[ ON HOLD ]
What if he chose to walk a different path?
What if he chose to leave everyone and everything behind?
What if he chose to run away from the whispering behind his back and distant shouts?
Maybe it was the right thing to d...
Naruto was biting into the Half-Blood's scruff with his fangs. He had to tighten the hold of his tails around the wailing enemy to keep him still. "W-What's he doing..?" Sakura didn't have the courage to take a few steps further and see it a bit more clearly. She huddled behind Sasuke.
"T-There are only three ways Naruto can extract Tailed Beast chakra. Hand touch, chakra touch and.. F-Fangs." Haru squirmed uncomfortably. "And why would you know that?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "H-He used to teach me stuff back when we were at Orochimaru's Hideout..." The boy's voice cracked at the thought of it. Sasuke had gotten the same answer, once again.
Before anyone could question him any further, the Half-Blood stopped moving and rested on the ground, his body gone numb. Slowly, Naruto pulled away as he spit out some blood. Unfortunately, there was some of his own in there.
The enemy's chakra cloak steadily began to fade away while all of the chakra entered Naruto's body, leaving behind a human puppet. The Jinchuriki's chakra cloak dissolved as well but he seemed somehow shaken. His eyes remained fixed on the 'thing' before his gaze.
That's.. Not a human. It's actually.. One of his vessels! He suddenly realized what was going to happen and tried to back away. But it was too late. A white creature burst out of the puppet, engulfing Naruto's body with an evil sneer.
"Naruto!" Sasuke reached out but the creature disappeared just as it had appeared. The blond's clothes were ragged and his hair was dirty and messy. He was a wreck. The worst part was that his eyes turned dull.
".. Kit?! Are you okay?" Kurama nudged him with the tip of his nose and soon received a reaction from him as he got pulled out of the trance. Sakura and Haru took a few steps backwards. Shikamaru put a hand over Jiraiya's back, lifting him up a little so he could see what was going on. Sasuke hated himself for being of no use to his friend.
Naruto felt a stinging pain clawing at his shoulder. He expected it to happen. The blond had realized that Orochimaru had tried out his new method to get him under his control. Naruto gritted his teeth forcefully before kneeling on the ground while his Cursemark had already began unsealing as pitch-black signs spread all over his body.
"Oh no! This is very bad!" Haru wanted to get over there and do something but Sasuke jolted before him. "Naruto! What's wrong?-!" The Jinchuriki raised his hand. "D-Don't." Naruto's shaky voice still growled loudly. He blinked rapidly in order to try to keep his consciousness.
He could tell that Orochimaru's power was winning this time so he had no other choice. "H-Haru.. Summon.. K-Kurama.." Naruto breathed as if he was being suffocated. He struggled to pull out a scroll which he threw over to the teen. Haru wrapped his trembling hands around it before opening the scroll and putting it on the ground.
A black mist erupted out of Naruto's Cursemark, engulfing him completely. He seemed to be transforming like he had earlier but this time the red chakra was black. Pearly bones formed on his back, head and animal-like limbs while six tails spurted out of his body. He squirmed on the grass, trying to keep his control and not hurt the others.
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"W-What's happening to him?" Sasuke was freaking out. He had no clue what Naruto was going through. Sakura gasped slightly, backing up a little bit while sweatdrops ran down the chunin's foreheads. The aura he emanated.. It was nothing like before. This one carried pure dread and somehow whispered.. Death.
Jiraiya was now desperate to move and protect them. He was willing to put his feelings aside and take Naruto down for good if that's what it took to keep the teens alive. Shikamaru's and Sasuke's eyes were wide open while the brunet beside them struggled to help him out. Haru bit his thumb and spread a trail of crimson blood over his left palm. He did five hand signs and then crashed his slightly bloody palms onto the yellowish paper.
"Summoning Jutsu!" White clouds of smoke rose from the scroll with a noise. Yellow chakra leaked out of Naruto's Jinchuriki seal inscribed on his belly and travelled over to the paper. A fox-like creature started to form. It grew in size until it was a little bigger than Akamaru.
"But that's.. Nine Tails." Jiraiya held his arm onto the ground to support his body. "How.. How is that even possible? Wasn't it supposed-!" Sakura's whining was ended by an angry growl. Naruto was still shaking his tails violently, almost out of consciousness.
"Shut up already and back away." The Tailed Beast's voice came out raspy and somewhat aggressive. It's not like he didn't trust them, it's just that he didn't have enough faith in their fondness towards his Jinchuriki. Well, except Sasuke's but he still wanted to keep them away.
A loud growl that almost turned into a wail was heard. They looked over to Naruto to see him laying still, almost dead-like.
