Н‘¾Ð‘¯Ð‘¬Ð‘Μ Ð‘»Ð‘¯Ð‘¬ Н‘¾Ð‘°Ð‘Μ𝑫 Н‘©Ð‘³Ð‘¶Ð‘¾Ð‘º €¢Ð’Ƒ𝒙Н’Ƒ• A great loss

He felt cold.

So, so cold.

His feet were wet, water slipping through, soaking his toes with its freezing embrace.

The room was dark, walls damp, almost falling apart.

His breath came out in puffs of steam and as it dissipated, it revealed the thing he feared most.

The cage. The giant red cage.

Various scratches were carved into it, as if something was trying to get out. And something was.

He stepped closer, the gate getting larger and larger the more he approached it. Until… he was right in front of it.

The awaited slam came, and he wasn’t surprised. Bulging crimson eyes glared at him through the darkness, lighted aflame by pure rage.

“You dare come here again?!” The fox snarled, teeth flashing inside the dark, dark cage. Its pupils shrunk to almost invisible beads, showing the anger which was bubbling deep inside it.

The boy stayed quiet, staring at the fox, not moving an inch. He was still cold.

The boy’s quietness further angered the mighty beast, causing it to wrap its great tails around the rails of the gate and pull with all its strength.

But the cage didn’t budge. It showed just how trapped the beast was.

“Speak you foolish human!” It roared, and the room shook under the pressure, making small wall fractures drop into the water. The fissures in the water stopped as soon as the boy moved.

He lengthened his arm, fingers gently caressing the cage in front of him with undeserved care.

“I pity you”. His voice lacked the usual hate it held when he spoke with the beast, instead, it was coated with a thick layer of… indifference.

The cage rattled once more and as the majestic tails extended beyond the cage’s prison, the boy brought his hand back, fingers barely grazing the dense fur.

“You?! A human?! Pities me?! I should be the one who pities your worthless race!” It growled out, its teeth clenching with a force such great, it could bite a building in half. The boy shook his head, features showing how tired he was.

“Then do it, pity us”. His arm was lowered down, brushing the side of his thigh, before it stopped still.

“I did not come here to argue”. He turned around, eyes shifting over every crack in the wall, over the ceiling from which small droplets of water fell, creating small fissures in the water which coated his feet.

“You came here because you know you are in danger”. The fox grinned, the smile looking nonetheless frightening than before. Its claws dragged down the cage’s door, leaving thin carvings on it and producing an ear-splitting screech. Its tails flicked around, occasionally flapping against the cage, before dropping back down.

The process repeated itself until Akashi spoke. “It was unintentional, trust me on that, I had no wish to see you”. Nine-Tails’s paw flexed, claws extending past their usual length.

“You’re hurt”. It concluded, its grin widening further at the discovery.

Akashi’s ears perked up at its words. “I assumed you already knew that, did you perhaps not?” The fox went silent, as silent as night can be. The only sound Akashi could hear, were the droplets dripping from the ceiling above him.

“Well, that’s interesting, is it because Jiraiya strengthened the seal?” He asked, trying to see if he guessed correctly, but the fox gave no answer. It just stared at him in an unnerving way. “I haven’t heard from you since it happened, so I guessed it worked, but finding out for myself…?” He trailed off, a grin climbing onto his face.

“… how wonderful”. There was a split second of no movement, before the fox lunged forward, hitting the cage with its full strength. It did not move an inch.

“Once I get out of here, I will feast on the meat of your loved ones and I will be generous enough to keep you alive so you can hear their screams of agony! Then, after I’m done with them, I will carve your flesh out, slowly, so you will feel every second of it happening!” It screamed out, claws wrapping around the metal cage.

Akashi’s eyes widened at the pure promise of the threat and he stumbled backwards, almost tripping over himself. “I promise you this! I will make your worst nightmares come true and you will be there to watch them happen!” It added and Akashi turned around, desperately trying to create some distance between himself and the beast.

“That’s right! Run! Run for your life! It won’t be yours for long!” It yelled after him, and the scenery around Akashi changed, the world being absorbed into a swirl of gray.

_

When he came to, he raised his head and winced, the pain in his shoulder intensified. He blinked and the blurriness in front of his eyes cleared up. He could finally see what was going on. In front of him, stood an almost fully transformed Gaara, but the side of his face looked like it was melted.

Akashi made motion to move, but he found himself unable to do that. Confused, he looked down and his eyes widened. There was sand all around him, binding him to a tree. He looked to the side and saw that Sakura was in the same predicament as he was.

He glanced to the other side and saw Naruto and Sasuke standing on a branch, an uncountable amount of Clone Narutos around them. “Naruto!” Akashi called out, trying to get his attention. It proved fruitful, because the said boy turned his way. “Akashi, you’re okay!” Relieved, Naruto exclaimed.

