept?" 

"Gladly," He turned around, his cloak covering his entire body again. "You know, he killed Jiraiya in my timeline." Tsunade's eyes widened at that. Naruto had never mentioned that piece of information before. "And I hated him. Some part of me still does, so I'll let it take over me so I can get over the sentimental stuff. You don't have to worry, granny, I'm going to be alright." 

"You better be," She said with a confident smirk. She saw the edges of Naruto's lip go upward before he exited the room. 

Naruto had walked into the rain two miles away from the Hidden Rain. He felt that a few droplets were chakra-enhanced and knew Nagato had already seen him. The hood shielded his face from the rain. 

But a single watery tear crawled down Naruto's face. 

In an instant, he began running as fast as he could to the entrance of the Hidden Rain, arriving there in less than ten seconds as he was greeted with the sight of Konan. 

"You are not welcome here," She said in her usual monotone voice, her amber eyes being duller than the last time he saw her back when she put her hope into him. A hope he failed.

A hope he would never gain again. 

In a split second, Naruto was standing inside the Hidden Rain and he continued walking, ignoring Konan. He needed to get closer. The sound of fluttering papers filled his ears as Konan matierialzed in front of him. 

"I said you aren't welcome here," She said again, but this time holding her hand out in a threatening gesture as papers began sprouting from them. "Turn around and choose life." 

"When I left Jiraiya a year ago, I traveled across the Shinobi Nations, training and learning the ways of life, taking in their cultures and making aquantices everywhere I went. Everyone is human, even yourself and Nagato." Her eyes widened, the first emotion she displayed since he had encountered her. "That includes the people of the village, both shinobi and civilian alike." 

He was suddenly flanked by several shinobi, all holding some sort of weapon, pointing the tips of their blades towards him. "What do you need here?" Konan asked quickly.

"The eyes of a god." Naruto answered, not meeting Konan's shocked gaze. "I need the Rinnegan for the upcoming threat. I've already killed four of the Akatsuki members, I don't wish to make it two more." She snarled.

"You'll never get the Rinnegan!" She shouted. Naruto slowly pulled down his hood, his eyes a glowing vermillion red. 

"You wanted to show the world pain, you want to use the Tailed Beasts as a weapon! You want to force them to destroy villages, innocent children too! You want the world to know pain." 

"I don't know how you know all of this!" Konan suddenly shouted. "But if this world doesn't know pain, then there will never be peace!" 

"Peace?" Naruto whispered. "You'd only create more hatred. That's not peace, that's slavery! To take away someone's freedom based on selfish desires, it's," He paused.

Flashback

"Naruto," Sasuke began as the two laid on the ground panting, on the otherside of the world away from Madara, barely making it out alive. "I'm tired of doing everything I can in order to save this world for nothing in return, and still failing." 

"I know," Naruto gasped, his back pressed against the dirt as he took lungfuls of air. "It's not fair. Nothing in this world is." Sasuke grunted.

"We're nothing more than slaves to fate now." 

"Slaves huh?" Naruto replied as he looked up to the starry night. "I guess you're right." 

Flashback End

"It's the worst thing you can do to a person," He said between gritted teeth. "You destroyed my village in order to obtain the Kyuubi, you showed me pain. I'll end the Rain's cycle of hatred right now," He was enveloped in a bright light. "And show you true pain in order to obtain what I want." Konan's eyes widened as Naruto was suddenly engulfed by a golden fox, it's feet crashing down ontop of the shinobi that surrounded the blond and forced Konan to leap back. 

"No!" She shouted as she saw the golden fox's mouth open, a mix of purple and red coming from the air and created a gigantic Tailed Beast Ball. Naruto shot it forward, it destroying everything it came into contact with before blowing up, reducing the Hidden Rain in a crater, killing thousands in mere seconds, the once metal secluded city was now nothingness. The lives gone as well.

"N-No," Konan cried out as the explosion rippled on, the light from the fire shining in her eyes as despair creeped up. 

"This was your plan," Naruto said. "Does it not seem as good now?" He whispered in her ear, hunched over as he still glowed a golden yellow. "Do you see the flaws you held dearest to your heart?" 

"Just. . ." She whispered as tears crawled down her face. "Kill me." Naruto saw the image of the Konan handing him flowers. It quickly flashed back to the silently crying Konan watching her home be destroyed in less than a minute. 

His eyes did not waver. In an instant, he beheaded the woman and watched her headless body his the slightly scorched earth beneath her. "Naruto Uzumaki," The body of Yahiko began as he met Naruto's gaze with his glazed over Rinnegan. 

"After I extract the Nine-Tails, I will destroy the entirety of the Hidden Leaf for what you've done here today." Naruto shook his head.

"No you won't, Nagato, I have no intention on dying here and I have no intention of letting you win." Pain rose a hand in the air.

"No," Pain said. "You can't defeat a God. Almighty Push!" 

Gonna end it on a cliffhanger haha! Was it good? Bad? Tell me! 

Anyway ye, dark huh? I thought so. 

Anyway

Til next time my lil demons!