Chap-14 Enemies

Kurama waited in anticipation as he sensed the mass of intruders edging closer and closer in the dark valley. There were quite a lot of them which made the giant fox snarl but on the other hand his unlikely ally stood calm and composed.

There was strength and grace in his posture.

The way he handled his longsword with ease showed his skill with the weapon. His sharingan quickly scanning for the first sight of their approaching enemy.

But the most striking feature about the boy was the way he looked which was exactly the same as the one of a boy Kurama had known a long time ago.

The resemblance was disturbing for the beast but unlike in the past, this time he had a faint hope in his heart.

For this boy before him despite having similar looks and great power like his ancestor had one factor that set him apart.

Naruto Uchiha was a good man.

A person who dearly loved his family and clan going so far as to sully his own honor and life to keep them safe, whereas his ancestor had chosen power over blood.

Kurama could only hope Naruto's sense of honor and loyalty didn't fade away with time as happened with most Uchiha's. Even if today he was known as a Kinslayer, Kurama would not have any other Uchiha here beside him than this boy in the upcoming battle.

He was brought out of his inner thoughts when Naruto spoke,

"They're here"

Kurama smirked when the dozens of armed warriors dressed in heavy armor stopped on seeing him. Their wide and terrified eyes took in his monstrous form and the nine dangerous tail flowing wildly. He couldn't help but laugh internally at their fear and yet he also felt disgust at their weakness for they were the blood of a man he had dearly loved.

"Kaguya and Hagoromo clans. Quite strange seeing them together..." said Naruto curiously, but the heavy frown on his face was enough to show he was troubled by this new development.

The enemy seemed to whisper something among each other which made Kurama growl angrily. Naruto looked up at the fox with a knowing look in his eyes.

"Something tells me they are here for you..." suggested the boy,

"And you as well. They plan to either kill you or capture you for your Sharingan..." warned Kurama,

The beast felt a shiver pass through his body when Naruto's eye turned ice cold, his face a mask of contained fury making his red eyes seem even more menacing.

"Scared, Kinslayer?" teased Kurama,

"In your dreams, fox" retorted Naruto testily, but there was an amused smile on his face.

"There are quite a few of them..."

"You forget who I am?" asked the boy, that famed Uchiha arrogance present in his voice and the cocky smirk on his lips. But while most of his clansmen couldn't back those words into reality, this boy could.

The fox surprised his unlikely ally by simply sitting back on the ground with a nonchalant grin on his beastly face.

"Go on. Humor me..."

Naruto smirked.

"I don't work for free, fox"

Something between amusement and curiosity quickly passed through the Biju's eyes as he narrowed his eyes at the statement. But quickly made his decision nonetheless.

''You're interesting, Kinslayer. Show me what you've got first..." challenged Kurama, earning a mocking bow from the young boy.

"I am your humble servant, Papa Bear" teased Naruto,

Kurama snarled angrily on that ridiculous nickname but before he could retort back with a fitting reply, Naruto stepped forward towards the approaching enemy force.

The enemy made their intention clear when they charged ahead with thunderous battlecries, their various weapons screaming for blood.

Kurama's eyes slightly widened when he saw Naruto flex his sword pouring his chakra into the blade making it glow bright blue. He knew this sword, remembered the one who had made this weapon and used it in every battle, never once had this blade been broken.

And now watching that same sword being wielded by this brown haired boy with heavenly fair skin and delicate features alongwith that famed sharingan removed the last doubts from Kurama's mind.

Indra, even dead you still live on. It seems this time you are truly reborn in this boy.

Kurama had felt something distinct in Naruto the first time he encountered the boy by accident, he was different. His features, his chakra, his skills. When the boy spoke of his family, of his dead brothers, Kurama had found the same love and affection in this boy that Indra once had for his own family before things went horribly wrong.

Naruto adhered to the same sense of duty and loyalty which Indra had developed in his own house, The Uchiha.