Akashi nodded his head as much as he could. “It seems that the sand is stopping the bleeding in my shoulder”. He informed them and from the side of his eyes, he saw Sasuke release a breath. Naruto turned back to Gaara, and Akashi watched as he and his clones barraged him.

They threw shuriken at him, but he blocked it with his transformed arm. The Narutos then started kicking and punching him around, their numbers overwhelming him. With one last hit, Gaara was shot straight down, into the ground.

Just as Naruto’s victory seemed guaranteed, Gaara screamed out and an enormous amount of sand protruded from his body, destroying every Naruto clone that was previously created. The dust around them raised, concealing everything around them.

But, Akashi didn’t need to see to know… this was Gaara no longer. In his place stood a monstrous raccoon dog, its size would have towered over the Hokage Tower.

A violent shiver went down his spine when he involuntary sensed the Chakra which appeared. It was so dark, so menacing, so… bloodthirsty and so familiar. Naruto was previously slammed into a tree and now he was looking up in horror. “That’s… the monster inside him?” He asked no one in particular.

He had no real reason to be surprised though… after all… he had an even worse monster inside himself.

Sand appeared in front of Naruto, swirling around him. Sasuke yelled after Naruto, but he winced and dropped to his knees. The sand completely covered Naruto, shielding him from view. Akashi tried to struggle, but he couldn’t move a muscle inside the sand prison.

“Naruto!” He screamed out and a literal second later, a huge Chakra spike came from inside the cocoon, followed by Naruto’s yell. “Summoning Technique!” The tree on which Naruto stood was leveled to the ground, along with hundreds of others and in their place stood a frog, the same size as the raccoon dog Gaara turned into.

The two of them engage in combat, and the frog managed to cut off Gaara’s arm with the knife he had on him. He landed on the ground and Akashi felt the tremors when its feet met the ground. The tree on which he was bind shook with great force and he heard a crack. “What…?” He whispered, feeling the tree move.

“No, no, no, no!” He tried to struggle as the tree slowly started falling, the ground coming closer and closer to him. “Not like this! Not now!” He yelled, trying to pull his hands out of the sand, trying and failing.
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Is this how it’s going to end?
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Like this?
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.
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A falling tree?
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No goodbye’s?
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This can’t be it!

It’s too early!

He didn’t get to do anything!

He didn’t get to help anyone!

He saved no one!

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He snapped his eyes shut. Awaiting the final blow. The blow which will end his life.
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Then, deep within him, he sensed something shift. Chakra shifted.

He felt the Chakra burst out of his body, but he dared not open his eyes.

He let out a gasp as his body fell out of the sand cocoon he was stuck in and he hurriedly forced Chakra into his feet to soften his drop.

The moment his feet touched the ground, he rolled to the side, narrowly missing the tree that came flying after him. A loud crack echoed through the forest as the tree fell apart in front of his eyes. A groan left his lips when he shifted his shoulder and he clamped a hand over the, now, bleeding wound. A moment later, a green glow appeared over his hand, healing the wound.

Once he decided it was healed enough to stop the bleeding, he retracted his hand and looked up. He couldn’t see him from down here, but he could sense Sasuke. Climbing up the tree, he jumped to where Sasuke was at. The boy was momentarily surprised at his appearance.

“You… how did you do that?” Sasuke asked, a hand on his neck, over the seal. Akashi tilted his head at his question. “Do what?” Honestly confused as to what he meant, he asked. Sasuke bit his lip as his body shivered, most likely out of pain. “Those chains… what were they?” Akashi was taken aback at his question. Chains? Were there chains? He saw no chains.

“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about”. Sasuke’s eyes narrow and he looked like he wanted to ask more, but as soon as he opened his lips, he gasped, body fully convulsing. “Don’t speak anymore, you’re hurt”. Akashi crouched next to him, moving the hand which was on his neck, revealing the seal.

“You used it again…”. He sighed and lightly trailed his finger over it. The Uchiha didn’t move a muscle. “I had to”. He replied, looking away from Akashi. The said boy felt a throb inside his chest. Was he really that determined in defeating Gaara? To the point he had to use the power of the seal?

“You need to stop using the seal”. Hearing that, Sasuke shifted away from the redhead’s touch. Akashi internally winced at his behavior. Did he cross the line?

“I need it”. Scowling, Akashi moved in front of him, making the boy unable to look away.

“You need it for what? Power?” His tone got harsher, words almost sounding feral as he spoke them. “It’s physically hurting you, what is there to want of that?!” He almost shouted at him, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed in question.

“I need it for revenge! I need it to get stronger!” Akashi’s previous anger was washed away at the pure desperation in Sasuke’s tone. He was desperate for power, desperate for revenge.

Before he could argue back, argue that that was not a good thing to want, a huge puff of smoke appeared in the place where the giant frog was. The ground underneath them shook as something new stood in the frog’s place.

It was in that moment that Akashi felt true fear. Fear for his life, but most of all, the lives of the people he cared about. He shifted his eyes and saw Sasuke looking at it in confusion.

