"You'll never get Kyubiakuma from me," Naruto snarled ferociously as he propelled himself forward on one foot, shooting toward Nagato faster than a bullet. Nagato blocked the incoming sword attack with his own zanpakuto, a creepy smile spreading across his face as Naruto's zanpakuto clashed with his own. The sound of metal colliding together filled the surrounding area, Naruto taking a deep breath before continuing his assault. He took a leap back, doing a back flip as he did so. As soon as both his feet touched the ground after the back flip, Naruto sprung forward again, unleashing a devastatingly fast barrage of sword swings, Nagato swaying from each attack with his own impressive display of speed. Naruto was slung backward with the Shinra Tensei, Nagato's special Rinnegan technique, which seemed to keep the hot blooded Shinigami at bay for the moment.

"That technique, what is it?" Naruto asked as he felt his body beginning to tire.

"That cousin, is the Shinra Tensei," Nagato explained as he stood straight, brushing the dirt off his black shihakusho. "It is the ultimate defensive technique. No one can enter my radius without being pushed back. It will be my trump card that I will use to defeat you."

"Get real!" Naruto roared angrily as he held his sword up above his head. The zanpakuto began to glow red, giving off a bit of an electric aura as Naruto began to grit his teeth.

"Ten…MAZEN!" Naruto bellowed as he sent forward the three pronged devil claw technique, the ground beginning to slightly quiver at the amount of spiritual pressure being used.

Nagato stood completely still as a wild grin spread across his face. The Tenmazen hit him dead on, but the attack did not faze him in the slightest.

"Was that it cousin?" Nagato asked promptly as he stared at Naruto with his piercing eyes. "Is that really all the power you possess? Show me your Bankai, your base form is boring."

Naruto's eyes widened at the realization that Nagato was toying with him.

"Naruto, get your head in the game!" Kensei shouted to his teammate as he avoided another vicious haymaker from Tsunade. "Focus on the task at hand!"

Naruto gave Kensei a quick nod for confirmation before turning his attention back to Nagato.

A red aura surfaced around Naruto's body as he smiled ominously.

"So, you want to see my Bankai?" Naruto questioned as he glared at Nagato menacingly.

"Show me your Bankai," Nagato repeated, Naruto's aura flaring dramatically as soon as Nagato finished his statement.

"As you wish…" Naruto hissed as his aura grew an even darker shade of red, so dark that Naruto's body was not visible.

"Bankai"

Naruto's aura dispersed the instant he spoke the word, revealing Naruto in his Bankai state. Nagato smiled with satisfaction before his smile disappeared almost instantly. Naruto had disappeared, nowhere to be found on the battlefield.

"Where…" Nagato began to say before he activated his Shinra Tensei, expecting Naruto to be somewhere in his radius. But nothing happen, Nagato beginning to look slightly exhausted.

"I'm here…"

Nagato's eyes widened as Naruto's right hand shot up from underneath him, taking hold of Nagato's right ankle. Naruto fully arose from underneath the earth, tossing Nagato into the sky with sheer strength. Naruto watched from the ground as Nagato flew higher into the air, a smile spreading across his face. Naruto flew toward Nagato at blinding speed, slashing Nagato across the chest from the right and left of him, leaving a bloody X gash on the Akatsuki member's chest. Naruto used his speed once again to appear above the wounded Nagato, holding out his right hand to Nagato's startled face.

"Hadō #31. Shakkahō!" Naruto roared as a small, red energy ball formed inside his palm. The red ball shot from Naruto's hand quickly, enveloping Nagato in a red light before sending him to the ground violently. A handful of blood came flying out Nagato's mouth as his back hit the ground, Nagato beginning to chuckle as the blood rolled down his chin.

"Pain… I haven't felt such pain in so long…" Nagato murmured as a pleased smile spread across his face.

"You haven't even begun to feel pain…" Naruto told the downed Shinigami as he walked on the air itself down to the ground below.