The only difference between those two was Naruto's sarcastic humor and the fact that Naruto gave up his honor and his life for his family.

While Indra gave up on his own family.

Naruto gave out his own battlecry stabbing his ancestral sword in the ground unleashing a violent rumbling that surprised his enemies. Rocks and debris fell from the surface of the valley due to the tremors sending the enemy forces into disarray.

And then the boy charged.

He appeared behind his first opponent with a shunshin cleaving the teenage boy in half in one single strike. Electricity rained down from his left hand stunning five more enemies within range.

Naruto brought his sword upward blocking a strike from a Kaguya woman who snarled wildly at him. Her mistake was looking into his eyes.

When he beheaded her mercilessly, her clansmen backed away.

The stench of death and rotting bodies didn't bother him anymore. His fears no longer bothered him for he had seen and done much worse.

He was a Kinslayer.

And these people meant nothing to him.

Having realized they were more vulnerable going against him alone, the combined warriors of two different clans ganged up together and unleashed an entire barrage of kunai and shuriken in his direction.

Naruto roared murderously unleashing a massive amount of chakra from his body sending a brutal shockwave dispersing all the projectiles sailing towards him.

He clasped his hands together and glared menacingly as he finished gathering his chakra.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)"

Kurama's eyes widened when Naruto created two entire large water dragons out of thin air displaying his skill with the element. The summoned beasts roared as their creator surged electricity through them giving them more power as they charged towards their terrified enemies who had not expected such power from one so young.

When the cackling water dragons crashed nearly seven enemies were crushed while the rest barely managed to jump to safety.

As the carnage was finished, Naruto walked towards a twitching older man in his twenties who was crushed with his body marred in severe burns. He would not live long but death would not arrive for him sooner either leaving him in a lot of pain.

Kurama watched Naruto bury his sword swiftly in his twitching enemy's head mercifully ending the man's painful last moments.

"Monster!"

The boy actually smirked as one of the Hagoromo warriors called him that. But he prepared himself when he saw the enemy fan out and surround him.

They clearly don't want me to unleash my jutsu anymore.

He looked at his enemies, nearly ten of them were left out of the dozen that had arrived and they were all making every effort not to look in his eyes. That give him a distinct advantage in this fight, but they had the numbers and he had a feeling the blades of the Kaguya were definitely laced with poison.

He cursed himself for not having his armor with him right now for that would atleast give him some protection. Another point to keep in mind for the future.

Instead, he picked up one of the swords from a nearby dead Hagoromo and wielded his now two swords against his enemies.

Kurama watched this young boy facing against men and women far older and experienced than him with absolute courage. There was a smile on the boy's face as all the enemies attacked him at once.

Naruto parried his ancestral sword forward breaking the counter swords of two Hagoromo resulting in their throats being slit instantly. With his other stolen sword he blocked strikes aimed at his back and delivered a roundhouse kick to the remaining two in front of him sending them crashing away.

The fox watched as the enemies charged at the boy and he laughed.

Naruto performed a fast shunshin passing right between his enemies. Three men and one women fell dead to the ground with their heads missing.

The remaining five enemies glared at the boy as he rotated his swords with ease despite their weight in his small hands.

He's strong.

Kurama's sentiment was proven right when Naruto blocked five swords with his two and kicked one of the attackers in the balls. The boy roared pushing his enemies back making them stumble momentarily.

The boy used that single moment to stab his swords clean through two more hearts.

With just three enemies remaining, Naruto's smirk grew wide but his focused eyes were fixed on his opponents.

But that smirk vanished from his lips when three giant tails grabbed the last enemies and before he could say anything he was showered in flesh and gore as the enemy clan soldiers were crushed brutally.

He glared at the fox who laughed ferociously.

"You stole my kills!" said Naruto petulantly, a pout arriving on his lips.