For in the frog’s place stood a massive nine-tailed fox.

“That’s…”. Sasuke began, words getting caught up in his throat. Akashi stumbled backwards, his backside harshly meeting the wood underneath.

“The Nine-Tails?” He whispered, disbelief painted all over his face. Was this an illusion? Was the Nine-Tails truly there? “That can’t be true!” His voice cracked and it drew Sasuke’s attention.

“Hey! Get a hold of yourself!” Hands clamped on Akashi’s shoulders and his view of the fox was blocked by Sasuke. “Calm down!” The said boy whisper-yelled, trying to use a quiet tone to relax him.

It was no use, Akashi grabbed at his wrists and gripped them tight. “That fox… it’s going to kill everyone, Sasuke, run away, run away from it, it will kill you, it will kill you… it will kill you all…”. The terrified look in his eyes made Sasuke clench his teeth, worry etched on his features.

Why was Akashi so terrified? The look in his eyes was pure horror, and he kept repeating his words over and over again like a broken record. He wasn’t even looking at him, it was like he was looking through him. Also, Sasuke was sure that that wasn’t the real Nine-Tails, since the frog was there a moment ago.

He needed to think of a way to calm the redhead in front of him. He searched through his mind, looking for a way to do just that. His eyes widen as he remembers something. He quickly looks at Akashi. “Hey! Listen to me! Focus on its Chakra, what does it feel like? Does it feel like something evil?” He hoped this would work.

The boy in front of him flinched and closed his eyes, shaking his head in disapproval. “No! I don’t want to!” He argued back, not even looking at him now. Gritting his teeth, Sasuke grabbed his neck and brought their foreheads together, his protector against Akashi’s bare skin.

“Breathe… and focus, please…”. The boy’s grip on his wrists tightened to a painful level and he was sure it was going to leave a bruise. “Please…”. He repeated and closed his eyes. He wondered why he was even going this far.

The wind blew around them, and he felt the cold breeze wash over his body.

The boy in front of him stopped shaking, and the harsh grip on his wrists relaxed, but the hands stayed there, wrapped around his skin.

The Uchiha blinked his eyes open, and was met with violet ones already staring back at him. They looked like they were the heat of fire and the coldness of ice at the same time. That was the type of color they were. They always seemed unusual to him, but now, he finally knew how to describe them.

The feeling of his breath on his skin gave him notice they were too close. He shuffled backwards, almost falling onto his back, if it were not for the redhead’s hands holding his wrists.

“Thank you”. Sasuke didn’t expect such a warm smile to be directed at him. It caught him off guard, causing his face to heat up in a moments time.

He awkwardly coughed and pulled his wrists away from Akashi’s grasp. “You’re welcome”. He felt the hotness in his cheeks reduce and he internally sighed in relief. What was going on?

The redhead’s gaze hardened as he looked at the battle between the frog-turned-fox and the raccoon dog. They exchanged various blows which included the raccoon dog firing wind bullets at the frog-turned-fox. It dodged and grabbed a tree from the ground with its tail.

It then jumped in the air and descended upon the raccoon dog. A wind bullet was fired at it and it blocked it with the tree, successfully distracting it enough so it could bind it with its arms. After it did just that, it turned back into a frog. Naruto jumped on the raccoon dog and hit Gaara, knocking him awake.

They started fighting one another, but Gaara blocked Naruto’s attack with his sand, binding him in the air. Naruto tried to pull his arm away from the sand, but he couldn’t. That resulted in him being, once again, an unpredictable ninja. He whipped his head forward and hit Gaara with his forehead.

The raccoon dog started cracking, until it disintegrated and fell onto the ground.

Akashi and Sasuke watched the fight end before their eyes. One was wondering how Naruto got so strong and how he changed in such a short period of time, the other was proud of his sibling for doing something like that and for being strong like that.

Naruto and Gaara landed on some trees and then they stood up, ready to have a final showdown. They jumped in the air, fists pulled back, but Naruto’s hit landed first. They were sent flying towards the ground.

Akashi stood up, prepared to go down to them, when he felt something he thought he wouldn’t feel for a long time.

He shakily turned his head towards Konoha.

His heart drummed inside his chest, threatening to break out of his rib cage.

His knees gave out from under his body and he dropped back down.

Sasuke heard a thud and looked back at Akashi in alarm, not at all expecting to find him on his knees, a grief-stricken look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” He hurriedly asked, eyes wide open in concern. “What happened?” He asked again, even more worried at Akashi’s lack of answer.

The said boy glanced back at him, a single tear falling down his dirty cheek.

How was he supposed to tell him?

How was he supposed to answer him?

How could he tell him?

That the Third Hokage’s Chakra stopped sending signals?

He opened his lips, throat already feeling raw.

“The Third Hokage… is no more”.

AN: If you have any questions about the story, feel free to message me.