Naruto turned his attention to his side as he narrowly avoided an attack from Mikoto, who tried to take a stab at Naruto. Naruto took hold of Mikoto's sword hand, pulling her toward himself quickly as he kneed her directly in the sternum. Mikoto let out a slight gasp as Naruto let go of her sword arm, following up with a haymaker to her jaw, sending the female Shinigami tumbling forward toward where Nagato was still grounded. Mikoto sent an Amateratsu at Naruto, who used the sheer force of a sword swing to extinguish the flame.

"I-Impossible…" Mikoto choked out as Naruto walked forward, his zanpakuto glowing a brilliant shade of red.

"Tenmazen!"" Naruto roared ferociously as he sent his signature technique at Mikoto, a cloud of debris covering the battlefield in the aftermath.

"I know you're still alive, don't hide from me," Naruto spoke out as the dirt cloud cleared immediately, Nagato standing before Mikoto with his right hand pointed in Naruto's direction.

"Very observant cousin," Nagato retorted as he smiled boldly at the blond Shinigami. "But not observant enough…"

Both Naruto and Kensei froze as they felt a massive spiritual pressure fill the area.

"My master has recovered…" Nagato stated gleefully as the spiritual pressure grew stronger.

"He's coming…" Kensei murmured cautiously as Madara became visible from the entrance of the cave.

"Naruto, how good to see you again," Madara hissed as he stared at the blond hero. "I see you found where I was located. Exactly how did you find this place?"

"Maybe you shouldn't be so trusting Madara," Naruto replied with a competitive grin, turning toward the original Uchiha. "There is a traitor in the midst of your Akatsuki who happened to give us this exact location. I guess they want you as dead as we do…"

"I guess there isn't honor amongst thieves eh?" Kensei teased as Madara became visibly vexed.

"You insignificant bug, how dare you speak to a God in that manner?" Madara hissed as a blue aura surfaced around him. "I will make you suffer for this transgression…"

"Hiyori, now!" Kensei roared as Hiyori appeared above Madara out of what seemed like thin air, with her Hollow mask on and her zanpakuto in shikai form.

Hiyori tried to hack off Madara's head, but her sword was met by Obito's sword as her sword was an inch from Madara's neck.

"A sneak attack," Madara spoke out as he turned to face Hiyori, who was still in a sword struggle with Obito. "Leave her be Obito."

"Master, are you sure?" Obito questioned cautiously. "You aren't fully recovered yet…"

"Do not defy me Obito," Madara warned as Obito obediently stepped aside, leaving Hiyori before the original Uchiha alone.

Hiyori did not waste the opportunity, once again trying to cleave off the Uchiha's head. But it was to no avail, Hiyori's zanpakuto unable to pierce Madara's old, wrinkled skin.

"But how…" Hiyori began to ask before she was interrupted by Madara, who chopped off the top half of Hiyori's zanpakuto with a simple karate chop. Hiyori's eyes widened in shock as this occurred, Madara simply turning away from Hiyori as he focused once again on Naruto.

"We will finish our fight," Madara stated curtly as he glared at Naruto menacingly, his Sharingan gleaming as it was bathed in the moonlight. "But not today. I must recover, and you must defend this town from Aizen, who will surely be coming here after feeling the spiritual pressure I purposely exerted a moment ago."

"He's right…" Kensei muttered as he stood staring at Madara with a concerned expression on his face.

"Until the next time we meet, stay alive," Madara stated as Obito opened a murky, black portal behind him.

"No, I won't let you…" Naruto began to shout before he was pushed by the Shinra Tensei, causing him to tumble backward for a few feet.

"Until next time cousin," Nagato stated with a small smile as he, Mikoto, Madara, and Obito all disappeared inside the black portal.

"Dammit…" Hiyori murmured as she stood in the same spot, staring down at her broken zanpakuto. "How is he so strong?"

"I don't know," Kensei responded as he turned toward where Tsunade was last standing to see that she and the rest of Nagato's dead Shinigami had disappeared as well. "But we need to prepare for a war. Aizen is going to show up in Karakura Town now that he felt Madara's presence here."

Merry Christmas to all my readers! It's been about almost 2 years, and I want to apologize for keeping you waiting for so long! But I'm happy to announce I will be returning full time to my writing, so I will be back in a week or so, not two months! I want to wish you all a happy holidays and hope to see you for the next chapter!

Gorutovssageta