"Like the shower, Kinslayer?" retorted Kurama with a smirk,

Naruto shook his head and dutifully wiped the blood from his ancestral sword while throwing the stolen one away. He walked towards one last Kaguya woman who was writhing in pain. He bent down and observed the wound to her heart which he had given.

She's strong.

Her end was near and yet he saw her raise her hand towards his eyes wishing to tear them away from him. He gently grabbed her hand and peered into her mind with his Sharingan.

By the time he was done, he was alarmed but he maintained his composure staring at the woman who was still glaring at him with her dying eyes.

"Rest now" he commanded with his sharingan,

The woman named Kimi glared at him one final time before her pained expression vanished and her eyes closed forever.

When he got up from the dead corpse, he saw Kurama watching him intently with a question present in his eyes.

"What?" asked Naruto irritatedly,

"She was your enemy" commented Kurama, confusion present in his demonic eyes.

The boy smiled.

"Sometimes it is better to bestow mercy even to our enemies" said Naruto kindly,

"You enjoyed killing them" said Kurama accusingly, earning a fierce glare from the boy that surprised the beast.

"I enjoy battle not the killing, fox. Remember that" warned Naruto,

''Why?"

"All life is precious" answered Naruto honestly,

"Then why do you fight at all?" questioned Kurama curiously, and saw a pained but determined frown arrive on the boy's face.

"Because I serve my family, my clan. It is my duty to protect them, no matter the cost, or my pride" said Naruto faithfully, which made Kurama smirk.

"Then what is your dream? Something other than keeping your family safe..." said Kurama seriously,

Naruto stayed silent for several long moments, his young sad eyes glancing at all those he had killed moments ago and then at his own hand holding his ancestral sword.

"I guess..."

Kurama waited when the boy hesitated as his lips trembled.

"For once in my life, I want this endless fighting to be over"

The boy glanced at the night sky with the moon enlightening the vast landscape.

"I want to serve something greater than my life, something in which I believe in. I want to end this warfare and create a place where people can live together without any prejudices. And for that dream, I will risk my honor, my life"

When Naruto looked back at the fox he saw the Biju had again adopted one of those unreadable looks in his demonic eyes.

"You're different than your mad clan...'' whispered the beast,

Naruto smirked arrogantly.

"Told you we're not all crazy..." teased Naruto,

Kurama just laughed which made Naruto smile but it soon disappeared on the boy's next question.

"Do you have any family, Kurama?"

The question asked out of curiosity evoked an extremely pained expression in the fox's eyes before he closed those demonic eyes, likely remembering his own past.

Naruto despite his young age understood the beast didn't want to discuss this, so he turned around and started walking away.

"Kinslayer..."

He turned back and saw the fox staring at him intently.

"Why did two clans attack you?" asked Kurama seriously, and saw Naruto stiffen a little.

"Word has got out about the Sharingan being reawakened in me and my brother. All clans are wary of my clan regaining their lost power and want to put a stop to it before it harms their interests. Strangely, the Kaguya clan was informed by someone about your existence and they came here to capture you" explained Naruto frankly,

"They should have brought more fools and even that wouldn't have been enough..." mocked Kurama with a laugh, but when Naruto didn't share the sentiment he looked back at the serious boy.

"This was a test" he replied,

"And we passed?" asked Kurama knowingly,

Naruto nodded.

"Then the next attack will be a big one" stated the beast, earning a nod from the boy.

"I need to see my family. Inform them of this" said Naruto frankly,

"And tell them about me as well?" asked Kurama dangerously, surprised with the boy's decision.

Naruto smiled.

"No. I gave you my word that I will keep your existence a secret from my clan. I am not going back on my promise"

Kurama relaxed and looked quite pleased with the decision which made him stare at the boy curiously.

''Where will you go?" asked the beast, and saw the boy shrug.

"Wherever duty commands me"

Kurama nodded smiling at the boy, "Farewell, Kinslayer"

Naruto smiled back, "You too, Papa Bear"

And then he walked away leaving Kurama alone.